Unveiling a significant breakthrough, Riot Games has recently made an announcement that they are earnestly working towards bringing together all League of Legends content into a coherent canon. As part of this move, the character Singed from the League of Legends TV show Arcane has been made an irreplaceable part of this canon, thus emerging unexpectedly as arguably the most significant character in the LoL universe.
League of Legends has been present for quite some time now. It stands taller than many contemporary multiplayer games, boasting a vast expanse of lore that has been consistently modified and updated. This has been done to maintain and upgrade the relevance of older characters and story threads, keeping them in sync with modern sensibilities.
Interestingly, while we have seen several champions lose their relevance, there are few that have become increasingly significant contributors to the lore over the years. These champions, many of them being older characters, have grown crucial with time, telling fascinating stories as they pass through the layers of time.
In line with this, Singed has been identified as a deeply influential character in League of Legends’ lore even prior to the show Acrane. Singed plays a major role on the show, and with the show finding a place in the official canon, Singed finds himself transformed from a somewhat goofy champion into one of the most consequential characters in the League's history.
How Singed Became Central to LoL's Canon
As one of the earliest characters designed within League of Legends, Singed is a highly ancient personality. He received a small passive rework in Season 7 and a visual refresh in Season 4, but has primarily remained untouched. In-game, Singed confronts god-like beings, manifesting as a somewhat comical figure wielding a shield and eliminating his enemies in unusual ways. This presents a sharp contrast to his dark and harrowing lore.
However, Singed's influence in the ongoing narrative of LoL, compounded with his contribution to the Arcane story, places him as one of Runeterra’s most pivotal characters despite his unassuming in-game presence.
An array of LoL fans began to recognize the amplified importance of Singed in the lore. Outside his Arcane arc, many of the short stories on his page recount the tales of his horrendous deeds. These narratives are notably some of the gloomiest in the League.
Singed is known for carrying out almost unthinkable experiments on humans, spawning life forms that are beyond comprehension. His actions have led to disastrous wars, obliterated villages, and resulted in irreparable emotional trauma on characters like Riven who witnessed his horrific alchemical flames being used on others. He also created Warwick and has made significant contributions to LoL lore.
Singed's Deeper Role In The World Of LoL
Thus, Singed's role in Arcane, as well as in the short stories, makes him a highly significant character in the LoL universe. He is one of the few characters who reaches into more regions of Runeterra than almost any other character throughout history in the LoL universe. From his human experimentation to his invention of chemical warfare, Singed has been responsible for some major events in the lore.
While it's argued that threats from the Void, some of the Freljord’s old gods, and other lore-centric characters were more instrumental in creating Runeterra, few living characters play a bigger role in Runeterra’s ongoing narrative than Singed. However, since Riot plans to rein in their stray lore and create a more consistent canon, it’s hard to say if Singed will remain as important a character as he is now.