Carmen Sandiego Wiki
This article is about the character from the 2019 animated series. You may be looking for the character from the video games.

Julia "Jules" Argent is a detective at A.C.M.E.. She was primarily the work partner of Chase Devineaux, and for a short time Agent Zari, before stepping down to teach ancient history at a Oxford University. Upon agreeing to help Carmen Sandiego recover and decipher a series of ancient V.I.L.E. artifacts, she, alongside Carmen and Agent Devineaux, revealed a previously undiscovered chamber of great wealth to the world. This prompted Julia to return to A.C.M.E., where she remained even past the downfall of V.I.L.E.

Personality

Julia is highly intelligent in many subjects, having an especially strong appreciation for history and culture. She holds the substantiality of evidence in very high regard while engaging in her job, preferring to assess all angles and establish a pattern before making any accusations. This allows her to see the good in people such as Carmen, regarding her as a possibly ally as opposed to an immoral thief like most others do. In spite of her personal opinions, Julia takes her job seriously, advocating for what she believes is right while balancing the responsibilities of being an agent.

Appearance

Physical Features

Julia is a relatively short, slender young woman of mixed Chinese-British heritage in her mid-20s. She has short, navy blue-black hair worn in a pixie cut style. Her fair skin is adorned with freckles, stretching across her cheeks and nose. Atop the bridge of her nose she wears a pair of round, black glasses, sometimes switched out for the standard A.C.M.E. issued frames.

Outfits

Julia's standard outfit is composed of a gray blazer and slacks, coral red shirt, and dark brown flats, topped off with a gold necklace.

In "To Steal or Not To Steal", Julia has a more grandiose formal look. During the gala charity dinner in Monaco, Julia attends in a dark gray-blue backless dress that reaches her ankles. She wore multiple pieces of jewelry, including a series of gold stars that were clipped to her hair and a silver-chained necklace with a gold pendant. The look was completed with a pair of white heels. Julia's glasses were notably missing for the occasion, implying she also wears contact lenses.

Specialized Attire

Upon joining A.C.M.E., Julia was given a new uniform to wear during missions. It is a navy blue suit, worn over a white button-up shirt and neat black tie. Agents are given A.C.M.E. issued glasses as well, matching their prescription if necessary.

Gear

Icon Name
ACME Communicator Pen
A.C.M.E. Communicator Pen
A pen that allows ACME agents to communicate with a holographic projection of Chief while on the job. Also functions as a tracker.
ACME Key Card
A.C.M.E. Keycard
Grants Level One clearance to its agents anywhere in the world, allowing them past local police forces without trouble.
ACME Tranquilizer Gas Gun
A.C.M.E. Tranquilizer Gas Gun
A specialized gun that produces a sleeping gas used to incapacitate opponents in the field. Has the glaring weakness that it can also be used against the agents dispensing the mist.

Abilities

Strengths

Historical Knowledge

Julia has a vast knowledge of historical events, figures, and objects of significance. This diversity helps her as an A.C.M.E. agent, providing background information on possible items Carmen Sandiego could steal and why, giving her an upper hand in understanding Carmen's motive.

Technological Deftness

Julia is shown to be very intuitive in understanding A.C.M.E. Crime Net technology. Her natural inclination towards the tech allows her to use it more effectively than others, easily pointing out things most would miss. This makes her a great match for Devineaux, making up for his inability to understand their A.C.M.E.-provided resources.

Deductive Mind

Julia is a highly reasonable person, able to easily understand sequences of events based on vague clues. Her intuition and analytical nature is integral in her work and makes her a formidable agent of A.C.M.E.

Weaknesses

Circumstantial Beliefs and Personal Experience

Julia's disposition, primarily in regard to Carmen, is rooted in things she can not unequivocally prove. Julia, while typically correct in her assumptions, can not convince her peers of her ideas because she has very little proof to back up what she's saying, and is forced to ignore the more plausible implications of certain events in order to prove her point. She believes what she does based on what she has experienced, but can not convey this to anyone else, leaving her largely ignored by her peers.

Lack of Experience

As a fresh recruit of both Interpol and A.C.M.E., Julia is undermined due to her inexperience. Her outlook and ideas are disregarded because she has not been apart of the force as long, and therefore can not adequately understand all of what is going on around her.

Biography

Joining A.C.M.E.

Originally a fresh Interpol recruit, Julia was assigned as Chase Devineaux's partner. The two intended to apprehend Carmen Sandiego, an upcoming thief who had gained notoriety for an assortment of heists she had committed in the weeks prior to Julia and Devineaux's outing in Poitiers. Despite having only been with Interpol for two weeks, Julia was shown to have had a great deal knowledge on their target and her ambitions already. Chase, despite this, made it very clear that he did not care to hear any of what Julia had to say on the matter, stating that her facts were useless, and invalidating her theories due to her inexperience.

After being tasked to investigate the crime scene from Carmen's most recent heist, Julia found that the apartment was filled with stolen artifacts of all kinds, including the Eye of Vishnu from the unsolved Morocco case. This led her to the conclusion that Carmen Sandiego was possibly a thief who only steals from other thieves. She began to believe that Carmen was not stealing just for herself, though she was unable to fully understand why. Julia attempted to explain her theory to Devineaux as he pursued Carmen by car while she was travelling by train. He, in his frustration and hardheadedness, was unwilling to indulge in her idea. The confrontation ended with Chase apprehending Graham Calloway, the V.I.L.E. operative known as Crackle. He intended to bring him in for questioning, but Crackle was released via an outside source and picked up by The Cleaners before this could happen.

Despite her frustration with Devineaux's frequent disregard towards her thoughts, Julia continued to work with Devineaux to investigate the disappearance of their train witness. She accompanies her partner as he walks to his car at the end of the night, advising him once more about the apartment before wishing him a good night. She began to walk away before deciding she had something else to say. Upon her return, she found that he was no longer in the garage. She tried to call him various times, worried for his safety and wanting to know if he took the train home. If not that, she feared that like their witness, he may have "disappeared into thin air". A series of mints left on the ground clued Julia in to Devineaux's possible whereabouts, and upon following the trail, she discovered Chase inside an electrical closet, sitting in a chair surrounded by Chief's hologram and two agents. Impressed by Julia's mental aptitude, Chief suggested Julia become an agent of A.C.M.E alongside Devineaux, an offer which Julia took.

With A.C.M.E.

As official agents of A.C.M.E., Julia and Chase were quickly placed on their first official case. Much to Devineaux's annoyance, Julia continued to incorporate her knowledge of "dull facts and boring things" into their work.

While Chase was quickly berated for his attitude and recklessness during cases, Julia was praised for her diligence and grace in handling the delicate aspects of the job. Julia still complimented Chase for his work, attempting to validate his efforts in spite of his continuously sour attitude towards her. Despite seeing Julia's potential, Chase disagrees with Julia's theory that Carmen is a "good" thief, and insists she must be apprehended at all costs. Steadfast in her own beliefs, Julia attempted to build trust with Carmen over the course of multiple missions.

Julia's first encounter with Carmen one on one was during The Chasing Paper Caper. She's initially unaware of her identity, engaging in polite conversation with Carmen as she sat opposite of her, observing Paper Star. It was only after Carmen left that Julia pieced together her identity. She immediately called Agent Devineaux to report the news, but his cell was unavailable, so she searched the train cars in order to find him. She eventually stumbled upon him, cuffed to a seat. He demanded that Julia free him with the keys he left in his briefcase, and returning to where she had been prior, she found the Magna Carta stored away right next to Devineaux's briefcase.

Tensions between Julia and Devineaux came to a head in The French Connection Caper. Following a meeting with Chief which detailed both Devineaux's failings as an agent and Julia's successes, Julia and Chase argued about a comment Julia had made during the meeting. Chief had praised Julia for her role in retrieving the stolen Magna Carta, and Julia told her she did not do it alone. Devineaux interpreted this as Julia referring to Carmen Sandiego, making a mockery of him as her partner. Julia asked him so what if it was, and reiterated that she could not fathom that Carmen was stealing for person gain, or stealing the items at all to begin with. Devineaux once again dismissed this, and Julia got upset about him making everything that they were doing about him, without a care for V.I.L.E. at all. He dismissed this as well and the two angrily parted ways. Later that night, Julia received a call from Chief, urgently alerting her of Devineaux's abduction. Julia was present at the scene as Devineaux was being loaded into an ambulance, relaying the information she had gathered from the first responders to Chief. Chief told her of Carmen Sandiego's involvement, a fact that greatly confused and disturbed Julia.

Julia visited Devineaux during his hospital stay, hoping he would wake up so that he could confirm that Carmen Sandiego was not his kidnapper. She was not present when he finally awoke a week after the event, having been on the premises but not in the room while Chief attained the necessary information from him in regards to his experience and relayed that he had been let go from A.C.M.E.. After he was discharged from the hospital, Julia met with Chief and attempted to once again convey her confusion about Carmen's goals and her sincere belief that Carmen wasn't responsible for what happened to Devineaux. Chief told Julia to trust her mind instead of her gut, and introduced her to her new partner, Agent Zari. In their brief introduction to one another Julia finally received her A.C.M.E. issued uniform and eyewear, and the two were sent to Rio de Janeiro to continue pursuing Carmen Sandiego.

Much like Julia's last partner, Agent Zari was steadfast in her belief of Carmen's allegiances. This caused the two to disagree on many things, though not as aggressively as Julia and Devineaux. Upon seeing Carmen and Shadowsan together in Rio de Janeiro, Julia had a hard time reconciling her beliefs, unable to provide a solid reason as to why Carmen would be associating with a known V.I.L.E. operative. Regardless, she adamantly advocated that there must be another reason for it than Carmen working with V.I.L.E.. The Fashionista Caper was just the boost Julia needed to change The Chief's mind.

Making their way to Milan to continue their pursuit of Carmen Sandiego, Julia and Agent Zari found themselves at the fashion event going on there. They suspected that Carmen might be looking to obtain the original Medici dresses that would be on display. Julia confronted Carmen alone as she was about to go on stage, as Zari had been knocked by by her own tranquilizer gas gun earlier. Carmen easily took Julia's own gun, putting it back in Julia's coat before telling her that she needed help saving the Medici dresses from V.I.L.E.. Flustered by the sequence of events that had just transpired, Julia agreed. She, alongside the rest of Team Red, successfully ensured that the Medici dresses were safe. Julia then debriefed with Chief and Zari. The Chief told Julia that while her methods were unorthodox, she couldn't argue with results, and Julia took to opportunity to pitch her idea. They could recruit Carmen Sandiego, rather than try and catch her.

A.C.M.E.'s first attempt at recruiting Carmen went very poorly. A.C.M.E. was absent from Carmen's capers up until The Stockholm Syndrome Caper, where they traced her anticipating another heist. A greater amount of agents were present during this event, all following who they believed to be Carmen Sandiego through the streets of Stockholm, Sweden. Julia met with Chief after they were ordered to bring Carmen in, concerned that this plan may lose any trust Julia had gained with Carmen already. Chief relented, and allowed Julia to take the lead, ordering the rest of the agents to stand down. Julia proceeded to meet with Carmen in Stockholm's City Hall, attempting to guess what it is that Carmen could be there for. Carmen informed her that it was bigger than that, and innocent lives could be at stake if A.C.M.E. got involved. Julia assured Carmen that A.C.M.E. wouldn't be a problem, having already been ordered to back away. She told Carmen she could trust her, right before A.C.M.E. agents ambushed them.

Julia was deeply upset by this turn of events, and angrily spoke with Chief about it following Carmen's fall from the clocktower. She told Chief that if their objective was to chase Carmen away and squander her trust, then they absolutely accomplished it. She declared that she and Chief had a deal, one Chief claimed to have broke once Julia dropped off the grid. Regretting what had transpired, and holding partial responsibility, Julia was solemn when they found Carmen. Carmen locked eyes with Julia before leaving with her team, eyes widening slightly. Julia cast her a repentant look of her own.

Julia didn't see Carmen again until The Luchadora Tango Caper, but witnessed some of Carmen's actions from behind the scenes. She was present when Chief walked into the A.C.M.E. building with a fake V.I.L.E. hard drive, having had an impromptu meeting with Carmen at a café. She watched, alongside Chief and Zari as their files were hacked as and obtained by Team Red, unable to do anything.

Following the breach in A.C.M.E. security, A.C.M.E. doubled down in their efforts to catch Carmen Sandiego. This included the reinstatement of Chase Devineaux as an agent of A.C.M.E., being reassigned as Julia's partner. Julia, none too happy with either development, engaged in her final case with A.C.M.E. in Vera Cruz, Mexico, having finally received a fresh sighting of Carmen after weeks of nothing. She was perplexed at the setting, a wrestling event, seeing nothing of high enough value that Carmen would be looking to steal. Upon seeing "Carmen" leave the premises, Devineaux told Julia to pursue, meaning she missed out on most of the actual commotion. Unable to find anything with the real Carmen inside, Julia reported that it seems she had vanished, a sentiment Devineaux corroborated as he witnessed the actual Carmen disappear.

Another debrief with The Chief where Julia tried to convince her of Carmen's innocence passed, and she was once again unable to make any progress with Chief's beliefs. With the two butting heads, the Chief requested that Devineaux leave so they could continue their discussion privately. Chief told Julia that she needed her head in the game, and Julia told her it was, it was her heart that was not. She denied Devineaux as being an issue in her work, stating that she needed to be doing something she believed in. What they were doing wasn't something she could put her entire heart into, so she wanted to pursue teaching instead for the time being. Chief assured her that she would always have a place at A.C.M.E., if she ever had a change of heart.

History Lecturer

Following her leave from A.C.M.E., Julia became a history lecturer at Oxford University. During one of these lectures, she spotted Chase in the crowd of students, hiding conspicuously behind a newspaper. Though momentarily distracted, she resumed teaching, confronting him later as he attempted to follow her across campus. The two met in her office and Julia inquired about what inspired their "coincidental" meeting. Devineaux explained that he was starting to see things differently, beginning to regale Julia of his new experiences in A.C.M.E. before Julia cut him off. She advised him against sharing classified A.C.M.E. business, so he rephrased, earnestly asking her whether Carmen was good or bad. Julia claimed it was a complicated question, and offered to discuss it over lunch the following Friday.

Reunion with Carmen

Shortly after her meeting with Devineaux, Julia ran into Carmen in a similar fashion. Carmen has snuck into one of Julia's lectures, though unlike with Devineaux, upon spotting her Julia froze. She promptly ended the lecture and met with Carmen, surprised to see her. Carmen too was surprised to stumble onto her blog, and praised Julia for following her heart. The two briefly spoke of Julia's lunch with Devineaux before Carmen introduced why she had stopped by. She needed help deciphering an ancient V.I.L.E. artifact, though would understand if Julia declined, having likely left A.C.M.E. to get away from that line of work. Julia, though, was excited that her two lines of interest had intersected, and agreed to help. She explained to Carmen the quality of the design and its purpose, alongside where it was most likely to be leading them to. Carmen had to leave quickly from there if she hoped to retrieve the next relic before V.I.L.E.. Julia made sure Carmen wasn't intending to use them for personal gain before she left, a force of habit from her time with A.C.M.E..

Carmen and Julia remained in contact over the course of the proceeding days, with Julia meeting with Player while Carmen was unavailable hunting for the remaining relics. V.I.L.E. eventually discovered that Julia was in league with Carmen, and she was kidnapped by The Cleaners and delivered to Egypt so that Countess Cleo and Tigress could use the information Julia had to reclaim the lost V.I.L.E. treasure there before Carmen and her team. Julia denied any involvement or knowledge in regards to what Cleo was seeking, though was forced to cooperate in the presence of evidence implying otherwise.

Carmen grew concerned with Julia's lack of communication. As a last resort she called Julia's landline at the university, but was instead met with Devineaux, who was there because Julia had missed their lunch. The two were confused as to what the other was doing calling Julia or answering her phone, but collectively came to the conclusion that the reason Julia was gone was because she was in trouble. The two agreed to rendezvous at the Great Pyramid at Giza in order to rescue Julia.

While Carmen and Devineaux made plans, Julia was busy looking over Egyptian symbols for Countess Cleo. She found that the symbol for Khepri was particularly important, and the group made their way to the pyramids to hunt for a passage to V.I.L.E.'s hidden treasure. Julia informed them that the scarab hieroglyph they were seeking was likely to be hidden as hieroglyphs were not common inside the pyramids. She ended up finding a symbol for the sun and attempted to conceal its importance to no avail. Cleo pressed it and revealed a a path down to a hidden room, instructing Tigress to remain above so nobody could follow. Julia told Cleo that they would need to decipher all of the hieroglyphs on the wall opposite of them, but was once again ignored as The Cleaners pointed out symbols that correlated to each of the V.I.L.E. relics. They were unable to open the door without the last one, currently in the hands of Carmen as she announced her presence to the room.

As Carmen promised Cleo the final relic in exchange for Julia's release, Cleo grabbed Julia and held her over the edge of the pit in the middle of the room. She sent The Cleaners to deal with Carmen, so they began to face off. While Cleo was distracted by their fight, Julia attempted to escape. Cleo, angered by this, pushed her into the pit. Julia was able to catch herself on the edge, but her predicament distracted Carmen enough to be overpowered by The Cleaners. She was then pulled back up as Cleo revealed the trove of treasure on the other side of the wall. Julia and Carmen were brought in as Cleo basked in the glory, though her enjoyment was cut short as Devineaux arrived. Carmen told him that the only claim V.I.L.E. had on the treasures was that no one else knew where it was, so Devineaux called Chief to reveal it's location.

As things wrapped up with V.I.L.E.'s escape and the pyramids treasures revealed to the world, Julia and Devineaux met with the press in the morning to discuss the discovery. Devineaux gave complete credit to Julia, and she disclosed what she could about the circumstances of the event. Julia reviewed the footage later that morning in her office, though was interrupted by Chief walking in, in the flesh. Chief told her that she was looking more A.C.M.E. than academic, seeing the potential for crossover. Julia acknowledged the irony, but assumed Chief was there for an explanation. Chief obliged but claimed that she would rather hear it from Carmen, something Julia said she may be able to help with. She scheduled a meeting between Chief and Carmen for the following day through an encoded message on her blog, subtly notifying Carmen that it was not a trap.

Return to A.C.M.E.

Julia returned to A.C.M.E. after her meeting with Chief under the agreement that A.C.M.E. would stop hunting Carmen Sandiego. She was promptly assigned a special case from Chief regarding a member of A.C.M.E.'s ancient history, Dexter Wolfe. Chief had agreed to help find information about Carmen's family in exchange for information about V.I.L.E., and thought Julia would have a particular interest in it.

Three weeks later, Julia was given a break from her research to investigate a sighting of Graham Calloway in Vienna, Austria. She assumed that he may be looking to steal variety of treasures from the Hapsburg Era, and explained its history to Agent Devineaux, who was finally willing to listen. The two patrolled the perimeter of the targeted museum later that night, unaware that multiple V.I.L.E. operatives, including a newly brainwashed Carmen Sandiego, were already inside. They briefly met when Agent Zari and her partner, who were stationed as Julia and Devineaux's back up, instructed to follow Julia's orders. She told them to gain access to the interior as she and Devineaux remained outside.

Devineaux and Julia quickly received word that Zari and her partner had detained a V.I.L.E. operative within the building, with more possibly still inside. They prepared to go in, but Julia spotted a figure on the rooftop. She told Devineaux to go on without her with the promise of reporting back with whatever she found. Once she confirmed that it was Carmen, she called Devineaux to call off his investigation, not wanting to impede whatever Carmen had planned. She was unaware that Carmen was in on the plot, and acting as a full-fledged V.I.L.E. operative due to her brainwashing.

Over the next 6 months, Julia, alongside the rest of A.C.M.E., observed as Carmen continued to pursue more and more daring heists, with not a single item returned. Julia conceded that it deviated from her usual pattern, and that what Carmen was doing didn't make sense, not after Egypt. She tried to suggest that Carmen may be playing a longer game deep undercover within V.I.L.E., but to no avail. Chief declared that she was going to put all A.C.M.E. resources into taking down Carmen for good.

Julia returned to researching Carmen's family in the wake of her new activities with V.I.L.E.. She found that Dexter Wolfe had been very careful in his appearances, rarely letting himself be seen with Carmen's mother. Regardless, Julia was able to find out her identity: Carlotta Valdez. Chief found it intriguing that she founded an orphanage six months after Wolfe's death, sensing a V.I.L.E. cover. Julia suggested that it may have instead been the heart of a civilian he stole, with no relation to V.I.L.E.. As no bodies were found in the ashes of the villa, Julia believed that Carlotta may have opened the orphanage in the hopes of finding her daughter, who she'd have to have known was still alive. In either case, Chief knew that Carmen would want what they found, so the two set up another meeting to see if Carmen would bite. The plan failed with Carmen unaware of Chief's set up. It was instead Shadowsan who came to pick up the information, Julia, Devineaux, and Chief helpless to do anything as he disappeared.

Following Graham Calloway's defection from V.I.L.E. which gave A.C.M.E. insight as to what was going on with Carmen, Julia and Devineaux were drafted to participate in A.C.M.E.'s plan to lure out Carmen and restore her memories. Chief pulled strings to have the Eye of Vishnu back on display in Casablanca, Morocco, anticipating Carmen's interest. While Zari and her partner prepared A.C.M.E.'s memory restorer, Julia and Devineaux discussed the history of the Eye of Vishnu while awaiting orders. They were informed that Carmen was already inside, Zari and her partner having chased a decoy. The two rushed inside to face off against Carmen.

Julia and Devineaux struggled in their fight. As they arrived inside they ordered Carmen to stop, pointing their tranquilizer gas guns at her hesitantly. Carmen taunted them, asking what they would do. In their indecision Carmen launched herself at the duo, knocking them to opposing sides of the room. Julia returned to her feet and attempted to knock Carmen unconscious with her gas gun but was once again kicked back. While Devineaux swept Carmen's legs, Julia called out to not harm her. Before Carmen could get her hands on Devineaux for what he had done, Julia tackled her to the ground. Carmen promptly shoved her off, and knocked Devineaux out as he followed shortly after. Julia pleaded with Carmen to remember her, she was her friend, Jules. Carmen told her the only jewels she cared to befriend were the ones in the case right next to her, charging Julia and shoving her into a tapestry against the wall. In the commotion, Julia's glasses fell off, and she looked around helplessly before Carmen crushed them underneath her heel. As she looked up at Carmen, distraught, the tapestry she had been pushed into fell on her, as did the bar that was holding it up, knocking Julia unconscious.

Once Carmen's memories were successfully restored, she agreed to cooperate with A.C.M.E. about V.I.L.E.'s new base of command, directing them to its location. Julia partook in the subsequent raid, being the sole agent to confront and detain Countess Cleo as she solemly watched her fellow Faculty members fall to A.C.M.E..

Julia remained with A.C.M.E. past the downfall of V.I.L.E., seemingly taking lead in the initiative to find and dismantle the web of remaining V.I.L.E. operatives scattered throughout the world. Two years after the initial V.I.L.E. raid, A.C.M.E.'s Crime Net detected an uptick in V.I.L.E. activity in response to recent inmate escapes. Julia and Devineaux, now joined by Ivy and Zack as official A.C.M.E. agents, were dispatched to handle a major hit that was set to go down at a museum. They found that the operative was already taken care of, and spotted Carmen's silhouette on the roof before she disappeared into the night.

Relationships

Family

  • Unnamed mother (mentioned)

Enemies

Allies

Sightings

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Gallery

Screenshots

Productions

Trivia

  • Whereas her 2001 counterpart had black hair, here it's navy blue.
  • Julia has been seen on multiple occasions speaking to herself in mirrors, always somehow in relation to Carmen.
  • While Julia's pre-production sketches features jet black hair with small bangs, the final design features a different, more compact hairstyle.
  • When Julia received flowers from Carmen, it hinted at a possible romantic interest in each other as they seemed to have a special connection with each other.[4]
  • In the season three episode "The Day of the Dead Caper", Julia leaves ACME and wants to put her second degree in use. It is said that she would like to be an ancient history teacher, hinting that Julia might have a degree in history.
  • Julia is the only character who is not part of Team Red to interact with Player and know his affiliations with Carmen.

References