Riesen-Ratte

For the episode, see The Rat King.

Riesen-Ratte
Formed By:	Charlie Mane Mel Delmar Phyllis Brooks Many more Reinigen

A Riesen-Ratte (⟨ʀ⟩EE-zuhn-⟨ʀ⟩ah-tuh; Ger. "giant rat"), also known as a Rat King or Les Rongeurs Roi (ley ⟨x⟩OWN-zhœr hwah;Fr. "the king of rodents"), is a bunch of Reinigen joined together in the Erklarend (AIR-klahr-uhnt; Ger. "to declare oneself"). Riesen-Ratte are rare enough that they are widely considered a myth in the Wesen world. One appeared in "The Rat King".

Characteristics

A Riesen-Ratte is a 20-foot-tall rat creature formed by a group of Reinigen who merge together usually when the group is threatened or to seek revenge. It takes upwards of 15 individual Reinigen to form one. Its appearance is significantly more animalistic than that of a woged Reinigen, but it is still bipedal and has two upper extremities and two lower extremities, rather than four legs. A Riesen-Ratte is capable of easily killing anybody or anything that it can get a hold of. Its durability is impressive, and it is able to effortlessly shrug off a shotgun blast. Riesen-Ratte have well-developed musculature as well.

It does, however, have a weakness to electricity, and a powerful enough electric charge will cause the individual Reinigen to separate again and seriously injure, if not kill them. Despite its impressive height and prowess, the Riesen-Ratte is slow. Riesen-Ratte also have an enhanced sense of smell, able to easily detect the scent of who or what it is looking for from a decent-sized distance away. Their sense of vision is not particularly sharp and they have trouble detecting motionless targets, so they heavily rely on their sense of smell along with their sense of hearing. If they are hunting Klaustreich, they are able to detect one much more easily if it is woged.

Behavior

Riesen-Ratte appear to lack the intellect of the individual Reinigen and behaves more like a wild animal, displaying no clear signs of intelligence. It holds a hatred for anyone who has attacked or killed one of the individual Reinigen. Due to their heavy reliance on their sense of smell, they are vulnerable to being lured into traps with some type of bait, typically the people they are trying to kill.

Excerpt from Monroe's book

Few mythological beings pose a threat as powerful as the Riesen-Ratte, also known as Les Rongeurs Roi, or Rat King.

According to legend, the Riesen-Ratte only forms when the Reinigen are under attack. Fueled by fear, scores of them join together in what is known as the Erklarend.

These Reinigen have little genetic diversity. In their woged state, they appear to stimulate the growth of cancer-like cells. As these cells cannot differentiate which body is the original vector, they merge into each other, causing the individual to become part of the greater whole.

Season 5 Blu-ray Grimm Guide Profile

“

Only created under the most dire circumstances, the Rat King is not a single Wesen. Rather it is a giant rat creature created when a group of Reinigen combine to become more powerful. While woged, they can stimulate the growth of cancerous cells, which allows them to combine with other Reinigen to form a greater whole.

”

Images

Concept art

Video

Trivia

• Erklarend is the German adjective form of the word "erklären," which means "to explain, to declare, to announce." In the context of forming the Riesen-Ratte, the meaning that best fits is likely the reflexive meaning of the verb, "to declare oneself."

References

Season 5 Appearances
"The Grimm Identity": X	"Clear and Wesen Danger": X	"Lost Boys": X	"Maiden Quest": X	"The Rat King": ✓	"Wesen Nacht": X	"Eve of Destruction": X	"A Reptile Dysfunction": X	"Star-Crossed": X	"Map of the Seven Knights": X	"Key Move": X
"Into the Schwarzwald": X	"Silence of the Slams": X	"Lycanthropia": X	"Skin Deep": X	"The Believer": X	"Inugami": X	"Good to the Bone": X	"The Taming of the Wu": X	"Bad Night": X	"Set Up": X	"The Beginning of the End": X