A Dungeons & Dragons mystery has been solved after nearly 50 years. The face of the “Red Box Warrior” that appears on Larry Elmore’s classic art on the cover of the 1983 “Red Box” for Dungeons & Dragons will be revealed for the first time in WizKids’s D&D Icons of the Realms: 50th Anniversary set later this year. The Red Box Warrior will be one of 10 “secret rare” miniatures that can be found in booster boxes in the 50th anniversary set, joining the likes of the Blue Wizard and Green Knight from the cover of the D&D Basic set and characters from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series. ComicBook has an exclusive look at the Red Box Warrior, and the identity of the character is sure to be a surprise to some.
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As you can see in the renders above, WizKids’ Red Box Warrior matches the pose of the original artwork, right down to the raised sword and lunging pose. WizKids also points out that their depiction of the Red Box Warrior is “purposefully and clearly” presented as a woman, providing a bit of a surprise for some wondering about details about this iconic warrior from D&D’s past.
The Red Box was first released in 1983 and featured a 64 page Player’s Handbook, a 48-page Dungeon Master’s manual, and dice for the game. For many older Dungeons & Dragons fans, the Red Box was the first introduction they had to the game, and thus Elmore’s art served as the first impression as to what players could expect from a D&D adventure. More recently, Elmore revealed an alternate art submitted for the cover, which shows both the dragon and warrior in similar poses, but also a thief and a female magic-user further from the action.
WizKids is also selling a classic red dragon from David Sutherland artwork pulled from the Basic Set (which is where the Blue Wizard and Green Knight from the 50th anniversary set are pulled from) as a separate miniature, so players can get a full dose of old-school D&D boxed set covers and recreate them at their homes.
The D&D Icons of the Realms: 50th Anniversary set is available for pre-order on WizKids’ website. The set will be released in July 2024.
