List of Ratchet & Clank characters

This is a list of characters from the Ratchet & Clank video game series. Ratchet & Clank is a series of platform video games developed by Insomniac Games and High Impact Games. The series features a large cast of characters voiced by veteran voice actors.

The series centers around the exploits of Ratchet (a bobcat-like creature known as a Lombax that is very handy with tools) and Clank (a diminutive sentient robot that befriends Ratchet) as they save the galaxy from several evil forces.

Main characters

Ratchet

Main article: Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank)

Ratchet is the main character of the Ratchet & Clank series of video games. In the English versions of the games, Ratchet is voiced by Mikey Kelley in the first Ratchet & Clank and by James Arnold Taylor in all the others. He is voiced by Makoto Tsumura in the Japanese versions of the games. Ratchet is a Lombax who was sent to Veldin from Fastoon by his father to save him from Emperor Percival Tachyon. The series begins as him just being a mechanic longing for adventure. His life changes when he meets the diminutive robot fugitive named Clank. From there on, he and the small robot begin to have many adventures.

Clank

Main article: Clank (Ratchet & Clank)

Protagonists

Alister Azimuth

The one of three Lombax left in Ratchet's Dimension before the events of A Crack in Time with Ratchet, Angela Cross and himself. He has silver, gray and red fur unlike Ratchet and Angela who have yellow and brown fur. He uses a double-headed wrench as a weapon. When Ratchet first encounters him, he mistakes him for a Hologuised assassin sent by Nefarious or Vorselon, but quickly realizes the truth. He was a close friend of Ratchet's late father, Kaden, remarking that Ratchet looks just like him. Azimuth is a rebel that has been causing trouble for Dr. Nefarious's troops. It is revealed in the game that Azimuth was indirectly responsible for Emperor Tachyon's rise to power and the death of Ratchet's parents, as he gave Tachyon full access to Lombax technology in the hopes that he would be able to help them. For his failure, he was forbidden to join the Lombaxes as they left to another dimension, and has lived in exile ever since. He hopes to harness the power of the Zoni and the Great Clock to travel back in time and stop these events from coming to pass, wanting to atone for his mistakes. Though Ratchet initially goes along with his plan, he changes his mind when Clank informs him that using the Great Clock as a time machine may destroy all of existence. Azimuth, is saddened by Ratchet's choice, of the universe over his own kind however, and leaves the two. He appears later after Ratchet and Clank defeat Dr. Nefarious, saving them from Nefarious' crashing ship. He takes them to the Great Clock, and is angered when Ratchet again, decides to simply walk away from the chance to save his people. Azimuth loses his temper and kills Ratchet by striking him in the chest with his wrench staff, he then races Clank to the Clock and is locked out by Clank, who then manages to resurrect Ratchet by rewinding time by six minutes and pushing Ratchet out of the way. Despite the duo's best efforts, Azimuth opens a time rift in an attempt to prevent Tachyon's attack on Fastoon, but the Clock instead begins to break down, unable to handle the strain of such a massive shift. Realizing his mistake, Azimuth shuts down the machine just as it melts down, sacrificing himself in the process. His lifeless body is then seen on the floor of the clock and his pocket watch, now broken and not working, was taken by Ratchet, who is one of only two Lombaxes left in the dimension, the other being Angela Cross.

Voiced by Joey D'Auria (English)

Angela Cross (aka The Mysterious Thief)

Angela was formerly an employee for Megacorp's genetics division, but quit over the lack of testing on a new project to create an artificial pet. Not allowed to correct its flaws (namely, its large appetite and savage nature), Angela disguised herself and stole the prototype creature. However, Megacorp recruited Ratchet to get it back from her, so she hired the mercenary/crime organization Thugs-4-Less to protect her, and tried to get Ratchet out of the way using his partner Clank as bait. Unfortunately, both tactics failed, and when Thugs-4-Less was bought out of their contract by a third party, Angela was forced into talking Ratchet and Clank into helping her stop Megacorp from releasing the still-highly dangerous Protopet all over the galaxy. A news radio broadcast in a Crack in Time confirms Angela's species as a Lombax, claiming that female Lombaxes do not have tails and that she fled the galaxy in Max Apogee's ship during the earlier phases of Percival Tachyon's plot to eliminate the remaining Lombaxes and had been missing for 3 years. Making her one of two Lombaxes left in Ratchet's Dimension with only Ratchet and herself after Alister Azimuth's death. In a Full Moon Show Podcast they stated they may bring her back if Insomniac make another Ratchet & Clank game. She appeared in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and was mentioned in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

Voiced by Kath Soucie (English), Yuki Masuda (Japanese)

Big Al

A recurring character. He originally supplied Clank with the Heli-Pack in Ratchet & Clank. Big Al is chosen for the Q-Force in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal for his mastery of electronics. He often baffles Ratchet with his techno-speak and has to get Clank to "translate" for him since Clank also speaks "Nerd". He is the stereotypical computer geek with interests in electronics and all things Qwark. He has two siblings, Bob and Ed(wina), who, like him, own "RoboShacks". When a certain point is reached in the third game, Al can be heard accidentally professing his love for Helga over the intercom at the Phoenix. During the events of Ratchet: Deadlocked, he was shot and critically injured by Ace Hardlight for deactivating the Deadlock collars, and had to get extensive cybernetic repairs, including a robotic eye and arm. At the end of Ratchet: Deadlocked, Al became the leader of the "Ratchet Fan Club", which also included the three kids from the Dreadzone commercials and tests, Vernon, Eugiene and Lucy and later the two Combat Bots Merc and Green. He is mentioned in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction where Ratchet, during their exploration of Sargasso, tells Clank that he's going to have Al check on him. He was also heard on space radio in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

Voiced by Chris Hatfield (English), Yasuhiro Takato (Japanese).

Captain Qwark

Captain Qwark is a selfish, deluded coward willing to do daring acts in order to gain money and publicity. He also has been known to temporarily side with the villains and betray his allies in order to save himself. However, as of the end of the third game, he has become much more moral, though he still remains a coward. He is voiced by Jim Ward in the English version of the series and by Kenji Nomura in the Japanese version.

Qwark got his initial superhero status by saving Blackwater City from an amoeboid invasion led by Dr. Nefarious. In the process, Qwark also used Nefarious' own machine. Nefarious vowed to one day get revenge on Qwark, but years went by and it never happened. Qwark then, after getting paid a huge check for his saving of Blackwater City, retired from the superhero business and only sought wisdom. He eventually stopped being home after depression hit and became a superhero once more.

In Ratchet & Clank, he was Drek's secret henchman. Despite being known as a hero, he was being paid money to be Drek's spokesperson of his new artificial planet and took advantage of the offer. Drek noticed Ratchet and Clank's interference with his plans, so had Qwark trick them into a battle with the Blargian Snagglebeast on a training death course. Ratchet and Clank still defeated the monster and survived the death course. Drek was upset with Qwark's failure and ordered Qwark to personally eliminate the duo in a spacefight or he would be fired. Qwark failed again and after being fired, went to try making money selling gadgets as a fake alias "Steve McQwark" (claiming the defective gadgets to be Gadgetron products), such as the Personal Delivery Assistant, which could be used to purchase ammo anywhere away from a Gadgetron vendor, and most notably a device called a "Personal Hygenator".

In Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Qwark served as the surprise main antagonist. He used his "Steve" alias and attempted to make bolts off his Personal Hygenators. The device caused itching pains for its users and alerted authorities to his scam. Qwark was charged 6 billion bolts in fines to the purchasers, but Qwark was unable to pay the fine and when he tried to flee to Pokitaru, was sent to galactic prison, but escaped by flushing himself down one of the toilets in the prison.

Afterwards, Qwark was assumed lost or dead by authorities. With nobody on his tail, Qwark secretly kidnapped Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the president of the MegaCorp company, and disguised himself as Fizzwidget. Qwark, as Fizzwidget, then hired Ratchet and Clank to retrieve the MegaCorp main Protopet, which was stolen by Angela Cross.Then, Qwark would record himself on TV destroying the Protopets by destroying the main one linked to all the others, thus saving the galaxy and regaining his title as galactic hero. Qwark also planned on placing the blame of the Protopets' destructive nature on Ratchet and Clank.

His plans ultimately failed when he tried to press the button to destroy the lead Protopet. The batteries of the device used to do so were in backwards, and instead it mutated the Protopet into a giant Protopet. The giant Protopet ate Captain Qwark and the device. Ratchet and Clank managed to defeat the giant Protopet which resulted in Qwark and the device being released. Angela Cross then took the device and fixed it so she could fix all of the Protopets. Qwark was then sentenced to take part in the MegaCorp testing facility's painful new "Crotchitizer" invention as punishment for his crimes.

In Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Qwark fled to the Florana jungles after leaving the MegaCorp testing facility. He had gone mad and forgotten everything previous to joining the monkeys there. Ratchet and Clank had heard he previously had defeated Dr. Nefarious and were sent by the galactic president to search Florana for him. They captured Qwark and brought him aboard the Starship Phoenix, where Ratchet and Clank played Qwark's vid-comics to refresh his memory.

Once remembering his past life, Qwark was assigned as leader of the Starship Phoenix by the galactic president in the task of taking down Dr. Nefarious again, who had returned and was seeking to turn the whole universe into robots. Qwark mainly sent Ratchet and Clank out to do all the dangerous work while he sat around and took all the credit.

Ratchet and Clank eventually found out that Nefarious was aboard a starship called the Leviathan. The duo went with Qwark and Scrunch to confront the villain. Nefarious had turned out to have tricked them and ordered his butler, Lawrence, to teleport him off the Leviathan as he activated the self-destruct system. Qwark elected to stay behind because he said he saw something important. The ship blew up and it was assumed that Qwark died with the Leviathan.

In reality, Qwark had faked his death so he could stop helping the defeat of Nefarious and instead could retreat to his house to live a lazy life of eating and watching TV. Ratchet and Clank found him and were frustrated with his cowardice, but he still refused to help. Shockingly, in the final battle against Nefarious, Qwark returned in his starship to help defeat him.

In Ratchet: Deadlocked, Qwark plays an minor role and only appears as a voice over at the end claiming that the whole hero-kidnapping business was rubbish as no one ever tried to kidnap him, as Ratchet and his friends escape from the ruins of the Colosseum.

In Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Qwark began following Ratchet and Clank to see what they were doing in hopes of joining them in their next adventure. Ratchet and Clank agreed to let Qwark use their ship's computer to research his family history in return for him leaving them alone. Qwark found that his dad was Emperor Otto Destruct of the Technomites, who was planning to make himself big and begin getting credit for all the work he did. After Ratchet and Clank defeated Otto, however, Qwark discovered he was wrong and his parents were killed by defective Technomite technology. He put Otto in Otto's Intelligence Machine, planned to use to trade his intelligence with Otto's intelligence. Otto used his shrink device to shrink Qwark before it happened, but because of that, was given the intelligence of Skrunch the monkey instead of Qwark. Tiny Qwark was taken to Ratchet and Clank's apartment where they kept him hostage there. In the following games, Qwark has somehow returned to normal size.

In Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Qwark sends a distress call to Ratchet and Clank after he is attacked by Emperor Tachyon's forces. Though he appears to side with Tachyon, he is in fact working as a double agent, helping Ratchet and Clank from behind the scenes. He later attempts to destroy the Dimensionator, but only ends up accidentally giving Tachyon the device. He is present when the Zoni kidnap Clank.

In Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, he actively assists Ratchet in rescuing Clank from Dr. Nefarious at various points throughout the game. First he accompanies Ratchet through an early portion of the story, breaking down otherwise impassable doors and obstacles. He was soon captured by the evil Lord Vorselon and taken to his warship along with a large group of aliens called Fongoids. Soon, Ratchet confronts Vorselon and frees Qwark and the Fongoids, who leave the ship using an escape pod. Later on, Ratchet finds him at the Battleplex, where they team up to take on the War Grok; After Ratchet defeats it, The announcer demands they kill it. Qwark delivers a heartfelt speech about heroics, which changes the attitude of the crowd, and they spare the War Grok; Qwark then decides to keep it as a pet, naming it Snowball. After that, Quark goes undercover as "Nurse Shannon" and infiltrates Nefarious' base. A newly-reunited Ratchet and Clank soon show up and together the three fight through waves of enemies, though eventually get captured by several robots and Ratchet and Clank are thrown into space. Later, Qwark and Snowball are seen fighting Nefarious' troops while Ratchet and Clank go to confront Nefarious. After the game, a cutscene reveals Qwark and Snowball flowing through space on a small asteroid, ending with Snowball becoming hungry and presumably eating Qwark off-screen.

The upcoming comic book mini-series reveals Qwark survived and has become the new Galactic President of Polaris. He calls Ratchet and Clank to investigate the disappearance of several planets.

Conception and creation

Captain Qwark was a late addition in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando; halfway through production of the game, the development team, having missed the character, shoehorned him into the game with a series of vignettes before making him the main villain of the game.^[1]

Reception

In his review of Ratchet & Clank, Gavin Frankle of Allgame stated that Captain Qwark's scenes (along with Chairman Drek's) proved to be more entertaining than those of the main characters.^[2] Jeremy Dunham of IGN described Qwark as a "pretty hysterical" character.

Plumber

The Plumber is somewhat of a staple in the Ratchet & Clank series. He always appears with his rear end sticking out whatever he is working on ("Look, plumber's crack", "Hey, I know those pants", "Whoa, déjà vu!", and "AAAGH!"). Insomniac Games brought back the 'mining' system from Going Commando into Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, because the Plumber sets a task in which if the player finds any Sewer Crystals in the Aquatos Sewers and brings them to him (they are fresh from the bowels of the King Ameboids), he will "pay you for 'em in bolts", since he's "making something special for the missus". Also, in Going Commando, he mentioned something along the lines of, "See you in another year or so..." He doesn't appear in Ratchet: Deadlocked because, as the message at the end of the credits says, he was not able to appear in that game due to a "sump pump emergency in the Rygylian Nebula" he was assigned to. The Plumber appears, but does not speak, in part of a dream-state world within Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. He returns in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. He now wears glasses, which explains the line, "Almost didn't recognize ya in high def" (a reference to the improved high definition graphics of the game). He also appears in Secret Agent Clank to fix the showers at the prison in which Ratchet is incarcerated, returning them to their typical freezing cold temperature. He then appears once again in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time in Clank's memory banks. When Clank shows up, The Plumber states that he "must've taken a wrong turn somewhere" and mistook it for Qwark's mind because of the "emptiness". He also gave advice to Clank when he says "I wouldn't risk anymore than six minutes." At the end of the game "Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time" Clank is forced to decide whether to save Ratchet by reversing time using the Great Clock or not risking the destroying the universe. He then remembers the Plumber's words.

Voiced by Neil Flynn (English), Jess Harnell (English)

Kaden

Kaden was the father of Ratchet and the keeper of the Dimensionator. When the Lombaxes were driven to use the device to escape to another dimension following Percival Tachyon's overrunning of Fastoon, Kaden refused to follow them in order to protect the device. He, along with his infant son Ratchet, his friend Alister Azimuth and the only known female Lombax to escape, Angela Cross, managed to escape Tachyon's ravaging of Fastoon. It is believed that all Lombaxes who remained in Ratchet's dimension were hunted down and killed by Tachyon, including Kaden. Among any Lombaxes that remained in Kaden's dimension and survived Tachyon hunting the remaining Lombaxes down was Kaden's son, Ratchet, who would later avenge his father.

Skidd McMarxx

Skidd McMarxx (also spelled Skid McMarx) is a recurring character. Codename: Shadowdude, he is a professional hoverboarder. In Ratchet & Clank he lets Ratchet take his place in a big hoverboard race after Ratchet clears a path to his ship by defeating all the Sand Sharks.. Chosen for the Q-Force for his "nerves of steel" in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, despite chickening out and letting Ratchet do the work. He is a skateboarder/surfer dude archetype with a laidback attitude. Later on in Up Your Arsenal, he gets kidnapped by Courtney Gears and is taken to Obani Draco—where he was used as a test dummy for the Biobliterator test and turned into a robot. How he was changed back from his robot state at the end of the game is not revealed, but earlier on in Up Your Arsenal, Big Al said that it may be possible to reverse the transformation. He is, however, seen back to normal watching the Secret Agent Clank movie in the ending cinematic. Following Up Your Arsenal Skidd was picked up by Courtney Gears' old record label.^[3] Despite being shown as a coward, Skidd accompanies the player on missions twice, and is shown wanting to join the second mission, much to Ratchet's chagrin.

Voiced by Neil Flynn (English), Wataru Takagi (Japanese).

Helga von Streissenburgen

Another recurring character. She sold Ratchet the Swingshot gadget in Ratchet & Clank, although she was supposed to give it to them for free. She made Ratchet run a fitness course and pay bolts to get it because she stated Ratchet's completion as "the most pathetic display she has ever seen". Helga was chosen for her "sensual powers of seduction" in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, which is ironic since she is Captain Qwark's portly, brutish fitness trainer with a heavy German accent. She often thinks of Ratchet as a weakling due to his comparatively short height. Despite her tough appearance, she showed genuine sadness when Qwark "died", stating "Und... we vould frollock in ze fitness course... under ze wee hours of za morning!" Her last name is revealed in a promotional poster for Tools of Destruction.

Douglass C. Perry of IGN commented positively in the "quirkier" voices in the supporting cast of Ratchet & Clank and cited Helga (describing her as "the weird athletic woman at the end of the stunt course") as an example.^[4]

Voiced by Mona Marshall (English), Kujira (Japanese).

Orvus

The unique Zoni who created the Great Clock, who appears in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. He is revealed in game to be Clank's "father", being responsible for Clank's possession of a soul, and he wants to pass on his duties of the keeper of the Great Clock to his "son", though he nonetheless wishes that Clank do whatever makes him happy. His laugh is near-identical to Clank's.

Voiced by Charles Martinet (English).

Skrunch

Captain Qwark's cycloptic monkey sidekick. Being a monkey, he loves bananas. He's also seen running around the Starship Phoenix's bridge, where the player can hit him with the wrench to attain a skill point. Skrunch joins Clank during some of Clank's missions in Up Your Arsenal to activate out of range buttons or distract powerful enemies and is a gunner for Ratchet on Tyrranosis. Skrunch also makes an appearance in Size Matters in which he appears on an odd spaceship two times. The first time he appears he speaks to Clank on Metalis and another at the end of the game on Quadrona.

Voiced by Jim Ward (English), Shirō Saitō (Japanese).

Sasha Phyronix

She was the captain of the Starship Phoenix during the event of Up Your Arsenal, she is a Cazar and the daughter of the Galactic President. In Deadlocked she was elected Mayor of Metropolis, letting Ratchet take her place as captain.

Voiced by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (English), Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese).

Talwyn Apogee

She first appears in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Talwyn is a Markazian and the daughter of Max Apogee, a famous explorer who was collecting artifacts from the Lombax culture and hid the Dimensionator before his disappearance. She has a space station in the Nundac asteroid ring. One of her warbots tell security to attack Ratchet but once Talwyn finds out who Ratchet is and what he is doing, she and her two warbots Cronk and Zephyr help him to find the dimensionator and defeat Emperor Tachyon. In Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty she helps Ratchet search for Clank. Unlike the other sidekicks in the game Talwyn and her warbots actually help Ratchet substantially during combat. She does not physically appear in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, but is mentioned on the radio twice. First in the Vela Sector on the "Deep Space Jams" channel. The announcer says:"Here's a dedication from a foxy young thing named Talwyn:"Ratchet, please be safe and come home soon." You heard the lady. And now here's the next tune." The second mention is on the "Pirate Radio" channel in the Korthos Sector, where she dedicates a song to Ratchet, with the DJs, Captain Slag and his sidekick Rusty Pete, then reminiscing about how they tried to kill them both in the past. She is also mentioned by Ratchet at the beginning of the game before he crashes on the Fongoid homeworld. Additionally, she appears on screens within Clank's subconscious. Talwyn returns in the comic book series.

Voiced by Tara Strong (English) and Nami Kurokawa (Japanese).

Antagonists

Chairman Drek

Chairman Drek, eventually retitled to Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek, was a Blarg native to planet Orxon and leader of the Blarg. He was the main antagonist in Ratchet & Clank, where he hatched a plan to make large sums of money. He hid this intent under the pretense that he was responding to the pollution of his own homeworld, which he had purposefully caused himself. Ratchet and Clank, on their first adventure together, set out to save the Solana Galaxy from the chairman's master plan.

As a Blarg from Orxon, Drek's success as a businessman quickly led him to the status of chairman of his race. However, driven by greed, he launched a scheme that first involved anonymously polluting his own homeworld. Then invading the other planets of the Solana Galaxy to extract their choicest planetary components, which he would then use to assemble a new planet for the Blarg. This way, Drek would coin tremendous amounts of cash when his own species filled his pockets with bolts by paying to inhabit the new planet. On Veldin, he revealed to Ratchet and Clank that he planned to start the process all over again to make more bolts. While it could have already been deduced from the earliest stages of Ratchet & Clank that Drek had immense supplies of Blarg Troopers and such at his side, led by the Robot Lieutenant, it was only until Ratchet and Clank reached the end of Captain Qwark's gauntlet on planet Umbris that they realized that Drek had rallied the so-called superhero at his side. On this planet, Qwark revealed his alliance with the Chairman, explaining that the latter had promised him the role of "official spokesperson" for the new Blargian planet - a promise that, beyond Qwark's realization, could never be kept. However, Captain Qwark's worth in Drek's eye lessened when the former's Blargian Snagglebeast was not able to defeat Ratchet and Clank. Nevertheless, the Chairman offered Qwark another chance to be his spokesman, but warned him to give better results. He ordered Qwark to intercept and shoot down the duo at the Gemlik Moonbase by using his personal starfighter, claiming that the Captain was "too washed-up for ground combat" and placing more trust in his aerial combat skills. If he failed, Drek would cancel their endorsement deal, which painted Qwark as the superhero he was not. However, with the Pilot's Helmet that he had found on planet Gaspar, the Lombax and his sidekick took control of a nearby Blarg ship and shot down Captain Qwark, who crashed on the surface of planet Oltanis, marking the end of his allegiance to Drek. Once Drek's new planet was completed, he declared that the final step necessitated before commencing its inhabitation was to place it in the ideal orbit. At the Bomb Factory at planet Hoven, he organized the construction of the PlanetBuster Maximus, which had for purpose to obliterate the planet that already occupied that ideal orbit. Unfortunately for the Chairman, Ratchet and Clank once again managed to stifle his efforts by destroying the PlanetBuster while it was leaving the planet. Oblivious, Drek then led the creation of the Deplanetizer and announced through HoloVision that it would be used to destroy planet Veldin, which was the planet that currently occupied the chosen orbit for his new Blargian planet. After learning this from Clank's 'mom' on Quartu, Ratchet and Clank rushed to Drek's Fleet to obtain the coordinates of the whereabouts of the Deplanetizer on Veldin. Ultimately, they met Drek, who had donned a giant mech-suit, and were battling him at the Kyzil Plateau. Drek was defeated on the Deplanetizer's platform, propelling him across space and crashing into his own constructed planet. The superweapon, at which point flipped, was then used to destroy his planet.

Reception

In his review of Ratchet & Clank, Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot compared Chairman Drek, an "evil corporate suit who ... is the leader of a dead, polluted world", to the antagonistic President Skroob in the film Spaceballs.^[5] Gavin Frankle of Allgame stated that Chairman Drek's scenes (along with Captain Qwark's) proved to be more entertaining than those of the main characters.^[2] Nich Maragos of 1UP.com noted that the final boss fight against Chairman Drek was "overly punishing".^[6]

Robot Lieutenant

The secondary villain of Ratchet & Clank and Drek's second-in-command. He is first seen reporting to Drek via video screen from Eudora where he led the operation of cutting down all the trees for Dreks new planet. Ratchet and Clank soon confronted him. Clank prepares to fight him, but he runs off when he sees Ratchet, ready to attack (Although Ratchet says that Clank was the one to scare him off). The robot lieutenant left behind an infobot. He also appears in one other cutscene in the game, pointing a large gun at a Blarg scientist. He is voiced by Yūji Kishi in the Japanese version of the game.

Thug Leader

A secondary antagonist in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, the Thug Leader is the boss of Thugs-4-Less. His name is never revealed. He has a low intelligence, and will do just about anything for the right price. He is defeated for the last time in third battle against him on "Planet Snivelak" and revealed to have been imprisoned. He took his revenge on a framed Ratchet in Secret Agent Clank, although he reminds him of their first fight on Endako rather than their last battle on Snivelak (he even states it as the "last time they met"), but the two did not battle, instead the Thug Leader ordered his troops to destroy the Lombax.

Voiced by Steven Jay Blum (English), Jin Yamanoi (Japanese).

Mutant Protopet

The Mutant Protopet is the final boss in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. It is the original Protopet created by Captain Qwark and mutated to the point that it is about 100 times larger and much more vicious than its descendants. It swallows Quark immediately after its accidental creation, only to regurgitate him following its defeat at the hands of Ratchet, reverting to its original size afterwards.

Reception

Nich Maragos of 1UP.com noted that the final boss fight against the Protopet was "a pushover".^[6]

Doctor Nefarious

Doctor Nefarious is the main antagonist of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Adding to those two games, he has several cameo appearances in the games following Up Your Arsenal, and a mention in Secret Agent Clank, becoming the most recurring antagonist. He is a stereotypical robotic mad scientist who has a hatred for all organic life forms (or "squishies", as he calls them), despite formerly being one himself.

Dr. Nefarious and Captain Qwark have a deep history, which is chronicalled in Up Your Arsenal through a series of interactive "vid-comics". Dr. Nefarious (then an organic) first appeared when he created an army of Amoeboids to infest Blackwater City and destroy all life. After fending off the Amoeboids, Qwark traced Nefarious to a robot factory on planet Magmos and cornered the villain. Upon meeting him, Qwark recognized Nefarious as one of the kids he bullied and humiliated in high school (though according to Nefarious, Qwark was three times his size and 26 years old in 9th grade Biology). As Qwark tried to give him a wedgie "for old times' sake", Nefarious fell off his catwalk and crashed into the machinery below, which ultimately led to his transformation into a robot.

His plan in Up Your Arsenal was to use the Biobliterator, a doomsday device that turns all organic life into robots, to convert all under his "benevolent, iron-fisted rule". In the end, he ended up getting stuck on an asteroid with his servant Lawrence, unable to get out of their location (due to Nefarious not bothering to specify a destination when teleporting away and due to the asteroid being well out of range of anywhere, leaving him stuck there for 5 to 10,000 years, according to Lawrence, so all Nefarious could do was dwell on his failure). He has a strange habit of overloading in times of extreme stress (i.e. when he screams or laughs maniacally), causing him to freeze up and pick up random signals of a soap opera in his head. The only way to snap him out of it is to smack him heavily over the head, which Lawrence calls "the best part of his day". It is apparent that Doctor Nefarious does not realize he does this, since he continues screaming or laughing afterwards as if it never happened.

How this habit originated is revealed later on in the third game following completion of the fifth Qwark Vid-Comic; it is possible that Lawrence's repairs to him first caused this, there were plans to get it fixed but it never happened. Early on in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, it is also revealed that Nefarious is (or was) Clank's biggest fan, thinking that the Secret Agent Clank series are real. He does not appear to be very quick-witted, and his genius is commonly questioned by his stupid actions. He does not seem to realize it when Lawrence subtly insults him regularly ("If anyone can beat a moron at his own game, it's you sir." or "Even drooling imbeciles can achieve greatness in certain fields, sir. Mad science, for example." or "You put the 'wit' in 'twit,' sir.") He is clearly not proud of this.

He makes a cameo appearance in Ratchet: Deadlocked alongside Lawrence (who is dressed as a punk rocker with his Bass guitar) still stuck on the same asteroid only to arrive at the ruins of the DreadZone Station. He scorns Lawrence twice at the end of the game, reminding him that he said they were "coming within range of a space station", which Lawrence questions "How was I to know it would suddenly explode?" It is hinted in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction that he is currently in the Imperial Fight Festival on Mukow. His wallet has turned up in lost property, a possible hint that he came upon that planet (in fact, it is soon revealed in A Crack in Time that he came upon Zanifar). He appears at the end of Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, where it is revealed that the Zoni hired him to "repair" Clank. He serves as the antagonist in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, where, having put his vendetta on organic life-forms on hold, he plans to use the Great Clock to alter history so that the villains always defeat the heroes (unaware of the fact that the Clock is only meant to keep time, not alter it, meaning his plan would result in the Universe's destruction); in the process, his face is damaged by a time traveling Ratchet, leaving a large scar-like crack across his eye and the right side of his head, in addition to having his right eye knocked loose. In the end, he is again defeated by Ratchet and Clank, and fell screaming to his ships surface. He then got up and began malfunctioning more than ever before due to the damage he sustained. As the ship they were on came closer to crashing, Ratchet grabbed Nefarious and urged him to tell him how to shut down the auto-pilot. The doctor would not respond, and his eyes continued to spin in circles. Ratchet smacked Nefarious to try and snap him out of it, but this merely caused the doctor to get up and dance to a yodoling tune in his brain's signal. Nefarious then collapsed completely, as Lawrence took the escape pod, which left Ratchet, Clank, and Nefarious on the saucer. Ratchet & Clank were then, however, rescued by Azimuth. Unbeknownst to anyone at the moment, Lawrence teleported Nefarious' body away, just before the ship crashed. The saucer then collided with Space Station, destroying the Nefarious Space Station (in a similar way to Nefarious' scarring from the past) and ending Nefarious' evil plot once again, forcing the two to retreat. During the credits, it is revealed that he and Lawrence were not found. In the comic book mini-series, President Qwark explains that Nefarious was teleported by Lawrence before the collision, and is still at large.

Doctor Nefarious is a playable character in the game Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One.

Voiced by Armin Shimerman in the English version of the series and by Fubito Yamano in the Japanese version.

Reception

Johnny Liu of Game Revolution said that Doctor Nefarious' "psychotic babbling [...] strikes the right balance between threatening and comical".^[7]

Lawrence

Lawrence is Doctor Nefarious' robotic butler, noticeably similar to the character Jeeves. His duties usually consist of "dirty laundry and what not", along with other menial tasks. He has a clear dislike for his boss, often pummeling him with subtle insults ("If anyone can beat a moron at his own game, it's you, sir," "Even drooling imbeciles can achieve greatness in certain fields, sir. Mad science, for example," "You put the 'wit' in 'twit,'") or purposely doing a bad job ("Oh dear. That was your audition for Galactic Idol, wasn't it? My mistake, sir. Dreadfully sorry." "Sir, it's nearly time for my (guitar) solo"), though he seems to be scornful of essentially most around him (he cites the elimination of the Q-Force as a favor to the fashion world). Yet Nefarious, who either cannot fend for himself or does not catch on to Lawrence's true nature, still keeps him by his side. His hobbies include playing the bass guitar, in which his status as a guitar player is revealed just before the final battle against the Biobliterator-bot. His apparent favorite song to play is called "Bass Odyssey". Right before Nefarious' Space Station blew up, Lawrence takes the escape pod and leaves. His fate after that is unclear.

Voiced by Michael Bell (English), Nobuaki Fukuda (Japanese).

Courtney Gears

A clear spinoff to Britney Spears, Courtney Gears is a female pop star robot who occasionally gives out prizes on the Solana Galaxy's favorite show, Annihilation Nation. Her music and videos are popular in the Solana Galaxy. As Ratchet tells Clank, Courtney is famous for her physical appearance rather than her singing voice ("She's not the hottest pop star in the galaxy because of her singing."). Courtney is in league with Doctor Nefarious. She is interested in Clank and the star power she can gain from playing a role on his Secret Agent Clank series. At Holostar Studios, she knocks Clank out and kidnaps him for Doctor Nefarious, whom she is apparently in love with (possibly because of his idea of robot freedom). When Skidd gets himself kidnapped, Ratchet travels to Obani Draco and defeats Courtney in direct combat. Surprisingly, she survives her injuries, and according to the announcers in Ratchet: Deadlocked, she made a "miraculous recovery after her attack by two psychotic fans" (while a picture of Ratchet and Clank appear with weird facial expressions added).^[3] Courtney appears in the Reactor: Introspective cinematic, revealed to be Reactor's girlfriend. Courtney dumped him because of his pathetic High School math teacher persona, but she ran back to Reactor as soon as he was a "homicidal popstar". She is also seen in on a sreen at the supercomputer IRIS. She reappears in Secret Agent Clank, though with her design completely changed to fit the spy theming as well as to fit the casino theme of the Les Paradis des Trechiurs Casino. She is voiced by Melissa Disney in the English version of the series and by Chigusa Ikeda in the Japanese version.

Reception

Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot praised Courtney Gears' music video sequence as "a spot-on parody of recent pop music", citing the video's "synchronized dance moves", "epic pop production" and "incredible devotion to extreme overuse of an autotuner".^[8]

Klunk

Klunk is a doppelgänger of Clank that Doctor Nefarious uses to learn what Ratchet and the Q-Force are planning. Klunk's eyes are naturally red, but turn green when in disguise as Clank, then reverting to red whenever he does anything other than impersonating Clank. When Ratchet goes to Metropolis, he finds out that Klunk is not Clank and that Clank has been captured by Nefarious. Ratchet then fights Giant Klunk on a hovertrain, defeats him, and rescues Clank. Klunk is a very mean-spirited little robot. When the Q-force thought Captain Qwark was dead, and were each saying a few words about him, Klunk went as far as to say, "What a load of bullsh..." (comically interrupted by Ratchet). In the final boss battle while chasing after Nefarious the field is rittled with parts from robots, one of which is a cracked and somewhat rusted old head resembling giant Klunk's/Clank's this is arguable due to the fact that they look exactly alike. Since his first encounter with the heroic duo, he found work making high-tech toilet seats, and promptly quit upon hearing about Otto Destruct's defeat.

There was some debate whether or not he appeared in Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. During the dream world two identical doors appear where Clank emerges from the door on the left lamenting about a bad decision he made previously. In the other doorway another robot with glowing red eyes, said to probably be Klunk, appears, tempting Ratchet to follow him into that doorway. However during that cinematic, Ratchet chooses the door with the true Clank and the other robot is never seen again.

Klunk is later revealed to be the main villain in Secret Agent Clank (it is noticeable that here, he sports a goatee), where he frames Ratchet by using a mind control helmet for a crime he did not commit, and he poses as Clank in order to stop Ratchet, making himself look like a hero. He was foiled by Clank and Captain Qwark, and was turned into a vacuum Ratchet uses to clean up his home, but his eyes blink and glow, hinting he may return. A Klunk skin may be purchased in Secret Agent Clank for two Titanium Bolts.

He is referenced to in A Crack in Time, in which a bit of Galactic Trivia states that the Tombli Outpost was originally meant to be a memorial place for him, this was, however, only a joke.

Voiced by David Kaye (English).

Gleeman Vox

Gleeman Vox was the primary antagonist of Ratchet: Deadlocked. He kidnaps Ratchet, Clank and Al for his reality show DreadZone, where heroes must participate in life-threatening challenges or else risk certain death—since all "contestants" are fitted with "Deadlock Collars" that will detonate at Vox's command. He is completely obsessed with the ratings of DreadZone and marketing of Ace Hardlight products. He is finally defeated when after his battle against Ratchet, he blows up the DreadZone Station with Ratchet, Merc, Green, and himself on it. He does this because he truly believes that this is the greatest Ratings Booster that he can achieve. But as he activates the remote detonator, the last hovership lands to carry Ratchet, Merc, Green, Slugha (Vox's pet) to safety, leaving Vox behind at the station to get blown apart in the very explosion that he initiated, and Vox was killed. After the credits, Vox's robotic arm is shown floating in space.

Voiced by Michael Bell (English), Naomi Kusumi (Japanese).

Emperor Otto Destruct

Emperor Otto Destruct is the main antagonist of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. He told his subjects that he was enraged in how people paid no respect to technomites, the very creatures that made technology possible. However, his true intentions were purely based on power hunger. Originally, he had created defective technology which killed Qwark's parents. He also sent a fake e-mail to Qwark so Qwark thought that he was his real father. Otto's ultimate creation was a device which could transfer another creature's brain cells into him, but before Captain Qwark could use it as revenge (Qwark did not know how it works, nor its effects, although he did not care what would happen), his pet monkey Skrunch interfered, resulting in Otto having a monkey mind, to which Clank humorously states that Skrunch "just added another family member". His name is a play on "auto destruct."

Voiced by Jim Ward (English), Naoki Tatsuta (Japanese).

Luna

Luna is the secondary antagonist of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Initially introduced as a young, innocent girl doing a report on heroes who gets kidnapped early on by robots, Luna is in truth a robot herself, built by the Technomites as bait for Ratchet and Clank and to capture footage of their actions. Normally speaking with a childish lisp as part of her disguise, she is capable of speaking in a normal adult female voice and then in a Technomite voice. She is later killed by Ratchet and Clank on Dayni Moon while using a farming vehicle to attempt to destroy them.

Voiced by Nicole Sullivan (English), Satomi Kōrogi (Japanese).

Emperor Percival Tachyon

Emperor Percival Tachyon is the main antagonist of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and is the last Cragmite bent on killing every Lombax, and as Ratchet is one of the last remaining Lombaxes in the universe, he is Tachyon's main target.^[9] It is revealed that the Lombaxes found his egg frozen and raised him, apparently out of pity. However, when he learned that the Lombaxes removed the other Cragmites from the universe, he built an army composed of drophyds large enough to defeat the Lombaxes. The Lombaxes were forced to escape to another dimension, but the last one, Ratchet's father, remained behind and was killed by Tachyon himself, though not before he sent Ratchet to the Solana Galaxy. According to Aphelion, Tachyon did not know the extent of the Cragmites' evil. After the final battle, the Dimensionator creates a singularity which absorbs Tachyon. A comical recurrence would be that Tachyon's crown or dimensionator was too big for him, always slipping down and forcing him to lift it up. In-game characters also mocks his size or his name. It was also revealed in A Crack in Time that he hunted down Angela Cross and Max Apogee.

Voiced by Andy Morris (English), Hiroshi Iwasaki (Japanese).

Captain Slag

Captain Romulus Slag is the secondary antagonist of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction who leads the Space Pirates of the Polaris Galaxy. He tends to enter scenes singing "pirate tunes" with Rusty Pete, his loyal first mate. His pirates, including himself pursues Ratchet and Clank while they are traveling to other planets which leads to dogfights. He is also after the "Lombax Secret" and is an enemy of Emperor Tachyon. Slag would battle Ratchet face to face only to be defeated and completely deactivated by him. Captain Slag again appears as the main villain along with Darkwater in Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty even though his body destroyed in Tools of Destruction. Rusty Pete carries around his head on a stick, which somehow revived Slag, and they actually help Ratchet on one of his early missions, but after finding Darkwater's body, Rusty Pete betrays Ratchet and completely revives Slag by putting his head into Darkwater's body, unleashing the curse and bringing Darkwater and his crew all back to life, however, as a result of the curse Slag and Darkwater had to share one body together. Slag and Darkwater are later defeated by Ratchet & Talwyn and no longer had Darkwater's body and was once again Slag-on-a-Stick, but is saved by Rusty Pete, Darkwater was seemingly destroyed, though. They were later seen stranded in the middle of the sea where Slag got mad and ordered Pete to row to the nearest island, apparently when they got to the island they made there way back to the radio station on Ardolis, where they joined a radio station called Pirate Radio to get money for Slag to, yet again, get another new body for him.

Voiced by Robin Atkin Downes (English), Katsuhisa Hōki (Japanese)

Rusty Pete

Rusty Pete is the first mate of Captain Slag. He refers to Slag as his best friend even though he is put through a lot of verbal abuse. Rusty Pete is a heavy alcoholic from his grog drinking and is probably constantly drunk because of this. In Quest for Booty Rusty Pete helps Ratchet and Talwyn to find Darkwater's body in Morrow Caverns only to betray them by connecting Slag's head to Darkwater's body. Before the pirate ship leaves he gives Ratchet two of his weapons to show "no hard feelings". He was last seen on a crate with Captain Slag's head being yelled at to row to shore. In A Crack in Time, He hosts the Pirate Radio station with Captain Slag. In the minigame "My Blaster Runs Hot" he can be played as the player two character.

Voiced by Wally Wingert (English).

Captain Darkwater

Captain Angstrom Darkwater is the co-antagonist of Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty. Ratchet searched for him after discovering that Darkwater had the key to Clank's location. Darkwater was the Space Pirate captain before Slag, who was formerly Darkwater's first mate until Slag overthrew Darkwater and beheaded him. After Pete puts Slag's head into Darkwater's body in an attempt to give Slag a new body, the "Curse of Darkwater" begins, bringing all of Slag, Darkwater and all of his deceased crewmates back from the dead and forcing Slag to share a body with Darkwater. Darkwater possessed the "Fulcrum Star" which is used to power the Obsidian Eye, and is used by Ratchet to locate Clank.

Voiced by Dave B. Mitchell (English), Jin Urayama (Japanese).

Flint Vorselon

Lord Flint Vorselon is the high-ranking commander of Dr. Nefarious in Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time. He is actually the floating head of a former Terraklon assassin in a jar connected to a robot body. Ratchet fought him a couple of times, although he later returned with a new body. Vorselon was sentenced for life in Zordoom Prison for kidnapping Kerchu Ambassador Boogoh, but he escaped. Later, he and his army also broke into Grummelnet HQ In Meridian City and stole the robotic suit, no one knows how a decapitated head was able to accomplish this. After Azimuth's defeat, Ratchet fought him a final time (all 40 Zoni must be collected to unlock this) and was believed to be killed. His ship activated its "Sore Loser Response" and blew up just after Ratchet and Clank escaped. The Insomniac Museum becomes unlocked after that.

Voiced by David Boat (English), Yasuhiro Mamiya (Japanese).

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia is one of the Valkyrie leaders who works for Nefarious in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. She is working with him so she can bring back the rest of her colony, which was destroyed by the Erebus supernova decades ago. She later kidnaps Clank and locks him in a glass shield. Ratchet finds out, and along with Alister Azimuth, sets out to rescue him in the Valkyrie Citadel on Vapedia. Ratchet battles his way through the Valkyrie training courses and a Valkyrie army before he finds Cassiopeia. Ratchet fights Cassiopeia to get Clank back. He destroys her aircraft and she falls into the planet to her apparent death, as Ratchet and Clank re-unite. Cassiopeia seems to be attracted to Nefarious (a common gag showing her seducing him), and was hinted to be his girlfriend. Nefarious also says,"This one's for Cassiopeia!" in the fight with him and she want to married Dr.Nefariours.

Voiced by Kathryn Cressida (English), Yukie Maeda (Japanese).

Commander Argos

Commander Argos is an Agorian leader, mostly known for his defeat of Fongoid Chief Zahn and destruction of Gimlick Valley on planet Morklon. When Ratchet and Clank learn about this event from a lone Fongoid on the planet, they use a time shift to travel back in time ten years ago and help the Fongoids defeat the Agorians. Angered, Argos proceeds to blow up the village's dam, but is defeated by Ratchet and Clank. Argos's humiliating defeat is reenacted ten years later.

Artemis Zogg

Artemis Zogg is a Markazian planet thief and former Polaris Minister of Defense, and the main villain of the comic book mini-series. Zogg is responsible for the disappearance of several planets in the Solana, Bogon, and Polaris galaxies, all to create his own "Artemis Galaxy", which he plans to rule with an iron first. Artemis Zogg was originally a kind, caring man that wanted the best for the galaxy, and designed the Helios Project, capable of teleporting entire planets to new places in space, in order to protect them from danger. After Tachyon and Nefarious's defeat, he ran for Galactic President and asked Captain Qwark, his hero, to help him sponsor his campaign. However, Qwark runs for office instead, winning, and humiliating Zogg. However, when Qwark's first order as President is to shut down Helios, Zogg is driven insane, and disappears with the project, only to return months later with a robotic army, stealing planets and taking them over, declaring himself ruler. He has an assistant named Vorn Grablak. Zogg, despite having a psychotic break, still cares about the well-being of the galaxy, and respects the heroic acts of Ratchet and Clank, imprisoning them in Vartax Detention Facility instead of killing them. At the same time, he is ruthless enough to enforce his rule, and teleports Veldin out of orbit in order to freeze it.

Creature Collector

Ephemeris, the Creature Collector is an interstellar machine built by Dr. Croid, to find his kidnapped pet, Mr. Dinkels. However, under orders of the Loki Master, it was reprogrammed by Dr. Nevo Binklemeyer to collect the most dangerous species in the galaxy. The story starts when Collector kidnaps Nefarious, Qwark, Ratchet, and Clank, and takes them to the planet Magnus.

The Loki Master

The Loki Master is the leader of the Loki, a race of malevolent spirits, and the main villain of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. Long ago, they were defeated by a Cragmite hero, but they managed to find their way to planet Magnus. There, the Loki Master possessed Dr. Croid's pet, Mr. Dinkels, and ordered Dr. Nevo Binklemeyer to reprogram Ephemeris collect the most dangerous species in the galaxy for his kind to possess. After Dr. Croid and Dr. Nevo expelled it from a Grivelnox's body, it tried to possess Qwark, but was swatted aside by Dr. Nefarious. Unable to find a host in time, the Loki Master died.

Other characters

The Galactic President

The president of the Solana Galaxy, and Captain Sasha's father. Like Doctor Nefarious, the President believes Clank really is Secret Agent Clank (a character that Clank plays in the TV show Secret Agent Clank), and believes Ratchet to be his mere chauffeur, as in the TV show. In the comic series, he is kidnapped by his former friend Artemis Zogg, and forced to work in his mines on Planet Zaurik. His voice is slightly reminiscent of Bill Clinton. He is voiced by Lindsay Schnebly in the English version of the game.

Reception

Jeremy Dunham of IGN and Johnny Liu of Game Revolution compared the Galactic President to Bill Clinton, with Dunham considering the President to be one of the more endearing characters of the game.^[10][7]

The Galactic Rangers

The Galactic Rangers are robots who fight alongside Ratchet in the battlefield missions throughout Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. They are often cowardly, preferring to let Ratchet take care of the enemies himself. In some missions (Mission 3 both at the Metropolis Battle and on Planet Aridia), they can be heard joking about previous missions over the radio. Also from the start of the game, the Rangers have mistaken Ratchet as their new sergeant and refer to him as "Sarge". During the final battle with Doctor Nefarious, the Galactic Rangers appear without a trace of their former cowardice and destroy some of the enemies in a few shots.

Voiced by Michael Bell and Chris Hatfield (English).

Merc

One of Ratchet's DreadZone combat robots, he is much more gung-ho and combat oriented compared to his partner, Green. He provides tips in multiplayer. He is completely trigger-happy, and looks for any excuse to blow something up. He is also heard to remark that he is afraid of heights. Later, he runs for leader of the Ratchet Fan Club along with Green, after working in Galaxy Burger.

Voiced by Phil Morris (English).

Green

The other of Ratchet's DreadZone combat robots. He was a rookie fresh out of Boot Camp when he took part in his first battle (where he says he got his legs blown off in a surprise attack). After that he mentioned he had a relationship with another robot while in the "hospital", who was reduced to a park bench after the relationship became known to the command staff- Green is no longer able to even look at one. He is traumatised by his experiences and is rather cowardly, although always dependable in a fight. Frequently on the final levels he will say that, if he does not make it out alive, he would like to say that it was an honour working with you. He was once a member of the Qwark Cadets, and is owed one badge for (naturally) marksmanship. Green was not created, but was actually result of a relationship- Merc describes him occasionally as "Just like your Momma". He later runs for the leader of the Ratchet Fan Club, along with Merc, after working in Galaxy Burger.On the cover for the Japanese version of the game, both Merc and Green have legs. This is because midway through development Insomniac decided to remove their legs for unknown reasons. They can be seen with legs in some early gameplay videos.

Voiced by Travis Davis (English).

Slim Cognito

Slim is a black market arms dealer that made his debut in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. In all of his appearances, he is always hiding behind a booth (presumably due to his reputation as a black market salesman), leaving only his eyes visible. In Going Commando, he traded weapon mods (Acid Mods, Shock Mods, & Lock-On Mods) for Platinum Bolts, and ship mods for Raritanium at his space station (the Ship Shack). Apparently in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, he had a run-in with the cops about a Suck Cannon upgrade that was mistakenly sold to a minor. He claimed that "the kid LOOKED eighteen". From then on, he is found in Planet Aquatos, selling Megacorp weapons from Going Commando (free for those who had a memory card from Going Commando with those weapons purchased). He is also present in several booths in different planets in Size Matters selling weapon mods. His name is a pun on "incognito".

He is also mentioned in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction as an inmate of Zordoom Prison, presumably for selling fake Lombax Flight Components, as mentioned earlier in the game.

Slim Cognito makes another appearance in Secret Agent Clank, where he gives Ratchet a code so that Clank can enter a high stakes room in Les Paradis des Trechuirs Casino. Slim was in Prison Planet (even though he was in Zordoom in Tools of Destruction. It is possible that he was transferred to Zordoom due to the continuing fights in Prison Planet) for selling black market merchandise to Ratchet in previous games he appeared in ("Seriously? After all the black market merchandise I've sold you... What do you think I'm doing here?"). The other inmates "wanted to see him expire for selling them shoddy merchandise", of which case, he tells Ratchet he would give him the code if Ratchet defended him from them ("Protect me from them and the code is yours.").

Voiced by: James Horan.

Dallas & Juanita

Dallas and Juanita are the announcers for DreadZone and reporters for Vox News. Dallas speaks in a sports announcer-like voice while Juanita speaks with a Hispanic lilt. Throughout the game they announce Ratchet's stint at DreadZone, while making him out as a villain on Vox News, nicknaming him "The Butcher of Bogon", normally using highly unflattering (and at times fraudulent) pictures and descriptions. Although Dallas will often complement Ratchet's performance, Juanita, the more sadistic and maniacal of the duo, insults him frequently and often hopes that Ratchet dies inevitably. Dallas constantly flirts with Juanita, (one time checking her out from behind while they were not on the air) to which she replies with insults and disgust. Dallas occasionally remarks that "sometimes he thinks he should have taken a job on Annihilation Nation", in reference to a similar combat show from Up your Arsenal. On the character epilogue it says that they have their own T.V show together. Their first episode was a fake wedding as a way of attracting viewers but Dallas swapped in a real Justice of the peace. They now both spend time together in blissful marriage life (with Juanita constantly trying to kill Dallas)

In the English version of the game, Dallas is voiced by Daran Norris while Juanita is voiced by Nika Futterman.

Reception

Nick Valentino of GameZone said that the commentary provided by the "hammy male commentator and his blood-thirsty co-anchor woman" is "over-the-top hilarious".^[11] Carrie Gouskos of GameSpot added that their commentary about Ratchet, the competition and each other "persistently adds flavor to the gameplay".^[12]

Abercrombie Fizzwidget

Abercrombie Fizzwidget is the CEO of Megacorp in the Bogon Galaxy. Captain Qwark kidnapped Fizzwidget and posed as him to enact his evil plan in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, although it is unknown as to when in the game this happened. At the end of the game, Fizzwidget is found and restored to power. Fizzwidget is absent-minded, and frequently uses malapropisms or made-up words such as "imbeciliac", "cratefule or "soretainly". This may however, have been a mistake on Qwark's part while he was impersonating Fizzwidget, as he makes no malapropisms after the real Fizzwidget is discovered. Slim Cognito mentions him in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal if the player has a save from Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, saying "Mr. Fizzwidget sends you his regards. This one's on him". Fizzwidget is voiced by Jim Ward in the English version of the game and by Yū Shimaka in the Japanese version.

Reception

Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer said that Fizzwidget "may not be the Captain Quark successor fans will be after, but will still raise a smile in all but the angriest of gamers when he presents some of his fascinatingly incoherent but salvageable tirades."^[13]

Captain Starshield

Former number one ranked contestant of the underground combat show DreadZone; killed by Ace Hardlight. His only appearances is when he destroys three robots and when he is killed.^[14]

Voiced by: Phil Morris. He is also an unlockable character skin in Ratchet: Deadlocked.

Ace Hardlight

A former hero who sold himself to Gleeman Vox for money and fame, although not as popular as they previously thought he would be. Ace started his life as an orphan and was adopted as by a group of superheroes. When that group destroyed his home planet, he left the group. He was originally adopted because that group had previously destroyed a planet. Vernon and the Spokesman kids clearly prefer Ratchet over Ace, with Vernon even referring to Ace as a "Tool". After disintegrating Captain Starshield on Catacrom 4, he became DreadZone Champion and leader of the Exterminator Crew, with Shellshock, Reactor and the Eviscerator. He has a crush on Juanita and vice versa. She is one of only 4 "fans" he has, the others including Gleeman Vox, Dallas, and Ace himself. Upon defeat, he is reminded of his past as a hero by Ratchet, whom he responds by telling him not to end up with the same fate as him. He is mentioned in Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time that he is an inmate of Zordoom Prison, indicating he survived in Deadlocked. He was last mentioned to have been released out of Zordoom, rehabilitated. Ace is the only Exterminator that remotely resembles a Human.

Voiced by André Sogliuzzo (English), Naoya Uchida (Japanese).

Species

Agorians

A proud race of reptilian creatures with an often-changing Code of Honor, first appearing in A Crack in Time. They have never evolved and love to engage in warrior lifestyle, so far as to create the Agorian Battleplex to fight in contests and invaded several peaceful planets. They have both antagonized and allied Ratchet and Clank during their adventures in the Polaris Galaxy.

Amoeboids

Green slimy creatures that inhabit sewers in at least four planets. They appear attacking Blackwater City in Ratchet & Clank, in the sewers of planet Pokitaru (probably created from the toxic waste that the Blargs were dumping into the ocean), in a secret area on planet Novalis, and in the sewers of Aquatos. In Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal it is revealed that Dr. Nefarious is actually the one who created the Amoeboids and planned to use them to destroy Blackwater City because its inhabitants called him insane. They later return in Secret Agent Clank, thriving in the acid-filled canals of Venantonio. That game also introduced red variants that can explode (Clank says "Someone must have altered their chemical compositions") It was also mentioned that there was a self-deodorizing variant being created; whether this was successful is unknown.

Blarg

These are the main enemies in Ratchet & Clank. Their home planet was once Orxon, but the constant pollution forced them off. They come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from foot soldiers to monstrous Snagglebeasts. The Blargs are technologically apt, but have really only focused on advanced warfare-technology. They have also built a large space station for research purposes. They are an orange-pink in colour. Their leader is the tyrannical Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek (who is defeated by Ratchet at the end of Ratchet & Clank). They also built the first R.Y.N.O (Rip Ya a New One), the most powerful series of weapons in the Ratchet and Clank galaxy. Planet Orxon reappeared in Ratchet: Deadlocked. They are mentioned by Lawrence in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (of which case, it was spelt "Blaarg") when he is referring to the paradox effect, and enquires if they will co-operate. They are also mentioned several times in Ratchet: Deadlocked where at the beginning of the game, Ratchet is angry at Al for putting him in his combat suit and calls him a "Blarg-headed frak monkey" and in the description of the challenge "Heavy metal" it says: "If it is bigger than a Blargian toaster, Ratchet will fight it" and again on the challenge on Orxon, "scorin' with the Blarg", Dallas calls it "blargian turkey shoot" In a cinematic, Gleeman vox is making a commercial for Dreadzone saying "Is your 'Blargs gone wild' video scratched from overuse?"

Cazares

So far only two have appeared in the series - Sasha ( which appears in the games Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and at the beginning of Ratchet: Deadlocked. She is also mentioned in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction ) and her father, Mr. Phyronix , the Galactic President who appears in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and mentioned in the game Secret Agent Clank. They are humanoids with brown fur and a look slightly similar to that of a fox. Apparently the males are twice as big than the females and Sasha is the same size as Ratchet. There was originally confusion that Sasha was a Lombax like Ratchet, but Insomniac has since cleared it up.

Cragmites

A brutal race of reptilian/insectoid creatures that lost the Great War to the Lombaxes, of which Emperor Percival Tachyon is the last. The Cragmites terrorized the Polaris Galaxy, but the Lombaxes fought back and banished the Cragmites into another dimension - effectively ridding the universe of them. Tachyon managed to summon the Cragmites once more with the Dimensionator, before having his army stopped by Ratchet. The Cragmites are a deep-purple color, much like the terrain of their barren homeworld. Whilst Tachyon is relatively small, true Cragmites are considerably larger - standing much higher than either Ratchet or Captain Qwark. Cragmites seem to possess teleportation abilities and incredible strength.

Drophyds

A race of fish-like aliens originating from Planet Zaurik. According to Aphellion, Tachyon bought out their loyalty with raritanium. Their armor is based on Lombax engineering and built from materials scavenged by the Space Pirates.

Fongoids

They were trusted with the power of time travel by the Zoni. But when a huge space rift is created due to their constent time travel the Zoni take away all technology. It is a Fongoid planet, Zanifar, where Dr. Nefarious's asteroid crash lands. He quickly brainwashes the Fongoids there to build the outpost on Planet Zanifar. Their first appearance is in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Grummels

Grummels are race of aliens found in the Polaris galaxy. They are the operators of Grummelnet, the leading weapons and armour manufacturer in the galaxy (analogous to Gadgetron and Megacorp in other galaxies). Grummels are green-skinned and often fat, with a single antenna on their heads. According to the IRIS supercomputer in Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, an attempt to restore the dying Grummel population through cloning left many of the clones lacking in intelligence. Despite this, they are shown to be very proficient at manufacturing weaponry.

Heliogrubs

Heliogrubs are small bug-like animals that live in the caves on Planet Merdegraw in Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty. Ratchet can pick them up and throw them with his wrench. Ratchet uses their natural bio-light to navigate through the caves as well as to scare away Cave Thwogs which swarm and attack so relentlessly that they are too difficult to defeat. In the end credits there is a final message stating that "no Heliogrubs were harmed in the making of this game".

Kerchu

The Kerchu are small, furry creatures that are very skilled in building weapons. Their home planet is Planet Jasindu. According to the Smuggler, the Kerchu are the most dangerous race in Polaris (behind the Cragmites) and there is no being that is not allergic to Kerchu fur.

Loki

A race of malevolent spirits that survive by possessing the bodies of other creatures. There were defeated long ago by a Cragmite hero. They are eventually revealed to be the main antagonists of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

Lombaxes

A race of bipedal felinoid creatures that are known for their natural affinity with gadgets and machines, though female Lombaxes do not have tails. Their home planet is Fastoon in the Polaris Galaxy. The Lombaxes are hailed in the Polaris Galaxy as the saviors of the universe for defeating the Cragmites; however, when Tachyon's Drophyd army attacked Fastoon, the Lombaxes teleported out of the universe to escape them, only Ratchet, Angela Cross and Alister Azimuth stayed behind before Azimuth was killed by saving the universe from The Great Clock. Leaving Ratchet and Angela Cross as the last Lombaxes left.

Markazian

Talwyn Apogee, along with Artemis Zogg and Vorn, is the only Markazian shown so far. Her species is certified in the game Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty when Ratchet makes a promise to Talwyn that they will make it out of the Morrow Caverns together and Rusty Pete mocks Ratchet by singing "Lombax and Markazian sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-s-i-n." They appear mostly human, only with pointy ears and a tail.

Protopets

The Protopet was an experiment created by MegaCorp to manufacture the perfect pet. There was a fault in the duplication process, however, and all of the Protopets turned out to be carnivorous and savage beasts which had evil characteristics. Angela Cross, then working for Megacorp, tried to fix their flaws, but before she could succeed, Captain Qwark, disguised as Mr. Fizzwidget, pushed up their release date. Angela, disguised as a masked thief and intending to stop those monsters from being sold to the public, stole the original protopet so that it could not be cloned into more protopets. Ratchet and Clank were hired by MegaCorp to retrieve the experiment. Later, Angela explains the Protopet's nature. This is shown in a Megacorp commercial were a child, Billy, is meant to play with one, but instead acts scared upon seeing it and gets attacked by it. Ratchet, Clank, and Angela break into Megacorp HQ and attempt to destroy the original Protopet. Qwark spoils their plans by zapping it with Angela's Helix-O-Morph (with the battery in backwards), turning it into a giant mutant. The mutant protopet is defeated by Ratchet and it and all of the others are made harmless with the Helix-O-Morph. Billy and his now harmless Protopet are seen at the end of Up Your Arsenal in the cinema audience.

Snagglebeast

The Blargian Snagglebeast is a colossal being with the appearance of an ogre. Even though the Snagglebeast was apparently an arch-enemy of Captain Qwark, the game reveals that it was actually his evil pet against Ratchet and Clank. It might have been controlled by the helmet it is wearing. It has many barbaric characteristics, and is presumably used by Qwark to devour his unwary enemies. The Snagglebeast was capable of emitting a fiery laser beam from its helmet, releasing powerful shock waves with its feet when jumping and creating funnels of intense wind its mouth. The Snagglebeast's brawn was no match for Ratchet's brain, and the creature met its demise by falling into a pool of lava.

Space Pirates

A faction of spacefaring robots that terrorize the Polaris Galaxy and serve under Captain Slag and Rusty Pete. According to the IRIS, they were engineered by Emperor Tachyon in order to gather materials for the Drophyds' nanotech armor, but abandoned them when they completed their task. Captain Slag's Space Pirates relentlessly attack any ship that enters their territory, but there seems to be a mutual co-operation between Slag's crew and several other space pirate fleets that Ratchet encounters in Tools of Destruction

Technomites

Tiny intelligent creatures who are responsible for the existence of technology. Because they are nearly microscopic, very few people have seen them and they are considered nothing more than a myth. Led by Emperor Otto Destruct, the technomites attempted to create an army of Ratchet clones using his DNA. They were also responsible for creating Luna, hacking into Clank, and tricking Qwark into thinking he's Otto's son. According to Clank, Captain Qwark's real parents were killed by defective Technomite technology. Whether this was intentional or not remains undisclosed.

Terachnoids

Creatures that are described as the most intelligent beings in the known universe, this is owed to their multiple brains of varying number housed in enormous craniums that far ecxeed the size of their bodies, they are crustacean-like in appearance and have four short, single jointed, pointed legs and small claw like arms, their major facial features are mustache shaped flaps that are in the location implied and very large eyebrows, they all seem to wear futuristic headwear with glowing blue circles and a yellow earphone.

Tetramites

A type of insect found in the Breegus system. They travel in swarms and, according to Azimuth, they can digest anything. They also hate water so Ratchet would need to run to a nearby body of water to avoid being eaten. They can easily be distracted by Breegus nectar, produced from Breegus Worm Roots, and can also eat their way through Voltan Ivy, which is normally impervious to any munition of the known universe (Azimuth notes that Ratchet would "Have to find a way to scare it"). They are based on a similar "flying swarm" enemy from Resistance 2.

Tyhrranoids

A gullible race of alien warriors who were tricked by Dr. Nefarious to work for him in the third game to destroy all organic life. The Tyhrranoids, seemingly devoid of a sense of irony, do not realize that they themselves are biological, and carry out his orders. The Tyhrranoids' home planet is planet Tyhrranosis where the "Momma Tyhrranoid" lives. The Momma Tyhrranoid was defeated and killed by Ratchet and Clank, but Qwark took all the credit for it. The entire Tyhrranoid population was transformed into robots when Dr. Nefarious used his Biobliterator (though in Deadlocked, and Secret Agent Clank, they were shown to be organic again, a possible hint that their transformation was reversed somehow). It is also believed that a few stayed robotic because in ratchet: Deadlocked, "The Eviscerator" can be seen stepping on a dead robotic Thyranoid contestant. The more powerful a Tyhrranoid, the bigger it is and the more eyes it has.

Valkyries

A race of Amazon female warriors that are hired by Dr. Nefarious to kill Ratchet and Azimuth, and keep Clank hostage. They are led by Cassiopeia, Carina, and Libra. Their home planet is Vapedia. All the males of their species were banished after the Erebus supernova destroyed their old home planet, and the males failed to ask for directions. Ever since the Space Pirates' defeat at the hands of Ratchet, the Valkyries have become the newest threat to travellers in the Polaris Galaxy.

Vullards

The Vullards are reptile-like creatures that live in wastelands to gather scrap metal and lots of it (apparently as a black market operation, as one Vullard says "we like to keep our operation from the prying eyes of galactic authorities"). Ratchet first meets them on Azimuth's hideout. In a later encounter on Planet Lumos they ask Ratchet and Azimuth to help them defeat the fleet of attacking Agorians. After the remaining ships retreat, the Vullards become greatful to Ratchet and reward him with the Omnisoaker. It explains that after Nefarious' space station blew up they travelled there to gather all the leftover scrap. Vullards can also be found in the space sectors where Ratchet can do optional side missions for them.

Zoni

A mysterious race of ethereal aliens that are capable of travel through time and space and can choose to let others see and/or hear them. They are neither biological nor mechanical, but are instead beings of pure energy that manifest on the physical plane of existence by inhabiting metal bodies. They occasionally appear, usually only visible to Clank when he is alone or asleep, to aid Ratchet and Clank on their quest. In the ending cutscene of Tools of Destruction, they make themselves visible to everyone and kidnap Clank leaving the game on a cliffhanger. In Quest for Booty, they regard Nefarious as a doctor and believe he will be able to repair Clank. In A Crack in Time, Zoni can be found and collected to upgrade Ratchet's ship.

All Zoni aside from Orvus (who is voiced by Charles Martinet) are voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz in the English version of the series and by Keijin Okuda in the Japanese version.

Zyphoids

The Fongoids fear these creatures. They are mutated viruses from the Korthos Sector. They start off as small, one-eyed creatures but as three of them combine they turn into a large, three-eyed creature that is more powerful. The three-eyed are able to split into three smaller ones.

References

1. ^ McLaughlin, Rus (October 30, 2007). "IGN Presents The History of Ratchet and Clank". IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 24, 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5hm7501Bc. Retrieved July 21, 2009. Additional pages archived on June 24, 2009: 2, 3, 4.
2. ^ ^{a b} Frankle, Gavin. "Ratchet & Clank". Allgame. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=38850&tab=review. Retrieved June 25, 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Insomniac Games' Galactic News Update #5
4. ^ Douglass C. Perry (2002-11-04). "IGN: Ratchet & Clank Review". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/376/376261p4.html. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "The voice acting is solid, if not familiar, too. While Ratchet strives for that perfect dude-like teenager vibe, the voice actor generally hits the mark. Clank is also quite engaging, and in some cases, charming, especially when he finishes a level or gains a weapon. Many of the supporting characters offer the same kind of commercial quality voices found in Jak and Daxter, and some of the times they're quite funny. Other times they just sound commercial. The quirkier ones are best (such as the weird athletic woman at the end of the stunt course), but few stand above the standard and obvious stereotypes." 
5. ^ Jeff Gerstmann (2002-11-02). "Ratchet & Clank Review for PlayStation 2". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/ratchetclank/review.html. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "Clank relays a tale of a world in peril, hops onto Ratchet's back, and the duo set off to save the world from Drek, an evil corporate suit who, like President Skroob in the Mel Brooks classic Spaceballs, is the leader of a dead, polluted world." 
6. ^ ^{a b} Nich Maragos (2004-11-02). "Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal Review from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3136116&did=1. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "The fact that it's also the best-balanced of the three helps -- the endgame is neither overly punishing, like the Chairman Drek fight, or a pushover, like the Proto-Pet from Going Commando." 
7. ^ ^{a b} Johnny Liu (2004-11-13). "Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal review for the PS2". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/ps2/ratchet-clank-up-yer-arsenal. Retrieved 22 July 2009. "The voice work is spot on, particularly in the Galactic President's Clinton-esque twang and Dr. Nefarious' psychotic babbling, which strikes the right balance between threatening and comical." 
8. ^ Jeff Gerstmann (2004-11-03). "Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal Review for PlayStation 2". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/ratchetclankiii/review.html. Retrieved 22 July 2009. "One sequence is the latest music video from a female robot called Courtney Gears, and everything, from the synchronized dance moves to the song's epic pop production and incredible devotion to extreme overuse of an autotuner, is a spot-on parody of recent pop music." 
9. ^ Matt, "Review of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Game Informer 176 (December 2008): 147.
10. ^ Jeremy Dunham (2004-10-28). "IGN: Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal Review". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/561/561352p4.html. Retrieved 22 July 2009. "Captain Quark in particular is pretty hysterical, with the Bill Clinton-esque Galactic President one of the more endearing characters. Clank's dry sidekick humor is in great contrast to Jak's own sidekick Daxter (for those of you that play both games), while Ratchet's "Why me?" delivery is spot on." 
11. ^ Nick Valentino (2005-10-28). "Ratchet: Deadlocked Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r26257.htm. Retrieved 22 July 2009. "The tournament matches have some commentary by a hammy male commentator and his blood-thirsty co-anchor woman that is just over-the-top hilarious." 
12. ^ Carrie Gouskos (2005-10-26). "Ratchet: Deadlocked Review for PlayStation 2". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/ratchetdeadlocked/review.html. Retrieved 22 July 2009. "Most of the levels are narrated by the two quirky Dreadzone announcers, Dallas, a sleazy egomaniac, and Juanita, a sadistic seductress. Their commentary about Ratchet, the competition, and each other persistently adds flavor to the gameplay." 
13. ^ Tom Bramwell (2003-11-12). "Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked & Loaded Review // PS2 /// Eurogamer - Games Reviews, News and More". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_ratchetandclank2_ps2. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "Cue exaggerated characters, including a new female ally, and some consistently amusing voice acting from the central characters and particularly Fizwidget, who may not quite be the Captain Quark successor fans will be after, but will still raise a smile in all but the angriest of gamers when he presents some of his fascinatingly incoherent but salvageable tirades." 
14. ^ An official comic of this character can be found here.