Of Guardians, Comics, and Cataclysms
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 5:00AM | Richard 'Greyseer' Powell | in Comics, Speculation | 5 Comments | Share Article I know what some of you are thinking:
"Thar! Why do you have an article about the comics when the next issue isn't out yet?"
Well, I was pointed to this article on WoW.com, which further linked to this article on Blizzplanet.com, and they both sparked my inspiration. So now I inflict this—erm... now I bring to you, my dear readers, my own thoughts on how the comics will tie into Cataclysm and the events of that upcoming expansion.
But first, a little preamble.
The Problem Thus Far
The bulk of Warcraft's fans just play World of Warcraft. Certainly, there are enough people who buy the comics, the manga, the novels, and all the other little knick-knacks to support a reasonably lucrative market on such things, but that doesn't mean that every subscriber does. In fact, I'd wager a guess that there are more people playing WoW who have never read the comic or any of the manga than those who have.
Because of this discrepancy, we end up getting major characters from these secondary sources introduced into the game and made important to a group of people who have no idea why said characters should be important. I've come to dub this The Anveena Effect, to honor our wonderful little water fountain-turned-human-in-love-with-a-dragon.
You see, there were many people who entered the raid instance of Patch 2.4: Fury of the Sunwell wondering who the heck this human woman was and why she was being sacrificed. They had little to no real introduction to the idea that Anveena was the Sunwell. Or, rather, that she was what remained of its essence. So a chunk of those people just ignored the story and moved forward with the raid encounter. Another chunk balked at the "silly idea" of a human woman encompassing the remainder of the Sunwell's powers, and their respect for Warcraft lore dropped.
Risking your audience's enjoyment in the story because you did not properly introduce them to an important character is, to me, bad storytelling. And it's the core of why the Anveena Effect is dangerous. The less people pay attention to your game's story, the less chance you have to hold their attention into the future.
So how does this affect Med'an, our fresh-faced son of Medivh and Garona, wielder of multiple magics, and new Guardian?
The Med'anveena Effect?
How many people who play World of Warcraft know who Med'an is, you think? How many people even know who Medivh is, for that matter? I can only believe that the number is nowhere near the number of WoW's current active subscriber base.
As it stands, Med'an runs a pretty big risk of falling to the Anveena Effect. If he's introduced in-game as a half-human, quarter-orc, and quarter-draenei character who's the son of Medivh and Garona and somehow related to all those cool action figures... well, there will be eyebrows of inquisition raised aplenty.
So how will Blizzard handle this? Will they go forward and bring Med'an into game with no other introduction? Will they kill him off before he gets a chance to make an appearance (like, say, in the upcoming issue)? Or will we somehow be introduced to him more gradually through in-game quests and events?
Perhaps the answer lies in the prophecy to which we were introduced in the comics:
When the child of three realms becomes as Light, the ancient power will be released. The earth will tremble, the seas will rise up in answer, and all will be madness. A new day will dawn, bringing with it chaos or peace…
Part of me (as well as those fine folks over at WoW.com and BlizzPlanet) thinks that "becomes as Light" essentially means he's going to die. Or rather, "not be around anymore to show up in-game and cause confusion." So perhaps he dies, or perhaps he somehow ascends. Either way, there's a chance we may see Med'an's story concluded more permanently come Issue #25 (especially since Issue #26 begins an entirely new pair of arcs with entirely new characters, writers, and artists).
They further go on to speculate that his departure will weaken the veil between Azeroth and the elemental plane, and that it's this weakening that allows Deathwing to break through from Deepholm during the opening events of Cataclysm.
Certainly, all of this is possible. But I'd like to point out a little incongruency with the timelines. As it stands, the current timeline we're experiencing in the WoW comic is actually happening in our relative past when Wrath of the Lich King is taken into account. Remember that the Lich King's invasion of Orgrimmar and Stormwind concluded back in Issue #20 of comic time, and almost a year of real / game time. Thus, if Med'an dies / ascends in Issue #25 and that kicks off the Cataclysm, we'd have already seen the results.
But with that said, it's entirely possible that Med'an's proposed death could still lead to the cataclysmic events of the upcoming expansion.
Co(s)mic Alignment
The events in the current monthly WoW comic are too large to ignore entirely, and it would be waste of months of storytelling to completely discard what's been going on with the current arc. So how can it all align with the events of the MMO?
Just some speculation:
Med'an faces off with Cho'gall, who's now fully empowered by C'thun. During this battle, Med'an gets beaten heartily, but pulls back at the last moment. It is then that Med'an draws his powers from the Light and gets bolstered by the naaru, putting him in a state of near ascension.
During this influx of power, Med'an defeats Cho'gall, and in turn is able to defeat what remains of C'thun, finally killing the Old God permanently. However, since C'thun and the other Old Gods are still tied to Azeroth, his death ultimately weakens the world and the veil between the elemental plane and the material realm. The extent of this weakening is not made apparent, however.
A new day will dawn, bringing with it chaos or peace…
The heroes of the world will see peace, and to them it will seem that the prophecy is fulfilled. Med'an will ascend fully to something greater and give back the Guardian power, which was part of the 'gift' that his father left him. The Council will be left to find another to take his place, but with Cho'gall and C'thun's threat gone for now, they won't seek a replacement immediately.
But the magnitude of such a shift in power will awaken another entity on the elemental plane, stirring the rage of a being vanished to the world for years. Deathwing shifts his attention once again to Azeroth and plots his return...
A Clean Merger
The above scenario would buy the storytellers at Blizzard a few large advantages. Firstly, it will remove Med'an from active continuity, which relieves them of the need to bring him in-game. Second, it opens up the position of Guardian, which coincides with some of the rumors we've heard about Thrall's supposed next position of leadership. In addition to both of these, it also sets up the catalyst for Deathwing's return.
This places the comic story arc solidly in the realm of "supplemental." The story becomes unnecesary for MMO-only players to understand, but it still fits cleanly within the lore for those of us who choose to pay attention to the expanded setting. None of the in-game plot elements feel shoehorned-in, as happened with Anveena, because all the in-game plot elements would already have been introduced ... in-game.
But, as per usual, the above is just a bit of off-sides speculation. It is by no means something that's set in stone. Instead, it's just something that I think would be kinda cool to see happen.
And when it comes to the monthly comics? WoW needs something kinda cool...
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Reader Comments (5)
Interesting article, Grey. The comics have been having a hard time of it, yes, and the Anveena syndrome should definitely be avoided, but I just don't feel like the articles you sourced could be right. Frankly, this whole Med'an issue is kind of a big deal, and no matter how it's handled, unless Med'an himself comes into the game, is going to lead to issues. Those who don't read the comics may wonder how the Council has returned, much less how Thrall, a shaman, is heading up what they will believe to be a mage community.
I have faith that Blizzard will handle the transition well-- they always seem to even out in my book-- but so much of this feels jagged and stupefying. And, I'll go on record, I don't see Thrall, of all people, being a Guardian. That just seems silly. Not that I don't think something cool needs to happen in the story of everyone's favorite orc, but I'm still holding my breath. Just because there's rumors of Thrall being the Guardian doesn't mean the rumors are true. So far there's been some discrepancy between the rumors and what's been revealed. I'm hoping Thrall's Guardianship is one of them. If I am wrong, I simply hope that it's done well.
This is a sticky issue, and I don't think there's a lot of ways to involve the comic story ingame that can be done "well." Maybe Blizzard will pull somethign that will make it work. Eventually we will have whatever story they wish us to have.
Personally, I'm starting to believe the entire arc of Cataclysm may be more Thrall-centric than I first thought. Ultimately, it may be the Son of Durotan who is the focus of the final patch and the fight with Deathwing. Little things likes Thrall's supposed "kidnapping" by the Alliance in the goblin starter quests and the secrecy around the cahracter's future suggest to me that, like Bolvar's story with the Wrathgate (and beyond), Thrall may be the key player who pops up throughout the expansion, ultimately leading to a showdown with Deathwing and 25 of Thrall's closest friends, so to speak. If he somehow became Guardian overthe course of the expansion, I think a lot more peopel would buy into that. Add to it the rising sense of conflict between horde ad Alliance as Thrall secretly works to try and unite the two, and you have the makings of some great story.
We'll see, I guess. In the meantime, great thoughts on a very obtuse topic, Grey!
Good article! I try to keep up with some of the lore outside of the game. I've read the Well of Eternity series by Richard Knaak, and I found that really helpful since I did it when TBC was released. I do wish Blizzard would do a better job of showing/explaining lore in game. I think it would really help a lot of people enjoy the game more.
The question of whether or not Thrall actually becomes Guardian is still up in the air. However, it should be noted that the rest of the rumors have panned out to be more or less true.
We DO know that Garrosh is stepping up to lead the Horde. This much has been confirmed by Blizzard. So what happens to Thrall in the interim? Where does the Warchief go?
"Guardianship" is a distinct possibility. That said, we can break down the storytelling logic behind why making Thrall a Guardian is better than introducing Med'an.
Let's assume a WoW player who has no idea what a Guardian is: if you introduce Thrall as a Guardian, you ONLY have to introduce the Guardian concept to said person. And since THIS Council is "new" (as in, reborn), a reintroduction will need to happen anyway. ESPECIALLY considering that the original Council of Tirisfal was secretive. There aren't going to be a whole lot of folk who truly understand what the Council did.
If Med'an were still Guardian? Well, then you'd have to introduce a half-human, quarter-orc, and quarter-draenei character who can wield almost all magics (and is younger than most player characters) to a person who has no idea why this character should be so important. Hence, the Anveena Effect.
Now let's assume a WoW player who knows what a Guardian is, but doesn't read the comics. When you introduce Thrall as Guardian, you'll get an initial shock at the idea, certainly. But that shock should be reduced when the Council itself is reintroduced. You see, the reasons behind the new Council representing all magics is quite solid, and there's little reason I see for a person to balk at a reborn "revised" Council. Once that hurdle is jumped, and once the Cataclysm happens, the "Thrall as Guardian" scenario makes easy sense. Afterall, who better to be Guardian during an elemental Cataclysm than one of the most powerful shaman we currently have?
The final player-type is the player who's been following the comics all along and who knows what a Guardian is. Assuming Issue #25 resolves this arc satisfactorily, there should be no reason why "Thrall as Guardian" becomes a question. You would have seen the Council refounded, you would have seen Med'an, and you already know Thrall.
I think Med'an is very much going to fall to the Anveena Effect, but it may not be necessary to bring him in, under the reasons you cited. I had not read them, but was aware enough from following Lore sources about who Anveena was when the Sunwell came out. I can tell you that very few are going to have any clue who Med'an is in-game, at least in the circles I hang out in.
The concerns with a shaman taking up a 'mage' position does run counter-tradiiton, but I believe I saw an excerpt where the new Council of Tirisfal was going to be made up of those from all caster communities, not just mages, so it's quite plausible that any of them could become the next Guardian.
Money is too tight right now for me to be following much of the comics and manga, so I eagerly hunt and read what hints I can get about what's going on in them. :)
Very good post Mr. Greyseer. I am part of the minority in the grand WoW community who knew who the heck Anverna was. That being said I'm in love when they bring in characters from the manga. While Anveena's character was kinda shotty the idea behind and general storyline was great. Plus she introduced us to the greatest Tauren after Cairne and Hamuul; yes I speak of the almighty dk Trag Highmountain. That being said I kinda hope something bad happens to Me'dan and that he himself doesn't show up in Cata. I mean the guy is more Mary-Sue than all the Rhonin's in all the possible universes that ever existed. Knowing about the original Council and such and how the Nexus War has caused this new "Council" to accept all schools of magic I can understand wanting a super shaman as the leader of it. I dint even care if Thrall leads it. That makes sense and can be explained with extreme ease. What I don't like is calling him, or anyone for that matter, the Guardian. This is because, at least how I see it, Medihv's return always seemed to have a twofold purpose. 1. To redeem himself after Sargeras's Horcrux ::cough cough:: had been destroyed. And 2. To show the mortals that we no longer, nor ever would again, need a "guardian". That the mortals were capable of protecting themselves. And this second purpose led to WoW, where we see the mortals of the world stepping up to the plate and defending the world themselves. Oh well. That's just my two cents. Look forward to any response and all your future articles =D