Deathwing
From Lexicanum
The Deathwing is the First Company of the Space Marines Chapters known as the Unforgiven. The Deathwing and Ravenwing are not part of the Codex Astartes structure system although the remaining companies of the chapter adhere to the Codex.
The Deathwing is unique among the Space Marine chapters in that the entire company fights exclusively in Terminator armour. The company's armour of the original Dark Angels Deathwing was initially painted black, but was changed to a bone white colour. This is a mark of remembrance of the lone squad of Dark Angel Terminators who freed a recruitment world from a Genestealer infestation. As they did not expect to survive such a confrontation, they painted their armour white in preparation for their deaths. In the end the Deathwing triumphed and a vital part of the Dark Angels' heritage was saved. This alteration of the color scheme applies only to the Dark Angels.
More so than the regular Unforgivens, the Deathwing is stubborn and resistant, refusing to buckle under extreme pressure from enemy advances, even when it would be more advantageous to retreat.
When an Unforgiven is promoted to the Deathwing he learns many of the secrets of the Chapter. The biggest of these secrets is that of the betrayal of Luther and the subsequent death of their Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, as well as the ongoing hunt for The Fallen, those Dark Angels who joined Luther in their betrayal of the Emperor and the Imperium1.
Deathwing is also the name for the first expansion produced for the Games Workshop game Space Hulk. The expansion is named after the Deathwing company. It features rules for solo play of Space Hulk and fiction detailing the campaign background for the elimination of the Genestealer threat on a Dark Angels recruiting world2.
Sources
- 1Codex: Dark Angels (3rd Edition)
- 2Deathwing Rules and Missions
