The Importance of Remembering that We are the Baddies

Christopher Hill
34 min readDec 27, 2023

Warhammer 40k and depictions of Fascism in Media

Reader discretion is advised: this article contains a quotation containing within itself quotations of usage of racial and antisemitic slurs.

Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines. Image credit: Warhammer Community Presskit

There was a bit of a stir in the land of boardgame-Twitter earlier this year. Warhammer 40k had just released its announcement trailer for its 10th edition — a big milestone for the now over 25-year-old game.

The venerable strategy board game’s new iteration was showcased by a 5-minute trailer. We are presented with an armor-clad military leader, Roboute Guilliman, with a deep gravelly voice narrating over the military actions of the Imperium of Man — a galaxy-spanning human empire perpetually at war with alien races and the forces of Chaos. He muses not only on the various battles of the latest interstellar crusade he coordinates, but also on the difference between the account of events as told by “the preachers cry[ing] from the spires of their temples”, and the rather more desperate struggle to persist as felt by those fighting the war. The camera cuts between brutal fights on various worlds against the insectoid Tyrannids. Referencing Dylan Thomas’ famous poem, he summarises the struggle of humanity as it “rages against the dying of the light”.

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Christopher Hill
Christopher Hill

Written by Christopher Hill

I'm a professional musician and PhD student at the University of Birmingham. I like writing about games, music, and the intersection between them.

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