History Characters / BorderlandsAtlas

* WakeUpCallBoss: Mooks actually. Before reaching Old Haven the player could've been slaughtering massess of Pandoran wildlife and bandit gangs with ease, but the Crimson Lance is a big step up in difficulty and if they didn't bother, or got lucky, gearing up properly the Lancemen will make short work of them with their superior firepower and armor.

* HeavilyArmoredMook: They all possess a thick body armor that severely reduces any incoming damage to them.

* EvilWearsBlack: Badass Lance Troopers wear ablack attire. They also have red GlowingEyesOfDoom for full intimidating effect.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click to see her spoiler form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tftb_gortys_2.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:As seen in ''VideoGame/NewTalesFromTheBorderlands''. [[labelnote:Click here to see him in ''Tales from the Borderlands'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tftb_rhys.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

* GeniusDitz: He puts on the airs of a ball-cracking businessman and ruthless corporate executive, but in practice the only thing he seems to be good at is computers.

* HollywoodHacking: His ECHO-Eye is capable of scanning and hacking into certain tech. Virtual Jack is able to upgrade its capabilities even further.

* GoodCounterpart: As of ''3'' he's starting to veer into this territory for [[spoiler:Handsome Jack. Like Jack, he's a former corporate stooge who through a series of circumstances rose up to the top of the corporate ladder after opening a Vault. ''Unlike'' Jack however, Rhys opened the Vault with the aid of allies as a side benefit to saving a friend instead of tricking a group of Vault Hunters into doing it for him. Also unlike Jack, Rhys simply secured the Atlas deed from Jack's ruined office instead of lying, cheating and murdering his way to the top. There are a few other comparisons too- Jack ran Hyperion through fear and mass security, which led to most of his employees being sociopaths like him just to get ahead, where Rhys' BenevolentBoss status means that his employees actually ''like him'' and the stupid backstabbing culture of Hyperion is nonexistent and thus much easier to run.]]

* TheAtoner: Depending on the choices you made for Rhys in Chapter 4, he could have potentially betrayed Fiona and Sasha's trust all in the name of making a power grab for Hyperion, only for Handsome Jack to then in turn stab him in the back. Much of his arc in Chapter 5 focuses on how he can redeem himself and rebuild Atlas into some altruistic.

* MoodSwinger: As they themselves put it, they're a nightmare without coffee. Lorelei will be calm one minute and yelling at the top of their lungs in intervals.

One of Lorelei's subordinates and owner of the fast food joint; Dynasty Diner. He is determined to make some fresh burgers and later on, get his brand out there.

A technician that's working on hacking Maliwan's [=NOG=] soldiers for Lorelei. He also might be using his test subjects for an underground fight ring.

'''Weapon Brands''': '''Atlas''' | [[Characters/BorderlandsDahl Dahl]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsHyperion Hyperion]] ([[Characters/BorderlandsHandsomeJack Handsome Jack]]) | [[Characters/BorderlandsMaliwan Maliwan]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsTorgue Torgue]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsTediore Tediore]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsWeaponBrands Other Weapon Brands]]\\

->'''Voiced by:''' Ciaran Strange\\\

* BigBad: The closest thing that the game has to a main villain.

* KarmicDeath: Steele was hellbent on plundering the Vault and gladly stooped to torture and murder to see it done. But when Steele finally succeeds in opening it, she’s quickly impaled and devoured by the contents.

* TheUnfought: Played straight in the main game. Inverted in the ''Robot Revolution'' DLC, in which she comes back under the control of the Claptraps and fights the player characters twice.

* {{Nepotism}}: He was a five-year-old admiral and that was the only way he could ''ever'' be promoted, let alone serve.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/borderlands3_loreleititlecard.png]]

* [[AFatherToHisMen A Parent to Their Men]]: If there's one thing Lor cares about more than saving the innocent civilians of Promethea, it's also the well-being of his men. Most of his missions are for the sake of them.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Strange barely changes his natural voice for Lorelei, and so Lor speaks in his garbled multi-national accent that sounds Australian but is technically a type of Canadian (to be specific Atlantic Canadian English, which has been described as having many features of British and Irish English, as well as the native languages in Ireland and Scotland).

A member of Atlas' armed forces that the Vault Hunter rescues from a Maliwan/Bandit attack. He's a {{transgender}} man who's introduced as Lorelei in ''Borderlands 3'', and has transitioned by ''VideoGame/NewTalesFromTheBorderlands''.

[[folder:Lorelei]]

A member of Atlas' armed forces that the Vault Hunter rescues from a Maliwan/Bandit attack.

* [[AFatherToHisMen A Parent to Their Men]]: If there's one thing Lorelei cares about more than saving the innocent civilians of Promethea, it's also the well-being of their men. Most of their missions are for the sake of them.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Lorelei is a fairly reasonable and understanding person most of the time, but even in their barista days before they became a badass soldier, Lorelei shoved an espresso scoop through a robber's throat before they got their morning coffee.
* EasySexChange: Discussed. They can just buy one from a Quick Change booth, but narrates that there is still more to it than that. By the time of ''New Tales'', they have officially transitioned and go by "Lor".
* HotBlooded: They're generally even-tempered most of the time, but they note that the stress of having to deal with a war, taking care of troops and civilians, and going without coffee have put them a little on edge. And it shows from time to time.
-->'''Lorelei''': (''While gunning Maliwan troops'') This is my turf, you Maliwan dickheads! Haha! Suck my smoking barrel, you wankers! I'll bite your ears off and feed them to you! ''You bloody slabs of duck butter!''

* MustHaveCaffeine: Gives you a whole mission to get them a cup of coffee and gets more antsy by the minute. They used to run a coffee shop, "No Roast for the Wicked", and once put an espresso scoop through a guy's throat when he tried to rob them before they got their morning coffee.
* TookALevelInBadass: Went from being a barista to Rhys's secretary to military commander capable of asskicking on their own.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Arcturian Superblack. It's what makes them keep their (mostly) sunny disposition at all times, and getting some of this coffee is what drives the "Rise and Grind" quest.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Strange barely changes his natural voice for Lorelei, and so they speak in his garbled multi-national accent that sounds Australian but is technically a type of Canadian (to be specific Atlantic Canadian English, which has been described as having many features of British and Irish English, as well as the native languages in Ireland and Scotland).

* IncompetenceInc: Corruption and incompetence was so widespread among the higher-ups in Borderlands 1 that a three-year old was promoted as a Crimson Lance Admiral due to nepotism. By the time of ''Borderlands 2'' Atlas was virtually defunct, and was so incompetent that then-current CEO accidentally left the deed to the entire company lying around where Handsome Jack could literally steal it by [[AbnormalAmmo loading his dog it into a gun and firing it at said CEO's daughter]], then stealing a Gortys part while making farting noises for some reason. It wasn't until Rhys managed to take over the company that he redeemed the brand name and rebuilt it.

* TheUnfought: layed straight in the main game. Inverted in the ''Robot Revolution'' DLC, in which she comes back under the control of the Claptraps and fights the player characters twice.

'''Other''': [[Characters/BorderlandsBanditsAndBanditFactions Bandits and Bandit Factions]] ([[Characters/BorderlandsChildrenOfTheVault Children of the Vault]]) | [[Characters/BorderlandsHodunkAndZafordClans Hodunk and Zaford Clans]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsCreatures Creatures]] ([[Characters/BorderlandsEridiansAndVaultMonsters Eridians and Vault Monsters]]) | [[Characters/BorderlandsRaidBosses Raid Bosses]])-]]]]]

'''Weapon Brands''': '''Atlas''' | [[Characters/BorderlandsDahl Dahl]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsHyperion Hyperion]] ([[Characters/BorderlandsHandsomeJack Handsome Jack]]) | [[Characters/BorderlandsMaliwan Maliwan]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsTorgue Torgue]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsWeaponBrands Other Weapon Brands]]\\

'''Other''': [[Characters/BorderlandsBanditsAndBanditFactions Bandits and Bandit Factions]] ([[Characters/BorderlandsChildrenOfTheVault Children of the Vault]]) | [[Characters/BorderlandsHodunkAndZafordClans Hodunk and Zaford Clans]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsCreatures Creatures]] ([[Characters/BorderlandsEridiansAndVaultMonsters Eridians and Vault Monsters]] | [[Characters/BorderlandsRaidBosses Raid Bosses]])-]]]]]

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[[folder:Roland]]
See [[Characters/Borderlands1VaultHunters the BL1 Vault Hunters page]] for more details.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Athena]]
See [[Characters/BorderlandsThePreSequelVaultHunters the TPS Vault Hunters page]] for more details.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:[=Zer0=]]]
See [[Characters/Borderlands2VaultHunters the BL2 Vault Hunters page]] for more details.
[[/folder]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/TroyBaker (''Tales from the Borderlands''), Creator/RayChase (''Borderlands 3'')

!! Groups
!!! ''VideoGame/Borderlands1''
[[folder:The Crimson Lance]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lancem.png]]
The Crimson Lance are Atlas's premiere enforcers, deployed when a new business opportunity must be persuaded into acquisition via heavy occupational force. Crimson Lancemen cover many roles, from basic infantry going to battle with assault rifles all the way up to massive mech suits. These specialized roles include [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Defenders]], [[TheEngineer Engineers]], [[LightningBruiser Assassins]], [[PraetorianGuard Royal Guards]], [[ShockAndAwe Shock Troopers]], [[HollywoodAcid Chemical Troopers]], [[KillItWithFire Pyros]], [[StuffBlowingUp Rocketeers]], [[CombatMedic Medics]] and [[HumongousMecha Devastators]].
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* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Their ''modus operandi'' revolves around invading a town / area of interest and strong arming the population into submitting to their interests. Resistance is typically met with extermination.
* BeefGate: Devastators often act like this when driving on the roads in The Ridgeway, luckily they can be sped past if they happen to off-centered from the road.
** Many Crimson Lance roadblocks also act like this during the introductory quests to ''Secret Armory of General Knoxx'' in the Crimson Tollway. The quests require you to storm these bases and forcibly open the energy gates to pass, with an obviously massive amount of soldiers trying to stop you.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Two Vault Hunters served as Crimson Lance soldiers before abandoning them: [[Characters/Borderlands1VaultHunters Roland]] as part of their infantry, and [[Characters/BorderlandsThePreSequelVaultHunters Athena]] as one of their assassins.
* EliteMooks: The Lancemen are among the final enemies faced in the base game and are the most well armed and protected when compared to the Bandit rabble faced before. Not only does their body armor significantly reduce the damage they take from attacks, but they're overall better armed, more accurate, employ better tactics, and have access to specialized equipment including deployable turrets, riot shields, and medic beams. ''The Secret Armory of General Knoxx'' adds even more elite units to their ranks, such as Pyro's, Chemical / Shock Troopers, Devastator mech suits.
* GasMaskMooks: Their helmets are a particularly high-tech version of a gas mask. You can wear one as Axton / The Commando in the second game if you got the save file from the first game to prove it.
* HeelFaceTurn: When abandoned on Pandora by Atlas, the surviving Lancemen were given the choice to band under Roland and defend the good people of Pandora, or to resort to becoming Bandits to survive. Most of them chose the former, creating the Crimson Raiders. When Rhys rebuilt Atlas, he turned the remaining Lance forces who weren't on Pandora into a far more competent and honorable military force.
* HumongousMecha: Devastator are massive weapons platforms that are often deployed at checkpoints or in areas of great importance, and can take massive damage before going down. Luckily, they're massive and slow targets.
* LightningBruiser: Assassins are very nimble, hopping all over the battlefield while pelting you with constant damage and taking a large amount themselves before going down. Luckily, their encounters are normally scripted and are thus not seen very often.
* PunchClockVillain: The rank and file troopers are mostly relatively normal people who treat their occupation on Pandora as just another job than with any real malice. One ECHO recording has a Lanceman even mention that they have an ice cream day to look forward and relax to.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: One Crimson Lanceman left his post to see an attraction called the Worlds Largest Bullet nearby, and accidentally left the access code to Atlas' gigantic armory there. The Vault Hunters would use that code to break into the armory, kill General Knoxx, and give Atlas no choice but to abandon the planet and their soldiers.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: [[CombatMedic Combat Medics]] can keep the already sturdy Lancemen alive and well in the middle of battle. Killing them ahead of time is in your best interests.
* TheTurretMaster: Regular Lancemen can deploy Scorpio Turrets, front facing sentry guns with forward-shields that can more or less the same as the Soldier's / Roland's turret you can play as, albeit un-upgraded unlike theirs.
* UniqueEnemy: In ''3'', there's only a small squad of hostile Lancemen in the game: the Hightower gang, who are a PraetorianGuard for the optional boss Judge Hightower.
[[/folder]]

* JerkassHasAPoint: His dressing down of Anu at the beginning of ''New Tales'' is harsh, but his backs all of his reprimands with solid reasons. Anu had been wasting Atlas's resources both by constantly freeing the Jabbers needed for testing and directly sinking funds into what is apparently a non-lethal teleportation gun that works only one way. Teleporting your boss's personal belongings ''and'' assistant out of the building would probably be grounds for anyone to get fired.

* InsistentTerminology: It's a device, not a gun. This causes her problems with Rhys, who points out that Atlas makes guns.