Pods
Embryo-like Necromorphs of the Guardians
Pods were small, embryo-like Necromorphs ejected by Guardians as a defense. Grown from underdeveloped infants, they clung near their parent creature and flung sharp projectiles, bursting apart when their tentacle was severed.
Pods were small, embryo-like Necromorphs that the Guardians ejected as a means of self-defense. Wherever one of the wall-bound Guardians took hold, these infant-shaped creatures gathered around it, spat out through the Guardian's sac from the Corruption it was fused to. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space (2023))
Form and origin#
Pods bore the appearance of human babies. A heavily distorted mouth and eyes could be made out on the body, which led to the belief that they were formed from underdeveloped fetuses or newborn children. The body was filled with an organic explosive, so that the creature could be made to burst. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space (2023))
They did not move freely as most Necromorphs did. Instead they were produced and ejected by the Guardians, the creatures fused into the walls of infested places, and they appeared wherever a Guardian had taken root. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 2: Severed; Dead Space (2023))
Behavior#
Alone a Pod could do very little, but gathered in numbers around their Guardian they became a serious threat. When something drew near, a Pod extended a tentacle and used it to fling sharp projectiles at the intruder. After loosing a projectile it needed a moment to recover before it could throw again. The creature was tied to the explosive within it: cutting away the exposed tentacle caused the entire Pod to burst, and a Pod that was approached too closely would spring up and detonate against whatever stood over it. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space (2023))
Frequently asked questions
- What were Pods?
- Pods were small, embryo-like Necromorphs that Guardians ejected as a means of self-defense. They appeared wherever a Guardian was found.
- How did a Pod attack?
- When threatened, a Pod extended a tentacle and used it to fling sharp projectiles at anything that approached. The body itself was filled with an organic explosive, so that severing the tentacle caused the whole Pod to burst.
- What were Pods made from?
- Pods had the appearance of human infants and were thought to be formed from underdeveloped fetuses or newborns. A heavily distorted mouth and eyes could be made out on the body.
Sources
- GameDead Space, EA Redwood Shores, 2008
- GameDead Space 2, Visceral Games, 2011
- GameDead Space 2: Severed, Visceral Games, 2011
- GameDead Space (2023), Motive Studio, 2023 (remake)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Guardian
The Guardian was a sessile Necromorph fused to the walls by the Corruption, unable to hunt but able to kill anything that drew near with a scythe-tipped tentacle. It spat embryonic Pods to keep threats at a distance and guarded the places most vital to the infestation.
Necromorph
Necromorphs were aggressive creatures formed when the Markers' electromagnetic signal reshaped dead tissue into monstrous new forms. Driven to kill the living and gather corpses for Convergence, they were the recurring plague that destroyed the Aegis VII colony, the USG Ishimura, and Titan Station.
The Corruption
The Corruption was an encrusting mass of Necromorph tissue that grew wherever an outbreak took hold, spreading in the presence of a Marker signal. It reshaped its surroundings into a habitat for the horde, poisoning the atmosphere and providing a ready supply of biomass.
Also in Necromorphs
Every Necromorph Type in Dead Space: all forms from Slashers to the Brethren Moons
A full list of Necromorph types across the Dead Space games, films and novels. Each entry says what the creature is, what it was made from where the series tells us, and which games it shows up in.
Phantom Necromorphs: the red eyed grade above Enhanced
Phantom Necromorphs were a sub breed of the infection met aboard the USG Ishimura in the 2023 remake of Dead Space, mostly in New Game+, marked by black, red or near purple tissue and glowing red eyes. They fought exactly as their base forms did and endured roughly twice the punishment an Enhanced specimen of the same strain could absorb.
Split-Face: the compound Necromorph of the Chicxulub facility
The Split-Face was a compound Necromorph form built from a mass of human torsos, carrying two heads, seven blade-like legs and a yellow and black pustule slung beneath its body. It borrowed the offensive habits of several separate strains at once, and it was killed by Michael Altman during the outbreak that gutted the research facility above the Chicxulub crater.
Mentioned in3 entries
Bridge
The Bridge of the USG Ishimura was the command and control center of the Planet Cracker, a large open section at the front of the ship from which its crew ran the vessel and its mining operations. By the outbreak its displays read only System Failure.
Every Necromorph Type in Dead Space: all forms from Slashers to the Brethren Moons
A full list of Necromorph types across the Dead Space games, films and novels. Each entry says what the creature is, what it was made from where the series tells us, and which games it shows up in.
Guardian
The Guardian was a sessile Necromorph fused to the walls by the Corruption, unable to hunt but able to kill anything that drew near with a scythe-tipped tentacle. It spat embryonic Pods to keep threats at a distance and guarded the places most vital to the infestation.
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