Hello, travelers! In 2009, game developer Gearbox Studios released the first in what would become a massive, sprawling franchise.Borderlandswas unlike anything else at the time, combining hyper-violent first-person shooting with laugh-out-loud funny storytelling, and the original game’s success led to four direct sequels, two narrative spin-offs from Telltale Games, mobile games, comics, novels, and more. In 2015, Lionsgate announced that they would be adapting the popular game series, and after 8 years of development hell, theBorderlandsfilm is set to release in August 2024.
Borderlands
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
Borderlandsfollows various teams of powerful mercenaries known as Vault Hunters. Traveling to the dangerous planet, Pandora, these Vault Hunters are, as the name suggests, hunting for mysterious caches of alien tech and riches known as Vaults. The franchise has introduced 20 playable Vault Hunters, many of whom have featured prominently in the sequels, but each Vault Hunter has their strengths and weaknesses. This list ranks the Vault Hunters by raw power, focusing on their abilities, action skills, and feats in the story. It will only cover playable Vault Hunters, meaning NPCs like Typhon DeLeon (the First Vault Hunter) will not be explored here.
20Nisha the Lawbringer
Nisha the Lawbringerwas pushed into becoming a villain. Suffering abuse throughout her childhood, she was forced to train her reflexes in order to catch the objects her mother threw at her. With the violence enacted against her, Nisha developed her own interest in violence, wishing to bring justice to lawless bandits, and her reputation as a bandit killer earned her the attention of a Hyperion programmer named Jack. Hired to help him find a Vault on Elpis, Nisha developed a relationship with the man who would become Hyperion’s CEO, and through their connection, she became the Sheriff of Lynchwood to enact her own twisted sense of justice.
Nisha Combines Accuracy with Cruelty to Serve the “Law”
Nisha is an interesting case, considering that her action skill, “Showdown,” is actually pretty powerful. It allows her to auto-aim at enemies using whatever guns she has equipped, dealing loads of damage with hyper-accurate gun play. However, there’s the issue. Without a firearm, she’s nothing, making her the weakest of the Vault Hunters in terms of storytelling.
This is mirrored inBorderlands 2when players easily kill the newly badged Sheriff of Lynchwood. It doesn’t help that she is one of the cruelest of the series' Vault Hunters, punishing all law-breaking with death and even killing the dog of fellow Vault Hunter, Brick (truly unforgivable).
19Axton the Commando
Axton the Commandowas a loyal Dahl soldier for ten years, serving under his wife Sarah and rising through the ranks to become a Sergeant. However, his attitude proved an issue, as his total disregard for orders and hunt for glory made him a liability. Sarah would divorce him and discharge him on the same day, hinting to her ex that he would be executed if he didn’t flee.
So, flee he did, taking bounty jobs until he received an offer from the Hyperion CEO Handsome Jack to become a Vault Hunter. After Jack’s betrayal, though, he joined on with the Crimson Raiders, and with his one true love, his Sabre Turret, he fights Hyperion as he seeks out the Vault.
Axton Has a Technological Advantage Over Many of His Fellow Vault Hunters
Much like Nisha, Axton relies on weaponry and technology to succeed as a Vault Hunter, but unlike the Lawbringer, the Commando has extensive training to back him up. Speaking of backup, Axton’s action skill, “Sabre Turret,” is one of the most useful in the series, providing players with an AI-controlled weapons platform to help manage hordes of enemies.
This makes Axton the perfect character for solo and co-op play. Sadly, Axton hasn’t had any narrative opportunities to shine. He hasn’t appeared outside ofBorderlands 2,though ECHO logs inBorderlands 3seem to indicate that he and his turret have become professional models.
18Roland the Soldier
In the corporate-run galaxy of theBorderlandsfranchise, corporations have built their own private armies to go to literal war with their competitors. For the Atlas Corporation, their elite kill squad is the Crimson Lance, and the PrometheanRoland the Soldierwas one of their best. That is, of course, until he was discharged under mysterious circumstances.
Given that Atlas kills all of their defectors, Roland likely killed his way to freedom and to the Pandoran Vault. After the events of the first game, he took over the Crimson Lance and reformed them into the heroic Crimson Raiders, pitting them against Hyperion until his death at the hands of Handsome Jack.
Ranking Roland this low is likely going to cause some controversy, especially considering his importance throughout the franchise as leader and icon to the Crimson Raider resistance. In the original game, he is little more than a lesser version of Axton, using the “Scorpio Turret” action skill to summon another AI-controlled turret to aid the player.
While Axton’s is more customizable and effective, Roland’s role throughout the series puts him higher on the list, and his background training as an elite Crimson Lance soldier makes him one of the deadliest combatants in the series, as seen throughout his action-packedBorderlands 2cutscenes.
17Salvador the Gunzerker
Debuting inBorderlands 2,Salvador the Gunzerkeris intended as the team’s tank. Standing in at 5'4" due to extensive use of steroids throughout his life, this compact soldier may be small, but you’d best not underestimate him. The only Vault Hunter born on Pandora, Salvador grew up learning that to kill is to survive, and during a Hyperion strike on his hometown of Ovejas, Salvador used his honed skills to tear through the enemy force.
After “interrogating” (read: torturing) a Hyperion survivor, he learned of the Vault, and with the promise of more Hyperion blood and oil to be spilled, he ventured out to find his fortune.
Salvador Is an ’80s Action Flick Come to Life
Salvador has much the same issue as the previous three on this list. Without a gun, he’s near useless. Thankfully, he makes up for that by carrying two at once. Through his action skill, “Gunzerking,” Salvador pulls a second gun from its holster and dual-wields, causing rampant destruction across the battlefield.
While this ability is great on its own, Salvador edges out Roland for this spot for simple hardiness. With the right skills, a player can make Salvador a miniature tank, allowing him to devastate enemies for longer periods while staying on his feet and shouting myriad references toclassic action movies likePredatorandBig Trouble in Little China.
16Brick the Berserker
Brick the Berserkermade his debut as one of the original Vault Hunters, and with his immense strength, he is a huge asset to the Crimson Raiders. Born on the planet Menoetius, where he grew up with two pet dogs, Brick made his way to Pandora, and together with Roland, Lilith, and Mordecai, helped defeat the monstrosity within the Vault.
Later, he helped form the Crimson Raiders, but after Shep Sanders betrayed the group to Hyperion, Brick was exiled for his brutal murder of the traitor. He then took to Thousand Cuts and formed his own gang of bandits, though with the threat of Hyperion, he returned to his former allies for the final battle.
Brick Doesn’t Think Often, but When He Does, It’s Usually with His Fists
Remember my complaint about the previous Vault Hunters, that they need guns to be fully effective on Pandora? Well, that’s not the case with Brick. In fact, during his action skill, “Berserk,” he throws his weapons aside to beat his enemies to death with his fists. Brick starts as one of the physically strongest characters on Pandora, but his strength only grows as the story continues.
He is one of the longest serving Vault Hunters in the game, and his tenure as the Slab King even earned him an army of bandits to order around as he wills. Maybe it’s favoritism (I played Brick on my first playthrough ofBorderlands),but the Berserker clearly earns his spot here.
15Gaige the Mechromancer
As a young girl,Gaige the Mechromanceralways had a talent for machines. Plagued by bullies due to her nerdy interests and her personal podcast, Gaige designed Project-DT as an anti-bully deterrent bot and planned to reveal it at the school’s science fair. However, after one of her bullies began to mock her, the robot identified her as a threat and tore her apart.
Now wanted for murder, Gaige fled to Pandora, upgrading the robot she now called Deathtrap to be the ultimate bandit killer. Already with an interest in Pandora and the Vaults, this new lifestyle was a dream come true, even if it did stem from tragedy.
Gaige Has the Coolest Robotic Bestie
Borderlands' DLC characters tend to introduce unique mechanics to the game, and this is especially the case with Gaige. Her action skill, “Deathtrap,” gives her the summonable sidekick of Axton and Roland but without the limitations. Deathtrap is a floating machine of death, meaning it can follow and defend Gaige from any threat.
More importantly, Gaige is one ofthe brightest scientific minds among the Vault Hunters. She’s an engineering genius. That alone gets her plenty of points, and as she makes her return inBorderlands 3with an upgraded Deathtrap, her prowess has clearly only continued to improve with time.
14Jack (Timothy Lawrence) the Doppelgänger
As the CEO of Hyperion, one of the most powerful weapons and tech manufacturers in the universe, Handsome Jack has plenty of people who want him dead. With that in mind, Jack funded the creation of a picture-perfect body double to ensure his safety. In major debt due to student loans,Timothy Lawrencesigned on for the major reconstructive surgery, transforming him into Doppelgänger 21-C.
Now, a corporate slave to the Hyperion Corporation, Timothy is tasked with joining the other Vault Hunters as Jack the Doppelgänger in the real Jack’s hunt for the Vault on Elpis.
Timothy Lawrence Brings Strength in Numbers to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
As a body double for Jack, Timothy’s largely expendable in the eyes of Hyperion, which is mirrored in his action skill, “Expendable Assets,” but he also has access to some incredible technology. His action skill allows him to summon two digital clones of himself that can fight beside him, allowing him to have some pretty substantial backup while fighting on Elpis.
He is limited in his abilities, not even able to say his real name without the bomb in his face going off, but as someone meant to pass for Jack in any instance, Timothy has all the training and tech needed to survive (at least long enough for the real Handsome Jack to make it out alive).
13Wilhelm the Enforcer
Like Nisha,Wilhelm the Enforceractually made his debut inBorderlands 2as the first major boss. At that time, he was more machine than man. InBorderlands: The Pre-Sequel,we get to see this cyborg evolution as he becomes one of Jack’s Vault Hunters. Born with a degenerative disease, Wilhelm was exposed to cybernetic enhancement early and developed a full-blown addiction.
He later became a notorious mercenary. After the opening of Elpis' Vault, Wilhelm becomes one of Jack’s chief minions, likely to further his dreams of one day becoming wholly robotic, but he is killed by the Vault Hunters before that dream could become a reality.
Wilhelm Has One of the Coolest Visual and Gameplay Evolutions in the Series
Wilhelm’s power set is one of the most interesting inBorderlands: The Pre-Sequel,as it is meant to represent his villain’s journey. As the player improves Wilhelm, the Enforcer becomes more cybernetically augmented, introducing new visual and gameplay elements to foreshadow his transformation into theBorderlands 2robot monster.
His action skill, “Wolf and Saint,” which summons twin drones, isn’t too outside the box for sidekick abilities. Given the fact that it is implied that Jack poisoned Wilhelm to weaken him in his fight with the Vault Hunters, and he is still one of the toughest early fights in that game, we can only guess just how powerful he truly is.
Related:How Audiences Fell in Love With Cyborgs (Literally)
12Mordecai the Hunter
Born on the planet Artemis,Mordecaitrained all of his young life to become an extremely talented sharpshooter. At 17, he won a sharpshooting contest using a revolver, but he never collected the prize due to claims of cheating. He takes possession of a young Bloodwing, and the pair travels to Pandora to find fortune and fame.
After the fight against Atlas, Mordecai helped form the Crimson Raiders, married and divorced Mad Moxxi, and helped the next generations of Vault Hunters. However, during a mission against Handsome Jack, Bloodwing was captured and eventually killed by the madman, sending the Hunter into a drunken stupor in grief.
Mordecai Has Proven Himself to be Pandora’s Deadliest Sharpshooter
As one of the original playable Vault Hunters in the series, Mordecai has played a key role throughoutBorderlands’narrative, and his instincts as a hunter and sharpshooter make him one of the deadliest combatants on Pandora. However, what truly sets him apart from his fellow Vault Hunters is “Bloodwing,” his action skill which summons his trained alien bird to attack enemies.
The pair is a devastating combination, making it all the more heartbreaking when Jack kills Bloodwing. Mordecai isn’t taken out of the fight, though, taking a new fledgling named Talon under his metaphorical wing to raise and train into a new ally.
11Krieg the Psycho
Psycho Bandits on Pandora are feared for their wild, unhinged behavior. That’s why, when the Vault Hunters were introduced toKrieg the Psychoin aBorderlands 2DLC, they were hesitant to trust him. Working as a bounty hunter, Krieg was captured by Hyperion’s Dr. Benedict, who subjected his test subjects to intense torture to transform them into Psycho bandits.
However, unlike the others, Krieg held on to a (small) piece of his sanity, an inner voice that guides his bloodlust toward those deserving punishment. He has even formed a friendship (or something more) with fellow Vault Hunter Maya, though it has yet been shown how her death has affected him.
Nothing Can Stand in the Way of a Psycho With a Buzz Axe
As the name would suggest, Krieg brings a new level of psychosis to the gameplay. He is chaos, and his action skill, “Buzz Axe Rampage,” is the perfect encapsulation of that. Throwing aside his gun (which on Pandora means death), Krieg takes up the Psycho’s trademark buzz axe and begins to slice through any enemies standing in his way.
While his strength is on par with Brick’s, Krieg ranks higher because of the weird fun he injects into the gameplay. After all, this is a man with an incredibly quiet conscience, and watching him rip and blast through enemies before detonating himself with dynamite is an absolute bloody joy to witness.
