The Fallout games and TV series on Prime Video are full of vile and hideous creatures that fill the wasteland.
With Feral Ghouls, Mirelurks, Radscorpions, and Deathclaws roaming the wasteland, you may be surprised to hear that the vilest antagonist of the Fallout series is actually none of them.
This vile villain that is yet to be introduced formally is part of a “superhuman’ race of humans called the Super Mutants. These vile and grotesque beings plague the wasteland, all because of our favorite little company.
Why?
Vault-Tec decided to experiment with the residents of their vaults, as usual.
What Are Super Mutants?
Let’s begin with some background lore.
A Super Mutant in the Fallout universe is a mutated human exposed to the highly toxic and dangerous version of the Forced Evolutionary Virus or FEV.
By taking a regular or slightly mutated human and giving them long exposure to the FEV, their bodies will mutate into one of these Super Mutants.
The first time fans of the franchise saw a Super Mutant was way back in the first game, as they were supposed to be a unique and dangerous mutant menace but have appeared in every game since.
But not the Amazon series yet.
Some fans may think that Super Mutants are mainly from the East Coast of America due to Fallout 3, but Fallout’s original game (Fallout 1997) was set on the West Coast in Southern California.
This means there may be a chance that the Super Mutants will be in the next season of Fallout.
As Vault-Tec in the TV show mentioned using vaults as experiments for the corporation, we can look at the infamous Vault 87 from Fallout 3, the first Bethesda Fallout game, as an insight into how the Forced Evolutionary Virus was used.
Vault 87 is located in the Captial Wasteland, which is Washington DC; this is where some of the experiments were done on the FEV and how it affects humans.
The goal of the FEV and Vault-Tec was to create super soldiers to help reconquer Earth or a different planet.
The Vault-Tec staff would use the human dwellers of the vault and inject the FEV virus, turning them into a Super Mutant.
This led to some of the Super Mutants breaking out and overpowering the Vault-Tec staff and taking control of the FEV virus.
Over many years, 200 years or so to be exact, Super Mutants would kidnap and force humans to take the FEV, which would then turn them into Super Mutants to help bolster the number of Super Mutants in the Wasteland.
Who is the Master
The Master was the main villain of the first Fallout game back in 1997.
The Master was Richard Grey before he was mutated by a crane, knocking him into a pool of the FEV.
This exposure to the FEV caused Richard’s body to melt away.
In the Fallout game, you can find Richard’s audio log. It describes his transformation in detail, such as how the experience felt and what he can do about it.
Once Richard became the Master, he turned many other people into Super Mutants with the same FEV vat.
The Master developed a Nuerolink to connect his mind to a supercomputer, which he then used to help modify himself and any followers he converted. This is how the Unity faction came into place, terrorizing the West Coast Wastelands.
The Master became infamous with his reign of Super Mutants, with many games in the Fallout series often speaking about him. This shows how crucial the Master was during his control.
How Will The Master fit Into The Fallout TV Series
You may wonder how this ties into the Fallout TV series, but it’s pretty simple.
Firstly, the location of the Shady Sands in the series, where Maximus and many of the residents of Vault Four used to live, is in the original Fallout game.
Secondly, during the show, we learn that Vault-Tec planned the FEV experiments, which means there are stashes throughout the wasteland.
This means the Master and Unity may already be in the series, but they haven’t been mentioned yet.
The last crucial information about whether the Master will be added is that he was the main villain in the canceled Fallout movie.
This means the team behind Fallout wants the Master to be onscreen, but he didn’t fit the first season’s story.
They’re setting it up just right for his arrival.
Now, to play Vault-Tec and Devil’s Advocate, a reason why the Master may not appear in the Fallout series is that the years do not match. Fallout 1 occurs in 2161, while the TV show is set in 2296.
However, in a defunct Project V13 webpage, the site stated the phrase “The Master Lives,” which may allow this villain to reappear in Fallout.
In the final scenes of Fallout Season 1 Episode 8, Lucy Maclean (Ella Purnell) and Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), aka The Ghoul, escaped Shady Sands, while Maximus (Aaron Moten) and the Brotherhood of Steel stayed behind.
That means the three are still in the area where the Master appears in the game.
Now we all know how dangerous the wastelands are, as Lucy MacLean learns in the first season of Fallout.
By adding the Unity and its Master, the show will gain a new villain for the next season.
But the question is, will Lucy’s father be the next season’s villain, or hopefully, the Master will get his first onscreen appearance as the main vile villain?
Fallout Season 1 can now be seen on Prime Video.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Jason Collins is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow him on X.