Ratchet (Transformers)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ratchet is the name of several characters in the Transformers universes. The name Ratchet is almost always portrayed as an Autobot medic who turns into an ambulance. Ratchet is sometimes referred to as Autobot Ratchet in the toy line due to trademark issues in the U.S. The Armada homage to Ratchet was even renamed Red Alert for this reason.
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1 (1984)
| Transformers character | |
 |
|
| Ratchet | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot  |
| Sub-Group | Autobot cars Deluxe Vehicles |
| Function | Medic |
| Motto | "You break it, I'll remake it." |
| Alternate Modes | Nissan Onebox Vanette Ambulance |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Timelines |
| Voiced by | Don Messick (English) Wally Burr (in G1 episode Masquerade) Masashi Ebara (Japanese) |
Ratchet (Mécano in Canada and Doc in Italy) is the chief medic of the Autobots in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara and Hasbro. His vehicle mode is an Ambulance. Ratchet is well remembered from fans of the original comic series, of which he played a major role, even though the character has not been featured in the modern Transformers Universe.
The toy that was to become the Autobot Ratchet was originally released as part of the Japanese Diaclone series. He was later released in 1984 by Hasbro in the US. Ironhide has the same mold as Ratchet.
[edit] Profile
Ratchet would transform into an ambulance (cargo van type) and was colored white with red stripes and emergency lights. Ratchet had two robot modes, though only one was usually seen in the comic run and the television cartoon. The Ratchet toy transformed into the second form. Ratchet was one of the original and the longest-lived of all Transformers in the Marvel Transformers comic series. Often a fan favorite, he was a healer first, but a soldier nonetheless. His courage and loyalty are demonstrated time and again.
[edit] Animated series
Ratchet was the Autobot medic, and therefore he seldom was ever seen in battle, and usually spent time at the Autobot base with Wheeljack creating and repairing other Autobots. The two of them were credited for creating the Dinobots in an attempt to bolster their ranks versus the Decepticons. Ratchet was eventually killed in Transformers: The Movie in an attack by the Decepticons on an Autobot shuttle in the opening scene. The Decepticons penetrated the hull of the shuttle that he, Ironhide, Prowl, and Brawn were flying in. Ironhide and Ratchet attacked the invaders together after Prowl and Brawn's death. The two suffered the same amount of fire from the Decepticons but due to Ironhide's strong armor he survived the first strike ultimately dying in the end, Ratchet on the other hand was killed easily.
[edit] Marvel Comics
Ratchet made his first appearance in issue #1 of the Marvel Comics Transformers comic book series. Originally this was intended to be a 4-issue series, but was later extended into 80 total issues. In issue number 4, he transported "Sparkplug" Witwicky to the hospital after Witwicky had a heart attack aboard the Autobot base, The Ark. Because of this, he was not at the final battle between the few remaining Autobots (having transferred their low fuel resources into a selected group of 5 Autobots) and the fully-powered Decepticons. At that battle, the Autobots were losing when their foes suddenly began falling from fuel that had been tainted by Witwicky. Before the Autobots could celebrate their victory, the Decepticon Shockwave appeared (his first appearance in the comic series) and destroyed the remaining Autobots.
As the sole surviving Autobot, Ratchet sought some way to resurrect his comrades to defeat the Decepticons. An initial foray revealed that Megatron had been humiliatingly defeated by Shockwave and relegated to second-in-command status. Megaron made a deal - Ratchet would destroy Shockwave, and Megatron would free his comrades. Knowing Megatron would betray him, Ratchet searched for some way to get out of it. To this end, he came across information from The Ark's initial search for "life" on the planet when the craft first crashed. While in the "present" (1984), the probes read moving metallic objects as life (as it would expect, being from a mechanical-life based world), accounting for the recreation of the Transformers as vehicles, aircraft, etc.), in a prehistoric attempt it had found none and instead determined the only moving, seemingly-sentient objects of similar size to the Transformers, dinosaurs, to be life. The Ark thus created the Dinobots based on these beings. Finding information on the Dinobots, Ratchet sought out their location, finding them and fixing them back up. (It was his first probe for the Dinobots that had awoken Shockwave, dooming his comrades.) When he had completed this task, he confronted Megatron and ambushed the enemy robot with the five Dinobots (Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, Snarl and Swoop). Megatron quickly dispatched them and laughed at the weak medic. As a final resort, Ratchet flung himself into Megatron, hoping to throw them both off the tall cliff, destroying them both, but instead bounced off. Megatron laughed at him again, though commending him for his courage. While laughing, the cliff edge Megatron was standing on collapsed and he fell to his deactivation. To this end Ratchet was a hero, though he didn't feel particularly victorious. He later returned to the Ark with the Dinobots and repaired his fellow Autobots, with the exception of Optimus Prime, whose head was mysteriously missing (kept by Shockwave to tap the powers of the Matrix). His workload increased drastically as the Autobots suffered casualties brought on by Circuit Breaker (a woman with electromagnetic powers and a searing hatred of all robots), the Constructicons (as Devastator), a Shockwave-controlled Jetfire, and even a Decepticon doppelganger of Optimus Prime.
Ratchet later ran afoul of the presumed dead Megatron once again. Megatron abducted him via the Space Bridge and set him to work on a top secret project - resurrecting Starscream as a Pretender and sending him to attack both Prime's forces and the Decepticons under Scorponok, who he considered a usurper. Ratchet double-crossed him, as he reprogrammed Starscream's mind so that his original personality re-emerged, and the traitor ended up begging for mercy from Scorponok. Ratchet also restored Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee, as Megatron tasked him to create Decepticon Pretenders. Ratchet chose these three Autobots of the many deactivated ones based on his experience and loyalty to them; he only had three Pretender shells that he could use. Though Bumblebee had previously been upgraded in size and strength with a new name of Goldbug, Ratchet restored him to his original Bumblebee configuration because he "always liked [it] better". The three battled Megatron's troops, although he defeated them all. Ratchet then revealed the base had been set to self-destruct. Megatron tried to escape through the Space Bridge, but Ratchet sacrificed himself to keep him from escaping. Something that affected Optimus Prime deeply.
Near the end of the original comic run, it was revealed the explosion had knocked both of them into the Space Bridge, fusing them into a nightmarish hybrid. Located due to Nightbeat, the hybrid rampaged around the Autobot ship before Prime stopped it. Against the wishes of Prime's crew, who knew that saving Ratchet meant saving Megatron, the two were surgically separated and put in stasis to keep him alive. Later he was infused with Nucleon along with other Autobots. His final action in the series was causing The Ark to crash-land on Earth to prevent its Decepticon stowaways - Megatron, Galvatron, Shockwave and Starscream from landing and plundering Earth, presumably being killed in the process. Many times over, Ratchet was a hero, but he never gained nor sought such recognition.
[edit] Transformers: Generation 2
Although there was no Ratchet toy for Generation Two, Ratchet did make several appearances in the memories of Optimus Prime in the Generation Two comic book series by Marvel Comics. Despite being dead, he would make two flashback appearances - one in his fused form with Megatron, and the other showing him protecting two humans, likely Buster Witwicky and his girlfriend Jesse.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Ratchet appeared in much the same capacity as he did in the TV series, acting as the Autobots' chief medic. Joining the Autobot faction at the outbreak of the civil war, Ratchet accompanied Optimus Prime to search for survivors in part of Iacon city after Megatron had activated the planetary engines. He later remained with the Autobots under Prowl after Optimus Prime's disapppearance in a Space Bridge accident.
Prime returned, and four million years ago, Ratchet was one of the Autobots aboard the Ark when it crashed on Earth, entombing all aboard in stasis until they were reawakened in 1984.
Subsequently, after nearly twenty years of war on Earth, the Autobots defeated the Decepticons and headed back to Cybertron aboard the new spaceship, the Ark II, only for it to explode as it left Earth's atmosphere in 2001.
Later, Ratchet and many of the other Transformers presumed lost in the explosion were recovered by the terrorist Lazarus, a former U.S. Army officer who had developed a means of controlling the Transformers. When Megatron and the Decepticons predictably broke free, they hooked Ratchet and many of the other Autobots up to a machine that drained their energy to power Megatron's technorganic virus. He was later rescued by Prime.
After battling the Decepticons in the Arctic over a mysterious pod (unbeknownst to all containing Scourge), Ratchet and all the other Transformers were taken prisoner when Shockwave arrived to brand them all as war criminals. Ratchet was one of the few Autobots under Jazz that managed to escape to the original Ark. They subsequently battled Soundwave and the Seekers, capturing most except Starscream. The giant Combiner Bruticus was another matter, however, and all the Autobots save Ratchet and Brawn, who were forced to self-destruct the Ark to stop the giant Decepticon. Later, after the arrival of Sunstorm, Ratchet was forced to save Starscream to help stop the rampaging clone. Later, after Sunstorm's defeat, Ratchet was one of the Autobots who helped Prowl to begin building Autobot City on Earth. Dreamwave's closure meant that any further tales of Ratchet would go untold.
[edit] Devil's Due Publishing
In this reimagining of the Generation One story, the Ark was discovered by the terrorist Cobra organization, and all the Transformers inside were reformatted into Cobra vehicles remotely controlled by the Televipers. In this storyline Ratchet turned into a Cobra HISS tank.
In the second series, he appeared as "The Autobot", the sole Autobot guardian of a future Earth over-run by Decepticons. This Ratchet had been changed by his experiences, ruthlessly gunning down several Decepticons and even destroying one in hand-to-hand-combat. He is located by a team of G.I Joes trying to repair the damage done by the time-displaced Transformers. They forcibly teleported him back to Cybertron - where he was promptly gunned down by Shockwave. This Ratchet had reverted to his traditional ambulance-themed body.
He evidently survived, as he appeared again in the third series as part of the combined Autobot/G.I. Joe force attempting to rescue Optimus Prime.
[edit] Transformers: Timelines (2005)
Ratchet also appeared as a remold of Energon Towline for the Transformers: Timelines series.
His function is Chief Medical Officer and his motto is "You break it, I'll remake it."
It would have been easy for a veteran such as Autobot Ratchet to become embittered after ages of war, death and destruction. However, even after several million years, this Autobot has retained his original cheerful disposition and tendency to look for a good time. This is not a reflection of irresponsibility. Rather, Autobot Ratchet knows that while he tends to the injuries of his patient's bodies, he must also help heal the wounds in their Sparks. Being the best tool-and-die man on Cybertron, no other Autobot is more qualified for the job. For half a century following the last Great War, Autobot Ratchet traveled the galaxy to train in various forms of combat to better save disabled comrades on the battlefield. As a result, he is now one of the most adept Autobots in hand-to-hand combat, although he prefers not to use it unless absolutely necessary. Ratchet's wrists contain a variety of welders, laser scalpels and liquid dispensers. His primary weapon is an Energon-blade that can also emit stun-blasts. Autobot Ratchet is also able to combine with his repair bay trailer for greater mobility on the battlefield. Ratchet is not very strong, but his skill often compensates for this deficiency.
[edit] IDW Publishing
Ratchet plays a significant role in IDW's new G1 continuity. In The Transformers: Infiltration, he picks up three humans who have evidence of their presence on Earth, protecting them from Thundercracker and the Battlechargers. He clashes with Prowl over the issue of the humans and calling in Optimus Prime. Disobeying orders alongside Bumblebee, he is wounded in battle with Skywarp and Blitzwing (at one point being run over by the Triple Changer's tank mode), but recovers before the end of the limited series. He reappears in the subsequent series The Transformers: Escalation, discovering that the "corpse" of Sunstreaker was in fact a fake. He disobeyed orders once again to let Verity and Jimmy find the location of the decoy's manufacturer - but was interrupted by Ironhide. However, instead of stopping them, Ironhide accompanied them to find the garage that had made the fake Sunstreaker. However, when the two humans failed to reappear, Ironhide went in personally, while Rathcet warned him of approaching police.The story is ongoing.
[edit] Evolutions: Hearts of Steel
An alternate version of Ratchet would appear in IDW's Hearts of Steel. Here he seems to be willing to follow Prowl's lead in not contacting the humans, However, when Starscream's plan is discovered Ratchet followed Bumblebee's lead in following the Decepticon train convoy, and was present at their defeat. Following this, he and the other Autobots went back into stasis.
[edit] Transformers: Armada (2002)
Ratchet was the Japanese name for the character of Red Alert. This character was an obvious homage to Ratchet, being an Autobot medic who turned into an ambulance and had a tool hand, just like Generation One Ratchet was sometimes depicted with.
[edit] Transformers: Universe (2003)
| Transformers character | |
 |
|
| Ratchet | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot |
| Sub-Group | Deluxe Vehicles |
| Motto | "All life is precious." |
| Alternate Modes | Mercedes-Benz M-Class sports utility vehicle |
| Series | Transformers: Universe |
Ratchet (called Autobot Ratchet) is the name of a Transformers: Universe character, a repaint of Robots in Disguise X-Brawn. He appeared in the Universe comic book, where it was established he was Ratchet from a parallel Cybertron brought to this world when captured by Unicron, but he escaped.
Autobot Ratchet tirelessly serves the Autobot cause; putting his versatile and unequaled medical skills to work as both a battlefield medic and doctor. He has devoted his career to the preservation of life in all its forms, and is selfless in protecting humans from the destruction often caused as a result of the Autobot/Decepticon war. Autobot Ratchet puts every fiber of his being into his job; extending his skills to make sure his fellow Autobots are kept as mentally healthy as possible. As a 4WD Rescue Vehicle, Autobot Rachet can travel over the roughest terrain and reach speeds up to 140 mph. He is an incredibly skilled and well-versed doctor, often limited more by time and possible lack of materials more than anything else. In battle, he's armed with an arc-welder blaster as well as a battle mace, which also can provide a small-localized force field shielding its user for brief durations. Autobot Ratchet often pushes himself to the point of physical exhaustion in performing his duties. He's usually so caught up in the healing of others, that he neglects his own maintenance.
[edit] 3H Enterprises
This version of Rattchet appeared in the Transformers: Universe comic where it was established that he was Ratchet from a parallel Cybertron. In speaking with the Autobot Trailbreaker, it is established that in the main Cybertron continuity Ratchet was dead.
[edit] 2007 film
In the upcoming live action film, Ratchet will appear as an emergency vehicle based on a Hummer H2 design.
