The upcoming Blood Moon Halloween event will introduce the Celestial powerset to Champions Online, and Cryptic recently released the first power of the set as a preview of things to come. Radiance is an energy builder that "fires bolts of dimensional energy at your target, healing your friends and destroying your foes." More powers will be added to the list as as the release of the set gets closer.

Speaking of Blood Moon, which is scheduled to launch sometime this month, Cryptic has posted an article that sheds light on the lore surrounding the event. Thirteen heroes who died during Battle of Detroit are back as zombies to serve Takeofanes, the Turakian Lord of the Undying. Players will need to take on Vanguard, Fadion, Eclipse, Firefight, Tiger, Nimbus, Vigil, Johnny Hercules, Amazing Grace, Crusher, Flechette, Shadowboxer and the Goblin during the event. More details can be found after the jump.

The dead are rising. Werewolves are running rampant. And vampires have emerged from the shadows, hungry for the blood of innocents. All around the world, from the hustling metropolis of Millennium City to the most far-off and fantastic corners of the world, strange, twisted and terrible things are happening. A Blood Moon hangs eerily in the sky, and soon the entire universe of Champions Online will feel its uncanny and unsettling effects.

Zombies. Vampires. Werewolves. Halloween is coming, and we pulled out all the stops to bring the holiday's thrills and chills to the four-color superheroic universe of Champions Online. But then we took a long hard look and thought, "How can we make this even cooler?"

The answer? Zombie superheroes.

The whys and hows and wheres were easy. Surely one of the biggest events in all of Champions history is the Battle of Detroit, a battle that took place nearly twenty years ago, where the heroes of the day banded together against the greatest menace the world had ever known: the genocidal supervillain known as Doctor Destroyer.

It was a fight that had devastating, lasting consequences. Detroit was destroyed that day. The great and grand Millennium City was built on its ashes. Destroyer was routed, presumed dead, (though there has been evidence recently his death may have been greatly exaggerated.) And, in defeating the great Destroyer, many, many brave and noble heroes lost their lives.

Until today. Until the Blood Moon.

Thirteen of the greatest heroes the universe has ever known are back. Undead and enslaved, they serve the Turakian Lord of the Undying, the arch lich known as Takofanes. And Takofanes has but one order: "Kill the living, so that my army of the dead can grow."

And, so, from the rich tapestry of Champions lore, we've plucked thirteen heroes who fell during that pivotal moment in Champions history and granted them new life—unholy new unlife.

There is Vanguard, who, in his day, was the most powerful superhero on the planet. Today he is the most powerful zombie.

There is Radion, the radioactive creation of Dr. Destroyer who turned on his master, only to die at his hand. Eclipse, who claimed to be a sentient sunspot. Firefight, who got his powers during a blaze in a chemical warehouse. Tiger, mutated into a man-animal by a prototype serum created by Dr. Moreau. Nimbus, weather witch. The mutant Vigil. Strongman Johnny Hercules. The ethereal Amazing Grace. Crusher. Flechette. Shadowboxer. And the Goblin.

Thirteen of the bravest heroes the world has ever known. Now thirteen of the most lethal zombies who have ever walked the earth. And they are serving a force so powerful, so evil, it rivals even Doctor Destroyer himself.

During the Blood Moon, brave heroes of the modern Champions Universe will have the chance to square off against these zombie heroes. Ambitious heroes will have the opportunity to take on all thirteen.

And after they succeed, they can prove their selflessness and nobility, descending into the crypts of Takofanes, and freeing the captive spirits of these heroes from Takofanes' malevolent control.

Of course, there is still the question of what caused the Blood Moon, and what compelled Takofanes to attack when he did. That's a mystery for another day, but there are plenty of hints. Takofanes warns that an Apocalypse is coming, and his undead onslaught is just the first volley in a final war that threatens to engulf and consume all of the Earth.

And what is this Apocalypse Takofanes refers to? That answer will come sooner than you think.

In the meantime, enjoy the Blood Moon. Enjoy it… and do your best to survive it!