The Mass Effect games have an extensive cast of colourful and intriguing characters. Everybody has their favourite, but many people's favorite is the Krogan Battlemaster Urdnot Wrex. Armed with a hefty shotgun and biotic powers, Wrex is a one-alien wrecking machine and an asset to Shepard's squad in the first game.
We recently named him as one of our ten most beloved companions and, although he doesn't return as a full-time squadmate, his presence can be felt throughout the series. Initially a mercenary for hire, he takes on a vital role in both the Reaper War and the future of the Krogan species as leader of the Krogan.
10 Mass Effect 2 Gets Confused If You Don't Recruit Him In 1
Like a number of the Mass Effect squadmates, you don't actually have to recruit Wrex. But if you don't, then the games start to give you mixed messages about what has happened to him.
When you import your character into Mass Effect 2, it will tell you that he survived the mission to Virmire -- which, of course, he wasn't on. However, when you travel to Tuchanka, you will find Wrex's brother Wreav in charge of clan Urdnot. In fact, he will mention Wrex's death in dialogue, so the developers had a hard time sorting out this choice.
9 Wrex's Supposed Aria T'Loak Adventures
There have been mixed messages from Bioware on this, but a popular fan theory suggests that Aria T'Loak is also Aleena, an Asari friend/rival of Wrex's from several centuries ago. Wrex was hired to kill his friend Aleena and left her on an exploding station to die. He later received a message from her stating "Better luck next time".
Fans of Aria will recognise this phrase as something she says to Shepard. We also know that she worked as a mercenary, has used different names, and has a soft spot for Krogan. It is unconfirmed, but all of this points to Aria and Aleena being one and the same.
8 The Only Squadmate Shepard Can Kill Directly On Multiple Occasions
It's pretty rare for Shepard to be able to directly kill one of their squadmates, but you actually have multiple chances to shoot Wrex. In the first Mass Effect, Wrex is incensed at the plan to destroy Saren's genophage cure. The player has the option of talking sense into Wrex, having Ashley kill the Krogan, or killing Wrex themselves.
Should Wrex survive, there will be another confrontation over the cure in Mass Effect 3, providing Shepard does nothing about the Salarian sabotage. There is no talking him down this time and either Sheperd or C-Sec officer Bailey will be forced to shoot him.
7 Wrex Likes Humans And Asari; Dislikes Salarians And Turians
Like all the characters in Mass Effect, Wrex has some built-in racial prejudices that can be seen through his interaction with the other squadmates. He seems to like, or at least doesn't actively dislike, the humans -- particularly the warriors like Ashley and Zaeed. He also gets on well with Liara in that he respects her biotic powers.
He naturally dislikes the Salarians and Turians for their respective roles in creating and deploying the genophage. He does soften towards some members of these disliked species though, spending time with Garrus at the party in the Citadel DLC. In a touching and never-not-tear-inducing gesture, he even names his child after Mordin.
6 Wrex Is Estimated To Be Well Over 1000 Years Old
The rough ages of most of the main characters are confirmed somewhere in the games, but Wrex's never has been. It's revealed that he has been a mercenary for three centuries, but he has been around much longer than that.
We learn that he was a tribal leader not long after the Krogan Rebellions which ended around 800CE -- nearly 1400 years before the events of Mass Effect in 2183CE. Although Wrex was the youngest tribal leader in a thousand years, we can assume he wasn't a newborn, and that puts his age at between 1300-1500 years old at least. Other than some Asari matriarchs, that would make Wrex one of the oldest people in the galaxy.
5 He Killed His Own Father
After the Rebellions, Wrex knew the Krogan didn't have the numbers to continue fighting. After the genophage, they could not replace their losses quickly enough either. Instead, Wrex suggested that a period of sustained breeding was the best course of action. One of those who was the most supportive of continuing the war was Wrex's own father: Jarrod.
Wrex was summoned to a meeting to discuss their differences, but when they could not agree, Jarrod betrayed his own son and attacked Wrex and his warriors. Wrex barely survived but stabbed his own father in the chest before he escaped.
4 Wrex Has the Joint Highest Individual War Asset Rating
Wrex's military strength rating of 30 is the joint highest for an individual character war asset. Most of the former squadmates like Garrus, Ashley, Jack, and Miranda have ratings of 25. If Wrex is dead, Urdnot Wreav has the same score of 25.
In fact, the only other individual with a rating of 30 is General Oleg Petrovsky who can be captured during the events of the Omega DLC for Mass Effect 3. Wrex's higher rating is likely a reflection of his influence over the Krogan.
3 He Was The First Squadmate To Meet Maya Brooks
Maya Brooks, the villain behind the events of the Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC, previously crossed paths with several of Shepard's teammates including Ashley, Thane, and Miranda, but Wrex was the first. Brooks was ordered to capture the criminal Fist for Cerberus at the same time as Wrex was hired to kill him.
She arrived at Fist's apartment first and called C-Sec on Wrex in an effort to slow him down while she interrogated the criminal. Having let Fist escape, she then helped Wrex deal with the C-Sec officers because she liked him for being "straightforward, honest, and uncomplicated".
2 Wrex Was A Bit Of A Krogan Prodigy
All Krogans love a fight and Wrex is one of the best. He is a Battlemaster, a rare breed of Krogan warrior that can use biotics to augment their physical attributes. Even amongst Battlemasters, Wrex was a formidable fighter.
If Shepard assists Grunt in killing the thresher maw in the Krogan right of passage, several characters will note that the last person to kill a thresher was Wrex. It's also stated that Wrex was one of the youngest tribe leaders in a thousand years.
1 He Is a Lover Not A Fighter (Just Not With Shepard)
Despite being an accomplished fighter, Wrex is actually more interested in the breeding habits of his fellow Krogan than he is in their warring ways. It's the reason he fell out with his father and it annoys a lot of traditionalists when he returns to Tuchanka in Mass Effect 2.
Wrex also wastes no time in fathering the first of the post-genophage Krogans with Eve, as well as getting many more offers from other females. Despite this, he is the only squadmate from the first Mass Effect who can't be romanced by Shepard during the trilogy and one of only seven characters across all three games who can't be romanced.