For as long as I can remember; the villains in movies, TV shows, games, and cartoons have been cooler than the heroes. Specifically for me Bobafett and Deadpool were my favorite characters growing up. Yes, Deadpool was a villain at that time. Antiheroes weren’t common yet (besides the Punisher) and really the term just refers to a villain that is so popular that they start making them do good things, so they can then be the main character. So why do villains get more/better back stories? Is it because heroism requires innocence or because villainy requires explanation? They also always have more quarks and have a more defined personality.
Case in point is Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2. Great game that didn’t just continue the story of the first, but fixed the first game’s biggest problem: lack of a villain. The first game had plenty of bad guys but (spoiler alert) the story was built around being tricked into opening the vault with a huge monster in it. Not the second time around. Gearbox introduces us to Handsome Jack who we are told is the bad guy earlier on, but this is only reinforced as the game goes on. More spoilers, but he kills characters from the first game that are now NPC guides and does plenty of other villainous things. While the playable characters get a short intro video and summary card at the beginning, we get to find out more and more about Jack as the game goes on. Not a great guy, but a great character. He just looks cool; a masked gunfighter in a suit and sneakers. He may also be crazy.
So Borderlands was released in 2009 and the sequel in 2012. There have been some prequels and ios games as well as a rumored number three for next year; but the real reason I bring all this up is, as seen above, McFarlane is just now making figures for Borderlands 2. They have made a claptrap and a psycho figure for years which only made me madder. While Handsome Jack is the best character, all of the eight heroes we’ve met so far have great unique looks just perfect for action figures. Not sure why the delay, but I am here for it now. Jack, Tiny Tina, and Zero are available now. Lilith and Krieg are available for preorder. June and July release dates. As with all McFarlane toys poseability and accessories are limited, but they look amazing. At only $20 a pop I highly recommend them.