What Are Deathclaws? Fallouts Deadliest Predators Explained

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of 'Fallout'

The Big Picture

• Fallout Season 1 showcases thrilling production design, engaging characters, and sets the stage for a potential Season 2 in New Vegas.
• The final shot of the season finale teases the arrival of menacing Deathclaws, iconic creatures in the Fallout universe.
• Deathclaws were created through experimentation and are a formidable threat, likely to pose a challenge to the characters in Season 2.

After being the subject of wide critical acclaim, Fallout is proving itself as a video game adaptation that is worth a damn. Brilliant production design, rock-solid characters, and an overall great sense of fun have helped create a show that is a treat for new and old fans alike. However, even in the span of eight episodes, Season 1 of Fallout is just scratching the surface of what this vast and expansive world has to offer.

Undoubtedly, fans are already talking about Fallout's shocking and exciting Season 1 finale and what it implies for a possible Season 2. The main topic of conversation is understandably the reveal of a live-action New Vegas, with the promise that one of the franchise's most iconic locations will play a role in the show's future. That said, there's also another more subtle tease in the final shot of the Fallout season finale. As an on-the-run Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan) nears the borders of the infamous city, we see the distinct skull of a deadly Fallout predator that is certain to send a shiver down the spines of longtime fans.

Fallout

In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.

What Are Deathclaws, and Why Are They So Notorious in the 'Fallout' Universe?

The skull seen at the end of Fallout Season 1 completely belongs to a deceased Deathclaw. Next to Dogmeat, Deathclaws are probably the most recognizable non-human, non-mutant creatures to ever exist in the series. Looking almost as if they just came straight out of a Jurassic Park movie, these collosal, hulking creatures come complete with razor-sharp teeth, ultra-powerful horns, and a massive pair of claws that can rip through a set of power armor like it was made of paper.

Just like the Brotherhood of Steel, the Deathclaws have been a part of the Fallout franchise from the very beginning, dating all the way back to the first ever game in 1997. They are almost always depicted as the most challenging enemy a player can come across. Whether a player decides to take a stealthy approach against the ever-vigilant monsters or face them head-on with heavy weaponry, Deathclaws will rip and tear against their prey until their last breath.

The good news is that Deathclaws are somewhat rare in the Wasteland, typically choosing to stay in their dens and only venture out to hunt. They also aren't typically known to seek out humans as their prey, though that's mainly because Deathclaws are more than capable of devouring creatures twice the size of humans. However, should a settlement of humans have the misfortune of encountering these creatures, they'll likely not have enough time to react before the creatures strike.

The Deathclaws Were Created Before the Great War

The bulk of Fallout's vast library of monsters and creatures were created as a result of nuclear radiation left behind by The Great War. This led to the creation of giant insects like Radroaches, two-headed cows like Brahmin, and disfigured bears like the Yao Guai. So what animal did the Deathclaw mutate from? Technically none, as Deathclaws aren't actually mutants at all.

The origins of Deathclaws date back to before the bombs fell during The Great War. When exactly they were created isn't precisely known, but we do know that the first Deathclaws were born through experimentation and genetic manipulation conducted by the United States government. A combination of various animals and reptiles, the goal of the Deathclaw project was to use the creatures as soldiers in close-combat encounters. This would greatly reduce U.S. casualties in these types of settings as well as give enemy soldiers a true combat challenge. That said, there aren't any official indications that any Deathclaws were deployed in a real combat scenario, perhaps due to the monsters being difficult to control.

The History Behind That City in ‘Fallout’s Finale

Obviously, the experiments were a success, and after the U.S. military dissolved and society collapsed during the war, the Deathclaws must have found a way to escape and multiply. Compared to some of the Wasteland's other creatures, Deathclaws benefited from natural selection the least, since they were already designed to be the world's ultimate predator. There are definitely some known mutations of the Deathclaw species that exist throughout the Wasteland, and those are even more dangerous than their non-mutated cousins. As infamously independent as they are, there are a select few examples of Deathclaws being tamed in the post-war Wasteland. Typically, the ones responsible for taming Deathclaws are the sinister Enclave, the shadowy fascist organization that hopes to rebuild America as a dictatorship. The evil cabal has been known to use Deathclaws for their own nefarious purposes, often fitting them with some kind of mind control device to get them to do their bidding.

The Season 1 Finale of 'Fallout' Teases Deathclaws in Season 2

The odds of Fallout getting a second season are looking pretty high, and good odds are exactly what this series will need if its protagonists, Lucy (Ella Purnell), Maximus (Aaron Moten), and Cooper (Walton Goggins), hope to survive a place like New Vegas. Still, the various political ins and outs of the infamous city pale in comparison to what a Deathclaw is capable of. They're truly dangerous creatures, and it seems fair that the show is taking its time to build up their arrival.

In Episode 2 of Fallout, we can already see what even lesser creatures in the world of Fallout are capable of. We see that a "noble" Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel can be defeated by a Yao Guai of all things, though admittedly, Knight Titus (Michael Rapaport) is not a shining example of a great warrior. That was just an irradiated bear, and yet it was still able to make some sizable dents and scratches on Titus' power armor. Now imagine what kind of damage a Deathclaw is capable of doing to that caliber of armor, and it's clear to see how they'll be a paramount threat in future seasons.

Fallout is available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.

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