Le Paradox

Lore & Background

Le Paradox is a preening, theatrical thief from the present day whose ego burns hotter than a jet engine. Unable to match the Cooper lineage through skill or cunning, he steals a time-traveling hot air balloon—invented by Bentley's ancestor, Professor Otto Van Cooper—and uses it to ransack history. His plan: swipe the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus from each of Sly's ancestors before they can pass them down, erasing Sly's skills and legacy from existence and crowning himself the greatest thief who ever lived.

In Their Own Story

The air crackled with temporal energy as Le Paradox stepped from his balloon, a smug grin spreading across his face. Below him, ancient Paris sprawled untouched, its cobblestones gleaming under a gilded sun. 'Ah, zee Cooper line... so proud, so predictable,' he purred, clutching a glowing page like a stolen jewel. 'But soon, zere will be no Sly, no Thievius Raccoonus—only Le Paradox, zee greatest thief who ever lived!' He laughed, a sound like breaking glass, unaware that across time, Sly and his gang were already racing to stop him.

Reader's Guide

Le Paradox is the final boss of *Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time*, fought in a multi-phase encounter aboard his time-traveling airship. As a character, he is a cunning and theatrical villain who relies on gadgets, minions, and his mastery of time manipulation rather than direct combat. He employs a variety of attacks, including summoning robotic versions of himself and using time-freeze devices to slow Sly's movements. Players must use stealth, timing, and the unique abilities of each playable character (Sly, Bentley, Murray, and the Cooper ancestors) to defeat him. The fight emphasizes pattern recognition and environmental interaction, with Le Paradox taunting the player throughout. His defeat results in him being trapped in the prehistoric past, a fitting end for a thief who tried to steal time itself.

Did You Know?

• Le Paradox steals a time-traveling hot air balloon invented by Bentley's ancestor, Professor Otto Van Cooper.
• His plan is to swipe pages of the Thievius Raccoonus from each of Sly's ancestors before they can pass them down.
• Le Paradox is defeated and trapped in the prehistoric past.
• He is the primary antagonist of *Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time*, the fourth main installment in the Sly Cooper franchise.