"You may resist... but you cannot disobey." - Osmund Saddler, Resident Evil 4
Osmund Saddler is the leader of Los Illuminados and the primary antagonist of Resident Evil 4. A fanatical religious zealot and megalomaniac, he took over a small community in rural Spain using the mind-controlling Plaga parasite. Using the Plaga, Saddler plotted to conquer the world by infecting world leaders with the Plaga, bending them to his will.
History[]
Some time prior to 2004, Saddler had fully converted the local population to his cult, turning them into Ganados. He planned to abduct Ashley Graham, daughter of US President Graham, and infect her with Las Plagas, then send her home where she would spread the parasites to her father and his staff, allowing Saddler to control them and effectively the entire USA.
When Saddler's plan was put into action in late 2004, he and his followers encountered US SOCOM agent Leon S. Kennedy who had been assigned to rescue Ashley. With an army of Ganados and B.O.W.'s to command, Saddler was assured that his plan would succeed and that the American interloper would be eliminated. He had even injected Leon with a Plaga egg shortly after his arrival in the village, but later on Leon would gain access to medical equipment on Saddler's island stronghold and remove the parasite from his body and Ashley's.
With his followers all but wiped out after Leon managed to call in SOCOM reinforcements and Ashley's Plaga removed, Saddler's plan had been foiled. He and Leon met one last time atop a raised platform with the captured spy Ada Wong dangling from a cable above them. Leon saved Ada and confronted Saddler for the final time, but Saddler underwent a horrific transformation as his dominant-strain Plaga emerged. Even with this terrifying form, Saddler was unable to kill Leon and was destroyed himself when Leon blew him up with a rocket launcher.
Mutation and Abilities[]
Being host to a dominant-strain Plaga, Saddler holds total control over the minds of his followers, who are all infected with subordinate Plagas. Being a dominant host, his body has undergone severe mutation and he is capable of transforming into large, multi-legged beast. The crustacean-styled legs are all still connected to Saddler's humanoid body, which hangs from his mutant form like a vestigial limb. Saddler's head is now attached to a long serpentine neck and is surrounded by hard, blade-like mandibles. A series of eyes are also dotted around the body, one on each joint of the legs and another large eye in Saddler's mouth. Even in his human form, Saddler still possessed considerable fighting ability; the Plaga allowed him to absorb impacts from bullets and he could morph his arms into a long, thick tentacle to beat opponents to death with.
In his mutant form, Saddler would attack by trying to crush Leon beneath him and slashing at him with the bladed mandibles on his head. Despite his ungainly shape, he could even jump great heights. The multiple eyes across Saddler's body proved to be weak spots, however; while the rest of the body was invulnerable to gunfire, shots aimed at the eyes would cause damage. Leon was able to finally kill Saddler by blowing him up with a rocket launcher.