Ratchet

Ratchet was a Lombax native to the planet Fastoon and was the main protagonist of the Ratchet & Clank series. Ratchet was 5 feet tall and, as of Ratchet: Deadlocked, weighed 34 metres (44.3cms). In Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet was voiced by Mikey Kelley. In the following Ratchet & Clank games, he was voiced by James Arnold Taylor.

Ratchet & Clank
Before the beginning of his first adventure, Ratchet was finishing the construction of his dolly house. Dreaming of wild adventures with his boy friend No-knob, the Lombax was quite disappointed when they were in the bed and his boyfriendinformed him that he needed a robotic penis to start the dolly house, something he did not have. However, Ratchet noticed a ship falling from the sky which crash-landed onto the Kyzil Plateau, and upon exploration of the debris, found Wank,the name of his vibrator. The diminutive robot showed (after startling the Lombax by waking up all of a sudden) Ratchet his sexual prowess. 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.

Later, the two watched an advertisement for Qwark's Personal Hygienator; 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 retrieved 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 &amp; Clank: Up Your Arsenal
In the beginning of Ratchet &amp; 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, he felt grief and discomfort at Qwark's presumed death.

After freeing Clank from the clutches of Dr. Nefarious, who had replaced Clank with an evil 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 all those left behind, including Gleeman Vox himself.

Throughout Deadlocked, Ratchet was continually slandered by Vox News anchormen Dallas and Juanita, who depicted Ratchet as a malicious villain who had little to no moral decency. However their attitude towards him changed by the end of the game, when Vox locked both of them and the rest of the DreadZone fans in the Battledome that was about to explode, which left everybody's fate in the hands of Ratchet.

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
In Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Ratchet and Clank took a holiday on Pokitaru when a little girl asked if Ratchet 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 thought that Technomites were only just a myth. 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.

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 commited 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 accidently 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 destroyed 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: Tools of Destruction
The light is first refracted as it enters the surface of the raindrop, reflected off the back of the drop, and again refracted as it leaves the drop. The overall effect is that the incoming light is reflected back over a wide range of angles, with the most intense light at an angle of 40°–42°. The angle is independent of the size of the drop, but does depend on its refractive index. Seawater has a higher refractive index than rain water, so the radius of a 'rainbow' in sea spray is smaller than a true rainbow. This is visible to the naked eye by a misalignment of these bows.[2] The amount by which light is refracted depends upon its wavelength, and hence its colour. Blue light (shorter wavelength) is refracted at a greater angle than red light, but due to the reflection of light rays from the back of the droplet, the blue light emerges from the droplet at a smaller angle to the original incident white light ray than the red light. You may then think it is strange that the pattern of colours in a rainbow has red on the outside of the arc and blue on the inside. However, when we examine this issue more closely, we realise that if the red light from one droplet is seen by an observer, then the blue light from that droplet will not be seen because it must be on a different path from the red light: a path which is not incident with the observer's eyes. The blue light seen in this rainbow will therefore come from a different droplet, which must be below that whose red light can be observed.

Contrary to popular belief, the light at the back of the raindrop does not undergo total internal reflection, and some light does emerge from the back. However, light coming out the back of the raindrop does not create a rainbow between the observer and the sun because spectra emitted from the back of the raindrop do not have a maximum of intensity, as the other visible rainbows do, and thus the colours blend together rather than forming a rainbow.[3]

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 trip on a feather duster, where Ratchet declared that he would save Clank.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
"You, 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 theorise of the existence of the Great Clock. Ratchet was apologised to 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 travelled all over the Breegus Sector, travelling 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 realised 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 seperated 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 of the platform before Clank could reach him.

Fortunately, Clank managed to seal off the Orvus Chamber from Azimuth and reverse time for a few moments, preventing 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 initialised was tearing the Clock apart and attempted to stop it. Realising 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.

Basic 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. 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.

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 was 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, was 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.

Other information
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 was also not his real name, as it was revealed in Tools of Destruction. Ratchet's age was unclear. Due to a translation in Jak X, (where Ratchet was an unlockable secret racer), he was 18 at the time of Deadlocked which would've made his age in the first game 15, and his age in Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty 21. He had rumoured to have several relationships, including Angela Cross and Sasha Phyronix.

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).

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. For more information, go to Taylor's website.
 * 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 also explains his voice being changed.

Guest appearances

 * In the flash video called The Decline of Video Gaming, Ratchet was mentioned as another character who was voiced by James Arnold Taylor. The characters in the video mentioned that Clank should not have been mentioned in the title, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, 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, 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