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===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:ratbatwarwithin.jpg|thumb|left|If Ratbat turned into a jet, why did they call him Ratbat?]]

Millions of 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 (G1)|Megatron]] had disappeared. During the Dark Ages, Ratbat made several efforts to secure the [[Tagan Heights]], which held forty percent of Cybertron's industrial capability. However, his efforts were constantly thwarted by [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and the [[Wreckers]]. {{storylink|The War Within: The Dark Ages}}

Eventually, he became so frustrated that he openly violated the [[Crisis Intervention Accords]] and managed to sway the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]]s over to the Ultracons, unleashing [[Devastator]] on the Heights. However, the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobot]]s arrived and formed [[Defensor]]. Their duel resulted in the destruction of a good deal of the Tagan Heights, and Ratbat was forced to retreat. Megatron's return saw the Ultracons reintegrated into the Decepticons. {{storylink|The War Within: The Age of Wrath}} At this point in time, Ratbat possessed his 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 next we saw Ratbat, he had been freed by Starscream from imprisonment and was given to Soundwave as a servant/gift, implying a past connection for which Soundwave would want recompense. 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. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (comic issue)|Countdown to Extinction}}

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