Mass Effect: Foundation
Last updated
Mass Effect: Foundation is a Canadian science fiction comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, serving as a tie-in to the Mass Effect 3: Citadel downloadable content. It is the fifth Mass Effect comic series and the first ongoing series in the franchise, exploring the backstories of secondary characters before they meet Commander Shepard. The narrative is framed as reconnaissance by the antagonist Maya Brooks, with the first issue covering her childhood and origin story.
Plot
The first issue depicts a desperate child in the mining colony of Themis who later turns on a covert ops agent and assumes control of her resources. As an adult going by "Rasa," she is interviewed by the Illusive Man to join Cerberus. The series then follows Rasa compiling dossiers on individuals who become Commander Shepard's companions in Mass Effect 2.
Recurring characters include Miranda Lawson and Kai Leng as Cerberus colleagues. In the finale, Rasa severs ties with Cerberus, steals a tank containing a dormant clone of Shepard, and escapes Lazarus Research Station after sabotaging Cerberus mechs. She later reemerges as Maya Brooks in the Citadel DLC.
Publication
Foundation is the first ongoing Mass Effect comics series and the first scripted solely by Mac Walters, who previously reviewed other writers' contributions to franchise mini-series. Walters committed to a longer series after the release of Mass Effect 3 in March 2012 and the conclusion of its downloadable content production by early 2013. The main character's concept originated through the comic, allowing her story to develop without being filtered through a player character like Shepard.
The series runs parallel to the game trilogy, expanding the universe by fleshing out backstories hinted at in the games. Walters noted that representing a canonical Shepard is difficult due to player customization, so the series focuses on supporting characters. Issue #5, following Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor, directly ties into Mass Effect 2.
Release
The series comprised 13 issues, with Jeremy Barlow co-writing issues #11, #12, and #13. Tony Parker contributed art for most issues except #1, #5, #6, and #7. Michael Atiyeh provided colors, and Benjamin Carré was the cover artist. The first issue sold 9,291 copies on its release day of July 31, 2013, ranking 229th for the month.
Dark Horse reprinted the first issue on February 5, 2014 under its "#1 for $1" promotion with an alternative cover using Issue #3's artwork. All issues were released digitally on Dark Horse's website and collected into three trade paperback volumes: Volume 1 (issues 1–4), Volume 2 (issues 5–8), and Volume 3 (issues 9–13). The series was included in Mass Effect Library Edition Volume 2 on May 6, 2015, and republished as Mass Effect Omnibus Volume 2 on February 8, 2017.
Reception
The series holds a score of 8.3 out of 10 on Comic Book Roundup based on 49 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. The trade paperback volumes scored 7.9, 9.1, and 8.2 respectively. Issues #11 and #13 scored 7.3, indicating mixed or average reviews, while Issue #5 scored 9.4, indicating universal acclaim.
Alex Craig of AIPT gave the first issue a 7 out of 10, praising the solid writing, fast pace, and thematic synergy of Omar Francia's art, but criticizing awkward fight scene posing and overuse of cliches. Alasdair Stuart of SciFiNow scored the first volume 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a confident, fun series that provides insight into beloved characters, highlighting Issue #2 featuring Urdnot Wrex. Ashley Reed from Gameradar, Christen Bejar from CBR, and Robbie Key from Gameinformer considered the series one of the best video game based comic books.
More in Space Opera
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Mass Effect: Foundation (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced