DC Comics launched the last part of the World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen mini-series. You may find it at a newsstand or comic shop near you, order online here
Plot Summary
Gilneas City erupts into violence as the Worgen attack! During the madness, Halford seeks understanding behind who is friend and who is foe, while also dealing with his own animalistic Worgen urge to kill. In desperation, King Genn forms an unlikely alliance.
Credits
Cover: Glenn Rane
Writer: Micky Neilson, James Waugh
Art: Ludo Lullabi, Tony Washington
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Co-editors: Sarah Gaydos, Hank Kanalz
Story Consultants: Chris Metzen, Alex Afrasiabi & Luis Barriga
Digital Release Date: March 30, 2011
Publish Date: March 30, 2011
Review
The final issue of World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen makes some hard to believe revelations which tie-in with the events players experience in the first levels of a Worgen character in Gilneas. Issue # 5 starts off after the Worgen take over Gilneas City. King Genn Greymane, Liam and the survivors are now settled at Stormglen.
The Forsaken ships arrive to the coast of Gilneas. The earthquakes have destroyed the coral banks protecting Gilneas from naval invasion. Genn and the Worgen that imbibed the potion fight the Forsaken, and kill the two captains aboard the ships. The cataclysm hits and swallows Duskhaven into the sea.
In the meantime, the Scythe of Elune has been brought from Duskwood to be delivered to Belysra and Genn Greymane. Micky Neilson and James Waugh have carefully kept canonical continuity between the comic book and the actual World of Warcraft MMO in-game quests. The comic book, however, goes an extra mile adding things we didn’t get to see in the thick of battle. These events transpired in the background while we were carrying out the quest missions.
At the same time, one can guess the Blizzard Creative Team is planning to do some follow ups in-game, and likely content updates.
The final story reveals several details surrounding the Scythe of Elune, how Malfurion exiled the Worgen into the Emerald Dream several milenia ago, how in the world Godfrey, Ashbury, and Walden end up in Shadowfang Keep as Undead. The authors added some emotional elements in the story involving true love, hope, betrayal and forgiveness. On the former, it would be a spoiler. You wouldn’t see that one coming.
The authors did deliver on another element fans have wanted to learn more about through a flashback: Archmage Arugal.
While there were several revelations in different fronts in the final issue, building to a climax, it feels like the mini-series needed a couple more issues to expand on some in-game scenes. The comic book doesn’t show the fight between Liam Greymane and the Forsaken where sadly he dies. On the plus side, fans get a trade off. We do see a scene in the comic book that didn’t appear in-game: the moment Genn Greymane reveals his son his true nature. A secret that he has fought hard to keep from his family and his nation. Genn was bitten some time ago after Arugal brought the Worgen with the Scythe of Elune. One of those nights when Godfrey and Genn were hunting the Worgen.
It’s a very powerful moment where Genn shreds away his fear, and takes full account for what he has hidden for so long. He tells his countrymen, and exhorts them to join him as a nation, or to reject him.
The comic book should have had a proper closure showing the death of Liam, and the exodus of the Gilnean to Darnassus. Probably go further and see a scene between Belysra and Malfurion to inform what transpired with Alpha Prime and the Scythe of Elune. That would have been a perfect opportunity to elaborate more on the report of where the Scythe of Elune had been all along, who had it, and for what purpose.
This is something that sorta fell through the cracks, and was never fully explained — considering it never happens in-game (however, it might after all have happened in Alliance quests without my knowledge).
While there are pros and cons throughout the World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen mini-series, the fanboy within me simply loved the wild ride. There was plenty of new lore there to taste. Some old elements from the MMO were fleshed out enough to keep us up to date on what the developers might be planning in a future Emerald Dream expansion, and answered many questions surrounding the playable Worgen race’s starting quests.
If you have missed the Curse of the Worgen issues, or if they are sold out in your area, you can either check them out at the comics.comixology store as a digital download (PDF) or you can pre-order the World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen
The Ashbringer and the Scythe of Elune storylines were among the best stories found in the World of Warcraft MMO. Blizzard treated fans with two mini-series based on those stories. To wrap up, personally, I would like more World of Warcraft mini-series. Micky Neilson and James Waugh do a good job portraying these characters, and tying the events within the game and the comic book, and viceversa. However, let’s make those mini-series a bit longer than five issues. We. Want. More.
SPOILERS
- Arugal didn’t work alone bringing forth the Worgen into Azeroth. King Genn Greymane was who gave Arugal the authorization to proceed on his investigations from the Book of Ur. Genn was the intellectual author of the crime. However, Genn only wanted an army to defeat the Scourge.
- It is revealed the Worgen Alpha Prime was somehow allied with the Forsaken.
- The Scythe of Elune was temporarily in possession of the Forsaken all along. The druids somehow managed to recover it and bring it to Taldoren tree in the Blackwald, Gilneas.
- Lord Godfrey, Walden and Ashbury betray Genn Greymane.
- Lord Godfrey and his friends are revealed to have negotiated with the Forsaken which explains why they are undead and operate at Shadowfang Keep.
As expected, Curse of the Worgen sated some expectations, and rose up new ones. More questions than answers. Who had the Scythe of Elune temporarily: Sylvanas’ Forsaken, or Varimathras’ Apothecary? How comes we hadn’t heard about the Forsaken possessing the Scythe of Elune? What experiments if any did they accomplish with it? For what purpose?
How many more secrets do Sylvanas keep from the Horde? What’s Sylvanas’ goal?
