Kayle
I'm not too worried about her rewrite. As I recall, her connection to the Institute was originally something weird about her binding herself to the League's service. Now, it's true, that did give rise to a hilarious comic:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nXZEaQ5rQsc/ULAS8dUeF6I/AAAAAAAAARg/2ymrNOR1dVM/s1600/talesofvaloran020.png
but overall that's something I'll be glad to see gone. I consider Narrative to have engaged in some rather shameful strawman tactics when they accused the League of being essentially a slaver's guild, framing Champions as imprisoned servants forced to fight forever. That's not how the community has interpreted it for the most part, and Riot itself moved away from that pretty fast, but Kayle's lore does contain a vestigial remnant of that creepy original approach. Good riddance to that.
My primary concern is that Narrative appears to be on a "darker and grittier" kick. Nuance and depth are valuable, but it's important not to confuse arbitrary gray-out line-blurring for real depth. The League is great for Kayle in that it provides a forum in which she can pursue justice, and tilt the balance of power in favor of nations like Demacia. I'm not advocating for Kayle as a flawless "good guy", but I think she should remain heroic, and I'm wary that they'll turn her into some amoral winged warlord with a gritty past.
Elements that I think are important to Kayle and should continue to be emphasized:
- Larger than life, even by Champion standards: an immortal arbiter of justice, not a chick with wings and fancy armor.
- Full of conviction, even imperious.
- Dauntless.
- LAWFUL (good). Both parts are important, but mostly the former. People need to know their place.
- Arrogant, "aristocratic". Tends to be rather condescending. This also gives her strength, because she holds herself to her high standards, and is not prone to falter or hesitate.
- Has a vengeful side. Not just an ice-cold lawbringer. She has a personal hatred for the wicked and cruel.
- Aloof, focuses on the "big picture". She tends to lose sight of individual mortals, seeing instead a larger clash of principles and ideologies that shapes the course of Runeterra's future.
- Supernatural good guy. There are some larger-than-life figures in the LoL lineup, like Nasus. But I think it's nice to have at least one quasi-divine being who's "Good". You don't want to overdo this, and you definitely don't want to end up in a bad "Superman" plot where they're omnipotent and omnibenevolent, but it's a classic archetype that brightens up the LoL universe and fights against the "sea of gray" problem.
Origin ideas
While "pulled through a portal from another world" is definitely a rather tired fallback plot, I don't think it's that bad for Kayle. Still, I expect she'll get a new origin, and I can think of lots of viable options.
"Ascended Mortal"
I find this a bit trite, but it wouldn't be awful. Make her a Demacian paladin who undergoes a Soraka-like ascension to quasi-divine status. She was once human, but is now something more. Meh. Not bad. Biggest problem is that it might humanize her too much, and detract from her angelic aura, which I think is important for her.
"Hero from another World"
One could hew close to the original backstory: say that Kayle is from another world, but deliberately chose to come to Runeterra, seeing it as an important point on the cosmic map and intent on ensuring that it plays out for the good of the cosmos.
"Champion of Fancy Winged People"
I would be a bit dismayed by this option: having Kayle be from some race of winged humanoids living off in the mountains. It's not inherently a bad background, but it's overused, and would mark a serious (negative) change for Kayle. Her otherworldliness is important to her.
Rewrites I'm dreading
While I'm pretty confident we'll get a good Kayle post-rewrite, who'll stay true to her original character, I'll try to put my worst fears into words here.
"Knight-errant Kayle"
I think there's a real possibility that Narrative will disconnect Kayle from the larger world, and make her a lone knight errant off on a personal quest. I think she needs to retain a broad view of events.
"Chick-with-plate-armor Kayle"
It's also possible that they'll go "dark and gritty" with her, and make her just some lady with a magic sword and shiny armor, or a mighty warrior from a race of winged humanoids, perhaps (gag) the last of her kind. Kayle is an angel. She's supernatural. More than human—not just in the Champion sense, but in an extraplanar, mythical way.
"Mysteeeerious leeeegeeeend Kayle"
This isn't the worst option, but it'd be pretty lame: making Kayle some mysterious rumored legendary figure who may or may not exist. This is a cop-out and a dodge, and I don't think it's consistent with her character. She's proud, bold, self-assured. She is here to Make Things Right. She isn't dodging around like some kind of Batman pouncing on muggers—she's rallying the people of Runeterra to their destiny, fighting for the fate of the world. Having her as some faint "glimmer of hope" is another world-of-gray cliche that I hope Narrative will avoid.
Needs more lasers.
