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==='''''Legacy'''''===
 
==='''''Legacy'''''===
After Peppy returned and delivered the news of James' fate to Fox and General Pepper, Fox decided to follow in his father's footsteps and resume leadership of Star Fox. Using both the [[Great Fox]] and [[ROB 64]], a robotic humanoid purchased by James for the team but never given the chance to be utilized, Fox recruited Peppy, [[Slippy Toad]], and [[Falco Lombardi]] to fight together and defend peace wherever it was threatened, thus creating a new Star Fox Team to be formed. Pigma Dengar succeeded at his mission, got paid a huge sum of money, and instead joined Star Wolf, a rival mercenary-for-hire group. However, he was kicked out due to his incredible greed and distrustful nature after the Lylat Wars. He was later assimilated by the Aparoids and was apparently destroyed by Fox. In most ''Star Fox: Command'' endings, Star Fox remains together and may even have a [[Marcus McCloud|new generation]].
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After Peppy returned and delivered the news of James' fate to Fox and General Pepper, Fox decided to follow in his father's footsteps and resume leadership of Star Fox. Using both the [[Great Fox]] and [[ROB 64]], a robotic humanoid purchased by James for the team but never given the chance to be utilized, Fox recruited Peppy, [[Slippy Toad]], and [[Falco Lombardi]] to fight together and defend peace wherever it was threatened, thus creating a new Star Fox Team to be formed. Pigma Dengar succeeded at his mission, got paid a huge sum of money, and instead joined Star Wolf, a rival mercenary-for-hire group. However, he was kicked out due to his incredible greed and distrustful nature after the Lylat Wars. He was later assimilated by the Aparoids and was apparently destroyed by Fox. The Aparoid Queen later used James McCloud's likeness to attempt to trick Fox into surrendering. However, it ironically exposed her deception due to "James" telling Fox to effectively give up, something Fox knew full well his father would never tell him to do. In most ''Star Fox: Command'' endings, Star Fox remains together and may even have a [[Marcus McCloud|new generation]].
   
 
The legacy that James McCloud left behind is one that the citizens of the Lylat System are indebted to, but the ultimate fate of James and the current Star Fox team is yet to be revealed.
 
The legacy that James McCloud left behind is one that the citizens of the Lylat System are indebted to, but the ultimate fate of James and the current Star Fox team is yet to be revealed.

Revision as of 00:31, 25 June 2014

Template:Star Fox member infobox

Never give up. Trust your instincts.
—James McCloud

James McCloud (ジェームズ・マクラウド) was a legendary and astonishing pilot who became the founder and leader of the legendary Star Fox Team, a mercenary-for-hire squadron in the Lylat System. James was talented in terms of fighting, piloting, and adventuring. He was well known for holding an unwavering loyalty to his friends. After his apparent and supposed death, James was later succeeded as leader of Star Fox by his only son, Fox McCloud.

Biography

Formation of Star Fox

As an ace pilot and avid adventurer, James served in the Cornerian Army with his friends Peppy and Pepper, before pulling out to start an elite commando unit of mercenaries-for-hire, known as the Star Fox team, initially working on a freelance basis. The team consisted of James himself, who was the leader and founder of the mercenary squadron, Peppy Hare, who was already a close friend, and Pigma Dengar, who proved himself to be a cunning teammate in the Star Fox Team. In the course of their duties, James and Star Fox traveled the length and breadth of the Lylat system, pursuing jobs and settling disputes. The team earned overflowing wealth to the point that James decided to upgrade the team's headquarters and purchased a mothership called the Great Fox, which was so expensive that James took an 80-year loan from a bank to transport the trio across the system faster and more efficiently.

Betrayal

James&PeppyAttacked

James and Peppy, betrayed by Pigma and ambushed by Andross' forces.

Reports of strange activity were detected on Venom - a barren, inhospitable, and desolate planet on the far edge of the Lylat System, where the mad scientist Andross had been exiled to it just a few years before. General Pepper, worried for the safety of the entire system, hired the original Star Fox team to go on a scouting mission to Venom and determine the cause of the strange activity.

Upon their arrival, Pigma betrayed the team to Andross, who had bribed him with the promise of immense riches. James and Peppy were immediately captured by Andross at the onset of the betrayal. Peppy managed to barely escape, and flew his damaged Arwing back to Corneria. When he returned, he informed General Pepper and James' son, Fox, of what happened to James, Pigma, and himself during the failed scouting mission. While it is unknown what exactly happened to the missing James, he was declared dead. The Star Wolf leader Wolf O'Donnell was also suspected to have been involved in James' disappearance as well. Upon hearing this, Fox eventually vowed to get revenge on Andross and for murdering his father and bring the traitorous Pigma to justice.

Legacy

After Peppy returned and delivered the news of James' fate to Fox and General Pepper, Fox decided to follow in his father's footsteps and resume leadership of Star Fox. Using both the Great Fox and ROB 64, a robotic humanoid purchased by James for the team but never given the chance to be utilized, Fox recruited Peppy, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lombardi to fight together and defend peace wherever it was threatened, thus creating a new Star Fox Team to be formed. Pigma Dengar succeeded at his mission, got paid a huge sum of money, and instead joined Star Wolf, a rival mercenary-for-hire group. However, he was kicked out due to his incredible greed and distrustful nature after the Lylat Wars. He was later assimilated by the Aparoids and was apparently destroyed by Fox. The Aparoid Queen later used James McCloud's likeness to attempt to trick Fox into surrendering. However, it ironically exposed her deception due to "James" telling Fox to effectively give up, something Fox knew full well his father would never tell him to do. In most Star Fox: Command endings, Star Fox remains together and may even have a new generation.

The legacy that James McCloud left behind is one that the citizens of the Lylat System are indebted to, but the ultimate fate of James and the current Star Fox team is yet to be revealed.

Possible Return?

James has, temporarily, returned on occasion, to help his son and his friends in their time of need. Below are some instances when James makes an appearance in the games:

  • The first was on Venom, where Star Fox was concluding their mission during the Lylat Wars to re-take the conquered Lylat System from the Venomian Army and defeat Andross. Fox ventured into the subterranean command center to fight Andross himself, and was poised to defeat him. The dying mad scientist self-destructed, intending to destroy the base and take Fox with it. James, riding in his Arwing, came and saved Fox, guiding him out of the base as the destructive flames raged behind him and led him to safety. James expressed his pride in his son, saying how strong he had become and also saying some helpful hints to him, and upon emerging from the exploding base, James disappeared into Venom's sky. Fox was somewhat saddened by him leaving again, but when questioned by his teammates, Fox insisted nothing was wrong, as his father was still watching over him. While some fans take this to mean that James McCloud is still alive, it was heavily implied that this was a vision or ghost that came to his son. If one watches closely, there is a shooting star that likely represents James on the right corner of the screen in this ending, which is symbolism for his passing. The player also cannot interact with James' Arwing during the escape sequence. If the route taken leads to Venom 1 rather than Venom 2, however, there will be more references to James' death. When doing the Bolse mission with Star Wolf's arrival, Pigma, when giving his entry transmission, will taunt "Daddy screamed REAL good before he died!" (although he only says the "died" part if Andrew Oikonny isn't present, as otherwise Andrew Oikonny will cut in). While Fox is traversing the base's tunnel and is about to face the Andross decoy, Andross will taunt "You will die just like your father!" The Japanese Star Fox 64 manual also uses more explicit wording to refer to James' doom.
  • James somehow contacted his son again during Fox's mission to save Dinosaur Planet from destruction. One of the Cheat Tokens Fox found revealed a message from James: "I can see you have matured into a strong leader. I am always there with you. Never give up... Trust your instincts... My son...". It is possible that the other Cheat Tokens are messages from James, though this is the only direct indication.
  • While technically not a hint towards his being alive or dead, the Aparoid Queen mimics James McCloud occasionally, along with the other lifeforms infected by the Aparoids (Pigma, General Pepper, ROB, and Peppy), which hints that the Aparoids might have come into contact with him at one point. Or the image of James could have been taken from the mentioned character's memories, since they all knew him before. Falco was about to mention that he was dead before Fox cut him off, though.
  • James' latest appearance was possibly nine years later, during the Anglar Blitz, where Star Fox made its final raid on Venom to defeat the Anglar Emperor. In one route, James suddenly appeared in his Arwing, and aided Fox, Falco and Dash Bowman in their battles under the Venom oceans. Oddly, Fox didn't react in any way when his father appeared, provided this was directly before facing the Anglar Emperor. When James McCloud appears in the Venom Sea in the third ending "Dash Make a Choice", his Arwing is located on-screen as a semi transparent icon. Due to James' widely accepted death, it's as if he is a ghost, for none of the wingmates can see him, only Fox and the Anglar enemies. Oddly enough, his ship is a physical object unlike in Star Fox 64. In addition, James pilots a newer Arwing model from Star Fox: Assault. This is because he shares the same statistics as Peppy, even sharing the same character theme (which is a remix of the Aparoid Homeworld penetration and Peppy's sacrifice cutscene during Star Fox: Assault). After the battle was done, James disappeared once again. That is also his only playable appearance in any Star Fox game.

Other appearances

Early depictions

Itoh James

Fox Sr. with his young son Fox.

  • In the original Star Fox SNES game, no direct reference is made to Fox's father or his name, although General Pepper does vaguely lament that the Black Hole is the last place anyone had seen him alive. In reality, the Black Hole is a warp point in the Lylat System, so the exact details behind the disappearance of Fox's father is uncertain.
  • Fox's father was given a name and backstory in the non-canon Star Fox comic adaptation by Benimaru Itoh. In it, Fox McCloud Sr. (as he is known here) was born and grew up on the planet Corneria. Much of his past remains unknown, but he graduated from the Cornerian Academy, married Vixy Reinard McCloud, and had only one child, whom he raised on his own. Jealous, Andross rigged a bomb into Fox Sr.'s car and since Vixy's car was out of gas, Fox Sr. offered to let Vixy use his car, unaware of Andross's scheme. When Vixy turned the car's ignition, the bomb exploded, resulting in her death. Both Andross and Fox Sr. were stricken with grief by the sudden loss. Later, Fox Sr. was presumed dead when an experimental bomb testing "went wrong." Designed by Andross, then a Cornerian scientist, the bomb was secretly supposed to detonate when Fox Sr. reached critical velocity. However, the Black Hole was created from the explosion. This resulted in his exile to the planet Venom. Fox Sr. is later seen to be alive in some form when the hidden Space Whale who releases items from Sector Y is revealed to have Fox's father on board. While he is still alive, he is confined to exist only inside the Black Hole and is unable to return to the other side.
  • Meanwhile, in the Japan-only Star Fox Mission File Printout guide book (also illustrated by Benimaru Itoh), another background for Fox's father was given. Fox Senior-Gunsō (or "Sergeant"), apparently a high-ranking member of the Cornerian military and dear friend of General Pepper, was chasing space pirates in the Asteroid Belt. He narrowly missed a mysterious smiling asteroid, which suddenly turned into a Black Hole vortex that swallowed him in. The appearance of a foreign Black Hole is believed to be due to the presence of Andross's experiments in the area. After hearing the news, his son Fox McCloud dropped out of the Cornerian Academy. Fox's close friends -- his former rival Falco, Fox Senior's associate Peppy, and the mechanically-inclined Slippy -- all joined him in the struggle against Andross.

Star Fox 64 manga

While James himself did not appear in the manga, he was mentioned. When Fox chases after Pigma in revenge at the Meteo Asteroid Belt, Wolf delays him to let the traitorous Pig escape while making snide threats about sending Fox to join his father, thus Fox concludes the rumours surrounding Wolf's involvement with the ultimate fate of James. Later at the Great Fox's hanger, Peppy retells the backstory of the original Star Fox Team to Slippy. The Rabbit blames himself for losing his best friend, calling himself a coward and only hoping that someday he'll see Jimmy again. The affectionate nicknaming indicates just how close James and Peppy were together.

F-Zero series

Little-wyvern-1-

His F-Zero racer.

A human resembling James McCloud debuted in F-Zero X as an unlockable racer. As a direct reference, James dons the exact same clothes his Star Fox counterpart wore. His machine, Little Wyvern (#10), resembles the Arwing. His ending in the Grand Prix reads 'I drive like a sly fox' is another direct reference to his original counterpart. In F-Zero GX, more references are made as well. He is redesigned to have his hair spiked up in two different directions, resembling fox ears. He also mentions of a mercenary group called Galaxy Dog, another reference to Star Fox. James also mentions a son (though not by name) as his inspiration to participate in the F-Zero races. He also makes an appearance in the series anime in his self-titled episode which shows a flashback of him during his mercenary days. His partner went by the name of O'Donnell, an obvious reference to Wolf.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

James McCloud does not actually appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, although he was alluded to during the Lylat Cruise when Falco uses the comm link in one of the areas. Peppy will say "Never give up, trust your instincts", with Fox and Slippy recognizing the line, causing Peppy to apologize and mention he channeled James McCloud. This also references the fact that both Peppy and James McCloud used this phrase in Star Fox 64.

Physical Appearance

James and Fox appear strikingly similar. The telltale sign that one is looking at James McCloud is that he is never seen without his sunglasses. However, Fox is sometimes seen with sunglasses. Besides the sunglasses, there have been various other differences between Fox and James.

  • In Star Fox 64/3D, James has a narrower head and darker fur, while having a noticeable nick in the skin of his left ear. This notch only appears when Fox is leaving Andross's exploding Palace, possibly due to his capture on Venom and presumed excecution.
    • On the Expert difficulty mode Fox wears a pair of sunglasses and looks almost indistinguishable from James. Also, Fox's name doesn't appear during transmissions he sends out during the course of Expert Mode, further referencing his appearance as James, as James has the same color box around his mugshot as Fox's. Fox references James's trademark appearance when he too wears sunglasses again in his own fatherhood, as seen in the Star Fox Command ending, Goodbye Fox.
  • In Star Fox Command James wears a yellow scarf rather than a red one.
  • Also in Star Fox: Assault, James is grey fringed, in comparison to his son, Fox's white striped forehead.

Portrayals

Each time James is voiced, it is the same voice actor as Fox McCloud. James McCloud's dialogue has been preformed by the following:

  • In the Japanese versions of these games, James is voiced by Tomohisa Asô and Hirohiko Kakegawa, respectively.

Gallery

Trivia

  • In early Benimaru Itoh illustrations (seen in the Star Fox comic adaptation and Star Fox Mission File Printout guide book), "Fox Senior" is depicted without shades, showing that this version of Fox's father had blue eyes. This is the only appearance to date where James's eyes have been revealed.
  • Wolf's advice to Fox "Don't hesitate, when the time comes, just act!" is a spin on James and Peppy's own catchphrase.