Death Cannot Die

Back in January of 2012, I mentioned in this very blog the possibility of HUNK making an appearance in Resident Evil 6.  Obviously that never happened, but just because it didn't happen in that game doesn't mean it won't happen in a future one.  Case-in-point, he has made appearances in the the RE2 remake and RE4 remake.  In the latter though it was only as part of the "Mercenary Mode" and thus non-canonical.  Even so, I like to reiterate a few things I wrote about him back then as well as mention a few new things I learned about this mysterious character since then.

Starting with something new to me, the code name "HUNK" is actually an acronym for "Human Unit Never Killed."  However, the character is usually mentioned in-fiction by his nickname, "Shinigami".  That's the Japanese version, which directly translated to English means "God of Death".  It's important to note that there is such a deity rooted in Japanese folklore and Buddhism, but in a classic case of Capcom doing poor translation/localization work the most accurate term in English would simply be "The Grim Reaper" or more colloquially "Mr. Death".  This actually has interesting implications when you consider his first appearance as the "4th survivor" of the Racoon City incident.  "Four" in Japanese being "Shi" which is also the root word for "death".  It's sort of like how the Fatal Frame series in Japan is called Project Zero since the word "zero" in Japanese is "Rei" which can also mean "ghost".  Anyway...what else do we know about this deuteragonist of sorts?

As it turns out, not much.  HUNK apparently trained on a private island owned by the Umbrella Corporation. There he was cited as being a highly capable individual who eventually earned his nickname due being the sole survivor of several missions.  I heard it suggested that HUNK may not actually be one individual, but an amalgamation of several people.  The few times we've seen his face it appears that he's a rather nondescript short-haired, clean-shaven Caucasian adult.  So, it's hard to say definitively one way or the other.  Personality-wise, he is very pragmatic and mission-focused.  He rarely speaks and when he does it's only ever about the task-at-hand.  Personally, I like to think that he might have been a chiropractor at one point since he's sometimes called "Dr. Death" rather than "Mr. Death".  At the very least he seems to know how to manipulate spines (or more specifically other people's necks).  Of course I don't have any real evidence to back that up, but I think HUNK's appeal comes from the fact that he is such an enigmatic character - you instinctively fill in the blanks with whatever seems like a good fit to you.  If nothing else, he's the only playable character in the mainline Resident Evil games that is dressed appropriately for the situation.

So, I have to wonder if Capcom will ever flesh out this character's backstory the way Disney did with Boba Fett?  It could be interesting.  Certainly there have been rumors of a game in the Resident Evil franchise centered around HUNK.  One wonders though if they will turn him into a villain or more of an anti-hero.  Either way, I look forward to playing as him again.