Karl Heisenberg was one of the main antagonists of the survival-horror game Resident Evil Village. He was one of the Four Lords who ruled over a rural mountain village under the watch of the cultist Mother Miranda. Like the other Lords serving Miranda, Heisenberg is the product of Miranda's experiments with the Mold-based Cadou parasite, a failed attempt to create a superhuman host for the consciousness of Miranda's dead daughter, Eva.
History[]
Early life[]
Karl Heisenberg was the heir to the Heisenberg family, one of the four families that ruled over the isolated mountain village. As a child, he was kidnapped by Mother Miranda and experimented on, becoming host to a Cadou parasite. He, like the others, was considered a failure as he did not have the qualities Miranda wanted for her late daughter's new host body, but he nonetheless developed superhuman abilities, most notably the power to manipulate magnetic fields.
Heisenberg became one of Miranda's lieutenants along with the other Lords: Alcina Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento and Salvatore Moreau. Unlike the others, he harboured a bitter grudge against Miranda for what she had done to them and plotted to take revenge. Retreating into his family's factory on the outskirts of the village, he used his vast engineering skills to construct an army of bio-mechanical soldiers using the bodies of those who had died in Miranda's experiments and villagers who had been buried.
Abduction of Rosemary Winters[]
On February 9th 2021, Miranda had kidnapped the infant Rosemary Winters to use as the perfect vessel for her daughter Eva. Ethan Winters, the girl's father, had come to the village to save her. Shortly after his arrival, Heisenberg captured Ethan and brought him before Miranda and the other Lords. Miranda ordered him to dispose of Ethan and Heisenberg dropped him into a pit where he was almost killed by a large grinding machine. However, Ethan managed to escape.
Heisenberg watched from afar while Ethan went about the village, fighting off whatever monsters were thrown his way. After watching Ethan kill the other three Lords, Heisenberg was impressed by his tenacity and drive. He invited Ethan to his factory where he attempted to convince Ethan to join forces with him in order to kill Miranda. Ethan refused as Heisenberg planned to use Rose as a weapon against Miranda. Disappointed, Heisenberg dropped Ethan into the lower depths of the factory to be killed by the Sturm.
Ethan would stubbornly endure the horrors of the factory and find a way out with the help of Chris Redfield, who had salvaged a machine that Heisenberg had built as a light combat vehicle. Taking the machine, Ethan blasted his way out of the factory, only to be confronted by Heisenberg who had mutated into a gruesome amalgamation of flesh and machinery. Using the weapons aboard the mechanical rig, Ethan battled against the transformed Heisenberg, who continued to taunt him and rant about how he was fighting a righteous crusade against Miranda. As the two fought, the factory exploded as Chris set off the bombs he had planted inside the building, destroying Heisenberg's army of cyborg monsters. Despite his immense strength and power, Heisenberg was still unable to defeat Ethan who killed him after firing an explosive shell into the large turbine engine attached to the mutant's body. Whatever remained of Heisenberg's body soon calcified and turned to dust.
Abilities and Traits[]
- Regenerative Healing - Since being infected with the Cadou, Heisenberg has been able to rapidly heal any wound. His ageing process may also have been slowed.
- Superhuman Strength - Heisenberg possesses strength far greater than any normal human. He regularly carries a large metal hammer around with him that is said to be impossible for an ordinary man to lift.
- Magnetokinesis - Due to the formation of an electrical organ in his body as a result of Cadou infection, Heisenberg is able to generate and manipulate electromagnetic fields and control metal.
- Mutation - Heisenberg is able to grow and stretch his biomass, turning into a malformed giant. Used in conjunction with his magnetic powers, he assembles a large mechanical apparatus which fuses to his flesh, turning him into a cybernetic monstrosity. He is heavily armoured in this form and armed with large saw blades for grinding up opponents.
Weaknesses[]
In his mutant form, Heisenberg sports a series of mechanical nodes that absorb and vent excess heat. During their battle, Ethan targeted these nodes with the weapons on the combat rig. As Heisenberg prepared one final attack, he generated a massive magnetic field that raised the rig and Ethan into the air. Ethan fired a shell into the large turbine engine on Heisenberg's back, destroying it and killing him.
Trivia[]
- Karl Heisenberg's character takes inspiration from Victor Frankenstein, the main character of Mary Shelley's classic horror novel. Both characters are shown to create new life from the bodies of the dead through perversions of science, Frankenstein with his monster and Heisenberg with his Soldats, the Sturm and even himself.
- Heisenberg's magnetic powers are likely inspired by the Marvel Comics super-villain, Magneto.