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| “ | Have you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in? Air so thick it clogged your throat, stuck in your eyes. But I pulled you all up from the depths. Offered you a taste of topside and fresh air...I gave you life. Purpose. But you've grown fat and complacent. Too much time in the sun. We came from a world where there was never enough to go around, Finn. That is why we fight. Do you remember? Don't forget again. | „ |
| ~ Silco's speech to the Chem-Barons. |
The Chem-Barons are major antagonists in the 2009 multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends, as well as the secondary antagonists of Netflix's 2021 animated series Arcane.
A loose criminal alliance of landlords, factory owners, gang bosses, and business tycoons, the Chem-Barons are the de facto rulers of Zaun, keeping the citizens of the undercity in line with their deep pockets, hired muscle, and addictive drugs.
Biography[]
Lore[]
Once a single beacon of science and progress, a series of natural disasters and industrial development led to a split between the utopian city of Piltover and its polluted underbelly of Zaun. Although the two still function as symbiotic societies, their cultures and power structures became vastly different over the decades, as unchecked black markets and illegal experimentation quickly took hold across the seedy streets of Zaun.
In this wild, lawless place of chemtech and illegal innovation, the most greedy and opportunistic of Zaun's people began vying for power, maneuvering their way through the dark underbelly to become the most powerful and affluent gangsters in the entire city. Although they were initially at each other's throats, these crime lords were eventually brought together under the leadership and vision of Silco, a ruthless drug lord who ruled the undercity with a chemical serum called shimmer and aspired to liberate Zaun from Piltover's oppressive control. Under Silco's influence, these crime lords became the first generation of chem-barons and through their intellect, influence, and chemical technology, they agreed to serve him as his underlings and divided the undercity amongst themselves.
After Jayce Talis ordered a blockade between Zaun and Piltover in order to prevent another attack on the city, trade between the two cities came to a sudden halt. This caused two of the chem-barons, Finn and Renni, to lose faith in Silco, believing that he was no longer fit to lead, and attempt to overthrow him. Their coup attempt ultimately failed due to Silco's right-hand woman Sevika, who killed Finn by slitting his throat.
After Jinx accidentally killed Silco during a mental breakdown, this created a power vacuum and plunged the undercity into chaos, with the chem-barons fighting each other over control of the Lanes. While this was happening, Renni attempted to seek revenge for the death of her son by attacking the Topsiders during a funeral service dedicated to the nobles who died in the Piltovan council bombing. Although Renni was able to overpower Jayce, she was knocked out by Vi before she could land the killing blow and subsequently had her throat slit by Ambessa.
With only three chem-barons left, Sevika demanded that they put an end to their turf wars and join forces so that they would be able to defend themselves once the Topsiders invaded the underground. Although they all reluctantly agreed to put aside their differences for the time being, Smeech wasn't on board with the idea of preparing for war and suggested handing Jinx over to the Topsiders in order to appease them, as she was the only one they were actively hunting for. When Sevika refused, Smeech went after Jinx on his own anyway and successfully cornered her in an alleyway while she was in the middle of recovering from a gas attack from the Enforcers.
However, before Smeesh could turn Jinx over to Topside, Sevika ambushed him in the alleyway and after a prolonged fight, mangled him with death with her mechanical arm. Chross and Margot would also later lose their standings as chem-barons when they were taken down by Caitlyn as part of her mission to eliminate anyone who was still loyal to Silco, completely stripping Zaun of all of its previous leaders and eventually allowing Jinx to rise up as the symbol of the revolution against Piltover. However, unlike the four other chem-barons before them, it is not made clear whether they were killed or arrested, leaving their fates unknown.
Due to the extreme economic inequality that exists between the two cities, the chem-barons live like royalty and regularly abuse their power to keep the poorer Zaunites in line, which has convinced Piltover's ruling houses to allow them to remain in control of the undercity regardless of how unethical and cruel their methods are. To some, the actions of the chem-barons has prompted extreme and radical action against them, with gangsters such as Urgot calling for their removal in favor of pure anarchy. Others, such as Viktor, see the existence of the chem-barons as proof that the citizens of Zaun must shed their humanity in favor of augmentations, as they will only be able to defeat the chem-barons once human fear and arrogance has been completely eliminated.
While the chem-barons maintain their power over the undercity with an iron fist, many Zaunites, such as Ekko, remain hopeful that the future of Zaun is bright and the barons' influence will someday be defeated by Zaunite invention and ingenuity.
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