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Firestar and I never discovered what we might have meant to each other. I was alive in the forest for such a short time after he came to ThunderClan. But I know for sure that he and I could never have been mates. I was and always will be a medicine cat. That comes first, more than any cat that walks the forest, more even than Firestar.
~ Spottedleaf admitting that her and Firestar can never be together.

Spottedleaf is a recurring supporting character of the first four arcs of the Warriors franchise, a fantasy novel series created by the Erin Hunter team. She is a medicine cat under Sunstar and Bluestar's leadership. After being murdered by Clawface, Spottedleaf's soul ascended to StarClan, where she would watch over Firestar and his descendants until her soul was destroyed.

What Makes Her a Base Breaking Character?[]

What Do People Like About Her?[]

  • In general, Spottedleaf is characterized as a kindhearted cat who cares for the people under her care, even long after she had passed on.
  • Of the StarClan cats in the series, she is one of the few who actually consistently tries to help the living, helping Firestar on his quest to restore SkyClan and constantly trying to give omens to him, helps guide Jayfeather out of the Dark Forest and helping him reunite a fractured StarClan, and ultimately gives up her existence in order for Sandstorm to survive against Mapleshade.
    • While some dislike her for how much she shows up, Spottedleaf being one of the few StarClan cats who actively tries to help the living is also seen as a positive, especially seen as how contentious StarClan as a whole is. Spottedleaf being dead during Squirrelflight's Hope, the book where StarClan is seen as its most cruel, does somewhat help her reputation compared to the rest of the afterlife, as she was not present during Squirrelflight and Leafpool's trial.
  • While the books aren't a visual medium, her appearances in The Ultimate Guide, as with most of the other cats' appearances in that book, have been seen as pretty. Her appearance in the the official graphic novel adaptation of The Prophecies Begin has been cited as one of the better designs to come from it as well.
  • Spottedleaf is one of the only medicine cats who actually adheres to the rule of medicine cats not having a mate or kits in her lifetime, and as such lacks any of the potential melodrama associated with while alive. While she is in love with Firestar later on, she only falls for him well after she's been dead and Firestar's grown to be the leader of ThunderClan.
    • While in love with Firestar, she does show respect for Sandstorm (Firestar's mate) and more or less backs off after the events of Firestar's Quest to try and respect Sandstorm's boundaries. Again, Spottedleaf ultimately gave up her existence to save Sandstorm near the end of The Last Hope because the latter made Firestar happy.
  • Spottedleaf has a fair bit of tragedy to her, dying relatively young and giving up her entire existence just to try and make someone else happy. The fact that she was the first StarClan cat that readers got to see get killed, which was stated just so Firestar didn't have to choose between her and Sandstorm in StarClan, also added to her sympathy.
    • Poor writing aside, Spottedleaf received a lot of sympathy after it was revealed that she was groomed by Thistleclaw into becoming mates, potentially starting ever since she was a kit.

What Do People Hate About Her?[]

  • Her heavy involvement in the dreams during the first few arcs left some readers feeling like she weighed too much on the plot despite doing very little in specific. This perceived overuse would take away potential time from other deceased cats who could visit protagonists' dreams from StarClan.
    • Despite her relative importance in StarClan, barring her original "Fire alone" prophecy and her help in the fight against the Rat Leader, a good chunk of Spottedleaf's actual omens is either confusingly vague or otherwise unhelpful.
  • Due to her general lack of flaws pointed out in the narrative, some have viewed her as a Mary Sue.
  • Near the end of The New Prophecy arc, Spottedleaf convinces Leafpool to "follow [her] heart", something she interprets as running away and getting with Crowfeather, only for Spottedleaf to reveal that she meant for Leafpool follow her duties as a medicine cat. This led to some viewing Spottedleaf, alongside Yellowfang and the rest of StarClan, as manipulative towards Leafpool, a sentiment that would reach a boiling point in Squirrelflight's Hope.
  • Her novella, Spottedleaf's Heart, was mostly seen as one of, if not the worst novella to be written for the series for a multitude of factors:
    • The novella is often seen as wasted potential that did not give all too much meaningful insight on Spottedleaf's motives throughout the series.
      • For those who think that the novella could have been used as a warning against child predators, the book fails to deliver on that front as well, as the narrative (and by extension, Spottedpaw) do not condemn Thistleclaw for grooming Spottedpaw, instead only condemning him for his aggressive training in the Dark Forest.
    • The novella makes it so that Spottedleaf was there to witness both Tigerstar attacking Scourge under Thistleclaw's orders and Bluestar sending her kits away in order to have a better shot at becoming deputy against Thistleclaw. Neither of these events' portrayals in the past indicated that Spottedleaf was there to witness either event, or her being there is ultimately pointless as she turns against Thistleclaw after witnessing Thistleclaw training in the Dark Forest. Her inclusion, therefore, ultimately did nothing but muddle her place in the timeline further.
    • Prior to the novella's release, Spottedleaf was one of the few major medicine cat characters who actively wanted to choose their path instead of being forced into it. Spottedleaf's Heart reveals that while technically true, she was a warrior apprentice who more or less pressured herself into the role just to escape Thistleclaw. Again, the revelation contradicts her characterization in Bluestar's Prophecy, which stated that she was truly interested in medicine at birth and thus took away one of the unique parts of her character.
    • Due to these factors, alongside the fact that the story does not condemn Thistleclaw's actions and its general poor writing, Spottedleaf's Heart is one of the few stories in the series that a sizable chunk of fans consider it non-canon.
  • Her entire relationship with Firestar, specifically her reciprocating his romantic feelings towards her, is considered one of the worst aspects about her character, again for a variety of reasons:
    • Firestar and Spottedleaf weren't shown to be too close when she died, and Spottedleaf specifically gave Firestar a life of love for "all the cats in [his] care – and especially for Sandstorm". The reveal that not only did Firestar not fully get over his crush on her, but Spottedleaf saw a romantic interest in him was seen as a retcon that derailed both of them.
      • An essay by one of the Erins confirmed that part of the reason for Spottedleaf's death was so Firestar wouldn't have to choose between Spottedleaf and Sandstorm. The idea that Firestar would choose a childhood crush over his mate of years was contentious, either seeing it as unfair to everyone involved or further pushing the idea that Spottedleaf and Firestar were completely fine with the latter leaving Sandstorm for no good reason.
    • Related to the above, Spottedleaf is mostly seen as less of her own individual character and more or less defined by her relationship with Firestar.
    • Also related to the above, Spottedleaf going for Firestar's affections even after he becomes mates with Sandstorm does little to help. While Spottedleaf does comfort Sandstorm about Firestar's affection in Firestar's Quest, right afterwards she quietly admits to herself that she wishes things were different, quiet enough so Sandstorm won't hear but still right in front of her.
    • "Spottedleaf's Honest Answer" was a short story written as a reward for a 2008 contest, with the story, in essence, stating that Spottedleaf was enamored by Firestar ever since he joined and wished that she could take over Sandstorm's place. The story resurfacing further tanked Spottedleaf's reputation, although as with Spottedleaf's Heart, it's most often treated as non-canon due to it being a short story for a contest and is no longer readily and officially available.
    • Spottedleaf's age being retconned as one of the older cats (as opposed to being young as described in The Prophecies Begins) led to the observation that, since Firestar and Spottedleaf met when the former was six moons old, the writers had on complete accident, potentially written Spottedleaf as having groomed Firestar when he was an apprentice.
      • This observation would only get worse after Spottedleaf's Heart revealed that Spottedleaf herself was a victim of grooming when she was a kit. The idea that Spottedleaf learned this behavior from Thistleclaw and does not know what a healthy relationship looks like is contentious. Some see it as a potentially interesting and tragic reinterpretation of her character, while others see it as being in extremely poor taste for a victim to perpetuate the cycle of abuse without properly addressing the issue at hand.
    • Because of these reasons, most fans either ignore or overhaul the relationship all together or leave it as a one-sided crush on Firestar's end. While not entirely changing her role, the graphic novel adaptation of Into the Wild cutting the crush entirely and making their relationship platonic was mostly positively received.
  • Overall, the numerous retcons and questionable writing decisions split Spottedleaf's fanbase, with the multitude of problems being emblematic of a lot of the writing problems Warriors struggles with as a whole.

Trivia[]

  • Most of her base-breaking aspects about her character came from The New Prophecy onwards, specifically most of the retconned aspects about her. If her characterization from the first series was kept, or if she did not reappear after the first series, it's likely that she wouldn't be a Base-Breaking Character due to lacking many of the flaws she would later receive.0
  • Due to her lack of a substantial role, flaws, and StarClan itself being highly contested, a semi-recurring idea in the fandom is the concept of an evil Spottedleaf who, after reaching StarClan, manipulated Firestar and his descendants in some way for her own personal gain. While a popular iteration in its prime, it too became contested for a variety of factors, such as her motivations either revolving entirely on Firestar or not having a clear motive at all, the demonization of an abuse victim, and the antics of the AU's original creator, Draikinator.

External Links[]

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