Verdugo (Resident Evil)

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Partners in Crime
Full Names	Isidro Uriarte Talavera (Red Robe) Unknown (Black Robe)
Alias	Verdugo U-III
Origin	Resident Evil 4
Occupations	Scientist (Red cloaked) Ramón Salazar's personal bodyguards and assassins
Powers/Skills	Superhuman strength Superhuman durability Superhuman speed and agility Tough exoskeleton Spear and other melee weapons Razor-sharp tail Claws High intelligence Combat prowess
Hobbies	Serving Ramón Salazar.
Goals	Kill Leon Kennedy. Kill Ada Wong Serve Ramón Salazar till the very end (all failed).
Crimes	Civilian apprehension Stalking Assault Attempted murder Torture Unethical Experimentation Forced Impregnation
Type of Villains	Bio-Engineered Enforcers

“	So maybe you have nine lives. But it doesn't matter now Mr. Kennedy, I've sent my right hand to dispose of you.	„
	~ Ramón Salazar informing Leon about sending one of the Verdugos after him in the original game.

“	A glorious union has been made! The housekeeper has endured much suffering, but not for naught! Behold, the fruits of our labor in all its beauty! I shall consecrate this perfect lifeform with the name "U-Ⅲ," for Ⅲ is the most beautiful and complete number.	„
	~ Chronicles of Pursuit 2 in the remake.

The Verdugos, called U-III in the remake, are minor antagonists in the 2005 survival horror game Resident Evil 4 and supporting antagonists in its 2023 remake.

Created through experimentation with the Las Plagas parasites, the Verdugos are the two loyal bodyguards and enforcers of Ramón Salazar. While they had little purpose or context in the original game, the remake gave them a proper origin and more influence on the story of both the main game and the Separate Ways DLC.

Biography

Creation

Created through DNA splicing on insect DNA and that of a human parasitized with Las Plagas, Verdugos are B.O.W.s specifically engineered as Salazar's bodyguards, even though their original purpose is a mystery. In original game, one of them is implied to be Salazar's butler who faithfully served his master despite his conversion to Los Iluminados' faith.

In the remake, the backstory of Salazar's two bodyguards were expanded. The red-robed bodyguard used to be the servant of Ramón Salazar and one of Los Iluminados' notable scientists named Isidro Uriarte Talavera, while the castle's housekeeper became Pesanta. Only the former who referred as Verdugo just like original iteration of the character as the latter had been conflated with U-3, an unrelated experimental mutant from 2004 game. Whereas Isidro wholeheartedly joined the cult as one of Osmund Saddler's disciples and top scientists from the start, the housekeeper followed the cult reluctantly in order to remain at Ramón Salazar's side. Still, the housekeeper ended up swayed by Los Iluminados' teachings once infected with Las Plagas and, two years after Isidro's "awakening", "volunteered" to be painfully experimented for 6 months upon following the latter's success in breeding first generations of Novistadors aka. U-II. As a result, she transformed into Pesanta and subsequently chosen as Ramón's right hand and bodyguard. Isidro himself transformed into Verdugo via. same procedure to create his aforementioned masterpiece to prove his loyalty and two hands better than one.

Resident Evil 4

Verdugo's first on-screen appearance is when Leon comes face to face with Ramon Salazar with latter introducing himself. Clad in ceremonial cloaks that are more ornate than those of Los Iluminados cultists, they silently accompany their master, all while keeping an eye on the guests to ensure they don't do anything reckless. The two then left Leon and Ashley along with Ramon after the exchange.

The red cloaked Verdugo is later seen again, retrieving Ashley, alongside their master. By the time Leon catches up, she held him and made him watch as a ritual was executed on Ashley. Following Ramon's failure in disposing Leon via a floor trap, Isidro (the one with black robe) set out to hunt the agent, while the Pesanta (red robed one) stayed behind. Tossing away its robe and weapon, Isidro confronted Leon with its concealed true form. Initially attacking the agent while remained hidden, the beast eventually reveals itself and all-out, only to be defeated by combination of nitrogen spray and gunfire.

In the original version, the other Verdugo is later seen with Ramon Salazar as the latter revealed to Leon that Ashley is currently undergoing a ritual. This Verdugo proved to be as dangerous as its fallen comrade, as it quickly removes the knife that pinned its master's palm onto the wall and tossed it back to Leon in retaliation. With Leon proving to be too troublesome, Salazar and the Verdugo sent Ashley to the island, and merged with the Queen Plaga to destroy him once and for all. Despite their increased power, the Queen Plaga hybrid was ultimately destroyed by Salazar's death (since his human form acts as the monster's weak point), which also killed the Verdugo who merged with them as well. In the remake, Pesanta was assigned to deal Ada Wong and eventually killed by the latter after recurring confrontations instead of joining her master in his final confrontation against Leon.

Behavior

Verdugos doen't displayed any personality traits other than being loyal bodyguards to Salazar, always looking out for anything that threaten his well being and defensive at all times. They also displayed near human-level intellect since human genes were used for its creation, able to wear robes over their terrifying form so they won't stand out whenever accompanying their master. They can also use their surroundings to hide and ambush during its fight against Leon.

The black-robed Verdugo demonstrates us that even after severe mutations, it still fully retains its intelligence, snatching you with its vertical mouth full of fangs only when mutated Salazar orders it to. 

Strategy

The battle begins once you have realised that an elevator to the surface is out of power. From this point, Verdugo stays either above the ceiling or below the floor, occasionaly ambushing you with it's tail or claws, but only when you keep moving forward. After restoring the power and checking the closed shutter door, Verdugo jumps down from it's hiding spot, alerting you of it's presence with a loud scorpion-like hissing. It seems that the creature won't reveal itself until it's sure that you are trapped in a narrow space. This is when Verdugo's behaviour gets a lot more complicated. Most of the time, it quickly approaches you to pounce, whip you with the tail or knock you off (each of these attacks can be evaded via qte prompt). If the player is facing it and standing still, it will start slowly and confidently walking towards him while flexing it's neck muscles. Sometimes, when player is agressive deals a decent amount of damage in a short span of time, it can hiss at him in frustration, jump onto the ceiling and proceed to leap from wall to wall, attacking the player without dissapearing from his sight. Apart from always trying to get closer to you, Verdugo can resort to fast and less damaging swings with it's left arm and keeping distance between you by doing a backwards salto. When Verdugo loses lots of health, qte sequences start to get longer and quicker. Another monster's notable feature is it's immense reflexes, which allows it to dodge and block bullets, grenades and rockets when it is attacked from the front.

Powers and Abilities

• Exoskeleton: Verdugo's natural armour deflects bullets of all calibers, while creature itself is not very bothered by shots. Nitrogen only temporarily makes it a little more fragile, otherwise it is almost impossible to kill it. Verdugo can take about 3-4 direct rocket launcher shots.
  • In the remake, this power is exclusive to Isidro Uriarte Talavera aka. black-cloaked Verdugo, as Pesanta lacked the same exoskeleton to complement her durability.
• Superhuman Strength, Speed and Agility: Verdugo can easily dodge and block bullets and other projectiles, such as rockets. He moves with an inhuman speed and is able to bash down heavy metal doors effortlessly.
• Tail and Claws: Verdugo's talons are sharp enough to pierce human flesh, while it's tail ends with a blade-like formation, which burrows through metal and concrete, allowing Verdugo to hunt it's prey without showing any vulnerable parts. It can also climb walls and ceilings with them.
• Melee Weapons: In several cutscenes, both Verdugos are seeing carrying large spears. The black-cloaked Verdugo was also able to throw Leon's knife back at him with accuracy and precision.
  • In the remake, Pesanta displayed the ability to manifest a bident made of Plaga biomass hardened to the point of as strong as steel and dispel it at will.
• High Intelligence: Unlike most species contaminated with Las Plagas, Verdugo displays human level intellect and predatory skills. Both Verdugos are obidient to Salazar, wearing clothes and using weapons. While fighting with Leon personally, it is sly and calculative, showing itself only when it's prey is either wounded or cornered, attacking fiercely, but skillfully, constantly changing positions, dodging, blocking and utilising expert combat moves.
• Mutation: In the Resident Evil 4 remake, the Black Robe or Pesanta has mutated into an insect-humanoid hybrid which reminisces the U-3 from the original game. Furthermore, upon her death, her Plaga tail detached from her body into a worm/centipede-like parasite capable of burrowing underground. Her minor mutation being the ability to manifest tendrils and constructs out of Plaga biomass such as aforementioned bident and volatile darts which not only as damaging as frag grenades, but also release shrapnel that can grow into an entire Plaga if managed to embed into a potential host's system. Unlike typical recessive strain Plagas, said Plaga appeared worm-like, and would be regurgitated by the host should Pesanta perished.

Gallery

The attacking Verdugo's point of view.

The attacking Verdugo attacking from the ceiling with its tail.

The attacking Verdugo taunting the player.

A frozen (yet stile animate) Verdugo.

The attacking Verdugo bashing down the door.

The attacking Verdugo dying.

The attacking Verdugo's corpse.

Ramón Salazar with his Verdugos.

The Verdugos guarding Ashley.

Salazar, the remaining Verdugo, and the Queen Plaga.

The remaining Verdugo fusing with the Queen Plaga.

The Queen Plaga/Verdugo/Salazar hybrid.

Verdugo in Minna to BIOHAZARD Clan Master.

Trivia

• Verdugo is one of the few creatures in Resident Evil 4 whose body doesn't dissolve after its death.
• The name "Verdugo" means "executioner" in Spanish. "Pesanta" is the name for an enormous dog from Catalan legend in which it breaks into people's homes at night and puts itself in their chests, making it difficult for them to breathe and cause nightmares.
• Despite being under almost complete control by Salazar, the attacking Verdugo sometimes shows its emotions. If the player shoots it enough times with a weapon too weak to deliver any considerable damage, Verdugo will cheekily wag its finger at Leon.
• In the original game, the Verdugos and U-3 were separate creatures with no connections to each other. In the remake, the U-3 (specifically named U-III in the remake) was a mutation of the Verdugo, specifically Pesanta's mutation.

External Links

• Verdugo on the Resident Evil Wiki