Tyrant (Resident Evil)

Tyrant
Resident Evil character
Mutated "Mr. X" from Resident Evil 2
First game	Resident Evil (1996)
Voiced by	Gary A. Hecker (Extinction) Michael McConnohie (Damnation)
Portrayed by	Brian Steele (Extinction)

Tyrant is the code name of a series of boss characters in the Resident Evil horror video game series by Capcom, introduced in the original Resident Evil in 1996. Tyrants are towering, biologically engineered undead supersoldiers created and used by the sinister Umbrella Corporation. Tyrant creatures make appearances as boss characters in most Resident Evil games and the desire to create an obedient bioweapon lies at the core of the series' storyline. Tyrants also appear in other media and merchandise of the Resident Evil franchise, as well as in some unrelated games.

Since their debut, the Tyrant series became one of the most recognisable and popular characters of the franchise and even gaming in general. A particularly notable Tyrant is Nemesis, the title character of the video game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

Capcom artists went through a trial-and-error process designing the Tyrant creatures and their transformations. For example, the T-103 (more popularly known as "Mr. X" and sometimes also as "Trenchcoat") was originally envisioned as armed with firearms; in some sketches it can be seen wearing a respirator and various armored outfits instead of a trenchcoat (there were also other types of coats, including a labcoat), and even its overall physical build has varied greatly (from very slim to extremely muscular).

The game series features many types of Tyrants as the result of several different experiments. Following the discovery of the Progenitor virus, the Umbrella Corporation’s founders become eager to create a Bio-Organic Weapon (BOW) that is both powerful and capable of following orders. Prior to the events of Resident Evil Zero, Umbrella used the Progenitor virus to create the Tyrant virus (T-virus), which they believe can be used to manufacture powerful organisms. A problem with the virus’ compatibility with humans set the project back, as only humans with a very rare genetic makeup are capable of mutating into potent and manageable life forms. Umbrella eventually overcame this setback by resorting to using clones of Sergei Vladimir, one of their executives who happens to be genetically compatible.