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Warhammer Female Custodes Controversy or Femstodes example image.

Warhammer Female Custodes Controversy / Femstodes

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Updated Apr 25, 2024 at 02:52PM EDT by Zach.

Added Apr 15, 2024 at 03:27PM EDT by Adam.

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Related Explainer: What's Up With Warhammer 40K Fans Debating About Female Adeptus Custodes? The Controversy And Memes About 'Femstodes' Explained

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Overview

Warhammer Female Custodes Controversy, also known as the Warhammer 40K Femstodes Debate, refers to Games Workshop, the creators of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, confirming in the 10th Edition Codex that there are female members of the Adeptus Custodes faction, which was previously presumed to be an all-male cadre of warriors within the lore and setting. The revelation was then confirmed on the official Twitter / X account for Warhammer Official (@warhammer) in mid-April 2024 and led to outrage among the fandom, as some users voiced that they found it pandering, woke and offensive, while others expressed that they didn't think it was a big deal. Many who were fans of the concept also made fan art of female Custodes or memes mocking those angered by it.

Background

On April 13th, 2024, Games Workshop announced preorders for merchandise related to the Orks and Adeptus Custodes, including codexes for the 10th Edition.[1] In the book that accompanied the new codexes for the Custodes, the book introduced female Custodes, the first time in the history of the series that a female Custodian has been mentioned (seen below).


L ustodian Calladayce Taurovalia Kesh stood upon the bridge of a Cobra-class destroyer: Named Vigilant Flame, the warship belonged to the mighty Battlefleet Solar. She lingered in the shadows at the back of the bridge, positioned at a spot where she could observe the actions of every crew member be they in the instrumentation pits, at the armament shrines or - in the case of Shipmaster Lethwyck - stood ramrod straight before his command throne.

On April 14th, Games Workshop[2] responded to a user on the Warhammer Official (@warhammer) Twitter account asking why they made female Custodes by writing, "Since the first of the Ten Thousand were created, there have always been female Custodians," gaining over 3.2 million views, 2,800 retweets and 9,800 likes in one day (shown below).


G WARHAMMER :) @Idk721252 · Apr 13 @warhammer Why did you make female custodes? 42 Warhammer Official @warhammer 1727 ... 2K ☐ 1 Since the first of the Ten Thousand were created, there have always been female Custodians. 12:17 PM Apr 14, 2024 ...

Developments

The announcement led to outrage and debate in the Warhammer fandom, as some users found it a slap in the face to previously established Warhammer lore while others didn't think it was problematic. The announcement recalled the "Female Space Marines" debate, which was a significant moment in the fandom years prior.[3] The Space Marine faction has always been male in Warhammer lore, and in the 2020s, this led to some calls to Games Workshop to diversify the gender of the faction, as well as debate within the fandom on whether it should happen.

The confirmation of female Custodes resurfaced similar arguments, as some fans were upset that Warhammer appeared to be retconning previously established lore.

For example, on April 14th, 2024, a Twitter user[4] described the announcement as "completely [botch] the lore surrounding gene editing for super soldiers just to shoehorn in the existence of female custodians," gaining over 1,200 retweets and 12,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). Also that day, Twitter user @ThuRockAndMetal[5] joked that Games Workshop was trying to "gaslight" a fanbase known for its attention to minute details, gaining over 450 retweets and 4,300 likes in one day (shown below, right).


Rock solid @ShitpostRock >ignore Sororitas exist >ignore Sisters of Silence >ignore female Eldar and Dark Eldar >ignore female Tau >ignore female Chaos forces >ignore the trillions of females in the Imperial Guard >ignore the millions of females in the Inquisition >don't bring in any new females officials in the Imperium >instead, completely botch the lore surrounding gene editing for super soldiers just to shoehorn in the existence of female custodians ThroughRockAnd Metal @ThuRockAnd Metal Imagine trying to gaslight a fanbase so autistic they count the number of rivets on power armour to determine it's sub-pattern, and who have such a long memory that they point out inconsistences between books that were printed decades apart. ☑ Warhammer Official @warhammer Apr 14 Replying to @ldk721252 Since the first of the Ten Thousand were created, there have always been female Custodians. 2:35 PM Apr 14, 2024

On Reddit, several users made memes voicing that they didn't see the announcement as a big deal. On April 14th, Redditor dazli69 posted a meme in /r/grimdank[6] blaming the "Culture Wars" for the fervor surrounding the announcement, gaining over 2,600 points in one day (shown below, left). On the 15th in the same subreddit,[7] Redditor GreyPlasticTransGirl posted an Expanding Brain meme in which "Why would I get mad on the internet over wardollies" as the biggest brain, gaining over 620 points in a matter of hours (shown below, right).


Take that you chud, Fem space marines are next! Nooo! All custodes should be men to fulfill my trad fantasies! It doesn't go against the lore so why not? agreed, I don't see the issue. Femstodes arent real Femstodes are real Femstodes dont matter Why would i get mad on the internet over wardollies made with mematic

Numerous YouTubers within the fandom also uploaded reactions and commentary to Femstodes in mid-April 2024, some reacting negatively or positively while others merely commented on the announcement or discussed the lore.

For example, YouTuber Auspex Tactics uploaded a video titled "Games Workshop Writes FEMALE CUSTODES, Dark Angels Errata, Battleforces Selling Out + More" on April 14th, 2024, receiving over 82,000 views in one day (seen below, left). On April 15th, YouTuber Majorkill uploaded a video titled "Female Custodes are now 100% Canon | What does this mean for Warhammer 40k?" discussing the lore update, receiving over 62,000 views in six hours (seen below, right).



Various publications also covered the lore change and reaction among fans as the news spread, such as Bell of Lost Souls,[8] which published an article titled "Warhammer 40K: Female Adeptus Custodes Confirmed" on April 14th.

Some users also began posting artwork of female Custodes, like DeviantArt[9] user Eliphusz, who posted artwork titled "Female Custodes Headpats" on April 14th, 2024, receiving over 2,600 views, 130 favorites and 40 comments in one day (shown below).


PAT PAT 3 ၁၁ (000)

On April 16th, Warhammer 40,000 lore YouTuber Luetin09 uploaded a video titled "40K – NO ONE NOTICED THIS FOR 10,000 YEARS? | Warhammer 40,000 Lore/Discussion." In it, Luetin discussed the problems some fans had with the way Games Workshop introduced females to the Adeptus Custodes, as well as how it fits into the universe's lore. The video received over 175,000 views, 11,000 likes and 6,700 comments in 22 hours (seen below).



4chan Games Workshop Leak

On April 15th, 2024, an anonymous 4chan[10] user claiming to have insider information into the decision by Games Workshop to introduce female members of the Adeptus Custodes made a post to the /tg/ board and said it was related to the upcoming Warhammer 40,000 TV series being made with Henry Cavill.

In their post (shown below), they alleged it was to push a female Custodes character in the show without breaking the lore because "Amazon execs wanted a woman in power armor and wouldn’t settle for SoB [Sisters of Battle]." The anon also claimed that discussions of inserting the female Custodes character into Eisenhorn's story, which the show is reportedly going to center on, resulted in Cavill threatening to walk away from the project.


File: Screenshot_20240414_181500.jpg (131 KB, 869x673) "Since the first of the Ten Thousand were created, there have always been female Custodians." Insider Here Anonymous 04/15/24(Mon)05:49:15 No.92490556 >>92490600 >>92490638 >>92490681 >>92490773 >>92490809 >>92490866 >>92490943 >>92491125 >>92491642 >>92491656 >>92491784 >>92491904 >>92492030 >>92492034 >>92492203 >>92492460 >>92493621 >>92493714 >>92493814 >>92493896 >>92494814 >>92495252 >>92495586 >>92496004 >>92496068 >>92496266 >>92496728 >>92496785 >>92496891 >>92496941 >>92497331 >>92497476 >>92497630 >>92497824 >>92498334 >>92498353 >>92498453 >>92498739 >>92498798 >>92503173 >>92505955 Female custodes are only going to be mentioned in the codex. No new sculpts or characters after the fact. Social media department jumped the gun and tried to put out fires with the wrong hose. Intent is to push female custodes character in Amazon show without it "breaking lore" because Amazon execs wanted a woman in power armor and wouldn't settle for S--. People involved in the show are p----- because they've been moving ahead on Eisenhorn. Talks of inserting said female custodes into Eisenhorn story with Cavill threatening to walk away from the project. Small stock drop today, but GW figures it can ride it out if it stays mum on the subject. They really need better social media employees. Cavill will be in an article due to "heading to GW to work on the new series" this week or next. If he leaves, it'll be a noticeable hit to the share price, meaning the show is dead (good ending) or Amazon is calling the shots (bad ending [not black Chogorians but similar scenario]) You can trust me, my dad works at Nintendo.

Anonymous 04/15/24(Mon)15:32:38 No.92495582 >>92495872 >>92496196 >>92496679 >>92496891 >>92497320 >>92497961 >>92498386 >>92498739 Typing is hard when you're hungover, can't wait to grab another drink. >>92490773 The deal in the first place was super fragile. Nothing was inked when Cavill announced it and it sent everyone at GW into a panic. Shareholders put an immediate stop to any work until the contract was hammered out and the negotiations were brutal. If it could impact profits on the minis, GW didn't want to touch it, which is why this Custodes thing was a dumpster fire. People who should have known about it didn't, and success or not, people are going to be let go. >>92490809 Don't d--- ride him too hard. He's always prided himself on the idea of "nerd who made it". His concern is losing the clout of being known as the "superfan celebrity". >>92490943 Correct. Again, as stated earlier, people are going to be fired for this. They weren't supposed to comment on this debacle until the "crisis management" meeting was called, but they did anyways. That's why the responses were so lukewarm, like "how can you tell under the helmet" and "they've always existed we just never mentioned one." People are already calling for new sculpts and female heads, which was never the intention. >>92491067 I was still a bit drunk and thought it was funny. I don't believe anything I read on the internet and don't expect anyone else to either. >>92491125 It has nothing to do with the models. Literally nobody was under the impression this would get women to buy Custodes. >>92491904 >>92493621 >>92495252 Sos don't speak. The "differently-abled" suggestion was pushed by GW but they don't speak by choice. S-- are too religious and Amazon thinks it'll be a turn off. The female inquisitor in power armor was the last hope, but Amazon wants to be able to take the character out of the armor and still have them be powerful. It's all been a massive headache.

Anonymous 04/15/24(Mon)15:41:53 No.92495696 >>92496891 >>92497102 >>92497413 >>92492203 I'm not posting proof and I'm not expecting anyone to believe me. I'm bottom of the barrel but I still had to sign a boiler plate NDA and while it's barebones I don't want to get caught between GW and Amazon lawyers, the economy is bad enough without being sued into a f------ crater. I've already put myself at a pretty big risk by mentioning the appearance of a female Custodes in Eisenhorn, nobody really knows about it. It was going to happen during the scene where Eisenhorn gets debriefed by the space marines, a very quick reveal, maybe one or two lines and then never mentioned again. The story is going to be told in a past tense "recollection" format so they could have the scene happen at the start of the story. It was going to be the big progressivism smash hit to generate press. That's why it's only going to be in the codex, so when it happened they could say "it's lore accurate, it was in official publications" when said press happened. I just wanted to tell somebody because even though I don't really care about any of this (being around the b------- all the time kind of turns you off of being a fan) I've always had a soft spot for the Eisenhorn trilogy (everything after was basically fanfic) and I'm upset. If I wanted to reach more people I would have gone to Reddit.


While unconfirmed, the rumor spread online in the following days as it garnered discourse amid the ongoing controversy, as well as being covered in various articles.[11]

Search Interest

External References

[1] Warhammer – Saturday Pre-order – Adeptus Custodes and Orks Flex their Muscles

[2] Twitter – warhammer

[3] Belloflostsouls – Warhammer 40K What REALLY Went Down With Female Space Marines

[4] Twitter – S---postrock

[5] Twitter – ThuRockAndMetal

[6] Reddit – /r/grimdank

[7] Reddit – /r/grimdank

[8] Bell of Lost Souls – Warhammer 40K Female Adeptus Custodes Confirmed

[9] DeviantArt – Female Custodes Headpats

[10] 4chan – Female Custodes Alleged Leak

[11] That Park Place – Rumor: Games Workshop Introduced Female Adeptus Custodes For Amazon’s Upcoming Warhammer 40K Series With Henry Cavill

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