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Tropes relating to the characters introduced in Resident Evil 4 and its remake.


For Leon S. Kennedy, check his character sheet here.
For Ada Wong, check her character sheet here.
For Albert Wesker, check his character sheet here.


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Leon's Allies

    Ashley Graham 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/re4r_ashley_graham.png
Ashley in Resident Evil 4 (2023).
Ashley in Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Voiced by: Carolyn Lawrence (4 2005), Genevieve Buechner (4 2023), Akari Kitou (JP 4 2023)
Face Model by: Ella Freya (4 2023)

"I'm never turning into one of them! Never!"

The president's daughter that Leon must rescue in 4. A twenty-year-old university student who was abducted and taken to Europe for ransom and to be implanted with Las Plagas as part of Saddler's plan.
  • Action Survivor: Ashley may get captured (quite a bit), but she's a normal young woman thrown in a ludicrous scenario that would pose considerable danger to any average person. When the player briefly controls her at one point, she lacks Leon's combat training, but she makes up for it by outrunning and outsmarting Saddler's minions by throwing anything she can grab onto at them, while keeping her nerves together enough to solve puzzles that will aid her escape. She slowly becomes one throughout the course of the remake where she goes from being scared out of her wits to a confident survivor who assists Leon many times; this is also reflected in the gameplay where she starts resisting her captors more often while being carried away as the game proceeds.
  • Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Considerably less cheerful in the remake and much more frightened of the situation she is in, which, given what she goes through, is pretty understandable. At one point, she is held down by zealots and forced to drink from a chalice filled with blood. She is also saddened when told of Luis' death.
  • Adaptational Badass: The remake shows that Ashley tries to be more proactive in the plot. For example, she tries to use a candelabra against Leon that he actively has to stop, whereas the original game had her meekly throw a piece of wood and huddle in a corner. While she isn’t a bonafide Action Girl, she still makes herself far more useful for Leon instead of mostly standing around: she actively helps him traverse areas he can't on his own, and can help him kill a Regenerador by making it fall off a folding bridge should the player choose to lure it into that trap. She also directly helps save his life four times over the course of the game: she sneaks out the back of the cabin and unlocks the door for Leon and Luis when they’re surrounded by villagers, breaks Leon out of the burning barn after the Mendez fight, rescues him from a cage trap she had just barely escaped from herself, and drags his unconscious body into the Plagas remover after he used it on her and promptly passed out. On top of all that, when Saddler tries to control her on the Island, she twice resists his attempts to make her shoot Leon, by shooting Saddler's cronies in the head. There's also her growing interest in becoming a trained agent like Leon, something she didn't have in the original game.
  • Adaptational Curves: Mild, yet notable. As shown below, Ashley’s default outfit is less revealing than the previous game, but she’s also taller, leggier, and even mildly bustier to better reflect her new physical model.
  • Adaptational Modesty: In the remake, Ashley wears a skort instead of a skirt to avoid panty shots along with a jacket over her turtleneck and tights underneath her skort, covering more skin than her original design and looking more similar to her beta design. Ultimately a Downplayed Trope as she eventually sheds the blazer in the last chapter, while the "leggings" are sheer pantyhose that still show off her legs.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: While she was still a neutral, perhaps Nice Girl in the original, she would have moments of occasional brattiness toward Leon such as pushing him away after she coughed up blood. In the remake, she is much less bratty and does her best to help Leon out however she can.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Although she is certainly still the Damsel in Distress, her status as The Load to Leon is downplayed in the remake, where she actually helps him in tight spots a notable amount of times and is treated more as an equal by comparison to her original counterpart.
  • And Now for Someone Completely Different: A brief scenario has the player control Ashley when she's separated from Leon. In comparison, her gameplay functions a la Clock Tower: unable to fight back (outside of throwing lit lanterns), and mainly focusing on running away from enemies while solving puzzles.
  • Bodyguard Crush: It's quite obvious by the end of the game that Ashley's grown rather smitten with her gallant rescuer. In the original, she invites Leon to come back to her place for "overtime," and in the remake, she offers to have her father assign him as her personal bodyguard so she can spend a lot more time with him; he turns her down in both scenarios.
  • Boob-Based Gag: The trophy for rescuing her is "Secure the Ballistics". It's no longer present in the remake, which lacks such humor.
  • Butt-Monkey: In the original game, she gets kidnapped once to kick things off, and three times more, terrorized by armored plagas, and Leon makes jokes slightly at her expense. Heavily downplayed in the remake where her victimization is taken very seriously, and Leon has to calm her down when she panics.
  • The Cameo: Ashley is mentioned several times in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness and her father keeps photos of her at his desk in the Oval Office.
  • Cowardly Lion: She is by no means an Action Girl like the majority of playable female characters in the franchise and this is reflected by her being often unknowing of what to do or terrified of the situation she’s in. Nonetheless, she will brave through the storm if it will save her own skin and Leon’s. This personality trait of hers is more pronounced in the remake as she saves Leon’s life several times.
  • Coy, Girlish Flirt Pose: Her menu picture in her playable area shows her standing like this.
  • Damsel in Distress: She sticks with Leon for a couple of chapters when he first finds her before traps in the castle separate them. The next two times he finds her, she winds up kidnapped again by the end of the chapter.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Subtle but still present in the remake, where she sometimes jokes at the absurdity of her own situation with frustrated sarcasm.
  • Demonic Possession: In the original, she is controlled to follow Saddler into her final capture. Has a moment in the remake where she loses consciousness in Leon's arms, only to to wake up apparently possessed by Saddler, threatens him with a knife, and then holds it to her own throat to separate her from Leon before he releases control.
  • Developer's Foresight: A minor example. When you play with the default outfit, Ashley won't let you look under her skirt if she's above you (she'll close her legs and admonish you for trying). Playing with either of the unlockable, pants equipped outfits, and she doesn't respond if you try the same thing. Leon will also fall to one knee after catching her in his arms when she jumps down from a ledge that's too high for her to safely land if she's wearing the armor and will stand up clutching his back in pain.
  • Emo Teen: Fashion-wise, she mixes this with Perky Goth in her casual alternate costume in the remake, which sees her dressed as a scene girl, a style popularized in the 2000s where the game takes place.
  • Escort Mission:
    • Once you rescue Ashley, you have to keep her alive for much of the following game. Thankfully, the game is designed to make this simpler: Ashley will duck or move out of the way if you point a gun at her, you can order her to stay in a safe location until the area is clear of enemies, there are multiple invaluable hiding spaces to place her in as needed, and the plot is tailored to take her out of Leon's custody before particularly hectic situations (there isn't a single mandatory boss where you have to protect her during the fight).
    • The remake amps up the difficulty by requiring her to follow you, albeit in varying distances and sometimes providing lockers to hide in for certain tough fights. She also has a mechanic where she can only be hit twice in a row, but this is balanced out by her not having a separate life bar and having enough Mercy Invincibility to be revived.
  • Fighting from the Inside: She gets a really cool moment in the remake when Saddler hijacks both her and Leon, compelling Ashley to shoot him with his own pistol while he's immobilized. She manages to resist his control long enough to gun down two of Saddler's cultists instead while limp-wristing it, which causes the gun to ultimately jam and render it unable to fire when Saddler exerts more control and tries to have her kill Leon.
  • Fist Pump: During the cable car ride in the original game, shooting an enemy and causing them to fall will cause Ashley to do a victory fist pump.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation:
    • The PS2 version runs cutscenes off of movie files so everyone has their default outfits, while all other editions use the game engine to show what's actually worn. It also happens in the original PC version and the Wii version, but only for the suit of armor/Chicago mobster alternates in the latter, which at least can be justified by the fact that wearing armor would make her instantly sink when she falls in the water.
    • When she's kidnapped by flying monsters, Leon just goes on looking for her, but if a mook carries her into a different game zone, it's instant Game Over, even if Leon is on his heels.
    • Leon has to protect her from deadly encounters and traps with alarming frequency in spite of Saddler's Evil Plan requiring her to be sent home alive and infected. Even villains who should absolutely know better than to risk killing her (like Salazar) will still occasionally try to. The zealots from the chapter you play as her even purposely snap her neck before they throw her over their shoulder. The remake accounts for this, as the only enemies that deliberately attack Ashley with intent to kill are the Armaduras, which lack a human brain for Saddler to precisely manipulate. Other enemies who might kill her are clearly doing so accidentally.
    • In the remake, her armor functions exactly like it does, making her too heavy to be carried away by enemies. But if you go to a door to another area while she's being swarmed, she'll be kidnapped anyway.
  • Girly Run: Ashley does this in a cutscene. She also has a variation of this in the remake, most notably during her segment when she is not holding a lantern.
  • Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: She offers Leon some "overtime" during the ending cutscene. He turns her down though, presumably because he'd be in hot water if word gets out that he, a Secret Service agent, bedded the President's little girl. In the remake, she instead offers to put in a word for Leon to be her bodyguard (likely with similar expectations).
  • Grew a Spine: Her character arc in the remake. While she understandably needs rescuing from a village of cultists with farming and medieval weapons, she's encouraged by Leon to not give into fear or despair. In time, she becomes more proactive, not just in defending herself, but actively finding ways to help Leon as well. By the end, she's an Action Survivor who even hints at an interest in making the jump to full on trained Action Girl. Her voice lines when being abducted by a random enemy transition from being fearful and desperate during most of the game to willfully resistant and almost irritated after rescuing her from her cell near the end of it.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's not hostile when things settle down, and in comparing to her blonde predecessor Alexia, she's really nice in comparison. The remake takes several more opportunities to showcase her sweet and caring personality.
  • Heroic Willpower: Late in the Remake, once she's captured and being compelled by Saddler to kill Leon with his own gun, she manages to resist long enough to unload the weapon into Saddler's acolytes instead.
  • I Just Want to Be Badass: In the remake, she wants to be useful to Leon while he's prioritizing her safety. As such, she goes out of her way to help him throughout the game in whatever small way she can, and even saves him at certain points. Lastly, she manages to remove his plagas after Leon falls unconscious. At one point, she even brings up the possibility of one day becoming an agent like Leon and joining him on his missions, which comes off as mostly flirtatious but with a hint of genuine interest.
  • Idiot Ball:
    • Jokes about her AI intelligence aside, there's one scene in the game where Ashley will overreact to Leon asking if she's fine after coughing some blood and runs straight into one of the castle's obvious traps. Oddly enough, this trap actually has enough room left for her to theoretically escape it.
    • The remake changes it so it's clear she runs off out of guilt for threatening Leon while under Saddler's control, and instead of a trap, it's a room with no overt dangers.
  • Improvised Weapon User: She can use candles/lanterns in the rooms when you play her. She can also weaponize a bridge by dropping a Regenerador, of all things.
  • Inexplicably Awesome: Her ability to drive a giant bulldozer near the end comes out of nowhere, saying "Leave it to me, Leon!" as she gets into the operator's seat with the confidence of someone who's handled this sort of thing before. Not a complaint though, since she proves useful due to it. In the remake, she amusingly credits her driver's ed class for being able to use a wrecking ball.
  • In-Series Nickname: During their various calls in the remake, Leon and Ingrid refer to her as "Baby Eagle", fitting her status as the President's daughter.
  • Kill It with Fire: One of her few attacks is to throw lamps at enemies. This gets downplayed in the remake in favor of Light 'em Up.
  • Last Grasp at Life: Should you fail to save Ashley before she's carried away by a Ganado, you're forced to watch as she's carried into darkness through a door that will permanently shut and seal her fate. The last thing she does before vanishing into the black is reach out to Leon and scream his name as she's lost to you.
  • Light 'em Up: Her only source of offense against the several Armaduras she encounters throughout her segment in the remake is the blue light from the lantern she finds.
  • The Load:
    • In the original game, you return her safely to the White House, which turns out to not be as easy as it sounds, for the chirpy First Daughter is heavily prone to danger. Whether she's cowering in fear in the line of fire, being kidnapped by spinning walls, eating up your health items, or shrieking HAAALP! and LEON! when snatched up, in what can be a very long trek through Ganado-infested territory.
    • Thankfully downplayed in the remake, where she is competent enough to even help or rescue Leon herself whenever she can, and you no longer need to spend healing items on her.
  • Male Gaze: When playing with the default outfits, it becomes obvious that the game's camera and cutscenes are made to show off her butt. The remake tones it down considerably, since the camera angles now avoid pointing at her behind when she has to crawl.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: In the remake, Ashley gets briefly possessed by the Plagas at one point and attempts to stab Leon with his own knife, cutting his hand when he defends himself. When the mind control breaks off, she runs off alone, sobbing to herself in shame about what happened, believing her to be a danger to him.
  • Neck Lift: How zealots lift her when they grab her in her playable chapter, which can lead to...
  • Neck Snap: She can fall victim to this in her own chapter. This happens if the player fails to escape the zealot's grasp in time.
  • Nice Girl: Occasional brattiness aside, she’s a not-so-confrontational, if sweet girl who does her best to help Leon whenever she can, with this aspect of her personality being more pronounced in the remake and her occasional brattiness being heavily downplayed.
  • Nigh-Invulnerability: Her second alternate outfit is a suit of armor. Not only does it make her impervious to any and all kind of damage (even from rocket launchers), but it's so heavy that it also protects her from being kidnapped, making the segments with her much easier.
  • No-Sell: Her equipable knight armor protects her from all forms of damage. Such as chapter 3-1, you can shoot the trap she was in with a rocket launcher and not kill her with it, also conveniently preventing any game overs due to a misfire. She is also both too heavy to be captured by mooks. Thus, having her stand in the center of a mob while shooting enemies around her works exceptionally well, or use her as bait for mobs and shoot at her with a rocket launcher, and she still won't die.
  • Older Than They Look: Ashley is twenty years old in 2004 but can be easily mistaken for a high school student because of her appearance and mannerisms. She actually looks her age in the remake though.
  • Once Done, Never Forgotten: In the remake, in a brief moment when the Plaga takes over, she takes Leon's knife and wounds him while separating herself from Leon. Leon brings up her crazed knife handling jokingly when they reunite a few chapters later, and again in the game's ending by saying that Ashley could "use a few knife lessons".
  • One Head Taller: Leon is close to this to her, but certain enemies are this to him. The size difference between Ashley and the Zealots in her chapter are quite noticeable.
  • Painted-On Pants: Her white pants for her Popstar outfit are rather form fitting.
  • Proper Tights with a Skirt: In the remake, courtesy of Adaptational Modesty.
  • Sensual Spandex: Her white pop star outfit, which leaves very little to the imagination.
  • Support Party Member: There's a few times in which she makes herself useful, piggybacking over locked gates to unbar them, helping out whenever there's more than one winch to turn, etc. She also drives a massive truck through a tunnel so Leon can focus on shooting up the Ganados trying to halt their progress.
  • Shout-Out: To Willie Scott from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, considering her appearance, demeanour and the various other references to the movie throughout the game.
  • So Proud of You: In the remake, Ashely saves Leon's life multiple times with her resourcefulness and bravery; when she asks whether he could be her bodyguard on a permanent basis, he shows his newfound respect for her by explaining that he refused because she has already become a hero who can take on the world without him by her side.
  • Spoiled Sweet: She's the US president's daughter and is shown to be quite kind when not scared out of her mind. This is more prevalent in the remake, as well.
  • Stone Wall: If Leon equips Ashley with a suit of armor, she becomes completely invincible to any form of attack. It is a perfectly viable strategy to use Armor Ashley to lure enemies away from Leon as he snipes them from a distance... with a rocket. Ashley will be perfectly fine.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Ashley, despite being the Damsel in Distress, is the Tomboy to Ada Wong's Girly Girl. Ashley wears a skirt/skort but her sweater and tall boots are more unisex and seemingly does little to doll up, even in a picture shown where she is at her university. Ada wears a dress and heels, loves butterflies, and has a noticeably more feminine way of talking.
  • Trojan Horse: Saddler's plan for world domination involves infecting Ashley with a parasite, then sending her back to the US where she will infect the President and later on, every other world leader.
  • Universal Driver's License: Ashley, for some unknown reason, knows how to competently operate a giant bulldozer and helps Leon out doing so. Lampshaded in the remake where she operates a construction crane with a wrecking ball. Leon quips, "Is this what they're teaching kids in school now?" to which Ashley retorts, "Ever heard of driver's ed?".
  • Video Game Caring Potential: Depending on your take on Escort Missions, Leon can either be nice to her or an absolute jerk...or someone tired of her idleness at inopportune moments.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Played for laughs in the original. Trying to look up Ashley's skirt with the camera or a gun scope will cause her to yelp, hastily cover herself, and tell you off, with reactions ranging from angry to embarrassed. Really though, that's getting off lightly when you've just ogled the President's daughter.
    Oh, you pervert!
    H-hey! What are you looking at?!
  • Wrestler in All of Us:
    • No kidding! Do it right, and you can have her performing Leon's suplex move on enemies!
    • Ashley uses the same controls as Leon, but since she never finds any weapons in her chapter, you're not supposed to be able to fight. If you manage to hit a monk with one of the doors, though, you can run up and use one of the context-sensitive melee commands. Sadly, said ability only works in the original Nintendo GameCube release.
  • Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Try and count how many times she's been rescued, only to be kidnapped again. Granted, the circumstances are out of Leon's control, ranging from an ambush to Mind Control.

    Luis Serra Navarro 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/re4r_luis_sera.png
Luis in Resident Evil 4 (2023).
Luis in Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Voiced by: Rino Romano (4 2005), André Peña (4 2023), Kenjiro Tsuda (JP 4 2023)

"A little rough, don't you think?"
— Luis Sera, 4 (2005)

"Guess you, me... picked the wrong spot to vacation, eh?"
— Luis Serra-Navarro, 4 (2023)

Luis is a smooth-talking cad who shows up mysteriously to aid Leon from time to time before running off. He claims to have been a policeman in Madrid before later admitting that he was also once a researcher for Los Iluminados. He does his best to help Leon and Ashley.
  • Adaptation Expansion: Luis' character is considerably expanded on in the remake.
    • In the original he only showed up a few times before being killed by Saddler, with little being revealed about his past outside of how he used to work for Saddler. The remake gives him an expanded backstory as a former Umbrella researcher and a more developed friendship with Leon, making him effectively part of the main cast. He also dies considerably later in this version, only meeting his end in the first Krauser encounter. The remake's version of Separate Ways further expands Luis' role by making him a prominent supporting character in Ada's campaign, as opposed to a single cutscene appearance in the original.
    • In the remake, a notebook can be found in the cave where Leon first meets Luis. It recounts a man raising his grandson within the woods, who's highly implied to be Luis due to his interest in Don Quixote. The notebook prematurely ends with the man ending up sick from a wolf bite, fearing whatever will happen to his grandson when he's alone; the wording implies he may have died from Las Plagas. Another set of notes found later on reveals that the tale ultimately ends with the grandfather's cabin in flames, with the author recounting that the boy disappeared the next day.
  • Adaptation Name Change: Originally just "Luis Sera." In the remake, his name is extended to "Luis Serra Navarro". Since in Spanish-speaking countries people have two surnames (the second one being their mother's maiden name), this is more coherent. As a minor example, he and Ada pronounced his name in the original correctly as Lew-EEz, but Leon would always call him Lew-IZ, which led to many fans following suit. The remake has the entire cast use the former instead, except Wesker, who still uses the "Lew-IZ" pronunciation.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the remake, Leon learns of Luis' ties to Umbrella early on and is far more distrustful of him than he was in the original. He also gets more Bash Brothers moments with Leon outside of the cabin fight in the original. Ashley and Leon also acknowledge Luis and his help to them being cured of las plagas.
  • Adaptational Badass: Unlike in the original, he can now utilize melee prompts whenever he or Leon managed to stun an enemy, making him more akin to a partner in later RE games (specifically 5 and 6).
  • Adaptational Sympathy: Although not the most unsympathetic character in the original, most of his backstory and motivation is only revealed through his documentation and memos. Along with more screentime and development, the remake includes Luis directly seeking approval from Leon in his dying breath that people can change. Leon and Ashley acknowledge his efforts after they're cured by his machine.
  • Ambiguously Christian: In the remake's version of The Mercenaries, Luis can be seen making the Sign of the Cross at the start of a round, before the fighting starts. Since he grew up in a rural part of Spain, it wouldn't be a huge surprise.
  • Ambiguously Evil: Until we learn more about him, Luis's screentime is used to cast an air of suspicion and mistrust towards him, which is exactly what Leon feels as well. It doesn't help that it turns out he's an ex-Umbrella researcher and is seemingly working with the equally-shady Ada. Though it becomes clear the more time Leon spends with him that Luis is a good guy.
  • Ascended Extra: While still an important character, Luis was largely forgotten after Saddler killed him, and had a one-time minor appearance in the original Separate Ways. In the remake of 4 and Separate Ways, he plays a much larger role by subduing Leon, Ashley, and Ada's infections, grabs the Master Plagas for Ada, and is considered valuable enough for even Wesker to need him alive. He is also an Assist Character who fights alongside Leon and Ada in various sections, giving him more things to do before he buys the farm.
  • The Atoner:
    • He goes well out of his way to help Leon and Ashley because of the responsibility he feels for the situation at hand. It turns out that he used to work for Los Iluminados in improving the parasite only to turn on them after gaining a conscience.
    • When Leon asks Luis why he keeps helping to undermine the plans of Los Iluminados, Luis simply responds with, "it makes me feel better." Given how he blames himself for conducting research on Las Plagas which Saddler later exploited for his own sinister goals, it makes sense.
      Luis: It makes me feel better. Let’s just leave it at that.
    • The remake also adds that Luis formerly worked for Umbrella's European Branch (and thus, the development of the NE-α parasite as well as Nemesis). Having worked on Bio Organic weapons for so long, he wanted to atone for his mistakes by making sure both Leon and Ashley are cured of their Plagas infestation.
  • Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: His original incarnation sported an outfit that blended in perfectly with the rest of the village's vaguely 19th-Century aesthetic, with a Waistcoat of Style over a baggy-sleeved "poet" shirt. The remake gives him a more modern-looking set of jeans and a dress shirt, but with a unique and very cool embroidered leather jacket that taps into his rustic Spanish roots without looking too out-of-place in 2004.
  • Bash Brothers: Has this dynamic with Leon at the cabin standoff in the original. The remake adds onto this by having Luis accompany Leon into the mines. It gives a lot more reason for Leon, and by extant the player, to care about Luis.
  • Badass Bookworm: He is a brilliant scientist who was hired to study the Plagas, and is also skilled enough with firearms to keep up with Leon, a highly trained U.S. government agent. He claims to have once been a police officer in the original game, which may account for it. In the remake, Luis makes no mention of ever serving with the Madrid police, but he still retains his badass status.
  • Break Out the Museum Piece: His weapon of choice is a Mauser C96 "Red 9", which has not been in production since World War I. An interesting choice for someone who can make laser weaponry (the P.R.L), though as the Mauser C96 was (and still is) popular in Spain note  , it is understandable.
    • In The Mercenaries, he also comes with an SR M1903 equipped with a biosensor scope. Old and slow, but powerful.
  • Casanova Wannabe: He claims to be "quite the ladies' man", but Ashley's not really impressed with his attempts at being smooth, and neither is Ada. Downplayed with Ada in the remake of Separate Ways, who indulges Luis when he amorously grabs her for an impromptu tango and plays along with him for a bit despite rolling her eyes at his over the top flirting.
  • Casual Danger Dialogue: The only character to speak when picking up Time or Mayhem Orbs in either iteration of the Mercenaries mode.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: The remake reveals that Luis' mother died giving birth to him and he was raised by his grandfather. During his teenage years, his grandfather was bitten by a Colmillos, infecting him with Las Plagas. Not wanting to lose himself and hurt Luis, his grandfather confided with Bitorez Mendez to burn their house with him away. Luis watched as his grandfather died along with his house and by morning, he left the village.
  • Dashing Hispanic: He's a charming Spaniard with both intelligence and skills with a gun.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the remake, he manages to survive long enough to accompany Leon beyond the castle areas all the way through the Plagas mines, avoiding death by impalement at Saddler's hands. Instead, Luis meets his end during the first encounter with Krauser, who fatally wounds him with a thrown knife.
  • Empowered Badass Normal: He was once a host to a Plagas, which some might attribute to his inhuman durability he gets as an ally in the cabin siege. He may have also once been a police officer in Madrid, which explains his skill with firearms, but alongside the likes of Leon and Ada (who are both highly trained special agents), it's easy to forget that Luis is just a fairly normal scientist in comparison.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: With Leon over the course of the game, especially in the 2023 remake where Leon initially treats him with annoyance and wariness before eventually being won over by Luis' bravery and sincere efforts. This makes his death hit hard.
  • Fling a Light into the Future: Despite dying near the midpoint of the story, it's through his notes, the Plagas suppressive medication he developed, and his Plagas removal device that Leon and Ashley manage to remove the parasites from their bodies.
  • Forgotten Fallen Friend: In the original, after he dies, Leon quickly recovers and swears revenge on Saddler for killing him, then is quickly forgotten for the rest of the game. The remake subverts this after his One Last Smoke, Leon and Ashley cure themselves in his honor once they found the Plagas removal machine.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Compared to trained characters' movesets like Leon and HUNK's snappy maneuvers, Luis's melee attacks in the Mercenaries mode are rather unrefined, consisting of awkward shoulder tackles and sloppy kicks.
  • Go Out with a Smile: In the remake, Luis dies from a fatal knife stab while letting out a small smile, believing that, after a bad life he thought he led, people like him can still change for the better.
  • Gratuitous Spanish: While original!Luis does use the occasional Spanish words like "amigo," remake!Luis uses a bit more, like "¡Oye!" note  and "¡Mierda!" note .
  • The Gunslinger: Never seen to use knives or martial arts like Leon does, but he's one heck of a shot with his Mauser, easily capable of blasting a weapon off someone's hands at a long distance even as he's dying from mortal injury. Given his childhood, he may have grown up hunting food alongside his grandfather.
  • Gun Twirling: Downplayed in the original. When drawing his pistol in preparation for the siege on the cabin, he quickly twirls it as he draws.
  • Hand Cannon: An interesting variation, Luis's personal weapon is a 1916 Austria Contract Mauser C96, aka the "Red 9". The most powerful, non-magnum, handgun in the game despite being chambered in a smaller round.
  • Handsome Lech:
    • Only in the original RE4 where he makes a crude joke about Ashley's figure.
      "I see the President has equipped his daughter with ballistics, too."
    • In the remake his voice takes on a playful tone when first surveying Ashley who reacts with annoyance as she did in the original version. In both cases, considering their imminent battle with a horde of Ganados this might be seen as an attempt to lighten the mood/gallows humor rather than any indication of interest.
  • The Heart: Luis in the 2023 remake of 4 plays a more substantial role in Leon, Ashley and Ada's stories, helping them pull through in their darkest hours and effectively becomes the glue that holds each of them together long enough to make it out alive, even though he himself doesn't live to see the end.
  • Heel–Face Turn: He used to be a researcher hired by Saddler to study on Las Plagas before turning against him. The remake expanded both his background and turn more: Luis used to be an Umbrella scientist before he got conscripted by Los Iluminados to help with their work on Las Plagas. By this point, however, he had grown sick and tired of viral research, having realized what a terrible life he's lived to have helped in creating some of the most dangerous Bio-Weapons unleashed upon the world, and so resolves to foil his new employers' plans instead.
  • Heroic Willpower: Before the game, he was fully infected with a Plagas, but his Plagas acted so much like him that it killed itself to free him from Saddler's control. Taken to a tragic level in remake, where Luis is still able to muster enough strength to get back up after being fatally stabbed with a knife to save Leon from meeting the same fate, shooting the knife off his murderer's hands and causing the man to flee, moments before succumbing to his wound.
  • Hero of Another Story: By the time Leon meets him, he's already made himself an enemy of Saddler and Los Iluminados, and interacts with Leon four times throughout the story while trying to help him and Ashley while undermining the organization.
  • Hidden Depths: Luis's history as a researcher for Los Iluminados into Las Plagas is ultimately what leads Ashley and Leon to getting cured from the parasite. His first impression would never have you guess he was one at all.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: A notable and useful aversion in The Mercenaries. He's immune to damage from his own dynamite, and provided you use it away from other explosives like Ganados' dynamite or explosive barrels, you can shoot it right where he drops it at his feet and clear whole crowds for the negligible cost of him flinching a bit.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In the original, by Saddler's Plaga tentacle.
  • Improvised Weapon: He'll pull a pipe out of nowhere to whack foes with as one of his melee attacks in Mercenaries.
  • In the Back: In the remake, Luis is stabbed in the back with a knife thrown by Krauser.
  • Last Breath Bullet: In the remake, a fatally injured Luis regains enough strength to prevent Krauser from killing Leon during their first encounter, succumbing to his wound once Krauser has left.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: While he previously acted sort of helpless and cowardly, when you encounter him in the house while fending off a horde of Ganados, and he finally has a weapon, he twirls it out expertly before saying: "It's game time". He then proceeds to kill Ganados by the dozen.
  • Long-Range Fighter: Plays like this in the remake's Mercenaries: His Red9 and SR M1903 pack more of a punch than any of the other characters' loadouts, and his Mayhem Mode gives him the ability to throw dynamite for crowd control, but his melee attacks are less polished, slower, and leave him more vulnerable after they land.
  • Lovable Rogue: In the remake, he's still a charming and smooth-talking ladies' man wannabe, but acts a bit shadier and vitriolic towards Leon than his 2005 portrayal. He's also revealed to have worked with Umbrella and has been on the run from the law since the company's fall. Though Leon is initially wary of him (and angry upon first learning his ties to Umbrella), his sincere desire and efforts to atone for his mistakes make him sympathetic enough to grow on Leon, Ashley and the audience.
  • Made of Iron:
    • One may presume it's due to once being host to a full Plagas. During the siege on the cabin, the player can shoot him several times (on purpose or accident), this does little but annoy Luis, until he has enough and, in calm fury, kills Leon with just a couple shots, though only in the original game since he never resorts to that in the remake.
    • He later manages to tell Leon the truth of his past and gives him the medications to suppress the Plagas, after having suffered an impalement that would have surely damaged his spine, as well as destroying his heart and lungs in the original game. This was likely due to having once been host to a full grown Plagas.
  • Mighty Glacier: This is how he functions in The Mercenaries (remake version). He moves slightly slower than Leon and Hunk with a marginally higher health bar, and his guns have the slowest rate of fire and precision requirement among the entire roster. He also has very limited options for crowd control, with slow and sluggish melee moves. That said, his guns all pack a punch with every shot, his slower melees give him longer invincibility frames and deal higher damage in a wider area, and his Mayhem mode lets him deploy powerful, screen-clearing dynamites that deal massive damage to all mini-bosses.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: He has one of these moments before the start of the game, upon realizing that his research on Las Plagas was being used to make them stronger and more infectious. Leads him to doing whatever he can to destroy the parasites.
  • The Navigator: Thanks to being raised in the forest by his grandfather, he knows how to get around in ways even others native to the area are unaware of.
  • Nice Guy: Lecherous comments and a bit of self-deprecation aside, he is one of the nicest people in the series. He genuinely wants to help Leon and Ashley, and willing to go out of his way to do so. He's also trying to undo the events he helped set in motion. His genuine good will is even what freed him from Saddler's control (see Heroic Willpower above).
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: He acts like a sleaze, but as the notes, medication, and the laser he created attest, he's a genius. Even Ada calls him "brilliant."
  • Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Researched the biology of the Plaga parasite (zoology), created a medication to suppress their growth in a host (pharmacology), developed a machine to kill adult parasites (biomedical engineering), and a weapon capable of killing parasites and hosts rapidly (weapons engineering), though that last one is of questionable canonicity.
  • One Last Smoke: In the remake, Luis pulls out a cigarette to smoke on while he was dying from being stabbed by Krauser, but he was too weak to light his cigarette himself, prompting Leon to light it for him.
  • Pipe Pain: Luis's melee weapon in the Mercenaries mode is a yellow-painted pipe. It's also the "lance" he briefly mimes with as Don Quixote in the main story mode.
  • Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Gives one before the Hold the Line mission in a cabin:
    Okay. It's game time.
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner: If you shoot him too many times (accidentally or on purpose) during the above mission:
    Adios, Leon! (Shoots Leon dead)
  • Promoted to Playable: In the remake, he joins the playable cast of characters in The Mercenaries, replacing Ada in the initial roster.
  • Raised by Grandparents: The "Old Man's Journal" document describes the author's daughter dying shortly after giving birth to her son, Luis. This means the note was written by his grandfather, who took care of the young boy until being infected with the Plagas after being bitten by a Colmillo.
  • Redemption Equals Death: Luis manages to give Leon some medicine to fight the parasite trying to take over him and almost gives him the Dominant Plaga sample, only to die from being impaled by Saddler in the original game. He even comments about it in his final moments in the remake due to Krauser's knife, saying that he led a "shitty life" but believes everyone can change.
  • Regional Riff: His Mercenaries theme prominently features a flamenco guitar, appropriate for a guy who sees himself a modern day Don Quixote.
  • Related in the Adaptation: As part of Umbrella Europe in the remake, Luis may have a hand in the creation of Nemesis.
  • Sacrificial Lion: He has a moderate role in the story and goes out of his way to help Leon and Ashley as much as he can. Because he used to work for Saddler on Las Plagas project, he feels responsible for everything that happened. Ergo, Luis tries to get a cure ready for Leon and Ashley's parasite problem. Saddler kills him right in front of Leon and steals the sample in the original game, forcing Leon to find another way to cure the infection much later on.
  • Sad Clown: His increased screentime in the remake expands his character to show remorse for his involvement in researching for Los Iluminados and willingness to make up for it. This is in contrast to his usual Handsome Lech facade.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After being freed from being shackled to Leon, he immediately up and flees from the area without so much as a good bye to Leon.
  • Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: The remake casts more doubt on him initially, to the point where even Leon is suspicious about what this one uninfected guy is doing here, playing coy and saying that his motive for helping Leon and Ashley is that it makes him "feel good", like he's some sort of good Samaritan. As it turns out... he really is The Atoner who's trying to help the two as a way to make up for his mistakes.
  • Smoking Is Cool: The first thing he asks for when Leon finds him is a smoke. In the remake, it's also the last thing he asks for.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: The Wise Guy to Leon's Straight Man when they're together, being the one to crack jokes and act charming. This dynamic is even more pronounced in the remake due to Luis's expanded screentime.
    • He's also the Wise Guy to Ada's Straight Man in the 4 remake's Separate Ways campaign. His cheery disposition clashes with Ada's professionalism whenever they group up.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: His special in Mercenaries has him throw dynamite at his enemies' feet.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Carlos Olivera from the original Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Both are sarcastic, flirty Hispanics with a knack for firearms.
  • Team Member in the Adaptation: He's a former Umbrella researcher in the remake, whereas the original just has him as an independent researcher. Notably, his lab now contains Umbrella equipment with Leon even quipping that he must've had a field day looting his former employer.
  • Throw Down the Bomblet: His Mayhem Mode in Mercenaries allows him to place lit bundles of dynamite on the ground, requiring him to be tactical with their use and lure as many enemies as possible to them.
  • Token Good Teammate: The remake made him an ex-Umbrella scientist and one of the few who isn't a Mad Scientist or a genocidal madman wanting to use zombies for profit or weapons of war.
  • Trust Password: In the remake, Luis was going to give the Plagas Amber to Ada in exchange for help escaping Los Iluminados, and the two used cigarettes as a sign and countersign. When he asks Leon for a smoke, Leon gives the wrong answer, which makes Luis realize he's not his contact.
  • Unkempt Beauty: Long greasy hair never looked so good. A bit downplayed in the remake since his hair is shorter and looks more combed over.
  • Video Game Cruelty Punishment: During the Hold the Line segment in the cabin, you can shoot him instead: willingly or via stray bullets. Do it enough times, and Luis will get angry and kill Leon, resulting in a Non-Standard Game Over. Subverted in the remake - he can be temporarily downed if he suffers too much damage from any combination of Leon or the enemy Ganados, but he'll get back up after a brief recovery period and doesn't seem to hold it against Leon if he was the cause.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Compared to the super soldiers and secret agents he's flanked by when it comes to the Mercenaries' cast, Luis is just a normal guy who at most might have had some police training, and it's apparent weakness reflected by his unremarkable and ungainly melee moves. He nonetheless has enough experience with firearms, explosives and lead pipes to hold his own.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: His grandfather considered him as such, according to the "Old Man's Journal" document. He believed Luis was very smart and observant for his age and had future as a scholar- which he eventually became.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Played Straight in the original game. Luis is told this by Saddler after being impaled and the Plagas sample taken from him.

    Ingrid Hunnigan 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/re4r___ingrid_hunnigan_model_webp_nobg.png
Hunnigan in Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Hunnigan in Resident Evil 6
Voiced by: Salli Saffioti (4 2005, Degeneration, 6 Damnation, Death Island), Raylene Harewood (4 2023), Yuu Sugimoto (JP, Degeneration, 6 Damnation, 4 2023)
"May I remind you that you're still on duty?"

Leon's Mission Control in Resident Evil 4, Degeneration, Damnation, and 6.
  • Ambiguously Brown: Her skin is two shades darker than most other characters, but her backstory doesn't go much farther than describing her as American. If it helps, in the 4 remake, she is given a curly hair texture, she is physically based on an Afro-British model, and her actress is Afro-Canadian.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Her dialogue with Leon in the remake of 4 has noticeably less flirting on Leon's part, to the point where it's almost non-existent.
  • Beautiful All Along: Normally, she dresses and looks rather plain (not that Leon minds), but once she tidies up a little, well...
  • Consummate Professional: Even people she's worked with for years know next to nothing about her personal life. The closest thing we get to hint is an anecdote in a file of her telling off her mother for calling her at work about her personal life, insisting her work is her number one priority.
  • Friendship Moment: In 6, when Leon asks Hunnigan to fake his and Helena's deaths so they can chase Simmons to China, she barely hesitates. In fact, the reason they know where he's going is because she already put a tail on him. They're accusing a respected superior of a crime they themselves are the prime suspects in, without any evidence to back them up, and she believes them immediately. Justified, even though Leon is wanted for murder of President Adam Benford, it's likely she would never believe Leon would actually caused a bio-terror attack and murder the President of the US, considering all of the good Leon has done throughout his solo missions combating B.O.W's in the past.
  • The Glasses Gotta Go: At the end of Resident Evil 4, her last conversation with Leon has her without the glasses and Leon immediately notices it. In the remake, she takes them off after confirming Leon and Ashley's safety in a post-credits scene.
  • He Knows About Timed Hits: In the original Resident Evil 4, she openly says she's "sending you a playing manual" to show you the basic controls without a tutorial.
  • Inconsistent Spelling: The games and original source material seem to flip-flop between her last named being spelled Hunnigan or Hannigan, respectively.
  • Last-Name Basis: Almost always referred to as Hunnigan.
  • Mission Control: Acts as Leon's mission control in all of her appearances.
  • Satellite Character: Hunnigan has little character other than being Leon's Mission Control in his post-Raccoon City appearances.

    Mike 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brave_po2f7ss5om.png
Mike in Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Mike in Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Voiced by: Erik Gow (4 2023), Masahito Kawanago (JP 4 2023)

"Yeah, swiped 'em clean, yeaahh!"

Leon's evac personnel. After the original evac chopper was reported to have been shot down, Mike is called in as the replacement. He finally locates Leon, and even gives fire support late in the game.
  • Ace Pilot: Self-proclaimed by Mike in the remake, where he states he "never misses" as he blows up a tower full of ganados.
  • Accent Adaptation: The Remake gives him a Southern Accent.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: While the original Mike was not exactly quiet, his voice was more monotone and straight to the point. Mike in the remake not only is louder and more talkative, but he and clearly has a lot more enthusiasm in his helicopter's handiwork destroying the Ganado militia on the island to clear the way for Leon.
  • The Cavalry: Shows up on Saddler's island and provides close ground support fire for Leon, giving him some much needed aid during the assault on the island.
  • Composite Character: In the original game, Mike was the second chopper sent to evac Leon and Ashley after the first one had been shot down according to Hunnigan. In the remake, Mike is now the first helicopter to be sent to backup Leon, as his chopper was simply delayed by the bad weather instead of being shot down.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the original, he gets shot down by a Ganado Combatant armed with an RPG while he is distracted talking to Leon about drinks. In the remake, he instead gets blindsided by a trio of Novistadors who latched onto his helicopter while, this time, offering Leon a quick ride to Saddler's fortress.
  • 11th-Hour Ranger: Appears during the penultimate chapter of the game as an ally for Leon at a critical juncture.
  • Escort Mission: Inverted; by all accounts, he's the one escorting you, blasting enemies with his chopper's weapons and clearing paths for Leon.
  • Gatling Good: His helicopter's armed with one and he uses it as his primary weapon.
  • I Need a Freaking Drink: He and Leon agree they both need a drink after the game. Too bad his helicopter is immediately blown up after that, and him with it.
  • Macross Missile Massacre: Tends to follow up his strafing runs with this, just to be sure.
  • Mythology Gag: His death in the remake is by a swarm of Novistador insects causing his helicopter to crash, which is an allusion to Saddler's quote in the original game of having Mike done away with as similar to "swatting a bothersome fly".
  • Recurring Element: A helicopter pilot? In a Resident Evil game? Yeah, he wasn't lasting long.
  • Talking Is a Free Action: Mocked with prejudice in the original. Pausing in mid-air to talk to Leon about bars instead of keeping a lookout and staying on the move was his fatal mistake.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: He shows up for one level before being shot down and killed off, though Leon's examination comment says he'll make sure they pay.

    The Merchant 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/merchant_re4_remake_photoroompng_photoroom.png
Merchant in Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Merchant in Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Voiced by: Paul Mercier (4 2005), Michael Adamthwaite (4 2023), Shigeru Chiba (JP 4 2023)

"Got a selection of good things on sale, stranger!"

A strange pirate-merchant guy introduced in RE4. Clad in a black, hooded coat and purple neckerchief, the Merchant would be available at some point during the level to sell and buy items. He's a mysterious and quirky fellow and gained quite the fanbase as a result.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed. He was never a "jerk" in the original game per se, but maintained a strictly professional relationship with the playable characters. In the remake, however, completing all of his challenges gets him to call Leon a "friend" rather than his trademark "stranger", which shows that the Merchant holds him in a more openly higher regard this time. Much like his pal The Duke, he's also shown to be more talkative and considerably friendlier than his original counterpart, engaging in plenty of (one-sided) banter whenever Leon stops by.
  • Ascended Meme: Players have been comparing his accent to a stereotypical pirate for years, so what do they give the Merchant in the remake? A pirate-themed shooting gallery minigame that is based out of what could best be described as a pirate cove hideaway in the cave system connected to the village's lake. The only way it could be more on the nose is if they gave the Merchant a bicorn hat and a hook for a hand.
  • Character Catchphrase:
    • "Wot're ye buyin'?"
    • "Wot're ye sellin'?"
    • "Come back any time!"
    • "Ahhh.... I'll buy it at a HIGH price!"
    • Calling people "Stranger".
    • "Got a selection of good things on sale, stranger!"
    • The remake adds another one: "'Gun rhymes with 'fun' for a reason, stranger!"
  • Coat Full of Contraband: Often greets the player by dramatically swinging open his coat revealing an assortment of arms and ammo.
  • Connected All Along: Initially, it seemed like the Duke from Resident Evil Village was simply an Expy of him... until a piece of dialogue from the Duke revealed that the two are friends.
  • *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": In the remake, he may mention his back is killing him, noting the years haven't been kind to both him and Leon.
  • Creepy Good: He has a weird sounding voice and overall looks untrustworthy, but he's your only supply of weaponry, disregarding the pre-existing weapons in specific locations. He even gives you powerful guns for free sometimes if you complete certain challenges. There's even some implication that he's a Plagas infectee, not that it affects his business or demeanor in any way.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He sometimes makes an amused, witty comment when Leon purchases one of the more outrageous weapons from his shop, particularly the Handcannon. The remake amps this up where he now snarks at practically everything, up to and including when Leon buys every last upgrade.
    I don't believe it. You went and did them all! I guess everyone needs a hobby...
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He sells stuff and has no official name, therefore he's just "The Merchant". On his end, he only knows Leon and Ada as "Stranger".
  • Feeling Their Age: In the remake, he will sometimes remark that his back is aching and that the years haven't been kind to him. It seems that carrying an armory in your coat while constantly moving about is very strenuous.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: Subverted. While he has glowing red eyes like the Ganados, he's a neutral guy looking for profit.
  • Hammerspace: This man can pack an entire arsenal inside his clothes. Though he sometimes mans a stall with lots of room for weapons, most of the time he'll be alone in the middle of nowhere.
  • Humanoid Abomination: It's implied he's infected with Las Plagas due to his eyes glowing red in dark areas. He hasn't turned, though, and is more than willing to help Leon in exchange for coin.
  • Inexplicably Awesome: To whit: his glowing eyes indicate that he's a host for a Plagas, and yet he's somehow retained 100% control over his mental faculties. No matter how deep or how dangerous you go, he'll beat you there and already has an item shop and shooting gallery set up. If you kill him on the spot, he'll still show up everywhere. You have to wonder whether the President would be better off if he'd hired this guy and sent him to save his daughter instead of Leon.
  • Intrepid Merchant: No matter how far you go, he'll always be ahead of you to sell his wares. This is, assuming he does not have duplicates around.
  • Large Ham: He's always happy to see Leon or Ada, emphatically calling them "STRANGER!" when making good deals, possibly because they are the only ones trading with him. His goofy pirate voice only adds to this.
  • No Name Given: He never introduces himself at any point, and likewise never asks for any of his customers' names, only ever addressing them as "Stranger". When greeting Ada for the first time in Separate Ways (2023 remake), she greets him back with a friendly "Stranger" of her own.
  • Royal "We": In the remake, he refers to nebulous 'we' when talking about himself. Whether he's alluding to there being many of him or something else entirely is unknown and will likely remain that way. Although if he is actually a long, lost member of the Salazar family as the remake implies, the "royal" we might actually be deliberate.
  • Signature Laugh: If you know the Merchant, you'll recognize his laugh in an instant.
    "Got sumthin' that might interest ya. Heh heh heh."
    "Heh heh heh heh heh, thank you."
  • The Spook: The Merchant is incredibly enigmatic because the game doesn't really acknowledge his presence as a character. No one directly speaks to him or even pays much attention to him short of Leon walking up to him, perhaps confused in a cutscene, enemies ignore him, and he doesn't play any real role in the overarching narrative. The closest the remake comes to changing it is having Leon ask himself who he is upon meeting him for the first time, and Ashley indirectly acknowledging him while asking if Leon intends to sell a specific treasure he finds in the castle. He's just this odd guy with a pirate accent who doesn't seem to have any stake in the Los Iluminados conflict (except it giving him an opportunity to move some merchandise). He does get acknowledged by the Duke in Village when you buy his wares and is mentioned as an old friend who used to say "What are you buying?".
    • The remake possibly implies his true identity and why he's willing to help Leon: Assuming he's the one writing the requests and not acting as a middle man, based on the wording of some of his requests like asking for a return of an heirloom of "our" family and the particular hatred towards the Cult and especially RamĂ³n, it's hinted that he's actually another member of the Salazar family who detests the dishonor that RamĂ³n brought to the Salazar name and wants to contribute anyway possible to bringing down the Cult that destroyed his family.
    • In the remake, Leon and Ada have minor interactions with him, so they at least acknowledge his existence. Ada even lampshades his tendency to set up shop in certain locations, which he even replies to.
  • Token Heroic Orc: His eyes glow red at night, indicating that he's (apparently) a host for a Plagas. Yet he does not attack any of the protagonists and actively helps them by selling them much needed weaponry and gear. It's possible, like Luis, he and his Plagas has each other's personalities, and maintains his own individuality.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can show your "appreciation" towards the Merchant's high prices by slashing him with your knife or shooting him, which will kill him on the spot. Though, eggs thrown to the face that would stun the increasingly bullet-resistant Ganados don't make him even flinch. Although he will continue to appear later in the game, even on Professional difficulty, meaning you can murder him to your heart's content on all difficulty settings. The remake, on the other hand, makes him unkillable.
  • Video Game Cruelty Punishment: Killing him will permanently remove him from the area you're currently in, so this may not be worth it if you still needed to obtain supplies or purchase upgrades before you find the next location where he's set up shop. Subverted in the remake, where the Merchant is outright invincible and only reacts in irritation if the player throws an egg at him.
  • We Buy Anything: "I'll buy it fer a high price." Funnily enough, one of his lines in the remake has him saying he buys almost anything.
  • We Sell Everything: Well, everything you need to survive a zombie-infested Spanish town. Except ammo, despite occasionally being shown with crates of the stuff, and obviously having enough to completely restock a weapon each time whenever Leon has its capacity increased.
  • Will-o'-the-Wisp: Inverted, in the sense that the light leads you towards safety. His various campsites are marked from a distance by a strong, blue flame that contrasts the darker environments. At one point, when Ada meets him during the course of Separate Ways, he considers his shop incomplete without it. In the remake, he has both a blue-flamed lantern and the larger lamp burning a purple flame. What's implied is that another reason the Plagas don't bother the Merchant is because of the blue-flamed lantern, the same type that Ashley can use to immobilize the Armadura knights Leon has to fight to get the Lion Head in the remake.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Only shows up in 4, and the last time you see him is before the final battle with Saddler. And after Ada activates the bombs to destroy the island, it's unknown whether or not he escaped. The odds are he did, since he has a habit of showing up in (often dangerous) places in seemingly impossible ways before you do, he probably had a ticket out of there somehow.
  • You Do Not Want To Know: In the remake, the Merchant says this verbatim regarding how he procures his wares.

    Mario Fernandez Castaño/Beard Cop/Veteran Officer 

"Must be my imagination..."
— Beard Cop

"This is one hell of a gloomy place."
— Mario Fernandez Castaño

One of the two Spanish cops who accompany Leon to look for Ashley.
  • Actually Pretty Funny: The remake has him chuckle at Leon's quip about them accompanying Leon out to the woods to roast marshmallows.
  • Adaptational Badass: A Downplayed Example. In the original game he's equally as reluctant to investigate the town as Glasses Cop, instead staying in the car and fobbing the responsibility off to Leon. In the remake, the plot is set in motion by his attempt to investigate the hunting cabin and Leon subsequently going off to find him.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: He's much more affable to Leon in the remake.
  • All There in the Manual: The Famitsu guide for Resident Evil 4 identifies him as "Hige keikan" ("Beard Cop").
  • Deadpan Snarker: He's extremely sarcastic, bordering on being a Jerkass.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the remake, he's found murdered with a bloody throat by the first villager encountered in the game. His corpse is later decapitated and fed to Del Lago.
  • Drinking on Duty: Judging by his need to take a whiz and the newbie's comment, he might've had a few drinks before the trip.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Sort of. He's less bearded and more just in need of a shave.
  • Flat Character: Just a doomed Red Shirt policeman. Downplayed in the remake where he shows more of a chummy side with Leon, and actually investigates the cabin before him.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In the original game, after being captured by the villagers he is impaled on a huge meat hook in the town square and burned at the stake.
  • Named by the Adaptation: The remake gives "beard cop" a name, Mario Fernandez Castaño, though his character is credited as "Veteran Officer".
  • Nature Tinkling: Gets out of the car at one point due to a Potty Emergency to go piss on some bushes.
  • No Name Given: Neither he nor the other officer have names. The closest he gets is in the Famitsu guide (see above) In the remake, however, he's given the name Mario Fernandez Castaño, though the credit refers to him as "Veteran Officer".
  • Red Shirt: His only purpose in the story is to die so that Leon is on his own without any on-site backup.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: He and his partner both die very early in the game.

    Glasses Cop/Newbie Officer 

"Heh, forget your makeup or something?"
— Glasses Cop

"(to Officer Castaño) Did you drink the whole bar?"
— Newbie Officer

The other Spanish cop accompanying Leon.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: While he's not that much more helpful to Leon compared to in the original game, he is a fair bit more personable in the remake.
  • All There in the Manual: The Famitsu guide for Resident Evil 4 identifies him as "Megane keikan" ("Glasses Cop").
  • Deadpan Snarker: Not as much as "Beard Cop," but he has his moments.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the remake, he's caught by the villagers in his SUV and is burned alive in the village square.
  • The Driver: Drives the police SUV.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: He's a police officer wearing glasses.
  • Fed to the Beast: After being captured in the original, he's tossed into the lake by the villagers and eaten by Del Lago.
  • Flat Character: He has even less characterization than his partner.
  • Foil: Could be considered one to Leon in the remake.
    • Like Leon was back in Raccoon City, he is a rookie cop. While Leon was an extremely gifted police officer more than capable of surviving the horrors of the outbreak, the newbie cop got captured and killed by the villagers presumably without much of a fight.
    • Leon was no-nonsense and took his job seriously. The newbie cop is pretty casual about his superior drinking on the job and would rather let Leon go looking for him when he goes missing.
    • Leon cared greatly for his superior officer, Marvin Branagh and tried getting help for him as soon as possible. The newbie cop sees his superior disappear for a while and refuse to pick up, and doesn't care to lift a finger to help him.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: In the remake, he's unwilling to leave the SUV to investigate what happened to his partner, leaving Leon to go search for him alone. This left him an easy picking for the villagers when things inevitably go south, since there is nobody around to help out.
  • No Name Given: The closest he gets is in the Famitsu guide (see above), and the credits for the 2023 simply refer to him as "Newbie Officer".
  • Red Shirt: A nameless cop in a Resident Evil game? Yep, he's gonna die pretty quick. Incidentally, his shirt under the uniform is pink in the original version.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: He and his partner both die very early in the game.

    The Dog 
"Hey, it's that dog!"

A white-furred dog found in the village with its leg caught in a bear trap. Leon can just ignore it and keep moving... or free it, and this act of kindness can pay off handsomely in the future.
  • Adaptational Badass: The dog is much tougher in the remake than it was in the original where it merely distracted El Gigante. Now, it actually attacks the beast, crippling it to give Leon the chance to get some free hits in.
  • Androcles' Lion: It comes to Leon's rescue during the El Gigante fight to repay Leon for freeing it from a bear trap earlier.
  • Badass in Distress: The dog already earned major points for coming down and barking at El Gigante in the original, but in the remake, it actually bites the giant and isn't fussed by being flung to the side by it.
  • Boss-Altering Consequence: If you rescue the dog from the bear trap, it will help you during the El Gigante fight by distracting it.
  • Death by Adaptation: A dog can be found lying dead with its foot caught in a bear trap very early into the remake. Eagle-eyed players will notice that this dog has dark fur, which the original dog did not have. Sure enough, the actual white-furred dog can be found later, stuck in a different trap true to form, and Leon can save it.
  • Heroic Dog: When every other dog you meet is a plaga monster trying to kill you, this doggy being on your side can be refreshing.
  • Karmic Jackpot: Freeing it from the bear trap leads to it helping you fight El Gigante later.
  • Video Game Caring Potential: One of the most famous examples. Leon can rescue it from the bear trap and it will come back later to help him in the fight against El Gigante.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: Just leaving the poor thing there, of course. There is no overt Video Game Cruelty Punishment for it, but the fight against El Gigante will be a bit harder, especially in the remake.

Los Iluminados

    General 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/los_illuminados_logo.png
"The people of this world shall become one through the Holy Body. All nations, religions, creeds. With one will and one God. We shall witness the coming of a paradise free of misfortune. Like a babe in the womb, the subjects of my kingdom need only drift about in tranquility."
— Osmund Saddler, 4 (2023)

A cult-turned-bioterrorist organization operating in a rural part of Spain. The cult has existed since ancient times, worshipping a parasite known as Las Plagas. The first castellan of the Salazar family eventually sealed the parasite and outlawed the cult. In the 1990s, Osmund Saddler, the cult's new leader, rediscovers Las Plagas and spreads it to the nearby village. By 2004, the cult has attracted the attention of the outside world; Albert Wesker sends an agent to infiltrate Los Iluminados in order to get a sample of Las Plagas.
  • Cult: They started as a small one, revering an ancient parasite. By Saddler's time, they have grown in numbers.
  • Decapitated Army: In the remake, Saddler's death causes all of Las Plagas inside Los Iluminados to wither and die, destroying the organization.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: In Vendetta, they were the ones who provided Glenn Arias with a sample of Las Plagas, who then incorporates it into his A-Virus. The novelization reveals they have been planning the exact their revenge on Leon for the past decade and have been collaborating with the Family to kill their mutual enemy. The DC mission that got Leon's team killed was the result of said collaboration.
  • Outside-Context Problem: In the greater story of the Resident Evil series. While the Plagas would later be used by Wesker in Resident Evil 5 they, Saddler and his cult are the only source of monsters in the series not linked in to Umbrella and Oswell Spencer's story.
  • The Remnant: Following the death of Saddler in 2004, the remaining members of Los Iluminados have been hiding in secrecy. Ten years later, they are in contact with Glenn Arias and the Family, providing the former with samples of Las Plagas for the development of his A-Virus.

    Osmund Saddler 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/osmundsaddlerremake.png
Saddler in Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Saddler in Resident Evil 4 (2005).

Voiced by: Michael J. Gough (4 2005), Christopher Jane (4 2023), Hōchū Ōtsuka (JP 4, 2023)

"The American prevailing is a cliché that only happens in your Hollywood movies."

The mastermind behind the Los Iluminados cult with ambitions to spread Las Plagas on a global scale. He had Krauser capture the president's daughter with the intent to infect her with Las Plagas and then return her to the White House and have her infect high-ranking officials and international diplomats, which would ensure the spread of Las Plagas across the United States and eventually the entire world.
  • Actually Pretty Funny: In the original game, Saddler usually treats Leon's quips and insults with smug amusement. When he tries to introduce Leon to U-3, however, Leon's answer seems to catch him unprepared and genuinely makes him laugh.
    Saddler: Ah... I have an idea. Since you're here why don't I introduce you to "it". It should keep you busy.
    Leon: Can't remember the name? A senior moment perhaps.
    Saddler: (makes a "Guess I walked into that one." laugh) Enjoy the fun.
  • Adaptational Badass: Saddler gains a beefier appearance and a second transformation in the 2023 remake, where he is surrounded by several giant tentacles which prevent Leon from getting close to him. He also manages to survive the rocket launcher and is only really finished when Leon impales him through the eyeball with his own staff.
  • Adaptational Dumbass: Downplayed. In the original game, he was a schemer trying to take over the world and was implied to be completely in control of his mental faculties despite being a Plagas host. In the remake, it's implied that he doesn't have any will of his own and was enslaved by Las Plagas like the rest of his followers, only fixated on making sure the parasites spread all over the world - however, he's just as much a Mad Scientist as in the original, making this more a Loss of Identity rather than a loss of actual competence.
  • Adaptational Hairstyle Change: From a brown, slicked back hair in the original to absolute baldness in the 2023 remake. This was likely done to display the growing Plagas on his head.
  • Adaptational Intelligence: All of the above being said, however, the remake also omits Saddler's severe mistake of outright telling Leon and Ashley his plans at the first opportunity. Saddler also doesn't kill Luis and then just leaves Leon to continue being a thorn in his side, since he doesn't actually do it himself.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: A downplayed example, since he's still a megalomaniac-to-murderously twisted man in the 2023 remake, but now framed as a Well-Intentioned Extremist who sincerely believes what he preaches. The original game implied that he didn't truly believe in the teachings of Los Iluminados and was more interested in accumulating power and taking over the world - through the localization has a line about barring the United States to not "police the world forever". The remake has him claiming that he wants to spread Las Plagas because he wants to bring peace and unity to a world that he sees is filled with hate and suffering. As a result, the remake's version of Saddler does not share the original incarnation's bigotry against Americans.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: The original game had Saddler as a Large Ham supervillain seeking to Take Over the World, in keeping with the action movie tone. The 2023 remake meanwhile incorporates the additional lore provided by Biohazard and Village into the Las Plagas, and consequently makes Saddler a much more low-key and sinister character, with the strong implication that he is ultimately nothing more than a puppet for a larger Hive Mind.
  • Adaptational Ugliness: While already looking slimy as hell in the original, he looks more blatantly monstrous in the remake, being completely bald to showcase the Plagas growth growing out of the back of his skull.
  • Adaptational Villainy: And to complete the changes in his character, Saddler’s plan is much more ambitious in the 2023 remake. In the original, Saddler is a self-aware scummy arms dealer using his religion in an obvious con and it’s clear he doesn't believe a word of it, using Los Iluminados to facilitate a power grab. In the remake, he’s a true believer and Saddler fully intends to use Ashley as the first step to infecting the entire world with him as a savior "from the tyranny of free will".
  • Affably Evil: The remake portrays him as a somewhat more cordial, but still very self-lovingly malicious, being who, unlike his original counterpart, sincerely sees the Plaga as a twisted means to unite the world. In either version, he almost never raises his voice against Leon and Ashley, even after Leon has just shot him in the head in the remake, where he constantly tries to bring them to his side. This attitude eventually crumbles by the final battle, where he's become enraged at Leon's constant thwarting of his attempts to spread the Plaga.
  • America Saves the Day: In the original game, Saddler references this trope before fighting Leon and promises to subvert it. This, of course, is ultimately played straight.
  • The Assimilator: The horror of Saddler in the remake is derived from his ability to completely replace an infected person's will with his own, causing them to do horrific acts in his name; the ultimate goal is that the Plaga's Hive Mind will bring the entire world under Saddler's control. The first demonstration is when he takes over Ashley's body and threatens to make her slit her own throat unless she splits up with Leon. He's powerful enough that he can control them from an island miles away from the village.
  • Bad Boss: In the remake compared to the original.
    • When Ashley ends up shooting two of Saddler's followers after he tried to make her shoot Leon with his own gun, he pays no mind at all to their loss.
    • Despite being his core lieutenants, Saddler makes no mention whatsoever of MĂ©ndez nor Salazar, despite the two of them devoting their lives and effort to him. In the original, Saddler had at least an ongoing Villainous Friendship with them and considered them essential pieces in his plan.
  • Bald of Evil: While he has brown, slicked back hair in the original, Saddler in the remake is now completely bald, exposing some kind of Plagas growth on the back of his head.
  • Big Bad: For Resident Evil 4, as the leader of Los Iluminados, and the ultimate authority behind MĂ©ndez, Salazar, and Krauser in the remake.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: He's ultimately little more than a psychotic cult leader with aspirations of world domination. Unlike more prominent antagonists in the franchise, he doesn't really pose much of a threat beyond his fairly isolated community. In the end, Saddler has little impact on the franchise other than Las Plagas ending up on the global black market, and his Take Over the World attempt is far less successful than others. note 
  • Black Speech: In the final battle of the remake, if you let Saddler finish his motive rant during the fight, he'll start muttering and speaking in Spanish. But thanks to his current mutated form, it now sounds a lot more like eldritch garble. He's actually repeating the same chants the rank-and-file Ganados do when they're wandering around the castle or village.
  • Body Horror: Outside of his One-Winged Angel form, Saddler in the remake has a Plagas growth growing out of the back of his head that looks like it erupted through his skull.
  • Bond Villain Stupidity: In the original game, he had a habit of having a chance to kill Leon, only to waltz off for whatever reason, such as when Saddler is able to force Leon to his knees and paralyzes him with a gesture, he simply says something ominous and leaves. (Then sets up a trap to have him killed.) This isn't the case in the remake, where he's fully intent on seeing Leon's transformation through, and is only thwarted thanks to Ada's timely intervention.
  • Catch and Return: If you pump enough bullets into him during the Separate Ways boss fight, he fires them back at Ada by forcing them out his hand.
  • Clipped-Wing Angel: His final phase in the remake is much easier than the fights that came before it, with a glaringly visible weak point and his only attacks being some tentacle swipes that aren't too hard to figure out. From there, it's only a matter of wearing him down until Ada throws over the rocket launcher.
  • Combat Tentacles: These are most prominent during his boss fight in Separate Ways, or when he tries strangling Leon with them in the remake. He also kills Luis with a tentacle from between his legs in the original game, in a move that fans affectionately call the "Wangpale".
  • Creepy Blue Eyes: He sports these in the remake, fitting his nature as a creepy cult leader longing for world domination. It's much more emphasized whenever Leon has visions of him, with much of his face shrouded in darkness while his eyes are particularly glowing.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Surprisingly for a horrifying cult leader, Saddler carries himself with a laid back and sarcastic attitude. His conversations with Leon can best be described as snark-offs compared to the more volatile exchanges physically with Bitores and more verbally with Salazar. Less so in the remake, where Saddler is portrayed as a much more serious villain.
  • Death of Personality: The remake heavily implies that whatever kind of man Saddler used to be, that man no longer exists by the end of the game. When Osmund died exactly is academic, but during the final boss fight, Saddler eventually stops speaking intelligently. He's not mindless, but he claims to hear the voices of those who died for his faith, laughs insanely, and continually repeats the same chants the regular Ganados do. The implication is all the physical trauma Leon and Ada put him through caught up to Saddler somehow.
  • Demoted to Extra: Heavily downplayed, but Saddler has fewer physical appearances in the remake than in the original game. He isn't physically present in the church where Leon first rescues Ashley and he isn't present in Salazar's castle where he kills Luis (Krauser is the one who does the deed). Apart from being seen through Plagas induced visions early on, he only makes his actual appearance by about a third of the game's runtime.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the original, Saddler either succumbs to Leon's gunfire or gets incinerated by the special rocket launcher that Ada threw to Leon. In the remake, he dies after he gets stabbed in the eye by his own staff, after being hit by the special rocket launcher.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: In the remake, he seems genuinely baffled that anyone would refuse to accept the Plaga, treating Leon and Ashley like lost and confused children who need to be corrected for their mistake.
  • Evil Overlord: Downplayed. His authority doesn't extend much beyond Pueblo and Salazar's castle. Still got the hordes of monsters and world-conquering ambitions, though.
  • Eyes Do Not Belong There: He's got an eye in his mouth that only pops out when he's taken a lot of damage. He also has eyes on the legs that grow out of his face in One-Winged Angel mode.
  • Faux Affably Evil: While he speaks in an affable tone sometimes, he harbors grim threats and sarcasm. When Leon makes quips at his expense, Saddler always responds with a good-natured chuckle before telling him in a conversational tone how Leon will not succeed or be threatened, and usually keeps from sounding agitated when Leon goads him. Even when Leon manages to rescue Ashley at the Island after being cured of Las Plagas via the Plagas Removal Laser, Saddler's only reaction is to express amusement at him for managing to foil his plans before transforming. This, of course, does not change the fact that he is a depraved, megalomaniacal cult leader who has infected scores of innocent people with his personality-altering Las Plagas parasites. Downplayed in the remake which opts for a more classic Affably Evil attitude; he even seems genuinely upset when his minions in his Flunky Boss form die.
  • Final Boss: As to be expected, Saddler is the final opponent Leon must face before he can finish his mission. He's also this for Separate Ways, where Ada fights him in his human form, though there is one more brief section with some regular enemies afterwards.
  • Final-Exam Boss: In the original, Saddler uses attack patterns based on all three types of regular enemy Plaga. The remake takes this up a notch by giving him references to all the prior major Plaga-infected bosses in both forms. He has an acid spray like Salazar, massive claws like Mendez, his insectoid arms are sharpened and bladed like Krauser, and he's gigantic like Del Lago. He also imitates Mendez's tactic of fighting from range, but calls in backup from the Novistadors instead of throwing rubble at you. His second form likewise borrows from Mendez, in that he stays at range and smashes you with his giant tentacles.
  • Flash Step: He's quite fond of using this during his boss fight with Ada. Unlike Wesker, he doesn't use it to dodge bullets but to charge.
  • Flunky Boss: In the remake, he starts summoning Novistadors to attack Leon after he's taken some damage.
  • Forehead of Doom: He has a notably large forehead on his character model.
  • Good Hair, Evil Hair: Slicked back hair, stereotypical for a villain. It's traded out for a full-blown Bald of Evil in the remake.
  • Healing Factor: Leon fires a bullet right into his eye, and Saddler just calmly regenerates it with no effort.
  • Hidden Depths: Judging from his experiments on the parasite and that he is able to own a private army, Saddler is clearly more than just a priest of a small village.
  • Hive Mind: Using supersonic waves from his staff, he can control anyone or anything who hosts a Plaga, with a few possible exceptions. In the remake, this is reinterpreted as Saddler being the mouth of the existing Las Plagas hive mind rather than a fully-conscious Las Plagas controller.
  • Idiot Ball:
    • The entire plot of Resident Evil 4 makes considerably more sense on every possible level if you assume that receiving his master Plaga turned Saddler into a delusional psychopath who's unwilling to admit that he could possibly be wrong or be defeated. And as part of his research, Saddler had Luis build a machine in the research building that could kill Las Plagas without damaging the host under certain conditions. Knowing full well that the machine was still operational and that it was very near where he was holding Ashley, Saddler made no effort to destroy the machine. Lo and behold, Ashley and Leon found it and used it to get rid of their parasites.
    • In his first actual encounter with Leon in the remake, he actually does try to kill him by forcibly controlling the Plagas infested Ashley into shooting Leon with his own gun. When she manages to resist and waste several bullets on two of his attendants, only failing to shoot Leon due to the gun jamming, Saddler then decides to just leave with Ashley and hope that the Plagas parasite inside Leon will eventually take full control. As mentioned below in Underestimating Badassery, Saddler makes no attempt to restrain him and lets the parasite do its work without interruption.
  • Immune to Bullets: In the original game, when Ada pours several machine gun bullets into him, it merely stuns him for a few seconds, after which he ejects all the bullets out of his hands and then walks through a second round of fire. In the remake, the same thing happens, though Ada actually succeeds in briefly incapacitating him before he recovers and overpowers her off-screen.
  • Interim Villain: Unlike other antagonists in the series, he is not connected to Umbrella. Albert Wesker takes the role as main villain in Resident Evil 5. Makes sense, Leon's stories were never tied with Wesker.
  • In the Hood: Wears a hood for most of the game. In the remake, it makes the reveal of the Plaga on the back of his head more shocking.
  • Kick the Dog: The remake adds quite a few moments of him putting Ashley in traumatizing situations.
    • In the castle segment, he briefly takes control of her in order to drop Leon's guard and steal his knife, threatening to slit her throat if Leon doesn't comply.
    • Late in the game, he takes control of her once again to force her to shoot Leon with the latter's own gun. She thankfully resists Saddler enough to aim for his acolytes instead.
  • King Mook: It's a little more obvious in the original, but Saddler's boss form is a scaled up version of all the regular head-replacing parasites the regular Ganado sprout, and references all three types of those Plaga variants. The original game even has his One-Winged Angel form burst out of his neck like with his minions, with his human body going limp and being dragged around by his new appendages. This is still the case in the remake, but the body is a bit more obscured by various tentacles.
  • Knight Templar: He appears to sincerely believe the Plaga will create utopia in the 2023 remake, never once questioning the morality of his actions.
  • Last-Name Basis: No one calls him Osmund but himself.
  • Laughing Mad: In the final battle of the remake. In addition to ranting about how he wants to spread Las Plagas across the world in order to cleanse the world of sin, Saddler will occasionally cackle like a complete lunatic as he chases after Leon around the arena. Considering how here in the remake, where it's implied the original man that was Saddler is gone and all that's left is a parasite wearing his skin, it's quite possible that the Master Plaga controlling him is not only intelligent, but is truly and completely insane.
  • Loss of Identity: In the remake, Saddler is portrayed as a legitimate cult leader who fully believes in the doctrines of Los Iluminados and has had a family lineage within the organization for some time. However, it's heavily implied that becoming a host for Las Plagas made it so the man he used to be no longer exists, and in his place is simply a parasite in human skin which seeks to spread itself across the world to add to its Hive Mind. The fact that its host is a cult leader makes their pairing an ideal match to accomplish the parasite's desires.
  • Motive Rant: In the remake, Saddler's Villainous Breakdown during his boss fight has him rant angrily at how human suffering can finally end by uniting in a Hive Mind, making it clear that he's a genuine Well-Intentioned Extremist.
  • Mouth of Sauron: In the remake, it's implied that he's a mouth for the Master Plaga parasite that's using his corpse as a suit.
  • Mysterious Past: Saddler's past is a complete mystery and judging by his non-Spanish name, he is very likely an outsider. What is equally confusing is how he is able to amass a lot of funds to own his own private army on a private island. In the remake, some of this is fleshed out: He's a descendant of one of the original Los Iluminados whom fled to the island and took it over after they were exiled by the first Count Salazar. Everything else remains a mystery, however.
  • No, You:
    • In the original game:
      Saddler: Perhaps you are disillusioned with overconfidence just because you killed my small-time subordinate?
      Leon: Saddler, you're small-time.
    • While this exchange doesn't happen in the remake, the achievement for defeating Saddler echoes Leon's above line.
  • Odd Name Out: Despite presumably being Spanish, neither his first nor last names are Spanish in origin. The remake expands on it by revealing the names of his ancestors, also clearly not Spanish.
  • One-Winged Angel: The final battle against him has Saddler transform into a spider-like monstrosity, with his own face becoming a monstrous tripartite claw with an eyeball inside his mouth. He gains a second transformation in the 2023 remake, where his already bulky body grows to truly gargantuan size, gaining more tentacles while becoming stationary.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: His attitude in the remake verges on collected and Affably Evil for the most part. But by the time Leon's cured himself and thwarted Saddler's plans, the latter has nothing left but pure, unbridled fury.
  • People Puppets: In the remake when Leon and Ashley resist his Mind Control, Saddler uses the Plagas in their bodies to control their body movements.
  • Phallic Weapon: In the original game, the tentacles he uses to kill Luis emerge from somewhere beneath his robes.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Makes it quite clear he is not fond of Americans, more so in the English localized script. Inverted in the remake, where he states that he plans to unite people of all races, nations and creeds in his planned utopia, without any prejudice.
  • Properly Paranoid: In the original game, he never really trusted Krauser, who was indeed working for Wesker. Whether he knew it was Wesker (or even knew about Wesker at all) is debatable at best, but he suspected Krauser was working for someone else, forcing Krauser to call in Ada to assist him, and suspected a third organization aside from the US Government was involved when Ada showed up. This is no longer the case in the remake, where he never voices any suspicions about Krauser, and Krauser never hints at being The Mole either.
  • Religion of Evil: Whether or not Saddler actually believes in the religion of Los Iluminados is unclear, but he is their leader and is at least using them as a cover for his own goals. In the remake, he's fully onboard with the cult and plans to spread the Plagas worldwide.
  • Satanic Archetype: Leader of a Religion of Evil with hordes of brainwashed followers who all share a distinguishing feature (infection with Las Plagas) and armies of monsters at his command? About the only thing missing is triple sixes thrown everywhere.
  • Say My Name: In the remake, both Mendez and Salazar shout his name in a vein and desperate attempt for help in their dying breaths.
  • Sinister Minister: Sinister Pope, more like. The Head Honcho of the Los Iluminados cult. Also if the credits pictures are anything to go by, he came to the village initially as a priest.
  • Smug Snake: He brushes off every defeat Leon hands him with condescending arrogance. His Villainous Breakdown is basically him making a frowny face for about a second before resuming his usual smarmy tone and going One-Winged Angel.
  • The Sociopath: The original incarnation. Aside from the whole "taking over the world by turning everyone into brainwashed Parasite Zombies with Puppeteer Parasites" thing, there's this quote from after killing Mike:
    It's nothing to get all upset about. Don't tell me you've never swatted a bothersome fly. In essence, it's the same thing.
  • Soft-Spoken Sadist: He almost never raises his voice and speaks in a polite, soft tone, even when faced with defeat. Not so much in the remake, where he's less openly sadistic and is more bombastic like you'd expect from a delusional Sinister Minister.
  • Suddenly Voiced: The remake has him still able to talk, rather often, in his One-Winged Angel form with a Voice of the Legion.
  • Super-Speed: In human form, Saddler can move very quickly. He almost seems to hover along the ground as he does so.
  • The Symbiote: The other implication of Saddler's new powers is that he and the dominant Plaga he's bonded with in the remake coexist in harmony rather than one controlling the other. Saddler was obviously infected by the Amber, but he's not acting any differently than he would have even if he hadn't been exposed. The parasite's only goal is to spread, and if Saddler is doing its job for it, why destroy him?
  • Take Over the World: Essentially his ultimate goal, using Las Plagas to infect humanity, starting with the United States by infecting Ashley with a Plaga.
  • Terms of Endangerment: In the remake, he frequently refers to Ashley and Leon as "lost little lambs", implying they're the ones in need of saving from him personally. It's creepy every time.
  • Tranquil Fury: Despite Leon continuously sabotaging his plans and rendering everything that he’s worked for All for Nothing, he never loses his composure, and communicates his displeasure in the form of increasingly crueler barbs and a seething Death Glare all the way up until he finally decides to do away with subtlety and go One-Winged Angel.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Constantly. He senses that Leon will fall to the parasitic control despite Leon managing to survive everything he throws at him, especially when he does have Leon dead to rights a few times but doesn't bother to finish him. By the time he finally decides to get serious in the finale, the area he fights Leon in was more advantageous to Leon than to him, leading to Saddler's death.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: In the remake, he wants to bring an end to war and discrimination by spreading Las Plagas across the world.
  • Villain Ball: It's not clear why he's persistent in keeping Ashley for ransom. Had he just quietly returned her, or allowed Leon to rescue her before he could get to the bottom of things, nobody would've known she was infected until it was too late. On the other hand, it's hinted that he couldn't give her up even with her infected, as more needed to be done with her as shown on the island.
  • Villainous Breakdown: An understated one in the original. He keeps his smug tone, and only shows how angry he is with a small scowl and a Death Glare, but once he discovers that Leon found a way to remove his Plaga, and Ashley probably did too, Saddler decides to get serious. In the remake, he's much more upset about the two of them removing the Plagas and starts raging about their "heresy" while trying to kill Leon.
    You... FOUL RENEGADES!!... You have forsaken the holy body... the great gift to become one with us!... (fully transforms) You require... ABSOLUTION!!!
  • Villainous Friendship: One of the papers the player can find at the Island indicates that he was rather disheartened when both Bitores MĂ©ndez and RamĂ³n Salazar were slain by Leon. Or at the very least, he considered them "difficult to replace".
  • Villainous Widow's Peak: While it's normally covered by his hood, the times we see him without it show a prominent widows peak. Not so much in the remake, where he's completely bald.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the remake, he claims he wants to spread Las Plagas all over the world because the parasite's Hive Mind would finally bring unity to a world full of suffering and conflict.
  • Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him?: Despite multiple opportunities to kill Leon personally, Saddler never gives up hope that Leon will succumb to Las Plagas and, in turn, his mind control. This comes back to bite him in the end.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Extra material shows that several children were injected with the Plaga and died horribly from the side effects, all of which Saddler oversaw and encouraged.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: In the original game, Saddler mocks Leon's intention to save the President's daughter and stop his evil plan by claiming "the American prevailing" is just a Hollywood clichĂ©, and he'll wake Leon up from his world of clichĂ©s. Their meeting ends with Leon blowing Saddler to kingdom come with a bazooka, and from there the rest of the game plays out like a Hollywood action movie: Ada betrays Leon for the sample but leaves him the keys to a jetski so he can escape, Saddler's island starts blowing up and Leon and Ashley narrowly Outrun the Fireball, Ashley flirts with Leon while they ride off into the sunset, and credits roll.

    RamĂ³n Salazar 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/re4_2023_ramon_salazar.png
Salazar in Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Salazar in Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Voiced by: Rene Mujica (4 2005), Marcio Moreno (4 2023), Chō (JP 4 2023)

The eighth castellan of the Salazar family castle and a high-ranking member of Los Iluminados, Salazar played a huge part in Saddler's plans by excavating fossilized Las Plagas and donating them to his cause. He causes Leon and Ashley a lot of trouble when they wander into his castle.


  • Acid Attack: One of his One-Winged Angel attacks in the remake has him spew out corrosive black acid at Leon.
  • Adaptational Badass: In the 2005 game, RamĂ³n never displays any kind of power from his Plagas infestation besides having command over the many dangerous mutants that reside in his castle, and it takes fusing with a giant, stationary monster, amnn apparent Plaga quee plus one of his Verdugos for him to even have the guts to face Leon in direct combat. His 2023 self, in contrast, is fully capable of transforming into a stronger, monstrous form on his own, which also grants him enhanced speed and spider-like mobility. This difference in strength is reflected in how the two Salazars react to injury: the 2005 version starts whimpering and flees after Leon throws a knife that impales his hand, whereas the 2023 version becomes incensed when Leon shoots him thrice, not once cowering. To go with this, Salazar is treated as a genuine threat in the remake as opposed to being treated as a joke in the original.
  • Adaptational Hairstyle Change: He trades in his ponytail for a powdered wig in the remake.
  • Adaptational Name Change: Downplayed in the remake. He introduces himself simply as RamĂ³n, though he does say his full name during his boss battle.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: Much like Saddler, Salazar is a lot more low-key and serious in the remake, contrasting the hammy and childish brat he was in the 2005 original.
  • Adaptational Ugliness: Though never a looker, Salazar had an oddly boyish and youthful face even though he was supposed to appear old in the original game. In the 2023 remake, however, his face was severely aged and given some exposed veins, matching his intended appearance of a withered and decrepit old man despite being only twenty years old.
  • Adaptational Villainy: Downplayed in the remake, as Salazar is already an unpleasant guy whom one could easily argue with to begin with, but the memos you get across the castle imply that he's already an asshole in-and-out even before Saddler entered the scene and being infected with the Plaga, as opposed to the original where he was apparently a lot more composed in the past.
  • Ain't Too Proud to Beg: In the remake, when he is moments away from death, rather than trash-talk Leon yet again. RamĂ³n screams out and pathetically begs his master, Lord Saddler, to save him.
  • Arc Villain: Of the castle section, which comprises Chapters 7-12 in the remake.
  • Bad Boss: Implied. Salazar owns a throne room with a trapdoor floor in the center that leads into a spiked pit, which he uses to try to kill Leon. In the pit, many corpses of his subordinates can be seen. Even moreso in the remake, where the post-boss battle memo that you get describes him as cruel even before being swayed into following Saddler's side, like pouring sulfuric acid into a poor servant who called him a "thumbnail" behind his back. Even after everyone else being assimilated into the Los Iluminados, his servants regarded him with little respect and wanted him to get kicked out of the picture as soon as they could.
  • Berserk Button: In the remake, insulting or making fun of RamĂ³n's height is a major sore spot for him. He once had sulfuric acid poured down a servant for calling him "thumbnail" behind his back, and according to a note, he absolutely hates his childhood nickname, Pulgarcito, which is the Spanish name for the fairytale character Tom Thumb.
  • Black Sheep: A lot of his dialogue in the remake and a note showing his absolute hatred for his childhood nickname, Pulgarcito, indicate that he was seen by even his own family as unworthy of inheriting his distinguished family's name. Whether or not the rejection was because of his deformed appearance or him being a vicious little monster even in childhood (to say nothing of if the former was responsible for the latter or if he was a bad seed from the start) is left up in the air.
  • Body Horror: Due to a genetic defect, he's the size of a child, but he's already got gray, stringy hair and wrinkled skin that makes him look like a dying old man. It's evidently a side-effect of being infected with Las Plagas: A portrait of him looking much younger and more healthy can be found in his castle. And that's not getting into when he allows himself to be merged with the Queen Plaga and his Verdugo.
  • Boss-Altering Consequence: He has an egg allergy in the remake, and if you saved a Golden Egg beforehand, then you can throw it at him to remove 70% of his health.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: A twisted version. He's a grown man with a tiny body, and his tantrums resemble those of a little spoiled brat.
  • Captain Obvious: At one point in a radio call with Leon, Salazar asks with deadly seriousness (assuming he did not mean "without serving some purpose"): "Did you know no one dies without a cause?"
  • Chewing the Scenery: He likes to emphasize his words while talking like "SHE will JOIN US, BECOME one of us."
  • Cold Ham: In contrast to the loud, screaming bombastic and theatrical original, the remake Salazar is calm, polite and genteel, with the malice of every polite whisper cold enough to turn the blood in your veins into ice.
  • Co-Dragons: With MĂ©ndez to Saddler, being the little guy to MĂ©ndez's big guy.
  • Compensating for Something: Giant mecha Salazar GO!!!
  • The Corruptible: He would have simply been a Psychopathic Manchild spoiled brat, but after his mother asked Los Iluminados for help when he became deathly ill, Saddler indoctrinated Ramon into the cult after curing his illness, which led Salazar to excavate and release the imprisoned Plagas from the caves below the castle.
  • The Dandy: Salazar gaudily displays his noble heritage by dressing like a little Regency-era fancy lad in a royal blue, gilt-edged great coat, a weskit, buckle shoes, and even a tricorne. It's somehow more pronounced in the remake: His cravat is frillier, he styles his hair in a giant grey bouffant that resembles a powdered wig, and he drops a compact of lip rouge after his death.
  • Death Trap: His castle is chock full of them, from spiked pits to closing walls, making it actually more dangerous.
  • Depraved Dwarf: He's short, but much more gleefully sadistic than the physically towering Bitores MĂ©ndez.
  • Demoted to Extra: Heavily downplayed, but like Saddler, because of the removal of intercom communications, Salazar is less present in the plot with him not interacting as much with Leon in the remake.
  • Devour the Dragon: He fuses with the second Verdugo when going One-Winged Angel.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: He's a literal example of this in the original GameCube version, as the game is contained in two discs, and the first disc ends with the boss fight against him.
  • Does Not Like Spam: And he is deathly allergic to said spam i.e golden eggs. If he gets hit by two golden eggs, he's done for.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: He was unfavorably compared to the first Salazar castellan, who was known to the villagers as a folk hero who eliminated the Los Iluminados cult centuries ago. In addition to his current faith in Los Iluminados, Salazar could have released the Plagas as a way to spite his ancestor.
  • Ear Ache: After he drops Leon into a pit, he attempts to listen to Leon's screams through an earphone. Leon responds by firing his gun directly next to the earphone's outlet, blowing out Salazar's eardrum. Subverted in the remake. While you can shoot the speakers that RamĂ³n talks to Leon through to shut him up, it only elicits an amused chuckle from him.
  • Enfant Terrible: In the remake, one diary you can find reveals that Ramon was a sadist even as a young boy. He brought a servant girl to his room and then poured acid on her face just to watch her agony for fun.
  • Evil Is Hammy: Dear sweet Lord. With MĂ©ndez being The Quiet One and Saddler not taking center stage until the final act, it's up to Salazar to fill in the gap, and boy does he deliver, horking down chunks of scenery in every one of his scenes and indulging in practically every villainous clichĂ© in the book.
  • Evil Old Folks: He's only twenty years old, but due to his Plagas infection, he resembles a withered old man, especially in the 2023 remake.
  • Faith–Heel Turn: He was once a Christian but converted his faith to the local Los Iluminados cult shortly before being approached by Saddler.
  • Faux Affably Evil: In contrast to the original where he constantly belittles Leon's actions with screaming tantrums and childish verbal jeers, Salazar in the remake is a cordial gentleman who consistently addresses Leon with genteel respect, even going as far as to warmly insist "Please, call me Ramon" during their introduction, never losing his cool until the agent fills him with bullets, causing the gentleman to literally explode mentally and physically into the savage monster that he really is inside.
  • First-Name Basis: Invoked in the remake. He insists on being referred to only by his first name, RamĂ³n.
  • Flunky Boss: During his boss fight in the original game, he spawns weak Plagas monsters on the lower floor of the room.
  • Foil: To Bitores MĂ©ndez. While MĂ©ndez was a rather serious character and his encounters with Leon were typically rather frightening, Leon's encounters with Salazar tend to be rather humorous. While MĂ©ndez was typically rather cold and unfeeling, Salazar is gleefully sadistic, at least if he feels offended. MĂ©ndez was a man of few words, while Salazar loves hearing himself talk. MĂ©ndez fought Leon himself after deliberately setting a trap for him, but Salazar fights Leon as a last resort, with the help of his bodyguards and a giant plant monster. Finally, while MĂ©ndez initially decided against killing Leon himself due to him possessing a Plaga, Salazar is quite eager to do so.
  • Freudian Excuse: In the remake, during Salazar's boss battle, he mentions that Leon reminds him of his father and later, as he becomes more frustrated, calls Leon a sickly, ugly half-wit demon child that should be sent back to hell, as if he were reliving a confrontation he and his father had at one point.
  • Gameplay and Story Integration: In the remake, when you see a request to deface his portrait with eggs, this isn't just the game being petty: He actually is lethally allergic to eggs. You can pelt him with two golden eggs and he'll be dead in no time.
  • Giggling Villain: He has this obnoxious little giggle that he busts out whenever he thinks he has the situation under control. Fortunately, as you progress, he finds less and less reason to laugh.
  • Hannibal Lecture:
    • Subverted in the original. Just as Salazar prepares to deliver a presumably well-rehearsed lecture on the nature of terrorism, Leon delivers a brilliant, wordless Shut Up, Hannibal! with a knife through RamĂ³n's palm, which leaves him unable to do anything but whimper and sob as he runs away.
    • Double-subverted in the remake. Salazar, who has already been lecturing Leon constantly throughout the latter's castle exploration, begins to taunt him that he is undeserving of Saddler's "grace" after Krauser escapes with Ashley. Leon, fed up with the little man, responds by shooting him three times in the chest and head, even saying "you talk too much" before he does so. RamĂ³n is far from dead, though, and continues to rant and rave throughout the ensuing boss battle.
  • Hated by All: In the remake, nobody (willingly) gives RamĂ³n any appreciation or respect. Leon is annoyed by him, the Merchant hates his guts and his servants despised him for the cruelty he brought to the Salazar name, until Las Plagas forced them into mindless obedience. Even Lord Saddler himself doesn't seem to care much about his servant, as RamĂ³n asks Krauser to tell their master not to forget about his good servant.
  • Hate Sink: Salazar becomes this in the Remake. Thanks to losing the cheesy and comically evil qualities his original counterpart had, this version is a genuinely repugnant villain, even moreso than Saddler, Krauser and Mendez who at least have sympathetic backstories and understandable motives. Even before his Plagas infestation, Ramon was a sadistic scumbag who tortured and tormented anyone who committed even the tiniest offense against him with glee, just because he could. It's very telling that nobody in the game respects him, including his own servants.
  • Idiot Ball:
    • Despite Ashley being the crux of Saddler's entire Evil Plan to Take Over the World, Salazar on more than one occasion tries to have her, or seemingly allows her to be killed rather than captured. This changes in the remake, where he specifically tells his goons not to harm her.
    • In the remake, he has a golden egg in his throne room, which is he is deathly allergic to. Since Leon can take said egg and use it on him, he sealed his own fate.
  • I'm Melting!: In the original, his final fate is to disintegrate into nothingness alongside his giant plant monster after fusing with it and then taking severe damage from Leon's gunfire. On the other hand, he simply drops dead in the remake.
  • Impaled Palm: Leon's aforementioned Shut Up, Hannibal! moment in the original involves him flinging his knife at Salazar and nailing his left hand to the wall.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: All the way in the original. Despite the sheer resources and amount of powerful minions at his disposal, Leon never once takes Salazar himself seriously despite his efforts; the most serious scene in his castle segment features Saddler at center stage, not Salazar. The remake portrays him as a much more genuine threat, as he manages to keep his composure for the most part and never really makes a fool of himself. Despite this, however, he's still a hammy Psychopathic Manchild who goes out in a very undignified way.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: In the remake, a lot of his attempts to belittle Leon and prop himself up sound a lot like Psychological Projection over being considered the Black Sheep of his distinguished family line.
  • Knight Templar: He wanted to rid the world of sin. However, his method of doing so is to sap people's will by allowing the Los Iluminados cult to plant Las Plagas into them.
  • Last-Name Basis: Not Salazar himself, but he often addresses Leon as "Mr. Kennedy." Becomes a weird case of Middle Name Basis during certain cutscenes in the original, where he refers to Leon as "Mr. Scott" and more amusingly, "Mr. Scott Kennedy."
  • Loners Are Freaks: Before the Los Iluminados incident, RamĂ³n Salazar was the only surviving member of a Spanish noble family that had governed the region for eight generations. Alone in a huge, sprawling castle and with likely only a few servants for company, Salazar's extreme loneliness contributed to his stunted mentality, leaving him vulnerable to Saddler's persuasions to release the Plagas into the world once more.
  • Mister Big: He's not ultimately in charge of the operation, but he's got loads of guys working for him, and is constantly flanked by two massive bodyguards.
  • The Napoleon: Not only is he short, but he also wears a Napoleon-esque outfit (including the hat in the original) and has a violently aggressive personality despite his attempts at acting like a sophisticated gentleman.
  • Obliviously Evil: Sort of. He definitely takes glee in using his death traps, but his diary reveals Los Iluminados fed him lies about what exactly Las Plagas was and painted his heroic ancestor as a bad guy who was persecuting them. He felt the need to unleash them as atonement for this. Having been infected by Las Plagas himself, it's hard to say how he really feels now. Subverted in the remake, where his revamped backstory describes him as having long been a depraved, sadistic person who freaks out violently at even implied insults before he even joined Saddler's cult.
  • One-Winged Angel: In the original, he and his remaining Verdugo become one and turn into some sort of plant thing for his respective boss battle. In the remake, he turns into a giant tentacular ball of flesh with his upper body lodged in its mouth.
  • Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: Whereas Leon regularly and casually throws S and F-Bombs in exasperation and jest, Sallazar makes a concious effort to always use polite and formal vocabulary even when enraged, and never using modern profanity or slang. This is mocked by Leon during their final battle in the remake, where Sallazar screams the rudest word allowed by his practically Victorian Era upbringing:
  • Praetorian Guard: The two Verdugo that follow him around serve this purpose. The first one is sent to fight Leon but the second one is a subversion because he fuses with Salazar to help fuel his employer's fusion with the Queen Plaga.
  • Psychological Projection: He does this quite a bit in the remake during the boss fight with him, much of which seems to stem from his self-loathing at being the Royally Screwed Up Black Sheep of the noble Salazar family. It becomes particularly obvious in how he belittles Leon's size (calling him "small," "tiny," etc.) and physical appearance, and insists on calling Leon "Pulgarcito" during the fight: the player can find a note shortly afterwards that explains this was a name he was called as a child that he particularly hated.
    You tiny, ugly, sickly half-wit! You should never have been born, you demon child! I will send you back to the hell you came from!
    [...]
    Wh-why are you looking at me like that!? At me, THE RamĂ³n Salazar! You, too, is that it!? It is, isn't it? I know it is! Damn you! Damn you, damn you, damn you! How DARE you look at me like that!?
  • Psychopathic Manchild: He has zero self-control in the original game and throws a tantrum at one point when things go wrong for him. He's initially much more composed in the remake, but the Boss Battle with him (and subsequent notes on his past) clearly show that deep down he very much is an unhinged, childish monster.
  • Sanity Slippage: It's implied he underwent one in the original, long before Leon arrived. In his letter recounting how he was approached by Los Iluminados to help them unleash Las Plagas, his writing is far more mature and contemplative than the behavior the man himself exhibits when he and Leon finally meet. Presumably being infected by Las Plagas did a number on his mental health, turning him into The Caligula he is now. The remake downplays this by showing that he was always a cruel and unhinged man even before meeting Saddler.
  • Smug Snake: He's nowhere near the threat he thinks he is.
  • Trap Door: Leading into a spike pit. RamĂ³n Salazar: Part Napoleon Boneparte, part Vlad the Impaler.
  • To the Pain: He lapses into this in the remake as the fight against him wears on, ranting about how horribly Leon will die.
    First your nose. Your ears. Then your fingernails. Your lips. I'll save your eyes for last! I shall drink the blood out of every last cavity of your body. Every drop! Oh, I cannot wait!
  • Trap-Door Fail: He tries to kill Leon by having him fall into a pit of spikes. It fails of course.
  • The Team Benefactor: He provided Saddler with the Plagas.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In the original, he was formerly an apparently benevolent young castellan before Saddler's manipulations and Las Plagas infection turned him to evil, with sadistic retaliation for those who offend him.
  • Villainous Breakdown
    • Leon always keeps a cool head when talking down Salazar despite the villain's best efforts to try and get under Leon's skin, and that drives him insane: from the English localization:
      Salazar: So maybe you have nine lives. But it doesn't matter now, Mr. Kennedy! I've sent my right hand to dispose of you.
      Leon: Your right hand comes off?
      Salazar: Hmph! Say whatever you please. DIE, YOU WORM!!!! (breaks the camera)
    • In the remake, he starts out his boss fight taunting Leon and laughing about how he's going to kill him. As he takes more and more damage, he starts losing his cool, screaming insults at Leon while making increasingly frantic efforts to kill him.
  • The Walls Are Closing In: Pulls this trick on Leon. Twice.
  • Weaksauce Weakness: In the remake, Salazar has a devastating weakness to... eggs. A single golden egg (one of which is conveniently available shortly before his boss fight) removes a flat 70% of his health, on any difficulty, provided it hits his main body. The only hint the player has to this is a rather innocuous request from the Merchant to throw an egg at a portrait of him, and it's entirely likely that they would have used said conveniently available egg to complete the request or otherwise have sold it off to the Merchant for gun upgrades.
  • Younger Than They Look: Though still youthful-looking, facial-wise, it's well implied that Salazar's Plagas infestation caused his hair to prematurely turn gray and his skin to look deathly pale, giving Leon the impression that he's an old man despite only being twenty years old. The effect is even more pronounced in the remake, where he actually looks like a wrinkly geezer.
    Did you say old man, Mr. Kennedy? It might come as a surprise, but I'm only twenty years old.

    Bitores MĂ©ndez 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/re4_2023_bitores_mndez.png
MĂ©ndez in Resident Evil 4 (2023)
MĂ©ndez in Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Voiced by: Jesse Corti (4), Jon Bryant (4 (2023)), Takeshi Oba (JP, 4 (2023))

"Cease your pointless struggling. Abandon your body to the will of our god."

Another member of Los Iluminados and the village chief, MĂ©ndez personally leads the hunt for Leon and Ashley as they try escaping from the clutches of Las Plagas.
  • Achilles' Heel:
    • His exposed spine is a critical point that takes as much if more damage than his head would in the first half of the battle, while the shotgun is an excellent way to knock him down from the rafters in the second stage.
    • He's extremely vulnerable to fire and can be beaten with just a handful of incendiary grenades, provided the grenades detonate directly at his feet.
    • In the remake, his first phase critical spot is now an eye on his back. Given his posture, that means shooting down at him from the second level of the barn.
  • Advertised Extra: Appeared prominently in much of the ad materials, implying he was the Big Bad or at least The Heavy, when in reality he was just a Starter Villain who's killed barely a quarter of the way into the game.
  • Arc Villain: Of the village section, which comprises Chapters 1-6 in the remake.
  • Ascended Extra: The remake gives him more lines, especially in his boss battle. He is even the one who injects Leon with the Las Plagas parasite instead of a random ganado. You also get to interact with and get chased by his human form in actual gameplay.
  • Badass Longcoat: Though it's burned off when he goes One-Winged Angel.
  • Bald of Evil: Not a hair on top of his head.
  • Beard of Evil: It even remains when he turns One-Winged Angel.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: He only speaks to Leon once in the entire game. He gets more lines in the 2023 remake, but is still portrayed as a (comparatively) quiet threat.
  • Bond Villain Stupidity: He nearly strangles Leon to death, but lets him go when he sees he's been injected with a Plaga egg, sensing he's got their "blood" - though as a subversion, he's hesitant about it the whole time but concedes to Saddler's assurance regarding Leon that he'll eventually succumb to the parasite's control. Downplayed however, in that if Leon tries to follow him he won't show the same mercy as before and it's only the timely intervention of Ada that saves Leon. He does later admit in a memo that he gravely underestimated Leon's capabilities and that at the rate he's going, he'll probably destroy the whole village before the Plaga takes over.
  • The Brute: Compared to the other villains in the game, MĂ©ndez relies purely on brute strength, which gives Leon serious trouble in the early sections of the game.
  • Camera Fiend: Implied in the remake. Bitores has several framed and unframed photos in his house, and an antique camera can be found in his attic, which seemingly functions as his darkroom.
  • Co-Dragons: With Salazar to Saddler, being the big guy to Salazar's little guy.
  • Contractual Boss Immunity: He gains this in the remake as he pursues Leon and Ashley in his human form. No matter how much damage you cause, MĂ©ndez cannot die until his actual boss fight.
  • Expy: His imposing physique and height makes him a dead-ringer for the T-103/Mr. X, leading to some early speculation that he was one. Amusingly, the 2023 remake gives MĂ©ndez a hat similar to the one added to Mr. X in 2's remake, furthering the resemblance. Also, he briefly pursues Leon and Ashley in Leon’s campaign and Ada in Separate Ways in a similar fashion while using the same animations as Mr. X in 2's remake (Leon can even shoot off his hat) and is completely undefeatable in this segment.
  • Face–Heel Turn: His journals, which can be found in his attic in the remake, reveal that he was a kind and compassionate leader who deeply cared for the villagers before Saddler came into the picture.
  • Father to His Men: The remake features a number of documents written by Bitores' own hand. During the start of his chiefdom, he would teach children how to read, opened the village up and brought in iron manufacturing, and personally dined with various families. Nonetheless, allowing in outsiders also brought in Saddler and his cultists.
  • Genius Bruiser: His notes reveal him to be very good at planting traps for Leon and that he's smart enough to know the problems he and Luis can cause. This doesn't stop him from being a very dangerous foe in personal combat.
  • Glass Eye: He has this. It falls from his eye socket after he is defeated and is either used as key to open a gate out of the village (original game) or collected as treasure to be sold to the Merchant (remake).
  • Good Shepherd: Only implicit in the original, but it's clearly established in the remake that he was this before being corrupted by Los Illuminados. He was once a genuinely good man of faith who cared very deeply for the welfare of the villagers under his protection, before Las Plagas turned him into the Sinister Minister Leon ultimately faces.
  • Half the Man He Used to Be: When half of his health is depleted during his Boss Fight, his upper body rips away from his legs, forcing him to climb on the rafters to attack you.
  • Handicapped Badass: He only has one functioning eye, the other one being a fake Glass Eye. It does little to slow him down.
  • Hat Damage: Like Mr. X before him in Resident Evil 2 (Remake) you can shoot off MĂ©ndez' hat, though this doesn't alter his behavior in the slightest. Leon even shoots it off in the cutscene before his boss battle, though he calmly picks it up.
  • Hidden Depths: As part of his fleshing out in the remake of 4, the player can discover that he has a noticeable interest in photography. It can be presumed that he converted the attic of his home into a darkroom for that purpose, given the antique camera that can be found there.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: In the second phase of his fight in the remake, MĂ©ndez will sometimes pick up explosive barrels to throw at Leon. They do a lot of damage if they connect, but you can also just shoot them to blow them up while he's still holding them.
  • Implacable Man: Has shades of this pre-One-Winged Angel, as Leon's completely unable to overpower the giant village chief when they encounter each other.
  • It Can Think: Unlike the regular Ganados, who live in their own filth and eat rotten food, MĂ©ndez's house is in good condition and he apparently still eats regular cooked meals and read books, according to Leon's observations. This is because since MĂ©ndez has a Dominant Plaga, he still largely has his own free will.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Though it's more his infected personality being very serious about intruders. When Leon bumps into him in his house, he picks Leon up by his neck. He lets him go and decides to spare him, but only because he was injected with a Plaga, which will turn him into a Ganado, unless the Plaga is removed from his body before it turns into an adult.
  • Large and in Charge: Serves as a contrast to Salazar's Mister Big.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Pre-One-Winged Angel, at least. When Leon first enters the barn, MĂ©ndez practically Flash Steps across his line of sight, then appears behind him.
  • Mook Lieutenant: He's in charge of the villagers.
  • Neck Lift: Has a habit of doing this to Leon whenever they meet.
  • Neck Snap: In the original, he will do this to Leon if you fail the quick-time event before his boss fight.
  • No-Nonsense Nemesis: Unlike Saddler or Salazar, MĂ©ndez takes far less chances with Leon, swiftly knocking him out the first time they meet and only sparing him on Saddler's orders. Even then MĂ©ndez still would have rather likely killed him in their next encounter if he hadn't noticed Leon was infected. It's probably a good thing for the player he was only in charge of the village.
  • One-Winged Angel: Resembles some manner of monstrous praying mantis, lobster, or scorpion combined with a centipede.
  • Pet the Dog: A note in the remake's Separate Ways DLC reveals that MendĂ©z actually tried to petition Uriarte to forgive a servant who tried to run away from the castle. It didn't work, but it shows that a small trace of the compassionate man he once was remains within him.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: After Leon is infected with a Plaga, MĂ©ndez almost strangles him to death, but when he sees the tell tale red eyes of a Plaga host, he spares him, believing he will eventually succumb to the parasite anyway. It doesn't last long. In fact, if you follow him into his bedroom after that scene in the original, he decides to cut the crap and kill Leon anyway, only to get interrupted by Ada.
  • The Quiet One: He only speaks once in the entire original game, to foreshadow Leon's status as a Plaga host, but otherwise settles for quietly glaring and grunting. He's a little more talkative in the remake, but still doesn't have much to say.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: He's the village chief, and every time he runs into Leon, he comes within a hair's breadth of killing him.
  • Religious Bruiser: A big wall of a man who can tank bullets and snap Leon's neck like a twig, as well as leaving his Christian faith behind to become a devout follower of Los Iluminados.
    Oh Almighty, grant me the strength to crush your enemies.
  • Sinister Minister: Originally the village's good-hearted Priest, before being converted by Saddler and convincing his flock to join the cult. This aspect of him is highlighted in the remake, as he deems his opponents as heretics and infidels while believing the Plagas' powers to be a gift from his god.
  • Starter Villain: He's the first major bad guy Leon encounters, and he serves as the main boss of the village section of the game.
  • Stealthy Colossus: Despite his tremendous height and imposing frame he catches Leon by surprise more than once in both versions of 4.
    • In the original, MĂ©ndez suddenly appears behind him at the end of a hallway in his house that is directly in front of the door Leon came through. And then appears out of nowhere to punch Leon should he go back into the bedroom. At the slaughterhouse he once again appears suddenly behind Leon right after he closes the door and steps inside.
    • In the remake, it becomes less improbable, but he still shows up to grab Ashley right after she and Leon open the gate leading to the slaughterhouse. And later punches Leon out of the balcony of the slaughterhouse through a wall.
  • The Stoic: He remains very stone-faced, even while dealing with Leon one-on-one, letting actions speak for his words, other than writing memos. Though he does start to crack a bit once you've gotten to the second phase of his boss battle.
  • Tragic Villain: The remake makes MĂ©ndez as much of a victim of Las Plagas as the rest of his village. In the original, MĂ©ndez was a true believer of Los Iluminados and allowed Saddler to spread the parasites among his flock. In the remake however, MĂ©ndez had no ties to the cult at all and his only concern was looking out for his people. He did not fully trust the cultists when they arrived and was told only that they were claiming to help cure a "madness" that had already affected a few villagers, having no idea that they were being injected with parasites. After that, MĂ©ndez fell under the influence of Las Plagas like everyone else.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Specifically in the remake where you can hear him starting to crack as the fight against him rages on, causing his dialogue to become angrier and less sophisticated.

    Jack Krauser 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jack_krauser_re4r_render_photoroompng_photoroom.png
Krauser in Resident Evil 4 (2023).
Krauser in Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Voiced by: Jim Ward (4, Darkside Chronicles), Mike Kovac (4 (2023)), Kengo Tsujii (JP, 4 (2023))
Appearances: 4, Darkside Chronicles

"Been a long time, comrade."
— Jack Krauser, 4 (2005)

"Long time, no see, rookie."
— Jack Krauser, 4 (2023)

A former elite US soldier who defected from the government after Operation Javier and now works for Los Iluminados as Saddler's enforcer. He personally carried out the kidnapping of Ashley Graham, and has a history with Leon.
  • Achilles' Heel: Unlike other enemies, Krauser takes an incredible amount of damage from the knife. It's an effective strategy to simply knife him to death in boss fights. This effect is not present in the remake, however.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
    • Krauser and Leon were originally portrayed as close allies before they drifted apart. In the remake, their relationship becomes akin to master and apprentice instead. Compare how he originally called Leon "comrade" (which indicates that he saw him as an equal) with how he repeatedly calls him a "rookie" in the remake (seeing Leon as subordinate and inferior to him).
    • In the original, he and Ada both work for Wesker and share a mutual dislike, with him referring to her as "the bitch in the red dress", but in the remake, their relationship is basically non-existent since Krauser doesn't work for Wesker in this continuity, nor does he interact with Ada at any point. Ada also never rescues Leon from him and he focuses entirely on his former pupil.
    • In the original, Krauser sought after Wesker due to his Career-Ending Injury that cost his left arm, and he was fired for it. Wesker takes him in and has him infiltrate the Los Iluminados so Wesker can obtain a Las Plagas sample but he is able to get it through his corpse. In the remake, Krauser has no such relationship with Wesker and joins the Los Iluminados on his own. However, Wesker still manages to take his corpse and the Plaga when Ada turns on him at the end of the "Separate Ways" DLC.
  • Adaptational Backstory Change:
    • While Operation Javier is still canon, Krauser is established in the 2023 remake as having been Leon's instructor during his training to become a government agent, which shows that they met each other earlier than originally indicated. Their fight is even cast as a sort of student-teacher battle and Leon's 'final lesson'.
    • In addition to the above, Krauser in the original eventually found himself working for Albert Wesker and was sent to infiltrate Los Iluminados as The Mole. No such relationship exists between him and Wesker in the remake, with Krauser instead having sought out Los Iluminados on his own accord after being drawn to their promises of power through Las Plagas, and becoming a legitimate member.
  • Adaptational Badass: In the remake, his final boss fight has his other arm mutated as well in addition to his left Blade Below the Shoulder. Also, he lacks the Achilles' Heel regarding knife attacks from the original.
  • Adaptational Early Appearance: He only shows up in the island section (with no prior hints of his existence other than a scene where Saddler tells someone named Krauser to get Ashley from Salazar) in the original, but in the remake, he makes an Early-Bird Cameo as Leon's military instructor in the opening and plays a significant role in the castle section.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: Aside from being more unhinged than his original portrayal, Krauser's general behavior in the 2023 game is far more unpleasant, mocking and derisively addressing Leon throughout their fight. He's also revealed to have been a brutal drill instructor whose excessively harsh training almost got Leon killed before he even made the climb into a government agent. Leon explicitly calls Krauser an "asshole" who's always been that way, in stark contrast to the original game where he had a Friendly Enemy dynamic.
  • Adaptational Modesty: In the original, Krauser didn't wear his shirt during his Boss Battle and in the Mercenaries mode, though he still wore his utilities. In the remake, the shirt remains, and he only takes it off when he's about to transform in the last segment of his fight.
  • Adaptational Personality Change: He was originally a somewhat stoic antagonist, only becoming more deranged after his transformation. In the remake, he's an openly sadistic and maniacal villain even before he transforms, taunting and berating Leon in all sorts of ways.
  • Adaptational Sympathy: Despite his increased jerkassery and villainous acts, Krauser's 2023 incarnation is made considerably more sympathetic than his 2005 counterpart, who had an almost fanatical loyalty to Umbrella and showed no other reasons for turning evil besides his Blood Knight inclinations, petty resentment and selfishness. This version of Krauser is given a more tragic backstory by showing that he was A Father to His Men who became traumatized by the loss of his platoon and wanted to do right by them by holding those to blame accountable. Unfortunately, he not only failed in his efforts, but eventually abandoned his pursuit altogether after being corrupted into craving power for the sake of it.
  • Adaptational Villainy: While he wasn't in any way a good guy in the original canon, the 2023 remake turns Krauser into an outright psychopath who is equal parts an Ax-Crazy maniac and a violent bully who tormented Leon even back when they worked together. He is also the one who kills Luis in this version rather than Saddler, something which hits all the harder due to Luis' expanded role.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: His death is portrayed yet, if not much more mournfully in the Remake than the original, being framed as a Mercy Kill towards a long-broken soldier.
    Krauser: … Do… what you have to do…
  • Ambition Is Evil: In the original game, he actually completed his mission right off the bat, obtaining a Dominant Plagas sample from Saddler as a reward for kidnapping Ashley. But Krauser's thirst for power caused him to use the sample on himself, necessitating that he call in Ada to help him steal a second sample. It ended up costing him his life.
  • Another Side, Another Story: A bonus version of Operation Javier covers the final chapters from Krauser's point of view, revealing how he ended up as the villain introduced in the original 4.
  • Anti-Mentor: Comments by Leon during their fight indicate that Krauser wasn't a good instructor. Leon claims that he would be dead if he ever thought and acted like Krauser. In the last segment of the battle, he even says that it's time for Krauser, the teacher, to be taught a harsh lesson by his own student.
  • Ax-Crazy: Though the Plagas increased his bloodlust, the 2023 remake really highlights how insane and murderous Krauser has become. His dialogue sounds much more ferocious overall and he is shown taking much delight in killing Luis, likening it to killing a rat. As Leon puts it during their boss fight, he's lost it completely.
  • Baritone of Strength: Jim Ward portrays him with a somewhat deep and gravelly voice to match his imposing stature and skill with a knife. This isn't the case in the remake, which instead gives him a higher-pitched tenor voice.
  • Became Their Own Antithesis: In the remake, Leon bitterly points out that no matter how much of a jerk he was, Krauser at least used to carry himself with honor and a code, and was a man who wanted to protect innocents. He notes that the Krauser he knew is already dead and gone, which Krauser takes as a compliment since he believes he's been reborn into the man he always should've been.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: In addition to increased speed and endurance, his plagas infestation also mutates his left arm into a gigantic metal blade which you can use in the Mercenaries minigame.
  • Blood Knight: He enjoys the thrill of the battle, and acts like he's having a ball during his duel with Leon in 4.
  • Career-Ending Injury: Impaled through his left arm during Operation Javier, ending his military career and serving as his Start of Darkness. This is seemingly no longer true in the remake where he was part of Ashley's security detail, which was how he kidnapped her. That said, Leon does make a snide reference to how "that arm of yours must be killing you right now," implying that a similar injury did occur in the remake's universe.
  • Close-Range Combatant: His primary schtick in The Mercenaries (remake version). His kit is tailored towards close-quarters crowd control, with few sniping options for long-range threats, but he more than makes up for it by being a Lightning Bruiser who can take more hits than anyone else and has special melee attacks akin to hack-and-slash combat with his unbreakable knife. His Mayhem Mode also mutates him into an unflinching demon that can kill even mini-bosses with just two or three hits from his oversized arms, plus a finisher that instantly pulverizes everything in his path.
  • Combat Parkour: During the battle in the ruins, Krauser makes for a very difficult target due to his inhuman speed and tendency towards dramatically flipping around.
  • Combat Pragmatist: His second boss fight takes place on a battlefield where he's littered with traps and gun-mounted drones, showing he's pulling no stops when testing Leon. He also halts their banter before the fight by blasting Leon with a machine gun he'd been hiding behind him.
  • Combat Sadomasochist: Hinted at, during the lengthy battle in the ruins. He clearly enjoys hurting Leon, but also praises Leon whenever he gets in a good hit.
  • Compensating for Something: After finishing him off in Separate Ways, Ada mockingly comments on the size of his Blade Below the Shoulder, suggesting this.
  • Cowardly Lion: He puts up a good front, but he's way in over his head during Operation Javier. He's still able to fight efficiently as a soldier, but he's slowly cracking under the strain of the mission.
  • The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Judging by the notes found in the remake, he did actually care about the loss of his men and tried to give them justice. By the time he kidnaps Ashley, however, he scoffs at Leon's plea of what his men would think of his actions and makes it clear he just wants power and nothing else.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: His actual death in the original game is at Ada's hands during the events of Separate Ways, which happens after his boss fight in the main campaign. In the remake, Leon is the one who puts him down for good at his own urging.
  • The Dragon: In the remake, his Adaptational Relationship Overhaul with Saddler has him serve as the latter's personal enforcer, kidnapping Ashley on his orders and killing Luis for his betrayal. Even Salazar, who excavated Las Plagas, asks Krauser to put in a good word to Saddler for him.
  • Driven by Envy: His jealousy towards Leon is what triggered Krauser's fascination with the viruses and thirst for greater power. In the remake, however, he initially considers Leon lesser than him as his student and is actually proud when his former pupil manages to defeat him.
  • Driven to Villainy:
    • In the original game, he was crippled and subsequently forced to resign, losing the only thing that gave his life meaning, which drove him down a darker path. Seeing how the T-Veronica virus gave Manuela a new lease on life and greater power, he sought the same thing for himself and became fanatically loyal to Umbrella, and later Wesker.
    • In the remake, he's deeply traumatized by the loss of his men in Operation Javier and tries to hold the US Government accountable for sending them to their deaths. Not only do his efforts end up meaningless, but his experience with Los Iluminados and the Plagas parasite causes him to fully buy into their hype and become a selfish power-hungry megalomaniac.
  • Drunk on the Dark Side: Being implanted with the Plaga gradually makes him a lot more arrogant and brutal, with the transformation for his final battle making him even more hammy.
  • Empowered Badass Normal: Darkside Chronicles shows us that he was pretty badass before getting infected.
  • Establishing Character Moment: The remake briefly introduces Krauser in Leon's flashback as the latter's tough and domineering mentor through a training clip. Then we meet Krauser for real once he's killed Luis, showing just how cruel and brutally efficient he's become since Leon last saw him. We also see how he effortlessly matches Leon in combat through their first battle, fought entirely with knives.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Prior to his fall to villainy, a file in Darkside Chronicles had him angered at the sight of the local military shooting rioters at a roadblock, to the point of asking his mission support permission to return fire despite being already delayed to his meeting with Leon.
  • Evil Counterpart: For Leon. Both are love using knives, worked for the US government, and even served on the same mission in Darkside Chronicles. Both of them were also heavily traumatized by events relating to bioweapons, but used those feelings to fuel different causes; Leon dedicates his life to protecting the world from bioweapons, while Krauser is corrupted by the power they offer and now threatens to unleash one on the world. The remake furthers their comparison with a key shot of both characters staring into their reflections on their knives at different points, first when Leon gets a glimpse at Krauser's perspective thanks to Saddler's Hive Mind, and then right before he finishes off Krauser in their final battle.
    • In the original game, Krauser falls to the dark side because he liked his work with SOCOM so much, so when he all but loses one arm and faces an end to his military career, he turns to Wesker.
  • Evil Former Friend:
    • Leon's former partner, turned bio-terrorist. While Leon thought highly of him, Krauser came to resent Leon by the time they parted ways.
    • Heavily Downplayed in the remake, where their past partnership has been significantly overhauled. Krauser was actually Leon's drill sergeant instructor and superior officer, and Leon always thought of him as a Jerkass, but nevertheless, still respected and admired him in some way, and is extremely shocked and bitter with his betrayal.
  • Evil Is Bigger: He's designed to look a lot more imposing than Leon through his size and build.
  • Evil Is Hammy: Krauser in the remake is a lot louder than his original counterpart, especially in the final phase of his boss battle, where he shouts out his philosophy while fighting Leon.
  • Expy:
    • His scarred appearance and coldly sadistic temperament are both very similar to those of Sgt. Barnes from Platoon. In the remake, his motivation for betraying the US government (his men were sacrificed on a black operation and the whole thing was covered up) brings to mind General Hummel from The Rock, though Krauser is significantly nastier than Hummel ever was.
    • Although the original Krauser already had certain elements of John Rambo, such as his red headgear, preference for knives, and proficiency with a bow (utilizing the same kind of explosive arrows popularized in pop culture by Rambo: First Blood Part II to boot), the remake takes these parallels up a notch. With his revised backstory, Krauser is now a deeply traumatized war veteran who suffered the loss of his men in the jungle and was abandoned by the government (more literally in Krauser's case). A notable segment in the remake's boss fight involves Krauser hounding Leon from the shadows while the player is forced to traverse through booby-trapped hallways, another one of Rambo's hallmarks.
    • The remake also makes him a Vergil to Leon's Dante (which is especially fitting given how Devil May Cry came to be from a retooled concept for Resident Evil 4). Both Krauser and Leon are survivors of a traumatic incident that led them on different paths, with Krauser becoming a monster in pursuing his misguided lust for power, and Leon becoming a jaded yet ultimately virtuous hero. Mike Kovac's higher-pitched and raspier voice is also reminiscent of Dan Southwood's voice for Vergil.
  • Face Death with Dignity: In the remake, he bids Leon to finish him off after being defeated and quietly waits for the Coup de GrĂ¢ce, which Leon delivers with Krauser's own knife. His final words hammer this down further by admitting he trained Leon well.
  • Face–Heel Turn: One of the major factors in his allying himself with Wesker and Los Iluminados was because of deep anger about feeling used by the United States military, especially when:
    • In the original game, they didn't even request for him to join up with the organization to stop bioweapon threats, yet they allowed Leon to join, and later they fired him because the Javier mission had him injured in his arm with it not fully recovering.
    • In the remake, the Javier mission was covered up by the US government because for reasons that are unclear (but implied to be a case of corruption or a political power-play) they knowingly sent Krauser's own men to die, an experience which completely shattered his faith in his country and left him susceptible to being tempted by the power the Plagas parasite gave him.
  • Faking the Dead: Faked his own death in a crash, allowing him to join Wesker's group.
  • Fallen Hero: Operation Javier shows that he started out as a relatively decent soldier, but the combination of jealousy and fear of losing everything, and in the 2023 remake, the US Government sending his men to their deaths, the subsequent cover-up, and his inability to give his men justice drove him down a darker path.
  • A Father to His Men: Zig-zagged in the remake. Leon recalls training under Krauser to be a nightmare that frequently almost got him killed, but Krauser's Start of Darkness was caused by him losing his squad in that version's Operation Javier, with notes showing he wanted to do right by them. However, by the events of the game, his lust for power has consumed him to the extent that he forgot why he wanted to pursue it in the first place.
  • Foreshadowing: In the original game, one of your first encounters with him is an amazingly elaborate Action Command-centric fencing duel with knives. In retrospect, it foreshadows the best way to deal with his boss fight, since he takes massive amounts of damage from the Combat Knife.
  • Foil: To Leon:
    • Both are blond guys, except Leon is good and he's not.
    • Krauser has a nasty scar, and Leon has a perfect face.
    • Leon, while not short, he's a bit above average height (5'10"), Krauser towers him at 6 ft.
    • Leon has long-ish hair, Krauser has a buzzcut.
    • Both were working for the government, but Krauser turned to evil.
    • Both are very good with knives.
    • Both have Icy Blue Eyes, the difference however is that Leon is compassionate individual, but fairly snarky, while Krauser is very serious.
  • Flash Step: Similar to Wesker's famous move. When targeted during his boss fight, Krauser will rapidly move from side-to-side while closing the distance to throw Leon's aim off. It's the cause of many a player wasting valuable ammo when Krauser suddenly blurs to the side at the last second.
  • For Want Of A Nail: Manuela's fate was the proverbial nail for him, as the multiple endings of Darkside Chronicles demonstrates. The game's director confirms that in the non-canon Bad Ending where Manuela overtaxed her powers and died, Krauser never underwent a Face–Heel Turn and abandoned the idea of seeking out Wesker.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: In the remake, Leon acknowledges that what happened in Operation Javier was unforgivable and that Krauser has every right to be upset with the US government, but also makes it clear that this does not give Krauser an excuse to endanger or inflict cruelty upon the innocent.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: The giant scar on his face is supposed to make him look more intimidating. When he puts war paint on his face, it lessens the appearance of it.
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: In 4's remake, his comparatively unhinged behavior compared to his original counterpart and comments about that universe's version of Operation Javier indicate that he really didn't take it well when he witnessed whatever it was that wiped out his men.
  • Graceful Loser: Despite spending the entire game belittling and insulting Leon while boasting of his own superior strength, Krauser accepts his defeat in the remake without a single complaint.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Operation Javier, as told from his point of view, reveals him becoming increasingly jealous of Leon and resentful towards the government that seemed to unfairly favor him.
  • The Heavy: He's the main player driving the events of 4, even though he doesn't show himself until late in the game. Ashley's kidnapping was merely a way for Krauser to infiltrate Los Iluminados, gaining a place within Saddler's inner circle for the purpose of stealing the Master Plagas sample. When his infiltration ran into problems, Krauser called Ada in to serve as his backup. In the remake, he's apparently fully on board with Los Iluminados due to his lust for power, since he doesn't interact with Ada and never mentions Umbrella.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Central to his character arc in Operation Javier. Krauser's promotional artwork for the game even features the full quote, since the game is about his Start of Darkness.
  • Hidden Depths: "Separate Ways" reveals he's the one responsible for turning the island into a veritable death trap of a fortress; setting up the sentry turrets, directing the building of fortifications, and even installing the military-grade encryption systems that Ada needs to disable, indicating Krauser is very skilled in the art of logistics.
  • Hypocrite: In the remake, Krauser tells Leon to "stop living in the past" during their final duel. Thing is, Krauser himself is clearly driven by bitterness about what happened in Operation Javier and unable to move on from what he experienced.
  • In a Single Bound: He can casually jump onto a balcony a dozen feet above him, implied to be an ability granted by the Plaga.
  • In Love with Your Carnage: Thankfully a non-sexual example of the trope. Once Manuela is able to control the T-Veronica virus, Krauser is completely in awe of her, praising and encouraging her during the final battle in contrast to Leon trying to talk her down. In the aftermath, Krauser becomes obsessed with seeking out such power for himself.
  • Irony: He's introduced with a knife fight, is a Psycho Knife Nut, and his Plagas mutation is a giant blade in his arm. That said, the best weapon to use in his boss fight in the original game is the knife.
  • Jerkass: Remake Leon's comments imply Krauser's always been a bit of an asshole, having been a domineering presence during their time as comrades. And turning Heel has dialed up those traits, making him cold and condescending towards everyone he faces.
  • Kick the Dog: His villainy in the remake is established by murdering Luis, all to Leon's horror.
  • Large Ham: Not much originally outside of his infamous "WITNESS THE POWER!' quote, but fully becomes one in the 2023 remake, where he spends the majority of his screentime shouting and dramatically screeching at the top of his lungs.
  • Last-Name Basis: Everybody refers to him as "Krauser", making his first name, Jack, hard to find.
  • Licking the Blade: Whenever he manages to grab Leon from behind, Krauser will take the time to lick the blade before trying to slit Leon's throat.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Krauser is a bulky, six-foot-tall mountain of muscle with the brute strength to match, yet he also moves like a cheetah. Gameplay-wise, he's got the largest health bar, his bow is extremely powerful, his physical attacks can demolish just about anything, and he runs faster than any other playable character in the Mercenaries.
  • Limit Break: His moveset in the original Mercenaries mode includes a powerful Dash Attack with his mutated arm, being able to decimate all enemies in a line. He has to wait for this move to recharge before he can use it again.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: His Blade Below the Shoulder also doubles as a shield thanks to its wing-like protrusions. In the remake, however, he mutates his right arm into a shield made of bone for the final battle, complementing his left sword arm.
  • Made of Iron: He takes a staggering amount of punishment from Leon's guns before finally going down for the count. And even that wasn't quite enough (at least, in the original game) since his badly mangled body still manages to spring back to life for one last fight, this time against Ada. Even then, some fans have rumored him to have survived anyway.
  • Magic Pants: While his arms get torn up after transforming into the Mercenaries, his gloves remain undamaged.
  • Majorly Awesome: An evil example, but an example nonetheless. Leon almost always refers to him by his rank in the Remake.
  • Might Makes Right: In a similar vein to Virgil, Krauser's dialogue in the remake is littered with obsessions of gaining power and how that it's the most important thing in the world, and that those without power can't protect or save anyone, let alone themselves.
  • Mirror Boss: During the first part of his boss battle, Jack Krauser fights much like Leon and Ada would, using a gun and grenades to attack from a distance, using a knife to attack him up close, and using a kick takedown move similar to Leon and Ada after shooting a Ganado in the head. He also flees when he finds himself being attacked, much like the player most likely would if the Ganados were approaching him so that he could pick them off with his gun. While he doesn't use it against Ada, he uses an explosive bow against Leon, similar to Ada's own explosive crossbow.
  • The Mole: In the original game, Krauser was sent by Wesker to infiltrate Los Iluminados in order to obtain a sample of the dominant species Plaga, and Saddler is fully aware that Krauser cannot be trusted but allows him to be in his inner circle and plans to get rid of him once the time is right. This changes in the remake; Krauser never alludes to working for Wesker and is instead presented as a legitimate Iluminados member, with Saddler never speaking about him as a traitor either.
  • Nerves of Steel: Subverted in Darkside Chronicles. While Krauser seems cool under the collar in the main game, the bonus mode told from his point of view reveals him cracking under pressure. Not only does he plead for Leon to save him, but he slowly descends into madness and develops a sick fascination with the virus' power.
  • Not Quite Dead: In the original, Leon apparently kills him and leaves his corpse to be blown up by his own explosives. He manages to survive the explosion in a horror boogeyman-like fashion, though horrifically burned in the process. Ada makes sure to finish him off, so chances are, there won't be any loose ends to deal with.
  • One-Winged Angel: His final encounter with Leon progresses to Krauser mutating his arm into a giant blade, making him even more dangerous to fight up close.
    WITNESS THE POWER!!
  • Pet the Dog: There are two notable ones in the remake.
    • Krauser always refers to Leon as "rookie" and talks down to him as if he was still his trainee. When Leon manages to defeat him in their final duel, he commends Leon for it and proudly states that he taught him well, finally calling him by his name.
    • There was also a time he attempted to find justice for his dead men, who were killed due to government corruption, but failed to do so. He claims that he is motivated by power for its own sake now, but he still kept the dog tags of the men he lost in Operation Javier, which you can find in his tent before confronting him on the island.
  • Power-Up Letdown: As Leon snarkily points out in the remake, his 'true power' essentially amounts to an oversized knife and fist, and he could still be killed by being shot enough times.
  • The Paragon Always Rebels: The bio for Krauser in Darkside Chronicles noted that he had a long and outstanding history of service in the military prior to his ultimate fall.
  • Promoted to Playable: Initially as an unlockable character in The Mercenaries mode, and then promoted to a playable protagonist in Darkside Chronicles.
  • Psycho Knife Nut: A Sociopathic Soldier whose favorite weapon is a combat knife, which he uses in almost every encounter with Leon.
  • Psycho Supporter: By Resident Evil 4, he is very much loyal to Wesker, presumably because of his healing his arm so he can be a soldier again. While he isn't working for Wesker in the remake, being loyal to Los Iluminados instead, he's even more psychotic than before.
  • Rasputinian Death: In the original game, he not only survives his boss encounter with Leon (where he's either shot or slashed with a knife numerous times), but he also survives his chest exploding after the battle, as well as the explosion that occurred in the area shortly after Leon leaves. It took his encounter with Ada in Separate Ways, where he's shot or slashed numerous more times, to finally do him in. He's also incredibly durable in the remake and takes a lot of hits even before going One-Winged Angel, but this time he asks Leon to deliver the Coup de GrĂ¢ce upon losing, and so Leon is able to make sure that Krauser really is dead.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: His attire is mostly dark shades with red accents, like his beret. He even dons red warpaint in his final battle. It also provides a contrast between him and Leon who wears a lot of blue throughout the series.
  • Remember the New Guy?: "I died in the crash 2 years ago... Is that what they told you?" What crash? What mission? Who are you? Ultimately subverted with the Interquel Darkside Chronicles. The remake, meanwhile, briefly shows Leon training under Krauser in the opening cinematic.
  • Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: In the original, Saddler's ultimate plan for Krauser would have been this, having never actually trusted him. He thanks Leon for saving him the trouble, and states his intention to make Leon his bodyguard as a "reward".
  • Right Hand of Doom: In his final confrontation with Leon, he mutates his left arm into a massive, visceral blade made from his own bone. The remake adds a second mutation by turning his right arm into a huge clawed gauntlet.
  • Rival Turned Evil: Darkside Chronicles lays out the rather tragic story as to why he became more psychotic. Leon and Krauser only knew each other for one mission, but they earned each other's respect and friendship and from Leon's point of view, parted as friends. In reality, because of a combination of the insane stress of the mission, fear of rejection by the government after a major injury, and subsequent desire for power with which he could liberate himself from others' control, Krauser sought after organic weaponry to augment himself immediately after that mission, breaking all bonds with Leon and the US government (although the fact that the US government fired him because of his injury was probably a huge factor in that last part of his viewpoint).
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Krauser feels he is useless outside of the battlefield, and that being a soldier is his calling, to the extent that he often underwent mercenary missions even when he was off-duty from SOCOM. This is a large part of the reason why he ultimately turned to Wesker's help after the US Government fired him due to his arm injury never really recovering. This backstory carries over to the 2023 remake in a different fashion. Krauser's comments about what transpired during that universe's iteration of Operation Javier indicate that he was horribly traumatized by whatever wiped out his men, causing him to become fixated on becoming strong, no matter how much of his humanity he had to sacrifice.
  • Shoot the Dog: In Operation Javier, Krauser brings up the issue of killing Manuela before she can transform into a monster. Leon insists there's another way, and convinces Krauser that their mission requires finding out how Javier has kept his infected daughter alive. Ironically, according to the game's director, Krauser's suggestion was the correct choice, and saving Manuela was a mistake.
  • Shout-Out:
    • To Roy Batty from Blade Runner. Both are tall, blond, physically superior bio-engineered enemies who used to work as mercenaries for a big corporation. Their respective encounters take place along several abandoned buildings, they fight shirtless, and will verbally taunt or compliment their opponent, while also playing cat-and-mouse with them.
    • He paraphrases a line from Vergil during his boss fight. In the remake's iteration of The Mercenaries, he also feels more like a Devil May Cry character than a Resident Evil one, with an unbreakable knife that has a surprisingly complex and powerful moveset, complete with flash steps, dodges, and flips. His Mayhem Mode is akin to a Devil Trigger more than a general buff the way the other characters function, and his charging attack is even dubbed a "Stinger", one of Dante's signature gap-closing techniques.
  • Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: His remake fight banter with Leon has heavy shades of this trope, with him insulting Leon's viewpoints of right and wrong and how he always tries to save everyone.
    You're too SOFT to do what's necessary!
  • So Proud of You: In the 2023 remake, he uses his dying words to tell Leon how proud he is of the warrior he's become. Leon, in turn, departs his own words of respect to Krauser despite everything he's done.
  • The Social Darwinist: He is portrayed as such in the 2023 remake, scoffing at notions of mercy and having such a mentality being a result of his utter obsession with gaining power for himself. His quote during the last portion of his boss fight says it all:
    Strength is everything. The weak can protect nothing!
  • Sociopathic Soldier: After being discharged from service due to his arm injury, he goes rather insane and readily becomes a Las Plagas host in order to regain the use of his arm and increase his combat ability so he can keep being a soldier, even if it means fighting for an insane cause. In 4's remake, he already had existing elements of this trope as well as being a Drill Sergeant Nasty, if Leon's accounts of his training under him are any indication.
  • Stab the Scorpion: In Darkside Chronicles, he stabs a snake that's about to strike Leon.
  • Start of Darkness: Operation Javier was the beginning of his downward spiral, as his fear and jealousy turned into an obsession with the power of viral weaponry presented. A Career-Ending Injury further pushed him over the edge, turning to Wesker in order to regain the use of his arm. This carries over to 4's remake, though with the alteration that he lost a squad to whatever transpired there, which is what caused him to become fixated on becoming strong at whatever cost.
  • Super Mode: His arm transformed. It can lash out with serious bladed attacks that can, in the original's Mercenaries, instantly turn any Ganado into dust. In the remake, his Plaga transformation becomes a triggerable change in Mercenaries, granting him a few seconds where he can tear apart enemies with empowered melee strikes.
  • Terms of Endangerment: Always refers to Leon as 'comrade' to remind him of their previous friendship. In the remake, he calls him 'rookie' to remind him of their previous relationship as "master and apprentice", though he drops the act when he dies, calling Leon by his name in his final breath.
  • The Straight and Arrow Path: In the Mercenaries mode, he wields a compound bow that functions similarly to the Sniper Rifle. While a fairly slow weapon, it's devastating to most enemies. In the Remake, the bow fires explosive arrows, thus effectively turning it into a rocket launcher.
  • Tragic Keepsake: He keeps the dog tags of all the soldiers he lost in Operation Javier in the Remake at his FOB, to remind himself of his failure.
  • Trick Arrow: His bow fires arrows that would explode either after a few seconds (Original) or on impact (Remake).
  • Vocal Dissonance: In the 2023 remake, Krauser speaks with a scratchy tenor voice that sounds almost boyish at times despite retaining the same big, manly, and musclebound look he had in the original (where he was given a Baritone of Strength).
  • Walking Armory: In the Remake, he's packing a TMP, his composite bow, his massive knife, throwing knives, flashbangs, and his ingrown arm-blade/shield; which he'll all freely use in his final boss fight. He's almost as well-armed as Leon.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: He loses his shirt for the final duel with Leon, initially wearing his holster before taking that off as well.
  • Warrior Poet: He develops into a rather cynical philosopher over the course of The Darkside Chronicles.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In the 2023 remake, it wasn't the loss of his arm and career (or at least it wasn't the only factor) that turned him against his country, but rather the fact that he'd lost his men in Operation Javier due to government corruption and they were denied justice after a coverup.
  • Worthy Opponent: In the remake, his battle dialogue suggests he considers Leon this despite his taunts otherwise, with him saying he is grateful to the US for sending Leon instead of some "good-for-nothing grunt".
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
    • In the original, SOCOM discharged him after his injury rendered him unable to continue doing field work. In the remake, his own country knowingly sent him and his squad to die because of corruption and/or petty politics. In both cases, he did not take this well.
    • Also in the original, Saddler had him pegged for a rat all along, and fully planned on how to dispose of him once he'd served his purpose. This dynamic is absent in the remake due to Krauser no longer being The Mole for Wesker.
    • Inverted by Wesker's organization. Wesker managed to obtain a sample of a Dominant-strain Plagas, taking it from Krauser's corpse.


Alternative Title(s): Resident Evil 4 Remake

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