Lombax

Lombaxes are a recurring species in the Ratchet & Clank series, and the species of the main protagonist, Ratchet. They are a humanoid, feline-like species of renowned engineers hailing from planet Fastoon in the Polaris Galaxy. They have an innate affinity towards machinery, and their Center for Advanced Lombax Research has developed some of the universe's most advanced technology in the form of powerful weaponry and fast spaceships. Notable lombax technologies include the OmniWrench, the hoverboots, and the Dimensionator.

The lombaxes were once revered as heroes after defeating the cragmites in the Great War. Much later, a surviving cragmite, Emperor Tachyon, sought revenge against them, at which point they largely vanished from the universe. They are now mostly an endangered race. The only lombaxes seen in the series are Ratchet, Angela Cross, Alister Azimuth, and Rivet (who is from another dimension).

History[]

Before Ratchet & Clank[]

The lombaxes originated from Fastoon^[1] in the Polaris Galaxy. The Polaris Galaxy was mostly controlled by the Great Cragmite Empire until the lombaxes led a revolt against them^[2] centuries prior to the events of Ratchet & Clank,^[a]} fighting alongside Allied Polaris.

The lombax warriors of Fastoon fought using Trillium armor, the most effective armor the galaxy had seen since then,^[6][7] and the Alpha Disruptor, an arm-mounted nano-weapon^[8] capable of destroying most starships,^[9] both products of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research.^[7][8] Their even match against the cragmites led the war to reach a stalemate,^[2] until eight^[10] of the brightest lombax architects on Breegus Minor created the Dimensionator^[3] over three Arcturian cycles of research.^[10] The "most important invention in lombax history",^[10] the device ended the Great War as it was used to exile the cragmites^[3] to dimension X2-49.^[11] The lombaxes were thereafter declared heroes.^[12]

Though the war had ended, Polaris was still a dangerous place, and the lombaxes were still needed to protect it.^[13] Centuries after the war,^[a] lombax trillium miners on the Kreeli Comet found Percival Tachyon frozen in an egg and raised him on Fastoon. Tachyon brought them designs for new mech suits light-years ahead of lombax technology. Alister Azimuth, elder councilman of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research,^[14] entrusted Tachyon with all their secrets, against the advice of Kaden and other lombaxes who had grown weary of him, believing it necessary to protect Polaris. Tachyon instead used it to construct his Imperial Army.^[13]

Knowing the universe was in danger, Kaden and the lombax council entrusted a lombax named Mags to map every dimension in existence,^[15] so as to find a perfect dimension for the lombaxes to hide in. ^[16] When Tachyon attacked Fastoon, the lombaxes escaped to their dimension;^[13] Mags left the Dimensional Map in the Savali Archives and attempted to find the lombaxes, though they were scattered across numerous dimensions.^[17] Among the lombaxes who remained in Ratchet's dimension were Kaden, his infant son Ratchet, ^[18] the exiled Alister Azimuth,^[13] and Angela Cross.^[19] Inmates of lombax descent were still locked up in Zordoom Prison.^[20]

Ratchet & Clank onwards[]

Ratchet grew up on planet Veldin in the Solana Galaxy. In Ratchet & Clank, he left the planet after he met Clank, a robot with a Zoni soul who allowed him to pursue many adventures throughout the universe. During Going Commando, in the Bogon Galaxy, Ratchet and Clank met another lombax, Angela Cross, who had worked for Megacorp until it was hijacked by Captain Qwark for his own selfish needs. Sometime after, Angela Cross traveled with Max Apogee to escape Tachyon's persecution, fleeing to Polaris and later disappearing along with him after escaping the Cerullean Sector.^[19]

In Size Matters, as part of his plan to become the most intelligent being in the universe, technomite emperor Otto Destruct began the creation of an army of Ratchet clones. After his defeat, these clones were repurposed as "Battle Ratchets".^[21]

During Tools of Destruction, Tachyon tracked Ratchet down to planet Kerwan, destroying the planet's capital until he believed Ratchet was killed. Ratchet instead followed Tachyon to the Polaris Galaxy, where he learned the history of his race and found the hidden Dimensionator, located on planet Jasindu. After the Dimensionator switched hands a few times, Tachyon took it for himself and brought the cragmites back into the universe. Ratchet defeated the cragmites and finally caught up with Tachyon, who told Ratchet of the lombax dimension and offered to allow him to join his race. Ratchet refused, reasoning that Tachyon would not leave the galaxy alone,^[18] and instead defeated Tachyon and banished him to another dimension entirely.

In A Crack in Time, Ratchet met Alister Azimuth, a friend of Ratchet's father, Kaden. Azimuth wished to find the Great Clock and use it to correct his own mistakes and bring the lombaxes back.^[13] Azimuth eventually fought Ratchet and Clank and attempted to use the Clock to rewind time. However, upon learning that the Clock could not be used as a time machine and that doing so risked destroying the universe, Azimuth stopped the Clock in its tracks, dying in the process. This left Ratchet as the last known lombax in the universe.^[22]

In Into the Nexus, Ratchet had another chance to be reunited with his race after Vendra Prog and her brother Neftin Prog recreated a Dimensionator to bring the nethers into the universe. In the end, Ratchet left the Dimensionator broken, believing he had too much in his own dimension to leave it simply to join the lombaxes.

Clank later repaired the Dimensionator so that Ratchet could find the lombaxes, believing he deserved it after all he had given up.^[23] In Rift Apart, Dr. Nefarious stole the Dimensionator and took them to Rivet's dimension, where Ratchet met another lombax named Rivet, his apparent alternate dimension counterpart, who was a member of the Resistance against Emperor Nefarious.

Characteristics[]

Biology[]

Lombaxes are feline-like humanoid aliens possessing large heads, hands, and feet. They also have pointed ears and a tail.^[b] Lombax fur coat has been seen to have color palettes ranging from Ratchet's yellow coat with brown stripes to Alister Azimuth's white coat with maroon stripes, to Rivet's light bluish-white coat, with dove blue stripes. This fur can also resemble facial hair, as seen on Azimuth's mutton chops. Male and female lombaxes have different characteristics.^[b]

Lombaxes are notable for possessing palms with five fingers as opposed to the typical three. Their feet are triangular and flat on the bottom, lacking toes, instead featuring two large claws and one smaller (almost vestigial) claw on each foot. Lombaxes also appear to have very varied facial structures, ranging from a sunken muzzle with a rough brow ridge to a rounder structure with a definite muzzle and cheeks.

Despite their relatively small size and stature, lombaxes also appear to possess unusual strength and durability for their size. Rivet was able to stop the finger of the Fixer from crushing her and Clank, Azimuth managed to revert the Great Clock's large mechanisms back into place with the help of his Praetorian OmniWrench, and Ratchet has frequently gone hand-to-hand with monsters and machines far larger than him.

They possess many attributes found in that of felines. A common derogatory term for lombaxes throughout the series is "space rat" and "rodent".

Lombaxes are stated to be an example of "single-brained organisms" by a terachnoid Lab Assistant.^[24]

Society[]

Lombaxes were known not only as engineers but also as great warriors, being capable of matching the cragmites at the height of their power and bringing the war to a stalemate.^[2]

The lombaxes also have their own language, which lombaxes themselves (aside from Ratchet), and some explorers including Talwyn can read.^[25] Lombax language has an alphabet, a substitution cipher of the Latin alphabet, which comprises circles and shapes resembling machinery or bolts. This alphabet forms text seen throughout lombax technology.

The lombaxes had elite warriors in the form of the Lombax Praetorian Guard. General Alister Azimuth is the only known member, with the rank of Four-Bolt Magistrate.^[14][c] Their warriors had their own trillium armor,^[26] and presumably wielded Praetorian OmniWrenches simialr to Azimuth's.

Lombaxes played hoverball. Kaden was the captain of the team on Fastoon.^[27]

Habitat[]

Lombaxes appeared to live in large cities, as seen in the ruins of Fastoon and in glimpses of the lombax dimension. The architecture seen in these cities somewhat resembles Meridian City on planet Igliak, suggesting the lombaxes inspired its architecture.

Behavior[]

Lombaxes are well known and revered throughout the Polaris Galaxy for their advanced technological knowledge. Lombaxes rarely used unmodified equipment and are well known for inventing and modifying technology on their own.^[28]

Typical lombaxes were considered "noble" and "courageous".^[18]

Technology[]

The most common and well-known lombax weapon is the OmniWrench. Ratchet wields many different OmniWrenches collected throughout his adventures from different manufacturers, while Azimuth wields his own double-bladed Praetorian OmniWrench. Another powerful lombax weapon is the Alpha Disruptor, a nano-weapon^[8] capable of destroying starships,^[9] ranked third on the Polaris Compendium of Ridiculously Overpowered Weapons.^[29]

Lombaxes are also known to have developed very fast spaceships, which are sentient, such as Aphelion, whose speed of 800 cubits/second was far beyond what space pirates had seen.^[30] Azimuth has his own lombax ship with the same design as Aphelion. Lombaxes are also known to develop ground vehicles, such as the Gyro-cycle, as well as ion propulsion cells and zero-g stabilizers used in transportation devices such as the hoverboots.

Trillium armor, worn by the lombax warriors of Fastoon, was the most effective armor the galaxy had seen.^[7] It contains a bionic endoskeleton galvanized with trillium ore.^[6] Lombax Praetorian armor was also forged of trillium ore.^[26]

One of the most powerful (and dangerous) piece of technology created by the lombaxes was the Dimensionator, a device capable of creating a small portal between different realities. The lombaxes would eventually use this device to flee from Tachyon and take refuge in a hidden dimension.

A lot of lombax technology seems to be bio-activated by other lombaxes. The lombax artifact,^[31] the Center for Advanced Lombax Research testing facility on Rykan V,^[25] and the lorbs on Savali^[32] were all locked only to lombaxes.

Behind the scenes[]

Insomniac CEO, Ted Price, named the lombax species.^[33] The name is first mentioned in the Goodies menu of Ratchet & Clank,^[34] then on the back of the box of the Platinum edition of Ratchet & Clank, and is first spoken aloud in Going Commando.^[35]

Ratchet's race was originally not designed as a cat-like creature, as he was first going to appear as a more reptilian alien.^[36] David Guertin of Insomniac eventually altered the design until the team settled on a brown fur design.^[37][38] Sony's Japanese animators suggested using a yellow color for Ratchet and adding stripes to the ears to appeal more to a Japanese audience, changes Ted Price of Insomniac stated the team would make "over my dead body", though these were implemented by Guertin nonetheless and they were accepted by the team.^[37][39] Lombaxes were given five fingers rather than less to be more culturally acceptable to Japanese audiences, a decision made by Insomniac as a result of conventional wisdom rather than a suggestion by Sony of Japan.^[39]

Prior to A Crack in Time, debate existed amongst fans as to whether or not Angela was a lombax, based on having no tail, on Ratchet being referred to as "the last lombax" in Tools of Destruction, and on a lack of clarity as to Angela's race. Her race was then confirmed in a space radio segment in A Crack in Time.^[19] Writer TJ Fixman reiterated at the Ratchet & Clank 10th anniversary panel that she is in fact a lombax.^[37]

Grant Hollis of Insomniac Games designed the lombax alphabet.^[40] All letters are known apart from the letter "J", and each letter appears to resemble a bolt or wrench.

Artwork for A Crack in Time included a lombax with a robot. ^[41]

In early versions of the 2016 re-imagined game, it is mentioned by Qwark that the blarg played a major role in extinction of the lombaxes.^[42][43]

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.
• High Impact Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation Portable.
• Insomniac Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [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.

Videos

• Price, Ted; Schafer, Tim [@GDC] (2015, December 21). Devs Play S2E02 · "Ratchet & Clank" with Ted Price and Tim Schafer [Video]. YouTube.

Websites

• McLaughlin, Rus (n.d.) . "IGN Presents The History of Ratchet and Clank". From "IGN". Archived from the original on April 19, 2017.
• Fixman, TJ [@TJFixman] (2010, June 30). Actually, the artists design the font. Colin Geller designed the Zoni font and Grant Hollis designed the Lombax font. :) [Tweet]. Twitter.
• Fixman, TJ (2012, September 5). "Ratchet & Clank - The 10th Anniversary Celebration Panel (PAX 2012)". From IGN. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019.
• Fiorito, John (n.d.) . "Ratchet & Clank: 10 Years of Concept Art". From "Insomniac Games". Archived from the original on October 21, 2017.
• Dawkins, Dan (n.d.) . "“We made a four-page manual on crate stacking”: Ratchet and Clank’s creators on the lessons of their 15-year success story". From "GamesRadar". Archived from the original on March 27, 2018.