Sirens are a mainstay and play a major role in Borderlands 3, as not only the main antagonists are Sirens, but the powers of Lilith, the transference ability, and more all come up to some degree. Lore-wise, they've been around for quite some time, meaning there's likely been hundreds, if not thousands, of Sirens in the Borderlands universe over the years, with their powers either being transferred selectively or randomly by death over the ages.
While the core details of Sirens are well-known, that they each feature unique "Phase" powers, have tattoos and can manifest wings, and are somehow connected to Eridium, Eridians, and the Vaults, there's still a ton of questions by the end of Borderlands 3. Here are just a few things that many do not know.
A Seventh Siren?
In Borderlands 2, Handsome Jack reveals that only six Sirens can exist at any given time, but this does not appear to be completely true. There's only been six Sirens active at any given time so far, yet Nyriad reveals the existence of a Seventh Siren in Borderlands 3. According to Nyriads' final Eridian writing in the game, there is a Seventh that must never been found, likely meaning that she has never died. Otherwise, her abilities would have cropped up somewhere in the galaxy. It seems likely that she will be a major plot point going into Borderlands 4 or serve a major role in forthcoming Borderlands 3 DLC, but how that turns out remains to be seen.
Non-Canon Sirens
A few Sirens also pop up in the Borderlands comics, but they are generally considered canon. If they are ever officially made so, it could have some real game-changes to what's officially known about the characters. In one comic, a young Lilith sees a very old Siren who eventually dies, also showing the other known comics and two mysterious figures. Furthermore, there's also Asha, whose Siren powers allowed her to control beasts. Since her role ties closely to the events of the first game, it just doesn't seem likely that she's ever fully canonized.
A Sirens' Wings
Beyond the powers, Sirens are known to manifest wings. This has proven to be true for every Siren who uses their abilities, from Lilith and Maya to Angel and Tannis. However, there are two sirens whose wings have not been seen: Borderlands' Commandant Steele and BL3's Amara. The former never shows off her power at all, so this is surprising and never likely to be seen now. The latter manifests six arms in Borderlands 3 that could be argued to shape in a wing-like formation, but whether that's meant to be her wings or she has some that just haven't be seen is still up in the air.
Siren Powers
The known Siren powers in the universe are Phasewalk, Phaselock, Phaseshift, Phasetrance, and Phase Leech, all of which have some role in Borderlands 3. This means that there is at least 1 unknown power, likely belonging to Steele in the first game. The Seventh Sirens' powers are also unknown, and if Phasetrance was Steele's power before transferring to Amara, a popular fan theory, that means there would be 2 unknown. Asha's beast ability could later appear, but since she is non-canon, that leaves a lot of ambiguity still in the known powers of the Sirens.
The Sirens of Borderlands 1
Excluding the aforementioned Seventh siren, that means that there were six Sirens in existence at the beginning of the original Borderlands. Who these Sirens were have never been revealed, but they can be boiled down to a select handful. As such, the 6 Sirens at the start of Borderlands were composed of the following:
- Lilith
- Commandant Steele
- Maya
- Angel
- Amara
- Tyreen
Of course, there could arguably be some ambiguity here given that powers transfer, yet that doesn't appear to be the case. Lilith, Steele, and Angel all play a role in the first game. Tyreen Calypso was born with her powers, with Maya and Amara also having solid reputations and proficiency with the powers, likely meaning these 6 are the core Sirens. And if this is the case, then Asha's role as a non-canon character seems doomed to stay that way.
Now, it's known that Angels' powers transferred to Tannis, Maya's powers transferred to Borderlands 3's Ava, but what becomes of Tyreen's power, of Steele's power (if not transferred to Amara), and of Lilith's power (assuming she is actually dead) remains to be seen in the greater Borderlands universe.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.