What just happened? Jarod Nandin, the cosplayer who rose to fame for his fantastic portrayal of South Park's World of Warcraft character, has died after contracting Covid-19. Nandin was admitted to hospital in mid-December suffering from chest pains and tested positive for the virus a few days later.
It was back in 2013 when Nandin shot to fame after he appeared in a cosplay contest at BlizzCon dressed as "that which has no life," a reference to the 'Make love, not Warcraft' episode of South Park featuring a WoW addict called Jenkins as the antagonist.
Nandin shaved part of his head to play Jenkins, whose name is a tribute to WoW legend Leeroy Jenkins. The attention to detail in his cosplay was fantastic; not only was the look and clothes accurate, Nandin also pushed around a desk complete with empty cans of Rockstar, discs, a knife, and a red PC case.
Nandin had kept fans updated on his condition through social media. "I tested positive for covid. I'm really sorry to worry you guys. I'm in the hospital getting treatment. Things look good. Im just looking at Covid with a s**t eating grin on my face and saying: "How do you Kill that which...has no Life?"" he wrote on Instagram.
His final tweet on December 28 read: "Breathing issues still a problem. Oxygen saturation levels keep dropping below 90. They are trying to figure things out. Waiting to know more."
BlizzCon host Michele Morrow wrote that Jarod was an advocate for cosplayers, body acceptance, and positivity.
Today the @Warcraft & greater @Blizzard_Ent community lost one of it's sweetest souls to Covid. Jarod Nandin aka @JarodNWBZPWNR was best known by his famous Blizzcon cosplay "That Which Has No Life" from the @SouthPark ep "Make Love Not Warcraft"... (cont) https://t.co/LGCWKUWD1R pic.twitter.com/Mx63iS4ivG
--- Michele Morrow (@michelemorrow) January 3, 2021
Twitter users have been paying tribute by posting photos of themselves holding up USB sticks, a reference to The Sword of a Thousand Truths---a legendary sword from the South Park episode used to defeat Jenkins.
Nandin's portrayal of Jenkins brought a massive smile to people's faces around the world---something that's reflected in the global coverage of his death---and there has been a genuine outpouring of grief from the gaming and cosplay communities. Raise a Sword of a Thousand Truths in his memory.