One of the things that first attracted me to Warhammer 40,000 in my callow youth was the game’s grim, operatic setting. It’s Star Wars without the naïveté, a universe like our own, where no one gets along and the best you can hope to be is morally neutral. Sure, Warhammer 40,000’s bleakness is over the top and probably just as much of a cartoon as traditional “black hat vs. white hat” settings, but the grit is compelling.
That’s probably why I’ve always been a fan of the Dark Angels, the knights in tarnished armor who all but define the term “antihero.” With their storied history and secretive nature, the Dark Angels are billed as engaging and morally complex. But are they?