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| Grumpy Darkling | |
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| Theme | Darklings |
| World | Pre-Alpha Forbidden Valley |
| Weapon/Tool | Hammer |
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Grumpy Darklings are one of the three original Darklings from the pre-alpha developmental phase of LEGO Universe.
Along with the other two Darklings, the Hyper Darklings and Freak Darklings, the Grumpy Darklings were designed as enemies for the pre-alpha Forbidden Valley, in which they would have been spawned by Darkling Generators. According to an interview with Professor Brickkeeper, the goal of the Darklings was to overrun the fun in LEGO Universe.[1] When Forbidden Valley was revised and Darklings were replaced by Stromlings, the Grumpy Darkling was cut from the game.
A Grumpy Darkling was the first LEGO Universe enemy revealed to the public. At the end of LEGO Universe's first trailer, a Darkling Battle was showcased, in which a Minifigure was attacked and ultimately smashed by a Grumpy Darkling. Perhaps because the Grumpy Darkling became well-known due to this trailer, despite not appearing in any of the released worlds, Grumpy Darklings continued to appear in much promotional material.
In the "Answer the Call" trailer, during the Battle of YouReeka segment, Grumpy Darklings and a Maelstrom Dragon emerge from a Maelstrom vortex and begin smashing rooftops of buildings. When the Maelstrom army and Nexus Force converge, Grumpy Darklings fly towards their opponents. However, Grumpy Darklings do not appear in the Battle of Nimbus Station based upon this trailer.
In the Creation Lab, a Grumpy Darkling serves as the icon for the "Create a chaos battler!" challenge.[2] According to Professor Brickkeeper, this challenge was created as the result of Darklings attacking the Creation Lab; the news article's artwork showed a Grumpy Darkling attacking Professor Brickkeeper.[3]
In a LEGO.com advertisement, Grumpy Darklings appeared alongside Maelstrom Dragons and Thwok as they emerged from Maelstrom clouds to attack the Faction Leaders. In the Gnarled Forest segment of the advertisement, a Grumpy Darkling emerges from the Maelstrom to attack Hael Storm, but the Venture League Faction Leader fights back.
Surprisingly, Grumpy Darklings even appear on the boxart of LEGO Universe. Much like the Battle of YouReeka, they can be seen in the upper right corner, emerging from a Maelstrom vortex. It was speculated that Grumpy Darklings were intended to eventually be reintroduced in-game. However, before this idea was realized, LEGO Universe's closure was announced, and Grumpy Darklings remain unused in the final product.
References
Gallery
An early trailer showing a battle against a Grumpy Darkling
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