Arthas based

Arthas Menethil
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Arthas Menethil

Warcraft character

Arthas Menethil in Heroes of the Storm

First appearance A Trial of Will, Chapter 5 of Warcraft: Of Blood

and Honor

First game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

Created by Blizzard Entertainment

Justin Gross
Voiced by
Patrick Seitz

Michael McConnohie
Arthas Menethil is a fictional character who appears in the Warcraft series
of video games by Blizzard Entertainment. He was once a paladin of the Silver
Hand and the crown prince of Lordaeron, but he was corrupted by the cursed
blade Frostmourne in a bid to save his people. He later became the Lich King,
one of the most prominent antagonists in Warcraft lore. Arthas also appears as
a playable character in the crossover multiplayer online battle arena
game Heroes of the Storm. The critical reception of the character has been
mostly positive.
In Warcraft III, Arthas is voiced by Justin Gross. In subsequent appearances, he
is voiced by Patrick Seitz (paladin and death knight Arthas) and Michael
McConnohie (Lich King Arthas).

Contents

 1Development
 2Appearances
o 2.1Warcraft franchise
o 2.2Heroes of the Storm
o 2.3Other appearances
 3Reception
 4References
 5External links

Development[edit]
According to Warcraft game designers Scott Mercer and Greg Street, "early on
in the development of Warcraft III, we knew the game would be about heroes
leading their armies into battle. We initially created Arthas as one of those
leaders, so we knew from the beginning he would be central to the storyline",
and that he "is the bridge connecting the human and the undead campaigns." [1]
Regarding the development of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King,
Mercer stated that "when development began on Wrath of the Lich King, we
knew we wanted the players to have a more personal connection with the Lich
King ... so we started designing quests and instances in which we could show
the Lich King to the players." Developers also designed the game so that
"players can see the wrecks of the Alliance ships that Arthas set ablaze ... they
can also find the altar upon which Arthas first discovered Frostmourne ... We
deliberately built these aspects into Wrath of the Lich King to help remind
players who Arthas is and where he came from, which we hope makes his
character that much more vivid in players' minds." [1]

Appearances[edit]
This section may need to be rewritten to comply with
Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The talk
page may contain suggestions. (November 2018)

Warcraft franchise[edit]
Arthas Menethil was the prince of Lordaeron and the only son of Terenas
Menethil II. Arthas was an idealistic, yet somewhat rash, young man who
dreamed of one day succeeding his father as king of Lordaeron. Arthas became
an apprentice paladin at nineteen and served as a favorite pupil of Uther the
Lightbringer. Though Arthas loved the kindly Uther like an uncle, he longed to
take command of his own destiny and become a hero like the brave veterans
who fought the orcs during the Second War. Despite the heartache he felt when
his brief affair with the sorceress Jaina Proudmoore came to an end, Arthas
remained remarkably committed to his roles as both the prince of Lordaeron
and as a holy paladin. He had a deep reverence for the Light and wanted
nothing more than to safeguard his beloved people from harm.
Arthas was inducted into Knights of the Silver Hand at the age of 19. The
ceremony was held in the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City, and was
attended by prominent figures such as Genn Greymane, Thoras Trollbane,
Daelin Proudmoore, and Jaina Proudmoore, whom Arthas had not seen since
childhood. Archbishop Alonsus Faol led the initiation process, which included
four of the five original paladins: Uther, Tirion Fordring, Saidan Dathrohan, and
Gavinrad the Dire. Arthas was presented with the holy warhammer called
Light's Vengeance by Gavinrad, and had the ceremonial silver plates placed
upon his shoulders by Uther. While in Stormwind, Arthas visited the newly
crowned king, Varian Wrynn, and sparred with him while recounting old
memories. He also met the recently born prince, Anduin Wrynn, who gripped his
finger.
When Arthas took up the fight against the Scourge, he became increasingly
frustrated and stymied by the seemingly unstoppable enemy. Arthas took
increasingly extreme steps to conquer them, and his comrades warned him that
he was losing his hold on his humanity. Arthas's fear and resolve proved to be
his ultimate undoing. He tracked the plague's source to Northrend, intending to
end its threat forever. Instead, the prince eventually fell prey to the Lich King's
(Ner'zhul's) tremendous power when he took up the cursed runeblade,
Frostmourne, believing that it would save his people. Though the sword did
grant him unfathomable power, it also stole his soul and transformed him into
the greatest of the Lich King's death knights. [2] With his soul cast aside and his
sanity shattered, Arthas led the Scourge against his own kingdom. He murdered
his father, King Terenas, and crushed the realms of Lordaeron, Quel'Thalas and
Dalaran under the Lich King's iron heel. [3]
When the Lich King was threatened by the forces of Illidan Stormrage, Arthas
traveled to the Frozen Throne of Northrend. He broke the ice surrounding his
master so he could don the Lich King's Helm of Domination and merge with
him. After taking control of the Scourge as the new Lich King, Arthas challenged
the Alliance and the Horde by initiating attacks on their cities. They responded
by sending forces to Northrend to wage war against him.
In World of Warcraft, Arthas is a raid boss and the primary antagonist of
the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. He was mortally wounded after a band of
adventurers led by Tirion Fordring stormed his fortress, Icecrown Citadel, and
defeated him in battle. He was succeeded as the Lich King by Bolvar
Fordragon.[4]
Heroes of the Storm[edit]
Arthas appears as a playable character in the crossover game Heroes of the
Storm.[5] In the game, Arthas is a warrior hero who performs a tanking role on
the battlefield. His aim is to attract the attention of enemy players, as he can
withstand a large amount of incoming damage thanks to his necromantic self-
healing powers, meanwhile disrupting the enemy team with crowd control
abilities.[6] Arthas is proficient against melee physical attackers, slowing their
move and attack speed. His playstyle is somewhat limited and predictable due
to his lack of mobility, yet he is extremely strong in almost any scenario
involving teamwork.[7] One of the two heroic abilities allows him to summon
Sindragosa, a mighty frost wyrm, that appears and flies over a portion of the
battlefield, slowing and disabling enemies with her frost breath. Arthas Menethil
is one of the six Blizzard characters who appear in the Heroes of the
Storm cinematic trailer.[8]
Other appearances[edit]
In Hearthstone, Prince Arthas Menethil is an alternate hero for the Paladin
class, which can be achieved as a visual alteration for the default paladin hero
by defeating the Lich King in the final Knights of the Frozen Throne single-
player mission with all nine classes.[9]

Reception[edit]
The character has received mostly positive reception, and is often included on
lists involving the most popular Warcraft characters and video game characters
as a whole. Empire listed Arthas at No. 25 on their list of "the 50 greatest video
game characters", writing "Of all the characters in Warcraft lore, Arthas Menethil
is the most tragic."[10] He was also included on "The 10 best video-game
characters" list by The Guardian, which stated that "initially the valiant model of
a medieval knight, everything changes when Arthas picks up a cursed sword
and begins to perpetrate a steadily more sinister series of atrocities (think dead
peasants), culminating in killing his own father. The character really came into
his own in the mighty World of Warcraft, over which his twisted spirit presided
for five years."[11]
Matthew Rossi of Engadget listed the Lich King at No. 4 on his list of the "Top
10 magnificent bastards of Warcraft", since he "successfully molded Arthas into
the perfect death knight ... Arthas went from an earnest young prince and
paladin trying desperately to save his people to a cackling villain who betrayed
them, and it was more Arthas' doing than the Lich King's that Illidan was
defeated."[12] He also wrote that "Arthas was useful because he started as a
basically good, if somewhat arrogant, young paladin who slowly grew obsessed
over time as he witnessed the actions of the Scourge, making mistakes ... and
then justifying each mistake as a necessity. By the time he took up Frostmourne
and lost his soul, he'd long since eroded it away with expedient choices that
were, in fact, monstrous ... Arthas as a death knight and later Arthas as the Lich
King showed this tendency to want to justify or prove his actions were the right
ones, that anyone would have done what he did." [13] Rossi stated that the lesson
of Arthas was "Ultimately, that power corrupts. Power corrupted him, and it will
corrupt you, too. That it is inescapable [...] that becoming the Lich King was
inevitable, that all kings and princes and people of power ultimately end up
slaves to themselves."[14]
Arthas was listed on Complex's list of "25 dead video game characters we wish
were still here", noting that "in the same way that Boromir was corrupted in Lord
of the Rings, Arthas represents the folly of man, and how easily power can be
corrupted. Because of this, we almost want him to survive just to serve as an
example that redemption is possible in anyone. If the Lich King had been able
to turn around his ways, then there would've been hope for us all." [15] IGN found
Arthas to be one of "gaming's most notorious anti-heroes", since "Arthas
Menethil began as something of a Disney prince, upholding the Light wherever
he saw the need. But with the arrival of the plague of undeath, the Light in
Arthas began to waver ... but as is often the case, he wasn't a simple prince-
turned-insane-villain. The newly formed Lich King may have been evil, but he
was keeping the undead Scourge in check, holding back the flood of the
decrepit and the mindless."[16]
Arthas also features in Warcraft-related merchandise, such as Halloween
costumes.[17]

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:    "Rise and Fall of the Lich King: WoW Developer
a b

Interview". Retrieved  September 9,  2016.

2. ^ Golden, Christie (2009).  Arthas: Rise of the Lich King.
3. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2002).  Warcraft III: Reign of
Chaos(PC). Blizzard Entertainment. Scene: Arthas'
Betrayal.
4. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2008).  World of Warcraft: Wrath
of the Lich King (PC). Blizzard Entertainment. Scene: Fall of
the Lich King.
5. ^ "Arthas - Heroes of the Storm".  us.battle.net.
Retrieved  2019-12-21.
6. ^ "Arthas: Non-Compete Hero Guide". Archived from  the
original  on 2015-12-28. Retrieved  2015-07-15.
7. ^ "Heroes of The Storm Heroes: Arthas Guide". 2p.com.
Retrieved  September 9,  2016.
8. ^ Heroes of the Storm™ Cinematic Trailer, retrieved 2019-
12-21
9. ^ Hearthside Chat with Dave Kosak: Knights of the Frozen
Throne Missions, retrieved  2019-12-21
10. ^ "The 50 Greatest Video Game Characters". Empire.
Retrieved  September 9,  2016.
11. ^ "The 10 best video-game characters". The Guardian.
Retrieved  September 9,  2016.
12. ^ "Know Your Lore: Top 10 magnificent bastards of
Warcraft, part 2". Engadget. Retrieved  September 9,  2016.
13. ^ "Know Your Lore: The role of characters in WoW lore".
Engadget. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
14. ^ "Know Your Lore: The Lessons of the Lich King".
Engadget. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
15. ^ "25 Dead Video Game Characters We Wish Were Still
Here". Complex. Retrieved  September 9,  2016.
16. ^ "Gaming's most notorious anti-heroes". IGN.
Retrieved  September 9,  2016.
 17. ^ "Blizzard store now offering full Halloween costumes".
Engadget. Retrieved September 9, 2016.

External links[edit]
 Arthas Menethil at WoWWiki
 Arthas Menethil at Wowpedia
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