Mr. House is one of the most important characters in the Fallout franchise. He predicted the Great War. He protected Las Vegas.
Was Mr. House humanity’s savior? Or was he the one with enough power to claim the Mojave Wasteland for himself?
Who was Robert Edwin House before the bombs?
Robert Edwin House was born in Las Vegas on June 25, 2020. He was orphaned at age two after his parents died in a freak accident. His half brother, Anthony would steal out of his inheritance, forcing House to build his empire alone.
House attended the Commonwealth Institute of Technology and graduated by age 22. Shortly after, he founded RobCo Industries. Within eight years, RobCo became a global tech monopoly, producing everything from Pip Boys to military robotics.
By his thirties, House was worth $30 billion. He built predictive models that mapped global instability. Once he realized that nuclear war was inevitable, he started working on his next plan.
How Mr. House survived the Great War
House predicted the bombs would fall on October 23, 2077. He was off by a few hours. That mistake nearly killed him.
From inside the Lucky 38 Casino, House activated an anti-missile defense system that destroyed most of the warheads aimed at Las Vegas. The Strip survived. The rest of the world wasn’t as lucky.
The strain destroyed House’s Body. He sealed himself inside a life support pod, preserving his brain while the rest of him decayed. He fell into a coma that lasted over a century.
When he woke up, the Mojave was a wasteland. Humanity had failed exactly the way he predicted.
Rebuilding New Vegas through force
House observed the Mojave wasteland for decades. Studying factions and the ways human behavior had changed.
In 2274, New California Republic (NCR) scouts approached New Vegas. Thousands of House’s Securitron robots emerged from beneath the Strip, wiping out the raiders.
House offered the surviving tribes a deal. Run the casinos under his control, or be exterminated. The Chairmen, Omertas, and White Glove Society became the Three Families. New Vegas returned, but only on House’s terms.
Mr. House doesn’t believe in democracy because in his mind, people are inefficient. They panic, fight, make decisions based on their emotions instead of logic.
House believes humanity needs direction. He sees himself as the only person capable of guiding civilization forward without repeating the mistakes of the past.
He calls himself the president, CEO, and sole proprietor of New Vegas. To House, survival is more important than freedom.
Mr. House in Fallout Season 2
Fallout Season 2 reimagines Mr. House as more than a distant tyrant. Played by Justin Theroux, the show presents a pre-war House as a manipulative and calculating figure. We learn that House has a body double that handles all of his public appearances. The real House hides in plain sight, planning and pulling strings from the shadows.
The show reveals he has ties to Vault Tec’s inner circle, even going as far to work on mind control devices along with the company.
He also has some history with Cooper Howard (The Ghoul) back in the pre-war era. The two are expected to clash after Lee Moldaver tasks Cooper with the job of assassinating House. And of course, House is aware of this assassination plot, which puts Cooper in an awkward position.
Mr. House believes that progress only happens when someone smarter than everyone else takes charge.He didn’t survive because he was kind or moral. He survived because he had the smarts and resources to be several steps ahead of everyone else.
