The Resident Evil franchise is about more than just blowing the heads off lumbering zombies that are clumsily stalking the streets of Raccoon City. The series explores themes of deception, secrecy, greed, and courage, all with a varied cast of characters. All of these heroes and villains have allegiances to particular groups, each fighting for different reasons to either acquire or terminate the many viral outbreaks in the series.
While the Resident Evil series can be enjoyed purely for its horror thrills, having an understanding of its deeper lore helps enrich the experience. For long-time fans wanting to refresh their memory or new players trying to better understand the history of the franchise, different groups within the series have different origins and motivations.
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Travis Enterprises/Tricell
Originally called "Travis Enterprises" in the 18th Century, the European trading company made deals and shipments mostly with the Eastern hemisphere. The leader of the company in the 19th Century, Henry Travis, wrote a detailed encyclopedia detailing many of the trading shipments over the years. Within this encyclopedia are records of Travis going to Africa and discovering a flower that he believed to contain mutagenic pathogens. The company would eventually re-name itself "Tricell," and would have a hand in Umbrella's creation of the T-Virus.
Umbrella Corporation
Umbrella is the corporation responsible for most of the major, catastrophic viral outbreaks in Resident Evil. Umbrella was founded in 1967 by Oswell E. Spencer, Dr. Edward Ashford, and Dr. James Marcus, all university classmates studying virology. They discovered Henry Travis' encyclopedia and felt it was worth investigating further. Upon arriving in Africa, the three men discovered the flower that Travis had written about. The flower was initially planned to be used for good, but it was instead used to synthesize horrific viruses, ultimately leading to the T-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City.
The Los Illuminados
Serving as the main threat in Resident Evil 4, the cult was initially wiped out during the Spanish Inquisition, but Lord Saddler approached Salazer (the man guarding the region) and convinced him to revive the cult and dig out a strain of parasites called Las Plagas buried deep in caves underneath his castle. After infecting nearby villagers and bringing the cult back to its original power, the plan was to use the parasite to infect and infiltrate the rest of the world. Even though Leon Kennedy put an end to this insidious plan, the Las Plagas virus was acquired by Ada Wong and passed on to secret employers.
S.T.A.R.S
S.T.A.R.S (or Special Tactics and Rescue Service) was a specially trained division within the Raccoon City Police Department, armed for more extreme tasks. The team was called to respond to a series of grizzly murders in the Arklay Mountains, not far from Raccoon City. This was due to a T-Virus outbreak in the laboratory under the Spencer Mansion, the events that make up the original Resident Evil game. After Raccoon City was destroyed, the members of the group all split up to join new organizations, such as the BSAA.
The Organization/The Connections
Very little is known about these mysterious factions, aside from their interests in bio-terrorism and secret deals with characters like Albert Wesker. The Organization is known to be the group Ada Wong receives sample for, while The Connections have been operating in the shadows for quite some time, showing interest in the Mold virus that appears in Resident Evil 7.
Castle Dimitrescu/Lycans
Last are the two rival factions serving as the primary antagonists in Resident Evil Village. Lady Dimitrescu and her many daughters are vampiric creatures endowed with supernatural abilities, meanwhile the Lycans are a ferocious group that stalk the surrounding village. Both are as sadistic and insane as the other, providing Ethan Winters unparalleled levels of terror to go up against throughout the latest Resident Evil game.
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