Even though he hasn’t made a mainline series appearance since 2009’s Resident Evil 5, Albert Wesker stands as one of the most compelling and interesting villains in the Resident Evil series. The Umbrella Coruporation would recruit Wesker to be part of a program that trains and then infects promising individuals with the Progenitor Virus, after which Wesker would begin his career at Umbrella as a researcher more than 20 years prior to the Arklay Mountains incident in 1977. Together, both he and William Birkin would prove to be instrumental in Umbrella’s development of the t-Virus, with Wesker even overseeing the cover-up and trying to stop the spread of the virus before following orders from Umbrella to sacrifice the S.T.A.R.S. unit for valuable combat data.
At this point in the story, Wesker had already made up his mind to betray Umbrella and sell the t-Virus research on the black market, which would lead to a massive uptick in bio-organic weapon attacks and bioterrorism around the globe. Simultaneously, Wesker’s self-injection of the t-Virus would result in him gaining superhuman abilities, making him the ultimate series antagonist for several years before his eventual demise at the hands of his nemesis and Resident Evil series hero, Chris Redfield. Despite his absence from the Resident Evil series for over a decade, Wesker’s presence still looms large over the franchise for both his involvement in the events that precipitate the series’ beginning and his role as a double and triple-crossing spy always acting in his own dastardly self-interest.
Resident Evil (1996)
Players first meet Wesker as the S.T.A.R.S. unit commander in the original Resident Evil. Arriving on-site to the location of Bravo Team’s crashed helicopter along with Alpha Team, Wesker accompanies the surviving members of Alpha Team inside the Spencer Mansion and then proceeds to enact his orders from Umbrella. Depending on whether the player chooses Chris or Jill, Wesker will disappear with the opposite character and then show up later in the story to provide an update on how the S.T.A.R.S. members can escape the mansion. Not long after this, it becomes obvious (through examining the diary entries and memos littered around the Spencer Mansion and underground lab) that Wesker is actually a mole and in the employ of Umbrella.
Either Chris or Jill make their way through the underground lab before coming face to face with Wekser and confronting his duplicitous nature, but Wesker forces the player into the lab containing the Tyrant at gunpoint. Depending on how the player handles their companion character during the events of Resident Evil, Wesker will either die by Tyrant’s hand or fall unconscious, and regardless of which scenario plays out his body disappears from the area afterwards. Although he appears dead by the conclusion of Resident Evil, the franchise would prove to be far from done with Albert Wesker.
Resident Evil – CODE: Veronica (2000)
Months after the Arklay Mountains incident and the destructon of Raccoon City, Chris Redfield’s younger sister Claire follows his investigation into Umbrella, tracking him to the company’s Paris research facility. Unfortunately, the lead proves to be false and Claire ends up being a prisoner of Umbrella herself. After successfully breaking out of her cell and reaching a computer, Claire contacts her fellow Raccoon City survivor Leon Kennedy and passes along her location in hopes of Leon informing Chris of her whereabouts. Thankfully, Chris gets the message and immediately heads to the Rockfort Island prison facility. And when he gets there, he’s greeted by a familiar face.
CODE: Veronica stuns players by revealing that Wesker is not only alive following the Arklay Mountains incident, but that he’s actively working against Umbrella and has superhuman abilities thanks to his adaptability to the t-Virus. Wesker is able to easily subdue Chris and depart, but of course Redfield gives chase as they’re both heading to the same place — the Umbrella Antarctic research facility. Here the two do battle once again, but when Wesker is harmed by the mutated Alexia Ashford he retreats in order to live to fight another day. Wesker attempts to capture Claire but is hurt in an explosion and escapes the facility.
Resident Evil (2002)
Wekser’s appearance in the Resident Evil remake is largely identical to his debut in the original game, with the one major exception being a greater emphasis on his delivering of dialogue and a more fleshed-out characterization. He still appears in his iconic all-black uniform and dons his trademark sunglasses, which give him an undeniably cool and callous demeanor in the face of the events unfolding around him. For longtime players, the knowledge of Wesker being the double-crossing S.T.A.R.S. member responsible for Resident Evil‘s events does little to take away from his impact as a villain, and the reveal of his place as the game’s villain still acts as an incredible twist to the narrative.
Resident Evil 0 (2002)
Prior to the Arklay Mountains incident and the events at the center of Resident Evil, Wesker would serve as both the commander of the S.T.A.R.S. unit and as a top-level Umbrella researcher. Part of his duties would involve his management of both the Arklay Laboratory (hidden within the Spencer Mansion) and the Umbrella Executive Training Center. After an outbreak of the t-Virus at the lab and a series of high-profile murders in Raccoon City, Umbrella begins to worry about the sustainability of keeping its experiments secret, resulting in the company ordering Wesker to use the S.T.A.R.S. unit to gather valuable combat data from the BOWs at both sites.
The first victims would end up being the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team, who after departing to investigate the murders find themselves getting wiped out at the Spencer Mansion. Rebecca Chambers would end up being one of the sole surviving members and end up assisting Chris Redfield after Alpha Team’s arrival at the site, and Resident Evil 0‘s HD remaster features a new “Wesker Mode” that allows players to assume the role of the villain and his partner Becca as they trail Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen to monitor their success against the BOWs.
Resident Evil 4 (2005)
Wekser shows up once again in Resident Evil 4 as a minor character acting on behalf of his new mysterious Organization. After learning of the Las Plagas from Ada Wong, Wesker dispatches Jack Krauser as an inside operative to work with Osmund Saddler and secretly retrieve a strain of the parasite. Of course, Krauser is unsuccessful and eventually suffers defeat at the hands of Leon Kennedy, prompting Wesker to issue orders to Ada to retrieve the sample at whatever cost. Ada ends up a captive of Saddler, with Leon coming to her rescue, and the last players hear from Wesker is his issuing of orders to Ada (which she subsequently disobeys).
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007)
Wesker plays a prominent role in a handful of the scenarios from Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, as the game details the events occuring during and around the Arklay Mountains incident and the zombie outbreak of Raccoon City. The villain once again appears in his trademark all-black S.T.A.R.S. uniform and sunglasses, and players get to experience the events that unfold as Wesker tries to escape the Umbrella Training Facility from Resident Evil 0. Additionally, Wesker plays a pivotal role in exposing Umbrella, leaking critical information regarding the company’s Russian facility. After Chris and Jill raid the facility and obtain the smoking gun against Umbrella on a hard drive within, the company files for bankruptcy. However, Wesker is able to use the corporations secrets as leverage in gaining a position of power with competitor, Tricell.
Resident Evil 5 (2009)
Resident Evil 5 sees Wesker once again reprising his role as the game’s primary antagonist (for the first time since the original game). This time, Wesker is once again up to his old tricks as he uses pharmaceutical corporation Tricell as a means for his typical double-crossing schemes aiming for world-domination. In possession of the biological superweapon Uroboros, Wesker plots to unleash the mutagen into the world’s atmosphere and use it as a means to obtain a position of ultimate power by being the sole possessor of the antidote. What’s more, Wesker has none other than original Resident Evil hero and former S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine in his employ, who he controls using a special device implanted in her chest.
Years prior to the events of Resident Evil 5, Chris and Jill track Wesker’s whereabouts to the estate of Umbrella founder Oswell E. Spencer, who they find dead when they arrive. Wesker shows up and takes both Chris and Jill by surprise, resulting in Jill giving pursuit and appearing to die in the process. Chris is able to save Jill and thwart Wesker’s plans to use Uroboros, and the two eventually have a climactic battle at the heart of a volcano. Following Chris’ victory in the fight, Wesker appears to finally die and does not show up in any other series games afterward.
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (2011)
Wesker is one of several iconic heroes and villains that players can choose in the 3DS title Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. In order to unlock Wesker, players must first complete Mission 5-5 with a rank of B or higher, and afterward he becomes selectable at any point. In addition to his standard costume resembling his signature all-black clothing from Resident Evil 5, Wesker has one additional costume that players can unlock by getting a B rank in all Missions. Wesker’s signature weapon is the L. Hawk semi-automatic Magnum, and he also has a unique dash move that can knock enemies out of the way and stun them.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015)
Although he doesn’t feature as one of the standard characters available in Resident Evil: Revelations 2‘s Raid Mode, players can purchase DLC for the game containing Wesker for use in that part of the game. Wesker has many of the same skills that other characters in Raid Mode have (such as Handgun Master, Magnum Master, etc.) but his one signature skill is the Evade Cancel move, which makes him one of the more nimble and agile choices for players to use as long as they purchase the DLC pack containing the character. He appears in his now-iconic outfit from Resident Evil 5 and will cost players $2.49 to obtain.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Dead by Daylight character render.