The first season of Arcane took Netflix subscribers by storm.
The incredible animated series vastly outpaced expectations, offering up a rich and captivating story helmed by deeply intriguing, complex, and believable characters. The show’s connection to the gaming world’s widely popular League of Legends is so tangential as to create confusion among many of its fans, of which some have never so much as considered the game before.
But Arcane is nothing like most video game adaptations. While the Netflix series does lean on established characters, settings, and plot points from the notorious multiplayer title, it largely crafts a story all its own. The result is a stunning series that has very little in common with the game, despite their shared real estate. Even longtime players sometimes have difficulties connecting the two properties.
That being said, non-LoLers likely didn’t realize how many of the characters in Arcane are mainstays among the League of Legends cast. A heaping handful of the titular characters from season one are LoL mainstays, plucked from their position among the game’s sprawling roster to headline a groundbreaking Netflix series.
Every League of Legends character in season one of Arcane
A full nine League of Legends heroes made their Netflix debut in season one of Arcane. While some of these characters, like Vi and Jinx, are well-known members of the game’s lineup, others may come as a surprise to viewers. Here’s a look at each and every League of Legends regular that cropped up in Arcane’s mind-blowing debut season.
Vi
The brawny protagonist of Arcane season 1, Vi is everything anyone could hope for in a lead character. She’s nuanced and tough, sporting massive biceps and an even bigger heart. The conflict that shaped this stellar character is front and center in Arcane’s first season and seems poised to continue in form as the story forges onward.
Vi is based on, but not an exact replica, of her League of Legends counterpart of the same name. She’s a touch less video game-ified in the series, and her outfit is far more palatable, but apart from that Vi shares quite a bit in common with her video game counterpart. A character who’s prone to solve problems with her fists rather than her brain or mouth, Vi is fiercely loyal to those she loves, and an absolute powerhouse against other heroes in League’s lineup.
Powder/Jinx
The second lead of Arcane rests right alongside her sister as one of the show’s most fascinating characters. A slightly insane — okay, okay, completely insane — sharpshooter with some serious trauma weighing her down, Jinx is complex, conflicted, and more than a little crazy. She’s also utterly captivating and played to perfection by voice actor Ella Purnell.
The character of Jinx — absent the Powder storyline — is a favorite among League of Legends players. She shares a good amount in common with her Arcane iteration, down to the blue hair and manic, chaotic energy. Like many of the female characters on this list, she was fleshed out and dressed up for Arcane, adding a bit more cloth (and backstory) to her relatively bare video game version.
Ekko
Ekko’s time management skills are merely hinted at in the first season of Arcane, but that gorgeous fight scene with Jinx is just a taste of what the Zaun-born engineer is capable of. On top of his skill with all things mechanical, Ekko boasts control over time, which allows him to manipulate every situation to his advantage.
Of all the characters on this list, Ekko is one of the most consistent with his video game counterpart. His look is very similar, as is his power set, but — like every character that appears in Arcane — the Netflix series gives him more space to thrive.
Jayce
Ekko isn’t the only masterful inventor in Arcane, either. He’s got competition in the form of Jayce, a brilliant Piltover citizen who seeks to protect his city at all costs. With handy, utterly massive hammer in hand, Jayce does just that — far more in the games than in the show — and as such serves as one of the only clear and undisputed heroes in the League of Legends story.
In Arcane, he’s a bit more nuanced. He still boasts all those classic hero traits, and his hammer remains close at hand, but the “inventor” and “leader” aspects of his character are more deeply explored. He also gets a major upgrade in outfit, from slightly silly, Soul Calibur-esque armor to a smart vest and tie that helps distinguish him from his grimy, freedom-seeking Zaunite neighbors.
Caitlyn
A good few LoL characters take center stage in Arcane, and Cait’s storyline is among one of the most captivating. Let’s be fair, they’re all captivating, but Caitlyn’s character arc, as it pairs with Violet’s, is pure gold.
Cait is a much more nuanced and interesting character in Arcane than she is in League of Legends, but she still shares plenty in common with her video game origins. That top hat is a bit silly, and man is that skirt short, but we’ve gotta respect the character’s consistency when it comes to weapon choice.
Viktor
Viktor is nearly unrecognizable between Arcane and League of Legends, but that will likely change in the coming seasons. He’s presented as brilliant and kind but sickly and ambitious, and the latter two gradually shape Viktor into a different man in the second half of season 1. By the time season 2 rolls around, it seems likely Viktor will look (and act) a touch more like his video game counterpart.
In League of Legends, Viktor is a rather zealotous inventor, one whose body is an amalgamation of science and metal, and stands as testament to all he stands for. He believes, with passionate zeal, in the potential of evolved technology, and he’ll fight to see the knowledge he’s gained spread to the people of Zaun.
Heimerdinger
The diminutive (former) Head of Council in Piltover, Heimerdinger was one of the most respected figures in the city. He’s contributed a wealth of knowledge to the academy over the years as a scientist and professor, and his mentorship helps shape both Jayce and Viktor into the men we know by the end of Arcane’s first season.
Heimerdinger plays a similarly important role in League of Legends, as one of the game’s more prominent Yordles. Of all the LoL characters adapted for Arcane, in fact, Heimerdinger may be the closest to his game counterpart. He maintains the brilliance and eccentricity he boasts in the ever-popular game, and his skills in inventing are likely to emerge far more in season 2.
Singed
Early confusion initially led longtime LoL fans to think Silco and Singed were one and the same, but later episodes reveal the two characters to be entirely different. Silco is a show-specific inclusion to League of Legends lore, but Singed has been around for quite some time.
The Zaunite alchemist responsible for the creation of Shimmer is a cold and calculating scientific mind, one without clear compassion for those around him. His experiments are the character’s only real passion, and he’s willing to go through anything — or anyone — in order to obtain his goals. A former coworker of Heimerdinger’s, Singed is a brilliant but inhumane scientist, one whose ambitions eventually led him to part ways with the morally upright Yordle. His impact on Zaun is immense, however, and only set to grow in future seasons of Arcane.
Additional character appearances
Several other League of Legends mainstays make an appearance in the first season of Arcane in largely background roles or cameo mentions. None of them boast the screentime or focus of characters like Vi or Ekko, but longtime LoL fans will recognize these familiar faces.
Ryze
He’s but a fleeting mention in early episodes of Arcane, but Ryze the Rune Mage does make an official appearance in the Netflix series. He crops up in episode two of the show, saving Jayce and his mother in their most desperate moment. His awe-inspiring use of Rune magic is the inspiration behind Jayce’s long-standing desire to replicate it through science and could create some serious tension in future seasons, as that long-ago debt comes due.
Kindred
Fans without a deep knowledge of League of Legends likely missed Kindred’s brief cameo in season one of Arcane, but the paired essences of death did make an appearance in a key episode five moment. The pair are featured in human form, wearing masks denoting their commonly-used names — Lamb and Wolf — and smoking languidly in a back room brothel. The odd duo represents death in the LoL universe, personified in those eye-catching masks glimpsed through a beaded curtain.
Teemo
Quite a few charming anthropomorphized animals are contained within the League of Legends world, but notably, few made the transition to live-action. This is likely due to the tone of Arcane, which is largely stoic, and doesn’t leave a lot of room for fuzzy geniuses or four-legged fighters. Heimerdinger is the most prevalent exception, but he wasn’t the only non-human to make the cut. Teemo’s role in Arcane is almost impossibly brief and doesn’t see the charming Yordle actually appear, but a shout-out to the fan-favorite LoL mascot appears as a quick entry in a picture book, indicating that he may enjoy a far larger role in future seasons.