Editing How Ratchet Got His Hands Back

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #5
|prev=Life After the Big Bang
|next=
|caption=
|image=MTMTE5_cvrA.jpg
|title="How Ratchet Got His Hands Back"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[May 22]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=May 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''There's nothing left to lose as Ratchet confronts the 'bot behind the plague on Delphi.'''

==Synopsis==

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (5)
*[[Ambulon]] (6)
*[[Pharma]] (7)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (8)
*[[Backstreet (G1)|Backstreet]] (9)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (10)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
*[[Rung]] (12)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (13)
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] (14)
|c2=
*[[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] (1)
*[[Boom]] (4)
|c4=
}}

==Quotes==

"I have the '''world's worst alt mode:''' I turn into a '''leg.''' Ambulon: From the verb 'to ambulate,' meaning 'to walk about.' It's a stupid name..."<br>
"...but all the best names are taken."
:—'''Ambulon''' and '''Ratchet'''


"It's just—I thought it would be more of a '''ten-point plan...? One:''' Don't do bad things. '''Two:''' Don't, er, be rude... stuff like—'''three:''' don't be a Decepticon. Stuff like that."
:—'''Tailgate''' on the unexpected intricacies of the Autobot Code


"Relax! A few weeks of '''cripplingly intense study''' and it'll be '''over!''' It might even be '''fff'''— It might even be '''fff'''— I can't—my mouth just won't—I can't say it."<br>
"Fun...?"<br>
"'''That's''' the one."
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' and '''Tailgate'''


"I'm not convinced you're paying attention."<br>
"...what? Oh. Sorry—I, er, I thought I saw some '''graffiti''' on your desk. Yeah, some—some really '''tiny''' graffiti. 'Ultra Magnus is an O.C.D. control freak who uses learning to hurt people.' But it was just a speck of dirt."<br>
"'''DIRT?!'''"<br>
"It's okay, sir—it's gone. It can't hurt you now."
:—'''Magnus''' and '''Tailgate''' quickly become this book's next great double-act.


"Pharma, I've been held at gunpoint by the '''best'''—[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Killmaster]]—remember Killmaster? With the wand?—and I've never known anyone take '''so long''' to explain their grand plan."
:—With a dry cool wit like that, '''Ratchet''' could be an action hero.


"You died a long time ago, Pharma. And as for me... my hands don't work, I'm mile from anyone I truly care about, and I'm still coming to terms with the fact that after a '''four-million year build-up,''' peace has turned out to be a '''massive anticlimax.''' Bottom line? I've got nothing else to lose."
:—'''Ratchet'''

==Notes==
*The opening moments of the issue, as Fortress Maximus tears one of the Genericons in half and slams the pieces together, is an homage to ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|#5]], in which [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] did the same thing to [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]].
*A patient named [[Tracer (disambiguation)|Tracer]] is listed among those at Delphi. Whether this is supposed to be a new character or one of the existing Tracers is unknown; they were all Decepticons except for the Japanese-exclusive [[Tracer (ROC)|Tracer]], so we'd guess it's him.
*The absence of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s [[Moonbase One|first moon]] is mentioned again, previously noted in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|issue #1]] and an important plot point over in ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Stick Together|#3]]. Seems it's been missing since the days of [[Nova Prime]], and Tailgate co-ordinated the first search for it, suggesting the quest [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] went on was not the first.
*Speaking of Nova Prime, Tailgate claims responsibility for persuading him to look beyond Cybertron. Oo-er. Let's hope he doesn't find out how [[Revelation (IDW)|that turned out]].
*Rung and Red Alert's session numbers are clearly evocative of issues of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]]: #97 was Roberts's first issue; #113 was the issue that hooked him; and issue #332 was the final instalment of the series. The significance of #7 and #288 is not apparent, aside from being the first chapters of the final story from the original US mini-series and the final UK-original story, respectively.
*Ratchet's [[holomatter]] avatar returns, a concept not seen since [[Simon Furman]]'s time on the series ended. A quick explanation is offered for why the tech was phased out in universe: it's energy-intensive, demands total concentration, and the hair never looks real.

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Ratchet, infected with Red Rust, Alex Milne and [[Josh Perez]]
* '''Cover B:''' Ultra Magnus teaches Tailgate the Autobot Code, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]. This cover was accidentally printed in a blurry, low-resolution quality.
* '''Cover RI:''' Ratchet and Drift, by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]], the first half of a combined image formed with the RI cover to ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' #5

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[[Category:More than Meets the Eye issues]]