Not long ago, I delved into the history of Ironhide, one of 2 “twin” molds used in the original Generation 1 lineup. Ironhide, along with his “twin” Ratchet, are being honored with an Encore reissue being released from Takara early next year. Now, I will complete the cycle by digging into the history of the other Ratchet. Ratchet has always been known as the Autobot's chief medic.

History

Ratchet was released originally in the Diaclone lineup as a redecoration of Ironhide. He was repainted white and given a light bar for ambulance duty. He was available in most parts of the world on the shelf (including a Milton Bradley branding in the UK), including a short stint of shelf life in the US. However, Ratchet eventually became one of the figures that was a mail order unit. Points saved on the packaging of other Transformers could be used with a shipping fee of $8 to collect Ratchet. In Japan, Ratchet was solely available by mail order.

Ratchet was among the first wave of figures in the animated series. Only fighting when needed to, he spent most of his time either repairing fellow Autobots or helping Wheeljack with his inventions. He was always lighthearted, joking with the injured Autobots in an attempt to lift their spirits. Although the Ratchet figure had a repair bay platform which was formed from his alt mode roof, the animated series only made mention of it once, in More Than Meets The Eye Pt 2 , when retrieving Hound from the ravine. Ratchet was eventually killed in the first animated movie along with Ironhide.

The Marvel universe gave Ratchet more of a role in the Autobot lineup. Initially the only Autobot to survive a brutal attack by the Decepticons (due to transporting Sparkplug to the hospital after a heart attack), he struck a deal with the recently dethroned Megatron. Ratchet would destroy Shockwave and Megatron free the Autobots, who were in stasis lock. Knowing Megatron wouldn't keep his word, he eventually found the Dinobots, reactivated them and made a failed attempt to overthrow both Shockwave and Megatron. In the end, Megatron became buried by an unstable cliff side and Ratchet emerged victorious.

Later on in the series, Megatron kidnapped Ratchet and commissioned him to revive Starscream as a Pretender. Ratchet did this, but also reactivated Starscream's personality, much to Megatron's dismay. Ratchet also took 3 fallen Autobots (Jazz, Bumblebee and Ratchet) and made them Pretenders as well. As a Coup D'Grace, Ratchet set the Decepticon ship to self destruct. In an attempt to keep Megatron from space bridging out of there, he tried to knock him out of the way. Instead, he was fused with Megatron during the space bridge process and became a sort of mutant. Nightbeat eventually found this mutant and Optimus Prime managed to seperate the 2 and put them in stasis until they could find a way to revive him. Ratchet was revived, but shortly thereafter sacrificed himself again by crashing a Decepticon ship.

Figures

Ratchet had very few figures in his actual name. After the G1 mail order figure, Ratchet pretty much disappeared for awhile. He finally was rumored to resurface in Armada. Indeed, there was an ambulance SUV that transformed into a medic. However, Sony Computer Entertainment Association snatched up the name Ratchet for their perennial Ratchet & Clank video game series. Therefore, the character ended up being named Red Alert, after the neurotic G1 security director. Most subsequent series have referred to the medic as Red Alert, including Cybertron. In the Universe lineup, Hasbro used a loophole in the naming process and repainted RiD X-Brawn to become Autobot Ratchet. Autobot Ratchet appeared again as a Energon Towline repaint for the Timelines comic series put out by Fun Publications.

The Sony trademark isn't the only woe Ratchet has suffered. The Red Cross sued Hasbro at one point for the unauthorized use of the namesake symbol on Ratchet's shoulders. In a twist of irony, Johnson & Johnson recently filed lawsuit against the Red Cross for using the same symbol commercially, being that J&J supposedly owns the original rights to the iconic symbol. The lawsuit was eventually thrown out of court.

Trading History

Ratchet doesn't seem to get much love in the trading world. As with Ironhide, the Ratchet figure was considered a less desireable figure due to lack of a proper head. Loose Ratchets can be seen occasional starting out at a mere penny. However, an AFA grade Ratchet can fetch up to $270. The Encore figure will retail at $35.