Yellow Eyes in the Zombies Comic

[Undead Masses]

So, something I have been curious about for a while now concerning the first six issues of comics involving Victis, is that throughout the first three issues, the zombies have no color in their eyes. Which would mean no one in the Aether is controlling them. Which makes sense considering Victis is seemingly sent to another alternate Earth different from the one Tranzit, Die Rise, and Buried took place in as Maxis DESTROYED that version of Earth. However, in issues 4-6, after Victis is transported to the "Empty Earth" to acquire the Kronorium, the zombies that appear and chase after them very distinctly have yellow eyes. This is evident in several panels of each issue, even AFTER Victis is transported back to the "normal" fractured Earth they have been in up until issue 3. Now what I'm wondering is why? This change was obviously made for a reason and what is that reason? The eye colors have always signified who is in control of the zombies: Yellow for Samantha, Blue for Richtofen, Orange for Maxis, and Red for the Apothicons, but how would Samantha be controlling them if she is most likely in the house by this time and Victis is in another dimension? This has confused me for a long time and I have yet to be able to get an answer to this question. Other thoughts on this?  

[anonymous]

Good notice! First of all I wouldnt say that Maxis' eyecolours are much different than Samantha's, both being orange/yellow with maybe a small notable difference that might be caused by the lighting in ''Buried''. So the yellow eyes could be either Sam or her father.

 

I found it curious that in the first four maps of BO3 (SoE, TG, DE and ZnS) the eyes are yellow. Being reminded by your notice, I think this might be caused by the indirect consequences of that certain action of Victis in the comics. So acquiring the Kronorium from Empty Earth might not merely have led to the yellow eyes in the second half of the comic series, but to the yellow eyes in BO3 as well. Not sure though, just a guess

 

The empty earth is in my opinion a just as mysterious location as the Frozen Forest and the House. A location that serves as a housing for many interdimensional artifacts? Only accesible for those with a soul and too fragile to be sustained? Its all kinda odd.

 

Primis are never seen holding the Kronorium (except during the Revelations Easter Egg). What might have happened is that from the moment Victis retrieves the book in Empty Earth, Richthofen's New Scheme is set in motion and the BO3 Monty Cycle is changed, giving Primis the Kronorium and eventually leading to some outcome that made Sam or Maxis becoming the Demonic Announcer. According to the Timeline, I believe there is only one MPD in the entire Multiverse. Only one person can ''lead'' the undead in every universe at the same time, with the exception of pocket universes such as Mob of the Dead

[Undead Masses]

Good points! I was also curious about why the zombies had yellow eyes in those maps in BO3. The more I thought about it, the more it just didn't make sense. But the kronorium could very well be what caused the zombies to have yellow eyes in both the comics and the maps. I honestly wouldn't doubt it since there are always unforseen consequences and events that play out that we don't get to fully see. Also, your theory about there being only one MPD and leader of the undead at any single time could also be a good explanation as to why this occurred.

[RadZakpak]

Personally I've always been confused by eye color ever since Gorod Krovi. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't some of the zombies in Revelations have Orange eyes and others Red? If this is the case, the only maps to have the red eyes are Mob of the Dead, Gorod Krovi, Revelations, and Blood of the Dead. Back in Mob of the Dead, the red eyes seemed to make sense as the map was controlled by an entity who was not Sam or Edward (Who we now know is the Warden). But Gorod Krovi seemed to muddle things up, and I've never really been able to pin down why.

 

But on the topic of the Yellow/Orange eyes, I direct you to an audio reel from Classified: 

Quote

Schuster: You made progress Doctor Layman?

Layman: Yes? Um... Yes! Yes, (?). As you know our success with the undead experimentation has been limited.

Schuster: Yes, yes, we've achieved the same benchmarks as Maxis but as with his trials they refuse to obey orders.

Layman: That's right! We can't control them, we can't make them docile, but I believe I've cracked it!

Schuster: I'm listening.

Layman: Okay, last month our man inside the Ascension Group sent us copies of Doctor Richtofen's diary. I've been poring over it, following his research and...

(A zombie can be heard in the background, seemingly in an aggressive state)

Schuster: That doesn't seem very docile to me.

Layman: Just watch. Stand back Doctor Schuster. I promise you it's quite safe.

(To the zombie, a finger snap can be heard)

Layman: Walk!

Schuster: Incredible! It's completely subservient. How did you achieve this?

Layman: I have vaporized Element 115, brought it to a gaseous state. The specimen inhaled it.

Schuster: Inhaled it?

Layman: (sigh)... Un-unfortunately, it had to be done while the specimen was still alive.

Schuster: While they were still alive?! What heavens man did you...

Layman: The soldier was gonna die anyway. Hm... Doctor? Are you alright?

Schuster: Oh my apologies, Layman. I'm distracted by the eyes... They're yellow.

If the default color of zombies eyes was yellow, wouldn't it seem strange for Schuster to take such notice of their eye color as surely he's seen many of them before at Group 935? To me, this reel seems to imply the yellow color is abnormal, and better yet, the only time Schuster has seen zombies with a yellow eye color is when Maxis shot himself and Samantha sent the zombies to kill everyone at Griffin Station. It would explain why radios that take place after this one chronologically have Schuster apparently trying to convince the others at Groom Lake about the existence of Samantha. Seeing these yellow eyes may have reminded him who is in control. Not only is this an interesting subtle connection, but it lends to the idea that yellow eyes are related to Samantha/Ludvig Maxis, and they're not just the default color.

 

As for the change in the comics, it is tough to determine. There is always the possibility the artists simply overlooked the eye color issue in favor of drawing the zombies more grotesquely, since that seems to be the comic's style. But as the comics went on perhaps they were informed they should have colored eyes. But, that is not to dismiss the possibility that it all means something. We just don't know yet.

[Undead Masses]

On Revelations I've only seen zombies having red eyes. However in the trailer for the dlc, I do remember seeing some of the zombies having a red/orange glow. Although from what I can tell, it seems to have been some sort of glitch that was corrected before the map released. Also, I agree. Since GK, I've been a little less certain on what the eye color truly signified, but I've nevertheless just continued to believe it represents who is in control. As for that Classified radio, I utterly and completely agree. Yellow eyes are definitely involved with Samantha/Ludvig Maxis. Upon hearing that radio and Schuster pointing out that the zombie's eyes were yellow, it was a pretty big moment to me as the importance of eye color came into actual dialogue. Like you said, yellow is not the normal color for zombies' eyes to be. Especially considering Schuster pointed it out and was fixated on this strange change of the zombie's eyes. Showing he obviously knows of Samantha controlling them in the past and was possibly reminded of this fact, hinting at why he was afraid to continue the undead experiments as she might take control of them (and she did) like she had with the others. Pertaining to the comics, you could be right. This could have been simply overlooked by the artists or it could actually mean something. I have a feeling though that it does mean something indeed. But like you said, we don't know what yet.

[Lenne]

7 hours ago, RadZakpak said:

Personally I've always been confused by eye color ever since Gorod Krovi.

Haha same here. It used to be simple even for a story scrub like me.

 

But I also gotta say, like you Radzak, that there is a large possibility that the comic situation was just an oversight. It happend a couple of times before, but that is not to say that we should just put it off as an error on the artist part, cause the community can always make something out of nothing so to speak.

 

Welcome to the site @Undead Masses.

[Undead Masses]

Thank you kindly .

[Guest]

The events took place in 1910-1912 so it would obviously of been Samantha controlling from ÆTHER it’s all connected my friend

[Undead Masses]

@RequixEclipse I'm not sure that is the case. It isn't established in the comics what timeline or what years they take place in. One of the only confirmations we have of time wise is when Victis enters the Broken Arrow Facility in June 24, 1996. Also, the only timeline where Samantha is in control of the zombies in 1910-1912 is in Dimension 63, and it is never established in the timeline that the comics took place in dimension 63 besides possibly a few events, and during them, Victis isn't fighting zombies. So we don't know when they happened except that the events take place after Victis has left Buried. Still, a year is not really given. Like I said, Victis IS involved during certain events that have been given dates other than entering the Broken Arrow facility but they're not fighting the zombies during them. Not to mention all of the teleportation they do, its hard to pin down what timelines they go to. So I'm not exactly sure that we can chop it up to Samantha being in control, at least not with full certainty. One last note, if all of the comic issues took place during those years and Samantha WAS indeed in control, the zombies' eyes would be yellow through every issue of the  comics, issue 1 and onwards unless it was overlooked by the artists, which IS possible but I'm hoping that's not the case. However, I greatly appreciate the input .

[Guest]

Samantha was is control.

[Undead Masses]

@RequixEclipse Where's your evidence to support this? If you go look at the timeline, Samantha being in control of them..doesn't really match up. At least not with the dates you've provided. A little thing I'd like to note as well is that even in issue 6, Richtofen mentions how she's in the house which could mean Samantha couldn't have been in control at all. Until you show me some more evidence or explain your thinking a little bit more, I'll have to disagree with you. 

[anonymous]

@Radzakpak you raise a good point with your note about that Schuster quote. Indeex, it seems like Schuster sees the yellow eyes for the first time, while Samantha already entered the MPD in 1945, with Shi No Numa and Der Riese (where zombies have yellow eyes) as a direct result. 

 

The zombies in the American lab have only glowing eyes after Layman's following action:

Quote

Layman: I have vaporized Element 115, brought it to a gaseous state. The specimen inhaled it.

Gaseous 115. The element is most likely inbibed into the blood through metabolism, eventually entering the brain and establishing a direct link between the undead's mind or soul and the Aether. In TranZit, when using an EMP grenade we see what happens when this link is broken.

Quote

Zombies that are affected by an EMP do not have a blue glow in their eyes. This is caused by the fact zombies are revitalized by 115 due to it's highly electromagnetic properties. In addition, an EMP can interrupt signal, in this case being the Moon Pyramid Device's signal to the zombies. The EMP creates an explosion of electromagnetic noise that blocks radio waves and fries circuitry. So as long as the pulse is active, the controller in the MPD cannot communicate, as the frequencies are all blocked by radio noise, and the zombies lose their primary motivation to continue pursuing anything in particular.

Whats interesting, though, is that the EMP-hitted zombies without connection and glowing eyes are completely passive, while it seems that in the radios of both Maxis's and Layman's experiments with ''unconnected'' undead the zombies are active and aggresive.

 

The gaseous thing also applies on BO2. Remember what CDC's assistent director George Barkley said?

Quote

Prior to the destruction of our headquarters, our research found evidence that contaminates are now infecting the very air we breathe. As such, exposure of some sort appears inevitable for all survivors 

Quote

.

 

Thats why Richthofen had control over the entire undead population of Earth. Everyone was breathing in the element. For some reason, only those who actually ate infected meat (the Flesh) were able to connect their minds more so they could hear the demonic occupant.

 

Still not giving any explanation to your question though, @Undead Masses. Do the zombies in the beginning of comic 1, where Victis are still in Maxisland, also have no colour at all?

[anonymous]

Also, concerning who is in control at what time: I know it doesnt make it easier but maybe we have to forget time. Perhaps it could be 1940 in universe A while it is 2025 in universe B....with only one controller at the same ''universal time''. So when Sam was in control during e.g. Kino der Toten, 1964 in the original universe, at thesame time she could have been the announcer in Der Eisendrache, 1945, Deceptio Fracture.

 

Just an idea that popped up in my head probably including a lot of flaws and most likely not the case

[Undead Masses]

@anonymous Yes. In comic 1, the zombies have no color in their eyes whatsoever. They just posses regular eyes that you would see on a normal person to an extent; and perhaps you're right. Maybe we should forget time because it could very well be different years in different universes.

[Schrödinger]

Blue for Richtofen in Origins and Gorod Krovi ?
When the corrupted keeper enters the MPD in Der Eisendrache, the zombies keep their yellorange eyes.

[anonymous]

Let's put it all together shall we? Just for clarity. Simply the straight facts

 

YELLOW

-Zombie eye colour in maps Nacht der Untoten (1945, Original Universe) up untill Moon (2025, OU). Samantha is in MPD

-Normal 'soldier' zombie eye colour in Origins (1918, Dimension 63). Samantha is drawn in Agartha by her father at the end of Buried.

-End of Buried Easter Egg, Maxis winning. He enters Agartha among with his daughter.

-Zombie eye colour in Shadows of Evil (1944, pocket dimension of D63). Unknown who is in charge

-Zombie eye colour in The Giant and Der Eisendrache (1945, Deceptio Fracture of OU).

-Zombie eye colour in Zetsubou no Shima (1945, Proditione Fracture of OU).

-Zombies eye colour in the comics (OU), after Victis retrieved the Kronorium (from the Empty Earth dimension)

 

RED

-Zombie eye colour in Mob of the Dead (1934, pocket dimension of D63). The Warden is in control of this pocket dimension.

-Zombie eye colour in Gorod Krovi (1945, Agonia Fracture of OU).

-Zombie eye colour in Revelations (Agartha).

-Zombie eye colour in Blood of the Dead (pocket dimension). The Warden is in control of this pocket dimension.

 

BLUE

-Zombie eye colour in maps Green Run (2035, OU) up untill Buried (2035, OG)

-Eye colour of the Templar and Crusader Zombies in Origins (1918, D63). The Crusader zombies only appear in the underground tunnel system and were most likely already zombified in the Medieval Era. The Templar Zombies only appear when activating a Conversion Generator and in the Crazy Place.

 

Add/correct me if I am wrong.

 

I am also curious if you need a soul to enter the MPD or not. If not, Sam could have easily been the controller in The Giant, Eisendrache and Zetsubou. If you do, Sam's soul was at that time in the House so it must be someone else. Maxis perhaps? Maxis in the House has no soul, so maybe that's where his soul is: in the MPD. Another odd thing is that they say the House is in Agartha. They also say that Samantha is trapped in Agartha during Origins and that we have saved her. But still she is in the House (which is in Agartha) after the Egg. How?

 

Also, the colours blue and red/yellow/orange are seen more during the game. There are both blue/purple rifts as well as orange rifts. In the air of Revelations, you see both blue and red orbs/rays. Also the Aetherial energy seen around Global Polarization Devices can be blue (Richthofen's path) or orange (Maxis's path). Is it some kind of seperation between the Dark Aether and Agartha perhaps?

[Lenne]

Wasn't there the purple eye colour as well? I believe in Origins. @anonymous

[anonymous]

37 minutes ago, Lenne said:

Wasn't there the purple eye colour as well? I believe in Origins. @anonymous

Yeah, I believen that's is the Crusader Zombie (and possibly the Templar Zombie too). Though that's is arguably. I zelf would say that the eyes are more blue, but it differs every picture/screenshot.

 

Added to this, the Margwa does have purple eyes (for certain)

[RadZakpak]

Also, as an aside, zombies that fight for you using the Turned ammo type in BO3 and Brain Rot ammo type in BO4 have green eyes. I don't believe we see those anywhere else but it is an interesting note.

 

One other thing I would like to mention is that there appears to be a lot more at play in who is in control besides the eye colors changing. For example, look at the power-ups. I believe Monty takes credit for those, and yet whoever is the announcer will announce the name, despite them wanting to kill the player. Also, I'm curious just how in control of zombies you are when you are in the MPD, as throughout the Victis story in BO2 the zombies are constantly trying to kill them, and even succeed a few times as seen in the Die Rise cutscene. But if they are controlled by Richtofen, why would they attack and kill the crew who he needs to help him? The best explanation I can think of is that they are not always actively trying to kill Victis, but instead guide them where Richtofen wants them. Primis Richtofen and Zombie Richtofen do this exact thing in the comics, as the Zombie Richtofen commands the zombies to attack Victis, and yet in the end, what he really needed to happen was for them to survive and go into the machine to get the Kronorium and give their blood. Perhaps Richtofen was truly in control of the blue-eyed zombies, and would only kill Victis off if they were disobeying. In the Die Rise cutscene, Stuhlinger is saying he doesn't want to help Richtofen mend the rift, and as punishment, they are all killed off and brought back to the beginning to try again.

[anonymous]

53 minutes ago, RadZakpak said:

One other thing I would like to mention is that there appears to be a lot more at play in who is in control besides the eye colors changing. For example, look at the power-ups. I believe Monty takes credit for those, and yet whoever is the announcer will announce the name, despite them wanting to kill the player. Also, I'm curious just how in control of zombies you are when you are in the MPD, as throughout the Victis story in BO2 the zombies are constantly trying to kill them, and even succeed a few times as seen in the Die Rise cutscene. But if they are controlled by Richtofen, why would they attack and kill the crew who he needs to help him? The best explanation I can think of is that they are not always actively trying to kill Victis, but instead guide them where Richtofen wants them. Primis Richtofen and Zombie Richtofen do this exact thing in the comics, as the Zombie Richtofen commands the zombies to attack Victis, and yet in the end, what he really needed to happen was for them to survive and go into the machine to get the Kronorium and give their blood. Perhaps Richtofen was truly in control of the blue-eyed zombies, and would only kill Victis off if they were disobeying. In the Die Rise cutscene, Stuhlinger is saying he doesn't want to help Richtofen mend the rift, and as punishment, they are all killed off and brought back to the beginning to try again.

I have thought about that too and what you say might very well be the case. The intro of Classified adds confirmation to this, as Samantha is seen pointing her finger to Ultimis, orderding the zombies to chase and slaughter them.

 

What I always used to believe, though, and what might be a possibility as well, is that the eye colour only indicates who is in the MPD. The zombies remain having their eternal hunger for living flesh (see the SNN music: the One), whether the MPD occupant wants them to kill or not. That would explain why the undead still attacks Victis even if Victis does what Richthofen wants (through that might be uncanon).

 

Interesting point about multiple ''sorts'' of controllers. Monty has always had the power to manipulate space-time in that way that he can give powerups and draw wallweapons, even though someone else is in the MPD. Maybe Monty and Shadowman act from a higher dimension than the MPD occupant. 

 

[Undead Masses]

@RadZakpak That is a really good point! In terms of the Die Rise cutscene that could definitely be the case. Due to them disobeying, Richtofen had them killed and then brought them back until they completed the task. There's other interesting notes of this like in Tranzit. There are quotes (that I think were cut but still in the files) where Richtofen orders the zombies to attack Victis. In another quote though he also says "I'll keep my pretties from overwhelming you too much okay? So relaaaax." Or something of that nature. So yeah, he seems to use them as more of a means to an end kind of thing. The zombies are like tools. Or like cats chasing mice in a sense, but with more of an objective. They're not exactly meant to kill Victis but if Victis disobeys or are simply overwhelmed, they're killed and then brought back over and over. Since it is a game in Richtofen's eyes and not life or death for him, he can enjoy watching them struggle and die and to just bring them back after. He is sadistic after all.

[Undead Masses]

@anonymous That could be the case as well, that the zombies retain their hunger for flesh and needing to kill regardless of who is in control. However, they can just be directed more. Given a bit more of a purpose by the one in control. Also, about Monty and the Shadowman, they could very well be in some sort of higher power than those in the MPD. It would make sense because from what I can tell and have read from the timeline the Shadowman wanted Richtofen to enter the MPD. He was one of the voices of corruption that directed and drove Ultimis Richtofen to do what he did. So he probably had/has some sort of higher abilities than the MPD user.

[anonymous]

25 minutes ago, Undead Masses said:

It would make sense because from what I can tell and have read from the timeline the Shadowman wanted Richtofen to enter the MPD. He was one of the voices of corruption that directed and drove Ultimis Richtofen to do what he did. So he probably had/has some sort of higher abilities than the MPD user.

Off course, I have not even thought about that. However, Shadowman was still trapped in the Dark Aether back then, so he self had no direct power on Earth. Perhaps Monty could be a similar case. The two godlike entities are powerful, but much more than dropping powerups they couldnt do. Thats why Monty did little nudges that would eventually lead to Group 935 creating the Perk-a-Colas. He self couldnt do that directly.

 

Summarizing: Shadowman and Monty reside in higher dimensions, but they need persons ''in-between'' to operate for them. The occupant of the MPD actually has absolute control over the 3th dimension. So while Monty and Shadow are in theory more powerful, the MPD occupant has more power over Earth. Powers belonging to that entity is controlling the zombies (in a way), severing the Magic Box (with Teddy), and do the power up shouting. Powers belonging to Monty and Shadowman are drawing wallweapons (possibly wallwritings too), placing Perk machines, the box and the PaP and drop power ups

[funmw2]

I've been thinking about this for some time.

There's an interesting point that OP forgot to mention.

In the comics, when the zombies eyes change to yellow, it happened after Victis gave their blood samples to the machine in order to travel through time and space.

It was confirmed by Maxis in Blood of the Dead that the more you travel through 115 portals, the more aetheric energy you absorb.

He also mentioned that the blood itself is the paradox.

[anonymous]

1 hour ago, funmw2 said:

Victis gave their blood samples to the machine in order to travel through time and space.

See, thats something I dont understand. How can a machine generate a Rift only if blood is inserted. What has blood, whether it has Aetherial energy in it or not, to do with creating portals?

 

Next to this, what is so special about Aetherial blood? What utilities does it have and why is Maxis so focussed on this in the BotD radios? Has the blood of sacrifices anything to do with the rituals enabling the creation of a pocket universe (SoE, MotD, BotD)?