Marla Janssen

Marla Loren Janssen was a Planetary Security systems analyst stationed on the Aegis VII mining colony, a gifted computer specialist who worked to decipher the meaning of the Marker text. She died during the Necromorph outbreak that consumed the colony, sealing herself inside the infested communications needle so that her partner Abraham Neumann could escape. (Dead Space (comic))

Early life#

The comic says little about Marla's life before Aegis VII. She appears as a skilled computer specialist on the colony's P-Sec staff, working closely with Sergeant Abraham Neumann. (Dead Space (comic))

The second Aegis VII incident#

By the time of the outbreak, Marla and Abraham Neumann were in a relationship. She had taken an interest in the Marker for largely secular reasons and steadily worked at deciphering the text inscribed on it, while Neumann joked about her chances given that the Church had failed to read it for centuries. She came to understand that the markings were a code for DNA and that the artifact infected dead bodies and mutated them. Marla eventually uncovered the text's meaning, but too late, as the Necromorphs emerged to overrun the colony following the planet crack initiated by the USG Ishimura. (Dead Space (comic))

After reuniting at her apartment, Marla set out with Neumann to investigate the situation. Hindered by the colony-wide blackout that the planet crack had triggered, they soon grasped the full extent of the threat, finding the rest of the P-Sec personnel dead and reanimated as Necromorphs. They resolved to escape to the Ishimura with as many survivors as they could gather, in defiance of Captain Mathius's no-fly order. The group reached the hangars only to find them overrun by other desperate colonists. The relief was short-lived: the first shuttle to launch carried too many passengers, then was hijacked by a colonist enraged at the pilot's attempt to set back down and lighten the load, and the resulting crash destroyed the remaining docked shuttles. (Dead Space (comic))

Death#

With the shuttles gone, Marla devised a plan to radio the Ishimura for help by going straight to the colony's communications needle and bypassing the failed comms systems. She and Neumann reached the needle after a long trek, only to find that Corruption had grown over the equipment and was causing interference. Marla broke down at the apparently irreparable damage before Neumann comforted her. Investigating further, they discovered a large biomass of Necromorphs bound to the wall by the Corruption, and Neumann was distracted by the sight of Vera Cortez, his former partner, fused into it. (Dead Space (comic))

Marla regained Neumann's attention, but a group of Slashers emerged and attacked the pair. As they raced for the door she struggled to reach it and was impaled through the chest by a Necromorph. In a last act of selflessness she activated the door lock, sealing herself in with the creatures so that Neumann could escape. (Dead Space (comic))