James Whitman

Doctor James Whitman, PhD., is an American archeologist and the tertiary antagonist in Tomb Raider. Sporting a canceled television show and a failing marriage, Dr. Whitman joins the Endurance crew as senior archeologist to hit it big.

Life
Dr. Whitman studied at Harvard and is both an expert in Archaeology and Anthropology. He also took his PhD at Cambridge University in the UK and taught at many schools around the world. However, over the last few years Whitman has moved into TV series and documentary making and became quite a popular presenter with a successful range of tie-in books.

Career "Whitman's World"

Prior to the events of Tomb Raider, Dr. Whitman hosts his own television show called "Whitman's World", an archaeology show. The Endurance Expedition is supposed to be a part of this show's second season. However, his TV series is in danger of being cancelled unless he finds some new and exciting angle; a problem that he’s not keen to share with the rest of the crew. He privately hopes that the trip will give him material for a new TV series and, along with Sam’s footage, the commissioning editors will come crawling to him.

Aboard the Endurance
As shown in flashbacks in the first half of the game, Whitman's condescending and self-centered attitude earned him the dislike of the rest of the crew, including former admierer Lara Croft. One day, while the crew was trying to decide where to look for Yamatai, Lara proposed they head east into the Dragon's Triangle. Unwilling to risk his reputation on her 'hunch', Whitman refused to listen to Lara's theories, arguing that the books did not support Yamatai being that far east. Though he was the lead archeologist, no-one else was willing to side with him, and Roth eventually decided that they would head east. Whitman would later reveal in his letter to his wife that he planned to steal all the credit for the discovery should they indeed find Yamatai in the Dragon's Triangle. He was unaware that Sam suspected that he may try to claim Lara's discovery as his own, so shot footage of her in secret to ensure she got the credit she deserved.

As the ship headed into the Dragon's Triangle, Whitman and Jonah partook in a filler shoot in which they would demonstrate how to gut a fish. During filming, Whitman dropped the fish accidentally and stormed off in a ridiculous display of temper. Though frustrated, Sam brought him back and reminded him that they needed the footage to satisfy the audience's need for content. Though reluctant, Whitman understood and the filler shoot was completed.

That night, a powerful storm tore the endurance in two, though Whitman managed to escape with the rest of the crew on a lifeboat. At the start of the game, when the survivors are gathered on the beach, he can be seen claiming that he knew [the wreck] would happen.

Surviving
Whitman isn't seen again until he and the crew reunite with Lara in the coastal forest. Lara's leg is slightly injured from a rusty bear trap, so Whitman is left to stay with her while the crew searches for Sam, who had at that point been kidnapped by Mathias. After dropping Lara off at a campfire to recover, Whitman goes off to explore their surroundings, and eventually discovers an ancient door covered in markings which he finds fascinating. Whitman and Lara manage to open the door, but while exploring the other side are suddenly ambushed by the islanders. Though he has a pistol, Whitman surrenders, allowing himself and Lara to be captured. It is unclear whether he did so because of his interest in the islanders' cult behavior, or he knew that they would be killed if they tried to fight back.

Because he willingly surrendered, instead of being placed with the other captives Whitman is taken to the cult's headquarters inside the Sun Queen's palace. Once he had convinced the islanders and Mathias that he was no threat, they allow him to move around freely, enabling him to learn more about the cult. The more Whitman learned, the more fascinated he became, and at some point decided to try and gain Mathias's trust, assuming that he couldn't possibly believe the things he preached to his followers. When Lara encounters him in the palace corridor, he explains what he had been doing, though Lara is more interested in finding Sam. Whitman refuses to come with her, instead suggesting that he keep a look out. Having no reason to be suspicious, Lara agrees and leaves to save Sam. However, when she returns with Sam, Whitman is nowhere to be found, and is soon discovered to have apparently been captured by Mathias and his men. Whitman tells them to run, and Lara and Sam flee. They eventually escape the burning palace along with the rest of the crew, with no knowledge of what became of Whitman.

However, while they were camping at the beach, Whitman suddenly appears sprinting towards them, yelling for help. Though he claims that he had been fleeing from the cultists for some time, Lara notes that he doesn't have a bead of sweat on him. Though Lara voices her suspicions, the other crew members believe that they have no reason to distrust him, forcing her to back down for now. Whitman spends the remainder of the day watching over Sam while Jonah keeps a look out for cultists and Reyes repairs the boat they found on the beach. Though Whitman appeared to be no threat, in truth he had indeed allied with Mathias with the intention of learning more of the ritual the cult had planned for Sam, and with Lara not trusting him he had to act quickly. When Lara departed to explore an abandoned research base, Whitman seized his chance. During a sudden attack by cultists, possibly planned between Mathias and Whitman beforehand, the crew members could do nothing but watch as Whitman took Sam and disappeared. When Lara returns and learns what had happened, she correctly guesses that Whitman had taken her back to Mathias.

Death
As Lara discovers in a letter found near the end of the game, Whitman knew that he had crossed the line in kidnapping Sam, and so to protect his image he plots to ensure that Lara and the other survivors would not make it off the island. At that point he also realises that Mathias and his Solarii could not be reasoned with after all, and decides to slip away and wait for rescue once the ritual is completed. Once he is rescued as the 'perfect sole survivor' and returns with the authorities and cameras, he would finally regain his lost fame and fortune.

However, he would never get the chance to carry out his plans, for Mathias needed someone to distract the Stormguard warriors guarding the entrance to the Monastery. As Lara watches from a ledge, Whitman and Mathias lead a captive Sam to the entrance. They are stopped, however, by the presence of two Stormguard warriors at the foot of the bridge. Mathias plays on Whitman's ego and convinces him to approach the Oni to declare "the arrival of their new Queen". Mistaking the Stormguard for a primitive archaic tribe like those he had encountered before, and too blinded by greed and overconfidence to realise the danger he was putting himself in, Whitman did as he was told. The Oni are provoked into attacking Whitman after he says Joō (女王, meaning "queen"), brutally slaughtering him as Mathias and Sam slip past them and across the bridge into the Monastery.

Personality
As the game progresses, it becomes clear that Whitman is pursuing self-interests, as shown from the letter from his wife, who is requesting a divorce, and he asks her to hold off, as it will hurt his public image, and if he gets famous, he won't share any of the riches with her if she divorces him. Lara later finds a letter expressing that Whitman is beginning to grow more obsessed with his fame, and shows that he sees this whole situation as a boon for his career. He shows little to no remorse towards the death of the other crew members of the Endurance, saying that their deaths help add to the "drama" of the situation.

Later, Whitman betrays Lara and the remaining crew by capturing Sam for Mathias. In his final letter, Whitman reflects on what he has done, and again shows no real remorse for his actions in the deaths that he has caused. He shows no signs of regret as he rants about helping Mathias kill Sam, and says that once it is all finished, he will need to slip away and wait for rescue. The final part of the letter makes it clear just how self-conceited Whitman is, as he reminds himself to, "show an appropriately convincing expression of sorrow" to the media and authorities while taking full credit for the discoveries found on Yamatai, as he plans on being the "sole survivor". Lara felt no sympathy for his demise, and when she discovered his final letter, she deemed him a foolish man who in the end had let his ambition get the better of him.

Trivia

 * Whitman asks his wife not to leave him in a note in the games, though he was already divorced by that point.
 * Whitman refers to Lara as his protege, though he had never met Lara before the expedition to find Yamatai.
 * In Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara has a photo of the crew members of the Endurance, on her corkboard Whitman's face has been ripped out of it.