The Umbrella Corporation is a fictional business featured in the Resident Evil multimedia franchise. Their executives and initiatives serve as the driving plot device governing the series, with characters associated with usually taking on the role of antagonists. The Umbrella Corporation first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video game Bio Hazard by Capcom, which was re-released in the United States under the title Resident Evil. The Umbrella Corporation also appears in the film series based on the games, as well as the novelizations thereof, beginning with the 2002 film, Resident Evil by writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson.
Description[]
The Umbrella Corporation is a multinational conglomerate whose corporate headquarters was located in Raccoon City in the Midwestern United States. Umbrella was a leader in the healthcare industry as well as medical technology and computer software development. At its peak, nine out of every ten homes contained products manufactured by Umbrella. This was the public face of Umbrella.
The true power behind the company however, was in its political influence, which extended across the globe. The majority of its revenue was generated by the development of military technology, genetic experimentation and viral weaponry.
By the beginning of the 21st century, the Umbrella Corporation had become the largest commercial entity in the United States. Their power and influence was unrivaled.
The president and CEO of Umbrella was Albert Wesker, who actually maintained his base of operations in the company's Tokyo office. He presided over the company's science division, which was led by Doctor Sam Isaacs, who was the author of what would come to be known as the Nemesis Program.
To protect Umbrella's corporate interests, the company contracted a security services firm, which they called the Umbrella Security Service (USS). They were part of the Central Security Administration.
One of Umbrella's scientific research facilities was called the Hive. It was a top-secret laboratory located half a mile underground beneath a mansion safe house owned by Umbrella just outside of Raccoon City. The purpose of the Hive was to advance genetic experimentation and to develop biological weapons.
History[]
A scientist working on the T-Virus.
The Hive developed a chemical agent classified as the T-Virus, which had the ability to reanimate dead cell tissue. As a protean virus that could transmit through fluid or as an airborne agent, it had the effect of resurrecting deceased organisms such as humans and animals, transforming them into savage undead creatures akin to zombies.
A scientist working on the T-Virus named Lisa conspired with an Umbrella agent named Alice to steal a sample of the T-Virus with the intent of exposing Umbrella's operations to the world. Another agent named Spence Parks, who had been romantically involved with Alice, learned of this plan, and wanted to steal the virus himself. However, Spence only wanted to sell the virus to the highest bidder, regardless of any potential fallout.
Spence used his Umbrella credentials to access the Hive laboratories. He stole a sample of the T-Virus, but to cover his tracks, he released another sample of the toxin in the facility, prompting the computer mainframe to lock down the entire lab. Parks escaped with the samples, but the Red Queen A.I. sealed off the infected areas, leaving all of the scientists behind to die. It then released a nerve agent into the non-infected areas of the base, including the above-ground mansion, rendering everyone else unconscious.
When the Umbrella Corporation learned of this incident, they sent a team in to inspect the facility. They found an agent named Alice, who had suffered amnesia as a side-effect of the nerve gas. They also found a man named Matt Addison, who was the brother of the woman that Alice had been conspiring with to expose Umbrella. They eventually came upon Spence Parks as well, who now also suffered from amnesia.
The group took the train to the lower levels of the Hive, but by now, the entire facility had been overrun with zombies, created due to exposure from the T-Virus. They also encountered a pack of undead doberman's who had likewise been infected. Another threat came in the form of a mutant experiment dubbed a licker.
The group fought their way through the facility, taking on not only the undead, but also the Red Queen's defense systems. Nearly everyone in the group lost their lives. Alice and Matt were the only ones to succeed in finding the antivirus and making it back to the mansion. However, Addison was injured by the licker and was now infected. An Umbrella Hazmat team entered the mansion and took the injured Matt Addison, with instructions to bring him to the Nemesis Program. Alice was to taken to an Umbrella-owned hospital in Raccoon City. [1]
Staff[]
- Albert Wesker - CEO
- Simon Isaacs - Head of the Science Division
- Charles Ashford - Computer science
- William Birkin - Virologist
- Anna Bolt - Researcher
- Richard Baxter - Middle management
- Johnny-Wayne Carlson - Researcher
- Mariano Rodriguez - Researcher
- Lisa Addison - Computer programmer
- Ella Fontaine - Unknown
- Mister Grey - Unknown
- Alice Abernathy - Umbrella Security Service
- Carlos Olivera - Umbrella Security Service
- Spence Parks - Umbrella Security Service
- James Shade - Umbrella Security Service
- J.D. Salinas - Umbrella Security Service
- Olga Danilova - Medic
- Rain Ocampo - Umbrella Security Service
- Chad Kaplan - Umbrella Security Service
Notes[]
- Umbrella Corp. redirects to this page. This was the spelling used on the company's official boiler plate.
- The slogan used on Umbrella's healthcare material is, "Umbrella has you covered".
See also[]
External Links[]
- Umbrella Corporation at Wikipedia
- Umbrella Corporation at Giant Bomb
- Umbrella Corporation at the Resident Evil Wiki