Klunk is an antagonist in Up Your Arsenal and the main antagonist in Secret Agent Clank. He was the evil counterpart of Clank created by Dr. Nefarious.
Klunk was created on planet Mariana to spy on the Q-Force by impersonating Clank. He impersonated Clank after Nefarious and Courtney Gears abducted Clank at Holostar Studios. Klunk appeared to be identical to Clank in capabilities, able to use the Heli-Pack and Thruster-Pack, and transform into an Ultra-Mech form. He had normally red eyes, which he could switch to green to fool others including Ratchet. Years later, after Nefarious was defeated, Klunk was the mastermind behind the theft of the Eye of Infinity, though he was defeated by Clank.
History[]
Up Your Arsenal[]
Dr. Nefarious created Klunk on planet Mariana.[1][a] After "Film a Secret Agent Clank Episode", Courtney Gears abducted the real Clank once the filming of the Secret Agent Clank episode, "Maxmillian Strikes Back", had wrapped up, taking him to Nefarious to convince him to work with them. Clank refused and was imprisoned, while Klunk took Ratchet's place after he escaped an ambush of tyhrranoids.
Klunk chuckling after defeating Courtney Gears.
Klunk posed as Clank, able to use the Heli-Pack or Thruster-Pack for Ratchet. During "Beat Courtney Gears", Klunk even helped Ratchet defeat Courtney Gears on the Obani Draco, feeling no remorse fighting an ally and referring to her as "disposable" as he laughed.[2] When Ratchet and Captain Qwark infiltrated Nefarious' Leviathan, Klunk sent a message to Nefarious alerting him to their presence.[3] When Nefarious set the ship to self-destruct, Klunk, against Ratchet's protest, commandeered Qwark's shuttle to exit the Leviathan before Qwark could leave, showing no sign of concern.[4] When Qwark was presumed to be dead, Klunk mocked him.[5]
Giant Klunk preparing to attack Ratchet.
In "Find Dr. Nefarious", Ratchet visited Kerwan to stop Nefarious' attack on the city. Nefarious used the Biobliterator to turn the population of Metropolis into robots, while the real Clank watched Klunk taking his place. Ratchet failed to stop the assault, and confronted Nefarious and Lawrence on board the grav-train. Klunk revealed his true identity, and transformed into Giant Klunk to defeat him. In "Defeat Giant Klunk", Ratchet successfully beat Klunk and freed Clank.
After Up Your Arsenal[]
When Vox News reporters Dallas Wanamaker and Juanita Alvaro slandered Ratchet in Deadlocked, they made reference to Ratchet and Klunk's battle with Courtney Gears, without making a distinction between Klunk and Clank. They depicted him and Ratchet as psychotic fans who attacked Gears.[6]
Before Secret Agent Clank[]
Klunk watching Ratchet and Clank be awarded.
Klunk spent time as a factory assembly line robot making high-tech toilet seats after Nefarious's defeat, but quit the day Ratchet and Clank defeated Otto Destruct.[7] At some point, he built the Kingpin suit, creating an alter ego for himself behind which he could build a criminal empire, and rapidly rose to power.[8] He gained several henchmen, including the Jack of All Trades and the Head Goon. Klunk operated from an underwater lair on Hydrano. Klunk did all this beneath the notice of the Agency, who were unable to dig up much information on him as the Kingpin.[8]
Klunk prepared a plan in which he would frame Ratchet for a crime and stop it himself while having the galaxy believe he was Clank, thus allowing him to be worshipped as a hero. The crime in question would be pointing a laser from a satellite, refracted by the Eye of Infinity, to every planet in the galaxy, threatening to destroy every planet if Ratchet was not given his own planet to rule,[7] only for Klunk—appearing as Clank after dismantling the real Clank—to dismantle the laser and be worshipped as a hero.[9] To this end, Klunk built a powerful mind control helmet that would be used to control Ratchet. He also anonymously sent a large sum of money to Captain Qwark for an autobiograpgy and sent Barney to be an autobiographer, knowing Qwark would use a device to trail Clank for stories to tell, thus allowing Klunk to keep tabs on Clank this way.[10][b]
Secret Agent Clank[]
After Klunk mind controlled Ratchet to steal the Eye of Infinity, the Eye was transported through several crime lords, including Number Woo on Asyanica, Ivana Lottabolts on Glaciara, and eventually to himself in the Kingpin suit. In "All The Kingpin's Men", Clank trailed Klunk in his Kingpin suit, but was unable to catch him as the Jack of All Trades slowed him down, leading to the Eye being transferred through Le Paradis Des Tricheurs Casino.
Meanwhile, as the Kingpin, Klunk had a scientist on Venantonio, captured by the Head Goon, build a laser capable of infiltrating the Bolt Foundry on Fort Sprocket;[c] the scientist completed it, but refused to disclose this as he believed he would be killed once he did.[12] Klunk was able to infiltrate and take over Fort Sprocket through his use of doppelgangers to replace the guards, and later framed Clank for the robbery.[13][d]
Klunk reveals his identity.
Klunk revealed his identity to Clank when Clank caught him in the spaceship graveyard in "Tracking the Kingpin". There, Clank saw him as he had exited the Kingpin suit and thought he was staring at his own reflection, but was then seized and restrained by Klunk's guards as soon as he noticed, before Klunk stole his ship and left. Clank was able to follow him in his Giant Clank form, and caught up to him on Hydrano.
Klunk reveals his backup plan.
In "All The Marbles", Clank caught up to Klunk in his lair, and Klunk revealed his plan. The two fought, with Klunk making use of his own martial arts skills, and various mech suits he had created (the Kingpin, as well as Robo-Nefarious and Robo-Ratchet). Noting he had underestimated Clank, Klunk revealed partway through the battle a backup plan: by setting a countdown for the laser, if Clank was able to defeat Klunk, the laser would still destroy every planet, which he would still consider a victory.[14] Clank was still able to defeat him, and with the help of Qwark, removed the Eye of Infinity, stopping the laser.
Klunk as a vacuum cleaner.
After being debriefed, President Phyronix released Klunk into Ratchet and Clank's custody, where they turned him into a vacuum cleaner for their Endako apartment.[10]
Subsequent appearances[]
In Tools of Destruction, when inside the IRIS Supercomputer, one of the questions Ratchet could ask it was, "What is the name of Clank's evil clone?" The response it gave was "Klunk".[15]
In A Crack in Time, the original name for the Tombli Outpost on Zanifar was "The Klunk Memorial Work Camp and Day Spa". However, after several legal battles with Klunk's estate lawyers, the name was changed.[16]
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Giant Klunk.
Klunk appeared almost identical to Clank, though he is identified easily by his eerily red eyes and more sinister laugh, which are relevant on occasion. Klunk was able to reveal or hide his red eyes whenever he chose in order to pose as Clank, though while idle on Ratchet's back, his eyes would periodically turn red for a few seconds. Additionally, Klunk's Thruster-Pack emits black flames rather than red.
While transformed into Giant Klunk, his color scheme was darker than Giant Clank's.
In Secret Agent Clank, he wore a golden suit and had a goatee, making him even more distinct.
Personality[]
Klunk smiling smugly at Ratchet as he walks away.
Klunk was intelligent and cunning as Clank was, but had the opposite morality: he was cruel, callous, and believed in robot supremacy. Klunk showed his cunning, willing to disguise himself as Clank for a long time while working for Nefarious, and later disguising himself as the Kingpin to conceal his identity when working for himself. Klunk showed no remorse for the deaths of either his allies or enemies, laughing at the apparent death of Courtney Gears,[2] and dishonoring Qwark at a funeral held for him when he was believed dead to the point of almost cursing.[5]
In contrast to Clank's belief that organics were equal to robots,[17] Klunk believed robots, and himself, to be unequivocally superior. He shared Nefarious' dislike of organic lifeforms, using the term "squishies" that Nefarious had once used to insult organic lifeforms.[9] Nonetheless, he came to resent being ordered around by Nefarious, to the point of making the Robo-Nefarious suit which he ordered around, finding it to be therapeutic.[18] Though he believed both he and Clank were superior to Ratchet and other organic lifeforms,[9] he still harbored great hatred for Clank, feeling humiliated to have been modeled after him,[18] and predictably using a computer password "Clank-is-a-big-fat-doodyhead".[10]
Abilities[]
Giant Klunk about to cast an energy bomb at Ratchet.
Klunk was fitted with Heli-Pack, Thruster-Pack and Hydro-Pack upgrades to pose as Clank. During the boss fight against him in Up Your Arsenal, Klunk exhibited an ability to turn into an Ultra-Mech, Giant Klunk, like Clank without using an Ultra-Mech pad. Giant Klunk was stronger and better-armored than Giant Clank and possessed all of his attacks, as well as the ability to fly with jet boosters from his feet.
During Secret Agent Clank, Klunk demonstrated his ability to use Clank Fu, having studied the art in addition to Clank.[18] He also had his own pair of Jet Boots with a golden red thrust. Klunk also constructed a robot suit called the Kingpin, as well as two robotic clones; Robo-Nefarious and Robo-Ratchet, which he could control, the three robots could be controlled via Klunk equipping to them like a backpack, though the Kingpin could also be piloted from within.
Combat[]
Behind the scenes[]
In both Up Your Arsenal and Secret Agent Clank, Klunk was voiced by David Kaye, Clank's voice actor.
In Secret Agent Clank Klunk's appearance is foreshadowed as early as the Boltaire Museum, where it is said that out of the two Megacorp Rivet Bots on display there it was impossible to determine which was the evil twin for lack of red eyes and a goatee.[19] Klunk's gold tuxedo and goatee is also an unlockable skin.
Klunk's enemy classification in the Holo-Monocle data is 'archnemesis'.
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ Numerous destroyed Clank replicas appear at Mylon's launch site, suggesting prior attempts at a Clank clone were made there.
- ↑ It is also possible that Klunk was the one who bribed the warden to keep Ratchet's stay on the Prison Planet unpleasant,[11] as this was in line with Klunk's behavior and his disdain for Ratchet.
- ↑ Given that Klunk's eventual plan was to build a galaxy-destroying laser, it is likely the laser that he wanted the Venantonio scientist to build was not merely to infiltrate Fort Sprocket, but was the galaxy-destroying laser in question.
- ↑ It is likely that Klunk was able to film footage framing Clank for the robbery by appearing as Clank himself and filming it. It is entirely unclear why Klunk would want to frame Clank for this, as it does not appear to fit within his master plan to take Clank's place and be believed to be a hero.
Citations[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Secret Agent Clank, Holo-Monocle
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Up Your Arsenal script § "Beat Courtney Gears (gameplay)"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Find Nefarious (gameplay)"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Escape the Starship (gameplay)"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Up Your Arsenal script § "Phoenix 6"
- ↑ Deadlocked script § "Shellshock and the Twins"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Secret Agent Clank script § "Prison Can Change A Lombax"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Secret Agent Clank script § "Rise of the Kingpin"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Secret Agent Clank script § "The Plan Revealed"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Secret Agent Clank script § "Sucks to be Klunk"
- ↑ Secret Agent Clank script § "Ratchet, Up The River"
- ↑ Secret Agent Clank script § "It's Always About Bolts"
- ↑ Secret Agent Clank script § "Another Escape"
- ↑ Secret Agent Clank script § "Not Quite Win-Win"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "IRIS Questions and Answers"
- ↑ A Crack in Time menu § "Galactic Trivia"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Film a Secret Agent Clank Episode (gameplay)"
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Secret Agent Clank script § "All The Marbles (gameplay)"
- ↑ Secret Agent Clank script § "Not The Guided Tour (gameplay)"
References[]
- 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.
- High Impact Games (2008). Secret Agent Clank [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation Portable.
- Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.