The exclamation “Leeeeeroy Jenkins!” is not only known to players of World of Warcraft. It has long since arrived in pop culture and enjoys eternal life there. Its origins are now 12 years old! But what actually happened to the player – and does he still have anything to do with WoW?
MMOs have produced a few more well-known players and characters. Aside from negatively perceived individuals like the ganker Angwe or creative minds like Oxhorn, who was once particularly known for his parody videos, it is mainly Leeroy Jenkins who has remained in memory from the early days of World of Warcraft.
The Origins of Leeroy Jenkins
We are in the year 2005. The guild <PALS FOR LIFE> has made its way to the Upper Blackrock Spire. Now they stand before the Crow’s Nest and discuss the situation diligently. Everyone listens quietly – except for the paladin Leeroy Jenkins, who is sitting on the ground with a peaceful “AFK” over his head. The rest is history.
Leeroy Jenkins returns to his PC in the middle of the meeting, jumps up, exclaims “Okay guys, time’s up! Let’s go!” and rushes blindly into the Crow’s Nest with a loud “LEEEROY JEEENKINS!” and thus into certain wipe. The raid group is left dumbfounded, the video lands on YouTube, and the battle cry becomes a symbol of reckless action.
At least Leeroy Jenkins still has chicken.
10 Years Later It Was Revealed: The Video Was Reenacted
We now know that the video was, in a way, a fake. According to the guild PALS FOR LIFE, the dragon incident with Leeroy was a fact. The incident is said to have actually happened, but since no one recorded the kamikaze act at the time, the guild members decided to reenact the whole thing. You can read more about the clarification here: WoW: Leeroy Jenkins – Was it all a lie?
The Fruits
Back then, with Patch 3.0.2, you could still earn the in-game achievement “Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy!” by killing 50 whelps within 15 seconds. The paladin also received further appearances:
- With Warlords of Draenor, you can secure him as a follower for your garrison. To do this, you have to help him retrieve his shoulder pieces in a quest line in the Blackrock Spire.
- As a card in Hearthstone, he was once part of a pretty strong combo. Appropriately, the card has Charge and summons two whelps for the opponent. In English, when the card dies, the famous phrase is also heard: “At least I have chicken.”.
- Very bizarre: The United States Air Force Pararescue used the exclamation as a combat alarm for a mission in Afghanistan.
- He has also made his way into pop culture, among others in the series “How I Met Your Mother” and “Moonlight”, where the call is used in its original form or as inspiration.
- Leeroy appeared in a question on the American show “Jeopardy” in 2005.
- He almost made it into the Warcraft movie.
- There are tons of memes about Leeroy Jenkins, which usually have one thing in common: A maniac charging ahead.
Blizzard has definitely taken a liking to Jenkins, recognizing his significance in the WoW community. The man behind the pixel character was even offered a job – however, it wasn’t Blizzard, but EA. But “Jenkins” did not accept it.
The Face Behind Leeroy Jenkins
Leeroy Jenkins’ real name is Ben Schulz, he is from Colorado and is an industrial lighting repair technician. After the viral success of the video, he founded the company “Leeroy Jenkins Entertainment”, which is no longer in existence. He also secured the rights to the recordings.
However, he apparently did not want to financially exploit the phenomenon “Leeroy Jenkins”: Although he was offered a few advertising deals, he turned them down and focused on his education. Later, he at least lent his voice to the “recreated” character in the games.
He is now quite bearded, still a gamer (although he has given up WoW) and screamed alongside Jamie Lee Curtis at the movie premiere.
Jamie Lee Curtis with her son and Leeroy Jenkins (Ben Schulz) at the Warcraft Premiere – #Wow pic.twitter.com/tub4pnEVd6
— ev0 (@EvoHans) June 7, 2016
Ben Schulz himself leaves it open whether the video was faked or not. That should be left up to the viewer’s imagination. And seriously: Is it really that important?
It’s much nicer to see that even from such frustrating moments like a wipe, something entertaining can come out! Have you had similar hasty guild members in a raid that drove you to despair?
