The Resident Evil 4 Remake will be drawing on the complete timeline of its protagonist Leon S. Kennedy. Slated to release on the 24th of March, the remake will revisit Leon’s quest in an isolated Spanish village to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the President of the United States. Resident Evil 4 took the franchise in a new direction, shifting it from pure survival horror to more fast-paced action gameplay. Its innovative gameplay, involved plot, and iconic dialogue earned Resident Evil 4 a spot as one of the best video games of all time.

Unsurprisingly, a large part of Resident Evil 4’s success was Leon’s characterization. Despite his combat proficiency and honorable motivation, his sardonic comments and realistic outlook provided the contrast needed to make Leon a fleshed-out character. This iteration of Leon became his definitive personality, but Leon has been on far more adventures in the Resident Evil world. It’s worth looking at how Leon earned the task of rescuing the President’s daughter, and how his character changed following the events of Resident Evil 4.

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Leon S. Kennedy’s First Appearance Was Resident Evil 2 (1998)

Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield standing side by side in front of one of Raccoon City's streets in the original Resident Evil 2.

Resident Evil 2 is Leon’s first appearance in the series, taking over as the lead male protagonist from Chris Redfield in the first Resident Evil. Having lost his parents at a young age, Leon idolized police officers and enrolled in the police academy. When he graduated at 21 years old, he was posted to Resident Evil's first version of the Raccoon City Police Department for his first day - but, due to a bad breakup with his girlfriend, Leon got drunk the night before and ended up late for his first shift. Thankfully so as it was September 29th, 1998, the day of the Raccoon City incident.

Leon arrives in the middle of the zombie outbreak and partners with Claire Redfield, Chris’ sister. They investigate Umbrella’s underground facility and uncover the newly formed G-Virus and its infected creator, William Birkin. Notably, Leon also meets his love interest for the series: Ada Wong. Although she claims to be a civilian, Ada is revealed to be a secret agent charged with retrieving Umbrella's named G-Virus sample. Ada accomplishes her mission but saves Leon’s life in the process and together with Claire, he kills William Birkin, saving his daughter, Sherry Birkin. The three escape Raccoon City, and Leon resolves to take down Umbrella.

Leon S. Kennedy Became A Government Agent In Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2002)

Resident Evil 4 Leon vs Krauser knife fight

Leon is recruited into the Division of Security Operations (DSO), a counter-terrorism agency with direct Presidential oversight. During this time he's mentioned in Resident Evil - Code: Veronica when he helps Claire by passing on her SOS email to Chris. But his main mission is Operation Javier, a prequel to Resident Evil 4 featured in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles' story.

Leon is sent to South America to take down drug lord Javier Hidalgo who has been deploying Bio Organic Weapons (BOWs). He partners up with Special Ops soldier Jack Krauser, and together they kill a mutated Javier who, it turns out, was trying to cure his daughter’s illness.

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Leon S. Kennedy Becomes A Presidential Agent: Resident Evil 4 (2004)

Ashley Graham Leon Kennedy close up Resident Evil 4.

Leon’s next mission with DSO is by far his most iconic, making up the events of Resident Evil 4. The President’s daughter, Ashley Graham, has been kidnapped and Leon is sent to retrieve her from a rural Spanish village. When he arrives, he finds the townsfolk are hostile, having aligned themselves with a cult called Los Illuminados led by Osman Saddler. In Resident Evil 4 Saddler discovers Las Plagas, an ancient, dormant parasite that, unlike the viruses, leaves its host with the cognitive ability to strategize and coordinate. Leon partners with Luis Sera, a defecting biologist from Los Illuminados, to take down the cult and rescue Ashley.

Leon and Ashley get infected with Las Plagas, meaning they’ll need to find a cure before they can escape. Additionally, Leon must fight the local lords, the villagers, and his old partner Jack Krauser. Krauser, it turns out, has been working for Resident Evil’s main villain Albert Wesker this entire time. Finally, Ada Wong pops up again in Resident Evil 4 to help Leon. Leon accomplishes his mission by killing Krauser, obliterating Sadler, and curing himself and Ashley of Las Plagas - but shortly after, Ada reveals that she too is a double agent for Wesker. She steals a sample of Las Plagas, tainting Leon’s otherwise complete victory.

Leon S. Kennedy’s Movie Missions: Resident Evil Degeneration (2005), Resident Evil Infinite Darkness (2006) and Resident Evil Damnation (2011)

Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Infinite Darkness and Marhawa Desire Manga

Leon’s success in Spain leads to a number of new assignments over the next 8 years; these are depicted in the animated movies Resident Evil Degeneration, Resident Evil Infinite Darkness (technically a limited series), and Resident Evil Damnation. The movies have a recurring theme of greedy individuals using BOWs for their own gain: Degeneration has a Big Pharma CEO spreading the virus to increase sales of his vaccine, Infinite Darkness has a senator trying to spark a war with China and Damnation has a foreign President unethically waging civil war. Leon topples each Resident Evil villain and gains combat experience, but at the cost of becoming increasingly dispirited.

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Leon S. Kennedy Joins Chris Redfield: Resident Evil 6 (2013)

Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy draw guns on each other in Resident Evil 6.

Resident Evil 6 has three separate plot lines that all eventually converge. Leon’s plot line sees him protecting President Adam Benford as he prepares to reveal the truth of the Raccoon City incident to the public. Before he can, however, the new C-Virus breaks out and infects Benford. Leon is forced to kill him, a tragic twist since Benford recruited Leon to the DSO in the first place. Corrupt National Security Advisor Derek C. Simmons frames Leon for the C-Virus outbreak and accuses him of assassinating Benford. To clear his name, Leon teams up with secret agent Helena Harper to track down Simmons and expose his crimes.

Leon is once again helped in Resident Evil by Ada Wong - but this time, there is also a Doppelgänger Ada Wong named Carla running around wreaking havoc. During this time, Leon meets Chris for the first time but their interactions are tense, as Leon fights to defend Carla from Chris' desire for revenge. It's here he also reconnects with a grown-up Sherry Birkin, who has partnered with Albert Wesker’s son to find an antidote to the C-Virus. Leon, Ada, and Helena fight and destroy Simmons, bringing Resident Evil’s C-Virus saga to an end.

Leon S. Kennedy’s Future: Resident Evil Vendetta (2014)

Leon looking down in Resident Evil Vendetta

Leon’s last appearance in the Resident Evil franchise to date is in the animated film Resident Evil Vendetta. Vendetta provides a more adult take on Leon, showing him scarred and beaten down after his many missions to destroy BOWs. He becomes an alcoholic and only takes on this new mission because Chris personally asks him to help rescue Rebecca Chambers (the protagonist of Resident Evil 0). Leon completes the mission, taking down bioterrorist Glenn Arias and his A-Virus, but is still left cynical: He believes there will never be an end to the viruses.

Perhaps because of this, Resident Evil 7 or Resident Evil Village do not feature Leon. His future in the series is dubious, but as one of the four primary protagonists of the series, it seems inevitable that Leon will return once more. His relationship with Ada Wong still needs closure, and this arc could easily form the backbone of a new Resident Evil game. Perhaps he will take on a leadership role in his quest to shut down bioterrorism once and for all in a new climactic Resident Evil game, and more of these intentions will be revealed in the Resident Evil 4 Remake.

Source: PlayStation via YouTube

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