Home › Factions › Space Wolves › Ragnar Blackmane
1 / 4 · Click to enlargeOverview
Ragnar Blackmane is the youngest warrior ever to become a Wolf Lord of the Space Wolves. He is wild, magnetic and fearless, and leads the Blackmanes Great Company. His early saga was told in William King's and Lee Lightner's Space Wolf novels.
He fights with the frost blade Frostfang and leads his Great Company with reckless abandon. He has fought against Chaos, Orks and the Tyranids. In the saga told in the novels, he lost the Spear of Russ in battle against the Thousand Sons and was sent into exile with the Wolfblade on Terra before redeeming himself. Ragnar Blackmane is the youngest Wolf Lord in Space Wolves history. Fiery and reckless, he is the hero of the Space Wolf novels by William King and Lee Lightner. His most famous act cost him his rank for a time: to stop a Thousand Sons invasion of the shrine world of Garm, he threw the Spear of Russ into a Warp gate.
Origins
Born to the Thunderfist tribe in the far reaches of Fenris, he was chosen by the Space Wolves and became a Blood Claw under the mentorship of Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist.
Ragnar was born to the Thunderfist tribe on Fenris. When the Grimskull tribe attacked, he and his rival Strybjorn mortally wounded each other in a duel watched by the Wolf Priest Ranek Icewalker, who took both as aspirants. Ragnar's tribe was destroyed that night along with his first love. The rivalry with Strybjorn eventually turned into respect.
Key events
- Fought Chaos on Fenris itself while still a fledgling Blood Claw.
- During the uprising on the shrine world Garm, he drove back Magnus the Red but lost the sacred Spear of Russ in the process.
- Was sent to Terra as penance to serve in the Wolfblade, the Space Wolves' honour guard for House Belisarius.
- Rose straight from Blood Claw to the Wolf Guard, and then became the youngest Wolf Lord in the Chapter's history.
- Hunted for the Wulfen during the Wulfen crisis, crossed the Rubicon Primaris, and cornered Ghazghkull Thraka during the Psychic Awakening.
William King's novels follow his early career. His first mission took his surviving Blood Claws, with training sergeant Hakon, off Fenris to escort two Inquisitors, Ivan Sternberg and the psyker Karah Isaan, who was the first woman Ragnar had feelings for since his transformation. They were looking for the three pieces of the Talisman of Lykos, an Aeldari amulet that might save the plague world Aerius. The hunt took them to the Ork-held world of Galt and a space hulk near the dead sun Korealis. Inside the Black Pyramid on Aerius they found the Great Unclean One Botchulaz, which had been controlling the governor's troops. As a Wolfblade on Terra, he later became caught up in a Deathwing kill-team's pursuit of a Fallen, and the two Chapters eventually worked together to capture the renegade Cadmus.
The Space Wolves codex timeline adds more. In 949.M41 Dark Eldar pirates boarded the strike cruiser Stormdrake. When his Wolf Guard pack leader fell to neurotoxin, Ragnar led a maddened charge into the splinter fire, and the boarders were overrun before they could reach the generatorum. In 952.M41, on Henloth, he beheaded Rune Priest Bulvai Runemakke over a series of disastrous orders. Only when a glamour faded was the body revealed to be a Thousand Sons sorcerer, and many still called the act dangerously impulsive. In 970.M41 he cornered the Blood Axe Warboss Borzag Khan on the Antillian Plateaux, cut through his bodyguard and killed him in a duel. On the forge world Bhakhar in 983.M41, his battle rage took him away from Berek Thunderfist just as the Khornate champion Ghorox Bloodfist killed the Wolf Lord. Ragnar blamed himself and swore to find vengeance or death.
Battles & campaigns
- The Madox massacre: As a Blood Claw, he and a few others survived a Thousand Sons ambush led by the sorcerer Madox.
- Garm: He hurled the Spear of Russ into a Warp gate to stop a Thousand Sons invasion.
- Wrath of Magnus: He fought in the defence of Fenris.
Personality
Headstrong, passionate and charismatic. He loves the thrill of battle and inspires intense loyalty in his warriors.
He is passionate and impulsive, eager to prove himself in battle. He is fiercely loyal to his warriors, who share his enthusiasm. His youth makes him reckless, but his successes have earned him respect among the Wolf Lords.
Weapons & Vehicles
The brutal motorised tooth-bladed sword carried by Space Marines, Imperial Guard officers and Chaos renegades, chewing through armour a…
The signature .75-calibre rocket-propelled mass-reactive firearm of the Adeptus Astartes, firing self-propelled explosive bolts that de…
An armoured orbital-insertion capsule fired like a shell from a Space Marine Strike Cruiser, slamming into the heart of the enemy battl…
A heavily armed infantry fighting vehicle built on the Rhino chassis, trading half of its troop capacity for a roof-mounted twin heavy …
Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.
Connections
Characters (6)
Grandsire Wurm enemy · Genestealer CultsA strike force from Ragnar's Great Company drove elements of the Genestealer Cults underground on Vigilus.
Factions
- Space Wolves primary faction
Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.
Legacy
Ragnar is the Space Wolves' youngest Wolf Lord and a hero of the age. His beheading of Ghazghkull made him a legend. He represents the Wolves' wild spirit and their readiness to break with tradition when it matters. His saga, told in the long-running Space Wolf novels, made him one of the most recognisable Space Wolves after Russ and Grimnar. His recklessness and passion embody the young spirit of the Space Wolves.
Appearances & sources
- The Space Wolf series (William King, Lee Lightner)
- Codex: Space Wolves background
- Era Indomitus campaign books