Summary
TheMass Effectuniverse is packed full of lovable characters that players will get to learn more about during their galactic adventures, but it also has its fair share of monstrous individuals who are as ruthless as they are intimidating. While the main threat of most of the games is the Reapers and their inevitable invasion, each entry still contains more than a few despicable characters who, for one reason or another, are opposed to Shephard and his crew, usually for their own selfish gain.
Though these individuals will often claim that they’re doing what is necessary, this is usually used as a weak justification in order to hide their underlying agenda, which is almost always very dark and disturbing. Other times though, there are characters who love causing as much chaos and suffering as possible just for the sake of it. Either way, this list is going to analyze theseMass Effectcharacters to see what makes them tick, and why exactly they are viewed as being so dark and evil to many fans of the series.
6Balak
Killed Thousands Of Civilians Just to Get Back At Humanity
Ever since the Alliance trespassed into Batarian frontier space thousands of years ago, Batarians have had a seething hatred for humans. This is showcased numerous times throughout the series, such as inMass Effect 2when a wounded Batarian immediately blames the mysterious plague on Omega as being spread by humans, despite having no evidence. The one character who takes this to a whole new level of extreme though is Balak, the leader of a Batarian terrorist group who only cares about one thing; inflicting as much pain and suffering onto humanity as possible.
This has resulted in him committing some heinous acts throughout his life, such as shutting down the life-support machines of the Huerta Memorial Hospital and preparing to crash an entire asteroid into the Terra Nova colony. It’s understandable why Batarians wouldn’t be too fond of humans, but Balak’s extreme solutions to the issue of rapid human expansion make hima dark and ruthless antagonistwho clearly has no problem taking innocent lives to advance his cause.
5Kai Leng
Unwavering Loyalty Has Caused Him To Commit Plenty of Heinous Acts
What really makes Kai Leng such a terrifying and dangerous individual though is his unwavering loyalty. Never inMass Effect 3is he shown to have any doubts about The Illusive Man and would never even dream of betraying him, meaning he’s more than happy to carry out any orders given to him, no matter how sick and twisted they might be.
4Henry Lawson
Created His Daughters For The Sole Purpose Of Continuing His Own Legacy
Henry Lawson, Miranda’s own father, might just be one of the most selfish characters in all ofMass Effect. Despite being a well-known and wealthy businessman,Henry was nowhere near satisfied with his richesand simply wanted to make his name known throughout the galaxy, a dream that often meant manipulating and abusing other people to benefit his own reputation. For example, Henry took it upon himself to create a child using his own DNA in order to ensure his legacy would carry on after his death, with this child being Miranda.
After becoming dissatisfied with his own daughter, Henry then decides to replace her with a new one, proving how little he actually cares about the well-being of his own family. It’s also revealed later down the line that Henry had actually been running a Sanctuary on Horizon where he lures in humans to use as test subjects for the Reaper’s indoctrination powers as if he couldn’t be any more disgusting as a person.
3Morinth
Takes Pleasure In Destroying And Corrupting The Minds Of Her Victims
Once players form a close enough bond withSamarathroughout the second game, she will begin opening up about her family, and more specifically, her daughter Morinth. Morinth suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes her to kill anyone she mates with, making her stronger and smarter each time she consumes another victim. Usually, these Asari who are known as Ardat-Yakshi’s are offered a safe and comfortable seclusion where their powers won’t end up harming anyone. However, Morinth decided against this, instead choosing to embrace this power and reveling in the thought of hunting down her next prey.
By the time Shephard meets her inMass Effect 2, it’s made clear that Morinth has already consumed plenty of unlucky victims, including a poor young girl who is killed right before Samara and Shepard land on Omega. What’s really disturbing is just how much fun Morinth seems to have when luring in her targets and killing them, making her a truly sadistic individual who no doubt would have continued her killing spree if Shephard hadn’t gotten involved.
2Dr. Saleon
Cloned Organs Inside His Employee’s Bodies Just To Make Some Quick Cash
During the original game, Garrus tells Shephard about one of the most sickening characters in the entire series, that being Dr. Saleon, who’s also often comically referred to as Dr. Heart. After discovering an unusual amount of body parts were being illegally sold on the black market, Garrus soon uncovered this was due toDr Saleon who was conducting horrifying experiments on his own employees, who were often very poor and desperate.
Saleon figured the best way to make some money was to clone the organs of his employees, which would then grow inside the victims' bodies until they were the right size to sell off. Needless to say, this had some disastrous effects on the bodies of Saelon’s subjects, and if the organ didn’t turn out the way he wanted, he sometimes wouldn’t even bother removing it, resulting in an even worse fate. After hearing all of this from Garrus, it’s hard not to feel immensely satisfied after gunning him down when he shows up on the MSV Fedele.
1The Illusive Man
A Strict Ideology And Ruthless Personality Make Him Enigmatic & Dangerous
On the surface, The Illusive Man’s pro-human ideology doesn’t sound all that bad considering humans are often looked down upon by other species in the universe. His plight is actually somewhat sympathetic by the beginning ofMass Effect 2when human colonies begin randomly disappearing, but once Shephard starts peeling back his layers, it turns out The Illusive Man is a very dark individual who is willing to do absolutely anything to achieve his goals. This is shown first-hand in Jack’s side-mission when Shephard explores a facility where Cerberus is conducting biotic experiments on children, all under The Illusive Man’s supervision.
Another example is during theOverlordDLCside-story where, in an attempt to merge a human mind with AI, Cerberus hooked up a poor man by the name of David who would be tortured for several years, all for the sake of acquiring some data. Again, this was all well known to The Illusive Man who is at the head of Cerberus and the commander in chief of each of these operations. These are just a few examples of how extreme he will go to get one step closer to making humans, and himself, the rulers of the galaxy, even if it means taking advantage of his own people in the most gruesome ways possible.
