My
Minotaurs are in a cabinet in Warhammer World currently, which has led to more
than a couple of 'cor, you've got a lot of Space Marines'-type comments.
Handily they are accompanied with 'they look ace', which is always flattering,
but in a dramatic shift away from my usual 'look at mah pictures pleez' blog
post, I thought I'd mull over why, exactly, I enjoy painting Minotaurs in
particular and Space Marines in general.
Obviously
they are cool. The concept of a super-human, genetically enhanced warrior who
is functionally immortal, armed with incredible weaponry and clad in
outrageously thick armour is just ace, right?
However
there's more to it than this...
I love
the inherent dichotomy of tragedy and arrogance that is embodied in the
background. The concept that the aspirant willingly abandons his humanity, his
chance of a normal life, of love and family and so on, specifically to stand
unyielding against the horrors of the galaxy in defence of
that same humanity. It's not something lacking from the background per se, but
it's always been implicit, I think.
This is
what makes the Adeptus Astartes heroes, in my book. Not their thin line of
stubborn unyielding defence - that's heroic - but their
initial, very first self-sacrifice. Imagine, you've just fought through
whatever terrible contest your world holds to select those who are worthy to
become Sky Warriors. You stand triumphant, proving through cunning and strength
that you are the most potent example of humanity on your entire world.
What's to stop you saying 'thanks, but I'd actually like to lead my
clan/tribe/whatever and become rich and powerful, through whatever means I have
available'?
Duty. The
benefit you can be to humanity. Arguably the chance for greater honour and
renown (so maybe it's a bit selfish), but actually when you think about it,
your great deeds may never be known by the Imperium at large. On this point, I
love the end of The Emperor's Gift where the Bell of Lost
Souls is rung. It's only done when great heroes of the Imperium fall in
battle, and it's heard across Terra, but in the grand scheme of things the
populous of Earth know only that a hero has died, not who it was or why.
So they
are heroes, self-sacrificing, dutiful, supremely powerful heroes. They are
raised beyond the common clay, remade; forged into mankind's greatest warriors.
They gain incredible strength, greatly-advanced mental faculties, all the
additional organs and abilities. They hold the line when all others would fall
back (super-brave), attack when all others would hold (super-daring). We seem
to be describing Superman.
I dislike
Superman. We'll now look at why. He's perfect, he has no flaws. Neither, too,
does the Space Marine we're describing - the Codex Space Marine, if you will.
The part I liked the most about the last movie was when he smashed the picture
after learning that Lois Lane is dating someone else. He's spurned. He's angry.
Suddenly he isn't just a 2D character!
Now,
there's an established Thing that Codex background presents the facts about the
army through a veneer of propaganda, which is fine. Looking at it from
this view, of course every Space
Marine is a flawless defender of humanity, of
course they all fight tirelessly to defend the Imperium, of course the best Space Marines are
Ultramarines and every Space Marine wants to be an Ultramarine…
However
that’s dull. It’s Superman, again. One of my favourite things about the Imperial
Armour Badab War books is the flaws they weave into the Space Marine psyche.
Fundamentally, it stands to reason that if every good human attribute is
massively scaled up to create a Space Marine, at least a few bad ones should be
too, right?
Hubris.
Arrogance. Stubbornness. Pride. All the things that determine whether or not a
Chapter chooses to commit its forces to a given conflict. Why should these
superhumans (less of them than there are worlds in the Imperium, remember) die
in hopeless defence of however many thousand civillians on agri-world x here when all strategic sense indicates
they would be best deployed to protect industrial world y over here?
The pride
and hubris of Lugft Huron, for that matter. The not-all-that-hidden truth of
the Badab War is that Huron was right. He’s a Peer of the Imperium; his mandate
allows him to act as he sees fit to defend Mankind. Admittedly, building a
Legion is perhaps the wrong side of the loyalty line, but he is still acting as
he sees fit.
Hatred.
Spite. Bitterness. Stibor Lazarek of the Fire Hawks conducts a planetary
bombardment against a strategically unimportant world simply because it chose
the wrong side. ‘Burn them all; the God-Emperor will know His own’, as he is
recorded as saying. Not really the words of a super-heroic defender of
humanity. Definitely the words of someone who despises the enemies of the
Imperium, frankly.
This is
something that isn’t really present
in the Codex background, sadly, and I think it should be. Heroes need flaws,
they need a ‘lessening’ of their larger-than-life awesomeness with an equally
larger-than-life drawback. Even the vaunted Ultramarines, precisely because
they are the vaunted Ultramarines. They are dogmatic, hidebound, devoted to the
Codex Astartes, certainly arrogant
judging by their press…
These are
obviously specific examples, but actually the fundamental detail of them just
not understanding/forgetting/exploiting human weakness is an interesting one.
You’re functionally immortal, and so on. After a while, it’s difficult to even
imagine being human – so much BL fiction has Space Marines being able to sense
or smell or taste fear and weakness, and being disgusted by it. Humanity’s
superhuman protectors are disgusted by their charges.
Maybe a
slightly downer end note? Perhaps. But I love
the dichotomy of the whole package, quite frankly. That’s what keeps me
painting Minotaurs, what keeps me tinkering about with bits until I have models
that show these details, in their face or their pose or whatever.
