A complicated andintriguing steampunk worldfor gamers to explore, theBioShockfranchise has been a heavy hitter in the industry since the first game’s initial release in 2007. Followed by what some have called the worst game in the trilogy, the last game in the franchise made some big waves in how games are made. And how incredible stories are told. With complex political and moral themes,BioShockhas provided players with an experience unlike any other.
Set across multiple dimensions, each game has a hand in how the events of the other games have played out. Writers and developers have managed to connect them in a way not seen in any other trilogy.
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The franchise has been named one of the best of all time and the games have lived in the hearts of fans for almost two decades. Like many successful games, at the heart of what players have come to love aboutBioShockare the characters–specifically, the diversity and similarities–between the franchise’s antagonists.
This list contains spoilers!
5Sophia Lamb
First introduced through recordings inBioShock, Sofia Lamb rises to leadership after the deaths of both Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine. Lamb was brought to Rapture by Ryan himself–who hoped that she would be able to help citizens impacted by the isolation of the “utopia.“Lamb, a talented but fanatical psychiatrist, believed in a collective city, with everyone somehow connected.
In her work with her patients, Lamb slowly created a following of citizens who later began to see her views and actions as a religion. Her ability to seemingly sympathize with the poor of Rapture would eventually help her become its new leader. But–her ambition–like many others in theBioShockfranchise–would be the key to her failure.
Lamb is defeated by her own daughter, Eleanor Lamb, and her bonded Big Daddy, Delta. This is after failing to create a perfect citizen through Eleanor and Plasmid experimentation. While ahorrifying villain inBioShock 2, many fans believe Lamb pales in comparison to other villains in the series.
4The Songbird
The origins of Elizabeth’s jailer inBioShock Infiniteare unclear. What players do know is revealed during the events of ‘Burial at Sea,’ where audio recordings depict conversations and plans between Rapture’s Dr. Yi Suchong and Colombia’s Jeremiah Fink. Fink was able to build the Songbird after finding a way to see into alternate dimensions. The Songbird, in many ways, is modeled after the Big Daddy.
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At first, efforts to bond the Songbird with Elizabeth are fruitless. It is not until Elizabeth repairs the Songbird after an incident while she was young that the bond is created. And a strong bond it is, for the Songbird is relentless in its efforts to return Elizabeth to her tower throughout Bioshock Infinite.
A fascinating marvel, the machine is also an almost undefeatable foe. Booker Dewitt and Elizabeth are forced to flee rather than fight several times over the course of the game. The Songbird is only defeated by Elizabeth, who transports it to Rapture and traps it beneath the sea.
3Frank Fontaine
Frank Fontaine, otherwise known as ‘Atlas’ is one of two antagonists in theiconic first installmentin theBioShockfranchise. First encountered when Jack enters Rapture, Fontaine wastes no time in using him to further his own goals. Unlike fellow antagonist Andrew Ryan, Fontaine is the one driving many of the players' actions. By using the phrase “Would you kindly,” he is able to control Jack and use him to eventually kill his arch nemesis, Andrew Ryan.
Before the fall of Rapture, Fontaine was the man behind the funding of ADAM and eventually Plasmids – both having a hand in the city’s population becoming manic and unpredictable.
Fontaine is an expert conman, convincing Jack that he’s just looking to rescue his family from Rapture as ‘Atlas.’ It is only revealed after the death of Andrew Ryan that Fontaine only used him to achieve complete control of Rapture. An impressive final boss, Fontaine makes another appearance inBioShock Infinite’s ‘Burial at Sea.’
2Andrew Ryan
Andrew Ryan founded Rapture in an effort to create a utopia filled with the world’s best and brightest. He held firm in his belief that people could only own what they earned–and he hated those who he called ‘parasites’ – groups that benefited from the work of others. For a while, his idea for Rapture had come to fruition. But his hatred for the lower class would lead to his death.
An ambitious man, Ryan’s push to continue to better Rapture at the cost of a number of its citizens helps in the rise of both Fontaine andBioShock 2’santagonist, Sofia Lamb.
ThroughoutBioShock, Ryan can be heard lamenting to and threatening Jack – who is later revealed to be his son. In his final moments, Ryan reveals to Jack the truth behind his actions and delivers the iconic line, ‘a man chooses, a slave obeys.’ He then uses the ‘would you kindly’ phrase to order Jack to kill him.
1Zachary Comstock
The founder ofBioShock: Infinite’s Columbia, Zachary Comstock, is a religious zealot, nationalist, and dictator. He is also the core catalyst in the events of what has been called the greatest game in the franchise. With the help of Rosalind Lutece, Comstock is able tocreate his ideal nation – Columbia. Floating above the world, Columbia serves as what Comstock believes is the perfect nation.
Eventually, Comstock is able to use the Lutece’s technology to traverse dimensions and further the technological advancement of Columbia. But, the continued use of the technology takes a heavy toll on his body and bars him from producing an heir to his nation. Desperate, Comstock convinces analternate version of himself,Booker DeWitt, to give up his child.
DeWitt, aided by the Luteces, would eventually travel to Columbia toretrieve his daughter, now renamed Elizabeth. The two team up to defeat Comstock, who, in the end, had a hand in the destruction of both Columbia and Rapture.
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