While Borderlands 4 fans certainly didn’t expect to wake up to a massive Siren lore drop on social media, that’s exactly what happened, as the game’s Narrative Director Sam Winkler made a groundbreaking X post about this particular category of Vault Hunters. Per Winkler, while there can only be six Sirens at a time, when they pass on their powers to a new wielder, the new Siren does not have to inherit the same set of abilities. This is a huge reveal, as it essentially gives Gearbox the freedom to design new Siren powers for years to come. However, I’m more interested in Winkler’s follow-up comments about Borderlands 4’s new Siren, Vex.
While Vex isn’t the Siren I wanted, I’m still excited to learn more about her, as she looks like an awesome character thanks to her summoning abilities. Winkler’s initial post essentially opened Vex up to having inherited her abilities from Tyreen Calypso or Commandant Steele. However, Winkler later replied to another comment on X and clarified that neither of these late Sirens passed on their powers to Vex - something that has me very curious to learn where exactly her powers came from. After all, one option would be a gigantic spoiler, another would be a lore deep cut, and the final choice would please a large chunk of the fan base, but would leave some fans like myself disappointed. Right now, I can’t really tell if these choices (or something else entirely) will be the path Gearbox takes.
While Commandant Steele died over a decade before Vex gets her Siren powers, a popular fan theory argues Steele's powers weren’t released until the Destroyer was fully killed in Borderlands 3, as the monster had killed and eaten Steele at the end of the original game.
The Origins of Vex’s Borderlands 4 Powers is Unclear, But There Are Three Clear Contenders
Option 1: Lilith
Perhaps the simplest answer is that Lilith really did die at the end of Borderlands 3 when she "Firehawked" Elpis. While her “death” scene was certainly vague, and seemed like setup for a future return - a concept that the ending of Ava’s Mysteriouslier missions only further supported - perhaps Gearbox will kill off its original playable Siren after all. If this were the plan, then the studio could certainly say that Vex got her powers as soon as Lilith sacrificed herself, providing a simple justification for the new character being empowered. While this could be interesting in the sense that Vex would naturally feel pressured to live up to the legendary character that enabled her to ascend, that already feels like Ava’s role, as she was mentored by Maya and was given Lilith’s role as Crimson Raider leader. It also feels like too much work has been done to prepare for the search for Lilith, so to me, tossing out the "search for Lilith" story would feel like a waste of the previous game and an iconic character.
Option 2: Emily Swan
One contender for Vex’s predecessor is Emily Swan, a character even hardcore Borderlands fans may not be familiar with (and that Winkler himself doesn't seem to know, though this was likely said in jest). This is because she comes from the divisive game Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, with her story also being limited to audio recordings. Still, because said story involved the mysterious Watcher, a character many fans took interest in, those who did take notice of Emily Swan’s tale certainly remember it. Essentially, Emily’s backstory is as follows:
- Emily’s mother, Annie, is a Dahl contractor who is working to make money to afford her daughter’s treatment, but is struggling to get the necessary care for Emily as her condition worsens.
- As she works, Annie notices that she is being watched by a Guardian, with said Guardian being none other than The Watcher. Eventually, she is visited by the alien, who tells her Emily will live and that Annie should leave Elpis.
- Sure enough, Emily survives, with a “purple light” filling her room in Nurse Nina’s hospital before the young girl wakes up. The mother and daughter then leave together to go to Pandora, thanking The Watcher for their kindness.
Given the purple light and Vex’s purple tattoos, some fans have argued that Emily Swan may be Vex’s real name, and that she had been marked to be a future Siren by the Watcher. While this could technically still turn out to be true, based on Vex’s animated short showing her backstory, the two seem like different characters. Perhaps Emily Swan died off-screen due to all the chaos found around Pandora, with Vex gaining her abilities after the minor background character’s demise.
Option 3: Ava
Though Emily Swan is a safer bet since she’s not an on-screen character, meaning she has very few die-hard fans, perhaps Ava’s many haters will get their wish, and she’ll be killed off-screen to allow a different Siren to take her place. Personally, I think Ava can be redeemed, and that it would only make Borderlands 3’s story even worse in hindsight to give her an unceremonious death in between BL3 and BL4. Sure, it would be easy to say she died while searching for Lilith on a far-off planet, but then Maya’s sacrifice would really have been for nothing. Additionally, with Amara pet-sitting Hermes for Ava in Borderlands 4, it’s certainly implied that she’ll be back eventually. Hopefully, she will be improved upon in Borderlands 4, with a different Siren falling so Vex can rise. She is certainly an option available to Gearbox, though.
Borderlands 4 Will Have to Clear Up The Siren Confusion
It would have been simple enough for Gearbox to just outright say that the sixth unknown Siren died to give Vex her powers, or that she inherited them from Tyreen or Steele. Instead, Borderlands 4’s narrative director crossed out the final two options and didn't take the chance to say Vex got them from an unknown Siren, suggesting that there are plans in place for a more interesting “donor” of Vex’s powers. Maybe there will be some leeway with Lilith, like her surviving the Firehawking of Elpis but losing her powers in the process. Regardless, a more concrete look at Sirens is going to be necessary sooner rather than later.
If Emily Swan is indeed a Siren like so many fans have assumed, and she hasn’t been killed, then there may be six active Sirens coming out of Borderlands 4: Emily, Tannis, Amara, Lilith, Ava, and Vex. This means that Gearbox would not only be stuck answering what happened to Tyreen’s powers, but that it would have to make a character with previously featured powers playable (Ava), give Emily Swan a proper role, or kill off one of its current Sirens to make room for a new playable hero. There’s also the whole Seventh Siren prophecy to consider, but with Sam Winkler saying there can only be 6 Sirens at one time, it doesn’t seem like Nyriad’s situation will be explored anytime soon. Ultimately, while it’s exciting to know that there will be plenty of new Siren powers down the road, I’m more worried about right now. Specifically, who died to give Vex her powers and whether I’ll be sad (Lilith), content (Emily), or annoyed (Ava) by their loss.
Borderlands 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
