Ada Wong[a] is a character inResident Evil (Biohazard in Japan), asurvival horror video game series created by the Japanese companyCapcom. Ada was first mentioned in the originalResident Evil (1996), before being introduced as asupporting character andantiheroine inResident Evil 2 (1998). The character was initially conceived as a researcher named Linda for theprototype of the second game, but her name was changed to Ada and she was rewritten as a spy andmercenary for the finalbuild to connect its story to that of the original. Over the course of the series, Ada is often hired to stealbiological weapons for various organizations, although she betrays her employers on numerous occasions to save protagonistLeon S. Kennedy from dire situations.
Ada is featured in severalResident Evil games, novelizations, and films, and has also appeared in other game franchises such asProject X Zone,Teppen, andDead by Daylight. Several actresses have portrayed the character. Sally Cahill,Courtenay Taylor, Jolene Andersen, andLily Gao, among others, have provided Ada's voice for her video game and animated appearances, whileLi Bingbing and Gao have played her in thelive-actionResident Evil films.
Critics have positively responded to Ada as a character, highlighting her intelligence and resourcefulness as her key personality traits. Several journalists have praised Ada's portrayal as afemme fatale, and cited her as an example of a female character who is as competent and skilled as her male counterparts. However, due to Ada'sAsian ethnicity, concerns that the character perpetuates theOrientalist trope of the "Dragon Lady" have also been raised. Ada's outfits—particularly her red dress fromResident Evil 4 (2005)—have been brought up in discussions pertaining to themale gaze and criticized for being overtlysexualized. Gao's performance as Ada in the2023 remake ofResident Evil 4 received unfavorable reviews.
Ada returns inResident Evil 4 (2005).[19] She is sent to a rural Spanish village byAlbert Wesker to retrieve a sample of the mind-controlling "Las Plagas"parasite from the Los Iluminados cult.[19][22] During her mission, Ada encounters Leon as he attempts to rescue the U.S. president's daughter,Ashley Graham, who has been abducted by the cult.[19][22] After helping Leon kill the cult's leader,Osmund Saddler, Ada steals the sample from Leon and makes her escape in a helicopter.[19][22] Laterports ofResident Evil 4, beginning with thePlayStation 2 version, include a new scenario featuring Ada as theplayable character. Entitled "Separate Ways", it depicts the events of the main game from her perspective and highlights her relationship with Leon.[17][23][24]
InResident Evil 6 (2012), Ada investigatesNational Security AdvisorDerek C. Simmons, a former associate who is obsessed with her, and discovers that Simmons has transformed his assistant Carla Radames into herdoppelgänger.[19][25] Ada kills Carla, helps Leon defeat Simmons, and destroys the lab where her clone was created before accepting a new assignment.[26]
Ada features in severalResident Evil films. She appears in the adult animated filmResident Evil: Damnation (2012), in which she poses as a Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agent to infiltrate theEastern Slav Republic and obtain a sample of the "Las Plagas" parasite used in the country's civil war.[27] Ada made her live-action debut inResident Evil: Retribution (2012), the fifth installment in directorPaul W. S. Anderson'sResident Evil film series, as a former agent of Umbrella who teams up with Alice, an original character created specifically for the films, to escape from an underwater Umbrella facility.[28] Ada also appears in themid-credits scene of the live-action reboot filmResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021). She was originally intended to have a larger role, but directorJohannes Roberts believed that there were too many characters in the film.[15]
Ada features in novelizations of the films and games.[44][45] Capcom screenwriters created a series ofResident Evil 2 radio dramas, including one titledIkiteita Onna Spy Ada (The Female Spy Ada Lives). The dramas were broadcast onRadio Osaka in 1999, withSuleputer later releasing the collection on two CDs asBiohazard 2 Drama Album.[10][46] Set after the events ofResident Evil 2, they follow Ada's mission to retrieveSherry Birkin's pendant with the G-virus sample from Umbrella enforcerHUNK.[10][46] Comic books based on the game series have also been released, and Ada appears inResident Evil: The Official Comic Magazine.[47] She features inBandai'sResident Evil Deck Building Card Game (2011) and Steamforged Games'Resident Evil 2: The Board Game (2017).[48][49] Other merchandise featuring Ada include action figures, figurines, statues, plushies, and t-shirts.[50]
Concept and design
Initial concept designs for Ada for anearly prototype ofResident Evil 2, which depicted her as an Umbrella researcher (left) before she was reinterpreted as a spy (right)[51][52]
Ada was initially conceived as Linda, an Umbrella researcher tasked with retrieving the G-virus, for anearly prototype ofResident Evil 2.[52][53] The name "Ada" was conceived by Capcom designer Kazunori Kadoi and first mentioned in the originalResident Evil (1996).[51] After the prototype was discarded and development forResident Evil 2 was restarted, directorHideki Kamiya decided to turn Ada into a full character and invited Kadoi for a meeting, during which Kadoi said that he proposed Ada's name randomly and without much thought.[51] WriterNoboru Sugimura gave Linda's role from the discarded prototype to Ada and reinterpreted her as an enigmatic corporate spy for the finalbuild ofResident Evil 2 to connect its story to that of the first game.[51][52][53] Artists Isao Ohishi and Ryoji Shimogama designed Ada's appearance.[54]
InResident Evil 2, Ada develops an ambiguous romance with Leon as they save each other's lives throughout the game.[8][17] In the2019 remake ofResident Evil 2, more time was spent developing Ada and Leon's relationship, as the creative team felt that it had progressed too quickly in the original game.[55] Executive producerJun Takeuchi suggested that the kiss between Ada and Leon occur earlier in the remake, which Kamiya believed "makes Ada feel more manipulative of Leon".[56] Ada's red dress from the original version of the game is initially covered by a beigetrench coat in the remake, which Kadoi said was a more "realistic" and "believable" look for a spy.[57]
Ada and Leon's relationship is further explored inResident Evil 4 and its "Separate Ways"minigame.[17][58][59] As development of the PlayStation 2 release of the main game took longer than expected, it was decided that instead of simply porting the game from theGameCube, additional material would be added.[59] Producer Masachika Kawata believed that Ada deserved "to really stand out" beyond her minimal screen time in the main campaign ofResident Evil 4, and developed "Separate Ways" as a means of further exploring the character.[59] For the title screen of "Separate Ways", Ada strikes a pose inspired by the poster of the 1990 filmLa Femme Nikita.[8] In the2023 remake ofResident Evil 4, Ada's red side-split dress and choker from the original version of the game are replaced by a red woolly jumper and leather harness.[60][61][62]
Ada can be unlocked as a playable character inResident Evil 6 after completing the game's three main campaigns. Executive producerHiroyuki Kobayashi believed this enhanced Ada's ambiguity and made her scenario "more enjoyable" because "one of the themes of Ada's story is a lone spy working in secret".[63] Ada's outfit, which was designed by Yōsuke Yamagata and included a red blouse and black leather pants, was inspired by a previously rejected design for the character forResident Evil 4.[64] Ada was intended to appear inResident Evil Village (2021) as a mysterious masked figure in aplague doctor outfit who helps protagonistEthan Winters, but she was ultimately cut from the game due to "conflicting scenarios".[65]
Michelle Lee provided themotion capture performance for Ada inResident Evil 6,[4] while Jolene Andersen provided the voice and motion capture for Ada in the 2019 remake ofResident Evil 2.[6]Lily Gao, who portrayed Ada in the live-action filmResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,[15] provided the character's voice and motion capture in the 2023 remake ofResident Evil 4.[8] Chinese actressLi Bingbing played Ada in the live-action filmResident Evil: Retribution, and wasdubbed by Cahill in English andJunko Minagawa in Japanese.[11][14] Li took part in promoting the movie locally for their various audiences, as well as attending premiere screenings and conducting interviews for media coverage.[14]
Critical reception
Ada has received positive reviews from critics for her personality traits and defying gender conventions. Journalists fromThe Guardian and Larry Hester ofComplex have praised her beauty, intelligence, and her tendency to be "numerous steps ahead of everyone else".[66][67] Academic writer Jenny Platz opined that Ada fulfillsgender fluidity as she possessed traits typically associated with males, such as "strength and intelligence", as well as female traits like "beauty and poise".[68] Other critics have praised Ada as afemme fatale,[8] such asThe Escapist's Lara Crigger, who described her a "strong feminist role model".[69] Scholar Andrei Nae noted thatResident Evil 4 is heavily influenced byfilm noir, a genre in which female characters are either "submissive" – such as Ashley Graham – orfemmes fatales that challenge male authority and patriarchal conventions. According to Nae, in contrast to most examples offemmes fatales in film noir that eventually cease challenging male authority and submit to the male hero of the story—in the case ofResident Evil 4, Leon—Ada manages to remain out of the "ambit of the male protagonist's authority". In doing so, Ada challenges both gender and genre conventions of noir fiction.[70]
Ada's characterization has received some criticism, owing to her status as an Asian woman. Praising her as challenging of noir conventions and independence, Nae felt that Ada's identity as a Chinese-American makes her accentuated sexuality as afemme fatale conform toOrientalist clichés ofEast-Asian erotic femininity.[71] Similarly, althoughPolygon's Harri Chan praised Ada for complimenting the "schlocky action-movie energy" ofResident Evil 4, she criticized the character's portrayal for adhering to the stereotypical "Dragon Lady" trope and not providing Ada with any other path for character growth.[8]
Ada'ssexualization has repeatedly been brought into broader analyses of the character in video games.[72][73][74] Critics have argued that the in-game cinematics inResident Evil 4 focused on Ada's slit dress – noted as unrealistic and unsuitable for a combat role – and body, holding that her appearance was intended to appeal to male audiences.[61][72][73] InTropes vs. Women in Video Games, feminist media criticAnita Sarkeesian criticized Ada's outfit, particularly her use of high heels in combat roles, and argued that the attire was designed to attract men.[73] Conversely,digital media scholarEsther MacCallum-Stewart stated thatResident Evil's female characters possess unique qualities that make them viable choices for players to select over their male counterparts, with alternate combat attire that helps avoid pandering to themale gaze.[75] Researcher Stephanie Jennings argued inFeminism In Play that Ada's sexualization is reframed to enhance meaning in play, with her chapter inResident Evil 6 offering a "transgressive gender performance that effectively critiques and condemns traditional patriarchal power structures". She suggested that Ada's presence as one of the series' few multiracial characters demonstrates the intersectional potential of thefeminine gaze, albeit undermined by the limited exploration of the character's racial identity.[76]
Lily Gao's vocal performance as Ada in the 2023 remake ofResident Evil 4 was criticized by fans, resulting in the game beingreview bombed.[77][78] Jade King ofTheGamer criticized the vocal performance of Ada and considered her to be the worst part of the game.[62] Michael McWhertor ofPolygon criticized the dialogue as unnatural, speculating whether Gao was given improper direction in an attempt to generate a "cool" personality that set Ada apart from Leon.[79] Gao deactivated herInstagram comments and hid most of her posts after she was harassed online,[78] later responding to critics with: "My Ada is a survivor. She is unpredictable, resilient, and absolutely not a stereotype."[8]
^"キャスト｜バイオハザード ダムネーション" [Cast｜Resident Evil Damnation].Biohazardcg2.com (in Japanese). Archived fromthe original on May 4, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 20, 2025.
^abBiohazard 2 Drama Album: Ikiteita Onna Spy Ada [Biohazard 2 Drama Album: Living Woman Spy Ada] (Media notes) (in Japanese).Suleputer. 1999. CPCA-1025.
Jennings, Stephanie (2018). "Women Agents and Double-Agents: Theorizing Feminine Gaze in Video Games". In Gray, Kishonna L.; Vossen, Emma; Voorhees, Gerald (eds.).Feminism In Play.Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 235–249.ISBN978-3319905389. RetrievedJuly 7, 2024.
