Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank)

Ratchet is the main protagonist of the long-running video game series Ratchet & Clank. He is a Lombax native from the planet Fastoon who was later sent to Veldin at a young age. Ratchet is 5 feet tall (152 cm), and, as of Ratchet: Deadlocked, weighed 97.5 lbs. (44.3 kg.) (Dallas Wanamaker claimed most of his weight was attributed to fluff and fat). Ratchet was the son of Kaden, Guardian of the Dimensionator, who was killed by Emperor Tachyon shortly after Ratchet's birth.

One day, his life was changed forever once he met a small robot named XJ-0461, but he nicknamed him Clank, who would go on to become his lifelong companion, voice of reason, and best friend. Together, back to back (both literally and metaphorically), they had many adventures, defeated numerous super villains and criminals, discover their true origins and became known as two of the universe's greatest heroes, meeting allies like Captain Qwark, and making archenemies like Dr. Nefarious throughout their various adventures.

He is voiced by James Arnold Taylor in every game except the first, in which he is voiced by Micheal Kelley.

Early days in Polaris
Ratchet was born and for a time lived on Fastoon in the Polaris galaxy, but was later sent to the Solana galaxy by his father due to Tachyon's attack on the Lombaxes.

As Ratchet was brought up on Veldin and managed to secure a garage as his living place, he dreamed of exploring the galaxy and looked up to the Solana Galaxy's greatest heroes at the time; Captain Qwark, whose adventures Ratchet followed through the radio, and Ace Hardlight before his disappearance.

Eventually, Ratchet began constructing a ship out of scrap metal which was held together by gum and rubber bands, hoping to use it to explore the galaxy sometime in the future.

Birth of a Hero in Solana
Before the beginning of his first adventure, Ratchet was finishing the construction of his ship. Dreaming of wild adventures in the galaxy, the Lombax was quite disappointed when HelpDesk informed him that he would need a robotic ignition system to start his ship. However, Ratchet noticed a ship falling from the sky which crash-landed onto the Kyzil Plateau, and upon exploration of the debris, found an unconscious Clank. The diminutive robot showed (after startling the Lombax by suddenly waking up) Ratchet an Infobot video of Chairman Drek's plans of destroying the planet Novalis to make a new planet for his species, the Blarg. Clank helped Ratchet start his ship in return for a trip to Novalis, where the little robot began looking for the hero Captain Qwark, in order to stop Drek's plans. Ratchet decided to go along for the adventure.

Ratchet's ship crashed on Novalis, but according to the official statement in the game's Sketchbook feature (in the Goodies menu), nobody really knew why. They got to talk to the planet's chairman in order to borrow his Courier Ship and obtained coordinates for the capital city of the planet Kerwan,Metropolis. After talking to the Plumber, they also received an Infobot ofSkid McMarx and his agent being shot down over the planet Aridia.

Ratchet completed Captain Qwark's physical fitness course (with the help ofClank's Heli-Pack ) on Kerwan and should have won a Swingshot fromHelga for his efforts, but after "disgracing" the course, she made them pay 1,000 bolts for it. After finding out from Big Al that Captain Qwark was no longer on Kerwan, Ratchet received an Infobot for planet Eudora.

The pair had several adventures together and generally got along well, until they met Captain Qwark at his base on Umbris. Ratchet felt that something wasn't quite right, but Clank was eager to trust the Captain. Qwark betrayed them and left them to be food for his pet Blargian Snagglebeast. After defeating the Snagglebeast, Ratchet became increasingly bitter and hostile towards Clank for leading him right into a trap, and obsessed with getting revenge on Qwark. After fighting Qwark in a Blarg fighter at the Gemlik Moonbase and seeing the devastation of a nearby planet at Drek's hands, Ratchet finally realized that Drek had to be stopped and made amends with Clank. Upon learning that Drek planned to move his new planet into the space now occupied by Veldin, which he planned to destroy with the Deplanetizer, he became determined to stop the greedy psychopath.

After fierce battles at Drek's starship fleet and on Veldin's surface, Ratchet sent the Chairman flying up to his newly created planet and destroyed it. Flaming chunks hitting the Deplanetizer's control pad knocked Ratchet and Clank off, and only Clank's quick thinking stopped them from hurtling down to the Plateau below. However, the servos in his arm were broken from supporting Ratchet's weight and they both fell. Once again, Clank saved Ratchet's life by using his Thruster-Pack upgrade (installed by Bob on Pokitaru) to break the Lombax's fall. Ratchet then started to walk on home (thinking Clank would follow) but Clank, disappointed, walks away thinking otherwise until Ratchet returned, stating that he needed to repair Clank's broken arm. Ratchet and Clank headed home much to Clank's delight.

Later, the two watched an advertisement for Qwark's Personal Hygenator; horrified and disgusted by its effects, Ratchet shouted at Clank to turn the TV off.

The Protopet Crisis
"So, you need me to go on a dangerous mission in another galaxy?"

- Ratchet discussing the mission with Abercrombie Fizzwidget Ratchet and Clank were doing an interview with Behind the Hero, talking about what had happened after Drek was defeated. Ratchet said there were parades, press conferences, and even "fancy dress balls", while Clank mentioned a wiener roast at Al's. After that, Ratchet said, everything returned to normal. Suddenly, he and Clank were teleported to the Bogon Galaxy by Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the president of Megacorp. Ratchet was offered an opportunity to undergo training to become a Megacorp commando, while Clank was offered an apartment in Megapolis on planetEndako and a job as an accountant.

Two weeks later, Ratchet headed to planet Aranos to infiltrate a Flying Lab, and then attempted to retrieve a stolen Protopet, an experiment of Megacorp's, from an unknown thief. The thief evaded Ratchet persistently, capturing Clank from his apartment and holding him hostage. The two soon reunited when Ratchet repaired Clank after he had been electrocuted by the thief and Clank in turn, escaped through an air duct in order to help Ratchet escape from the locked room and eventually retrieved the experiment on planet Siberius. After meeting with Fizzwidget, and "accidentally" being ejected from the ship on planetTabora, Ratchet and Clank met up with the Thief to learn about the true means of the experiment, also learning that the Thief is actually a female lombax known as Angela Cross. The two investigated the Testing Facility on planet Dobbo, and found more and more information, culminating into the true means on planetTodano, which the duo attempted to put a stop to in Silver City by talking with Fizzwidget. Ratchet then made the mistake of threatening a robotic copy of Fizzwidget with the Thugs-4-Less leader watching, who arrested and sent them to the Flying Lab ( which they had by then taken over). After they broke out of jail and freed Angela on planet Snivelak at the Thug Headquarters, Ratchet and Clank then investigated a Distribution Center and found out that Allgon City was undergoing a disaster, and may had lived up to its name at the hands of rampaging Protopets. As well as that, they headed to planet Grelbin to find Angela, who gave them the key to get into a Protopet Factory, in the heart of the Megacorp Headquarters on planet Yeedil.

Once there, they soon found out that the Fizzwidget they knew, was really Captain Qwark (the real one was put in a supply closet by Qwark). He accidentally mutated the real Protopet into a giant monster that soon after ate him. Ratchet defeated the Mutant Protopet, at which point it coughed up Qwark and Angela's Helix-o-Morph. She then used it to cure the Protopet of the Monsterpropanase in its system, later using it to cure all the Protopets in the galaxy.

Arrival of an Archenemy
"We're going home."

- Ratchet to Clank after seeing a news broadcast of Veldin being attacked by Tyhrranoids from Clank's Apartment In the beginning of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet hastily flew back to the Solana Galaxy to help defend Veldin, where he was mistaken for a Galactic Rangers sergeant and quickly pulled into the story. Captain Qwark often placed Ratchet in the more dangerous scenarios in his Q-Force plans, although Ratchet never received any credit. Most people who had never heard of the Lombax simply remembered him as Secret Agent Clank's chauffeur.

Ratchet was occasionally slandered by Qwark over the Starship Phoenix intercom, as Qwark told him he needed to change into his "green regulation Q-Force tights" or he would write him up for a dress-code violation. For most of Captain Qwark's plans, Ratchet was the one made to do the hero work, while Qwark took all the credit for the missions, much to Ratchet's annoyance. Despite this, the Lombax felt grief and discomfort at Qwark's presumed death.

On planet Kerwan in Metropolis, Ratchet saw the Biobliterator for the first time and he quickly hid. At the same time he witnessed the transformation of a Tyhrranoid from an organic life form, into a robot. After freeing Clank from the clutches of Dr. Nefarious, who had replaced the robot with an evil, impostor clone named Klunk, Ratchet, Klunk and Captain Quark got in Nefarious' ship, The Leviathan. There they found Dr. Nefarious who initiated the auto-destruct sequence and Ratchet and Klunk managed to escape believing that Captain was dead, but he was in fact hiding in his hideout in the Thran Asteroid. Ratchet, Clank and Skrunch found the fraudulent superhero, where Ratchet dubbed him as 'pathetic' and 'a cowardly wuss'.

However, later on, Ratchet teamed up with Qwark despite his earlier statements, to defeat Nefarious and to destroy the Biobliterator. After that Nefarious and Lawrence ended up on an asteroid alone in space.

Dread Zone
"But just who is this Ratchet?"

- Dallas Wanamaker

"Our Vox News investigation has uncovered shocking, untold stories from his dark, evil past! The destruction of civic property... illegal hoverbike gangs... inadequate dental hygiene!"

- Juanita

Before the beginning events of Ratchet: Deadlocked, Vox Newscommentators Dallas and Juanita made many statements about Ratchet and his friends, including Clank and Sasha. During the events of the game, these continued. The Vox coverage of Ratchet was generally unfavourable and many of their reports were incorrect. Among the many stories covered by Vox News, one reported that that Ratchet and Sasha decided to no longer speak to each other, following a heated argument in which Ratchet admitted to voting against her father for a previous Presidential election, and that diverging career paths forced them to spend long hours apart. They were also referred to as "Sachet" by Vox News. Other stories covered included that Ratchet and the Starship Phoenix crew (Clank and Big Al) were plotting wrongdoing; that Ratchet was of a dangerous species and a threat to civilization; that he destroyed civic properties and that he participated in illegal Hoverbiking.

Ratchet had been commended as the new captain of the Starship Phoenix, as Sasha had become the Mayor of Metropolis. Sometime, the Phoenix picked up a distress beacon from Quadrant J0713, an uncharted part of the Solana Galaxy thought to be devoid of any form of life. They travelled there at warp speed, however, it was actually a trap set up by DreadZone to capture him away from the Galactic Government's territory to avoid breaking their laws.

Ratchet was kidnapped by the Vox Empire, along with Clank and Big Al, as "Subject 209" while aboard the Starship Phoenix. All three were then fitted with Deadlock Collars, which with, at the press of a button, would explode, killing them in the process. Big Al managed to salvage two old combat bots, Merc and Green, to help Ratchet in his adventures as a forced contestant in DreadZone. Ratchet and the two bots then formed the complete Team Darkstar.

Later, Ratchet defeated Ace Hardlight, captain of the Exterminators, and afterward Gleeman Vox offered him the chance to become their new captain. Ratchet refused the offer, telling him that Vox was not just corrupt, but also stupid. In the final events of Deadlocked, despite Vox's attempts to kill the Lombax, Ratchet, Clank, and Big Al escaped DreadZone Station right before it exploded, killing Gleeman Vox.

Last Lombax in the Universe
"Behold! The last Lombax in the universe!"

- Tachyon on meeting Ratchet for the first time In Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Ratchet and Clank were finishing work on a hoverbike in Metropolis, only to be interrupted by Captain Qwark calling from the Planetary Defense Center. Qwark informed them that he was under attack by thousands of heavily armed robotic commandos and requested assistance from the two heroes. After being personally hunted down by the invaders, Ratchet met the orchestrator of the attack, Emperor Percival Tachyon, who claimed that he was only interested in killing the Lombax. Ratchet then managed to escape along with Clank using one of the Emperor's ships.

After crashing on planet Cobalia, and escaping Tachyon's troops on planet Kortog in an escape pod, Ratchet set foot on his real homeworld, Fastoon. Although the pair managed to obtain a ship named Aphelion, no Lombaxes were to be seen. Throughout the course of the game, Ratchet kept hearing references about a war between his race and another species called the Cragmites. At some unspecified point in history, the Cragmites simply vanished, which led people to believe something called the "Lombax Secret" had vaporized them. Some time later, the Lombaxes themselves had vanished.

Ratchet and Clank proceeded to investigate a moon base in the Nundac Asteroid Ring, which was thought to have key information about the Lombax Secret. Inside the base, Ratchet met Talwyn and her two war bots Cronk and Zephyr. After some initial distrust involving a threat to jettison the duo out the airlock (rescinded after she realized Ratchet was a Lombax), Talwyn agreed to assist Ratchet in his travels to track down the Secret. On Rykan V, the group found a room inside an old Lombax bunker that contained an old holo-vid player showing a video about a device called the Dimensionator. It was revealed by the IRIS Supercomputer that the device was capable of ripping a hole in the fabric of time and space into other dimensions, and that the Lombaxes sent the Cragmites to the X2-49 dimension instead of vaporizing them with a weapon as previously thought. Ratchet then managed to find this device on Jasindu. After having an argument with Clank over the use of the Dimensionator, it was taken away by the space pirate Captain Slag. Ratchet followed the pirate captain's coordinates to retrieve it.

After defeating Slag, Qwark appeared seemingly out of nowhere and snatched the Dimensionator, claiming he would try to become a superhero once again. His plan backfired as he was captured by Tachyon shortly thereafter, leaving the device in the Emperor's hands. Back on the home world of his kind, Reepor, Tachyon started to bring back the Cragmites from their other-dimensional prison with the Dimensionator. In the tumult, Ratchet and Clank were separated, and Ratchet was left thinking that Clank was dead. After reuniting with Talywn and her robots, Ratchet sadly told them about Clank's death, only for Clank to suddenly appear and leave Ratchet overjoyed at the sight of his best friend alive.

Ratchet and Clank then rushed to Igliak to quell Tachyon's Cragmite invasion, which had taken Meridian City by storm. Once the situation was under control, they followed and confronted the Cragmite emperor on Fastoon, where the mystery of the Lombaxes' disappearance was revealed: after Tachyon had risen to power and invaded the planet, the Lombaxes used the Dimensionator to flee to safety in another dimension. All of them left, according to Tachyon, except for two. Ratchet's father stayed behind to hide the device along with his then infant son, Ratchet himself. Shortly after sending Ratchet to Veldin, his father was killed by Tachyon. After revealing this knowledge to him, Tachyon opened a portal to the Lombaxes' new home, offering Ratchet one chance to join his race in the other dimension. Ratchet refused, knowing that no one would be safe if he left Tachyon behind with the Dimensionator.

After damaging the Dimensionator, Ratchet and Clank proceeded to defeat Tachyon on an asteroid in the middle of deep space after accidentally triggering a portal to open. Before Tachyon fell into a black hole, he exclaimed that only he knew Ratchet's "true name" and purpose, and that his kind would never be safe. After fixing and using the Dimensionator to escape their dimensional battlefield, Ratchet started to question his true purpose, but Clank reassured him that he had already fulfilled it, having defeated Tachyon, something his own race couldn't do. A few seconds later Clank was abducted by the Zoni, leaving Ratchet beside himself at the sudden disappearance of his friend.

Searching for his friend
In Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, Ratchet, aided by Talwyn, set out to find Clank by heading to Merdegraw whereCaptain Darkwater was. After harassing a gang of Space Pirates led by Sprocket, which went against Pirate party foul 21-23, Ratchet got shot out of a cannon and ended up on Hoolefar Island, which was inhabited by a friendly race known as the Hoolefoids.

After meeting the mayor, Ratchet repaired five wind turbines as well as the supply beacon, and the mayor then showed Ratchet the Obsidian Eye. Ratchet then headed to Morrow Caverns, to look for the Fulcrum Star and a map. In the cave, Ratchet saw a shadow figure, and asked Rusty Pete what that was, and he lied, stating that they were shadow puppets. He got double-crossed by Pete in the cave, where Pete stuckRomulus Slag's head in Darkwater's body that caused Undead Pirates to appear, which meant Ratchet had to fight his way back out.

Ratchet defended Hoolefar from the pirates, and then headed to Darkwater Cove, where he tried to grab the star but fell through a trap door, opened by Slag/Darkwater. He fought his way out of the cave, and eventually defeated Darkwater, causing Slag's head to get blown off. Ratchet claimed the star, and powered the Obsidian Eye, where he saw Clank being surrounded by the Zoni. He then saw Dr. Nefariouswalk down the steps to the room and trips on a feather duster, where Ratchet declared that he would save Clank.

Adventure through time
"Qwark: Space, it's huge. So huge in fact, that if you lost your car keys in it, they would be almost impossible to find... Luckily for Ratchet, Captain Copernicus L. Qwark was on the case. His mission, rescue the Lombax's one and only friend. Yep, without Clank, Ratchet was alone in the universe. Alone...alone..alone! Ratchet: You realize this ship has an ejector seat, right?"

- Opening cinematic In Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time Ratchet continued his adventure which started in Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty trying to find Clank, with Qwark helping along the way.

While Ratchet and Qwark were looking for Clank, the Aphelion crashed on planet Quantos, where they met a friendly race called the Fongoids. The Fongoids were under attack by one of Dr. Nefarious's "workers", Flint Vorselon, who seemed to have Ratchet confused with someone else. After defeating Vorselon's minions, Ratchet was contacted by Qwark, who was no longer with him, having been abducted by Lord Vorselon. Ratchet broke Qwark and a number of captured Fongoids out of Vorselon's ship, and learned that the rebel he had been mistaken for was living on Torren IV.

After arriving on Torren IV, Ratchet met the rebel, another Lombax named General Alister Azimuth, who happened to be good friends with Ratchet's father, whose name was Kaden. Kaden was, according to Azimuth, "a great Lombax, smart as they come." Kaden was also the first one to theorize the existence of the Great Clock, among his many other accomplishments. After sharing with Ratchet about Kaden, the Great Clock, and Clank's possible whereabouts thereof, Azimuth presented Kaden's hoverboots to Ratchet and taught the young Lombax how to use them.Azimuth apologized to Ratchet for not having known about him still living in this dimension, otherwise he would have come to find him so he wouldn't have been alone. He told Ratchet that he should consider him as his own family.

On planet Lumos, Ratchet learned of Azimuth's plan to bring back the Lombaxes by using the Great Clock to undo his actions, which he said were responsible for Tachyon's attack on Fastoon. Ratchet agreed to it knowing it was a chance to get his family back, despite being told that the effects of the Clock would most likely mean he would never meet Clank in the new timeline.

Ratchet traveled all over the Breegus Sector, traveling back in time at Clank's request to learn the fate of Orvus, and finally finding Clank in the Valkyrie Citadel. After finally being re-united with Clank, who informed him of the Clock's true nature and vital purpose, he realized that the risk of using the Clock was too great and that it wouldn't be worth saving the Lombaxes if there was a chance reality would be destroyed as a result. After failing to change his mind, Azimuth left and Ratchet went on with Clank to battle Nefarious, who also had plans to use the Clock.

Once Nefarious had been defeated, Ratchet & Clank were saved by Azimuth at the last minute, and the three of them returned to the Great Clock. Clank told Ratchet that he would stay behind at the Clock, as taking care of it was "what [he] was built for." Ratchet hugged Clank close to him as a farewell, knowing he couldn't talk Clank out of it. As Ratchet started to walk Clank inside the building, Azimuth questioned why they were not going to use the Clock to save the Lombaxes. Ratchet told the General that the Lombaxes were safe and they would find them someday, but altering the past to do so would not be right. Enraged, Azimuth snapped and fired an energy blast directly at Ratchet from his wrench. Ratchet was struck in the chest and killed, falling backwards off the platform before Clank could reach him. Fortunately, Clank managed to seal off the Orvus Chamber from Azimuth. Clank faced a difficult choice: go back in time and save his best friend, or follow his father's rules. Luckily, he remembered a piece of cryptic advice The Plumber had given him earlier: "I wouldn't risk anymore than 6 minutes." Clank used the Clock's master control and reversed time by 6 minutes, preventing Ratchet's death.

Ratchet and Clank then fought Azimuth in the Orvus Chamber to prevent him from destroying the universe. After Azimuth's defeat, Ratchet saw that the time shift the General initialized before the battle was tearing the Clock apart and attempted to stop it. Realizing his error, Azimuth stuck his wrench into the broken time machine to repair the damage himself and stop the time shift, giving his life in the process. Ratchet silently mourned the loss of his former mentor, and took Alister's pocketwatch and Praetorian OmniWrench as mementos.

Disaster averted, Ratchet then proceeded to help Clank with the additional repairs and returned the Zoni he'd collected on his travels to the Clock. Once the repairs were finished, with a heavy heart, he told Clank to "take care of [him]self", and he headed back to his ship alone. However, just as Ratchet was closing the cockpit on Aphelion to leave, Clank suddenly jumped in (having promoted Sigmund to Senior Caretaker of the Clock), refusing to leave his Lombax friend. Ratchet smiled and promptly took off into the stars, his best friend at his side once again.

Fearsome foursome
Both Ratchet and Clank were interviewed by Kip Darling on whether or not they would join in the search for Dr. Nefarious, who had been deemed 'alive and at large'. Ratchet explained that he and Clank would be taking a break from the heroics, planning to leave it to the other guys. When asked if this meant Galactic President Qwark, Ratchet unenthusiastically confirmed, before suggesting, "Or...anyone else." "Ratchet!", Clank replied. "What? I didn't vote for the guy."

Later on, Ratchet and Clank accompanied Qwark toLuminopolis, where Qwark was supposed to receive an "Intergalactic Tool of Justice Award" for defeating a Light-Eating Z'Grute. Ratchet questioned if Qwark felt at all deceitful for accepting an award for something he didn't do. Qwark didn't, nor did he have any idea what 'deceitful' meant. Upon seeing that the award ceremony was to take place at a shoddily-made podium set underneath the cryosleep-sealed Z'Grute, and that the person inviting Qwark was all 'cloak and dagger' both Ratchet and Clank grew concerned. But Qwark dismissed their suspicions as being 'unused to the spoils of herodom'. However, it turned out that it was non-other than Nefarious himself who had invited Qwark, and that the whole set-up was a trap to have the three heroes eaten by the Z'grute. Upon being reanimated, however, the Z'grute turned on Nefarious, sucking the power from his vehicle. With Lawrence making a timely retreat, along with a resignation from the Doctor's services, the four were forced to fight the Z'grute through the city together. Once the fighting was over, a giant spaceship appeared in the skies above Luminopolis. Ratchet had just enough time to hear Nefarious deny any connection before fainting from a flash of light.

Upon waking up, Ratchet found himself suspended upside-down in an unknown facility with Clank, Qwark and Nefarious. Spotting a little girl on the floor below, Ratchet asked her for help. She complied, turning off their binds. Fighting through the complex, the group came across more of the tool she used, the Vac-U.

Breaking out from the facility, they received a call from Cronk and Zephyr that the four were on Planet Magnus. However, due to being stuck in an asteroid belt, the two robots would be unable to rescue them, and could only provide intel and teleported weapons.

Making their way to Susie's village, they learned that the ship that kidnapped them was called Ephemeris, and it was responsible for bringing many dangerous creatures to Magnus. The village elder brought up his hopes that Ratchet and Clank would help, but Ratchet didn't want to get back into being a hero again, responding that he'd contact the Polaris Defense Force as soon as they could get off the planet. But upon learning that Susie had lost her parents due to Ephemeris, he changed his mind.

Travelling around the planet, the group slowly discovered that the trouble began when Dr. Croid, a scientist studying the effects of critters, had his work stolen by his partner Nevo Binklemeyer, and that Nevo was responsible for many of the dangerous weapons on Magnus. They soon found Croid on a sanctuary on Magnus' moon, but found he would be of little help; Croid spent so much time hiding from Nevo's forces that his mind degenerated, and he now thought of himself as a Lombax-whisperer. Luckily, Nefarious was able to use Croid's equipment to locate Ephemeris and Nevo.

Crashing back in the frozen area of Magnus, the group traveled to where a railway station was, which would hopefully take them to Nevo's base in Uzo City. Unfortunately, the railway was in disrepair, but the Plumber suddenly appeared, and managed to fix it. Ratchet hoped the Plumber would have "cryptic advice" on defeating Nevo, but the Plumber admitted to not having that kind of advice and wished them good luck.

Outside of Uzo City, Ratchet and company found Susie and some friends of hers; they were planning to attack the city. Knowing what she how she felt, Ratchet advised her not to run in unprepared, and doing so wouldn't bring her parents back. Ratchet cheered her up by asking Susie to 'guard the perimeter'.

Ratchet and his team then went to Ephemeris to confront Nevo, but when they got to him they found that he was not the true mastermind and that the true enemy was the Loki Master, which had possessed Croid's pet, Mr. Dinkles, apparently having done for quite some time. After defeating the Loki, Cronk and Zephyr landed their ship outside, revealing that "help finally arrived", which turned out to be Lawrence. He and Nefarious stole the ship, but Ratchet decided that he would just use Ephemeris to return home, shrugging off Clank's concerns.

The Q-Force
After Qwark lost the election, he, Ratchet, and Clank re-established the Q-Force in order to protect the Polaris Galaxy from threats, they were stationed in the Private Sector. During a normal day in which the galaxy was at peace an unknown villain contacted the Q-Force and revealed that he was taking control of the Private Sector, Ratchet and the Q-Force set off to stop him, after defeating his Grungarian forces on Markazia, the villain revealed himself to be Stuart Zurgo, the Qwark Fanboy who had sold Ratchet an item during his visit to Bogon.

Ratchet and the QForce the proceeded to defeat his forces on Ebaro andProteus VII, but he revealed that he had actually infiltrated their ship and taken control of Ebaro's weather system, plunging the sector into chaos. Ratchet and his allies then destroyed the generator before heading to Zurgo's Lair of Doom for the final battle. Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark defeated Zurgo and then headed to bring him to the authorities.

Inter-dimensional threat
After defeating Stuart Zurgo, Ratchet and Clank became members of the Polaris Defense Force alongside Cronk, Zephyr, and Talwyn. Ratchet, Clank, Cronk, and Zephyr soon escorted Vendra Prog to the Vartax Detention Center for her assault on Pollyx Industries. When they deactivated her cyrosleep, she took over most of the Nebulox Seven, but Ratchet and Clank managed to reactivate her proton shield. However, Neftin Prog and Thugs-4-Less soon attacked the ship and freed Vendra along with capturing Cronk and Zephyr. Despite their best efforts, Ratchet and Clank were imprisoned by Vendra and were left to die after Vendra detonated the ship. However, the windows cracked open and sucked Ratchet and Clank out into space but were forced to watch helplessly as Cronk and Zephyr were left on the ship as it blew up. The Thugs tried to kill Ratchet, but he and Clank were able to stow away on an enemy ship and flew to Yerek.

After arriving, they delivered the news about Cronk and Zephyr's death to Talwyn who was visibly distraught. Despite Talwyn's pleas for Ratchet and Clank to return to Meridian City, they decided to avenge the warbots' deaths by hunting down the Prog twins. They soon learned that Yerek and the rest of the Zarkov Sector was abandoned 20 years ago due to ghosts and that Vendra and Neftin originated from Yerek. After retrieving a Grav-Tether from Pollyx's assistant, they tracked down Pollyx in Azeril Caverns where he gave Clank an upgrade to travel into the Netherverse. Ratchet and Clank realized that the so-called ghosts were actually Nethers and upon picking up video recordings from the nearby orphanage, learned that Vendra and Neftin were responsible for the evacuation of the sector. After tracking the twins underneath the orphanage, they learned that they built a low-rent Dimensionator in order to bring Nethers into Ratchet's dimension. They also saw the leader of the Nethers who went by the name of Mr. Eye. Mr. Eye noticed Ratchet and Clank and had the Nethers attack them. Captain Qwark arrived in the nick of time with Aphelion and saved them from the monsters. Realizing that the twins were headed to Silox, they headed there to stop them from unleashing Mr. Eye.

Upon arriving, although he still wanted the twins to pay for Cronk and Zephyr's death, Ratchet became more sympathetic towards them as he understood that they wanted to be reunited with their race, but that their plans were a great danger to everyone else. He and Vendra began communicating and Ratchet tried to reason with Vendra not to unleash Mr. Eye but to no avail. After reaching the Sky Station, Neftin tried to stop Ratchet but Ratchet managed to defeat Neftin but was unable to prevent Vendra from bringing over the Nethers and Mr. Eye. As Ratchet predicted, Mr. Eye betrayed Vendra and imprisoned her in the Netherverse.

After barely escaping the Nether leader, Ratchet and Clank agreed to meet Neftin on planet Thram, so that they could make a deal; In exchange for helping Neftin steal the Dimensionator in order to free Vendra, Neftin and Vendra must turn themselves in. After Neftin agreed to the deal, Ratchet and Clank headed to the Intergalactic Museum of History in Meridian City. After trekking through the museum and finding the Dimensionator, they gave the device to Neftin. Shortly after, Mr. Eye attacked the city in order to destroy the Dimensionator. They fought Mr. Eye and initiated a two-fold plan with Ratchet fighting Mr. Eye while Clank searched for Vendra. After a long lengthy battle, Ratchet stunned Mr. Eye long enough for Vendra to return and helped seal Mr. Eye and the Nether army back into the Netherverse. Keeping true to his promise, Neftin as well as a disgruntled Vendra turned themselves in.

Later, Ratchet and Clank sat in the museum and observed the Dimensionator. After seeing it fall apart due to the amount of energy Neftin needed to banish the Nethers, Ratchet and Clank both laughed. Clank asked Ratchet what would have happened if the device was functional when used. Ratchet decided that despite wanting to find his race, he settled on staying there with Talwyn. Ratchet then left to meet Talwyn, not knowing Clank swiped the Dimensionator.

Personality
"Neftin: Can you imagine? Seeing your kind right there- close enough to touch, but impossible to reach. Ratchet: Yes. Yes, I can. But wanting something too badly can change you into something you're not."

- Ratchet sympathising with the Progs' situation Ratchet is a street-wise, wrench-swinging guy who always liked to get into an adventure without really thinking about the risks or odds. He made many sarcastic comments or jokes and sometimes took things personally, but over the series of the games, Ratchet has matured and become more serious. He enjoyed swinging down Zip-lines and using his Swingshot. Ratchet, like many Lombaxes, is also known to have invented some items, some were more successful than others. These items included Stunderwear (which was a huge seller on Umbris), for example.

Despite his intelligence, Ratchet usually doesn't strategize and charges into battle before thinking things through. Nevertheless, he is also fearless, able to take on any enemy with almost no signs of fear.

Personality change
In the first game, Ratchet was very selfish, arrogant, and self-absorbed, to the point that Clank had to talk him into helping other planets. Throughout the course of the game, however, he became more dedicated and serious to stopping Drek's plans. After that, he became a less selfish person. He became very selfless, and at the end of Deadlocked was willing to give up his life for all the captured heroes that he eventually saved.

In A Crack in Time, Ratchet is seen as more of an intelligent, humble and serious character. This personality has also been seen in All 4 One, as he has shown a compassionate side as well. Ratchet is also willing to help anybody in need of saving. Also, he has become less willing to let vengeance become his only focus like in the first game, where all he cared about was getting even with Qwark until he fully realized and understood the dire situation, but in Into the Nexus, when Cronk and Zephyr were killed at the hands of the Prog twins, while it was his desire to make them answer for the old warbots' deaths, he was also willing to try to reason with them when they were planning to release Mr. Eye and the Nethers. He also sympathised with their situation, due to it not being so different from his own. Also, while it was his intention to find the Lombaxes since Tools of Destruction, by the end of Into the Nexus he mostly likely decided to let go of that desire, having stated that there was more for him in his birth dimension, most notably being with Talwyn than with his kind.

Abilities
While fairly short, Ratchet is a capable fighter, utilizing weapons and gadgets that allow him to traverse many environments, and defeat very large groups of enemies by himself. Ratchet can also evade enemy fire, often jumping, or back/side flipping out of the way. Ratchet is also handy with some tools, usually seen fixing a multitude of machines, most of all with his wrench, which he can use to turn bolts to extend bridges, open doors, and other functions. Ratchet can also use his wrench as a close quarters weapon. In addition to his natural talents, Ratchet has received a training as a commando by Megacorp, ranging from martial arts and outdoor survival, to origami.

Ratchet has a huge amount of weapons, gadgets, and items at his disposable, he was skilled at using each and every one of them.

Ratchet was also capable of piloting many vehicles expertly, even on his first try.

Ratchet is even capable of fighting enemies with supernatural powers, as shown when facing Angstrom Darkwater, Mr. Eye, the Loki Master, and many more.

In Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet was capable of taking damage from feral alien creatures, the Blargian military, and even Chairman Drek and was still able to keep fighting. This is a demonstration of Ratchet's durability.

Ratchet also survived a hypernova, which has the power to 100 supernova.

Also, it appears that he and Clank have great luck that allows them to survive normally fatal situations. This is shown in all games. Some examples of this amazing ability is when Ratchet was in prison and had to fight enemies from the previous games, or when he survived a silo of deadly nerve toxin, or when he escaped the detonation of the Nebulox.

Names and aliases
Ratchet during his many exploits and encounters was referred to by a variety of names and titles including Captain Ratchet, Ratchet of Veldin, The Dread Pirate Ratchet the Butcher of Bogon, Sarge, Space Rat and This Guy. With the Lombaxes in another dimension and sent to Veldin by his father, Ratchet did not know his real name.

Code Names

 * Dead Meat

Nicknames

 * Butcher of Bogon
 * This Guy

Titles

 * Captain Ratchet
 * The Dread Pirate Ratchet
 * Ratchet of Veldin