He was 1ronman - the story of eCan's original tank and supervillain

Day 2,562, 12:59 • Published in Canada Canada • by Captain Salty Kushskins


The truth is that every intelligent man, as you know, dreams of being a gangster and of ruling over society by force alone. As it is not so easy as the detective novels might lead one to believe, one generally relies on politics and joins the cruelest party. What does it matter, after all, if by humiliating one's mind one succeeds in dominating every one? I discovered in myself sweet dreams of oppression.

It was October 12, 2008.

The V1 era had just begun two days prior, when a bored teenager housewife individual named 1ronman decided to create an eRepublik account.

Their rise within eRepublik was meteoric. By December of that year, they would be elected to their first term in Congress, starting a run of 5 consecutive terms. From the stretch of December 2008 - December 2009, they would be elected 10 times.

1ronman served a number of roles during this time, as both a politician and military commander. Minister of Defense, Minister of Public Safety, Vice-President, and high command jobs with our international alliances EDEN and the Brolliance.

He was one of my first friends in the game. I remember 1ronman as somebody who cared a lot about the community, who worked hard to distribute food and weapons and who wanted to make eCanada strong. He was a tank before men like Temubutt burst onto the scene. People respected him.

In the summer of 2010, as V1 was drawing to a close, 1ronman was gearing up for a run at CP. Activity in eCanada during this time was perhaps as high as its ever been. With a robust metagame full of hardcore roleplayers and packed IRC rooms, 1ronman and eRepublik both seemed to be on track to realize their full potential.

Unfortunately, this run would end before it began with a startling revelation. A CSIS investigation during the Presidency of Dade Pendwyn revealed that 1ronman had abused his admin privileges on the eCan forums to read countless private messages. This access allowed him to discover organizational passwords, which then were used to steal thousands of gold.

Banished from EDEN and ostracized in eCanada, he would flee to Serbia - a superpower and arch-rival at the time. There would be no penitence or atonement. He would return to eCanada a short time later, reinvented as a troll. Buoyed by his burning lust for a certain eCanadian succubus he would rustle jimmies until his sudden disappearance from the game. #secretz. Project Mayhem. The TCO vs CAF feud. These memories bring a smile to this author's face.

Some say his account was sold, perhaps controlled by the same person as JBD. Perhaps the full truth of the rise and fall of 1ronman will never be known.

His account is quiet now; his profile a mute witness to the tale of perhaps Canada's most reviled villain. In an era of rampant strength and damage inflation, his 3K strength and rank of General** is an interesting contrast to his many dozens of BH medals. His news articles remain, their comment sections detailing a tragicomic dichotomy of love and hate.

Our tanks now have 100K strength and are capable of dropping billions of damage. Echoes of Temubutt's heuheus and wkwkwkwks can't drown out the adoration he now receives.

Fellow claimant to the supervillain throne, Rolo Tahmasee, still plays and remained a powerful and respected (albeit tremendously polarizing) figure in eCanada.

What could have happened had 1ronman stayed. We'll never know. He, like many other great figures of V1, died long ago.

(Disclaimer: My activity levels waxed and waned throughout this period of time and so much of this story has been pieced together from my hazy memories and trips through old articles and the Wiki. I make no claims to the accuracy or verity of this article.)