Resident Evil: Why Umbrella Names Viruses With Letters

The Resident Evil franchise features many bio-engineered viruses, and most of them are denoted with a letter. The Umbrella Corporation likes initials.

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Ever since the release of the first Resident Evil game in 1996, the series has dominated the survival horror genre. The games depict a wide range of biological incidents and bio-terrorist attacks, mostly originating from the Umbrella Corporation. Umbrella began its research into engineered bioweapons in the 1960s, and the most iconic product of this research is known as the T-Virus. The name “T-Virus” is shorthand for Tyrant Virus, the bioweapon’s full title.

There are a handful of other viruses in the Resident Evil games that use the same naming convention: the Animality (A-Virus), the Chrysalid (C-Virus), and the Golgotha (G-Virus). A couple other engineered viruses in the primary Resident Evil universe – that is, the canon of the video games and not the films, comics, etc. – do not have the initialized names: the Uroboros and Immortality Viruses. Although each virus has slightly different effects on those it infects, the main goal of each is largely to create Bio Organic Weapons (B.O.W.), which are intended to be stronger, more resilient substitutes for conventional soldiers.

Including Resident Evil remakes and spin-offs, the franchise contains over 20 games. As a result, many of the viruses have multiple variations, especially the T-Virus, which is most prevalent. All of the viruses in Resident Evil, however, have a connection to the Umbrella Corporation, which is generally the benefactor behind most of the games’ antagonists.

A Brief History of Resident Evil’s Viruses

Most of the major viruses featured in Resident Evil are descended from a naturally occurring retrovirus known as Progenitor. The Progenitor Virus was discovered in a certain usually-deadly flower in West Africa, where local tribes had long worshipped those who could survive the toxin and gain superhuman abilities. A group of European aristocrats interested in eugenics found out about the special properties of the flowers in the 1960s, correctly deduced that the rare effects were caused by a retrovirus, and founded Umbrella Pharmaceuticals – a precursor to Umbrella Corporation – with the intent of privately funding Progenitor research looking into the possibility of creating superhuman beings.

In the late 1970s, a mutation of Progenitor created the T-Virus, with experimentation on leeches providing significant breakthroughs. T-Virus research continued under Umbrella for decades until the Corporation’s collapse in 2003. The wide use of T-Virus led to many variations, including the A-Virus and T-Veronica Virus featured in Resident Evil – Code: Veronica. Most of the zombies and other mutants encountered throughout the Resident Evil games are products of different T-Viruses.

The G-Virus was discovered in a human Umbrella test subject in 1988, and was then researched as a potential successor of the T-Virus. The G-Virus repeatedly mutated its host, and the mutations were wildly unpredictable. Although it had the ability to revive dead tissue, the G-Virus proved to be uncontrollable. The T-Veronica and G-Viruses were later spliced together to create the C-Virus, which could be used to create specific B.O.W.s based on the DNA introduced to the Virus.

While little is known about the Immortality Virus, its goals can be inferred from its name. It was being researched using a Progenitor strain, but research was never completed since its creator abandoned the project and vanished. Uroboros, on the other hand, is of primary importance to the Resident Evil 5 narrative. The primary antagonist, Albert Wesker, develops the Uroboros Virus as a doomsday weapon to finally realize Umbrella’s ultimate goal of creating a utopian society entirely comprised of a “superior” race. Originally too deadly to support survivable mutation, the Uroboros Virus had to be used alongside T-Virus antibodies. Those with the correct genetic makeup would show no physical mutations aside from glowing eyes, and gain heightened speed, strength, and regenerative properties.

The collapse of Umbrella Corporation in 2003 led to various viruses being developed by many splinter groups, such as Wesker’s, and other bioterrorism organizations. Resident Evil 7 seemingly has very little connection to Umbrella’s viruses since it deals with a fungal organism known as Mold infecting human hosts. However, the upcoming Resident Evil Village and the future of the Resident Evil franchise will undoubtedly explore the role of a modern Umbrella Corporation, now represented by a blue logo seen on Chris Redfield’s uniform in 7.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/resident-evil-virus-letter-names-meaning-umbrella-code/