Clank

Clank (real designation XJ0461, serial number B5429671) is the secondary titular protagonist and playable character of the Ratchet &amp; Clank series. He is a robot created by the Zoni, who possesses a Zoni soul, and is Ratchet's best friend.

Clank was created by Orvus, the leader of the Zoni, in the Great Clock. He was produced in a blarg robot factory on Quartu which produced sentry-bots, and upon acquiring an infobot and learning about Drek's plans, he fled the planet in a stolen starship, but was shot down and crash-landed on Veldin. There, he met Ratchet, who would become his lifelong best friend afterward, as they would partake on many adventures. When the two visited the Polaris Galaxy in their mission to defeat Emperor Percival Tachyon, Clank was met by a race invisible to the others known as the Zoni, who referred to him as the Chosen One. The Zoni helped Clank defeat Tachyon and afterwards abducted him from Ratchet to take him back to the Great Clock, where he was supposed to take up his true destiny as the Senior Caretaker of the Clock with Sigmund, though after stopping Dr. Nefarious from trying to use the Clock to his advantage, Clank made Sigmund its caretaker and returned to his place at Ratchet's side.

Clank is a highly intelligent robot who is highly knowledgeable in a variety of topics and able to communicate with many other machines. He often acts as a contrast to Ratchet's more brash personality, serving as his voice of reason. Clank also helps Ratchet in the form of attachments such as the Heli-Pack allowing Ratchet to reach greater heights and storing all of Ratchet's weapons, as well as being able to access areas Ratchet cannot. Clank is also capable of commanding help, in the form of Gadge-Bots, Microbots and Zoni. Clank can sometimes transform into Giant Clank to become a more deadly robot with powerful weaponry. Clank has also wielded the Chronoscepter to manipulate time and access the Netherverse. Clank also at one point starred in a holovision show, Secret Agent Clank.

Ratchet & Clank
Clank had been created by Orvus at the Great Clock, with a Zoni soul. However, he was born on planet Quartu, on a production line in a factory producing sentry-bots. Clank appeared on the conveyor belt as a small, harmless robot, in contrast to a dangerous sentry-bot, sharing only a few features with them. After seeing an infobot that told Clank about Drek's plan to take a chunk out of planet Novalis and use it for his new planet, Clank fled the factory immediately and stole an escape shuttle. However, Clank was chased by two blargian robots who shot his ship down, causing him to crash-land on planet Veldin.

On Veldin, Clank was initially immobilized and was rescued by a lombax named Ratchet. Ratchet took Clank to his garage, where Clank awoke to see Ratchet working on a new ship. The two became acquainted, and Clank discovered Ratchet was unable to fly the ship as he lacked a robotic ignition system, which Clank was able to provide. The two then resolved to search for galactic hero Captain Qwark to help them defeat Drek, with their quest taking them to Al's roboshack in Metropolis on planet Kerwan, where Al outfitted Clank with the Heli-Pack. However, when Qwark betrayed them both, Clank more quickly fell into Qwark's trap, causing Ratchet to fall out with him and become more hostile. Clank gave Ratchet an ultimatum: in order to provide him with a robotic ignition system, Ratchet must agree to help fight Drek. The two then continued to fight Drek, with their quest taking them to Al's siblings Bob on Pokitaru and Edwina on Hoven who outfitted Clank with a Thruster Pack and Hydro-Pack respectively, though Ratchet was still focused on finding and defeating Qwark.

Following Qwark's defeat, Ratchet's relationship with Clank improved, and they were once again on good terms, with Ratchet now determined to fight Drek and admitting that Clank had been right all along. When the two defeated Drek and destroyed his new world, Ratchet almost fell to his death, having to cling onto Clank to stay alive. Clank's arm broke, causing them both to fall, though Clank saved Ratchet with a Thruster Pack last minute. Ratchet then took Clank back to fix his arm, and the two remained friends ever since.

Going Commando
Clank appeared with Ratchet on an interview for Behind the Hero discussing their activities since Drek's defeat. Midway through this interview, both Ratchet and Clank were teleported away by Abercrombie Fizzwidget, who offered Ratchet a job as a commando for MegaCorp in the Bogon Galaxy to hunt down an unknown thief. Clank was ambivalent about this at first, but Fizzwidget offered him an apartment in Megapolis on planet Endako where he remained and befriended a female infobot who became his girlfriend.

While Ratchet hunted for the thief, however, Clank was kidnapped by the thief and electrocuted. Ratchet arrived in Endako and freed Clank, causing Clank to join Ratchet on his quest to find the MegaCorp "Experiment". Later, the two discovered that the unknown thief was a lombax named Angela Cross, and the MegaCorp Experiment was to be a biological pet named the Protopet that was not, in fact, a friendly pet but deadly. When imprisoned by the Thugs 4 Less mercenaries, now hired by MegaCorp, on their prison on Aranos, Clank's girlfriend allowed Ratchet and Clank to escape. Later, Clank's girlfriend played the two a message before stopping the Protopet about Qwark, showing that he was ready to take to the Bogon Galaxy to stage a comeback, and revealing that he had been disguised as Fizzwidget the entire time and was merely using the Protopet menace so that he could broadcast himself saving the galaxy from them. Instead, Qwark's plan backfired, and Ratchet had to defeat the Protopet himself. Clank helped Angela fix the Helix-O-Morph, and Ratchet, Clank, Angela, and Clank's girlfriend were later seen hanging out in Clank's apartment.

Sometime after the game's events, Clank became a star in his own Holovision show, Secret Agent Clank, which aired many seasons.

Up Your Arsenal
Ratchet and Clank relaxed in Clank's apartment on Endako, watching episodes of Secret Agent Clank, until they saw a news report in which they learned Ratchet's hometown was under attack from a race known as the Tyhrranoids, which were led by a villain known as Dr. Nefarious. Ratchet then declared they were returning to Solana, using an untested Gravimetric Warp Drive Ratchet had created himself out of scrap metal. Clank cautioned against this at first, but they successfully arrived in Veldin and helped fend off the attack. Clank was recognized by the Solana Galactic President Phyronix, who was a fan of Secret Agent Clank. From there, Clank joined the war effort against Nefarious, becoming a member of the newly founded Q-Force and working with Qwark and the team aboard the Starship Phoenix. Clank then worked with the team and particularly worked with Qwark's monkey, Skrunch, directing him using the Banana-Guided Autonomous Monkey Device, a pistol that fires bananas that lure Skrunch.

Clank discovered later than Dr. Nefarious himself was a fan of Secret Agent Clank, a fact which disturbed him. After he learned that Courtney Gears, a robotic pop star sensation, was an ally of Nefarious who produced propaganda for him in the form of pop music, the two opted to speak to her on Annihilation Nation to learn more about Nefarious' whereabouts. Gears seemed to show a keen interest in and affection for Clank, who offered her a part in Secret Agent Clank as the Baroness in an episode in which he saved her from Maximillian's Terror of Talos. After filming the episode, Gears instead incapacitated Clank and took him back to Nefarious who offered to work with Clank. Clank refused, though Nefarious instead sent a clone of Clank, known as Klunk, to spy on Ratchet. Ratchet later freed Clank on Kerwan and defeated Klunk, with Clank feeling guilty for falling into Gears' trap. Afterwards, the two eventually defeated Nefarious and destroyed his Biobliterator, and celebrated by watching the premiere of the latest Secret Agent Clank movie alongside their allies from previous adventures.

Deadlocked
Clank, along with Ratchet and Al, had been left in charge of the Starship Phoenix after Sasha Phyronix became mayor of Metropolis. Just after Sasha warned them about an at-large criminal known as Gleeman Vox who had been abducting heroes and forcing them to participate in DreadZone, the three were then kidnapped and taken to DreadZone Station. Clank served on Team Darkstar working with Ratchet who competed as a contestant. Rather than aiding Ratchet as Ratchet's backpack, Clank provided him with logistical support and worked from DreadZone Station, while also secretly working with Al to try and break the deadlock collar that was preventing the three from fleeing DreadZone. DreadZone also built a robot known as Alpha Clank, which could fight alongside Ratchet in place of his combat bots.

Size Matters
Clank took a vacation with Ratchet on planet Pokitaru, though the two were interrupted by a girl named Luna. After Luna was later abducted by robots, Luna left behind an artifact, which Clank identified as a Technomite artifact. Ratchet denied that the Technomites existed, though the two agreed to search for Luna nonetheless. They later learned that Luna was, in fact, working for the Technomites, and Ratchet was kidnapped while Clank was left on Metalis. After competing in Clank Challenges, Skrunch later arrived in his ship and helped Clank rescue Ratchet in Medical Outpost Omega. Later, Clank had to hack into Luna's head to learn the coordinates for the Clone Factory, though this disabled him, forcing Ratchet to use the Shrink Ray to enter inside Clank and repair him. Ratchet and Clank later defeated the Technomites emperor Otto Destruct and saved the galaxy again.

Secret Agent Clank
Donning his Secret Agent Clank persona, Clank now worked for the Agency in the Solana Galaxy, though one mission saw him investigate a case in which Ratchet was framed for stealing the Eye of Infinity from Boltaire Museum. Clank chased down the Eye while working to prove Ratchet's innocence. At first, Clank tracked the Eye to Number Woo on Asyanica, who revealed he had given it to countess Ivana Lottabolts on Glaciara. Clank danced with her, and then found out from her that the Eye was now in the possession of the Kingpin on planet Rionosis. Clank followed the Kingpin but the Jack of all Trades intervened allowing the Kingpin to escape.

Clank soon learned that the Kingpin was, in fact, Klunk, who had framed Ratchet by implanting a mind control device that would cause Ratchet to commit the robbery and be imprisoned. Klunk stole Clank's ship and fled to his base on Hydrano, but Clank followed him as Giant Clank. Klunk revealed there that he planned to use the Eye of Infinity as a laser to destroy every planet in the galaxy and frame Ratchet. Clank defeated his doppelganger, and with the help of Qwark and Cute Anastasia Bot, was able to stop the laser. Ratchet was then released with a full pardon.

Tools of Destruction
When Kerwan was under attack from cragmite Emperor Percival Tachyon, who was only looking to kill Ratchet for being a lombax, Ratchet and Clank hijacked one of Tachyon's ships and traveled to the Polaris Galaxy. While there, Clank helped Ratchet learn more about his race and defeat Tachyon, though he was visited by an invisible race known as the Zoni. The Zoni referred to Clank as the "Chosen One", and Clank was able to command them to overcome obstacles. As the Zoni were only visible to Clank, Ratchet believed them to be Clank's "imaginary friends".

When Ratchet learned about the Dimensionator, a lombax device that had imprisoned the cragmites ending the Great War, Clank suggested that Ratchet destroy it as it was too dangerous. Ratchet refused, causing tension between the two. While they were able to retrieve the Dimensionator on planet Jasindu, it changed hands many times before Tachyon himself took it and returned the cragmites to this dimension. Ratchet now realized that Clank had been right and the Dimensionator was too dangerous. When they caught up with Tachyon and defeated him, they both disabled the Dimensionator. Ratchet and Clank then returned to the Apogee Space Station with Talwyn Apogee and warbots Cronk and Zephyr, where the Zoni, now visible to everyone, arrived and abducted Clank, taking him away.

Quest for Booty
Ratchet and Talwyn traveled to Merdegraw in search of Clank, and eventually found the Obsidian Eye, a device allowing them to find Clank. There, they found that Clank was not only still held by the Zoni, but by Dr. Nefarious, whom the Zoni had called in to "repair" Clank.

A Crack in Time
Clank remained suspended inside the Great Clock, with Nefarious trying to hack into his mind to access the Orvus Chamber. When it became clear that the Zoni would not grant Nefarious access, Nefarious instead turned on them, using the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler, which delivered heavy damage to the Clock. The damage freed Clank, who awoke and tried to flee from Nefarious, though he hit a dead end. Nefarious explained where Clank was, before immobilizing Clank and leaving him in the Clock. Clank awoke again and met Sigmund, the Junior Caretaker of the Clock. Sigmund introduced Clank to the functions of the Clock, and took him to learn of his true origin and work to repair the Great Clock from the damage done by Nefarious, while Nefarious' butler, Lawrence, spied on Clank's progress.

Clank later entered a mnemonic chamber which allowed him to enter his own subconscious. Here, he learned about his father, Orvus, and his role as the Senior Caretaker of the Great Clock. He was granted the Chronoscepter, a device which would allow him to repair time anomalies from on board the Great Clock, repair damage done by reversing time to before the damage had been done, and deflect projectiles aimed at him. He also learned to create temporal recordings of himself using time pads to traverse specific areas by using multiple past selves. Ratchet during Clank's journey contacted Clank using another Obsidian Eye, and Clank had Sigmund synthesize a Time Portal for Ratchet, asking him to save Orvus. Clank also encountered the Plumber along the way in his own subconscious while in the mnemonic chamber, who ambiguously warned him not to "risk any more than six minutes". When Sigmund eventually took Clank to the Orvus Chamber, Lawrence disabled Clank and sent him to Vapedia to set up as bait for Ratchet.

Ratchet, while working with Alister Azimuth freed Clank on Vapedia, and the two caught up with one another. Clank advised Ratchet and Azimuth that the Great Clock could not be used to bring back the lombaxes, though the disagreement caused Azimuth to flee. Ratchet and Clank then agreed to stop Nefarious from using the Clock and worked with Qwark to infiltrate the Nefarious Space Station, learning that he planned to use the Clock to alter time to ensure that the heroes always lose. Nefarious cast them away from the station at first, though they returned and defeated him, with Azimuth arriving to save them from the station before it was destroyed. Azimuth took them to the Great Clock, but became enraged when they refused to use it to save the lombaxes, and fired an energy blast from his wrench in rage that killed Ratchet. Clank quickly beat Azimuth to the Great Clock and remembering the Plumber's "six minutes" advice, reversed time back six minutes and saved Ratchet from Azimuth. Ratchet and Clank then defeated Azimuth, who realized the error of his ways and gave his life to fix the Great Clock that he had damaged. Clank then appointed Sigmund the Senior Caretaker of the Great Clock in order to be with Ratchet.

Comic series
Clank rejoined Ratchet on planet Veldin, where they both retired. However, Qwark, now elected President of the Polaris Galaxy, caught up with them and requested that they investigate a problem he had in which planets from across the universe were vanishing. Ratchet initially refused, though both Ratchet and Clank were kidnapped by Artemis Zogg and sent to his Vartax Detention Facility. After being freed and reuniting with Cronk and Zephyr, Ratchet and Clank returned to the Apogee Space Station, meeting Talwyn and Qwark, but also Sasha Phyronix and the Galactic Rangers from Solana. They then agreed to defeat Zogg.

After failing to stop Zogg's ship, Zogg issued the two with an ultimatum: either Clank and Ratchet turn themselves into Zogg, or Zogg would relocate Veldin and freeze it and its people to death. The two pretended to turn themselves in, before Clank gave Ratchet a hidden grenade that disrupted the ship, and allowed them to grab the Surinox Shard and flee to the frozen Veldin. There, the two were overwhelmed by Zogg's robots, to which Clank fired an EMP blast, disabling other robots, but also himself, for an hour. When he awoke, he found Ratchet silent, as he had destroyed Artemis Zogg's warship, but believed that Talwyn was still on board.

Ratchet and Clank returned to the Apogee Space Station, where Zogg arrived with Talwyn held at gunpoint. After a fight ensued, Zogg was eventually defeated, and using the Shard, cast off to the same dimension that Ratchet and Clank had previously banished Tachyon to. Ratchet and Clank then decided to return to the Polaris Galaxy.

All 4 One
With Dr. Nefarious still on the loose, Ratchet and Clank claimed in an interview with Kip Darling and Pepper Fairbanks that they would not join the search. Later, Clank followed Qwark with Ratchet to Luminopolis on Igliak, where Qwark was supposed to receive an "Intergalactic Tool of Justice" award for defeating a Light-Eating Z'Grute, which Qwark had never done. Dr. Nefarious and his butler Lawrence appeared on the scene, and Nefarious resurrected a Light-Eating Z'Grute to kill them all, though he had no control over it and it instead ravaged the city. When Lawrence fled the scene and resigned as Nefarious' butler, Nefarious was forced to team up with Ratchet, Clank and Qwark to defeat it, though they were afterward teleported away by a machine known as the Ephemeris to a testing laboratory on planet Magnus.

Cronk and Zephyr attempted to retrieve the four, but were stuck in an asteroid field and could not reach them. Therefore, the four would have to escape the world themselves and stop the Ephemeris. A small girl named Susie took the four to the tharpods, a race native to the planet, who explained the Ephemeris in detail to them. Eventually, the four worked to destroy the machine and defeat the Loki Master, who had planned to use it to destroy the universe.

The four defeated the Loki Master, and Cronk and Zephyr were finally able to arrive with the help of Lawrence. Ratchet, Clank and Qwark believed that Nefarious had changed his ways, though Nefarious instead fled the world with Lawrence and was then still at large as a supervillain.

Full Frontal Assault
Qwark, having lost the next presidential election, founded the Q-Force with Ratchet and Clank, and they worked on board the Starship Phoenix II. An unknown villain contacted them on board the ship, and Ratchet and Clank had to fight a grungarian army. Clank joined the fight, receiving many armor upgrades and fighting in battle as "Alpha Clank". The Q-Force later learned that the unknown villain was Qwark superfan Stuart Zurgo, who was attacking the galaxy out of vengeance. They eventually tracked down Zurgo's Lair of Doom and defeated him, bringing him to Polaris' authorities.

Into the Nexus
As a member of the Polaris Defense Force along with Ratchet, Cronk, and Zephyr, Clank helped bring in criminal Vendra Prog, and worked to escort her to prison before her brother, Neftin Prog, working with Thugs 4 Less mercenaries, destroyed the ship. While Ratchet and Clank were able to escape, Cronk and Zephyr were killed, leading them to chase after Vendra and Neftin to defeat them by stowing aboard the Thugs 4 Less' ship to planet Yerek.

Ratchet and Clank then tracked down the terachnoid, Pollyx, who gave Clank an upgrade allowing him to access the Netherverse, with Clank's Spotlight upgrade installed by Al prior to the game's events being able to use to find rifts through which to enter Netherverse. They realized that the "ghosts" on Yerek were actually a race known as the nethers, which Vendra and Neftin Prog wanted to be reunited with. Later, when Vendra found a low-rent Dimensionator and used it to bring Mr. Eye, leader of the nethers, to their dimension, Mr. Eye turned on Vendra and sealed her in the Netherverse. After agreeing with Neftin Prog that him and Vendra would turn themselves in if Ratchet and Clank rescued her, Clank rescued Prog from the Netherverse and defeated Mr. Eye, and the twins kept their word. Ratchet then abandoned the Dimensionator in Igliak's Intergalactic Museum of History, claiming he had enough in this dimension to not want to rejoin his race, though Clank unknowingly swiped it later.

Appearance
Clank is a diminutive robot with grey metallic skin, large green circular eyes, a red antenna, and small articulated arms and legs with large three-fingered hands and feet. Clank contains what appears to be an air vent on his chest, which is actually used to store items.

Personality
Clank is a very intelligent, wise robot, who acts as a contrast to Ratchet's more brash personality, often serving as his voice of reason. He is highly knowledgeable in many subjects, often offering insight when the opportunity presents itself. Clank is also very composed and cautions Ratchet often against more dangerous actions. Like Ratchet, Clank is often determined to do right by the galaxy and is prepared to put himself in harm's way in doing so.

Despite being more intelligent than Ratchet, Clank is often more easily fooled than Ratchet. He is more easily led into traps, fooled by disguises, and tends to take phrases much more literally. Clank has also appeared to be smoother with women than Ratchet, having fewer awkward moments with them, and being able to persuade Courtney Gears, and later Ivana Lottabolts, to give up information to him.

Abilities
As Ratchet's backpack, Clank is not only able to store a huge amount of weapons and gadgets for Ratchet, but upgrades allow his highly modifiable body to increase Ratchet's mobility. The Heli-Pack and Thruster Pack allow Ratchet to jump higher and further, as well as to glide in the air, while the Hydro-Pack allows Ratchet to swim much faster. Other upgrades, such as the Levitator in Going Commando, the Zoni Robo-Wings in Tools of Destruction, and the Jetpack in Into the Nexus, allow Clank to in some circumstances grant Ratchet the limited ability to fly or hover in the air. Clank has been able to use other upgrades, such as the Clank Zapper weapon in Going Commando in which he can damage enemies with his antenna, the Clank's Grapple in Going Mobile that allows Clank to extend his arm and swing across the environment or the Geo-Laser as provided by the Zoni in Tools of Destruction that allows Clank to cut through thick walls.

Clank is able to use his antenna to command Gadge-Bots or Microbots to perform tasks for him. Gadge-Bots are typically able to attack enemies and to enter switches that allow Clank to open doors. Some certain Microbots also have additional unique abilities, with the Bridge Bot being able to extend itself to provide Clank a bridge to cross, the Lifter Bot able to lift large obstacles, and the Hammer Bot able to slam a hammer to interact with some items. When Clank encountered the Zoni, he was also able to give them commands, commanding them to levitate him across gaps or slow down time significantly.

Clank has also been able to transform into a Giant Clank form since the reverse-engineering blargian Ultra-Mech technology to work with his form. This is a giant form with great physical strength (capable of destroying skyscrapers with a single punch), powerful missiles, bombs, and rapid fire lasers. It also allows Clank to travel in space.

Clank also has a Zoni soul, and after A Crack in Time, Sigmund installed a quantum actuator, giving him temporal immunity (meaning his unaffected by altered time) and the ability to create temporal recordings of himself using time pads to create multiple selves. When having access to the Chronoscepter, Clank was able to use it to throw Time Bombs that slowed time drastically, and due to his temporal immunity, these were not detrimental to him or his allies. Clank could also wield the weapon to reverse projects, to repair broken objects by reversing time, and repair time anomalies on planets from within the Great Clock. Clank left the Chronoscepter to Sigmund, but retained his Time Bombs and the quantum actuator.

In Into the Nexus, Clank was able to use a Spotlight attachment to find rifts to the Netherverse, and access it through them. Here, he could bend gravity to his will.

Ratchet
Ratchet is Clank's lifelong companion and best friend. Clank met Ratchet shortly after he was born on Quartu, when he crash-landed on Ratchet's homeworld of Veldin. Initially offering to provide Ratchet with the necessary robotic ignition system that could power Ratchet's ships and allow them to fly, the two then partook on several adventures together to save the galaxy, as well as sharing free time together.

Clank complements Ratchet's more brash and eager personality by being more composed and level-headed, and less prone to being driven by emotion. The two have often gone out of their way to rescue one another from danger, and have grown to depend on one another. While they have had disagreements and fallen out, Ratchet has often admitted that Clank is always right in the end.

Dr. Nefarious
Prior to starting his war in "squishies" in Up Your Arsenal, Nefarious was a huge fan of Clank, watching and collecting every episode of the Secret Agent Clank Holovision series. He was initially excited to meet Clank after he had Courtney Gears kidnap him, and was disappointed when Clank refused to help Nefarious replace all organic life forms with robots. Since Clank defeated Nefarious, Nefarious later referred to him as his nemesis. In A Crack in Time, Nefarious unsuccessfully attempted to hack into Clank's mind to locate the Orvus Chamber, and only kept Clank alive while he was useful. When forced to work together in All 4 One, however, Nefarious became friendlier with Clank, Ratchet and Qwark, and towards the end, despite fleeing from them in a spaceship, kept a picture of the four of them and looked at it solemnly, sad to leave his new friends.

Orvus
Orvus is Clank's original creator and father. While Clank has never met Orvus in person, Orvus maintains a place in Clank's subconscious when accessed through mnemonic chambers. Orvus speaks extremely highly of Ratchet, who he refers to as his son, and as a "remarkable boy" who is "quite smart". Orvus was also protective of Clank and made sure that Sigmund keeps him safe.

Development
An early idea for Clank was for Ratchet to have three small robots attached to him, which would perform various functions, though Insomniac realized that this would be confusing, and streamlined these into a single robot. Concept art shows these robots performing many functions that did not appear in the final game, as well as some that did in another form, such as using what appeared to be the Walloper and equipped with the Thruster Pack in the final Ratchet & Clank, or performing functions later given to Microbots in Going Commando. At some point, the concept for Ratchet had been as a fuzzy caveman led by a robot on a mission to save the galaxy, which would evolve into the final idea of the first game. Clank was also later given a focus of providing just traversal gadgets for clarity.

Initial concept art for Clank was much more reptilian, to accompany Ratchet's original reptilian alien design. Of the original design, only the large green eyes and articulated legs would carry over into the original design, which was more humanoid. Clank was also designed to have a more youthful charm and innocence in his appearance, and in early concepts for him, he was going to have a young playmate and wear clothes. Clank was thought of to be a younger version of C-3PO from Star Wars, given a childlike voice with a British accent, but Insomniac developer Brian Allgeier wanted Clank to be on "equal footing" with Ratchet, to give them a buddy cop dynamic.

Clank was voiced by David Kaye, and Insomniac were extremely impressed with his audition for the first Ratchet & Clank, as his voice was immediately right for the character without any processing required to make it sound more robotic. Kaye has since voiced Clank in every appearance.

Unlike Ratchet, Clank's design has remained largely consistent throughout the series. The only exception was All 4 One, in which Clank's proportions were altered slightly to give Clank a larger head.

Re-imagined appearance
Unlike many other characters in the 2016 reimagined game and movie retelling the original Ratchet & Clank, Clank's appearance in the reimagining is largely similar to his appearance in the original game. His personality is largely the same, though his gameplay is different. At times, he runs away from Victor Von Ion, Chairman Alonzo Drek's lieutenant, who becomes Clank's rival. While Clank mostly retains the same upgrades as in the original game, he also uses the Jetpack that was previously used in Into the Nexus.

Clank is stillborn on a robot factory in Quartu, which is instead created by Chairman Drek's mad scientist ally Dr. Nefarious and produces warbots, though a lightning bolt hits the factory causing a warbot defect to be created. Clank fled the factory and Victor Von Ion, who fired a missile at his starship causing it to crash on Veldin where he met Ratchet. The two then sought to join the Galactic Rangers, where Clank befriended technical support Elaris. Ratchet and Clank would soon stop the Deplanetizer, which Dr. Nefarious attempted to use after betraying Drek to destroy several planets in the galaxy. Throughout the game, Clank still received the Heli-Pack from Al, but had the Hydro-Pack from the beginning, and received the Thruster Pack from Al on Pokitaru as well, with Bob not appearing.

Non-Ratchet & Clank appearances
Ratchet also appears in non-canonical entries to the series. In the manga, Ratchet & Clank: Bang Bang Bang! Critical Danger of the Galaxy Legend, Clank appears as a major character and is saved by Ratchet.

In a mobile phone game, Going Mobile, Ratchet was invited to look at new biomatter converter technology, though the device accidentally transported Ratchet and Clank to a Secret Agent Clank vid-comic, in which they needed to fight against Maximillian. Ratchet eventually contacted Al, who informed them only the MCGuFIN could help them escape, which split into six pieces due to a malfunction that they needed to find. Ratchet obtained all pieces and defeated Maximillian's Security Cannon to return home.

Non-canonical appearances
Ratchet has several major appearances in non-Ratchet & Clank titles.

In PlayStation Move Heroes, Clank appeared with Ratchet. Ratchet and Clank were captured, alongside Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper, to compete in a friendly competition hosted by the floating aliens known as the Whibbles to determine which was the greatest hero. The three fought at first, though they later allied to defeat villains Gleeber and Lunk, who had enslaved the Whibbles. Clank appeared to have many disagreements with Bentley, with the two intellectuals frequently arguing while also working together. Later, the team defeated Gleeber and Lunk, and were returned to their worlds, with a communicator to keep in contact with the others.

Clank makes an appearance in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as a playable character with Ratchet. Clank provides Ratchet with the Heli-Pack, and as their level two Super Move wields his Chronoscepter to instantly kill opponents and can throw Time Bombs to tremendously slow opponents. In their story mode, Ratchet and Clank are travelling through the galaxy searching for gold bolts, and track them down to the Nefarious Space Station, where they defeat many foes, run into Qwark and Nefarious, encounter their story rivals Jak and Daxter, and finally defeat the final boss, Polygon Man (the source of the fake gold bolt signal).

Non-Ratchet & Clank cameos
Aside from their playable appearances, Clank makes cameos in many other non-Ratchet & Clank titles:
 * In Jak II, Ratchet and Clank appear on the walls in Haven City, in a poster based on his Going Commando appearance.
 * Clank is 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, along with Tyhrranoids.
 * In Jak X: Combat Racing, Clank is an antenna on Ratchet's car, who is playable in multiplayer.
 * In Ape Escape 3, an ape wearing a Ratchet outfit that was equipped with Ratchet's wrench and a Clank backpack can be caught.
 * A secret that could be found unlocked a Clank mask that Daxter could wear in Daxter.
 * In Resistance: Fall of Man, a Clank Backpack was available for the human soldiers and was unlocked with 100 points. This was also available in Resistance 2 and was unlocked at level 29.
 * A Clank figure could be purchased from the PlayStation Home shop.
 * In LittleBigPlanet 2 and onwards, a Clank costume is available as downloadable content.
 * Clank, along with Ratchet appears as a DLC Mod characters for the racing game Modnation Racers.
 * In Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Clank appears as a collectible treasure in the Medieval England stage, wearing knight armor. The treasure's name is "Medieval Metal Man."

Reception
Unlike Ratchet, who was more heavily criticized in the original Ratchet & Clank, Clank was generally better received. IGN praised Clank's voice acting in the first game as "quite engaging, and in some cases, charming". GameSpy, who criticized Ratchet in the original Ratchet & Clank, praised Clank as the "complete opposite" of Ratchet and wished the game was named after him instead.

Clank continued to be a well-received character since. GamesRadar listed Clank on their list of the 25 best new characters of the 2000s decade, claiming he was a "quiet, collected and effortlessly charming robot with cool powers and cooler personality". IGN listed Clank as their fifth in a list of top 10 best sidekicks. Game Informer listed Clank as their third best wingman of the decade, saying his "unique personality" gives players "as much of a reason for players to come back as Ratchet's explosive gunplay."