ENTERTAINMENT

Viktor Antonov, visionary art director of games such as Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, has died aged 52.

Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw confirmed the news in an automatically deleted Instagram Stories post. “Brilliant and original,” Laidlaw said of Antonov. “Made everything better.”

According to a recent social media post by Marc Laidlaw, Viktor Antonov – Half-Life 2’s visionary art director – has passed away.

Assuming this is true, we are extremely saddened to hear this news. pic.twitter.com/3MqNbXkS64

— LambdaGeneration (@LambdaGen) February 16, 2025

Raphael Colantonio, founder of Arkane Studios and current president and creative director of WolfEye Studios, tweeted to say “You were instrumental to the success of Arkane Studios and an inspiration to many of us, also a friend with whom I have many fond memories.”

RIP Viktor Antonov.
I wish I told you how much admiration I had for you but we get caught in our lives until a surprise lime this hits us.
You were instrumental to the success of Arkane Studios and an inspiration to many of us, also a friend with whom I have many fond memories pic.twitter.com/phdnVH3Scy

— Raphael Colantonio (@rafcolantonio) February 16, 2025

Antonov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and moved to Paris before entering the world of video game development in the mid-90s at Xatrix Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based studio that became Gray Matter Studios. He went on to become one of the chief creatives behind the world of Half-Life 2 for Valve, where he most famously designed Half-Life 2’s iconic City 17.

Later, Antonov worked on the influential Dishonored as visual design director at Arkane Studios, co-creating Dunwall. Outside of video games, Antonov was co-author on animated movies Renaissance and The Prodigies, and worked at an indie production company called Darewise Entertainment.

This post contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.

After months, if not years, of denying that he was in Captain America: Brave New World, Sebastian Stan does indeed show up in the movie as James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes. But his mere presence, giving a pep talk to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) when he needs it most, isn’t the most surprising part of Bucky’s appearance: it’s that the former Winter Soldier is running for Congress.

Wait, hold up… Can he do that? As Bucky notes in the scene, he’s 110 years old at this point in the MCU. While he doesn’t offer up any details other than he has speech writers and is heading out on the campaign trail, there are a ton of lingering questions. What district is he running in? Can a 110-year-old even run for Congress? What about an ex-brainwashed KGB assassin with a robot arm who actively fought the US government during the Sokovia Accords (aka the events of Captain America: Civil War)?

These aren’t questions we can answer ourselves, so IGN went directly to the source to find out… Specifically the office of Brooklyn Congressman Dan Goldman. While Representative Goldman was busy running the government and representing the 10th district of New York, we were able to hop on the phone with Marvel fan and Senior Advisor to Congressman Goldman, Simone Kanter.

Kanter, luckily, was familiar with the history of Bucky Barnes at least up through Avengers: Endgame, which he called one of his “most enjoyable theater experiences ever.” And he was (end)game to answer some questions about what might be involved in Bucky running for Congress.

First, some basic info here on running for office. As laid out in the Constitution, the rules for running for the House of Representatives are pretty simple. You need to be at least 25 years old, a citizen for seven years, and you need to live in the state in which you are aiming to be elected in at the time of your election.

So how does that impact Bucky? In the MCU Bucky was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, (not coincidentally where Congressman Goldman is based). And while he wouldn’t have to run in Brooklyn, Kanter thought it might be to his advantage. “If I were to give him political advice, I would advise that the place you have the strongest roots to are where you should run, as both a moral and necessary imperative,” Kanter said. “So I would say that if Bucky feels most at home in Brooklyn, that’s definitely where he should run.”

That said, given we’ve seen Bucky in Washington, D.C. with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in the trailer for Thunderbolts, it’s possible he could be based there now. “Maybe he wants to run in the DMV area,” Kanter continued, calling out the colloquial name for the Washington Metropolitan Area. “He’s hanging out in Arlington. Certainly an option. [There are] plenty of federal workers running for office out there. So I think it comes down to where he feels like he can best serve the country.”

Okay, but what about the age thing? There’s been so much discussion in our culture about aging politicians, that while technically Bucky could run as he’s 85 years older than the required age, would that be an impediment to his chances? Not at all, said Kanter, noting that “novelty is a bit of an enticing factor.”

Similarly, the whole robotic arm wouldn’t be an issue, either. “Personally as a voter, I’d find the robotic arm pretty cool,” said Kanter. “I can’t imagine that there might be a factor more enticing to want to vote for a member of Congress.”

So far, so good when it comes to Bucky’s chances!

And then there’s the whole ex-KGB assassin thing. If you’ll recall, not only did Bucky attack Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in broad daylight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it was also revealed in Captain America: Civil War that he killed Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey, Jr.) parents. “A track record of confirmed kills of US citizens on behalf of a hostile foreign nation might be a turn-off to certain folks,” Kanter said.

More murky is the outcome of the Sokovia Accords, and Bucky going on the run with Captain America (Chris Evans). According to Kanter, that would be down to public polling as far as how they view the Accords. He also called out the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, noting that “folks would be looking for a little bit more of a tighter leash from their government over some pretty powerful beings.”

On the other hand, given that Bucky was a war hero before being revealed as The Winter Soldier, and there are even exhibits in Washington D.C. paying tribute to him as part of Captain America’s story, that could help balance things out. “This country especially has a soft spot for underdog stories and war heroes,” Kanter added. “We’ve seen a lot of appetite for forgiveness in the American electorate recently… It boils down to how he sells it on the campaign trail.”

Well, let’s talk about hitting that campaign trail. We glimpsed Bucky’s new look in the Thunderbolts trailer, and he’s sporting the same in Brave New World: stringy hair, cut down to his chin, and a beard that’s more than stubble. Would his whole style be a dealbreaker? Back in the day when politicians were supposed to be clean-cut, sure. Now? There’s a very specific precedent for why Bucky’s whole lewk might not be an issue. Or rather, a vice-precedent.

“I think Vice President JD Vance has brought back the beard,” Kanter said. “Apparently. I’m not sure how I personally feel about it. There’s about half the country that’s willing to vote for it, so I wouldn’t call it a nonstarter.”

Kanter had a better suggestion, though, for what Bucky should have on his face: “I think you should bring back the mask from Winter Soldier; [he’s] way cooler with that on,” Kanter said.

Is it surprising to think about a masked candidate running for office? Don’t worry – Kanter had already thought this one through.

“Honestly, I was thinking about this, but then I did a double take when I thought about possible alternatives,” Kantor said. “And I really do think if Spider-Man threw his hat in the ring for any House seat in New York, he’d win with 80% of the vote.”

You hear that, Marvel? You just found your plot for Spider-Man 4. And hey, maybe Peter Parker can take some tips on running for office from Bucky… if he wins.

Top image credit: Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images