Summary

• Characters in Borderlands offer unique quests and moments of humor in the harsh world of Pandora.
• From Mr. Torgue's hidden soft side to Tiny Tina's mix of humor and tragedy, each character adds depth and complexity to the universe.
• Lilith, Maya, and others show that power doesn't have to corrupt, while villains like Handsome Jack reveal the darker side of ambition and manipulation.

Borderlands is full of characters, and each one is bursting with creativity in a world that's harsh and unforgiving. Between the recently released movie and teasers for Borderlands 4, it's the perfect time to take a look back at the best characters who've helped to make the in-game universe so memorable. Whether it's the first game, the third game, or the entries in the middle, there's no shortage of characters to pick from in Borderlands.

The cast of characters in Borderlands includes egocentric villains, super-powered women named Sirens, psychos, and the average person who's just trying to live the best life they can. The harsh environment of Pandora makes it possible for characters to be reasonably unhinged. Additionally, even the most entertaining characters often end up having a tragic past, which makes paying attention to dialogue, quests, and scenery rewarding.

10 Face McShooty Has The Best Side Quest

Borderlands 2

Pandora is full of bandits and psychos, and a lot of them are hostile towards the party. Face McShooty isn't hostile, but he has a rather aggressive side quest for the party, and it might be the quickest quest to complete in the entire franchise. This desperate request from Face McShooty is to shoot him in the face, which is an appropriate desire considering his name.

A character can stand in front of Face McShooty for hours without his pleas to be shot dying down. Naturally, his quest is titled "Shoot This Guy in the Face," and it's listed as Normal Difficulty, even though it isn't difficult at all, considering Face McShooty won't fight back or try to avoid being shot. Aside from the money and experience, the best reward might be hearing him yell out his thanks after being shot in the face.

9 Scooter Became An Unexpected Hero

First Appeared In Borderlands

Scooter might be best known for his Catch-A-Ride system, a program he maintains that allows characters to essentially summon a vehicle they can then drive, and the slogan that goes with it. In the first two games, he offers the party a few quests, but mostly stays on the sidelines as a mechanic, helping to the rebel city in Borderlands 2. However, he later gets his moment to be a hero when he appears in Tales from the Borderlands' excellent cast.

Although he's unable to escape with the others after helping save them, he takes his death in stride.

In Tales from the Borderlands, Scooter heads into space to help the main characters on their journey to Helios, insisting that they need a mechanic with them. He ends up being right, having to solve issues during an emergency that happens during the flight. Although he's unable to escape with the others after helping save them, he takes his death in stride, saying his catchphrase as he rides the rocket to his death.

8 Mr. Torgue Has A Soft Side

First Appeared In Borderlands 2

For a man who hosts the Campaign of Carnage, Mr. Torgue could be described as a teddy bear on the inside, despite his tough exterior. He almost never appears in person, but his commentary and abilities as an announcer make his presence memorable every time he's involved in game events. Also, his full name is Mister Torgue High-Five Flexington, which alone is pretty awesome.

He created the Campaign of Carnage over the new Vault on Pandora to search out the hunter able to open it.

It turns out that Mr. Torgue actually enjoys interacting with Vault Hunters, which possibly plays into why he created the Campaign of Carnage over the new Vault on Pandora to search out the hunter able to open it. He considers the Vault Hunters to be his only true friends, and friendship seems like it's in short supply in the Borderlands universe. It seems like he also spends a fair amount of time with Tiny Tina, since he's in her DLC, and the in-universe game of Bunkers & Badasses is one of his favorite hobbies.

7 Angel Had A Lot Of Strength, But Unfortunate Circumstances

First Appears In Borderlands

Angel was one of the few Sirens, and her ability was known as Phaseshift, which gave her some measure of control over technology and the ability to herself off as an AI through technology. Her abilities manifested when she was young, which led to her being kidnapped. During this event, she controlled the kidnapper's turrets in her fear and killed him, but accidentally killed her own mother in the process.

When the Vault Hunters arrive under Angel's guidance, she accepts her death as a way to stop Jack's plans, even insulting her dad with her last breath.

Unfortunately, Angel's father was Handsome Jack, and he made the decision to basically imprison her where she'd be connected to Hyperion's network. This gave her an immense amount of control over the vast number of technological objects connected to the network, but it also left her with no option to do anything other than follow Jack's orders. When the Vault Hunters arrive under Angel's guidance, she accepts her death as a way to stop Jack's plans, even insulting her dad with her last breath.

6 Mad Moxxi Loves Violence, But Has A Comionate Side

First Appears In Borderlands

Formerly a fighter, Mad Moxxi maintains a violent side to her and loves fighting, but now she's more likely to be found tending her bar in Sanctuary, or working in another location she owns. She also has quite a history when it comes to dating and marriage, having been involved with Jimbo Hodunk, Mordecai, and even Handsome Jack. Jimbo is the father of Scooter, and possibly Ellie, making Moxxi their mother.

Despite her history and the choices she made, Moxxi loves her children, and she helps the Vault Hunters in their missions in a ing role. Moxxi ended up leaving the Hodunks for her daughter, Ellie, as she was unwilling to let Ellie become the clan wife. Considering the standards of Pandora, Mad Moxxi could be seen as a model mother and stalwart ally in her own ways.

5 Lilith Is A Main Character For The Entire Franchise

First Appears In Borderlands

As one of the playable characters in Borderlands, Lilith acts as an introduction to the Sirens and their abilities in the in-game universe. Lilith's Siren abilities are manifested in a way that allows her to become invisible to her enemies, heal herself, and unleash a shockwave. Given how prominent she is in the franchise, and that she often has a main role to play, even as an NPC, Lilith is an iconic figure in Borderlands.

Being a Siren inevitably puts Lilith in danger at certain points in the series. She disregards Angel, telling her to stay away during the assault on the location Angel is being held at, which leads to her replacing Angel as a catalyst for charging the Vault Key. Although Angel leads Lilith and others into traps more than once, Lilith shows a measure of comion and understanding when she says Angel wasn't a bad person to Tina, knowing that Angel was a victim of circumstances.

4 Krieg Offers A Look Into The Psycho Mindset

First Appears In Borderlands 2

Krieg is a playable Psycho in Borderlands 2, and he was just another bounty hunter before being captured by Hyperion and experimented on. As a captive, Krieg was subjected to increasingly cruel experiments, which led to other captured subjects dying. As one of the survivors, Krieg became a Psycho, but his sanity remained somewhat intact, and his psyche broke to form what would be the inner voice in his head. Since he didn't show the desired results, he ended up being abandoned with the rest of the subjects who were experimented on alongside him.

Unfortunately, Krieg was no longer able to communicate in normal ways. He was also unable to find a place where he belonged, since he didn't fit in with other Psychos, and he didn't fit in with the Crimson Raiders either. However, he manages to communicate with Maya and form a bond with her, feeling comforted by her promise to return to Pandora.

3 Tiny Tina Mixes Humor And Tragedy

First Appears In Borderlands 2

Tiny Tina is known for her spunky attitude, funny comments, and expertise in demolitions. She's a member of the Crimson Raiders and helps the Vault Hunters against Jack, likely holding a grudge against him for the experiments Hyperion conducted on her and her parents, which left her as the only survivor. This grudge is mostly seen when Tina reads a poem as encouragement to the hunters, where the line "kill Jack" appears repeatedly.

Despite being a test subject and losing her parents, Tiny Tina remains surprisingly upbeat. It also seems like she's surrounded by multiple characters who care for her, which also acts as a reminder of how young she is, but how much she's already endured. In the end, Tina is at the center of some of the most entertaining moments, and she runs a Bunkers & Badasses game for the hunters to play through in DLC and the fantasy-leaning Tiny Tina's Wonderlands.

2 Handsome Jack Takes Center Stage As An Antagonist

First Appears In Borderlands 2

Handsome Jack has become one of the most entertaining antagonists in video games, largely because of his personality that's both humorously unhinged and remorselessly evil. His daughter, Angel, is one of the few Sirens in existence, and she has the power to manipulate technology. This became a crucial piece of his plans, and he uses her to guide Vault Hunters into traps and work towards his own goals with her trapped in Control Core Angel.

Through his conversations and information left behind about him, Jack seems convinced that what he's done to Angel is for her own good, and she seemed to disagree when she used her last breath to insult him. He blames her for her mother's death, and he funnels Eridium into her to the point that she becomes dependent on it. No matter how much he tries to show otherwise, he seems to lack the ability to take responsibility, pinning blame on others, such as Angel, when bad things happen.

1 Maya Shows That Power Doesn't Corrupt

First Appears In Borderlands 2

Maya, like Lilith and Angel, is one of the few Sirens in the universe. However, she was raised in a temple with monks, and she grew up to be highly responsible with the use of her powers. She even turned against the monks who raised her when she learned that they used the threat of her abilities to extort money from the people of her homeworld, at the same time forcing them into obedience to the Order.

When she thought that Ava could become a Siren in 2019's Borderlands 3, she took her in as an apprentice, which could also be for the purpose of preventing her from being used by others the way Maya had been. Maya was also the first person to understand Krieg to an extent after he saved her from a bunch of rats, and she was open to befriending him by promising to return to Pandora. In the harsh universe of Borderlands, Maya holds fast to her beliefs, not allowing power to corrupt her.

Although Borderlands is mostly known for its looter shooter gameplay (except in its Tales from the Borderlands spin-offs) and unique art style, it also has a cast of characters that make Pandora worth exploring. From the power Sirens to Psychos used by Hyperion, the story of the in-game universe is much richer than it seems on the surface. With another game being teased, it's possible that some of the best characters in Borderlands could return again, if they're still alive.