Dr. Nefarious

**Dr. Nefarious** is the primary antagonist of *Up Your Arsenal* and *A Crack in Time*, an antagonist in both *Ratchet & Clank* (2016 game) and the tie-in *Ratchet & Clank* movie, one of the four main protagonists of *All 4 One*, and has appearances in other titles. A robotic scientist and self-proclaimed supervillain, he is the nemesis of Captain Qwark, and has a distinct hatred for organic life forms.

Dr. Nefarious originally plotted to conquer the Solana Galaxy with his robot and Tyhrranoid armies, transform its population into robots, and lead them as a "benevolent, iron-fisted" ruler. After being thwarted by Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark, Nefarious returned and plotted to take over the Great Clock, in order to control time itself and rewrite history to ensure villains always win, taking on the Zoni themselves, but once again being thwarted by his nemeses. He was required to team up with his three nemeses later on planet Magnus in order to stop the Loki Master from destroying the universe.

Dr. Nefarious is a psychotic and sadistic mad scientist. He acted mostly out of vengeance, though not his sole motive, and has formed partnerships, with many whom he would quickly betray. He has created entire armies of soldiers to invade planets, such as the amoeboids, the Tyhrranoids, and his various robotic forces. Of his allies, the only one who has stuck with him throughout his career is his butler, Lawrence, who has a disdain for the scientist but sticks with his job regardless. Nefarious is an extremely powerful robot that is deadly in combat, though he is prone to malfunctioning, during which he will freeze up and play an episode of *Lance and Janice* before being whacked.

Role in the series

## Personality

Dr. Nefarious is characterized as a deranged, eccentric, egomaniacal scientist, sadistically showing no remorse for his actions and pleasure in villainy. He is also very conceited, with many of his creations being made in his own image, and many of his robotic servants resembling him or sharing his mannerisms, suggesting narcissistic traits. He has an extreme hatred for organic life, referring to organic life forms as "squishies", and seeking to exterminate them or transform them into robots. Even when putting aside his hatred towards them in order to further his goals, he vowed to eventually destroy them again once he was finished.

Nefarious has proven to be cunning, able to manipulate many to work for him. He was able to fool the fongoids, the terachnoids, the Valkyries, and the Zoni to ally with him, before betraying them all. While working with them, however, he has often shown a complete impatience towards them when they fail him. While he normally betrays his allies once he has obtained his goal, when it seems clear that they will no longer be useful or co-operate with him, he will betray them prematurely.

Nefarious appears to have had a turbulent relationship with his mother as she had at one point suggested he was a disappointment. This also seems to be a source of his personal drive to succeed and prove her wrong. After brainwashing and enslaving the Fongoids on Zanifar, the doctor's computer repeated several phrases including one declaring that he was not a disappoinment like his mother had once claimed.

Towards the end of *All 4 One*, Nefarious' companionship with Ratchet, Clank and Qwark appears to have changed him, being close to tears when looking at a photograph of the four of them.

However, in *Rift Apart*, Nefarious seems to have reverted to his evil supervillain ways but has grown tired of losing to Ratchet and Clank and sought to make them know what it feels like to lose by going to an alternate dimension where he always wins. After successfully entering the dimension where an alternate version of him reigns supreme, Nefarious was exuberant at the thought of actually succeeding and didn't hesitate to take his counterpart's throne. Nefarious engrossed himself in the power his new position as emperor, almost enjoying it too much.

However, after meeting his more capable counterpart, Nefarious showed an uncharacteristic submissive side, begging for his life to team up with Emperor Nefarious to save himself and almost regret from impersonating him. Though their team up appeared decent it was ultimately a very tense one, as Emperor Nefarious overshadowed and dominated over Dr. Nefarious the entire time, abusing him, leaving the doctor to be quiet and subdued; things Nefarious never is. Nefarious would try to advise his counterpart and make suggestions, but he would be ignored and belittled, leaving the doctor despondent and sullen. Nefarious would ultimately feel outraged and betrayed after his counterpart announced his plans of invading his home dimension, as he believed that was *his* dimension to rule. He would, however, get his own form of payback as he watched with amusement as Emperor Nefarious struggled in defeating the heroes and rebels that united against his counterpart, stating all along that the heroes besting him wasn't because of him but because the heroes and people of his home dimension were stubborn. After Emperor Nefarious was completely beaten and defeated, leaving him begging Nefarious for help, the doctor would simply use his counterpart's own cruel words against him and abandon the emperor to his doom.

Although the Emperor appears to be much more self-obsessed and overconfident than even the Doctor, the two share more in common than what is initially evident. When Dr. Nefarious took over the Emperor's role in Rivet's dimension in his absence, he began becoming increasingly egotistical and felt he was unbeatable. This is reflected in Rivet's fights with both the Doctor and the Emperor, where they both use the Dimensionator whilst fighting her. In both fights, the Doctor and the Emperor both display the same mannerisms, believing they are the one true, all-powerful emperor that cannot be defeated and are beloved by all their subjects. What this suggests is that if Dr. Nefarious had truly been as successful as the Emperor, he would have become just as self-obsessed and conceited as his counterpart. The Emperor describes the Doctor as lacking in his own elegance, good looks, and enchanting wit, while the Doctor describes the Emperor as lacking in artistry, imagination and elegance. Interestingly when the two describe what the other lacks they both mock that the other is lacking in elegance, highlighting that they both have their own definition of what this means. The Doctor values the elegance of creativity and new ideas; a product of his life's path as a scientist and the adversity faced against his capable enemies. While the Emperor has never known defeat or been pushed to ever think in such a way, leading him to only value the elegance of shallow qualities such as his own appearance and charisma.