Resident Evil - Albert Wesker / Characters

Albert Wesker

Wesker in Resident Evil 4 (2023)

^{Click here to see him in his 4 (2005) attire}

^{Click here to see him in his 5 attire}

^{Uroboros mutation}

^{As a S.T.A.R.S. operative}

Voiced by: Sergio Jones, Pablo Kuntz (1, voice), Richard Waugh (CV, Zero, 4 (2005)), Peter Jessop (Remake), D.C. Douglas (Umbrella Chronicles, 5, Darkside Chronicles, Mercenaries 3D, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster, Umbrella Corps, TEPPEN), Craig Burnatowski (4 (2023)), Connor Fogarty (Dead by Daylight), Joji Nakata (Japanese)

Portrayed by: Eric Pirius (1, live action), Tom Hopper (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Lance Reddick (Netflix series)

Appearances: Resident Evil (and remake), Code: Veronica, 0, 4 (and 2023 remake), Umbrella Chronicles, Darkside Chronicles, 5, Mercenaries 3D, Revelations 2, Umbrella Chronicles: Prelude to the Fall, Wesker's Report I, II, Extra Report, Ada's Report

Mentioned: 2 (and 2019 remake), 3 (and 2020 remake), Survivor, 6, 7, Umbrella Corps

"The only thing that can defeat power, is more power. That is the one constant in this universe. However, there is no point in power if it consumes itself."

Originally conceived in a eugenics program — dubbed Project W — orchestrated by Oswell E. Spencer, Albert Wesker is a diabolical criminal mastermind, and one of the primary antagonists of the Resident Evil franchise. Initially, he worked at Umbrella, where he served as a chief scientist and close advisor to Dr. Spencer. During this time, Wesker went undercover as a police captain, forming the elite SWAT unit S.T.A.R.S. as a pet project.

In 1998, Wesker decided to betray Umbrella and joined an unnamed rival company. His decision to dispose of S.T.A.R.S. at the Spencer Estate would seemingly lead to his death. However, he infected himself with an experimental strain of the t-Virus, which led to him resurrecting with superhuman abilities and going into hiding. Wesker then became an influential bioterrorist, casting a shadow over most of the subsequent major events in the series.

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#-F

13 Is Unlucky: Inverted. Subject #13 of Project W. While unlucky to anyone who deals with him, he's actually lucky being one of two "survivors" of Project W. He also got superpowers. He does finally die for good in RE5, however.
'90s Hair: In Code: Veronica, 5, and in his Mercenaries/Wesker Mode reappearances using his 5 appearance, he has hair with bleached, frosted tips gelled backward.
Achilles' Heel:
- Despite having superhuman abilities that allow him to dodge bullets and shrug off certain explosions, he can only focus on one opponent at a time. As such, one can still sneak up on him for a surprise attack on Wesker when out of his line of sight and not being the target of his attention. This is how Chris and Jill were able to deal with him in Lost in Nightmares. In the main campaign of 5 Chris and Sheva eventually realize that they cannot take him on in a fair fight and resort to hiding so they can strike him from behind. Also, due to his notorious use of Sunglasses at Night, a player can disable light sources during his boss fight at the hangar to keep Wesker literally in the dark and attack him while he's distracted.
- The Super Serum that gives him his powers turns out to be his biggest weakness as well. As Jill informs Chris, specific doses of PG67A/W must be administered to keep Wesker's powers. A higher amount of the serum's dosage makes the virus inside him go haywire due to an overdose- and the player has to immobilize Wesker and inject it into him to win the boss battle.
Adaptational Badass:
- In the original version of Code: Veronica, he was rather clearly outclassed by Alexia, which also terrified him. Code: Veronica X changed it up and put them around the same level, with Wesker even feeling confident in being able to capture her.
- Also happens in the first game's remake where he easily defeats Chris on the bad ending route, while in the original Resident Evil there was no indication he even knows martial arts.
Adaptational Jerkass: In the original "Separate Ways", Wesker maintained a somewhat professional and respectful relationship with Ada. In the remake's version, he's much more abrasive and hostile to her, going as far as to threaten her life if she continues to fail him.
Always Someone Better:
- Despite his superpowers, he clearly demonstrates martial art finesse to Chris' roughneck brawling and wrestling techniques. With only a few gestures, Wesker always easily kicks Chris' ass until the climax of 5, and even before this, the first game's remake sees him easily dispatch Chris on the bad ending route despite not having powers at that point in time yet. This makes sense when you consider Wesker trained him as captain.
- Despite being nearly untouchable when Chris encounters him in Code: Veronica, Wesker faces a t-Veronica-empowered Alexia and decides to leave the situation to his former subordinate when Chris arrives, stating the latter could handle it better.
Ambiguous Situation:
- His relationship with Jake's mother. All that is known is that she raised Jake to respect Wesker and was still enamored with him, but what Wesker thought about her, what the relationship was like, or how the relationship even happened to begin with are mysteries. And with both Wesker and Jake's mother being dead, it'll likely remain that way.
- Despite its Excuse Plot, Umbrella Corps is a canonical entry in the series set in both 2012/2013 (after Resident Evil 5) and 2016 (after Resident Evil 6), and Wesker's distinctive voice can be heard in both the single player campaign and in multiplayer, suggesting he's somehow around even though the official word is he died at the end of 5. Because Wesker is never seen, however, this leaves many possibilities for the details behind his apparent return, ranging from a miraculous survival to another resurrection to cloning.
Animal Eyes: After returning from the dead, the only prominent side-effect of the experimental serum appearance-wise is granting Wesker reddish-colored slitted pupils, which he hides behind his sunglasses.
Arch-Enemy: Wesker's top enemy is Chris Redfield, largely due to the preexisting coworker relationship they had, which made Wesker's betrayal especially hard. The two have been fighting against each other for decades, with each of Wesker's appearances being up against Chris and his allies up until Wesker's death in 5.
Ascended Extra: In the remake version of Separate Ways, Wesker has a larger presence in the story aside from sitting in his control room and even helps Ada after she loses consciousness at the village.
Ax-Crazy: Wesker is a bloodthirsty madman who enjoys killing as much as he does lording his superiority towards others, his eventual plans to exterminate humanity not even withstanding. He hides this very well under a cool and calm presentation; the fact that he commits violence with the same sort of stoicism furthers how much of a detached sociopath he is. That is, until his last bout with Chris where his bloodthirsty nature is really let out, though Wesker had completely lost his mind by that point.
Badass in a Nice Suit: When he's not wearing a long coat or military uniform, Wesker is always dressed in expensive designer suits.
Badass Longcoat: During the raid on Sergei's holdout in 2003, Wesker wears a winter long coat over his suit. During the events of 5, he dons a black leather coat for the entire running time — even up to flashbacks.
Bad Boss: Somewhat. The audience is treated to many business interactions with Ada and Wesker throughout the series, and in these conversations, Wesker is very callous but never angry or overly berating. Even in one instance where he dangles death over Ada, it's very subtle and impersonal. However, when Ada references Wesker to others in business arrangements, she warns it'd be a grave mistake to waste his time.
Bare-Handed Blade Block: In the Mercenaries mode of the remake of 4, Wesker parries melee attacks with his own arms.
Became Their Own Antithesis: Beside the fact Wesker is killed by his Arch-Enemy Chris, he dies completely consumed by power figuratively and literally — in direct contrast to his belief that power is meaningless if it consumes its wielder.
Big Bad: For the original game and 5. His influence is felt across the entire series as well.
Big Bad Duumvirate: With William Birkin, his longtime friend and rival. Admittedly, their time as this is mostly in the series backstory and 0, but they went to college and later worked as top researchers at Umbrella together for years.
Blackmail: Threatens to have Barry's family killed if he doesn't help Wesker kill off their team and cover up what happened at the Mansion. Turns out he was bluffing, and on Jill's route Barry overhears this and knocks Wesker out.
Bond Villain Stupidity: As intelligent as Wesker is, he doesn't seem to know when to keep his mouth shut. Case in point, in the RE4 remake, Ada asks what he plans to do with the Amber containing the Plagas, only to tell her he doesn't pay her to think... only to almost immediately tell her that he plans to kill off billions of humans with it, causing Ada to force the pilot at gunpoint to change courses. Had he simply kept his mouth shut instead of monologuing, he would've easily gotten the Amber. "Separate Ways" goes further, revealing that his repeated hostility and Bad Boss nature towards Ada for even the smallest hang ups, despite her proven competence by that point, meant that he likely wasn't going to honor any deal, which made her suspicious of his intentions in the first place and ultimately caused her to betray him. The only saving grace he has is that Krauser's mutated body, which he obtained, would allow him to continue both his experiments and plans rather than Ada's defiance serving as a Spanner in the Works to him.
Breakout Villain: He was essentially a stock Survival Horror character in the first game (The Mole). From Code: Veronica onward, he's been elevated to one of the main villains and most recognizable characters in the series.
Character Development: After gaining his superhuman powers, Wesker becomes more egotistical and ambitious throughout the series. While he initially served as a middle manager at Umbrella, he wanted to make his own path and his own individual accomplishments — sacrificing his S.T.A.R.S. unit for his own greed. Wesker did hold some Social Darwinist views at the beginning of the series, but lacked the god complex he would later hold. This takes shape beginning with Code: Veronica but is most prevelant in Wesker's Report, where he writes that he wants to surpass Spencer's seemingly omnipotent reach and rub it in his face before killing him. When Spencer mentions his plan to become a god, Wesker decides that the way to ultimately surpass him is to become a god himself and rule over a new world of superior metahumans. This character arc appears to have been planned as far back as the first game, with writer Kenichi Iwao saying in an interview that he envisioned Wesker as already contemplating the idea of using the virus for "mass extinction and forced evolution".
Characterization Marches On: A zig-zagged example. Wesker in the original game and (to a certain extent) its remake is noticeably very outspoken and cocky. Starting from 0 and cemented by The Umbrella Chronicles, his well-known stoic and calculating personality came into effect. However, even in The Umbrella Chronicles he has some one-liners including a truly terrible pun ("your Umbrella has folded") and some evil laughter and villainous monologues, so the cockiness isn't entirely absent. He ditched this after 5, hamming it up more than ever and regaining his cocky disposition. Since 5, this side of Wesker is now much more famous than his calm side, being synonymous with all his depictions in crossover media since.

The Chessmaster: Nothing, no one (except Ada, once), and no event are out of his scope when he's scheming; you will be accounted for.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: First as The Mole for S.T.A.R.S., then double-crosses Umbrella, kills Spencer, and then pulls a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness on Excella. It is also revealed in 0 that he betrayed his former mentor, Dr. James Marcus. Chris angrily lampshades this, saying, "Wesker doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself."
Clipped-Wing Angel: It's made painstakingly apparent his Uroboros-infused form at the end of 5 is something Wesker only took out of desperation. Compared to his original skilled self, his attacks post-mutation are wild, clumsy, and Wesker is easily winded or struggling to control his powers, leaving him open for attacks. When his left arm mutates, he is even exasperated before turning smug, indicating he didn't intend for that to happen either. Lastly, he visibly struggles to maintain his footing with his newfound weight, which proves fatal when he sinks into the lava from the uneven arena he was battling Chris and Sheva in.
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Wesker's (initial) design was primarily influenced by English musician David Bowie. This is most prominent in his official◊ artwork◊ from 1, where he looks exactly like Bowie in a cop uniform. As for the voice, D.C. Douglas, Wesker's voice from Umbrella Chronicles to TEPPEN, stated that he based the voice on Bowie.
Cool Shades: His expensive designer sunglasses, manufactured by Umbrella, are a core part of his iconic look.
Cop Killer: Given he intentionally leads the S.T.A.R.S unit to their doom. He also personally kills Enrico Marini for uncovering his treachery way before the other survivors do.
Dark Is Evil: Dresses primarily in black and is evil to the core. This color contrasts with his sister Alex who dresses primarily in white but is just as evil.
Dark Messiah: What he wants to be after his fateful final meeting with Spencer. During his Villainous Breakdown in 5, he rants to Chris that he doesn't plan on destroying the planet Earth, but rather he plans to "save" it. Unfortunately, his method of doing so involves exterminating humanity with the Uroboros virus. Ironically, given Jake Muller, Wesker's son, carries the only thing that would remove the bioterrorist viruses from the world, Wesker may have saved the world, in a sense.
Deadly Gaze: He has a non-canon Cyclops-like optic laser blast in the "Wesker Mode" added in the HD port of 0 that is never displayed in subsequent appearances.
Death-Activated Superpower: After the Tyrant does him in during the Arklay disaster, the experimental virus he took beforehand activates, granting Wesker his now famous powers.
Deceptive Disciple: Along with Birkin, he was this to Marcus, who trusted them even as his sanity fell apart. Wesker ends up murdering him on Spencer's orders, completely callous to his anguished surprise at the betrayal.
Designer Babies: A low-tech example. Project W was an early Umbrella program intent on creating a superior race of humanity through selective breeding, lifelong indoctrination, and the Progenitor virus. It involved kidnapping the children of couples of "superior genetics", raising them under Umbrella observation, exposing them to the Progenitor virus, and programming them to seek out Lord Spencer. Wesker does not take this revelation well.
Diabolical Mastermind: Wesker is behind just about most of everything in the greater Resident Evil canon. He was a researcher under the man who created the T-Virus, organized the destruction of S.T.A.R.S to get combat data on the first generation T-viral B.O.W.s, faked his death at the hands of the Tyrant, had Ada Wong enter Raccoon City to recover a sample of Birkin's G-Virus, caused the outbreak on Rockfort Island by attacking it, leaked the location of Umbrella's last remaining bio-weapons facility to Chris and Jill so that he could use their diversion to steal all of the research data from its servers, released said data to get the company shut down, dispatched Krauser and Ada to recover the Las Plagas sample from the Los Illuminados cult, and finally tried to conquer the world, starting in Africa, with his Plagas-based Uroboros virus. He and his private army, H.C.F., are also responsible for the collaboration for the E-Series B.O.W in 2000 that would kickstart the events of 7. Wesker has so much influence over the Resident Evil storyline that his shadow continues to haunt the franchise long after his death.
Dirty Cop: As a cover job during his time as an Umbrella researcher, he was the leader of S.T.A.R.S., whereupon he informed his superiors of police activity and obstructed investigations into their business.
Dodge the Bullet: Due to his freakishly heightened senses, it is impossible to successfully shoot him upfront. He loves to showboat by often dodging bullets stylishly.
Empowered Badass Normal: After taking the experimental virus, he gains borderline superpowers. However, as he's already the product of a heinous eugenics program, Wesker was implied to already have some abnormally heightened traits before his resurrection.
Evil Brit: Wesker speaks with a Transatlantic accent, making himself sound upper class and intelligent. He is also a sadistic Mad Scientist who wants to to kill off most of the human population so that a subset of advanced humans live on. Subvered for the Resident Evil 4 remake, which completely removes the Transatlantic accent for the first time in the series.
Evil Gloating: Towards the end of the Arklay incident, he gloats to Jill and Chris over everything concerning his deception — figuring they're going to die anyway. In Jill's scenario, it actually bites him in the ass when Barry overhears him and knocks him out after knowing the leverage he claimed to have over his family is a bluff.
Evil Is Petty: He has several moments that illustrate how childish he actually is under all his bluster. Interestingly, all these moments concern Chris.
- He shoots Rebecca in the chest just to pointlessly prove to her and Chris that, yes, he is a soulless bastard that murdered all their beloved friends.
- On Rockfort Island, he beats up Claire just to get revenge on Chris by proxy. All the while he whines to her about how much he hates him.
- The main reason he sets up Jill as his brainwashed assassin is to hurt Chris. When he unveils her true identity, he's positively relishing in Chris' anguish.
Eviler than Thou: Wesker is this to Oswell E. Spencer. For decades, Lord Spencer has spent a considerable amount of his fortune and betrayed countless allies to achieve his dreams of godhood but he is nowhere close to achieving it, especially after the Raccoon City Incident has bankrupted his company and turned him into a wanted fugitive. Wesker kills him and takes his remaining assets to pursue the same goal of becoming a God-Emperor with Uroboros, kicking off the events of the game.
Everyone Has Standards:
- Subverted with Lisa Trevor. The journal (later audio drama), Wesker's Report II details his reaction to the experiments performed on Lisa Trevor: he is disturbed by the realization of what Spencer is willing to do... but only because of the possibility that he could end up being turned into a test subject in a similar way. He shows no sympathy for her at any time, and barely even views her as a person.
- Subverted when talking about the Ebola virus. He says it is "fortunate" that Ebola does not have the ability to create zombies but goes on to clarify that the reason for this statement is that it allows Umbrella to monopolize such an ability.
- However, the same file does later show a genuine standard of his — while unfazed by the idea of experimenting on people and creating viruses, he genuinely doesn't want a worldwide Zombie Apocalypse and is concerned about the possibility of one. Also, while it's not so much a moral standard, he is opposed to unprofessional behavior such as conducting rushed and poorly planned experiments that don't follow proper procedure, seeing it as a waste of potentially useful test subjects. And he's angered by Umbrella's constant nepotism, seeing it as foolish to judge people by their family instead of their own abilities. Of course, given his Sanity Slippage into his growing God complex by the time of 5 and his open participation in causing an outbreak of Uroboros with intent to eventually cleanse the Earth of all but the most fittest of people, this one genuine standard seems to have died and wasn't going to be reanimated any time soon.
Evil Mentor: As the captain of S.T.A.R.S., he is behind their training. He sarcastically remarks Chris and Jill make him proud for surviving various events across the series. It should be noted, however, that he is admiring himself in these instances of compliments.
Evilutionary Biologist: He was one of Umbrella's top scientists before defecting. As read in the research notes in the lab at the end of the first game, Wesker had a hand in the development of all the monsters seen in the Arklay Mansion.
Evil Versus Evil: By all accounts, Wesker is a narcissistic bastard out for himself and his own power above all else, but his betrayal of Umbrella and especially Oswell Spencer helps define a lot of the series thoroughly. Without Wesker, Umbrella could've been nigh-untouchable until the Raccoon City aftermath, and much of their downfall can be attributed to his selling them out. He effectively did much of the work for the heroes, even if it made him a Dragon Ascendant in their place, to the point that Spencer's already dead by Wesker's hand by the time Chris and Jill finally move to confront the old man.
Evil Wears Black: Has always had a thing for black outfits. His S.T.A.R.S. uniform is black and dark blue, his HCF uniform is an all-black version of that outfit, he adopts a slick all-black business suit in 4 and wears a black leather Badass Longcoat in Umbrella Chronicles and 5.
Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Wesker is, if nothing else, an incredibly handsome man. Keep in mind that he's 38 years old as of the first game, and barely looks it. By the time of the 5th game, he's in his late 40s and looks like he hasn't aged a day in 10 years (likely due to the virus). Despite his good looks, he is very much an evil and devious man.
False Friend: To S.T.A.R.S. all the way. While keeping up the act, he even acts believably friendly in the instances Jill and Chris meet him during the Arklay disaster.
Fan Disservice:
- Wesker takes in Uroboros out of desperation during the last phase of the final battle in 5, turning his shirtless torso into a tentacled monstrosity with an exposed heart and elongated right arm infused with plane debris. After taking enough damage, his left arm turns into a mass of tentacles.
- In his appearance in Mercenaries 3D, apart from a mutated arm, nothing detracts from his good looks.
Fatal Flaw: As shown in his fight with Chris throughout 5, and their previous encounter in the Lost In Nightmares DLC, Wesker has a rather nasty tendency to toy and torment his opponents and aim to make them suffer a slow death instead of simply going immediately for the kill, which would be a Curb-Stomp Battle thanks to his superhuman powers. Unsurprisingly, Chris and his allies were able to survive in their battles against Wesker thanks to this flaw most of the time. While Wesker lampshades that he should've killed Chris when he had the chance plenty of times in the past just before their final battle in 5, he still can't help but continue and try to Kick the Dog in order to get one over his arch-enemy (not helping that his unchecked and already degraded sanity and god complex has taken a further dive from the pain of the serum overdose to the Progenitor Virus inside him and then infecting himself with Uroboros^note to turn the tide against Chris), which eventually leads to his death.
A Father to His Men:
- A subversion considering his allegiances. While he doesn't overly show this in the first game, supporting material suggests the members of S.T.A.R.S, especially Chris, greatly looked up to Wesker as captain.
- Wesker is upset that he has to sacrifice S.T.A.R.S. because he admires them for their considerable talents as police officers. However, Wesker's new employers refuse to pay him unless he can provide combat data to them, and who better to test the B.O.W.s against than seasoned police officers? Wesker elects to betray his unit so he can earn a quick buck. Any fondness he has for the S.T.A.R.S. unit, even Chris who he considers his best man, is secondary to the fondness he has for himself.
Faux Affably Evil: You'd think he took some of his lessons from Bond villains with how he constantly tries to seem aloof, cool-headed and relatively reasonable on the surface, but the moment anything slights or annoys him, the veneer tears off to reveal a sociopathic monster of a man manipulating everyone around him to get what he wants while taking a sadistic delight in inflicting suffering on those that stand in his way. This especially goes with his developments; he genuinely is suave and straightforward at the Spencer Mansion with some seeming regrets for selling out his own special forces team for combat data, but by the time his later plans get rolling, he's so self-indulgent in his own ego that he plays this trope to the hilt not for the sake of pleasantries, but because he genuinely believes himself to be above everyone else that it's more akin to showboating his superiority.
The Fighting Narcissist: In most fights, he takes the time to readjust his looks or admire himself as the heroes ineffectually try to hurt him. It even carries over to his depiction in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, with his taunt having Wesker stop to pull out another pair of his Cool Shades if he's currently without them.
Foil:
- To Sergei Vladimir, their rivalry making up the spine of Umbrella Chronicles' original story. They're both mutant gunmen entrusted to do Oswell Spencer's bidding, but Sergei remains unfailingly loyal to the end while Wesker is defined by his treacherous nature. They also acted as prototypes for Spencer's eugenic plans: Wesker was a Psycho Prototype (or at the very least the sole surviving byproduct besides Alex Wesker) for Project W, a project dedicated to using the Progenitor virus to transform people into superhumans, whereas Sergei was the base model for the Tyrant B.O.W.s.
- He is also one to Ada whether he knows it or not, as noted by her closing narration in her scenario from UC. However, while Wesker descends further into villainy, Ada's morals and ethics become stronger.
  Ada: We were both used to being backstabbed and manipulated. I had a feeling our partnership would last a little while longer.
Flash Step: By 5 his Super-Speed takes this form at times, especially when dodging bullets. His speed is so extreme that it looks like he straight-up vanishes, showing that Wesker is moving faster than the human eye can perceive.
Friendly Rivalry: It's noted him and Birkin were extremely competitive with each other back in their academy days, fighting tooth and nail to surpass each other's theories and work. In contrast to the bitter hatred most relationships like this forged (such as Birkin and Alexia), it just made the two genuinely enjoy the other's company in their debates and discussions.

G-M

Genius Bruiser: He is of prodigious intellect by way of the eugenics program, Project W, serving as a top scientist during his time at Umbrella. He can also punch a person across a room and through doors made of stone. Even before he faked his death and mutated, he was skilled enough in martial arts to take down zombie dogs with no effort and was actually able to defeat (and kill) the T-001 Tyrant and go toe-to-toe with an Ivan during the Arklay disaster.
A God Am I: By 5, he's fully gone this way after absorbing too much of Spencer's deluded philosophy. However, even before then, he's had shades of a god complex, especially after his resurrection.
Wesker: And so I was reborn like a phoenix emerging from the flame. I no longer needed Umbrella. A new horizon stretched out before me. I had risen beyond the human race and cheated death itself, leaving nothing to oppose me.
Goggles Do Nothing: Inverted. In Resident Evil 5, his sunglasses protect him from Flash Grenades, and if you shoot them off, throwing a Flash Grenade will leave him vulnerable for a heavy stun, which allows you to do a very damaging melee combo on him.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Prior to paying Spencer a visit, Wesker was very level-headed Chessmaster despite his superiority complex. Afterward (once he learns of his origins), he jumps off the deep end and forms his insane plan with Uroboros.
Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: He has freaky orange and gold eyes slit like a feline — that is, when you actually see them. Naturally, he's evil.

Greater-Scope Villain: He's this for the entire franchise. Since faking his death, though he's not the main villain in most post-RE1 installments, he has been playing from behind the scenes in many of the games before 5.
- He sent Ada to Raccoon City to retrieve a sample of the G-Virus.
- He plays the role of secondary antagonist in Code: Veronica, being the one who attacked Rockford Island and spread the virus there as well.
- In 4, Wesker manipulates the events from behind the scenes and is the true mastermind responsible for Ashley's kidnapping. Krauser infiltrates the cult under his orders and uses Ashley as a means to get closer to Saddler, in order to steal a Plagas sample. Ada is sent in as backup but throws a wrench in Wesker's plans along the way. He still wins in the end, with a rival organization destroyed and a master Plagas sample obtained from Krauser's corpse. This is still mostly true in the remake, except that Krauser isn't one of his agents and Wesker wasn't involved with Ashley's kidnapping, simply using the situation to complete his own goals while Los Iluminados is distracted by her rescue.
- In Degeneration, his people bought over WilPharma after the events of the movie, had Senator Davis assassinated and collected the remains of Curtis Miller.
- In Darkside Chronicles, he is Javier Hidalgo's backer and is the one who sold him the T-Veronica virus.
- When partnering with Tricell, he inserted Jessica Sherawat into the BSAA and had her steal a sample of the T-Abyss virus.
- Tricell is also involved with the usage of B.O.W.s by Senator Wilson who used infected soldiers during the Penamstan Civil War and nearly caused a war between the US and China.
- According to the Wesker Report, he has been keeping an eye on Sherry ever since she was in government custody. Knowing about his threat, Derek Simmons had kept Sherry under his custody for 10 years, during which he performed many experiments on her, including the creation of the C-Virus.
- In 7, he and H.C.F. collaborated with The Connections to create the E-Series B.O.Ws.
Guest Fighter: He made his way as a Killer into Dead by Daylight in its second Resident Evil crossover.
The Heavy: He's still working for Spencer in Resident Evil, but it's Wesker who actually moves the plot along. He becomes the Big Bad in his own right in Resident Evil 5.

Hellish Pupils: After he is revived by Birkin's prototype virus — actually the Wesker Project's Progenitor virus — his eyes take on a monstrous crimson shade with vertical slits for pupils. It is somewhat explained that his eyes are mutated that way in order to compensate for his Super-Speed and reflexes, as human eyes cannot keep up with the visual information processes at that speed.
Immortality: Implied to be a Type 2, as he looks like he is only in his twenties, even when, by the time of his true death, he was a lot closer to his late forties. Most likely, this was the result of the virus he injected himself with. Word of God confirms he was designed to look older in 5 than in the earlier games, but he still doesn't really look 49, so he might just age more slowly.
Implacable Man: Throw something at him. Chances are it won't hit him in the first place or that it won't keep him down for more than a minute at most. For example, Wesker has a crane full of steel girders dropped on his head in Code: Veronica. It only fazes him for a few moments.
Improvised Weapon: To start the final battle off in 5, he throws his sunglasses at Chris, briefly dazing him for an immediate upper hand.
In a Single Bound: As a result of his powers, he is capable of leaping to inhuman heights, which he often does to either close the gap in a fight or make a getaway.
Inhuman Eye Concealers: Since the events of Code: Veronica, he has worn his shades to hide his eerie red eyes — the only visible mutation induced by his virus.
It's All About Me: Chris explicitly mentions to Sheva that Wesker "doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself."
It's Personal: Hoo boy, his complete and utter hatred for Chris Redfield is so extensive that this is probably one of the most iconic cases of the trope in gaming. He mostly disregarded Chris from being a threat at the Spencer Mansion, up until his Tyrant was laughed at by the man and then proceeded to kill the abomination. Once Wesker recovered from the incident and tried to set his own plans into motion, he very explicitly keeps an eye out for Chris from then on, going on to try to harass and murder him during Code: Veronica simply for being baited into trying to save Claire, to the point of losing all of his concentration in a fight with Alexia and trying to kill Chris the instant he spots him. By 5, once Chris and Sheva finally meet Wesker face-to-face, he utterly ignores Sheva outside of fighting circumstances and completely concentrates on his unstoppable hatred and spite for Chris, even flaunting the Brainwashed and Crazy Jill and sending her against him for kicks. By the time Wesker's having his Villainous Breakdown, one of the consistent things Wesker's spouting at that point is screaming Chris's name at the top of his lungs in absolute rage.
Jerkass: As if being an evil Mad Scientist wasn't enough, Wesker is a megalomaniacal narcissist that looks down on almost everyone with smug disdain with the exception of his sister Alex and colleague Birkin. He also has a penchant for stabbing people in the back as the S.T.A.R.S team, Umbrella, and Excella Gionne can unfortunately attest to. As shown in Separate Ways in the remake of RE4, he’s shown to be a Bad Boss toward Ada, frequently belittling her skillset and threatening her several times even when she’s shown to be competent and has a constant smug, condescending aura to him while boasting about killing billions to achieve his own eugenic utopia. It’s no wonder Ada betrays him in the end.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Whenever Wesker is shown to have a (non-exsistent) compassionate side. Such as saving Ada from the Ganado horde and sparing her from her betrayal in the RE4 remake, or in 5 having a personal connection with Excella when she has a crush on him. This ALL gets shredded down quickly since he only uses these actions as a means to his twisted ends.
Joke Character: Bizarrely enough he's this in Code: Veronica's Battle Game. While everyone else has guns with infinite ammo, Wesker only has a knife, and the game doesn't implement his superpowers in any way. Later games subvert this as his powers are implemented, and he tends to have the strongest loadouts too.
Joker Immunity:
- No matter how many times Chris and Jill put him down, he keeps coming back until 5. Possibly.
- Arguably downplayed. Between Code: Veronica and RE5, he only fought Chris and Jill in the latter game's prequel DLC (Lost in Nightmares), and him meeting Chris and Jill there was a Contrived Coincidence, something Wesker's in-game file lampshades). Most games that take place before Lost in Nightmares have him generally staying behind the scenes, and even after it he still remained hidden as Chris thought he was dead at first in RE5. Even in Umbrella Chronicles' "Dark Legacy" scenario, he doesn't meet Jill and Chris, despite all of them being in Umbrella's last remaining facility and Wesker being aware they're there. While Wesker lived for far longer than any other villain, he was generally smart enough to not put himself in the spotlight that much.
Large Ham: While he was a Cold Ham in previous appearances, he is this by 5 courtesy of going off the deep end (with his most villainous British accent to date).
Wesker: Complete. Global. Saturation.
Last-Name Basis: He is addressed solely by his last name in most of his appearances. The only exception being Revelations 2, which has characters use his first name to avoid confusion with the other Big Bad Wesker running around, Alex.
Lightning Bruiser: Wesker can move too fast to be seen, and he's strong enough to punch straight through a person's chest, catch and throw rockets at you, or kick you through a stone door.
Lovecraftian Superpower: Wesker gives himself Uroboros and everything that comes with it in order to face the heroes one last time.
Made of Iron: His body is possibly harder than iron itself, meaning, until being dipped into lava, it is practically impossible to kill him, let alone harm him. To wit: he's survived a cargo of steel bars falling on him with no injury, surviving the subsequent explosion of the Antarctic base with only some burn scars (that later healed); Jill attempted to throw him to his death into a ravine in a Heroic Sacrifice... which did nothing, and towards the end of 5, he's shot off the exit of an out-of-control aircraft but later shows up totally intact — albeit very winded.
Mad Scientist: He was a top scientist during his time as an Umbrella researcher. He still uses his expertise in virology to finance his criminal escapades and megalomaniacal ambitions.
The Man Behind the Man: Too much of 0, 1, 4, and parts of Umbrella Chronicles. A great deal of the plot is the result of him and Sergei trying to outdo one another in this department.
Master Actor: Up until the very end of the Mansion Incident where he deliberately drops the act, no one in S.T.A.R.S. suspected Wesker of being anything less than a great man.
Mighty Glacier: After his drug overdose and subsequent Uroboros absorption at the end of 5, he loses his superhuman speed, but is still unbelievably durable and strong.
Misanthrope Supreme: Wesker looks down on humanity at large, claiming they bring war and pestilence everywhere they go. His master plan is to eradicate most of it with only a few survivors to start anew, with himself as the god of course.
Mole in Charge: Wesker was the commanding officer of S.T.A.R.S. and used his authority to undermine police investigations into Umbrella. He was also undermining his team the entire time during the Mansion incident despite outwardly appearing as their trustworthy captain.
Motive Rant: During his second and final fights with Chris. The last one has him ranting and raving pretty much non-stop until Chris and Sheva shut him up for good.
"Has it never occurred to you that this planet is overpopulated? Only a handful of humans truly matter. Everyone else is just so much chaff. So now, I have to separate this chaff from the wheat. And with Uroboros, I can finally accomplish this."
Mr. Fanservice: For starters, his deep voice. He sports some Hellbent For Leather attire that partially shows off his body, and if you ever manage to see him shirtless◊... oh dear.

N-X

Narrator: Of Umbrella Chronicles and his self-titled documentary Wesker's Report, a canonical audio drama where he narrates mostly upon events he didn't directly take part in.
Narcissist: Wesker clearly lacks empathy, has a ridiculously high opinion of himself to the point of seeing himself as a superior being and even a god, and wants to achieve power at all costs, believing himself to be entitled to greatness. He's condescending and takes every opportunity to show off and is generally incredibly vain and self-centered. While he is capable of a genuine Villainous Friendship with Alex and Birkin up to even trying to save the latter from Raccoon City and can show genuine respect for people with skills like Birkin, Alex, and Ada, his own ego and hunger for power always come first. Also, wanting to surround oneself with other "superior"/"special" people is not an uncommon trait in people with this disorder.
A Nazi by Any Other Name: Wesker is a tall, blond-haired, and blue-eyed man whose origins in Project Wesker have disturbing parallels to Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler's Lebensborn project. Like Lebensborn, Project Wesker was a breeding program aimed at creating a "superior" breed of humans strong in mind, body, and soul from abducted children with desirable traits and brainwashed into parroting Spencer's eugenics talking points. There is a big difference in that Umbrella doesn't care about ethnicity like the Nazis did and Wesker admonishes people for judging based on bloodline instead of ability. However, he does want to use Uroboros to trigger the next stage in human evolution; killing those with what he considers "inferior genes."
Not So Above It All: His very specific attire and hairstyle suggest that Wesker is very conscious about his looks. He can often be seen running a hand over his hair to slick it back, sometimes even during (or just after) a fight.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He claims during the climax of 5 that his releasing Uroboros across the world and kick-starting a biological apocalypse will save the world, since humans come closer to self-destruction every day anyway, but it's obvious to anyone who's paying attention that he's nothing but a crazy Social Darwinist whose actions are centered around fueling his raging god complex.

Oh, Crap!: A brief moment after Alexia's transformation in Code: Veronica, as it actually manages to catch him off-guard as he realizes he's face-to-face with a powerful entity not unlike himself. The original release gives him a Curb-Stomp Battle that he has no choice but to retreat from despite him doing the same to Chris previously, while the X version has him caught in a deadlock unable to meaningfully attack her, showing his concern was warranted.
Omnicidal Maniac: Becomes this in 5. Although he wants to keep a few people alive, Wesker is so insane he doesn't consider the nature of Uroboros and the possibility it will simply kill everyone (even possibly himself).
Parental Abandonment: Wesker knocked up an Eastern European woman before leaving her. The resulting son, Jake Muller, has exactly zero relationships with his father and becomes a series protagonist several years after the man dies.
Playing Both Sides: Plays every single freaking side to his own advantage.
Power Creep, Power Seep: Whenever Wesker is playable, typically in the non-canonical Mercenaries game modes or the railgun games, his superpowers are heavily neutered to balance him out. Realistically, nothing should touch him, nor should he require such extensive use of guns.
Pragmatic Villainy: He repeatedly orders Ada to kill Leon during the Plagas incident. However, when Leon kills Krauser, he admits he will doubtlessly kill Saddler and stops concerning any effort on him.
Psychopathic Manchild: At his core, Wesker is arguably this with his plot to reshape humanity as a "god." The very idea stemming from his creator is outrageously childish, and Chris even derides Wesker for ostensibly getting his insane ideas from comic book villains.
Race Lift: He is black in the Netflix series.
Razor-Sharp Hand: He can fatally impale a human with only his fingertips. Of course, it has less to do with his hand being a blade of any sort and rather Wesker being brutally strong enough to simply shove his hand through solid bone.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Wesker hides his red eyes behind dark sunglasses and wears black clothing.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Despite his pupils being orange, they can flash red in the dark or during moments of high distress or anger.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ever calm and collected, Wesker is, or rather was the Blue to Birkin's red. By 5, Wesker's sanity has crumbled entirely, and he ends up making Birkin look downright subtle.
Renaissance Man: Geneticist, virologist, corporate executive, corporate spy, elite SWAT team commander, supersoldier, and criminal mastermind.
Ret-Canon: Prior to Code: Veronica, and especially the first Wesker's Report, the only time it was hinted at that Wesker would be infected (whether deliberately or not) with any strain of the T-Virus was in the optional Battle Mode included in the Sega Saturn version, where Wesker appears as an enemy zombie that's tougher than the usual kind.
The Rival: He had a very personal rivalry with Sergei Vladimir until his death. On a less personal note, Marcus deliberately set up Wesker to compete with Birkin during his days as a student.
Sadist: For all his sociopathic and Well-Intentioned Extremist boasting, Wesker has shown shades of this. He greatly enjoys tricking Barry to do his bidding, and later takes every other opportunity he has to specifically hurt Chris for foiling his plans at the mansion, from brutally beating Claire to brainwashing Jill. S.D. Perry took this characterization and ran with it.
Say My Name: "CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!"
Shock and Awe: He gains mild electric powers after absorbing Uroboros and the plane cargo at the end of 5, empowering his attacks.
Skewed Priorities: When he notices Chris watching his fight with Alexia in Code: Veronica X, Wesker's sheer contempt for Chris suddenly overwrites all the urgency he had in the fight as he goes for his ex-subordinate first. This causes him to take a direct blast of Alexia's flaming blood, realize what he was doing, and decide to leave the fight to Chris instead.
Sinister Shades: In later games, he uses them to hide his inhuman eyes, but he wore them even before his augmentations as seen in a lab photo, probably due to Rule of Cool.
Smug Smiler: When he isn't wearing his unflappable frown, he wears a smug as hell grin.
Chris (to Hulk): And there he is...That guy with the sunglasses and the smug look.
Smug Snake: Wesker's ridiculously inflated ego and sense of self-worth ultimately become his undoing. Even up to the final battle with Chris and Sheva, he toys with them and believes he will come out on top regardless. He's proven wrong, and only when it's apparent he will lose does his smugness evaporate.
Smug Super: Wesker never misses an opportunity to boast about his perceived superiority over his opponents.
The Social Darwinist: Believes the vast bulk of humanity is worthless and that only a minority of people — with superior talent, intelligence, physical stats, etc. — have ever actually mattered throughout human history. He assumes that Uroboros will weed out the weak and the strong will survive and become superhuman, though bearing in mind that the only reason he could handle it was probably due to all the experiments performed on him and the fact that he was already superhuman, and that Word of God implied even he would have been killed by Uroboros eventually had he won the fight, his plan might actually have just wiped out every living thing on the planet. Even as far back as the original Resident Evil, does Wesker quip "All weak people exist to be eaten" before attempting to unleash the Tyrant against Jill.
The Sociopath: Wesker checks all the boxes for being a textbook sociopath, being cruel, narcissistic, murderous, and thinking absolutely nothing of anyone or anything but himself. He's actually such a blatant cold-blooded sociopath the few people that know him personally will always remark on one of the aforementioned traits.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: He will commit all sorts of atrocious acts whilst maintaining the same cold expression and eloquent vocal tone that he usually addresses in casual interactions.
So Proud of You: He frequently, sarcastically remarks that Chris makes him proud — as if he were still his superior.
Standard Female Grab Area: He does it to Claire in CVX, which is justified since he has Super-Strength. In RE5 he has a grab animation during his second boss battle where he not only can do it to Sheva, he can do it to Chris!
The Starscream: To Umbrella, although it's several more years before he actually kills Spencer, Spencer was able to predict and even manipulate some of his actions even after his betrayal.
Start of Darkness: Played with. When he first became joint Chief Researcher at Arklay at the age of 18, Wesker had already been studying at Umbrella's training centre for a year, working for Marcus, and was well aware of the human experimentation they performed and unfazed by the idea of creating bioweapons. He'd also been described as cruel and ruthless while at the training centre. Still, he seemed fairly focussed on scientific curiosity and not that different to other new Umbrella researchers such as Birkin, rather than being a full-blown scheming supervillain. The moment Wesker was introduced to Lisa Trevor, however, is described as a pivotal moment in his life, showing him exactly what Spencer was willing to do, and made him realize along with Birkin that there was no turning back — lest they end up like her.
The Stoic: He always maintains a calm demeanor throughout the series until he snaps in the fifth game.
Strong and Skilled: He was a martial arts master long before he turned himself into a transhuman capable of punching through walls, dodging bullets, and tanking RPG explosions.
Sunglasses at Night: His trademark. Comes back to bite him during the second fight with him in 5: for all his physical abilities, he apparently doesn't have night vision, and the trick to catching him off-guard is to blow out the lights and sneak up on him in the dark.
Super Serum: Even after his resurrection, he needs periodic injections of a special chemical in order to maintain his powers. An overdose of it causes him pain and seems to alter his judgment and ability to effectively use them, which is the key to beating him in 5.
Super-Soldier: The virus strain that he injected himself with to fake his death to Umbrella essentially made him this. The virus was actually designed by Spencer as part of his ultimate scheme, making the virus almost a Super Serum — Albert was one of two Wesker children to survive to the present day and the only one who proved compatible with it, gaining superhuman abilities and reflexes in the process.
Super-Speed: After taking the experimental virus, he moves faster than the human mind can process. See Dodge the Bullet above. To the naked eye, it looks like he's teleporting.
Super-Strength: Capable of lifting missiles with one hand, piercing through his enemies' chests with his fingers, and holding Chris with one hand by the throat, among other feats of his strength after his upgrade.
Surrounded by Idiots: In co-op game modes, he is insufferable as ever with his superiority complex. When his partner is downed or letting him down, he'll say this trope verbatim.
Supervillain Lair: We get several glimpses of his lair during his hiding in 4 and Umbrella Chronicles. It just reeks of a supervillain with how it's a dark room surrounded by high-tech computers.
Take Over the World: His life's goal. Later on, he decides to exterminate most of humanity beforehand.
Terms of Endangerment: Continues to call Chris by his first name long past when the two could even remotely be considered friends.
Tranquil Fury: Wesker is actually easily irritable despite his stoic demeanor, though his anger is almost always conveyed through smooth calmness.
Two Decades Behind: The man is stuck in the 1990s, decked out in an all-black leather Matrix ensemble including sunglasses, topping it off with Guy Fieri-Esque frosted tips and hair gel.
Tyke-Bomb: Revealed to be one of several Wesker children by Spencer.
Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: He is a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with Chris, Jill, and (in Ultimate) Nemesis.
Unexplained Recovery: In the first game's remake, he can be killed by Lisa (the same battle on Jill's side gets Barry killed if he's hit by Lisa). He still shows up in the lab afterwards like nothing happened and Chris doesn't comment on it, and this was before Wesker got his powers. Supposedly the game was going to have a different ending if he gets killed by Lisa, but even if so, they didn't implement it.
Unwitting Pawn: Was revealed to have partly been this to Spencer in 5. While Wesker never really trusted Spencer, started scheming against him early on, and eventually betrayed him (which, judging by Spencer's Memoirs referring to the "mistakes" he made with Albert that led to the betrayal, seems to have genuinely caught him off guard), he hadn't Out-Gambitted Spencer as thoroughly as he believed. Spencer was still able to predict and manipulate many of his actions, and Wesker remained unaware of the influence Spencer had had over his upbringing and his beliefs. Suffice to say, he doesn't take this revelation very well and kills Spencer to truly take over as Big Bad.
Villain Ball: Before the climactic battle in 5, Wesker disappointingly expresses he should have killed Chris a long time ago in the many chances he had. Chris throws it back at him, saying it's his own fault for not doing so.
Villainous Breakdown: In 5. The moment he gets injected with his Weaksauce Weakness serum, he completely loses his shit, and by the final battle, he's reduced to Darwinistic ranting and feral screaming.
Villainous Friendship: With William Birkin. They're shown together in multiple scenes of 0, they went to the Umbrella Executive Training Centre together as teenagers and worked at Umbrella alongside one another for years. In some versions of Wesker's Report, it's even mentioned that Wesker had a plan to get Birkin out of Raccoon City and save his life, although he didn't succeed. It's also heavily implied he has this with his "sister" Alex Wesker, who speaks nothing but positive things about Albert, commissioned a family portrait of the two of them together and took the news of his death quite hard.
Villainous Legacy: After being Killed Off for Real in 5, his influence leaves a shadow throughout the rest of the franchise. Alex Wesker makes use of the Uroboros virus he created in Revelations 2 to finish her own t-Phobos project (and decides to speed up her plans after learning of his death), his illegitimate son Jake Muller is one of the protagonists of 6, and a file in 7 reveals that his organization, the H.C.F., had a role in the creation of Eveline and the Mold.
Villainous Rescue: In the remake version of Separate Ways, Wesker personally saves Ada from a bunch of Ganados when an infection causes her to fall unconscious. However, he makes it very clear to her that he only did so because he still requires her services in retrieving the Amber, warning her that she should ensure she remains an asset and not a liability to him.
Villain Protagonist: In Umbrella Chronicles and various bonus levels.
Villain Team-Up: With Doctor Doom in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Weapon Specialization: His S.T.A.R.S.-issued Beretta handgun, which he still carries during the events in Kijuju in 5. It is likely Wesker still uses his old Samurai Edge to remind Chris of his betrayal all those years ago as when Chris sees this handgun again, he glares at Wesker intensively.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Was this in the original Code: Veronica. After he loses a fight with Alexia, he runs away with his tail between his legs and disappears from the story. It's only his Battle Game victory screen that implies he escaped by using a submarine, and even that doesn't explain whether or not he managed to get a t-Veronica sample. Code: Veronica X added an extra scene where it's made clear he got what he came for and will be a threat afterward.
Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: In all of his fights against Chris and his allies, it's very clear that Wesker could've killed all of them with little effort if it weren't for his habit to prolong their fights to toy with them and aim for a Cruel and Unusual Death. Even as Wesker himself lampshades this, he still can't help but continue doing so.
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity:
- Assuming that Wesker wasn't a nut, to begin with, him injecting himself with a virus (and being revived by it) certainly made him such. Even if he was, it certainly made him a lot nuttier than before.
- Lampshaded by the trope namer for this trope's opposite in Marvel vs. Capcom 3:
  Spider-Man: You've got great power, Albert... but you're not very responsible with it.
The Worf Effect: Is on the receiving end of this in the original version of Code: Veronica. When he meets Chris earlier in the story, Wesker rather clearly outclasses him, but when Wesker fights Alexia, she outclasses him to show how powerful she is. Code: Veronica X changed this scene and made them be roughly on the same level, and none of Wesker's later fights had him looking weak for someone else to look strong, so this is an Early-Installment Weirdness too.
Would Hit a Girl: He has no compunctions at all over hurting or manipulating women. Most notably, he sadistically beats down Claire on Rockfort just to childishly get revenge on Chris by proxy.
Would Hurt a Child: Has no problems infecting and using Steve Burnside, who's seventeen years old, as a test subject. There's also the fact that children would have been likely killed by the Uroboros bioweapon he's been making to "purify" the world.
Worthy Opponent: Wesker's hatred for Chris may be very mutual, but the latter at the very least respected him enough as a warrior to name the Albert-01, the Cutsom-Built Anti-B.O.W pistol that helped Ethan slay the Megamycete Matriarch Evelyn in Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, after his long-deceased adversary.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: His modus operandi for subordinates in time. Ada herself lampshades this, planning to jump ship before he decides to pull this on her. She successfully does this after the Plagas incident.
Xanatos Speed Chess: Despite his failure to procure an intact Queen Plaga, he nonetheless managed to achieve his goal of getting the next best thing — a Dominance Plaga from Krauser, which still helped in his plans.

Characters / Resident Evil - Albert Wesker

Albert Wesker

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Albert Wesker

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