If you've never clocked it before, The Emperor is rather important in Warhammer 40k. Even those who don't really know the setting are adjacently aware of the fact that Warhammer people love to shout "For The Emperor!" at every available opportunity. Not only is he the figurehead of mankind, whose psychic presence is so significant that starships use him as a lighthouse, but he's really the inciting figure for the state of 40k's universe.
He's also enthroned on an ancient and nightmarish life support device called The Golden Throne, which has to consume 1,000s of psykers (psychics) everyday just to keep itself running. John Blanche, the artist responsible for much of Warhammer 40k's iconic visual tone, and who sadly passed away recently, originally produced "The Emperor Sits Upon His Golden Throne" back in 1987.
John Blanche himself recently said that the famous illustration is actually not of The Emperor, though:
"It was never meant to be the real Emperor. All these people queue up for generations, all ...
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