“In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.”
You’ll have probably heard of Warhammer, the game-come-lifestyle from the Nottingham based company Games Workshop. Based in the far future of the turn of the 42nd millennium, Warhammer 40,000 is a sci-fi tabletop game in which the armies of mankind and aliens take to battle.
Since 1987, enthusiasts like me have built and painted hordes of plastic models, representing armies of the Warhammer 40k universe. While building and painting is part of the hobby, the models are deployed in a turn-based warfare game where armies kill enemy units. Damage is determined by unit characteristics and rolling dice, with players fighting for objectives on the playing field or simply pure annihilation of each other. Some hobbyists enjoy the competitive and tactical aspect of table-top gaming. Others enjoy simply collecting, building and painting the intricate models.
The success of Warhammer is undeniable, with millions of loyal fans and Games Workshop itself worth £3.29bn. This has attracted the attention of Hollywood, with Amazon signing a contract to tell stories of the 40k universe. The vastness of the Warhammer lore allows for Amazon to pull any number of stories for the big screen, with fans speculating on whether the new films and TV shows will be set during the bleak battles of the 42nd millennium or in the past, glory days of mankind. Most excitingly, diehard fan Henry Cavill will be executive producer and spearhead the project.
So what’s the plot? Humanity in the far future has expanded into the trillions, beyond earth and into the milky way. United by the emperor of mankind, a decaying god-like figure, the worlds of mankind are united to form the imperium of mankind. The emperor of mankind is worshipped by some as god himself, but to others is a patriarchal figure whom they are forced to worship. The life of man is to serve the emperor and to not to is heresy punished with a fatal blow.
Threats to mankind lie in the alien races and dark mystical forces scattered across the galaxy. The Tyranids, Chaos, Orks, the T’au, the Craftworld Aeldari and metallic Necron warriors each provide unique danger to humanity with their own mysterious plans.
The backbone of the imperial armies lies in the Astra Militarum. Millions and millions make up the ranks, thrown into battle as the first line of defence in great tithes of power. The regiments are made up of the imperial worlds of the galaxy as a tithe to the emperor, and are deployed into vast bloody campaigns, with a life expectancy of 15 hours on the battlefield.
If the Astra militarum is the emperor’s hammer, the scalpel is the space marines. Formed into numerous chapters of 1000 men, space marines are employed into the most important campaigns, where threats to humanity are existential. They enter battle armed with sacred weapons made with technology lost to time, the greatest of humanity’s warriors.
The space marines, the elite of the elite, are of the emperor’s own design. Eight foot tall, genetically and biologically modified superhumans, they possess enhancements and undergo training that would kill a mere man. Recruiting new space marines weeds out all but the strongest and most loyal. Most recruits succumb to physical and spiritual challenges of the worst horrors of the galaxy.
Life of an average human in the far future is short and grim. Most of humanity lives in hive worlds, planets terraformed into factories to provide resources to the armies of mankind as tithe for protection against the Xenos threat. Billions are ruled over by lords in high towers in a neo-feudalism state, the workers providing weapons and armour on polluted and radioactive dying planets, grinding the gears of war.
Marvel, eat your heart out.