Resident Evil Retrospective

RE: The Recent Resident Evil Outbreak

Resident Evil is the first name in horror video games. The series follows survivors trying to escape viral outbreaks spawning zombie hordes and worse monsters. There are thirteen main games, several spinoffs, a dozen movies, and an entire film series of Milla Jovovich’s self-insert fanfiction.

The heroes of Resident Evil are a colorful bunch. Some are civilians trapped in a zombie apocalypse, others are heavily armed special forces, and none of them are dying without a fight. So who are the heroes and villains of Resident Evil? Let’s find out.

Glossary

The Progenitor Virus: An ancient pathogen that causes genetic mutations and can grant superpowers.
T-Virus: A weaponized variant of the Progenitor Virus. The mutations are far more powerful, but most turn the victims into zombies.
B.O.W.: Any creature transformed into a monster by one of the viruses. Short for Bio-Organic Weapon.
S.T.A.R.S.: Raccoon City’s premier police taskforce. Short for Special Tactics And Rescue Service.
B.S.A.A.: An international organization devoted to stopping bioterrorism. Short for Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance.

Chris Redfield

Debuted: Resident Evil
Voiced By: Roger Craig Smith, David Vaughn

Chris Redfield was a marksman working for S.T.A.R.S. The team was attacked by B.O.W.s while backing up another division. Chris was chased into a nearby mansion filled with zombies and traps. He fought his way through, discovering The Umbrella Corporation’s creation of the T-Virus and battling his traitorous boss, Albert Wesker.

S.T.A.R.S. was silenced to cover up the outbreak, leading to a much bigger one in Raccoon City. Chris signed on with the BSAA after Raccoon City was bombed to prevent more disasters. He hunted Umbrella’s remnants, murdered Wesker, and now acts as cavalry for other heroes.

Chris set the standard for Resident Evil’s weaponry. He uses pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, magnums, and finishes the Big Bad off with a rocket launcher. Chris also seems to have super strength, demolishing zombies with haymakers and infamously punching a boulder out of his way. 

Resident Evil: Jill Valentine

Debuted: Resident Evil
Voiced By: Cathrine Disher, Nicole Tompkins, Hannah John-Kamen, Atsuko Yuya 

Jill Valentine was S.T.A.R.S.’ infiltration specialist. She was trapped in the mansion with Chris, Wesker, and a handful of others. She returned to Raccoon City during the outbreak to protect civilians while being hunted by Umbrella’s strongest B.O.W: Nemesis. Jill fought it across the city, finally killing Nemesis and escaping minutes before Raccoon was destroyed.

She was captured by Wesker during a BSAA mission gone wrong. He used a virus to brainwash Jill into becoming his assassin. Chris freed Jill, who later dealt with PTSD. She threw herself into work to cope, and eventually came to terms with what happened.

Jill is faster than Chris and can pick locks. She prefers kicks and submachine guns when fighting B.O.W.s. Jill’s brainwashing virus gave her superhuman strength and agility that she didn’t keep after being cured.

Rebecca Chambers

Debuted: Resident Evil
Voiced By: Lynn Hariss, Erin Cahill, Ami Koshimizu

Dr. Rebecca Chambers was S.T.A.R.S’ newest recruit. She was assigned to help investigate cannibalistic murders, but her squad was scattered by B.O.W.s. Rebecca stopped an outbreak of viral leeches with help from escaped convict Billy, ultimately releasing him after he saved her life. Rebecca found the mansion, then helped Chris and Jill escape when they caught up.

Rebecca was an early BSAA recruit and mostly retired from field work. She was more at home in a lab, whipping up vaccines and teaching new recruits. Rebecca is one of the least-skilled fighters, but can deal with B.O.W.s and bio-terrorist assassins.

Leon S. Kennedy

Debuted: Resident Evil 2
Voiced By: Matthew Mercer, Paul Haddad, Toshiyuki Morikawa

Leon Kennedy was a Raccoon City police officer who missed being attacked by zombies because he was late on his first day. He arrived in Raccoon City during the outbreak and fled to the police station. Alongside fellow newcomer Claire and femme fatale Ada, he stopped the G-Virus from spreading and escaped.

Raccoon’s destruction wore on Leon, who joined the Secret Service to atone. He was deployed to Spain to save the President’s daughter and later helped uncover an international bioterror conspiracy.

Leon is the action hero of Resident Evil: taking on the popcorn flick missions, acting stylishly, and only speaking in quips. He favors combat knives, but traded them in for a motorcycle and a hatchet that can parry almost anything.

Claire Redfield

Debuted: Resident Evil 2
Voiced By: Alyson Court, Stephanie Panisello, Yuko Kaida

Claire is Chris Redfield’s little sister. She traveled to Raccoon City after he stopped answering her messages and was caught in the outbreak. Claire found a little girl named Sherry being hunted by a B.O.W. and protected her while searching for a way out.

After escaping Raccoon City, Claire joined Terrasave, a watchdog organization focused on helping bio-terror victims and investigating potential outbreaks. Claire was involved with several more outbreaks, often protecting kids in-between gunning down B.O.W.s

Chris’ weapons training pays off whenever Claire is in danger. She can use all the usual weapons, but her favorite is a grenade launcher that she loads with flame rounds or acidic bombs. That ain’t legal, but who cares? The cops are zombies.

Resident Evil: Sherry Birkin

Debuted: Resident Evil 2
Voiced By: Lisa Yamanaka, Eden Reigel, Eliza Pryor

Sherry Birkin was a little girl when Raccoon City fell. She didn’t know that her parents were working on the T-Virus’ deadlier counterpart: The G-Virus. William Birkin was infected and became a monster hunting his daughter. 

Claire saved Sherry from her parents and a G-Virus infection. Sherry grew up and became a BSAA operative. She performed limited field work, then retired to work as Leon’s mission control.

Sherry couldn’t fight monsters as a kid, instead relying on stealth and Claire protecting her. She used a stun baton as an adult and could handle small arms.

Ethan Winters

Debuted: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Voiced By: Ted Soley, Hidenobu Kiuchi

Ethan Winters was an engineer unconnected to the Raccoon City outbreak. He received a letter from his dead wife Mia, asking him to come to Louisiana. Ethan was trapped in a mansion with the mad Baker family, B.O.W.s made of a deadly mold, and his possessed wife. He freed Mia and fought his way to safety with a last minute assist from Chris Redfield.

Mia and Ethan settled down and had a baby named Rose, who was later kidnapped. Ethan followed her trail to Europe, where a cult wanted to use her to control the Mold. Ethan fought through vampires, werewolves, and an entire mash of monsters before dying to save Rose.

Ethan didn’t have military training, relying on a handgun and stubbornness to survive. Chris gave him a crash course between adventures so he could protect himself. Ethan is the only Resident Evil hero with explicit superpowers. He can reattach severed limbs and has superhuman durability.

Grace Ashcroft

Debuted: Resident Evil: Requiem
Voiced By: Angela Sant’Albano, Shihori Kanjiya

Grace Ashcroft is an FBI agent assigned to a case at the hotel where her mother was murdered. She was kidnapped by a mad scientist and brought to his clinic, where a new outbreak was beginning. Grace escaped and began searching for a way out.

She learned that her grandfather, Umbrella founder Ozwell Spencer, had created a secret project called Elpis. The scientist and his employers believed that she was the key to unlocking it. But will Grace doom the world with Elpis or save it?

The newest Resident Evil hero has field training, but no live-fire experience. Grace relies on stealth, improvised weapons, distractions to evade zombies, and fights only as a last resort. Leon gave her his Requiem magnum before they were separated. It’s devastating to B.O.W.s, but ammo is scarce.

Resident Evil: Albert Wesker

Debuted: Resident Evil
Voiced By: D.C. Douglas, Joiji Nakata, Lance Reddick

Albert Wesker is Resident Evil’s first Big Bad. He was an Umbrella agent assigned to Raccoon City to keep an eye on Spencer’s Mansion. He betrayed them for a terror organization called The Connections and lured STARS to Spencer’s Mansion to test B.O.W.s. One of the monsters seemingly killed Wesker.

He survived by injecting himself with The Progenitor Virus which gave him superpowers and delusions of godhood. Wesker created several viruses before his magnum opus: Ouroborous. Chris, Jill and their allies stopped him from spreading it worldwide and fought Wesker until he injected himself with Ouroboros. It damaged his body, giving the heroes their chance. Two rocket-propelled grenades and a volcanic eruption finally killed Albert Wesker.

Wesker is a eugenically-created superhuman with military training and a genius brain. The Progenitor Virus made him super strong, fast enough to teleport, and nearly unkillable. His only weakness is a mountain-sized ego. And RPG-induced eruptions. They’ll do the trick too.

Didya Get All That?

These survivors aren’t trapped in outbreaks with BOWS, The BOWS are trapped with them.

Image: Austin Abrams stars in Constantin Film and Columbia Pictures RESIDENT EVIL, directed by Zach Cregger. Photo by: Dušan Martinček

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.