- Long before your elders, it was Caesar who taught us of what it means to be Ape. He was our leader, our lawgiver. Apes together, strong. Ape shall not kill ape. We, the Order of Caesar, follow his words to this day. I follow. I am now... the last.
- Raka[src]
Raka is an evolved orangutan scholar who resided as a hermit before joining Noa on the latter's journey to save the Eagle Clan. Raka is also the last known member of the Order of Caesar.
Biography
Early Life
Born many generations after Caesar's epoch, Raka had fathered a family and became a member of the Order of Caesar, a society of ape scholars who sought to preserve Caesar's legacy and teachings. But as time passed, the other members died off or were annihilated under the orders of Proximus Caesar, a chimpanzee who had twisted Caesar's teachings and conquered other ape clans in hopes of using them as slave labor to access human technologies within a former military bunker. In the aftermath, only he and another ape were the last surviving members of their order.
Soon after escaping, Raka's friend was killed by Proximus' followers, although Raka managed to flee and lived as a hermit near the ruins of Los Angeles International Airport.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Later, Noa falls into a trap set by Raka. At first, Raka is going to kill Noa, thinking that he works for Proximus, but after learning that he's a survivor of a devastated village, he decides to help him. Raka also tells Noa about Caesar's clan and that Proximus desecrated his legend, and shows him books that apes were able to read and that they peacefully coexisted with humans. Later, they meet a girl, Noa tries to drive her away, believing that she is a pest, but Raka believes that she just wants to survive. Later, Raka asks Noa to let the girl warm up. Later, they cross paths with a tribe of devolved humans, Raka believes that the girl has found her home, and Noa is going to go rescue the Eagle Clan. However, they were attacked by the henchmen of Proximus, led by Sylva, who capture some of them. Noa saves the girl from captivity. Noa, Raka, and the girl managed to escape from the henchmen, it turns out that the girl can speak and it turns out that her name is Mae. Noa, Raka, and Mae decide to cross the bridge, but they are attacked again by Sylva and Proximus's henchmen, as a result, Mae falls off the bridge, but she manages to grab the rope, Raka jumps into the water to help Mae, but Sylva cuts the rope and Raka is carried away by the current. At the moment, it is unknown whether he survived or not.
Personality
Raka is a wise and kind ape, and a strong believer in Caesar’s philosophy of peace. His faith in Caesar was unwavering, though he was disappointed to see how Caesar’s memory had been forgotten by the younger generation of apes. Raka showed disgust and contempt towards those like Proximus who used Caesar’s name to spread fear and corrupted his legacy.
Unlike most apes who viewed humans as pests that needed to be driven out, Raka showed immense compassion towards them and pity. Thus he felt sadden by their declining numbers.
This stemmed from humanity’s vague history with Caesar, which Raka interpreted that they must be why they were important. Though knowledgeable about books and their importance, he had incorrect assumptions on humans and Caesar’s relationship with them, mistakenly thinking Caesar tried to raise humans up from being primitive animals. Raka’s dream is apparently to emulate Caesar and try to help humanity.
Although violence was against his order’s ways, the peaceful orangutan was willing to defend those he cared for, believing that Caesar would forgive his actions if it was for a greater purpose.
Raka proved to be a fearless ape, as shown when he was about to meet his end, drowning in the rapids. Rather cower or beg for mercy, he instead chose to impart his last bit of wisdom of his order to Noa of the importance of unity for apes.
Abilities
- Genius-Level Intellect: As a descendant of evolved apes, Raka has a high level of intelligence.
- Speech: Raka is capable of speaking fluently.
- Animal Strength
- Animal Speed
- Animal Reflexes
- Animal Stamina
- Animal Endurance
Relationships
- See Raka/Relationships.
Notes
- Raka is the second benevolent orangutan so far to appear in the more modern Planet of the Apes series, the first being Maurice.
Trivia
- At the end of the credits, an orangutan's chittering can be heard at the end of the film, which implies that Raka might have survived.
Gallery
- See Raka/Gallery.