It’s not hard to like Vander, who was initially presented to Arcane fans as a humble bartender with a rough past. He’s one of the most compassionate characters in Arcane, and watching him meet his fate is arguably one of the darkest moments in the series.
Arcane fans know Vander to be a noble figure in Zaun, who became the adoptive father of Vi and Powder. But League of Legends players and Runeterra lore fans have other theories regarding Vander and what he has become after the series. Now that Riot has confirmed that Arcane is canon to League of Legends, there might be more truth to those fan theories about Vander.
In his youth, Vander was an aggressive man and a skilled fighter. He and Silco, whom he treated like his brother, fought against Piltover’s oppression of Zaunites. But Vander changed and became diplomatic towards Piltover, choosing negotiation and mediation over direct violence. This caused a rift between the two brothers, and in a flashback, Vander tried to drown Silco.
Years later, Zaun lost their rebellion against Piltover. Vi and Powder’s parents got caught in the crossfire and were killed by Piltover’s Enforcers. Vander took pity on them and decided to adopt both Vi and Powder. He also took Mylo and Claggor in, who became Vi and Powder’s adoptive brothers.
Vander took responsibility for a robbery gone wrong by his children. But on his way to jail, Vander was abducted by Silco. It was clear during their conversation that Vander was a changed man who would die for his children. Silco, however, was still willing to make sacrifices to achieve control of Zaun and have a fighting chance against Piltover.
The children tried to free Vander, but Mylo and Claggor died during the rescue. When he saw that Vi was alive under the rubble, Vander charged at Silco and tried to kill him a second time. This attempt failed, and Vander took shimmer as a last-ditch attempt to save Vi.
Vander as Warwick
Vander was shown to die in Episode three of Arcane because the glow of the shimmer went out, but League of Legends fans think otherwise.
He was known as “The Hound of the Underground” during his life. Another champion with wolfish features that roams the alleys of Zaun is Warwick, who was transformed into a beast by Singed. This is unconfirmed, but Vander grew in size and gained enormous strength after consuming shimmer.
Although widely believed to be dead after he entrusted Powder (later Jinx) to Vi, it’s also possible that Vander was taken by Singed for further experimentation. The short clip from Arcane’s official Twitter account shows a wolfish figure hanging from Singed’s lab, which might confirm Warwick and Vander’s connection in the second season of Arcane.
(featured images: Netflix/Riot Games)
