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"Time for some heavy lifting!"

Virgil Tracy is a character from the Thunderbirds Are Go! television series. He is the pilot of Thunderbird 2, and is dubbed the 'peacemaker' of International Rescue. He is the second eldest[1] of Jeff Tracy's sons, as well as the adoptive brother of Kayo.

Virgil’s signature colour for his iR uniform is green.

Personality & Traits[]

"At first glance, Virgil is imposing to look at, but he is in actual fact the most sensitive member of the Tracy Family. Virgil is the strongest of the Tracy brothers and is more often engaged in physical combat and is more than capable when it comes to engineering tasks and equipment. A gifted musician and artist (though he wouldn't want you to know that), he is calm, level-headed, and the voice of reason during a rescue mission."

Virgil is the second eldest of the five Tracy brothers (Grandma Tourismo) and is the pilot with the biggest people and equipment mover in the series - Thunderbird 2. Virgil is the largest of his brothers in terms of physical size, but he also has the heart to match it, devoted to his family and his job.

He is the most level headed and thorough of the boys, always planning ahead to avoid as much danger as possible (Recharge) even if Scott or Gordon are along for the rescue and have a tendency to go against the plans he has laid out. He is usually calm in demeanor when focusing on the job at hand, however that doesn’t mean he isn’t quick to get frustrated when things don’t go his way (Unplugged, Breakdown) and is fast to pull pranks on his siblings (Falling Skies) but can also have a tendency to get his feathers ruffled by younger brother Gordon (Bolt From the Blue) who is his most common passenger. He's very compassionate to his brothers' feelings - like when Scott admitted that things could get too much for him (Recharge) and can sometimes be a little dismissive - such as when John was worried about losing contact with Alan and Kayo (Slingshot).

When it comes to his use of the various pod machinery, Virgil is mostly the one to call upon as he flies the heavy carrier class Thunderbird with all the parts required to assemble pods on the fly, but if the stronger craft is required to do another task or needs to stay airborne, he usually drops Gordon into the thick of it and keeps a close eye on his sibling while he moves on to assist elsewhere. The only disadvantage to flying the big craft is that it can become a sitting target in the skies and there has been more than one occasion where Virgil has had the entire craft electrified and taken out of his control (Skyhook, Bolt From the Blue) and even has had to safely crash land back on Tracy Island with the engines ablaze (Earthbreaker). Virgil is very attached to his craft and hates the idea of her being harmed or suffering damage, as was shown when Thunderbird 2 was badly scorched during an operation in London (Inferno).

Virgil has a very unique exo-suit called the ‘Jaws Of Life’ which he relies quite heavily on in most rescues where a great deal of heavy lifting is required or the need for extra mobility and it has got him out of a few precarious situations - mostly from dangerous drops from great heights (Ring of Fire Part 1, Unplugged, Breakdown, Bolt From the Blue). It was shown on one occasion that Virgil is a bit too reliant on his tech to save the day, to the extent where he considered himself useless without it, but is capable of making do if required.

In his down time when he’s not giving his big ‘bird’ a good round of maintenance, Virgil loves to play the piano and is often seen in front of the keys filling the house with music (Chain Of Command, Up from the Depths Part 1), as well as painting (Inferno, Flame Out).

Duties[]

Virgil Tracy is primarily Thunderbird 2's rescue pilot, which allows him to be International Rescue's head of demolition, heavy lifting and logistics. Virgil's role in the organisation meant that he has to act as Thunderbird 3's co-astronaut (as shown in Impact and Life Signs). When required, Virgil also acts as the airframe and structural engineer of the Zero-XL (as shown in The Long Reach Part 1 and Part 2).

Along with his roles in the Thunderbirds and the Zero-XL, Virgil also operates some of the PODs. Using the POD chassis in Thunderbird 2, Virgil can operate the Mole Pod (Crosscut and Chain Reaction), the Bulldozer Pod (Crosscut), the vertical variant of the Pod Explorer (Breakdown), the arctic variant of the Pod Explorer (Recharge), the Gecko Pod (Power Play), and the Cargo Pod (Grandma Tourismo). Using the Earth Pod chassis in Thunderbird 2, Virgil can operate the Mountain Pod (Path of Destruction).

Equipment[]

During rescue missions, Virgil wears a specialised flight suit that is blue in colour and has a Thunderbird 2 badge on the right shoulder. Along with the flight suit, Virgil wears a pair of blue gauntlets attached to his gloves, the left having a green wrist mounted ship controller. Virgil also wears a pair of blue and green super-traction boots. Virgil’s suit also contains a green sash containing a multi-function utility kit, and has a modular strength safety harness attached to it. The sash also has a high-powered shoulder mounted LED spotlight, which faces up when not in use, and faces forward when in use as a spotlight or laser. This is most commonly used in pair with the mechanically assisted grasping arms, the Jaws of Life. The Jaws of Life is a robotic exoskeleton that covers the upper body, spine and legs of Virgil, which helps give him enhanced strength. To protect his head and give him safe air to breathe, Virgil wears a blue and green helmet, with an ‘iR’ on the left and a ‘2’ on the right, both in white.

Along with this primary suit, Virgil also has a firefighting suit that is almost identical to his flight suit, with the exception that it is grey and red in colour instead of blue. This suit keeps the modular strength safety harness, but removes the sash and the high-powered shoulder mounted LED spotlight. The spotlight is replaced with a shoulder mounted fire extinguisher, and is paired with the firefighting mechanically assisted grasping arms, the Power Suit. The Power Suit appears to be identical to the Jaws of Life, except for added resistance to heat and a change in colour scheme from green and yellow to grey and green. The helmet is replaced for a grey and red helmet with a side mounted holographic emitter.

Suit Up Sequences[]

Primary Suit Up[]

Virgil stands with his back against the painting of Saturn V, rotating him into the harness in his launch tube. As Virgil is taken down his launch tube backwards, his gauntlets, gloves and boots are attached to him by robotic arms, with him personally putting on his flight suit and sash. After Virgil has been suited up, he is rotated 180° so that he is facing downwards. In Thunderbird 2’s hangar, the rail that holds Virgil’s hangar is extended from the tube in the ceiling to above the craft’s cockpit. At the end of the rail, Virgil grabs the handlebars in front of him as he is released from the harness so that he drops into Thunderbird 2’s cockpit, onto the platform.

Thunderbird 3 Suit Up[]

Virgil sits in the co-pilot seat in the lounge, with Alan in the pilot seat on his left. The two seats lower to the Thunderbird 3 and Thunderbird S launch tube, which Alan and Virgil are taken along via a trolley. At the end of this launch tube, the seats are rotated 90° clockwise so that the two are facing the two separate launch tubes at the end of the one they are currently in. The pilot seat is taken into the launch tube on the left, while the co-pilot seat is taken into the launch tube on the right. With Virgil now in the co-pilot launch tube, his flight suit, gloves and boots are attached to him by robotic arms with him personally putting on his sash, all while the seat is rotated 180° so that he exits the launch tube backwards. Alan and Virgil rejoin and exit the launch tube.

Launch Sequences[]

Notable Episodes[]

Main article: /Missions

Since Virgil is the pilot of 'The Big Bird', he usually has the equipment needed to perform a large majority of rescues.

Unplugged[]

Virgil and Grandma Tracy are meeting up with Lady Penelope in London when a EMF generator cuts the power out to the entire city and anything over it (including Thunderbird 2). With the help of Grandma Tracy, they both track down the source of the power disruption and put a stop to it.

Breakdown[]

It's Virgil's birthday and he's been sent out on a solo rescue to an ice shelf to investigate a breakdown, only to find that it's deep in the ice. After having a run in with Doctor Gergory Peck, he learns that they were down there trying to find something that would aid in a cure for his daughter's illness and offers to aid him.

Recharge[]

When a power station in the Arctic circle starts to overload, Virgil and Scott are sent out to try and prevent it from becoming a disaster. While MAX happens to be the one who saves the day, Virgil does get to have a serious talk with Scott about his recklessness and offers his brother some compassion and a reminder that he is only human.

Gallery[]

Promotional Images[]

Trivia[]

  • Virgil is the first member of International Rescue (and, thus the first main character) to be introduced, making his debut appearance within seconds of the opening sequence of the pilot episode, Ring of Fire Part 1.
  • Virgil is the only character so far to have a birthday in the series. His birthday is on the 15th of August, the same day as his original 1960's counterpart.
  • Virgil's favourite book is 'Torchy', which is a reference to another show made by AP Films, Torchy the Battery Boy (Breakdown).
  • To date, Virgil has been in the least amount of Thunderbird craft, only appearing in Thunderbirds 2 and 3 (as co-pilot). However, he has been in control of the majority of Pod vehicles.
  • Virgil and Gordon both have brown eyes a dominant trait while the other siblings have blue eyes, which is a recessive trait.
  • Virgil is the only one of the Tracy boys to not have an implied or overt love interest.
  • In Flame Out, Kip Harris says that he could tell that Virgil was Jeff's son due to his resemblance to Jeff.

Footnotes[]

  1. After much speculation, it was confirmed that Virgil is the second eldest of the Tracy Brothers when John says "You're braver than I am, big brother." in Grandma Tourismo.

Foreign Names[]

  • Japanese: バージル・トレーシー (Bājiru Torēshī)
  • Chinese: 維吉·崔西 (Wéijí Cuīxī)


International Rescue
Ir2015-logo

Primary Operatives:
Jeff TracyScott TracyJohn TracyVirgil TracyGordon TracyAlan TracyBrainsMAXKayoMr. Kyrano (retired)• Grandma Tracy

Field Agents:
Lady Penelope Creighton-WardAloysius ParkerCaptain Lee TaylorColonel Casey

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