Writer/editor Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil, famed for writing superhero icons like Batman, Green Lantern, the Justice League and the X-Men, died Thursday night in his home at the age of 81. Via Games Radar, the news was confirmed by O'Neil's family, who said he died of natural causes. O'Neil had a long and prolific career in the comic book industry, including early jobs writing The X-Men and Doctor Strange. O'Neil followed Charlton editor Dick Giordano to DC Comics in 1968, a career boost that led to a number of major, influential writing gigs (albeit under the pseudonym "Sergius O'Shaughnessy"). O'Neil may be best known for his collaborations with artist Neal Adams. The duo helped dramatically revamp the Batman line in the aftermath of the 1966 TV series, returning the Caped Crusader and his villains to their darker roots and introducing pivotal new characters like Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul and Leslie Thompkins. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-most-iconic-comic-book-covers-of-all-time&captions=true"] Adams and O'Neil also made waves on Green Lantern/Green Arrow, a series that paired the two philosophically opposed heroes and dealt with a number of hot-button political topics. Most notably, the series stirred up controversy in 1971's Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85, with a now iconic cover image featuring Oliver Queen's sidekick Speedy abusing heroin (you can find that cover in the gallery above). After returning to Marvel in 1980, O'Neil enjoyed influential runs on books like The Amazing Spider-Man, co-creating characters like Madame Web and Hydro-Man, and The Invincible Iron Man, where he co-created Tony Stark's rival Obadiah Stane, penned the iconic "Demon in a Bottle" storyline and had James Rhodes temporarily take over the Iron Man mantle. O'Neil even had a hand in developing the mythology of the Transformers toy line (which, like G.I. Joe, was greatly fleshed out in the accompanying Marvel series) and is credited with naming Optimus Prime. O'Neil also had a major impact on the comics industry as an editor, presiding over Frank Miller's legendary Daredevil series and later serving as group editor on the Batman line from 1986 to 2000. During this period O'Neil oversaw a number of seminal storylines like the death of second Robin Jason Todd, Batman's defeat by Bane in Knightfall and the massive No Man's Land crossover. O'Neil continued to write during this period, penning a critically acclaimed revamp of The Question with artist Denys Cowan and co-creating the vigilante anti-hero Azrael. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/01/30/what-could-the-batman-be-about"] O'Neil leaves behind a powerful legacy. Fellow Batman writer Tom King is among numerous comic creators paying tribute to O'Neil on social media:

Denny O’Neil made timeless comics by making comics about his time. The revolutions of the 60s, the excesses of the 70s, the corruption of the 80s, the facades of the 90s—he used super hero tropes as brushstrokes to paint a picture of who we are and who we could be. RIP. pic.twitter.com/eWwI6tfnrp

— Tom King (@TomKingTK) June 12, 2020

O'Neil is survived by his wife Marifran and his son, writer/director Lawrence O'Neil. Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Sony has finally revealed the PS5 design and the internet has reacted accordingly. The reveal, which happened during PlayStation's Future of Gaming event, finally showed off the PS5's design, which included a mostly white outer shell, black hardware section, and some blue lighting elements. The unconventional PS5 design quickly launched the internet into a meme frenzy. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/playstation-5-official-console-reveal-ps5-reveal-event"]

The One Console to Rule Them All

We asked Twitter what the PS5 looks like and Twitter replied in true form: [caption id="attachment_2364741" align="alignnone" width="720"] @NIL66CAT thinks the console looks like Sauron's Tower from Lord of the Rings. One does not simply meme the PS5?[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364742" align="alignnone" width="720"] @Johnson201R thinks the console looks like something tasty from Taco Bell. Mmm all that crunchy goodness.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364743" align="alignnone" width="720"] @Unbeatenobj thinks the new PS5 looks like Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh! We see the resemblance. Blue eyes, white dragon.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_2364744" align="alignnone" width="720"] @MacedoCaio96 likens the PS5 to Dubai Tower. Yes, but can Tom Cruise scale the side of the PS5? Time will tell.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364745" align="alignnone" width="720"] @livingichigo think the PS5 looks like a previous PlayStation console with a white binder wrapped around it. Binder? Trapper Keeper? Yup. See it.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364746" align="alignnone" width="720"] The PS5 reminds @Superbowlpants of Eve from Wall-E. Okay, now that's just too cute.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364747" align="alignnone" width="720"] Another tasty treat comparison, this time from @JMXD96. Please don't try and pull apart your PS5s. Heh.[/caption] All memeing aside, the PS5 looks pretty cool. What did you think of the PS5 event and the console reveal? Let us know in the comments below or send us a video response through Yappa! The PlayStation 5 is currently scheduled to be released during the Holiday season of 2020. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=playstation-5-console-dualsense-and-accessories&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Lauren Gallaway is a Social Media Coordinator for IGN. She is very excited to play Horizon Forbidden West on the PS5. Find her tweeting at @LaurenGallaway and streaming at Glimpse Entertainment on Twitch.

Deathloop got a first gameplay trailer yesterday, and developer Arkane has now released a glut of concept art for the game, featuring characters, weapons and locations from the action-packed immersive sim. To celebrate its 20th birthday, Arkane previously released a free digital artbook (which you can grab by signing up to its Outsiders fan community). Today, Arkane added a number of Deathloop concept images to that artbook. You can see them all below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=deathloop-20-concept-art-images-characters-weapons-locations&captions=true"] Aside from new posters of warring lead characters Colt and Julianna, the images give us a look at multiple areas of Blackreef Island, where both are locked in a violence-filled time loop. We also get a look at the game's '60s dystopian aesthetic, from its architecture, to its spiffy weponry, and even its musical instruments. We also see to get a name for the inhabitants of Blackreef, whose never-ending party revolves around killing Colt over and over again - the Eternalists. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/deathloop-gameplay-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] We got our first real details on Deathloop at the PS5 reveal event - most notably that the game's single-player campaign will see you play as Colt, hunting for a way to break out of the loop, but a multiplayer mode will allow you to take on the role of Julianna and invade other players' games. The game is a timed exclusive on PS5, and will also be released on PC. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Update: EA has confirmed Star Wars Squadrons will get its first reveal trailer on Monday, June 15 at 8 am PT/11 am ET.

Pilots Wanted. Tune in for the reveal trailer of #StarWarsSquadrons this Monday, June 15th at 8:00 AM Pacific Time: https://t.co/ULwkIhQy2y pic.twitter.com/L0Z3jC2c3j

— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) June 12, 2020

[poilib element="accentDivider"] A new Star Wars game titled Star Wars: Squadrons leaked online this morning thanks to an early listing on Microsoft's Xbox website. The new game appears to be a new starfighter game possibly related to the Rogue Squadron series. The store listing featured the tag, "Pilots wanted" further suggesting that Star Wars: Squadrons is a pilot game. Reports say that this is the mysterious Star Wars: Project Maverick that leaked on PSN earlier this year. The leaked art for Star Wars: Squadrons shows both an imperial Tie-Fighter pilot and Rebel Pilot, and the two sides engaging in combat. If this is the rumored Project Maverick that would mean this is one of EA Motive's rumored Star Wars projects. Motive's previous Star Wars experience includes developing the single-player campaign for Star Wars: Battlefront 2. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-star-wars-game-review&captions=true"] EA is set to host its own digital EA Play next week on June 18, which could be an opportunity to fully reveal Star Wars: Squadrons. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Update: Insomniac has confirmed that Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be a standalone game. Speaking to Bloomberg News, a developer source clarified that it would not be full sequel, but comparable in scope to other 'expandalones' such as Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

NEWS: Spider-Man Miles Morales is *not* an expansion or enhancement or remaster, despite a Sony executive's comments this morning, a source tells Bloomberg News. Nor is it Spider-Man 2. It is a brand-new, standalone game similar in scope to Uncharted Lost Legacy.

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) June 12, 2020

This update originally stated a Sony spokesperson told Bloomberg that the game would be a smaller standalone. That was incorrect, and we apologise for the error. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Marvel's Spider-man: Miles Morales was taken by many to be a full sequel to Insomniac's first Spider-man game, but it is in fact "an expansion and an enhancement to the previous game." Speaking to The Telegraph (and spotted by VGC), Sony's VP head of European Business, Simon Rutter explained: "I guess you could call it an expansion and an enhancement to the previous game. There’s a substantial Miles Morales component – which is the expansion element – but also within the game as well there’s been major enhancements to the game and the game engine, obviously deploying some of the major PlayStation 5 technology and features.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/spider-man-miles-morales-announcement-trailer-ps5-event"] It remains a little unclear exactly what form this expansion will take. Rutter's language makes it sound as though Marvel's Spider-Man could receive a full remaster on PS5 (as hinted at in early showings of the console to press), with a major new component starring Miles Morales. However, it may be that this is a standalone expansion that builds on the mechanics and engine of the original, in the vein of Uncharted: Lost Legacy or Infamous: First Light. It's also unclear whether this means the Miles Morales content will come to PS4. We've contacted Sony for comment. Spider-Man: Miles Morales was announced at yesterday's PS5 reveal event, which revealed a swathe of next-gen games, not to mention the unconventional design of the PlayStation 5, and its newly-revealed digital edition. Miles Morales was one of two new projects announced by Insomniac yesterday - we also saw Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart revealed. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

PlayStation 5's unconventional design was created to look good as part of a living area in a home, says Sony Interactive Entertainment president, Jim Ryan. The curved, two-tone look of the console has become a point of debate since the PS5 design reveal yesterday. Speaking to the BBC, Ryan said: "The PlayStation sits in the living area of most homes, and we kind of felt it would be nice to provide a design that would really grace most living areas. That's what we've tried to do. And, you know, we think we've been successful in that." The idea, seemingly, is to create a console that looks as much like furniture, or an ornament as it does a piece of standard consumer electronics. Speaking separately to CNET, Ryan said that the design was purposely "bold and daring", and that the company wanted something forward facing and future facing, something for the 2020s." He also made clear that the white-and-black console is its launch design, seemingly ruling out other colour choices. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=27fd2f7f-dac8-48a4-b65f-c7246762b494"] Ryan reconfirmed to the BBC that the only physical difference between the 'regular' PS5 and the new Digital Edition is the lack of a disc drive, and reiterated that there would be no news on a price for the console (or if there would be a difference in price bwteen the two models). He did, however, make clear that the two different models were designed as a way to offer better choice for buyers: "Many of our consumers are purchasing solely digitally these days. We thought that we would do what we typically try and do, and just offer choice." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=playstation-5-and-playstation-5-digital-edition-console-design-images&captions=true"] The PS5 console reveal was shown off alongside a suite of new accessories designed to complement the base unit. And, of course, we got our first look at over two dozen PS5 games during the show. The hosts of our PS5 podcast, Beyond! were wowed by the presentation. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.  

An in-development build of Ubisoft's Gods & Monsters seemingly leaked on to Google Stadia last night, with players posting a series of gameplay clips to Reddit. We were first brought to this leak's attention by user TheMoonsaults, who posted a clip of Gods and Monsters gameplay to the Google Stadia subreddit. It looks like the game appeared under the codename Orpheus for a limited time on the Google Stadia app, before quickly being taken down. This didn't stop some fortunate players from playing and capturing footage first, some of which you can check out in the embedded tweet below. Of course, bear in mind that this early build clearly was never meant to be shown to the public - a lot of the footage features placeholder assets, and its menus look grafted wholesale from Ubisoft's other Grecian open-world game, Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Gods and Monsters gameplay footage leaked through #GoogleStadia pic.twitter.com/VXG8igc1uV

— Ayofamz_21 (@ayofamz) June 11, 2020

The game appears to feature a stamina bar for climbing which is very similar to the one used in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We can also hear legendary poet Homer narrating the experience in this clip, describing a character called Fenyx who could be the protagonist of Gods and Monsters. One of the contracts shown in this clip is offering a reward for taking on The Erinyes, deities of vengeance from Greek myth. We also get a glimpse at a placeholder for Hermes, who talks about bringing other gods to the 'Hall Of the Gods' where many of these clips are set. Previously, we had only seen a cinematic trailer for Gods and Monsters, though this could change quickly as we approach the Ubisoft Forward conference, which is set to air on July 12th. In other Ubisoft news, the studio has confirmed that it plans to release five AAA games between Late 2021 and early 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

An in-development build of Ubisoft's Gods & Monsters seemingly leaked on to Google Stadia last night, with players posting a series of gameplay clips to Reddit. We were first brought to this leak's attention by user TheMoonsaults, who posted a clip of Gods and Monsters gameplay to the Google Stadia subreddit. It looks like the game appeared under the codename Orpheus for a limited time on the Google Stadia app, before quickly being taken down. This didn't stop some fortunate players from playing and capturing footage first, some of which you can check out in the embedded tweet below. Of course, bear in mind that this early build clearly was never meant to be shown to the public - a lot of the footage features placeholder assets, and its menus look grafted wholesale from Ubisoft's other Grecian open-world game, Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Gods and Monsters gameplay footage leaked through #GoogleStadia pic.twitter.com/VXG8igc1uV

— Ayofamz_21 (@ayofamz) June 11, 2020

The game appears to feature a stamina bar for climbing which is very similar to the one used in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We can also hear legendary poet Homer narrating the experience in this clip, describing a character called Fenyx who could be the protagonist of Gods and Monsters. One of the contracts shown in this clip is offering a reward for taking on The Erinyes, deities of vengeance from Greek myth. We also get a glimpse at a placeholder for Hermes, who talks about bringing other gods to the 'Hall Of the Gods' where many of these clips are set. Previously, we had only seen a cinematic trailer for Gods and Monsters, though this could change quickly as we approach the Ubisoft Forward conference, which is set to air on July 12th. In other Ubisoft news, the studio has confirmed that it plans to release five AAA games between Late 2021 and early 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Marvel's Spider-man: Miles Morales was taken by many to be a full sequel to Insomniac's first Spider-man game, but it is in fact "an expansion and an enhancement to the previous game." Speaking to The Telegraph (and spotted by VGC), Sony's VP head of European Business, Simon Rutter explained: "I guess you could call it an expansion and an enhancement to the previous game. There’s a substantial Miles Morales component – which is the expansion element – but also within the game as well there’s been major enhancements to the game and the game engine, obviously deploying some of the major PlayStation 5 technology and features.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/12/ps5-games-reveal-event-wowed-us-beyond-episode-649"] It remains a little unclear exactly what form this expansion will take. Rutter's language makes it sound as though Marvel's Spider-Man could receive a full remaster on PS5 (as hinted at in early showings of the console to press), with a major new component starring Miles Morales. However, it may be that this is a standalone expansion that builds on the mechanics and engine of the original, in the vein of Uncharted: Lost Legacy or Infamous: First Light. It's also unclear whether this means the Miles Morales content will come to PS4. We've contacted Sony for comment. Spider-Man: Miles Morales was announced at yesterday's PS5 reveal event, which revealed a swathe of next-gen games, not to mention the unconventional design of the PlayStation 5, and its newly-revealed digital edition. Miles Morales was one of two new projects announced by Insomniac yesterday - we also saw Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart revealed. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Update: Riot Games has told IGN that it has parted ways with Ron Johnson, the executive who posted a Facebook message that placed blame on George Floyd for his own death. In a statement, the League of Legends developer confirmed that "Ron Johnson is no longer employed at Riot Games." The company also reiterated its support for the Black community and highlighted the initiatives it announced to help Black and marginalized game developers. Read Riot's full statement below:

“Ron Johnson is no longer employed at Riot Games.  The sentiment expressed in the image in question is abhorrent and runs directly counter to our values and our belief that addressing systemic racism requires immediate societal change, something that we’re committed to working toward. As we shared last week, Riot is taking thoughtful and deliberate action to help combat racism and injustice in the communities where we work and live. To start, we’re committing $1 million to areas where we know we can make an impact, including justice reform, long-term solutions to address racial bias, and support for local Black-owned businesses. We’re also striving to change the face of our industry and create opportunities, including by investing $10 million in founders underrepresented in the games industry and helping create a future pipeline of underrepresented talent for the gaming and tech world. We know there is much work to be done, and we vow to do our part.”

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Riot Games has announced it is investigating an executive at the company who published a Facebook post that appears to have placed blame on George Floyd for his own death. Ron Johnson, the Global Head of Consumer Products at Riot Games, shared a post on their personal Facebook account about George Floyd which said that “The media and the left have made George Floyd into a martyr. But who was he really?” The post then lists Floyd’s criminal record. Johnson added, “This is no reason to condone his killing by the officer at all, which still needs to be investigated as a potential crime. It is a learning opportunity for people (and your kids) to teach that this type of criminal lifestyle never results in good things happening to you or those around you.” In a statement to Vice, Riot games says, “We’ve been made aware of the social media post and have launched an investigation. We’ll say firmly that the sentiment in that image is abhorrent, against our values, and directly counter to our belief that addressing systemic racism requires immediate social change, which we detailed in the commitments we made Friday. While we don’t discuss the details of our investigations or their outcomes, we’re following our disciplinary process closely and have placed him on leave pending its conclusion.” Riot Games announced that following the nationwide protests after the death of George Floyd, that it would commit $1 million in initial contributions to The Innocence Project and the ACLU. The company also announced it would contribute $10 million towards investing in startup programs for black and underrepresented game developers. Riot previously came under fire after a report chronicled a culture of sexism that let to a $10 million gender discrimination settlement in 2019. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.