Might as well start off 2022 with a bit of Destiny 2 conspiracy theorizing, and this is one that I’m finding particularly fun.
There are a few different elements to this theory which range from plausible, as in I’m almost certain this will be a story development in the next year, to pretty far-reaching.
Here’s the plausible part:
While Destiny 2 has circled back to many “lost” characters in the last year or two, Saint, Uldren and Mara Sov especially, back when Beyond Light hit, Rasputin was shut off like a light switch by the Darkness, and had to be evacuated from Mars in an engram by Ana Bray. Quite the fall from grace for the megapowerful warmind.
But, we know from the lore that Ana seems to have a plan to put Rasputin’s consciousness into an “experimental exo chassis.” As in, it seems possibly Rasputin may be walking around as an NPC soon enough here, like his son Felwinter before him.
What if that’s not all they have in common?
There are a new set of “Archangel” items that exist this season. Their thematic connection to Rasputin is pretty obvious from their appearance, but reader D2Munkey advised me to read the text attached to them:
The Ship: “Seen a lot of things calling themselves gods in this universe. They all fall, one way or another.” – The Drifter
The Sparrow: “Time will tell what role the Warmind plays in the coming war. I have a hard time believing its story has ended.” – Ikora Rey
The Ghost: “For Ghosts who watch over humanity.”
So, all of this seems to reinforce the idea that Rasputin will return to the story. And my guess is that it would be during a SIVA-based season, something I personally believe Bungie is developing after years of fan requests to return to SIVA.
But it could be more than that. The idea is that Rasputin isn’t just returning as an exo, but he may be an exo guardian as well, able to wield the light. After all, Rasputin, for all intents and purposes, was more or less “killed” by the Darkness and now must be resurrected. And if the Traveler could turn Felwinter into a Guardian, I see no reason that it couldn’t do the same for Rasputin, especially since it died in the defense of humanity and the Traveler itself. Maybe we’ll call that new character “Archangel,” considering you change your name when you come back to life (ie. Uldren > Crow).
We can keep going with this, but we get into…wilder territory. A SIVA season could be tied into a lore reason to bring back Wrath of the Machine as the promised Destiny 1 raid reprisal, similar to how a Vex-focused Splicer season brought Vault of Glass. Though it could connect more directly story-wise, in theory.
Past that, what happens when one god raises another god from the dead? What if when Rasputin is given the light, it combines with his own internal powers in some way, and we get that fanmade SIVA subclass idea come to life as the game’s fifth subclass? Again, we are really reaching now, but why not?
I am 100% confident Rasputin is coming back. I am 80% confident that will be in 2022. I am 30% confident he will return as a Guardian and will be called Archangel. I am 5% confident this will result in us getting a SIVA subclass. We’ll see what happens.
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