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Change in Zed's Lore

notkai·2/18/2020, 6:47:13 AM·3 votes·9,905 views

This is really just a small thing I noticed and wanted to ask the community about, since I'm a bit disappointed by it.

So, we all know Zed's story, at least vaguely. He's part of the Kinkou, training alongside Shen. He's the only one able to match Shen in sparring. He, Shen, and Kusho hunt Jhin for a few terrible years and all come back changed. Zed, growing restless and resentful, eventually seeks out shadow magic and is thrown out-slash-voluntarily defects from the Kinkou. He militarizes, trains, eventually returns (with new murder friends) to the monastery to retrieve the box. Kusho says "hey, I'm really sorry for kicking you out. Come with me and let's destroy this box". Zed slaughters Kusho, decapitates him, and throws his head at Shen's feet.

...right?

The decapitation was removed from the comics. I completely understand that- having it feature as a detail in a written story is fine, but it might churn some stomachs if it's drawn out. Totally reasonable to not add that bit in. But then I checked back on the written lore and it seems to be gone from there as well.

My question: why?

Why would this detail be removed? It's a tiny one, sure, but I feel like it's an important one. It demonstrates how ruthless and violent Zed can be (at least when under the influence of forbidden shadow magic). He didn't just kill his old master- he desecrated his corpse and then chucked the head at his son. That's brutal and reflective of what Zed is capable of. It also contextualizes some of Shen's rage towards Zed (which is more apparent in the comics than the written lore).

I miss this little detail. Without it, Zed seems a bit more sanitized. Less ruthless, less violent, somehow more respectful towards Kusho (even though Zed still murdered him. It was just a nicer murder this time around). Perhaps that's the direction Riot is trying to steer him in, but...it feels a bit wrong.

I want to know what you guys think about this. Do you miss this detail? Are you glad it's gone? Do you not really care either way?

5 Comments

Ebonmaw Dragon2/18/2020, 8:54:10 AM4 votes

Well... the previous lore never mentioned that Zed was the one that decapitated Kusho as far as i know. Sure, Zed seems like the obvious murderer, but some people speculate that a thing inside the box did it.

It seems like something happened there that Riot has not shown us yet, that is why is not shown in the comic as well, as the previous lore says:

The dark ninja followed the master inside. Moments later, the assembled ninjas heard Zed cry out in pain. Mysteriously, he emerged unscathed, and threw the severed head of the master at Shen's feet.

That quote from his old lore shows that something happened to Zed, that ended up with the death of Kusho. Maybe "the box" attacked Zed, but Kusho protected him and died due that. Only Zed knows the truth.