Romulus Slag

"Scourge of Polaris, and winner of Zordoom Prison's semiannual beauty pageant!"

- Captain Romulus Slag describing himself

Captain Romulus Slag, known as the Scourge of Polaris among other titles, was a leader of the space pirates who was infamous for pillaging and terrorizing the Polaris Galaxy alongside his crew as well as his first mate and best friend, Rusty Pete. The two were known to enjoy drinking grog and singing pirate melodies together. Slag's hands transformed into hooks, hammers, and a grog mug that made him breathe fire. He became pirate captain after double-crossing his original captain, Angstrom Darkwater. Percival Tachyon created him along with the other space pirates at a young age.

History and Early life
Percival Tachyon, crowned prince of his race, the Cragmites, named himself leader of the soon-to-be restored empire. His first goal was to erradicate all traces of the Lombaxes. He plotted to steal their technology and build weapons to use against them. He began this aim by creating a robot army of space pirates, and sent them across Polaris to salvage whatever Lombax technology they could find. General Azimuth believed that Emperor Tachyon's devices were just the security the galaxy needed, and gave him full access to their machinery and secrets, unaware of his true intentions. This lie was successful, and the space pirates having gathered a sufficient amount of Lombax machinery themselves, the Cragmite prince was determined to get his plans underway with all his accumulated resources. Tachyon later banished the space pirates to Praxus Seven, no longer needing them. However, the space pirates continued to pillage the rest of the Polaris Galaxy. Angstrom Darkwater, leader of the space pirates, one day on Merdegraw came into contact with the mysterious interdimensional creatures known as the Zoni, whose leader gave him the Fulcrum Star, a device when put into an Obsidian Eye, capable of contacting the Zoni. His first mate, Slag, began to grow jealous of his captain's success. Finally, Slag double-crossed him while they were pillaging Morrow Caverns and fought him. Ultimately, Darkwater, during the battle, knocked Slag's sworde out of his hands, however, Slag managed to steal his own blade and defeat Darkwater by sticking the blade in his back and killing him. Darkwater, prior to his death, put a curse on himself. Slag then bacame the new captain of the space pirates and his long time best friend, Rusty Pete, first mate. The two were known to enjoy drinking grog and singing pirate melodies together. Pete was Slag's right-hand man or robot, always loyal to the captain. Slag and his crew, years later in the Polaris Galaxy, became infamous for pillaging and terrorizing the galaxy.

Max Apogee
Slag and his crew are believed to have raided the Apogee Space Station one day in an attempt to steal a Lombax artifact from Max. Slag succeded in pillaging the artifact traveler, whom the traveler went after. Max never returned and is believed to have been killed by the space pirates, although this is uncertain.

Stealing the Dimensionator
"My hearties sing chanties of girls in lose panties who linger by the shore, for six bolts I'll love her, then leave that land-lubber, a pirate ever more!"

- Slag and Rusty Pete singing one of their sea chanties

In Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Slag first appeared with Rusty Pete sending a transmission to Ratchet & Clank after they left Fastoon to give the pirates their ship, Aphelion, or be destroyed. 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 searching for the Lombax secret. Later, after meeting Talwyn Apogee in the Apogee Space Station, Ratchet & Clank traveled to Ardolis to steal back a Lombax artifact the pirates stole from Max Apogee's space station where they confronted the captain and his first mate. While they were singing their sea chanties, Slag sniffed out the Lombax; however, Talwyn threw a smoke bomb at the pirates, and Ratchet and Clank escaped. Slag then also planned on finding the Lombax secret like the heroes. Ratchet & Clank also infiltrated Slag's hideouts at Ardolis and Kreeli Comet. Eventually Slag and Pete followed Ratchet to Jasindu and took the secret, the Dimensionator.

Battle with Ratchet
"Oh, the end be near. 'Tis beautiful Pete, a bright light, the end of me dark tunnel, wenches as far as the eye can see, each with a pint of grog and a smile for ol' Slag. Farewell, cruel galaxy, farewell!"

- Slag's last words before deactivating

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.

Slag on a Stick
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.

New Body
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."



Defeat
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.

Pirate Radio
In Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Slag and Rusty Pete made it back to Ardolis when getting to Hoolefar Island. They joined the Space Radio station, Pirate Radio, and became the hosts. The two made advertisements, played songs, took requests, and bickered often over running the set, Slag still lamentably being a disembodied head. Despite their new jobs, the two still upheld their relationship as captain and first mate. Somewhere between the events Rusty Pete also made his own school called Rusty Pete's School of Piracy, which was advertised on Pirate Radio, with Slag being one of the school's teachers.

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.
 * Slag once stabbed a man over a cheeseburger. Ironically, he didn't even want it.
 * 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".
 * It is possible Slag knows the fate of Max Apogee, as he was the last one to ever seen him.

Appearances

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