Template:Appearances
Chief Admiral Cronk and Lieutenant Commander Zephyr are Talwyn's wily old warbots. Sure they like to snooze, but when things get serious they are two of our greatest allies.
Instruction Manual Character Summary, ItN
Chief Admiral Cronk is a support character in Tools of Destruction, the Ratchet & Clank comic series from Issue 2 onwards, All 4 One and Into the Nexus. He is one of two ancient warbot caretakers of Talwyn Apogee, along with Zephyr, who fought in the Great War.
Cronk was a very old warbot who has fought in nineteen galactic wars since the Great War, and served alongside Zephyr. He was an old and senile warbot falling apart, and often needed to be repaired by Talwyn. He also wielded a gun that had powerful shots but a slow rate of fire, and helped Ratchet and Clank since their search for the "Lombax Secret". He was killed when the Nebulox was destroyed by Vendra Prog, trapped in the spaceship before it was destroyed.
History
Pre-Tools of Destruction
Cronk served with Zephyr in the Great War, making him eons old. He was once stationed at the Zenith Outpost in Meridian City on planet Igliak during the Phylax intrusion. Since then, the two fought in nineteen galactic wars, three interstellar battles, one planetary misunderstanding, and a lunar argument. The two fought a combined 6,132 battles. At some point, they had a third companion who was destroyed some time before Tools of Destruction.
Over time, Cronk's damaged body parts were replaced, and by Tools of Destruction, his visual receptors were the only original pieces of his body remaining. He also claimed to be a renowned expert on lombax history.
Cronk became an accomplice of Max Apogee. When he disappeared after a space pirate raid, Cronk and Zephyr then watched over Talwyn Apogee.
Tools of Destruction
Cronk on Ardolis
When Ratchet and Clank infiltrated the Apogee Space Station, Cronk and Zephyr initially threatened them over intercom and deployed defenses. However, Talwyn ordered them to drop their weapons when she realized that Ratchet was a lombax. From this point onwards, Cronk and Zephyr befriended Ratchet and Clank and searched with them to find the "Lombax Secret".
Cronk and Zephyr accompanied Ratchet and Talwyn to Ardolis in their search, and later fought with Ratchet on Rykan V. However, after splitting up with Ratchet in their search, they were captured and imprisoned in the Zordoom Prison on planet Viceron. When Ratchet and Clank freed Talwyn, they immediately sought to free Cronk and Zephyr afterwards. Cronk and Zephyr later followed Ratchet to Reepor, where they fought the Imperial Army. Cronk's head was blown off during the fight, requiring Talwyn to fix him while Ratchet went to Meridian City. Finally, Cronk and Zephyr joined Ratchet and Talwyn to fight the Imperial Army and the cragmites on Fastoon, helping defeat Ratchet. Afterwards, Cronk was seen in Apogee Space Station, roleplaying as Emperor Tachyon while wearing the broken Dimensionator.
A Crack in Time
Cronk can be heard communicating with Zephyr during the credits.
Ratchet & Clank comic series
Cronk and Zephyr arrived to free Ratchet and Clank from the Vartax Detention Facility, and then escorted Ratchet to the Apogee Space Station to coordinate a plan against Artemis Zogg. The two then helped Talwyn, along with Sasha Phyronix and then-Galactic President Qwark, to defeat Zogg.
All 4 One
Cronk and Zephyr provided mission support to Ratchet, Clank, Qwark and Dr. Nefarious. When an Ephemeris kidnapped the four, Cronk and Zephyr used Ratchet's nav-unit to track them, though he fell asleep during travel and accidentally stranded the two in the middle of Magnus's asteroid belt, making him unable to retrieve them. Thereafter, they deployed Apogee Communication Pods around the planet to monitor the group, and send them weapons and upgrades from GrummelNet.
The two were able to reunite with them, after Lawrence rescued their ship in the search for Nefarious. They landed and recovered Ratchet, Clank and Qwark, while Nefarious left with Lawrence.
Into the Nexus
Cronk and Zephyr were tasked alongside Ratchet and Clank to deliver and escort the dangerous criminal Vendra Prog from the Nebulox Seven Prison Ship to the Vartax Detention Center. The two were then tasked to awaken Vendra from cryosleep in order to deliver her to the guards. However, Vendra used her telepathic abilities to stir the heroes awry.
Vendra's brother, Neftin Prog then arrived with the assistance of the Thugs-4-Less to strike the ship, disabling its defenses and recovering Vendra. Cronk and Zephyr fought to repel the intruders, though Vendra and Neftin caught them and tied them up to the ship. Ratchet and Clank arrived to free them, though Vendra trapped them in a telepathic bubble, rendering them helpless. Neftin insisted that killing Cronk and Zephyr was unnecessary, but Vendra decided to do so anyway, and set off explosives with the ship that Cronk and Zephyr were trapped inside, causing them to die.
After Ratchet and Clank defeated the nethers, Cronk and Zephyr's spirits were shown to have crossed over into the afterlife, as their ghosts both exchanged banter with one another in the Intergalactic Museum of History, where statues were created in their honor, before looking for femdroids.
Characteristics
Cronk was a blue and metallic humanoid robot, who was visibly very rusty. By Tools of Destruction, his visual receptors were the only original pieces of his body remaining, as the rest had been replaced. His head and left arm were also prone to falling off his body after sustaining damage, though they could easily be put back in place. Nonetheless, Cronk was able to hold his own in battle, and fired a carbine blaster with powerful shots but low rate of fire.
Cronk is depicted as senile, though despite his age, he had a youthful personality. He was very close to Zephyr, and wold often exchange many jokes with him, though the two would also argue with one another. Cronk referred to the cragmites as "craggy-mites", and would often mock Emperor Tachyon. Cronk also claimed to be an expert on lombax history. He could read the cragmite language, and was able to successfully translate a cragmite children's story about the Loki.
Behind the scenes
Cronk and Zephyr skins in Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Cronk's arguments with Zephyr over in which they bickered about their specs and capabilities was meant to represent console fanboy wars between PlayStation and Xbox.[2]
Cronk, along with Zephyr, appears as skins in Tools of Destruction and Full Frontal Assault.
In the 2016 reboot game and reboot movie, the Galactic Ranger warbots adopted a look very similar to Cronk, though with a completely different voice and carrying Combusters.
References
- ↑ Template:Imdb
- ↑ {{{author}}} ({{{year}}}). The Art of Ratchet & Clank. {{{publisher}}}.