Summary
It may be hard to believe given how immensely popular he is among fans, but some characters within theResident Eviluniverse hate the heroic wise-cracking secret agent known asLeon S. Kennedy. During his many adventures, Leon has made his fair share of enemies, but there’s been a select few who have come to truly hate this guy’s guts, whether because he went and ruined their plans, or because he simply embarrassed them.
Simply put, not everyone is a fan of Leon, with some individuals harboring a burning hatred for the fan-favorite protagonist. It’s time to reflect on theResident Evilgames, movies, and shows to understand why these characters despise Leon so much, and how they went about trying to take him down.
Updated on June 15, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:While fans speculate about Leon’s next outing in the Resident Evil franchise, they may also want to recount just who among Leon’s former nemeses (or perhaps their colleagues) might make a return to settle some vendettas. Unfortunately for Leon, a lot of the people he meets in his games often end up wanting to hunt him for sport - and while he survives his encounters with them, Leon does get a reputation for making villains rather not like him whenever he thwarts their plans. Some of the people who hated Leon may have included the older brother of a colleague and the ever-enigmatic woman who always seemed to go wherever he went.
While it’s undeniable that early writing betweenAda Wongand Leon Kennedy implied for them to have some form of romantic tension, fans who ship them have to remember thatAda is also a well-trained spy. Essentially the only character to almost be working for everyone at the same time, Ada makes it clear that no one knows her true allegiances - meaning her onetrueallegiance is that to herself. Whenever she does anything that seems to benefit Leon, she does it as an extension to her own benefit.
For instance, the times she cooperated with Leon inResident Evil 2and4are all to fulfill her data-gathering missions. Even in times when she saves Leon, she seems to do it only to verify Leon has her back whenever she gets in trouble - ensuring she established enough of an emotional bond to have him as a dependable ally. While certainly not as “hateful” to Leon as anyone might think, a person Leon is unsure whether would truly have his back or leave him when stakes are truly against them can be worse than a person who at least wants to outright kill him.
Claire Redfield would introduce Leon Kennedy toChris Redfieldfor the first time a year after Albert Wesker’s death in 2009, where their friendship would strengthen the relations between the USA andthe anti-bioterror efforts of the BSAA. Unfortunately, the relationship of the two hadn’t always been easy given the tragedies that happened around them. Amid the global bioterror attacks, Chris clashed with Leon on gunpoint to get jurisdiction of Ada Wong - a key figure in solving the crisis that had practically caused the death of the President of the United States under Leon’s watch.
Perhaps worst of all was the New York outbreak of 2014, where Leon had to watch his whole squad get killed and had to put them out himself when they turned. After taking a personal leave and secluding himself to a private cabin and alcoholism, Chris and Rebecca Chambers asked for his advice in an ongoing bio-terror investigation - during which Chris had an argument with a drunken Leon about the nature of their cause. While Leon eventually relents and even assists in stopping the attack, and although Chris will likely forgive him for his situation, it’s undeniable that there is now tension between the two colleagues.
When Dr.Curtis Millerfound out his wife and child died during the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident, he joined TerraSave and protested against corrupt anti-bioterror efforts. After TerraSave dismissed him for his more extreme methods, Miller experienced a mental health decline - leaving him vulnerable to the machinations of Dr. Federic Downing of WP Corporation. WhileDowning convinced Miller that they can join forces to make sure the US Government reveals the Raccoon City cover-up, Downing secretly wanted Miller to be the fall-guy as his own bioterror clients witnessed the efficacy of the T-Virus and G-Virus.
After being driven to a corner by Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, Curtis injected himself with the G-Virus and underwent a heavy mutation. It’s around this time he attempted to search for Angela, recognizing her both as a family member and a potential host for the G-Virus. Leon eventually kills him. While Curtis had little interaction with Leon, it’s safe to assume Curtis wanted Leon gone in order for him to capture his sister Angela, who at the time was Leon’s comrade, for his own plans.
Krauser and Leon were onceclose alliesa few years before the events ofResident Evil 4, but after Operation Javier, where he began to resent Leon for his strength and high status, Krauser decided to turn his back on the US government and go rogue. The trauma of the situation warped Krauser’s mind so much that he eventually decides to try and kill Leon, who he sees as still being a compliant lapdog of the government.
Operation Javier forced Krauser to question everything, including his friendship with Leon, as he begins obsessing over gaining more power to eventually overcome the “pretty boy” once and for all. Eventually, though, Krauser’s hatred gets the better of him, causing him to mutate uncontrollably before being defeated by his old comrade.
5Dylan Blake
Dylan Shows His True Feelings Toward Leon, A Fellow Raccoon City Survivor, During The Story Of Death Island
The Raccoon City incident took a heavy toll on many of its survivors, including Dylan Blake, who was ordered by his squad leader to gun down his teammates after they became infected. After this event, Dylan decided that the concept of justice didn’t exist in the world, and during the story ofResident Evil: Death Island, he makes this very clear numerous times, including one scene where he has the protagonists locked in a prison cell.
During the scene, Blake mocks Leon’s loyalty to the government, and how that can sometimes get in the way of Leon delivering true justice, as was implied at the very end of theInfinite DarknessTV series. Additionally, it’s implied that Dylan harbors a hatred for Leon due to the latter making it out of Raccoon City and being able to continue on with his life, while Dylan, on the other hand, became disillusioned by the whole event.
6Greg Glenn
Greg Couldn’t Stand Leon’s Effortlessly Cool And Calculated Persona
Greg Glenn is a side character who shows up inResident Evil: Degenerationas a member of the Special Response Team alongside Angela. Not long into the movie, which is considered canon within the timeline, the team is introduced to a brand-new member who will be helping them along their journey, that being Leon.
It’s fair to say that Greg isn’t exactly fond of Leon. Afterignoring Leon’s warningsand shooting up a room full of zombies, Greg screams in Leon’s face as if he’s just shown him how it’s done, only to then get attacked by a zombie himself. Simply put, Greg hates Leon’s calm and calculated persona, but this feeling seems to be mutual, as Leon also criticizes Greg at numerous points and even elbows him in the stomach after Greg tries to hold him down.
After Leon shoots the zombified president at the beginning ofResident Evil 6, it’s revealed that Derek Simmons, the man who was National Security Advisor to the president, was actually planning this all along. For much of the game, it feels as though he has Leon and Helena on strings, that is, until the duo manages to catch up to him and force him to transform intoa grotesque B.O.W.
During the final confrontation, which sees Simmons turning into multiple different forms, it’s clear as day just how much hatred he holds for Leon, the man who ruined his entire plan and would be the one to put a stop to him once and for all. It’s also worth mentioning that Leon’s on-and-off relationship with Ada Wong also fed into Simmons' hatred toward him, considering the obsession Simmons had for the mysterious spy.
8Bitores Mendez
The Village Priest Who Knows Leon Is In His Way
After being swayed to follow the cause of the Los Illuminados, Fr.Bitores Mendezbecame one of the most trusted lieutenants of Osmund Saddler. Having been given a Dominant species Plaga that gave him full control over his body, mutations, and even control over his villagers,Mendez was assigned to keep the village peace. As such, when things had gone haywire with the kidnapping of Ashley Graham and the arrival of Leon S. Kennedy, Mendez was assigned to ensure they didn’t leave the village. Had it not been for Leon’s Plaga infection, Mendez would have immediately killed him.
While Mendez hoped Leon would be infected and be in their control before he became a nuisance, this hadn’t been the case due to the latter’s resilience. Now forced to make a move against him, Mendez tried cornering and ambushing Leon with his forces but to no avail. In the end, a fierce battle would have Leon ultimately kill him and allow him and Ashley to traverse Salazar’s Castle. While Mendez had no personal grief against Leon, his interference with the cult’s plans meant he had no reason to spare him either.
Although the originalResident Evil 4title would only haveRamon Salazaras a mere castellan pawn for Osmund Saddler’s plans of Plaga-empowered world dominance, the story ofResident Evil 4 Remakeexpanded Salazar’s worship of the cult leader. Having suffered mockery as an ill orphan, Salazar’s penchant for cruelty caught Saddler’s attention. Seeing how Salazar could be easily manipulated due to his fragile personality, Saddler manipulates Salazar into giving the Los Illuminados the right to excavate Plaga samples from their estate. And in exchange for his loyalty, Saddler implanted rejuvenated Plaga into Salazar -allowing him to control his very own Plaga army.
So when Salazar was instructed to capture Ashley Graham after Leon Kennedy rescued her, their presence - andlackof capture - in his own estate irked the diminutive castellan. While not necessarily intensely hateful of Leon, Salazar being manipulated by the Los Illuminados into following their demands certainly justified his animosity towards the United States agent.
10Mr. X
A Tyrant Designated To Kill Any Survivors
After losing control of the outbreak in Raccoon City, Umbrella Corporation’s Sergei Vladimir deployed various T-Tyrants into the devastated city to accomplish the mission.One such monstrosity, the T-00, was given two missions - to retrieve samples of the G-Virus and kill any survivors of the Raccoon City Police Department. It’s for this reason that T-00, who fans lovingly namedMr. X, started his hunt for Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy - especially when they started caring for Sherry Birkin, one of the last “hosts” of the G-Virus.
While the fate of the T-00 differed based on the path of choice players took in the game, his animosity towards Leon and Claire is well-known. Similar to Nemesis inResident Evil 3, Mr. X became infamous for constantly stalking players across levels - becoming an ever-present threat until the forced boss fight that would dictate its fate. While not directly “hateful” towards Leon, Mr. X is one of the few enemies with the equivalent of a “vendetta” against the protagonist.
