Fox Mulder

Special Agent William Fox "Spooky" Mulder (born October 13, 1961) is a fictional character played by David Duchovny on the 1993-2002 television series, The X-Files. FBI Special Agent Mulder believes in UFOs and a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of their existence. With his FBI partner Dana Scully, the two formed the X-Files office, which was concerned with cases called "X-Files," cases with particularly mysterious or possibly supernatural circumstances that were left unsolved and shelved by the FBI. Mulder considers the X-Files the main purpose of his life, and lives alone near Washington, D.C.

Biography

Early life

Fox Mulder was born to Bill Mulder and Teena Mulder (maiden name Kuipers) on October 13, 1961, presumably in Massachusetts. He has a younger sister, Samantha Mulder, who was born in 1965.

His first words, at 11 months, were "JFK", and he grew up in Chilmark, Massachusetts. The Mulder family had a summer house in Quonochontaug, RI, where Fox and Samantha would play during summer vacations. He apparently had an active childhood, full of neighborhood baseball games and tree climbing - where he once came face to face with a praying mantis, an incident which terrified him and fostered an intense dislike for insects. Mulder apparently enjoyed science fiction in his early years - dressing as Mr. Spock from Star Trek in childhood, and watching The Magician. In his teenage years, Mulder was also very excited about space. Although he says he never wanted to be an astronaut, he was delighted to meet an ex-astronaut during one of his investigations and admitted that watching a shuttle launch fulfilled one of his boyhood dreams.

On November 27, 1973, Samantha mysteriously disappeared from the Mulder family home in Chilmark, an event which had a severe impact on the Mulder family, especially Fox. The subsequent investigation into her disappearance turned up no evidence. Soon after, Mulder's parents divorced.

Mulder's memories of the event are not necessarily to be trusted. In the pilot episode ("Pilot"), Mulder told Scully that his sister "just disappeared out of her bed one night." Yet in a dream sequence in "Little Green Men", Fox and Samantha are shown playing Stratego and watching TV, their parents visiting the neighbors - when flashing lights flood the room and Fox, frozen in shock, sees Samantha rise in the air and float out the window, and an alien figure appears through the backlight.

This particular memory of her disappearance was recorded in a state of hypnosis, under the direction of regression hypnotherapist Dr. Heitz Werber in 1989 ("Closure"). In the season 5 episodes "Patient X" and "The Red and the Black", Mulder himself doubts the reliability of this memory, suspecting his recollection of the abduction may have been due to "an elaborate staging of events," or even entirely fabricated. Although he later regains his belief in an alien conspiracy, it is never made clear whether Mulder's memories under hypnotherapy were authentic or, indeed, who her abductors were.

Education and pre-X-Files career

The disappearance of Mulder's sister and his search for her soon after became the main consuming drive of his life. Mulder probably graduated from high school - where his foreign language of choice was French ("731") - in spring of 1979 or 1980. It is not known what he did between 1980 and 1983. In 1983, Mulder entered Oxford University to study psychology. He graduated summa cum laude in 1986 (a blooper: degrees in the UK are classified as 'First Class Honors,' ' Upper Second (Class),' 'Lower Second (Class),' 'Third (Class),' etc., not Latin honors as in the United States).

Later that year, Mulder entered the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. It is known that Mulder "joined the FBI" on October 24, 1986, but it is unclear whether that is the date when he started his Quantico Academy course or finished it. On graduating from the Academy, Mulder started his work in the Behavioral Science Unit (psychological profiling) under Agent Bill Patterson, with whom he had a testing relationship. Around this time he wrote a monograph on serial killers and the occult, which helped catch serial killer Monty Props in 1988. This, coupled with his successful capture of such dangerous criminals as John L. Roche and Luther Lee Boggs, made Mulder something of an intra-Bureau legend.

At some point, Mulder started working as a field agent of the Violent Crimes division under Agent Reggie Purdue. It is possible that Mulder did, for a short time, work both as a profiler and a field agent. During Mulder's first case as a field agent a fellow FBI agent died during a standoff with a suspect, and Mulder later blamed himself for sticking to the FBI protocol, which he felt didn't allow him to prevent the agent's death. His partner in violent crimes was Jerry Lamana, whose incompetence and self-serving agenda led to him misplacing evidence which resulted in the maiming of a federal judge ("Ghost in the Machine"). In his later FBI career Mulder always showed varying degrees of disregard for rules.

Fox Mulder appears to have been a very talented and remarkable agent. It was said that Mulder had "commendations out the yin-yang" ("Unusual Suspects"). In "Pilot", Scully claimed she'd heard of Mulder by reputation, and that he is "brilliant." Mulder was talked about at the FBI even while still in the Academy, as he was always "three jumps ahead" of others ("Young at Heart"). During his FBI training, he came to be called "Spooky" by other agents, because of his beliefs in the paranormal, though perhaps also because of his talents or staff attitude towards profilers.

Work on the X-Files

Opening the X-Files

In May 1989, Mulder was sprayed with an experimental drug that causes hallucinations and paranoia. Mulder started talking about aliens and conspiracies, although his previous interest in such things was not as active. The following month, Mulder underwent regressive hypnosis in attempt to remember what happened when Samantha disappeared. After that, Mulder started displaying a fanatical interest in the paranormal.

Mulder continued to work in the Violent Crimes department, pursuing his paranormal interests in his spare time. In 1990, he learned a great deal about the X-Files from former FBI agent Arthur Dales ("Travelers"). In late 1991, Mulder "discovered" the X-Files, and re-opened them with Agent Diana Fowley. Agent Fowley transferred away shortly thereafter, leaving Mulder the only agent to work on the X-Files. A few months later, in March 1992, Dana Scully was assigned to the X-Files as a partner to Mulder, with the assignment to use her background in hard science to apply scientific reasoning and expertise to evaluating Mulder's work with the X-Files.

Seasons 1 through 7

Mulder's ultimate goal was to uncover what he believed to be a government conspiracy to hide the truth about alien life, and to find out what had happened to his sister. His quest and belief in the existence of aliens was, for most of the series, the driving force of the plot, or mytharc. However, during a period of time after Scully's cancer went into remission (season 5), Mulder was convinced that aliens did not in fact exist, and that the government conspirators had merely concocted that threat as a smokescreen, to toy with him. Progressively through the series, Scully's scientific methodology, and Mulder's strong beliefs, started to rub off on one another.

Mulder's basement office was decorated with photographs, newspaper articles and other materials pertaining to conspiracy theories, extraterrestrial life, and other supernatural phenomena. Among the collection was a picture of Deloys monkey, a newspaper article about Duane Barry, Max Fenig's NICAP hat, and, most famously, a poster depicting a flying saucer with the words "I Want to Believe".

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Mulder's paranoia reflected the American public's suspicion of the government, characteristic of the 1990s

While working on the X-Files, Mulder often came into conflict with his superiors, most notably his direct superior, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, who was for a long time skeptical of Mulder's work. Mulder's dedication to the X-Files led many of his superiors and fellow agents to regard him as a moonstruck fringe-dweller who spent all his time and effort "hunting [for] little green men," a once promising FBI agent who threw away his career.

Mulder tended to conduct his investigations with blatant disregard for rules and regulations, sometimes even breaking the law. He accused Bureau authorities of hiding the truth and infiltrated restricted military bases and other secret facilities, leading to official reprimands and suspensions on more than one occasion. He was often in risk of being fired - however, he was usually able to keep his job through the help of various benefactors.

Throughout his work, Mulder was antagonized by the Cigarette Smoking Man and the Syndicate. Various conspirators provided Mulder with some information, but they were never entirely truthful, and Mulder could never disregard the possibility that they were trying to mislead him.

Mulder had multiple informants. Of his most significant high-level government informants, Deep Throat was first, followed by X, and later Marita Covarrubias. Each of them provided Mulder with valuable information, even saving Mulder's life on more than one occasion. Little was known about the background of these characters. Mulder also had had US Senator Richard Matheson on his side for a number of years (see "Little Green Men" and "S.R. 819").

During the 7th season, Mulder eventually discovers the truth about his sister. Samantha was abducted (either by the alien colonists or the government conspirators), and various tests were performed on her. She was then returned to The Cigarette Smoking Man to live out her life under his supervision, all the while undergoing additional tests. The episode "Closure" reveals that, unable to bear the testing any longer, Samantha ran away from her home with the Spenders in California and was eventually admitted to a nearby hospital, where she disappeared from her locked room. It is revealed that Samantha was taken by "spiritual intervention," with the help of beings called "Walk-ins." Mulder is briefly reunited with Samantha's spirit. There are, however, some plot holes relating to Samantha's apparent passing (See article, Samantha Mulder).

Seasons 8 and 9

Mulder was also abducted by the aliens himself in 2000 ("Requiem"), and returned to Earth, almost dead, a few months later. He had been infected by an alien virus (for the second time), but Scully found a way to rescue him ("Deadalive"). He returned to work for a brief period of time, but was eventually fired by the newly promoted Deputy Director Kersh ("Vienen"). After Scully gave birth to William, Mulder went into hiding in New Mexico.

After about a year in hiding, Mulder obtains crucial information from a secret facility about the date of the planned alien colonization effort, but is caught and put on trial for the murder of Knowle Rohrer. Despite a defense organized by Skinner with numerous witnesses, the judges (who it is hinted are at least partially working for the conspiracy) sentence Mulder to death. With help from several people, including a reformed Kersh and the ghost of Alex Krycek, Mulder breaks out of prison and escapes with Scully. As of the series finale, Mulder and Scully are "officially" presumed dead, and in hiding.

A second X-Files film has been in the works for several years, and will reportedly focus on an individual case rather than delving into the series mythology or the upcoming alien invasion.

Relationships

Family

Mulder had a rather strained relationship with his parents, not in the least thanks to the X-Files. Initially, he had no idea his father was involved in the conspiracy and Samantha's disappearance. Bill Mulder, who became disenchanted with the shadow government and his own role in the conspiracy, eventually approached Fox about his past deeds, but was shot and killed by Alex Krycek - working as an assassin for the Syndicate - before he could reveal any great amount of information ("Anasazi"). Over the next few years, Mulder got into several conflicts with his mother while trying to discover the extent of her own knowledge of his father's precise involvement. Teena Mulder dies of an apparent suicide, when the stress of Samantha's abduction finally becomes too painful ("Sein und Zeit").

During the last years of his work on the X-Files, Mulder was even forced to doubt that Bill Mulder was his true father. He is lead to consider the possibility that his mother had had an affair with the Cigarette Smoking Man (due to strong evidence provided in "Talitha Cumi"), a connection which may have resulted in the birth of either Samantha or Mulder himself. The possibility was hinted at later in the series, and Jeffrey Spender, who certainly was the Smoking Man's son, said that Mulder was his half-brother. In the 9th season, "William" explains that Spender and Mulder have very similar DNA, providing strong evidence that they do have the same father.

Mulder's relationship with his sister Samantha was, in some ways, one of the most central of the series, although the real Samantha was only ever shown in flashbacks. These flashbacks show them alternately bickering and affectionate, and it can be assumed that their relationship was close. They seem to have spent a good deal of time together, playing pick-up games of neighborhood baseball (Fox usually played right-field), riding bikes, playing board games, and watching television. After her disappearance, when Mulder was twelve, the family fell apart, and Mulder's intense desire to unravel the mystery of her abduction became the central drama of his life.

By the 7th season of the series, Mulder's platonic partnership with Scully clearly crossed over into the romantic, and he was the presumed father of her child William, perhaps by way of in-vitro fertilization ("Per Manum"). Also, "all things" opened with Scully dressing herself in Mulder's apartment and looking at Mulder, apparently naked, sleeping in the bed she presumably just left. And, when Mulder reflects on William's conception in "Essence", he asks himself "How did this child come to be? What set its heart beating? Is it the product of a union or the work of a divine hand?" implying that he and Scully were intimate at least once. In "The Truth", the prosecutor in Mulder's trial asks: "Agent Scully, isn't it true that you and Mulder were lovers, and you got pregnant and had his love child?" She and Mulder share a brief yet profound look, undoubtedly confirming the question. Scully, speaking to Mulder earlier in the episode, referred to William as "our son."

Friends and Foes

Mulder's closest friend was FBI partner Dana Scully, who was assigned to "debunk [his] work" by the conspirators and the FBI brass. But against their intentions, her loyalties quickly became affixed to Mulder's quest and Mulder himself, a connection which seemed to pull Mulder's work out of obscurity, as Scully's scientific bent afforded them a certain amount of credibility. Their intense professional and personal relationship continued to strengthen through the years. While the relationship was platonic for the greater part of the series, there are clues that it developed into a romantic one by the last few seasons. Mulder and Scully almost always called each other by their surnames - Mulder purportedly hated his first name, but Scully had no such aversion. At the end of season eight, the romantic undertones were confirmed when the two shared a kiss. In the series finale, the very last scene depicted Mulder and Scully in bed together, contemplating what the future held.

Mulder's only known romantic relationships, prior to his work on the X-Files, were with Phoebe Green and Diana Fowley. Phoebe Green was a fellow student at Oxford, and the two had a brief relationship.

Mulder dated Diana Fowley when he was a student at the FBI Academy. Mulder is seen wearing a wedding ring in a flashback scene of "Travelers", set in 1990 - given the time frame, it's likely that this marriage would have been with Diana. (Many fans choose to believe that the wedding ring was a blooper made by David Duchovny, as the episode, which aired in 1998, was filmed after his marriage to Tea Leoni in 1997.) When she reappears in "The End", Mulder is reluctant to believe that she might be working with the Syndicate (as she is in reality), and disregards Scully's own suspicions of her loyalties. After participating in an experiment which nearly cost Mulder his life, Diana apparently suffers from remorse, and anonymously provides Scully with the means to rescue him, at the cost of Diana's own life.

When in need of extra assistance, Mulder went to various friends/contacts with expertise in different areas. The Lone Gunmen, three conspiracy theorists/computer hackers/tabloid newspaper publishers, were his most trusted friends, after Scully. The trio were generally sought after when Mulder and/or Scully needed more techno-savy assistance. The Lone Gunmen, in turn, had their own contacts when a situation was beyond their abilities. Dr. Charles "Chuck" Burks was another character who helped Mulder when Mulder's own knowledge of the paranormal was not enough to crack a case. Earlier in the series, Mulder could be seen calling Danny Valladeo, a character who was never shown on screen. He would typically help Mulder with tasks such as pulling up plate numbers.

Mulder's greatest nemesis was the Cigarette Smoking Man, who, despite his obvious ill-intent, seemed to hold Mulder in special regard. Though he mocked Mulder to his face for his foolishness and the futility of his quest, in "Two Fathers" he told his son Jeffrey Spender, "You pale to Fox Mulder." Mulder also developed an intense enmity for Alex Krycek, a double agent who briefly worked with Mulder in the FBI as an infiltrator, and who continued to serve as a recurring adversary, acting as an assassin for the Syndicate in the murders of Bill Mulder and Melissa Scully.

Personality

Mulder famously has a sardonic sense of humor even in the face of the most bizarre and dangerous phenomena, and his trademark bad jokes (most of them improvised by actor David Duchovny) are characteristically glib or cynical.

He is somewhat athletic and has an interest in sports, mostly baseball and basketball. He jogs regularly, is shown playing a casual game of basketball ("Two Fathers"), and often bounces his basketball around his apartment when bored. His favorite professional teams are the New York Yankees and the New York Knicks.

His ethnicity and religious affiliation are never directly disclosed, but there are several hints that he is supposed to be Jewish, as in the episodes "Kaddish" and "Drive". David Duchovny has said that he considers Mulder to be Jewish(refactored from Mulder1). Interestingly, Mulder appeared to have had a Christian burial subsequent to his apparent "death" in Season 8 ("DeadAlive"), as well as seeking comfort in a church following the events of the episode "Conduit", raising the possibility of religiously mixed (or apathetic) ancestry.

Despite believing in a variety of paranormal phenomenon, Mulder is often openly scornful of organized religion ("Revelations"; "All Souls"). However, in the series finale he talks hopefully about the afterlife and touches Scully's crucifix with some reverence, suggesting that just as Scully has modified her skepticism and accepted some of Mulder's beliefs in the paranormal, so has Mulder opened his mind to the possibility of God.

Mulder is almost never seen sleeping in a bed. The bedroom in his apartment (which appeared and disappeared during various times in the show's run) is apparently used for storage and is filled floor to ceiling with junk, including a couple boxes of pornographic magazines. Instead, Mulder sleeps on his couch, often falling asleep to a blaring television. Mulder can seem to go through manic periods when worried or working on a case, contributing to or exacerbating his insomniac tendencies. Since "Dreamland II" Mulder gets his bedroom renovated and equipped with waterbed. In "Monday" he finds himself in a puddle made by worn out waterbed mattress.

Mulder's porn habits are a recurring joke on the series, and are alluded to in several episodes. In the third season episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" the psychic Bruckman implies that Mulder will die from an act of autoerotic asphyxiation. Mulder normally watches porn to sleep; at other times, he does it out of boredom or habit. At times it is implied that he watches porn as other people watch TV shows.

Mulder apparently has a rather poor sense of direction - he sometimes goes through the wrong corridors in a building and can't use a map very well. Similarly, Mulder isn't comfortable when in the country and somewhat doesn't really like nature, although in "Home" he tells Scully that he would like to live in a rural community when he retires.

Mulder rarely drinks alcohol, and in the few cases he does, he is so drunk that he behaves out of character, suggesting a low tolerance level ("X-Files: FIght the Future"). This might also reflect his choice of drinks- including spooning frozen orange juice from a can directly into a bottle of vodka and drinking the contents ("Szygy").

He says his famous penchant for sunflower seeds was passed down from his father. At home, Mulder does not appear to be particularly skilled in the culinary field, on one occasion opening his refrigerator only to find it bare, save for a jug of orange juice, 4 months past its expiration date ("Chinga"). This suggests a high proportion of take-out or frozen meals (understandable, considering the amount of time Mulder spends on the road).

In "Fire", he reveals a mild case of pyrophobia, but it is never mentioned throughout the rest of the series. He also admits to a childhood fear of bugs in "War of the Coprophages". Mulder has a remarkable memory, and once mentions that he is "cursed with a photographic memory."

Mulder disapproves the use of drugs when treating psychological disorders and says that he's not a Freudian.

For some (perhaps brief) period of time Mulder was a smoker. In "Travelers", while interviewing former FBI Agent Arthur Dales, Mulder is seen smoking a cigarette. The episode is set in 1990.

Trivia

• Mulder's cell phone number is (202) 555-9355.
• Mulder's address is #42, 2630 Hegal Place, Alexandria, VA 23242 ("Small Potatoes" and "Monday"). However, 23242 is a ZIP code within in area of Richmond, Virginia. He was living at that address at least as far back as 1990 ("Travellers").
• Mulder's apartment number, 42, is a reference to the answer to life, the universe and everything. Scully apparently has a key ("End Game", others), although when she aquired it is a mystery.
• Mulder's badge number is JTT047101111 ("F. Emasculata")
• Mulder's computer password is TRUSTNO1. He uses computer software that displays the password as it is typed ("Little Green Men").
• Mulder's Social Security number is 123-32-1321 ("Dreamland II").
• Pseudonyms Mulder has used include M.F. Luder, George E. Hale, Marty and Mr. Kaplan ("The Pine Bluff Variant"). Jose Chung refers to him as "Reynard Muldrake" in his book, with "reynard" being the antiquated spelling for "fox" in French ("Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'").
• Mulder has a tank with goldfish at home that Scully feeds in his absence.
• He hates being called Fox, and claims that he even made his parents call him Mulder growing up. However, both parents call him Fox on the show.
• The character of Fox Mulder has also appeared on other series - The Lone Gunmen and Millennium. He was mentioned in the short-lived series Strange Luck. He also made an appearance in the "The Springfield Files" episode of The Simpsons and on the animated series Eek! The Cat. In an episode of the ReBoot series, Mulder and Scully were parodied as agents "Fax Modem" and "Data Nully." David Duchovny refused to provide his voice for the episode.
• He is possibly of partial Dutch heritage, as Mulder is a Dutch surname meaning Miller. Chris Carter has said that he named Mulder after his mother's maiden name.
• According to the 5th season episode "Unusual Suspects", which took place entirely in 1989, Mulder is 6' tall (~183cm), about 170lb (~77kg), and has green eyes.
• He has seen Plan 9 from Outer Space 42 times (another reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), and claims that the film is so incredibly bad that it shuts down the logic centers of his brain, allowing him to make intuitive leaps of logic.
• According to the episode "Beyond the Sea," Mulder's blood type is O-negative.
• In the episode "Wetwired", he states that he is red-green colorblind, although this trait does not appear to interfere with his casework or personal life, and indeed is never mentioned anywhere else in the show.
• Mulder's personality type is INTP, under the Myers-Briggs personality test.
• In the episode "Je Souhaite", while watching Caddyshack at Mulder's apartment, Mulder and Scully are shown drinking Shiner Bock beer.
• Mulder's favorite snack is sunflower seeds. In "Aubrey" (Episode #36), he reveals to Scully that his father used to eat them as well and suggests that his taste for sunflower seeds may be some sort of genetic memory. In "Anasazi" (Episode #49), Mulder asks for seeds while delirious with a fever.
• In episode 3X04, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose", Clyde suggests that Mulder will die from Autoerotic Asphyxiation.

References

Template:Ent "The Truth Is Out There," The Official Guide to the X-Files Vol. 1, by Brian Lowry, Chris Carter. Harper Paperbacks, 1995.

External links

• From Russia with Madness - Wold Newton universe speculation on the origins of Fox Mulder.
• [http://www.keleka.net/deepbackground/xfiles/people/mulder.htm X-Files Deep Background: Fox Mulder} - A volunteer encyclopedia of information on all aspects of the show.