Who is Powder in League of Legends?
Riot Games’ award-winning animated series, Arcane, is built from the universe of the studio’s popular game, League of Legends. Set in the world of League of Legends, the events are centered around a city called Piltover, the so-called “City of Progress.” Fans of League of Legends will see familiar faces in the series, especially the series’ main characters: Violet and Powder.
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The Story of Powder in Arcane
Arcane follows the story of the Vi and Powder; they are sisters who live in Piltover’s Undercity, a section of the city teeming with crime and poverty. They lost their parents in a fight between Undercity revolutionaries and Piltover enforcers at a young age. In the aftermath of the battle, Vi and Powder were taken in by Vander, a lead figure in the revolution that ensued.
The sisters, along with two other orphans, lived under the care of Vander, Mylo, and Claggor. They would sometimes go on small tasks given by Vander. Life was doing okay, until it took a turn for the worse when a house raid in Piltover went awry. The orphans caused an uproar where they shouldn’t be, which led them to be hunted down by Piltover enforcers.
Silco, Vander’s former close friend and fellow revolutionary, is working in the shadows to try and seize control of Undercity from Vander. He gets wind of the commotion and sees it as a perfect opportunity to put his plans into motion. Silco rats out the kids’ identity to a Piltover enforcer, which eventually forces Vander to surrender himself to them to protect his adoptive children.
However, Silco has more sinister plans. He and his followers attacked the Piltover enforcers as they were arresting Vander, leaving only the enforcer he negotiated with alive. Silco captures Vander and brings him to his headquarters in hopes of convincing him to join his cause. When Vander refuses, Silco concocts a plan to use the orphans to force Vander. He lies in wait for the unsuspecting children who plan to rescue Vander.
Silco’s plan comes to fruition when Violet and the other children come looking for Vander. They attempt to rescue him but are instead trapped by Silco and his followers. They fight their way through them, but as they are about to escape, a bomb set off by Powder goes off, destroying the building and resulting in the death of Mylo and Claggor. Vander sacrifices himself to buy time for Vi to escape.
Vi finds Powder and, in a fit of rage, abandons her. Powder is left traumatized by her actions and the abandonment of her sister. She is eventually found by Silco, who sympathizes with her and takes her in.
An Unwanted Reunion
Years pass, and Undercity is now under the control of Silco. Powder is now grown up and works for Silco as his adoptive daughter. She occasionally causes commotions in Piltover, going on missions for Silco.
One day she is found by Vi and her friend from Piltover, Caitlyn. This reunion brings up the traumatic memories from her past, making her emotionally unstable. Their reunion is cut short when a group, the Firelights, attacks and captures Vi and Caitlyn.
The trauma and frustration of Powder built up when she saw her sister with Caitlyn. She eventually releases the tension by causing a stir in Piltover, which results in the death of a few Piltover enforcers. A search is on the way, and Piltover enforcers invade Undercity to search for the perpetrator; however, Silco has developed an affection for Powder and refused to give her up.
Ekko, the leader of the Firelights, confronted Powder. But as he beat her down, Powder set off a bomb that caused severe damage to them both. Silco, not wanting to lose Powder, brought her to a scientist he knew. To save Powder, the scientist treated her with experimental chemicals. Powder managed to live, but her mental instability got amplified.
How Powder Becomes Jinx
Later in the story, Powder overhears plans for Silco to give her up in exchange for Undercity’s independence, which triggers her mental problems even more. Powder kidnapped him, Vi, and Caitlyn and brought them to a makeshift tea party with two chairs for herself, Powder, and Jinx. The atmosphere was intense as Powder’s insanity was evident. She eventually killed Silco, who told her in his last words that he would never give Powder up.
Vi was begging Powder to run away with her and stop her actions. To her surprise, Powder refused and sat at the chair labeled ‘Jinx,’ reaffirming her new identity. The Powder that Vi knew as a kid no longer exists. This is the point where Jinx’s story begins.
League of Legends: After Jinx Comes Out
The events of Arcane are said to take place before the current timeline of the League of Legends universe. The familiar Arcane characters in League of Legends are Vi, Caitlyn, Ekko, and Powder.
Like the events from the end of Arcane, there is no more Powder in League of Legends; she is now Jinx. She is portrayed as a mentally unstable girl who likes destroying everything. Moreover, she has gadgets seen in the animated series, like her hand grenades and minigun.
Jinx’s Abilities
Jinx is a marksman champion that devastates enemies from range. Thanks to her passive and other abilities, she has strong kiting skills that can slow down enemies or root them in place. Her passive ability, Get Excited!, gives her a significant movement speed and attack speed boost whenever she kills or assists in killing an enemy.
Meanwhile, Zap fires off a projectile that damages and slows down the first enemy it hits. Jinx’s E ability, Flame Chompers, appears in Arcane in her fight with Ekko. In League of Legends, the ability makes Jinx set three grenades on the ground, damaging and rooting enemies if they step on them.
Jinx loves her guns, Pow-pow and Fishbones. Her Q ability, Switcheroo, makes her switch between the two guns. Using Pow-pow, the minigun grants her attack speed on her attacks, which stacks up to three times. Fishbones, the rocket launcher, gives Jinx bonus attack range and causes her attacks to splash at nearby enemies.
Her ultimate ability, Super Mega Death Rocket, fires off a big rocket that gathers power as it travels. Jinx can cast it towards any map point, making it a strong killing tool.
