"Horus was weak, he had the whol galaxy at his fingertips and let it slip away."

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In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000 and Battlefleet Gothic, Abaddon the Despoiler is Warmaster of Chaos, captain of the Black Legion and is rumoured to be the clone-progeny of Warmaster Horus and at one time, his most favoured son.

History

The Great Crusade

In the Horus Heresy trilogy, Abaddon the Despoiler is introduced as Ezekyle Abaddon, Captain of the First Company of the Luna Wolves. Further, the book reveals that he is a member of The Mournival; an informal body consisting of four senior captains that serve as advisors to the legion's Primarch, Horus. He is instrumental in the induction of another Luna Wolf Captain, Garviel Loken, into the Mournival. He is also shown to be a member of an unorthodox and clandestine "warrior lodge" within the Legion.

In the first book, Horus Rising, Abaddon notably stands against Horus' attempt to negotiate with a stray branch of humanity known as the Interex, preferring to adhere to The Emperor's xenophobic policy. This attitude is reversed in the second book, False Gods. After Horus is critically injured, Abaddon along with other members of the warrior lodge take the Primarch to a mystical healer, an act in contradiction with Imperial doctrine (which is depicted as stringently anti-superstition). By the novel's conclusion, Ezekyle Abaddon is firmly aligned with Horus against The Emperor.

In the final novel of the trilogy, Galaxy In Flames, Abaddon's most significant action is to seemingly kill Garviel Loken during the Istvaan III incident.

The Horus Heresy

Abaddon led terminator armoured Sons of Horus marines at Istvaan V, Yarant and the Siege of Terra. After Horus' defeat, Abaddon took the lightning claw ("Talon of Horus") from his corpse and retreated to the Eye of Terror.

After the Heresy

After reuniting the Sons of Horus and destroying Horus' corpse, Abaddon renamed them The Black Legion. In total, the character has been responsible for 13 Black Crusades against the Imperium. During the 13th Black Crusade, Abaddon acquired the use of a battleship named the "Planet Killer", capable of destroying entire planets, as well as control of the Blackstone Fortresses.

Characterisation

Previous to the Heresy, Abaddon is frequently depicted as looking up to Horus as a leader and a father figure, above the Emperor of Mankind. As a loyal captain of the Luna Wolf legion, Abaddon is described as proud, irascible and someone that would inspire men to "cry out for Abaddon's return" if he were to die, though the character becomes inexplicably darker and quicker to anger by the time of False Gods, the second book in the Horus Heresy series. Abaddon is also written as prone to panic and desperation when Horus' life is in danger and quick to cast blame on other characters (such as The Emperor and apothecary Vaddon).

Initially displaying examples of dogmatic devotion towards Imperial doctrine in Horus Rising and distrust of anything inhuman, Abaddon follows Horus unquestioningly after his recovery. Abaddon comes to believe that the Horus Heresy is the best for the Great Crusade and adopts the theory that winning and victory are the only things that matter.

Physically, he is a towering marine, with a crested top-knot atop his shaved head and the straight nose and wide spaced eyes reminiscent of the Warmaster, though not enough to truly resemble the Primarch.

After the Heresy, Abaddon's view of Horus is one of disdain. Abaddon has effectively stepped out of Horus' shadow, exemplified with the well known quote: "Horus was weak. Horus was a fool. He had the whole galaxy within his grasp and he let it slip away." He has been portrayed as savouring acts of violence, often murdering his subordinates and slaves at random[citation needed]. Through martial skill and might, Abaddon has won the respect of the other traitor legions and is shown to be an inspiration to the Chaos Space Marines.

Weapons and Abilities

The character of Abaddon is written as a powerful warrior of immense strength and skill. Aside from the Talon of Horus, he is armed with the daemon sword Drach'nyen, with the ability to "flay" the souls from those it strikes. Drach'nyen is powerful enough to destroy land raiders with a single touch. Abaddon also possesses the Mark of Chaos Ascended, which bestows all the benefits of every single mark of chaos.

In the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop wargame, his Terminator Armour's "Crux Terminatus" invulnerable save is much more powerful than standard invulnerable saves.