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Jack Krauser is a fictional character in the video game, Resident Evil 4. He is a mercenary who was hired by the cult group, "Los Illuminados", to kidnap the president's daughter Ashley Graham. He was once an acquaintance of the main protagonist Leon S. Kennedy sometime between the events of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, but works against him during the events of the game. He is proficient with the same types of weapons wielded by Leon and also specializes in knife combat and archery. His voice was provided by actor James M. Ward.

Background

Template:Spoiler An American soldier who became acquainted with Raccoon City survivor Leon S. Kennedy sometime after the T-Virus outbreak in 1998, Krauser met with Leon after the two became agents for the U.S. Government. Krauser suddenly disappeared after a crash in 2002 and was presumed dead. In reality, Krauser was alive all the time, and he joined the same organization as Albert Wesker.

In 2004, Krauser was sent to Europe by Albert Wesker to work as a spy within Osmund Saddler's organization, "Los Illuminados", in order to procure a master sample of Las Plagas parasites, along with Ada Wong. He tried to gain the trust of Lord Saddler by kidnapping the daughter of the US president, Ashley Graham. The abduction of Ashley Graham led to Leon's (under orders from the U.S. Government) mission to Europe to rescue Ashley. While infiltrating Saddler's island base, Leon confronted his former ally. The two engaged in a knife fight, with Krauser nearly divulging his objective to Leon. When Krauser got the upper hand, Leon was rescued at the last minute by Ada (whom Leon had teamed up with during the Raccoon City incident). Krauser began questioning Ada's loyalties and plotted to kill her along with Leon.

Leon fought against Krauser in a complex of ruins within the base. The battle culminated on the roof of the ruined structures, with Krauser activating a time bomb and transforming his left arm into a giant blade. Leon ultimately defeated his former comrade and escaped from the ruins before the bomb's detonation caused them to collapse. Although he appeared dead, Krauser actually survived the explosion and followed Leon. He found Ada first and opted to attack her. Ada, who had believed Krauser dead (and reported such to Wesker earlier), went on the offensive to take out Krauser. Although Ada took great care in not killing Leon, she was, however, quite willing to be rid of Krauser once and for all. Having studied Krauser's style and mutation, Ada was more than a match for the severely weakened Krauser and presumably takes him out (this time with the tell-tale blood pool forming under his body after he collapses). Whether this spelled his end or not shall remain to be seen, though it is worth mentioning that several characters in the the series have returned after "dying" bloodily, including both his accomplices: Wesker and Ada. Krauser is seen sitting down with an explosion in the background after finishing a level of "The Mercenaries" mini-game, possibly implying he escaped the situation. It is a very hight chance he escaped because when he is fighting Ada again in "Assignment: Ada" he has the last sample of the Las Plagas, gets defeated again, and escapes with a flash grenade.

Abilities

Krauser has the ability to transform his left arm into a large, tentacular, bladed appendage which he uses to eviscerate enemies and to shield his body against attacks. In addition, Krauser exhibits a superhuman physique, demonstrating spectacular leaps and surviving hails of gunfire.

The origin of Krauser's special abilities is unknown. Ada's files accuse him of "falling to the temptation of Las Plagas," indicating that his powers result from infection by a Plaga parasite. This possibility is supported by the fact that Krauser is vulnerable to the P.R.L. 412 Plaga Removal Laser. However, Ada also comments that she has studied his fighting style and "knows how to deal with that arm of his," implying that his abilities predate his infiltration of Los Illuminados. Given his allegiance to Wesker and the Umbrella Corporation, he may have been infected by one of the various strains of the Progenitor Virus, as Tyrants have similar, long-clawed arms. It is also notable that he does not have discoloured skin and strange eyes like the Las Plagas hosts. (Since Krauser's age is unknown and he has no previous appearances, it is not known whether or not he has suffered premature aging like Ramon Salazar.) In addition, his planned betrayal of Saddler would likely have been impossible had he been a host of Las Plagas, and Saddler's distrust of the former American agent made it extremely unlikely that Krauser had been made a host of a "master" Plaga specimen.

It is possible that Krauser is carrying a modified version of the T-Virus, similar to that used by Wesker (though drastically different, as Krauser does not sport reptilian eyes as Wesker does), allowing him to benefit from its bio-weapon potential without becoming a zombie or mindless monster.

Additionally, Krauser has the ability to "retract" the bladed appendage. In the Mercenaries minigame, Krauser can unleash the bladed arm for a devastating attack, but his arm returns to a normal human form immediately after use. It isn't known if Krauser actually has the ability to retract his arm in the actual story mode of the game (he was supposedly killed before given the chance), or if it was included in the Mercenaries game to conveniently allow Krauser to use his other weapons. One thing to notice though is that in the cut-scene in separate ways when Krauser confronts Ada, he doesn't speak to her, only growls (Although that could be his insane frustration at failing to kill Leon and Ada's aiding in Leon's progression that drove him to a animalistic rage) , and his arm was already in bladed form, so it could be assumed that Krauser cannot change his arm back to normal but, having said that, his arm starts to change back when either Leon or Ada defeat him, so it could be possible after all. It is not exactly proven that this is true.

Gameplay

Krauser is not playable in the main game without the use of hacking codes and the game crashing, but can be unlocked in the Mercenaries minigame by getting four stars on the Castle stage. He is armed with a unique bow, and is the only character besides Leon in the minigame who is armed with a knife. Although his knife bears the same symbol as Leon's, Krauser's knife is larger, and he wields it in a reverse-grip. The knife is useful for conserving ammo and crowd-control. Krauser also runs slightly faster than the other mercenary characters, and his melee attacks are the most powerful of all characters next to Wesker, capable of killing multiple Ganados with a few kicks. The player can also make use of his transformable arm for a special attack, capable of killing any enemies that are within its range instantly, no matter how powerful they may be. However, he must wait 45 seconds in between every use of the arm. The arm also has a small downtime before and after the use where Krauser can be attacked freely. He also has the highest stamina, with his health bar at the absolute maximum. In the Mercenaries minigame, Krauser uses only a bow as a ranged weapon. The bow is not the same as the crossbow used by Ada as the arrows do not carry an explosive charge, but the bow causes considerable damage nonetheless. Krauser is seen using the bow only once in the single player mode during the fight between Leon and Krauser. He uses it at the beginning randomly (he can also use the TMP, or simply rush you with his knife), and later on when he is perched on the top of a stone building. The arrows he uses do have explosive charges, but stick to walls for a few seconds before exploding, unless they make direct contact with Leon, in which case they explode instantly.

See also

• Resident Evil 4
• Leon S. Kennedy
• Ada Wong
• Albert Wesker
• Osmund Saddler

• Resident Evil characters
• American computer and video game characters
• Computer and video game villains
• Fictional secret agents and spies
• Fictional mercenaries