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Dead Space: Extraction is a comic tie-in for the video game of the same name. It was published by Image Comics and was written by Antony Johnston, with art by Ben Templesmith.

Story Summary[]

The story begins with a conversation between Nicole Brennan and Isaac Clarke over the news of Nicole’s recent relocation and promotion. Isaac seems to be taking it harder than Nicole, which prompts his girlfriend and fiancé to lighten the mood by cracking jokes over Isaac's own failure to propose to her, being the reason why they were not both assigned to the USG Ishimura. The conversation and scene culminate with a solemn goodbye as Nicole boards a shuttle to the Ishimura.

The next scene takes place in Dr. Terrence Kyne's office, two days prior to extraction. A conversation over Harris' insanity quickly turns awkward as Nicole inadvertently offends the doctor by stating that all of the “colony crazies” are Unitologists. Kyne pointedly corrects her insensitivity as Nicole leaves politely.

Shortly after extraction, Nicole is shown reflecting on the impact of the Marker on much of the crew. She notes the peculiarity that the medical crew had been cut considerably; and what little staff remained had been switched out with many people with whom she is unfamiliar. She and her assistant, Perry, debate the morality of Captain Mathius' no-fly order. Nicole is confident that Mathius' decision is keeping the Ishimura safe. Despite her brave face, she confesses her own fear to herself: “Patients were hallucinating, self-harming; suffering severe depression, raving about monsters… it would take more than a no-fly order to stop this.” Perry interrupts her thoughts as he bursts into the room, ranting about a dozen injured colonists who are apparently gravely injured. Before he can finish, a communications link opens. Alissa Vincent has contacted Nicole regarding four colonists who "had just snuck their way on board". She goes on to request that Nicole check them for infection. Dr. Brennan obliges, asking Vincent to bring them to Quarantine.

The following scene nearly mirrors the viewpoint from Extraction: Nicole becomes somewhat obsessed with Lexine's odd neural patterns, insisting that there was something that she could nearly pinpoint if it weren't for the lack of proper equipment in Quarantine. After the group leaves, Nicole stumbles upon Matthius’ body in the morgue. It was at that point that she realized the gravity of the situation.

Nicole returns to her room to find Perry sitting at his desk. As she walks into the room, a Necromorph bursts through an overhead vent and decapitates him swiftly. Nicole quickly concludes that these must be the monsters which the patients had been raving about. She and her escorts barely escape as they rivet a barricade over the door. Assured of their safety, Nicole and a couple of security officers part ways from the group. She notes that Eckhardt and Lexine don't seem to fit the scenario, assuming that they must look to the others for protection. This was the last time that Nicole saw any of them.

Shortly after, Nicole receives a wide cast transmission asking for assistance with the rapidly increasing number of patients in Sick Bay 2. She responds eagerly but her attempt to leave is barred by a guard who recommends that she stay in the room. Nicole uses this time to further analyze Lexine's scans. After some reflection, she begins to see patterns within points where the wave lines cross. Once again, a Necromorph bursts into the room, interrupting her thoughts. After the guard is killed, Nicole is forced to make a run for it.

Luckily, she is able to make it to Sick Bay 2, where the situation is worse than anyone could imagine: there are far more patients than staff and supplies are scarce. Out of options, Nicole orders the use of all available med kits. She knows that they won't save anyone, but the least she can do is ease the pain before death. Even these run out before long. Hopelessly, she begins to doubt that she will see Isaac again. Concluding that there is nothing more she can do, she turns back to Lexine's scans and analyzes the patterns more closely. As she lets herself be mesmerized by the patterns, she falls asleep. She awakens, screaming after seeing herself surrounded by Necromorphs. After holding off a final wave, she turns once again to the patterns. This time, she connects them with the symbols found on the Marker.

Nicole decides that she can sequence the patterns and create a cure for the infection. This motivation ends as quickly as it begins, however, after she realizes that she lacks most of the equipment needed to do so.

This was her last shred of hope. Realizing there is no hope, she sits at her desk and opens a transmission addressed to Isaac: "Isaac, it's me. I wish I could talk to you..."

Retconned Story Elements[]

It is worth noting that several elements from the comic's story have seemingly been retconned or ignored since its release:

  • Dead Space 2 heavily contradicts the conversation between Nicole and Isaac at the beginning of the story, with the comic implying that Isaac and Nicole were originally going to be placed on the Ishimura together until Isaac was rotated out, leaving him frustrated and prompting Nicole to remind him that she would only be on the Ishimura for six weeks anyway, whereas in Dead Space 2, it is established that only Nicole was offered the Ishimura position, that it was Isaac who pushed her to accept it, and that Nicole would be away for six months, not six weeks.
  • Following the version of events from Dead Space 2, Dead Space (2023) further establishes that Nicole had been assigned to the Ishimura several months prior to its mission to Aegis VII, whereas the comic showed Nicole saying goodbye to Isaac only two days before the Aegis VII incident.
  • During her conversation with Dr. Kyne in the comic, Nicole states that she is "not a shrink"; Dead Space (2023), however, establishes that she is a neuropsychiatrist.
  • The events leading up to Nicole's suicide in the comic differ greatly from those later established in Dead Space (2023). In the comic, Nicole remains on the Medical Deck throughout the entire outbreak and her efforts to cure the infection are limited to her study of Lexine's brain waves, while the 2023 remake shows a far more complex chain of events, with Nicole making her way to different decks on the ship to acquire information on the Necromorphs and the Marker, and even conducting a failed attempt to convince the Marker to end the outbreak shortly before her suicide.

Trivia[]

  • This comic was the first installment in the Dead Space universe to portray Earth. In addition, it was the first installment in the series to not begin with a video log, but it did conclude with one.
  • Pages of the comic can be found in the ninth episode of Battlefield Hardline on Independence Day in Julian Dawes' Penthouse on a table.

Gallery[]


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