Licker

The Licker is a mutation which mutates normal Zombies into a more deadly and agile hunter.

History
The name "Licker" was given to this creature by the officers at the Raccoon Police Department (mentioned by David Ford in an additional report from the Operation report 1) 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. This new muscle tissue allows them to do many things that normal Zombies and even Crimson Heads cannot. They can jump incredible heights and distances and move much more rapidly while their warped bone structure makes 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 colour, 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.

In Other Media
In the movie world, the Licker was 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 (film), and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but did not appear in Resident Evil: Extinction, and instead were replaced with a new monster to the movies: the Crow.

In the novelisation 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.

Lickers will be appearing in the background during the Resident Evil stage in Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Evolved licker


Seen in the Lab at the end of Resident Evil 2, the Memory of a Lost City scenario in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles and throughout Resident Evil Survivor. Evolved lickers have greenish-grey skin color and large stinger like claws. Unlike the normal licker they tend to be signifigantly more difficult to kill. It's still un-explained how the lickers have evolved into this form. Some believe that is it the result of exposure to anti-B.O.W. gas that the lickers may have become immune to and have further mutated or because of experimentation by Umbrella scientists. Another theory is that they have broken out of containment during the outbreak in the underground lab. It could even be further mutation of the t-virus or just exposure to laboratory chemicals.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * 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 Prototypes hunters.
 * Even before RE5, Lickers change design constantly. In RE2, they have an angular, spiny appearance, while in Outbreak and the Umbrella Chronicles they are much smoother. The Lickers in Outbreak also seem to be smaller than in previous games.
 * It can be presumed that they have a high intelligence level, because in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, they destroy a security camera - knowing what it was.
 * 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.