First appeared in: Resident Evil 2 (1998)
One of two playable characters in the first sequel to Capcom's groundbreaking Resident Evil, Leon Scott Kennedy's debut saw him stumbling across a T-virus outbreak in Racoon City, battling an army of brain-hungry ghouls, and escaping the condemned town in one piece. Not bad for a rookie cop on his first day on the job.
The character was conceived by series creator Hideki Kamiya as a contrast to "blunt tough-guy" Chris Redfield from the first game, and Leon's more believable reaction to the unfolding horrors endeared him to a generation of gorehounds and saw him appearing in a clutch of console spin-offs and two Hollywood movies. However, Leon's crowning moment is Resident Evil 4, a sublime adventure that rebooted the survival horror genre for a picky next gen audience, and saw the hero promoted to a secret agent dispatched to rescue the US President's daughter.