The story of the Vault Boy makes Cooper Howard smile. Image source: Amazon
The Fallout series has acquired many iconic identifying features over the course of its existence: the Pip-Boy, the Vaults, the Nuka Cola that is popular throughout the wasteland and of course the apparently always in a good mood Vault Boy, who sticks his thumb out at us.
But there is a sad story behind the figure. We now know this thanks to the Fallout series that launched on Amazon Prime. This shows us where the Vault Boy actually comes from.
Therefore, one also applies from here Spoiler warning: If you haven’t been able to watch Fallout on Amazon yet or have saved the series for another time for some reason, you should stop reading now and instead take the emergency exit to the second season of Arcane.
This is how the Vault Boy was born
The linchpin of Vault Boy’s origin story is Cooper Howard, also known simply as the Ghoul in the series. Over the course of Season 1, we learn that the hardened anti-hero has experienced a tragic story.
Cooper Howard was once an acclaimed actor best known for his roles in westerns. One day, however, he makes a momentous mistake that would change his career and therefore his life forever: He becomes an advertising figure for Vault-Tec.
The manufacturer of Fallout’s typical fallout shelters not only has Cooper Howard film a commercial to boost sales, but also takes a photo of him, dressed in a blue Vault uniform, giving a thumbs up and smiling broadly – get this one Pose familiar?
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A little later we get certainty: on a billboard we see, that Vault-Tec replaced the actor on the advertising poster with a cartoon characterwith his grin and thumbs up, but now with light blonde hair.
The Vault Boy has seen the light of day, So strictly speaking it’s Cooper Howardwhich was simply made unrecognizable.
Once again with your gesture – thumbs up!
Instead of becoming even more famous, Cooper Howard lost everything. The public suddenly sees him as a representative of the end of the world and Hollywood drops him like a hot potato. At some point his main source of income is appearing as a cowboy at children’s birthday parties – like at the beginning of episode 1.
This now makes it clear why Cooper Howard reacts so negatively to his husband’s request when he calls out to him: Once again with your gesture – thumbs up!
and Howard answers him: Given the circumstances, I would rather not do it.
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Why Cooper Howard chose this gesture, which is often perceived as positive, is also explained in the series – or at least strongly hinted at. Shortly after the photo session he tells his daughter:
Back when I was in the Marines, they told us: If the big bomb ever drops, we should give it our thumbs up. And if the cloud is smaller than your thumb, we should run away.
So now we know: Behind the seemingly always happy Vault Boy is a failed actor and a gesture that is supposed to save your own life in an emergency. Creepy, isn’t it?
The dark origins of the Vault Boy are not the only exciting story hidden in the Amazon series. Among other things, it is finally clarified who really started the fateful war. And we already have a number of guesses about what impact the events of the series could have on Fallout 5 when the game eventually appears.
You can find out more about this in the articles linked above. What do you think of the tragic story of Cooper Howard? Tell us in the comments!
