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Revenge is the prime ingredient in the fountain of youth. I've kept myself alive for hundreds of years with a steady diet of jealousy and hate, awaiting the day when I would finally eclipse your family's thieving reputation.
― Clockwerk to Sly Cooper[1][src]

Clockwerk (stylized as CLOCKWeЯK) was the leader of the Fiendish Five and the arch-nemesis of the Cooper Clan. He was consumed by jealousy for the Cooper Clan's reputation as thieves and hated them to such a degree that he replaced his mortal body with soulless machinery just to keep up with them through time. He was eventually killed by Sly Cooper, though his legacy continued to haunt the Cooper Gang to the present day.

Clockwerk is considered by many to be the main villain of the Sly Cooper series, and is the only villain to be referenced in all four games. He will appear as the main antagonist in the upcoming Sly Cooper film.[2]

Biography

Background

File:Five Visitors.png

Clockwerk and the Fiendish Five invading the Cooper residence.

For almost all of his life, Clockwerk hunted the Coopers, the latter of whom were always one step ahead of him. After Sly's birth, he founded the Fiendish Five and lead them in an attack on the currently living Coopers. Responsible for the murder of Sly's father and the theft of the Thievius Raccoonus, which contained all the family's thieving secrets, Clockwerk and the rest of the Fiendish Five returned to their own personal endeavors with their own pages of the Coopers' legacy, using their pages of the book to commit crimes.[3]

Reunion

Enough, Sly Cooper! It ends here. I'll finish you like I finished your father. Then the Cooper line will be erased and the only master thief will be Clockwerk!
― Clockwerk to Sly Cooper as they fought.[4]

When Sly gathered his own gang and began to target the members of the Fiendish Five, Clockwerk was a mysterious, aggressive, and widely unknown member who was referred to only as "the fifth" or "final member of the Fiendish Five" by Bentley and Sly, and he never convened directly with his cohorts; instead, he provided hi-tech hardware (including two hovercraft Sly commandeered that Bentley identified to have a notably unique alloy).

After Sly began reviewing the pages he gathered from the Thievius Raccoonus, he began to notice an odd, silhouetted bird in the background of pictures featuring his ancestors and connected them with the vague reports on the appearance of Clockwerk. Curious about what this could mean, Sly was on his way to the Krack-Karov Volcano for his confrontation with the founder of the Fiendish Five.

Based in the volcano, Clockwerk had developed a giant Death Ray for unknown reasons and used it to attempt to destroy the Cooper Gang as they tried to enter his headquarters. Sly, Bentley, and Murray were able to pass through unharmed from the deadly weapon and continue through the facility despite Clockwerk also sending swarms of Robo-Falcons and Fire Slugs after them. Devising another trap, Clockwerk had already captured Carmelita Fox and used her as bait to lure Sly into his gas chamber where he planned to finish him off with the toxic gas. It was at this time that Clockwerk revealed himself through a televised screen and mocked the Cooper Clan for letting their emotions get the better of them. However, Bentley hacked into Clockwerk's security system and managed to release both Sly and Carmelita from the gas chamber. The two made a truce and planned to take down Clockwerk with Sly planning to use Carmelita's jetpack to assault him from the sky. In their advance, they destroyed Clockwerk's Death Ray and Sly retrieved the jetpack, using it as he finally confronted Clockwerk, face to face.

File:Clockwerk Battles Sly.png

Sly battles Clockwerk.

The two exchanged a brief banter and Sly learned of Clockwerk's past, having hated the Cooper family to such a degree that he replaced his entire body with machinery to live on and annihilate every living Cooper in an attempt to eclipse their legendary thieving reputation. They engaged in battle in the air with Sly receiving support from Carmelita; eventually, the pair defeated him and Clockwerk plummeted into the molten lava of the volcano. He then rose up again, albeit damaged, and desired to finish off the raccoon. Sly questioned how Clockwerk could have been ignorant that Sly's father had a son and wondered why the metallic monstrosity didn't kill him after he murdered his family. To this, Clockwerk revealed he left the young Sly alive to prove a point: without the prized book which detailed all of the Cooper Clan's skills and history, a member of the Cooper line was nothing. Sly only replied that Clockwerk was wrong and that the Thievius Raccoonus didn't make a great Cooper but that a great Cooper made the Thievius Raccoonus. Clockwerk refused to acknowledge his chatter, and was determined to kill Sly like he had killed Sly Cooper's Father and claim the title as master thief solely for himself.

After engaging in another battle, Clockwerk again plummeted into the volcano and began activating his self-repair system to rejuvenate his heavily damaged form, refusing to be destroyed. While attempting this last-ditch effort, Sly traversed over to the archaic bird and bashed his head in, finally putting him out of commission. The battered and destroyed parts floated in the lava and were left to rot when the gang left.[3]

Reconstruction

Imagine the hatred fueling that first decision to replace his mortal body with soulless machinery. Ultimately, it did the trick. Clockwerk lived on...
― Sly Cooper[5]

The Clockwerk parts were recovered by Interpol after the battle and, after two years, were put on display in a museum in Cairo, Egypt. A criminal organization known as the Klaww Gang stole Clockwerk's body parts and used them for their own purposes before Sly and the gang could steal the parts themselves to destroy them. They managed to take back all of the parts from the various Klaww Gang members during their travels, but all were stolen from them by another Klaww Gang member Jean Bison, who sold them to his associate Arpeggio.

Clockwerk's robotic body was eventually reassembled on Arpeggio's flying air fortress. Constable Neyla, who had previously been assumed to be an ally of Sly, was in fact conspiring with Arpeggio and had been helping the mastermind gather the parts. Arpeggio was knowledgeable of Clockwerk and his secret of immortality through his formula of hatred, and he desired to become one with the archaic bird and be reborn with eternal life. However, before Arpeggio could merge with the parts, Neyla betrayed him and merged herself with Clockwerk's frame instead, dubbing herself as Clock-La.

Sly witnessed this and was hunted down by Clock-La in the skies while he, Bentley, and Murray tried to weaken her so they could finally finish off what remained of Clockwerk. Teaming up with Carmelita yet again to defeat the robotic bird, Sly battled Clock-La using a door gun on Carmelita's helicopter. After Clock-La was very wounded, she destroyed the blimp and captured both Murray and Bentley, leading Sly on a dangerous chase through the skies over Paris after her. Sly succeeded in sending Clock-La towards the ground and releasing his friends from captivity, leaving her disabled but not destroyed. During the skirmish, the revelation of Clockwerk's true source of power, the Hate Chip, is discovered and the gang manage to come up with a plan. With Murray's help, Bentley was able to enter the open beak of Clockwerk's head and remove the Hate Chip. The beak then suddenly snapped down on Bentley shortly after and crushed his legs; being recovered by Sly and Murray with the Hate Chip in hand, the three left the area as Clock-La exploded.

The Clockwerk parts rusting away into dust

The Cooper Gang and Carmelita watching the Clockwerk parts rust away into dust.

To their surprise, the parts were still in perfect condition, as a side effect of the Hate Chip being fueled by Clockwerk's never-ending hate of the Cooper Clan. Carmelita, having just arrived to the ground, stomped on the Hate Chip, causing the parts to immediately deteriorate, killing both Clockwerk and Neyla, ending his reign of terror on the Cooper Clan. Unfortunately, the damage Clockwerk's beak had done to Bentley had him confined to a wheelchair for life, and would be a lasting effect of his final words to Sly years earlier: "Cooper! You will never be rid of me!"[5]

Characteristics

Personality

Is it inappropriate to refer to him as a monster? No, not at all. What kind of person stays alive for hundreds of years with the express intention of wiping out a rival's family line?
― Sly Cooper musing about Clockwerk[5]

Clockwerk was obsessed with proving himself superior to the Cooper Clan. He can be identified as a psychopath, being able to endure thousands of years of waiting before planning to finish off the Cooper name with Sly ten years later. He openly mocked the Cooper family whenever he had the chance. He was able to create advanced technology and numerous plans on how to eradicate the elusive Sly Cooper while he invaded his lair in Russia.

This gave his boasts some merit but also led to developing a superiority complex, stating that his robotic form was perfect for granting him immortality just to keep up with the Coopers through history. Overall, Clockwerk was an evil, bitter and obsessed character who desired nothing more than the eradication of his nemesis, Sly Cooper and his ancestors, at whatever cost, even his own body. This however, proved to be his downfall.[3]

Abilities

Perfection has no age...
― Clockwerk to Sly after the latter asked the former his age.[src]

Clockwerk's biological body was at some point replaced with highly advanced robotic parts imbued with the ability to never rust or decay and could even repair itself after suffering incredible damage. This allowed him to survive beyond his intended life span as a person. Equipped with a multitude of weapons, including missiles, laser emitters, launchers that could fire electrified rings, and an energy weapon within the eyes (Although this and the missiles might have been an addition made by Arpeggio as they're only used by Clock-La). In addition, Clockwerk was extremely resilient to damage, as simple weapons like Carmelita's shock pistol and jetpack missiles were individually ineffective against him. In addition, Clockwerk's body could survive being heavily damaged and submerged in molten lava; this could be contributed by the Hate Chip and Clockwerk's self-repairing body. It was given spare engines in the event Clockwerk was unable to use his wings to fly.

In part for his ability to survive with a combination of his hatred and mechanical improvements, Clockwerk was remarkably intelligent. He had constructed his lair on Krack-Karov Volcano and developed multiple weapons and vehicles for the Fiendish Five to use for their own personal schemes including hover vehicles and his death ray, as well as devising a gas chamber which later incapacitated Sly. He was able to think accordingly and execute cunning plans, assaulting and slaughtering Sly's father and being able to lure Sly into his gas chamber by manipulating his feelings for Carmelita. He also created a legion of mechanical birds, similar to him, and hordes of lava monsters to do his bidding.[3]

Two years later, Clockwerk's body was fully repaired by Arpeggio so that each individual member of the Klaww Gang could use their share of the Clockwerk parts for their own purposes. Each individual part had also served its own purpose in Clockwerk's design as a Cooper hunter:

  • Clockwerk Tail Feathers: Used by Dimitri, the Clockwerk Tail Feathers were put to use as printing plates for his Paris counterfeiting operation. Because of their metallurgical properties, the Tail Feathers would have never worn out. These helped, in some manner, with Clockwerk's flight.
  • Clockwerk Wings: Taken by Rajan, the Clockwerk Wings weren't put to any practical use. Instead, Rajan had them mounted on a statue in his palace, where he hoped they would bring him prestige. While alive, they were a symbol of Clockwerk and feared when sighted by any Cooper.
  • Clockwerk Heart: Another of Rajan's parts, the Heart acted as a powerful pump that allowed Rajan to grow illegal spices at much faster rates than normal. Half the Heart was used in this manner, while the other was attached to the end of Rajan's staff, allowing him to unleash electrical attacks. This pump helped Clockwerk survive throughout the ages.
  • Clockwerk Eyes: Components with powerful entrancing qualities, the Clockwerk Eyes were given to the Contessa, who intended to use them to enhance her own hypnosis machinery. They were known to paralyze a Cooper with their hypnotic gaze.
  • Clockwerk Lungs and Stomach: Given to Jean Bison to transport illegal spice across Canada, the Lungs and Stomach allowed him to keep his Iron Horse trains running all day and night without stopping. Their powerful pumps helped Clockwerk survive throughout the ages.
  • Clockwerk Talons: Razor-sharp blades capable of slicing through plates of steel, the Clockwerk Talons were used by Jean Bison in his lumber jacking enterprise. Clockwerk intended for them to swoop down and shred the Coopers with their deadly edge. It is possible that the talons were original, meaning that Clockwerk did not replace them while making himself fully robotic.
  • Clockwerk Brain: The final Clockwerk part given to Arpeggio. He did not use his part for any criminal purposes like the other members did. The brain was actually never seen on screen except when you see the blueprints for Clockwerk's mechanical body, and it's not confirmed what happened to them. Arpeggio might have just left out the part while reconstructing Clockwerk, or the brain was in the frame, but not active.
  • Hate Chip: Power source of the Clockwerk Frame, the Hate Chip is what gave the Clockwerk parts their seeming immortality. Once it was destroyed, the Clockwerk parts rusted and decayed until there was nothing left. This was the prime component in the Clockwerk frame that allowed Clockwerk to survive with only his hatred as a fuel. It is also interesting to note that the technology to develop something like the Hate Chip didn't exist until things like computers were around, so how Clockwerk made or obtained the Hate Chip in the first place is a mystery.
  • Multiple unnamed parts: Unidentified pieces given to Jean Bison but were later sold to Arpeggio along with the rest of the parts. These helped in fully assembling Clockwerk as a complete being and protected him and the other Clockwerk parts from being harmed. Among these are the beak, legs and the rest of the face and body pieces.

All these parts assembled would create the Clockwerk Frame and were the basis for helping Clockwerk live through time and later help spark his partial rebirth as Clock-La. With the destruction of the Hate Chip, Clockwerk's body and therefore Clockwerk himself was permanently destroyed.[5]

Appearances

Gallery

Trivia

  • Clockwerk's name is a play on the word "clockwork," referring to the purely mechanical, as opposed to cybernetic nature of his robotic body.
  • In Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Carmelita says that her shock pistol can't hurt Clockwerk but can create holes in his armor. In fact, Clockwerk can also take damage, as his mechanical body only prevents him from aging. It is possible that it starts shorting out his circuits.
  • His final line in the first game foreshadows his near return in the next game, and the irreparable damage done after his final defeat in the second game.
  • Clockwerk's final line in the first game might also mean that his hatred for the Cooper Clan would rage on forever after, which was implied with Clockwerk's Eye being a collectible treasure in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
  • It is implied that Clockwerk would be resurrected if his body was fully reassembled but after the parts were all locked into place, the cyborg owl strangely did not awaken. The two most likely reasons for this is that either his brain was never reinserted or it took some time for Clockwerk's soul to reassert itself. It's possible that it happened at some point after Neyla took over the Clockwerk frame, as she claimed that some new power was growing inside her.
  • Despite being one of the four bird villains in the series (other three being Arpeggio, General Tsao, and LeFwee), Clockwerk is the only one who has shown the capability of flight.
    • He is also the only one who is not anthropomorphic, instead bearing the shape of an actual owl.
    • This also makes him unique among all voiced characters in the Sly Cooper series.
  • After the credits in the English version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Clockwerk's head is shown, and then his eyelids open and reveals red eyes. In the Japanese version, Clockwerk has blue eyes.
  • He is the only deceased member of the Fiendish Five. The Panda King lives in China, while the other three members are incarcerated.
  • Clockwerk is the only main villain that was killed by Sly; Carmelita killed Neyla/Clock-La while Dr. M was crushed underground due to his refusal to leave the Cooper Vault treasure and Le Paradox was imprisoned.
  • The Dragon Claw Statue and Clockwerk's Eye are two Treasures that appear in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time that make direct reference to Clockwerk. The Dragon Claw Statue has the words "Clockwerk was here" scratched into the bottom, and the Clockwerk Eye has a description which implies the destruction of the hate chip did not totally destroy Clockwerk and that the Cooper gang had not truly seen the last of him.
  • In Breakout!, Sly wonders out loud if "Rioichi has crossed paths with Clockwerk."
  • Clockwerk also makes appearances throughout Thieves in Time. The earliest appearance he has made in the timeline is 10,000 B.C. In every single Thieves in Time episode, Clockwerk can be seen seen occasionally flying around in the sky or perched on a building.
  • It is unknown how Clockwerk was able to get the technology to make his body fully robotic. Given that he had his mechanical modification during Bob Cooper's time it is possible he is actually from the future with access to a time machine.
  • His pseudo-Latin scientific name is "Machina Diabolocus," according to the Binocucom in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, which can be translated to mean diabolical machine.
  • Clockwerk is confirmed to appear in the upcoming Sly Cooper film as the main antagonist.
  • His form in Thieves in Time looks more like an actual owl than his hawk-like form in the first two games.
  • Clockwerk and his individual parts are considerably smaller in Sly 2.
  • The only parts of Clockwerk that are mentioned in Sly 2 are the tail feathers, wings, heart, eyes, lungs, stomach, tail and brain. Since these parts would not rebuild his body entirely it can be assumed that Jean Bison had the rest as Arpeggio mentions him having the lion's share of the parts.

References

  1. ClockwerkSly1.txt#4
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sly Cooper stars in new animated CG movie, coming to theaters in 2016 (ShackNews)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Template:Cite series
  4. ClockwerkSly1.txt#7
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Template:Cite series

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