Albert Wesker

In Resident Evil games

Wesker made his first appearance as a non-playable character in the original Resident Evil game. In that game, he is the commanding officer of Alpha team of the Special Tactics And Rescue Service (STARS), where he initially helps the player by leaving supplies and useful information. Wesker is eventually revealed to be a double agent working for the Umbrella Corporation; ordered by his superiors to lure the STARS into the Spencer mansion to be used as test subjects against the mutated creatures to gather battle data, although he later implies that this was itself a cover for his own agenda regarding stealing Umbrella's research.^[12][13][14] Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and the others come to learn of Wesker's true motive, but after releasing the Tyrant monster, Wesker is seemingly killed.^[15][16] The Sega Saturn port of Resident Evil features a Battle Mode minigame where the player can fight a zombified version of Wesker.^[17]

However, this is part of an even bigger plan. In the special giveaway fictional documentary titled Wesker's Report (rewritten in 2003 to include details from Resident Evil 0 and the Resident Evil remake^[18]), Wesker reveals that he planned to sell the Tyrant to Umbrella's rival company in the B.O.W. field as a means to buy his way into a high position, and he deployed the elite STARS against it in order to obtain combat data to prove the Tyrant's effectiveness to the company. However, his plan was ruined after the Tyrant was destroyed by his former subordinates, and he survived his apparent death in the first game by injecting himself beforehand with an experimental variant of the T-virus, provided by his former Umbrella colleague William Birkin, that revived and augmented him with superhuman strength, speed and regeneration, but at the expense of his humanity. Wesker returned in Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, augmented with superhuman powers and working as an agent for "H.C.F." (Hive/Host Capture Force), a Special Forces unit of the rival company opposed to Umbrella. He orchestrates a raid on Rockfort Island in order to capture Alexia Ashford, creator of the T-Veronica virus who now holds the only remaining sample of the virus within her body. When Chris Redfield knocks his sunglasses off during a brief struggle, Wesker's orange, almost reptilian eyes are seen for the first time. He confronts both Chris and Alexia and he took the corpse of Steve Burnside in order to extract the T-Veronica virus. In the expanded release, Code: Veronica X, he briefly confronts Chris's younger sister Claire and nearly kills her in order to torment Chris, but is called away by his associates and thus chooses to spare her life.^[15][16]

Wesker then appeared alongside William Birkin in Resident Evil Zero, a prequel to the original game where it is revealed that he attended the Umbrella Executive Training School as a prospective executive, and later in Resident Evil 4 as a conspirator manipulating events from behind the scenes, where he would issue orders to Ada Wong. He is also unlockable in "The Mercenaries" scenario. He is also the protagonist of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and a playable character in several of the game's scenarios, expanding upon events alluded to in early games, as well as his involvement in Umbrella's downfall after the events of Code: Veronica and his development in Resident Evil 4. In the end he kills Sergei Vladimir, a loyal Umbrella executive.^[15] Wesker also very briefly appears in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, as he at one point is seen by Jack Krauser. He also gave Javier a sample of the virus within Steve Burnside.

D.C. Douglas with facial capture dots for Resident Evil 5 recording session.

Wesker returns in Resident Evil 5 conspiring with the pharmaceutical division of the TRICELL conglomerate as a means to create the "Uroboros virus", an enhanced virus derived from the Progenitor virus, with which he ultimately plans to release into the Earth's atmosphere. Before being killed by Wesker, Oswell Spencer reveals that Wesker was the survivor of a Progenitor virus variant administration experiment—the "Wesker Project." (It is stated in the RE5 downloadable content "Lost in Nightmares" that another Wesker, Alex, survived as well). He would eventually enact a plot to transform the human race into powerful superhumans like himself, and be a god to rule over them in a new age. Chris and Sheva Alomar prevent the worldwide infection and ultimately kill Wesker inside a volcano at the end of the game. Masachika Kawata, the game's producer, confirmed that Wesker perished in the game's finale.^[19]

Wesker appears in the spin-off title Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D as a playable character along with various other Resident Evil characters.^[20][21] His voice is heard on the 15th anniversary special video narrating the events.^[22] He has a son named Jake Muller who is introduced in Resident Evil 6. D. C. Douglas, Wesker's voice actor, had a cameo voice role in Umbrella Corps, which takes place after the events of Resident Evil 6.^[23] When asked if Wesker's character would return in future Resident Evil games, Douglas responded, "We have no idea. And we wouldn't. We're only working on this game."^[23]

Wesker is also featured in Resident Evil: Revelations 2 as a playable character in Raid Mode, presented in-universe as a virtual simulator. The primary antagonist of the main game is Alex Wesker, the only other survivor out of the Wesker children. Albert is briefly shown in the main story in a portrait with Alex. He also received an indirect mention in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, where it was revealed that his H.C.F. group was involved in the creation of Eveline during the 2000s.

In Resident Evil films

Jason O'Mara portrayed Albert Wesker in Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Wesker's character was adapted for the 2007 live-action film Resident Evil: Extinction. Played by Jason O'Mara, this version of Wesker is the head of the Umbrella Corporation, as opposed to Wesker's role in the games as a renegade high-ranking Umbrella researcher. He runs Umbrella's operations from behind the scenes, holding meetings via hologram with his underground board of directors in Tokyo. Originally, Wesker's character was not intended to be in the film, with his role and lines in the script being given by Commander Okamoto.^[24]

Shawn Roberts took over the role of Wesker in 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife as a main antagonist of the film,^[25] where the character is closer to his Code Veronica and especially his Resident Evil 5 incarnations, complete with superhuman strength, speed, healing and glowing red eyes; he even wears the same outfit as in the latter game. Wesker says some of his lines from the game as well, and the fight between Wesker and Chris and Claire Redfield in the film is an almost shot-for-shot remake of a fight between Wesker and Chris and Sheva in Resident Evil 5.

He later appears in Resident Evil: Retribution as a defector from Umbrella, who sends Ada Wong to rescue Alice from an underground Russian Umbrella outpost run by the Red Queen who has taken over the rest of Umbrella. Wesker returns in the sixth film, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, having betrayed Alice and killed everyone at the White House. Guided by the Red Queen, Alice returns to the Hive where Umbrella has developed a potent antivirus. In a confrontation in the Hive, Alicia Marcus fires Wesker, enabling the Red Queen to crush his legs with a blast door, trapping Wesker. Before leaving to chase Doctor Alexander Isaacs, Alice primes the detonator for the explosives she planted around the Hive and leaves it in Wesker's hand. Wesker eventually dies of blood loss, causing him to lose his grip on the detonator. Without Wesker holding the detonator, Alice's explosives destroy the Hive, killing everyone within including Alicia Marcus, the Umbrella High Command and thousands of others held in stasis.^[26]

In the reboot film Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), Wesker is played by Tom Hopper as a police officer at Raccoon Police Department and secondary antagonist while being considerably more sympathetic. ^[27] In addition, Wesker is also the Captain of the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team. Before the events of the film, he was approached by a mysterious woman (revealed to be Ada Wong in a post-credits scene) who asks him to do a job behind his fellow teammates' back - find a research lab belonging to Dr. William Birkin of Umbrella. During the raid on the Arkley Mansion, Birkin and Wesker shoot each other over the G-virus resulting in Wesker getting shot and presumably killed by his partner Jill Valentine. A remorseful Wesker pleads to her to get out before Umbrella destroys Raccoon City to cover up it's experiments. During the post-credit scene, Wesker is then reanimated by Ada by a retrovirus.

In Resident Evil television series

Lance Reddick plays Dr. Albert Wesker in the live action Resident Evil series from Netflix.^[4] Set after the events of the Resident Evil 5 video game, several clones of Wesker (notably "Albert", Bert", and "Alby") are revealed to have been produced before and after his death, with one having two daughters: Jade and Billie Wesker. Due to the cloning process, Wesker clones need to counteract degenerative aging, which Wesker does by injecting himself with Jade and Billie's blood. Set in modern day, Umbrella under Evelyn Marcus invited Al Wesker onto their board to begin further trials into the experimental anti-depressant "Joy", this required the family to move across the Atlantic to "New Raccoon City", a suburban company town in South Africa. Immediately after arriving at Umbrella HQ he was apprised of the company's more serious, confidential problem - an outbreak of T-virus at a plant in Tijuana. During the series, Al realizes Billie is immune after an encounter with a infected dog and wants to apply it to a T Virus vaccine to counteract the traits of the virus in Joy putting him against Marcus. Wesker sacrifices himself to destroy the HQ, but not before sending the twins with Bert to escape.

Other appearances

Albert Wesker appears in the crossover fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds as a playable character and a key character in the game's plot, in which he joins forces with Doctor Doom as the two build an army of supervillains, attempting to merge the two dimensions in the hopes of conquering both.^[28] During the final battle, if Wesker is not one of the playable characters, he will also be revealed to be one of Galactus' heralds along with Doom, Marvel villain Dormammu, and fellow Capcom villain Akuma. He also makes a guest appearance as an unlockable character skin in Lost Planet 2. An action figure of Wesker was released by Palisades Toys in 2002.^[29] Two more were released by Hot Toys in 2009.^[30][31] In 2016, D. C. Douglas reprised the role in Jim Sterling's short comedy horror film JimSAW.^[32] Wesker appears as a Spirit in the Nintendo crossover video game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.^[33] Wesker appears as a playable killer in Dead by Daylight as of September 2022.^[34]

Discover more about Appearances related topics

Resident Evil (1996 video game)

Resident Evil (1996 video game)

Resident Evil is a 1996 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation. It is the first title in Capcom's Resident Evil franchise. Players control Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, members of the elite task force S.T.A.R.S., who must escape a mansion infested with zombies and other monsters.

Commanding officer

Commanding officer

The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as they see fit, within the bounds of military law. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities, duties, and powers.

Double agent

Double agent

In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organization for the target organization.

Chris Redfield

Chris Redfield

Chris Redfield is a character in Resident Evil, a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. Chris debuted as one of the two playable characters of the original Resident Evil (1996), alongside his partner Jill Valentine, as a member of the Raccoon Police Department's Special Tactics And Rescue Service (STARS) unit. Vowing to never let any tragedies like Raccoon City happen again, Chris becomes a founding member of the United Nations' Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) to protect the innocent.

Jill Valentine

Jill Valentine

Jill Valentine is a character in Resident Evil, a survival horror game series created by the Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in the original Resident Evil (1996). Valentine is a former member of the Raccoon City Police Department's S.T.A.R.S team, and works alongside her partner Chris Redfield to fight the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company whose bioterrorism creates zombies and other bio-organic weapons. Jill and Chris Redfield later become founding members of the United Nations' Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (B.S.A.A).

Mockumentary

Mockumentary

A mockumentary is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.

Regeneration (biology)

Regeneration (biology)

In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and tissue growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. Regeneration can either be complete where the new tissue is the same as the lost tissue, or incomplete where after the necrotic tissue comes fibrosis.

Posthuman

Posthuman

Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of questions, including ethics and justice, language and trans-species communication, social systems, and the intellectual aspirations of interdisciplinarity.

Claire Redfield

Claire Redfield

Claire Redfield is a character in Resident Evil, a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in Resident Evil 2 (1998), alongside Leon S. Kennedy. Claire is the younger sister of series hero Chris Redfield, former officer of Raccoon Police Department's S.T.A.R.S unit to fight the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company whose bioterrorism creates zombies and other bio-organic weapons. She became a member of TerraSave, an organization that was formed after the Raccoon City incident.

Ada Wong

Ada Wong

Ada Wong is a character in Resident Evil, a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in Resident Evil 2 (1998), and became a playable character in Resident Evil 4 (2005). She is a mysterious and ambiguous antiheroine, working for the series' villains but also constantly bailing out Leon S. Kennedy from dire situations.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is an on-rails light gun shooter video game developed by Capcom and Cavia as part of the Resident Evil series. The game was released for the Wii on November 13, 2007 in North America; November 15, 2007 in Japan; and on November 30, 2007 in Europe, excluding Germany, where the game is not available due to the refusal of a USK rating and its subsequent inclusion in the index. It was followed by Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Both Chronicles games are included on the Resident Evil Chronicles HD Collection for the PlayStation 3.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is an on-rails light gun shooter video game for the Wii developed by Capcom and Cavia as part of the Resident Evil series. The game was released for the Wii on November 17, 2009, in North America. It serves as a prequel to Resident Evil 4, set 2 years before its events. It was released in Europe on November 27, 2009, bundled with the Wii Zapper accessory.

The character of Albert Wesker has been well received by video game publications. In 2006, IGN ranked Wesker number three on their list of most memorable villains, claiming that "Res Evil fans know that whenever Wesker shows up, trouble isn't far behind,"^[35] and also ranked him as the 14th-best video game villain in 2010.^[36] In 2008, GamePro ranked Wesker as the 40th-most diabolical video game villain of all time.^[37] An IGN article from March 2010 titled "Big Boss of the Day: Resident Evil's Albert Wesker" discussed his appearances across the franchise, comparing him with other video game villains including Bowser and Sephiroth as well commenting it is strange to have a Resident Evil without him.^[38] GameSpot featured him in the "All-Time Greatest Game Villains" poll, where Wesker lost to Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda.^[39] In 2009, GamesRadar listed Wesker as one of the top seven characters who never stay dead, describing him as the "proverbial man behind the curtain" in the Resident Evil series.^[40] Similarly, 1UP.com also placed him number eight in their article "They is Risen" in response to his apparent resurrection in the Resident Evil series.^[41] GamesRadar gave praise to Wesker's death in Resident Evil 5 as it showed the character's strength due to the requirements to defeat him while D. C. Douglas's performance as the character also received positive comments during the self-bloopers from the series.^[42] According to PlayStation Universe, "From his perpetual shades, stoic persona and swanky haircut, Wesker has all the makings of an iconic—albeit somewhat stereotypical—videogame villain." The same source also compares Wesker's role in Resident Evil 4 to that of James Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.^[16] In the January 2010 issue, Nintendo Power named Wesker the ninth best villain in Nintendo history.^[43] GamesRadar also praised Wesker's role as an antagonist, putting him in their 2013 list of the best villains in video game history at number 13.^[44] In 2013, GamesRadar staff included him among the 30 best characters in the three decades of Capcom's history and wrote that with his appearance as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, "even after his death in RE5, Albert Wesker shows no signs of stopping, which is just the way we like it."^[45] GamesRadar staff described Albert Wesker as the best villain in video games, stating that "Wesker is known for a scarred psyche, superhuman strength and speed, and a sexy pair of sunglasses."^[46] Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition listed Albert Wesker as 12th in their list of top 50 Villains.^[47]

On the other hand, Play listed such fight as the third-worst boss fight in the PlayStation 3 games, emphasizing how many times the player had to fight him until he is defeated.^[48] 1UP.com also ranked him as the top thing in the series that Resident Evil 5 "could do without" prior to its release.^[49] The PlayStation Official Magazine shared this opinion and ranked Wesker as the ninth-worst PlayStation boss fight ever.^[50] In 2012, Complex ranked him as the "second-douchiest" video game character, stating, "Wesker has a following, yes, but there's something very Agent Smith about him that makes us shake our heads."^[51]

Discover more about Reception related topics

IGN

IGN

IGN is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former editor-in-chief, Peer Schneider. The IGN website was the brainchild of media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29, 1996. It focuses on games, films, anime, television, comics, technology, and other media. Originally a network of desktop websites, IGN is also distributed on mobile platforms, console programs on the Xbox and PlayStation, FireTV, Roku, and via YouTube, Twitch, Hulu, and Snapchat.

GamePro

GamePro

Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally launched as an American online and print content video game magazine. The magazine featured content on various video game consoles, PC computers and mobile devices. GamePro Media properties included GamePro magazine and their website. The company was also a part subsidiary of the privately held International Data Group (IDG), a media, events and research technology group. The magazine and its parent publication printing the magazine went defunct in 2011, but is outlasted by Gamepro.com.

Bowser

Bowser

Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the main antagonist in Nintendo's Mario franchise. In Japan, the character bears the title of Daimaō . Depicted as the arch-nemesis of the portly plumber Mario, Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. His ultimate goals are to kidnap Princess Peach and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser's defining traits are his monstrous appearance with dragon-like elements, full-throated roar, fire-breathing abilities and tyrannical personality.

GameSpot

GameSpot

GameSpot is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition to the information produced by GameSpot staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022.

GamesRadar+

GamesRadar+

GamesRadar+ is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites Total Film, SFX, Edge and Computer and Video Games were merged into GamesRadar, with the resulting, expanded website being renamed GamesRadar+ in November that year.

D. C. Douglas

D. C. Douglas

D. C. Douglas is an American actor and voice actor. He played Pa Kettle on Syfy's Z Nation, Zepht on Star Trek: Enterprise, and has appeared in several soap operas, including Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless. He voiced Albert Wesker in ten Resident Evil games, Legion in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, and Yoshikage Kira in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable (2016).

Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and villain from the James Bond series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond. Blofeld is head of the global criminal organisation SPECTRE and is commonly referred to by the codename Number 1 within this organisation. The character was originally written by Fleming as a physically massive and powerfully built man, standing around 6' 3" and weighing 20 st, who had become flabby with a huge belly.

Nintendo Power

Nintendo Power

Nintendo Power was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Nintendo of America, then independently, and in December 2007 contracted to Future US, the American subsidiary of British publisher Future. Its 24–year production run is one of the longest of all video game magazines in the United States and Canada.

Play (UK magazine)

Play (UK magazine)

Play is a monthly magazine produced by Future plc in the United Kingdom, which reports on Sony's PlayStation product range. It features news, reviews, and previews concerning upcoming PlayStation titles. In addition to being sold in the UK, PLAY is also sold in Australia and as an import in the United States.

PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November 17, 2006, in North America, and March 23, 2007, in Europe and Australia. The PlayStation 3 competed primarily against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.

PlayStation Official Magazine – UK

PlayStation Official Magazine – UK

PlayStation Official Magazine – UK, generally abbreviated as OPM, was a magazine based in the United Kingdom that covered PlayStation news created in 2006. Although the first issue was distributed in three-month intervals, from Issue 2 onward, it became a monthly segment. From Issue 7 to Issue 84, the magazine came with a playable Blu-ray disc; it primarily covered PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation VR and PlayStation 5 games and material. It also covered PlayStation Vita material. The magazine covered PlayStation, as well as all aspects of HD media in lesser detail.

Agent Smith

Agent Smith

Agent Smith is a fictional character and the main antagonist of The Matrix franchise. He was primarily portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the first trilogy of films and voiced by Christopher Corey Smith in The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005), with Ian Bliss and Gideon Emery playing his human form, Bane, in the films and Path of Neo respectively. He also makes a cameo in the anime film The Animatrix (2003), voiced by Matt McKenzie. Jonathan Groff and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portray Smith in The Matrix Resurrections (2021), the latter playing Morpheus in a dual role.