List of pop culture references in Warcraft/W123

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

• Banjo-Kazooie
  • "Eekum Bokum" - Troll Witch Doctor. Said by Mumbo Jumbo when he casts spells.

• 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.^{[citation needed]} 

• 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. Quotation from Judicator Aldaris in the first Protoss scenario.
  • "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.

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.
  • Kel'Thuzad was a currupted human mage, who succumbed to the will of the Lich King. The Witch King of Angmar is also similar, except for being a human king, as he fell to the ring of Sauron. Secondly, Kel'Thuzad is second in command to the Lich King, and the Witch King is second in command to Sauron.

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.

• Braveheart
  • "Every man lives. Not every man truly dies." –Necromancer, reference to William Wallace's (Mel Gibson) line in Braveheart: "Every man dies. Not every man truly lives."

• Clerks
  • "I hate people, but I love gatherings." –Death Knight hero unit, paraphrased from an exchange between the two main characters in Clerks: "You hate people!" "But I love gatherings! Isn't it ironic?"

• 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 declaration 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 Bear Necessities" is also a quest in Bloodmyst Isle.

• 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! Yeelloow-" –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'.

• "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
  • "I don't want FOP, damn it! I'm a dapper dan man!" Said by Bandit, said by Ulysses in the movie.

• 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 Pacino's" 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 Trek
  • The cheat warpten is a possible reference to Star Trek.

• 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
  • "I find your insolence... disturbing" Blood Mage when clicked too many times, referring to Darth Vader's classic "I find your lack of faith... disturbing" from A New Hope

• 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.

• Where Eagles Dare
  • One of the missions in the Orc Campaign of Reign of Chaos is called "Where Wyverns Dare" named after the movie.

Music

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

• Guns n' Roses
  • Bandit "What we have here is a failure to communicate.", a famous intro in the song called "Civil War".

• 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."

• Megadeth
  • The Frozen Throne bonus campaign contains a mission named 'Countdown to Extinction' after the Megadeth song and album of the same name.

• Pantera
  • A part of the orc campaign is called "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.
  • Bandit: "I'm a rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond... Call me what you will!". Another reference to "Wherever I May Roam".

• 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.

• The Doors
  • The campaign Riders of the Storm probably is a reference to the Doors song of the same name.

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 invulnerability 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".

• Sally Shears
  • To reveal the entire map (much like black sheep wall in StarCraft), you type this. It is a reference to Sally Shears, a recurring character from the "Sprawl" series of books by "William Gibson".