10 Gaming Villains With The Best Motivations

Handsome Jack is extremely narcissistic, irritatingly quick-witted and undeniably amusing as his constant mocking of players can be heard throughout Borderlands 2. Perhaps the quintessential 'love to hate' character, Handsome Jack is, at surface level, a typical Bond-esque villain who loves the sound of his own voice and can't resist making fun of the player at every opportunity.

While his villainy is certain, he constantly insists that it is he who is the hero of the story instead of the playable vault hunters. Saying it so often he surely believes it, his motivations become clearer as the Borderlands series goes on.

As told in 2014's Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Jack wasn't always the murderous CEO we knew. His distrust of vault hunters becomes clear and Lilith's betrayal forged the iconic character we immediately judged as 'just another bad guy'.

Expanding on his motivations somewhat was his inclusion in Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands. Rhys' relationship with a Handsome Jack --now a hologram stationed in a Hyperion ID chip-- was a central theme in each of the 5 episodes, with Jack's motivation simply becoming about survival. When Rhys rips out his cybernetics, Jack is once again doomed to oblivion.