Benjamin Mathius is the Captain of the Planet-Cracker class mining ship USG Ishimura in the video game Dead Space and its movie prequel Dead Space: Downfall. He is a devout follower of the Church of Unitology, a group who regard the relics known as Markers as divine and believe they hold the key to transcending death itself. Mathius commands the Ishimura on its doomed mission to collect the Red Marker from Aegis VII and return it to Earth. He is voiced by Jim Cummings in the film.
History[]
When the Ishimura arrives in orbit above Aegis VII, the colonists have already begun to succumb to the mind-twisting effects of the Marker. As the planet-crack commences and the Marker is brought aboard the ship, wholesale slaughter takes place across the colony and Captain Mathius orders that the colony be quarantined in order to prevent the affliction affecting the colonists from reaching the ship. These efforts are in vain as a shuttle piloted by Colin Barrow crashes into the Ishimura's hangar bay, bringing the Necromorph pathogen with it.
As the infection begins to spread throughout the Ishimura, Mathius' grip on reality seems to dwindle. Despite Dr. Terrence Kyne's suggestion that the Marker is responsible for the violence overtaking the ship, the captain remains determined to carry out the will of the Church of Unitology to bring the Marker back to Earth.
Death[]
Captain Mathius soon descends into hysteria due to the influence of the Marker. He becomes extremely paranoid and convinced that his entire bridge staff have turned on him when they refuse to follow his order to arrest Dr. Kyne for speaking against the Church's wishes. Seeing that Mathius has become dangerously unstable, Kyne attempts to give the captain a sedative. The captain flies into a fit of rage and attempts to strangle Kyne to death. As Kyne fights back, he accidentally jabs the syringe full of sedative into Mathius' left eye and punctures his brain, killing him instantly.