Umbrella Corporation
From Freepedia
- This article is about a fictional company as seen in the Resident Evil videogame series.
| Image:Aqua RE Umbrella.png | |
| Type | Fictional — Public |
| Founded | Raccoon City, United States (1968) |
| Location | France United States South Pole |
| Key people | Ozwell E. Spencer Dr. Edward Ashford James Marcus William Birkin Albert Wesker |
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals Medical equipment Computer hardware Biological weapons Defense |
| Products | T-Virus G-Virus |
| Revenue | |
| Employees | |
| Website | |
The Umbrella Corporation (also known as Umbrella, Inc.) (傘株式会社) is a fictional biotech company set in the Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) series. It operates ruthlessly as a major international player in a number of markets including pharmaceuticals, medical hardware, defense, and computers along with more clandestine operations utilising genetic engineering and bioweaponry.
A subsidiary of Umbrella operates as a private military company. This division of the corporation maintains a highly trained security force capable of rescue, reconnaissance, and para-military operations. Complementing this security force is an air wing, which maintains a fleet of AV-8B Harrier VTOL jump jets, C-130 cargo planes, CH-53 Sea Stallion cargo helicopters, Hughes H-6 "Little Bird" attack helicopters, and other military-grade craft. The corporation utilizes these resources in order to secure and protect its assets, as well as its high profile employees.
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Formation and History of Umbrella
In official material, Umbrella is stated as having been founded by Lord Ozwell E. Spencer, a man descended from the Royal Family, shortly after the Second World War. Two other people were prominently involved at the conception of Umbrella, Dr. James Marcus and Sir Edward Ashford. Though it is apparent that Spencer was the driving force behind the formation of the company, Marcus and Ashford were far more interested in the potential uses of the Progenitor Virus. When Edward Ashford was killed in a laboratory experiment blamed on his son, Alexander Ashford, Spencer was able to largely sideline Marcus at Raccoon City while he maintained control over the company for the next thirty years. Spencer would eventually grew distrustful of Marcus, scared that his research would allow the scientist to eventually supplant him at the top of Umbrella. Spencer ordered for his execution, which was duly carried out by William Birkin and the young ambitious Umbrella operative Albert Wesker. Wesker would subsequently take over Marcus' research.
Ten years later, as depicted in Resident Evil Zero, Marcus was completely restored by his Queen Leech. Marcus would exact his revenge against Spencer and Umbrella by unleashing the T-Virus into the Arklay Laboratory's water supply, turning the researchers, guards and experiments there into zombies. Birkin and Wesker used this as a diversion for their own plans to leave Umbrella, taking their research with them. Wesker would develop a plan to lure the Raccoon City division of S.T.A.R.S. to the Spencer Mansion, a home for Umbrella workers built to conceal the Arklay laboratory. Though the Tyrant was deployed, both the laboratory and the Tyrant were destroyed by S.T.A.R.S. Wesker was forced to go into hiding for a number of months, using his operative Ada Wong to carry out the important mission of recovering Birkin's ultimate creation, the G-Virus.
Several months after the Arklay incident, William Birkin finally perfected the virus that he had (presumably) been working on ever since he took over Marcus' research. He now planned to use the virus to force Umbrella into allowing him onto their executive board. A special forces squad was dispatched to stop Birkin, and though mortally wounded, he was able to use the G-Virus on himself and eliminate the squad. This would go on to indirectly unleash the T-Virus on Raccoon City. While the Arklay incident was relatively isolated, and Umbrella control over Raccoon City ensured that any record of what went on there would be destroyed, they were now faced with an entire city infected with the virus that they were responsible for.
Decline and Collapse
After the disaster in Raccoon City, Umbrella's fortunes did not improve. The U.S. Government was forced to take drastic measures to stop the virus from spreading. They launched a nuclear strike against the city and contrary to popular belief, there was no cover-up following the incident. While this has not been explained in its entirety, there are two likely explanations: firstly, the efforts of Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield and the other surviving S.T.A.R.S. members to expose Umbrella may well have been a contributing factor, and secondly, as shown in one of the secret endings of Resident Evil: Outbreak, one of the 'survivors' uploaded proof of the atrocity to the internet, which could have been responsible for the investigation. Though they are not considered canon, the movies show that Umbrella arranged the nuclear strike, as opposed to simpily being aware of it. It is also heavily implied in both the movies and novels that Umbrella, which has great political influence, was able to cover up the entire incident.
Shortly after the Raccoon City incident, the U.S. Government suspended Umbrella's trading pending an investigation into their business practices. While this investigation must have already provided Umbrella with problems, several further disasters virtually ensured their eventual collapse. On Sheena Island, an undercover investigator linked with Leon S. Kennedy succeeded in destroying Umbrella's Tyrant plant after an Umbrella executive unleashed the T-Virus on the island. Shortly afterwards, when Claire Redfield broke into Umbrella's Paris Headquarters to look for her brother, she was captured and sent to the Umbrella prison on Rockfort Island. While there, she witnessed Albert Wesker attack the island in search of the T-Veronica Virus. Escaping the island, she found herself trapped at the South Pole Facility, where Edward Ashford's granddaughter, Alexia Ashford, awoke from a self-induced coma with a desire to establish a new order. With the destruction of Sheena Island, Rock Fort Island and the South Pole Facility, most of Umbrella's illegitimate operations had been shut down.
With trading suspended, Umbrella share prices quickly collapsed, and the company was virtually bankrupt. By the time of Resident Evil: Dead Aim, Umbrella was largely fragmented, with the U.S. STRATCOM mainly involved in clean-up operations, such as the theft of the T-Virus and G-Virus by former Umbrella executive in R&D Morpheus D. Duvall and his plans to create a new order based around 'beauty'. By the start of Resident Evil 4, the U.S. government had completed the process of dismantling Umbrella, and it went bankrupt after its stock shares dropped significantly following the truth about the company. However, in the game, it was revealed that Albert Wesker has plans to revive the company, and according to staff working on Resident Evil 5, this is likely to form the main part of the story.
Umbrella in the 'Evil Company' Archetype
Though Umbrella was originally portrayed as a stereotypical 'evil corporation', similar to Weyland-Yutani from the Alien series, it was given an elaborate backstory and presence that stretches back to the turn of the century in Resident Evil Code: Veronica. It should be noted, however, that Umbrella's evil was more down to deliberate outbreaks out of Umbrella's control rather than deliberately scattering the virus on purpose, and in none of the games are they the direct villains (with the possible exception of Resident Evil 3, where they released Nemesis with the sole intent of tracking down the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members).
Such examples of Umbrella's inability to control outbreaks resulting in pandemonium would be:
- Resident Evil Zero, and Resident Evil 1, which deal with the Outbreak caused by James Marcus in revenge for his 'death' at the hands of Umbrella.
- Resident Evil 2 and the Resident Evil: Outbreak series, which show what happened after a failed attempt made by Umbrella special forces to recover the G-Virus from William Birkin.
- Resident Evil: Survivor, where Vincent Goldman releases the virus to eradicate the population of Sheena Island and any evidence against his own actions.
- Resident Evil: Dead Aim where a rogue scientist, Morpheus D. Duvall stole a sample of Umbrella's prototype viruses.
Company Motto
In Resident Evil Zero, the Umbrella's company motto is stated as being "Obedience Breeds Discipline, Discipline Breeds Unity, Unity Breeds Power, Power is Life". However, in the non-canonical Resident Evil movies, its motto is "Our Business is Life Itself."
Other uses of the term "umbrella corporation"
- An umbrella corporation is an agency which supports several member organizations, usual working in a specific program area.
- Citigroup, the largest financial firm in the world, is an umbrella corporation in terms of the definition of the phrase and the fact that it's logo is a red umbrella, originally from the firm's roots in the Travellers Group.
- Interestingly, and perhaps ominously, the design for the shoulder sleeve insignia patch for the US Eighth Army is nearly identical to that of the fictional Umbrella.
External links
| Resident Evil series |
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Code: Veronica | 4 | 5 |
| Resident Evil Outbreak series |
| File #1 | File #2 |
| Gun Survivor series |
| Resident Evil: Survivor | Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica | Resident Evil: Dead Aim |
| Movies |
| Resident Evil | Apocalypse | Afterlife | Resident Evil 4 |
| Background Story |
| Umbrella Corporation | T-Virus | G-Virus | Raccoon City |
