World of Warcraft: Who is Blackhand?

The World of Warcraft film introduced Blackhand the Destroyer, the most terrifying and powerful orc warrior that the Horde had ever known. He was a Warchief who was proud of his position and longed for more power but, ultimately, respected tradition and valued honor above all else. Even in moments of great importance, moments where it would have been easy to be cruel and ruthless, Blackhand chose honor.

Naturally, with a story as vast and intricate as World of Warcraft, there are many different tellings of every character’s origins and stories. There are comics, novels, games, and more that each offer something unique to Blackhand’s story. However, for this article, we will be focusing exclusively on the story presented in Legendary Pictures’ Warcraft film.

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Gul’dan

Gul’dan was an orc who sought an understanding of magic. He dedicated himself to the study of magic throughout the land, but instead of growing to use arcane magic, he actually came to have an understanding of the fel. The fel is an immensely powerful magic, but it requires an extremely valuable resource to use: life itself. It feeds off of life, draining it, and corrupting the user. Those who use the fel are forever changed, not only magically, but because of the sacrifices they must make to gain and garner such grand powers.

It was Gul’dan’s use of the fel that began to poison the world of Draenor. The winters were longer, the fertile seasons were shorter, it was harder to grow and catch food. And so it was Gul’dan who believed that all orcs should organize. He created a collective called the Horde, and led it with an iron fist. All those who would not act in accordance with tradition or fail the Horde’s goals would be sentenced to death. Through his leadership, he gained the support of many orc clans: the Warsong, the Bleeding Hollow, the Laughing Skull, and eventually, the Frostwolf Clan. They all saw the struggles of the planet Draenor. Little did they know it was Gul’dan’s life-leeching magic, the fel, that caused the problems.

Still, though it took much time, Gul’dan convinced the leader of the Frostwolves clan, Durotan, to join the Horde. As the leader and warlock of the Horde, he used his powers to open the Great Gate, a portal that would take them to another world called Azeroth. There, on Azeroth, they would find humans, elves, dwarves, and more. Most importantly, Gul’dan would appoint a warrior as their Warchief. His name was Blackhand.

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The Battle of Elwynn Forest

Blackhand had been ready to fight for the Horde. He was prepared to sacrifice the life that the fel required so that the Great Gate could open and allow all of the Horde to travel through. Even then, Blackhand was a warrior, and what he longed for above all else was a worthy opponent. The orcish invasion of Azeroth was too easy for him. And so, when ambushing a group of human knights in the Elwynn Forest, he went looking for a fight. He went to their leader and summoned all his strength.

Towering over the human leader Anduin Lothar, he felt there was no contest of strength at all. It took very little strength, in fact, to overpower the human. However, Blackhand could not predict the ingenuity of the dwarvish weapon in Lothar’s hand. It was called a boomstick, and all it took was the slight curl of a finger, and then BANG! The boomstick seemed to explode and the force and shrapnel completely destroyed his orcish hand. He retreated.

When Blackhand returned, Gul’dan explained the price of failure: death. “Follow the tradition,” said Gul’dan. And so he did. Blackhand would have to subject himself to the fel fire, an ever-burning flame that would consume Blackhand and his life energy whole. Blackhand recognized his failure and reached his hand out into the flame. The fel fire crawled up his wrist, and moved up his forearm, but before it could consume him completely, the leader of the Frostwolves Clan, Durotan, chopped off his arm above the fel fire. It saved Blackhand’s life. To replace his hand, he would wear five protruding metal blades, like fingers.

Durotan had begun to see Gul’dan for the manipulative leech that he was. Durotan would not stand for it much longer. Meanwhile, Blackhand was still warring with the humans, and had a personal vendetta against Anduin Lothar for taking his hand. When in a battle with the humans, Blackhand killed Lothar’s son using his metal hand.

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The Two Mak’gora

To understand Blackhand, we must understand honor. Not only honor, but the true contest of honor between orcs. It is a duel called a Mak’gora. This ancient tradition is passed down from generation to generation. It is a fight to the death between two individuals —no one else can intervene. Participants are allowed to use any manner of weapon or brute force tactic, but it is seen as dishonorable and cheating to use magic.

The first Mak’gora was issued by Durotan to Gul’dan. He refused to let Gul’dan take the life of innocents, and destroy Azeroth like he had destroyed Draenor. The battle began, and Gul’dan was ruthless and cruel. Durotan was stronger, but he could not protect himself from Gul’dan’s illegal use of magic. He turned to Blackhand for help but Blackhand used Gul’dan’s own words against him, “Follow the tradition.” And so Blackhand refused to intervene. Gul’dan uses his fel magic to quickly and dishonorably kill Duroton. He also corrupts and enhances Blackhand, making him a hulking beast, stronger than any orc before him. The magic mixed with this metal hand and became something more organic and gruesome and horrifying. Gul’dan survives, though the orcs do not respect him.

The second Mak’gora was between Blackhand and Anduin Lothar. Even though Lothar was vulnerable, and Blackhand could have killed him, he simply offers him a sword and waits to fight on equal footing. After all, though Lothar injured Blackhand, Blackhand killed Lothar’s son. Blackhand believed in a fair duel, a true Mak’gora, and so he gave his opponent a chance. Lothar only needed one chance. With a swift slice of his blade, Warchief Blackhand fell.

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