Leon Scott Kennedy

"I'm gonna scrub this virus from the face of the earth."

- Leon to Claire, after the Harvardville outbreak.

Leon Scott Kennedy is an American agent for the Division of Security Operations (D.S.O.). Formerly, Leon was a police officer with the Raccoon City Police Department (R.P.D.) for only one day, and was later recruited as an agent for the U.S. Federal Government after the incident in Raccoon City.

Raccoon City
"Hey! It's up to us to take out Umbrella!"

Leon burns with the strong desire to protect and serve, and life as a cadet was an eye-opening experience. At the age of 21, Leon was assigned to work for the Raccoon City Police Department after graduating from the police academy. He arrived at Raccoon City on September 29, 1998, a day later than he was scheduled to. Due to the events in Raccoon City, this would be his first and only day as a police officer.

On September 29, 1998, Leon arrived in Raccoon City for his assigned police department. Having overslept, the sun had long since set when he reached the city limits via a highway. Seemingly abandoned as a blockade by the U.S. military earlier, he was unaware of the t-Virus outbreak.



Reaching the city's business district, Leon stopped his car to inspect a body on the ground. Being unaware of the outbreak, he was caught by surprise when several zombies (and the body he thought dead) tried to attack him. Escaping from the group, Leon stumbled onto another survivor named Claire Redfield, who had arrived to the city in search of her missing brother, Chris. Together, Leon and Claire decided to seek refuge within the R.P.D.'s headquarters, but after arriving there, they get separated when Leon's police car gets destroyed and go, both of them barely getting out of the vehicle alive when a truck driven by an infected crashed into it.

During his probe of the R.P.D. precinct, Leon meets another survivor named Ada Wong, a woman who claimed she was looking for her missing boyfriend, John Clemens. They soon developed a bond, and Leon even took a bullet for her, fired by Annette Birkin. Leon and Ada managed to fight against most of the enemies, but soon, Ada is wounded by a mutated William Birkin's claw. During that time, Leon had found out from Annette Birkin that Ada was actually a spy, and only came to steal the G-Virus. However, Leon doesn't believe this until Ada tells him herself. Some time later, Ada saves Leon's life when he is cornered by t-00. She shoots the Tyrant on its back to get its attention, successfully doing so. She is then attacked, grabbed and raised up by the tyrant, in which she then retaliates with a series of gunshots to its face, making the tyrant fall into a lava pit. However, Ada was mortally wounded in the process. She then told Leon the truth about everything. Ada shortly falls unconscious, which Leon mistakes for death. However, at the near end, a mysterious figure (with Ada's voice and silhouette) helps Leon (or Claire) by giving them a rocket launcher to help them defeat the now mutated T-00. Leon is reunited with Claire, and the two (along with William and Annette Birkin's daughter, Sherry Birkin) make their escape through a secret railway and then escape via the train, leaving the mutated Birkin to be destroyed in the self-destruct sequence.

Anti-Umbrella
Following the Raccoon City incident, Claire and Leon split up, and she continued her search for Chris, while Leon continued to look after Sherry. Leon and Sherry were soon apprehended by the US military; Sherry was taken away and placed in protective custody while Leon was interrogated. Apparently, Leon never mentioned Claire or Ada, but the government were interested in recruiting him, since he now possessed the experience they were looking for; Leon accepted.

His subsequent training as a government agent turned him from a simple police rookie into an expert special agent. He became much more competent in terms of weapons handling and unarmed combat, specifically knife combat.

In November 1998, Leon sent a friend of his, detective Ark Thompson out to investigate Umbrella's facilities on Sheena Island. The following month, Claire set out for Europe to continue her search for Chris. She was captured by Umbrella after being caught trespassing in the Umbrella facility in Paris. While on the island prison of Rockfort Island, Claire sent Leon an e-mail asking him to inform Chris of her location so that he could come and rescue her. Leon managed to track Chris down personally, and told him of Claire's situation, and Chris headed for Rockfort Island after her.

Operation Javier


"The virus continues to grow... Altering its form, strengthening perpetually until the day comes when it can be destroyed."

In 2002, before the destruction of the Russian branch of Umbrella, Leon was sent to a small South American country as part of a secret military detachment after the headquarters were informed that a former researcher from Umbrella contacted a man named Javier Hidalgo. Due to the difficult nature of the operation, Jack Krauser, a seasoned operative with a history of brave service, was selected to be Leon's partner.

Krauser and Leon were sent on a mission by the U.S. government to infiltrate this small South American country. Finding Javier was their objective since he was a drug lord who has taken De-facto control over a large area of the jungle. He ruled the entire area absolutely. The small government was unable to do anything about Javier's control of the drug trade, so Krauser and Leon have been called in. The U.S. government had received information that a former Umbrella researcher had somehow entered the region. Sources indicated that something strange was going on, but no accurate information could be obtained. Unwilling to risk a Bio-hazardous outbreak, a secret military agency paired Leon and Krauser and sent them into this volatile region to determine what, if anything, was going on.

They later found themselves having to cooperate as a two-man cell in a t-Virus outbreak. Leon also met a mysterious girl called Manuela, who seemed to be the only survivor of the village, though it was unknown why she didn't escape. Manuela turned out to be Javier's daughter; she contracted a rare disease, and was kept alive by her father through the t-Veronica Virus. While exploring Javier's compound, Leon opened up to Krauser about his hellish night in Raccoon City, as well as Claire's encounter with the t-Veronica Virus to explain how Umbrella's B.O.W.s worked.

Eventually, Leon and Krauser fought Javier after the crime lord combined himself with a plant infected with the t-Veronica Virus. Manuela assisted them by unleashing the effects of the Virus on her father. Javier was killed, and Manuela was taken into government custody. Leon lost his partnership with Krauser after the latter is discharged from an injury during the mission. Sometime later that year, Leon learned that his former partner died in an accident.

Los Illuminados
"Guess that's a local's way of breaking the ice. Anyway, you know what this is all about. My assignment is to search for the President's missing daughter."

- Leon to a pair of Spanish police officers assigned to him.

In 2004, Leon was assigned to guard the newly-elected President Graham's family. When the President's daughter Ashley was kidnapped, Leon's first mission under the new President was to track her down. Information gathered pointed to the kidnappers being located in a remote area of Europe. Leon was sent to investigate on his own, along with two members of the local police. Unfortunately, it seemed something bizarre happened to the local villagers, and after the two officers disappeared and later killed, Leon found himself relying on his survival skills in a deadly fight for his life.

Leon learned from Ingrid Hunnigan, his only U.S. Secret Service Link, that the perpetrators were a group called "Los Illuminados" (Spanish, meaning "The Illuminated"), a religious cult led by a man named Osmund Saddler. This cult used a mysterious parasitic organism known as "Plaga" (Spanish for "the swarm") to take control of the local townsfolk, as well as many others around the area, such as a group of Mercenaries. Although a seemingly hopeless situation, the fanatical cult found the formidable Leon to be more than they bargained for, as he foiled all of their attempts to kill him.

During the course of his mission, Leon is helped by Luis Sera, a man who was later revealed to be a researcher who used to work for Saddler, but betrayed him. Leon also once again has a chance encounter with Ada, who is also involved in this incident. She provides assistance to Leon, but has a fight of her own to battle out as well. Leon is also assisted by Hunnigan, an information analyst and fellow government official via a communicator. As Leon progresses however, he finds the transmission hijacked by the cult, and he is forced to fend for himself.

Leon eventually finds Ashley in a church, and he becomes responsible for her safety, as the two make their way around Los Illuminados-controlled area. It is revealed however, that both Leon and Ashley have been injected with the Plagas and are now in a race against time to find a cure for this before they are forever turned into Saddler's slaves. Acquiring weapons from a mysterious Merchant, Leon manages to fight his way through many harrowing perils within the local village and a mysterious Castle run by the cult. He eventually fights against two of Saddler's underlings, village chief Bitores Mendez, and the Castle's castellan, Ramon Salazar. Leon also confronts his former comrade Jack Krauser, who was now working as a double agent for both a mystery party and Saddler. It is revealed that this mysterious third player in the conflict is none other than Albert Wesker, whom Ada is also working for. Unbeknownst to Leon, a secret battle is being waged behind the scenes, which is explored in Ada's unlockable scenario, "Separate Ways". Eventually, Ashley is abducted, and Leon must race against time to rescue her before her Plaga fully develops, not to mention his own. With continued support from Ada, Leon fights his way through a local military base, where Saddler and the cult have taken refuge. Fighting against both, a deadly enemy and the enemy within, this battle tests all of Leon's strengths and skills. Leon fights against Krauser for the last time, and eventually saves Ashley and himself after removing Plaga from within them by using a special radiation machine, developed by Luis late during his mission. Afterwards, Leon battles Saddler in his true form, and with Ada's help (who provides him with a special rocket launcher), is able to put an end to him and his plot.

After the battle, Ada takes the Plagas sample from Leon at gunpoint and makes her getaway, but gives Leon and Ashley a means to escape as well, via a jet-ski. Ashley invites Leon to her residence for "overtime", but Leon politely declines. Despite this turn of events, after completing his mission, he talks with Hunnigan, who finally manages to re-establish contact. He compliments her on her appearance (she isn't wearing any glasses at this point) and lightly flirts with her by asking for her number, an advance she rejects, reminding him that he's "still on duty." Upon being left in the dust by a second woman, Leon can only reply with a disheartened look, "...Story of my life."

Sometime after the incident, Leon filed a report, known as the "Kennedy Report", explaining his experience on this mission, which would be read by other agents, including Chris Redfield.

Harvardville and WilPharma
"Shoot 'em in the head."

- Leon advising the SRT on how to handle the by-product of a t-Virus outbreak.



In 2005, WilPharma's head of R&D released the t-Virus in a Harvardville Airport Terminal. The building was locked down and the government sent in the Marines along with the Special Response Team to clear out the zombies.

A 28 year old Leon was selected by the president to take charge of the S.R.T. team due to his experience with the t-Virus. Under his leadership and advice, they learned how to effectively kill the zombies and rescued five survivors, including Claire Redfield.

After saving them, Leon was involved in the fight with Curtis Miller, the Marines and Angela Miller at WilPharma. He was able to save Angela and kill the G-Virus-infected Curtis Miller. At the end, he, Claire and Angela exposed Frederic Downing for escaping Raccoon City with the "t" and G-Virus samples, the t-Virus incident at the airport, and setting a time bomb in the WilPharma building in order to secretly sell the last of the G-Virus data, t-Virus along with its vaccine, and the G-Virus.

As the incident came to a close, Leon was called in for yet another mission. He and Claire parted ways, with the hopes that they will meet each other again someday under far more "normal" circumstances.

Eastern Slav Republic
"Well then, I guess my only option is to lose my American citizenship for a while."



In 2011, Leon was pulled out of his furlough to be sent on a mission to the Eastern Slav Republic. The rumor was that B.O.W.s were being used in the war and U.S. government agents had been sent in to investigate. However, no sooner than he had arrived, Hunnigan informed him that the U.S. was required to pull out and abort all missions in the area. Leon was not willing to leave until he found confirmation and proof of the rumors and denounced his orders, proceeding on without U.S. government support. After his bold move, Leon continued on to the rendezvous point where he encountered his CIA contact who went by the code name Scarecrow. Scarecrow was badly injured and Leon could barely get him to speak, aside from uttering the word "beekeeper." A Licker suddenly attacked and Leon narrowly managed to avoid the creature, though it then killed Scarecrow instead.

The Licker turned to attack Leon proceeded to a rendezvous point with an informant who had information regarding, who was using the rebels who were using the B.O.W.s. However upon arrival the informant was close to death and Leon was attacked by a Licker. It attacked Leon once more, but managed to fend it off and injure it with several shots to the torso. The creature fled and Leon gave chase, firing after the creature. However, Leon was led right into a trap where a bomb detonated, the explosion almost knocking him out. He maintained consciousness briefly, watching as the Licker toyed with him until it suddenly grew passive. An old man stepped forward, the last thing Leon saw before finally losing consciousness.

Leon came to in a basement, his gear taken and his hands tied, and saw the old man from earlier sitting in a corner of the room. The sound of soldiers searching the home above them caught his attention until someone from behind covered his mouth, holding a knife to his throat. As the man holding him threatened Leon to be quiet, Leon saw another man with blond hair beckoning for him to keep silent as well. The blond-haired man then briefly taunted Leon, showing off the vest he had stolen from him. After the soldiers leave, the two younger men began to question Leon about his motives and reasons for being in the Eastern Slav Republic. Leon responded only with sarcasm and jokes, however. During the course of his capture, Leon learned the blond-haired man - who greatly expressed his love of American food and movies - went by the name JD and his comrade was Buddy. Buddy and JD both acknowledged Leon's importance if he was sent here, Buddy pointing out that Leon showed clear experience in dealing with the Licker's. Leon immediately retorted that dealing in the B.O.W.s would get all of them killed.

Leon began to question the health of the old man, the Ataman Ivan Judanovich, who began coughing profusely. Though before anymore could be said of the issue, soldiers raided the basement room. Judanovich began to cough so violently that his sunglasses were thrown from his face. As the soldiers began to check on him, Leon had realized he was infected and yelled for the soldiers to get away, for he had "turned." The Ataman lifted his head slowly, opening his red eyes which shocked everyone. Buddy attacked on one of the soldiers which provoked Leon to attack two of the soldiers near him. Leon ran and dove out of site as Buddy began to shoot around the room wildly with his assault rifle and remained hidden as his kidnappers escaped, disposing of the other soldiers on their way out.

Leon followed the trio, overhearing the Ataman begging Buddy to carry on their goal for a new future without him. With great hesitation, Buddy ended the suffering Judanovich's life with five shots. As Buddy and JD left the scene, Leon came around the corner to pick up his flashlight that JD dropped, then briefly stopped to look at the Ataman's body before continuing down the tunnel. When Leon came to a room, he found a body nailed to a counter with a pickax. He carefully maneuvered the room, encountering JD who tried to keep Leon quiet. Not falling for what he thought was a ploy, Leon was suddenly attacked by Mr. Jacob, a former teacher now infected with the Plaga. The infected man tried to impale Leon with a pair of trimming shears, but Leon managed to wrestle the weapon away. JD begged Leon not to kill the man, however Leon stated it was a request he could not fulfill. Leon then swiftly drove the shears down into Mr. Jacob, ending his life.

JD threatened Leon with his own rifle, exclaiming that he knew the man. Leon informed him that the thing he just killed was no longer the man JD knew, and that if he didn't it, the infected would have killed him. Frustrated, JD lowered the weapon only to be attacked by another infected while Leon was also attacked. Struggling with his own fight, trying to prevent the infected from stabbing him with a knife, Leon urged JD to shoot the other infected man. Unable to attack the man, JD was knocked down by the second infected. Leon was able to finally wrestle the knife away from the infected attacking him, driving it into the back of its head. As the second infected Plaga began to protrude from its mouth, Leon kicked it swiftly in the face, knocking it off of JD. The infected rose back to its feet just as Leon readied himself, then attacked and drove the blade into the creature's face.

After killing the infected, Leon harshly scolded JD, asking why he bothered to carry a weapon he won't even use. JD retorted sarcastically as Leon was finally able to cut through his bindings with the knife he took. Unfazed by the sound of the groans of more infected, Leon picked up a crowbar to use as a weapon and told JD that if he ever decided to actually fire his weapon, to aim for the head. JD stopped him before he walked away, telling Leon to follow him to find the way out. Further down the tunnel, they found a large steel door that was shut tightly. Together they were unable to pull the door open, so Leon tried to pry it open with the crowbar. During the process, several more infected rounded the corner and began to pursue them. JD tried to squeeze through the doorway but got stuck, forcing Leon to have to attack one of the men to keep them at bay.

Driving the crowbar into the head of a man infected with the Plaga, the man's head burst and the Plaga grew from its neck. This urged Leon to help push JD through the gap in the door, the added help finally pushing the heavy man through as Leon followed right behind. Leon immediately grabbed a nearby chain, using it to wrap around the door handle, keeping the door closed and preventing their attackers from getting through. The two then followed a ladder out of the tunnel and up to the surface street. As they reached the street, the two witnessed as a mob of infected civilians chased down a soldier. They held him down as one of them expelled a Plaga from its mouth. Leon and JD watched as the Plaga was forced down the soldiers' throat and the man was painfully infected. As the crowd left, Leon finally managed to pull JD away and the two continued on to the church that JD was supposed to go to.

When they arrived at the church, JD accused Leon of being behind what had happened to the people of the town. Leon informed him of the Plaga, telling him that it was a parasite infecting the bodies of those people. He also told JD of the harsh truth that those infected will never be human again the most one could achieve is to remove the spinal cord and hoping for paralysis. At that moment, Buddy entered the church with two other members of the resistance, a third watching Leon from above. Buddy informed JD that Leon was telling the truth, then told Leon that he had more questions for him. Responding that he perhaps this time they can get to the truth, Buddy promptly punched Leon and had the other rebels take him hostage again.

After Buddy departed, JD ordered the other soldiers to allow him to speak with Leon alone. He was taken outside where JD cut his bindings. Leon immediately reacted, slamming JD against the wall and criticizing the methods of the rebel group, using B.O.W.s. Although JD tried to rationalize it and vie for sympathy, Leon dismissed it without so much as a thought, telling JD that it was something the two of them would never see eye-to-eye on. As Leon prepared to leave, JD told Leon of Buddy's past. He explained how the government soldiers attacked the school Buddy used to work at with his fiance, Irina, thinking the school was to support the rebels. Leon found out that when Irina and the school children were killed in the attack, Buddy decided to join the resistance. JD pleaded with Leon to save Buddy, to get to the Plaga before him so that he didn't have to see his friend turn into a monster. Returning his machine gun to him, JD told Leon that Buddy was heading to the central marketplace where the Council of Elders had left the Plaga for the rebels. Leon silently took his gun back and headed off to the marketplace.

Leon arrived at the marketplace to find the case that was holding the Plaga empty. A voice immediately caught Leon's attention, causing Leon to turn swiftly and attack. The two fought briefly, Ada easily evading Leon's attacks as she flipped away and aimed her grappling gun at him. Leon finally realized who she was, questioning what Ada was doing in the Eastern Slav Republic. Ada merely retorted with the same question. He immediately followed it up by asking if she was responsible for releasing the Plaga, a notion she found laughable, noting that she wasn't interested in "defective products." Ada spoke briefly and mysteriously about her job, causing Leon to ask again why she was there. She flirted briefly with him, asking when they would continue where they left off from "that night." Leon smirked and simply told her any time but then. Amused by Leon's rejection, Ada made her escape, warning him that the town would be purged soon.

Leon Returns to the church to find it most of the inhabitants dead, by the hand of JD. JD tells Leon that he merely let his guard down for a second, he returns Leon's Gear before he, begins to turn. Buddy arrives, he blames Leon for what happened however JD claims Leon is not their enemy. JD Succumbs to the Plaga and attacks Buddy, however he is promptly killed by Leon. Leon tries to reason with Buddy asking him to give him the Plaga, he refuses. The government then begin to bomb the area causing the church to collapse, Buddy escapes, and Leon pursues him.

Leon makes his way to the Presidential building, which has been decimated by Licker's leaving hundreds of dead soldiers. Leon infiltrates the building, Leon is then encounters two Licker's who fail to detect him, until a Soldier reaches for his leg and whimpers in pain. Leon runs from, them managing to kill one, and causes the other to fall to it's demise after he charges through a door which leads to a massive elevator shaft. Leon descends into a B.O.W. manufacturing facility. He once again encounters Ada, who informs him that they are mass producing Control Plagas. Leon and Ada are quickly surrounded, by guards and confronted by Svetlana Belikova, the President of the Eastern Slav Republic. Ada deactivates the lights to make her escape. A fight ensues between Leon and and Belikova's guards, which is soon interrupted by Buddy and a horde of Licker's. However Belikova releases her own B.O.W.s several T-013 Tyrants. This initiates a Bio hazard and the facility begins preparations for incineration. Buddy and Leon escape the Facility.

One Tyrant follows them out and they attempt to fight the it. Buddy uses Licker's to lure the Tyrant over to a tanker truck full of explosives, Leon promptly shoots it causing the Beasts power limiter to be destroyed. Become even more powerful, Leon and Buddy use a nearby tank to kill the beast. However several more emerge, and the pair flee. Out of ammo Leon prepares to fight the creature with his knife. however an American plane has kills the creatures before they reach him. Leon realizes the government has been watching him the whole time.

Buddy asks Leon to kill him, as he doesn't want to turn. Leon however refuses, Buddy attempts to shoot himself only for Leon to take his gun, he tells buddy that he owes it to the people who died along side him to keep living. Leon then shoots Buddy in the spinal cord, severing the Plaga's link to Buddy.

Leon returns to his vacation, Hunnigan informs him that Belikova has resigned from her position. Leon then leaves his apartment.

Tall Oaks, U.S.A.
"I can't believe this is happening again. It's just like Raccoon."

June 29, 2013, almost fifteen years after the incident in Raccoon City, the President of the United States of America, Adam Benford, decided to make public the truth behind the Raccoon City incident at a seminar at Ivy University. President Benford is alongside his trusted friend Leon Kennedy and Helena Harper, a member of the secret military agency, when a bio-terrorist attack occured in Tall Oaks. The President himself is infected and turned into a zombie. Leon is faced with his hardest decision to make. It's not until the President starts going towards Helena and tries to attack her when Leon finally shoots Adam in the head, yelling his name. Helena tells him that it's all her fault and she did this. Leon asks her what she's talking about but she says that she will explain everything once they get to Tall Oaks Cathedral.

On their way through the university, they eventually come across a man who guides Leon and his partner, Helena, through the campus in a search for his missing daughter, Liz. During the search he begins to make suspicious complaints of skin irritation. They eventually find his daughter and get in an elevator, only for her to fully turn, and attack and kill her father before turning on Leon and Helena.

Sometime during the mission, Hunnigan informs them that the city has been overrun and that over 70,000 people are expected to have become infected. They are infected with a new type of virus called the C-Virus, reported by the B.S.A.A. to be the same virus that was used by terrorists to cause an outbreak in Eastern Europe, six months before this incident occurred.

At some point, Leon and Helena arrived in a laboratory where chrysalis are contained into test tubes. Helena shows Leon a transformation of a chrysalis via a videotape.

After Leon finds out that Simmons is behind the attacks, he asks Hunnigan to fake both his and Helena's deaths so they can go to China in order to track him down.



Lanshiang, China
"I lost over seventy-thousand people, including the president, because of Simmons."

On Leon and Helena's way to China, the people on the same airplane as them become infected with the C-Virus and they forced to fight their way through the zombie infested plane. It eventually crashes close by where Jake Muller and Sherry Birkin happen to be. Sherry runs over to Leon, excited to see him. Leon asks Sherry what she is doing there and when she replies that she is on protective detail, he responds by saying he heard she became an agent. Sherry returns the same question to Leon, in which he responds that he and Helena are trying to track down the man behind all of this, Chief Security Advisor Simmons. Leon asks her where he is and after she hesitates to tell him, he tells her that he needs to know, approaching her in a manner that Jake felt he needed to protect Sherry by violently pushing Leon away.

At some point in China, Leon manages to get to a room just in time to see Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans cornering a woman in a blue dress, whom they believe to be the one responsible for the deaths of Chris' men and the outbreaks that have occurred. Chris has his machine gun aimed and ready to shoot when Leon knocks it out of his hands to prevent him from killing her. They have a brief struggle, ending with the two pointing their guns at each other. Leon tries to calm down Chris by telling him to put his gun down, saying that she is a "key witness" and they need her, but Chris refuses and abstractly tells Leon that she is the one who did all this (referring to the global bio-terrorist attacks). Chris tries to get Leon to understand by telling him that he lost all of his men because of her, in which Leon responds that he lost over seventy thousand people including the president because of Simmons.

Personality and Relationships
At first, Leon apparently is a somewhat naive rookie police officer, with a strong sense of justice and duty. As his actions during the Racoon City incident were intriguingly discovered, Leon was recruited and later becomes an Expert Special Agent due to his training he acquired at the hands of the US government. Able to keep his composure in most circumstances, making him much more confident though arrogant and cocky at times, Leon is very compassionate and objective.

Leon's friendly nature makes him quick to make friends. He immediately strikes up a friendship with Claire Redfield. Leon also respected Jack Krauser, both as a soldier and a friend, before his betrayal. Leon was very quick to strike up friendships with both Luis Sera and Mike, being deeply saddened by both of their deaths.He also displayed a large amount of emotion for Ada at the "time of her death". Sealing the kiss together on her "last breath". At the same time Leon is very quick to oppose people who threaten others. He is very quick to dislike all three key figures of Los Illuminados, within a few seconds of meeting them.

Leon has been shown to flirt with some of the women he encounters, including Ingrid Hunnigan, who playfully rejected his advances due to him still being "on duty."

Leon's relationship with Ada is very complicated, despite there being some kind of bond between the two and both helping each other whenever the other is in need and both of them having feelings for each other, Ada has no problem using Leon to further her own goals, Leon however doesn't seem to hold this against her. Though seeming smitten with her, he mentions that Ada will always be "a part of him he can't let go". From the beginning of Resident Evil 2, Leon goes out of his way to try to protect Ada, to the point where Claire is suspecting some sort of infatuation or just Leon trying to impress this mysterious woman.

Leon seems to care very deeply for some of the people he rescues. He goes to great lengths to protect them all despite not knowing them. He became Sherry Birkin's temporary guardian before she was taken into the custody of the US government. During Operation Javier Leon had a similar relationship with Manuela Hidalgo, doing everything he could to try and protect her, even nearly getting crushed to save her. During his mission to save Ashley Graham, Leon put himself at great personal risk several times to ensure her safety.

Leon has been shown to go back and forth from being cold and focused to passionate in his missions. During the start of Resident Evil 4, Leon is dismissive of his police escorts for the most part and shows little consideration to anything but finding Ashley, however when the two officers car is knocked over a cliff near the exit of the village Leon investigates and upon seeing the wreckage he looks and says "no..." followed by saying "I hope the two officers are ok" when the player investigates the scene of the incident. In a similar fashion when Leon enters the village and sees one of the cops corpse being hung on a wooden plank at the center of the village Leon will say "What in God's name...if only they had came along with me...." showing that he regretted the two officers death. In Resident Evil: Degeneration, he acts much the same way, his main concern being the mission at hand. When fellow agent Helena Harper comes under attack by a zombie, Leon helps her but scolds her when she says she still can't believe what is happening, telling her, "Well get used to it. It's either them or us... and they don't hesitate." although he most likely said this to keep Helena focused and not let the crisis get in the way of their survival.

However, Leon has also selectively grown emotionally attached to people he encounters on these missions. During his mission in Spain, Leon grows close to both Luis Sera and helicopter pilot Mike to the point of mourning greatly over their deaths. Even after giving a very black-and-white view to Helena of their situation, Leon is prepared to dive head first into a fray to try and save two innocent people being attacked by zombies, even though it is already too late.

Leon is hesitant to shoot U.S. President and long-time friend, Adam Benford, after he transforms into a zombie and only does so when Benford attacks Helena. This is undoubtedly because Benford has had a substantial impact on Leon, being the one to bring him over to the DSO to begin with. They are shown to have been close friends, with Benford telling Leon that he values their friendship and Leon referring to him on a first-name basis several times. Before Benford had become President, he was one of the only people Leon had ever confided in about what he went through during the Raccoon City Incident. He admitted to Adam that he found it hard to find hope during the situation and had even contemplated killing himself to get out of the situation, Adam becoming one of the few people Leon had ever shown some sense of vulnerability to.

Leon cares for normal people and willing to help them even when himself is in danger. After shooting the President, Leon and Helena encounter a man who is looking for his missing daughter. He asks Leon for help and Leon agrees with no hesitation even after Helena tells Leon there wasn't enough time to help him but Leon quickly tells her "We're making the time." When Leon and Helena see two people frantically holding up "Help!" signs somewhere located on the Ivy University school via security cameras Leon quickly tells Helena to come with him to rescue the innocent however Helena tells him it's too late, Leon looks back at the camera only to see the two being killed by the zombies to which Leon looks away in frustration and grief. Also during his fight with Chris, Chris tells Leon that he lost all his men because of the mysterious woman however Leon angrily tells Chris that he lost over 70,000 people showing that he cared for all the citizens who had lost their lives in Tall Oaks.

Even in times of danger Leon will often brighten the mood or just keep a calm composure even in front of his enemies. An example of this is during conversations between Salazar and Saddler, when Salazar revealed that he sent his right hand after him Leon jokingly said "Your right hand comes off?", knowing that Salazar meant his right hand "man". Another example is when Salazar transformed into a monstrous Queen Plaga, Leon says, "Pfft, monsters. I guess after this it'll only be one less to worry about." When Leon and Helena were trying to find keys to a cop car on the Ivy university campus he states, "Heh, jacking a car isn't as easy as it is in the movies." When the two are on a plane bound for China, when Leon and Helena find the Lepotitsa that was left on the plane by Simmons, he sarcastically remarks, "You don't suppose that thing can fly a plane do you?"

Skills and Abilities
Leon is an incredible marksman, being able to easily make head shots from over fifty yards and rarely missing his intended target. In Resident Evil 6, Leon has the ability to dual-wield handguns effectively. He is also proficient with other firearms. He handled an M203 grenade launcher (which was attached to an M4) to great effect, using it to bring a walkway down on a mutated Curtis Miller. During his mission to the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon carried a customized AKMSU, which he used to fight Lickers and Tyrants. Leon has also used rocket launchers in order to fight larger creatures on a number of occasions.

Leon is also an incredibly talented knife fighter. He can easily use his knife ambidextrously, even being able to switch hands in the middle of combat. His skills. His talent with knives also includes using them as a thrown weapon, evidenced by his ability to hit Salazar in the hand from the other side of a room and was also able to free Ada by cutting the rope that bound her by throwing Krauser's knife. He also showed his proficiency by hitting Curtis Miller's mutated eye directly in the pupil. His overall fighting skills shined when they were put to the test when Krauser engaged Leon in a knife-fight in which Leon was able to hold his own. After being cornered by two Tyrants while in the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon was also prepared to defensively do battle against them with only his knife after he had run out of ammunition.

In addition to his mastery of weapons, Leon is an accomplished unarmed combatant, being able to do a variety of kicks and suplexes. While in Lanshiang, Leon was able to match Chris Redfield in hand-to-hand combat evenly until they both drew their weapons on each other simultaneously. He was also able to keep up with with Svetlana Belikova, a trained combatant and instructor.

In terms of physical fitness, Leon is in peak physical condition. He is very acrobatic with incredible reflexes, being able to perform various flips and evasive maneuvers to avoid lasers, enemy attacks, debris, and other obstacles. Leon is quick-footed, being able to outrun not only boulders but a massive robotic statue of Ramon Salazar. Leon has also used Parkour in order to escape from a platform that is about to fall, and to pursue Alexander Kozachenko across several shipping containers. He is a quick thinker and can react instantly to any situation in order to survive.

In addition, he seems to be able recover from injuries incredibly quickly and seems to be extremely resilient. In Resident Evil 2, he was able to carry on after being shot in the lower torso after a very short recovery time. In Resident Evil 4, he was able to take a blow from Saddler and being sent crashing into a large machine. While fighting Curtis Miller, Leon was able to survive and recover from a powerful backhand which sent him flying into a power box head first. He was also able to survive a direct punch from the T-013R Tyrant as well as being thrown against a concrete pillar by the same creature.

This all lends credence to Ada's statement, as she had described Leon as having formidable survival skills and being "Practically a genius." Leon also seems to have keen instincts, being able to detect Krauser's presence, who had been trying to sneak up to Leon to attack and kill him.

While in Lanshiang, Leon showed some degree of piloting capability as he was able to keep a helicopter he and Helena Harper were in in the air for an extended period of time, even after skimming along the side of a moving train. Leon was also able to crash-land the airplane he and Helena were on, though this was mostly through the guidance of Ingrid Hunnigan.