Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex is a 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 Joe Pearson and 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 "[having] a 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.