Helldivers 2 dev shares more fan art of best girl Eagle-1, but insists that she hasn't been "physically augmented to better perform their duty"

Arrowhead Game Studios has shared yet more fan art of Helldivers 2's beloved Eagle-1 pilot, while insisting that she and the other Eagle pilots haven't been "physically augmented" in order to better deliver Managed Democracy.

For context, when it comes to Helldivers 2's ship module upgrades, poor Eagle-1 has had it rough. The faceless pilot who swoops in to drop powerful Eagle Stratagems works tirelessly to destroy bugs and bots, but what does she get in return? With the latter two Eagle Stratagem upgrades, far worse working conditions, apparently. Loyal Helldivers were concerned when the XXL Weapons Bay upgrade rolled out, removing Eagle-1's safety systems, but even before that, the Expanded Weapons Bay was said to "trim excess leg space" to fit more cargo.

In the latest art shared by Arrowhead, Reddit user magisterium_art mocked up the idea of Eagle-1 being an amputee with prosthetic legs, which according to the art, could be temporarily removed in order to better accommodate the Expanded Weapons Bay. According to SE High Command, however, this isn't a requirement in order for the Eagle pilots to fight more effectively. 

"SE High Command would like to dispel any rumors that our Eagle pilots have been physically augmented to better perform their duty," Arrowhead writes. "If you see any personnel with unauthorized body modifications, they may be an Automaton dissident. Stay vigilant, Helldivers."

This isn't the first time that Arrowhead has leaned into the community's love of best girl Eagle-1. Earlier this month, the studio shared fan art depicting her as an anime girl, noting to the onslaught of admirers that "she's married to Democracy, and Liberty is her boyfriend." 

The anime-style design and the art most recently shared look pretty different, so it doesn't appear that Arrowhead is trying to canonize any particular look for her, but rather allow Helldivers to imagine the loyal pilot however they like. One thing is for sure, though, if Arrowhead ever does decide to unleash a canon, in-game Eagle-1 design upon the world, Helldivers everywhere are going to go absolutely wild. 

One Helldivers 2 player recently shared a one-in-a-million clip in which they got launched into the air and gruesomely attacked by Eagle-1's jet.