Job Ex Obscuris Corporal
Status Deceased
Voice Actor Nicholas Anton

"... as the maggot into the vole... as the vole into the rat... rat into fox... fox into wolf... On and on and on, the great unmaking of the chain. Where then goes the man? He stays. Lives. Kills. Burns. Poisons the sea. Tears down the sky. Old age may claim him, but soon, even that he will defeat. We are made of killers. These hands took as men. But now, we give back."
—Calder, explaining his philosophy to his "subordinates."

Lance Corporal Calder is the main antagonist of Dead Rising 4. He is the final boss of the game.

Calder was once a high-ranking member of Obscuris. After a botched mission that infected him and killed his men, he attempted to use Russell Barnaby's test chamber in an effort to cure himself. The result turned him into the world's first intelligent zombie able to speak, form plans, operate machinery, and increased his endurance. However, his condition also caused him to go completely insane and go into an animalistic rage at the slightest grievance. In his insanity, he has developed his own bizarre religious philosophy in which he believes the extinction of the human race would be beneficial in preserving the natural order of things, which he refers to as "the chain".

His turning and subsequent mental collapse caused him to develop a deep hatred for humanity and their nature. He was responsible for starting the Second Willamette Outbreak in an effort to kill as many people as possible, and "unmake the chain." He is able to command many zombies to do his bidding, which he commonly uses to attack and kill survivors or members of Obscuris.

Dead Rising 4 Edit

Calder and his meh
Calder was leading a small team of soldiers into Barnaby's secret lab in order to find his research on immortality. Upon entering the lab, he immediately steps on and crushes a small mouse because it "got in [his] way." Calder turns on Barnaby's final audio progress report and projects it over the lab's speakers. One of Calder's men discovers Barnaby's research documents on a computer, and Calder downloads the information onto a hard drive connected to his exo-suit.

Calder attacked by bees
Another one of Calder's soldiers brings to his attention a large and heavy door, which Calder opens with the use of his exo-suit. As he investigates the machine, Calder learns through Barnaby's final progress report that it was built as a way to prevent zombie-ism. However, as the report ends, a combination of decay and Calder's men tampering with what's in the lab causes a large container of queens to fall over and smash open. Calder is forced to watch as his men are stung, killed, and immediately turn right before his eyes. The Queens then turn on Calder. As he is swarmed, Calder crawls into the test chamber and activates it, hoping to save his life. While he manages to save his life, the machine turns him into a zombie unlike any other. Calder became the first intelligent zombie the world had seen, but the experience caused him to go completely insane.

Calder goes on a rampage and attacks the Willamette Memorial Megaplex during its grand opening Black Friday sale, starting the second outbreak in Willamette that soon spreads throughout the entire town. Obscuris attempts to stop him and obtain Barnaby's research Calder still carries, but he manages to kill over one-hundred Obscuris soldiers by himself. Calder takes refuge in the town's sewers and builds a following of zombies and evos who are able to understand some basic commands.

Calder's attacks leaves Obscuris with far fewer men and resources, forcing them to try and trap him. They lure Calder to the town's dam, where they have set a trap for him. Calder falls for it and is imprisoned in an armored truck as a convoy attempts to take him away. Calder manages to escape and kill nearly every Obscuris soldier on the convoy. Afterwards, Calder retreats to his shelter in the sewers. Frank West , who had been tracking Calder thanks to his path of destruction and animalistic growls, finally gets his first look at him in the sewers, but is soon forced to flee after fighting off Calder's zombies and receiving another lead.

After Frank breaks into Obscuris's base of operations in order to obtain video footage, Calder takes advantage of the situation and has a massive horde of zombies attack the base. Calder makes his way into the base where he interrupts a fight between Frank West and his former Commander, Fontana.

Fontana and Calder

After noticing Calder, both Frank and Fontana hide. Fontana's men radio her asking if she needs assistance, but she orders them not to come for her, knowing that Calder would slaughter them. Calder, having heard the radio, finally notices her and attacks her. Fontana pulls a grenade, hoping to sacrifice herself to kill Calder. However, while Fontana loses her arm and bleeds to death from the blast, Calder manages to effortlessly shrug off the blast. Calder hears more gunfire coming from outside and rushes outside. Calder's attack officially destroys Obscuris with Fontana's death.

Caldering talking to Zombies

Frank once again pursues Calder into the sewers, having learned that the hard drive in Calder's possession is the key to breaking the story of what happened in Willamette wide open. Frank arrives in Calder's lair, where he witnesses Calder and several Evo zombies around a fire. Calder explains to his zombie followers his views on the natural order of things and how humans have disrupted it. He explains how all humans must be killed and tries to destroy the hard drive as a way to prevent them from discovering the key to immortality. Frank throws a brick at Calder's hand, making him drop the hard drive. Calder, now furious, has his zombies chase Frank, while Calder himself throws grenades from afar. After Frank manages to escape the zombies, Calder gives chase himself, but Frank manages to outrun him and escape with the hard drive.

Frank versus Calder

Calder witnesses Vick rob Frank of his camera and destroy the hard drive. Knowing that the camera and its photos are the only evidence left, Frank chases after Vick in an effort to get it back. Calder catches up to Vick at Kiichiro Plaza and wounds her before taking the camera. Frank catches up to them both and tries to negotiate with Calder. Calder instead angrily criticizes Frank and his ways before jamming a live grenade into the camera and throwing it to Frank. Frank is forced to throw the camera away before it explodes. With the last bit of evidence destroyed, Frank decides to fight Calder to the death, with Calder accepting the challenge.

Frank quickly proves to be nowhere near Calder's level. Luckily, Vick makes her way into the control room and opens a store where Obscuris was storing supplies, including an exo-suit which Frank puts on. The suit helps even the odds somewhat, and Frank manages to wound Calder, but Calder jumps to an electric billboard, revealing that he can regenerate from injuries by absorbing electricity. Vick manages to shut off each billboard one by one as Frank continues to fight and slowly wound Calder. Eventually, after a brutal and exhausting fight, Calder collapses from his injuries. Calder proclaims to Frank that without him, humanity will continue corrupting the world before his exo-suit bursts into flames from overheating, killing Calder once and for all.


  • He is similar to The Mother from Dying Light: The Following. Both are the first intelligent zombies able to speak in their respective franchises, and their boss fights are basically fist fights. They have some differences however: The Mother wears bright clothing and is fought in a small, dark, and secluded arena, while Calder is wears dark clothing and is fought in a large, bright, and open arena. The most crucial difference between the two is that The Mother loves humanity while Calder despises all of humanity.
    • The protagonists of both games both turn into similarly intelligent Zombies following the confrontations.
  • He bears a physical resemblance to actor Walton Goggins.
  • Calder is the first zombie boss fight in the series.
  • Unlike the previous main antagonists in the series who at least acknowledge that what they are doing is morally wrong, Calder seems to genuinely believe that mankind's extinction is the right thing to do (although his violent insanity and loss/hatred of humanity has clearly clouded his judgement).
  • The name "Calder" has many meanings, including "stony river" in Celtic, "cold brook" in English, and "rough waters" in Scottish.
  • Calder is the third psychopath seen crossing the line between sanity and insanity. The first and second being Dwight Boykin and Diego Martinez respectively.


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calder 3d concept
