1st Place: The Lich King, Arthas Menethil (27%)
Your undisputed villain number 1 is Arthas Menethil, the Lich King. More than a quarter of the votes went to the former prince of Lordaeron and leader of the undead Scourge.
Who is The Lich King?
The Lich King was an entity that existed even before Arthas Menethil. The Lich King was created by the Burning Legion as a proxy power of Kil’jaeden on Azeroth.
The first Lich King was the former orc shaman Ner’zhul. His body was torn apart and imprisoned in the Frost Throne to rule over the undead hordes from there with his power.
Although Ner’zhul was under the control of the Burning Legion, he was always seeking a way to take revenge. The demons ultimately tore his body apart. He found his opportunity in controlling the young prince Arthas Menethil.
Even later, after Arthas’s fall, there had to be a Lich King so that the Scourge would not uncontrolled descend upon the living. Currently, this role is held by the former Champion of the Alliance, Bolvar Fordragon.
Who was Arthas Menethil?
Arthas Menethil was the son of King Terenas Menethil II and the crown prince of Lordaeron. He was regarded as one of the best swordsmen in Lordaeron and was taken in as a paladin of the Silver Hand under Uther, the Lightbringer.
After the ceremony during which he was initiated into the paladin order, he met among others the young King Varian Wrynn and his newborn son Anduin. He also saw Admiral Proudmoore’s daughter, Jaina, for the first time since childhood.
Jaina and Arthas became friends and shortly thereafter a couple. Arthas even spent some time in Dalaran, the city of mages, just to be with Jaina. In doing so, he incurred the wrath of the elf Kael’thas Sunstrider, who was also courting Jaina.
Arthas was always a confident and fearless warrior, but his greatest trial came during an attack on Lordaeron. The land was besieged by hordes of orcs and at the same time afflicted by a strange plague.
This disease was the first outbreak of the plague of undeath, the disease that the Lich King spreads, to kill the living and force them under his will. Arthas confronted the source of this outbreak in Andorhal, the necromancer Kel’thuzad. However, he had already poisoned the grain stores of the land.
As a consequence, Arthas could only contain the damage. He traveled to Stratholme, where the contaminated grain had already landed. He saw the only way to protect everyone was to kill every citizen in the city. A decision that made Uther and Jaina turn away from him.
How did Arthas become a villain?
During the cleansing of Stratholme, Arthas encountered the mastermind behind the attack, the undead dreadlord Mal’ganis. He used the plague to harness the souls of the citizens of Stratholme for the Scourge.
After the battle between the two, Mal’ganis fled, and Arthas followed him all the way to Northrend. The cleansing and Mal’ganis’s escape can be replayed in the Caverns of Time in World of Warcraft.
Arthas followed Mal’ganis all the way to the icy north to confront him. However, during his stay, he received a message from his father and Uther to return. When Arthas learned of this, his men were already about to depart. To prevent this, Arthas burned the ships with the help of some mercenaries to make a return impossible.
One of the reasons for Arthas’s fanatical pursuit in Northrend, besides Mal’ganis, was the runeblade Frostmourne, from which he hoped to gain the power needed to slay Mal’ganis. Together with Muradin Bronzebeard, he eventually found the sword.
Since the first time he touched the blade, Arthas felt the presence of the Lich King in his mind, guiding and advising him. He eventually managed to defeat Mal’ganis, but through the attack with Frostmourne, Arthas lost his own soul. From that moment on, Arthas gradually became the Lich King.
However, his final transformation only occurred much later when he had to return to Northrend after many battles. He shattered the prison of the Lich King, the Frost Throne, and donned the armor of Ner’zhul imprisoned there. This fused Arthas and the Lich King into a single, powerful being.
What are Arthas’ greatest crimes?
The cleansing of Stratholme is probably Arthas’s greatest crime, even though it can be argued that he acted according to his best, albeit fanatical, understanding. Nevertheless, he was still himself at that time, and the decision was solely his.
Right after his return from Northrend, he was welcomed back by his people as a hero. He stood before his father Terenas and plunged Frostmourne into his heart in the legendary scene. Arthas and the Lich King are hardly distinguishable at this point.
At this point, Arthas began his war against Lordaeron. He resurrected his horse Invincible and planned to retrieve Kel’thuzad. To do this, he stole his remains and a special urn in which he wanted to transport them – and in which his father’s ashes still lay.
In procuring these things, he killed the remaining paladins of the Silver Hand – including Uther, the Lightbringer, who guarded Terenas’ ashes. He carelessly scattered the ashes and brought the remains of the necromancer to the Sunwell, where he was to be resurrected.
In Quel’Thalas, the kingdom of the high elves, Arthas encountered great resistance. Led by Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner, the elves fought fiercely against the undead and the Cult of the Damned.
They fell, however – and Arthas resurrected Sylvanas out of revenge. He enslaved her soul and turned her into the banshee she is today. In doing so, he imposed his will on her, but made her fully experience how she slaughtered her own people.
Arthas continued to pursue his goal of resurrecting Kel’thuzad. He succeeded through the power of the Sunwell, although it was corrupted by this process. The high elves were cut off from their source of magic and eventually became the blood elves.
Later, after Arthas had finally united with the Lich King, he repeatedly sent the undead Scourge against the Horde and the Alliance. He resurrected the fallen and continued his war until he eventually met his end in Icecrown.
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