Arthas Menethil

Last updated
Arthas Menethil
Warcraft character
Arthas Menethil.png
Arthas Menethil in Heroes of the Storm
First appearanceA Trial of Will, Chapter 5 of Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor
First game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Created by Blizzard Entertainment
Voiced by

Arthas Menethil is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. He was once a paladin of the Silver Hand and the crown prince of Lordaeron, but he was corrupted by the cursed blade Frostmourne in a bid to save his people. He later became the Lich King, one of the most prominent antagonists in Warcraft lore. Arthas also appears as a playable character in the crossover multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm . The critical reception of the character has been mostly positive.

Contents

In Warcraft III, Arthas is voiced by Justin Gross. In subsequent appearances, he is voiced by Patrick Seitz (paladin and death knight Arthas) and Michael McConnohie (Lich King Arthas).

Development

According to Warcraft game designers Scott Mercer and Greg Street, "early on in the development of Warcraft III , we knew the game would be about heroes leading their armies into battle. We initially created Arthas as one of those leaders, so we knew from the beginning he would be central to the storyline", and that he "is the bridge connecting the human and the undead campaigns." [1]

Regarding the development of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King , Mercer stated that "when development began on Wrath of the Lich King, we knew we wanted the players to have a more personal connection with the Lich King ... so we started designing quests and instances in which we could show the Lich King to the players." Developers also designed the game so that "players can see the wrecks of the Alliance ships that Arthas set ablaze ... they can also find the altar upon which Arthas first discovered Frostmourne ... We deliberately built these aspects into Wrath of the Lich King to help remind players who Arthas is and where he came from, which we hope makes his character that much more vivid in players' minds." [1]

Appearances

Warcraft franchise

Arthas Menethil was the prince of Lordaeron and the only son of Terenas Menethil II. Arthas was an idealistic, yet somewhat rash, young man who dreamed of one day succeeding his father as king of Lordaeron. Arthas became an apprentice paladin at nineteen and served as a favorite pupil of Uther the Lightbringer. Though Arthas loved the kindly Uther like an uncle, he longed to take command of his own destiny and become a hero like the brave veterans who fought the orcs during the Second War. Despite the heartache he felt when his brief affair with the sorceress Jaina Proudmoore came to an end, Arthas remained remarkably committed to his roles as both the prince of Lordaeron and as a holy paladin. He had a deep reverence for the Light and wanted nothing more than to safeguard his beloved people from harm.

Arthas was inducted into Knights of the Silver Hand at the age of 19. The ceremony was held in the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City, and was attended by prominent figures such as Genn Greymane, Thoras Trollbane, Daelin Proudmoore, and Jaina Proudmoore, whom Arthas had not seen since childhood. Archbishop Alonsus Faol led the initiation process, which included four of the five original paladins: Uther, Tirion Fordring, Saidan Dathrohan, and Gavinrad the Dire. Arthas was presented with the holy warhammer called Light's Vengeance by Gavinrad, and had the ceremonial silver plates placed upon his shoulders by Uther. While in Stormwind, Arthas visited the newly crowned king, Varian Wrynn, and sparred with him while recounting old memories. He also met the recently born prince, Anduin Wrynn, who gripped his finger.

When Arthas took up the fight against the Scourge, he became increasingly frustrated and stymied by the seemingly unstoppable enemy. Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to conquer them, and his comrades warned him that he was losing his hold on his humanity. [2] A highly debated moment in Warcraft lore revolves around Arthas's decision to purge Stratholme, a city under the influence of the Scourge with its residents about to transform. Uther and Jaina disagreed with Arthas, resulting in their choice to part ways with him. Arthas's fear and resolve proved to be his ultimate undoing. He tracked the plague's source to Northrend, intending to end its threat forever. Instead, the prince eventually fell prey to the Lich King's (Ner'zhul's) tremendous power when he took up the cursed runeblade, Frostmourne, believing that it would save his people. Though the sword did grant him unfathomable power, it also stole his soul and transformed him into the greatest of the Lich King's death knights. [3] With his soul cast aside and his sanity shattered, Arthas led the Scourge against his own kingdom. He murdered his father, King Terenas, and crushed the realms of Lordaeron, Quel'Thalas and Dalaran under the Lich King's iron heel. [4]

When the Lich King was threatened by the forces of Illidan Stormrage, Arthas traveled to the Frozen Throne of Northrend. He broke the ice surrounding his master so he could don the Lich King's Helm of Domination and merge with him. After taking control of the Scourge as the new Lich King, Arthas challenged the Alliance and the Horde by initiating attacks on their cities. They responded by sending forces to Northrend to wage war against him.

In World of Warcraft , Arthas is a raid boss and the primary antagonist of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. He was mortally wounded after a band of adventurers led by Tirion Fordring stormed his fortress, Icecrown Citadel, and defeated him in battle. He was succeeded as the Lich King by Bolvar Fordragon. [5]

Heroes of the Storm

Arthas appears as a playable character in the crossover game Heroes of the Storm . [6] In the game, Arthas is a warrior hero who performs a tanking role on the battlefield. His aim is to attract the attention of enemy players, as he can withstand a large amount of incoming damage thanks to his necromantic self-healing powers, meanwhile disrupting the enemy team with crowd control abilities. [7] Arthas is proficient against melee physical attackers, slowing their move and attack speed. His playstyle is somewhat limited and predictable due to his lack of mobility, yet he is extremely strong in almost any scenario involving teamwork. [8] One of the two heroic abilities allows him to summon Sindragosa, a mighty frost wyrm, that appears and flies over a portion of the battlefield, slowing and disabling enemies with her frost breath. Arthas Menethil is one of the six Blizzard characters who appear in the Heroes of the Storm cinematic trailer. [9]

Other appearances

In Hearthstone , the Lich King Arthas Menethil is the default starting hero for the Death Knight class, which was introduced in the 2022 March of the Lich King expansion. [10] He also appears in his original human form as an alternate hero for the Paladin class, which can be achieved as a visual alteration for the default paladin hero by defeating the Lich King in the final Knights of the Frozen Throne single-player mission with all nine classes. [11] In Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Prince Arthas Menethil is an unlockable character after collecting 1600 stars in Quickplay+.

Reception

The character has received mostly positive reception, and is often included on lists involving the most popular Warcraft characters and video game characters as a whole. Empire listed Arthas at No. 25 on their list of "the 50 greatest video game characters", writing "Of all the characters in Warcraft lore, Arthas Menethil is the most tragic." [12] He was also included on "The 10 best video-game characters" list by The Guardian , which stated that "initially the valiant model of a medieval knight, everything changes when Arthas picks up a cursed sword and begins to perpetrate a steadily more sinister series of atrocities (think dead peasants), culminating in killing his own father. The character really came into his own in the mighty World of Warcraft, over which his twisted spirit presided for five years." [13]

Matthew Rossi of Engadget listed the Lich King at No. 4 on his list of the "Top 10 magnificent bastards of Warcraft", since he "successfully molded Arthas into the perfect death knight ... Arthas went from an earnest young prince and paladin trying desperately to save his people to a cackling villain who betrayed them, and it was more Arthas' doing than the Lich King's that Illidan was defeated." [14] He also wrote that "Arthas was useful because he started as a basically good, if somewhat arrogant, young paladin who slowly grew obsessed over time as he witnessed the actions of the Scourge, making mistakes ... and then justifying each mistake as a necessity. By the time he took up Frostmourne and lost his soul, he'd long since eroded it away with expedient choices that were, in fact, monstrous ... Arthas as a death knight and later Arthas as the Lich King showed this tendency to want to justify or prove his actions were the right ones, that anyone would have done what he did." [15] Rossi stated that the lesson of Arthas was "Ultimately, that power corrupts. Power corrupted him, and it will corrupt you, too. That it is inescapable [...] that becoming the Lich King was inevitable, that all kings and princes and people of power ultimately end up slaves to themselves." [16]

Arthas was listed on Complex's list of "25 dead video game characters we wish were still here", noting that "in the same way that Boromir was corrupted in Lord of the Rings , Arthas represents the folly of man, and how easily power can be corrupted. Because of this, we almost want him to survive just to serve as an example that redemption is possible in anyone. If the Lich King had been able to turn around his ways, then there would've been hope for us all." [17] IGN found Arthas to be one of "gaming's most notorious anti-heroes", since "Arthas Menethil began as something of a Disney prince, upholding the Light wherever he saw the need. But with the arrival of the plague of undeath, the Light in Arthas began to waver ... but as is often the case, he wasn't a simple prince-turned-insane-villain. The newly formed Lich King may have been evil, but he was keeping the undead Scourge in check, holding back the flood of the decrepit and the mindless." [18]

Arthas also features in Warcraft-related merchandise, such as Halloween costumes. [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos</i> 2002 video game

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, after Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the third game set in the Warcraft fictional universe, and the first to be rendered in three dimensions. An expansion pack, The Frozen Throne, was released in July 2003. Warcraft III is set several years after the events of Warcraft II, and tells the story of the Burning Legion's attempt to conquer the fictional world of Azeroth with the help of an army of the Undead known as the Scourge, led by fallen paladin Arthas Menethil. It chronicles the combined efforts of the Human Alliance, Orcish Horde, and Night Elves to stop them before they can corrupt the World Tree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lich</span> Undead creature from fantasy literature

In fantasy fiction, a lich is a type of undead creature.

<i>World of Warcraft</i> 2004 video game

World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the Warcraft fantasy universe, World of Warcraft takes place within the world of Azeroth, approximately four years after the events of the previous game in the series, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The game was announced in 2001, and was released for the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise on November 23, 2004. Since launch, World of Warcraft has had ten major expansion packs: The Burning Crusade (2007), Wrath of the Lich King (2008), Cataclysm (2010), Mists of Pandaria (2012), Warlords of Draenor (2014), Legion (2016), Battle for Azeroth (2018), Shadowlands (2020), Dragonflight (2022), and The War Within (2024). Two further expansions, Midnight and The Last Titan, were announced in 2023.

<i>Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne</i> 2003 video game expansion

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is the expansion pack for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a real-time strategy video game by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released worldwide on July 1, 2003, for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The Frozen Throne builds upon the story of Reign of Chaos and depicts the events after the main game's conclusion. The single-player unfolds from the perspective of two new protagonists—the Night Elf warden Maiev Shadowsong and the Blood Elf prince Kael'Thas—as well as returning protagonist Arthas Menethil. Additionally, the expansion contains Act I of a separate Horde campaign that is independent from the main storyline with Blizzard releasing Acts II and III via patch in December 2003, taking in player feedback of Act I when developing these chapters.

Warcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Warcraft Rumble. The first three of these core games are in the real-time strategy genre, where opposing players command virtual armies in battle against each other or a computer-controlled enemy. The fourth and best-selling title of the franchise is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), where players control their character and interact with each other in a virtual world.

Christie Golden is an American author. She has written many novels and several short stories in fantasy, horror and science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corrupted Blood incident</span> Virtual epidemic in World of Warcraft

The Corrupted Blood incident took place between September 13 and October 8, 2005, in World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. When participating in a certain boss battle at the end of a raid, player characters would become infected with a debuff that was transmitted between characters in close proximity. While developers intended to keep the effects of the debuff within this boss's game region, a programming oversight soon led to an in-game pandemic throughout the fictional world of Azeroth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Metzen</span> American game designer (born 1973)

Christopher Vincent Metzen is an American game designer, artist, voice actor, and author known for his work creating the fictional universes and scripts for Blizzard Entertainment's three major award-winning media franchises: Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft. Metzen was hired by Blizzard Entertainment as an animator and an artist, his first work for the company was with the video game Justice League Task Force.

<i>World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King</i> 2008 expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is the second expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following The Burning Crusade. It launched on November 13, 2008 and sold 2.8 million copies within the first day, making it the fastest selling computer game of all time released at that point. The game added a substantial amount of new content into the game world, including the new continent of Northrend, home of The Lich King Arthas and his undead minions. In order to advance through Northrend, players were required to reach at least level 68, with the level cap for the expansion being 80. The first hero class was introduced, the Death Knight, that starts at level 55.

World of Warcraft (WoW), is set in a fictional universe, with its primary setting being the planet of Azeroth. The first expansion, The Burning Crusade, introduced a second planet, Outland. Wrath of the Lich King expanded upon Azeroth and added Northrend, the frigid northern continent of Azeroth, while the next expansion, and Cataclysm, drastically changed various other continents by destroying some and unveiling new ones. The next expansion, Mists of Pandaria, added Pandaria, the southern continent previously hidden behind a perennial mist cover. Warlords of Draenor introduced the planet of Draenor, a version of Outland in a different timeline before its partial destruction. The Legion expansion took adventurers to the Broken Isles, an island chain near the Maelstrom in the middle of the Great Sea, and the damaged planet Argus, the headquarters of the Burning Legion. The seventh expansion, Battle for Azeroth, added two new island continents to the center of Azeroth: Kul Tiras and Zandalar. The latest expansion, Shadowlands, introduced the eponymous Shadowlands, a realm composed of five major zones: Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, Revendreth, and the Maw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illidan Stormrage</span> Fictional character

Illidan Stormrage is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment.

<i>World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King</i> 2009 novel by Christie Golden

Arthas: Rise of the Lich King is a Warcraft novel by Christie Golden, who is the author of multiple Star Trek and other Warcraft novels. The novel dealing with the progression of Arthas from Prince to the Lich King, was released on April 21, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvanas Windrunner</span> Character in Warcraft series of video games

Sylvanas Windrunner is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. Originally introduced in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, she received a dramatic redesign in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, followed by a minor redesign in World of Warcraft: Legion. Once a high elf ranger-general of Silvermoon, Sylvanas was murdered by Arthas Menethil when she led a doomed resistance against his invasion. In one climactic battle, that left the capital city of Silvermoon in ruins, he managed to finally beat the elven general, ripping her soul out and transforming her into a banshee. This newest agent of the Lich King was empowered by hatred of the living and an everlasting desire to rule over her new people. In The Frozen Throne, Sylvanas was able to regain her free will and body, and founded the Forsaken faction of undead while styling herself as the "Banshee Queen" and "Dark Lady". With her new undead forces vowing to take revenge on the Lich King, they set out to wage war against the Scourge. Throughout nearly the entirety of Legion and the first one-third of Battle for Azeroth, she was also the Warchief of the Horde, standing as one of the most powerful political leaders in all of Azeroth following the death of Vol'jin during the opening events of Legion. She effectively abandoned the role in patch 9.1, Chains of Domination, resulting in the title of Warchief being retired and replaced by the Horde Council while leadership of the Forsaken is inherited by Desolate Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaina Proudmoore</span> Character in Warcraft

Jaina Proudmoore is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. Within the games, she is the most powerful sorceress alive. She is currently Lord Admiral, ruler of the Kul Tiras kingdom. Jaina was formerly the leader of the Kirin Tor, a faction of mages ruling over the city of Dalaran. She swore to defeat the Burning Legion and its sinister agents any way she could and helped defeat and banish the demons. Once a diplomat, she advocated for peace between the Alliance and the Horde, and she later joined the Alliance after the destruction of her city of Theramore at the hands of the Horde. The character has become one of the most iconic and noted characters in Warcraft lore, and has received positive critical reception from gamers. Jaina's other appearances include the collectible card game Hearthstone and the crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game Heroes of the Storm. Jaina was voiced by Carrie Gordon Lowrey in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and World of Warcraft, and is currently voiced by Laura Bailey in the subsequent World of Warcraft expansions, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm.

<i>World of Warcraft: Legion</i> 2016 expansion set for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft: Legion is the sixth expansion set in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Warlords of Draenor. It was announced on August 6, 2015 at Gamescom 2015. The expansion was released on August 30, 2016.

<i>World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth</i> 2018 expansion set for the game World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is the seventh expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Legion. It was announced at BlizzCon on November 3, 2017. In contrast to previous expansions, which went live at midnight in each time zone, Battle for Azeroth had a simultaneous release for all regions, corresponding to midnight Central European Summer Time on August 14, 2018.

<i>World of Warcraft Classic</i> 2019 massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft Classic is a 2019 MMORPG video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Running alongside the main version of the game, Classic recreates World of Warcraft in the state it was in before the release of its first expansion, The Burning Crusade. It was announced at BlizzCon 2017 and was released globally August 26, 2019. The Burning Crusade Classic and Wrath of the Lich King Classic versions of the game were later released to allow players to progress to those expansions.

<i>World of Warcraft: Shadowlands</i> 2020 expansion set for the MMORPG

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is the eighth expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Battle for Azeroth. It was announced and made available for preorder at BlizzCon on November 1, 2019. Originally scheduled for release on October 27, 2020, its release was delayed until November 23, the sixteenth anniversary of the original game's release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anduin Wrynn</span> Warcraft character

Anduin Llane Wrynn is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. First appearing in the original launch of World of Warcraft in 2004, Anduin is the son of Tiffin and Varian Wrynn, and the king of the human kingdom of Stormwind. Following Varian's disappearance, young Anduin is crowned king of Stormwind. He succeeds his father following his death in World of Warcraft: Legion, as well as his position as leader of the Alliance. Anduin also appears as a playable character in the crossover multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm. The character is voiced by Josh Keaton.

Thrall (<i>Warcraft</i>) Fictional character in the Warcraft universe

Thrall, born as Go'el, is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. Within the series, Thrall is an orc shaman who served for a time as a Warchief of the Horde, one of the major factions of the Warcraft universe, as well as the leader of a shaman faction dedicated to preserving the balance between elemental forces in the world of Azeroth known as the Earthen Ring. Originally introduced in promotional material released by Blizzard Entertainment as the protagonist of the canceled video game Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, which was co-developed by Blizzard and Animation Magic from 1996 until 1998, Thrall's first proper appearance is in the 2001 novelization of the canceled video game's narrative authored by American novelist Christie Golden. The novel's story is set during his youth, where he is depicted as a slave who was raised by an abusive human military officer, but eventually rebelled and escaped captivity.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rise and Fall of the Lich King: WoW Developer Interview". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Arthas Menethil". Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  3. ↑ Golden, Christie (2009). Arthas: Rise of the Lich King.
  4. ↑ Blizzard Entertainment (2002). Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC). Blizzard Entertainment. Scene: Arthas' Betrayal.
  5. ↑ Blizzard Entertainment (2008). World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC). Blizzard Entertainment. Scene: Fall of the Lich King.
  6. ↑ "Arthas - Heroes of the Storm". us.battle.net. Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  7. ↑ "Arthas: Non-Compete Hero Guide". Archived from the original on 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  8. ↑ "Heroes of The Storm Heroes: Arthas Guide". 2p.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Heroes of the Storm™ Cinematic Trailer, archived from the original on 2019-11-07, retrieved 2019-12-21
  10. ↑ Clark, Tim (2022-11-01). "Hearthstone's next expansion will finally add Death Knight as a playable class". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  11. ↑ Hearthside Chat with Dave Kosak: Knights of the Frozen Throne Missions, archived from the original on 2019-07-21, retrieved 2019-12-21
  12. ↑ "The 50 Greatest Video Game Characters". Empire. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ "The 10 best video-game characters". The Guardian. 7 August 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Know Your Lore: Top 10 magnificent bastards of Warcraft, part 2". Engadget. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Know Your Lore: The role of characters in WoW lore". Engadget. 30 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Know Your Lore: The Lessons of the Lich King". Engadget. 30 April 2013. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  17. ↑ "25 Dead Video Game Characters We Wish Were Still Here". Complex. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Gaming's most notorious anti-heroes". IGN. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Blizzard store now offering full Halloween costumes". Engadget. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.