Leon S. Kennedy (Film Universe)

Leon Scott Kennedy is an American agent for the Division of Security Operations (D.S.O.). Prior to this, he served as a police officer with the Raccoon City Police Department (R.P.D.) for a single day. The actions in the city led to his successful recruitment as a member of US-STRATCOM after the incident in Raccoon City.

Early life
Upon graduating from the police academy at the age of 21, Leon requested assignment to work for the Raccoon City Police Department upon graduating from the police academy. His reason of choice was because of the widely-publicized murders taking place in and around the Arklay Mountains. Having recently broken up with his girlfriend, Leon stopped on his journey to Raccoon City by staying at a motel overnight. Oversleeping from drunkenness a day late on September 29, he rushed back onto the road when he wasn't able to telephone in to the station. The US. military blockading the city having crumbled, Leon drove through completely unaware of the t-Virus outbreak.

Personality and Relationships
Leon first appears as a somewhat naive rookie police officer with a strong sense of justice and duty. After his actions during the Raccoon City incident were discovered, Leon was recruited by the U.S. government, and later becomes a Special Agent as a result of his training. Able to keep his composure in most circumstances, Leon is very compassionate and objective. He does things even when he doesn't have to because Leon knows that what he is doing is for the greater good. An example of this is when Leon was ordered to leave the Eastern Slav Republic, despite having just arrived. Instead, he chooses to stop the B.O.W.s from spreading, going on to bring the country's president to justice because he felt it was his obligation.

Leon's friendly nature makes him very likeable to others. He strikes up a friendship with Claire Redfield moments after meeting her. Leon also respected Jack Krauser, both as a soldier and a friend, before his betrayal. He was also very quick to strike up friendships with both Luis Sera and Mike, being deeply saddened by both of their deaths. Leon also formed alliances with J.D. and Buddy, despite their initial conflict, Leon was able to set his views aside and work towards a greater good. At the same time, Leon is very quick to oppose people who threaten others. He dislikes all three key figures of Los Iluminados within seconds of meeting them.

Leon has been shown to flirt with some of the women he encounters, including Ingrid Hannigan, who playfully rejected his advances due to him still being "on duty."

Leon also displayed a large amount of emotion for Ada at the time of her "death." Their relationship is very complicated, despite there being some kind of bond between the two. Both have been shown to help each other multiple times, with each having feelings for the other. Despite this, Ada has no problem using Leon to further her own goals. However, Leon doesn't seem to hold this against her. He seems smitten with her, going so far as to tell Ashley Graham that Ada will always be "a part of me I can't let go."

Leon seems to care very deeply for some of the people he rescues. He goes to great lengths to protect them all despite not knowing them. He became Sherry Birkin's temporary guardian before she was taken into the custody of the US government. During Operation Javier Leon had a similar relationship with Manuela Hidalgo, doing everything he could to protect her, even nearly getting crushed. During his mission to save Ashley Graham, Leon put himself at great personal risk several times to ensure her safety. He didn't think twice about putting himself at risk before the Plaga removal machine before curing Ashley, who had doubts about it at first. Leon simply responded "There's only one way to find out. You operate", meaning that she would either save or kill him in the process.

Leon has been shown to go back and forth from being cold and focused to passionate in his missions. In the beginning of Resident Evil 4, Leon is initially dismissive of his police escorts, showing little consideration for anything other than the mission at hand. However, when the officers' car is knocked over a cliff near the exit of the village, Leon investigates and sees the wreckage below. Looking down, he says "Oh, no...", followed by "I hope the two officers are okay". In a similar fashion, when Leon enters the village and sees the corpse of one of the officers being burned at the stake in the center of the village, he remarks "What in God's name... if only he had come with me...", demonstrating that he regretted leaving the officers behind. In Resident Evil: Degeneration, he acts much the same way, his main concern being the mission at hand. During the incident in Tall Oaks, when fellow agent Helena Harper comes under attack by a zombie, Leon helps her. However, he scolds her when Helena says she still can't believe what is happening, telling her "Well, get used to it. It's either them or us... and they don't hesitate." Despite his stern tone, Leon likely said this to keep Helena focused and not let the crisis get in the way of their survival.

Despite his focus on the mission at hand, Leon has also selectively grown emotionally attached to the people that he encounters on these missions. During his mission in Spain, Leon grows close to both Luis Sera and helicopter pilot Mike, to the point of mourning greatly over their deaths. Even after giving a very black-and-white view to Helena of their situation, Leon is prepared to dive head first into a fray to try and save two innocent people being attacked by zombies, even though it is already too late.

Leon is at first very hesitant to shoot U.S. President and long-time friend Adam Benford after he transforms into a zombie, only doing so when Benford attacks Helena. This is undoubtedly because Benford has had a substantial impact on Leon, being the one to recruit him into government service in the first place. The two are shown to have been close friends, with Benford telling Leon that he values their friendship, and Leon referring to him on a first-name basis several times. Before Benford had become President, he was one of the only people Leon had ever confided in about what he went through during the Raccoon City Incident.> He admitted to Adam that he found it hard to find hope, and had even contemplated killing himself to get out of the situation, making Adam one of the few people to whom Leon has ever shown some form of vulnerability.

Leon cares greatly for normal people and is always willing to help them, even when it involves putting himself in danger. After shooting the President, Leon and Helena encounter a man who is looking for his missing daughter. He asks for help, and Leon agrees without hesitation, even after Helena tells him that there wasn't enough time. Leon simply tells her, "We're making the time." When Leon and Helena see two people frantically holding up "Help!" signs somewhere on the Ivy University campus via security cameras, Leon quickly tells Helena to come with him to rescue the civilians. However, Helena tells him it's too late, and when Leon looks back at the camera to see the people being killed by zombies, he looks away in frustration and grief. During his fight with Chris Redfield, Chris tells him that he lost all of his men because of Carla Radames (who had been impersonating Ada Wong). However, Leon angrily replies that he lost over 70,000 people, showing that he cared for all the citizens who had lost their lives in Tall Oaks.

Even in times of danger, Leon will often brighten the mood or keep a calm composure even in the presence of his enemies. An example of this is during conversations between Salazar and Saddler. When Salazar revealed that he had sent his right hand after Leon, Leon jokingly asks, "Your right hand comes off?" knowing that Salazar meant his right hand "man." When Salazar transformed into a monstrous Queen Plaga, Leon remarks, "Monsters. Guess after this, there'll be one less to worry about." During his conversation with Saddler after reuniting with Krauser and Ada, Saddler tells Leon that he will introduce him to "it," and that it should keep him busy. Leon then mocked Saddler's age, saying "Can't remember the name huh? A senior moment, perhaps." In the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon refers to a Licker as a "Cowardly Lion." When Leon and Helena were trying to find keys to a cop car on the Ivy University campus, he states, "Heh, jacking a car isn't as easy as it looks in the movies." When the two are on a plane bound for China, Leon and Helena find the Lepotitsa that was left on the plane by Simmons, and he sarcastically remarks, "You don't suppose that thing can fly a plane do you?" During the final battle against Simmons, Leon commented with a pun that if Simmons were to absorb the lightning rod needed to beat him, "he'd be in for a shock."

Leon's composure also enables him to thoroughly analyze any situation to figure out the best course of action. During the final battle against Simmons, Leon knew full well as long as Simmons was airborne, trying to escape Taichi on a helicopter would be suicide and opted to finish Simmons first.

Leon despises Bioterrorism just as much as Chris Redfield. He categorizes those who create or use B.O.W.s as villains, and is unwilling to see their usage as justified, a point he makes clear to JD. He compared Osmund Saddler's plan to use Las Plagas to take over the world to an alien invasion.

Leon has a strong will to live which he developed over the course of the Raccoon City Incident. He believes once a person picks up a gun they have an obligation to keep on living for all their comrades who died so they can live, even if it means being paralyzed for the rest of their lives.

Leon also has a strong sense of honor. Even though he could have turned in Helena Harper who had a hand in President Benford's death and cleared his name, he opted to take down Simmons instead, realizing clearing his name wouldn't stop Simmons.

Skills and Abilities
Since joining the government as an agent, Leon has immensely evolved as a combatant both in skills and knowledge. Leon is an incredible marksman, capable of making head shots from over fifty yards and rarely missing his intended target as well as showing a proficiency with fully automatic weapons. In Resident Evil 6, Leon dual-wielded handguns effectively. He handled an M203 grenade launcher (attached to an M4) to great effect, bringing down a walkway on a mutated Curtis Miller. During his mission to the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon carried a customized AKMSU, with which he fought Lickers and Tyrants. Leon is capable of making efficient use of "heavy" weapons, having used rocket launchers in fights against larger creatures on multiple occasions as well as being able to effectively operate the main cannon turret on a small tank.

Leon is also remarkably skilled in knife combat, having a preference for them in close-quarters as he claims they "work better" - advice he passed on to Ada. He has advanced in aptitude with knives to the point of using them expertly in an ambidextrous capacity, even being able to switch hands in the midst of combat. He demonstrates an extremely high accuracy when throwing knives, evidenced by his ability to hit Salazar's hand from the opposite side of a large room, free Ada by cutting the ropes that bound her and hitting Curtis Miller's mutated eye directly in the pupil. His overall fighting skills shined when they were put to the test when Krauser engaged Leon in a knife-fight in which Leon was able to hold his own. After being cornered by two Tyrants while in the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon was also prepared to defensively do battle against them with only his knife after he had run out of ammunition.

In addition to his mastery of weapons, Leon is an accomplished unarmed combatant. While in Lanshiang, Leon was able to match Chris Redfield in hand-to-hand combat evenly until they both drew their weapons on each other simultaneously. He was also able to keep up with Svetlana Belikova, a trained combatant and instructor. His fighting style apparently incorporates various styles in stand up striking, doing take downs, kicks, grapples, and ground fighting. He can easily turn the tables on foes who have snuck up on him, being able to disarm and restrain Ada who had a gun pointed at his back, and JD who had him in a similar position. Leon is also quite strong, he able to hold the combined weight of Angela Miller and the mutated Curtis Miller, with one arm, whilst dangling by his legs from a metal bar. He was even able to impede the movement of a Licker, with a leg lock, whilst holding it's arms to prevent it from clawing him to death.

In terms of physical fitness, Leon is in peak physical condition. He is very acrobatic with incredible reflexes, being able to perform various flips and evasive maneuvers to avoid lasers, enemy attacks, debris, and other obstacles. Leon is quick-footed, being able to outrun not only boulders but a massive robotic statue of Ramon Salazar. Leon has also used Parkour in order to escape from a platform that is about to fall, and to pursue Alexander Kozachenko across several shipping containers. He is a quick thinker and can react instantly to any situation in order to survive, or simply land safely, being able to land on his feet after being knocked back by both Krauser and Svetlana Belikova.

In addition, he seems to be able recover from injuries incredibly quickly and seems to be extremely resilient. In Resident Evil 2, he was able to carry on after being shot in the lower torso after a very short recovery time. In Resident Evil 4, he was able to take a blow from Saddler and being sent crashing into a large machine. While fighting Curtis Miller, Leon was able to survive and recover from a powerful backhand which sent him flying into a power box head first. He was also able to survive a direct punch from "013" Super Tyrant form as well as being thrown against a concrete pillar by the same creature. In Resident Evil 6, he falls from a helicopter and lands on his shoulder, but gets up moments later with no ill effects.

This all lends credence to Ada's statement, as she had described Leon as having formidable survival skills and being "Practically a genius." Leon also seems to have keen instincts, being able to detect Krauser's presence, who had been trying to sneak up to Leon to attack and kill him.

While in Lanshiang, Leon showed some degree of piloting capability as he was able to keep a helicopter he and Helena Harper were in in the air for an extended period of time, even after skimming along the side of a moving train. Leon was also able to crash-land the airplane he and Helena were on, though this was mostly through the guidance of Ingrid Hannigan. Leon also showed some degree with mechanics, this was shown during his encounter with Ustanak as he was able to get a broken down bus to operate even after the engine suffered from issues.

Appearances

 * Film Universe (3 films)


 * Resident Evil: Fall of Raccoon City (First appearance)
 * Resident Evil: Los Illuminados
 * Resident Evil: The Final Chapter