[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: The series]]
'''Note:''' This is for series-wide YMMV tropes. Individual games' and movies' disputable examples go on their own page.
* AcceptableTargets: The evil megacorporation doing research into biological weaponry, and with contacts in the government, Umbrella. The government does drop the hammer on them rather magnificently, though.
* BaseBreaker:
** People are very divided on whether Ada is an EnsembleDarkhorse or TheScrappy. Capcom doesn't help with their inconsistent portrayals of her.
** There are fans who want Steve back [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead from the dead]]]] in a sequel. But a ''lot'' of fans also find his whiplashing moods, brashness, and oftentimes his [[{{Narm}} voice]] rather obnoxious and annoying.
*** And then there's the vast majority of fans who haven't played ''Code Veronica'' or ''Darkside Chronicles'' and don't care either way about Steve.
* BrokenBase:
** There is an ''extreme'' divide between fans of the earlier survival horror games (''0''-''3'', ''Code: Veronica'' and ''Revelations'') and fans of the later action-oriented games (''4''-''6'' and ''ORC''). Publicly announce that you prefer one and expect [[InternetBackdraft angry tirades]] from fans of the other, although there is a subset of fans who will only accept ''[=RE4=]'' out of the above "actionized" titles, seeing everything else that came after as the point where the series went downhill. And don't think you can get off easy by [[TakeAThirdOption claiming that you like the merits of both the "classic" and "modern" games]]; certain fans will put you on blast for this, too.
* CompleteMonster: Wesker. He does seem to have had a genuine friendship with fellow MadScientist William Birkin in the {{backstory}}, and is also implied to be [[EvenEvilHasStandards somewhat disgusted]] with Umbrella's decision to have him feed his fellow S.T.A.R.S. members to the [=BOWs=] after the Tyrant leak to gain battle data (and likewise was also implied to have [[AFatherToHisMen a small soft spot for S.T.A.R.S.]]) but following Birkin's death and his own mutation by the T-Virus, he definitely counts. Oh, and like Spencer above, (though that's probably no surprise if you've seen enough of the story) he plans on infecting the world just to become God. Dude has [[{{Foil}} entire]] [[AllLoveIsUnrequited characters]] seemingly crafted into existence just to show what kind of vermin he is.
* DesignatedProtagonistSyndrome: Many fans consider Chris too bland and generic compared to the other main characters of the series. Though his portrayal in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' may have won some fans over.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Rebecca Chambers, Billy Coen, Barry Burton, Jack Krauser, HUNK, Nicholai, the "Pirate Merchant Guy", Ada Wong, Josh Stone, Manuela, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick Nemesis]] and Piers Nivans.
** Also, while it is easy to forget due to how central they became later in the series, back when they were introduced, both Wesker and Leon were arguably Ensemble Darkhorses as well. In fact, their popularity saved both characters from death; Wesker, from his unambiguous "death" in the original game, returning in ''Code: Veronica'' with new powers, and Leon being spared from death in the same game, as he was originally supposed to fill [[spoiler:Steve]]'s role in that game.
* EvilIsCool: So cool that WordOfGod states [[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-13-the-most-popular-resi-evil-characters Albert Wesker is the most popular male character in the series]] because of it.
* EvilIsSexy:
** Wesker, Alexia, and [[MsFanservice Excella]].
** [[OneWingedAngel William Birkin]]. There's tons of fanart all over the internet of him drawn by swooning fangirls, even for his mutated forms.
* {{Fanon}}: George Romero's unused screenplay for ''Resident Evil'' has Chris as half American Indian. This seems to have leaked into the fan community somehow, and a lot of fanfic authors will depict Chris and Claire as such. The name Redfield is Scotch-Irish, and Claire going full redhead by ''Code: Veronica'' seems to support the notion that she and Chris are entirely Caucasian.
** There are a lot of supplementary sources of information on ''RE's'' settings and characters that can be found in translated design documents and obscure interviews, some of which never make it into a game's narrative. This includes Jill being French-Japanese (this was apparently intended by the original designer, but was quietly abandoned around the time Julia Voth became her face model) and Ada's background (there's a Japanese audio drama that gives a version of her backstory where she's Vietnamese). Whether or not these make it into fanworks usually comes down to individual preference.
* FoeYay: Chris and Wesker. ''Tons'' of it, especially in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]''.
* FountainOfMemes: Wesker, Leon, and Barry Burton.
* GeniusBonus: The Black Tiger does exist as a form of UsefulNotes/AustralianWildlife, a snake. It's pattern is similar, and the spider's design is on the Sydney based funnelweb.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** The reason behind the Nintendo exclusivity - Capcom wanting to have all of the core franchise playable on one console - on two counts. Firstly, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' hasn't been released on a Nintendo console; and secondly, despite their desire to have all of the core entries playable on the same console, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' and the ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil REmake]]'' remain Nintendo exclusive, and are the only two core games that can't be played on a [=PS3=], thanks to the launch models having Backwards Compatibility and the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil: Revival Edition'' featuring HD Remakes of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 RE4]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Code: Veronica X]]''.
** In the Saturn version of the first ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'''s battle mode, the final zombie to face is a zombified Albert Wesker, implying that he was infected with the T-Virus. Let's just say that while the battle mode itself was not canon, Wesker being infected with a virus certainly was, and it actually made Wesker even more dangerous than before.
** Wesker might have been the basis for Master Miller's current look (assuming it isn't a coincidence) in ''Franchise/MetalGear''. In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', Wesker is revealed to have a son. His name? Jake Muller, which is two vowels away from "Miller."
* InternetBackdraft:
** The debate as to whether or not ''4'' and ''5''[='s=] new direction is a good thing rages to this day.
*** ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilOperationRaccoonCity Operation Raccoon City]]'' is brewing up a similar debate. And let's not get ''started'' on what ''6''[='s=] announcement has done to it.
** The movies to fans of the game and vice-versa.
** Criticizing the TankControls doesn't end well either.
* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: [[InternetBackdraft Fan reaction]] to the [=GameCube=] ports of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis 3]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Code: Veronica]]'' fell under this, as they came after the ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil REmake]]'' and happened to be straight ports of the initial [=PlayStation=] and Dreamcast releases. [[FanDumb It should be noted, however, that Capcom had already announced that those three games would not be receiving the same treatment and the releases would just be ports]].
** Releasing them at full price instead of making them budget titles, without changing anything about them, did not help either.
* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Leon seems to get all of the [[http://tymethia.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=/&offset=48#/dv3isy action.]] Of course, his canon lover is Ada, but he also can be found paired with Alfred, Angela, Ashley, Chris, Claire, Hunnigan, Jill, Kevin, Krauser, Luis, Steve, Manuela, Mendez, Mike the Helicopter Guy, Saddler, Salazar, Sherry, Wesker, [[{{Squick}} a Licker, Ganados, an Iron Maiden/Regenerator, a Tyrant, and even in one slightly disturbing story, Mr. X]].
** BettyAndVeronica: The fandom tends to see Claire and Ada as this for him, though there is no canon attraction between Claire and Leon.
** Jill is probably the female counterpart. She's usually paired with Chris, but it's not hard to find fans who support her with Wesker, Leon, Claire, Rebecca, various members of the STARS team, Carlos, Sheva, Excella, or [[BreadEggsMilkSquick any of the monsters]]. In fact, it's difficult to find a femmeslash pairing in ''RE'' fandom that ''doesn't'' involve Jill.
* MagnificentBastard:
** Albert Wesker is responsible for most of the events of the ''Resident Evil'' universe and manages to win ''every single game'' (even when he appears to lose). He is, quite understandably, pissed when he realizes that [[spoiler:all his schemes, his activities, his SocialDarwinist beliefs -- in short, the ''entire pattern of his life'' -- were programmed into him from the beginning by Oswell Spencer, an even bigger bastard.]]
*** Ada outsmarts ''everyone''. [[OutGambitted Including]] '''[[MagnificentBastard Wesker]]'''.
* MarySue:
** Rebecca, but only in S.D. Perry's novels, since Rebecca is clearly the author's favourite character. She saves the entire world almost singlehandedly in ''Caliban Cove'', in which most of the other characters seem to exist to conduct lengthy interior monologues about how cool she is. As if to compensate, however, she spends a big chunk of ''Underworld'' lying unconscious with a life-threatening head injury.
* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/ResidentEvil Not surprising]], considering the series is almost filled to the brim with {{Narm}}.
* MemeticBadass:
** According to the internet, HUNK could take on every zombie in the universe. [[EmpoweredBadassNormal And Wesker.]] And every protagonist. At once. [[OneManArmy And still win.]]
** The Claire fangirls tend to overemphasize Claire's "rawr girl power" factor, despite being the only major character (excluding ''Outbreak'') that has had no formalized training.
** It would be a sin not to mention Albert "Why Haven't I Died Yet [[spoiler:until ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'']]?" Wesker.
** Leon and Chris jumped to this level thanks to respective their outings in ''4'' and ''5''. It's hard to link Leon to a singular moment, but Chris was most certainly defined by one scene and one scene alone: [[MemeticMutation the Boulder Punch]].
* MostAnnoyingSound: LEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON
* {{Narm}}: [[Narm/ResidentEvil Has its own page.]] '''CHRISSSSS!'''
* NarmCharm:
** One gets suspicious that Capcom has caught on that the voice acting and dialogue from the first game was bad, and are now doing it on purpose. ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' suggests that a couple of the more infamous lines were thrown in just because of how B-Movie horror flick terrible they sounded.
*** Barry Burton's lines in The Mercenaries: Reunion in ''[=RE5=]'' are his old Narmful lines from the original campy ''Resident Evil'', as well as having "HERE'S Barry!" (to address ''[=RE1=]''!Jill's question of his whereabouts) and a melee attack called Barry Sandwich.
** The live action B horror intro to the original ''Resident Evil'' is sorely missed in this day of CGI.
* PortmanteauCoupleName: Given the loads and loads of characters, in addition to the loads and loads of shipping, there are some permutations of this in the fandom.
** Valenfield: Jill/Chris
** Cleon: Claire/Leon
** Cleve or Staire: Claire/Steve
** Leona: Leon/Helena
** Nivanfield: Piers/Chris
** Vestiani or Paray: Raymond/Parker
** [[AWorldwidePunomenon Shake]]: Sherry/Jake
* TheScrappy: Ashley and Sheva; neither are well liked by fans nor are they high on anybody's shipper's list when concerning characters like Leon or Chris respectively.
* ValuesDissonance: The use of green herbs as healing items. In Japan and other Eastern countries, this is a staple of traditional medicine. In America, the most common medicine associated with this is illegal in 37 states. Cue tons of weed jokes at the expense of the characters -- and sometimes the developers.
* TheWoobie:
** StoicWoobie: Leon. Almost everyone he likes dies or betrays him. No wonder he's so mopey.
** Rebecca.
** Steve.
** Sherry. Poor little girl, stray in a zombie-filled city [[spoiler:with first insane, then dead parents]].
** Chris himself is becoming this.
** Manuela.
* {{Woolseyism}}: The series' Japanese name "Biohazard" was changed to "Resident Evil" when first localized in the United States because the Western localizers at the time could not copyright "Biohazard" as that was already done by an unrelated rock band. The name change is actually somewhat fitting in the initial game, as the game took place inside a residential area (specifically a mansion) with stuff that, until a certain point in the game, was initially believed to be supernaturally evil.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Paul WS Anderson movies]]
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The Red Queen,: [[AIIsACrapshoot Homicidal AI on the fritz]] or brutal but effective AI trying to contain the T-Virus outbreak at all costs? You decide.
** Cracked even [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18781_umbrella-most-wasteful-movie-corporation-ever.html points out]] that the Red Queen was the only character in the film actually trying to ''stop'' the virus from getting out, and should really be considered the hero of the first film.
* ClicheStorm: The films are one [[LukeIAmYourFather long-lost father]] away from hitting every major cliche in the book.
* CriticalDissonance: Despite being presented as universally reviled and an affront to God himself by critics and fans of the original series, so far all of the movies have sold very well.
* CriticalResearchFailure: Hair and nails don't keep growing after death. This wouldn't be so bad if one of the human characters said it, but a supercomputer making the same mistake is a different story.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine. Be honest, you wanted ''her'' to be the protagonist of ''Apocalypse''.
* EthnicScrappy: LJ, an [[UncleTomFoolery obnoxious, offensive and stereotypical black guy]]. He drops the minstrel bullshit in the third movie thankfully, but [[RedemptionEqualsDeath he still pays the price for having been so annoying in the first place.]]
* IdiotPlot: All of the films.
** The mass-infection in The Hive could have been prevented if the laboratories had isolated air circulation systems.
** The infection of Raccoon City, and by extension, the world, would have been prevented if the Red Queen AI had informed corporate headquarters that the lab was now crawling with zombies.
*** Considering that they sent in a team to shut her down, they probably wouldn't have listened anyway. One still wonders why they apparently didn't have any remote monitoring systems in place. There is no way the lab could be run without some sort of telecommunications to the outside world, even if only Umbrella HQ.
* MarySue: Alice, who's sort of a combination between the GodModeSue and the BlackHoleSue. With every new film, she has a [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands major power boost]], starting off as a BadassNormal in the first film, which is soon elevated to EmpoweredBadassNormal with the introduction of superhuman strength and speed at the end of the first film. She then gains [[AssPull telekinetic powers]] at the end of the second film, and then an [[AssPull army of clones]] at the end of the third film. It was one of the reasons Sienna Guillory refused to come back for the third film as she didn't like getting overshadowed by Alice (the ''one'' scene where she could've gotten a badass moment, the match flicking scene, was typically hijacked by Alice). She only appears in ''Afterlife'' because by that point its the end of the film when Alice has done all she has and she a (albeit mind controlled) bad guy by then. She gets her revenge in ''Retribution'', first by torturing Alice with painfully high-pitched noises, and then beating the ''crap'' out of her at the end, becoming the only character in the series to defeat Alice in a one-on-one fight[[hottip:*: (Technically, Wesker beat her at the beginning of ''Afterlife'', but Alice was momentarily weakened, and in no shape to fight. In the ''Retribution'' fight, Alice and Jill are evenly matched)]]. [[spoiler: She would have killed Alice too, had her mind-control device not been ripped off]].
** CreatorsPet: Alice's status as this is furthered by the fact that MillaJovovich is married to Paul W.S. Anderson, who directed three installments and produced all of them.
** SpotlightStealingSquad: Alice. No-one else is allowed to be competent in these movies. ''Ever''.
*** Averted in Retribution; while Alice does end up saving everyone's ass a couple of times, the Strike Team and Ada both kick a fair amount of ass without her help.
* MoneyDearBoy: MillaJovovich flat out admitted this was was why ''Afterlife'' was made.
* SpecialEffectsFailure: The Licker in the first film, particularly when it breaks out of its crate.
* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Sienna Guillory spent ages studying Jill Valentine's movements and mannerisms for her role in ''Resident Evil: Apocalypse'' and as such is one of the [[EnsembleDarkhorse better things about it.]]
* VideoGameMoviesSuck: Zig-zagged; they're disliked by critics and many fans of the games, but they do well enough at the box office. In addition, some fans of the games have a soft spot for the movies in spite of how loosely-based they are on the games.
** Averted with this [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-resident-evil-movies-are-better-than-games/ Cracked article]]. InternetBackdraft soon followed.
[[/folder]]
----