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Mordin Solus is a fictional character in BioWare's Mass Effect franchise, who serves as a party member in Mass Effect 2. Mordin returns as a supporting character in Mass Effect 3.…
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Investigate this subjectMordin Solus is a fictional character in BioWare's Mass Effect franchise, who serves as a party member (or "squadmate") in Mass Effect 2. Mordin returns as a supporting character in Mass Effect 3.
Mordin Solus is a fictional character in BioWare's Mass Effect franchise, who serves as a party member (or "squadmate") in Mass Effect 2. Mordin returns as a supporting character in Mass Effect 3. A Salarian (one of Mass Effect's alien races) scientist who was once a member of the Salarian intelligence organization Special Tasks Group ("STG") 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 attempts to undo his earlier work. Mordin is voiced by Michael Beattie in Mass Effect 2 and William Salyers in Mass Effect 3.
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. Mordin is recruited in Mass Effect 2 as the Normandy's main doctor and scientist and defends his work on the genophage. He returns in Mass Effect 3, where he attempts to manufacture 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 home world. Mordin also makes an appearance in the ninth issue of the Mass Effect: Foundation comic series. Inspiration for his face was taken from Clint Eastwood, with developers differentiating him from other Salarians by making him older and removing one of his horns. David Kates composed his musical theme, a highly electronic piece that contains many counterpoint elements.
The character has been positively received, being nominated for three "Best New Character" awards and earning numerous placements in "top character" lists. Critics have praised his fresh interpretation on the scientist trope and his approach towards philosophy and religion. At one point in the second game, Mordin sings an alternate version of Gilbert and Sullivan's Major-General's Song, which numerous critics considered one of the trilogy's best moments. His possible sacrificial death scene has received significant commentary commending its underlying sadness and emotion. Scholars have discussed Mordin through a narratological point of view. As with other Mass Effect squadmates, merchandise for Mordin has been made, such as a bust and multiple PVC statues.
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 onto 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. Compared to other Salarians, Mordin's skin was designed to be more mottled and multi-colored in varying shades of brown, as well as weathered with age spots and wrinkles. To further differentiate Mordin from other Salarians, his facial features were slightly altered, with a more squared jawline and bulging cheekbones. The intention behind his facial design was to create a character that had visibly endured hardship in his life. Special emphasis was put on his eyes, which feature a wider color range and prominent inner eyelids to achieve an expressive look. They were also made smaller than in other members of his species, almost as if in a permanent squint.
Early sketches explored him as a field medic or a 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, with its origins left to the player's imagination. This 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. Mordin's design tried to balance his scientific side with his role as a combat-ready tech specialist due to his background as a member of Salarian special forces. The final appearance of his clothing resembles a labcoat, similar to the clothing of other medical characters in the series. A metal collar was added to the neck of the labcoat to break up his silhouette, though it serves no purpose in dialogue or lore.
Trick Weekes handled Mordin's writing in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. The description initially handed to Weekes was "the scientist who redid the genophage", a fictional disease instilled by his species on the Krogan to greatly reduce their birth rates. This description, combined with his general warmth towards the original game's Krogan squadmate Urdnot Wrex, led Weekes to have a negative initial reaction towards the character. 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, ultimately deciding in favor of the latter. Another important aspect of the character's creation was his performance of one of Gilbert and Sullivan's operas. Mordin's final scene on Tuchanka in the third game, and its variations, were written 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.
A proposed confrontation scene between Mordin and a Krogan squadmate named Grunt, which would occur after he discovers the genophage's backstory and 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 call
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