Ekko: The Boy who Shattered Time

Sharjo·May 10, 2015·52 votes·53,799 views

So Ekko was just revealed at MSI, and he looks really cool! For those who haven't seen:

He's black with white hair and a mohawk
He comes from or has business with Zaun
He has a techmaturgical device strapped to his waist that allows him to rewind time. It doesn't rewind time for himself seemingly, as he still had or could feel damage he had taken.

You can find the video here at Riot's official youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtEpp9lkfxA

So folks, thoughts, theories, hypothesis?

267 Comments

Linna ExcelMay 11, 201561 votes

"These lazy kids and their contraptions. When I was a kid, we didn't need fancy devices to go back in time, we just used some elbow grease and a can do attitude."

- Zilean

Rinky DinkyMay 10, 201529 votes

It was predicted a few months ago he will have an ult that resets time by 4 seconds.

So basically the trolliest champion ever concieved is on the way

BowlboMay 10, 201524 votes

You realize that Bard is a champ who currently exists on Live right now? It will take a lot to dethrone the current troll-king. ( Trundle not withstanding)

Rinky DinkyMay 10, 201538 votes

"Nice ult sejuani, you got all 5 of them. Let me assist you with an ult of my own ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)"

Bard has been surpassed

WheatloafMay 11, 201523 votes

"Bard, that was the worst Ult I've even seen, let me fix it with mine..."

Bard averted.

JawkraMay 11, 20154 votes

http://imgur.com/a/TQhlv#0vpFGnb

Here ya go!

All for you!

(Also if it's too small, click the gear on the top and hit full resolution!)

Yorick -mori

RiotRiot ShadowStormMay 11, 201533 votes

Just a heads up, these abilities are completely fake; you'll have to wait until the full reveal to learn exactly what he does. But until then... speculate away! =)

The EllimiistMay 11, 20156 votes

lol I like that someone at least comes out to debunk these. I noticed LoL's abilities are starting to head into what I refer to as "the Dota zone" where the abilities have increased potential to screw over your own team just as much as the enemy if used in the hands of a novice (hence the hate for bard's set and kalista ult, meanwhile in DotA im just use to bad teammates being worse than good enemies at killing me xD)

Chaotic ReksMay 11, 20156 votes

well look at Weaver on Dota. His ult resets time (but only for himself) and it seems pretty useful as you need to plan ahead to use it effectively

TotalisMay 11, 20153 votes

There is no way that ult is true. Think about it, it just doesn't make sense for league. If you actually believed that you got trolled hard

SimplicateMay 11, 20154 votes

Well there was a leak from some forum a little bit back and they described Ekko. Black kid, white hair, and energy sword. They also went on to say his ult would rewind time by 4 seconds so considering he was right about what Ekko looked like I think it's safe to say this info is right.

Also unrelated but the leak said GP is getting a visual update around this time.

Ebonmaw DragonMay 11, 20154 votes

{quoted}

Well there was a leak from some forum a little bit back and they described Ekko. Black kid, white hair, and energy sword. They also went on to say his ult would rewind time by 4 seconds so considering he was right about what Ekko looked like I think it's safe to say this info is right.

Also unrelated but the leak said GP is getting a visual update around this time.

ANOTHER visual update for GP?

where is Pooppy, Taric and the other ones...

AnidanMay 11, 20157 votes

Taric is forever doomed to the Pizza Feet Committee. Outrageous.

Tr1F0rc3May 11, 201511 votes

Did you not know the person ekko is fighting is the new taric

Chaotic ReksMay 11, 20153 votes

MEANWHILE Mordekaiser

StrawberrycocoaMay 10, 201519 votes

It looks like he basically rewinds the battle until he either gets it right or has a heart attack. :o

hawkman5879May 10, 201517 votes

My bet is he is a AD assassin with electricity powers :). And his ult just teleports him back 4 seconds into the past in terms of location. I am placing my bets on a 40 second cooldown if it is that.

blueberrypancakeMay 10, 201510 votes

Oh no

Not an AD Leblanc ;( Kappa

NarasimhaMay 11, 201512 votes

Wait...

Wasn't Zed released already?

LordTekronMay 11, 201515 votes

Velkoz Welp... That's another human lifeform to put on my disintergration list

Also, I kinda want that Cyborg Bane to be a champ...

XerphiMay 11, 20151 votes

From what I've seen, that's Urgot .

SolekaMay 11, 20155 votes

{quoted}

From what I've seen, that's .

the rioter working on Urgot's rework said that it's not him.

Imperial RedMay 11, 20151 votes

In no way should anyone have mistaken that for urgot. Since when does he go around punching shit?

Tesla EffectMay 11, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Imperial Red,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=VELolYKj,comment-id=000e000000000001,timestamp=2015-05-11T15:54:22.038+0000)

In no way should anyone have mistaken that for urgot. Since when does he go around punching shit?

Urgot Full Relaunch incoming...So how should we know what kind of things we will be doing after it!?

Imperial RedMay 11, 20153 votes

Because that would be a completely new champ if he was suddenly running around punching things. Full Relaunch won't go that far. If it was supposed to be any current champion it would be singed, and even that is out there. It's just some nobody to make Ekko look cool.

Kn1ghtModeMay 11, 20152 votes

Maybe give singed and Bane skin haha

OyddAWqJ5rMay 11, 201513 votes

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/L2U4X4IQ2ys/maxresdefault.jpg

Sky ShadowMay 11, 201512 votes

Might just be me digging into things too much, but it appears that the fight is taking place inside the clock tower in Urtistan, which is where Zilean lived. The murals on the wall appear to be of Zilean, with information and pictures/locations of his studies or of the device on his back.

Also, oddly enough it states in Zileans lore that Urtistan was destroyed by "entire phalanx of dark summoner-knights of unknown affiliation" but they chose to leave the Clock Tower alone. So the fight there would make sense if Ekko was followed inside by the massive dude. It also appears that the guy he was battling is a creation of The Headsman, which is the same guy who created Urgot and would explain why they look similar.

Either the item Ekko uses to time travel or his sword is most likely an Anchor to prevent him from suffering the disease Zilean has called chrono-displasia. Otherwise, he was probably searching through Zilean's stuff to see if there is a cure for it because he may have early stages of it.

Last thing I noticed and sparks this theory (Literally) was the devices in the beginning below the murals that appear to be either a light source or conductors that can also be seen in the Time Machine Zilean splash art in the background.

May just be a far left analysis theory, but it's spooky.

Tesla EffectMay 11, 201511 votes

"Heres a ting about time. If you cant make most out of any given moment, you dont deserve a single extra second." - Ekko

Ekko here is probably commenting on Riots handling of its games lore. Maybe its just me seeing it, but I find that quote kinda funny.

Annie NAMay 10, 201510 votes

I'm pretty sure that was Urgot the butcher before he got butchered him self. Urgot

SharjoMay 10, 20157 votes

Pretty sure that's not the case. Urgot's Noxian remember, and was almost killed by Garen.

Captain LitoMay 10, 20152 votes

{quoted}

Pretty sure that's not the case. Urgot's Noxian remember, and was almost killed by Garen.

I don't know, this could be the Urgot Rework + the Retcon. I know it's unlikely, but who knows?

SharjoMay 10, 20154 votes

The problem is going full Zaun takes away the entirety of his motivations as a character - vengeance against Garen. It also counters the whole story of - Sion turned out to be a monster, how do we do this necromancy shiz without that happening again? It could be possible, but I feel like they're gonna keep Urgot as a figure in Noxus with Zaun elements, rather than the other way around.

ScorpoisonMay 10, 20157 votes

altho to be fair, Jax doesnt even have a story anymore

ShínyMay 11, 201512 votes

https://twitter.com/RiotVesh/status/597569668530868224

No that's not the Urgot rework. Yes I am actually working on an Urgot rework. The guy in ekko's trailer wasn't him though! -Riot Vesh

ChilroyMay 11, 20153 votes

{quoted}

I'm pretty sure that was Urgot the butcher before he got butchered him self.

Riot Vesh also popped on twitter to note that the monstrosity Ekko is fighting is NOT Urgot: "No that's not the Urgot rework. Yes I am actually working on an Urgot rework. The guy in ekko's trailer wasn't him though!" Source X)

A Superb VillainMay 11, 20159 votes

Dark skin? Light hair? Time powers through technology?

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/skullgirls/images/c/cf/20130325090055-DLC_Isaac.png/revision/latest?cb=20130325161017

Joking aside: ZAUN!

Infrastructure! Architecture! The city seems definitely layered, the place Ekko and his aggressor are standing on is suspended on thin panels. Cybernetic augmentation, if Vi/Urgot/Singed Jr. is anything to go by, seems to be more commonplace than previously thought. Unless the unnamed character is one of Viktor's Glorious Evolution, which I doubt on the basis of aesthetics, mechanical sophistication, and personal bias, people are slapping gears and pistons on themselves with surprisingly little reservation, which also makes me wonder why Viktor's goals are considered odd, though that may be by the world at large rather than just Zaun.

Another thing about our unnamed assailant; take a look at the face on the mural's far right, then look at Big McLargehand's hair. Seems rather familiar to me. Could be the same guy. Also the broken goggles, which are with their rightful owner in the mural, something Ekko willingly turns back time to preserve. This makes it clear to me the painting, and by association the people in it, are important to him. Perhaps they were part of a gang that has been whittled down to just him, and Big McLargehand is a former friend turned human experiment?

Also also, Ekko's name may be more than a play on his abilities. He is in obvious pain after each temporal reset, yet has no visible injuries. This could be graphical limitations, as changing his model would have cost more time, effort, and money, but I think it may have something to do with the nature of his time travel. He clearly remembers previous events, despite them technically never happening after he alters the future (paradoxes, yo), but is physically no worse for wear; perhaps the pain and memory are an "ekko" of his time travel, like phantom pain for body and mind.

supes the lostMay 11, 20158 votes

So, from just watching the video, I've come to a conclusion on a general idea of how his device works.

As his wrist device and the identical return point show, pulling the rip cord on the hourglass activates his time device, setting a bookmark of sort to that exact moment.
Turning the dial on his wrist device causes him to move back to the bookmark that was set when the device was activated.
His memory is fully transferred back and he is capable of acting on these memories.

These are more of my speculations on the device on how I feel it can do.

The wrist dial most likely does nothing unless a bookmark is set.
Physical injuries are not taken back in time, but he most likely feels the phantom pain from having been hit by it.

Other things.

I feel like he's going to be an AD champ, as outside of his time device, he spends the entirety of the video fighting with a sword.
On top of this, he's most likely either gonna be a melee carry or an assassin, if his base stats are high enough and the time function is decent in a duo lane, he may also find himself as a off support for a kill lane.
No clue how his time mechanic is going to function in the slightest.

Thanks for reading my rambling. :D

XulsigaeMay 11, 20157 votes

A lovely video again. Good animation and music and voice and choreography. Got me excited for the champion. I want to know what Zilean, Heimerdinger, Viktor and Jayce think of him. I also want to find out more about his foe, the Zaunite (I'm assuming) with the similar tech as Vi.

But, will we find out anything more about him after his actual lore is released? Will his story continue, or stall like so many before him?

And the obligatory question 'What does he join the League for?' To test his inventions? To gain protection from the person(s) who were trying to kill him? As a side job like Gragas?

SharjoMay 11, 20157 votes

I feel like the video was done by the same dudes and dudettes who did the Jinx music video, which is of course great!

Well it depends on what his story actually is, how much longer it's gonna take to fix what's busted with the lore, and then what stories then get told after that.

He doesn't join league for any reason, because it's not a thing anymore. He's a kid who is a "legend".

XulsigaeMay 11, 20155 votes

Yep, but pity they rarely do 'Lore' videos. Usually they are promotional ones. Excellent quality ones, but promotional nonetheless.

Indeed. And that's taking a long time and makes me wonder.

I like to ponder if the League were around (may it come back) what would his reason for being associated with it be. I find it more fun than just taking each champion as a single entity without a reason to fight.
I don't like the 'These people fighting are just stories that we mash together for our amusement.'

chipi99May 11, 20153 votes

He doesn't join league for any reason, because it's not a thing anymore. He's a kid who is a "legend".

IMO that's a lot better than the IoW.

DrukyulMay 11, 20156 votes

This guy's time control makes Zilean look like a chump. But we'll see when he's actually released.

SharjoMay 11, 201521 votes

Ekko: Rewinds time for a few seconds. Can't keep himself safe with it.

Zilean: Can rewind past the point of death to revive people and accelerate/decelerate time for anyone he chooses.

Yeah total chump.

DrukyulMay 11, 20152 votes

Can rewind past the point of death to revive people

doesn't rewind at all if they don't die, so often does absolutely nothing

and accelerate/decelerate time for anyone he chooses

time? no, move speed...on one target...with no other effects...yay

SharjoMay 11, 201513 votes

The description of his E literally says he bends time around a champion. While gameplay says it's just movespeed gameplay isn't canon. Zilean has so much more power than you give him credit for.

Hell he has bombs which can stop time entirely when they react with each other.

AntonokMay 10, 20155 votes

He reminds me of Jak from Jak and Daxter......

SharjoMay 10, 201530 votes

Kinda reminds me of the Kid from Bastion.