Wesker

Origin

Albert Wesker was one of the dozens of children that Ozwell E. Spencer and the Umbrella Corporation kidnapped because of their above-average intellect. He was raised by the Umbrella Corporation and stood out as a promising candidate to become part of Spencer's vision of a utopia. During this time he was unaware of Spencer's true intentions and never knew who his real parents were. When he was 17 he began work for Umbrella as a researcher. Here he is assigned to work in their Management Training Facility and later the Arklay Research Facility underneath the Spencer Estate Mansion. During which time, he was involved along with co-conspirator; William Birkin, with the assassination of former head Umbrella researcher, James Marcus. Here he becomes the chief researcher on the Tyrant Virus or T-Virus as it is commonly known.

After working as a researcher for nearly 20 years Wesker joins the Raccoon City Police Department as a double agent for Umbrella and passes information to the company about police investigations so that it can work unimpeded. He rises to squad leader in the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) branch of the police. During his time with S.T.A.R.S. he sends bio-organic weapons (B.O.W.s) to fight the squad's Bravo Team. They are dispatched to investigate T-Virus infected test subjects and collects battle data on the B.O.W.s When communication with the Bravo Team is lost, the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team is sent to the Mansion, Wesker's former base of operations, to investigate. This is where the Mansion Incident takes place.

Major Story Arcs

The Mansion

Upon arrival, the Alpha Team's pilot and two other members are initially lost to a pack of T-Virus infected dogs (also known as Cerberus B.O.W.s). The rest of the team, including Wesker himself take shelter inside the Mansion itself. Wesker orders the remaining team (Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Barry Burton) to split up and search the mansion. Meanwhile, he himself slips away to the facility below to monitor them. He encounters the captain of team Bravo, Enrico Marini, and kills him personally, just before Enrico could reveal Wesker's involvement with Umbrella . However, Chris and Jill inevitably find evidence to implicate Wesker and Umbrella. When they approach him however, it appears as if he is killed by a rogue T-002 Tyrant Bio-Weapon. In actuality he had injected himself with an experimental virus given to him by his former associate and Umbrella researcher, William Birkin, and allowed himself to be attacked. After Chris and Jill dispatch the Tyrant and leave, Wesker is revived by the Progenitor Virus and granted incredible superhuman powers. Unlike the other virus test subjects, he retains human form, save for cat-like orange pupils in his eyes which he hides with reflective sunglasses. Wesker escapes the facility before it is destroyed by the remaining members of Alpha Team. He leaves Umbrella and is believed dead by his former teammates and employers until he is encountered much later.

Raccoon City Outbreak

Sometime after the Mansion Incident, Wesker gains employment with the shadowy "Organization" - A rival of Umbrella Corporation. When Raccoon City suffered a large T-Virus outbreak Wesker was largely unseen. Opting to keep his cover after faking his death he instead sends an agent in his employ, Ada Wong. Ada was sent to secure a highly rare and valuable strain known as the G-Virus. Ada was successful and passed the G-Virus sample on to Wesker and the "Organization".

Although Ada hints at her employer, Wesker's involvement is never suspected by the main characters Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield.

Rockfort Island and The Antarctic Lab

While in hiding, Wesker amassed his own private paramilitary force called the 'Hive Capture Force' or H.C.F. Coming out of the shadows, Wesker led the force in an assault on The Rockfort Island Facility, owned by Umbrella. His goal was to capture a sample of the T-Veronica Virus. However, T-Virus infected employees and bio-organic weapons broke free throughout the facility. Alexia Ashford, a chief researcher, who was carrying the T-Veronica strain escaped. This led to Wesker heading to another Umbrella Research facility in Antarctica. Here he encountered his former team-mate Chris Redfield, who was searching for his sister. Wesker also encountered Alexia, who proved to have gained highly formidable abilities of her own, including pyrokinesis & geokinesis.

Although Wesker was unable to kill either Alexia or Chris Redfield, he was able to secure a sample of the virus through the supposed corpse of Steve Burnside and escape the Antarctic Facilities' self-destruct sequence on a submarine.

Russian Facility

Five years after the events of Code Veronica, Wesker was involved in a raid on an Umbrella Facility in Russia. At the same time, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were also planning an assault, determined to eliminate a powerful bio-organic weapon called T.A.L.O.S. Wesker responsible for killing numerous B.O.W.s, including 2 powerful helmeted Tyrants, reminiscent of Mr. X, named "The Ivans," in the facility and a former co-worker of his at Umbrella named Sergei Vladimir who had been turned into a monster by the T-Virus. Only after Sergei's defeat did Wesker come to the conclusion that the virus brought out a latent, subconscious manifestation of the infected, pondering how, if ever infected, it would effect him. Obtaining all of Umbrella's records, Wesker launched legal action against the company under an alias, for all of the disasters they had intentionally caused. In the midst of legal litigation, Umbrella was forced to shut down permanently. It was during this time that Wesker leaked all of the virus and operational data to yet another competitor, Tricell. Wesker obtained a lucrative position at Tricell whilst simultaneously working for the "Organization" (Also known as The 3rd Organization) - using whichever suited him.

Wesker vowed to supersede Ozwell E. Spencer's utopian vision, which he had failed to achieve, with his own idea of the future of humanity. It was also during this time that he recruited Excella Gionne, whose ambition and intellect seemingly matched his own. With his influence she rose in power and stature within Tricell and even developed a romantic infatuation for him. One he coldly rebuked when she outlived her usefulness to him, eventually infecting her with the master strain of Uroboros.

Los Illuminados

A cult leader named Osmund Saddler discovered a parasitic organism named Las Plaga, which were capable of powerful mind control. Wesker and his superiors at Tricell were very interested in obtaining a sample of the Las Plaga. To this end, Wesker sent his agent Ada Wong. Also during this time Wesker recruited yet more agents, including Jack Krauser, whom would be the catalyst of the Los Illuminados incident by kidnapping President Graham's daughter. Wesker also began amassing wealth and resources that he would eventually use to fuel his own ambitions. Wesker himself stayed hidden within his personal facility, but kept in touch with Ada Wong by a video feed and contacted her regularly for status and situation updates.

Leon Kennedy however, intervened in the matter and began to impede Wesker's goals. Although Wesker ordered Ada to kill Leon she did not out of personal interest, she instead told Wesker that she hadn't found an opportunity to do so. Unconvinced, Wesker sent Jack Krauser to kill Leon. With Ada's intervention Krauser failed to eliminate Leon and was later killed by Ada herself. Ada and Leon went on to kill Saddler and she obtained a pure sample of the a Control Plaga. Ada's disloyalty to Wesker was later explained when it was revealed that he had been working against the "Organization" and as such, against Ada's true employers. Ada sent a false sample to Wesker personally and the real sample she obtained to the "Organization" directly. Wesker later left the "Organization", no longer believing them to benefit his plans.

Spencer's Revelations

2 years after the Los Illuminados Incident, once the enigmatic sibling of the Wesker Children, named Alex Wesker, seemingly abandoned Lord Spencer, it was then he allowed his location to be known. Wesker finally tracked Ozwell E. Spencer to his European Castle. Wesker, still having questions about the nature of bio-organic weapons and why they were made, went to the castle. Killing numerous bodyguards along the way, Wesker was shocked to find Spencer expecting him. It was revealed that Spencer had leaked the information to Wesker about his location and had wanted to meet with him. Spencer said that he had wanted humans to evolve to the biological viruses he had created and in doing so, give birth to a more advanced human race. He goes on to reveal that Wesker had been brainwashed to share his own values and everything Wesker has done was what he had planned all along. Albert Wesker himself was indoctrinated and raised in a controlled environment and that he was the only 'Wesker child' out of hundreds that had survived exposure to the virus.

Albert Wesker was apparently highly uninterested in sharing a brave new world with the old and decrepit Spencer however and killed him by thrusting his hand straight through Spencer's chest. Wesker proclaimed that he, not Spencer, would be the 'God' of the new world and that the 'right' was his alone now. Strangely, while pondering Spencer's words Wesker decided that changing the world was exactly what he wanted and would carry, more or less, Spencer's wishes. Having amassed a personal fortune and virtually every bio-organic virus and parasite in existence, he was perfectly poised to enact his plans. He was interrupted however by his old colleagues, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine who were there hunting the last remnants of Umbrella's leadership. A battle quickly ensued, with Wesker using his abilities to easily overpower and outmatch the duo. He cobra struck Jill across the room and began choking Chris using only one hand. Before he could kill Chris however, Jill tackled him out of a window and the two plummeted into a dark ravine. Although the two were believed dead, the both survived. Wesker provided Jill with medical treatment and put her into cyrogenic stasis. He also infected her with a chemical called P30 which gave her powerful new abilities like his, though less potent. This virus also enslaved her through mind manipulation and she became one of Wesker's most powerful agents, deciding to dawn a bird-like mask to hide her true identity.

Africa and Wesker's End

Later, Excella Gionne is made CEO of Tricell's African Research Facility and together with Wesker, they perfect a new virus called Uroboros. With this new virus Wesker planned to infect the world and usher in a new age for humanity. To this end he obtained a large tanker and a specialized Stealth Bomber than would release the virus into the upper atmosphere. The pair also infected nearby Africans with a new Plagas strain who were bent completely to their will and served as soldiers.

Soon, under orders from the BSAA, Chris Redfield and his new partner Sheva Alomar would arrive on the scene and begin investigating his activities. Although they were unaware of Wesker's involvement for the time being, they were aware of a bio-weapons dealer operating in the area: Ricardo Irving. After cornering Irving on a ship, he injects himself with an experimental virus and becomes a monster. After Chris and Sheva defeat him he reveals the name of Excella, saying that she hadn't thought he was worth the 'good stuff' since he had been defeated so easily. Although this was a clue for Chris and Sheva they were unaware of Excella's identity and Irving died before he could reveal more.

Excella meanwhile, was unhappy merely being a part of Wesker's plans and instead desired a more romantic relationship. She wished to rule by his side as a King and Queen of the new world. While Wesker did not immediately turn her down, he saw himself not as a King but as a God and had no intention of sharing his power with anyone. He had no feelings toward her or anyone but continued to see her use as a tool. After confronting Chris and Sheva with Jill Valentine he was forced to leave early and asked Jill to finish them off. Despite her enhancements, Chris and Sheva were able to overcome her by removing the device that injected her with the chemical that controlled her mind. When the pair chased Wesker onto his tanker he didn't hesitate to betray Excella and inject her with the Uroboros virus to buy him time, nearby a large pile of corpses implied to have been slaughtered by Wesker himself. Instead of becoming superhuman like Wesker, the virus rejected Excella's DNA and she was turned into a monster.

It is revealed by Jill that in order to stabilize the virus inside him, Wesker needed regular doses of a special serum, named PG67A/W, and that the incorrect dosage would greatly weaken him. Having obtained vials of the serum earlier from the now deceased Excella, the duo confront Wesker aboard his freighter, inside the Stealth Bomber's hanger hidden below deck. After fighting through his remaining Majini slaves, the two managed to inject him with the serum after weakening him by firing RPG missiles at him in pitch black settings, even so, Wesker wrestled with the missiles using his bare hands, until Chris, or Sheva, would shoot the rocket and cause it to explode point blank in Wesker's face, causing little to no damage, however, this would weaken him enough to catch him off guard and weaken him with the serum. Weakened, Wesker fled aboard the jet. Chris and Sheva too, managed to get aboard just before the aircraft took off. Although physically outmatched they managed to once again inject Wesker with the serum, weakening him further. However, in the ensuing battle the plane lost altitude and crashed into a nearby volcano.

Although Chris and Sheva survived, Wesker wasn't finished yet. He smashed his fist through the steel of a containment missile and bathed himself in the Uroboros virus, transforming himself even further. He developed powerful tentacle-like appendages and absorbed nearby steel debris as weaponry. Wesker's usual calm and cool manner gave way to an almost feral rage. Despite his determination to destroy his nemesis, the ground beneath Wesker eventually gave way and he collapsed into liquid hot magma. A rescue helicopter with Jill Valentine aboard came for Chris and Sheva, but as they were about to fly away, the down but not defeated Wesker used a tentacle to latch onto the helicopter and try to take Chris, Sheva and Jill down with him. Chris and Sheva managed to procure a pair of RPG-7 Rocket Launchers from the interior of the helicopter and their final shots blasted Wesker back. Decapitating him and sending his body into the lava which consumed his corpse.

Powers and Abilities

Wesker was a very fit, cunning, and intelligent person even before enhancement, having once been a top researcher for Umbrella before deciding to join the Umbrella Security Division as head of the force, and later, the special forces. After his injection of a strand of the Progenitor Virus, along with the mysterious prototype virus given to him by colleague William Birkin, he has demonstrated: superhuman strength enough to throw ten men 50 meters (164.04ft) with a single punch, superhuman speed able to run at least 72.4kph (45mph), and superhuman agility able to run on walls for a short distance.

Notable achievements of his superhuman speed, accelerated vision, and agility included being capable of dodging bullets at practically point blank range with nearly no effort (including rapidfire, multiple shot weapons, grenades, and Rocket Launchers), being able to cover great distances in short time (relatively equal to the time it would take using a fast vehicle), adhering to walls and ceilings like a spider (seen during his fight with Chris and Sheva on the Uroboros-loaded plane), and performing short dashes of speed faster than the normal Human brain could process (causing him to appear to be teleporting).

Some say that due to the virus he did not change in appearance (still youthful) although he is aging (48), and made him smarter. Ironically, his own serum was also his greatest weakness, overdoses of the serum would cause him to be poisoned (although he didn't live long enough to know if he can heal from it). The overdose of serum caused his vision to deteriorate and blur, his agility seemed to be slowed slightly (though he still remained lethal and could dodge some attacks) and blood veins to pop out on his head, which also caused him to experience debilitating headaches. His aim, while using his weapon, is also quite inhuman as shown at the end of umbrella chronicles.

Notable achievements of his increased strength included being able to lift large aircraft missiles with one hand and throwing them, lifting large steel girders off his body, lifting an adult human off the ground with one hand effortlessly, thrusting straight through the chest of a person with his fingertips, killing a large Hunter B.O.W. with just one kick, sending someone flying with a single backhand swipe, and punching through a solid sheet steel missile.

The injection also gave Wesker a low-level rapid healing factor which, coupled with his incredible endurance, rendered him nearly invincible to conventional damage. A rocket exploding right in his hands was only sufficient to weaken him for a moment, and thousands of pounds of steel girders falling a few stories on top of him failed to even incapacitate him, merely dazing him for a few brief seconds, and despite having his face hideously burned, he quickly healed up. He also healed quickly after getting shot in the head by Sheva and falling a great distance out of a jet.

After absorbing large amounts of Uroboros from a missile containing it (seemingly in the process of bonding with it). He became even more resistant to damage, much stronger, increased regeneration, obtained the use of the leaches, and finally, higher jumping ability, despite the vulnerability of the crimson glowing, heart-like growth appearing in his chest briefly during the final battle.

With these powers, Wesker mainly did not require weaponry other than his brute strength during combat, combined with a sufficient strategy and some meticulous observation. However, he did keep his S.T.A.R.S. issued Samurai Edge handgun holstered at all times, as if to add insult to the team he once captained, and was known to never let his guard down, even outside the battlefield.

Wardrobe

Wesker wears a different outfit for each of his appearances, but they are always black. He always keeps his trademark sunglasses, even in situations that seem inappropriate, such as during S.T.A.R.S. operations in the middle of the night. In Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero, he wears a standard S.T.A.R.S. uniform similar to those of Chris and Barry, but completely black, with a navy blue under-shirt. He wears a more streamlined outfit in Resident Evil Code: Veronica with the acronyms H.C.F (Hive/Host Capture Force) written on the back. During a fist-fight with Chris Redfield, his sunglasses are knocked from his face, revealing that his eyes have changed from normal human eyes to slitted eyes with a red-orange hue. He wears a different, more sophisticated outfit during his appearance in Resident Evil 4 and the Dark Legacy levels in Umbrella Chronicles, sporting a black turtle-neck sweatshirt, black trousers and jacket over his turtle neck, as well as black gloves. In Resident Evil 5, his attire becomes more sinister and supports a leather trench coat with black leather boots, gloves, pants and a short sleeve shirt all complete with his trademark sunglasses.

In Other Media

Resident Evil movies by Paul W. W. Anderson

When Resident Evil was being considered for the basis of a film, George A. Romero and Paul W. S. Anderson competed for production rights with their scripts. In Romero's script, Wesker was not the captain of S.T.A.R.S., but instead a colonel. Though, he remains a double agent like in the games.

Albert Wesker was the chairman of Umbrella, holding regular meetings from his office in Tokyo via hologram, and heading the Umbrella Committee even during the Global T-virus outbreak. Wesker, just like his game counterpart, serves as the primary antagonist of the film series. In recent events, the last movie he appeared in was a struggle of control between himself and The Red Queen, distancing himself from Umbrella and choosing to aid Alice in her escape by hiring such people as Leon Kennedy & Barry Burton, also having Ada Wong accompany Alice during her journey. In the end, his scheme was to once more infect Alice with the T-Virus in order to help him tip the balance of humanity's last stand against the B.O.W.'s unleashed by Umbrella.

Lost Planet 2

As of November 17, 2009, Gamestop has announced an exclusive bonus item regarding its reservation. This item appears to be a Wesker and revolver skin. He is just merely a skin, however, as he doesn't appear in the game's main storyline and is just considered as extra content.

He is unlockable via a code inputted in the game's Edit menu. His code is "72962792".

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Albert Wesker was unveiled as a playable character along with Spider-Man at the Tokyo Game Show 2010, appearing in his Resident Evil 5 attire. He has been shown using martial arts, his Samurai Edge and the ability to "teleport" with a move called Phantom Move, and also packs the Windfall, Panther Fang(as his standing medium), and Tiger Uppercut (also as a special) as normal moves, Cobra Strike, Ghost Butterfly, Mustang Kick (as a throw attack), and Jaguar Kick (Renamed from Knee Cannon and can be done from a new move called Jaguar Dash) as special moves, and the Rhino Charge as a Hyper Combo, this time done as a reversal/counter move. A new move which is a stronger version of his Collide attack acts as one of his Hyper Combos, named the Phantom Dance. (Jokingly called "Maximum Wesker" by Seth Killian due to resembling Spider-Man's Maximum Spider, which is even referenced by Deadpool in UMVC3.)

In his Level 3 Hyper Combo, Lost in Nightmares (named after a RE5 DLC), Wesker attacks the opponent with fast attacks while "teleporting" from one side to the other, and at the end he launches the opponent then drops a missile on them, similar to the second time you fight Wesker in Resident Evil 5 (where if you waited too long he will start to launch missiles at Chris Redfield or Sheva Alomar). His rival in this game appears to be Spider-Man, since both characters acquired super human strength through genetic manipulation (radioactive spider bite, and virus injection respectively), both have very fast reflexes and have a lot of stamina. Spider-Man quotes: "You have great power Albert, but you're not very responsible with it" upon defeating him in battle. He is also one of the few characters to have a counter move.

Wesker can also lose his shades in battle, either by constantly getting hit to have them shatter, or by performing the Phantom Dance (he'll remove them at the start of the attack). If tagged out, then tagged back in however, oddly enough his sunglasses will be back on in normal condition, even if his glasses are broken part-way instead of being removed. He can also regain his glasses by taunting. This aesthetic detail surprisingly changes his gameplay. In the game, characters can activate a "super mode" called X-Factor, which increases their speed, damage output, and regenerates their health. Its level is determined by how many partners the player's character has lost (Level 2 for one partner down, Level 3 for both, etc.). He seems to shout "damn it!" during its activation possibly nodding to the amount of control needed for his virus(his X-Factor may be Wesker's virus out of control for a brief moment).

In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Wesker's health levels were nerfed (1,100,000 to 1,000,000, same amount as Ryu). He also can increase the damage of Phantom Dance by rapidly tapping buttons, a new feature given to several if not almost all characters' Hyper Combos in UMVC3. Also an added feature is the removal of Wesker's shades increases his speed and damage equivalent to a level 1 X-Factor, and can be stacked with the additional levels. Therefore, after Wesker has lost his sunglasses and both of his partners, he can activate what is essentially a Level 4 X-Factor, making him the fastest character in the game.

His music theme is a rock remix of the Resident Evil 5 song Wind Of Madness, featured as a orchestral version (digital in the OST) when Chris and Sheva fight against him in the Tricell ship.

In the game's story Wesker is first shown speaking to Dr. Doom in the prologue comic. He overhears a plan to steal the power of Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. Wesker is intrigued, believing the name "exudes power". After Galactus becomes a threat to both worlds he seemingly joins the heroes and villains of both sides to stop him. Of course, if Wesker is not used by the player he may turn out to be one of Galactus' Heralds. However, it is revealed in Wesker's arcade ending that he was simply standing by as the others fought him so that he could overtake them when they're all weakened. Wesker is later shown in an unidentified research lab, having captured all of the heroes. He wonders aloud to himself which one of them has the potential to "become the next Alexia or Lisa Trevor". Alternatively, Wesker is shown in Chris' ending being prosecuted by none other than Matt Murdock (a.k.a. Daredevil, the Man Without Fear). Wesker is restrained in a straight jacket and is directly accused of the Raccoon City Incident of 1998. Wesker openly gloats that he "caused quite a mess there." He attempts to undo his restraints and resist the bailiff, but is stopped by Chris, who threatens to pin him to the floor. Wesker is briefly mentioned in Hulk's ending, and after the Hulk easily disposes of the Nemesis, Chris advises to "take it easy" on Wesker. In Dormammu's ending, Wesker appears with other villains, plotting when to take over both worlds.

Resident Evil (series)

In the Netflix's adaptation of the Resident Evil franchise, Albert Wesker is played by Lance Reddick. Wesker is a scientist in the Umbrella Corporation, and the series starts with him moving to New Raccoon City in South Africa with his two daughters.