Ranking of all villains in the Dead Rising series

Highlights

• Dead Rising’s villains range from broken to selfish, with some being sympathetic and complex.
• Chuck Greene transforms from hero to villain and back again, while Calder’s script is unexciting.
• Isabella Keys and Fontana stand out for their interesting motivations and actions, while Hemlock embodies the darkest evil of the series.

Who are the villains in Dead Rising? The series has many complicated and eccentric characters who take advantage of the zombie apocalypse to cause chaos. Some are simply broken people who have become lost in the carnage. Others are opportunists who see this as a chance to fulfill their selfish desires.

And what about the main villains in each game? Which ones are truly corrupted beyond repair, and which villains are just plain stupid? Here are all the villains in the Dead Rising series, ranked from worst to best, even if their best might spell the end of humanity.

12 Chuck Greene

From hero to villain and back.

Chuck Greene may be the hero of Dead Rising 2, clearing his name, saving his daughter, and even winning the heart of Stacey Forsyth, but happy endings don’t always last. In Dead Rising 3, Chuck fights to keep Katey off the government’s radar.

This leads to him becoming the leader of his own mafia boss. During the game, he is a looming threat, but never fights Nick or commits any evil deeds. When Chuck is revealed, he quickly becomes a hero again.

11 Calder

A zombie philosopher

Calder enters a regeneration chamber that transforms the military officer into a super zombie. While he develops a heightened sense of intelligence and becomes the series’ first intelligent zombie, he mostly resorts to brutal methods to carry out his newfound plan for human cleansing in order to protect the natural order, or “the Chain” as he calls it.

Although Calder commits evil deeds, such as killing civilians and other villains, he unfortunately lacks the complex writing style that makes every other villain not only captivating but also relatable.

10 Fontana

Evil but honorable

Fontana is one of the few villains in Dead Rising who actually cares about her henchmen. She’s tasked with developing a kind of super zombie and completing Dr. Barnaby’s work. She’s in it for the science, no matter what the cost.

She is one of the three main villains in Dead Rising 4 and one of the few villains who shows compassion for her subordinates. So much so that she is willing to sacrifice herself to protect them, a fact that even Frank West respects.

9 Tom Pickton

Twisted Willamette Survivor

Tom Pickton is one of the more interesting villains in Dead Rising 4. He survived the original Willamette outbreak and is therefore constantly preparing for what he believes will be a second outbreak.

When Willamette is once again plagued by the undead, Tom quickly uses his influence to take control of all survivors and form his own militia, causing him to develop a savior complex.

8th Brock Mason

It’s just a mission

Brock Mason is the original corrupt military officer of Dead Rising. He is responsible for eliminating the outbreak in Santa Cabeza and Willamette, wiping out zombies and survivors alike.

Brock Mason sees the cleanup as a mission that must be accomplished by any means necessary. Although he is not directly responsible for the outbreak, he enjoys the idea of ​​a challenge and even smiles when he is defeated by Frank in hand-to-hand combat.

7 Isabella Keys

For the family

Isabella Keys is one of the most interesting villains in the series. That’s because her exact role in the story is constantly changing. Sometimes she’s a villain who advances Carlito’s plans. Other times, she’s hard at work on a cure for the zombie virus.

Although she no longer plays the main villain role in Dead Rising 3, her goal to restore her family’s name may lead to some moral gray areas. At least she did end up developing a cure.

6 Sullivan

A case of lawful evil

If there’s one villain who truly believes he’s in the right, it’s Sullivan. Sullivan, a Phenotrans employee, poses as a Fortune City security guard in charge of the bunker.

He kills Rebecca Chang to prevent her from spreading the news of Phenotrans’ involvement in the outbreak. He considers himself noble and is willing to sacrifice countless civilians to save the lives of those he considers superior, such as doctors or politicians.

5 Stacey Forsythe

Unscrupulous and efficient

In the alternate reality of Dead Rising: Off The Record, Stacey is not the kind person she is in canon. Instead, Stacey is a ruthless Phenotrans agent who would do anything to make sure the queen harvest goes well.

In this timeline, she gives a similar speech to Sullivan justifying her actions, but her rendition of the villain’s monologue is more sadistic.

Stacey also has one of the coolest boss fights in the Dead Rising series, where she uses a giant robot to beat Frank in a series of quick-time events and regular fights.

4 TK

Greedy and he knows it

TK’s ambitions in Dead Rising 2 aren’t as sophisticated as some of the other Dead Rising villains, but his hunger for more and his rivalry with Chuck Greene make him a villain who deserves to be punished.

He is paid by Phenotrans to sabotage his own zombie game show, “Terror is Reality,” and thus enable the outbreak. Still hungry for more, TK sends his minions through Fortune City to rob the banks.

3 Carlito Key

Justice prevails

At first glance, Carlito Keys may even seem friendly, as he is the first to greet Frank upon his arrival in Willamette, but he is filled with anger after what happened in his hometown of Santa Cabeza.

Carlito sees his villainy as retribution for the loss of his hometown. He wishes the truth about the zombies would come to light and that the Willamette outbreak would be the first of many. He sees his actions as poetic justice against American greed.

2 Marian Mallon

It feels like punishing humanity

Marian Mallon’s presence is first made clear in Dead Rising 2: Off The Record. She does not deny that she has triggered outbreaks to increase profits, nor that she sees zombies as a punishment for humanity.

She appears again in Dead Rising 3, where she uses machines to fight Nick. Despite her well-thought-out strategies to control the virus and the cure, she is killed by the impatient Hemlock, who does not see the cure as necessary for world domination.

1 hemlock

A taste of all evils

Hemlock goes as far as a villain can go when zombies are part of the fictional world. He betrays other villains because they don’t meet his standards, he has no problem killing thousands of people, and he even plans to use the undead as a weapon for his own benefit.

He possesses all the qualities that make every other villain in Dead Rising so evil. One of his plans even involves using the virus to commit genocide without damaging the infrastructure that makes the country valuable.