Lore Details You Might Have Missed In Space Marine 2

Space Marine 2 is filled with references to the larger Warhammer 40,000 universe surrounding Titus and the Ultramarines. While some references are obvious since the campaign will take its time to explain parts of the backstory enough for newcomers to the 40k universe to understand what’s happening, plenty of references go unexplained and are easily missed by players enjoying the game for the first time.

These references can be small asides in the dialogue that have some interesting lore attached to it, or massive easter eggs in the game’s environment that are interesting to learn about for new players. For long time fans of 40k, seeing these elements of the 40k universe come to life will make Space Marine 2 even more fun to play.

This article will discuss spoilers for both Space Marine 1 and 2.

1 Purple Eyes Of The Cadians

Growing Up Fighting Hellspawn

In Space Marine 2, if players look closely at the Cadians they’ll notice that some of them have purple irises. Not only does it give the Cadians a more distinct look, but this small detail also has a few lore reasons behind it as well.

The Cadians hail from a planet right next to the Eye of Terror – a literal tear in the fabric of reality that leads to Warhammer 40k‘s equivalent of hell. Growing up on their home planet of Cadia has made the Cadians into the Imperium’s first line of defense against any possible horrors that could emerge from the Eye. But another side effect of growing up so close to a literal portal to hell is some Cadians have a unique mutation where their eyes take on a lilac-purple color, similar to the color of the Eye of Terror, and they have a minor resistance to the influences of chaos.

2 Cadian Resistance To Chaos

The Planet Broke Before The Guard Did

An additional important point to know is that by the time of Space Marine 2, Cadia has since been destroyed by the forces of Chaos. But after that cataclysmic event, Cadian culture lives on through its survivors as they raise more regiments on other planets and train new generations of soldiers with the same traditions the original Cadians grew up with. However, while these newer soldiers are given the upbringing of a Cadian, they lack the purple eyes and resistance Chaos the original Cadians had.

These newer Cadians can be seen in Space Marine 2 and can be identified through their lack of purple irises. A small detail that follows from this is, during a scene where the influence of the warp is unleashed on the poor souls fighting on Demerium, some Cadians begin to lose their minds against the influences of Chaos. But the majority of these broken or treacherous Cadians all have regular eye colors. When Titus regroups with the rallying Cadian Regiments, the majority of those soldiers all have purple irises.

3 The Original Chainsword From Space Marine 1

Continuity For Our Good Captain

At the beginning of the game, the player is introduced to a Captain of the Watch wielding the original chainsword from Space Marine 1. It’s a wonderful callback to the first game and it gives a blatant hint at the true identity of the Watch Captain.

After Titus crosses the Rubicon and becomes a Primaris Marine, that same Chainsword (and the Deathwatch pauldron) are kept in his quarters. While it would be a fun continuation from the original game to continue using the old chainsword, leaving it in his quarters is the most practical option since it will be a little small for a Primaris Marine and their larger proportions.

4 Theoretical And Practical Talk

Old Soul? Or Hersey-era Marine?

At times during missions, Chairon sometimes asks “What’s our practical?” In addition to that, at one point in the campaign, Titus himself also asks Captain Acheron “What’s our theoretical?” While it’s a small detail, these two lines hold plenty of lore significance when it comes to the Ultramarines.

Roboute Guilliman, primarch of the Ultramarines, taught his legion to approach problems from both a practical and theoretical sense. Legionaries would ask themselves what the theoretical of a situation would be (what the person is trying to achieve, what’s the purpose and general idea of the action) and then ask themselves what the practical is (how do I go about it, what challenges are stopping me from achieving my goal?). This encouraged the Ultramarines to adapt to novel situations and fostered independent problem-solving among the ranks.

However, this style of thinking has faded from the Ultramarines in the 10,000 years since the Horus Heresy where this was a common custom. Instead, the modern day Ultramarines have adopted a strict, dogmatic adherence to the Codex Astartes, as illustrated in the first Space Marine game by Leandros. Since Guilliman’s resurrection and return, however, the old theoretical/practical way of thinking has slowly re-entered the Ultramarines’ culture.

With this background in mind, having Chairon and Titus ask these simple questions demonstrates the return of this style of thinking back to the chapter.

5 Chairon Is 10,000 Years Old

Calth Was A Long Time Ago

Later in the campaign, Chairon reveals he was a boy on Calth when the Word Bearers attacked. While Calth has been invaded by Tyranids and Iron Warriors in the past, the exact battle Chairon is referencing is the Battle of Calth during the Horus Heresy.

This event happened over 10,000 years ago in the opening stages of the Heresy when the Emperor’s favorite cloned son, Horus, betrayed the Imperium of Man. Hoping to strike a decapitating blow against the Ultramarines, Horus ordered the Ultramarines to muster onto Calth where they are then ambushed by the Word Bearers, a faction of traitor Astartes who are loyal to Chaos. This battle turned Calth’s once paradisiacal surface into a smoldering, irradiated wasteland.

With that in mind, Chairon’s reveal gives 40k fans a general idea of his backstory. Under orders from Guilliman, Belasarius Cawl, an Archmagos from the Adeptus Mechanicus, began the Primaris project toward the end of the Heresy. The idea was to create a better version of the Astartes. As a result, Cawl took Astartes from every legion and put them into stasis for him to experiment with, while also toiling away in the forges of Mars to create the ideal weapons for them. When Guilliman returned, Cawl took the marines from their stasis chambers, armed them with the finest weapons the Imperium had to offer, and gave them back to Guilliman as a brand-new fighting force to save the galaxy.

Chairon is one of these Primaris marines, inducted into the Ultramarines legion sometime after the horrifying Battle of Calth, then put into stasis for the Primaris project. This is also why, to the rest of his brothers, Calth’s scouring is ancient history, but for Chairon, the memory of what Calth’s surface was and the treachery of the Word Bearers is still fresh in his mind.

6 “The Codex Astartes Does Not Support This Action”

Shut Up Leandros; Keep Talking Gadriel

During a scene where Titus is leading his squad through a Jump Pack insertion onto the planet Demerium, Gadriel tells Titus that “the Codex Astartes does not support this action…but I am looking forward to it.”

This entire scene is a nod back to the first mission in Space Marine 1 where Titus and his squad are using a jump pack to land on Forgeworld Graia. During this scene, Leandros also says “the codex Astartes does not support this action,” which is immediately disregarded by Captain Titus. However, this scene sets up Leandros’ betrayal at the end of the game where he gives Titus up to Inquisitor Thrax on the suspicion of corruption by the Warp.

In comparison, Gadriel and Titus take the moment to rebuild their relationship, and for Titus to show how he’s grown since that moment.

7 Archmagos Nozick’s Binharic Squawks

The Mechanicus Prefer Their Own Language

Another small detail with plenty of lore behind it is this line from Archmagos Nozick: “…As I will be glad to cease the flapping of this repugnant flesh voice.”

This line is a reference to how techpriests will usually communicate with one another through the Cant Mechanicus – a collection of different kinds of languages the Adeptus Mechanicus use to efficiently communicate or transmit orders to other Mechanicus members. Some of these languages involve uploading streams of data or high-speed blurts of binary directly to another tech adept’s bionics. The result is a more efficient and faster way of conveying information than a simple “flesh voice” is capable of.

Additionally, the Cant Mechanicus can’t be understood by unaugmented humans, and even the sounds (if sounds are used) required to speak the Cant Mechanicus can’t be recreated by unagumented body parts. As a result, when communicating with other humans, the priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus resort to using whatever language their listeners can understand, much to the chagrin of older techpriests like Archmagos Nozick.

8 Tomb World And The Necrons

As If Demerium Wasn’t Doomed Enough

During the Campaign, when Titus is fighting his way to Techpriest Leuze, the player is shown what the underground catacombs of Demerium looks like, and to longtime 40k fans, it’s an ominous look into Demerium’s future.

In a tale as old as time, when the Adeptus Mechanicus started digging around ancient ruins, they accidentally disturbed an ancient alien species known as the Necrons. Necrons are almost as old as the galaxy itself and, when their empire was being threatened, they chose to enter a millennias-long slumber to wait out the threat. After all, their new bodies were made of a strange living metal that made their entire race functionally immortal, and the obnoxious threats to their empire were still made of flesh and blood.

These Necrons would retire to hollowed-out planets known as Tomb Worlds, where specially created catacombs were prepared to house these Necrons in stasis until it was time to awaken them all again. The problem for the Necrons is that the call to awaken them never happened. Since then, the Imperium of Man has conquered and settled many of these planets without any clue that they were building a new civilization over the slumbering remains of an older one.

When Titus enters into these catacombs, the player is treated to the haunting landscape of a slumbering tomb world and even a few Canoptek Tomb Stalkers. These scenes confirm that Demerium is indeed a Tomb World, and if the Necrons awaken in the near future, then Demerium itself is going to have a new problem besides the Tyranids and Thousand Sons.

9 Banner Scene Reference

A Beautiful Reference To A Classic 40k Scene

One of the most iconic Warhammer 40k images is the cover of the 3rd Edition Space Marine Codex created by David Gallagher. This picture depicts several Space Marines from the Crimson Fists chapter in a desperate last stand. Standing on top of a mound of dead Asartes, surrounded by his dying and defiant brothers, the Sergeant pumps his power fist into the air while another Crimson Fist Astartes holds the chapter’s banner high beside him. This picture encapsulated the feelings of desperation and gritty darkness that became foundational to the entire setting of 40k.

In Space Marine 2, players get to feel like they’re part of that iconic last stand in the final mission of the campaign. TItus rushes to raise the second company standard and rally the remaining Ultramarines around him. What follows is one of the best scenes in the game that, much like Gallagher’s original depiction of an Astartes last stand, perfectly encapsulates the feeling of 40k’s setting. Even the following scene with the forces of Chaos rushing toward the formation of Ultramarines looks like it fell straight out of a codex.

10 Statue Of Sanguinius

The Blood Angels Primarch In All His Glory

During the campaign mission “Servant of the Machine,” just above the building Leuze has barricaded himself inside of, is a massive statue of an angel slaying a demon. For newcomers to the lore, it’s easy to look at this statue and appreciate it as just a cool angel. But for fans more familiar with 40k’s backstory, this is the unmistakable visage of Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels.

The Blood Angels are another popular Space Marine chapter that’s defined by their close combat prowess and constant struggle with the Red Thirst – a curse on their bloodline that makes them terrifying fighters when it’s well managed and a tragic liability to everyone around them when a marine loses themselves to it. Sanguinius was their original leader in the same way Roboute Guilliman was for the Ultramarines. Unlike his brothers, Sanguinius was unique because of his angelic wings and kind demeanor. While Guilliman would focus on logistics and rebuilding economies, Sanguinius would mourn the fallen, lend aid to the survivors where he could, and inspire people.

However, knowing Sanguinius’ story and seeing his statue in the first mission where Chaos reveals itself to the player is a firm reminder to fans why every traitor deserves a liberal application of a bolter fire on sight. Sanguinius would meet a tragic and violent end at the hands of his beloved brother Horus. The Angel’s brutal death would also be the whole reason why his sons are cursed to the present day by the Red Thirst. Tearing apart the traitorous hordes of the Thousand Sons beneath this statue makes the scene feel like the player is dealing out justice that’s been 10,000 years in the making.

11 Imperator Class Titans On Demerium

In A Cinematically Fitting Size Too!

Titans are some of the largest and hardest hitting weapons the Imperium of Man and the Adeptus Mechanicus can field in a battle. These massive bipedal walkers stride across the battlefield vaporizing entire armies of lesser beings (including Astartes) with little effort, earning their moniker of “god-machines” among the Mechanicus. Each one requires a small army of serfs, tech priests, and pilots to use and maintain them properly, and they’re equipped with enormous energy shields that are typically used to protect capital ships.

While Titans can come in all shapes and sizes, the largest of the Titans are labeled an Imperator or Emperor class. These are exceptionally rare, and exceedingly powerful weapons that are treated with a mixture of awe and deep respect by everyone who comes into contact with these war machines.

There are three places to see an Imperator Class Titan in Space Marine 2. They can be found in these locations:

• Mausoleum in Eternal War
• Reliquary in Operations

All of these locations are on Demerium, which also begs the question of how such a powerful machine ends up here. While that question is never concretely answered, seeing one of these gargantuan god-machines rendered in 3D is a fantastic treat for 40k fans who love giant mecha-on-mecha violence, but the size depicted in Space Marine 2 shines a light on the often inconsistent size of Titans in the lore. Some depictions of Imperator class Titans state they’re only around 43 meters tall (this was the case for the Dies Irae in False Gods) but others state they can be as large as 140+ meters. Thanks to one fan’s data mining, the Imperator Class Titan in Space Marine 2 is confirmed to be over a kilometer tall, dwarfing the other two measurements.

While the size of this Titan may not be numerically correct compared to what the official sources have stated, this version of an Imperator Titan feels more appropriate to the lore. Imperator class Titans are often described based on the carnage, destruction, and fear they wreak upon the Imperium’s foes, and many of them depict Imperators as capable of turning entire cities into glass craters from the sheer firepower of their weapons. That level of destruction is far more believable in a titan of this size than one that’s only 40 meters tall.