Super mutant

Super mutants are mutated humans, products of infection by the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). They are much taller, bulkier and muscular than pure strain humans, have (mostly) green, gray, or yellowish skin, are immune to disease and radiation, and are gifted with superhuman strength and endurance. Although they are completely sterile, the rapid regeneration of their cells caused by FEV makes them virtually biologically immortal (but not immune to death from injury).

There are three different known sources of super mutants in the post-War world - Mariposa Military Base in New California (on the West Coast), Vault 87 in the Capital Wasteland (on the East Coast), and The Institute in the Commonwealth (also on the East Coast). The three populations have separate histories and origins, and are yet to interact with each other. While originally the term was only used to refer to the Mariposa generations, the Brotherhood of Steel carried the term with them and applied it to those from Vault 87 upon encountering them. The term has since become the defacto name for mutants of this variety.



Overview
Super mutants are an uniform group of mutants created by the exposure of humans to the Forced Evolution Virus. Originally created by West Tek as the Pan-Immunity Virion, FEV research was spun off on governmental orders when it was realized that PVP was an extremely potent mutagen. In a nutshell, changes to DNA are expressed phenotypically thanks to recursive growth patterns coded in the FEV. The goal was the creation of super soldiers capable of fighting in any conditions with minimal preparation. The primary research effort was set up at Mariposa Military Base in California, with a competing research initiative spun-off at Vault 87 under Dr Wayne Merrick. The Commonwealth Institute of Technology also had access to FEV samples, allowing it to set up its own research efforts after the Great War.

Super mutant transformation requires prolonged immersion in the virus: in Mariposa this has been achieved by a twenty-four hour exposure to FEV-II in the vats, achieving a severe overdose of the virus. In Vault 87, infection took place in sealed chambers, where an aerosolized virus was introduced. The exposure was relatively brief, compared to the Mariposa procedure. The Institute practiced prolonged immersion in FEV, in contained tubes.

A noted feature of FEV is that it partially relies upon the DNA of the individual coming in contact with it. Coupled with portions of its own recursive code, effects of exposure can be unpredictable, particularly when non-humans are exposed to the virus, or multiple organisms are placed into the same vat (vide centaurs). Fallout Bible 0: "3. Are the radscorpions a product of the FEV virus? When you talk to the doctor, Razlo, in Shady Sands, he tells you that they were once American Emperor Scorpions but that he has no idea how they mutated because radiation alone couldn't have done it.  For that matter, what about all of the other creatures of the wasteland?  Which ones have been mutated by FEV and which ones haven't?  Maybe in the bestiary each creature could have a stat that shows it's level of FEV infection." "Answer:
 * The radscorpions are a result of a combination of radiation and the FEV virus, and Razlo in Shady Sands is correct - they were originally Emperor Scorpions that have grown... big.
 * FEV-Infected Critters in the wasteland include almost all the ones you've seen in F1 and F2: Mantises. Most species of rats. Gecko lizards. Brahmin Scorpions Ants Various varieties of plants, including the Venus Flytrap. Rumor has it some dogs were affected, but no one's seen any, so for now that's just rumor. Of course, the centaurs are a mash of human, dog, and various other parts... but hey, who knows how that mutation came about. Grey was probably messing around in one of his labs.
 * Creatures not mutated by FEV probably did not survive the aftermath of the Great War, with the possible exception of cockroaches... and perhaps normal ants, though there are FEV-infected versions of these species.
 * No one knows where those bird noises in Vault City came from.
 * I'll try to include a chart of FEV-infected creatures in future additions as well as other critters that you may not have seen in F1 and F2. Most likely a great majority of insects were affected (they tend to breed much faster, and their mutations tend to become evident pretty quickly as the generations advance), possibly beetles, some spiders, cockroaches, and other creatures."

EEP super mutant
Produced as part of the Evolutionary Experimentation Program, this variant of super mutants comes from an inferior FEV strain used at Vault 87. The strain retains the recursive growth patterns characteristic to FEV, but has a different effect, which may be also linked to how infection was performed in the labs. Test subjects were exposed a single time to FEV in isolated chambers, where virus was deployed as airborne particulate. When exposed, phenotypical changes occur within three days and include increased muscle mass, changes in skeletal structure and atrophy of all visible sexual characteristics, creating an uniform body shape devoid of genitalia or other sexual dimorphism. At ten days, skin pigmentation becomes a mixture of yellow and green, while its thickness and resistance to radiation and other environmental hazards rapidly increases.

However, a key problem with this batch is that the mutation does not stop. Within fourteen days of initial exposure, subjects regress to an almost feral state, exhibiting extreme aggression at every non-mutant. While some semblance of cognition is retained, exhibited by the ability to speak, operate machines and use basic tactics in combat, super mutants of this type are typically characterized by significant mental retardation. Another unforeseen side effect is that the unfinished virus strain codes the body for continued growth. If a super mutant of this type eludes death for prolonged periods of time, they may become a considerable threat, reaching the size of a small building.

The first super mutants of this variety were created in 2078, becoming a permanent feature of the Capital Wasteland. Too dumb to overrun it, but too strong to die off.Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.42: "Super Mutants" "The Super Mutants that infest the urban ruin of Washington D.C. originated in Vault 87. Those unlucky enough to have reserved space in Vault 87 soon found themselves forcefully taken to a secure part of the vault, where they were locked in airtight chambers and exposed to a concentrated form of the F.E.V. The Overseer and his security force had no real idea what to expect; they were simply following the "plan." When the exposed vault dwellers started transforming into Super Mutants, nearly the entire vault population had been exposed. Those who hadn't yet metamorphosed knew what was coming, and, well...it didn't end well for humanity. ''The dwellers of Vault 87 were turned into Super Mutants in 2078, and have been a presence in the Capital Wasteland ever since. Most of those original Super Mutants have long since been killed. But whether it's because of the nature of the F.E.V. they were exposed to, or a simple underlying human instinct, the Super Mutants of the Capital Wasteland are obsessed with the preservation of their own species. Super Mutants are asexual and incapable of procreation, so their only way of reproducing is to kidnap other humans, drag them back to the Vault 87 chambers, and infect them with F.E.V. And so they have done, for nearly 200 years. Super Mutant society is loosely hierarchical, with the weaker (most recently transformed) Super Mutants generally giving way to the stronger. The Super Mutant hierarchy, as defined by the Capital Wasteland contingent of the Brotherhood of Steel, is as follows: Grunt, Brute, Master, and Behemoth. Generally speaking, the Super Mutants of the Capital Wasteland get bigger, stronger, and dumber as they age. The Behemoths are so strong and savage that they’re the only thing feared by the other Super Mutants."'' (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide faction profiles) Their routine behavior included raiding to kidnap people for conversion with the EEP mutagen. That being said, they possess almost no intelligence. They are tough to kill, impossible to reason with, and incredibly resistant to attacks and radiation. They can speak, but their vocabulary is limited.

Their inability to reproduce (possibly bolstered by the FEV batch and/or human procreation instincts) leads to an obsession with preserving their species: they attempt to capture live humans as often as possible, in order to infect them with FEV, or "green stuff," at Vault 87. However, by 2277, the mutants are running out of FEV and are looking in desperation for a new source of the virus. By 2282, the Super Mutant "Shepherd" had been looking to re-organize the regions Super Mutants, but was quickly stopped by the 15 year old Arthur Maxson, a victory that would cement the young leader's standing with the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel.

Huntersville super mutant
Huntersville is the source of Appalachia super mutants, created when West Tek's local research facility conducted a secret experiment dumping FEV into the local water supply. The secret, sinister experiment went horribly, horribly wrong, creating a scourge on the region that would persist as late as 2102. These Mutants share a common ancestry with the Vault 87 Super Mutants but are slightly smarter and able to adapt to life in the mountains. They rarely make permanent strongholds, but will do so occasionally.

Behind the scenes

 * The name of the super mutants is spelled differently at different points. Despite "super mutant" is the most characteristic and the most widely used, other variations exist including super mutants, super-mutant, supermutant and Mutants.
 * While Marcus the mutant in Fallout 2 claims that "it only takes a few years to get the juices flowing again" (in regards to sterility), Chris Avellone, who wrote the dialogue said that it was just a joke.
 * Some mutants in Mariposa in Fallout 2 are called "Super Duper Mutants", but it is not known why. This is most likely just a joke.
 * Fawkes prefers to use the term "Meta-Humans" when speaking about the super mutants, especially when referring to himself. However he is the only person who refers to super mutants as "Meta-Humans".

Appearances in games
Super mutants appear in all Fallout games.