Resident Evil Vol 1 Issue #5

Resident Evil (Volume 1) Issue #5
Book Information
Publication History
Publisher:	Wildstorm
Pub. date:	February 1999
Other Information
Series Chronology

Resident Evil: The Official Comic Magazine, Issue #5 was released in February 1999.

Stories

"...And the Last Shall Be First" - Kris Oprisko

...And the Last Shall Be First tells the story of a young college student named Dexter Whitlam, who, pushed too far by a gang of bullies, becomes a Tyrant after injecting himself with the G-Virus and subsequently goes on a murderous rampage.

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The story begins in Pine Grove Academy, which is a prestigious school in Pennsylvania, and one of the United States' top boarding schools. Dexter Whitlam is a student at this school, studying Advanced Physics and Chemistry. His academic success is taken advantage of, and a gang of bullies beat him up for not letting them copy his homework. A girl, Ruthie, is among Dexter's only friends, and helps him suppress his rage at the thugs, who only made it into such a school because of their family's "old money", though he vows vengeance on those that harmed him, still.

Dexter spends the night forcing himself to remember each person who harmed him:

• Kelly Thorndike - the son of Clifton Thorndike. Known for a "nasty mean strike";
• Wade Boddington III - a narcissist "pretty boy" who tries to impress any girl Dexter is near;
• Todd Umbenhauer - a dim-witted student on a Football scholarship.

Dexter finally cracks and sneaks out of his dormitory at night. Stumbling upon an Umbrella warehouse storing scientific equipment, he begins making nightly visits. Finding a preserved Tyrant, he is in awe at the level of skill in genetic engineering required to create it. Dexter manages to take a vial containing the G-Virus before Earl and another employee return; although seeing Dexter flee, Earl decides not to report the matter, as he is just a child. Later on, Dexter is confronted by the bullies again while researching on the virus; they want pay-back for Ruthie reporting them. Ruthie arrives to protect Dexter, hitting Wade on the head with a heavy Calculus book; he reacts by punching her.

Later, the two Umbrella employees are interrogated by Mr. Venk as to how the G-Virus sample disappeared, threatening to use them in an experiment on how long a human can live when flayed alive. As the employees decided not to report a break-in, the brass is convinced that they are covering up company theft. One of the employees manages to explain the case, and Klaus orders Mr. Venk to accompany him in hunting down Dexter... after Venk kills the employees, that is. Meanwhile, at the academy, Dexter finally infects himself with the G-Virus and turns into a creature. Looking at himself in the shower, Wade is horrified to find Dexter in the reflection. He runs out calling for help, but Dexter succeeds in impaling him with his new talons. At the Rhen Athletic Dormitory, Todd is the next to go while he waits for a Frosty Nougat Crunch at a vending machine. Todd's body is eviscerated and thrown through the glass of the vending machine.

At the Boy's Dormitory, Ruthie watches from a crack in the door as the two senior Umbrella leaders look through Dexter's research documents, concluding that he infected himself. At the Ritzheimer Gymnasium, Kelly is slashed in the stomach and thrown to the ground. Still alive, he pleads for his life as Ruthie confronts him, begging him to stop his murderous rampage. Dexter chooses vengeance over Kelly's offer of money and kills him. Turning his attention to Ruthie, Dexter is suddenly electrocuted by a powerful anti-B.O.W. weapon by Mr. Venk, and Ruthie sits by his side as he lays on the floor.

Dexter awakens in a hospital room cured from the virus, and is greeted by Venk and Klaus (lacking his monocle, this time). Impressed by his intelligence and skill in killing, they offer him a career at Umbrella as part of a new generation of scientists free from ethical restrictions. Dexter smiles with a toothy grin.

"Emmy's Bloody Spoon" - Ted Adams

It is a short story set immediately prior to the opening cutscene of Resident Evil 2, depicting Terry and Deb an arguing pair of newylweds driving into Raccoon City and stopping at Emmy's Diner. The waitress takes their order and then goes into the kitchen to discover that the cook is a zombie. He attacks and kills her. Outside, the arguing couple make up, only to be attacked by the cook who kills them both. Minutes later, Claire Redfield walks in and finds the cook hunched over the husband's body, eating him.

"Kane & Abe" - Ted Adams

Kane and Abe directly follows the events of Issue #3's Dead Air and Issue #4's Zombies Abroad.

The individual S.T.A.R.S. members overcome their various challenges, with Chris Redfield successfully escaping from the living suits of armor and Barry Burton killing the skeletal zombie he ran into. The two regroup and begin searching for Jill Valentine, who has encountered the Umbrella scientist named Abe, and is attacked by his mutated twin brother, Kane. Abe tries to reason with his monstrous sibling, but Jill can tell that Kane is beyond reason now.

She and Abe run from the monster. They meet up with Chris and Barry, who confront Kane. Meanwhile, Abe sets the castle to self-destruct and escapes. Chris fights Abe, but it is Barry who kills the monster by force-feeding him a live grenade. The S.T.A.R.S. members then escape from the castle before it blows up. Wandering into the nearby woods, Chris wonders if in destroying Queck Castle they destroyed Umbrella for good. Jill says it couldn't be. Then, Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy appear wearing backpacks, Claire having come to Fussen in search of her brother with Leon tagging along (Falcon told them where Chris and the others were).

Observing the destroyed castle nearby, Leon comments that the S.T.A.R.S. members must have a good story to tell him and Claire. Barry tells him they'll explain everything on the way home, prompting a disappointed Claire to complain, "But we just got here!"

Characters

• Bob - ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon")
• Deb - ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon")
• Emmy - ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon")
• Claire Redfield - ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon", "Kane & Abe")
• Terry - ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon")
• Tim - ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon")
• Abe - ("Kane & Abe")
• Barry Burton - ("Kane & Abe")
• Chris Redfield - ("Kane & Abe")
• Jill Valentine - ("Kane & Abe")
• Kane - ("Kane & Abe")
• Leon Kennedy - ("Kane & Abe")
• Wade Boddington III - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Earl - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Jackie - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Klaus - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Ruthie - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Kelly Thorndike - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Todd Umbenhauer - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Mr. Venk - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")
• Dexter Whitlam - ("...And the Last Shall Be First")

Crew

• Kris Oprisko - Script writer ("And the Last Shall Be First")
• Lee Bermejo - Penciller ("And the Last Shall Be First")
• John Tighe - Inker ("And the Last Shall Be First"'; "Emmy's Bloody Spoon")
• Ted Adams - Script writer ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon"; ("Kane & Abe"))
• Ryan Odagawa - Penciller ("Emmy's Bloody Spoon")
• Carlos D'Anda - Penciller ("Kane & Abe")
• Mark Irwin - Inker ("Kane & Abe")

Further notes

• Apart from the improbability of two more people driving into the city unmolested, in addition to Leon, Claire Redfield and the tanker truck driver, this story could easily fit into the canon of the games. This makes it one of the very few comic stories to boast this. Of particular interest is the presence of an RPD officer in the diner when the couple first enters. He walks out, and is presumably shortly killed thereafter, explaining the presence of the driverless police cruiser Leon and Claire find.
• When entering Raccoon City, the couple is puzzled to discover that it isn't on their map.