Resident Evil’s Ada Wong is more than a stereotype

Let’s get one thing clear: I am obsessed with Ada Wong. Ada Wong first appeared on the scene in Resident Evil 2 First meeting her as a Raccoon-City spy was during my original playthrough. Resident Evil 4. Without a doubt, I loved her instantly. Ada has a strong sense of femininity, wearing her seductive red dresses and performing killer moves with the hookshot. Ada’s specific extra content caught my attention. Separate waysThe ending was fast for me. RE4The first time I saw her, of course my heart jumped and I stomped on the floor. RE4 remake. She is the perfect match for Resident Evil 4’s schlocky action-movie energy and her equally ridiculous macho counterparts, Leon and Krauser.

Ada makes for a great character in an entertaining game. But RE4’s The cinematic approach is full of tropes from action movies. Some, like Leon’s terrible movie hero one-liners and head-exploding roundhouse kicks, are still really funny. Others — especially the ones that apply to my favorite international spy — aren’t. So let’s dig into that.

The Title Screen for Separate waysShe gives a little bump to her reading, a reference to the 1990 movie La Femme Nikita, Ada is shown in the same pose as the titular Nikita in the movie’s poster. The movie is about a young woman who becomes an assassin and falls in love, and fans have noted that Ada’s love for a man (namely, Leon) is a trait they share.

Ada is Asian American, though, and that impacts the reading of the femme fatale trope, since she also ends up falling very neatly into the derogatory “Dragon Lady” trope, which portrays Asian female characters as deceitful, mysterious, villainous, and domineering. These characters often dress in Asian inspired costumes that are sexualised to highlight their alienness. While all-American boy Leon Kennedy runs around Spain to save the president’s daughter, Ada stands in contrast to him in her modernized Chinese qipao while working in tandem with notorious Resident Evil villain Wesker. Even her name reminds me of Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first Chinese American movie star, who was often forced into playing these types of characters because of the limited roles available to Asian women.

Ada is not a bad person, she has always been there for Leon. She helps him out throughout the entire game. RE4 her sexualized and shady persona — along with her famous red dress — is the “Dragon Lady” trope to a T. I correctly anticipated that the RE4 remake developers would change Ada’s dress in order to distance her from this trope. Ada’s voice was dubbed by Lily Gao for the first Resident Evil remake. Unfortunately, she received harassment online because of this performance. Gao made a post on Instagram addressing the harassment she had experienced and voicing her support for authentic casting, writing that “inauthentic casting perpetuates an unhealthy image that further dehumanizes the community they seek to reflect. It is time we stop only capitalizing on the sexualized, eroticised, and mysterious Asian woman, and make space to honour every kind of Asian woman.”

Ada might appear to be a shallow spy stereotype, but her personality is much more complex. You might be right.It is a good idea to use a different language. I have a particular soft spot for Ada. Ada was one of the few Asian American female characters to appear in mainstream gaming before Ada came onto the scene. Resident Evil 4In 2005 our expectations were much lower for the conscientious portrayal of Asian characters. It was really amazing to see a capable and cool Asian woman appear in this game!

Capcom

Ada has character moments that flesh her out, too, but the hitch is that they mostly involve Leon, a hallmark of the “sexpionage” trope. Ada and Leon’s encounters are a perfect example of a sexpionage scenario, where intimacy, romance or sexual activities occur during an espionage mission. Ada’s relationship with Leon shows her more than the coldhearted femme fatale, and I enjoy that. [Warning: The following contains a spoiler for Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 remake.] For example, Leon and Ada’s conversations during the RE4The remake shows how Ada’s changed from Raccoon city, when she refused to give the Plaga back to Wesker to prevent casualties. The problem isn’t the existence of the romance between Ada and Leon — it’s that their romance is the only vehicle for character development that Ada is given.

We don’t know a lot about Ada’s history or motives; perhaps that’s intentional, to maintain her mysterious spy image. We only get to see her more humane side in the context of her relationship with Leon. Consider how Ada is a part of Leon’s character development in RE4But he can develop on his own without her. Ada being trapped in “romantic” plots seems to be a recurring problem, as her subsequent appearance in Resident Evil 6The main antagonist may also have an unrequited crush on her. It feels like this kind of thing is a natural pitfall for “sexpionage” storylines.

It’s definitely possible we could see more of Ada in the future. I’m still holding out for a Separate waysDLC type for the RE4 remake. She had also been originally expected to be in Resident Evil VillageAccording to concept art from the early stages, Ada was going to conduct an investigation in the village as Ethan searched for his daughter. She would save Ethan during their first meeting with the Lords. This concept was eventually cut, but it’s promising, because it’s both the exact kind of development I want for her outside of romance, and an indicator that Ada could still be a player in the franchise. But what really makes me hopeful is something Gao said in her statement where she reflected on her performance, saying, “My Ada is a survivor. She is intelligent, funny, just and kind. She is unpredictable, resilient, and absolutely not a stereotype.” Knowing that there was care put into her remake portrayal by an actor who understands how much depth Ada could have made me very happy, and I can’t wait to see where my favorite lady in red may pop up next.