Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is nearly out, and you might just be wondering who’s this guy in the trailers that looks one hell of a lot like Idris Elba of The Wire and MCU fame. That’s Solomon Reed, one of the most important characters you’ll cross paths with in the new spy-inspired DLC.
Before the events of Phantom Liberty
Even though his popularity exploded after his magnificent portrayal of antagonist Stringer Bell in The Wire, Elba won’t be playing the same character here — or not exactly, at least.
Before the events of Phantom Liberty, Reed worked as a NUSA Federal Intelligence agent- That’s basically a mix of CIA and Homeland Security in the Cyberpunk world. Most describe Reed as an extremely loyal and dependable soldier. He’s an expert hunter of spies and netrunners who also excels at extracting intel and breaching into high-security databases.
Reed found a talented netrunner called Song So Mi, aka Songbird, and recruited her to become his trainee. They enjoyed a lot of success working together, for a while. It was only during their last mission, when they had orders to neutralize one big shot from Arasaka Corp, that things went sour. Instead of managing to arrest the man, Reed and So Mi witness him and his family getting killed in a gruesome way. Figuring they’d been compromised, they set out to make an escape.
So Mi has her own way out and claims she has an escape plan set for Reed. He believes her, but it’s all a trap. Arasaka soldiers attack Reed, who initially manages to defend himself but ends up getting shot down.
During the events of Phantom Liberty
Though we don’t know exactly how or why, we know that Solomon survived the ordeal. We find him still working for the FIA while infiltrating Dogtown, Phantom Liberty’s new area in Night City. Is he still a loyal soldier, or did he learn from So Mi that he should trust no one in Night City? Is he looking for revenge, for a way out, or just to score some cash? Will he be our friend or our foe? You’ll soon find out.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty comes out on September 26 to PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and definitely not PS4.
