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In fact, the few female characters Matt Ward has created/ written fluff for either die or are about to die (for instance the WD issue introducing the new Chaos Daemon armies featured fluff about a High Elf Mage who was tricked and killed by daemons. First female character he introduces to the setting is created just to die).
In fact, the few female characters Matt Ward has created/ written fluff for either die or are about to die (for instance the WD issue introducing the new Chaos Daemon armies featured fluff about a High Elf Mage who was tricked and killed by daemons. First female character he introduces to the setting is created just to die).
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A potentially potent example occurs in his latest work, the eldar codex supplement; Iyanden. The issue is Matt's fluff concerning Iyanna Arienal, Iyanden's most renowned Spiritseer. First we have this entry in Iyanden's timeline (page 35, Eldar codex supplement Iyanden; "...the Spiritseer Iyanna Arienal begins the preparations that she believes will cast the souls of Iyanden INTO THE INFINITY CIRCUIT, and hasten Ynnead's awakening."). The first implication is that Matt Ward, as stated earlier on this page, forgot that an infinity circuit ALREADY houses the souls of dead Eldar. This, however, makes the second implication more disturbing. It refers to "...the souls of Iyanden..." but it doesn't specify whether it's referring to departed souls or the souls of those STILL ALIVE. It makes Iyanna sound like she's planning a mass murder of Iyanden's living Eldar or a mass suicide. Either one violates the canon, as they are a dying race who go to great lengths to preserve Eldar lives (which is why Eldar, especially Iyanden's, summon the dead for war in the first place). In addition, it says something about Matt Ward's regard for women that his first female character reads like an upcoming suicide cult leader (She does share a combination of traits, derived from numerous psychological studies, with real-life suicide cult leaders: Charismatic; check. Superiority complex; check. Grand vision of the future; check. Fixation with death and morbid things; check. Traumatic past with ample opportunity for mental scarring; BIG, FUCKING CHECK) While this could just be due to the Grimdark nature of the 40k universe, the sexist implications remain due to Matt Ward's history with women in 40k's fluff. Reread the fluff about her, she's not planning a mass suicide she's planing to upload her STILL LIVING self (and some followers) into the Infinity Circuit. Either this is similar to how Farseers cast there souls into the warp, and use their powers to wake up Ynnead, or link everyone's souls to the Infinity Circuit, since Ynnead only awakes when every Eldar soul is in the Circuit and that it would be technically true. So her plan isn't to kill her craftworld but to turn them into a hive mind basically (or turn the Infinity Circuit into an Wi-fi for souls).
Whether he intended it or not, the argument that Ward is a misogynist has ammo to fire specifically because of logic holes like that, and the accusation clings to Ward the same way his early works do: It stains so much of what he's done that it's simply impossible to ignore. Considering that about 70% of the factions in 40K are sausage-fests, GW is probably just as much to blame as Brother Ward, though to what extent may never truly be known (although with rumors about GW ordering all women in group shots to be photoshop out...).
Whether he intended it or not, the argument that Ward is a misogynist has ammo to fire specifically because of logic holes like that, and the accusation clings to Ward the same way his early works do: It stains so much of what he's done that it's simply impossible to ignore. Considering that about 70% of the factions in 40K are sausage-fests, GW is probably just as much to blame as Brother Ward, though to what extent may never truly be known (although with rumors about GW ordering all women in group shots to be photoshop out...).