Template:Infobox Animorph
- "This is why we fight. And to be honest, I like a good fight. The adrenaline spike of battle. The rush. The challenge. And now that I've admitted that, I'll admit something else: Lately, it's been scaring me that I like it. That I look forward to it so much. [...] I can't help myself. It's like I'm addicted or something. Addicted to danger. Addicted to defeating the Yeerk invaders."
- ―Rachel
Rachel was the most aggressive and violent of the Animorphs. Her battle morph was a grizzly bear. She was also Jake's cousin.
Biography
History
To be added
Personality
Rachel was the most violent member of the Animorphs. She is Jake's cousin on her father's side, and was in love with Tobias. Before the war, she trained in gymnastics. Marco's nickname for her was Xena, Warrior Princess.
Rachel was the character that changed the most during the war. Before the war, she was characterized by her involvement in gymnastics, her friendship with Melissa Chapman (daughter of Principal Chapman, one of the Animorphs' enemies), and her incurable mall-crawling and shopping addiction. An attractive girl, she was also smart, confident and bold. She was also known to have a temper. After the groups' meeting with Elfangor, her relationship with Melissa faded, and her obsession with the war took the place of her older shopping hobby. Out of all the Animorphs, Rachel was the only one that seemed to enjoy the war, always eager to jump into a crazy mission. Her catchphrase was "Let's do it!" Soon her daring and love of action grew to a dark, almost sadistic love of fighting and aggression.
Rachel's love of violence was noticed, and "exploited" by Jake and the Animorphs, and later, even Crayak. Though her will to battle and sacrifice herself was a powerful asset to the team, it disturbed all of the groups' members, including Rachel herself. In #32 - The Separation, Rachel is accidentally split into two different beings, possessing different qualities of Rachel; most easily described as "Mean Rachel" and "Nice Rachel." Her violent side was far stronger than her kinder side, a fact that haunted Rachel throughout the series.
Relationships with the other Animorphs
Jake
- "Jake was there. He's my cousin. He's cute. Kind of big. I mean, if we weren't cousins..."
- ―Nice Rachel
Jake and Rachel, as cousins, are arguably two of the most similar Animorphs. They share not only physical resemblance, both being tall, well-built, and possessing natural leadership and strength, but they share many of the same values. Both are very brave, though Rachel's bravery borders more upon rashness, and very self-sacrificing, always considering what is best for the group and for earth itself. They share a value of strength and honor, and both have a strong sense of morality and right and wrong, though Rachel sometimes pushes the border with her habit of violence, something that haunts both her and Jake, on occasion. Jake, being the leader he is, must do what's best for the group, and sometimes he's forced to use this dark side of Rachel to their advantage, and Rachel understands this. They share mutual respect for one another, and, though they sometimes have wild fights and disagreements, like Rachel rebelling under his leadership or Jake unable to deal with Rachel's senseless risk-taking, they are something of a dynamic duo, both in battle and out of it, and never quite lose the kinship between them, even in the hardest of times. Despite not being close at the start of the series, Rachel admits that Jake is one of her few loved ones, and has admitted an attraction to him, which she refuses to pursue since they are cousins. Jake worries about Rachel the most out of all Animorphs, often pondering on Rachel's bloodthirsty and degenerative nature, while the darker side of Rachel's mind wonders on what would happen should she ever challenged Jake's leadership - however, this is a thought process she throws out towards the end of the series after she confronts David and the Crayak along with the darker side to her nature. When Rachel accepts her final mission, which they both knew would be very dangerous, Rachel tells Jake not to be overwrought by his decision, knowing full well the burden under which Jake is placed. Jake is distraught by having had to send Rachel off to kill his Yeerk-infested brother and never recovers.
Tobias
- "I have strong feelings for Tobias. The kind you can't help. The kind that seem inevitable. Like they were always there, even before you knew the person."
- ―Rachel
Before the start of the series Rachel and Tobias weren't friends, although they had some prior knowledge of each other. They quickly develop feelings for each other, and eventually begin a relationship and fall in love. Tobias sees the good in her, and worries about her like she's a normal girl, not the fighting machine the others sometimes think of her as. And, while Tobias is no stranger to violence and doesn't shrink from making hard decisions, he has very clear boundaries of right and wrong, and, to some degree, seems to be something of an odd pacifist, refusing to take life when it isn't needed, and showing remarkable pity for his prey and even his enemies. Even as a hawk, Tobias preserves his intrinsic softness, a memento from his human years. This is something so opposed to Rachel's nature that it seems almost to attract her, as though she is drawn to the controlled, nonviolent personality that she can never have.
Cassie
Rachel and Cassie are best friends. However, tension develops between them over the course of the series; Cassie is increasingly wary of Rachel's darkening nature, and Rachel in turn becomes impatient with Cassie's morality. Cassie's integrity and coherence are questioned by the reader when she leaves Rachel to hunt down David by herself, whom she then captures and is thus alone with, helplessly sobbing while deciding on whether she will have to kill a serene and accepting David or not (his fate is never revealed). Rachel feels she is often used as a tool to protect the innocence of the rest of the Animorphs. Her dark nature is fueled by their veiled hypocrisy (except perhaps for Tobias - as he has his own psychological problems to deal with despite loving her). Nevertheless, this is something she doesn't rebel from, voluntarily sacrificing herself in order to protect their well-being.
Marco
Rachel and Marco often argue, though their verbal sparring is good-natured. They are similar in terms of ruthlessness, although Marco is inherently much more calculative and strategic; a side which contrasts with her increasingly reckless nature. He is the least affected by her death, given his philosophy towards life. In Back to Before, a book where an alternate-reality is concocted by the Ellimist and the Crayak, she agrees to date him. Marco, while sharing some of Rachel's coldness and ruthlessness, is in some ways her opposite, his characteristic trait being caution and a somewhat selfish sense of automatic self-preservation, whereas Rachel is completely reckless and very self-sacrificing. However Marco is often the only person who truly understands Rachel's mindset during a group decision, and they tend to often be on the same side of an argument when it comes down to it, as much as they bicker amongst each other.
Ax
The relationship between Rachel and Ax is one of the weakest in the series, however there is dynamic between them. The alien space cadet and the human girl are similar in many ways, both sharing a militant attitude towards war and combat, both brave, both valuing strength and warrior-like qualities. Ax has been known to observe respect towards Rachel for being such a brave warrior who does not underestimate enemies, but has also been known to be critical of her sometimes overly rash behavior, and is quick to counsel her towards caution. In the beginning, Rachel is initially distrustful of Ax and is in general indifferent towards him. She is quick to criticize him for hiding things from the group or not appearing to be loyal, and for disrespecting humans in general, and can sometimes appear condescending toward the alien. The two rarely, if ever, interact one-on-one. Ax is ruthless and calculative like Marco, but unlike him, Ax is more sensitive and becomes evermore apprehensive of Rachel's bloodthirstiness - something that he considers to be unfit for a warrior and akin to a mental illness.
Morphs
Book Morphs
Televison Show Morphs
| Morph | Episode Acquired |
|---|---|
| Cat | My Name is Jake, Part 2 |
| Lion | The Underground |
| Fly | On the Run |
| Melissa Chapman's Cat (Fluffer McKitty) | Between Friends |
| Cockroach | The Escape |
| Ferret | |
| Red-tailed Hawk (Tobias) | The Forgotten |
| Mouse | Face Off, Part 1 |
| Yeerk | Face Off, Part 2 |
| White-headed Capuchin | My Name is Erek |
| Grizzly Bear | Changes, Part 1 |
| Gecko | Changes, Part 2 |
| Boa constrictor | |
| Skunk | Changes, Part 3 |
Rachel has a total of 14 morphs in the TV show.
Books Narrated By Rachel
- #2 The Visitor
- #7 The Stranger
- Megamorphs #1 The Andalite's Gift
- #12 The Reaction
- #17 The Underground
- Megamorphs #2 In the Time of Dinosaurs
- #22 The Solution
- Alternamorphs #2 The Next Passage
- #27 The Exposed
- Megamorphs #3 Elfangor's Secret
- #32 The Separation
- #37 The Weakness
- Megamorphs #4 Back to Before
- #42 The Journey
- #48 The Return
- #54 The Beginning
Trivia
- Rachel's nicknames include Xena: Warrior Princess and Ms. Fashion.
- Suffers from near-sightedness and claustrophobia.
- The Rachel is named in memory of Rachel.
- Rachel is allergic to crocodile DNA.
- In the Animorphs TV series, Rachel's battle morph is a Lion, as opposed to her Grizzly Bear morph in the books, however Rachel does morph a Grizzly Bear in one episode of the T.V. series. This is interesting, since the Lion was the battle morph of her enemy David.
- In #21: The Threat, it's stated that Rachel is related to Jake's family through her father. Later in #31 The Conspiracy, Rachel says that Jake's family is related to her family through Jake's dad; making Steve and Dan (Jake and Rachel's fathers, respectively) brothers. This also means Rachel surname would be Berenson if it was never changed or hyphenated.
- Rachel's DNA was acquired three times in the series. One time was when Ax acquired her as mix for his human morph. The second time was when Cassie acquired her to extract the crocodile DNA. The final time was when Elena acquired her to leave the hospital.
- Since the TV series lasted for only 26 episodes, and didn't completely finish the novel storyline, Rachel is still alive at the TV series' end.
- Rachel has the most book covers showing her morphing into an aquatic animal with 3 (Books 12, 27 and 32).
- In The Reaction, it is revealed that she is allergic to crocodile DNA. In the TV show, this was changed to Cassie for unknown reasons.
- From The Anibase: Katherine Applegate always admitted to borrowing ideas from other sources, and the split Rachel (in The Separation) idea is no different. Here's what she had to say about the idea, and also about how she was trying to develop Rachel's character: "I'd admit I stole this from the original Star Trek, except, of course, that they stole it from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was really fun to write. And I was advancing my view of Rachel as the 'warrior who comes to need war'."
Gallery
Book Gallery
.jpg "Rachel (African Elephant Morph).jpg (124 KB)")
TV Gallery
Toy and Game Gallery
| Animorphs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Animorphs | Jake | Rachel | Tobias | Cassie | Marco | Ax | David | |
| Auxiliary Animorphs | James | Collette | Timmy | Kelly | Craig | Erica | Julio | Liam | Tricia | Jessie | Judy | Ray | |