Most Mysterious Characters In Resident Evil

Key Takeaways

• The Merchant’s mysterious background and quick movements raise questions about his intentions.
• Ustanak’s origins as a human inventor turned mutated monster add complexity to his character.
• Ada Wong’s allegiance and motives remain ambiguous despite her appearances in various games.

In the world of Resident Evil, nothing is ever as it seems. Many games will tease players with small hints of information about the story throughout their playthrough while keeping them in the dark about the intentions and identity of certain characters. For a character to be mysterious, it doesn’t mean they need to be off-screen and missing most of the time, but instead, someone who simply remains tight-lipped about who exactly they are, and why they are supporting or opposing the protagonist.

Even some of the franchise’s most beloved characters still have an aura of mystery surrounding them that Capcom has yet to answer for. Whether or not more context about these individuals will come out in the future is uncertain as of right now, but knowing Capcom, there will surely come a time when they shed some light on at least a few of these shady characters.

1 The Merchant

Leon’s Well-Armed “Ally” Gives Nothing Away About His Backstory Or End Goal

Though players are never going to pass up the chance to buy some new weapons from the Merchant in Resident Evil 4, the question still stands; why exactly is this cloaked figure helping Leon? Another question many fans have been asking since the original game is how the Merchant even manages to move around the village, castle, and island so quickly, to the point where he’s always ahead of Leon.

One popular theory that could explain all of this is that the Merchant is actually Luis’ grandfather, who is revealed to have known the area pretty well. If this were true, then maybe the Merchant is using tunnels to be one step ahead of the protagonist, but even if that were so, why he has such a staggering number of weapons on him remains unanswered.

2 Ustanak

The Ustanak Was Once A Living Human Who Seemingly Had A Knack For Inventing

Throughout the entirety of Jake and Sherry’s campaign in Resident Evil 6, the unlikely duo is hunted down by a malicious behemoth simply known as Ustanak. There are files in the game that reveal this mutated hunk of flesh was once a human being who volunteered to be injected with the C-virus under the command of Carla.

However, why this individual was so eager to be infected, and who they were as a human being, is unclear. Judging by the way they act as the Ustanak, it’s presumed they were already fairly violent, but by looking at their mechanical arm, which they apparently built for themselves, there’s also the chance they could have been a bright inventor or mechanic in their past life too.

3 Billy Coen

Billy’s Hesitancy To Reveal His True Intentions Makes Him Very Mysterious

At the beginning of Resident Evil 0, all players are told about Billy is that he’s a wanted criminal who has seemingly been on a killing spree. When the man himself shows up though, he neither confirms nor denies this claim, and instead, talks in subtle riddles for much of his journey with Rebecca.

This already made him unexpectedly mysterious, but what has also added a lot of intrigue to him is where exactly he ends up after the events of his debut game. Though he can be seen aimlessly wandering off into a forest, some fans have suspected he was ambushed by zombies, while others suggest he fought them off to return in a future installment. Ultimately, Capcom didn’t give much away about Billy or his past, which has certainly sparked a lot of speculation online.

4 Donna Beneviento

Beneviento Uses Her Dolls As A Way To Distract From Who She Really Is

By the time Ethan comes face to face with each of the four Lords in Resident Evil Village, he ends up learning quite a lot about them, but Beneviento is by far the most mysterious of them all. Rather than confronting Ethan personally, Donna instead uses her doll Angie as a step-in, who proceeds to mock Ethan with child-like games.

While players can therefore see a single picture of Donna hung up in her estate, the woman herself only makes a very brief appearance as she’s being killed. Aside from a single document that gives subtle hints about her backstory, and how she was found by Mother Miranda, not much else is known about the unnerving puppeteer.

5 Luis Serra

Luis Keeps Players Guessing For Much Of Resident Evil 4’s Story

Providing a straight answer is more or less impossible for Luis during the first few hours of Resident Evil 4. Though he does initially seem like an ally of Leon’s, it’s also clear that the witty Spaniard is hiding something else up his sleeve which, for a good chunk of the game, he’s unwilling to talk about.

In the original game, Luis takes these secrets to the grave with him, remaining an enigma right up until his final moments. The Remake, however, does see Luis eventually spill the beans concerning his involvement in developing the Parasite, and his involvement with Umbrella, but he still keeps people guessing for a good while until then.

6 Ada Wong

After All These Years, Fans Are Still Wondering Who Ada Works For, If Anyone

Despite appearing in several games, Ada’s end goal is still very unclear. One lingering question that arose in the original Resident Evil 2 is who Ada is really working for. Sure, she claims to be an FBI agent in the second game and then claims to work for Wesker in Resident Evil 4, but her devious nature implies that Ada has a much bigger plan in mind.

Her mysterious character often comes at odds with Leon, who is constantly guessing whether he can trust her or not. Considering the popularity of Ada among the fanbase, there’s a good chance her character will be fleshed out more in future installments, but until then, one can only guess what she’s up to.

7 The Duke

Could The Duke Be Ethan’s Own Personal Guardian Angel? Some Fans Think So

Similarly to the Merchant from Resident Evil 4, the Duke will show up from time to time in Village to supply Ethan with not just weapons, but also vital information on how to find his daughter Rose. How he knows all of this is left unclear, alongside his reasons for even helping Ethan in the first place.

What adds more mystery to the character is how he miraculously shows up near the end to save Ethan’s life just as he was seemingly killed by Mother Miranda. Some fans have theorized that this could indicate that the Duke is some sort of guardian angel who is assisting Ethan in his last few days of being alive, and as outlandish as that might seem, it would fit right in with the absurdity of Village’s story and characters.

8 HUNK

The Mask-Wearing “Grim Reaper” Remains Shrouded In Mystery

Over the years, small tidbits of information on HUNK have been revealed, but this character is still as mysterious as they come. What has been made clear is that HUNK was an Umbrella agent who is widely known as the “Grim Reaper” due to how he would be able to go on suicide missions and somehow come out the other end still in one piece.

However, pretty much everything else about this mask-wearing badass is unknown, despite him becoming a fan favorite. Capcom is aware of this, and will therefore drop him into scenes here or there to tease players. For example, HUNK shows up in the tutorial area of Operation Raccoon City and even gets his own speedrun mode in the Resident Evil 2 Remake. How he became such a skilled mercenary, the world may never know.