Before the Apex Games, a more brutal competition held sway: the Thunderdome Games! Here, sibling fighters Sok Leng and Kit Siang Phua reigned supreme. They were joined by August Brinkman, Sok Leng’s eventual husband. But when August’s selfish playstyle led to Kit Siang’s death, August would retreat from the Games, from Sok Leng, and from their young son, Nate. August spent decades as a recluse. When Nate decides to follow his family’s legacy into the arena, August returns to strike a deal to reenter the Games in his son’s place.