THE FUTURE IS WHERE CANON GOES TO DIE
“Women as Adeptes Astartes? Never!” I already know the refrain. I hear it all the time. It’s not canon. “No Female Space Marines — It’s Impossible!” Come on guys, this isn’t the 70s. Women CAN and should be able to become Space Marines. As a fan of the franchise, its lurid lore, its authoritarian leanings and its oh-so seventies, pro-heroic male sentiment, I have never understood why women should be excluded from one of the most dynamic of fictional franchises because of some archaic ideal of manliness. A franchise which has experienced a bit of growth in recent years, extending their miniature figure racket into role-playing products, expanding into comics, animated series and even the potential of a film series featuring Henry Cavill. Games Workshop is growing up. Though I hear a rumor which implied Cavill was not pleased to discover there might be Women as Adeptes Astartes in that new production.
Art by Stefan Ristic
Their product line’s canon must be able to do the same. They have split the galaxy asunder (see map above), created new versions of their creatures and redoubled the threat with their latest lineups. But the last wall of canon has refused to fall: Women as Space Marines.
“We have the Adeptes Sororitas” they say. “They’re almost as good as Space Marines.” No they are not. No disrespect to the Sisters, because I will make my case for their actual superiority to the Space Marines, but for the lore, for the canon, the Space Marines are a class by themselves and its time to expand the ranks of that legendary army or the Imperium is doomed.
However, the solution is simple: Make “Space Marine 2.0” inclusive of both. Women as Adeptes Astartes: congratulations, the army just doubled. Problem solved. I think I’ve just saved the galaxy. Take that, Roboute Guilliman.
THE IMPERIAL GUARD
No franchise has background lore more convoluted or more ridiculous than the Warhammer 40K Universe. It features super-soldiers who are genetically, mechanically, psychologically, and cybernetically-augmented into killing machines, capable of living for over ten thousand years if they happen to be Horus or the Emperor of the Imperium.
Art by Alex Boyd
Alongside these champions of genetic enhancement are the trillions of members of the Imperial Guard, scattered across the galaxy as the first line of defense against alien threats. Eldar, Orks, Necrons, Tau, the terrifying Chaos, or the fearsome Tyranid menace from beyond the galaxy itself.
Armed with weapons from thousands of forge worlds, the Imperium of Man, led by individuals of iron—Chaplains, Commissars, and Sergeants—fields the Imperial Guard to stand between enemies, foreign or domestic, and protect the citizens of the Imperium from a hostile universe. Fragile flesh and bone. A living wall between safety and oblivion. Heroic as hell.
ORKS: BORN FROM SPORES?
Should I mention the Orks? Biological constructs that evolve from spores into nine-foot-tall monstrosities with superhuman strength, adaptable psychology, and genetic capacity for technology. Their psychic abilities empower these constructs as weapons as deadly as any empire in the galaxy. Though they may lack technological sophistication, they make up for it in sheer numbers. Known as the Green Tide, they bring woe to all who oppose them. Created as organic weapons, Orks know no gender, they are will personified, all they want is WAAAAAGH!!!!! (The nearest translation of that expression is war without limit, with as many enemies as possible.)
THE ELDRITH AELDARI
by Ray Swanland
Then there are the Aeldari, masters of technology long before humanity harnessed fire. These psychic beings travel on planet-sized Craftworlds, and each Eldar is a master of psychic abilities. The greatest among them, Warlocks and Farseers, can alter reality itself, harnessing the Warp to perform feats that can only be described as miraculous. Though the Eldar are an ancient, adaptable species, they have fallen on hard times, fighting both civil and galactic wars, but they remain a formidable power in the galaxy.
Now, are you telling me that in a universe this diverse, brimming with miracles, genetic and non-technological engineering, a genetic engineer capable of creating the Thunder Warriors and the Adeptus Astartes couldn’t imbue the genome of women with his godlike genetically-enhanced capacities? But somehow, he managed to give them to the genome of men? Are we implying that the connection we see between the Emperor and the Adeptes Sororitas—their ability to channel his divine miracles—is the true potential of humanity?
These women, driven by a psychic connection to the Emperor, perform such miracles across the galaxy thousands of times a day. And yet, there shouldn’t be women as Adeptes Astartes? Even though members of the Adeptes Sororitas are fully capable of channeling the Emperor’s psychic might through sheer faith alone?
By this standard, becoming a Space Marine might be a demotion compared to being an untainted conduit of the Emperor’s will. Not powered by the Warp like most Imperial Psychics but driven by a connection to the Emperor’s psychic real estate which spans the entire galaxy and capable of feats rivaling even that of Space Marines for a moment.
If they can do that, it should not be that hard to imagine women as Adeptus Astartes.
After ten thousand years of technological advancement, a solution should have emerged or proven it was possible by now. Since Games Workshop is talking about new Adeptus Astartes models, why shouldn’t women as Adeptes Astartes be included among their ranks? The only reason not to is outdated sexism that has long outlived its purpose.
The Emperor Protects.
AN UNEXPECTED DECREE FROM THE HIGH LORDS OF TERRA
Proclaimed by the Most Senior Lord Regent, Roboute Guilliman, in the Name of the God-Emperor of the Imperium.
“Hear ye, servants of the Imperium, loyal citizens of the Emperor’s vast domain, whose lives are shielded by the unyielding vigilance of the Adeptus Astartes. In this sacred moment, a declaration is called forth to dispel misconceptions that cloud the purity of the Emperor’s vision, for such ignorance cannot be allowed to fester within the blessed realm of the Imperium.
“Let it be known!
“To those who cry out with indignation, seeking to draw imaginary lines between that which is possible and that which is not, between genders, between the flesh of this form and the boundless potential of the Emperor’s will, you err in the grasp of reality. It is not the hour of antiquated thought nor the time for clinging to hollow doctrines. The grandeur of the Imperium, vast beyond comprehension, operates not on the fragile certainties of lesser minds, but on the boundless decree of the Master of Humanity Himself, whose understanding transcends the limits of what mortals deem possible.
“This galaxy, saturated with miracles beyond reckoning, where the very air hums with the psychic resonance of the Warp, where technology and biology intermingle to create soldiers of unrivaled might, stands as testament to the Emperor’s boundless will. It is not for mere mortals to cast doubt on the vast potentialities of His genetic craft. Nay, the Adeptus Astartes, forged in the crucible of genetic mastery, are a testament to the malleability of human form, reshaped and elevated beyond its natural state.
“Thus, the cries that echo forth, bemoaning the very idea of women as Adeptus Astartes, are rendered null. For if the Emperor’s hand can bend the limitations of the male form to craft His divine warriors, what force, save willful ignorance, would claim that the female form—no less worthy, no less potent—could not likewise bear the armor and bear the gene-seed of the Astartes? The universe, in all its sprawling diversity, is testament to adaptation and advancement beyond mortal reckoning. Shall we imagine, in a galaxy of psychic might, where worlds crumble before the warp-wielders and armies clash with powers beyond measure, that the Emperor’s wisdom faltered? That He, creator of the Astartes, guardian of the human genome, would be blind to the potential within half His own species?
“Let it be said!
“That in a galaxy where mere faith alone has permitted the Sisters of Battle to channel divine miracles, unassisted by the technological graftings of their Astartes brothers, it is folly to declare the creation of women as Adeptes Astartes as an impossibility. For the strength of women in the Imperium has been proven time and time again in the faith and fire of the Sororitas. Their will, their power, unbroken. By what logic would one deem them unworthy to stand among the ranks of the Emperor’s Angels of Death?
“This false notion, this outmoded restriction, must be cast aside like the dust of ancient worlds. The Legions shall rise anew, and in their ranks, all shall fight as one, bound not by the limits of archaic thought but by the boundless vision of the Emperor. The Imperium demands strength in all its forms. Let those who are able rise and serve, regardless of the flesh they were born into, for the survival of humanity knows no arbitrary boundary.
“By this decree, let it be affirmed:
“The future of the Adeptus Astartes lies not in the stubbornness of tradition, but in the endless potential of the Emperor’s vision. Warriors all, forged in the fires of war, imbued with the might of gene-forged mastery, shall rise together in the service of the Imperium. Any new iteration of the Adeptus Astartes must not be bound by the chains of a forgotten era. For the enemies of the Imperium, be they Ork, Eldar, or Tyranid, shall care not for such distinctions.
“The Emperor Guides. The Emperor Protects!
“This, we declare in His eternal name.”
Signed, Roboute Guilliman
By the Authority of the High Lords of Terra
BY THE EMPEROR!
I feel chosen by the Emperor to receive such an enlightened response from the High Lords of Terra on the subject of Women as Adeptes Astartes. Perhaps Humanity’s dark future and their inevitable destiny can be changed with their inclusion in the ranks. If you have gotten all the way to the end of this essay and want to know more about the Warhammer 40K Universe, I invite you to enjoy the Video of the Day, a collection of video clips from a variety of Warhammer 40K Space Marine games and the historic quotation that defines the Imperium:
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries The Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Humanity by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.
Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor’s will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants – and worse.
To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE II
If you have been intrigued enough to want to defend the Imperium of Man personally, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is a third-person shooter hack-n-slash video game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment as a sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011). The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X /S on September 9, 2024. Come back and tell us what you thought of the game. I am playing it right now.
For the Emperor, of course.
Thaddeus Howze is an award-winning writer, editor, podcaster and activist creating speculative fiction, scientific, political and cultural commentary from his office in Hayward, California.
Thaddeus’ speculative fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals. He has published two books, ‘Hayward’s Reach’ (2011), a collection of short stories and ‘Broken Glass’ (2013) an urban fantasy novella starring his favorite paranormal investigator, Clifford Engram.
