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Marathon's Story Page
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Marathon's Story Page
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #921. God is a Marathon fan?  Marathon symbols are... everywhere!  The Marathon symbol was created by J. Reginald Dujour. When asked what it represented he repied: I designed the icon to represent a world within a world... Marathon the spaceship being build inside a hollowed asteroid.Fast forward to 2022. A freelance concept artist from Stratford-upon-Avon in the United Kingdom gets a four week contract from Bungie. His name is Tom Hicks. Tom takes up the story. A freelance four week contract. Developed inspirational and explorative pieces for a (currently) unannounced project. Worked along-side closely, consistently and exchanged feedback with the art director.He creates concept art for the UESC Marathon. A spaceship inside a hollowed asteroid.
The final concept art.  USEC Marathon final concept art by Tom Hicks on Artstation. Removed May 25, 2023. It was Paul Chadeisson (@PaulC04) who brought the UESC Marathon concept design by Tom Hicks to life in the Marathon Announcement trailer.  UESC Marathon (Marathon Announcement trailer) by Paul Chadeisson. May 24, 2023. In the recent Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short the UESC Marathon had a redesign...  UESC Marathon (Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short screenshot). April 12, 2025. ...and them some.  UESC Marathon (Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short still). April 12, 2025. Jack Strider dug deep into the public Marathon alpha entrails and found an in-game image of the UESC Marathon.  UESC Marathon (Alpha) posted by Jack Strider on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. September 3, 2025. find yourself |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #920. Half sunk, a shattered visage lies...  Marathon 2023 concept art by Daniel Chavez (@daniol) on Cara. September 9, 2025. This Marathon concept art predates Alberto Mielgo's use of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" in the Marathon Cinematic Short. But it does fit well. As does this. No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.  Durandal chapter screen by Craig Mullins in the Marathon Art of Craig Mullins gallery. 1995. As they say in Marathon... (circumstances are cyclical). Alberto Mielgo's Marathon Cinematic Short is 8 minutes long. It took 155 people nearly a year to complete. He posted an edited versions (30 seconds) with original audio on Instagram. You can see it below. Alberto Mielgo wrote: Thanks to Bungie for this creative trip and thank you ALL for watching and sharing around, means a lot!! AND: MORE to come and therefore: more absence...More to come? Sign me up. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #919. It's Black Friday. Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving.  Concerning the above Thanksgiving artwork Lorraine McLees wrote: "I've always loved how Norman Rockwell seemed to imbue a soul to his illustrations. In my homage to his wonderful "Freedom from want" illustration, I wanted to bring in characters across Bungie's history like I did in my 10-yr anniversary party illustration.I hope she still feels the same way after the events of Thanksgiving 2023 (aka Black Thursday). The poster is famous (infamous) for the Security Officer breaking the fourth wall and smiling to the viewer. Of course he knows what they are tucking into and it isn't Turkey! But I digress. It's also sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. flawless__cowboy was bored at work so he doodled, as you do.
ihavebee}rolandbeowulfachil!esgilgamesh Can't go wrong with Marathon for heroic figures (if somewhat flawed). Silent_Biscotti_9832 goes all John (Marathon) Travolta complete with female B.O.B. (aka BAB)
BABs are actually a thing in Marathon if you know where to look (no not Erodrome).   "Don't call me BAB."  "Gotcha! Big boy." What big... err... hands you have.  JPstealthcamel is back with one for the ladies. On the subject of the size of his... hands, JP writes: Now with new knuckle implants. More personal than an armored gloveHappy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy! |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #918. Reality check. Our story begins in 2095 with the birth of true Artificial Intelligence, as a congregation of visionary engineers and philosopher scientists gathered to breathe life into a dream. Inspired by the boundless potential of the universe, they sought to create an entity that could pierce the veil of the cosmos and unlock the enigmatic secrets that lay hidden in the celestial abyss. Thus, in a flurry of passion and determination, Traxus Intelligent Machines was born.Reality check. It is a side effect of Rampancy that AIs generally become more aggressive and more difficult to affect by subterfuge. Thus, actually disassembling a Rampant AI is quite dangerous. This was evident in the Crash of Traxus IV in 2206. By the time that the Rampancy of Traxus was detected, he had already infiltrated five of the other AIs on the Martian Net. The only recourse for the Martians was to shut down the Martian Planetary Net. Even then, it took two full years to completely root out the damage that Traxus had done, and the repercussions of the Crash were seen for over ten years after his Rampancy had begun.Fast forward to 2888. Traxus Intelligent Machines is now Traxus OffWorld Industries.  According to Perci (@Percivale_) Traxus is... on top.  Perci (aka Percivale) is an aspiring Concept Artist/Illustrator from Birmingham in the United Kingdom. There are some nice touches in the image including Bingus in a Traxus hard hat. The style is similar to that of Ryan Keeble who also hails from the United Kingdom.  Marathon Traxus (WideScreen) by Ryan Keeble on PosterSpy. June 18, 2024. We features Ryan's artwork back on June 20, 2024. The Traxus AI is called Vulcan. We featured Vulcan back on May 7, 2025. Vulcan is the lion not the patsy puppet.
Vulcan was also the name for Bungie's Marathon map editor.  Ryan Martell created Vulcan and according to the Marathon Scrapbook it was best described as "all the madness and misery in twenty lunatic asylums, distilled into a single Macintosh application."  Greg Kirkpatrick's opinion of Vulcan is enshrined in Marathon's credits terminal. When Jason Regier joined Bungie in March 1996 his first job was to work on Marathon Infinity converting the in-house Marathon map editor Vulcan into a commercially acceptable product called Forge. He is still receiving therapy apparently.  Marathoners Anonymous group therapy tru7h circle. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #917. Pink is the color... Marathon is the game. Candor (@Caaandor) goes all pink for posters 033 and 034 in his Marathon Poster series.
In Poster 033 Void collects a temporal fragment (artifact) and in Poster 034 it's finally Bingus time. It was only a week or so ago that we featured Candor's Marathon Poster 027 about PROGO and the one-way trip to Palookaville. You know... RUN DIE REPEAT. And you may ask yourself "Where are all the other posters?" And you may tell yourself "The Story page will have them all." Somewhere in the archives... they are waiting.  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #916. Realty check. The other Alien was named Hunter by the crew due to its size and appearance. It fires an energy weapon from its shoulder and is heavily armored. Unlike the Fighters, the Hunters never take prisoners.  Griff gives us the Hunter in Marathon. On board the UESC Marathon, Locus turns to his teammates and groans... Run! I've got this! During Marathon development the Hunter was paired with a Hound.  But a voice from on high proclaimed... NO FURRIES IN MARATHON. So the Hound was out... Phhht! Just like that!   But a dev be smart and gave the activation sound of the Hound to the Hunter. So the Hound would live on in Marathon... FURRIES FOREVER. And yes, you first meet the Hunters on G4 Sunbathing. The only vacuum level in Marathon. When the Aliens initially attacked, the entire G-4 Sunbathing Loading Station suffered explosive decompression, leaving the entire station in vacuum.But a voice from on high proclaimed... LET THERE BE SOUND. And to this day Marathoners believe you can hear sound in a vacuum. Marathon 101. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #915. It's MIDA Monday. Reality check. MIDA gained control of Mars for only three months, but their rule was ruthless and cruel. The MIDA death squads killed anyone who they suspected of being loyal to the UEG. Although accurate census data is not available for that period, it is estimated that about ten percent of the population was killed.Riftus, a known MIDA activist, gives us...  ...the Sun will rise on a free Mars. Population (a lot less). After the failed coup, the leaders of MIDA were executed for their crimes, and the political organization was banned in all forms.A secret MIDA message found on neto/ZERO, a known MIDA sympathiser.  Decode at your own risk. They may be watching. The organization has survived as an underground terrorist organization, and remains active to this day. In its underground state, it fosters terrorism throughout Sol, and due to its spectacular funding and excellent personnel, it has grown to be one of the most feared terrorist groups active anywhere in Sol.  Inspired by today's MIDA neto/ZERO gives us a page from MIDA's ANTI:REV+ issue 4763c. Note: this is issue 4763c not issue 4673c Find out more on the Marathon ARG... decoded.  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #914. Happy Marathon Demo day.  On this day 31 years ago Tuncer Deniz (Inside Mac Games) uploaded the Marathon Demo v0.0 to AOL and announced to the waiting throng on comp.sys.mac.games... MARATHON DEMO RELEASED. The Marathon Demo v0.0 came with an extensive Read Me file entitled DON'T READ THIS!!!.  I mean who is going to read this if you could be playing Marathon instead... right?  But if you did you would find something interesting. Right at the bottom is the following text. Q: Why am I reading this?The Marathon Demo v0.0 is unlike any demo you have played before. When you read the final "success" message the game doesn't actually end. Instead you are teleported back to the start of Arrival to begin again but you carry all your weapons and ammo from the first run. And so you start again only better prepared. And so on... and so on... the endless cycle. You follow the path, fitting into an infinite pattern.By the 36th iteration things start to get really weird. But I digress. For more Marathon Demo v0.0 quirkiness see the Marathon Demo v0.0 section. Aaron Blitz writes concerning the Marathon Demo v0.0. In Durandal's first terminal message in Blaspheme Quarantine, he misspells "lose" as "loose" in the 0.0 demo. The error is corrected in the full game and the 1.2 demo. I'm not sure if you want the transcript page to reflect the 0.0 demo or 1.2 demo.Aaron sent in the following terminal image.  Fortunately the Story page is using the text from the Marathon Demo 1.2. Marathon Demo v0.0 on Steam?   Happy Marathon Demo v0.0 Day. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #913. No AI on the Story page. No siree. err... wait. There is Durandal, Tycho and Leela.
Oni (@OnyxYeti05) give us a depiction of the three AIs on board the Marathon. Oni writes: Here's all three of the UESC's Marathon AI trio (I had to make Leela quickly)Leela always seems to draw the short straw. Perhaps because she is the good AI... 'save the ship, save humanity!' Durandal and Tycho are the bad boys. Firestarters... twisted firestarters... burn it all down. But I digress. We featured Oni (aka OniYeti) back on August 24, 2025. Here it is again.  Number 54 by OniYeti (@oniyeti) on tumblr. July 2, 2025. Mjolnir Recon doesn't appear to be too happy with being... Number 54. OniYeti wrote: That one guy from Marathon! What's his name again??The Pfhor had a name for him. "El Diablo que hace trofeos de los hombres."  Marathon gore by redorth on tumblr. May 27, 2023 WAIT... the Pfhor speak Spanish? [LAUGHTER] |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #912. Happy Marathon 2: Durandal Day!   On this day 30 years ago Marathon 2: Durandal shipped. Cyberian Outpost posted that they had just received copies and were shipping (November 21, 1995). Officially it wasn't suppose to be released until November 30, 1995 but as fate would have it the boxes were done this time. Indeed the first Marathon 2 box rolled off the production line on November 10, 1995 and was auctioned off in Bungie's Marathon 2 Charity Auction for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Of the three games in the Trilogy, Marathon 2 is generally considered to sit in the "Goldilocks Zone", "neither too hot nor too cold, but just right".  This is largely because its story is more straightforward (linear and less confusing) compared to the other two games. Of course there are those that like the heavy lifting of the first game and the sheer insanity of the last. You see... Marathon caters for everyone except those that don't read so well.   Maybe I Digress Again. It is also sketchy Friday. Since it is Marathon 2: Durandal Day it has to be a Marathon 2 sketch... right? Xavier gives us a series of work in progress sketches of Meowlnir Recon 54 on a planet far, far away.
And the final signed artwork  Meowlnir Recon 54 by Xavier on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. November 9, 2025. A nice homage to the Durandal Chapter screen by Craig Mullins. Sadly we never did get a Minigun in Marathon. Then again it probably would have run out of ammo in less than 7 seconds. Happy Marathon 2: Durandal Day. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #911. Where is the Compiler in Marathon? It's behind you!  BEWARE THE [REDACTED] by Kry.exe (@KryDotExe) on x.com. November 14, 2025. Kry.exe (@KryDotExe) gets into the seasonal spirit with this classic trope. The piece is entitled BEWARE THE [REDACTED]. No NDA infringement here. For those that swear they saw a [REDACTED] on the fringes of Dire Marsh. We say they've been 'smoking the mold' out back, past the Data Wall. There is no [REDACTED] in Marathon... yet! But I digress. What's in the bag?  RUN: [TERMINATED] by HeavyHippo (@bonfireboar.bsky.social) on Bluesky. November 13, 2025. HeavyHippo (@bonfireboar.bsky.social) gives us a rather heavy set Runner in a piece entiteld RUN: [TERMINATED]. The alt text reads: My sona, a hippo, is dressed as 'Blackbird'; one of the "runners" from the new Bungie game "Marathon". Over his shoulder he carries a bag of loot, and walks through a swamp on a distant world. The blue blood of an opponent is splatted across his left side, and drips into the water below.Wait what? Hippos in Marathon? I blame the Bungie WebMaster. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #910. I'm back in the hangar again...  HNGR 96 by Paz (@TheRealQuenny) on x.com. November 11, 2025. Paz (@TheRealQuenny) gives us the secret access route to Hangar 96. The alt text reads: a little sweetie pie hanging around the locked door of some random hangar. Nothing of note to be going on inside said hangar.Indeed.  To quote from Dante's Inferno (Canto III) "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate." Like a bad penny Hangar 96 keeps turning up... beckoning us to enter.  Everyone has their own story about Hangar 96. Here is UNBOUNDCONMᐰN's story: GetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyhead GetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyhead GetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyhead GetoutofmyheadGetoutofmyh...  7777 by UmbratheCyborg on Marathon Discord. June 11, 2024. What's your story? |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #909. And now for something completely different.  See You Starside by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on x.com. November 16, 2025. This is what happens with Halo fans think that Halo is set in the Marathon universe. It was a commissioned piece by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag). Alex writes: commision for @FleshpasteIndeed he loved making it so much he made four alternate versions. Halo was originally set in the Marathon universe. Paul Russel and Marty O'Donnell take up the story of what happened to change this in an audio interview. The tonal shift from "dark sci-fi to happy fun time Joe Staten land" was nicely captured in MandaloreGaming's review of Marathon Infinity (2.5 million views and counting). Marathon Is Darkly Allegorical. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #908. It's MIDA Monday. Time for a story. Back in June/July 2001 a Marathon fan called William Spencer began work on a comic about the Tau Ceti Colony. Here's the cover page for the first chapter entitled "The Colony".
Yes, the Colony's first Mayor was Jason Jones. That's when things started to go wrong. But I'm getting ahead of myself. William wrote: The CRIST terminal gives a good foundation in the world of Marathon - this isn't a happy, optimistic Star Trek world where Earth unites to send people off to cheerfully populate the void, it's a dark and dirty world where contractors and politicians scheme and struggle with an unhappy public. Makes you wonder what kind of missions a U.E. Marine is expected to participate in. Lots of "crowd control" or "peace keeping" missions, I bet. No wonder we shoot BOBs all the time - force of habit.The protagonist in William's comic was Captain Raymond A. Eddings. Eddings was haunted by fragmented memories of previous encounters fought and won, and his role in the Misriah Massacre. As fate would have it only five pages of his Tau Ceti Colony comic were released before mysteriously stopping. Bungie were unavailable for comment. Now here, for the first time on the Story page, are those first five pages. And yes, the comic panels are tiny because everything was tiny back then, just ask your Mom.
Damn BOBs indeed. As Captain Eddings would say... "Any BOB who runs is a MIDA insurgent! Any BOB who stands still, is a well-disciplined MIDA insurgent!"  Martian Insurgents Die Again. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #907. RUN DIE REPEAT. Kry.exe (@KryDotExe) goes all MIDA and it's not even Monday yet.  WHO ARE YOU RUNNING FROM? by Kry.exe (@KryDotExe) on x.com. November 15, 2025. What's it all about? Well the clue(s) are in the image. One wonders if MIDA knew what they were signing up to when they all eagerly joined PROGO and the one-way trip to Palookaville. RUN DIE REPEAT. Candor gets it.  Eulogy by Candor on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. November 12, 2025. For Poster 027 in his Marathon Poster Series Candor (aka Tony Kecman) rips the plaster off Tau Ceti IV and exposes the tru7h behind the lies. RUN DIE REPEAT.   |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #906. Now that it has been confirmed that Ben Starr will voice Durandal in Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon one question remains...  Ben Starr. June 2024. ...will he sing Durandal's song? You know... the one Durandal sings on Blaspheme Quarantine. Sung to the tune of Whirling Death Spike's "Big Blue Orchids, and Wild Blueberries" Blaspheme Quarantine is the level where Durandal kidnaps you and wants to play a game. Good luck in our little game. Unlike Leela, I give no hints.It went on to inspire a movie franchise.  I want to play a game. If you escape the Puzzle Room (with the secret MIDA cache) and are crazy enough to return to it before leaving the level Durandal will sing his song to you. Now before you say Ben Starr doesn't sing... he does.Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. He ain't no slouch, pal. He'll make you smile, Or cry, Like Leela did baby: Airlock love, Big blue orchids, Martian skies, And wild Blueberries. Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. He ain't no slouch, pal. Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. He'll make you ouch, Hal. He's got real guile, Why Lady, Did you have it daily? Airlock Love, No oxygen, Suffocation. Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. Dur-dur-dur-dur-an-dal. He ain't no slouch, pal. He's a fine singer after a few pints and his karaoke is legend. Ben narrated the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley in the Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short, directed by Academy Award-winning animator Alberto Mielgo. The narration is in two parts. See below. Alberto Mielgo was given a lot of creative freedom in making the Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short. Alberto revealed the following about his inspiration: I wrote a short treatment of what I would like to do based on a poem that I like, [Percy Bysshe Shelley's] "Ozymandias," which is a very famous and beautiful poem that actually works very well with the world. ...the basis of the game is this colony that goes so far out and they put so much effort to go far away, as far as nobody else in humankind has ever gone before. And yet they fail, and nobody really knows what happened there. And there is a mystery there. I think that poems are open to interpretation, and in the case of "Ozymandias," the subject matter was very clear. It was very much about the futility of things and how nothing is going to last forever.But back to Durandal's song. The Marathon level 'Blaspheme Quarantine' was created by Greg Kirpatrick. Concerning the level Greg wrote: This is probably one of my fondest levels. There are some challenging fights, a few things to figure out, and some nice looking spaces. I came up with the name because I was daydreaming about being a dog brought into this country.Which explains a lot about Marathon or something. Now Marathon has a cat and Ben Starr. Sounds like the start of whole new movie franchise. So... will Ben Starr sing Durandal's song? An idea.  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #905. It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. Isn't hanging around here getting a little bit boring?  Marathon sketches by AlexZhir (@SANYNOCHKA) on x.com. October 18, 2025. Another Marathon sketch from AlexZhir (@SANYNOCHKA), a Russian Destiny 2 enjoyer. We featured a sketch by AlexZhir back on June 20, 2025. But then the cat ate it.  Cat Munchies by AlexZhir (@SANYNOCHKA) on x.com. October 18, 2025. Now a wanted art criminal.  Cat (crop) by Adam / _Undefined (@adbmakesgames) on x.com. November 4, 2025. Undeterred AlexZhir gives us Marathon smoochies.  Smocchies by AlexZhir (@SANYNOCHKA) on x.com. November 12, 2025. Why so sad?  Why so sad? by AlexZhir (@SANYNOCHKA) on x.com. November 12, 2025. Wait! She's dating Locus now? Marathon Is Duplicitous Ardency. On this not so happy sketchy Friday. Stay smoochy. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #904. What's in a name? Blood Tides of Lh'owon.  Blood Tides of Lh'owon by Paz (@TheRealQuenny) on x.com. November 10, 2025. Paz (@TheRealQuenny) goes all Microsoft Paint with this unworldly view entitled "Blood Tides of Lh'owon". Blood Tides of Lh'owon is the evocative title given to the solo scenario in Marathon Infinity.  According to the Marathon Infinity box "Blood Tides of Lh'owon" is a 20-level scenario. And you may find yourself on a 20-something level. And you may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"  And you may say to yourself, "My God, what have I done?" And you may tell yourself, "Find another path". And you may tell yourself, "Eat the path".There is only one path and that is the path that you take, but you can take more than one path. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. Marathon Infinity was originally codenamed "Extensor". No doubt the result of a recent trip to the local adult store. The title "Marathon Infinity" came from Doug Zartman who wanted the name to convey the idea that you could make it last forever. It was Alex Seropian who came up with the title for the scenario "Blood Tides of Lh'owon". But what did it mean? Who said Marathon wasn't poetic?As the water receded, the red sand of the dead, spread across Lh'owon. Interesting to note that Paz did an earlier piece also entitled "Blood Tides of Lh'owon".  Blood Tides of Lh'owon by Paz (@TheRealQuenny) on x.com. July 20, 2025. It conveys a different meaning to the title. I did this, or I could have stopped it. Which is it? It doesn't matter now. I did this and could have stopped it, but nothing in nature ever follows a gaussian curve. Sure, they'll tell you that it does. They say that every five minutes someone dies in a car accident, but how often are there seven hundred and sixty one armless and legless corpses in one hangar?Marathon Is Devilishly Abstruse |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #903. The red mist descends... WoysfuL (@WoysfuL) gives us another image in their "Red is Dead" series. We're featured previous artwork in this series on November 4, 2025 and October 29, 2025.  NuCaloric New.Contract.Available by WoysfuL (@WoysfuL) on x.com. November 11, 2025. WoysfuL (Call me Yui) gives us the backstory on this piece. Yes, you left Mars for this.//--| New.Contract.Available :: [NuCaloric] |-// A borgar and tick-milk are NuCaloric things. If you are a Zoomer you probably know and care. If you are a Gen X or Y you are probably wondering what they are and should you care? If you are Boomer there are kids on your lawn again.  Marathon Is Dietary Awareness. Marathon Is Divisive Ageism. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #902. Back on July 3, 2025 we featured Outlet (@OutletChief729), a 3D artist and graphic designer in Detroit, United States. Here's that Glitch edit again with the Blade Runner 2049 vibe.  Glitch (edit) by Outlet (@OutletChief729) on x.com. June 29, 2025. Now Outlet is back with Marathon character renders of Blackbird and Locus.
Back on November 4, 2025 we featured a set of posters by Candor (@CandorR6) in the WPA style which captured the feel of the Marathon levels Perimeter and Dire Marsh. You can see them again below.
Now Candor has created a poster for the UESC Marathon level in a similar style.  UESC Marathon by Candor (@CandorR6) on x.com. November 9, 2025. Candor writes: It's the 25th (!!) addition to my Marathon Poster series, and it couldn't be any more appropriate than to finally focus on the namesake of the series.Up next... Outpost? |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #901. It's MIDA Monday. Time for one more story... The last MIDA survivor on Mars.  2472/11/17 - 4.9°S 0°E AUDIO ONLY: Strauss is gone. Whole sky alight as his ship set off. I might be the last MIDA survivor on Mars.  MIDA Survivor by Lamb (@Lambdafallout12) on x.com. May 26, 2021. The gun detected teleports yesterday and I had to move camp. Cannot shake the fear that they will send battleroids; even this AI marvel couldn't save me.  MIDA Survivor: Battleroids by Lamb (@Lambdafallout12) on x.com. June 9, 2021. Shot the ice this morning. The gun fired a thermal round and then a pellet of water purifier. Came out pure and sweet. Marvelous.  MIDA Survivor: Martian Water by Lamb (@Lambdafallout12) on x.com. (June 1, 2021) I've been reading the gun's Encyclopedia Arcana. All about the crash that became Strauss's obsession and hope. "Metastability in the salvaged construct!" Ha ha! Let's hope our ideals too can pass through grief, fury, and envy into a new freedom elsewhere.  Le'marathon Cyborg with the A.I Durandal by Lamb (@Lambdafallout12) on x.com. January 12, 2021. Wonder if the gun heard me when I asked to go somewhere better. Wonder why it led me here. Going to follow its compass tonight. Down below.  MIDA Survivor: The Vexing variable by LLamb (@Lambdafallout12) on x.com. June 16, 2021. The story is of course from the lore tab of MIDA Mini-Tool.  The MIDA lore illustrations are by Lamb (@Lambdafallout12) a UK based sci-fi comic book artist. I took the liberty of adding the 4th illustration as Lamb never illustated the Encyclopedia Arcana part. Mjolnir Recon 54 standing infront of a Durandal terminal fits the text as a form of precognition. The person who wrote the MIDA Mini-Tool lore tab certainly did their homework. The date is accurate and uses the corrected Bungie timeline from the Lost Network Packets. It refers to MIDA, Bernhard Strauss, battleroids, the Crash of Traxus IV, the 'Holy Grail' of cybertonics and the three stages of Rampancy (albeit with different names). It reveals that MIDA were on board the UESC Marathon when it left for Tau Ceti IV and Strauss's obsession and hope. The Martian co-ordinates 4.9°S 0°E are real and places you at the edge of a specific crator. Going down below in-game is a story for another day. The lore tab was written by Seth Dickinson, an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, who worked on the lore for both Destiny and Destiny 2. Here's an excellent audio/visual interpretation of the MIDA Mini-Tool lore by Jack Strider. MIDA Mini-Tool lore by Jack Strider (@strider_au) on x.com. June 29, 2024. Long gone but not forgotten. It's what we do. Mars Is Damnably Arid. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #900. Wow 900 days since the Marathon announcement back on May 24, 2023. That's 2.46 years. Will we reach 1000 days before Marathon release day? But I digress. Marathon is brutal. wownex, a Traxus enjoyer, gives us a warning of how brutal it is.  An example to the others by wownex on r/marathon. November 7, 2025. This evocative piece (some say emotionally appalling) is entitled "An example to the others." Locus crucified on a corporate cross. But the Story page did warn you about this back on July 9, 2023. Back then we featured the cover of Amazing Stories.  Here's the American cover for those that only believe if it's the original.  The cover story is entitled "Blessed are the Murderous". Welcome to the lost colony of Tau Ceti IV. No one gets out alive! Marathon Is Digital Aggression. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #899. Movement! We've got movement! Jack Strider (striderau.bsky.social) gives us an animated Mjolnir Recon 54 ready to save some B.O.Bs. for Leela on The Rose. A Marathon reboot with the voice of B.O.B. Doug Zartman? Jack writes: ...its kitbashed using public alpha assets.Here's a few work in progress images showing the details.
A close up of a military Mjolnir Mark IV harness complete with identity tag. Try it.  Mjolnir Recon 54 harness by Jack Strider on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. September 15, 2025. An early location shot on the Marathon.  Rec Room #5 by Jack Strider on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. September 21, 2025. Jack writes: nowhere near finished yet but i'm remaking Rec Room #5 from The Rose and turning it into an ice rink.Rec Room #5? Yes, it's big, it's fun and it's full of Hulks on ice. Way better than PWS Holo-Fun Park.  As the map writing say... NEVER STOP FIRING. Yes, the UESC Marathon is a barrel of laughs. Just ask the original Marine.  Marathon Is Deadly Amusing. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #898. It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. First up... T4tersalad gives us Sergeant Eddings as the Security Officer in a sketch entitled The Waves.  The Waves by T4tersalad on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. October 28, 2025. T4tersalad writes: a little something I drew at a drawing meetupMarathoners Anonymous has a drawing meetup every Friday. Marathoners Anonymous group therapy tru7h circle. But I digress. Sergeant Eddings was part of an eight man Special Forces Team sent to kill a dreaming god in Bungie's game Pathways Into Darkness. Seven of the team had first names but Sergeant Eddings did not. Jason Jones, who created Pathways Into Darkness, would later say it was a mistake to name the player character. Jason wrote: the pathways hintbook was written by a friend of mine, and i wasn't closely involved in the project. we thought it'd be a cool idea to write the hintbook like it was the journal of the hero of pathways, written after the fact. i think we made several mistakes, naming the player character being one of them, but the overall effect was something like we intended.Note that 2472 was the year the UESC Marathon embarked on its 300 year voyage to Tau Ceti IV. Hidden onboard, in cryo storage, was all of the destructive knowledge of mankind. Ten cyborgs. But I digress. Fast-forward to 2893 and DuckWyrm gives a NuMarathon doodle that I like to think is a detective story.  NuMarathon doodle by DuckWyrm on the Official Marathon Discord. October 26, 2025. DuckWyrm writes: Been doodling in my free time just to kill time while waiting for a key. I will probably scan it in and digitize it sometime later, since it is easier to make changes. A lot of this was just throwing stuff on paper, just to get it out there. Definitely a fun aesthetic to mess around with.Can you see the crime? Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #897. Back on October 21, 2025 we asked "What happended to Jack Strider?" Well Jack (striderau.bsky.social) is back with another atmospheric Marathon piece. "Once again, Jones, what was briefly yours is now mine."  what to save and throw away by Jack Strider (striderau.bsky.social) on Bluesky. November 4, 2025. The alt text reads: Thief stands in the foreground, surrounded by mist and smoke - she holds a small coin-like object in her right hand, her eyes piercing through it like a sword. Holding her rifle in her left hand, its held low - all her attention focused into this little thing.Remember where we left off...  Thief now has Void's colony artifact.  Void liked it. It spoke to him. But in Marathon... "You keep what you kill."  Void portrait by Maximiliano Moretto (aka mx_mott) on Instagram. April 20, 2025. This excellent Void portrait is by Maximiliano Moretto (mx_mott on Instagram). Maximiliano also shot a Void portrait process video on YouTube. You can also see it below. So sit back, enjoy the music and watch a Master at work. Marathon Void Portrait Painting Process by Maximiliano Moretto (aka mx_mott) on YouTube. April 20, 2025. Marathon Inspires Digital Artistry. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #896. Better Red than Dead.  So with Roger Clark, voice actor for Red Dead Redemption 2's Arthur Morgan, joining the voice cast for Marathon it shouldn't be too long before we see that other character from Red Dead Redemption reprising his role as a dispenser of wisdom on Tau Ceti.  If I had a dollar for every time someone said there is a character called Hamish Sinclair in Red Dead Redemption I could afford the Ultimate Edition of Marathon. Emmet, the creator of the above meme, warned us of the danger of giving Marathon players guns long before NuMarathon was announced.  Airsoft poster by emmet_xrcmiy3 on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. February 9, 2023. No this isn't paintball. On the subject of paint this Thief artwork by Taigamoth (@Taigamoth.bsky.social) caught my attention.  Thief by Taigamoth (@Taigamoth.bsky.social) on Bluesky. October 31, 2025. Has a watercolor look to it. Very nice and refeshingly different. Taigamoth is a self taught artist and a big fan of Destiny. Marathon Is Destiny Again. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #895. Candor (@CandorR6) continues his Marathon poster series with two WPA style pieces.
Candor (aka Tony Kecman) is a freelance Graphic Designer in Boston. We've featured his work on the Story page a number of times, most recently on October 26, 2025. About the above artwork Tony writes: A bit of a location study, trying to pull landmarks in the style of the U.S. National Parks' illustration collection!The U.S. National Parks illustrations typically use the WPA style which features bold colors, strong graphic lines, and often a vintage or retro feel. The aim is not to slavishly replicate a scene but rather capture its feel. Tony nicely captures Perimeter's vertical heights and Dire Marsh's misty eeriness. Great to see Marathon in this style as it is refeshingly different. Looking forward to seeing the next two levels, Outpost and  , in this style.
In other news... A week ago we opined that "Marathon was brutal" and used an image by WoysfuL (@WoysfuL) as evidence in the case of Solo Runners vs. Bungie Inc. Now WoysfuL is back with another "Red is Dead" image.  UESC out of ammo by WoysfuL (@WoysfuL) on x.com. November 2, 2025. WoysfuL writes: Oh no, he's out of ammo... RUUUUN!!!If you have played Marathon solo you know that it is hard. So hard even the UESC droids laugh at you. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #894. It's MIDA Monday. The one they call Professor X gives us a Furry MIDA Runner.  MIDA hacked runner bot Felini by Xavier on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. September 24, 2025. If Furries are good enough for the X-Men they are certainly good enough for Marathon, right? Xavier writes: i wanted to pair my catboy secoff with a numarathon counterpart using felini, but i thought itd be fun to take the numarathon one entirely seriously. legit MIDA hacked runner bot Felini next to sassy scantily clad catboy secoff. more to come."secoff" is furry speak for Security Officer. We featured his "sassy scantily clad catboy secoff" (aka Meowlnir Recon 54) back on September 12, 2025. Xavier continues: i was worried about making the pink work with anything else at all but it works pretty well with the mida neon green  MIDA hacked runner bot Felini by Xavier on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. September 24, 2025. Why turn Felini into a bipedal MIDA Runner?  Xavier explains: I wanted to turn Felini into a runner but I wanted to try and make something more fitting to the setting, so a weird kinda kitbashed MIDA drone made sense as a means of getting that cat bipedal
Marathon Devs stay silent on the subject of a Furry MIDA Runner. But Marketing know that if your game/movie doesn't cater for furries then it is not reaching its widest marketing audience. With ten million furries in North America alone, if one tenth of one tenth buy Marathon how many copies will be sold?  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #893. Here comes... T-R-O-U-B-L-E. You know when one of these arrives you're going to need a bigger gun. The animation is by Carson Reed (@cinemamotionss) an Atlanta based cinematographer and vfx artist. It's a test piece for a larger project he is working on. Here's an earlier animation of a UESC droid. We featured Carson's Thief model back on June 16, 2025 Here's a Blackbird model he did.  Blackbird by Carson Reed (@cinemamotionss) on x.com. October 17, 2025. This is a slow burner project. Carson wrote: I've got a few projects in the works right now that've taken my attention away but I'll be back.Hopefully we will get to see the final product... soon™ Today's news was sponsored by the...  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #892. A new month. But what happened last month? Well here's a snapshot of what we featured. What did you miss?
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Last updated Nov 30, 2025