Rico

Rico, third-in-command of the group, does not really talk too much. He is similar in physical features to the other penguins in the movies, but he has a tuft of feathers shaped like a Mohawk and a scar of unknown origin on his left cheek in the television series, which makes him easier to distinguish, particularly from Skipper. Rico is the greediest and fattest of the penguins - he will eat almost anything, and thinks constantly of food. Skipper describes him as "clearly a world-class psychopath". Rico appears to be not merely particularly psychotic, but to some degree mentally deficient. In "Friend in a Box" Kowalski points a mind-reading device at him which, despite seeming to function perfectly for the other three penguins, picks up only the word 'Fish' being thought by Rico. According to Skipper, it was a mystery how Rico passed the psych test. On the other hand, in "Cat's Cradle" Skipper tells Rico to demonstrate shutting off all unnecessary brain functions to conserve oxygen, and Rico seems to 'deactivate' by deflating his entire body.
In the first and second film, what little speech Rico used suggested that his native language is Japanese, and his sushi-preparation skills added to this idea. However, in the TV series, he communicated with excitable garbled grunts, but could still manage short sentences in English, and his language further improved by the second season. He has also displayed a fondness for a plastic doll toy called Miss Perky. He's the team's weapons expert and his main function is to regurgitate any necessary tools that Skipper may need for a mission. His stomach operates as a hammer space, containing items as large or larger than himself, or that weigh much more than common sense would allow, with no ill effect on himself. He can swallow and regurgitate almost anything from paperclips and explosives, all the way to a running chainsaw and ground-to-air missile. As the show went on, characters could actually reach inside him and pull things out. His stomach even contains a spiral staircase and elevator, and he can swallow other characters and regurgitate them safely, as he has swallowed both Mort and Kowalski.
He's very fond of explosives, and his answer to problems would always be "Kaboom!", if Skipper did not keep him in line.
Rico has little tolerance for "mushy" stuff, and often becomes nauseous when Private gets overly emotional and "lovey-dovey" about something. On the other hand he seems to be the second most emotional penguin next to Private and is deeply in love with a doll called Ms. Perky. Another characteristic of Rico is that he might be incredibly superstitious, as, after receiving a rather dismal sounding fortune in a fortune cookie, Rico was a victim of pranks by King Julien who was trying to prove it was right. Even after revealing that Julien was behind the accidents, Rico still needed to have him "take away the curse." He is also insanely skilled with knives and bladed objects, able to make sashimi or carve a Christmas tree from ice in a matter of seconds and destroy bowling pin dummies with a chainsaw while blindfolded.
Rico's psychosis needs to be controlled at all times, by Skipper limiting his use of destructive solutions, often involving explosions. Giving him free rein to destroy to his heart's desire, Rico builds up enough psychotic pressure that he becomes a vortex of destruction, spinning out of control and destroying everything in his path. Kowalski once estimated Rico was capable of destroying the entire zoo in this state.
Rico appears to have an outstanding opera voice when excited (as seen in episodes "Go Fish", "Herring Impaired", "High Moltage", "Hair Apparent", etc.).
In the episode "Herring Impaired", Rico shows that he can be responsible when his friends need help, and because the other penguins had "Pisces Dementia", Rico had to keep watch over his friends to make sure they don't have another fish for 24 hours. During the episode Maurice asked that "Since when did we get four Ricos?" showing that Rico is actually known for his appetite for fish and insanity among the other animals.
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