Oswell E. Spencer, Earl Spencer

Ozwell E. Spencer is a fictional character from the Resident Evil series. Although Spencer's character is shrouded in much mystery, he is most notably recognized as the president of the Umbrella Corporation. Furthermore, he is the owner of the Spencer Mansion and Spencer Rain, two prominent settings in the Resident Evil series.

Background
While Spencer is most notably known for his role as the president of the Umbrella Corporation, he was also one of the first three scientists to discover the Progenitor Virus. Accompanied by his esteemed colleagues, Edward Ashford and James Marcus, Spencer was able to make the groundbreaking find on December 4th, 1968.

While driven by their insights to create a powerful viral biological weapon, Spencer and his colleagues established the Umbrella Corporation, a company that appeared to create pharmaceutical products, to disguise their sinister motives. Around the same time, Spencer hired the well-known architect George Trevor to design a special mansion in the Arklay Mountains, which would camouflage a secret research laboratory complex in the Mansion’s basement. After realizing that George may disclose of the secrets of the mansion in the future, Spencer killed George, and kidnapped Jessica and Lisa Trevor, his remaining family members.

Later that year, Spencer established the Umbrella Management Training Facility for further research of the Progenitor Virus, and appointed co-founder James Marcus as the first general manager. After Marcus successfully created the T-Virus by introducing RNA from the Progenitor virus to the DNA of a leech, Spencer began to grow paranoid of Marcus’ new found reputation. Ultimately, Spencer ordered Marcus’ former apprentice, Albert Wesker, to assassinate him. In the aftermath, Spencer appointed William Birkin to take over the T-Virus project. Following the mysterious death of Ashford, Spencer was left as the sole remaining founding member of the Umbrella Corporation, and easily able to monopolize the company for himself.

Spencer's Fate
Following the aftermath of the Arklay Mountains and Raccoon City incident, the Umbrella Corporation's viral experiments were revealed to the public. Ultimately, the U.S. government put an indefinite suspension of business decree on Umbrella, essentially putting the company out of business.

While his company plundered, it remains a mystery to what happened to Spencer. It was never explicitly stated that the Government implicated him to the wrongdoings of the Umbrella Corporation. His fate in the post-Umbrella Resident Evil time line could be one of the most speculative subjects among fans of the series, especially due to the Spencer’s already mysterious characters.

Trivia

 * Ozwell Spencer is one of the biggest mystery in the Resident Evil series to date. Although he has not made a single appearance in-game, his influence is widespread, and his actions against James Marcus and William Birkin led to the T-Virus outbreak that destroyed Raccoon City.


 * Although Spencer has never physically appeared in any of the Resident Evil games, his name has been mentioned in a plethora of documents.