For every great hero, there needs to be an equally compelling and entertaining villain. It makes sense, then, that the Resident Evil series features some excellent antagonists to act as foils for the franchise’s many iconic heroes. Of course, thanks to Resident Evil‘s penchant for including foes both human and non-human, most of the series’ villains boil down to simple “man vs monster” scenarios in which players face off against each game’s BOW of the moment. In addition to those creatures, though, there are a handful of recurring humanoid villains that paint themselves in truly dastardly light to be some of the most evil and nefarious characters in gaming. It’s these personalities that comprise many of the best villains in Resident Evil.
Like the series’ heroes, many of the best villains in Resident Evil show up time and again to hatch some world-ending scheme involving using or selling bio-organic weapons of mass destruction. And though some of these villains’ personalities and characterization border on “mustache-twirling” cariacatures of evil, the series occasionally introduces a foe so truly despicable that it stands out from the pack and sticks with the player long after the credits role. Every character on this list is here because, in each of their respective games, they represent the pinnacle of the series’ “big bads”.
10. Nikolai Zinoviev
Thanks to the game’s original subtitle, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Nemesis was the primary villain of Resident Evil 3. In actuality, it’s the double-crossing Umbrella agent Nikolai Zinoviev that steals the show. Nikolai regularly displays a heartless and cold villainy characterized by flippant displays of violence and complete disregard for anyone other than himself. Whether it’s his shocking murder of a fellow squad mate or his betrayal of Jill by trapping her on the Raccoon City subway, Nikolai routinely does things throughout the course of Resident Evil 3 that will have players cursing under their breath at the character. Thankfully, Nikolai’s many displays of villainy culminate in a bit of poetic justice via his comeuppance at the hands of Jill.
9. Jack Baker
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard immediately sets itself apart from the rest of the series thanks to its rural Louisiana setting and swapping of Night of the Living Dead as a primary cinematic inspiration for the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. At the head of the deranged family hosting protagonist Ethan Winters is the enigmatic and terrifying Jack Baker. Jack is much more than just a looming presence over the Baker family, as it becomes apparent after the first encounter with the patriarch that something more is going on underneath the surface than is initially obvious. Much like Mr. X in Resident Evil 2, players will face off against Jack multiple times and he routinely stalks players throughout Biohazard‘s remote property as an unkillable stalker with regenerative capabilities. Between his nigh-invlunerability and constant threats to the player, Jack is a truly unsettling villain.
8. Ramon Salazar
Ramon Salazar might not be the main villain of Resident Evil 4, but he makes a strong case for being one of its most memorable. This diminutive member of European nobility is the Castellan, or governor, of the castle overlooking Resident Evil 4‘s remote Spanish setting. Right from the initial moments of his introduction he makes it very clear that he has nothing more than pure disdain for Leon’s intrusion onto his property, which makes sense given the little lord’s partnership with Resident Evil 4‘s antagonist Osmund Saddler. Salazar goes to great legnths to place all manner of traps and obstacles in Leon’s way, to where when players finally get to crush the pint-sized pain in the neck it’s a truly cathartic experience. Somehow, the remake of Resident Evil 4 makes this iconic villain even more detestable.
7. Lady Dimitrescu
Much like Ramon Salazar, Alina Dimitrescu has a relatively small amount of screen time in Resident Evil Village but somehow looms large over the entire game as one of its most memorable characters. The first reveals of “Lady D” in the weeks leading up to Resident Evil Village‘s release would see the character attain near-legendary status among fans before they even knew anything about the character, and her actual persona and demeanor within the game’s story only serve to cement her as one of the series’ best femme fatales. Lady Dimitrescu is a larger-than-life presence, both figuratively and literally, and as the Resident Evil series’ only confirmed vampire, she has a special place as both one of its most compelling human villains and one of its best monsters.
6. Osmund Saddler
The “big bad” of Resident Evil 4 is none other than the nefarious Osmund Saddler, whose discovery of the Las Plagas parasite and subsequent conversion of an entire village into a mindless cult see him hatch a plan for world domination. Unfortunately for Saddler, his plan to kidnap the US President’s daughter as part of his schemes uproariously backfires in his face, with none other than Leon Kennedy showing up to put a stop to Saddler once and for all. Despite his inclusion in only one game in the series, Saddler is an iconic villain on par with some of the franchise’s recurring evils thanks to his singluar focus and willingness to do anything to achieve his dastardly goals.
5. Alexia Ashford
Alexia is an all-too-rare character archetype in the Resident Evil series, as she stands as one of the franchise’s few tragic villains. Both a victim and a perpetrator, Alexia Ashford is one of the living results of her grandfather’s research for Umbrella, the progeny of Umbrella co-founder Edward Ashford. Her genius would result in her becoming a top virologist for Umbrella at an astoundingly young age, and with that power and access to information she discovers the truth behind her conception and creation as a genetically-engineered clone. After kidnapping her own “father” and continuing her grandfather’s work on the t-Veronica virus, Alexia discovers that her DNA will ultimately self-destruct and places herself into suspended animation as an act of self-preservation after willingly injecting herself with the virus.
What makes Alexia special is that, were it not for the shocking revelations behind her creation, she may have gone on to have a somewhat “normal” life as a scientist and researcher. It’s not until she realizes that her existence is nothing more than a science experiment that she takes a hard left turn into villainy, but once she’s there she makes a strong case for one of the better enemies in the series.
4. Mr. X
Mr. X’s first appearance in the series would end up being a brief inclusion as part of the B Game for the original Resident Evil 2. In that scenario, the player learns that Umbrella is dispatching a Tyrant BOW to deal with the clean-up effort and destroy any evidence of Umbrella’s connection to the Raccoon City zombie outbreak, eventually causing him to cross paths with either Claire or Leon in the process. The remake of Resident Evil 2 throws a surprising curveball players’ way by introducing Mr. X as a persistent threat throughout the first major portion of the game, completely changing the first hours of either Claire or Leon’s campaigns into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the terminator like Tryant.
What makes Mr. X stand out as the best of the Resident Evil series’ iconic Tyrant monsters is its blank stare and unshakable pursuit of the player. The Terminator comparison for Mr. X is an apt one, as he will relentlessly stalk his target (e.g., the player) until either he or you die. And, at several points in Resident Evil 2 when the player thinks that Mr. X might be gone for good, he shows up at the most inopportune time to ratchet the game’s tension up to 11. He might not have much of a personality in comparison to other villains on this list, but in terms of pure terror-inducing presence, it’s hard to beat Mr. X.
3. William Birkin
Like Alexia Ashford, William Birkin is another of Resident Evil‘s tragic villains, exemplifying the qualities of other similar evils like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Dr. Seth Brundle from David Cronenberg’s incredible remake of The Fly. A top researcher for Umbrella, Birkin is one of the driving forces behind the creation of the t-Virus and its more powerful offshoot, the G-Virus. When Birkin learns of Umbrella’s attempts to shutter his research, he attempts to escape with the last sample only to be executed at the hands of Umbrella security personnel. In his dying moments, William injects himself with the G-Virus, transforming into a hideous abomination that either Claire or Leon must deal with during the events of Resident Evil 2.
Aside from being a terrfying-looking enemy that is more than capable of quickly killing the player, William earns a spot high-up on the list of best Resident Evil villains thanks to the glimpses of his former humanity that occasionally peak through. When the player first encounters William Birkin, he doesn’t appear angry, he looks scared — as if he is fighting with his entire will against the uncontrollable transformations the G-Virus is forcing his body through. As both a boss enemy and an example of the Resident Evil series’ body-horror leanings, William Birkin is one of the franchise’s best villains.
2. Ozwell E. Spencer
Though there are three founders of the Umbrella Corporation, neither James Marcus or Edward Ashford reach the same heights of villainy as Ozwell E. Spencer. A brilliant scientist and expert biologist, Spencer would ruthlessly cut out his co-founders to persist as the sole driving force behind the Umbrella Corporation’s success, eventually pivoting the company into developing bio-organic weapons (BOWs) with the intent of selling them to the world’s military superpowers. Perhaps most damning, though, is his ultimate goal of pitting nations against one another using these BOWs to eventually arrive as the world’s sole leader through carefully controlled antidotes and vaccines against the viruses his company created.
In addition to being a megalomaniacal maniac, Spencer is also a cold-blooded killer who would systematically oversee the execution of any individual he perceived as a rival. As the mentor of Albert Wesker, Spencer is also inadvertently responsible for the events that lead to the entire Resident Evil series, making him the evil figurehead of the franchise. Even though players never face off against Spencer directly, he is the cause of all the misfortune occuring across the entire Resident Evil timeline.
1. Albert Wesker
Spencer may be the ultimate evil behind the backstory of Resident Evil via the discovery of the Progenitor Virus and creation of the Umbrella Corporation, but it’s his protegee Albert Wesker that is undoubtedly the best villain in the series. When players first meet Wesker in the original Resident Evil, he is originally an ally and the commander of the S.T.A.R.S. unit for the Raccoon City Police Department. However, both Chris and Jill eventually learn that Wesker is actually an undercover researcher for the Umbrella Corporation, having purposefully led the S.T.A.R.S. members to their deaths as part of a research-gathering exercise to collect valuable data on the t-Virus.
Wesker is always in it for himself, constantly crossing, double-crossing, and even triple-crossing other villains in the franchise to serve his own mysterious ends. What makes Wesker such a great villain is that he’s about as pragmatic as they come, and never takes things personally except where Chris Redfield happens to get involved. Still, his regular appearances throughout the franchise make him something akin to the Resident Evil franchise’s version of a recurring villain like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, and it’s highly likely that his apparent “death” at the end of Resident Evil 5 isn’t the last we’ll see of Wesker.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Gameplay screenshot.