Greatest Villains of All-Time: Handsome Jack
The Search for the Greatest Villain of All-Time
Borderlands 2 set a new standard of villain with Handsome Jack, quite possibly one of the most memorable characters in entertainment history. Even if not, he’s easily one of the most charismatic; he’s endlessly snarky, undeniably clever and talks like he gets paid by the word. He embodies a personality so unique, he sees no better way to flaunt his endless wealth than to buy a pony made of diamonds and name it Butt Stallion.
From Humble Beginnings
With one parent dead and the other absent, Jack’s story begins as a young child trying to survive the abusive care of his grandmother. As he grew up, he found himself a job as lowly programmer for Hyperion, and while it was nothing special, his personal life was going great. He met a woman, got married, and had daughter who they named Angel; life was good.
But where things took a turn is when Angel, at some point in her childhood, inherited the powers of a Siren. Angel’s new abilities were eventually noticed by a bandit, who was familiar with the monetary value of Siren’s, and attempted to abduct her. Unable to control her powers, Angel had an understandably fear induced outburst where she took control of a turret and killed the bandit, but also accidentally killing her mother in the process. This event instilled in Jack an unwavering hatred of bandits, believing them all to be immoral money hungry murderers.
With the goal of bring peace to Pandora by eradicating all of its criminals, it’s easy to question if he’s actually evil. But we need to remember the context that is the world of Borderlands. On Pandora, pretty much everybody is a criminal. Nearly every character you meet is introduced with them murdering somebody. The entire world is filled with people who, even at the best of times, can only be described as criminally insane. And when everyone is an insane criminal, no one is an insane criminal. Pandora is filled with communities where people have settled down and are just trying to survive and live a simple life. But Handsome Jack doesn’t see it that way, to him, if they’re not with Hyperion, they’re bandits. Even if he knows they’re innocent and they haven’t done anything bad, he doesn’t care, he’s constantly killing innocent people as if living on Pandora makes them a criminal or bandit by default.
The Villain You Love to Love
Wearing a mask of his own face after being permanently scarred in an attempt to gain power from a Vault artifact, the self-proclaimed dictator of Pandora lives in an ever-visible Death Star-like space station above the planet. After stealing credit for finding the vault and killing The Destroyer guarding it, he took control of Hyperion Corporation by murdering its President and declaring himself the new President, giving him near endless resources and making him a formidable opponent.
The events of the Pre-Sequel and flashbacks in Borderlands 3 give some room for sympathy when you see how he was driven insane by betrayal after betrayal, but a man who happily oppresses an entire world and kills everyone in his way is pretty solidly evil. He’s grown to have no regard for any life but his own. His very first appearance comes in the form of killing Roland by shooting him in the back. After leader of New Haven, Helena Pierce, tells him that her spouse is dead, he proceeds to execute her and joke about how they now have something in common while laughing maniacally. He’s a man who willingly imprisons his own daughter to use her power to awaken an ancient entity so that he could purge an entire planet before turning his sights to the rest of the galaxy.
No other villain has made as great an impact and lasting impression in such a short amount of time.
No, no, no… I can’t die like this… not when I’m so close… and not at the hands of a filthy bandit! I could’ve saved this planet! I could have actually restored order! I wasn’t supposed to die by the hands of a child-killing psychopath! You’re a savage! You’re a maniac! You are a bandit AND I AM THE GODDAMN HERO!
- Handsome Jack
