Dr. Neo Cortex

Doctor Neo Cortex is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the '' Crash Bandicoot'' video game series. He has appeared in every mainline game in the series as Crash Bandicoot's archenemy, as well as a playable character in several spin-off titles. Cortex is an egomaniacal mad scientist who seeks to achieve world domination with the use of the Evolvo-Ray, a machine capable of creating genetically enhanced soldiers from ordinary animals. Crash was one such subject but thwarted the scientist's plot; Cortex is subsequently determined to eliminate Crash as an obstacle to world domination.

Cortex was created by Naughty Dog founders Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin, and was originally designed by Charles Zembillas. Voice actors who have portrayed Cortex include Brendan O'Brien, Clancy Brown and Lex Lang. Cortex has been positively received by reviewers, with much of the praise going to Brown's and Lang's vocal performances as well as the character's portrayal in '' Crash Twinsanity''.

Concept and creation

During the development of '' Crash Bandicoot'', Naughty Dog founders Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin conceived the idea of Cortex while eating near Universal Interactive Studios. Gavin came up with the idea of an "evil genius villain with a big head" who was "all about his attitude and his minions". Rubin, having become fond of the animated television series '' Pinky and the Brain'', imagined a more malevolent version of the Brain with minions resembling the weasel characters in '' Who Framed Roger Rabbit''. After Gavin put on a voice depicting the attitude in mind for the character, he and Rubin instantly came up with the name "Doctor Neo Cortex". Gavin and Rubin described Cortex to character designer Charles Zembillas as " avinga huge head but a tiny body, he's a mad scientist, and he dresses a bit like a Nazi from '' The Jetsons''". Rubin owns the original sketches of Cortex by Zembillas.

''Crash Bandicoot'' co-artist Joe Pearson wrote a full backstory for Cortex as part of the game's production bible. The backstory details Cortex's birth to a large family of circus performers (his birth is said to have occurred within a gypsy wagon fleeing Peoria, Illinois), the abuse he suffered from being made part of the family act (which culminated in a large "N", standing for "nerd", being tattooed onto his forehead), the murder of his family in a fireworks explosion, and a period of vagrancy and fugitivity with his henchman and high school classmate Nitrus Brio. Cortex was originally envisioned as a self-aware video game character who was bothered by the clichés he embodied and addressed the audience throughout the game. This aspect was removed after Naughty Dog decided that cutscenes would disrupt the game's pacing.

Cortex was kept stationary in many of his early appearances because his game model was unable to walk properly due to the short length of his legs. Artist Nicholas Kole adjusted Cortex's proportions for his appearance in '' Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time'', though according to Kole, Cortex's more "debonair" build resulted in his animations turning out "too handsome". In response, the game's artists created an expression sheet to preserve Cortex's comedic characterization.

Voice portrayal

Cortex is voiced by Brendan O'Brien in the first ''Crash Bandicoot'' game, and by Clancy Brown from '' Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back'' up to '' Crash Nitro Kart''. Brown eventually left the series due to his dissatisfaction with the video game industry's financial compensation for voice actors. For '' Crash Twinsanity'', Lex Lang was called in for an audition to replace Brown, and was given an explanation that Vivendi Universal Games considered Brown's performance to be "too mean". After voice director Chris Borders described Cortex to Lang and had him listen to signature samples of Brown's performance, he encouraged Lang to play Cortex as more flamboyant and self-absorbed. Lang eventually created a depiction of Cortex that was "master evil with a bit of a childish feminine side that leaks out in his tirades" that had everyone laughing at the lines and the character. ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was an additional influence on Lang's delivery as Cortex. Lang voiced Cortex from ''Twinsanity'' onward. In a flashback to Cortex's childhood in ''Crash Twinsanity'', he is voiced by Debi Derryberry, while Corey Burton voiced Cortex when he is momentarily turned into an infant in the ''Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy''.

Characteristics

Cortex's most distinguishing physical traits are his large head, yellow skin, pointed goatee and the N tattooed onto his forehead. Cortex is near-bald with the exception of a few areas on his head; Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin jokingly explained that Cortex only uses Rogaine on those select areas, while Joe Pearson's production bible suggests that Cortex had been prematurely balding since his infancy. Cortex stands and weighs .

Cortex's basic characterization was conceived by Gavin and Rubin as "A villain, all full of himself, unable to conceive of ever doing anything the simple way, but constantly (in his eyes) betrayed by the incompetence of his henchmen". Cortex is depicted as a mad scientist who is ruthlessly and obsessively motivated to dominate the world by the desire to exact vengeance upon a humanity that spurned and humiliated him. He possesses an outrageously high intelligence quotient, which he believes makes him the logical choice to control the world, and he is frequently frustrated by the inferior mentality and failures of his underlings. In awareness of his diminutive build, Cortex avoids physical combat and rationalizes his cowardice by claiming that such engagement is beneath him. Cortex is exceptionally skilled in the fields of engineering and mechanics, which allows him to create a wide variety of devices and machines. Although he is prone to wild mood swings, his single-minded determination keeps him functional. He is highly self-confident and views himself as perfect, which convinces him not to subject himself to the Evolvo-Ray. Cortex is a lifelong loner whose sole friend has been his assistant and childhood associate Doctor Nitrus Brio, whom he treats with contemptuous affection. As a result of his traumatic childhood experiences, Cortex flies into an hysterical rage at imagery of clowns, laugh tracks, seltzer bottles and bananas. '' Crash Twinsanity'' artist Daniel Tonkin observed that Cortex is "massively egotistical" and has "a real insecurity complex", while voice actor Lex Lang summarized Cortex's character as a "maniacal narcissist".

Appearances

Main series

In '' Crash Bandicoot'', Cortex and Brio prepare an evolved bandicoot, Crash, for the Cortex Vortex, a machine that will supposedly brainwash Crash into becoming the general of Cortex's army of "Cortex Commandos" and leading a campaign for world domination. After the Vortex rejects Crash, Cortex chases Crash out of his castle and prepares a female bandicoot named Tawna for experimentation. Cortex is eventually confronted and defeated by Crash, who escapes with Tawna on Cortex's airship. In '' Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back'', Cortex lands in a cavern where he discovers a large Crystal that he believes will aid him in controlling the world. To this end, he creates a space station armed with a larger version of the Cortex Vortex that is capable of brainwashing the entirety of Earth's populace. However, he is informed by his new henchman Doctor N. Gin that 25 smaller Crystals are needed alongside this "Master Crystal" for the new Cortex Vortex to be functional. To remedy this situation, Cortex abducts Crash and fools him into believing that he is working to save the world from an upcoming solar flux by gathering the Crystals. Cortex is later forced to flee when Crash's sister Coco discovers Cortex's real plan and reveals it to Crash, and Cortex's space station is destroyed by Brio, who has turned against Cortex. In '' Crash Bandicoot: Warped'', the ruins of Cortex's space station crash into Earth and release his master Uka Uka. Cortex takes part in Uka Uka's plan to gather the Crystals in their original places in time by using Doctor Nefarious Tropy's Time-Twisting Machine. Upon Cortex's defeat, the Time-Twisting Machine implodes on itself, trapping Cortex, Tropy and Uka Uka in a prison outside of time and space.

In '' Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex'', Cortex creates Crunch Bandicoot in another plot to destroy Crash, and unveils him at a meeting inside Cortex's new space station. After Crunch fails to defeat Crash, Cortex and Uka Uka flee into an