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by Michael Sacco 
Nov 9th 2009 at 8:00PM
The Wrath storyline factored heavily into the official WoW comics, albeit slightly late, and continues to do so with the release of the upcoming Thassarian manga. And now it looks like it's headed on a collision course with the storyline to Cataclysm! Ogre-turned-Liefeldian-monstrosity Cho'gall recites a prophecy in the latest issue related heavily to the Old Gods, Mary Sue shamagadin Med'an, and the Elemental Planes. BlizzPlanet has a pretty good writeup of what the prophecy could mean and its consequences down the road, but I'll give you a brief summary here, too.
Of course, I'll toss it after the jump for those inclined to avoid spoilers. Ready?
Cho'gall, empowered by C'Thun, says that when the child of three worlds, Med'an, becomes "of Light" -- dies, in the vernacular -- then the barrier between the Elemental Planes and terrestrial Azeroth will shatter and they'll begin to merge. Well, we certainly know that the merger (or, more fittingly, hostile takeover) happens, so it stands to reason that Med'an will die. I figured Deathwing just did it himself, but I guess there's more to it. It could also lend credence to the rumor that Thrall becomes the new Guardian of Tirisfal, despite Med'an's recent infusion of Guardian power.
Let me get on my soapbox for just a minute here.
To be frank, I like the concept of Med'an -- a mixed-breed in a world where the most we usually get are the result of Rhonin's apparently irresistible charms to elven women -- but the execution of the character has been just awful so far. A character that can use every kind of magic. who happens to be the son of two Warcraft II heroes! How wonderful. That certainly makes everyone else obsolete.
So, no, I wouldn't mourn the loss of Med'an in the way he's been presented so far, especially if it means that someone whose character has been completely assassinated in Wrath -- our favorite Son of Durotan -- can come back to the forefront and be an actual leader... even if it's not just for the Horde anymore.
But this is a consistent issue with the WoW comic, in my opinion -- uneven characterization, exclusive storylines that aren't really that engaging to begin with but still affect the game world, and new characters that act like we've known them forever. Add to that the increasingly unattractive art in the book, like Garrosh's tiny, tiny head and "shoulders" that make up roughly half his body -- I know I already used the word Liefeldian, but I really want to use it again -- and it equals out to sizable difficulty in enjoying the series at all, either in art or story. But the comic is also the only way to experience these storylines in the expanded universe.
So here's what Blizzard can do for us: Avoid confining important storylines to just the comics or novels. We encountered this with Sartharion and the Obsidian Sanctum -- players actually did have a legitimate reason for killing him, but most players have no idea what that reason is. And that's because it was contained in Night of the Dragon, a novel, and never once mentioned in-game. Not in a quest, not in gossip text, nothing. And any player who doesn't read the comics has no idea why Varian Wrynn is back as King of Stormwind or why he's so angry at the Horde. All we need is something in the game.
For Cataclysm, there's so much fantastic backstory behind Deathwing and the Cataclysm itself that it'd be a true shame to have a huge driving force behind it stuck in comic book land. Let's hope that Blizzard feels the same way.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
Shionia Nov 10th 2009 5:33AM
Reading this (after having read the info on the Icecrown sound files) makes me wonder who might be getting set up as the Lich King's new "container" after Arthas is gone. Someone green? Guarding Azeroth from the destructive remnants of a former shaman?
josh Nov 10th 2009 7:12AM
Y'know what i'd like to see? Class/Role-specific questlines that are very story based that continue from 80-85 so that you get in game movies that are (kinda) specific to you that contribute to the storyline and takes you places that major events happen.
I don't want them to be the majority of quests, but just bits and pieces here, so that when you go into a new area with a raid portal, you get taken there by a quest and you have some of the back story - something to bring more lore into the game. they started to do this with Wrath, but they could do so much more.
Sword Nov 10th 2009 9:19AM
I have to say our characters are far more overpowered and ridulious than any lore character...including Medan
We never lose..victory is guaranteed. There is no threat that 10 or 25 people toghether can;'t handle..
But I degress..
The most popular anime ever, DragonballZ, was full of what you would call "riduliously overpowered characters"..however, that is why people watched it, and loved it.
Then theres the incredible Hulk....transformed he has no weakness, he just gets stronger and more powerful the angrier he gets. In Marvel, he took out pretty much every other character...but guess what? Hes one of the most popular comic book characters ever created.
wolfsterne Nov 10th 2009 3:44PM
Yes, but with DragonballZ there wasn't a group of Epeen strokers attached to a MMO that were seething with jealousy because fictional character was more powerful than their level 80. Honestly just look at some of the responses myself and Medievaldragon go from our post ...hell Med was told he had no journalistic integrity because he isn't on the I hate Ronin bus, then there is the Sheeple that rush to vote down any dissenting viewpoint. This is why WoW.com is a laughing stock today, and has less and less credibility with its current niche audience.
Nagi Nov 10th 2009 9:25PM
If our characters are more powerful than lore characters, why does it take 20-40 of us to down a faction leader?
That, however, is really beside the point. The problem with characters like Med'an and Rhonin isn't that they're powerful, or more powerful than our characters, it's that they're to put it simply, "too perfect." They can do everything, they can handle every situation, they have few to no weaknesses, all while typically having no actual personality and effectively rendering so much of the existing lore obsolete. That not only makes them not interesting, as it takes an actual personality and inherent character flaws to accomplish that (Wrynn's pride, Thrall's naivety, Sylvanas's blind vengeance, Maiev's obsession, Tirion's over-reliance on honor, etc.), but it actually makes them annoying in the sense that they're taking away purpose from so many other established lore characters in their jarringly out-of-place perfection. If Med'an is "THE savior of Azeroth," then where the hell does that leave characters like Thrall and Tirion and Malfurion and Darion and Velen, who each in their own way struggles valiantly to accomplish just that, and have been doing so for so long in established Warcraft lore? Why the hell did we bother to follow their stories at all if some punk kid's gonna come out of nowhere and do it all for them without breaking a sweat? That's a major copout. And then you have characters like Rhonin, who supposedly traveled back in time and taught Illidan magic. Something like that outright cheapens the other lore characters. Where Illidan used to be known as a powerful arcanist in his own right, suddenly he himself is just some upstart who needed an ultra-perfect Mary Sue to teach him the ropes. It diminishes him, makes him less significant and less impressive, all for no other reason than to make some hack author's insert character "more badass."
Powerful characters are fine. Excessively convenient, perfect-in-every-way characters that just barge in out of left field and cheapen everything we've known of the lore to date, however, are not, and that's exactly what Warcraft comics and novels are rife with.
The DBZ and Incredible Hulk comparisons, by the way, do not work. Yes, the characters in these stories are physically incredibly powerful, but no one character swoops in able to single-handedly answer every ill in the world, do everything every other character can and do it better, or otherwise revoke any of the point the stories originally had. The characters in these stories have their own distinct virtues and vices that define them as characters and not just walking, talking plot devices like Med'an and Rhonin are (Goku's naivety, Vegeta's pride, Bruce Banner's rage), as well as clearly defined limits and weaknesses (that is, if you ignore some of the dodgier, recent Hulk/Red Hulk comics, which DO get Mary Sue accusations, and rightfully so). Just because the characters are physically powerful does not mean they're an ultra-perfect, do-everything Mary Sue (to use a WoW example, Saurfang is incredibly strong, but is still tempered by unfortunate memories of his past and attempts to reclaim the honor of the pre-Legion orcish race, and doesn't go around miraculously solving every single problem on Azeroth with excessive convenience that just magically materializes whenever the story calls for a quick fix).
ZakuDoom Nov 19th 2009 6:12PM
Was gonna say something but Nagi but it beautifully
ZakuDoom Nov 19th 2009 6:12PM
put rather....*sigh*
Carbon Nov 10th 2009 9:03PM
Maybe "of Light" means that Me'dan will get all the ICC achievements?
BlahBlahBlah Nov 10th 2009 5:27PM
Dear, Wolfsterne.
You know, for someone who denounces "idiot speak." You sure do use a lot, like "smacktard," "sheeple," and "epeen." Did someone at WoW.com run over your dog or something? What's with all the vitriol?
Oh, and you misspelled, "dilettante." But I'm sure a smart person like you already knows that, right champ?
wolfsterne Nov 10th 2009 9:00PM
Vitrol? I could ask the same thing about the poorly written nerd rage fest Sacco posted...It's interesting that those who spew the most shit cry foul first when the tables are turned.
clankoh_site Nov 12th 2009 2:09AM
A nonny mouse, your comments mean nothing to me. I was joking. You know ... (lol as in laughing out loud ...). Mike and I email each other from time to time, and he supports my news often on wow.com
Everyone has a right to their opinion about the writers, I have mine too even if it bugs you. Yours about Knaak or other writers doesn't bother me, nor Michael's. Again ... my post was meant as a joke.