Ha! Oh it's tough being this tough, it sure is, yeah.
― Jean Bison[src]
Jean Bison (pronounced jŏn bī-sŏn) was a member of the Klaww Gang who was in possession of the Clockwerk Lungs and Stomach and the Clockwerk Talons. He utilized his restless Iron Horses to distribute the Klaww Gang's spice throughout North America and also delivered the final piece in their plan to revive Clockwerk. He was the main antagonist of Episode 6: He Who Tames the Iron Horse and Episode 7: Menace from the North, Eh? of Sly 2: Band of Thieves.
He was voiced by Ross Douglas.
History
Background
At a young age, Bison traveled across Canada in search of gold during the Gold Rush of 1852. He took some chances and blew up the side of a mountain. The result of this was a avalanche that buried him in the deep snow and froze him into a block of ice. 120 years later he thawed out due to global warming and joined the Klaww Gang.
After the Klaww Gang robbed the Museum of Natural History in Cairo, Bison was given four of the Clockwerk Parts; both Lungs, the Stomach and the Talons. He established his base of operations in Nunavut Bay, Canada. From there, he attached the Lungs and Stomach to the engines of his three best trains, allowing them to run day and night without stopping. He called these restless trains his Iron Horses.
Party in India
Sometime after the theft of the Clockwerk Parts, Bison was invited to a party by Rajan at his palace. While there, he unknowingly watched Sly Cooper dance with Carmelita Fox. Although Rajan was enjoying the dance, Bison wished that spice shipments moved as well as the couple danced. When the Cooper Gang crashed Rajan's party and left his reputation in shambles, Bison returned to Canada to continue his regular operations.
Preparing the Northern Light Battery
After defeating Klaww Gang members Dimitri, Rajan and The Contessa, the Cooper Gang traveled to Nunavut Bay to retrieve Bison's Clockwerk Parts from him. At the same time, Bison was gathering energy from the aurora borealis in preparation for the shipment of the northern light battery to Arpeggio. The battery was the final piece in Arpeggio's plan to take over Paris.
Soon, Bison found out about the theft of his Iron Horse blueprints and eventually the Clockwerk Lungs, though he was not aware that the culprit was the Cooper Gang. To defend his final Clockwerk Part, Bison reinforced the Stomach into the engine of Iron Horse #3. Despite his efforts, the Cooper Gang was able to steal the Clockwerk Stomach as well.
Lumberjack Games
With his Iron Horses out of commission, Bison's entire shipping operation came to a halt. He headed to his lumber camp to continue with his other plan: providing Arpeggio with northern light energy. He utilized the lumber camp's lighthouse - containing a giant attractor – to gather and concentrate the energy inside a battery, which would then be shipped to Arpeggio. Arpeggio also gave Bison the Clockwerk Talons, which he used to increase the amount of land he cleared.
Bison's arrival at the camp coincided with the annual Lumberjack Games, hosted by Bison himself. To attract more participants, he decided to make the Clockwerk Talons the winning prize. This was overheard by the Cooper Gang, who worked to ensure their victory in the competition. They also drained the northern light battery so that they could stow away inside of it and onto Arpeggio's blimp.
As the Lumberjack Games were about to begin, the Cooper Gang showed up and challenged Bison for the prize. Bison, who believed that he would win as he did every other year, agreed to let them compete. Murray and Sly attained perfect scores in the first two events, the Log Chop and Wall Climb, respectively. While Bison was taking his turns in both events, he was caused by the Cooper Gang to receive a lower score. Intent on not losing the competition, Bison intimidated the judges to give him a perfect score. The Cooper Gang took note of this, and disguised themselves as the judges. When Bison finished the final event, the Log Roll, the fake judges gave him a low score. He realized that it was Sly, Bentley and Murray who were the judges and knocked them out with the Clockwerk Talons.
Bison took the unconscious Cooper Gang and threw them into a room in his logging facility. He and his men then proceeded to raid the Gang's hideout and found all of the Clockwerk Parts. He notified Arpeggio of this, who offered a large amount of money to Bison in return for the Parts. Bison gladly accepted. He then returned to the facility where he found Bentley free from captivity. Bentley engaged Bison in battle with the former emerging victorious. As Bison was defeated, Arpeggio's blimp was arriving to pick up the northern light battery. The Cooper Gang quickly left to stow away inside it.
After the defeat of the Klaww Gang and the destruction of Clockwerk Parts, Bison began to work for the EPA. One of his assignments was to rescue a group of baby penguins. He was able to save the penguins, but fell in the water and froze into a block of ice once again.
Characteristics
Personality
Bison was arrogant and boastful, believing that he could "tame" the Wild North with no one standing in his way. He showed no respect for nature, as he worked to cut away all trees, dam all rivers, and even put satellites on the local bears. Bison also showed prejudice because he ridiculed Bentley for being a turtle, which he believed were "too stew-pid to know a woodcutter from a woodchuck." He was also rather greedy, as he attempted to make a deal with Arpeggio to get the parrot's share of the Clockwerk parts despite already having his.
Abilities
Bison was a skilled lumberjack, able to clear an entire forest alone with nothing but an ax. After coming into possession of the Clockwerk Talons, he was able to complete the same job within several hours.
Bison also possessed strong physical abilities. During his battle against Bentley, he managed to endure having lumber equipment being dropped on him, quickly recovering from the attacks and continuing his fight.
Appearances
- Sly 2: Band of Thieves
- A Starry Eyed Encounter
- He Who Tames the Iron Horse
- Menace from the North, Eh?
Trivia
- Bison is the only villain not to be arrested, incarcerated or deceased at the end of Sly 2.
- Jean Bison thawed out in 1972.
- Bison's weapon bears a resemblance to Slaigh MacCooper's weapon.
- Bison's logging camp, along with the Contessa's estate and Mz. Ruby's swamp, is one of the paintings in Octavio's coffee houses.
- In his cabin in Nunavut Bay, Bison can be engaged in combat, but he has no health bar, and as such he can not be defeated here.
- Though Murray can knock him into the air and burn him it still has no effect. If Sly or Bentley engage him, the same noises made when Dimitri takes damage are heard when blows are delivered.
- Bison is one of five villains never to fight Sly, the others being Rajan, Octavio, Captain LeFwee, and Grizz.
- In the opening sequence of the character, Bison is shown frozen. The music and scene itself is a reference to the final scene in 1980 Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
- He is the only Klaww Gang member not referenced at all in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
- He may say over the Safehouse radio "My back is killin' me!" This may be in reference to his hunchbacked posture.
- Ross Douglas voiced both Jean Bison and Clockwerk.
- He is the first and so far the only character in the whole series who had managed to see through one of the gang's disguises.