Warhammer: What If…? Games Workshop Could Launch A New Series
Hey, we’re just asking questions here. But What If Games Workshop launched a “What If…?” Series?
If Marvel Comics can do it and DC has their Elseworlds line, why couldn’t Games Workshop launch a new “What If…?” series for Warhammer? But wait, before we get into that, what are we even talking about?
For those of you who don’t know, a “What if…?” series is essentially an alternate version of whatever the mainline continuity is for something. Star Wars has the Legends/EU books (which…is a whole other complicated topic). And as mentioned above both Marvel and DC have done similar things. Heck, even Star Trek has the Kelvin Universe which is sort of like an alternate/what if…? thing. They even had the Mirror Universe before that! So it’s been done before and by some very, very large franchises.
Warhammer: What If…?
Games Workshop could start to explore this “alternate grimdark” universe by all sorts of media options. First and foremost could be the Warhammer+ shows. Hammer and Bolter seems like a natural fit for example. On one hand this could open up a whole new area of storytelling. With 30 plus years of lore to chew on and reimagine, that’s a pretty fertile playground. On the other hand, the Grimdark (and the Mortal Realms for that matter) have a lot of room to grow and continue to tell stories in.
But here’s the thing: Games Workshop has already started. Just by asking the question “What if Horus had won?” They launched a new branch of alternative grimdark stories for fans to talk about, debate, and perhaps even play on the tabletop. And that’s kind of the point, right? Fans know how it went down originally. But…what if it goes down different? And it’s not just the battle between Horus and the Emperor where the universe changed. You could literally do this for ANY major (or even minor) plot point.
Here’s an example: What if the Aeldari never fell into excess and birthed Slaanesh?
Keep in mind that the Aeldari Empire didn’t really fall until sometime around the 25th-30th millennium. And yes, that’s a 5 thousand year span — but you could get lost down that rabbit hole for days. There’s lots of events that change if that never happened. For starters there wouldn’t be a Slaanesh Chaos god. That’s kind of a big deal. No Eye of Terror either. There would be a whole lot more Aeldari around as well as Exodites and more. Plus, who knows what would happen as the “up and coming Humans” interacted more and more with the already dominate Aeldari. What’s one big conflict waiting to burst!
The Warhammer Universes are fertile ground for a “What if…?” style series. Because there is so much rich lore and history there are LOTS of events to explore and reimagine. Fans do that every time they play a game on the tabletop afterall. Just imagine the possibilities.
Hey, the Black Library needs a new mega series after the Horus Heresy wraps, right? Why not start a “What if…?” line for Warhammer. Just sayin.
