Who is Silco in League of Legends’ Arcane?

Ahead of Riot Games’ highly anticipated animated series Arcane, one new character has caught many fans’ attention. The sleek, slender form in question is that of Silco, a mysterious figure being set up as one of the key villains of the series.

But who is Silco? What does he want with Jinx, and what’s with the purple stuff? We don’t have all the answers just yet, but let’s unravel everything we do know about Silco.

Silco has appeared in Arcane promotions since the earliest pieces of content available for the series. One of the common motifs is his association with mysterious purple flasks and vials that are being pushed as one of Arcane’s core mysteries. Throughout promotional material, Silco has appeared in tandem with ghoulish figures coursing with the same purple energy he’s seen holding.

He’d remained nameless until the official Arcane Twitter posted a series of character posters teasing the dramatis personae of the show. In it, Riot asks, “Where do you draw the line between justice and vengeance?”

Where do you draw the line between justice and vengeance? pic.twitter.com/b9c9ad3jLo

— Arcane (@arcaneshow) September 21, 2021

Judging by the first official trailer, Silco is a Zaunite that’s unhappy with the escalating inequity in Piltover & Zaun.

“The world’s getting smaller every day,” he says, “Up there, on the surface, the top-siders are leaving the undercity farther behind.”

The ostentatious luxury of Piltover’s chrome and Hextech surface world breeds resentment from the impoverished masses of Zaun who live deep below. The Twitter poster leans into this, suggesting Silco as a man who has let anger confuse revenge for recompense.

Is Silco coming to League of Legends?

Unless something changes, Silco can be expected to stay within the bounds of Arcane. The mad Zaunite scientist is being set up as the key antagonist for main characters Jinx & Vi.

Given that the next two champions have been announced and neither one points to him, we can presume he won’t make it past the closing credits.

What part has Silco played in Arcane?

SPOILER WARNING FOR THE FIRST THREE EPISODES OF ARCANE

Arcane’s first three episodes have been released and have shown more details about Silco.

Silco is a Zaunite villain employing Singed to work on “Shimmer,” a mysterious purple substance capable of giving mere mortals some superhuman capabilities. Throughout the show’s early episodes, Silco is revealed to be a former fellow revolutionary of Vander, Vi and Jinx’s shared father figure. After Vander nearly drowns and kills Silco, the pair’s relationship fractures.

Silco later abducts Vander, and things take a turn for the worse as Arcane’s first real plot twist comes with Silco becoming the new father figure for Jinx.