I'm sure you're not familiar with IDW's Senator Ratbat, eh?  

 

Generations Deluxe Ratbat and MP-12T Tigertrack could quite possibly be the only figures I order this month, and that would be fine by me.

That said, I'd probably look at the shipping costs and get suckered into buying more.  

 

I cancelled my preorder a while back but I'm thinking about re-ordering it. A Hasbro relase would be better for my wallet, but not shiny.   If one is announced at Botcon maybe I'll cancel again. Is Botcon this month or July?

 

 

June 27th.

 

I feel stupid asking, but what figure is this a repaint of? I was looking at it and trying to figure out, but the photo is hard to make out details.

 

Thanks! That should give me enough time to cancel my preorder if one is announced.  

Generations Scourge

 

^Generations Scourge

Bah, Slugslinger beat me to it.

 

Dem colors. I won't be getting one, but it's lovely all the same.

 

Had some store credit from the Maketoys Fallen re-pricing, so Ratbat will end up mine! once CP gets them and ships them  

 

Thanks, Slugslinger and BlackMagnus! I like that mold, and it seems to make a lot of sense for Ratbat. Nice! I just wish this was planned for a US release.

 

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

 

Is Ratbat a mass release or what?

 

no, not for Hasbro, but for Takaratomy. No US release.

 

I post it forst.

 

Looks really great. But I have already United Scourge.

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.