Kerwan

Kerwan is a planet in the Solana Galaxy featured in Ratchet & Clank, the 2016 re-imagining and film tie-in releases, and the movie, as well as Up Your Arsenal, Tools of Destruction and additional appearances (e.g. Deadlocked, Full Frontal Assault, and Issue 3: Lost and Spaced of the Ratchet & Clank comic series).

It is a large, urban planet best known for the megacity of Metropolis (called Aleero City in the 2016 re-imagining). Metropolis is notable for dense skyway traffic of flying cars, an extensive grav-train transit system, towering skyscrapers integrated with vegetation, and the iconic Big Al's Roboshack and Gaming Superstore. The planet is the birthplace of Captain Qwark and is a recurring, prominent location throughout the Ratchet & Clank franchise.

Ratchet and Clank first visit Kerwan after seeing a commercial for Big Al's Roboshack; although they do not immediately find Captain Qwark, they acquire key gadgets such as the Heli-Pack and Swingshot. They later return during Dr. Nefarious' Biobliterator attack, when the city's population is transformed into robots. Ratchet and Clank also live in Metropolis prior to Emperor Tachyon's invasion in Tools of Destruction and must flee during the drophyd assault.

History[]

Before Ratchet & Clank[]

Kerwan was the homeworld of Captain Qwark and Dr. Nefarious,^[1]^[2] where they grew up and attended high school together and Qwark routinely bullied Nefarious in their 9th grade biology classes.^[3] Qwark later went on to attend the Kerwan Learning Annex, where he studied to draw schematics.^[4] It was also the home of heroes Quaternion X and Captain Starshield, the latter of whom had earned the title Citizen of the Millennium.^[5]

Nefarious releasing his insectoid swarm onto Metropolis.

Documented in the Qwark vid-comic Deja Q All Over Again, while Captain Qwark was training at his fitness course at the behest of Helga von Streissenburgen, Dr. Nefarious attacked the city with an army of insectoids.^[6] Qwark interrupted his fitness training session in order to fight off the insectoids, and then defeated the robotic Nefarious. Nefarious vowed to return to Metropolis and enact vengeance, and Qwark threw his detached robot head into a trash can.^[7] However, Lawrence, Nefarious's butler, knocked Qwark out, recovered Nefarious's head, and took them both to Nefarious's hideout.^[8]

At some point, Qwark appeared in a commercial endorsing Big Al's Roboshack. The grav-train in the city also provided scenic tours, prior to the blarg's invasion.^[9]

Ratchet & Clank[]

Ratchet and Clank acquired the coordinates for Kerwan on planet Novalis, after the chairman gave the two an infobot featuring the commercial for Big Al's Roboshack.

Al meeting Ratchet and Clank in his roboshack.

The two landed on the planet in search of Captain Qwark, and found it under attack by the blarg. In "Visit Al's Roboshack", Ratchet and Clank visited Al to inquire about Qwark's whereabouts. While Al was unable to help search for Qwark, he was able to upgrade Clank with the Heli-Pack for 1,000 bolts, as he recognized Clank's compatible XP-18 sisterboard hardware.^[10] The two purchased the Heli-Pack, allowing them to explore the rest of the city, and eventually traveled aboard a grav-train to chase an infobot, which provided coordinates for Eudora.

Helga, angry at Ratchet and Clank's performance.

The two also completed Qwark's fitness challenge, ran by Qwark's trainer Helga, who offered a prize to those who completed it.^[11] Upon completing the challenge, she scolded the two for "disgracing" her obstacle course. While Qwark had asked her to reward the two with a Swingshot,^[12] Helga demanded that the two pay 1,000 bolts to buy it from her instead. Though reluctant at first, the two obliged and purchased a Swingshot.

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.

Qwark offering Ratchet and Clank a new ship.

In the Ratchet & Clank movie and Qwark's retelling of its events, Kerwan is home to Aleero City, which features the Hall of Heroes, the headquarters of the Galactic Rangers. Aleero City is invaded by Chairman Drek, who sends a warbot army from a Class G Dreadship led by Victor Von Ion to destroy the Galactic Rangers and stop them from interfering with his plans. The Rangers fight the warbots from their Hall of Heroes, and are mostly unsuccessful. However, Ratchet and Clank arrive, using Mr. Micron's ship with Mag-Boosters that allow them to take down the Dreadship by throwing warbots into it. This destroys the warship and ends the assault. Shortly afterwards, Qwark, after being put on the spot by reporters, recruited Ratchet and Clank to the Rangers.

Clank receiving the Heli-Pack upgrade from Al.

Ratchet and Clank were left stranded in the city after a blarg destroyed their ship, and had to find a route to the Hall of Heroes. This led to them fighting through blarg forces to reach Al's Roboshack, where Al upgraded Clank with a Heli-Pack for free as a gesture to the Rangers. Al then advised them that they could find a train to the Hall of Heroes, as a grav-train near his roboshack would take them straight back. They then used the Heli-Pack to travel to the grav-train station and rode a grav-train, transporting ships, statues, and dangerous animals and disconnect a bomb installed on it by the blarg. After disconnecting the bomb from the train, they then took the train to the Hall of Heroes.^[13]

Qwark and Shiv doing community service in Aleero City.

Ratchet and Clank were then trained by the Rangers in the Hall of Heroes. Ratchet was trained by Brax Lectrus, and completed the Rangers' fitness course,^[13] while Clank stayed behind with Elaris, the tactical support.

After the ordeal, Qwark was transferred to the Aleero City Penitentiary, where he told his story to fellow inmate Shiv Helix.^[13]

Up Your Arsenal[]

Following Qwark's apparent death after he did not appear to escape the Leviathan, Al gave Ratchet the Qwark vid-comic Deja Q All Over Again, which had arrived in the mail for Qwark.^[14] The vid-comic, which took place in Metropolis, detailed Nefarious attacking the city with an army of insectoids before Qwark stopped him. After completing the vid-comic, Ratchet believed that Metropolis would be Nefarious's next target.

Nefarious, Lawrence, and Clank on Metropolis.

In "Find Dr. Nefarious", Ratchet arrived on the planet with Klunk, whom he still believed to be Clank, and found the planet was already under attack by tyhrranoids. Meanwhile, Nefarious had the real Clank locked up in a cage by a grav-train. Ratchet fought through waves of tyhrranoids, before Nefarious then used the Biobliterator. This device turned all organic lifeforms in Metropolis into robots, including the tyhrranoids, aside from Ratchet who successfully dodged it. Ratchet then fought through the robonoids and found Nefarious as well as Klunk. Nefarious then teleported away while Klunk revealed himself.^[15]

In "Defeat Giant Klunk", Klunk transformed into Giant Klunk and fought Ratchet on the grav-train. Ratchet defeated him and then freed Clank, who lamented that it was all his fault, though Ratchet ascribed no blame to him.^[16] After this, in "Destroy the robotic Tyhrranoid Forces", Ratchet and Clank assisted the Galactic Rangers elsewhere in the city in Operation: URBAN STORM. In it, Ratchet destroyed explosive charges that the tyhrranoids had placed all over the city, before then repelling the tyhrranoids in the hovership, on land, and using the turret. The Rangers after the battle awarded Ratchet the Map-o-Matic after all squad members chipped in for a gift.^[17]

After Up Your Arsenal[]

Sasha Phyronix became appointed interim Mayor of Metropolis, leaving the Starship Phoenix to Ratchet, Clank and Al. According to Vox News, Sasha had been appointed after the previous mayor stepped down amid a sordid scandal involving illicit funds from an amoeboid mafia.^[5]

Tools of Destruction[]

Ratchet and Clank building their rocket sled.

Ratchet and Clank resided on Metropolis, with Ratchet occupied by working on a rocket sled while disregarding Clank's warnings about the defective ion thrusters. While Ratchet was planning a trip, Captain Qwark called from the Planetary Defense Center, alerting them about an invasion by Emperor Tachyon's Imperial Army, prompting Ratchet to fly over. The ion thrusters failed, although the auxiliary thrusters allowed Ratchet to proceed far enough into the city, where Ratchet encountered the drophyd forces.^[18]

In "Go to the Defense Center!", the city suffered severe damage while Ratchet and Clank fought their way through drophyds to reach the center, only to find it vacant, before a drophyd attack forced Ratchet to escape on the mag rail.^[19] They failed to flee however as they were chased down by an Imperial cruiser, whereafter Tachyon introduced himself, and promised to leave Metropolis alone if Ratchet surrendered and allowed Tachyon to kill him. Ratchet fooled them into thinking Clank was a deathbot and broke one of his walker's legs, enabling them to escape using Tachyon's ship, fleeing to the Polaris Galaxy.^[20] Qwark, meanwhile, swore allegiance to Tachyon's army, working thereafter as a double agent.^[21]

After Tachyon left, a portion of the Imperial Army then combed the city in search of the Dimensionator before leaving. The city then underwent reconstruction, and the inhabitants were stuck watching repeat holovision screenings of Big Al's Bot Wars.^[22]

After Tools of Destruction[]

During the events of A Crack in Time, Al expanded and relaunched Big Al's Roboshack as Big Al's Roboshack and Gaming Superstore, with an announcement on space radio.^[23]

In the Ratchet & Clank comic series, Kerwan was one of the planets stolen using the Helios Project by Artemis Zogg, and taken to his Artemis Galaxy, with its inhabitants enslaved and forced to work for sunlight.^[24] Following Zogg's defeat, Kerwan was returned.^[25]

Geography[]

Kerwan is an Earth-like planet with vast oceans, large continents, and widespread greenery. From space, it appears densely populated in some regions, with sprawling cityscapes interspersed among forests, plains, and bodies of water, indicating a mix of urban and natural environments.

Kerwan's appearance from space has varied. In the original Ratchet & Clank, it resembled Coruscant from Star Wars, suggesting a planet-wide city. In Up Your Arsenal, it appeared as a lush, oceanic world identical to Todano from Going Commando, implying areas beyond Metropolis' urban sprawl. Later depictions continued to differ but stayed closer to the Up Your Arsenal version.

The planet of Kerwan per game.

Metropolis[]

Metropolis is a sprawling cityscape of towering skyscrapers adorned with greenery, intersected by busy skyways. The buildings rise so high that their bases vanish into a dense blanket of fog, and are topped slender spires. Sky bridges, elevated platforms, and open spaces allow for pedestrian movement between structures.

The layout of Metropolis has been presented differently across the games. In Ratchet & Clank, the main path from the landing pad splits, with one route leading to Al's Roboshack and a subsequent grav-train ride, while the other leads to Qwark's fitness course. In Up Your Arsenal, the explorable area is a linear path across several skyscrapers and a plaza leading to a grav-train station, as well as a separate symmetrical battlefield for Operation: URBAN STORM.

In Tools of Destruction, the path is a desperate flight through the city as it is being destroyed, utilizing meteor pads and mag-rails to traverse the collapsing infrastructure. The re-imagined Aleero City features a layout similar to the original, but with a more direct path to the Hall of Heroes via the grav-train.

Big Al's Roboshack[]

Planetary Defense Center[]

The Planetary Defense Center on Kerwan appears in Tools of Destruction. Commanded by Captain Qwark, it protects the planet from external threats and is closed to the public. Qwark’s automated phone system includes such options as reporting radioactive amoeboid attacks or mutant space eel ingestion.^[26]

Hall of Heroes[]

The Hall of Heroes, appearing in the 2016 Ratchet & Clank re-imagining, is the headquarters of the Galactic Rangers. Located on a floating grassy island, it features a VR training deck, a small control room operated by Elaris, and a cafeteria. The island connects to a grav-train and houses the Captain Qwark fitness course.

Captain Qwark fitness course[]

The Captain Qwark fitness course appears in Ratchet & Clank, the 2016 re-imagining, and in Up Your Arsenal during the vid-comic Deja Q All Over Again. Operated by Qwark's trainer, Helga von Streissenburgen, and advertised by a spring-legged Qwark bot, it challenges participants to traverse moving platforms, wall jumps, and climb structures to claim a prize.

In the original game, the course consists of two islands; one with a rocky hill, the other with a tall yellow-and-black structure connected by a zip line. In Up Your Arsenal, Qwark uses the course himself in the vid-comics. In the 2016 version, relocated to the Hall of Heroes for Ranger training, the layout is similar but replaces the hill with a metal structure and omits the zip line, featuring Qwark bots along the route.

Society[]

Metropolis is a large, bustling city with constant skyway traffic and multiple transport systems, including a grav-train network, indicating it is always active. The city is heavily commercialized, with blimps advertising logos and brightly lit billboards, especially in the re-imagined releases. Its population was temporarily transformed into robots by Dr. Nefarious's Biobliterator, then restored after his defeat.

The city is home to many galactic heroes, including Captain Qwark, Quaternion X, the Brown Ranger, and Captain Starshield, all of whom were kidnapped to compete in DreadZone.^[5] Qwark’s imagery appears widely, suggesting his popularity. He ranked 97th in Kerwan's 100 most eligible bachelors.^[27] Kerwan also hosts an annual Halloween gala.^[28]

Metropolis has an elected mayor, with interim mayors appointed by the President if a sitting mayor steps down.^[5] The Planetary Defense Center defends the city against external threats.

Two known schools are located here: the Kerwan Learning Annex, where Qwark learned to draw schematics,^[4] and the Kerwan School of Quantum Mechanics, attended by Skrunch.^[22]

Transportation[]

Metropolis uses various forms of transport, most notably flying cars in designated lanes forming dense, constant skyway traffic, and a network of red grav-trains connecting parts of the city. These trains, hovering freight carriages with flat platforms, carried passengers and luggage, and once offered scenic tours before the blarg invasion.^[9] Blimps are also used for advertising.

Grav-trains feature prominently in Ratchet & Clank, the 2016 re-imagining, and Up Your Arsenal. In the original and re-imagined games, Ratchet fought blarg forces while running across the trains; the re-imagined version also transported killer fish, construction materials, and a large bomb meant to destroy the Hall of Heroes. In Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet fought Giant Klunk on a grav-train.

Mag-rail trains appear in Tools of Destruction, with Ratchet grinding across rails while others sped toward him during Tachyon's invasion.

Multiplayer[]

Up Your Arsenal[]

Metropolis is a map in the multiplayer mode of Up Your Arsenal featuring Siege, Capture the Flag, and Deathmatch modes. Based on the area seen during the Galactic Rangers' Operation: URBAN STORM, it consists of mirrored rooftops and towers connected by bridges, traversable via Swingshot, grav-ramps, and jump pads. Each base occupies a rooftop at opposite ends of the map, linked by smaller rooftops and a long diagonal bridge. Both main rooftops have a turret.

Jump pads from each base lead to elevated rooftops with nodes that, when captured, provide weapons such as the Morph-o-Ray, Lava Gun, and a hovership. Other pads lead to pyramid-like structures with nodes on top. To one side of each base, versa-targets connect to a corner rooftop containing a node with a Minirocket Tube and Flux Rifle, and onward to a tower with drone bots, nanotech, and a vantage point over an opposing node.

Two opposing pyramid-like towers also contain nodes with a Flux Rifle or Minirocket Tube, plus items like the Mine Glove and Charge Boots. These can be reached from corner rooftops via Swingshot or from first-node rooftops via jump pads.

Full Frontal Assault[]

Kerwan is featured as a competitive multiplayer map for Full Frontal Assault, that was made available as free DLC after release. It is a large map where movement is channeled by a series of bridges and platforms surrounding an open square in the center. Each base has a third exit accessible via a springshot that leads to a central ledge. This path takes players past a large planet statue and into a central square featuring a statue of Captain Qwark, with node 6 and 7 located on either side.

There are two primary routes to the high-ground node 1. The first route starts behind node 7, where jump pads lead to nodes 3 and 4 on rooftop platforms. From there, players can access a grind rail network that leads to node 1; however, this network is hazardous due to the passing trains, and the inner rail leads to guaranteed death. The second, more complex route begins at ground level behind node 6. It requires using the Swingshot, followed by traversing across two large, flat hoverships using the hoverboots to reach a distant skyscraper. This building, available on both sides of the map, hosts a large number of crates, as well as a jump pad series to reach the node.

Other appearances[]

Metropolis also made appearances in both PlayStation Move Heroes and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

Behind the scenes[]

Concept art of a tower in the original game.

Metropolis was one of the first major Ratchet & Clank levels Insomniac Games created, and almost "started a war" between designers and artists. The aim was to integrate abundant greenery into retro sci-fi buildings for a distinct visual contrast. Many bronze caps atop buildings were removed because they clashed with the rest of the city's aesthetic.^[29] The Art Deco and retrofuturist style of Metropolis was heavily inspired by the 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis, an influence that would go on to shape the series' overall art direction.

Metropolis was also the first level Insomniac prototyped and presented to Sony, before the game engine was ready. Early buildings were simple cutouts, and Ratchet carried a Pyrocitor and Suck Cannon. At Mark Cerny's suggestion, vegetation and flying cars were added to make the city feel alive. This early build was shown as the "Metropolis" diorama.^[30]^[31] In the beta, Kerwan was named "Caldera," though "Metropolis" remained for the city.^[32]

Concept art for Tools of Destruction.

Kerwan later served as a tech demo for Tools of Destruction. The team recreated a Metropolis diorama in the Resistance: Fall of Man engine to visualize the game's look. A camera path and audio were added, shown at the 2006 Game Developers Conference.^[33]

Civilian robots[citation needed]^[34] were originally planned for Tools of Destruction and appeared in the GDC 2006 trailer, but not in the final game.^[35] They later appeared in the 2016 re-imagined film and game.

Unused Tools of Destruction dialogue shows that Captain Qwark and Emperor Tachyon were meant to have lines throughout the opening level. Tachyon's lines urged troopers to kill Ratchet and commanded Kerwan's citizens to obey. Qwark's lines referenced "Qwarkland" amusement park, a ban on nuclear-powered rocket sleds, grav-trains as an "eco-friendly" alternative to protoplasmic emissions offering non-stop travel to the beetlegrub rainforest, the city's "hall of jellies," and an invitation for single female refugees from the invasion to report to his quarters.^[36]

Citations[]

References[]

Video games

Insomniac Games (2002). Ratchet & Clank [Game]. Sony Computer fEntertainment. PlayStation 2.
Insomniac Games (2004). Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal [Game]. PlayStation 2.
Insomniac Games (2005). Ratchet: Deadlocked [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 2.
Insomniac Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
Insomniac Games (2011). Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
Insomniac Games (2016). Ratchet & Clank [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.

Bibliography

Fiorito, John (2008). Game Developer: The Leading Game Industry Magazine. Game Developer.
Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 3: Lost and Spaced) [Book]. Wild Storm.
Fixman, TJ (2011). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 6: Bros Before Foes) [Book]. Wild Storm.

Websites

Insomniac Games (2005, October 24). "Entertainment News - News Update". From Insomniac Games. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019.

Videos

Stevenson, James; Price, Ted [Games @Insomniac Games] (2017, November 7). Insomniac Live - Ratchet & Clank [Video]. YouTube.
Allgeier, Brian; Fixman, TJ [@GDC] (2018, June 26). 15 Years of Ratchet & Clank: A Lombax Story [Video]. YouTube.

[1] Ratchet & Clank (2016 game) menu § "Qwark"

[2] Ratchet & Clank (2016 game) menu § "Dr. Nefarious"

[3] Up Your Arsenal script § "9th Grade Biology Class"

[Zordoom_Prison,_Viceron-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Tools of Destruction script § "Zordoom Prison, Viceron"

[newsupdate-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 Insomniac Games 2005

[6] Up Your Arsenal script § "Giant Green Bratwurst"

[7] Up Your Arsenal script § "Quit While You're a Head"

[8] Up Your Arsenal script § "Redecorating the Torture Chamber"

[Ride_the_Robot_Train-9] 9.0 ^9.1 Ratchet & Clank (2002 game), "Ride the Robot Train"

[10] Ratchet & Clank (2002 game) script § "Hey, you're that robot guy, right?"

[Welcome-11] Ratchet & Clank (2002 game) script § "Welcome!"

[12] Ratchet & Clank (2002 game) script § "Listen up you lardballs!"

[rc16-13] 13.0 ^13.1 ^13.2 Ratchet & Clank (2016 game)

[14] Up Your Arsenal script § "Phoenix 6"

[15] Up Your Arsenal script § "Find Dr. Nefarious (gameplay)"

[16] Up Your Arsenal script § "Defeat Giant Klunk (gameplay)"

[17] Up Your Arsenal script § "Turret Command (gameplay)"

[18] Tools of Destruction script § "When Aren't They Heavily Armed?"

[19] Tools of Destruction script § "Radioactive Amoeboids... Please Press Two"

[20] Tools of Destruction script § "Your Name's Percival?"

[21] Tools of Destruction script § "Qwark's Heroic Tale"

[IRIS_Questions_and_Answers-22] 22.0 ^22.1 Tools of Destruction script § "IRIS Questions and Answers"

[23] A Crack in Time script § "Big Al's Roboshack and Gaming Superstore"

[24] Lost and Spaced, p. 4

[25] Bros Before Foes, p. 19

[26] Tools of Destruction script § "Radioactive Amoeboids... Please Press Two"

[27] A Crack in Time script § "Defeat Vorselon's Fighters (gameplay)"

[28] Tools of Destruction script § "Win the Coliseum Battles (gameplay)"

[29] Ratchet & Clank (2002 game), Goodies § "Sketchbook"

[30] Stevenson, Price 2017 26:28

[31] Allgeier, Fixman 2018 10:50

[32] Ratchet & Clank (2002 game), E3 demo

[TOD_postmortem_p34-33] Fiorito 2008 p .34

[34] CreatureBox

[35] GDC 2006 Ratchet & Clank Future teaser trailer

[36] Tools of Destruction unused dialogue § "Metropolis"

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]