Could Anduin become the next Lich King? <Potential Spoilers>

[Daianapotter]

I really hope that not. hope that tyrande appear and decapitate her, anything. I dont want that baby boy turn evil =(

[Sorrior]

He'll become the ultimate Mary Sue to supplant Medan. After he wields Shalamourne, he'll gain the power of death. From there he'll move on to acquire the power of the remaining cosmic forces.

In the end he becomes Azeroth itself the new titan..gods I could see blizzard doing this but I really hope not

[Eldarius]

Signs point to no.

Given he is just a normal human old man when leading the army of the light.

Though i suspect he might spend some time in the Shadowlands.

Bolvar has proven that you can "unmerge" from being the Lich King. They could very easily have us save Anduin at some point, and the light perform some cleansing BS on him like the Prime Naaru tried to do with Illidan.

[Swnem]

Bolvar has proven that you can "unmerge" from being the Lich King. They could very easily have us save Anduin at some point, and the light perform some cleansing BS on him like the Prime Naaru tried to do with Illidan.

When i wrote that, i had a real Lich King in mind, not a temporary one, which seems they are going for.

[Candy Cough]

Ahahahahhaahaha

Anduin is Christie Goldens baby and if there is anything I've learned from 10 years of playing is that Christie golden basically has the story writers by the balls
The story was morally gray until she just decided to white wash everything the alliance has ever done so there is nothing to compare them to. Christie tells them to jump, they do. They outta fire her if they want to save what little story they have left.

Anduin being her favorite character makes him absolutely never ever 100% ever going to dissapear or turn evil. He is going to continue being the bland can do no wrong pretty boy that will lead both the horde and the alliance against the void lords

Just wait, the Shadowlands story hasnt improved at all, it is just as bad as it was in WoD, Legion and BFA. Never seen a more incompetent villain than the Jailer.

[Athorha]

Illidan incoming

[Daianapotter]

Didnt know that Anduin is her favourite character I thought it was sylvanas. At least some hope that he wont turn evil. Thanks

[bagina]

Ahahahahhaahaha

Anduin is Christie Goldens baby and if there is anything I've learned from 10 years of playing is that Christie golden basically has the story writers by the balls
The story was morally gray until she just decided to white wash everything the alliance has ever done so there is nothing to compare them to. Christie tells them to jump, they do. They outta fire her if they want to save what little story they have left.

Anduin being her favorite character makes him absolutely never ever 100% ever going to dissapear or turn evil. He is going to continue being the bland can do no wrong pretty boy that will lead both the horde and the alliance against the void lords

Just wait, the Shadowlands story hasnt improved at all, it is just as bad as it was in WoD, Legion and BFA. Never seen a more incompetent villain than the Jailer.

Fully agree

[Soon-TM]

Fully agree

Indeed. Not only Anduin is what Arthas could have been had he not gone full Darth Vader, but it also applies to his dad Varian too, who was basically the "good" version of Garrosh.

[Raisei]

After the revelation of Shala'mourne in the latest cinematic this prospect has become quite possible. Or at least this is what the Jailer wants Anduin to become. His herald into the realm of the living, preparing the way and such after both Arthas and Bolvar failed/did not comply.

If possible Anduin will naturally resist this and he has the willpower to do it for a while at least. Unless the writer want to poke us with one of Ilgynoth's prophecies:

"The Light has struck a bargain with the enemy of all."

Maybe Anduin will sacrifice himself for something, like Sylvanas's soul (ugh)... or maybe the Light actually allowed him to be captured in a bargain with the Jailer to use Anduin against all the other universal forces, leaving only Light and Death.

I am also relatively sure that the strange crystal the Jailer took from the small portal to be put into Shala'mourne will be important. It might even be a piece of Arthas's soul, who we know is somewhere in the Maw.

As for long term, no. I don't think that after this expansion we will still need a Lich King. The Scourge was made with the power of the Maw and Jailer (though they are more like Maldraxxi, because of the Runecarver), so his eventual demise will likely end the Scourge threat for good. Those undead without free will will likely just die or be freed and join the Forsaken.

[Fabled]

Didnt know that Anduin is her favourite character I thought it was sylvanas. At least some hope that he wont turn evil. Thanks

Sylvanas is Danuser's favorite. Creepily so.

I can see Anduin becoming a form of Lich King, just to screw over the Jailer in the end. Seems to be a trend.

[valax]

Watch him become lightbound undead like Calia so they can marry and unify the kingdoms of Lordaeron and Stormwind and have healthy undead babies.

Ooor not, Sylvanas pussied out and let Anduin free , in 9.1 we'll have a dungeon where we have to escape from thorgast and the Jailer , slooowly advancing and closing thorgast gates which Sylvanas will destroy while we hold off the Jailer's forces . In the end he catches up and snaps Sylvanas's neck using a force choke.

[masterjc]

There were several callbacks in the BfA cinematics that likened Anduin to Arthas. Enough of them to cause some to theorize that Anduin may not be Varian's son, but Arthas'. In Shadows Rising, Anduin both justified the use of Turalyon and Alleria's interrogation methods and demonstrated some darker power of his own towards the end of the book. One could draw the parallel between Anduin's attitude towards the interrogations and Arthas' attitude towards the Culling of Stratholme. We also know that Anduin remains in the Maw after the other faction leaders were rescued, and we have a datamined repaired Helm of Domination. Assuming Terenas Menethil was correct when he said there must always be a Lich King, could it end up being Anduin making the sacrifice play for the good of Azeroth?

The safe assumption is that Bolvar will resume his duties, and a farfetched option would be Arthas somehow reclaiming the Frozen Throne. But what if the third (and admittedly even more farfetched option) is Anduin taking the helm and infusing it with the Light? We have a lightforged undead, and Bolvar himself turned the crystal in the helm orange with dragon fire when he first donned it. We also have an example of Anduin infusing Shalamayne with the Light rather than the red rage color when Varian held it. I admit it's a VERY big stretch, just curious if anyone else has thought of it.

there was no Lich king before Ner'Zhul

if Helm stays in Shadowlands, there is no need for Lich King


also, Cult of the Damned might have very few numbers and mindless scourge are much lower than back in WotLK

[mingarrubia]

I believe it'll be Tyrande. She'll turn up just in time to save Anduin and Sylvanas will strike her with the mourneblade in self-defence instead of Anduin.

[shoc]

Anduin will 100% be the next Lich King. The question is whether he will go willingly or not.

[Varitok]

Ahahahahhaahaha

Anduin is Christie Goldens baby and if there is anything I've learned from 10 years of playing is that Christie golden basically has the story writers by the balls
The story was morally gray until she just decided to white wash everything the alliance has ever done so there is nothing to compare them to. Christie tells them to jump, they do. They outta fire her if they want to save what little story they have left.

Anduin being her favorite character makes him absolutely never ever 100% ever going to dissapear or turn evil. He is going to continue being the bland can do no wrong pretty boy that will lead both the horde and the alliance against the void lords

Just wait, the Shadowlands story hasnt improved at all, it is just as bad as it was in WoD, Legion and BFA. Never seen a more incompetent villain than the Jailer.

WoW was not Morally grey. It was typical Good vs Evil high fantasy.

Anduin is the only character with consistency next to Baine. People hate him because he has an arch in which his character grows and evolves within the structure set for his morals and mindset.

People have this borderline childish obsession with their characters being broken shells of people who barely keep it together, maybe murders, maybe horrible people because modern media has no way of portraying any characters as just a good person. He's not even particularly powerful, he just has conviction in his beliefs. I am just tired of people screaming for a character arch to be ruined to sate their fetishizing of GoT tier trashy nihilistic writing. WoWs story is far far from original or even good but it has it's moments and characters, like Anduin.

[Aurabolt]

Anduin will 100% be the next Lich King. The question is whether he will go willingly or not.

The only one who wasn't willing was Ner'zul. His soul was ripped from his body and stuffed inside the armor. Arthas and Bolvar both willingly became the Lich King though obviously for different reasons from each other.

[baskev]

lol how many of these threads do we have?

Nope. I think he will come out way later then we think he does. And will be a bit more like his father was during Wotlk a angry man.

I think they might even condem sylvanas to be it.

[Kithelle]

Well it certainly feels like that is the plan the Jailer has for him, but I don't know if the odds are very high it will actually happen.

[Soon-TM]

horrible people because modern media has no way of portraying any characters as just a good person.

The problem isn't Anduin being a goody goody two shoes, the problem is the entire universe bending and warping around in order to accomodate his naivety and his self righteousness. He's a prototypical Purity Sue, so of course he grows and evolves - at the cost of pretty much everyone else.

Oh, and as per Ion himself:

There’s a lot of story to tell going forward,” he said. “Both sides should be worried about this. Azeroth is a world of grey. It’s never been a world of black and white.