Rescue Red

"I'm the leader of the red Rescue Squad. Wish I could stay and chat, but I've got to get to the rendezvous spot, pronto!"

- Rescue Red

Rescue Red is a character in Paper Mario: Color Splash. He is the captain of the red Rescue Squad, consisting of fifty members including himself and an apprentice. He is found at the Emerald Circus, and like the rest of his members, he is needed to fill up the audience. Rescue Red also stars in a seven-part series, Rescue V: Fearless Color Defenders, in which he narrates certain events in the game. He reappears in Paper Mario: The Origami King as a cameo.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Rescue Red's members are likely to be found a bit before him, as they start appearing around the Sunset Express. In fact, it is possible for him to be the last member rescued, as he is not found until the Emerald Circus. If this is the case, his members report to the Rescue Squad Chief in Port Prisma for roll call.

Rescue Red himself is simply found crumpled up in front of the Yoshi cart. Mario must hammer him a few times to smooth him out. He explains he tried to pet a Yoshi and ended up getting chewed up. He reports to the front of the circus tent as the fiftieth needed audience member. The Shy Guy running the booth notices this and opens the tent flap. Although Rescue Red is the first one in line, he ends up getting trampled by his squad members. He lies flat on the ground, seemingly unconscious until Mario approaches him, at which point he happily gets up and runs inside.

Rescue Red and his squad fill up the left side of the audience, where they remain until the end of the game. He, along with the other captains, is seen saluting on the balcony just below Mario, Princess Peach and Toad.

Rescue V: Fearless Color Defenders
Rescue Red appears in almost every episode of the mini-series, either as a main character or as a brief commentator. He also appears in the theme song of every episode.

Episode 1
The episode begins with Rescue Red appearing with the other captains before the Rescue Squad Chief at their headquarters. He thanks them for their contributions but explains that as Mario is the main character, they will go unnoticed. Like the other captains, he is noticeably upset about this, demanding the world know the truth. This convinces the chief to give them a chance to go out and tell their own stories, which they happily set out to do.

Episode 2
Rescue Red stars in the second episode as the narrator. He introduces the real world audience, wanting to showcase the bravery of his squad. He shows the Fire Extinguisher in Ruddy Road at a height Mario cannot reach. He confuses the members of the purple rescue squad as his own squad, which Rescue Purple quickly addresses. He ignores this, instead focusing on Mario being able to collect the Thing. He proceeds to show Mario using it during his battle with Morton, then some of his squad members resting in the hot spring at Redpepper Crater. Rescue Purple tries to remind him again, and ends up ignored again. He simply issues a warning to dry off after bathing and signs off, as Rescue Purple insists he did nothing.

Episode 4
Rescue Red returns briefly in the fourth episode, believing the bone they found in the The Golden Coliseum was unimportant. Rescue Yellow brushes him off. Later on, Rescue Red calls Rescue Yellow "weird" when he laughs after Mario defeats Iggy.

Episode 5
The fifth episode starts off with Rescue Green looking absentmindedly at the screen, only for Rescue Red to tell him the camera is rolling. When Rescue Green does not respond, Rescue Red reluctantly agrees to narrate for him. He talks about waiting in line for the circus. After each of the other captains talk about the performers, Rescue Red tries to get Rescue Green to talk. He turns around, revealing he had been asleep.

Episode 6
When Rescue Purple complains about Mario firing a cannonball at a Toad, Rescue Red reminds him it was not in fact a Toad, but a small stone structure shaped like a mushroom.

Episode 7
The final episode stars the chief, who starts off by talking about Rescue Red's squad flying out of the Sunset Express window. Rescue Red claims it was a tactical retreat. When the chief talks about Mario hurting the vegetables, Rescue Red explains he was just preparing the food. Eventually, he becomes annoyed with the chief getting off track. He then complains after the chief spoiling the final level. After he is finished, the other captains notice Rescue Red has had his colors drained. Apparently, he got too fired up and burned his colors off. Fortunately, Mario shows up and uses his paint hammer to restore his colors. However, this results in the chief declaring Mario the true protagonist and disbanding the squads, essentially firing the captains. As Rescue Red heads off with the others, it is revealed Mario forgot to paint his backside, making the firing pointless.

Paper Mario: The Origami King
In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Rescue Red appears in a portrait hanging on the east wall of the Dress-Up Photo Studio in Shogun Studios. He also appears with the other captains as training targets in the ring machine at the Battle Lab.

Quotes

 * "H... M...!"
 * "HER... ME...!"
 * "HERP MER!"
 * "Thanks a ton for rescuing me, Mario! I went to pet a Yoshi, but it suddenly chewed me up and spit me out! I'm the leader of the red Rescue Squad. Wish I could stay and chat, but I've got to get to the rendezvous spot, pronto!"
 * "Thanks again for saving me back there, Mario. One of our informants told me that there's a Big Paint Star inside this circus tent. The red Rescue Squad is gearing up to bust in and seize it, but none of my 49 squad members have shown up yet! If you see any red Rescue Squad members at our headquarters in Port Prisma, please send them my way! Over and out!"
 * "Red Rescue Squad leader reporting in! If you see any red Rescue Squad members at our headquarters in Port Prisma, please send them my way!"
 * "Roll call!"
 * "Red Rescue Squadets MIA: [number]."
 * "All 50 members of the red Rescue Squad have gathered! All that's left now is to wait until the show opens!"