In issue 9 of Mass Effect: Foundation, we take a look at everyone’s favorite Salarian doctor, Mordin Solus. There will be spoilers for Mass Effect 2 and 3 ahead, so if you haven’t done Mordin’s quests, you might want to skip this one until you have.
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
First, however, the issue starts after issue 8 ended, with Rasa being poisoned and rushed off to Cerberus medical bay. Rasa is awake and Miranda arrives. To say the two women don’t get along is an understatement, as Rasa believes that Miranda tried to have her killed. Miranda gives Rasa a new assignment, Mordin Solus.
Meanwhile, Mordin is with a council of Salarians, trying to figure out the Krogan “problem”. They decide to make a new Genophage, as the old one is weakening. The Genophage was created to slow down Krogan breeding so that the warlike race didn’t overwhelm the galaxy. So, Mordin and his assistant work on the new Genophage. I’m fairly certain it is the same assistant that is in Mordin’s mission in ME2, especially after what happens near the end of the issue.
Before we get to that, Mordin needs to test his new Genophage, so he is accompanied by a Salarian strike team to Tuchanka, the Krogan homeworld. They run into some problems, a sandstorm which forces them to land early and screws up their sensors and a group of Krogan, lead by a female Krogan, praying to their gods. These Krogan are exactly where Mordin needs to set up his Genophage to test. A fight ensues, and the team is split up.
Mordin displays impressive fighting skills that shock his assistant. As they are setting up the device, the female Krogan approaches, ready to fight. As they engage in a fight, the female lays blame on Mordin for the Genophage slowly killing off her people. He tries to justify it, but she won’t hear any of it. This shakes Mordin, and ultimately leads to him helping people in ME2 and trying to reverse his work in ME3.
After a massive explosion, Mordin and his team evacuate. Mordin is injured and his assistant doubts what they’ve done. My issue ends with Mordin silently contemplating what his assistant has said. In ME2, his assistant is helping a clan of Krogan to cure the Genophage. Mordin can either kill him or not and then save the work or not.
My copy ended very abruptly, with no real wrap up like other issues had, so I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. However, I thought the issue worked really well, especially if you know everything about Mordin. This really makes him question whether or not the Genophage is a good thing and directly leads to his actions in ME2 and 3.
