WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Arcane Episode 3, "The Base Violence Necessary for Change," streaming now on Netflix.
Arcane is largely centered on the citizens of Piltover and Zaun -- specifically the ones who, in the years to come, will transform into the playable Champions from League of Legends. There are a handful of original characters in the series, but one of the show's most devilishly heartbreaking possible twists could reveal one of them has been a fan-favorite Champion all along. As noted as part of this fan theory on Reddit, Vander from Arcane might be fated to return in a new form -- as the beast-like League of Legends Champion, Warwick.
At first glance, Vander appears to be a unique character to Arcane. A former brawler and freedom fighter for the city of Zaun, he transitioned into a more peaceful role after becoming the adopted parents of Vi and Powder -- sisters who lost their parents following Vander into battle against the forces of Piltover. Still regarded as more or less the leader of the people who live within the city, Vander has helped preach a largely peaceful co-existence with the enforcers from Pilotver -- even quietly working with their leader Grayson to maintain the tenuous peace between the cities. But Silco's intervention -- and the chaos caused across both cities by Powder's theft of Jayce's crystals -- led to Vander's downfall.
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After trying to sacrifice himself to Grayson as a scapegoat for the crimes, Silco and the Shimmer-enhanced Deckard quickly killed Grayson and captured Vander. Vi and her friends attempted to save him but only found themselves cornered as well. Even when there was a chance for escape, the explosion caused by Powder resulted in the deaths of Milo and Claggor -- as well as severely injuring Vi. Left to die by Silco, Vander was forced to drink the Shimmer as well -- transforming him into a monstrous, brutish new form. He quickly killed Deckard but was seemingly fatally wounded rescuing Vi from the exploding building. He shares one final message with Vi before seemingly succumbing to his injuries. But there's a potential piece of lore from League of Legends that suggests this isn't the end of Vander.
In League of Legends -- set years after the events of Arcane -- one of the fiercest figures from Zaun is Warwick. A massive and brutal wolf/man hybrid, Warwick is a ferocious fighter. In the game's lore, Warwick has been hinted to be an unnamed former criminal who tried to change his life for the better. But he was eventually captured and experimented on by the scientist Singed -- the same man who created the Shimmer in Arcane. The man died during the process, which was the final key to truly transforming him into a wolf-like state. Since then, Warwick has stalked the streets of Zaun, becoming known as the Uncaged Wrath. All of those line-up with how Vander is presented in Arcane, with the man even potentially being taken by Silco after his "death" to be further experimented on.
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Perhaps the most interesting clue comes from Warwick's in-game taunts. When taunting most characters in the game, Warwick delivers some kind of threat or insult. But he has surprisingly personal messages for Vi and Jinx -- the grown woman who was once known as Powder. When taunting Vi, the supposedly amnesiac Warwick can ask her who taught her to box, something that Vander would remember doing himself. If in-game with Jinx, however, Warwick grows almost haunted -- noting that Jinx "was there" and asking to be left alone so he doesn't have to remember her. All of this suggests that the man who became Warwick had a deep bond with the two women, just like Vander did.
If this theory does end up being true, it could easily allow Vander to return in future story arcs within the series and set the stage for a heartwrenching confrontation between the three, the sins of the past returning to haunt them as they grow older and potentially discover the possible link between them. And it would also mean that Vander actually was a League of Legends champion this whole time, in the most tragic way possible.
To see Vander's transformation and the seeds for his possible future as Warwick, Arcane is now available to stream on Netflix.
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