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Riot Games’ Arcane showcased a variety of League of Legends characters that fans have been familiar with for quite a long time.
However, these characters stand apart in cinematic representations compared to how players have seen them within League of Legends. This is mainly because Arcane only showcases their early lives.
The champions whom players use in games have distinct cinematic personalities. These are lively characters with a past and a future, which gives them a lot of depth.
'Arcane' adds a new dimension to these League of Legends characters
Based on how their stories were shown within Arcane, one can analyze how the cinematic universe differs from the League of Legends game. It is important to note that this article does not focus on the story, instead draws a comparison between the lives of the characters in Arcane and League of Legends. Therefore, it is recommended that readers watch all three episodes of Arcane.
Diving into the characters
Vi
Vi in Arcane is a strong yet caring older sister to Jinx (as a kid, known as Powder). She is the leader of a small gang within Zaun. Early in life, she became an orphan and was taken care of by the underground ruler of Zaun, Vander.
Every kid, including her sister, looks up to Vi as a leader. She has revenge on her mind and hopes to avenge the murder of her parents, who Piltover enforcers killed. However, her foster father Vander always tries to keep her in check by saying that she cannot solve everything through violence.
After Episode 3, an enforcer takes her away while trying to protect her sister from being killed.
In League of Legends, Vi enforces peace at Piltover, the same city that killed her parents. This is quite a development as Vi retained her hot-headed personality in the game as well.
It is possible that when the enforcer takes her away, she is moved to Piltover, where she finds a new life and purpose.
Jinx (Powder)
Jinx in Arcane is known by her childhood name Powder. She is the younger sister of Vi and is a fragile person. In Arcane, Powder always messes things up as she is not a person who can fight well. Every time she tries to make things right, she ends up causing more trouble despite her sister routinely covering for her.
In Episode 3, Vi asks Powder to stay back at home and avoid joining a perilous mission. Powder did not listen and used the stolen Hextech crystals (stolen from Jayce’s lab) and made bombs with them.
Vi and two of her friends wanted to save their foster father, Vander. While they almost closed the mission, Powder deployed the Hextech bombs from hiding, killing both of Vi’s friends. It also led to Vander's death. She did not have any evil intentions. However, the consequences of her actions were fatal.
Powder happily arrived at the scene without knowing what she had done. She thought her actions were innocently helping Vi. However, Vi got angry and grabbed Powder's face immediately. Vi asked Powder why she interfered even after getting clear instructions to stay back.
When Powder asked why she couldn't help out, Vi replied by saying, "because you are a jinx." This is the first time that the name Jinx has been used in Arcane. It will eventually play a huge role in Powder's transformation.
Vi started crying and ran away from the scene, unable to bear everything that happened. Powder, however, stayed there, prostrating in front of the factory where the incident took place. She stayed there till Silco, the main villain who caused all the destruction, arrived on the scene.
Silco asked Powder about Vi with a knife in his hand, but instead of running, Powder jumped on Silco. She said that her sister had run away and did not want to be in contact. To everyone's surprise, Silco embraced Powder, as shown below. Silco vowed that everyone would pay for their role.
In League of Legends, Jinx is a maniacal character who seems to suffer from trauma and anxiety. She has been described as a loose cannon who is unpredictable. She causes terror for the people of Zaun and is capable of destroying everything, as her decisions are incredibly impulsive.
However, there is a voice line in League of Legends, which refers to the incident within Arcane. Swain is a character who feeds off enemy emotions. When Swain meets Jinx, this is what he says:
"Faces, fading in the flames. It was all her fault."
This makes sense if readers watch Episode 3. There is a high chance that this incident in Arcane will haunt Jinx forever.
Arcane shows that Jinx suffers from an existential crisis. She knows her weakness and she curses herself despite the love that she receives. Eventually, the ending of Episode 3 in Arcane shows how she turns to the wrong path.
Jayce
Jayce in Arcane is an inventor obsessed with using science to stabilize magic. Everyone knows he is a bright young scientist. A heist in his lab by Vi and Jinx led to an explosion, which also led to a police investigation.
This revealed that he was dealing with dangerous items, which got him expelled from the science academy in Piltover. Jayce became extremely frustrated.
However, with the help of Viktor, he was able to prove that magic can be controlled. He gained the trust of the Counselor in Piltover and professor Heimerdinger.
In League of Legends, he has been described as a fighter and a hero. He has been presented as a brilliant inventor who is dedicated to defending Piltover. He wields a hammer that is powered by Hextech magic.
The descriptions of Jayce in League of Legends and Arcane are mostly similar. However, as presented in his League of Legends bio, the part about Jayce being a fighter does not match his character in the Netflix series.
In Arcane, Jayce is a scientist who made a revolution by stabilizing magic, but nothing was shown about him being a fighter. Specific incidents will prompt him to pick up weapons in the future, which will be quite an exciting thing to witness.
Caitlyn
In Arcane, Caitlyn is a young girl from a distinguished family. Her parents are quite wealthy and are members of the science academy at Piltover. She is also a close friend of Jayce.
In League of Legends, Caitlyn is the sheriff of Piltover and wields a massive rifle. She has been described as a distinguished woman who is respected by all. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how she ends up in the police academy and becomes a sheriff.
Heimerdinger
In Arcane, Heimerdinger is a professor who is quite respected all across Piltover. He is a distinguished member of the academy and is quite fond of Jayce.
He initially did not believe Jayce as he claims to have seen how magic can destroy everything. However, later in Episode 3 of Act 1, he saw Jayce and Viktor succeed with magic and was pleased with the result.
In League of Legends, he has been described as one of the most brilliant scientists in Piltover. So his portrayal of Arcane matches his bio within League of Legends.
Viktor
In Arcane, Viktor is an assistant to Heimerdinger. He came to Piltover from Zaun and had no support whatsoever. His self-confidence led him to succeed and eventually achieve a lot in life.
Viktor was the only one who believed in Jayce’s magic-related theory and also stopped him from committing suicide after getting expelled from the academy. He made Jayce believe that together they could control magic, which they eventually did.
In League of Legends, Viktor is a herald to a new age of technology. He is someone who looks to uplift the residents of Zaun using science and evolution. He has a body of augmented steel in League of Legends and pursues the growth and development of humanity.
Viktor has a very different presentation in Arcane compared to his League of Legends counterpart. He changed from a mere assistant to a herald of a new age. Therefore, his character development is going to be quite interesting throughout the series.
Ekko
Ekko is one of the characters who did not get a lot of screen time in Arcane. He is a young kid who knows his way around in Zaun.
However, in League of Legends, he is described as someone who uses time as a tool to protect himself as well as his friends. He has been described as an inventor of sorts within the in-game bio.
His character development will also be quite intriguing alongside Viktor and Caitlyn.
This article reflects the opinions of the writer.
