Rattrap (Transformers)

Rattrap is the name of a fictional character from the Transformers toyline that appeared in the Beast Wars and Beast Machines series. He is a Maximal and takes the beast form of a rat.

Beast Wars
Rattrap is an infiltrator, sharpshooter, saboteur and demolitions expert. An unflinching pessimist, he is famous for delivering the line “We're all gonna die!.” when things look grim for the Maximals. In the episode “Dark Voyage” he mentioned offhand that he used to be an energon miner. It is humorously suggested in the same episode that he is a distant relative of Autobot Arcee ("What in the name of my great-aunt Arcee is going on here?!" "Transmutate"). Although never seen in the television series, a toy of him from the 2006 Botcon says he turned into a Cybertronian Motorcycle before being reformatted as a rat. From what is known of his past life on Cybertron, he was a gambler, a womanizer and spent his free time at bars, referenced in his comment to Silverbolt concerning a place in which the servant bots walk around "minus their torso plates" ("The Agenda" Part 1). Rattrap is the most eager of the Maximals to return home.

Second to Rhinox, Rattrap has some knowledge about mechanics, especially sabotage and demolition/explosives, managing to create an effective countermeasure to Tarantulas's shield around a Vok ship in one episode (Other Visits Part 2). Rattrap often criticizes Cheetor's immaturity and stupidity and at times defies Optimus Primal when he feels Optimus's ideas are unreasonable, too risky or stupid. Rattrap also expresses frequent suspicions of Dinobot's loyalty throughout his time as a Maximal. For his part, Dinobot never liked Rattrap either, often referring to him as "vermin". Though the two often bicker, their relationship evolves over time and they become friendly rivals right up until the time of Dinobot's betrayal in "Maximal, No More". Although Rattrap never quite trusts him after Dinobot's brief return to his original Predacon allegiance, it is Rattrap who is shown to be the most affected by Dinobot's bravery and passing as Dinobot lay dying in Code of Hero. After Dinobot's death, Rattrap is often partnered with the fuzor Silverbolt. The consummate wisecracker, he is constantly giving his comrades nicknames, both derogatory and friendly. Despite his tendency to give his comrades nicknames, Rattrap is, in fact, capable of being leader, in Primal's absence takes the mantle of leadership, albeit reluctantly in Chain of Command.

In the original English version of the show, Rattrap speaks with a Brooklyn accent. In the episode "Code of Hero" Rattrap is seen in his original state during Dinobot's funeral, even though he had already become a transmetal, most likely a goof on the show's animators. The show bible for Beast Wars describes Rattrap as a wise guy who is inspired by Bud Abbott. He is described as being a 5 ft rat. His gun is called a fusion rifle. He has infrared-vision and enjoys jazz music.

The television series depicts Transmetal Rattrap as having his backpack in robot mode rotating 180 degrees so that his rear wheels are at his shoulder level, but the toy does not do this, leaving his rear wheels alongside his hips. The show also depicts the wheels as removable, so they can be used as shields, but on the toy they cannot be removed.

Rattrap was one of only three characters (along with Cheetor and Waspinator) to survive from the beginning of Beast Wars to the end of Beast Machines (Although Optimus Primal, Megatron, Tarantulas and Rhinox returned to life in the comic storylines after Beast Machines).

Rattrap's voice actor; Scott McNeil, attended Botcon 2006 at the Lexington Convention Center for the 10th anniversary of the TV series.

Beast Wars season one
Rattrap was the navigator of the crew of the Maximal exploration ship called the  Axalon  commanded by Optimus Primal. He worked alongside Cheetor and Rhinox. The Axalon chased the Predacon criminal Megatron and his band of Predacons on their ship the Darkside through transwarp space after the theft of the Golden Disk artifact. The Maximals and Predacons crashed on prehistoric Earth, where high energon levels threatened to destroy the crew unless they adopted organic alternate modes. Rattrap chose the form of a rat. At this point Rattrap had not developed his later loyalty, flatly disobeying Optimus Primal at several points if it contradicted his survival instincts, and openly criticizing him for accepting Dinobot into the group. Despite this, Rattrap would soon prove there was more to him than wisecracks and constant complaints: when Cheetor was captured by the sadistic Tarantulas, Rattrap personally tracked down and rescued him, battling and defeating the spider Predacon. This led to a short-lived rivalry between the two, and they clashed on several occasions afterwards.

When it appeared that Optimus Primal was killed by an alien probe in "Chain of Command", Dinobot attempted to seize command of the Maximals, but Rattrap was temporarily appointed second in command by Primal, (over Rhinox for this one occasion presumably for his survival instincts) when he contacted the Maximals from inside the probe. Although he led the Maximals in freeing Optimus he informed Optimus that he did not wish to command again. Indeed, ever afterward, he is seen deferring to Rhinox.

Eventually Rattrap developed an intense loyalty to Primal (despite his numerous complaints) and accompanied him on many missions. He was instrumental in sabotaging Terrorsaur's floating mountain of energon, and his spying experience came in handy when he temporarily "defected" to the Predacons in order to find out how the Predacons were bugging the Maximal communications. His small size and infiltration talents were also displayed when the Maximal defense computer Sentinel went haywire. He was also nearly killed by Dinobot's Predacon created clone. Rattrap accompanied Primal to free Airazor from the Vok base, and was also present as Optimus flew a modified stasis pod to destroy the Vok planet killer - only to watch helplessly as Primal was destroyed by Megatron's treachery.

Beast Wars season two
At the beginning of season two, Rattrap was reformatted into a Transmetal rat with the additional mechanical attributes of a dragster (wheels and an engine) by the Quantum Surge that was created from the explosion which destroyed Optimus Primal. Following the (temporary) death of Optimus Primal, Rhinox took the initiative, leading the remaining Maximals in defending the base from overwhelming Predacon forces. In the fight, Rattrap became the first Maximal to face the newly Transmetal Megatron in a brief one on one showdown. Though no match for Megatron's raw might, he still managed to score a rather embarrassing hit against the giant by taking out his legs when Megatron charged at him. However, Rattrap was accidentally taken out by an out-of-control Cheetor, and the two would have been killed if not for the intervention of Rhinox.

For the beginning of the second season Rattrap, Cheetor and Dinobot stood alone against the entire Predacons force to buy time for Rhinox to succeed in reviving Optimus. Although they fought valiantly (even sparing Silverbolt as a tribute to Primal) the Predacon numbers and firepower proved too much. All three would have been killed, but Optimus returned as a Transmetal and single-handedly fought off the entire Predacon force. Later, Rattrap would be forced into a peace-maker role of sorts again. When Megatron used the Golden Disc to take control of a Vok ship that abducted Airazor and Tigatron, using it to capture Primal, Rattrap was the one who convinced the other Maximals of the necessity of an alliance with Tarantulas to stop Megatron taking the ship back to Cybertron. Rattrap infiltrated the ship and freed Primal, leaving him to battle with Megatron as Tarantulas took out the ship's power systems.

Rattrap's friendship with Dinobot would be sorely tested when the warrior Transformer returned briefly to the Predacon fold. Captured by the Predacons, Megatron ordered Dinobot to kill the helpless Maximal but Dinobot refused and turned on the Predacons once again. Although Rattrap would make the decision to accept Dinobot back into the fold, after this Rattrap never fully trusted Dinobot again. However, events would be taken out of his hands. After an argument with Rattrap Dinobot set out to redeem himself in the eyes of his friends – and died doing so. Single-handedly driving off a full-scale Predacon attempt to wipe out the primitive humans, Rattrap and the other Maximals arrived just in time to hear Dinobot's last words. Tellingly, Rattrap was the first to salute the fallen warrior's spark as it joined the Matrix.

When Ravage arrived from Cybertron to capture Megatron, Rattrap took part in the daring assault on the Predacon ship, capturing Megatron. However, on viewing a recording made by the original Megatron Ravage switched sides and attacked the Axalon in his ship. Rattrap launched a solo assault on the ship, destroying it (and Ravage) with a few well planted bombs. Megatron's plan to alter history was then revealed and Rattrap and the other Maximals journeyed to The Ark  to stop him. Taking out the Autobot defense gun with a well placed blast, Rattrap was nonetheless too late to stop Megatron from shooting Optimus Prime in the head and causing a timestorm that threatened to rewrite all of history.

In the second season episode Transmutate, Rattrap makes an off-hand remark about his "great-aunt Arcee". This is an in-joke to Susan Blu, who was not only voice director on Beast Wars, but the voice of Arcee in the original Transformers cartoon series and Transmutate in that episode.

Beast Wars season three
Prime's life was saved by the unexpected side-switching of Blackarachnia, who helped the Maximals repair the damage to Prime's body. However, Megatron was able to destroy the Maximal base, and the Maximals were forced to move into the Ark to defend it from Predacon attack. To help defend it Rattrap was sent in a submersible, as he was the only one small enough to fit, (which he sorely resented, but actually quite enjoyed once in the water) to recover the defense computer Sentinel. The mission was far from smooth, as he was attacked by Rampage, and was only saved by Depth Charge. Once on land Rattrap and Silverbolt were ambushed by the Predacons, recovering Sentinel through teamwork – until a mid-air collision with Depth Charge (who had reluctantly come to assist) made them lose it, much to Rattrap's fury.

Rattrap would subsequently regard Blackarachnia with suspicion for her Predacon origins (similarly to his suspicions about Dinobot). When she went missing during a battle Dinobot's clone, Rattrap refused to allow Silverbolt to go after her – until the noble Maximal brought up his friendship with the original Dinobot. Surprisingly, he was seen expressing regret at her death in the episode "Crossing the Rubicon" (although she returned as a Transmetal II). Rattrap was subsequently seen mostly assisting the other Maximals in battle and guarding the Ark. After Megatron was captured, Rattrap returned with the other surviving Maximals to Cybertron on board the Autobot shuttle Omega Delta.

Unaired Beast Wars episode
One episode entitled Dark Glass would highlight Rattrap and his friendship with Dinobot. Set during season three, Rattrap discovered a copy of the original Dinobot's personal datatracks (downloaded in Bad Spark). Deciding to attempt to use them to bring Dinobot back to life in the body of the clone Dinobot, Rattrap recruited Depth Charge to hunt down Dinobot. Although successful in finding the clone Dinobot and uploading the datatracks, Dinobot resisted being taken over by the new personality. Dinobot would have killed Rattrap and Depth Charge if it wasn't for the timely help of Rhinox. In the end, Rattrap would have to accept that the Dinobot he knew as his friend was gone. However, the episode never made it beyond the planning stage.

Beast Machines
Rattrap would reappear in the follow-up series to Beast Wars: Beast Machines.

In Beast Machines, he was reformatted into a technorganic rat. This reformatting resulted in the loss of all of his weapons (despite the fact that his toy does indeed have weapons), making him almost useless in combat. He was also the last of the Maximals to learn how to transform, leaving him stuck in beast mode for about half of the first season. These issues, as well as him being the smallest Maximal, made him depressed as he felt that he was a liability for the Maximals. However, the revelation of his technical and computer hacking abilities having been greatly enhanced by his new form eventually made him an indispensable member of the team in their mission to discover the reasons behind their lost memories and Megatron's takeover of an apparently virtually abandoned Cybertron.

Eventually, Rattrap broke away from the mold of "useless member" and became Maximals' computer expert. His new body let him hack into any console on the planet Cybertron, using his tail as some sort of advanced interface. He was also responsible for numerous Maximal inventions; including the device eventually used to turn Jetstorm back into Silverbolt. He also invented grenades which created fast-growing plants and devices which could interfere with Vehicon sensors. Towards the end of the series, Rattrap began forming a romantic relationship with fellow Maximal Botanica, even dropping the shields of Megatron's fortress/body at one point to save her life.

Manga
In the Japanese manga, Rattrap/Rattle's beast mode was designed to resemble Pikachu or Hamtaro.

Dreamwave Productions
Rattrap would appear in the Dreamwave Productions' Transformers Summer Special. After Megatron's capture, Rattrap had a dream (implied to be a suppressed memory) in which he was under attack by Dinobot's clone while testing some digging equipment. His appeals to what was left of his former friend's personality proving ineffectual, he was astonished to be saved by Bonecrusher, Optimus Minor and Wolfang. Although Rattrap was happy to discover new Maximals, the three refused to go with him back to Maximal Base.

Fun Publications
Prior to his reformatting into a rat on Earth, Rattrap was a similarly sized Maximal who transformed into a motorcycle. Rattrap's origins mirror his role as a Maximal in Beast Wars. He serves as the team's hacker and weapons controller on the Axalon. Under his targeting the former Decepticons Laserbeak and Buzzsaw meet their apparent end in outer space.

Botanica, Rattrap and Nightscream appeared together in the story Wreckers: Finale Part II by the Transformers Collectors Club in 2007. During the invasion of Cybertron by the Quintessons they worked together and came across the Quintesson working with the Wreckers.

3H Enterprises
Although there was no new toy for Rattrap in the Transformers: Universe line which followed the story after Beast Machines, Rattrap did appear in the comic book series in the form of his Beast Machines Mega sized toy - now rendered correctly with legs. Shortly after the reformatting of Cybertron at the end of Beast Machines Rattrap was amongst those who welcomed back some of the heroes of The Great War (Roulette, Shadowstriker, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker) back to Cybertron. However he was left helpless when they, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia were abducted by Unicron. After this Optimus Primal was resurrected by Primus as a response, and Rattrap once again served under him, being saved from a corrupted Blackarachnia by a resurrected Depth Charge.

Rattrap also appeared in the BotCon 2004 voice actor play. When Rhinox's attempts to stop Unicron pulling victims from alternate realities resulted in two groups of dimensionally-displaced Autobots being marooned on frozen planetoids, Rattrap was sent alongside Waspinator and Silverbolt to help. They ended up battling Unicron's minions alongside a crew of timelost Autobots (Bumblebee, Cosmos and Tracks) and the two groups of Autobots they had been sent to help (both from the  RiD  universes), and, with Rhinox's help, sent them back to their own times and realities.

IDW Publishing
Rattrap had a biography printed in the Beast Wars Sourcebook by IDW Publishing.

Video games
Rattrap appears as a character in the 1999 video game Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals.

List of Nicknames

 * Optimus Primal: "The Boss Monkey", "Fearless Leader", "The Big Ape", "Scrape Ape", "The Big Cheese", "Big Banana", "Trans-Monkey"(Rattrap called Optimus "Boss-Mobile" in the Timelines comic).
 * Megatron: "Megs", "Scale Belly", "Megajerk", "Mega-dumb", "Pruneface", "Grapeface", "MotorHead"
 * Cheetor: "Spots", "Kitty cat", "Sky-Cat", "Pussycat", "Cloud-Kitty", "Kid", "Feline", "Kitty", "Fur Ball", "Kitten", "Blondey", "Litter-Butt", "Chrome hair ball"
 * Rhinox: "Big-Green", "Horn Head"
 * Tigatron: "Tigatron the Barbarian", "Stripes", "Pussycat", "Stripey", "Feline"
 * Dinobot: "Chopperface", "Irascible Raptor", "Dinobrain", "Lizard Lips", "Dinobutt", "Lizard Butt", "Bronto Brain", "Micro Brain", "Fossilface", "Dinoboob", "Dino-bore", "Gear head", "Slag-Spouting Saurian", "Fangs", "Dinodip", "Pre-evolved Birdbrain"
 * Tarantulas: "String-Butt", "Eight-Eyes", "Spider-Boy"
 * Depth Charge: "Captain Minnow", "Captain Herring", "Big Mackerel", "Flounder", "Fried Flounder", "Tin Tuna", "Charley Tuna"
 * Airazor: "Birdlady", "Bird-Bot", "Air Ambulance"(Botcon Comic)
 * Tigerhawk: "Thunder-Butt"
 * Blackarachnia: "Legs" or "Webs", "She-Spider", "Eight Legs", "Sour-Spider", "Web Breath", "Lady Bug".
 * Rampage: "Tanky", "Crab-Cakes", "Crab-Legs"
 * Silverbolt: "Bird-Dog","Rin-Tin-Tin" or "Bolts", "Sir Drools-a-Lot", "Fly-Boy", "Bowzer"
 * Botanica: "Sprouts", "Shrieking Violet", "Green Lady", "Miss Twiggy", "Tree-Hugger", "Rose Hips"
 * Nightscream: "Wings", "Kid","Bat Boy"
 * Dinobot often referred to Rattrap as "Vermin" or "Rodent" as did Megatron.
 * Depth Charge often referred to Rattrap as "Mouse"
 * Waspinator also frequently referred to him as "Mouse-Bot" as would Tankor in Beast Machines.
 * Cheetor occasionally referred to Rattrap as "Big R", "R.T." and "Rat-Face"

Toys

 * Beast Wars Rattrap (1996)
 * The original basic sized grey rat.


 * According to DVD extras from one release of the Beast Wars animated series a working name for this toy was "Mirage".


 * Beast Wars Rattle (1997)
 * The Japanese version, called Rattle, colored to more accurately reflect the TV series.


 * Beast Wars Transmetal Rattrap (1998)
 * Transmetal Rattrap. Has the word Rattrap on his chrome.


 * Beast Wars Transmetal Rattle (1999)
 * Transmetal Rattle in Japan. Says Transmetal on his chrome.


 * Beast Wars Transmetal Rattrap Wal-Mart Redeco (1999)
 * Transmetal Rattrap in blue colors exclusive to Wal-Mart. This toy was used to represent the TransMetal form of Packrat in the comic series. According to some sources they planned to sell the toy as Packrat, but then the name had trademark problems.


 * Beast Wars Puzzle Rattle (1999)
 * Transmetal Rattle in white, packaged with a puzzle in Japan.


 * Beast Wars Fox Kids Rattrap (2000)
 * Red and silver Transmetal Fox Kids Rattrap.


 * Beast Machines Rattrap (2000)
 * Ultra sized Beast Machines Rattrap. Although the Beast Machines series portrayed Rattrap's robot mode with tired wheels in place of legs, the toy version included an alternate transformation which gave him the humanoid legs the character desired.
 * This figure was based on drawings by Hasbro designer Tim Bradley.
 * Oddly enough, the toy of Beast Machines Rattrap came with a laser whip, wheel blade weapons, and an additional "legged" robot mode - despite lacking legs and weapons in the animated series.


 * Beast Machines McDonalds Rattrap (2000)
 * Beast Machines Rattrap, smaller version packaged with fast food as a promotional item (released in green in the U.S., but in several other colors in some countries).


 * Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Rattrap (2006)
 * The transmetal Rattrap toy was one of the toys selected for the Beast Wars 10th Anniversary toyline. He was repainted in more show-accurate colors. He came packaged with one of the six pieces used to make the Transmutate toy. It also came with a DVD with the episode "A Better Mousetrap" on it.


 * Timelines Rattrap (2006)
 * One of the BotCon 2006 exclusive figures is a repaint of Cybertron Ransack. To make up for Ransack's head design, Rattrap wears a removable hat, under which lies his brain-like, silver texture head he is known for in the main series.


 * Knockoff Rattrap toys (various)
 * There have also been knockoffs of the original and transmetal Rattrap made in China, with some variations in size and color from the originals.

Animated series
In Transformers Animated, a version of Rattrap appears in the episode "This is Why I Hate Machines" as Rattletrap. The Decepticon Shockwave purchases a pass from him that allows Shockwave to enter a restricted area in a hospital. Rattletrap is then approached by Ratchet and Captain Fanzone, who had been accidentally transported to Cybertron via a Space Bridge. Captain Fanzone uses Rattletrap's fear of organic life to discover where Shockwave is headed and also to gain another pass to the same restricted area; this one, however, was fake. Ratchet asks Fanzone how he knew about Rattletrap selling false documents, to which Fanzone replies, "Eh, there's one in every town."

In addition to the above mentioned episode, a rat appears at the end of the episode "Predacons Rising", paying homage to Rattrap. With the rat are a gorilla, a cheetah and a rhinoceros - each one paying homage to Optimus Primal, Cheetor and Rhinox, respectively.

His tech spec appeared on a lithograph sold at Botcon 2011.