Arthas Menethil
Arthas Menethil | |
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Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor | |
First game | Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos |
Created by | Blizzard Entertainment |
Voiced by |
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Arthas Menethil is a fictional character who appears in the
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
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
This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (November 2018) |
Warcraft franchise
Arthas Menethil was the prince of
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
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
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.
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
Arthas also features in Warcraft-related merchandise, such as Halloween costumes.[19]
References
- ^ a b "Rise and Fall of the Lich King: WoW Developer Interview". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ "Arthas Menethil". Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ Golden, Christie (2009). Arthas: Rise of the Lich King.
- ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2002). Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC). Blizzard Entertainment. Scene: Arthas' Betrayal.
- ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2008). World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC). Blizzard Entertainment. Scene: Fall of the Lich King.
- ^ "Arthas - Heroes of the Storm". us.battle.net. Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
- ^ "Arthas: Non-Compete Hero Guide". Archived from the original on 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
- ^ "Heroes of The Storm Heroes: Arthas Guide". 2p.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ Heroes of the Storm™ Cinematic Trailer, archived from the original on 2019-11-07, retrieved 2019-12-21
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hearthside Chat with Dave Kosak: Knights of the Frozen Throne Missions, archived from the original on 2019-07-21, retrieved 2019-12-21
- ^ "The 50 Greatest Video Game Characters". Empire. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ "The 10 best video-game characters". The Guardian. 7 August 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "25 Dead Video Game Characters We Wish Were Still Here". Complex. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ "Gaming's most notorious anti-heroes". IGN. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ "Blizzard store now offering full Halloween costumes". Engadget. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.