Leman Russ

Overview

The fierce, wolfish Primarch of Fenris and the Emperor's "executioner" among the Legions, sent against those judged beyond saving. He vanished into the Eye of Terror after the Heresy, and his sons await his return at the "Wolftime".

He wielded the blade Mjalnar and the Spear of Russ, and was famously accompanied by his wolves Freki and Geri. During the Heresy, he led the Space Wolves to Prospero, where they destroyed the Thousand Sons' homeworld. After the war, he left after an audience before the Golden Throne, promising his sons he would return. Leman Russ was the Wolf King of Fenris, the primarch of the Space Wolves and the Emperor's executioner. His people remember him as a hero of saga and a giant of laughter and fury in equal measure. He disappeared around the time of the Scouring, leaving his Chapter with the prophecy that he would return for the Wolftime.

Origins

Raised by a giant wolf on Fenris before becoming king of the Russ tribe. Later he took command of the VI Legion.

On Fenris, he was raised by a giant wolf and later adopted by the king of the Russ tribe, whom he succeeded. When the Emperor arrived, Russ challenged him to a contest and was defeated, but impressed his father enough to be given command of the VI Legion. The Space Wolves adopted many Fenrisian traditions.

Key events

1. Was found on Fenris, raised among wolves and later as heir to a Fenrisian king, before the Emperor defeated him and brought him to the Crusade.
2. Became the Emperor's executioner, the Primarch sent when a Legion or world had to be brought to heel.
3. Led the Space Wolves against Prospero to bring Magnus to the Emperor for judgement; the mission became the burning of Prospero.
4. Broke Magnus's back in a duel on Prospero.
5. Fought in the later stages of the Heresy and in the hunt for the Alpha Legion.
6. Departed into the Eye of Terror long after the Heresy, promising to return.
7. Feuded with Lion El'Jonson throughout the Crusade. Their rivalry left lasting distrust between the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels.

Alaxxes nearly broke him. After Prospero, the Alpha Legion trapped the battered Space Wolves in the nebula, and Russ shut himself in his chambers while First Captain Gunnar Gunnhilt directed the fight from the Ragnorok. Bjorn, then a young pack leader of Tra, helped him face what being the Emperor's executioner had cost the Legion. Russ came back to lead the breakout. Laernaean Terminators teleported onto the Hrafnkel's bridge, where Russ apparently fought Alpharius in disguise. A Dark Angels fleet then arrived, led by the mobile star fort Chimaera under Chapter Master Althalos. Luther had sent that fleet out 59 years before the Heresy, and it knew almost nothing of the war, so its officer Ormand had secretly boarded Russ's flagship to test the Wolves' loyalty.

Battles & campaigns

• Feud with the Lion: He fought a legendary duel with Lion El'Jonson during the Great Crusade. Sources tell the tale differently, and the Space Wolves and Dark Angels each remember it their own way.
• Burning of Prospero: He led the Space Wolves and Custodes against the Thousand Sons. The campaign was a brutal war that destroyed Magnus's capital Tizca.
• Siege of Terra (late arrival) and the Scouring: Delayed by battles with the Alpha Legion at Alaxxes, he arrived after Horus's defeat and took part in the Scouring of the traitors.

Personality

Boisterous, brutally honest and cunning beneath the barbarian persona.

He played the part of a wild barbarian, but he was shrewd and fiercely loyal to the Emperor. He was honest about his own role as an executioner and embraced it without apology. His sense of humour and love of drink and battle made him popular among his sons.

Weapons & Vehicles

Power SwordMelee Weapon · Leman Russ

A master-crafted blade sheathed in a crackling molecular disruption field that parts ceramite, bone and steel with effortless lethality…

ChainswordMelee Weapon

The brutal motorised tooth-bladed sword carried by Space Marines, Imperial Guard officers and Chaos renegades, chewing through armour a…

Bolter & Bolt RifleRanged Weapon

The signature .75-calibre rocket-propelled mass-reactive firearm of the Adeptus Astartes, firing self-propelled explosive bolts that de…

Drop PodTransport Vehicle

An armoured orbital-insertion capsule fired like a shell from a Space Marine Strike Cruiser, slamming into the heart of the enemy battl…

Thunderwolf CavalryFast Attack · Unit

Space Wolves riding giant Fenrisian Thunderwolves, a secret of the Chapter and its fiercest shock cavalry.

WulfenElites · Unit

Space Wolves twisted into savage lupine beasts by the curse in their gene-seed, once lost and now returned to fight beside the Chapter.

Leman Russ Battle TankHeavy Support · Unit

The Imperium's main battle tank, a simple, tough and endlessly produced design named after the Primarch of the Space Wolves.

Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.

Connections

Characters (6)

• 
  The Emperor of Mankind creator · Imperium of Man

  Russ served as the Emperor's executioner, sent against Magnus at Prospero.

• 
  Bjorn the Fell-Handed commander · Space Wolves

  Bjorn fought beside Russ and witnessed his departure.

• 
  Lion El'Jonson rival · Dark Angels

  The Lion and Russ were famous rivals, feuding during the Great Crusade.

• 
  Logan Grimnar gene-father · Space Wolves

  Grimnar is the Great Wolf of the Space Wolves.

• 
  Ragnar Blackmane gene-father · Space Wolves

  Ragnar lost the Spear of Russ on Garm.

• 
  Magnus the Red enemy · Thousand Sons

  Russ broke Magnus's back during the Burning of Prospero.

Factions

• Space Wolves primary faction

Related units (5)

Leman Russ Battle TankWolf Guard TerminatorsWulfenFenrisian WolvesThunderwolf Cavalry

Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.

Legacy

The Space Wolves await Russ's return at the Wolftime. They treat his absence as a promise rather than a loss. His burning of Prospero is still debated, as either justice or a tragedy engineered by Horus, and it fixed the enmity between the Wolves and the Thousand Sons for millennia. The Space Wolves' beliefs about the Wolftime, their open defiance of other Imperial institutions and their feud with the Thousand Sons all flow from Russ.

Two of his relics were later recorded in the background. The Armour of Elavagar contained unique exothermic field generators that pulled heat and kinetic energy from the air to surround him with a killing frost, which is where its Fenrisian name comes from. Scornspitter was a Legion bolter that Vulkan reworked into a huge, perfectly balanced pistol as a mark of honour after their Legions fought together at San Katos.

Appearances & sources

• The Horus Heresy novels, including Prospero Burns and Wolfsbane
• Codex: Space Wolves and The Wolftime saga material
• Space Wolf novels by William King