Summary
Not every character in theResident Evilseries is as adequately prepared for a zombie or B.O.W outbreak as the likes of Leon, Jill, or Chris. In fact, whether it’s due to their lack of combat abilities, their timid personality, or even just their young age, there have been plenty of characters seen throughout this popular franchise who could be considered underdogs. Though these individuals may seem like easy pickings for the zombies and mutants, they still manage to fight through all the adversity despite what’s thrown their way, making it all so easy for fans to cheer them on in support.
It’s always extremely satisfying to see a character who feels completely unfit for the situation giving everything they have to make it through the nightmarish adventure in one piece, so long as they are a hero, that is. The good news is, there’s certainly no shortage ofResident Evilcharacters who fit this description, so it’s time to see why they could be considered underdogs within their respective games.
Most characters in theResident Evilgames are more than happy to keep a gun by their side at all times, considering how frequent outbreaks and bioterror attacks have become sincethe Raccoon City incident. Moira, however, isn’t a huge fan of them and refuses to even pick up a gun due to a traumatic incident in her childhood. Because of this, Moira is unable to use firearms for much ofRevelations 2’sstory, making her extremely vulnerable and pretty much defenseless.
As the stakes rise higher and higher though, Moira is forced to question her personal rule, resulting in a personal arc that sees her go from a scared and weak survivor to someone who is more than capable of holding her own. She may start off as a major underdog, especially when compared to the legendary Claire Redfield, but Moira continues fighting against the odds regardless.
Steve may act all tough and courageous when he first shows up at the beginning ofCode Veronica, but it quickly becomes clear that this is just a facade. The truth is, after his father was caught selling off Umbrella’s data to the highest bidders, Steve’s mother was killed, while he and his old man were imprisoned onRockfort Island. Needless to say, Steve is put in a pretty miserable situation, especially since he’s also extremely clumsy and has barely any experience with firearms, which isn’t great when you’re stuck on an island crawling with zombies.
Even though Steve has the odds stacked against him, he does still prove to be a pretty useful ally to Claire, though his naivety also causes her a few problems when he randomly gets trapped in a room or flicks a switch he’s not supposed to. Unfortunately, this underdog didn’t see it through to the end of his game with his life intact, but many fans were still rooting for him as he began to grow and mature throughout the story.
Behind closed doors, Brad Vickers, a member of the S.T.A.R.S team, is often referred to as “chickenheart” by his colleagues, which pretty much sums up his personality. Brad is a coward, as is made crystal clear when he decides to ditch his team in the first game by flying off in the helicopter after they are pursued by zombies and forced into the Spencer Mansion.
However, what’s also made clear is that Brad is trying to overcome this major weakness. For example, despite abandoning his teammates, he continues flying around the mansion until, eventually, he sees a flare from the helipad, leading him to throw out a rocket launcher for the team to use. InResident Evil 3, he also tries to help Jill escape, but soon meets his fate at the hands ofthe Nemesis.
Despite Irving being one of the several antagonists who appear inResident Evil 5, he’s not exactly treated all that well by his fellow villains. In fact, there are several scenes showing Irving being mocked, belittled, and even attacked by the likes of Excella and a mysterious hooded figure, with the only thing keeping him going is the money he has been promised.
As a result, Irving seems like a man down on his luck who is trying, despite all the negativity surrounding him, to make his situation work. At the end of the day, though, he was still a black market dealer who deserved what eventually came to him, though when he was still around and kicking, he was definitely considered the underdog of the villains compared to Wesker and Excella.
Though Ashley comes across as a very shy and isolated character who gets scared very easily, she still makes an effort to try and help out Leon in any way that she can inResident Evil 4, especially the remake. When Leon gets trapped in a cage by some cultists, for example, it’s up to Ashley tosolve a few puzzlesto get him out, all while having hordes of enemies on her tail at every moment.
She would also assist Leon with taking out some of the corrupted knights by tossing a few blue flame lamps their way, alongside opening doors for him by reaching levers that are out of the way. Clearly, she’s not someone who is even remotely prepared to go up against Saddler and his army, but seeing her attempt to defy the odds, even when she’s so afraid, makes her a truly commendable underdog.
Being thrust into a city packed full of bloodthirsty zombies and mutants is already scary enough for adults likeLeon and Claire, but one can only imagine how utterly terrifying it must have been for young Sherry. With her parents being nowhere to be seen and the creepy Chief Irons desperately searching for her, Sherry goes through quite the hellish adventure after she teams up with Claire inResident Evil 2, with the Redfield quickly becoming her personal guardian.
Considering how young she is, being just 12 years old, it’s remarkable that Sherry managed to make it out of Raccoon City in one piece, but her journey didn’t stop there. Even when she’s a bit older inResident Evil 6, Sherry still has a target on her back due to her adoption of the G-Virus, with her always being characterized as an underdog who constantly has to fight for her right to live.
When Rebecca and her team are sent to investigate a series of grizzly murders in the Arklay Mountains, she never would have expected to end up on a train full of zombies and deadly leech monsters. With her entire team separated and only a pistol at her side, Rebecca isn’t exactly in the best position to be fighting swarms of zombies, especially considering she was primarilytrained as a medic, not a soldier.
Though she does manage to survive the whole ordeal, she again appears as somewhat of an underdog in the firstResident Evilgame, where she can be found trying to avoid the zombies without a gun to defend herself, at least initially. As the games have gone on, Rebecca has become a much more confident and reliable member of the cast, though she always feels like someone who is constantly punching above their weight, considering she doesn’t possess the same skills and experience as many of her close allies.
For a survival horror game to be scary, the protagonist needs to feel like they’re constantly on the back foot, with the odds being stacked against them. While this can be the case with Leon, Chris, Jill, and Claire, these characters have had so much experience fighting bioterror and handling weapons that they feel adequate to take on anything that arises, but this doesn’t apply to Ethan, who is designed to act as an ordinary civilian.
Ethan isn’t strong or agile enough to pull off roundhouse kicks orpunch boulders. Instead, he’s a pretty weak guy who is simply trying to make sense of everything going on around him, but his unwavering loyalty to his family, and determination to keep them protected, still makes him a character fans have come to love. Even inResident Evil Village, where he was left in the dark and given no help from Chris or the BSAA, Ethan still went to extreme lengths to save his daughter, making him a true underdog.
