“The fourth wall” is a convention that originates from performance art; it is an imaginary, invisible wall separating actors from the audience. This also applies to comics, films, and games. Essentially, this convention refers to the idea that the audience, later on, the players, can observe what is happening within the game, but the characters cannot interact back.
This gives rise to the concept of “breaking the fourth wall,” which refers to characters that can interact directly with those behind the invisible wall. In comics, the most famous character with this ability is the assassin Deadpool, known for his iconic yellow dialogue boxes.
In the gaming world, and specifically in League of Legends, this is quite rare, but not nonexistent. Coincidentally, the only character currently in League of Legends with this ability also has a body cloaked in red, enjoys wielding swords like Deadpool, and that character is none other than Aatrox.
According to the lore, Aatrox is a Darkin warrior who is nearly invincible; his power is so great that he is cursed himself, and his only purpose now is to destroy everything, for only then can Aatrox truly “die.” Being overwhelmingly powerful and winning too much, Aatrox’s dialogue clearly shows that he is an extremely arrogant champion who looks down on everyone.
If it were just interactions with other champions, it would be normal, as League of Legends is not lacking in deities and beings with cosmic powers. However, being so arrogant as to have voice lines that belittle even the achievements of players is quite special and is considered the first case of “breaking the fourth wall” in League of Legends as it interacts directly with the players. If you want to test it, just show off your mastery in front of Aatrox.
Aatrox’s dialogue when facing an opponent with Mastery activated: “Mastery, huh? Should I congratulate you, or your parents, who obviously have no reason to do so?”
Champion Mastery is a notable achievement for a player; it shows that the player is proficient, understands this champion well, and loves that character. However, activating mastery in front of Aatrox and receiving such bitter remarks can be quite disheartening for players. It seems Riot Games just added a new feature, the God of Fire, so they should also add some voice lines for Aatrox, perhaps mocking how players waste money when purchasing this feature.
