Rat King

**The Rat King**is a character and a villain in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He first appeared in the episode ***Monkey Brains***. After his final fight with Splinter in which he falls off of a cliff, Falco is now deceased.

## Official Description

*"Formerly a scientist who studied DNA and parapsychology, I put one of my mutagenic hybrid compounds to the test, and accidentally transformed myself into the king of all rats. I now have the ability to command rodents, including Splinter. And I won’t rest until his meddlesome turtles are destroyed."*

**- Rat King**

## Appearance

Rat King is very skinny, pale, and zombie/corpse looking with dry and wrinkled flesh, decaying teeth, mostly burnt hair, and hypnotic eyes. He wears a long black coat and with a matching hat, bandages over his eyes (this helps his powers stay in control) and bandages on him in other places such as his arms.

## Personality

Although in his past experiences he has had at least some, but granted very small level of decency after being mutated while trying to recreate his psychic serum and is granted a telepathic connection to rats. Granting himself the title of The Rat King, Falco was a fully fledged misanthrope who began to see humanity as nothing more than an infestation and as such took satisfaction in terrorising New York, he would either mutate or kill any human in his path. Ironically Falco's archenemy is the same person he thought was also his equal, Hamato Yoshi who he tried to mind-control but in the end Splinter was able to defeat him.

Falco completely valued rat life and was left screaming in rage when Splinter had kicked his pet rat and friend, Aristotle over a ledge.

## Aristotle

The Rat King has a white rat, most often sitting on his shoulders, since the Rat King is blind but can see through rat's eyes Aristotle allows him to see an opponent right next to him and to fight him (Splinter) himself, as seen in Of Rats and Men. He is named after the Greek philosopher Aristotle (Ἀριστοτέλης) whose name means "the best purpose". The Rat King has also given names to a few of his Giant Rats.

## Quotes

* *(When trying to brainwash Splinter) "Join me...Join me!"*
* *Falco: "Why do you cling so hard to this life of your's? (Splinter: I am needed here.) Falco: By whom!?! Even your so-called 'Children' have begun to out-grow you".*
* *"We both have come to see the world through the eyes of rats...We both have lost everything we held dear. We both have become outcast from society."*
* *(During his fight with Donnie) "By the way...do you REALLY think you have a chance with April?"*
* *"I am THE RAT KING!"*
* *"Who says I'm not in control?" (while running away from Splinter)*

## TMNT X Pokemon

He's one of the bosses you will face until Season 2.

## Trivia

* Mikey tried to call him Verminator, as a homage to the Archie TMNT character, Verminator X.
* The Skeletons in Mazes & Mutants resemble The Rat King
* Victor Falco is extremely similar to the H.P. Lovecraft character Herbert West, who was portrayed by Falco's voice actor, Jeffrey Combs in the "Re-Animator" film series. West was a scientist who experimented with a green substance similar in appearance (but not in effect) to the Ooze. As the Rat King, his appearance somewhat resembles the appearance of Scarecrow from The New Batman Adventures (1997), who Combs also voiced.
* The Rat King's outfit (long black coat and black wide-brimmed hat) is nearly identical to the standard outfit worn by medieval plague doctors. This is noteworthy in that the Bubonic plague was spread by fleas being carried by rats.
* Victor Falco is also reminiscent of Dr. Victor *Feral* from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness. Like Dr. Falco, Doc Feral is a kind-acting human scientist who secretly performs unethicalmutagenic experiments involving animals (as Falco did to Dr. Rockwell), and keeps mutant rats as friends or servants (as does the Rat King).
* Rat King is the name of a phenomena in which many rats get stuck together by their tails.
* Several of the Rat King's giant mutant rats from the episode Of Rats and Men were named after Roman emperors as Caligula, Claudius, Nero and Commodus.
* Michelangelo was extremely annoyed that the Rat King nicknamed himself, as he's the one who usually comes up with the nicknames. He tried numerous alternatives: Lord Rattington, Count Ratula, Verminator, etc. Until he begrudgingly accepts it.