Marvin Branagh was a Senior Police Lieutenant who served in the Raccoon City Police Department. His area of expertise was Police Operations and
Leon S. Kennedy worked under him - or, was slated to do so as
t-Virus outbreak occurred in Raccoon City on
Leon's first day on the job, putting the brakes on his new career in the RPD.
He also worked closely with the S.T.A.R.S. teams which operated from a large office based in the RPD building, so he must have been at least somewhat aware of the
Spencer Mansion incident as well as the wider Arklay
t-Virus outbreak. The outbreak followed into Raccoon City due to the water supply being contaminated, meaning anybody who drank the water or used it to wash themselves contracted the virus. The outbreak was not expected and thus at the beginning Marvin was doing his standard rounds as he would any other way and was caught unawares by the hordes of Zombies which had now infested the entire city. His superiors were either missing or dead, leaving him in charge of the entire department.
He continued to drive the department despite the chaos, conducting several operations to push back against the creatures - but these all failed, leading to massive losses in the police force. He and the surviving officers retreated to the RPD building and locked it down as best they could, pulling down emergency shutters and crafting wooden boards to help barricade broken windows. The situation was dire, but Marvin maintained his professionalism and organised his remaining officers into small teams searching for survivors throughout the station. A few managed to find survivors and escape the area, but unfortunately most were killed by Zombies and other creatures roaming the station. In a last ditch attempt to save as many as possible, Marvin ordered the remaining police officers to evacuate. Marvin remained behind, refusing to leave his post.
He soon encountered zombified S.T.A.R.S. member
Brad Vickers whom he recognised which made him hesitate before firing upon him, and before he could put Brad down he received an infectious bite to the stomach which was the beginning of a catastrophic end.
He decided to try and recuperate in the main reception area of the RPD, making sure every room which branched off was locked down so that a safe space was created. After managing to bandage up his wound,
Leon arrived on the scene and was given his first official instruction from his Lieutenant - find and rescue any survivors and then try to find external help. He also met with
Claire Redfield who was looking for her missing brother
Chris Redfield, who was another member of S.T.A.R.S. at the time - and the RPD was the best place to start.
Due to his injuries, Marvin decided not to accompany anybody while they explored the station - and simply helped them by sharing various pieces of Intel about the stations secrets, particularly regarding a hidden staircase that could be unlocked by finding three emblems which were scattered throughout the building.
As the
t-Virus infection began to take hold, he became weaker and weaker until he finally succumbed and became a
Zombie.
In the
Resident Evil 2 Remake, it is entirely the players choice what to do with Marvin once he becomes a
Zombie - they can either put him out of his misery and kill him, leave him to wander the RPD until the city is destroyed, or allow him to be killed by the T-003 Tyrant known as Mr X as it had the intelligence to open doors and make its way through to the reception area.
In
Resident Evil 2, Marvin instead finds himself injured in the offices adjacent to the main hall of the RPD, slumped against some filing cabinets. He speaks to
Leon or Claire about their situation and then is left to his fate. When the survivors later visit the same room again they find that he has become a
Zombie and can either be killed or left to wander.
In Resident Evil 3 (Remake),
Jill Valentine encounters Marvin before the events of
Resident Evil 2 but he is unconscious at the time so she believes him to be just another dead body and simply passes by.
