Ratchet (G1)

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.

All aboard the party ambulance!

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.

Nicknames: Cool Hand Lube, Greasefinger

Portuguese name (Portugal comics): Alavanca

Italian name: Doc

French-Canadian name: Mécano

Hungarian name: Racsni

Portuguese name (Brazil comics): Trinco

Czech name: Zdravotník

Russian name (TV): Chrapovick ("Ratchet")

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

This look didn't last long.

Ratchet was one of the select Autobots chosen by Optimus Prime to travel aboard the Ark, and ended up in stasis lock for four million years at the base of Mount St. Hilary with the rest of the crew. Once the volcano exploded and the Transformers reactivated, Ratchet was rebuilt to transform into an ambulance. He responded to Gears's complaining by telling him that at least he didn't have to fix everyone all the time! Ratchet would rather be partying. The Transformers

What a comfortable-looking repair sled they're dragging Gears into.

As their war against the Decepticons continued on Earth, Ratchet joined the Autobots' debate about how to deal with their dwindling fuel resources. Thankfully, Bumblebee had located a human, Sparkplug Witwicky, who could help them convert fuel to a form usable by them, so the Ark was left in Ratchet's hands as the others left to meet with Bumblebee and his new human friends. Ratchet noted sadly that without fuel, even his considerable skills were useless. Power Play! While they were gone, Ratchet attended to the Ark. During his attempts at repairs, he uncovered something interesting in its memory databanks, but Optimus Prime cut him off before he could explain. Gears was badly damaged in the battle that followed, and his body was brought back to Ratchet for repairs. After working on him for a short period of time, Ratchet was amazed that he could already speak. Unfortunately, Gears had bad news; Sparkplug Witwicky had converted fuel for the Decepticons while he had been their prisoner! Prisoner of War!

The Autobots were outraged at this, which upset Sparkplug so much that he suffered a heart attack. Ratchet volunteered to driv Sparkplug and his son Buster to the hospital. The Last Stand While Buster stayed at the hospital with his ailing father, Ratchet held fast to his oath to preserve life, an oath which made no distinction between organical or mechanical life, and spent long hours helping to ferry injured humans to and from the hospital. His human drivers were alarmed to find this out after the fact. Ratchet was happy to learn that Sparkplug, now able to speak, had told Buster that he'd poisoned the Decepticons' fuel. While this conversation was taking place, his drivers were poking around his ambulance mode, trying to discover how he was talking. After an angry, annoyed outburst, the humans fled.

Staring also works.

Despite Buster's good news, Ratchet felt he should return to the Ark as swiftly as possible; no one there was responding to his communications. Buster accompanied him, and en route tried to explain to Ratchet that the traffic signals were nonsentient and would not respond to his pleas. When a red light turned green, eventually, after Ratchet's attempts at persuasion, the Autobot admonished the child for his lack of communication skills. But when Ratchet and Buster arrived at the Ark, they were horrified to discover Rumble and Frenzy standing sentry outside. Buster, who was small enough to slip in unnoticed, snuck inside to investigate. The New Order

Ratchet soon discovered, to his horror, that he was the last Autobot still functional on Earth, up against the entire Decepticon army. Covertly invading the Ark, he learned that even the mighty Optimus Prime had fallen. However, Prime's head, though detached, still functioned, and the Autobot Commander told Ratchet that he must rise up to meet this challenge. Ratchet did not believe he could; he was a doctor, not a warrior (damnit, Jim). Warrior School! Buster later returned to Ratchet, looking like a fright, and told the Autobot that the Decepticons had taken over the Ark, and that their bodies were hung like meat from the ceiling! Even crazier still was when Shockwave was seen carrying the defeated body of Megatron back into the Ark. Ratchet began to worry that he was the last Autobot alive. The Worse of Two Evils!

The more you know!™

Ratchet was no warrior, and he doubted what he could do to topple this new status quo, but still, Ratchet tried. In his weakened state, Megatron could not hope to defeat Shockwave and reclaim his leadership, but Ratchet approached him with a possible solution. Ratchet knew how Shockwave had fallen 4 million years ago (having discovered this earlier within the Ark's memory databanks), and struck a deal, sealed by the Rite of Oneness: If Ratchet could defeat Shockwave, Megatron would relinquish Decepticon control of the Ark and its wrecked Autobot inhabitants.

Ratchet journeyed to the Savage Land, where the Dinobots had fought Shockwave to a stalemate, leaving all dormant in a tar pit prison. He dug up the Dinobots and repaired them. Soon after, he met with Megatron on a snowy ski slope and announced that he had fulfilled his half of the bargain; Shockwave was defeated. Megatron, of course, went back on his part of the deal and threatened to kill Ratchet. Ratchet declared that he knew all along Megatron would not hold up his end of the bargain and admitted that he had not, in fact, defeated Shockwave. The Dinobots sprung up out of the snow surrounding Megatron and fought him, but did not succeed. Megatron now stood alone, triumphant, mocking Ratchet and his lack of a warrior's edge. With nothing to lose, Ratchet charged Megatron, but he was ineffectual. However, the charge had loosened the ground on which Megatron stood, and the Decepticon leader fell off the cliff side and disappeared. Repeat Performance!

On their return trip to the Ark, Ratchet helped educate the Dinobots about human/Autobot relations by telling them the story of a recent battle with the Decepticons at a hydroelectric dam. Decepticon Dam-Busters! When they arrived, Ratchet and the Dinobots found the Ark defended by Guardian, an Autobot combat drone which had been reprogrammed by Shockwave. Ratchet rescued the Dinobots from the powerful drone by remembering and exploiting one of its few weaknesses, an access port which could admit a fine laser. Ratchet then began the task of repairing the Autobots, placing priority on those whose command skills would be useful. This put him at odds with Dinobot leader Grimlock, who felt that the fallen Dinobot Swoop should be repaired first. The Wrath of Grimlock!

When Prowl devised a plan to use the Matrix to create an army of monstrous Autobot warriors, debate over the plan's ethics threatened to divide the Autobots. Ratchet remained neutral and asked Optimus Prime to step in and provide guidance. Crisis of Command!

Ratchet and Wheeljack collaborated on a Transformer-sized robotic suit, to be used by Buster Witwicky in battle. Optimus Prime was unamused. Robot Buster!

Such irony.

After the destruction of Optimus Prime, Ratchet was not able to repair him. Unable to deal with his failure, Ratchet wandered off on his own during Optimus's funeral. Ratchet decided that rather than moping, he should concern himself with the other damaged Autobots under his care, so he headed towards a junkyard to look for spare parts he could use. However, he was abducted in vehicle mode by the Mechanic and his accomplice Juan when the two thieves were found by the police. Ratchet revealed himself when they arrived at the Mechanic's hideout, but the Mechanic froze Ratchet with his own surgical weapons and headed for the Ark, intent on finding technology that would ensure he would never be threatened by the police again. When he had unfrozen, Ratchet followed the human back to the Ark, but was defeated by his own surgical tools. But using pieces he took from the junkyard, he repaired Prowl, and the appearance of the police car frightened the Mechanic away. The Mechanic escaped with Ratchet's tools and the Power Booster Rod. Funeral for a Friend!

Shortly after Optimus Prime's funeral, Ratchet stood with Omega Supreme, Blaster, and the others, and an incoming fleet of aircraft piloted by the terrorist organization Cobra was detected. Ashes, Ashes... After the Autobots teamed up with the human counterterrorist organization G.I. Joe, Ratchet worked with Mainframe, who had already begun to rebuild Bumblebee. Ratchet was surprised to see that Bumblebee had been upgraded by Mainframe into a more-powerful body, and after the process was completed (despite Dr. Mindbender's bickering), Bumblebee decided to rename himself Goldbug. ...All Fall Down!

Paging Dr. Smartass.

With Optimus Prime dead, Ratchet and a few other high-ranking Autobots assembled to nominate a new leader. Ratchet stressed that their nominee must be kind, just as Optimus Prime had been, someone who would be willing to give everything he had. After a surprise attack on the Ark by Trypticon, Ratchet had his answer. Ratchet's new patients, those that had suffered during the attack, had told him of Grimlock's selflessness in battle. The other Autobots agreed, and Grimlock was declared Autobot leader. King of the Hill! However, Grimlock's leadership quickly turned sour, and Ratchet became the voice of sarcasm behind Grimlock's decisions. When a second group of Autobots led by Fortress Maximus met Grimlock's Earth-bound Autobots, they brought with them a floppy disk containing the mind of the dead Optimus Prime. Ratchet couldn't contain his joy, and so Grimlock struck him down and told him to shut up. Ratchet was told to shut up again when he belittled Grimlock's disbelief that Fortress Maximus was part human. Grimlock set up a battle for Autobot supremacy between him and Blaster (who fought in Fortress Maximus' stead), so Ratchet and all of both Autobot groups stepped out onto the surface of Earth's moon to watch the fight. Ratchet cheered relentlessly for Blaster, but the spectators were cut short by a surprise Decepticon attack. After the Decepticons had fled, Ratchet was glad to see that Blaster and Grimlock had, for the moment, set aside their differences, because they would need all the cooperation they could muster to repair the fallen and the heavily-damaged Ark. Totaled!

When an Underbase-powered Starscream and a time-traveling Galvatron decimated the Earthbound Autobot forces, Optimus Prime no longer possessed the life-giving powers of the Creation Matrix, so Ratchet was left with the monumental task of repairing them. Deathbringer During a period of work-induced stress, he began to hallucinate visions of his patients attacking him and accusing him of being worthless. It was during this time that the Decepticon Sports Car Patrol, posing as Autobots, offered to help transport Ratchet to Cybertron, where he could have access to new medical technology that had been created during his 4-million-year absence on Earth. He and three of the Sports Car Patrol took the bodies of Grimlock, Jazz, and Goldbug with him, though Ratchet was curious why Blackjack stayed behind on the Ark. Ratchet's concerns were answered when, upon arrival on Cybertron, he saw standing before him the believed-to-be-deceased Megatron, who had orchestrated the entire scheme. Back from the Dead

Megatron inadvertently activated Ratchet's dormant "evil genius" gene.

Megatron brought Ratchet the remains of Starscream, demanding Ratchet repair the Air Commander while Blackjack held the Ark and its medical bay inhabitants hostage. Ratchet agreed, and he used Pretender technology to repair Starscream while secretly repairing Grimlock, Jazz, and Goldbug as well. After Pretender Starscream was sent to Earth, Megatron sought out Ratchet to kill him, but Ratchet had his own Pretenders ready. The Resurrection Gambit! Ratchet sprung Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee (Ratchet preferred Bumblebee's original form) on Megatron, but Megatron and his Micromasters were too powerful for them. The Pretenders and Micromasters' battle wandered outside the Decepticon base, and Ratchet was left alone. Sacrificing his life, Ratchet warped the bombs Blackjack had put on the Ark into the Decepticon base in an attempt to kill both himself and Megatron. Megatron tried to escape through the warp portal, but Ratchet tackled him, and the base exploded. Skin Deep

Ratchet to the left of me, Megatron to the right—Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Optimus Prime was devastated by the loss of Ratchet. Yesterday's Heroes! He assigned the detective Nightbeat to investigate Ratchet's death, and Nightbeat hypothesized that Ratchet could possibly still be alive. There was an initial blast which could have knocked Ratchet into the portal and into unspace, a netherworld between the warp portal's starting and ending points. A probe was sent to retrieve him, and it succeeded—but it also brought back Megatron, who was fused with Ratchet as a single, monstrous being. Eye of the Storm! The Ratchet/Megatron creature rampaged through the Ark, wounding several Autobots, but Optimus Prime would not let them harm it. This put Optimus Prime in an awkward position: Was the life of Ratchet worth the possible loss of his other troops? The creature fought his way into the engine rooms and began tearing stuff apart, and Prime's choice was made for him: The creature must be stopped. Prime fought Ratchet/Megatron to a standstill, and, alarmingly, the part that was Ratchet took control and pulled Prime's gun to his own forehead, pleading for the Autobot Commander to put him out of his misery. In an unpopular decision, Optimus Prime ordered Fixit to separate Megatron and Ratchet, even if it meant saving Megatron. Bonded at a molecular level, neither could survive without the other, even when separated. The Price of Life!

Holy crap.

Separated by Fixit, they remained in stasis on the Ark until Grimlock and his Nucleon-revived Dinobots found the Ark abandoned during the Transformers' battle with Unicron. They filled the entire medical bay chambers with Nucleon, not aware that Megatron lay there in storage. The Void! Shockwave and Starscream stole the Ark after Unicron was defeated, in an attempt to return to Earth and conquer it. Still Life! However, just as Megatron awoke, Starscream and Shockwave were interrupted by Galvatron II, who had snuck on board before launch. While Galvatron and Megatron teamed up on Shockwave, Starscream went to check on any other possible survivors in the medical bay. He found Ratchet, whose mind was still connected to Megatron's, and Starscream fought the confused Autobot easily. However, when Starscream mused that Ratchet was no fun to kill, Ratchet became enraged and defeated him in a berserker state. Determined to end what he had started, Ratchet blew up the Ark as it was approaching Earth's orbit, sending all four Decepticons and himself to a supposed death. A Savage Circle

Marvel UK future timelines

Ratchet was present at the Ark in 2003 when Ultra Magnus announced his plans for a fully-functional transforming fortress known as Autobot City. Ark Duty

Generation 2

Megatron's molecular-level link with Ratchet was entirely ignored in Generation 2. Megatron returned and was rebuilt by Cobra, while Ratchet's fate was not mentioned at all.

As Optimus Prime was being repaired after a catastrophic battle with Megatron, he recalled the events of the Transformer civil war thus far, including two of Megatron's encounters with Ratchet. Tales of Earth Part Four

Classics

From martyr to furniture.

The Classics comics take place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a splinter timeline that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or Generation 2.

Fifteen years after Ratchet seemingly perished with Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave when the Ark crashed into the Yukon, Megatron had returned to power. Starscream had been fully rebuilt, Shockwave's disembodied head was rigged to exist only in a tortured advisory role, and Ratchet's body was stashed, seemingly lifeless, in a dark corner of Megatron's new throne room within the Ark's remains. Games of Deception

Cartoon continuity

Generation 1 cartoon

Voice actor: Don Messick, Wally Burr (English), Masashi Ebara (Japanese)

Ruh-roh. Rooby-rooby-roo!

Ratchet served as chief medical officer of the Ark on its mission to seek out new energy sources to fuel the Autobot struggle against the Decepticons. When the Ark was boarded by the crew of the Nemesis, Ratchet attempted to defend his ship by attacking Soundwave, but was thrown into a computer console for his trouble. Ratchet and the other Transformers were forced into emergency stasis lock when the out-of-control Ark crashed into a volcano on a primitive planet. Four million years later, the volcano erupted, activating Teletraan I to rebuild the Autobots and Decepticons. Ratchet was rebuilt into a human-scaled ambulance. After Hound and Cliffjumper's failed scouting mission ended in a counterattack by Laserbeak, Ratchet arrived with Hauler to pull the damaged Hound out of a ravine. Once he finished repairing Hound, Ratchet was part of the battlegroup sent to stop the Decepticons stealing the oil from an off-shore oil rig. However, he did not fare well in this battle. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1

After the Autobots saved their new human friends, Spike and Sparkplug Witwicky, from the oil rig fire, Ratchet repaired Huffer's damaged arm in the repair bay outside the Ark. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2 When Optimus Prime was caught in the explosion of the Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma, Ratchet helped the Autobot leader recover, but evidently his skills as a medic were not required, as Prime was totally fine after transforming back into robot mode. Soon afterwards, Ironhide was shot by Skywarp, so Ratchet carried the old-timer back to base for repairs. More than Meets the Eye, Part 3

During an ill-fated Autobot attempt to defend the local solar power plant, Starscream managed to shoot the guns out of Ratchet and Prowl's hands. Smarting from the concussion blast, Ratchet called for the Autobots to fall back. However, Ironhide once again managed to get himself damaged while saving Optimus Prime. Ironhide objected to Ratchet and Sparkplug's diagnosis of his damage, but Ratchet warned him against backtalk or the medic would short out Ironhide's mouth circuit. To prevent further argument, he shut down Ironhide, cutting off the warrior in mid-sentence. After the Autobots were led into a trap by a reprogrammed Bumblebee, Ratchet discovered the tampering done by the Decepticons and restored the little Autobot. Transport to Oblivion

In addition to patching up his fellow warriors whenever someone (usually Megatron) had roughed them up a little, Ratchet was also in charge of helping whenever Wheeljack had another invention in the making. Working together, the two Autobots designed and built the Dinobots more or less from scratch—and did a pretty good job, considering they were working with substandard materials. S.O.S. Dinobots Ratchet was also responsible for saving Optimus Prime's life, performing a daring surgery on the Autobot leader while subjected to attacks by Laserbeak. Divide and Conquer When Skyfire refused to assassinate the Autobots and was gunned down by Starscream, it was Ratchet who reconstructed the giant Decepticon scientist and gave him the chance to reform. Fire in the Sky

Now COUGH!

In 1985, after Spike was injured during a battle with the Decepticons, Ratchet carried their injured human friend to the metro hospital. While Spike's mind was transferred into the Autobot X experimental body Sparkplug had made earlier, Ratchet repaired the battle-damaged Bumblebee, but was forced to cut short his repairs after Spike went on a rampage in his new body. After Spike's mind was returned to his real body, Ratchet theorised that he could probably fix the problems in the mind-transfer process, but thought it was better left alone. Autobot Spike When Megatron captured Gears and unwittingly threatened the destruction of the Earth with his Solar Needle, Ratchet totally fly-kicked Thundercracker. After the Decepticons retreated, Ratchet and Wheeljack argued over which wire they had to disconnect to stabilize the Sun. However, nobody seemed to notice that he and Gears sounded exactly the same. Changing Gears

Seen here suffering from a unique condition known as "Dying Ratchet Syndrome".

In the year 2005, while piloting a secret mission to Autobot City in order to gather a stockpile of energon from Earth, Ratchet and his allies were attacked by Megatron. Ratchet and Ironhide returned fire, but they were both shot repeatedly and left for dead on the floor of the shuttle as the Decepticons continued with their attack on Autobot City. The Transformers: The Movie

Ratchet's body was evidently recovered for interment, as his grave was housed in the interstellar Autobot Mausoleum. Sadly, it was not Ratchet's fate to rest in peace; along with the mausoleum itself, Ratchet's remains were later plunged into a star as a side-effect of a Quintesson plot. Dark Awakening

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic

Amidst a massave battle against the Decepticons at the Autobot base in Arizona, Ratchet was one of the first to notice that Soundwave and his cassette forces were nowhere to be found. Now suspicious, Optimus Prime immediately alerted all his units in Japan to be on the lookout for the Decepticon. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2

Later, as Kenji was enjoying a tour of a secret Autobot facility in Japan, Ratchet was alerted to an attack by Megatron, Blitzwing and Starscream in Yokohama. The Autobots immediately rolled out to meet the threat. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 4

Binaltech

Along with Wheeljack, Ratchet helped implant Chip Chase's consciousness into the lifeless Prowl-2 shell when Prowl's spark was lost in subspace.

Big Looker storybooks continuity

"You sure are a jerk when you repair me, Ratchet!"

You sure go all to pieces when a missile hits you, Hound.

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

Dreamwave comics continuity

Events from the Keepers Trilogy novels are in italics.

"OW! I should blast you to atoms! You did that on purpose!"
"Tone down your audio amplifiers, will ya? That didn't hurt... much."Starscream and Ratchet, Skyfire

The Cybertronian red cross is Pac-Man.

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 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. The War Within: The Dark Ages

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". Soon after, Optimus Prime detached Ratchet and the others from the doomsday device, and he eventually recovered. Prime Directive

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 in the Canadian Arctic 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. New World Order The Autobots returned to the Ark, where Optimus Prime assigned Ratchet to a Jazz-led team that was to remain on Earth. 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. Cold War

My crotch is my stomach.

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 a supply ship from Cybertron later that day, Ratchet and Brawn slipped past the Ark's berserk defense systems in order to contact the ship and warn them. Unfortunately, Bruticus arrived 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. An uneasy truce was formed between the small group of Autobots and Decepticons, and Ratchet begrudgingly put his medic skills to work on Starscream. Skyfire However, after Jetfire left the Orion to go after Sunstorm, Starscream used his Null-ray on the remaining Autobots, including Ratchet. The Omega Effect

Ratchet later aided in the construction of Autobot City. The Route of All Evil

G.I.Joe vs Transformers

Physician, arm thyself.

In an alternate timeline, a 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. Optimus Prime was able to break free from his reprogramming and awaken the other Transformers, 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

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 issue 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 issue 4

Timelines

Amazingly not dead.

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 snuck in and freed them, allowing them to gather the wounded and escape as the clone lab was destroyed. Descent into Evil

IDW comics continuity

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

File:Ratchetidw.jpg

IDW's Ratchet, design and art by E.J. Su. Apparently, he got a "telling Prowl off" upgrade, too.

Ratchet's holo-matter avatar has no mouth, and he must snark.

Before the war with the Decepticons Ratchet served with the Security Forces stationed in Kaon. He was present at the funeral of Bumper and Fastback. Megatron Origin issue 3

Ratchet was part of a detachment of Autobots that had operated covertly on Earth for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency. Although a loyal warrior, Ratchet's conscience got the better of him when he intercepted a Decepticon pulsewave ordering the elimination of a human being. While he was too late to save that human, he encountered two more—Verity Carlo and Hunter O'Nion—who had stumbled upon the Decepticon plot. Infiltration issue 0 Ratchet broke cover to save their lives, subjecting himself to the wrath of Prowl, who threatened disciplinary action. Infiltration issue 3

Ratchet was seemingly alone in his convictions, until Bumblebee agreed to help him and the humans investigate an abandoned Decepticon bunker in Nebraska. Blitzwing and Skywarp arrived while the humans were reconnoitering and began an aerial bombardment of the bunker, intending to destroy it. Bumblebee and Ratchet engaged the Decepticons in order to buy the humans time to escape the collapsing bunker. Infiltration issue 4

The Autobots and humans were leaving the Decepticons to finish their work when an enraged Megatron burst from the buried ruins of the bunker. Thankfully for them, Megatron was more concerned with the treachery of Blitzwing and Skywarp, allowing Ratchet and the others to escape with their lives. Infiltration issue 5 Unwilling to risk their safety further, Ratchet subsequently returned the humans to Ark-17, where they met the newly arrived Optimus Prime. Infiltration issue 6

RUN AWAY!

After Sunstreaker was apparently destroyed by a mysterious human organisation, Ratchet determined that the wreckage the Autobots recovered was a fake. Escalation issue 2 Later, Ratchet and Ironhide, against orders, accompanied Verity Carlo and Jimmy Pink to find clues on the missing Sunstreaker's and Hunter's whereabouts while Optimus Prime and the other Autobots went to Brasnya. Escalation issue 4 When the humans set off a trap, the Autobots saved them, though Ironhide was critically injured and Ratchet was forced to abandon him to bring the humans to safety. Escalation issue 6

When the Autobots decided to relocate the Ark-17, they were attacked by Sixshot, who downed the ship in mid-flight. Devastation issue 1 Ratchet was ordered to take Verity and Jimmy into an escape pod while the rest of the crew piloted the ship into the ocean. Devastation issue 2 Sixshot soon found Ratchet and pursued him relentlessly. Ratchet used the distraction provided by some human jet fighters to escape, hiding among an ambulance pool in Pensacola, Florida. Sixshot soon flushed him out, however, and pursued him out of town, forcing Ratchet to abandon Verity and Jimmy for their own safety. When cornered at the water's edge, Ratchet prepared to make a last stand, but was saved by the timely arrival of the other Autobots. Devastation issue 3

CLEAR!

The humans made their way back to the Autobots to warn them about an air attack by the military, and Ratchet took them with him on an orbital bounce to the Ark-32. Unfortunately, this killed Verity and Jimmy. Devastation issue 4

Guilt-stricken, Ratchet managed to restart their hearts after more than 5 minutes, though he feared they suffered brain damage. Devastation issue 5 Some time later, however, Ratchet was present as the pair were reunited with Hunter. Maximum Dinobots issue 5

A year later, Ratchet tended to the critically-damaged Optimus Prime while the Autobots were hiding out on Cybertron. All Hail Megatron issue 1

The events of Spotlight: Mirage possibly take place in an alternate/unknown continuity.

Ratchet was with the Autobots hiding out in the Pegasus Star Cluster, with most of the Autobot forces having been defeated. He tended to the seriously wounded Jetfire's injuries, and suggested surrender to the Decepticons to save their fellow Autobot's life. When Mirage (disguised as Bumblebee) and the Decepticons attacked, he attempted to reason with the Decepticon mercenary about Jetfire's condition, only to be attacked for his trouble. After the Autobots surrendered, he was furious when Mirage betrayed his word and prepared to carry out Megatron's order to execute the Autobots. Spotlight: Mirage

Hearts of Steel

With Optimus Prime in stasis lock, Ratchet and Prowl appeared to be the co-leaders of the Autobots in the 19th century. Hearts of Steel issue 1 Despite Bumblebee's pleading, he was reluctant to interfere with the humans, but nevertheless participated in the pursuit of the Astrotrain as it headed to New York. Hearts of Steel issue 4

His "Ice Age Wars" altmode is uncertain, but it clearly has scales and spikes. His 19th-century altmode is a medical boxcar. He may be the very first Transformer depicted with a boxcar altmode, as prior to this, all train-based Transformers were locomotives.

Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic

"Ma'am, I'm just an SUV—oh, fine."

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

Toys

Generation 1

Why's everything so dark in here?

• Ratchet (1984/1986/1990/2001/2007)
  • Japanese ID number: 99
  • Accessories: "Static Laser Gun", gun connector, 3 missiles

Ratchet was originally a Onebox Ambulance Type toy from Takara's Diaclone line before Hasbro brought Transformers to North America. The toy transforms from an ambulance to a robot and gun-station. A variant of the toy includes red crosses on the top and sides of the vehicle. Ratchet and his retool/redeco buddy Ironhide, like all Diaclones, were designed to be piloted mecha, which is why he has a seat instead of a head. The Transformers version applied a face sticker to the back of the seat in lieu of a real sculpted noggin.

In 1986, he was made available as a mail-away item (as he was no longer shipping to retail shelves) in multiple offers, including the Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction flier packed with most boxed Transformers toys. He cost $8 and two robot points.

In Japan, Ratchet was originally only available as a S.T.A.R.S. mail-away, costing 1700 yen and 4 robot points. In 2001, he was reissued in Japan as an e-Hobby exclusive, paired with Ironhide.

This looks ... better?

In mid-December 2007, he was reissued again as part of Takara's Transformers Encore line. This particular version came with an illustration on one box flap depicting Ratchet's cartoon-design head and chest windshield. By punching out the image along the perforated edges, folding it just so and tucking it in behind the toy's windshield, one could obscure the circuit-board "face" on the driver's seat and give the toy a "real" head, just like in the TV series. Sort of. This version of the toy was retooled to add a pair of "clips" to the mobile platform's gun-base, designed to keep Ratchet more securely attached when riding it. However, these clips are right where a pair of decals normally go.

• More information on Ratchet at TFU.info

To the Mystery Machine, gang!

• Ratchet Emergency Green (2008)
  • Accessories: "Static Laser Gun", gun connector, 3 missiles

A redeco of the original toy (well, the retooled Encore version) which homages the live-action movie Ratchet, Ratchet Emergency Green is a Japanese mail-away exclusive available with a purchase of the book Transformers Visualworks. After the book release on December 4, 2007, purchasers could mail in a ticket from the book and purchase either one (5200yen) or two (10,000 yen) of the item. Ratchet shipped to customers in April 2008.

He's totally awesome.

• More information on Emergency Green Ratchet at TFU.info

Timelines

Maybe photographing him against a white backdrop wasn't such a great idea.

• Autobot Ratchet & Flareup (2005)
  • Accessories: Lightbar/blaster

One of two "souvenir" packages exclusive to BotCon 2005, Ratchet is a retooling of the Energon Autobot Tow-Line with a new head, transforming into a large utility van. In robot mode, his lower vehicle portion becomes a mobile battle/repair platform. Ratchet can fold his legs back and up over his shoulders (wow!) and re-attach to this platform for a "battle mode". In this, ahem, position, Ratchet can also form the top half of a two-robot "Powerlinx combiner" with any Energon Deluxe Autobot, and any of them can also use his platform for their own combination.

The mold's standard "receiver dish" weapon was not produced; instead, he came with a new "light bar" that pegged onto his roof in much the same manner.

He could only be purchased in an at-show "souvenir" two-pack along with Flareup.

• More information on BotCon Ratchet at TFU.info

Henkei! Henkei!

Surprise, I'm colored like the cartoon!

• Ratchet (Deluxe, 2009)
  • Japanese ID number: C-14
  • Accessories: Converting Cannon

A redeco and retooling of the 2008 Universe Ironhide toy, Henkei! Henkei! Ratchet transforms into an "emergency" SUV. He has a red Japanese-style emergency lightbar, is cast in bright white plastic and has a deco resembling Ratchet's appearance in the original cartoon series, down to his dark gray head crest. Like all Henkei toys, he features vacuum metalized plastic, specifically his headlights and taillights, as well as his "Converting Cannon" weapon.

Universe (2008)

Generation 1 Series

No, not that Universe Ratchet.

• Autobot Ratchet (Deluxe, 2009)
  • Accessories: Medical Dispenser/Combat Blade

Like Henkei Ratchet, Universe Ratchet is a redeco and retooling of the Universe Ironhide toy, and transforms into an "emergency" SUV. He has a blue American-style emergency lightbar (as opposed to Henkei Ratchet's different tooled red Japanese-style emergency lightbar), is cast in pearlescent white plastic and has a rather generic "Ratchety" colour/paint scheme. His license plate also reads H3L PU2.

While similar in execution, there are a great many changes from Henkei Ratchet to Universe Ratchet. The red paint detailing on Universe Ratchet is different than that of Henkei Ratchet in color and layout. The Henkei version's stripes resemble that more of his original counterpart, while the Universe version resemble that of his Animated version. Henkei Ratchet uses chrome paint on his weapon and both sets of lights while the Universe version leaves them unpainted. Gray paint covers Henkei Ratchet's gun barrel and silver on his upper chest (behind the chest window), these parts remain unpainted on Universe Ratchet. The paint used for the windows of Universe Ratchet is a light blue while Henkei Ratchet uses a deeper metallic blue paint. Henkei Ratchet has black forearms and upper thighs, while the Japanese version uses a pure white (different from the white used through out the rest of the figure). Universe Ratchet has a yellow vanity plate and red head crest while Henkei Ratchet has a blank gray plate and gray head crest. Universe Ratchet features a blue blade on his weapon, while Henkei Ratchet features a red blade. Universe Ratchet also features a lighter red plastic than the Henkei version.

Like Universe Ironhide, the blue paint used for his opaque windows matches really, really badly with his translucent blue plastic windows.

Merchandise

Ratchet cosplaying as Ironhide, or Ironhide cosplaying as Ratchet? You, the viewer, decides!

• Cybertron Hero Collection 22 (Decoy multi-pack, 1985)

In Japan, a red rubber mini-figure of Ratchet was available in part of a massive multi-pack of similar mini-figurines. The number etched into his back is the sum total of his tech spec ratings, as these figurines were used as game pieces for a variety of Transformers board games in which this number had some meaning to how the game was played or something.

• Ratchet (Decoy, 1987)
  • Decoy number: 6

The Hasbro Decoy release of the Ratchetgame piece is almost identical to the Japanese version, except the number on his back is a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots and Technobots.

Super Collection Figure

File:SCF-Act6-Ratchet.jpg

Super-action pose doctor!

• Ratchet (2002)

A non-transformable PVC figurine of Ratchet was made for "Act 6" of Takara's Super Collection Figure line, a slight retooling of the Ironhide PVC with a new head and "gun"-hand (even though Ironhide's pelvis in animation was not the same as Ratchet's). He was placed in blind-packed boxes, and both full-color and all-pewter-finish versions were made in equal numbers.

Heroes of Cybertron

• Ratchet (2003)

For the Hasbro Heroes of Cybertron version of SCF, Ratchet was cast entirely in clear-blue plastics, then painted over completely, so a patch of unpainted plastic at the back of his head would emulate the light piping effect of previous toys. He was part of the fifth and final wave of Heroes of Cybertron and came with the right leg to the "build-a-bot" large PVC of Metroplex.

Transformers Mini-Bust

Your choice of head! His choice of medical tools.

• Ratchet (2009)

Released by Diamond Select Toys in 2009, Ratchet was sculpted by Mark Wong of Art Asylum and limited to 1000 pieces. The bust continues the tradition of giving all Ratchet merchandise (but not toys) the red cross insignia on their shoulders to better match the Animation model. Ratchet's Bio credits him and Wheeljack with creating the Dinobots; effectively making him the cartoon version but he comes packaged with two heads for do-it-yourself retconning. Comic accurate red helmet with white chevron, or the cartoon accurate white helmet with grey chevron. Fans of the Universe 2.0 version (white helmet, red chevron) will have to buy some red paint when they pick their bust up. Three tools are also included with the Bust. One slightly resembling the Power Booster Rod. The other a Cybertronian version of an otoscope and the third is some sort of medical gear shaft. They are not sculpted on nor do they possess a magnet and are simply lodged in his hands for display.

Trivia

• Bob Budiansky has said that he named Ratchet after the less-friendly medic Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
• 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.
• In later years, toys sporting the name "Ratchet" require an additional "Autobot" prefix for trademark reasons, hence making the official name "Autobot Ratchet".
• In the Energon cartoon, several possible retools of Ratchet were seen in a crowd shot.
• Ratchet's original toy is part of a matrix of cross-referencing redecos:
  • In 2008, the original 1984 Ratchet mold got a green redeco as "Ratchet Emergency Green" in obvious reference to his movie counterpart.
  • Meanwhile, the movie counterpart's toys got a red and white "Rescue Ratchet" redeco... based on the original colors of the 1984 toy.
  • Elsewhere, Animated Ratchet includes elements from both characters, including Generation 1 Ratchet's chevron crest and coloration. (Animated Ratchet later got a movie-based "Rescue Ratchet" redeco, to boot.)

External links

• Ratchet at TFU.info
• Ratchet's Universe profile at NTFA.net