Ratbat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Transformers character | |
 Ratbat Box Art |
|
| Ratbat | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Decepticon  |
| Sub-Group | Communications Ultracons |
| Rank | 6 |
| Function | Fuel Auditor |
| Partner | Frenzy |
| Motto | "The road is my dinner plate." |
| Alternate Modes | Mechanical Bat/Cassette Cybertronian Jet |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 |
| Voiced by | Frank Welker |
Ratbat is a Decepticon character in the fictional Transformers series. He appeared in the original cartoon series and in the Marvel and Dreamwave comics, and as a toy.
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1 (1986)
As is the case with many Transformers characters, the various comic book continuities in which Ratbat has appeared have portrayed him widely differently in terms of size, personality, personal history and back story then from his original TV show origin. Ratbat is one of the most variable characters of all, having been treated as a mere spy or even pet in some versions, whilst one other saw him rise to become one of the most successful Earthbound Decepticon leaders of all.
[edit] Animated series
In the original Transformers series, Ratbat was one of several Transformers that transformed into cassette tapes, such as Ravage, Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, Rumble, and Frenzy. In the American series, like the other cassette tape Transformers that turned into animals, Ratbat was not capable of speech, and was likened more to a pet than an equal member of the Decepticon forces. However, in the Japanese series', he and the other cassettes possessed the power of speech, though their roles seemed no different. Ratbat first appeared in The Transformers: The Movie. In the third series he was often seen being sent on spying missions.
[edit] Marvel Comics
Ratbat was one of the many Decepticons left on Cybertron, where he rose to the critical post of fuel auditor under Lord Straxus. With a drive towards extreme efficiency he would rarely counter unnecessary risks. When Straxus attempted to possess Megatron and the two minds battled for supremacy (in Transformers UK #103-4), Ratbat plotted to use this to his advantage, and when Megatron used his anti-matter powers Ratbat had him transported via Space Bridge back to Earth. With Straxus' possession attempt failed and the tyrant now dead, Ratbat emerged as the most powerful Decepticon in Polyhex.
Ratbat grew increasingly dissatisfied with the inefficient use of fuel by the Decepticons based on Earth under the command of Shockwave and soon started to personally appear on Earth to oversee their operations. He gradually began exerting more & more influence and control over the Earthen Decepticons, developing schemes to improve the planet's output and clashing with Shockwave. He dispatched hypnotising machines disguised as carwashes with the hope of taking over the minds of many humans and using them to deliver fuel at minimum cost to the Decepticons, but this plan was disrupted by the intervention of the Autobots' ally Buster Witwicky.
When the earthbound Autobots briefly left the planet in the Ark, Ratbat was at the forefront of a new Decepticon reign of terror. He was able to manipulate RAAT into executing the Throttlebots and kidnapped Buster Witwicky, taking him to the Decepticons' island base to use as a hostage. When the Autobot Headmasters and Targetmasters besieged the base, the Decepticons were forced to flee by deploying its rocket facility. In the process of departure, Shockwave was shot down in space and seen heading towards Earth and Ratbat declared that it would be inefficient to rescue him and, instead, seized sole command of the Decepticons for himself.
Of all the leaders of the Decepticons on Earth, few came closer to outright victory than Ratbat. He followed the Autobots under Fortress Maximus when they set out to unite with those under Grimlock and launched an all-out attack that resulted in huge casualties, left the Autobots briefly stranded on the Moon, and retrieved several Decepticon prisoners of war.
Later Ratbat promoted the newly recovered Starscream to the position of second-in-command and set out to learn the truth about the legendary Underbase, which could seemingly make a Transformer supremely powerful. Ratbat was determined to attain its power for itself, but this ambition was shared by Starscream. The latter lured the separate Decepticon faction led by Scorponok to a meeting with Ratbat's forces, which soon resulted in conflict between the two, allowing Starscream to seek the Underbase for himself. Both Decepticon factions allied with the Autobots in fighting against Starscream, suffering huge casualties in the process. However, both Ratbat and Scorponok independently suspected that the Autobot leader Optimus Prime had plans to seize the power of the Underbase for himself and they set out to stop them. Learning that the Underbase was nearby, Ratbat declared that he would possess the Underbase's power - and was shot in the back by Scorponok, killing him.
Ratbat would make a flashback appearance in the Generation 2 comic in flashback, shown in battle with Buster Witwicky as an example of the Autobots witnessing organic life fighting for its survival.
[edit] Blackthorne comics
In the shortlived series of 3-D Transformers comic books, Ratbat was the pet of Galvatron who secretly plotted to rule the Decepticons. He was defeated by Searchlight while searching for mysterious energon-producing aliens.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Four million years ago, before the Transformers crash-landed on Earth, Ratbat was the leader of a sub-faction of Decepticons called the Ultracons during the time when Megatron had disappeared. Megatron's return saw the Ultracons reintegrated into the Decepticons. At this point in time, Ratbat possessed an original Cybertronian form, able to transform from robot mode to jet. However, at a later date, after the Great Shutdown, when Shockwave established control of the planet, many Transformers including Ratbat had their bodies reformatted into Earth-themed modes, leading to Ratbat's bat/tape body. It was noted that he was not pleased with its unimposing nature compared to his original structure. When Ratbat was next seen, he had been freed by Starscream from imprisonment, and was given to Soundwave, implying a past connection - it is entirely possible that Shockwave may have viewed Ratbat as a threat to his control of the planet, and deliberately gave him a weak body and imprisoned him to keep him out of the way.
[edit] Devil's Due Publishing
In the first G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers crossover Ratbat, along with Soundwave and the other earthbound cassettes (bar Buzzsaw) were recovered from the Ark and used as weapons by the terrorist organisation Cobra. Attacking an energy center for the technology needed to create Energon, the attack force met the G.I. Joe, who had managed to figure out where they would strike next. The Joes ambushed the cassettes, and Ratbat was shot down by Bazooka, Rock n' Roll, and Roadblock. Unlike the intelligent, scheming portrayals of the Marvel and Dreamwave comics versions, this Ratbat was more in line with the cartoon - a feral but mostly mindless animal.
[edit] Toy
Ratbat's toy transformed from a purple, black, and gold bat into a cassette. His toy, when in microcassette form, could fit inside Soundwave, a cassette player. He was packaged with Frenzy and released in 1986.
