Top 10 References in Warhammer 40K

It’s no real surprise that a lot of media likes to make references to past works; whether they be subtle or otherwise, just watch The Amazing World of Gumball episode ‘The Meaning of Life’ for a not so subtle nod to Conan the Barbarian.

That being said, here are the 10 best references in the multimedia platform that is Warhammer 40K

10: Sly Marbo & the Catachans - The regiments of the Imperial Guard are based of real world Armies, save for a few regiments, but as this isn’t an Imperial Guard list let’s crack on. If you ever watched movies like ‘Predator’ , ‘Commando’ and ‘First Blood’ then you’ll be familiar with 80s Beefcake Actio Hero trope. Imagine a planet where the everything wants to kill you, and I do mean everything. Only one type of person can survive on a death world like Catachan and that is the 80s Beefcake. The standard dress for a catachan is a pair of boots, camouflage combat trousers, a vest (tank top in countries outside the UK), webbing, and the optional bandana. It’s just an army of 80s Beefcake action heroes, including the women. As for Sly Marbo, 40K’s answer to Chuck Norris, his last name is an anagram of Rambo who was played by…you guessed it, Sly Stallone.

9: I am the Law! - Games Workshop is no surprise, a British company, and like to take influence from their neighbouring British companies. In this case, they have taken inspiration from 2000AD Comics’ Judge Dredd when designing their Law Enforcement Agency, the Adeptus Arbites. With a slight nod to Robocop, these 2000AD knock offs spend their days rounding up anyone suspected of acting against the Imperium with their big-ass guns and cyber mastiffs. Should they ever put the Arbites on TV, they should hire Sly Stallone and Karl Urban

8: You’re Mecha-ing Me Mad - One of the most popular things to come from the Land of the Rising Sun is the numerous Mecha franchises, from Gundam to Patlabor and everything in between. It’s no surprise then that Games Workshop saw an opportunity to include giant fighting robots into their grimdark universe in the form of 4th Edition’s new kids on the block, the Tau Empire. The Tau are known for two things, Gundam inspired battlesuits and Big Fragging Guns! Most Tau units don’t actually need to move during their movement phase, they can just wipe you away from the other side of the board. However, just because a Ghostkeel is a stealth suit doesn’t mean you park it in the middle of the battlefield during deployment.

7: Ciaphas Cain Goes Forth - This reference is an incredibly subtle reference and thumbs up to Games Workshop for making it obscure. Ciaphas Cain may not be known to some 40K fans, being overshadowed by the likes of Commissars Gaunt, Raine, and Yarrick. Whilst not as well known amongst fans; Cain does have his own series of novels detailing his, and his aide Jurgen’s, exploits. What fans may or may not know, is that Cain is based of the British self serving sadistic sycophant, Blackadder (expertly brought to life by Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson). Like Blackadder, Cain’s exploits are primarily around saving his own skin by any means necessary. This often leads to him saving the day by accident. I digress, Cain is quite clearly a facsimile of Blackadder from the Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third, and Blackadder Goes Forth series’ with Jurgen being modelled after Blackadder’s hapless sidekick Baldrick. Now if only GW would introduce someone based off the baby eating Bishop of Bath & Wells

6: Whipping up a Storm…Trooper - It is probably easier to count the number of pop culture media that doesn’t have a Star Wars reference. 40K is no exception. The Tempestus Scions are the Guard’s equivalent of the SAS, dropping into to battle behind enemy lines like the ODST. Their troops are commonly referred to as Stormtroopers seeing as these troops storm the enemy. There are other references to Star Wars in 40K, the Adeptus Mechanicus are said to be “More Machine than Man” much like another famous religious cyborg.

5: AI is Heresy - This is one of the more subtler references from pop culture that Games Workshop splices into 40K. In the world of Warhammer 40K anything considered AI is listed as heresy by the Imperium, this goes back to the Dark Age of Technology and Old Night where that AI the Imperium used to make their lives more comfortable ended up turning on them. You might be thinking that this is a mod to Skynet from the Terminator Franchise but is in actual fact a reference to the Butlerian Jihad mentioned in Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel ‘Dune.’ In Dune, which takes place between the years 10191 and 10196 (give or take), thinking machines were outlawed as the Butlerians caused Humanity to grow lazy. It was declared “Thou shalt not make a machine in the image of a man” which of course led to all sorts of problems and the creation of Human Thinking machines. For more information, read the Dune Series, no seriously go read it! Pause the video and go read the first book, we’ll be here when you get back. Another nod to Dune is the God-Emperor reference. The head of the Imperium is the God-Emperor of Mankind, which is a reference to the God-Emperor Leto Atreides II.

4: Monty Python’s Flying Space Marines - This obscure reference comes from the codex of the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter, a unique weapon known as ‘The Holy Orb of Antioch.’ Anyone familiar with Monty Python & the Holy Grail will know it features a Holy Hand Grenade of the same name. On the tabletop it deals D3 mortal wounds on a 2+ and makes the target unit fight last.

3: Whiskey in the Jerry Can - Any diehard 40K fan, and any good AdMech fan will know of the Forge World known as Metalica. This entirely metal planet is an homage to the heavy metal band Metallica. Sporting White instead of the traditional Red, and assault the enemy with the Relentless March

2: Little Shop of Body Horror - If you ever find yourself in the city of Commoragh you will no doubt find yourself either being beaten into a bloody pulp in the gladiator arenas or being turned into furniture by the Haemonculi. The Haemonculi are big fans of torture and body modification much like the Cenobites of the movie ‘Hellraiser.’ Much like Cenobites, the Haemonculi cause mass amounts of pain in order to feel pleasure, this has the added bonus of keeping them alive a little longer. Of course, Hellraiser (the original movie) was a British movie. What’s next? A 40K Doctor Who?

1: Necron Reanimation Protocols - It’s very clearly obvious that the Necron Faction in 40K is based on the Terminator from the James Cameron film of the same name. What makes the Necrons a force to be reckoned with is their Reanimation Protocols; allowing the Necrons to get back up after being wiped out. Those of us who remember when the Necrons were first released in 3rd Edition they came with the cleverly named ability “We’ll be Back” which pays homage to the big Arnie’s immortal line “I’ll be Back” from the original Terminator film.