Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness sees Leon Kennedy unraveling a hidden conspiracy that explores some of the darkest aspects of bioterrorism in the franchise. Set just years after the Las Plagas incident, Infinite Darkness becomes the first Resident Evil animated series on Netflix. While Leon officially makes a return in RE 6 after the events of RE 4, Infinite Darkness serves as an interesting interlude that will have Leon confront the horrible realities of events post-Raccoon City.
While recent media depicts Leon as a staple action hero, Infinite Darkness adds a more human touch to Leon’s character. Similar to morally-conflicted Chris in RE Village, Leon in Infinite Darkness treads an equally gray path throughout its events. And fans of the US Special Agent will notice some key differences between Leon’s usual iteration and this recent take.
10 In His Weirdest Mission Yet
Infinite Darkness officially starts when the government assembles four agents to investigate a data theft within the White House. This included soldiers Shenmei and Jason, rookie Patrick, and surprisingly, Leon Kennedy. Both Patrick and the viewers might've been confused as to Leon's role in the operation. While Shenmei vouched for his skills his expertise against zombies, they certainly didn't fit the mission at hand.
It's only when the White House experiences a bioterror attack that Leon finally proves his combat skills. Had the White House not been attacked, Leon would've been stuck at a desk. Thankfully, the series did reveal that the data breach involved stealing data involving biological research - so this may still somehow fit Leon's skillset.
9 Becoming The President's Golden Boy
Leon's return in RE 4 as a government agent on a rescue mission came as quite a shock to players. Unfortunately for gamers, Ashley Graham's presence did turn Leon's experience into a glorified escort mission. To top it all off, players never got to meet her father, President Graham.
Regardless of the situation, Leon's appearances in other media and games have since depicted him as the go-to agent for bioterrorism incidents. Infinite Darkness finally shows this transition, especially for fans wanting to see how President Graham treated Leon since his daughter's rescue. As predicted, some detractors look at Leon as an agent who became a "hotshot" through sheer luck. A notable example would be Patrick, the rookie agent who called Leon "The President's Golden Boy."
8 Dressing Like A Government Agent
After Leon's iconic police outfit in RE 2, all his outfits became considerably tighter and edgier - arguably fit for combat even for casual wear. This design choice seemed contrasting to Chris Redfield's, who maintained a somewhat soldier-themed appearance. After RE 4's brown coat, Leon's outfits almost always included a black jacket.
Infinite Darkness turns this around, with Leon sporting corporate attire for a large part of the film. While he did wear a casual outfit for more than half of the film, Leon in a suit became quite a surprise for fans. This design choice may reveal that, at the end of the day, Leon still had to fulfill the "government" part of his government agent status.
7 The Absent Flashy Combat
Anyone who's played more than one Resident Evil game would remember the surprising shift to action horror from RE 4 to RE 6, especially with the movies. Particularly in Vendetta, Leon and Chris repelled a horde of zombies from both sides of a tunnel. In contrast to Chris's rifle handling, Leon showcased handgun mastery as he consistently headshots zombies in point-blank melee range.
Contrary to his action hero version, Leon in Infinite Darkness relied on careful marksmanship and outsmarting his foes to gain the upper hand. Near-misses in the latter part of the series would make some say Leon got extremely lucky, too. Granted, events in Vendetta happened years after Infinite Darkness's, so Leon may have received better training since then.
6 No Rocket Launcher This Time
Long-time fans who saw Leon's big boss encounter at the end of the series would've felt goosebumps as soon as he grabbed that rocket launcher from the arsenal cabinet. And while he managed to score a shot or two with it, the launcher wasn't unfortunately enough to take the big baddie down. This trend, of course, was in stark contrast with Leon's attachment to the rocket launcher in earlier games.
Regardless of this disappointing setback, Leon and Claire did manage to defeat the big boss and stop it from ever surfacing. This rather no-rocket-launcher approach might be a letdown, but it did help give the film a more realistic touch.
5 No Rest For The Skilled
When Leon arrived in Spain to rescue Ashley Graham, it was implied that he received special combat training suited for his role. It was also established that Leon kept busy stopping bioterror incidents all over the world even before the Las Plagas Incident.
Infinite Darkness showed that Leon may not have gotten a break since then. Even his introduction states that he just finished a mission in Pittsburgh before getting into the White House. Given that Infinite Darkness happens just two years after RE 4, it seems Leon has been on call consistently.
4 The Outfit That Doesn't Suit Him
Throughout Leon and Claire's few interactions in Infinite Darkness, Claire made one thing adamantly clear; Leon's outfit never really suited him. Anyone familiar with a staple action flick would know this statement meant two things. Firstly, Leon didn't really look good in the outfit. And more importantly, Claire believed Leon isn't cut out for government work.
Ironically enough, Claire's distaste for Leon's current outfit may serve as a quirky reference for Leon's overall design. Before Infinite Darkness, Leon largely wore dark clothes in more recent appearances. While fans may miss Leon's blue police outfit, no one can't deny that Leon does fit his leather jacket.
3 The Precursor Of Trauma
As mentioned, Leon made quite a big and quick leap from rookie cop to government agent between RE 2 and RE 4. And after rescuing Ashley, Leon stayed as a government agent even after President Benford, Graham's successor, took a seat. A year after the C-Virus attacks, Leon once again gets embroidered in a bioweapon-smuggling operation, as seen in Vendetta.
Unlike Leon's usual straightforward self, Leon in Vendetta developed a drinking problem through the years. Considering his nonstop missions since Infinite Darkness, Leon may have yet to process his feelings after Raccoon City. Due to these circumstances, his encounter in Infinite Darkness may have begun the manifestation of PTSD.
2 The Burden Of Power
Unfortunately for Leon, his brutal experiences on the frontlines did lead to a different outcome with Claire than he anticipated. Forces in the series consistently showed Leon how simple fear can lead to sheer terror. Despite Claire's insistence to release government data on activated bioweapons, Leon didn't want to do it given the potential ramifications.
This interaction may serve as the first time that Leon and Claire had visible moral differences regarding bioterror. Given that Leon barely had interactions with Claire in other media, this event may have caused their rift. It's perhaps this event that made Leon consistently work as an agent. For lore fans, this may be Leon's way to ensure fear won't dismantle the government - despite how terrifying a bioterror attack can be.
1 Back In Blue
Despite design updates throughout the series, the main design motifs of most protagonists remained largely the same across both games and outside media. Claire Redfield and Ada Wong always wore red, while Jill Valentine always had blue hints to her outfit. Before the FPS titles, even Chris had consistently green shades to his wears.
Unfortunately for Leon, his design theme strayed from the consistent blues of his RE 2 days. In other films and games, Leon instead wore a sports jacket, akin to a civilian agent. Infinite Darkness changes this, giving Leon noticeable blue hues for all his clothes. Fans can see strong blues from his corporate wear to his civilian wear.