When Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart ended its debut trailer with the sudden appearance of a new female Lombax, fans responded with near universal adoration. While very little is actually known about her, including her name, many love her for her design alone. Developer Insomniac was quick to confirm that she would be playable, much to fans' delight.
However, as long-time fans of the series already know, she is not the first female Lombax to appear in the series. That would be one Angela Cross, who first appeared well before Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart but has notably been almost completely absent after the first appearance. So, this begs the question: whatever happened to her?
Who is Angela Cross?
As a quick primer for anyone unfamiliar with the character or who has only got into the Ratchet and Clank series recently, Angela made her first appearance in 2003's Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando for the PlayStation 2. At first, she served as the primary antagonist, with her true appearance hidden behind a mask and voice filter. She had stolen an experiment from Megacorp (her former employer), which Ratchet and Clank were recruited to retrieve.
Upon unmasking Angela and learning that she stole the experiment because it was actually incredibly dangerous, the three proceeded to work together for the rest of the game and foil the plans of the real villain behind everything. But, despite being a key ally, Angela never appeared in another game since, only making a brief cameo appearance in Ratchet and Clank 3 and in her masked thief appearance at that.
Angela has yet to make a proper appearance in the series since. However, she wasn't completely forgotten. In 2009's PlayStation 3 title Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, an easy-to-miss radio broadcast mentions her by name, saying that she was last seen with explorer Max Apogee. Her fate remains incredibly ambiguous, but it did answer some pressing questions about her identity.
Is Angela a Lombax like Ratchet?
The short answer is yes, but it was a hot topic of debate for years. While Angela very clearly resembles Ratchet, 2007's Tools of Destruction, which was the beginning of a four game-long story arc, identified Ratchet as the last of the Lombax species. Since Angela had never been directly referred to as a Lombax herself and she's never acknowledged in Tools of Destruction, some took that to mean that she was never meant to be a Lombax, while others believed Insomniac simply forgot or ignored her existence.
However, the aforementioned broadcast in A Crack in Time confirmed that she was indeed the same species as Ratchet and that she was also on the run from the villainous Emperor Tachyon, who sought to wipe out the Lombaxes. The broadcast may imply that she escaped, thanks to Apogee, and that she wound up on the planet Jasindu, where the Dimensionator was being kept.
The Dimensionator was a Lombax created device that can open portals to other dimensions and what the Lombaxes used to escape Tachyon's persecution. Assuming Angela reached it before the events of Tools of Destruction, it's entirely possible that Angela used the Dimensionator, maybe even sending herself to the same dimension the Lombaxes fled to.
The (Lack of) Tail
Angela being a Lombax, however, became a source of debate again more recently. Despite Insomniac practically confirming her as such, many debate this due to her lack of a tail. According to the broadcast, female Lombaxes simply lack tails, as opposed to the males. But, the female Lombax in Rift Apart clearly possesses one. While this could be chalked down to a simple retcon, the presence of the Dimensionator and implications of interdimensional travel could suggest that she comes from a dimension where female Lombaxes do have tails. Or that she is an alternate-dimension version of Ratchet. Or something.
Regardless, it doesn't look like the new female character's presence invalidates or retcons Angela's existence, but some are no doubt curious if Insomniac ever intends to bring her back.
Will Angela Come Back?
It's certainly not impossible. Given the ambiguity of her situation, which leaves plenty of room for her to make a return, there's nothing to say she won't pop up again as Ratchet and Clank travel through dimensions in Rift Apart. But considering the only time she's been acknowledged since Going Commando is in some optional flavor text, it's probably more likely that Insomniac simply has no desire to bring her back. For the time being, fans will have to wait until Rift Apart actually releases to see if either Ratchet or Clank make reference to Angela upon meeting their new Lombax friend.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart releases for PlayStation 5 on June 11th.