In - jokes and references / Outland Blizz ard has included many in - jokes and references tied to pop - culture in various forms throughout WoW . Characters . David Wayne . The NPC rumored to craft the Ashbringer , his name is composed of David and Wayne Palmer from the TV show " 24 " . It is also possible that it is an obscure Batman / Hulk reference . Bruce Banner , the Hulk , was " David Bruce Banner " in his TV series and Batman is Bruce Wayne thus making it an amalgamation of their names . " Dirty " Larry . " Dirty " Larry is a Shattrath City NPC , a reference to Dirty Harry . Gankly Rottenfist . A undead rogue NPC in Nagrand near the Nesingwary Safari that will " gank " a passing gnome questgiver whom you subsequently have to rescue . His name , of course , is a reference to the popular term " gank " when a rogue ( or anyone else , for that matter ) attacks you by surprise . R - 3D0 . A Toshley Station sentinel robot that lies near the station . This is a reference to the " Star Wars " characters C3P0 and R2D2 Locations . Arcatraz . In the Tempest Keep instances , Arcatraz may be a reference to the real life prison Alcatraz . For the last event of the instance , the group must fight the " most dangerous " creatures of Azeroth . In real life , Alcatraz was a prison for the most dangerous criminals . In addition , the questline to obtain the key to Arcatraz is titled ' How to Break Into the Arcatraz ' . In real life , many people tried to break out of Alcatraz , with the general consensus being that no one was successful . Area 52 . The area which in itself is named after Area 51 , the American military base which serves as a top secret U . S . Air Force testing facility . Upon entering Area 52 , you are hit with a ray of light which gives a buff : " " The beam of light you did not see did not erase your memories . " " This is a " Men in Black " reference . The goblins in tuxedos standing to the sides of the gates also refer to this movie . The NPCs in Gold tops and black pants are probably a nod to " Star Trek : The Next Generation " . The Gold top ( or shoulders in DS9 / Voyager ) denotes Engineering . Area 52 is also another name for the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in " " Stargate : SG - 1 " " . Snakes on a plane ! In Nagrand , at Nesingwary ' s expedition camp , there are 2 snakes on top of the crashed airplane . Cenarion Thicket . One of the Druids near Cenarion Thicket has gossip telling us that ' there are FOUR LIGHTS ! ' , clearly a reference to Jean - Luc Picard in the Star Trek : The Next Generation episode " Chain of Command " in which Picard is forced to say there are five lights while there are in fact four . Upon his rescue he turns to his captor once more and yells ' There are FOUR LIGHTS ! ' Toshley ' s Station . In Blade ' s Edge Mountains , the Gnome outpost Toshley ' s Station is a reference to Tosche Station in " Star Wars " where Luke Skywalker was planning to pick up some power converters . One of the quests available also consists of picking up power converters . Other " Star Wars " references also seen . The activity around the station is also a reference to the movie " Starship Troopers " . The constant bug invasions , the gnomes being called Roughriders , and one of the gnomes occasionally quoting lines from the movie . World ' s End Tavern . In Shattrath , there ' s the World ' s End Tavern which may be a reference to the novel " The Restaurant at the End of the Universe " by Douglas Adams . The tavern could also be referencing the " World ' s End Inn " from " The Sandman " comic series written by Neil Gaiman .