Ratchet · 4:02pm Nov 10th, 2020
Hey, guys! Here are my thoughts on another one of my favorite Autobots of the Transformers franchise: Medical Officer Ratchet! Now, to be honest with you all, the first live-action Transformers Movie (2007) was the very film that introduced me to Ratchet. Since I never grew up with the G1 cartoon, there were a number of characters I was first exposed to that gave me an idea of what they’re supposed to represent such as Animated, Prime, and the films. Ratchet was one of those characters for me. You may be wondering which version of him I like best. My answer is... the Bayverse Ratchet.
“WHAT?! That character barely has any personality! He didn’t even do anything significant and has little screen time!” Look, here is the thing with some of the Autobots in these movies—and I emphasize the word “some”—is that they DO have personality. It’s just that you have to look deeper into their characters. Sure, they may not do much in the movies, but at least they were given an opportunity to play their part in their roles that just... spoke volumes of their personalities. Ratchet is one of them besides Sideswipe and Ironhide.
The rest of the Autobots—Arcee, Wheeljack/Que, Mirage/Dino, Roadbuster, Leadfoot, Topspin, Chromia, Elita-1, Jazz, Skids, Mudflap, Wheelie, and Brains—I can care way less about them because some of them are not funny and others are just flat out boring with no personality except for their accents. That’s it. Optimus, Ratchet, Jetfire, Drift, Jolt, Crosshairs, the Dinobots, Hound, Ironhide, and Sideswipe are the only Autobots in the series I care about. Bumblebee is just an overrated cash cow by Hasbro. Screw him...
Anyway, Bayverse Ratchet has that kind, compassionate, and caring personality in him as well as his funny lines in the first movie and his act of bravery in the fourth film. In my opinion, the moment where he shined the most was in Age of Extinction where he died as a brave solider rather than reveal Optimus’s location to Lockdown and Cemetery Wind. Plus, I LOVE his design and vehicle mode. Everything about him just makes me like him very much. Here are his stats as follows:
Strength: 4
Intelligence: 9
Speed: 6
Endurance: 9
Rank: 5
Courage: 10
Fireblast: 3
Skill: 10
I believe the Transformers 2007 voyager class toy bio describes him perfectly:
Autobot Ratchet is devoted to saving life, no matter what form it takes, and no matter whose it is. Every Autobot has had his spark preserved at least once by him, and more than one Decepticon has opened his optical sensors after a mortal blow only to find Autobot Ratchet welding shut the final incision. He joined up with Optimus Prime not because he wanted to be a solider, but because he believed the Autobots presented the last, best hope of preserving life in the universe against the evil of the Decepticons.
THIS... this is the type of Ratchet I really want to see in the live-action films. Don’t get me wrong... I love Prime Ratchet and Animated Ratchet. They are both great in their own respective ways. Same thing for G1 Ratchet. However, none of them come close to THIS version of Ratchet. Why didn’t the writers take advantage of that in the films? I wish the films gave more room for Ratchet to be fleshed out as a character and actually display what the bio says of him. Seriously, these toy bios tell a better story than some of the movies do. Again, “some”.
I know, Prime Ratchet did heal Starscream in the show twice in a row, but only begrudgingly. That’s what I mainly don’t like about that Ratchet. Why not do it willingly out of the goodness of your spark? Try that for a change! Oh, what about Cyberverse Ratchet? Ehh... he’s... nothing. He’s just... there. Yeah... bland and boring. He’s not given that much attention in the show to make a lasting impression on me.
Overall, Ratchet is an awesome character in general. Bayverse is my favorite version of him and always will be. 4/5 stars ⭐️!!
Peace!
And what are your thoughts on Siege Ratchet?
5395911
Considering the fact that the show has awful voice acting and mediocre designs of the Transformers, I have nothing to share on either him or anyone else from that series.
5395912
Fair enough. Even though the story and the animation werr decent enough, the voice acting really was terrible.
The worst part is that both Peter Cullen and Frank Welker wanted to join the voice cast, but couldn't due to Netflix not granting its voice actors union.
Ratchet is a classic.