| Leon Scott Kennedy | |
|---|---|
Leon Kennedy as he appears in Resident Evil 4 |
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| Series | Resident Evil |
| First game | Resident Evil 2 |
| Created by | Noboru Sugimura |
| Designed by | Isao Ohishi Degeneration, The Darkside Chronicles, Resident Evil Operation: Raccoon City) |
| Voiced by | Paul Haddad (RE2) Paul Mercier (RE4, RED, TDC) Dave Wittenberg (ORC) |
| Motion capture | Teruaki Ogawa (RE4) |
| Portrayed by | Brad Renfro (RE2 commercial) Johann Urb (Retribution) |
Leon Scott Kennedy (レオン・S・ケネディ Reon S Kenedi) is a player character appearing in the Resident Evil series of survival horror video games.[1] Leon is a protagonist in Resident Evil 2 and the main protagonist of Resident Evil 4.[2] During the events of RE2, Leon is a new police officer who arrives in Raccoon City late for his first day on the job, only to confront the T-virus outbreak first-hand. Six years later in RE4, Leon returns as a secret agent for the U.S. government, assigned to rescue the President's daughter. Leon also appears as a player character in Resident Evil Gaiden and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles and plays a leading role in the CG animated film Resident Evil: Degeneration. The live-action film version of Leon will appear in Resident Evil: Retribution, where he is played by Johann Urb.
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Leon was created by Hideki Kamiya as a contrast to the male protagonist of the original Resident Evil game, Chris Redfield, who Kamiya felt was the "blunt, tough-guy type". Though he admitted that while he was a fan of a character like Chris, as it had already been done, he opted to take Leon's development in a different direction. He was surprised at how popular Leon had become, praising his evolution into a "cool looking guy" for Resident Evil 4, adding that he "fell in love all over again."[3] He was created for Resident Evil 2 as the staff wanted to use a character who had no experience with terrifying situations in contrast to use returning characters.[4] While he was originally designed as a veteran police officer, he was changed to a rookie after the original version of Resident Evil 2 (known as Resident Evil 1.5) was scrapped.[5] Leon was announced as Resident Evil 4's protagonist in November 2002. [6]
As the game went through development, it was meant that Leon became infected with the Progenitor Virus and possessed a hidden power in his left hand.[7][8] This concept was expanded in 2004, where Leon was meant to contract a bizarre disease across his fights against the game's enemies.[9] In a documentary explaining the conception of the game's characters, a game designer stated he intended to make Leon Kennedy "look tougher, but also cool".[10] During development from the first CGI film, Kamiya stated he would like to make another game starring Leon as the main character.[11] Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi explained that the series' fans "would really love" a video game featuring both Leon and Chris as the protagonists due to their popularity, and at the same time, it would be "pretty dramatic" if the two characters never met if the series ended.[12]
Leon is voiced by Paul Haddad in Resident Evil 2, and Paul Mercier in Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: Degeneration and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. In the RE2 commercial made by George A. Romero Leon was portrayed by Brad Renfro.
Leon debuted in Resident Evil 2 as one of the game's two main protagonists, along with Claire Redfield. In the story, he is a rookie cop who arrives to the town just after the zombie outbreak started up, and he meets Claire by chance when she too is being ambushed by zombies. They escape to the Raccoon City Police Department after a brief separation following an explosion, and manage to find a way to get into the sewage system via finding a series of key items, and they use a tram to reach the lab, which as misfortune would have it is owned by Umbrella Inc, those responsible for the viral outbreak.
When Leon first enters the car park in the police department, he meets Ada Wong, a mysterious woman claiming to be looking for her boyfriend, a researcher called John. It is eventually revealed that Ada is really a spy seeking a sample of the G-Virus for her unknown employer. She seemingly dies from a gruesome injury, inflicted upon her by the Mr. X Tyrant that pursues the characters. Later on, Ada is seen on a platform as she tosses down the Rocket Launcher, therefore indirectly allowing Leon (or Claire depending on the scenario) to kill the Mr. X Tyrant. In the end, Leon also faces and kills a grotesque looking Birkin in his final form, and escapes via a train set to explode, with Claire and a little girl called Sherry, who is William's daughter.
An epilogue obtained after completing Resident Evil 3: Nemesis reveals that Leon later joined the U.S. government. He is also mentioned in Resident Evil Survivor by Ark Thompson, the player character, and by Claire in Resident Evil Code: Veronica when she contacts Leon to relay info to her brother Chris, while she is stuck on Rockfort Island.
Leon also starred alongside Barry Burton in the GameBoy Colour only title Resident Evil Gaiden, but this was a non canon entry that was a stand alone adventure.
Leon was the the main protagonist of Resident Evil 4, a third person shooter which saw a radical change to the overall gameplay. Six years after Leon survived Raccoon City, Leon is now a special agent for the United States Secret Service, and is assigned to rescue the newly-elected President's daughter, Ashley Graham, who is being held somewhere in Europe.[13] Her kidnappers turn out to be part of a cult known as Los Illuminados,[14] which has taken control of the local villagers with parasites known as Las Plagas. They immediately attack Leon when he enters the village, forcing Leon to fight back using whatever means necessary. As he searches for Ashley, Leon is also captured and injected with parasites. With help from Luis Sera, an Illuminados researcher, and the returning Ada, Leon is able to remove Las Plagas from his body and rescue Ashley while confronting the cult. At the climax of the game, Leon kills the cult leader Saddler but is forced to give a Plagas sample to Ada, who escapes in a helicopter, leaving Leon and Ashley to escape using a jet-ski.
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles features re-imaginings of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica, as well as a new scenario serving as a midquel, involving Leon and Jack Krauser, on a mission set in 2002 to search for Javier Hidalgo, an ex-drug lord who had been reported to be approaching Umbrella Inc.
Leon is also set to appear in the upcoming title, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. Revisiting the Raccoon City incident, the player controls Umbrella operatives sent to kill any survivors, and certain actions can lead to Leon's death.[15] He is also a playable character in the Heroes Mode.
Leon once again teams up with Claire Redfield in the film Resident Evil: Degeneration in order to stop another outbreak of the T-virus, as a special agent of the United States government. Leon will return in the sequel to Degeneration called Resident Evil: Damnation.[16] Unlike the Paul Anderson produced main movies, these two films are set in the same universe as the games, making them canon.
In Resident Evil: Apocalypse, a newspaper clipping during the credits stated Leon to have been killed due to the actions of his partner, Jill Valentine. However, in an interview, director Paul W. S. Anderson said if Resident Evil: Afterlife succeeds, he will do a fifth film and would like Leon to make an appearance in Resident Evil: Retribution.[17] Johann Urb is cast as Leon for the film, Leon is described as "the leader of the Resistance, who teams with Alice as she battles the Umbrella Corporation and the swarm of undead."
Leon is a character in the Image Comics comic book Resident Evil and the novels Resident Evil: City of the Dead and Resident Evil: Underworld by S. D. Perry.
Since his appearance in Resident Evil 2, Leon has received highly positive reception. In 2010, Nintendo Power listed Leon as their fourteenth favourite Nintendo gaming hero, stating that he went from a "glorified meter maid with a bad haircut" to a tough guy.[18] GameSpot featured him in their poll for the title of "All Time Greatest Game Hero" in 2009, in which he has won over JC Denton but lost to Duke Nukem.[19] In a Famitsu poll done in February 2010, Leon was voted by readers as the thirty-first most popular video game character.[20] In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011, he was voted as the thirty-sixth best video game character.[21] In December 2004 Capcom announced a series of outfits based on Leon's clothing under the name of "Leon's Collection."[22]
IGN has featured him in numerous articles, numerously calling him one of the two main characters of the series along with Chris Redfield,[23][24] also describing him in one article as the "straight-laced hero" of Resident Evil.[25] Another IGN article makes yet another comparison between the two characters, calling him the "determined guy clawing his way up the ladder".[26] IGN twice named him as a character they wished to see in crossover titles, describing him as an "intimidating hero" and a "unique breed of ass kicker".[27][28] IGN editors Phil Pirrello and Richard George listed him as eighth in their Super Smash Bros. character wish list, calling him one of the best things to happen to the Resident Evil series.[29] IGN editor Lucas M. Thomas included him in a list of Capcom characters who should be in, stating that there were more Resident Evil fans on Nintendo consoles than there were fans of Mega Man and Street Fighter.[30] GameDaily predicted that Leon along with Claire Redfield would be the protagonists of the next main Resident Evil title, citing the pattern of alternating protagonists and because Leon had not been seen since Resident Evil 4.[31] On the other hand, Gameplanet's Aylon Herbet stated that if both Leon and Chris would share protagonism on an upcoming Resident Evil it would be "awesome", also sharing comments that both are the main protagonists from the series.[32] Together with Ada Leon was in the The Inquirer's list of the most memorable video game love teams.[33] GamesRadar labelled Leon's Resident Evil 4 design as "David Bowie piloting the Memphis Belle" stating that while it was appealing, it still required modifications for encounters in the games.[34]
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