Ransack (G1)

The name or term "Ransack" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Ransack (disambiguation).

Ransack is a Decepticon Insecticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Better call Peter Graves.

Ransack is a fairly simple being. A tough-talking and straightforward warrior, he craves combat and longs for each new battle. He'll level a whole town, destroy natural wonders, and kill hundreds to complete his mission without batting an optic. Ransack notices such things, sure—he just doesn't care.

This, of course, makes him one popular Decepticon, as they see him as the type of awesome dude who tells it like it is! The only downside is they have to let him go in first, since he keeps forgetting to shoot around them.

In either insect or robot mode, he still possesses the same incredible strength and vibrational power in his legs.

Fiction

Battle Drive

The following summarizes one or more multipath adventures. Details vary depending on the paths taken in-story. See the book's page for information on alternate paths.

Ransack was one of the many Decepticons Megatron led to a cave in the mountains. Within hid the Autobots' ally, Sparkplug Witwicky, with schematics detailing a fatal flaw in the Decepticons' circuitry. When Swoop attacked the group, every Decepticon present attacked the Dinobot simultaneously. Whether or not the Decepticons triumphed against the Autobots that day depended on the choices you made! Battle Drive

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

After the fragmentation of the Decepticon forces following Megatron's seeming destruction in a space bridge accident, Ransack joined Ratbat's Ultracons. He accompanied Ratbat and fellow Ultracons Chop Shop and Venom on a mission to the Tagan Heights, where they unleashed the deadly Devastator on the Wreckers. Though they captured the Wreckers' leader Springer, the Ultracons were prevented from executing him when Devastator's battle with Defensor raged out of control. Escalation In the chaos that ensued, Ransack and his allies escaped, leaving Devastator behind. Devastation

When Megatron and his Aerospace Extermination Squadron retook Cybertron and reunified the Decepticons, Ransack was assigned to supervise enslaved Autobot miners at Internment Camp Pi in Praxus. The Age of Wrath #2

With Ransack, every operation is Operation Human Shield!

Ransack, along with Barrage, Chop Shop, and Venom, remained on Cybertron following the departure of the Ark and the Nemesis. The planet's chronic energon shortage reduced them to a vampiric existence, forcing them to capture Micromasters and drain them of their fuel. While pursuing Falcon and Flanker in the Wastelands, they ran into the middle of a conflict between the Hot Rod Patrol and Race Track Patrol. Destined for Nothing

After devouring Falcon they soon set upon the other Micromasters, but were driven back by the timely arrival of Groundshaker, who left with the Hot Rod Patrol. The subsequent arrival of Shockwave prevented them from devouring the Race Track Patrol, but he did toss them Flanker as a snack. The Gray Race The Insecticons subsequently abducted the Race Track Patrol and several other Micromasters from Little Iacon, in an attempt to ferret out the Hot Rod Patrol and gain some new recruits in the process. Recipe for Hate Returning to Decepticon HQ with their Micromaster prisoners, Ransack caught a group of the tiny Transformers trying to free their cohorts. After sounding the alarm, Ransack had a big, possibly lethal hole blown in him by Groundshaker. Victims of the Revolution

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

As part of Serpent O.R.'s forces, Ransack defended the newly unified Decepticon army's base against a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe strike force. During the battle, he and Venom were pounded on by Snarl and Storm Shadow. The Art of War #5

Universe comic

Hailing from Primax 1108.12 Kappa, Ask Vector Prime, 20/9/2015 Ransack was held captive in Unicron and forced to fight in the Cauldron. He was freed in a mass escape orchestrated by Optimus Primal. Escape While returning home, he somehow switched places with the Squeezeplay of Primax 113.23 Gamma. It took Ransack some time to understand the subtle ironies of his new plane of existence. Ask Vector Prime, 20/9/2015

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Spotlight: Sixshot

You see me, baby. Shakin' that thorax. Shakin' that thorax.

Ransack served on a Decepticon space station alongside Sixshot, Spectro, Squawkbox, Treadshot, and either Pounce or Wingspan. He was on monitor duty when Sixshot departed for Mumu-Obscura. Spotlight: Sixshot

Much later, after the war ended and Cybertron was revitalized, Ransack appeared with the other Decepticons on Cybertron, questioning the Autobots' investigation of Ratbat's death. Stick Together

He somehow made his way off Cybertron to join up with Lockdown's crew of "Titan Hunters" on the supposedly lost Luna 1. There, he joined a surprise attack on Rodimus and a small landing party from the Lost Light for "trespassing" on a spark hot spot. The Fecund Moon Chasing them into a huge graveyard of deactivated Titans, Ransack and the rest of the Decepticons swiftly captured the Lost Lighters and delivered them into the custody of Chief Justice Tyrest. House of Ambus

Marvel Comics continuity

Regeneration One

When the Skyscorchers bungled the job of stealing Warbird warheads from the Pax Cybertronia Decommissioning Depot in Kalis, Ransack was one of the agents sent in by Soundwave to make sure that they became martyrs to the Decepticon cause instead. Though the insurgents were successfully assassinated, the three Insecticons were themselves surprised by the Wreckers, who captured them inside a detention-sphere. Loose Ends, Part 1

Transformers '84

Early in the war on Cybertron, Ransack was part of a Decepticon assault alongside Chop Shop, Barrage, Blitzwing, Octane, Runabout, Runamuck, Venom, and the Autobot double agent Counterpunch. Secrets & Lies #1

My Little Pony/Transformers

Ransack was among the Insecticon clones who swarmed Sweet Apple Acres with the intent of eating everything in sight. In the ensuing battle against Applejack's extended family, several ponies were able to lasso him out of the sky and drag him to the ground, where he was roundly pummelled by Apple Strudel and Granny Smith before fleeing. Strength in Numbers

Games

Transformers Legends

Ransack was caught up in a Quintesson plot to disrupt the Galactic Games. The Galactic Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Ransack was a brutal warrior who reveled in opportunities to sate his own bloodlust. Decepticon Directive

Toys

The Transformers

Ya know, Ransack! The one no one ever remembers?

• Ransack (Deluxe Insecticon, 1985)

• Accessories: "High-intensity concussion blaster", "Reflector Shield"
• Known designers: Shinji Aramaki (concept artist)

Released in the second year of the Transformers toyline in the US (first year in continental Europe), Ransack is a redeco of the previously-unreleased Bandai-owned Armored Insect Corps Beetras "Beet-Vadam" toy, transforming into a predominantly black and yellow robotic locust. In robot mode, he is completely unable to move his arms forward, which makes his shield and gun pretty dang useless.

As this mold was owned by Bandai, it was not included in Takara's version of Transformers.

• Patent info, price guide, and further reading on Ransack at Transformerland.com
• More information on Ransack at TFU.info

Buzzworthy Bumblebee

37 years between toy releases. Actual 17-year locusts hatched twice in that time.

• Creatures Collide (4-pack, 2022)

• Series: Legacy
• Accessories: 2 Energon blades, gun, alternate Kickback head
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy), Ken Christiansen and Emiliano Santalucia (concept art)

Part of the Buzzworthy Bumblebee "Creatures Collide" four-pack, Ransack is a redeco and new-head retool of Legacy Kickback, transforming into a black and yellow locust. His two Energon blades are painted solid yellow, and by pegging them together, one can plug them into Ransack's pelvis to recreate the abdomen of his original toy–a feature that was present in Kickback, but not documented in his instructions. The toy's chest compartment is not designed to be opened, despite having what is technically a hinge.

Speaking of undocumented features: Ransack is packaged with the mold's original Kickback head as an additional accessory, but unlike some of the other toys in the set, this alternate head option is not mentioned in Ransack's instructions. The head is decoed to resemble the original 1985 Kickback toy's head, and the intended use is to give Legacy Kickback owners a more toy-accurate head option.

Also included in the set with Ransack are Predacon Scorponok, Skywasp, and Autobot Goldbug. The Buzzworthy Bumblebee line was exclusive to Target in the U.S.

Merchandise

Transformers Trading Card Game

• Ransack, Insecticon Commando (2018)
  • Wave 1
  • Rarity: UT
  • Card Number: T33/T40
  • Stars: 6

"Ransack, Insecticon Commando" is one of forty double-sided character cards available in Wave 1 of the Transformers Trading Card Game.

The artwork on the card is reused from the Transformers Legends mobile card game, with both Bot Mode and Alt Mode line-art by Dan Khanna.

Notes

Now serving #26. #26, please come to the front. #26...

• Ransack, like all of the Deluxe Insecticons, was designed by Artmic for inclusion in the Armored Insect Corps Beetras toyline (機甲虫隊ビートラス) from Takatoku Toys. The mold was to be released in a green and grey deco as a protagonist mecha named Beet-Vadam (ビート・バダム Bīto Badamu)—based on the Japanese word for "grasshopper", batta (バッタ). However, Takatoku Toys went out of business in 1984 shortly before Beet-Vadam was to go on sale, giving Ransack the unique distinction of being the only version of this mold ever released. Upon bankruptcy, Takatoku's assets were purchased by fellow Japanese toymaker Bandai. At that time, Bandai was not very active in the U.S. market, making Bandai a competitor of Takara, but not of Hasbro. Due to this, the company had no objection to licensing various Takatoku molds to Hasbro in 1985 for sale primarily in the U.S. market primarily as part of their version of the The Transformers toyline. Nowadays, Bandai has a worthwhile interest in every market and since it only licensed the molds, there is little likelihood that Ransack and company will ever be reissued.
• Since Hasbro and Takara shared the original Transformers cartoon as promotional material for their respective versions of the toyline, Ransack and the other Deluxe Insecticons were not included in its cast to avoid giving Japanese market-competitor Bandai free publicity. The group was also omitted from the US Marvel comics and barely appeared in the UK Marvel comics, making them the least "successful" of the Takatoku molds.
• Ransack is the only Deluxe Insecticon to not appear on Hasbro's 1985 packaging mural; since his comrades were depicted in their Beetras color schemes, this omission presumably happened because the artist didn't have (the non-existent) Beet-Vadam for reference. Unusually, a Beetras-colored Ransack did show up in mainland Europe's 1985 pack-in catalog (see above).
• Poor Ransack never got a full The Transformers Universe bio, though Bob Budiansky did write one; it later saw 'print' by Jim Sorenson at Sorenson's Disciples of Boltax blog.
• An almost-realized BotCon 2014 exclusive from Fun Publications was a redeco of Generations Fall of Cybertron Kickback into Ransack as a Star Seeker.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Ransack (ランサック Ransakku)
• French: Saccageur (Canada, "Ransacker")

External links

• Beet-Vadam at Diaclone.net (Japanese)