Welcome Umbrella Pharmaceutical, Inc., also known as the "Umbrella Corporation", was a crooked mega-corporation which operated ruthlessly as a major international player in a number of markets including pharmaceuticals, medical hardware, defense, and computers along with more clandestine operations utilizing genetic engineering and biological weaponry. The company also had a more benevolent public face for the ignorant masses, producing cosmetics, consumer products and foods.
A subsidiary of Umbrella operated as a malevolent paramilitary organization. This division of the corporation maintained a highly trained security force capable of rescue, reconnaissance, and para-military operations. They used a variety of vehicles, including HUMVEEs. Complementing this security force was an air wing, which maintained a fleet of AV-8B Harrier jump jets, UH-60 Blackhawks, C-130 Hercules water-landing capable cargo planes, CH-53 Sea Stallion cargo helicopters for transporting prisoners and Hughes MH-6 'Little Bird' attack helicopters. The corporation utilized these resources in order to secure and protect its assets, as well as its high profile employees.
The paving stones for Umbrella started in 1966, when Ozwell E. Spencer led an expedition into Africa with his friend Sir Edward Ashford, fellow scientist Doctor. James Marcus and Marcus' student Brandon Bailey, to find the lost kingdom of the Ndipaya. Ozwell had studied an encyclopedia by explorer Henry Travis, that described a legend of a plant that gave great powers to those who could survive its poisonous blossom.
The two rediscovered the lost kingdom of the Ndipaya, an ancient underground city surrounding the legendary flower, which Travis referred to as the "Stairway to the Sun" This flower produced a previously unrecorded virus which Spencer, Ashford and Marcus established as the Progenitor virus.
When they returned to North America in 1967, they discovered that the flowers could not produce the virus if cultivated outside their habitat. In March, Spencer had the idea of starting a company, though the idea was disliked by Brandon, who felt that it was pointless without being able to produce Progenitor.
In this year, architect George Trevor- after working since 1962 - completed the Spencer estate and its lab. He and his family would be used as guinea pigs for Progenitor. 1968 was a notable year. Umbrella was founded, Ashford died from exposure to the virus [citation needed] and Brandon was forced to stay in Africa and run the Umbrella Africa Research Center and send samples to Dr. Marcus' newly built Training facility.[1]
In 1969, Edward's son Alexander began the construction of the Antarctic Transport Terminal, attached to which was a research centre where he began development of his "Code: Veronica" project. This was his research into the gene that controls intelligence. Two years later, Alfred and Alexia would be born from his research.
Seeking new information on Progenitor, Marcus had several of his students infected with the virus. They were however, unable to survive its effects and died, their corpses dumped in the Water Treatment facility.
Marcus injected leeches with Progenitor in 1978, and bore witness to the creation of a new strain which he named the "tyrant virus".[2] Later this year, the Training facility would be closed and Marcus' two prized students: Albert Wesker and William Birkin, would be moved to the nearby Arklay Research Facility.
Yet again in 1978, did Marcus find evidence of tampering. In his increasing paranoia brought on by his quest for glory and isolation from mankind, he wrote in his diary that Albert and William were the only humans he trusted. His trust in them would betray him ten years later however, as the two would - under direct orders from Spencer, himself - have him assassinated by a Special forces unit and dumped in the Water Treatment Facility. Credit for "t" would be taken by William. His trust in William would also render hiding the source of "t" - the Leeches - useless.
By now however, Birkin had little care for "t", having discovered the G-virus in the body of Lisa Trevor, the daughter of George, still kept in the estate as a guinea pig for their twisted experiments.
Added by Garfunkle20Birkin and Wesker used this as a diversion for their own plans to leave Umbrella, taking their research with them. Wesker, having formed Raccoon City's elite S.T.A.R.S. unit two years previous, would develop a plan to lure the team to the Mansion and obtain battle data from the conflict that would surely follow. Although the Tyrant was deployed - leading Wesker to falsify his death in a realistic "unforeseen side-effects" of releasing it - both the laboratory and the rampaging Tyrant were destroyed by S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team before making its escape back to Raccoon City with a single Bravo team survivor.
Wesker was forced to go into hiding for a number of months, using his operative Ada Wong to carry out his objectives, including the recovery of Birkin's G-virus. Two months after the Arklay incident, William Birkin finally perfected the viral strain that he'd been toiling to achieve since obtaining Marcus' research so many years earlier. Birkin planned to use the virus to force the Umbrella Corporation into allowing him onto their executive board, but then changed his plans when he found that selling it directly to the U.S. Government would prove far more profitable - though this is based on Umbrella's opinion.
Umbrella deployed its elite U.S.S. Alpha team (a para-military black-operations unit created for Umbrella's most clandestine purposes) led by HUNK in a desperate bid to stop Birkin from handing over his ultimate creation. Although Birkin was mortally wounded in the ensuing conflict, and the G-virus was successfully recovered by HUNK's team, he was able to inject a remaining sample into his own body and devastate most of the team before it could make its escape.
This event would be indirectly responsible for unleashing the t-virus into Raccoon City. HUNK recovered a sample of the virus, extracted and gave it to Umbrella. While the Arklay incident had been relatively isolated and concealed from the public, and Umbrella's control over key government and law enforcement personnel had ensured that any record of what had occurred could be safely swept into obscurity, they were now faced with an entire city infected with "t" and a trail leading directly back to the Umbrella Corporation. This would prove exceedingly difficult, even for Umbrella, to make it simply disappear.
Umbrella fell from grace of September 24, 1998, when the t-virus had turned a large amount of the population into Zombies. The morning after, the U.S. Government had the city limits bordered off by the military, whilst they began an investigation into the matter.
Umbrella itself was divided on the issue of Raccoon City. Its virologists within the limits spent their time researching a cure, whilst weapons researchers had experimental B.O.W.'s sent in to receive combat data on their effectiveness at killing civilians. The Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) was sent in to evacuate civilians, whilst "Monitors" installed within the four Platoon Delta's gathered the combat data, sacrificing their comrades to save their own lives, where they would receive a very generous sum for the data.
Meanwhile, some employees even turned on each other. Dr. Frost was killed by Monica for being in the way of a G-sample, whilst Yoko Suzuki - a tyrant virus test subject used in an experiment two years earlier - lost her Umbrella security card to the woman, who would soon walk right into the infected Birkin and become a host for his offspring.
Former Umbrella researcher Greg Mueller had a University professor create a cure - Daylight - before the Outbreak, knowing what would soon happen. He was wanted by Umbrella, not due to "Daylight", but because of an experiment Greg took with him when he left - an experimental Tyrant. "Thanatos" was activated and sent outside to kill UBCS personnel attempting to claim it. Unbeknownst to him or his creation, the supervisor "Nicholai Zinoviev" had infiltrated the building. Whilst discussing his plan with a few survivors, Nicholai shot through the ceiling, through Greg's head, and out of his neck - death was instantaneous. The University was destroyed by C-4 charges, whilst the Tyrant was killed by "Daylight" nearby. A fitting end to the beast, one of the ingredients of the anti-virus was the creature's very blood.
Elsewhere in Raccoon, an executive had a UBCS team on the lookout for renegade USS member Rodriguez, who had stolen the executive's "package". Rodriguez was waiting for a researcher - Linda - to return from an Umbrella facility as she left something important behind. This was AT1521 - Umbrella's answer to Daylight. After recovering it, another researcher - Carter - released the experimental "Tyrant T-0400TP" to kill off the MA-125 Hunter R running amok. Although seemingly taking orders from Carter without question, it had already counted the man as a threat - a bomb had been planted in the monster, and Carter had the detonator. The creatures betrayal led to the destruction of AT1521, leaving Linda to have to remember how to re-synthesize it all by herself.
Eventually, Umbrella was unable to delay the Presidents decision to authorize Mission Code XX. With little time left, all paramilitary forces were ordered to clear out. Carlos Oliveira and Jill Valentine were rescued by Barry Burton, whilst Nicholai attempted to escape solo by helicopter. Rodriguez was forced to abandon Linda and pull out, leading to an attempted shoot down by Tommy Nielson. The rocket missed, but the helicopter's sudden emergency maneuvers led to the loss of the "package", revealing a horrific creation. The UBCS team, and T-0400TP were defeated by the giant blob and absorbed into its body. It would eventually be killed by a group of survivors, who successfully escaped Raccoon by HUMVEE with Linda.
Still, this was not the last story to tell of Umbrella's actions in the city. Leader of Umbrella's paramilitary organizations, Sergei Vladimir, stole the U.M.F.-013 storage system - also known as the Umbrella Archives. Ada Wong, a spy sent into Raccoon to gather "G" for Wesker, had finally completed her mission and hitched a ride on the chopper, witnessing the destruction of Raccoon City.
It would take many years, and many more tragedies to finally gather enough evidence to condemn Umbrella.
Umbrella's fortunes failed to improve in the time shortly after the Raccoon City incident. But with a barrage of false witnesses and Code XX destroying all evidence, all blame for the incident was carefully shifted to the U.S. Government. Despite Linda and Yoko's appearance at the Supreme court, Umbrella survived.
On Sheena Island, undercover investigator, Ark Thompson, operating on behalf of Leon S. Kennedy, succeeded in destroying Umbrella's Tyrant production plant after a senior executive assigned to the island unleashed the t-virus on its citizens. Shortly afterwards, when Claire Redfield broke into Umbrella's Paris facilities in search of her brother, she was captured and sent to Umbrella's illegal prison camp on Rockfort Island. While there, she witnessed Albert Wesker attack the island in search of the T-Veronica virus, another descendant of Progenitor. Escaping the island, she found herself trapped at the Antarctic Transport Terminal, 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, Rockfort Island and the Antarctic Transport Terminal, most of Umbrella's illegitimate operations had been shut down. This, combined with the loss of so many of Umbrella's research and security personnel throughout each of the disastrous incidents, left Umbrella with little chance of reforming said operations or regaining the years of research lost thus far.
The U.S. STRATCOM was involved in clean-up operations, such as the theft of the tG virus by former Umbrella executive in R&D, Morpheus D. Duvall, and his plans to create a new order based around his obsessive ideals of 'beauty'. The loss of the experimental virus and the liner "Spencer Rain" would be in vain.
The final blow to the company would come in February of 2003, when a private anti-biohazard paramilitary force was sent to the Caucasus in the Russian Federation in response to rumors of a new B.O.W being developed by Umbrella. Leading the attack were Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, who eventually reached the Russian facility's underground chamber, where they fought Umbrella's final weapon, T-A.L.O.S., after it was dispatched by Sergei Vladimir. At the same time, Wesker managed to infiltrate the facility a few hours before Chris and Jill's arrival, and had one final encounter with Sergei, who then mutated into a new, virus-infected monster. While Chris and Jill destroyed T-A.L.O.S., Wesker managed to extract all data from Umbrella's Red Queen supercomputer, while also erasing any of the memory left within the computer itself, in order to use it against Spencer, thus bringing Umbrella to its knees.
Umbrella was finally found guilty soon after the Umbrella Russia incident, after an anonymous tip-off by Albert Wesker, using the data he had extracted. The U.S. Government suspended Umbrella's market trading license pending further investigation into their business practices. While this investigation must have already provided Umbrella with severe financial problems, a worldwide manhunt for surviving founder Ozwell E. Spencer sealed the organization's fate.
Albert Wesker kept the stolen data in his secret hideout. Wesker had always desired power more than anything in the world, seeking to dominate all for his own gain. He saw Umbrella as power incarnate. His computer had every Umbrella asset stored away safely, and he planned to one day remake the company under his leadership. This new Umbrella would lead the human race into a new, improved era, fixing a world Wesker saw as unacceptable. His vision for the future would go beyond that of Spencer, but he would later discover that they both had much in common, as Spencer had made Wesker who he had become.
With trading suspended, Umbrella's shares quickly collapsed, and the company was left bankrupt. With the corporation shut down, a vast amount of Bio-Weapon and virus samples appeared on the black market, birthing an age of Bio-terrorism. The ultimate irony being that the world was safer with Umbrella than without it.
Edit Umbrella's Viral Legacy
Almost a year after Resident Evil 4 Umbrella's t-virus was used in a bioterrorism attack on Harvardville Airport, resulting in a mass infection of the entire terminal. However this time it was caused by a company known as Wilpharma. One of its key employees Frederic Downing, had stolen both the T and G virus samples from his previous employer Umbrella, and fled Raccoon City. Umbrella's other monstrosity, the G-virus was also used in the same outbreak, and was injected into the body of Curtis Miller. Curtis wanted the information about the Raccoon City outbreak released, so everyone who had wronged him and his deceased family would be arrested. Unknown to him Frederic Downing was using him to collect G-virus combat data for a buyer wanting the T and G-virus’s. However the conspiracy was uncovered by the efforts of Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield and the S.R.T, during the deadly outbreak.
Due to Umbrella's use of medicines developed by other pharmaceutical companies, the Global Pharmaceutical Organization worked to prevent further harm from being done to the names of innocent pharmaceutical organizations, and to prevent the further distribution of B.O.W's, by forming the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or "BSAA", after Umbrella's collapse in 2003. Among the eleven founding members were none other than Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine.
Though Umbrella was portrayed as a archetypical "evil mega corporation", similar to Weyland-Yutani from the Alien series, a corporation that prefers money and power over human lives. It was later given an elaborate backstory and presence stretching back to the turn of the century.[3]
On the other hand, the same game greatly bolstered the concept of an omnipotent corporation, introducing the company's private prison island. And while some of the zombie outbreaks seen in the Resident Evil series are caused by staggering incompetence and rogue operatives rather than overt maliciousness.
It is also noteworthy that in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, the corporation released the Nemesis T02 with the sole intent of tracking down and murdering all surviving S.T.A.R.S. members; and in Resident Evil 2, the T-103 Tyrant was dispatched with a similar mission (murder all credible witnesses to Umbrella's guilt and recovering the G-virus), Resident Evil 3: Nemesis various other T-103 tyrants where released in the city to test them against the US military.
Capcom themselves appeared to realize the increasing improbability of the cliché premise (and the pitfalls of sticking to it), and thus Resident Evil 4 saw Umbrella's swift downfall, explained away in occasional sentences and not really mentioned since. However, in the "Separate Ways" sidegame featured in the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii versions of Resident Evil 4, it is revealed that Umbrella is indeed alive and well under the care of Albert Wesker as apparent by the judicious use of Umbrella technology still in use.
Nevertheless, examples of Umbrella's inability to control outbreaks, mostly caused from former personnel, resulting in pandemonium, include:
- Resident Evil 0, which dealt with the outbreak caused deliberately by a resurrected James Marcus in revenge for his 'death' at the hands of Umbrella.
- Resident Evil, which dealt with the members of S.T.A.R.S. being used as cannon fodder to gather battle data about the performances of zombies, bio-weapons, and irregular mutants.
- Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and the Resident Evil Outbreak series, and Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City, which show what happened after an ostensibly failed attempt (the Umbrella operative HUNK eventually delivered the virus) made by Umbrella Special Forces Unit operators to recover the G-virus from William Birkin.
- Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where a special forces team working for "The Organization", along with Wesker, attack an Umbrella island, causing an Outbreak. Later, an escape plane from the same island, lands at the Antarctic Transport Terminal, causing another Outbreak.
- 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 samples of Umbrella's prototype viruses, unleashed part of them aboard a luxury cruiser, property of Umbrella, and used several others to threaten the U.S. and China with a secret missile installation filled with viral warheads.
- Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Umbrella's End/Dark Legacy, where an Outbreak occurs in Umbrella's last stronghold, a research lab in the Caucasus mountain range. Coincidentally, the report of the Outbreak was sent in right as Wesker was seen on camera entering the building, suggesting he may have had involvement.
Company Motto & Slogan
- According to James Marcus, the Umbrella's 'employee pledge' is stated as being "Obedience Breeds Discipline, Discipline Breeds Unity, Unity Breeds Power, Power is Life". It is unknown if this is the motto for the public or if it is used purely within the company, due to its ominous sound.
- In the game Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Albert Wesker states that Umbrella's motto was "Preserving the health of the people".
- In the 2002 film Resident Evil, Umbrella's slogan is "Umbrella Sheltering Your Family".
- In the 2004 film Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Umbrella's slogan is "Our Business is Life Itself."
Products
A contributing factor to Umbrella's success were their non-lethal commercial products. Such products include:
- Adravil: A paste-based drug with the motto of "Quick and Easy Relief: Adravil".[4] It may be a reference to the real drug Advil.
- Safsprin: An apparent Aspirin-based brand. This brand's motto is "The Common Cure".[4]
- Uspirim: Another Umbrella Aspirin-based product, introduced in Alyssa Ashcroft's good ending inResident Evil Outbreak.[5]
- Aqua Cure: Umbrella's crowning public achievement, Aqua Cure is an ointment used on open wounds that made the company famous worldwide. It is considered to be Umbrella's primary public product and is very effective. It is most likely the recurring item "First Aid Spray" that appears throughout the series. It is assumed that the t-virus is used on this product to re-accommodate the damaged cells, though no side-effect has been shown from this product.
- Valifin: A non-canon medication mentioned in the novelization Resident Evil: Zero Hour by S.D. Perry, Valifin is an experimental pediatric heart medication that has a side-effect of renal failure.
- Regenerate: A non-canon product mentioned in the Resident Evil: Apocalypse', Regenerate is a skincare product that uses the t-virus to reanimate dead skin cells, making the user appear younger.
- Return: A non-canon weight pill mentioned in promotions for the second movie. This pill features the ability to burn up to 30 pounds per pill. Developed using the t-virus.
It is also interesting to note that all herbs are from Raccoon City. This suggests Umbrella cultivated these herbs, explaining how they ended up in an Umbrella base in Antarctica.
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Manufactured Firearms
- Sporting Int. Magnum Custom Edition A mix between a Desert Eagle and a Colt M1911, it uses .50AE rounds.
- Incinerator Unit A gun that uses some parts of the Colt M4A1 Carbine and fires a long range flame.
- Semi-Automatic Anti-Tank Rifle A large rifle used to destroy light armored vehicles. It can punch through 3 cm. of reinforced steel.
- Spark Shot A gun that fires electric shocks to control experimental animals.
- Mine Thrower A gun with specialized darts that will detonate if something pass near them, or attach themselves to a creature.
- Elite Python A modified version of the Colt Python made by Umbrella.
- Linear Launcher A Shoulder-Mounted cannon that fires extremely powerful blast of plasma.
- Charged Particle Rifle A gun that charges particles with negative or positive shocks that can electrocute somebody or deactivate electric shields and damage electric artifacts due to the EMP emitted by it.
- Umbrella Magnum This model is actually a Raging Bull .44 Magnum, it is called the Magnum Revolver
- THE HIVE
The Hive is a high tech underground facility built for the workers to have 22nd century technology, to develop more accurate and life saving medicines. That was not the only reason it was built, its where White Umbrella was located they develop military technology, viral weapontry, and conduct genetic experimentation, the T-virus was also developed down there before the outbreak.
Dr. James Marcus
Age: 98
Blood type: A
Height: 180 Cm
Weight: 168 Kg
Job:Co-founder of umbrella and head of the training facility
Info: James founded Umbrella and was killed Spencer's men and Wesker and Birkin took over his research but was brought back by the t-virus and the leaches and attempted to kill Rebeca Chambers and Billy Coen but failed and was killed.-"now i will have my revenge and the world will burn in an inferno of hate!" was one of his most famous lines.Ozwell E. Spencer
Age: 93
Blood type: O
hight: 5'9
Weight: N/A
Job: Founder/President of umbrella
Info:A man of great wealth and power, he was of relation to the British royal family. He had a vision to remake the world and lead it into a new era, as the world's current state was less than ideal to Spencer. He intended to use the research of Bio-Organic Weapons to carry out his vision and mold a utopia for mankind. He found Umbrella and helped discover the progenitor virus. He was on life support when Wesker found him and killed him.Albert Wesker
Age: 42
Blood type: 0
Height: 6 ft
Weight: 132
Job: CEO
Info: Albert Wesker... hes current owner of umbrella and is currently working on an improvement for the ouroboros.
William Birkin
Age: 47
Blood type: 0
Height: 5'10
weight: 147
Job: main Researcher
info: William created the T-virus back in 1997 and was one of Umbrellas main researchers until the swat came and took the G-virus he later created and was forced to use a sample of it he had dropped to kill the swat. he was killed in the process.
weapon
The T-virus
Status: In Testing
Tempature: -57°C
Rise Of Contamination: none
Type: Protein
Main Color: Blue
Created At: The Hive
Tested: 7 times, test lab 3 floor 5
Responsible: Dr. Green & team
Main Proteins: GAG-TCG-ATG-CTG-ART-GCA-TGC
RNA Similar: GAG-UCG-AUG-CUG-ARU-GCA-UGC
Anti T-virus
Status: In Development
Temperature: -63°C
Rise Of Contamination: None
Type: Anti-Virus/Anti-Protein
Main Color: Green<
Created At: The Hive
Tested: 2 times - Test lab 2, floor 5/6
Responsible: Dr.Isaacs and team
Main Anti-Protein: GTC-GAT-CGA-HA-GAT-CAG
RNA Similar: GUC-GAY-CGA-YYA-GAV-CAG
Our Business is life itself
- The Corporation is divided into 4 Major Divisions:
"our buisiness is life itself" Red Umbrella- the world's leading suplier of pharmasuticals
"bringing tomorows technology today" Blue Umbrella- Umbrella technologies, the worlds leading suplier of techology
White Umbrella- BILOGICAL SOLUTIONS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
"making the world a better place for everyone" Green Umbrella- capable of solving some of the worlds biggest environmental conflicts
Umbrella biohazard countermesure services- protecting umbrella and all of its employes
