Hisashi Yuki has tweeted an image of the upcoming Transformers Generations Ratbat and a flyer promoting Transformers Go’s second combiner. Ratbat, thought to be based on his “senator” role in the pre-Earth parts of the IDW continuity, features a rich purple deco, although the lighting makes it hard to get a proper judge on him. He is stood on top of a flyer which will be distributed later this month to promote the new Transformers Go! line and its second combiner, the Ninja team, who have animal forms as opposed to the vehicle forms sported by the Samurai team.
Stratagem
Pretty snazzy. Takara's shiny paint doesn't always do it for me, but it's well-used here.
Stepper
Never expect that Scourge mold will look that good with alternate new head.
FMA1987
I think tho that the Ratbat with using the Scourge mold wouldnt be a bad ideal
Autovolt 127
Nope, it's a retool of Generations Scourge.
I would still wait for an Hasbro version of Ratbat.
Brave Magnus
Uh? Is that Ratbat a new mold? Thanks for sharing this with us!
Cadbane
This is the best idea of mold repaint in CHUG!
Digilaut
Sorry dude, not that it really matters, but it looks like I submitted this as news before you apparently made a thread about it. When you submit it as news it doesn't appear as a news thread until a moderator approves of it, helping prevent double topics that then have to be locked.
I really don't see the problem. Ratbat IS a flying bat in IDW contuinity, and he has been one for at least 4 million years! They just gave him a backstory that involves a cruel/ironic twist of fate, which in my opinion only enriches the character. (Although I still think it's funny there could ever be a senator with the inspiring name 'Ratbat' ).
His characterization is close to the one he had in the old Marvel comics, too. So…you're appparently ok with the other side of G1 – the cartoon, where he was a brainless animal – but when IDW writes him similar to his old comic version, including the bat altmode – just with an extra backstory, you can't accept it as Ratbat? Then you must love what they did to Shockwave.
Not that it's somehow wrong to have an opinion of course , I just find it weird that it would somehow be an objection…
(I'm actually not the biggest Ratbat fan, but I generally enjoy him in most ways he's used, animal or sentient)
Foster
Ever since War Within, I've liked the concept of Ratbat being a former humanoid/bipedal robot. I'll have this alongside the bat incarnations for a past-and-present deal, similar to how Ravage can be displayed with his Beast Wars and Alternators versions.
KFGatri
He wouldn't. He would have a vaguely Batlike non-humanoid robot mode, similar to how Lazerbeak is usually portrayed.
I just really liked Budiansky's take on Ratbat.
Starscream Gaga
I've never understood it when people say stuff like that. I mean, that is Ratbat, just adapted to fit into IDW's story. A minicon would not hold a position of power in the IDWverse, so he was given a origin which allowed him to be in power whilst also eventually becoming a casette.
Besides… Why would he have an Earth beast mode while on Cybertron?
KFGatri
To me that isn't Ratbat. I could accept that design as Hellbat, but not Ratbat. I'm geewun enough that I prefer updates be a bit more evocative of the original.
At least when it's meant to be the original G1 character.
Starscream Gaga
I think saying he led the Decepticons is a bit strong. He tried to organise BB's assassination without realizing that Shockwave, Bombshell and Soundwave were still working for Megatron.
Kind of wish I'd preorder him now. I might pick him up somewhere down the track.
Yggdrasil
He was a bat later on. The reason why he wasn't a bat when he was senator is because of story reasons. You don't sacrifise story and ideas and themes for fanwanking (which is something I don't except many TF fans to get). The animal like bots and in general mini-bots like Rewind were seen as lesser robots and were treaded as such and as such were denied basic civil rights that the more humanoid and bigger ones got. Ratbat was one of the the worst senators who wholeheartedly supported that world view.
When Soundwave turned him into a casset it was an ultimate punishment and humuliation for him, a proud Senator with a custom forged body, to be reduced to a mini bot, and an animal one at that, that he so much hated and oppressed.
Which didn't stop him from leading the Decepticons later on. Sure it lasted only for 4-5 issues but it was still a homage to Marvel Ratbat.
The Marvel universe isn't the same as IDW universe and the same rules don't apply.
KFGatri
Vaguely familiar thanks to TFWiki, but I still don't see why Ratbat can't be a bat. If he could lead the Decepticons as a bat cassette in Marvel's G1, why does IDW have to give him a humanoid robot mode for him to have held power in their books?
I'll stick with Marvel's awesome Fuel Auditor Ratbat, thank you.
Yggdrasil
They already made the FOC Ratbat datadisc and we're probably going to get masterpeiece Ratbat when we get MP Soundwave recolour as Soundblaster or something.
Besides this is generation line which is recently all about IDW characters, and in IDW Ratbat was originally a senator before Soundwave took out his spark and placed it in a casset as a form of humiliation.
And as Senator Ratbat this figure is just spot on!
Murasame
Looks really great. But I have already United Scourge.
GaussGunner
I post it forst.
[Wing_Saber-X]
no, not for Hasbro, but for Takaratomy. No US release.
nemesisconvoy
Is Ratbat a mass release or what?
Skrunklemin
I've loved that Ratbat figure since the first reveal. The head sculpt is particularly awesome! Also cannot wait for the Go! combiners.
I'm really diggin' all these obscure-as-hell releases