Emperor Nefarious is the main antagonist of Rift Apart. Hailing from Rivet's dimension, he is the dimensional counterpart of Dr. Nefarious who has always been successful in his dimension. His Nefarious Empire rules almost his entire dimension, aside from a few forces that resist him.
Emperor Nefarious' main challenge came from Rivet and the Resistance forces that oppose him. When Dr. Nefarious used the Dimensionator to travel to the dimension and take the Emperor's place, Emperor Nefarious tried to stop him. Battling Ratchet and Clank, and his former warbot Kit, he saw the Dimensionator as a tool through which to extend his conquest ambitions and invade all other dimensions.
As with his counterpart, Emperor Nefarious is self-absorbed and power-hungry and leads entire armies of followers in his conquest. Unlike his counterpart, he is used to achieving success, driven more by a desire for power than by vindication or vengeance. Emperor Nefarious largely surrounds himself with sycophants, namely the Emperor's Assistant, and demands adoration from those beneath him, having those who oppose or fail him either killed or sent to Zordoom Prison. The Emperor's imagery is seen throughout his dimension to honor him, particularly in Nefarious City, Corson V.
History[]
Before Rift Apart[]
Emperor Nefarious' rise to power and the extent of the history he shares with Dr. Nefarious is unknown. He took over Corson V ten years prior to the events of Rift Apart.[1] Prior to his rise, Zordoom Prison was filled with legitimate criminals, though his rise led to the prison being overcrowded with those who opposed him.[2] The Emperor has referred to himself as having a trophy case of "countless victories",[3] likely referring to battles against the Resistance.
At some point, Emperor Nefarious Sheepinated his dimension's Drek,[4][a] and wiped out a kerchu tribe harvesting gelatonium in Outpost L51, Sargasso, for misspelling his name on their tax returns.[5]
By the time of Rift Apart, the Emperor's hitlist of individuals who opposed him comprised Phantom, MoyDoy, Captain Quantum, Clatchky, and Rivet.[6][b] In the greatest job he ever pulled, Captain Quantum's space pirates bugged Emperor Nefarious, allowing them to see his every move[8] and thus to survive against him. Though Rivet was the Emperor's greatest foe, the Emperor hoped Rivet would join his side and built armor in case she did.[9]
Rift Apart[]
The Emperor makes his return and seizes the newly built Dimensionator for himself.
As of the start of Rift Apart, Emperor Nefarious had left his galaxy for conquest, vacating the throne at Nefarious City.[10] Dr. Nefarious used the Dimensionator to travel to the dimension and claimed to be Emperor Nefarious, with the Emperor's followers then pledging loyalty.[c] Emperor Nefarious returned after seeing Dr. Nefarious' battle with Rivet at Zurkie's on the news, traveling there and instantly defeating Ratchet, Clank, Rivet, and Kit. There, Dr. Nefarious pleaded to allow him to join forces with the Emperor to fight rebels together, something Emperor Nefarious accepted as he then sent an army to Sargasso to attack Rivet's hideout.[12] Emperor Nefarious retook his throne and sent messages to Nefarious City promising to "deal with" the citizens of Nefarious City who did not realize that Dr. Nefarious was an imposter,[13] and intimidating messages promising to kill the Rubion Forge staff on Cordelion for the damage they had allowed Ratchet and Kit to cause.[14]
The Emperor sends Quantum to Zordoom Prison.
On Sargasso, as Rivet and Kit went to stop the attack, the Emperor watched alongside Dr. Nefarious from a distance. He told Rivet over hologram that he was too exhausted from defeating her allies to waste energy fighting.[15] He and the doctor mocked them, as he claimed to be rooting for Rivet to see how far her futile resistance efforts would go.[16] When Rivet eventually stopped the Emperor's cruisers from destroying the planet, he arrived and elected not to send her to Zordoom via the portal but to throw her in a pocket dimension instead, unaware she had the means to escape.[17] Meanwhile, the Emperor also traveled to Ardolis and, after finding Captain Quantum through a spy device, used the Dimensionator to create a portal to travel there, and then used one to send Quantum to Zordoom, though Quantum rescued Ratchet and Clank before they could be thrown into the portal themselves.[18]
The Emperor finds a renewed desire to continue achieving success and decides to conquer the dimensions.
With the apparent defeat of Ratchet, Rivet, and Quantum, Emperor Nefarious began to celebrate his universal conquest, only to be stricken with a feeling of emptiness. Dr. Nefarious suggested that he felt this way because he had finally achieved total success and thus no longer had anything to strive for, a comment that angered the Emperor until he realized that many other dimensions were yet to be conquered, and he strove to invade them to truly fulfill himself.[19] He then set off to Savali in search of the Dimensional Map to find the other dimensions to conquer.
The two Nefariouses ambush Ratchet and Clank and steal the Dimensional Map.
Gary and the monks hid the map inside a dimensional anomaly, leading the Emperor to capture Gary after learning this and continue opening portals until he found it.[20] The Emperor's overuse of the Dimensionator caused armies of undead to appear from another dimension, slowing the Emperor's forces.[21] However, he eventually reached the catacombs and took the map from Clank, sending Ratchet and Clank to Zordoom. Rivet and Kit arrived, Kit revealing her warbot form to attack Emperor Nefarious; though Emperor Nefarious cowered in response at first, Dr. Nefarious saved him by using the Dimensionator to trap Kit in Zordoom.[22] Unbeknownst to him, Rivet traveled to Zordoom and broke Ratchet, Clank, Kit, and the Resistance out.
The Emperor broadcasts his declaration to conquer every dimension in existence.
Emperor Nefarious then announced his plans to conquer the multiverse, beginning with Ratchet's dimension, something that irked Dr. Nefarious[23] who wanted to rule his dimension himself.[24] Invading Megalopolis on Ratchet's Corson V, he mocked Dr. Nefarious for being defeated by Ratchet and Clank there,[25] as he set out to prove that Dr. Nefarious' reason for never being successful there was down to his failures and not to the Emperor's.[7] The Emperor and doctor piloted an Imperial Power Suit in their invasion.
The Emperor unveils his Imperial Power Suit.
After Ratchet destroyed the power suit, Emperor Nefarious angrily created numerous portals to summon a larger invading force, dealing greater damage to the dimensional integrity.[7] He then fought Rivet as Kit defended her from his army, dismissing the damage he was causing, and as Rivet bested him, he ultimately chose to collapse all dimensions on each other if he could not win. As Rivet took the Dimensionator, Ratchet and Clank used it to summon a kraken named Bubbles to pull Emperor Nefarious to his doom. In a desperate attempt, Emperor Nefarious begged for Dr. Nefarious' help, though Dr. Nefarious dismissed him and kicked his hand away, allowing the kraken to drag him away with it.[26]
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
While superficially he and the Doctor are similar in silhouette, the Emperor sports a glossy white chassis adorned with orange highlights, a much smaller cranial dome, and more rounded features. He is also notably taller than his counterpart. At the center of his brow sits a somewhat teardrop-shaped crest, and the inside of his orange cranial dome contains three protruding transmitters, compared to Dr. Nefarious' own mass of moving machine parts.
Personality[]
Emperor Nefarious:They all love me... You all love me! I am the destined Emperor of this dimension... of-- of every dimension!
Emperor Nefarious:Hahaha! This isn't near over! You've never defeated me before, and this time will be no different.
Rivet:Enough, Nefarious! You're tearing reality apart! If you don't stop...!
Emperor Nefarious:Ahh... Oh no! The thankless, uninspiring dimensions are collapsing?! Oh, how could I?!
Emperor Nefarious is egomaniacal, sadistic, and power-mad ruler who views himself as the destined "cool despot" ruler of the universe.[27] He is quick-tempered when insulted[19][7] and cruel to his subordinates, subjecting them to either death[11] or imprisonment at Zordoom.[2][b] Nefarious is self-absorbed and demands adoration from his subjects. He believes he deserves thanks from those in his dimension for giving them parties celebrating him, artisan crafts in his image, and music sung by him,[27] and becomes furious that other dimensions will not submit to his rule.[7]
Emperor Nefarious is driven entirely by the success of conquest, something he has grown accustomed to. His goal appears to be winning for the sake of defeating his enemies, as he disregards planets such as Sargasso that he does not care for.[5] When the Emperor eventually celebrated victory over his enemies, he lamented feeling empty afterward, and the only thing he knew to do was to simply move the goalposts and opt to invade other dimensions.[19] This, coupled with his hubris at always winning, ultimately led to his downfall. In defeat, Emperor Nefarious responds to threats with defiance, but in greater danger is known to cower in fear[22] or plea for his life.[26][d]
Being self-absorbed, Emperor Nefarious looks down on everyone around him, including his enemies and allies. Particularly toward his counterpart Dr. Nefarious, Emperor Nefarious treats him with scorn,[19] mocking his failures,[28] not thanking him for saving him,[22] and invading his home dimension.[23] Emperor Nefarious is equally dismissive of his enemies and subjects, having little attachment to them,[e] and not taking them too seriously as a threat.[b][f]
Abilities[]
Emperor Nefarious using his telekinesis in battle.
Emperor Nefarious' success at conquering his dimension suggests he is a skilled military tactician. His ability to outmaneuver Ratchet and Rivet at Savali, reaching the archives just as Clank retrieved it, also speaks to his cunning.[22]
Emperor Nefarious leads a near-limitless army of warbots. It is unknown to what degree Emperor Nefarious used powerful superweapons similar to Dr. Nefarious' Biobliterator. However, his giant mech Imperial Power Suit is larger than the Biobliterator's giant mech form, and Nefarious City, in addition to a surveillance state covering the entire city, had five planet-destroying cannons,[29] suggesting his larger arsenal has many more.
Lombax Imperial armor designed by the Emperor.
In his spare time, the Emperor has often dabbled as a musician and artist, composing music and singing songs about himself, and creating various artisan crafts in his own image. He designed the lombax Imperial armor for Rivet on the off chance that she joined him and his empire.[30] Reception to his works is mixed.
Emperor Nefarious and Dr. Nefarious share many abilities in combat, though the Emperor is superior to his counterpart in physical strength. Both possess the ability to fly using propulsion thrusters on their bodies, fire powerful lasers or energy projectiles, and use telekinesis-like powers that allow them to levitate/push objects/people. The Emperor's telekinesis-like abilities appear to be significantly stronger than the Doctor's, being able to toss large boulders and explosive crates at his enemies with a wave of his hand. With their many similar abilities, they have different fighting styles when using them; the Emperor opting in close quarters to perform a flying punch, and the Doctor using a flying slash with a blade.
Behind the scenes[]
In the ending credits sequence of Rift Apart, when Rivet and Kit are going through the Emperor's art and music collections of himself, a painting of the Emperor as all of the characters in the famous painting, The Birth of Venus, was pitched to appear here, but unfortunately did not make the cut and was not shown on-screen.[31]
Following the initial announcement of Rift Apart, its plot synopsis specified that the motivation of the game's primary villain ("an evil robotic emperor from another dimension") was to wipe out all organic life in every dimension. At a later point, this was changed to conquering every dimension, as is shown to be Emperor Nefarious' ultimate goal in the final release.
Signs in Nefarious City depicting the Emperor in one of his earlier designs.
The propaganda images of the Emperor on various signs around Nefarious City use multiple different designs of him from his concept art stages.
Art of the Seekerpede shows Emperor Nefarious as the pilot.
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ Emperor Nefarious' use of the Sheepinator on Drek is a parallel of Ratchet & Clank (2016 game) and Ratchet & Clank (movie) in which Chairman Drek was sheepinated by an organic Dr. Nefarious.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 It is possible that Emperor Nefarious keeping his greatest enemies, including Rivet and Captain Quantum, alive was a decision made from his own hubris. Emperor Nefarious has killed several others for much smaller transgressions, such as the kerchu being killed simply for misspelling his name,[5] suggesting it may have been a conscious choice to keep them alive to make them examples of them and subject them to despair at Zordoom. Emperor Nefarious' over-confidence on display when he invaded Ratchet's dimension and found it more difficult to invade than anticipated[7] somewhat corroborates this, though it may also not have been a conscious decision to kill them but rather their own skill of surviving longer.
- ↑ It is possible that the Emperor's followers accepted Dr. Nefarious quickly as Emperor Nefarious despite his physical differences out of fear. Because Emperor Nefarious has subjects who failed him killed[11] or sent to Zordoom Prison,[2] the Emperor's followers may have feared opposing Dr. Nefarious for fear of punishment, unaware that Dr. Nefarious was an imposter.
- ↑ Dr. Nefarious, in contrast to the Emperor, is instead used to losing, giving him different responses. When Kit attacked Emperor Nefarious, he had to be saved by Dr. Nefarious, who reacted more quickly with the Dimensionator.[22] Additionally, during the invasion, Dr. Nefarious was unsurprised by the struggles the Emperor was encountering, while the Emperor was confused.[7] When Emperor Nefarious was near defeat, he pled to Dr. Nefarious for his life, only for the doctor, having endured mockery and an attack on his home dimension from him, to instead dismiss the Emperor.[26]
- ↑ When confronted by Kit in his final battle, Emperor Nefarious refers to her as "KT-7416", a misspelling of her real name "KT-7461".[26] This is likely not a script error but rather an example of the Emperor's duplicitous nature as he did not care enough to learn Kit's proper name.
- ↑ Unlike Dr. Nefarious, Emperor Nefarious seems less motivated by vengeance or spite. This is because Dr. Nefarious is bitter and accustomed to failure while Emperor Nefarious is more accustomed to success, holding fewer grudges against individuals.
Citations[]
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "The unofficial history of Nefarious City"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rift Apart script § "The unpleasant history of Zordoom Prison"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Fight the Emperor's Power Suit (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart menu § "Sheep"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rift Apart script § "The resilient history of Sargasso"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Exit through the Meta-Terminal (Puzzle 3, Anomaly 1) (gameplay)"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Rift Apart script § "Destroy the Heart (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Survive the Pirate Trials (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart menu § "Royal Helmet"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Nefarious City, Corson V"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Rift Apart script § "Cordelion"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Defeat Dr. Nefarious (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Nefarious City"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Cordelion"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Free the Seekerpede (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Take Down the Nefarious Ships (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Use Bombs to Destroy the Nefarious Ships (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Destroy the Scuttler (gameplay)"
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Rift Apart script § "Regroup at Zurkie's"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Search Emperor Nefarious' ship (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Search Emperor Nefarious' ship (gameplay)"
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Rift Apart script § "Exit through the Meta-Terminal (Puzzle 3, Anomaly 4) (gameplay)"
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Rift Apart script § "Talk to Quantum for the Final Showdown (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Fight the Emperor's Power Suit (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Reach the Nefariouses (gameplay)"
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Rift Apart script § "Defeat the Emperor (gameplay)"
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Rift Apart menu § "Emperor Nefarious"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Reach the Nefariouses (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "Use Glitch on Infected Console (gameplay)"
- ↑ Rift Apart menu § "Imperial"
- ↑ https://x.com/nickfolkman/status/1417923248990261255