Rhys Strongfork is the fan-favorite, augmented, CEO of the Atlas Corporation within the Borderlands series. He made his initial debut in TellTale's Tales From The Borderlands game, where he and the other protagonist, Fiona, attempt to unravel a secret behind the Atlas Corporation and its ties to The Vault of the Traveler on Pandora.
In Borderlands 3, Rhys is notably in a less protagonistic role but has echoes of the charm that made him so endearing in his first appearance. Despite surface-level details though, not much is known about the ambitious, young, industrialist. To remedy this, here are ten lesser-known facts about Rhys.
10 Augmentation For Progression
Firstly, the most obvious and striking features about Rhys Strongfork are certainly his augmentations – the ECHO-Eye and his robotic arm. What players might not know about these body enhancements is how exactly Rhys received them and for what reason.
According to dialogue early in Tales From The Borderlands, Rhys claims that he purchased these enhancements with a quarterly bonus in order to possess a competitive edge in the corporate world of Hyperion Industries. What is even more obscure is that Rhys won this bonus by leading the charge on a controversial yet beneficial Eridium mining deal.
9 The Vault Of The Traveler
By the end of Tales From The Borderlands, Rhys and Fiona have uncovered Atlas' secrets on Pandora and have gained entry to the Vault of the Traveler. For most fans, it was uncertain what exactly these two protagonists would find within, as precedent establishes an alien chamber filled with tons of guns.
But Tales was a story-focused game with very little shooting done by the players. So what could this unique Vault have to offer? The answer to that question is: unknown. When Fiona and Rhys approach the main chest within the Vault, both characters disappear in a flash of light. The next games in the series never explain what they found, but given Rhys' successful career afterward, inferences can be made.
8 A Voice Actor's Influence
Within Tales From The Borderlands, Rhys can be seen wearing striped, colorful socks. Given the overall style and personality of his character, the idea that he does not like to wear plain, single-tone socks is not all that surprising. However, the connection goes deeper than that.
Rhys' voice actor is the venerable Troy Baker. The actor is responsible for voicing characters like Booker DeWitt of Bioshock Infinite, Joel of The Last of Us, and Talion of Middle Earth: Shadow of War, just to name a small selection of his career exploits. Baker is notable for expressing a love of having "no boring socks." TellTale added in this detail to draw a connection between the voice actor and his character.
7 He Has Strange Tastes
In a perfect world, an individual should never have to face negative judgment based on a personal taste or preference. Unfortunately for Rhys, he does not live in a perfect world. According to an in-game sequence in Tales where players access Rhys' Viper Drive, he possesses a password and hint that implicates him as being a lover of the frogurt flavor Chocolate Dill Pickle.
Now, of course, to each their own tastes; however, there is a reason why most flavor options do not include "Chocolate Dill Pickle" and that reason is that it is strange. Absolutely bizarre.
6 Getting In On The Ground Floor
After the events of Tales and before the events of Borderlands 3, it is known that Rhys becomes the owner and CEO of the Atlas Corporation, a gun manufacturer that had essentially been ruined since the events of the first Borderlands game. Because of this well-established fact, when Rhys first approached the notable gun salesman and entrepreneur Markus Kincaid about getting in on the ground floor of the corporation's revival, the latter initially laughed the young man away, doubting he would ever succeed.
But as Borderlands 3 proves, Markus was wrong about Rhys and ends up getting into a partnership with him at a disadvantage. It is implied through ECHO-logs that what Rhys found in the Vault may have aided in Atlas' revival, but as of this writing, this has not yet been officially confirmed.
5 Lorelei's Barista Origins
In Borderlands 3, Rhys has gained several allies in his control of the Atlas Corporation, one of them even being a previous protagonist, the assassin, Zer0. Another such ally is one of the primary quest-givers on the planet of Promethea, a hot-headed mercenary with a heart of gold, Lorelei.
Given Lorelei's proficiency with firearms and leadership skills, one would think she has quite an interesting backstory. The opposite is the case, as Lorelei was a simple barista at a coffee shop on Promethea who got caught up in Maliwan's invasion. She actually only gets hired by Rhys because he frequented a coffee shop where her violent nature was sometimes made apparent due to annoying patrons.
4 Where Are They Now?
If players in Borderlands 3 are keen on exploring the backstory of characters and the universe at large, they can encounter a rather interesting ECHO-log in Atlas HQ on Promethea recorded by Rhys himself. In it, he is having a conversation with Zer0, asking if he has any leads on finding someone. The only thing known for certain is that, based on the pronouns he uses, Rhys is searching for a woman.
Now, the most obvious guesses for this person's identity are that she is either Fiona or her younger sister, Sasha. As of the most recent games, it is not known where they are or if either is still alive. The case for Fiona is her and Rhys' partnership throughout Tales; however, given the fact that Sasha and Rhys shared a mutual attraction and the fact that he has a picture of her on his desk, it is more likely that she is the person in question.
3 Dirty Deeds Done Clean
Speaking of Atlas corporation, most fans have probably missed how exactly Rhys acquired the company in the first place. The answer lies with Handsome Jack, or more specifically, it lies within his office aboard the Helios space station.
When Rhys is conversing with the hologram of Jack in his office and subsequently survives his betrayal, Rhys noticed at one point that Jack possessed the certificate of ownership for the corporation. At some point, Rhys acquired that certificate, whether while in the office or amongst the wreckage, and he would go on to restore the dead company back to notoriety from the ground up.
2 Friendly Origins
Vaughn has one of the most interesting character arcs within the entire Borderlands series, as well as more staying power than anyone could have guessed. The once lowly Hyperion accountant turned former bandit leader of the Sun-Smashers on Pandora has been Rhys' best friend since childhood.
Their banter in Tales alone is some of the funniest in the franchise and does a great job of showing how long the pair have actually known one another. It is unfortunate to see that Vaughn faces a bit of neglect from Rhys by the events of Borderlands 3, but his constant optimism and slight dips into insanity have helped him to still see the character as one of his best buds.
1 The Doppelganger Theory
The final fact about Rhys Strongfork is the existence of a theory that he may not be Rhys Strongfork at all! Due to external circumstances that lead to a change in voice actors as well as the addition of the controversial mustache to the character's design, some fans have speculated that the Rhys players meet in Borderlands 3 is not the same Rhys from Tales.
Due to Tales' mysterious ending involving Fiona and Rhys, some believe he is still missing and that the person who runs Atlas corporation is actually some kind of doppelganger. However, the creator of said doppelganger and their intentions remain a mystery at the moment.