Copernicus Leslie Qwark

General VG character
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name= Captain Qwark


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series= Ratchet & Clank
firstgame= Ratchet & Clank (2002)
creator= Insomniac Games
artist=
voiceactor= Jim Ward
japanactor= Kenji Nomura
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liveactor=
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"Copernicus Leslie Qwark", better known by his short name "Captain Qwark" is a major recurring character in the "Ratchet & Clank" video game series. He wears green tights with a blue stripe down the middle and a blue and black atom with a lightning bolt that vaguely resembles the letter Q. He also wears a yellow belt on his waist and has an antenna on his head. Qwark's role was initially a self-serving enemy of Ratchet and Clank, but has become less antagonistic in the later games. He mainly plays as an anti-hero or as comic relief in games after the second. Over the games he has used many aliases all of them having Qwark in them.

His appearance suggests a possible homage to the original costume of Captain Marvel from Marvel Comics. The green color scheme, shape of the face mask and chest insignia all boast similarities, not to mention that both characters originate as space-faring heroes.

He is voiced by Jim Ward.

"Ratchet & Clank"

Initially, Qwark is portrayed as the greatest hero of all time; however, he is nothing more than a "pretty-boy" endorsement fiend who receives credit for acts of bravery that he had nothing to do with. He has been known to double-cross his allies. In the first game he works for the villainous Chairman Drek. He attempts to kill Ratchet and Clank on Planet Umbris using a Blargian Snagglebeast but fails, resulting in Ratchet shooting his ship down in vengeance. His endorsement deal going bust after having been defeated, he resorts to selling Gadgetron products under an assumed secret identity "Steve McQwark." He appears at the end of the game in a commercial.

"Going Commando"

For most of the game, Qwark does not appear except in reruns of "Behind the Hero", relating his escapades after the first Ratchet & Clank game leading up to his disappearance. Abercrombie Fizzwidget also makes a few references to Captain Qwark during cutscenes.

Also there is an area on planet Todano where players are to get a figure of Captain Qwark for a fan to get a special Armor Magnetizer gadget. It is found with the Plumber from the original game on the second part of the flying lab.

Qwark himself does not appear until later on when it comes to light that he has been masquerading as Abercrombie Fizzwidget all along, making him the main antagonist. He then tries to frame Ratchet, Clank, and Angela for the Protopet's release. After Ratchet defeats the original Protopet and the real Fizzwidget is released, Qwark is sent to test various gadgets for MegaCorp such as the Crotchitizer, which he, disturbingly, acquires a liking for.

"Up Your Arsenal"

In the beginning of this game, Qwark is insane and living as a tribal chief on in the Florana Jungle with a bunch of one eyed monkeys, but when the Solana galaxy mysteriously comes under attack it becomes Ratchet's job to find him. Upon seeing one of his old Vid-Comics, described below, his memory is jogged and he regains his (relative) sanity. Later on in Up Your Arsenal Qwark gives his own account of what happened in Florana in a shameless attempt to make a comeback as one of the galaxy's greatest superheroes. However, Qwark manages to redeem himself in the end of "Up Your Arsenal". After tracking him down to his secret hideout, Ratchet berates him for his cowardice ("You're pathetic, Qwark! I can't believe I used to look up to you!") and walks off, but Clank merely tells Qwark "This is your chance to redeem yourself. You can be the hero you always wanted to be". He later joins Ratchet in the final boss battle against Dr. Nefarious and his Biobliterator (showing up and distracting Nefarious at a crucial moment, in a fashion similar to Han Solo in Star Wars IV).

Vid-Comics

Qwark is also featured in a series of 5 "Vid-Comics" with two-dimensional gameplay, but still using 3D graphics. These are accessed via the console in Ratchet's quarters on the Starship Phoenix. There is a cheat code (revealed at the end of the fourth comic and remotely similar to the Konami Code) that gives Qwark a pink tutu during the vid-comics.

#"Pirate Booty" ("Booty is in the Eye of the Beholder" in European and Australian Version)
#"Arriba Amoeba!"
#"Shadow of the Robot"
#"Deja Q all over again"
#"Shaming of The Q"

There are also 2 Vid-Comics that were cut from the final game, but are nonetheless playable in the Insomniac Museum.

#"Pirate Booty Special Edition" (with a different boss)
#Unnamed Vid-Comic

"Deadlocked"

Qwark is only featured as part of a cheat, where certain robots acquire his likeness. However, he does make a cameo appearance near the end. He assures Ratchet (ironically) that there has been no kidnapping of heroes since nobody has come to kidnap him, and he even tells the duo that they missed the last three meetings of the Qwark Cadets Fan Club, but telling them not to worry, because he had extra copies of the newsletter, and he even saved some of the snacks, "Hope you like custard!". According to the epilogue, he is still living in blissful ignorance with his monkey friend, but doesn't do hero work on Wednesdays.

This ending is a bit strange because, while Ratchet and Clank know that Qwark is not really a hero, the rest of the galaxy believes he is (Although it is plausible that Vox, through many connections and sources happens to know of Qwark's true nature or hadn't captured him yet but planned to do so later).

"Tools of Destruction"

Captain Qwark was confirmed in the April edition of EGM to appear in game for the PS3. Although, at that point, little was divulged of his role in the game, design director Brian Allgeier said in EGM, "We really don't know what side he's on as he's kind of working for Tachyon [who wants to kill all lombaxes] , but also giving secrets to Ratchet and Clank." He is also confirmed as the only returning character alongside the Plumber in the game, besides Ratchet and Clank themselves. He was seen showing off in the new trailer. He also acts as the narrator for the advert of the game.

Captain Qwark first appears in the beginning cutscene where he asks for help from Ratchet and Clank while being attacked. Later after the Metropolis invasion, it's revealed in the arena that Qwark had to pledge allegiance to Tachyon and become his servant to stay alive. He manages to give Ratchet a holo-vid of Tachyon's plan to find the Lombax secret before leaving. During the next arena match after giving Ratchet another clue about Tachyon, he begs for Ratchet to save him, claiming that he can't do this without an endorsement deal(a small reference to the first game). Ratchet manages to convince him to keep it up and Qwark continues working for Tachyon.

After Ratchet gets the Lombax secret (a device called the Dimensionator that can open up dimensions) Qwark steals it to try and throw it into a black hole and be a real hero. Before he can do that, Tachyon steals the Dimensionator and brings back all of the Cragmites. Qwark is later claiming that he isn't a hero and is last seen trying to perfect a pirate "arrr" from Rusty Pete.

External links

* [http://ratchet.wikia.com/wiki/Copernicus_Leslie_Qwark Copernicus Leslie Qwark on the Ratchet and Clank Wiki]