Games Workshop finally shows The Emperor's current state

The Emperor looms over Warhammer 40k’s setting. He sits on the Golden Throne, an ancient life‑support device that must consume thousands of psykers every day to keep running, and his psychic presence guides starships across the warp. John Blanche’s 1987 illustration “The Emperor Sits Upon His Golden Throne” helped shape that vision, and Blanche — who recently passed away — maintained the picture was never meant to show the real Emperor: “The real Emperor is a corpse in a big glass jar, kept in machines in the background.” The figure is rarely depicted; apart from Blanche’s art the only other notable appearance the writer recalls is the distant image on the cover of the first volume of The End and the Death.

In the new edition trailer for Warhammer 40k, launching June 20, Games Workshop finally shows the Emperor inside the Golden Throne. He appears as a corpse god, even being called “The Carrion Lord of the Imperium,” and the trailer offers several versions of him on the throne — none portraying him in peak condition.

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