Mark Wilkins

"I'm getting too old for this shit."

.Mark Wilkins was a security guard working in Raccoon City. Now living outside of the doomed town, Mark remains a very caring individual, who wants nothing more than to see his friends and family safe. During the outbreak, more often than not, his fellow survivors could catch a faraway gleam in his eye as he wondered what became of his wife and son. In 1998, despite being 52 years of age, his robust strength had not diminished, Mark is stronger than most men half his age, he pushed a 5 ton (10,000 pound) tour bus by himself while he was trapped in the Raccoon Zoo. His time in Raccoon City during the outbreak aroused dark memories from his past, when he had once tasted the emptiness of war.

Biography


Mark recalls in his ending to "Wild Things" that his old man told him that there wasn't a place left on Earth that wasn't touched by war. Somewhere between the ages of eighteen and twenty-seven, Mark was part of the US invasion force sent into then-South Vietnam to protect it from the north.

Decades later, Mark's dress uniform heavily resembled that of a Lieutenant-Colonel in the U.S. Army as he settled down in the mid-west and had a wife and son by the 1990s. His job by September 1998 was as a security guard for a local firm called Scutum (incidentally the Latin word for "shield"). This job was flexible, and it allowed Mark to spend time with his family. Notably, his son enjoyed going to the elephant show at the Raccoon Zoo.

Mark went to J's Bar for a meal on September 24, 1998 with his co-worker Bob when the t-Virus infestation reached critical. Noticing Bob becoming weak, he became worried. As a zombie walked in through the door, Mark rushed to Bob's aid after he collapsed onto the floor. This left the bartender, Will, unprotected from anyone armed, where he quickly sustained a fatal neck-injury from the zombie's hungry maw.

Bringing his friend with him to the rooftop as part of the survivors' escape attempt, he soon learned of the reason for Bob's illness — he was becoming one of them. Bob tells Mark that he "feels the hunger". Knowing the danger he would be to his friend, Bob commits suicide by shooting himself in the head. Once Mark left J's Bar and escaped through the streets of Raccoon City, he noticed the large fires and hordes of zombies on Main Street and was instantly reminded of burning flesh, a smell that he had hoped he would never experience again. This suggests Mark personally witnessed the use of napalm gel, a highly flammable substance used in bombs during the conflict in Vietnam.

Mark is considered the canon protagonist of the scenario "Hellfire", which takes place in the Apple Inn. The hotel is lit aflame by a boiler explosion that kills two firemen named Len and Charlie. Mark and the other survivors navigate the slowly burning building, finding that is filled with zombies and Lickers. Once they reach the front lobby their escape is blocked by a Suspended, which they dispose of before escaping.

Like Kevin and Jim, Mark is never scripted to die at any point in the two games, with the two bad endings of "Decisions, Decisions" being the only exceptions (as it is for all the survivors).

After the incident, Mark reunited with his wife and son (who had either escaped the Outbreak on their own, or had been out of town at the time) and began living a calm and peaceful life that he felt he deserved.

Relationships and personality
Mark is shown to get along with several of the other seven survivors he joins during the outbreak. Most notably he gets along fairly well with David King, and both can work together without much disagreement. They even share an ending together in the first Outbreak. Alternatively, he is shown to dislike Kevin quite a bit. Going so far to ask: "What is your purpose in life, Kevin?" if they are together during the "desperate times" scenario. Pairing them is often a fatal mistake, as Mark will often abandon Kevin even during combat. However, if Cindy is also a member of the survivors' current party, Mark and Kevin will work together to protect her.

George and Yoko have no problems with Mark, offering help and assistance when it is commonly needed. Mark however will remark on Yoko's quiet nature in some scenarios if they are paired together (particularly "end of the road").

Mark is shown to have one good friend before the beginning of the Outbreak; Bob, a fellow security guard working for the same firm. Mark is visibly worried about Bob when the latter collapses onto the floor and falls unconscious. Mark is openly displeased when Bob tries to put his own gun to his head, and following Bob's subsequent suicide, Mark is visibly hurt by the loss. He cries out Bob's name in sorrow.

Mark's treatment of strangers varies depending on who he's dealing with. In "End of the Road" he's initially distrustful of Carter, and wonders why they should help him in the first place. He worries about Linda like the other survivors and tries to help her as best he can.

Possibly due his age and experiences, Mark is quite stubborn, as he refuses to use health items in his inventory immediately like the other survivors. In "Flashback" Mark admits that he's always hated hospitals, but upon experiencing the events of the scenario he concedes that if he makes it out of Raccoon City alive he may have to show up for his next physical. Despite this, Mark doesn't mention anything similar to this opinion during "The Hive", which takes place in another hospital.

Mark refers back to the Vietnam War in many of his endings. He sometimes goes far enough to refer to his teammates as his "unit", "platoon", or "recon team". When calling other survivors over to him, he has a tendency to shout "Get over here soldier!" Many of his references to the war and thoughts on his situation in Raccoon City are told with a hint of regret or even cynicism at times. Despite having a family and settling down, his recent reemergence into combat and survival has made him become somewhat jaded. In "Desperate Times", he admits that the memories run too deep, and that they hit him "like a freight train" when his mind drifts back to that time. After escaping Raccoon City, he thinks that he's seen things that are just as bad as his experiences in Vietnam, but still realizes its a part of who he is.

Appearance & Wardrobe
During the Outbeak, Mark wears his Security guard outfit.

He also have 2 extra outfits that are unlockable:
 * Type B: Casual Wear. As the name suggests, it's the style he wears while relaxing or otherwise outside of work activities. This same style is used during his good epilogue in Outbreak File 2. It consists Pair of shorts, socks, tennis shoes, and a polo shirt.
 * Type C: Sir, Yes Sir.  This outfit references his past as a soldier. Though it is unknown if he was actually the rank his outfit displays or not. It consists of an outfit a general or other high-ranking military officer would wear.

Notes and sources

 * Notes


 * Sources

Mark Wilkins