Resident Evil: 7 Strongest Umbrella Employees, Ranked

This list contains spoilers!

Summary

Former Umbrella employees include powerful individuals like Wesker and Birkin who transformed into lethal mutants.
Mikhail, a member of the UBCS, fought valiantly to protect civilians during the Raccoon City outbreak.
HUNK, known as the Grim Reaper, is a formidable foe with a reputation for completing top-secret missions.

In the world of Resident Evil, being an employee of the Umbrella Corporation isn’t exactly something to be proud of. After it was revealed that Umbrella was pulling the strings behind the zombie outbreak that infested Raccoon City back in 1998, it wouldn’t be long after that they ended up shutting down completely due to the severity of their crimes. Still, while it can be easier to speak of Umbrella as one large entity, the truth is, there are several key individuals who played a role in operating the organization behind the scenes.

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Considering many of these characters’ work exposed them to all kinds of biological upgrades and viruses, it means many of them ended up being incredibly powerful, even if they turned their back on Umbrella later in the series. On the other hand, there are a few former umbrella employees who, despite not being able to transform or mutate, have still proven to be strong enough to hold their own against a zombie or two. With that in mind, it’s time to analyze the strongest Resident Evil characters who worked under the direct command of Umbrella at some point in the story. This list will account for the characters at their peak strength, so mutations will also be included.

7

Luis Serra

Luis Is A Skilled Marksman With Quite The Trigger Finger

Despite remaining largely faithful to the classic original game, the Resident Evil 4 remake did still feature a few small changes from its inspiration, one of the biggest being the major tweaks made to Lewis’s backstory. It’s revealed at roughly the halfway point of the story that Lewis actually used to work for Umbrella back when it was still active, and was even involved in the European branch that worked on the infamous Nemesis project.

Though he’s clearly not a powerhouse, Lewis has still proven that he’s not someone who should be taken lightly. Lewis possesses a dangerous trigger finger, which makes him a real threat at close range, as demonstrated when he uses his lethal Red-9 to help take down a swarm of Ganado with Leon. He may not have any transformations up his sleeve to use as a last resort, but Lewis still knows what it takes to survive in a world full of monsters.

6

Mikhail Viktor

Mikhail Fought Off Hordes Of Zombies For As Long As He Could

By the time Jill runs into Mikhail near the beginning of Resident Evil 3, the soldier is already heavily wounded and barely able to move. This, unfortunately, means that players don’t get to see him in action that much in a typical playthrough, but when reading through a few files, they’ll quickly realize that Mikhail is as hard as nails, and by far one of Umbrella’s most reliable units.

Split image of Leon Kennedy, Ada Wong, and Chris Redfield in Resident Evil games

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As a member of the UBCS, Mikhail was completely unaware of what Umbrella was up to during the Raccoon City fiasco. As a result, he simply served his duty by protecting as many civilians as possible, putting his own life on the line to fend off the mindless hordes for as long as he could. Though he was eventually taken out by Nemesis, Mikhail will always be remembered as a soldier who fought until the very end.

5

Carlos Oliveira

Only Those With Rock-Solid Willpower And Determination Made It Out Of Raccoon City Alive

There aren’t many people still around who lived through the Raccoon City incident and can tell the tale, though one side character who did manage to escape with his life intact, who hasn’t been seen in many years, is Carlos. Carlos was in a similar situation to Mikhail, where he was largely unaware of Umbrella’s wrongdoings, though even after learning of their betrayal, he still mustered up the courage to take down hundreds of mutants and zombies so that he and Jill could escape before the bombs dropped.

By far, Carlos’ most impressive feat is entering the Raccoon City Hospital and receiving a cure for an infected Jill. During this dangerous venture, Carlos would gun down a plethora of not only zombies, but even Hunters too, which is far from an easy task. Carlos proved to Jill that he is more than strong enough to fend for himself, but he’s also willing to help those in need anytime he finds the opportunity.

4

Sergei Vladimir

Vladimir Is A Highly Skilled Commander Who Proved To Be A Real Thorn In Wesker’s Side

Longtime fans might remember Sergei from the Umbrella Chronicles spin-off game, where he assumed the position of an Umbrella executive. Considering he and Wesker were working for the corporation at the same time, it didn’t take long for the two to share an intense rivalry, but while Wesker usually has the physical advantage over his opponents, this wasn’t always so clear with Sergei.

What makes Sergei so dangerous is how merciless he is in combat. This is a man who is more than willing to throw away the lives of his own men if it means pleasing his precious master, Spencer, though eventually, he would be forced to take on Wesker himself in a one-on-one fight. Though Wesker was able to eventually defeat the transformed Sergei after a brutal encounter, it’s still hard to deny that he isn’t one of the most ruthless and cunning soldiers that ever worked under Umbrella.

3

William Birkin

Birkin Injected Himself With His Own Creation To Become A Rampaging Mutant

Birkin is little more than a feeble scientist who cares much more about creating bio-mutants than he does about learning how to fight. However, after he is intercepted by a group of Umbrella’s agents, Birkin decides to inject himself with the G-virus, turning him into a rampaging mutant who is big enough to crush the average human with his bare fists.

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Both Leon and Claire would be pushed to their absolute limits fighting Birkin in his mutated forms, and the scientist manages to rack up a pretty considerable kill count over the course of Resident Evil 2’s Story. The giant eyeball bulging out of his shoulder may be an obvious weak point, but what makes Birkin so strong is the sheer amount of raw damage he is able to inflict due to his bolstered size, strength, and speed.

2

HUNK

The Grim Reaper Who Earned A Reputation For Being Unkillable

Despite having barely any screentime in the series, HUNK is still one of the most fascinating characters in all of Resident Evil, and it’s primarily because of the reputation he has received through files and documents that can be found in the games. HUNK, who earned the nickname Grim Reaper when he was working under Umbrella, was the corporation’s go-to agent anytime they needed someone who could carry out a top-secret mission without being killed in the process.

As a result, HUNK has gained a ton of experience fighting all kinds of monsters and mutants. Not only was he there during the Raccoon City incident, but he was even able to retrieve a sample of the G-virus for the higher-ups at Umbrella, while still escaping the city before the bombs dropped, all by himself. The Fourth Survivor story in Resident Evil 2 gives a good idea of just how powerful this guy truly is, with his unique CBQC fighting style making quick work of any zombies or humans who dare to stand in his way. One thing is for sure: if any of the protagonists are forced to come up against HUNK in future games, they’ll have a pretty tough time taking down this legendary former Umbrella employee.

1

Albert Wesker

Wesker Would End Up Becoming A Superhuman With Otherwordly Power And Speed

Admittedly, Wesker only worked under Umbrella for a brief portion of the story, but it was still where he made a name for himself and came to acquire his prestigious position as a scientist. During the first game, Wesker was acting as the leader of the S.T.A.R.S team, but was secretly working under orders from Umbrella to test out the new B.O.Ws who had been planted in the Spencer Mansion. Of course, this would all end up going horribly wrong for Wesker after he was caught off guard and stabbed by a Tyrant, though if anything, this would turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Wesker would come to obtain superhuman powers after injecting himself with the Mutant Virus Strain, to the point where he could effortlessly kill anyone he deemed an enemy in the blink of an eye. Regular humans such as Chris and Jill could barely even keep up with Wesker when they encountered him in Resident Evil 5, to the point where trying to beat him in combat was pretty much pointless, considering he was always one step ahead. Wesker was an unstoppable killing machine back in his prime, and undoubtedly the strongest character in the series who was once affiliated with the infamous Umbrella Corporation.