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Characters / Gears Of War Locust

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The Locust

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/locust_symbol.png

"We can't stop them. We don't know where they come from. We don't know what they want. They don't even seem to want territory. All they do is kill. We can't even begin to negotiate with them, or work out their objectives, because we just don't know the first damn thing about them. That's not an enemy. That's a monster."
— Chief of the COG Defense Staff, General Bardry Salaman describing the Locust

A race of subterranean humanoids that live in the Hollow, a massive network of tunnels beneath the surface of Sera. They use a variety of bio-engineered beasts for transport, construction, and war. The Locust invaded the surface of Sera six weeks after the end of the Pendulum Wars, beginning a war that would result in the death of 99% of the human population. Their motives for this were revealed in Gears of War 3: the Lambent were overwhelming the Locust in the Hollow, and after Adam Fenix failed to find a solution, Queen Myrrah invaded the surface to make a new home for the Locust as they continued their war, not believing that humanity could be trusted.

  • Always Chaotic Evil: They're vicious monsters who regard humans as mere cattle.
  • Bee People: Locust society is structured with a Queen at the top, and lots and lots of disposable drones.
  • Beneath the Earth: The Locust Horde lives in a massive tunnel network beneath the surface of Sera known as the Hollow. Initially carved out by the Riftworms and corpsers, the Locust gradually expand it to contain their entire civilization.
  • Call a Smeerp a "Rabbit": Despite their name and hive societal structure, they're very clearly not insects. In fact, the only reason they were called Locust was because humanity knows nothing about them and the amount of death and destruction they cause can only be associated with some type of plague. Summed up nicely with the following quote from an anonymous scientist who first named them.
    Scientist: Frankly, other than the fact that they want to kill every man, woman and child out there, we know nothing about them. We've tagged them Locusts since this degree of death has only been seen in times of plague.
  • Cool Helmet: While some Locust wear interesting looking helmets, it's far more prevalent among their Beasts Of Battle, almost all of which wear specialized masks. Gears Tactics reveals that these masks were designed by Ukkon, and are how the Locust control their creatures.
  • Came Back Strong: Turns out Adam's weapon didn't kill the Locust after all, or at least not all of them. It caused them to undergo a 25-year-long evolution process that turned them into the more powerful Scions.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: "Processing", which involve beating a person with a bladed whip, as well as many other forms of torture, and ends with lobotomy. The survivors are used as forced labor. And this is for those that don't meet up with the Locusts' standards! Those that do? They get turned into new Locust Drones.
  • Dark Is Evil: Locust forces have a penchant for dark colors on their armor.
  • Elaborate Underground Base: Their capital city of Nexus.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: It's eventually revealed that the Locusts descend from the first humans to develop Rustlung (the earliest stage of Lambency in humans), who were experimented on to be used a Super Soldiers by the COG. Furthermore, their invasion of the surface was spurred on by other Lambent entities attacking them in the Hollow, turning them into Invading Refugees. Despite this, Adam Fenix (the one human who knows enough of their origins to possibly sympathize with them) is perfectly fine with allowing them to die out when his Imulsion countermeasure fires because of how much unprovoked destruction they wrought upon mankind.
  • Hide Your Children: Lampshaded by Baird, who remarks in one of the collectible intel items that it's strange despite fighting straight into the heart of the Locust civilization, there are no Locust children running around to shoot. Gears 5 seems to indicate that the Locust reproduce fairly normally, so this isn't due to them not having children.
  • Human All Along: It's hinted at in Gears of War 2, and confirmed in Gears 5, that the Locust were once humans whom the COG experimented on to find treatments for imulsion sickness, which resulted in them undergoing several mutations before they eventually escaped and took refuge in the Hollow.
  • Invading Refugees: Downplayed - while they were losing ground to the lambent in the Hollow, revelations in Gears 5 indicates Myrrah would've eventually invaded the surface anyway to get revenge on mankind.
  • Kill All Humans: This seems to be the only reason for their species' existence. No matter how much territory or resources they acquire, every breath they take is dedicated solely to destroying the human race. This mentality seemed to arise when they invaded Sera to escape from the Lambent. Not believing that humanity could be trusted to be allies with them, they felt that an Inevitable Mutual Betrayal would happen and decide to commit genocide against their potential enemies. They seem to treat their actions as a case of Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto Us.
  • Locust Speaking Tyran: Although their grasp of the language is usually somewhere in the Hulk Speak to You No Take Candle range. Their written language is also very different. This is likely because they descend from humans and still retain the ability to speak Tyran due to their hivemind bond with Myrrah even after language drift set in. After evolving into Scions, the fluency of their speech increased significantly, at least in one case.
  • Made of Iron: The scaly skin of the Locust is very tough, so tough that it often caused the bayonet of (what would later be known as) the Retro Lancer to snap in two, necessitating the invention of the modern-day Lancer with its chainsaw bayonet. Thankfully, Gameplay and Story Segregation is in effect, so if you're using a Retro Lancer yourself, you can bayonet Locust all day without any problems, although using it does involve a run-up.
  • Mutants: They're really the descendants of experiments at the New Hope facility where people were deliberately exposed to immulsion so that the COG could treat rustlung, with Myrrah being a rustlung miner's daughter who was used as the genetic template for the Locust due to her unique genetic immunity to Imulsion. The Sires, their predecessors, were essentially the first Lambent creatures.
  • Our Orcs Are Different: Cliff Bleszinski once said in an interview that the inspiration for the Locust Horde came from the Uruk-hai. He explains this by saying that the Uruk-hai tend to be smarter and tougher than regular orcs. As such, he designed the Locust to be smarter than the usual average bunch of "horde" monsters in other settings, via taking cover, not rushing into COG fire, etc.
  • The Pig-Pen: Humans often note the Locust smell horrible. Of course, given their lifestyle and background, this is fairly justified.
  • The Remnant:
    • In Gears of War 3, the destruction of the Hollow has reduced the Locust to a tiny fraction of their original numbers, with the Locust broken up into small pockets of Savage Locust cut off from the Horde and surviving independently, as well as a small fraction of their original military still under the direct control of Queen Myrrah.
    • In Gears of War 4, a small number of Locust who survived the mass extinction event at the end of Gears of War 3 begin capturing humans to mutate into a new generation of Locusts, creating the Swarm. The older, original Locust are now known as Scions and serve as Giant Mook enemies.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: The locust drones look reptilian.
  • Super-Soldier: Gears 5 indicates that this was their original purpose; a superior species that was incredibly strong, unquestioningly obedient to a sort of "psychic commander", and immune to Imulsion poisoning. This turned into a case of Gone Horribly Right after Myrrah led an uprising, slaughtered all the New Hope scientists, and eventually led the Locust into a war against humanity that ultimately succeeded in wiping out a large majority of the human population. Gears Tactics confirms this was the case, albeit without the sanction of the main COG government.
  • Took a Level in Dumbass: Kinda sorta. After Adam Fenix's weapon gradually mutated the Locust remnants into the more powerful Scions during the Time Skip to 4, they now completely eschew the use of cover and strategy and simply sit in open areas on the battlefield and slowly march around while waiting for you to pump them full of bullets. Although, if you have the balls to get close to them, they'll do a charging melee strike that will down you in one hit.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: They were created by rogue elements of the COG both as part of research into developing a cure for Imulsion poisoning, and as an effort to create a new breed of Super-Soldier. They ended up slaughtering the scientists who created them and ultimately launching a war of extermination against the whole of humanity.
  • Was Once a Man: The Locust who survived Gears 3 have taken it upon themselves to repopulate the Horde by kidnapping humans and imprisoning them in pods that eventually mutate them into members of the Swarm. Additionally, the Locust's predecessors, the Sires, were all humans who mutated due to Imulsion exposure. Ukkon was actually able to convert humans directly into Locust Drones via processing.

Locust Leaders

    Queen Myrrah 

Queen Myrrah/Subject EV-184-9

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/QueenMyrrahGoW_7668.png
Voiced by: Carolyn Seymour
"The Humans of Sera built a glorious civilization, but Humans are not destined to create. They ultimately did what they do best. Destroy. But this was nothing, compared to a new threat, from below. An enemy that will force Humanity to take their last, inevitable steps, toward extinction."

The leader of the Locust Horde, who outwardly resembles a human woman. Precisely why she looks almost human is not made clear, and neither her motivations for attacking mankind. Gears of War 3 reveals Emergence Day resulted when the Locust realized their Lambent counterparts were becoming active and attacked them, and they had to flee the Hollow before it overwhelmed them. Myrrah led the Locust to attack humanity in order to reach the surface and escape the Lambent.

Gears 5 reveals further details about her past. Turns out she was the daughter of an imulsion miner who contracted rustlung, and she was experimented upon by Niles Samson, who became fascinated by her since she wasn't negatively affected by mutations caused by imulsion (unlike his other test subjects). He submitted her to horrific experiments, but it was only after Niles lied to her regarding the fate of her daughter Reyna that she got fed up with his experiments, and led a rebellion against Niles and his team. Then she fled Niles' lab and moved into the Hollow, becoming queen of the Locust.

  • Abusive Parents: She calls the locust her children and they see her as their mother. Despite this, she isn't afraid to execute any of them for failure.
  • Adrenaline Makeover: In Gears of War 3, she's leading the Locust Horde personally. She switches her outfit and even her skin seems to be of a different color.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: Once her backstory gets out, Kait, Del, JD, and even Marcus seem to view her with some degree of sympathy, with Marcus hinting that he is appaled at what Myrrah went through as a child, despite the fact he hated her for what she put him through.
  • Arch-Enemy: She was Marcus Fenix's most personal antagonist, having killed his mother to keep her quiet, later causing the destruction he held dear, and forcing his father to sacrifice himself.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Her character skin is available for use in multiplayer for Gears of War 3 and she is the game's Final Boss.
  • Ax-Crazy: She's leading a genocide against all of humanity.
  • Bad Boss: Not only is she rude in chewing out incompetence, she outright threatens to personally kill any Locust who fails her. A scene with Sraak trying to dissuade Myrrah from RAAM's suggestions also has her threatening to feed him to the Kryll for trying to tell her what to think.
  • Big Bad: Of the original trilogy.
  • Boomerang Bigot: Clearly has a very negative view of humans, despite obviously being very human herself. Gets Downplayed as of Gears 5, where it's revealed she's also a mutant like the rest of the locusts, albeit far more human in appearance.
  • Break the Cutie: Niles experiments on her indicate that Myrrah was once an innocent and cheerful child, before the real cost of her experiments on her began to take a toll on her sanity.
  • Breaking Speech: Delivers one throughout the final battle.
    Myrrah: Do you not see your most admirable qualities in us? Oh, yes: we are genocidal monsters: Just. Like. You!
    Marcus: I can live with that!
  • Cute Monster Girl: Although given Myrrah's appearance, "monster" might be an understatement. Then again, considering how genocidal she is, "monster" might refer to a different use of the term (and one she definitely agrees with in fact, as her "Not So Different" Remark indicates). The reasons for this are fully explained in Gears 5.
  • Cheerful Child: According to Niles, Myrrah was quite helpful and cheerful as a test subject when a child, before the experiments broke her.
  • Dark Action Girl: She is the Locust Queen, and a prime example of Authority Equals Asskicking
  • Determinator: She's a monstrous piece of work, but she will never give up.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: In the original Gears of War, a Locust implied to be the Queen appears in The Stinger; she looks just like the other Locust instead of a human. In the next-gen remastered version of Gears of War, Myrrah as we know her from the other games appears in that cutscene instead.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She seems to have loved Reyna, and having her taken away by Reyna's father prompted her Misanthrope Supreme tendencies.
  • Evil Brit: She has a very British voice, courtesy of Carolyn Seymour.
  • Evil Laugh: One of her reactions to getting a kill in multiplayer in Gears 3 is to let out a terrifying laugh.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Myrrah has a deep echoing voice, as is very fitting a female villain voiced by Carolyn Seymour.
  • Faux Affably Evil: She is remarkably calm and seemingly polite to Delta Squad and especially to Marcus Fenix when they meet her in the throne room, but this is clearly an act and she talks about planning to sink Jacinto and doom humanity to extinction.
  • Final Boss: In the third game.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: She started as an innocent child who was submitted to horrendous experiments, and later on became the harbinger of the apocalipse in Sera, causing a war that killed a huge number of both humans and locusts.
  • Freudian Excuse: She was forcibly taken away from her parents and used as a guinea pig for horrific experiments in an attempt to cure a disease that quickly turned into an attempt to make a super soldier. Then her one chance at possibly having a normal life with her family goes down in flames because her husband grew a conscience and ran off with her daughter without telling her and is led to believe that her child died. Can you blame Myrrah for becoming such a cynic? That being said....
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: However horrible her past was, the sheer amount of bloodshed she caused to many, many humans who did absolutely nothing to offend her ultimately destroys any sympathy for her actions. Even her granddaughter, Kait, wants nothing to do with her.
  • God Save Us from the Queen!: While she puts up the facade of a motherly authority figure for her Locusts, she's not afraid to sentence them to death for their failures. She also sacrifices hordes of them, just for the sake of victory.
  • Grand Theft Me: She attempts to do this to Kait in Gears 5, making her kill her own uncle. This ends when Kait severs her link to Myyrah's consciousness.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: For The Series after 3. Her hatred for unaltered humans passes down to her daughter and the Swarm at large as they connect to the Hive Mind, continuing the war decades later. Later on, Myrrah consistently returns as a hallucination in much of the first half of the game, culminating in an appearance where she encourages Kait to willingly become the new Queen.
  • He Knows Too Much: Myrrah killed Marcus's mother because she discovered the Locust.
  • Hive Queen: Explained in Gears 5. She wasn’t bred with Hollow creatures, but her stem cells were used in the creation of the Locust, enabling her and her descendants to control the Locust through a Psychic Link enhanced through the Matriarch, and being instinctually seen as the alpha in their hives as a result.
  • Hypocrite: Oh yeah. She postures that the humans of Sera are a bloodthirsty, warmongering race. Even though she is a genocidal maniac who launched a surprise offensive against humanity, exterminating a fourth of their total population over the course of a single day and waging a fifteen year campaign with the stated intent of wiping out the rest.
  • Ignored Epiphany:
    • In Gears of War: Aspho Fields, a closing narration has Myyrah deeply reflect on how the Locust could have simply cooperated with humans against the Lambent. Unfortunately, she justifies her genocidal actions claiming humans only know how to dominate and destroy. In hindsight, this claim is true but doesn't excuse her genocidal actions.
    • In the final battle of her life, she rants to Marcus that the Locust and their genocidal actions are ultimately no different from the humans she looked down upon as monsters. Once Myyrah returns as the Queen of the Swarm, however, she immediately resumes her original plan to Kill All Humans
  • The Immune: Gears 5 reveals that the Locust were created from her DNA because she possessed a rare immunity to Imulsion poisoning, hinted to be a mutation due to her miner parents being exposed to Imulsion.
  • In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves: In several of her speeches, she claims this is why peace with humans isn't possible. Given what they did to her as a child, you can't really blame her.
  • Jerkass: Even her "beloved" Locusts aren't spared from this.
  • Kick the Dog: After the shock of watching his father die, Myrrah attempts to taunt Marcus by claiming that Adam Fenix was only capable of creating things that destroyed, and that "his arrogance finally killed him!" Marcus, tired of this monster's high-and-mighty ranting, just stabs her in the gut…with Dom's combat knife.
  • Large Ham: Very much so as the multiplayer announcer when the Locust win. In 3, killing an opponent often has her breaking out in maniacal laughter.
  • Light 'em Up: When you fight her in Gears of War 3, the beast she's riding has the ability to fire an extremely intense beam of light from its mouth that sets everything in the beam's radius on fire. If it hits you, it'll immediately down you, and it will kill you outright on Insane difficulty.
  • Light Is Not Good: She wears a white dress when you meet her in Gears of War 2 and she is very evil.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Is revealed to be Kait Diaz's maternal grandmother in 4.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: When encountered in her palace in Gears 2, she wears a quite extravagant dress (at least by Locust standards) featuring what looks like a giant squid stuck to her back.
  • Mama Bear: Reyna's father growing a conscience and escaping from the facility with her caused Myrrah to go berserk and lead the Locust in an uprising, slaughtering the scientists. Niles tried to mitigate this by telling her that Reyna had perished in said uprising but all that seemed to accomplish was getting her to give up on looking for Reyna. She still killed everyone anyway and took the Locust underground.
  • Meaningful Name: Myrrah is pronounced and spelled similar to the Swedish word 'myra' which translates to ant.
    • Her original intended name 'Geist Allmother' is one in retrospect to 5. 'Geist' in German semantics translates in English as either ghost or spirit; Myrrah's conscious now possessing her daughter Reyna's body as the new Swarm Queen. 'Allmother' may be a reference to how Myrrah's stem cells were instrumental in the development of the hybrid creatures the Sires, making her not just the queen but the genetic progenitor of the entire Locust race. It also contrasts the title of the Allfathers, the founders and heads of state of the COG, the primary human faction the Locust fight against.
  • Mission Control, Voice with an Internet Connection: Commands General RAAM and his elite troops in the Locust playable segments of "RAAM's Shadow".
  • Monster Lord: As queen of the Locust.
  • Monster Progenitor: For the Locust - while she didn't physically birth them, her DNA was combined with that of various hollow creatures to create the first true locust from the Sires.
  • Not So Stoic: While a lot less composed, she primarily keeps her calm in Gears 3. This goes completely out of the window in both of her boss fights, as she practically starts screaming every word during the boss fight.
  • Older Than They Look: Niles indicates her unique genetic makeup gave her a resistance to aging and disease as well as Imulsion, as a result she doesn't look much older than middle aged despite the New Hope experiments having taken place unspecified generations ago; long enough for the escaped New Hope test subjects to breed a massive army.
  • Soft-Spoken Sadist: Prior to the two boss fights in Gears 3, all of her dialogue is in a calm state, and she is very evil.
  • Stronger Than They Look: Maybe. Myrrah once choked RAAM until the enormous general fell to his knees. But considering RAAM was entirely loyal to her, it was also likely he wouldn't think of raising an arm against his queen.
  • Tragic Villain: Her backstory in Gears 5 retroactively turns her into this. She was once the daughter of a miner who was subjected to horrifying experimentation after it was discovered that she was immune to imulsion, basically robbing her of her childhood. She then seemingly found a small glimmer of chance at a normal life by conceiving a daughter only for said daughter to be taken away from her by the daughter's father. Having been robbed of any chance at happiness by the humans around her, she descended into full-blown misanthropy, becoming the Locust queen to eradicate the human race.
  • Universally Beloved Leader: Despite her horrific Bad Boss Jerkass tendencies, the Locust look at her as their mother and every single one of them is willing to die for her.
  • Villainous Breakdown: In the third game, while still noticeably a bit more on edge due to having lost a majority of her forces, she still is primarily calm and soft spoken. Then, when Marcus is on the verge of letting Adam out and especially as Adam's weapon charges, Myrrah completely loses it and starts screaming at Delta to stop this, becoming completely hysterical.
  • Villainous Legacy: At the end of Gears of War 4, the dying Reyna gives her daughter Kait a present which had been passed down to her by her own mother, whom Kait has never met nor heard much about. It's a pendant, showing the Locust Emblem on one side...
  • You Have Failed Me: In Versus multiplayer, one of the losing quotes for the Locust team is Myrrah expressing these exact words, with an added, bitter emphasis of "utterly".
  • You Killed My Father: Myrrah killed Marcus's mother and later forced his father to sacrifice himself to end the war she started.

    Karn 

General/Zamil Karn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_0480.jpeg

The "conductor" of E-Day, Karn is considered the most dangerous Locust the COG has ever faced by Damon Baird. He serves as the Big Bad of Judgment, during his assault on Halvo Bay.

  • All the Other Reindeer: He was born malformed, and considered an outcast. Luckily for him, so was the injured Shibboleth, so he used his power gained through that to gain influence.
  • Androcles' Lion: The Shibboleth he rides is one he personally nursed to health and gave an artificial leg to help it. Needless to say, this is not a good thing for the COG.
  • Appropriated Appellation: He's given the name "Karn" in the UIR by the men there.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: He's in charge of the Locust at Halvo Bay, and he puts up quite a fight in the Final Battle.
  • Big Bad: Of Gears of War: Judgement. He's leading the Locust forces in the attack on Halvo Bay, which sets off the plot of the game.
  • Boom, Headshot!: How he's finished off, courtesy of Loomis.
  • The Dreaded: To the Gorasni, who gave him his name. Loomis calls him their "Bogeyman". He's so dangerous that Baird tries to take him out with a Lightmass Bomb. And it doesn't work.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's quite fond of Shibboleth, his beast mount. He personally nursed it back to health after finding it injured in the Hollows because he saw a kinship over them being outcasts among their own kind.
  • Final Boss: Of Judgement.
  • Four-Star Badass: He's in charge of the Locust destroying Halvo Bay and was "the Conductor of E-Day".
  • Lean and Mean: He's positively skeletal compared to the regular "eats nails for breakfast" Locust build.
  • Made of Iron: He survives a Lightmass Bombing that destroys an entire area. So does his Shibboleth.
  • Mook Lieutenant: Like RAAM, he was a Vold before E-Day. He was promoted to Zamil (General) by the newly appointed Uzil RAAM just in time for his invasion of Gorasnaya...
  • The Smart Guy: While RAAM and Skorge were certainly not lacking in brainpower, of all the known Locust generals, Karn was the one that relied exclusively on intelligence and strategic planning to conquer battles.
  • The Strategist: Where most of his fear-induction comes from.

    RAAM 

High General/Uzil RAAM

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/raam_3.jpg
Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker
"Ssssserve the Queen!"

A Locust Drone who worked his way up the ranks in the Locust Horde, RAAM led the Locust army during the Lightmass Offensive and served as the Final Boss of the first game. RAAM returns prominently in the second Gears of War 3 Downloadable Content called RAAM's Shadow, a prequel taking place long before the first game, where he and a few Locust elite infantry place strategic Seeders to ink the sky black over Ilima City for an impending Kryllstorm.

  • Art Evolution: In the Ultimate Edition, RAAM is given a new and improved character model that better distinguishes him as a leader among the Locust. He also gains more facial scars.
  • Bad Boss: He executed one of Karn's grunts for repeatedly slacking off at his post.
  • Barehanded Blade Block: In the remastered version of his debut cutscene in Ultimate Edition, he catches a chainsaw bayonet with one hand and is unfazed as it grinds to a halt.
  • Bash Brothers: With Skorge in The Rise of RAAM. Both fought alongside one another against the Lambent long before Emergence Day, and developed a brotherly bond.
  • Best Served Cold: RAAM's Shadow shows that Lt. Kim was responsible for defeating RAAM during the Ilima campaign, which turns RAAM's killing of Kim years later in the first Gears of War into this.
  • BFG: Carried what is essentially a Troika into battle, modified to be held and fired like a machine gun.
  • Big Bad: Of the RAAM's Shadow DLC for Gears of War 3, while being a playable Villain Protagonist for a few missions. He's heading the attack on Ilima and is the one facing Zeta Squad.
  • Breakout Villain: Originally designed to be the final boss of the first Gears of War and nothing more, he's since become the most prominent villain in the franchise other than perhaps Queen Myrrah herself, having featured as the playable character in the Locust campaign portion of RAAM's Shadow, as well as representing the Gears of War franchise as a guest fighter in Killer Instinct.
  • Combat Pragmatist: This was how he disposed of his predecessor Sraak, who was notable for probably being the only Locust that could curbstomp RAAM in a fair fight; while distracting him, RAAM has two Therons shoot Sraak In the Back with Torque Bows. Then, he proceeds to tear out his heart.
  • Damage-Sponge Boss: On the default Hardcore difficulty RAAM has 10 times the health as a normal Locust soldier (who are themselves Incredibly Durable Enemies who can soak close to a full mag of assault rifle fire before dying), plus he has a bulletproof Kryll shield that adds further to his durability. Notably, while Myrrah and Karn rely on a giant monster mount for their endboss-level durability, RAAM is that tough on his own while on foot.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Not kidding. Back when he was a Vold (Locust-equivalent ranking of lieutenant) in The Rise of RAAM, RAAM had a surprisingly healthy amount of dry humor as he and Skorge battled the Lambent.
    RAAM: (while setting up an explosive canister to blow up their fortification) Ah. Glorious, self-inflicted doom.
  • Decapitation Strike: He originally espoused the tactic of "cutting off the head of the snake, and the body dies". May have also been a reason (besides settling a grudge) why he specifically targeted Kim when he first encountered Delta Squad.
  • The Dragon: As the Locust Horde's General, he served this role to Queen Myrrah in the first game.
  • The Dreaded: The moment his presence was confirme in Ilima, the COG started panicking and sent the Onyx Guard to try and take him out. It didn't work.
  • Elemental Baggage: There's no explanation in Gears of War or "RAAM's Shadow" on why he seems to be able to summon Kryll out of thin air to protect him. Either that or he was keeping them all under his coat.
  • Evil Counterpart: As shown in The Rise of RAAM, he is essentially the Locust equivalent to Marcus Fenix, sarcastic as hell and a good soldier, but also having no respect for authority that is incompetent. The main difference, aside from their sides, is that RAAM is both more cunning and actually has deliberate subservience to his queen, unlike Marcus to pretty much anyone in authority.
  • The Heavy: Although his appearances in the first game are scant, RAAM is directing the Locust forces at Myrrah's behest and is the primary face of the Horde that Delta Squad contends with.
  • Hero Killer: RAAM's very introduction was him brutally dispatching Kim, while the Locust under his command take out a ton of Red Shirts at the same time. In his first chronological appearance ("RAAM's Shadow"), he wiped out a squad of Onyx Guards (the most elite of COG troopers), and later, Alicia Valera. In-universe, if he enters the battlefield, retreat is a must.
  • Four-Star Badass: He wasn't a Locust general for nothing. In fact, he holds the rank of Uzil (High General), which, for the Locust, is practically the General of the Army or Field Marshal.
  • Final Boss: For the first game, as well as the RAAM's Shadow campaign DLC for Gears of War 3.
  • Finger Poke of Doom: In RAAM's Shadow, players controlling RAAM can direct his Kryll shield with a point of a finger and turn enemy Gears into a fine, bloody paste.
  • Good Old Ways: RAAM does not really approve of Ukkon's technological war machine for the Locust, calling it "mad" and preferring traditional, savage warfare.
  • Guest Fighter: Announced in E3 2016, RAAM is now a playable character in Killer Instinct as a downloadable guest character, following in the steps of Rash and Arbiter.
  • Implacable Man: Nothing can slow this guy down, from Silverbacks to chainsaw bayonets to much more. He was only taken out once the Kryll were dispatched, and copious amounts of gunfire were pumped into him.
  • It's Personal: With Minh Young Kim, for the injuries he sustained at his hands during the battle of Ilima. Ultimate Edition takes this grudge into account by changing Kim's death scene to be more brutal than the original.
  • The Last Dance: When Skorge tells RAAM he has foreseen his death and that his time is coming, RAAM declares he will go out blazing and killing humans until the gods of the crapsack world recognize him.
  • Large and in Charge: While a Drone, RAAM's the size of a Boomer (at least 9 feet tall, he towers over the already big main characters). Averted in multiplayer, where his skin is downsized to the height of a normal Drone for obvious reasons.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: He had an uncanny control over the Kryll, which he often employed as a bulletproof shield.
  • Made of Iron: In RAAM's Shadow, in the cutscene just prior to the final battle he shrugs off sustained assault rifle fire as well as a dead-on hit from a chainsaw bayonet, even before he puts up his Kryll shield.
  • Mighty Glacier: RAAM isn't particularly fast in his boss fight, but his Troika turret will easily shred you in seconds.
  • Mook Lieutenant: Before he was Uzil RAAM, he was Vold RAAM in the prequel comic The Rise of RAAM. The latter is the equivalent of General, while the former translates to "High General" and is the equivalent of something like General of the Army.
  • More Dakka: Wields a portable (well, in comparison) Troika turret in battle in Gears of War.
  • Pest Controller: Has an unexplained power to control Kryll, a.k.a. swarms of Goddamned Bats that can tear apart any living thing instantly.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: As a Vold, RAAM was in charge of the Bloodied Vanguard, which by all appearances seems to be the Locust equivalent of Bad Company, where all the Locust nobody else wants to put up with get assigned.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: He was the head of the Locust's military in the first game, as well as their toughest fighter after Sraak.
  • Serrated Blade of Pain: He wields a unique serrated Locust blade. In RAAM's Shadow he used this, as well as his Kryll as his primary weapon, instead of relying on a firearm like he does in the original game's final boss fight.
  • Sssssnake Talk: Just like the rest of the Locust.
  • The Stoic: RAAM carried out his duties with silent, ruthless, and deathly efficiency. The Rise of RAAM, however, showed that (at least around his other Locust brethren) even RAAM can have a sense of humor.
  • Super-Strength: In the Ultimate Edition remaster, he effortlessly crushed a captured COG soldier's helmet with one hand and then 180'd said Gear's head as easily as popping a soda cap.
  • Universally Beloved Leader: Widely recognized as the greatest hero of the Locust Horde, with only Sraak despising him. RAAM was so revered, in fact, that Myrrah herself suggests it would incite civil war against her of all people if RAAM were killed for his treasonous behavior. In fact, it was RAAM's ability to command the respect of his subordinates that eventually allowed him to kill Sraak.
  • Villain Protagonist: The main protagonist of the Locust levels in RAAM's Shadow and the Rise of RAAM miniseries.
  • Villainous Friendship: The Rise of RAAM shows that he and Skorge had fought alongside one another against the Lambent in the years preceding the Human-Locust War. Their relationship actually resembles that of Marcus and Dom. Their friendship surpasses hierarchy as well, as upon his promotion to Uzil, RAAM is quick to remind Skorge that he doesn't need to refer to him as such, but as brother.
  • Your Days Are Numbered: Skorge warns RAAM that going through with his plans to wage war against humanity will certainly result in his death he foresaw. RAAM, however, does not care.

    Skorge 

Ketor/High Priest Skorge

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skorge.png
Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes

High priest of the Kantus Sect, Skorge took over leading the Locust armies after General RAAM was killed, since only he could communicate with the Riftworm, awakened as a result of the Lightmass bombings by the COG.

  • All the Other Reindeer: His ability to foresee the future made him an apostate among his fellow Kantus, who banished him from the temple.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: The highest ranking Kantus is, of course, the toughest human-sized enemy.
  • Badass Preacher: The Ketor (High Priest), at that. Like his predcessor RAAM, Skorge personally leads his forces into battle and has command of a war beast that he uses to effectively turn the tide against the humans.
  • Bash Brothers: With RAAM. The Rise of RAAM reveals that Skorge and RAAM fought alongside one another against the Lambent. Their camaraderie is strong, to the point both consider each other brothers.
  • The Bus Came Back: On a meta level. Since he died in Gears 2, he obviously couldn’t make it to 3. However, even with all the Locust skins that made it into the third game’s multiplayer, Skorge was surprisingly one of the few Locusts to not make it in. He made his triumphant return in Gears 4 as the star of his own Gear Pack.
  • Chainsaw Good: Fights with a double-bladed chainsaw staff.
  • Collapsing Ceiling Boss: He'll periodically try to drop pieces of the ceiling down on your head.
  • Combat Parkour: He fights with a lot of jumps, flips, and spins, in contrast to the Mighty Glacier fighting style of most other Locust.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Yeah, seriously. In the first issue of The Rise of RAAM alone, he let loose quite a few zingers that would make Damon Baird proud. To name a few:
    (to RAAM) Delight less in our inevitable destruction.
    (about the Lambent) That's the problem with these fuckers. They're never really dead, are they?
    (to Jermad, after dragging out RAAM from their failed "negotiation" with Sraak) Uzil Sraak is the better negotiator.
    There was a time I had attained near divine privilege. Promising acolyte of the Kantus. Exclusive quarters. Breeding rights, even. Only fucking I see now is by Drudge tentacles.
  • Double Weapon: A double-bladed chainsaw staff.
  • The Dragon: Takes over the position from RAAM following his death at the hands of Delta-One.
  • Dreadlock Warrior: They're actually decorations on his helmet, since Locust don't have any hair, but they do evoke this effect.
  • Expy: Of the eponymous Predator, thanks to Skorge's "dreadlocks", facial structure and use of a polearm.
  • The Heavy: To Myrrah in Gears of War 2.
  • High Priest: The "Ketor" of the Locust faith.
  • High-Speed Battle: The second fight against him, where he chases down Delta Squad on Reavers with a gigantic Hydra.
  • Junkie Prophet: He was able to have prophetic visions of the future by huffing Imulsion fumes. However, the other Kantus thought his claims of being able to do this were both a load of shit and blasphemous against the faith, so they kicked him out of the church and shunted him over to the Bloodied Vanguard.
  • The Lancer: He seemed to have been RAAM's second lieutenant during the Lambent conflict. In contrast to RAAM, Skorge comparatively liked to run his mouth.
  • Only Sane Man: Displays shades of this among RAAM's blight (Locust vernacular for a military contingent). He cautions RAAM about his forward defiance to Sraak and the council and openly maverick behavior, and overall expresses skepticism for RAAM's greater ambitions. On a more humorous note, Skorge is the only Locust so far to see the inanity of a certain quirk among their heavy infantry...
    Boomers: BOOM!
    Skorge: (Face Palm) Stop calling out your attacks!
  • Puzzle Boss: Unlike RAAM, Myrrah, or Karn, in the boss fight against him he doesn't have a health bar, and fighting him instead involves more Puzzle Boss elements.
  • Screaming Warrior: Like the other Kantus, he screams periodically throughout the fight with him.
  • Warrior Monk: The leader of the Locust's Kantus priest class.
  • Villainous Friendship: He and RAAM actually had a strong sense of comradery back when they were battling the Lambent in the Hollow.

    Sraak 

Uzil/Vold Sraak

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sraak.png
"This could lead us down a path of crisis. We're already stretched thin."

Sraak was the high general of the Locust Horde's armies during the Lambent War, preceding RAAM. He was later humiliatingly demoted to lieutenant shortly before the Locust-Human War after his incompetence was exposed by RAAM to the ruling Locust council. During Emergence Day, Sraak made an attempt on RAAM's life in revenge, but was killed through the coordinated efforts of Theron Guards loyal to RAAM.

  • Arch-Enemy: He and RAAM are on hostile terms, with Sraak showing nothing but contempt for the latter and RAAM openly opposing his authority.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Deconstructed. For all his strength, Sraak's leadership skills nearly lead to the Horde's end against the Lambent. He's easily the Horde's strongest warrior and can overpower RAAM in a fistfight, but is nowhere near the strategist RAAM is. Once his failures are exposed, Myrrah promptly demotes him to Vold and makes RAAM the new Uzil.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: In his Establishing Character Moment, Sraak completely manhandles RAAM into submission. On the onset of E-Day, he takes on both RAAM and Skorge together and still manages to defeat them both. Only after being shot In the Back by Therons loyal to RAAM is Sraak brought down.
  • Dirty Coward: Accused by RAAM of hiding in the safety of the Inner Hollows from the Lambent while abandoning the Drones to fight a futile war against them. That being said, he's the farthest thing from a poor fighter.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Sraak's first appearance in the comics has him reprimanding RAAM for leaving the front lines and demanding to speak to Myrrah to declare their war against the Lambent a lost cause. When RAAM asserts his demands for an audience with the queen, Sraak challenges and soundly defeats RAAM and orders that he and Skorge return to the warfront and to die with honor. This shows Sraak as an immensely powerful and loyal Locust warrior, but also a conservative leader who would rather endure do-or-die resistance against the Lambent.
  • General Failure: Undoubtedly outclasses RAAM as the strongest Locust warrior, but RAAM evidently proved himself to be Sraak's better as a commander, and is eventually demoted from his position due to this. He does not take it well and attempts to personally kill RAAM in retaliation.
  • Honor Before Reason: Part of what made him less of an effective leader than RAAM. A fervent believer that the sanctity of the Hollows was a given providence for the Locust, Sraak stubbornly refused to even entertain the notion of abandoning it to the Lambent for the surface. This inflexibility ultimately gave way to his demotion.
  • Large and in Charge: Oh yes. By far the largest known sapient Locust, Sraak utterly towers over the already gigantic RAAM at 12 ft, which also makes him bigger than the average Berserker.
  • Morton's Fork: As much as Sraak would love to kill RAAM, and could have easily done so, he knew RAAM was very well-respected within the Locust military and knew killing him would have caused great outcry and civil unrest. Eventually, RAAM was successful in winning Myrrah's favor and effectively usurps military leadership from him. Either way you slice it, Sraak was pretty much ensured to be screwed over by RAAM somehow.
  • Powered Armor: He's fully encased in armor save his head. RAAM insults Sraak for hiding behind it on multiple occasions, but how much it actually contributes to Sraak's strength (enough for him to overpower both RAAM and Skorge simultaneously) is up to debate.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: While there is no doubt Sraak hates humans, it should be noted that waging a mad war against them was surprisingly the last thing on his mind with his concern for the Locust's survival being top priority. Skorge even notes he would kill RAAM and him for even suggesting the idea and, true to form, beats the former within an inch of his life when he comes up with the suggestion.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: When RAAM challenges him for a chance to speak to the Queen about the losing war against the Lambent, he doesn't get so much a single unsold jab in before Sraak headbutts him, chokeslams him onto the table, and proceed to pummel RAAM's face until the latter was barely conscious.
    Sraak: Insolent worm. [...] You are an embarassing example of what the Bloodied Vanguard has to offer.
  • Old Soldier: He is one of the first gen Locusts and helped lead Myrrah's revolt at the Mount Kadar Laboratory before establishing their civilization in the Hollows.

    Ukkon 

Ukkon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ukkonfull.jpg

Ukkon was the head scientist of the Locust Horde during the Lambent War. Originally a human, he was infected with Rustlung as a child and transported to the New Hope Research Facility to be studied and treated. Genetic experimentation at New Hope led to his mutation, transforming him into a Sire. However, unlike most Sires, he retained his mental capacity and became a genius. Exposure to Imulsion then granted him the ability of accelerated healing, becoming physically immortal. His genetic knowledge, ingenuity, and history with Myrrah earns him a particularly special place in the Locust even among its other leaders.

  • Aliens Speaking English: Ukkon can speak perfect Tyran tongue as opposed to the Hulk Speak and You No Take Candle utterance of the rest of his species due to extensive genetic experimentations on him in the past.
  • Ascended Extra: In his debut in The Rise of RAAM, we get an idea of his occupation but that's about it. Gears Tactics completely expands upon his background and illustrates him as the most important member of the Locust just under Myrrah.
  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: Downplayed. While he is naturally strong and determined for a Locust, he is, by all accounts, often being escorted by his troops than leading battles.
  • Big Bad: Of Gears Tactics.
  • Defiant to the End: Even after having his Healing Factor nullified and now cornered by Gabriel and his squad, Ukkon mocks them for thinking they've won a strategic victory and that his "perfect creations" will outlive them all before Reyna caps him.
  • Evil Genius: His profession amongst the Locust Horde.
  • Final Boss: He is the last foe fought in Gears Tactics, mounted on a Hydra.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: He was the one who designed and built the mechanical leg for Karn's Shibboleth.
  • Healing Factor: As part of his immortality, Ukkon has accelerated healing, able to regenerate an entire jaw or arm within seconds.
  • Hollywood Atheist: Ukkon thought little of Ketor Vrol's insistence on religious adherence and felt such "antiquated beliefs" were counterproductive to the progession of their race. Ironically, he dresses very similarly to a Kantus, even more so than Vrol. Given that he is a Sire, it's likely his disdain for Vrol's beliefs is because he knows they are false.
  • Large and in Charge: He towers over the Locust guards often accompanying him.
  • Lean and Mean: Not to the extent of Karn, but he is rather lean for a Locust.
  • Immortality: He is biologically immortal and regenerates wounds instantly from Niles' experiments on him, meaning there is conventionally no way to kill him. Niles developed a contingency in the form of Cytostatic Gas that halts his regeneration, however.
  • Mad Scientist: Ukkon is behind all the Locust technology from its weapons to modified creatures. RAAM even calls his technology "mad."
  • Mook Maker: If you've ever wondered how the Locust are so populous despite their mating problems, Ukkon can create Drones straight out of fresh humans.
  • Patient Zero: Ukkon is the first known person to be infected with Rustlung.
  • Super-Intelligence: As opposed to his fellow Sires, Ukkon is extremely intelligent after the experiments performed on him.
  • Super Prototype: He is a Sire, but he not only retains his sentience, but he also gained super intelligence out of his mutation.
  • Was Once a Man: Like many other Sires, he used to be a human being before being turned into what he is by the New Hope experiments.

    Vrol 

Ketor Vrol

Vrol was the High Priest of the Kantus during the Lambent War and Skorge's predecessor.

  • Agent Mulder: He was the only Kantus willing to entertain the idea of Skorge's visions being genuine, though given how they treated Skorge for claiming he had them, he wisely kept this to himself for the most part.
  • Aliens Speaking English: Like Ukkon, Vrol can speak coherent Tyran.
  • Butt-Monkey: Really doesn't get any respect from the other Locust Council members. Ukkon is probably the worst, periodically insulting Vrol for his religious ethos. Sraak berates him for being an Unwitting Pawn in RAAM's scheme and Myrrah herself is overall indifferent to her religious advisor.
    Sraak: The only worm [Vrol] communes with is the shriveled one between his thighs.
    Ukkon: HAHAHAHA!
  • High Priest: He was the Ketor before Skorge.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: He is the only Locust leader whose fate is currently unaccounted for. Although given Skorge amiably took his role, he is undoubtedly dead.

Locust Classes

    Drones 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DronesGoW_7528.png

The frontline soldiers of the Locust Horde, the Drones are divided into several ranks depending on their skills: Beast Rider, Grenadier, Sniper, etc.

  • Butt-Monkey: Of all the Locust, the Drones suffer the most indignities in cutscenes throughout the franchise.
  • The Beastmaster: Beast Riders are tasked with the training, domestication, and use of the Locust's many Beasts Of Battle.
  • Chainsaw Good: Locust Cyclopes are elite Drones proficient in use of the Lancer.
  • Glass Cannon: The Bolters, who run quickly around the battlefield attempting to flank Gears and kill them with a Boltok pistol.
  • Mooks: The most common enemies you fight in the game.
    • Elite Mooks: Cyclopes are veteran Drones that have proven their skills and often loot human weapons from their kills to use against the COG. Baird wonders how they can aim better than regular Drones despite only having a single small eyehole in their helmets to see out of.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: Grenadiers wear absolutely nothing above the waist. Grenadier Elites wear a bit more.
  • We Have Reserves: Their main strategy is pretty much Attack! Attack! Attack! until all humans are dead, no matter how many casualties they might take.

    Theron Guards 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_098.png

The elite Locust troops, they operated under the command of General RAAM until his death during the Lightmass Offensive, which severely depleted their number. The flooding of the Hollow also dealt them heavy casualties, making them very rare amongst the remnant of the Locust Horde that escaped to the surface.

  • BFS: Savage Therons from the third game use Butcher's Cleavers as they no longer have access to Torque Bows. Judgment, being a prequel, has no Savage Locust (except in "Aftermath"), but still features regular Theron using Cleavers in addition to ones using Torque Bows.
  • Creepy High-Pitched Voice: Therons have a whispering, shrill high-pitched voice when they speak.
  • Difficult, but Awesome: The Theron Guard's trademark Torque Bow is described as a notoriously difficult to use weapon both in-universe and out.
  • Elite Mooks: They are explicitly this. Theron Guards have more health than regular Drones, employ better tactics, are equipped with better weapons, and lead said Drones on the battlefields.
  • Sssssnake Talk

    Boomers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BoomerGoW_5939.png

Giant dimwitted Locust who serve as heavy weapons soldiers for the Locust Horde. Boomers use boomshots, Grinders use mulchers, Maulers use explosive flail and boomshield, Butchers use large butcher's knives, Tremors can summon Seeders to the surface, Flamers use scorchers, and Savage Boomers use the digger launcher.

  • The Brute: They have an even smaller vocabulary than most Locust and use powerful weapons when fighting.
  • BFG/BFS: Their weapons.
  • Calling Your Attacks: All variants yell out an attack-related phrase (i.e. "Boom!" for Boomshot-wielding Boomers and "Grind!" for Mulcher-wielding Grinders) before opening fire. This is a good tell that lets you know when to Take Cover!.
  • Degraded Boss: Grinders are basicly RAAM without Kryll.
  • Dumb Muscle: Implied by Hulk Speak. Outright lampshaded by Baird in the "Top 5 Most Deadly Locust" video.
    Baird: Boomers are dumbasses, even by Locust standards. But, they do carry some nice toys.
  • Epic Flail: The Maulers.
  • Evil Chef: The Butchers.
  • Gatling Good: The Grinders.
  • Giant Mook: All of them tower over other locust.
  • Hulk Speak: They just say one word - boom/grind/feed/dig/charge.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Type A. They speak in very short phrases, often just repeating words like "boom" and "grind" over and over while gleefully cutting through Gears that get in their way.

    Berserkers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BerserkerGoW_5632.png

The female Drones. Berserkers are blind and ultra-violent, and are often unleashed into human occupied areas in order to cause as much carnage and casualties as possible.

  • Ax-Crazy: So crazy that they have to be restrained by being tied down and raped by male Locust during reproduction or else they'll get killed gruesomely. Or, at least that's the official COG story.
  • The Berserker: Exactly What It Says on the Tin
  • Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism: Scroll up a bit to see what a male Locust Drone looks like. This is somehow the female version of that.
  • The Brute: They're treated more like attack animals than personnel, and their strategy for taking out a threat is "beat it to death".
  • Bullfight Boss: Story relevant fights involve dodging them and luring them into areas where they can be made vulnerable (either by roasting them with the Hammer of Dawn or tricking them into colliding with burning vehicles).
  • Dark Action Girl: Heavy emphasis on "action" but fits the "dark" part with emphasis due to her species' morality.
  • Destructo-Nookie: They only way for Locust to reproduce is to tie down the Berserkers and rape them, otherwise any Drone that got close to them would get torn apart before mating.
  • Handicapped Badass: They're blind.
  • Hero Killer: Sending in a Berserker has a tendency to freak out Serans... And if they aren't chained up, Locust too.
  • Immune to Bullets: Berserkers have hardened, bulletproof skin, and usually require a satellite laser cannon to kill, although when its skin is hot and toasty (by using a flamethrower or explosions) it's just as squishy as the rest of the Locust.
  • The Juggernaut: They will not stop fighting until you are dead, and anything in their way will get flattened.
  • Kill It with Fire: The Berserker is only vulnerable to damage when her skin is hot and toasty, and the prefered method is using the Hammer of Dawn to do so. Otherwise the only other method of getting her to take damage is to use the Scorcher flamethrower or Incendiary Grenades, which is a much slower and dangerous tactic.
  • Kill It with Ice: The Matriach (the first berserker) is unique in that she already has an exposed weak point (a boil on her back), but is normally too swift to be hit there. Should she fall into the pools beneath her in the Mount Kadar Research Faciliy (or have the ice shot out from beneath her), though, she'll temporarily be immobilized.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Easily the strongest in terms of physical strength and can run faster than a roadie-running player.
  • More Deadly Than the Male: Berserkers are female Locust and are far more violent and destructive than the male drones, to the point that they have to chain her or else she would destroy everything in sight.
  • Smash Mook: Unlike most Locust, Berserkers have no ranged weapons to speak of, instead trying to pound you to death with their fists. It's more than enough. Averted by the Matriarch, who can throw explosive spines to attack from range.
  • Super Prototype: :The very first berserker, known as The Matriarch, is introduced in Gears 5, and not only has superior durability, but also possesses additional attacks, such as stunning roars and the ability to throw rapidly regenerating explosive quills.
  • Superior Successor: Zigzagged - the original berserker, The Matriarch, had numerous advantages over her successors, being more durable, possessing ranged attacks, and being able to stun foes with a Mighty Roar. However, the Matriarch also had an exposed weakpoint on her back that was always vulnerable to damage, while berserkers are straight out invincible unless their skin is set on fire.

    Kantus Monks 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_166.png

The religious order of the Locust, the Kantus monks operated under High Priest Skorge. They often lead Locust hunting parties, using their abilities to coax out rockworms to be captured and taken for food. Following Skorge's ascension to commander of the Locust armies, they began taking the place of Theron Guards as battlefield commanders.

    Ragers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_0510.jpeg

Introduced in Judgment, they are skinny, unarmored Drones who fight with a Breechshot. Although they seem like a fragile target at first, after sustaining some damage, they enrage, toss their gun away, and morph into a more powerful form akin to a Berserker.

    Sires 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sire.jpg

The ancestors to the Locust. Sires are basically Lambent Humans dating back to the Pendulum Wars that were studied by humanity within COG's classified New Hope Research Facility to look into why humans were mutating from exposure to Imulsion. Several information leaks and Sire attacks on employees led to COG growing fearful of Imulsion companies abandoning the usage of the power substance, which resulted in the facility's shutdown. The Sire "children" that were already awoken from their test tubes were then sent off to Mount Kadar where they evolved into the Locust seen in the current day. Sires only appear in Gears of War 2 and Gears 5.

  • Evolutionary Levels: Sires are basically the Locust before they evolved. Hence, they're considered to be the Locust's ancestors.
  • Flawed Prototype: They were an early attempt at creating the Locust, but were deemed failures because of their lack of intelligence and inability to reproduce.
  • Off with His Head!: In Gears 5, if you allow their grab attack to reach completion, they will kill their victim by ripping their head clean off.
  • One-Hit Kill: In Gears 5 they function similarly to Pouncers in that they can grab you and pummel you to death, and there's nothing you can do about it except button mash to delay the inevitable and hope someone else can save you in time.
  • One-Shot Character: In Act III, they only appear in the second chapter still within their test tubes, and in the third chapter after breaking out. Marcus and Dom investigate the New Hope Research Facility in search of information that could help them locate the Locust stronghold. A Subverted Trope when they appear again in Act II of 5.
  • Our Zombies Are Different: They're basically Locust zombies before they evolved and grew intelligent.
  • People Jars: Marcus and Dom discover the Sires within test tubes when they investigate the New Home Research Facility. The Sires break out after the 2 of them turn off the security.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In Gears 2 they were easily dispatched with the chainsaw. Try the same thing in Gears 5 and they will parry the chainsaw and proceed to wreck you. This was eventually patched out, so now they are just as easily dispatched as before. They've also learned a deadly grab attack that is guaranteed to result in death unless another person saves you.

    The Locust Elite 
An elite squadron of Locust warriors comprised of two Mauler Elites and one Theron Elite. They accompanied RAAM during the Battle of Ilima, where they eventually clashed with Zeta Squad in battle.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: They act as RAAM's escorts and assist him through the Battle of Ilima, but as RAAM demonstrates, he hardly needs them beyond giving the enemy something else to shoot at. That's not to say they're pushovers, however, as they battle Zeta Squad later on without RAAM's support and put up a good fight.
  • The Brute: Two of them in the form of the Mauler Elites, wielding massive shields and flails. As expected, they're big, strong, slow, and have a large health pool.
  • The Dragon: The Theron Elite serves this role for RAAM in RAAM's Shadow. He's fought by Zeta before they confront RAAM.
  • Elite Mooks: They're the best of the best, making them above even the regular Elite Mooks of the Locust. The Theron Elite, in particular, slaughters several Gears by himself and has a limited degree of control over the Kryll, like RAAM.

Locust Creatures

    Bloodmounts 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_3557.jpeg

A creature found in the Hollow that Locust Beast Riders ride upon

    Brumaks 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_504.png

An enormous dinosaur-like creater of the Hollow. Functioning as the Locust's tanks, the Locust fit them with with arm-mounted machine guns and back-mounted rocket launchers, controlled from a pilot's seat located behind the latter.

    Corpsers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_2045.png

Giant, spider-like digging creatures used to make Emergence Holes for Locust ground troops to funnel out of.

  • Beast of Battle: The Locust use them as both siege weapons and tunnel boring machines.
  • Bullfight Boss: The Corpser fight in third game.
  • Fast Tunnelling: They can dig through solid rock at an amazing pace.
  • Giant Spider: They certainly have the look.
  • Ring-Out Boss: The Corpser in the first game has to be knocked into the Imulsion by the recoil from your attacks.

    Gas Barges 

Giant blimp-like puffer fish with gondolas attached underneath. Used for transportation.

  • Beast of Battle: Used by the Locust in a similar manner to AC-130 Gunships and transport helicopters.
  • Living Gasbag: They're flying pufferfish creatures.

    Kryll 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kryll.jpg

Small Locust fliers that swarm together to become an unstoppable force that shreds people down to their bones in the blink of an eye. They only appear in the first Gears of War due to the Lightmass Bomb destroying their breeding ground.

  • Flight: They can fly.
  • Nocturnal Mooks: Kryll tend to be nocturnal creatures, which makes them much more deadly at night.
  • The Swarm: Basically what their role is for the Locust. One small Kryll on its own is barely threatening, but a huge amount of them are extremely deadly.
  • Weakened by the Light: Due to their nocturnal nature, Kryll tend to stay away from light sources, which plays a major role in the first game's Act II to keep the Kryll swarm off Marcus and Dom.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: If one was to just play the games, it's never truly explained why the Kryll mysteriously stopped appearing after the first Gears of War. It gets explained in the Extended Universe material that the Lightmass Bomb going off at the end of the game actually destroyed the Kryll breeding ground, which allowed for the COG to kill the Kryll left remaining to the point of extinction.

    Leviathans 

Giant fish-like monsters that live underwater. May not be tamed by the Locusts as they chuckle and retreat when you get close to their lairs. Anvil Gate confirms that there are more than one, and that they can go Lambent.

  • Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: In-Universe even. The COG has no idea about their existence until Marcus and Dom encounter one. For a few months afterwards, they weren't sure if it was unique are not. Encountering three Lambent ones at once clued them in that they were not.
  • Kraken and Leviathan: It's a giant sea monster that, interestingly enough, combines traits of both creatures - while it has a notably reptilian/piscine head and body, it also has an enormous number of tentacles it uses to grab prey.
  • Nested Mouths: Has a second mouth inside its throat.

    Nemacysts 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nemacyst.jpg

Small organic Locust that Seeders fire at their enemy to act as mortar-fire or anti-air. Their use isn't just restricted to Seeders though as Nemacysts can remain floating in the air to release a noxious ink that messes with COG's radio transmissions.

  • Anti-Air: Seeders fire them into the sky to try to shoot down COG's air support, such as their Raven helicopters.
  • Deadly Gas: Not towards humans, but to the machinery they use. Nemacysts can release a noxious ink out into the sky that scrambles radio transmissions, which messes with COG's helicopter Ravens, as well as trying to use the Hammer of Dawn satellite.
  • Death from Above: One of their main purposes is to act as mortar fire fired from Seeders.
  • Flight: They can remain floating in the air if they're not being used as mortar shots for Seeders.
  • Homing Projectile: The Nemacyst can home in on the closest enemy target.

    Nemacytes 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nemacyte.jpg

Small bipedal enemies that are only found inside the Riftworm. Nemacytes live within the Riftworm's stomach to help with digestion by attacking anything that might still be alive after getting eaten. They only appear in Gears of War 2.

    Reavers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_4003.png

Large, flying squid-like beasts. Usually affixed with mounted guns. Skorge has his own personal Reaver called the Hydra which is larger than the others and has more appendages. It was created by Ukkon, who also managed to create at least one other specimen of the species.

    Riftworm 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_4975.jpeg

A GIANT WORM! that appears in Gears of War 2, which the Locusts used to sink entire cities. According to Locust myth, there are three of them that carved out the Hollow, and are thus treated as gods by the Locust.

  • Bizarre Alien Biology: It has three hearts, for example.
  • Evil Smells Bad: As Delta finds out when they wind up inside of one.
  • Sand Worm: An absolutely titanic one.
  • Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: It could probably pass as being 1 mile long, but backstory claims them to be 8-10 miles long and having a 0.5 mile mouth diameter (If this were true, its entire mouth would not possibly be visible when it eats the King Raven)! For clarity, 1 mile is 1602meters/1760 yards, so being just 1 mile still makes it absolutely colossal.
  • Womb Level: There's a section of Gears of War 2 where you end up inside of one.

    Serapedes 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_80949.jpeg

Hollow creatures that can zap Gears with their antenna.

    Seeders 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_1302.jpeg

Towering insect-like creatures. Used as artillery/mortar launchers by firing Nemacysts out of their thoraxes.

  • Beast of Battle: Seeders are used as living artillery weapons by the Locust.
  • Immune to Bullets: They can't be killed at all except via the Hammer of Dawn. The second game makes them vulnerable to tank fire from the centaur, or machine gun/rocket fire from the Brumak.

    Shibboleth 

A Giant Spider seen in Judgment, only the one used as Karn's mount is known.

    Siege Beasts 

Huge grasshopper-like creatures (although Cole thinks they look like giant turkeys) introduced in Gears of War 3 strapped to a device that uses their powerful hind legs like a catapult.

  • Beast of Battle: They function as a replacement for the Seeder after the Hollow is flooded.
  • Siege Engines: They're used as a form of living artillery, just like the Seeders. Bonus points for their leg usage making them look like organic catapults.

    Tickers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_7642.png

Small and fast creatures found in the Hollow, the Locust strap bombs to them and send them out to act as mobile landmines that can kill Gears and destroy vehicles.

  • Action Bomb: Locust Tickers carry explosive packs on their backs, which they can detonate at close proximity. Wild Tickers can consume grenades to gain this ability.
  • Anti-Frustration Feature: Under normal circumstances, the standard melee attack is replaced by the chainsaw bayonet when the Lancer is equipped. However, pressing the B button in front of a Ticker while holding the Lancer will make the player character do a kick attack instead of rev the chainsaw.
  • Mooks Ate My Equipment: The third game features wild Tickers that haven't been tamed by Locust and will happily do this to any guns or ammo they find lying around. If you kill them before they get away they will drop it. How a One-Shot can fit inside one is anyone's guess.
  • Violation of Common Sense: Despite being walking land mines, punching or kicking a Ticker will not cause it to explode in one's face. Instead, the Ticker will be sent flying, landing too far away to hurt the player when it explodes. If the player doesn't take the opportunity to kill the Ticker at this point, it will remain disoriented, moving around aimlessly rather than seeking out players to attack.

    Wretches 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_396.png

Small monkey-like creatures that have sharp claws. Often found roaming in packs, the Locust release wretches to infiltrate and clear out sections of cities.

  • Roar Before Beating: Wretches announce their presence by unleashing a ferocious howl. At close range, it will stun you.
  • Zerg Rush: Their usual strategy.

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