An egomaniac suing the maker of a video game over their satirical and arguably dubious likeness appearing in a video game?
It's true. This time Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of Panama, is said to be suing Activision after what he claims is a character based on himself appeared in Call of Duty.
The former military despot says that a character based on himself appeared in 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
On that score he's probably right: the character in question is named Noriega, and appears as a CIA agent -- which really happened. In the game Noriega helps the US capture a Nicaraguan terrorist and is later hunted down himself. In reality he was captured in 1989 after the invasion of Panama.
Whether or not he's going to win the case is another matter entirely, however.
Now 80 years old, Noriega is currently in prison in Panama for crimes that include the murder of his enemies and human rights violations.
Regardless, the dictator is angry that his likeness in the game is that of a "kidnapper, murderer and enemy of the state", according to court documents.
"Plaintiff was portrayed as an antagonist and portrayed as the culprit of numerous fictional heinous crimes, creating the false impression that defendants are authorized to use plaintiff's image and likeness. This caused plaintiffs to receive profits they would not have otherwise received."
Activision has not commented, but experts seem to think they won't have to be too worried -- Noriega is not a citizen or resident of the US, and his grounds for bringing a claim there are unclear.
Recently the celebrity Lindsay Lohan reportedly sued the makers of Grand Theft Auto 5, after a character her lawyers claim was based on her appeared as a washed-up, self-obsessed actress.