Video Phenomena

Video games have a reputation for starting many inside jokes among gamers, and such was the case for Leeroy Jenkins. Team based online games like World of Warcraft have been ripe for this kind of phenomenon for a while now, but only with Leeroy Jenkins has this meme transcended fans of the game and into popular consciousness, being parodied on television shows, feature length movies, and even in television commercials.From its start as a minor squabble between fellow guildmates in World of Warcraft, every man, woman and child in the know about video game culture have found out about Leeroy Jenkins through countless videos and image macros across many websites that deal with internet culture. The circumstances of its origins have been no secret ever since it has ballooned in popularity, so tracing its roots should be a fairly easy task.

Origins of Leeroy Jenkins

Leeroy Jenkins is the name of a character in World of Warcraft, made famous for screaming his name out loud before charging headlong into battle while in complete ignorance of his fellow guild mates’ plans. His reckless charge left all of his teammates dead during a raid, but the entire bout was recorded and was posted on Warcraft Movies by the “Pals For Life” guild.

However, it was not until the movie was uploaded into more popular streaming video sites that the Leeroy Jenkins name gained a place in popular consciousness. The official World of Warcraft game forum served as a springboard for this meme when the video was posted in a thread jokingly presenting the video as a serious criticism on game tactics, where the thread starter asked for advice on game tactic improvement as well as a call to lower the difficulty of the game because of the incident.

The amount of responses gained by this thread was massive, and when serious critique was given on the jokingly serious plead for advice, Leeroy Jenkins simply replied “at least I have chicken,” much like his response at the very end of the video. This response also gained much popularity, and also serves as a companion to the legacy of the Leeroy Jenkins meme. It has also been parodied almost as much as the Leeroy Jenkins name itself.

Rise to Stardom

The Leeroy Jenkins name soon found a home on many internet sites that propagate the spread of internet memes. The original post of the video on Warcraft Movies may have only garnered less than a million hits, but other video sites like YouTube have versions of the original Leeroy Jenkins movie that have accumulated nearly 20 million hits. The popularity gained through these uploaded versions helped to launch Leeroy Jenkins into popular consciousness.

His popularity was soon sealed with his inclusion in the official World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, where his card includes official art by Mike Krahulik. Leeroy Jenkins was also included in the official World of Warcraft Miniatures game by Upper Deck Entertainment, with his figure holding his iconic fried chicken leg in his left hand. The official recognition by the original developers reflected in official merchandise can be seen as a testament to this meme.

Blizzard Entertainment also included an achievement in World of Warcraft itself that goes by the name Leeroy Jenkins, where a player must kill 50 of the rookery whelps found in the video within a near impossible 15 seconds. The title Jenkins is endowed on the player for completing this feat, as well as an achievement named “Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy!”

Leeroy Jenkins also made an appearance on the game show Jeopardy!, but not as a contestant; the name Leeroy Jenkins appeared as a clue in a 2005 episode in a special college week tournament, but the name seemed to stump the competitors at the time. None of the contestants were able to ring in to solve the clue on that episode.

He has also appeared on popular forms of news media too, with the Leeroy Jenkins name being mentioned in newspapers such as the Guardian, as well as TV appearances with famous hosts such as Howard Stern. He has also appeared on National Public Radio, catapulting his name and others in the gaming community into a place in media stardom.

The Man Behind the Name

Leeroy Jenkins is the brainchild of Ben Schulz, a college student from Denver, Colorado at the time. His popularity has earned him appearances in popular gaming and culture conventions such as Blizzcon 2007 as well as a keynote speech in ROFLCon the following year. Many flocked to these conventions just to catch a glimpse of the man behind the name, and were not disappointed.

Ben Schulz has been playing World of Warcraft since the open beta, and came up with the name Leeroy Jenkins after yelling the catchphrase after playing another Blizzard game, StarCraft, with his friends. He was offered by EA to be an official game tester because of his longevity as a player. He turned down this offer, and works as a repair technician for industrial lighting systems today.

Ben Schulz was also interviewed on National Public Radio about the story behind Leeroy Jenkins following the ROFLCon in 2008. Leeroy Jenkins and Ben Schulz also have two seperate entries on the official World of Warcraft Wiki, which is free to access and read by anybody on the internet. The Leeroy Jenkins name has since become synonymous with popular internet culture since its spread and popularity.