Although the Resident Evil games are packed full of iconic and lovable characters, with the likes of Leon and Jill becoming huge fan-favorites, there are also plenty of individuals from other material that have made quite an impression on fans too during their brief appearances. Although these characters don’t actually make a physical appearance in the games, some of them still have a pretty drastic impact on the world at large, while others are just so well-written that it really feels as though Capcom should return to them at some point in the future.
With that being said though, since Capcom has a tendency to completely forget about any side characters, it’s unlikely that anyone from the movies, shows, or comics will be featured in the Resident Evil games any time soon, even if they’re considered canonical in the story. Despite this, there are still plenty of characters, both canon and non-canon, in the wider Resident Evil universe who are a joy to watch and read about, and it’s these individuals that this list will be covering today.
Resident Evil: Every Version Of Claire Redfield, Ranked
Claire Redfield is a fan favorite protagonist from the Resident Evil series, but her character has received quite a few changes over the years.
7 Shen Mei
Shen Mei Acts As The Perfect Foil To Leon Throughout Infinite Darkness
- Appears In: Resident Evil Infinite Darkness (TV Series)
Even though Shen Mei is one of the several federal agents working alongside Leon in Infinite Darkness, throughout the entire show, she possesses a mysterious aura about her that makes it pretty clear that she knows a little more than she’s letting on. After playing along for long enough, it is eventually revealed that Shen had been plotting to take down Wilson, a major US politician, who played a big part in killing off a group of soldiers near the beginning of the show, including her brother, all for the sake of testing out new B.O.Ws on the field.
Although she’s portrayed as a sort of anti-hero, she actually acts as the perfect foil to Leon, who throughout the show seems to be placing far too much trust in the government, something that even Claire takes issue with by the end. As a result, Shen Mei is an incredibly believable and fascinating character whose complex motivations make her a real stand-out from the large cast of newcomers.
6 Alice
Alice’s Journey From Timid Survivor To Action-Hero Badass Is Very Much In Line With The Series’ Other Protagonists
- Appears In: Resident Evil (Live Action Movies)
A lot of Resident Evil fans aren’t too fond of the live-action Paul Anderson movies, but one part of them which does gain a lot of respect is Milla Jovovich’s character, Alice. Although she starts off as a shy and reactionary protagonist in the first movie, it doesn’t take long for Alice to become an exaggerated action hero, in a similar vein to the protagonists seen in the games. Because of this, Alice has plenty of cheesy one-liners and a myriad of badass scenes where she gets to show off her unique abilities and combat expertise throughout each of the six movies.
Resident Evil: 7 Best Albert Wesker Quotes, Ranked
Every evil mastermind needs to have their fair share of iconic quotes, and Wesker has more than a few very memorable ones from Resident Evil.
Although these live-action movies are considered to be non-canon, it’s still implied that Alice is also directly tied to the main storyline within this universe, having been a clone of James Marcus’ daughter who was created by Umbrella. Because the T-Virus also ended up granting her superhuman powers, it enabled Alice to face off against some of the series’ most iconic villains, such as the Nemesis and Wesker. She may be incredibly over the top and ridiculous, but considering that this pretty much describes all of Resident Evil, Alice certainly isn’t a bad character by any means, and can be a lot of fun to watch on-screen.
5 Doug Wright
Doug Wright Provided Fans With A Deeper Insight Into The BSAA And Their Daily Operations
- Appears In: Resident Evil: Marhawa Desire (Manga)
Although the BSAA play a massive role in the events of the mainline series, outside of Chris and Sheva, there aren’t really that many members who are explored in any great depth. Thankfully, the Resident Evil manga does an excellent job at fleshing the group out, with a prime example being the introduction of Doug Wright who is an advisor to the BSAA’s Far East branch. Although he’s a highly valued BSAA agent, Doug also doubles as a university lecturer too, proving him to be an extremely efficient and intelligent man who almost has a superhero-like mystique to him.
However, when disaster strikes at the Marhawa School, Doug is sent to investigate, and is able to immediately deduce that a T-Virus outbreak has spread across the entire building. During the next few days, Doug goes through one hell of an emotional rollercoaster, especially with his cousin being bitten which forces him to decide whether to hide it in order to protect his safety, or give him up since he’ll inevitably turn. He’s an incredibly complex and intriguing character who unfortunately meets his demise far too early in the Marhawa Desire manga.
4 Angella Miller
Angella’s Moral Dilemma Between Confronting Her Brother Adds A Lot Of Emotion And Tension To Degeneration’s Story
- Appears In: Resident Evil Degeneration (Movie)
After losing much of her family to the horrifying Raccoon City incident, Angela decided to become a Special Response agent who just so happened to be on the same team as Leon and Claire during their apprehension of Curtis Miller, Angella’s very own brother. Although she’s shown to be a highly skilled soldier with a knack for blowing zombie heads off, Angella also shows a lot of emotion throughout Degeneration, since she knows all too well that she will eventually have to confront her own brother, something she’s very hesitant to do.
It’s an extremely hard position to be in, and a great example of how complex and unforgiving the world of Resident Evil can really be, where literally anyone can get their hands on B.O.W samples and viruses if they know how to go about it. Rather than being smitten with Leon from the moment she meets him, Angella instead takes a long time to warm up to him, and even confronts him at several points about the way he’s acting, which really goes a long way to make her a believable character who isn’t constantly being overshadowed by the fan-favorite.
3 Svetlana Belikova
As Far As Villains Go, Svetlana Is One Of The Most Sinister And Compelling Antagonists Outside Of The Games
- Appears In: Resident Evil Damnation (Movie)
At its core, the story of Resident Evil is all about giant companies and powerful individuals causing mass amounts of chaos and destruction for their own selfish goals, which they are then able to cover up and hide thanks to their influence. While there have been several examples of villains fitting this description, with Birkin and Wesker being prime examples, Svetlana Belikova is just as despicable, seeming like a genuinely considerate politician on the surface, but who is secretly the instigator behind the chaotic civil war that is ravaging her country.
Resident Evil: 7 Saddest Character Backstories
The world of Resident Evil is incredibly dark and dangerous, and these characters know that fact all too well due to past experiences.
Svetlana is constantly able to avoid any speculation or blame throughout Resident Evil Damnation’s story thanks to her sharp-tongue and charisma, but it was soon revealed that underneath the cold exterior, she was a power-hungry tyrant who had no issue with unleashing B.O.Ws onto her own people. Svetlana is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable villains to watch in action, and considering how many incredible antagonists the series already has, that’s certainly saying something.
2 Dexter Whitlam
Dexter Whitlam Is A Rare Example Of An Average Everyday Person Using A Virus To Fix Their Own Problems
- Appears In: Resident Evil Fire & Ice (Comic)
Whenever a giant mutant pops up in the Resident Evil games, they tend to be very important figures in the wider story who have often succumbed to their own sick and twisted experiments. In the Resident Evil: Fire & Ice comic though, the story focuses on what would happen if regular people had access to such mutations through the character of Dexter Whitlam, a college student who is struggling to deal with the bullies who are constantly picking on him in class.
After coincidentally stumbling upon a secret Umbrella Facility, Dexter decides to steal a syringe after being caught by two guards. Although he escaped with his life intact, Dexter decided to inject himself with the syringe, believing that it would make him powerful enough to step up against his bullies at school. He may have gained a little too much strength for his own good though, as Dexter eventually turned into a tryant-like monster who stalked and eventually killed every one of his enemies, and after he was apprehended by Umbrella guards and restored to his regular self, he was even offered a role within the company, which he gladly accepted.
1 Glenn Arias
Glenn Arias’ Incredible Intelligence, Sadistic Ideology, And Shocking Backstory All Help To Make Him An Extremely Memorable Villain
- Appears In: Resident Evil Vendetta (Movie)
Although there have been many black market Bio-Weapon dealers throughout the Resident Evil series, Glenn Arias had managed to achieve something that none of them ever could; programming his bio-weapons to distinguish between friend and foe. What this meant was that, during the events of Resident Evil Vendetta, Arias was able to control large swarms of zombies and mutants at his will, making him a truly dangerous antagonist.
What’s more is, Arias also proved to be more than capable of holding his own when it came to physical combat, even going toe to toe with Chris himself during their encounter early in the movie. He also has a pretty interesting backstory where his wedding day gets interrupted by a barrage of US aircraft missiles after the government caught wind of his activities on the black market. Rather than just creating a one-note antagonist for the movie, it felt as though a lot of time and effort went into making Arias a genuinely frightening villain whose incredible intelligence and knowledge of the viruses presented him as a massive threat who even the likes of Chris and Leon struggled to take down.
Every Mainline Resident Evil Game, Ranked From Least Scary To Scariest
Resident Evil is an iconic survival horror series, but some games take the horror aspect more seriously than others. Which game is truly the scariest?
