ANGRON: Response to Critiques

Anyone following news and rumors for Warhammer 40,000 is aware that images of Angron, the new Berzerkers, and some other stuff has been "leaked" today. In response, Games Workshop released a Warhammer Community article to divert that buzz and attention to their website.

I personally think Angron looks AMAZING. Seeing him now, there isn't anything about him that I'd change. I'm not alone in this, as the responses appear to be overwhelmingly positive. Of course, opinions are subjective and such things are a matter of taste, and not everyone likes the new Angron model.

Across various social media sites and apps, I've seen some recurring critiques of this model. Whether this is a situation where many people are having the same reaction when they see the model, or if these reactions are quickly becoming memes that are parroted once they're seen, I can't say. Really, it doesn't matter, the point is, some people don't like it.

Fair enough! No reason everyone has to like everything; if we always agreed all the time life would be rather boring to me.

Still, I'd like to respond to these common critiques, which are: he looks too much like a bloodthirster, and that he isn't immediately identifiable as the non-daemon Angron we've seen depicted. When I've asked people to describe the sort of details they would have preferred to see that would make Angron less like a bloodthirster and more identifiable, I so far haven't been given any concrete answers - which is fine. It's not always easy to articulate details when what you've got in your mind is a gut reaction, generalized, vague, et cetera.

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to say other people's opinions are wrong. Such a thing isn't possible, to begin with, but moreover everyone is entitled to them. At the same time, other people are free to respond to them if they disagree. Such is called having an argument, which is not in and of itself a negative thing. Now, if your point is simply, "I don't like it," then fair enough! However, we can have some degree of objectivity about the differences between things, and then make our own conclusions based on our observations. 

I'm going to break down the critiques into the following:

1a: His face looks too much like a bloodthirster.

1b: His face doesn't look like the classic artwork.

2: His body is just a bloodthirster.

3: His weapons aren't unique enough compared to bloodthirsters.

4: His armor isn't unique enough compared to bloodthirsters.

Responses:

1a & 1b: His face looks too much like a bloodthirster, and not like classic artwork.

Let's first take a good look at the face of Angron's new mini:

And now, let's take a look at both the faces of the most recent Bloodthirster kit, Skarbrand, the upcoming Ka'bandha model, the An'ggrath model from Forge World... 

...as well as past illustrations of Daemon Angron from official Games Workshop artwork:

My immediate reaction is that the new Angron's face and head are both very faithful to the existing artwork, and also that while there are similarities with the Bloodthirster heads, Angron looks unique in comparison. He is clearly (obviously) a daemon of Khorne, so the daemons will of course have a similar appearance. However, Angron completely lacks horns, and has the daemonic remnant of the butcher's nails inserted into his skull. Two of the bloodthirster heads are very bestial in nature, similar in anatomy to a sort of dog, which Angron definitely does not. They are also all roaring, screaming, being angry, and so on. As one might expect. A closed mouth for a daemon of Khorne? Why would their mouths ever be closed? It would certainly be a less exciting pose, if Angron had a closed mouth. There are similar elements to the black bloodthirster pictured above; it and Angron both have lots of little face horns/spikes. That bloodthirster head, however, also has an appearance sort of like a stylized skull, which is also different from Angron.

2: His body is just a bloodthirster.

To begin with, let's check out a bloodthirster:

And now a full shot of Angron, followed by some details:

To begin with, clearly Angron is a winged, bipedal (two legs) daemon of Khorne with lots of big muscles. That is very much like a bloodthirster, for sure. But notice what Angron has that they do not: a big ol' spiky clubby tail. The tail is a feature more in common with a daemon prince, which non-coincidentally is the sort of being this daemon Angron is.

3: His weapons aren't unique enough compared to bloodthirsters.

Let's take a look at the various weapons bloodthirsters, Skarbrand, and Kabandha wield:

And now, Angron's weapons:

When we look at the weaponry wielded by the bloodthirsters, Skarbrand, and Kabandha, we see a combination of axes, BIG AXES, whips, a hammer flail thingy, a punch-dagger thingy, and randomly Kabandha wielding something that looks an awful lot like a chainaxe.

When we look at what Angron is wielding, we see a big daemonic sword and a BIG CHAINAXE.

To begin with, none of the other daemons are wielding swords, so Angron's sword is immediately a unique weapon in comparison. And to follow that, Angron is wielding what is very obviously a chainaxe, complete with two rows of teeth, a backspike, and the motor section. The chainaxe-looking weapon Kabandha is wielding also has two rows of teeth, but lacks any of the technological elements that identify Angron's axe as a chainaxe. 

Is this Gorefather? Is the sword the Black Blade? Immediate glances and comparison to the classic artwork would suggest yes, but consider the blurb from the Warhammer Community article revealing Angron:

Earning his ‘Red Angel’ moniker, the entity once known as the Lord of the Red Sands retains other trappings from his long-ago life as a gladiator in the arenas of his brutal home world. The weapons may be new, but they’re still chained to his wrists – Nuceria-style.

This most likely is suggesting the weapons are new compared to what he wielded during his Nuceria days, as opposed to being completely new weapons. Established lore has Angron discarding Gorefather, which was most recently provided in the White Dwarf Index Hereticus for World Eaters:

His replacement weapon, the Black Blade, was shattered during a conflict with the Grey Knights. Sure looks like it, though...

Ultimately, who knows? It could be easily justified to say when Angron materializes in realspace, he can wield whatever the fuck he wants. On the other hand, he could have hunted down and slain whomever dared to wield Gorefather in his absence, and a new Black Sword could have been forged through a multitude of means. I'm sure we'll find out more about his armament as time goes on.

The point is less which weapons exactly he's wielding, as opposed to wielding a unique pair of weapons compared to the bloodthirsteres.

4: His armor isn't unique enough compared to bloodthirsters.

If you'd like, scroll up really quick to the pictures showcasing the weapons, and take a look at the various pieces of armor the Bloodthirsters are wearing. We see thick plates adorned with skulls, Khornate runes, and lots of pointy points.

Angron's armor is also all of those things. But it isn't just those things. He's wearing some extremely warped and altered version of his Armor of Mars. 

Taking a close look, we can see the same sort of cabling, ports, and connections present in a suit of power armor. However, the armor is integrated directly into his daemonic body. Cables go directly into his skin in various places, along with the Butcher's Nails. Angron also has chains wrapping around his wrists, keeping his weapons firmly in hand as has been tradition among the World Eaters since he introduced it to his legion.

The armored "hood" section covering his shoulders and upper back is also unique, and remnant of his Armor of Mars, as described by Warhammer Community:

Yet take a closer look and you can still see the origins of this Daemon Prince. The Butcher’s Nails are still present, now fused into his very form. Likewise, scraps of his old Nucerian warplate still remain – like the shoulder pad that pays homage to his former Legion...

There are also parts of his armor that are very close to Bloodthirster armor. The bracers and the knee plate stand out as very similar. The style is undeniably very similar, despite the fact that he's wearing a daemonic version of his old armor.

That wraps it up. I don't think I've made any particularly impressive comparisons or observations, but I've laid out my rebuttals to the listed complaints I've been seeing today across the internet. I don't intend to change anyone's mind or insist that their opinions are "wrong," but at the same time do intend to at least demonstrate why I disagree with those opinions.

Is Angron unique? Yes. Is he "just like" the existing bloodthirster models? No, but he is similar. OF COURSE HE IS! He's a daemon of Khorne. Any entity of a given god of chaos shares a design aesthetic. Khorne's minions are covered in his rune, skulls, chains, and axes. And sometimes CHAINAXES. 

What do you think? Do you like the new model? Is he really all that different from the existing daemons of Khorne models? What would you have changed about this model to set him apart or fulfill the vision you hold in your mind of what Angron should have looked like?