One of the many things people love about theMass Effectgames is their deep lore.
The universe Commander Shepard and Pathfinder Ryder inhabit feels like a real-world with real alien species.
While the games themselves deserve credit for that, they can’t build the entire universe on their own.
So many, in fact, that working out when everything takes place can be tricky.
Don’t worry, though; here are all of them in chronological order.
*The comics that use flashbacks are ordered based on when the majority of their events take place.
The conflict is referred to as The First Contact War.
It’s during this period that the four-part comic series named Mass Effect Evolution takes place.
Yet, the piece isn’t solely about the humans' struggles against thecool alien species.
It also serves as a fascinating origin story for Mass Effect’s most mysterious character, The Illusive Man.
This first issue serves as the origin story of Rasa, aka Maya Brooks.
During the piece, she gets rescued from her life as a child laborer by a mysterious agent.
She then accompanies the hero on her mission to track down a man named Roth.
Their mission is to apprehend an Alliance scientist conducting illegal AI research.
But this interesting Foundation Issue revolves around his time at Jump Zero (a biotic training facility).
It mostly focuses on his relationship with his fellow student, Rahna.
The two are close friends until an incident occurs with an unsavory instructor named Commander Vyrnnus.
The story is set a long time before she meets Shepard and helps save the world.
In fact, she’s still teaming with fellow thief Keiji Okuda.
During the comic, the pair attempt to steal from Donovan Hock.
After enlisting in the Alliance Military, James becomes at odds with his drug addict father.
And Vega ends up questioning his future.
The ninth issue of Foundation is about one of his most significant.
It’s then up to Mordin and a few of his allies to get it done.
Yet, he isn’t initially the first choice to helm the state-of-the-art ship.
This comic tells the tale of how the ambitious young pilot earns that prestigious position.
Spoiler alert: he does more than simply ask for it.
During the issue, the Krogan mercenary goes on a warpath to hunt down Fist.
Meanwhile, Cerberus works in the shadows to complete their own mission.
It all goes down right before Shepard meets Wrex on the Citadel.
Luckily, this comic sheds some light on what happened right before the Commander’s arrival.
It’s all told through Ashley as she recounts all of the events of that dark day.
At the time, she’s in the crosshairs of Saren’s assassins.
Issue two of Homeworlds shows how the Quarian got into the perilous situation.
It turns out her problems start before arriving at the Citadel.
After acquiring incriminating evidence against Saren from an ice planet, she becomes a target for Commander Jacobus.
This means gathering his team, hopping aboard the Normandy, and traveling all over the galaxy.
Along the way, Shepard discovers a lot more about Saren’s plan and his connection to the Reapers.
Mass Effect Galaxy
Mass Effect Galaxy is a forgotten game of the series.
Released on IOS, the title is very different from its predecessors.
However, it still includes a story that’s a part of the same timeline.
In it, Jacob Taylor joins forces with Miranda Lawson for the very first time.
The organization is desperate to get its hands on the girl because of her great potential.
Lucky for her, she has Kahlee Sanders as a bodyguard.
But the intuitive Aria is suspicious of the transaction, so she accompanies them.
However, it’s hard to deny that the sequel has a better opening.
While searching for the remaining Geth, the Normandy is attacked by a mysterious ship.
It makes short work of Joker’s baby, slicing right through its armor with ease.
Everyone has to evacuate, but Shepard doesn’t make it out in time.
He and Miranda then work together to retrieve the Commander’s body.
Unfortunately, their search isn’t straight-forward.
Instead of finding a status pod containing a hero, they run into Batarian slavers.
This story is all beautifully depicted in the fifth issue of Foundation.
Although, the search for Shepard’s body gets put on hold.
Miranda and Jacob now have to deal with a Batarian Warlord after Miss Lawson is captured.
The Cerberus agent isn’t the only prisoner they aim to save, however.
And the Asari teams with a Drell named Feron to locate what’s left of her former friend.
Yet, Cerberus aren’t the only ones interested in Shepard.
The Shadow Broker is on the hunt as well.
Then she has to flee because both Blue Suns mercs and Cerberus agents are looking to apprehend her.
It’s a tricky situation, but Jack is a biotic badass, so she’s not scared.
It’s one of the reasons the character is amongthe series most beloved.
Yet, to do so, she has to get past the powerful Spectre Tela Vasir.
Well, this comic lets you witness one of them.
The veteran mercenary is hired by The Shadow Broker to take down a frigate.
Mass Effect: Foundation Issue Twelve
Thane has never been the typical assassin.
His incredible calm and spirituality are a stark contrast to the gun-ho mercenaries found on Omega.
And few killers are involved in the sort of story the Drell stars in during this comic.
It starts with a typical hired hit until Thane is distracted by a female Drell.
The two then embark on a beautiful yet tragic love story.
It tells the story of a human colony named Fehl Prime and the two major attacks they face.
The first occurs in the prologue, where a group of Blood Pack Mercenaries invades the place.
But a group of Alliance troops, including a certain James Vega, are there to defend.
And in issue thirteen, it all comes to ahead.
It serves as a precursor to Mass Effect 3’s Citadel DLC.
Those plans almost unravel, though, as some essential technology is stolen.
However, Cora Harper is on the case, as she tries to prove herself to the initiative.
Unfortunately, the mission doesn’t go quite as smoothly as she expects.
Homeworlds Issue Three lets you witness exactly how Omega’s ultimate Vigilante was born.
It all starts when Garrus grows incredibly frustrated with C-Sec’s abundance of red tape.
So, he heads to Omega, which has no restrictions and a lot of crime to stop.
And Fehl Prime is under attack once again.
This time the invaders are the Collectors, looking to harvest the people of the settlement.
Although to do that, the Commander needs to first recruit the best specialists from around the Milky Way.
Many people just assume that those adventures take place while Shepard is building his team.
However, the Arrival DLC is different.
The Commander’s attempt to stop the Alpha Relay invasion is supposed to happen after the Collectors are dead.
In the four-part series, a Turian called Tiran Kandros infiltrates the entire Initiative.
His goal is to uncover a plot that’s hidden within.
Typically things quickly get complicated for the Turian protagonist.
This short comic shows some of the aftermath.
The Citadel Council denounces the Commander, and Udina denies Alliance involvement.
James Vega, on the other hand, simply spends time on Omega playing cards with several Batarians.
This time it’s Paul Grayson, who’s a former agent of the organization.
Anderson and Kahlee Sanders do what they can to rescue him.
Bailey then launches an investigation to see what’s happening.
But if it does, its events happen months after Mass Effect: Retribution.
It acts as the last chapter in the conflict between Cerberus and the Grayson family.
Her beloved Omega gets attacked by a group of mysterious and powerful creatures.
Plus, she’s got Cerberus to deal with too.
The story functions as a full explanation of how the Asari lost the crime-riddled station before Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect: Homeworlds Issue Four
There aremany reasons to love Liara.
One of the biggest is that she discovers the plans for the Reaper-stopping crucible.
Her adventures leading to the discovery are depicted in the fourth issue of Homeworlds.
This leads to her uncovering some interesting secrets.
That being said, the mobile title does add to the universe’s lore.
He then has to fight against his former employers.
Naturally, it’s up to Shepard to lead the assault to stop them.
Even a legendary hero can’t do it alone, though.
So, he sets out to unite every species in the galaxy to fight the seemingly unstoppable machines.
The Human, Salarian, Turian, and Asari ones all get accounted for during the Andromeda game.
The Annihilation novel is about their difficult journey, which includes a deadly virus.
This is where some of the people living on the Nexus fight back against those in charge.
The sequence of events that led to that moment is shown in this novel.
Plus, it fills in some of the gaps between the Nexus' arrival and Ryder getting there.
The idea is to colonize the worlds they discover, but it’s not as simple as that.
Much like the old galaxy, this new place is filled with many dangers.
So, it’s up Pathfinder Ryder to make Andromeda habitable for everyone.
NEXT:Mass Effect: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Sovereign
