Jill Valentine

Jill Valentine is a video game character in the Resident Evil survival horror series. She is one of the protagonists in the original Resident Evil, where she is introduced as a member of the Special Tactics And Rescue Squad (STARS). She returned as the protagonist in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, where she was no longer a member of STARS, merely a citizen trying to survive the viral outbreak in Raccoon City. Jill returned in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil 5, where she was a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA). Portrayed by Sienna Guillory, she appeared in the second cinematic adaption of the series, titled Resident Evil: Apocalypse and is also the protagonist in Resident Evil: Genesis, the mobile phone adaptation of the series.

Character design
During development of the original Resident Evil, Jill was conceived as the weaker of the two playable characters, since she can take less damage and is a slower runner than Chris Redfield. However, she was given more ammunition, two extra item slots, the ability to pick locks, and access to other weapons to compensate for this.

The development team for Resident Evil 3: Nemesis commented that Jill was deliberately designed to make her "Beautiful for everybody". This was so that she would appeal to a wide audience of both male and female gamers, as males would find her physically attractive, while females would see her as a tough role model.

In the remake of Resident Evil, producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said the team wanted Jill to be "a little cuter" so that "Her action and atmosphere has charm". However, so that she remains a "tough" and inspiring character, her body is designed to be "not skinny, more like muscular". Her facial appearance from the remake onwards is based on Julia Voth, as character designer Kenichiro Yoshimura said that he "made Jill's face as much similar as I could to the model actress face."

On the slight change of appearance for Jill and Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5, production director Yasuhiro Anpo said that he tried "to preserve their image and imagined how they would have changed over the passage of time... we made a new design that retained their signature color - green for Chris, blue for Jill - to carry over the same look from the past. The facial structures are mainly based on the visuals of the GameCube version, and we added various details to these in order to develop a realistic structure."

In video games
Jill Valentine first appears as one of two playable protagonists in the original Resident Evil. Along with Chris Redfield, she is a member of STARS' Alpha team, deployed to the Arklay Mountains. Alpha team is attacked by several undead dogs, and retreats to the Arklay Research Facility. Jill initially works with Barry Burton, as they inspect the mansion and discover its undead residents. She and Chris discovered that STARS leader Albert Wesker had betrayed them, and after defeating the Tyrant released by Wesker, Jill escaped the mansion along with Chris, Barry, Bravo team member Rebecca Chambers, and Alpha team pilot Brad Vickers. Jill's appearance, starting from the remake of Resident Evil, was based on Canadian model Julia Voth.

Jill returns as the sole protagonist in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. She fights alongside Carlos Oliveira, a UBCS soldier who is attempting to escape Raccoon City. Jill encounters Nemesis, a super soldier created by the Umbrella Corporation. After several encounters with the creature, Jill is able to defeat it and escape Raccoon City before the city is destroyed. Jill then appears in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles where she works with Chris Redfield to expose and destroy the Umbrella Corporation. She and Chris defeat Umbrella's newest BOW, TALOS, and survive the ordeal.

Before the events of Resident Evil 5 Jill had apparently died to save Chris during a confrontation with Albert Wesker. During the game, Chris finds out that Jill survived, but is now under Wesker's control. Chris and his new partner Sheva Alomar manage to subdue Jill and allow her to regain control and return to her normal self. Jill then worked with fellow BSAA agent Josh Stone to assist Chris and Sheva in defeating Albert Wesker once and for all.

Jill also appears as a character in Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, where she can summon zombies to attack her opponent.

In film
Jill appears in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. In this version of the series she is a STARS member and foil to the main character, Alice. Jill, along with a group of survivors, try to escape Raccoon City, and is one of the few to make it out. Jill was set to appear in the sequel, Resident Evil: Extinction. However, Guillory had commitments to other work. Based on recent reports, she may return for Resident Evil: Afterlife.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse
In the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Jill is portrayed by Sienna Guillory. Early in the film, a newspaper article in her apartment hints at her dismissal from the S.T.A.R.S. unit and her involvement with Nemesis. Both add to similarities between the movie and the game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Although, due to the vastly different conclusion, as well as the role of Alice, the game and movie are officially considered alternate universes.

In Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Jill had been a rising star in the S.T.A.R.S. organization, before her reputation was ruined after a botched mission known as "The Arklay Mountains Incident". Information from the movie's website indicates that she gained insight into a "classified bioweapon weakness", which was said to be a "cranial flaw". Initially the Umbrella Corporation intended to bribe her, so their bioweapons wouldn't lose market value. Had that failed, they planned to have her "neutralized". In the film, Jill maintains a strong friendship with S.T.A.R.S. officer Peyton Wells. During a t-virus outbreak in Raccoon City, Jill attempted to leave the city through a quarantine screening set up by Umbrella at Ravens Gate Bridge. When the infection reached the Gates, Umbrella sealed off the sector and urged that all citizens return to their homes.

Upon heading back to the city, Jill stumbled upon news reporter Terri Morales, who managed to video tape Umbrella's actions at the Bridge. When Jill decides to hold up at Ravens Gate Church, her group is attacked by Lickers, Alice manages to locate Jill and her companions whom are hiding out. It is notable that Jill is far less self-sufficient in the movie, and likely would have died if not for the help of Alice. When Umbrella intervenes Dr. Ashford's plan to use Alice to get his daughter Angela out of the city in exchange for a safe departure out of the city. Jill is taken hostage by Umbrella soldiers and is later released by Carlos during a gunfight (with Umbrella agents) against Alice at Raccoon City Hall. Before the destruction of Raccoon City, Jill manages to get the survivors out. Upon departure the helicopter is hit by the blast wave and crashes into the Arklay Mountains. All except Alice survive the crash; the remaining survivors flee the scene.

At the end of Apocalypse, Carlos and Jill are both wanted criminals by Umbrella for allegedly posting a hoax video to cover up a nuclear meltdown that occurred at Raccoon City. Both "infiltrate" Umbrella's Chicago Facility to recover Alice, who was resurrected using a new viral agent. It is shown at the end that they were "allowed" to infiltrate Umbrella and rescue Alice.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse Extended Version
Jill appears in four new scenes in this version, two are conversations with Terri and the other scene is Jill listening to the discussion of the priest. The final scene is a conversation with Alice, because Jill asked her why she decided to work for them.

Differences from the Game

 * Nemesis was not destroyed by Jill, he was first defeated in close combat by Alice, and then was crushed from debris of a falling helicopter.
 * In Resident Evil 3: Nemesis comrade Carlos Oliveira seemed to have an interest in the heroine, while in Apocalypse Carlos had his eye on the more powerful Alice.
 * Jill smokes in the movie whereas Jill in the game doesn't.
 * In the games, Jill comes off as having a self righteous, sympathetic and caring personality with a sense of justice. In the film, Jill is a lot more cold and emotionless in character.
 * Jill in the games is more in control of the situation around her and resourceful. In the movie, Jill is a lot less self sufficient and notably less skilled compared to Carlos and Alice, though out of all the S.T.A.R.S., she is the only one to actually kill a zombie in the movie, apart from the guy on the roof who blows ones head off, Payton misses with every shot and the group of S.T.A.R.S. taking refuge in the city is killed by Nemesis.

Resident Evil: Afterlife
Jill Valentine returns at the end of Resident Evil: Afterlife. being controled by Umbrella.

In print
Jill appears in a 1999 Hong Kong Manhua adaptation of Resident Evil 3 by Lee Chung Hing, "Biohazard 3: Last Escape."

Jill also appears in mulitiple novels based on the Resident Evil series, particularly in those by S. D. Perry.

In Perry's novelization of Resident Evil 3, Nemesis is immediately recognized as a modified Tyrant, which Jill Valentine dubs Nemesis after thinking about why it hunts her.

In Perry's novelizations, it is stated that Jill is the daughter of a professional thief Dick Valentine, and was his accomplice prior to her career in law enforcement, explaining her unrivaled infiltration skills and mastery of unlocking.

Portrayal
Jill was portrayed by an actress credited as "Inezh" in the live-action cutscenes of the original Resident Evil. She was voiced by Catherine Disher in Resident Evil 3 and Heidi Anderson in the remake of Resident Evil. Patricia Ja Lee provided the voice and motion capture work for Jill in Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil 5. Actress Sienna Guillory portrayed her in the movie adaptation, Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

Reception
Since her introduction Jill has been received positively, described by sources such as Duluth News Tribune as the "best super heroine this side of Lara Croft". She was named as the "Sexiest Game Character" by News.com.au, which noted her popularity with both male and female gamers for different reasons. GameSpy listed her as one of their top ten women of gaming at number seven, stating "Even those of us who weren't big fans of the games, and their constant ammo shortages, will remember Jill."

UGO.com listed her thirty-ninth on their "Top 50 Videogame Hotties" article and as one their top eleven video game heroines, noting her as a core character of the Resident Evil series and citing her high popularity. GameDaily named her one of their favorite Capcom characters of all time, placing her 10th on their "Top 25" list while stating praise for her Resident Evil 3 attire. The sentiment was repeated in their "Top 50 Hottest Game Babes" article, which ranked her twenty-sixth on the list. She was featured in another list from GameDaily called "Babes of the Week: Brunettes", citing her role in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis as her greatest triumph. They also include her in a list of "Ten Babes Who Should and 10 Babes Who Shouldn't Meet Your Mom", stating that while she has questionable fashion sense, she is both noble and confident. In another article, they listed the "smart and sexy heroine" as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using Jill as an example. Several other Top 10 lists have also ranked her as one of the most attractive female characters in video games, such as Spike TV and Virgin Media.

Background
A member of the Special Tactics And Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) Alpha team in Raccoon City, Jill was a former member of Delta Force. This would imply enlistment in one of the armed forces, specifically the Army. Therefore, she would most likely have been an Army Ranger or a Green Beret. She also must have been a very talented soldier to get noticed so quickly. Supposedly, Jill was already acquainted with her fellow S.T.A.R.S. member, Chris Redfield, prior to joining the squad; we, however, are never told how they knew each other.

Mansion incident
On July 23 1998, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team was deployed to the outskirts of Raccoon City located in the Arklay Mountains after evidence of grisly, cannibalistic murders. A day later, after contact with Bravo team was lost, the Alpha team was sent to find out what happened to their comrades. Soon after their arrival, the team found the destroyed remains of Bravo team's helicopter and were quickly attacked by vicious Cerberus, canines infected with the T-Virus. After witnessing the death of fellow Alpha team member Joseph Frost, the team was abandoned by their helicopter pilot, Brad Vickers and the remaining members fled to a nearby mansion, the Arklay Research Facility.

Jill, along with fellow survivors Chris Redfield, Barry Burton, and Albert Wesker, assumed the mansion to be deserted. They would quickly discover the various beasts and monsters inhabiting the mansion, as well as the remains of their fallen Bravo Team compatriots. Through her cooperation with Barry, Jill was able to discover that the mansion was actually a front for a top-secret research facility owned by the Umbrella Corporation. They also came to find that Wesker was a double agent working for Umbrella and had planned the whole operation as an experiment to test out Umbrella's T-Virus B.O.W.s and to destroy the S.T.A.R.S. team. However, after Wesker was seemingly killed by one of his own creations, Jill and Barry escaped, along with Chris Redfield and surviving Bravo Team member Rebecca Chambers, leaving behind the ruins of the secret lab known as Spencer Mansion.

Raccoon City incident


After their return to Raccoon City, S.T.A.R.S. request for a full-scale investigation of Umbrella's activities was denied by their superior, Chief Brian Irons of the Raccoon Police Department (RPD). With no support from the American government, Chris, Barry, Jill, and Rebecca decided to travel to Europe and investigate Umbrella's main headquarters themselves. Chris went ahead and traveled to Europe by himself by the end of August, while Barry went to Canada to relocate his family first. Jill decided to stay in Raccoon City in order to investigate the whereabouts of Umbrella's Underground Facility before joining her comrades.

However, two months after the mansion incident (on September 28), her investigation was ruined when Raccoon City was infected with the T-Virus. During her escape, she witnessed the death of Alpha Team's pilot, Brad Vickers, at the hands of "Nemesis", a B.O.W. sent by Umbrella to assassinate the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members. Jill managed to thwart Nemesis temporarily and met with Carlos Oliveira, a surviving member of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) along with Nicholai Ginovaef and Mikhail Victor. However, Mikhail gave his life protecting Jill and Carlos from Nemesis while Nicholai was presumed dead after an accident. Jill and Carlos ended up in a nearby clock tower after their cable car collided off-course. During the following battle with Nemesis, Jill was infected with the T-Virus and was taken to the clock tower's church by Carlos, where she lay there in a semi-coma.

Two days later (on the night of September 30), Jill recovered after being administered with a serum by Carlos, and continued her search for escape. Soon afterwards, she discovered another one of Umbrella's secret research facilities hidden behind a park. In this lab, she confronted Nicholai for the last time (it seemed that she had a bounty on her head that he wished to collect), and fought with Nemesis once again. Jill successfully destroyed Nemesis with a top-secret weapon that was transported to the facility a few days earlier and managed to escape from the city with Carlos via a helicopter piloted by Barry Burton. As they flew away, Jill witnessed the annihilation of Raccoon City by nuclear weapons on order of the U.S. government.

Jill, Barry and Carlos would go on to become involved in various anti-Umbrella groups and activities until Umbrella's closure.

Wardrobe
Jill's standard and most well-known outfit is a pair of blue assault pants with a light blue formfitting shirt and body armor, completed with a blue beret on her head. In addition to her S.T.A.R.S. uniform in the first game, Jill wore a casual outfit consisting of jeans and a black midriff. In Resident Evil: Director's Cut, she wore a sleeveless blouse with jeans and boots as a default outfit in the game's Arranged Mode. The Saturn version of the first game also featured Jill in an alternate version of her S.T.A.R.S. uniform.

In Resident Evil 3, she wears a blue tube top, black mini-skirt and a white sweater wrapped around her waist as her default outfit. This is also a well-known outfit and is the outfit worn by Sienna Guillory in the second film. She has a total of five alternate outfits (eight in later versions), including her original S.T.A.R.S. uniform, an outfit that makes her resemble Regina, the heroine of the Dino Crisis series, a police mini-skirt, a biker outfit, and a disco outfit. The Dreamcast and PC versions of Nemesis also featured two additional costumes not seen in the other versions. The Resident Evil remake for the Gamecube featured her standard Resident Evil 3 outfit and a new military outfit modeled after Sarah Connor's outfit from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

In Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (the Nintendo DS port of the original), Jill gets to wear her original casual outfit, as well as a revealing policewoman uniform in the game's "Rebirth" mode.

During the original games' conception, Jill is notorious for going through more changes in her appearance than any other character.

Trivia

 * Jill is noted as one of the earliest well-rounded female video game characters. This is possibly because Survival Horror games tend to have a larger female fanbase than more straightforward action ones, possibly owing to the vast popularity of horror among Japanese women in the 1990s. Female video game characters are often accused of being designed to be "eyecandy", superficial fantasy figures tailored to appeal to the traditionally male gaming market. Lara Croft, the most famous video game heroine of all, has recently been redesigned in response to such criticism. While Jill is frequently in danger, she is never portrayed as a victim or "damsel in distress". Although she is tough, she is not unbelievably skilled, more often than not, she relies on her ingenuity and training to survive rather than her physical prowess. Jill is resourceful and strong, without seeming unrealistically powerful. Many of the game's fans in turn were unhappy that Milla Jovovich's Alice character's superhuman abilities were unfaithful to the precedent of smart, down-to-earth heroines set by the games. Because of Jill's strong character, and because of its iconic status, her blue and black costume is a popular subject for cosplay.


 * In order to have joined Delta Force, Jill must have been an Army Ranger or a Green Beret, neither of which is ordinarily possible for a woman. The alternative is that Jill joined the "Funny Platoon," an organization dedicated to intelligence services within Delta, or that the prohibition against women Rangers or Berets does not exist in the Resident Evil universe. As she is 23 in RE3, she would have been 18 when she joined the Army, and then joined Delta Force between the ages of 19-22, an extremely rare occurrence for a soldier, much less a woman.


 * In Resident Evil 2, one can search Jill's desk in the S.T.A.R.S. office of the RPD. On her desk is a picture which, when examined, is described as her being with a young man, possibly her boyfriend. This is one of the biggest mysteries in the series to date, as no mention has been made of her having any kind of romantic relationship so far.


 * Gamespy.com recently (as of 2006) rated Jill the seventh greatest video game babe of all time, and made remarks on how they await her return.


 * Jill's favorite hobby is shopping.


 * Heidi Anderson's facial design and expressions were mimicked for Jill's in the remake of Resident Evil.


 * Jill appears in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 as a playable character. She comes equipped with all her trademark weaponry from Resident Evil. As "special moves," Jill can dodge out of the way of incoming monsters, such as zombies, dogs, crows, and even the Tyrant, leaving her opponent to deal with them.


 * Jill gets a Character Card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash. In Card Fighters' Clash 2, the design on her card was changed to reflect her RE3 outfit.