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| “ | That's it! I haven't really won yet. There are still so many other dimensions waiting to be conquered! | „ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious declaring his plan to take over all dimensions. |
| “ | Do you know what that sound is? Listen closely… is it fear? Hope? The slow inevitability of death? No. It's me. Winning. | „ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious to the entire galaxy through a news broadcast. |
| “ | ENOUGH! I WILL COLLAPSE EVERY DIMENSION INTO NOTHINGNESS! A VAPID, EMPTY VOID! SAY GOODBYE! | „ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious' breakdown as he attempts to destroy all dimensions. |
Emperor Nefarious, also known as just Nefarious, is the main antagonist of the 2021 video game Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. He is an alternate version of Dr. Nefarious who managed to take control of his entire dimension and rule it with an iron fist for years before deciding to conquer all other dimensions to quench his elusive thirst for conquest. He is also Rivet and Kit's arch-nemesis.
He is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes, who also voiced Doomsday in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Medic in Team Fortress 2, Baron Zemo and Abomination in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Abomination and Annihilus in the 2010 Marvel Animated Universe, Lachlan McDermott in Criminal Minds, Luxord in the Kingdom Hearts series, Deathstroke in Beware the Batman, Riddler in Batman: The Enemy Within, Falcon Graves in Ducktales, Mumm-Ra in ThunderCats, Shinnok in Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms and Scarecrow in Batman: The Long Halloween.
Appearance[]
Emperor Nefarious' full appearance.
Emperor Nefarious shares almost the same figure as his main counterpart but differs in size, a different color scheme, and a more skull-like face.
His body is predominantly white with gray metallic joints and an orange cranial dome as are his eyes and the hydraulic hoses on his torso. On his back, he has a pair of robotic wings and a reactor that squeezes him to fly. His eyes are also orange and have no pupils.
After receiving a violent hammer blow from Rivet in the face, Nefarious' body was severely damaged and his dome is shattered.
Personality[]
| “ | Emperor Nefarious is the destined ruler of the entire known universe who will never, EVER let you forget that fact. Ruthless, charismatic, and chronically self-absorbed, the Emperor likes to think of himself as a “cool despot”. And after so many years of graciously running this thankless dimension, who could blame him? After all, he spoils his loyal citizens with parties (celebrating his greatness), artisan crafts (made in his image), and even original music (sung by him)! Even though he has crushed all heroes and villains alike that have attempted to oppose him, there are STILL some who resist… most notably the frustratingly persistent rebel Lombax who he has had countless run-ins with. All ending in his success, of course. Recently, he has embarked on a series of missions to wipe out the remaining stragglers who dare resist his rule, leaving only Rivet and Captain Quantum to oppose him. For now, anyway. |
„ |
| ~ Official description. |
Very similar to his alternative counterpart, Nefarious is hot-tempered, violent, too confident, power-hungry, ruthless, selfish, sadistic, arrogant, self-absorbed, and tyrannical. However, unlike the Doctor, he is relatively more knowledgeable and cunning, having managed to expand his empire over the whole galaxy when his counterpart hadn't even made it, proving the Emperor to be both a better strategist and a more formidable conqueror. The Emperor is also much more violent and angry than Dr. Nefarious, resorting more to physical violence and murder rather than just yelling at whoever infuriates him, as when he nearly used the Dimensionator on Dr. Nefarious for pretending to be him.
Always similar to his counterpart, Nefarious is very fond of being noticed or gossiping about himself coupled with deep egocentrism just as colossal as shown by his golden statues of himself. When his galactic conquest was completed, he quickly stopped celebrating his victory realizing that he was not happy and felt indifferent, until Dr. Nefarious indirectly gave him the idea of conquering all dimensions, showing an inordinate ambition for power. Rather, Dr. Nefarious asserted that Emperor Nefarious' lack of pleasure stems from his mixing of happiness with success, meaning that his life is meaningless without continual victory.
The Emperor is above all vile, insensitive, manipulative, uncaring, abusive, and deceitful, showing no particular respect for his counterpart, pushing him aside, belittling him or shouting at him on several occasions and not hesitating to finally stab him in the back by going and conquering his native dimension before throwing him aside to finish off Rivet himself without fair play. The cruelest thing that Dr. Nefarious is told is that he didn't know anything about what it feels like to win.
When he was beaten up and dragged by a giant Kraken, Nefarious showed more cowardly and whiny side, begging Dr. Nefarious to come to his aid while promising that they would rule together, although it was obvious that it was a lie that Dr. Nefarious saw coming before kicking him into the rift by repeating the same cruel words he said earlier.
History[]
Background[]
At some point, Nefarious became Emperor and ruled the universe for a decade while continuing to expand his own Nefarious Empire with the help of his robotic infantry army and caused great suffering across the galaxy to anyone who opposes him, especially in Rivet. He also conquered the planet Corson V, built Nefarious City and his own palace on it before building the horrible Zordoom Prison on Viceron.
It is said that the emperor exterminated the species Kerchu, formerly owner of the factories of Gelatonium on Sargasso for having misspelled his name. Emperor Nefarious would also become a longtime rival of Captain Quantum and his pirates.
At some point, Emperor Nefarious created a miniature Warbot named KT-7461 capable of upgrading to a bigger and more powerful mode but which ended up defecting Nefarious's army.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart[]
Emperor Nefarious forms an "alliance" with Dr. Nefarious.
When Dr. Nefarious accidentally lands in another dimension, he takes the place of his counterpart who is meanwhile on a conquest. The Emperor is only mentioned throughout the first part of the game before appearing in person after discreetly observing Rivet and Kit's fight against Dr. Nefarious in an arena. He puts his hand directly on the Dimensionator and begins to boast before using the gadget to throw an entire tier into another dimension and then neutralize the four protagonists with his telekinesis. Preparing to get rid of Dr. Nefarious for daring to impersonate and embarrass him, Emperor Nefarious ultimately decides to accept his help, and the two Nefariouses retreat into a rift.
Emperor Nefarious suddenly appears in front of Rivet and Kit on Sargasso.
Later, Emperor Nefarious ambushes Quantum, Ratchet and Clank on Ardolis, sending the entire ship they are on through another dimension, but Quantum has time to throw Ratchet and Clank out of the breach before being absorbed. The tyrant then teleports to Sargasso using Dimensionator to confront the female Lombax having just destroyed a ship from his fleet. Considering sending her to his imperial prison Zordoom at first, Nefarious decides to skip his usual lore and instead throws Rivet and Kit into a pocket dimension, unaware that the Lombax is able to come out soon after.
Subsequently, the emperor declares directly to everyone that with the defeat of the pirates and the breaking of the rebellion, the galaxy is finally his. He begins to do a victory dance but suddenly loses the urge to celebrate, finding that despite his goals accomplished he strangely feels no pleasure. Dr. Nefarious then assures his counterpart that his winning pleasure makes the rest of his life meaningless if there is no more conquest, annoying Emperor Nefarious to the point of almost beating the alternative being to pretend to know what is winning until he suddenly realizes that he can always conquer other dimensions. Dr. Nefarious claims that it took him years to find the coordinates of this dimension, to which Emperor Nefarious coolly replies that he simply forgot a traveler's first rule: Always have a map.
The Nefariouses seize the dimensional map.
Spying on Nefarious' plans through his robot assistant, Ratchet and Clank recover the only existing dimensional card only so that the two Nefariouses will not ambush them directly after obtaining the item though he finally caught up to them. With the map in his possession in exchange of sparing Ratchet's life, Emperor Nefarious throws the duo into a rift towards his prison before merging the map with the Dimensionator.
He is then suddenly attacked by Kit in Warbot mode which he fearfully recognizes as one of his creations, seconds before Dr. Nefarious opens a another loophole for sucked Kit in Zordoom. Without showing any gratitude to his counterpart, Emperor Nefarious recaptures the Dimensionator, pushes the alternate Nefarious into a rift, and follows him, ignoring Rivet's presence. The Lombax later frees all of his imprisoned friends in Zordoom, annoying Nefarious so much that he fires his assistant stationed there for her failure to stop Rivet.
With everything he needs for the rest of his plans, Emperor Nefarious broadcasts another live message to the galaxy where he announces that he will start to conquer the other many existing dimensions starting with that of Dr. Nefarious as a thanks for inspiring him with the idea. The Evil Emperor then opens a huge portal to the main dimension to send his army there.
As the town of Megalopolis has fallen between their claws, the two Nefariouses are confronted by Ratchet and Clank whose Emperor Nefarious discovers their truly hilarious hero identities before bringing in a giant flyable robot. Very quickly, the allies of the two dimensions come into battle with the evil emperor until Ratchet manages to destroy the internal generator of the robot. Escaping from the wreckage, Emperor Nefarious brutally grabs the Dimensionator from Dr. Nefarious and summons all of his armies to finish off Rivet, but Kit arrives to Lombax's rescue. The duo then face off against the robots and the Evil Emperor.
A shattered and exhausted Emperor Nefarious as his defeat draws near.
Once his armies are defeated, Nefarious charges the Dimensionator in a last ditch effort to annihilate his enemies and all dimensions, just to take a powerful hammer blow from Rivet, who is thrown by Kit. Despite his damaged condition, Nefarious managed to avoid a breach that Ratchet had opened below him. As he asks the Lombax if he really believed he had it, Nefarious is caught by a tentacle emerging from the breach.
Struggling with all his might as the creature tries to take him to the other side of the portal, Emperor Nefarious clings to a ledge and begs his dimensional counterpart for help, claiming that they can both win. Finally tired of the abusive tyrant, Dr. Nefarious asks him what he knows about winning; quoting the same sentence the emperor used to him earlier, before kicking his hand off the edge, leaving Emperor Nefarious to be sucked into the breach, ending his threat and reign of terror for good.
Quotes[]
| “ | Emperor Nefarious: Hahahaha. Wow, what a battle! Are we done having fun? Come on! Give it up for Rivet and her first victory! I wish I could've been here sooner. However, I am THRILLED to announce that I've finished "neutralizing" my enemies… with the exception of Captain Quantum and... Anyway, when I heard that the "Rebel Lombax" was battling ME, I had to… Rivet: Come hear the universe celebrate your defeat? Emperor Nefarious: Who's celebrating? You mean them? [Open a dimensional breach that sucks in a tier of spectators.] |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious during his arrival. |
| “ | Dr. Nefarious: Wait! I have been fighting rebels for YEARS! Let me help you wipe them out! Emperor Nefarious: Ah, my strange fan wants to assist? Tantalizing. Why don't we make this interesting? A home game, perhaps? |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious accepts Dr. Nefarious' help when he almost made him regret pretending to be him. |
| “ | Ah! Another unlikely win just in time to cross you off the list. Off to Zordoom Prison you go… Oh, who needs tradition? Let's spice things up! | „ |
| ~ Nefarious throws Rivet and Kit in a pocket dimension. |
| “ | Emperor Nefarious: My people. I did it. At long last. The Pirates are vanquished. The Resistance is broken. And this galaxy is finally MINE! [Starts a victory dance until he suddenly loses interest.] That's it? Where's the joy? The bliss? The Murderous enlightenment? Why don't I feel any different?! Dr. Nefarious: Because you equated happiness with success, and now that you've achieved it, life is meaningless? [Gets angry then telekinesis Dr. Nefarious chair before starting to hysterically.] Emperor Nefarious: What could you possibly know about success, you… |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious gets dissatisfied with his full reign and becomes very angry when Dr. Nefarious dares to lecture him on the pleasure of victory before getting another idea |
| “ | Dr. Nefarious: Good luck finding them. It took me years just to figure out the coordinates for this one. Emperor Nefarious: That's because you forgot the first rule of road tripping. [Grabbing the jawbone of Dr. Nefarious.] Always bring a map. |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious begins the search for the dimensional map. |
| “ | Hooray! Now, hand it here so I don't have to send your friend's head to Torren IV. [Clank hands the card to Dr. Nefarious before he and Ratchet are thrown into a rift.] Don't worry, I'll be hosting a viewing party of my victories in Zordoom Prison! Hahaha! [Combines the dimensional map with the Dimensionator and Warbot Kit suddenly shoots the artifact.] What are… You doing here?! | „ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious imprisons Ratchet and Clank while retrieving the dimensional map before briefly crossing paths with his treacherous robot, Kit. |
| “ | Emperor Nefarious: "What else is new," you say. Heh, quite right, but you are only part of one dimension. What about the rest maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I think everyone deserves a little subjugation. So to celebrate such a momentous occasion, I'd like to honor the good Doctor who inspired this journey in the first place. By invading his home dimension personally. Dr. Nefarious: What?! Emperor Nefarious: My first stop: Megalopolis. Or as I like to think of it, New Nefarious City. |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious launches his invasion of the main dimension. |
| “ | Emperor Nefarious: YOU are the heroes of this dimension?! That is hilarious. Ratchet: You get lucky last time, Nefarious… es. Emperor Nefarious: This calls for a SPECIAL sort of annihilation. I have been looking for an excuse to wear my new suit. |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious before his final fight. |
| “ | This dimension really thinks it will get the best of me. How about I "retire" their heroes. | „ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious confronts Ratchet & Clank aboard his giant robot. |
| “ | You think YOU can defeat me?! I will bring in ALL of my armies, ALL of my followers...you WILL bow before me! | „ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious' Evil Breakdown to Rivet. |
| “ | I refuse to be a footnote in history! I am history! | „ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious during his battle with Rivet and Kit. |
| “ | Rivet: This is the part where YOU lose! [Rivet smashes his face with her hammer, sending him crashing into the rubble.] Emperor Nefarious: You really thought you had me. [Clank rings the pirate bell, attracting the Kraken that grabs him.] Get off of me, you loathsome… [Dr. Nefarious approaches him with a jaded air.] Please we… we can win this… together! Dr. Nefarious: What do you know about winning? |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Nefarious' last words as he's sucked into another dimension. |
Trivia[]
- In the first trailers for the game, holograms showed Emperor Nefarious as identical to his main counterpart. The developers presumably changed his physical appearance to better differentiate the two Nefarious. According to the first designs, Emperor Nefarious wore a cloak, larger hydraulic hoses, and a blacker color scheme. In the concept, Emperor Nefarious was represented as more imposing and sporting a faciality more similar to a gorilla.
- His shattered appearance is quite similar to Dr. Nefarious in A Crack in Time when he got a scar on his face (which he fixes before Rift Apart) after a grenade exploded in his face.
- He replaces Emperor Tachyon as the Emperor of his dimension's Polaris Galaxy.
- Unlike Dr. Nefarious, Emperor Nefarious doesn't seem to yell at his minions or destroy them for their failure (although this is never fully explored in the game), like when he is content to fire his loyal assistance for her failure at Zordoom.
- Emperor Nefarious creating Kit as a Warbot who later turns against him is quite similar to the Dr. Nefarious from the Ratchet & Clank remake because it is in his factories that Clank was created then he turned against his diabolical creator but the difference was that while Emperor Nefarious created Kit voluntarily, the other Nefarious did not directly create Clank who was just an accidental result.
- Unlike his counterpart, Emperor Nefarious does not suffer from a dysfunction issue when he gets very angry. He also doesn't seem to have any particular disregard for organic life forms as he never uses the words "squishy" and nothing seems to indicate that he once was organic.
- According to one of the Nefarious Troopers during Sargasso's invasion, Emperor Nefarious despises lemonade drinks.
- Robin Atkin Downes' voice acting is notably similar to Jonathan Freeman's performance as Jafar.
External Links[]
- Emperor Nefarious on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Emperor Nefarious on the Ratchet & Clank Wiki
