Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

Who The Hell Is Jax?

Dreamspitter·9/29/2014, 10:36:19 AM·16 votes·6,356 views

** Jax is an Iconic Character of League of Legends. ** But who is he within the setting? Let's look at who Jax was BEFORE the new lore direction (Removing the Institute of War), and what old lore said he was first.

It is seldom the case where a champion is defined by his actions after joining the League of Legends rather than before. Such is the case with Jax, for whom the argument could be made that he is the most prolific tournament fighter currently at the Institute of War. Before joining the League, Jax was an unremarkable soldier-for-hire. For reasons known only to the former leader of the League, High Councilor Reginald Ashram, Jax was put on the top of the list of candidates to receive a League Judgment - the interview process that either accepts or rejects a prospective champion. His Judgment was the quickest in League history, where the Doors of Acceptance glowed and slowly swung open as soon as it began. Jax faced no recorded Observation or Reflection during his Judgment.

Jax proved himself to be an immediate terror in the Fields of Justice. The self-proclaimed Armsmaster of the League rattled off a streak of consecutive wins that to this day has not been matched. A number of summoners in the League grew concerned that the perceived objectivity of the League of Legends would be questioned by the presence of an unknown fighter who was unbeatable. For this reason, the new leader of the League (following Reginald Ashram's disappearance), High Councilor Heyward Relivash, created special restrictions for Jax to fight under. This was something the League had never done before, and something which has never been done since. The burly fighter responded by imposing his own special conditions; as a means of protest, he permitted himself to fight using only a brass lamppost. Neither the League's sanctions nor his own has affected his winning ways. The League has since rescinded its sanctions, but Jax has not; he fights and fights well with his trusty brass lamppost.

So he was an unremarkable nobody sell-sword who didnt really become recognized until he joined the League, and was instantly approved. No one knows WHAT he is (it aint human), where he learned his martial skill, and he only gained his signature weapon because it was a self imposed restriction within the League.

Well now that the league is gone, the organization that "defined him"....looks like lore teams gonna have a LOT of work replacing everything that is now missing.

I think they need to start with the "what is he?" question that has, as Lore team said long plagued Evelyn albeit there's still room for mystery. Currently more than any other champion, Jax is now a blank slate. It wont due for him to be a nobody, The Grandmaster needs to be LEGENDARY. Why did he choose a lampost as a weapon? Maybe he doesnt use a 'real weapon' because he wants to make fights interesting? Jax seems like he COULD be the type that enjoys fighting for the sake of itself, with money and ideology, and even national allegiance being secondary if important at all.

He could also use a VU. And a new skin ....maybe........Unmasked or True Master/True Form Jax?

Maybe there could be a rivalry between him and Aatrox, a champion he counters AND might appear in his newer splash art from the shadows? Could Jax be a fabled Darkin, or something else like a so called Lightkin? Aatrox simply appears (although it's implied he can be called) to turn the tide in a battle -maybe Jax simply shows up to fight against whatever side he feels will be entertaining ? And he handicaps himself just to make it "fair"?

http://i.imgur.com/mBbyqhm.jpg

32 Comments

Chaoscontrol9/29/2014, 2:21:46 PM28 votes

If the trend continues, his new lore will look like this:

"The mysteries that surround Rammus Jax are numerous. How did a simple creature soldier of the desert coin suddenly become able to reason fight in the League Rift? How did he craft his vaunted suit of armor get his vaunted lamppost? What is he searching for as he crosses the Shurima Desert Valoran? One thing is for certain: trying to stop the inexorable Rammus Jax is a fool's mission."

All mysteries solved!

Edit: fixed

DG Ashabel9/30/2014, 1:14:43 AM13 votes

Given his purple robe, I'll quietly assume that Jax is the lost spirits of summoners who were murdered in the Great Retcon of 2014 to make space for the new lore team's vision. They have all gathered together and took the form of a single being, forever doomed to wander Runeterra from one honorable battle to another.

The fire in his lantern is the old lore, guarded and cherished for the day when League's darkest hour will make it needed again.

DeadEquilibrium9/30/2014, 4:19:29 AM4 votes

Don't cry, rejoice! For now that Jax has a blank slate, tons can be done with him. He could have a mysterious past or be made to become a legendary fighter amidst the rubble that the constant wars between Noxus, Demacia, and everyone else. His lamp could be a self-imposed punishment, bound to him, or something he picked up when his weapon broke in a fight! The possibilites are endless! As for a race, I've always entertained the idea that he was some sort of mutated troll or something of the like. There is a mystical element to the darkins Aatrox that Jax doesn't have: he's simply really good at what he does.

Now the real question is: without the IOW, how will the lore to Urf be changed? ;)

Edit: fixed spelling mistake...a lot less awkward now!

Conncept9/29/2014, 6:07:35 PM3 votes

He's a giant purple melee minion

No seriously, look at him, from the three fingers to the cowl covered glowing eyes. I've always thought he was a creation of the leagues original summoner, his fame essentially singlehandedly kicked off the early days of the league, he was the leagues opening hand upon entering Valorans political games.

Of course that's all back when the league actually existed...

Variks the Loyal9/30/2014, 3:46:18 PM3 votes

I think Jax is a Troll, like Trundle. They have similar size and body shape, and their hands have the same number of fingers.

Jax could be a Troll who left his tribe (Unsure if there are only Freljord Trolls now or what), maybe bullied out, who wanted to become a better fighter. He could have traveled across the world to places with skilled martial artists like Targon and Ionia, picking up things as he went along.

The lamppost has to be important. Perhaps it's magical, giving note to how his abilities deal magic damage, and how he was able to flare it up in A New Dawn. Maybe he decided to use it for practical reasons, using it to light his way on his travels, and it just became close to him. Maybe it's symbollic, maybe it was a gift, the possibilities are endless.

SecretAgentHulk9/30/2014, 2:18:39 PM3 votes

Hey, would just like to thank everyone here for keeping it positive and imaginative instead of negative and refusing to see the possibilities. You're cool people.

PhoenixSlayer139/30/2014, 2:48:50 AM3 votes

I imagine him as a mysterious roaming warrior who uses a lamp-post for shits and giggles, because he's just that damn good. Maybe he could be considered a living legend in the Noxian gladiatorial arenas, currently undefeated? He lives for the thrill of battle.

Solidair39/29/2014, 1:57:52 PM3 votes

The Grandmaster at Arms, sadly, was defined by his entry into the League, and with the new overhaul, riot is simply going to have to come up with a new and interesting way to fit him into the new lore overhaul.

Though he is the champion in which this fact is most apparent, it's safe to say that a lot of other champions are tied to the league and Institute of war as well, like Lee Sin, and Fiddlesticks to an extent.

I'm sure it's something they're working on, but we can't expect them to satisfactorily just info dump on every champion that needs it all at once. I know I don't want them hamfisting every champion that needs it into one plot event only to feel like they were dumped there just to get it out of the way. They're going to need a little time to get their bearings straight after the overhaul, and I think we, and they, owe it to the champions we love to put careful consideration and time into these decisions.

The Red Warden9/30/2014, 3:30:17 AM2 votes

Jax was a legendary mercenary said to be the greatest fighter on Runaterra. That is until the day he bumped his head and started obsessing on this "league of legends" idea he keeps rambling on about. He now goes around with a lampost, which he declared he is forced to have, and challenges other strong fighters to prove how he is the champion in his made-up league

Why do I have the feeling that will end up being better than what Riot does with him (given their other retcons in the Shurima event), please tell me it won't be

Direwolfiez9/29/2014, 5:32:14 PM2 votes

Well, he's obviously going to be involved with Aatrox in some way, since like Trynd, whose lore was retconned to have him hate Aatrox, he has the same image in the background of his standard splash art. As to what else his new lore might have...no idea, honestly. I hope it'll be something more interesting than the standard "joined the League for sh*ts and giggles", or just not explaining why they're there at all.

Chromatic Eagle9/29/2014, 6:30:44 PM2 votes

We won't know until they do something with him. We have no idea what their priority lore wise with champions.

sp4419/30/2014, 4:42:33 PM2 votes

I like to assume that Jax is a Darkin opposed to Aatrox, and who originally joined the League to prevent wars from happening.

The5lacker10/2/2014, 5:40:38 AM2 votes

Jax isn't a character. He's the "badass" fantasy of a 13 year old. Lets be honest, there's nothing interesting about Jax. He's a mystery that doesn't actually have a hook. Who is Jax? Better question, who cares who Jax is? I certainly don't. Because there's nothing there to even give a hint. He has no personality. He has no identity. He's just "a badass." That's the only reason he exists. He was a niche that needed filling. Much like how Mundo and Singed are "the mad doctors," Shaco is "the killer clown", Soraka is "The healer", Warwick is "the wolf dude", Annie is "the creepy kid", Morg is "the fallen angel", Kayle is "the not-so-fallen angel", etc. etc. That was how old champions were designed. They were given an archetype to fill, and they filled it. Some of them filled it well (Yi, TF, etc.) Some didn't (Pretty much everyone I just listed and then some.)

Criomhthann9/30/2014, 3:08:08 PM1 votes

We have no idea. Right now he is just, "that guy who fights pretty well with a lamp post."

The people who were responsible for revamping lore are not great thinkers, and this kind of stuff shows it.

Levyathyn10/4/2014, 1:21:48 AM1 votes

Maybe it's possible to tie Jax's lore to, if not a new League, then something that will still exist in Runeterra and can function similarly. That is, of course, The Fleshing. We all know Alistar and Xin Zhao survived, the latter with the presumed highest body count therein. But what if that's only because, to Noxus' secret shame, there is another... just one other, who managed to beat everything Noxus could throw at him, and not only survive, but walk out. And they couldn't stop him?

I think that would be pretty cool. And it keeps the mystery surrounding him for when Riot finally decides to reveal that he's actually been a Garo warrior this whole time.