Physical appearance and wardrobe
Ada's main outfits are predominantly red
Ada is a striking woman of Asian descent, sporting a sleek figure and graceful mannerisms. Her official profile in Resident Evil 2 as well as her very name state that she is specifically of Chinese descent. Ada fits the archetype of the stylish and beautiful assassin or "femme fatale". Her signature color is red. Two out of her three outfits are predominantly red, and in Resident Evil 4's Mercenaries minigame, Ada receives a high amount of incendiary grenades (which are, naturally, red in color). During the "knife fight" in Resident Evil 4 between Leon and Krauser, Ada enters the scene; Krauser simply refers to her as "the bitch in the red dress", showing that her signature color, red, is well known.
In Resident Evil 2, she sports a sleek red one-piece tied with a belt and cut at the upper thigh. She wears darkened stockings on her legs and black shoes. In Resident Evil 4, this outfit is reprized and updated to include high heels, a gun belt, and additional combat equipment worn over it. In Resident Evil 4 her normal attire is a long, stylish open red dress (known as a Manchurian-Chinese qipao) with a gold design of butterflies on it and a flowing black ribbon worn around her neck that falls down her back. She also has an easily-seen knife belt on her exposed thigh.
Ada Wong in Assignment Ada
In her Assignment Ada guise, she wears a much more professional infiltration outfit. Dressed all in black, she sports a tactical vest, combat gear, black pants, and black gloves along with boots. She has a symbol of a red butterfly on a sleeve in this outfit. This insignia seems to be her personal logo as it is also on her normal outfit. The Butterfly is often seen as a symbol of being reborn into something beautiful or free, perhaps this is a hint to Ada's mysterious past. She wears this outfit in the cutscenes of Resident Evil 4 if the player selects the first "Special" costume for themselves.
Ada's outfit for the Mercenaries minigame is a red mini-dress with moderate professional gear compared to the other two outfits, complete with a shoulder rig, a weapon belt, black gloves, stockings and red high heels. Strangely, it apparently doesn't have the butterfly insignia. It should be noted that this red outfit is very similar to her Resident Evil 2 outfit.
Similarities to Nikita
 DVD cover for Nikita (La Femme Nikita). |
 An official render of Ada Wong, in a homage to the previous picture. |
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Series creator Shinji Mikami is a big time film buff, so it may be with little surprise that the character of Ada Wong has quite a few similarities to the protagonist of Nikita (La Femme Nikita). Both Ada and Nikita are women who have been "reborn" in one way or another, signified by a scene where both women look into a mirror and vow to leave their past behind. Both women are femme fatale archetypes, skilled female assassins and super spies who work for a mysterious organization. They're deadly in more ways than one, equally adept at weaponry, combat, and assassination as they are with using their feminine wiles to catch unsuspecting men off guard. Both Ada and Nikita also share one major flaw in their assassin career, a love for a man. Both Ada and Nikita often find themselves unable to go through with certain orders due to a conflict with their feelings for a certain man. Both women even have a very shady superior they answer to: Michael for Nikita, and Wesker for Ada. Both Michael and Wesker are black-clad men whose cool exterior hides a ruthless nature. The title screen for Separate Ways even resembles the original poster for Nikita (La Femme Nikita) right down to the title character being in the same pose. Although the characters and storylines share obvious differences as well, its impossible to not notice the similarities. This could offer some insight into Ada's mysterious past and place in the world as well.