Here’s What ‘Fallout’ Viewers Need To Know About the Brotherhood of Steel

Like a nuclear bomb, Fallout is changing the landscape … of TV! The world of Fallout is vast and ever changing, like the post-apocalyptic gene pool! So many factions to keep track of! Let’s start with one of the oldest: the Brotherhood of Steel.

Who are the Brotherhood of Steel?

Long story short, the Brotherhood of Steel is a paramilitary organization focused on tracking down and regulating advanced technology in order to ensure the survival or the human race. Founded by rogue U.S. Army officer Captain Roger Maxon, the Brotherhood believes that humanity cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons, much like a bull cannot be trusted to manage a china shop. Something is gonna get broken—odds are it’s gonna be a couple atomic nuclei, which will break more atomic nuclei, which will break the casing of a warhead that will break the planet in two.

It happened once, so to speak, and the Bros don’t want to watch it happen again. By reclaiming nuclear tech, the Brudders can ensue that it will never be used to blow stuff up again. Who’s gonna make the sure the Brotherhood—made up of fallible human beings itself—isn’t gonna just blow us all up regardless? That’s not your concern, citizen.

Like the Knights of Columbus from our era, the Brotherhood is made up of separate chapters that operate in the former United States of America. Like a shonen anime protagonist, their power has grown steadily over the years, and they have solidified themselves as one of the dominant factions in the post-apocalyptic world. The Brotherhood of Steel is ubiquitous in Fallout; they’ve appeared in every game since the very beginning! Though their influence has shifted over the years depending on time and the chapters currently in operation, let’s make one thing clear: the Brotherhood is here to stay.

A brief history of the Brotherhood of Steel

Think of the post-apocalyptic Earth as a college campus, and the nuclear apocalypse as a form of ultra-destructive hazing. The Brotherhood of Steel is the frat that emerged to protect against that threat. It didn’t start out with nuclear warhead launches, of course. It started with something smaller scale but no less screwed up: human experimentation.

Back when the U.S. government was still functional, it had sanctioned a group of scientists at the Mariposa Military Base to begin testing the Forced Evolutionary Virus on human subjects. The base was run by Colonel Robert Spindel and Captain Roger Maxon, though Mason had limited knowledge about the tests. Eventually, word got out that the base’s scientists were testing the virus on military prisoners, and the results weren’t pretty. With a name like Forced Evolutionary Virus, how could they be?

After the test subjects became violent and bloodthirsty, Maxon had to assume command of a bad situation. He interrogated the scientists and ended up killing the head researcher in order to prevent a full-scale mutiny by the soldiers on base. Maxon assumed command of the base and told the U.S. government that he and his men were now operating outside of the American military. This was all a calculated ploy to get the government to provide answers about the horrors of the Mariposa experiments, but the answers never came.

Bombs did.

Unbeknownst to Maxon and his men, the world had climbed out of the kiddie pool of small arms conflict and cannonballed into the deep end of nuclear war. The United States and China unleashed their arsenals against each other, leading to the total destruction of both nations and the collapse of global society. Maxon and his men were on their own. In order to escape nuclear fallout (title drop!), Maxon, his men, and their families began a mass exodus from Mariposa. The finally settled in a bunker in a place called Lost Hills, and began to rebuild.

In order to distance his men from the horrors of the war and the nation that got them into it, Maxon did away with U.S. military customs and created the Brotherhood of Steel. The new ideology of fraternity and perseverance boosted his men’s morale, allowing them to forge on in the face of human extinction. The ideology of the Brotherhood spread, and more survivors joined their ranks. In a few decades, the Brotherhood had established itself as one of former America’s most powerful organizations. A new era had begun.

(featured image: Prime Video)