Ratchet

Ratchet is a Lombax native to the planet Veldin and is the main protagonist of the Ratchet & Clank series. Ratchet is 5 feet tall and, as of Ratchet: Deadlocked, weighed 97.5lbs (44.3kgs). In Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet is voiced by Mikey Kelley. In the following Ratchet & Clank games, he was voiced by James Arnold Taylor. He is also the son of Kaden, who was killed shortly after Ratchet's birth.

Ratchet & Clank
Before the beginning of his first adventure, Ratchet was finishing the construction of his ship. Dreaming of wild adventures in the galaxy, the Lombax was quite disappointed when HelpDesk informed him that he would need a robotic ignition system to start his ship. However, Ratchet noticed a ship falling from the sky which crash-landed onto the Kyzil Plateau, and upon exploration of the debris, found an unconscious Clank. The diminutive robot showed (after startling the Lombax by suddenly waking up) Ratchet an Infobot video of Chairman Drek's plans of destroying the planet Novalis to make a new planet for his species, the Blarg. Clank helped Ratchet start his ship in return for a trip to Novalis, where the little robot began looking for the hero Captain Qwark, in order to stop Drek's plans. Ratchet decided to go along for the adventure.

Ratchet's ship crashed on Novalis, but according to the official statement in the game's Sketchbook feature (in the Goodies menu), nobody really knows why. They got to talk to the planet's chairman in order to borrow his Courier Ship and obtained coordinates for the capital city of the planet Kerwan, Metropolis. After talking to the Plumber, they also received an Infobot of Skid McMarx and his agent being shot down over the planet Aridia.

Ratchet completed Captain Qwark's physical fitness course on Kerwan and should have won a Swingshot from Helga for his efforts, but after "disgracing" the course, she made them pay 1,000 bolts for it. After finding out from Big Al that Captain Qwark was no longer on Kerwan, Ratchet received an Infobot for planet Eudora.

The pair had several adventures together and generally got along well, until they met Captain Qwark at his base on Umbris. Ratchet felt that something wasn't quite right, but Clank was eager to trust the Captain. Qwark betrayed them and left them to be food for his pet Blargian Snagglebeast. After defeating the Snagglebeast, Ratchet became increasingly bitter and hostile towards Clank for leading him right into a trap, and obsessed with getting revenge on Qwark. After fighting Qwark in a Blarg ship at the Gemlik Moonbase and seeing the devastation of a nearby planet at Drek's hands, Ratchet finally realized that Drek had to be stopped and made amends with Clank. After a fierce battle, Ratchet sent the Chairman flying up to his newly-created planet and destroyed it. Flaming chunks hitting the Deplanetizer's control pad knocked Ratchet and Clank off, and only Clank's quick thinking stopped them from hurtling down to the Plateau below. However, the servos in his arm were broken from supporting Ratchet's weight and they both fell. Once again, the brave little robot saved Ratchet's life by using his Thruster-Pack upgrade (installed by Bob on Pokitaru) to break the Lombax's fall. Ratchet then started to walk off, to Clanks disappointment. However, just as Clank was about to leave, Ratchet returned, and offered to repair Clank's broken arm. Ratchet and Clank became a team.

Later, the two watched an advertisement for Qwark's Personal Hygenator; horrified and disgusted by its effects, Ratchet shouted at Clank to turn the TV off.

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
In the beginning of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Ratchet and Clank were doing an interview with Behind the Hero, talking about what had happened after Drek was defeated. Ratchet said there were parades, press conferences, "fancy dress balls", and Clank mentioned the wiener roast at Al's. After that, everything returned to normal. Suddenly he and Clank were transported to the Bogon Galaxy by Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the president of Megacorp. Ratchet was offered an opportunity to undergo training to become a Megacorp commando, while Clank was offered an apartment in Megapolis on planet Endako, along with a job as an accountant.

Two weeks later, Ratchet headed to planet Aranos to infiltrate a Flying Lab, and then attempted to retrieve a stolen Protopet experiment of Megacorp's, from an unknown thief. The thief evaded Ratchet persistently, capturing Clank from his apartment and holding him hostage. The two reunited when Clank freed Ratchet from a locked room and eventually retrieved the experiment on planet Siberius. After meeting with Fizzwidget, and "accidentally" being ejected from the ship on planet Tabora, Ratchet and Clank met with the Thief to learn about the true means of the experiment. The two investigated the Testing Facility on planet Dobbo, and found more and more information, culminating into the true means on planet Todano, which the duo attempted to put a stop to in Silver City by talking with Fizzwidget. Ratchet then made the mistake of threatening a robotic copy of Fizzwidget with the Thugs-4-Less leader watching, who arrested them. After they broke out of jail and freed Angela on planet Snivelak at the Thug Headquarters, Ratchet and Clank then investigated a Distribution Center and found out that Allgon City was undergoing a disaster, and may had lived up to its name at the hands of rampaging Protopets. As well as that, they headed to planet Grelbin to find Angela, who gave them the key to get into a Protopet Factory, in the heart of the Megacorp Headquarters on planet Yeedil.

Once there, they soon found out that the Fizzwidget they knew, was really Captain Qwark. He accidentally mutated the real Protopet into a giant monster that ate him. Ratchet defeated the Mutant Protopet, at which point it coughed up Qwark and Angela's Helix-o-Morph. She used it to cure the Protopet of the Monsterpropanase in its system, later using it to cure all the Protopets in the galaxy.

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
In the beginning of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet hastily flew back to the Solana Galaxy to help defend Veldin, where he was mistaken for a Galactic Rangers sergeant and quickly pulled into the story. Captain Qwark often placed Ratchet in the more dangerous scenarios in his Q-Force plans, although Ratchet never received any credit. Most people who had never heard of the Lombax simply remembered him as Secret Agent Clank's chauffeur. In this game, Ratchet became romantically involved with the Galactic President's daughter Sasha Phyronix, who was also the captain of the Starship Phoenix.

Ratchet was occasionally slandered by Qwark over the Starship Phoenix intercom, as Qwark told him he needed to change into his "green regulation Q-Force tights" or he would write him up for a dress-code violation.

For most of Captain Qwark's plans, Ratchet was the one made to do the hero work, while Qwark took all the credit for the missions, much to Ratchet's annoyance. Despite this, the Lombax felt grief and discomfort at Qwark's presumed death.

After freeing Clank from the clutches of Dr. Nefarious, who had replaced the robot with an evil, imposter clone named Klunk, Ratchet gathered enough evidence to believe that Qwark had survived the crash of The Leviathan, and was in fact hiding in his hideout in the Thran Asteroid. Ratchet, Clank and Skrunch found the fraudulent superhero, where Ratchet dubbed him as 'pathetic' and 'a coward'.

However later on, Ratchet teamed up with Qwark despite his earlier statements, to defeat Nefarious and to destroy the Biobliterator.

Ratchet: Deadlocked
Before the beginning events of Ratchet: Deadlocked, Ratchet had been commended as the new captain of the Starship Phoenix, as Sasha had become the Mayor of Metropolis. However, he was kidnapped by the Vox Empire, along with Clank and Big Al, as "Subject 209". All three were then fitted with Deadlock Collars, which with, at the press of a button, would explode, killing them in the process. Big Al managed to salvage two old combat bots, Merc and Green, to help Ratchet in his adventures as a forced contestant in DreadZone. Ratchet and the two bots then formed the complete Team Darkstar. Later, Ratchet defeated Ace Hardlight, captain of the Exterminators, and afterward Gleeman Vox offered him the chance to become their new captain. Ratchet refused the offer, telling him that Vox was not just corrupt, but also stupid. In the final events of Deadlocked, despite Vox's attempts to kill the Lombax, Ratchet, Clank, and Big Al escaped DreadZone Station right before it exploded, destroying Gleeman Vox.

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
In Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Ratchet and Clank took a holiday on Pokitaru when a little girl asked if Ratchet could do something heroic. After the presentation, Ratchet, Clank and the girl met Qwark who told them that he never met his parents. Soon after that, robots attacked the beach and kidnapped the girl. Ratchet said that he and Clank had to help the little girl. Clank noticed that the girl left an object behind and said that it was Technomite technology, but Ratchet believed that Technomites were only just a myth, and told Clank that "There are no technomites". Ratchet persuaded Qwark to tell him where the Technomite artifact could be used. In return, Ratchet loaned Qwark his "super-computer" to search up his ancestors. As they sought the girl, they found out that Technomites might have been real. Afterwards, they found the girl, who introduced herself as Luna, and taunted the heroic duo. Ratchet saw a very strange dream in a medical surgery station, with memories of his past adventures, showing recurring characters in the Ratchet and Clank series and also bosses and friends. Clank then woke up the Lombax and later escaped. They then went to planet Challax, where they found a shrunken Technomite City. While exploring the city, they found out that Luna was a robot. On the Dayni Moon was where the heroes met Luna again, where she told them about the Technomites kidnapping Ratchet so they could have his DNA to create Ratchet Clones via cloning. They defeated Luna. While Clank was searching for information in Luna's head, he got electrocuted, and the Technomites entered Clank. Ratchet went inside Clank, using a Shrink Ray, and saved his friend. Clank said that the clone factory was on planet Quodrona, so they agreed to fly there. At Quodrona, the Lombax and the robot met Emperor Otto Destruct. The emperor told his plans to suck every brain-power of intelligent beings of the galaxy to become the most intelligent being in the whole universe. Ratchet and Clank defeated the emperor and once again, saved the galaxy.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
In Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Ratchet and Clank were finishing work on a hoverbike in Metropolis, only to be interrupted by Captain Qwark calling from the Planetary Defense Center. Qwark informed them that he was under attack by thousands of heavily armed commandos and requested assistance from the two heroes. After being personally hunted down by the invaders, Ratchet met the main villain in the game, Emperor Percival Tachyon who claimed that he was only interested in killing him. Ratchet then managed to escape along with Clank using one of the Emperor's ships. After escaping Tachyon's troops in an escape pod, Ratchet managed to set foot on his real homeworld, Fastoon. Although the pair managed to obtain a ship named Aphelion, no Lombax was to be seen. Throughout the course of the game, Ratchet would keep hearing references about a war between his race and another species called the Cragmites. At some unspecified point, the Cragmites simply vanished and led people to believe something called the "Lombax Secret" had vaporised them. Shortly after that, the Lombaxes had vanished themselves. Ratchet and Clank proceeded to investigate a moonbase in the Nundac Asteroid Ring where it was thought to have key information about the Secret. Inside the base, Ratchet met a girl named Talwyn and her two war bots Cronk and Zephyr who was surprised to see that Ratchet was indeed a Lombax. After some initial distrust involving a threat to jettison the duo out the airlock, Talwyn agreed to assist Ratchet in his travels to track down the Secret. On Rykan V, the group found a room inside an old Lombax bunker that contained an old holo-vid player showing a video about a device called the Dimensionator. It was revealed by the IRIS Supercomputer that the device was capable of ripping a hole in the fabric of time and space into other dimensions and the Lombaxes sent the Cragmites to one of these dimensions instead of vaporising them with a weapon as previously thought. Ratchet then managed to find this device, but only to have it taken away by the space pirate Captain Slag. After defeating Slag, Qwark then snatched the Dimensionator to try to become a superhero once again, but was then captured by Tachyon, leaving the device in the Emperor's hands. Tachyon then started to bring back the Cragmites from their other-dimensional prison with the Dimensionator and then traveled to Fastoon to open more portals. Ratchet and Clank followed him and then confronted the Cragmite emperor where mystery of the Lombaxes disappearence was revealed. After Tachyon had risen to power and invaded the planet, the Lombaxes used the Dimensionator to flee and escape to another dimension. All of them went, except for one. Ratchet's father stayed behind to hide the device along with his then infant son, Ratchet. Shortly after sending Ratchet to Veldin, his father was killed by Tachyon. Tachyon then offered Ratchet one chance to leave the universe and join his race in the other dimension, but Ratchet refused, knowing that no one would be safe if he did. He then proceeded to defeat Tachyon on an asteroid in the middle of deep space after accidentally triggering the Dimensionator. Before Tachyon fell into a black hole, he exclaimed that only he knew Ratchet's "true name" and that his kind would never be safe. After using the Dimensionator to escape their dimensional battlefield, Ratchet started to question his true purpose, but Clank reassured him that he had already fulfilled it.

Secret Agent Clank
In Secret Agent Clank, Ratchet was captured and framed by Klunk via a mind control device hidden on his helmet for stealing the Eye of Infinity from the Boltaire Museum. He said that the Eye was taken to a location where no one could find it, and then was taken to the Solana Galaxy's Ultra High Security Prison. Clank saw when Ratchet committed the crime and tried to prove that he was innocent by searching for the Eye. Clank also helped Ratchet by sending weapons to him. In prison, Ratchet woke up and didn't remember anything about the crime he had committed. He then met the Prison Warden who said that he gave him no protection against other prisoners that Ratchet had conquered in his last adventures. Then he had to battle old enemies like Thugs and Tyhrranoids. After he had defeated the attackers, the Prison Warden came to him and said that his old friend wanted to see him. The Thugs-4-Less Leader, who also had been captured, stepped in and ordered his groups to attack. Ratchet had to defeat a group of enemies in a cafeteria to survive. Later he walked in the Prison Yard and saw Slim Cognito who also had been captured in prison. Slim showed Clank's message in which he asked for a code for Le Paradis Des Tricheurs Casino's High-Stakes Room. Slim said that he knew the code but only gave it if Ratchet protected him from his villains. Ratchet then defeated all enemies who tried to eliminate Slim, and he then gave Ratchet the code that he transmitted to Clank. Later on, Ratchet was relaxing in the showers and the Plumber came in, and he said that he was here to fix the cold water pumps. He accidentally destroyed the pumps, which the Thugs then thought that Ratchet destroyed them. The Plumber left, leaving Ratchet to defeat another set of enemies. After he defeated all of the attackers, he walked in the yard and suddenly went crazy, then sent a message to Clank. He said that he had set up a laser that would destroy the whole galaxy. After the message had been sent, the Prison Warden walked up to Ratchet and struck him on the back, which returned Ratchet to normal. The Warden said that his message just caused a Prison Break and if Ratchet couldn't stop it, he was responsible for all of it. Ratchet stopped the Prison Break and Clank contacted him. Ratchet didn't remember his formerly sent message at all and Clank realized that there was something wrong with him. Later Clank met Klunk who had put a mind control device in Ratchet's helmet which made Ratchet act so strange. Clank defeated Klunk, and Ratchet was released from the Prison with full pardon.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
In Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, Ratchet, aided by Talwyn, set out to find Clank by heading to Merdegraw where Captain Darkwater was. After harassing a gang of pirates run by a pirate named Sprocket, Ratchet got shot out of a cannon and ended up on Hoolefar Island, which was inhabited by a friendly race known as the Hoolefoids. After meeting the mayor, Ratchet repaired five wind turbines as well as the supply beacon, and the mayor then showed Ratchet the Obsidian Eye. Ratchet then headed to Morrow Caverns, to look for the Fulcrum Star and a map. In the cave, Ratchet saw a shadow figure, and asked Rusty Pete what that was, and he lied, stating that they were shadow puppets. He got double-crossed by Pete in the cave, where Pete stuck Romulus Slag's head in Darkwater's body that caused Undead Pirates to appear, which meant Ratchet had to fight his way back out. Ratchet defended Hoolefar from the pirates, and then headed to Darkwater Cove, where he tried to grab the star but fell through a trap door, opened by Slag/Darkwater. He fought his way out of the cave, and eventually defeated Darkwater, causing Slag's head to get blown off. Ratchet claimed the star, and powered the Obsidian Eye, where he saw Clank being surrounded by the Zoni. He then saw Dr. Nefarious walk down the steps to the room and trips on a feather duster, where Ratchet declared that he would save Clank.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
"... And you, my dear boy, look just like your father."

- Alister Azimuth

Ratchet would continue his adventure which started in Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty trying to find Clank, with Qwark helping along the way.

Ratchet met another Lombax named General Alister Azimuth on Torren IV and learned that his father was named Kaden. Kaden was, according to Azimuth, 'a good Lombax, smart as they come' and was good friends with the General. Kaden was also the first one to theorize of the existence of the Great Clock.

Ratchet had been apologized by Azimuth for not having another Lombax to know and talk to, but was told that he could now find his family with the General.

On planet Lumos, Ratchet learned of Azimuth's plan to bring back the Lombaxes by using the Great Clock to undo his actions which he said were responsible for Tachyon's attack on Fastoon. Ratchet agreed to it knowing it was a chance to get his family back despite being told that the effects of the Clock would mean he would never meet Clank in the new timeline.

Ratchet traveled all over the Breegus Sector, traveling back in time to learn the fate of Orvus and finally finding Clank in the Valkyrie Citadel. After finally being re-united with Clank, he realized that the risk of using the Clock was too great and that it wouldn't be worth saving the Lombaxes if there was a chance reality would be destroyed as a result. He separated from Azimuth and went on to battle Nefarious with Clank.

Once Nefarious had been defeated, Ratchet & Clank were saved by Azimuth at the last minute and the three of them returned to the Great Clock where Clank said that it was his duty to protect the facility. Ratchet hugged Clank close to him as a farewell, knowing he couldn't talk Clank out of it. Ratchet then started to walk Clank inside the building when Azimuth questioned why they were not going to use the Clock to save the Lombaxes. Ratchet said that they would find them, but altering the past to do so would not be right. Azimuth snapped, enraged, he fired an energy blast directly at Ratchet from his wrench. Ratchet was struck in the chest and was killed by the blast. He fell backwards off the platform before Clank could reach him.

Fortunately, Clank managed to seal off the Orvus Chamber from Azimuth. Clank faced a difficult choice- go back in time and save his best friend, or follow his fathers rules. Luckily, he remembered a piece of advice from The Plumber- "I wouldn't risk anymore than 6 minutes". Clank reversed time for the 6 minutes, and was able to prevent Ratchet's death.

Ratchet and Clank then fought Azimuth in the Orvus Chamber to prevent him from destroying the universe.After Azimuth's defeat, Ratchet saw that the time shift the General initialized was tearing the Clock apart and attempted to stop it. Realizing his error, Azimuth gave his life to repair the damage himself and stop the time shift. Ratchet then took Alister's pocketwatch from the General's body as a memento to his former mentor.

Ratchet then proceeded to help Clank with the additional repairs, before telling Clank to "take care of himself" and leaving sadly. However, just as Ratchet was closing the cockpit on Aphelion to leave, Clank suddenly jumped in, refusing to leave his Lombax friend until he found his own family. Ratchet smiled and promptly took off into the stars, in search of another adventure.

Appearance
It is strongly noted that Ratchet's appearance has changed throughout the series. For example, Ratchet's chest has gotten more muscular as have his arms and his legs have gotten longer. Ratchet now wears a shirt and shoes as in the original games he wore jeans and was careless of what he wore elsewhere. In Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Ratchet continued to wear Clank on his back and walk about as is.

It is possible that, after the first game, it was necessary to give Ratchet a better-designed appearance, as all he had on were his pants, a cap, a harness which Clank was carried on, and some gloves. Shoes only appeared in the form of Grind Boots or Magne Boots. As the game turned into a series, Ratchet was given more and more armor over time, culminating in Ratchet: Deadlocked, where his armor covered his entire body, obscured his tail, and bore more resemblance to the armor of Halo's "Master Chief"' than his original clothing.

After that, the developers reduced his armor, even restoring his original outfit for parts of the games not made by Insomniac Games. This leads one to believe that Ratchet's first outfit, with gloves, pants, and a cap, is his "standard" clothing he used when not on a mission.

It also should be noted that his proportion has changed for the Future series. For example, Ratchet's hands have been shrunken down, and his head is a bit bigger. He is also taller, most likely to emphasize that he is older.

Ratchet & Clank manga
In the Ratchet & Clank manga Ratchet saved Clank at the end of the story due to him being attacked several times. This was a reference to Secret Agent Clank, the popular video game for the PSP.

Personality
Ratchet is a street-wise, wrench-swinging guy who always loved to get into an adventure without really thinking about the risks or odds. He made many sarcastic comments or jokes and could take things personally, but over the series of the games, Ratchet seemed more matured and serious. He enjoyed swinging down Zip-lines and using his Swingshot.

Ratchet, like many Lombaxes, is also known to have invented many items, some of which were more successful than others. These items included Stunderwear, amongst many others.

Personality change
In the first game, Ratchet was very selfish, arrogant, and self-absorbed and Clank had to talk him into helping other planets. Throughout the course of the game, however, he became more dedicated and serious to stopping Drek's plans. He was described as a practical joker by his best friends, and had an ambition of becoming a space explorer. After that, he became a less selfish person, and a more likeable character. He became very selfless, and at the end of Deadlocked was willing to give up his life for all the captured heroes that he eventually saved.

Abilities
Ratchet is a capable fighter but can be reliant on his arsenal of weapons. However, he can use his weapons effectively making him a fearsome opponent for those who would challenge him.

Behind the scenes

 * James Arnold Taylor provided the voice of Ratchet from Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando onwards. Ratchet was voiced by Mikey Kelley in the first game.



Trivia

 * As well as doing the voice of Ratchet in the Ratchet and Clank series, James Arnold Taylor also did the voice of both Captain Jack Sparrow and Timon in Kingdom Hearts II. He also voiced Tidus on Final Fantasy X.
 * Ratchet had a dramatic change of personality between the first and second Ratchet & Clank game. This is due to Insomniac getting bad feedback about Ratchet - for example Gamespot said that Ratchet is an unlikeable character. This is also quite likely to be the reason for the change in voice actor.
 * Ratchet, along with Slag, Vox, Tachyon and Angela are the only characters to have actually sworn. However, due to Insomniac wanting to keep a family-friendly age-rating, it was censored. It is interesting to note that the word Ratchet said, that was censored, was said again in the next game without being censored.
 * The game guides often referred to Ratchet as 'fuzzy' or 'furry'.
 * In Captain Qwark's plans, he often referred to Ratchet as 'Deadmeat'
 * According to Insomniac personnel, Ratchet stood 5' with his ears and weighed 97 pounds.
 * Ratchet, (and later Clank) lived in a garage on Veldin, but after Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Clank was given an apartment in Megapolis, which was where the two were seen living from then on (As the garage was also seen destroyed at the start of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal).
 * Ratchet could be likened to the character, 'The Doctor' from British popular sci-fi drama Doctor Who as few people know his real name, (Emperor Tachyon, etc.) and how he is the supposed last of his kind (after Azimuth's death).

Guest appearances

 * In the flash video called The Decline of Video Gaming 3, Ratchet was mentioned as another character who was voiced by James Arnold Taylor. The characters in the video mentioned that Clank should not have appeared in the games, as he was proclaimed as "useless."
 * In Jak II, Ratchet and Clank appeared on some of the walls in Haven City.
 * Ratchet was an unlockable golfer in Hot Shots Golf Fore! (known as Everybody's Golf in Europe).
 * In Jak 3, Ratchet and Clank appear as targets in a secret gun course.
 * Ratchet was a secret racer in Jak X: Combat Racing. Clank was the antennae for his car.
 * Ratchet and Clank appeared on a billboard in Sly 2: Band of Thieves; in the same game, one could unlock a demo for Up Your Arsenal.
 * A secret that could be found unlocked a Ratchet mask that Daxter could wear in Daxter.
 * In Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2 Lombax equipment could be unlocked in Multiplayer, based on Ratchet.

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank
 * Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
 * Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
 * Ratchet: Deadlocked
 * Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile
 * Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
 * Secret Agent Clank
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
 * Heroes on the Move