Tulip Jones

Tulip Jones
Biographical Information
Name	Tulip Jones
Title	Head of Special Operations, MI6 (formerly) Deputy Head of Special Operations, MI6 (formerly)
Age	Late 40s to Early 50s
Physical Information
Status	Alive
Nationality	British
Gender	Female
Hair	Black (books, film) Dirty blonde (TV series)
Skin	Pale (books, TV series) Dark(film)
Relationship Information
Family	Hans Meyer (husband) Sofia (child) William (child)
Series Information
First Appearance	Stormbreaker
Last Appearance	Nightshade_Revenge
Portrayed by	Sophie Okonedo (film) Vicky McClure (TV series)

“	Just remember, Alex Rider. You're never too young to die.	”
—Mrs. Jones

Tulip Jones, often referred to as just "Mrs. Jones," is the head of MI6.

Biography

She was present at Albert Bridge, where SCORPIA agreed to trade James Adair for John Rider, and faked killing Rider to double-cross Scorpia.

Jones makes constant appearances in the books, often only appearing with Blunt. She seemed to have a soft spot for Alex Rider, unlike Alan Blunt, and was reluctant to send him into danger, no matter how urgent the situation.

In Scorpia, Julia Rothman recruited Alex to SCORPIA and told him that Jones had killed his father, and sent him to kill her. Smithers created a glass shield in her apartment to protect her in case someone managed to enter her apartment. Alex shot the glass, which cracked but did not shatter, but on a trajectory over her head, though MI6 did not realize it until much later. After Alex stopped Scorpia's Invisible Sword operation, she told him that John Rider didn't die on Albert Bridge, revealing the entire truth about his parents' deaths.

In Ark Angel, Jones and Blunt visited a security conference, featuring Max Webber. Jones later visited Alex in the hospital after he was shot leaving the MI6 headquarters building, expressing concern for his well being and reassuring him that MI6 will not use him again, though the statement proves false in later novels. Alex had thought that, at her visit, she had also been 'at her most human'.

Along with Ben Daniels, Jones met with Alex Rider in Bangkok, and told Smithers to supply Alex with gadgets.

She also appeared in Crocodile Tears with Blunt when Alex turns to MI6 to help stop a reporter who threatened to reveal MI6's using him. In return for nullifying the threat, Blunt and Jones ask Alex to collect some information from a computer at Greenfields Bio Center.

Mrs. Jones is known to live alone in an apartment in Clerkenwell. She also has a cat named Q, presumably referring to the gadget expert from the James Bond series.

Differences in the TV series

Season One

In season one, largely covering the events of Point Blanc, Jones begins her involvement by investigating Ian Rider's death and lying to Alex Rider that it was a result of a car crash. After further investigation, Jones believes that the pistol used to kill Ian was in fact a message to MI6, or perhaps a false trail. They eventually catch on to Point Blanc Academy as being a common factor in a slew of recent deaths, but Jones immediately protests against Alan Blunt's idea to use a child, Alex Rider, to infiltrate the school. Naturally, Jones is assigned as Alex's handler. After Alex's loyalty is tested by Wolf, Jones collects Alex and demands that no further tests be done to her agent without her consent. She then prepares Alex's cover identity as "Alex Friend", child of Sir David Friend, so that Eva Stellenbosch will invite Alex to Point Blanc. This plan succeeds successfully.

Later during season one, information from Jack Starbright confirms to Jones that Martin Wilby is connected to Ian Rider's murder, so she dispatches agents to apprehend him, but he is killed before he can be captured. They continue investigating Point Blanc while their operation continues, discovering that Point Blanc continues to influence its students with handlers long after they leave the school. This culminates in the arrest of Parker Roscoe, who was planning on killing Tom Harris. As the operation comes to a close, Jones fakes Alex's death and oversees an assault on Point Blanc itself. The assault is successful, and later on she uses Alex to identify Yassen Gregorovich and SCORPIA as the ultimate masterminds behind recent events. When Alex is attacked by his clone copy, Jones arrives to assist, but can't figure out which Alex is the "real" Alex until Tom Harris hits the clone with a bat, and the clone is killed shortly thereafter.

At the end of the season, Jones urges Alan Blunt to leave Alex alone, as he promised.

Appearance

Mrs. Jones is often described as a dark, rather masculine woman and isn't very attractive, though she did not really try to be. She has short black hair, dark beadlike black eyes that are described as could have belonging to either a crow or eagle, and a pale, 'business-like' face. She is nearly always seen wearing a dark suit and, occasionally, a simple silver chain around her neck as the only jewelry on her person. At one time, Alex notes that her appearance suits her work as deputy head of MI6, Special Operations, because neither her career or appearance gave anything away.

Mrs Jones in the graphic novels

She is noted to nearly constantly eat peppermints, which Alex guesses to be because she might need to talk sweetly (literally).

Personality

As Alan Blunt's second in command, she is Alan Blunt's closest associate. Blunt insists their personal and professional lives remain separate; consequently, Mrs. Jones has never even been inside of his house, despite knowing him better than anyone else in Special Operations. She isn't as pitiless or cold as Alan Blunt and shows less of a callous personality.

Mrs. Jones is sympathetic to Alex Rider and offers reassurance when Alex is uneasy about what is required. Mrs. Jones shows great concern for Alex's situation - often protesting that he not be used again, but all the while admitting that he is useful to MI6. She admitted that she never wanted Alex to get started with the Stormbreaker business since she knew how much it would change him. She shows signs of great attachment to Alex, of an almost motherly kind. Mrs. Jones also has stated that she has had children and that they were taken from her, which could contribute to why she has so much sympathy for Alex. Alex also has said that she is extremely lonely.