Universe:Ekko/Arcane

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“	"Sometimes taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind."
“	— Ekko to Powder, Pretend Like It's the First Time

Ekko is a Zaunite vigilante and the leader of the Firelights. He is also the childhood friend of Vi and Jinx. Hardened from the harsh tragedies that he experienced as a child, Ekko leads the charge to free the undercity from Silco's rule and is willing to put everything he has, including his own life, at stake to protect the people he cares about.

Background[edit | edit source]

Early Life[edit | edit source]

Little Man[edit | edit source]

As a child, Ekko worked as an assistant for Benzo at his pawn shop and had an innate talent for engineering and mechanics. He often eavesdropped on Benzo's more private conversations even when the man would send him away, which made him privy to certain transactions and secrets that he usually shared with his friends: Vi, Powder, Mylo, and Claggor. Although he never participated in any of their heists, they came to consider him as part of their little gang and gave him a nickname: "Little Man."

Growing up, Ekko looked up to Vi, who taught him some basic hand-to-hand combat techniques, and often played a game with Powder in the street where she would try to land a shot on him with a paintball gun before he could tag her with a wooden sword.^[2] Also, whenever he got covered in grease from work, Vi was always the one to take him down to the junk heap and hose him clean.^[3]

The Robbery[edit | edit source]

While working at Benzo's shop one day, a young man from Piltover came in to buy a bunch of items that were rarely ever sold to customers and usually only kept in the store for display.^[2]^[4] Knowing that this guy had to be rich, Ekko ripped him off by charging him double price for everything he bought and secretly followed him all the way to his home in Piltover. Thinking that his friends could make quick cash off of this guy by burglarizing his apartment, Ekko tipped them off to its location in Piltover. Unfortunately, the plan ultimately backfired when Powder accidentally dropped one of several hex crystals that she found in the apartment, causing an explosion that destroyed most of the building and hurt several people who were walking by at the time.

After his friends escaped from the Enforcers and returned safely to the undercity from their botched robbery, Ekko met with Claggor outside of Benzo's shop and told him about how he met Jayce and figured out where he lived. However, before they could continue their conversation, two Enforcers suddenly showed up, forcing Claggor to dash off while Ekko stayed behind. After the Enforcers went into the shop to talk with Benzo and Vander, Ekko secretly listened in on their conversation through a contraption he'd built above the room and discovered that Vander had made a deal with Sheriff Grayson sometime ago in order to keep the peace between the two cities,^[2] which he later told Vi and Powder about with some hesitation.^[4]

Ekko later witnessed Benzo's murder at the hands of Deckard under Silco's orders. After Silco had Deckard drag Vander back to his hideout, Ekko secretly tailed them and later tearfully told Vi where Silco's hideout was located. Unfortunately, the mission to rescue Vander from Silco ended in disaster when Powder disobeyed Vi's orders to stay behind and set off an explosion with her homemade monkey bomb that destroyed most of Silco's hideout, killing Mylo and Claggor, and injuring Vander and Vi. When Vi also failed to return from Silco's hideout and vanished from the undercity entirely after her ill-fated attempt to save Vander, Ekko was left to assume that she had perished along with her adoptive brothers and could only watch helplessly as Powder was taken in by Silco and trained into serving his cause.

Founding the Firelights[edit | edit source]

After Silco flooded the Lanes with shimmer, Ekko rallied many Zaunites of his generation into fighting back and made it his mission to create a safe haven for them all. Forced to find a way to survive without his friends, Ekko eventually came to live in hiding with a gang of other Zaunite youths in an large, clean sewer that housed one of the very few trees-if not the only tree-in all of Zaun. He later became the leader of this gang, which came to be called the Firelights, and used his engineering talents to find ways to sabotage Silco's shimmer shipments in hopes of to damage the plans of Silco and his organization.^[5]^[3] His efforts ultimately proved to be effective, with his Firelights successfully destroying numerous shimmer shipments over the next few years with his inventions, which included chemtech hoverboards, smoke grenades, and crystal bombs.

In his mission to destroy Silco's criminal empire, Ekko regretfully broke off his friendship with Powder, who had taken the name Jinx. Although it is heavily implied that he initially made several attempts to convince her to leave Silco behind, they all ended in abject failure and frequently resulted in her murdering many of his Firelights. As a result, Ekko eventually gave up on rescuing her from Silco's influence altogether and came to believe that Powder was gone and Jinx was all that remained of the girl who he once knew. The trauma of losing Vi, Mylo, Claggor, and all the Firelights who were killed by Jinx also caused Ekko to become gruff and battle-hardened by the time he was in his late teens, having drastically changed from the cheerful and carefree kid he used to be when Vander was still in control of the undercity.

Piltovan Bicentennial[edit | edit source]

The Shipment[edit | edit source]

During a mission to sabotage another one of Silco's shimmer shipments, Ekko and his Firelights pinned down all of Silco's henchmen with their crystal bombs and destroyed most, if not all, of their cargo. However, their victory came at great cost, as Jinx ambushed them while they burning the cargo and killed every member of the gang present except for Ekko and Scar. Enraged at the deaths of his friends, Ekko charged towards Jinx and attempted to attack her with his bat, but Scar pulled him out of the way to safety before he could land a hit on her. Once Jinx opened fire on them with Pow-Pow, Ekko abandoned the notion of fighting against her and quickly escaped the scene with Scar on their hoverboards before any of Silco's henchmen could move to stop them.^[5]

Shortly after Jinx's first attack on Piltover, Ekko discovered that Vi was somehow still alive and had returned to the undercity with Caitlyn, one of the Piltover Enforcers. Even though they were childhood friends, Ekko didn't know if he could trust Vi since her sister was working for Silco, as were many of the enforcers. From a distance, he had his Firelights spy on them until Vi finally reunited with Jinx. The encounter quickly escalated between Vi, Caitlyn, and Jinx, after which Ekko ordered his Firelights to engage them all in battle. Although Vi and Jinx put up a good fight, the Firelights eventually overwhelmed them with their superior numbers and succeeded in kidnapping Vi and Caitlyn, stealing the hextech gemstone, and escaping the scene on their hoverboards before Jinx was able to stop them.^[6]

Reunion with Vi[edit | edit source]

“	"When I first saw it, I knew this was the place. If a single seed can make it down here, so could we."
“	— Ekko to Vi, The Boy Savior

After arriving back at the Firelights' hideout, Ekko revealed himself to Vi and interrogated her to make sure that she wasn't working for Silco. Upon realizing that Vi was still the same girl she knew from his childhood, Ekko embraced her as a friend and told her about how he founded the Firelights to fight back against Silco's criminal regime, and his belief that Jinx was beyond saving. Since Vi vouched for Caitlyn, Ekko offered to escort her back to Piltover and told her how many of her fellow Enforcers had hunted down his friends on Silco's orders, having been paid by him to do it.

When Caitlyn refused to believe this, Ekko took out the hextech gemstone and demanded to know why it was so important to the Topsiders. Caitlyn then explained that it was Jinx who had stolen the gemstone and that the Council was concerned that she was going to weaponize it against them, which would explain why the Enforcers were becoming more aggressive recently. Although Ekko considered keeping it so that he could weaponize it against Silco and do good for Zaun's people, Caitlyn persuaded him into returning it back to Piltover, as the cycle of violence would not end until they revealed the extent of Silco's criminal enterprise. Caitlyn also revealed that she knew people on the Council who would listen to her, and Ekko finally agreed to give the gemstone back on the condition that he would deliver it back to Topside personally.^[3]

Battle on the Bridge[edit | edit source]

While they were crossing the Bridge of Progress, Ekko and Caitlyn were abruptly intercepted by Sheriff Marcus and a small squad of Enforcers. When Caitlyn revealed that she had the gemstone, Marcus shot Ekko in the chest, grabbed the canister containing the gemstone, and moved to kill her. However, before he could pull the trigger, Jinx unleashed her mechanical Firelight bombs, triggering a series of explosions that killed everyone on the bridge except for Vi, Ekko, and Caitlyn.

Later, when Jinx fired at Vi and Caitlyn with Pow-Pow upon seeing them together, Ekko regained consciousness and swiftly charged at Jinx on his hoverboard, having survived Marcus’ shot to his chest due to the metal plate hidden under his clothes. He then knocked the machine gun out of Jinx's hands, snatched back the canister that he used to hold the gemstone, and tossed it to Vi and Caitlyn, telling them to go while he stayed behind to hold Jinx off. As Jinx moved to attack him with her pistol, Ekko remembered the paintball game they played as kids and used it to accurately predict where she would fire, enabling him to dodge all of her shots, tackle her to the ground, and brutally beat her with his bat. After overpowering Jinx and pinning her down, Ekko prepared to kill her, but paused upon noticing the scared look on her face, which reminded him of the girl he used to know. That sentimentality distracted him long enough for Jinx to take out one of her Chompers and detonate it right next to them, critically injuring herself in the process.^[3] Unlike Jinx, Ekko escaped the blast of her bomb mostly unharmed, but was visibly shaken by the experience, spending several seconds staring over Jinx's broken form so that the image was burned into his memory.^[7] While it is unknown how exactly Ekko escaped, he managed to get to safety before any of the authorities or Silco arrived, either using his hoverboard or the same route he took onto the bridge with Vi and Caitlyn. He then took his hoverboard with him to the Zaunite side of the river, where he tended to his injured ankle.

Ekko was later found near the bridge by Heimerdinger, who had traveled to Zaun in hopes of helping the people there and had discovered his damaged hoverboard right when he was about to head back home to Piltover.^[8] Seeing that Ekko had hurt his leg, Heimerdinger helped him get back to the Firelights' hideout and was amazed to see how much the Firelights had built so much for themselves in so little time. Having now become friends, the two of them then started to discuss their thoughts on Ekko's inventions, with Heimerdinger eventually adopting Ekko as the pupil.^[9]

Investigating the Anomaly[edit | edit source]

Corruption in the Firelight Tree[edit | edit source]

As time passed, Ekko became increasingly aware of the environmental corruption that was slowly affecting the Firelight tree. When he consulted Heimerdinger, the professor recognized the patterns in the leaves from Viktor's hexcore, and they left to sneak into his laboratory in Piltover. On the Academy grounds, Heimerdinger led Ekko through the building's vents, but they were caught by Jayce, who had been sleeping on the premises ever since Jinx's attack. Since Viktor and his hexcore were now gone from the lab, Ekko and Heimerdinger consulted Jayce instead about Viktor's theory on "wild runes." Ekko and Heimerdinger theorized that the corruption in the tree was a property of the arcane itself, making it an unintended side effect of the overuse of hextech.

To investigate the source of the problem, Jayce took Ekko and Heimerdinger to the bottom of the Hexgate, which was located next to pipes carrying the Zaunite water supply. Though Ekko quickly blamed Jayce for making Zaunites suffer the environmental consequences of Piltovan devices, their argument was interrupted with the manifestation of a massive spherical Anomaly, which was revealed as the source of the corruption. The Anomaly absorbed Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger into its sphere, hurling them through time, space, and nothingness.^[10]

Invention of the Z-Drive[edit | edit source]

The Anomaly sent Ekko to an alternate reality, with his mind inhabiting the version of himself from that timeline. He found himself in Benzo's shop and was greeted by an alternate version of Powder, whom he was initially hostile to before he realized that Benzo was alive, as were Mylo, Claggor, and Vander. He sat in a daze in the Last Drop, scribbling the Anomaly onto his notebook as he adjusted to his new surroundings, only to be visited by Heimerdinger, who recognized him as the Ekko from the other timeline. When they spoke outside, Heimerdinger explained to Ekko that he had arrived several years before Ekko and that Jayce being nowhere to be found, as the Anomaly reacted differently to him. Ekko, worried about the people he had left behind in the other timeline, was intent on finding a way to get back home. However, this would prove difficult, as they had been sent to a world where hextech had never been invented.^[7]

With no way to get back, Ekko spoke to Powder in her workspace and learned that her version of Vi had died in the original explosion at Jayce's apartment many years ago. When Ekko asked if it was her fault, Powder became angry and stopped talking to him, and Ekko left to explore the city. He went to explore the Bridge of Progress and saw that everything was vibrant and lively, in stark contrast to the Zaun where he had grown up where people suffered and fought one another.

In the ruins of Jayce's apartment, Ekko recovered the broken shards of the exploded hexite, and brought it back to Heimerdinger. After enlisting Heimerdinger's help to design his new invention, Ekko decided to reconcile with Powder by painting a mural of the adult Vi from his own reality, and encouraging her to pursue her talents to become an inventor. After she had forgiven him, Ekko requested her help as well, and they went back to Powder's workspace to begin work on Ekko's device for the competition.

After many trials and calculations, Ekko succeeded at engineering a stable Anomaly using the shattered fragments, which he managed to contain within a hextech device called the Z-Drive. Upon experimenting with the device, he discovered it had the ability to rewind time to a limit of four seconds, which he accomplished by inverting Jayce's acceleration rune. After testing the device a few more times, Heimerdinger offered to boost the Anomaly inside Ekko's device so it would be able to send them home, telling Ekko to enjoy his party as he upgraded the device.

Returning to the Last Drop, Ekko danced with Powder and the two of them shared an intimate moment overlooking the city. The two of them kissed, and Ekko gifted Powder a necklace to remember him by before heading back to the workshop. He found Heimerdinger, who had finished readying the new Anomaly to transport them. However, Heimerdinger suddenly left the bubble to activate the device from the outside, declaring he had "truly lived" before vanishing into thin air. As Powder caught up to Ekko, she saw him separate from his alternate version, who was now laying on the ground in front of him. Their eyes met, and Ekko returned to his own timeline after a silent goodbye.^[7]

Battle at the Hexgate[edit | edit source]

Having returned to his own timeline, Ekko rushed to find Jinx in her lair, who had recently burned the Last Drop, cut off her braids, and was preparing to kill herself with a new hextech monkey bomb. Ekko tried to stop Jinx from activating the explosive by repeatedly rewinding time with his Z-Drive, failing multiple times until smoke began to rise from his body and clothes. Eventually, Ekko was able to convince Jinx that she deserved a second chance as she noticed his Z-Drive, which was full of her signature toy monkeys spinning within the canister. Deciding to hear Ekko out, she came with him to the Firelights hideout and resolved to build some new weapons that she could use for good.^[11] Jinx upgraded her lair into a mighty war balloon and managed to rally the undercity folk, including Sevika, the Jinxers, and the Firelights, presumably with Ekko's help, and after donning new war outfits, the two of them went to defend Piltover from Ambessa's army.

Ekko flew into battle on his hoverboard, which he launched from Jinx's war balloon to attack the Noxians. When Viktor's puppets joined the battle, Ekko and Vi engaged the evolved Warwick, who attacked and crashed Jinx's airship. Ekko then lost consciousness in the Hexgate, but came to just as Viktor unleashed the Anomaly into the sky, creating a massive storm that threatened to consume all of Piltover. Ekko picked up a broken clock hand from the tower and rode his hoverboard to the roof, where he attacked Viktor, who was in the process of absorbing Jayce into his hivemind. To reach Viktor, Ekko rewound every time he was knocked over by one of the puppets. Ekko was eventually caught, however, but when the battle was lost, Ekko removed the safety on his Z-Drive and pushed it well-past the limit, undoing the Herald's victory before throwing the device in Viktor's face as it exploded. After the blast, Jayce and Viktor were gone and Ekko was left unconscious on the roof.^[12]

After the battle, Ekko presumably learned from Vi that Jinx had seemingly perished in an explosion with Warwick in the Hexgate. At the funeral he sat alone at the spot where he and the alternate Powder had kissed, before lighting a small piece of paper to be released with the others.^[12]

Appearance[edit | edit source]

Ekko is a dark-skinned teenage boy with hazel-brown eyes and white hair that he wears in dreads. He has a lean but muscular build, and white hourglass war paint that starts from the middle of his nose and ends a few inches below his hair. He is usually seen wearing an orange scarf, a brown harness over a white tank top, greenish-brown cargo pants, fingerless brown gloves, white leg guards, and large brown boots. While on missions with the Firelights, he also wears a white owl mask to hide his face and a dark green hoodie with numerous graffiti designs spray-painted on the back.

As a child, Ekko’s hair was much shorter and slightly curly. He usually wore a simple long-sleeved white shirt, green cargo pants, and dark brown shoes.

Personality[edit | edit source]

As a child, Ekko was a carefree and mischievous boy with an inventive streak, which led Benzo to hire him to repair the mechanical items in his pawn shop despite his young age. He was close friends with Vi, Powder, Mylo, and Claggor, who gave him the nickname of “Little Man,” and was considered to be a member of their gang. Growing up, Ekko looked up to Vi, who he viewed as a big sister, and aspired to be strong and tough just like her. He could also be opportunistic and sneaky, as shown when he followed Jayce to find out where he lived and tipped off his friends to the location of his apartment so that they could burglarize it for some fast cash. However, the innocence that Ekko had as a child abruptly vanished after Silco killed Benzo and Vander out of revenge, and flooded the Lanes with shimmer once he seized control of the undercity.

After Silco took power over the underground, Ekko was forced to mature quickly in order to survive and grew into a leader in his efforts to rally the fellow Zaunites of his generation into opposing Silco’s rule and working with him to create a safe haven for them all. Although he ultimately succeeded in building a place where the Zaunite youths who’d been abused by Silco could live in peace through his own perseverance and ingenuity, the experience left Ekko as a hardened and gruff young man with a strong sense of duty to free his people from all the pain they suffered under Silco’s rule; this eventually led him to found the Firelights and use his inventive talents to find effective ways to overcome Silco’s followers in battle and sabotage his drug shipments.

Due to all the people that he lost to Silco, including his childhood friend Jinx, Ekko became more cautious and refused to trust people unless they proved themselves to be trustworthy first. This method of thinking caused him to adopt the practice of attacking people first and asking questions later, as demonstrated when he kidnapped Vi after discovering she was alive and brought her to the Firelights’ hideout to aggressively interrogate her on her true loyalties. He also came to harbor a great deal of hatred towards the Topsiders, even more so than he already did as a child, after discovering that many of the Enforcers who hunted his Firelights secretly worked for Silco, and eventually turned his back on Jinx entirely after failing to convince her to leave Silco behind, having come to the conclusion that Powder “died” the same night that Vander did and that Jinx was all that remained of the girl he used to know.

Although Ekko quickly came to understand that he’d have to make sacrifices if he truly wanted to win his war with Silco, that never stopped him from acknowledging all the people that he lost in his quest for freedom. Despite becoming mostly desensitized to death after Silco's takeover of the undercity, Ekko never believed that he needed to forsake his own morals to achieve his goals, unlike Silco, and went out of his way to remember all the Firelights who died fighting for his cause by memorializing them on a painted mural back at their hideout.

But his commitment to the goal sometimes cost him a lot of losses. So after losing 4 people on the airship (more than half of the Ekko squad), he ordered the destruction of the drug to continue, despite the fact that there was a dangerous and well-armed enemy nearby. This decision cost the life of another Firelights girl, and almost caused the death of Ekko himself.

Abilities[edit | edit source]

Dropboarder: Ekko is incredibly proficient in hoverboarding and can fly evasive maneuvers around his enemies with great mobility. He is also shown to have great reflexes, as he was able to easily dodge and block shots from Jinx's pistol while on his hoverboard.
Guerilla Warfare: As the leader of the Firelights, Ekko is knowledgeable in the tactics of guerilla warfare, having using them effectively against Silco's henchmen for many years. He is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat, albeit not on the same level as Vi, and is proficient at using self-made weapons against his opponents in battle. While originally using a simple bat, Ekko would eventually wield a clock hand from the hexgate clock tower in his battle against Viktor.
Inventor: Despite not having any formal education, Ekko is a brilliant engineer and inventor, having tinkered with machines ever since he was a child. As the boss of the Firelights, he used these talents to create numerous weapons and gadgets to aid him in his war with Silco, which includes his chemtech hoverboard and the unique explosives that he and his subordinates use in battle. He was also able to quickly re-create the hextech technology originally developed by Jayce and Viktor while trapped in an alternative universe where hextech was never invented, making him the second Zaunite after Jinx to build hextech weapons for his own use.
- Z-Drive: A canister-based weapon that Ekko created while trapped in the Arcane, it enables him to rewind time by four seconds per use. Unlike Jinx's Fishbones and Jayce's Mercury Hammer, the Z-Drive is powered by a miniature wild rune and not by a hextech gemstone.
Painter: Ekko is a very skilled painter and is able to accurately depict the faces of his friends and loved ones for memory. Ekko uses his talent to memorialize the people he has lost in a mural, which is displayed prominently in the center of the Firelight base.

Relations[edit | edit source]

Vi[edit | edit source]

As a child, Ekko looked up to Vi as a big sister who looked out for everyone—and he was saddened when she presumably died after her rescue mission to save Vander. Ekko felt guilty that he didn't go with her to save Vander since he thought he could have prevented the disastrous outcome. Since Vi disappeared for years, she was one of the many people depicted in the Firelights' mural, which memorialized the loved ones they've lost over the years.

As an adult, Ekko was informed that Vi came back to the undercity with an enforcer named Caitlyn. Ekko initially mistrusted Vi, since her sister was working for Silco and she could be doing the same—and the fact that she was associating with an enforcer concerned him. Eventually, Vi convinced Ekko that she was still the same Vi who used to take him down to the junk heap and hose him down when he got covered in grease. After feeling comfortable that Vi hasn't been corrupted, Ekko embraced Vi as a friend and once again trusts her to have his best interests at heart. Vi convinced Ekko to work with the Piltovans to defeat Silco. Ekko traveled to Piltover with Caitlyn to reveal Silco's conspiracy and return the hextech gemstone, but was attacked by Sheriff Marcus and later Jinx. Ekko stayed behind to hold off Jinx while he entrusted Vi and Caitlyn to set the record straight in Piltover and eventually gain their support in stopping Silco.

Later, after being sent to the alternate universe, Ekko was shocked to learn that the alternate version of Vi had died during the heist at Jayce's apartment, which was the reason hextech had never been invented there. Realizing his tip was what led to this tragic accident, Ekko would memorialize her in a mural, painting the adult version of Vi he knew from his own timeline. Ekko described Vi as the "toughest person in all of Zaun" and that "nothing scared her." Powder explained to him that Vi was strong because she was afraid, as the fear of losing her loved ones was what made her fight so hard.^[7]

Upon returning to his original timeline, Ekko assisted Vi against Ambessa's invasion, and took her on his hoverboard so they could both save Jinx from the evolved Warwick. Ekko would eventually save Vi's life, as well as the lives of everyone in Piltover, by defeating Viktor with his Z-Drive.

Powder/Jinx[edit | edit source]

“	"Always a dance with you."
“	— Ekko to Jinx, The Dirt Under Your Nails

Ekko and Powder were childhood best friends, often practicing fighting moves, or playing around together. When he and the Firelights established their base, they painted a mural of all the people they've lost; Ekko apparently painted Powder as part of the mural, signifying that he believed his childhood friend was gone. As adults, Jinx, Powder's new identity, willingly worked for Silco—and she killed many Firelights on his behalf and fought Ekko several times. During the fight between him and Jinx on the bridge, it paralleled their childhood fighting games that they used to play. Although Ekko usually lost those games when they were children, he defeated Jinx in a real battle and was ready to land the final blow before seeing Jinx's face, which reminded him of the Powder he used to know. That moment's hesitation distracted him, and she ended up detonating a bomb, injuring Ekko's leg and leaving herself in critical condition. The image of Jinx's broken, defeated form on the bridge remained burned into Ekko's memory, haunting him when he returned to the spot where they had fought.

Jinx was responsible for the deaths of many of Ekko's friends, and as a result of this, he was initially hostile to the alternate version of Powder, despite her friendly nature. Although Ekko suspected she might be dangerous, Powder was very helpful and understanding with Ekko, only turning on him after he accused her of killing her sister, Vi. After realizing his mistake, Ekko was able to make it up to her by painting a mural of the adult version of Vi from his own timeline, and he encouraged her to pursue her talents as an inventor. Powder was then willing to help Ekko complete his Z-Drive for the competition, and they became close. The two of them later danced and shared a kiss over a view of the city, and Ekko expressed a desire to "stay in one moment" with her before gifting her a necklace and departing to his original timeline.

When Ekko returned, his experience with the alternate Powder convinced him that Jinx needed to be saved, and he repeatedly and desperately rewinded time to stop her from blowing herself up. Ekko eventually succeeded when he suggested he was interested in building "something new" with Jinx, and that he believed she was "someone worth building it for." Jinx seemed to take interest in the toy monkeys within his Z-Drive, and he took her to the Firelight base, where they made preparations to defend Piltover from Ambessa's and Viktor's attack on the city. They, along with the residents of Zaun, Sevika, and Firelights, joined forces and were allies in the battle for Piltover. Ekko tags are present on the balloon and on Jinx's costume, along with other tags and items related to Jinx's history and past.

After the battle ended with Jinx seemingly sacrificing herself to save Vi, Ekko mourned her at the spot where he and the alternate Powder had shared their first kiss, sitting alone as he overlooked the city.

Mylo and Claggor[edit | edit source]

As a child, Ekko was friendly with all of Vi's crew, who affectionately referred to him as "Little Man," relying on him for information on their heists. After Vander had scolded them for their robbery on Topside, Claggor later questioned Ekko about how he had found Jayce's apartment, after which Ekko gloated about following Jayce and charging him extra for the materials. After Benzo's death and Vander's kidnapping, Ekko gave Vi, Mylo, and Claggor the tip they needed to find where their father was being held, where Mylo and Claggor would unfortunately be killed in the ensuing catastrophe. Later on, Ekko would memorialize Mylo and Claggor in the mural at the Firelight hideout.

In the alternate timeline where hextech was never invented, Ekko got to meet Mylo and Claggor as adults and seemed to still be close with the two of them, despite being disoriented due to traveling through the Anomaly.

Benzo and Vander[edit | edit source]

Benzo was Ekko's employer as a child and appeared to serve as a father figure to him when he was a boy, with Ekko stating he was always there for him, even when his parents couldn't be.^[1] He trusted Ekko's tinkering skills to repair the machines in his shop and even allowed him to run the store in his absence. As a result, Ekko respected Benzo and was devastated when he was brutally murdered by Deckard on Silco's orders. Ekko also held Benzo's best friend Vander in high regard for his compassionate and protective attitude as the leader of the Lanes, and was greatly saddened to find out that he had been seemingly murdered by Silco in his quest for power, which later led him to have both Benzo and Vander memorialized on the painted mural in the Firelights' hideout. It is currently unknown whether Ekko ever found out that Vander actually survived his confrontation with Silco and was transformed into Warwick by Singed's experiments in the years after his presumed death, even though they crossed paths during the battle with Ambessa.

Silco[edit | edit source]

As leader of the Firelights, Ekko made it his mission to bring down Silco's criminal empire, blaming him for the deaths of Benzo, Vander, and all his childhood friends, as well as Powder, whom he considered to be dead after Silco had taken her in and she had become Jinx. He led the resistance against the chembarons and frequently destroyed Silco's shimmer shipments, and as a result of this, Silco attempted to frame the Firelights for many of his own crimes, using the corrupt Sheriff Marcus to forge evidence regarding Ekko's activities. Ekko eventually teamed up with Vi and Caitlyn to set the record straight and enlist help from topside to bring Silco down. Though they failed to win the Council's support, Silco would eventually die anyway at Jinx's hands, which led to the fracturing and eventual destruction of his criminal empire.

Scar[edit | edit source]

Scar was Ekko's second-in-command in the Firelights and would frequently accompany him on raids against Silco's shimmer shipments. The two of them frequently battled Jinx and Silco's other henchmen, and they seemed to trust each other a great deal. After Ekko's disappearance into the Anomaly, Scar and the other Firelights presumed Ekko dead and memorialized him on their mural, before Scar assumed leadership over the Firelights. He and Sevika were later present at Jayce's call-to-arms against the impending invasion of the city, and he presumably informed Ekko about it after his return. Scar and the other Firelights eventually joined Ekko in the battle to defend Piltover, despite appearing reluctant to do so at Jayce's meeting.

Caitlyn Kiramman[edit | edit source]

Caitlyn and Vi were kidnapped by the Firelights during a battle with Jinx and were taken to their hideout. Caitlyn assumed that the Firelights worked for Silco and were going to hurt Vi during her interrogation and was shocked to learn that Vi and the Firelights' leader, Ekko, were childhood friends. Ekko chose to help Caitlyn for the moment because Vi vouched for her, and as a gesture of goodwill, he offered to escort Caitlyn to Piltover.

Despite this, Ekko was shown not to fully trust Caitlyn, accusing the Piltovans of trying to destroy the Firelights, with some Enforcers even working directly for Silco's money. Caitlyn, however, was largely unaware of the corruption within the Enforcers and argued that it was a misunderstanding, and that Piltover was led to believe that the Firelights were to blame for Jinx's attacks. Vi eventually defused the situation by defending Caitlyn, and when Ekko demanded to know the relevance of the hextech gemstone to the Piltovans, Caitlyn explained that the gemstone was stolen by Jinx and could be weaponized by a Zaunite malefactor. Ekko considered keeping the gemstone to use against Silco, but Caitlyn convinced him otherwise, as the Piltover Council would not rest until the gemstone was safely back in Piltover. With that, Ekko agreed to their plan to reveal Silco as the true mastermind behind the chaos and corruption in Zaun, on the condition that he hand it to the Council personally. Caitlyn expressed her hope that by shutting down Silco's criminal enterprise, the Firelights wouldn't need to hide anymore, and Piltover and Zaun could begin to heal.

On their way to Piltover, Ekko was shot by Sheriff Marcus, who unbeknownst to Caitlyn was secretly working for Silco. Luckily, Ekko was wearing a bulletproof plate, and he managed to later save Caitlyn from being shot by Jinx. Ekko then told Vi and Caitlyn to get the gemstone to the Council as he held Jinx off at the bridge.

Ekko was not present in Zaun when Piltover was placed under martial law, and did not encounter Caitlyn in the alternate timeline. Nonetheless, he arrived alongside Jinx to support Caitlyn's war effort against Ambessa's forces. It is unknown if Ekko's opinion of Caitlyn has changed following her reign as commander.

Cecil B. Heimerdinger[edit | edit source]

“	"Never a dull moment. I must say that since I’ve met you, lad, I’ve truly lived."
“	— Heimerdinger to Ekko, Pretend Like It's the First Time

Heimerdinger found an injured Ekko and his hoverboard underneath the Bridge of Progress, and was impressed by his hoverboard's design. Ekko was surprised to find a Piltover councilor on Zaun's side of the river, but Heimerdinger revealed that he was just a normal citizen now. Both Ekko and Heimerdinger were trying to help the residents of their opposite city but were rebuffed for it, and with Ekko injured, Heimerdinger helped get him home to the Firelights hideout. When they arrived, Heimerdinger marveled at how much the Firelights accomplished at a short amount of time; to which Ekko replied that having their lives on the line was a great motivator. Although Heimerdinger questioned why the Firelights use hoverboards for transportation when more efficient and safer options exist, Ekko replied that it is essential for people to get what they need to live; in addition to what they need to survive.

Having no reason to go back to Piltover, Heimerdinger took Ekko under his wing as his mentor, instructing him in the realm of science and constructing a number of devices to entertain the other Firelights. When Ekko became worried that the Firelight tree was dying, he turned to Heimerdinger for advice, and the professor snuck him into Jayce and Viktor's laboratory, where they began their investigation of the Anomaly. After being sent to an alternate timeline, Heimerdinger arrived far earlier than Ekko did and waited several years for him before eventually seeking a means so that they might return home. While Heimerdinger was helping him to invent the Z-Drive, Heimerdinger offered to help Ekko to upgrade the device so it would be able to send them home, telling him to go enjoy the dance with Powder.

Heimerdinger was shown to take Ekko's advice to heart in the alternate universe, embracing his musical talents and engaging with the people of the undercity. Ekko tried to stop Heimerdinger from sacrificing himself, but was unable to, and the professor vanished in front of him after declaring that because of Ekko, he had "truly lived."

Jayce Talis[edit | edit source]

Ekko first met Jayce when he was a child running Benzo's shop, where he identified him as a Piltovan with a large amount of money to spend. Ekko charged Jayce double for the items he bought and was amused by the fact that "he didn't even haggle." After the transaction, Ekko followed Jayce back to his apartment and told Vi where to find and rob him.^[2] Jayce would eventually become famous as the inventor of hextech, and Ekko would come to learn that the explosion in his apartment was caused by volatile hextech crystals.^[7]

When Ekko and Jayce met again years later, Jayce did not seem to recognize Ekko, and Ekko did not seem interested in telling Jayce that they had met before. Although they were both inventors and students of Heimerdinger, Ekko did not seem to respect Jayce, possibly disliking his role as the "Man of Progress" and becoming irritated by Jayce's explanation of "wild runes," which involved Ekko repeatedly passing tomes to Jayce at his request until he eventually made an annoyed grunt. When Jayce showed Ekko to the bottom of the Hexgate, Ekko angrily accused Jayce of polluting the Zaunite water supply and poisoning the Firelight tree, suggesting he viewed Jayce as another wealthy Piltovan who did not care about the people of the undercity. Jayce seemed bewildered by Ekko's accusations against him, but their argument was cut short when they were all sucked into the Anomaly.^[10]

Despite their initial rivalry, Ekko and Jayce worked together to take down Viktor, using their combined efforts to save the entire city.

Viktor[edit | edit source]

Ekko never met with Viktor personally, but he was aware of the Viktor's partnership with Jayce, who explained Viktor's "wild rune" theory as they were investigating the Anomaly, which scattered them all through time and space. When Ekko eventually returned, he was aware of the danger it posed, and he presumably learned about Viktor's plan to attack the Hexgate from the other Firelights when he came back to their base. After this, Ekko and Jinx led the Zaunite charge to stop Ambessa's Noxians and Viktor's puppets, including the evolved Warwick, who was being controlled directly by Viktor. Ekko was eventually instrumental in defeating Viktor himself, as he undid the Herald's victory by rewinding his Z-Drive well past the limit and blowing it up in the Viktor's face, allowing Jayce the opportunity to get through his old friend.

Arcane Show Appearances[edit | edit source]

Season One appearances: 8/9
Welcome to the Playground: Appears	Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved: Appears	The Base Violence Necessary for Change: Appears
Happy Progress Day!: Appears; eclipsed	Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy: Absent	When These Walls Come Tumbling Down: Appears; eclipsed
The Boy Savior: Appears	Oil and Water: Appears	The Monster You Created: Appears

Season Two appearances: 4/9
Heavy Is The Crown: Absent	Watch It All Burn: Appears	Finally Got the Name Right: Appears
Paint The Town Blue: Mentioned only	Blisters And Bedrock: Absent	The Message Hidden Within The Pattern: Absent
Pretend Like It's First Time: Appears	Killing Is A Cycle: Absent	The Dirt Under Your Nails: Appears

Trivia[edit | edit source]

Ekko is estimated to be 12-13 years old in the first act of the series and 19-20 years old in the second and third acts.^[13]^[14]
In an alternate universe where hextech was never invented, Vander's downfall never happened, and Vi was killed during the apartment robbery, Ekko never became the leader of the Firelights. Instead, he had a happy childhood in the company of his friends and used his inventive talents to improve the lives of his people, which helped Zaun thrive and prosper for the first time in centuries. He also became work partners with Powder, who never came Jinx in this reality, and started a romantic relationship with her when they were both in their late teens.

Media[edit | edit source]

Gallery

Summoner Icons

Emotes

Ekko "Arcane" Concept 1 (by Riot Artist Anna 'Newmilky' Nikonova)
Ekko "Arcane" Concept 2 (by Riot Artist Anna 'Newmilky' Nikonova)
Ekko "Arcane" Concept 3 (by Riot Artist Anna 'Newmilky' Nikonova)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 1 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 2 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 3 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 4 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 5 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 6 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 7 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Model 8 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 1 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 2 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 3 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 4 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 5 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 6 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 7 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane Season 2" Model 8 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Promo 1 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Promo 2 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Ekko "Arcane" Promo 3 (by Riot Contracted Artists Fortiche Productions)
Arcane "Legends of Runeterra" Promo (by Riot Contracted Artists Kudos Productions)
Arcane "Teamfight Tactics: Into the Arcane" Promo 1 (by Riot Contracted Artists Wild Blue Studios)
Arcane "Teamfight Tactics: Into the Arcane" Promo 2 (by Riot Contracted Artists Wild Blue Studios)
Arcane "Teamfight Tactics: Into the Arcane" Teaser (by Riot Contracted Artists Wild Blue Studios)
RiotX Arcane Promo 2 (by Riot Contracted Artists Envar Studio
2024 Riot Client promo (by Riot Contracted Artists Kudos Productions)
Arcane Ekko "Snoo" 1
Arcane Ekko "Snoo" 2

References[edit | edit source]

↑ ^{Jump up to: 1.0} ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Ekko's parents
↑ ^{Jump up to: 2.0} ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 1: Welcome to the Playground
↑ ^{Jump up to: 3.0} ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 7: The Boy Savior
↑ ^{Jump up to: 4.0} ^4.1 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 2: Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved
↑ ^{Jump up to: 5.0} ^5.1 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 4: Happy Progress Day!
↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 6: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down
↑ ^{Jump up to: 7.0} ^7.1 ^7.2 ^7.3 ^7.4 Arcane: Season 2, Episode 7: Pretend Like It's First Time
↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 8: Oil and Water
↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 9: The Monster You Created
↑ ^{Jump up to: 10.0} ^10.1 Arcane: Season 2, Episode 3: Finally Got the Name Right
↑ Jinx Fixes Everything
↑ ^{Jump up to: 12.0} ^12.1 Arcane: Season 2, Episode 9: The Dirt Under Your Nails
↑ Timeskip length
↑ Ekko's age in Arcane

Characters	Amara Ambessa Bolbok Caitlyn Cassandra Chross Claggor Ekko Elora Finn Heimerdinger Isha Jayce Jinx LeBlanc Maddie Marcus Margot Mel Mylo Orianna Renni Rictus Salo Sevika Silco Singed Smeech Tobias Vander Vi Viktor Warwick and more...
Places	Noxus Piltover Zaun Runeterra
Season 1 Episodes	Welcome to the Playground Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved The Base Violence Necessary for Change Happy Progress Day! Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy When These Walls Come Tumbling Down The Boy Savior Oil and Water The Monster You Created
Season 2 Episodes	Heavy Is The Crown Watch It All Burn Finally Got the Name Right Paint the Town Blue Blisters and Bedrock The Message Hidden Within the Pattern Pretend Like It's First Time Killing Is A Cycle The Dirt Under Your Nails
The Council Archives	Jayce's Journal The Warden's Write-Ups The Grand Conspiracy The Adventures of Jinx
Other Lore and Media	Enemy (Music Video) Blood Sweat & Tears (Music Video) Firelights Reignite (Visual Novel) Need to live (Short) Jinx Fixes Everything (Minigame) Arcane (Soundtrack) Arcane (Universe) The Art and Making of Arcane (Art Book)