Fox

"This is Fox. Returning to base!"

- Fox McCloud

Fox McCloud, or just Fox, is the hero and main character of the Star Fox series and the leader of a mercenary team known as Star Fox. The team consists of Fox, Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare and (for a time) Krystal. He is a master of the Arwing, a compact battle ship, and is also proficient as a sharp-shooter on land with his Blaster. His main ship, the Great Fox, is a huge spaceship with laser beam and rocket capabilities. Fox almost always has to rescue the Lylat System from Andross and, very rarely, other evil entities, like the Aparoids in Star Fox Assault. Fox was created by Shigeru Miyamoto, who also created Mario and Link.

Super Mario: Mario im Wunderland


Fox's first appearance relevant to the Mario series is in the Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Mario im Wunderland", introducing himself as "the fox from the TV spot". He lands on Earth with his spaceship and scares away Donkey Kong, Wario and Bowser, who attacked Mario, Toad, Kirby and Yoshi.

He can also be briefly seen in the comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit" from the same magazine, watching the Olympics with Peppy Hare and Falco Lombardi.

Super Smash Bros.


Fox is a speedy character; in fact, he is second to only Captain Falcon in speed in the original Super Smash Bros. His moveset consists of his Blaster attack  and a Reflector (Down+). The Blaster fires a laser that can damage opponents, and the Reflector can reflect most projectiles (including items) to the thrower or shooter. In addition, he is given a third jump, the Fire Fox, in which he charges up with fire and flies a few feet in any direction (except downwards when grounded). Unlike in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his blaster causes flinching.

Super Smash Bros. Melee


In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Fox gains Fox Illusion to his moveset, Fox Illusion (Smash ). Fox Illusion makes Fox swiftly dash a few feet or so horizontally, (even farther than his Up+ move, Fire Fox) though it cannot be directed in any other way. Sometimes it can fail.

Fox is also lighter than he was in Super Smash Bros.. However, despite of his light weight, Fox is difficult to KO vertically, due to his very fast falling speed, but he is vulnerable to horizontal KOs.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Fox is yet again playable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Although he has lately been seen without a helmet (Ex.: in Star Fox Assault), he follows his original costume design. In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Fox exits his Arwing's cockpit on the stage as his battle entrance.

In the first two games, Fox was voiced by Shinobu Satouchi in both English and Japanese. However, in the cutscene in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where Fox's friends come to help, Steve Malpass lends his voice to Fox.

Solid Snake Codec Conversation

 * Snake: Colonel! That fox is fast!
 * Colonel: You're fighting Fox, eh, Snake? His full name is Fox McCloud. He's the leader of the commando-for-hire unit Star Fox. They're mostly active in a galaxy known as the Lylat System. Fox and his comrades pilot all-terrain fighter crafts called Arwings. His skills in combat can turn the tide of any battle. ...You seem to have a thing with foxes, don't you, Snake?
 * Snake: Don't remind me. First FOXHOUND and now this guy... I'm sick of foxes.
 * Colonel: You and foxes have a long history together. You ought to be proud.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Fox rides his Arwing in the beginning trying to take down the Halberd, however, the Arwing is hit and then crashes. It is later shown that the Arwing crash-landed at the edge of a jungle, near a lake. Diddy Kong discovers the Arwing, but Rayquaza rises from the lake and territorially attacks it. As Diddy is snatched up by the provoked Pokémon, Fox springs from the cockpit of the burning Arwing and proceeds to effortlessly rescue Diddy from the clutches of the large Pokémon using his Fox Illusion and Reflector. Fox and Diddy team up to defeat Rayquaza, and Fox winds up having to help Diddy in rescuing Donkey Kong from the Subspace Army. They eventually run into Bowser and fight him, but it turns out to be a False Bowser. The real Bowser appears firing his Dark Cannon at the two, prompting Fox to grab the vengeful Diddy and escape.

Some time passes, and Bowser attacks again, this time turning Diddy into a trophy. Fox, however, dodges the attacks fired at him, prompting Bowser to create a False Diddy Kong. Another Arwing suddenly flies by and its pilot comes out of it, revealing himself to be Falco Lombardi. Falco swiftly destroys Bowser's Dark Cannon and proceeds to help Fox and Diddy defeat the evil doppelganger as Bowser escapes.

Like Fox, Falco finds himself helping to find Donkey Kong, who they eventually discover being transported to the Isle of Ancients. After Falco assists Diddy in saving Donkey, Fox was not seen again until later, when Fox tries attacking the Halberd in his Arwing again. He is stopped by Sheik, who was trying to protect Princess Peach from Fox's fire. Peach settles the conflict between Sheik and Fox, but they are suddenly interrupted by Mr. Game & Watch flying from the ship's cockpit. Mr. Game & Watch almost immediately generates Shadow Bugs which turn him into Duon. Lucario and Solid Snake jump from the cockpit and onto the bridge and Falco reappears to assist in Duon's defeat. Fox aims his blaster at the Mr. Game & Watch trophy after the battle, but Mr. Game & Watch was then restored back to the original form and joins the team as Meta Knight takes back the ship.

Fox and the other heroes then join together as they enter Subspace and find Tabuu, who easily defeats them. Fox was revived by King Dedede, who had anticipated Tabuu's power and created badges that revive fighters that they were placed on. After Fox and everyone else is rescued, they proceed to face a final confrontation with Tabuu.

Blaster
Fox's neutral move. In Super Smash Bros., Fox shot his laser at a slow rate and it can flinch any opponent that comes in contact with it. In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his blaster-fire was rapid and racked up damage much more quickly, but it doesn't make opponents flinch. The blaster range is shorter in Brawl.

In his artwork for the entire Super Smash Bros. series, Fox is seen holding his blaster in his right hand.

Fox Illusion
In order to perform this attack, the player must hold to the side, and then press. Fox Illusion is an extremely fast move, and once activated, will cause Fox to swiftly move across the field. He can use this to hurt opposing fighters as well, although it is not very powerful. It is best used to slash through large amounts of opponents. This move can also be used for recovery if Fox is above a ledge.

If the move is used near an edge, Fox will fall straight off, unable to jump or use recovery moves. However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, if the special move button is pressed while Fox is moving, an emergency brake can be activated, stopping Fox. Falco Lombardi has a similar move called Falco Phantasm, and Wolf O'Donnell also has a similar move, Wolf Flash.

Fire Fox
This move is executed by pressing the Up+. If done correctly, Fox should burst into flames, hold in one spot, and charge up. Once done, the player has to hold the direction that he wants Fox to move in once it charges up enough. He will then move very quickly in that direction, damaging any player he touches. The attack is a powerful move, and can also act as his third jump. Falco's Fire Bird attack is a stronger version of the Fire Fox move. Fire Fox returns as one of Fox's moves in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Reflector


The Reflector is Fox's down special move. It is unique for being able to deflect projectiles back at his opponents, in the same way as Pit's Mirror Shield. Previously, it was widely believed that he generated this force using some form of natural energy, but in Brawl, it was revealed to be a device invented by Slippy Toad. Fox can deal damage to other characters with his reflector if he's close enough, but it's not powerful enough to KO even above 100% damage. This move, like the Blaster, is shared with Wolf O'Donnell and Falco Lombardi.

Landmaster


Next to the Arwing, the Landmaster Tank is the most powerful weapon the Star Fox team has in the Star Fox series. When Fox collects the Smash Ball, the Landmaster Tank will appear, and he will hop inside it. Opposing players can jump on top of it, but this can be a bad move, as he can roll them off the tank. The jump button allows the Landmaster Tank to hover, tilting (GCN),  (Wii Remote), or  (Nunchuk / Classic Controller) downwards causes it to roll around once, which can get players off the tank, and damage them severely, and the attack button fires the very powerful cannon, which can cause massive damage to players hit, possibly an instant KO. If a player is standing on the cannon while it is being blasted, the player will be blasted also. The tank is indestructible, but it is very difficult to turn the tank around; the player must tilt, , or left or right to turn it, which is actually rather slow. This move is among the many others of Fox's shared with Falco and Wolf O'Donnell.

Smash Taunt
By doing a split-second down taunt, Fox will start a conversation with his team members.

Super Smash Bros.
''Following his dead father's footsteps as the young leader of the Star Fox Team, Fox McCloud's piloting of the super-high-performance combat ship ARWING for the Lylatian System is still fresh in out memories. His one weakness may be his difficulty earning the trust of his teammates.''

Quotes

 * "Hmph." – ''Super Smash Bros.
 * "Come on!" – Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * "Mission complete!" – Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * "Here I come!" – ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * "Better luck next time, Falco." – ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * "Landmaster!" – ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Trivia

 * Fox, along with many other characters, was supposed to appear in the Starbeans Café instead of Professor E. Gadd in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
 * McCloud can be seen in the Mario Golf 64 & Mario Golf GBC score chart.
 * Fox appeared in the 2006 version of Nintendo Monopoly, where he acted as Connecticut Avenue, and costs $120. In the 2010 version, he was replaced by Tom Nook from the Animal Crossing Series.
 * Fox appears as a badge in Donkey Konga 2.