An Unintended WH40k Influence (Maybe?) - More Daddy/Mommy Issues in League
It's no secret that Riot has a lot of Warhammer 40k writers from their Black Library series on their payroll - Graham McNeil and Dan Abnett being some of the most high profile. Now, I enjoy Warhammer's lore but I'm starting to feel some of the champs are getting too... 40k.
Demacia is basically the Imperium of Man where people knows their place. The Mageseekers are the inquisition and mages are psykers for one. I wrote previously... THREE YEARS AGO... on how secondary characters in a lot of League stories were useless.
But I see something else and granted, it's probably because I'm familiar with common criticisms of 40k's tropes/stories but a LOT of champs are getting mommy/daddy issues (a la primarchs with their Big E daddy issues).
I think it started with Zac. His bio started off as...
The staff abducted Zac's parents and demanded that the couple assist in his capture and return. Seized by the fear of losing his freedom and his parents, Zac unleashed every ounce of his raw energy and mass for the very first time. He subdued his parents' captors, sent the laboratory's workers fleeing, and brought his loved ones home.
and went to...
Zac had been exploring subterranean seams far below Zaun, but sensed his parents' distress and raced back through the pipes of the city to the rescue. He arrived too late to save them, and the fury that overwhelmed him upon seeing their bodies was unmatched by anything the baron's men had ever seen.
As you can imagine, a lot of Zac = Batman comparisons started popping up.
Then we got Akali/Lux/or Annie. These champs have had major reworks/shorts dedicated to them relatively recently. Akali with her VGU and rework. Lux with her animated short, Binding Light, and updated bio due to Sylas. And Annie with her Annie: ORIGINS.
The original lore of all 3 champs referenced their parents in some way - Lux's parents sold her out to join Demacia's military, Akali was born into Kinkou, and Annie's parents were runaway mages. But there's a lot of parent drama now. One of Akali's parents is dead and Annie killed both her parents. A Lux's short story, Stone and Flesh, emphasizes the tension between her and her mother.
Lux's
“No, stay,” begged Augatha. She cornered Lux and began to speak with authority. “You do not know what you are saying. This man has risked everything to help you. It is the only way you’re ever going to be Demacian. Have you forgotten your afflic-”
“I am not afflicted!” Lux cried out
Akali's
Akali fled into the eastern mountains along with Mayym, Shen, Kennen, and a handful of other acolytes. Sadly, Tahno was not among them.
Then there's Sylas who's father figure(s) was/were killed in his short story, Demacian Heart. Also his parents made him sell himself out so there's that too.
Then there's also Ashe/Sejuani who both have mother/grandmother drama amongst them from their bios.
Sejuani
Though Sejuani tried her best to earn Hejian’s love, she was never able to meet her arduous expectations.
Ashe
Everyone assumed that Ashe would follow her mother as the tribe's next leader. However, this was never a glory Ashe desired. The grim responsibility of her warlike lineage and extraordinary gifts instead left Ashe feeling isolated, burdened, and alone.
...and now there's Kayle and Morgana's lore update. In their previous lore, they did not seem to have parents or anyone else mentioned. Instead their parents were introduced as part of the lore update and... of course, dead parent drama.
Thoughts and Feelings
There's nothing wrong, by itself, with dead parents or parent drama (although I feel it's a cheap shot for easy sympathy points most of the time). I like how it's being portrayed in Ashe Warmother with Ashe and Grena's relationship. The problem, I feel, is that right now so many champs , specifically ones with recently updated lores, are getting the "MUH FAMILY IS DEAD" treatment that it's becoming the new "dark and mysterious" past. We now know what the dark and mysterious past is, they have dead parent(s).
And this goes back to Warhammer 40k for me because a common joke is that all the Primarch's have daddy issues because the Emperor never really loved them (or something like that - various interpretations and what not - mebbe he did love them) that I'm left wondering if this is a result of the 40k writer's influence. I'm wondering if the lore is being steered in this direction because it's the one that is the least path of resistance for the 40k influenced-writers to write.
I get League has over 140 champs, and I get there might end up some similarities with their lores (which, funny enough, is one reason why we had the Great Retcon in the first place), but Zac's parents got retconned to be dead. Akali lost a parent. Annie accidently killed both of hers. But as far as I can see, in Zac's case it just made his story darker/edgier but with no VO updates to accompany it.
For Akali, none of her lore stuff even mentions her parents anyways so I guess what's the point of killing one other than cheap sympathy points?
Annie kills both her parents and it's shown to be a very traumatic experience for her yet then in her short story Trouble she's suddenly a psychotic child who loves to burn and kill things with no remorse? It's missing a lot of steps.
I feel in Lux's case, it works better because the short stories actually flesh out the relationship drama between her and her mother. It works in Ashe's case because the comic shows us what her parents were like and what they were like.
Also Vayne had dead parents but that's been a thing since her debut. Varus still has a dead family. Ekko has parents... I think but they neglect him or something so he's kind of the exception? Miss Fortune has dead parents. Shen's went crazy after Jhin. I'm pretty sure I'm missing a lot more.
tl:dr Dead parents have been a thing in league for a while but it's oversaturation is making it the new "dark and mysterious past"
