Leeroy Jenkins

Ben Schulz, player of Leeroy Jenkins at BlizzCon 2007

Leeroy Jenkins is an Internet meme named for a player character created by Ben Schulz in Blizzard Entertainment's MMORPG World of Warcraft. The character became popular due to a video of the game that circulated on the Internet. The phenomenon has since spread beyond the boundaries of the gaming community into other online and mainstream media.

Video

The video was released by a World of Warcraft player guild, featuring a group of players discussing a detailed battle strategy for their next encounter while Leeroy is away from his computer, fixing a meal. This risky plan is needed specifically to help Leeroy, yet it is ruined when Leeroy returns and, ignorant of the strategy, immediately charges headlong into battle shouting his own name in a stylized battle cry. His companions rush to help, but Leeroy's actions ruin the meticulous plan, and all of the group members are massacred.

Part of the satire in the video was the complex battle plan itself, which — evident only to fellow players — represented a fundamental lack of understanding of the game characters' abilities, and would have led to the party's demise even without Leeroy's suicidal charge.^[1]

The Internet phenomenon started with the release of the video clip called A Rough Go^[2] to the World of Warcraft game forum in a thread titled "UBRS (vid) ROOKERY OVERPOWERED! blue please.", which jokingly presented the video in a serious context.^[3] The thread requested that other players provide help with strategy and that Blizzard reduce the difficulty of the encounter. The video spread as an Internet meme, and Leeroy's response to the other players' chastisements, "at least I have chicken",^[2] was also much parodied.

When asked about his actions in the video by National Public Radio, Ben Schulz said the players "were drinking 40s and just yelling at each other."^[4] As time went on some began suggesting that the video may have been staged. Schulz has neither confirmed nor denied this.^[2]

Merchandise

The character's popularity resulted in his inclusion in the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game released on October 25, 2006 with art by Mike Krahulik.^[5] Reflecting the video in which he appears, Leeroy is a detriment to the rest of the player's team, exhausting them for the current and following turns. For gameplay reasons, his effects are not entirely negative: although no one else can attack, Leeroy can attack instantly should the player repeat Leeroy's famous shout, and his attack is unusually high compared to the cost of playing him. However, his health is such that opponents should deal with him easily on subsequent turns.^[6] Upper Deck Entertainment released a World of Warcraft Miniatures game in late 2008, which included a Leeroy Jenkins figurine. As a reference to Leeroy's famous claim, the figure is seen holding a chicken leg in his left hand.^[7]

Blizzard named a card after Leeroy Jenkins in their popular online card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. When entering the battlefield, Leeroy gives his famous battlecry. While attacking, he says "Time's up, let's do this!" And when he dies, he says, "At least I have chicken." In addition, the adventure mode "Blackrock Mountain" added a new game board themed on the mountain. In the bottom right section there is a pink tabard with a white heart lying on the ground, a reference to the guild Leeroy was in, <PALS FOR LIFE>.

Reaction

The August 2005 issue of PC Gamer UK featured an article on the video, titled "The Ballad of Leeroy Jenkins". The article took the position that the video was designed as a negative commentary on the kind of "nerd-guilds" that meticulously and statistically plan out raids with all the seriousness of actual military tactics. They added that they felt Leeroy is in fact the hero of the piece, acting against the geekiness of his guild.^[8]

Blizzard eventually paid tribute to Leeroy within World of Warcraft itself, creating the achievement "Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy!", which awards the title of "Jenkins" to players who kill 50 of the rookery whelps from the video within 15 seconds.^[9] Also, in the new expansion "Warlords of Draenor", Leeroy returns as a non-player character and will join the player's garrison if they help him find the Devout Shoulders he was seeking in the video.^[10]

Leeroy Jenkins went mainstream when he was mentioned as part of a clue on the November 17, 2005 episode of the game show Jeopardy! as part of their college week tournament, though no contestant rang in.^[11] The meme spread further in 2009, when the Armed Forces Journal published an article titled "Let's Do This!: Leeroy Jenkins and the American Way of Advising". The article, by Capt. Robert M Chamberlain, links Jenkins to the American approach to advising Iraq.^[12]

The National Geographic Channel series Inside Combat Rescue, which aired in 2013, embedded with an Afghanistan deployment of USAF Pararescue, outfitting them with micro-cameras that recorded them on their missions. Their radio call sign is always "Pedro" and their radio alert warning of a rescue mission started with the audible, "Leeroy Jenkins". It is used as a battle cry equal to "Let's do this!"

Sportscaster Michelle Beadle has a Pug named Leeroy Jenkins.^[13]

Non-Internet appearances

In the Phineas & Ferb episode "The Klimpaloon Ultimatum", a homage to Leeroy Jenkins takes place in which the characters devise a plan to attack an evil facility, only for their teammate Buford Van Stomm to go charging in with no strategy whatsoever while yelling his name. After they are captured, Buford responds that he "was using gamer strategy"; he does the same thing later in the episode.

In the game Duke Nukem Forever there is a character named "Private Jenkins". He rushes ahead of Duke into battle, only to be killed by an alien spaceship causing Duke to proclaim "Dammit Leeroy!".

In Murtaugh, episode 19 of How I Met Your Mother's fourth season, main character Barney Stinson yells his own name in the same war cry-like fashion as Leeroy Jenkins, upon making a "gentleman's agreement" with Ted Mosby.^[14]

In the 20th episode of the 4th season of The Cleveland Show, Rallo exclaims Leeroy Jenkins while playing an imaginary game attacking a battleship.

In the 2nd episode of the 6th season of Psych, it is discovered that the suspect they are looking for is named Leroy Jenkins. When Shawn discovers this, he yells Jenkins' name in the style of the video.

The Disney animated movie Wreck-It Ralph, which is centered around the world of video games, features the background graffiti "JENKINS"

A deleted scene in DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens has B.O.B yelling out Leeroy Jenkins before running into a battle with Gallaxhar's clone arm.

Leeroy Jenkins is also referenced in the final episode of the anime Steins;Gate.

In the 5th episode of the 1th season of Dog with a Blog "World of Woofcraf", when Avery and Stan attempt to get revenge on Stan's former in-game friend, Killgore. Avery, being pretty new to game, has zero patience for Stan's plan and attacks before Stan is ready. They still defeat Killgore, who is still pretty savvy, but no match for the surprise attack. While playing, Avery runs into the battlefield shouting, "Averryyyyyy Jeeennnniiinnnggsss!!" Of course, Stan replies with, "Oh my gosh, you just ran in!" Following Avery screaming "Avery Jennings!!!" the whole scene is like the Leeroy Jenkins video, where Avery/Leeroy yell "Time's up!" then runs in, then Stan/Other Person freaks out over Avery/Leeroy running in.

In the opening mission of the game Mass Effect, the non-playable character Corporal Richard.L.Jenkins is the first casualty after he walks directly into an ambush, having ignored any previous advice the player can choose to give him about being cautious.

In the film Level Up Dante screams "LEEEEROOOYYYY JEEENKINNNSS!" when bum rushing a swamp troll.

On a 2012 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, showed a clip of CNN showing a clip of a virtual environment covering the Republican race when suddenly "Leeroy Jenkins!" is heard as he rushes the stage followed by his clan.

In season 2 episode 24 of Community, "For A Few Paintballs More", featured a Leeroy Jenkins” reference as Vicki screamed her own name and ran straight at the Gatling gun.

In season 1 episode 3 of Workaholics, "Office Campout", Adam pulls a Leeroy out of his shroom fueled haze, ruining Blake and Ders' ridiculously childish plan and running straight at who he thinks are burglars, but turn out to just be the tech guys coming into the office to do routine maintenance. He even shouts "Leeroy Jenkins!"

In season 4 episode 8 of My Name is Earl, "Little Bad Voodoo Brother," Randy charges out^[15] to "fight thirty people at once" while shouting "Leeroy Jenkins!"

In Ernest Cline's novel 'Armada', the main character Zack Lightman screams "Leeroy Jenkins" as he charges in during a video game session of Armada.

In Season 5, Episode 6 of 'Duck Dynasty,' John Luke yells "Leeroy Jenkins!" as he ignores Jase's paintball battle plan and charges off on his own.

In Marvel's Deadpool Vol. 2 #36 comic, the titular character screams "Leeroy Jenkins!" while charging headlong into a large group of adversaries.

While Leeroy Jenkins is not mentioned directly, in South Park Episode 147, "Make Love Not Warcraft" Eric Cartman starts a battle in the same style and using many of the same phrases as the original Leeroy video. Cartman mentions "Divine Intervention" and makes other references to the video.

In episode one and episode six of the NBC series, Heroes Reborn, Ren shouts "Leeroy Jenkins!" as he rushes into battle in the fictional MMORPG "EverNow". In episode six the cry is taken up by Miko who is attempting to rescue Hiro from a fortress in a scenario similar to the World of Warcraft video.

In Season 6, Episode 13 of 'Scrubs,' Laverne responds to an elaborate plan laid out by Carla to retrieve Steven from Carla's car and use him to fool JD and Turk by saying "Whatever, let's do this," yelling her own name Leeroy Jenkins style, and then smashing the passenger side window with her fist. Carla had brought the keys to open the car.

In Daniel Suarez's sci-fi novel Influx (2014), Leeroy Jankins is an internet pseudonym of one of the main characters, Richard Cotton.

He also appears the the video game Borderlands as "Jimmy Jenkins". See below.

Jimmy Jenkins is a mini Hyperion loader unit, as seen on several "Missing" posters throughout Pandora. He is listed as 64 weeks old, 3'8" in height, last seen at Crater Lake. He appears in maps that contain Hyperion enemies, such as Opportunity, Wildlife Exploitation Preserve, Hero's Pass, theBadlands, or the Hyperion base in Thousand Cuts. He is a loot midget enemy, and as such will only be found in Hyperion ammo crates, lockers, and cardboard boxes.

References

External links

• Leeroy Jenkins on YouTube (broken sound as of May 2015; higher-quality copy here: Leeroy Jenkins (High Quality) on YouTube
• The Legend of Leeroy Jenkins, article at Denver Westword News