History Awesome / Borderlands2

-->'''Mr. Torgue:''' THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE!CHASE HIM DOWN AND PUNCH HIM SO HARD HE '''EXPLODES!'''

-->'''Handsome Jack:''' AAAAAARGH!! MY CONSTRUCTION SITE!! MOXXI, YOU '''BITCH!!!'''\\

** Really, experiencing the entire game as [[BadassAdorable Gaige]] is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome unto itself. Pandora is one of the [[DeathWorld most hellish]], [[CrapsackWorld most hopeless]] [[EverythingTryingToKillYou and indisputably one of the deadliest planets]] in all of fiction, where men and women far more experienced than her get torn to bits trying to fight off the planet's many natural threats. Most [[TotallyEighteen teens her age]] would be lucky to last a week here, but Gaige is just too hardcore to lay down and die to Pandora's many natural threats. This level of pure, unadulterated kid power is taken to it's zenith when you [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kill the Warrior like a badass]] and [[TraumaCongaLine humiliate Jack in doing so]], as the single-most powerful individual in arguably the ''entire galaxy'' was brought to their knees by somebody who's likely still learning how to drive. ''Awesome.''

* Killing Handsome Jack. After all the shit this homicidal corporate dictator puts you through, you get to enjoy him pitifully giving one last desperate MotiveRant after you defeat the Warrior. And it's not a cutscene death either. You get to pull the trigger on him yourself, with whatever gun you want, at any point during his speech. Thank you, Gearbox.

'''Maya''': '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Don't. call me.]]''' '''''[[BerserkButton child.]]'''''

-->'''Mr. Torgue:''' [[BerserkButton THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE!]] [[UnstoppableRage CHASE HIM DOWN AND PUNCH HIM SO HARD HE]] '''[[MadeOfExplodium EXPLODES!]]'''
* The Crystalisk's CynicismCatalyst story crosses with TearJerker, SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} and this. A security team led by an Officer Booth goes into the caverns and discovers the Crystalisks for the first time, befriending a [[GentleGiant rather large one]] that she named "Blue" out of his crystal colour. After her supervisor, a woman by the name of [[LackOfEmpathy Harchek]] proceeds to order her murder after she speaks out against her mining the Crystalisks, Blue [[BerserkButton isn't too]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge happy about that]] and [[ItsPersonal goes apeshit on the mining team]] along with the others and by the sounds of it, [[UnstoppableRage killing the entire expedition]], [[KarmicDeath including]] [[AssholeVictim Harchek]], by himself.

** Really, experiencing the entire game as [[BadassAdorable Gaige]] is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome unto itself. Pandora is one of the [[DeathWorld most hellish]], [[CrapsackWorld most hopeless]] [[EverythingTryingToKillYou and indisputably one of the deadliest planets]] in all of fiction, where men and women far more experienced than her get torn to bits trying to fight off the planet's many natural threats. Most [[TotallyEighteen teens her age]] would be lucky to last a week here, but Gaige is just too hardcore to lay down and die to Pandora's many natural threats. This level of pure, unadulterated kid power is taken to it's zenith when you [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kill the Warrior like a badass]] and [[TraumaCongaLine humiliate Jack is doing so]], as the single-most powerful individual in arguably the ''entire galaxy'' was brought to their knees by somebody who's likely still learning how to drive. ''Awesome.''

* An actual official Bunkers and Badasses roleplaying guide will be release, which will include the paper version of the DLC that started it and its sequel.

'''Jack:''' [[UpToEleven A whole Goddamn LOT!]]

* [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon The SWORDSPLOSION!!! gun]]. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It's a gun that launches a sword]]. [[MadeOfExplodium The sword then explodes]] [[SerialEscalation and launches 3 additional swords]]. [[RunningGag That also explode]]. [[SerialEscalation If it has the "Casual" prefix it fires three swords]]. [[RuleOfThree They explode]]. [[MadeOfExplodium Bam]]. [[UpToEleven Then you have nine exploding swords]]. [[CrazyIsCool Because one]] [[MadeOfExplodium exploding sword]] [[UpToEleven that spawns three more]] [[MadeOfExplodium exploding swords]] ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis just. Isn't. Cool. Enough]]''.
* This is followed up with [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon The Carnage]], which fires [[CrazyIsCool ROCKETS]] for [[AbnormalAmmo Shotgun Ammo]], and if you're lucky enough to be graced with a "Casual" prefix Carnage, firing ''three'' [[UpToEleven rockets at once when you pull the trigger]]. It's also a nice throwback to the Carnage line from the original VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}, and has a pretty cool paint job to boot.

** The Launch trailer also shows us how awesome our new vault hunters are, against the army of Handsome Jack's mercs after the train crash from the opening, and that some familiar faces from the previous game have their backs. Special mention goes to Lilith tag-teaming with Maya to wipe the floor with a whole platoon of them before blowing them up and bumping fists, mouthing "boom". Total badasses. Unfortunately, [[NeverTrustATrailer this didn't appear ingame]].

!Per wiki policy, Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.

* [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon The SWORDSPLOSION!!! gun]]. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It's a gun that launches a sword]]. [[MadeOfExplodium The sword then explodes]] [[SerialEscalation and launches 3 additional swords]]. [[RunningGag That also explode]]. [[SerialEscalation If it has the "Casual" prefix it fires three swords]]. [[RuleOfThree They explode]]. [[MadeOfExplodium Bam]]. [[UpToEleven Then you have nine exploding swords]]. [[CrazyAwesome Because one]] [[MadeOfExplodium exploding sword]] [[UpToEleven that spawns three more]] [[MadeOfExplodium exploding swords]] ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis just. Isn't. Cool. Enough]]''.
* This is followed up with [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon The Carnage]], which fires [[CrazyAwesome ROCKETS]] for [[AbnormalAmmo Shotgun Ammo]], and if you're lucky enough to be graced with a "Casual" prefix Carnage, firing ''three'' [[UpToEleven rockets at once when you pull the trigger]]. It's also a nice throwback to the Carnage line from the original VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}, and has a pretty cool paint job to boot.

* Angel's FamousLastWords:
-->"[[CallingTheOldManOut Dad, there's something I've got to tell you...]] [[DyingMomentOfAwesome You're an]] ''[[PrecisionFStrike asshole]]''."

* In the Commander Lilith DLC, one side mission has you honor Scooter's last wishes. What do you do at the end of this quest? You pull a sick-ass jump over his impact site/memorial via a ramp that is decorated with your choice of either electricity or fire while Scooter's recording yells his CatchPhrase. Scooter would be proud.* The climax of the Commander Lilith DLC has you fighting to retake Sanctuary. And once again Lilith is fighting by your side, flying over the battlefield and blasting the mooks that Hector spawns. Only one problem: Defeating Hector leads to TheReveal that it's too late to stop him, as his vines have spread all throughout the city and he is about to release his spores all across Pandora. So what do our heroes do? Lilith creates a field to contain Hector's spores, before letting loose a massive surge of power to disintegrate Hector ''and'' Sanctuary.

* Hero's Pass, the final area of the game before the one leading to Handsome Jack himself. You're not fighting hapless Hyperion engineers using their tools as makeshift weapons, you're fighting the peak of Hyperion's might: trained soldiers armed with turrets, invisibility tech, powerful sniper rifles and launchers all ready to ruin your day. That isn't enough? Don't worry, the toughest variations of Loaders will be waiting for you well. You'll have to prove you're worth of fighting Handsome Jack by surviving Hero's Pass.
* Killing Handsome Jack. After all the shit this homicidal corporate dictator puts you through, you get to enjoy him pitifully begging for his life after you defeat the Warrior. And it's not a cutscene death either. You get to pull the trigger on him yourself, with whatever gun you want, at any point during his speech. Thank you, Gearbox.

* Handsome Jack is a smug asshole the entire game, and pretty much any setback he has he just shrugs off. Opportunity is the first level that you ''really'' get to piss him off.

---> '''Jack''': "You. Are such. A Jackass."\\

---> '''Jack''': "You. Are such. A Jackass."

** Fistful of Hurt, for anyone who just loves to uppercut people. It's powerful enough to one shot standard mooks and knock back EliteMooks like the super strong Goliaths. Getting a critical with it may have even a chance ''to blow them apart''.
* Quite a few of Zer0's Haiku are awesome to quote.

** Imagine being a ghost, watching your prey futile attack a hologram of you as you prepare to strike them down in one hit. That's what using "Decepti0n" is like.
** "Many must fall". Know you can one shot bandits and such after using "Decepti0n"? Killing one with a melee attack sets off another "Decepti0n", allowing you to continue picking off your enemies one after another without them seeing you or realizing what's going on. Just like a ghost amidst the combat.

---> '''Jack''': "You. Are such. A Jackass."\\

* Handsome Jack is a smug asshole the entire game, and pretty much any setback he has he just shrugs off. Who's the first person to REALLY make him lose his shit? ''Moxxi'', by sending you on a mission to flood the construction site of part of his Opportunity. Seeing him finally break out of his facade and genuinely angry is SUCH a [[CatharsisFactor cathartic moment]].
-->'''Handsome Jack:''' AAAAAARGH!! MY CONSTRUCTION SITE!! MOXXI, YOU '''BITCH!!!'''
** He reacts similarly to destroying all of his statues in the city. Especially when he acts like you're only mildly irritating him "for eight seconds" but then starts screaming in rage and promising to make a bunch of statues consisting of him kicking you in the junk. This, along with Moxxi's sidequest, is one of the first times you actually manage to get under Jack's skin. Oh, and who gave you that mission, and got the idea in the first place? ''Claptrap!''
--->"I'm gonna make, like, fifteen of those sumbitches, and put 'em up everywhere!"

-->'''Slab King:''' God-damn you make me proud, Slab!

-->'''Mordecai:''' '''DIE ASSHOLES!!''' SCREW YOU! ''SCREW YOU!! VETE AL DIABLO'', ''''''SONS OF BITCHES!!!'''''

*** How good does it feel to play as Krieg in general? Psychos of various flavors are some of the more annoying enemies to deal with for many players, and most of the skills in Krieg's arsenal basically give you all of the tools that Psychos use against you. You can split heads with a buzz-axe, throw it, chase people with lit dynamite under your arm, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs strap dynamite to the axe before throwing it]] and even breathe fire. The class is built around delivering catharsis for having to put up with Badass Psychos and Suicide Psychos on all of your other playthroughs.

*** Not only that, he seems to have decided that's how he wants to die. When going into Fight for Your Life he may sometimes scream "Nobody kills me but ME!"

'''Sophis''': ''YOU. KNOW. NOTHING.'' Child you have so much left to learn! You don't- ([[KilledMidSentence BANG]])\\
'''Maya''': '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Don't. call me.]]''' '''''[[BerserkButton child]]'''''

* The opening. A scene with the four new vault hunters showing all their skills, backed by "Short Change Hero" by The Heavy.
** Bonus points go to [=Zer0=], who kills two Hyperion soldiers in what is arguably the most badass [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement]] ever. After tricking one Engineer into punching his hologram, he runs the other through from behind with a katana, does a flying somersault off of his (still standing) body, and kicks off the first Engineer, sending him flying right into the blade, chest first. CutscenePowerToTheMax, sure, but undeniably epic.

* Axton's ECHO's at first presents him being captured and interrogated by bandits he was hunting down. Jack doesn't sound too impressed, until Axton tells the bandits that he was paid in advance and tells them that the money is a briefcase near them. One of the bandits open it up, and what they find instead of money is the Sabre Turret. Cue sounds of gunshots and Axton sounding pleased with himself.

* Maya's third and final ECHOs. Brother Sophis reveals his true colors as a corrupt cultist and intends to use her to rule over Athenas in the third ECHO, starting with having her execute a man for not paying him his tithe. Maya literally decides "Ah to hell with it", Phaselocks him and give his just desserts.

'''Maya''': ''27 years.'' For 27 years you've been using me to keep these people frightened, haven't you!?\\

'''Maya''': [[BigShutUp SHUT UP!]] You didn't want me to protect this planet; [[TykeBomb You wanted me to keep it scared! Keep me locked up so people would do what you asked! Nobody is gonna disobey the order if they gotta face the wrath of a Siren, ''is that it!?''\\
'''Sophis''': ''YOU KNOW NOTHING. Child you have so much more to learn! I- [[Killed MidSentence BANG]]\\

* In "A Meat Bicycle Built for Two", Krieg saving Maya, and making one of the Rats faint simply by ''screaming'' at him.

** "TURN AROUND, PRETTY LADY!!" (Caves buzzaxe into a Rat's skull)

* Handsome Jack is a smug asshole the entire game, and pretty much any setback he has he just shrugs it off. Who's the first person to REALLY make him lose his shit? ''Moxxi'', by sending you on a mission to flood the construction site of part of his city. Seeing him finally break out of his facade and genuinely angry is SUCH a [[CatharsisFactor cathartic moment]].

** He reacts similarly to destroying his statues in the city. Especially when he acts like you're only mildly irritating him "for eight seconds" but then starts screaming in rage and promising to make a bunch of statues consisting of him kicking you in the junk. Oh, and who gave you that mission, and got the idea in the first place? ''Claptrap!''

** Or the Morningstar. Nothing says {{Irony}} like killing them guy with a gun his company sent you to make you feel bad.
** Speaking of talking guns, you could also use the Loader AI core from "Out of Body Experience" if you turned him into a shotgun. He wanted to help you kill people after all. "Good decision", indeed.

* Angel's FamousLastWords:
-->"[[CallingTheOldManOut Dad, there's something I've got to tell you...]] [[DyingMomentOfAwesome You're an]] ''[[PrecisionFStrike asshole]]''."
* Claptrap, of all people, screaming that he will Teabag Jack's corpse during Talon of the Gods. For the duration he actually drops much of his cowardice and is only stopped by the fact that he can't climb stairs.
** Claptrap gets one also for coming up with a plan that actually succeeds in pissing off Handsome Jack, simply by destroying all of his statues in Opportunity. Please note, chronologically, this quest takes place before you kill Angel. This, along with Moxxi's sidequest, is one of the first times you actually manage to get under Jack's skin.

* [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon The SWORDSPLOSION!!! gun]]. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It's a gun that launches a sword]]. [[MadeOfExplodium The sword then explodes]] [[SerialEscalation and launches 3 additional swords]]. [[RunningGag That also explode]]. [[SerialEscalation If it has the "Casual" prefix it fires three swords]]. [[RuleOfThree They explode]]. [[MadeOfExplodium Bam]]. [[UpToEleven Then you have nine exploding swords]]. [[CrazyAwesome Because one]] [[MadeOfExplodium exploding sword]] [[UpToEleven that spawns three more]] [[MadeOfExplodium exploding swords]] ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis just. Isn't. Cool. Enough]]''.
* This is followed up with [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon The Carnage]], which fires [[CrazyAwesome ROCKETS]] for [[AbnormalAmmo Shotgun Ammo]], and if you're lucky enough to be graced with a "Casual" prefix Carnage, firing ''three'' [[UpToEleven rockets at once when you pull the trigger]]. It's also a nice throwback to the Carnage line from the original VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}, and has a pretty cool paint job to boot.
* In Mr. Torgue's Reddit AMA, a talented Redditor made [[http://i.imgur.com/eqpvl.jpg this]].

* In the Commander Lilith DLC, one side mission has you honor Scooter's last wishes. What do you do at the end of this quest? You pull a sick-ass jump over his impact site/memorial via a ramp that is decorated with your choice of either electricity or fire while Scooter's recording yells his CatchPhrase. Scooter would be proud.
* The "Effervescent" weapons introduced in the Commander Lilith DLC are all kinds of awesome, but the crown has to go to The Electric Chair. Take the legendary grenade Storm Front (A tesla which launches additional teslas upon detonation) add even ''more'' teslas to it plus a [[ShockAndAwe HUGE shock explosion that also fires lightning bolts in every direction]] and you've got a weapon that can clear out a room of same-level enemies in ''seconds.''
* The climax of the Commander Lilith DLC has you fighting to retake Sanctuary. And once again Lilith is fighting by your side, flying over the battlefield and blasting the mooks that Hector spawns. Only one problem: Defeating Hector leads to TheReveal that it's too late to stop him, as his vines have spread all throughout the city and he is about to release his spores all across Pandora. So what do our heroes do? Lilith creates a field to contain Hector's spores, before letting loose a massive surge of power to disintegrate Hector ''and'' Sanctuary.
** And how does she get the power to do this? [[ChekhovsGun Why only the biggest stockpile of Eridium in Sanctuary of course.]] ''Crazy Earl's house.''

* Pretty much any time Salvador is [[OneManArmy Gunzerking]], especially when you invest in ''[[IShallTauntYou Come At Me Bro!]]'':
-->'''Salvador:''' ''C'MON! HIT ME, I '''DARE''' YOU!''
* Any fan of Westerns can appreciate seeing the Vault Hunters fanning the hammer whenever they're firing a revolver really quickly, especially when they're in epic gun battles on the Bloodshot Dam, in Opportunity, at Sawtooth Cauldron, or, better still, battling Nisha in Lynchwood. It's a simple detail, but it's nice, considering how all the games are basically classic Westerns [-IN SPACE!-] that meet ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/IRobot'' and ''Film/MadMax'' all at once.

* Fighting alongside Roland after rescuing him from either the Bloodshot Ramparts or the Friendship Gulag can be pretty awesome for a former Roland player, especially when the Scorpio came out, and Roland was kind enough to spec into Aid Station and Stockpile for you.
** Heck, fighting alongside any of the previous Vault Hunters can be like this.

* From Gaige's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qe4m0Oydw4 third ECHOcast]], her father's response to finding out that RichBitch Marcy ripped off Gaige's DT-Bot and sold it to the ([[BadCopIncompetentCop extremely corrupt]]) police force: "you're gonna take that [[PrecisionFStrike bitch]] down, right?"
** Also in that ECHO-cast, kinda fridge awesome: Gaige, an 18-year-old girl, managed to build a robotic arm strong enough to smash through concrete, in one night, with ''one arm and only the spare parts lying around her backyard shed.'' Comicbook/IronMan, eat your heart out.
*** Not to mention she ''deliberately cut her arm off'' so she could install the robotic one! And it's implied that she did this BEFORE actually making the cybernetic one.
** Another for her father, after Deathtrap accidentally kills Marcy and Gaige is about to be arrested, he creates a distraction [[NoodleImplements involving a golf cart and lots of gasoline]] for her so she can get off-planet.
** Really, experiencing the entire game as [[BadassAdorable Gaige]] is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome unto itself. Pandora is one of the [[DeathWorld most hellish]], [[CrapsackWorld most hopeless]] [[EverythingTryingToKillYou and indisputably one of the deadliest planets]] in all of fiction, where men and women far more experienced than her get torn to bits trying to fight off the planet's many natural threats. Most [[TotallyEighteen teens her age]] would be lucky to last a week here, but Gaige is just too hardcore to lay down and die to Pandora's many natural threats. This level of pure, unadulterated kid power is taken to it's zenith when you [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kill the Warrior like a badass]] and [[TraumaCongaLine humiliate Jack is doing so]], as the single-most powerful individual in arguably the ''entire galaxy'' was brought to their knees by somebody who's likely still learning how to drive. ''Awesome.''

* Landing a hit while having 400 Anarchy stacks. [[ATeamFiring You'll miss a lot]] but when you do connect it is '''awesome'''.
--> "God help you all if I actually hit something!"
** Or hell, investing in "Close Enough", which gives up to a 50% chance for misses to ricochet and hit the target anyway. ESPECIALLY with E-Tech weapons that replace the bullets with things like lasers, making it look like you hit exactly what you were aiming at.

* In "A Meat Bicycle Built for Two", Krieg saving Maya, and making one of the Rats faint simply by ''screaming'' at him.
--> "I'M GONNA PUT MY '''''PAIN''''' INTO '''''YOUR''''' SOUL!"
** Good!Krieg managing to convince Insane!Krieg to help in the first place.
** "TURN AROUND, PRETTY LADY!!" (Caves buzzaxe into a Rat's skull)
*** How good does it feel to play as Krieg in general? Psychos of various flavors are some of the more annoying enemies to deal with for many players, and most of the skills in Krieg's arsenal basically give you all of the tools that Psychos use against you. You can split heads with a buzz-axe, throw it, chase people with lit dynamite under your arm, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs strap dynamite to the axe before throwing it]] and even breathe fire. The class is built around delivering catharsis for having to put up with Badass Psychos and Suicide Psychos on all of your other playthroughs.
*** A small one for Sane!Krieg. He states to his Psycho side in no uncertain terms that if he ever hurts an innocent, he will wrest control away from Psycho!Krieg and ''commit suicide''. Surprisingly, Psycho!Krieg ''listens''.
*** Not only that, he seems to have decided that's how he wants to die. When going into Fight for Your Life he may sometimes scream "Nobody kills me but ME!"

'''Lilith:''' 'Sup.\\

-->'''Mordecai:''' DIE ASSHOLES! SCREW YOU! ''SCREW YOU!'' ''VETE AL DIABLO'', '''''YOU SONS OF BITCHES!'''''

-->'''Mordecai:''' DIE ASSHOLES! SCREW YOU! ''SCREW YOU!'' VETE AL DIABLO, '''''YOU SONS OF BITCHES!'''''