Mark Wilkins

I'm getting too old for this shit.

Mark Wilkins was a very caring individual, who wanted nothing more than to see his friends and family safe. More often than not, the other survivors could catch a faraway gleam in his eye as he wondered what became of his wife and children. Even at the age of 52, his robust strength had not diminished. He had 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.

At some point afterwards, Mark settled down in the mid-west and had a wife and son by the 1990s. His job by the September of 1998 was as a security guard for a local firm.

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.

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 Regis Licker, which they dispose of before escaping.

After the incident, Mark moved in with his wife and son (who had either escaped the Outbreak on their own, or had been out of town at the time) and lived 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. 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. George, Cindy, and Yoko all 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 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.

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.

Gameplay
Mark is a tall, strong individual whose abilities reflect his toughness. Mark has a lot of health and is capable of taking many hits before he goes down. Mark is capable of blocking enemy attacks with his Guard ability, taking minimal damage and sometimes without sustaining viral infection. Very few enemies are capable of knocking him out of it, with Hunters, Thanatos, and the Tyrant from "End of the Road" being notable ones. Mark can also attack with melee weapons (such as Iron Pipes and Wooden Poles) more effectively, using an ability known as "Big Swing". In many scenarios, there is a heavy object that only Mark can push (the barrels in "Outbreak", the trolley car in "Wild Things", the R.P.D. van in "Desperate Times", etc.) which usually reveal new items or paths that the survivors can use.

Inventory
Personal Item: 9mm Handgun

Mark's favorite gun, he carries it with him always.

Extra Item (Outbreak File #2 Only): Handgun Magazine

Mark, learning well the lessons of Vietnam, always carried an extra magazine for his handgun, just in case.

Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game


Mark is a character in the Outbreak expansion pack. Mark for the most part specializes in melee type weapons, which now include more than just Submission. This is most likely a nod to his Big Swing ability mentioned above. Overall, Mark is good at increasing the amount of damage he deals, and both of his effects contribute to that. Mark's Level 1 effect allows him to deal an additional 10 Damage if he's using two or more weapons. His Level 2 effect gives +10 Damage to all Melee weapons Mark is using. Mark's playstyle definitely aggressive, and the increases in damage can easily be applied to only Melee weapons to give him an edge. Mark has 90 Health.

Trivia

 * Mark, along with Jim Chapman and Kevin Ryman, is one of the few characters that is never killed off during any of the scenarios in either game if he is not picked as a character or ally.


 * Mark has 3000 HP
 * While in the elephant stage during the Wild Things Scenario, Mark says that his son loved the elephant show.


 * His C-type Costume "Sir, Yes Sir!" suggests that he was a Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army.


 * Mark's remark about burning flesh in "Outbreak" suggests that he has personally witnessed the use of napalm gel, which was used frequently during the conflict in Vietnam.
 * Due to his large size, Mark is the only of the eight survivors who cannot hide in any of the available lockers or underneath beds throughout the game.
 * Mark is the strongest male character, having the highest health and the ability to block most attacks (even from hunters). Although he is the second slowest character (beaten only by Yoko who has the slowest running speed).
 * Pairing him and Kevin, would be a fatal mistake, as he leaves Kevin on his own, even during combat. Eventually if a player plays as Cindy, both Mark and Kevin will protect her.
 * The security company he and Bob work for is called "Scutum" the Latin word for shield.
 * In Underbelly, if the player ad-libs while using a blood transfusion pack, the subtitles will read 'I hope this isn't Chris' blood.' This is a poke at the original Resident Evil.
 * Despite admitting that he hates hospitals in his ending for "Flashback", none of Mark's ad-libs in "The Hive" seem to acknowledge that opinion despite taking place in another hospital.
 * Mark's line "I'm getting too old for this shit" could be a reference to Murtaugh from the movie Lethal Weapon. Coincidentally both characters are 50+ years old, overweight and African-American.
 * Oddly, the names David, Mark, and Jim's last name (Chapman) actually spell out the name of the murderer of Beatles band member, John Lennon, who was named David Mark Chapman. Coincidentally, one of the other main characters has a name that might be a beatles reference as well, Yoko Suzuki, who might be named after John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono.

Notes and sources

 * Notes


 * Sources