Dead Rising: Every Villain Ranked From Worst To Best (2024)

Who are the villains in Dead Rising? The series has had plenty of intricate and eccentric characters that take advantage of the zombie apocalypse to cause chaos. Some are merely broken people who lost themselves in the carnage. Others are opportunists who see this as a chance to live out their selfish desires.

So what about the main villains of each game? Which ones are truly twisted beyond repair and which villains just suck at being evil? Here is every villain in the Dead Rising Franchise ranked from worst to best, even if their best could result in the end of humanity.

12 Chuck Greene

From Hero To Villain, And Back.

Chuck Greene may be the hero of Dead Rising 2, having cleared his name, saved his daughter, and even won the heart of Stacey Forsyth, but good endings don't always last. By Dead Rising 3, Chuck is struggling to keep Katey off the government's radar.

This results in him becoming head of his own mob ring. He is a looming threat during the game but never fights Nick or is seen committing any evil deeds. By the time Chuck is revealed, he quickly defaults to being a hero again.

11 Calder

A Zombie Philosopher

Calder enters a regeneration chamber, which turns the military officer into a super zombie. While gaining a heightened sense of intelligence, and becoming the series' first intelligent zombie, he mostly resorts to using brutish methods to achieve his newfound human cleansing plan for the sake of protecting natural order, or "the chain" as he calls it.

Unfortunately, despite committing evil acts such as killing civilians and even other villains, Calder lacks the complex writing that makes every other villain not only compelling, but relatable.

10 Fontana

Evil But Honorable

Fontana is one of the few Dead Rising villains who actually cares about her henchmen. Being contracted to develop a type of super zombie and completing Dr. Barnaby’s work, she is in it for the science no matter what it takes.

She is one of the three main villains in Dead Rising 4 and one of the few villains to show compassion for her underlings. So much so, that she is willing to sacrifice herself in an attempt to protect them, a fact 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, causing him to constantly prepare for what he believes will be a second outbreak.

When Willamette is hit once more by an undead infestation. Tom quickly uses his influence to take control of any survivors to form his own militia. This results in him developing a savior complex.

8 Brock Mason

It’s Only A Mission

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

Brock Mason sees the cleanup as a mission to be completed by any means necessary. While not responsible for the outbreak directly, he relishes the idea of a challenge, even smiling when he is defeated in hand-to-hand combat by Frank.

7 Isabella Keys

For The Family

Isabella Keys is one of the most interesting villains in the series. This is because her exact role in the story is constantly changing. At times, she is a villain furthering Carlito's plans. In other instances, she is hard at work for a cure to the Zombie virus.

While she no longer plays the primary role of a villain in Dead Rising 3, her goal of redeeming her family's name can lead to some morally gray areas. At least she engineered a cure in the end.

6 Sullivan

A Case Of Lawful Evil

If any villain truly believes they are in the right, it's Sullivan. A Phenotrans plant, Sullivan poses as a Fortune City security officer in charge of the Bunker.

He kills Rebecca Chang to prevent her from breaking the news of Phenotran’s involvement in the outbreak. He believes himself noble, willing to sacrifice countless civilians to ensure the lives of those he deems superior, such as doctors or politicians.

5 Stacey Forsythe

Ruthless 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 ready to do whatever it takes to ensure that the queen harvest goes well.

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

Stacey also has one of the coolest Boss fights in the Dead Rising Series, using a giant robot to smash at Frank in a series of quick-time events and regular combat.

4 TK

Greedy And He Knows It

TK's ambitions in Dead Rising 2 are not as intricate as some of the other Dead Rising villains. However, his hunger for more and his rivalry with Chuck Greene make him a villain worth knocking down a notch.

He is paid by Phenotrans to sabotage his own zombie game show, Terror is Reality, allowing the outbreak to happen. Still greedy for more, TK sends his goons across Fortune City to rob the banks.

3 Carlito Keys

Justice Stings

At first glance, Carlito Keys may even seem friendly as the first person to greet Frank upon arriving at Willamette. However, he is full of rage after what happened to his hometown of Santa Cabeza.

Carlito sees his villainy as retaliation for the loss of his hometown. He wishes for the truth about the zombies to be revealed and for the Willamette outbreak to be the first of many. He sees his actions as poetic justice towards American greed.

2 Marian Mallon

Feels Like Punishing Humanity

The presence of Marian Mallon is first made clear in Dead Rising 2: Off The Record. She doesn't deny starting outbreaks to push up profits or even her views of the zombies as humanity's punishment.

She appears again in Dead Rising 3, using machines to combat Nick. Despite her well-thought-out strategies for controlling both the virus and the cure, she is killed by the impatient Hemlock, who does not see the cure as necessary for dominating the world.

1 Hemlock

A Taste Of All Evils

Hemlock goes as far as a villain can go with zombies being part of the fictional world. He betrays other villains for not being up to his standards, he has no problem killing thousands of people, and he even plans to weaponize the undead for his own personal gain.

He has every quality that made every other Dead Rising villain so evil. One of his plans even involves using the virus to commit genocide without damaging the infrastructure that makes the land valuable.