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List of pop culture references in Warcraft

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Contents

See also

[edit] World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

[edit] Film and Television

  • The A-Team
    • When returning the makings of a trap to Alliance Crest Admiral Odesyus <Alliance Naval Command>, he says "I love it when a plan comes together," a line spoken in almost every episode of The A-Team by Hannibal Smith.


  • Apocalypse Now
    • After respawning, Combat Captain Arathyn says "I love the smell of nether in the morning. It smells like... ... victory" - one of the more famous quotes from above movie, originally said by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore.


  • Aliens
    • Outside of the Skyguard Outpost in Blade's Edge Mountains, the Skyguard gear up for their flight on the Bash'ir Landing about every two hours. During their pep talk, the Skyguard Lieutenant asks "Anyone have any questions?" to which a Ranger replies "Look, man, I only need to know one thing, where they are." This is a direct quotation from the 1986 movie Aliens, where the Marines are getting a briefing from their Lieutenant and Private First Class Jenette Vasquez chimes in cockily with the above quote.



  • Battlestar Galactica
    • In the Blizzard website promoting the new Arena Tournament, the promotional pictures show a female Blood Elf called "Boomer" fighting against a Draenei Warrior called "Apollo" as well as rogue called "Gaius" in reference to the Battlestar Galactica characters Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, Lee "Apollo" Adama and Gaius Baltar.


  • Bio-Dome
    • Located in Netherstorm inside of the Eco-Dome stands Shauly Pore which is a reference to actor and comedian Pauly Shore, who starred in the 1996 film "Bio-Dome"


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




  • Captain Planet and the Planeteers
    • The Blood Elf female laugh is meant to reference the catchphrase of Doctor Blight, from the TV series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Also, the image that displays next to the health bars of Blood Elf females in your party that are outside your visual range bears a distinct resemblance to the Doctor.





  • 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.
    • During Brewfest, one of the beers you can purchase is Mudder's Milk, which is from the episode 'Jaynestown'.
    • The reagent vendors in Ogri'la and the Lower City are named Mingo and Fanty, after the twins who engage Mal to perform the robbery from Serenity's opening sequence.
    • Strange Engine Parts and Broken Engine Parts, which are fished randomly from pools of Steam Pump Flotsam in Zangarmarsh, bear the description: "It reads 'Capissen 38' on the bottom." This is a reference to Kaylee Frye's line in the film "Serenity:" "Don't ride in anything with a Capissen 38 engine, they fall right out of the sky." These items starts a quest that you turn in K. Lee Smallfry.


  • Futurama
    • In the Apothecarium area is a large, stitched together thing that periodically blorps a load of the green funk that fills the Canals, vaguely reminiscient of the Slurm Queen's behind in the episode "Fry & The Slurm Factory"


  • Gladiator
    • 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.



  • M.A.S.H.
    • The Skyguard folk at Skyguard Outpost occasionally say 'Player is an officer and a gentlewoman/man. This is the same thing Houlihan says in the M.A.S.H. play.


  • Masters of the Universe
    • In the draenei city of Shattrath, The Alliance Arathi Basin Battlemaster is named "Adam Eternum" in reference to the popular Masters of the Universe character "He-Man", whose real name is Adam. 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?"
    • Eternum's Horde battlemaster counterpart, Keldor the Lost, continues the reference to 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.


  • 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'.
    • When you leave 'Area 52' you will be hit by a flash of light and you receive a buff called A-52 Neuralyzer whos tooltip say "The flash of light you did not see did not erase your memories". This is a reference to the "Neuralizer" device that the Men in Black used to erase and alter the memories of the people who saw an alien.


  • 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 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 Maori).




  • 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."





  • Snakes On A Plane
    • In Nagrand at Nesingwary Safari, there is a gnome style plane crashed into the ground. Unmoving snake critters spawn 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 "Make Love, Not Warcraft": An etherial NPC near Manaforge Ultris in the Netherstorm quotes this episode saying "How do you defeat that which has no life?". (my.php?image=southparkzd1.jpg)
    • 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 play on the Dilithium Matrix Crystals used to redirect energy generated in warp engines.
    • In Exodar, there is a group of draenei that walk 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 Lenoard 'Bones' McCoy's line "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a <insert profession>" from the original Star Trek series.
    • In Toshley's Station, there is a gnome standing to the north named Smiles O'Byron. Miles O'Brien is also referred to as Smiley in the alternate universe episodes of 'Deep Space Nine'.
    • In Zangarmarsh, there is a Night Elf NPC who has gone insane, and sometimes says "There are four lights!", which refers to an episode of The Next Generation in which Captain Picard is captured by Cardassians and tortured to break his will and get him to admit he sees five lights where there are only four.
    • In Booty Bay and Tanaris we find two engineers manning the teleporters named Jhordy Lapforge and Scooty, nods to Geordi LaForge for Star Trek: The Next Generation and to Montgomery "Scotty" Scott for the original series.
    • The cave below Manaforge Ara in the Netherstorm is named Trelleum Mine, from the mineral known as trellium in Star Trek: Enterprise. Overseer Azaloth also walks around inside the Manaforge Ara, a possible reference to Azati Prime, a planet located inside the Delphic Expanse, a region where you can find trellium ore. Additionally, the demons placed in the manaforge and otherwise generally seen manipulating Kael's blood elves are reminiscent of the Sphere Builders manipulating the Xindi in the Delphic Expanse.
    • The zone of Netherstorm has similar colors and chaotic theme as the Delphic Expanse. Warlocks cannot summon in the Netherstorm like certain starship functions do not work in the Expanse.


  • 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 Alliance Crest [12] The Kessel Run.
    • Baron Sablemane will give you a quest named Alliance Crest [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.
    • Toshley's Station also has a quest named, Cutting Your Teeth. The rewards from this quest include Vibro Shanker, Vibro Dagger, and Vibro Sword. These weapons are a reference to the Star Wars, Vibrosword, Vibroaxe, Vibrodagger, which in turn are inspired by other sci-fi universes of that age.
    • A dwarf pilot by the name of Xiggs Fuselighter is found in the Military Ward of Ironforge. This is a reference to Luke Skywalker's friend Biggs Darklighter, whom you see in Star Wars Episode IV. He even wears an orange flightsuit, black gloves, and boots of Rouge Squadron.
    • The Halaa Blade Merchants in Halaa in Nagrand are Coreiel when Halaa is Horde controlled and Aldraan when Alliance controlled. These are references to Princess Leia's homeworld of Alderaan and Han Solo's homeworld of Corellia.


  • 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 a likely 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.




  • 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.


  • 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."


  • Total Recall
    • When walking by the refugee's in Shattrath City's lower gate, one of them can be heard saying "Hey, Man? Got some money? I got five kids to feed!" Just like Bennie the cab driver from Total Recall.



  • Wayne's World
    • In Zangramarsh, there is a Horde quest called "Nothin' Says Lovin' Like a Big Stinger", and the very first paragraph in the quest descripition reads, "She will be mine. Oh yes- She will be mine", a famous catchphrase Wayne uses when talking about Cassandra, the guitar, and other things.

[edit] Games

  • Doom
    • The sounds made by the variations of Stags is almost directly taken from the sound palette of the imps found in the game Doom.


  • Duke Nukem 3D
    • The sound the Felboars and Helboars of outland shriek when they agro is strongly reminiscent of the LARD pig-cops you encounter in several areas of this game.




  • Metal Gear Solid
    • 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 Solid series, where the main character Solid Snake often uses a cardboard box to move around undetected.


  • Sinistar
    • The Essence of Anger part of the Reliquary of Souls boss encounter in the Black Temple will shout "Beware - I live.", a quote Sinistar shouts when he is fully formed and start actively seeking the player out, in the 1982 arcade game classic Sinistar.



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

[edit] Literature

  • Dostoevsky
    • 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


  • Dune
    • The burrower mobs throughout several zones in Outland 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 burrower called "Hai'Shulud," whose title is "the Bone Emperor.", a pun on the name of the sandworms of Dune, "Shai-Hulud". The quest rewards are daggers with names based on Dune characters and weapons made from the sandworms' teeth.



  • H.P. Lovecraft
    • The Black Morass, an instance in the Caverns of Time set in what is to become the Blasted Lands, 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.



  • J. R. R. Tolkien
    • You receive a sword named "[Stung]" after killing spiders in the Ghostlands, taking after Bilbo's sword "Sting" in The Hobbit.
    • In Honor Hold there is an NPC named "Marshal Isildor", a possible reference to Isildur in Lord of the Rings, the man who cut the ring from Sauron's finger.
    • One of the lines spoken by the Draenei leader, Velen, is "Not all who wander are lost." This is a line from the poem about Aragorn in the book.


  • Kurt Vonnegut
    • In Hellfire Peninsula, there is a demon boss named Doom Lord Kazzak, who shares a name with the hound of space, Kazak, from Vonnegut's book The Sirens of Titan.


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

[edit] Music

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


  • 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."


  • Depeche Mode
    • A quest in the Azuremyst Isles is called "Precious and Fragile Things Need Special Handling", taken word-for-word from the first line of Precious.
    • The Blasted Lands quest "Everything Counts in Large Amounts" is a line from the song Everything Counts.
    • The title of the Netherwing daily quest "The Deadliest Trap Ever Laid" is a line from the song "Home".



  • 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." Thus, he isn't "The Real Slim Shady".


  • In Flames
    • One of the quests on Bloodmyst Isle is called "Artifacts Of The Blacksilt", which may be a reference to the In Flames song "Artifacts Of The Black Rain".


  • Elton John
    • In Area 52, the Experimental Pilot periodically says, 'This isn't the kind of place to raise your kids, it's cold and there'd be no one to raise them', which is a take on a line from Elton John's song Rocket Man.
    • 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.


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



  • Daler Mehndi
    • The male Draenei's dance moves are taken from the video for the song "Tunak Tunak Tun" by Daler Mehndi (Image:Youtube logo 18x18.png YouTube), which was a moderate internet phenomenon.


  • Ozzy Osbourne
    • An NPC named Osborne the Night Man is a possible reference to the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. The NPC trains rogues in Stormwind city.



  • Pink Floyd
    • The Innkeeper in Thrallmar is named Floyd Pinkus <Innkeeper>.
    • 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")
    • Triage Quest: When performing the Triage quest for Artisan First Aid (Theramore - Alliance / Hammerfall - Horde), soldiers who you fail to heal that are about to die say "Goodbye cruel world...I'm leavin' you today...goodbye, goodbye, goodbye..." These are the opening lines of the song 'Goodbye, Cruel World' from Pink Floyd's album The Wall.
    • The NPC lying down in Nessingway's Camp in Nagrand is called Harold Lane, which could be a reference to Pink Floyd's Song Arnold Lane.


  • 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.


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


  • 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.

[edit] Other




  • 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.
    • Also, on the road to Azure Watch form the draenei starting area, there is a fishing trainer named Diktynna, who gives a quest to gather fish with a net. This is a play on Dictynna, a goddess of fishing and nets.


  • Marcus Aurelius
    • 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. This is a reference to Marcus Aurelius, an Emperor of Rome.



  • Paris Hilton
    • One of the bar patrons in Lower Shattrath City is a blood elf female named Haris Pilton <Socialite> made to resemble the infamous 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 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.

[edit] World of Warcraft

[edit] Games

  • Abe's Oddworld series:
    • The Ravager bears an extremely striking resemblance to the Scrabs in the various Oddworld games. [1]


  • Diablo & 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 a possible 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.


  • 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.



  • 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 could be a vague reference to a blind character of the same name in Fable (itself a reference to classical mythology).


  • The Legend of Zelda
    • 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, a lion head key (found in the original Legend of Zelda game, which had unlimited uses), 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 Snarltooth, 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 Shaft 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 Fenthwick, 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.
    • One of the NPCs found at the Sha'tari Skyguard base outside Skettis is named Adaris, a potential reference to Aldaris.
    • The Vindicator in the Ammen Vale crash site is named Aldar, possibly another reference to Judicator 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.

[edit] 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".



  • 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 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 MI6, 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 pub two lost American hitchhikers stumbled upon before their unfortunate encounter with the local werewolf in this film.


  • 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 was based.


  • 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 Bom'bay <Witch Doctor in Training>. 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, Jenal <Ditch Digger>, behind one of the large trees that houses the Druid trainers surrounded by piles of dirt. When the Jenal asked Arch Druid Fandral 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.




  • 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.


  • Cavemen
    • 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 Druid Moonkin form, are the same as those made famous by Chris Farley during the 'Chippendales' sketch on Saturday Night Live.


  • Cheers
    • In the Mage Quarter in Stormwind, one of wandering NPC Erich Lohan's phrases is "Head on over to the Blue Recluse. Where everybody knows your name!" "Where everybody knows your name" is also the Cheers theme song.


  • 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.


  • 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]





  • 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 resembles Claudia Black's character, Officer 'Aeryn Sun' from the 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 mace 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 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."
    • The Booterang, given in the Netherwing daily of the same name, has printed on it the first two lines of the Rifleman's Creed. The Creed pre-dates Full Metal Jacket by about 45 years, but was popularized by this movie.



  • 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 Ghostbusters 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.



  • 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 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'.


  • Mel Brooks' 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'.


  • 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 maneuver 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'.
    • There is an NPC in the Zul'Aman instance named Harrison Jones, an obvious reference to starring actor Harrison Ford and his role as the title character. In his dialogue, he accuses the player of only wanting to acquire Zul'Aman's treasures for themselves, instead of taking them to a museum where they belong, in his opinion (which is one of Jones' main motives for his expeditions).


  • 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.