Template:Appearances
Chief Admiral Cronk and Lieutenant Commander Zephyr are Talwyn's wily old warbots. Sure they like to snooze, but when things get serious they are two of our greatest allies.
Instruction Manual Character Summary, ItN
Lieutenant Commander Zephyr was a supporting character in Tools of Destruction, the Ratchet & Clank comic series from Issue 2 onwards, All 4 One and Into the Nexus. He was one of two ancient warbot caretakers of Talwyn Apogee, along with Cronk, who fought in the Great War.
Zephyr was an ancient warbot who has fought in nineteen galactic wars since the Great War, and served alongside Cronk. He wielded a gun that fired three burst shots at a time. While old and senile, he was portrayed as smarter than Cronk, often referring to him as a "darn fool". He served as Talwyn's guardian alongside Cronk, and helped Ratchet and Clank since their search for the "Lombax Secret". He was killed when the Nebulox was destroyed by Vendra Prog and the Thugs-4-Less, trapped in the spaceship before it was destroyed.
History
Pre-Tools of Destruction
Zephyr served with Cronk in the Great War, making him eons old. Since then, the two fought in nineteen galactic wars, three interstellar battles, one planetary misunderstanding, and a lunar argument. The two fought a combined 6,132 battles. At some point, they had a third companion who was destroyed some time before Tools of Destruction. Zephyr claimed, when reciting memories of past battles he fought in, to have fought against "Undead Zombie Dung Dragons on the Folsteroid Plateau, formed by the planet's radioactive sun", and allegedly fought his way out with Cronk using a rusty spork and a roll of toilet paper stolen on Igliak. He also claimed to have watched old episodes of Lance and Janice on old holo-projects.
Cronk became an accomplice of Max Apogee. When he disappeared after a space pirate raid, Cronk and Zephyr then watched over Talwyn Apogee.
Tools of Destruction
Zephyr on Ardolis
When Ratchet and Clank infiltrated the Apogee Space Station, Cronk and Zephyr initially threatened them over intercom and deployed defenses. However, Talwyn ordered them to drop their weapons when she realized that Ratchet was a lombax. From this point onwards, Cronk and Zephyr befriended Ratchet and Clank and searched with them to find the "Lombax Secret".
Cronk and Zephyr accompanied Ratchet and Talwyn to Ardolis in their search, and later fought with Ratchet on Rykan V. However, after splitting up with Ratchet in their search, they were captured and imprisoned in the Zordoom Prison on planet Viceron. When Ratchet and Clank freed Talwyn, they immediately sought to free Cronk and Zephyr afterwards. Cronk and Zephyr later followed Ratchet to Reepor, where they fought the Imperial Army. Finally, Cronk and Zephyr joined Ratchet and Talwyn to fight the Imperial Army and the cragmites on Fastoon, helping defeat Ratchet. Afterwards, Zephyr was seen in Apogee Space Station, roleplaying as Ratchet by wielding his OmniWrench against Cronk, whole roleplayed Tachyon while wearing the broken Dimensionator.
A Crack in Time
Zephyr can be heard talking to Cronk during the credits, stating Cronk slept through the whole game and that was responsible for their absence.
Ratchet & Clank comic series
Cronk and Zephyr arrived to free Ratchet and Clank from the Vartax Detention Facility, and then escorted Ratchet to the Apogee Space Station to coordinate a plan against Artemis Zogg. The two then helped Talwyn, along with Sasha Phyronix and then-Galactic President Qwark, to defeat Zogg.
All 4 One
Cronk and Zephyr provided mission support to Ratchet, Clank, Qwark and Dr. Nefarious. When an Ephemeris kidnapped the four, Cronk and Zephyr used Ratchet's nav-unit to track them, though he fell asleep during travel and accidentally stranded the two in the middle of Magnus's asteroid belt, making him unable to retrieve them. Thereafter, they deployed Apogee Communication Pods around the planet to monitor the group, and send them weapons and upgrades from GrummelNet.
The two were able to reunite with them, after Lawrence rescued their ship in the search for Nefarious. They landed and recovered Ratchet, Clank and Qwark, while Nefarious left with Lawrence.
Into the Nexus
Let us go ya darn space witch!
Zephyr's last words, ItN
Cronk and Zephyr were tasked alongside Ratchet and Clank to deliver and escort the dangerous criminal Vendra Prog from the Nebulox Seven Prison Ship to the Vartax Detention Center. The two were then tasked to awaken Vendra from cryosleep in order to deliver her to the guards. However, Vendra used her telepathic abilities to stir the heroes awry.
Vendra's brother, Neftin Prog then arrived with the assistance of the Thugs-4-Less to strike the ship, disabling its defenses and recovering Vendra. Cronk and Zephyr fought to repel the intruders, though Vendra and Neftin caught them and tied them up to the ship. Ratchet and Clank arrived to free them, though Vendra trapped them in a telepathic bubble, rendering them helpless. Neftin insisted that killing Cronk and Zephyr was unnecessary, but Vendra decided to do so anyway, and set off explosives with the ship that Cronk and Zephyr were trapped inside, causing them to die.
After Ratchet and Clank defeated the nethers, Cronk and Zephyr's spirits were shown to have crossed over into the afterlife, as their ghosts both exchanged banter with one another in the Intergalactic Museum of History, where statues were created in their honor, before looking for femdroids.
Characteristics
Zephyr was a red and metallic robot, with well-armored broad shoulders, and a beak-like head, and had a thruster coil as part of his design. He was shorter than Cronk, and appeared to be less prone to disrepair. Zephyr fired a carbine blaster which fired intervals of three rapid shots, distinctly different from Cronk's slower blasts.
Zephyr is depicted as being smarter than Cronk, though still old and senile. He will often correct Cronk's mistakes, referring to him as a "darn fool", and often argued and competed with him over who was right. Nonetheless, the two were extremely close.
Zephyr would often recall past histories, though his stories often appeared to lack credibility. When recounting stories of past wars he fought in, he often told absurd stories. Zephyr also claimed his mother was half lombax.
Behind the scenes
Cronk and Zephyr skins in Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Zephyr was voiced by Paul Eiding, the voice of Colonel Roy Campbell from the Metal Gear series. Zephyr's arguments with Cronk over in which they bickered about their specs and capabilities was meant to represent console fanboy wars between PlayStation and Xbox.[1]
Zephyr, along with Cronk, appears as skins in Tools of Destruction and Full Frontal Assault.
Zephyr is the name of a level in Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage also made by Insomniac Games.
References
- ↑ Sony Computer Entertainment (2018). The Art of Ratchet & Clank. Dark Horse Comics. p. 149.