Ratchet (WFC)

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

Ratchet is an Autobot from the Aligned continuity family.

File:PrimeRatcht.jpg

Forehead crest = Awesome.

The Autobots' medical officer, Ratchet has a dry wit, often giving his wounded comrades a hard time for taking hits he somehow avoids. With the Energon supplies becoming less and less, he works to find new ways to make do, and he'd really prefer if the Autobots didn't risk injury (or worse) to protect humans. He'd also prefer the humans weren't brought back to Autobot Central Command but since he is unfamiliar with human tech, he needs Rafael Esquivel to help him out. However, for all his views on humans, deep down Ratchet admires what the tiny fleshies bring to the fight.

In a contest between resources and ingenuity, never underestimate ingenuity.Ratchet, Exodus

Fiction

Exodus

Ratchet made his name during the Praxian stalemate. He and Bumblebee fought in a few battles together, during which he taught the younger Autobot how to apply first aid. He repaired his throat after Megatron destroyed it in revenge for ejecting the AllSpark into space, enabling Bumblebee to speak from time to time.

After Megatron invaded Iacon and took the Plasma Energy Chamber, Ratchet welded Ironhide's face and stabilized Omega Supreme's condition. When Optimus Prime asked Ratchet if Omega was ready to fight again, the offended medic responded that if Optimus wanted Omega to fight after the Seekers blew him out of the sky, Dark Energon-infused gladiators attacked him and Megatron tore out the Chamber out of his chest, then he wanted another surgeon. Optimus knew he had to apologize but was too preoccupied with rescuing Sentinel Prime.

When the Autobots left Cybertron on the Ark, Ratchet informed Optimus and Ultra Magnus that Omega was repaired and ready to distract Trypticon. Transformers: Exodus

Prime comic

Ratchet was stationed at the Autobot base on Earth, opening the GroundBridge for Optimus to retrieve Arcee and Cliffjumper. He reattached her arm after Starscream had blown it off. Transformers: Prime (comic)

Prime cartoon

Voice actor: Jeffrey Combs (English), José María Carrero (Spain-Spanish), Seong-yong Ha (Korean), Claudio Moneta (Italian)

You're drawn to his eccentric charm.

Three years after the last reported Decepticon activity on Earth, Ratchet was still marooned on the planet with his fellow Autobots. While he was driving through a snowy area elsewhere, Optimus Prime contacted him and told him to return to their abandoned missile silo headquarters near Jasper, Nevada. Cliffjumper had engaged in battle with several Decepticon drones, and he needed backup. However, by the time the Autobots arrived on the scene via a GroundBridge portal, it was too late. Cliffjumper was nowhere to be found, and the Decepticons had fled in their spaceship. Ratchet's scanners confirmed what they all feared: Cliffjumper's life signal had been extinguished. After the Autobots gave their respects for their fallen friend, Ratchet confided in Optimus that "helping humans will only result in more tragedy."

After an altercation with the Decepticons inadvertently revealed the Autobots to three human children, Optimus Prime asked that Arcee and Bumblebee retrieve the children from school so that he could begin placing them under the Autobots' surveillance. After the children arrived, Ratchet quickly grew annoyed with their questions. Darkness Rising, Part 1 During a visit by Agent Fowler, Ratchet was further irritated when Bulkhead crushed a piece of his equipment while explaining something to the human.

File:DarknessRising3-Ratchetcloseup.jpg

He's got two modes: Grumpy and Snarky.

Shortly after, Ratchet detected Cliffjumper's signal again. The rest of the Autobots raced off to mount a rescue, leaving him to play babysitter to the three kids, much to his disappointment. As he struggled with the computer system, Raf helped him get rid of some system bugs. The other Autobots returned, but without Cliffjumper, and when Arcee began feeling dizzy, Ratchet found a small Dark Energon contamination on her wrist. The work of analyzing the sample handily allowed him to sidestep being assigned to watch over Jack Darby. While moving the sample around the lab, he inadvertently dripped some on the equipment Bulkhead had broken and, unnoticed by Ratchet, it came to life... Darkness Rising, Part 2

Ratchet struggled with the tool for a minute or so before Optimus Prime arrived and blasted it. Though Optimus realized that Megatron's plan was to raise an army of the undead, Ratchet didn't know of any sources of Cybertronian corpses. When the rest of the other Autobots returned to base, Optimus and Ratchet immediately left on a mission to a remote location. Optimus explained that during the war, both sides had hidden energon on other worlds, and the cache on Earth became the site of the largest battle off Cybertron. They reached the graveyard, but so did Megatron, who mocked Ratchet before using a sliver of Dark Energon to create his undead army. Darkness Rising, Part 3

He performs surgery with these. Carefully.

Though horrified at what Megatron had done, the pair began fighting off the zombies. Ratchet quickly found that the most effective way of dealing with them was by hacking them to bits, but exposure to the Dark Energon began to sap the Autobots' strength. At one point they both disappeared under piles of zombies until Optimus threw them off and dug out Ratchet. Though Ratchet's right arm was damaged, he fought on and eventually they ran out of zombies to smash. Megatron flew off before Optimus could deal with him, but Ratchet was left wondering what the Decepticons gloating about a main event meant. They returned to base, where Ratchet's damaged arm was bound while they found out the kids had become involved in a battle and Jack was ready to leave — Ratchet was all too happy to show him the door. Ratchet also examined some plans which Miko had obtained from the Decepticon ship, and realized they were for a space bridge component, and that Megatron intended to bring a zombie army through from Cybertron. Darkness Rising, Part 4

Ratchet did a search and located the terminus of the space bridge in Earth orbit. Optimus immediately took the rest of the Autobots there, leaving Ratchet to look after the base, kids, and Fowler. Once it was established that the Decepticon ship was damaged and unable to target the space bridge on Cybertron, Ratchet and the kids worked out that the Decepticons must have been using a radio dish array in Texas to do so. Ratchet reported that Fowler was still in no condition to alert the installation, so instead he bridged the three kids there to try and stop the Decepticons. Though their mission wasn't a success, Raf brought back schematics for the space bridge, which Ratchet was able to use to work out a means of destroying it. He instructed Arcee's team on sabotaging the space bridge, and bridged everyone back to base before the inevitable explosion. Darkness Rising, Part 5

I was busy pushing bodies around as you well know and what would a note say, Dan? "Cat dead, details later"?

Ratchet was surprised that Optimus was not more pleased by Megatron's destruction, but their conversation was interrupted by the kid's science projects. Ratchet was dismayed that the kids were working on them in the base, however when they detected Decepticon activity and Optimus wanted him on the mission, Ratchet opted to stay at base to help the kids with their projects. Unfortunately for them, he pretty much took over their projects and forbade the other Autobots from helping. He built a large volcano for Raf, a model of Cybertron for Miko, and... some sort of engine for Jack. To his disappointment, none of the projects went down well at school. Masters & Students

My kingdom for a Charlie Fong!

Ratchet checked Bumblebee and Bulkhead after their mission in the Arctic, and reported to Optimus on the status of a strange pod the pair had brought back. When Optimus and Arcee prepared to check the Arctic for clues, Ratchet gave them both temperature sensors to warn them when they were getting too cold. The kids arrived, causing Ratchet to wonder why they weren't in school, to which Miko retorted that it was Saturday. After Optimus and Arcee GroundBridged out, the GroundBridge system failed, and Ratchet set about trying to repair it. The cause of the problem became clear when Raf discovered a Scraplet roaming the base, and they subsequently checked the pod to find it had broken open. Ratchet continued to try to fix the GroundBridge with Jack as backup against the Scraplets, but when a swarm of them attacked, Ratchet was quickly overcome. He urged Jack to use a nearby fire extinguisher to freeze the critters off, which resulted in them formulating a plan to use the GroundBridge to send the Scraplets to the Arctic. Once the kids got the GroundBridge operational by repairing an energon fuel line, Ratchet activated it, and Bulkhead lured the Scraplets though. Ratchet subsequently oversaw repairs on Bulkhead and Bumblebee, and reflected to Optimus that they were lucky the infestation had occurred on a Saturday. Scrapheap

Problems with the GroundBridge lingered. When Bulkhead's old buddy Wheeljack arrived, Ratchet found that the GroundBridge's operation was still problematic. He worked on it some more, while trying to ignore the distractions caused by the other Autobots partying and Wheeljack and Bulkhead Lobbing. The delays caused by Ratchet's repairs resulted in "Wheeljack" being exposed as a Decepticon imposter. Unfortunately this also meant that when the real Wheeljack turned up, Ratchet was subjected to another round of partying. Con Job

Ratchet monitored Prime's convoy from base as the Autobots transported the Dynamic Nuclear Generation System across country. When cars attacked the convoy, he was surprised the scans hadn't detected Decepticon energy signatures, but that turned out to be because the cars belonged to a human terrorist organization known as MECH. He was able to warn Optimus later, when actual Decepticons attacked. With the D.N.G.S. on a train and in danger of being captured by MECH, Ratchet and Raf worked together to GroundBridge Jack and Miko onto the train. MECH overloaded Raf's laptop, and after that, Ratchet was no longer able to bridge them back. Luckily Optimus was able to save the day. Convoy Ratchet later helped Raf fix his laptop. Raf's Notes #5

Ratchet's scans picked up an energon trace in Greece, sending Bulkhead and Miko there. When an Energon Harvester was located in a museum, Ratchet attempted unsuccessfully to contact Fowler, who was away on training. The Harvester was subsequently stolen by the Decepticons, and Ratchet manufactured a replica to replace it, despite Bulkhead breaking his frame welder. Deus ex Machina

"I've heard that humans quite often wake up late with black eyes. They call the condition 'a hangover'."

Ratchet located the Nemesis and a crashed Autobot ship. Optimus opted to investigate the latter, but Ratchet found it only bore victims of Cybonic plague. Optimus was infected, and Ratchet brought him back, faced with the fact there was no cure. However, the children deduced that Megatron must have known the cure if he created it, and Arcee and Bumblebee GroundBridged aboard the Nemesis and discovered Megatron's body in stasis. Unable to find the cure on the Decepticon database, Ratchet suggested using a cortical psychic patch to locate in Megatron's mind. By watching the link, Ratchet recorded the hologram of the antidote Megatron showed to Bumblebee, and was able to cure Optimus. Sick Mind

Ratchet:Megatron, prepare to be unplugged!
<Raf looks at him>
Ratchet:What, too corny?
Raf: JUST PULL IT!!!

He gave Optimus a clean bill of health, though warned Prime not to do anything too strenuous. When Ratchet caught Bumblebee crushing a piece of equipment, the scout reported that he had begun experiencing visions of Megatron, and Ratchet induced a shutdown to give Bumblebee's mind time to recover. The other Autobots left the base for the Arctic to recover a stolen telescope lens, and while they were gone, Ratchet observed Raf keeping Bumblebee company unnecessarily. Unfortunately his attempt to talk reason to the boy resulted in him being subjected to pictures of Raf's family. Bumblebee reactivated unexpectedly and went off through the GroundBridge, leading Ratchet to realize that Megatron had taken over their comrade's body. His attempts to stop Bumblebee resulted in him being knocked across the room, and he and Raf were forced to follow Bumblebee to the Decepticon ship. There, they tried fruitlessly to stop Bumblebee from restoring Megatron to life, and had to retreat under Vehicon fire after Megatron's resurrection. They found Optimus's team on the ground below and returned to base where Ratchet checked over Bumblebee's processor for any lingering traces of Megatron's influence. Out of His Head

When Ratchet detected a swiftly-moving Dark Energon signature, the Autobots assumed that it was Megatron. He was surprised when Optimus wanted him on the team to investigate because of his knowledge of Dark Energon. Instead of Megatron, the Autobots found Starscream making an attempt to resurrect Skyquake with Dark Energon and also found that the kids had followed them through the GroundBridge. Ratchet ordered the trio to go back to base, however a Decepticon GroundBridge interfered with their journey, and both portals exploded. In the aftermath, Ratchet theorized that the two portals had fed back on each other, potentially depositing the kids at a random location. Back at base, he worked on a way to locate them, but the breakthrough came when Jack sent a text message to Miko's phone, revealing they were trapped in an alternate dimension with Skyquake. With this knowledge, Ratchet was able to recreate the original feedback loop and create a portal the kids could escape through. Shadowzone

After patching up Bulkhead following a skirmish with Breakdown in which the 'Con was captured by MECH, Ratchet joined the mission to rescue the Decepticon. Once they arrived in Kamchatka Peninsula, Ratchet told Bumblebee to ignore the obvious vehicle tracks, as he'd detected an energon signature. They found Breakdown's eye, which Ratchet hooked up to his scanner to attempt to extract images it had seen. It turned out to have been rigged into a two-way communications device by Silas. The team narrowly avoided being blown up by a MECH bomb, and later tracked down Bulkhead in time to rescue him from Starscream and Breakdown. Operation: Breakdown

Ratchet was at the Autobot base when Jack and Arcee brought Jack's mom in to introduce her to everyone. Crisscross On another occasion, he detected an incoming vehicle which just turned out to be June Darby again. While telling her that Optimus was out on a mission, he detected a magnetic anomaly, and dispatched Bulkhead and Arcee to find it. When the anomaly turned out to be a magnetic weapon that resulted in the pair becoming stuck together, Ratchet identified it as a polarity gauntlet, and stressed to June that it would be extremely dangerous in Megatron's hands. Bulkhead and Arcee were eventually able to retrieve the device and present it to Ratchet back at base. Metal Attraction

Ratchet picked up the activation of the Harbinger's computer system, and informed Optimus. When Bumblebee and Arcee returned with two frozen comrades and the pieces of a Decepticon weapon, Ratchet was able to repair the weapon and use it to restore Prime and Bulkhead. Also he fixed Arcee's injuries. Partners

While most of the other Autobots went out to retrieve a Cybertronian data cylinder, Ratchet stayed at base to monitor them and annoy Bulkhead and Miko by interrupting their monster truck footage. After Bulkhead was called out to the field, Ratchet assigned Miko cleaning duties, only for her to rush off to the battlefield. She attempted to coordinate a GroundBridge pickup of the target device, but was unable to coordinate with Ratchet properly. After Bulkhead was zapped in the noggin by the cylinder, Ratchet initially gave him a clean bill of health, but when Bulkhead started painting complex formulas, Ratchet discovered that the energy from the cylinder was slowly destroying Bulkhead's mind. While Optimus attempted to get the cylinder back from Megatron, Ratchet found that Miko and Bulkhead had left the base, and alerted Prime. When they returned with Bulkhead in a comatose state, Ratchet was unable to do anything to revive him, but his suggestion that a familiar sound might rouse the Autobot led Miko to wake Bulkhead with her guitar playing. T.M.I.

Ratchet endeavored to complete the synthetic energon formula and finally seemed to succeed, running a test engine on the stuff. Wanting to do more for the Autobot cause, he injected the substance into himself as a test. Perhaps almost to his surprise, it worked. In fact, it worked so well that when Arcee got into trouble on a mission, he went out into the field himself and trashed an entire squad of Vehicons on his own. He excitedly showed the other Autobots what he had done, though Optimus was disappointed in his actions. Ratchet still felt strong, even accidentally throwing Bulkhead through a wall. He went on to inject himself with more synthetic energon, before inviting himself along on the Autobots' next mission. His vigorous interrogation of a miner and subsequent attempt to extinguish the Decepticon led to Optimus giving him a lecture. He accused Optimus of not being pro-active enough in their campaign against the Decepticons, and went off to confront Megatron on his own. Reaching the Decepticon energon mine, Ratchet made short work of Breakdown, but Megatron proved more formidable than expected, and Ratchet was seriously injured and left to Knock Out's tender mercies. After Knock Out took a sample of the synthetic energon, Ratchet managed to raise enough strength to fight back, and managed to destroy the sample. The other Autobots rescued him, though he had lost a lot of energon and had to be hooked up to a drip. Ratchet apologized for his behavior, though at least they'd gained a supply of real energon out of it. Stronger, Faster

Plot details for One Shall Fall follow. Spoilers have expired, you may remove this tag

When Optimus became interested in a prophecy from the Covenant of Primus, Ratchet worked out that the planetary alignment mentioned was mere days away. Ratchet realized that the components that the Decepticons had been stealing were space bridge components. When Raf was injured during a mission to stop the Decepticons, Ratchet went to treat the boy, but discovered he didn't know enough about human physiology. Jack called in June Darby to help. She wanted to take him to an emergency room, but Ratchet pointed out the doctors wouldn't have any experience with energon contamination. However when he looked at the readings, he saw that Raf had been infected with Dark Energon. He applied an infusion of regular energon, which neutralized the dark stuff, and Raf recovered. While trying to reach Optimus to give him the good news, Ratchet discovered that the area their leader was in was swimming in Dark Energon readings. One Shall Fall

Games

Transformers: War for Cybertron (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Voice actor: Fred Tatasciore (English), Stefano Albertini (Italian)

"Just let me patch you up with my ENORMOUS HEALING CANNON!"

During the Decepticons' siege of Iacon, Ratchet was assigned to Optimus, and helped him rescue a courier named Bumblebee, who informed Optimus that with the presumed death of Zeta Prime, the Council was putting him in command. The three of them headed back to the command center, receiving a message from Jetfire that the Aerialbots were being overwhelmed and needed support. It was decided that the planetary guns, disabled earlier by Megatron's forces, needed to be brought back online. Informing Jetfire that he was taking temporary command, Optimus took Ratchet and Bumblebee with him on the mission, though when Ratchet questioned the "temporary" part, Optimus brushed it aside.

When that mission was completed, they decided their next stop was the Decagon, in order to re-establish communications and coordinate Iacon's defense. Hitting serious resistance, including several Decepticon war machines and more than a few damaged lifts which Ratchet puzzled out a way around, they nonetheless prevailed with help from Jetfire and Ironhide, before reaching the Decagon itself, where they encountered the former Autobot Sky Commander, Starscream. They managed to defeat him as well and retook the Decagon.

After Optimus was named the new Prime, he went on a mission to free Cybertron's core of Megatron's Dark Energon corruption. In order to do so, however, he needed to open the Omega Gate, which would require freeing Omega Supreme from Decepticon captivity. Omega was still badly damaged from his battle with Megatron's forces, so Optimus called in Ratchet, whom Prime, Warpath, and Ironhide protected during his operation to repair Omega Supreme. After the Omega Gate was opened, Ratchet returned to base with Omega, as field repairs could only do so much.

When Trypticon fell to the surface from orbit, Ratchet organized the rescue effort. After Trypticon was defeated, he praised Optimus on his success, but was the price paid was costly - many Autobots were lost, and those remaining were now forced to abandon Cybertron while the planetary Core repaired the damage. Ratchet was one of those who stayed behind with Optimus to resist Megatron's schemes, and to build an Ark to carry them from their home when the time came. Transformers: War for Cybertron

Transformers: War for Cybertron — Autobots

When the Decepticons started poking around an Autobot base, Ratchet tracked their search patterns and instructed a rookie on where to go to find whatever it was they were looking for. Ratchet was in the control room to greet the rookie on arrival, and hand him over to Air Raid for basic training. Unfortunately the Decepticons destroyed the rookie and found the intel they were after. Following Zeta Prime's capture, the Autobot leader managed to contact Ironhide and Ratchet, but the data links powering the communications grid were severed. Ratchet greeted another rookie, who managed to repair the data links.

Ratchet would go on to become a member of Optimus' inner circle. Following the retaking of Iacon, he reported that the Data-net was back online and Zeta Prime could contact them again. He later worked with Jetfire to analyse core samples, and discovered that the core would be healing itself if it weren't for the influence of the Dark Energon corruptors. Optimus's team successfully freed the core, but the planet was no longer able to sustain them. When Ratchet asked what they'd do, Optimus responded that their new mission was to leave the planet. Ratchet was among the Autobots who defeated Megatron's secret weapon, the monstrous titan Trypticon. Upon Trypticon's defeat, Ratchet left the planet along with Optimus's team. Transformers: War for Cybertron (DS)

Transformers: Cybertron Adventures

Transformers: Cybertron Adventures

Toys

Prime

• Ratchet (Cyberverse Legion, 2012)
  • Accessories:

• Ratchet (Deluxe, 2012)
  • Accessories: Attachable blades

Notes

• Transformers alumnus Michael Bell originally auditioned for the part of Ratchet in Transformers: Prime, but ultimately lost the role to Jeffrey Combs.
• In a number of episodes, mostly written by Nicole Dubuc, Ratchet's equipment gets damaged by a fellow Autobot, prompting him to utter "I NEEDED THAT!" each time.