Arcane Season 2: Did Riot Games Confirm Vander's Transformation Into Warwick?

Riot Games revealed the first teaser trailer for Arcane Season 2 on 5th January. While the teaser was short with a run time of 44 seconds, it seemingly confirmed one of the major fan theories from Arcane Season 1 about Vander.

The Arcane Season 2 trailer features Singed, who is also called The Doctor in the series. It also shows a massive beast hanging above him. The short clip shows Singed in the middle of a blood transfusion while he checks his pocket watch. Now, the camera pans out to reveal the humongous beast and eventually fades to black.

With this, Arcane fans and League of Legends players are convinced that it is Vander who has taken up the form of a beast and it could very well be Warwick from the MOBA game.

Here's all you need to know about the Vander - Warwick fan theory.

Spoiler Alert: If you have not watched the first season of Arcane, this article includes major spoilers

Is Vander Warwick from League of Legends? Did Singed Experiment on Vander in Arcane?

‘Arcane’ is a Netflix adaptation of League of Legends lore and was unanimously dubbed the biggest hit of 2021 as it took the animation and story-telling worlds by storm. Though the series was short with just nine episodes, it captured many beautiful emotions and left everyone wanting for more.

Just as any other show, dedicated fans started theorizing about different characters in Arcane, discussing possibilities and future narrative directives. One such popular theory is that Vander, the father figure of Vi and Powder, turning into Warwick from League of Legends.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of this theory, let us first talk about these characters — Vander, Singed and Warwick — one by one for clarity.

Vander in Arcane Season 1 is introduced as Vi and Powder's (Jinx) father figure in Episode 1. Dusting off his violent past, Vander chooses to safeguard the city of Zaun. After taking up arms against Piltover and seeing the chaos caused by Vi and Jinx, Vander understands that peace is no longer an option in Zaun.

He is eventually kidnapped by Silco, the main antagonist, and is forced to swallow experimental “shimmer” serum which turns humans into monsters. This shimmer is concocted by the Doctor aka Singed, who is also a League of Legends champion.

At the end of Act 1, Vander drinks the shimmer to save Vi, Jinx and the other kids who were under his care.

However, the writers make it seem like Vander passes from the after effect of shimmer and the wounds he sustained during the fight against Silco and his underlings. As Vi embraces Vander, who is all purple due to the shimmer, he says, "Take care of Powder," and goes motionless.

Since his death was never really confirmed and his appearance after consuming the serum, resembled Warwick, another League of Legends champion, fans were convinced that Vander transformed into Warwick, thanks to Silco and Singed.

Warwick's Lore in League of Legends Explained

In League of Legends, Warwick is portrayed as the "uncaged wrath of Zaun." His lore notes that he is a monster that hunts the alleys of Zaun. It adds, "Transformed by agonizing experiments, his body is fused with an intricate system of chambers and pumps, machinery filling his veins with alchemical rage." Warwick preys upon the criminals who terrorize Zaun and is drawn to blood.

In the teaser, we see a huge monster hanging above Singed who is doing a blood transfusion. The figure eerily resembles Warwick from League of Legends, thus seemingly confirming the fan theory of Vander transforming into Warwick.

Additionally, in League of Legends, Warwick has specific interactions with Jinx and Vi. Players can hear Warwick telling Jinx in-game, "You were there," and "Let me forget.." while encountering her. Likewise, he tells Vi, "Who taught you how to punch?" and "The fear in your eyes. I've seen it before."

Specifically, Warwick saying "I remember what you did!" and "Can't outrun your mistakes!" to Singed in-game raised a lot of eyebrows.

Warwick also has these following cryptic lines in the game:

• You made the monster.

• This place is familiar...

• I know Zaun's streets like the back of my claws.

The good news is that we are already in 2024 and when November dawns on us, we will soon have our theories confirmed as Arcane Season 2 hits the screens. Until then, we can be jubilant that Riot Games "almost" confirmed the fan theory about Vander and Warwick.