James Baxter

**James Baxter** was an antagonist on the first season of Netflix's *Wu Assassins*. He is portrayed by Kevin Durand.

James Baxter was a man who possessed the Earth Wu Xing. He was searching for a successor to inherit his Earth Wu Xing powers before being killed by Kai.

## Early Life

James' history is relatively unknown, except the fact that his family managed to acquire the Earth Wu Xing for unknown reasons and has been passing it on for generations (it is implied that James' father gave it to him). James was a naturalist who deemed his son unworthy of inheriting his Earth Wu Xing. He vanished from society almost a decade ago and lived in the woods where he attempted to find outsiders he deemed worthy to inherit the Earth Wu Xing.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

In Legacy James captures a hiker name Jill, puts her in a cave and asks her questions on how would she save the Earth and does she care for it. When James hears someone knocking on the door, he opens it to find Danny, Jill's boyfriend who was looking for her. James tells Danny that he doesn't know where Jill is, but Danny notes that James knew Jill's name even though he didn't tell him. James smiles and lets him in, where it is implied he killed him.

James goes back to Jill, and after answering his questions, James tells Jill that he is trying to save the Earth, but needs someone to inherit his will and be worthy of his Wu Xing. James explains about his backstory, even though Jill does not understand anything James is saying. James leads her outside, and tells her if she can outrun him, then she is free. James uses his Wu Xing powers to kill her right next to her boyfriend, and shattered remains of previous outsiders.

Meanwhile, James hears a gunshot and opens the door to find Kai Jin, the current Wu Assassin. He tries to close the door, but Kai breaks free and heads into James' cave. James' numerous attempts to kill Kai fail, and after a close battle James is killed by Kai. Before dying, James warns Kai to not let McCullough get the Wu Xing before the Earth Wu Xing is expelled from his body.

## Personality

James is shown to be a creepy individual, who makes his victims feel unsettled. Danny, Jill's boyfriend, was uncomfortable being around James when he was finding Jill. James often speaks in a slow, low voice but will raise his voice when he is agitated. He is a serial killer who seemingly kills with no remorse. However, before he dies he tells Kai to not let McCullough get the Earth Wu Xing.

## Physical Appearance

James is a relatively tall thin man (6 feet 6 inches). He has black hair with some grey in it, and is often seen covered in dirt. He wears a brown vest, white long sleeved shirt, brown pants and shoes.

## Powers and Abilities

**Earth Powers:** After obtaining the Earth Wu Xing, James obtained the power to control Earth. He has the power to cause tremors, and throw boulders at his opponent with incredible speed. He can turn people into stone even without touching them, however it is most effective when he is in contact with them. He is capable of turning into Earth decoys, shown when Kai first stabbed him James seemingly perished, but in reality it was a fake and James appeared behind Kai.

**Enhanced Durability:** He is shown to take multiple hits from Kai, another superhuman individual and survive, although it is noted that he is in pain.

### Abilities

**Nature Knowledge:** Due to his experience with the Earth Wu Xing, it is implied that he has extensive knowledge with the planet Earth. The reason why he kidnaps people is to see if he can find a worthy successor.

**Skilled Combatant:** James was capable of dealing multiple blows to Kai that actually hurt him, as well as fight Kai evenly for a while before being killed by Kai's speed and knife.

## Trivia

* It is unknown how James met McCullough, and if James knew McCullough's real intentions.