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Leon Scott Kennedy is a character from the Resident Evil survival horror games and the films Resident Evil: Degeneration and Resident Evil: Damnation. During the events of Resident Evil 2, Leon is a rookie police officer who arrives in Raccoon City for his first day on the job, only to confront the T-Virus outbreak first-hand. Six years later in Resident Evil 4, Leon returns as a secret agent for the U.S. government, assigned to protect the President's family. He was voiced by Paul Haddad in Resident Evil 2, Paul Mercier in Resident Evil 4 until Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Christian Lanz in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Matthew Mercer in Resident Evil 6 until the upcoming Resident Evil: Death Island. In the 2019 remake version of Resident Evil 2 and through 2023 remake version of Resident Evil 4, he is voiced by Nick Apostolides.


Biography

Appearance

Leon appears to have short brown hair, with fringes on each side and brown eyes. In the FMV scenes in Resident Evil 2, his brown hair becomes a copper shade and his eyes turn blue. From Resident Evil: Vendetta through the remake version of Resident Evil 4, he is depicted to have dark brown hair and ice blue eyes.

Leon wears a full-body R.P.D. uniform in Resident Evil 2 with a vest, in contrast to other officers in the game who wear summer uniforms. This outfit is predominantly different shades of blue. He also gains bandages on his chest half way through the game after he saves Ada from being shot by Annette and the latter treats his gunshot wound in return. He has two alternate costumes to wear in the game that changes his shooting style with the Handgun. The first is a casual outfit consisting of a leather jacket with a picture of a skull on the back and jeans, while the second costume is a purple tank top with cargo pants and an R.P.D. cap. The Nintendo 64 version replaced these costumes with a S.T.A.R.S. uniform and another consisting of camouflage pants with T-shirt, leather vest and sunglasses.

In Resident Evil 2 Remake, Leon's full body R.P.D. uniform was updated due to the change of graphics similar to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. His tactical vest is now black and his police uniform is now dark blue. Later in the game, the bandages are no longer in the chest as it was now on his left shoulder after Ada rips the left sleeve from his uniform to treat his gunshot wound after he saves her from being shot by Annette and is no longer wearing white arm warmers and elbow pads due to being removed.

His initial appearance is a contrast to the original Resident Evil 2 before wearing his full body R.P.D. uniform, he wears a casual outfit which would later be worn by his older self in later games and animated films. Leon wears a dark gray nylon jacket with an extending collar, a matching black long sleeved loose button shirt and a white short sleeved undershirt, tattered blue jeans and white sneakers with brown soles.

In Resident Evil 4, Leon's R.P.D. uniform has been updated which becomes his alternate costume when the player completes the game once and later used again in The Darkside Chronicles during the reimagined "Memories of a Lost City". Since Resident Evil 2 and onwards, Leon is depicted to have brown hair and brown eyes during cutscenes. In later games, his outfits are either blue or black and contrast the colors of Ada's outfit which is red and black.

In Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles during the scenario "Operation Javier", he wears a black long sleeve shirt with the sleeves below the elbows and green leather suspenders with four pouches on each side, brown and green camouflage pants and black combat shoes.

!n Resident Evil 4, Leon wears a short-sleeved black 5.11 shirt, blue 5.11 pants, black Magnum combat boots, and a brown B3 sheepskin bomber jacket. However, he loses the jacket early in the game, much to the chagrin of players who liked its look. When playing Ada's scenario "Separate Ways", the previously unknown fate of the jacket is discovered; it was stolen by a Ganado when Leon and Luis were captured at the end of Chapter 1-1. He sports a variety of equipment and gear around his waist, including an attaché case on the small of his back, double pistol magazine pouches, navigation light, rappel, and radio pouch. A drop leg holster is strapped to his thigh, and he also wears a brown leather shoulder holster. Later in the game, the player has the option of acquiring the Tactical Vest, which puts a black assault vest and assorted gear over Leon's standard outfit. The vest reduces damage by 30%.

In the PlayStation 2 and Wii ports of RE 4, he is given a classic mafia-style outfit that is unlocked along with the Chicago Typewriter after the player clears the "Separate Ways" scenario. Since the typewriter has infinite ammo, Leon will simply tilt his hat when the reload button is pushed and if the player hits reload four times, Leon will throw his hat in the air and catch it. Wearing the Mafia costume will change Leon's pose on the attaché case screen while the typewriter is equipped and will change the typewriter's magazine from a standard box magazine to a drum magazine. The Mafia outfit also changes the look of Leon's knife. Instead of a Combat Knife, it becomes a switch-blade to complete the authentic criminal motif. This change is purely cosmetic, and does not affect the performance of the knife at all.

In Resident Evil 4 Remake, Leon maintains his primary attire in the original Resident Evil 4 only his hairstyle in Resident Evil 2 Remake was retained as a contrast to his original hairstyle in the original game. His brown B3 sheepskin bomber jacket is no longer extended to reveal a large collar on it, his 5.11 shirt is depicted as a tight fitted v-neck shirt and his brown shoulder holster was now updated where he can keep his two back up guns. His 5.11 pants are navy instead of blue and retaining his black Magnum combat boots. Later, he was equipped to wear a dark gray bulletproof vest with black designs a matching dark gray elbow bands. He is also equipped with an olive knife holster on the left of his vest, a matching gun holster on the right and a nylon utility belt where he keeps his bullets and grenades. The color of his hair due to the lightings within the game is depicted either light brown or dark blond.

In flashbacks during the opening sequence of the game, he was initially seen wearing a business suit which would later worn by his older self in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness where he was recruited by the US Government and later where he was given a harsh training regimen as well as taking a deadly knife spar with Jack Krauser, he wears a Type-B military outfit consists of a lime green short sleeve shirt, an olive green camouflage military pants and combat boots. Both his camouflage pants and boots are later worn by him during "Operation Javier" in the events of The Darkside Chronicles.

In Resident Evil: Degeneration, Leon's hair becomes dark brown and his fringe is styled into the right side rather than in each side. His outfit is similar to his primary appearance in Resident Evil 4 as his bomber jacket that was stolen by a Ganado is replaced with a brown leather jacket with two pockets on the right side and another single pocket to the left. His 5.11 shirt is now gray with a brown shoulder holster underneath, black 5.11 pants and his black magnum combat boots from his primary outfit.

In the animated CGI series, Resident Evil: Infinity Darkness, Leon regains his hairstyle from Resident Evil: Vendetta, and wears a blue business suit similar to his mafia style outfit in Resident Evil 4 but without a hat. Since the timeline is in 2006, this is where Leon grows a small beard after the events of Resident Evil: Degeneration. At the end, he wore the same suit from the beginning but it is black.

When he infiltrates the facility in Shanghai, China, rescuing Claire and defeating the mutated Jason, the outfit he wears would later be adapted to his main appearance in Resident Evil 6; he retains his leather jacket, gray jeans and his Magnum combat boots but the button shirt that he wears is now indigo and no longer has a t-shirt beneath it.

In Resident Evil: Damnation, Leon's hair is slightly longer and he has a small beard. This style is later used in Resident Evil 6.

Leon wore a black operator jacket, blue stone washed jeans, tan boots, TMC Tactical Gloves and a green Bulletproof/MOLLE vest to go along with carrying several pouches, Magazines flares and a flashlight. He also wears a utility belt with several more pouches and hip holster for his pistol. He carries his Assault Rifle on a single point sling.He is later seen wearing a similar shirt to that of RE4.

In Resident Evil 6 and its ending, Leon is wearing clothes of a civilian nature in comparison to his tactical attire from RE4. He sports a dark gray or black leather jacket with white stripes on the sleeves, a black button shirt, and a red t-shirt underneath. His pants are a light gray, and he wears similar shoes to his RE 4 incarnation which is the Magnum combat boots.

In Resident Evil: Revelations 2, he retains wearing this outfit as a playable character in Raid Mode and later his crossover appearance in Project X Zone 2 where his hair appears to be dark blonde instead of brown while wearing the outfit.

During the events in Lanshiang, Leon wears his second outfit is a black combat vest with a matching shoulder holster and a blue long sleeve button shirt with a matching collar, a black waistcoat with several pouches in each sides, dark gray pants with gun holsters adorned in two black belts on the right and a single belt on the left where he keeps his back up gun and black short boots. In his in-game, the color of his vest and pants changed to dark brown and his button shirt became light purple.

In the movie Resident Evil Vendetta, Leon's hair and his small facial beard became darker and his brown eyes became ice blue. Both his dark brown hair and his ice blue eyes would later adapted to his younger self in the 2019 remake version of Resident Evil 2.

His overall outfit is similar to his first outfit in Resident Evil 6; his black leather jacket now with white linings on each side and wears a dark blue short sleeved v-neck shirt beneath it, black jeans and brown leather shoes with tan laces. He wears black fingerless gloves and a brown nylon utility belt where he keeps his handgun and his survival knife.

In the upcoming movie Resident Evil: Death Island, Leon returns to his main hairstyle in The Darkside Chronicles during Operation Javier as well as his small beard in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.

He was initially seen wearing a dark blue leather jacket with a black undershirt during his rescue mission to save Dr. Antonio Taylor until it was interrupted by Maria Gomez. Later, he wears an outfit similar to his remake version of himself in Resident Evil 4 on later chapters, His short sleeved shirt is medium blue while wearing a gray bulletproof vest with several pockets including magazines and grenades, dark gray cargo jeans and black combat boots.

Development

During the initial development Leon had two different character designs, but Capcom eventually settled for the way he looked in the final version of Resident Evil 2. When Ayumi Saito interviewed producer Shinji Mikami, he claimed that Leon's original design looked too much like Chris Redfield. In the conceptual designs for Leon, there are numerous illustrations of him and Elza Walker (the early version of Claire) wearing an armored vest with Umbrella's logo and the acronym U.S.S. (suggesting that it belonged to the Umbrella Security Service, HUNK's unit). This was part of a proposed armor system for Resident Evil 1.5. A casual portrait of Leon with a bloodhound was featured in Resident Evil 1.5's promotional artwork.

Personality

Leon first appears as a somewhat naive rookie police officer with a strong sense of justice and duty, Leon is quite self conscious saying exasperated  "Doesn't anybody listen to me?" when both Ada and Claire ignored his advice to stick together. In the Resident Evil 2 remake Leon is more insecure, having to vocally give himself confidence when traversing the horrific police station.

After his actions during the Raccoon City incident were discovered, Leon was recruited by the U.S. government, and later became a Special Agent as a result of his training. Able to keep his composure in most circumstances, Leon is very compassionate and objective. He does things even when he doesn't have to because Leon knows that what he is doing is for the greater good. An example of this is when Leon was ordered to leave the Eastern Slav Republic, despite having just arrived. Instead, he chooses to stop the B.O.W.s from spreading, going on to bring the country's president to justice because he felt it was his obligation.

Leon's friendly nature makes him very likable to others. He strikes up a bond with Claire Redfield and Sherry Birkin moments after meeting them. Leon also respected Jack Krauser, both as a soldier and a friend, before his betrayal. He was also very quick to strike up friendships with both Luis Sera and Mike, being deeply saddened by both of their deaths. Leon also formed alliances with J.D. and Buddy, despite their initial conflict, Leon was able to set his views aside and work towards a greater good. At the same time, Leon is very quick to oppose people who threaten others. He dislikes all three key figures of Los Iluminados within seconds of meeting them.

Leon has been shown to be flirty with some of the women he encounters, including Ingrid Hunnigan, who playfully rejected his advances due to him still being "on duty." However Leon does have standards and gently rejected Ashley Graham's advances when she asked for overtime with him.

In the Resident Evil 2 remake he was shown to be playful and cheery when talking to Claire through a fence, in contrast to his more serious demeanor when talking to Marvin or Ada. Though Leon corrected Sherry when she assumed Leon and Claire were a couple, he still went along with the idea of him and Claire adopting Sherry together.

Leon also displayed a large amount of emotion for Ada at the time of her "death." Their relationship is very complicated, despite there being some kind of bond between the two. Both have been shown to help each other multiple times, with each having feelings for the other. Despite this, Ada has no problem using Leon to further her own goals. However, Leon doesn't seem to hold this against her. He seems smitten with her, going so far as to tell Ashley Graham that Ada will always be "a part of me I can't let go." In the Resident Evil 2 remake Leon was genuinely angry when he learnt from Annette that Ada was lying and manipulating him to get the G-Virus. When Leon confronted Ada about it, she regretfully pulled a gun on him and Leon did likewise, however Leon correctly assumed she wouldn't have the heart to shoot him. When Ada fell to her apparent death, Leon was quite distraught, when boarding the escape train Leon chided to himself for actually missing her and threw away the keepsake Ada gave him.

Leon seems to care very deeply for some of the people he rescues. He goes to great lengths to protect them all despite not knowing them. He became Sherry Birkin's temporary guardian before she was taken into the custody of the US government. During Operation Javier Leon had a similar relationship with Manuela Hidalgo, doing everything he could to protect her, even nearly getting crushed. During his mission to save Ashley Graham, Leon put himself at great personal risk several times to ensure her safety. He didn't think twice about putting himself at risk before the Plaga removal machine before curing Ashley, who had doubts about it at first. Leon simply responded "There's only one way to find out. You operate", meaning that she would either save or kill him in the process.

Leon has been shown to go back and forth from being cold and focused to passionate in his missions. In the beginning of Resident Evil 4, Leon is initially dismissive of his police escorts, showing little consideration for anything other than the mission at hand. However, when the officers' car is knocked over a cliff near the exit of the village, Leon investigates and sees the wreckage below. Looking down, he says "Oh, no...", followed by "I hope the two officers are okay". In a similar fashion, when Leon enters the village and sees the corpse of one of the officers being burned at the stake in the center of the village, he remarks "What in God's name... if only he had come with me...", demonstrating that he regretted leaving the officers behind. In Resident Evil: Degeneration, he acts much the same way, his main concern being the mission at hand. During the incident in Tall Oaks, when fellow agent Helena Harper comes under attack by a zombie, Leon helps her. However, he scolds her when Helena says she still can't believe what is happening, telling her "Well, get used to it. It's either them or us... and they don't hesitate." Despite his stern tone, Leon likely said this to keep Helena focused and not let the crisis get in the way of their survival.

Despite his focus on the mission at hand, Leon has also selectively grown emotionally attached to the people that he encounters on these missions. During his mission in Spain, Leon grows close to both Luis Sera and helicopter pilot Mike, to the point of mourning greatly over their deaths. Even after giving a very black-and-white view to Helena of their situation, Leon is prepared to dive head first into a fray to try and save two innocent people being attacked by zombies, even though it is already too late. Leon cared greatly for his fellow police officers and in Resident Evil 2 remake he lamented to Marvin that he wasn't able to come to Raccoon City sooner to help them, when Marvin turned into a zombie Leon was upset over his colleague's fate.

Leon is at first very hesitant to shoot U.S. President and long-time friend Adam Benford after he transforms into a zombie, only doing so when Benford attacks Helena. This is undoubtedly because Benford has had a substantial impact on Leon, being the one to recruit him into government service in the first place. The two are shown to have been close friends, with Benford telling Leon that he values their friendship, and Leon referring to him on a first-name basis several times. Before Benford had become President, he was one of the only people Leon had ever confided in about what he went through during the Raccoon City Incident. He admitted to Adam that he found it hard to find hope, and had even contemplated killing himself to get out of the situation, making Adam one of the few people to whom Leon has ever shown some form of vulnerability.

Leon cares greatly for normal people and is always willing to help them, even when it involves putting himself in danger. After shooting the President, Leon and Helena encounter a man who is looking for his missing daughter. He asks for help, and Leon agrees without hesitation, even after Helena tells him that there wasn't enough time. Leon simply tells her, "We're making the time." When Leon and Helena see two people frantically holding up "Help!" signs somewhere on the Ivy University campus via security cameras, Leon quickly tells Helena to come with him to rescue the civilians. However, Helena tells him it's too late, and when Leon looks back at the camera to see the people being killed by zombies, he looks away in frustration and grief. During his fight with Chris Redfield, Chris tells him that he lost all of his men because of Carla Radames (who had been impersonating Ada Wong). However, Leon angrily replies that he lost over 70,000 people, showing that he cared for all the citizens who had lost their lives in Tall Oaks. Leon's words were able to cool Chris's rage, likely Chris respects Leon for looking after his sister during Raccoon City.

Even in times of danger, Leon will often joke around and keep a calm composure even in the presence of his enemies in contrast to the other more stoic Resident Evil protagonists. During the ending of Resident Evil 2 Leon said "Game over" as one liner before blowing up the T-000 with a RPG. At the start of Resident Evil 4 when all the villagers stopped attacking him, Leon jokingly wondered if they'd gone to play bingo. Another example of this is during conversations between Salazar and Saddler. When Salazar revealed that he had sent his right hand after Leon, Leon jokingly asks, "Your right hand comes off?" knowing that Salazar meant his right hand "man." When Salazar transformed into a monstrous Queen Plaga, Leon remarks, "Monsters. Guess after this, there'll be one less to worry about." During his conversation with Saddler after reuniting with Krauser and Ada, Saddler tells Leon that he will introduce him to "it," and that it should keep him busy. Leon then mocked Saddler's age, saying "Can't remember the name huh? A senior moment, perhaps." In the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon refers to a Licker as a "Cowardly Lion."  When Leon and Helena were trying to find keys to a cop car on the Ivy University campus, he states, "Heh, jacking a car isn't as easy as it looks in the movies." When the two are on a plane bound for China, Leon and Helena find the Lepotitsa that was left on the plane by Simmons, and he sarcastically remarks, "You don't suppose that thing can fly a plane do you?" During the final battle against Simmons, Leon commented with a pun that if Simmons were to absorb the lightning rod needed to beat him, "he'd be in for a shock." In the Resident Evil 2 remake, Leon is more serious and stoic, though Leon will still joke around slightly as seen when he killed the mutated Crocodile and when a truck driver flipped him off in the ending, Leon joked to Claire and Sherry saying "he was friendly".

Leon's composure also enables him to thoroughly analyze any situation to figure out the best course of action. During the final battle against Simmons, Leon knew full well as long as Simmons was airborne, trying to escape Taichi on a helicopter would be suicide and opted to finish Simmons first. However Leon did lose his calm when he discovered Sherry (a person Leon has paternal feelings for) had been raised by Simmons, causing Leon to interrogate Sherry. Jake Muller retaliated before Sherry stepped in and mollified the situation.

Leon despises Bioterrorism just as much as Chris Redfield. He categorizes those who create or use B.O.W.s as villains, and is unwilling to see their usage as justified, a point he makes clear to JD. He compared Osmund Saddler's plan to use Las Plagas to take over the world to an alien invasion.

Leon has a strong will to live which he developed over the course of the Raccoon City Incident. He believes once a person picks up a gun they have an obligation to keep on living for all their comrades who died so they can live, even if it means being paralyzed for the rest of their lives. Leon also has a strong sense of honor. Even though he could have turned in Helena Harper who had a hand in President Benford's death and cleared his name, he opted to take down Simmons instead, realizing clearing his name wouldn't stop Simmons.

Abilities

In Resident Evil 2 Leon is a trained police officer whose skills helped him survive the Raccoon City outbreak and after getting recruited and trained by the United States Government as a special agent, Leon's abilities were further enhanced by the time Resident Evil 4.

Master Marksman: Leon is extremely skilled with firearms ranging from handguns, shotguns, sub machine guns, flamethrowers, grenade launchers, snipers rifles and rocket launchers. Leon is capable of making headshots from over fifty yards and rarely missing his intended target as well as showing proficiency with fully automatic weapons. Leon can accurately snipe restrains off Ashely Graham without hurting her. Leon is able to dual wield pistols accurately and shoot one handed while riding a motorbike.

Arsenal:

  • Matilda
  • Silver Ghost
  • Lightning Hawk
  • Red9
  • Punisher
  • Broken Butterfly
  • TMP
  • Springfield Armory TRP Operator
  • Remington M1100/p
  • Striker
  • Sniper Rifle
  • M203 grenade launcher
  • Anti-Tank Rocket
  • Rocket Launcher Special

Knife Mastery: Leon is very skilled with knives, being able to accurately throw his knife across a room and pin Salazar's hand to a wall. He can also match blades with the similarly skilled Krauser and wound his superhuman former ally. Leon also was able to throw his knife into the mutated Simmons' eye and wound him and cut ropes that Ada was hanging from by throwing his knife at them.

  • Combat Knife.

Piloting and Vehicle Handling: In Resident Evil 6 Leon has shown the ability to pilot a helicopter and briefly fly a plane and keep in the air before crashing. Like Claire and Jake, Leon is a very skilled motorcyclist as shown in Vendetta where he could fend off multiple infected dogs while driving down a highway and accurately shoot while steering.

  • XDiavel.

Master Martial Artist: Leon is exceptionally skilled in martial arts and displays various talents in Taekwondo, Krav Maga, Pro-Wrestling, Jujitsu and Russian Systema. In Resident Evil 6 Leon was able to equal the similarly superhuman Chris Redfield in a hand to hand fight which only ended when they pulled guns on each other creating a stalemate. In the movie Resident Evil: Death Island, he is able to fight equally with Jill Valentine and later holding his own against the superhuman Maria Gomez.

Moves:

  • Roundhouse Kick (Leon gives a swift roundhouse kick to a stunned enemy that sends them back, as well as any within the attack radius).
  • Back Kick (Leon will deliver a Back Kick to a stunned enemy that will knock them onto their back, also knock enemies behind to stumble).
  • Suplex (Leon grabs an enemy and falls backwards, causing the enemy's head to hit the ground and be crushed under the enemy's bodyweight).
  • Jump Kick (Leon will jump and kick an enemy in the face. This is performed when escaping from a grab if Leon is grappled at the front)
  • Elbow (Leon will swing his elbow into the face of an enemy. This is performed when escaping from a grab if Leon is grappled from behind).
  • Armlock Throw (Leon grabs the enemy's arm and pushes him while he ducks, throwing the enemy to the ground. This is most commonly performed on a heavily stunned enemy from the front).
  • Bulldog (From behind an enemy, Leon jumps at the enemy's back and falls, using his body weight to smash the enemy's face to the ground).
  • Coup de Grace (Leon hits the enemy's torso with a spinning kick, sending him flying. This is most commonly performed on heavily stunned, kneeling or blinded enemies).
  • Low Kick (Leon kicks an enemy away from a partner being grabbed. This is only performed as a prompt to rescue your partner as they are being attacked).

Peak Human Condition: Like Chris, Leon has displayed incredible near superhuman physical feats that put him far above the average man which has helped him survive encounters with monstrous B.O.W.s and several outbreaks .

Peak Human Strength: Leon is strong enough to crush a zombie's head with his foot and in the Resident Evil 2 remake he was able to overpower and wound the mutated William Birkin in his massive G5 form by stabbing it in the eye with broken pipe. In Degeneration Leon was strong enough support the weight of Angela and her massively mutated brother Curtis with one arm while dangling from a beam, in Resident Evil 6 Leon could hold open the jaws of the mutated shark Brzak and with Helena's aid push over a large boulder and in Vendetta Leon could stagger the mutated Arias with an axe kick to the head.

Peak Human Speed and Agility: Leon has been shown in Resident Evil 4 to be fast enough to outrun boulders and dodge arrows and bullets fired at him. Leon was also agile enough to avoid cutting cut to pieces in a laser hallway by ducking and flipping and even running up a wall to dodge them, showing an impressive level of parkour. Leon can also keep up with the very swift Ada in confrontation and dodge attacks from the superhuman Krauser and several other mutated foes. In Degeneration Leon could quickly throw Claire his gun whilst being attacked by a zombie himself.

Peak Human Durability: Leon is tough to endure getting shot in the shoulder and leaving it untreated for the entirety of the Raccoon Incident without any effect to his ability. In Resident Evil 2 remake Leon could recover from being smashed through scaffolding by the mutated Birkin in his G1 form. In Damnation Leon is also durable enough to survive getting punched by the Super Tyrant and thrown into a stone pillar. In Resident Evil 6 Leon could recover from falling out of a helicopter and landing on his back.

Gifted Intellect: Leon has shown to be extremely intelligent, being able to solve complex puzzles and riddles and think his way out of dangerous situations. Leon has also shown some talent in mechanics and computers. Ada, who has outwitted him on occasion, admits Leon is a genius when it comes to surviving. Leon has strong leadership skills being able to effortlessly take charge from Claire and guide the Harvardville Airport survivors to safety.

History

Resident Evil 2

Upon graduating from the police academy at the age of 21, Leon requested an assignment to work for the Raccoon City Police Department. His reason of choice was because of the widely-publicized murders taking place in and around the Arklay Mountains.[6] Having recently broken up with his girlfriend, Leon stopped on his journey to Raccoon City by staying at a motel overnight. Oversleeping from drunkenness a day late on September 29, he rushed back onto the road when he wasn't able to telephone into the station.[7] The US. military blockading the city having crumbled, Leon drove through completely unaware of the t-Virus outbreak.

During his probe of the R.P.D. precinct, Leon meets another survivor named Ada Wong, a woman who claimed she was looking for her missing boyfriend, John Clemens. They soon developed a bond, and Leon even took a bullet for her, fired by Annette Birkin. Leon and Ada manage to fight against most of the enemies, but soon, Ada is wounded by a mutated William Birkin's claw. During that time, Leon found out from Annette Birkin that Ada was actually a spy, and only came to steal the G-Virus. However, Leon doesn't believe this until Ada tells him herself. Some time later, Ada saves Leon's life when he is cornered by T-00. She shoots the Tyrant on its back to get its attention, successfully doing so. She is then attacked, grabbed and raised up by the tyrant, in which she then retaliates by shooting three gunshots into its face, making the Tyrant fall into an Iron smelting pit. However, Ada was severely wounded in the process. She then told Leon the truth about everything. Ada shortly falls unconscious, which Leon mistakes for death. However, at the near end, Ada helps Leon by giving him a rocket launcher to help him defeat the now mutated T-00. Leon is reunited with Claire, and the two (along with William and Annette Birkin's daughter, Sherry Birkin) make their escape through a secret railway and then escape via the train, leaving the mutated William to be destroyed in the self-destruct sequence.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Following the Raccoon City incident, Claire and Leon split up, and she continued her search for Chris, while Leon continued to look after Sherry. Leon and Sherry were soon apprehended by the US military; Sherry was taken away and placed in protective custody while Leon was interrogated. Apparently, Leon never mentioned Claire or Ada, but the government was interested in recruiting him, since he now possessed the experience they were looking for; Leon accepted.

His subsequent training as a government agent turned him from a simple police rookie into an expert special agent. He became much more competent in terms of weapons handling and unarmed combat, specifically knife combat.

Resident Evil: Gun Survivor & Resident Evil CODE: Veronica

In November 1998, Leon sent a friend of his, detective Ark Thompson out to investigate Umbrella's facilities on Sheena Island. The following month, Claire set out for Europe to continue her search for Chris. She was captured by Umbrella after being caught trespassing in the Umbrella facility in Paris. While on the island prison ofRockfort Island, Claire sent Leon an email asking him to inform Chris of her location so that he could come and rescue her. Leon managed to track Chris down personally, and told him of Claire's situation, and Chris headed for Rockfort Island after her.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

In Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, it has the scenario called "Operation Javier" where Leon is teamed up with Jack Krauser to track down Javier Hidalgo until the latter gets injured from a his mutated wife, Hilda Hidalgo as a result of his discharge in the military and faking his death due to an accident. which takes place in 2002.

In 2002, before the destruction of the Russian branch of Umbrella, Leon was sent to a small South American country as part of a secret military detachment after the headquarters were informed that a former researcher from Umbrella contacted a man named Javier Hidalgo. Due to the difficult nature of the operation, Jack Krauser, a seasoned operative with a history of brave service, was selected to be Leon's partner.

Krauser and Leon were sent on a mission by the U.S. government to infiltrate this small South American country. Finding Javier was their objective since he was a drug lord who had taken de facto control over a large area of the jungle. He ruled the entire area absolutely. The small government was unable to do anything about Javier's control of the drug trade, so Krauser and Leon were called in. The U.S. government had received information that a former Umbrella researcher had somehow entered the region. Sources indicated that something strange was going on, but no accurate information could be obtained. Unwilling to risk a Bio-hazardous outbreak, a secret military agency paired Leon and Krauser and sent them into this volatile region to determine what, if anything, was going on.

They later found themselves having to cooperate as a two-man cell in a t-Virus outbreak. Leon also met a mysterious girl called Manuela, who seemed to be the only survivor of the village, though it was unknown why she didn't escape. Manuela turned out to be Javier's daughter; she contracted a rare disease, and was kept alive by her father through the t-Veronica Virus. While exploring Javier's compound, Leon opened up to Krauser about his hellish night in Raccoon City, as well as Claire's encounter with the t-Veronica Virus to explain how Umbrella's B.O.W.s worked.

Eventually, Leon and Krauser fought Javier after the crime lord combined himself with a plant infected with the t-Veronica Virus. Manuela assisted them by unleashing the effects of the Virus on her father. Javier was killed, and Manuela was taken into government custody. Leon lost his partnership with Krauser after the latter was discharged due to an injury during the mission. Some time later that year, Leon learned that his former partner died in an accident.

Resident Evil 4

In 2004, Leon was assigned to guard the newly elected President Graham's family. When the President's daughter Ashley was kidnapped, Leon's first mission under the new President was to track her down. Information gathered pointed to the kidnappers being located in a remote area of Europe. Leon was sent to investigate on his own, along with two members of the local police. Unfortunately, it seemed something bizarre happened to the local villagers, and after the two officers disappeared and were killed, Leon found himself relying on his survival skills in a deadly fight for his life.

Leon learned from Ingrid Hunnigan, his only government contact, that the perpetrators were a group called "Los Iluminados" (Spanish, literally meaning "The Enlightened Ones", or more poetically, "The Illuminati"), a religious cult led by a man namedOsmund Saddler. This cult used a mysterious parasitic organism known as "Plaga" (Spanish for "the plagues") to take control of the local townsfolk, as well as many others around the area, such as a group of Mercenaries. Although a seemingly hopeless situation, the fanatical cult found the formidable Leon to be more than they bargained for, as he foiled all of their attempts to kill him.

During the course of his mission, Leon is helped by Luis Sera, a man who was later revealed to be a researcher who used to work for Saddler, but betrayed him. Leon also once again has a chance encounter with Ada, who is also involved in this incident. She provides assistance to Leon, but has a fight of her own to battle out as well. Leon is also assisted by Hannigan, an information analyst and fellow government official via a communicator. As Leon progresses however, he finds the transmission hijacked by the cult, and he is forced to fend for himself.

Leon eventually finds Ashley in a Church, and he becomes responsible for her safety, as the two make their way around Los Iluminados-controlled area. It is revealed however, that both Leon and Ashley have been injected with the Plagas and are now in a race against time to find a cure for this before they are forever turned into Saddler's slaves. Acquiring weapons from a mysterious Merchant, Leon manages to fight his way through many harrowing perils within the local village and a mysterious Castle run by the cult. He eventually fights against two of Saddler's underlings, village chief Bitores Mendez, and the Castle's castellan, Ramon Salazar. Leon also confronts his former comrade Jack Krauser, who was now working as a double agent for both a mystery party and Saddler. It is revealed that this mysterious third player in the conflict is none other than Albert Wesker, whom Ada is also working for. Unbeknownst to Leon, a secret battle is being waged behind the scenes, which is explored in Ada's unlockable scenario, "Separate Ways." Eventually, Ashley is abducted, and Leon must race against time to rescue her before her Plaga fully develops, not to mention his own. With continued support from Ada, Leon fights his way through a local military base, where Saddler and the cult have taken refuge. Fighting against both, a deadly enemy and the enemy within, this battle tests all of Leon's strengths and skills. Leon fights against Krauser for the last time, and eventually saves Ashley and himself after removing Plaga from within them by using a special radiation machine, developed by Luis late during his mission. Afterwards, Leon battles Saddler in his true form, and with Ada's help (who provides him with a special rocket launcher), is able to put an end to him and his plot.

After the battle, Ada takes the Plagas sample from Leon at gunpoint and makes her getaway, but gives Leon and Ashley a means to escape as well, via a jet-ski. Ashley invites Leon to her residence for "overtime," but Leon politely declines. Despite this turn of events, after completing his mission, he talks with Hannigan, who finally manages to re-establish contact. He compliments her on her appearance (she isn't wearing any glasses at this point) and lightly flirts with her by asking for her number, an advance she rejects, reminding him that he's "still on duty." Upon being left in the dust by a second woman, Leon can only reply with a disheartened look, "...Story of my life."

Sometime after the incident, Leon filed a report, known as the "Kennedy Report," explaining his experience on this mission, which would be read by other agents, including BSAA agent Chris Redfield.

Resident Evil: Degeneration

In 2005, WilPharma's head of R&D released the t-Virus in a Harvardville Airport Terminal. The building was locked down and the government sent in the Marines along with the Special Response Team to clear out the zombies.

A 28 year old Leon was selected by the president to take charge of the S.R.T. team due to his experience with the t-Virus. Under his leadership and advice, they learned how to effectively kill the zombies and rescued five survivors, including Claire Redfield.

After saving them, Leon was involved in the fight with Curtis Miller, the Marines and Angela Miller at WilPharma. He was able to save Angela and kill the G-Virus-infected Curtis Miller. At the end, he, Claire and Angela exposed Frederic Downing for escaping Raccoon City with the "t" and G-Virus samples, the t-Virus incident at the airport, and setting a time bomb in the WilPharma building in order to secretly sell the last of the G-Virus data, t-Virus along with its vaccine, and the G-Virus.

As the incident came to a close, Leon was called in for yet another mission. He and Claire parted ways, with the hopes that they will meet each other again someday under far more "normal" circumstances.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness

In the animated CGI series, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, the timeline takes place in 2006 which is after the events of the film Resident Evil: Degeneration and the events of Resident Evil 5 which is Lost in Nightmares where both Chris and Jill are infiltrating the Spencer Mansion to apprehend Oswell E. Spencer until they discovered he was murdered by Albert Wesker.

One year after WillPharma's collapse, the White House is placed on alert after an unidentified individual hacks into confidential computer files. An investigation into this incident is subsequently commences, overseen by President Graham, his Chief of Staff, Ryan, and his Defense Secretary, Wilson. All persons who were in the White House on the day of the hacking are subject to the investigation, which is to be led by four specially-selected federal agents agents: Patrick, Jason, Shenmei and Leon, who is running late in response to a recent terrorist incident in Pittsburgh so the initial meeting takes place in the Oval Office without him.

Right as Leon arrives at the White House, the power goes out and the Secret Servicesprings to action, ready to take Graham to the Beast (the Presidential State Car) if necessary. When the backup power supply fails to turn on, it becomes clear the suspected mole from the previous night is still in the White House. The agents leave the Oval Office to search for the mole; Patrick encounters and is almost bitten by the mysteriously-zombified White House Press Secretary Spacer when Leon shoots him dead, saving Patrick. Leon meets with Graham at the Oval Office and warns him of the situation; the escape to the Beast is called off in favor of the bunker. Leon, Shenmei and Jason begin scouring the White House for zombies, while Patrick is sent down into the bunker with the Secret Service detail for Graham's protection. Washington DC Metro SWAT are called in as backup just in case. They soon find that the responsible virus has spread rapidly, infecting dozens of staff members. The White House is subsequently cleared of all zombies.

After consideration, Graham decides it is best to cover-up the incident, and the victims are declared to have gone on leave. Claire later spots Leon, much to his surprise, she confides in about her discovery about a biohazard in Penamstan. Later, the DIA investigation behind the hacking determines the stolen files discussed a bio-research facility in Shanghai. A top-secret operation is drawn up, in which Leon, Jason and Shenmei are to infiltrate the Shanghai facility. They are flown to Guam and board one of the new Virginia-class submarines at Apra Harbor, modified for SONAR stealth and provided with a modified Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) midget submarine.

During the trip, Jason begins to open up to Leon about his days in the Army and during Penamstan Civil War, with Leon being all too familiar with dealing with Zombies. They have separate views of things, however; when Jason describes the bombing of Raccoon City as a necessary operation to save the United States, Leon pushes back, still bitter over the Army's cowardly withdrawal from Raccoon City. The submarine is unexpectedly rocked, and Leon and Jason head to the bridge to investigate, only to find that the bridge crew have been killed. While Leon heads over to the engineering section, Jason meets up with Shenmei en route to the ASDS. Leon arrives at the engineering section to find the engineers have also been killed, finding that mutant rats have burrowed into their bodies. Due to the dangers of using firearms on board a submarine, Leon chooses instead to seal them behind a hatch. When a self-destruct system is triggered, Leon runs out to the ASDS, electrocuting another swarm of rats on the way. When Leon reaches the ASDS, Shenmei puts a gun to his head but is ordered to stand down by Jason. The two escape with Leon as their prisoner, bound for Shanghai as the submarine explodes.

The ASDS reaches Shanghai, and Shenmei, Jason and Leon head over to a safe house that was set-up for their mission. Leon suspects the two are traitors who are working for the Chinese, and though Jason instead tells him he is working to expose a conspiracy within the government, he doesn't believe it. The discussion turns violent, with both men reaching for their guns; Leon comes out the victor with Jason sustaining a gunshot wound to the chest, but Shenmei has managed to escape during the fight.

Leon manages to tail her to her family's mansion outside of Shanghai, where he takes Hao Ran hostage and demands Shenmei to tell him everything. She explains that she was handling radio communications between Wilson and the soldiers in Penamstan. She was not permitted to respond to the Mad Dogs request for evacuation, even when they reported having picked up a survivor from Alpha Two, Jun See, who is her brother When they unexpectedly arrived at the base, Shenmei confronted them, only to find Jun See alive but afflicted with Cannibal Disease. Since then Shenmei has been working with Jason trying to find evidence to publicly expose Wilson for conspiring to deploy bio-weapons in Penamstan. Though dismissive of Jason, Leon finds Shenmei more persuasive when she shows him what remains of her brother. The Mad Dogs filed false reports about the incident, though only Jason and Shenmei were prepared to investigate Wilson while the others were discharged. Shenmei then used her family connections to have Jun See quietly smuggled out over the Chinese border to escape euthanasia. After six years of investigating, Shenmei and Jason had until recently come no closer to exposing the conspiracy until a recent breakthrough: a computer chip planted on Jun See when he was infected was discovered, which had been recording biometric data on behalf of a B.O.W. manufacturer involved in the Penamstan incident, who they may be able to identify. Suddenly, the mansion is destroyed in a bomb blast; the ceiling caves in, crushing her brother, Hao Ran and her grandfather, Leon manages to drag Shenmei out before its destruction.

Leon and Shenmei stand alone in the ruins of the mansion, though still have the computer chip with them. Shenmei begs Leon to hand it over to her so the conspiracy can be exposed to the whole world. Leon however is unwilling to destroy the United States' reputation in the process. He is instead more concerned about what caused the explosion, and deduces that Jason is a mutant and, still alive, is planning to conduct acts of terror in revenge for his experiences in Penamstan, rather than truly seeking justice.

Leon and Shenmei return to the US intent on apprehending Jason, while Leon contacts Patrick and notifies him of the discovery. They enter a secret research facility located beneath Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland where President Graham is holding a press conference. When they enter the facility, they find that Jason has failed to take his inhibitor medication and is mutating out of control into a large humanoid mutant. Wilson himself is seriously injured and infected after being crushed against a capsule and bitten in the neck by Jason. The facility's supercomputer determines a biohazard has taken place, and begins dumping tanks containing unconscious super-soldiers into a vat of highly corrosive acids where they are killed one by one. Shenmei pleads to his senses, but Jason can no longer control his violent impulses and kills her rather than use the chip, planning instead to emerge on the surface and massacre the attendants on live TV. Claire, who was kidnapped by Wilson's agent after her ongoing investigation about the Mad Dogs squad, is put at risk by the acid, which has reached her floor. When he spots her, Leon chooses to save Claire rather than continue pursuing Jason.

Leon arms himself with a bazooka from a nearby armory, ready to blow up Jason if necessary, but his attempt fails as Jason counters, with Leon almost being knocked into the acid. He catches up and destroys Jason's right arm with an anti-materiel rifle, only for Jason to grab him by the neck. Rather than kill him, Jason spares him in favour of his plans. To save the President, Leon pulls a lever that sends their section falling into the acid, escaping by grabbing hold of a cable. As the acid begins to recede, Leon finds Jason still alive, though dissolving while embedded onto a piece of metal. He warns him of the spread of true fear, before falling below and dissolving completely. Back on the surface, Leon sees Graham off on Air Force One.

Late in the afternoon, Leon finds Claire outside the White House. Claire asks Leon to hand over the chip so she can deliver it to the press. However, Leon refuses because of what Jason said about his willingness to spread terror in people. Claire is disappointed in his decision, commenting that the "outfit" doesn't suit him and leaves.

Resident Evil: Damnation

In 2011, Leon was pulled out of his furlough to be sent on a mission to the Eastern Slav Republic. The rumor was that B.O.W.s were being used in the war and U.S. government agents had been sent in to investigate. However, no sooner than he had arrived, Hannigan informed him that the U.S. was required to pull out and abort all missions in the area. Leon was not willing to leave until he found confirmation and proof of the rumors and denounced his orders, proceeding on without U.S. government support. After his bold move, Leon continued on to the rendezvous point where he encountered his CIA contact who went by the code nameScarecrow. Scarecrow was badly injured and Leon could barely get him to speak, aside from uttering the word "beekeeper." A Licker suddenly attacked and Leon narrowly managed to avoid the creature, though it then killed Scarecrow instead.

The Licker turned to attack Leon proceeded to a rendezvous point with an informant who had information regarding, who was using the rebels who were using the B.O.W.s. However upon arrival the informant was close to death and Leon was attacked by a Licker. It attacked Leon once more, but managed to fend it off and injure it with several shots to the torso. The creature fled and Leon gave chase, firing after the creature. However, Leon was led right into a trap where a bomb detonated, the explosion almost knocking him out. He maintained consciousness briefly, watching as the Licker toyed with him until it suddenly grew passive. An old man stepped forward, the last thing Leon saw before finally losing consciousness.

Leon woke up in a basement, his gear taken and his hands tied, and saw the old man from earlier sitting in a corner of the room. The sound of soldiers searching the home above them caught his attention until someone from behind covered his mouth, holding a knife to his throat. As the man holding him threatened Leon to be quiet, Leon saw another man with blond hair beckoning for him to keep silent as well. The blond-haired man then briefly taunted Leon, showing off the vest he had stolen from him. After the soldiers leave, the two younger men begin to question Leon about his motives and reasons for being in the Eastern Slav Republic. Leon responded only with sarcasm and jokes, however. During the course of his capture, Leon learned the blond-haired man - who greatly expressed his love of American food and movies - went by the name JD and his comrade was Buddy. Buddy and JD both acknowledged Leon's importance if he was sent here, Buddy pointing out that Leon showed clear experience in dealing with the Licker's. Leon immediately retorted that dealing in the B.O.W.s would get all of them killed.

Leon began to question the health of the old man, the Ataman Ivan Judanovich, who began coughing profusely. Though before any more could be said of the issue, soldiers raided the basement room. Judanovich began to cough so violently that his sunglasses were thrown from his face. As the soldiers began to check on him, Leon had realized he was infected and yelled for the soldiers to get away, for he had "turned." The Ataman lifted his head slowly, opening his red eyes which shocked everyone. Buddy attacked one of the soldiers, which provoked Leon to attack two of the soldiers near him. Leon ran and dove out of sight as Buddy began to shoot around the room wildly with his assault rifle and remained hidden as his kidnappers escaped, disposing of the other soldiers on their way out.

Leon followed the trio, overhearing the Ataman begging Buddy to carry on their goal for a new future without him. With great hesitation, Buddy ended the suffering Judanovich's life with five shots. As Buddy and JD left the scene, Leon came around the corner to pick up his flashlight that JD dropped, then briefly stopped to look at the Ataman's body before continuing down the tunnel. When Leon came to a room, he found a body nailed to a counter with a pickaxe. He carefully maneuvered the room, encountering JD who tried to keep Leon quiet. Not falling for what he thought was a ploy, Leon was suddenly attacked by Mr. Chenkov  a former teacher now infected with the Plaga. The infected man tried to impale Leon with a pair of trimming shears, but Leon managed to wrestle the weapon away. JD begged Leon not to kill the man, however Leon stated it was a request he could not fulfill. Leon then swiftly drove the shears down into Mr. Chenkov, ending his life.

JD threatened Leon with his own rifle, exclaiming that he knew the man. Leon informed him that the thing he just killed was no longer the man JD knew, and that if he didn't kill it, the infected would have killed him. Frustrated, JD lowered the weapon only to be attacked by another infected while Leon was also attacked. Struggling with his own fight, trying to prevent the infected from stabbing him with a knife, Leon urged JD to shoot the other infected man. Unable to attack the man, JD was knocked down by the second infected. Leon was able to finally wrestle the knife away from the infected attacking him, driving it into the back of its head. As the second infected Plaga began to protrude from its mouth, Leon kicked it swiftly in the face, knocking it off of JD. The infected rose back to its feet just as Leon readied himself, then attacked and drove the blade into the creature's face.

After killing the infected, Leon harshly scolded JD, asking why he bothered to carry a weapon he won't even use. JD retorted sarcastically as Leon was finally able to cut through his bindings with the knife he took. Unfazed by the sound of the groans of more infected, Leon picked up a crowbar to use as a weapon and told JD that if he ever decided to actually fire his weapon, to aim for the head. JD stopped him before he walked away, telling Leon to follow him to find the way out. Further down the tunnel, they found a large steel door that was shut tightly. Together they were unable to pull the door open, so Leon tried to pry it open with the crowbar. During the process, several more infected rounded the corner and began to pursue them. JD tried to squeeze through the doorway but got stuck, forcing Leon to have to attack one of the men to keep them at bay.

Driving the crowbar into the head of a man infected with the Plaga, the man's head burst and the Plaga grew from its neck. This urged Leon to help push JD through the gap in the door, the added help finally pushing the heavy man through as Leon followed right behind. Leon immediately grabbed a nearby chain, using it to wrap around the door handle, keeping the door closed and preventing their attackers from getting through. The two then followed a ladder out of the tunnel and up to the surface street. As they reached the street, the two watched as a mob of infected civilians chased down a soldier. They held him down as one of them expelled a Plaga from its mouth. Leon and JD watched as the Plaga was forced down the soldiers' throat and the man was painfully infected. As the crowd left, Leon finally managed to pull JD away and the two continued on to the church that JD was supposed to go to.

When they arrived at the church, JD accused Leon of being behind what had happened to the people of the town. Leon informed him of the Plaga, telling him that it was a parasite infecting the bodies of those people. He also told JD of the harsh truth that those infected will never be human again. The most one could achieve is to remove the spinal cord and hope for paralysis. At that moment, Buddy entered the church with two other members of the resistance, a third watching Leon from above. Buddy informed JD that Leon was telling the truth, then told Leon that he had more questions for him. Responding that perhaps this time they can get to the truth, Buddy promptly punches Leon and had the other rebels take him hostage again.

After Buddy departed, JD ordered the other soldiers to allow him to speak with Leon alone. He was taken outside where JD cut his bindings. Leon immediately reacted, slamming JD against the wall and criticizing the methods of the rebel group, using B.O.W.s. Although JD tried to rationalize it and vie for sympathy, Leon dismissed it without so much as a thought, telling JD that it was something the two of them would never see eye-to-eye on. As Leon prepared to leave, JD told Leon of Buddy's past. He explained how the government soldiers attacked the school Buddy used to work at with his fiance, Irina, thinking the school was to support the rebels. Leon found out that when Irina and the school children were killed in the attack, Buddy decided to join the resistance. JD pleaded with Leon to save Buddy, to get to the Plaga before him so that he didn't have to see his friend turn into a monster. Returning his machine gun to him, JD told Leon that Buddy was heading to the central marketplace where theCouncil of Elders had left the Plaga for the rebels. Leon silently took his gun back and headed off to the marketplace.

Leon arrived at the marketplace to find the case that was holding the Plaga empty. A voice immediately caught Leon's attention, causing Leon to turn swiftly and attack. The two fought briefly, Ada easily evading Leon's attacks as she flipped away and aimed her grappling gun at him. Leon finally realized who she was, questioning what Ada was doing in the Eastern Slav Republic. Ada merely retorted with the same question. He immediately followed it up by asking if she was responsible for releasing the Plaga, a notion she found laughable, noting that she wasn't interested in "defective products." Ada spoke briefly and mysteriously about her job, causing Leon to ask again why she was there. She flirted briefly with him, asking when they would continue where they left off from "that night." Leon smirked and simply told her any time but then. Amused by Leon's rejection, Ada made her escape, warning him that the town would be purged soon.

Leon returns to the church to find most of the inhabitants dead, by the hand of JD. JD tells Leon that he merely let his guard down for a second; he returns Leon's Gear before he begins to turn. Buddy arrives and blames Leon for what happened; however, JD claims Leon is not their enemy. JD succumbs to the Plaga and attacks Buddy, however he is promptly killed by Leon. Leon tries to reason with Buddy, asking him to hand over the Plaga, to which he refuses. The government then began to bomb the area, causing the church to collapse. Buddy escapes, and Leon pursues him.

Leon makes his way to the presidential building, which has been left devastated by the Lickers, leaving hundreds of dead soldiers. Leon infiltrates the building, and is then encountered by two Lickers who fail to detect him, until a Soldier reaches for his leg and whimpers in pain. Leon runs from them, managing to kill one, and causes the other to fall to its demise after he charges through a door which leads to a massive elevator shaft. Leon descends into a B.O.W. manufacturing facility. He once again encounters Ada, who informs him that they are mass-producing Control Plagas. Leon and Ada are quickly surrounded by guards and confronted by Svetlana Belikova, the President of the Eastern Slav Republic. Ada deactivates the lights to make her escape. Leon uses the confusion to shoot at some of Belikova's guards, prompting them to begin firing out of panic, hitting each other indiscriminately, allowing Leon to take Belikova hostage. As he attempted to make his escape, he asked Belikova if she was "the beekeeper", the one who released the Plaga. Belikova then realizes that he had no idea who she was and identifies herself as the president of the republic before displaying her combat skills to throw him off. A fight ensues between Leon and Belikova's guards, which is soon interrupted by Buddy and a horde of Licker's. However, Belikova releases her own B.O.W.s - two advanced Tyrants. This initiated a biohazard alert and the facility began preparations for incineration. Buddy and Leon escaped the facility as the two Tyrants incidentally caused the access elevator to fall.

A third Tyrant followed them out and they attempted to fight it. Buddy used Lickers to lure the Tyrant over to a tanker truck full of explosives; Leon promptly shot it with incendiary rounds, destroying the creature's Power Limiter. Its power increasing, Buddy drove a tank at it. Leon manned the turret and attempted to shoot the Tyrant's head, but the B.O.W. constantly evaded, so Buddy summoned a Licker to cover the Tyrant's face, allowing Leon to blow its head off. Climbing out of the tank, Leon remarked that after years of fighting B.O.W.s, he never expected to be saved by one. His relief is short-lived, as the earlier two Tyrants soon after emerged from the Presidential Palace. Leon attempted to help Buddy flee but they were unable to outrun them. Leon drew his combat knife, the only weapon he had left. To his luck, an American plane killed the creatures before they could reach him. At this point Leon realized the U.S. government had been watching him the whole time.

Watching a joint American-Russian task force invade the capital, Buddy asked Leon if he knew this would happen. Leon stated that if he did he would've remained on vacation. Buddy asks Leon to kill him, as he doesn't want to turn. Leon refuses; Buddy attempts to shoot himself, only for Leon to take his gun. He tells Buddy that he owes it to the people who died alongside him to keep living. Leon then shoots Buddy in the spinal cord, severing the Plaga's link to Buddy.

Leon returns to his vacation, Hannigan informs him that Belikova has resigned from her position. Leon then leaves his apartment.

The last part of the movie was mentioned in one of the files in Resident Evil: Revelations 2 during Episode 3 as the Russian news heard about Belikova's resignation as President but in a Russian language.

Resident Evil 6

In Resident Evil 6, Leon is playable in his campaign along with his partner, Helena Harper. His role in the game as the most main character than both Chris Redfield and Jake Muller in both of their campaigns and his plot is the longest than the other two where he and Helena teams up to stop the National Security Advisor, Derek C. Simmons who is behind for killing the U.S. President, Adam Benford by being infected with a gas of C-Virus to turn into a zombie including 70,000 people in Tall Oaks to create a bio-terror outbreak and later determined to stop the global outbreak in Lanshiang made by Carla Radames while being aided by Ada Wong to stop Simmons and his crimes that he committed.

June 29, 2013, almost fifteen years after the Raccoon City Incident, the President of the United States of America, Adam Benford, decided to make public the truth behind the Raccoon City incident at a seminar atIvy University. Accompanying President Benford is his trusted friend Leon Kennedy; and Helena Harper, a Secret Service member. When a bio-terrorist attack occurred in Tall Oaks, the President himself is infected and turned into a zombie, forcing Leon to make a difficult decision. It's not until the President almost attacks Helena when Leon finally shoots Adam in the head, yelling his name. A shocked Helena mutters that "It's all my fault. I…I did this." Leon asks her what she's talking about, but she says that she will explain everything once they get to Tall Oaks Church.

On their way through the university, they eventually come across a man who guides Leon and his partner, Helena, through the campus in a search for his missing daughter, Liz. During the search he begins to make suspicious complaints of skin irritation. They eventually find his daughter and get in an elevator, only for her to fully turn, and attack and kill her father before turning on Leon and Helena. Leon and Helena fight their way out of the campus and escape in a police car; however, it crashes, forcing them to proceed through the sewers, where zombies, dogs and running subway trains stood in the way.

They eventually arrived at a gas station, where some survivors were fighting zombies, Leon and Helena assisted them and took refuge in a gun shop, until a bus driver (a friend of the gun shop owner) came to rescue them. Despite saving some people, their victory was short lived: the bus driver soon lost control of the vehicle, and all the survivors (except Leon and Helena) died either because of the zombies or the bus explosion.

Hannigan informs them that the city has been overrun, with over 70,000 people expected to have become infected. They have been infected with the new C-Virus, reported by the BSAA to be the same virus used by terrorists to cause an outbreak in Eastern Europe, six months prior. Hannigan also informed that an organization named "Neo Umbrella" had claimed responsibility for the attacks, in which Leon says that "this is Raccoon City all over again".

When Leon and Helena finally make it to the church, the survivors sheltered inside refuse to allow them in; however, one of them helps them kill the zombies with a Sniper Rifle. Leon and Helena finally get in, though he had to disappoint them by saying they are not rescue workers. While in the church, the couple solve various puzzles until they accidentally free a Lepotitsa that begins to infect other survivors.

After finally killing the monster, Leon and Helena travel through the church basements, arriving in an underground laboratory. Deeper in, they eventually find and escort Deborah Harper (Helena's sister) until she becomes a C-Virus monster. With Ada Wong's assistance, they have to take her down, with Helena ultimately letting her sister fall to her death. Helena then swears to make Simmons pay for his actions.

After the fight, Leon tried to contact Hannigan, only to be interrupted by Simmons. He declares them as key suspects in the President's assassination, despite the whole attack being planned by him, and suggests that they surrender. Instead, Leon and Helena manage to escape the laboratory through the catacombs. After escaping from a shark-like B.O.W., the two escape Tall Oaks before it is destroyed in an airstrike.

Leon asked Hannigan to fake both his and Helena's deaths so they could go to China in order to track Simmons down. On their way to China, things went awry when a Lepotitsa chrysalid hatched in the plane, infecting all the passengers with the C-Virus. Leon and Helena were forced to fight their way through the zombie infested plane, and it eventually crashes close by where Jake Muller and Sherry Birkin happen to be. When the four met, Leon asked Sherry what she was doing there, she replied that she was on protective detail. Sherry returned the same question to Leon, in which he responded that he and Helena were trying to track down Simmons, the man behind all of the chaos. When Sherry told him that she reported to Simmons, Leon asked her where he was and after she hesitated to tell him, he told her that he needed to know, approaching her in a manner that Jake felt he needed to protect Sherry by violently pushing Leon away. However Sherry told Jake that Leon wasn't just anyone: "He saved my life back in Raccoon City." Suddenly, Ustanak appeared on the destroyed plane, and the four of them teamed up to defeat the creature. After a heated battle, Leon and Helena were separated from Jake and Sherry when an electrical tower fell off Ustanak. Sherry yelled to Leon that she and Jake were meeting Simmons at the Kwun Lung building. Before Leon could tell her what to do, the tower exploded. As Helena wondered if they would be alright, Leon told her that they would be, as long as Jake was as good as he claimed to be. While making their way to Koocheng, Leon and Helena had to search through a whole market for three keys to unlock a door, all while they were being chased by a Rasklapanje. They managed to kill it by forcing it into a grinder.

When Leon and Helena found "Ada," they followed her into a building, dodging several traps along the way. Eventually, they got to a room just in time to see Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans cornering her, whom they believed to be the one responsible for the deaths of Chris' men and the outbreaks that have occurred. Chris had his assault rifle aimed and ready to shoot when Leon knocked it out of his hands to prevent him from killing her. They had a brief struggle, ending with the two pointing their guns at each other. Leon told Chris to put his gun down, saying that she was a "key witness" and they needed her, but Chris refused and abstractly told Leon that she is the one who did all this (referring to the global bio-terrorist attacks). Leon disagreed, saying that it was Simmons who was really responsible. Chris yelled that he lost all of his men because of "Ada," and Leon responded that he lost over seventy thousand people including the president because of Simmons. After a tense moment "Ada" managed to escape with a flash bomb, and Chris pursued her with no intention of harming her after Leon`s words. Leon and Helena then made their leave to find Simmons.

Reaching the Kwun Lung building, Leon assured Helena that it was alright for them to pursue Simmons and let Chris follow "Ada." Going inside, they found Simmons and his henchmen from The Family, and Sherry and Jake joined them shortly afterwards. To answer Sherry's questions, Simmons admitted to being involved in the terrorist attacks, but blamed Leon for the president's death. The Family then fired on the four, causing them to hide for cover. When Leon and Helena told Sherry and Jake to escape while they stayed behind to fight Simmons, Sherry gave them a chip containing information that could stop the C-Virus. As she and Jake made their escape, Leon and Helena opened fire on The Family. Then they jumped onto a nearby train to pursue Simmons, who was shot with a C-Virus dart by a J'avo.

Simmons stumbled away to a passing train and Helena and Leon gave pursuit, jumping onto the train after him. As they found him at the front of the train Simmons tried to divert their attention at first by placing blame on Ada Wong, then tried to rationalize his actions. Leon and Helena dismissed his remarks as Simmons became more enraged and eventually succumbed to the effects of the enhanced C-Virus, his body rupturing and granting him the ability to mutate into a larger canine-like creature of bone and muscle tissue.

Unflinching, Helena prepares to take a final shot at Simmons. The two agents fought with the mutated Simmons throughout the series of train cars, though he showed no signs of stopping and only taunted Helena with her sister's death. He even proved strong enough to knock another series of oncoming train cars off of the railing. Simmons prepared to ram the train they were on head on, though they managed to trip him up as they opened fire, causing the train to ram him and flip him back on top of the train. His body briefly succumbed to the damage it received and reverted to his human form. He recovered quickly and as he started to mutate, Simmons declared that they had no idea what would happen if he were to die. Leon retorted that the world would be better off without him. Enraged, Simmons used his brute strength to dislodge a piece of the train's roof and send it flying towards Leon and Helena. Leon managed to slide and shoot the debris to knock it off course, giving Helena an opening just as it passed overhead as she fired one bullet directly into the mutated Simmons' head. Becoming distraught with the situation before him as The Family abandoned him, Simmons slipped from the edge of the train and fell onto the tracks, the train running over him in the process. The cars became dislodged from the rails and Helena and Leon were forced to leap off and into the water nearby. Alive and exhausted, they pulled themselves ashore just outside of Tatchi. They briefly overlooked the wreckage caused on the bridge railroad before walking up off of the dock, watching as civilians were being escorted to safety by the BSAA. Helena asked Leon if the ordeal was finally over to which Leon replied, "Yeah... it's over."

Moments before infection hits Tatchi. Before Helena and Leon could relax, Hannigan suddenly contacted them to inform them that Sherry and Jake had been abducted. Helena realized that the files that Sherry gave them had something to do with it and as they looked over the files, she pointed out to Leon how the key to stopping the C-Virus actually lies in Jake Muller. As Leon tries to get in contact with someone in the BSAA to help rescue them, Helena spots an object in the sky just above. With Chris patched through, Leon informed him of their location only to have Chris urgently yell for them to leave the area. The object overhead that Helena spotted was a missile that released the C-Virus in a blue fog over Tatchi, infecting countless people. Leon told Chris to find Sherry and Jake and rescue them and Helena overhears as Chris in turn told Leon that Ada Wong was dead. Concerned, Helena asked Leon if he was alright, but Leon only distantly mentioned finding survivors and escaping the city. With the help of some BSAA operatives, Leon and Helena manage to avoid the blue fog and escape into a truck with one of the soldiers. The soldier drives them through the fog to the edge of the danger zone, directing them to theQuad Tower where evacuees were being taken. Chaos reminiscent of Tall Oaks was everywhere as a stray gas tanker knocked them both out briefly. As they came to, infected citizens began to surround them until Ada suddenly appeared in a helicopter, providing them with cover-fire to make their escape. They managed to find their way to a bridge overrun with zombies that would lead directly to the Quad Tower. However, a plane set inside a building dislodged itself, starting a series of explosions that destroyed the bridge. Helena and Leon were forced to run, making their way to a BSAA helicopter to escape only to find the pilot was injured. Leon took the controls of the failing helicopter, managing to keep it suspended enough to crash through the side of the Quad Tower. Barely escaping the crash, Leon and Helena proceeded deeper into the tower.

Helena brings up Leon's feelings for Ada. As they entered the Quad Tower, Helena and Leon were shocked to find Derek C. Simmons waiting for them. Still greatly angered, he mutated into a new, gigantic form as he witnessed Ada circling overhead in her helicopter. With the help of Ada, they managed to bring Simmons' monstrous mutation down once again. Ada retreated to the roof with her helicopter and Helena hoped the elevator was still operational. Noticing Leon's hesitation, she asked him what was wrong but he insisted it was nothing. On the elevator ride up, Helena finally spoke up about Ada, pointing out Leon's obvious feelings for her. Before Leon could respond, the elevator was blown off course by an explosion, forcing the agents to make a wild leap on top of the neighboring elevator. Together, they climbed the support cable only to witness Ada fighting with Simmons on top of a nearby connecting hallway between two of the towers. With Ada evading to another section of the tower, Helena and Leon found the opportunity to fire on Simmons from afar until the platform they stopped on began to fall, forcing them to jump back on to the cable. Simmons' attention shifted to the two agents as they climbed further. Helena tried to call out for Ada's help as Ada returned the favor, trying to slow Simmons down with gunfire. It was not long before Simmons went after Ada again, giving Helena and Leon the chance to find even ground once more until Leon found a way over to help Ada as she was knocked out by Simmons. From afar, Helena could do nothing but provide cover fire for the two while fending off whatever zombies shambled her way. Though Helena was helpless as Simmons managed to knock Leon to the edge of the platform, leaving him dangling until Ada came to his rescue. With Simmons dispatched, Ada bid Leon a final farewell before departing, though Helena urged him over their comms to go after her. Leon refused, stating that he and Helena were sticking together.

Helena urges Leon to follow after Ada. Reaching the roof, they discovered Simmons had survived their last encounter, mutating further as he absorbed the bodies of the infected to power himself. Though Simmons briefly blocked their exit, they managed to injure him enough to the point he was defenseless as surrounding undead swarmed and began to feed on him. They took note of the helicopter Ada had left for them and rushed to it, though Simmons - newly mutated into a massive amalgamation of different insects - tried to stop them once more. Noting how Simmons used the bodies of the infected to regenerate, they used a loosened lightning rod to impale a zombie as Simmons took it in to regenerate its damaged head. The rod attracted the lightning from the ongoing storm, causing the electrified creature to crash through the floor. They reached the helicopter, but the injured and fully-mutated Simmons rose to try and stop them. The agents managed to finally put an end to things with a rocket launcher left behind by Ada, the blast of the launcher knocking Simmons back and deep into the belly of the tower. As Simmons fell, his body mutated back into his human state just as he was impaled on the obelisk Helena and Leon passed earlier, bleeding him out from his wound. Watching Simmons' death, Helena spoke of her finally getting revenge for her sister as Leon suggested they get to the helicopter.

In the helicopter, the two found a compact left behind by Ada with a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was a small data disk containing all of the evidence needed to prove that Simmons was behind the bioterrorist attacks, the evidence to ensure Leon's innocence. When Leon said it would prove both of their innocence, Helena could only sadly remark that she did not need it. Before he could retort, Hannigan called to inform the two of them that a way to stop the C-Virus was found. Before the collapsing Quad Tower could catch up to them completely, they made their escape in Ada's helicopter.

Sometime after surviving the events in China, Helena visited the grave of her sister with Hannigan, Leon, and other agents present. Remarking that it is time for her to take responsibility, she thanked Leon and said that she was ready to be taken into custody for her crimes. With a nod of approval from Hannigan, Leon approached and took Helena's arm, though instead of arresting her, he placed her gun in her hand. Helena was confused, proclaiming that she was an accessory to the attack on the president.

Hannigan informed Helena that upon reviewing the evidence, it was decided that it was not fair to hold Helena responsible for Simmons' crimes and further said that the findings would not be made public. When she tried to protest, Leon told her that President Benford would have done the same thing. Hannigan suggested they go join the rest of the team, though before departing Helena gave Ada's compact back to Leon, so that he can return it. The next time he crosses paths with her.

Resident Evil: Vendetta

Sometime later, Leon and a squad of his found themselves in a mission against the B.O.W.'s in Washington D.C. where the mission went horribly wrong due to a whistleblower. Only Leon survived the ordeal and afterward he went throughout the morgue containing his fallen comrades and killed one of them as they turned into a zombie. Unfortunately, this also "woke up" the rest of them, forcing Leon to kill them. This left him emotionally scarred. He spent his vacation drinking his days away in a bar in a similar manner to Chris who lost his team in Edonia.

During his vacation, Leon was approached by Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers, aiming to consult him about the recent B.O.W. "attacks" in the US and Canada by Glenn Arias - the viral strain that he was using which allowed him to control them and he was engineered with the aid of a Plaga sample provided by Los Iluminados. Leon was reluctant to help them, asking when all of the fighting against the B.O.W.s would even end. It was only after Rebecca's kidnapping that Leon agreed to team up with Chris and find the target of Arias' next attack.

Leon and Chris, together with the Silver Dagger team, then went to New York where Arias was planning a mass attack through the use of tankers carrying the airborne 'trigger' for the virus. It is there that the team is provided with transportation to help with their mission: a Hummer that Chris took, and a Ducati motorcycle which Leon took. After destroying the first fuel truck, Chris, Leon and Damian were attacked by infected dogs that swiftly decapitated the latter before turning their attention to Chris. Leon revved his bike loudly to attract the dogs before speeding off with them in pursuit, this allowed Chris to continue destroying the virus-filled tanker trucks. Leading the dogs onto the expressway, Leon easily dispatched the two infected dogs and rushed to Arias's headquarters to help Chris.

Arriving in time to help Chris kill off the remaining zombies of the first wave, the duo were confronted with even more zombies. Leon and Chris managed to hold them back until Chris decided that time was running out for Rebecca and Leon told Chris to go ahead to save Rebecca while he stayed behind to kill the zombies. Delivering sweep kicks after sweep kicks, he killed zombie after zombie.

After Arias mutated into a powerful creature, Leon arrived just in time at the rooftop after killing all the zombies to save Chris from being squeezed to death by Arias, slamming his bike into Arias's legs. Leon then skillfully dodged Arias's attacks and even managed to kick Arias in his head. When Arias was grabbing onto the helicopter of Silver Dagger, Leon rode his bike at high speed and jumped off the bike at the last minute to allow the bike to slam into Arias. Leon then shot the bike, causing it to explode and severely injuring Arias before he was killed by Chris.

After the defeat of Arias, Leon looked back upon his life and wondered how long they have to continue fighting B.O.W.s, only for Chris to jokingly reply with a prior comment of Leon's about never making plans that far ahead.

Resident Evil: Death Island

Leon appears as one of the main characters alongside Chris, Jill, Rebecca and Claire.

A year after the New York bioterrorist attack, Kennedy was tasked with rescuing Dr. Antonio Taylor from bioterrorist kidnappers when his efforts were thwarted by a mysterious woman. Thus, Leon once again teamed up with Chris Redfield and his longtime partner, Jill Valentine, who had been investigating a series of mysterious infections affecting Alcatraz tourists, with assistance from Rebecca Chambers and Claire.

Other appearances

Leon, Claire and a zombie cop are all unlockable characters in the Capcom game Trick'n Snowboarder.

Leon appears in the Resident Evil: Escape from Raccoon City house (which is based on Resident Evil 2 and 3) for Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights 23.

Leon appeared as a card in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's Heroes & Heralds mode.

Leon appears in Project X Zone 2 as a Solo Unit.

Leon and Jill Valentine are playable survivors in Dead by Daylight's Resident Evil chapter, along with Nemesis as a playable killer.

Trivia

  • Leon's name can be a reference to the character of Jean Reno in the film The Professional. In the feature, Natalie Portman's character is called Mathilda, the same name as the special weapon used by Leon in Resident Evil 4.
  • The name "Leon" has Greek origins and means "Lion", ironically a puzzle in Resident Evil 2 involves a Lion statue.
  • Leon was portrayed by the late Brad Renfro in a 1998 ad for Resident Evil 2 directed by George Romero.
  • Leon is modeled after Christian Duerre (RE4), Jamisin Matthews (DC, ORC, Degeneration, Damnation), Bart Voitila (RE6), and Eduard Badaluta (RE2 Remake) .
  • Leon is mocapped by Teruaki Ogawa (RE4), R.C. Ormond (Degeneration) Jason Faunt (RE6, Vendetta) Kevin Dorman (Damnation) and Nick Apostolides (RE2 Remake).
  • Leon is an Italian American immigrant.[2]
  • Leon likely helped inspire Dante's creation since Devil May Cry 1 was originally the pre-developed Resident Evil 4 before Capcom shifted the concepts and the Devil May Cry became its own franchise.
  • Leon seems to have met Kevin Ryman, but their relationship is never fully explained.
  • Leon was planned to be a playable character in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom but was dropped for unknown reasons.
  • Leon appears to share his name with real world Black American actor Leon Issac Kennedy, who is famous for his role as FBI agent Marcus Jackson in the Chuck Norris action movie Lone Wolf McQuade and the boxing movies Penitentiary and Heart and Soul.
  • His backstory as a cop from a mob family is similar to the leading character Rick Hunter from the 1980s police drama TV series Hunter.

Gallery

For more images of this character, see their Gallery.

References

  1. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named art guide
  2. Capcom Design Works, Chapter 01, BIOHAZARD 2 (Initial Artwork). Page 27
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