"Blood will rule the forest."
"[W]alk in Scourge's pawsteps-if you dare-and see if you still judge him as harshly by the end. Every cat deserves to have his story told, and this is Scourge's hour."
The Rise of Scourge is a standalone comic book released in 2008. It serves as prequel to the Warrior Cats series, specifically The Darkest Hour, and explains the origins of Scourge, one of the most legendary opponents that the Clans have ever faced.
Somewhere in England, a family of cats lives happily. The mother Quince watches over her three kits, Socks, Ruby, and Tiny, with pride. However, when it comes time for the kittens to be adopted, Socks and Ruby are the only kittens that anyone cares for. Afraid of being thrown in the river, Tiny runs off. Although he longs to live in the forest, Tiny is forced to flee to the streets of the Twolegplace. Despite his humble beginnings, Tiny's pawsteps have been set towards his great and terrible destiny...
The Rise of Scourge contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Gender: It's unclear whether Brick is meant to be a tom or a she-cat.
- Art Shift: When Tiny is making up a story about fighting a dog, there's a "flashback" to a crudely drawn fight between Tiny and the dog, which involves them rolling around in a dust ball.
- Badass Boast: Scourge gives a few in the comic.(To his siblings) "Oh, yes. Blood is everything. But the only blood I'm interested in flows from my enemies. Look around you! These cats are bathed in blood. It soaks their fur and laps at their paws. We are BloodClan!"(After killing Tigerstar) "My littermates said I was too small... too weak. But I've proven them wrong. I've learned how to be strong...how to live for blood. Because that's the key. The only answer. I am leader of BloodClan. I am Scourge. AND I HAVE WON!"
- Bad Liar: When Tiny lies about things like killing a fox and ripping a tooth out of a dog's head, nobody believes him for a second.
- Berserk Button: Scourge is easily angered, especially if you make fun of his size.
- Best Served Cold: Most of Scourge's life is dedicated to trying to get revenge on Tigerstar, for beating down Scourge back when he was a kit.
- Big Brother Bully: Socks and Ruby pick on their smaller brother Tiny.
- Big Shadow, Little Creature: This is how Scourge defeats his first dog.
- Blood from the Mouth: When Tigerstar dies, he spits out a hilariously small bit of blood.
- Chekhov's Gun: The tooth Tiny takes from Samwise becomes important a little while later when it makes him more well-known in Twolegplace.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Brick disappears from the plot completely around the end.
- Circle of Shame: At one point, a bunch of cats in the Twolegplace surround Tiny and laugh at him.
- Cool Old Lady: There's a kind old she-cat Tiny meets in Twolegplace who gives him some chicken and is pretty nice to him.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Tigerpaw easily manages to defeat Tiny.
- Scourge takes down Tigerstar even faster than he did in The Darkest Hour.
- A Day in the Limelight: It serves as one for Scourge, telling a story about him and explaining why he turned evil. It's also one for BloodClan in general.
- Drowning Unwanted Pets: As a kit, Scourge's bully siblings lied to him and told him that twolegs throw unwanted kittens into rivers. Scourge, then known as "Tiny", was so scared that he ran away from home, which ultimately led to his Start of Darkness.
- Early-Bird Cameo:
- At one point, Quince looks at a picture of the father of her kits. This is Jake, who is also the father of Firestar, and would later have a more important role in Bluestar's Prophecy.
- Tiny runs into three ThunderClan cats in the forest. The one who beats him is Tigerstar, and the one who sticks up for him is Bluestar. The other one is Thistleclaw, who later became one of the main antagonists of the series with the releases of Bluestar's Prophecy and Omen of the Stars.
- Foregone Conclusion: We know from the very beginning that Tiny is going to take over the Twolegplace and become Scourge.
- Freudian Excuse: Gives one to Scourge, explaining how his mistreatment when he was younger led to him becoming what he is in The Darkest Hour.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Tiny goes from a harmless kittypet picked on by his siblings to a feared tyrant who murders everyone who disobeys him.
- Funny Background Event: When Quince is telling Socks and Ruby to be nice to Tiny, you can see said cat comically falling out of the cat basket.
- Generation Xerox: Tiny likes exploring the forest, just like his father Jake and his half-brother, Rusty.
- Kick the Dog: Ruby taunts Tiny by saying that the Twolegs would never accept him and that he'll be thrown in the river like all other unwanted kittens. This causes him to worry and run away.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Socks and Ruby are jerks to Tiny, but they get adopted and are happy. Later however, they get thrown out onto the streets and exiled by Scourge.
- Meaningful Rename: Feeling that the name "Tiny" no longer suits him, our protagonist changes his name to Scourge.
- More Deadly Than the Male: While they do both pick on Tiny, Ruby is more vicious in her bullying towards him than Socks is.
- Nightmare Dreams: Tiny has frequent nightmares about Tigerstar attacking him.
- Old Dog: Tiny runs into a dog named Samwise. He's so old that he can't hurt anyone, and his teeth are falling out.
- Parental Favoritism: Although Quince tries not to make it obvious, Tiny believes that she likes Socks and Ruby more than him.
- A Pet into the Wild: The Rise of Scourge shows how Scourge went from a kittypet kitten named Tiny into a rogue named Scourge.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: Scourge may be small, but he's super fast, incredibly strong, and goes homicidal if you provoke him.
- Prequel: It was released after The Darkest Hour to explain the origins of BloodClan.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: It's a story about how Tiny became the villain known as Scourge.
- Revenge: Scourge's goal is to get revenge on Tigerstar for beating him when they were younger.
- Scars Are Forever: Bone has a scar on his head for the entirety of the comic.
- Slashed Throat: Scourge slashes the throat of a rogue that laughs at him. This, being the first time Scourge killed another cat, shows that he became ruthless in his goals.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Tigerstar only appears twice in the comic, but is the driving force behind Scourge's entire motivation.
- Spikes of Villainy: Most of BloodClan have spiked collars that serve to make them look more evil and menacing. Especially Scourge.
- Start of Darkness: This comic shows how Scourge turned evil.
- Villain Episode: Rather than telling a story about the heroes, The Rise of Scourge is all about the villainous BloodClan.
- Villain Protagonist: After he changes his name to Scourge, we're essentially watching Tiny going around and killing cats.
- Young and in Charge: Scourge takes over the Twolegplace when he was still fairly young.
