- "We're witnessing a new beginning, Terrence. For Unitology, for humanity... Of course our faith is being tested. Everything's about to change."
- —Mathius to Dr. Terrence Kyne about the events on Aegis VII.[1]
Benjamin Mathius was the Captain of the USG Ishimura who was entrusted with spearheading the ship's mission to retrieve Marker 3A for the Church of Unitology.
Biography
Prior to Aegis VII
Nothing is known about Mathius' early life other than that he was a high ranking Unitologist and ship captain employed by the Concordance Extraction Corporation who was entrusted with retrieving Marker 3A from Aegis VII and bringing it to the Church. To carry out his mission, the Church of Unitology used its vast influence within the CEC to have Mathius posted on the USG Ishimura in its last cycle of duty as its captain, along with other devout Unitologists including Terrence Kyne and Challus Mercer, as well as CEC Executive Director Warren Eckhardt, whom Mathius granted executive access aboard the Ishimura.[2]
Before the Ishimura departed, Mathius secured a place for his body in a "premium stasis capsule" on the Church's Mausoleum Fleet on the condition that his pilgrimage was completed and the Marker was safely delivered into Church hands.[3]
Second Aegis VII Incident
- "We have successfully brought the holy Marker on board. Dr. Kyne, an expert on the original Marker, is deciphering its secrets. Forgive me for quarantining Aegis VII. Director Eckhardt's work may have been inconvenienced. But they're suffering some sort of epidemic. Regardless, planetcrack begins tomorrow on schedule. CEC can scratch out its illegal operation, now that the true prize is ours. Let's see EarthGov try to cover this up. Altman be praised."
- —Mathius' message to the higher-ups of the Church.[1]
Mathius in his message to the Church.
During his time as the Ishimura's Captain, Mathius was mainly concerned with the Marker's retrieval and intended on bringing it aboard for study. After arriving at Aegis VII and learning of the colonists' bizarre and unusual behavior and the increasing deaths, Mathius took a hardline stance on preventing any further interaction with the colony, as he did not want whatever was causing it to spread to the ship as he feared it would hinder his mission to retrieve the Marker. He was also intent on preventing any of his crew from making contact with the company and blocked off any outgoing communications. When confronted by Kyne over the Marker’s potential influence over the colonists’ behavior, Mathius reassured the doctor that the risk was worth it.
Through a report made by Mathius to "Paragon Jorden", it was revealed that he believed that the Church planned on publicly revealing the Marker once it was in their possession. Also, as it was alleged in a log made by the Chief Communications Officer after attempting to call for help, it appeared that Mathius overloaded the Communications Array in an effort to prevent any off-ship communications that could jeopardize the mission.
Death
- "Traitors! Get your hands off me! This is my ship!"
- —Mathius' last words before his death while losing his sanity.
CH04 Captain Benjamin Mathius death by Terrence Kyne Videolog DEADSPACE 2023
Mathius' death by the hands of Dr. Kyne.
As the events progressed, Mathius became more and more erratic due to the Marker's influence and his own devotion to the Church. Kyne declared him unfit for active duty and relieved him from command by telling First Officer White and Second Officer Chic to restrain him while the doctor administered a sedative. As Mathius struggled, the sedative was unintentionally lodged in his eye by Dr. Kyne, killing him. With Mathius dead, White became the Ishimura's acting Captain.
Mathius' body was taken to the Morgue, where his body laid while the Necromorphs began to overtake the ship. A text log containing an autopsy of Mathius suggested that the needle went through the eye, through the skull and into the frontal lobe, killing him instantly.
Appearance in the Games
A hallucination of Mathius screaming at Nathan McNeill.
Mathius was found in the morgue by the main characters of Dead Space: Extraction and was featured in a few hallucinations. The first hallucination was experienced by Nathan McNeill in Chapter 5's Morgue, seeing Mathius sit up from his operating table. The second hallucination appeared as McNeill was down in the Captain's Nest in Chapter 9, where Mathius was seen sitting in the Captain's seat. As McNeill stepped close to him, Mathius looked back at him with the needle still stuck in his cranium, screaming before disappearing in a flash of Marker Symbols.
To access the Bridge's computer, the crew of the USG Kellion needed Mathius' RIG. Eventually, when Isaac Clarke came to retrieve it from the corpse of the former Captain, an Infector leaped upon it, turning Mathius's body into an Enhanced Slasher. Isaac promptly killed the creature, putting him down for good and taking his RIG. Mathius was the very first person who Isaac witnessed transform into a Necromorph and was also the first Enhanced Necromorph that he faced.
Trivia
- Mathius was voiced by J.G. Hertzler (who is best known for his role as the Klingon General Martok on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) in the original game, Jim Cummings in Downfall, and Jim Pirri in the remake.
- It is stated in the autopsy log found in Chapter 2 that the Captain's blood contained a low amount of Leukocytes (white blood cells) while completely lacking Eosinophil, the white blood cells that are responsible for fighting the infections and parasites off. According to the log, in the pre-flight tests, this problem was not present. There is a possibility that these effects could be related to exposure to Marker 3A.
- Mathius is mentioned in Chapter 10 of Dead Space 2 in a recording heard in the Tram Control room of the Ishimura. The recording covers a conversation between two crew members enthralled by the arrival of the Marker on the ship.
- Mathius was killed via a needle in the eye. In Dead Space 2, both Isaac Clarke and Nolan Stross underwent a procedure which involved a needle through the eye and into a particular part of the brain to retrieve the Marker codes so another Marker could be built aboard Titan Station. Whether this was entirely coincidental or there was an explicit choice to include this reference is unknown.
- There was a minor discrepancy in regard to the depiction of Mathius' death between the Dead Space: Downfall movie and the original game. The video log that Isaac picked up depicting his death showed a more reasonable, calm Mathius that was still restrained as the needle went into his eye and died immediately (in the game, it seemed to appear that Kyne may have done this on purpose, despite his claims). The Mathius from the film broke free of his restrainers and savagely tried to kill Dr. Kyne, resulting in the needle going into his eye and him flailing about and falling face-first with the needle penetrating through his cranium into his brain, finally killing him (in the film's case, his death appeared more accidental). In the remake, this discrepancy is resolved by more closely aligning his behavior and the depiction of his death to that of Downfall.
- The Benjamin Mathius of the Dead Space comics was significantly different from the version of himself in the video game or film. In the comics, Mathius had no facial hair and appeared slightly younger. Mathius in the video game and film appeared older and had white hair followed by a white beard.
Gallery
_Mathius.png "The Art of Dead Space (2023) Mathius.png (8.93 MB)")
Sources