Born as an organic lifeform and later transformed into a robot, Dr. Nefarious serves as one of the main antagonists of the Ratchet and Clank series. The Dr. Nefarious we see in Up Your Arsenal has surely been shaped by the same events that turned him into a robot. This week, I wanted to dive a bit deeper into Dr. Nefarious’ history since he is one of my favorite Ratchet and Clank characters of all time.
Early Years
As mentioned above, Nefarious was born as organic lifeform. He attended the same school as Captain Qwark, another reoccurring Ratchet and Clank character. Thanks to Qwark’s bullying of Nefarious, Nefarious grew to hate the biology class the two shared together. Despite the constant belittling and reticule Qwark put him through, Nefarious still considered him to be a friend. This backstory was always interesting to me because it made me think about what actions happen in each villain’s life to lead them down their dark paths.
Qwark’s bullying certainly played its part in creating the Nefarious we eventually see in Up your Arsenal and later titles. It is also interesting to me how this plays into Qwark’s past as well, but I’ll be getting into his backstory at a later date. For now, I just want to focus on Nefarious.
As Qwark sets off to continue “saving the world” Nefarious continues down his mad scientist path. With the help of his newfound butler, Lawrence, Nefarious created a new biological threat known as the amoeboids. Now, Ratchet and Clank fans will recognize these enemies from the very first game, on planet Rilgar. Their presence on the planet was Nefarious’ doing, as he wanted to rid the planet of all lifeforms. Qwark was informed of the attack and set forth to take care of both the amoeboids and Dr. Nefarious. Dr. Nefarious fled the planet when he felt he was being defeated, and swore he would return to finish the job.
From Squishy Organic Being To Robot Mastermind
As we all know, Dr. Nefarious hates organic beings, despite having been born as one. This is no doubt due to his constant failures at besting Qwark, but also because of how he lost his life. Qwark attempted to infiltrate Dr. Nefarious’ base on planet Magmos some time after the events on Rilgar. He was dressed as a pizza delivery woman, but this didn’t fool Nefarious at all. Instead, he found it amusing and let Qwark in to see how things would unfold.
Qwark made his way through the base and eventually confronted Nefarious. He attempted to give Nefarious a wedgie like the good old days but instead, knocked Nefarious into the machinery below. Qwark believed this was the last of Nefarious and left the base. Instead of killing him, the machinery transformed Dr. Nefarious into a robot. Not only had an organic lifeform killed him, but machinery saved his life. I think this is what really made Nefarious hate organic life. Realizing how fragile and “squishy” they were, paved the way for his hatred to grow into dreams of world domination.
After becoming a robot, Nefarious attacked the city of Metropolis on planet Kerwan. This again, ended with Qwark defeating him. Not only that, but to add insult to injury, Qwark ripped off Nefarious’ head. Still able to talk, Nefarious once again swore he would return and defeat Qwark and once again, Qwark ignored him and just threw his head in the garbage. One more reason for Dr. Nefarious to hate organic life.
Up Your Arsenal
The first game we see Dr. Nefarious in is Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Up Your Arsenal was the third game to be released, and arguably one of my favorites. Dr. Nefarious really is one of the reasons I loved Up Your Arsenal so much. He brought so much personality and humor into the series, which it wasn’t lacking by any stretch of the imagination, but Nefarious still ended up feeling like a breath of fresh air. He complimented Qwark perfectly with their shared history, and performed flawlessly as an antagonist for Ratchet and Clank.
Without diving too much into the whole plot line of Up Your Arsenal, Dr. Nefarious promises all robots that he will rid the galaxy of all organic lifeforms and implores them to help him achieve his goal. Since Qwark is the only person alive to have battled Nefarious, Ratchet and Clank are sent out to find him. With Qwark and President Phyronix’s help, Ratchet and Clank attempt to take on Dr. Nefarious.
While they searched for Nefarious, he began to work on a weapon that would transform organic lifeforms into robots. Nefarious named this weapon the Biobliterator. On top of that, Nefarious had Courtney Gears (yes this is a robot version of Britney Spears) kidnap Clank after they filmed an episode of Secret Agent Clank together. Courtney Gears brought Clank to Nefarious who offered Clank a role in his plan and called him a “hero to robots across the galaxy”. Of course, Clank refused so Nefarious help him captive and sent a spy named Klunk to spy on Ratchet.
Nefarious got his weapon operational and returned to Metropolis, just as he promised Qwark he would all those years ago. He turned the whole city into robots and when Ratchet got there, he saw that Nefarious had the real Clank. Upon learning this, Ratchet defeated the imposter and reunited with his pal Clank. After surviving another Attack by Nefarious, Clank was able to use a cannon on planet Koros to destroy the Biobliterator. This prompted Nefarious to travel to Mylon where a second Biobliterator was being created. He attempted to use it to kill Ratchet and Clank, but failed again. Humiliated, Nefarious teleported himself and Lawrence to an asteroid. Lawrence predicted that the asteroid they were on could take five or ten thousand years before coming into range of any planet or space station.
Polaris Galaxy And “Spiritual Realization”
During their time on the asteroid, Lawrence and Dr. Nefarious actually begin to approach The DreadZone Station from Ratchet: Deadlocked. However, when they arrive, the events of Deadlocked had already taken place and they were left with a destroyed and empty station. As the asteroid continues past what used to be the DreadZone Station, it makes its way for the Polaris Galaxy and the next chapter in both Nefarious’ life, and the Ratchet and Clank series.
During the time between Up Your Arsenal and A Crack In Time, Dr. Nefarious ended up on planet Nanifar. It was here where the fongoids took both him and Lawrence in. During his stay with the fongoids, Dr. Nefarious actually bettered himself by studying mediation, doing yoga and even attending anger management courses (which he desperately needed).
While he was on a spirit walk on planet Quantos, Nefarious discovered a cave that depicted paintings of the race called Zoni. As he learned more of their role in protecting the universe and making sure time was kept in balance, he plotted to use this power for himself and reset the timeline. His goal was to create a world where the heroes always lose, and thus, he would finally be victorious. So much for all of that meditating and soul searching he did.
The idea was for him to take over the Great Clock and rewrite history. Of course, this would be no easy task. Nefarious was able to trick the fongoids into believing that he had pure intentions which gave him the opportunity to create his Tombli Outpost and manufacture his Nefarious troopers. Nefarious then met with Orvus, the leader of the Zoni, and learned of the Orvus Chamber within the Great Clock.
Desperately wanting access to the chamber as it controlled the clock, Nefarious attempted to interrogate Orvus. Of course, Orvus wouldn’t budge but he did tell Nefarious of the only one able to gain access to the chamber: Clank.
A Crack In Time
Thanks to a partnership that Nefarious was able to work out with the Zoni (despite his history with Orvus), they brought Clank to the Great Clock. However when Clank arrived, it seemed that parts of his memory and logic were broken. Nefarious promised to fix Clank, so the Zoni allowed him to stay on the Great Clock. Through Clank’s subconscious, Nefarious tried to access the Orvus Chamber, at which point the Zoni locked him out.
This enraged Nefarious, which was honestly easy to do, and he attacked the Great Clock with his Nefarious troopers. The attack woke Clank up from his slumber who immediately tried to escape Nefarious. Instead, he was captured again, but Nefarious decided to allow him to take on his training with Sigmund.
During Clank’s time on the Great Clock, Sigmund instructed him on how it worked. Nefarious had Lawrence spy on their progress. While that was going on, Ratchet was, of course, doing everything he could to get back to his pal.
Long story short, Ratchet and Clank prevailed again and saved the Great Clock from Nefarious. Lawrence escaped through an escape pod and he teleported Nefarious’ unconscious body away and just like that, Nefarious classically disappears for some time.
All 4 One
During the events of All 4 One, we actually get to see Nefarious work alongside Ratchet, Clank and Qwark. Of course, it didn’t start out that way. Thanks to a master plan gone wrong on Nefarious’ end, the four were captured by Ephemeris the Creature Collector. The Creature Collector served as the Loki Master‘s base. He had plans to use it to collect the deadliest creatures around the universe. Once the creatures were his, he had planned to use them to wreck havoc around the universe.
Naturally, Ratchet and Clank were there to do what they do best, but this was a first for Dr. Nefarious. It presented a rare opportunity to see the dynamic between the four of them up close and personal and I have to say, it did not disappoint. Their fight for survival certainly strengthened their bond a bit, but when the dust settled, Nefarious was still a criminal and escaped with Lawrence again before being captured.
Rift Apart
After years of retirement, Dr. Nefarious was back again. I was honestly so thrilled to see him return to the series again. I cannot get enough of Dr. Nefarious, just saying.
After many, many defeats at the hands of Ratchet and Clank, Dr. Nefarious had become fed up. He planned to travel to a dimension in which he was the winner, and managed to find the correct dimension for the job. During the Festival of Heroes at the beginning of Rift Apart, Dr. Nefarious steals the Dimensionator and uses it to drag himself, Ratchet and Clank into this new dimension.
This new dimension was ruled by Emperor Nefarious and he was successful at everything Dr. Nefarious was not. This gave Insomniac an opportunity to really flesh out Dr. Nefarious. Putting him side by side the version of himself that succeeded in everything he wanted to achieve really reflected how much he had failed in the past and how much he took each of those failings to heart. I’ll just point out that I really like our Nefarious more than Emperor Nefarious.
Emperor Nefarious is of course, ruthless and awful but he also lacks personality. I think that speaks to just how unique and original Dr. Nefarious is. It also gives us an idea of what kind of world he would’ve created had he not been defeated over and over again.
Rivet‘s dimension was certainly the worst of the two, but if it wasn’t for Dr. Nefarious, who knows how much longer they would’ve been ruled by Emperor Nefarious. Regardless of Dr. Nefarious’ intentions, he gave Ratchet and Clank the opportunity to save both universes from both versions of himself.
What’s Next?
With Dr. Nefarious, you just never know. What I do know is that Insomniac keeps bringing him back for a reason. He is charismatic, hilarious and brings something to the series that really no other character can. He often blurs the line of between villain and hero and think that’s what makes him truly unique.
In my opinion, Dr. Nefarious is a great example of a good villain. He is dedicated to his work and succeeds enough to be a threat to the universe. I’m not sure if he survived the events of Rift Apart, but if he did, I can only imagine what he is plotting for the next time we see him.
