Who could forget this particular gem? Or indeed, the iconic monologue that accompanied it? Michael Mando's purpose-built psycho-pirate wowed gaming audiences when he appeared in the Far Cry series' third entry, explaining Einstein's definition of insanity to a whole new generation of gamers and in turn propelling the character to newfound heights of popularity. Vaas was the clear highlight of Far Cry 3's drug-addled story mode, so it was a shame he was killed off so early on in the tale and replaced with an antagonist that was well...just not as interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw_KMj2ZCig Any one scene involving the character could shift from calm tranquility to unfettered anger in a moment, which displayed just how much of a threat he could be. On top of this, Mando displays some truly remarkable range in the role, which just completely eclipses the other talents involved in the game's production. To make things even better the actor portrayed the role in a live-action web series, showing that behind and in front of the camera, Vaas is still a terrifying personality to witness. Mando's talent in the role has definitely been a contributing factor to Far Cry's rise as a triple-A franchise, and has spawned countless poor imitations of the character desperate to emulate the same sort of effect. There's nothing quite as good as the original role however, and that's why Vaas will remain as such an absorbing antagonist.
Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.
