James Cottingham

### Occupation

High School Student *(Pre-apocalypse)*Former second-in-command of the Clarkson Survivors *(Post-apocalypse)*

Former leader of the Lake Bandits *(Post-apocalypse)*

Former member of the Greencole Militia *(Post-apocalypse)*

### Family

Unnamed - mother *(deceased)* Unnamed - father *(deceased)*

Unnamed - male cousin *(deceased)*

Emma Cottingham – sister *(deceased)*

Daniel Cottingham – brother *(deceased)*

Maria – former girlfriend *(deceased)*

### Cause of Death

Neck broken and shot in the head by Harry Edwards

### Series Lifespan

'And So It Begins' -- 'Last Man Standing'

"*This isn't a **misunderstanding**. This is **revenge**,*"
—James explains his motives as he reveals himself to be the Bandit King[src]

**James Trevors**, legally changed to **James** **Cottingham** and later known as the **Bandit King**, is a main character, the former tritagonist and later an antagonist, as well as a survivor of the outbreak in *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*. The former second-in-command of the Clarkson Survivors, James was Edwards' childhood best friend, but later went on to become one of his most devastating foes as the Bandit King of Greencole Valley. He serves as the secondary antagonist of the final episode of *Season 1* and the primary antagonist of *Season 5* and *Season 9*.

## Overview

### Personality

James is a single-minded, fearless, cunning, and at times, brutal man who is a determined survivor and also a strong leader to those in his group. However, as the trauma of the apocalypse gets to him he becomes a largely morally unstable man, attempting to sexually assault Holly and keep himself, Holly and Emma safe at any cost. His obsession over Holly, coupled with his blaming the events of *Season 1* on Edwards caused James to eventually turn on him. However, at several points during the course of the season, he tries to maintain the good in him, forcing himself to help Edwards on several occasions and even coming to his rescue, with his hatred of Edwards and his perspective as his best friend often clashing.

As shown during *Season 5* and *Season 9,* Jamesdevolved from a good friend and caring person into a cold, cunning and murderous antagonist, having completely shed his concepts of guilt, remorse, and moral correctness in favor of survival for himself and those he cares about by any means, such as murdering his own allies, going against the beliefs of the group, and betraying his former best-friend, all of which led to his eventual demise.

## Pre-Apocalypse

### United Kingdom

Cottingham first met Edwards when they were children and they quickly became friends. However, he was in fact born James Trevors in Kent, southern England. Two years before they met, James got into a fight with another boy and killed him. He was diagnosed as a psychopath, a secret he kept from all of his friends and the people he met, including Edwards. The Trevors family had their surname changed to Cottingham and they moved north. James met Edwards when James moved to a new preschool after he murdered the unnamed boy and the two hit it off, becoming best friends in a matter of days.

## Post-Apocalypse

### Season 32

#### 'Take What's Mine'

Undergoing hallucinations after being stabbed by Victor Valkyrie, Edwards is back in the RV, observing the derailed train. James is in the driver's seat and offer's Edwards a drink, which he accepts. He says "you look like shit" to which Edwards agrees. Edwards tells James he is looking for his family, to which James laughs and says that his own daughter is part of this "family". Edwards jokingly calls him an asshole and apologises about how things between them went down. James shrugs it aside, saying he is not mad "on this side of the door" and he forgives Edwards, although still ultimately blaming him. He says he forgave Edwards in his final seconds. He then compliments him for killing him, biting Martin's throat out, killing Dustbowl, and Valkryie, but questions letting Nathan Carlson live and orders him to one day kill Eden. Edwards promises he will. James then screams at him to wake up.

## Death

### Killed by:

* Himself *(caused)*
* Harry Edwards *(alive and before reanimation)*

After nearly killing AJ, James is knocked down and beaten to within an inch of his life by Edwards. Whilst crying, Edwards gets James in a headlock and brutally breaks his neck before finishing him off for good.

## Killed Victims

* One unnamed boy *(accidental, pre-apocalypse)*
* 'Ohio' *(caused)*
* Lisa Mitchell *(zombified)*
* Alex Sutton
* Luke
* Allie
* Six-Eyes
* Himself *(caused)*
* 36 unnamed members of the Lake Bandits *(24 direct, 10 alive, 2 zombified)*
* Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people

## Relationships

### Emma Cottingham

> *"You're not coming with us, sis. It's just too dangerous,"*
>
>

James unconditionally loves his younger sister and is very overprotective of her.

Emma was the only thing in the world for James to hold on to after Holly rejected him, and her death broke his psyche completely.

### Harry Edwards

> *"Goddamn you for making me do this, James! This is because of you! This was **you, not me**! You, not me! **GODDMAN YOU**!!!"*
>
>

> -- Edwards' last words to James as he kills him
>
>

Edwards and James were best friends ever since primary school. They considered one another brothers. After the epidemic, James fully supported Edwards' leadership of their group and became his second-in-command. Even after the first four months, their friendship remained strong. However, after the encounter with the Mitchell Family and Edwards became closer to Holly, James became jealous of their friendship. A year after the apocalypse, the school fell, and James' brother was bitten and Edwards shot him. From that point onwards, James' and Edwards' friendship began to deteriorate.

Whilst scavenging Upswitch for their journey to Port Collier, their friendship takes a dark turn when they physically fight during an argument about their plan. Although they seem to end it on good terms, when Edwards looks inside a drug store James aims his rifle at him. Despite smiling and applying first pressure on the trigger, James backs down before Edwards turns around.

During their journey to Port Collier, their friendship appears to be repairing. However, whilst within Hopeville, James admits his jealousy over Holly and Edwards' relationship and threatens to rape her, telling Holly he hates Edwards, believing he is too weak to make decisions and keep everyone safe.

Years after James' departure, he and Edwards appeared to reconcile during the conflict with the Greencole Bandits. However, whatever remains of their friendship was destroyed and became antagonistic as James was revealed to be the Bandit King.

Despite their antagonistic relationship, Edwards stayed silent when Holly named their child James.

### Alex Sutton

Once Alex confessed that he was responsible for the events of the second half of the season, James murdered him in cold blood.

## Trivia

* James is the first member of Edwards' group to become an antagonist, the second being Dominic, the third being Leyton Jones, the fourth being Lawrence Carter and Thomas being the fifth.
* He is the first character to cause the death of another living character: 'Ohio'.
* It was revealed in '*A Long Road Ahead*' that James's birth name was Trevors, which was changed to Cottingham after he killed an unnamed boy.
* During the course of *Season 1* and *Season 5*, James's weapon of choice was a crowbar. In *Season 9*, his chosen weapon is a cricket bat adorned with several nails.
* Despite the antagonistic relationship between James and Edwards, the latter's first-born son is named after him.
* He and Sarah are the only members of the Clarkson Survivors to become antagonists.
* James' arc had two alternative endings. In the first, James was never going to reappear following his disappearance at the end of *Season 1*. In the second, James was going to assassinate Edwards in *Season 5*.