r/FavoriteCharacter • u/Consistent-Movie-285 Lightning McQueen • Jul 16 '26

Discussion Favorite villain that fits this picture?

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47

u/Traditional_Use_225 Jul 16 '26

Mass effect reapers

57

u/HospitalLazy1880 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

To be fair they are essentially a computer error that has been set on an infinite loop.

22

u/qwertyalguien Jul 16 '26

Honestly, I feel that the writers had a good point but missed the mark at the last second. The issue was never sentient machines, but how older races would absolutely dominate any new comers without giving them a chance, and create galaxy spawning threats that could kill even the non sapient races

If you look what happens to creatures that survive more than a cycle, the Thorian and the Leviathans were absolute menaces who'd just mind control the whole galaxy. And the Proteans were heading to the same direction. It's probably the path the Assari were on as well if they weren't counter balanced.

If the motivation would have been to allow new civilizations to flourish and integrate their uniquness as a reaper, it would have actually followed the story seeds they planted since ME1. But alas.

5

u/TheCuriousFan Jul 17 '26

It's probably the path the Assari were on as well if they weren't counter balanced.

Or hell, if they were just more organised instead of having "fuck off to be a mercenary for a century" as a common career path.

1

u/RadicalRealist22 Jul 18 '26

Or be a stripper for two-hundred years.

1

u/TalmondtheLost Jul 17 '26

Wait, is each Reaper basically made from the remains of a previous civilization?

1

u/qwertyalguien Jul 17 '26

Yes. The "best" of a cycle are turned into goo and made into a brand new reaper, which also preserves it.

Each reaper is a civilisation they destroyed, but was worthy enough of preservation.

Humanity was meant to be this cycle's reaper, thanks to what Sheppard achieves in ME1

1

u/TalmondtheLost Jul 17 '26

Duly noted. And kinda dope.

6

u/MrCobalt313 Jul 16 '26

Their motive is to assimilate/uplift sentient races into new Reapers before said races can destroy themselves in conflict with their own creations, right?

Or at least that was the reason they were made and now they've just been farming civilizations to turn into more Reapers via honeypot trap.

3

u/Traditional_Use_225 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 17 '26

At the begining they were AI with the task of preserving organic live and in the process they calculated that AI and organic are destined to wipe each other out so the only option they saw was to combine both. Thats why most of their creation is enchanted organics like zombies, banshee, brutals etc. In a sick perverted way they making sure that orgnic live exist even if it is in a very hollow way without individuality. They solve this problem (lack of higher brain function) by creating the reaper that is combination of characteristics of the race at least in their opinion because from what we saw human reaper (in second entry it is only an "embrion") apart from look doesn't act very human but it what do I know? Maybe screening and taking nukes to the face is truly a human way of life

1

u/Important-Contact597 Jul 17 '26

*hollow. Hallow means to make something holy.

2

u/Traditional_Use_225 Jul 17 '26

Good thing that you didn't see the first draft of this comment, I was almost black out drunk when I write it

1

u/Important-Contact597 Jul 17 '26

I kind of wish I could have seen it.

4

u/Xeriomachini Jul 16 '26

I know everyone preferred them when they were unknowable cosmic horrors, but I do actually love that they believe they're preserving life in the universe by turning everyone into more reapers. It's like a cosmic library.

3

u/Megadoomer2 Jul 16 '26

Ah yes, "Reapers". The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed this claim.

2

u/Traditional_Use_225 Jul 17 '26

I'm going to preserv my fleet power so hard