Licker

The licker is a mutation which reforms normal zombies into a more deadly and agile hunter.

History
The name "licker" was given to this creature by the officers at the Raccoon City Police Department for their incredibly long tongues.

Other changes from normal zombies to lickers are brain swelling and becoming visible, an increase in muscle development, and the total loss of skin. Because of the lack of skin-constraint and the development of muscular tissue, the licker was very agile, capable of performing surprising jumps to incredible heights and distances and moved much more rapidly while their warped bone structure made it more suitable for them to crawl about on all fours. The licker also uses its talons to scale vertical structures and ceilings with ease. This allows the creature to use predator tactics to surprise their prey. These new hunting strategies also showcase its increased primal intellect. Finally, its elongated tongue was shown to be enormously powerful, capable of piercing human flesh and often being used to decapitate its prey. Although naturally quiet and a master of ambushes, the presence of a licker can often be hinted at by the sound of their raw flesh and claws scraping against whatever surface they happen to be crawling along, as well as a sibilant hissing sound. When attacking or incurring damage, a licker will also make a variety of screeching sounds, producing a particularly agonized scream when killed.

Lickers have lost the use of their eyes entirely and cannot track prey by sight. Their super developed hearing however more than compensates for the loss. Upon detecting potential prey it will attack full force with teeth, tongue and claws, often alerting others of its kind in the vicinity as well. Weapons that emit very little sound, such as the bowgun, are especially useful against these blind B.O.W.s.

There has also been confirmation of a further mutation of the Licker in the Raccoon City Underground Research Facility. It differs from the regular licker in color, durability and claw size. However it appears to have very similar intelligence to normal lickers, as its attack patterns are similar, however this Licker appears to be even sharper at detecting prey and much harder to sneak around. It is a theory that these creatures were augmented by Umbrella scientists in an attempt to create an even deadlier version of an already formidable being. Both licker types were also present during the Sheena Island outbreak.

A unique licker was encountered by a group of survivors in the Apple Inn during a fire. This creature was dubbed the Regis Licker or "Suspended". The subject was clearly a woman prior to infection judging by the remaining clothes, features and body shape, despite the half-transformed shape. It did not yet have the ability to decapitate its prey using its already mutated tongue, but displayed the ability to use its tongue as a whip against attackers.

Licker β
A slightly modified variant of this B.O.W. was created by Tricell in response to the high black market demand for Lickers, usually bought by wealthy terrorists for their durability and intelligence. This variant of licker was created by injecting the progenitor virus into lickers to increase their evolutionary potential. While this did not solve the sight problem all lickers share it did increase their sense of hearing and smell slightly, as well as give them the ability to reproduce. This enhanced version was encountered by Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar in the Tricell African Research Facility.

Evolved licker


Seen in the Underground Research Facility and Sheena Island, evolved lickers have greenish-grey skin color and large stinger like claws. Unlike the normal licker they tend to be significantly more difficult to kill. It's still un-explained how the lickers have evolved into this form. It is possible that they were created through experimentation by Umbrella scientists, or just a further mutation of the t-virus.

Resident Evil films
In the live-action films, the Licker is created by directly injecting the T-virus into a live human tissue, the licker could also evolve after consuming fresh human tissue that could increase the infection rate, causing the victim to mutate. This happened to Matt Addison, who was later used by Umbrella in the Nemesis Program. Lickers appeared in Resident Evil, and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but did not appear in Resident Evil: Extinction, and instead were replaced with a new monster to the films: the crow.

Novels and comics
In the novelization of Resident Evil 2 by S.D. Perry, lickers are a form of B.O.W. vaguely tied to the Hunter line. It should be noted that this was written before Capcom confirmed that lickers are a final evolutionary form for Zombies.

A similar error occurred with Resident Evil: The Official Comic Magazine, which portrayed the Licker as deriving from the G-virus.

Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game
Lickers appear as Infected cards in Resident Evil DBG. They are reasonably powerful infected that have 40 health and hit for 30 damge if they are not defeated. They are removed from the game in Mercenaries Mode and return in the first expansion set, Alliance in the form of Licker Betas.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Lickers (technically Licker Beta) appear in the Tricell Laboratory stage in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. They are contained in glass cages similar to the ones in Resident Evil 5. The glass will crack and eventually shatter if powerful moves are unleashed, causing the Lickers to escape and begin running around the area. Some will attempt to lash the fighters with their tongues. An interesting attention to detail is shown if more Hyper Combos are used; the Lickers will die, dissolve (like dying enemies in RE4 and RE5), and will spawn items such as in the games. The items that appear include Green Herbs, First Aid Sprays, Grenades, Rifle Ammo, and more.

Appearances

 * Game appearances:
 * Resident Evil 2 (debut)
 * Resident Evil Survivor
 * Resident Evil Outbreak
 * Resident Evil Outbreak File 2
 * Resident Evil 5
 * Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
 * Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
 * Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City


 * Film appearances:
 * Resident Evil
 * Resident Evil: Apocalypse
 * Resident Evil: Damnation

Trivia
thumb|300px|right|Licker Beta Death scene


 * Before the release of Resident Evil Survivor, some fans considered the Licker to be created through the G-virus.
 * Despite its name being given to them by the officers of RPD, Tricell also referred to them as Lickers. However, this may just be a continuity error.
 * In Resident Evil 2's novelization, Sherry refers them as "inside-out men".
 * Lickers bear a striking resemblance to the Marvel Comics villain, Venom, or more specifically, Venom's offspring, Carnage. Both Lickers and Carnage have red coloration, long tongues, and the ability to climb nearly any surface. They also bear an even closer resemblance to [Prototype]'s hunters.
 * Even before Resident Evil 5, the lickers design changes constantly. In Resident Evil 2, they have an angular, spiny appearance, while in Resident Evil Outbreak and the Resident Evil: The previous incarnations in previous games.
 * It can be presumed that the licker has regained the high intelligence level formerly lost in its zombie stage of development; in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, they are seen to be aware of the technology behind security cameras and promptly destroy them.
 * In the next CG Resident Evil movie, Resident Evil: Damnation which currently has a 2012 release date, Multiple creatures heavily resembling the original lickers were shown in the 1st teaser trailer for the film when they were closing in on Leon S. Kennedy, the only character currently confirmed for the film.
 * The Smoker from the Left 4 Dead franchise resembles the Licker in a way, as they are both infected that utilize their tongues as weapons.
 * In the Resident Evil 2 demo, the licker had a brutal kill move in which it would pounce Leon/Claire and repeatedly smash the characters head into the ground until it caved in. However in the finished product this death scene was removed.
 * In the episode Dream Stalker, of Xiaolin Showdown one of the villain, Hanibal Roy Bean transforms into a creature bearing a striking similarity with a licker. Exposed brain claws and even an extendable tongue.
 * In the Outbreak series the player can avoid confrontation by walking and not ad-libing. This is because the Licker can't hear the player.
 * Also in the outbreak series, Lickers will just get taunt and will respawn shortly after "dying" and go arround as if anything happened.
 * In the RE: Damnation trailer, it was shown that a pack of lickers were capable of taking on a small group of armed soldiers and a tank, thus proving themselves to be one of Umbrella's most effective B.O.W. in the battlefield.
 * In the outbreak series, its tounge attack will inflict the player a great ammount of infection rate.