Ransack (G1)
| The name or term "Ransack" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Ransack (disambiguation). |
- Ransack is a Decepticon Insecticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Ransack is a fairly simple being. A tough-talking and straightforward warrior, he craves combat and longs for each new battle. He'll level a whole town, destroy natural wonders, and kill hundreds to complete his mission without batting an optic. Ransack notices such things, sure—he just doesn't care.
This, of course, makes him one popular Decepticon, as they see him as the type of awesome dude who tells it like it is! The only downside is they have to let him go in first, since he keeps forgetting to shoot around them.[1]
In either insect or robot mode, he still possess the same incredible strength and vibrational power in his legs.
Fiction
Find Your Fate Junior
Battle Drive
Ransack was one of the many Decepticons Megatron led to a cave in the mountains. Within hid the Autobots' ally, Sparkplug Witwicky, with schematics detailing a fatal flaw in the Decepticons' circuitry. When Swoop attacked the group, every Decepticon present attacked the Dinobot simultaneously. Whether or not the Decepticons triumphed against the Autobots that day depended on the choices you made! Battle Drive
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
After the fragmentation of the Decepticon forces following Megatron's seeming destruction in a space bridge accident, Ransack joined Ratbat's Ultracons. He accompanied Ratbat and fellow Ultracons Chop Shop and Venom on a mission to the Tagan Heights, where they unleashed the deadly Devastator on the Wreckers. Though they captured the Wreckers' leader Springer, the Ultracons were prevented from executing him when Devastator's battle with Defensor raged out of control. Escalation In the chaos that ensued, Ransack and his allies escaped, leaving Devastator behind. Devastation
When Megatron and his Aerospace Extermination Squadron retook Cybertron and reunified the Decepticons, Ransack was assigned to supervise enslaved Autobot miners at Internment Camp Pi in Praxus. The Age of Wrath #2
Ransack, along with Barrage, Chop Shop, and Venom, remained on Cybertron following the departure of the Ark and the Nemesis. The planet's chronic energon shortage reduced them to a vampiric existence, forcing them to capture Micromasters and drain them of their fuel. While pursuing Falcon and Flanker in the Wastelands, they ran into the middle of a conflict between the Hot Rod Patrol and Race Track Patrol. Destined for Nothing
After devouring Falcon they soon set upon the other Micromasters, but were driven back by the timely arrival of Groundshaker, who left with the Hot Rod Patrol. The subsequent arrival of Shockwave prevented them from devouring the Race Track Patrol, but he did toss them Flanker as a snack. The Gray Race The Insecticons subsequently abducted the Race Track Patrol and several other Micromasters from Little Iacon, in an attempt to ferret out the Hot Rod Patrol and gain some new recruits in the process. Recipe for Hate Returning to Decepticon HQ with their Micromaster prisoners, Ransack caught a group of the tiny Transformers trying to free their cohorts. After sounding the alarm, Ransack had a big, possibly lethal hole blown in him by Groundshaker. Victims of the Revolution
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity
As part of Serpent O.R.'s forces, Ransack defended the newly unified Decepticon army's base against a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe strike force. During the battle, he and Venom were pounded on by Snarl and Storm Shadow. The Art of War #5
3H comics
Ransack hailed from Primax 1108.12 Kappa. Ransack was held captive in Unicron and forced to fight in the Cauldron. He was freed in a mass escape orchestrated by Optimus Primal. Escape It took Ransack some time to understand the subtle ironies of his new plane of existence.
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Ransack served on a Decepticon space station alongside Sixshot, Spectro, Squawkbox, Treadshot, and either Pounce or Wingspan. He was on monitor duty when Sixshot departed for Mumu-Obscura. Spotlight: Sixshot
Much later, after the war ended and Cybertron was revitalized, Ransack appeared with the other Decepticons on Cybertron, questioning the Autobots' investigation of Ratbat's death. Stick Together
He somehow made his way off Cybertron to join up with Lockdown's crew of "Titan Hunters" on the supposedly lost Luna 1. There, he joined a surprise attack on Rodimus and a small landing party from the Lost Light for "trespassing" on a spark hot spot. The Fecund Moon Chasing them into a huge graveyard of deactivated Titans, Barrage and the rest of the Decepticons swiftly captured the Lost Lighters and delivered them into the custody of Chief Justice Tyrest. House of Ambus
Regeneration One
When the Skyscorchers bungled the job of stealing Warbird warheads from the Pax Cybertronia Decommissioning Depot in Kalis, Ransack was one of the agents sent in by Soundwave to make sure that they became martyrs to the Decepticon cause instead. Though the insurgents were successfully assassinated, the three Insecticons were themselves surprised by the Wreckers, who captured them inside a detention-sphere. Loose Ends #1
Games
Transformers Legends
Ransack was caught up in a Quintesson plot to disrupt the Galactic Games. The Galactic Games
Toys
Generation 1
- Ransack (Deluxe Insecticon, 1985)
- Accessories: High-intensity concussion blaster, "Reflector Shield"
- As a redeco of the unreleased Armored Insect Battalion Beetras Beet-Vadam, Ransack changes into a predominantly black and yellow locust. In robot mode, he is completely unable to move his arms forward, which makes his shield and gun pretty damn useless.
Notes
- Ransack, like all of the Deluxe Insecticons, was designed by Takatoku Toys for inclusion in their Armored Insect Battalion Beetras toyline (機甲虫隊ビートラス). The mold was to be released in a green and grey deco under the name Beet-Vadam. However, Takatoku Toys went out of business in 1984 shortly before Beet-Vadam was to go on sale, giving Ransack the unique distinction of being the only version of this mold ever released. Upon bankruptcy, Takatoku's assets were purchased by fellow Japanese toymaker Bandai. At that time, the American market was one Bandai was not very active in, which made it a competitor of Takara, but not of Hasbro. Due to this, the company had no objection to licensing various Takatoku molds to Hasbro in 1985 for sale in the American market primarily as part of their version of the The Transformers toyline. Nowadays, Bandai has a worthwhile interest in every market and since it only once licensed the molds, there is little likelihood that Ransack and company will ever be put up for reissue.
- Since Hasbro and Takara shared the original Transformers cartoon as promotional material for their respective versions of the toyline, Ransack and the other Deluxe Insecticons were not included in its cast to avoid giving Japanese market-competitor Bandai free publicity. The group was also omitted from the US Marvel comics and barely appeared in the UK Marvel comics, making them the least "successful" of the Takatoku molds. This trend has continued in fiction since, the team's current highlight being their role in the Micromasters comics.
- Ransack is the only Deluxe Insecticon to not appear on Hasbro's 1985 packaging mural; since his comrades were depicted in their Beetras color schemes, this omission presumably happened because the artist didn't have (the non-existent) Beet-Vadam for reference. Unusually, a Beetras-colored Ransack did show up in mainland Europe's 1985 pack-in catalog (see above).
- Poor Ransack never got a full The Transformers Universe bio, though Bob Budiansky did write one; it later saw 'print' at the Disciples of Boltax blog.
Foreign names
- French: Saccageur (Canada, "Ransacker")
References
External links
- Beet-Vadam at Diaclone.net (Japanese)
