- This article is for Leonard's role in the game. For his role in the film, see Leonard Wolf (film).
| “ | Death to all who turn their backs on God!
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Leonard Wolf was the abusive father of Claudia Wolf and a former member of the Order.
Biography[]
Leonard raised Claudia as a strong believer in the cult's faith, often using physical punishment and emotional abuse, such as screaming at, hitting, or kicking her, to discourage any irreligious behavior. Vincent Smith also apparently witnessed Claudia being abused, claiming Leonard's cruelty is "forever burned into [his] mind". Leonard's plan worked, and Claudia became zealously religious and heavily involved with the Order. However, she still held a strong resentment towards her father (although she is still upset when he dies).
Leonard may have been an acquaintance of Dahlia Gillespie, another member of the Order, given that both of their daughters often played together and shared their religious faith.
At some point in time, he was institutionalized in Brookhaven Hospital and stripped of his rank for his insane and abusive behavior, having stabbed someone over a religious dispute, as revealed in a note. However, he still held the teachings of the Order close to his heart, showing a fanatical devotion. Unlike his daughter, his vision of Paradise was more exclusive, with God's non-believers being unworthy of it.
A memo can be found from a doctor noting Leonard's behavior; the doctor claims Leonard is usually an "ideal patient", being cooperative and having a strong sense of justice, but can turn violent when overexcited or upset, particularly when staff feel oppressed by his frequent attempts to force his religion onto them. It is also noted Leonard had mild audiovisual hallucinations, emotional instability, and obsessive ideas. This led the doctor to suspect that Leonard had mild schizophrenia.
It's possible that Leonard was the murderer of the corpse tattoo man, with evidence coming not only from his noted volatility, but also from a memo found beside the tattooed man. It tells that the man was found stabbed in the neck, holding a kitchen knife in his hand. Doctors assumed it could have been a suicide but admitted that the angle was extremely suspicious. This could point to Leonard having been his assailant. In addition, the happy birthday caller states that "Leonard" is "the murderer's name".
Silent Hill 3[]
Heather phoning Leonard in Room S12.
Heather Mason searches for Leonard in Brookhaven Hospital in order to acquire an artifact she and Vincent believe can prevent the birth of God: the Seal of Metatron. In Room S12 on the third floor, Leonard calls a phone in the hospital for an unknown reason, although from the call it can be assumed he was trying to reach Claudia. Heather answers, and not knowing of his connection to the Order, she and Leonard discuss a mutual dislike of Claudia, whom he thinks is a fool. However, Leonard reveals that he cares somewhat for his daughter, softening his tone and disapproving of Heather's words when she mentions her desire to kill Claudia for murdering Heather's father. Towards the end of the phone call, Leonard asks if Heather could help him get out of the asylum and claims that in turn, he will give her the Seal and help stop Claudia. He requests she come to the "door at the end of the hall on the second floor", a door which wasn't there when Heather first explored the second floor. This door leads to Brookhaven's Otherworld.
Silent Hill 3 - Boss Leonard
Heather facing Leonard.
When she later encounters Leonard in the flooded basement of the Otherworld hospital, she has another short discussion with him, during which Leonard is hidden from view. Heather is dismayed to find that he too is a follower of the Order, just as Leonard is irate to learn that she is a non-believer. Leonard refuses to part with his treasure, believing it his duty to protect the seal. He rises from the water and reveals himself to be a grisly monster, forcing an exasperated Heather to kill him.
After killing Leonard, Heather takes the Seal of Metatron. When Heather leaves the hospital, a scene of Claudia and Vincent is seen, in which Claudia angrily asks Vincent why he sent Heather to her father. Claudia also says, "It's your fault that he...!", but never finishes this, possibly implying that she knew Heather killed him, perhaps as a result of omniscient powers. Vincent tries to pass it off as a good thing he died since he was one of "God's beloved", and he talks about Leonard's cruelty to Claudia as a child. When Vincent tells Heather to use the Seal, Claudia reveals that it won't work and pities Vincent for having fallen for Leonard's foolishness.
Appearance[]
Leonard's back with slits resembling gills.
Leonard appears almost reptilian in nature, with a coat of sickly, yellowed skin covering him, much like a victim of drowning. His face is mutated and marred beyond recognition, only having a series of holes where his face should be. He has what appears to be black tongues or protrusions in some of the holes. His "hands", his most prominent feature, are a pair of huge, blade-like bone growths that he uses to swipe at Heather. He appears to be amphibious, as he can last almost indefinitely underwater.
His human appearance remains unknown.
Character[]
Heather facing Leonard.
Leonard is quite aggressive; however, he spends much of the battle submerged underwater, crawling about out of Heather's attack range. The real challenge of the battle is the fact he is an astounding swimmer, something he does far more like a sort of porpoise than a human, as his arms remain tightly against his side as he bolts through the water. This can make it very difficult for Heather to actually reach him or even keep up with exactly where he is. He can nip at her ankles while he's underwater but does no real damage. When he rises, however, he flails his blades about, able to do a great deal of damage to Heather in the process. He can also march towards her and slash at her, a problem compounded by the small fighting space. Fortunately, Leonard is much slower above water than when he is swimming, so his pace is nearly matched with Heather's, enabling it much easier for her to evade him.
He is very vulnerable to firearms, and the maul also works well. As Leonard is quite slow while standing, the player can sneak behind him fairly easily. An overhead smash with the maul from behind stuns him momentarily and forces him down, which makes it possible to score up to four consecutive hits. The battle with him is more a matter of patience and caution.
Symbolism[]
Leonard Wolf appearing as a monster.
It is not clear what Leonard's condition is. He may be a normal human who Heather sees as a monster; this is reinforced by the fact that his voice sounds entirely normal, despite his form. He also emits animal-like grunting at the same time, which doesn't sound like it belongs to the person talking. Another theory is that he was corrupted by his own madness and the Otherworld, and so became a monster representing his abusive nature towards Claudia.
His large, swollen arms may represent that Claudia was physically beaten by them. The slits on his back look like scars from a whip, which might symbolize Claudia feeling anger at her father for abusing her, as well as her desire for him to be punished for doing so. He also may have died, and his soul reformed as a monster in the Otherworld. However, Claudia asks Vincent why he sent Heather to him, perhaps implying that he was still alive, just corrupted to the point of becoming a monster; this is further implied by the gill-like spiracles opened in his back, since only a true living being would have the necessity to breathe while submerged. Regardless, Heather notes that he is not a "person" anymore before killing him.
Silent Hill: Revelation[]
Leonard in Silent Hill: Revelation.
- Main article: Leonard Wolf (film)
Leonard Wolf also appears in the film Silent Hill: Revelation, both as a human and in monster form. As with the game, he is an ex-priest of the Order who holds the Seal of Metatron and who was condemned to an asylum. In the film, there is no evidence that he was abusive towards Claudia; however, Claudia believes that he has been corrupted by the evil of Alessa Gillespie. He is portrayed by Malcolm McDowell.
Quotes[]
- "Don't lie to me, Claudia. You're always trying to run from your responsibilities!"
- "How did you turn out this way... where did I go wrong?"
- "I can feel the hatred... behind your words. The anger. You plan to kill her, don't you?"
- "She's a fool... but she's still my daughter."
- "I'm not sure myself, but the door is at the end of the hall on the second floor."
- "Why must we reward even the unbelievers?"
- "It's true that God is merciful... but first, one must be chosen. Only we who hearken to the voice of God will be given the keys to Paradise! Don't you think so, Heather?"
- "You're an unbeliever? You deceived me!?"
- "So you tried to trick me so you could run off with my seal, eh? Heretic! You plan to destroy God!"
- "Don't play innocent. You can't fool me anymore. The seal is mine! I was appointed by God to be its guardian! The only thing you'll get from me is a gruesome death!"
Trivia[]
- He is voiced by Matt Lagan.
- It is highly implied that Leonard is trapped in the Otherworld version of Brookhaven Hospital, possibly due to him once stabbing someone, as well as his child abuse of Claudia. It could be thought Silent Hill and its Otherworld is punishing him for his ways. Heather explores Brookhaven Hospital and is unable to locate him until she traverses to the Otherworld.
The day room notebook.
- In the Otherworld version of Brookhaven Hospital, an optional memo called the day room notebook can be found that contains a diary entry most likely written by Leonard. It is covered with childish doodles depicting a figure wielding dual daggers, a winged sun (possibly representative of the Order's deity), and the bodies of the slain strewn about the ground. It gives the player an early clue as to Leonard's true nature and his belief that non-believers do not deserve salvation. It is also possible that the diary was written by Claudia as a young girl. However, the writer describes themselves as a "protector of the seal", and Leonard was the one who possessed it, while Claudia believed it to be "a piece of junk" and thought her father was foolish for keeping it, thus the notebook was most likely written by Leonard.
Leonard speaking, claiming God's non-believers should perish.
- Leonard is one of the few monsters that are conscious and can speak in their monstrous forms, the others being: Mary, Prisoners, Twin Victim, Bottom, Momma, Steel Guardian, Monocle Man, Alessa, Lucas, Ben, and Karen. Note that the Sad Daddy could speak only in its human manifestation.
- The Rook mentioned in the Crematorium Puzzle (gurney 8 on Hard Puzzle difficulty) may represent Leonard, as he's described as a religious fanatic.
- Defeating Leonard in under three minutes in the Silent Hill HD Collection awards the trophy/achievement "A Time to Kill".
- During the Leonard Wolf boss fight in the Silent Hill HD Collection, both Heather and Leonard are able to sprint full speed in the water as if the water doesn't exist.[1]
- As Heather passes by a set of public phones in the subway, one of the phones begins to ring, before it is almost instantly cut off. It is never known who, or what, was trying to make the call. It can be theorized it is Leonard or the happy birthday caller.
- There are monsters representing ghost children on Silent Hill: Orphan and Silent Hill: Mobile 3 which are visually similar to the monster form of Leonard.
Gallery[]
