Author note: Written by Jachin, a 23-year Resident Evil series fan based in Seoul, South Korea. This guide is based on 6 full RE9 playthroughs on PS5 and Steam (Casual → Insanity → NG+ Insanity completions). All strategies, timings, and locations have been personally tested across the v1.02 patch. AI tools were used only for grammar review and note organization; no AI-generated content appears in strategy analysis.
Verified on: v1.02 + DLC patch · Last reviewed: May 30, 2026 · About the author · Editorial policies
The Commander is the man who knew Marcus Halverson became Chunk — and ordered it. Real name: Major Richard Vance, ARK Facility operations leader from 2020-2025. His audio logs in RE9 reveal the full Chunk story.
| When | Event |
|---|---|
| Background | Major Richard Vance (b. 1972). US Army Bioweapons Division 1994-2008. Recruited by The Connections 2010. |
| ARK assignment | Posted to ARK Facility 2020. Mandate: oversee Plant 43 weaponization research. Reports directly to The Connections leadership. |
| Marcus Halverson interaction | Approves Marcus’s safety review role. Knows Marcus’s daughter Lily was sick. Denies Marcus’s 2023 therapeutic proposal. |
| Marcus self-experimentation approval | Marcus volunteers for Plant 43 exposure protocol after Lily’s death. Vance approves “in interest of research advancement.” |
| 14-month observation | Vance monitors Marcus’s transformation. Records the change. Files all reports as “subject C-7” (Chunk). |
| Cover-up | After Chunk completes transformation, Vance suppresses Marcus’s identity. Files state Marcus “died in lab accident.” |
| RE9 confrontation | Grace defeats The Commander. His audio logs become accessible. Truth about Chunk revealed. |
| Insanity-only audio: Vance’s remorse | Final audio log: “I knew what I was approving. I told myself it was for science. But I read Marcus’s daughter’s name in his notes every day. I am the man who let him do it.” |
This lore decode reveals layers of RE9 most players miss. Cross-reference with character profiles and other deep dives to build the full picture.
Was this guide helpful? Let us know — we update tier rankings monthly based on community feedback and balance patches.
If this guide helped, consider supporting more guides like this on Ko-fi. Every little bit means the world.
☕ Support on Ko-fi