Ratchet

Ratchet is the primary protagonist of the Ratchet & Clank series, being one of the titular heroes and a main playable character in the games. He is an intergalactic hero, a skilled mechanic, and one of the last remaining lombaxes in the universe.

Son of Kaden, Ratchet was born on Fastoon in the Polaris Galaxy but came to grow up as an orphaned mechanic on Veldin in the Solana Galaxy. His life was changed once he met Clank, a small robot who crash-landed on Veldin and became his lifelong companion and best friend. The two have since shared many adventures, often working alongside Captain Qwark, as they have saved galaxies from many galactic criminals and other supervillains, the most notable of which being Dr. Nefarious. During his time, Ratchet has worked for Megacorp as a trained commando, the Galactic Rangers as a sergeant, the Q-Force as a leading member, and the Polaris Defense Force.

Ratchet is a street-wise, headstrong, thrillseeking hero who shows immense bravery and enjoys a challenge. He has a light-hearted personality, often chiming in with wisecracks and lightening the mood with jokes. Though he has struggled balancing his own needs and those of the people, he ultimately comes down on the side of keeping the people of the universe safe, and is fiercely protective of his close friends and his foster homeworld of Veldin.

Ratchet uses his skills as a mechanic, a pilot, and a combatant to protect the universe from threats. His most common weapon is the OmniWrench, which he uses in melee combat, though he has also wielded powerful weapons and gadgets from Gadgetron (such as the Swingshot, RYNO V, and Agents of Doom), Megacorp (such as the Dynamo, Plasma Coil, and Bouncer), GrummelNet (such as the Groovitron, Mr. Zurkon, and the Buzz Blades) and the lombaxes (such as the Alpha Disruptor).

History[]

Early history[]

Ratchet was born on the lombax planet of Fastoon in the Polaris Galaxy and was sent to the Solana Galaxy by his father Kaden before he died to flee from cragmite Emperor Tachyon's attacks on the lombaxes.^[4] Ratchet then lived his life on Veldin, securing a garage as his home, completely unaware of his father's sacrifice.

Ratchet worked on Veldin as a mechanic. He looked up to the Solana Galaxy's greatest heroes, such as Ace Hardlight (prior to disappearance),^[5] and was a keen fan of celebrity superhero Captain Qwark.^[a] He dreamed of one day exploring the galaxy, and had been constructing a homemade ship made with his OmniWrench and the Gadgetron HelpDesk.^[7]

In the 2016 re-imagining, Ratchet's story is slightly different. When Ratchet arrived on Veldin as an infant, a fongoid named Grimroth Razz had found him and took him under his wing. Ratchet grew up in Grim's garage working for him, a reckless mechanic who installed unnecessary modifications on ships after clients only requested a repair. He dreamed of greater things and idolized the Galactic Rangers.

Ratchet & Clank[]

In Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet had fully built his ship, though he was informed it could not be complete without attaching a robotic ignition system.^[7] Later that day, a robot crash-landed in the Kyzil Plateau, which Ratchet recovered. The robot contained an infobot detailing a message from blarg Chairman Drek to the citizens of planet Novalis, informing them that Novalis would be destroyed to help him construct his new planet. As the robot came equipped with the latest in robotic ignition systems,^[8] Ratchet could now start his ship. He resolved to search the galaxy with this robot, to find and ally with Captain Qwark to defeat Chairman Drek. While en route to Novalis, when Ratchet asked the robot for his name, the robot provided his serial number: B54296. However, after the ship slightly jerked as Ratchet was pressing buttons, the robot hit the side of the ship and made a clanking sound, prompting Ratchet to name him Clank instead.^[9]

After traveling through planets such as Kerwan and Aridia, Ratchet and Clank met Qwark in Blackwater City on planet Rilgar. Upon meeting him, he told them, to their surprise, that he was already aware of their heroic deeds across other planets and promised to train them at his challenge course on planet Umbris.^[10] When the two completed the task, Qwark offered them a position at his side to step into the "Ring of Heroes", a trap that Ratchet was suspicious of but that Clank walked into, dragging Ratchet along.^[11] Qwark betrayed them, revealing he was working for Drek as a spokesperson for his new world, and left them to die at the hands of his blargian snagglebeast.^[12]

After defeating it, Ratchet was furious at Clank and became fixated on vengeance against Qwark, apparently unconcerned with Drek's plan. Clank said that this was unlike Ratchet, believing Ratchet cared about doing the right thing, something Ratchet vehemently denied saying he was "done with this stupid hero stuff". However, as Ratchet still required a robotic ignition system to fly a starship, Clank offered him an ultimatum that he would only start Ratchet's ships if he agreed to save planets that were under attack by Drek, starting with helping the Commando on planet Batalia. Ratchet reluctantly accepted the terms,^[13] and though he would often fight with Clank,^[14] he did at times let slip that he still cared about the innocent lives at stake.^[15]

The two later confronted Qwark and shot down his spaceship at the Gemlik Base in the orbit of planet Oltanis. After celebrating in Qwark's defeat, an infobot showed the extent of the damage the blarg were doing to Gorda City on Oltanis' surface. This prompted a change of heart in Ratchet, as he made amends with Clank and was now determined to stop Drek.^[16]

While exploring Quartu, Ratchet learned that Drek was going to use a weapon called the Deplanetizer to destroy planet Veldin. This enraged Ratchet, as he promised to fiercely defend his home from Drek.^[17] Ratchet and Clank eventually confronted Drek over the Deplanetizer on Veldin, and the two defeated him by propelling him to his new world and destroying it with the Deplanetizer while he was still on the planet. Drek's defeat led to Clank's arm being heavily damaged, though Ratchet told him he would be fine and returned to the garage, seemingly leaving Clank. Just as Clank walked the other way, Ratchet called out to him asking where he was going, promising to fix Clank's arm.^[18] As such, the two did not part ways, and instead bonded to become lifelong friends.

Re-imagined[]

In the Ratchet & Clank movie and Qwark's retelling of events, when Captain Qwark and the Rangers hosted tryouts on the planet looking for a new recruit in the wake of Chairman Drek's destruction of planets, Ratchet convinced Grimroth Razz to allow him to participate in the tryouts, only to be rejected by Qwark, due to his reckless past and his inexperience. Returning home solemn, Ratchet then spotted a ship crash-land from the sky and investigated it to recover the robot inside, whom he nicknamed Clank. Clank told Ratchet of Drek's invasion of Aleero City on planet Kerwan. Ratchet, eager to help, falsely claimed to be a friend of the Rangers, and the two set off to Kerwan.

After crash-landing on Novalis, where the Plumber repaired their ship,^[19] Ratchet and Clank arrived on Kerwan, where they made use of the Mag Booster installed on the ship to propel warbots into a Class G Dreadship, thereby putting an end to the invasion. Ratchet landed on the planet and received a huge applause from the crowd of citizens. After being put on the spot by interviewer Dallas Wanamaker, Qwark made Ratchet a Ranger, giving him a training course and granting him a protosuit, along with a new starship.

Ratchet also took on many missions for the Galactic Rangers, including investigating the Blarg Tactical Research Station and planet Gaspar for new equipment, as well as rescuing Skidd McMarx on Aridia, competing in Rilgar's hoverboard races, fighting the blarg on Batalia and thwarting their water theft on Pokitaru.^[19]

Throughout this, Qwark only grew jealous of Ratchet's popularity, while Cora Veralux and Brax Lectrus were visibly annoyed by him, which Ratchet was blissfully unaware of.^[20] The Rangers next attacked Quartu, where they learned that Drek was going to destroy planet Novalis with the Deplanetizer. At the beginning of the battle, Qwark puzzled the Rangers by claiming he would "reason with Drek" and deactivated his communicators, going alone. Ratchet, fearing Qwark's safety, flew to the Deplanetizer himself, sacrificing his starfighter in the process. He infiltrated the station alone to disable it, but Drek caught him and trapped him using a Mag-Net Launcher and took him to a shuttle home so that he could witness his failure first hand. On the way to a shuttle, Ratchet saw Qwark relaxing with other blarg in the Deplanetizer, realizing that Qwark had betrayed the Rangers due to his jealousy of Ratchet.

Ratchet then returned to Veldin, solemn after his defeat and returning to his old life. Clank returned to Veldin later, attempting to convince Ratchet to rejoin the Rangers. With a push from Grimroth Razz, proud of how far Ratchet had come, Ratchet then rejoined the Rangers as their leader, to which they welcomed his return. The Rangers then deduced that Dr. Nefarious, Drek's mad scientist, was simply using Drek to humiliate the Rangers by seeing them fail, and that the Deplanetizer's next target, Umbris, would destroy not only Umbris but several planets with it. Ratchet obtained a Hologuise from Kalebo III,^[19] and then infiltrated the base, while the Rangers used his Mag Booster to throw the Deplanetizer off balance. Ratchet confronted Qwark, and after a battle with him, convinced him of the error of his ways, causing him to help them fight Nefarious. The three managed to defeat Nefarious, causing him to crash-land on Umbris, and fled the Deplanetizer shortly before it was destroyed, while the Rangers caused the Deplanetizer to destroy New Quartu with Drek still on it.

Afterwards, Ratchet returned home to Veldin, before being visited by Clank once again, who would become his lifelong companion.^[20] Ratchet and Clank later returned to Kerwan to see the rangers, meeting Qwark while he was doing community service with Shiv Helix, Shiv promptly stole Ratchet's ship, and so Ratchet, Clank and Qwark gave chase.^[19]

The holo-film based on these events added in things that never actually happened; with Ratchet being stranded in deep space for weeks after Novalis' destruction and needing to assemble a gravity drive to escape.^[21]

Going Commando[]

At the beginning of Going Commando, celebrated as galactic heroes, Ratchet and Clank both appeared in an interview for Behind the Hero, in which they described their life following Drek's defeat. Ratchet claimed he was busy in a "domestic sense", but still longing for adventure and for someone to be in need of a hero.^[22] At this moment, they were teleported away by Captain Qwark, disguised as Abercrombie Fizzwidget,^[23][24] who recruited Ratchet as a Megacorp commando, giving him training in martial arts, heavy weaponry, survival skills, stealth, macramé, ballroom dance, and origami.^[22]

Ratchet was tasked with traveling to the Bogon Galaxy to track down the Unknown Thief, who had stolen a biological experiment. Two weeks after Ratchet agreed to the mission, he was dressed in a commando suit and began by tracking the Thief to a flying lab on planet Aranos, while Clank was given a job as Megacorp's head accountant, as well as an apartment in the city of Megapolis on planet Endako.^[22] Ratchet chased the Thief from planet to planet, while fighting off the hired Thugs-4-Less mercenaries, though when learning at the Maktar Resort that the Thief had kidnapped Clank in Megapolis, Ratchet went there to rescue him. Once the two were reunited, they resolved to retrieve the experiment together. They eventually chased the Thief down on Siberius and returned the experiment to Fizzwidget, who left both of them stranded on planet Tabora.

The Thief caught up with them, demanding they hand over the experiment, though clumsily falling out of the disguise and revealing herself to be a female lombax named Angela Cross. She warned them that the experiment was deceptively dangerous, and by giving it to Fizzwidget, they had put the whole galaxy in "imminent danger".^[25] Ratchet and Clank went on to learn more about the experiment, learning that it would be manufactured into a pet known as the Protopet, a dangerous pet that could breed rapidly and would devour its handlers.

Though Ratchet and Clank first tried to get through to Fizzwidget,^[26] it eventually became clear this was not feasible, Angela noticing something was off with him.^[27] Instead, the three resolved to stop the Protopet menace by taking out the original one, located in the Megacorp Headquarters on planet Yeedil.^[28] Once they reached the Protopet duplication room, Qwark revealed he had been disguised as Fizzwidget the whole time, and attempted to frame the three for the Protopet menace and liberate the Bogon Galaxy using Angela's Helix-o-morph to cure the original Protopet.^[23] Since the battery was inserted backwards,^[24] the device amplified it to a Mutant Protopet instead. After Ratchet and Clank defeated it, Angela freed the real Fizzwidget, who expressed his gratitude, and with Clank identifying the problem, amplified the fixed Helix-o-morph to cure the other Protopets.^[24] Afterward, Ratchet and Clank spent some time in the latter's apartment in Megapolis.

Up Your Arsenal[]

Sometime between the events of Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet built a gravimetric warp drive out of blargian scrap metal, and did not test the device. He also starred as Jeeves, Clank's chauffeur, in the series Secret Agent Clank.^[29]

At the start of Up Your Arsenal, while in Clank's apartment, Ratchet learned through a Channel 64 News report that Veldin had been hit by a surprise attack from an army of aliens known as the tyhrranoids, led by a villain known as Dr. Nefarious. Wishing to protect his home, Ratchet installed the untested warp drive to the Star Explorer, despite Clank's protests, to reach Veldin immediately.^[29] Upon arriving, Ratchet met up with the Galactic Rangers, who inadvertently appointed him as their new sergeant, and gave him a Shock Blaster and Nitro Launcher to fight back against them.^[30] After defeating them, Ratchet and Clank were congratulated by Solana Galactic President Phyronix, who asked them to search Florana to find a long lost hero who was the only man to have fought Nefarious and lived.^[31] They soon discovered that this hero was Captain Qwark, whom Ratchet fought willingly, believing Qwark had it coming. Once he was defeated, they realized that Qwark was amnesiac, and after being contacted by Sasha Phyronix, captain of the Starship Phoenix, returned him there on the president's orders.^[32]

Sasha introduced Ratchet to his new quarters on the Starship Phoenix, which impressed him. However, he was dismayed to know that Qwark was the one President Phyronix had placed trust in.^[33] After assisting the Rangers in Operation: IRON SHIELD on Marcadia, Ratchet obtained a Qwark vid-comic, Booty is in the Eye of the Beholder, which caused Qwark regained his memory after Ratchet played it. With President Phyronix' backing,^[34] Qwark then formed the Q-Force, a team consisting of Ratchet, Clank, Sasha, Qwark's monkey friend Skrunch, as well as old allies Al, Skidd McMarx, and Helga. Qwark planned out two successful attacks, on Aquatos and Tyhrranosis, which both featured Ratchet front-and-center, while Qwark made excuses for not being involved.^[35]

Investigating Nefarious' operations on Daxx, Ratchet learned about a weapon known as the Biobliterator, and that Courtney Gears, a pop star of which he was a fan, was producing propaganda for Nefarious. When he and Clank attempted to learn about Nefarious' whereabouts from Courtney Gears, Gears led them into a trap and swapped Clank with a replica named Klunk, Ratchet totally unaware. Klunk informed Ratchet that Nefarious was located on his flagship, the Leviathan. Before he could go, Ratchet first had to save Skidd, who was captured by Courtney Gears as she tested the Biobliterator on him, turning him into a robot. Ratchet defeated Courtney Gears, and began to grow slightly suspicious of Klunk.^[36]

As the Leviathan refueled at Zeldrin Starport, Ratchet accompanied Qwark to confront Nefarious on his ship. This was actually a trap, as Nefarious self-destructed the Leviathan. Qwark remained behind on the starship to find the master plan data disk,^[37] with Ratchet staying behind to wait for Qwark, though Klunk activated the shuttle and left before the ship exploded.^[38] As no escape pods were detected, the Q-Force assumed Qwark was dead and held a funeral in his honor, Ratchet upset by Qwark's apparent death but struggling to think of positive things to say about him.^[39] From playing the vid-comic Deja Q All Over Again, Ratchet worked out that Nefarious would attack Metropolis next, but did not arrive there in time to stop Nefarious using the Biobliterator to transform the entire population of the city into robots.^[40] Just as Ratchet caught up with Nefarious, Klunk revealed he had been spying on Ratchet the entire time. Ratchet defeated Klunk and freed Clank, but despite Clank blaming himself, Ratchet held nothing against him and assured him that Nefarious would pay.^[40]

At this point, President Phyronix effectively conceded that Nefarious would win the war within a week.^[41] Ratchet nonetheless continued the fight, and at Sasha's suggestion, traveled to the crash site on Zeldrin to find what Qwark had been looking for when he remained on the Leviathan. Here, Ratchet found the master plan data disk, and learned that Qwark was still alive, but chose to conceal this information while returning the data disk to Al to decipher.^[37] Ratchet then found Qwark's hideout in the Thran Asteroid Belt by playing the unreleased vid-comic, The Shaming of the Q. When he found Qwark he resigned, he berated Qwark and expressed shame for having ever looked up to him, before returning to his ship. Sasha informed Ratchet that the Starship Phoenix, prompting Ratchet to use the gravimetric warp drive to rescue her.^[6]

After rescuing Sasha, he found that Al had decoded the data disk and learned that the Biobliterator was recharging on Koros, with Veldin as its next target, enraging him.^[42] Ratchet traveled to Koros and made helped Clank take over a cannon on the planet which Clank used to destroy the Biobliterator, only to learn Nefarious had constructed another in secret on Mylon.^[43] On Mylon, Ratchet caught and defeated Nefarious, only for Nefarious to transform the Biobliterator and aim Ratchet to kill him. Before it could, Qwark flew in with his shuttle and interrupted the Biobliterator's fire at the last minute, and Ratchet then used a hovership and destroyed the Biobliterator with Qwark's help. Nefarious teleported away from the Biobliterator, but was stranded on an asteroid out of range of any planet.^[44]

Following Nefarious' defeat, Ratchet, alongside many friends of his he had encountered in his adventures, went to see the premiere of a new Secret Agent Clank film.

Deadlocked[]

After Sasha was appointed mayor of Metropolis, Ratchet was made commander of the Starship Phoenix, with Clank as his first officer and Al as his chief engineer.^[45] During this time, the Phoenix went on two known missions: investigating Aquatos following the disappearance of Hydro Girl,^[46] and following a false distress beacon at quadrant J0713 (an area devoid of life) placed by Gleeman Vox to lure Ratchet there.^[47] Shortly after this, and a week following the death of Captain Starshield and at the start of Deadlocked, Sasha sent Ratchet a transmission informing him of this and warning him about rumors of Gleeman Vox kidnapping heroes and forcing them to participate in DreadZone, an illegal reality holovision show featuring heroes fight in gladiatorial combat. Just before she could get through to him, the Phoenix was boarded, and Ratchet, Clank, and Al were all kidnapped.^[48]

When Ratchet awoke, he found himself in the DreadZone Station, wearing armor that was standard issue for DreadZone contestants,^[49] strapped with a deadlock collar that would detonate if he did not cooperate with Vox, and placed in a containment suite. Ratchet's initial reaction was one of excitement, eager to experience the fame and fortune that would come with being a professional gladiator, though Clank reminded him they were being held prisoner. Ratchet was then introduced to Merc and Green, two combat bots Al had acquired from a former contestant.^[50] Before his first match in the Battledome, Ratchet was introduced by commentators Dallas Wanamaker and Juanita Alvaro as likely "intermission material" who would likely not last two rounds, determining him to rebuke them.^[51]

Throughout the show, Ratchet continued to break DreadZone records and expectations, defeating the top gladiators known as the Exterminators, while Clank and Al looked for a way to undermine DreadZone from within.^[5] Vox's news outlet, Vox News, covered Ratchet with misleading or false smears, such as calling him a "mafia crime boss". He was underestimated at every turn, by Vox News, the Exterminators, and by Vox himself.^[b] However, Vox began to see potential in Ratchet and mused about Ratchet's popularity surpassing that of Ace Hardlight,^[63] a former hero who Ratchet had admired during childhood.^[5] Vox's suspicions came to pass when, while Ace Hardlight merchandise failed to sell, Ratchet merchandise was highly sought after among DreadZone fans.^[64][58] Ratchet continued to prove himself successful, besting all the DreadZone challenges, eventually defeating Ace Hardlight. Hardlight warned Ratchet not to allow Vox to corrupt him the way Vox had corrupted Ace.^[62]

Shortly after, Vox called Ratchet into his office to offer to make Ratchet champion of the Exterminators, enticing him with commercial opportunities. Heeding the warnings of Clank from the start and Hardlight from a few moments earlier, Ratchet rejected Vox's deal, calling Vox corrupt and stupid for thinking Ratchet would ever kill heroes for money. In response, Vox sent Ratchet on one final battlecourse, the Ghost Station, which had been mathematically proven to be unbeatable.^[65] Ratchet beat the course, after which Clank and Al had figured out a way to send Ratchet to the DreadZone Station control level and free all captive heroes. Vox then rigged the station to explode and turned the event into a final episode of DreadZone, pitting himself as the villain and Ratchet as the hero, hoping that his and Ratchet's death live on holovision would be the greatest ratings Vox had ever had. Ratchet was at first content to die there knowing that many other heroes had escaped, though Clank arrived at the last minute to rescue him on the final shuttle.^[66]

Size Matters[]

In Size Matters, wishing to take a much-needed break from heroism, Ratchet took a vacation on Pokitaru with Clank.^[67] His break was shortlived, as he met Luna, a technomite robot posing as a schoolgirl writing a report on heroes. A kidnapping subsequently was staged by the technomites, who left behind an object that Clank identified as a technomite artifact; Ratchet firmly believed the technomites did not exist.^[68] Nonetheless, he and Clank chased after Luna, first to Ryllus, with Captain Qwark tagging along until Ratchet distracted him by encouraging him to research his family history on the ship's computer. Ratchet then traveled to Kalidon, where he competed in a skyboard race to obtain a Shrink Ray that allowed him to catch up with Luna. Luna then sprung the trap and Ratchet was incapacitated and taken to the Medical Outpost Omega.

Here, he was to have his DNA extracted to create a clone army for Otto Destruct, the technomite leader, who wished to raise the army after recognizing that even his most powerful robot soldiers were no match for Ratchet.^[69] Ratchet was cloned successfully, and it took twenty-six of the technomites' best warriors to destroy a single Ratchet clone prototype.^[70]

While he was being experimented on, Ratchet entered a strange Dreamtime sequence, where he encountered odd hallucinations of individuals he had ran into in the past, before being awoken by Clank. He then escaped the station and chased Luna to Challax, where he learned she was actually a technomite robot designed to lure them into a trap, and chased her once again to the Dayni Moon where he defeated her. Clank attempted to access Luna's mainframe to find coordinates to Otto Destruct's Clone Factory, but was disabled by Luna's level nine access protocol.^[71] Ratchet jumped inside Clank using the Shrink Ray and repaired him, after which they left to find and defeat Destruct.

After fighting through the Ratchet clones, Destruct revealed that his intention with the army was to use them to gather every intelligent being in the solar system and transfer their intelligence to him.^[72] Though Qwark, who had been made to believe Destruct was his father using false evidence planted, interrupted Ratchet, he and Clank eventually defeated Destruct, and Skrunch told Qwark the true nature of his parents. Though Qwark wished to transfer his intellect (or lack thereof) to Destruct to make Destruct less intelligent, an interruption caused Skrunch to do this instead, neutralizing Otto Destruct as a threat. After this, Ratchet returned to a scheduled massage on Pokitaru.^[73] Later, the Ratchet clones were repurposed and sold as "Battle Ratchet" products,^[74] and Ratchet was awarded a medal by President Phyronix for Skrunch's defeat.^[75]

Secret Agent Clank[]

A mind control device was planted on Ratchet by Klunk,^[76] causing him to steal the Eye of Infinity from the Boltaire Museum, and when filmed, claiming he did it out of revenge for the galaxy's lack of gratitude for his heroism.^[77] Ratchet was taken to cell J7B in Galactic Ultra-High Security Lockdown on the Prison Planet, and woke to the warden telling him he was paid to keep Ratchet's stay unpleasant.^[78] Ratchet fought other inmates that he was responsible for putting behind bars, including amoeboids, Thugs-4-Less, tyhrranoids, and gladiators. Clank mailed Ratchet weapons disguised as birthday cakes, which the warden largely turned a blind eye to.^[79] While Clank was determined to prove Ratchet's innocence, the rest of the galaxy, including the Agency, was fully convinced he was responsible,^[77] even believing he was after Klunk's involvement was uncovered.^[80]

Ratchet encountered the Thug Leader in prison, who vowed revenge,^[81] as well as the Plumber, who had been called to fix the showers' water.^[82] More notably, he encountered Slim Cognito, who coordinated with Clank to get Clank access to Le Paradis Des Tricheurs Casino's high-stakes room if Ratchet protected Slim from other inmates.^[83]

When Klunk's plan was in motion, Ratchet was then mind controlled to broadcast a threat to destroy every planet in the galaxy if they did not give him his own planet. This caused a prison riot, and the warden forced him to stop the riot or be held responsible.^[80] When Ratchet did so, he was granted one call to Clank.^[84] After Clank defeated Klunk, Ratchet was given a full pardon by President Phyronix at the recommendation of the Agency.^[76] Back in his and Clank's apartment he also finished turning Klunk's body into a vacuum cleaner.

Tools of Destruction[]

While Ratchet was testing the nuclear-powered rocket sled^[85] in his home on Kerwan, wark sent an urgent message from the Planetary Defense Center asking for help with the Imperial Army's invasion. After failing to find Qwark at the center, Emperor Percival Tachyon cornered Ratchet and offered to leave the city alone if he allow the army to kill him. Ratchet escaped and stole Tachyon's starship, which took him to the Polaris Galaxy, where he crashed on planet Cobalia.^[86] In Polaris, from the Smuggler, Ratchet learned that Tachyon was the last of the cragmites, and that his race, the lombaxes, were hailed as saviors of the universe for defeating them.^[87] Meanwhile, Clank began seeing visions from the Zoni which were invisible to Ratchet, causing Ratchet to react at first with confusion and concern.^[88][89]

Ratchet found Fastoon, the abandoned home of the lombaxes, where he met Aphelion, a sentient lombax starship. Captain Qwark then provided Ratchet an Imperial Army recruitment video that mentioned the "Lombax Secret" device that had led to the cragmite defeat;^[90] following its coordinates to the Apogee Space Station, Ratchet met Talwyn Apogee and her warbots Cronk and Zephyr, aligning with them to search for the device. Learning the device was the Dimensionator and was a wormhole device that had banished the cragmites, Ratchet wanted to use the device himself,^[c] something Clank staunchly disagreed with and preferred to destroy it. Ratchet suspected Clank was listening to the Zoni, who he still did not believe existed, causing their friendship to sour.^[91][92]

After taking the device from space pirate Captain Slag, Ratchet and Clank argued over its fate. Midway through their argument, Captain Qwark took it to destroy it himself but mistakenly delivered it to Tachyon,^[93] who used it to bring back the cragmites. Ratchet regretted not destroying it earlier and lamented that Clank was "always right".^[94]

On Fastoon, Tachyon later revealed to Ratchet that the lombaxes had fled the dimension hoping that Tachyon leave Polaris alone, leaving only Kaden (guardian of the Dimensionator) and Ratchet behind. Ratchet did not believe him until Tachyon opened a portal to the lombax dimension, offering the chance to join them and be spared. Ratchet declined, choosing to give up his chance to join his race to stop Tachyon and protect everyone.^[4] After doing so, Clank was abducted by the Zoni.

Quest for Booty[]

Following a lead from the IRIS Supercomputer, Ratchet and Talwyn traveled to Merdegraw in search of Angstrom Darkwater for more clues about the Zoni and Clank's location. Although Darkwater was dead, Rusty Pete directed them to Hoolefar Island,^[95] where the Obsidian Eye, a device capable of locating Clank, was located. However, it required a Fulcrum Star to activate.^[96] Ratchet aided the local hoolefoid population before heading to Morrow Caverns with Pete in search of the Star.

During this journey, Pete, apologizing to Ratchet and assuring him it was nothing personal, triggered Darkwater's curse, resurrecting an army of undead pirates.^[97] After defeating these pirates and journeying to Darkwater Cove, Ratchet and Talwyn obtained the Star, and after defeating Darkwater, were able to use the Eye. They discovered that Clank was not only held captive by the Zoni but also by Dr. Nefarious, prompting Ratchet to resolve to head to the Breegus Nebula to rescue him.^[98]

A Crack in Time[]

Searching for Clank, Ratchet traveled with Captain Qwark to the Breegus System, a region controlled by Dr. Nefarious and his enforcer, Lord Vorselon. Early in his journey, Ratchet encountered Alister Azimuth, a friend of his father's. Azimuth suggested that Clank would be held in the Great Clock, giving them a shared goal to find it together. The two formed a bond, with Azimuth sharing stories about Ratchet's father while reminiscing and noting their similarities.^[99][100] Azimuth also apologized to Ratchet for not finding him sooner (believing he was dead) and promised to be like family to him.^[101]

With Azimuth, Ratchet had a new objective: using the Clock to save the lombaxes in the past.^[102][103] Although Azimuth warned him that doing so would mean never having met Clank, Ratchet accepted this as his only means of saving his family.^[104] After Ratchet contacted Clank via an Obsidian Eye, he used a time portal on Zanifar at Clank's request,^[105] but was unable to save Orvus in the past. When Vorselon captured Azimuth, Ratchet rescued him despite Azimuth's wish to be left behind so Ratchet could press on to the Clock.^[106] Eventually, Ratchet reunited with Clank at Vapedia.

Clank objected to the plan to use the Great Clock to bring back the lombaxes, warning that it was not a time machine. As Clank and Azimuth debated, Ratchet reluctantly sided with Clank, deferring to his wisdom, which caused a rift between him and Azimuth.^[107] Torn between his responsibilities as Senior Caretaker of the Great Clock and remaining Ratchet's companion, Clank was reassured when Ratchet promised to honor either decision.^[108]

After Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark defeated Nefarious, Ratchet returned to the Great Clock to say an emotional farewell to Clank, who had decided to stay.^[109] However, Azimuth, determined to use the Clock, killed Ratchet and raced Clank to the Orvus Chamber. Clank undid the last six minutes, saving Ratchet from Azimuth in the nick of time. Azimuth still battled them and attempted to activate it, but ultimately sacrificed himself to repair the damage he had caused. Now the last lombax in the universe, Ratchet prepared to leave, but Clank, realizing he could not leave Ratchet without a family, rejoined a relieved Ratchet.^[110] Ratchet took Azimuth's Praetorian OmniWrench with him.^[111][112]

Comic series[]

Ratchet retired and returned to Veldin, shaken by the loss of Azimuth,^{[113][114][115]} spending his time repairing equipment at his garage. In Ears of War, while restoring a Skyburst 8000, Qwark, now the President of the Polaris Galaxy, requested their help in investigating a crisis where planets were disappearing across the universe. Ratchet, however, was not persuaded by either Qwark or Clank to assist, as he still felt some guilt over Azimuth's death, wishing to shut himself away so as not to cause anyone else close to him to be lost.^[116] Nonetheless, both he and Clank were kidnapped by Artemis Zogg, who sent them to his Vartax Detention Facility instead of killing them, as he was a fan of theirs.^[117]

In Friends with Benefits, after three months of failed escape attempts,^[118] Ratchet met fellow inmate General Glahm, who had secretly worked with Cronk and Zephyr to facilitate their escape.^[119] Ratchet returned to the Apogee Space Station.

In Lost and Spaced, Ratchet and Clank reunited with Talwyn, Qwark, as well as Sasha and the Galactic Rangers, who had joined forces against Zogg. Sasha and Ratchet exchanged few words during their reunion,^[120] and later, Sasha asked how Ratchet knew her, also expressing that she understood his decision to retire.^[121] Zogg then issued the group an ultimatum: if Ratchet and Clank did not surrender, Veldin would be relocated to a solar system without a sun, dooming its population to freeze.^[122]

In Thanks for the Armories, Ratchet, conflicted, wished to surrender for Veldin's sake, sparking a debate with Sasha and Talwyn, who were firmly against the idea.^[123] Following Qwark's plan, Ratchet surrendered as part of a ruse, with Clank secretly hiding a grenade that Ratchet used to disable Zogg's ship once onboard.^[124] Ratchet stole the Surinox Shard, the device Zogg used to relocate planets. Although the plan was to return the shard to Qwark, Ratchet, fearing it would be too late to save Veldin, attempted to relocate it himself but was thwarted when Zogg intervened. Talwyn crashed her ship into Zogg's to save Ratchet, but they were separated when Ratchet and Clank reached an escape pod.^[125]

In Multiple Organisms, Ratchet wielded the Praetorian OmniWrench and fought Zogg's warbot armies with it, while Clank disabled the warbots but also himself using an EMP, against Ratchet's advice.^[126] Ratchet found Veldin's Planetary Defense Center, where General Glahm had primed the system to destroy Zogg's ship. Ratchet was unable to convince Glahm to stop the attack.^[127]

In Bros Before Foes, Ratchet grieved, fearing Talwyn had still been onboard Zogg's ship when it was destroyed, but returned to the Apogee Space Station with the shard after Sasha consoled him.^[128] Zogg then attacked the station, taking Talwyn hostage.^[129] During the final battle, Ratchet used the Praetorian OmniWrench's negatively charged energy on the Surinox Shard, creating a portal that banished Zogg.^[130] Two weeks later, Ratchet and Clank visited Qwark's presidential palace, where Ratchet revealed his decision to return to Polaris and help repair the Apogee Space Station.^[131]

All 4 One[]

With Dr. Nefarious still on the loose, Ratchet claimed in an interview with Kip Darling and Pepper Fairbanks that he would not join the search, suggesting he had confidence in Qwark's ability. Later, Ratchet along with Clank followed Qwark to Luminopolis on Igliak, where he was supposed to receive an "Intergalactic Tool of Justice" award for defeating a Light-Eating Z'Grute, suspicious as Qwark had never done this. When arriving, Dr. Nefarious and his butler Lawrence appeared, and Nefarious resurrected a Light-Eating Z'Grute to kill them all, though he had no control over it and it instead ravaged the city. When Lawrence fled, announcing his resignation to Nefarious, Nefarious was forced to team up with Ratchet, Clank and Qwark to defeat it, though they were afterwards teleported away by a machine known as the Ephemeris to a testing laboratory on planet Magnus.

Cronk and Zephyr attempted to retrieve the four, but were stuck in an asteroid field and could not reach them. Therefore, the four would have to escape the world themselves and stop the Ephemeris. A small girl named Susie took the four to the tharpods, a race native to the planet, who explained the Ephemeris in detail to them. Eventually, the four worked to destroy the machine and defeat the Loki Master, who had planned to use it to destroy the universe.

The four defeated the Loki Master, and Cronk and Zephyr were finally able to arrive with the help of Lawrence. Ratchet, Clank and Qwark believed that Nefarious had changed his ways, though Nefarious instead fled the world with Lawrence and was then still at large as a supervillain.

Full Frontal Assault[]

After Qwark lost the next presidential election, he, Ratchet and Clank founded a new Q-Force, with new members on an entirely new Starship Phoenix II. An unknown villain contacted the Phoenix II and revealed he was taking control of the Private Sector, forcing the new Q-Force to stop him. After they defeated his grungarian forces on planet Markazia, the villain revealed himself to be Qwark fanboy, Stuart Zurgo, whom Ratchet had previously encountered in Bogon.

Ratchet and the Q-Force defeated his forces on planets Ebaro and Proteus VII, though Zurgo had infiltrated their ship and taken over Ebaro's weather system, plunging the sector into chaos. Ratchet and the Q-Force destroyed the generator before invading Zurgo's Lair of Doom to defeat him and bring him into Polaris' authorities.

Into the Nexus[]

Now a member of the Polaris Defense Force with Clank, Cronk, Zephyr and Talwyn, Ratchet worked to arrest criminal Vendra Prog for her assault on Pollyx Industries. Ratchet, along with Clank, Cronk and Zephyr, escorted her to the Vartax Detention Center, though her brother, Neftin Prog, working with the Thugs-4-Less mercenaries, attacked the ship and kidnapped Cronk and Zephyr. Ratchet and Clank were imprisoned aboard the ship, though while the windows cracked open and allowed them to escape the ship before the Progs and Thugs destroyed it, they were forced to watch helplessly as Cronk and Zephyr died. Ratchet was able to stow away on the Thugs' ship to fly to planet Yerek.

Ratchet delivered the news to a visibly distraught Talwyn, who urged him to return to Meridian City on Igliak where it was safe, though Ratchet objected and wished to avenge Cronk and Zephyr. They learned that Yerek and the rest of the Zarkov Sector had been abandoned for 20 years. After retrieving a Grav-Tether from Pollyx's assistant, they tracked Pollyx himself to the Azeril Caverns where he gave Clank an upgrade to travel to the Netherverse. Ratchet and Clank realized that the "ghosts" haunting Yerek were in fact a race known as the nethers, and that Venda and Neftin Prog were orphaned nethers themselves who were trying to bring their leader, Mr. Eye, and the other nethers to this dimension with a low-rent Dimensionator. While still wishing to avenge the war bots' deaths, Ratchet became more sympathetic, as he understood that they wanted to be reunited with their race as he did. When catching up to the two, he defeated Neftin Prog, but failed to stop Vendra Prog from bringing Mr/ Eye to the universe, and Mr. Eye as predicted betrayed Vendra and imprisoned her in the Netherverse.

Ratchet and Clank agreed to meet Neftin on planet Thram, where they agreed that they would help Neftin steal the Dimensionator and free Vendra, but the Prog twins must then turn themselves in. They headed to the Intergalactic Museum of History in Meridian City, in which they found the Dimensionator. The city came under attack from Mr. Eye, and Clank went to the Netherverse and found Vendra. Ratchet fought Mr. Eye, and Clank retrieved Vendra, allowing her to seal Mr. Eye and the nethers back into the Netherverse. The Prog twins kept their word and turned themselves in. The low-rent Dimensionator was returned to the museum, which fell apart, though Ratchet claimed despite wanting to find his race, he settled in staying in this dimension with Talwyn. Ratchet left to meet up with Talwyn, unaware that Clank had swiped the Dimensionator.

Rift Apart[]

In Rift Apart, Ratchet makes use of dimension-hopping technology with Clank, revisiting several planets they had been to in a battle against Nefarious.

Characteristics[]

Appearance[]

Ratchet is a lombax (an anthropomorphic feline) with yellow fur, two large pointy ears with brown stripes, large hands, flat, triangular clawed feet, large green eyes and a tufted tail. Ratchet's iconic attire normally consists of teal-blue pants, with knee padding, along with brown leather gloves, a chest harness, and a belt. Starting in Tools of Destruction, Ratchet's attire was updated with an orange, tangerine and teal-blue short-sleeved shirt with brown boots. In addition, Ratchet normally equips a wide variety of heavy armor, and wears Clank as a backpack. With some exceptions, the armor does not normally cover his face.

His proportions have changed slightly throughout the series. Since Tools of Destruction, Ratchet's arms and legs have been longer than his original appearance, while his hands are slightly smaller, giving him more realistic humanoid proportions. His height compared to other characters also tends to vary by game, though he is typically much shorter than other beings in the galaxy he encounters. Ratchet's appearance not resembling that of a typical larger, more muscular hero such as Captain Qwark or Captain Starshield has often led to opponents underestimating him.^[b]

In the Japanese versions of the games he has darker and bigger eyebrows, although this change in appearance was discontinued after A Crack in Time.

Personality[]

Ratchet is an eager, headstrong, light-hearted, and astute character. He is a thrillseeker, both having a great sense of adventure and actively enjoying danger.^[d] Ratchet's headstrong nature both allows him to fearlessly leap into harm's way, which can be to his benefit or to his detriment depending on his success, particularly when he overestimates his mechanical skills.^[e] Ratchet is fairly astute, and though not always able to piece things together immediately, he can notice he is being misled.^[f] Ratchet is light-hearted in most situations, often throwing in snide remarks at his foes,^[135] or making light jabs at his own expense to brighten the mood.^[136]

Throughout his time, Ratchet has often struggled between his heroism and his own wants. In his first adventure, Ratchet became fixated on vengeance against Qwark,^[13] before seeing Clank was right and there was more at stake.^[16] In Deadlocked, he was briefly allured by the fame and fortune of a professional gladiator,^[50][137] but strongly rebuked Vox's offer to be made champion after seeing what it would take to get there.^[65] Ratchet's conflict took center stage in Tools of Destruction: his fixation on the promise of using the Dimensionator paralleled his fixation on vengeance from years ago, and similarly put him at odds with Clank.^[91] He later regretted this and took Clank's side, and when offered the choice by Tachyon to use the Dimensionator to reunite with his people, chose to destroy it to keep his friends and the universe safe, denying himself the family he had once sought.^[4]

Ratchet's relationships with others have shaped his personal growth and internal struggle. He originally admired Captain Qwark before coming to see him as a fraud,^[6] as Qwark was solely motivated by the fame and fortune, something Ratchet has sought himself^[50] but resisted selling his integrity for it in a way Qwark would.^[65] His relationship with Qwark also showcases his personal growth: Ratchet grew past the focus on vengeance against Qwark in his first adventure, to the point of working closely with Qwark later to help one another out.^[g] In addition, Ratchet has resisted harboring similar hatred for his other foes; while Dr. Nefarious loathes Ratchet and wishes to kill him, Ratchet has only ever wanted to stop Nefarious. Ratchet's growth is also seen with Alister Azimuth, a mentor to Ratchet who shared many of the same values, and whose fixation on the promise of using the Great Clock to return the lombaxes mirrored Ratchet's fixation on the Dimensionator for the same purpose. Seeing the damage that could be done to the fabric of space and time by using it, Ratchet warned Azimuth against it, before ultimately fighting over it.

What separates Ratchet from his allies and adversaries in this way is Clank, his most important friendship. When Ratchet is ever led astray towards pursuing selfish ends, Clank is always the one to remind him of what is right,^[13][50][91] something Ratchet came to realize is important.^[16][140] The two also play off one another well: while Clank's more cautious, measured approach is balanced by Ratchet's headstrong attitude, and while Clank's optimism and faith in people's good nature can serve them both well, Ratchet's more astute nature allows him to see traps before Clank does.^[134] As well as being guided by Clank's moral compass, Ratchet is also fiercely protective of his friends and his home: he becomes animated in response to any threats against Veldin,^[17][29] and has gone out of his way to come to the defense of his friends.^[h]

Abilities[]

Ratchet is a talented and resourceful mechanic who has invented powerful devices often with limited resources available to him. He began his adventures when he built his own starship with his OmniWrench,^[144] and later built an intergalactic warp drive with scrap metal.^[29] Among his other inventions were a nuclear-powered rocket sled, an anti-matter bathroom buddy, and electro-shock undergarments named "Stunderwear".^[145] However, his overconfidence with his skills often leads him to use his devices untested, which can have dangerous consequences.^[e]

Despite not having a pilot's license,^[146] he is nonetheless a skilled pilot. Ratchet has survived and won several dogfights in space against insurmountable odds, as well as win races against Ace Bunyon, the fastest pilot in the Bogon Galaxy.^[147] Ratchet's most commonly used starship has been the Aphelion, a sentient lombax vessel used since Tools of Destruction, though prior to that he frequently used the Star Explorer ship provided to him by Megacorp, among others. Ratchet has also shown proficiency in commandeering several vehicles, including hoverboards, hoverbikes, the turboslider, and the Landstalker. With hoverboards and hoverbikes, Ratchet has competed in and won races, including earning membership of the Desert Riders for his success.^[141]

Ratchet is a skilled, acrobatic, and physically a strong fighter. With Megacorp, he underwent extensive commando training, including in martial arts, heavy weaponry, survival skills, and stealth, but also in macramé, ballroom dance, and origami.^[22] Despite his appearance, his physical strength is enough to hold off the likes of even a war grok. However, his primary strength in combat comes from his extensive arsenal which allows him to wield a vast array of weapons.

Equipment[]

Ratchet wields a loaded arsenal of weaponry acquired both legally and illegally from several manufacturers: Gadgetron, Megacorp, Vox Industries, GrummelNet, the lombaxes, and others. He equips weapons using a neuro-sensor in his helmet, which reads his thoughts and teleports the desired weapon in his hands.^[20] His weapons range from standard blasters (such as the Blaster, Dual Vipers, or Combuster), grenade launchers (such as the Gravity Bomb, Nitro Launcher or Fusion Grenade), shotguns (such as the Shock Blaster, the Shard Reaper, or the Constructo Shotgun and missile launchers (such as the Devastator, the Minirocket Tube, or the Negotiator), to many other deployed tactical weapons (such as the Groovitron, the Miniturret Glove, or the Nano-Swarmers) and weapons that summon aid in combat (such as the Agents of Doom and Mr. Zurkon).

By far Ratchet's deadliest weapons are the illegal RYNO weapons, extremely powerful weapons that are either large missile launchers (original R.Y.N.O., RY3NO), rapid fire missile launchers (RYNO II, RYNO V, RYNO VII), dark matter launchers (RY3NO when upgraded, RYNO IV) or even mech suits (RYNO VI Protosuit). Ratchet also often wields weapons that can morph his opponents into animals (such as the Morph-o-Ray, the Sheepinator, and the Transmorpher), and tear holes in the fabric of space and time (the Rift Inducer).

As well as his arsenal of weapons, Ratchet's signature weapon is his OmniWrench, a device he uses a mechanic,^[144] but wields as a melee weapon. The OmniWrench also serves him well in interacting with his environment (typically turning bolt cranks or picking up and throwing objects). Aside from this, his most common gadgets are the Swingshot, used to swing across large gaps, the Grind Boots used to grind on rails, and the hoverboots, a lombax invention used to quickly traverse environments.

Behind the scenes[]

Concept and design[]

Ratchet was originally conceptualized by Insomniac employee Brian Hastings as a reptilian alien who traveled around planets collecting weapons.^{[148][149][150]} The concept behind had at some point evolved into that of a fuzzy caveman led to space by a robot on a mission to save the galaxy, before the caveman's club was replaced with the OmniWrench 8000, and the caveman became a mechanic.^[150]

The very first concept art of a reptilian Ratchet was designed by David Guertin,^[148] with the idea of a "spunky alien with a crazy gadget gauntlet and some Bionic Commando traversal abilities".^[151] This form gave way to Ratchet's cat-like form,^[151] decided upon after Insomniac looked at various terrestrial creatures, such as dogs and rats, and settled on feline features due to the sense of agility associated with them.^[152] He was designed to be "fast and furious early" on.^[153]

Ratchet's initial design lacked eyebrows and stripes on the ears and went through many different color iterations before finally settling on a brown design. Sony's Japanese animators instead suggested using a yellow color and adding stripes to the ears to prevent Ratchet from blending into the background with nothing to look at and to appeal more to a Japanese audience, changes Ted Price of Insomniac objected to (saying that they would make the changes "over my dead body"), though these were implemented by Guertin nonetheless and adopted as final.^{[148][154][155]} Ratchet was also given five fingers rather than three or four to appear more anthropomorphic but also to be better received in Japan, a decision made through conventional wisdom rather than one suggested by Sony of Japan.^[154] Clean shapes as well as bold iconic ears were key to his final design.^[156]

Development[]

Ratchet was voiced by Mikey Kelley in the original Ratchet & Clank, and though his voice acting was praised,^[157] Ratchet's personality as a whole received negative feedback,^{[157][158][159][160]} and Insomniac were unhappy with his personality, considering him "too sarcastic, too snarky, too selfish".^[161] This prompted a significant personality change for the sequel, Going Commando, in which Ratchet was instead voiced by James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Tidus from Final Fantasy X) from then onwards, to induce a "psychological reset" in players, and given a much more mature and affable personality.^[159] Many scenes in Going Commando were written deliberately to show Ratchet being protective of Clank, to draw a distinction from the previous game where Ratchet was often at odds with Clank.^[162]

In Tools of Destruction, Tachyon taunts Ratchet by saying that only he knows Ratchet's true name. This is because Ratchet's real lombax name was originally going to be revealed in A Crack in Time, but writer T.J. Fixman and Brian Allgeier opted not to reveal it as they realized that "Ratchet" is part of his identity, and wanted to continue to call him that. Fixman and Allgeier also know what happened to Ratchet's mother and Kaden, but have not revealed those stories in case they revisit them in a later game.^[163]

When transitioning to the PlayStation 3 hardware, Ratchet's character model became far more detailed in terms of polygons and bones for his skeleton to animate the character. While the skeleton for Ratchet's character model used 110 bones in total in the PlayStation 2 entries, for Tools of Destruction, the skeleton featured 120 bones in the face alone.^[164]

Jak X: Combat Racing listed Ratchet's age as of Deadlocked at 18. During a livestream Insomniac Games noted that Ratchet was either 15 or 17 during the events of the first game.^[165]

Non-canonical appearances[]

Ratchet also appears in non-canonical entries to the series. In the manga, Ratchet & Clank: Bang Bang Bang! Critical Danger of the Galaxy Legend, Ratchet is the main character and has to save Clank.

In a mobile phone game, Going Mobile, Ratchet and Clank were invited to look at new biomatter converter technology^[166], though the device accidentally transported them to a Secret Agent Clank vid-comic.^[167] They eventually contacted Al, who informed them only the MCGuFIN could help them escape, which they had to find^[168], although it had split into pieces on transport.^[169] They obtained all pieces, but discovered Maximillian was also planning to use it and escape the vid-comic, and was waiting for them at the final exit.^[170] They managed to defeat Maximillian, and then used the device themselves, traveling either home or to an unknown location.^[171]

In the short film, Ratchet & Clank: Life of Pie, Ratchet and Clank were on a pizza run when they stumbled upon Dr. Nefarious' experiments with the Portalizer, after numerous setbacks, the duo eventually managed to secure the device in the weapons museum in Galactic City.

Non-Ratchet & Clank appearances[]

Ratchet has several major appearances in non-Ratchet & Clank titles. In Jak X: Combat Racing, Ratchet is a playable character, who drives a car with Clank as the antenna, in multiplayer mode. This is a crossover with the game and Deadlocked, in which Jak is a playable skin for the second player in co-operative mode.

In PlayStation Move Heroes, Ratchet appeared, based on his Tools of Destruction attire. Ratchet and Clank were captured, alongside Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper, to compete in a friendly competition hosted by the floating aliens known as the Whibbles to determine which was the greatest hero. The three fought at first, though they later allied to defeat villains Gleeber and Lunk, who had enslaved the Whibbles. Ratchet appeared to be the leader of the group, often breaking up disagreements between Jak and Sly. Later, the team defeated Gleeber and Lunk, and were returned to their worlds, with a communicator to keep in contact with the others.

Ratchet makes an appearance in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as a playable character with Clank. Ratchet uses many of his weapons from the series, including the wrench, the Combuster, the Sonic Eruptor, the Agents of Doom, the Suck Cannon, Mr. Zurkon, and for his first Super Move, the RYNO V. For his ultimate level three Super Move, Ratchet uses the Aphelion to destroy enemies. In Ratchet's story mode, Ratchet and Clank are traveling through the galaxy searching for gold bolts, and track them down to the Nefarious Space Station, where they defeat many foes, run into Qwark and Nefarious, encounter their story rivals Jak and Daxter, and finally defeat the final boss, Polygon Man (the source of the fake gold bolt signal).

Non-Ratchet & Clank cameos[]

Aside from their playable appearances, Ratchet makes cameos in many other non-Ratchet & Clank titles:

• In Jak II, Ratchet and Clank appear on the walls in Haven City, in a poster based on his Going Commando appearance.
• Ratchet is an unlockable golfer in Hot Shots Golf Fore! (known as Everybody's Golf in Europe), with Clank as a caddie.
• In Jak 3, Ratchet and Clank appear as targets in a secret gun course, along with Tyhrranoids.
• In Ape Escape 3, an ape wearing a Ratchet outfit that was equipped with Ratchet's OmniWrench and a Clank backpack can be caught.
• A secret that could be found unlocked a Ratchet mask that Daxter could wear in Daxter.
• In Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2, also developed by Insomniac Games, lombax equipment can be unlocked in multiplayer, based on Ratchet.
• In LittleBigPlanet 2 and onwards, a Ratchet costume is available as downloadable content.
• Ratchet, along with Clank, appear as a DLC Mod characters for the racing game Modnation Racers.
• In Super Bomberman R Ratchet, along with Clank is playable on the PlayStation 4 version.
• In Among Us, a Ratchet costume, consisting of a skin and hat, is obtainable exclusively on the PlayStation version.
• In Astro Bot, Ratchet makes his cameo as a VIP Bot named Tooled-Up Mechanic, as well as having a costume based on him.

Reception[]

Ratchet was later voted as the sixteenth top character of the 2000s decade by Game Informer readers.^[172]

In the original Ratchet & Clank, reaction to Ratchet's character was lukewarm. IGN, while praising Mikey Kelly's voice acting, criticized his character as bland.^[157] GameSpy also criticized what they described as Ratchet's uninteresting aesthetic design and rude, immature and immoral demeanor.^[158] Following Going Commando, reaction to Ratchet was much more positive, with IGN noting that he was "no longer an angry, selfish teenage furry", rather he was "a lot more palatable" due to being wiser and more forgiving.^[173]

Notes[]

Annotations[]

Citations[]

References[]

Video games

• Insomniac Games (2002). Ratchet & Clank [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 2.
• Insomniac Games (2003). Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 2.
• Insomniac Games (2004). Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal [Game]. PlayStation 2.
• Insomniac Games (2005). Ratchet: Deadlocked [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 2.
• High Impact Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation Portable.
• High Impact Games (2008). Secret Agent Clank [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation Portable.
• Insomniac Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2008). Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2011). Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2012). Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2013). Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2016). Ratchet & Clank [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.
• Insomniac Games (2021). Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.

Bibliography

• Dingo, Star (2003). "Command Performance". From Official PlayStation Magazine (73).
• Dingo, Star (2003). "Rustproofing". From GamePro (182).
• Talon, Durwin S. (2004). Comics Above Ground: How Sequential Art Affects Mainstream Media. TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 1893905314.
• Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 1: Ears of War) [Book]. Wild Storm.
• Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 2: Friends with Benefits) [Book]. Wild Storm.
• Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 3: Lost and Spaced) [Book]. Wild Storm.
• Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 4: Thanks for the Armories) [Book]. Wild Storm.
• Fixman, TJ (2011). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 5: Multiple Organisms) [Book]. Wild Storm.
• Fixman, TJ (2011). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 6: Bros Before Foes) [Book]. Wild Storm.
• Sony Interactive Entertainment (2018). The Art of Ratchet & Clank [Book]. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 978-1506705729.

Websites

• Insomniac Games (2005, October 14). "News Update". From Insomniac Games. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019.
• Insomniac Games (2005, October 19). "News Update - Entertainment News". From Insomniac Games. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019.
• Insomniac Games (2005, October 19). "News Update - Entertainment News". From Insomniac Games. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019.
• Insomniac Games (2005, October 21). "News Update - Action News Update". From Insomniac Games. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019.
• Insomniac Games (2012, August 21). "Ratchet & Clank: 10 Years of Concept Art". From IGN. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017.
• Kubak12 (2015, July 10). "T.J. Fixman interviewed by fans!". From Ratchet Galaxy. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019.
• McLaughlin, Rus (2012, June 14). "IGN Presents The History of Ratchet and Clank". From IGN. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017.
• McGarvey, Sterling (2007, May 17). "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction". From GameSpy. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018.
• Perry, Douglass C. (2002, November 4). "Ratchet and Clank". From IGN. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015.
• Turner, Benjamin (2002, November 13). "Ratchet & Clank (PS2)". From GameSpy. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015.
• Perry, Douglass C. (2003, November 11). "Ratchet and Clank Going Commando". From IGN. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017.
• Vore, Brian (2010, December 3). "Readers' Top 30 Characters Results Revealed". From Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017.

Videos

• Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2011, June 25). Ratchet & Clank 2 Dev Commentary: 6A - Barlow [Video]. YouTube.
• Price, Ted; Schafer, Tim [@GDC] (2015, December 21). Devs Play S2E02 · "Ratchet & Clank" with Ted Price and Tim Schafer [Video]. YouTube.
• Fixman, TJ (2012, September 5). "Ratchet & Clank - The 10th Anniversary Celebration Panel (PAX 2012)". From IGN. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019.
• Allgeier, Brian; Fixman, TJ [@GDC] (2018, June 26). 15 Years of Ratchet & Clank: A Lombax Story [Video]. YouTube.
• Stevenson, James; Price, Ted (2017, November 7). Insomniac Live - Ratchet & Clank [Video]. Insomniac Games. YouTube.
• Stevenson, James [Games @Insomniac Games] (2017, November 28). Insomniac Live - Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time - pt 3 [Video]. YouTube.
• Insomniac Games [Games @Insomniac Games] (2017, November 7). Insomniac Live - Ratchet & Clank [Video]. YouTube.