Helldivers 2 dev shares fan art declaring community-favorite character is an anime girl "married to Democracy," smitten players immediately decide they're Democracy now

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"Eyes up and focused on the mission, Helldivers"

Helldivers 2
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Alongside the righteousness of spreading managed democracy, if there's one thing Helldivers 2 soldiers go to bat for, it's Eagle-1. Throw in the suggestion that the faceless community favorite might actually be an anime girl, though, and down-bad fans aren't just going to bat – they're standing between the NPC pilot and whatever harm might come their way with more vigor than ever before. 

Developer Arrowhead Game Studios has tempted fate by posting fan art on its official Twitter account depicting the beloved Eagle-1 as an anime character. And folks, the spread of democracy has ground to a halt since.

"Eyes up and focused on the mission, Helldivers," Arrowhead says. "She's married to Democracy, and Liberty is her boyfriend."

"Boys, remember she's married to Pelican 1," one fan replies, referencing the space shuttle that arrives at the end of each mission to ferry players back to the Super Destroyer. "Are you sure about that?" Arrowhead teases, despite suggesting that lore tidbit itself.

Most others, though, aren't as bothered by Eagle-1's would-be marital status. "hey Helldivers, just got back from changing my legal name to Democracy Liberty," one fan says. Another more cautious solider adds: "Remember Helldivers: Eagle-1 can't marry you, because an Eagle never Mrs."

Someone had to say it from r/Helldivers
So... this design of Eagle 1 is canon now? from r/Helldivers

If you've been out of the loop, Eagle-1 is the NPC pilot behind liberty-approved Eagle Strategems. As you may have gathered by now, you don't see her in-game, but she delivers some cracking voice lines when called upon to drop airstrikes and bombs to ensure bugs are squashed and oil is spilled. 

All of that has made her such a favorite among the community that a new ship module upgrade that expanded the Eagle weapons bay at the expense of her safety was met with stern resistance – that, or new head cannon that the XXL Weapons Bay upgrade was approved as Eagle-1 is so good at what she does that she doesn't need the safety features, right? 

While I didn't think it possible, I imagine the conviction to ensure her safety has only strengthened.

Helldivers 2 is technically free via PlayStation's loyalty program, but only if you've already dropped roughly $1,000 on games in the last year and a half.

Iain Harris
Iain Harris
News Editor, Games

I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.