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Blackout

A blackout is a complete and often widespread interruption of electrical power supply to consumers, typically resulting from a failure in the generation, transmission, or distribution components of an electric grid, as opposed to a brownout involving merely reduced voltage.^[1]^[2] These events stem primarily from supply-demand imbalances, equipment malfunctions, transmission line faults, or cascading overloads where initial disruptions propagate through interconnected systems, sometimes exacerbated by inadequate grid maintenance or extreme weather.^[1]^[3] Blackouts disrupt essential services including water treatment, transportation, and healthcare, leading to economic losses estimated in billions for major incidents, food spoilage, heightened injury risks from darkness or halted appliances, and elevated mortality from heat, cold, or medical device failures.^[4]^[5] Notable examples include the 2003 North American blackout, triggered by overgrown vegetation contacting high-voltage lines and software failures, which affected over 50 million people across eight U.S. states and Ontario for up to two days, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities in aging infrastructure and operator responses.^[6] Mitigation efforts focus on redundancy, smart grid technologies, and demand management, though persistent challenges like increasing renewable intermittency and cyber threats underscore ongoing reliability concerns without overhauling policy incentives for robust capacity.^[3]

Power and Infrastructure Failures

Definition and Technical Characteristics

A power blackout refers to the complete and unplanned loss of electric power to an area, resulting in zero voltage supply to affected customers and halting the operation of electrical devices and systems dependent on grid connectivity.^[7] This differs from routine maintenance shutdowns or voluntary load shedding, as blackouts occur unexpectedly and disrupt service without prior coordination.^[8] Technically, blackouts are distinguished from brownouts, where voltage is intentionally or unintentionally reduced but not eliminated, allowing partial functionality of loads at diminished capacity.^[9] In a blackout, the interruption is total, often stemming from faults in generation, transmission, or distribution components that exceed the grid's protective thresholds, leading to automatic disconnection of circuits.^[10] Key characteristics include scalability—from localized outages impacting individual circuits to system-wide collapses affecting millions over regions spanning states or countries—and variable duration, typically exceeding five minutes for classification as a major event, though minor blackouts may resolve in seconds via automatic reclosing.^[11] Blackouts exhibit rapid propagation potential through cascading failures, where initial faults overload adjacent lines or generators, compounded by inadequate isolation from protective relays or operator interventions.^[12] Frequency deviations and angular instability in synchronous machines often mark the onset, with restoration requiring sequential synchronization to prevent further instability.^[13]

Primary Causes and Systemic Vulnerabilities

Power blackouts primarily arise from a combination of acute triggers and underlying grid dynamics that propagate failures. Natural phenomena, such as severe weather events including storms, hurricanes, and extreme cold snaps, frequently initiate outages by damaging transmission lines, causing vegetation contact with conductors, or overwhelming generation capacity. For instance, NERC's analysis of transmission outages attributes 83% of vegetation-related incidents to weather-driven activities, underscoring how trees and foliage exacerbate line faults during high winds or ice accumulation.^[14] Equipment malfunctions, including transformer failures, generator trips, or relay misoperations, represent another core cause, often stemming from aging components or inadequate maintenance. Human factors, such as operational errors or insufficient preparation for peak loads, contribute as well, as seen in historical events where demand surges outpaced supply without contingency reserves.^[15] Cascading failures amplify these initial disturbances into widespread blackouts through interconnected grid physics, where the loss of one element overloads adjacent lines or generators, triggering protective relays to disconnect further components to prevent damage. This sequence is governed by principles of power flow imbalance: when generation drops or demand spikes, voltage instability or frequency deviations force automated shutdowns, potentially shedding load across regions. Initial triggers like line faults from natural disasters or cyber intrusions can thus escalate via dynamic interactions, including hidden failures in control systems that fail to isolate issues promptly.^[16]^[17] Systemic vulnerabilities in modern grids compound these risks through structural and policy-driven weaknesses. Aging infrastructure, with many transmission assets over 50 years old in regions like the U.S., heightens susceptibility to both routine wear and extreme events, as deferred maintenance allows minor faults to propagate.^[18] Rapidly growing electricity demand—projected to surge due to electrification and data centers—outstrips capacity additions, with NERC warning that over half of North America faces energy shortfall risks by 2028 without accelerated buildout.^[19] The integration of intermittent renewable sources, while expanding capacity, introduces reliability challenges when dispatchable backups like natural gas or nuclear are retired without equivalent firm replacements, potentially multiplying blackout frequency by 100-fold by 2030 according to DOE assessments.^[20] Physical and cyber threats further expose vulnerabilities: substations and transformers, often in remote locations with limited surveillance, are prone to attacks, as evidenced by over 175 reported incidents in 2023.^[21] Cybersecurity gaps in automated control systems enable propagation of targeted disruptions into cascades, while regulatory delays in hardening infrastructure against evolving risks like EMP or coordinated sabotage persist.^[22] These factors, rooted in underinvestment and mismatched planning horizons, demand rigorous modeling of worst-case scenarios to mitigate systemic fragility.

Historical and Recent Notable Events

The Northeast Blackout of 1965 began at 5:16 p.m. on November 9, triggered by a relay malfunction at the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Station near Niagara Falls, Ontario, which falsely detected an overload and opened a critical transmission line. This cascade failure disconnected over 20,000 megawatts of load, affecting 30 million people across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, [Rhode Island](/page/Rhode Island), Vermont, and Ontario for durations up to 13 hours, halting subways, elevators, and traffic in major cities like New York and disrupting water supplies reliant on electric pumps.^[23]^[24] The New York City Blackout of 1977 struck on July 13 at 9:36 p.m., initiated by lightning strikes on transmission lines combined with equipment failures at the Buchanan and Northport stations, leading to a 25-hour outage for nine million residents across the five boroughs and parts of Westchester County. Widespread looting, arson, and vandalism ensued, with over 1,600 stores damaged, more than 1,000 fires set, and 3,700 arrests made, exacerbating the city's fiscal crisis amid a heatwave.^[25]^[26] On August 14, 2003, the Northeast Blackout originated in northern Ohio when high-voltage lines sagged into overgrown trees due to high demand and heat, causing a software bug in FirstEnergy's monitoring system to fail and initiating a cascade that shut down 100 power plants, affecting 50 million people in eight U.S. states and Ontario for up to four days in some areas, with economic losses estimated at $6 billion to $10 billion from halted manufacturing, spoiled food, and lost productivity.^[27]^[28] In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri caused the Texas power crisis from February 15 to 19, where failures in natural gas, coal, wind, and nuclear generation—primarily due to frozen equipment, uninsulated pipes, and inadequate winterization—led to a 246-gigawatt shortfall, leaving 4.5 million customers without power amid subfreezing temperatures, resulting in at least 246 deaths from hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning, and medical equipment failures.^[29]^[30] U.S. major power outages have doubled in frequency over the past decade compared to prior periods, with 80% attributed to severe weather events like hurricanes, winter storms, and ice, underscoring vulnerabilities in grid hardening and generation reliability amid rising demand.^[31]^[32]

Societal Impacts, Mitigation Strategies, and Policy Critiques

Power blackouts disrupt essential services, leading to significant economic losses estimated at tens of billions of dollars for major events; for instance, the August 2003 Northeast blackout affected over 50 million people across eight U.S. states and Ontario, Canada, with total costs ranging from $6 billion to $10 billion due to halted manufacturing, spoiled goods, and lost productivity.^[33]^[27] Health impacts include elevated mortality from temperature extremes, with the same 2003 event linked to a 25% rise in non-accidental deaths and 122% in accidental deaths in New York City, alongside risks of carbon monoxide poisoning from improper generator use and gastrointestinal illnesses from contaminated water.^[34]^[35] Socially, prolonged outages exacerbate vulnerabilities for low-income, elderly, and medically dependent populations through food spoilage, interrupted medical equipment, and isolation, as seen in the February 2021 Texas winter storm where over 4.5 million lost power for days, contributing to hundreds of deaths and $195 billion in damages from cascading failures in water and heating systems.^[36]^[29] Mitigation strategies emphasize grid hardening and redundancy, such as installing advanced sensors for real-time monitoring, undergrounding transmission lines to reduce weather-related failures, and deploying distributed energy resources like battery storage to maintain local supply during outages.^[37] Diversifying generation with dispatchable backups—such as natural gas peaker plants or hydroelectric reserves—helps balance intermittent sources, while demand-response programs incentivize industrial users to curtail load during peaks, proven effective in reducing outage durations in regions like California.^[38] Microgrids and islanding capabilities allow critical facilities, including hospitals and data centers, to operate independently by automatically disconnecting from the main grid and relying on on-site generation.^[38] Infrastructure investments, including vegetation management to prevent line faults and cybersecurity enhancements against digital threats, address root vulnerabilities identified in post-event analyses.^[37] Policy critiques highlight regulatory shortcomings that prioritize rapid renewable integration over reliability, as evidenced by the U.S. Department of Energy's 2025 assessment warning that premature retirement of baseload coal and nuclear plants without equivalent firm capacity could multiply blackout frequency by 100 times by 2030 due to insufficient inertia and reserve margins in grids dominated by variable wind and solar output.^[20] In Texas's 2021 crisis, ERCOT's isolated grid design and lax winterization mandates failed across fuel types—frozen wind turbines, gas wells, and coal plants—but stemmed from policies underestimating extreme weather risks in a deregulated market favoring low-cost intermittent generation without mandatory backups, leading to uncontrolled load shedding.^[29] Critics argue that federal incentives like the Inflation Reduction Act accelerate decarbonization without commensurate requirements for synchronous generation or long-duration storage, eroding systemic stability as renewables' lack of rotating mass reduces frequency response, a causal factor in oscillations preceding events like Spain's 2025 blackout where conventional plant underperformance, not renewables per se, amplified instability.^[20]^[39] Such approaches, per empirical grid modeling, demand integrated reforms balancing emissions goals with enforced redundancy rather than siloed mandates that overlook physical limits of non-dispatchable sources.^[40]

Medical and Physiological Phenomena

Syncope and Transient Loss of Consciousness

Syncope constitutes a subset of transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), defined as a sudden, self-limited episode of TLOC attributable to global cerebral hypoperfusion, characterized by rapid onset, brevity (typically under one minute), and spontaneous recovery without medical intervention.^[41] This physiological blackout differs from non-syncopal TLOC, such as epileptic seizures or psychogenic pseudosyncope, which involve mechanisms like neuronal hyperexcitability or behavioral factors rather than hypoperfusion.^[42] The underlying pathophysiology stems from transient inadequacy of cerebral blood flow and oxygenation, often triggered by reflexive cardiovascular responses or hemodynamic instability, leading to postural tone loss and collapse.^[43] Reflex syncope, the most prevalent form (accounting for approximately 21% of cases in population studies), arises from neurally mediated bradycardia and/or vasodilation, commonly provoked by orthostatic stress, emotional triggers like pain or fear, or prolonged standing.^[44] Orthostatic syncope results from failure of autonomic baroreflexes to compensate for gravitational blood pooling upon positional change, exacerbated by volume depletion, medications (e.g., antihypertensives), or autonomic dysfunction.^[45] Cardiac syncope, though less common (about 10-20% of evaluated cases), involves arrhythmic or structural etiologies like ventricular tachycardia or aortic stenosis, carrying higher prognostic risk due to potential underlying cardiopathy.^[44] Epidemiologically, syncope affects up to 40% of individuals over a lifetime, with annual incidence rates of 0.5 to 1 per 1,000 person-years in general populations, rising with age and more frequent in females for reflex types.^[46] Diagnosis relies on history, orthostatic vitals, ECG, and tilt-table testing to exclude mimics; prodromal symptoms like nausea or visual blurring aid differentiation from seizures, which feature convulsions or prolonged confusion.^[47] Management prioritizes treatable causes—e.g., hydration for orthostatic forms or pacemakers for severe bradycardic cases—while emphasizing risk stratification to identify cardiac etiologies warranting urgent evaluation.^[41]

Alcohol- and Substance-Induced Memory Loss

Alcohol-induced blackouts refer to episodes of anterograde amnesia occurring during intoxication, in which individuals remain conscious and capable of performing complex actions—such as walking, talking, or engaging in risky behaviors—but fail to encode new long-term memories of those events.^[48] ^[49] This differs fundamentally from passing out, which involves a temporary loss of consciousness due to excessive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) overwhelming the central nervous system, rendering the person unresponsive.^[48] ^[50] Blackouts typically emerge at BAC levels of 0.15% to 0.30%, though thresholds vary by individual factors like genetics and tolerance.^[51] The primary mechanism involves ethanol's disruption of hippocampal function, a brain region critical for consolidating short-term memories into long-term storage.^[52] High doses of alcohol inhibit glutamatergic signaling and enhance GABAergic inhibition in the hippocampus, preventing synaptic plasticity necessary for memory formation; this effect intensifies with rapid consumption, as blood alcohol levels rise steeply without allowing partial adaptation.^[52] ^[51] Risk factors include drinking on an empty stomach, which accelerates absorption, and genetic variations in alcohol metabolism enzymes like ADH and ALDH, which influence peak BAC.^[48] Women experience blackouts at lower absolute alcohol doses than men due to physiological differences, such as lower body water content leading to higher BAC per drink, despite lower lifetime prevalence rates (39.3% in women versus 52.4% in men).^[51] ^[53] Prevalence studies indicate that approximately 50% of individuals who consume alcohol report experiencing at least one blackout in their lifetime, with rates approaching 65% in the past month among heavy episodic drinkers.^[48] Among college students, 51% report lifetime blackouts, and 40% within the past year, often linked to binge drinking patterns involving 5+ drinks for men or 4+ for women in a short period.^[54] Repeated blackouts correlate with broader cognitive deficits persisting into sobriety, including impaired next-day recall, potentially lasting days and signaling underlying vulnerabilities to alcohol use disorder.^[55] Beyond alcohol, similar memory blackouts can arise from other substances that impair hippocampal encoding, particularly central nervous system depressants like benzodiazepines (e.g., Rohypnol or Xanax at high doses), gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and certain opioids, which induce anterograde amnesia by analogous suppression of neural activity.^[56] These effects are dose-dependent and exacerbated by polydrug use with alcohol, though alcohol remains the most common trigger due to its widespread availability and social context.^[48] Illicit stimulants like cocaine or cannabis may cause fragmented recall through indirect hippocampal overload or altered perception, but true blackouts—characterized by total gaps without consciousness loss—are rarer and less mechanistically studied outside alcohol.^[56] Empirical data on non-alcohol substance blackouts emphasize their role in facilitating unintended behaviors, such as in cases of facilitated sexual assault, where amnestic agents like GHB produce profound, selective memory deficits.^[57]

G-Forces and Environmental Triggers

High positive G-forces, directed from head to foot (+Gz), induce blackout by accelerating blood pooling in the lower extremities and abdomen, which reduces cerebral perfusion pressure and leads to cerebral hypoxia.^[58] This phenomenon, known as G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC), typically occurs above 5-6 Gz in untrained individuals, with symptoms progressing from peripheral visual gray-out to tunnel vision (blackout) and eventual total unconsciousness if forces persist.^[59] Trained fighter pilots, employing anti-G straining maneuvers (AGSM)—which involve muscle tensing and controlled breathing—and wearing anti-G suits, can tolerate up to 9 Gz for 10-15 seconds before G-LOC onset, though rapid-onset rates exceeding 6 Gz per second heighten risk without warning.^[60]^[61] G-LOC recovery occurs within 10-15 seconds upon force cessation, but post-incident disorientation can last 30-60 seconds, posing hazards in aviation.^[58] Environmental triggers for blackout, or syncope, often involve orthostatic or hypoxic mechanisms that mimic G-force effects by transiently depriving the brain of oxygen or blood flow. Prolonged exposure to high ambient temperatures causes heat syncope through peripheral vasodilation and gravitational blood pooling in the legs, dropping systolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg and precipitating fainting, particularly in dehydrated or unacclimatized individuals.^[45]^[62] At high altitudes above 10,000 feet without supplemental oxygen, reduced atmospheric pressure lowers partial oxygen pressure (e.g., to ~60 mmHg at 18,000 feet), inducing hypoxic blackout via cerebral hypoxia, with symptoms including euphoria, impaired judgment, and unconsciousness if unaddressed.^[63] Dehydration exacerbates both heat- and altitude-related syncope by reducing blood volume by 5-10%, while factors like sudden postural changes or emotional stress can trigger vasovagal responses, amplifying orthostatic intolerance.^[45] These triggers are mitigated by hydration, gradual acclimatization, and environmental controls, such as pressurized cabins in aviation maintaining equivalent sea-level oxygen levels.^[59]

Information and Media Suppression

News and Reporting Blackouts

News and reporting blackouts involve the coordinated underreporting or outright dismissal of newsworthy stories by major media outlets, often prioritizing alignment with institutional narratives over empirical evidence. These episodes typically occur when revelations challenge prevailing political or scientific consensuses, resulting in delayed scrutiny until external validations force coverage. Empirical analysis of coverage patterns reveals disproportionate emphasis on counter-narratives, such as labeling inconvenient facts as "disinformation," which delays public awareness and discourse.^[64] A prominent case emerged on October 14, 2020, when the New York Post published emails from a laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden, detailing business dealings in Ukraine and China with implications for then-candidate Joe Biden's involvement. Major platforms like Twitter and Facebook restricted sharing of the article, citing policies against hacked materials, while outlets including CNN, MSNBC, and The New York Times initially framed it as unsubstantiated or potential Russian disinformation, with minimal investigative follow-up. Mark Zuckerberg later confirmed in 2022 that Facebook throttled distribution after FBI briefings warned of possible foreign election interference, though the agency possessed the device since 2019 and knew its provenance. Forensic examinations by independent experts and federal authorities subsequently authenticated the laptop and key emails, including those referencing "10% for the big guy," leading to Hunter Biden's 2024 felony convictions on gun and tax charges tied to related activities. Former Twitter executives testified in 2023 that blocking links was an error, admitting insufficient evidence for suppression.^[65]^[66]^[67] The Twitter Files, internal documents released starting December 2022 under Elon Musk's ownership, exposed how U.S. government agencies, including the FBI, regularly flagged content for moderation, influencing decisions on the Hunter Biden story and others like COVID-19 policies. These files documented over 150 meetings between federal entities and Twitter in 2020 alone, with requests to suppress accounts and narratives deemed problematic, often without formal legal compulsion but leveraging informal pressure. Coverage of such revelations remained sparse in mainstream outlets, which critiqued the Files as selective or conspiratorial, despite admissions of prior moderation overreach. Critics attribute this to institutional homogeneity in media, where left-leaning biases—evident in uniform editorial stances—prioritize narrative cohesion over adversarial reporting, as seen in the 51 intelligence officials' October 2020 letter dismissing the laptop as probable Russian "hack and dump," amplified without caveat by networks like ABC and CBS.^[68]^[69] Similarly, the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 originated from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology faced early blackout treatment in 2020-2021. Major media, including The New York Times and NPR, portrayed it as a xenophobic conspiracy theory, relying on virologists with ties to gain-of-function research funding who emphasized natural zoonosis without disclosing conflicts. Social media enforced this by censoring proponents, including scientists like those at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. By 2021, declassified U.S. intelligence and emails revealed suppressed lab safety concerns at WIV, including illnesses among researchers in late 2019; the Department of Energy and FBI later assessed lab origin as most likely with moderate confidence. This initial dismissal, NPR acknowledged, stemmed from aversion to politicization, yet delayed origin probes, allowing China to control narratives amid evidence of data purges. Such patterns underscore causal links between media incentives—access to sources, expert deference—and selective silence, eroding trust as facts emerge.^[70]^[71]^[72]

Digital Censorship and Platform Restrictions

Digital censorship and platform restrictions encompass policies and algorithmic interventions by social media companies that limit the dissemination, visibility, or access to specific content, effectively creating information blackouts on controversial topics. These measures, often justified as combating misinformation, hate speech, or incitement, include outright bans, link blocking, content removal, and subtler techniques like shadowbanning, where posts are deprioritized in feeds without user notification.^[73]^[74] Such restrictions have been applied selectively, with internal documents revealing influences from government entities and executive discretion, raising concerns over viewpoint discrimination despite platforms' private status.^[75] A prominent example occurred on October 14, 2020, when Twitter blocked users from sharing links to a New York Post article detailing contents from Hunter Biden's laptop, citing its policy against distribution of hacked materials, even though the laptop's authenticity was later verified by the FBI.^[76]^[69] The Twitter Files, released in December 2022, exposed internal debates where executives overrode staff objections to suppress the story, influenced by prior FBI briefings framing it as potential Russian disinformation, despite the agency's possession of the device since December 2019.^[77]^[78] Former Twitter executives testified in February 2023 that the decision was a "mistake," highlighting how such actions delayed public scrutiny during the 2020 U.S. presidential election.^[66] Similarly, platforms restricted discussion of the COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis, with Facebook removing posts claiming the virus was man-made or lab-engineered as misinformation until a policy reversal on May 26, 2021.^[79]^[80] Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg later expressed regret in 2024 for complying with Biden administration pressure to censor COVID-related content, including humor and debate on vaccine efficacy, noting it as a departure from prior resistance to similar requests.^[75] YouTube and others enforced analogous rules, demoting or deleting videos questioning natural origins, which critics argued stifled scientific inquiry amid emerging evidence from U.S. intelligence assessments favoring a lab incident.^[71] Deplatforming high-profile figures has also induced blackouts, as seen with former President Donald Trump's suspensions following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Twitter permanently banned his account on January 8, 2021, citing risks of further violence after posts praising supporters, while Facebook imposed an indefinite restriction extended through his term's end.^[81]^[82] These actions cascaded to platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Shopify, severing Trump's direct reach to over 88 million Twitter followers and amplifying reliance on alternative channels.^[83] Studies post-deplatforming indicated reduced misinformation spread from associated accounts, but also sparked debates on platforms' role in political discourse, with reinstatement occurring on Twitter (now X) in November 2022 after Elon Musk's acquisition.^[84] Algorithmic censorship, including shadowbanning, further enables restrictions by throttling content reach without explicit bans, as documented in investigations of Instagram and Twitter algorithms demoting posts on political or sensitive issues.^[85]^[74] Platforms maintain opacity around these systems, but leaked moderation practices and user reports suggest disproportionate impacts on dissenting views, such as conservative critiques of public health mandates or election integrity claims.^[73] While defenders cite reduced harm from extremism, empirical analyses from the Twitter Files and congressional probes indicate patterns of bias, where left-leaning content faced lighter scrutiny, underscoring causal links between moderation and information asymmetry.^[86] Social and economic boycotts labeled as "blackouts" typically involve coordinated efforts to withhold consumer spending or social engagement from targeted corporations, individuals, or institutions for defined periods, drawing on the blackout metaphor to signify deliberate disruption of economic or relational flows. These actions emerged prominently in the United States in early 2025, often organized by grassroots groups protesting corporate policies perceived as insufficiently aligned with progressive priorities, such as reductions in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives following political shifts. Organizers frame them as non-violent exercises of economic power, though critics argue their short duration limits measurable impact beyond symbolic protest, with potential for deferred purchases rather than sustained revenue loss.^[87]^[88] The inaugural widespread "economic blackout" occurred on February 28, 2025, initiated by People's Union USA, a progressive advocacy group founded by John Schwarz, who positioned it as a response to corporate greed and the rollback of DEI programs by retailers like Target and Walmart amid post-election adjustments. Participants were urged to abstain from all non-essential spending for 24 hours starting at midnight, targeting major chains to demonstrate collective purchasing leverage; the call gained traction via social media, with debates over its feasibility and broader adoption. Schwarz emphasized the tactic's roots in historical boycotts, aiming to pressure companies into reinstating progressive policies without relying on government intervention.^[89]^[90]^[91] Subsequent iterations expanded in scope and frequency, adapting to ongoing grievances. A three-day event from April 18 to 20, 2025, explicitly protested the elimination of DEI efforts at corporations, coinciding with Easter shopping periods to amplify visibility, and included calls for sit-ins alongside spending freezes. By August 9, 2025, a one-day blackout paired with a month-long boycott targeted specific firms like Walmart, Lowe's, and McDonald's over policy stances, reflecting escalating frustration with perceived capitulation to conservative pressures. In October 2025, actions aligned with "No Kings Day" on October 18 extended to boycotts of Amazon, Target, Disney, and Ben & Jerry's, blending economic abstention with anti-authoritarian messaging.^[92]^[93]^[94] Social boycotts analogously labeled as blackouts are rarer but manifest in coordinated ostracism or deplatforming campaigns, where groups urge exclusion from networks, events, or endorsements to enforce ideological conformity, often amplifying economic pressures through reputational damage. For instance, activist calls in late 2025 for a "mass blackout" around Thanksgiving (November 25 to December 2) incorporated social elements, encouraging non-participation in work and purchases while promoting community alternatives to corporate-dominated holidays, though verification of widespread adherence remains anecdotal. Empirical assessments of these blackouts' efficacy vary; while organizers claim heightened awareness and minor sales dips—such as reported slowdowns at targeted retailers post-February 28—economic analyses suggest limited long-term causation, attributing fluctuations more to seasonal or market factors than boycott participation rates, which are difficult to quantify absent comprehensive transaction data.^[95]^[96]

Military and Wartime Measures

Civil Defense and Strategic Dimming

Civil defense blackouts entail mandatory restrictions on artificial lighting to obscure urban and industrial targets from enemy aerial reconnaissance and bombardment, primarily implemented during periods of heightened aerial threat. These measures originated in the interwar period but were systematically applied during World War II, requiring civilians to extinguish interior lights, cover windows with blackout materials, and shield vehicle headlights with slotted covers to emit only downward-directed beams. In the United Kingdom, nationwide blackout orders took effect on January 1, 1940, following early air raid fears, with enforcement by air raid precautions wardens who conducted patrols and reported violations, resulting in widespread compliance despite initial resistance and accidents from reduced visibility.^[97] The strategic rationale centered on denying visual cues to navigators and bombardiers, particularly for silhouette-based targeting of ships from coastal glow or cities from afar; for instance, U.S. coastal blackouts from 1942 aimed to prevent German U-boats from spotting vessels against lit shorelines, contributing to a decline in such attacks after implementation. Effectiveness varied: while pathfinder aircraft and radio navigation mitigated total obscurity in major raids like the Blitz, blackouts demonstrably frustrated opportunistic strikes, as evidenced by the failed Japanese submarine I-25 shelling of Fort Stevens, Oregon, on June 21, 1942, where extinguished lights prevented accurate ranging and limited damage to minor impacts on unoccupied structures.^[98]^[99] Strategic dimming, or "dim-outs," represented a calibrated variant prioritizing partial light reduction over total darkness to sustain essential operations while minimizing visibility, often applied in less vulnerable inland or secondary zones. In Southern California, dim-out regulations imposed in early 1942 mandated shielding streetlights, dimming neon signs to one-quarter intensity, and restricting non-essential outdoor illumination, enforced by civil defense authorities to counter Japanese carrier threats without fully paralyzing wartime industry. U.S. state-level orders, such as Florida Governor Spessard Holland's 1942 directive, extended similar rules coastally, with wardens verifying compliance via house-to-house checks and penalties for infractions, persisting until war's end.^[100]^[101] Post-WWII, blackout protocols influenced Cold War civil defense planning, though diminished in practice amid nuclear deterrence and precision-guided munitions that render visible light less critical for targeting; nonetheless, residual measures persist in select doctrines, such as rapid light curtailment during air raid alarms to disrupt low-technology threats like unguided rockets. In contemporary contexts, full-scale implementations remain rare due to advanced sensors and GPS, but dimming retains utility for hybrid threats, as outlined in wartime civil defense guidelines emphasizing quick extinguishment of lights within 60 seconds of alerts to hinder enemy acquisition.^[102]^[103]

Operational Blackouts in Combat and Aviation

Operational blackouts in combat and aviation primarily refer to G-induced physiological impairments experienced by pilots of high-performance aircraft during maneuvers involving rapid acceleration, particularly positive G-forces (+Gz) that exceed 4-5 times the force of gravity. These forces cause blood to pool in the lower extremities and abdomen, reducing cerebral perfusion and leading to sequential symptoms: initial loss of peripheral vision (grayout) at approximately 2-3 Gz, followed by complete visual blackout at 4-5 Gz, and potentially G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) at higher sustained levels if unmitigated.^[58]^[104] G-LOC typically lasts 10-15 seconds, with full cognitive recovery delayed by up to 24 seconds due to post-incident disorientation and impaired performance.^[105] In aerial combat, such blackouts limit pilots' ability to execute tight turns or evasive actions, as modern fighter jets like the F-16 can generate 9 Gz or more, far beyond unassisted human tolerance of around 5 Gz.^[60] Pilots mitigate these effects through anti-G equipment and techniques, including pressure-breathing G-suits that inflate to compress the legs and abdomen, increasing tolerance by 1-2 Gz, and the anti-G straining maneuver (AGSM), which involves isometric muscle contractions, controlled exhalation against a closed glottis, and rapid inhalation to maintain intrathoracic pressure and venous return to the brain.^[106] Effective AGSM, when habitual and properly executed, can extend tolerance by an additional 2-4 Gz, making it the primary non-mechanical countermeasure against G-LOC.^[107] Centrifuge training reinforces these skills, though surveys of active-duty fighter pilots indicate near-universal exposure to visual or cognitive disturbances, with 8-13% reporting actual G-LOC episodes despite training.^[108] Negative G-forces (-Gz), encountered in push-over maneuvers, can cause redout—blood rushing to the head—potentially leading to retinal hemorrhage, though less common in sustained combat scenarios.^[58] Incidence rates of inflight G-LOC among fighter aircrew range from 10-20%, contributing to operational risks even in non-combat training.^[109] Historical data from the U.S. Air Force document 18 G-LOC-related accidents, including 14 fatalities, between 1982 and the early 2000s, often during aggressive maneuvering.^[61] A notable example occurred on April 4, 2018, when U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot Maj. Stephen Del Bagno experienced G-LOC during a training flight in an F-16C, resulting in a fatal crash after the aircraft departed controlled flight; investigation confirmed physiological blackout as the cause, unrelated to mechanical failure.^[110] Modern fly-by-wire systems in aircraft like the F-16 provide partial safeguards by automatically limiting angles of attack or stabilizing the aircraft during brief unconsciousness, as demonstrated in a 2016 incident where autopilot intervention prevented disaster after pilot G-LOC.^[111] These events underscore that while technology and physiology-based countermeasures have reduced fatalities, G-induced blackouts remain a core constraint on combat aviation tactics, dictating doctrine for sustained turn rates and energy management.^[60]

Arts, Entertainment, and Cultural References

Literature and Publishing

Blackout poetry, a form of erasure or found poetry, involves redacting portions of an existing printed text—such as newspaper articles, books, or magazines—to isolate words that form a new, coherent poem, often highlighting themes of suppression or revelation. The technique gained prominence through Austin Kleon's 2010 book Newspaper Blackout: Uncreativity as Creative Writing, which featured poems derived from redacting news stories, emphasizing constraints as a creative tool. Earlier precedents exist, including 18th-century experiments and 20th-century conceptual works like Tom Phillips's A Humument (1966), where pages from a Victorian novel were altered through painting over text to create visual poetry.^[112] Blackout poetry has since been adopted in educational settings and by contemporary artists to critique media narratives or explore censorship, with practitioners using markers or digital tools to "black out" extraneous words while preserving the source's layout.^[113] In prose literature, "blackout" frequently denotes literal power failures with cascading societal impacts, serving as a plot device for suspense, survival, or historical reflection. Connie Willis's Blackout (2010), the opening volume of a time-travel duology set amid World War II, portrays Oxford historians stranded in London during the Blitz's enforced blackouts, where civilian dimming measures aimed to thwart Luftwaffe bombings; the combined work with its 2010 sequel All Clear earned the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards for Best Novel in 2011. Marc Elsberg's Blackout (2012, English translation 2016) depicts a Europe-wide grid collapse triggered by sabotage, illustrating vulnerabilities in interconnected energy systems and ensuing chaos, with over 1 million copies sold in German editions. These narratives draw on real events, such as the 2003 Northeast blackout affecting 50 million people across eight U.S. states and Ontario, to underscore themes of technological fragility. Recent works extend "blackout" to metaphorical erasures in identity and history. Justin Torres's Blackouts (2023), winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, reconstructs suppressed queer narratives from the early-20th-century Sexology studies by Magnus Hirschfeld, using fragmented dialogues and archival "blackouts" to probe institutional censorship of sexual research under Nazi and later regimes.^[114] In young adult fiction, the anthology Blackout (2021) by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon reimagines the 1977 New York City blackout—during which widespread looting occurred amid a heatwave—as a backdrop for interconnected romance stories centering Black teenagers, challenging stereotypes of urban disorder.^[115] Such titles reflect a trend in speculative and historical fiction toward examining blackouts as catalysts for societal introspection, often grounded in documented outages like the 1965 Northeast blackout that inspired early disaster narratives. Publishing contexts invoking "blackout" often allude to censorship mechanisms that obscure information, paralleling literary erasures. During wartime, governments imposed publication blackouts on strategic details; for example, U.S. Office of Censorship guidelines from 1941-1945 restricted print media from reporting blackout drills or air raid impacts to avoid aiding enemies, affecting literary magazines and novels incorporating current events. In modern instances, self-imposed blackouts by publishers occur amid political pressures, as seen in debates over redacted histories in titles like Torres's, where archival "blackouts" from destroyed Hirschfeld Institute materials—burned by Nazis in 1933—inform narratives of lost knowledge. These practices highlight tensions between artistic expression and institutional control, with peer-reviewed studies noting that over 2,500 book titles faced challenges or bans in U.S. schools and libraries in 2022 alone, sometimes framed as cultural blackouts.

Film, Television, and Theater

The Blackout (2019) is a Russian science fiction action film directed by Egor Baranov, in which a mysterious global event causes a sudden blackout that destroys most of Earth's population, sparing only a region in Eastern Europe where survivors confront invading forces.^[116] Blackout (2022) is an American action crime thriller directed by Sam Macaroni, starring Josh Duhamel as a former CIA operative who, after a power outage and personal crisis, uncovers a conspiracy involving a blackout-induced heist. Blackout (1954), also known as Murder by Proxy in some markets, is a British film noir produced by Hammer Film Productions, following a man who awakens with amnesia during a London blackout and pieces together his involvement in a murder plot.^[117] Blackout (1978) dramatizes the real 1977 New York City power outage, portraying ensuing chaos, looting, and arson amid the 25-hour darkness that affected nine million people.^[118] In television, Blackout (German mini-series, 2021) depicts a continent-wide European power grid failure triggered by sabotage, following government responses and a hacker's investigation into the cause.^[119] The Flemish series Blackout (2020–2021) centers on a nuclear power plant sabotage leading to a Western Europe blackout, tracking political leaders and investigators amid escalating crises.^[120] Black Out (South Korean series, 2023) explores a woman's decade-old murder conviction tied to an alcoholic blackout, with new evidence prompting a reinvestigation into her claimed memory loss.^[121] The British Blackout (2012) three-part drama involves a corrupt official awakening from a drunken stupor—metaphorically a personal blackout—to evade exposure by eliminating witnesses from his past. Theater productions titled Blackout often delve into personal or societal disruptions. Blackout Songs (premiered 2024) by Joe White examines co-dependency and self-destruction through fragmented narratives of blackout drinking and relational fallout, staged at venues like Red Stitch Actors' Theatre.^[122] El Apagón / The Blackout (2007, revised 2011) is a bilingual adaptation of José Luis González's story, set during a Puerto Rican power outage that sparks communal reflection amid salsa music and storytelling at Pregones Theater.^[123] Blackout: A One Woman Show (2020 debut) by Hailey Henderson recounts an abuse survivor's experience with institutional failures following a traumatic event, using monologue to reclaim narrative control, touring fringe festivals.^[124] These works frequently employ blackout as both literal darkness and metaphorical loss of control or memory, distinct from comedic blackout gags in vaudeville where abrupt lighting cuts punctuate rapid slapstick for punchline delivery.

Music and Performing Arts

In theater and musical theater, a blackout refers to the sudden extinguishing of all stage lights to create dramatic effect, facilitate scene changes, or signify a passage of time or shift in narrative.^[125] This technique, distinct from a gradual fade, allows audiences to process preceding action in darkness while enabling rapid set transitions without interrupting immersion.^[126] Blackouts have been employed since the early 20th century in live performances, often for comedic timing in vaudeville or abrupt endings in modern plays, though overuse can diminish impact by signaling predictable transitions.^[127] Notable musical works titled Blackout include Britney Spears' fifth studio album, released on October 25, 2007, by Jive Records, which featured electro-pop tracks like "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me" amid Spears' personal challenges, achieving platinum certification in the U.S. with over 1 million copies sold domestically.^[128] The Scorpions' hard rock album Blackout, issued March 29, 1982, by Mercury Records, topped the Billboard 200 and included hits such as "No One Like You," selling over 3 million copies worldwide and marking a peak in the band's arena rock era.^[129] Hip-hop duo Method Man & Redman's collaborative debut Blackout!, released September 28, 1999, by Def Jam, debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, blending gritty East Coast rap with tracks like "Da Rockwilder," and has been credited with influencing subsequent duo projects.^[130] Actual power blackouts have disrupted performances, as in the July 13, 2019, New York City outage affecting Manhattan's Theater District, which canceled 17 Broadway shows including musicals like Moulin Rouge! and To Kill a Mockingbird, stranding audiences and crews in darkened venues for hours.^[131] ^[132] The 1977 New York blackout, lasting 25 hours from July 13-14, indirectly catalyzed hip-hop's rise; widespread looting enabled aspiring DJs like Grandmaster Flash to acquire turntables and mixers at low cost from ransacked stores, accelerating block-party culture and equipment access in the Bronx.^[133] Such events highlight vulnerabilities in live music and theater reliant on electrical infrastructure, prompting contingency protocols like backup generators in major venues.

Comics, Games, and Other Media

In Marvel Comics, Blackout refers to Marcus Daniels, a supervillain who acquired the ability to manipulate Darkforce energy—creating tangible darkness, teleporting through shadows, and draining life force—following exposure during a scientific experiment; he debuted as an antagonist to Nova in Nova #19 (September 1977).^[134] Another iteration, the Lilin demon Blackout (real name unknown), possesses superhuman strength, immortality, and shadow-based powers as a spawn of Lilith, frequently clashing with Ghost Rider; this character first appeared in Ghost Rider vol. 2 #28 (August 1992).^[135] The 2014 Dark Horse Comics miniseries Blackout, written by Frank J. Barbiere and illustrated by Randy Elliott, follows protagonist Scott Travers, who uses experimental "Blackout" gear enabling phase-shifting between dimensions to evade pursuers amid a conspiracy involving advanced technology.^[136] In the Cyberpunk 2077 franchise, the 2022 four-issue comic series Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout, published by Dark Horse Comics, depicts a Night City operative investigating a synthetic drug called Blackout that induces blackouts and hallucinations, tying into themes of corporate exploitation and cybernetic enhancement.^[137] In video games, Blackout serves as the battle royale mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, launched on October 12, 2018, by Treyarch and Activision, supporting up to 100 players parachuting onto a 1,500-square-kilometer map blending locations from prior Black Ops entries, with ground-loot weapons, vehicles, and no pre-deployment loadouts.^[138] The mode emphasizes scavenging and survival, drawing from the series' lore without a traditional single-player campaign.^[138] Separately, Blackout (2018), developed by Nathan Hamley and released on Steam, is a single-player indie horror title featuring puzzle-solving and stealth in a blackout-plagued facility haunted by supernatural entities, prioritizing atmospheric tension over combat.^[139]

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May 5, 2025 · A well-conditioned pilot can withstand 9 Gs for 10 to 15 seconds, compared to only 5 to 7 seconds for an untrained individual.
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time course of performance deficits with repeated experience
U.S. Air Force doctrine holds that when pilots experience GLOC, impairment lasts for 24 s, in which there are 12 s of complete unconsciousness and 12 s of ...Missing: statistics | Show results with:statistics
[106]
[PDF] G-Induced Loss of Consciousness and Its Prevention - DTIC
fighter pilots, is a result of combined use of a G suit and very effective self-protective straining maneuvers such as the 11-1, L-1 and pressure breatihing, ...
[107]
Anti-G Straining Maneuver: a narrative review - ResearchGate
Sep 24, 2024 · Discussion: There is a consensus in the literature that AGSM is the most effective resource to prevent loss of consciousness induced by G-load ( ...
[108]
G-induced visual and cognitive disturbances in a survey of 65 ...
Research also indicates that 8-13% of pilots have experienced G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC). A-LOC can be as insidious as G-LOC due to the associated ...
[109]
In-flight loss of consciousness in a fighter aircrew – G-LOC or No G ...
Jun 1, 2023 · The differential diagnosis for inflight loss of consciousness in a fighter pilot is G-induced Loss of Consciousness (G-LOC) as it is physiological.
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G-LOC caused fatal Thunderbirds F-16C crash - Key Aero
Nov 15, 2018 · AIR COMBAT Command has released the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) report into the fatal crash of a Thunderbirds F-16CM in April this ...
[111]
[PDF] Acceleration in Aviation: G-Force
Sep 18, 2024 · G-force in aviation is a force that can cause loss of consciousness if not managed. G-tolerance varies, and can be affected by fatigue, alcohol ...
[112]
What is Blackout Poetry? Examples and Inspiration - Writers.com
Sep 19, 2025 · What is blackout poetry? It's the process of redacting text to create an entirely new poem. Find blackout poetry examples and ideas here.
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Taking Blackout Poetry to the Next Level - NCTE
Apr 13, 2019 · I wanted to share some resources for blackout poetry that are perfect for National Poetry month, but are also a bit more challenging, even more ...
[114]
Justin Torres, Author of 'Blackouts,' Wins National Book Award for ...
Nov 15, 2023 · Justin Torres received the fiction prize for “Blackouts,” his widely acclaimed, genre-defying novel about erasure and queer history.
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Blackout - HarperCollins Publishers
In stock Free delivery over $35Blackout. A Novel. By Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon ...
[116]
The Blackout (2019) - IMDb
Rating 6/10 (11,789) The Blackout: Directed by Egor Baranov. With Aleksey Chadov, Pyotr Fyodorov, Svetlana Ivanova, Lukerya Ilyashenko. Life on Earth is rapidly destroyed except ...
[117]
Blackout (1954) - Make Mine Film Noir
Sep 1, 2024 · Blackout (which also goes by the title Murder by Proxy in Great Britain) was one of many films noir produced by Hammer Film Productions in ...<|separator|>
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Suggested Viewing: Blackout Films | KPBS Public Media
Sep 9, 2011 · The 1978 film "Blackout," chronicled the massive 1977 New York blackout. The trailer serves up the cheesiest take on the crisis and taps into ...Missing: notable | Show results with:notable
[119]
Blackout (TV Mini Series 2021– ) - IMDb
Rating 6.3/10 (1,602) On a cold November day, electricity fails all over Europe. Blackout. While the government and authorities struggle with the effects and with clarification.Episode list · Plot · Release info · Francis Fulton-Smith as...Missing: titled | Show results with:titled
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Blackout (TV Series 2020–2021) - IMDb
Rating 6.3/10 (740) Flemish political thriller Black-Out is about a sabotage at a nuclear power plant, causing a blackout though Western Europe. We follow the prime-minister and ...
[121]
Watch Black Out Streaming Online | Hulu
She confesses but claims the blackout for not remembering anything. 10 years later, she serves out her sentence. Episode 2. Episode 2. Jung-Woo arrives at a ...
[122]
REVIEW: Blackout Songs by Joe White – Red Stitch - Theatre First
Jun 6, 2024 · Joe White's Blackout Songs is an exploration of co-dependency and self-destruction. It's hard to watch, but it draws the audience in.
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El apagón / The Blackout (2007, 2011) - Hemispheric Institute
"El Apagón/The Blackout" is a bilingual theatrical adaptation of the story "La noche que volvimos a ser gente" by José Luis González, set to the sounds of ...
[124]
BLACKOUT: A ONE WOMAN SHOW Comes To The Exit Theatre In ...
May 17, 2023 · In "Blackout," Hailey Henderson takes on the role of her ex-boyfriend, her abuser, her Title IX coordinator and more in a radical reclamation of ...
[125]
Blackout gag - Wikipedia
A blackout gag is a kind of joke in broad, rapid-fire slapstick comedy. The term is derived from burlesque and vaudeville, when the lights were quickly turned ...
[126]
BLACKOUT or BLACK-OUT or BLACK OUT | AACT
1) To darken a stage suddenly, enhancing the effect of stage action and permitting a swift change of scenery. 2) Complete absence of stage lighting.
[127]
Fade to Black - a history of the theatrical blackout - Cherwell
Mar 19, 2019 · The blackout is when the audience can share a quiet moment, and realize that they have just witnessed something amazing.Missing: definition | Show results with:definition
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Blackouts (and to how not to use them!) - Drama Definitions - YouTube
Jun 4, 2020 · A note on using blackouts sparingly and other suggestions for transitions. A black out is where all the stage lights are switched off/out in ...<|separator|>
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Blackout - Album by Britney Spears | Spotify
Piece of Me · Britney Spears · Radar · Britney Spears · Break the Ice · Britney Spears · Heaven On Earth · Britney Spears · Get Naked (I Got a Plan).
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Scorpions 'Blackout' Released March 29, 1982 Their best ? Favorite ...
Mar 28, 2025 · The "BLACKOUT" album was one of the great albums of the first half of the eighties! It perfectly complemented the 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal'.
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Every Generation Has A Blackout Level Game Changing Album
Feb 23, 2023 · 'Blackout's sound was the direct result of albums like 'FS/LS', 'Paris' and 'Loose'. Hell, she even hired Timbaland's protege after being ...
[132]
Broadway Shows Canceled After New York City Blackout - NPR
Jul 14, 2019 · A number of Broadway shows were cancelled last night during a massive power outage in New York City.<|separator|>
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Blackout Darkens Broadway, but Songs Brighten Sidewalk Scenes
Jul 13, 2019 · Thousands were without electricity after a power failure. How We Reported on the Blackout in Manhattan. July 16, 2019.Missing: notable | Show results with:notable
[134]
How New York City's 1977 Blackout Jump-Started the Hip-Hop Era
Oct 14, 2022 · Run for the stores.” And everybody just fanned out, all different directions, toward stores. Merchant after the 1977 blackout power failure in ...
[135]
Blackout (Character) - Comic Vine
Blackout is a super-villain who can manipulate Darkforce matter and energy and open portals to it's dimension. He formerly worked alongside Moonstone and ...
[136]
Blackout (Lilin) Powers, Enemies, History - Marvel.com
The official Marvel page for Blackout (Lilin). Learn all about Blackout both on screen and in comics!Missing: character | Show results with:character
[137]
Blackout Volume 1: Into the Dark - Amazon.com
Scott Travers is nothing special, but he possesses something that is very special--an outfit bearing technology that allows Travers to move in and out of our ...<|separator|>
[138]
Cyberpunk 2077 returns to comic books with Blackout - GamesRadar
Mar 17, 2022 · Dark Horse Comics is about to continue its comic book expansion of the lore of video game Cyberpunk 2077 with a new limited series titled Cyberpunk 2077: ...
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Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 | Blackout
Jump from an aerial transport with nothing but your wingsuit, survey the vast Blackout map and pick the best place to start your fight.
[140]
Blackout on Steam
Blackout is a single-player game with the goal of sending chills down your spine. Utilizing endless tension, exceptional 3D graphics, and a horrifying ...<|separator|>