Comic books are often used by video game publishers to flesh out the world and story of a beloved property. Most big gaming IPs have had comic book tie-ins before, ranging from Halo's graphic novel anthology collection which gave fans some more Covenant lore, to Overwatch's ongoing comic run that fleshes out the backstory of its roster with each issue. Dying Light 2 will be receiving its own comic book prequel tie-in as well.
Earlier this year, Techland and Dynamite Entertainment teamed up to bring fans a free prequel comic named Banshee — I Am The Cure. This comic somewhat bridges the gap between the events of first game and the upcoming Dying Light 2: Stay Human.
The Events of the First Dying Light
In the first game, players take control of Kyle Crane, a GRE (Global Relief Effort) operative that is tasked with finding and taking down a former politician, Rais, who allegedly has information that could lead to a potential cure of the virus that has broken out across the city of Harran. Unfortunately, Harran is where Rais is currently trapped, so the player needs to navigate their way around the city carefully, as zombies of all shapes and sizes roam the streets. The final moments of the game sees Crane defeat Rais and recover the vital research data. Crane decided to give the data to Dr. Camden, who believes that he is very close to formulating a cure.
From the information gleaned from within the first game, it's inferred that Harran is the only location in which the virus has appeared. However, as the trailers for the sequel have confirmed, the virus is now widespread, wreaking havoc on the rest of the world.
Banshee Bridges the Gap
The prequel comic, Banshee — I Am The Cure, seemingly takes place shortly after the events of the first game. The comic gives a very brief explanation on how the world of Dyling Light 2: Stay Human came to be, detailing the army's involvement in the inciting event.
The comic opens with a nameless female doctor lamenting the fact that her vaccine results are only 83% effective, and watching the oncoming army vehicles approach the lab she's in. The army shuts down her operations, despite how close their results are getting, claiming that they're taking their response to the pandemic in "another direction." The army sweep through the lab, destroying computers and killing the test animals that they've been using.
As the Doctor leaves the lab, she spots a convoy of tanks rolling down the street, the loudspeaker blaring, telling citizens that they're going to be sprayed with a "vaccine," and that it should be "inhaled as deeply as possible." The Doctor flees the scene by car and narrowly avoids the airborne gas.
The Doctor escapes to an ex's apartment, revealing to her that she swiped some important research data before she left the lab, data which confirms what the army's "cure" actually does. As should be expected, the army's "Harran-19" cure is being used to turn people into the same zombies that were present in Dying Light.
The next few pages of the comic show the army re-grouping and the infection beginning to take place across the city, as the two women make their way to a high-society event that an army General is attending. Once confronted, the General reveals a plan to force the rich and wealthy of the city to pay billions for the Doctor's vaccine, isolating them from the gas below to show them the effects first-hand. The Doctor is then sprayed with the virus and leaps off the balcony into the fog below.
The closing moments of the comic show the Doctor now, having been transformed by the virus into a Banshee, a new type of special zombie variant present in the upcoming game. It's unclear whether the General character will return in Dying Light 2: Stay Human, but gameplay trailers have confirmed that players will see plenty of the Banshee.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human releases on February 4, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
