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Francis is a video game-obsessed chameleon in Super Paper Mario, who serves as the main boss of Chapter 3, The Bitlands.
History[]
Super Paper Mario[]
When Mario and company first enter The Bitlands, Francis is invisible. While Tippi is talking, Francis uses his tongue to grab her, then turns invisible again and runs off. He names Tippi "Francine" and calls her that throughout the game.
The next time Francis is met is during the fourth level of The Bitlands, Fort Francis, where he is also shown to have captured another Pixl named Carrie. He is locked in a room behind a large door, which can only be opened after solving his questions and by "hot babes". When he is confronted by Princess Peach, he is too shy to talk to her directly, and instead engages her with a dating sim named Swoon.exe, where he talks to her briefly about his interests. After the simulation, Peach demands Francis gives up Tippi, but Francis refuses, which leads into a battle.
Francis has an array of attacks against the player: as a chameleon, he can change his coloration to disappear into his surroundings, thereby avoiding attacks. Francis is completely invisible when in 2-D, but if Mario flips into 3-D, Francis's moving shadow is visible, making it easier to counterattack. Francis's most devastating weapon is his long tongue, with which he can swallow any of the heroes whole and slowly damage them by chewing, and the player can escape by shaking the Wii Remote. Francis has a different expression depending on who he eats; if he eats Bowser, he stutters for a moment, and he'll smile and blush when eating Peach. His expression doesn't change when he eats Mario. Francis can also employ his technology in battle; his laptop can summon an army of Meowbombs, and his camera temporarily blinds Mario and his friends when the flash goes off. Upon defeat, he runs away yelling "Mercy!" and Tippi is released. After his defeat, Francis cannot be found in Fort Francis. One of the Meowmaids says Francis is in the hospital after having hurt himself while playing video games.
The next time Francis appears is in the Castle Bleck chapter, Castle Bleck Foyer, though as an optional boss. Part way through the chapter, a disguised Mimi asks the player some questions. One of the answers for the final question concerning what the player is most afraid of is "Francis", which will cause Francis to appear in the third room and another battle with him will begin. Francis had apparently been watching one of his favorite television programs before being warped into the castle, and, despite his confusion, he yearned to have Tippi back so much that he talked himself into thinking that his Reclinatron 4500 chair had manipulated his very dreams and warped him to Tippi. After his defeat, Francis runs again, claiming he would simulate the battle on his computer to see what had kept him from winning.
After the player beats the game, Francis can be found in his fort again, in the same room his boss battle took place. Francis will show his greatest creation to them: Tiptron. However, because he is saving to buy Starship X-Naut Issue One, Francis asks for 999 coins from the player to acquire her. After the player buys Tiptron, he reveals plans to build Tiptron Mk. II, an improvement on the original, though the player never sees its completion. Francis then orders a Meowmaid to fetch Nibble-Ums to fulfill his hunger before he begins his work. He also drops Tippi's "Francine" name at this point.
In addition to Starship X-Naut Issue One, Francis is a source of many other references to other Mario titles. As well as a Starship X-Naut TV show, there is a Starship X-Naut: Space Bloops videogame; another game is titled Larry Koopa: Zombie Heartbreaker, presumably starring Larry Koopa, which Francis was hoping to purchase. The Grodus Chronicles, another X-Naut-related television show was also mentioned, as was an anime featuring Tubba Blubba (of the first Paper Mario): The Blubbening. Francis owns several dolls of Princess Peach, Whacka, Petuni, Punio, Vivian, the Yoshi in all colors, a Bub-ulb and Pennington from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and he has posters of Petuni, Lady Bow and Bootler. On his shelf, players will also find multi-colored Yoshi Eggs next to the aforementioned dolls. Francis also wants an Excess Express train set, a Ms. Mowz doll with "real smooching action", a product called Cyborg Wart, a Magnus von Grapple action figure, and a Tanooki Suit made with real Tanooki fur. Francis's game console collection includes an NES, an indigo GameCube, an SNES, a Nintendo 64, a Game Boy and a Virtual Boy on his shelf. Lastly, if the player flips Mario into 3D, a large television screen with a Wii and a Wii Remote becomes visible.
Super Mario-Kun[]
Francis appears in Super Mario-Kun during volume 37. Here, he kidnaps Mario, who is disguised as Princess Peach.
General information[]
Physical description[]
Francis is a large, anthropomorphic, green chameleon. He wears a yellow shirt with a Mushroom and Star emblems on it and a black hip pouch. His glasses have square rims with spirals on the lens, which does not have a nose bridge between them, and are tied in the back.
Personality[]
Francis is an archetypal asocial nerd. He is socially inept and composes himself poorly around others, and as a result, has no offline friends. He is also fond of butterflies, regularly takes pictures of them and places them on the website, Digibutter.nerr, a forum for butterfly obsessives. Amongst his many interests, Francis is an otaku and enjoys watching anime, as well as collecting and playing video games, owning cats and cat-like things, and making a pass at any "hot babes" he encounters. He lives in Fort Francis, where his large collection of Meowmaids guard his belongings, tidy his anime collections, record his favorite television shows, and so on. Francis has a catchphrase, "hi-technicaaaaal!", which he employs to describe anything he finds cool, awesome, or "schweet". As evidenced by some of the messages he's left that can be read in his private rooms, he's quite opinionated about anything that he's interested in, to the extent that he can be rather rude and arrogant about it, as well as showcases an entitled attitude at times, like claiming the showrunners of a series he likes, but thought declined in quality later on, should let fans like him write the show since their opinions and satisfaction "are the only ones that matter". However, a lot of this, in conjunction with his general social ineptitude, is likely because he gets out so little and interacts with people so rarely in person that he never developed many social skills. However, at least by the end of the game, he shows a slightly more benevolent side to himself, since despite the conflict they got into earlier, he gives his Tiptron invention to Mario and the gang if they visit him in his fortress and provide him with 999 coins, and doesn't seem to harbor any animosity towards them.