Summary
- Moira chooses not to use firearms due to trauma, making her vulnerable, but grows to be more capable.
- Steve acts tough but is clumsy and inexperienced with firearms, growing and maturing throughout his story.
- Ethan, lacking experience and combat skills, relies on determination and loyalty to protect his family, becoming a fan-favorite.
Not every character in the Resident Evil series is as adequately prepared for a zombie or B.O.W outbreak as the likes of Leon, Jill, or Chris. In fact, whether it's due to their lack of combat abilities, their timid personality, or even just their young age, there have been plenty of characters seen throughout this popular franchise who could be considered underdogs. Though these individuals may seem like easy pickings for the zombies and mutants, they still manage to fight through all the adversity despite what's thrown their way, making it all so easy for fans to cheer them on in support.
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It's always extremely satisfying to see a character who feels completely unfit for the situation giving everything they have to make it through the nightmarish adventure in one piece, so long as they are a hero, that is. The good news is, there's certainly no shortage of Resident Evil characters who fit this description, so it's time to see why they could be considered underdogs within their respective games.
8 Moira Burton
Barry's Daughter Doesn't Share Her Father's Skills With Using Firearms
Resident Evil: Revelations 2
- Released
- February 24, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
Most characters in the Resident Evil games are more than happy to keep a gun by their side at all times, considering how frequent outbreaks and bioterror attacks have become since the Raccoon City incident. Moira, however, isn't a huge fan of them and refuses to even pick up a gun due to a traumatic incident in her childhood. Because of this, Moira is unable to use firearms for much of Revelations 2's story, making her extremely vulnerable and pretty much defenseless.
As the stakes rise higher and higher though, Moira is forced to question her personal rule, resulting in a personal arc that sees her go from a scared and weak survivor to someone who is more than capable of holding her own. She may start off as a major underdog, especially when compared to the legendary Claire Redfield, but Moira continues fighting against the odds regardless.
7 Steve Burnside
Steve Tries Desperately To Make Light Of His Dire Situation
Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X
- Released
- March 21, 2001
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, Sega Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
Steve may act all tough and courageous when he first shows up at the beginning of Code Veronica, but it quickly becomes clear that this is just a facade. The truth is, after his father was caught selling off Umbrella's data to the highest bidders, Steve's mother was killed, while he and his old man were imprisoned on Rockfort Island. Needless to say, Steve is put in a pretty miserable situation, especially since he's also extremely clumsy and has barely any experience with firearms, which isn't great when you're stuck on an island crawling with zombies.
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Even though Steve has the odds stacked against him, he does still prove to be a pretty useful ally to Claire, though his naivety also causes her a few problems when he randomly gets trapped in a room or flicks a switch he's not supposed to. Unfortunately, this underdog didn't see it through to the end of his game with his life intact, but many fans were still rooting for him as he began to grow and mature throughout the story.
6 Brad Vickers
Brad Would Try To Fight Through His Cowardice To Help His Fellow S.T.A.R.S Teammates
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
- Released
- November 10, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PS1
Behind closed doors, Brad Vickers, a member of the S.T.A.R.S team, is often referred to as "chickenheart" by his colleagues, which pretty much sums up his personality. Brad is a coward, as is made crystal clear when he decides to ditch his team in the first game by flying off in the helicopter after they are pursued by zombies and forced into the Spencer Mansion.
However, what's also made clear is that Brad is trying to overcome this major weakness. For example, despite abandoning his teammates, he continues flying around the mansion until, eventually, he sees a flare from the helipad, leading him to throw out a rocket launcher for the team to use. In Resident Evil 3, he also tries to help Jill escape, but soon meets his fate at the hands of the Nemesis.
5 Ricardo Irving
Irving Is Constantly Being Belittled And Mocked, But He Still Has His Sights Set On Gold Regardless
Resident Evil 5
- Released
- March 5, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Despite Irving being one of the several antagonists who appear in Resident Evil 5, he's not exactly treated all that well by his fellow villains. In fact, there are several scenes showing Irving being mocked, belittled, and even attacked by the likes of Excella and a mysterious hooded figure, with the only thing keeping him going is the money he has been promised.
As a result, Irving seems like a man down on his luck who is trying, despite all the negativity surrounding him, to make his situation work. At the end of the day, though, he was still a black market dealer who deserved what eventually came to him, though when he was still around and kicking, he was definitely considered the underdog of the villains compared to Wesker and Excella.
4 Ashley Graham
The President's Daughter Keeps On A Brave Face While Following Leon's Every Order
Resident Evil 4
- Released
- March 24, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Though Ashley comes across as a very shy and isolated character who gets scared very easily, she still makes an effort to try and help out Leon in any way that she can in Resident Evil 4, especially the remake. When Leon gets trapped in a cage by some cultists, for example, it's up to Ashley to solve a few puzzles to get him out, all while having hordes of enemies on her tail at every moment.
She would also assist Leon with taking out some of the corrupted knights by tossing a few blue flame lamps their way, alongside opening doors for him by reaching levers that are out of the way. Clearly, she's not someone who is even remotely prepared to go up against Saddler and his army, but seeing her try to defy the odds, even when she's so afraid, makes her a truly commendable underdog.
3 Sherry Birkin
At Just 12 Years Old, Sherry Was In No Position To Be Facing Off Against The Zombie Hordes
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 21, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PS1
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Being thrust into a city packed full of bloodthirsty zombies and mutants is already scary enough for adults like Leon and Claire, but one can only imagine how utterly terrifying it must have been for young Sherry. With her parents being nowhere to be seen and the creepy Chief Irons desperately searching for her, Sherry goes through quite the hellish adventure after she teams up with Claire in Resident Evil 2, with the Redfield quickly becoming her personal guardian.
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Considering how young she is, being just 12 years old, it's remarkable that Sherry managed to make it out of Raccoon City in one piece, but her journey didn't stop there. Even when she's a bit older in Resident Evil 6, Sherry still has a target on her back due to her adoption of the G-Virus, with her always being characterized as an underdog who constantly has to fight for her right to live.
2 Rebecca Chambers
Rebecca Is Often Severely Underprepared For The Horrors That Await Her
Resident Evil 0
- Released
- November 12, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
When Rebecca and her team are sent to investigate a series of grizzly murders in the Arklay Mountains, she never would have expected to end up on a train full of zombies and deadly leech monsters. With her entire team separated and only a pistol at her side, Rebecca isn't exactly in the best position to be fighting swarms of zombies, especially considering she was primarily trained as a medic, not a soldier.
Though she does manage to survive the whole ordeal, she again appears as somewhat of an underdog in the first Resident Evil game, where she can be found trying to avoid the zombies without a gun to defend herself, at least initially. As the games have gone on, Rebecca has become a much more confident and reliable member of the cast, though she always feels like someone who is constantly punching above their weight, considering she doesn't possess the same skills and experience as many of her close allies.
1 Ethan Winters
Ethan Doesn't Have Anywhere Near As Much Experience Or Combat Expertise As The Other Protagonists
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, First-Person
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
For a survival horror game to be scary, the protagonist needs to feel like they're constantly on the back foot, with the odds being stacked against them. While this can be the case with Leon, Chris, Jill, and Claire, these characters have had so much experience fighting bioterror and handling weapons that they feel adequate to take on anything that arises, but this doesn't apply to Ethan, who is designed to act as an ordinary civilian.
Ethan isn't strong or agile enough to pull off roundhouse kicks or punch boulders. Instead, he's a pretty weak guy who is simply trying to make sense of everything going on around him, but his unwavering loyalty to his family, and determination to keep them protected, still makes him a character fans have come to love. Even in Resident Evil Village, where he was left in the dark and given no help from Chris or the BSAA, Ethan still went to extreme lengths in order to save his daughter, making him a true underdog.
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