1.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
2.
West Germany
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West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
3.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
4.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
5.
British people
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British people, or Britons, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown dependencies, and their descendants. British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, although early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the creation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity. The notion of Britishness was forged during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and the First French Empire, and developed further during the Victorian era, because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by unionists. Modern Britons are descended mainly from the ethnic groups that settled in the British Isles in and before the 11th century, Prehistoric, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse. The British are a diverse, multi-national and multicultural society, with regional accents, expressions. Although none of his own writings remain, writers during the time of the Roman Empire made much reference to them, the group included Ireland, which was referred to as Ierne inhabited by the different race of Hiberni, and Britain as insula Albionum, island of the Albions. The term Pritani may have reached Pytheas from the Gauls, who used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands. Greek and Roman writers, in the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, name the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland as the Priteni, the origin of the Latin word Britanni. It has been suggested that name derives from a Gaulish description translated as people of the forms. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, the term Britannia persisted as the Latin name for the island, during the Middle Ages, and particularly in the Tudor period, the term British was used to refer to the Welsh people and Cornish people. At that time, it was the held belief that these were the remaining descendants of the ancient Britons. This notion was supported by such as the Historia Regum Britanniae. Wales and Cornwall, and north, i. e. Cumbria, Strathclyde and this legendary Celtic history of Great Britain is known as the Matter of Britain. The indigenous people of the British Isles have a combination of Celtic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, oppenheimer continues that the majority of the people of the British Isles share genetic commonalities with the Basques, ranging from highs of 90% in Wales to lows of 66% in East Anglia. Oppenheimers opinion is that. by far the majority of male gene types in the British Isles derive from Iberia, ranging from a low of 59% in Fakenham, Norfolk to highs of 96% in Llangefni, north Wales. The English had been unified under a single state in 937 by King Athelstan of Wessex after the Battle of Brunanburh. However, historian Simon Schama suggested that it was Edward I of England who was responsible for provoking the peoples of Britain into an awareness of their nationhood in the 13th century
6.
Evangeline Lilly
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Nicole Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress and author. She won a Screen Actors Guild Award and received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC series Lost and she is also best known for her roles as Tauriel in The Hobbit, Hope van Dyne in Ant-Man and Connie James in The Hurt Locker. Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and raised in British Columbia by her mother and her father and her father was raised in Nigeria, as her paternal grandparents were missionaries in Africa. Lilly has English and Irish ancestry, one of her grandmothers was an English war bride, Lilly graduated from W. J. Mouat Secondary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia, where she played soccer and was vice-president of the student council. While in college, she worked as a waitress, did oil changes and grease jobs on big rig trucks and she grew up Christian and her faith influenced her decision to take part in a three-week mission trip to the Philippines when she was 18. Her interest in causes and global development led her to major in International Relations at the University of British Columbia. Lillys acting career began when she was discovered by a Ford Modeling Agency agent while walking the streets of Kelowna and she took the agents business card but did not immediately pursue acting. She eventually called and the agency landed her several roles in commercials and non-speaking parts in the TV shows Smallville, Lilly was encouraged to audition for Lost by a friend and she did not expect to get cast. Around 75 women auditioned for the part of Kate Austen, writer and co-creator Damon Lindelof said that he and executive producer and co-creator J. J. Abrams were fast-forwarding through a tape, and he saw her and said, Thats the girl. The character almost had to be recast, as Lilly had trouble acquiring a visa to enter the United States. Her application was accepted after nearly 20 tries and she arrived in Hawaii for filming one day late. Lost ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2010, Lilly appeared in 108 of the shows 121 episodes, and her character, Kate Austen, was the shows female lead. Entertainment Weekly voted Lilly one of its Breakout Stars of 2004, in 2006, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Lead Actress-Drama. Robert Bianco of USA Today praised Lillys performance in the episode Eggtown, in 2007, Lillys portrayal was voted #1 Sexiest Woman on Television by TV Guide and made FHMs Top Sexiest. Evangeline was voted one of People Magazines 50 Most Beautiful People, after shooting the final episode of Lost, Lilly said she was considering taking a break from acting to focus on her charity and humanitarian efforts. She told Vulture, I consider acting a day job — its not my dream and she says she uses her high-profile roles to further her humanitarian efforts, not to achieve stardom. In 2008, Lilly appeared in the Academy Award-winning film The Hurt Locker and she and the rest of the cast won the Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast and the Washington D. C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble, Lilly followed this role with a leading part in psychological thriller film Afterwards
7.
The Lord of the Rings (film series)
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The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, the films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. They were distributed by New Line Cinema, each film in the series also had special extended editions released on DVD a year after their respective theatrical releases. While the films follow the general storyline, they do omit some of the novels plot elements and include some additions to. The Fellowship eventually splits up and Frodo continues the quest together with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin, the series was a major financial success, with the films collectively being among the highest-grossing film series of all time. The films were acclaimed and heavily awarded, winning 17 out of 30 total Academy Award nominations. The series received praise for its innovative special and visual effects. Director Peter Jackson first came into contact with The Lord of the Rings when he saw Ralph Bakshis 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings, Jackson enjoyed the film and wanted to know more. Afterwards, he read an edition of the book during a twelve-hour train journey from Wellington to Auckland when he was seventeen. In 1995, Jackson was finishing The Frighteners and considered The Lord of the Rings as a new project, with the new developments in computer-generated imagery following Jurassic Park, Jackson set about planning a fantasy film that would be relatively serious and feel real. Negotiations then stalled when Universal Studios offered Jackson a remake of King Kong, Weinstein was furious, and further problems arose when it turned out Zaentz did not have distribution rights to The Hobbit, United Artists, which was in the market, did. By April 1996, the question was still not resolved. It was also revealed that Jackson originally wanted to finish King Kong before The Lord of the Rings began, but due to location problems, he decided to start with The Lord of the Rings franchise instead. When Universal cancelled King Kong in 1997, Jackson and Walsh immediately received support from Weinstein, Jackson and Walsh asked Costa Botes to write a synopsis of the book and they began to re-read the book. Two to three months later, they had written their treatment, Bilbo attends the Council of Elrond, Sam looks into Galadriels mirror, Saruman is redeemed before he dies and the Nazgûl just make it into Mount Doom before they fall. They presented their treatment to Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the latter of whom they focused on impressing with their screenwriting as he had not read the book and they agreed upon two films and a total budget of $75 million. During mid-1997, Jackson and Walsh began writing with Stephen Sinclair, sinclairs partner, Philippa Boyens, was a major fan of the book and joined the writing team after reading their treatment
8.
Lost (TV series)
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Lost is an American television drama series that originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company from September 22,2004, to May 23,2010, over six seasons, comprising a total of 121 episodes. Lost is a series containing elements of science fiction and the supernatural. It follows the survivors of the crash of a passenger jet. The story is told in a serialized manner. Episodes typically feature a storyline set on the island, augmented by flashback or flashforward sequences which provide additional insight into the involved character. Lost was created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, who share story-writing credits for the pilot episode, which Abrams directed. Throughout the shows run, Lindelof and Carlton Cuse served as showrunners and head writers, working together with a large number of other executive producers and writers. Due to its ensemble cast and the cost of filming primarily on location in Oahu, Hawaii. Having achieved both wide acclaim and commercial success throughout its run, Lost has been consistently ranked by critics as one of the greatest television dramas of all time. The first season garnered an average of 16 million viewers per episode on ABC. During its sixth and final season, the show averaged over 11 million U. S. viewers per episode, users of IMDb. com Pro gave Lost the highest average ranking for any television series during the first ten years of that websites operation. Season 1 begins with the aftermath of a crash, which leaves the surviving passengers of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 on what seems to be an uninhabited tropical island. Jack Shephard, a doctor, becomes their leader and their survival is threatened by a number of mysterious entities, including polar bears, an unseen creature that roams the jungle, and the islands malevolent inhabitants known as The Others. They encounter a French woman named Danielle Rousseau, who was shipwrecked on the island 16 years before the story and is desperate for news of a daughter named Alex. They also find a metal hatch buried in the ground. While two survivors, Locke and Boone, try to force the hatch open, four others, Michael, Jin, Walt, meanwhile, flashbacks centered on individual survivors detail their lives prior to the plane crash. Season 2 follows the conflict between the survivors and the Others and continues the theme of the clash between faith and science, while resolving old mysteries and posing new ones. The four survivors in the raft are ambushed by the Others, the survivors are forced to return to the island, where they find the tail-section survivors
9.
Superhero film
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Most superhero movies are based on superhero comics. Almost immediately after superheroes rose to prominence in comic books, they were adapted into Saturday film serials aimed at children, serials such as Adventures of Captain Marvel, Batman, The Phantom, Captain America, and Superman followed. Another early superhero film was Ōgon Bat, a Japanese film starring Sonny Chiba based on the 1930 Kamishibai superhero Ōgon Bat, other successful entries emerged throughout the 1980s, from Richard Lesters Superman II and Paul Verhoevens Robocop to Tim Burtons Batman. Marvel Comics Captain America did not have a release and Roger Cormans The Fantastic Four was released neither theatrically nor on home video. Alex Proyas The Crow became the first independent comics superhero film that established a franchise, the success of The Crow catalyzed the release of a film version of Spawn, Image Comics leading character. The success of the darker Image Comics characters shifted the direction of comic book movies, Marvel soon released their films to become franchises, Men in Black and Blade. After Marvel bought Malibu Comics, Marvel and Columbia Pictures released the Men in Black film, the film became the first Marvel property to win an Oscar and the then highest-grossing comic book adaptation until the release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002. Blade was also a mix of a traditional action film as well as darker superhero film with the title character having superpowers as well as carrying an arsenal of weaponry. The success of Blade began Marvels film success, and set the stage for further comic film adaptations. The success of the X-Men TV series had made 20th Century Fox license the rights in 1994. After the success of Men in Black in 1997, Columbia Pictures licensed the rights of Spider-Man in 1999. 20th Century Foxs X-Men became a franchise by its surprise hit. Later, one of the largest blockbusters of all time was released with Sam Raimis Spider-Man. One, Krrish 3, several non-action film oriented superhero films were released in the 2000s with varying ranges of success. Brad Birds The Incredibles for Pixar was a critically acclaimed digitally-animated family oriented superhero film, other hybrids include Sky High and Zoom which were fusions of the superhero and family film genres, My Super Ex-Girlfriend a combination of superhero film and a romantic comedy. Some series from the current and previous decades were also re-released, such as Superman II, bryan Singers Superman Returns is unique due to the fact that it is a sequel to the first two Superman films, yet also a reboot to the third and fourth films. The 2010s has generally continued the success of superhero films seen in the previous decade. In 2010, Matthew Vaughns adaption of Kick-Ass was released, followed by Iron Man 2 a month later,2011 releases included The Green Hornet, Green Lantern, and X-Men, First Class. Following references to the Avengers Initiative in the Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk, Marvel released Thor on May 6,2011, followed by Captain America, the Avengers broke the box office record as the highest-grossing superhero film of all time
10.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
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X-Men Origins, Wolverine is a 2009 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the installment and the first spinoff of the standalone Wolverine trilogy from the X-Men film series. The film was directed by Gavin Hood, written by David Benioff and Skip Woods and it co-stars Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan and Ryan Reynolds. The film is a prequel/spin-off focusing on the violent past of the mutant Wolverine, the film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand, with Canada also serving as a location. Filming took place from January to May 2008, a second Wolverine film titled The Wolverine was released in 2013 to positive reviews and much greater success. In 1845, James Howlett, a boy living in Canada, the trauma activates the boys mutation, bone claws protrude from his knuckles, and he impales Thomas, who reveals that he is Jamess real father before dying. James flees along with Thomass other son Victor Creed, who is thus Jamess half-brother and has a healing factor mutation like James and they spend the next century as soldiers, fighting in the American Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, the increasingly violent Victor attempts to rape a Vietnamese woman, James happens upon the fight and defends Victor, resulting in the pair being sentenced to execution by firing squad, which they survive due to their mutant healing abilities. Major William Stryker approaches them in custody and offers them membership in Team X, a group of mutants including Agent Zero, Wade Wilson, John Wraith, Fred Dukes. They join the team for a few years, with James now using the alias Logan, but Victor, six years later, Logan is working as a lumberjack in Canada, where he lives with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox. Stryker and Zero approach Logan at work, Stryker reports that Wade and Bradley have been killed, and he thinks someone is targeting the teams members. Logan refuses to rejoin Stryker, but after finding Kaylas bloodied body in the woods and he finds him at a local bar, but Logan loses the subsequent fight. Afterward, Stryker explains that Victor has gone rogue, and offers Logan a way to become strong enough to get his revenge, Logan undergoes a painful operation to reinforce his skeleton with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal. Zero kills them the morning and tries to kill Logan. Logan locates John and Fred at a boxing club, Fred explains that Victor is still working for Stryker, hunting down mutants for Stryker to experiment on at his new laboratory, located at a place called The Island. Fred mentions Remy Gambit LeBeau, the one who escaped from the island. John and Logan find LeBeau in New Orleans, then both fight Victor, who kills John and extracts his DNA, agreeing to help release mutants that Stryker has captured, Gambit takes Logan to Strykers facility on Three Mile Island. Logan learns that Kayla is alive, having been coerced by Stryker into surveilling him in exchange for her sisters safety
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