Who Would Win meme comparing Genn Greymane to the zappy boi troll

Zappy Boi

2017character nicknameclassic

Published October 8, 2026

Zappy Boi is the fan nickname for the lightning-casting troll shaman briefly seen in the Battle for Azeroth cinematic trailer for World of Warcraft. The term started on /r/wow in November 2017 after a Who Would Win image macro, then stuck hard enough that Blizzard's own Warcraft Twitter account picked it up.

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Overview

The appeal of Zappy Boi runs on the character's brief but dramatic screen time and the WoW fandom's protective obsession with a shaman who has no in-game name and almost no plot relevance1. Posts typically include screenshots or GIFs of his blue lightning strike, framed with captions like "must be protected at all costs" or Who Would Win image macros pitting him against enemy heroes2.

The meme stayed largely within the World of Warcraft community rather than crossing into general internet culture, with /r/wow acting as the main venue for new jokes and reposts6. Blizzard itself leaned into the nickname, tagging follow-up trailer content with #Zappyboi, which gave the fan name a semi-official status3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit /r/wow (viral spread)
Creator
Redditor Pingu4Lief
Date
2017

On November 3, 2017, Blizzard released the cinematic trailer for the World of Warcraft expansion Battle for Azeroth, which featured a short shot of a troll shaman unleashing a chain of blue lightning during a Horde-Alliance battle1. The character was unnamed and had no further storyline role in the trailer.

Three days later, on November 6, 2017, Redditor Pingu4Lief posted a Who Would Win image macro to /r/wow labeling the shaman "one zappy boi," and the nickname stuck6. The post pulled more than 3,800 points at 92% upvoted and over 370 comments before being archived.

How It Spread

On January 11, 2018, the official @Warcraft Twitter account posted an animated GIF of the shaman captioned simply "#Zappyboi," picking up roughly 2,200 likes and 400 retweets over the following seven months3. The official nod turned a /r/wow in-joke into a semi-canonical fan name.

The nickname kept circulating through early 2018, prompting Redditor Queuedodge to submit an "Ootl: What is zappyboi" post to /r/wow on April 9, 2018, asking for an explanation4. A second wave arrived with the "Old Soldier" cinematic on August 2, 2018, which featured another appearance by the troll shaman7.

The next day, Redditor Pac0theTac0 posted a screenshot to /r/wow asking "Half Naked Elves Get Thousands of Upvotes, But How Many for Our Blue Boi?" and pulled over 8,500 points at 87% upvoted in seven hours2. Hours later, Redditor Mz0r posted "Zappy boi must be protected at all costs," hitting around 1,500 points and 150 comments on the same subreddit5.

Timeline

2017-11-03

Blizzard released the Battle for Azeroth cinematic trailer featuring the lightning-casting troll shaman.

2017-11-06

Redditor Pingu4Lief posted the Who Would Win image macro to /r/wow coining the "one zappy boi" nickname.

2018-01-11

Official @Warcraft Twitter account posted a GIF of the shaman with the caption "#Zappyboi."

2018-04-09

Redditor Queuedodge posted "Ootl: What is zappyboi" to /r/wow asking for context on the nickname.

2018-08-02

World of Warcraft YouTube channel uploaded the "Old Soldier" trailer with another appearance of the shaman.

2018-08-03

Reddit posts by Pac0theTac0 and Mz0r both broke onto /r/wow, with Pac0theTac0's hitting over 8,500 points.

Frequently Asked Questions