Frank West

"It's Frank... Frank West. Remember that name 'cause the whole world's gonna know it in three days... when I get the scoop."

- Frank West on the Willamette Incident.

Frank West is the main protagonist of Dead Rising, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, the what-if story of Dead Rising 2 Dead Rising 2: Off the Record and Dead Rising 4. He also appears in Dead Rising 2: Case West, Dead Rising: Road to Fortune, Dead Rising: Watchtower and is mentioned in Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 3. His popularity has caused him to be referenced in many other video games after his initial appearance in 2006.

Frank is a freelance photojournalist who has been quite active in his career, covering several events, including wars. He is also fairly strong, being a wrestler and cliche "badass". He has an unusually deep sense of determination to find the next big story, taking big risks in order to achieve his goals. His personality is such that he would rather visit dangerous places to satisfy his desire for adventure than out of any sense of journalistic curiosity. A loose cannon who doesn't like working for or with others, Frank's research style, articles and photos are all unregulated and sold to the highest bidder. He is also considered quite the ladies man, being able to get women to fall for him easily. While he's not the most polished and professional person in his field, he is strong, genuinely kind and decent, and always operates on instinct. He's covered wars, you know.

Not your typical journalist, Frank is quite capable of handling himself in combat and is very keen to help other survivors to safety. He sees the town of Willamette, Colorado as his "next big scoop" when he is first introduced in Dead Rising. By spending time in Willamette, he manages to get the story of a lifetime after covering the first known zombie outbreak in US history.

Five years after the events of Dead Rising, Frank teams up with motocross champion Chuck Greene to infiltrate and investigate the Phenotrans Facility and to reunite with his long-time acquaintance Isabela Keyes.

He also stars in the non-canon game Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, in which he takes the place of Chuck Greene in an alternate version of Fortune City.

Dead Rising
''For more information on Frank's journey in Willamette, see case files and overtime mode. ''

In the original Dead Rising, Frank is the main playable character. Frank hires a private helicopter piloted by Ed DeLuca to fly him over to the town of Willamette, Colorado after receiving a tip that something big was about to happen. As Ed flies the helicopter over the town, Frank initially believes that there is rioting going on in the streets. He is dropped off on the helipad of the Willamette Parkview Mall, and Ed tells Frank that he will come to pick him up in three days time.

After landing on the helipad of the Willamette Mall, he meets Brad Garrison and Jessica McCarney, two agents of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). Though reluctant to accept Frank's help, they eventually realize that working together was in their best interest, due to their communications with the DHS headquarters being blocked, and the only known way out of the mall was via Frank's helicopter that would be coming after three days.

Between working with the duo and helping survivors out of the mall, Frank also comes across Russell Barnaby and siblings Carlito and Isabela Keyes, who know more about the outbreak then they are letting on. After rescuing Barnaby and befriending Isabela, Frank learns that the outbreak was caused by government experiments that went on in the town of Santa Cabeza (somewhere in Central America) and that this attack was retaliation against a government cover-up.

After confronting Carlito about the attack, Frank and Isabela work together and find a way to unblock the communications between them and the DHS. However, after contacting their HQ, Jessica learns that the government has initiated a clean-up operation, and that everyone in the mall, including them, will be killed.

After hiding from the army for a short time, nigger Frank and Isabela make their way to the helipad at the mall to make their escape only to quickly have their hopes dashed, as the helicopter crashes in the middle of the park. Frank and Isabela make their way back to the hideout, where Frank learns that he has been infected. Isabela asks Frank to gather ingredients so that she can make Frank a temporary vaccine.

After obtaining the supplies needed for the vaccine, Frank and Isabela make their way out of the mall via an underground tunnel. It is there that they confront the military about the outbreak, but as the zombies approach, Brock Mason (a soldier) attacks Frank to proceed with the clean-up operation. Frank manages to defeat Brock. Frank and Isabela proceed to escape the town and to tell the world about the true events at Willamette and Santa Cabeza.

Dead Rising: Road to Fortune


Around two years after the Willamette Incident, despite his infection with the zombie virus, Frank became something of a celebrity, starring on his own TV Show, Uncovered. However, the ratings on the show had begun to drop after a couple of seasons and it wasn't long before Frank's agent, Clay Hurlton informed him that the studio was pulling the plug.

Furious, Frank insults Clay (inevitably helping to create Terror is Reality) before hanging up the phone and beginning to dust off his camera. Prior to hearing the news of his show's cancellation, Frank had been interested in getting Rebecca Chang to appear on it. Amidst growing suspicions of government coverups of small, contained zombie outbreaks in the Midwest, Rebecca had been investigating the matter in an attempt to uncover the truth, but with little success. Even so, after hearing some of her reports and recalling the brutality of the Special Forces back in Willamette, Frank had several reasons to take Rebecca's side of things.

Feeling that it was finally time to return to field reporting and hang up the celebrity status for a while, Frank makes a call to Rebecca and asks to join in her investigation. Rebecca is skeptical of Frank at first, due to the fact that he hasn't done much field reporting since Willamette. However, she agrees after thinking it over, seeing it as a chance to become famous just as Frank did.

Rebecca and Frank have their first meeting at a diner in Hubbard Gulch, Nevada and agree to team up and work together, believing Fortune City to be their best lead. However, Rebecca insists that she is "in charge," to which Frank has no argument.

Rebecca and Frank make one final appearance at the end of the series covering the ongoing zombie outbreak in Las Vegas from the closest possible location. The military, led by Captain John Kilduff, had already blockaded the roads leading out of the city and refused to give any comments regarding the situation.

Rebecca tries to charm some of the soldiers with her beauty in order to get more information, but Captain Kilduff takes notice and coldly orders her away. Rebecca herself had a run-in with this person before and she knows that he's simply just a rock that refuses to be moved; so she gives up.

Before Frank and Rebecca continue with their report, Frank exchanges a few short words with the Captain. Kilduff claims that he had been a good friend of Brock Mason, Commander of the Special Forces whom Frank had crossed paths with in Willamette. Kilduff angrily states that he knew Frank was responsible for Mason's death, and vowed to have his revenge someday. Frank tells the Captain that he looks forward to it.

Frank and Rebecca are last seen making their report on the outskirts of Vegas near one of the military roadblocks; Kilduff still nearby. With only limited information to work with, Rebecca starts narrating the broadcast which Chuck Greene would tune in to at the beginning of Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. Meanwhile, Frank takes pictures with his camera.

Dead Rising 2: Case West

 * Main article: Dead Rising 2: Case West

In Dead Rising 2: Case West, Chuck asks for Frank's help to clear his name. Frank and Chuck head to the Phenotrans facility to contact Frank's source. Frank and Chuck learn that the director of the facility managed to cure herself of the zombie infection. The director activates the factory's self-destruct mechanism. Chuck tries to stay behind and frantically search for the cure, but Frank convinces him to get out just in time.

Outside of the facility, Chuck ponders on the difference a cure could make to the world, but Frank says it could have been a lie, and they at least have the proof to clear Chuck's name.

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record

 * NOTE: Frank's character in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is considered non-canon, though it may reflect his desires to be famous again.

Main article: Dead Rising 2: Off the Record

In this "what if" scenario of the Fortune City incident, Frank West returns as the main protagonist and carries a role very similar to his role in Dead Rising. Frank narrates through the opening, telling of his rise to fame to his downfall and his hope to "get back in the game."

After competing in Terror is Reality, Frank comes across his next big story as he witnesses shady dealings happening between TK and Brandon Whittaker, a member of the zombie protest group CURE.

As the zombie outbreak in Fortune City unravels, Frank discovers the Fortune City Emergency Shelter and takes shelter from the chaos in the city. Unable to find Zombrex in the shelter, he sets out to the Royal Flush Plaza in order to find his daily dose. He enlists the help of Stacey Forsythe and will later team up with her (and later Rebecca Chang) to find the truth behind the Fortune City outbreak.

Dead Rising: Watchtower
In the film, Dead Rising: Watchtower, West was called in to be interviewed on a news network when the East Mission outbreak was beginning. When the outbreak became full-scale, Frank remained on a live feed for it's entirety.

In the film, Frank appears to be much more calm and relaxed than he had been in his previous appearances. It's also possible that he once again gained some fame after partially exposing Phenotrans during the events of Case West with Chuck Greene. This could potentially explain his attitude being more light-hearted.

At the end of the film, when the government officially announces its plan to insert Zombrex chips into infected citizens, Frank responds relatively relaxed but warns of the potential dangers of the situation. It is unknown whether or not Frank allowed himself to be chipped.

Dead Rising 3
Although he doesn't make an appearance, Frank is mentioned multiple times throughout the game. A cardboard cutout of him (as well as Chuck Greene and Carlito Keyes) can be found in the museum, as well as a short biography stating that he is currently a zombie consultant and public speaker. He was also mentioned by Chuck Greene while he and Nick were pursuing Hemlock. Isabela Keyes mentions him while discussing the cure with Marian Mallon and accuses him and Chuck of leaving her to die after the incident at the Phenotrans Facility. He doesn't make an appearance due to cutting all ties to the other characters. If he had appeared in the game, Frank would be 51 years old.

Frank Statues are also one of the main collectibles in the game, an obvious homage to Frank being absent from the game.

Frank is one of four playable characters in a DLC for the Xbox One version of Dead Rising 3 called ''Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition. ''He appears along with other characters of Dead Rising games including Chuck Greene, Nick Ramos, and Annie. He appears as he looked during the original Dead Rising.

Dead Rising 4
Frank returned for the fourth main installment Dead Rising 4. He's a college teacher majoring in investigative journalism now and has a pupil named Vick.

On one occasion, he tripped and accidentally punched the president in the neck when getting a medal from him. Due to his experience with zombie outbreaks, he has become more pragmatic, cynical, highly sarcastic and also somewhat less sympathetic to people, which sometimes makes him at odds with Vick.

Near the end of the game, he falls from the helicopter after Vick and Brad successfully board it. The horde of zombies chasing the trio stop Frank from boarding it and he sacrifices himself to let Brad and Vick escape. Frank's last words to Vick were "Keep your eye on the prize," before falling. The zombies pile on him and completely devour him, ripping him apart. It's unknown whether this is the canon ending, however.

Other Appearances
Frank West had made appearances in other games since his debut in Dead Rising:


 * In Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Lost Planet 2, Frank West appears as a unlockable player skin for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
 * Frank West is a playable character in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars. He can call zombies into the fight and his stage is based off of the Entrance Plaza. He is voiced by Peter Von Gomm.
 * Frank West was planned to be a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. In fact, you can see Frank's silhouette in much of the promotional artwork. However, he was cut before release due to technical difficulties.
 * Frank's moveset was eventually completed and made fully playable for the update, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, where he is voiced in full by T.J. Rotolo.
 * Frank appears in Project X Zone, a tactical role-playing game produced by Capcom, Sega, and Namco-Bandai. He is paired with Darkstalkers 's Hsien-Ko (ironically a zombie), many of their attacks involving using random objects.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing, Frank does not make an appearance, but he is referenced through a note in The Passing. In a room located in a bar, he has a note sprawled across the wall, for Otis Washington, that says "Otis, out of film, no helicopter, zombies are too fast, not gonna make it. Frank West" This may be referencing a note found near the end of Dead Rising.

Trivia

 * For the most famous line in Dead Rising, see I've covered wars you know.


 * Designer Keiji Inafune wanted Frank West to be an average person instead of the usual Japanese characters which are young and beautiful. Frank wears a black jacket with a white button-up shirt, green pants and brown shoes. His appearance can also be changed by visiting various stores around the Willamette Parkview Mall, ranging from suits, dresses, hats, sunglasses, masks and more.
 * In the game Saints Row: The Third, there is a "Whored Mode" minigame wave called "Hank East" with the tagline "He's covered wars ya know"
 * Frank is not always voiced by his normal actor, TJ Rotolo. When Frank says "Fantastic!" after taking a perfect photograph, he is voiced by Marty Belafsky. Furthermore, in the very first trailer, depicting the game in its beta stage (different logo etc), Frank had a completely different voice actor. The beta trailer can be seen here.
 * Although Frank does not appear in Dead Rising 2, he is mentioned numerous times.
 * When Frank is idle in Case West he will occasionally take a picture of Chuck.


 * When Brad questioned if he had ever handled a handgun during the Willamette incident, Frank responded with the fact he had never aimed at a person before. His experience with firearms is otherwise left unexplained. It's possible, however, that he's been trained during his career for safety or has used guns before for recreation (such as a gun range) and merely never needed the skills before.


 * Frank's outfit from Dead Rising is available in the Shipping Office, appropriately titled Journalist Suit.
 * ScrewAttack.com rated Frank the 3rd "Manliest Man in Gaming".
 * Frank cannot kill a zombie by spitting on them alone, unless he's drank a Spitfire smoothie.
 * Frank wears a Mega Man brand watch. It is a battery operated watch that will run out of batteries during Dead Rising's Overtime Mode.
 * In Dead Rising 2: Case West, it appears Frank is wearing Carlito's locket. He also wears it in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. It can also be worn by co-op Chuck Greene if he wears the "alternate outfit" in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. However, in Dead Rising 4 the locket is nowhere to be found.
 * Frank has two round marks on his left shoulder, similar to the scars caused by Soviet vaccinations.
 * Frank always holds his camera in his left hand whenever possible.
 * During the years after Dead Rising and between Dead Rising 2, Frank had his own radio show called The Killing Hour.
 * According to Frank West's press pass (visible on the pause menu in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Frank lives at 555 Main Street in Endofird, NY. However, in Dead Rising: Road to Fortune, Frank lives in Hubbard Gulch, NV. This can be explained by the fact that Off the Record is non-canon, or because Frank was shown in his home in Hubbard Gulch three years before present times in the universe, so it's possible that he moved at some point.
 * Frank's notebook pictures in Dead Rising 2: Case West and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record are identical.
 * Frank's weapon of choice seems to be a Baseball Bat since he uses one in the beginning of Case West and is seen holding one on the cover of Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. He is also seen holding one in most pictures. In Case West, when AI Frank's weapon breaks and is not given another one, he will infinitely respawn a new bat.
 * Frank's theme song is His Name's Frank by lifeseeker.


 * Frank has appeared or has been mentioned in seven Dead Rising games, more than any other character.
 * Along with this he's the only main character to have appeared as the main protagonist in more than one main numbered game in the series, making his debut in the first Dead Rising, being the main character in the numbered, though non canon Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, and again in Dead Rising 4.


 * Frank seems to have some rivalry with Marvel's iconic character Spider-Man, also known as Peter Parker. Ironically, they're both photographers, seeking to get the perfect shot.
 * Also if Frank is fighting Spider-man in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 he says "I'll show that Parker kid"
 * In Dead Rising 4, Frank doesn't take Zombrex anymore due to having found a cure after the events of Dead Rising 3, and everyone is now immune to the virus.
 * Frank notes to Vick that he likes minigolf, which could be from Jeff Meyer, the first exact savable survivor Frank finds in Dead Rising, having a golf club as a weapon.
 * Frank changes his name to Hank East, which he takes up a job as a school teacher in Dead Rising 4. Which could be a node to "Whored Mode" minigame wave called "Hank East" in Saints Row: The Third.