My Top 11 Husbandos In Resident Evil
With the recent full reveal of Resident Evil 2 Remake, I’ve found myself feeling really nostalgic for Resident Evil as a franchise, the iconic survival horror game series that’s been challenging and frightening games for more than 20 years. One thing that the series isn’t given enough credit for though is the sheer amount of prime husbandos throughout, and consider this my attempt to rectify this gross mistake.
11 – Bruce McGivern (Dead Aim)
Bruce, and the game he is from, really don’t get enough love. Sure, Resident Evil: Dead Aim wasn’t the best game in the series by a long stretch, but the interesting gameplay dynamic made it stand out at least. Bruce is essentially a typical action hero type, and fulfilled that role long before Leon threw out his first suplex. He’s brash, electing to ‘shoot first and ask later’, but he’s dependable and saves Fong Ling from assassination. Bruce might not be a perfect husbando candidate, but much like his game, he is definitely worth a try.
10 – Albert Wesker (Many)
Standing as the main antagonist across several games, and pulling the strings behind the scenes in others, Wesker is without dispute the biggest villain in the series. His outwardly calm composure in the earlier appearances makes him a genuinely intimidating adversary, and as he becomes more powerful through his exposure to various viruses and contagions he becomes increasingly more unhinged. It’s that power that makes him a fantastic husbando, just don’t get too attached like Excella did.
9 – Josh Stone (5)
If Sheva is the younger sister of the group, then Josh must have been the doting older brother, and with his cheeky humour and humble personality I can definitely see that as a possibility. Popping up from time-to-time to essentially save you from untimely deaths, Josh is definitely a husbando you want to have in your corner when things get rough or overcome with Las Plagas. It also helps, as a rather odd prerequisite for husbando status, that he is an accomplished sniper meaning he has a steady hand and a patient disposition. I’ll hush now.
8 – Carlos Oliviera (3: Nemesis)
I did question whether Carlos was appropriate as a husbando. He is arguably one of the most unusual men in Resident Evil, initially working for Umbrella and refusing to accept that they caused the whole incident he has found himself in. That being said, I can easily put this down to youthful exuberance and that makes it a lot easier to swallow. Also, he does look after Jill after her infection by Nemesis, even running out to grab her a vaccine, and that’s a good trait to look for in a top tier husbando: dependability.
7 – Leon S. Kennedy (4)
Leon has been on a bit of an odd tonal journey throughout the series, to his clueless first appearance up to the over-dramatised seriousness of his appearance in 6. However, his appearance in Resident Evil 4 was an absolute success, trading in his quiet but determined persona for sarcasm, dry humour, and a faux action hero motif. The 2004 Leon was undeniably one of Resident Evil’s hottest husbandos, especially given his penchant for looking after stray dogs and inexplicably losing his jacket for, you know, reasons.
6 – Kevin Ryman (Outbreak)
Kevin was absolutely robbed of screen time in the Resident Evil universe owing to being in a spin-off title. Possibly one of the most easy going characters in the whole franchise, Kevin is a police officer in the Raccoon Police Department with canonical but still tenuous links to all of the gang we know. The big sell for Kevin as a top husbando is his determination; he might be relaxed in nature, but he still applied twice for S.T.A.R.S., was rejected and still was in the process of applying again when everything went to hell. You’ve got to love a guy with passion.
5 – Chris Redfield (5)
I went back and forth between the Chris in CODE:Veronica, and the one in 5 simply because they felt like distinctly different characters, but in the end I went for 5 because it falls after he clearly starts really hitting the gym, but before his mental breakdown and alcoholism. Although Chris is possibly the dumbest character in the series (see: the Jill reveal in 5), he has massive, glistening arms and he would punch a boulder out of the way in an active volcano to save you. So, Chris Redfield is a truly high tier husbando, especially in the Warrior outfit (ho boy).
4 – Ark Thompson (Survivor)
It’s a huge shame that we don’t see more of Ark, or that he doesn’t feature in a good game, because in all of the key art for Resident Evil: Survivor, he is absolutely gorgeous. Slightly dodgy dress sense and intense trauma-enforced amnesia aside, Ark is one of the most endearing husbandos in the series just based on his clueless blunder through Sheena Island alone. Also, just look at his little face. He might have thought he was a murderer at one point in the story, and he was, he slayed me the moment I saw him and his stupid duffle coat.
3 – Leon S. Kennedy (2 Remake)
I’m aware that this is kind of cheating; but you just can’t put this perfect, scared late teenager under the same designation as his later, wise-cracking, Spanish skull-crushing self. With only a trailer to go by, the new Leon seems beautifully out of his depth in the Raccoon City disaster. The only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because I’ve seen two trailers and that’s not really enough to make a fair judgement. Based on looks though, and the fact that the Deluxe Edition is going to have a sheriff outfit, he’s a 10/10 dead cert at husbando status.
2 – Richard Aitkin (RE:Make)
With Richard I have to really specify that we only consider the iteration in RE:Make, not the original with the horrible voice acting (maybe poisonous, ouch!), but the slice of sheer hotness in the GameCube remake. Yes, he has been messed up by a giant snake, but he triumphantly comes to rescue Jill at the last minute. This is what you want from a husbando, someone who will protect you and keep you safe, no matter what. It’s really a shame that we saw so little of Richard before his untimely death, but he will forever be immortalised in this list (it’s just a shame that, try as I might, I couldn’t find a decent render of him).
1 – Piers Nivans (6)
I just had to put Piers this high up the list. I know that he is insufferably written at times, but the unabashed amount of homoerotic undertones in the Chris campaign when it comes to Piers is so egregiously high that e621 likely had a field day (I’m genuinely scared to look). On a personal level, it helps as well that he fits the twinky archetype I seem to love so much. Piers is, in my definitive opinion, the ultimate husbando of the Resident Evil series, cemented by his Titanic-inspired self-sacrifice at the end of the campaign. He would die for the one he loves, there’s honestly nothing more I can say.
That’s enough thirst for one day, I feel, and that’s my top 11 husbandos in the Resident Evil series. What are your husbandos or waifus in the legendary series? Do you agree with my list, or are there characters you think I’ve missed? Let us know in the comments or on either my Twitter or on Rice Digital’s feed.
Oh, and as a bonus little comment on the men of Resident Evil …
Steve Burnside (CODE: Veronica)
Does anyone like Steve? I had to mention him on this list purely because of how utterly insufferable he is and how unfit he is for husbando status. His initial bad attitude, pervading daddy issues, and borderline narcissism made for a character so distinctly unlikeable that my response to his demise was one of joy instead of sadness. It’s such a shame because aesthetically he is really very pretty but, unlike the similar Carlos Oliviera, he has absolutely nothing else going for him.
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