The Borderlands series is packed with memorable characters; from the delightfully simple Scooter, to the devilishly arrogant Handsome Jack. As the franchise switches from a post-apocalyptic setting to high-fantasy with Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, one of the most beloved character gets her time in the limelight. Tiny Tina is one of Pandora's most unpredictable inhabitants, as her constant youthful excitement is balanced by more than a small helping of madness.
With the upcoming Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, the titular character is set to have her most significant outing yet. Taking on the role of dungeon master as players embark upon a tabletop-inspired quest gives her ever-enjoyable character the chance to shine. Though Tiny Tina has spent most of the previous Borderlands games in the background, her history is far more intriguing that most would realize. However, the backstory that the developer conjured for Pandora's favorite explosives expert is worthy of further analysis, especially as Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is right around the corner.
Tiny Tina: A Backstory Worth Telling
Tiny Tina's unstable nature surely stems from events prior to her debut in Borderlands 2, when her family were sold to Hyperion to serve as test subjects. Tina escaped, with the help of a well-timed grenade, but her parents weren't so lucky. When Tina began her solitary life on Pandora, she vowed revenge on the psycho that doomed her to that life.
Now free from the clutches of Hyperion, her place in Pandora becomes clearer by the day, and so begins her journey as the planet's most proficient demolitions master. Tina's hyperactive nature and fascination for explosives spawns from that very day, and the player sees glimpses of the real Tina behind the over-the-top festivities.
Save for a few interactions with Lilith and Athena, Tiny Tina's inclusion in 2014's Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is somewhat sparse, but her debut in 2012's Borderlands 2 is far more substantial. She assists the vault hunters in their overarching quest to find the famed vault and best the ever-sinister Handsome Jack. Introductions are made when the player requires her services, as they look to capture a vault key aboard a train, and Tiny Tina offers two "badonkadonks" (rockets) to slow the train down.
In the optional "You Are Cordially Invited" quest line, Tiny Tina takes advantage of the vault hunters' expertise, and has the player lures her captor to her workshop. Tina, in a dramatic "tea party" role-play, gets her revenge. The quests provide some critical character development to a person that is, surprisingly, more than meets the eye.
Taking Tiny Tina to The Tabletop and Beyond
In the much-praised DLC for Borderlands 2, dubbed Tiny Tina's Assault On Dragon Keep, Tina takes center stage, assuming the role of "Bunker Master" for her tabletop game "Bunkers and Badasses," a glaringly obvious take on the popular Dungeons and Dragons RPG. For the first time, Tiny Tina was shown to be more than just comedic relief, as her difficulty grappling with the death of her friend Roland (which takes place during the events of Borderlands 2) is heavily featured throughout. Still in her early teens, this is the last look at Tina before she hits adulthood with the 2019 release of Borderlands 3.
Borderlands 3 brings players once again back to the hostile world of Pandora, and Tiny Tina is not so Tiny this time. Parented by Brick and Mordecai in the years leading up to Borderlands 3, Tina spends much of the time getting intro trouble, in one instance by organizing a fake wedding to scam her exes to make a profit from their gifts.
After Wainwright Jacobs hires the B-Team to rescue Hammerlock, and they go eerily quiet in the process, the player is tasked with locating their whereabouts. From there, Tiny Tina's involvement in the main narrative ends, but she can be found in Devil's Razor, where a few side missions can be undertaken, not least to help reunite her with her pet skag, Enrique.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands takes place not long after the events of Assault on Dragon Keep , which means players will once again be acquainted with Tiny Tina as she was in Borderlands 2. While the young explosives expert is introduced in 2012 is an entertaining character throughout the game, over time she becomes one of the few characters on Pandora who is much more than meets the eye. Her backstory is lined with tragedy, excitement, and mayhem, and as Tiny Tina's Wonderlands puts her back in a high-fantasy setting, the potential for the unpredictable is higher than ever.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands releases March 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.