Any survivor of the Commonwealth will have heard of the ferocious super mutants. These strong and highly resistant mutations of human beings are completely immune to the radiation and will torment the player throughout their journey in the world of Fallout 4 in various different forms.
A particularly vicious kind of super mutant is the suicider kind that approaches with a nuke in hand, which had fans horrified when the game first came out. There’s more to these creatures, however, than you’d imagine.
10 They Were Made From The FEV Virus
Long before the Great War took place, the U.S. military was working on a compound that could protect its people from the effects of any biological weapons the Chinese might use against them.
However, when research and testing for such project began to wield very different kinds of results, the project was redirected into one that sought to instead create super soldiers. The Institute in Fallout 4 was also engaged in such research and used a modified version of the FEV virus to create its own super mutants to perform tests and research on them.
9 They’re Found In Central Boston
In Fallout 4, most of the game’s super mutants can be found in central Boston, either guarding an outpost of their own or wandering around. Some key locations where they can be found holed up are Fallon’s department store, Fort Strong and Trinity Tower.
However, the easiest way to know their presence in a location is the gory details they tend to leave hanging around, from cages ton girders to the bloody remains of any of their previous victims.
8 They Were Victims Of Abduction
The sad truth is that despite their violent, beast-like nature, these creatures were once human. Many of them were captured by the Institute itself so it could perform tests on them and complete their research on the FEV virus.
Most of the abducted victims were anything but willing subjects, although some of the older ones like Swan, a super mutant behemoth, were unknowingly put through FEV exposure as a criminal being held under house arrest after getting caught stealing cigarettes.
7 They Roam The Wastelands Thanks To The Institute
The Institute was quite ruthless with its research procedure, and worked tirelessly to try and produce results. However, the fact is that many of its subjects turned out to be failures. Rather than becoming intelligent beings capable of speech and critical thinking, many super mutants were utterly violent and brutal.
Because of this many subjects were either killed or released into the wild. Some subjects were even tagged, no doubt for further observation or testing in the long run.
6 They’re Different From Other Mutant Types
In the Fallout series, there are many different types of super mutants. In Fallout 4 specifically the mutants encountered in the Commonwealth are Institute super mutants, made and released by the Institute itself. In terms of appearance they tend to not snarl as much as the Vault 87 super mutants.
They are also generally shorter and skinnier in appearance, with a sickly green and gray skin color. The existence of behemoths proves that Institute super mutants are, however, capable of growing in size as they grow older.
5 They Show Signs of Intelligence
Super mutants may seem like mere beasts or animals, but they possess surprising intelligence and will use it against the player to their advantage. Generally, those who are lower ranked will behave in a more reckless manner in combat and simply run towards the player.
Higher ranked ones will seek cover and high ground, which proves that they have an understanding of battle tactics and strategy. They’re even able to craft and use a range of weapons, as well as make armor and modifications to a degree.
4 Most Have Lost Their Humanity
While many of the mutants were once human, almost all of that humanity is now gone. The grand majority of super mutants are highly violent and sadistic creatures who only want to see the player die.
The fact that they often surround themselves with gore goes to show that they have a taste of battle and violence, and don’t much care for talking or other forms of social interactions. This is partly why many of them roam the wastelands because they failed to show any humanity during their testing phase and were therefore discarded by the Institute.
3 They Are Proud Of Their Species
Similarly to Vault 87 super mutants, there’s some proof that Institute super mutants are equally proud of their species and will do whatever necessary to keep on expanding their species. This is evident in some of their dialogues where the “green stuff” is mentioned, as they seem concerned that there aren’t enough of their own kind around.
Therefore, we can conclude that even in Fallout 4 they attempt to gain human victims which they will ten infect with the very same strain of FEV virus they once suffered.
2 Not All Are Hostile
Throughout the Fallout franchise, while most super mutants have been highly dangerous towards the player, there have been a few exceptions to this rule. In Fallout 4 in particular, Brian Virgil, the sole survivor of the Institute and an overseer to the FEV project that created most of Fallout 4’s super mutants, is a friendly character that will aid the Sole Survivor on their quest to enter the Institute.
Virgil actually feels guilt over the research that caused so much suffering to abducted innocent people, and sabotaged it himself before fleeing and using a unique strain of the FEV to survive radiation in the coming years.
1 They’re Accompanied By Mutant Hounds
As the player ventures out into the wasteland and encounters these super mutants, they’ll also notice that quite often they’ll be accompanied by mutant hounds who act as watchdogs and guard dogs to the super mutants. In fact, humans were not the only beings the Institute infected with FEV.
During tests, dogs were also put through exposure and it is believed many other creatures roaming the wasteland have also been affected to a degree by the virus. This just goes to show, however, that no matter what dogs and humans find a way to work together, even in evil.
NEXT: Fallout 4: The 10 Most Powerful Enemies, Ranked
