Carmelita Fox

Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox is a character in the Sly Cooper video games, a member of Interpol who constantly chases after Sly Cooper and his gang. She is an anthropomorphic fox, specifically a Red Fox.

Profile
Her outlook on crime is very black and white and she believes that any law breaker must be brought to justice, regardless of how minor or major the infraction may be. Pursuing this vision with her shock pistol, Carmelita is rigid in this view and pursues all criminals with equal determination, from murderers to jaywalkers to thieves like Sly and company. She acts justly to her captives however, at one point making sure Sly's captured teammate Murray is doing alright in his makeshift cell and even providing a bag of jelly beans for the hungry hippo. Carmelita is devoted to her job, but she is also a very emotional woman who must work constantly to keep her temper in check. It is never thoroughly explained what influenced her in law enforcement, though it is hinted that she witnessed a crime. She and Sly have feelings for each other, but their relationship is portrayed rather ambiguously throughout the series.

Though great at catching crooks, she has never been able to capture Sly, apart from the end of Sly 2: Band of Thieves, where Sly turned himself in in exchange for letting his friends, Bentley the turtle and Murray the hippo, free. Of course, Sly escapes and Inspector Fox is back to chasing him. Carmelita is nearly obsessed over Sly and catching him, which explains her anger and stress. She has a tendency to harm criminals in the process of capturing them, a way of venting her aggression. In the first game her captures of criminals are shown by paper headlines, which humorously state her attractivness. They also inform the player/viewer that she is Latina.

Carmelita is a superb acrobat, able to pull off moves that keep even Sly on his toes. Her weapon of choice is an electric shock pistol, which fires a burst of electricity capable of stunning its victims and destroying just about anything else it hits. Despite her abilities, rank, and equipment, she frequently plays the damsel in distress role, caught in a situation that forces Sly to save her. This includes being captured in Clockwerk's gas chamber, being captured and almost hypnotized by the Contessa, and growing over 100 feet tall and becoming a mindless brute while wearing the Mask of Dark Earth.

Many subtle hints dropped throughout the series indicate that Carmelita does, in fact, harbor some feelings for Sly, such as how she refers to him as "Her Criminal" in the final mission of Sly 3. She also reacts with notable jealousy when Sly reveals a fake plan to dress up as General Tsao and marry the "Veiled Bride."

Abilities
As a top Interpol officer, Carmelita's investigative abilities are without equal. She also has an innate ability to recall any criminal's profile off the top of her head, as seen in Sly 3 where she accurately recites Muggshot the Bulldog's vital statistics, known aliases, and outstanding warrants from memory upon encountering him in Holland. She is also an outstanding marksman, rarely missing her targets (with the exception of Sly). In addition to her shock pistol, she is also capable of some impressive athletic and martial arts moves, being able to jump onto the roof of a multi-story building from street level and unleashing a fierce roundhouse kick that can send even the burliest of henchmen flying several feet. She is also able to operate a variety of vehicles from sports cars, to gondolas, to helicopters, and personal jetpacks.

Before Sly 1
Carmelita first met Sly during events depicted in the Sly Cooper comic released to promote Sly 2. Carmelita, then a low-ranking police officer being groomed as a successor to her teacher Inspector Barkley, was tasked with protecting a necklace from Sly. He managed to get his hands on it, but was impressed by Carmelita and returned it, even helping her catch another thief who was after the necklace. She realized that her feelings grew after she met Sly and thought "Why do the cute ones always go bad?" in the comics.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Carmelita first appears in the beginning mission, appearing to stop Sly from escaping with a police file on the Fiendish Five. After Sly escaped, she pursued him to each of the criminals' lairs in turn, first capturing Sir Raleigh. She appeared in a level in Mesa City, pursuing Sly once again but failing to defeat him. She went on to capture Muggshot the Bulldog and Mz. Ruby, before going after Sly again in the Kunlun Mountains. Carmelita failed to catch the Cooper Gang, but arrested the Panda King in compensation. During the gang's mission in Russia, Carmelita sneaked into Clockwerk's base ahead of them using a jet pack. She was captured in the owl's gas chamber, but she and Sly were later freed from the trap by Bentley. Agreeing to a truce, and that she would give Sly a 10 second head start once it was over, Carmelita gave him cover fire while he ran through Clockwerk's installation to recover his cane. Sly then used her jetpack in a battle against Clockwerk, and Carmelita helped again by blasting Clockwerk with her shock pistol during the fight, creating holes that Sly could fire missiles into and thus weaken the Fiendish Five founder. Once Clockwerk was defeated, Carmelita confronted Sly on a catwalk above the volcano crater. True to her word, she gave Sly the promised 10 second head start. Waiting until the last second, Sly then took her by surprise by kissing her on the lips. Carmelita, despite greatly enjoying the brief kiss, was enraged when she discovered that the action had allowed Sly to handcuff her to the catwalk.

Between Sly 1 and Sly 2
Shortly before the events of Sly 2, Carmelita was a guest at a party held by Dimitri. She discovered that Sly was investigating Dimitri's counterfeitting operation, and pursued him. After a brief confrontation discussing their very first meeting, Sly managed to escape Carmelita.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves
When Sly entered the Cairo museum in search of the Clockwerk parts, Carmelita was waiting there with Constable Neyla, whom she had let partner up with her as a favor to the Contessa. Once again, she failed to capture Sly, and Neyla distracted her with accusations against her obsession with him. Carmelita later arrived in Paris and, angry at just missing the Cooper Gang, took it out on Dimitri. Invited to a ball at Rajan's palace, she had a dance with Sly that both enjoyed, unwittingly serving as a distraction for the Cooper Gang's theft of the Clockwerk Wings. Upon discovering who her dance partner had been, Carmelita blew her cover and disrupted the party, making numerous arrests and forcing Rajan to flee. When Neyla succeeded in capturing Rajan and the Cooper Gang, Carmelita was framed as an accomplice of Sly and company, and the Contessa took her into custody.

Carmelita was later found by Sly (who had been freed by Bentley) in the Contessa's castle, being subjected to the Contessa's Clockwerk Eyes hypnosis machine. The Contessa intended to have Carmelita take the fall for her at Interpol by turning her into an obedient slave, but Carmelita was freed by the Cooper Gang before she could succumb to the brainwashing. Seeking vengeance on the Contessa, she proved quite a nuisance, shooting down a blimp that Bentley had boarded. Carmelita stole the Clockwerk Eye that Bentley had recovered, only to lose it to Murray. She was then forced to turn to Sly and the others for help, and joined them in escaping from Neyla's forces.

Carmelita later showed up in the heart of Jean Bison's train operation, capturing Murray and making efforts to take the rest of the gang into custody. She failed, and was once again forced to flee the police. Somehow getting her hands on a helicopter, Carmelita joined forces with Sly to battle Neyla after she betrayed Arpeggio and merged with the Clockwerk frame to become Clock-La. Once Clock-La was beaten, Carmelita took out her thirst for vengeance on the one readily available target: the Hate Chip that had powered Clock-La. In an ironic twist of fate, Carmelita stepped on the chip (meaning Carmelita crushed Neyla) which caused the Clockwerk parts to disintegrate, ending the menace of Clockwerk and becoming a cop responsible for the protection of future generations of the Cooper Clan.

Knowing that his weary-and in Bentley's case injured-friends had no hope of escaping, Sly turned himself over to Carmelita in exchange for their freedom. Carmelita's old police unit showed up, and Carmelita was reinstated with a promotion. On board an Interpol helicopter, Carmelita and Sly began to talk, comparing notes on their previous adventures. It then turned into a conversation about shared interests, and became the equivalent of a first date between the two. Carmelita even happily showed Sly a bottle of champagne she had been saving for the special occasion of his arrest. However, the moment ended when Carmelita realized that their flight had gone on for way too long, something Sly noticed when he "saw the Eiffel Tower float by 17 times". Investigating the cockpit, Carmelita discovered that Bentley and Murray had done Sly one last favor by removing the pilot and set it so the copter was flying around, and then the raccoon escaped her again, gliding away from the helicopter. Carmelita yells in the end of the game "I'll find you Cooper!!" as Sly drifted away on his Paraglider. She then says to herself "I'll be seeing you soon Ringtail," in a dreamy, eager voice.

Between Sly 2 and Sly 3
Searching for Sly before the events of Sly 3, Carmelita was put in charge of the case where he robbed a museum in Italy. Puzzling over the lack of finesse the group possessed, and Bentley's absence, she fell asleep. She then awoke to find Sly about to escape, and was unable to stop him since he had removed all the bullets from her shock pistol. Determined to settle accounts with him, she recruited Lieutenant Gronk and his ape mercenaries.

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
In the third game adventure, Carmelita first runs into Sly in Venice, where she is working against local mob boss Octavio. After chasing Sly and failing to catch him again, Carmelita is targeted by Octavio for termination, but unknowingly saved by Sly and Bentley. She also helped the gang without knowledge by taking out a number of Octavio's thugs, and threw Octavio himself into jail. Pursuing the gang to Australia, Carmelita was possessed by the Mask of Dark Earth, causing her to grow to immense size. Thanks to Sly and the gang, she was returned to normal and freed from the Mask, though rendered unconscious. While watching over her, the gang left her a present in the form of several humorous photos taken with her own camera (the pictures includes the Gang flexing their muscles, Sly romantically holding a flower with the Guru confused in the background, doing tricks and making funny faces, and leaving one of Sly's calling cards with ""evidence", develop immediately" written on it).

Carmelita returned in Holland, chasing Sly against the background of the ACES biplane tournament. After yet another chase, she engaged Muggshot in battle, defeating him and sending him back to prison. Later, she followed the gang to China, and her shock pistol blasts were used by them to charge a battery needed for the team van. Lured into General Tsao's palace, she overheard a false plan concocted by Sly and Bentley to steal away Tsao's intended bride-to-be. Seeking to trap Sly-and perhaps somewhat jealous of his attention towards the aforementioned bride-she sneaked into the bride's dressing room, donning a ceremonial wedding outfit. After Sly and the gang defeated Tsao's dragon, the wedding took place, and Carmelita revealed herself and took Tsao into custody, though she was somewhat disappointed by failing to catch Sly.

In an odd variation of behavior, Carmelita failed to locate the gang during their war with Captain LeFwee in Blood Bath Bay (Sly sent her a pirate postcard, however). However, she and her squad of mercenaries arrived on Kaine Island to find Sly near to death, and save him from a genetic mutant. Carmelita ended up trapped with the creature, but somehow escaped to finish off Dr. M, who was weakened by a battle with Sly in the Cooper Vault. After Sly saves her from a blast fired by Dr. M, she awakens him to find that he is apparently stricken with amnesia. Revealing her feelings for him and seeking to make sure he doesn't get any more hurt than he already is, she takes him with her, "convincing" him that he is her partner, Constable Cooper. Unknown to her, Sly was in fact faking his memory loss so that he could develop his relationship with her. She appears in the end credits of the game, dancing with Sly on a balcony. While Bentley watches from a distance, Sly looks at him and winks. Bentley then remarks "That sneaky devil!!" His wink also indicates that he hasn't fully given up crime.

Vital statistics

 * Age: 21 in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus; 23 in Sly 2; 24 in Sly 3
 * Height: 4 ft 5 in (stated from the Official website of Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus)
 * Weight: 39 lb (stated from the Official website of Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus)
 * Fur: Reddish-brown with tan markings
 * Hair: Blue

Carmelita graduated from the Police Academy with honors, and spent two years in the "fashion police" division. She later graduated from the Sleuth Academy at the top of her class, and spent four years (as of Sly 1) in the Investigative Services Division. If these figures are correct, it would mean that Carmelita--a fourth-generation cop--has been involved in law enforcement since before the age of 17.

Carmelita's Interpol badge number is 398683.

Voices
Carmelita's voice, as well as her accent, has changed in all three games. In Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus she is voiced by Roxxana Ortega, and has a Spanish accent. In Sly 2: Band of Thieves, she is voiced by Alésia Glidewell, who also voices Carmelita's co-star, Constable Neyla. In this game she has an American accent. In Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, her voice is supplied by Ruth Livier and has gone back to a Spanish accent, though it has been said that Carmelita's voice in this one is mixed between Spanish and American. In the Japanese releases of the games (Kaitou Sly Cooper and Kaitou Sly Cooper 2), she is voiced by former Takarazuka actress Tsubasa Makoto (真琴つばさ).Carmelita's family unknown but it's possible that her mother was Latin.

Reception
The Globe and Mail note that playing "as Carmelita Fox, the cop Sly 'has a thing for' is difficult because of an awkward targeting system and the inability to utilize her acrobatic prowess."

Further reaidng

 * David Jon Winding, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Prima Pub., 2002).