What has Chris done to ever show himself to be smart?
Nothing. But unless Leon found out about Ada in another way than simply being told by Hunnigan or anyone else, I don't remember seeing much of
his cleverness either. (I have to admit I don't know; it's been a while since I played RE4.)
Chris spent the entirety of RE5 getting his butt kicked too, so there wasn't much fighting skill shown.
And you think Leon would have done any better in a fight against superhuman Matrix Wesker and Jill with her enhanced abilities? I don't remember anyone else kicking Chris's butt in RE5.
The most impressive thing he did was punch a boulder until it moved, which is a cool strength feat.
Now just imagine what such strength could do to Leon's head and you might understand where I'm coming from.
The one positive thing he was known for at this point was being a good shot with a gun. A small amount of time in STARS and a short career in the AF with a non-combat job are all the 'combat experience' Chris had before RE1. Chris has never done anything to show that he's all that skilled.
Maybe he hasn't
shown it in a way that you would believe it, but isn't S.T.A.R.S. an elite unit? I think it takes more than just good relationships to get in. And don't forget that by now, Chris has been fighting bioterrorism with the BSAA for ten years or something, and in his profile it says that he was allowed to join Sheva in Africa because his presence often leads to success. I don't know what exactly Leon does while he's not fighting zombies, but I get the impression that he's more like the president's watchdog who only gets into trouble when something serious comes up, like Ashley being abducted by crazy Spaniards, while Chris faces death every day, and therefore
fights every day.
Leon, on the other hand, is a character who always succeeds and gets his way in the end. He never really fails.
Well, I've already stated my opinion on such Mary Sue characters in another thread, but as a side note, one reason why Leon never fails is that Ada saves his ass quite often, and there's no denying that.
Next thing you know, he's flipping through lasers.
Chris does the same, see Umbrella Chronicles, which proves he's neither slow nor immobile.
Leon did more with less resources too. He fought and killed Del Lago with a wooden motor boat and some hand-thrown harpoons. He fought multiple El Gigantes with nothing but his own fire arms. Chris had Sheva with him, and both of them were using mounted 50 cals on their 1 sea monster/giant ogre.
You're not really blaming Chris for having Sheva with him while Leon does everything alone, are you? Well, I assure you it would have been the same with Leon if RE4 had been designed as a co-op game. And in RE6, Leon will have Helena with him... then what? The argument becomes invalid? Of course you could argue that Leon
only has Helena while Chris has Piers and a bunch of other soldiers as well, but look at what Leon is fighting and look at what Chris is fighting so far. Measuring a videogame character's skill based on whether or not his game is co-op is quite unfair, and it certainly doesn't give anything in evidence about how a fight between the two of them would turn out.
Everything points to Leon completely destroying Chris in a fight.
... Not really, it seems.