Fans ofResident Evilwill remember Jill Valentine, the special forces agent who finds herself investigating a zombie-infested mansion and escaping a zombie-infested city just days apart. Thanks to Capcom’s highly-acclaimedREandResident Evil 3: Nemesis, Jill made a mark as one of the most resilient survival-horror protagonists out there.
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Due to her experience with bioweapons and bioterrorism threats, Jill becomes one of the most formidable protagonists in the entire franchise. Moreover, her skirmishes against the powerful bio-organic weapon (BOW) Nemesis proved just how amazing Jill’s survival skills were if put to the test. However, what else can fans clean from Jill Valentine?
10References Galore
Interestingly, one of the more interesting aspects of Jill’s origins may have something to do with her namesake. Her original name “Jill Morrison” served as a reference to Jim Morrison, a member of the band The Doors. However, Capcom eventually changed her name to “Jill Valentine,” referring to Robert John Valentine who managed the Chiba Lotte Marines baseball team.
It’s interesting to note that almost all characters inResident Evileither have references to actors, films, and even music. For the first two games, in particular, characters seem to have some slight references to music and film, as reflected by Jill Valentine and The Doors, to Claire Redfield’s jacket with a reference to Queen.
9Crazy Original Drafts
When the Capcom team planned the original release ofResident Evil, Jill actually received a ton of design changes. The first iteration of Jill came courtesy of Isao Oishi, Capcom artist. In this draft, Jill received the name “Jill Morrison” and even had multiple backstories. For instance, one version stated Jill was a plane crash survivor. Meanwhile, another story had her receive cybernetic enhancements as part of a special forces team.
Moreover, in the original plans forResident Evil, Jill would first start as one of four (!) playable characters. Another revision would have her relegated as “Beam,” Chris Redfield’s supporting character.
8Realism Is Key
By the time Kenichi Iwao took overRE’s story, his draft called for a more toned-down and realistic nature of the STARS unit. In turn, Jill became a former Delta Force soldier who now serves as a member of an elite police team unit. In this final draft, Jill specializes in counter-terrorism.
However, Oishi didn’t like the “same” design of military uniforms. As such, Oishi’s design for the “more realistic” police force still had everyone maintain individual themes. As such, Jill sported her signature beret and shoulder pads.
7Blue Is For Jill
Amongst protagonists who got new costume designs in future games, Jill remained consistent with her blue motif. InResident Evil 3, Jill’s military outfit is largely replaced by a blue top - but it’s still blue. Her appearances in subsequent games also emphasized blue attire outfitted with tactical gear.
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However, some of Jill’s new outfits also called for thematic changes. For instance, Kenichiro Yoshimura’s design for Jill in theResident Evil Remakecalled for a more uniform take on STARS' uniform. In this instance, Jill sported a uniform that still had her signature shoulder pads and beret - but now had a darker color similar to her companions, signifying the black ops nature of their mission in the mansion. Jill also receives a darker “tactical uniform” for her time under Wesker’s control inResident Evil 5.
6The Fight Against Bioterror
Interestingly, Jill resumes the fight against Umbrella Corporation after the Raccoon City Destruction Incident. She and Chris join the Private Anti-Biohazard Service, which served as an international civilian counter-bioterrorism effort. In 2003, one of their missions led Jill and Chris to the Greater Caucasus areato investigate an outbreak similar to the Arklays. They eventually encounter rogue STARS member Albert Wesker and an improved Tyrant called the TALOS. The pair’s efforts eventually led to the destruction of the Umbrella facility in the area and the eventual fall of Umbrella Corporation as a whole.
Meanwhile, Jill and Chriseventually formed the BSAA, which eventually had a more proactive effort towards stopping active bioterrorism threats. It’s thanks to the BSAA that Chris eventually resolved the crisis in Kijuju and other more recent threats.
5Only One To Turn To Villainy
While the series protagonists maintained a firm grip on their desire to end bioterrorism threats around the globe, Jill serves as the only protagonist to receive physiology similar to those of Tyrants - albeit as a villain under the control of Albert Wesker.
After Jill “died” with Wesker on their fatal encounter in the Spencer Mansion, Wesker in fact survived and kept Jill under stasis in a Tricell facility in Kijuju. Experiments with the Uroboros Virus kept Jill under Wesker’s control - with Jill even fighting Chris with her newfound abilities. While Chris eventually saved Jill from Wesker’s grasp, Jill still holds the record for being the only protagonist to ever have a direct antagonistic role.
During Jill and Chris’s raid on the Spencer Estate, an unfortunate encounter with Wesker resulted in Jill and the antagonist falling off a cliff. Wesker survived the fall thanks to his physiology, while his people at Tricell Inc. kept Jill alive and implanted her with the Uroboros Virus. Jill became Wesker’s soldier duringmuch of Chris’s mission in Kijuju.
4May Hold The Key To Immunity
As fans might remember, Jill Valentine got in a bit of a pinch due to her interactions with various viruses. During her ordeal in Raccoon City, the T-Virus found its way to Jill’s system. It’s thanks to the efforts of Carlos Oliviera that Jill got a cure to the virus. Wesker will use Jill’s newfound “immunity” to make hera test subject for the Uroboros Virus, turning Jill into a superhuman agent under Wesker’s control.
After Chris and Sheva Alomar saved Jill, the latter found herself in rehabilitation to completely rid her of the virus. However, Jill remains out of commission as of the moment due to these tests. Interestingly, Jill’s blood may hold the key to total immunity to the T-Virus, and perhaps help other protagonists and agencies form better cures to worse virus outbreaks in future installments of the series.
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3More Specialized Training, Traits
Aside from her STARS training and story-related enhancements, Jill may have gotten off-screen specialized traits of her own that truly set her apart from her peers. In theResident Evil 3 Remake, antagonist Nikolai Zinoviev wrote a report that states Jill may actually haveimmunity over the T-Virus. Fans will remember that Carlos Oliviera successfully vaccinated Jill of the infection in the same game. This report seems to solidify Albert Wesker’s discovery that Jill’s immune system had special properties that protected her against the Progenitor Virus’s lethal effects.
On a minor note,Resident Evil 5also demonstrated Jill being ambidextrous. First, fans can find a picture of Jill holding an M92F with her right hand. Meanwhile, the “Desperate Escape” DLC will show Jill firing a Sig 556 with her left hand.
2A Mysterious Picture
Players of 1992’sResident Evil 2can end upexploring the STARS office of the Raccoon Police Station. Interestingly, fans might find themselves compelled to check the various desks in said office, one of which belonged to Jill. Upon close inspection, Jill’s desk will have a picture of her and a young man. Fans might speculate that this man served as Jill’s boyfriend. However,RE2director Kazuhiro Aoyama clarified that this man simply served as Jill’s “friend.”
Interestingly, theResident Evil 2and3 Remakesreplaced this picture. Instead of the same young man, players can find Jill beside a Golden Retriever.
1Discarded Hat, Different Places
Players with a penchant for minor details might recall that Jill discarded her Beret at some point in the series. However, players can find her Beret in two locations, depending on which game they played. For instance, players who played the original releases ofResident Evil 2andResident Evil 3can reunite with the Beret in Jill’s STARS desk.
Interestingly, theResident Evil 3 Remakeplaces Jill’s discarded Beret inside her apartment. Regardless, Jill can gain an extra piece of firepower whenretrieving the said weapon. Others might even say that Jill getting her Beret back is a sign of “getting back to the fight.”
