The Leviathan
Massive Necromorph of the Ishimura's Food Storage
The Leviathan was a massive, amorphous Necromorph that lodged in the USG Ishimura's Food Storage and barricaded the Hydroponics Deck. Named by Elizabeth Cross, it choked the deck with the Corruption before Isaac Clarke destroyed it.
The Leviathan was a massive, amorphous Necromorph encountered in the Food Storage facility of the USG Ishimura during the outbreak aboard the vessel. It barricaded itself within the Hydroponics Deck, choking the air with corruption and poison-exuding creatures, before Isaac Clarke destroyed it. (Dead Space; Dead Space (2023))
Origin#
The Leviathan collided with the Ishimura while drifting through space. How the creature came to be, and how it ended up adrift, is never explained. In the 2023 remake, Dr. Cross's log records that when it struck the hull near Food Storage, the crew first took it for a rogue asteroid. (Dead Space; Dead Space (2023))
After colliding with the vessel, the Leviathan made its way into the Hydroponics Deck and barricaded itself inside the Food Storage facility. The tracts of the Corruption then began to spread at an exponential rate in close proximity to the creature, overtaking much of the deck. Shipboard oxygen levels became critical as a result, and with the appearance of the poison-exuding Necromorphs known as Wheezers, the Hydroponics Deck became unable to support human life. Elizabeth Cross encountered the beast and gave it the name by which it became known. (Dead Space; Dead Space (2023))
Form and attacks#
The Leviathan was a massive, amorphous mass, with little shown of its biological structure beyond its fleshy front. It attacked with three tentacles, sweeping them across the chamber, and once a tentacle was destroyed it resorted to spitting organic bombs from its central mouth, in which its core briefly lay exposed. A fresh set of tentacles emerged as the creature neared death. (Dead Space)
Destruction#
In the original 2008 game, the CEC officer Zach Hammond encountered the Leviathan as the Hydroponics Deck lost the last of its breathable air. Soon after, Isaac Clarke, warned of the creature by Kendra Daniels, arrived on the deck and was told by Hammond where the beast lay. Isaac cleansed the air on the deck and mixed a poisonous substance capable of harming the creature, but the poison fell short of being truly effective, and he was forced to settle the matter by force. Entering the Food Storage area, which the weakened Leviathan now left open to him, Isaac killed the creature. (Dead Space)
In the 2023 remake, Isaac weakened the Leviathan by injecting an enzyme into the Wheezers connected to it, then fought it until it was vented into space. It clung to the Ishimura's communication antenna and returned as the Leviathan Remnant. Isaac had to fight it free of the antenna so that Kendra Daniels could contact the USM Valor. The Remnant struck with its tentacles and with volleys of organic bombs, and protected its weak points beneath armor that Isaac had to break through. Once it was defeated a second time, the creature finally died and drifted away into space as a lifeless mass. (Dead Space (2023))
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Leviathan?
- The Leviathan was a massive, amorphous Necromorph encountered in the USG Ishimura's Food Storage facility during the outbreak aboard the vessel. It attacked with three tentacles and by spitting out organic bombs from its central mouth, where its core was briefly exposed.
- Where did the Leviathan come from?
- The Leviathan collided with the Ishimura while drifting through space. Its origin is never explained. It barricaded itself in Food Storage, where the Corruption spread rapidly around it and the deck's air turned poisonous.
- Who named and killed the Leviathan?
- Elizabeth Cross encountered the creature and gave it its name. Isaac Clarke later cleansed the deck's poisoned air, weakened the beast with a poisonous mixture, and then killed it by force in the Food Storage area.
Sources
- GameDead Space, EA Redwood Shores, 2008
- GameDead Space (2023), Motive Studio, 2023
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
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.
Hydroponics Deck
The Hydroponics Deck was the USG Ishimura's internal farm, growing the food and producing the oxygen needed to sustain the ship's crew. During the 2508 outbreak the deck was overtaken by the Leviathan, which polluted its air and destroyed the ship's food supply.
Isaac Clarke
Isaac Clarke was a ship systems engineer for the Concordance Extraction Corporation who survived the Necromorph outbreak aboard the USG Ishimura, became a host for the Markers' replication blueprints, and spent years hunted by EarthGov and the Church of Unitology as he fought to destroy the Markers.
Kendra Daniels
Kendra Daniels was an EarthGov agent posing as a CEC computer specialist aboard the USG Kellion, who guided Isaac Clarke through the Ishimura while working in secret to secure Marker 3A for the government.
USG Ishimura
The USG Ishimura was the flagship of the Concordance Extraction Corporation and the first Planet Cracker-class mining ship. After recovering Marker 3A from Aegis VII in 2508, it became the site of a catastrophic Necromorph outbreak that wiped out its crew and bound its name to the history of the Markers.
USM Valor
The USM Valor was an Earth Defense Force Destroyer sent to the Aegis system in 2508 to recover Marker 3A and erase all witnesses. A reanimated corpse aboard one of the Ishimura's escape pods spread the Necromorph infection through the ship, and the Valor crashed into the very vessel it had come to silence.
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Hydroponics Deck
The Hydroponics Deck was the USG Ishimura's internal farm, growing the food and producing the oxygen needed to sustain the ship's crew. During the 2508 outbreak the deck was overtaken by the Leviathan, which polluted its air and destroyed the ship's food supply.
Medical Deck
The Medical Deck was the hospital and research complex of the USG Ishimura, a sprawling section of laboratories, wards and offices amidships. It was where Dr. Challus Mercer carried out his experiments on the crew, where the Hunter was created, and where Dr. Nicole Brennan recorded her final log.
Tentacle
Tentacles were massive Necromorph growths that appeared either as predators in their own right or as the limbs of far larger creatures. Some dragged victims into the walls, others guarded sacred ground, and the greatest served the Brethren Moons themselves.
Wheezer
The Wheezer was a stationary Necromorph that generated and exhaled poisonous gas, fouling the air around it without ever attacking directly. Its gas made whole rooms toxic to the living.
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