Albert Wesker

Albert Wesker is an antagonist in Capcom's Resident Evil video game series. Wesker's debut was in the original Resident Evil as the captain of S.T.A.R.S. and field leader of its Alpha Team unit. It isn't until the end of the game that Wesker's true motives and occupation are revealed to the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. Since then, Wesker has had several appearances throughout the subsequent games in the series and is considered by fans to be the series' main antagonist.

Early life and career
Albert Wesker began working as a researcher for the Umbrella Corporation at the age of 18. In 1977, he was assigned to the Management Training Facility operated by James Marcus, along with a fellow trainee named William Birkin, who became his colleague and accomplice for years to come. Birkin and Wesker were regarded by Marcus as his best apprentices and when the Training Facility was closed down on July 29, 1978, the two were personally transferred to the Arklay Laboratory (underneath Ozwell E. Spencer's estate) to continue their own T-Virus research (while Marcus continued to work on his own), becoming the facility's chief researchers.

Wesker and Birkin's research of the T-Virus lasted over 13 years and three different stages. In 1988, when the research reached its third stage (the creation of the Tyrant bio-weapon), Wesker and Birkin were then ordered by Spencer to assassinate their former mentor, Marcus and steal all of his research. Shortly after, Birkin's research yielded the discovery of the G-Virus. When Spencer approved the G-Virus, Wesker began having doubts about Spencer's intentions and requested a transfer to Umbrella's Intelligence Bureau in 1991.

In 1996, Wesker formed the Raccoon City Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. unit and served as its captain and as leader of one of its two squads, Alpha Team. Two years after the formation of S.T.A.R.S., a series of homicides occurred near the Arklay region. While the public feared these deaths were the work of a local cult, only Wesker knew the truth. In an effort to control the public outcry, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team was dispatched to the region to investigate the situation. Wesker used the time they were gone as an opportunity to gather battle data by pitting the members of S.T.A.R.S. against Umbrella's Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W.s).

The Mansion incident
The following day, all contact with Bravo Team was lost and Wesker's Alpha Team was dispatched to the site. Upon arrival, Alpha Team was attacked by canine zombies (Cerberus) and then, abandoned by their pilot, Brad Vickers. After the loss of member Joseph Frost to the zombified dogs, Wesker and the remaining members of Alpha Team sought refuge in the nearby mansion, where Wesker had previously worked. Initially ordering everyone to split up, Wesker disappeared and left the remaining members of Alpha Team (Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Barry Burton) to fend for themselves. Wesker probably gained access to a secret area or had the master key of the mansion in order to disappear for a great part of events that the other members of S.T.A.R.S. witnessed. It is believed that he monitored the battles between the remaining S.T.A.R.S. operatives and the creatures that infested the mansion from an undisclosed "secret" area.

Of the nine S.T.A.R.S. operatives who entered the mansion (including Wesker himself), only the members of Alpha Team, along with Bravo Team's Enrico Marini and Rebecca Chambers, managed to survive against the various creatures and bio-organic weapons that infested the facility. In order to ensure the downfall of the other members, Wesker used blackmail in order to convince Barry to do his bidding (luring the others to traps) by threatening his family. When Enrico uncovered evidence that implicated Wesker and Umbrella, Wesker murdered Enrico (it has been stated that Wesker ordered Barry to perform the actual murder, though this is false because he is with Jill in her storyline.) However, Chris and Jill learned the truth about Wesker and then, proceeded to foil his plot by destroying the T-002 Tyrant, along with the facility itself.

During the ensuing chaos, Wesker injected himself with a serum (colloquially known as the "Plot Device Virus"), given to him by his partner, William Birkin, that would place him in a state of suspended animation. This allowed him to fake his own death and gave him superhuman strength, agility and regeneration, but at the severe cost of the loss of his humanity. The resulting mutation also gave him cat-like eyes (but these are not immediately noticeable, due to the sunglasses he always wears). Wesker was revived, while Umbrella and the remaining S.T.A.R.S. operatives were convinced that he died in the explosion. Realizing the S.T.A.R.S. had destroyed the Tyrant and escaped with their lives, he swore revenge against the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members. His plan to leave no shred of evidence behind had been foiled. He wanted to avoid suspicion cast in his direction, so as not to expose his long-past machinations to scrutiny from Umbrella. Regardless, when the remaining S.T.A.R.S. attempted to go public with what they knew, though disbelieved by the public, Umbrella was very interested in Wesker's betrayal. Eventually, they began to suspect Birkin as well, and planned to have him assassinated and his G-Virus projects seized (after Birkin decided to leave Umbrella and sell his work directly to the U.S. Government, instead). Wesker knew this and began to prepare to head off Umbrella.

Raccoon City incident
Using data he recorded, Wesker bought his employment by an undisclosed competitor of Umbrella (colloquially known as "The Organization" or "The Agency") and began working covertly with agent Ada Wong to spy on Umbrella. During the T-Virus outbreak, Wesker and Ada were assigned to retrieve the G-Virus sample that Sherry Birkin (unknowingly) had in her possession, hidden within her pendant. However, during the mission Ada eventually lost her life, only to be somehow revived by Wesker, and the G-Virus sample they pursued was instead taken by HUNK, a surviving operative of the Umbrella Special Forces Alpha Team, who had been sent in by Umbrella France to steal the G-virus. After losing the sample to Umbrella, Wesker and Ada managed to procure a G-virus sample from William Birkin's corpse, who by then had transformed into a monstrous creature after injecting himself with the virus. Currently, Wesker has people watching over Birkin's daughter, Sherry. Wesker, who never underestimated Birkin, claims, "There's something about this little girl ..."

Rockfort Island/Antarctic Lab incident
Wesker was sent on another mission three months later, to retrieve a sample of the T-Veronica Virus that had been created on Rockfort Island and neutralize the Ashford family who created it, Alfred Ashford and Alexia Ashford. During his mission, he also encountered former subordinate Chris Redfield, who was on the island to save his sister, Claire. Wesker went to Ashford's Antarctic Research Facility, where he fought against both Alexia and Chris. While Alexia herself was killed by Chris, Wesker still managed to retrieve Steve Burnside's corpse (who was previously injected with the T-Veronica virus) as a specimen, saying it's likely he will eventually revive. As the base started to self-destruct, Wesker engaged Chris in combat to settle the score. Wesker used his immense strength to gain dominance, but Chris refused to allow Wesker an easy kill. Before Wesker could deliver a finishing blow, an explosion caused by the base set to self destruct ensued, knocking a flaming pillar inbetween the two, and badly burning Wesker's face. Remarking how today was "your lucky day.", Wesker told Chris that next time they meet to not count on another. As the base began to crumble and explode around them, Chris ran off, Wesker's laugh echoing after him. Wesker then escaped in the Submarine directly behind him. The burns to his face healed no more than five minutes after the cause, due in part to his superhuman regenerative capabilities that came from the virus Birkin gave him, along with the superhuman strength, speed and stamina. This is shown six years later, with his appearance during the Los Illuminados incident.

Post-Umbrella
After Umbrella's shutdown, Wesker's been sighted giving orders to Ada and former American soldier Jack Krauser, who were on a classified mission to steal the "Plagas" sample from religious cult leader Osmund Saddler in Europe. Wesker, in his goal to gain power, is now attempting to re-establish the defunct Umbrella under his leadership. Since the downfall of Umbrella, several of the remaining leaders of Umbrella have since established their own pharmaceutical companies in an attempt to fill Umbrella's void. Wesker has contacted one of these companies, identified only as "S", presumably in an attempt to join them. The organization which hired Wesker has since become suspicious of Wesker's activities, due to a possible conflict of interest. As a countermeasure, Ada (under orders from the organization) delivered a fake Plaga sample to Wesker, instead of the one Ada actually obtained. How long this fake sample shall fool Wesker is unknown, but knowing how crafty and intelligent Wesker is, it will not take very long.

Character
Wesker is a true Renaissance man. He is proficient in the fields of science, research, observation, biology, virology, evolution, combat, weapons, tactics, police procedure, espionage, murder, subterfuge, blackmail, opportunity, planning, persuasion, arms dealing, double-cross and even extra-sensory perception, as well as superhuman strength and vitality, due to his mutations.

As of now, Wesker has amassed a wealth of combat data on various B.O.W.s and mutants. He also has a large array of biological samples, possibly more than is known.

It should be noted that Wesker seems to only have loyalty to himself and seems to be playing all sides to his own advantage. He is seemingly trying to sell data and samples between competitors, like a weapons dealer selling to multiple factions, in order to gain a competitor's access to more opportunities to acquire additional data and samples. It is unknown what he will do with all the data and samples he has amassed, though it should be remembered that Wesker was and may still be an active scientist. Ada comments in her report that to Wesker, "Umbrella meant power;" Perhaps this is a hint to Wesker's motives.

Known obtained viral samples

 * Progenitor Virus aka Mother Virus or Founder Virus
 * T-Virus aka Tyrant-Virus
 * Wesker sample / Possibly also the original 'Rebirth Virus" Birkin gave to Wesker.
 * William Birkin (stage 5) / Mutated G-Virus sample
 * Sherry Birkin / G-Virus hampered by use of DEVIL, an experimental anti-G-Virus vaccine.
 * Steve Burnside / Advanced form of the T-Veronica Virus harvested from Alexia Ashford.
 * Fake Las Plagas sample.

If Wesker were to get his hands on a genuine Las Plagas, and T/G Virus sample he would have a sample of every bio-weapon in the Resident Evil game series. Nevertheless, since the events of Resident Evil: Dead Aim ended with the total annihilation of the sole carrier of that viral strain, it is highly unlikely Wesker will ever hold the T-G Virus, unless he redevelops it with the existing samples of the T and G-Virii.

Appearances
Originally a supporting character in the first Resident Evil, Wesker appeared in the game as the captain of the S.T.A.R.S. unit and leader of its Alpha Team division. Wesker disappears early in the game and only makes one sporadic appearance through the course of the story. Near the end of the game, the player (as either Chris or Jill) discovers that Wesker is a double agent working for Umbrella and either witnesses the death of Wesker at the hands of the Tyrant (in nearly all the endings) or find his dead body inside the power generator next to the self-destruct module (in Jill's best ending in the original version). It should be noted, however, that in the remake of Resident Evil for the Gamecube, Jill's best ending allows Wesker to escape completely, as his body is not found in the Power Room. Due to this new event, it seems that Wesker gets away without being killed.

Wesker made a surprise return in Resident Evil: Code Veronica, having been revived with new superpowers and apparently working for one of Umbrella's competitors. He later appeared as a supporting character in Resident Evil 0 and an incidental role in Resident Evil 4 (which is explored further in the PlayStation 2 version, due to the inclusion of the Separate Ways scenario and Ada's Report). He was also the narrator of the fictional documentary, Wesker's Report, a DVD which covers the events of the previous installments and was released as pre-order bonus with Resident Evil Code: Veronica X (an updated version of the original Code: Veronica). It was followed by an Internet sequel, titled Wesker's Report II.

From both Wesker Reports, it is learned that Wesker is a machiavellian schemer who's had a hand in the events of all the games in the series, except Resident Evil: Dead Aim, where the entire scenario is created by a rogue operative outside of Wesker's control. Although his physical presence is not constant and indeed quite rare, the effects of his plans can be visibly seen in almost every game of the series.

Actors
In the original Resident Evil, Wesker was portrayed and voiced by actor Sergio Jones. In the 2002 remake of the original, he was voiced by actor Peter Jessop. However the actor most often identified with the character is Richard Waugh, who provided his voice in Resident Evil Code: Veronica and Wesker's Report, and later reprised the role in Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 4.

Gameplay
Wesker was an unlockable character in the Battle Mode featured in Resident Evil Code: Veronica, as well as in the "Mercenaries" mini-game in Resident Evil 4. A (non-canonical) zombiefied version of Wesker also appeared as an enemy in the bonus Battle Mode featured in the Saturn version of the original game.

Resident Evil Code: Veronica
In Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Wesker follows the tradition of the bad guy getting only a knife in the battle mode just like his possible contact, Hunk and another possible contact and rival of Hunk, Nicholai. Wesker's run is quite challenging, but he has incredible stamina and very damaging knife attacks to cover for this. He later has the option of getting a Magnum out of a slot machine for the upcoming boss fight, but gets no additional ammunition for it so its use must be highly regulated. Sometimes the slot machine will give Wesker a file instead of the Magnum, leaving the player to fight the boss with nothing more than the knife and their own wits. It should be noted that this file does not help in the player in the least, as it is just a diary of the mouse Claire encounters in the main game.

Resident Evil 4
In the Resident Evil 4 minigame "the Mercenaries", Wesker is considerably better equipped and capable of destruction. He starts with all 3 types of grenade (4 frag, 3 flash and 1 incendiary), a moderately upgraded Killer 7, a fully upgraded standard handgun with a silencer not seen anywhere else in the game and an almost fully upgraded semi-automatic rifle without the enhanced scope, and a first aid spray like all the characters. His stamina is the same as Leon's. He also has the most powerful melee attacks in the game (a "thrust punch" that can strike several enemies with titanic force and a "chikyo chagi" axe kick that can crush an enemy's head). While his starting inventory is strong, it does have 2 downsides: firstly, there is little room for anything else in the inventory, and secondly, Wesker starts with no reserve ammunition for any of his weapons. Despite the lack of extra ammunition, Wesker can easily take on any foe. The Killer7 Magnum allows him to kill strong foes such as the Garrador, and the fearsome double-bladed chainsaw man (Mr. Salvador). The rifle is immensely powerful and is virtually a one hit kill weapon against all normal enemies, and the player can find ample ammunition for it. The pistol, though not a greatly effective weapon on its own, enables Wesker to stun enemies to allow for his immensely powerful special attacks. When an enemy is stunned by a headshot, Wesker is able to perform the "Thrust Punch" attack, which deals heavy damage (enough to generally be considered an instant kill) to the target and all other enemies directly in front of Wesker. Shooting foes in the knees may also allow for Wesker's "chikyo chagi" axe kick, which will crush the head of the target while also damaging nearby enemies. The handgun also has a decapitation rate that is five times greater than normal, rarely allowing the Las Plagas to show themselves, a useful feature.

Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
In Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, the Nintendo DS version of the first Resident Evil, Wesker is a playable character in the game's multiplayer mode. He is unlockable by completing the Master of Knifing minigame once with either Jill or Chris. In the multiplayer mode, he wields a specialized version of the Samurai Edge handgun.

Wardrobe
Wesker wears a different outfit for each of his appearances, but they are always black. He always keeps his trademark sunglasses, even in situations that seem inappropriate, such as during S.T.A.R.S. operations in the middle of the night. During the original Resident Evil, he was shown in a group photo with several other lab researchers - his sunglasses give him a distinct (some might say jarring) contrast from the rest of the group. In the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0, he wears a standard S.T.A.R.S. uniform similar to those of Chris and Barry, but completely black, with a navy blue undershirt. He wears a more streamlined outfit in Resident Evil Code: Veronica with the acronyms H.C.F (Hive/Host Capture Force) written on the back. During a fist-fight with Chris Redfield, his sunglasses are knocked from his face, revealing that his eyes have changed from normal human eyes to slitted eyes with a red-orange hue. He wears a much different, more sophisicated outfit during his appearance in Resident Evil 4, sporting a black turtleneck sweatshirt, black trousers and jacket over his turtleneck, as well as black gloves. The outfit generally enhances Wesker's appearance, that of an intimidating villain, adding an assassin-like touch. Indeed, his new attire seems to hint at a general ascension in social ranking and favour among general peers. Whereas previously he seemed to function as an undercover policeman, his role within the Resident Evil world now seems more akin to that of an experienced spy, or even super villain.

In other media
Albert Wesker appear in the 2007 film Resident Evil: Extinction, portrayed by actor Jason O'Mara. In the film continuity he is the chairman of Umbrella, holding regular meetings from his office in Tokyo via hologram. He is constantly at odds with Dr. Isaacs. At the end of the film, Alice tells him that she inteds to come after him, and she'll be bringing her clones with her.

Trivia

 * Wesker is the character with the most appearances throughout the Resident Evil series. He appeared in Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 1, Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil 4. (you could say he appears in Resident evil 2 and 3 as the picture in the STARS office but not as an actual character).
 * Albert Wesker bears a striking resemblance to Robert Patrick's portrayal of the T-1000 from the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
 * Wesker is the only villain who managed to survive the Umbrella Corp. period of the Resident Evil series. (Other villains who potentially survived are Spencer and Nicholai but these scenarios are not yet confirmed.)
 * Actor Richard Waugh modeled his voice acting for Wesker after David Bowie.