Warhammer 40K: Every Faction Ranked From Least To Most Evil
6. The Space Marines
Living in the Imperium sucks. Search for the definition of crapsack world and you’ll find the golden God-Emperor’s crumbling creation wrestling for the top spot on the list. It is a cesspit of religious fanaticism, repression, and extreme xenophobia.
The Space Marines are no less xenophobic. But that’s not their only flaw. As transhuman, practically immortal demi-gods they’re infected with an arrogance that leads them to look down upon humans, regarding them as frail and corrupt creatures. It gets worse. Some chapters practice cannibalism (the Mortifactors), others are cursed with a literal thirst for the blood of their enemies (the Blood Angels), and some are disturbingly nonchalant over collateral damage (the Marines Malevolent).
But on the other hand you have the Salamanders, a chapter known its compassion towards humans, and, unlike the Imperium’s population, the majority of the Space Marines do not recognize the Emperor’s divinity, as per his wishes, and do not follow the religious zealotry of the Imperial Cult. And as soldiers the Space Marines possess a brand of honour and discipline that the rest of the Imperium couldn’t be bothered with.
They are a throwback to what the Emperor wanted for humanity, and arguably its best side.