James Pierce

:"James" redirects here. For other uses, see James (Disambiguation).
 was a soldier in the Galactic Federation Army, working as the communications expert of the 07th Platoon led by Adam Malkovich in Metroid: Other M.Chapter 4, Metroid: Other M He was also secretly an agent of the BOTTLE SHIP's ringleaders sent to silence witnesses and destroy evidence. Samus Aran would nickname this mystery assassin the .Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M, Confidential section, pg. 2.
==Biography==
James trained in the Galactic Federation Academy at Training Base #6, and first served at the Federation Central Information Agency in Intelligence Group 2. He was then transferred in the 07th Platoon as a communications expert. At some point, he secretly became an agent of the BOTTLE SHIP's ringleaders.
James and the 07th Platoon went to investigate the derelict BOTTLE SHIP, with James secretly prepared to serve his role as the "Deleter" and destroy all incriminating evidence and witnesses. There, the platoon encountered Samus Aran. They entered the BOTTLE SHIP Control Room and discovered a Brug underneath a deceased Lab Worker. Lyle Smithsonian panicked and kicked it to shoot it, until James instructed him to stop. This aggravated the Brug Mass, resulting in the platoon working with Samus to defeat it. Afterwards, Adam ordered James to restore communications at the Control Bridge.
Before James completed his task, Adam ordered everyone to regroup at the Biosphere's Exam Center. James was the first to arrive, even though Lyle was the one scouting the Biosphere; it's likely that James assassinated Lyle while the two were alone at the Exam Center, as Lyle's body was later found nearby. When Samus first entered the building, she had to unlock doors to reach the "main observation deck"; inside, James was already working on the computer and seemed surprised at her arrival. Once the others arrived, he was the first to point out Lyle's absence. He can then be seen examining a table in the "containment room" with K.G. Misawa. Maurice Favreau analyzed the computer to discover its CPU "self-destructed" and that he would need to reconstruct it, asking James to hack it if he couldn't bypass the security. After the platoon repelled the Mystery Creature, James had the most comments on Lyle's corpse.
The soldiers each returned to their assigned sectors to continue investigation, while Samus hunted the Mystery Creature. The Exam Center was demolished by explosives in their absence, likely by James (possibly using Lyle's charges). James then followed Maurice to the Cryosphere. Maurice lowered his guard, giving James the chance to kill him with a Freeze Gun to make it look like he froze to death in the cold. James then entered the Materials Storehouse to hunt MB, assuming she was merely a survivor, only to find she had met Samus. He attempted to kill both of them by piloting the RB176 Ferrocrusher, escaping the scene once Samus disabled the machine.
Adam ordered everyone to regroup at a Navigation Booth in the Pyrosphere, to open the magma-eruption port and restore geothermal power. Instead, James ambushed K.G. Misawa in the damaged "lava cavern" pedway, killing him with his Freeze Gun before incinerating the body in the lava below. He then disobeyed orders, going after Adam instead of regrouping with Samus and Anthony Higgs. While the two faced Ridley, James returned to the Control Room and sabotaged Adam's communications by shooting his equipment, though it's unclear if he intended to kill Adam.
thumb|James' gruesome fate.
James then made his way to the Bioweapon Research Center to continue hunting MB; Samus saw him using the Main Elevator and followed him. He deactivated the access bridge to obstruct her path. At the main laboratory, Samus encounters MB, who warns her about Sector Zero. After Samus leaves, James attempts to ambush MB.
Upon returning, Samus discovers James dead with his visor shattered, killed after underestimating MB. Though the exact nature of his demise is not revealed, the pool of blood and damage to his armor imply blunt force trauma. It's unknown if MB killed him with her own superhuman strength or used her psychic link to make a Desbrachian do so, as the room's Desbrachian shell is missing while James' corpse is present. In MB's last stand, she brandished a Freeze Gun most likely taken from James' body.
In the post-credits sequence, James' corpse is absent. It's likely that the Galactic Federation removed his body along with Maurice Favreau's and Lyle Smithsonian's for proper burial.
==Description==
James Pierce was a male, Caucasian human who stood at an average height with his fellow soldiers. He had long brown hair, a trimmed beard and mustache, and a scar over his left eyebrow. He always wore a Galactic Federation Power Suit, equipped with the standard Federation handgun, submachine gun, and Freeze Gun. The "07" painted on his helmet was somewhat faded and he had a small device strapped to his left forearm, two subtly distinguishing features hinting at his role as the Deleter when his face was obscured in other cutscenes.
James had a cheerful and good-humored temperament when chatting with friends. Concept art depicts him laughing and praising women. However, this friendliness belied his true intentions, as he was secretly a determined assassin who showed no remorse in assassinating his own colleagues and sabotaging the 07th Platoon to fulfill his mission.
==Official data==
===Credentials===
"James Pierce [Communications]<Battle Code Number>104<Service Record>Galactic Federation Acedemy,Training Base #6Federation Central Information Agency,Intelligence Group 2Galactic Federation, 07th PlatoonID: 3721-07:74425"
===Characters===
;Beginning
:"Investigating the BOTTLE SHIP under Adam's command after receiving the distress signal."
;After Brug Mass
:"Currently investigating the Control Bridge under Adam's command."
;After King Kihunter
:"Currently heading toward the Exam Center in Sector 1 under Adam's command."
;After first Exam Center cutscene
: "Currently investigating the Exam Center under Adam's command."
;After Mystery Creature
: "Currently investigating the BOTTLE SHIP interior under Adam's command."
;After Rhedogian battle #2
:"Currently heading toward the Geothermal Power Plant in Sector 3 under Adam's command."
;After Main Elevator cutscene
:"No information available. Details unknown."
; After return to Bioweapon Research Center
: "Discovered killed by something in the Bioweapon Research Center."
==Trivia==
*There was much confusion in players over the identity of the Deleter, since James Pierce is never explicitly stated to be the Deleter in-game and must be deduced by players. His identity was fully confirmed in the Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M.
**Even though K.G. Misawa can be deduced as the soldier incinerated by James in the Pyrosphere (because of the other deceased soldiers' corpses being accounted for), some players believed that K.G. was the Deleter due to his MIA status on the personnel screen.
*Because of James' role as the communications expert, the all-pervasive electronic interference on the BOTTLE SHIP may have been his doing in order to keep his teammates from alerting each other of his mission. This would also explain why Samus, an "outsider", had her comm system still functional until he shot Adam's equipment.
*What exactly James was doing at the computer in the Exam Center before Samus arrived is unclear. It's theorized that he caused the database to "self-destruct" before Maurice got to it, or he was planting the explosives that later demolished the building. However, Samus also later speculates that MB destroyed the Exam Center in order to erase evidence.
==Gallery==
James Pierce.png|James Pierce close-up.
Exam Centre Tower room Samus and James HD.jpg|Samus and James in the Exam Centre.
Exam Centre Tower room 07th Platoon HD.jpg|James, Anthony, Maurice, K.G. and Samus gather to read a message recovered from Madeline Bergman in the Exam Center.
Deleter shoots Maurice MB flashback Cryosphere.jpg|The Deleter shooting Maurice.
The Deleter.PNG|The Deleter after killing K.G. (note the faded "07" on his helmet).
Deleter running into H-shaped corridor Navigation Booth.png|The Deleter running into the Navigation Booth from the "H-shaped corridor".
Bioweapon Research Centre main room HD.jpg|James' body.
PortraitJames.png|Portrait shown in the Characters menu.
JP Other M Guide MB and Deleter.jpg|A page from the confidential section of the Japanese Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M, which directly identifies James Pierce as the Deleter.
==References==
ru:Джеймс Пирс
Category:Characters
Category:Main antagonists
Category:Galactic Federation
Category:07th Platoon
Category:BOTTLE SHIP
Category:Main Sector
Category:Biosphere
Category:Exam Center
Category:Bioweapon Research Center
Category:Deceased
Category:Examine Targets
Category:Federation Marine characters
Category:Communications
Category:Rogue