Rattrap (BW)


 * Rattrap is a Maximal in the Beast Era portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.



It's not so much that Rattrap is a coward... he just doesn't want to die. He's seen enough battles to know the score, so he's not afraid to tell his commanding officer to shove it if he's not fond of the odds. He prefers to sneak around unseen, in gutters or trenches or trash barges or what have you -- whatever keeps him out of harm's way. He shouldn't be so worried. When he does encounter conflict, he deals with it masterfully with the arsenal of guns and bombs he keeps on himself at all times. He feels naked without them.

It's hard to like Rattrap, especially if you're his commanding officer. He's sarcastic, irreverent, and rude. Plus he smells (why he smells is a mystery). He's also not the most trusting or forgiving sort, so he's not the best choice to take on a diplomatic run. He'd sooner shoot a Predacon or Decepticon than talk to him.


 * Italian name: Rattilus
 * Japanese name: Rattle

Beast Wars
Voice actor: Scott McNeil (English), Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese)

Rattrap was a crewmember of the exploration ship Axalon when captain Optimus Primal got word that the Predacon criminal Megatron had stolen the Golden Disk and a ship with transwarp capabilities. The Axalon was the closest vessel that also possessed a transwarp drive, so Rattrap's ship was sent to engage them. After following the Predacons through a transwarp portal and appearing above a mysterious planet, both ships were damaged in the ensuing space battle, and before both ships crashed into the planet's surface below, the stasis pods carrying the rest of Rattrap's crew were ejected into orbit.

The planet was rich with energon -- so much so that prolonged exposure would short out their bodies, so the Maximals and Predacons were forced to take organic forms from the local creatures. Rattrap took the form of a rat. Rattrap was annoyed to be on an unknown planet with a young, inexperienced captain, and so he continually second-guessed Optimus Primal's command decisions. This made him few friends. Rattrap especially disliked Primal's decision to allow the Predacon Dinobot to join their team.

Over time, Rattrap grew to grudgingly respect his commander, with the earliest glimmers showing through when Primal and Rattrap infiltrated a flying mountain that was loaded with supercharged Energon. Primal bravely distracted a super-powered Terrorsaur, while Rattrap planted explosives to destroy the mountain. Optimus then got them both off of the exploding mountain with a fearless beast-mode leap off the edge, which ended with them dangling in the treetops far below. Rattrap commented that Primal "did pretty good up there -- but don't tell anyone I said so." This first compliment would grow over time, to the point that when Primal was lost in the explosion of the Planet Buster, Rattrap forgot all other concerns.

Rattrap got a taste of his own medicine when Primal went semi-missing in action. Contacting the Maximal base, Primal named Rattrap the group commander in his absence. After a moment of initial indecision, Rattrap commanded capably in Primal's absence (even earning Dinobot's grudging respect.) When Primal returned, he offered his complimiments as well. Rattrap's response: "Eh, command's a pain in the tail -- especially with this pack of hyenas. You can keep it!"

In keeping with the somewhat fluid Maximal command structure, it was Rhinox who later stepped up to assume command after Primal was destroyed by the alien Planet Buster -- but when Rhinox went offline to search for Primal's Spark, Rattrap took command (though, by that point, Dinobot and Cheetor were his only remaining troops.) He also took the chance to move his possessions into Primal's quarters -- which Primal found none too pleasing when Rhinox restored him to life.



Rattrap distrusted Dinobot, and insulted him at every turn. Dinobot wantonly returned in kind, constantly bickering with the "vermin." Dinobot and Rattrap's arguments ranged from being a minor irritation at times, to causing serious chaos in the Maximal ranks at others. Rattrap's taunts caused a berserk Dinobot to damage the control module of the newly-activated Sentinel defense system, which promptly drove the Maximals out of their own base. Under the circumstances, Rattrap's rarely-seen sense of nobility and fair play came to the fore: recognizing the predicament as his own fault, he immediately volunteered to stay inside the base and deactivate Sentinel. His considerable skills at infiltration and demolition allowed him to reach the central computer core and order Sentinel to stand down, though very nearly at the cost of his own life.

A second costly incident resulted when Rattrap and Dinobot were ordered to clear rampant wild bean vines growing outside the Maximal base. A prank by Rattrap quickly turned into a brawl between the two. Their struggle continued even when the Predacons launched a sneak attack, requiring Rhinox to exit the base to provide covering fire for them. Tarantulas used the distraction to inject Rhinox with an energon discharge virus, which eventually wore down his systems to the point of near-deactivation. Primal ordered Rattrap and Dinobot to find Tarantulas's lair and retrieve an antidote, commenting: "They'll either learn to work together or they'll destroy each other... right now I don't care which."

The two nevertheless admitted a grudging friendship, one that was tested when when Dinobot temporarily returned to the Predacon side. Dinobot's heroic sacrifice to save the future, however, truly moved Rattrap, and he honestly missed his friend.

After Dinobot's demise, his role as Rattrap's foil was filled to some extent by Silverbolt, and later Depth Charge. Ironically, much of his conflict with Depth Charge had him berating the powerful renegade for refusing to be a team player with Primal's Maximals.

Despite Rattrap's world-weary range of experience, he still retained some deep-seated prejudices. He was loudly vocal in his distrust and dislike of both Ravage and, later, Blackarachnia, when those two Predacons joined the Maximal team. He was not a bot of high culture: he spent a lot of his spare time playing video games, professed to prefer "watching things explode" over educational pursuits, and frequents the kind of establishment on Cybertron where "the servin' bots are walkin' around minus their torso plates."

Beast Machines
Voice actor: Scott McNeil (English), Katsuhei Yamaguchi (Japanese)

After the Beast Wars ended, the Maximals finally made it back to Cybertron, only to be shot down, hunted and attacked by legions of mindless tank drone Transformers. The drones unleashed a virus on the Maximals, devolving them back into their organic beast forms and erasing any prior memory of the event. Rattrap was hiding in a cargo train car when Primal stumbled upon him; Primal's new-found intuition soon reunited the pair with Cheetor and Blackarachnia. Primal then led them to the ancient Oracle computer, which reformatted them into new techno-organic bodies; this cured the virus but changed them so that transformation now required a new level of emotional mastery and control, rather than a simple command code. The four Maximals found themselves alone on Cybertron, struggling to understand their new forms while waging war against an army of nonsentient drones controlled by Megatron.

Rattrap's inherently selfish and practical-minded nature worked strongly against him in the new conflict. While his comrades began to learn the new disciplines required for techno-organic transformation, Rattrap badgered Primal to "just give us the command codes already". He struggled in vain to learn the technique for some while. Trapped in beast mode and unable to fully participate in the Maximals' battles, he often became a liability under fire, causing friction in the Maximal ranks. He eventually resorted to using a counter-virus -- a transformation enhancer designed by Megatron -- but it quickly caused his transform sequences to go berserk until it wore off.

Rattrap finally managed to transform properly when motivated by a selfless concern for his companions... and immediately discovered that not only did his robot mode lack ranged weaponry, but he'd interfered in an ambush that the other Maximals were planning as well. Their angry rejections of him afterwards drove him to seek "noisemakers" from the one source left on Cybertron: Megatron himself! Outfitted with a massive armored suit, he nearly came to blows with his fellow Maximals over this 'deal with the devil', until Primal arrived and talked him down.

In time, Rattrap learned to make the most of his limits, expanding his abilities with inventive techno-gadgetry and creative weapons such as plant-bombs that ensnared Vehicons in instant-growth vines. His skills at infiltration, hacking, and covert movement ("take the sewers") proved even more useful in the urbanized environs of Cybertron than they had during the Beast Wars.

When Botanica joined the Maximals, she and Rattrap argued fervently -- suppressing an attraction that soon surfaced and blossomed into love. When the Maximals were trapped aboard the Grand Mal, the shields cut off Botanica's life-sustaining connection to Cybertron. To save her, Rattrap loaded her onto a life buoy and launched it through the ship's shields. The desperate action saved Botanica, but also allowed Megatron to learn the ship's shield harmonics, enabling the Vehicons to swiftly bring down the power-depleted vessel. Rattrap defended his actions to Cheetor and Primal: "I did what I had to do!"

Rattrap and Botanica fell while defending the techno-organic orchard that the Maximals had been nurturing beneath Cybertron's surface; their sparks were collected along with the other Maximals by Megatron's drones. When Primal's sacrifice triggered the reformatting of Cybertron, their Sparks were freed, and quickly returned to their bodies. As they witnessed the newly greened Cybertron and the restored population, Rattrap leapt joyfully into Botanica's arms: "So I'm a tree hugger. Deal with it!"

Though his toy could be wheeled or bipedal in robot form, Rattrap was shown exclusively with wheels on the show.

Universe


Rattrap was among the Maximals gathered at Memorial Spaceport to welcome the wayward Autobots Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Trailbreaker, Roulette and Shadow Striker back to Cybertron approximately one year after the reformatting of Cybertron, and bore witness to their abduction by Unicron. Later, he was attacked on Cybertron by Blackarachnia, who had also been abducted and corrupted by the chaos-bringer, but was saved by the recently-resurrected Depth Charge.

Beast Wars Metals manga


(Note: though it picks up after the first season, the Beast Wars Metals manga is not in-continuity with the television series.)

While Rattrap retained much of his sarcastic, obnoxious-nature in the Japanese dub of the TV series, he was played quite a bit younger or more childishly irritating.

To piggy-back on the popularity of the Pokemon phenomenon of the late '90s, or perhaps just to parody it, Rattrap's beast mode was redesigned to heavily resemble Pikachu for the Beast Wars Metals manga. While many characters received "humorous" redesigns for the manga, Rattrap's remains the most reviled.

Beast Wars

 * Rattrap (Basic, 1996/1997)
 * Japanese ID number: C-5, VS-5


 * Part of the first wave of Beast Wars product, Rattrap transforms from a large rat to robot mode with a spring-action one-step transformation. His beast mode "shell" halves each hide a part of his handgun.


 * In Japan, the initial releases of Rattrap were identical to the Hasbro version, and were made available both as an individual and in a two-pack with Terrorsaur. At the very end of the Japanese Beast Wars line (early 1997), several toys were given altered decos to make them more show-like.  For Rattrap, this mainly meant his robot-mode head got a humongous glob of shiny-copper paint (that didn't really match his copper plastic in tone).  It is unknown if this version was also available as a two-pack.


 * This mold was also used to make Packrat.


 * Rattrap (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998/1999)
 * Japanese ID number: C-43


 * Part of the second wave of Deluxe Transmetals, Rattrap transforms from semi-organic robot to a robotic rat. He has a third "beast-vehicle" form, folding his hind feet up into the extending rear wheels, flipping up his front legs, and pulling out a pair of exhaust pipes (eyuw, the smell!).  His beast-mode tail becomes a whip for robot mode.  Despite the show's portrayal, his hubcaps are not removable, nor does he have a handgun. Transmetal Rattrap is one of several toys notable for being subject to severe chrome-flaking over time.


 * There is a minor variant to this toy: about midway through the production run, a small "catch" was added to the neck's swivel joint to lock his robot head in place in robot mode. This retooled version was then used for all subsequent releases of the toy.


 * For the Japanese Beast Wars Metals release, the chrome was given a much more maroon tone, among other minor deco changes. Also, the "RATTRAP" tampograph on his beast-mode back was changed to "CYBERTRON" with the Maximal faction symbol.


 * Rattrap (Deluxe Transmetal, 1999)


 * The first store-exclusive Transformer in the Beast Wars line, Transmetal Rattrap was given a deep blue color scheme and was only available at Wal-Mart stores.


 * This toy was later retconned into a Transmetal form for Packrat.


 * Metals Rattle Special Version (Pack-in Deluxe, 1999)


 * The Deluxe Transmetal Rattrap toy was given a white and orange deco, and packed in with a 500-piece Beast Wars Metals jigsaw puzzle from Central Hobby.


 * Rattrap (Deluxe Transmetal, 2000)


 * As part of the second "Fox Kids" Transmetals series, this version of Rattrap was one of the last releases in the original retail Beast Wars line. The toy got a more primary red color scheme, with bright gray robot-bits and deep blue chrome.


 * This toy was released in Japan as part of a convention-exclusive set (without changes) along with the "Fox Kids" Transmetals Airazor and Cheetor. (Which covention is unknown at this time.)


 * Rattrap (10th Anniversary, 2006)


 * Part of the second wave of Beast Wars 10th Anniversary product, the Transmetal Rattrap toy was given a slight deco modification, mainly a brighter gray plus a Maximal sigil on his chest. He came with the right arm to the "build-a-bot" Trans-Mutate, plus a DVD of the episode "A Better Mousetrap".

Beast Machines

 * Rattrap (Mega, 2001/2005)
 * Japanese ID number: BR-03


 * The last release in Beast Machines before that change to the "Battle for the Spark" packaging (reportedly Rattrap was delayed for redesign purposes), Rattrap transforms into a large technorganic rat. In beast mode, turning his tail moves his head and ears.  In robot mode, he has a flip-down visor and moving jaw.  His robot legs can also fold up so he can use his wheels, which also have flip-out blades.  His beast tail becomes a hand-held whip.


 * This toy was later released as part of the Takara-exclusive Beast Wars Returns line, made available only at Japanese Toys "R" Us stores. So far, it appears that there are no notable differences between the Hasbro and Takara versions aside from packaging.


 * Rattrap (Happy Meal, 2000)


 * Part of the Beast Machines McDonald's Happy Meal promotion, Rattrap transforms into a technorganic rat modeled more after the cartoon model than the toy. As such, his robot mode does not have normal legs, only extendable wheels.


 * Rattrap (Kids' meal, 2000)


 * The McDonald's Happy Meal Rattrap was also released in Australia through the Red Rooster restaurant rai- uh, chain. Like the other three pieces used, it came in four color schemes: the original colors (with opaques replacing the transparents), a reversed red-with-green, a deep blue with very light blue, and a light blue with deep blue. These versions of the mould were retooled from the original, removing almost all arm articulation (and a step in the transformation) and reducing the number of parts and plastic colours used by the toy.

Timelines

 * Dawn of Future's Past (Multi-pack, 2006)


 * "Axalon Rattrap" is a redeco of Cybertron Ransack, transforming into a Cybertronic motorcycle. Plugging a Cyber Planet Key --or in this set's case, a Golden Disc Key-- into the rear portion of his bike mode flips out a pair of non-firing guns.  This assembly detaches to form a hand-held blaster in robot mode.  It's also worth noting that this is the only version of the Cybertron Ransack mold to have the "correct" rear wheel assembly postion.  He has his own "Golden Disc Key" to activate his gun.


 * Rattrap came in a boxed 5-pack with "Axalon" versions of Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Rhinox and "Darksyde" Dinobot. This set was also made available as a bagged set in more limited numbers.

Trivia



 * In an extremely strange precursor of things to come in Beast Machines, Mainframe's original concept for Rattrap during Beast Wars was to capitalize on the exposed "brain" of the toy and make Rattrap a deeply flawed character. Originally, Rattrap's scanning and transformation technology was to fail, leaving him basically half-formed, with an exposed brain, wiring, "veins", an assymetrical body, arms of uneven lengths, and malformed organic sections in robot mode.  On top of all that, he was hooked up to a "colostomy bag-like heating cable" to stress his need for life support.  Rattrap's overall story arc would have been, of course, about him accepting and overcoming his near fatal flaws.  This approach was entirely nixed by the limits of CGI in rendering convincing organic innards at the time... and the fact that his model would have been massively far off from the actual toy probably also factored into it. However, the idea of a defective transformer was later revisited in season 2 with the introduction of Transmutate.


 * On Transmetal Wal-Mart Rattrap/Packrat: According to 3H, they were on the phone discussing exclusives with their at-the-time Hasbro contact, when he (the Hasbro guy) realized that the not-yet-released blue Wal-Mart Rattrap could have been named Packrat. However, it was a few days too late to make the change without a massive production delay.  Had he simply been looking at the right wall of his office a few days earlier, which had the Packrat/Fractyl box-set on it...


 * In the episode "Code of Hero" at the end during the Missing Man Formation they used the original model for Rattrap instead of his current transmetal form.