Can you be a true 40K fan...

[Wargamer]

So at the risk of beating a dead horse here, I think it's important to recognise that having different interpretations of a character doesn't mean we're not talking about the same subject.

 

Since I recently rewatched it, let's talk Episode 7. To my mind, there are two villains in that film; the first is Kylo Ren, the sinister Dark Side user armed with a bad-ass new Lightsaber style who proves that Yoda wasn't kidding when he said "fear leads to anger." Kylo Ren is rage personified; where Vader's displeasure was cold and distant, Kylo is going to make sure everyone knows he's unhappy.

 

Then there's Kylo Angst, the tween rebel still waiting for his voice to break. A character with all the sinister aura of Jar Jar Binks and who I take about as seriously.

 

The distinction between the two was entirely down to Kylo removing his helmet. Up until that point I took him seriously as a villain. After that, I keep wanting to clip him around the ear and tell him to go do his homework.

 

Now you may disagree - you may think that revealing that Kylo is actually a vulnerable youth rather than some veteran of the Dark Side is a good thing. You might actually like Kylo more for knowing this and seeing his human side. It might have made his actions more meaningful to you.

 

But that's not the case for me. For me, revealing Kylo's humanity and weakness undermined him as a villain.

 

I'm explaining all this because at no point are we delving into headcanons here. Myself and my hypothetical opponent are both talking about the same character, performing the same actions, in the same order, for the same reasons. The difference is that I think those choices undermined the character, and my imagined opponent thinks it strengthened the character.

 

What keeps coming up in this topic, from my perspective, is that people don't seem to be able to view 40K that way - they seem to think that if someone dislikes a facet of a character or faction, then they're just inventing a whole new "headcanon" and are in effect writing about a completely distinct faction. But this is not the case. If I think tank battles are cooler than infantry charges and so focus on writing stories about tanks, building tank models and fixating on tanks, then I am no less a fan of the Imperial Guard than someone who loves boots on the ground.

 

Part of the fun of discussing media of any sort is how it resonates differently with different people. It's interesting how one person can sit through an action film and find it a jarring portrayal of racist dog-whistling, another can see it as a homoerotic power fantasy, and someone else just think's is mindless fun with no deeper meanings at all (and I bet a lot of you already know what film I'm talking about). As long as the broad strokes are in place, we really shouldn't be dismissing what people are saying as "well YOUR 40K isn't MY 40K!" because if that's the case, why the hell are you even here? You're partaking in a hobby with a fanbase of one person - what can you possibly have to discuss with us?

[Grand Master Belial]

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