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Space Wolves

2022-03-11T02:54:11Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:157E:D06:FEEF:985F: /* Criticism */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Wolves / Vlka Fenryka / Space Corgis
|Heraldry = [[File:Spacewolveslogo.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "For Russ and the All father!""Woof! Woof!" "Yiff Yiff Yiff!"|Number = VI
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = The Rout
|Successor Chapters = [[Blood Wolves]] [[Mooneaters]] [[Skyrar%27s Dark Wolves]] [[Wolf Brothers]] [[Wolfspear]]
|Chapter Master = [[Logan Grimnar]]
|Primarch = [[Leman Russ]]
|Homeworld = [[Fenris]]
|Specialty = CQC, shock assaults, infantry, encirclement tactics, being viking enthusiasts.
|Strength = 2-3000
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Generally Bluish-Grey and Yellow. Red, Black and White used for specific Companies.
}}
{{topquote|Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a [[Wolfspear|spear]] on the way without.|Havamal}}
{{topquote|War is honest. There's no lying to it. You don't have to say sorry here. Don't have to hide. You cannot. If you die? So what? You die among friends. Among worthy foes. You die looking the Great Leveller in the eye. If you live? Well, lad that's living, isn't it?|Joe Abercrombie, Heroes}}
{{topquote|They can call themselves whatever they like. It's irrelevant. They are in the annals of Terra as the Sixth Legion, the Space Wolves. Did Guilliman rename his Legion the Macragge Marines? Would you have the sons of Sanguinius known as the Baal Angels? The Sixth Legion do not belong to Fenris, they belong to the Emperor| Custodian Vychellan taking issue with the Space Wolves / Wolves of Fenris / Vlyka Fenryka debate}}

The '''Space Wolves''' (also known as ''The Rout'' or the '''Vlka Fenryka''') is a [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]] hailing from the icy [[Death World]] of '''Fenris''', who appreciate the value of a strong and consistent brand identity. They are known as noble, if savage warriors, who have little love for Imperial bureaucracy but will fight fiercely for its common citizens. The Marines of the Chapter are famed as experts in the art of close combat, much like the [[Blood Angels]], but unlike the sons of [[Sanguinius]] their fighting style is less that of a maddened, blood-crazed berserker, but that of a cunning pack of hunters running down their prey.

Thematically, the Chapter draws a lot of real-world inspiration from Nordic culture, ''especially'' the Viking sagas, particularly in terms of aesthetics as well as ferocity. That said, there's a bit of a disconnect between how the Wolves are portrayed in fiction compared to how they're presented as a tabletop army.

On one hand, we have a nuanced portrayal of a proud warrior tradition that just so happens to have the Wolf as its primary totem animal, among many other Fenrisian nature spirits they worship. On the other, we have an over-the-top army of wolf fetishists that precedes most of their equipment and vehicle names with "wolf", ride ''actual'' giant wolves into battle, and are like a drunken frat party outside of it.

==Origins==

Back during the [[Great Crusade]], the Space Wolves began as the VIth Legion, and was developed in conjunction the [[Salamanders]] and the [[Alpha Legion]]. Developed in isolation from the other two Legions, they proved to be a vicious and aggressive fighting force, but also almost impossible to keep in line by its officers. What's worse, they were indiscriminate in their slaughter, and even helpless civilians were not free from their wrath. Due to this brutal reputation, they soon became known as "the Rout", the Emprah's agents of fear and retribution.

===The Wolf King cometh===

The ice world of Fenris was found early on by the Crusade fleets, and the Emperor soon heard of the exploits of its so-called Wolf King, a man named Leman Russ. Raised in the wilderness by wolves, then adopted and educated by the jarl Thengir, Leman was a massive ox of a man of extraordinary strength, sharp cunning, and personal magnetism, and the Emprah was sure he was one of His lost sons. He descended onto the world in disguise, ingratiated Himself to the locals to gain access to the High King's feasting hall, and there he sought to test the Wolf King's mettle.

Depending on the version or edition, this led to the following: an eating contest, a drinking contest, and a brawl. Leman won the first two rounds, but was finally goaded into a fight when the Emprah insulted him, [[Imperial Truth|saying that he was nothing more than a glutton and a drunkard]]. What followed next was either a massive fight that wrecked the drinking hall, Beowulf versus Grendel style, or the Emprah laying out Leman with a single fabulously golden [[Power Fist]] to the forehead.

Regardless, when Leman finally came to, the Emprah revealed himself, and told him about his true origin as one of his [[Primarch]]s, as well as his role in the greater Crusade. What happened next, as they say, is history.

===From the Rout to the Wolves===

Leman Russ' rediscovery, and the integration of his own Fenrisian retinue, slowly remade the VIth Legion. Their ferocity was soon tempered with discipline and obedience, as the Fenrisian culture slowly spread through its ranks, and while they would still crush any traitor to the Emperor, they would at least have the good sense this time ''not'' to slaughter the innocents that just so happened to be in the area. It didn't happen overnight, but soon enough the Legion became less about punishing oathbreakers, and more on watching out for the little guy.

Oh, and if an offhand comment by Russ is to be believed, they had a hand in destroying the two so-called Lost Legions. Emperor's Executioners indeed.

Under Russ' leadership, the Wolves proved their worth to the fledgling Imperium by winning many victories and conquering many worlds, which brought them glory and even more notoriety. On one of their campaigns, they managed to recover a near-complete STC printout of a battle tank, and as a bit of thanks, the Martian adepts named it after the Legion's Primarch.

It was also during this period that the Wolves' rivalry with the [[Dark Angels]] began, a feud that ''still'' continues into the present day of the Imperium. While the specifics have been lost to myth and legend, the Dulan Campaign ended with Leman Russ and his brother, the mercurial [[Lion El'Jonson]], in a one-on-one duel. This culminated with Leman knocked out flat on his back, the Dark Angels leaving in a huff, and the Space Wolves similarly insulted by the Lion not being a good sport about everything.

===The Heresy Dawns===

The Space Wolves are infamous for their role in the burning of Prospero, the homeworld of the [[Thousand Sons]] Legion. Though they were initially ordered to bring in [[Magnus the Red]] alone for both going against the edicts of the Council of Nikea, as well as accidentally breaching the defenses of the Imperial Webway, their orders were changed by [[Horus]] (who they were unaware was already full-hog traitor at this point) to instead [[Burning_of_Prospero|burn the planet and its inhabitants to the ground]].

This blind adherence to orders, not helped by the fact that Leman ''wanted'' to confront his nerd of a brother for his shenanigans, was the final straw. Prospero was literally and figuratively put to the torch in the ensuing battles between the Legions, as well as Leman's [[Adeptus Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]] babysitters. When Magnus finally joined the fray to save his sons, Leman met him in one-on-one combat, and while the Wolf King was badly mauled over the course of the duel, Magnus was broken and forced to flee with the surviving Thousand Sons.

In the end, Magnus was forced to throw his lot with [[Chaos]] in order to survive, and his Legion followed suit, joining Horus in his rebellion.

The battered Wolves were not allowed any respite however, as they were soon hounded by a massive [[Alpha Legion]] fleet, and forced to flee into the Alaxxes Nebula. [[Battle_of_the_Alaxxes_Nebula|While a breakout was eventually executed, the Space Wolves fleet eventually found itself cornered]]. As they prepared for a last stand, unexpected aid arrived in the form of a [[Dark Angels]] fleet. With the Alpha Legion driven off, Russ was left to ponder what to do next.

Eventually Russ and a small contingent of his men managed to find their way to Terra, while the rest of the Space Wolves fleet continued to harry the Traitors. He sponsored an expedition to Molech to see if Horus could be taken down, but this just resulted in getting dozens of [[Knights-Errant]] killed. Afterward, in a council with his brothers [[Rogal Dorn]], [[Sanguinius]], and [[Jaghatai Khan]], Leman decided to forego Dorn's plan in delaying the traitors at the '''Battle of Beta Garmon''', and instead returned to Fenris to try and divine a way to take away all those juicy [[Chaos]] boons that were supercharging [[Horus]].

===The Wolf King and the Luna Wolf===

In what amounted to be a spirit quest (where, among other things, Russ met a possible version of himself who stayed on Terra and never grew up on Fenris), Leman decided that he would confront his brother Horus one last time. For this task, he would need to use the Spear of Russ (yes THAT Spear of Russ, that [[Ragnar Blackmane]] would use many millennium later), a weapon that he ''absolutely hated'' (because it gave him the literal heebie-jeebies) and actually tried to get rid of multiple times, but which somehow always managed to return to him.

It turns out that the Spear was a massively powerful artifact invested with a fragment of the Emprah's power, with the ability to reveal the "truth" of whatever it pierces. Although the chance was slim, Leman hoped to use it to convince his brother to return to the Imperial fold and let their father heal him; if the Warmaster remained undaunted, Leman would then use the spear to slay the traitor for good.

Leman knew that it was a suicide mission, and indeed made it clear to his assembled [[Wolf Lord]]s that their participation was ''voluntary'', but none of them refused to join their Primarch. If their death was to come, then it would be together with their Battle-brothers.

===The Battle of Trisolian 4A===

The [[Forge World]] of Trisolian -- where a young and cheeky tech adept named [[Belisarius Cawl]] and his buddy were taking what amounted to their internships -- had just surrendered to Traitor forces, and was in the process of hosting the [[Vengeful Spirit]] and its escorts. Then all of the sudden, this absolutely ''massive'' fleet (made up of around fifty ships of the line from the various Traitor Legions) found itself under attack.

Taking advantage of the gravitational interactions of the Trisolian system's three stars, the Space Wolves fleet had snuck into the sector, and threw its vastly-outnumbered ships at the gathered armada. As the ships of the Rout tried to make as much as a ruckus as it could, Leman confronted the [[Vengeful Spirit]] with his own flagship, the '''Hrafnkel''', and as the latter's barrage collapsed the former's void shields, Leman personally led a massive assault unto his brother's flagship using everything he still had -- boarding torpedoes, assault boats, teleport deep-strikes, and even gunships.

As thousands of Space Wolves ran wild inside the Vengeful Spirit, Leman personally tracked down Horus in the heart of the corrupted ship, while down below Cawl managed to make sure his master met an "accident", and took control of the Mechanicus forces to aid the Space Wolves. The Wolf King eventually found the Warmaster, and was disgusted at what he beheld -- Horus was wallowing in Chaos corruption, and was half-mad as a result. When words didn't work, Russ attacked his brother, knowing too well he was outmatched.

Then the Spear managed to pierce Horus' side. The wound was not fatal, though it could have been, had Leman not hesitated, but it was enough -- the madness cleared from Horus' eyes, and for the first time in what seemed to be forever Horus' mind was clear. Despite this however, the Warmaster would not be swayed; he was in too deep to stop now, and of his own free will this time, still decided to continue the fight against the Emperor.

Horus continued his assault on Leman, and had mauled him gravely. Before he could finish him off with ''Worldbreaker'' however, one Space Wolf, followed by dozens, which were then followed by scores of marines, interposed themselves between the Warmaster and their Primarch. Horus cut them all down all the same, but their sacrifice bought Bjorn the time he needed to drag the injured Leman Russ to a [[Stormbird]], and then back to the ''Hrafnkel''.

With their Primarch secured, the Space Wolves fleet made a fighting retreat, but all seemed lost as the Vengeful Spirit and its cohort seemed to be catching up... Then one of its magazines exploded, crippling it enough to allow the Wolves to escape.

The Wolves would fight another day, but the price was too high. Of the Wolves that went into Trisolian, only one-fifth managed to make the escape. The VIth Legion effectively stopped being an effective fighting force from that point on, and had to be eventually rescued by the Primarch [[Corvus Corax]] and his [[Raven Guard]] after the fleet was cornered by [[Abaddon]]'s forces at Yarant.

The Wolves would sit out the remainder of the Heresy, and would be still trying to recover as the [[Siege of Terra]] came and went, and Horus had his fated showdown with the Emprah.

===The Fate of Leman Russ===

Of Leman Himself, you ask? Well he stuck around during the [[Great Scouring]], and while he groused about [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s reforms, he eventually caved in, and begrudgingly agreed to split apart the remains of his ravaged Legion into Chapters.

In theory anyway.

In ''practice'' however, due to the massively reduced numbers of the Rout, only one Chapter was ever created -- the ill-fated [[Wolf Brothers]]. The rest of the survivors remained Space Wolves, opting instead to stick with their semi-independent Great Companies, as one small snub to the stuck-up Roboute.

Barely a century after the end of the Scouring, Leman Russ just ups and vanishes from Imperial History. Legends state that after a great feast, He said unto his warriors:

<blockquote>"Listen closely Brothers, for my time is short. . There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen for your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come I shall, no matter what the laws of life and death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."</blockquote>

And so, Leman departed, with his closest retinue... No, not you Bjorn... Some say he searches for a means to revive His God-Emperor.. But despite the efforts of the Great Hunt, Leman remains beyond the reach of Man... Who knows what great feats of Heroism he undertakes...oh right [[Kaldor Draigo]],

Oddly enough, it seems that [[Magnus the Red]], of all people, has an idea about his brother's fate, but he's not telling anyone, and is far too fond of slaying Leman's get to even care.

==Recent History==

===The Siege of Fenris===

Much like the rest of the Imperium, times had been rough for the Space Wolves by the [[Time of Ending|time the end of M41 rolled in]]. Magnus in particular still had a massive hateboner against the Sons of Russ, and finally put his long-prepared revenge plan into motion. The rebuilt [[Thousand Sons]], plus their [[Chaos]] Daemon and Traitor Legion allies, put the worlds of the Fenris system to the sword. Not even the Space Wolves homeworld was spared, and it took the combined effort of the Chapter and a [[Grey Knights]] Brotherhood led by [[Arvann Stern|Brother-Captain Stern]] to slow down the massive daemonic incursion that followed.

Then the [[Dark Angels]] arrived above Fenris with [[The Rock]], and leading an Imperial task force of ''fourteen'' assorted Space Marine Chapters, titans, knight houses, and Imperial Guard, intent on cleansing the system of Chaos filth. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the Sons of the Lion were duped by [[The Changeling]], who then proceeded to mass-summon Daemons into the Rock itself.

Things took a turn for the worse when Magnus himself arrived on Fenris, its spiritual nexus already under assault by Thousand Sons covens trying to corrupt them, and what was a hard but possibly winnable fight against a massive invading force turned into a desperate battle for survival. It says a lot that the Iron Priests had to awaken ''all'' of the Dreadnoughts of the Fang to fight alongside Bjorn, plus whatever Wulfren that could be found, and even then it wasn't enough. Magnus was far too powerful, and the Daemon Primarch swatted aside Dreadknights with ease, and even pulled down whole Imperial Battlecruisers from the upper atmosphere, just so he could detonate their cores and irradiate the skies above Asaheim.

Magnus would not have his victory however, as through Egil Ironwolf's sacrifice Logan Grimnar was able to wound the Daemon Primarch with strikes from ''both'' the Axe of Morkai and the recovered '''Spear of Russ'''. With his concentration broken, Magnus was then banished from the Fenris by [[Grey Knight]] [[Purifier]]s. With Magnus gone, the Thousand Sons and their daemonic allies quickly followed, but the damage had been done. The worlds of the Fenris system were almost all ravaged beyond recovery, and what's worse, due to their populations bearing witness to a massive daemonic incursion, their people had to be liquidated by the Inquisition. Unlike the aftermath of the First War of Armageddon, the Great Wolf didn't make a fuss, as the Chapter was too mauled and weary to oppose them.

===The Fall of Cadia and the Era Indomitus===

Despite the drubbing they experienced at the hands of Magnus, the Space Wolves were still able to send two Great Companies to Cadia's defense, and while that world eventually fell, they made a good accounting for themselves, with Sven Bloodhowl contributing to the demise of the Blackstone Fortress, while Orven Highfell fell in the defense of Kasr Kraf. As the [[Great Rift]] formed and the Imperium was torn in half, and the age seemed to become all the more desperate, the Wolves fought on, but when news of [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s revival reached the Fang, a small contingent of Wolves braved the long warp journey to [[Ultramar]] to confirm it.

During the opening years of the Indomnitus Crusade, Guilliman sent reinforcements for the Sons of Russ, in the form of several companies of [[Primaris Space Marines]]. Despite being comparatively weakened for the time and facing a rising Ork threat in their space, Logan Grimnar initially refused to take any assistance from Guilliman, even from Primaris Marines bearing Russ's geneseed, through a combination of pride, stubbornness, and refusal to bend to the so called "Legionbreaker". Guilliman, to his credit, was completely sincere about giving the Wolves Primaris tech without any ulterior motive save for the Wolves to keep doing what they were doing. The few Primaris permitted to come to Fenris were immediately treated as outsiders, because they weren't born on Fenris and hadn't undertaken the same trials as the others. After one Primaris marine managed to travel across continents back to the Fang - and after killing most of the wildlife he encountered along the way - the Wolves became more open to the Mars-born and gradually accepted them. This brought the Space Wolves Great Companies back to fighting shape, and while the Firstborn initially looked upon these newcomers with suspicion, once they had braved the initiation rituals of Fenris (or the adapted version on a chunk of spacehulk for the Mars-born Wolves), those who survived were fully welcomed into their brotherhoods.

Another thing that the Lord Commander brought was even more welcome -- thanks to Belisarius Cawl's efforts, the Space Wolves can now found their own Successors again, and immediately formed ''strong'' ties with the first of these Primaris Wolves -- the '''[[Wolfspear]]'''. While it hasn't ''quite'' gotten rid of the Curse of the [[Wulfen]] (you don't get it unless you really lose it, and its still better than falling to Chaos), but it was still better than the alternative.

==Organization==
[[File:Tyranid Attack.jpeg|350px|right|thumb|The wolves taking on a [[Tyranid]] horde.]]

The Space Wolves ignore the organizational restrictions recommended by the [[Codex Astartes]], and instead forms itself around the '''Great Companies'''. These are twelve semi-independent battle groups that are the rough equivalent of a Codex Battle Company, but are functionally much larger in size, with many featuring upwards of more than a hundred fifty battle-ready warriors on top of their support serfs and equipment.

Each Great Company gains much of its character thanks to their Wolf Lords preferences, as well as its tactical preferences -- see Egil Ironwolf's predilection for tanks and heavy artillery, or Ragnar Blackmane's hardon for massed planetary assaults. A long-serving Wolf Lord will definitely leave his mark on a Great Company, and it might take a while for it to reinvent itself under his Successor when he inevitably falls in battle.

Although no Great Company ranks above their fellows, all eventually must defer to the current Great Wolf's Great Company, as it holds both the his household as well as the Chapter's greatest warriors. When the Great Wolf Speaks, everyone must listen.

===Hierarchy===

The "classic" organization of the Space Wolves is partially based on experience, with the hot-blooded novices starting out with the Blood Claws, before they battle-hardened enough to become Grey Hunters, etc. There's also a bit of meritocracy here, as a Blood Claw who did a particularly heroic deed might "jump ranks" straight into the Wolf Guard/Thanedom (*coughs* '''Ragnar''' *coughs*). It's somewhat implied in some of the text regarding long fangs such as ''"Their former Packs, whittled down to but a handful of Veterans"'' that Blood claw squads are not reinforced and as the members gain experience they are promoted to Grey Hunter then to Long Fang as a unit.

The arrival of the Primaris has put a slight wrinkle into this however, but the Wolves are, if anything, adaptable.

*'''Great Wolf''': Also known as the ''High King'', he is the equivalent to the [[Chapter Master]] of other Chapters. The Great Wolf is also effectively the First Captain of the Space Wolves, commanding an elite Great Company that includes the members of the three Priesthoods and the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. [[Logan Grimnar]] serves as the current Great Wolf.
*'''[[Wolf Lord]]''': Also known as ''Jarls'', they are the equivalent of the [[Brother-Captain]]s of a company in Codex Chapters. Wolf Lords lead their Great Companies; likewise Great Companies owe a lot of their personality and tactical preferences to their Wolf Lords.
* '''[[Wolf Guard]]''': A cross between [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]] and [[Honour Guard]], Wolf Guards (''Thanes'') serve as the body guard of the Wolf Lord and leading packs in battle, serving as the Space Wolves version of a [[Brother-Sergeant]]. They also get [[Terminator]] armour. In ''Second Edition'' they also got to take any weapons they liked and could be built from stock parts with an Assault Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher. This led to many games being won as Assault Force Dickhead rampaged across the table murdering everything.
* '''[[Wolf Priest]]''': Combining the role of [[Apothecary]] and [[Chaplain]], the Wolf Priests do the standard roles of preaching and medical duties, but are also charged with recruiting Aspirants for their companies. Plus they have a secret role on the battlefield, trying to prevent their battle-brothers from turning into Wulfen.
* '''[[Iron Priest]]''': The Iron Priests serve the role of [[Techmarine]]s, overseeing the motorpool and equipment of the companies they belong to.
* '''[[Rune Priest]]''': Taking the role of [[Librarian]]s in Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are the [[psyker]]s of the Space Wolves. However, instead of seeing their powers as coming from the [[Warp]], they hold that their powers come from the world spirit of Fenris, and consult the runes in a means to divine the future. Trying to explain to the Rune Priests that they're drawing power from the Warp, and that they cannot "draw their powers from Fenris" while being half-Galaxy away from it will usually result in the non-Space Wolf getting a month's stay in the Apothecarion. The ultimate irony of this is that they are, in reality, Sorcerers, the very thing they denounced the Thousand Sons for being. Whether they are psykers or not. Besides, if Fenris has a world spirit, it is something akin to a Daemon World (or an eldar maiden world)...
* '''Wolf Scouts''': Each Great Company will have members who shun their pack brothers and are shunned in return, preferring the company of more somber individuals, Wolf Scouts serve to scout out enemy positions and terrain. As opposed to the regular codex, Wolf Scouts tend to be veterans of battle able to rein in their savage rage.
* '''Lone Wolf''': Space Wolves who are the last of their pack. The loss of their brethren drive them to seek a glorious death in combat at the hands of some form a fell enemy. Think of Dwarf Slayers only a few meters taller with power armour and weapons of doom and destruction. Often the only way out of the Lone Wolf lifestyle is managing to kill something that the individual shouldn't have survived killing and being elevated into the Wolf Guard. [[Wat|They sometimes take part in a small pack of Wolf Scouts, being lonely wolves in company of other lonely wolves]], [[DERP|which technically should defeat the purpose of the analogy]].
* '''[[Skyclaw]]s''': Skyclaws are the trouble makers among a Chapter of trouble makers, forced to wear Jump Packs. The Space Wolves view Jump Packs as an insult, reasoning that if the Emperor wanted them to fly, he would have given them wings.
* '''[[Thunderwolf Cavalry]]''': Space Wolves who function in a manner similar to a [[Bike Squad]], but instead of actual bikes, they use Thunderwolves, which can be the size of a small car, and biologically more akin to Terran rhinoceros than actual oversized wolves.
* '''[[Long Fang]]s''': Taking the role of [[Devastator Squad|Devastators]], Long Fangs are veterans who have grown long in the fang. No pun here - Space Wolves' teeth actually lengthen as they age, as an effect of a mutated Betcher's Gland.
* '''[[Grey Hunter]]s''': Having the role of [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], Grey Hunters are those Marines who have survived long enough as Blood Claws to quell the worst of their ferocity and blood lust (read: wear a helmet in battle). Their new found experience and control allows them to shoot and fight better than their younger brethren.
* '''[[Blood Claw]]s''': Neophyte Space Wolves who serve in the [[Assault Squad|Assault Marine]] roles of Codex Chapters. As mature as a buncha punks that just discovered a Metal band and think the life of a Marine is fucking Chaos’ shit up and killing stuff. Unsurprisingly, the survival rate among this guys is not that high. Something to point out, is that it [[Lukas the Trickster|is perfectly possible for a Blood Claw to stay on this rank for his entire life]] if you are not seen as someone to trust in a higher rank.

As of the new Codices, the Primaris Marines seem to have slotted seamlessly into this, though the Primaris neophytes don't start out as Blood Claws, and instead join the line as Intercessors, etc.

* '''Intercessors''': Space Wolves intercessors seem to have gained a rivalry with the Grey Hunters, as steadfast gunlines that can anchor a flank. This rivalry manifests in typical one-upsmanship via drinking and eating contests, and other feats of strength outside the battlefield, and kill counts during firefights.
* '''Inceptors''': The most impetuous of the Primaris, Inceptors are always aching for ways to prove themselves. Of those who arrived with the Indomitus Crusade, the Inceptors were the most eager to take the Trials of Morkai, and seemed to have fully bought into the boisterous Fenrisian customs.
* '''Aggressors''': The most bro of the Primaris Wolves, Aggressors are friendly and boisterous, to the point that they could be heard laughing heartily during combat. For all their loudness however they're not headstrong or impetuous -- far from it, as they make sure they're deployed to the places in the line where they can make the most impact.
* '''Reivers''': The opposite of the Aggressors, Reivers apparently make for poor drinking buddies, but more than make up for their effectiveness of their terror tactics. Its no surprise that they've become best buds with the Wolf Scouts, who they're often also partnered with in patrols.
** '''Hounds of Morkai:''' A unique cult of edgy reivers who envision themselves as standing by the gates of Morkai. These marines are specially trained to hunt down witches, focusing more on melee and adorned in runic totems that blunt the effect of psykers. They also have special vox-emitters made specifically to interfere with casting.
* '''Hellblasters''': Surprisingly fatalistic, Space Wolf Hellblasters believe that their sagas are tied with their plasma weaponry, and while they relish bringing ruin to the enemies of the All-Father, they also accept that, if they need to, they will go out in blazes of glory that will definitely put a fiery climax to their sagas.

=== Unique Assets ===

The Space Wolves have several bits of equipment that differentiate them from a "generic" Codex Chapter.

They have their own equivalent to power weapons, the so-called '''Frost''' weapons, the most famous is the '''Frost Axe'''. With their blades made from either diamonds or crystals native to Fenris, they shine like cold ice once their fields are active.

Speaking of native crystals, these are used for their '''Helfrost''' weaponry, which fire subzero blasts of cold that can freeze its target in place. These are either man-portable, or mounted on their many vehicles.

While the Chapter has its own complement of bike squads, they also have heavy cavalry in the form of the ferocious '''Thunderwolf Cavalry'''. These warriors form a close bond with these apex predators, who then allow themselves to be use as mounts.

Space Wolves heroes also are able to bring with them regular [[Fenrisian Wolf|wolves]] into battle, much like Leman Russ before them. These wolves are treated less like pets, and more like family and fellow warriors, and many Wolf Lords owe their lives to these faithful packs.

On the subject of Leman Russ; prior editions allowed the Space Wolves to use the heavy tank of the same name, their codex being the first sighting of the Leman Russ Exterminator but past 3ed edition this was quietly dropped.

Rather than the '''Stormraven'' and its variants, the Space Wolves rely on the '''Stormwolf''' to airlift battle-brothers to key locations, and the '''Stormclaw''' as a dedicated gunship. And yes, they're ''very'' wolfy in profile.

==Combat doctrine==
{{topquote|The best way to defeat a Space Wolf is to wolf his wolf. You must be careful, though, because if the Space Wolf wolfs your wolf first, then your wolf is wolfed.|Leman Russ himself ''On the Weaknesses of the Space Wolf Doctrine'' later Quoted by Wolf Rider Volk Wolfclaw, }}
{{topquote|A good way to get into a state of pure wolfness, would be that you shall wolf the wolf until the wolfing wolf wolfs. Then, when the wolf wolfs your wolfness, the wolves of the wild will wolf your wolf up. Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Master Jonal Wolfhand, "The Call of the Nightblizzard''}}
{{topquote|Wolf wolf wolf wolf wolfity wolf. Wolf wolf, wolfo wolfy wolf wolf wolf. Wolf? Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Lord Egil Ironwolf, ''On the Intricacies of Tactical Wolffare''}}

Jokes aside, Space Wolves doctrine normally builds their strategies around a "Pack" -- a group of unusually close battle-brothers that have very often been together since they were Blood Claws. While a Wolf Lord will generally set ''some'' broad strategies in a campaign, by and large he leaves the actual details and implementation to individual Pack Leaders. This... sort of works, as each pack's competitive nature eggs them on to one-up their buddies, but not so to the detriment of the campaign. This means that ''most'' of the time multiple packs will work together to accomplish a particular goal.

Space Wolves in general love a good scrap, and many will find that their "tactics" involve getting as close in as possible to their enemies and punching their lights out. Even the more sensible Long Fangs, who often roll their eyes at such youthful bravado, still indulge in the occasional brawl.

That said, all of this is still tempered by the Wolf Lord in charge of the Great Company. For example, Erik Morkai prefers stealth and very brutal ambushes, hence his preference for Wolf Scouts (and likely Reivers), while Engir Krakendoom likes going to war in all sorts of armored transports while escorted by Swiftclaw outriders.

== Criticism ==
As many on /tg/ will happily tell you, (and [[Magnus]] won’t stop [[RAGE|raging]] about) the Wolves are far from perfect. Where the [[Imperial Fists]] are inflexible and stubborn, the [[Dark Angels]] are unreliable and austere, and the [[Raven Guard]] are aloof and brooding, the Wolves are boisterous and arrogant. During the Heresy (and/or when Chris Wraight is writing them) they were incredibly brutal toward those they saw as oath-breakers, even if the oath-breaker in question was a fleeing, defenseless civilian.

The Ragnar Blackmane books further emphasize this and also portrayed the Chapter as willing to ignore the misdeeds of their heroes in spite of the importance they place on honor. This, combined with the Wolves hating the Thousand Sons for being psykers [[Rune Priest|while also using psykers]] led many to label the Wolves hypocrites, especially since the Space Wolves pick a fight with the Flesh Tearers for killing civilians in spite of their own troubled history in that regard.

Now, everyone including Wolves players admit that the Sons of Russ are entirely too short-sighted and prone to making enemies for their own good. During the Heresy, almost nobody liking them bit them in the ass at Alaxxes Nebula, but fast-forward to M41 and they're happily pissing off the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, etc. During Warzone Fenris, the galaxy at large is only too ready to write the Wolves off as heretics. Fans and detractors alike also note that it's [[Skub|arguable]] whether being so quick to make enemies and disobey orders to save civilians really saves more people in the long run, especially at Armageddon, where the Wolves' actions backfire badly.

=== A Primaris Marine calls the Wolves out on their bullshit ===

In Dawn of Fire: The Wolftime. One of the Unnumbered Sons tells the Wolves their full of shit right to their hobo stubbled faces.

"You’re all vain, empty beasts. You talk of honour, of accounting the dead, of glory in battle but you are just inbred hounds rolling in the filth. You would all be ork-dead by now, if not for me and my brothers, but that’s not enough. I could bleed my last drop of blood for you, watch it freeze on your Emperor-abandoned drop-hole of a world and still you would not call me a Wolf of Fenris. [...]

You are nothing to the Rout of old," snarled Gaius. "A spent force, throwing yourselves at your enemies, shouting empty cries, bleating like sheep about Russ returning at the end. He would be shamed to see what had become of his sons! [..]

There is nothing special about you or your world. Cawl took apart what makes a Space Marine and put the pieces together again in something better. Primaris. Me. The Firstwolves. He found no Fenrisian magic dust, no sprinkles of wyrd. The Test of Morkai is just a barbaric ritual intended to massively elevate physiological responses to trigger gene-seed adoption. There’s nothing spiritual about it."

Logan is a dick to Guilliman and refuses to take reinforcements even after the furries got their assed kicked by said [[Orks]].

== Civilians ==

Of all the inconsistently written aspects of the Chapter, this is by far the worst offender. Sometimes, the Space Wolves are written as brutal and merciless, giving zero fucks about collateral damage or civilian casualties. On the other hand, sometimes the Wolves [[Salamanders|put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.]] This can induce [[Rage]] in just about any fan, because some people get into the Space Wolves seeing them as heroes while others prefer their more savage, bloodthirsty tendencies.

The best fluff attempts to find a middle ground by presenting them as violent and pragmatic, but disciplined during the Heresy and increasingly heroic over time. By M41, the Wolves actively stop the Flesh Tearers from murdering Imperial civilians at Honour's End, disobey orders so they could protect the settlers at Thressiax, and play chicken with the Inquisition to save the people of Armageddon; this example is particularly notable, because the Wolves didn't just attempt to save the civilians from the Inquisition, for the first few months of the conflict they did so with passive resistance, defending civilian transports with the shields and hulls of their own ships, never firing back. This paints a picture of [[Awesome|a Chapter that actually becomes MOAR independent and heroic as the galaxy goes to shit around them.]] Or perhaps, they've remained the same and the galaxy has gone so grimdark that the Space Wolves now appear heroic in comparison.

Then Warzone Fenris happened. In it, the Wolves pretty much abandon their allies to focus on the Wulfen.

==Notable Members==
*[[Leman Russ]]: Primarch of the Space Wolves, Wolf King of Fenris, and Vikingest of the Viking Marines. Despite his tendency to be a pigheaded jackass, he was ultra-loyal to the Emperor and accepted his role without question, even when it involved things like [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Primarch#Two_Missing_Primarchs_.7C_The_Forgotten_.26_The_Purged disappearing another legion and primarch] or [[Rangdan Xenocides|purging entire worlds of mind-controlled humans]]. He and his legion didn't actually accomplish that much during the Heresy aside from fucking Prospero with no lube, though he almost managed to decorrupt Horus at Trisolian. Abruptly left Fenris for some reason in the aftermath of the Scouring and hasn't been seen since, though he promised his sons he would return for their final battle no matter what. May currently be pillaging his way through the Warp, searching for a means to resurrect the Emperor, or trying to find Magnus.
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]: The oldest active loyalist Space Marine in the galaxy. He served at Russ' side throughout the Heresy and became the first Great Wolf of the chapter after Russ took off. Ultimately wound up interred in a Dreadnought and now alternates between napping in the Aett and yelling at [[Thousand Sons|those damn psykers]] and everyone else in the galaxy to get off his lawn.
*Hvarl Red-Blade: Jarl of either the 4th or 7th Grand Company [[Derp|because FW can't proofread for shit]]. Looks like Fat Bastard for some reason and was considered mildly insane by the rest of the legion, which is saying something.
*Ohthere Wyrdmake: Rune Priest who made friends with Ahriman only to screw him over at Nikaea by betraying his confidences as part of Russ' efforts to get the Librarius shut down. Ahriman tore his soul out during the fighting on Prospero.
*[[Logan Grimnar]]: Current Great Wolf of the chapter. Rides around in a wolf-drawn sleigh like grimdark Santa and is one of the most bro-tier Astartes in the Imperium, having squared up to the Inquisition and Grey Knights rather than let them purge a bunch of innocent civilians at Armageddon.
*[[Lukas the Trickster]]: Strong contender for the title of Galaxy's Best Troll. Has pulled off such feats of trolling as tricking a bunch of Word Bearers into landing on thin ice and drowning themselves, "accidentally" locking an Inquisitorial delegation in a grox pen, and fucking with Magnus himself during the Second Battle of Prospero. The Wolf Lords hate him because he's an irreverent dick, but Lukas couldn't give less of a shit about what they think of him. Is one of the few Space Marines known to have gotten laid. Has a stasis bomb wired into his chest where his second heart used to be (it got stolen by a Dark Eldar) so that whoever kills him will be frozen in time with his laughing face in front of them, forever.
*[[Ragnar Blackmane]]: Youngest Wolf Lord in the chapter's history. Has a long-running rivalry with Madox of the Thousand Sons and once hit Magnus right in the eye with the Spear of Russ. During the Psychic Awakening, he got into a fight with [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka|Ghazghkull]] that ended with Ragnar half-dead and Ghaz decapitated, but they both survived because [[Plot Armor|plot armor]]. Ragnar got Primaris'd up and is after Ghaz for a rematch.
*[[Ulrik the Slayer]]: High Priest and oldest Space Wolf in the chapter, not counting Dreadnoughts. Still talks to Logan Grimnar like he's a snotty kid and once killed three Khorne Berzerkers so hard that [[Angron]] himself saluted his sheer RAEG. Wears Leman Russ' helmet into battle.
*[[Arjac Rockfist]]: Wolf Guard who has a thunder hammer that teleports back into his hand whenever he throws it, making him the grimdark Thor to Lukas' Loki and Logan's Odin.
*[[Bran Redmaw]]: Wolf Lord/Wulfen who can somehow control his transformation to some degree. Tends to go off by himself in battle so he doesn't wolf out and accidentally kill his own dudes.
*[[Canis Wolfborn]]: He is a Wolf Guard whose first name means Dog and rides a giant wolf and leads a pack of [[Fenrisian Wolves]] that he commands by barking at them and was raised by wolves and probably has a wolf plushie that he cuddles at night. Basically Canis is what happens when the ''Wolf'' part of Space Wolves is taken to its logical extreme. Also at one point he had a BS of 2, [[FAIL|meaning that the average Ork could outshoot him]].
*Murderfang: Wulfen Dreadnought who has to be kept in stasis between battles because he's batshit crazy and has lost the ability to tell friend from foe.
*[[Svane Vulfbad]]: Former Wolf Lord who decided that the Imperium sucked and led his entire Great Company into Khorne worship. May or may not be dead; he got into a fight with Harald Deathwolf and right when Harald was about to kill him, a thunderbolt hit them and Svane disappeared, leaving behind a fragment of his frost axe lodged in the jaw of Harald's Thunderwolf. Only appeared in a single issue of White Dwarf and has never been mentioned again ever, which is kind of a shame.

==Daily rituals of a Space Wolf==

08:00 - Early Risers - Most of the Wolf Scouts and Reivers, having avoided the last rounds the previous evening, wake from their quarters. They give each other quiet nods of approval, before heading for the festhall for an early breakfast. 
08:30 - Morning Firing Drills -- The Wolf Scouts and Reivers take advantage of the otherwise unoccupied firing range to get their drills in. The Lone Wolves are appreciative of the Primaris Vanguard stealth training, while Primaris marvel at Lone Wolves sniper marksmanship. 
9:00 - Wilderness Training - Wolf Scout squads leave for their regular wilderness patrols, while Reivers try to stalk them. Most of the day will be filled with one trying to track down the other, or stalking a particularly worthwhile prey. 
13:00 - Wake Up with Hangover - The majority of Space Wolves battle-brothers awaken by this point. 
13:10 - Morning Piss - The Space Wolf empties the alcohol that has accumulated in his bladder(s) in the Sacred Alcohol Excretion Grounds. (Doing so anywhere else is hazardous as space wolf urine is capable of corroding ceramite) 
13:11 - Morning Fart - The Space Wolf empties his intestines. Pissing without farting is like going to a holy site without praying to the Emperor, which is heresy. 
13:20 - Morning Piss Ends - The Space Wolves have finally finished urinating. The surrounding landscape is scorched with a aura of menace resembling nurgle’s rot. 
13:30 - Ritual of the Hair of the Dog - The Space Wolf now cracks open his first cold one of the day. The first of many. Cheerios may be consumed as well. 
13:45 - Firing Drills - The Space Wolf consumes another liter of alcohol before going out back and shooting empty beer bottles with his bolter. This takes place far away from the Alcohol Excretion Grounds, after that one time Brother Brynjolf accidentally lit his own piss on fire. an entire company had to spend 6 months in the sickbay until their hair grew back and they were thus fit to be seen in public again. 
14:00 - Freeze your Balls - The Space Wolf sheds his armor and most of his clothing to wander around Asaheim for an hour. 
15:00 - Feeding of the Land Raiders - Space Wolf observes a feast with his brothers in honour of the chapter's revered battle machines. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow not grasping that the Long Fangs and Grey Hunters beelined for the chow hall as soon as the claws were out of sight. 
15:30 - Boozing of the Land Raiders - No feast is complete without metric fucktons of liquor. Fenrisian Ale, beer, and if available bylestim blend are poured and scrubbed all over the most honoured of the chapter's war machines. Many still have bullet holes, sometimes allowing beer to get into the exhaust ports and make for kickass explosions later. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow. 
16:00 - Wolf your Wolf - Grey Hunters and older Space Wolves take this time to play with their favourite 4-legged companions. Any Blood Claw who's showed up by now is made a Grey Hunter. 
16:30 - Save the Blood Claws - Blood Claws are brought in from the cold. Most are frozen blue or black - and hungry for more. 
17:00 - Evening feast - Eat. Drink. Start brawls. The usual non-warzone Space Wolf thing. 
18:00 - Try to wake up [[Bjorn the Fell Handed|Bjorn]]. 
18:10 - Give up, try to find something fun on the Vox Saga. 
19:00 - Night shitter break. 
20:00 - Night firing drills - Much to the Iron Priest's dismay, the Space Wolves practice writing their names in the snow with bolters. In runes. In the dark. 
21:00 - Ritual Intake of Narcotics and Purging of Testicles - bitches and blow. 
05:00 - Daily Rest - The Space Wolf passes out. 

==A Quick Word Out of Character==
The true reason for all this, is that, we at /tg/, in our pathetic, low-reaching mastery of comedy, have seen how idiotic it is that every goddamn Space Wolf codex unnecessarily uses the word "wolf" as a prefix or a suffix every 3rd sentence (similar to the [[Robin Cruddace|Tyranid codex]] shoe-horning the prefix ''bio-'' into every 3rd sentence). Since /tg/ is an easily angered monster, not unlike an [[Angry Marine]], we furiously attempt to link Space Wolves to furries (it's really fucking annoying), as we are as fucked up as [[Chaos Pretty Marines]].

It has been established in the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series that the VI Legion doesn't employ the word "wolf" as much as they appear to do. Wolves are readily apparent in their motifs, such as Leman Russ's titles as "Wolf-King" and "Great Wolf," as well as in the formal name of the Wolf Guard, but it's not as overblown as it's made out to be. Apparently, whoever did the Fenrisian-to-Gothic translation made a few errors. First off, they don't call themselves "the Space Wolves." When speaking formally, they refer to themselves as the ''Vlka Fenryka'', which we can look at a few ways. "Fenris" is easy, a reference to Fenrir from Norse mythology. "Vlka" has a couple options; if you walk it backwards through the Germanic ''Volk'' you get "Folk of Fenris". This supports a common theory on 1d4chan where a bunch of colonists landed on a planet, bred giant dogs from their great, great, grand-children (more on that in a minute) then thought, "You know what's better than planet Unicorn? Planet fucking Fenris". So the the ''Vlka Fenryka'' are literally the folk of Fenris. Alternately ''Vlka'' can be translated from Slavic to get the "Wolves of Fenris" again.

No matter what you conclude on, you get Dan Abnett using linguistics to reinforce his theme that the Space Wolves are misunderstood by the rest of the Imperium - calling the Space Wolves because of a mistranslated word. One could even argue they are actually called "Space People", would make sense since Ragnar referred to them as "Star warriors" in the William King novels and their Fenrisian ''Kaerl'' auxiliaries call them "sky warriors," but the lore from these novels has been left by the wayside so take that as you will. When speaking informally, they refer to themselves as "the Rout", solidifying their purpose as the Emperor's executioners (self-proclaimed)/snowflakes. Additionally, the post of "Wolf-Lord" is also a mistranslation, as they refer to their Company commanders as ''Jarl''. Finally, they don't call their fortress-monastery the Fang, but rather the ''Aett'', which can be literally translated as "clan home." There's also this in-universe [[meme]] "there are no wolves on Fenris." At all. This was started by one of the primarchs remarking that they should be called xenos, because they're natives of an alien planet, and it quickly morphed into a joke. As it turns out, this is literally true.

With regards to the [[Fenrisian Wolf|Fenrisian wolves]], the origin a little more freaky than expected: they're not wolves, but descendants of human-wolf mutants. Back when Fenris was first settled, the colonists had the ''Canis helix'' added to help them adapt to the harsh environment by adding wolf genes to their genetic-makeup. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well--the ''canix helix'' caused a number of settlers to degrade into wolfmen and wolfwomen. Following this, they bred and produced a new strain of wolf into the environment. So there are no ''wolves'' on Fenris. They're just the descendants of human mutants. Which might explain why, post-Heresy, only Fenrisians can become Space Wolves (assuming that's why the successor chapters couldn't handle Russ' gene seed).

So yes, naming the planet after the wolves means we really do just end up all the way back at Wolves of Wolves after all. Whelp.

Of course, that means that the Space Wolves are wearing pelts made of [[Fabius Bile|human skin]], but lets not dwell on that - after all it's fairly common in the Imperium to wear human skulls... WolfyWolfWolf {{BLAM|''' *BLAM*}}.

===The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries"===
The blatant author favouritism annoys fans of the other chapters with "Dark Secrets". GW's treatment of the Wulfen makes it effortless for fans of other chapters to hurl [[Mary Sue]] accusations at them, unlike the [[Blood Angels]] and [[Dark Angels]]. The Wulfen are now out in the open; once they were exposed they get little (arguably no) punishment while the Inquisition and Grey Knights just "kept one eye open". The aforementioned chapters on the other hand have to keep their secrets from being found out by the Inquisition and the Imperium at large.

Despite the fact that Fallen Angels were paraded around on Terra, many would assume they were [[Ravenwing]] without their fancy bikes. While any claims of Dark Angels being the real traitors from the Fallen would have [[Guilliman]] retort back that they are full of shit (with more and longer words), as he knew exactly what The First was up to during the Horus Heresy with the exception the events that caused the destruction of Caliban. Of course, the Unforgiven would also be pissed if they found out if one of the predecessors of the Grey Knights killed a Dark Angel and were part of the reason their homeworld was destroyed and would demand censure.

The Blood Angels on the other hand have an infection similar to the Wulfen without mutating into some kind of half-human man-beast. The [[Red Thirst]]. The Blood Angels and their successors organize the afflicted into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] who are lead by their Chaplains into killing Xenos and foul traitors. If they somehow survive the mutated Blood Angels are {{BLAM}}ed.
Both chapters send their traitors/mutants into battle to be used as cannon fodder. A much more grimdark action that would be in character for Space Marines. [[White Scars|They wouldn't be the only]] [[Raven Guard|chapters to have done this either.]] Instead of treating mutants as fellow warriors.
Inserting noble bright into the setting where it doesn't belong. The same reasons that so many players also hated the Tau until GW retconned them into being more grimdark.

Making this all the more strange. In all likelihood [[Guilliman]] himself wouldn't see a problem with using mutated Space Marines as cannon fodder. Because he did so himself when he created the [[Moritat]]s after combat exercises with the [[Raven Guard]]. So chances are he would side with the other two former [[Imperium Secundus]] Legions. [[Ogryn|Due to not only favoritism but he and the rest of the Imperium at large would find it strange that the Space Wolves do not]].

If [[Guilliman]] ever found out about all three. He would most likely order [[The Fallen]] and [[Wulfen]] organized into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] style formations as well. Something that the Dark Angels are more or less doing already. This would just make it official. The Space Wolves would look like the bad guys if they objected, putting them in a tough spot.

=== Why people hate the Space Wolves, tldr version ===
One user on reddit summed it up with this. (fixed for grammar somewhat)

"The Space Wolves remind me of a 13 year old’s first D&D character: very cool, special, powerful barbarian hero who is morally flawless but doesn't listen to authority and always does the right thing but don't you dare cross them. They get away with shit because they're so special and the rules don't apply to them, guys. They got to wage war on the Inquisition with a slap on the wrist, while the Celestial Lions were slaughtered for merely questioning the morals of the Inquisition. [[Mary Sue|They get a free pass on mutation in a setting where that gets chapters purged.]] They drink and party while other chapters lose hundreds of brothers on meaningless, forgotten battlegrounds. They aren't even Vikings! The White Scars are Space Mongols. The Black Templars are Space Teutons. [[Ultramarines|There are Space Rome]]. [[Thousand Sons|Space Egypt]]. [[Raven Guard|Space Iroquois]]. But Vikings? No. They don't raid. They don't pillage. They don't terrorize. They don't explore, chart, map, and push boundaries. [[Mary Sue|They just fuck around, being special, unique perfect little dudes who don't suffer in GrimDarkness.]]

They exist in the wrong game."

So basically Space Wolves now have the same problem as the Tau did a few editions back.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Lightning2.jpg|'Tis only a matter of time until Steve Blum voices 'em. Apparently, this set somehow makes things you hit weigh less.
File:Warlord of Fenris by NachoMon.jpg|Totally not overcompensating...Yeah he's just <s>hiding a massive hardon with</s> supporting the skull with a massive hard-on.
File:Lemanruss39.jpg|Leman Russ. About to mercilessly fuck over the Thousand Sons.
File:Prospero.jpg|Is he carrying a wooden shield? Really? Against a bolt shell? It better be a Combat Shield.
[[File:http://l.wigflip.com/DucDpDtG/roflbot.jpg]]|Pretty cool guys to hang with.
File:SneakySpaceWolves.png|Good thing they brought the sneaking flag.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Wolves (9E)|Space Wolves Tactics]]
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] - With whom they get into bar brawls and drinking contests to see who is moar [[Viking]]
*[[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - Before calling your [[Dark Angels]] brothers [[Troll|traitors]] read [[Svane_Vulfbad|this]] first to understand [[Fallen_Angels|their]][[ rage]].
*[[Legion Consul]] - The old "Commissars" of the VI legion.
*[https://youtu.be/Bh_5ofa__pY/ Space Wolves theme song]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Space Wolves}}
[[Category:Furry]]

Space Wolves

2022-03-11T02:53:42Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:157E:D06:FEEF:985F: moving

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Wolves / Vlka Fenryka / Space Corgis
|Heraldry = [[File:Spacewolveslogo.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "For Russ and the All father!""Woof! Woof!" "Yiff Yiff Yiff!"|Number = VI
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = The Rout
|Successor Chapters = [[Blood Wolves]] [[Mooneaters]] [[Skyrar%27s Dark Wolves]] [[Wolf Brothers]] [[Wolfspear]]
|Chapter Master = [[Logan Grimnar]]
|Primarch = [[Leman Russ]]
|Homeworld = [[Fenris]]
|Specialty = CQC, shock assaults, infantry, encirclement tactics, being viking enthusiasts.
|Strength = 2-3000
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Generally Bluish-Grey and Yellow. Red, Black and White used for specific Companies.
}}
{{topquote|Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a [[Wolfspear|spear]] on the way without.|Havamal}}
{{topquote|War is honest. There's no lying to it. You don't have to say sorry here. Don't have to hide. You cannot. If you die? So what? You die among friends. Among worthy foes. You die looking the Great Leveller in the eye. If you live? Well, lad that's living, isn't it?|Joe Abercrombie, Heroes}}
{{topquote|They can call themselves whatever they like. It's irrelevant. They are in the annals of Terra as the Sixth Legion, the Space Wolves. Did Guilliman rename his Legion the Macragge Marines? Would you have the sons of Sanguinius known as the Baal Angels? The Sixth Legion do not belong to Fenris, they belong to the Emperor| Custodian Vychellan taking issue with the Space Wolves / Wolves of Fenris / Vlyka Fenryka debate}}

The '''Space Wolves''' (also known as ''The Rout'' or the '''Vlka Fenryka''') is a [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]] hailing from the icy [[Death World]] of '''Fenris''', who appreciate the value of a strong and consistent brand identity. They are known as noble, if savage warriors, who have little love for Imperial bureaucracy but will fight fiercely for its common citizens. The Marines of the Chapter are famed as experts in the art of close combat, much like the [[Blood Angels]], but unlike the sons of [[Sanguinius]] their fighting style is less that of a maddened, blood-crazed berserker, but that of a cunning pack of hunters running down their prey.

Thematically, the Chapter draws a lot of real-world inspiration from Nordic culture, ''especially'' the Viking sagas, particularly in terms of aesthetics as well as ferocity. That said, there's a bit of a disconnect between how the Wolves are portrayed in fiction compared to how they're presented as a tabletop army.

On one hand, we have a nuanced portrayal of a proud warrior tradition that just so happens to have the Wolf as its primary totem animal, among many other Fenrisian nature spirits they worship. On the other, we have an over-the-top army of wolf fetishists that precedes most of their equipment and vehicle names with "wolf", ride ''actual'' giant wolves into battle, and are like a drunken frat party outside of it.

==Origins==

Back during the [[Great Crusade]], the Space Wolves began as the VIth Legion, and was developed in conjunction the [[Salamanders]] and the [[Alpha Legion]]. Developed in isolation from the other two Legions, they proved to be a vicious and aggressive fighting force, but also almost impossible to keep in line by its officers. What's worse, they were indiscriminate in their slaughter, and even helpless civilians were not free from their wrath. Due to this brutal reputation, they soon became known as "the Rout", the Emprah's agents of fear and retribution.

===The Wolf King cometh===

The ice world of Fenris was found early on by the Crusade fleets, and the Emperor soon heard of the exploits of its so-called Wolf King, a man named Leman Russ. Raised in the wilderness by wolves, then adopted and educated by the jarl Thengir, Leman was a massive ox of a man of extraordinary strength, sharp cunning, and personal magnetism, and the Emprah was sure he was one of His lost sons. He descended onto the world in disguise, ingratiated Himself to the locals to gain access to the High King's feasting hall, and there he sought to test the Wolf King's mettle.

Depending on the version or edition, this led to the following: an eating contest, a drinking contest, and a brawl. Leman won the first two rounds, but was finally goaded into a fight when the Emprah insulted him, [[Imperial Truth|saying that he was nothing more than a glutton and a drunkard]]. What followed next was either a massive fight that wrecked the drinking hall, Beowulf versus Grendel style, or the Emprah laying out Leman with a single fabulously golden [[Power Fist]] to the forehead.

Regardless, when Leman finally came to, the Emprah revealed himself, and told him about his true origin as one of his [[Primarch]]s, as well as his role in the greater Crusade. What happened next, as they say, is history.

===From the Rout to the Wolves===

Leman Russ' rediscovery, and the integration of his own Fenrisian retinue, slowly remade the VIth Legion. Their ferocity was soon tempered with discipline and obedience, as the Fenrisian culture slowly spread through its ranks, and while they would still crush any traitor to the Emperor, they would at least have the good sense this time ''not'' to slaughter the innocents that just so happened to be in the area. It didn't happen overnight, but soon enough the Legion became less about punishing oathbreakers, and more on watching out for the little guy.

Oh, and if an offhand comment by Russ is to be believed, they had a hand in destroying the two so-called Lost Legions. Emperor's Executioners indeed.

Under Russ' leadership, the Wolves proved their worth to the fledgling Imperium by winning many victories and conquering many worlds, which brought them glory and even more notoriety. On one of their campaigns, they managed to recover a near-complete STC printout of a battle tank, and as a bit of thanks, the Martian adepts named it after the Legion's Primarch.

It was also during this period that the Wolves' rivalry with the [[Dark Angels]] began, a feud that ''still'' continues into the present day of the Imperium. While the specifics have been lost to myth and legend, the Dulan Campaign ended with Leman Russ and his brother, the mercurial [[Lion El'Jonson]], in a one-on-one duel. This culminated with Leman knocked out flat on his back, the Dark Angels leaving in a huff, and the Space Wolves similarly insulted by the Lion not being a good sport about everything.

===The Heresy Dawns===

The Space Wolves are infamous for their role in the burning of Prospero, the homeworld of the [[Thousand Sons]] Legion. Though they were initially ordered to bring in [[Magnus the Red]] alone for both going against the edicts of the Council of Nikea, as well as accidentally breaching the defenses of the Imperial Webway, their orders were changed by [[Horus]] (who they were unaware was already full-hog traitor at this point) to instead [[Burning_of_Prospero|burn the planet and its inhabitants to the ground]].

This blind adherence to orders, not helped by the fact that Leman ''wanted'' to confront his nerd of a brother for his shenanigans, was the final straw. Prospero was literally and figuratively put to the torch in the ensuing battles between the Legions, as well as Leman's [[Adeptus Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]] babysitters. When Magnus finally joined the fray to save his sons, Leman met him in one-on-one combat, and while the Wolf King was badly mauled over the course of the duel, Magnus was broken and forced to flee with the surviving Thousand Sons.

In the end, Magnus was forced to throw his lot with [[Chaos]] in order to survive, and his Legion followed suit, joining Horus in his rebellion.

The battered Wolves were not allowed any respite however, as they were soon hounded by a massive [[Alpha Legion]] fleet, and forced to flee into the Alaxxes Nebula. [[Battle_of_the_Alaxxes_Nebula|While a breakout was eventually executed, the Space Wolves fleet eventually found itself cornered]]. As they prepared for a last stand, unexpected aid arrived in the form of a [[Dark Angels]] fleet. With the Alpha Legion driven off, Russ was left to ponder what to do next.

Eventually Russ and a small contingent of his men managed to find their way to Terra, while the rest of the Space Wolves fleet continued to harry the Traitors. He sponsored an expedition to Molech to see if Horus could be taken down, but this just resulted in getting dozens of [[Knights-Errant]] killed. Afterward, in a council with his brothers [[Rogal Dorn]], [[Sanguinius]], and [[Jaghatai Khan]], Leman decided to forego Dorn's plan in delaying the traitors at the '''Battle of Beta Garmon''', and instead returned to Fenris to try and divine a way to take away all those juicy [[Chaos]] boons that were supercharging [[Horus]].

===The Wolf King and the Luna Wolf===

In what amounted to be a spirit quest (where, among other things, Russ met a possible version of himself who stayed on Terra and never grew up on Fenris), Leman decided that he would confront his brother Horus one last time. For this task, he would need to use the Spear of Russ (yes THAT Spear of Russ, that [[Ragnar Blackmane]] would use many millennium later), a weapon that he ''absolutely hated'' (because it gave him the literal heebie-jeebies) and actually tried to get rid of multiple times, but which somehow always managed to return to him.

It turns out that the Spear was a massively powerful artifact invested with a fragment of the Emprah's power, with the ability to reveal the "truth" of whatever it pierces. Although the chance was slim, Leman hoped to use it to convince his brother to return to the Imperial fold and let their father heal him; if the Warmaster remained undaunted, Leman would then use the spear to slay the traitor for good.

Leman knew that it was a suicide mission, and indeed made it clear to his assembled [[Wolf Lord]]s that their participation was ''voluntary'', but none of them refused to join their Primarch. If their death was to come, then it would be together with their Battle-brothers.

===The Battle of Trisolian 4A===

The [[Forge World]] of Trisolian -- where a young and cheeky tech adept named [[Belisarius Cawl]] and his buddy were taking what amounted to their internships -- had just surrendered to Traitor forces, and was in the process of hosting the [[Vengeful Spirit]] and its escorts. Then all of the sudden, this absolutely ''massive'' fleet (made up of around fifty ships of the line from the various Traitor Legions) found itself under attack.

Taking advantage of the gravitational interactions of the Trisolian system's three stars, the Space Wolves fleet had snuck into the sector, and threw its vastly-outnumbered ships at the gathered armada. As the ships of the Rout tried to make as much as a ruckus as it could, Leman confronted the [[Vengeful Spirit]] with his own flagship, the '''Hrafnkel''', and as the latter's barrage collapsed the former's void shields, Leman personally led a massive assault unto his brother's flagship using everything he still had -- boarding torpedoes, assault boats, teleport deep-strikes, and even gunships.

As thousands of Space Wolves ran wild inside the Vengeful Spirit, Leman personally tracked down Horus in the heart of the corrupted ship, while down below Cawl managed to make sure his master met an "accident", and took control of the Mechanicus forces to aid the Space Wolves. The Wolf King eventually found the Warmaster, and was disgusted at what he beheld -- Horus was wallowing in Chaos corruption, and was half-mad as a result. When words didn't work, Russ attacked his brother, knowing too well he was outmatched.

Then the Spear managed to pierce Horus' side. The wound was not fatal, though it could have been, had Leman not hesitated, but it was enough -- the madness cleared from Horus' eyes, and for the first time in what seemed to be forever Horus' mind was clear. Despite this however, the Warmaster would not be swayed; he was in too deep to stop now, and of his own free will this time, still decided to continue the fight against the Emperor.

Horus continued his assault on Leman, and had mauled him gravely. Before he could finish him off with ''Worldbreaker'' however, one Space Wolf, followed by dozens, which were then followed by scores of marines, interposed themselves between the Warmaster and their Primarch. Horus cut them all down all the same, but their sacrifice bought Bjorn the time he needed to drag the injured Leman Russ to a [[Stormbird]], and then back to the ''Hrafnkel''.

With their Primarch secured, the Space Wolves fleet made a fighting retreat, but all seemed lost as the Vengeful Spirit and its cohort seemed to be catching up... Then one of its magazines exploded, crippling it enough to allow the Wolves to escape.

The Wolves would fight another day, but the price was too high. Of the Wolves that went into Trisolian, only one-fifth managed to make the escape. The VIth Legion effectively stopped being an effective fighting force from that point on, and had to be eventually rescued by the Primarch [[Corvus Corax]] and his [[Raven Guard]] after the fleet was cornered by [[Abaddon]]'s forces at Yarant.

The Wolves would sit out the remainder of the Heresy, and would be still trying to recover as the [[Siege of Terra]] came and went, and Horus had his fated showdown with the Emprah.

===The Fate of Leman Russ===

Of Leman Himself, you ask? Well he stuck around during the [[Great Scouring]], and while he groused about [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s reforms, he eventually caved in, and begrudgingly agreed to split apart the remains of his ravaged Legion into Chapters.

In theory anyway.

In ''practice'' however, due to the massively reduced numbers of the Rout, only one Chapter was ever created -- the ill-fated [[Wolf Brothers]]. The rest of the survivors remained Space Wolves, opting instead to stick with their semi-independent Great Companies, as one small snub to the stuck-up Roboute.

Barely a century after the end of the Scouring, Leman Russ just ups and vanishes from Imperial History. Legends state that after a great feast, He said unto his warriors:

<blockquote>"Listen closely Brothers, for my time is short. . There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen for your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come I shall, no matter what the laws of life and death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."</blockquote>

And so, Leman departed, with his closest retinue... No, not you Bjorn... Some say he searches for a means to revive His God-Emperor.. But despite the efforts of the Great Hunt, Leman remains beyond the reach of Man... Who knows what great feats of Heroism he undertakes...oh right [[Kaldor Draigo]],

Oddly enough, it seems that [[Magnus the Red]], of all people, has an idea about his brother's fate, but he's not telling anyone, and is far too fond of slaying Leman's get to even care.

==Recent History==

===The Siege of Fenris===

Much like the rest of the Imperium, times had been rough for the Space Wolves by the [[Time of Ending|time the end of M41 rolled in]]. Magnus in particular still had a massive hateboner against the Sons of Russ, and finally put his long-prepared revenge plan into motion. The rebuilt [[Thousand Sons]], plus their [[Chaos]] Daemon and Traitor Legion allies, put the worlds of the Fenris system to the sword. Not even the Space Wolves homeworld was spared, and it took the combined effort of the Chapter and a [[Grey Knights]] Brotherhood led by [[Arvann Stern|Brother-Captain Stern]] to slow down the massive daemonic incursion that followed.

Then the [[Dark Angels]] arrived above Fenris with [[The Rock]], and leading an Imperial task force of ''fourteen'' assorted Space Marine Chapters, titans, knight houses, and Imperial Guard, intent on cleansing the system of Chaos filth. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the Sons of the Lion were duped by [[The Changeling]], who then proceeded to mass-summon Daemons into the Rock itself.

Things took a turn for the worse when Magnus himself arrived on Fenris, its spiritual nexus already under assault by Thousand Sons covens trying to corrupt them, and what was a hard but possibly winnable fight against a massive invading force turned into a desperate battle for survival. It says a lot that the Iron Priests had to awaken ''all'' of the Dreadnoughts of the Fang to fight alongside Bjorn, plus whatever Wulfren that could be found, and even then it wasn't enough. Magnus was far too powerful, and the Daemon Primarch swatted aside Dreadknights with ease, and even pulled down whole Imperial Battlecruisers from the upper atmosphere, just so he could detonate their cores and irradiate the skies above Asaheim.

Magnus would not have his victory however, as through Egil Ironwolf's sacrifice Logan Grimnar was able to wound the Daemon Primarch with strikes from ''both'' the Axe of Morkai and the recovered '''Spear of Russ'''. With his concentration broken, Magnus was then banished from the Fenris by [[Grey Knight]] [[Purifier]]s. With Magnus gone, the Thousand Sons and their daemonic allies quickly followed, but the damage had been done. The worlds of the Fenris system were almost all ravaged beyond recovery, and what's worse, due to their populations bearing witness to a massive daemonic incursion, their people had to be liquidated by the Inquisition. Unlike the aftermath of the First War of Armageddon, the Great Wolf didn't make a fuss, as the Chapter was too mauled and weary to oppose them.

===The Fall of Cadia and the Era Indomitus===

Despite the drubbing they experienced at the hands of Magnus, the Space Wolves were still able to send two Great Companies to Cadia's defense, and while that world eventually fell, they made a good accounting for themselves, with Sven Bloodhowl contributing to the demise of the Blackstone Fortress, while Orven Highfell fell in the defense of Kasr Kraf. As the [[Great Rift]] formed and the Imperium was torn in half, and the age seemed to become all the more desperate, the Wolves fought on, but when news of [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s revival reached the Fang, a small contingent of Wolves braved the long warp journey to [[Ultramar]] to confirm it.

During the opening years of the Indomnitus Crusade, Guilliman sent reinforcements for the Sons of Russ, in the form of several companies of [[Primaris Space Marines]]. Despite being comparatively weakened for the time and facing a rising Ork threat in their space, Logan Grimnar initially refused to take any assistance from Guilliman, even from Primaris Marines bearing Russ's geneseed, through a combination of pride, stubbornness, and refusal to bend to the so called "Legionbreaker". Guilliman, to his credit, was completely sincere about giving the Wolves Primaris tech without any ulterior motive save for the Wolves to keep doing what they were doing. The few Primaris permitted to come to Fenris were immediately treated as outsiders, because they weren't born on Fenris and hadn't undertaken the same trials as the others. After one Primaris marine managed to travel across continents back to the Fang - and after killing most of the wildlife he encountered along the way - the Wolves became more open to the Mars-born and gradually accepted them. This brought the Space Wolves Great Companies back to fighting shape, and while the Firstborn initially looked upon these newcomers with suspicion, once they had braved the initiation rituals of Fenris (or the adapted version on a chunk of spacehulk for the Mars-born Wolves), those who survived were fully welcomed into their brotherhoods.

Another thing that the Lord Commander brought was even more welcome -- thanks to Belisarius Cawl's efforts, the Space Wolves can now found their own Successors again, and immediately formed ''strong'' ties with the first of these Primaris Wolves -- the '''[[Wolfspear]]'''. While it hasn't ''quite'' gotten rid of the Curse of the [[Wulfen]] (you don't get it unless you really lose it, and its still better than falling to Chaos), but it was still better than the alternative.

==Organization==
[[File:Tyranid Attack.jpeg|350px|right|thumb|The wolves taking on a [[Tyranid]] horde.]]

The Space Wolves ignore the organizational restrictions recommended by the [[Codex Astartes]], and instead forms itself around the '''Great Companies'''. These are twelve semi-independent battle groups that are the rough equivalent of a Codex Battle Company, but are functionally much larger in size, with many featuring upwards of more than a hundred fifty battle-ready warriors on top of their support serfs and equipment.

Each Great Company gains much of its character thanks to their Wolf Lords preferences, as well as its tactical preferences -- see Egil Ironwolf's predilection for tanks and heavy artillery, or Ragnar Blackmane's hardon for massed planetary assaults. A long-serving Wolf Lord will definitely leave his mark on a Great Company, and it might take a while for it to reinvent itself under his Successor when he inevitably falls in battle.

Although no Great Company ranks above their fellows, all eventually must defer to the current Great Wolf's Great Company, as it holds both the his household as well as the Chapter's greatest warriors. When the Great Wolf Speaks, everyone must listen.

===Hierarchy===

The "classic" organization of the Space Wolves is partially based on experience, with the hot-blooded novices starting out with the Blood Claws, before they battle-hardened enough to become Grey Hunters, etc. There's also a bit of meritocracy here, as a Blood Claw who did a particularly heroic deed might "jump ranks" straight into the Wolf Guard/Thanedom (*coughs* '''Ragnar''' *coughs*). It's somewhat implied in some of the text regarding long fangs such as ''"Their former Packs, whittled down to but a handful of Veterans"'' that Blood claw squads are not reinforced and as the members gain experience they are promoted to Grey Hunter then to Long Fang as a unit.

The arrival of the Primaris has put a slight wrinkle into this however, but the Wolves are, if anything, adaptable.

*'''Great Wolf''': Also known as the ''High King'', he is the equivalent to the [[Chapter Master]] of other Chapters. The Great Wolf is also effectively the First Captain of the Space Wolves, commanding an elite Great Company that includes the members of the three Priesthoods and the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. [[Logan Grimnar]] serves as the current Great Wolf.
*'''[[Wolf Lord]]''': Also known as ''Jarls'', they are the equivalent of the [[Brother-Captain]]s of a company in Codex Chapters. Wolf Lords lead their Great Companies; likewise Great Companies owe a lot of their personality and tactical preferences to their Wolf Lords.
* '''[[Wolf Guard]]''': A cross between [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]] and [[Honour Guard]], Wolf Guards (''Thanes'') serve as the body guard of the Wolf Lord and leading packs in battle, serving as the Space Wolves version of a [[Brother-Sergeant]]. They also get [[Terminator]] armour. In ''Second Edition'' they also got to take any weapons they liked and could be built from stock parts with an Assault Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher. This led to many games being won as Assault Force Dickhead rampaged across the table murdering everything.
* '''[[Wolf Priest]]''': Combining the role of [[Apothecary]] and [[Chaplain]], the Wolf Priests do the standard roles of preaching and medical duties, but are also charged with recruiting Aspirants for their companies. Plus they have a secret role on the battlefield, trying to prevent their battle-brothers from turning into Wulfen.
* '''[[Iron Priest]]''': The Iron Priests serve the role of [[Techmarine]]s, overseeing the motorpool and equipment of the companies they belong to.
* '''[[Rune Priest]]''': Taking the role of [[Librarian]]s in Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are the [[psyker]]s of the Space Wolves. However, instead of seeing their powers as coming from the [[Warp]], they hold that their powers come from the world spirit of Fenris, and consult the runes in a means to divine the future. Trying to explain to the Rune Priests that they're drawing power from the Warp, and that they cannot "draw their powers from Fenris" while being half-Galaxy away from it will usually result in the non-Space Wolf getting a month's stay in the Apothecarion. The ultimate irony of this is that they are, in reality, Sorcerers, the very thing they denounced the Thousand Sons for being. Whether they are psykers or not. Besides, if Fenris has a world spirit, it is something akin to a Daemon World (or an eldar maiden world)...
* '''Wolf Scouts''': Each Great Company will have members who shun their pack brothers and are shunned in return, preferring the company of more somber individuals, Wolf Scouts serve to scout out enemy positions and terrain. As opposed to the regular codex, Wolf Scouts tend to be veterans of battle able to rein in their savage rage.
* '''Lone Wolf''': Space Wolves who are the last of their pack. The loss of their brethren drive them to seek a glorious death in combat at the hands of some form a fell enemy. Think of Dwarf Slayers only a few meters taller with power armour and weapons of doom and destruction. Often the only way out of the Lone Wolf lifestyle is managing to kill something that the individual shouldn't have survived killing and being elevated into the Wolf Guard. [[Wat|They sometimes take part in a small pack of Wolf Scouts, being lonely wolves in company of other lonely wolves]], [[DERP|which technically should defeat the purpose of the analogy]].
* '''[[Skyclaw]]s''': Skyclaws are the trouble makers among a Chapter of trouble makers, forced to wear Jump Packs. The Space Wolves view Jump Packs as an insult, reasoning that if the Emperor wanted them to fly, he would have given them wings.
* '''[[Thunderwolf Cavalry]]''': Space Wolves who function in a manner similar to a [[Bike Squad]], but instead of actual bikes, they use Thunderwolves, which can be the size of a small car, and biologically more akin to Terran rhinoceros than actual oversized wolves.
* '''[[Long Fang]]s''': Taking the role of [[Devastator Squad|Devastators]], Long Fangs are veterans who have grown long in the fang. No pun here - Space Wolves' teeth actually lengthen as they age, as an effect of a mutated Betcher's Gland.
* '''[[Grey Hunter]]s''': Having the role of [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], Grey Hunters are those Marines who have survived long enough as Blood Claws to quell the worst of their ferocity and blood lust (read: wear a helmet in battle). Their new found experience and control allows them to shoot and fight better than their younger brethren.
* '''[[Blood Claw]]s''': Neophyte Space Wolves who serve in the [[Assault Squad|Assault Marine]] roles of Codex Chapters. As mature as a buncha punks that just discovered a Metal band and think the life of a Marine is fucking Chaos’ shit up and killing stuff. Unsurprisingly, the survival rate among this guys is not that high. Something to point out, is that it [[Lukas the Trickster|is perfectly possible for a Blood Claw to stay on this rank for his entire life]] if you are not seen as someone to trust in a higher rank.

As of the new Codices, the Primaris Marines seem to have slotted seamlessly into this, though the Primaris neophytes don't start out as Blood Claws, and instead join the line as Intercessors, etc.

* '''Intercessors''': Space Wolves intercessors seem to have gained a rivalry with the Grey Hunters, as steadfast gunlines that can anchor a flank. This rivalry manifests in typical one-upsmanship via drinking and eating contests, and other feats of strength outside the battlefield, and kill counts during firefights.
* '''Inceptors''': The most impetuous of the Primaris, Inceptors are always aching for ways to prove themselves. Of those who arrived with the Indomitus Crusade, the Inceptors were the most eager to take the Trials of Morkai, and seemed to have fully bought into the boisterous Fenrisian customs.
* '''Aggressors''': The most bro of the Primaris Wolves, Aggressors are friendly and boisterous, to the point that they could be heard laughing heartily during combat. For all their loudness however they're not headstrong or impetuous -- far from it, as they make sure they're deployed to the places in the line where they can make the most impact.
* '''Reivers''': The opposite of the Aggressors, Reivers apparently make for poor drinking buddies, but more than make up for their effectiveness of their terror tactics. Its no surprise that they've become best buds with the Wolf Scouts, who they're often also partnered with in patrols.
** '''Hounds of Morkai:''' A unique cult of edgy reivers who envision themselves as standing by the gates of Morkai. These marines are specially trained to hunt down witches, focusing more on melee and adorned in runic totems that blunt the effect of psykers. They also have special vox-emitters made specifically to interfere with casting.
* '''Hellblasters''': Surprisingly fatalistic, Space Wolf Hellblasters believe that their sagas are tied with their plasma weaponry, and while they relish bringing ruin to the enemies of the All-Father, they also accept that, if they need to, they will go out in blazes of glory that will definitely put a fiery climax to their sagas.

=== Unique Assets ===

The Space Wolves have several bits of equipment that differentiate them from a "generic" Codex Chapter.

They have their own equivalent to power weapons, the so-called '''Frost''' weapons, the most famous is the '''Frost Axe'''. With their blades made from either diamonds or crystals native to Fenris, they shine like cold ice once their fields are active.

Speaking of native crystals, these are used for their '''Helfrost''' weaponry, which fire subzero blasts of cold that can freeze its target in place. These are either man-portable, or mounted on their many vehicles.

While the Chapter has its own complement of bike squads, they also have heavy cavalry in the form of the ferocious '''Thunderwolf Cavalry'''. These warriors form a close bond with these apex predators, who then allow themselves to be use as mounts.

Space Wolves heroes also are able to bring with them regular [[Fenrisian Wolf|wolves]] into battle, much like Leman Russ before them. These wolves are treated less like pets, and more like family and fellow warriors, and many Wolf Lords owe their lives to these faithful packs.

On the subject of Leman Russ; prior editions allowed the Space Wolves to use the heavy tank of the same name, their codex being the first sighting of the Leman Russ Exterminator but past 3ed edition this was quietly dropped.

Rather than the '''Stormraven'' and its variants, the Space Wolves rely on the '''Stormwolf''' to airlift battle-brothers to key locations, and the '''Stormclaw''' as a dedicated gunship. And yes, they're ''very'' wolfy in profile.

==Combat doctrine==
{{topquote|The best way to defeat a Space Wolf is to wolf his wolf. You must be careful, though, because if the Space Wolf wolfs your wolf first, then your wolf is wolfed.|Leman Russ himself ''On the Weaknesses of the Space Wolf Doctrine'' later Quoted by Wolf Rider Volk Wolfclaw, }}
{{topquote|A good way to get into a state of pure wolfness, would be that you shall wolf the wolf until the wolfing wolf wolfs. Then, when the wolf wolfs your wolfness, the wolves of the wild will wolf your wolf up. Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Master Jonal Wolfhand, "The Call of the Nightblizzard''}}
{{topquote|Wolf wolf wolf wolf wolfity wolf. Wolf wolf, wolfo wolfy wolf wolf wolf. Wolf? Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Lord Egil Ironwolf, ''On the Intricacies of Tactical Wolffare''}}

Jokes aside, Space Wolves doctrine normally builds their strategies around a "Pack" -- a group of unusually close battle-brothers that have very often been together since they were Blood Claws. While a Wolf Lord will generally set ''some'' broad strategies in a campaign, by and large he leaves the actual details and implementation to individual Pack Leaders. This... sort of works, as each pack's competitive nature eggs them on to one-up their buddies, but not so to the detriment of the campaign. This means that ''most'' of the time multiple packs will work together to accomplish a particular goal.

Space Wolves in general love a good scrap, and many will find that their "tactics" involve getting as close in as possible to their enemies and punching their lights out. Even the more sensible Long Fangs, who often roll their eyes at such youthful bravado, still indulge in the occasional brawl.

That said, all of this is still tempered by the Wolf Lord in charge of the Great Company. For example, Erik Morkai prefers stealth and very brutal ambushes, hence his preference for Wolf Scouts (and likely Reivers), while Engir Krakendoom likes going to war in all sorts of armored transports while escorted by Swiftclaw outriders.

== Criticism ==
As many on /tg/ will happily tell you, (and [[Magnus]] won’t stop [[RAGE|raging]] about) the Wolves are far from perfect. Where the [[Imperial Fists]] are inflexible and stubborn, the [[Dark Angels]] are unreliable and austere, and the [[Raven Guard]] are aloof and brooding, the Wolves are boisterous and arrogant. During the Heresy (and/or when Chris Wraight is writing them) they were incredibly brutal toward those they saw as oath-breakers, even if the oath-breaker in question was a fleeing, defenseless civilian.

The Ragnar Blackmane books further emphasize this and also portrayed the Chapter as willing to ignore the misdeeds of their heroes in spite of the importance they place on honor. This, combined with the Wolves hating the Thousand Sons for being psykers [[Rune Priest|while also using psykers]] led many to label the Wolves hypocrites, especially since the Space Wolves pick a fight with the Flesh Tearers for killing civilians in spite of their own troubled history in that regard.

Now, everyone including Wolves players admit that the Sons of Russ are entirely too short-sighted and prone to making enemies for their own good. During the Heresy, almost nobody liking them bit them in the ass at Alaxxes Nebula, but fast-forward to M41 and they're happily pissing off the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, etc. During Warzone Fenris, the galaxy at large is only too ready to write the Wolves off as heretics. Fans and detractors alike also note that it's [[Skub|arguable]] whether being so quick to make enemies and disobey orders to save civilians really saves more people in the long run, especially at Armageddon, where the Wolves' actions backfire badly.

== Civilians ==

Of all the inconsistently written aspects of the Chapter, this is by far the worst offender. Sometimes, the Space Wolves are written as brutal and merciless, giving zero fucks about collateral damage or civilian casualties. On the other hand, sometimes the Wolves [[Salamanders|put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.]] This can induce [[Rage]] in just about any fan, because some people get into the Space Wolves seeing them as heroes while others prefer their more savage, bloodthirsty tendencies.

The best fluff attempts to find a middle ground by presenting them as violent and pragmatic, but disciplined during the Heresy and increasingly heroic over time. By M41, the Wolves actively stop the Flesh Tearers from murdering Imperial civilians at Honour's End, disobey orders so they could protect the settlers at Thressiax, and play chicken with the Inquisition to save the people of Armageddon; this example is particularly notable, because the Wolves didn't just attempt to save the civilians from the Inquisition, for the first few months of the conflict they did so with passive resistance, defending civilian transports with the shields and hulls of their own ships, never firing back. This paints a picture of [[Awesome|a Chapter that actually becomes MOAR independent and heroic as the galaxy goes to shit around them.]] Or perhaps, they've remained the same and the galaxy has gone so grimdark that the Space Wolves now appear heroic in comparison.

Then Warzone Fenris happened. In it, the Wolves pretty much abandon their allies to focus on the Wulfen.

==Notable Members==
*[[Leman Russ]]: Primarch of the Space Wolves, Wolf King of Fenris, and Vikingest of the Viking Marines. Despite his tendency to be a pigheaded jackass, he was ultra-loyal to the Emperor and accepted his role without question, even when it involved things like [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Primarch#Two_Missing_Primarchs_.7C_The_Forgotten_.26_The_Purged disappearing another legion and primarch] or [[Rangdan Xenocides|purging entire worlds of mind-controlled humans]]. He and his legion didn't actually accomplish that much during the Heresy aside from fucking Prospero with no lube, though he almost managed to decorrupt Horus at Trisolian. Abruptly left Fenris for some reason in the aftermath of the Scouring and hasn't been seen since, though he promised his sons he would return for their final battle no matter what. May currently be pillaging his way through the Warp, searching for a means to resurrect the Emperor, or trying to find Magnus.
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]: The oldest active loyalist Space Marine in the galaxy. He served at Russ' side throughout the Heresy and became the first Great Wolf of the chapter after Russ took off. Ultimately wound up interred in a Dreadnought and now alternates between napping in the Aett and yelling at [[Thousand Sons|those damn psykers]] and everyone else in the galaxy to get off his lawn.
*Hvarl Red-Blade: Jarl of either the 4th or 7th Grand Company [[Derp|because FW can't proofread for shit]]. Looks like Fat Bastard for some reason and was considered mildly insane by the rest of the legion, which is saying something.
*Ohthere Wyrdmake: Rune Priest who made friends with Ahriman only to screw him over at Nikaea by betraying his confidences as part of Russ' efforts to get the Librarius shut down. Ahriman tore his soul out during the fighting on Prospero.
*[[Logan Grimnar]]: Current Great Wolf of the chapter. Rides around in a wolf-drawn sleigh like grimdark Santa and is one of the most bro-tier Astartes in the Imperium, having squared up to the Inquisition and Grey Knights rather than let them purge a bunch of innocent civilians at Armageddon.
*[[Lukas the Trickster]]: Strong contender for the title of Galaxy's Best Troll. Has pulled off such feats of trolling as tricking a bunch of Word Bearers into landing on thin ice and drowning themselves, "accidentally" locking an Inquisitorial delegation in a grox pen, and fucking with Magnus himself during the Second Battle of Prospero. The Wolf Lords hate him because he's an irreverent dick, but Lukas couldn't give less of a shit about what they think of him. Is one of the few Space Marines known to have gotten laid. Has a stasis bomb wired into his chest where his second heart used to be (it got stolen by a Dark Eldar) so that whoever kills him will be frozen in time with his laughing face in front of them, forever.
*[[Ragnar Blackmane]]: Youngest Wolf Lord in the chapter's history. Has a long-running rivalry with Madox of the Thousand Sons and once hit Magnus right in the eye with the Spear of Russ. During the Psychic Awakening, he got into a fight with [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka|Ghazghkull]] that ended with Ragnar half-dead and Ghaz decapitated, but they both survived because [[Plot Armor|plot armor]]. Ragnar got Primaris'd up and is after Ghaz for a rematch.
*[[Ulrik the Slayer]]: High Priest and oldest Space Wolf in the chapter, not counting Dreadnoughts. Still talks to Logan Grimnar like he's a snotty kid and once killed three Khorne Berzerkers so hard that [[Angron]] himself saluted his sheer RAEG. Wears Leman Russ' helmet into battle.
*[[Arjac Rockfist]]: Wolf Guard who has a thunder hammer that teleports back into his hand whenever he throws it, making him the grimdark Thor to Lukas' Loki and Logan's Odin.
*[[Bran Redmaw]]: Wolf Lord/Wulfen who can somehow control his transformation to some degree. Tends to go off by himself in battle so he doesn't wolf out and accidentally kill his own dudes.
*[[Canis Wolfborn]]: He is a Wolf Guard whose first name means Dog and rides a giant wolf and leads a pack of [[Fenrisian Wolves]] that he commands by barking at them and was raised by wolves and probably has a wolf plushie that he cuddles at night. Basically Canis is what happens when the ''Wolf'' part of Space Wolves is taken to its logical extreme. Also at one point he had a BS of 2, [[FAIL|meaning that the average Ork could outshoot him]].
*Murderfang: Wulfen Dreadnought who has to be kept in stasis between battles because he's batshit crazy and has lost the ability to tell friend from foe.
*[[Svane Vulfbad]]: Former Wolf Lord who decided that the Imperium sucked and led his entire Great Company into Khorne worship. May or may not be dead; he got into a fight with Harald Deathwolf and right when Harald was about to kill him, a thunderbolt hit them and Svane disappeared, leaving behind a fragment of his frost axe lodged in the jaw of Harald's Thunderwolf. Only appeared in a single issue of White Dwarf and has never been mentioned again ever, which is kind of a shame.

==Daily rituals of a Space Wolf==

08:00 - Early Risers - Most of the Wolf Scouts and Reivers, having avoided the last rounds the previous evening, wake from their quarters. They give each other quiet nods of approval, before heading for the festhall for an early breakfast. 
08:30 - Morning Firing Drills -- The Wolf Scouts and Reivers take advantage of the otherwise unoccupied firing range to get their drills in. The Lone Wolves are appreciative of the Primaris Vanguard stealth training, while Primaris marvel at Lone Wolves sniper marksmanship. 
9:00 - Wilderness Training - Wolf Scout squads leave for their regular wilderness patrols, while Reivers try to stalk them. Most of the day will be filled with one trying to track down the other, or stalking a particularly worthwhile prey. 
13:00 - Wake Up with Hangover - The majority of Space Wolves battle-brothers awaken by this point. 
13:10 - Morning Piss - The Space Wolf empties the alcohol that has accumulated in his bladder(s) in the Sacred Alcohol Excretion Grounds. (Doing so anywhere else is hazardous as space wolf urine is capable of corroding ceramite) 
13:11 - Morning Fart - The Space Wolf empties his intestines. Pissing without farting is like going to a holy site without praying to the Emperor, which is heresy. 
13:20 - Morning Piss Ends - The Space Wolves have finally finished urinating. The surrounding landscape is scorched with a aura of menace resembling nurgle’s rot. 
13:30 - Ritual of the Hair of the Dog - The Space Wolf now cracks open his first cold one of the day. The first of many. Cheerios may be consumed as well. 
13:45 - Firing Drills - The Space Wolf consumes another liter of alcohol before going out back and shooting empty beer bottles with his bolter. This takes place far away from the Alcohol Excretion Grounds, after that one time Brother Brynjolf accidentally lit his own piss on fire. an entire company had to spend 6 months in the sickbay until their hair grew back and they were thus fit to be seen in public again. 
14:00 - Freeze your Balls - The Space Wolf sheds his armor and most of his clothing to wander around Asaheim for an hour. 
15:00 - Feeding of the Land Raiders - Space Wolf observes a feast with his brothers in honour of the chapter's revered battle machines. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow not grasping that the Long Fangs and Grey Hunters beelined for the chow hall as soon as the claws were out of sight. 
15:30 - Boozing of the Land Raiders - No feast is complete without metric fucktons of liquor. Fenrisian Ale, beer, and if available bylestim blend are poured and scrubbed all over the most honoured of the chapter's war machines. Many still have bullet holes, sometimes allowing beer to get into the exhaust ports and make for kickass explosions later. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow. 
16:00 - Wolf your Wolf - Grey Hunters and older Space Wolves take this time to play with their favourite 4-legged companions. Any Blood Claw who's showed up by now is made a Grey Hunter. 
16:30 - Save the Blood Claws - Blood Claws are brought in from the cold. Most are frozen blue or black - and hungry for more. 
17:00 - Evening feast - Eat. Drink. Start brawls. The usual non-warzone Space Wolf thing. 
18:00 - Try to wake up [[Bjorn the Fell Handed|Bjorn]]. 
18:10 - Give up, try to find something fun on the Vox Saga. 
19:00 - Night shitter break. 
20:00 - Night firing drills - Much to the Iron Priest's dismay, the Space Wolves practice writing their names in the snow with bolters. In runes. In the dark. 
21:00 - Ritual Intake of Narcotics and Purging of Testicles - bitches and blow. 
05:00 - Daily Rest - The Space Wolf passes out. 

==A Quick Word Out of Character==
The true reason for all this, is that, we at /tg/, in our pathetic, low-reaching mastery of comedy, have seen how idiotic it is that every goddamn Space Wolf codex unnecessarily uses the word "wolf" as a prefix or a suffix every 3rd sentence (similar to the [[Robin Cruddace|Tyranid codex]] shoe-horning the prefix ''bio-'' into every 3rd sentence). Since /tg/ is an easily angered monster, not unlike an [[Angry Marine]], we furiously attempt to link Space Wolves to furries (it's really fucking annoying), as we are as fucked up as [[Chaos Pretty Marines]].

It has been established in the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series that the VI Legion doesn't employ the word "wolf" as much as they appear to do. Wolves are readily apparent in their motifs, such as Leman Russ's titles as "Wolf-King" and "Great Wolf," as well as in the formal name of the Wolf Guard, but it's not as overblown as it's made out to be. Apparently, whoever did the Fenrisian-to-Gothic translation made a few errors. First off, they don't call themselves "the Space Wolves." When speaking formally, they refer to themselves as the ''Vlka Fenryka'', which we can look at a few ways. "Fenris" is easy, a reference to Fenrir from Norse mythology. "Vlka" has a couple options; if you walk it backwards through the Germanic ''Volk'' you get "Folk of Fenris". This supports a common theory on 1d4chan where a bunch of colonists landed on a planet, bred giant dogs from their great, great, grand-children (more on that in a minute) then thought, "You know what's better than planet Unicorn? Planet fucking Fenris". So the the ''Vlka Fenryka'' are literally the folk of Fenris. Alternately ''Vlka'' can be translated from Slavic to get the "Wolves of Fenris" again.

No matter what you conclude on, you get Dan Abnett using linguistics to reinforce his theme that the Space Wolves are misunderstood by the rest of the Imperium - calling the Space Wolves because of a mistranslated word. One could even argue they are actually called "Space People", would make sense since Ragnar referred to them as "Star warriors" in the William King novels and their Fenrisian ''Kaerl'' auxiliaries call them "sky warriors," but the lore from these novels has been left by the wayside so take that as you will. When speaking informally, they refer to themselves as "the Rout", solidifying their purpose as the Emperor's executioners (self-proclaimed)/snowflakes. Additionally, the post of "Wolf-Lord" is also a mistranslation, as they refer to their Company commanders as ''Jarl''. Finally, they don't call their fortress-monastery the Fang, but rather the ''Aett'', which can be literally translated as "clan home." There's also this in-universe [[meme]] "there are no wolves on Fenris." At all. This was started by one of the primarchs remarking that they should be called xenos, because they're natives of an alien planet, and it quickly morphed into a joke. As it turns out, this is literally true.

With regards to the [[Fenrisian Wolf|Fenrisian wolves]], the origin a little more freaky than expected: they're not wolves, but descendants of human-wolf mutants. Back when Fenris was first settled, the colonists had the ''Canis helix'' added to help them adapt to the harsh environment by adding wolf genes to their genetic-makeup. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well--the ''canix helix'' caused a number of settlers to degrade into wolfmen and wolfwomen. Following this, they bred and produced a new strain of wolf into the environment. So there are no ''wolves'' on Fenris. They're just the descendants of human mutants. Which might explain why, post-Heresy, only Fenrisians can become Space Wolves (assuming that's why the successor chapters couldn't handle Russ' gene seed).

So yes, naming the planet after the wolves means we really do just end up all the way back at Wolves of Wolves after all. Whelp.

Of course, that means that the Space Wolves are wearing pelts made of [[Fabius Bile|human skin]], but lets not dwell on that - after all it's fairly common in the Imperium to wear human skulls... WolfyWolfWolf {{BLAM|''' *BLAM*}}.

===The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries"===
The blatant author favouritism annoys fans of the other chapters with "Dark Secrets". GW's treatment of the Wulfen makes it effortless for fans of other chapters to hurl [[Mary Sue]] accusations at them, unlike the [[Blood Angels]] and [[Dark Angels]]. The Wulfen are now out in the open; once they were exposed they get little (arguably no) punishment while the Inquisition and Grey Knights just "kept one eye open". The aforementioned chapters on the other hand have to keep their secrets from being found out by the Inquisition and the Imperium at large.

Despite the fact that Fallen Angels were paraded around on Terra, many would assume they were [[Ravenwing]] without their fancy bikes. While any claims of Dark Angels being the real traitors from the Fallen would have [[Guilliman]] retort back that they are full of shit (with more and longer words), as he knew exactly what The First was up to during the Horus Heresy with the exception the events that caused the destruction of Caliban. Of course, the Unforgiven would also be pissed if they found out if one of the predecessors of the Grey Knights killed a Dark Angel and were part of the reason their homeworld was destroyed and would demand censure.

The Blood Angels on the other hand have an infection similar to the Wulfen without mutating into some kind of half-human man-beast. The [[Red Thirst]]. The Blood Angels and their successors organize the afflicted into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] who are lead by their Chaplains into killing Xenos and foul traitors. If they somehow survive the mutated Blood Angels are {{BLAM}}ed.
Both chapters send their traitors/mutants into battle to be used as cannon fodder. A much more grimdark action that would be in character for Space Marines. [[White Scars|They wouldn't be the only]] [[Raven Guard|chapters to have done this either.]] Instead of treating mutants as fellow warriors.
Inserting noble bright into the setting where it doesn't belong. The same reasons that so many players also hated the Tau until GW retconned them into being more grimdark.

Making this all the more strange. In all likelihood [[Guilliman]] himself wouldn't see a problem with using mutated Space Marines as cannon fodder. Because he did so himself when he created the [[Moritat]]s after combat exercises with the [[Raven Guard]]. So chances are he would side with the other two former [[Imperium Secundus]] Legions. [[Ogryn|Due to not only favoritism but he and the rest of the Imperium at large would find it strange that the Space Wolves do not]].

If [[Guilliman]] ever found out about all three. He would most likely order [[The Fallen]] and [[Wulfen]] organized into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] style formations as well. Something that the Dark Angels are more or less doing already. This would just make it official. The Space Wolves would look like the bad guys if they objected, putting them in a tough spot.

=== Why people hate the Space Wolves, tldr version ===
One user on reddit summed it up with this. (fixed for grammar somewhat)

"The Space Wolves remind me of a 13 year old’s first D&D character: very cool, special, powerful barbarian hero who is morally flawless but doesn't listen to authority and always does the right thing but don't you dare cross them. They get away with shit because they're so special and the rules don't apply to them, guys. They got to wage war on the Inquisition with a slap on the wrist, while the Celestial Lions were slaughtered for merely questioning the morals of the Inquisition. [[Mary Sue|They get a free pass on mutation in a setting where that gets chapters purged.]] They drink and party while other chapters lose hundreds of brothers on meaningless, forgotten battlegrounds. They aren't even Vikings! The White Scars are Space Mongols. The Black Templars are Space Teutons. [[Ultramarines|There are Space Rome]]. [[Thousand Sons|Space Egypt]]. [[Raven Guard|Space Iroquois]]. But Vikings? No. They don't raid. They don't pillage. They don't terrorize. They don't explore, chart, map, and push boundaries. [[Mary Sue|They just fuck around, being special, unique perfect little dudes who don't suffer in GrimDarkness.]]

They exist in the wrong game."

So basically Space Wolves now have the same problem as the Tau did a few editions back.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Lightning2.jpg|'Tis only a matter of time until Steve Blum voices 'em. Apparently, this set somehow makes things you hit weigh less.
File:Warlord of Fenris by NachoMon.jpg|Totally not overcompensating...Yeah he's just <s>hiding a massive hardon with</s> supporting the skull with a massive hard-on.
File:Lemanruss39.jpg|Leman Russ. About to mercilessly fuck over the Thousand Sons.
File:Prospero.jpg|Is he carrying a wooden shield? Really? Against a bolt shell? It better be a Combat Shield.
[[File:http://l.wigflip.com/DucDpDtG/roflbot.jpg]]|Pretty cool guys to hang with.
File:SneakySpaceWolves.png|Good thing they brought the sneaking flag.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Wolves (9E)|Space Wolves Tactics]]
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] - With whom they get into bar brawls and drinking contests to see who is moar [[Viking]]
*[[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - Before calling your [[Dark Angels]] brothers [[Troll|traitors]] read [[Svane_Vulfbad|this]] first to understand [[Fallen_Angels|their]][[ rage]].
*[[Legion Consul]] - The old "Commissars" of the VI legion.
*[https://youtu.be/Bh_5ofa__pY/ Space Wolves theme song]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Space Wolves}}
[[Category:Furry]]

Space Wolves

2022-03-11T01:11:57Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:157E:D06:FEEF:985F: /* A Quick Word Out of Character */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Wolves / Vlka Fenryka / Space Corgis
|Heraldry = [[File:Spacewolveslogo.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "For Russ and the All father!""Woof! Woof!" "Yiff Yiff Yiff!"|Number = VI
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = The Rout
|Successor Chapters = [[Blood Wolves]] [[Mooneaters]] [[Skyrar%27s Dark Wolves]] [[Wolf Brothers]] [[Wolfspear]]
|Chapter Master = [[Logan Grimnar]]
|Primarch = [[Leman Russ]]
|Homeworld = [[Fenris]]
|Specialty = CQC, shock assaults, infantry, encirclement tactics, being viking enthusiasts.
|Strength = 2-3000
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Generally Bluish-Grey and Yellow. Red, Black and White used for specific Companies.
}}
{{topquote|Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a [[Wolfspear|spear]] on the way without.|Havamal}}
{{topquote|War is honest. There's no lying to it. You don't have to say sorry here. Don't have to hide. You cannot. If you die? So what? You die among friends. Among worthy foes. You die looking the Great Leveller in the eye. If you live? Well, lad that's living, isn't it?|Joe Abercrombie, Heroes}}
{{topquote|They can call themselves whatever they like. It's irrelevant. They are in the annals of Terra as the Sixth Legion, the Space Wolves. Did Guilliman rename his Legion the Macragge Marines? Would you have the sons of Sanguinius known as the Baal Angels? The Sixth Legion do not belong to Fenris, they belong to the Emperor| Custodian Vychellan taking issue with the Space Wolves / Wolves of Fenris / Vlyka Fenryka debate}}

The '''Space Wolves''' (also known as ''The Rout'' or the '''Vlka Fenryka''') is a [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]] hailing from the icy [[Death World]] of '''Fenris''', who appreciate the value of a strong and consistent brand identity. They are known as noble, if savage warriors, who have little love for Imperial bureaucracy but will fight fiercely for its common citizens. The Marines of the Chapter are famed as experts in the art of close combat, much like the [[Blood Angels]], but unlike the sons of [[Sanguinius]] their fighting style is less that of a maddened, blood-crazed berserker, but that of a cunning pack of hunters running down their prey.

Thematically, the Chapter draws a lot of real-world inspiration from Nordic culture, ''especially'' the Viking sagas, particularly in terms of aesthetics as well as ferocity. That said, there's a bit of a disconnect between how the Wolves are portrayed in fiction compared to how they're presented as a tabletop army.

On one hand, we have a nuanced portrayal of a proud warrior tradition that just so happens to have the Wolf as its primary totem animal, among many other Fenrisian nature spirits they worship. On the other, we have an over-the-top army of wolf fetishists that precedes most of their equipment and vehicle names with "wolf", ride ''actual'' giant wolves into battle, and are like a drunken frat party outside of it.

==Origins==

Back during the [[Great Crusade]], the Space Wolves began as the VIth Legion, and was developed in conjunction the [[Salamanders]] and the [[Alpha Legion]]. Developed in isolation from the other two Legions, they proved to be a vicious and aggressive fighting force, but also almost impossible to keep in line by its officers. What's worse, they were indiscriminate in their slaughter, and even helpless civilians were not free from their wrath. Due to this brutal reputation, they soon became known as "the Rout", the Emprah's agents of fear and retribution.

===The Wolf King cometh===

The ice world of Fenris was found early on by the Crusade fleets, and the Emperor soon heard of the exploits of its so-called Wolf King, a man named Leman Russ. Raised in the wilderness by wolves, then adopted and educated by the jarl Thengir, Leman was a massive ox of a man of extraordinary strength, sharp cunning, and personal magnetism, and the Emprah was sure he was one of His lost sons. He descended onto the world in disguise, ingratiated Himself to the locals to gain access to the High King's feasting hall, and there he sought to test the Wolf King's mettle.

Depending on the version or edition, this led to the following: an eating contest, a drinking contest, and a brawl. Leman won the first two rounds, but was finally goaded into a fight when the Emprah insulted him, [[Imperial Truth|saying that he was nothing more than a glutton and a drunkard]]. What followed next was either a massive fight that wrecked the drinking hall, Beowulf versus Grendel style, or the Emprah laying out Leman with a single fabulously golden [[Power Fist]] to the forehead.

Regardless, when Leman finally came to, the Emprah revealed himself, and told him about his true origin as one of his [[Primarch]]s, as well as his role in the greater Crusade. What happened next, as they say, is history.

===From the Rout to the Wolves===

Leman Russ' rediscovery, and the integration of his own Fenrisian retinue, slowly remade the VIth Legion. Their ferocity was soon tempered with discipline and obedience, as the Fenrisian culture slowly spread through its ranks, and while they would still crush any traitor to the Emperor, they would at least have the good sense this time ''not'' to slaughter the innocents that just so happened to be in the area. It didn't happen overnight, but soon enough the Legion became less about punishing oathbreakers, and more on watching out for the little guy.

Oh, and if an offhand comment by Russ is to be believed, they had a hand in destroying the two so-called Lost Legions. Emperor's Executioners indeed.

Under Russ' leadership, the Wolves proved their worth to the fledgling Imperium by winning many victories and conquering many worlds, which brought them glory and even more notoriety. On one of their campaigns, they managed to recover a near-complete STC printout of a battle tank, and as a bit of thanks, the Martian adepts named it after the Legion's Primarch.

It was also during this period that the Wolves' rivalry with the [[Dark Angels]] began, a feud that ''still'' continues into the present day of the Imperium. While the specifics have been lost to myth and legend, the Dulan Campaign ended with Leman Russ and his brother, the mercurial [[Lion El'Jonson]], in a one-on-one duel. This culminated with Leman knocked out flat on his back, the Dark Angels leaving in a huff, and the Space Wolves similarly insulted by the Lion not being a good sport about everything.

===The Heresy Dawns===

The Space Wolves are infamous for their role in the burning of Prospero, the homeworld of the [[Thousand Sons]] Legion. Though they were initially ordered to bring in [[Magnus the Red]] alone for both going against the edicts of the Council of Nikea, as well as accidentally breaching the defenses of the Imperial Webway, their orders were changed by [[Horus]] (who they were unaware was already full-hog traitor at this point) to instead [[Burning_of_Prospero|burn the planet and its inhabitants to the ground]].

This blind adherence to orders, not helped by the fact that Leman ''wanted'' to confront his nerd of a brother for his shenanigans, was the final straw. Prospero was literally and figuratively put to the torch in the ensuing battles between the Legions, as well as Leman's [[Adeptus Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]] babysitters. When Magnus finally joined the fray to save his sons, Leman met him in one-on-one combat, and while the Wolf King was badly mauled over the course of the duel, Magnus was broken and forced to flee with the surviving Thousand Sons.

In the end, Magnus was forced to throw his lot with [[Chaos]] in order to survive, and his Legion followed suit, joining Horus in his rebellion.

The battered Wolves were not allowed any respite however, as they were soon hounded by a massive [[Alpha Legion]] fleet, and forced to flee into the Alaxxes Nebula. [[Battle_of_the_Alaxxes_Nebula|While a breakout was eventually executed, the Space Wolves fleet eventually found itself cornered]]. As they prepared for a last stand, unexpected aid arrived in the form of a [[Dark Angels]] fleet. With the Alpha Legion driven off, Russ was left to ponder what to do next.

Eventually Russ and a small contingent of his men managed to find their way to Terra, while the rest of the Space Wolves fleet continued to harry the Traitors. He sponsored an expedition to Molech to see if Horus could be taken down, but this just resulted in getting dozens of [[Knights-Errant]] killed. Afterward, in a council with his brothers [[Rogal Dorn]], [[Sanguinius]], and [[Jaghatai Khan]], Leman decided to forego Dorn's plan in delaying the traitors at the '''Battle of Beta Garmon''', and instead returned to Fenris to try and divine a way to take away all those juicy [[Chaos]] boons that were supercharging [[Horus]].

===The Wolf King and the Luna Wolf===

In what amounted to be a spirit quest (where, among other things, Russ met a possible version of himself who stayed on Terra and never grew up on Fenris), Leman decided that he would confront his brother Horus one last time. For this task, he would need to use the Spear of Russ (yes THAT Spear of Russ, that [[Ragnar Blackmane]] would use many millennium later), a weapon that he ''absolutely hated'' (because it gave him the literal heebie-jeebies) and actually tried to get rid of multiple times, but which somehow always managed to return to him.

It turns out that the Spear was a massively powerful artifact invested with a fragment of the Emprah's power, with the ability to reveal the "truth" of whatever it pierces. Although the chance was slim, Leman hoped to use it to convince his brother to return to the Imperial fold and let their father heal him; if the Warmaster remained undaunted, Leman would then use the spear to slay the traitor for good.

Leman knew that it was a suicide mission, and indeed made it clear to his assembled [[Wolf Lord]]s that their participation was ''voluntary'', but none of them refused to join their Primarch. If their death was to come, then it would be together with their Battle-brothers.

===The Battle of Trisolian 4A===

The [[Forge World]] of Trisolian -- where a young and cheeky tech adept named [[Belisarius Cawl]] and his buddy were taking what amounted to their internships -- had just surrendered to Traitor forces, and was in the process of hosting the [[Vengeful Spirit]] and its escorts. Then all of the sudden, this absolutely ''massive'' fleet (made up of around fifty ships of the line from the various Traitor Legions) found itself under attack.

Taking advantage of the gravitational interactions of the Trisolian system's three stars, the Space Wolves fleet had snuck into the sector, and threw its vastly-outnumbered ships at the gathered armada. As the ships of the Rout tried to make as much as a ruckus as it could, Leman confronted the [[Vengeful Spirit]] with his own flagship, the '''Hrafnkel''', and as the latter's barrage collapsed the former's void shields, Leman personally led a massive assault unto his brother's flagship using everything he still had -- boarding torpedoes, assault boats, teleport deep-strikes, and even gunships.

As thousands of Space Wolves ran wild inside the Vengeful Spirit, Leman personally tracked down Horus in the heart of the corrupted ship, while down below Cawl managed to make sure his master met an "accident", and took control of the Mechanicus forces to aid the Space Wolves. The Wolf King eventually found the Warmaster, and was disgusted at what he beheld -- Horus was wallowing in Chaos corruption, and was half-mad as a result. When words didn't work, Russ attacked his brother, knowing too well he was outmatched.

Then the Spear managed to pierce Horus' side. The wound was not fatal, though it could have been, had Leman not hesitated, but it was enough -- the madness cleared from Horus' eyes, and for the first time in what seemed to be forever Horus' mind was clear. Despite this however, the Warmaster would not be swayed; he was in too deep to stop now, and of his own free will this time, still decided to continue the fight against the Emperor.

Horus continued his assault on Leman, and had mauled him gravely. Before he could finish him off with ''Worldbreaker'' however, one Space Wolf, followed by dozens, which were then followed by scores of marines, interposed themselves between the Warmaster and their Primarch. Horus cut them all down all the same, but their sacrifice bought Bjorn the time he needed to drag the injured Leman Russ to a [[Stormbird]], and then back to the ''Hrafnkel''.

With their Primarch secured, the Space Wolves fleet made a fighting retreat, but all seemed lost as the Vengeful Spirit and its cohort seemed to be catching up... Then one of its magazines exploded, crippling it enough to allow the Wolves to escape.

The Wolves would fight another day, but the price was too high. Of the Wolves that went into Trisolian, only one-fifth managed to make the escape. The VIth Legion effectively stopped being an effective fighting force from that point on, and had to be eventually rescued by the Primarch [[Corvus Corax]] and his [[Raven Guard]] after the fleet was cornered by [[Abaddon]]'s forces at Yarant.

The Wolves would sit out the remainder of the Heresy, and would be still trying to recover as the [[Siege of Terra]] came and went, and Horus had his fated showdown with the Emprah.

===The Fate of Leman Russ===

Of Leman Himself, you ask? Well he stuck around during the [[Great Scouring]], and while he groused about [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s reforms, he eventually caved in, and begrudgingly agreed to split apart the remains of his ravaged Legion into Chapters.

In theory anyway.

In ''practice'' however, due to the massively reduced numbers of the Rout, only one Chapter was ever created -- the ill-fated [[Wolf Brothers]]. The rest of the survivors remained Space Wolves, opting instead to stick with their semi-independent Great Companies, as one small snub to the stuck-up Roboute.

Barely a century after the end of the Scouring, Leman Russ just ups and vanishes from Imperial History. Legends state that after a great feast, He said unto his warriors:

<blockquote>"Listen closely Brothers, for my time is short. . There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen for your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come I shall, no matter what the laws of life and death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."</blockquote>

And so, Leman departed, with his closest retinue... No, not you Bjorn... Some say he searches for a means to revive His God-Emperor.. But despite the efforts of the Great Hunt, Leman remains beyond the reach of Man... Who knows what great feats of Heroism he undertakes...oh right [[Kaldor Draigo]],

Oddly enough, it seems that [[Magnus the Red]], of all people, has an idea about his brother's fate, but he's not telling anyone, and is far too fond of slaying Leman's get to even care.

==Recent History==

===The Siege of Fenris===

Much like the rest of the Imperium, times had been rough for the Space Wolves by the [[Time of Ending|time the end of M41 rolled in]]. Magnus in particular still had a massive hateboner against the Sons of Russ, and finally put his long-prepared revenge plan into motion. The rebuilt [[Thousand Sons]], plus their [[Chaos]] Daemon and Traitor Legion allies, put the worlds of the Fenris system to the sword. Not even the Space Wolves homeworld was spared, and it took the combined effort of the Chapter and a [[Grey Knights]] Brotherhood led by [[Arvann Stern|Brother-Captain Stern]] to slow down the massive daemonic incursion that followed.

Then the [[Dark Angels]] arrived above Fenris with [[The Rock]], and leading an Imperial task force of ''fourteen'' assorted Space Marine Chapters, titans, knight houses, and Imperial Guard, intent on cleansing the system of Chaos filth. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the Sons of the Lion were duped by [[The Changeling]], who then proceeded to mass-summon Daemons into the Rock itself.

Things took a turn for the worse when Magnus himself arrived on Fenris, its spiritual nexus already under assault by Thousand Sons covens trying to corrupt them, and what was a hard but possibly winnable fight against a massive invading force turned into a desperate battle for survival. It says a lot that the Iron Priests had to awaken ''all'' of the Dreadnoughts of the Fang to fight alongside Bjorn, plus whatever Wulfren that could be found, and even then it wasn't enough. Magnus was far too powerful, and the Daemon Primarch swatted aside Dreadknights with ease, and even pulled down whole Imperial Battlecruisers from the upper atmosphere, just so he could detonate their cores and irradiate the skies above Asaheim.

Magnus would not have his victory however, as through Egil Ironwolf's sacrifice Logan Grimnar was able to wound the Daemon Primarch with strikes from ''both'' the Axe of Morkai and the recovered '''Spear of Russ'''. With his concentration broken, Magnus was then banished from the Fenris by [[Grey Knight]] [[Purifier]]s. With Magnus gone, the Thousand Sons and their daemonic allies quickly followed, but the damage had been done. The worlds of the Fenris system were almost all ravaged beyond recovery, and what's worse, due to their populations bearing witness to a massive daemonic incursion, their people had to be liquidated by the Inquisition. Unlike the aftermath of the First War of Armageddon, the Great Wolf didn't make a fuss, as the Chapter was too mauled and weary to oppose them.

===The Fall of Cadia and the Era Indomitus===

Despite the drubbing they experienced at the hands of Magnus, the Space Wolves were still able to send two Great Companies to Cadia's defense, and while that world eventually fell, they made a good accounting for themselves, with Sven Bloodhowl contributing to the demise of the Blackstone Fortress, while Orven Highfell fell in the defense of Kasr Kraf. As the [[Great Rift]] formed and the Imperium was torn in half, and the age seemed to become all the more desperate, the Wolves fought on, but when news of [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s revival reached the Fang, a small contingent of Wolves braved the long warp journey to [[Ultramar]] to confirm it.

During the opening years of the Indomnitus Crusade, Guilliman sent reinforcements for the Sons of Russ, in the form of several companies of [[Primaris Space Marines]]. Despite being comparatively weakened for the time and facing a rising Ork threat in their space, Logan Grimnar initially refused to take any assistance from Guilliman, even from Primaris Marines bearing Russ's geneseed, through a combination of pride, stubbornness, and refusal to bend to the so called "Legionbreaker". Guilliman, to his credit, was completely sincere about giving the Wolves Primaris tech without any ulterior motive save for the Wolves to keep doing what they were doing. The few Primaris permitted to come to Fenris were immediately treated as outsiders, because they weren't born on Fenris and hadn't undertaken the same trials as the others. After one Primaris marine managed to travel across continents back to the Fang - and after killing most of the wildlife he encountered along the way - the Wolves became more open to the Mars-born and gradually accepted them. This brought the Space Wolves Great Companies back to fighting shape, and while the Firstborn initially looked upon these newcomers with suspicion, once they had braved the initiation rituals of Fenris (or the adapted version on a chunk of spacehulk for the Mars-born Wolves), those who survived were fully welcomed into their brotherhoods.

Another thing that the Lord Commander brought was even more welcome -- thanks to Belisarius Cawl's efforts, the Space Wolves can now found their own Successors again, and immediately formed ''strong'' ties with the first of these Primaris Wolves -- the '''[[Wolfspear]]'''. While it hasn't ''quite'' gotten rid of the Curse of the [[Wulfen]] (you don't get it unless you really lose it, and its still better than falling to Chaos), but it was still better than the alternative.

==Organization==
[[File:Tyranid Attack.jpeg|350px|right|thumb|The wolves taking on a [[Tyranid]] horde.]]

The Space Wolves ignore the organizational restrictions recommended by the [[Codex Astartes]], and instead forms itself around the '''Great Companies'''. These are twelve semi-independent battle groups that are the rough equivalent of a Codex Battle Company, but are functionally much larger in size, with many featuring upwards of more than a hundred fifty battle-ready warriors on top of their support serfs and equipment.

Each Great Company gains much of its character thanks to their Wolf Lords preferences, as well as its tactical preferences -- see Egil Ironwolf's predilection for tanks and heavy artillery, or Ragnar Blackmane's hardon for massed planetary assaults. A long-serving Wolf Lord will definitely leave his mark on a Great Company, and it might take a while for it to reinvent itself under his Successor when he inevitably falls in battle.

Although no Great Company ranks above their fellows, all eventually must defer to the current Great Wolf's Great Company, as it holds both the his household as well as the Chapter's greatest warriors. When the Great Wolf Speaks, everyone must listen.

===Hierarchy===

The "classic" organization of the Space Wolves is partially based on experience, with the hot-blooded novices starting out with the Blood Claws, before they battle-hardened enough to become Grey Hunters, etc. There's also a bit of meritocracy here, as a Blood Claw who did a particularly heroic deed might "jump ranks" straight into the Wolf Guard/Thanedom (*coughs* '''Ragnar''' *coughs*). It's somewhat implied in some of the text regarding long fangs such as ''"Their former Packs, whittled down to but a handful of Veterans"'' that Blood claw squads are not reinforced and as the members gain experience they are promoted to Grey Hunter then to Long Fang as a unit.

The arrival of the Primaris has put a slight wrinkle into this however, but the Wolves are, if anything, adaptable.

*'''Great Wolf''': Also known as the ''High King'', he is the equivalent to the [[Chapter Master]] of other Chapters. The Great Wolf is also effectively the First Captain of the Space Wolves, commanding an elite Great Company that includes the members of the three Priesthoods and the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. [[Logan Grimnar]] serves as the current Great Wolf.
*'''[[Wolf Lord]]''': Also known as ''Jarls'', they are the equivalent of the [[Brother-Captain]]s of a company in Codex Chapters. Wolf Lords lead their Great Companies; likewise Great Companies owe a lot of their personality and tactical preferences to their Wolf Lords.
* '''[[Wolf Guard]]''': A cross between [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]] and [[Honour Guard]], Wolf Guards (''Thanes'') serve as the body guard of the Wolf Lord and leading packs in battle, serving as the Space Wolves version of a [[Brother-Sergeant]]. They also get [[Terminator]] armour. In ''Second Edition'' they also got to take any weapons they liked and could be built from stock parts with an Assault Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher. This led to many games being won as Assault Force Dickhead rampaged across the table murdering everything.
* '''[[Wolf Priest]]''': Combining the role of [[Apothecary]] and [[Chaplain]], the Wolf Priests do the standard roles of preaching and medical duties, but are also charged with recruiting Aspirants for their companies. Plus they have a secret role on the battlefield, trying to prevent their battle-brothers from turning into Wulfen.
* '''[[Iron Priest]]''': The Iron Priests serve the role of [[Techmarine]]s, overseeing the motorpool and equipment of the companies they belong to.
* '''[[Rune Priest]]''': Taking the role of [[Librarian]]s in Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are the [[psyker]]s of the Space Wolves. However, instead of seeing their powers as coming from the [[Warp]], they hold that their powers come from the world spirit of Fenris, and consult the runes in a means to divine the future. Trying to explain to the Rune Priests that they're drawing power from the Warp, and that they cannot "draw their powers from Fenris" while being half-Galaxy away from it will usually result in the non-Space Wolf getting a month's stay in the Apothecarion. The ultimate irony of this is that they are, in reality, Sorcerers, the very thing they denounced the Thousand Sons for being. Whether they are psykers or not. Besides, if Fenris has a world spirit, it is something akin to a Daemon World (or an eldar maiden world)...
* '''Wolf Scouts''': Each Great Company will have members who shun their pack brothers and are shunned in return, preferring the company of more somber individuals, Wolf Scouts serve to scout out enemy positions and terrain. As opposed to the regular codex, Wolf Scouts tend to be veterans of battle able to rein in their savage rage.
* '''Lone Wolf''': Space Wolves who are the last of their pack. The loss of their brethren drive them to seek a glorious death in combat at the hands of some form a fell enemy. Think of Dwarf Slayers only a few meters taller with power armour and weapons of doom and destruction. Often the only way out of the Lone Wolf lifestyle is managing to kill something that the individual shouldn't have survived killing and being elevated into the Wolf Guard. [[Wat|They sometimes take part in a small pack of Wolf Scouts, being lonely wolves in company of other lonely wolves]], [[DERP|which technically should defeat the purpose of the analogy]].
* '''[[Skyclaw]]s''': Skyclaws are the trouble makers among a Chapter of trouble makers, forced to wear Jump Packs. The Space Wolves view Jump Packs as an insult, reasoning that if the Emperor wanted them to fly, he would have given them wings.
* '''[[Thunderwolf Cavalry]]''': Space Wolves who function in a manner similar to a [[Bike Squad]], but instead of actual bikes, they use Thunderwolves, which can be the size of a small car, and biologically more akin to Terran rhinoceros than actual oversized wolves.
* '''[[Long Fang]]s''': Taking the role of [[Devastator Squad|Devastators]], Long Fangs are veterans who have grown long in the fang. No pun here - Space Wolves' teeth actually lengthen as they age, as an effect of a mutated Betcher's Gland.
* '''[[Grey Hunter]]s''': Having the role of [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], Grey Hunters are those Marines who have survived long enough as Blood Claws to quell the worst of their ferocity and blood lust (read: wear a helmet in battle). Their new found experience and control allows them to shoot and fight better than their younger brethren.
* '''[[Blood Claw]]s''': Neophyte Space Wolves who serve in the [[Assault Squad|Assault Marine]] roles of Codex Chapters. As mature as a buncha punks that just discovered a Metal band and think the life of a Marine is fucking Chaos’ shit up and killing stuff. Unsurprisingly, the survival rate among this guys is not that high. Something to point out, is that it [[Lukas the Trickster|is perfectly possible for a Blood Claw to stay on this rank for his entire life]] if you are not seen as someone to trust in a higher rank.

As of the new Codices, the Primaris Marines seem to have slotted seamlessly into this, though the Primaris neophytes don't start out as Blood Claws, and instead join the line as Intercessors, etc.

* '''Intercessors''': Space Wolves intercessors seem to have gained a rivalry with the Grey Hunters, as steadfast gunlines that can anchor a flank. This rivalry manifests in typical one-upsmanship via drinking and eating contests, and other feats of strength outside the battlefield, and kill counts during firefights.
* '''Inceptors''': The most impetuous of the Primaris, Inceptors are always aching for ways to prove themselves. Of those who arrived with the Indomitus Crusade, the Inceptors were the most eager to take the Trials of Morkai, and seemed to have fully bought into the boisterous Fenrisian customs.
* '''Aggressors''': The most bro of the Primaris Wolves, Aggressors are friendly and boisterous, to the point that they could be heard laughing heartily during combat. For all their loudness however they're not headstrong or impetuous -- far from it, as they make sure they're deployed to the places in the line where they can make the most impact.
* '''Reivers''': The opposite of the Aggressors, Reivers apparently make for poor drinking buddies, but more than make up for their effectiveness of their terror tactics. Its no surprise that they've become best buds with the Wolf Scouts, who they're often also partnered with in patrols.
** '''Hounds of Morkai:''' A unique cult of edgy reivers who envision themselves as standing by the gates of Morkai. These marines are specially trained to hunt down witches, focusing more on melee and adorned in runic totems that blunt the effect of psykers. They also have special vox-emitters made specifically to interfere with casting.
* '''Hellblasters''': Surprisingly fatalistic, Space Wolf Hellblasters believe that their sagas are tied with their plasma weaponry, and while they relish bringing ruin to the enemies of the All-Father, they also accept that, if they need to, they will go out in blazes of glory that will definitely put a fiery climax to their sagas.

=== Unique Assets ===

The Space Wolves have several bits of equipment that differentiate them from a "generic" Codex Chapter.

They have their own equivalent to power weapons, the so-called '''Frost''' weapons, the most famous is the '''Frost Axe'''. With their blades made from either diamonds or crystals native to Fenris, they shine like cold ice once their fields are active.

Speaking of native crystals, these are used for their '''Helfrost''' weaponry, which fire subzero blasts of cold that can freeze its target in place. These are either man-portable, or mounted on their many vehicles.

While the Chapter has its own complement of bike squads, they also have heavy cavalry in the form of the ferocious '''Thunderwolf Cavalry'''. These warriors form a close bond with these apex predators, who then allow themselves to be use as mounts.

Space Wolves heroes also are able to bring with them regular [[Fenrisian Wolf|wolves]] into battle, much like Leman Russ before them. These wolves are treated less like pets, and more like family and fellow warriors, and many Wolf Lords owe their lives to these faithful packs.

On the subject of Leman Russ; prior editions allowed the Space Wolves to use the heavy tank of the same name, their codex being the first sighting of the Leman Russ Exterminator but past 3ed edition this was quietly dropped.

Rather than the '''Stormraven'' and its variants, the Space Wolves rely on the '''Stormwolf''' to airlift battle-brothers to key locations, and the '''Stormclaw''' as a dedicated gunship. And yes, they're ''very'' wolfy in profile.

==Combat doctrine==
{{topquote|The best way to defeat a Space Wolf is to wolf his wolf. You must be careful, though, because if the Space Wolf wolfs your wolf first, then your wolf is wolfed.|Leman Russ himself ''On the Weaknesses of the Space Wolf Doctrine'' later Quoted by Wolf Rider Volk Wolfclaw, }}
{{topquote|A good way to get into a state of pure wolfness, would be that you shall wolf the wolf until the wolfing wolf wolfs. Then, when the wolf wolfs your wolfness, the wolves of the wild will wolf your wolf up. Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Master Jonal Wolfhand, "The Call of the Nightblizzard''}}
{{topquote|Wolf wolf wolf wolf wolfity wolf. Wolf wolf, wolfo wolfy wolf wolf wolf. Wolf? Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Lord Egil Ironwolf, ''On the Intricacies of Tactical Wolffare''}}

Jokes aside, Space Wolves doctrine normally builds their strategies around a "Pack" -- a group of unusually close battle-brothers that have very often been together since they were Blood Claws. While a Wolf Lord will generally set ''some'' broad strategies in a campaign, by and large he leaves the actual details and implementation to individual Pack Leaders. This... sort of works, as each pack's competitive nature eggs them on to one-up their buddies, but not so to the detriment of the campaign. This means that ''most'' of the time multiple packs will work together to accomplish a particular goal.

Space Wolves in general love a good scrap, and many will find that their "tactics" involve getting as close in as possible to their enemies and punching their lights out. Even the more sensible Long Fangs, who often roll their eyes at such youthful bravado, still indulge in the occasional brawl.

That said, all of this is still tempered by the Wolf Lord in charge of the Great Company. For example, Erik Morkai prefers stealth and very brutal ambushes, hence his preference for Wolf Scouts (and likely Reivers), while Engir Krakendoom likes going to war in all sorts of armored transports while escorted by Swiftclaw outriders.

== Criticism ==
As many on /tg/ will happily tell you, (and [[Magnus]] won’t stop [[RAGE|raging]] about) the Wolves are far from perfect. Where the [[Imperial Fists]] are inflexible and stubborn, the [[Dark Angels]] are unreliable and austere, and the [[Raven Guard]] are aloof and brooding, the Wolves are boisterous and arrogant. During the Heresy (and/or when Chris Wraight is writing them) they were incredibly brutal toward those they saw as oath-breakers, even if the oath-breaker in question was a fleeing, defenseless civilian.

The Ragnar Blackmane books further emphasize this and also portrayed the Chapter as willing to ignore the misdeeds of their heroes in spite of the importance they place on honor. This, combined with the Wolves hating the Thousand Sons for being psykers [[Rune Priest|while also using psykers]] led many to label the Wolves hypocrites, especially since the Space Wolves pick a fight with the Flesh Tearers for killing civilians in spite of their own troubled history in that regard.

Now, everyone including Wolves players admit that the Sons of Russ are entirely too short-sighted and prone to making enemies for their own good. During the Heresy, almost nobody liking them bit them in the ass at Alaxxes Nebula, but fast-forward to M41 and they're happily pissing off the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, etc. During Warzone Fenris, the galaxy at large is only too ready to write the Wolves off as heretics. Fans and detractors alike also note that it's [[Skub|arguable]] whether being so quick to make enemies and disobey orders to save civilians really saves more people in the long run, especially at Armageddon, where the Wolves' actions backfire badly.

== Civilians ==

Of all the inconsistently written aspects of the Chapter, this is by far the worst offender. Sometimes, the Space Wolves are written as brutal and merciless, giving zero fucks about collateral damage or civilian casualties. On the other hand, sometimes the Wolves [[Salamanders|put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.]] This can induce [[Rage]] in just about any fan, because some people get into the Space Wolves seeing them as heroes while others prefer their more savage, bloodthirsty tendencies.

The best fluff attempts to find a middle ground by presenting them as violent and pragmatic, but disciplined during the Heresy and increasingly heroic over time. By M41, the Wolves actively stop the Flesh Tearers from murdering Imperial civilians at Honour's End, disobey orders so they could protect the settlers at Thressiax, and play chicken with the Inquisition to save the people of Armageddon; this example is particularly notable, because the Wolves didn't just attempt to save the civilians from the Inquisition, for the first few months of the conflict they did so with passive resistance, defending civilian transports with the shields and hulls of their own ships, never firing back. This paints a picture of [[Awesome|a Chapter that actually becomes MOAR independent and heroic as the galaxy goes to shit around them.]] Or perhaps, they've remained the same and the galaxy has gone so grimdark that the Space Wolves now appear heroic in comparison.

Then Warzone Fenris happened. In it, the Wolves pretty much abandon their allies to focus on the Wulfen.

==Notable Members==
*[[Leman Russ]]: Primarch of the Space Wolves, Wolf King of Fenris, and Vikingest of the Viking Marines. Despite his tendency to be a pigheaded jackass, he was ultra-loyal to the Emperor and accepted his role without question, even when it involved things like [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Primarch#Two_Missing_Primarchs_.7C_The_Forgotten_.26_The_Purged disappearing another legion and primarch] or [[Rangdan Xenocides|purging entire worlds of mind-controlled humans]]. He and his legion didn't actually accomplish that much during the Heresy aside from fucking Prospero with no lube, though he almost managed to decorrupt Horus at Trisolian. Abruptly left Fenris for some reason in the aftermath of the Scouring and hasn't been seen since, though he promised his sons he would return for their final battle no matter what. May currently be pillaging his way through the Warp, searching for a means to resurrect the Emperor, or trying to find Magnus.
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]: The oldest active loyalist Space Marine in the galaxy. He served at Russ' side throughout the Heresy and became the first Great Wolf of the chapter after Russ took off. Ultimately wound up interred in a Dreadnought and now alternates between napping in the Aett and yelling at [[Thousand Sons|those damn psykers]] and everyone else in the galaxy to get off his lawn.
*Hvarl Red-Blade: Jarl of either the 4th or 7th Grand Company [[Derp|because FW can't proofread for shit]]. Looks like Fat Bastard for some reason and was considered mildly insane by the rest of the legion, which is saying something.
*Ohthere Wyrdmake: Rune Priest who made friends with Ahriman only to screw him over at Nikaea by betraying his confidences as part of Russ' efforts to get the Librarius shut down. Ahriman tore his soul out during the fighting on Prospero.
*[[Logan Grimnar]]: Current Great Wolf of the chapter. Rides around in a wolf-drawn sleigh like grimdark Santa and is one of the most bro-tier Astartes in the Imperium, having squared up to the Inquisition and Grey Knights rather than let them purge a bunch of innocent civilians at Armageddon.
*[[Lukas the Trickster]]: Strong contender for the title of Galaxy's Best Troll. Has pulled off such feats of trolling as tricking a bunch of Word Bearers into landing on thin ice and drowning themselves, "accidentally" locking an Inquisitorial delegation in a grox pen, and fucking with Magnus himself during the Second Battle of Prospero. The Wolf Lords hate him because he's an irreverent dick, but Lukas couldn't give less of a shit about what they think of him. Is one of the few Space Marines known to have gotten laid. Has a stasis bomb wired into his chest where his second heart used to be (it got stolen by a Dark Eldar) so that whoever kills him will be frozen in time with his laughing face in front of them, forever.
*[[Ragnar Blackmane]]: Youngest Wolf Lord in the chapter's history. Has a long-running rivalry with Madox of the Thousand Sons and once hit Magnus right in the eye with the Spear of Russ. During the Psychic Awakening, he got into a fight with [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka|Ghazghkull]] that ended with Ragnar half-dead and Ghaz decapitated, but they both survived because [[Plot Armor|plot armor]]. Ragnar got Primaris'd up and is after Ghaz for a rematch.
*[[Ulrik the Slayer]]: High Priest and oldest Space Wolf in the chapter, not counting Dreadnoughts. Still talks to Logan Grimnar like he's a snotty kid and once killed three Khorne Berzerkers so hard that [[Angron]] himself saluted his sheer RAEG. Wears Leman Russ' helmet into battle.
*[[Arjac Rockfist]]: Wolf Guard who has a thunder hammer that teleports back into his hand whenever he throws it, making him the grimdark Thor to Lukas' Loki and Logan's Odin.
*[[Bran Redmaw]]: Wolf Lord/Wulfen who can somehow control his transformation to some degree. Tends to go off by himself in battle so he doesn't wolf out and accidentally kill his own dudes.
*[[Canis Wolfborn]]: He is a Wolf Guard whose first name means Dog and rides a giant wolf and leads a pack of [[Fenrisian Wolves]] that he commands by barking at them and was raised by wolves and probably has a wolf plushie that he cuddles at night. Basically Canis is what happens when the ''Wolf'' part of Space Wolves is taken to its logical extreme. Also at one point he had a BS of 2, [[FAIL|meaning that the average Ork could outshoot him]].
*Murderfang: Wulfen Dreadnought who has to be kept in stasis between battles because he's batshit crazy and has lost the ability to tell friend from foe.
*[[Svane Vulfbad]]: Former Wolf Lord who decided that the Imperium sucked and led his entire Great Company into Khorne worship. May or may not be dead; he got into a fight with Harald Deathwolf and right when Harald was about to kill him, a thunderbolt hit them and Svane disappeared, leaving behind a fragment of his frost axe lodged in the jaw of Harald's Thunderwolf. Only appeared in a single issue of White Dwarf and has never been mentioned again ever, which is kind of a shame.

==Daily rituals of a Space Wolf==

08:00 - Early Risers - Most of the Wolf Scouts and Reivers, having avoided the last rounds the previous evening, wake from their quarters. They give each other quiet nods of approval, before heading for the festhall for an early breakfast. 
08:30 - Morning Firing Drills -- The Wolf Scouts and Reivers take advantage of the otherwise unoccupied firing range to get their drills in. The Lone Wolves are appreciative of the Primaris Vanguard stealth training, while Primaris marvel at Lone Wolves sniper marksmanship. 
9:00 - Wilderness Training - Wolf Scout squads leave for their regular wilderness patrols, while Reivers try to stalk them. Most of the day will be filled with one trying to track down the other, or stalking a particularly worthwhile prey. 
13:00 - Wake Up with Hangover - The majority of Space Wolves battle-brothers awaken by this point. 
13:10 - Morning Piss - The Space Wolf empties the alcohol that has accumulated in his bladder(s) in the Sacred Alcohol Excretion Grounds. (Doing so anywhere else is hazardous as space wolf urine is capable of corroding ceramite) 
13:11 - Morning Fart - The Space Wolf empties his intestines. Pissing without farting is like going to a holy site without praying to the Emperor, which is heresy. 
13:20 - Morning Piss Ends - The Space Wolves have finally finished urinating. The surrounding landscape is scorched with a aura of menace resembling nurgle’s rot. 
13:30 - Ritual of the Hair of the Dog - The Space Wolf now cracks open his first cold one of the day. The first of many. Cheerios may be consumed as well. 
13:45 - Firing Drills - The Space Wolf consumes another liter of alcohol before going out back and shooting empty beer bottles with his bolter. This takes place far away from the Alcohol Excretion Grounds, after that one time Brother Brynjolf accidentally lit his own piss on fire. an entire company had to spend 6 months in the sickbay until their hair grew back and they were thus fit to be seen in public again. 
14:00 - Freeze your Balls - The Space Wolf sheds his armor and most of his clothing to wander around Asaheim for an hour. 
15:00 - Feeding of the Land Raiders - Space Wolf observes a feast with his brothers in honour of the chapter's revered battle machines. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow not grasping that the Long Fangs and Grey Hunters beelined for the chow hall as soon as the claws were out of sight. 
15:30 - Boozing of the Land Raiders - No feast is complete without metric fucktons of liquor. Fenrisian Ale, beer, and if available bylestim blend are poured and scrubbed all over the most honoured of the chapter's war machines. Many still have bullet holes, sometimes allowing beer to get into the exhaust ports and make for kickass explosions later. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow. 
16:00 - Wolf your Wolf - Grey Hunters and older Space Wolves take this time to play with their favourite 4-legged companions. Any Blood Claw who's showed up by now is made a Grey Hunter. 
16:30 - Save the Blood Claws - Blood Claws are brought in from the cold. Most are frozen blue or black - and hungry for more. 
17:00 - Evening feast - Eat. Drink. Start brawls. The usual non-warzone Space Wolf thing. 
18:00 - Try to wake up [[Bjorn the Fell Handed|Bjorn]]. 
18:10 - Give up, try to find something fun on the Vox Saga. 
19:00 - Night shitter break. 
20:00 - Night firing drills - Much to the Iron Priest's dismay, the Space Wolves practice writing their names in the snow with bolters. In runes. In the dark. 
21:00 - Ritual Intake of Narcotics and Purging of Testicles - bitches and blow. 
05:00 - Daily Rest - The Space Wolf passes out. 

==A Quick Word Out of Character==
The true reason for all this, is that, we at /tg/, in our pathetic, low-reaching mastery of comedy, have seen how idiotic it is that every goddamn Space Wolf codex unnecessarily uses the word "wolf" as a prefix or a suffix every 3rd sentence (similar to the [[Robin Cruddace|Tyranid codex]] shoe-horning the prefix ''bio-'' into every 3rd sentence). Since /tg/ is an easily angered monster, not unlike an [[Angry Marine]], we furiously attempt to link Space Wolves to furries (it's really fucking annoying), as we are as fucked up as [[Chaos Pretty Marines]].

It has been established in the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series that the VI Legion doesn't employ the word "wolf" as much as they appear to do. Wolves are readily apparent in their motifs, such as Leman Russ's titles as "Wolf-King" and "Great Wolf," as well as in the formal name of the Wolf Guard, but it's not as overblown as it's made out to be. Apparently, whoever did the Fenrisian-to-Gothic translation made a few errors. First off, they don't call themselves "the Space Wolves." When speaking formally, they refer to themselves as the ''Vlka Fenryka'', which we can look at a few ways. "Fenris" is easy, a reference to Fenrir from Norse mythology. "Vlka" has a couple options; if you walk it backwards through the Germanic ''Volk'' you get "Folk of Fenris". This supports a common theory on 1d4chan where a bunch of colonists landed on a planet, bred giant dogs from their great, great, grand-children (more on that in a minute) then thought, "You know what's better than planet Unicorn? Planet fucking Fenris". So the the ''Vlka Fenryka'' are literally the folk of Fenris. Alternately ''Vlka'' can be translated from Slavic to get the "Wolves of Fenris" again.

No matter what you conclude on, you get Dan Abnett using linguistics to reinforce his theme that the Space Wolves are misunderstood by the rest of the Imperium - calling the Space Wolves because of a mistranslated word. One could even argue they are actually called "Space People", would make sense since Ragnar referred to them as "Star warriors" in the William King novels and their Fenrisian ''Kaerl'' auxiliaries call them "sky warriors," but the lore from these novels has been left by the wayside so take that as you will. When speaking informally, they refer to themselves as "the Rout", solidifying their purpose as the Emperor's executioners (self-proclaimed)/snowflakes. Additionally, the post of "Wolf-Lord" is also a mistranslation, as they refer to their Company commanders as ''Jarl''. Finally, they don't call their fortress-monastery the Fang, but rather the ''Aett'', which can be literally translated as "clan home." There's also this in-universe [[meme]] "there are no wolves on Fenris." At all. This was started by one of the primarchs remarking that they should be called xenos, because they're natives of an alien planet, and it quickly morphed into a joke. As it turns out, this is literally true.

With regards to the [[Fenrisian Wolf|Fenrisian wolves]], the origin a little more freaky than expected: they're not wolves, but descendants of human-wolf mutants. Back when Fenris was first settled, the colonists had the ''Canis helix'' added to help them adapt to the harsh environment by adding wolf genes to their genetic-makeup. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well--the ''canix helix'' caused a number of settlers to degrade into wolfmen and wolfwomen. Following this, they bred and produced a new strain of wolf into the environment. So there are no ''wolves'' on Fenris. They're just the descendants of human mutants. Which might explain why, post-Heresy, only Fenrisians can become Space Wolves (assuming that's why the successor chapters couldn't handle Russ' gene seed).

So yes, naming the planet after the wolves means we really do just end up all the way back at Wolves of Wolves after all. Whelp.

Of course, that means that the Space Wolves are wearing pelts made of [[Fabius Bile|human skin]], but lets not dwell on that - after all it's fairly common in the Imperium to wear human skulls... WolfyWolfWolf {{BLAM|''' *BLAM*}}.

===The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries"===
The blatant author favouritism annoys fans of the other chapters with "Dark Secrets". GW's treatment of the Wulfen makes it effortless for fans of other chapters to hurl [[Mary Sue]] accusations at them, unlike the [[Blood Angels]] and [[Dark Angels]]. The Wulfen are now out in the open; once they were exposed they get little (arguably no) punishment while the Inquisition and Grey Knights just "kept one eye open". The aforementioned chapters on the other hand have to keep their secrets from being found out by the Inquisition and the Imperium at large.

Despite the fact that Fallen Angels were paraded around on Terra, many would assume they were [[Ravenwing]] without their fancy bikes. While any claims of Dark Angels being the real traitors from the Fallen would have [[Guilliman]] retort back that they are full of shit (with more and longer words), as he knew exactly what The First was up to during the Horus Heresy with the exception the events that caused the destruction of Caliban. Of course, the Unforgiven would also be pissed if they found out if one of the predecessors of the Grey Knights killed a Dark Angel and were part of the reason their homeworld was destroyed and would demand censure.

The Blood Angels on the other hand have an infection similar to the Wulfen without mutating into some kind of half-human man-beast. The [[Red Thirst]]. The Blood Angels and their successors organize the afflicted into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] who are lead by their Chaplains into killing Xenos and foul traitors. If they somehow survive the mutated Blood Angels are {{BLAM}}ed.
Both chapters send their traitors/mutants into battle to be used as cannon fodder. A much more grimdark action that would be in character for Space Marines. [[White Scars|They wouldn't be the only]] [[Raven Guard|chapters to have done this either.]] Instead of treating mutants as fellow warriors.
Inserting noble bright into the setting where it doesn't belong. The same reasons that so many players also hated the Tau until GW retconned them into being more grimdark.

Making this all the more strange. In all likelihood [[Guilliman]] himself wouldn't see a problem with using mutated Space Marines as cannon fodder. Because he did so himself when he created the [[Moritat]]s after combat exercises with the [[Raven Guard]]. So chances are he would side with the other two former [[Imperium Secundus]] Legions. [[Ogryn|Due to not only favoritism but he and the rest of the Imperium at large would find it strange that the Space Wolves do not]].

If [[Guilliman]] ever found out about all three. He would most likely order [[The Fallen]] and [[Wulfen]] organized into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] style formations as well. Something that the Dark Angels are more or less doing already. This would just make it official. The Space Wolves would look like the bad guys if they objected, putting them in a tough spot.

=== Why people hate the Space Wolves, tldr version ===
One user on reddit summed it up with this. (fixed for grammar somewhat)

"The Space Wolves remind me of a 13 year old’s first D&D character: very cool, special, powerful barbarian hero who is morally flawless but doesn't listen to authority and always does the right thing but don't you dare cross them. They get away with shit because they're so special and the rules don't apply to them, guys. They got to wage war on the Inquisition with a slap on the wrist, while the Celestial Lions were slaughtered for merely questioning the morals of the Inquisition. [[Mary Sue|They get a free pass on mutation in a setting where that gets chapters purged.]] They drink and party while other chapters lose hundreds of brothers on meaningless, forgotten battlegrounds. They aren't even Vikings! The White Scars are Space Mongols. The Black Templars are Space Teutons. [[Ultramarines|There are Space Rome]]. [[Thousand Sons|Space Egypt]]. [[Raven Guard|Space Iroquois]]. But Vikings? No. They don't raid. They don't pillage. They don't terrorize. They don't explore, chart, map, and push boundaries. [[Mary Sue|They just fuck around, being special, unique perfect little dudes who don't suffer in GrimDarkness.]]

They exist in the wrong game."

So basically Space Wolves now have the same problem as the Tau did a few editions back.

=== A Primaris Marine calls the Wolves out on their bullshit ===

In Dawn of Fire: The Wolftime. One of the Unnumbered Sons tells the Wolves their full of shit right to their hobo stubbled faces.

"You’re all vain, empty beasts. You talk of honour, of accounting the dead, of glory in battle but you are just inbred hounds rolling in the filth. You would all be ork-dead by now, if not for me and my brothers, but that’s not enough. I could bleed my last drop of blood for you, watch it freeze on your Emperor-abandoned drop-hole of a world and still you would not call me a Wolf of Fenris. [...]

You are nothing to the Rout of old," snarled Gaius. "A spent force, throwing yourselves at your enemies, shouting empty cries, bleating like sheep about Russ returning at the end. He would be shamed to see what had become of his sons! [..]

There is nothing special about you or your world. Cawl took apart what makes a Space Marine and put the pieces together again in something better. Primaris. Me. The Firstwolves. He found no Fenrisian magic dust, no sprinkles of wyrd. The Test of Morkai is just a barbaric ritual intended to massively elevate physiological responses to trigger gene-seed adoption. There’s nothing spiritual about it."

Logan is a dick to Guilliman and refuses to take reinforcements even after the furries got their assed kicked by said [[Orks]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Lightning2.jpg|'Tis only a matter of time until Steve Blum voices 'em. Apparently, this set somehow makes things you hit weigh less.
File:Warlord of Fenris by NachoMon.jpg|Totally not overcompensating...Yeah he's just <s>hiding a massive hardon with</s> supporting the skull with a massive hard-on.
File:Lemanruss39.jpg|Leman Russ. About to mercilessly fuck over the Thousand Sons.
File:Prospero.jpg|Is he carrying a wooden shield? Really? Against a bolt shell? It better be a Combat Shield.
[[File:http://l.wigflip.com/DucDpDtG/roflbot.jpg]]|Pretty cool guys to hang with.
File:SneakySpaceWolves.png|Good thing they brought the sneaking flag.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Wolves (9E)|Space Wolves Tactics]]
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] - With whom they get into bar brawls and drinking contests to see who is moar [[Viking]]
*[[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - Before calling your [[Dark Angels]] brothers [[Troll|traitors]] read [[Svane_Vulfbad|this]] first to understand [[Fallen_Angels|their]][[ rage]].
*[[Legion Consul]] - The old "Commissars" of the VI legion.
*[https://youtu.be/Bh_5ofa__pY/ Space Wolves theme song]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Space Wolves}}
[[Category:Furry]]

Mary Sue

2022-03-11T00:44:56Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:157E:D06:FEEF:985F:

[[Category:Mary Sue]]
{{Plot Armour}}
{{HurfDurf}}
{{Skubby|The definition of the term, and whether it applies to a given character}}

[[Image:Marysuetest.jpg|500px|thumb|right|The perfectly sound and entirely reasonable logic of [[Internet Troll|many well-respected and completely honest critics]].]]

Overall, a '''Mary Sue''' is a character that is shamelessly self-inserted, fawned over by the canon characters, poorly developed, without flaws, and/or stupidly overpowered, who the story focuses on at the expense of the actual regular main characters. [[/tg/]] hates [[:Category:Mary Sue|Mary Sues]].

Unfortunately, after so much [[rage]] and so many [[troll]] threads, /tg/'s definition of Mary Sue has become blurred to the point that any character at all can be (and probably has been) accused of being a Mary Sue on even the flimsiest of pretenses.

Some accept nothing less than the above description, and will sooner gut you then look twice if you say it's anything else. Others prefer a more generalized definition, which refers to an overly-idealized character who exerts an unjust amount of influence upon their respective setting or story. Others still carry this meaning out to extremes and use the term to describe anyone who isn't a homeless junkie or a brooding sociopath with an alignment of Chaotic Batshit Insane. While another definition put forward by YouTuber Literature Devil in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcXVGIi1m28 this video] is that A Mary Sue is a character for which the laws of the universe bend to justify the actions of the Mary Sue. Especially when the universe bending over backwards leads to contradictions which will rightly piss most people off.

However, there is a conundrum regarding the definition. If the character is overpowered, idealized and part of an established story (such as some portrayals of Wolverine and Batman), some say that this is not a Mary Sue, as they are a canon character in an original story. For them, the term "Canon Sue" is used. The only difference between a Mary Sue and a Canon Sue (I'd like to take the time to apologize to any real-life people named "Sue" who are reading this) is a Canon Sue is an established character in the story/wish-fulfillment for the creator of the story (NOTE: few people will admit if the fictional character they create is for wish-fulfillment). For the sake of this page, the definition of Mary Sue will also include Canon Sues.

Another problem is when people use the term "Mary Sue" to refer to a "creator's pet"; a character that part of the fanbase dislikes but is adored by the creator of the character and gets treatment such as increasing focus, magnifying the importance of their role, and having the other characters talk about how awesome they are in painful ignorance — or sometimes in spite — of the fans' obvious hatred. This is not a Mary Sue though a character can be both; the two types share common traits and a Creator's Pet is more easily defined. For example; [[Marneus Calgar]] is a creator's pet, while one character who is a Mary Sues and a creator's pet is Wesley Crusher from Star Trek.

A Mary Sue is not necessarily the greatest fighter, or the prettiest, or the strangest character. [[derp| A Mary Sue is often a character whose perception of reality matches with the author's perception of reality.]] Most fanfic writers are evidence of this.

It is worth noting, however, that very rarely, authors have the skill to pull off the Mary Sue, creating a character of such epic awesomeness (e.g. [[Star Trek|Jean Luc Picard]]) that no one gives a shit.

Before you ask: Male versions of Mary Sue (and there are plenty) are known as Gary Stu or Marty Stu (both work, with usage depending on whether you prefer it to share initials or to rhyme), although for the purposes of sanity, we'll default to "Mary Sue" when referring to them.

==So, what's this "Mary Sue" thing got to do with /tg/?==

In short: [[NPC#Gary-Stu/Mary-Sue DMPC|GMPCs]], [[Elminster]]-types, [[Matt Ward]]-types, and [[Elf]]aboos.

# GMPCs have their own section in our [[NPC]] article, so we'll direct you there.
# Settings have a tendency to grow Sue-level characters if they have a sufficient number of high-powered NPCs. This is because an author needs ''somebody'' to impose some stability to the setting, and so you usually wind up needing a character that has many traits of the Mary Sue. And from there, it only takes a few writing mistakes to go into Mary Sue territory head first. ([[Elminster]] is a notable example here, but plenty of others exist.)
# Certain authors (and any setting with many authors will probably eventually find themselves with at least one of these) want to include Perfect Heroes or Perfect Villains in their settings. The problem with Perfect Heroes is that they tend to be just one or two steps from Mary Suedom, and these authors are usually bad enough writers that the resulting "Hero" goes veering off into Suedom like a plane that loses both wings goes veering off into the ground. (Matt Ward is merely the most /tg/ notable example here; more and worse examples exist, ''trust us''.)
#* A somewhat common subspecies of 3 is the "[[Waifu]]" Sue author. He wants to create his perfect Waifu, and the result is usually among the Suiest Sues Who Ever Sued. (Husbando-perpetrating female authors exist, as do gay and lesbian authors who do it for the appropriate sex, but Waifuing male authors are the most common subset to get called out, for various subtly obvious reasons.)
# When imagining a species or race, some authors lose sight of the concepts of competitive balance and competitive advantage and make one race superior to all the others, forgetting that the rule in good storytelling is [[Sanderson's laws|that flaws and limitations are more interesting than powers]]. <ref>For example, any given Superman (the character, not the book) story is not that interesting unless you either introduce an equal (or more powerful) and opposite threat (such as General Zod or Darkseid), or lean heavily on either his morality, secret identity, or kryptonite, all of which act as constraints on his power.</ref> The most common race to get this treatment are [[Elf]]s, but [[Chakat|other examples exist]].
#*Humanity gets both ends of this frequently: Depending on the bad writer in question, we can either be [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|the best thing ever]], or utter shit compared to their perfect Mai Waifu Master Race.

(Points 2 and 3 overlap, but are distinct enough in cause that they're worth separating.)

==Origin of the Concept==
The name "Mary Sue" comes from a parody of shitty [[Star Trek]] fanfiction called [http://www.wiccananime.com/amslt/amslttrekkiestale ''A Trekkie's Tale''] (no, seriously, that's the origin, look it up if you don't believe me.) First written in [[Old School Roleplaying|1974]] by Paula Smith, the original Lieutenant Mary Sue was a parody of the half-Vulcan jailbait and other shameless self-inserts that had been clogging up the Star Trek fanfic magazines. The trolling was so epic that her name became permanently ingrained in the vocabulary of every fandom on the planet, and this makes Paula Smith a paragon of trolls.

The term is commonly used by [[troll]]s, and can most easily be spotted by a blanket accusation of a character being a Sue without attempting to justify actual reasons behind it. More clever trolls will attempt to offer some explanation that is deliberately intended to get under the offended party's skin.

==A Few Special Cases of Sues==
Here are a few complicating factors in any simple definition of what "Mary Sue" means, because critics are mean like that:

===Male Sues===
First and foremost: A Mary Sue, as stated above, does not need to be a female, woman, or girl. There are plenty of male Sues, usually called "Gary Stu" or "Marty Stu". (See also the "Hard Man Making Hard Decisions (While Hard)" well below.)<ref>Don't get us started on [[Chakat|Hermaphrodite Sues]]</ref>

===Villain Sues===
Note that the Mary Sue need not be the hero of the piece. A large minority of Sues are villains (either protagonist or antagonist).

Some well-known characters with a tendency in the hands of bad writers to become Villain Sues include [[Batman | The Joker]], Magneto, Doctor Doom, Thanos, and [[Star Wars | Admiral Thrawn]]. And then there's the flat-out Villain Sues in a single writer's (or at least well regulated and coordinated between several) canon, such as Red Hulk's initial appearances, or the show version of Ramsay Bolton. Or, to be more directly /tg/ relevant, [[Fabius Bile]] and [[World of Darkness | Samuel Haight]]. [[Chaos]], especially with how it's been portrayed in the last several years, often gets called a faction of Villain Sues, the most standout and skubby character of which is probably [[Archaon]].

===Sue Species And Orders===
Further, it's possible for the Sueness to be spread across an entire species or other group of people. The accusation is more commonly (and more properly) thrown around on the species side of that line (Internalized Fantastic Racism be a Real World thing, yo). The best-known cases of species-wide-Suedom are probably [[Chakats]] and any given [[Elf]]aboos' version of Elves. The best known case of a Sue Organization or Order are the [[Ultramarines|Ultrasmurfs]].

===The AntiSue and Sympathy Sue===
You'd think that the opposite of a Mary Sue wouldn't be a kind of Mary Sue all its own? Well, you'd be wrong. Comes in two flavors:

* The perpetrator of the Sue might think "I'll just pull a George Costanza, and do the opposite of my instincts!", not recognizing that what made their instincts bad was more in amplitude than in direction. There are two subflavors of this:
** Characters who are Just The Worst in some way (ugly/stupid/unpopular/what-have-you), but is still recognizably a Sue (see, for reference, the worse Neelix episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, or Bella Swan from [[Twilight]])
** There's also the "Butt Monkey" type, where the character is essentially just a Mary Sue in full reverse; there's the same "the plot entirely revolves around the main character" problem, the same "that makes no sense" and "things that only happened because the Author said so" plots, the same "there must be mind control involved" character reactions, just set to negative instead of positive. This version's inclusion in Suedom is rather more controversial, as so much is mirrored that it's hard to differentiate the "real Sues" from just "the author's chew toy". The result is still bad writing; it's just that there is some debate about whether it counts as "Mary Sue Bad Writing" or just "Bad Writing".<ref>To repeat the message of this entire collection of Sue types: The definition of "Mary Sue" can be rather slippery, even when ignoring internet trolls.</ref>
* The perpetrator of the Sue is going for Sympathy. Which, again, is only a change in direction, not in amplitude.

The "Butt Monkey" case results in an extremely noticeable character archetype that is not usually called a Mary Sue, but is just as annoying: the one guy who is theoretically on the side of the heroes, but is useless, wrong about everything, an asshole, and generally disliked by the rest of the heroes, and who spends all of his or her time complaining or offering obviously stupid ideas. Remember Eric the Cavalier from the 1980s D&D cartoon? How about Nathan Ramsey from Seven Days? The Grand Vizier from War Planets? The magical ragdoll character "One" from the movie "9"? Avoid writing characters like this. Please. It is possible to write incompetent goofballs without making them completely unlikable and no one is that dumb all the time unless they have a legitimate disability, in which case no reasonable person would expect them to take part in the important main mission. The sole exception to this are comedies in which case a total moron should be written to be funny and not as an annoying load that is actively detrimental to the plot. Develop your characters naturally.

===The Comedy Sue===
This is where a Character is a Sue and they are utterly perfect, but the audience is not supposed to be in awe of how good they are, we are supposed to laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

This kind of Sue can actually work; for examples, see the anime "Haven't You Heard I'm Sakamoto" and to a lesser extent "One Punch Man" or even Popeye at times for examples of this kind of Sue. They never fail, but we're suppose to laugh at them doing it.

The methods used for this humor range from deconstructive parodies (e.g. "We've needed a new house here at Hogwarts to accommodate all the...special girls, so welcome to House Sparklypoo!") to straight deconstruction (take One Punch Man's Saitama: instead of people fawning over him, nobody believes his feats since they're so completely ridiculous, so they call him a fraud, while he's also constantly frustrated by the lack of a good challenge) to anti-climax (God-Man, pictured below in this article) to the whole thing being a mere joke delivery system (classic Bugs Bunny or Popeye cartoons).

'''''However''''', in order for this to work you need your tongue so far up your cheek it's basically bored out through the other sides, and you actually need ''''' talent. ''''' And the talent part applies even when the character exists solely for joke delivery (and thus requires no characterization beyond a couple of basic traits).

===Mary Suetopia===
For that extra bit of mind screw: There are cases of the "Mary Sue" accusation being thrown, with some justice, at entire ''civilizations''. [[TVTropes]] calls this particular variant "Mary Suetopia". Just about any Utopian work, and many a Dystopian work (*cough*Draka*cough*) can have this accusation thrown at them; commonly comes in three subspecies:

# Pure Preaching. Not just religious, but, in the story, any ideology that the author thinks knows The One True Path To (Happiness/Truth/God/Prosperity/etc.). Usually the most Sueish of the lot.
# Stories about or involving the Fall of such a civilization (sometimes incidentally; see, for example, many interpretations of [[Superman|Krypton]], where the only important part about the place is that it blew up after sending one last ship out to Earth), or about the conflict between two civilizations, one of whom is theoretically "better" than the other (e.g., some of the Culture books, or, on the flip side, [[Orks]] vs. just about anybody else). Can be Sueish, but can also avoid it, depending on the focus, nature, and quality of the work.
# Social Satire/Commentary. Here, the point of the work was less on how perfect this civilization is, and more on using it to comment on the culture in which it was written, or the state of the world at the time. Think 1984, Gulliver's Travels, Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange, the original ''Utopia'', and so on. Can be the least Sueish of the three, depending on writing quality.

(As a side note, this version of Suedom is particularly /tg/ relevant; each version of Warhammer alone has vast amounts of the latter two (although admittedly in a usually fairly non-Sueish way), and there are too many cases of the first case in Science Fiction settings.)

==Watsonian vs. Doylist definition of "Sue"==

A futher complicating factor in any definition of "Mary Sue" is the Watsonian vs. Doylist definition problem.

For the unfamiliar, criticism sometimes differentiate between a "Watsonian", or "in-universe based" explanation of something (e.g., "Superpowerman got beaten by Evilvillianman because he had the flu!") and a "Doylist", or "author-centered" explanation (e.g., "Superpowerman got beaten by Evilvillianman because the rest of the story doesn't work if Superpowerman wins that fight.") "Watsonian" and "Doylist" are named for the fictional and real life authors of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. John Watson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle respectively. Holmes fans being really creepily fond of coming up with Watsonian explanations for plot holes probably helps.

How does this relate to Mary Sue definitions? Well, the two common ways of describing a Sue are Watsonian, where being Overpowered and Always Right is the relevant problem, and the Doylist definition, where the relationship of the author to the character is the relevant problem. We employ a mixture of the two, because guessing what the author was thinking can get very unreliable very quickly and even when they're questioned about this authors - like any other people - can be blind to their biases or lie. Regardless, the purely power-and-rightness-based definition can easily start returning false results if context and sanity are not considered.<ref>For example, consider a character we'll call "Mike McAwesome", a clear stand in for [[Superman]], who is impossibly perfect, always right, incredibly popular, and always saves the day; sounds like a Mary Sue, right? Well, what if we were to tell you that Mike's perfectness was always played as annoying, and the actual protagonist of the story, "John Failsbad", actively resents Mike, and much of the story concerns John's efforts to get away from or avoid Mike's grandstanding?</ref>

==How Can I Tell If My Character Is A Mary Sue?==
Each "Yes" answer gives your character a piece of Mary Sueness.
[[File:God-Man.gif|thumb|300px|right|God-Man, providing a particularly extreme example (albeit a parody)]]
* Does their personal morality always perfectly match objective reality? To put it another way, is there no difference between describing their opinion and simply narrating what was actually going on in a scene?
* Do they start the story at the pinnacle of achievement and have no way to grow or improve?
** Or do their new skills and abilities come from your ass at just the time they need them?
* Do they have unexplained frequent good luck, even when by all logic they should fail in that area?
* Is it a fan character that is better than the canon characters? (As in, "more powerful and gets all the attention", not "better written". If it's the latter, all the power to you.)
* Do they have physical features, powers or items that are impossible to have or extremely rare going by the rules of the setting (ie; a human with cat eyes and wings with no explanation in real-world based fiction, or a ridiculous item such as a weapon which is [[Noise Marines|chainsaw, electric-guitar and machine-gun combined]] in a swords-and-sorcery setting)?
* Do they have the most powerful ability or power in a setting, without any sacrifices? (For example, a character that can use magic which would destroy any enemy, without any negative effects. But if a character has that ability, and it reduces his lifespan, damages him forever and/or kills everyone including his comrades, it's not ''that'' overpowered.)
* Are they connected to the canon characters or do they become connected to them? This usually takes the form of being a "long-lost" relative or love interest to a canon character.
* Do they get a lot of shilling? For example; do all the canon characters suddenly start talking about a fan character, with their presence in the story largely relegated to providing opportunities for the new character to show how pure, powerful, good-hearted, etc they are? Or are they shown getting the better of a character more powerful than them with no in-universe explanation?
* Do you never allow other characters to dislike them?
** [[Eragon|Or do you punish those other characters for disliking your character by portraying them negatively and/or making something terrible happen to them]]? (For example; making the one character who dislikes the Mary Sue unlikable themselves, a villain or "coincidentally" lose their home)
* Are they someone's self-proclaimed [[furry|fursona]]? (If so, stop reading this list and burn them for [[heresy]]).
** The Sonichu exception: If the author is making fun of ''somebody else's'' fursona, and isn't a furry themselves, everything is perfectly fine, at least as far as Mary Suedom is concerned.
* Do they share any of the same beliefs as the work's creator and openly express them? (for example, the protagonists of stories by Ayn Rand, Seth MacFarlane or Jack Chick).
** Are these views never challenged or refuted in the story? Or, for partial credit, are the challengers clearly strawmen?
** The Star Trek Captain Exception: If said belief is cleanly confined to one speech towards the end of the story/episode, and the author seems to be legitimately trying to just sum up and state the message of the story, it usually doesn't count.
* Do they always make good decisions? And/or bad ones that are suddenly revealed to have been a good choice?
* Do you use absolutes like "always," "everybody," or "never" when describing their ''abilities''? (Those word being used to describe their ''behavior'' are usually okay, if slightly suspect (bad writers have an attraction to absolutes).)
* Do they feature an entirely contrived "weakness" that doesn't affect them any time it would harm them (such as being clumsy ''unless'' they are required to perform a great feat of athleticism) or isn't really a weakness (such as being too kind or righteous "for their own good") which was clearly added solely so the author could point to it when accused of writing a Sue?
* Is the main problem in the story one that this character can easily fix or solve on their own? (Doesn't count if they're the only character in the story, or a main point of the story is '''why''' they don't choose "the easy way out").
* Do they have powers that no-one else has? Bonus points if the narrative doesn't bother explaining why.
* Is it a protagonist character written by Matt Ward, Kim Dal Young, Stephenie Mayer, Karen Traviss, Onision, Ayn Rand or Terry <del>Good</del>Badkind? (Note, a Mary Sue can be written by someone who's none of these people. Like Patrick Rothfuss.)

Since then, it's been realized that a character doesn't need to be a self-insert to be a Mary Sue, but it helps. Everyone has their own criteria for what makes one, but the big three traits are:
#They are super-powerful/hyper-competent. In established settings, usually more so than canon characters. Better leadership skills than a McDohl, faster than Sonic, etc.
#The story completely revolves around them, even in... no, ESPECIALLY in established settings.
#They can do no wrong. Everyone loves the Mary Sue and defends them even against perfectly reasonable concerns, invariably demonizing people that make these concerns.

Bonus points:
#The Mary Sue's competence doesn't match the creator's knowledge, leading to things like "The greatest Scorpion Clan shinobi EVAR" walking around in broad daylight in stereotypical ninja gear.
#The Mary Sue is a hypocritical monster and the creator is totally blind to this fact.
#Other characters comment on how much better at their own skills the Mary Sue is like they're happy for her, even if the character is known for being arrogant and standoff-ish.
#Characters that don't react well to the Sue's 'harmless pranks' see the light and begin to love the Mary Sue as well.
#Those that don't turn out to be evil spies or something.

A lot of traits (e.g. too-long-names and heterochrome eyes) are assumed to be signs of Mary Sues, but in themselves don't make a character one. This is because the "But I'm '''''Specul'''''" features are more a symptom than a cause, and all of them can be used in a non-Sueish manner (for example, a character with a twenty-part name is meant by the author to be taken as overly pretentious, and is reacted to in-universe as such).
 

=="I Hate This Competent Character"-Syndrome==
Believe it or not, of the vast majority of characters called Mary Sues or Gary Stues in fandoms, only a small handful will actually qualify as a true Mary Sue. Remember, one of the defining traits of Mary Sue is in their relation to the author; either the author sees them as herself/himself, or views them as fap or schlick material (or worse, [[waifu]] material). As a general rule: If the character makes a mistake, and it's clear that '''the author''' understands that the decision is a mistake, then they're probably not fully a Mary Sue.

The rest are what could be called "I Hate This Competent Character"-syndrome. This happens when a character, usually in the spotlight (so not the background character that has no bearing on the story), is widely disliked by a large part of a fandom, but with no tangible thing to latch that hate unto. What happens is that the character gets called a Mary Sue for being too competent, but this accusation has some issues of its own. One, as we've seen in this page, a true Mary Sue is a self-insert (and if the character is a super-naturally competent self-insert; yep that's most likely a Mary Sue), and a competent character need not be.

Second, in all the fiction we so love, like [[Setting Aesthetics|fantasy, sci-fi and all the rest]], main and side characters are ''ridiculously'' competent, sometimes as a byproduct of what kind of setting it is. That is why settings like [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] is notable for deconstructing competence, showing that a sword in hand does not a hero make - but that's a '' deconstruction.'' In most settings, heroes just are competent; the real sense of adversity and challenge usually comes from something else, like emotional struggles, political or societal issues and other faults. Even if there's a plotpoint about a hero being too weak to beat their enemy in one-to-one combat, chances are the main feature of that story arch is how the hero ''feels'' about it, rather than the struggle itself. Yeah sure, our hero learns the cool "I Win" technique, but that's not the important part; the important part is what kept them from learning it in the first place. Is it too dangerous? Did they damage themselves or friends with it once? Does it take them too close to the enemy they hate? And so on.

Let's take a classic, Superman. Superman is hyper-over-the-top-super competent, being so strong, resilient and fast that no one can stand up to him - but it works, because his challenges lies in how he utilizes that power, and how he relates to a mostly muggle world. So the character isn't a Mary Sue - but if you do not like Superman, maybe you wanna latch unto something to hate on... And that is likely this competence.

It's especially notable in settings where characters are automatically assumed to be competent if they are a main character. Examples like [[Star Wars]], [[Bioware|Mass Effect]], [[Dungeons and Dragons]] (depending on the whims of the GM), [[Lord of the Rings]] and other magical settings are filled with characters who are just competent by being a hero.

Good examples of "I Hate This Competent Character"-syndrome are characters like James Bond, [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Jon Snow]], [[Eldrad]], [[World of Warcraft|Thrall]], [[Batman]], and Rick Sanchez; all main-ish characters who are competent and may be dislikable for various different reasons... And if you dislike or even hate some of these characters? ''That's totally fucking fine.'' But make sure to actually use your ding dang words rather than hop on the bandwagon and use a term that doesn't mean what you think it does.

We all love and hate different characters, that's called taste. But competence, even relatively unexplained competence, is not a marker that indicates Mary Suedom.

===Bad Writer (Sub-)Syndrome===

A further note to the above: There are a non-trivial number of these type of characters who pass through the hands of a lot of writers; in this case, they can be Sues, '''but only when in the hands of unskilled writers'''. A bad writer will focus on the awesome, not on the structure and contrast that support it.

For example, hypercompetent characters like Batman or The Doctor are usually only interesting in scenarios that ''actually call for'' that hypercompetence. In that case, if the audience can see the solution a mile away, or can see an obviously better solution to the situation, the result is usually not as "awesome" as the author desires--unless the point is to demonstrate the flaws of the character, in which case, we're still moving away from "awesome", but ''intentionally'' this time.

If this is happening, just relax, and let the Dork Age pass, hoping that the next writer will actually be competent.

== Mary Sues in Roleplaying Games ==
It is important to realize that when playing an RPG, either as a player or as a DM, the standards for "unacceptable Mary Sue" change dramatically. Unlike if you are writing a novel, you are not the sole author of the story, nor are you the only main character. Thus certain traits that are completely fine for a character in a novel become things to avoid when making a character (NPC or PC) in an RPG. A good example of this would be Harry Potter. As the main character in a series of novels, making him the Chosen One is perfectly fine, because the story literally revolves around him, and the reader is meant to identify with him. If someone were to make Harry Potter in an RPG, it could easily become a problem, since him being "The Chosen One" by definition overshadows everyone else's characters. That is not to say that it should ''never'' be done, but it is something that should be discussed and agreed upon by the entire group beforehand. The reverse can also be true: what makes for a good RPG character does not always make for a good character in a novel (or, more accurately, ''unless well written'', certain traits common in RPG characters do not always make for a good character in a novel.) This is even more important when you are the DM; the players are the main characters, not the NPCs, and trying to pretend otherwise (usually via DMPCs) is one of the quickest ways to ruin a campaign.

For our purposes, we at 1d4chan try to keep our focus more on the tropes related to Suedom, and specific examples (usually Warhammer related). If you have a story of a specific Sue-abusing player or DM, there's probably a thread in [https://boards.4channel.org/tg/ the obvious place]. Go bore us there (where we can ignore you) instead of boring us here (where we'll need to revert you).

==Negating the Mary Sue==
Interestingly, there hasn't been really much written about how to defeat a Mary Sue aside from trolling, but we may identify a few ways to deal with Mary Sues and even Canon Sues:
*The first one, and quite accessible is character development, while this implies a risk of expanding the infection it is possible to remove a Sue status with a good writer either making fanfiction or a spin-off where the Mary Sue is changed for the better. Examples of this has been seen in long-existent characters which, due to good writing, become more down to earth, with the added bonus of annoying fans of the Sue period of time to no end. After all, one fanfic denies another.
*The second one is retcon, as the easiest way to annihilate a Mary Sue is to achieve the general consensus that it never happened. This is harder of course, as it requires the creators recognizing they made the wrong decisions or at least conceding to the fans. It can happen, but it can only be through official involvement, which requires a lot of fan reaction to happen.
*Third, have them operate in something resembling the real world; their impossible perfectness is treated as impossible by the people within the setting, and their actions have unforeseen consequences. (See, for reference, good quality [[Superman]] and [[Batman]] stories that don't focus on making either character more "human". Or the two protagonists from One-Punch Man, who are very much overpowered, but the focus of the series is a comedy based on ''how little satisfaction'' they find ''due to their overpoweredness''. The comic book Irredeemable is another good example, as the Plutonian comes across as a deconstruction of this character, showing how he uses his powers like an immature man-child and wipes out an entire country all because the entire world doesn't love him completely and adore him, demonstrating how much of a dick he is.)
*Finally, when it comes to reality, badly written characters end falling by their own weight. This is the reason no one remembers most of the overpowered characters added in fanfiction.net while everyone remembers cool, well-molded characters - after all, reality ensues.

Note that like overpoweredness, Mary Suedom is relative to the context of the work. Much like how if in a game everybody is overpowered, nobody actually is; if you are describing everyone in a setting as a Mary Sue, more than likely you're just in a "cast of snowflakes" setting, like superhero comics or transformers. Here, everyone of import is super amazing and special with a lot of weight put on their decisions and actions. (Exception: If one side of the conflict has a monopoly on both awesome and author-intended-sympathy, the "Sue" accusation starts becoming more relevant again.)

[[Troll|Or maybe you're just a dumbass flinging around buzzwords at things you don't like.]]

==Hard Men Making Hard Decisions (While Hard)==

A side note: A specific kind of male version of Mary Sue is also well known. He is usually described as a "Hard Man making Hard Decisions", but works using that description are usually sufficiently closer to "porn logic" than actual human logic that it's usually called "Wank material". (Note that "Hard Women making Hard Decisions" is also very much a thing, but tends to be less common for various reasons.)

Note that not all "Gary"/"Marty Stu"s are Hard Men Making Hard Decisions (While Hard); there exist Stus who are diplomatic or are idealistic but no less annoying. It's just that HMMHD(WH) are the subset that's the most predictable (and thus describable); other equally common types are the kind who makes all female characters want to sleep with him, or otherwise just gender-swapped versions of other Mary Sue archetypes. Essentially, HMMMHD is the [[Edgy]] masculine equivalent to the Pure Perfect Kind Beautiful Pure Princess stereotype. Nor are all hardened characters who make difficult decisions Stus; as mentioned above, it's all in how the author handles the character<ref>In particular, if either the decision is portrayed as actually weighing on the character after the fact, or its made clear that some fundamental assumption the Hard Man makes about the world is ''wrong'', the While Hard part of the description kinda [[Pun|looks flaccid]].</ref>.

For more about roughly this kind of character, see our article on [[Edgy]].

=Gallery=
<gallery>
Image:Bloody_Mary_Sues.jpg|Get rid of them before they lay eggs.
File:Marysue_1517.jpg|Another way to bring Marvel and DC together again.
Image:Avatar shoopface by vfalconi.jpg|How it works.
File:Sparklypoo.jpg|What happens when Mary Sues meet each other.
File:Ma-Rey-Sue.jpg|The (current) queen of shameless self inserts - Rey "I identify as a Skywalker" Palpatine. Seriously, this shit makes the worst of Legends, even Skippy, look good.
File:Ultramarine-altair-mary-sue.jpg|Seems this clone actually worked, funnily enough, Altair, the stomped girl, was accused of being such a villain sue the protagonists literally had to rewrite reality to get rid of her, and only because she consented.
File:Starfire's new daughter.jpg|Some Mary Sues are more obvious than others.
</gallery>

=See Also=
[[List of Mary Sues]] WARNING: [[Skub|Opinions]]

=External Links=
*[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue TVTropes' article on Mary Sues], that discusses the phenomenon and its many forms in detail.
*[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/1379217 sup/tg/ archive] of a hilarious thread with ultimate Mary Sue and PURE ENERGY in it.
*[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/1383654 sup/tg/ archive] of the Ultimate Mary Sue thread continued.
*[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/13722924/ sup/tg/ archive]; [[ITT]], the most grimdark setting ever conceived.
*[http://www.big-metto.net/RP_Wiki/index.php?title=Mirabelle_Armitage Mirabelle Armitage, D&D Mary Sure beyond Drizzt.]
*[http://www.ongoingworlds.com/blog/2011/04/the-many-different-types-of-mary-sue/ The many different types of Mary Sue]

=Footnotes=