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Early Concept
Ada's final default costume design in Biohazard 1.5.
In the prototype version of Resident Evil 2, dubbed Biohazard 1.5, Ada was originally scripted to be an Umbrella scientist named Linda. She was one of the two supporting characters for Leon, along with Marvin Branagh. In early concept art, her outfit designs mainly consisted of the same red sweater and black pants, along with a small necklace. One concept showed a large green jacket with an Umbrella logo on the back. In the final design, she wore a white Umbrella lab coat, red shirt, khaki shorts, red shoes, and a necklace. The model for 'Linda' was one of the few 1.5 characters to make it in to the final cut in Resident Evil 2, and she eventually became a spy working for an outside organization. Her former occupation was later recycled in the storyline, with her name being changed to "Ada" to provide a link with John, establishing her as having gained employment in Umbrella as part of her cover.
Appearance and Wardrobe
Ada Wong is a striking Asian-American woman of Chinese descent, sporting a sleek figure and graceful mannerisms. She fits the archetype of the stylish and beautiful assassin or "femme fatale". For the most part, Ada's physical appearance has not changed much over the course of the series. She usually sports short black hair in the same style and her eye color is the only thing that has changed once. In Resident Evil 4 they were a clear, almost green shade but in all other appearances her eyes are shown to be brown. Ada's main outfits have usually consisted of red and black, those being her most prominent colors.
In Resident Evil 2, Ada wears a one-piece dress (pink in her official render and red in gameplay) with black tights and a belt, along with loafers and a watch. It was reprised and updated for the first time in the Resident Evil 4 mercenaries, Ada now sporting a sleek red cocktail dress that is cut at the upper thigh. She also wears fingerless black gloves, dark colored pantyhose, along with a pair of red heels. It can be seen in the Memory of a Lost City scenario in Darkside Chronicles as well as in the Death's Door scenario in Umbrella Chronicles looking slightly altered with less gear, the lack of one glove, and medical tape in several areas due to Ada being severely injured. In Operation Raccoon City, Ada notably wears this outfit with short black combat boots instead of heels.
In Ada's epilogue from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, she is shown after the events of Raccoon City wearing a black bra and unbuttoned blue jeans, with a huge scar on her side. After Ada's mission in Umbrella Chronicles, she is shown in an additional epilogue wearing a long emerald green dress with a slit up the left side accompanied by a light pink scarf and small dangle earrings.
In Resident Evil 4, her normal attire is a long, stylish red dress (known as a Manchurian-Chinese qipao) with a gold design of butterflies down the left side, a slit up the right side exposing her leg, a flowing black ribbon around her neck that falls down her back, and black high heels. She also has an easily-seen knife holder on her exposed thigh.
In her Assignment Ada guise, she wears a much more professional infiltration outfit. She also wears this in the cutscenes of the main game if the player selects the first "Special" costume for Leon and Ashley. 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 her sleeve. 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.
In Resident Evil: Damnation, Ada wears more professional business attire. She has a black long-sleeved dress shirt with a popped collar and red inside, a short black skirt, red high heels, and a black lace choker around her neck. After having her blouse cut in a fight (which reveals her black bra), she is shown at the end of the movie wearing a very similar outfit with inversed colors: a red leather vest and black inside, with a red lace choker.
In Resident Evil 6, Ada appears wearing a bright red blouse with buttons, and the sleeves rolled up. The rest of her oufit is completely black including long gloves, leather pants, and boots with a small heel. She also wears a necklace that slightly resembles a cross.
In The Mercenaries, Ada's extra costume consists of a long silver Chinese dress with an oval cut out in the back and a slit up the left side. The dress also has a blue floral design down the right side and a lavender colored inside. She also wears a pair of silver pumps and pink underwear as well as a head piece with a large blue flower and black and white striped feathers. An alternate version of this outfit can be unlocked on Resident Evil.net which is gold with a silver inside, white underwear, and a purple flower.
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 they 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. They often find themselves unable to go through with certain orders due to a conflict with their feelings for a man they love. 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, it's impossible to not notice the similarities. This could offer some insight into Ada's mysterious past and place in the world as well.