James

**Tail**
Showa: 45 feet

**Head-to-tail hypotenuse**
Showa: 119 feet

**Fiction**
Bowser *Super Mario*
Raphael *TMNT*
Dragon mythological creature

**James** is a red male steam locomotive dinosaur. He initially fought against Edward but was shortly defeated by him, and later became a loyal friend/ally of the Steam Team. He also formed a close friendship (and rivalry) with the smaller and younger Thomas and Percy, despite having a distaste towards them earlier.

## General information

### **Design**

In his introduction as a young adolescent, James was originally black (not unlike certain monsters such as Donald & Douglas) with red stripes. As he got older however, his scales changed to a brilliant red that matches no other member of the Steam Team. Like many steam monsters, his underbelly is white whilst his paws are black in contrast. His spines are quite large and have a fiery motif to them. James' eyes are a vivid red-orange and his mane is typically of a very similar hue. Uniquely it sticks almost permanently upward, resembling cartoonish flames. As much as he dislikes it, he is unsurprisingly often compared to Edward in terms of physical description. Aside from the obvious contrasts in coloration, James has a much more robust and compact frame as opposed to the slick and sharp edges that make up most of Edward. This is primarily to further emphasize on the fact that both characters are "polar opposites".

In the Showa era, James was around the 50-foot range in terms of height. He hit around 60 feet in Silver, 70 in Heisei, then finally 80 in the Millennium era. His appearance remains relatively consistent throughout the timeline, with only few noticeable changes such as with his facial design. His features have noticeably softened during the years of the Silver era for instance. From Millennium onward, these features have become sharper again and he appeared much more aggressive than before. James is overall classified as medium-sized and stands quite short when next to Gordon and Henry. He is typically only slightly taller than Edward, despite being considerably younger.

### **Roar**

James' roars are heavily inspired from wild cats, particularly panthers.

### **Abilities**

#### **Physical capabilities**

James' mobility is incredible to where it rivals that of Thomas & Percy. He is able to perform various stunts (flips, handsprings, as well as an aerial cartwheel, etc), and often in stylistic fashion. He can also reach a top running speed that hits close to Edward's.

As with most monsters, James is usually virtually impervious to the threat of conventional weaponry. Thanks to his stocky physique especially, he is naturally strong and can fight toe-to-toe against monsters such as Thomas and Edward without major struggle.

His tail can be used to deflect and counter against incoming enemy attacks, although since he does not tend to use it very often, more often it proves to be somewhat of a liability for him.

#### **Energy capabilities**

##### Flame breath

James is unsurprisingly very associated with fire, and he more often than not takes great pride of it as well. As while some opponents can seem particularly powerful to defeat, blasting streams frequently (notoriously dubbed "beam spamming") more so than many other monsters makes it abundantly clear that it is James' primary mode of offense, even when it is sometimes unnecessary. It is also noted that he does not take it very well when his flame is either weakened or unable to be used at all.

##### Pyrokinesis

James is also capable of deliberately setting certain parts of his body alight, often due to him tensing up his own body to intensive degrees. This helps to naturally enhance his strength and firepower.

##### Heat immunity

It is proven that he is capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures, even being mentioned to be able to swim in lava at least once.

### **Weaknesses**

Water is a common primary tool of offense against James, as it can easily disable his ability to use fire in any form. Percy for instance had blasted James into the ocean, causing him forcibly release steam and lose all of his remaining firepower left. While he can partially tread the water, it is commonly established that he is not a very fast or efficient swimmer.

Electricity is another offender. Typically used as an agent to slow down his movement to an extent, James naturally becomes furious from powerful shocks and does seemingly everything in his power to keep it out of his way. There had also been a specific electrical weapon designed to kill him outright.

### **Personality**

James is generally described as vain, conceited, and quick-tempered. His impulsive nature frequently leads him to thinking he needs fight before considering that there are less violent options. Much like Gordon, James tends to think highly of himself and isn't above using teasing or perhaps snobbish remarks towards his allies even. His short temper is what prominently makes it difficult for him to reason with, hence why most humans would tend to avoid him. In several scenarios, he despises it when being compared to the likes of someone whom he believes to have nothing in common with (most commonly it is Edward, despite the two are defined as "polar opposites").

Outside of this commonly haughty behavior, James does have a fairly noticeable soft side. He displayed a majority of times that he isn't hesitant on defending fellow ally monsters from hostile threats. He also occasionally shows some semblance of docile behavior towards humans, a somewhat stark contrast to him being seen as a threat to them upon first glance.

## Trivia

### **Development**

* James' very first design stood around 7 feet tall (much like Edward in early development).

### **General**

* While many physical traits of his are styled after reptiles, some of his "idling" habits are similar to those of panthers and other felines in the wild.