'Fallout's Newest Creature Is Played by an Icon From the Games

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Fallout Season 2 Episode 6.

The latest episode of Fallout Season 2, "The Other Player," answers some of the series' key questions so far, while also introducing others as it gears up toward the season finale. Among the biggest is the mystery of the strange creature who rescues the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) from his impalement. With wrinkly green skin, a raspy voice, abnormal strength, and greater height than most humans, that creature is known in-universe as a super mutant, and his introduction has perfect timing, considering that the ones who made them, the Enclave, have also been unveiled. Played by actor Ron Perlman, a veteran from the Fallout games, the super mutant is still unnamed, but promises trouble for his enemies.

What Are Super Mutants in 'Fallout'?

Episode 5 of Fallout Season 5 saw Norm MacLean (Moisés Arias) discover Vault-Tec's plans concerning the Forced Evolutionary Virus, which is directly connected to super mutants. FEV was created by a company called West Tek before the Great War, but after the end of the world, it remains mostly in the Enclave's possession. Initially designed as a kind of super-soldier serum, FEV didn't quite work that way, and the main result of a person's exposure to it is the super mutant, a hulking green-skinned humanoid with increased strength and, sometimes, intellect.

Super mutants have been around since the very first Fallout game in 1997 — the game's villain, the Master, creates a mutant army that the player must find a way to defeat. Since then, they have been present in every game in the franchise, either as enemies or just NPCs who wander the Wasteland and come into contact with the player. They aren't inherently hostile, but FEV has changed them to be more aggressive than the average person, so there are quite a few instances of conflict with them in the games.

Because FEV is easily modified to fit any purpose, there are different kinds of super mutants, too, like the blue-skinned Nightkin, the Institute mutants, and behemoths, the oldest super mutants who have completely lost speech and rational thought, despite their towering stature and strength. In the entirety of the Fallout franchise, there has only been one case of a super mutant being cured and reverting to human form, and it's unknown whether this remains possible. Generally, though, all super mutants look alike, are mostly asexual, and are resistant to radiation.

A Super Mutant Rebellion May Be Brewing in ‘Fallout’ Season 2

The super mutant played by Ron Perlman hasn't been named in the series yet, but they usually retain their human names, like Marcus, who appears in Fallout: New Vegas. Still, the super mutant's contempt for the Enclave is obvious by how he speaks about them. This connection has been alluded to in the series before; during Dr. Siggi Wilzig's (Michael Emerson) escape from an Enclave facility in Season 1, he sees a litter with a wrinkled green hand hanging from it. This shows that the Enclave is still experimenting with FEV at the time of the series, possibly testing other strains and searching for different results.

What's interesting is how the super mutant who rescues the Ghoul mentions that they are kin. There are no direct ties between these two kinds of human mutations, of course, as ghouls are humans mutated by the sheer amount of radiation in the air, while super mutants are the result of FEV. Still, both are seen as abominations by the factions that fight for the Wasteland, meaning they are often targeted in attacks and shunned by many. The Ghoul is then asked to join what seems to be a rebellion against the Enclave. Given how this faction has been hinted to be the true villain manipulating everything behind the scenes, it wouldn't be surprising if this happens before the end of Season 2.

Super mutants usually have longer lifespans than humans in the Fallout universe, so the one we meet in "The Other Player" may have been around long enough to have developed such clear contempt for the Enclave. As mentioned in Episode 3, "The Profligate," what motivated Roger Maxson to create the Brotherhood of Steel was witnessing experiments on humans with FEV, and that was centuries before the events of the series. Seeing how the usual super mutant from the games is more concerned with getting by, it wouldn't be unreasonable for the one we have just met to have been one of the first, justifying his rage and focus on rebellion.

Ron Perlman Is a Veteran From the 'Fallout' Games

The super mutant in "The Other Player" has an instantly recognizable voice; even before he shows his face, you can tell that it's Ron Perlman. What's particularly nice about this piece of casting is that Perlman is actually a Fallout veteran, having been part of every game since 1997. He is the narrator for the introduction of the games, opening his monologue with the iconic line "War. War never changes." He also plays other smaller voice roles, like Butch Harris in the original Fallout game and a newscaster in Fallout 4, so Perlman's showing up as a character in the series carries an even deeper meaning for longtime fans.

Despite all this, Perlman has no interest in Fallout at all. Speaking to the Joe Vulpis Podcast, he revealed that "it's all a mystery to me" and that he has never played any of the games, despite being in all of them. He mentioned he was paid $40 and a sandwich for contributing his voice to the first game, but was pleased to learn that it had become its own franchise later on. Still, he's aware of how important he is to the games and the fans, so his onscreen appearance as a super mutant is rather wholesome.