On the two "named" Reapers in Mass Effect...

[dreadedcandiru99]

This is probably almost certainly a minor nitpick, but it just occurred to me after my most recent ME2 playthrough, and what the hell, I'll just throw it out here.

I got these from dictionary.com:

Sovereign = "A monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler; a person who has sovereign authority."

Harbinger = "A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald; a person sent in advance of troops."

So doesn't it seem to anyone else like the names should've been reversed, given the roles played by the two Reapers we've seen so far? Like, "Harbinger" should've been the Vanguard Of Our Destruction in the first game, and "Sovereign" should've been the one doing all the ASSUMING of DIRECT CONTROL in the second?

Just a thought.

 

[Hookman]

As far as I know Harbringer wasn't a Reaper it was the leader of the Collecters and member of that race.
I may be wrong but the Human/Reaper seemed to go unnamed.

 

[Woodsey]

Not really.

Sovereign indoctrinated people and they had to follow his will. Harbinger constantly took control of Collectors to fight with them in battle. Makes sense to me.

 

[Valkyira]

As far as I know Harbringer wasn't a Reaper it was the leader of the Collecters and member of that race.
I may be wrong but the Human/Reaper seemed to go unnamed.

That's right. Harbinger was the Collector leader.

 

[TheTaco007]

As far as I know Harbringer wasn't a Reaper it was the leader of the Collecters and member of that race.
I may be wrong but the Human/Reaper seemed to go unnamed.

Uhhh... no. Harbinger was a reaper who was controlling a collector general person, who was in turn controlling soldiers.

 

[Volafortis]

As far as I know Harbringer wasn't a Reaper it was the leader of the Collecters and member of that race.
I may be wrong but the Human/Reaper seemed to go unnamed.

Uhhh... no. Harbinger was a reaper who was controlling a collector general person, who was in turn controlling soldiers.

Listen to him. He knows his ME lore.
http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Harbinger

 

[kidigus]

I agree completely.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Harbinger = "A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald; a person sent in advance of troops."

Harbinger is the first Reaper from the main fleet who makes contact with our galaxy. His name is apt.

Sovereign was just up himself and used a far grander title than he possibly warranted.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Harbinger = "A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald; a person sent in advance of troops."

Harbinger is the first Reaper from the main fleet who makes contact with our galaxy. His name is apt.

Sovereign was just up himself and used a far grander title than he possibly warranted.

 

[Keava]

Actually both names were names given to the Reapers by other races. Those weren't their real names, if they even use something as mortal as names among themselves. Their names were nothing more than mortals perception of their nature so they could as well be called "Blue Pony Ride" and it still wouldn't be lore breaking.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Sovereign's real name is Nazara. Sovereign was a title given to it by the Heretic Geth.

I believe Harbinger was so named because it is capable of directly controlling indoctrinated slaves from the Reaper's berth in dark space.

 

[CuddlyCombine]

This is probably almost certainly a minor nitpick, but it just occurred to me after my most recent ME2 playthrough, and what the hell, I'll just throw it out here.

I got these from dictionary.com:

Sovereign = "A monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler; a person who has sovereign authority."

Harbinger = "A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald; a person sent in advance of troops."

So doesn't it seem to anyone else like the names should've been reversed, given the roles played by the two Reapers we've seen so far? Like, "Harbinger" should've been the Vanguard Of Our Destruction in the first game, and "Sovereign" should've been the one doing all the ASSUMING of DIRECT CONTROL in the second?

Just a thought.

Sovereign acted of its own accord, free of outside orders. I'd say the name is fitting. Regardless, as somebody already mentioned, its actual name was Nazara.

 

[dthvirus]

So doesn't it seem to anyone else like the names should've been reversed, given the roles played by the two Reapers we've seen so far? Like, "Harbinger" should've been the Vanguard Of Our Destruction in the first game, and "Sovereign" should've been the one doing all the ASSUMING of DIRECT CONTROL in the second?

Just a thought.

Interesting observation. Now complete your analysis: what do you think it means, that they are not reversed, and are in fact, backwards?

I'll reckon they were just names. Sovereign did a lot of things a harbinger would do, as well as mind control stuff. Harbinger also mind controlled soldiers, as well as spit morbid prophecies every few seconds.

 

[archvile93]

Harbinger = "A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald; a person sent in advance of troops."

Harbinger is the first Reaper from the main fleet who makes contact with our galaxy. His name is apt.

Sovereign was just up himself and used a far grander title than he possibly warranted.

Actually, Sovereign was just the name given to it by Saren. According to Legion, its real name was Nazara.

 

[Valkyrie101]

As far as I know Harbringer wasn't a Reaper it was the leader of the Collecters and member of that race.
I may be wrong but the Human/Reaper seemed to go unnamed.

Harbinger was the name of the Reaper that possessed the Collector general. The Human Reaper larva doesn't have a name.

Personally, I think they're just names bestowed on them by their followers, and don't have any inherent meaning.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Actually both names were names given to the Reapers by other races. Those weren't their real names, if they even use something as mortal as names among themselves. Their names were nothing more than mortals perception of their nature so they could as well be called "Blue Pony Ride" and it still wouldn't be lore breaking.

Sovereign's real name is Nazara. Sovereign was a title given to it by the Heretic Geth.

I believe Harbinger was so named because it is capable of directly controlling indoctrinated slaves from the Reaper's berth in dark space.

Harbinger was the name of the Reaper that possessed the Collector general. The Human Reaper larva doesn't have a name.

Personally, I think they're just names bestowed on them by their followers, and don't have any inherent meaning.

Congratulations chaps, you all win money. For one thing, both Sovereign and Harbinger are English words - pretty sure some ancient machine race wouldn't be giving themselves names from one of the many languages spawned one a tiny blue dot. However, the human reaper shoud totally have been called Jeff.

Though in Out-Of-Character terms, the OP has a point. If I were the dude at BioWare coming up with these names, I might have put them in a different order. On the other hand, at no point does it tell us which of the two Reapers have been hanging around, working mischief for the longest. Harbinger could have been the harbinger originally, but it was so long ago that every other Reaper who wanted to has paid a visit, and now he's just known as "The old Reaper who sits in the corner wetting himself and talking about The Good Old Days".

 

[Nvv]

EDIT: I had not read through the entire thread. I got ninjaed.