Blarg commander

General information
Location	Ratchet & Clank (2002): Metropolis, Kerwan Ratchet & Clank (2016): Aleero City, Kerwan Blarg Tactical Research Station, Nebula G34
Offense	Pistol Melee attack

Blarg commanders are enemies in Ratchet & Clank and the 2016 re-imagined game. They are large, muscular blarg working for Drek Industries that wield a large pistol which they use in combat. Blarg commanders are notably fought on planet Kerwan, commanding robomutts. In the re-imagined appearance, they are also fought elsewhere, including the Blarg Tactical Research Station.

History

Ratchet & Clank

Blarg commanders are fought in Metropolis, Kerwan, during three missions. In "Visit Al's Roboshack" and "Explore the rest of the city", they were found with groups of robomutts in the area leading to Al's roboshack. Later, during "Ride the Robot Train", they occupied the grav-train that Ratchet rode.

These blarg also served as blarg heli-commanders, piloting helicopters.

Re-imagined

The 2016 re-imagined game is primarily an unreliable retelling of events by Qwark.

The re-imagined game primarily describes Captain Qwark's account of events. As Qwark is an unreliable narrator, and contradictory events are in-universe fiction (though those which correspond still apply). Please see Project:Bulletin board/Canon for the wiki's coverage of canon.

In Captain Qwark's retelling of events, blarg commanders are fought more often. First, the blarg commanders are fought in Aleero City, Kerwan, after a few blarg remained behind in the city following their unsuccessful attack on the Hall of Heroes. One blarg commander destroyed Mr. Micron's ship, forcing Ratchet to jump down and land in Downtown Aleero City, where more blarg commanders were fought during the missions "Find a route to the Hall of Heroes" and "Find a train to the Hall of Heroes". Here, they commanded groups of robomutts, blarg troopers, and blarg heli-commanders in an attempt to stop Ratchet from returning to the Hall of Heroes. Finally, several blarg commanders occupied the grav-train to the Hall of Heroes station in "Ride the train to the Hall of Heroes" and installed a bomb, in an attempt to destroy Ratchet.

Blarg commanders were then found again in the Blarg Tactical Research Station in Nebula G34. Here, blarg commanders led a group of blarg space commandos to defend the space station, and fought Ratchet in "Find the top secret Blarg research project". They were also found defending the weapons transport in "Search the Blarg Warship for weapons".

Unlike the original release, these blarg did not pilot helicopters, though they still worked alongside helicopter commanders.

Characteristics

The blarg commanders have a broader, more muscular physique than normal blarg troopers. They have a large upper torso with broad shoulders and thick arms, and thin, nimble legs, capable of slightly outrunning Ratchet. They wear a shirt under a belt, a backpack with an antenna on its back, and wield a large pistol. Blarg commanders also wear shoes strongly resembling Magneboots (though in the re-imagined release, they wear black boots instead).

Combat

A blarg commander ordering a robomutt to attack.

In the original release, the blarg commander's pistol fires a single missile that slowly moves towards the target in a homing direction at medium range. If Ratchet approaches them at first, they will usually fall back to another position, though if he closes the gap further, they will instead whack him with their pistol. The pistol missiles are slow and can be dodged, and the blarg commanders are best defeated either with the Blaster from a distance, or Bomb Glove at medium range. Ratchet can also shoot the missiles in midair, or use the Walloper to disintegrate them once it is acquired.

In the re-imagined release, blarg commanders are much more formidable, as their pistol instead fires lasers in rapid fire. They also retain their melee attack if Ratchet gets close, and do not fall back at any point. It is important to strafe and jump to dodge the blarg commanders' lasers while shooting them with weapons such as the Combuster or Fusion Grenade.

Behind the scenes

The blarg commander appears as a downloadable skin for Full Frontal Assault multiplayer as part of the Intergalactic Foot Soldier Pack, under the name Blarg Elite.

Concept art for the original game.

Concept art for the original game.