6 Most Hated Villains in Borderlands

With four mainline games and three spin-offs worth talking about, the Borderlands franchise has become a fan favorite thanks to its Diablo-inspired loot treadmill and excellent first-person gameplay. However, it’s not all rosy for the franchise. Especially over the last few entries, the writing and characters have become often-maligned, thanks in large part to the often grating dialogue. That’s best seen in the series’ many villains, who often take center stage in the story because the Vault Hunters usually don’t speak.

Here are the six Borderlands villains you either love to hate or wish would go away forever, ranked from least to most hateable.

6) Professor Nakayama

Nakayama is the main antagonist in the Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt DLC in Borderlands 2, so some players might’ve never met him at his worst. You’re all the better for it.

Nakayama is obsessed with Handsome Jack and is frustratingly annoying throughout your time with him. Plus, he’s the mastermind behind the terrible Jackenstein boss fight, which helps earn him this final slot.

The only good thing about Nakayama is his hilarious death scene. Simply put, no one has been more deserving of such an embarrassing demise.

5) Commandant Steele

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Look, Commandant Steele isn’t so much a bad character as not really a character at all. Developer Gearbox was still figuring things out during Borderlands 1, so it’s not too surprising that they’d leave us with such a one-note antagonist.

Regardless of what you think about Borderlands 2 and its villain, that game has so much more personality than the original. Steele was slightly boring at the time, but is a total snoozefest in hindsight. Gearbox didn’t know how to make a villain work, but by ironing out the kinks later on, they made Steele stand out even more.

4) Hugo Vazquez

Hugo is Rhys’ nemesis in Tales from the Borderlands, the Telltale Games spin-off. Like Rhys, he works for the Hyperion Corporation, working his way up to Senior Vice President of Securities Propaganda by the events of the game.

The ultra-smarmy Vazquez is a constant thorn in your side during Tales from the Borderlands. He is voiced by the excellent Patrick Warburton, who is almost impossible to hate, but even he’s not enough to overcome Vazquez’s sleazeball behaviour.

3) Shadowtrap

Technically, Shadowtrap’s name is 5H4DOW-TP, but I’m not typing that out every time. Shadowtrap is the hidden baddie behind the events of The Claptastic Voyage DLC in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. His status as a bad guy is a little vague because he’s trying to help Claptrap get away from Handsome Jack. What isn’t up for debate is how irritating his boss fight is.

In fact, Shadowtrap’s fight might be the toughest non-raid fight in the series. Without proper gear, it’s not unheard of to spend nearly an hour trying to take him down thanks to his massive health pool and arena filled with hazards.

Seriously, some of the Invincible fights are easier than this guy.

2) Handsome Jack

I get it, Handsome Jack is often seen as the best character in Borderlands’ history. While I largely agree with that sentiment, the guy became dangerously over-exposed following his star-turning performance in Borderlands 2.

Look, we all love Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” They’re both all-timer songs that have become certified hits. That said, they’re also some of the most overplayed songs in existence. I don’t think many people hate Pharrell’s “Happy,” but I also don’t know if I ever need to hear it again.

Even worse, Jack was such a knockout hit for Gearbox that the developers have struggled to create another compelling villain. It’s too early to say Handsome Jack was Borderlands’ one-hit wonder villain, but we might be trending that direction.

1) The Calypso Twins

The Calypso Twins’ dialogue is so bad, many players took to muting Borderlands 3 so they could enjoy the gameplay. Gearbox had what could’ve been a fun concept as pseudo-livestreamers leading a cult, but completely fumbled the bag and turned them into cringey also-rans.

As mentioned, Handsome Jack is, for better or worse, the pinnacle of villains in Borderlands, and Tyreen and Troy just can’t get out of his shadow. Even worse, they embody the idea of “go-away heat.” For those who don’t spend their Monday nights watching professional wrestling, it’s the idea that you’re so annoyed by the duo that you wish they would go away. You’re not booing because you don’t like them. You’re booing because you know someone better could take their spot.

Hopefully, Gearbox is able to get the villainous side of Borderlands back on track with The Timekeeper in Borderlands 4. If nothing else, the early footage we’ve seen from him hints that Gearbox is taking a complete 180 from the Calypsos. We’ll know for sure when Borderlands 4 hits on September 12th.