Francis is a video game-obsessed chameleon in Super Paper Mario, who serves as the main boss of Chapter 3, The Bitlands.
When Mario and company first enter The Bitlands, Francis is invisible. While Tippi is talking, Francis uses his tongue to grab her, then turns invisible again and runs off. He names Tippi "Francine" and calls her that throughout the game.
The next time Francis is met is during the fourth level of The Bitlands, Fort Francis, where he is also shown to have captured another Pixl named Carrie. He is locked in a room behind a large door, which can only be opened after solving his questions and by "hot babes". When he is confronted by Princess Peach, he is too shy to talk to her directly, and instead engages her with a dating sim named Swoon.exe, where he talks to her briefly about his interests. After the simulation, Peach demands Francis gives up Tippi, but Francis refuses, which leads into a battle.
Francis has an array of attacks against the player: as a chameleon, he can change his coloration to disappear into his surroundings, thereby avoiding attacks. Francis is completely invisible when in 2-D, but if Mario flips into 3-D, Francis's moving shadow is visible, making it easier to counterattack. Additionally, slamming the ground with Thudley will force Francis to appear for a brief moment. Francis' most devastating weapon is his long tongue, with which he can swallow any of the heroes whole and slowly damage them by chewing, and the player can escape by shaking the Wii Remote. Francis has a different expression depending on who he eats; if he eats Bowser, he stutters for a moment, and he'll smile and blush when eating Peach. His expression doesn't change when he eats Mario. Francis can also employ his technology in battle; his laptop can summon an army of Meowbombs, and his camera temporarily blinds Mario and his friends when the flash goes off, though he stops to smile before using it against Peach. Upon defeat he runs away, yelling "Mercy!", and Tippi is released. After his defeat, Francis cannot be found in Fort Francis. One of the Meowmaids says Francis is in the hospital after having hurt himself while playing video games.
The next time Francis appears is in the Castle Bleck chapter, Castle Bleck Foyer, though as an optional boss. Part way through the chapter, a disguised Mimi asks the player what they hate most. One of the answers for the final question is "Francis", which will cause Francis to appear in third room and another battle with him will begin. Francis had apparently been watching one of his favorite television programs before being warped into the castle, and, despite his confusion, he yearned to have Tippi back so much that he talked himself into thinking that his Reclinatron 4500 chair had manipulating his very dreams and warped him to Tippi. After his defeat, Francis runs again, claiming he would simulate the battle on his computer to see what had kept him from winning.
After the player beats the game, Francis can be found in his fort again, in the same room his boss battle took place. Francis will show his greatest creation to them: Tiptron. However, because he is saving to buy Starship X-Naut Issue One, Francis asks for nine hundred and ninty-nine coins from the player to acquire it. After the player buys Tiptron, he reveals plans to build Tiptron MKII, an improvement on the original, though the player never sees its completion. Francis then orders a Meowmaid to fetch Nibble-Ums to fulfill his hunger before he begins his work. He also drops Tippi's "Francine" name at this point.
In addition to Starship X-Naut Issue One, Francis is a source of many other references to other Mario titles. As well as a Starship X-Naut TV show, there is a Starship X-Naut: Space Bloops videogame; another game is titled Larry Koopa: Zombie Heartbreaker, presumably starring Larry Koopa, which Francis was hoping to purchase. The Grodus Chronicles, another X-Naut-related television show was also mentioned, as was an anime featuring Tubba Blubba: The Blubbening. Francis owns several dolls of Princess Peach, Whacka, Petuni, Punio, Vivian, the Yoshi in all colors, a Bub-ulb and Pennington from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and he has posters of Petuni, Lady Bow and Bootler. On his shelf, players will also find multi-colored Yoshi Eggs next to the aforementioned dolls. Francis also wants an Excess Express train set, a Ms. Mowz doll with "real smooching action", a product called Cyborg Wart, a Magnus Von Grapple action figure, and a Tanooki Suit made with real Tanooki fur. Francis's game console collection includes a NES, an indigo GameCube, an SNES, a Nintendo 64, a Game Boy and a Virtual Boy on his shelf; lastly, if the player flips Mario into 3D, a large television screen with a Wii and a Wii Remote becomes visible.
In the Legacy of Chris Thorndyke, Francis decided to patch things up with Mario and has turned over a new leaf, and even that he recommended him to help Peach to battle the ongoing armadas of Bowser, so that way that she can't get kidnapped every so often and recommended as a good teacher in martial arts, especially with other masters that Mario has experience with, including that he has been playing a hack, namely "Super Mario RPG: Armageddon" created by DarkKefka and a mode of brutal mode of "Sonic Heroes", that has been made in Sonic Overtime and was founded in Gamebanana.com, since that he has a like to Sonic too, since that he has watched the Olympic Games, which he revealed what Bowser has done on his army, spreading a multitude of enemies, and he is also known to break the fourth wall, much like a certain merc with the mouth, a pink-haired girl of the Mane Six, and a certain banana brain of an elite squad.
And he is voiced by Ryan Reynolds in the English dub and Kappei Yamaguchi in the Japanese dub.