so tales from the borderlands really shines light on the vault hunters.
They are all a bunch of for hire assholes, Jack was right, we are not heros.
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They are all a bunch of for hire assholes, Jack was right, we are not heros.
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I'm fairly certain that many players knew that the Vault Hunters were not the heroes.
Hell, even Handsome Jack isn't a hero, despite his numerous and boisterous claims.
With the way that it is perceived, the Vault Hunters are just that. Vault Hunters, people who seek after an ancient treasure - all with the same purpose: greed.
Let's take the Borderlands 2 Vault Hunters for example.
In The Pre-Sequel!, there is even a straight mention from Athena, a playable character, that none of them are heroes. The Elpisan Vault Hunters weren't even supposed to save the moon; they were supposed to hunt a Vault, an expedition led by Jack in order to gain more power.
So, no. The Vault Hunters are not in it for "saving the world or lives." They're in it for what the reward will be.
As for Handsome Jack.... well, it would take a long list to decide what all non-heroic acts he's committed. Let's list a few, shall we?
Handsome Jack was not a hero. Far from it. For all we know, his plan to take over and civilize Pandora would have failed.
Bandits... wildlife... opposing corporations... et cetera.
Handsome Jack was not a hero. He was ambitious, pretentious, zealous, and was a sociopath. He killed millions of people that stood in his way for the Vault. He was merciless and his methods were inhumane.
Above everything, the only people who can relate to being the heroes of the franchise are the Vault Hunters, who we play, and who we are allowed to see through the eyes of the people who are resisting Jack's reign of terror.
There are no heroes in the Borderlands franchise. There are only those who stop the villains.
I mean, we looted Marcus' store in 2, how much lower can you get?
There are no heroes in Borderlands, and there have never been any.
People have degrees of compassion towards certain people, but no one in this universe commits any kind of heroics.
Zer0's still cool though.
He talks in haiku, of course he's cool!
Of course he is cool
He's a natural badass
No one disagrees
I think Vault Hunters are self-interested people capable of heroism, but ultimately invested in themselves (think Han Solo). The thing that is so interesting about the world of Borderlands is how they play with mortal relativity, and how self perception can define us.
It's really cool to see a series continually tackle the concept of 'people doing good things for the wrong reasons and bad things for the right reasons', TFTB crew among them.
Roland was good, that's why he's dead.
only psychopaths survive on Pandora, (that's why there's so many of them)
but yeah, Vault Hunters aren't too different from bandits, BL1/2 hunters aren't too different from TPS hunters, (which makes Lilith seem like a hypocritical bitch, but maybe that's just me) also i'd argue Jack's apparent morality wasn't worse than the average Vault Hunter's during the first part of TPS but then he started getting paranoid about betrayal, got betrayed, and then got an eridian artifact punched in his face
I was just thinking about this....Vault Hunters for the most part only care about themselves. Episode 3 really highlights that they are really just glorified Assassins, Bandits and Thieves. Athena was going to kill that Atlas scientist guy over a vow to kill everyone in the company, even if she had already killed everyone involved in her sisters death. Even the Fiona I play as is much more ruthless and calculating then Rhys is and she is on her way to becoming a vault hunter. (according to Athena)
Sure, Zero is cool but he was mostly just there in episode 1 to kill Bossanova and find a Gorty's core. Rhy's and company were VERY lucky that they didn't have something he wanted or things could have gotten ugly real fast...
Vault Hunters are NOT your allies in the Tales from the Borderlands universe, unless they are paid to be.
This will be one of the key themes of the series, I suspect. With Roland as the moral center gone, the remaining Vault Hunters have lost purpose and have devolved into simple mercenaries. Brick and Mordecai are working with the Queenpin, and Lilith is willing to murder anyone she doesn't like. Athena is the prime example, as well: She breaks her promise to Janey because she finds vault hunting thrilling.
Fiona, Rhys and the rest, I believe, can represent either the same thing...or, they can help these mercenaries become something more than what they are. At the very least, be better than them.
Heck, even Roland was a huge hypocrite.
Got betrayed by the Crimson Lance who tried to have him killed, but that didn't stop him from trying to do a similar thing to Jack in the Pre-Sequel.
Still the nicest guy in the franchise though. What a messed up universe.
He's the only one who was actually nice to our main characters without getting paid to be that way.
I mean, he wasn't like, SUPER nice, and he was only helping us as a side effect of killing Bossanova, but... He made a heart sign at Rhys and I think that's all that really matters here.
It's not like Fiona and Rhys are model citizens themselves.
To be fair to Roland on that, Jack built the Borderlands equivalent of the Death Star. And Roland had already seen him airlock four of the scientists who helped Jack take back Helios based on the mere suspicion that one of them might be a traitor. Roland, Lilith, and Moxxi did the right thing.
Well, yeah. Most of the Vault Hunters have never pretended to be in it for anything more than the action or the loot. They're anti-heroes at best. With the possible exception of Roland who was the closest thing in this series has to an actual hero (And he's dead now, because as we know Pandora's "No place for a Hero").
But just because Jack was right about the VHs not being upstanding Paladins of Virtue doesn't make him any less of an evil, hypocritical bastard that makes those same VHs look like saints in comparison to him.
You as the player, can pretty darn well try though.
I did feel a little bit... wierd. That Brick and Mordecai just came for Athena and left the rest of the people to the hands of Vallory. But in their eyes, it's just more Pandoran business that isn't there to concern them. It doesn't involve anyone they know, it doesn't involve a Vault (that they KNOW of), and they weren't told to do anything about it either. They joined up with Vallory, so they could get Athena, to further learn about Jack and his past, and better understand where they need to go with their Hyperion revenge. In the name of revenge for their dead loves ones, families, and friends. As well as revenge for the entire planet of Pandora.
It... made me feel strange. But it just brings to light that the typical successful Vault Hunter is a person that cares about himself, and his friends and will do anything for them. But it stops there. Anyone outside their circle is not a concern to them in the slightest. In fact, I was actually pleased that Mordecai recognized this somewhat, and chose to spare Fiona. Rather than kill her outright when he had her at gunpoint.
Good and bad are a concept that is made up by people. Sometimes we forget that we can't divide everything into "good" and "bad" because it's a matter of perception and personal view or just moral values. That's why I love the Borderlands series and what Telltale has done with it so far. It's just very interesting and less boring than the simple good guys vs bad guys, because it makes you question everyones motives for acting the way they do.
After I played episode 3 I now hate the Vault Hunters I mean I wouldn't be surprised if they are the new enemies I mean I like the concept of it and I mean Fiona would want to get revenge against Brick and Mordecai and all other Vault Hunters and it makes Handsome Jack Not Such a Bad Guy(He is though,but his words about the Vault Hunters are True)I would Iove to be the bad guys if it means I can face the Vault Hunters including if given the option say to Fiona to join Hyperion to get revenge against the Vault Hunters I mean Fiona did say Sasha "You Will Be Looking At Pandora From Space". Also I remember Sasha wanted to know from Rhys perspective what does Pandora look like from Helios I mean I'm a Rhysha fan and I would love to give Sasha and Fiona the opportunity to join Hyperion for escaping Pandora which Sasha wants and Fiona Wanting Revenge against the Vault Hunters
Lilith knew that Athena worked for Jack. Jack killed Roland, someone who was close to all of the original vault hunters. By association, no matter her current motivation (of which they had no idea, and proceeded to interrogate her for), the original vault hunters felt it necessary to remove anyone who was continuing Jack's legacy.
Brick and Mordecai weren't working for Vallory. Their interests aligned so they worked together. They were only there for Athena, this is shown by Mordecai warning Fiona to not get mixed up with them, and it is only through Fiona's insistence to help Athena that they attack the characters.
I'm not defending the original vault hunters. Lilith and Mordecai are both emotionally unhinged towards Jack, and they both have addictions to potentially harmful substances. Brick is basically Lilith's yes man also.
However it is shown that after hearing Athena's story in the pre-sequel, they are both hesitant to carry out Lilith's orders to kill her. They have all proven heroic time and time again, of which a floating town full of people is testament to. They're human, is what I'm trying to say, or as close as fictional characters can come. Their faults are what make them compelling.
In fairness, Mordecai isn't on the booze anymore. The Son of Crawmerax DLC alludes to this.
Now I can laugh at Mordecai when Bloodwing blows up.
Exactly, we are
a con artist who is admittedly out to grab as much cash as she can
and a Hyperion bootlicker who at the start of the game wanted to be the next Handsome Jack!
Not exactly role models. Don't get me wrong, i love these jackasses, they aren't 'good' people though.
"This ain't a place for no hero."
just was going to say that
zarpadon is the closest thing to a hero, a thousands deaths (including herself) to saves millions was her motive