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    Leon S. Kennedy

    Character » appears in 28 games

    Leon Kennedy was an R.P.D. officer who survived the Raccoon City outbreak. He is now a skilled government agent tasked with the extermination of biological weapons created by the Umbrella Corporation.

    Short summary describing this character.

    Leon S. Kennedy last edited by armored_victory on 04/25/23 10:35PM View full history

    Overview

    Leon Scott Kennedy is one of the two main protagonists in Resident Evil 2, the central hero featured in Resident Evil 4, and one of several protagonists in Resident Evil 6. In his initial appearance, Leon is a rookie cop employed by the Raccoon City Police Department amidst the T-Virus outbreak that would consume the city. In subsequent appearances, he has become a well-trained, highly-skilled government agent specializing in the containment and elimination of bio-organic weapons.

    Leon is showcased as a playable character in the non-canonical Game Boy Color title Resident Evil: Gaiden, and stands alongside fellow Raccoon City survivor Claire Redfield in the feature-length CG film Resident Evil: Degeneration. The story of his survival of the Raccoon City incident is recounted in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, and he is also the protagonist of Capcom's second CG film outing in Resident Evil: Damnation. He is voiced by Paul Haddad in Resident Evil 2, and by Paul Mercier in all of his following appearances up until Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, where he was voiced by Christian Lanz, and then Matthew Mercer took the role for the movie Resident Evil: Damnation and Resident Evil 6.

    On the live-action side of things, Brad Renfro portrayed Leon in a Japanese advertisement (directed by George Romero) for Resident Evil 2, and Johann Urb plays Leon in the movie Resident Evil: Retribution.

    Story

    Among all of Leon's accomplishments, his survival of the Raccoon City T-Virus outbreak in September of 1998 is the most significant. It would earn him a position with a specialized agency within the United States government, moving him up and through the ranks until he would be eventually tasked with the protection of President Graham and his family. From there he became closely affiliated with the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance.

    Resident Evil 2

    Leon arrives in Raccoon City as a rookie cop reporting for his first day of work. Upon arriving in the city limits he encounters a horde of zombies as well as Claire Redfield, a college girl looking for her policeman brother. The pair are separated but manage to make their way to the Raccoon City Police Station.

    Leon and Claire in Resident Evil 2
    Leon and Claire in Resident Evil 2

    The precinct isn't as secure as Leon had hoped, and after the near-immediate passing of Marvin Branagh, Kennedy is left as the only surviving police officer in the city. However, with help from Branagh, Leon is able to rendezvous with Claire and decide on the game plan of searching out the building for survivors and escaping the city.

    This course of action leads Leon to Ada Wong, a tough-as-nails woman in search of her missing boyfriend, and Ben Bertolucci, a journalist. During Leon's trek through the police station, he comes into conflict with Mr. X, an Umbrella Tyrant.

    While pursuing Ada through Raccoon's massive sewer network, accessible from the dog kennel in the back of the police station. He is shot and wounded by Annette Birkin, but soldiers on and eventually stumbles into the Umbrella Corporation's underground research laboratory. It is here that Leon discovers that Ada is actually after the newly-developed G-Virus. She holds the officer at gunpoint but ultimately chooses to spare his life just before she is shot and presumably killed herself by a fatally-wounded Annette. Before her death, Ada informs Leon of a train system constructed for the purpose of funneling Umbrella employees out of the facility in case of an emergency.

    Before Leon can reach the train system, however, the self-destruct sequence is activated, and he is confronted by the mutated form of Umbrella top researcher and G-Virus creator William Birkin. He dispatches of the creature with relative ease and rushes aboard the already-moving train just before it departs entirely. Here he is reunited with Claire, and introduced to Sherry Birkin, daughter of the Umbrella researchers. Aboard the moving train, another mutation of William assaults them. The creature activates the train's own self-destruct mechanism, but the trio of survivors manages to escape, leaving William to die. In the aftermath, Leon, Claire, and Sherry are bathed in morning sunlight.

    Post-Raccoon City

    After Raccoon City, Leon insists that Claire continue her search for her missing brother alone while he stays behind and looks after Sherry. It doesn’t take long for the two of them to be apprehended by the government, however, and following a quick debrief Leon is offered a position within a federal agency.

    He accepts under the condition that Sherry is to be taken under government protection, and begins a regimen of training and being trained. His knowledge regarding the different kinds of bio-organic weapons manufactured by Umbrella’s research becomes an invaluable asset. The new resources at Leon’s disposal within the government assist greatly in transforming him from a rookie cop and competent marksman to a wholly-refined and skilled special agent.

    While Leon continues to offer assistance to the government in their war on bio-terrorism in the form of intelligence, he focuses on more traditional law enforcement in his personal fieldwork, not wanting to get caught up in another horrific incident like the one he had barely survived. This doesn’t stop him from catching wind of more experiments occurring at a secret facility in a remote ocean location, Sheena Island. He sends his friend, Detective Ark Thompson, to investigate in November of 1998. Two months later he is contacted in distress by Claire Redfield -- captured by Umbrella and trapped on a T-Virus-infested Rockfort Island -- and himself tracks down her brother Chris and sends him to the rescue.

    Operation: Javier

    Leon is dispatched to South America in 2002 in an effort to apprehend a man named Javier Hidalgo, who had been approached by a former Umbrella researcher with remaining wares from the company's biological weaponry. Leon was paired with seasoned special operations agent Jack Krauser on the assignment. Upon arrival, the two find themselves wrapped up in a T-Virus outbreak, and in the company of a strange, sickly girl in the form of Manuela. Manuela turns out to be Javier's daughter, infected with a rare terminal illness and kept alive through regular injections of the T-Veronica virus.

    Throughout the operation, Leon recounts to Krauser his experience with the Umbrella Corporation during the Raccoon City outbreak. After narrowly escaping death numerous times at the hands of Umbrella's B.O.W.s, Leon and Krauser confront Javier. The South American drug lord infects himself with the T-Veronica virus and merges with a sort of plant creature, but it is not enough to save him from Leon's experienced hands. Manuela is taken into government custody following her father's death. Shortly after the mission, Leon would learn that Krauser had been killed in a fatal car accident.

    Resident Evil 4

    Leon in Resident Evil 4
    Leon in Resident Evil 4

    Six years following the destruction of Raccoon City and the collapse of the Umbrella Corporation, Leon has become one of the government's top-performing agents and is assigned to protecting the new President of the United States and his family. Ashley Graham, the president's daughter, is kidnapped and taken to a remote village in Spain. Leon is sent to track her down and becomes involved in taking down a terror threat initiated by a group of fanatics calling themselves the Los Illuminados.

    Leon receives some help in the form of Luis Sera, a native police officer, and manages to both locate and extract Ashley from her isolation. However, all attempts to pull the pair out of the area are met with extreme aggression from the Los Illuminados. Their leader, Lord Saddler, explains his plan to infect Ashley with the Las Plagas virus and send her back to the United States to provoke chaos. He also reveals that Leon himself has been infected with the same virus.

    Luis, revealing himself as one of the researchers responsible for the creation of Las Plagas, attempts to cure both Leon and Ashley, but is abruptly killed by Saddler. Leon soldiers on, protecting his subject and escorting her through the various trips and traps laid out by the sadistic organization. When Ashley is abducted once again by the Los Illuminados, Leon is assisted by Ada Wong in finding her, confirming prior rumors that she is both alive and under the employ of Albert Wesker.

    Leon is also confronted by Jack Krauser, the seasoned veteran having faked his death shortly after Operation Javier, and sought out Wesker's aid. He insults Leon for being blind to the kind of power that the Umbrella Corporation's research can instill into a human body, but despite all of his blustering, he is ultimately killed by his former partner.

    Leon tracks Ashley to an island and again rescues her. The two manage to extract the Los Plagas from their bodies before confronting Saddler. Leon fares well against the cult leader, but his Plagas transformation is more than the skilled agent can handle. However, he is again assisted by Ada, who tosses him a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, with which Leon ends the Illuminados threat. Ada takes Saddler's Plagas sample from Leon at gunpoint, mirroring the events near the end of Resident Evil 2, but gives the agent the keys to her water ski. Leon and Ashley barely manage to escape the island before the self-destruct mechanism completes and await rescue surrounded by nothing but ocean and the early-morning sun.

    Resident Evil: Degeneration

    A year after the Los Illuminados incident Leon is dispatched by the President to deal with a T-Virus outbreak at the Hardaville Airport. Leon meets Angela Miller and her partner and the trio searches for survivors trapped inside the VIP lounge. Leon and Claire are reunited and lead the survivors out of the airport. While talking about the events Claire reveals that she saw Curtis Miller prior to the initial outbreak. Angela reveals that Curtis is her older brother.

    Leon and Angela go to Curtis' home to question him but find his home ablaze. Receiving a call from Claire about a bomb threat at the Willpharma facility, Leon and Angela race there to find Claire. Curtis reveals that he has injected himself with the G-Virus and turned into a G-Monster. The U.S. Marines arrive and are torn to pieces by Curtis.

    Leon manages to subdue Curtis by dropping a metal railing on him. While the surviving Marines begin to evacuate before the facility is sterilized when Curtis frees himself and mutates into his next more monstrous form. Sensing the familial bond with Angela, Curtis is determined to implant her with a G-embryo. Leon and Angela battle Curtis who they drop into the smelter, thus finally killing him.

    Leon, Claire, and Angela track down Fredrick Downing, the man who was behind Curtis Miller and has been selling T-Virus on the black market. Leon and Angela flirt with one another before he has to depart for his next mission.

    Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness

    (Forthcoming)

    Resident Evil: Damnation

    (Forthcoming)

    Resident Evil 6

    Leon Scott Kennedy returns as one of three protagonists in Resident Evil 6, the other two being returning hero Chris Redfield and a new character to the Resident Evil universe, Jake Muller, who is the son of Wesker.

    Leon in Resident Evil 6
    Leon in Resident Evil 6

    Set in 2013, fifteen years after the Raccoon City Incident, President Adam Benford decides to reveal the truth behind the incident at Ivy University, Tall Oaks. But he is infected with the C-Virus and turned into a zombie before he can make the announcement. Leon is forced to shoot the zombified Adam in order to save his new partner, Helena Harper. Everyone then believes that it was Leon and Helena that killed the President, and they are forced to escape.

    A man at the university guides Leon and Helena through the university in search of his daughter. They later find her, only for her to turn into a zombie and kill her father. Sometime later, Ingrid Hunnigan informs Leon and Helena that over 70,000 people have been infected with the C-Virus, and they were also informed that this virus has also been used by bio-terrorists in China and that it was the same virus used in Eastern Europe six months earlier. Leon then asks Hunnigan if she can fake their deaths so they can get to China and track down the people behind these outbreaks.

    Personality

    During Resident Evil 2, rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy is portrayed as being very 'wet behind the ears' and often lets his general naivete and trust get the best of him. Despite that, the seeds for his desire and fierce motivations to see the people behind B.O.W. outbreaks brought to justice are still very evident.

    After being recruited by the US Government to be trained as an agent, Leon steadily grows into becoming an equally capable and confident man. From his appearances in Resident Evil 4 onwards, Leon portrays himself as somewhat stoic, but cocky, perhaps even a little brash, and usually has a corny one-liner at the ready for most combat situations as a sign to show off his now unflappable nature amidst B.O.W. threats.

    Leon is also often characterized as being something of a ladies man, as he continually manages to spark an interest from the majority of the women he works alongside with.

    Other Media

    Novels

    No Caption Provided

    In S.D. Perry's novelization of the Resident Evil series, Leon makes his first appearance in the third installment, chronicling the events of the Raccoon City outbreak. He appears again alongside Claire Redfield and a series of characters created specially for the novels in the following book, and makes a brief cameo in Code: Veronica when he relays information about Claire's situation at Rockfort Island to Chris.

    In the novels, Leon is portrayed as a highly-intelligent, brave, but under-confident rookie police officer. Even in his appearances following Raccoon City, he continues to be "green" amongst his superiors. Perry depicts the character as having a strong connection with Claire, with whom it is hinted that he began a relationship shortly after the two escaped Umbrella's underground facility. As the books were discontinued, the more experienced, confident Leon found in Resident Evil 4 never makes an appearance.

    Resident Evil: Degeneration

    Resident Evil: Degeneration is a computer generated feature-length film produced by Capcom and released in the United States in 2008. Set as a precursor to the then-upcoming Resident Evil 5, it stars Leon S. Kennedy (Paul Mercier) and Claire Redfield (Alyson Court). Amidst a T-virus outbreak, the two Raccoon City survivors are reunited in an attempt to uncover a terrorism plot involving Umbrella's research, and put an end to the black market peddling of bio-organic weapons.

    Resident Evil: Damnation

    Resident Evil: Damnation is a computer generated feature-length film being produced by Capcom and scheduled to be released in the United States in 2012. Serving as a sequel to Degeneration, Damnation features Leon Kennedy wrapped up in the midst of a civil war within an undisclosed European country between the Government and a small band of Freedom Fighters. Both factions are revealed to be using B.O.W. weapons against one another (most notably the Las Plagas), however.

    Action Figures

    No Caption Provided

    Toy Biz (now Marvel Toys) released the first line of action figures based upon the Resident Evil franchise, and Leon was featured in a package alongside a Licker and a shotgun with which to (presumably) do battle with it. The figure was released in 1998 and was based upon the character in his Resident Evil 2 iteration, showcasing his RPD uniform and signature weaponry.

    Neca Toys released figures for Resident Evil 4 with two variations on Leon. One had him wearing his bomber jacket while the other was without. Neca later made an updated version of Leon in his R.P.D. uniform. Hot toys created 12" version of this figure with multiple points of articulation and a vast array of weapons.

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