Ratchet (G1)
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| The name or term "Ratchet" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Ratchet (disambiguation). |
This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.
- Ratchet is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Ratchet is the Autobots' Chief Medical Officer. If something's broke, he can fix it. Ratchet is known for his irreverent bedside manner; he loves having a good time, and his party-loving nature has given him a dry wit. He is not a particularly mighty warrior, which sometimes leads him to believe that he is expendable. Optimus Prime has trouble convincing Ratchet that this is far from the truth.
Although he's a healer, Ratchet often finds himself on the front lines of combat and, on occasion, the last hope the Autobots have. These pressures are sometimes too much for him to handle, but Ratchet ultimately never gives up.
His vehicle mode sometimes splits into his robot and a separate component. In some universes, he can combine with his fellow Autobots to form Defensor, Sky Reign or Modulus.
In some timelines, Ratchet becomes the last Autobot alive, thus taking on the moniker The Autobot.[1]
| “ | I guess I've been too busy to think about the dead... I've been too concerned with helping the living. | ” |
| —Ratchet, "Funeral for a Friend!" | ||
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Ratchet was the chief medical officer aboard the Ark and continued to serve in that capacity for Optimus Prime's forces on Earth during the mid-1980s. He formed something of a friendly rivalry with the human Sparkplug Witwicky, who often assisted him in his repairs. In 2005, Ratchet was killed by the Decepticons just prior to the Battle of Autobot City. His body was interred on the Autobot Mausoleum, but it was ultimately destroyed in an explosion.
In a splinter timeline, Ratchet was eventually revived through means unknown, and in 2011, joined the Disaster Relief Team to aid Autobots caught in the destruction of Cybertron. By 2021, Ratchet had helped to restore Cybertron to its former state. In the 2030s, he joined his teammates in battling Grand Scourge.
The Special Teams
After crashing on Earth in the Ark and remaining dormant for millions of years, Ratchet, along with Sideswipe and Optimus, were the first Autobots to awaken after the Decepticons’ own resurrection. These three helped the other Autobots repair themselves with the aid of the Ark's computer. The Special Teams
Deadly Paradise
Sideswipe was convicted of destroying the Nova Suspension Bridge and deactivated, despite his pleas of innoncence, in order to ease the strain on human/Autobot relations. Prowl became suspicious of the Decepticons being somehow involved, and discovered evidence that lead to the remote Carob Island. Ratchet accompanied Prowl, Windcharger, Hound, Bumblebee, and Brawn and headed to said island. Upon landfall, Prowl discovered a cave from where suspicious sounds were coming from. Leaving Bumblebee and Hound behind to guard the entrance, Prowl, Windcharger, Brawn, and Ratchet went inside. The Autobots exploring the cave came upon several Decepticon gophers and drilling machines gathering a rare ore for their evil masters. Working together, Ratchet and the others made short work of the Decepticon machines. When they exited the cave, however, they discovered that Bumblebee and Hound were missing. They were instead greeted by Madame Cee and her army of pig-robots. Madame Cee insisted that their friends were fine and brought the Autobots to her home, where she told them to rest and enjoy themselves. Prowl eventually discovered that Madame Cee was working for the Decepticons, and reactivated the captive Bumblebee and Hound. The Autobots learned that the Decepticons were forcing Cee to help build Autobot duplicates. After learning of the location of Megatron's temporary base on the island, Ratchet and the rest of the group entered it, finding themselves wandering in a vast, underground labyrinth. They finally came upon an open area, only to be captured in force cages by the Decepticons. Prowl managed to free the rest of the group, and Ratchet helped Brawn defeat Skywarp while the others dealt with Starscream and Megatron. Through a stroke of luck, the Autobots managed to escape Megatron's megamaze when they discovered that Ratchet's lubricant container had been leaking all day, thus leaving them a trail that led out of the facility. The Autobots returned to their headquarters where they were able to clear Sideswipes name, and presumably reactivated him. Deadly Paradise
Kid Stuff Talking Story Books
Ratchet retro-fitted Skyfire with external fuel tanks in order to allow the Autobot superjet to reach a Decepticon satellite in Earth orbit that was beaming down heat and destruction thanks to a gigantic diamond lens. When Skyfire failed to destroyed his satellite and burned up on reentry upon falling back to Earth, Optimus ordered Ratchet to weld together a square-mile sheet of polished metal. This would be used in the Autobot's plan “B” in taking out the satellite. Satellite of Doom
When a boarding party encountered a time-delay booby-trap inside a Decepticon transport ship, two of its members were sent to Ratchet for repairs. When Continents Collide
Ratchet was busy fixing up Slag inside the Dinobots’ secret base when Megatron's Thermo-borer burst through the wall of the medical room, activating the base's alarms. Though Megatron and Soundwave retreated immediately, Ratchet managed to plant a Memory Scrambler Mine on the Thermo-borer's hull. he then returned to fixing Slag, though he drew increasingly annoyed that repairs were taking too long, and distracting from his duty of reactivating the other Dinobots from their tar cocoons so they could join the Autobot ranks. Just as Ratchet finished up his repairs on Slag, the Dinobots’ headquarters began to tremble as the Crusher forced its way inside. Ratchet and Slag both ran to a safer spot. But the vibrations caused by the Crusher's entrance had inadvertently freed hundreds of Dinobots from their tar cocoons. Joining the newly activated robots, Ratchet beat back Megatron and Soundwave. Jaws of Terror
Marvel Storybooks continuity
Ratchet was among the Autobots who'd crash-landed with the others on Earth, and was present the Autobots held a meeting to discuss whether the Decepticons were behind a strange construction company. Ratchet transformed into ambulance mode and accompanied the others when an investigation was decided upon. Later, when Prowl started having a fit right in the middle of a stand-off with the Decepticons, Ratchet moved over to see if he was alright. Later, after the Autobots had been blasted out of Decepticons headquarters, Ratchet pathed up their minor injuries to be sure they would be in top-condition for the battle to come. Battle for Earth
Marvel coloring books
When Mirage had been damaged by Ravage, Ratchet drove over to the battlefield to fix his friend. Decepticon Patrol
Either Ratchet or Ironhide helped the Autobots in protecting Hoover Dam from the Decepticons. The Deadly Fuel Shortage
Ratchet was one of the many Autobots who followed Optimus into battle when it was discovered that the Decepticons were stealing fuel from all across the globe with the help of a molecular transfer device. He tended to Windcharger after their first battle against the Decepticons that day, and noted that the Autobots were running low on fuel, while the Decepticons' reserves were still plentiful. Ratchet helped Ironhide transfer some of his fuel to Windcharger and Jazz so that the more fuel-efficient Autobots could continue fighting. When the Autobots succeeded in capturing the molecular transfer device and turned its power on the Decepticons, Optimus trasked Ratchet with dismantling the machine afterwards, so that the Decepticons would never be able to use its power again. Summertime Coloring Book
While the Autobots were rebuilding their crashed ship, Ratchet focused on the space communicator so that they could call for help from nearby spaceships. A Message From Outer Space During a day off, Ratchet worked on restoring Prowl. Bumblebee's Dangerous Mission
When Gears had fallen for a dastardly Decepticon trap and gotten himself crushed, Ratchet, Sideswipe and Mirage somehow knew about it instantly. They came to Gears's rescue, and once Mirage and Sideswipe had beaten the Decepticons back, Ratchet fixed Gears right up. The Autobot Smasher!
Once Ratchet was in a big book of coloring fun. The Big Book of Coloring Fun
Ratchet was part of a small strike team of Autobots assembled by Ultra Magnus to help the Dinobots, who were currently engaged in battle against the Decepticons, just outside of Autobot City. Upon arriving at Oil Valley, Ratchet tended to the injured Slag. After they defeated the Decepticons, Ratchet and the others were cheered on by the nearby oil rig workers as they drove back to Autobot City. Battle at Oil Valley
While he and the other Autobots were busy having a good time, they were attacked by the Decepticons. After a cerebro-shelled Springer hurt Hot Rod, Ratchet repaired the latter while questioning the former. When the Autobots discovered the cerebro-shell was the cause of Springer's behavioral turn, Ratchet helped lead the Autobots to the Decepticon camp to get their revenge. The Invasion of the Decepticon Camp
Big Looker storybooks continuity
Upon awakening on Earth after being offline for about 65 million years, Ratchet met Sparkplug and his son Spike. With the Decepticons still not in the know of what forms the Autobots had taken, Ratchet was one of the troops that Optimus led into the desert in order to ambush their enemies. Though they successfully took by surprise a squadron of Decepticons, the Autobots had not anticipated a second group flying in from the opposite direction. Thanks to a warning from Spike and Sparkplug, the Autobots managed to fend off the Decepticons, and came to accept Earth as their new home. Battle for Cybertron
While Hound was taking part in a cross-country Car Rally, he was attacked by Thundercracker's missiles. Ratchet raced onto the scene to repair Hound, and joked that his patient sure falls apart when a missile hits him! Also, Hound complained that Ratchet was screwing him together too tightly, causing him pain.
Ratchet is kind of a jerk. The Great Car Rally
Following a battle with the Decepticons that resulted in many Autobot injuries, Ratchet and Huffer were busy trying to fix them. Optimus Prime asked them about their progress, but they both sighed. Ratchet noted that even the mighty Dinobots were out of commission, for they had suffered the heaviest losses. But suddenly, the Decepticons attacked, having repaired their warriors in record time! Optimus Prime called his remaining functional warriors to the highways while Ratchet and Huffer returned to their repairs. Decepticon Hijack
The Battle for Planet Earth
Ratchet was part of an Autobot expedition to South America to search for energy, but split from the rest of the group some time before they found Mount Sheelah. Terror of Mount Sheelah
Ladybird Books continuity
Ratchet gave Jazz a good tune up before he participated in a car rally / recon mission. Autobots Fight Back
Optimus Prime placed Ratchet in command of Autobot headquarters when he led a battle unit to confront the Decepticons. Laserbeak's Fury
While performing repairs on the Autobots, Ratchet became concerned by the lack of cybernite and other Cybertronian materials necessary for his work. Fortunately, Kup and the Autobots used radio transmitters to simulate the Northern Lights and trick a trio of Decepticon space stations into blowing each other up, causing cybernite to fall from the skies. (Long story.) Galvatron's Air Attack
Listen 'n Play audiobooks continuity
- Voice actor: ? (English)
When Jazz brought Steve Guymo to the Autobot base, Optimus asked Ratchet to treat the delirious man. Though Ratchet was no expert on carbon forms, he provided Guymo with some water while grousing about Jazz's joy rides. The Autobots learned from Steve that the Decepticons were abducting humans from airports, and helped him rescue Megatron's hostages. Sun Raid (Listen 'n Play)
S.T.A.R.S. continuity
When Johnny spotted Thundercracker stealing energy, he called his Autobot allies through his S.T.A.R.S. control center. Ratchet was amongst those who responded to Johnny's call. Have the Decepticons defeated us once and for all? Ratchet and the other Autobots struggled against Thundercracker energy-syphoning powers. Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons? What happened afterwards is not known.
Later, Ultra Magnus pleaded for you to "requisition" Ratchet and other Autobots in order to combat the Decepticon threat. Using the human power known as "imagination," S.T.A.R.S. recruits could perceive what it was like to be Ratchet. You Have Been Chosen.
Before the construction of Autobot City on Earth, Optimus led a convoy of Autobots to find the ideal location for their new base's construction. Ratchet was amongst the troops accompanying Optimus. As they drove along, the Autobots were ambushed by the Decepticons. The battle that ensued later came to be known as "Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction." Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth. The Autobots Are Under Attack!
Find Your Fate Junior
Dinobots Strike Back
In the path where Mirage used a hologram of Optimus Prime to lure the four cerebro-shell-controlled Dinobots over the edge of Bandit's Bluff and into the ocean, Ratchet was one of the Autobots crewing Seaspray's destroyer mode. He helped haul the unconscious quartet aboard for safe transport back to the Ark, then dried them off, chuckling, "This is one Decepticon plan that was all wet!" (The Autobots never learn about Operation Black Coral in this path)
In an alternate path, Bumblebee and Skids were exploring Dolphin's Bay in search of Decepticon activity when the former was paralyzed and left in an underwater cave by Frenzy. This leads to four possible endings, two of which involve Ratchet rescuing Bumblebee. In one, he first repairs a waterlogged and injured Skids on the deck of Seaspray after Sludge hauled his disabled mini-sub off the ocean floor. Skids then told his three teammates about Operation Black Coral, prompting a full-scale Autobot assault, during which Ratchet and Skids used the repaired sub to rescue Bumblebee. Another ending saw a similar assault in which Ratchet was part of the land-force and rescued Bumblebee on his own. Dinobots Strike Back
Attack of the Insecticons
Ratchet was a minor player in many possible adventures centred around the Sun-Pak, a device created by Sparkplug to solve the Autobots' energy woes. The Autobot medic was present to tend to depowered Autobots should the situation allow it, as well as ribbing his friend Ironhide about the later's old age. Attack of the Insecticons
Decepticon Poison
In one possible scenario, where a squad of Autobots recently cured from a Decepticon poison lead the charge against the Decepticons only to be overpowered by Megatron, Ratchet was quick to jump into action and tend to the wounded. His first patient was Sunstreaker, who had been struck down by a blast of Megatron's fusion cannon. Though the Decepticons were eventually forced to retreat, Ratchet would undoubtedly have his hands full repairing all the Autobots severely injured that day.
In another possible turn of events, Ratchet helped Perceptor dispense his cure to the ailing Autobots. Unfortunately, Perceptor miscalculated how much of his antidote to give to each Autobot. The Autobots who received the antidote soon found themselves falling apart, and though Ratchet attempted to fix them as quickly as possible, the Autobots were left outmatched against the greater number of Decepticons, and quickly defeated.
In another possible sequence of events, Optimus successfully retrieved the antidote to the poison from the Decepticons’ poison lab, and with Ratchet's help, brought the poisoned Autobots back from the precipice of death.
If Optimus later decided to bring a squadron of Autobots to the nearby water reservoir, in order to present the Decepticons from poisoning the nearby human population, Ratchet was amongst the Autobots who came along.
In one possible scenario, Ratchet was tasked with attempting once more with reassembling the many Autobots who had fallen on the battlefield. Decepticon Poison
Autobot Alert!
In one possible scenario, Ratchet was ordered by Ultra Magnus to prep the Autobots’ shuttle; the Decepticons were in the middle of taking over Earth's communication satellites. After a few technical difficulties, Ratchet was able to have the shuttle ready for take-off, allowing Ultra Magnus's team to head into space and attempt to foil the Decepticons’ ploy.
In another possible scenario, wherein Ultra Magnus agreed to prioritize theft of a coded message, Ratchet was part of the captive audience that listened to Kup divulge information about an ancient Autobot formula. Ratchet took off towards the Autobots’ desert research centre along with a number of other Autobots. Once there, he was tasked with fixing Springer.
With Springer fixed, Ratchet and the Autobots learned that the cybertite sphere containing the formula was discovered by humans during the 16th century. If the Decepticons had decoded Springer's message, they would be searching off the coast of California, where the ship containing the sphere had sunk. If they hadn't decoded the message, the Decepticons would still be digging in the nearby crater.
If Ultra Magnus decided to assume that the Decepticons had already decrypted the message, he ordered his forces to split up to more efficiently address the situation. Ratchet was part of the main Autobot force being led by Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus's troops were informed by Powerglide (who had flown ahead of the land-bound group) that he had discovered the location of the sunken ship containing the cybertite sphere. Simultaneously, Blurr caught up with the group to inform them that the Decepticons were quickly approaching. The Autobots then needed to decide whether they would raise the ship themselves, or try and ambush the Decepticons after they had done so.
In one possible scenario that ensued, Grapple had been tasked to retrieve the sunken ship containing the sphere via the use of his crane, only for it to suffer a mechanical breakdown. Though Ratchet was able to fix it, the Autobots had lost valuable time. The Decepticons showed up and destroyed both the ship and sphere within, leaving the Autobots to be pummelled by superior Decepticon firepower. Autobot Alert!
The Invisibility Factor
In one possible scenario, the Decepticons gained control of an Invisibility Device. When the invisible Decepticons attacked Metroplex city, Ratchet and the rest of the Autobots were reduced to scrap metal, unable to fight the unseen enemy.
In another scenario, Ratchet inspected Kup and Hot Rod's circuits after Springer and Jazz told him they suspected the former two had a few wires loose. Ratchet gave the pair a clean bill of health, but Kup and Hot Rod's claims of seeing spaceships with invisibility capabilities were dismissed and forgotten nonetheless. Then, Ratchet and the rest of the Autobots within Metroplex were caught by surprise by a fleet of identical ships swooping down upon them. The Autobots were all destroyed as Galvatron gloated of his victory. The Invisibility Factor
St. Michael The Transformers Sticker Book
Ratchet served on an alien spacecraft with the Autobots Hot Rod, Springer, and Sandstorm under the command of Ultra Magnus. While fighting Decepticons, their spaceship took heavy damage and crash-landed on the planet Barrenikon. There, he met you, having just emerged from the Vortex, a portal through space and time contained within the planet. Together, you went on an adventure, fighting Decepticons, braving Barrenikon's barren desert or its putrid swamp, and trying to find a way to get the Autobots space-bound once more. The Transformers Sticker Book
Beast Wars cartoon continuity
Beast Wars cartoon
Four million years ago, Ratchet, Optimus Prime, Prowl, Ironhide, and Jazz were on the bridge of the Ark when it was suddenly attacked by the Nemesis. It crashed in a dormant volcano for untold years until it was disturbed by the Predacon Megatron, who had traveled from the far future. Ratchet's body was sprawled across a pile of boxes. Frozen in stasis lock as he was, Ratchet was unable to stop the Predacon from assassinating the equally comatose Optimus Prime. The Agenda (Part III) This act would have rewritten history from that moment forward, but the ensuing time storm was stopped as Optimus Primal held Prime's spark in trust until his troupe of Maximals, led by Rhinox, could repair Prime's body. Optimal Situation
Universe comic
When an alternate universe's Ratchet groused about how he was not sent back to his home universe as most of the rescued abductees of Unicron were, it was suggested that he was needed now on the local Cybertron as in the past, the local Ratchet had been a great healer.
An iteration of Primax Ratchet was one of several Transformers from all eras and all realities across the multiverse suggested by Alpha Trion for Optimus Primal to recruit into his Children of Primus. Optimus Primal decided to pluck Rhinox and Depth Charge back from death instead. Homecoming
2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity
Santon learned from texts written on Autobot medics such as Ratchet and Fixit. Beast Wars Sourcebook #3
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
"Tone down your audio amplifiers, will ya? That didn't hurt... much."Starscream and Ratchet, "Skyfire"
8.2 million years ago, Ratchet accompanied Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Red Alert to the Sub-Orbital District of Iacon, which had been devastated after Megatron activated the planetary engines. He found no life signs in the entire blast radius. The War Within #2 600,000 years later, Ratchet remained with the Prowl-led Autobots after Optimus Prime disappeared in a space bridge explosion. He repaired Skids after the theoretician was damaged in a battle with Trypticon. Confrontation
Ratchet was among the crew of the Ark when it crashed on Earth, and awoke in 1984 to battle the Decepticons. After years of fighting, Ratchet and the other Autobots took part in Operation Liberation in 1998, a joint human/Autobot operation that defeated and captured the Earth-bound Decepticons. However, the Ark II, which was meant to convey the Autobots, the captured Decepticons, and a number of humans back to Cybertron, was sabotaged by General Robert Hallo, sending Ratchet and his comrades to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. Years later, Ratchet was brought back by the sinister Lazarus, who had recovered and reprogrammed a number of Transformers for his nefarious ends. However, when Megatron broke free of Lazarus's control, he hooked up Ratchet and a number of other Autobots to a device that generated a deadly "metal virus". Prime Directive #3 Soon after, Optimus Prime detached Ratchet and the others from the doomsday device, Prime Directive #4 and he eventually recovered.
When the alien Keepers took over Las Vegas, Ratchet was among the Autobots assembled by Optimus Prime to invade the occupied area. While the others engaged in battle, Ratchet was tasked with dealing with the collateral damage, and leading the human residents of Las Vegas to safety. He returned to the protection of Optimus Prime and his Matrix augmented power before a nuclear strike hit the city, and lent his skills to repairing the Autobots who had given their energon to power up Prime's "Finishing Move". Annihilation
Over the next few days, Ratchet brought all the Autobots back on-line, including Bluestreak, Bumblebee and Sideswipe, who had each been drastically injured over the course of the preceding events. No sooner had Bluestreak been reactivated, though, that he was drawn back into the Keepers' control by their pawn, Franklin Townsend. Franklin's status as an "augment" — a human specially engineered using Cybertronian technology — allowed him to bypass Teletraan I's security and infiltrate the Ark. Ratchet blamed himself for allowed that loophole in the security system. Later, Ratchet diagnosed the effects of the deconstructionites—reverse-engineered nanotechnology used by the government against the Transformers to drain away their processing power. Fusion
Ratchet took part in a battle on the shores of Alaska with the Decepticons over possession of a crashed spacecraft containing Scourge. As the Autobots overwhelmed their foes, Shockwave arrived on the planet and gave them an ultimatum: surrender and return to a newly unified Cybertron, or be destroyed. While the Decepticons were overwhelmed by these new arrivals, the Autobots managed to retreat from the battleground. Returning to the Ark, Ratchet tended to the wounded, including Ironhide, who had gotten several explosive shells lodged into his backside. Grimlock rejoined their ranks, and though it caused a stir among the other soldiers, Ratchet welcomed back the Dinobot, claiming that his bravado was exactly what the Autobots needed at the moment, faced with their new powerful enemy. New World Order Optimus Prime assigned Ratchet to a Jazz-led team that was to remain on Earth while he surrendered himself to Shockwave, having been left with little other options on the matter. Brothers' Burden After Shockwave's lieutenant, Ultra Magnus, took Prime and others back to Cybertron, Ratchet and Wheeljack remained at the Ark as Jazz, Brawn, and Windcharger attempted to locate Scourge and his ship. Unfortunately, Jazz informed Ratchet that both the ship and its passenger had vanished from the battlefield in their absence. Cold War
After the end of Shockwave's despotic rule over Cybertron, the Autobots on Cybertron made contact with Ratchet's crew for an update and promised to send supplies. Generation 1 #0 When Starscream and a team of Decepticons arrived on Earth, they attacked the Ark's inhabitants, wanting the starship for themselves. In the initial assault, the Autobots managed to take Soundwave, his cassettes, Thundercracker, and Skywarp prisoner, but eventually all the Autobots but Ratchet and Brawn were defeated by the mighty Bruticus. Expecting the arrival of the supply ship from Cybertron later that day, Ratchet and Brawn slipped past the Ark's defense systems, made haywire by Bruticus's assault, in order to contact the ship and warn them. Unfortunately, Bruticus caught up soon after, and they were forced to destroy the Ark rather than let the Decepticons have access to Teletraan I. Night of the Combaticons Before the battle could escalate further, it was interrupted by the arrival of Sunstorm, a Seeker seemingly powered by supernatural forces. While the Decepticons' attention shifted to this new arrival, the Orion supply ship also came on the scene, only to be downed by Sunstorm. Thankfully, most of the Decepticons were also knocked offline by the radiant super-warrior, and Sunstorm left in pursuit of Starscream. After being cheered up by Bumblebee somewhat, Ratchet set up three Powerdasher drones to repair the damages done to the Orion. They completed their task in a few hours, only for Starscream to then turn up again, now accompanied by Jetfire. Black Sunshine An uneasy truce was formed between the small group of Autobots and Decepticons, and Ratchet begrudgingly put his medic skills to work on Starscream. Using his expertise, he built a homing device that duplicated Starscream's energy signature, and an energy-siphon for his allies to attach to Sunstorm when he inevitably returned. Thanks to Jetfire's help, the Autobots managed to attach the siphon onto Sunstorm, forcing the super-clone to flee. Skyfire However, after Jetfire left the Orion to go after Sunstorm, Starscream used his null-ray on the remaining Autobots, including Ratchet, and deserted them. The Omega Effect The Autobots recovered, including several that were fixed up by the EDC to help them out in ousting an Insecticon infestation in the town of San Desto. After the completion of their mission, they were picked up by Ratchet in the Orion, who filled them in on what had happened to the rest of the Autobots in their absence. Lost and Found
Ratchet later aided in the construction of Autobot City. The Route of All Evil
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
The newly formed human terrorist organization named Cobra uncovered the Ark buried in a dormant volcano. Finding two armies of giant, transformable robots, they repurposed these aliens for their own use, rebuilding them so they could reconfigure into various Cobra-designed vehicles. Ratchet was reprogrammed and rebuilt into a Cobra HISS tank. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1 After Cobra's initial attack on Washington, D.C., Ratchet was put on display within the Cobra armory while Destro was shown about Cobra Island. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2 Optimus Prime was eventually able to break free from his reprogramming and awakened the other Transformers, G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4 and, with the help of the human anti-terrorist task-force G.I. Joe, he defeated Megatron and Cobra. An alliance between the Autobots and the United States government was formed. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5
Two years later, a malfunction in Teletran 3 sent dozens of Transformers into various points in history, an act which, if not reversed, would result in a perpetual holocaust being unleashed across Earth. To retrieve one Transformer and bring him home, a team of Cobra and G.I. Joe agents were sent 15 years into an apocalyptic future where Shockwave and his Decepticons ruled. The remaining cyborged humans had formed a resistance which had only one Autobot warrior who stood between them and utter annihilation. The last Autobot alive, Ratchet had grown bitter and battle-hardened after years of guerrilla warfare, and he demanded the team sent to bring him back to the present day help him complete one more mission. Ratchet, the Joes, and the Cobra agents were successful in freeing a factory nearby that was manned by enslaved humans, but Ratchet refused to go home with them and abandon his calling. Barbecue returned Ratchet home against his wishes, and as Ratchet cursed the stupid little creature, the Shockwave of the present day shot Ratchet in the back, putting him out of commission. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #3
Later, when Serpent O.R. took Optimus Prime prisoner, Ratchet (still in his post-apocalyptic body) was part of Hot Rod's rescue team. The Art of War #4
Transformers/G.I. Joe
Ratchet was among the Autobots who were awakened by G.I. Joe in 1939, and joined their war on Cobra and the Decepticons. During the assault on the Cobra Terrordrome, he wondered why the Decepticons were so easy to defeat now, after having been such a pain in the neck back on Cybertron. Ratchet most likely perished when the Matrix of Leadership was smashed to pieces shortly afterwards. The Iron Fist
The Beast Within
During a particularly violent battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons, Ratchet looked on in horror as The Beast dispensed wanton carnage onto the battlefield. He attempted to tend to Jazz, one of the many Autobots wounded during battle. The Beast Within
As Ratchet, his patient, and a small number of other surviving Autobots rode in Optimus Prime's trailer in an effort to outrun The Beast, Ratchet warned Prime that Jazz would not make it if they didn't slow down. Thankfully, Jetfire showed up just in time to rescue Prime's passengers, save Skids, who was crushed moments before Jetfire's arrival. The Beast Within Part 2, Consequences
Transformers Legends anthology
While on a mission to retrieve Sky Spy, Ratchet encountered Stitch, a veteran army medic, and helped him save a woman trapped in a swollen creek. The woman needed emergency medical treatment, so Ratchet used Sky Spy to scan the necessary information from Stitch's mind in order to complete surgery on the woman. Sometime later, Ratchet checked on Stitch and presented him with a new cybernetic arm to replace the one he used to repair Sky Spy. Healers, Fighters, and Transformers
Descent into Evil
Years after the Decepticon and Autobot Wars had ended, Ratchet and five other Autobots were sent to Ceti Alpha Seven to destroy General Deathsaurus's Insecticon clone lab and stop his planned Decepticon uprising. After a team of four (consisting of Fallback, Chromia, Flareup, and Ricochet) failed, Ratchet and Ironhide followed to help. After battling swarms of Virulent Clones and Buzzclaw, they finally met up with Deathsaurus himself. Ironhide stayed to fight the general, and Ratchet separated to find their fallen friends.
Ratchet managed to gather the victims but was captured by Deathsaurus along with Ironhide. Both were restrained inside the lab, which was set to detonate. Before this happened, Ricochet sneaked in and freed them, allowing them to gather the wounded and escape as the clone lab was destroyed. Descent into Evil
2005 IDW continuity
The Autobots' Chief Medical Officer, a close friend of Optimus Prime and someone who had treated every Prime since Nominus Prime, Ratchet somehow ended up in a bog-standard Tactical Response Unit on a tenth-rate planet called "Earth" circling around a fourth-rate star called "the Sun" populated by strange creatures known as "humans". There, after several years, he went rogue to track down a human who had somehow found his way into a Decepticon Infiltration Bunker. Finding him dead, he found his palmtop computer with photos of the base in the hands of a runaway called Verity Carlo, triggering the discovery a series of events that would bring Optimus himself to Earth after even Prowl, his unit commander, ultimately had to admit was significant despite his hatred for Ratchet's "playing hero."
After the Decepticon Surge, Ratchet was amongst those stranded first on an uninhabitable Cybertron, then Earth for an extended time. After these and Galvatron's Chaos War were over, finished, he joined the crew of the Lost Light, aiming to find a successor as CMO - and while he did so, by the name of First Aid, he also found a new pair of hands to replace his worn-out set, courtesy of the mad Pharma who would become his new arch-enemy. Groovy.
In his time aboard the madcap ship, Ratchet would form a grudging respect for the Decepticon turncoat Drift, eventually leaving the ship to find the exiled 'bot, forming a strong bond with him once they'd reunited. In time, this evolved into a full blown romance, the two becoming Conjunx Endura before, far in the future, Ratchet experienced "age-related burnout" and passed peacefully, knowing he'd found love and something bigger than himself.
Hearts of Steel
Ratchet fought in the "Ice Age Wars" on ancient Earth, transforming into an unidentified animal with scales and spikes. As the increasingly colder climate began to threaten the Autobots and Decepticons, they powered down underground to finish their conflict at a later date, and were eventually awoken by humans in the mid-19th century. Ratchet and Prowl agreed that it was too early to awaken Optimus Prime and interfere with humanity, but they were disregarded by Bumblebee who wanted to help the humans reach their goals. Hearts of Steel #1
Upon learning from the humans that the Decepticons were also awake, Bumblebee reported this to Ratchet and Prowl, who were seemingly in charge while Prime was asleep. Now that he knew Decepticons were involved, Ratchet felt it necessary for the Autobots to do something. Hearts of Steel #2 Taking on a medical boxcar altmode, he joined the other Autobots in forming a train and pursuing the Decepticons' Astrotrain as it headed towards New York. Hearts of Steel #3 They were briefly held back when the Decepticons collapsed a tunnel entrance on them, forcing Ratchet and the others to stop and dig their comrades and human allies out of the rubble. Once the Astrotrain was stopped and the Decepticons were defeated, the Autobots went back underground to continue fighting another day. Hearts of Steel #4
In 1888, the Elder Gods began threatening Earth, causing the Autobots to resurface. Seeking the energy needed to reactivate Optimus Prime, Ratchet and several other Autobots brought inventors Tobias Muldoon and Nikola Tesla to their deep-frozen leader. Infestation 2: The Transformers #1 After sacrificing their energy to awaken Optimus Prime with Tesla's invention, Optimus Prime granted his soldiers some of his personal energon reserves. Soon, the Autobots set out to save Port Cenotaph; there, they found Ironhide, who had been infected by the Elder God. While Ratchet handled Ironhide, Optimus Prime defeated the Elder God and it retreated to the ocean depths, releasing its hold on its thralls on the surface. Infestation 2: The Transformers #2
The Autobots continued to protect humanity for many years, keeping an eye out for the reappearance of Decepticons. In the 21st century Ratchet investigated a possible Decepticon signal, but it turned out to be a trap set by the human organization Skylogic Systems, who captured him. The humans extracted Ratchet's DNA and combined it with mutated human genes to engineer a deadly virus, mistakenly believing it was the key to preventing a supposed invasion of human-alien hybrids. He was eventually rescued from the Skylogic labs by Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and a trio of heroic humans known as the Lone Gunmen. The X-Files: Conspiracy: The Transformers
Lil Formers
When he met an alternate-universe version of himself, Ratchet was taken aback over just hold old the other fellow was. Lil Formers
Universe cartoon
Ratchet was one of the many oppressed Cybertronians who sought freedom when their planet's halls of power grew dark with corruption, greed and malice. After the war had raged for some time, he was one of the few Autobots privilieged with seeing Optimus insert the Matrix of Leadership into his chest for the first time. Ratchet was one of the first Autobots to travel to Earth, and took on an alternate form to disguise himself amongst its populace. Action Blast 1
Henkei! Henkei! Transformers -Visualize-
Henkei! Henkei! pack-in manga
Despite rescuing a girl from a burning building, she had fallen unconscious, so he offered to drive her and her mother to the hospital. Unfortunately, Starscream was tailing them from above. He would have blasted Ratchet, but Inferno blocked the shot with his fire truck mode, transformed, and then knocked Starscream out of the sky with his water cannon. Thanks to Inferno's help, Ratchet was able to successfully deliver the girl to the hospital.
But Ratchet's work wasn't done, as he had taken note of Inferno's heavy injuries. Henkei! Henkei! #10
Universe toy bio
On Cybertron before the war, Ratchet was a top mechanic and a partier. Years of tragic encounters with Megatron tempered Ratchet's good nature, leaving him melancholic and sour. Universe Autobot Ratchet toy bio
Robot Heroes
Ratchet was Optimus's oldest pal. They both traveled with their other Autobot friends to Earth, and hid away their ship. Afterwards, the Autobots tussled with the Decepticons and Ratchet knocked Skywarp out of the air! The Decepticons were defeated, but in case they should ever return, the Autobots swore to keep vigil over the Earth. I Am Optimus Prime
United
Millions of years ago, Megatron thought Optimus Prime to be forever vanquished. He was proven wrong when the Autobot leader rushed into battle alongside Ratchet and his other compatriots against him in a surprise attack. A New Battle!
Kre-O cartoon
Ratchet was in the audience of a tag battle pitting Optimus Prime and Bumblebee against Megatron and Starscream. Last Bot Standing He was in the audience of a dance competition too. Bot Stars
While responding to an emergency, Ratchet accidentally ran over Megatron outside the Kre-O Museum. Ratchet shrugged it off. Megatron's Revenge
Ratchet participated in an enormous battle against the Decepticons... until Optimus Prime began talking about the plot of the live-action film series to the audience. Ratchet operated the camera for the "recap" segments Optimus recounted until Grimlock's attempt to order a pizza on the phone started bleeping out Optimus's lines. Take Us to the Movies Take Us Through the Movies
Transformers: All Spark
BeCool shorts
- Voice actor: Kōichi Toshima (Japanese)
Ambulance (救急車 Kyūkyūsha) was a medic in his world who liked to help others. The Self-Introduction Chapter Among others, he was caught in a traffic jam, but Trailer made them all transform into robot modes so that they could walk past the jam. The Story of the Surprising and Big Traffic Jam! Ambulance again got stuck with others because of a hole in the road. When Trailer used his body to bridge the gap, Ambulance drove over. The Story of Mister Trailer's Big Success!
Ambulance, Highway Patrol Car (ハイウェイパトカー Haiwei Patokā), and Rescue Car (レスキューカー Resukyū Kā) were part of the audience of Quiz! BeCool. The Story of Quiz! BeCool Ambulance went to Yellow Sports Car's aid after he slipped on a banana peel while driving and got caught in an accident. The Story of Protecting the Signal! As part of a fire brigade headed by Firetruck, Ambulance and Rescue Car attempted to put out a building on fire, not realizing it was a set for a movie. Highway Patrol Car was part of the crowd that witnessed this embarrassing mistake. The Story of the Fire Brigade Dispatch!
Kre-O online manga
Ratchet was one of the Autobots who left Cybertron in the Ark in search for energy blocks to alleviate their hunger. Thanks to the boarding of the Ark by Decepticons, the Ark crashed and the Transformers fell into a four million year-long sleep. They woke up to a world filled with blocks. Kreon Story After Optimus Prime's body was stolen by Decepticons, Ratchet reported that the thieves were approaching their base. Negligence Is the Greatest Enemy! Optimus Became a Monster!?
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
After members of G.I. Joe came to Cybertron and formed an alliance with the Autobots, Ratchet talked with Doc about the possible medicinal advances that could be achieved with the two species working together. Their chat was interrupted by an attack by the Decepticobra alliance. Then, Imhotep Rodimus came to him with a wounded Blaster, and pleaded Ratchet to give him immediate medical attention. Everybody Hates Metroplex
Ratchet later joined the "Rescuebots", an alliance of Autobots who swore to defend what remained of the human race, and combined with them to form the mighty Defensor on the eve of the final battle against the Decepticons. Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12
Ask Vector Prime
In Primax 185.0 Beta, Galvatron used Decepto-Packs to enslave humanity, having the construct a Zod army which he turned against the Autobots before leading the dreadnoughts in a brutal campaign of galactic conquest. The only known Autobot left, Ratchet adopted the moniker of "The Autobot" and, alongside the Dreadnoks, snuck aboard Galvatron's flagship as the tyrant was attempting to transfer his bloated, gargantuan spark into Cybertron in order to become Grand Galvatron, the quartet killing him in this moment of vulnerability at the cost of their own lives. Ask Vector Prime, 04/06/2015
Beast Wars: Uprising
Ratchet had died some time prior to the 24th century, and the Ratchet Memorial Hospital in Iacon was presumably named in his honor. Not All Megatrons
Bumblebee graphic novels
Ratchet repaired Bumblebee after the Autobot scout was wounded in a cybertonium explosion, and assessed Bumblebee's progress as he ran laps around the Ark to break in his new body. Win If You Dare
Star Trek vs. Transformers
Ratchet was a member of the Ark when the ship left Cybertron four million years ago; when the Ark crash-landed on Earth, its occupants reactivated in the late 20th century to resume their secret war against the Decepticons until the destructive Eugenics Wars and the subsequent outbreak of World War III forced the Autobots to flee the planet aboard Fortress Maximus. After decades of travel across the galaxy in search of energon, Fortress Maximus was attacked by Trypticon and boarded by the Decepticons, with the subsequent battle sent Fortress Maximus and its occupants—both Autobot and Decepticon—crashing to the barren surface of Cygnus Seven.
The Autobots and their Decepticon combatants remained in stasis for many centuries, until the day that Federation miners stumbled across the Titan's inert form while prospecting a dilithium mineshaft, triggering Fortress Maximus automated repair subroutines and bringing the Cybertronians within his form back to life. Prime's Directive, Part Two While the Decepticons immediately launched an attack on the surface mining colony, with Optimus rolling out to stop them, the other Autobots had only just returned to consciousness when Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise investigated, with Jazz—distrustful of humans thanks to their time on Earth—taking command of the situation and preemptively trying to blast the humans. Prime's Directive, Part One Ratchet convinced Jazz to stand down, and after Kirk convinced the Autobots of their good intentions and filled them in on the situation the Autobots agreed to protect Cygnus Seven from the Decepticons; though the Decepticons collapsed the mineshaft in an attempt to seal the Autobots in, Ratchet hatched a new plan to bring Fortress Maximus back online and into fighting shape.
After adjusting Fortress Maximus's internal workings, Ratchet was able to rig up a mechanism so that Kirk could interface with the gigantic Autobot, and from his mind Ratchet was able to glean a memory of the starship Enterprise and its schematics. Fortress Maximus was able to reconfigure his body into a Cybertronian-scaled copy of the starship and blast free, and as the other Autobots and Starfleet personnel faced off against the Decepticons and their Klingon allies Ratchet, helped Kirk take command of the living ship in the ensuing battle, eventually getting Kirk to transform the Titan into "Fortress Tiberius." Prime's Directive, Part Three Despite Ratchet's best efforts, however, Kirk was unable to prevent Fortress Maximus's own instincts from overriding his own, nearly succumbing to the Autobot's desire for revenge before the human successfully defeated Trypticon. On learning that Starscream had absconded with a load of dilithium and planned to conquer the Klingon homeworld, Ratchet reunited with the other Autobots and their Federation allies aboard Fortress Tiberius as they rendezvoused with the real Enterprise and helped to get the damaged ship back online. Prime's Directive, Part Four
Needing to monitor the binary bonding, Ratchet remained aboard the Titan, even as his fellows were beamed to the real Enterprise, and clashed with Doctor McCoy on health protocol, before Kirk and Optimus came up with the idea of the Crewbots. Ratchet did not take part in the battle for Kronos, remaining aboard Maximus, where he reunited with his friends as they went off to explore the galaxy. Prime's Directive, Part Five
Mazinger Z versus Transformers
Ratchet joined Optimus Prime and several other Autobots as they battled for control of a space bridge, until a sudden accident pulled them across dimensions and into the Japan of an alternate reality. Upon arriving, the heroes encountered Baron Ashura, who misled them into supporting Doctor Hell and his Iron Mask Army in their campaign against Kōji Kabuto's Mazinger Z super robot. The Autobots joined their new allies when they made an attack on the Photonic Power Laboratory and faced off against Mazinger Z, but soon realized that they'd been deceived and turned on their former allies before forming a new alliance with Mazinger Z.
When the Decepticons and the Mechanical Beasts made a second run on the building, Ratchet watched from afar as Optimus Prime rode the Jet Scrander into battle. Eventually, when everyone involved put aside their differences to defeat a Maazinger-empowered Starscream, the explosion that destroyed Starscream proved powerful enough to open a second portal that transported Ratchet and the other Cybertronians back to their own universe. Mazinger Z versus Transformers
War for Cybertron Trilogy continuity
War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material
During the war for Cybertron, Ratchet's main functions were to rescue and repair. As part of the Ground Command Engineering unit, he held the rank of Private Siege toy box/instructions and/or Specialist Siege webpage/toy packaging tray (or maybe he was a Ground Command Special Ops Sergeant[2]). After the Tagan Heights region was compromised — its high strategic value leading to it sustaining heavy damage in the war — salvage operations by the Autobots were made on its outskirts, with Ratchet taking charge. Their main objective was to search for leftover technology that could be reused. Siege Teletraan-1 Data Files[3]
After Cybertron fell, the Autobots left their homeworld aboard the Ark, traveling through space in pursuit of the AllSpark. Earthrise webpage[4] When the ship eventually ran low on fuel, required the Autobots to search nearby planets for fuel sources. Teletraan-1 detected a source of rich energy on the planet Paradron, leading Ratchet on a mission to the planet's surface. There he encountered the Paradron Medic, Lifeline, a refugee who fled to Paradron after the war broke out. Reluctant to help him secure Energon due to his ties to the war, Ratchet proved himself useful in helping injured bots, such as Hot House, impressing Lifeline with his dedication to help others as high as her own. Encounter 1: Paradron Medics
Closer than ever to reaching the AllSpark, the Autobots awakened after crash-landing on pre-Ice Age Earth. While battling the Decepticons, both sides were joined by the Maximals and Predacons, their epic battle changing their combined destinies.
During this period, Ratchet's function was a medic, and he trans-scanned into an ambulance. His arc welders and laser scalpels were his powers and weapons, and his core traits were his dedication, gruffness, and compassion. Ratchet's message from the future was that while his patience will be tested, he must carry on. Kingdom webpage[5]
War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon
- Voice actor: Rafael Goldstein (English), Hozumi Gōda (Japanese), Boris Rehlinger (French), Jaron Löwenberg (German), Raphael Rossatto (Portuguese), Eduardo Bosch (Castilian Spanish), Raúl Solo (Latin-American Spanish), Mukesh Pandey (Hindi)
Before he was a doctor, Ratchet was one of the most brilliant engineers on Cybertron. He was well known for his ability to put machines back together as well as designing weapons, his fame even reaching as far as Caminus. But when he saw what those weapons did during the war, he gave up engineering and devoted himself to medicine. Embittered by how Optimus Prime had only prolonged the conflict, he established a hidden clinic inside an abandoned theatre where he committed himself to helping anyone in need of his care, regardless of faction, and asked only that his patients pay this kindness forward by helping all the other patients. While searching the ruins of Iacon, Ratchet uncovered the Decepticon Impactor underneath a huge pile of rubble and took him back to the clinic for repairs.
When the Autobots discovered a disused space bridge, Optimus Prime and Wheeljack sought out Ratchet clinic and asked for his help to bring it back online. Ratchet initially refused, believing that this decision would only jeopardize his patients and potentially spread their war to other planets, but eventually pledged his support when Prime informed him that Megatron planned to weaponize the Allspark. Siege episode 3 After joining up with the Autobots, Ratchet and Impactor travelled to the spacebridge to try and bring it online; Impactor and the Autobots were able to draw Decepticon fire so that Ratchet could complete his work on the device during a brief lull in Decepticon activity. Siege episode 4
Ratchet soon brought the bridge back online, and Mirage was able to disguise the installation from another Seeker patrol. Siege episode 5 During the final battle for the Allspark, Ratchet was on hand to reactivate the bridge at the right moment—but when Optimus ordered him to activate it, he would've died if not for Impactor deliberately throwing himself into Starscream's line of fire and sacrificing himself to save his rescuer's life. As Omega Supreme joined the melee, Ratchet joined Prime and the others as they boarded the Ark and flew through the spacebridge to a distant corner of the galaxy. Siege episode 6 Though Ratchet had gone, Elita-1's Autobots used his clinic as their new base of operations while resisting Shockwave's regime. Earthrise episode 1
After the Ark and its crew escaped Deseeus on the planet Chaar, Ratchet informed Prime that they'd found the Allspark but lacked the energon to make the trip. Instead, he proposed travelling to the nearby Nebulon system and using the still-active space bridge there to reach the artifact. However, when they arrived and sent a reconnaissance team to investigate, the Autobots found that an abandoned space station had blocked the portal; though Ratchet unsuccessfully tried to establish control over the old outpost, Wheeljack instead proposed sending an expedition to scuttle the vessel from within. Earthrise episode 3 Later, Ratchet took part in the final battle over Earth that ended with both the Ark and the Nemesis crash-landing on the primitive planet. Earthrise episode 6
The Autobots discovered that they weren't the only Cybertronians on prehistoric Earth—the Maximals, a group of Cybertronians from a dystopian alternate future, found the Ark first, and Ratchet was forced to intervene between Maximal commander Optimus Primal and Optimus Prime to tend to the still-wounded Autobot leader. Kingdom episode 1 Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Rhinox stayed behind to repair the starship and get a fix on the AllSPark's current position. Kingdom episode 2 After the heroes recovered the AllSPark, Ratchet and Wheeljack attempted to launch the vessel, but were unable to activate the ship before the Decepticons and their new Predacon used the Nemesis to launch a full-scale attack. Although the three struggled to repair the vessel, the day was saved when Teletraan I reconfigured their starship into a towering robot form and used this new body to defeat the Nemesis. Kingdom episode 5 After returning to a lifeless Cybertron, Ratchet took part in the final battle against a time-travelling Nemesis Prime and Galvatron and later watched as the AllSpark returned the planet to life, marking the end of the Autobot-Decepticon war. Kingdom episode 6
2019 IDW continuity
- First appearance: Transformers issue #4
Ratchet spent time away from Cybertron after the end of the War of the Threefold Spark and performed medical work while touring the colony worlds. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One In the present day, Ratchet had returned to Cybertron and found work in one of Iacon's medical centres alongside Hoist and Flatline. Escape Part One In the days before the Great War, Ratchet performed an autopsy on Brainstorm when the scientist was found murdered at his energon transmission station, The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One and discovered that he had suffered a sharp, piercing attack to the midsection. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One Later, he attended Brainstorm's funeral. The World In Your Eyes Part Four
Some time later, Ratchet performed another autopsy on the young Rubble, the second murder victim in living memory; based on his findings, he determined that the little 'bot had been killed through blunt force trauma and reached the uncomfortable conclusion that two separate murderers were active on Cybertron. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One When Windblade helped uncover a Rise base under the Memorial Crater, she was heavily injured in a blast and brought to Ratchet for repairs. Windblade managed to retrieve a list of probable Rise members, and Chromia had Ratchet compare and contrast the suspects with his findings. There were too many heavyweight 'bots to narrow down Rubble's murderer, but Ratchet believed it was likely that Frenzy, with his integrated drills, could have been responsible for Brainstorm's death. The Change In Your Nature Part One
Ratchet's services were continually called upon after an explosion following a stand-off with the Rise at an immersant Titan. Two Risers were killed, two knocked into comas from the blast with their sparks barely flickering, and Javelin of Security Operations in surgery from a head wound. All Fall Down When Megatron's Decepticons overthrew the Senate and took over Iacon, Ratchet joined the Autobots and listened to Optimus Prime make his first speech. Awakenings Not long afterwards, Ratchet was working at the clinic when Gutcruncher's gang of Decepticons arrived to round up any Autobot sympathizers, only for Hoist to chase them away with a swarm of Diagnostic Drones. Escape Part One
At some point afterwards, Ratchet and most of the other medical workers walked out rather than support the new Decepticon regime and joined the Autobots. While operating out of Polyhex, Ratchet and Lancer later provided medical assistance for Jumpstream after a disastrous teleportation experiment. Test Flight II As she recovered, Ratchet tried to prevent Perceptor from over-exerting his patient to find out the results of his experiment. Sea of Rust I
As the Decepticons gained ground, Ratchet withdrew to Crystal City, where he helped treat an injured Arcee when she returned from Iacon. A Dust of Crystals When the Decepticons overran the city, Ratchet and the other remaining Autobots retreated to Darkmount and launched every remaining spaceship they could muster, and Ratchet joined his compatriots aboard their Ark to hear Optimus Prime's latest speech. Fate of Cybertron
Transformers vs. the Terminator
Ratchet was one of the Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee reactivated to help get the rest of the Ark's Autobot crew in fighting shape. He and Wheeljack did what they could to help the damaged Autobots until the T-800 turned the Autobot's own armory against them and remotely destroyed the Ark from afar. Enemy of My Enemy Part Three
My Little Pony/Transformers
Ratchet was repairing Sludge when he witnessed King Sombra attack. The Magic of Cybertron He later paired up with Rarity as they pursued a group of enslaved Transformers. Their attempt to capture one as a test subject led to the capture of the still free-willed Knock Out, who was taking advantage of the situation to steal some accoutrements for himself. An annoyed Ratchet planted a "bomb" on Knock Out and warned that he'd detonate it if the Decepticon didn't help them. After tracking Sombra's minions to an energon spring, the group launched an impromptu attack on Sombra's forces. Ratchet used the distraction to prepare his equipment, but was interrupted by Knock Out taking some of it to use on Breakdown in an attempt to free him. Set upon by the possessed bots, Ratchet expressed scorn at the idea of "friendship energy" being the solution, only for Rarity to remind him that it worked against Sombra once before. Asking if she can do it again, he fitted a device to her head which allowed her to channel her magic and Knock Out's emotions, successfully freeing the Transformers present from Sombra's control. As he admitted that he had only put a tracking device on Knock Out, Ratchet wondered if Wheeljack could build upon the principle, unaware that Sombra had witnessed the entire event.The Beauty of Cybertron
Ratchet later worked with Shockwave and Wheeljack to construct a set of transforming, emotion-powered exo-suits for their pony companions. In the final battle against a Sombra-controlled Scorponok, he wielded Fluttershy as a shield. Finale
Transformers/Back to the Future
Ratchet was one of the Autobots Gigawatt and Marty McFly pre-emptively reactivated in 1984 to prevent a time-travelling Rumble from altering history. Transformers/Back to the Future issue 4
Transformers Go! Go!
Calm Sleep Stories
Ratchet was the medical officer and search and rescue specialist of Optimus Prime's team. Just over 20 feet tall in robot mode, he was equipped with medical tools and sensors, and took the Earth altmode of a fire department rescue vehicle.
One night on Earth, Ratchet and the other Autobots visited a drive-in theater in Idaho. History of the Transformers
Energon Universe
Ratchet was one of numerous Autobots lying dormant in the Ark when Jetfire arrived and tried to use Teletraan One to rouse his brethren starting with Starscream, unaware of the war that had split their species into Autobots and Decepticons. Once Starscream was revived and repaired, the Decepticon tried to murder the still-slumbering Autobots, only to be held back, first by Jetfire, then by a newly revived Optimus Prime. It was into this turmoil that Ratchet was revived, prompting the medic to leap to Prime's assistance with a kick to Starscream's head.
Unfortunately for the Autobots, Skywarp was next to revive, and the two Decepticons brought Soundwave before Teletraan One so that he could be revived next. Realizing that they would soon be outnumbered, Prime opted to retreat, ordering Ratchet to load as many dormant Autobots as he could into his Combat Deck while he kept the Decepticons busy. As he was busy complying with this order, Ratchet could only look on as Prime took the brunt of a missile salvo from Soundwave. As Optimus shot Teletraan One to prevent any more Decepticons from reviving, Ratchet completed the loading, and he and Prime transformed into their new Earth-based alternate modes and fled the Ark.
While making their getaway, Ratchet was surprised to see two organic creatures – Spike and Carly – in Prime's cab. But before Ratchet could inquire further, the two Autobots had to dodge shots from Starscream and Skywarp. Luckily, Jetfire leapt to their defence, but incurred severe wounds in the process. The energy-deprived Decepticons were forced to abandon their pursuit.
As the Autobots hid out in an abandoned quarry, Optimus tried to use the Matrix of Leadership to heal the stricken Jetfire, but Ratchet informed him that not even the Matrix could stop the inevitable, and a remorseful Jetfire succumbed to his wounds. Transformers #1
With the raw materials in the quarry and the last of their stored energy, Ratchet used Prime's Combat Deck to revive Cliffjumper, but without more energy, he couldn't revive anyone else. Ratchet also shot down the possibilities of using the Matrix, saying Prime's life was too valuable to risk, and of pooling the leftover Energon inside Cliffjumper and himself. When the Decepticons attacked a nearby power plant, Optimus told Ratchet that it was now his duty to defend Earth from the Decepticons before ordering Cliffjumper to stay behind and protect Ratchet and the other Autobots. Transformers #2
Later, as Ratchet was working on a dormant Wheeljack, he received a call from Optimus; Spike had been injured and they needed help! The communication cut out, and Ratchet apologized to Wheeljack as he moved to revive an Autobot with firepower: Jazz. Ratchet, towing the Combat Deck, and Jazz arrived at the local hospital just in time for Jazz to turn the tables against the Decepticons, prompting their retreat.
Ratchet watched on as (against his advice) Optimus used the Matrix to restore power to the hospital. Ratchet repaired the generator and then began to argue with Optimus over the leader's use of the last of the Matrix's energy, explaining that draining the Matrix also drained Prime's lifeforce, and he could have used the Matrix to repair himself instead. Optimus rebutted this, claiming he used it in service of innocent lives, but Ratchet countered by saying the humans were not innocent, pointing to Spike's injuries as proof. The conversation was interrupted when Jazz collapsed, Ratchet explaining that even though he had pooled all the Autobots' remaining Energon, it had not been enough to sustain him.
As Optimus held Jazz, Ratchet told him the Autobots had to start thinking of themselves or risk Decepticon victory. When Optimus reaffirmed that humans were worth saving, Ratchet reminded him of their lack of Energon before diverting his attention to the potential advantage he had brought along in the Combat Deck: the fusion cannon-wielding arm of Megatron. Optimus initially refused, but Ratchet urged him, saying there was no other choice. It was then that Spike's father Sparky approached the two and said he might have a solution to the Autobots' energy problem, which along with Ratchet's urging, prompted Optimus to change his mind and use Megatron's arm. Transformers #4
Sparky's idea turned out to be using a human-built dam coupled with a jerry-rigged turbine to generate the energy the Autobots needed. To help build the turbine, Ratchet revived Wheeljack, but due to the energy shortage, he rebuilt only the engineer's top half and positioned him on a mechanical pedestal. The operation succeeded, and to start, the Autobots revived Ratchet's old friend Arcee. The two were happy to see each other again, but their reunion was short-lived, as Arcee immediately had to tackle Ratchet out of the way of a Decepticon bombardment. He and Arcee then rushed to get Jazz back up and running – for good this time. They then saw Carly falling to her doom, but thankfully Arcee was able to catch her in time. In the end, Ratchet was able to get Jazz revived, but the turbine was damaged in the battle.
Optimus then ordered a counteroffensive to retake the Ark. Just as they approached the starship, an explosion rocked Ratchet off his wheels, and the medic could only look on as Long Haul rammed Optimus Prime aside. Before he could rush to his leader's aid however, Ratchet took an excavator bucket to the thigh from Scavenger and watched as the newly revived Constructicons formed Devastator. Transformers #5
Ratchet and the other Autobots then made a retreat for the Ark, before watching in terror as Devastator slammed Optimus against the starship. Having to get in the ship unassisted he crawled as fast as he could, but he wasn't fast enough, as Devastator grabbed a hold of his leg he barked at Jazz to close the ship's door, severing his leg. He then started tending to Optimus' wounds realizing the Prime was out of time, he could only sit there and watch as the Autobot leader gave up the Matrix. Ratchet then questioned what Sparky was about to do, he could only watch as the man entered the Matrix and the Autobot leader was restored. Transformers #6
Following the battle for the Ark, Wheeljack repaired Ratchet's legs manually, as the Teletraan One-embedded Skywarp locked the Autobots out of the computer's repair functions. The medic accompanied Optimus to visit a recovering Spike, although the boy was reticent to speak to the Autobot leader. On the drive back, he attempted to console Prime regarding Sparky's fate, only to watch Optimus veer off the road due to visions of a baby Spike. Upon their return to the Ark, Ratchet watched as Optimus revealed his plan to find the Decepticons. Transformers #7 And so, Ratchet was able to repair Jetfire, but there was only enough of his spark remaining that he would be blinded, trapped in vehicle mode, and unable to move by himself.
Later, when renewed Decepticon activity was detected, Ratchet joined Prime, Cliffjumper, and Jazz in flying aboard Jetfire to the scene. Transformers #8 However, no sooner had they arrived than an energy pulse sent Jetfire crashing and all of the Autobots were thrown clear. Ratchet saw the newly arrived Shockwave approach Cliffjumper and prepare to shoot him. Ratchet promptly jumped and took the shot meant for the Mini Vehicle, blowing a massive hole in his chest. Ratchet's sacrifice would only set Cliffjumper up for an even worse fate, as he and Jazz would later be dragged away to be used in painful experimentation by Shockwave. Transformers #9 News of his death hit Wheeljack particularly hard. Transformers #10
Commercial appearances
Ratchet helped fend off Astrotrain alongside his fellow Autobots. Triple Changers and Perceptor commercial
Ratchet was part of an epic battle in a desert against the Decepticons. He drove alongside Optimus and Bumblebee while the Autobots dodged weapons-fire from Starscream overhead. KRE-O TRANSFORMERS teaser trailer
Games
Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons
When Optimus embarked on his mission to rescue the Autobots' Minicar troops from the Decepticons, Ratchet could come to his aid when Optimus was broken down. Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons packaging blurb and game
The Transformers (PS2)
- Voice actor: Jack Merluzzi (English)
Autobot story
Decepticon story
During the search for the Jewel of Mystery, the Decepticons needed a key to proceed through the ruins. While searching for Chromedome and the key, they came across Ratchet. Ratchet delayed the Decepticons for a short time before they continued their pursuit of Chromedome. The Transformers
Transformers G1: Awakening
Ratchet was among the Autobots who left Cybertron aboard the Ark, and spent four million years in stasis after it was shot down over Earth by the Decepticons. He was among the first of the Autobots to recover, and sent Bumblebee on a series of energy gathering missions while he attempted to repair Optimus and the others. Ratchet worried about involving the humans in their war, but Optimus awoke in time to announce they had no choice. During a battle at Dyson Dam, the Autobots captured Jetfire, whom Ratchet repaired after it turned out Jetfire wasn't a Decepticon after all. Discovering that the Decepticons had built a space bridge, the Autobots used it to return to Cybertron, onto to find that their home world had been conquered by Shockwave during their four million year nap.
By rewiring the circuitry in his embedded tool set, Ratchet was able to free himself and Bumblebee and the pair liberated Optimus and Metroplex before the Autobot team retreated back to Earth. They arrived back in time to help Grimlock in battle against the Decepticons. When the Autobots detected a distress call, Ratchet thought it might be Grimlock, but as it turned out, it was a trap. They managed to survive that, and hurried back to the Ark, where they had to repel a Decepticon assault on their ship. Transformers G1: Awakening
Kre-O Transformers Konquest
The Autobots' peaceful day in Kreopolis was shattered when the city was bombarded by the Decepticons, and a number of Autobots including Ratchet were shattered into their component blocks. As Ratchet's pieces rained from the sky, they were caught by Optimus Prime's Kreon, and the Autobot medic was soon reassembled. Ratchet subsequently dropped Prime off back at the battlefield so he could catch other Autobots. Kre-O Transformers Konquest
Prime Defence
Ratchet's Kreon helped Optimus Prime defend Earth by periodically appearing on a highway to repair his shields. Prime Defence
Kreon Chaos
Ratchet would aid his fellow Autobots in their mission to retrieve the Optimus Prime Kre-O kit parts held within the Decepticons' headquarters by fixing sabotaged computer terminals. Once repaired, Bumblebee could hack into said terminals to grant them further access into enemy territory. The Autobots eventually managed to make it into the enemy's base, and retrieved the kit parts. Ratchet then assembled the kit into a colossal Optimus Prime. Kreon Chaos
Bot Shots Battle Game!
Ratchet participated in numerous one-on-one matches against other Autobots and Decepticons, using his fists, his sword, or his gun to defeat his opponents. Sometimes, he even faced off against himself! Bot Shots Battle Game!
Transformers Legends
When Megatron challenged Optimus Prime to a duel, Ratchet was one of the few Autobots left at HQ to defend it from an attack by the Constructicons. He joined Ironhide, Wheeljack, and Brawn in mounting a defense, but they were no match for the Decepticon team. Heavy Metal War - Part 1 During a Decepticon attack on a major human city, Ratchet, Inferno, and the Protectobots launched rescue operations. Unfortunately their efforts were hampered by Thundercracker and Dirge, who unleashed all manner of sonic attacks on them. To the Rescue He was among the Autobots affected by Megatron's sabotage of the Autobot recharging chamber, and on Megatron's orders attacked Rutter Military Base. He and the other Autobots were returned to normal by Sparkplug's attitude exchanger. Attack of the Autobots
Ratchet went missing, and somehow became fused to Megatron. The other Autobots located him in inter-dimensional space, where he had come under attack by a time-displaced Galvatron. The Autobots were able to rescue him, taking him back to their base where he was successfully separated from Megatron. Savage Circle
After Optimus Prime's defeat at the hand of Megatron, Ratchet was involved in the skirmishes in Autobot city that ensued. The Omega Corps
Angry Birds Transformers
Ratchet appears as a character unlockable in Challenge Events. He is portrayed by Terence. He also comes in a Specialist version. Angry Birds Transformers
Transformers: Battle Tactics
Ratchet participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Uncommon characters that could be recruited for 20 units of Cybermetal, and 8 units of Transmetal. Transformers: Battle Tactics
Transformers: Frontiers
Transformers: Earth Wars
Never talk to Ratchet about problems, for him it's all solutions. If it's broken, he'll remake it. If it's a battlefield wound he'll patch and repair it. It's this comforting repair bay manner that puts those he treats at ease, and a deft, gentle touch with the laser scalpel doesn't hurt either. All of which belies his otherwise gruff, somewhat outspoken manner, and Ratchet's one of the few Autobots that Optimus Prime tolerates any backtalk from... mostly. Ratchet bio
When Ratchet first arrived, Melody asked who the new guy was, and he introduced himself, while Blaster stated he definitely had his work cut out for him. He was then asked to get his repair kit ready when they came across three Decepticon bases. He advised the other Autobots not to get hit too much. Power Play Campaign
- Class: Medic
- Lowest Star Rating: 1 star
- Weapons: Ratchet heals other Autobots with his healing beam. If there's no one on the battlefield, he'll just use a standard SMG gun.
- Ability: Healing Grenade - Launches a grenade that recovers health to all Autobots in a large area over 5 seconds.
- Cost: 4 ability points +2 for reuses.
Ratchet at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki
Transformers Online (2017 video game)
| “ | Broken? I'm here to fix ya. | ” |
Ratchet is one of the oldest members of the Autobots. This was evident in a chipped corner of his helm, a reminder of the Cybertronian civil war. As a skilled medic, Ratchet was praised for his charisma and positive attitude towards others. When Ratchet comes to mind, he is first perceived as a comedian who's able to describe things in an interesting manner. To any Autobots, he is both their friend and medic. As long as his iron will lives on, Ratchet's performance on the battlefield will always be exceptional.
In battle, Ratchet wielded the "Sapphire Scalpel" buzzsaw and the "Toxic Syringe". His active skill is "Vital Linkup":
- Vital Linkup — Ratchet tethers himself to a nearby ally, conjoining his health with his ally's. Any damage taken by said ally will also be dealt onto Ratchet. Meanwhile, the tether heals both parties at a rate of 80 HP per second. Transformers Online [6]
Transformers: Forged to Fight
Ratchet was one of the Autobots pulled from his universe by the Quintessons and forced to fight. He eventually joins the Commander. There are at least a few of him running around! As a Tech bot, He Shocks enemies with his blasters, and performs Self-Diagnostics to repair himself when low on health, and sometimes automatically when hit with a single strong attack. Transformers: Forged to Fight
Ratchet eventually joined the Quintesson ranks, saying that their technology was much more advanced than their own "primitive" technology. He had some sense knocked into him by the Commander. He spent much of the rest of his time repairing others.
He developed a "mind device" that was stolen by Grimlock.
Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive
Ratchet took part in a series of attacks against multiple Decepticon bases, destroying them and defeating all enemies in the process. 500 Armor, 500 Blaster Strength, Score x2, Coins x2, Blaster Speed: Slow Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive
Transformers Roleplaying Game
Ratchet was the Autobot's chief medic—although the stressful nature of wartime left him under constant pressure, Ratchet was a determined fighter and always willing to help his comrades. Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
Ratchet was transported to the Apex when the evil Lord MindWaveZ merged many realities together into one chaotic realm. Along with Cover Girl and T.J. Johnson, the three assisted a group of heroes as they battled Lord MindWaveZ and attempted to restore their worlds to normal. Worlds Collide: Battle for the Multiverse
Toys
Merchandise
Notes
- Bob Budiansky has said that he named Ratchet after the less-friendly medic Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
- Ratchet never really showed his party animal spirit in Marvel, outside of the start of "Warrior School". Budiansky gives two answers for why: "1) in the comic book stories, he always found himself in situations too serious to allow his party personality to emerge. 2) I screwed up and forgot I had written that as part of his profile. I prefer to go with answer number 1."[7]
- In the Shout! Factory Matrix of Leadership Special Edition DVD set, an interview with Bob Budiansky features close-ups of his original character notes for several characters, Ratchet being one of them. Oddly, his handwritten notes refer to Ratchet as "her" and the Autobots' "go-to gal" for repairs. While this obviously was not the final direction the character took, it is an odd coincidence... and a fact that makes the early nicknames "Cool Hand Lube" and "Greasefinger" even more embarrassing.[8]
- In a different gender-related coincidence, the French Diaclone release of Ratchet, "Ambulance", was referred to as female in one of Joustra's pack-in minicomics.
- The colors of Ratchet's helmet differ depending on the medium... and sometimes within the same medium: The original Sunbow cartoon gave him a white helmet with a black crest, whereas the Marvel comic gave him a red helmet with a white crest. The BotCon 2005 exclusive figure was the first Ratchet toy with an actual head, and it followed the cartoon coloring for the helmet (although the crest ended up silver rather than black). Since then, pretty much every toy ever put out by TakaraTomy has followed the cartoon coloring for the helmet, whereas a lot of Hasbro's toys as well as numerous video games have opted for a "hybrid" cartoon/Marvel comic version (or an "inverted Marvel" version), a white helmet with a red crest. (The BotCon 2016 customization class figure offered all three versions as part of different possible Ratchet decos.) The Dreamwave continuity featured the "Marvel" colors for the helmet for stories set in the distant past (such as the War Within titles), while stories set in the then-present day depicted the helmet in "cartoon" colors. The first IDW universe long favoured the "Marvel" colors for the helmet, although the "cartoon" colors as well as the modern-day "Hasbro toy" colors occasionally slip in by mistake, sometimes even alternating within the same issue (and are then sometimes fixed for the trade paperback collection); and it was reversed towards the end of the continuity. The second IDW continuity (and indeed most contemporary media like the War for Cybertron cartoon and several IDW crossover miniseries) go with a Sunbow-accurate white helmet, though the colour of the chevron can vary depending on the artist. Another weird one-off version, a red helmet with a red crest, appears in the storybook The Great Car Rally.
- Speaking of colors: The Hall of Fame banner that was outside the Pasadena Civic Auditorium during BotCon 2011 depicted Ratchet with inverted shoulder colors. While ostensibly done to avoid the legal wrath of the Red Cross organization, it suggests that Ratchet has suddenly become Christian and/or decided to align himself with Switzerland.
- While Ratchet has a toy-accurate head design in the War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon, the rest of his body is just a redressing of Ironhide's model, as evident by the lack of the remolded details that the toy received.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Ratchet (ラチェット Rachetto)
- Czech: Zdravotník (Paramedic)
- French: Mécano (Canada)
- Hungarian: Racsni
- Italian: Doc
- Mandarin: Zhìlúnjī (Taiwan, 制輪機, "Ratchet"), Jiùhùchē (China, 救护车, "Ambulance")
- Portuguese: Alavanca (Portugal comics), Trinco (Brazil comics, "Lock")
- Russian: Khrapovik (cartoon, Храповик, "Ratchet")
References
- ↑ In the alternate timeline featured in G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #3 and in a 4 June 2015 entry of the Ask Vector Prime Facebook page.
- ↑ The bio for Ratchet on the Siege webpage mistakenly uses an image of Mirage's Ground Command Special Ops Sergeant insignia. The accompanying text refers to him as a Ground Command Engineering Specialist.
- ↑ Siege website
- ↑ Earthrise website
- ↑ Kingdom webpage
- ↑ Ratchet on the Transformers Online website
- ↑ Budiansky interview at Metal Machine
- ↑ Nicknames in profiles published in The Transformers Comics Magazine.
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