#tyrant theory

Note: Because I'm focusing on pre-Tyrant Tyrants, I'm just going to talk about his unaltered form here. His altered form will come later, when I start getting into pathogenic genealogy.

Colonel Sergei Vladimir was born in the Ukraine during the mid to late 50s. I won't detail a lot of his younger backstory because it's...a lot, but some traumatic experiences in his youth gave him deep-seated masochism and a love of Joseph Stalin. While skinny and weak in his youth, in adulthood he would grow into an absolute behemoth of a man. He would join the Soviet army, and rise to the rank of a Spetsnaz colonel.

In the waning days of the Soviet Union he would take part in a human cloning experiment, where it would be discovered that he had a unique affinity for biological experimentation. Soviet scientists would produce ten clones of him, artificially aged, who he would adopt as his own sons, train, and lead into battle in Afghanistan.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, he would become Ozwell Spencer's most loyal retainer and volunteer for further experimentation. He sacrificed his clones to the Tyrant project, but considering they were basically him, they probably went willingly. Though not all Tyrants are his clones, his clones were instrumental in making the production model Tyrants a possibility.

Now, there is absolutely no evidence that Vladimir had any sort of virus in him as of 1998. He relied mostly on his personal tyrant, Ivan, in order to carry out his work, such as transporting the TALOS project or fighting off threats like Cerberus dogs and even Albert Wesker himself. However, there is no appreciable difference in stature between him and Ivan. He also seems to not feel pain and his wounds close up very quick, as he is constantly engaging in acts of minor self-harm. There's also his pale skin and white hair, which is typical of Tyrants who do not go completely bald.

In my opinion his massive stature, unusual strength, receptiveness to biological experimentation, and resistance to physical harm are close enough to a Tyrant that we can assume he is expressing some of the same genes. His remarkable intelligence is also a trait that the legendary Progenitors had, but is rarely expressed in modern Tyrants (probably intentionally). In short, Sergei Vladimir is as close to a Tyrant as an unaugmented human can get, and some of the most compelling evidence to my theory that Tyrant-like transformations are a trait that just exists in the human genome.

The Ivans were special t-103 models that were obedient to Sergei Vladimir. It's unknown where they came from or what sort of virus was used in their creation, but given their enhanced abilities and loyalty to Vladimir, it's likely they're survivors of his original clone unit. In regards to abilities, they're able to almost keep up with even the enhanced Albert Wesker, sprinting fast enough to catch up with him and even making incredible vertical leaps. The degree of athleticism shown by the Ivans is unparalleled among true Tyrants.

Next, I'll continue the pre-Tyrant Tyrants by talking about the undisputed queen.

Giant Majini: Infected by Las Plagas Type 3

Result: Enhanced size, enhanced strength, discolored skin

You get the idea.

Lady Alcina Dimitrescu: Infected by the Mold through Cadou.

Result: Enhanced size, enhanced strength, discolored skin

Now, while we know there is a connection between the Plagas and the Progenitor Virus, we don't know if there's a connection between the Plagas and the Mold or the Cadou. It's possible some Plagas-infected were incorporated into the Black God Megamycete, and that's the source of the Tyrant-like genes, but even if we accept that, it means that the source of the Tyrant mutation wasn't the t-virus, it was the Progenitor.

But I think that connection is tenuous enough that it's possible Tyrant mutations just...happen?

My theory is that the reason the Tyrant-type mutation crops up in so many different mutagenic pathogens (mold, parasite, virus, etc) is because it's actually an atavistic trait locked in human DNA. Some people have it, some don't (likely related to the Progenitor Humans, from which the Ndipaya were descended), and the circumstances under which it activates determines the particular expression in an individual.

I'm trying to compile all potentially relevant data, whenever it is available.

Lisa Trevor was the first Progenitor Virus mutant created in the modern world. She's not the first Tyrant (that would come later), nor is she the first Tyrant-like (that would come earlier), however she is the basis of most of what's to come. She's also a little difficult to parse, because the form we see is not her initial mutation.

Initially, she was noted to have increased strength, deformed limbs, and near-immortality. However, she suffered brain damage and gradually deteriorating mental faculties until she essentially entered a vegetative state. It's never stated that she grew taller during this period, and her skin discoloration was never noted, but I think it's safe to assume.

For the next 14 years they basically just kept shoving new viruses into her and hoping that something would work. It's...honestly shocking just how shoddy Spencer's science was even compared to the rest of his little eugenics club. There's a reason the Arklay Lab produced basically nothing of value until Wesker and Birkin took over. It's unclear what effect these viruses had on her (if any), but it wasn't until they implanted a Nemesis parasite (likely a prototype) that her condition suddenly improved.

Well, improved in that she came out of her vegetative state. Got worse because she grew gross eyeballs on her back and became even more uncontrollable than ever. It also resulted in the G-virus creation, which I will discuss separately. It's notable that she has a large, orange eye on her back, a trait that will become important later

She has many traits that will become typical of Tyrants. Increased size. Increased strength. Discolored skin. Etc. However, she does not seem to ever mutate further, perhaps because her regeneration means she's never injured enough to trigger such a transformation. Or maybe she's about as messed up as she can get.

Blobs are the only other things we know were created directly under Spencer, with a Progenitor-type virus. It's unknown directly what created them, though it's likely an early version of G, considering that's about all he'd have access to. Due to the tissue bloating and nautical features, it's possible T-Abyss might be involved, though how is completely unknown.

Again, note increased size, increased strength, discolored skin. The bright orange weak point eye is what marks this as a viral descendent of Lisa Trevor, and indeed their mutations show a lot of similarity. Especially the big orange eye, which will become a staple of other G-virus descendents.

Continuing my survey of pre-Tyrant Tyrant-like mutants, Dr. Albert Wes....Lester, From Resident Evil Outbreak File 2.

Lester was the head doctor at a shady hospital on the outskirts of Raccoon City. He performed illegal human trials of various medicines provided to him by an Umbrella shell with the very legitimate name of "Drugs Inc," including a supposed anti-cancer drug called T-JCCC203 that was actually a t-Virus derivative.

T-JCCC203, or "Green T" as I've nicknamed it, showed a far greater affinity for plant life than most other T strains, so it was likely derived from t-infected flora like Plant 42 and Ivy. Zombies infected by Green T were symbiotic with mutant plant life, which defended them with poisonous spores. Even before transformation into zombies, individuals infected by Green T show green skin rather than the more typical jaundiced or grey, as if their bodies were producing chlorophyll.

When Al Lester's wife Dorothy developed coronary cancer, he was desperate enough to allow her to take part in Drugs, Inc's clinical trials despite the low survival rate. At first, the drug seemed to work and her cancer went into complete remission, but 24 hours later she started transforming into a zombie, eventually causing an outbreak that caused the hospital to be shut down and abandoned in 1993.

Al was broken by this, and would make frequent trips to the hospital where his wife's body still remained. However, at some point a giant mutant plant started growing from her corpse, eventually overtaking the entire hospital. Al, extremely rational and normal, decided that this plant was Dorothy's reincarnation and started hunting animals to feed it. Eventually, this escalated to hunting humans, under the guise of an alternate identity dubbed the Axeman. It's unknown if this increase in aggression was caused by the virus, a psychotic break, or a mixture of both.

During this time in close proximity to the plant, which did not attack him for some reason, he became infected and developed greatly enhanced strength and regeneration, with his only obvious deformity being the green discoloration on his side. The source of this is unknown, as it does not seem to correspond to any major organ. My best explanation is that it's the scar left from where a hiker shot him point blank with a shotgun. It would make sense that the repaired flesh showed greater signs of infection.

One unusual trait was his seeming ability to change size, albeit on a very small scale. In his normal state, Al was not a particularly tall man. However, when he adopted the Axeman persona, he became notably taller, at least a head taller than any other survivor. I would be willing to write this off as a gameplay consideration were it not for his connection to Dr. Greg Mueller, whose Thanatos tyrant was able to similarly grow in stature.

It's tempting to write Dr. Al "Axeman" Lester off as a human adapter and not a tyrant, but as I'll demonstrate through this series, the line between zombie, adapter, and tyrant is extremely blurry. His ability to change size also links him to another Tyrant. It might be more accurate to call him something like a demi-tyrant, since he has the trifecta of enhanced strength, increased size, and discolored skin, but only in a limited and situational capacity.

That's actually worse somehow!

One last try:

There we go.

The Irish Giant is based on the craze of giant petrified humans in the 1890s, all of which were obvious hoaxes. In particular, the 12-foot tall specimen pictured which was "discovered" in Ireland. Sometimes articles will call this picture the "Cardiff Giant," but that's a different fake fossil. That one still exists, but this one disappeared, probably because someone broke it.

Everything about this screams "Tyrant." The size, the musculature, etc, but it's really hard to tell considering its state. Petrified human tissue is basically unheard of, and considering that viable DNA could be extracted from the "fossil," it's likely the Giant isn't even truly dead. Not saying it could be revived, but it's probably in a state similar to the fossilized Plagas. This fits with Dr. Ryan Howard's plans to revive his son.

However, transformation to a mineral state is not a trait of the Progenitor virus or the T-virus. It's trait of later derivatives, such as the Chrysalid or Darkness virus, but otherwise only the Plagas and Mold have shown that ability. Therefore it's reasonable to assume that this giant was created by an unknown mutagenic pathogen. Possibly a Progenitor strain, but just as likely an extinct parasite or fungus.

When DNA from the Irish Giant was incorporated into a T-virus sample (unknown strain) it seemed to impart greater coordination and a much more rapid transformation on zombies. Literally seconds after bite, with no comatose "dormant" state. A Type-103 Tyrant injected with the resultant T-Howard strain was able to run full tilt even with a limiter on, while most 103s can only move at a brisk lumber.

The T-Howard virus, when injected directly by Ryan Howard, was also shown to cause his muscles to expand rapidly, a very specific mutation only seen in the interaction of the T-Phobos and Oroboros viruses. Fortunately/unfortunately, he was killed before he could complete his transformation.

It's also notable that other than the Irish Giant, there is no known evidence of Progenitor Humans in the British Isles. He might have been one-of-a-kind. There's a lot unknown about the Irish Giant, not the least because it only appears in a Japan-exclusive stage play. It still presents some interesting questions, and proves that the mutations we recognize as "Tyrants" don't have to come from the T-virus.