Rainbow Six Siege players were treated to a lot of new content when Operation Dread Factor was launched on May 30, 2023. This event follows the seasonal tradition of map reworks and quality-of-life updates. The most important addition, however, is Fenrir, a two-health and two-speed defender with tons of traps. The operator comes equipped with five F-NATT Dread Mines, which can induce fear in trackers by blocking their vision for a short period, allowing Fenrir and his teammates to go in for the kill. While this gadget is certainly unique, the most interesting thing about Fenrir is his background and why his name references Norse mythology.
Fenrir is the 68th operator to be added to Rainbow 6 Siege, following the Brazilian 3-speed attacker Brava. He was born Emil Svensson in Uppsala, Sweden. Here, his parents enrolled him in science classes to hone his brilliance in animal biology. While his genius had him on track to enroll in his local university, he was enlisted in the military before he even got to attend. He studied neurochemistry during his service and continued his research when he joined the Swedish Armed Forces. However, he got discharged when he pushed the use of an emotion-altering drug on soldiers. This led Fenrir down a path that’s fitting of his codename.
Rainbow Six Siege: How Fenrir’s Life Mirrors the Myth
Svensson didn’t have trouble finding work after being kicked out of the Swedish armed forces. He was picked up by Deimos because of his military and scientific merits. For those new to Rainbow Six lore, Deimos is one of the primary antagonists of Rainbow Six Siege. He’s an ex-Rainbow operative who orchestrated high-profile assassinations, like the killing of security firm CEO Masayuki Yahata and Rainbow Director Harry “Six” Pandey. His plans often led to conflict between Rainbow and its allies, making him one of the most dangerous terrorists in the game’s mythos.
Speaking of myths, Deimos and Fenrir are named after deities in the Greek and Norse pantheon. The former is the god of fear and terror, while the latter is a monstrous wolf born of the god of mischief, Loki. As such, it’s only fitting that Deimos would hire an operative who specializes in creating fear toxins. As for Fenrir, his story may loosely mirror his mythological counterpart. He soon found out that Deimos was planning to use his technology for terrorism. Fenrir even witnessed Deimos testing an unstable version of his fear toxin on his colleagues. So, he fled the facility and tried to find refuge in the ranks of the Rainbows.
Rainbow Six Siege’s Fenrir May Be Out for Revenge
Svensson now works under Redhammer Squad Leader Thermite as a defending operator. In a psychological report of Fenrir, Thermite revealed that he thought that Fenrir was a Deimos spy at first. Upon learning more about Svensson’s background, studies, and intentions, he changed his mind and decided that Fenrir may be an asset in Rainbow’s hunt for Deimos.
The mythical Fenrir is bound by the gods because they fear his monstrous power. He is tied to a prophecy that sees him breaking free during Ragnarok to fight and kill the chief god Odin. Vidar, one of Odin’s sons, ends up killing Fenrir to avenge his father. It’s a classic tale of revenge in Norse myth, which is why Fenrir is in God of War: Ragnarok, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and many other games. Rainbow Six Siege's Fenrir may loosely follow the same path.
While Deimos has betrayed and scarred the Rainbows by pitting them against their allies and killing their director, Fenrir has the biggest bone to pick with him. Deimos used Svensson’s work to kill his colleagues right in front of him and even tried to deceive him to hand over the fear toxin formula for a nefarious weapon. There will likely be a war as chaotic as Ragnarok between the Rainbows and Deimos in the near future, and if there’s anyone who deserves to strike fear and a bullet through him, it’s Fenrir.
Rainbow Six Siege is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
