James Pierce

"James" redirects here. For other uses, see James (Disambiguation).

James Pierce
James Pierce in his Galactic Federation Power Suit
Species	Human
Homeworld	Unknown
Death	Blunt trauma by MB; aged 20
Gender	Male
Hair	Dark brown
Eye color	Brown
Affiliation	Galactic Federation 07th Platoon
Voice actor	Aaron Thomas (English) Tsuguo Mogami (Japanese)

“	Leave it to me. Shouldn't be a problem to hack into this thing. I mean, it might tell us what exactly was going on here. Looks like this might take some time, though.	„
—James Pierce

James Pierce (ジェイムス・ピアース, Jeimusu Piāsu) Is a soldier in the Galactic Federation Army, working as the Communications Expert of the 07th Platoon led by Commander Adam Malkovich in Metroid: Other M. He is also secretly an agent of the BOTTLE SHIP's ringleaders sent to silence witnesses and destroy evidence. Samus Aran nicknames this mystery assassin the Deleter (デリーター, Derītā).

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 go 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 encounters Samus Aran. They enter the BOTTLE SHIP Control Room and discover a Brug underneath a deceased Lab Worker. Lyle Smithsonian panics and kicks it to shoot it, until James instructs him to stop. This aggravates the Brug Mass, resulting in the platoon cooperating with Samus to defeat it. Afterwards, Adam orders James to restore communications at the Control Bridge.

James at the computer in the Exam Center.

Before James completes his assignment, Adam orders everyone to regroup at the Exam Center in Sector 1 / Biosphere. James is the first soldier to arrive, even though Lyle was the one scouting the area; it is likely that James assassinated Lyle while the two were alone at the Exam Center, as Lyle's body is later found nearby. When Samus first enters the building, she has to unlock doors to reach the "main observation deck"; inside, James is already working on the computer and seems surprised at her arrival. Once the other soldiers arrive, he is 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 analyzes the computer to discover its CPU has "self-destructed" and that he will need to reconstruct it, asking James to hack it if he cannot bypass the security system. After the platoon repels the Mystery Creature, James has the most comments on Lyle's corpse.

The soldiers each return to their assigned sectors to continue their investigations, while Samus hunts the Mystery Creature. The Exam Center is demolished by explosives in their absence, likely by James (possibly using Lyle's explosive charges). James then follows Maurice to Sector 2 / Cryosphere. Maurice lowers his guard, providing James the opportunity to kill him with a Freeze Gun to make it look like he froze to death in the cold. James then enters the Materials Storehouse to hunt MB, assuming she is merely a survivor, only to find she has met Samus. He attempts to kill both of them by piloting the RB176 Ferrocrusher, escaping the scene once Samus disables the machine.

Adam orders everyone to regroup at a Navigation Booth in Sector 3 / Pyrosphere, to open the magma-eruption port and restore the facility's geothermal power. Instead, James ambushes K.G. in the damaged "lava cavern" pedway, killing him with his Freeze Gun before incinerating the body in the lava below. He then disobeys orders, going after Adam instead of regrouping with Samus and Anthony Higgs. While the two battle Ridley, James returns to the BOTTLE SHIP Control Room and sabotages Adam's communications by shooting his earpiece, though it is unclear if he intended to kill Adam.

James then makes his way to the Bioweapon Research Center to continue hunting MB; Samus sees him using the Main Elevator and follows him. He deactivates the access bridge to obstruct her path. At the main laboratory, Samus encounters MB, who informs her about Sector Zero. After Samus leaves, James attempts to ambush MB.

James' gruesome fate.

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 is 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 cocoon is absent while James's corpse is present. In MB's last stand, she brandishes a Freeze Gun, most likely taken from James's body.

In the post-credits sequence, James's corpse is absent. It is likely that the Galactic Federation removed his body along with those of Maurice Favreau and Lyle Smithsonian for a proper burial.

Description

James concept art in Gallery Mode.

James Pierce is a male, Caucasian human who stands at an average height with his fellow soldiers. He has long brown hair, a trimmed beard and mustache, and a scar over his left eyebrow. He always wears a Galactic Federation Power Suit, equipped with the standard Federation handgun, submachine gun, and Freeze Gun. The "07" painted on his helmet is somewhat faded and he has a small device strapped to his left forearm, two subtly distinguishing features hinting at his role as the Deleter when his face is obscured in other cutscenes.

James has a cheerful and good-humored temperament when chatting with friends. Concept art depicts him laughing and praising women. However, this friendliness belies his true intentions, as he is secretly a determined assassin who shows no remorse in assassinating his own colleagues and sabotaging the 07th Platoon to fulfill his mission.

Official data

Concept art for the RB176 Ferrocrusher, featuring the Deleter.

Credentials

"James Pierce [Communications]
<Battle Code Number>
104
<Service Record>
Galactic Federation Acedemy,
Training Base #6
Federation Central Information Agency,
Intelligence Group 2
Galactic Federation, 07th Platoon
ID: 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. 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 Characters screen.
• Because of James's role as the Communications Expert, the all-pervasive electronic interference on the BOTTLE SHIP may be his doing in order to prevent his teammates from alerting each other of his mission. This would also explain why Samus, an "outsider", has her comm system still functional until he shoots Adam's equipment.
• What exactly James is doing at the computer in the Exam Center before Samus arrives is unclear. It is theorized that he causes the database to "self-destruct" before Maurice gets to it, or he is planting the explosives that later demolish the building. However, Samus also later speculates that MB destroyed the Exam Center in order to erase evidence.
• As the Deleter piloting the RB176 Ferrocrusher, James marks the first time throughout the entire Metroid gaming franchise that Samus battles against a normal human boss. Other humans that Samus battles against are not purely human (the Dark Missile Trooper is a deceased human possessed by an Ing and the Scientist is an X Parasite disguised as a human).
  • This is also the only battle between Samus and the Deleter in the whole game.

Gallery

James Pierce close-up.

Samus and James in the Exam Centre.

James, Anthony, Maurice, K.G. and Samus gather to read a message recovered from Madeline Bergman in the Exam Center.

The Deleter shooting Maurice.

The Deleter after killing K.G. (note the faded "07" on his helmet).

The Deleter running into the Navigation Booth from the "H-shaped corridor".

James' body.

Portrait shown in the Characters menu.

Close-up of James's deceased body.

A page from the confidential section of the Japanese Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M, which directly identifies James Pierce as the Deleter.