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Warhammer 40K Theory: Sanguinius Is Coming Back

4 Minute Read
Oct 31 2023
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Could the Great Angel, Sanguinius return from beyond death?

In the past we’ve talked about how what we know about Sanguinius’ death might be a lie. Today lets delve into another theory related to the father of the Blood Angels. The persistent one that he is going to return.

Death Of The Angel

The death of Sanguinius is one of the most well known stories in 40K. Sensing that time was running out to defeat the Emperor, the arch traitor Horus laid a trap. He lowered the shields on his ship, the Vengeful Spirt. This allowed the Emperor and a strike force to teleport onto the ship to try and take down Horus, falling, knowingly, into his trap.

The first to reach Horus was his brother the Great Angel. Sanguinius however was no match for the corrupted Horus and was killed by the Warmaster. His death was so horrible that its physic shockwaves still haunt his gene-sons. Arriving only after Sanguinius fell, the Emperor avenged him, eventually slaying the Warmaster. Victory in the end, came at a horrible cost, as the Emperor was horribly wounded.

Could He Return?

On the face of it Sanguinius coming back seems pretty unlikely. He’s one of very few Primarchs whose death was confirmed by eye-witnesses and whose body seems to have been found. While a lot of the loyalist Primarchs went missing and are presumed dead, the Great Angel is pretty well confirmed to be gone. And yet there are persistent rumors and theories about his return. It would be shocking.  But not, it turns out, as impossible as it might sounds. Lets take a look at a few theories as to how he could come back.

The Clone (Wars?)

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A fairly plausible theory for how the Great Angel could return is through cloning. We know that Fabius Bile has seemingly perfected clones of several Primarchs. It’s also possible that Cawl could do that same given his knowledge and access. So, a Cloned Sanguinius seems like a real possibility. This however, wouldn’t really be Sanguinius returning, just a clone. To get him back for real you’d need his soul. But that’s not so far fetched either.

There is a lot of weirdness with the Blood Angels and Sanguinius. Given that it’s actually not that hard to think that his soul might be out there, trapped or wandering somehow. And the Imperium does have a somewhat ally in Yvraine. An Eldar whose proven able to return a Primarch’s soul to their body. Could Cawl and the Eldar team up once again to bring back a Primarch? It’s not impossible.

The Possession Theory

Another group of theories revolve around the psychic weirdness the Blood Angels experience. Between, the Black Rage, Red Thirst and things like the Sangiunor you’ve got some odd stuff. In particular the Black Rage could almost been seen as forms of possession. Some theorize that Sanguinius will return by some form of possessing one of his “children”. Maybe it will be the Sangunior, or maybe it already is. That being has a close connection to the warp and maybe the Great Angels soul has latched on it.

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Or maybe it will be someone like Dante. He, like other Blood Angels, does wear a death mask of the Primarch. They see visions of the Primarch. Would it really be crazy for the visions to turn into some sort of possession? This seems like another possible, if unlikely, way for the Great Angel to return.  Woe be to his foes if he does!

Let us know if you think Sanguinius could return, down in the comments! 

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Author: Abe Apfel
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