Movie
Description
Ratzass is the military call sign of Guy Cunningham, a sergeant in the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry who serves with the Roughnecks K-12 Team, the unit commanded by Major Henry Varro. He is an elite trooper in the sense that he is part of a hardened frontline outfit, though he embodies the roughest edges of the infantry rather than the ideal of the disciplined professional. He is of Caucasian appearance, with very short black hair and brown eyes. In combat he wears a powered armor suit and operates as a heavy weapons soldier, typically carrying a large Gatling-type gun that makes him one of the more heavily armed members of his squad.
Ratzass is best described as a rowdy, boisterous soldier with a pronounced libido and a blunt, sometimes crude manner. He is quick to flirt, quick to show off, and quick to respond to any provocation with aggression. He is not presented as a thoughtful or particularly intelligent man; one description of him notes that he is not smart enough to do anything else with his life and not smart enough to worry that he might not survive long. Give him a weapon, point him at the enemy, and he will fight. This simplicity is central to his personality. He does not question orders, does not dwell on the larger politics of the war, and treats combat as both a duty and a source of excitement. Despite his crude behavior, he is a capable and determined fighter whose skills in battle are not seriously in doubt. His strong sexual appetite also finds its way into his conduct, and in one notable scene it even influences his performance in a fight. During a hand-to-hand bout with a martial artist crewman named Chow, Ratzass takes a series of kicks and headlocks and becomes disoriented. Deborah Ogden, who serves as referee for the match, briefly exposes herself to encourage him, and the sudden motivation allows Ratzass to rally and land a heavy blow that knocks Chow down. The bout ends as a draw, because Ratzass collapses as well, but the moment captures both his combative spirit and the way his impulses drive him.
Ratzass's motivations are straightforward. He is a soldier who exists for the fight and defines himself through his role in the Mobile Infantry. He seeks to prove himself in combat, to perform his duty alongside his unit, and to keep himself and his friends alive. He does not appear to carry any deeper ideological commitment or personal vendetta against the Arachnids; the war is simply his job, and he approaches it with the same coarse energy he brings to everything else. This makes him a dependable fighter in the field even when his discipline off duty is lacking.
Within the story, Ratzass is one of the K-12 troopers involved in the mission to retake and later track the starship John A. Warden after contact with it is lost. He participates in the boarding operation and the fighting that follows once the ship is revealed to be infested by the Arachnids. When the survivors on the Warden decide to destroy the vessel and the Queen controlling it, Ratzass is paired with Mech, a fellow non-commissioned officer, and the two are sent to the engine room to plant the explosives that will ultimately destroy the ship. He survives the mission and, in the closing moments, is one of the last surviving troopers who pause to pay their respects to the comrades who died in the operation.
His key relationships are with the members of his team. He is closest to Bugspray, the acting commander of K-12 whose real name is Lieutenant Otis Hacks, and the two are described as close friends. Bugspray dies during the final push toward the Queen, sacrificing himself to buy Varro time, which gives the ending of the mission a personal dimension for Ratzass. He also works directly with Mech during the critical sabotage run, and he serves under Varro, whose leadership the K-12 troopers trust enough to follow into the derelict ship. His interactions with the women of the other units, such as Ice Blonde, are marked by the same flirtatious, crude energy that defines his personality.
In terms of development, Ratzass does not undergo a major transformation over the course of the film. He starts as a rowdy brawler and ends as essentially the same man, but the circumstances around him change. The loss of his friend Bugspray and the deaths of many of his comrades pull him toward a more solemn frame of mind, and his actions in the final act show that beneath the crude exterior he is a reliable soldier who can be trusted with a vital task when the mission depends on it.
Notable abilities include his proficiency with powered armor and heavy weapons, his raw physical strength, and his endurance in hand-to-hand combat. His fighting style is not elegant, but he is difficult to put down, as shown by his ability to absorb a sustained beating from a trained martial artist and still deliver a fight-ending blow. He is above all a frontline fighter built for close engagement with the enemy, and the film consistently presents his combat ability as real, even if his personal conduct is anything but refined.
Ratzass is best described as a rowdy, boisterous soldier with a pronounced libido and a blunt, sometimes crude manner. He is quick to flirt, quick to show off, and quick to respond to any provocation with aggression. He is not presented as a thoughtful or particularly intelligent man; one description of him notes that he is not smart enough to do anything else with his life and not smart enough to worry that he might not survive long. Give him a weapon, point him at the enemy, and he will fight. This simplicity is central to his personality. He does not question orders, does not dwell on the larger politics of the war, and treats combat as both a duty and a source of excitement. Despite his crude behavior, he is a capable and determined fighter whose skills in battle are not seriously in doubt. His strong sexual appetite also finds its way into his conduct, and in one notable scene it even influences his performance in a fight. During a hand-to-hand bout with a martial artist crewman named Chow, Ratzass takes a series of kicks and headlocks and becomes disoriented. Deborah Ogden, who serves as referee for the match, briefly exposes herself to encourage him, and the sudden motivation allows Ratzass to rally and land a heavy blow that knocks Chow down. The bout ends as a draw, because Ratzass collapses as well, but the moment captures both his combative spirit and the way his impulses drive him.
Ratzass's motivations are straightforward. He is a soldier who exists for the fight and defines himself through his role in the Mobile Infantry. He seeks to prove himself in combat, to perform his duty alongside his unit, and to keep himself and his friends alive. He does not appear to carry any deeper ideological commitment or personal vendetta against the Arachnids; the war is simply his job, and he approaches it with the same coarse energy he brings to everything else. This makes him a dependable fighter in the field even when his discipline off duty is lacking.
Within the story, Ratzass is one of the K-12 troopers involved in the mission to retake and later track the starship John A. Warden after contact with it is lost. He participates in the boarding operation and the fighting that follows once the ship is revealed to be infested by the Arachnids. When the survivors on the Warden decide to destroy the vessel and the Queen controlling it, Ratzass is paired with Mech, a fellow non-commissioned officer, and the two are sent to the engine room to plant the explosives that will ultimately destroy the ship. He survives the mission and, in the closing moments, is one of the last surviving troopers who pause to pay their respects to the comrades who died in the operation.
His key relationships are with the members of his team. He is closest to Bugspray, the acting commander of K-12 whose real name is Lieutenant Otis Hacks, and the two are described as close friends. Bugspray dies during the final push toward the Queen, sacrificing himself to buy Varro time, which gives the ending of the mission a personal dimension for Ratzass. He also works directly with Mech during the critical sabotage run, and he serves under Varro, whose leadership the K-12 troopers trust enough to follow into the derelict ship. His interactions with the women of the other units, such as Ice Blonde, are marked by the same flirtatious, crude energy that defines his personality.
In terms of development, Ratzass does not undergo a major transformation over the course of the film. He starts as a rowdy brawler and ends as essentially the same man, but the circumstances around him change. The loss of his friend Bugspray and the deaths of many of his comrades pull him toward a more solemn frame of mind, and his actions in the final act show that beneath the crude exterior he is a reliable soldier who can be trusted with a vital task when the mission depends on it.
Notable abilities include his proficiency with powered armor and heavy weapons, his raw physical strength, and his endurance in hand-to-hand combat. His fighting style is not elegant, but he is difficult to put down, as shown by his ability to absorb a sustained beating from a trained martial artist and still deliver a fight-ending blow. He is above all a frontline fighter built for close engagement with the enemy, and the film consistently presents his combat ability as real, even if his personal conduct is anything but refined.