Fox McCloud

Template:CharacterInfoBox v2.5 Fox McCloud is a fictional anthropomorphic fox character and the main character in the Star Fox series. He is the leader of the Star Fox team, and is the son of James McCloud, the late leader of said team. Described as a fearless hero, Fox is headstrong and an excellent pilot in his league, with skills excelling even the majority of the Cornerian military. He is considered one of the greatest Arwing ace pilots around. Very few space pilots are on par with his skills, such as his colleague Falco Lombardi, or his nemesis Wolf O'Donnell.

Fox has appeared in every game in the series since the very first game, which is Star Fox, as he is, as mentioned earlier, the main character, and often the only playable character, practically dominating the series whole in such a way. Due to this, as well as having the name "Fox" in common, Fox McCloud is often considered synonymous with the team Star Fox, albeit Star Fox existed long before he had taken over the team. Fox is often erroneously called "Star Fox" himself by some fans of the series.

Fox was originally called "Fox McCloud, Jr." because that was his name in Benimaru Itoh's official comic adaptation of the first game, albeit the comics are not considered as canon. (Although, it does not matter as much since the first game lost its own canonity when the connection between Star Fox and Star Fox 64 was never explicitly referred to, accepting Star Fox 64 as a "remake" of the first game.)

In game History

Early History

Fox McCloud was born to James McCloud and an unnamed mother eighteen years before the events of Star Fox 64. Though it is unknown what happened to the mother, it is known that James was eventually forced to raise Fox on his own. Over time, Fox joined a pilot's academy with his old friend, Bill Grey.

Eventually, Andross began his rise to power and Pepper, General of the Cornerian Defense Force, hired his old friends the Star Fox team to take him down. Unfortunately, Pigma Dengar, a member of this team, was on Andross's payroll and betrayed James to his supposed death. While James's fate remains unknown, the third pilot, Peppy Hare, escaped and was left with unenviable task of informing Fox of his father's demise. Fox followed in the footsteps of his father by forming a new Star Fox team with his friends Slippy Toad, Falco Lombardi and original member Peppy Hare.

The Lylat Wars

A few years passed and Andross again became a threat to the Lylat System. Once again, Pepper called upon the Star Fox team, now under Fox's command. The team made for Corneria City immediatly, but arrived to find the city in ruin. The team proceeded through the Lylat system going to such planets as Aquas, Titania and Macbeth, and encountered old friends Bill Grey and Katt Monroe. They also fought against rival team Star Wolf on Fichina and Bolse Space Station.

The team soon made it to Area 6 where they stormed through the Venomian Army with help from ROB 64 and the Star Fox mothership, the Great Fox. Arriving at the entrance to Andross's lair on Venom, Star Wolf attacks in new Wolfen IIs. Even with the advanced ships, Wolf's team was easily trumped by Star Fox and Fox continued on into the tunnels of Venom. There he confronted Andross alone.

Andross's experiments had destroyed most of his body and transformed what was left into a giant, floating head with two equally sized hands. Using his Arwing's powerful lasers, Fox destroys Andross's hands and reveals his true form, an enormous brain with eyes electromagnetically connected. After an intense battle, Fox destroys the brain, but Andross sets off a bomb to destroy his lab at the last second. Fox, believing this to be his last moment, Fox is stunned at the voice that comes from his communicator, his father's. James's Arwing appears before Fox and James tells Fox to follow him out. Through the burning laboratory, Fox follows what can only be his father out onto the surface. When Fox finally made his way back to the Great Fox, he looked around to find his father nowhere. The other team members ask Fox if something was wrong, but he responded saying that there was nothing wrong.

The team then returns to Corneria to obtain their reward from General Pepper. Pepper asks the team if they would be willing to join the Cornerian Army, but Fox cuts him off and says that the team prefers doing things their own way. Fox then gets a message from ROB 64 telling them to return quickly and the Star Fox hurries on to a new adventure.

The Saurian Ruse

Eight years after the Lylat Wars, the Star Fox team is in great need of a new job. With Falco gone and the vehicles in disrepair, Fox, Slippy, Peppy and ROB are ecstatic when General Pepper calls about a disaster on the planet Sauria. Pepper informs the team that the planet is breaking apart and sends Fox to the planet to investigate.

When Fox lands at ThornTail Hollow, that he's trying to save the planet, not blow it up further. Fox's weapon problems are solved when he finds a solution to his weapon problems, a magic staff impaled into the ground. When he picks up the staff, he hears a female voice speaking in a language he had never heard before. Despite this, he seems to understand the voice and, after gaining a new ability for the staff, uses it to enter a mysteriously locked cavern. Inside was the Queen EarthWalker. Fox has Slippy translate through his communicator and finds that he had to go to Ice Mountain to find Prince Tricky. To get there, Fox has to use a living statue called the WarpStone. At first, the WarpStone was uncooperative, but after some convincing agreed to help Fox.

After arriving, Fox finds two SharpClaw grunts with a captured Tricky in tow. He freed Tricky and defeated the grunts. At that point, Slippy sent down the translation device and Fox warned Tricky about his mother. Upon returning to ThornTail Hollow, Fox learned what was truly going on. General Scales, leader of the SharpClaw tribe, had taken the SpellStones from the Force Point Temples and released the Krazoa Spirits from the Krazoa Palace. This caused the energies within Sauria to break the planet apart. Though he thinks it odd, Fox understands and takes Tricky to the SnowHorn Village where they met Garunda Te, leader of the SnowHorn Tribe and GateKeeper of DarkIce Mines. Scales had threatened his tribe with death if Garunda did not let him into the mines. Though Garunda had not, his daughter Belina Te could not see the tribe destroyed allowed him into the mines. Fox proceeded to fly his Arwing to the piece of the planet that contains DarkIce Mines. Entering the mines, he eventually found Belina locked inside a SharpClaw cell. After freeing her, Fox continued on until he finds a portal that leads to the chamber of Galdon. After getting damaged enough, the monster swallowed Fox, allowing him to obtain the SpellStone and kill Galdon. As Fox walked back to his Arwing with Belina, he told her to forgive her father as he was only thinking of the good of the planet and she agrees.

Fox then returned to the Queen EarthWalker and found he had to head to the Volcano Force Point Temple to place the SpellStone. He quickly got to the temple and placed the SpellStone in the Force Point. On the way back through Moon Mountain Pass, he heard the voice from the staff again. This time, she is pleading for help and a Krazoa Spirit appeared that appointed Fox the mission of finding the other five spirits. After finding one in the mountain area, he returned to the WarpStone and was sent to the Krazoa Palace. Before releasing the spirit into the palace, he saw a beautiful vixen imprisoned at the height of the tower and swore to save her. He then headed for Cape Claw where the Queen CloudRunner was held captive. After freeing her, Fox followed her to the piece of the Sauria with the CloudRunner Fortress located on it. Tricky had not come due to a rivalry between the EarthWalkers and the CloudRunners. Fox continues on alone until he runs into General Scales himself. Both he and the Queen are captured, though Fox managed to escape when Slippy sent him a SharpClaw Disguise. He broke the Queen out and rescued her children. He then found Scales again trying to hide a SpellStone. He hands the stone to three SharpClaw grunts who fled on their vehicles. Fox chased them on a fourth vehicle, destroyed the vehicles and collected the SpellStone.

After returning to Cape Claw, Fox found the Ocean Force Point Temple hidden behind a great statue of a Krazoa head and placed the SpellStone in the Force Point. On his way back, Fox is ambushed by the LightFoot tribe who believe him to be a SharpClaw ally. With the help of a CloudRunner, Fox forced the tribe back and was allowed to leave. Fox then headed to the Walled City, the palace of the EarthWalkers. This is where the King EarthWalker was held captive. General Scales had freed the RedEye tribe, a savage tribe that the EarthWalkers had kept in containment until now. Fox learned how to defeat the RedEyes and freed the King from inside the palace. After this, Fox continued down beneath the palace where the King RedEye was hidden. Fox managed to defeat savage king and pry the SpellStone from his head. Once again, Fox visited the Volcano Force Point and place the penultimate SpellStone.

As for the location of the next GateKeeper, Fox had no idea. It was only when he talked to a ThornTail that had previously been silent, that Fox learned the ThornTail was the GateKeeper. He had led ressistance team against the SharpClaw, but failed and he was the only one to escape. Fox then made his way to Dragon Rock, the location of the last SpellStone. Here, he helped save three Dinosaurs, the last of which had previously assisted Krystal, the girl Fox had earlier seen imprisoned. After destroying the barriers around the tower in the center, Fox fought Drakor, a mutant experiment ordered by General Scales. Fox defeated the abomination and obtained the final SpellStone. Though, when he placed the stone in the Force Point Temple, he found that nothing happened.

For guidance, Fox returned to the King EarthWalker. The King told Fox that he would need the other two Krazoa Spirits. He then pleaded Fox to find the spirits so he could see his wife again and, thinking of Krystal, Fox stated they both have their reasons for finding the spirits. After solving two great puzzles, Fox foune the chamber of the fifth Krazoa Spirit. Before leaving, Fox tole Tricky to stay behind and said that Tricky was now an honorary member of Team Star Fox.

Fox immediately landed at the top of the Krazoa Palace and released the spirit, thus unlocking a warp to the final spirit. Here, Fox was confronted by General Scales himself, but before they could fight, a disembodied voice forced Scales to reveal that he had the final Krazoa Spirit and transfer it to Fox. Fox then escaped to release the final spirit. As the spirits whirled around the imprisoned Krystal, they entered her body and then were shot out into the statue of the Krazoa. Krystal's prison then shattered and she began to fall from the top of the palace. At the last moment, Fox thrust Krystal's staff out and she caught it. When their eyes met, it was love at first sight. At that moment, the statue's head broke off and flew up into space with Fox right behind it in his Arwing. When the head turned around, it was revealed that the true master behind the Saurian crisis was Andross reborn. Fox put up a great fight against the mad scientist reborn, but at one point, found he could no longer dodge Andross's attacks.

Andross had began to suck Fox in with his breath when a Smart Bomb was fired into Andross's mouth. Fox turned to see that Falco had returned. Together they defeated the demonic ape and healed the planet.

Fox is next seen in the Great Fox getting a message from General Pepper. The General procedes to send Star Fox the bill for their efforts and Falco walks in and asked to rejoin the team. At this point, Peppy remembers to play message sent from Krystal to Fox. In the message she apologized for being unable to talk long. While the message plays, the team hears a noise from the Great Fox's boarding platform and, at the end of the message, Krystal enters. Fox is visibly blushing when ROB 64 accidentally reveals that Fox's internal temperature is rising and that he is clearly in love with Krystal. The scene ends with the two looking and smiling at each other.