Ratchet

Character
Name:	English: Ratchet Japanese: ラチェット (Ratchet) (more on TFWiki.net)
Occupation:	Autobot (sometimes Chief Medical Officer)
Relationships:
Fandom:	Transformers
Other:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Ratchet is a popular and recurring character in the Transformers franchise.

Canon Background

[characterization, story role, further important appearances]

Major Appearances

• The Transformers TV series
• The Transformers Generation One Marvel Comics
• The Transformers Generation One IDW Comics
• Transformers Bay Movies
• Transformers Animated
• Transformers Aligned (Prime) Continuity
• Transformers Cyberverse

See Ratchet (disambiguation) on TFWiki.net for more of his appearances.

Popular Tropes & Fanon

• Dadchet: where Ratchet is seen as a father/mother/parent figure, particularly to Bumblebee and Raf Esquivel in the Prime canon. Often combined with the popular Optimus Prime/Ratchet, making them both parent figures in found family works. It can also be taken literally, seen in many mpreg/mechpreg works.
• Protective Ratchet: he's often characterized as very loyal, grounded and protective of those he cares about. May be seen in hurt/comfort works.
• Ratchet is So Done: where his age and sass are focused on. He swears more than other TF characters in fanworks generally speaking.
• Ratchet Lives: used in the Bay films fandom post-Age of Extinction, but can also apply to post-Transformers the Movie works in the G1 cartoon fandom. Fix-it.
• Party Ambulance: where Ratchet liked sleeping around and partying in med school to the point that he was infamous for it and was known as the "the Party Ambulance," (all of this being fanon, including ever going to med school in some canons, though the Ratchet in the Transformers Generation One Marvel Comics canon liked going to parties on Cybertron.) The Party Ambulance is usually very amicable, going against Ratchet's general characterization of being a grump, as well as relatively promiscuous. Used sometimes in OT3, orgy-adjacent, and pre-canon-adjacent works.
• Decepticon Ratchet: where Ratchet is a Decepticon, usually having joined pre-war rather than any time after that. Used for some Drift/Ratchet and Megatron/Ratchet AUs.

Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta

TBA

Relationships

This is purposefully an incomplete list, as Ratchet is shipped with many of the other Transformers. He's also popular for self-insert shipping.

Please add any notable relationships in fanworks if they are missing.

Primary Canon	With...	Who is a(n)...	Full Label	Type	Ship Name(s)	Information
IDW Comics	Drift	Autobot	Drift/Ratchet	M/M	Dratchet | Ratchlock | ラチェドリ | ドリラチェ	Became canon in 2018; most popular MTMTE/LL pairing overall
various	Optimus Prime	Autobot	Optimus Prime/Ratchet	M/M	Optiratch | RatchOp | オプラチェ | ラチェオプ	Loyal to one another and often very close
various	Optimus Prime	Autobot	Optimus Prime & Ratchet	Gen	(n/a)	Often old friends both in canon and in fanworks
Prime	Wheeljack	Autobot	Ratchet/Wheeljack	M/M	Ratchjack | ラチェホイ | ホイラチェ	Wheeljack's most popular pairing
Animated	Arcee	Autobot	Arcee/Ratchet	F/M	Ratchcee | ラチェアシ	Close allies
IDW Comics	Drift, Rodimus	Autobot x2	Drift/Rodimus/Ratchet	Poly	Dratchrod	Popular poly pairing overall in the fandom
G1 Cartoon	Ironhide	Autobot	Ironhide/Ratchet	M/M	Ironratch | ラチェアイ | アイラチェ	Share things in common; may be seen as a duo
IDW Comics	Pharma	Autobot	Pharma/Ratchet	M/M	Pharchet | ファルラチェ | ラチェファル	Formerly friends and colleges before Pharma was stationed on Delphi
Prime	Megatron	Decepticon	Megatron/Ratchet	M/M	Megaratch	Enemies in the Transformers Generation One Marvel Comics
Prime	Rafael "Raf" Esquivel	Autobot ally	Rafael "Raf" Esquivel & Ratchet	Gen	(n/a)	Share things in common; may be seen as a duo
Prime	Starscream	Decepticon	Ratchet/Starscream	M/M	Ratchscream	(n/a)
IDW Comics	Drift, Perceptor	Autobot x2	Drift/Perceptor/Ratchet	Poly	(n/a)	Combines the popular Drift/Ratchet and Drift/Perceptor
IDW Comics	Drift, Wing	Autobot, Unaligned	Drift/Ratchet/Wing	Poly	(n/a)	Combines the popular Drift/Ratchet and Drift/Wing

See List of Transformers Relationship Names for more.

Example/Notable Fanac

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fan Communities/Fan Events

• the-ratchet-club, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart
• RatchetLovers, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart
• RatchetXArcee, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart for Arcee/Ratchet
• HidexRatchet, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart for Ironhide/Ratchet
• Ratchet-Wheeljack, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart for Ratchet/Wheeljack
• jack-ratchet-fanclub, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart for Ratchet/Wheeljack
• tfmegaratch, ^{Archived version}, a journal for Megatron/Ratchet
• Ratchet Week, a fanweek held in 2020

Collections

• The Best of Ratchet, ^{Archived version}, a community on FanFiction.Net

Wikis

• ラチェット(トランスフォーマー) on PixivEncyclopedia
• Ratchet on the TFWiki

General Fanworks

Fan Mixes

• Erratic Attraction by fireptarmigan, ^{Archived version} (2017), a fan mix for Pharma/Ratchet

Meta

• Me whenever I get into a new Transformers series by yeshallbeasgods, ^{Archived version} (2022), on Ratchet's characterization across continuities

IDW

• My TED talk, called “Ratchet Knew He Was Going To Die” by breakdownsbuttlights, ^{Archived version} (2019)

Animated

• Ratchet’s incredibly obvious post-traumatic stress regarding the war and his reactions to it paint an amazing picture of the Cybertronian view (or lack thereof) regarding mental health by thewiglesswonder, ^{Archived version} (2022)