| “ | I refuse to bet my reputation on your hunch! I'm the lead archaeologist here. | „ |
| ~ Dr. James Whitman to Lara Croft |
Dr. James Whitman is a major antagonist in the 2013 video game Tomb Raider. He is an archaeologist and television show host who accompanies the crew of the Endurance on an expedition to find the fabled lost kingdom of Yamatai.
After being stranded on the island of Yamatai, Whitman betrays his fellow survivors and works with the Solarii Brotherhood in an effort to survive.
He was voiced by Cooper Thornton.
Biography[]
James Whitman studied at Harvard University and at Cambridge University, where he acquired two PhDs. He is an expert in archaeology, anthropology, and East Asian history. After being a teacher, Whitman became a television star, hosting a show about archaeology, under the title "Whitman's World." At some point Whitman married a woman named Sheila, but before the events of the game the couple divorced - partly due to Whitman having an affair with a younger woman.
Through his business, Whitman became wealthy and famous. For the third season of his show, he commissioned Conrad Roth and his ship, the Endurance, for an expedition. The mission was to find the lost kingdom of Yamatai. Soon after arranging this, it was discovered that Whitman's show had dropped in ratings, and it was not going to be renewed for the new season. Due to this cancellation, and losing money from the divorce, Whitman was forced to accept funding for the journey from the family of Sam Nishimura, the friend of Roth's protégé Lara Croft.
On the expedition, Whitman became unpopular with the rest of the crew due to his condescending and selfish nature. He and Lara had an argument over the location of Yamatai, and despite being the head archaeologist, the rest of the crew sided with Lara. On the voyage, the ship was caught in a storm and ended up wrecked on an island that turned out to be Yamatai itself. While most of the crew went to look for Sam who had been kidnapped by Father Mathias, Whitman and Lara stayed behind to explore the forest by the island's coast. Soon, the two of them ran into the Solarii Brotherhood, and wanting to learn more about the group, Whitman willingly surrendered to them, despite Lara's protests. While Lara was taken to a mountain village, the Solarii instead took Whitman to their headquarters (the Sun Queen's palace). After determining the man to not be a threat, they let him walk around freely.
Whitman learned more about the cult, and became completely fascinated by them. He started trying to gain Father Mathias' trust. Later, when Lara was looking for Sam, she encountered him in the palace. Refusing to go with Lara, he said he will keep a look out during the rescue instead. Lara agreed, but when she returned with Sam, Whitman had apparently been captured by Mathias and his men. Whitman told them to run, and Lara and Sam fled. They eventually escaped the burning palace along with the rest of the crew, with no knowledge of what became of Whitman.
Later, when the rest of the crew was camping at the beach, Whitman suddenly appeared sprinting towards them, yelling for help. Though he claimed to be fleeing from the Solarii, Lara was suspicious. The other crew members put these worries aside, and said that they had no reason to distrust him. Whitman spent the remainder of the day watching over Sam while the others kept guard and planned an escape. Later, when Lara was off investigating the Research Base, there was a sudden attack by the Solarii - possibly orchestrated with Whitman's involvement. During the attack, Whitman kidnapped Sam and disappeared. It's revealed that he had indeed allied with Mathias with the intention of learning more about the ritual the cult had planned for Sam. Despite this, Whitman did not trust the Solarii. After sacrificing Sam and freeing the island, his plan was to slip away and wait for rescue. When help arrived, he would take credit for the entire discovery of Yamatai.
Whitman took Sam to Mathias, and the three of them proceeded to the monastery where the ritual would take place. Unbeknownst to Whitman, Mathias needed someone to distract the Stormguard warriors who were guarding the entrance. Mathias played on Whitman's ego and convinced him to approach the Stormguard and declare the "arrival of their new Queen". Whitman agreed, too blinded by his own greed and overconfidence to realize the danger he was putting himself in. The Stormguard responded suspiciously to his presence, and were finally provoked into attacking Whitman after he said joou (女王, meaning "queen"). They brutally slaughtered him, giving Mathias and Sam the opportunity to slip past them, across the bridge and into the monastery.
Personality[]
Whitman is arrogant and self-centered. He is only interested in furthering his own interests and obsessed with his own fame and wealth. He sees the tragic events of the story as a career opportunity. Whitman betrays his fellow survivors and plans to have Mathias kill Sam so they can escape the island. He shows no signs of regret or guilt about this.
He is also greedy, with his plan being to pretend he was the only survivor of the Endurance, and the one who would take credit for the discovery of Yamatai. He was also very protective of the value of artifacts in his collection, as shown when his ex-wife began selling these antiquities to gain the money from their divorce settlement. Whitman was also shown to be lecherous, as he had an affair with a 22 year old. He also makes flirtatious comments when he first sees Lara's crew file.
Gallery[]
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Games Tomb Raider II Tomb Raider III Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Tomb Raider: Chronicles Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword Tomb Raider: The Prophecy Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness Tomb Raider: Legend Tomb Raider: Anniversary Tomb Raider: Underworld Tomb Raider (2013) Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Rise of the Tomb Raider Shadow of the Tomb Raider Movies Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life Tomb Raider | ||