Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

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From a wannabe hero to a crotchety old 'Bot looking forward to retirement, Ratchet has come a long way.

Why are we here, on this planet? We're here to save lives. Now okay, maybe we're talking mass numbers, a global scale of species saved, but me, I take it one life at a time.Ratchet earns his permanent place on Prowl's crap list, The Transformers: Infiltration #3

IDW Generation 1 comics

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.

Long before the war, Ratchet and Orion Pax (the future Optimus Prime) met at the Iaconian Academy of Science and Technology. They stayed friends afterwards. When Ratchet became the Autobot's Chief Medical Officer, he found he was unsatisfied and Orion encouraged to open a free clinic in Rodion's Dead End for the derelicts (He kept this secret in case the Senate disapproved). Ratchet once repaired a destitute robot named Drift who was crashing on circuit boosters, an encounter both would recall millions of years later. Post Hoc Ratchet would distinguish himself over the millennia as the only Autobot who personally saved the life of every Prime since Nominus. His hands possessed a naturally unique skill and dexterity which made them almost hypnotic while in motion.

When Nominus Prime fell victim to a terrorist attack, Ratchet was the one who performed life-saving surgery. Orion, now a "supercop" in Rodion, trusted the medic enough to reveal that he had a friend in the Senate who knew members of the Senate itself had done the deed; Ratchet was not a full believer until Nominus died from a "long-standing rust infection" that he knew for a fact the Prime didn't have. Post Hoc Investigating this, Orion uncovered a Senate plot to plant a bomb in Nominus's body and blame it on the new Decepticon movement, and so Ratchet joined him in putting a stop to it. Patternism He came with Orion and some outliers to the Primal Basilica, where his precise fingers were required to pick the locks holding the bomb in place. An Intimate Beheading

When the Decepticon insurgency went on the rise, Ratchet served with the Security Forces stationed in Kaon. He was present at the funeral of Bumper and Fastback. Megatron Origin #3 His skills as a doctor were such that he worked for both Sentinel Prime and Zeta Prime. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It Under Zeta's rule, Ratchet became Chief Medical Officer of the new Autobot army, only to be kidnapped by the Decepticons and held at the Rust Spot as a ploy to capture Alpha Trion during a hostage exchange. Fortunately the hostage exchanger was Orion Pax, who managed to save both Ratchet and Trion. Omega's Conundrum

Ratchet participated in Orion Pax's uprising against an increasingly corrupt Zeta Prime, and would have repaired Orion after the battle if not for an sudden betrayal by their Decepticon allies. Overthrown He was working at the technoversity of Ultirex when Orion Pax, now Optimus Prime, broadcast a rallying call for support against Megatron's dictatorship. Broadcast

In the earliest days of his leadership, Optimus Prime sent a team of scientists including Ratchet to the remains of the Toraxxis mega-refinery to search for traces of energon. Fallout Indeed they did find some in the form of a pool in the caverns beneath the crater, but when an earthquake sent Ratchet falling into the liquid, he went berserk and started attacking his comrades. He quickly regained his composure, but before they could study why the energon had turned him into a mindless beast, the scientists were attacked by monsters living in the caves. As they fled, Ratchet used his alt-mode to bust into another cavern, where the team found a gigantic sleeping dragon. Underworld They reported their findings to Optimus Prime, who told them to find a way to neutralize the creature so the Autobots could make use of the energon. Prey

As well as many Autobots, Ratchet had been the one who'd saved Drift's life back when the lad was a wounded drug addict. Post Hoc Drift would go on to become one of the Decepticon's worst killers, something that long rankled the medic.

Ratchet repaired Optimus Prime after his first confrontation with Megatron at Sherma Bridge, a duel which left Prime in so many pieces it took Ratchet over two months to find them all and put them back together. Chaos Theory #1

Watch, my headgear will flip colours as you scroll down.

In 2006, 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 #0 Ratchet broke cover to save their lives, subjecting himself to the wrath of Prowl, who threatened disciplinary action. Infiltration #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 #4

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

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 #5 Unwilling to risk their safety further, Ratchet subsequently returned the humans to Ark-17, where they met the newly arrived Optimus Prime. Infiltration #6

Ratchet went with the Autobots to investigate Decepticon activity in the country of Latveria. There they discovered a heavily shielded "array" that the Decepticons were using as a base. Man and Machine, Part One There they skirmished with the humans that were assembled outside who were under the influence of the Decepticons' mind-altering Psycho-Prism. Ms. Marvel smashed through Ratchet's window and Ratchet subdued her with his driver-side airbag. After throwing off Ms. Marvel, Ratchet was able to attach an inhibitor device to Captain America which nullified the effects of the Psycho-Prism. He gave Captain America enough devices for everyone on his team. Now calmed down, the two groups teamed up to destroy the Psycho-Prism. They began attacking the array's defenses which caused the Decepticons to attack. Man and Machine, Part Two

During the fight, Luke Cage and Ratchet discovered a weak spot in the array's defenses and went in. Prowl followed to make sure Ratchet didn't put human interests ahead of Autobot interests, but the human Spider-Man was held captive inside, so Prowl gave in and let Ratchet and Luke Cage attempt a rescue. The two were surprised by a powered-up Megatron who blasted Ratchet and took Luke Cage hostage. Man and Machine, Part Three Ratchet awoke next to Prowl to find Spider-Man had been freed by Doctor Doom. Prowl and Ratchet decided to use the Decepticons' mirror response mode equipment to boost their power with Spider-Man's superhuman abilities. Wolverine arrived with Jazz and Bumblebee and suggested they use his abilities instead. They did, then orbital bounced with Spider-Man back to the battle outside, where their added strength helped defeat Megatron. Wolverine, Jazz, and Bumblebee stayed to destroy the Psycho-Prism. Man and Machine, Part Four

I have no idea where that pot came from! I SWEAR!

After Sunstreaker was apparently destroyed by a mysterious human organisation, Ratchet determined that the wreckage the Autobots recovered was a fake. Escalation #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 #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 #6

When the Autobots decided to relocate the Ark-17, they were attacked by Sixshot, who downed the ship in mid-flight. Devastation #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 #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 #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 #4

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

A year later, Ratchet and a number of other Autobots were led by Optimus Prime in an attempt to rid Earth of the Decepticons once and for all. Unfortunately, they fell right into a trap, and Ratchet was injured by a shot to the chest. The Autobots were then thrown into a space bridge leading to the ruins of Cybertron, where the Decepticons hoped the "swarm" would eat them. All Hail Megatron #7 Whilst hiding from the swarm, Ratchet tended to the critically-damaged Optimus Prime. All Hail Megatron #1 After listening to Hot Rod's tale about how the Trion and its crew had crashed on the planet as well, All Hail Megatron #5 Ratchet mingled with him and Blurr. All Hail Megatron #6

Ratchet later checked up on Sunstreaker, telling him that his separation from Hunter had been a complete success, although the human would never be "fully human" again. Their base soon came under attack from the swarm, however, so the other Autobots formed a perimeter around Ratchet and Roadbuster as they fled elsewhere. All Hail Megatron #8 At their new base, Ratchet managed to use a CR chamber to heal his damaged comrades, although he reported to Kup that the chamber could do nothing to improve their declining morale. In addition, he and Wheeljack were still having trouble repairing Optimus Prime, and Ratchet cursed that Perceptor had turned into just another "clown with a gun". Thankfully, they eventually came through and brought Prime back from the brink of death. All Hail Megatron #9

Ratchet and the others finally managed to get off Cybertron thanks to Omega Supreme, and returned to Earth to continue their fight against the Decepticons. All Hail Megatron #11 He survived the battle in New York City, and cheered with his comrades as the Decepticons fled the planet. All Hail Megatron #12

Later, Ratchet was part of the rescue party that saved Bumblebee from a military attack after the yellow guy abandoned his cover to save some refugees. After repairing Bumblebee, Ratchet told the mini-bot that they found him by monitoring human radio signals. Hidden

At some point, Ratchet had become a fan of "Fisitron's" Wreckers: Declassified datalogues. Several years after the fall of Megatron, "Fisitron" (real name Ironfist) died from a severe gunshot. Ratchet would often think afterwards that he could have saved Ironfist's life. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back

Around the same time, Ratchet and the Autobots were still operating on Earth. It served as a meeting point for all Autobots who had survived the great purge the Decepticons had orchestrated throughout the galaxy. Ride-Along Not all Autobots were content with the virtually directionless existence Optimus Prime had led them into, however, especially with the human organization known as Skywatch hunting them and Decepticons alike. Ratchet was present when Hot Rod demanded Prime allow him to stage a rescue operation to recover Prowl after he was captured... and afterwards, when Ironhide came back from the mission as a corpse. He witnessed Optimus Prime abdicate his role as leader, and leave the Autobots to surrender to Skywatch. ...For All Mankind

In the aftermath of Prime's decision, and the subsequent departure of a splinter faction under Hot Rod's command, Ratchet and the others were left in a state of shock. With the war effectively over and the Matrix missing, the line of succession was no longer clear. The Autobots decided to hold an election to see who their new leader would be. No one was more surprised than Bumblebee when HE turned out to be the new chosen leader. Ratchet quickly stepped up as Bumblebee's second, helping shepherd him into his new role. New Arrivals, Old Encounters Bumblebee's authority was challenged almost immediately by the arrival of Ultra Magnus, but Ratchet did his best to support 'Bee before Magnus took off on a mission of his own. A Rude Awakening

Ratchet had his work cut out for him, though. Not only was Wheeljack undermining Bumblebee's authority from the start, Bumblebee himself just couldn't adjust to the role quickly. Still, he supported Bumblebee's decision to form a clandestine alliance with Skywatch through Colonel Gordon Horiuchi, who was acting outside his mandate in the hopes of using the Autobots to stop Skywarp and the other Decepticons still loose on Earth. Working in secret with Horiuchi, the Autobots hoped to prove their value and good intentions to Skywatch's higher ups by racking up an impressive number of Decepticon captures. They even began wearing specially-designed Skywatch insignia badges for communication and to mask their activities from Skywatch operatives who weren't "in the loop". After five successful bag-and-tags, however, Horiuchi threw them the first curveball. The Autobots' next target was Blurr, one of their own who had left after Ultra Magnus's arrival. As Ratchet and the others refused to hunt one of their own, Horiuchi demonstrated a hidden feature of the badges — the ability to forcibly revert the Autobots to vehicle mode at his command. The Hanging Sword

Left with no choice, Ratchet and Bumblebee led the Autobots in capturing Blurr. The whole situation was a fiasco, however, and Blurr even fired on Bumblebee during the encounter, damaging his badge. Bumblebee found the courage to defy Horiuchi and refused to turn over Blurr to Skywatch later that day. The colonel tried to mode-lock Bumblebee for his insubordination, but the shot to Bumblebee's badge had rendered it useless. Quick on the uptake, Ratchet whispered to Bumblebee to fake it so Horiuchi didn't realize he'd lost his edge over the Autobot leader. At Ratchet's prompting, the Autobots pretended the damaged badge had left Bumblebee trapped in vehicle mode permanently, despite Horiuchi's attempts to reverse the mode-lock. With Blurr's help, they recovered another Volkswagen Beetle to use as a ringer, allowing Bumblebee to leave the base and seek a solution for their predicament. Because Skywatch was constantly monitoring their vocal output using the badges, Ratchet and the others couldn't even speak a word of encouragement to 'Bee as he set off on his mission. The Impossible Knot

With Bumblebee on the loose, Ratchet continued the ruse of pretending to cooperate with Colonel Horiuchi and his staff, showing them the malfunctioning "Bumblebee" for examination. Meanwhile, he and Wheeljack kept in touch with the real Bumblebee using a text-only comm signal that wouldn't show up on Skywatch's monitoring. Ratchet was named acting leader of the Autobots while "Bumblebee" was off-line, as he and Wheeljack secretly led the real Bumblebee to Sanjay Bharwaney, creator of the badges' control board. Bumblebee needed access to the board's schematics in order to free his friends, but had to manipulate Bharwaney's young daughter into helping him. Ratchet had to comfort Bumblebee through "using" the girl for his own purposes. The Gift Horse

Unfortunately, the rogue Decepticon Skywarp had also learned of the board, and was coming to Bharwaney's to steal it. Ratchet and the other Autobots were forced to blow their cover to rush to Bumblebee's aid. They were too late, however, and Bumblebee was forced to set off an EMP, knocking him and Skywarp off-line while disabling the control board and the badges as well. As Ratchet brought Bumblebee in for repairs, he reluctantly agreed to upgrade his new commander into a more war-like, combat ready body to fit his new duties. Wings of Wax

Soon, Ultra Magnus returned from his scouting mission to challenge Bumblebee's authority again, gathering Ratchet and several other Autobots in the name of the Tyrest Accord to arrest Hot Rod for colluding with the enemy. Hot Rod's mistake became clear when his "ally", Swindle, activated a new Decepticon combiner and unleashed it on the Autobots. Enemies of the System After several Autobots were damaged fighting Menasor, Ratchet began patching them up as best he could, with the help of Skywatch personnel. He barely finished working on Ultra Magnus before the enforcer stomped off to search for Swindle. Earthworks Following this, the Autobots entered a formal alliance with Skywatch. All His Engines

Ratchet was part of an Autobot-Skywatch team sent to Las Vegas once Galvatron showed up with an army of zombies in tow. They fought with him until he managed to calm them down and explain that they needed to combine their strength in order to destroy the zombie plague. The Transformers: Infestation #1 Together with Galvatron and his minions, the Autobots banished the undead hordes and their leader, Britt, to the Dead Universe. The Transformers: Infestation #2

Ratchet was helping a human technician repair Cliffjumper when Spike Witwicky showed up and asked for the Autobots' help with defeating the Combaticons in North Korea. They accepted, but due to pressure from the President of the United States, they were going to have to do it in disguise. The Land Ironclads Their initial clash with the Combaticons ended in failure, and Ratchet ended up having to repair Jetfire and Broadside. Ranks of Bronze He took to the front lines in their next attack, during which he attempted to saw off Vortex's rotor blades. Hawk Among the Sparrows The Combaticons were ultimately defeated, but the Autobots' cover had been blown in the process. Sitting over an unconscious Vortex, Ratchet wondered aloud what would happen to the Autobots now that their alliance with Skywatch was public knowledge. All My Sins Remembered

On the way back from Korea, the plane carrying the Autobots was shot down over the ocean by a returning Megatron. The occupants survived, however, and made it ashore. Woken Furies They rolled out to confront the Decepticon leader near Albuquerque, but Optimus Prime ordered Ratchet and the others to stay back while he went ahead alone to confirm what was going on. Burning Chrome Most of the Autobots remaining in America had been injured by Megatron, or in Bumblebee's case, rioting humans who still mistrusted the Transformers, and so Ratchet had his hands full repairing them all. Enemy Mine

After some six weeks of repairs, Ratchet managed to get Bumblebee back to his normal self, though he was left relying on a cane. That same day, the Autobots learned that Cybertron had been restored to a habitable state only to be have fallen under Galvatron's control. They wasted no time in boarding Omega Supreme's rocket mode and leaving Earth to liberate their home. Orphans of the Helix

During the trip, Ratchet aided Perceptor in searching the captured Megatron's body for hidden weapons. He was annoyed by those pesky "laws" that prevented them from just executing their prisoner and also feared his purported ability to syphon antimatter from black holes, but Perceptor dismissed that myth. Later, Ratchet and Wheeljack bet over whether or not Optimus Prime would let them overhear his questioning of Megatron. He wouldn't, and Ratchet walked away 50 Shanix richer. Chaos Theory #1 Believing that the Matrix might cloud his judgement regarding how to punish Megatron, Optimus temporarily left Ratchet in charge of the relic. Chaos Theory #2

After arriving on Cybertron, Ratchet participated in the battle against Galvatron's Sweep army. Numbers Then Megatron broke loose and summoned his Decepticons, and the Autobots had to fight them as well. Kings The battle ended with Cybertron restored to a living, "primordial" state and neutral Transformers returning home from all across the galaxy. Ratchet repaired Metalhawk, the spokesman of the "NAILs", when he was injured during a NAIL riot against the Autobots being in command. The Death of Optimus Prime

After proving unable to save a NAIL from transforming himself to death in protest, Ratchet confided in Bumblebee that he was worried about getting old and losing his touch as a doctor. In hopes that he could help some more people and maybe find himself a successor, he joined the crew of Rodimus's Lost Light which left Cybertron in search of the Knights of Cybertron. Unfortunately for him, Drift was on the crew too, having reformed and joined the Autobots. Ratchet almost immediately started to insult the ex-Decepticon to whoever would listen, How to Say Goodbye and Mean It and imply he only had a third-in-command role because he told Rodimus what he wanted to hear.

Ratchet got his hands full right away on the Lost Light, having to repair an ancient crippled Tailgate, an armless Rung (who was very impressed with Ratchet's dexterity until he saw the medic smash his own hand with a hammer to loosen some joints), Whirl and all the Autobots who fell out of the ship during its unfortunate launch. Hangers On When Shock was found dead, Ratchet analyzed his body, annoyed by the others blaming the death on a Sparkeater until he concluded that they were right. Once Rodimus defeated the creature at the cost of his arms, Ratchet built him new ones. He was working on Tailgate again when the little guy suddenly revealed that he wanted to be a Decepticon. The Chaos of Warm Things

This drink is small, but the ones out there are far away...small, far away

Having received a datalog detailing an unusual death rate among patients at Delphi, Ratchet brought Drift and Pipes with him to investigate and found that the facility was infected with a deadly Red Rust virus. While he was trying to figure out what happened by talking to the local medics, First Aid, Ambulon and Pharma, Pipes and Drift were infected. The Autobots were then attacked by two Genericons, but saved by Fortress Maximus. Life After the Big Bang

Don't worry, kids. He gets better.

Ratchet quickly figured out the properties of the virus, leading to the revelation that Pharma was behind the outbreak. Despite being infected himself, he pursued Pharma and learned of his plan about unleashing the virus to escape a deal he had made with the Decepticon Justice Division. On the roof of Delphi, Ratchet battled Pharma and knocked him to the edge where Drift sliced his hands off, sending him to his doom. Ratchet then used Pharma's vaccine to cure Delphi of its virus and went back to the Lost Light with Drift, Pipes, the survivors of Delphi and... a new pair of hands. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back After Fortress Maximus went on a shooting spree inside the Lost Light, Ratchet treated the victims with First Aid's help. He noticed a strange pattern between all five casualties: they shared the same colors as Overlord. Interiors

First Aid, Ambulon, and Ratchet were instrumental in saving Rung's life after he was accidentally shot in the head by Swerve. Rules of Disengagement Later, Ratchet helped Ultra Magnus rid some Nanocons inside him and attended Tailgate's Autobot Initiation Ceremony afterwards. He was among the crew members that were teleported down to Theophany by the Galactic Council to investigate Crystal City, where they came across a Metrotitan and Ratchet gave Rodimus a communicator from Ultra Magnus. The Galactic Council troops attacked them after the Metrotitan shot an eye blast at their ship and Ratchet joined a team to hold them off while Rodimus attempted to free the titan. The Metrotitan was freed and teleported the crew back to their ship and quantum-jumped the ship to safety. You, Me, and Other Revelations

In an attempt to jump-start Rung's brain, Ratchet agreed to tell a story about pre-war events that involved him and Orion Pax; this included the story of how he saved Drift and gave him a pep talk, something both he and Drift long thought about. Post Hoc Ratchet later narrated their revelation of the Senate's plans and stated to Whirl that a reason why Megatron went bad was probably due to the triggerhappy bot's past beating on Megatron. Patternism As the story was having no apparent effect on Rung, Ratchet rushed it along until it came to a close, at which point an alarm began ringing and everyone moved to battle stations. An Intimate Beheading

Following a battle with a group of Decepticons on Temptoria, Ratchet operated on two of the injured, Spoke and Lockstock. Before & After

When the Lost Light's alarm system went off, Ratchet was the first to fully engage the escaped Overlord in combat. He and Drift held the line for the few moments necessary for Rodimus and the others to reach the battle. Under Cold Blue Stars While Overlord was eventually ejected from the ship, he killed at least five crew members before the end. Ratchet did his best to repair those he could, but even the mighty Ultra Magnus was on the verge of death, counting down the number of days until his spark shrank away to nothing. After Drift came forward and claimed responsibility for bringing Overlord on board, he was exiled from the Lost Light. As he departed, grieving Autobots threw trash at the spiritualist, knocking him down, but Ratchet stepped up and helped his friend to his feet before he left. The Gloaming

After an accident with the "death clock" Ratchet ended up diagnosing Tailgate with old-age and cybercrosis, laying the brutal truth out for the little 'bot. Tailgate fled his clinic in tears just as Chromedome walked in, ostensibly to get his arm rebuilt. Later Ratchet was present in the observation deck when the Lost Light hurtled through the space-portal that would eventually lead to Luna 1. He was invited by Rodimus to join the landing party on the "Miracle Moon." He became the first of the group to correctly identify their location as a reignited hot-spot, and explained to Tailgate what constructed cold meant in the scope of Cybertronian reproduction.

The group was ambushed by Lockdown and a platoon of Depticons. Ratchet's transport sled was hit with gunfire, and as he picked himself out of the wreckage, he came face-to face with a rebuilt, chainsaw-handed Pharma! The Fecund Moon

He woke up to find Pharma gloating over him in a well-stocked medical room. Pharma explained with glee how he had been rescued from Delphi (see: How Ratchet Got His Hands Back) by a genius friend who had given Pharma new hands. He also seemed adamant that Ratchet guess what lay in a mysterious box. When Ratchet impatiently refused to guess, Pharma showed Ratchet his own body in the box. All that remained of Ratchet was a head and a spark, bolted to a table. House of Ambus

Pharma tortured what remained of Ratchet for a little while, though Ratchet would not scream and give Pharma any satisfaction. He asked Pharma if the act was one of revenge, and Pharma replied that it was Ratchet's theft of his hands back in Delphi that had upset him the most. Pharma hadn't tried to take the hands back, even though the medbay was an embarrassment of repossessed technological richness. He feared Ratchet had booby trapped the hands to explode. Sensing a weakness, Ratchet challenged Pharma to a duel, to see who was the best doctor, and the winner could have the hands

Unable to resist a decisive completion, Pharma reinstalled Ratchet in his body, initiating a race to see who could be faster in stitching together 'bots that had been cut in half. But instead of a "worthless Decepticon", Pharma had Ambulon and First Aid taken from the Lost Light. Ratchet pleaded to stop the race, but Pharma was committed to the game. Ratchet quickly told the two medibots to re-route their nervecurcuits away from their waists to minimise their pain, however Pharma mocked Ratchet, and chain sawed Ambulon in half, lengthways. The Divided Self

Spotlight: Mirage

Template:NoteSLMirage 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 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

Notes

• Ratchet was one of the characters who both James Roberts and John Barber wanted for their respective books
• James Roberts attributed Ratchet's new attitude in More than Meets the Eye almost entirely to the imminent failure of his hands
• Ratchet shows no surprise when Overlord appears on the Lost Light and turns to blind the Phase-Sixer without actually seeing him. It's possible (and probable) that he saw the Decepticon in the reflection of the datapad he was holding but still...great reflexes for an old timer with replaced hands...
• Ratchet is one of the few Autobots to face multiple Phase-Six Decepticons and survive. He survived being pursued by Sixshot (Devastation) and brutally beaten by Overlord (Under Cold Blue Stars).