Would Mudclaw have been a bad leader? by Sparktooth

Sparktooth wonders what Mudclaw would’ve been like as leader.

Hello again, bloggers! Sparktooth welcomes you to the newest article! I was reading an unforgettable scene in Starlight when Tallstar makes the decision to make Onewhisker deputy instead of Mudclaw before he died. I began to picture a parallel universe in Warriors where Mudclaw was Mudstar. Would he have been the leader Tallstar feared he would?

Throughout the series, Mudclaw seems to be the aggressive cat. However, I always thought he might have another side to him, and that if he were leader, he would be similar to Leopardstar. But Mudclaw was also a little disrespectful toward Tallstar a lot on the journey before he dies. This foolish behavior is most likely one of the things leading Tallstar to replace Mudclaw with Onewhisker.
“‘Onewhisker, I know you’re worried about Tallstar. Mudclaw is only doing his duty.’ ‘He doesn’t need to act like he’s leader already.’ Onewhisker growled. He sat down with a sharp glance from side to side, as if he were challenging any other cat to make a comment. ‘Onewhisker has a fair point,’ Firestar went on to Mudclaw. ‘It’s difficult for a deputy to stand in as leader-difficult for the rest of the Clan as well as their deputy.’ Mudclaw, who had raised his head arrogantly when Firestar seemed to be backing him up, looked furious.” -Starlight, pg. 24.

As most of the fandom knows, Tallstar supports everlasting friendship between WindClan and ThunderClan. I think almost everyone knows one of the reasons he replaced Mudclaw is because he worried Mudclaw would lead WindClan into too many battles. But another reason I think he chose Onewhisker is because he defended Tallstar’s honor when Mudclaw was being disrespectful. The book keeps hinting about Tallstar’s decision. I agree that Mudclaw was a courageous warrior, but based on his actions, I don’t think he was right to lead WindClan, either. If only he would’ve accepted Onewhisker’s offer and became his deputy. Instead he rebelled against Onewhisker, and was killed doing it. This aggressive behavior kind of reminds me of Thistleclaw. Only I would argue that Mudclaw isn’t evil, just aggressive.

Ok, here’s another question that came to mind: ‘Was Onestar any better than Mudclaw as leader? A lot of the Warriors fandom complains how when Onewhisker became Onestar, he completely changed. I agree to this. But he did it for the good of WindClan. WindClan needed a leader who did things only for the good of their Clan. I do argue that Onestar could’ve been a little friendlier with other Clans, though. But would Mudclaw have done something similar to that? What was Tallstar’s reaction in StarClan, was he surprised or did he expect Onestar to lead like that?

Well, that’s gonna wrap it up for this one. I can’t wait to read your comments about your thoughts on Mudclaw! Would he have been a good or bad leader in your opinion? Thanks again!