WoW character references

Lore Story Forum
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Several characters in WoW have been used for pop-culture references or they themselves are based on other people in fiction, legend or real-life. At least once the comparison is even made by the author. Some of them may or may not be based on anyone deliberately, but there are similarities. These are a few examples;

  • Thrall is Moses + Spartacus (with a bit of Thor mixed in, as there’s a few parallels between Mjölnir and Doomhammer).

  • Arthas is King Arthur + Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker (the first one’s a bit obvious imo, given the names ARTHur and ARTHas. There’s also a bit of Elric in Arthas, which makes Frostmourne a nod to Stormbringer).

  • Yrel has literally been compared to Joan of Arc by the devs themselves in WoD (which makes me wonder if they have/had an agenda with what they did to her in BfA)

  • Of course, Sargeras, Kil’jaeden and Archimonde all take cues from Satan (particularly Sargeras and Kil’jaeden. At one point the devs, or at least Metzen, even said Sargeras was WoW’s equivalent of Satan. And yes, Sargeras also seems like a reference to Surt from Norse Mythology).

One more here because I’m not sure if he counts;

  • Illidan seems like a reference to Spawn. He definitely ticks the boxes of a 90’s antihero, even… no, ESPECIALLY after the retcons, and there’s definitely parallels.

Thoughts? Any other character references or parallels that people recognize?

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The Winter Queen has all sorts of mythological backgrounds, but she reminds me of Galadriel during her reign over Lothlorien. Instead of a perpetual golden forest, more of a perpetual twilight. But mostly because one of her little “/poke” is a reference to Galadriel, if you bother her enough.

Sylvanas has been used as a device to move the plot, more than a character with consistency. But she kind of reminds me of Tim Burton’s Cat Woman played by Michelle Pfieffer. She looks a lot like her sometimes, in some artist renderings. She is kind of an anti hero. She does bad things, she is consumed by revenge, and she dies repeatedly. She even has 9 lives - like the 9 Valkyr/cats lives.

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I like it. While the Galadriel comparison is one I’d forgotten, I’d never even noticed those Sylvanas/Catwoman shared elements. All I knew Sylvanas as was “undead fantasy Sarah Kerrigan”.

Now that you mention it, some of her conversations with certain characters sound like things Catwoman has said to Batman.

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Elune and Malorne (as well as Tyrande/Malfurion) take a LOT of inspiration from Pagan and Wiccan motifs of a ‘Moon Goddess’ and a ‘Wild God’. Unsure if that is intentional but it’s pretty close if it isn’t.

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It does seem like Elune is based off the pagan belief of the Moon Goddess called the Triple Goddess. Those being Maiden, Mother, Crone. It’s interesting to say the least.

Wild Gods seem to be based off an ancient pagan belief called Animinism. Basically the belief is that everything in nature, down to the rocks and soil, has a soul and is alive in some form or another

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Where? Where are WoW characters referenced in pop culture? The famous South Park episode where the kids play World of Warcraft didn’t mention a single character’s name.

As for WoW itself, it was parodied n at least some cartoons I saw. In T.U.FF Puppy, one episode features a gag where the main villain, plays “World of Ratcraft” to signify his lazyiness iirc. In Ben 10, Ultimate Alien, it is mentioned that Jimmy Jones, the kid who revealed Ben Tennyson’s secret identity to the world, played “Craft of War.”

Don’t think any actual characters were mentioned, though.

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I meant the characters themselves are used by the devs at Blizzard for references. See the examples I cited in bullet points.

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What kind of Garrosh Hellscream, Jaina Proudmoore, and etc?

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I don’t know if there’s any references or if they’re expies. Part of the reason I made this post is hoping someone else could point out other parallels or expies.

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There are some more obvious examples.

Such as that detective from Cata westfall is clearly inspired by Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami. Right down to the puns.

It is hard to deny the parallels between M’uru and the Christian take on Jesus. In fact the Blood Elf storyline in TBC is a mixture of the Gospels and Revelations. Kil’jaeden being the devil, Kael’thas as the false prophet / anti-christ, A’dal as God and Anveena being the women who would birth the ‘new world’. In this case the new sunwell. I consider Liadrin being the equivalent of Judas in this. Her tearing up the blood knight Tabard could be seen as Judas throwing the 30 piece of silver back at Pilot.

Speaking of Revelations, the Four Horsemen are another very obvious in what they are referencing.

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The reference to the Four Horsemen from the Book of Revelation is obvious. War and Death are alluded to naturally, but not Conquest and Famine. If Conquest refers to Pestilence, that is an allusion (side note irl; speaking of the Four Horsemen, if the first is Pestilence, the fact that we just had a global pandemic that killed millions makes me wonder…)

While that bit about M’uru isn’t one-for-one, I understand what you’re saying.

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I mean the Thrall - Moses comparison isn’t one for one either. As Thrall was a slave under Blackmoore growing up while Moses was treated as family under the Pharaoh.

As for the M’uru - Jesus comparison, I should further explain myself. We have a person who was foretold (via prophecies) would sacrifice their life to create a new covenant between them and God. Well, M’uru’s case it would the light. Kael’thas serves as the false prophet because he misled his people and told them Outland was the ‘promised land’. Only to then give them the ‘mark of the beast’ (aka Fel magic). Over time, more and more Blood Elves rejected Kael’thas and his new alliance with the Legion. Instead embracing A’dal and his Naaru. The first being the Scryers, then the ones within the Horde (aka the PC’s), followed by the Blood Knights and finally some members of the Sunfury’s. The devil attempts to get his hands on the women who will birth the new world. In this case that would be Kil’jaeden and Anveena respectively. As Anveena is needed to fully empower the Sunwell. Finally Kil’jaeden is banished back to the Twisting Nether with M’uru’s core being used to purify the Sunwell from the taint the scourge (Kel’thuzads resurrection) & the legion (Kil’jaedens summoning) left in it. This in turn provided the Blood Elves with a direct connection to the Light. No more do they need to have faith alone to use it.

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Metzen’s first sketch of Sylvanas always reminded me of Burton’s take on Catwoman’s outfit too (and her many deaths of 1:40 in your video). And I think everyone knows Rexxar’s cowl owes a lot to the Frank Miller Batman.

I think Metzen has said before Thrall was inspired in part by Spartacus.

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And then said Pharaoh tried to kill Moses after hearing he killed an Egyptian, so Moses fled Pharaoh. Thrall also fled Blackmoore. Then Moses returned to lead his people out of bondage, which Thrall did too, with deadly consequences for the oppressors. Thrall didn’t have divine help like Moses did, it’s not one-for-one, but there’s still parallels. Thrall also led the Orcs across a sea to find a promised land like Moses did, though the similarities end.

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Few of these are exactly one for one. They often take inspiration from various sources, and some are easier to point out.

Like the Thrall/Moses thing has enough for me to see. But some people call him WoW Jesus because Shaman can walk on water and self res. I don’t think that is enough of a connection though. If I were to pick one biblical reference to match Thrall, it would be Moses.

The Muru being an allegory for Jesus is something I have heard for a long time, but that one is harder for me to wrap my head around.

I suppose like Muru, Jesus did know he was going to be turned in and suffer. And that he was doing his works for the benefit of man (Elf in Muru’s case). And they both turned into some sort of Holy force after their death.

I guess it is missing the whole virgin mother aspect, and the nativity. I would not have connected Muru to Jesus unless others drew the lines.

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Indeed.

For me at least the “virgin mother” aspect is less important then the whole, “he was sent to be tortured and killed to bring actual salvation to a misled populace”. Which is the real meat of their stories.

You could also equate the roman rule over Judea with the Scourge invasion. As those more or less served as catalysts for people to begin their loss of faith respectively.

M’uru, whether intentional or not serves as a better Jesus parallel than Thrall. I never got the whole “Green Jesus” thing.

Same. By that logic any shaman is a Jesus parallel since they all have the ability to walk on water and self rez. Even more so for the PC. Since those are abilities we know they can do.

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Hello! I’d like to bring to your attention a few references I’ve unearthed that are, I believe, worthy of discussion.

Let’s start with Rhea . Rhea is Irion’s adoptive mother. She rescues him from the clutches of his terrible father. In Greek mythology, so overused and badly understood these days, there is also a Rhea. She saves Zeus from the filicidal madness of Cronus.
Rather elegant, if you ask me.

Let’s continue with Jandice Barov . A mischievous illusionist, dressed all in black, with a whirling, fouetté-like fighting technique and a solid Russian accent. I’m inclined to think of her as the evil Odile, the black swan from Swan Lake.

Now for a bolder comparison. I read your discussion of Christian themes in the Blood Elves story arc. Initially, I wasn’t convinced. On reflection, I have to somewhat agree. After all, Outland was presented to the elves as a Promised Land.

Nevertheless, I would like to propose another parallel on a specific point, that of the return of Kael’Thas. I see here an involuntary reference to Napoleon’s Hundred Days. Replace the eagle with the phoenix, the Old Guard with the Sunfury, the Napoleonic ornaments with the solar blood elves symbolism and finally Waterloo with the battle of the Sunwell, and you get, at least in terms of atmosphere, in both case a gallant last stand.

Furthermore, Napoleon’s return to Paris from his exile on Elba has been dubbed “the flight of the eagle” Here again, it’s tempting to replace the eagle with the phoenix. It is littered with romanesque anecdotes, such as the meeting with Marshal Ney, who came to capture the deposed emperor, ultimately renews his allegiance to him.
Ah! If only blizzard had explored the theme of loyalty, we could have had a virile Lady Liadrin, joining her monarch to die with him, or perhaps betraying him.That would have been stimulating !

Some secondary ideas :

Elegon : From the ancient Greek ἔλεγον (elegon), “I talked”. As everyone knows, this dragon now stumbles over words. In the past, perhaps he was eloquent. This Hellenizing-sounding creature brought by the pantheon of titans, who are indisputably Greeks, doesn’t detonate in Asian Pandaria. Mist of Pandaria was an apogee of world building. How we’ve fallen since then!
More anecdotal still, Kairoz. The name of Garrosh’s unlucky sidekick comes from the ancient Greek καιρός (kairos). Kairos means the opportune moment in ancient Greek. Cruel irony!

Finally, in the “Mythology for dummies” register: Pol and Phémos.
Everyone will have recognized Polyphemus, but I still wanted to include a link, but the forum wouldn’t let me ! It’s barbaric to prevent me from posting references !
Nevertheless, Pol and Phémos are Truly, an example of the decadence of blizzard’s inspiration.

Less about characters, more about landscape :

Netherstorm and its ecodomes. I have three interesting ideas for restoring the elusive zeitgeist that guided the developers:

The biosphere 2 project ; The Montreal biosphere and the Montreal biodome:

Finally, a few homonymous coincidences:

Sindragosa and Sidragasum. The latter is a demon with “the power to make mundane women dance”. No relation, but the proximity of the sound is amusing. On the same level, Cho’Gall and Marc Chagall. I only mention the later because I dislike his paintings.

In conclusion, the Blizzard team had a few sophisticated minds. They did, voluntarily or by cryptomnesia, sow a few highbrow references. But, alas, those people are surely gone now. Sic transit gloria mundi!

I had originally thoughtfully put together a few links to support my point, but I can’t publish them. So I invite you to take a look at Odile’s variation, the biography of Marshal Ney and this curious Biosphere 2. Kind regards!

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Frostmourne has been directly stated to be a reference to Stormbringer.

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There’s more.

Grom Hellscream is a reference to Gruumsh, the Orc patron god - and possibly creator - in DnD. Apart from the name (Grommash - Gruumsh), both enjoy war, fight for what they think is best for their people, go for “fight first - ask questions later” and have a very “my way or the highway” approach to life. Plus, both DnD Orcs and Warcraft Orcs reached their respective main settings via portals.

The Old Gods are clearly references to Lovecraft’s works, though this more obvious with C’thun (Cthulhu) and Yogg-Saron (Yog-Sothoth). Y’Shaarj has a couple of references to Shub’Niggurath, though. Meanwhile the Naaru are references to both angels and the Vorlons of Babylon 5, the latter became more egregious in Legion. Speaking of which, Velen seems to be a combination of the Pope, the Babylon 5 character Valen and is another character referencing Moses (leading his people away from persecution with the help of a higher power and searching for a new home).

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