Clank Hughes

Clank Hughes (Tech/Tek in the English Dub) is the son of Roy Hughes and hails from the planet Heru, a planet once ravaged by civil war. As an orphan, Clank resided with others like himself, using F-Zero as an escape from reality. He is an exceptionally skilled hacker and data analyst. He had also worked at the Falcon House under Bart Lemming, and even became a member of the Mobile Task Force.

By the year 2207, he became the pilot of the Dragon Bird GT, a modified version of a machine that originally belonged to his fellow Mobile Task Force member and the new Captain Falcon, Ryu Suzaku.

## History

### **F-Zero Farukon Densetsu (Anime)**

#### **Pre-2201**

Clank was raised by his father, a Galaxy Police officer and spy named Roy Hughes, on the planet Heru. After a transport ship on the planet exploded in the year 2196 and Roy was revealed to have been a victim, Clank became an orphan. He was teased by the other orphans for allegedly having a 'traitor' for a father, despite the fact Roy had been infiltrating a Dark Million smuggling operation.

#### **2201**

Clank, teasing and orphan status aside, became a skilled hacker and F-Zero fan over time.

He fooled Zoda with a false identity in Lap 11, and had even managed to pilot the Dragon Bird, which he hijacked from Ryu Suzaku. However, he encountered Captain Falcon soon enough and lost control of the machine, causing him to faint as it came to a stop. After he woke up, he saw Falcon glancing at the pendant with a moving image of Clank and his father, and immediately took it back. Captain Falcon then suggested that Clank should do something better with his life, and to head to Mute City for a better future.

Clank eventually found himself at the Falcon House in Mute City and was taken in by its manager 'Bart Lemming.' Putting his skills to the test, he even called out 'Bart' on his Falcon House expenses.

#### **2202**

Clank then became a vital member of the Elite Mobile Task Force as their computer analyst, cracking even the toughest of data. He also grew to view Jody Summer as a mother figure by Lap 18.

Through initial rough patches, Clank would eventually find out in Lap 34 that a temporary Task Force member, the cyborg Mighty Gazelle was truly his father, Roy Hughes. Although given a short time, they rekindled the bond they shared. However, Zoda would cut the warm reunion short by dropping a bomb onto the track. Unable to make it past the blast doors in time, Roy, as Mighty Gazelle would protect his son. Given the circumstances of Roy taking a whole blast for Clank, Roy's cyborg's body could not stand it and collapsed. Dr. Stewart would then console a distraught and sobbing Clank, swearing to the him that he (Dr. Stewart) would do whatever he could to fix Roy.

During Lap 36, Clank had been invited to visit his friend Alias' house. Though all sorts of oddities were within Alias' home, the two stumbled upon a diary belonging to Misaki Haruka, which had been held onto by her old friend from the past, Rose. Clank then brought the diary to Ryu at the Falcon House, and left him to dwell on the contents.

During the final battle against Dark Million in Lap 51, as Roy was still being fixed, Clank would pilot his father’s Red Gazelle.

#### **2207**

By the end of the anime in the year 2207, Clank is at least 16 years old and is the new pilot of the Dragon Bird. His predecessor, Ryu Suzaku, would take on the role of the new Captain Falcon.

In addition, Dr. Stewart was true to his word, as Roy Hughes is seen with Alias (Clank's friend). Roy is no longer in the cyborg body, but his own original human body.

## F-Zero Climax

Although Clank was absent from the F-Zero GP Legend game, he is unlockable in F-Zero Climax. He is depicted as his 11 year old self in F-Zero Climax, despite him being least 16 years old by the time he officially participates in F-Zero races and drives the Dragon Bird after Ryu took on the mantle of Captain Falcon in the anime. In Climax, the 11 year old Clank is the driver of an inherited and presumably modified variant of Ryu's Dragon Bird, the Dragon Bird GT.

 **(DeepL Translation):**A boy who lost both of his parents and lived as a genius hacker. After a fateful encounter, Clank became Bart Lemming's assistant at the Falcon House. In a way, Bart's essence reminds Clank of his late father.

## Gallery

Clank Hughes, as seen in Lap 11.Clank, seen in the second ending's credits of the anime.Clank with his hair up (temporarily) in Lap 40.The Falcon House sign featuring both Clank and 'Bart' during Lap 41.Lap 42.Lap 42.Clank in a Bart's F-Zero Classroom session in Lap 42.Clank as a teenager in Lap 51's epilogue.F-Zero Climax sprite.A reference sheet taken from the Falcon Densetsu DVD.
## Trivia

* During Lap 24, in response to Octoman's apparent good deeds, Clank explains that his own father once told him that "liars keep on lying, so don't tell lies."
* During Lap 41, the head of Clank's little persona is seen alongside the head of Bart's little persona on the Falcon House open/closed sign, specifically on the "open" side.
* In the anime, Clank has actually driven the Dragon Bird years before he became an official F-Zero Pilot, if one counts his short hijacking experience during Lap 11. He has also piloted his father's Red Gazelle as well during Lap 51. Both instances are pre-2207 and were only temporary.
* Although Clank actually did serve coffee in the Falcon House and worked there alongside Bart, it is not known if the 2207 Clank continues to do so when he's not racing, as only Haruka is seen working at the Falcon House by the end of the anime.
* Clank's mother is not known and is deceased, but Clank does view Jody as a mother-like figure. It is not known if, by some chance, she did resemble Clank's mother.
* It is not known where the claim of Clank using a robot to drive originated from, as he uses a key to hack into the Dragon Bird during Lap 11, and the F-Zero Climax machine bio for the Dragon Bird GT only states it was handed down from Ryu and contains 2 Reactor Mights.