You know what I’ve always wondered when playing Fallout? Where did that silly little Vault Boy come from? He’s always got his thumb up, looking happy as the world burns. Gee, what’s his story? Nobody else? Well, it doesn’t matter. We’re gonna find out in Amazon’s TV show as it delves into the creation of the iconic mascot.
Vault Boy sticking his thumb up has a practical purpose. If the mushroom cloud’s stem is wider than your thumb, you’re within the radiation zone. So, run like hell or you’ll become a ghoul.
Todd Howard revealed to Vanity Fair that, in keeping with Fallout’s style of humour, Vault Boy’s imagery will get an origin story. “That was something that they came up with that’s just really smart,” he said.
Place your bets now – the Vault-Tec CEO’s kid gets obliterated in a nuke test; Vault-Tec forces a bunch of ‘willing’ participants to design the mascot in a Squid Games-style competition; or Vault-Tec travels to the future and finds a bobblehead, creating a bootstrap paradox.
There isn’t a lot of information out there about Vault Boy, so the story could be anything at this point. He’s been a staple since the first game as Vault-Tec’s corporate mascot, but that’s all we know. Fair enough, he’s a marketing tool, not a character or a vital piece of lore.
As for his origin in the real world, he was loosely inspired by Rich Uncle Pennybags (AKA the iconic Monopoly mascot) and designed by Leonard Boyarsky (via Fandom).
While the thumbs-up can be tied to the mushroom cloud test, Brian Fargo and Tramell Ray Isaac denied that it’s the reason Vault Boy does it. They said that it’s simply reflective of his “positive attitude,” pretending that “everything is okay, when it really isn’t.”
Perhaps his in-universe origin will finally explain why he’s trademarked as “Vault Man” and not “Boy”, or where Vault Girl came from. The possibilities are truly endless. Whatever the reason is, it will be canon to the games as Amazon’s show is part of the official lore.
“We view what’s happening in the show as canon,” Howard told Vanity Fair. “That’s what’s great, when someone else looks at your work and then translates it in some fashion.”
While we eagerly await Vault Boy’s origin story (bitten by a radioactive vault, no doubt), Vanity Fair has shared a bunch of photos taken from the show, giving us our first look at Vault 33, a cowboy ghoul, the Brotherhood of Steel, and much more. You can check them out here.
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