Things most women and Resident Evil protagonist Leon Kennedy have in common: a decent haircare routine, near-death experiences in a Spanish castle, first-hand experiences with the occult, suffering from unfair social expectations around aging courtesy of Reddit…
Recently, one Resident Evil fan took to the social site to post a comparison – which currently has 12,000 upvotes – of Leon at age 21 in 1998's Resident Evil 2 and Leon at age 27 in Resident Evil 4, released in 2005. The Redditor observed how Leon, who I like to think of as the Marlon Brando of disease outbreak, looks like he's cut from expensive marble in the latter and said, with dismay, "Look what happened to my boy. Sad."
"Actually a really good depiction of how trauma can age a person," says a popular reply.
"Definitely a lot of sleepless nights after [Racoon City]," says another response with nearly 3,000 upvotes.
Well, I'm sorry, but I take offense to that. At 21, Leon looks like a Disney Channel heartthrob with full, rosy lips and the full cheeks of a Prince Charming who's never had to go without his lunchtime BLT. Six years later, Leon looks largely the same, except he's an HBO heartthrob with a jawline that could open a soup can, and a stormy glare that suggests he's seen at least two festering wounds.
"That’s PTSD and insomnia for you," a response with over 1,000 upvotes quips.
I also consider myself a highly traumatized 26-year-old with insomnia, actually, but I resent the idea that my handful of silver hairs and slightly more sallow face compared to when I was a zygote has anything to do with it. Can't a girl age gracefully without it being pathologized? Can't Leon become 20% sexier without people on Reddit thinking it's a tragedy he's now a man, not a boy?
There's already so much tragedy in the world. Sometimes, I think we fixate on it too much. There needs to be space for the miracle that is growing old and healthy, too, and for perseverance, such as in Leon's timeless haircut.
I don't care what Capcom says, Leon not being in Resident Evil Requiem makes no sense.
