Mordin Solus
Mordin Solus is a fictional character in BioWare's Mass Effect franchise, who serves as a party member in Mass Effect 2. A salarian physician and life scientist who was once a member of the salarian intelligence organization Special Tasks Group earlier in his life, Mordin is depicted as a fast-talking and affable individual who is initially guided by scientific principles and logic, but later changes his mind and adopts strong moral standards as well as a respect for all forms of life.
Within the series' narrative, Mordin helped create and distribute measures to strengthen an artificial population control plague, named the Genophage, used against the krogan, a fast-breeding warlike alien race. He returns in Mass Effect 3, where he returns to STG as a special consultant, whilst also working as an inside source for Clan Urdnot, the dominant kinship group among the krogan. His goal is to develop a cure for the Genophage in response to the galaxy-wide invasion by the antagonistic Reapers and intends to distribute it in the atmosphere of Tuchanka, the krogan homeworld. The ninth issue of Mass Effect: Foundation explores the backstory behind his contributions to the strengthened Genophage.
Mordin is voiced by Michael Beattie in 2 and William Salyers in 3. His race was conceived as a variant of the grey alien archetype, while the character is designed with clothes that hint towards a labcoat. Inspiration for his face was taken from Clint Eastwood, whose cinematic acting roles
a brilliant yet also a competent soldier. David Kates composed his musical theme, a highly electronic piece in comparison to some of 2s more orchestral pieces.
The character has been positively received, being nominated for three "Best New Character" awards and earning numerous placements in "top character" lists. At one point in the second game, Mordin sings an alternate version of Gilbert and Sullivan's Major-General's Song; numerous critics considered it one of the trilogy's best moments. As with other Mass Effect squadmates, merchandise for Mordin has been made, such as a bust.
Character overview
Mordin is a male salarian, nearing the end of his species' typical lifespan. He is described as being "guided by scientific principles rather than morals", willing to do what is necessary for the greater good, though nevertheless eccentric. David Kates, creator of his musical theme, believed him to add a little comic relief to the game, calling him "quirky, a little bit disorganized, definitely cerebral, overthinking". However, at the same time he noted Mordin's hard-edge side, something he found fascinating about the character.A brilliant scientist, Mordin is said to have previously worked for the Special Tasks Group, a salarian espionage organisation. While working for them, he modified the Genophage, a virus that almost sterilised the krogan. after it was revealed the krogan were naturally overcoming it. Despite holding some regrets over doing so, working on the Genophage proved intellectually challenging, and he believes if he hadn't done it, someone less skilled might have—risking completely sterilizing the krogan by accident.
Creation and development
The core concept of Mordin's design brief essentially asked "What would the Clint Eastwood salarian look like?", and to that end one piece of concept art directly took features from a picture of Eastwood and incorporated them on a salarian, leading to Mordin's aged look. Due to his relative old age, Mordin allowed the developers to explore the later lifestages of the Mass Effect universe's aliens.The vocal specifications, given to auditioners, wanted someone able to be both dramatic and comedic, referencing Marshall Flinkman of Alias. The character was voiced by Michael Beattie in Mass Effect 2, though was replaced with William Salyers for 3. Ginny McSwain served as the voice director. Initially, Beattie tried a higher-pitched voice, but as all the salarians were pitched-up he ultimately used something more like his natural voice. After being replaced, Beattie wrote an open letter thanking fans who had vied for his return. Beattie has said he would be interested in reprising the character, whether it be in a movie adaptation or a future game.
Each squadmate in Mass Effect 2 had music composed for them, intended to convey their character; BioWare gave the composers detailed character studies for each to help. Mordin's theme was composed by David Kates, who also worked on themes for other characters like Garrus. Kates had previously worked on the soundtrack for the first game. He considered Mordin's level one of the most fascinating to do, and it is one of the more electronic pieces. The composition contained many counterpoint elements, as well as "early retro synthesizer qualities".
A proposed confrontation scene between Mordin and a krogan squadmate named Grunt, which occurs after he discovers the Genophage's backstory as well as Mordin’s role as the scientist who strengthened it, was cut during the development of Mass Effect 2. Writer Brian Kindregan explained in an interview that planned content is usually cut due to time and financial considerations: in this instance, the team had already developed two major confrontation scenes between other squadmates, which may complicate the player's preparations for the suicide mission due to the potentially irreparable loss of a squadmate’s loyalty. Further costs would be incurred if Grunt's voice actor was called in for a further voiceover session, which in turn would necessitate the organization of more sessions as well as work on animation sequences. From a narrative standpoint, Kindregan also believed that a character with low emotional intelligence like Grunt would take the direct approach by attacking and killing Mordin, as opposed to making a scene and demanding that Shepard takes his side for his argument with Mordin.
Trick Weekes wrote the character for Mass Effect 3. When first handed the character's description, Weekes' initial reaction was "unrecordable, but translated roughly as 'that jerk, Weekes being a fan of the first game's krogan squadmate Urdnot Wrex. Weekes saw two ways to take the character: either have him as an unlikeable "war criminal", or challenge himself to make a character who believed he had made the hard choice and did the right thing. Mordin's final scene on Tuchanka in the third game, and its variations, was influenced by both Weekes and fellow senior writer John Dombrow, who wrote the Genophage arc in the game. Weekes wished to give Mordin a "good send-off" in the scene.
Design
When creating the salarians, early on the designers played around with the general image of the grey alien archetype, having big eyes and grey skin. However, unlike regular grey aliens, salarians ended up with a concave torso and "doglike" legs. Different concepts of salarians were drawn, though many were rejected for being too human-looking. Unlike some of the other races, the salarians are more of "warrior poets" and are supposed to have a higher sense of culture. The heavy eyelids and long face add more sophistication. Their big black eyes express "tranquility" and "alertness". The concave chest is a more alien, unusual structure, and differed from some of the other races. This structure also led to stylistic choices with their clothing, under the idea that they'd stuff fabric there after meeting other races, which art director Matt Rhodes compared to "a bald man wearing a toupée".Compared to other salarians, Mordin's skin color is more mottled and multi-colored, while his eyes are smaller, almost as if in a permanent squint. Mordin's design specifically tried to balance his scientific side and his ability as a combat-ready tech specialist due to time in the salarian special forces. His final appearance resembles a labcoat, and is similar to other medical characters in the series. The metal collar serves to break up his silhouette, though serves no purpose in dialogue or lore. Early sketches explored him as a field medic or very experienced scientist.
Other early concepts tried altering his head horns and eyeshape to make him unique. In his finished design, Mordin is missing one horn, unexplained with its origins left to the player's imagination. The missing horn is given alternate in-universe explanations in the second game's Lair of the Shadow Broker downloadable content pack and in the Mass Effect: Foundation comic series.
Appearances
''Mass Effect 2''
Mordin Solus debuts in 2010's Mass Effect 2. Commander Shepard, the player character and protagonist of the game, goes to Omega to recruit him as a tech specialist for an assault on the Collector base. Shepard finds him running a clinic and distributing the cure for a currently rampant plague in a sealed-off district of the station. Mordin asks Shepard to reactivate the district's environmental systems, and distribute the cure through them. After this is done, Mordin joins the party and can be talked to aboard the Normandy, Shepard's spaceship, and brought along for future missions.Each squadmate in Mass Effect 2 has an optional "loyalty mission". Mordin informs Shepard that his old assistant, Maelon, has been captured by krogan on Tuchanka. During the mission, which takes place in a hospital, Mordin discovers horrific tests by krogan trying to cure the Genophage, and the player may have Shepard confront him about his work on it. Eventually, Mordin finds Maelon, who is revealed to have voluntarily joined the krogan due to guilt over helping develop the Genophage. Horrified by the brutality of the tests, Mordin may kill Maelon depending on the player's actions. Mordin then discovers Maelon has found valuable data that could prove useful to curing the Genophage, and the player can choose whether to destroy it or save it.
Like every other squadmate, it is possible for Mordin to die during the final mission of the game—the "Suicide Mission"—depending on the player's choices. His chances of dying increase if the player does not complete his loyalty mission.
As a scientist, Mordin uses technology abilities in battle, particularly Incinerate and Cryo Blast, which respectively tear through armor and snap freeze enemies. He is armed with a submachine gun and a pistol. However, as he is just a scientist, he is the weakest of all the squad members, with the game's algorithm written to kill Mordin first during the suicide mission's final act should the team's defensive capabilities not be strong enough.