Breakfast Topic: Northrend pop culture references
by Lesley Smith 
Apr 18th 2009 at 8:00AM
Blizzard is famous for adding references from all kinds of films, TV shows and other media into WoW (aka Easter Eggs.) Take this lovely young flower seller in Dalaran. Remind you of anyone? As I wander through Azeroth and Outland, I'm struck by the number of references to real world pop culture. From snakes on a plane in Nagrand to Dr. Boom in Netherstorm to Florist Gump in Stormwind, not to mention a talking rat and some turtles in Dalaran sewer. The list goes on and on. I also quite like the virtual presence of beloved Blues in the form of Eyonix in the Stormspire and Drysc in the Exodar, but my favourite is that human joke about a bracelet of power.
With the addition of Wrath, it seems we have even more references to uncover. So tell us, constant readers, which are you favourites and have you uncovered any new ones post Patch 3.1?
With the addition of Wrath, it seems we have even more references to uncover. So tell us, constant readers, which are you favourites and have you uncovered any new ones post Patch 3.1?
Filed under: Patches, NPCs, Lore, The Burning Crusade, Humor, Expansions, Breakfast Topics, Odds and ends, Virtual selves, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Amritrao Apr 18th 2009 8:11AM
The achievement "It's Just a Flesh Wound" after killing the Black Knight in in one of the Argent Tourney quest chains made me laugh. Brave, brave Sir Amritrao bravely ran away (to fetch a shrubbery)!
Promethus Apr 19th 2009 10:02PM
That's funny cause when Kologarn loses one of his arms he also says "Just a flesh wound" and when he kills someone he says "YOU FAIL." I find both of those hilarious.
subtotal Apr 18th 2009 6:30PM
definetley a reference to the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
pwkalt1 Apr 18th 2009 7:44PM
When you destroy one of kologarn's arms, he also says "Just a flesh wound!"
Neara Apr 21st 2009 9:14AM
Actually, when you pull Kologarn, he also yells "NONE SHALL PASS", which is also a Monty Python's Black Knight reference.
BLACK KNIGHT: None shall pass!
ARTHUR: What?
BLACK KNIGHT: None shall pass!
ARTHUR: I have no quarrel with you, good Sir knight, but I must cross this bridge.
FiredCylinder Apr 18th 2009 8:12AM
These are all great, but I couldn't see half of them because some add banner plopped itself right in the middle of the picture.
Saryn Apr 18th 2009 8:14AM
I quite liked 'Doctor Terrible' in Icecrown. Huge Joss Whedon Fan and I absolutely love Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog.
Dragonberry Apr 18th 2009 8:19AM
I like how WoW makes fun of itself with the Jenkins and the new Ulduar Nerf Engineering achievements.
Dischordant Apr 18th 2009 8:21AM
I have to say the Fight Club guys in Undercity :D
Vine Apr 18th 2009 8:22AM
Bambini the deer, as well as her mother, Flora the skunk and Thudder the rabbit patrol around near the Westfall brigade in Grizzly. Sometimes, a hunter shoots Bambini's mother, and Bambini vows revenge, and kills him.
Faladril Apr 18th 2009 8:22AM
On the beach below Warsong Hold, there is a goblin who gives you a quest to find his tools. If you stand there long enough, he nearly recited a lyric from a Pink Floyd song. He says, "I wanna go home. Take off this uniform and leave the Horde."
I was in the floor.
What's funnier is when people don't "get it." Then the Easter eggs feel like an inside joke between me and the game designers.
Warren Apr 18th 2009 11:34AM
In NetherStorm at Area 52 there is a Goblin that goes over the lyrics to Rocket Man by Elton John. I think they might even have a bit of Bowie's Space song in it.
matt Apr 20th 2009 10:38AM
In Icecrown, I believe the two big towers represent the two towers from LOTR'S. But then again I dont think anyone missed that =).
Also the quest that you had to kill the Eye at the top of the tower... Haha. =)
steffen Apr 18th 2009 8:29AM
The LOST refrance on the little island in Sholazar cracks be up everytime i see it
bobby Apr 18th 2009 8:35AM
arcanist ginsberg and burroughs in violet citadel, not new to this patch but still the coolest.
Rodrigo Apr 18th 2009 8:35AM
I started leveling my priest with the new dual spec feature, and I had to Keep Feeling Fascination when I accepted The Human League in the Fjord....
PeeWee Apr 18th 2009 8:37AM
It just strikes me as hypocritical that we have all these references, yet you're not allowed to name yer character to make one.
Popular Culture and Media Figures
This category includes both clear and masked names which:
* Are references to very well known people, characters, places, or icons from popular culture and media
soccerdude7 Apr 18th 2009 2:34PM
Well duh, they would lose all their new references if we started making some.
Eddy Apr 18th 2009 5:21PM
From a legal standpoint, I'm sure that covers their ass. If you make a character that's offensive to someone (say, Paris Hilton as a male gnome or something, idk) and there's a lawsuit they can say, well, we didn't want anyone to do that. But they can make Haris Pilton and control the context of it (they don't, for example, make her do anything really embarrassing or awkward that Hilton would find offensive, its just a silly joke.) Maybe Hilton isn't the best example because she's not all that controversial, but if you were to make, say, Bush or Obama and stage a torture roleplay in Dalaran, you might quickly find a situation that's offensive to people and might cause a lot of controversy.
It isn't hypocritical at all. They can control the jokes they put in, they can't control what you do with their game. It makes sense for them to put disclaimers like that in, and remove things that are immersion-breaking even on non-rp servers.
ryan Apr 18th 2009 8:39AM
lead singer to the death metal band cannibal corpse George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher plays WoW alot (seven lvl 70-80s) so they added "Gorge the Corpsegrinder" in Borean Tundra. Oh ya he HATES alliance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW_Lv0r-l4c