Romulus Slag

Captain Romulus Slag was the leader of the Space Pirates and wanted the Lombax Secret for himself. His first mate, Rusty Pete, was usually seen alongside him singing pirate melodies while drinking grog. His hands transformed into hooks, hammers, and a grog mug that made him breathe fire like a dragon. Percival Tachyon created him and his crew, but the two were on different sides since they wanted the secret for themselves.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
In Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Slag first appeared with Rusty Pete searching for the Lombax secret. He attacked Ratchet and Clank three times in space while they were flying through space in Aphelion, although these attacks were originally motivated by pirate tendencies to rob vessels they came across, they began to hunt Ratchet down as he came to be known as an enemy to the pirates. They managed to shoot down Slag's ships and escaped each time. They also infiltrated Slag's hideouts at Ardolis and Kreeli Comet. Eventually Slag and Pete followed Ratchet to Jasindu and took the secret, the Dimensionator.

Ratchet then went to Slag's fleet in Ublik Passage and fought through his forces until he found Slag and Pete on Slag's flagship. Ratchet fought and defeated Slag, causing his body to explode, leaving only his head, which Rusty Pete caught in his arms. Slag told Pete of "wenches as far as the eye can see, each holding a glass of grog and a smile for old Slag" before passing. Pete briefly mourned his captain, but then dropped the head and made Ratchet his new captain as per the pirate code.



Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
In Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, Slag was alongside with Darkwater the main antagonist. He was seen when Ratchet allowed Rusty Pete to help them find the Fulcrum Star. Rusty Pete carried his head on a stick and called it "Slag on a stick" by "rerouting his databank to his vocal processor". Unknown to Ratchet, however, Rusty Pete wanted to revive Slag using Angstrom Darkwater's body.

Though Slag couldn't talk by himself, he was able to help Ratchet within Morrow Caverns with several puzzles, which Rusty Pete did not know since he was, as he put it, "a bit grogged up at the time". He even went as far as singing the "Song of the Dead" and helping with the passwords. Along the way he mocked the "dead crew" for not joining the mutiny and even going as far as challenging and attacking the Pythor if only he had his legs.

Once Ratchet helped Rusty Pete and Slag get into Captain Darkwater's ship, he double-crossed Ratchet when saying he will search for "booby traps", which was a trap just for Ratchet. With Rusty Pete jamming Slag's head onto Darkwater's body, a curse that even Pete did not know was triggered. With Darkwater saying "I forever bind me soul to me body", as Captain Slag was activated, he began talking but was interupted by Captain Darkwater, who now also was activated again. The two began fighting over the body until Rusty Pete said they needed a good pillaging. Captain Slag was seen in a few cutscenes mocking Ratchet alongside Captain Darkwater. He was eventually fought on Darkwater's fleet whenever Darkwater didn't use his "ghost form".



After Darkwater's defeat, Slag was seen again as "Slag on a Stick" stuck at sea with Rusty Pete on a crate. Slag told Pete, who had been narrating Quest for Booty's story, that he didn't want to hear the story the first time. Pete told him there was no need to get cross, to which Slag said, "I'll quit yellin when you find me a new body! Now start rowing!". Pete then rowed at Slag's command and the two started heading towards Hoolefar Island.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Slag has little role in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time aside from being a recurring co-host on Aphelion's Pirate Radio, along with Rusty Pete and a few other characters.

Behind the scenes

 * Romulus Slag was voiced by Robin Atkin Downes in the English version and Katsuhisa Hoki in the Japanese version.

Trivia

 * Slag wasn't the first villain to be reduced to a head, as Nefarious was by Captain Qwark in the fourth Qwark Vid-Comic, Deja Q All Over Again and Lord Vorselon three times in A Crack in Time.
 * Romulus Slag could have been a reference in Roman mythology where a person named "Romulus" founded the city of Rome by pirating its tribes with his brother, Remus.
 * The "Slag on a stick" appellation was maybe a parody of one of the famous ventriloquist Jeff Dunham's puppet: "José Jalapeño on a Stick"

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time