Board Thread:Sly Cooper series discussion/@comment-4013721-20150112174007/@comment-25371179-20150311042126

Another popular theory is that Cyrille Le Paradox or Penelope time travelled to give Clockwerk these parts. It's an interesting theory that would be really awesome, but there are too many plot holes involved in it, i.e. Penelope did not know the Cooper Gang until Sly 3(?). I also don't think any villain in the games have had as much hatred as Clockwerk did for Sly Cooper, and I don't think any villain will be able to top him in terms of his hatred against the Cooper Clan. Plus to me, if it were to be true, it would make Clockwerk seem less... I dunno, cool? He is the main villain of the series, after all (or at least considered that way).

But, let's be real: it is a fictional universe. Maybe Clockwerk was just that smart back in the olden days, and thought it would be foolish to openly share his ways (basically selfish; he didn't support open-source). The future theory sounds fine too though.