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

Exiles

Transformers: Exiles

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), Jan Spitzer (German), Jesús Cortez (Latin American Spanish)

You're drawn to his eccentric charm.

Ratchet was on patrol in a snowy region when news came in that Cliffjumper was battling a platoon of Decepticons solo. Ratchet and the other Autobots returned to base to GroundBridge to his location, but they were too late: Cliffjumper was nowhere to be found, and Ratchet confirmed that his lifesigns had ceased. It was Ratchet's belief that continuing to operate on Earth and aid humans would only result in more tragedy, and as such, it was no surprise that he vehemently objected to the Autobots becoming protectors for Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai and Raf Esquivel soon after—though the kids' incessant questions didn't help their case, either. Darkness Rising, Part 1 Ratchet's mood was not improved when Bulkhead accidentally crushed an important piece of lab equipment, and things got even worse when he was instructed to stay at base and watch the children while the other Autobots investigated the reappearance of Cliffjumper's lifesign. He did, however, start to see the value in the kids' presence when Raf helped him in his continuing struggle to master the inferior human computer systems the Autobot base ran on. Darkness Rising, Part 2

He performs surgery with these. Carefully.

The other Autobots returned from their mission with the news that Cliffjumper had been revived by the Decepticons as a zombie, and when Arcee began feeling dizzy, Ratchet examined her and discovered a trace of the mysterious substance that had reanimated Cliffjumper. While examining it, Ratchet inadvertently dripped some on the equipment Bulkhead had broken, transforming it into a vicious little monster. Darkness Rising, Part 2 Optimus Prime helped him destroy it, and both realized that they were dealing with Dark Energon. Realizing that Megatron planned to raise an undead army, Optimus took Ratchet to the site of an ancient Transformer battle on Earth, but they arrived too late to prevent Megatron from using Dark Energon to raise the buried corpses of the warriors as a legion of Terrorcons. Darkness Rising, Part 3 Ratchet quickly deduced that the best way to stop them was dismemberment, and he and Prime managed to cut down the entire army despite the debilitating effects of the Dark Energon, though Ratchet sustained a wounded arm in the process, and Megatron was able to escape. Returning to base, Ratchet examined some plans that Miko had obtained from the Decepticons in his absence, and realized that the villains were building a space bridge so they could use Dark Energon to raise a zombie army from Cybertron. Darkness Rising, Part 4 Given his injuries, Ratchet stayed behind at the base to man the GroundBridge, sending the other Autobots to the orbiting space bridge for battle, and the kids to a radio dish array in Texas to cut off the Decepticons' targeting systems. While the kids failed in their endeavour, they did succeed in obtaining schematics for the space bridge, which Ratchet used to determine 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 initially dismayed to learn that the kids were working on their school science projects in the Autobot base, but changed his tune in short order and actually turned down combat duty in order to stay and help them. Unfortunately for the kids, he completely took over their projects, building a large volcano for Raf, a model of Cybertron for Miko, and an advanced engine for Jack, none of the projects went down well at school, much to Ratchet's disappointment. Masters & Students

My kingdom for a Charlie Fong!

Ratchet found another reason to be grateful to have the kids around when a Scraplet infestation in the base left the GroundBridge disabled, and Ratchet at the mercy of the metal-eating monsters. Jack used a fire extinguisher to freeze the creatures off, saving Ratchet's life, but the medic remained too badly wounded to effect repairs to the GroundBridge, and had to entrust the job to the humans. They succeeded, and Ratchet was able to patch up himself and his fellow Autobots. Scrapheap Problems with the GroundBridge lingered, however, and Ratchet continued working on it during a visit by Bulkhead's old buddy Wheeljack, 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 continued to play the role of tech support over the Autobots next few missions. He remained in the base to monitor the Autobot convoy as they transported Dynamic Nuclear Generation System across country, alerting them to an incoming Decepticon attack and—under protest—working with Raf to GroundBride Miko and Jack onto a moving track so they could stop the forces of MECH from stealing the device.

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

Convoy The episode burnt Raf's laptop out, but Ratchet later helped fix it. Raf's Notes #5 When the Decepticons stole an Energon Harvester from a human museum, Ratchet manufactured a replica to replace it, despite Bulkhead breaking his frame welder. Deus ex Machina

When Ratchet and Optimus Prime investigated a crashed Autobot vessel, they discovered that it was a plague ship carrying deceased victims of Cybonic plague, a pathogen created by Megatron himself. Optimus contracted the disease, which was beyond even Ratchet's ability to cure, so he GroundBridged Arcee and Bumblebee to the Nemesis so they could obtain the cure from Megatron's mind via cortical psychic patch. 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!!!

While Optimus was given a clean bill of health, Ratchet was more concerned about Bumblebee; learning that the scout was seeing visions of Megatron following their psychic link-up, Ratchet induced a shutdown to give his systems time to recover. The other Autobots soon left the base on a mission, and Ratchet was left with Raf, who was sitting by the unconscious Bumblebee's beside. Trying to explain to the boy that this was unnecessary only resulted in Ratchet being subjected to pictures of Raf's family, but the discussion was cut off when Bumblebee suddenly reactivated, leading Ratchet to realize that Megatron had taken over their comrade's body. Unable to stop the Decepticon leader from escaped through the GroundBridge, Ratchet 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

Due to his experience with Dark Energon, Ratchet—much to his own surprise—was tapped to take Arcee's place when the Autobots deployed to confront Starscream as he was attempting to use the evil substance to revive Skyquake. Discovering that the kids had followed them through the GroundBridge, Ratchet ordered them to head back through to base, only for a Decepticon GroundBridge to manifest at the same time, causing a disruption that hurled the children into a parallel dimension. Deducing what had happened, Ratchet was able to recreate the original feedback loop and create a portal the kids could escape through. Shadowzone Ratchet also went into the field on the Autobots' next mission: After patching up Bulkhead following a skirmish with Breakdown in which the 'Con was captured by MECH, Ratchet joined the effort to rescue the Decepticon. Following an Energon signature but finding only Breakdown's plucked-out eye, Ratchet attempted to extract images from the eye to help in the Autobots' search, but it turned out to be a booby-trap, and the team only narrowly avoided the bomb explosion that resulted. They later tracked down Bulkhead in time to rescue him from Starscream and Breakdown. Operation: Breakdown

A rare sighting.

Ratchet was at the Autobot base when Jack and Arcee brought Jack's mother June Darby in to introduce her to everyone. Crisscross When June next visited the base, the on-edge medic assumed her car was a Decepticon, though he didn't object to June, a nurse, respectfully calling him "doctor". While in conversation with June, Ratchet detected a magnetic anomaly and dispatched Bulkhead and Arcee to find it; when they returned magnetically stuck together, he realized they were dealing with a polarity gauntlet. Bulkhead and Arcee were eventually able to retrieve the device and present it to Ratchet back at base. Metal Attraction Ratchet's tech expertise came to the fore again when he detected the activation of a crashed Decepticon ship's computer system: when Bumblebee and Arcee returned from investigating with two frozen comrades and the pieces of the Decepticon weapon responsible, Ratchet was able to repair the weapon and use it to restore Prime and Bulkhead. 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 and inadvertently cause the contents of the cylinder to be downloaded into Bulkhead's brain. Ratchet initially gave Bulkhead a clean bill of health, but when Bulkhead started painting complex formulae, Ratchet made two discoveries: one, that the formulae were for Synthetic Energon, and two, that the data was slowly destroying Bulkhead's mind. After much of the formula had been transcribed, the data was beamed out of Bulkhead into space, leaving him comtaose, and Ratchet's suggestion that a familiar sound might rouse the Autobot led Miko to wake Bulkhead with her guitar playing. T.M.I. Working from Bulkhead's incomplete formula, Ratchet appeared to succeed in synthesizing a batch of the Synthetic Energon, and used himself as a guinea pig. Supercharged by the new substance at the expense of his mental stability, Ratchet was made strong enough to trash an entire squad of Vehicons on his own and to throw Bulkhead through a wall while sparring, but when he went too far in interrogating a Decepticon Miner under the auspices of being more "proactive", Optimus was forced to confine him to base. Escaping, Ratchet went to confront Megatron on his own, infiltrating the Decepticons' Energon mine and making short work of Breakdown. Unfortunately, Megatron proved more formidable than expected, and Ratchet was seriously injured and left for Knock Out to extract a sample of Synthetic Energon from. Drained of the SynthEn and its effects, Ratchet managed to raise enough strength to fight back and destroy the sample, and was then rescued by the other Autobots and taken back to base for treatment. Ratchet apologized for his behavior, though at least they'd gained a supply of real energon from the mine out of it. Stronger, Faster

When Optimus became interested in a prophecy from the Covenant of Primus, Ratchet worked out that the planetary alignment mentioned was mere days away. When Raf was injured during a mission to stop the Decepticons from gathering space bridge components, Ratchet's lack of knowledge of human physiology left him unable to treat the boy, so June Darby was called in to help. Ratchet refused to allow Raf to be taken to a hospital, as human doctors wouldn't have any experience with Energon contamination, but it soon became apparent that this wasn't what was ailing Raf: he had been infected with Dark Energon. Ratchet took the risk of applied an infusion of regular Energon to neutralize the Dark, and Raf recovered. One Shall Fall Immediately thereafter, Ratchet joined Arcee and Bulkhead in rescuing Optimus from a battle with Megatron, then set about analyzing a series of natural disasters that began across the Earth, deducing that the tremors were the heartbeat of Unicron, slumbering within the Earth and threatening to destroy it with his awakening. One Shall Rise, Part 1 When Megatron approached the Autobots with the proposition of an alliance to stop Unicron from destroying the planet, Ratchet scoffed at the notion. He grew increasing incredulous to the idea that he would GroundBridge the others into the Earth's very core, following co-ordinates provided by Megatron, so the Optimus could use the Matrix of Leadership to deactivate Unicron, but was nonetheless forced to go along with the plan when Optimus accepted Megatron's offer. One Shall Rise, Part 2

Plot details for One Shall Rise, Part 3 follow. Spoilers have expired, you may remove this tag

Remaining behind in the base with the kids and unable to contact the Autobots in the planet's depths, Ratchet passed the time telling the humans about the old days when Optimus was known as Orion Pax, and was shocked to discover that Optimus had entrusted Jack with the Key to Vector Sigma before departing. A final tremor that Ratchet shielded the kids from heralded Autobot victory within the planet, but when Ratchet GroundBridged the others back, they reported that Optimus had lost his memories and left with Megatron. One Shall Rise, Part 3

Titan Magazines Prime comics

Spoiler warning: Plot details for Transformers Comic issue 4.1 follow. Please give an expiry date ({{spoiler|(story)|DATE}}) - either the date of the next episode/issue in the series or 30 days after release, whichever is sooner

In the lower levels of Outpost Omega One, Ratchet constructed a training room he dubbed the Safe, though the inferior Earth materials he was forced to use meant it wasn't as good as it could be. Indeed, Bulkhead began tearing his way merrily through it, only to uncover something Ratchet hadn't found—a nuclear missile while promptly activated. Ratchet and Raf were assigned to deal with the bomb, however as Raf was the expert on Earth technology, Ratchet deferred to him. Luckily Raf managed to reverse the bomb's timer, and Fowler arrived with some scientists to take care of the rest. After Bulkhead apologised to Ratchet for smashing up the room, Ratchet suggested he and Raf design a new Safe. The Safe and the Failsafe

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: Gun

• 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.