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"Ay-yi-yi, what a day. I gotta get a tow and unload these bananas."
Izzy Gomez, "Sunshine"

Izzy Gomez is an old Mexican tramp steamer. He delivers bananas from Puerto Grande to San Juan Bananas in Bigg City Port.

He speaks with a strong Mexican accent.

Biography

In Sunshine, he told Zorran and Zak about the Duchess by accident and the two left him without a tow. Later that day, Ten Cents asked him if he knew where Sunshine was and Izzy informed the switcher that Zorran had ran into Sunshine causing him to go into hiding. Ten Cents thanked him and went off.

In Warrior, he tried to sneak into port for free, but ended up running aground on newly laid rock foundations and almost capsized. Eventually, he was saved thanks to Ten Cents, Big Mac, Mighty Mo, Top Hat, Lord Stinker, and Warrior. The Coast Guard said that he would report Izzy for coming in without a tow, which meant a “hefty fine.”

In Ghosts, Izzy tried to take advantage of the thick winter fog to sneak into the port. His plan backfired, however, when he spotted the White Fleet in front of him and mistook them for ghosts. He ran aimlessly for a while before running into Zorran and originally was prepared to pay any towing charge the Z-Stack asked for.

Personality

Known to be very cheap, Izzy Gomez will often try to convince tugs to tow him into port for free or at least for a cut-price rate and is not above trying to sneak in against the law if he thinks he can get away with it. He is also a heavy sleeper and is described as both a sleepy tramper by Captain Star and "Sleepy Izzy" by O.J.

Despite these traits, Izzy has good in him. When he witnessed Sunshine's incident with Zorran, he was quick to point out that Zorran was at fault and not Sunshine, making him more of a rogue than a villain. He also makes clear the last thing he would want is for his cargo of bananas to be ruined.

Audio Files

Izzy's whistle is really Sunshine's in a lower pitch.

Livery

The bottom half of Izzy's hull is painted black with a red stripe above it, the top half is painted grey, with large patches of rust, his superstructure is painted white with a Mexican-flag styled green, orange, and white funnel, and he wears a brown sombrero.

Appearances

Episodes

Books and Annuals

Trivia

  • Izzy seems often towed by Warrior and calls him "Old Friend".
  • After production on TUGS ended, Izzy Gomez's model was used in Thomas & Friends where he makes several faceless cameos in Seasons 3-5. His sombrero and face were removed to make him look less characteristic.
    • Due to the fact that the model was never seen after Season 5, it can be assumed that it was destroyed during the transit back from Canada after Thomas and the Magic Railroad filming wrapped up.
  • On Salty's Lighthouse, Izzy was given an American accent, despite him keeping most of his Mexican features, including his sombero. This may have been done to avoid having a stereotypical Mexican character in the US segments. He also delivers fruit and vegetables and not just bananas.
  • Izzy carrying bananas and his inability to get a tow seems to be a play on a myth that carrying the fruit is a curse. This myth originated around the 1600-1700s when boats in the Caribbean that carried bananas went missing.
  • Aside from the intro, Izzy is only seen in port at a dock once (presumably paying his tow) during the opening montage of High Tide.
  • Only two facial expressions were ever made for Izzy.
  • He could be named after Portuguese-American immigrant, chef and restaurateur Izzy Gomez.


Quotes

""No tug, Izzy! That's illegal!"/"...and stupid!""
Zip and Zug to Izzy, Warrior
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