Brian Irons

Prime universe
(Capcom's primary storyline)

For other iterations of this character, see Brian Irons (disambiguation).

Brian Irons
jp name	ブライアン・アイアンズ
Biographical information
Race/Nationality:	Caucasian/American
Occupation:	R.P.D. Chief of Police
Status:	Deceased
Biological information
Sex:	Male
Other Information
First appearance:	Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Last appearance:	Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Voice:	Gary Krawford (RE2) Jean-Benoît Blanc (DC) Sid Carton (RE2 Remake) Akio Hirose (Japanese; RE2 Remake)
Modelled after (Model):	John Owens (RE2 Remake)
Mocap:	Sid Carton (RE2 Remake)

"Sherry!? I've been looking everywhere for you Sherry...Brave little girl to leave her house in the middle of this mess..." — Irons after confronting Sherry Birkin and Claire Redfield at the Parking Garage of the Raccoon Police Station

Brian Irons (ブライアン・アイアンズ, Buraian Aianzu) was a Raccoon City police officer and Chief of Police of the Raccoon Police Department until 1998. Chief Irons had a violent history with women and is suspected of having been a serial killer. Irons was deeply involved in corporate corruption like other city officials, and took bribes from Umbrella USA to keep the company out of investigations. During the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident, Irons suffered a mental breakdown and began killing fellow officers and refugees, and was killed violently either by Dr. William Birkin or a G parasite. Irons was a serial killer, though due to his position in the RPD and the destruction of the city, these murders were never investigated.

Biography

Early life

Before his police career, Irons is known to have gone through a university education. He was put under psychiatric examination after two incidents in which he was accused of violent aggression and sexual assault towards female students. Due to his excellent academic performance, however, these incidents were not criminally investigated.

Chief of Police

Irons made a career in the Raccoon Police Department, and by early 1996 reached the rank of Chief of Police. This position put him in a very close relationship with Umbrella USA, a company which was not only a major employer in the city but was also performing top-secret military bioweapons research. This research went against the 1972 Bioweapons Convention, and involved illegal human testing. Every month starting from April 1996, Chief Irons received between $1,500 and $15,000 from Dr. Annette Birkin, wife of Dr. William Birkin, which he used to fund his art habits, which he would place across the Raccoon Police Station. Irons was also placed in charge of the Raccoon City Orphanage to disguise Umbrella's use of child test subjects. On the 6th and 16th of every month, he visited Umbrella's top-secret facilities to hold meetings with Umbrella's Raccoon City facility heads and was expected to use the police force to keep them out of investigation if needed. Under Chief Irons' watch, Umbrella donations led to the creation of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service, an elite law enforcement team comprised of scientists and ex-military personnel who could use their expertise to solve cases the rest of the RPD was not qualified or experienced to handle. Led by Dr. Albert Wesker, an Umbrella intelligence agent, S.T.A.R.S. was effectively Umbrella's private army. Whether or not Chief Irons knew Dr. Wesker was an Umbrella agent is unknown.

In May 1998 the mountainous Arklay Laboratory fell to a t-Virus outbreak, and in spite of its security personnel, mutants escaped and began killing a number of hikers and Raccoon City denizens on the city outskirts. Irons became highly stressed as a result of these attacks and Umbrella's failure to counter them, and was continually briefed by the Birkins as to the developments as well as their ongoing strain with the company. By July 1998, Umbrella and the RPD mutually failed to contain and explain the deaths, respectively, and it became the logical step to hand the case over to S.T.A.R.S. Between 23 and 25 July, a total of seven S.T.A.R.S. officers including Dr. Wesker, and one RPD pilot were reported dead and the laboratory itself destroyed. Though S.T.A.R.S. survivors Chief Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers and Brad Vickers bore witness in various degrees to Umbrella's research and uncovered the nature of the attacks, most of the evidence was lost in the explosion. On the advice of Dr. William Birkin, Chief Irons had S.T.A.R.S. shut down to prevent them investigating the company and kept a close eye on their activities. While it was too late to stop them telling the townspeople about their experiences, it was believed that the quiet destruction of left-over evidence would prevent anyone believing them.

Serial killings

Chief Irons harboured violent tendencies throughout his life, and did not hold these back during his time with the RPD. Irons is known to have threatened and committed a number of murders while with the RPD, though the identity of these victims is largely unknown. The earliest known possible victim was his secretary, who he hired in April 1998 and who disappeared the following June after uncovering evidence of bribes. An Umbrella sewer facility manager was almost killed in August, when Irons threatened him with a gun. In August and September, a total of eight young women were snatched from the streets and apparently murdered in the city's sewers, though no bodies were found by RPD search parties. All were described in local papers as being unmarried blonde women between the ages of 18 and 23.

Chief Irons is known to have used a special room for the killing of his victims. Having a fondness for taxidermy, he used this experience on victims, and was accustomed to removing organs and bones to use as trophies. His possession of chloroform indicates not all victims would have been dead when cut open. Though he is known to have expressed interest in stuffing the left-over skin to create human taxidermy, no example is known of a completed taxidermy figure, though he did posses formaldehyde, a chemical used in taxidermy.

Raccoon City Destruction Incident

By September 1998, the t-Virus made its way into the city through a number of channels. At the start of the month, Chief Irons' side of the deal worked the same, receiving a $10,000 bribe to prevent any police investigation of the city's underground, which was becoming an inevitability. Things quickly began to change over the month, when the Birkins reported their suspicions of a plot by Umbrella HQ to recover Golgotha from their lab. Irons was ordered to thoroughly search the city for suspicious individuals and hand them over to the Birkins for execution.

On 23 September, Irons was alerted to the leak of the t-Virus into the city's water supply. Overcome with this news, Irons finally broke down mentally. Believing himself to be infected, he began giving confusing orders to the police officers to ensure that the entire precinct die with him. These orders included the looting of the arms locker and dispersal of arms to points across the building, which deprived officers of guns when those areas were overrun by Zombies. Irons is also known to have hunted down survivors to speed up the process, with one account claiming he shot one police officer, Ed, in the heart.

Another victim of Irons' rampage was Katherine Warren, daughter of Raccoon City mayor Michael Warren, who had fled town without her. She was killed on the night of 29 September. Though accounts differ as to if she was killed in the Raccoon Police Station or the Raccoon City Orphanage, it is agreed he planned to turn her into taxidermy.

Death

"G" embryo bursts out of Irons chest.

Accounts as to how Chief Irons died are contradictory. In one account, he abducted the Birkins' daughter, Sherry, from the police station intent on retrieving her pendant. He forced another survivor, Claire Redfield, to bring the pendant to the orphanage when he realised she had dropped it. While there, he caught Sherry trying to escape and was splashed in the face with formaldehyde. While chasing her he was attacked by William, who had mutated from Golgotha infection, and planted a G-embryo in his chest. When Redfield arrived with the pendant, he was killed in front of her when the embryo bursts off of Irons' chest. In two other accounts, Irons absconded from the Raccoon Police Station with Warren's body to his killing room. There he was attacked by Dr. Birkin, either tearing him apart or implanting him with an embryo. In all three accounts he died in front of Redfield.

Quotes

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

• "Sherry!?"
• "I've been looking everywhere for you, Sherry..."
• "Brave little girl to leave your house in the middle of this mess..."
• "On the ground, hands behind your head."
• "On the ground. Now!"
• "Sherry, tie her hands."
• "Shut up. Tie her."
• "OK then. You tie her up now, or she dies."
• "Child endangerment, for starters."
• "Sherry, come here."
• "None of your fucking business."
• "Sherry, get over here!"
• "What's your name?"
• "What's your fucking name!?"
• "Sherry, you come with me now or say goodbye to Claire!"
• "Absolutely."
• "Don't tell me how to do my job!"
• "Obviously, nobody taught you manners! We'll fix that."
• "Oh yes, we will."
• "Good to see you again, Claire." (Over the phone)
• "We've got unfinished business." (Over the phone)
• "Don't waste my fucking time! Bring me the pendant or Sherry dies!" (Over the phone)
• "Do you want the girl to die?" (Over the phone)
• "The orphanage." (Over the phone)
• "In the neighborhood. You'll find it."
• "...For now."
• "Stupid kid. If you just hadn't dropped that fucking thing, I could let you go..."
• "Don't worry, Sherry. It'll be all over soon."
• "Where you going, Sherry?"
• "I told you to stay put."
• "You need to learn to listen!"
• "Time to teach some manners!"
• "You little bitch...!"
• "You're gonna pay for this...!"
• "OH...You little shit!"
• "You are gonna be so fucking sorry!"
• "Game over, Sherry!" (Only if he catches Sherry)
• "You are gonna wish you were dead!" (Only if he catches Sherry)
• "You stupid bitch...that's a dead end!"
• "It's all over now...! Door's locked!"
• "Where are you!? Show yourself!"
• "I know you're in here!"
• "The longer it takes me to find you, the worse it's gonna be!"
• "Little bitch's gotta be here somewhere...!"
• "Urrrgh... Goddammit!"
• "Sonofabitch...!"
• "This is your last fucking chance! Show yourself- NOW!"
• "Ahh.. FUCK! IT BURNS!"
• "Where the fuck is my key!?"
• "I see you!" (Only if he sees Sherry or after Sherry steals the key from the door)
• "Nice try, Sherry." (Only if Sherry attempts to open the Orphanage door with the key and fails)
• "I'm coming in Sherry!"
• "Get over here, you little bitch!"
• "The game... is... over!"
• "Now you're in trouble!"
• "Your fault...!"
• "Took too long!"
• "Damn you, William!" *screams*

Further Notes

• In an act of censorship, the English localization of Darkside Chronicles establishes in a file Irons as having a wife, and he has a criminal past regarding domestic violence. The Japanese script for the same file instead describes his criminal past as being two cases of rape or sexual assault. The same file was also censored in Umbrella Chronicles as well.
• In the scene where Brian Irons relays everything he knows about the G-Virus while threatening Claire in his taxidermy room, the localization erroneously inferred that the T-00 (referred to as "that monster that is tearing apart the precinct") was created by the G-Virus and that it was the ultimate bio-weapon when Brian Irons was explaining its properties to Claire. In the original script, he instead commented that the virus has the ability to rapidly advance human evolution without even mentioning the T-00.
• Brian Irons made a cameo appearance in the Mini-Game, The Mercenaries - Operation: Mad Jackal in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. You meet him at the end of the mini game when you manage to get into the Warehouse Save Room, the end point of the mini-game where he beckons a woman to deliver a briefcase that presumably contained the player's payment. His face is hidden by shadows when the player meets him, though.
• In the prototype version of Resident Evil 2 (known as Resident Evil 1.5), Irons was originally intended to be an ally to the player, as opposed to him being an antagonist which he was in the final version of the game. He was injured (apparently he was bitten by zombies) and was laying down on a couch as a result of his wounds. Eventually he sacrificed himself, allowing the players to escape from an imminent death.
• Brian Irons' signature is seen in the ID cards of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine in the first Resident Evil game and its remake.
• His death is different in Leon A, Claire B: He is pulled in the trap door by the mutated Birkin. His screams are heard as Claire listens. When Claire approaches the trap door, the mutilated top half of his corpse flies out of the trap door and lands on the floor. This version of his demise was later used for the WildStorm interpretation of the character.
• The other death scenario is when a mutated Birkin inserts an embryo in Brian's body and the player listens to his screams before entering the room, when inside the room Brian seems to be fine but after a few seconds a G embryo bursts out of his chest and escapes down the ladder to be confronted later by Claire.
• In Darkside Chronicles, Brian Irons had a brief appearance in the level Memories of a Lost City, where he encounters Claire Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and Sherry Birkin. He is seen with a blonde cadaver in a white dress (implied to be the Mayor's daughter) and voicing his intentions to stuff her. Kennedy then recognizes Irons, with Claire asking how he knew him. Irons then accuses them of being after the G-virus due to their snooping around. He then notices Sherry and recognizes her as William Birkin's daughter, although he is interrupted mid-sentence by painful spasms, knocking over the cadaver he had earlier been working on and weakly asking for help as it was not supposed to happen as "G" emerged from his body.
• The seventh clue of Inserted Evil leads to a collection of documents relating to Chief Irons; including a complaint by his secretary, a statement by Irons addressing the complaint (and a more strongly-worded rough draft which implicated Umbrella), a report by Umbrella detailing Irons's increasingly erratic behavior, ultimately recommending that Umbrella has to take action to ensure secrecy.
• In the original, after Irons killed the mayor's daughter, Claire Redfield entered his office shortly after the murder. There, Irons shook off the murder as an overzealous attempt to prevent an already infected person from transforming into a zombie and taught Claire that destruction or removal of the brain was the only way to ensure their death. When Claire left, Irons dragged the body into a secret compartment leading to private basement. Claire later found the compartment and found Irons hiding inside. There, he admitted his relationship with Umbrella and expressed his anger, feeling betrayed by the city's destruction. While cornering Claire with the intent of ensuring she died with him, he also obliged her request by revealing what he knew about the G-Virus, and also made clear that the girl Claire encountered, Sherry, was the daughter of the virus' discoverer. Within seconds he was killed by the very G-Virus he had helped Birkin protect.

Gallery

Irons with a Desert Eagle.

Irons pointing a gun at Claire

Sources

Notes

References