Whenever a brand new Resident Evil recreation comes out — remake or in any other case — I all the time wish to go down a lore rabbit gap. The Resident Evil collection has a wildly huge narrative that isn’t simply contained in its foremost installments. Obscure spinoffs, CGI films, bonus options bundled with video games … there’s a lot wealthy historical past to dig into, and die-hard collection followers have totally cataloged each piece of it by means of exhaustively detailed fan wikis.
After I completed Capcom’s wonderful Resident Evil 4 remake, I used to be curious to construct out my information of its hero, the enduring Leon S. Kennedy. I’d realized extra about his backstory than I’d ever identified, together with how he was blackmailed into changing into a authorities agent in Wii spinoff Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. While there have been numerous fascinating surprises to be discovered, the very first line of Leon’s fan-maintained Resident Evil wiki web page threw me for a loop.
“Leon Scott Kennedy is an American of Italian descent,” it reads.
I did a double take. “Kennedy” isn’t precisely essentially the most Italian title and I don’t recall any recreation implying something about his heritage. Could that bizarre element really be true? Where would somebody even confirm that? Was it only a bizarre in-joke between followers? All I may discover on the topic at first was a Reddit thread from this February titled “Is Leon really Italian?” and full of followers angrily disputing the declare — aghast on the concept of their hero being a paisan.
Someone wanted to resolve the city legend. As a second-generation Italian-American myself, I made a decision to take issues into my very own arms and at last uncover the stunning reality.
Di dove sei?
I figured I may clear up this in a short time by doing what any affordable particular person would do: Emailing Capcom’s PR staff and asking if they may affirm that Leon is Italian. Shockingly, the staff declined to remark — apparently they’d higher issues to do than affirm this thriller (like be on a much-earned trip after ending growth of a profitable remake). If I needed solutions, I’d should dig them up myself.
My first problem could be monitoring down the place that data got here from. While the Resident Evil wiki simply casually dropped that bombshell with out a lot context, I’d have extra luck on Leon’s Capcom Database wiki web page (a wholly separate, however equally thorough entry). Down within the trivia part, I’d discover one other line corroborating his Italian background: “Leon is an Italian American immigrant.” This time, although, I’d thankfully discover a quotation. Bizarrely, it’s the one for your entire web page.
A reference line would point out that the Italian backstory got here from a Japanese artwork guide referred to as Capcom Design Works. Seemingly launched round 2010, the guide shares idea artwork for numerous Capcom franchises, with a complete chapter devoted to Resident Evil (or Biohazard, because it’s referred to as in Japan). While I wasn’t in a position to safe a bodily copy, I tracked down a digital version and started operating a few of its designer notes by means of some translation instruments.
Sure sufficient, I discovered the little lore snippet that each wikis appear to have gotten their declare from. A tough translation confirmed the knowledge, because it seemingly calls Leon “an American immigrant of Italian descent.” That appeared like proof sufficient, however I used to be nonetheless curious to know extra. Was that merely a personality designer explaining their very own inside pondering behind what impressed his look, or was this an agreed-upon piece of backstory Capcom adopted when initially creating him for Resident Evil 2?
An extra deep dive into the beforehand talked about Reddit debate would discover one consumer claiming the reference got here from CFC Fan-Book Cap! Vol.6, a problem of an official Capcom journal that ran between 1996 and 2001. That reference might have simply been a case of somebody mixing up the journal with Capcom’s artwork guide; the problem seemingly doesn’t point out something about Leon’s heritage. It does, nonetheless, embody a key element that might crack the story vast open.
Leon the Professional
CFC Fan-Book Cap! Vol.6 features a fictional interview with Leon S. Kennedy the place the Raccoon City cop talks about ladies and his favourite alcohol — brandy, in case you needed to know. It’s the primary query that catches my eye, although. According to a translation from fan website Project Umbrella, Leon has a tragic backstory that’s by no means explored within the video games. In response to the query “What motivated you to become a cop?” Kennedy tells the pretend interviewer about his household’s demise.
“When I was a kid, my family were involved in heinous crimes and I lost them all at once,” the fictional Kennedy says. “I was the only one who survived. I could’ve died, but a police officer took it upon himself to save me. I wanted to become a cop as well, in order to save as many people as I could. That’s why I decided to become a cop.”
My eyes scan over it at first, however instantly dart again to the primary line: “My family were involved in heinous crimes.” The wheels began spinning and I all of a sudden had an epiphany: Was Leon’s household concerned with the mafia?
It’s virtually a joke at first, but it surely quickly turns into a severe chance the extra I give it some thought. For one, it will line up with the declare about his heritage, as 90s media on the time was obsessive about exploring the cliché of Italian-Americans as mobsters. Prior to Resident Evil 2’s launch, we bought a wave of well-known mob films like Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, and A Bronx Tale. It’s not inconceivable to think about that Leon was initially impressed by mob films of the time. In reality, there’s a traditional fan concept that connects him to one of many nice mobster films of the period: Luc Besson’s Léon: The Professional.
Leon: The Professional
The 1994 movie stars Jean Reno, who performs an Italian hitman concerned with the New York City mob. Through a collection of violent incidents, he by accident turns into a bodyguard for a 12-year-old lady named Mathilda. On a floor stage, there’s numerous connections you may make between that movie and Kennedy’s adventures in each Resident Evil 2 and 4. In the previous, each Leon and Claire Redfield develop into protectors for Sherry Birkin, daughter of the Umbrella scientists who invented the zombie-producing G-Virus. Similarly, Resident Evil 4 finds Leon as soon as once more saving a younger lady in Ashley Graham, the president’s daughter.
Considering that “damsel in distress” tales are all too frequent in media, that connection might look like a stretch solely constructed on two characters having the identical first title. However, there’s a extra particular element that offers the idea some credence. When finishing the unique Resident Evil 4, gamers unlock two very pointed issues: a handgun named Matilda and the “Professional” problem. That could be one heck of a coincidence.
Made man
Though there’s a transparent connection to Léon: The Professional, that didn’t inherently affirm the idea that Kennedy is Italian or that he has any mob ties. There are two particulars, nonetheless, that might help the latter. One is convincing, whereas the opposite is a little bit of a enjoyable conspiracy concept.
The extra credible one has to do with an unlockable costume that seems within the unique Resident Evil 4. When finishing the sport’s Separate Ways facet marketing campaign, gamers unlock some new costumes for Leon and Ashley beneath the title Special Set 2. Ashley will get a go well with of armor, however Leon will get a match pulled straight out of a 1930s Chicago mob story. That outfit has as soon as once more been included within the remake.
To make that connection extra clear, gamers may also unlock a weapon dubbed the Chicago Typewriter. When sporting the mobster outfit, that gun will get a visible modification to make it appear like a tommy gun. “Fire away Chicago-style!” a little bit of taste textual content reads.
Credit: Resident Evil Wiki
With all that seemingly ironclad proof supporting the idea, we’re left with one obvious query: What type of Italian has Kennedy for a final title? That’s the place the tinfoil hat comes out. Some followers imagine that the final title is much less constructed across the character’s heritage and extra as a historic reference to the actual life Kennedy political empire. There’s a long-running conspiracy concept that the Kennedys had ties to organized crime — particularly Joseph Kennedy, who some theorized was concerned in mob actions through the prohibition period. Whether that has any reality is inappropriate, however that element would doubtlessly clarify Leon’s in any other case random 1930s mobster outfit.
With all of these numerous threads, there’s a compelling argument to be made for the Italian American concept. It’s not too laborious to think about Resident Evil 2’s unique designers being interested by a dominant pressure of American mafia media on the time and really loosely inventing a personality with a few of these concepts in thoughts. While they’d by no means actually discover any of this, it may have simply changed into a collection of Easter eggs based mostly on an in-house character bible that nobody exterior of Capcom would ever see.
Biohazard historians
I could by no means get the agency reply I need, however I finally bought one thing extra significant out of the tireless investigation. A deep dive like this was solely doable because of the painstaking work a neighborhood has gone by means of to doc the collection’ lengthy, difficult previous. It’s more and more very important work in an business that struggles to protect its historical past. While Capcom is barely centered on bringing again Resident Evil’s most well-known video games through remakes, different chapters of its story are nearly inconceivable to trace down. From facet video games that aren’t out there on trendy platforms to random lore tidbits misplaced in outdated promotional materials, it will take an achieved historian to catalog the franchise’s 27-year story.
Generations of followers have collectively come collectively to deal with that problem, passing down forgotten particulars like historical mythology and completely chronicling all of it to the perfect of their means. It’s that deep appreciation for long-form storytelling that enables a Reddit thread as humorous as “Is Leon really Italian” to remodel right into a genuinely engrossing debate, with followers working to interpret and contextualize as many particulars as they’ll.
I’m just a little glad Capcom wouldn’t take the trip of its busy schedule to make clear Leon’s heritage; it’s extra enjoyable as a meaningless thriller in a collection with practically three a long time value of historical past. I’m glad sufficient with the conclusions I’ve drawn by means of my investigation that I’m pleased to confidently tack my piece on to a collective city legend. It seems like etching my initials into the trunk of a tree. If you need to show me fallacious, it’s your flip to carve your individual subsequent to mine.
Resident Evil 4, starring famous Italian Leon S, Kennedy till confirmed in any other case, is out now on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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