List of pop culture references in Warcraft

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See also

• In-Jokes and Pop References subpage
• Easter Eggs
• There is no cow level
• In-Jokes and References
• Blizzplanet list of WoW easter eggs - [1]

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Film and Television

• The A-Team
  • When returning the makings of a trap to Admiral Odyseus, he says "I love it when a plan comes together," a line spoken in every episode of The A-Team by Hannibal Smith.

• Austin Powers
  • Outside of the Circle of Blood in Blade's Edge Mountains there is a goblin named Meminnie, a reference to the character Mini-Me in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (and subsequent films).

• The Big Lebowski
  • In Hellfire Peninsula, the Horde Grand Master Engineering trainer is named "Zebig", and the Alliance one is named "Lebowski".

• The Black Hole
  • At the Ruins of Enkaat, Bot-Specialist Alley <B.O.O.M.> stands with her bots Maxx A. Million Mk. I, II, and V. The names of her bots are a reference to the ominous Maximillian from Disney's The Black Hole. Additionally, her robot Maxx A. Million Mk. V offers a quest entitled  [68G] Mark V is Alive! which is a reference to the robot Number 5's exclamation, "Number Five is alive!" in the movie Short Circuit.

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • [The Seal of Danzalar], which drops in Serpentshrine Cavern, is named after the gateway to the Sunnydale Hellmouth.

• Cruel Intentions
  • This is the name of the Horde's version of a quest to kill Arazzius the Cruel.

• Daria
  • There is a female goblin NPC in Gadgetzan named Quinn, whose name and clothing are a reference to Quinn Morgendorffer, Daria's younger sister.^{[citation needed]} 

• The Day The Earth Stood Still/Army of Darkness
  • There are two Draenei NPCs in the upstairs of the Honor Hold Inn named Klatu and Barata, a reference to the films The Day The Earth Stood Still and Army of Darkness, where the phrase "klaatu, barada, nikto" held importance.

• Dirty Harry
  • "Dirty" Larry is found in the lower city of Shattrath near the Aldor bank. He is standing next to "Epic" Malone. Both are listed under the guild, <Ruffian>

• The Exorcist
  • In the Inn of Honor Hold, there is a questline which ends with helping a draenei exorcise a human lying on a bed. During this exorcism, the human body floats through the room, and the draenei asks you to make sure nothing interrupts the process. Flying demon mobs spawn in the room, which you have to destroy. During this whole sequence, the demon possessing the human also insults you, and tries to scare you off with odd noises. Occasionally the body will vomit green stuff.

• Firefly
  • In Zangarmarsh, the engineering Grandmaster K. Lee Smallfry <Grand Master Engineer> is a reference to the character Kaylee Frye, the engineer on the show. Her dialog includes the word "shiny," a common adjective for "good" used on the show.
  • There is a non-combat firefly pet with the flavor text "Still flying..." which is a line from the show.

• Gladiator
  • In Shadowmoon Valley, there is quest called the Journal of Val'zareq: Portends of War which leads you to the captured Marcus Aurelion <High General of the Sha'tar>. He is being held prison at Crimson Watch. To free Marcus Aurelion you have to fight waves and waves of mobs to finally defeat Torloth the Magnificent. This is a reference to the movie Gladiator where Marcus Aurelius is the Emperor of Rome.
  • The sword [Gladiator's Greatsword] is indicated to be built to "Proximo's specification" in the item description. Proximo was the slave trader/former gladiator who bought Maximus and trained him as a gladiator.

• MacGyver
  • The Grandmaster engineering trainer in Zabra'jin in Zangarmarsh is named Mack Diver, a reference to Richard Dean Anderson's character MacGyver in the series of the same name.

• Napoleon Dynamite
  • The male Blood Elf's dance moves are taken directly from Napoleon's choreographed dance sequence at the end of the movie.

• Once Were Warriors
  • In Nagrand there is a quest given by Saurfang the Younger called  [15-30] Once Were Warriors, could very well be directly related to the popular New Zealand Film by the same name. The emotions described within the quest text seem to confirm this more. Saurfang not returning to his home could be describing Jack in the film (the main male character of the film), Jack (like the quest giver) has abandoned the ways of his past and is not returning to them (that being the ways of the Māori).

• Oprah Winfrey
  • The innkeeper at The Temple of Telhamat, in Hellfire Peninsula is named Caregiver Ophera Windfury <Innkeeper>.

• RoboCop
  • The lines recited by The Arcane Patrollers in the Ruins of Silvermoon are RoboCop's prime directives: "Protect the innocent", "Serve the Public Trust", and "Uphold the Law."

• Saturday Night Live
  • There is a quest called  [69] Needs More Cowbell, which is obtainable from Kirin'Var Village near Sunfury Hold in southeastern Netherstorm, a reference to the famous Will Ferrell sketch.

• The Simpsons
  • There is a quest NPC in Eversong Woods named Groundskeeper Wyllithen, a reference to Groundskeeper Willie of Simpsons fame.
  • The skinning trainer in Shattrath City is called Seymour <Grand Master Skinner>, a reference to Seymour Skinner the principal of Springfield Elementary School.

• The Sixth Sense
  • Near the entrance to the Auchenai Crypts in Auchindoun, a small draenei child named Ha’lei gives the quest  [67] I See Dead Draenei, a reference to Haley Joel Osment's character in The Sixth Sense saying "I see dead people".

• Snakes On A Plane
  • In Nagrand at Nesingwary Safari, there is a gnome style plane crashed into the ground with snakes slithering atop it!

• South Park
  • Episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft": Though [The Sword of a Thousand Truths] was fictional at the time of the South Park tribute episode, a sword with the same name but with different, less overpowered stats, was supposed to be made available in The Burning Crusade. The name Salzman in the item's description is also a reference to the character Salzman, an accountant in that episode. However, [The Sword of a Thousand Truths] did not make it through to The Burning Crusade's final release, the item was replaced by [Gladiator's Greatsword] sadly this item was crafted to Proximo's specification instead of Salzman. [The Sword of a Thousand Truths] was available as an arena reward during The Burning Crusade beta while the [Gladiator's Greatsword] exists as an arena reward in the live version of The Burning Crusade.
  • Episode "Gnomes": One of the draenei Male's jokes mimics the Underpants Gnomes' plan for profit.

• Star Trek
  • There is a quest in the Netherstorm called You're Hired, where you search for Etherlithium Matrix Crystals, a pun on the Dilithium Matrix Crystals used to power the Enterprise's Warp Drive.
  • In Exodar, there is a group of draenei that walks around checking out the holograms, named Audrid, Curzon, Emony, Tobin and Torias. They were all hosts of the Dax symbiont in Deep Space Nine.
  • After completing the Netherstorm quest That Little Extra Kick, the giver and receiver of this quest (B.O.O.M. Master Mixologist Boots) dies. A goblin paramedic rushes in to stimulate his heart. After a couple of shocks, the paramedic screams "Dammit Boots, I'm a doctor, not a priest!" which is a reference to Leonard 'Bones' McCoy's line "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a <insert random profession>" from the original Star Trek series.

• Star Wars
  • The Azuremyst Isles are filled with NPCs, quests, and items that reference to several science fiction stories, most notably Star Wars. For instance, the flight master of Blood Watch is named Laando (after Lando Calrissian). In addition to this, a quest on Bloodmyst Isle is named  [12] The Kessel Run.
  • Baron Sablemane will give you a quest named  [67] It's a Trap! -- like a reference to Admiral Ackbar's famous catch phrase.
  • There is an Alliance quest hub in the Blade's Edge Mountains called Toshley's Station, a reference to Tosche Station in A New Hope. One of the quests, called "Picking up Power Converters," rewards you with a (useless) item called a Power Converter. The "Use" function of the item is to "destroy technological terror constructs," and the item caption says, "the next best thing to going to the Academy." In A New Hope, 'Luke Skywalker' expresses a desire to pick up some power converters from Tosche Station, as well as a hope to go into the Academy someday. Finally, at one point 'Darth Vader' says, "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed," in reference to the 'Death Star'.
  • Toshley's Station also features a robot named R-3D0 a play of the name of the robots R2-D2 and C-3P0.

• Starship Troopers
  • At Toshley's Station in Blade's Edge Mountains, you can find a gnome named Razak Ironsides patrolling the station's ramparts, which is an obvious reference to Lieutenant Jean Rasczak played by Michael Ironside. This reference is highlighted by the fact that he is defending the outposts against Ravagers, a kind of creature resembling the insect-aliens of the movie. There is also a guard named Dizzy Dina, in reference to Dizzy Flores, played by Dina Meyer.
  • Sometimes an event will start at Toshley's Station, where Ravagers attack the station. As the gnome guards rush to defend, you will hear Razak Ironsides yelling various quotes from Micheal Ironside in the Starship Troopers movie: "Come on you apes, you want to live forever?", "I have one rule: everybody fights, no one quits." and "You don't do your job, I will shoot you myself.". Also, at one point he calls in for reinforcements, a group of Gnomes on Mechanostriders who are led by a robot, the group is called "Roughriders", possibly after the self-proclaimed "Roughnecks", the name that the main characters from the movie gave themselves. More likely, it is a homage to former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt's calvary unit The Rough Riders, which fought in the Spanish-American War.

• Three's Company
  • The cooking trainer in Shattrath City is named Jack Trapper <Cook>, a reference to Jack Tripper, John Ritter's character in the TV shows "Three's Company" and "Three's a Crowd," who was a professional chef.

• Transformers
  • One of the quests in Outland summons a scripted scene involving a gigantic Fel Reaver named Negatron, a nod to the Decepticon leader Megatron.

• • The Trogg boss in Uldaman is named Grimlok, when attacked, he yells: "Me Grimlok, me king!". A reference to the Autobot Grimlock, leader of the Dinobots, whose most famous quote is "Me Grimlock, me king!".

• Tremors
  • In Hellfire Peninsula, there is a quest given by Foreman Biggums called A Job For An Intelligent Man that has you go out and kill sand worms in the area. This is a reference to the movie "Tremors" starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, in which sand worms out in the Nevada desert come up out of the ground and eat people. In this movie, Fred Ward asks Kevin Bacon "Is this a job for an intelligent man?", to which Kevin Bacon replies "Well, show me one and I'll ask him."

• Ugly Betty
  • Item called [Last Year's In Belt] (τ) is a reference to an Ugly Betty Episode in which Marc St James admits to leaking trade secrets to others in the industry for money.

• Under Siege
  • The cooking trainer in Stormwind City is named Stephen Ryback. This is a reference to the movie Under Siege, in which Steven Seagal played a Navy Seal-turned-cook named Casey Ryback. The Stormwind guards also allude to this by saying "From the way he handles a knife, I don't think he was always a chef." Also, the cooking supplier is Erika Tate, a reference to another character, Jordan Tate, who was played by Erika Eleniak.

• UHF
  • There is a quest in the Azuremyst Isles called "Red Snapper - Very Tasty!" A direct quote from the "Wheel Of Fish" scene in "UHF" starring Weird Al Yankovic.

Games

• Street Fighter
  • The male Blood Elf Rogue [Eviscerate] animation is identical to Ken and Ryu's Shoryuken animation.

• Zero Wing
  • In Shadow Moon Valley, there is a quest called Setting Up The Bomb, which is a reference to the quote "Somebody set up us the bomb".

• Final Fantasy
  • There is a random drop in outlands that is called "The Gunblade", probably a reference to Final Fantasy VIII, where the character Squall Leonhart uses a weapon called a Gunblade. The weapon also has visual likeness to the weapon from Final Fantasy

• Kingdom Hearts I and II
  • An epic mace "The Oathkeeper", bears the same name as one of the Keyblades that Sora can wield in Kingdom Hearts I and II.

Literature

• A Song of Ice and Fire: A Feast for Crows
  • "The Oathkeeper" (an epic mace) bears the same name as one of the two swords crafted from the Valyrian steel blade, Ice. Also the name of a keyblade in Kingdom Hearts.

• Dune
  • The sandworm mobs in Hellfire Peninsula seem to be directly based on the sandworms of Dune.
  • One quest in the Bone Wastes involves using an item called a "Fumper" to summon an enormous sandworm called "Hai'Shulud," whose title is "the Bone Emperor." The quest reward is called a Crysknife. the crysknifes are all references to people in the book. One of the main characters were named Muad'dib. One knife is named  [Dib'Muad's Crysknife]. Chani were Muad'dibs wife and the other crysknife is called  [Shani's Crysknife]. The third crysknife is called  [Revered Mother's Crysknife]. The Revered mothers were priest-like women.
  • In Dune, certain people use items called "thumpers" to summon sandworms (shai'hulud). Crysknives are blades made from sandworm teeth. The "owners" of the quest reward are also taken from the book. In the game Emperor: Battle for Dune, the final encounter is with an immense sandworm known as the "Emperor Worm."
  • The worm boss Ouro in AQ 40 has a 6% drop chance on an item called  [Jom Gabbar]. the icon resembles a mysterious box. In the Dune book Muad'dib was tested with a box and a poisonous needle. the box was called Gom Jabbar. In the test you place your hand in the box and it will cause unimaginable pain until the test ends, but if you take your hand out to early the one testing you will stab you with the needle and you will die instantly.

• H.P. Lovecraft
  • The Black Morass, an instance in the Caverns of Time set in the swamp of Dustwallow Marsh, may refer to Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu", in which Inspector Legrasse, investigating reports of strange rituals in New Orleans swamplands, is described to have "plowed on through the black morass". The design of the zone itself closely adheres to Lovecraft's description of the New Orleans marshes.

• I, Robot
  • There is a quest in Outland named "You, Robot"

• Kurt Vonnegut
  • In Hellfire Peninsula, there is a demon boss named Doom Lord Kazzak, probably based off the hound of space, Kazak, from Vonnegut's book 'The Sirens Of Titan'.

• Shakespeare
  • In the raid instance Karazhan, one of the boss-encounters you have to face in the Opera Event consists of Romulo and Julianne. An obvious reference to Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Julianne can also drop Romeo's Poison Vial. Why it wasn't called Romulo's Poison Vial however is unclear. Romulo and Julianne also use famous quotes from Shakespeare's original play while engaging in combat.
  • In the Onyxia key chain of quests, the mount the Marshal Windsor rides into Stormwind with is name Mercutio, a main character in Romeo and Juliet

• Doestoyevsky
  • The NPC in Stormwind who gives the quest "The Color of Blood" is named Nikova Raskol, a reference to Raskolnikov, the main character in Crime and Punishment

• Walt Whitman
  • There is an NPC in a house by the gryphon master in Darkshire named "Whit Wantmal"

Music

• Pink Floyd
  • The Innkeeper in Thrallmar is named Floyd Pinkus <Innkeeper>, a reference to the British rock band Pink Floyd.
  • Otonambusi, the General Goods vendor in Azure Watch says, "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your fish?" ("Another Brick in the Wall Part 2")

• • At Hammerfall , during the Triage quest , one of the dying phrases is "Goodbye cruel world , I'm leaving you today. Goodbye , goodbye , goodbye" ("The Wall")

• Britney Spears
  • The female Blood Elf's dance moves are the same as in Britney Spears' "Toxic" choreography.

• Daler Mehndi
  • The male Draenei's dance moves are taken from the video for the song "Tunak Tunak Tun" by Daler Mehndi (YouTube), which was a moderate internet phenomenon.

• The Pussycat Dolls
  • One of the silly jokes for the male Blood Elf is: "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?" This is a line from the Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha" song.

• Kelis
  • The Blood Elf female has an emote where she says "My mana tap brings all the boys to the yard." which is a reference to a phrase in the song "Milkshake" by Kelis.

• Men at Work
  • In the Eastern Plaguelands, at Light's Hope Chapel, Caretaker Alen <The Argent Dawn> is saying/singing : "I come from a land down under, where the woman plague and the man sunder." This is a parody on the Men at Work song "Down under".

• The Eagles
  • In the Violet Tower in Netherstorm, Archmage Vargoth will quote several lines from Hotel California when you talk to him multiple times.

• Tenacious D
  • A drop from Ramparts off the last boss, the plate belt  [Tenacious Defender] has the flavor text, "It has the power... to move you" -- itself a reference to their song "Wonderboy".
  • In the German version, this item was translated as "Die Toten Hosentäger" referring to Die toten Hosen, with the flavor text "Steh auf, wenn du am Boden bist." referring to one of their songs.

• Dead Kennedys
  • In the Allerian Stronghold there is a NPC named Lady Dena Kennedy.

• Depeche Mode
  • A quest in the Azuremyst Isles is called "Precious and Fragile Things Need Special Handling", taken word-for-word from the chorus of Precious.
  • A quest in the Blasted Lands is called "Everything Counts in Large Amounts", the pivotal lyric from the song "Everything Counts."
  • The Night Elf rogue pickpocket quest extensively references "The Bottom Line" from the album "Ultra". When you meet the rogue trainer in Dolanaar to start the quest chain, he is saying/singing a paraphrased version of the opening words from the song. His quest, which sends you to the Rogue Trainer in Darnassus, is "The Apple Falls", and her quest (to pickpocket a satyr) is called "Destiny Calls", which are lyrics from the song.

• Eminem
  • There is a vendor outside of the Mana-Tombs named "Slim" -- he is a <Shady Dealer>. This is a reference to one of Eminem's stage names, Slim Shady, and also to his hit song "The Real Slim Shady". Said vendor's dialog includes "No my name isn't really slim." As he then isn't "The Real Slim Shady".

• Elton John
  • At Area 52 in Netherstorm, in a discussion between Engineering Crewmember and Experimental Pilot the last one says "Oh no no no I'm a rocket man" from the Elton John's song "Rocket Man". This entire conversation is comprised of paraphrased lyrics from the song -- at one point, Engineering Crewmember asks Experimental Pilot why he doesn't bring his family into space, to which the reply is "Mars isn't the type of place to raise your kids." This is also a reference to William Shatner's spoken word cover of the song, considering the setting of Area 52.

• John Denver
  • In the same discussion between the Engineering Crewmember and Experimental Pilot at Area 52 mentioned above, the Experimental Pilot also says a line from John Denver's song, "Leaving on a Jet Plane". "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go."

• Metallica
  • A quest in Blade's Edge Mountains is called Ride the Lightning.
  • An NPC in Stratholme is named "The Unforgiven" a reference to one of their songs.

• HammerFall
  • A quest given by Danath Trollbane is called The Legion Reborn, which might be a reference to the HammerFall song, The Legend Reborn.
  • Hammerfall is the name of the Horde town in Arathi Highlands

Other

• Area 51
  • In the Outland, there is a neutral city in the Netherstorm called Area 52. This is a reference to the secret of Area 51.

• Stargate SG:1
  • Area 52 another name for Stargate Command from the series Stargate SG:1

• Alien vs Predator
  • There is a quest in Bloodmyst called Alien Predator, most likely named after the comic and movie series Alien vs Predator.

• The Lord of the Rings
  • You receive a sword named "[Stung]" after killing spiders in the Ghostlands, obviously taking from Bilbo's sword "Sting" in Lord of the Rings.
  • There is one item in game called "The 1 Ring", which has all five stats +1. With the description "Not quite as good as the 2 ring"
  • One of the human male /silly jokes is a parody of "The Lord of the Rings" series and goes as follows:
    • "So I have this idea for a great movie, it's about two gnomes who find a bracelet of power, and they have to take it to the Burning Steppes and cast it into the Cauldron. They form the brotherhood of the bracelet, but along the way they're trailed by a Murloc named "Gottum" who's obsessed with the bracelet; and nine bracelet bogeymen! It could be a three parter, called Ruler of the Bracelet. The first part would be called The Brotherhood of the Bracelet, followed by "A Couple of Towers, with a climactic ending called Hey! The King's Back!
  • In honor hold there is an NPC named "Marshal Isildor", an obvious reference to Isildur in Lord of the Rings, the man who cut the ring from Sauron's finger.

• Masters of the Universe
  • In the draenei city of Shattrath, The Arathi Basin Battlemaster is named "Adam Eternum" in reference to the popular Masters of the Universe character "He-Man". He also has a Zulian Battle-tiger as a pet, in reference to his tiger, Cringer. He also appears with a gnome behind him called "Oric Coe" in reference to Orko. When you talk to him, Adam Eternum says:
    • "I came to Outland hoping to discover powerful artifacts to assist the League of Arathor against the Defilers in Arathi Basin... but all I've found is this smashing magical loincloth, a ridiculous gnome sidekick, and an egomaniacal undead stalker who insists I've stolen his grey skull, or some such. In any case, would you care to join the League in their fight while I continue my search?"
  • In the same city, and being another Arathi Basin Battle master, Keldor the Lost direct reference to the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. "Keldor" was the identity of He-Man's arch-nemesis, prior to his transformation into the evil Skeletor. Being undead, Keldor the Lost's hood, glowing eyes, dark blue attire, and skull-tipped staff all bear a striking resemblance to Skeletor.

• Amelia Earhart
  • The flightmaster at Spinebreaker Post is named Amilya Airheart, after the famous female pilot.

• Granny Smith
  • There is a fruit vendor in the lower city of Shattrath named Granny Smith, a reference to the apple of the same name.

• Greek mythology
  • At Azure Watch, there's a Hunter trainer named Acteon, who sends players on various quests to hunt down bucks and stags in the area. In Greek myth, Actaeon was a hunter who was turned into a stag as punishment by the god Artemis for seeing her bathe nude. After being turned into a stag, he was torn to pieces by his own hounds.

• Jimmy Carter
  • There is an NPC named Jerry Carter in Old Hillsbrad instance. A reference to a US president, Jimmy Carter.

• Paris Hilton
  • One of the bar patrons in Lower Shattrath City is a blood elf female named Haris Pilton <Socialite> an obvious reference to the famous heiress. Her dog Tinkerbell is also wandering around the inn.

• Paranoia
  • In Silvermoon, the Arcane Guardians sometimes say "Happiness is mandatory, Citizen!". This is a direct quote from the Role-Playing game Paranoia.

• The Pep Boys
  • In the quest  [10-30] How to Serve Goblins, Foreman Razelcraz asks you to rescue Manni, Moh and Jakk from the Fel Orc camps. This is a reference to the Emanuel 'Manny' Rosenfeld, Maurice 'Moe' Strauss and Graham 'Jack' Jackson founders of The Pep Boys auto parts supply chain. The 'Manny, Moe and Jack' characters were modeled after the founders.

• Romeo & Juliet
  • In the instance Karazhan, there's a possibilty of spawning of the bosses Romulo & Julianne. (Could also spawn The Big Bad Wolf or The Wizard of Oz characters: Dorothee, Tito, Roar, Strawman, Tinhead, & The Crone.
  • One of the quests in Bloodmaul Ravine is called "A Curse Upon Both Your Clans!" -- a reference to Mercutio's oft repeated curse "a plague on both your houses!"

• Pee-Wee's Playhouse
  • In Bloodmaul Ravine players can find the disembodied ghost head of T'chali the Witch Doctor, possibly a reference to another similarly colored disembodied head Jambi the Genie.

• Metal Gear
  • There is a quest called "To Legion Hold" in Shadowmoon Valley, where you have to spy on enemies while you are disguised as a wooden crate, in reference to the Metal Gear series, where the main character often uses a cardboard box to move around undetected.

World of Warcraft

Games

• Diablo I & Diablo II
  • The weapon "Wirt's Third Leg" is a reference to the character of Wirt the peg-legged boy from Diablo, and his wooden leg which you could actually pick up and wield as a weapon after Wirt's death in Diablo II.
  • The "Cow King's Hide" is a piece of chest armor which is a piece of random equipment dropped from various higher level creatures across the game world, and it refers to The 'Cow King' from 'Diablo II', located on the Cow Level.
  • The enemy "Razorclaw the Butcher" and the item "Butcher's Cleaver" are references to the overlord unique monster in Diablo 1 and the item he dropped.
  • The item "Shadowfang" is a reference to the sword of the same name in 'Diablo II'. There is also the "Staff of Jordan" which is a reference to a popular item in Diablo II called Stone of Jordan.
  • The weapon set Dal'Rend's Arms (consisting of Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge and Tribal Guardian) is a reference to the 'Diablo II' set Bul-Kathos' Children (consisting of Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge and Tribal Guardian).
  • The item [Naglering] is an obvious reference to "Nagel Ring".
  • One of the tips displayed as the player logs in to the game is 'There is no cow level', a reference to a popular rumor about there being a secret cow level in Diablo I (after which they really DID put a secret cow level into Diablo II). The phrase 'There is no cow level' is also the instant victory cheat code in the Blizzard RTS StarCraft.
  • WoW players who purchase the collectors edition receive a gift coupon in-game which can be redeemed for a mini-Diablo pet.
  • Most of the Uncommon items in the world are armors from the Diablo games.

• Donkey Kong
  • In Un'Goro Crater, the gorillas sometimes drop an item named "Empty Barrel", a reference to Donkey Kong throwing barrels at 'Mario' in the 'Nintendo' arcade game and the continued importance of barrels in the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64 series.

• The Legend of Zelda series
  • In Un'Goro Crater there is a character named Linken (reference to the Zelda character 'Link') who has a bit of 'amnesia'. You will encounter Linken by finding a wrecked raft which begins the quest "It's a Secret to Everybody" a quote received in a dungeon in the original Legend of Zelda. Throughout the quest line you will receive several items including a faded photograph showing Link with a female gnome who resembles Princess Zelda standing in Stormwind (or Hyrule Castle), a compass and map which are common items in all Zelda games, as well as a training sword. The last of Linken's quests is called "It's Dangerous to Go Alone" the line spoken by the old man in the beginning of the first Zelda when he gives you a sword. Completing the quest will reward you with Linken's Boomerang and Linken's Sword of Mastery, references to Link's trusty boomerang and the 'Master Sword'.
  • Near Linken there is also a Kodo named Dadanga, similar to 'The Legend of Zelda series Dodongo a monster from the Zelda series, and if you talk to its owner she will tell you that it "hates smoke", a reference to a hint given in the Legend of Zelda that "DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE". Also during these chain of events there is an NPC named Miblon, a reference to the enemy (Moblin) from the original Zelda game. You must buy a piece of ham for Miblon, which opens a gate to an Evoroot. In The Legend of Zelda, you must give a piece of ham to a Moblin to access another part of a dungeon.
  • During the Linken chain of quests you have to bring his training sword to Donova Snowden in Everlook, were she'll then tell you about how the spring near her has special properties that make items better when you throw them into the spring. This is a reference to A Link to the Past where if you threw your sword, boomerang, or arrows into the Fairy spring they would be upgraded.

• The Lost Vikings
  • In Uldaman there are three dwarves who are the three lost vikings from Blizzard's sidescrolling game. As a horde player you are required to kill them to fully complete the instance, and their combat abilities from the original game have been translated faithfully to the Warcraft universe. And also holding faithful to their abilities, are 3 items, Baelog drops a sword, the Nordic Long Shank, Olaf drops a shield "Olaf's all Purpose Shield" which allows the user to float for 10 seconds, and Eric the Swift drops a "Horned Viking Helmet" with a use to charge the enemy, incapacitating it, and stunning you for a short period of time. There are also two items, a staff and an amulet, that you must retrieve in conjunction with a quest called "The Staff of Tsol" and the "Gni'kiv Medallion". These two items spell "Lost Viking" backwards.

• Mortal Kombat
  • The same dwarves who quote Evil Dead and AC/DC while doing target practice outside of Kharanos also shout "Mortar Combat!" in precisely the same manner "Mortal Kombat!" is shouted in the soundtrack to the movie of the videogame.

Note: these dwarves' lines consist entirely of sound files taken from the Dwarven Mortar Team unit from Warcraft III, so the references are not originally from World of Warcraft.

• Neverwinter Nights
  • In Ironforge there is a gnome named Fentwick, referring to the character Fenthick in Neverwinter Nights.

• Street Fighter
  • The male troll offensive spell cast animation is identical to that of a 'Hadouken'.
  • A Tauren NPC in Camp Mojache in Feralas is named "Hadoken Swiftstrider".
  • Low level imps called Grells will sometimes perform Ken and Ryu's Dragon Punch motion when attacking.

• StarCraft
  • Across the gameworld are disabled shredders with a picture of Infested Kerrigan on the screen.
  • The Silithid hives and the surrounded infested areas are strongly reminiscent of the Zerg hives.
  • WoW players who purchase the collectors edition receive a gift coupon in-game which can be redeemed for a Zergling pet.
  • During the opening of the Dark Portal event, an NPC who is fighting the demon invaders is named "Marshal Raynor", a reference to the Terran character Jim Raynor who is a marshal.
  • At the Dark Portal in Hellfire is an NPC named Commander Duron, a potential reference to Lieutenant Duran.
  • One of the NPCs found at the Sha'tari Skyguard base outside Skettis is named Adaris, a potential reference to Aldaris.

• Super Mario Bros.
  • In Un'Goro Crater two characters named Muigin and Larion can be found (if you remove the n on Larion and Muigin and trade the letters L and M you get Mario and Luigi). Larion, who is clad in red and blue, is based on 'Mario' while Muigin, in green and blue, is based on his brother 'Luigi'. Also, Muigin (Alliance side) and Larion (Horde) begin quests where the player must hunt Bloodpetals, which look suspiciously like the 'Piranha Plant's from the various Super Mario Brothers games. Upon quest completion, Muigin references previous injuries when attempting to jump on the Bloodpetals, stating "Plants shouldn't be so strong!" Several times, Larion insists that, "It's Muigin's fault we're lost!" and "He told me to take the tunnel!" This is a reference to the Super Mario Brothers movie, where Luigi tells him to take the tunnel which strands them in the desert.
  • A food item can be discovered in various sections of the game called the Red Speckled Mushroom. The image of the mushroom is supiciously similar to the Super Mushroom from Super Mario World et al.

• Ultima
  • At the Darkmoon Faire, a periodic world event, there is a fortune teller who will ask you morality questions that are almost directly pulled from the morality questions asked at the beginnings of Ultimas 4, 5, and 6.

• Ultima Online
  • A certain quest has the player delivering a book called  [Studies in Spirit Speaking]. When read, the book contains series of Os (OOOoOoo), just as the dialogue of player ghosts appeared in Ultima Online. The Os in the book also represent text in binary that reads "Ultima Online Napa Valley Knights of Chaos" (referring to a player guild on an Ultima Online shard). The title of the book is a reference to the necromancer-related skill required to understand ghosts.

• Fable
  • In the Undercity, there is a NPC named Theresa that wanders around aimlessly. She is blindfolded and is a mind slave to one of the Undead characters in the game. This is most likely a reference to a blind character of the same name in Fable (itself a reference to classical mythology).
  • Also, Briarthorn may be named after a hero in Fable, Briar Rose.

Film and television

• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
  • An NPC named Finkle Einhorn can be found in Upper Blackrock Spire after skinning The Beast. This is a reference to the dual lives of Ace Ventura's antagonist, Ray Finkle/Lois Einhorn.
  • There is also a mace called 'Finkle's Lava Dredger' and a dagger called 'Finkle's Skinner'.
  • Also, there is mention about a "Captain Winky" and the term "shikaka".

• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
  • In Shimmering Flats there are tire tracks that go up to a wall of rock. The tracks appear on the other side of the cliff, in Tanaris, along with the ill-fated vehicle that made the journey.

• Alias
  • One of the female Human's silly emotes says "I can't wait till this quest is done and I can look for another Garibaldi artifact," a reference to the 'Milo Rambaldi/Rambaldi' artifacts pursued by 'Sydney Bristow'. It has been suggested that this is also a reference to 'Michael Garibaldi', a character from the TV series Babylon 5 portrayed by actor Jerry Doyle.
  • In Stormwind, the thieves guild hall is named SI:7, assumed to be a play on both 'SD:6', which is the orginzation Sidney Bristow works for in the show, as well as 'MI:6', which is best known as the British intelligence agency James Bond works for.

• Aliens
  • In the human barracks west of the town of Goldshire there are two NPCs named Quartermaster Hicks and Quartermaster Hudson, who are named after Corporal Hicks and Private Hudson from Aliens.

• American Idol
  • One of the male Orc's silly emotes is "Man, dawg, you know, it's like I'm feeling you, but I'm not feeling you, you know?", a reference to the phrases used by judge Randy Jackson.

• An American Werewolf in London
  • In the Mage District of Stormwind, the Warlock trainer can be found in the basement of a pub called "The Slaughtered Lamb". This is a reference to the freaky pub two lost American hitchhikers stumbled upon before their unfortunate encounter with the local werewolf.

• Apocalypse Now
  • In Stranglethorn Vale, there is a boss named Colonel Kurzen, who went insane and raised an army from a small, hidden compound. This is a reference to Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. The two Colonels' backstories are very similar. It is, by extension, a reference to Kurtz from Heart of Darkness, the novel whose story Apocalypse Now retells in a modern context.

• Aqua Teen Hunger Force
  • An NPC named Oglethorpe Obnoticus can be found in Booty Bay. He's a reference to Oglethorpe, one of the unbelievably stupid Plutonian aliens, and their source of knowledge, the Orbnaticus, a giant mirrored disco ball that Oglethorpe insists is actually a supercomputer. The NPC is an engineering trainer who gives the quests The Pledge of Secrecy and Show Your Work.

• Army of Darkness
  • Around the dwarven capital there are some dwarves doing target practice. If one waits there long enough eventually one will say "THIS IS MY BOOMSTICK!", a reference to Army of Darkness. (This is the same dialogue used for the 'Dwarven Rifleman' in Warcraft III.)
  • The gunshop outside the Auction House in 'Orgrimmar' is named "Boomstick Imports".
  • There are also several Gun items in the game with the word "Boomstick" in them.

• Austin Powers
  • Part of the quest to open Ahn'Qiraj involves a gnome named Doctor Weavil, who sends a yeti named Number Two to attack the player working on the quest when his ransom demand fails.
  • Inside Naxxramas, there is a cat near the entranced named "Mr. Bigglesworth" which was the name of Dr. Evil's cat. Killing this cat will enrage Kel'Thuzad.
  • One of the female Human's silly emotes says "Sometimes, I have trouble controlling the volume OF MY VOICE!", which is a direct quote from Austin's reanimation from cryostasis.
  • Both male and female gnome dancing resembles Mini-me's dance in the second movie, The Spy Who Shagged Me.

• Bewitched
  • A troll in Sen'jin Village is named Witchdoctor Bombay. In the show from the 1960's, when a witch or warlock needed help, they would call "Doctor Bombay" by chanting "Calling Dr. Bombay, Calling Dr. Bombay. Please come right away."

• Big Trouble in Little China
  • The Six Demon Bag is a trinket; its tooltip text says it "Blasts enemies with the power of wind, fire, that kind of thing!", quoting Egg Shen's description of the contents of his Six-Demon Bag in the film.
  • There is a hidden area under one of the lakes in Deadwind Pass that is referred to as the hell of "upside down sinners" where you can view floating corpses chained to the lake floor.

• Caddyshack
  • There is an NPC in Darnassus behind one of the large trees that houses the Druid trainers surrounded by piles of dirt. When the NPC asked Arch Druid Staghelm what his purpose in life would be, he was told "that the world needs ditch diggers too." This line was spoken by the Judge in the movie when the main character Danny expressed his doubt at having enough money for college.

• Cannonball Run
  • A trinket called the Cannonball Runner drops in Stratholme.

• Carlito's Way
  • In Westfall, there is a Defias NPC called Benny Blanco, the same name as the John Leguizamo character in the film.

• Chasing Amy / Congo
  • A quest in Un'Goro crater is named "Chasing A-Me 01", and tasks the player with finding and rescuing a mechanized female gorilla from a pack of wild apes.

• Caveman
  • When targeted, one of the random messages an NPC orc will say is "zug zug," a word used in this film intended to mean "sex." (This dialogue was used in previous Warcraft games as well.)
  • One of the female Orc "flirting" lines is "You had me at zug zug," which is also a reference to one of the final lines of 'Jerry Maguire'.

• Chris Farley, Saturday Night Live
  • The dance moves of the Ogres in Dire Maul, as well as the Moonkin form, are the same as those made famous by Chris Farley during the 'Chippendales' sketch on Saturday Night Live.

• Clerks
  • One of the auctioneers in Booty Bay is a goblin named Graves, a reference to Randall Graves from the Clerks movies.
  • There is also a quest giver at Menethil Harbor in Wetlands named Jame Halloran. This may be a refrence to Brian O'Halloran, who plays Dante.

• Commando
  • During the second boss encounter in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, Lt. General Andorov makes the same threat to Rajaxx that Arnold Schwartzenegger's character Matrix makes to Sully: "Remember when I said I'd kill you last? I lied."

• Conan the Barbarian
  • In the Badlands there is a cave with the corpse of the warrior king sitting on a throne and propping up a sword that Conan retrieves.
  • Saru Steelfury, the Artisan Blacksmith in Orgrimmar, says (if you are qualified for Expert Blacksmithing and not Artisan) "No one, no one in the world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts ... this you can trust, steel," which is a quote from the movie.

• Dr. Strangelove
  • In the description of the Ashenvale quest " [24] Between a Rock and a Thistlefur", the questgiver says to you "<character name>, we must not allow... an expansion path gap!" intended to be a reference to a line in the movie talking about a mine shaft gap.

• Doctor Who
  • In Elwynn Forest, there is a NPC named Bernice Stonefield. This is a reference to 'Bernice Summerfield', a Doctor Who companion.

• Dukes of Hazzard
  • In the Shimmering Flats area there is a Race Starter named Daisy wearing a tank top and 'Daisy Dukes'

• Dracula
  • The Guild Master of the Undercity is named Christopher Drakul, possibly a reference to Christopher Lee, who played the vampire lord more than any other man in film.

• The Exorcist
  • In the War Quarter of the Undercity, there waits a Level 40 Priest trainer named Father Lankester, named after the priest Lankester Merrin.

• Farscape
  • The Accessories Quartermaster NPC in the Old Town section of Stormwind is named Officer Areyn. She is the spitting image of Claudia Black's character, Officer 'Aeryn Sun' from the Farscape television series.

• Fight Club
  • In the War Quarter of the Undercity there are two NPCs named Tyler and Edward that fight NPCs. The undead around them also have names from the movie, such as Marla and Chloe.
  • There is also a weapon in the game, appropriately named [Fight Club]".

• Forrest Gump
  • A dwarven fisherman named Gubber Blump can be found on the beach near Auberdine; he is a reference to both Forrest and his friend Bubba. His dialogue is similar to both characters; he introduces himself "My name's Gubber, Gubber Blump" and later recites a list of all the different ways to cook 'crab'.
  • In the human capital of Stormwind, the flower shop is run by Florist Gump.

• Fraggle Rock
  • There is a NPC in Un'Goro Crater who is similarly named Spraggle Frock.

• Friday the 13th
  • The lake next to the town of Goldshire is called Crystal Lake. In the early morning hours, six children, standing at the points of a pentagram, will wander around Goldshire in a spooky fashion.
  • An Undead in the town of Brill will give you directions to the lake to the east in Lordearon but warns you to be careful because some guy in a mask killed a bunch of people near there.
  • A Human named Jason Mathers stands on a small pier on the shores of Crystal Lake, and sometimes when a player asks a Stormwind Guard about the fishing trainer, they will tell that the fisherman once fished up a strange mask from Crystal Lake.

• Full House
  • In Stormwind, there is an NPC named Stephanie Tanner. She is found near a corner in the Trade District. This NPC also has dialogue in a Paladin quest.

• Full Metal Jacket
  • Ghede, in Thunder Bluff, upon talking to him while doing the Un'goro Soil quest says: "Be advised, Jackson - I am in no mood for any comment that you think is cute or funny. I am here to make sure that the Arch Druid's research proceeds as planned, and I will weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve my beloved Cenarion Circle."

• Gamera
  • The Blackfathom Deeps instance features a giant turtle named Ghamoo-ra, a clear reference to Gamera. The turtle also bears more then a passing resemblance to the movie monster.
  • In the Hinterlands, there is a turtle boss called Gammerita.

• Ghostbusters
  • There is a NPC in the Eastern Plaguelands named Egan that gives you [Egan's Blaster]. The blaster will release the souls trapped inside the ghostly and spectral citizens of Stratholme, and then can be used again on the souls to free them. A direct reference to Ghostbuster's character 'Egon Spengler'.
  • There is a NPC in Death Knell named Harold Raims which spoofs Harold Ramis, one of the writers of the movie, and also the actor who played Egon.
  • In The Hinterlands, one can find The Altar of Zul. Zuul was the minion of Gozer in the first Ghostbusters movie.
  • There is also a mage quest in the Undercity (and a similar one in Stormwind) which involves the investigation of disturbances and the capturing of ghosts in Containment Coffers.
  • In Stormwind there are three NPC mages that walk around and talk about "crossing the streams," and that it would be bad.
  • One of the goblin engineers working at the race track in the Shimmering Flats cites, "We have the tools, we have the talent!"
  • When turning in a quest in the Western Plaguelands regarding a ghost, the NPC will sometimes respond, "Listen. Do you smell something?"
  • An NPC at Chillwind Point near the entrance to the Plaguelands will say "This job is not worth another sixteen-five a year!" The character Winston said this same line in the movie.

• The Godfather
  • The NPC Tirion Fordring says "Look what they did to my boy" upon seeing his son dead, which is what Don Corleone says after Sonny is assassinated in the movie.

• Godzilla
  • In Zul'Farrak, players can summon and fight a giant hydra named Gahz'rilla, an obvious reference to the giant behemoth of Japanese movie fame.

• Goodfellas
  • In Goldshire there is a NPC named Remy "Two Times", who states "I'll give you the best price in town...best price in town!" This is a reference to Jimmy Two Times in the movie Goodfellas, who has a similar tendency to repeat himself in dialogue like "I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers."
  • The Master Smith in Booty Bay, Brikk Keencraft, says "You think I'm a clown here to amuse you. Is that what you think? That I'm a clown? Huh, is it? You think I'm a clown don't you!" which is one of Joe Pesci's more memorable lines from the movie.

• The Goonies
  • In The Deadmines, Edwin Van Cleef's pirate ship's location inside a cave bears a resemblance to One Eyed Willie's ship.

• The Great Race
  • The face on the front cone of the goblin racer in the Shimmering Flats bears a striking resemblance to the artwork on a couple of the vehicles operated by Professor Fate.

• Rutger Hauer
  • In the Undercity War Quarter at the west side near the sewers entrance, there are two NPC guards named Sergeant Rutger and Sergeant Houser, in homage to the famous actor.

• Highlander
  • A master swordsman named Klannoc Macleod, the Islander can be found on Fray Island near Ratchet, a reference to 'Connor MacLeod'.

• History of the World, Part I
  • In Dire Maul North, after killing the Gordok King, you receive a buff that says "You're the king - it's good to be the king!", a reference to the famous line repeated by 'King Louis XVI'.

• The Hulk
  • Inside the Troll instance of Zul'Gurub is a boss by the name of Bloodlord Mandokir. While fighting him, random players will get a message from him saying "Don't make me angry. You won't like it when I'm angry," which is a quote from Bruce Banner before he transforms into the Hulk. If the player decides to attack the Bloodlord after he has given this message, the Bloodlord will charge forward and beat the player to death.
  • One of the voice emotes for Orc characters is "Orc smash!", a reference to The Hulk's catchphrase, "Hulk smash!"

• Indiana Jones
  • An Uldaman quest uses an amulet which must be fitted onto a staff and placed so that light will pass through it to open a door; in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' Indy performs a similar manuver to find a the hidden cave in which the Ark was stored.
  • In Searing Gorge, there is a quest found on a wounded dwarf archaeologist named Dorius which concerns the 'Suntara Stones', a reference to the fictional 'Sankara Stones' sought by 'Indiana Jones' in the 'Temple of Doom'.

• James Bond
  • In Stormwind City there is a thieves' guild hall that is named SI:7, which is a reference to MI:6, the organization that James Bond works for. (This could also be referring to the real British Secret Intelligence Service)

• Jaws
  • The fishing trainer in Lakeshire is named Matthew Hooper. Matt Hooper is the name of the character 'Richard Dreyfuss' played in Jaws. He was an expert on fish and sharks.
  • To open the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, the player kill a large shark named Maws.

• Joe Dirt
  • One of the ghostly citizens of Caer Darrow is called "Joseph Dirte." He also makes a comment referencing to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury.

• Judge Dredd
  • The plate PvP reward armor shoulder piece bears a striking resemblance to the armor worn by Sylverster Stallone in the 1995 movie Judge Dredd.

• Karate Kid
  • One of the bosses in Naxxramas instructs his students to "Sweep the leg", a line from the movie.

• Kill Bill
  • There is a weapon called the [Hanzo Sword]. This may be a reference to the man who the character from Kill Bill was based upon, 'Hattori Hanzō', an actual ninja who was trained from childhood and first fought in combat at 16. He lived from 1541–1596.

• Krull
  • Inside Onyxia's Lair, there is a skeleton laying near the edge of the lava pool with its arm reaching into the lava towards a shuriken. This plays homage to the scene where Prince Colwyn had to retrieve the Glaive from a lava pool.

• Labyrinth
  • In the Ironforge side of the Deeprun Tram that connects the two main Alliance Cities, there's a gnome NPC named "Haggle" who bears a distinct resemblance to Hoggle from the movie.

• Land of the Lost
  • Un'goro Crater is a steep walled valley filled with dinosaurs. Two NPCs here are Williden Marshal and Hol'anyee Marshal, direct refences from LotL's characters: Marshal, Will, and Holly. Also, there are crystal pylons which use red, green, blue, and yellow power crystals, visual references to the crystals used in Land of the Lost's pylons.

• Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace
  • The weapon [Phantom Blade] has an identical item mesh to the sword Jobe uses in the cyberspace sword fight at the end of the movie.

• The Last Starfighter
  • In the Orgrimmar's Cleft of Shadow, there is a level 35 Troll near the Rogue Trainer named Zando'zan, a reference to the Assassins that go after Alex's Beta Unit back on Earth in the movie.

• The Little Mermaid
  • When pickpocketed, Naga can yield an item called a "Shiny Dinglehopper," a reference to one of the items misclassified by 'Scuttle'.

• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
  • Gadgetzan, in Tanaris, is obviously inspired by Bartertown from the third 'Mad Max' movie. The town has a large caged dome in the center where fighting between Horde and Alliance is permitted, which is the exact same concept as Bartertown's Thunderdome. (This feature has been removed as of 1.11.)
  • Tanaris is a desert area that is very similar in appearance to the one in the movie. (Arguably, some players also contend that Gadgetzan is very similar in style to 'Mos Eisley' in Star Wars)

• Masters of the Universe
  • When Winna Hazzard's kitten, Saber, is exposed to the Tainted Moonwell of the Ruins of Constellar in Felwood, he becomes a huge green tiger with yellow stripes, similar to Cringer/'Battle Cat'.

• The Matrix
  • The guards in Ironforge sometimes say they wished they had taken the blue potion instead of the red potion when a player asks for the location of the Alchemist.
  • An NPC by the graveyard at Light Hope's Chapel occasionally says that he wished he had taken the translucent pill.
  • A NPC named Juston in the Cathedral district in Stormwind City often says "There is no spoon", a phrase that is also a cheat code in Warcraft III for unlimited Mana.

• Mission: Impossible
  • A rogue quest in the Barrens is titled "Mission: Possible But Not Probable."
  • In Covert Ops - Alpha and Covert Ops - Beta quests, the pages that Gaxim Rustfizzle gives you in the [Covert Ops Pack] end by saying to destroy these pages, and "if I could figure out how I'd make these pages self-destruct after you read them". This is a parody of the opening of most eposides of the "Mission: Impossible" TV series where the taped instructions end with, "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds."

• Monty Python's Flying Circus
  • In the Eastvale Logging Camp in Elwynn Forest is a lumberjack named Terry Palin, who sometimes says "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK. I sleep all night and I work all day." These are the lyrics to the chorus of Monty Python's Lumberjack Song, originally performed by 'Michael Palin'. The song was composed by 'Michael Palin', 'Terry Jones' (another member of Monty Python), and Fred Tomlinson.
  • There is a consumable item purchasable at the Darkmoon Faire called [Crunchy Frog], a reference to the unpalatable chocolates described in the sketch of the same name.

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • There's a rep quest from Gzhun'tt in Sporeggar called 'Bring Me A Shrubbery!" The Knights of Ni demanded that King Arthur bring them a shrubbery before they'd let him pass. The repeatable part of this quest is called 'Bring Me Another Shrubbery!,' which is a reference to when the Knights of Ni demanded another shrubbery. Ni!

• The Music Man
  • Meggi Peppinrocker in Everlook gives out the quest "Trouble in Winterspring!" which borrows heavily from the lyrics of 'Meredith Willsons song "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man. In the musical, Professor Harold Hill sings of how playing pool requires "judgement, brains and maturity," and how he's developed "a cool head and a keen eye." Meggi uses these same phrases and other direct quotes from the song's lyrics when talking about her experiences in the wilderness of Winterspring.

• Mystery Men
  • "The Shoveler" is a two-handed mace weapon named after the character of 'William H. Macy'.

• The Neverending Story
  • There is a mountain giant in the region of Feralas named "Rockbiter".

• Old School
  • When performing the quest "Alliance Trauma" for Dr. Gustaf VanHowzen, the injured soldiers occasionally say the line "...I...I think I see Blue.." This is a reference to a scene from Old School where Will Ferrell's character has been badly beaten and is slightly delerious. Once Ferrell's friend comes to help him, Ferrell says the lines "I'm so cold Mitch....I think I see Blue. He looks glorious." Blue being another character in the movie that had previously passed away.

• Oz
  • In the Black Rock Depths instance of Blackrock Mountain there is a jail. Several prisoners in this jail cell (evident in the jailbreak quest) bear names and semblances to characters on the TV show Oz. I.e. Tobias Screecher is a reference to Tobias Beecher, a prisoner and protagonist in Oz.

• Petticoat Junction
  • At the to entrance to Dustwallow Marsh there is a burned out inn called "The Shady Rest" home of the TV show Petticoat Junction.

• Pinocchio
  • In the Badlands is a gnome with a small mechanical servant called Servo, itself a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Servo will occasionally say things like "someday I'll be a real boy!"

• Popeye
  • A beggar in Stormwind occasionally says "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today," a frequent quote from the character Wimpy.

• The Princess Bride
  • The object that brands a player to 'attune' them to Blackwing Lair says "Have fun storming the castle" when you touch it. This is a quote from Max the Miracle Worker in the movie The Princess Bride.
  • In Menethil Harbor there is a stable master with the name Wesley.
  • As of patch 1.11, in Light's Hope Chapel in the Eastern Plaguelands there is an envoy of the Argent Dawn named Father Inigo Montoy.
  • Lord Victor Nefarian will sometimes yell "Inconceivable!" when members of the Chromatic Dragonflight are defeated in the arena event of Upper Blackrock Spire.

• The Prisoner
  • There is a quest in Everlook involving a mob named "Number Two", which is a gorilla. "Number Two" was the protaganist of this influential British sci-fi program, and a gorilla mask factored very heavily into the show's final episode.

• Psycho
  • The undead innkeepers in the Undercity and in Silverpine forest are named Innkeeper Norman and Innkeeper Bates.
  • A warlock trainer in Brill is named Rupert Boch. Writer Robert Bloch is the author of the novel Psycho, on which the movie is based.

• Pulp Fiction
  • In Ravenholdt Manor, there is a mysterious human with the name Winston Wolfe with the tag "The Wolf." This is a reference to 'Harvey Keitels character in Pulp Fiction.
  • Lord Ravenholdt can give rogue players a quest to recover a sealed azure bag "the contents of which are a private matter," a possible reference to the mysterious briefcase of Marcellus Wallace whose glowing content is never revealed to the viewers.

• Red Dwarf
  • At Refuge Point there is a character involved in the Hints of a New Plague quest line called Apprentice Kryten. Presumably he is named after the robot in this series.

• Sanford and Son
  • In the city of Orgrimmar one may visit Droffers and Son Salvage where orcs Dran Droffers and his son Malton are proprietors. Their names are anagrams for Fred Sanford and Lamont.
  • Their quest "Ripple Recovery" is an obvious reference to Fred Sanford's wine of choice on the show.
  • Dran calls people "dummy," one of the show's 'catch phrase's.

• Saturday Night Fever
  • The male Human dance resembles one of John Travolta's dances in the movie.

• Saturday Night Live
  • One of the items you can receive in the game is called a "Happy Fun Rock" in reference to a Saturday Night Live skit commercial for a product named Happy Fun Ball. "Do not taunt happy fun ball." "Happy Fun Ball sticks to some types of skin," etc.
  • A quest title for the instance Gnomeregan is "The Only Cure Is More Green Glow", a reference to the popular SNL skit about 'More Cowbell', which had the famous line: "I have a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell."
  • There is another quest in Tanaris called simply "The Only Prescription," which may be a reference to the same sketch.

• Scarface
  • In the Eastern Plaguelands, an NPC by the name of Tirion Fordring lives in a small house in the wilderness. When a monster approaches him, he gets out his hammer and says, "Say hello to my little friend." This is a quote from the movie Scarface from 1983 starring Al Pacino.
  • The Goblin NPC, Kibler, says "Are those spider eggs in your pack or are you just happy to see me?" upon completing the quest En-Ay-Es-Tee-Why.

• Scooby-Doo
  • The items [Alterac Valley Mark of Honor] and [Talisman of Protection] (and others), as they appear in one's inventory or character screen, are identical to Scooby Doo's collar. The initials "SD" are clearly visible if the icon is slightly enlarged (see Thottbot's Page).

• The Bone Collector
  • There is a quest in the Desolace called "Bone Collector" where you have to collect kodo bones from the kodo graveyard.

• The Shawshank Redemption
  • In Tanaris, there is a quest called "The Scrimshank Redemption". While the content has little to do with the movie, the quest title is a rather obvious reference to the movie.

• The Silence of the Lambs
  • In Dire Maul North, there are a series of quests that involve the creation of an [Gordok Ogre Suit]; one of the components of the suit is an [Ogre Tannin], which is found in a basket. When you obtain the Tannin, an ogre (Gordok Bushwacker) comes charging down the stairs screaming "It puts the tannin in the basket or it gets the mallet again!!" This is a reference to the Buffalo Bill killer in the film (and novel), who instructed his victim, "It places the lotion in the basket" and threatened, "or else it gets the hose again." Another link with the same quest is that Buffalo Bill was making a suit out of human skin.
  • In a cave in Thunder Bluff is a character named Clarice Foster. This is a reference to the FBI agent in the film (Clarice Starling) and the actress who played her (Jodie Foster).
  • In Darkshire there is an NPC by the name of Clarise Gnarltree (a reference to Clarice Starling). If you talk to her often enough, she says a dialogue pertaining to the screaming of the lambs at night.

• The Simpsons
  • A worker for the Darkmoon Faire is looking for her lost frog, Jub-Jub, which shares a name with the pet iguana owned by Selma Bouvier.
  • In the Library instance of the Scarlet Monastery, a miniboss named Houndmaster Loksey yells out "Release the hounds!" when attacked in a voice very similar to that of 'Mr. Burns', the greedy owner of the Springfield nuclear power plant. The two characters also have similar hair styles.
  • In Dire Maul, after killing King Gordok and causing the ogres to become friendly, some quote The Simpsons, such as "I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T!"
  • A farmhand just north of Southshore is named "Caretaker Smithers," a reference to Waylon Smithers, Mr. Burns' Assistant."
  • Occasionally, one of the children fishing off the docks in Stormwind will yell out that he has caught a big, three-eyed fish just like the famous one from the series.

• The Six Million Dollar Man
  • In the Badlands, Lotwil Veriatus's robot Servo says "We can make it better, stronger, faster. We have the technology." This is a reference to the opening credits of the '1970s' TV show The Six Million Dollar Man.

• Sling Blade
  • In Dustmallow Marsh, there is an NPC named Jarl that gives a quest called "Jarl Needs a Blade," in which you must get him a [Moonsteel Broadsword]. He states while giving the quest, "Some people call it a moonsteel broadsword. I call it a swing blade." This is an obvious reference to Billy Bob Thornton's character in Sling Blade, Carl, who says almost the same thing about a kaiser blade.

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • One of the male Dwarf's silly emotes produces a phrase similar to the song "Heigh-Ho", although the character forgets the words.

• South Park
  • In the Instance Stratholme is a boss named Timmy the Cruel. He yells his name again and again similar to the South Park character of the same name. Timmy the Cruel is also a reference to the first human mission in Warcraft III, where Arthas saves a boy named Timmy from a pack of gnolls, and was turned into a ghoul when the plague spread.
  • One of the guards in Stormwind is named "Officer Brady", possibly a reference to Officer Barbrady.

• Stargate SG-1
  • In the Stormwind Champion's Hall, there are two NPCs by the names of Captain O'neal and Lieutenant Karter, a possible nod to the characters Colonel Jack O'Neill and Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, played by Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping.
  • There are also Stormwind NPCs named Lieutenant Jackspring (Daniel Jackson), Guard Hammon (General Hammond), Guard Quine (Jonas Quinn), and Sergeant Major Clate, which is an Anagram for Teal'c.
  • Omokk, an Ogre within the Lower Blackrock Spire, is also the name of a Tollan character played by actor Tobin Bell in Stargate SG-1.
  • A Wetlands variation of the Murloc are called Puddle Jumpers.

• Starship Troopers
  • In Blade's Edge Mountains there is a place called Toshley's Station where it is set up with gaurds on towers shooting at the Rip-Blade Ravagers that bear a similar resemblance to the Arachnids in Starship Troopers.
  • There is also 2 NPCs that are alike to characters in Starship Troopers. The first NPC is named Dizzy Dina, there was a soldier named Dizzy Flores in the movie. She also mentions Razaks Roughriders and in the movie it was Rasczak's Roughnecks.
  • The second NPC is named Razak Ironsides. Micheal Ironside played a character named Jean Rasczak who constantly talked of Citizenship. When you talk to Ironsides in the game he mentions being a responsible citizen helping out. He also wears an eyepatch like Ironside's character did.

• ""Star Trek""
  • In Booty Bay, there is a goblin named Scooty who operates the "Transporter 3000". Completing the quest and using the transporter takes you to Gnomeregan, where a goblin named Sprock waits on the other side, with his faction labeled as "Away Team".
  • In Gadgetzan there is a gnome named Jhordy Lapforge who stands next to a similar Transporter which serves as the destination for the Ultra-Safe Transporter available to Engineers of the Gnomish persuasion.
  • In Orgrimmar the NPC Engineer's name is Nogg, a Deep Space Nine reference.
  • In Orgrimmar in the Valley of Honor there is a goblin named Sovik which is reminiscent of the Vulcan 'Saavik' first introduced in The Wrath of Khan.
  • In Stormwind in the Old Town district, there is a human named Lenny "Fingers" McCoy, a reference to Leonard "Bones" McCoy from The Original Series.

• Star Wars
  • The racetrack in the Shimmering Flats features a vehicle that is strikingly similar to the podracers found in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
  • The race announcer is a two headed ogre is named Fobeed refrencing the two headed podracer announcer in The Phantom Menace whose names were Fode and Beed.
  • In the hangar in the Military Ward of Ironforge sits Xiggs Fuselighter, wearing a white and orange outfit strikingly similar to that of an X-Wing pilot. The name is similar to Biggs Darklighter, friend of 'Luke Skywalker' in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
  • The tooltip of the buff icon for the Priest ability Spirit Of Redemption reads "You have become more powerful than anyone can possibly imagine." which is an almost verbatim reference to 'Obi-Wan Kenobis line in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
  • The female dwarves have two hairstyles similar to those of 'Princess Leia'.
  • A Bartender in Duskwood is named Han and is wearing dark pants, a white shirt and a black vest.
  • In Un'Goro crater, near the exit to Silithus, there is a level 1 raptor named Obi, a reference to Obi-Wan (Obi 1).
  • The  [Argent Avenger], a one-handed sword resulting from a quest in Stratholme, vaguely resembles a blue lightsaber. Also,  [Teebu's Blazing Longsword] is it's red counterpart.
  • In a quest to rescue the captured Princess Moira Bronzebeard, you find her wearing an outfit that bears a striking resemblance to Leia's slave outfit in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as the same hairstyle.
  • in Blade's Edge Mountains there is a place called Toshley's Station. In Star Wars there was a place called Toshe Station in which Luke Skywalker went to in the beginning of one of the Movies to pick up some Power Converters. In the game you get a quest where you need to pick up power converters

• The Terminator
  • The final Hunter talent in the Beast Mastery tree is called Bestial Wrath and in its description is "your pet doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear" which is a line taken out of Terminator, "Listen. And understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!"
  • In Marvon Rivetseeker's workshop in Ratchet, there is a mechanical arm upright in an elongated jar on an end table. This is a reference to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where a microchip and mechanical arm were recovered by Cyberdyne Systems Corporation from the remains of the first terminator.
  • There is an "unmelted metal hand" outside the lava in a small room behind bunch of crates in LBRS.
  • Ossirian the Unscarred, the last boss in The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, yells "You are terminated" when he kills a player, which is a quote from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
  • The Human Warlock's minion, the FelGuard, sometimes says "I'll be back" when being dismissed.

• That '70s Show
  • In the blue shard section of the quest line that opened the doors to AQ, the player must find and speak to the ghost of Azuregos. After a long dialog, the blue dragon spirit gives you a quest. If you attempt to talk to the spirit again, after he gives you the quest, he says,"I SAID GOOD DAY!", and repeats it, as Fez does in That '70s Show.

• ThunderCats
  • The small inventory icon for several necklaces utilizes the ThunderCats logo.
  • There is also a horde quest in the Scarlet Monastery where one of the reward items is The Sword of Omen, the sword of The ThunderCats.
  • In addition, the "Samophlange" quest chain starting in the city of Ratchet is likely a reference to a moderately famous series of outtakes from the show.

• Top Gun
  • In Alterac Valley the Wing Commanders on Alliance side are Ichman, Slidore and Vipore, and on Horde side are Guse, Jeztor and Mulverick. The names are similar to the pilots Iceman, Slider, Viper, Goose, Jester and Maverick from Top Gun.

• The Toxic Avenger
  • The rare weapon Toxic Revenger inflicts special damage to its target that makes it glow radioactive green, much like the hero of the Toxic Avenger movies.

• Trading Places
  • The banker NPCs in Undercity are named after the characters from the 1983 movie "Trading Places". William Montague - Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), Ophelia Montague - Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis), Mortimer Montague - Mortimer Duke (Don Ameche), Randolph Montague - Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy)
  • In Stormwind City is a poor begger near the Auction House who quotes, "Spare some change for a blind man? What?...I'm not blind? It's a miracle!" This is a quote from the movie where Eddie Murphy is confronted by two police when trying to scam pedestrians in the park.

• Transformers
  • An NPC named Grimlok may be found in Uldaman, named after the leader of the 'Dinobots'. Grimlok says "Me Grimlok, king!", one of the original character's lines from the Transformers TV show.

• Trigun
  • On many wanted posters in the game there is a man in a long trench coat that looks like the character Vash, from the popular anime series.

• Troy
  • At the opening event for the Dark Portal, one of the NPC's fighting the invading demons shouts out "Brothers and sisters of the sword! I would rather fight alongside you than any army of thousands! We are lions! Do you know what's waiting through these demons and beyond that Dark Portal? Immortality! Take it!" Brad Pitt says almost the same thing in the 2003 movie "Troy".

• Under Siege
  • The cooking trainer named Stephen Ryback in Stormwind's Pig & Whistle Tavern in the Old Town district is a reference to the 1992 movie "Under Siege" starring Steven Seagal as Casey Ryback. Furthermore, next to the cooking trainer NPC, there is a cooking supplier NPC named Erika Tate, also an actor/character combination from the same movie (Erika Eleniak as Jordan Tate)

• Christopher Walken
  • The senior warrior trainer of the undead race is called Christoph Walker, apparently named after either the actor Christopher Walken, or Christopher Walker aka 'The Phantom'.

• Xanadu
  • At the Stormwind bank, the three banker NPCs are named Olivia Burnside, Newton Burnside, and John Burnside. Putting their names together yields the name of singer/actress Olivia Newton-John. The aforementioned Olivia Burnside touts the security of the bank by stating, "No one's ever stolen anything out of here. Not in the whole history of... the whole history!" 'Olivia Newton-Johns character Kira makes an almost identical comment to Sonny when he tells her he's going to take her out of 'Mount Olympus'.

• Yuen Woo-ping
  • Woo Ping, the Weapon Master in Stormwind City is named after the martial arts choreographer and director.

Literature

• The Anarchist Cookbook
  • A late level mage quest begins with a tome known as "The Arcanist's Cookbook". This is a reference to The Anarchist's Cookbook, a collection of articles on explosives, hacking, and other shady business.

• The Bible
  • The Journeyman leather trainer in Stormwind is called Simon the Tanner, a reference to someone Paul the Apostle stayed with in the 'book of Acts'.

• The Camels are Coming
  • An NPC named Bingles can be found east of the lake in Loch Modan. This is a reference to Major James Bigglesworth, known to all as "'Biggles'", is a fictional pilot and adventurer created by 'W. E. Johns'. The first collection of Biggles stories, 'The Camels are Coming', was published in 1932. Characters named "Biggles"--also a reference to the Johns character--were a running joke in a couple of 'Monty Python' sketches. The "Spanish Inquisition" sketch featured 'Terry Jones' as a "Cardinal Biggles" (complete with goggles), while the "Biggles" sketch featured 'Graham Chapman' in the titular role.

• Chronicles of Narnia
  • There is a pair of boots called "Dawn Treaders," an obvious reference to 'C. S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

• Crime and Punishment
  • There is an NPC in Stormwind City named Nikova Raskol, a play on the name Raskolnikov, the protagonist of 'Fyodor Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment.
  • There is also a quest of the same name where a character must kill an NPC named Dextren Ward.

• Damon Knight
  • The book "How To Serve Man" can be found in some areas of the game through killing NPCs or pickpocketing them, a reference to Damon Knight's short story "To Serve Man", which was later made into a Twilight Zone episode and parodied in one "Treehouse of Horror" special on The Simpsons.

• The Divine Comedy
  • A signpost on the western edge of Deadwind Pass bears the words "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here". In some translations of Dante's Inferno, these same words are written on the gates of Hell.

• Discworld
  • In Dustwallow Marsh there is a Watchman called Captain Vimes, a direct reference to Captain Vimes of the Night Watch, one of Terry Pratchett's popular Discworld characters.
  • There is also a series of quests in Duskwood for a group of NPCs belonging to The Night Watch.

• Dune
  • There is a trinket that drops in Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, from the boss Ouro the Sandworm, called the Jom Gabbar, a first letter reversal of the 'Gom Jabbar'.
  • As of patch 1.12, the desert of Silithus features a collectible item called "Silithyst" which appears in "blooms" throughout the desert just as Spice does in the novel. The catch phrase for this is "He who controls the Silithyst, controls the desert" which is a play on the novel's catch phrase "He who controls the Spice, controls the universe."
  • A sleeping Druid named "Kerlonian Evershade" will occasionally say "The sleeper has awakened" when you blow a horn to wake him up. The quote was also used by the Druids in "Warcraft III."

• Five Deadly Venoms
  • Within the city of Stormwind lies a poison shop called "The Five Deadly Venoms", which is a reference to the Kung-fu cult hit of the same name.

• Flowers for Algernon
  • An undead man in the Apothecarium of the Undercity named Algernon stands holding a peacebloom, a reference to the aforementioned novel.

• The Great Gatsby
  • The NPC Shado 'Fitz' Farstrider at Nesingwary's Expedition in Nagrand gives the player flavor text at the end of a quest that is strongly reminiscent of the iconographic ending paragraphs of The Great Gatsby.

• The Green Hills of Africa
  • In Stranglethorn Vale, there is a big game hunter's camp, led by Hemet Nesingwary, an anagram of 'Ernest Hemingway', who was also a big game hunter and former soldier. Besides various hunting quests, one of his aides gives a quest to retrieve lost pages of Nesingwary's book, "The Green Hills of Stranglethorn", alluding to Hemingway's "The Green Hills of Africa." Two NPCs in this camp also have names that are anagrams of authors' names, Sir S.J. Erlgadin (J.D. Salinger) and Ajeck Rouack (Jack Kerouac).

• Hades' Daughter
  • There is an NPC in Teldrassil named Asterion who is trapped and must be set free. This is a reference to Sarah Douglass' character in the Troy Game series.

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  • In Deeprun Tram, there is a Leper Gnome by the name of Haggle who walks around and says, "Forty-two... forty-two what? It could be anything..." This is a reference to the 'Douglas Adams classic where the answer to "The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything" is "'Forty-two'". Two popular Questions to the Answer of Forty-Two are "At what number on a certain street in New York City is the club known as Stavro Mueller Beta located at?" and "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?".

• Xaviera Hollander
  • In Booty Bay, the fishing trainers shop is named The Happy Bobber, although the sign outside shows a fishhook. This is an allusion to 'The Happy Hooker', an autobiography published in 1971 and written by former Dutch madame and prostitute 'Xaviera Hollander'.

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  • During the holidays in December, a series of quests are opened up and one involves a giant green yeti named "The Greench." He has stolen a delivery of gifts. The name of the quest is "You're a Mean One..." All from the book by Dr. Seuss.

• The Jungle Book
  • In the last phase of the quest "Panther Mastery" for Sir S. J. Erlgadin of Nesingwary's Expedition, you are required to hunt and kill a black panther named Bag'thera whose name closely resembles the black panther 'Bagheera' from 'Rudyard Kipling'’s 'The Jungle Book'.

• The Lord of the Rings
  • [The 1 Ring] — An item in reference to 'The One Ring'. It gives +1 to Strength, Agility, Stamina, Spirit and Intellect. It's reportedly not as good as The 2 Ring. It can be obtained through fishing, a reference to how 'Gollum' finds the ring in a river.
  • A quest obtained in Gnomeregan to return a ring to a gnome in Ironforge has the name 'Return of the Ring', a pun of the name of the last book in the trilogy.
  • There are many visual similarities to the art direction of the films, such as Blackrock Mountain and the surrounding Burning Steppes bearing a striking resemblance to Mount Doom and the surrounding country of Mordor.
  • A dwarven reimagining of the Argonath exists in southern Loch Modan.
  • Beren's Peril, an area of Silverpine Forest, is possibly named for Beren, a man of LotR's past.
  • One of the /silly emotes for a human male talks about an 'idea for a movie' (that movie being the story of LotR, replacing "ring" with "bracelet", and other thoughtful changes.)
  • A dying Blood Elf in the Ghostlands gives a quest called Anok'suten. One of the rewards for killing this elite (a giant spider!) is a one-handed sword called Stung. This is an obvious reference to Sting, which is Frodo's sword.

• H.P. Lovecraft
  • During the quest "The Star, the Hand and the Heart" in Dustwallow Marsh the god of murlocs is summoned. The god of these fish-men is called Dagun, which is an obvious reference to 'Dagon', one of the Great Old Ones. Dagon is featured in Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth. Similarly, the murlocs are, perhaps not only in the given context, a reference to the novel's frogfish-like worshippers of Dagon, the denizens of Y'ha-nthlei. A movie with the same name has also been made.
  • In the quest Crime and Punishment, Councilman Millstipe of Darkshire wants you to bring him the hand of Dextren Ward. This is a reference to The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
  • C'Thun, the final boss in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj raid instance, bears a striking resemblance to Lovecraft's creation, 'Cthulhu', a horrible being, with a notable feature of tentacles.
  • Doctor Herbert Halsey, Artisan Alchemist (Undercity). This NPC is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's, Reanimator. Herbert Halsey is actually a mix of two characters from Lovecraft's story, Herbert West and Dr. Allen Halsey. Blizzard keeps to the Lovecraft theme by giving Dr. Herbert Halsey an Artisan Alchemist role residing in the Forsaken capital of the Undercity surrounded by dissection tables and body parts.
  • A quest "Solution to Doom" requires you to retrieve Tablet of Ryun'eh from Uldaman. In Lovecraft's works, R'lyeh is the sunken city where Cthulhu is said to dwell in hibernation.
  • The surname of a Warlock trainer Richard Kerwin in Undercity bears resemblance to Curwen, another reference to The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, along with the surnames of Undercity rogue trainers being Charles, Dexter and Ward.

• The Metamorphosis
  • In Tarren Mill, there is an NPC named Deathguard Samsa, who asks you to collect human skulls - the protagonist of 'Kafka's novel was named Gregor Samsa.

• A Modest Proposal
  • A Netherstorm quest that begins near the Etherium area, the title is a reference to Johnathan Swift's essay "A Modest Proposal".

• The Old Man and the Sea
  • In Booty Bay, there is a fishing trainer named Old Man Heming, an allusion to 'Ernest Hemingway' and his novella. Also, there is a hunter in Stranglethorn Vale called Hemet Nesingwary -- an anagram for the writer's name.

• The Right Stuff
  • There is a warlock quest in Felwood called "The Wrong Stuff", which is likely a reference to 'Tom Wolfes 1979 novel, later adapted into a film in 1983.

• Shakespeare
  • In 'Undercity' the four bankers have the last name Montague. This is a reference to one of the feuding families in Romeo and Juliet. This is more certainly derived from Mercutio's line, when mortally wounded 'A plague o' both your houses!', that plague, of course, being the one of undeath, in this case.
  • A butcher called Dirge Quikcleave in Tanaris says "Get thee to a cheesery!" when sending you on a quest to gather cheese and other cooking ingredients. This is a reference to "Get thee to a nunnery", a line from Hamlet to Ophelia.
  • Some undead creatures drop a 'pound of flesh', a reference to 'The Merchant of Venice'.

• A Song of Ice and Fire
  • There is a gnome in the gardens of Castle Stormwind by the name of Tyrion, probably a reference to Tyrion Lannister, the Imp.
  • It is possible that Duskwood's "The Night Watch" refers to the faction of the same name in the George R.R. Martin books, particularly since both battle the undead.
  • There is also a wolf pup named "Lady", a reference to Sansa Stark's pet wolf, running around the Blacksmith in Arathi Basin.
  • There is Jon Jon the Crow in Stranglethorn Vale, which may refer to Jon Snow, a member of the Night Watch, who are commonly referred to as "crows".

• A Tale of Two Cities
  • In Booty Bay, there is a tailoring shop with a sign outside proclaiming the shop name to be "A Tailor to Cities", an obvious reference to the Charles Dickens novel.

• The Time Machine
  • Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel "The Time Machine". It's possible that Murlocs are named for these creatures.

• Treasure Island
  • Every time the chest in Stranglethorn Vale is placed in the arena someone named Short John Mithril announces it. Short John Mithril is a reference to the pirate Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel.

• Walt Whitman
  • In Duskwood, in a house near the alliance griffon there is an NPC named Whit Wantmal which is an anagram of 'Walt Whitman'

Music

• ABC (band)
  • A dwarf in Eastern Plaguelands gives a quest called "When Smokey Sings, I Get Violent", a reference to ABC's song When Smokey Sings which contains the line, "When Smokey sings, I hear violins."

• AC/DC
  • While taking target practice up in Dun Morogh, Shorty of the Dwarven Mortar Team will say/sing 'T.N.T. (song)|"I'm T.N.T. - I'm dyn-o-mite!"'
  • There is a Rogue talent called "Dirty Deeds".

• Alizée
  • The female night elf dance styles are taken from the French pop singer.

• Bob Dylan
  • A quest in the Eastern Plaguelands that begins at Chillwind Post is called All Along the Watchtowers is named for the Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower, made famous by 'Jimi Hendrix'.

• Bon Jovi
  • There is a quest in Stranglethorn Vale called "Bad Medicine" a number one song off the band's New Jersey album.

• Bauhaus
  • [Royal Overseer Bauhaus] of the Undercity Census Bureau may be named for the seminal goth band. This could also be a reference to the German Staatliches 'Bauhaus' school of architecture and art which deeply influenced the modernist period.

• Barber of Seville and 'Marriage of Figaro'
  • A human in Southshore is named Bartolo after a character in these operas (he gives the quest Bartolo's Yeti Fur Cloak).

• The Beatles
  • Michelle Belle at the inn in Goldshire is very similar to the lyrics of the song 'Michelle' – "Michelle my belle, these are words that go together well." See also Ringo Starr, below.

• Beck
  • The rare staff "Odo's Ley Staff" is a reference to the artist's Grammy winning 1996 album titled "Odelay."

• Blind Willie Johnson
  • In Silithus, outside the gates of Ahn'Qiraj is a priest named Jonathan the Revelator, referencing the popular Johnson song "John the Revelator".

• Chaka Khan
  • A quest in Desolace from the chief of the centaur is called simply "Khan Shaka".

• Depeche Mode
  • In the Blasted Lands, there is a quest giver that wants to collect crystals which drop in the zone, and the name of the quest is "'Everything Counts' in Large Amounts".
  • Also referred to in a series of quests for rogues in Teldrassil, two quests with the names "The Apple Falls" and "Destiny Calls", which is a reference to lyrics of the song "'The Bottom Line".
  • In Bloodmyst Isle, there is a quest called 'Precious and Fragile Things Need Special Handling.' The lyrics are identical to the first lines of the song "Precious."

• Neil Diamond
  • Players can obtain a buff called Songflower Serenade, an allusion to the song Longfellow Serenade by 'Neil Diamond'.

• The Doors
  • Lord Serpentis, one of the bosses in the Wailing Caverns says "I am the Serpent King..I can do anything." This is a reference to 'Jim Morrison' of 'The Doors' whose alter ego was known as 'The Lizard King'. The line is taken verbatim (minus the substitution) from the song "Not To Touch The Earth", one of seven songs that make up a medley known as 'The Celebration of the Lizard'.

• The Electric Slide
  • The current female tauren dance cycle is the electric slide.

• Genesis
  • The Western Plaguelands quest "Counting Out Time" is from the title of a song on their 1974 album 'The Lamb Lies down on Broadway'

• Grateful Dead
  • There is a quest in Redridge which yeilds a "Boquet of Scarlet Begonias", a Grateful Dead song.
  • The bartender in the Lakeshire Inn quotes the lyrics from their song 'Brown-Eyed Woman' , "The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean."

• Gregory Charles
  • There is a Rogue Trainer in Undercity named after the popular artist and imitator from Quebec, Canada

• Guns N' Roses
  • There is a quest in Stranglethorn Vale called "Welcome to the Jungle" a very obvious reference to the opening song of the Appetite for Destruction album.

• Hammerfall
  • The Horde town in Arathi Highlands is named after the 'Power Metal' band of the same name. In fact, the paladin spell, Hammer of Justice, is a reference to the Hammerfall song of the same name. These can be attributed to the fact that Samwise, one of the lead Blizzard artists is not only a fan of the band, but creates their CD covers.

• Harry Belafonte
  • There is an item in the game called Tel'Abim Banana, which might be a reference to the Harry Belafonte song Banana Boat, with the lyric "Come mister tally man, tally me bananas".

• Jay-Z
  • During the Halloween special event, a quest from a needy orphan requires you to perform emotes to NPCs to collect candy. The Tauren innkeeper in Thunder Bluff asks you to dance, and once you do she also dances and states "I may have ninety-nine problems, but dancin' ain't one of them!" This is a reference to 'Jay-Zs popular song, "99 Problems" in which he says "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one". (This line is also directly lifted from an 'Ice-T' song of the same name, though it is unclear which song Blizzard is referring to).

• Jethro Tull
  • The quest "Bungle in the Jungle" received in Gadgetzan is a reference to the song of the same name from the band's 1974 album War Child.

• Led Zeppelin
  • A quest for the Instance Dungeon Stratholme called Houses of the Holy is an obvious reference to the band's 1973 album of the same name.
  • A quest in Shadowmoon Valley is named "Crazed and Confused", similar to the band's song "Dazed and Confused", of their famous debut album.

• Macarena
  • The human female dance style is the Macarena.

• MC Hammer
  • The male orc dance style is the same as seen in the rapper's videos, most notably "'U Can't Touch This'".

• Men At Work
  • Caretaker Alen in Eastern Plaguelands says "I come from the land down under... where women plague and men sunder." every now and then, as a reference to the "Men At Work" – Song "'Down Under'"

• Michael Jackson
  • The male night elf dance moves are very similar to those of pop-singer Michael Jackson's.

• The Muppets
  • If the "/silly" command is used as an Orc player, the character will sometimes state "It's not easy being green", a reference to a song of the same title performed by Jim Henson's most famous Muppet, 'Kermit the Frog'.

• Oingo Boingo
  • The Undead quest Dead Man's Party refers to a song by Oingo Boingo and features NPCs named after band members Steve Bartek, Carl Graves, and Danny Elfman. Sam Phipps can also be found close by.

• Olivia Newton-John
  • In 'Stormwind' the three bankers are named Olivia, Newton and John. This is a reference to the singer/actor from the 1980s.

• Peter Gabriel
  • The quest The Family and the Fishing Pole in Darkshore references a song from the singer's song The Family And The Fishing Net.

• Peter Murphy
  • The quest Deep Ocean, Vast Sea in Darkshore references a song from the 'Bauhaus' singer's solo album, 'Deep'.

• Pink Floyd
  • In 'Hammerfall', there's a First Aid-quest. While patching up dying soldiers, one of the will sing the song 'Goodbye Cruel World' by 'Pink Floyd'.
  • In 'Thrallmar', the first horde town in outland, the innkeeper is named Floyd Pinkus, obviously in reference to Pink Floyd.

• Pomeroy
  • In Stormwind City there is a guard named "Patroller Pomeroy" possibly a reference to the band Pomeroy.

• Queen
  • In Hillsbrad Foothills there is a level 32 Horde quest to prove your ability to protect the Hammerfall outpost in Arathi by killing ogres. The quest shares the title with Queen's song 'Hammer to Fall'.
  • A male Night Elf /silly emote states "Who wants to live forever?" which is also the title of a Queen song.

• Rammstein
  • In the Stratholme instance, one of the final encounters before fighting 'Baron Rivendare' on the 'Baron run' or 'Undead side' of the instance is a powerful abomination called Ramstein. This may also, conceivably, be a reference to the German town called 'Ramstein-Miesenbach' or even the air-show disaster that took place at the nearby 'Ramstein Air Base', which inspired the name of the band, Rammstein.

• R.E.M.
  • The two councilmen in the Town Hall of Darkshire are named "Berrybuck" and "Millstipe", a reference to the classic 'R.E.M.' lineup of 'Bill Berry', 'Peter Buck', 'Mike Mills', and 'Michael Stipe'.

• Ringo Starr
  • A quest in Un'Goro Crater called "With a Little Help from My Friends" has the player rescue a Goblin named Ringo. The quest is named for the song sung by Ringo on 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band'.

• Siouxsie and the Banshees
  • In the Dire Maul West instance there is a rare spawn called Tsu'zee and there are two Wailing Banshees right behind her.

• The Toyes
  • If the "/silly" command is used as a male Troll player, the character will sometimes recite, in a heavy Jamaican accent, "I kill two dwarves in the morning, I kill two dwarves at night. I kill two dwarves in the afternoon, and then I feel alright. I kill two dwarves in time of peace and two in time of war. I kill two dwarves before I kill two dwarves, and then I kill two more," a direct reference to 'the Toyes' song "Smoke Two Joints". The band 'Sublime' did a cover of the song; it's unknown which version Blizzard was making reference to. This was apparently removed as of Patch 1.11, presumably due to copyright reasons.)

• Sid Vicious
  • An NPC on the shores of Lake Lorderon is named Nancy Vishas, possibly an allusion to 'Nancy Spungen', deceased girlfriend of former 'Sex Pistols' bassist 'Sid Vicious'.

• Warrant
  • There is a merchant in Ironforge named Sraaz who quotes random lines from Warrant's song Cherry Pie, like "Cherry Pie, tastes so good it makes a grown gnome cry". He wanders around near the griffon master. Sraaz only has one item for sale, Homemade Cherry Pie.

Fashion

• Abercrombie
  • Near 'Darkshire' an old man is named Abercrombie, as in the popular clothing company. He presents a series of quests, during the culmination of which he produces a hideous monster of his own creation named "Stitches" (resembling the Abomination creature in Warcraft 3). It's widely accepted that "Abercrombie and Stitches" is not an accidental near-homonym for the "'Abercrombie and Fitch'" brand.
  • A Stormwind auctioneer is named "Fitch".

Comics

• Iron Man
  • South of Dun Garok in Hillsbrad Foothills, east of Southshore, on the cliff overlooking the coastline, there is an epitaph to "Anthony Ray Stark (1961-2005)." It should be noted that Iron Man's real name is Anthony Edward Stark and his character was created in 1963. On July 7th, 2006 it was confirmed to be an in game memorial to a friend of a developer and not a reference to Iron Man.

• Fist of the North Star
  • C'Thun, the final boss of the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, will whisper the words "You... are... already... dead..." and "Your... heart... will... explode...". Kenshiro, the lead character of Fist of the North Star, is extremely famous for the initial line, and often through his fighting style would cause massive internal damage to his opponents, including making their heart explode in an extremely violent fashion.

• Superman
  • There is an NPC on the docks of Southshore named Farmer Kent, a reference to 'Clark Kent' and his childhood of growing up on a farm with his adopted Earth parents, Ma and Pa Kent.
  • There is an NPC called Colonel Zog who resides slighly northeast of the Crossroads in The Barrens, a possible reference to General Zod in Superman I and II.

• FoxTrot
  • A reward from the quest  [60R] The Perfect Poison is called  [Doomulus Prime]. This references a FoxTrot strip from January 29, 2006 in which Jason obtained the most powerful item in all of "World of Warquest" (in the strip, Jason lost the item before he could pick it up when he was disconnected from the server for which he gave a scream so loud, it was heard all the way to BlizCraft headquarters prompting someone there to ask if someone had tripped over the cord again.)

• Wonder Woman
  • A female Night Elf named "Ark'narain" is held captive in a cage in the Felwood. When freed and led back to her armor and weapons, she will spin in place a few times and will suddenly appear to be wearing her armor. She then says "All I need now is a golden lasso." In th 1970's, Linda Carter played "Wonder Woman" and would spin in place to change into her costume.

• Men in Black
  • The Goblin guards in Area 52, are all dressed in tuxedos resembling the business suits from the Men in Black comics and film. They also carry the huge guns that Tommy Lee Jones equipped in the first film. The fact that they guard 'Area 52' is appropriate, as it is a take on 'Area 51'.

Sports

• Capoeira
  • The male troll /dance emote actually consists of moves from 'Capoeira', an Afro-Brazilian martial art.

• Hockey
  • Countless names given to NPCs are direct lifts of prominent NHL players.

• Karl Malone
  • One of the NPCs in Stratholme goes by the name of Postmaster Malown, a reference to Karl "The Mailman" Malone of the Utah Jazz. He drops a rare mace named  [Malown's Slam].

• Lindsay Davenport
  • Two vendors in Lakeshire in Redridge Mountains are named Lindsay Ashlock and Amy Davenport, an obvious reference to a tennis player Lindsay Davenport.

• San Francisco Giants
  • In the Hillsbrad Foothills, there are two NPC's by the name of Ott and Bonds. Mel Ott and Barry Bonds are two sluggers who played for the Giants.

Real Life Holidays

Some real life holidays and observances are reflected in the game. Events are sorted by date. Info is taken from Event.

• New year
  • Celebrated on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with fireworks and free alcohol.

• Chinese New Year
  • Known as Lunar Festival in the game, it is celebrated early February. (Between January 27th to February 14th in 2006). Some events of interest:

• On January 29th (the date of the actual lunar new year in 2006). Celebrations occur in Stormwind, Thunder Bluff, Booty Bay and Moonglade.
• On February 13th, one last firework show will be held in Moonglade. This parallels the Chinese 'Lantern Festival'; extra lanterns are spawned around Lake Elune'ara (the firework show occurs over the lake).
• Red Lockboxes (Red packets) are given out from various NPCs (especially elderly).
• A special boss named Omen only appears in this festival, inspired by the Chinese creature of myth, Nian. It is actually named 'Nian' in the Chinese version.

• Valentine's Day
  • Known as Love is in the Air in the game, it is celebrated between February 11 and 15. Candies and 'love tokens' are given out by guards.

• Easter
  • Known as Noblegarden in the game, it is celebrated around Easter and symbolized by finding easter eggs.

• Independence Day
  • Known as Engineer's Explosives Extravaganza in the game and marked by fireworks, it is celebrated on July 4 on all servers.

• Halloween
  • Known as Hallow's End in the game, it is celebrated between October 18 and November 1. Players can go 'trick or treat' at the innkeepers around this time.

• Christmas
  • Known as Feast of Winter Veil in the game, it is celebrated between December 15 and January 2. Denoted by 'Christmas Trees' and decorations in some cities, and the appearance of Greatfather Winter, an obvious reference to 'Santa Claus'.

Other

• Alexander Calder
  • Alexander Calder, a warlock trainer in 'Ironforge', is likely a reference to the artist of the same name known for his large, sheet metal mobiles.

• Blood Elf Architecture
  • The strange armillary sphere-like structures atop some Blood Elf structures closely resemble Disneyland's Astro Orbitor ride.

• C-4
  • Engineers in the game can learn to craft "Seaforium", an explosive device that can open locked doors.

• Circus
  • In 'Ironforge' the three bankers are named Barnum, Bailey, and Soleil. This is a reference to 'Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' and 'Cirque du Soleil'.

• Golden Dawn
  • The 'Argent Dawn' group may be a reference to the late 19th century metaphysical order of the Golden Dawn.

• Edwin Van Cleef
  • Possible refrence to the Dutch organized crime leader, George Van Kleef, strikingly similar in terms of name and profession. Even more extraordinary is it that George Van Kleef was assassinated in November 2005, grimly ironic as his namesake is constantly killed by players ingame as part of a quest series in The Deadmines.
  • He could also be named after the well-known spaghetti-western star, Lee Van Cleef, who became famous for playing notoriously ice-cold villains.[2]

• Gregory Charles
  • The undercity rogue trainer's name is the same as French Canadian singer/actor/entertainer Gregory Charles [3].

• Haunted Mansion
  • Players battle Thule Ravenclaw in Fenris Keep in Silverpine Forest, he is believed to be named after the famous voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft [4] who is the lead vocalist in the Disney attraction's theme song Grim Grinning Ghosts.

• Hickory Farms
  • There are goblin vendors in various places working for "Smokywood Pastures" that offer cheeses and sausages. They also set up sales wagons in the major cities during the Winter Holiday events.

• Hindenburg
  • One of the zeppelin goblins near the 'Undercity' is named Hin Denburg, after the famous crashed German blimp.

• Homestar Runner
  • At Thorium Point in Searing Gorge, there is an NPC named "Master Smith Burninate", a reference to Strong Bad's dragon, "Trogdor the Burninator" - the NPC appears in an area near a large dragon, and will commonly drop dragon skin if killed.

• Honeywell
  • In Southshore there is an NPC named "Apprentice Honeywell".

• Immovable Object/Unstoppable Force
  • Two of the items which can be obtained as PvP rewards in Alterac Valley are  [The Immovable Object] (a shield) and  [The Unstoppable Force] (a mace). These are references to a logical conundrum which goes, "What happens when an unstoppable force strikes an immovable object?"

• JATO Rocket Car
  • In the Shimmering Flats one of the racer cars has crashed and embedded halfway up the cliff face, a reference to the Darwin Award urban legend of the 'JATO Rocket Car'.

• Jerky Boys
  • There is an NPC in Ironforge named Talvash del Kissel. This is a reference to the infamous phone prank group The Jerky Boys. Two of the personas the Jerky Boys used while doing pranks were named "Kissel" and "Tarbash the Egyptian Magician". The latter name probably explains why the NPC hangs out in The Mystic Ward, the mage area of Ironforge.

• Jose Cuervo
  • A Tanaris quest called Cuergo's Gold references this popular alcoholic beverage.

• Kym Wilde
  • There is an NPC at Thunder Bluff named Kym Wildmane, which is possibly a reference to the actor Kym Wilde or the singer 'Kim Wilde'.

• Morning Glory Dew
  • A high level and expensive mana restore drink that players can find is called "Morning Glory Dew." Blizzard employees have been quoted as saying they drink a lot of Mountain Dew so this item may reference the soda.
  • It has also been suggested that the initials "MGD" stand for Miller Genuine Draft, an American brewed beer. Given that most employers frown upon drinking alcoholic beverages in the workplace, the connection is tenuous at best.

• Ngorongoro Crater
  • It seems likely that 'Un'goro Crater' was named after 'Ngorongoro Crater', 'Tanzania', the largest perfect caldera in the world. The geography of Un'Goro also bears a striking resemblance to Ngoro Ngoro.

• O RLY?
  • After the saying became popular among players, one of newly added Goblin Auctioneers in Booty Bay was named "O'Reely".
  • There is also a white owl that flies around a hut near Steamwheedle Port in Tanaris named "O'Reilly".
  • An Undead auctioneer by the name of "Yarly" has been added in the Undercity Auction House.

• Pirates vs. Ninjas
  • Eating a Savory Deviant Delight will cause your character to turn into either a Pirate or a Ninja. The effect will read as "Arrrrr" (for pirates) or "Flip Out" (for ninjas; this itself is a reference to the phrase, "the purpose of a ninja is to flip out and kill people."). The effect is purely cosmetic.

• Peanut Butter Jelly Time
  • One of the Tauren Male's dance cycles is based on the famous 'Dancing Banana' that appears in the popular Internet Flash.

• Cristo Redentor
  • In Booty Bay there is a statue of a goblin with its arms outstretched, very similar to the Cristo Redentor statue above Rio de Janeiro. The statue is on "Jainero's Point".

• Smith & Wesson
  • In Ratchet a High Elf sailor will give you a mission to travel down the coast and kill the cannoneers Smythe and Whesson, an obvious reference to firearm company Smith & Wesson.
  • The german names of these NPC, cannoneers Hecksler and Knoch refer to Heckler & Koch.

• Sweeney Todd
  • There is a traveling salesman who wander around Elwynn Forest and Darkshire named Antonio Perelli, a reference to the traveling hair elixir salesman in the musical version of Sweeney Todd.

• Tonka
  • The Darkmoon Faire has several remote-controlled cars known as Tonks.

• Tortuga
  • In the Tanaris desert, there is a quest to help a tortoise named "Tooga" to get back to his wife "Torta." "Tortuga" means "turtle" in Spanish.
  • Tortuga is also the name of a famous pirate's haven in the Caribbean. The eastern shores of Tanaris are thick with pirates.

• Wickerman
  • During the 2005 Halloween season, Blizzard introduced the festivities of Hallow's End, which includes the burning of an effigy of a man (named Wickerman) in front of 'Undercity'. Although this references a movie of the same name ([5]), it is probably also a reference to the annual 'Burning Man' festival held in Nevada. The possibility also exists that it refers to the ancient pagan practice of burning men alive as human sacrifices, called Wicker Men.

• The Pig & Whistle
  • In Stormwind there's a tavern called "The Pig & Whistle" in the Old Town district. This is a reference to a bar in Hollywood called "The Pig & Whistle Tavern". It is probably a more direct reference to the book series Dragonlance, where Raistlin performs magic acts.

• The Holocaust
  • In the orc Internment camps, in the Caverns of Time dungeon Escape from Durnholde, The occasional guard will yell "I was just taking orders!", a reference to the common excuse used by Nazi labor camp guards, during the Nuremberg Trials.

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos/The Frozen Throne

In the credits sequence, there are many pop culture references to various movies and games.

Comics

• Batman
  • "Nananananananana... ME!!" –Troll Batrider.

• Spider-Man
  • "Spider sense. Tingling" –Crypt Fiend.

• Superman
  • "Look in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's me!" –Windrider.

Games

• Diablo
  • "Wings, Horns, Hooves, what're we saying, Is this Diablo?" –'Illidan Stormrage'.
  • An Item on one of the missions, and can be found on the Campaign Editor, is "Wirt's OTHER Leg". A "Butcher", based on the famous Diablo monster, is guarding it.

• Games Workshop
  • Steam tanks and Gyrocopters are also both near identical units in Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
  • Repeatedly clicking on a gryphon rider replies with 'This Warhammer cost 40K' referring to Warhammer 40,000.
  • Games Workshop made Blizzard remove these references for the expansion pack, hence the renamed units and missing quote.

• The Lost Vikings
  • In the Blizzard-produced bonus mission Monolith, the three possible names for the Dark Troll hero are Erik the Swift, Baleog the Fierce, and Olaf the Stout, the names of the three Lost Vikings.

• Mortal Kombat
  • "Mortar Combat!" –Dwarven Mortar Team.
  • "Your soul is mine!" –Dreadlord

• StarCraft
  • "Clearly, 'Tassadar' has failed us! You must not!" – Mortar Team. Slight misquotation of StarCraft's Judicator Aldaris.
  • "My life for Aiur... er-r-r I-I mean Ner'Zhul." – Acolyte. Refers to the line said by the Protoss Zealot whenever a new one is created.
  • In the second Night Elf level, there is a Hydralisk hidden behind the trees, which you can control after you appoach it.

• Zero Wing
  • allyourbasearebelongtous and somebodysetupusthebomb are both cheat codes for the game, referencing the Zero Wing game and well-known internet phenomenon. [6]

Literature

• A Song of Ice and Fire
  • The final chapter of 'Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne' is called "A Symphony of Frost and Flame."

• Atlas Shrugged
  • Enabled research cheat – WhoIsJohnGalt – Refers to the novel 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand. "'Who is John Galt?'" is a slang/colloquialism used throughout, but actually refers to the mysterious engineer, John Galt, the man who stopped the motor of the world.

• The Lord of the Rings
  • "I stole your precious." –Spellbreaker. The character 'Gollum' called 'The One Ring' "my precious" in 'the Lord of the Rings' series of books.

Movies

• Alien
  • "In the depths, no one can hear you scream. Well.. they can, but it's really muffled." –Naga Royal Guard. Reference to "In space no one can hear you scream".

• Army of Darkness
  • "This... is... my... BOOMSTICK!" –Rifleman. This is a line said by the rifleman with multiple clicking. This is a line from Ash in "Army of Darkness" when he explains to the medieval people what a shotgun is.

• The Big Lebowski
  • Cheat code to remove spell cooldown was 'TheDudeAbides', a line from the main character.

• Cool Hand Luke
  • "What we have here is a failure to communicate." –Bandit. Also said by Warden.

• Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
  • "Crouch, tiger, I sense a hidden dragon." – Priestess of the Moon.

• Full Metal Jacket
  • "Me so horned, me hurt you long time!" said by the orc grunts, is a reference to the prostitute's declairation of "me so horny, me love you long time!"

• • "Only two things come from Texas... and I got horns.", says a Tauren when clicked. Reference to the Kubrick movie where officer Hartman shouts at the soldiers: "Texas? Only steers and queers come from Texas!"

• Ghostbusters
  • "There is no Banshee, only 'Zuul'!" –Banshee. This is a reference to a 'Sigourney Weaver' line.

• Gladiator
  • "What I do in death echoes in eternity." –Shade. Similar to a line spoken by Maximus.

• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
  • "You are terminated".-Goblin Tinker. T-850 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) said to T-X in Terminator 3.

• The Jungle Book
  • "Ale is my bear necessity." –Pandaren Brewmaster. A major song in The Jungle Book is called "The Bear Necessities".

• The Matrix
  • The cheat for unlimited mana; "There is no spoon" is taken from the film 'The Matrix'.

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • "I never say NI!" –Knight. A reference to The 'Knights who say Ni' from 'Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail|The Holy Grail'.
  • "My favourite colour is Blue! No! Yeeelloow-" –Knight. A reference to The Bridge of Death from 'Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail|The Holy Grail'
  • "You're the king? Well I didn't vote for you." –Peasant. A reference to The Filth Harvesting Peasants from 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.
  • "We have a witch! May we burn her?" –Peasant. A reference to the witch burning scene in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.
  • "Help! Help! I'm being repressed!" –Peasant. A reference to the constitutional peasant Dennis in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.
  • "It's only a flesh wound!" –Footman. A reference to Black Knight in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.

• Peter Pan
  • "Uh-oh, my Tinker bell." –Tinker. Reference to the character 'Tinkerbell'.

• Predator
  • "Let's move. Five meter spread, no sound." –Archer.

• Scarface
  • "Say hello to my little friend!" –Troll Headhunter. The same words were said by 'Al Pacinos character in 'Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface'.

• The Sixth Sense
  • "I see undead people." –Necromancer.
  • "Me eat dead people." –Ghoul.
  • "I see dead people." –Far Seer. Said by 'Haley Joel Osment'. "Iseedeadpeople" is also the cheat for fully explored map/remove fog of war.

• Star Wars
  • "Me don't sound like 'Yoda'. Do I?" –'Orc Grunt'. A reference to 'Yoda'.
  • "Once you head down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Plus you got dental." –Acolyte. Reference to turning to The Dark Side.
  • "She'll hold together. (quietly) Hear me, baby? Hold together." –Tinker. Reference to 'Han Solos request for the 'Millennium Falcon' to continue flying.
  • "We aren't the dryads you're looking for" –'Dryad'. A reference to a phrase by 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, "These aren't the droids you're looking for."
  • "They came from... behind..." –the Flying Machine says this when it's destroyed, a reference to what Gold Five says when he dies in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
  • "Stay on target..." –the Flying Machine says this when clicked on too many times, a reference to what Gold Five says when he and Gold Leader are pursued by Darth Vader.
  • "At last we shall have revenge" –Demon Hunter. Reference to Darth Maul's only line in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

• Thumb Wars
  • "Touch your tongue to mine." –Far Seer. A reference to the quote made by both Oobidub Benubi and A Puppet in Thumb Wars, a Star Wars parody.

• The Usual Suspects
  • Cheat code keysersoze for obtaining extra gold refers to the mythical crime figure Keyser Soze, whose very existence is a source of mystery and debate.

Music

• Britney Spears
  • "Click me baby, one more time." –Sorceress. 'Britney Spears first hit was "Hit Me Baby, One More Time".

• Sting & The Police
  • "We're all spirits in the material world." –Spirit Walker. From the Sting & The Police song of the same title.

• Iron Maiden
  • The bonus campaign "Founding Durotar" chapter one is named "To Tame a Land", reference to a song on the album Piece Of Mind.
  • There is a level in the campaign called "Where Wyverns Dare", a reference to the Iron Maiden song "Where Eagles Dare", or also possibly a reference to the movie 'Where Eagles Dare'. Where Eagles Dare is Also a song by Horror Punk band The Misfits.

• Jon Bon Jovi
  • "Shot through the heart, and I'm to blame." –Archer. One of Bon Jovi's songs begins with "Shot through the heart, and you're to blame."

• Pantera
  • A part of the orc campaign is callled "By Demons Be Driven", this a reference to the Pantera song of the same name.

• Metallica
  • Rexxar, The Beastmaster, says "Where I lay my head is home! You see that rock? That's my pillow!". "Where I lay my head is home" is one of the lines in Metallica's song "Wherever I May Roam" from the Black Album.

• The Beatles
  • "I'm the fifth Beatle." - Crypt Lord. A reference to that many people claim certain people deserve being called a "fifth" member of The Beatles, or a term used to reference people who at some point had a strong association with The Beatles.

Other

• Kelloggs Frosted Flakes
  • "My tiger is trained for war. He's grrrrreat!" –Priestess of the Moon. Frosties/Frosted Flakes' mascot 'Tony the Tigers signature line is "They're grrrrreat!".

• Iron Chef
  • "Fukui-san! Yes, go ahead. What the Iron Troll is doing right now is putting heads in a pot. They have to boil for 20 minutes so the eyes can be used in a second dish, an eye and raspberry sorbet. Mmmm, Sounds good!" –Troll Witch Doctor.

• The Simpsons
  • "My eyes! The goggles do nothing!" –Foot soldier. Uttered during the "filming of Warcraft III" blooper reel of the end credits. This is a reference to the Radioactive Man movie episode of the Simpsons, when actor Rainier Wolfcastle tries to protect himself from a giant wave of acid by putting on a pair of tiny protective goggles.
  • "D'oh!" Annoyed Peasant or Dryad. It's Homer Simpson's most famous catchphrase. In the case of the Dryad, "D'oh!" is spelled "Doe" which is a female deer which technically, is what a Dryad is.

• Homestar Runner
  • In one of the levels, a soldier guarding Prince Kael's cell is named "Trogdar". Referencing the Dragon, "Trogdor". In a twist of irony, he is killed (i.e. burninated) by Lady Vashj.

• Rifleman's Creed
  • "This is my owl. There are many like it, but this one is mine." –Huntress. This line is also famously used in the movies Full Metal Jacket and Jarhead.

• I Love Lucy
  • "Lucyyy" –Troll Headhunter. Said in the same manner as 'Ricky Ricardo'.

• Smokey the Bear
  • "Only you can prevent forest fires." –Druid of the Claw.
  • "This bear with the forest hat keeps following me around!" – Firelord

• Weakest Link
  • "You are the weakest Lich, Goodbye!" is one of Lich's annoyed phrases.

• Who Wants to be a Millionaire
  • "No? Is that your final answer?" -Paladin annoyed phrase

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

Music

• The Police
  • "Every little thing she does" is the cheat code for unlimited mana and all spells researched; in reference to The Police's song "Every little thing she does is magic".

Film and television

• Star Trek: The Next Generation
  • The map cheat code of "onscreen" and the fast build cheat of "makeitso" are references to 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. They are both commands often given by Captain Picard.
  • The invulnerabilty cheat of "It is a good day to die" is also from the show; it is a 'Klingon' proverb. Its root origin was from the battle of Thermopylae. It was one of the responses Leonidas gave to the Persian emissary when he was asked to surrender as he had no chance of winning. Star Trek gets it from this historical reference.

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • The sword fighting sound effect is lifted directly from the Black Knight scene in the Holy Grail.

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans

• The Chronicles of Amber
  • To enable cheat mode, you type Corwin of Amber. Corwin is a character from the 'The Chronicles of Amber', a series of books by 'Roger Zelazny'.