Warcraft/Characters/The Scourge

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Arthas Menethil (Lich King)

"Glory to the Scourge!"

The son of King Terenas Menethil, Arthas started out as The Wise Prince, an idealistic, chivalrous hero of Lordaeron, and was also Jaina's Proudmoore's lover. Unfortunately, the events of the Third War drove him to abandon his idealistic stance in favor of purging the plague of undeath sent by Ner'zhul (the original Lich King). Eventually, the trail set up by the Dreadlord Mal'ganis led him to Northrend and the sword Frostmourne, which consumed his soul and turned him into a Death Knight. He went on to slaughter his people and his father, the king and helped summon Archimonde in a failed attempt to claim the power of the World Tree. Shortly thereafter, Ner'zhul called him back to Northrend to defend against the assault of Illidan Stormrage. Arthas defeated Illidan, then rose to the weakened Frozen Throne, merging with Ner'zhul and becoming the Lich King.

Tropes associated with Arthas:

  • And I Must Scream: Consider how many ruined lives and captured souls this guy is responsible for through the entire timeline, and yet when Sylvanas sees him in the afterlife, he's broken down in tears from the unspeakable torture that's going on there. Suppose Uther's hope for there to be a special place in Hell for him came true.
  • An Ice Person
  • Arch Enemy: To many, many people. Particularly Sylvanas and later Tirion Fodring in Wrath of the Lich King.
  • Asskicking Equals Authority
  • Badass: Sonuvabitch managed to kill of the majority of Warcraft II's cast with his own two hands. Took out Illidan, who by this point was apparently stronger than all of Archimonde's lieutenants, and became a virtual god.
  • Being Tortured Makes You Evil: The Lich King believes that he can make Bolvar Fordragon become his servant if he breaks him long enough. Ironically, he ultimately ends up becoming the new Lich King.
  • Big Bad: Of Wrath of the Lich King (he is the eponymous character, after all).
  • Big Freaking Sword: Frostmourne is described as being rather long and heavy. Arthas wields it with incredible gusto.
  • Black Knight: Oh yes.
  • Blond Guys Are Evil: You won't see it right through, as he spends his time doing good when he's blonde. But slowly...
  • Complexity Addiction: His convoluted gambit to repeatedly let his plans be thwarted and minions killed to make the player stronger is totally unnecessary. The Halls of Reflection instance reveals that if Arthas were killed, the Scourge would wipe out Azeroth in a Zerg Rush, even without Arthas' immense personal power or a guiding intelligence controlling them.
  • Cool Sword: Frostmourne.
  • Cool Helmet: The source of all his God-like power; the Helmet of Ner'zhul. Rather intimidating as well.
  • Deadly Change-of-Heart: If the theory that he regained his humanity in is final moment is correct.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Possibly the single wittiest character in the franchise, really.

*In reference to Anub'Arak* "Look, brothers! The traitor king!"
*Ironically* "Who, me?"

*angrily* "Hello, Arthas."
*mockingly* "You look.. different, Illidan. I suppose the Skull of Gul'dan didn't agree with you."

  • The Determinator: You gotta give the man credit. He did sail all the way to an unknown land, built a city there, fought through an unending tide of rotting flesh and took up an evil sword to kill an Eldritch Abomination.
  • The Dragon: Was previously one to Ner'Zhul.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Serves both as Ner'Zhul's agent in this towards the Burning Legion, and then later is this towards Ner'Zhul himself.
  • The Dreaded: He attained this reputation sometime after his face heel turn.
  • Dying as Yourself
  • Eucatastrophe: Arthas really wasn't bluffing when he said he could kill the players at any given point. In the fight against him, he eventually gets tired of toying with your raid and kills everyone but Tirion who is trapped and forced to watch. Of course, Tirion has a Big No moment and manages to break free and destroy Frostmourne, which unleashes all the souls stored in it, which not only revives the raid, but holds Arthas back so the raid can kill him.
  • Evil Feels Good: He agreed.
  • Evil Prince: Evil, prince, slew his father and took the throne for himself, then went on to destroy the kingdom.
  • Evil Overlord: Of the second most powerful villainous faction in the game besides the The Burning Legion.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: The Lich King has a completely different voice actor from Arthas, and his voice becomes monstrously deep after he dons the Helm of Domination.
  • Face Heel Turn: The page image.
  • Facing the Bullets One-Liner: "Let them come. Frostmourne hungers."
  • Fallen Hero
  • Final Boss: Of Wrath of the Lich King: it is in the title after all.
  • Genre Savvy: Arthas knew the player characters would come for him, and purposely let them get stronger and assault his fortress all the way to his Frozen Throne just to kill them and raise them as powerful undead warriors for his own. He would have an army of powerful minions, and he wouldn't have to lift a finger until they reached him.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom
  • A God Am I: Or damn near close to it. The background fluff calls him the 'god-like Lich King' or a 'demi-god' or even 'a being of incalculable power'.
  • Guttural Growler: As voiced by Michael.
  • Hair of Gold: In his younger years: the Celibate Hero variant, turning down every woman before (and after, for that matter) Jaina Proudmoore.
  • Happily Married: In the novel Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects: in an alternate future, Arthas is this with Jaina. They even have a son, who is ironically named Uther Menethil (in that timeline, although Arthas did not turn evil, Uther was still killed by somebody else; the child was named in Uther's honor, some time after his death).
  • Hero-Killer: In Warcraft III, where he killed Uther, Sylvanas, Antonidas and many other distinguished personages rather handily. He regains the title in the final battle against him, where he pretty much freezes Tirion solid and kills the entire raid in one blow, before he begins raising them as his minions. It doesn't stick though, as a Tirion frees himself, breaks Frostmourne, which frees Terenas who ressurrects the entire raid.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Arthas is the textbook example of this. In his attempt to stop the Scourge, he became what he was trying to stop.
  • Hopeless Boss Fight: In Halls of Reflection and possibly Icecrown. YMMV on the latter, however.
  • Humanoid Abomination: Upon becoming the Lich King.
  • Ignored Epiphany: While walking up to the Frozen Throne, Arthas has a vision of all the people close to him telling him what a mistake he's making. He still does it.
  • I Let You Win: Yes, he let you all win throughout the entire expansion for his Xanatos Gambit. He pretty much plays this also on Tirion in regards to their first meeting.
  • Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Subverted in the end: he doesn't do anything truly evil until Frostmourne takes his soul outright. The Culling of Stratholme was because they were all doomed to become zombies soon anyway, sinking the ships was classic Art of War strategy, and he takes Frostmourne, not because of lust for power, but because of desperation and a willingness to sacrifice himself to the sword in order to stop the scourge.
  • Karmic Death: Held down by the souls of his victims while the heroes hack him to pieces
  • Magic Knight: He's always been this. Turned into an evil and frankly, far more powerful one after his face heel turn.
  • Master Swordsman: Once he trades his paladin hammer for Frostmounre. See Ubermensch below. This guy accomplishes a lot with (unholy evil) cold steel.
  • More Than Mind Control: Despite what Jaina Proudmoore believes, Arthas was always a fundamentally weak man who feared responsibility. Ironically, being the Lich King frees him from all responsibility whatsoever.
    • Depending on how you read it, exactly the opposite could be true in that his morals are overly strong, and he attempts to take on more responsibility than any man could handle, driving him over the edge. Ironically, either way, the fear of said responsibility and a fear of commitment is still present.
  • The Necrocracy: He founded one, or rather expanded it.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While he did not have any evil intentions back then, by picking up Frostmourne, you know what he ends up as.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: When you get down to it, Arthas is a semi-undead human fused with the ghost of a demonically-powered orc.
  • Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Tirion is the older hero while Arthas is the younger villain: he also had this with Uther, but Tirion succeeded in taking him down whereas Uther failed.
  • One-Man Army: Even before he became the Lich King, when he was just a very powerful death knight. You know why none of his men came back with him? He killed them and raised them as the walking dead.
  • Prince Charmless: Prince Arthas was never the world's best boyfriend to Jaina. Lich King Arthas oddly has an Easter Egg sentimental attachment to her that he more or less lacked as a Prince.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: To Mal'Ganis.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: A royal who fights on the front, kills Orc Blademasters, tracks down demons to the uncharted north and kills them brutally.
  • Sequel Hook: It has been confirmed by Blizzard that both Frostmourne and the body of Arthas are now missing. They also heavily implied the possibility that someone might be trying to reforge Frostmourne and bring back Arthas.
  • Shoulders of Doom: With a nice big skull on the left one.
  • Skeletons in the Coat Closet: He has skulls on his kneecaps. And his shoulders. And his gauntlets. And his chest. And his elbows. And his belt buckle.
  • Slasher Smile: His default facial expression in the official art, apparently.
  • Slouch of Villainy: Arthas loves to sit on his Frozen Throne like this, slouched slightly, and was once in this position for 5 years straight.
  • Spikes of Villainy: Most notably his helmet, but the various pieces of armor he wears also has them.
  • The Starscream: To first the Burning Legion then, in the novel Ner'zhul.
  • Tin Tyrant: Oh, how he does nail the aesthetic.
  • Ubermensch: Arthas has accomplished more than any native Azerothian. He carved a path of destruction across a continent, brought about the decimation of entire civilizations single handed, defeated god-like beings and did in fact ascend to godhood. By his actions, the very face of the world was irreversibly changed and radically so for all eternity even if Tirion did defeated him in the end.
  • Villainous Breakdown: A subtle one: before Tirion breaks out and shatters his blade, he's laughing maniacally; afterwards, he's more subdued first saying "Impossible" then calmly saying that they don't fear him despite how he threatened and to destroy them. It's subtle, but there.
  • Villain Protagonist: Gets two whole campaigns centered around him in Warcraft III, and a third in the expansion.
  • Voice of the Legion: After becoming the Lich King.
  • Warrior Monk: This used to be his job. Up until he became the God of his own religion.
  • Warrior Prince: Arthas tended to fight on the front lines with his troops far more often than any Prince rationally had the right to...
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: At first.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Uther and Jaina's reaction to his choice at Stratholme.
    • And later Muradin when he told his men that the mercenaries destroyed their ships, even though that was his orders.
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy: He turned white-haired after becoming (debatably) undead (technically, Arthas never died until Icecrown Citadel of course).
  • You Have Failed Me...: Several times, such as to Drakuru.


Kel'Thuzad

"I am Kel'Thuzad, and I've come to deliver a warning. Leave well enough alone. Your curiosity will be the death of you."

A powerful necromancer in life, Kel'Thuzad was resurrected in the energies of the Sunwell by Arthas shortly after the latter's Face Heel Turn. With the help of the Scourge forces, he was able to summon Archimonde into Azeroth via portal magic; the Eredar's ensuing rampage destroyed the city of Dalaran and culminated in the loss of the World Tree. Despite the defeat of the Burning Legion (and by proxy, the Scourge), Kel'Thuzad was not killed: rather, he accompanied Arthas on his journey to Northrend, where the prince eventually became the Lich King and appointed Kel'Thuzad as his right hand lich. Currently, he rules the necropolis of Naxxramas, always eager for a raid group to fight.

Tropes associated with Kel'Thuzad include:

  • An Ice Person: Most of his arsenal is built around frost-based magic.
  • Back from the Dead: Twice. His resurrection as a lich was the first. Before the Burning Crusade, however, he was the final boss of the original Naxxramas instance; after being killed by the players, his phylactery was turned in to an Argent Dawn NPC. However, this NPC turned out to be a Smug Snake who sold the phylactery back to the Lich King in exchange for lichhood himself. One expansion later, Kel'Thuzad was back.
  • Badass Baritone: Yup.
  • Camp Gay: In the Arthas novel, Kel'Thuzad is... prissy
  • Dem Bones: Par for the course for a lich.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: When you kill his Right-Hand-Cat, he swears vengeance on you. Urban legend has it that this activates Naxxramas' hardmodes, but this has no effect on the instance. One interpretation of it is that if groups don't heed the advice to not kill the cat, they most likely won't follow strategies on the boss fights.
  • The Dragon: One of two, along with Anub'arak, to Arthas' Big Bad. In World of Warcraft, Anub'arak is the significantly less powerful of the two, making Kel'Thuzad the clear Dragon. Like Kel'thuzad before him, Anub'arak has now been brought back from the dead again, as a harder end game boss than the second incarnation of Kel'thuzad, but easier than the first incarnation.
    • He also has Sapphiron, an undead wyrm which is his dragon.
  • Final Boss: Of Naxxramas, and the last boss of pre-expansion World of Warcraft in the very same dungeon.
  • Inferred Survival: When Kel'Thuzad is defeated in Wrath of the Lich King, players don't find his phylactery like they did when he was defeated for the first time. Since liches can't be killed permanently unless their phylactery is destroyed (a point that was firmly established in the game), Kel'thuzad could potentially return again someday.
  • Ominous Floating Castle: Naxxramas.
  • Power Floats: The only time he touches the ground is when he's dead.
  • Religion of Evil: Started the Cult of the Damned back when he was alive.
  • Right-Hand-Cat: Mr. Bigglesworth.
  • Single-Target Sexuality: Implied this is how Kel'Thuzad feels towards Arthas. After his trasformation to an undead Lich. Squick.
  • Spirit Advisor: Before his resurrection, he made several appearances to Arthas as a ghost, instructing him on how best to proceed (which, naturally, included bringing him back).


Anub'Arak

"The scourge will devour all!"

Anub'Arak is the former king of Azjol-Nerub, who was killed and raised by the Scourge. The big crypt lord is now called a "Traitor King" by the surviving Nerubians, who wish to see him destroyed. He met up with Arthas on Northrend, who, alone and severely weakened, gladly accepted Anub'Arak's help.

  • The Big Guy: In the undead campaign of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: You can't see it in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne because he seems entirely loyal to Arthas, but his Last Words in Wrath of the Lich King clearly show it.

"RAAAAAAGH! Never thought... I would be free of him..."

    • This only seems to be in the Azjol-Nerub instance, as his Trial of the Crusader incarnation ends with "I have failed you, master..."
  • Demoted to Extra: His first appearance in Wrath of the Lich King was as a level 74 dungeon boss, which outraged many players. Then the Argent Coliseum was completed, and he turned up again, just a wee bit harder.
    • This has mostly to do with Blizzard scrapping the idea of Azjol-Nerub as an entire underground zone.
  • The Dragon: He backed up Arthas and guided him to Icecrown once he arrived in Northrend in the undead campaign of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
  • Spikes of Villainy: One of his abilities causes him to grow spikes on his carapace, granting bonus armor and partially sending attacks back at the sender.
  • The Swarm: His ultimate attack.


Dar'Khan Drathir

Once an esteemed magister, Dar'Khan Drathir would become one of Quel'Thalas' greatest traitors. His limitless ambition, combined with his egotistical mindset, made him an easy pawn for the forces of the Lich King. Empowered by the treacherous Prince Arthas himself, Dar'Khan opened the way for the Scourge to enter Quel'Thalas and ravage the land in their march to the Sunwell.

Though he was killed at some point after the fall of Quel'Thalas, Dar'Khan has been resurrected by the Lich King and now resides at the fortress of Deatholme in the southern Ghostlands, where he commands the Scourge in Quel'Thalas.

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