MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Aerial Assault

2012-08-30T11:16:27Z

220.244.170.117: New page: Is it worth noting in the trivia section that when Prince Jamal says Slingshot will "always be a Rolls-Royce", it's kind of accurate, on account of the Sea Harrier he transforms into is po...

Is it worth noting in the trivia section that when Prince Jamal says Slingshot will "always be a Rolls-Royce", it's kind of accurate, on account of the Sea Harrier he transforms into is powered by a Rolls-Royce Pegasus turbofan engine? -[[Special:Contributions/220.244.170.117|220.244.170.117]] 07:16, 30 August 2012 (EDT)

The God Gambit

2012-08-09T09:34:32Z

220.244.170.117: Gonna quote, gotta quote right.

{{episode
|image=GodGambit Astrotrain is god.jpg
|caption=When someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!
|series=G1toon
|ep=42
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=32
|prev2=The Golden Lagoon
|next2=Make Tracks
|title="The God Gambit"
|airdate=[[October 28]], 1985
|written by=[[Buzz Dixon]]
|production code=#700-41
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Decepticons scheme to conquer a race of primitive humanoids by exploiting their religious beliefs.'''

:''Japanese title:'' スカイゴッド (''Sky God'')
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Il pianeta degli schiavi''' ("Slave planet")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Falsi dei''' ("False Gods")
:''Russian title'': '''Игры богов''' (''Igry bogov'', "The Gods' Games")
==Synopsis==
The [[Titan (species)|people]] of [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] (one of [[Saturn]]'s moons), are slaving under the tyrannical rule of [[Jero]], the head [[astrologer priest]]. The time has come for the harvest offerings and the Titans bring their contributions to the feet of the statue of their "[[Sky God]]".

[[Image:Gambittitans&cosmos.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Roll out... the barrel!]]

[[Talaria]], a rebel who believes in "reason and common sense", leads a revolt, shatters the statue, and exposes Jero for using the Sky Gods as an "excuse for high taxes and harsh laws".

At the same time, Cosmos is being chased through space by [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], with [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] aboard. Cosmos calls Autobot headquarters on Earth and tells [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] about energy data he gathered. During the transmission he gets hit and falls towards the surface of Titan.

[[Image:Gambitastrotrain&scream.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Well, since Megatron isn't here, someone has to [[:Image:UltimateDoom2 Strangling Starscream.jpg|do it]].]]

The Titans have gathered around a fire while Talaria tries to convince her people that the Sky Gods are an illusion. At that very moment, Cosmos crashes nearby, and Jero, tied up along with his high priests, uses the strange event to reclaim his place as leader.

Astrotrain, Starscream, and Thrust land in front of the temple, overhearing the struggle between Talaria and Jero. Astrotrain spontaneously decides to pretend to be the Titans' supreme god in order to enslave them. Starscream protests, but relents without much effort.

Starscream and Thrust prop up the unconscious Cosmos in the temple as a new idol in place of the shattered statue. Astrotrain then removes Cosmos' data storage, and points out a disconnected cable that prevents the Autobot from calling for help. He fails to notice that Talaria has been watching him. Unseen by the [[Decepticon]]s she slips to Cosmos's side and reconnects the cable, re-establishing the communication to Optimus Prime on Earth. Prime tells her how to activate Cosmos' homing beam. In that moment, the Decepticons notice her, but she escapes, thanks to Cosmos who woke up just in time to fire at Starscream. Cosmos is, however, quickly disabled again by Astrotrain.

[[Image:Gambitastro&crystals.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Ooh, pretty...]]

Back on Earth, Optimus Prime orders [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] to take a team to Titan and rescue Cosmos. Omega informs Prime that the trip will use up 97% of his energy, which will leave him unable to transform. The team includes [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], who will discover what the energy source was, and Optimus himself intends to go. However, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] warns Prime that as the [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot|Autobots]], they cannot afford to let Prime be killed or captured. [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] goes in Prime's place.

On Titan, Jero leads the Decepticons to a [[Fire God's lair|cave]] full of [[energy crystal|energy-rich crystal]]s. Astrotrain forces the Titans to harvest crystals and carry them to the temple.

In the meantime, the Autobots arrive, with Omega crash landing on the edge of an abyss. Jazz and Perceptor leave in search of Cosmos and his energy source. They meet with Talaria, who takes them to the temple and to Cosmos.

[[Image:Gambitsacrifice.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Now lie still while I try and remove that tooth."]]

Before they can repair Cosmos, they are attacked by Starscream and Thrust. Jazz quickly gets the upper hand on Starscream. But Astrotrain has the Titans fire the crystals at the Autobots, and they have to retreat, leaving Talaria to be captured by Astrotrain. Astrotrain orders her to be sacrificed as a means to further intimidate the rest of the Titans.

Jazz and Perceptor soon find the crystal cave, where Perceptor notes the instability of the crystallized energy, as did Starscream earlier. They meet a group of Titans there who tell them about the sacrifice. While Perceptor takes some of the crystals to refuel Omega Supreme, Jazz heads for the temple to rescue Talaria.

He is successful, and he manages to hold off the Decepticons long enough for Omega and Perceptor to arrive.

The Decepticons flee after realising that they can't fight Omega Supreme. Before they leave Titan, however, they blow up the crystals, starting a chain reaction that will destroy the temple and the surrounding area.

Omega Supreme helps the Titans to escape over the abyss that surrounds the temple mount, and the Titans thank the Autobots for their help. Jazz expresses relief that the Decepticons won't be messing around with the Titans' religion again.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (6)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (7)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (9)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (12)

|c2=
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (10)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (11)

|h4=[[Titan (species)|Titans]]|c4=
*[[Jero]] (1)
*[[Talaria]] (2)
*[[Scrawney]] (3)
}}

==Quotes==
"Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!"
:—'''Starscream''', playing the role of [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]

"Sarcasm, not appreciated."
:—'''Omega Supreme''' to Jazz's remark that he should stay put after the larger Autobot crash lands on a precarious cliff edge.

"Not the slightest sign of Cosmos, but there is a native in that tree shooting arrows at us."
:—'''Perceptor''' isn't that concerned about Talaria's attack

"A heretic. What more fitting end than to be sacrificed."
:—'''Astrotrain''' needs Talaria's blood in order to be appeased.

"Sorry to bust up your revival, but the Lady ain't got her heart in it."
:—'''Jazz''' while saving Talaria from being sacrificed.

"Lord Astrotrain, what about me?!" 
"Die, like the worm you are!"
:—'''Jero''' learns that he shouldn't have worshipped '''Astrotrain'''

"They started the chain reaction!" 
"Don't ya just hate sore losers?"
:—'''Perceptor''' and '''Jazz''' are not amused by the Decepticons' actions.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* After Jero announces "Look ye on his might and despair!", in the full shot of the Sky God statue, it's missing its lower legs.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** While relaying Cosmos's communications, Teletran One provides a camera view that tracks alongside him. (and in that view, Cosmos is flying sideways.)
* Shortly after Astrotrain blasts Cosmos, we get a back view of Astrotrain and the insignias on his wings are missing their cheek triangles.
* When Starscream questions Astrotrain's choice of himself as the "supreme god", the vents on the sides of his head aren't drawn in. In the next shot the lower segment of his canopy is colored yellow instead of gray.
* As Starscream and Thrust carry Cosmos up to the top of the platform in the temple, Starscream's wing insignias are right-side up when they should be upside down.
* As the pair reach the top of the platform, Starscream's left wing disappears for a split second.
* As Astrotrain joins them, the crest in the center of his head is the same purple as the rest of his helmet, instead of yellow. The error repeats when this shot is continued a moment later, as Astrotrain walks off.
* Starscream's first shot at Talaria uses Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect instead of the standard Decepticon laser noise. When the shot repeats after the commercial break, he's got the ''Autobot'' laser sound!
* Thrust's cockpit and chest are misdrawn as he traps Talaria, squared off and a bit overlarge.
* As Jazz lowers his arm after announce he likes shooting Decepticons, his bust size suddenly increases.
* The shot from space of Omega Supreme lifting off appears to show him originating from somewhere in Brazil.
* Astrotrain's yellow crest is purple again as he examines the crystals.
* Just before Talaria starts shooting at Jazz and Perceptor, the wheel arch on Jazz's right leg keeps turning black as he walks.
* Talaria's arrows make an incredibly loud ''whoosh'' noise. One of them curves upwards as it passes Jazz.
* Shortly after Starscream tells Thrust to stand and fight, Thrust clips through the wall instead of using the temple door.
* After Starscream crashes and ends up lying upside down in his jet mode, part of his undersection is colored as his cockpit as Jazz runs up to grab him. It turns grey shortly before Starscream transforms.
* As Astrotrain transforms and lands after the crystal attack on the Autobots, he doesn't get a transformation sound. The roaring sound usually used for diving jets cuts off at its peak as he and the other 'cons land.
* Astrotrain's grip on Talaria doesn't seem to be very firm at all.
* As Starscream and Thrust search for the Autobots, their jet-mode shadows are seen tracking along the ground. Starscream's tail wings don't correspond to his actual design, seemingly having a single center tailfin instead of twin taifins.
* When Perceptor explains why Jazz using a rock to loosen up some energy crystals is a bad idea, he says in his own voice, "Set off one crystal, and a chain reaction..." and then continues, "...will blow us all up!" in ''Jazz's'' voice!
* As he watches Jazz start climbing to the temple, the rim around Perceptor's chest is red instead of white.
* The sound of Jazz firing comes about half a second before the knife is blasted out of Jero's hand. That's one slow-moving laser.
* Perceptor's shoulder cannon is all-red, rather than red with gray bands, as he staggers around following Omega's landing.
* Astrotrain's head crest is purple instead of yellow for a third time as Jero asks him about the false gods.
* Thrust and Starscream transform and land in the crystal cavern without the sound effect.
* As Jero runs around in front of Astrotrain to beg for his life, Astrotrain's front landing gear is inexplicably hovering about two feet off the ground.
* As Omega Supreme's tank and rocket cross the bridge, they pass a bunch of Titans, despite the next shot showing that both of them take up the whole width of the track.
* Cosmos's groans as he reactivates are missing his usual self-echo.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:GodGambit cheering Titan natives.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* The aliens speak English! True, Beachcomber once tried to translate a bird's chirping (in "[[The Golden Lagoon]]"), but here no one has to activate any special program to talk to the people on Titan.
* Omega Supreme can go to Cybertron and back without recharging, but a one-way trip to Saturn will use up 97% of his energy? Of course, he just may not be at his maximum energy level from the start, but that isn't mentioned anywhere.
* The crystals are said to be dangerously unstable, yet Omega Supreme is able to use them to power up (with no ill effects).
[[Image:Talariacharacter.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
*Talaria is a really horrible shot, isn't she? When firing arrows at the Autobots, she manages to miss Jazz ''twice'' despite the fact that he's a relatively big target '''and''' standing in place. The way the arrows arc (as well as the fact that one falls before hitting Perceptor) also indicate that she's not even putting any strength behind those shots.

===Continuity notes===
*Gadgets and powers
**Cosmos has a signal beacon which the other Autobots can use to track him.
**The two rectangles on the cheek guards of Astrotrain's helmet are also lasers!
** Omega Supreme demonstrates, not for the first or last time, his ability to transform into robot mode out of nothing but his rocket component.
** Omega can also extend his tank track like a bridge.
*Did Jero make it off the island? He disappears after the cave explodes and is never seen again!
*The inhabitants of Titan would never be seen again, but the moon would be [[Money Is Everything|revisited later]]. Apparently Titan had been "terraformed" in the meantime, which makes the unspoken fate of this civilization especially curious.
*This episode and "[[The Gambler]]" are the only episodes (pre-''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'') that [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] doesn't appear in.

===Real-world references===
[[Image:Titanmoon.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Titan, whose surface is ''completely shrouded by clouds''. Okay, so the animators didn't get that memo.]]
* In 1985, the proposition of life on Titan wasn't all ''that'' far out there, if you weren't paying too close attention; the actual moon does have a substantial atmosphere, which completely obscures its surface. The ''Voyager'' spacecraft had sent back the first substantial data on it just a few years prior, bringing Titan and its then-mysterious surface to popular attention.
* The episode also does a reasonably good job of portraying the perpetual dim lighting conditions that prevail at such great distances from the [[Sun]], though the characters themselves are brightly illuminated.
* "Look ye on his might, and despair!" is paraphrased from the 19th century poem "[[wikipedia:Ozymandias|Ozymandias]]" (the original line is "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!")
* Astrotrain's scanner as it shows Cosmos makes the same electronic throb noise used for [[Dalek]] technology in [[Doctor|Doctor Who]].
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] recites a [[human]] nursery rhyme. "Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!" He doesn't, however, do the hand gestures that go along with it.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** ''Millennium Falcon'' engine burst any time Omega's rocket mode flies.
** TIE Fighter roar as Starscream takes off inside the temple, followed by cockpit noises from Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, then ''Falcon'' engine whine as he crashes.
** X-Wing diving whine as Thrust and Starscream break off their search for the Autobots.

===Trivia===
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] seems out of character in this episode, especially with him ordering Starscream around. It would seem that this episode ''may have'' been originally written for [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] in the Astrotrain role and quickly re-written in order to feature Astrotrain (who was, not coincidentally, a new toy at the time). This would explain Starscream's deference (and apparent fear) of Astrotrain, plus Astrotrain's Megatron-esque dialogue.
*Like the previous episode, this one debuts a few new commercial bumpers: Shockwave and Grimlock.
*This was one of several episodes subjected to the [[MSTF]] treatment at [[BotCon 1999]].
*This is the first episode where [[Frank Welker]] doesn't voice anyone.
* Among [[Fandom|fans]], Astrotrain's proclamation that "These fools worship Transformers!" has gained near legendary status as a bit of humorous self-ribbing.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 5 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_god_gambit.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808854/ IMDb's page for this episode]

{{DEFAULTSORT:God Gambit}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

The Immobilizer

2012-07-24T11:57:31Z

220.244.170.117: /* Trivia */

{{disambig3|Immobilizer}}
{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=22
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=15
|prev2=Birth of the Transformers!
|next2=Atlantis, Arise!
|image=Immobilizerep6.jpg
|caption="See? We can shoot him right in the nads!" "Television doesn't work that way, you doofus."
|title="The Immobilizer"
|production code=#700-21
|airdate=[[September 24]], 1985
|written by=[[Earl Kress]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Decepticons steal Wheeljack's latest invention, which immobilizes stuff, and Ironhide attempts to retrieve it.'''

:''Japanese title:'' イモビライザー (''Immobilizer'')
:''Brazilian title:'' '''O Imobilizador'''
:''Italian title:'' '''L'immobilizzatore''' ("The immobilizer")

==Synopsis==
At [[Autobot]] headquarters, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] gathers everyone around for a demonstration of his newest invention, the [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer]]. Walking in late, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] sees [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]’s hologram of [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and, thinking it’s real, fires wildly at it, scattering the Autobots and nearly bringing down the roof. As Ironhide apologizes, Wheeljack reveals that the Immobilizer was damaged and needs a replacement [[polarizer]]. [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] volunteer to go into town to retrieve it.

[[Image:Immbolizerep4.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Before ''Dance Dance Revolution'', there was...''Robot Resource''.]]

While on their mission, 'Bee and Spike stop for a few rounds of ''Robot Resource'' at the [[Robots Video Arcade|local arcade]]. A young woman named [[Carly]] introduces herself to the pair and admits her fondness for the "cute Autobot". A somewhat jealous and awkward Spike reminds Bumblebee that they need to leave, and the pair take off, only to be stopped a few moments later by a sarcastic policeman. As they are being busted for speeding, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] attacks Bumblebee and secretly plants a [[Micro-bug|miniature video camera]] on the Autobot. Spike electrocutes Ravage with jumper cables, and the [[Decepticon]] retreats. The officer lets the pair go with a warning.

With the Immobilizer repaired, Wheeljack starts the demonstration again, unaware his every word is being caught by the microbug camera on Bumblebee and relayed to [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Decepticons aren’t too keen on the idea of being permanently immobilized by the invention, and Megatron promises to steal it.

[[Image:Ladybreakeandfatjazzr.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Trailbreaker has a great ass. Who knew?]]

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] decides to move the test outdoors for safety. As the Autobots approach the location, Prime directs Ironhide to guard the perimeter. The rest proceed toward a fast-moving river, which Wheeljack immobilizes with the device. In the commotion caused by the success of the test, Spike messes with the Immobilizer and is almost zapped, but Wheeljack throws him out of the way, takes the blast himself, and winds up stiff as a board.

Still patrolling the perimeter, Ironhide catches a glimpse of a shadowy figure and fires his weapon. He discovers that the figure was Carly, whom he scolds for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The distant sound of gunfire cuts their conversation short, and Ironhide rushes off. He reaches the clearing to find the Decepticons have the Autobots at gunpoint, and blames the ambush on himself.

Megatron demands that Prime hand over the Immobilizer, and a battle ensues. The device gets knocked about and winds up in Megatron's hands, but just as he starts issuing another threat, the river, on which he and the Decepticons are now standing, re-mobilizes and sweeps them downstream.

[[Image:Immobilizerep7.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Ratchet puts the finishing touches on his resin-cast Wheeljack model.]]

While undergoing repairs back at headquarters, Ironhide criticizes his performance in the field. Concluding that he’s too old to be of use, he resigns from active service, and nothing [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] or Prime says dissuades him. Carly blames herself for Ironhide's attitude and tries to convince him not to quit. Ironhide gives her a tour of the base, and she pockets a grenade when they visit the armory.

Some time later, Wheeljack unfreezes, and Spike notices that Carly is missing. Suspecting she’s emotional and going to do something rash ('cuz she ''is'' a girl), Spike and Bumblebee set out to look for her. Turns out he’s right. Carly has driven a boat out into the ocean and, using SCUBA gear, swims down to Decepticon headquarters to plant the stolen grenade on their outer wall. However, she’s detected by [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]], kidnapped by Laserbeak, and brought into the base to face Megatron’s judgment.

Luckily for Carly, her abduction was caught by the [[Sky Spy]]. Ironhide rushes off to find Spike and Bumblebee and start a rescue mission.

Back under the ocean, the grenade Carly planted earlier goes off, and seawater starts rushing into Decepticon headquarters. They manage to fix the damage and contain the water, except in the cell where Carly is being held. With disturbing glee, Megatron and the others watch Carly struggle as water fills the cell to the ceiling. Assuming she’s dead, they leave the cell unguarded. This lets Ironhide swim through the hole in the wall, grab the girl and bring her back to the surface.

[[Image:Immobilizerep8.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You hit me! Kong never hit me!]]

After thanking Ironhide for the rescue, Carly rides off with Spike and Bumblebee, but when Ironhide doesn’t follow, they realize that he’s been immobilized. The Decepticons and Autobots square off, with [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] in control of the Immobilizer and freezing most of the Autobot forces. Following a plan of Carly’s design, [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] tunnels under the ground with her and Spike so they come up near the Immobilizer's position. As [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] distracts the Decepticons with a [[sound and light show]], Carly crosses some wires in the device and the trio escapes. When Rumble tries to immobilize Optimus Prime, the device starts to re-mobilize the frozen Autobots instead. Ironhide grabs the Immobilizer from Laserbeak, and when all the Autobots are unfrozen, he smashes the device. With his toy in pieces, Megatron swears to return, and the Decepticons retreat.

[[Image:Immobilizerep1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|This early version of ''Thelma and Louise'' never took off.]]

Back at headquarters, Ironhide asks to return to active duty, and Optimus heartily welcomes him back. Carly explains how she switched around the wires in the Immobilizer, since she does have a science scholarship at [[MIT]]. Confronted by both brains and beauty, Spike has no choice but to ask Carly on a date. Sparkplug watches them drive off and smiles in approval, despite the fact that his son is going out with a college student while he's too young to have a driver’s license.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (1)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (2)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (3)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (4)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (6)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (8)
* [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (9)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (10)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (12)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (18)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (19)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (20)
* [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (21)
* [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] (25)

|c2=
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (11)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (14)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (15)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (16)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (17)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (22)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (23)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (24)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (5)
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (7)
* [[Carly]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"We should vaporize those Autobot fools and fuse their carcasses into slag!"
:—So, '''Starscream''', you're planning to, uh, fuse their vaporized carcasses? It'd be worth paying to see you attempt it.

"Give me the device now, Optimus Prime." 
"Try and take it, Mega-turkey!"
:—'''Megatron''' and the oh-so-witty '''Trailbreaker'''

'''Optimus Prime''': "You’re losing your warriors, Megatron." 
'''Megatron''': "Warriors are expendable! The most important thing is I get what I deserve! And I always do." 
''[The river unfreezes; the Decepticons fall in and are swept away]'' 
'''Trailbreaker''': "You deserved ''that'', all right, Mega-jerk. Rust in peace!"
:—Megatron makes the mistake of tempting fate.

"This is where we store our ammo. Course, uh, we'd rather not have any of this stuff around. But until the Decepticons change, or we pacify 'em once and for all..." 
"Someone ''should'' pacify those Decepticons...''and'' their underwater headquarters."
:—'''Ironhide''' finds that '''Carly''' is a girl after his own heart

"The show’s over. Back to work."
:—A leering '''Megatron''' takes glee in Carly’s apparent drowning.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Gears's shoulders/torso is all blue as the Autobots gather around Wheeljack. Only his truck roof should be blue; the rest should be red.
* Wheeljack is missing the lines on his "ears" when they stop flashing during "a clever little creation I call..."
* Cliffjumper has a completely wrong voice as he asks what the Immobilizer does. It sounds like a professorial type or something. Same thing happened to him in "[[Changing Gears]]", too.
* Brawn is suddenly with the gathered Autobots as they duck from Ironhide's random firing, despite not being in any of the establishing shots of the group.
* Ironhide's arm is layered in front of Spike as Spike dusts himself off, making them appear the same size.
* Ironhide's helmet rim is partly light gray instead of red as Wheeljack speaks to him. The same error will recur throughout the episode.
* Bumblebee's arm is layered behind one of the onlookers in [[Robots Video Arcade|the arcade]] as he bows. Said onlooker and his buddies continue their huge-mouthed gaping long after the cheering has stopped.
* The background behind Bumblebee changes between shots; when he bows, there's just the Robot Resource game, but in the next shot, two consoles have appeared, neither of them Robot Resource.
[[Image:Arcade Front.jpg|thumb|right|250px|So the car and the characters are drawn at one scale, and the hydrant and the buildings are drawn at a completely different scale.]]
* Carly's car is just sitting there half on the sidewalk. It's next to a fire hydrant that's almost as big as the car. And Robots Video Arcade apparently has a ''huge'' front door.
* Bumblebee has two random black rectangles on the back of his VW Bug mode as he transforms outside the arcade.
* Ravage's eye is randomly glowing white before he attacks Bumblebee. It could be an intentional effect to show emotion or recognition or something, but it's an odd choice.
* Some have claimed that Trailbreaker and Jazz are off-model as they help clean up the mess in Autobot Headquarters (too thin and too fat, respectively). Others find this claim to be rather dubious.
* When Wheeljack screws the polarizer on his new doohickey, his hand and lower arm pass through the polarizer. He also has random orange on his shoulders where there should only be white.
* Megatron appears to have an extra right forearm segment as he speaks his first line.
* Ravage's rear paws are light grey instead of black as he leaps to transform.
* Bits of Brawn's helmet are yellow instead of gray during the bizarre sequence of partial transformations.
* Jazz is off-model during his sequence a second later, with no fenders, no stripes, and an extra window.
* As Prime orders Ironhide to take the first watch, his headlights aren't colored in. In the background, a whole line of misshapen Autobot cars is driving past, including what looks like an off-model Cliffjumper colored entirely blue.
* Prime has a huge crotch as the camera pans down to Bumblebee.
* Missing Seeker insignias:
** In the first pan of the Decepticons surrounding the Autobots, Starscream's missing his wing insignia, and Soundwave's visor is white instead of red (and again when the shot is recycled after the first commercial break.)
** Starscream is missing his wing emblems as he falls over from Ironhide's goop.
** As he wanders into the trees, Starscream only has one of his wing insignia.
** Thundercracker only has one insignia as he climbs out of the river.
* Starscream has an all-yellow nosecone as he transforms to fly over the force field.
* As he dives at the Autobots, Starscream's air intakes are the same light gray as the rest of him, instead of red.
* Megatron has no transformation sound effect as he transforms to destroy the [[bouncer bomb]].
* Prime's left exhaust stack disappears into thin air as he turns toward the falling tree. He also has a random white segment above his grille.
* Prime's thighs are red instead of silver as Trailbreaker makes his "rust in peace" gag.
* Trailbreaker's force field projector is missing as the Autobots prepare to return to base.
* Ironhide clips through the corner of the wall as he walks off to "retire".
* Bumblebee leaves base to look for Carly... then is shown in the very next shot with the Autobots gathered around Prime in the base.
* Prowl is shown rolling out, even though he hasn't been in a single shot so far. Ironhide is also shown rolling out even though he "retired", and more problematically, is still at the base when Sparkplug detects Carly's kidnapping.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** Sparkplug shows Ironhide a visual that's supposedly from the [[Sky Spy]]. Somehow, the ''orbital satellite'' shows a tracking pan view of Laserbeak that's ''right beside him'' — below him, in fact. If the entire sequence is taken as Sky Spy's footage, Laserbeak flies within ''inches'' of Sky Spy's camera, as Carly's face fills the screen at one point.
* Ironhide's observation that Laserbeak has taken Carly is muffled as if it were coming over a radio transmission.
* Skywarp's arm laser, and Soundwave's head vents, are both white after Starscream gives the order to attack.

===Continuity errors===
* For his initial Immobilizer demonstration, Wheeljack asked Hound to project a hologram. Was he actually going to immobilize the hologram? How's that even possible?
* Spike suddenly has a wristwatch when he needs to check the time in the arcade. The watch is never seen before or after.
* Megatron knows which one is Bumblebee. [[A Prime Problem|Later]], he doesn't.
* When Carly disappears, Spike and Bumblebee go after her. In the next shot, Bumblebee is back inside with the rest of the Autobots.
* Carly apparently knows where the Decepticon base is located. How she knows is anyone's guess.
* In addition to the Immobilizer, she also has a great understanding of technology she's seen for the first time in her life. In the armoury, Ironhide only refers to storing ammunition yet Carly seems to recognize a bomb, or had the knowledge to convert alien ammunition into a timed explosive. MIT obviously gave that scholarship to the right candidate!
* Would Ironhide really have prevented the Decepticon sneak attack if he hadn't moved the hundred feet or so from his station? Couldn't the 'cons have just come from the other direction?
* Carly's another pressure-proof super human, [[Atlantis, Arise!|just like Spike]]. She swims at least a few hundred feet underwater to Decepticon Headquarters with no pressurized diving equipment at all. At least the animators were kind enough to give her a wet suit!
* In addition, since Ironhide isn't shown to have any SCUBA gear for Carly, he had to have made an extremely rapid ascent to the surface so she wouldn't drown. However, an ascent that fast would have given her decompression sickness, or worse.
* "It's a theory I've had ever since I accepted my science scholarship at MIT," says Carly about Wheeljack's immobilizer, which she just encountered for the first time like, earlier that same day. Did she accept the scholarship while imprisoned in Decepticon Headquarters?

===Continuity notes===
* This episode is Carly's introduction to the series.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Brawn uses the same tunneling drill he had in "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]".
** Ironhide has a jet pack that pretty much fills the back of his torso. That same space contained a missile launcher in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]".
** Ironhide fires one of his liquids out of his totally-retracted wrist. It's a brownish-red stuff which appears to act like glue — very different than the whitish glue stuff he fired from tri-barreled wrist weapons back in "[[Divide and Conquer]]".
* This episode marks the '''second time''' that Ratchet has threatened to shut Ironhide up by ''physically removing his ability to speak'' (the first was in [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]). Yeesh, someone needs to work on their bedside manner.
*If this episode's dialogue is taken seriously, it would mean that Spike is at least 13-15 years old (depending on the particular state). This raises disturbing questions about why Sparkplug allows his son to date a woman who's old enough to at least be starting college. Then again, Sparkplug had Spike working on a remote oil platform in the middle of the ocean, so family dynamics within the Witwickys are certainly... unconventional, Carly also could be clever enough to have graduated high school early.
* '''[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron got shot and fell down! '''[[Dinobot Island, Part 2|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
* It was the 80s. [[Robots Video Arcade|Video arcades]] were ''the'' hot thing.
** ''[[Robot Resource]]'' uses sounds from ''Galaga''.
* Carly is or will be a student at [[MIT]].
* Spike describes a chocolate soda as "an emulsified CO2 with lactic acid".

===Trivia===
* Stores on the street: [[Vincenzo's Pizza]], [[Rose Beauty Saloon]], Meat, and [[Robots Video Arcade]].
* Video games in the arcade: Pan!!, Oh!!, Chu, Ha Ha Ha, SFX, Hot, and [[Robot Resource]].
* No wonder the cops pull Bumblebee over. His entrance into traffic is ''terrible''; he swerves between lanes, and totally cuts off some poor driver.
*The Japanese dubbing of the episode had been edited to remove Skyfire (due to the fact that Takara were unsure about using Skyfire/Jetfire at the time because he was based on a Bandai toy), which is pretty obvious as there are jumps in the background music. Skyfire did eventually appear in the Japanese dub near the end of its run.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Bumper Collection Special (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 03: Stagione Due Parte Prima ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_immobilizer.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Immobilizer}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Shockwave (G1)

2012-07-17T18:48:54Z

220.244.170.117: /* The Transformers cartoon */

{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2|hofsilver}}
{{disambig3|Shockwave}}{{suite}}
:''Shockwave is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Shockwavearealldead.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Transformers images don't GET much more awesome than this. Or [[:Image:R0S 1 b.jpg|imitated]].]]

'''Shockwave''' has been referred to as "a computer on legs." This is not far from the truth. Logic rules Shockwave's thought processes and is the source of his every inspiration. He sees emotion as a weakness and a distraction. His cold and calculating ''modus operandi'' is supported by his frightening and exceptionally powerful form.

Shockwave is possibly even more powerful than [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Perhaps logic may one day dictate that the time to replace Megatron's flawed, emotion-fueled rule is at hand. After all, the only logical choice for [[Decepticon leader]] would be Shockwave himself.

As an [[Action Master]], he is [[Action Master partner|partnered]] with [[Fistfight (G1)|Fistfight]]. He is also known as '''Shockblast'''.

{{bigquote|Ultimately, I serve only one master... pure logic.|Shockwave on his true loyalties|''[[Spotlight: Shockwave]]''}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel Generation 1 comics====
{{noteukonly}}

''Millions of years ago, on the troubled planet Cybertron, Shockwave was the military ruler of the city-state of [[Tarn]]. Following a botched attempt by [[Vos]] to ignite war between [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] and Tarn, Tarn went to war with Vos, and both cities were destroyed by an exchange of [[Photon missile|photon missiles]]. The survivors of both cities—presumably including Shockwave—were gathered together by the ex-gladiator [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]], who used their bitterness towards Iacon to unite them under his control as the Decepticons.'' {{storylink|State Games}}

[[Image:Laststand-autobotsarenomore.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Shockwave shot the mini out of miniseries.]]
As Military Commander, Shockwave planned the strategy of the Decepticon assault on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. After the Autobots had successfully destroyed the asteroids threatening [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Megatron and the other Decepticons attacked the ship while Shockwave remained behind on [[Nemesis (G1)|their ship]] to pilot it and act as a potential backup. When the Ark subsequently crashed on [[Earth]], deactivating all those within, Shockwave followed the ship down, but the planet's magnetic fields caused a malfunction in his guidance systems, resulting in him landing half a world away, in the tropical Antarctic jungle known as the [[Savage Land]].

The Ark's dying computer detected Shockwave's presence on the planet, and reactivated five Autobots to combat him, rebuilding them in the shapes of the Savage Land's native dinosaurs. {{storylink|The Last Stand}} These "[[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]" battled Shockwave, a battle that ended in permanent stalemate when [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] brought down the mountain that Shockwave stood upon, knocking all the combatants into a tar pit. {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}}

[[Image:Megatrong1marvelhumiliation.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Early on, Shockwave establishes the pecking order.]]
In 1984, when the rest of the Transformers aboard the Ark were awakened by a volcanic eruption, the Autobots attempted to track down their five missing comrades. A sensor drone tracked them to the Savage Land, but inadvertently wound up reactivating Shockwave, who headed straight for [[Oregon]]. He arrived just as the Autobots had claimed victory over the Decepticons, and his explosive entry saw all the weakened combatants knocked off-line. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

Rounding up the bodies, Shockwave took control of the Ark, strung up the Autobots for spare parts, decapitated [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] and restored his fellow Decepticons back to health. This came as something of a rude shock to Megatron, who awoke to find that Shockwave had decided it was only logical for him to take over leadership of the Decepticons in light of Megatron's failure. After declaring his leadership and the superiority of Decepticons over humans, he flew off to begin his conquests. {{storylink|The New Order}}

Shockwave's first attack was on the new offshore [[oil-drilling platform]] of tycoon [[G.B. Blackrock]]. Tearing his way through the rig's defenses, he quickly secured it for use as a secondary base of operations. Unbeknownst to Shockwave, the violent attack crippled the human Josie Beller, leading to her transformation into [[Circuit Breaker]]. When Shockwave returned to the Ark, a weakened Megatron engaged him in combat for leadership. Despite his power, Megatron was soundly defeated. Shockwave dumped Megatron's broken body before the troops he had once commanded, and demanded that they vow to serve Shockwave alone. They didn't argue. Megatron grudgingly swore his fealty as well. {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}}

[[Image:Repeatperformance-preparedtheprisoner.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Dammit, woman! Where's my supper?!]]
Shockwave's next attack came through [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], who took control of the [[Blackrock Aerospace Assembly Plant Number One]]. After Soundwave reported his success, Shockwave traveled from the oil platform to the Ark, checking in with Megatron and reminding him again of where he stood. From the Ark, he transported Optimus Prime's head to the Aerospace Plant. Shockwave effortlessly blasted his way past the Army cordon surrounding the plant, all the while lecturing the foolish humans about the raw strength of his armor. {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}}

Shockwave quickly began setting up the Aerospace Plant's facilities to carry out his plans; however, this was rather boring work for Decepticon warriors, leading to some diminished morale; Shockwave had to sic [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] on [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] when the latter started throwing a temper tantrum over threats from the human G.B. Blackrock. Still, accepting Starscream's argument that morale could use a boost, Shockwave granted permission for Starscream and Frenzy to destroy Blackrock's weapon. {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}}

[[Image:Buzzsawyikes1.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Speaking of "pecking order"...]]
After some time, the plant was ready, and Shockwave used it to create the bodies of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], whose brain modules had already been brought to life with the power of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] drained from Prime's head. Shockwave then began work on his next project, the superjet [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], but was startled to find that he could not bring him to life. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}}

Shockwave had the plant's captive workers begin construction of a hundred jet warriors; meanwhile, he tried yet again to bring Jetfire to life. When the process failed, he deduced that Optimus Prime must have hidden the Matrix somewhere. Scanning the memory banks of [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]], he discovered that Optimus had transferred the Matrix into the mind of the human, [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]]. Shockwave programmed Jetfire to capture Buster, but the boy was able to use the power of the Matrix to bring the robot under his own control. {{storylink|Brainstorm!}}

[[Image:Brainstorm-welcomeboost.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hasbro probably sold a LOT of Shockwave toys just from this panel.]]
Buster used Jetfire to travel to the Aerospace Plant, intending to free Optimus Prime. Jetfire's pre-programmed response to an Air Force attack, however, meant that Buster was knocked unconscious and delivered to Shockwave as a captive.

The Autobots' attempts to keep Buster away from the Decepticons led Shockwave to suspect that his headquarters was bugged. Soundwave soon ferreted out a telephone link that was allowing the Autobots to listen in on their plans. Shockwave used the link to manipulate the Autobots into bringing their leader's body with them to a nearby swamp, where his head was to be deposited, there to corrode away forever. The head that actually arrived there, however, was a false one constructed by Shockwave, which attacked the Autobots once it was joined with Optimus Prime's body.

Shockwave had reckoned without Buster's fighting back, however; as Jetfire was about to take the real head of Optimus Prime and pitch it into the swamp, the captive human used his Matrix powers to take control of Jetfire and knock out Shockwave. Shockwave awoke to find both Optimus Prime and the human workers gone; he quickly deduced what had happened, and flew to the battle site. There he engaged the newly-whole Optimus in a one-on-one battle which ended when the Decepticon leader was tossed into a swamp. {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

''Finally extricating himself from the swamp after being trapped for several months,'' Shockwave returned to leadership of the Decepticons with some new ill-fated plans involving stealing sonic energy from a rock concert {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}} and attempting to exploit [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] as a weak link in the Autobot forces. {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}

[[Image:ShockwaveSecondGeneration1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Uh...you're on your own, kid. See ya!]]

''When [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] built Buster a [[Buster's battlesuit|mechanoid battlesuit]], the human test-drove it by attacking [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]]. Shockwave responded to the attack, only to be briefly blinded when a desperate Buster flung a handful of sand into his optic sensor. The darkness this brought about revived memories of his four-million-year burial and his humiliating swamp submergence, and an enraged, barely-sane Shockwave disregarded logic in a desire for revenge that saw him pursue Buster throughout the night. As the new day dawned, Buster made one final attack with all the suit's power, which destroyed it but merely injured Shockwave. Seizing the boy in his hand, Shockwave was about to crush the life from him when the Autobot forces arrived to rescue him.'' {{storylink|Robot Buster!}} ''His rationality returning, Shockwave realized that Buster could potentially be a powerful tool to use against the Autobots, and had the Constructicons attempt to abduct him, but during the battle, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] discovered that the Matrix had planted in Buster's mind a vision for the future of the Transformer race.'' {{storylink|Devastation Derby!}} ''Shockwave watched intently as Soundwave tapped into Buster's dreams, and witnessed a vision of [[combiner]] Transformers battling. Little did he know that Soundwave was also beaming the vision to Megatron (now operating independently of Shockwave), who decided that it was time for him to retake Decepticon leadership. Shockwave and Megatron battled once more, but with Megatron at full health, the fight was much more evenly matched and drawn-out, and was even televised by the Decepticons' unwilling human ally, [[Donny Finkleberg|Robot Master]]. To prevent the Decepticons from being made to look like fools, Soundwave demanded they cease fighting and consent to a joint leadership. Begrudgingly, both agreed.'' {{storylink|Second Generation!}}

This joint leadership did not last long. Leaving Shockwave in charge of the Decepticons' [[Wyoming base]], Megatron led a team of Decepticons to attack the Autobot base, only for the majority of their number to be deactivated and captured by [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. At the same time, however, the Autobots attacked the Decepticon base to draw out [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], to learn more about the combiner process. With the day having firmly been won by the Autobots on both fronts, Megatron argued that although he may have charged into a trap, Shockwave had been ineffective enough to do nothing, and had allowed a trap to spring up around him. Bowing to the logic of this argument, Shockwave stepped down and allowed Megatron to resume sole command. {{storylink|Command Performances!}}

[[Image:ShockwaveInLimbo.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
''Shockwave's movements were unknown for the brief time that followed this embarrassment. He was absent from the Decepticons' base when the time-traveling future Decepticon [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] arrived from 2006 and temporarily disposed of Megatron, but returned not long thereafter. Wondering where everyone was, he was met by [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and Frenzy, who had escaped their confinement in the Autobot base, but then, abruptly, all three were mass-displaced into [[limbo]] when three future Autobots traveled back in time to thwart Galvatron's plans.'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}} ''In limbo, Shockwave and his two companions battled alongside the similarly-displaced Optimus Prime, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and Ratchet against the deadly illusions created by the dimension's [[Limbo parasite|native lifeforms]], before returning to their natural place in space and time when the time-travellers returned to their point of origin.'' {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}}

''It was not long before Shockwave began scheming to return to the position of leader, and when Megatron summoned the Decepticon hunters the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to Earth to stalk Optimus Prime, he saw his opportunity. Conspiring with them, Shockwave arranged for the team to turn on Megatron during the hunt, depriving him of his weapons, expecting that he would have no chance against Prime one-on-one.'' {{storylink|Prey!}} ''When Megatron did not return, Shockwave believed him dead, but in truth, he had escaped to Cybertron—though this was of little concern to the cyclopean schemer, who took up the mantle of leadership in his absence again. It was not long after this that Galvatron returned, having traveled back from the future once more, and now dancing dangerously on the edge of sanity. Fearing the threat Galvatron might pose to his own leadership, Shockwave had the Decepticons aid the Dinobots in battling him, and Galvatron departed rather than fight his own future troops.'' {{storylink|Fallen Angel}} ''Shortly thereafter, Megatron returned from Cybertron with a case of amnesia, sparing Shockwave any retribution for his actions.'' {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

[[Image:Shockwave gone but not forgotten.jpg|thumb|left|180px]]
Not long afterwards, Optimus Prime perished in a video game duel with Megatron, but the Decepticon leader grew progressively more paranoid, fearing his foe had survived. Apparently attempting to shock Megatron back to his senses, Shockwave had the Predacons come to Earth and force him into a combat situation, implanting a copy of his personality program in the team so that he could "be part" of the battle from a safe distance. Events culminated in Megatron's apparent death when, having fully plunged into insanity, he blew the space bridge up while standing on it. Once again, Shockwave was leader. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}}

Shockwave took over the implementation of Megatron's plan to take over [[Power Station Alpha]], adjusting the plan to include an alliance of convenience with [[Cobra]]. {{storylink|Power Struggle}} Cobra delivered Power Station Alpha to the Decepticons {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} The Deceptions modified the power station and set it loose on the Earth, collecting energy while crating wide-scale destruction. Shockwave made plans to evacuate Earth and allow the power station to run rampant with destruction and energy collection until the whole Earth was destroyed. However, Cobra had found out about this plan and worked with [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and the Autobots to destroy the power station. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

Shockwave established regular contact with Cybertron Decepticon commander [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], {{storylink|King of the Hill!}} ''and had the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]] sent from Cybertron so that they could use their aquatic abilities to help fortify the Decepticons' new artificial mobile island base. It was while they were performing this task that Galvatron returned, advancing on the island, much to Shockwave's distress. He ordered the Seacons to attack, but Galvatron tore through both them and the base walls—he had, he claimed, come in peace, but Shockwave's attack had made an enemy of him, putting all Decepticons in danger. This of course, was a complete lie, but it turned the Decepticons against Shockwave, thereby disrupting the one-eyed warrior's command.'' {{storylink|Enemy Action!}}

[[Image:Shockwaveburnsup.jpg|thumb|250px|Shockwave's mistake was whittling [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] down to the story-protected [[human]] center.]]
After interfering in a scheme of Ratbat's, Buster Witwicky was captured by the Decepticons and brought to their island, which Shockwave then transformed into spaceship mode and took to the fringes of Earth's atmosphere. Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] leader [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] pursued the craft and battled Shockwave in the void of space, where he defeated him and sent him tumbling back through Earth's atmosphere in free-fall. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}} ''Although thought dead by many, Shockwave in actuality survived and returned to the Decepticons' original fortress base, where he concentrated on resolving the threat posed by Galvatron. Seeking to use the missing Megatron as a weapon against him, Shockwave had the small number of Decepticons still under his control recover a [[Straxus (G1)|clone of the departed leader]] from the Thames river, which he and [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snaptrap]] repaired and brainwashed using the [[psycho-probe]].'' {{storylink|Salvage!}} ''Around the same time, Galvatron's fellow time-travelers [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] had joined up with Shockwave's Decepticons, but, chafing in his service, Cyclonus wound up accidentally blurting out that they would be responsible for killing him in the future of 2008. Seeking to preserve his continued existence, Shockwave unleashed the Megatron clone upon them, resulting in the death of Cyclonus. Satisfied with the clone's performance, he dispatched him against Galvatron.'' {{storylink|Dry Run!}} ''The battle had an unexpected conclusion, however, when "Megatron" found a kindred spirit in Galvatron and actually joined forces with him.'' {{storylink|Altered Image!}}

[[Image:Shockwavetimewars.jpg|thumb|left|250px|It's okay, [[Time Wars]] didn't make sense to any of us, either.]]
''This unfortunate chain of events led to Shockwave losing his grip on sanity. Unable to logically fathom the situation, he slipped into despondency, stringing up the remains of Cyclonus on the walls of his castle as a twisted trophy. What Shockwave did not realize, however, was that the repeated time-travel and the death of Cyclonus had caused a rift in space-time that threatened the stability of reality. Hoping to restore the balance by returning all time-travelers to their proper place in time, Scourge attempted to reclaim Cyclonus's body, but was shot down by Shockwave for his trouble. At Scourge's urging, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] was able to present events logically enough to Shockwave to restore some semblance of coherency to his thoughts, and Shockwave himself deposited Cyclonus's remains in the rift, and sealed it with an x-ray blast.'' {{storylink|Time Wars}}

[[Image:Shockwavefightmoretalkless.jpg|thumb|250px|Hypothesis: Shockwave should internalize his thought process.]]
It would be some time before Shockwave next resurfaced, emerging from the sea on the coast of Blackpool, England, and killing a human who had seen him. {{storylink|Dark Creation}} Seeking to establish his own faction of Decepticons, he saved [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] from Circuit Breaker, {{storylink|The Human Factor!}} and the pair, along with Ravage, recruited those who had grown disenfranchised with the leadership of the current Decepticon Earth commander, [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. {{storylink|Eye of the Storm}} The small group staged an attack on Scorponok's [[New Jersey (Earth)|New Jersey]] base, and Scorponok and Shockwave battled in the waters around Manhattan before being interrupted by the super-team, the [[Neo-Knights]]. {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} Shockwave used the ensuing confusion to implicate the Autobots in an attack on the human team, but was later recognized by Circuit Breaker as the robot responsible for crippling her, and was blown out of the sky by her powers. {{storylink|Out of Time!}} Abruptly, the battle was ended when the Transformers were all teleported to Cybertron to face the threat of [[Unicron]], but even Shockwave's data grid could not compute the vastness of the threat the chaos-bringer posed. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

After Unicron was destroyed, Shockwave teamed up with Starscream once more to find the remains of the Autobots' Ark, which had crashed during the battle. {{storylink|Still Life!}} The pair succeeded in getting the craft airborne again, but were unaware that the numerous damaged Transformers in the ship's stasis pods had been reactivated with [[nucleon]]—Megatron among them—and that an alternate future version of [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]] was also on board. {{storylink|Exodus!}} Conflict erupted when Megatron and Galvatron met, but the sight of Shockwave saw the two Decepticons team up against him. To put an end to things once and for all, the revived Ratchet sent the Ark crashing to Earth. {{storylink|A Savage Circle}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[Image:Shockwave aspects of evil.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Real Decepticons wear pink.]]
''In the alternate future timeline of [[Earth-120185]], Shockwave attacked the unveiling of the first female Autobot [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] in 1995 with [[Fangry]], [[Squeezeplay]] and [[Horri-Bull]]. When Arcee quickly disabled his men, though, Shockwave took off and left them to fend for themselves.'' {{storylink|Prime's Rib!}} ''Years later, in 2004, he staged an attack on the opening day of [[Autobot City]], but was defeated by the extremely illogical actions of [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], who threw him down a mountain, and jumped along with him for the ride.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

[[Image:Shockwave headhunt.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
''After Decepticon commander [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] disappeared following Unicron's attack on Cybertron in 2006, the new Autobot leader [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] devoted his forces to searching the galaxy and making sure the Decepticon was truly dead. This diverted attention allowed Shockwave to assume leadership of the Decepticons in the chaos that followed, and he consolidated them into a strong force on Cybertron that ultimately resulted in a stalemate between the factions by 2008.'' {{storylink|Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} ''Knowing that the freelance peacekeeping agent named [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]] had a grudge against Rodimus Prime, Shockwave had [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] hire him for 10,000 [[shanix]] to hunt down and exterminate the Autobot, providing him with secret entry into Cybertron and information about Prime's movements. At the same time, Shockwave allowed Scourge and Cyclonus, Galvatron's former top two lackeys, to brazenly go after Rodimus Prime themselves. Seeing the powerful duo as a potential threat to his position, Shockwave hoped that by tossing these various parties into the mix together, at least some of his problems would turn out dead.'' {{storylink|Headhunt}}

[[Image:Deathshead147shockdeath.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
''Unfortunately for Shockwave's plans, it was then that Unicron's influence was felt again, as he mind-controlled Cyclonus, Scourge and Death's Head into trying to assassinate Shockwave. Death's Head used the supposedly deactivated bodies of the duo to gain access to Shockwave's audience chamber, and then left his "comrades" to seal the doors while he chased down the Decepticon leader. After a hard-fought battle, Shockwave was ultimately destroyed, his body blown to pieces and his memory module crushed between Death's Head's fingers, ensuring that he could never return. Still, the hunter was sickened by being forced to kill against his will, and Death's Head promised Shockwave's corpse that he would eventually avenge them both. ''{{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}
{{-}}

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Shockwave two steps back.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
''Reality unfolds in many ways, across many dimensions. In one such dimension, it was not Scorponok that Shockwave challenged for leadership in the [[Decepticon Civil War]], but a returning Megatron, and the two of them built their armies up for a renewed battle for control over the Earth. Upon hearing that [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] had somehow restored his Dinobots to life without the Creation Matrix, Shockwave and his soldiers attempted to force the secret out of the Dinobots. They failed, miserably.'' {{storylink|Two Steps Back!}}

''Unable to gain an advantage over Megatron, Shockwave was forced to suggest an [[Enclave]], a truce whereby the Decepticons could meet and hopefully overcome their differences as they had in the past, for the mutual goal of destruction of the Autobots. Certainly, the Autobots had something to say about that, and they rigged a scenario so that Megatron was tricked into thinking Shockwave had sent an assassin sniper to kill him during the meeting. A brawl broke out, and any chance at peace was chucked out the window, along with several dismembered body parts.'' {{storylink|The Bad Guy's Ball!}}

[[Image:Triple changers shockwave secrets.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
''Thanks to a [[Soundwave (G1)|secret informer]] inside Megatron's camp, Shockwave was able to surprise his rival at the site of an energon delivery, and he and the [[Triple Changer|Triple Changers]] overpowered Megatron and tossed him over a cliff, claiming his energon as their own.'' {{storylink|Secrets}} ''Turnabout's fair play, however, and Shockwave's own lieutenant Starscream tipped off Megatron about when Shockwave would be alone and open for attack. What's worse, Starscream and Soundwave took advantage of their leaders' absence to stage a coup, and so Shockwave and Megatron were left on the run from [[Earthforce]] while their troops abandoned them to their fates.'' {{storylink|Internal Affairs!}}

''Shockwave and Megatron subsequently organized a hit on Starscream, using a [[Louisiana bounty hunters|series of cheap assassins]] to trick Starscream into assuming Soundwave wanted to wipe him out and assume sole command of the Decepticons. '' {{storylink|Assassins}} ''They then attacked their betrayers personally when it didn't go to plan, but were countered by the Earthforce, who needed Starscream alive to help heal [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]], afflicted with [[Corrodia Gravis]]. Even with the help of [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], Megatron and Shockwave were forced to retreat.'' {{storylink|The Lesser Evil!}}

====''Transformers Comic-Magazin''====
{{TransformersComicMagazin}}

Shockwave served as joint leader with his rival [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]]. Together, they worked out that hijacking the oil reserves of [[Alaska]] would make more sense than hitting oil refineries, and battled the Autobots to seize the Alaskan oil. They were driven off by[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Autobots. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 2|Transformers in Action: Attack at Dawn}}

He was present when Megatron made peaceful gestures to Humanity in [[New York City]] and gave a speech about how Megatron was an "intergalactic diplomat", who managed by "the greastest possible personal investment" to reconcile "such different citizens of the galaxy as TRANSFORMERS and humans". He then gave a "statue" of [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snaptrap]] as a gift to the city. Unsurprisingly, once Humanity was off-guard, the Decepticons struck, and the Autobots barely stopped them. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 4#Transformers in Action: The Troy Principle|Transformers in Action: The Troy Principle}}

Shockwave aided Megatron in capturing an oil tanker, and then using it as a distraction to launch a series of raids. He helped Megatron to battle a squad of Autobot Pretenders aboard the tanker, but was eventually defeated. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 6|Transformers in the Battle for Peace: A Big Day for Powermaster Optimus Prime}}

Later, he was present when the Decepticons unleashed a robotic hell-beast known as 'King Con' on New York and helped Megatron and Soundwave to set up a mine belt around the harbor. However Optimus Prime rented a helicopter to fly a banner announcing huge raw oil deposit finds in the Rocky Mountains. After a short hesitation, the Decepticons retreated to pursue these findings. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 7|Transformers — Transforming Robots in Action: New York — A City Sinking in Terror}}

====''Classics''====
[[Image:Timelines shockwave - alex milne.jpg|thumb|200px|right|It's a life of quiet dignity. Minus the quiet. And the dignity.]]
Megatron decided to keep Shockwave alive in spite of past betrayals because of the use of his logical skills. However, he decided to prevent further betrayals by keeping him only as a head hooked to some sort of life support. Megatron queried him on information regarding [[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]] and Shockwave told him all he knew, but when he requested computer access for more information, Megatron refused and closed up the chamber. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}
{{-}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Yū Shimaka|Yutaka Shimaka]] (Japanese)|[[Peter Musäus]] (German), [[Claus Brockmeyer]] (German, ''The Movie'', ''Generation 2''), [[Vladimiro Conti]] (Italian, second dub), [[Georges Atlas]] (French), [[Jorge García]] (Spanish)}}

[[Image:ShockwaveUltimateDoom3.jpg|thumb|Sorry, but you kids are going to have to play somewhere else.]]

Shockwave was a highly ranked and staunchly loyal Decepticon, and with Soundwave, apparently one of the first at [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s side. {{storylink|War Dawn}} Certainly he was one of Megatron's more favored troops, in that Megatron's constant praise of him seemed to annoy Starscream no end. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

Shockwave was entrusted with the [[Cybertron Guard|stewardship of Cybertron]] by Megatron when the latter left to intercept an Autobot mission surveying for new forms of energy. Neither Decepticon suspected that Megatron's absence (and Shockwave's command) would last four million years. Little changed on Cybertron during those years, although Shockwave apparently lost his left hand and replaced it with a laser cannon. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

He oversaw all Decepticon activity on the evidently near-empty Cybertron. His keen scientific mind resulted in several incredible devices, including the [[space bridge]]. Although he was able to keep Cybertron functional for the extended length of time, he continued to try to contact Megatron in hopes of finding an energy source to revitalize the planet. In 1984, he finally reestablished contact with the Decepticon leader. The two coordinated the refinement of the space bridge, first to send [[energon cube]]s, and eventually as an easy method of transport for Decepticons. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} {{storylink|Roll for It}} However, Autobots would also occasionally hijack use of the bridge, and Shockwave found himself having to repel stowaways on more than one occasion. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}}

Eventually, Megatron and Shockwave developed a space bridge powerful enough to transport Cybertron itself to Earth. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} The close proximity of the two worlds caused horrible weather disturbances that the Decepticons were able to utilize as sources of energy which could easily be shipped back to their homeworld. It was during this affair that Shockwave and his men had to stop an attempt by several Autobots and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] to rescue [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Spike's father]], who was being held on Cybertron as a slave. The Autobots were eventually able to escape with both Sparkplug and the data for [[Doctor Arkeville]]’s mind-control hypno chips. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}

Even though he partook in the near-destruction of the Earth, he could also be credited with helping save it shortly after. With Megatron presumed dead following an explosion on his star cruiser, Starscream assumed command on Cybertron. He rigged Dr. Arkeville's exponential generator to blow up the Earth so the Decepticons could harvest the release of energy. Despite Starscream's orders, Shockwave continued to make communications to Earth, finally reaching Megatron, who wasn’t dead after all, and warning him in time to disable the generator. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}

He once came to Earth, but only for a short time. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}}

[[Image:ShockwaveDesertionOfTheDinobots1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Shockwave bought himself on eBay!]]

When all the Earthbound Transformers began to malfunction due to the deterioration of the essential element [[Cybertonium]] in their bodies, Shockwave was tasked with having more mined from Cybertron to send to the Decepticons. The Autobots sent the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] to attack the space bridge and snatch some Cybertonium for them. Instead, the rebellious Dinobots used the space bridge to travel to Cybertron, where they intended to stay. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} They were captured by Shockwave’s sentinels, rewired, and put to work in the Cybertonium mines. Spike and [[Carly]] were also captured when they attempted to rescue them, but Shockwave underestimated the two humans. Once they were put in the mines, Spike and Carly were able to fix [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] and the others. The Dinobots broke free and were able to escape Shockwave with enough Cybertonium to repair the Autobots. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

[[Image:SearchforAlphaTrion Shockwave gun mode.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"I will not be manhandled by you, Starscream!"]]
Though he'd believed them to be extinct, Shockwave discovered a small group of [[Female Autobots]] when they attempted to raid his energon stockroom. Although they got away with some supplies, he was able to track them to their hidden hideout. He alerted Megatron, who devised the plan of kidnapping their leader, [[Elita One]]. Megatron knew she had a relationship with [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. Sure enough, after her capture, Optimus raced to Cybertron to rescue her, only to be captured himself by Starscream. Thanks to Elita's special power, she and Optimus were able to escape. Meanwhile, Shockwave, Starscream, and the other Decepticons had to contend with Ironhide leading a small group of Autobots who had followed Optimus Prime. With the help of the Female Autobots team, they eventually cornered the Decepticons, until Shockwave blasted them off the bridge with his gun mode. He would’ve been able to finish them off had Prime and One not intervened at the last moment to save their comrades, send Starscream and the others running off, and blast Shockwave down into the pits of Cybertron. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

He wasn’t out of action for long. After Megatron built his new combiner team, the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], Shockwave helped locate the key to [[Vector Sigma]], the computer that gave life to all Transformers. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} He later learned and reported to Megatron that the key had other unknown properties on other worlds, which Megatron discovered meant turning organic matter into metal. Unfortunately for Megatron, [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] was able to score a precise shot, blowing apart the key before Megatron could get away with it. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

Another device built by Shockwave was the [[Kronosphere]], a time machine that was used to dispose of the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]]. When the Autobots were able to drive the Decepticons out of their hideout, Shockwave helped Megatron reactivate a fallen [[Guardian robot]] to try to take back the base. In the end, the Autobots were able to bring the Aerialbots back to the present, and with their help, drove the Decepticons away for good. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

Later, Shockwave alerted Megatron to the theft of five personality components from the [[Decepticon Detention Center]] on Cybertron. These were stolen by Starscream to build his own force to defeat Megatron, the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

[[Image:RevengeOfBruticus Shockwave on Starscream.jpg|200px|thumb|left|No caption is needed for this image.]]

This coup failed, and Starscream and the Combaticons were exiled to deep space. While Starscream went off on his own, the Combaticons instead made their way back to Cybertron, where they attacked Shockwave and his sentinels and succeeded in taking over Decepticon headquarters. Shockwave ran into Starscream, and the two teamed up to stop the Combaticons and their plan to use the space bridge to push the Earth into the Sun. However, Starscream saw an opportunity to assert power over Megatron, who was still on Earth. He turned against Shockwave, the two fought each other, and they were captured by the Combaticons. They were both eventually freed when Megatron and Optimus Prime came to Cybertron to defeat the Combaticons themselves. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

[[Image:Shockwave5Faces.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Shockwave didn't die. He just got a new [[Six Shot|paint job]].]]

By 2005, Megatron had returned to Cybertron and completely conquered the planet, leading Shockwave to rejoin Megatron's inner circle. He participated in the [[Battle of Autobot City]] and was present for both Starscream's coronation and his subsequent destruction by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], the reformatted version of Megatron. With Galvatron indisposed, Shockwave commanded the Decepticon forces during [[Unicron]]'s attack on Cybertron, but for some reason was never seen again. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

{{note|Even though Shockwave's death was written into the movie's script, it did not even show on the released film. However, IDW's [[Transformers: The Animated Movie#4|20th Anniversary comic adaptation]] did include Shockwave's death. Shockwave's model did show up in season 3, utilized for several [[generic]]s. Specifically, a yellow version appears at the start of the [[Title sequence|"Five Faces of Darkness" title sequence]], a green version shows up in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]" and two Constructicon-colored guys are present among the Decepticon troops in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]".}}

====''Story of Binaltech''====
[[Image:Binaltech shockwave.jpg|left|thumb|225px|It doesn't get happy; it doesn't get sad; it doesn't laugh at your jokes; it ''just runs programs''!]]

In 2004, as the battle for control of Cybertron was reaching fever pitch, Shockwave was among the casualities of war, his body destroyed but his personality component intact. Around this time, the time-tossed Decepticon [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] took control of the Kronosphere, seeking to use it to alter the course of history. Ravage used the Kronosphere to teleport Megatron and the majority of the Decepticons outside of time, knowing that this would leave the Autobots to face the looming threat of Unicron alone. To keep the remaining Decepticons organized until then, Ravage realized they would need a leader, and Shockwave was elected for the task; his personality component implanted into a vehicle outfitted with molecular-manipulating [[Transmuter (Binaltech)|Transmuter]] technology, Shockwave was reborn in a powerful Binaltech body and rallied the Decepticons under his command. {{storylink|Changing Lanes}}

Although they were forced off of Earth by the Autobots there, Shockwave's Decepticons continued to operate within the [[solar system]], and were discovered in the vicinity of [[Saturn]]'s rings by a [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]. Alas, Prowl did not make it back to Earth after making his discovery: Shockwave led an attack on his shuttle and Prowl's [[spark]] was lost when he attempted to transfer it to safety through [[subspace]]. {{storylink|Prowl & Chase}}

Through the efforts of the mysterious time- and space-bending entity known as the [[Optimus Primal|Protector]], the changes Ravage wrought upon the timeline were undone, and history was corrected. The altered version of the timeline, however, was also preserved as a parallel dimension (colloquially known as the "BT World"), and in that alternate dimension, the Autobots were successul in defeating Unicron alone. In accordance with Ravage's plan, however, Megatron and his forces then returned from beyond time, immediately launching a ferocious attack upon the weary Autobots.

The Autobots' total defeat was only delayed by Megatron's encounter with [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]], an Earth-made robot which had taken the side of the Decepticons, who challenged Megatron during an attack on the [[Earth Defense Command]] base on [[Mars (planet)|Mars]] for ownership of Earth's solar system. While Megatron and Nemesis Prime battled, across the galaxy, [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] ventured into the depths of Cybertron and activated the [[Quintesson]]s' [[large switch|killswitch]], deactivating all non-Binaltech Transformers throughout the universe. With Megatron deactivated right in front of him, Nemesis Prime declared himself Decepticon leader, and summoned Shockwave to his side, instructing him to gather up as many fallen Decepticon as he could before the humans' took possession of them. Shockwave hesitated momentarily, but quickly acquiesced to the logic of the plan and complied. {{storylink|Kill Switch}}

===Grandreams ''Generation 2'' comics===
Shockwave participated in the Decepticons' attack to capture a crashed spaceship from the Autobots atop [[Table Mountain]], blasting Optimus Prime with a laser. Alas, the "spaceship" was an Autobot trap that fired Shockwave and the other Decepticons randomly into space. {{storylink|Day of the Decepticons}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:Shockwavedwtww1.jpg|thumb|left|Dreamwave is all his fault.]]

As a major player in the Decepticon army in Cybertron's past, Shockwave led the main attack on the Autobots' stronghold shortly after the appointment of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], {{storylink|The War Within issue 2|The War Within #2}} {{storylink|The War Within issue 3|The War Within #3}} {{storylink|The War Within issue 4|The War Within #}} and personally destroyed two [[Guardian robot|guardian robots]] with one blast in space gun mode. {{storylink|The War Within issue 5|The War Within #5}} As a [[planetary engine]] destroyed Iacon, Shockwave ordered a retreat back to [[Kolkular]]. {{storylink|The War Within issue 6|The War Within #6}}

After Megatron's apparent death in an early space bridge test, the Decepticon faction splintered, with [[Air Commander]] [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] creating the [[Predacon (War Within)|Predacons]] and High Auditor [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] the [[Ultracon|Ultracons]], while Shockwave led the Decepticons through the [[Dark Ages]] of Cybertron. During this period, his logic allowed him to put aside differences with Jetfire and the Autobots in order to defeat the greater evil of [[The Fallen]]. Meeting up with Jetfire to discuss the upsurge in violence, the two were attacked by the [[Chaos Trinity]], and Shockwave was taken down. {{storylink|Revelation (The Dark Ages)|Revelation}} Recovered by the newly built [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], Shockwave organized a counter strike against the three mystics that included Trypticon, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], and the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]]. Exactly how logic dictated that Shockwave bring an entire army to deal with three rogue Decepticons is unknown. Grimlock's [[Lightning Strike Coalition]] arrived, saying that they had a stake in this, and Shockwave agreed to a temporary ceasefire. After the Fallen was defeated, Shockwave and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] agreed to seal the [[Well of All Sparks]] with six coded barriers for each faction. They were to remain in place until Cybertron was united. Or, as Shockwave put it, [['Til all are one|until all are one]]. {{storylink|Conflagration}} As the Dark Ages came to an end, Shockwave was ready to sign a peace treaty with Ratbat's Ultracons and the Autobots, but the return of Megatron derailed the plan. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath}} Shockwave was tasked with reverse engineering the [[Quintesson]]-created clones he brought back to the planet with him, which suffered difficulties due to Megatron's refusal to divulge their origin, but greatly intrigued Shockwave. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.2}} Progress wasn't helped by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]]'s treatment of his equipment. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.3}}

Shockwave was left behind on Cybertron while Megatron's forces pursued Optimus Prime and were subsequently lost on Earth for four million years, and became Decepticon leader on the planet. He began experimenting with cloning, and through studies of [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], began to conceive the idea of a Transformer with multiple alternate modes. Cybertron, however, was steadily growing lower and lower on energy, and in an attempt to create new energy-conservative Transformers, Shockwave allied with the Autobots for a pooling of resources that created the [[Micromaster]]s. {{storylink|Destined for Nothing}} This came back to bite him, however, when the Decepticon Micromaster [[Skystalker (G1)|Skystalker]] attempted to overthrow his command, knocking him offline and decapitating him to use in a grotesque puppet show, giving orders to the other Decepticons by holding Shockwave's severed noggin up to a video screen. {{storylink|Victims of the Revolution}} When Skystalker was defeated, Shockwave was repaired, but eventually, he and all the other Transformers on Cybertron succumbed to stasis as the planet's energy ran out, and it entered a hibernation phase known as the "[[Great Shutdown]]".

3000 years ago, Unicron's herald [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] located the dead planet, and reactivated Shockwave for study purposes. {{storylink|Generation 1 issue 0|Generation 1 #0}} However, when Shockwave was attacked by a swarm of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], Scourge intervened and saved him, {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} only to be shot in the back by the Decepticon and captured. Dissecting and studying Scourge, Shockwave learned many secrets about the function and purpose of Transformers and Cybertron from the secrets hidden within him. Using that knowledge, Shockwave steadily worked to restore Cybertron, reactivating its population and solving their energy needs, ending the war and unifying the planet. He also continued his experiments into multiple transformations, yielding the unstable [[Duocon]]s, and then successfully mastering the process with [[Triple Changer]]s. Capturing [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], Shockwave sought to unlock the full secrets of [[Vector Sigma]], having already learned of the mysterious significance of Earth to the Transformer race. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}} In preparation for the invasion of the planet, Shockwave subliminally influenced the population of Cybertron to become more violent, {{storylink|Passive Aggression}} and prevented the return of Optimus Prime and Megatron aboard the ''[[Ark II]]'' by having a [[Robert Hallo|human agent]] blow it up. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

{{note|The [[Keepers Trilogy]] novel "[[Hardwired]]" made a brief reference to Shockwave being part of the Decepticons on Earth, but having been incommunicado for months prior to the disappearance of Megatron in [[Tokyo]]. This statement is at odds with Dreamwave continuity established after the novels.}}

[[Image:Shockwavedwwarandpeace.jpg|thumb|250px|Deja vu all over again.]]

In 2003, Shockwave made his move, heading to Earth with his Triple Changer troops and capturing Megatron and Optimus's forces, planning to try the two leaders as war criminals. Megatron was jettisoned into space by Starscream, {{storylink|New World Order}} while Prime escaped from his clutches and fell in with a rebel group. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} Mobilizing the planet's Autobots, Prime led an attack on [[Shockwave's Tower]], and confronted Shockwave himself, only to be defeated by the Decepticon, who ripped the Matrix from him. Using the Matrix to activate Vector Sigma, Shockwave downloaded the compressed contents of the mega-computer into his network, but before he had an opportunity to view the data, he was pulled into a battle with [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. In the course of the fight, the fuel line to his cannon was severed, and the resulting explosion destroyed his citadel and knocked him into a chasm. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

While the rest of Cybertron believed Shockwave to be deceased, he had actually survived the explosion and gone underground in the wastelands of Cybertron. {{storylink|Lost and Found (issue)|Lost and Found}} In addition to re-establishing communications with the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] on Earth (who had been operating there as an advance squad preparing the way for his invasion), {{storylink|Extermination}} Shockwave continued his experimentation, resulting in the creation of [[Sixshot]]. Soon after, however, Megatron returned to Cybertron and bested Shockwave, {{storylink|Lost and Found (issue)|Lost and Found}} taking him to Earth where he did the same to Starscream. But now, the three players were assembled, each knowing certain dark secrets of Cybertron's past... {{storylink|The Route of All Evil}}

{{note|...and then Dreamwave went out of business. Dag, yo.}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. Transformers''===
[[Image:Shockwave-ddp2-2b1.jpg|thumb|left|There are so many ways to make him look awesome.]]

In the absence of Megatron, Shockwave had assumed command of the Decepticons on Cybertron, and had successfully driven the Autobots into an underground resistance movement. When a number of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and [[Cobra]] troops, along with the captive Starscream, accidentally arrived on Cybertron via an overloaded wormhole gate, Shockwave and his troops immediately surrounded them. The same wormhole malfunction blasted a number of Transformers off of Cybertron and into random points of Earth's past, a temporal anomaly that threatened to scour the Earth's face with fire if the Transformers were not brought back.

Ultra Magnus and Perceptor arrived and were able to hold off the Decepticons for a time with a force field, while teams of humans were time-ported away to retrieve the missing Transformers and end the anomaly. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #1}} Magnus's force field power ran out before all the teams had returned, and Shockwave had his troops capture the Autobots. He took personal pleasure in blasting Ratchet when he was returned through the gate.

Revealing that he had intended all along for the humans to discover the wormhole gate technology, Shockwave set the gate to continue operating but blocked the last remaining group from returning—thus condemning Earth to destruction, easy pickings for conquest. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 3|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #3}} Fortunately for Earth, two members of the G.I. Joe team were able to reactivate the gate, allowing the newly-created Dinobots to return to Cybertron. The Dinobots' power quickly drove Shockwave's Decepticons into retreat.

Regrouping on the other side of the planet, Shockwave had the long-missing Starscream brought before him. As Starscream attempted to explain his way out of being seen as a traitor, a recording of Cobra Commander's voice suddenly began to play, explaining that he had lined Starscream's hull with explosives. Shockwave leapt to try and stop the process, but the entire building exploded, apparently taking the two Decepticons with it. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #4}}

With Shockwave's defeat, peace returned to Cybertron, and the Decepticons were driven back to a region known as the [[Gladiator Zone]]. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 1|The Art of War #1}} One of the mish-mash of robot parts known as the [[cannibalizer]]s was seen with Shockwave's blaster hand grafted onto its arm. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 3|The Art of War #3}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:Shockwavetfjoetrenches.jpg|thumb|100px|First guy to call him "Big Bertha" gets it in the face.]]
As one of the Decepticons who crashed to [[Earth]] in the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' millions of years ago, Shockwave was retrieved by [[Cobra]] and pressed into service, taking on the alternate form of a massive artillery cannon. Chafing under the leadership of [[Cobra Commander]], he was ordered to transform and destroy the [[Autobot]] [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. {{storylink|Trenches}} Although he did so, he was forced to fire sixteen consecutive times, despite needing to repair himself after every shot. The resulting strain on his structure irrevocably damaged him, and Cobra Commander refused to allow [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] to use the power of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] to restore him. {{storylink|The Iron Fist}}

{{-}}
===Parts===
During a gladiatorial match in the depths of Cybertron, Shockwave detected incoming security forces and raised the alarm. When Megatron mused that perhaps it was time to start their rebellion by destroying the incoming forces, Shockwave suggested they wait and build up their numbers. Megatron agreed and the pair departed. {{storylink|Parts}}

===IDW Generation 1 comics===
{{ongoing}}
{{spoiler|Endgame| July 20}}
Long before the war, Shockwave was an understudy of some sort for the mad scientist [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}} He became a Decepticon scientist early in the war, repairing a wounded [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] after Megatron saved him and witnessing Orion's unit form an alliance with the Decepticons. {{storylink|Choices}} Shockwave gained the satisfaction of destroying the last [[Omega Destructor]] when the two sides defeated [[Zeta Prime]]. He then witnessed Megatron's betrayal against Orion's unit. {{storylink|Overthrown}} Megatron's short-lived rule of Cybertron came to an end when the Autobots attacked the [[Citadel]] and defeated him, forcing Shockwave to call for a retreat. {{storylink|Endgame}}

[[Image:Shockwave Regenesis.jpg‎|200px|thumb|left|IDW is mostly his fault.]]
Six hundred thousand [[Units of time|meta-cycles]] ago, Shockwave predicted the eventual destruction of Cybertron as a result of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], driving the combatants out across the galaxy. Knowing that control of resources in this period would be crucial, Shockwave decided to create his own secret network of energon sources on scattered planets, a tool he could use to ensure his own domination. Calling the project "[[Regenesis]]", Shockwave covertly launched rockets from Cybertron to several worlds with specific geological properties. The rockets contained a distilled form of energon that would act as a catalyst in their target planets, sparking chain reactions that, if properly regulated, would create seams of an extremely potent [[Ultra-Energon|energon ore]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} 500,000 years ago, Shockwave checked his progress on one of the seeded planets, the gas giant [[Arduria]], and found that it had frozen and broken apart. After putting some of the slowly dying [[Ardurian roc|native rocs]] out of their misery, he located his rocket and learned that it had caused Arduria's destruction by absorbing almost all of its heat energy. While not his intended result, Shockwave considered it a learning experience nonetheless. {{storylink|Syndromica (1)}}

Another targeted planet was [[Earth]], and after hundreds of thousands of years, the energon reaction there reached a critical point. Shockwave needed to plant global dampers to prevent the reaction from spiraling out of control, so ten thousand years ago he traveled to Earth and found it at the end of its [[Wikipedia:Pleistocene|most recent ice age]]. As he went about his business, he was unaware of a threat that had shadowed him.

Before departing Cybertron, Shockwave had been dispatched to "tidy up" after an energon raid by the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]], following the team of misfits back to Autobot territory and blowing up their stolen fuel. The Dynobots had vowed revenge, and after their explosion-inflicted injuries had been repaired, they tracked Shockwave to Earth. While Shockwave was busy on the planet, the Dynobots either destroyed or disabled his ship and then altered their own bodies to withstand the energon-rich atmosphere.

[[Image:Shockwaveg1idw.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Shockwave began to have second thoughts over his choice of manicurists.]]
As Shockwave finished planting the dampers and was preparing to visit other Regenesis worlds, the Dynobots teleported upon him. The attack threw Shockwave off-kilter with both its ferocity and its unexpectedness, as he had anticipated a stab in the back from Megatron but had failed to consider the simple vengeance of the Dynobots. Mentally and physically confounded by the assault, Shockwave deactivated his higher reasoning and allowed a subroutine simulating rage to take over. This brutal, violent Shockwave decimated the Dynobots, burning off the organic coating shielding them from the planet's high energon fields and forcing them into [[stasis lock]]. As the battle concluded, Shockwave restored his full neural operations and logged the emotional experience for further study. But, as his logic center churned away once more, it again failed to anticipate his enemies' chaotic nature. Specifically, Grimlock had set a dead-man's switch on [[Skyfire (ship)|the Dynobots' ship]], and before Shockwave could act upon his own victory, the ship shot an energy beam into a nearby volcano, causing it to erupt and consume all of the combatants.

Megatron became suspicious of Shockwave's absence and assigned [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] to search through Shockwave's files. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} Bludgeon discovered the Regenesis project but kept the information to himself and his close-knit team. Some time after the [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] catastrophe but before Cybertron had been declared off-limits, Bludgeon's team set upon the goal of bringing Thunderwing back to life using Shockwave's seeded Ultra-Energon. To this end, they covertly restored Shockwave's old subterranean laboratory and recovered Thunderwing's body, staying on Cybertron long after the planet was officially evacuated and quarantined. After lengthy preparations, the group headed to Earth and became the first beneficiaries of Shockwave's labor, harvesting all the energon ore they needed in a base inside [[Mount St. Helens]]. They were briefly interrupted in the year [[1984]] by [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], who had been spying on them all along and sought to both secure the ore for himself and prevent Thunderwing's return. But Bludgeon's swordsmanship made short work of Soundwave's [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette|cassette]]s [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], and [[Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus]] took Soundwave down with a weapon from Shockwave's lab, an energy gun that forced Soundwave into his [[alternate mode|alt-mode]] and locked him in that form. As Bludgeon's group left with their bounty, they induced a volcanic eruption, burying their opponents. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}} A little over twenty years later, Bludgeon finally completed his task and resurrected Thunderwing. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 2|Stormbringer #2}}

[[Image:Shockwave Agent Red.jpg‎|200px|thumb|left|[[Transformers (film)|Call him NBE-1]].]]
Coindentally, around the same time ([[2006]], to be precise), a [[Goring|human archaeological team]] uncovered Shockwave's body. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} As the dig continued and the Dynobots also began to be unearthed, a government organization swept in and took the operation over. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} This organization, [[Skywatch]], had also recovered Ravage and Laserbeak back in 1985. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

Skywatch repaired and attempted to control their captives through neural inhibitors, but the results were consistently disastrous. As the Dynobots and cassettes wreaked havoc (due to the [[Machination]]'s interference) or otherwise pursued unknown agendas (due to Soundwave's interference), Skywatch commander [[Joshua Red]] decided to use a less sophisticated method on their last remaining subject. Bringing Shockwave online in their [[Salt Lake City]] base, Red told him there was a bomb in his head set to detonate in 24 hours if Skywatch didn't transmit a reset code. Shockwave's task was to take down the rogue [[Transformer]]s in that time. Shockwave casually asked if they knew how much damage he could do in 24 hours, then he made a beeline for Soundwave, who was active but still mode-locked in a [[Portland]], [[Oregon]] child's possession. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}}

[[Image:Shockwave V Scorponok MD.jpg‎‎|200px|thumb|right|Hypothesis: [[...All This and Civil War 2|Turnabout is fair play]].]]
At the same time, Soundwave was using his broadcast abilities to block Skywatch's control over Ravage and Laserbeak, who retrieved Soundwave from his human captivity. The three returned to Mt. St. Helens, where Shockwave joined them and struck a deal. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}} Deducing that his own weapon had mode-locked Soundwave, Shockwave offered to undo its effects, but only after they helped him thwart Skywatch's threat to himself. They agreed, and the first step of the plan was for the cassettes to help Shockwave feign obedience to Skywatch. Shockwave told Skywatch where to find the cassettes, and indeed Ravage and Laserbeak allowed themselves to be recaptured without a fight.

[[Image:Shockwave V Dynos.jpg‎|250px|thumb|left|"And we'll KEEP dancing until we get it RIGHT!"]]
Meanwhile, Shockwave played out his own part by seeking the Dynobots. But he found them already engaged with [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] and the Machination, whom Shockwave decided to attack first so he could destroy the Dynobots himself. Observing the battle, Joshua Red ordered the explosives detonated only if Shockwave ''succeeded,'' since it would guarantee a "clean sweep" of all the combatants and their bodies. If Shockwave was still in battle when the 24 hours were up, Red wanted the reset code sent instead, presumably because he feared anyone but Shockwave walking away alive and unsubdued. It is unclear if Shockwave had deduced this, but his actions produced the effect he desired. By the time Shockwave beat Scorponok, only 12 minutes remained, and Grimlock proved to have more than 12 minutes' worth of fight left in him. On the 30-second mark, the two were still grappling in a Machination arms bunker, so Red ordered the reset code sent. The code was intercepted and decrypted by Soundwave, who transmitted the information to Shockwave, who in return sent him instructions to mentally disable the mode-lock. Soundwave transformed, his cassettes attacked their would-be captors, and Shockwave abruptly walked away from his fight, declaring an end to the "charade." But Grimlock would not be denied his revenge, so before Shockwave could leave, he detonated a grenade that blew the arms bunker sky-high. The two were soon recovered, still functioning, by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], who took both Shockwave and Scorponok into custody. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

Later, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] reflected on an event he called "Shockwave's resurgence." It is unclear exactly what this was or when this happened. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

During Shockwave's time in Skywatch captivity, the researchers had gathered enough information about him to design a weapon based on his technology. According to [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Cmdr. Spike Witwicky]], the first working prototypes were the size of a house, but with some unspecified "outside help," they were able to condense it to a size small enough for hand-held use by a human. It was stored in a secret [[New York City]] facility, and when the city was overrun by Megatron's forces, Spike was sent in with a military squad to retrieve it and use it to kill Megatron. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} Though his team perished, Spike survived, got the weapon, and successfully shot Megatron in the head, ending the Decepticon occupation. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers3 - Shockwave.jpg|150px|thumb|right|So do we blame Shockwave for letting Overlord off his leash, or Overlord for unleashing the one-eyed purple people eater again?]]
The Autobots imprisoned Shockwave at [[Garrus-9]], separating his head from his body in the process. However, one year after [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]]'s arrival in Garrus-9, he revived Shockwave. In exchange for his freedom and a hand-picked crew, Overlord wanted Shockwave to remove a virus Megatron had implanted in him prior to his rebellion. Shockwave agreed to the terms as they served his own purposes, however he was quick to comment that Overlord's actions on Garrus-9 were less about the former general's gratification and more about attracting Megatron's attention. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Shockwave eventually wound up on the same asteroid where many Decepticons had set up camp after escaping from Earth. He claimed to be working on rebuilding the [[space bridge]]. However, no one had bothered to observe his work, and even if they had, none of them had the knowledge to understand what he might be doing. {{storylink|All His Engines}}

In reality, Shockwave was assisting Soundwave in building a new body for Megatron after the shot to his head had left his old one beyond repair. Together they rebuilt their leader and used his old body to make tiny replicas of his gun form, with plans to distribute them amongst the population of Earth in order to create chaos amongst both the humans and Autobots. Starscream, who had taken up leadership after the fall of Megatron, was furious that Shockwave had squandered their resources on something like that rather than build a space bridge, only for Shockwave to reveal that he had integrated space bridge technology into Megatron's new body. He then carefully calculated that [[Quetzaltenango]], [[Mexico]] was the most appropriate location to deposit the Megatron guns, and stood by Megatron as he sent the weapons through the space bridge to Earth. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon}}

Four months later, the Decepticons themselves traveled to Earth, where Soundwave was heavily injured in a confrontation with Optimus Prime. When ordered to repair him, Shockwave protested that he no longer had the resources he had used to rebuild Megatron, but when pressed, affirmed that he could in fact save Soundwave's life. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine}}

[[Image:Needlenose Autonomy Lesson.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]
Megatron would later use the space bridge technology built into in his new body to summon Shockwave and the rest of the Decepticons to him on Cybertron. At first they did battle with the Autobots, but were soon mind-controlled by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] into combining with his [[Sweep]] army and forming a huge [[Deceptigod|monster]]. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings}} Once Galvatron and the monstrosity were defeated, the weakened Decepticons were rounded up and captured by the Autobots. After a few weeks in imprisonment, they were released to deal with rioting "[[NAIL]]s" who had returned to repopulate Cybertron, and did so with glee. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime}}

[[Needlenose]], fed up with working as an enforcer for the Autobots, accused Shockwave, Soundwave and [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] of just sitting around instead of doing something about the Decepticons' situation. {{storylink|The Autonomy Lesson}} Of course he was wrong: Shockwave is always doing ''something''. In this case he, along with Soundwave, worked with [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] to take control of the [[inhibitor/deterrence chip]]s implanted in them by the Autobots. He seemed uninterested in Ratbat's further plans to fight their captors, only saying "Events will play out as they will." when asked for his opinion. {{storylink|The World & Everything in It}}
{{-}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
After awakening in 19th century America, Shockwave took on the form of an ironclad warship and recruited inventor [[Tobias Muldoon]] to the Decepticon side (by pretending to be a friend to humanity). {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Hearts of Steel #1}} He took Muldoon to his Decepticon comrades underwater, where he was questioned by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2|Hearts of Steel #2}}

Years later in [[1888]], the surviving Decepticons came under the influence of the invading [[Elder God]]s. Shockwave was among those who accepted the beings as their new masters and defended [[Port Cenotaph]] on their behalf from intruders. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 1|Infestation 2: The Transformers #1}} He soon defended the town against an international fleet, but was shot down. {{Storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 2|Infestation 2: The Transformers #2}}

===''Wings Universe''===
When the [[Decepticon Warlord]]s formed a war council to discuss ways to eliminate the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] sent Shockwave along to the meetings as his spokescon. When [[Trannis]] reacted to footage of Megatron's men being destroyed by the Elite Guard by dismissing it, Shockwave agreed with [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] in that the Elite Guard did not discriminate between Decepticon factions. Shockwave's real reason for being at the meetings was not to share information, but to gather information on the other Warlords. The information was subsequently used to persuade [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] and [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] to amalgamate their armies with Megatron's. Shockwave didn't attend the following meeting, which was just as well for him, since [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]] blew it up, killing everyone present. {{storylink|A Team Effort}}

When Megatron later captured Deathsaurus's base, Shockwave was by his side. He took part in the later attack on [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] blasting [[Rumbler (G1)|Rumbler]] and [[Sprocket (G1)|Sprocket]] as [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] broke through the city walls. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 5}}

==Games==
===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
{{voiceactor|[[Barry Gjerde]] (English)}}

[[Image:Ps2tatakai shockwave1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Absolute Power, etc., etc.]]

{{bigquote|Megatron's personal watchdog. With the ability to transform into a laser gun, Shockwave boasts a powerful attack!|The [[narrator]]|''[[The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers]]''}}

In an alternate future, the Shockwave of that time grew frustrated with [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s increasingly abusive leadership, and when he discovered the [[Zel Quartz]], which could vastly boost the power of a Transformer, he implanted it into himself and staged a one-robot mutiny. Unfortunately, the power proved too much for Shockwave's systems and he ran wild. Neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons could stop him and they took massive casualties in the attempt. Shockwave eventually destroyed Cybertron, then set out on a quest to destroy all planets with life. Elite teams of Autobots and Decepticons traveled to the past to prevent these events by either destroying or seizing the Zel Quartz years before Shockwave would find it.

In the Autobot story, the present-day Shockwave was the main boss in the geothermal power plant, protecting the main turbine of the plant. When Optimus Prime and his team reached the main turbine, Shockwave slowly descended from the ceiling in his alternate form. He then changed to his robot form and dropped to the floor, announcing that he was collecting energy for Megatron. He warned the Autobots that anyone who stood in his way should not expect any mercy from him. When Optimus Prime stated that the Autobots were going to stop the Decepticon's plundering of [[Zel Samine]]'s energy, Shockwave suggested that they should settle this feud, by fighting. Eventually, the Autobots over-powered the Decepticon, and a battered Shockwave warned Optimus that he would remember the outcome of the fight before disengaging and fleeing the power plant. Later, Shockwave appeared in the valley where the Autobots detected an SOS signal and had a rematch with the Autobots, but was defeated again.

During the Decepticon storyline, Shockwave was a member of a team that Megatron sent to investigate a mysterious UFO that was spotted in the area of Zel Samine. Something caused the team to lose contact with the main Decepticon forces, and they found out that they could not leave the planet, as Zel's sun, Paradius, emitted electromagnetic rays that was harmful to them. Unable to contact Megatron and with no way to leave the planet safely, Shockwave and the others scattered across Zel, with Shockwave himself eventually finding his way to the Atalstan gem mine. When the Galvatron of the alternate timeline told the Megatron of the present the "truth" about the Zel Quartz, he asked his past self if Shockwave was around before telling it.

Once the main Decepticon forces arrived at the Atalstan gem mine and found the giant ore that they suspected to be the Zel Quartz, Shockwave analyzed the group and when he concluded that they were Decepticons. He hovered downward in his handgun mode. Transforming into robot mode, he made a short drop to the floor and announced that he had finally achieved rendezvous with his fellow warriors. When Megatron expressed partial surprise in the fact that Shockwave had survived, Shockwave confirmed him and announced that he was awaiting Megatron's orders.

For the remainder of the game, Shockwave remained ignorant of the circumstances that prompted their arrival. What's more, despite which side won, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] accidentally negated the quartz's powers, and Shockwave's reign of terror in the future was averted. {{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}

===''G1: Awakening''===
[[Image:Gluawakening shockwave.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
Shockwave enslaved every Autobot on Cybertron millennia before the Autobots returned. He planned a "welcome party" for them when they arrived through the space bridge, captured them, confiscated their weapons, and put them in a prison which used to be a field hospital. The Autobots then escaped back to Earth, but later returned. Shockwave defeated Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in combat, but they were saved by the arrival of Grimlock, who beat Shockwave, freeing the Autobots. {{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening|Awakening}}
{{charstubfiction}}

==Toys==
{{main|Shockwave (G1)/toys}}

==Merchandise==
{{main|Shockwave (G1)/toys#Merchandise}}

==Notes==
* [[Bob Budiansky]] said Shockwave was "my attempt to take [[Spock]] from ''Star Trek'' and make him into a Decepticon".<ref>[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954/t/Bob-Budiansky.html Rusting Carcass interview]</ref>
[[Image:StudioOxCybertronBattleCons.jpg|250px|thumb|It's not easy being grey. It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.]]
*Shockwave’s cartoon portrayal is highly inconsistent with his appearances in all other fictional media. Instead of a coldly logical, power hungry rival to Megatron, in the cartoon Shockwave is consistently loyal and subservient. In a [[Shout! Factory|2009 retrospective documentary about the brand]], [[Hasbro]] staff said this disparity was a simple—though extreme—result of there not having been enough time during the production of the Generation 1 cartoon and comic to get all the story basics firmly and consistently established from the outset. The character descriptions in the cartoon's [[production bible]] are mostly abridged versions of [[Bob Budiansky]]'s original character writeups, which went on to become the toys' [[Tech Spec|tech specs]]... yet Shockwave's show bible description is entirely different from his tech spec [[bio]].
* According to early drafts of the script for the series' pilot episode, Shockwave was at one point to be called "Flash Beam".
* A Cybertronian battle scene illustrated by [[Studio OX]] for ''[[TV Magazine]]'' (reprinted in ''[[Transformers Generations]]'' and ''[[Transformers Visualworks]]'') depicts Shockwave not in purple, but in the original grey color scheme of the Astro Magnum/Galactic Man toy.
* Shockwave has been periodically drawn with two hands in various media. He first shows up this way in [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]], and the condition briefly reappears in [[Divide and Conquer]]. He also wound up this way on the cover of ''[[Ashes, Ashes...|G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]'' #3.
* Voice actor Corey Burton based Shockwave's voice on that of actor [[wikipedia:David Warner (actor)|David Warner]], specifically his role as evil computer thingy [[wikipedia:Sark (Tron)|Sark]] in ''[[wikipedia:Tron (film)|Tron]]''.<ref>[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/corey-burton/corey_burton_1.html Corey Burton interview on the Cybertron Chronicle]</ref> Burton even provided the voice of Sark in the video game ''[[wikipedia:Kingdom Hearts II|Kingdom Hearts II]]''.
* In the Japanese dub of the Generation 1 cartoon, Shockwave's personality was altered from the American interpretation—he was presented like a grizzled old man with a loud, raspy voice and a very short temper.
* A company named Lanard Toys held the "Shockwave" [[trademark]] in the "toys" field for several years. For that reason, the ''Energon'' character was given the substitute name "[[Shockblast]]". The same name was later given to the ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' version of Shockwave for the same reason. However, by that point Lanard had abandoned their "Shockwave" trademark, making it available to Hasbro again. Unfortunately, the packaging for ''Alternators'' Shockwave had already been printed by that point, so Hasbro decided to go with the substitute name. They then slapped the name "Shockwave" onto the [[Shockwave (Cybertron)|next available]] [[Mini-Con]] just so they could reclaim the trademark. Subsequently, all new toys of Shockwave, as well as [[Shockwave (Animated)|homage]] [[Shockwave (Movie)|characters]], were released under the name "Shockwave" again. (Ironically, [[Hasbro]] later used the name "[http://www.yojoe.com/action/08/shockblast.shtml Shockblast]" for new toys of a ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I.Joe]]'' character originally also named "[http://www.yojoe.com/action/88/shockwave.shtml Shockwave]", possibly in order to avoid brand confusion; apparently, Hasbro view the name "Shockwave" as more iconic for the Transformers character than his G.I. Joe namesake.)

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Laserwave''' (レーザーウェーブ ''Rēzāwēbu'')
*''French:'' '''Onde de Choc''' (Canada, "Shockwave")
*''Hungarian:'' '''Sokkoló''' ("Shocker")
*''Italian:'' '''Brutal'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Jèn-pō''' (Taiwan, 震波, "Shock Wave")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Onda-Choque''' (Portugal comic, "Shock-Wave"), '''Onda de Choque''' (Brazil comic, "Shock Wave")
*''Russian:'' '''Vzryvala''' (Взрывала, "Blaster")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Shokun''' (Шокун, "Shocker")

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/1985/Decepticon/Shockwave/shockwave.htm Shockwave at TFU.info]
* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Shockwave Shockwave's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Alternators Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Strategists]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Decepticons]]