Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity
From a wannabe hero to a crotchety old 'Bot looking forward to retirement, Ratchet has come a long way.
IDW Generation 1 comics
Joining the Autobots
Long before the war, Ratchet and Orion Pax (the future Optimus Prime) met at the Iaconian Academy of Science and Technology and they stayed friends afterwards. When Ratchet became the Autobot's Chief Medical Officer, he found he was unsatisfied and Orion encouraged him to open a free clinic in Rodion's Dead End for the derelicts (though 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
Following that, Pax and Roller had to flee and Ratchet stayed behind to look after his patients. He was unable to properly say goodbye to Roller: a recurring problem the medic would have. He'd never see Roller again. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
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
During these early days of the war, Ratchet began working at the Deltaran Medical Facility and became friends with fellow Autobot medic Pharma. House of Ambus The two of them accompanied the team who apprehended Roadbuster for brutalizing the cadets under his command to the point of death. Of those cadets, he and Pharma were only able to save Hubcap. Sins of the Wreckers issue 4
Ratchet participated in Orion Pax's uprising against an increasingly corrupt Zeta Prime, and would have repaired Orion after the battle if not for a 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 alternate 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 Ratchet then fought against Trypticon's minions during the monster's rampage across Cybertron. Annihilation
Ratchet played a role in curing the Dynobots of the effects of the same corrupted energon, Primacy #1 and shortly afterwards patched Bumblebee up during a Decepticon assault on Iacon. Primacy #4
As the war went on, the young 'bot Drift that he'd helped would go on to become one of the Decepticon's worst killers. This 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
In the early 2000s, Prowl ordered Ratchet to join his covert team on Earth. Rather than properly say goodbye to Pharma, Ratchet just left when his back was turned. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
Infiltration on Earth
In 2006, Ratchet's team were several years into fighting the Decepticon insurgency on Earth. 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 #1 Infiltration #2 Infiltration #3 Years later, Ratchet's breaking of cover and place among the original Earth-bound Autobots would be reflected on by Joe Colton. Secret Raiders
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
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-19, 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
After Sunstreaker was apparently destroyed by a mysterious human organisation, Escalation #1 Ratchet determined that the wreckage the Autobots recovered was a fake. Escalation #2 Escalation #3 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 Escalation #5 Spotlight: Galvatron 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-19, 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
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 He then dropped the young lad back at his sister's home and, still unable to say goodbye, brusquely said he wouldn't keep him and drove off. Unknown to Ratchet, Hunter would be abducted and brutalised by the Decepticons just minutes later. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
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. Replay 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
The Lost Light
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
Unknown to Ratchet, that launch had created a quantum duplicate of the Lost Light with its own Ratchet. The Road Not Taken
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
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
Ratchet was testing out equipment in the Lost Light's medical bay when he, along with nearly everyone on board of the ship were frozen in place due to one of Brainstorm's experimental weapons accidentally going off. After he recovered, he was awarded a Rodimus Star "for exceptional endurance in the face of adversity." The Reluctant Specialist
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 Titan and Ratchet gave Rodimus a communicator from Ultra Magnus. The Galactic Council troops attacked them after the Titan shot an eye blast at their ship and Ratchet joined a team to hold them off while Rodimus attempted to free the titan. The Titan was freed and teleported the crew back to their ship and quantum-jumped the ship to safety. You, Me, and Other Revelations
Around this time, the Decepticon Justice Division arrived at the other Lost Light to kill the quantum duplicate of Overlord on board. When Tarn saw Drift, he attempted to kill the turncoat: Drift tried to defend Ratchet. The DJD followed this up by butchering Ratchet and every other crewmember of the duplocate ship. The Permanent Revolution The Road Not Taken Ratchet's corpse would have its brain module put inside his mouth by Helex. slaughterhouse
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 He would soon realise how much he'd liked Drift now the 'bot was gone. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
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 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 nerve circuits away from their waists to minimise their pain, however Pharma mocked Ratchet, and chain sawed Ambulon in half, lengthways. The Divided Self
Oddly, Pharma quickly vacated the medibay to leave Ratchet crouched over Ambulon's two halves. Ratchet was haunted by Pharma's claims that he could save Ambulon, when it was clear Ratchet might not be able to. Watched over by the Legislators guarding them, Ratchet quickly went to work, refusing First Aid's assistance. This did not go down well with the former nurse, who criticized Ratchet severely for not letting him help, and quickly upped the argument to blame Ambulon's predicament upon Ratchet, his obsessions with his "stupid hands" and being the "Chief Medical Officer in Perpetuity". Ratchet finally stopped First Aid with the revelation that Ambulon had died half an hour before, then shoved First Aid out of the way to blast the Legislators with a weapon made from the remains of Ambulon's body. Ratchet promised First Aid that if they survived, he would officially hand over the CMO title to First Aid.
They caught up with Rodimus and the others, who had escaped Tyrest's prison. Ratchet had a moment with Tailgate to confirm that Tailgate's increasing paralysis was a result of his cybercrosis, and that despite the nearby medibay, the cure only lay in Pharma's head. The 'Bots teamed up to storm Tyrest's control room, unfortunately to little effect. Ratchet narrowly missed being blasted by Pharma's gun, before being felled - along with the others - by Tyrest's "Weapon of Mass Suggestion". Arm the Lonely Thanks to a heroic action by Tailgate, Ratchet and the others survived to thwart the plot. Unfortunately, that still meant Ratchet had the grim task of looking through Tyrest's notes to find there was a cure for cybercrosis but Tailgate was too far gone for it to work. Cyclonus was able to use his Great Sword to keep Tailgate's spark going This Calamitous Life and Ratchet was able to save him.
He took time out to quietly inform Minimus Ambus that, as their medic, he had always known about the Magnus replacements and just never told anyone: he'd seen no point. As far as he was concerned though, Ambus was the 'true' Ultra Magnus. The Sound of Breaking Glass
Rodimus informed everyone that he was responsible for bringing Overlord onboard and held a vote on whether he should step own as captain. Ratchet was one of those who voted against him. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide
Ratchet found himself part of the High Command cabal discussing Megatron's trial. He was uneasy about the idea of a military trial but it would go ahead. Towards Peace He advised that due to all the internal damage Megatron had recently suffered, it would be cruel and unusual punishment to make him take sedatives. Rage, Rage Shortly after Megatron's trial was adjourned on a legal technicality, Ratchet found Rodimus had been given a list of all the Autobots who'd voted against him staying as captain. A furious Ratchet reminded him that this was an illegal act but since Megatron was now getting to be an Autobot, the medic was willing to turn a blind eye to this far less minor transgression. When Rodimus asked how he knew, Ratchet snapped "because my name's not on it". Predestination: A Beginner's Guide Rage, Rage
He once again served on the Lost Light, now under the co-leadership of Megatron and Rodimus. (He took the chance to quietly ask him if Megs could really make black holes come out of his eyes) Words Hang in the Air One of his tasks was to administer "Fool's Energon", a sedative designed to sap Megatron's strength. What only he, Rodimus, and Optimus knew was that there was no such thing as Fool's Energon: as Ratchet's own notes said it would be cruel punishment to deliver a real sedative, they were giving him a placebo. If Megatron ever stopped taking it, they'd know he was about to fall off the wagon. Rage, Rage
Very soon into it, he found himself examining a coffin with another Rodimus in it. The coffin had spectralist markings on it, which Ratchet believed meant Drift might have made it. He didn't have time to working out what this meant as the Lost Light began disappearing around him Predestination: A Beginner's Guide and left him crammed in a Rodpod with other panicked Autobots, trying to stop Tailgate from shooting Megatron on general principle. When Autobots started disappearing, Ratchet had time to point out that (as he himself was forged) the phenomenon couldn't just be grabbing 'constructed cold' robots before he disappeared too. Twenty Plus One This was due to the quantum-duplicate Lost Light being so close and after its engines were turned off, the medic came back. The Road Not Taken
After the trial of Brainstorm, Ratchet decided to finally step down and let First Aid have his job before looking to bring Drift home. Rather than come out and just say goodbye to his friends, he invented a "super scraplet" outbreak that would allow him to talk to them. Under cover of medical work, he helped Nautica understand Brainstorm, got Rung to talk to Hoist, encouraged Skids to talk to Rung, made it clear to Rodimus that Drift had been punished too harshly (especially when Brainstorm had just been given lighter treatment), and tried to help Magnus. He also discovered that Ten, a reprogrammed Legislator, was not just sentient but was an artist who had been making small toys of his favorite crewmembers. Ratchet arranged it so that Ten and Ultra Magnus (Ten's fave) could be friends.
With all his work done, he quietly departed to search for Drift and left a communicator in case "the new Chief Medical Officer" First Aid wanted to talk to him. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
Drift and Ratchet
Ratchet finally found Drift at a Galactic Council outpost, handing over Decepticon prisoners: Drift had been fighting and capturing rogue 'cons across the outer rim, Empire of Stone #1 and Ratchet was horrified to find he was letting himself stay damaged and run down. Empire of Stone #2 Since Drift was determined to find the main Decepticon force, Ratchet inserted himself into the mission. They tracked the Deceptions to a desert plan only to find themselves shot down and their prisoner Grit escaping... only to be accused of treason for being on an Autobot ship. Ratchet was forced to back up Drift when he went to Grit's defence and all three ended up prisoners of Gigatron, Drift's old boss who'd co-opted an alien castle. Empire of Stone #1
Ratchet was used to blackmail Drift into finding a "stone army" that Gigatron wanted. After an aborted escape attempt, the Autobots and Grit got chucked in the dungeon (and groused about how it'd been handled) and Ratchet got the truth out of Drift: in his Deadlock days, he'd been to the planet before and seen a vast, slumbering stone army. The medic came up with a plan, the truly lame one of pretending Grit had "killed" Drift so the guard would open the door. An unimpressed Knockout turned out to be Grit's friend and let them out anyway. The Autobots began to argue after escaping as Drift wanted Ratchet to escape and he was having none of it, asking pointblank why the swordsbot was running himself down. (He didn't answer.) Ratchet and Drift found the stone army, and that it had been hidden from Gigatron by Hellbat. Unfortunately Hellbat found them Empire of Stone #2 and, planning to kill them after, gleefully revealed that he'd been using cannibalised Transformers for spare parts that could activate the army. Ratchet learned that this was necessary because Drift had murdered all the local monks on his first visit and they couldn't wake the army.
Thanks to an attack by Grit, the Autobots escaped captivity and Ratchet took up arms. He then dropped arms to try and save Grit and Drift with a grappling hook. This was successful (Ratchet rule!) but meant the stone army was activated. While Ratchet wanted to alert Cybertron of the threat, the imminent threat of Hellbat's genocidal campaigns meant the trio had to seek Gigatron's help to stop him. Empire of Stone #3 This unlikely teamup did destroy the Stone Army but, as far as Drift and Ratchet knew, left the Autobots at the only survivors.
When the medic again tried to get Drift back to the Lost Light, the swordsman said he'd spent his whole life struggling to belong to something but only ever joined as a killer, and the Hellbat affair just reiterated that he didn't want to live a life where all he could offer was death. Ratchet rephrased the offer: instead of coming back as an Autobot, he should come back as his friend. Empire of Stone #4
After a series of adventures against minor Decepticons, Ratchet and Drift were alerted to a problem on Necroworld by Velocity's call for help, using the space-time phone he'd left First Aid. Your Fierce Tears The two chums landed on Necroworld, just in time to save a brutalised Ten from the Decepticon Justice Division and Deathsaurus's goons. The Sun in Flight The fight went quite badly but just as Ratchet said he wasn't relying on help from above, Ravage arrived in a ship from above to lift them all to safety! At an inpromptu base, they discovered that the Autobots stranded here with Megatron were victims of a mutiny on the Lost Light. Ratchet also learned Velocity had been trying to contact First Aid and had heard, uh, not very nice things about him from First Aid, all of which she blurted by accident. Your Fierce Tears Relations were furthered soured when, after patching up a badly wounded Megatron, he started to read a list of what he'd missed while doing the final touches, much to her open dismay. However, they had to focus on patients together and it was Ratchet that identified an issue she'd missed: Tailgate, who'd become a super-strong outlier after a spark surge, had affected nearby Autobots on the Light in a way similar to Ultra-Energon, meaning Tailgate could crash badly.
Ratchet assisted with Chromedome's attempt to hack "the Pet", the Division's beast-former sidekick that he and Drift had taken hostage. Ratchet was horrified to realise "the Pet" had been domesticated—where beast-formers are lobotomised and trapped in an unspeaking beast mode, treated as animals—and enraged when Rodimus, despite his angry protests, would not stop Chromedome carrying on despite the risk to him. He urged Chromedome to stand down, in case the process killed him. This gave him a front-row seat for the discovery that the poor unfortunate was the lost Dominus Ambus and Rewind killing him to save Chromedome from being lost.
At sundown, the Decepticons attacked At Close of Day but Velocity had hit on a plan: if someone else could get traumatised like Tailgate, they could get supercharged too! Ratchet thought little of this idea, knowing how badly they'd have to traumatise someone but Skids volunteered. As the battle raged, Ratchet fought to keep Skids stable before he could himself join the battle and leave Megatron in charge of the ward. Ratchet continued to needle the ex-Decepticon for not going out until he realised how much Megatron was genuinely afraid of how much he might cut loose. He came clean that Fool's Energon was a conjob and Megatron had always been at full strength, and had chosen not to lash out.
Unfortunately, that caused Megatron to believe he could indeed go out to save a wounded Ravage and that meant when Skids came to and took himself off the slab, Ratchet was left alone, screaming unwittingly for Megatron to help him get the Autobot back on the slab before he died. All Ratchet could do was be with Skids as his spark gave out. Rage, Rage
Spotlight: Mirage
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
This was part of a vision Mirage was having in the main timeline. The Possible Light
The Functionist Universe
In an alternate timeline where the war never broke out, Ratchet remained close friends with Pharma and the two could be seen having a friendly conversation on Cybertron. The Custom-Made Now
Notes
- Ratchet was one of the characters who both James Roberts and John Barber wanted for their respective books.[1]
- James Roberts attributed Ratchet's new attitude in More than Meets the Eye almost entirely to the imminent failure of his hands.[2]
- 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...
References
- ↑ James Roberts: As for the divvying up, we both started off with two or three characters that had been dictated – actually, that’s the wrong word – by IDW editorial, then came up with a core cast wish list. There were only a few clashes. I would have liked Prowl and Wheeljack and I think John would have liked Magnus and Ratchet. We compromised.
- ↑ James Roberts: I know that some people think I’ve made Ratchet too crotchety, for example—although in my defense I’d argue that a lot of his grumpiness was the result of watching his hands die before his eyes
