Warhammer 40K: Abaddon The Retconner
Abaddon is the Warmaster of the Chaos Space Marines. I think it’s because he’s got a really good PR Team. He’s the King of the Retcon.
It’s said that the winners write the history books. But when it comes to fictional universes as wide and iconic as the Warhammer 40,000 Grimdark Universe, it’s really a team of writers and editors. Lots of folks have been keeping that flame lit for decades. It’s a bit much to keep track of and so things are bound to fall through the cracks. That’s where the dreaded Retcon comes in to help “clean-up” the history of things. And sometimes pave over Plotholes.
The king of the Retcon in 40k belongs to one man in particular. Abaddon the Despoiler. No other entity in 40k has gotten this much attention in terms of a “self-corrected” history. It all has to do with the 13 Black Crusades.
Abaddon The Retconner
One of the biggest Retcons in recent memory has been the changes to Abaddon’s back story – specifically the Black Crusades. All 13 of them have been “changed” to paint Abaddon in a new light. It’s been a bit of a gag for many years that Abaddon was 0-13 when it came to Black Crusades. There is a reason old vets dubbed him “Fail-baddon” – even GW seems to be in on the joke:
Each crusade was a victory – from a certain point of view.
Maybe GW wanted to change the perception of Abaddon. For whatever reason, they “updated” his lore to be more reflective of his apparent ruthless and cunning nature. And while each of his 13 Black Crusades ended in a similar fashion (with Abaddon retreating to the Eye of Terror) he apparently completed his actual goals and the Imperium was none the wiser for basically 10,000 years.
The Black Crusade “Victories”
Here’s a quick summary of all 13 of the Black Crusades and how they were actually “victories” for Abaddon – all of these can be found in Codex: Chaos Space Marines 2.0 released in 2019.
1 – Abaddon claims the Daemon Sword Drach’nyen.
2 – Topples The “Eldritch Needles” (Blackstone Pylons) and frees Nemesis Tessera.
3 – Destroys the tomb of Stain Gerstahl and prevents a prophecy coming to pass.
4 – Shatters the “empyric barrier” at the Citadel of the Kromarch – weakening the barrier between the warp and reality.
5 – Destroys shrines and temples across dozens of worlds weakening the “warp-seals” and allowing daemons to cross over. Also destroys 2 Space Marine Chapters in the process.
6 – Topples Forge World Arkreath and takes control of the Sons of the Eye.
7 – Abaddon bests the Blood Angels in a battle of the Ghost War – the fallen Blood Angel’s bodies are unrecoverable.
8 – Abaddon’s forces “cull precise numbers of Imperial citizens in the name of Tzeentch” which activates 9 living-metal monoliths. They then melt (which probably weakened the barrier between Warp and Real Space.
9 – Abaddon can ravage a sector of Real Space at-will (due to some sneaky tricks), and this “weakens the walls of reality” in that sector.
10 – Invade the Helica Sector and focus on weakening the Iron Hands chapter. Gain valuable intel on the Medusa System before leaving.
11 – Captures Weirdboyz and uses them in a WAAAGH!/Daemon hybrid ritual to weaken reality in the Relorrian System.
12 – Captures 2 Blackstone Fortresses in the Gothic War.
13 – With a death toll in the TRILLIONS, Abaddon destroys Cadia and the pylons that kept the warp at bay and unleashes the Great Rift on the Galaxy.
Like it or not all of that is canon. The way the information is presented in the Chaos Space Marine codex certainly paints Abaddon in a new light — and it makes the Imperium look pretty dumb. They seem like a slower and more reactionary force who can overwhelm Abaddon with numbers but, by the time they catch on, his mission is done and he slips through their fingers. From that perspective the Imperium is 0-13 when it comes to catching Abaddon.
This is not the Power Claw you’re looking for…
However you want to slice it, Abaddon is the King of the 40k Retcons. Personally, I’m a little conflicted about it. On one hand claiming all those Black Crusades were just stepping stones to a “secret overall plot” sure seems REAL hard to believe.
On the other reframing the 13 Black Crusades as secret victories paints Abaddon in an entirely different way. He’s not the mustache-twirling villain a la Dick Dastardly. He’s not the leader who’s “surrounded by idiots” a la The Shredder or Cobra Commander (except he still kind of is sometimes). He’s a ruthless tyrant who’s willing to throw his own “loyal” men into the meat grinder to accomplish a 10,000 year goal.
It’s a tough balancing act GW has to follow now. The writers need to make him appear just as ruthless and cunning as his “updated” lore presents him as. At the same time they can’t let him win. He’s a great foil for the Grimdark the perfect antagonist for the Imperium. He’s a character that GW can toss other heroes at and he can maim or even kill a few. But Abaddon won’t ever claim his ultimate victory. Unless GW decides to blow up the universe and start completely over. That’ll never happen though, right? RIGHT?!
Archaon: Sure 40k… you’ll be fine. A Champion of Chaos never gets the BIG win.
Abaddon the Retconner, Lord of the Grimdark End Times? Time will tell.
