Borderlands has no shortage of popular characters, as the universe is packed full of figures like powerful Sirens, lovable psychos, and mysterious robots. With so many over-the-top NPCs and playable Vault Hunters, it takes a lot for someone to stand out in the Borderlands universe. However, when it comes to sticking out from the crowd, few do it better than Tiny Tina.

Introduced in Borderlands 2 as a 13-year-old explosives expert, Tina’s fast speaking and hilarious mannerisms quickly made her a fan favorite. This love for Tina was only deepened with the Assault on Dragon Keep expansion, as players were able to witness a more serious and emotional side of the playful character. With 2022’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands set shortly after Borderlands 2 and confirmed to be bringing back the teenage version of Tina, now is a great time to catch up on her story.

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Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina’s Origins

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With Tiny Tina not being in the original Borderlands game, fans first met the character via the sequel. During the main story, the Vault Hunters need to stop a train, and they go to Tina for help. While she does assist, giving players a chance to enjoy Ashly Burch’s excellent performance, they also learn her tragic backstory. Tina and her family were sold to Handsome Jack and Hyperion so that he could experiment on them with Slag, something that saw both her mother and father dying. Tina only survived because she used a grenade her mother told her to hide in her dress.

Alongside these dark details, players can find a picture of Tina and Roland together in her room. As such, they were able to figure out that he was a father figure for Tina, a detail that would become important later on.

Assault On Dragon Keep: Mourning Roland

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While Tina did appear as a side character in Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage, she got a full expansion to herself in Assault on Dragon Keep. On the surface, this standout DLC was a hilarious and enjoyable Dungeons and Dragons parody. While some excellent enemy variety and fresh locations featured, it was the story that made the content stand out. Handsome Jack killed Roland in Borderlands 2, and the entire expansion sees Tina trying to pretend he isn’t gone. Making Roland the hero of her story, she eventually comes to terms with her loss at the end of the DLC. A heartbreaking moment that shows just how much Tina has had to go through, the scene remains one of the saddest in the franchise’s history.

Borderlands 3: The B-Team

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For those that started with Borderlands 3, seeing a younger Tina in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands could be odd. This is because she is an adult on the third game, as seven years had gone by between Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3. Fortunately, the third Borderlands game was kinder to Tina, though it came with the cost of her having a small role in the story. Now the leader of the B Team, a group comprised of Mordecai, Brick, and herself, the 20-year-old Tina leads this Crimson Raiders offshoot in various missions.

Fortunately, those that were let down by Tina not having a larger presence in Borderlands 3 have Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands to look forward to. The character will once again be a dungeon master in a fantasy-fueled campaign, and fans can expect plenty more laughs and tears based on her story thus far. While gamers will likely need to wait until the next mainline Borderlands game to see where the older Tina's story goes next, it should be a lot of fun to see her younger self in action again.

MORE: The Case for Tiny Tina's Wonderlands to Get a 'Post-Credits Scene'