Another discussion I’ve had lately with friends revolves around whether Arthas was the most powerful Lich King that was possible since as a Paladin he was unremarkable compared to the likes of Uther, Alexandros Mograine, and Turalyon. Once he was a DK he seemed to rocket up quite a few scales of power, especially once he finally had Frostmourne.
Jaina Proudmoore is a popular counterexample though due to the scenario we see in Stormrage and Heroes of the Storm. We all know how powerful she becomes after exposure to the Mana Bomb but also that even before then she was considered a magical prodigy.
The discussion becomes whether Jainas natural talent and power would make her a stronger Lich King.
I personally see them at about the same level if not Arthas being ahead since that’s who the Lich King chose as his vessel over anyone else. I also am fairly confident he could have picked anyone as well since the Legion was quite patient and could have, in time, manipulated almost anyone like they did Arthas.
The manga Warcraft: Legends Volume 5 actually poses this “what if…” when various major lore character (Thrall, Jaina, and I think Magni) experience nightmares.
Jaina’s nightmare is she becomes the Lich Queen instead of Arthas in some “I’ll be the evil one to save you” kind of way, and the narration implies that her power as a Mage would make her FAR more powerful than Arthas.
'Course, I don’t know if the manga are even considered canon these days.
I don’t think so, but the novel Stormrage shows a similar scenario as a nightmare of Jaina’s if I remember correctly. The magic power would make sense, though, and she’d certainly be the “Ice Queen” style villain.
As for being corrupted I’d say she’d still be susceptible in her own way. She’s certainly more naive and gullible than Arthas which could make her easier to manipulate from the shadows instead of just guiding her down a path of destruction like they did with Arthas.
Still, there appears to be something about Light users that makes them stronger when turned into DKs and such since we don’t get many examples of non-Paladins or Priests, so it isn’t entirely certain whether jaina’s power would really transfer that much.
Eh, if we want to consider the PC when it comes to powerful Death Knights… I don’t think the Light has anythin’ to do with it. The Deathlord could be an Orc for all we know.
Then there’s the Four Horsemen… only two of them raised in Legion were Light-wielders - Whitemane and Mograine (unless Mograine wasn’t a Paladin/Priest… I actually don’t know). The other two, Trollbane and Nazgrim, were Warriors.
I think the Lich Queen would’ve been much more powerful than the Lich King, but she would NOT have been a Death Knight. Death Knights require martial training and prowess as well. The DKs of the Scourge are not like the DKs of the Second War, after all.
Jaina would be more like the mother of all Liches or Banshees than she would have been a DK.