Fallout’s Shocking Cameo Just Revealed A Huge Mutant Easter Egg
War never changes, and neither do voice actors.
Fallout, the TV series, has always differentiated itself from the game through new characters. Those new characters are so beloved that now they’re even getting integrated into the games themselves. But in Season 2 especially, the games have become even more crucial to the series.
Season 1 ended with Barb Howard telling the powers that be, “War. War never changes,” the line that became the catchphrase of the Fallout game franchise. Now, Season 2 has introduced the voice that originally said that phrase — and he’s playing a hugely important creature.
Warning: Spoilers for Fallout Season 2 Episode 6 ahead!
Cooper Howard’s impalement leads to a shocking character reveal.
The last time we left The Ghoul a.k.a. Cooper Howard, he was defenestrated by Lucy MacLean and impaled on a spike in the middle of New Vegas. He tries in vain to lift himself off of it, but eventually resigns himself to failure. But just when all is lost, a monstrous form comes and rescues him.
After taking him back to a hideout and healing him with a glowing green substance, the Ghoul’s savior offers a little biographical information: “They call us abominations, but they created our kind,” he says. The Ghoul denies this, but his savior clarifies. “Ghouls, mutants, we’re kin. And we should unite against our common enemy.”
So who is this mutant, and what does his appearance mean for Fallout? Super mutants have appeared in every Fallout game, but they are fundamentally different from ghouls. Ghouls were a natural consequence of the post-nuclear radiation, but mutants were purposefully created by the Enclave (that weird sciencey place we saw in Season 1) using the F.E.V., the Forced Evolutionary Virus. Regardless, both are alienated by humans and other survivors.
Fallout voiceover icon Ron Perlman actually shows his face (albeit under mutant makeup) in Fallout Season 2.
But this isn’t just any mutant: this still-nameless character is played by Ron Perlman, the voice actor behind perhaps the most famous part of Fallout entirely: the haunting opening narration from each game that always ended with “War. War never changes.” (He also does the closing narrations, providing an epilogue depending on player choice.) His voice isn’t quite the same, as the mutants have slightly affected voices, but in the small glimpse of the mutant’s face, it’s clear that Perlman is actually portraying him, not just providing the voice.
With super mutants being a huge part of Fallout lore, it was only a matter of time until they were brought into the series. Now, it’s just a matter of how their story will intersect with everyone else’s.
