The Resident Evil series has gone from strength to strength, shocking and exciting in equal measures with its scares, thrills, and dramatic turns. The extent of Wesker’s villainy in the first Resident Evil, William Birkin’s turn from scientist to monstrosity in Resident Evil 2, and the truth behind Ethan Winters in Resident Evil Village are just a few of its twisting story beats.
Still, with multiple mainline entries, remakes, reboots, spin-offs, and side stories, RE is bound to have a few unanswered questions along the way. Some are minor details that have nonetheless got fans scratching their heads, while others are more perplexing.
10 Who are The Merchant and the Duke?
Resident Evil 4 refreshed the series with a new take on its gameplay and introduced a colorful cast of characters. One of the more enigmatic ones is the Merchant. He appears to be one of the infected Ganados, yet he speaks with an English Cockney accent, and actively aids Leon with his arms, equipment, and upgrades.
Perhaps he’s more interesting that way than if he had a rich backstory. Then again, his RE8 equivalent The Duke is more chatty and involved in the story, yet is just as inexplicable if not more so than his purple-hooded friend. He knows more than he lets on, yet he never reveals his sources or why he does what he does beyond it being "customer service".
9 Who’s the Person in RE3’s Post-Credits Scene?
The original Resident Evil 3 was initially planned as a side-game titled “Resident Evil 1.9”, as it’s RE2 from Jill Valentine’s perspective and an extremely short Resident Evil game. Nonetheless, it was a welcome addition to the series, and it got a nice remake of its own that came with its mystery.
Once players beat the game and finished watching the credits, they’d get a brief scene of a man in an office picking up a broken vial from a desktop. Who is he? A pre-workout Chris Redfield? A surviving Nikolai? HUNK outside his uniform? Whoever he is, it'd likely take another remake or side-game to find out for sure, if they even follow up this thread.
8 Who is Ada Wong Working For?
Beginning life as a name in a memo, Ada Wong became the series’ super spy, working for one organization or another. Yet she seems to follow her agenda, working against her allies if they don’t fit her interests. For example, she threatened Leon with a gun to make him hand over the Plagas sample in RE4 yet ignored Wesker’s order to kill him outright.
Her soft spot for the former Raccoon City cop turned government agent is well-known. What isn’t known is her deal. Who is she exactly? Is she working for another party to get intel on all these different organizations and agencies? Or is she truly a one-woman operative playing the spy game for her curiosity? It's hard to imagine her settling for one side after years of playing one side off against the other.
7 Who is HUNK, and Where Is He?
The story behind the Umbrella Secret Service’s Alpha Team Leader will likely always remain a mystery. The "Human Unit Never Killed" is an extra to the main series’ plot, a figure who pops up for side ventures like “The 4th Survivor” and the Mercenaries Modes. Yet he does have his own story as an elite Umbrella operative who does their dirty work.
From trying to retrieve the G-Virus in RE2, to making a delivery to Rockfort Island in RE: Code Veronica, he’s dealt with a lot. Following Umbrella’s fall, he became a mercenary for hire. But is there more to him than that? What’s his real name? Where is he now? And as an ex-Umbrella worker, what would happen if Chris and the BSAA came across him? That would be interesting to see.
6 What’s Going on with the BSAA?
Speaking of the BSAA, or Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, they’ve taken a few turns since their debut in Resident Evil 5. By that game, they were essentially the head honchos Chris and Sheva reported back to as they ran around West Africa shutting down horrific bioweapons and terrorist activities.
But by RE8, they had become another corrupt force, using bioengineered troops to attack the Black God fungal root while Chris and his Hound Wolf Squad acted on their own. They planned to get answers from the BSAA directly, but that wasn’t shown in the game. That likely won't be revealed until RE9.
5 What Happened to Steve Burnside’s Body?
Code: Veronica is perhaps the one game that needs a remake the most. The game was popular enough on its original release, yet its difficulty, odd characters, and quick plot points (the Ashford twins have problems) have seen it fall by the wayside over the years. That, and Claire Redfield’s sidekick Steve Burnside was more of a pain than a pleasure to be around.
When he died to protect Claire, the result wasn’t as tragic as Capcom hoped. Afterward, Albert Wesker’s HCF force picked up his body and took a sample of the t-Veronica virus he was infected with. He teased that there was a possibility he could be revived. However, with Wesker's passing, Steve will likely be left to rest in peace wherever he is.
4 What’s Alex Wesker Up To?
Albert Wesker's end in RE5 wasn't the end of the Weskers in general. Kidnapped from her birth parents, Alex Wesker was adopted by Albert’s father as a test subject for the Progenitor Virus. Then she became a higher-up in Umbrella Pharmaceuticals before kicking them to the curb. As the main villain of Resident Evil: Revelations 2, she continued where her foster brother left off by torturing people with her science experiments.
She thought she could attain immortality by transferring her consciousness to another person. It kind of worked, as her consciousness made it into the mind of Natalia Korda, one of her test subjects, after her death. With consciousness transfer also being a plot point in the main games, the possessed "Dark Natalia" would give Alex the chance to continue where Mother Miranda left off.
3 Where’s Jake Muller?
The side games can be fun, though they rarely cross over with the main series. If they do, then "Dark Natalia" might be interested in tracking down her foster nephew Jake Muller. Debuting in Resident Evil 6, Jake is the son of Albert Wesker, and he only got some of his powers to show for it. His blood held the key to curing the C-Virus, though it took a lot of convincing for him to help out.
The game left off with him becoming more willing to help others, and staying on friendly terms with his partner Sherry Birkin. RE6 wasn’t the most well-received game, so fans probably aren’t waiting to find out where Jake went next. Yet without a definite end to his adventure, he has the potential to return.
2 Where Did the Fungal Roots Come From?
After RE6’s over-the-top approach, it took a more horror-orientated follow-up to bring the franchise back on track. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard saw Ethan Winters explore the Louisiana swamps for his missing wife Mia, only to bump into the Baker family and their horrifying home.
The game revealed that they were duplicates made by a mold spread from an oil tanker. RE8 then revealed that came from a bigger fungal colony in Europe worshiped by Miranda and her disciples as “the Black God”. Currently, no one knows where this root came from, but as the series' new focus, it's bound to be expanded upon in sequels yet to come.
1 What Happened to Mia Winters?
RE8 ended with Ethan sacrificing himself to save his daughter Rose, who escapes the area with Chris Redfield and her mother Mia. The game then got DLC following a teenage Rose exploring what remained of the titular village and the secrets it left behind.
Her backstory said she was taken into protective custody by the US government, with Mia gradually drifting out of her life until disappearing completely in her teens. What happened to her? Why did she get phased out after all she went through? Is she the distant figure that approaches Rose’s car at the end of her story? Only time will tell.