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AllSpark

2012-07-04T23:57:40Z

24.18.205.72: /* Notes */

{{disambig3|Allspark}}
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[[Image:Movie and animated allsparks.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]
Although its physical form differs across the [[universal stream]]s in which it appears, the powers and history of the '''AllSpark''' remain common across the [[multiverse]]: It is one of the fabled [[sacred implement]]s, the objects capable of [[Allspark|creating]] new [[Transformer]] [[Spark|life]]. Its origins are unknown, lost to the distant past, sometimes predating even [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] itself, but it often gives the impression that it possesses a consciousness of some kind and is either working towards a cosmic plan of its own divining, or is carrying out the will of a [[Primus|higher power]]. In truth, the physical AllSpark is but a shell to contain the incredible life-giving energies within; should that shell be destroyed, the energies will remain, as potent as ever, merely waiting for a new vessel to inhabit. Any fragments that would remain in the event of the AllSpark's physical destruction would still possess all of the incredible power that the original object did.

The AllSpark's power has long been coveted by the [[Decepticon]]s, ultimately requiring the [[Autobot]]s to launch it into the depths of space, putting it beyond the reach of any Cybertronian.

==Fiction==
===Live-action movie universe===
[[Image:Allspark movie.jpg|left|250px|thumb|It will tear your soul apart.]]
In this [[continuity family|universal cluster]], the AllSpark takes the form of a large, metallic cube inscribed with [[Cyberglyphics]]. Sources say it was created by a nameless power for a reason, but that reason is as yet unknown... <ref>[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_GB/play/details.cfm?R=841A4DEF-19B9-F369-104F-C8D8DEC0C2CE:en_GB Hasbro timeline]</ref>

{{bigquote|Before time began, there was... the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born.|[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] on the origins of [[Transformer|his race]]|''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]}}
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====IDW pre-movie comics====
[[Image:Defiance4 allspark creates primes.jpg|right|thumb]]
The AllSpark was responsible for creating the planet Cybertron and the first entities that inhabited it, a race of massively powerful trans-dimensional beings that became known as the [[Dynasty of Primes]]. The AllSpark sustained the planet and the Primes through its continuous generation of [[Energon]], but the Primes soon discovered its vast power was finite, and they were at a loss on how to restore it. The answer came when a nearby star went nova, the released energy repowering the AllSpark. The Primes knew that more stars would have to be found for sacrifices in the future, and the AllSpark responded to their need by creating the Transformers, a new race of shape-changing robots to serve the Dynasty: [[Seeker (ROTF)|Seekers]] to search for suitable stars, and [[Constructicon (ROTF)|Constructicons]] to build massive [[Star Harvester]]s to take the energy of those suns. Knowing the destructive capabilities of these harvesters, the Dynasty tempered their search with the rule to never destroy a star with a life-bearing world. The AllSpark then formed a key to activate the harvesters, the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which the Dynasty protected. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}} In time, however, one of the Primes began to believe the AllSpark was talking to him, that it had chosen him as its acolyte. He began destroying inhabited solar systems to power the AllSpark and grew frustrated with the Dynasty's restrictions, constructing a star harvester on [[Earth|a primitive world]] on order to draw the other Dynasty into a trap, that he might kill them all. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 4|Tales of the Fallen #4}} Only [[Prima|one Prime]] survived the slaughter, imprisoning the rogue Prime—forever after known as [[The Fallen]]—in his [[sarcophagus]], before then hiding the Matrix away in a tomb made of the bodies of the dead Primes, giving his life to seal it. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen issue 3|Revenge of the Fallen #3}}

[[Image:Defiance 1 Simfur temple.jpg|thumb|265px|left|Wait, is it smaller?]]

As the millennia rolled by, the Transformers would form a new society, and the tales of the Primes and the AllSpark would slip into legend. The cube itself was forgotten, lost beneath the surface of the planet, and without a supply of energy regularly being harvested for it, Cybertron's energy began to diminish, leading to factionalization and tribal warfare amongst the Transformers. Eventually, one of the Primes' descendants, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], gathered a small group of loyal followers, including [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]] and [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], and together, they scoured the depths of Cybertron for the cube. The AllSpark was discovered beneath the city of [[Simfur]] and unearthed, prompting an attack by Sentinel's most violent opponents, the [[Thetacon (tribe)|Thetacons]]. During the battle, technical genius [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] used a device to warp space and time, teleporting a sun from across the galaxy into Cybertronic space. Rather than sacrifice the sun as the legends claimed was required, however, Sentinel gambled that mere proximity to the star would be enough for the cube to re-energize itself... and he was correct. The AllSpark was revitalized, and new life flooded into Cybertron as hostilities came to an end in the face of the truth that Sentinel had been right all along. The Thetacons constructed a [[Simfur Temple|temple]] around the AllSpark, as a way of making amends for their aggression. {{storylink|Foundation issue 1|Foundation #1}}

Evidently, the Transformers declined to plumb the depths of the AllSpark's knowledge; it was said to contain the only recorded history of Cybertron, but to the Transformers, the AllSpark was the source of life, and that was all that mattered. Some time later, by which point leadership of Cybertron had shifted to an uneasy joint rulership between Optimus and Megatron, the Simfur Temple had come to be guarded by [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] and [[Cliffjumper (Movie)|Cliffjumper]]. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Movie Prequel #1}} Peace on Cybertron ended when the Fallen's sarcophagus was unearthed by an archaeological dig, causing the AllSpark to give off pulses, attracting the attention of a hostile [[Ejoornian|alien species]] from the [[Eshems Nebula]] who attacked Cybertron. {{storylink|Defiance issue 1|Defiance #1}} The Fallen began communicating with Megatron, and tempted him to seize the power of the AllSpark, leading him to go rogue with his own army, the Decepticons {{storylink|Defiance issue 3}} Optimus, now dubbed Optimus [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] following the discovery that he was connected to the Dynasty of Primes, formed his own army of Autobots to counter Megatron. In the war that followed, Cybertron was decimated, and eventually Optimus was forced to capture the AllSpark to keep it out of enemy hands. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}}

[[Image:Movieprequel2_allspark_submerged.jpg|right|100px|thumb]]

Eventually, Prime made the decision to launch the AllSpark blindly into space to put it beyond Megatron's reach. At Optimus Prime's orders, Bumblebee and a group of Autobots served as decoys, drawing the Decepticons to [[Tyger Pax]], far enough away from the artifact's true location to buy Prime the time needed to prepare the launch. Megatron witnessed the launch from afar, and immediately took off after the cube, pursuing it across the galaxy for thousands of years. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 1|Movie Prequel #1}}

Once launched into space, the AllSpark automatically sought out the location of a harvester, and made its way to Earth, where the Fallen had constructed one thousands of years beforehand. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4}} The cube landed in the region of the planet that would eventually become [[Nevada]] around 10,000 BC; Megatron successfully tracked the cube to Earth, but wound up crashing in the [[Arctic]] and freezing solid for hundreds of years, to be eventually discovered in [[1897]] by Captain [[Archibald Witwicky]]. Four years later, in [[1902]], the government operatives tasked to investigating this frozen "Mega-Man" discovered the AllSpark in the [[Colorado River]]. {{storylink|Movie Prequel issue 2|Movie Prequel #2}} Metallurgist [[Lou Hoover]] and her husband [[Herbert Hoover|Herbert]] were called in by the government to examine the cube, but it would take over a decade before Herbert was able to orchestrate the diversion of the river so the cube could be excavated. The excavation of the AllSpark took place in [[1913]], but was interrupted by the arrival of the Seeker [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]], who had been stranded on Earth thousands of years ago. Jetfire accidentally triggered a discharge of Energon from the cube which brought a collection of machines to life, and the Hoovers were forced to break open the floodgates and allow the river to "drown" the creatures and submerge the cube once more. Herbert subsequently ran for [[President of the United States]] and won, orchestrating the construction of the [[Hoover Dam]] in the area to serve as a new, more durable and permanent housing for the AllSpark. {{storylink|Irreplaceable|Irreplaceable}}
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====Titan Magazines pre-movie comics====

[[Image:UKmoviecomic1 allspark launched.jpg|left|150px|thumb]]

While Bumblebee's team distracted Megatron, Optimus Prime himself had to press the fatal button that would launch the AllSpark into space. While he was struggling with the decision at the last moment, fearing the potential slow death he would be condemning Cybertron to if he carried through with his plans, an alarm alerted Prime to the attack of a drone that had been specifically sent to destroy him. Instructing his assistant [[Arctus]] to launch the AllSpark if he did not return in ten [[Units of time|cycles]], Prime headed out to battle the drone, but the fight only wound up carrying them back into the AllSpark's chamber. To destroy the drone, Prime transformed to his cometary [[protoform]] mode and smashed clean through it, rendering himself unconscious in the process. When Prime awoke, he looked up to see the AllSpark rocketing away into space. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 1|Prelude: Optimus Prime}}

[[Image:UKmoviecomic2 alkaris anomaly.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

The AllSpark had not been cast blindly into the sea of stars, however: It had, in fact, been launched directly towards the [[Alkaris Anomaly]], a wormhole that could potentially transport the cube to an infinite number of locations in the universe. Briefly delayed by an Autobot tractor beam, Megatron could not stop the cube from entering the wormhole, and instead chose to follow it into the anomaly. While the AllSpark was disgorged somewhere in the vicinity of the Sol system, to eventually crash on Earth, Megatron was deposited by the wormhole in some other, far off star system, leaving him to hunt for the Cube through the endless reaches of space. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2|Prelude: Megatron}}

Later on, a space-travelling [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] would be captured by an alien craft—its inhabitants appeared to be immense entities that claimed the All Spark had been stolen from them, and did a psychic probe of Ironhide. They turned out to be "[[:Image:Titan5_digitalghosts.JPG|electrical ghosts]]", a digital imprint from another time kept alive by the photon-rich atmosphere; the ship was a derelict, salvaged by another (rather feeble) alien race that had been using these ghosts as a front. The ship contained a device attuned to AllSpark energy though, making it clear the original inhabitants ''did'' have some connection to the AllSpark... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 5|Lost In Space 3: Ironhide}}
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====''Transformers'' film====
[[Image:Movie All Spark Hoover Dam.JPG|left|275px|thumb|The true power behind Ernő Rubik's success.]]

[[Sector Seven]] agent [[Seymour Simmons]] explained that the AllSpark was found in 1913, 16 years after the [[Non-Biological Extraterrestrial|N.B.E.]]-01 "[[Megatron (Movie)|Iceman]]" was found, though carbon dating tests indicated that Cube landed on Earth some twelve thousand years earlier. The [[Cybertronian languages|glyphs]] on the Cube were similar to the ones on the Iceman, indicating a link between the two. In order to hide the cube's energy signature from other humans and, potentially, from other N.B.E.s, the [[President of the United States|President]] had the [[Hoover Dam]] built around it. The Iceman was also moved to the dam for further study. It was eventually determined that the Cube emitted a radiation which could [[AllSpark Mutation|bring mechanical devices to life]].

[[Image:Movie2007 Bumblebee AllSpark.jpg|right|thumb|275px| The Allspark Cube will never threaten to stab you and in fact, cannot speak.]]

Without the AllSpark, Cybertron itself began to atrophy, becoming an uninhabitable world. The Autobots and Decepticons abandoned their planet and took to the stars, searching for the lost AllSpark, the Autobots hoping to use its power to restore their dead homeworld, the Decepticon seeking its power to animate the machines of other planets to build an army. Bumblebee succeeded in tracking the cube to Earth, and the rest of the Autobots arrived there in 2007, and allied themselves with Captain Witwicky's great-grandson, [[Sam Witwicky]]. Together, they traced the cube to its hiding place in the Hoover Dam, inadvertently revealing its location to the Decepticon spy [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]], who summoned the other Decepticons and deactivated the systems keeping Megatron in cryo-stasis, bringing him back online. To get the AllSpark to safety, Bumblebee interacted with the cube and somehow prompted it to collapse from an enormous monolith into a object less than half a meter across, and accordingly lesser in mass as well as volume.
[[Image:Megatron allspark merge.JPG|left|275px|thumb|More fibers and less All Spark in your diet prevent Spark attack.]]

The AllSpark was quickly taken to nearby [[Mission City]], where Sam was instructed to take it to the top of the highest building for evac. Stumbling as he ran, Sam fell and struck the AllSpark on the ground, causing it to release a wave of [[energon radiation]] which brought [[Dispensor|several]] [[Xbox 360 robot|nearby]] [[steering wheel robot|machines]] to life. Upon reaching the top of the building, Sam was confronted by Megatron, but refused to turn the cube over to him, and was sent toppling from the building. Optimus Prime came to his rescue, and during the battle that followed between Prime and Megatron, the Autobot leader told Sam to merge the AllSpark with his [[spark]] in order to destroy it. However, Sam instead merged it with Megatron's spark, destroying both the Decepticon leader and the AllSpark. Only a single fragment of the cube appeared to remain, which Prime plucked from Megatron's dead body.

Without the AllSpark, the Autobots had no means to restore their homeworld, and so elected to remain on Earth. Prime sent a message to inform the surviving Autobots of their new found home. {{storylink|Transformers (film)|Transformers}}
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====Titan Magazines post-movie comics====

[[Image:UKmoviecomic7 allspark energy.jpg|right|thumb|215px|Come on give me a seven!]]

Immediately after the end of the clash in Mission City, the battle's sole Decepticon survivor, [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], set upon the collection of machines that the All Spark had brought to life during the chaos. From each of them, he plucked the spark of life that the All Spark had granted them, which took the form of small red cubes like the All Spark itself. By placing them into the bodies of his fallen Decepticon comrades, Starscream reanimated them as a kind of robotic [[zombie]] and sent them against the recuperating Autobots. [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] was able to deduce what was powering the undead Decepticons, and instructed his allies to target the All Spark energy signatures in their bodies, thereby allowing them to destroy them again. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 7|Starscream's Militia}}

{{notetitantlg}}

[[Image:UKmoviecomic16 salvaged fragment.jpg|left|thumb]]

After defeating Optimus Prime, Megatron killed Sam Witwicky and claimed the All Spark, bonding himself to it and gaining the ability to channel its power. The cube was installed at a base in Savannah, [[Georgia]], where Megatron began using it to [[Eco-structuring|transform]] Earth into a new Cybertron. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 9|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1}} Megatron placed Optimus Prime in cryo-stasis, but Bumblebee and [[Mikaela Banes]] freed him, and the two leaders battled, with Megatron's ability to channel the energy from the All Spark allowing him to heal any wound Prime inflicted. Bumblebee saved the day when he hit Megatron with a nano-virus provided by Sector Seven that blocked the All Spark's energy, successfully killing him. At the same time as this fight went on, Ratchet and Ironhide penetrated the Georgia base, and Ratchet was forced to the All Spark in order to save the Earth. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 13|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5}} A fragment of the All Spark survived the explosion, which, due to the cube's very nature, could conceivably possess all the power of the original object. Fearing that Megatron's link to the All Spark could have corrupted it somehow, Optimus Prime assigned Ratchet as the shard's guardians, {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 14|Aftermath Part 1}} but Ratchet could not resists trying to use the shard to revive [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]]—who was reborn as an amoral villain, proving the fragment had been indeed corrupted. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 16|Dark Spark}}

The Autobots were soon to discover that destroying the All Spark had not kept the Earth from danger: the planetary transformation process had reached the planet's core before it had been stopped, and the All Spark "infection" was now threatening to tear the planet apart. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 17|Return to Cybertron: Part 1}} Simultaneously, on the dying Cybertron, [[Stockade (Movie)|Stockade]] and his small band of Decepticons sent out a signal into deep space in the hope of contacting any entity related to the All Spark, and drawing it to Cybertron so it could revive the planet. [[Image:UKmoviecomic25 starscream allspark fragment.jpg|right|thumb|350px]] They succeeded; unfortunately, the entity they summoned was [[Unicron]], the Anti-Life. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 18|Return to Cybertron: Part 2}} After the Autobots helped stop Unicron, Stockade provided them with the [[Nucleon]] they need to negate the All Spark infection on Earth. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 20|Return to Cybertron: Part 4}}

Starscream discovered that Megatron still lived on in a form, having downloaded his consciousness into the module he had used to control the All Spark at the moment of his death. Starscream had absorbed this module into himself, and so wound up being "haunted" by Megatron, who cajoled and taunted him into placing the module and an All Spark fragment into Megatron's corpse, resurrecting him. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 25|Revolution Part Three}}
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====IDW post-movie comics====
[[Image:Ros05 replicaallspark.jpg|left|thumb|175px]]

Following the Decepticons' defeat in Mission City, Starscream recovered the deactivated Frenzy from Hoover Dam in order to obtain the information the spy had amassed on the AllSpark from Sector Seven's database. {{storylink|The Reign of Starscream issue 2|The Reign of Starscream #2}} He beamed this data to Cybertron before returning there himself, where it was used to constructed a huge [[replica AllSpark]]. {{storylink|The Reign of Starscream issue 3|The Reign of Starscream #3}} Starscream sacrificed the lives of five Autobot prisoners of war to "jump-start" his new AllSpark, only to find that the construct simply... didn't work. Before Starscream could deduce the source of the problem, the Decepticons that had been following him turned on him for his failure, and the replica cube was destroyed by [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]]. {{storylink|The Reign of Starscream issue 5|The Reign of Starscream #5}}

A month after the events in Mission City, the Autobots went to a secret [[Sector Seven]] facility located in the [[Nevada]] desert to escort the remains of the deactivated Decepticons to their resting place in the [[Laurentian Abyss]]. When the AllSpark shard Prime had taken from Megatron's body pulsed with energy near the Decepticon leader's corpse, Optimus Prime feared the worst and handed it to [[Vine|Professor Vine]] for safekeeping. After the Autobots left, [[Seymour Simmons|Agent Simmons]] convinced Vine to take the shard into their underground facility, since to keep it in the open would only attract Decepticons, though Vine had misgivings considering the stasis-locked Decepticon [[Wreckage (Movie)|Wreckage]] was also in the same facility. Vine's fears were well-founded: as he and Simmons moved the shard into secure storage, its energy reactivated both the very angry Wreckage and Sector Seven's own [[Landmine (Movie)|L.M.-1 units]]. {{storylink|Alliance issue 2|Alliance #2}} After the attack, the AllSpark fragment was retrieved from the rubble by [[Salani]] and returned it to Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Alliance issue 3|Alliance #3}}

Eventually, the Autobots and the American military entered into a [[NEST|formal alliance]] to defend Earth, and the AllSpark fragment was stored in a bunker under their base on the island of [[Diego Garcia]]. {{Storylink|Alliance issue 3|Alliance #3}}
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====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====

[[Image:ROTF Reedman steals shard.jpg|thumb|right|275px|"You got a Piece of Heart!"]]
In 2009, Decepticon spymaster [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] discovered that the surviving AllSpark fragment was being kept on Diego Garcia after hacking into a communication broadcast between NEST and General [[Morshower]]. Soundwave dispatched [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] and [[Reedman]] to retrieve the fragment, and it was subsequently used by [[Scalpel (ROTF)|Scalpel]] to resurrect Megatron from the bottom of the Laurentian Abyss.

However, unbeknownst to anyone, the shard in NEST's custody was not the only surviving piece of the AllSpark. When Sam Witwicky began packing for [[Princeton University]], a sliver of the cube was revealed to have become embedded in his shirt during the battle of Mission City, and upon touching it, Sam's mind was flooded with Cyberglyphics. As The Fallen would go on to explain, the AllSpark cube itself was merely a vessel for the knowledge within, and Sam had absorbed that knowledge upon the cube's destruction, which was now released into his mind upon contact with its remains. [[Image:ROTF Sam Cube fragment.jpg|left|thumb|275px]] Sam dropped the sliver in shock, and it burned its way through his bedroom floor, falling into the kitchen below where it released a wave of Energon that brought the [[Appliancebot]]s to life. With this more immediate threat to deal with, Sam did not realize the full extent of what the AllSpark had done to his mind until his disastrous first day of class, during which he began uncontrollably babbling the specifics of the fantastic science of the Transformers to the shock and ridicule of his classmates and professor. He called upon Mikaela to bring the fragment to him, but no sooner had she arrived than Sam became targeted by the Decepticons, who desired the AllSpark knowledge in his brain to lead them to the hidden star harvester on Earth. Optimus Prime died saving Sam, and Sam, believing that the energy of the Matrix of Leadership could be used to resurrect Prime, sought out one of the Decepticon Seekers to translate the symbols he was seeing in hopes of finding a clue to its location. The Seeker they found was Jetfire, who was slumbering in the Smithsonian, and they used the AllSpark sliver to reactivate him. Although borderline senile, the ancient Seeker was able to translate the symbols Sam into a riddle that pointed the way to the Matrix's hiding place. {{Storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

{{note|Several further plot points centred on the AllSpark were present in the script for ''Revenge of the Fallen'', which were removed from the film itself but featured in the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]] and IDW's [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Official Movie Adaptation|comic book adaptation]] of the film. The knowledge of the AllSpark was responsible for getting Sam a scholarship to Princeton, having inadvertently increased his intelligence while it lay dormant in his mind. When Megatron killed Sam at the film's climax, the AllSpark's knowledge was transferred from Sam into to the Matrix of Leadership, effectively replacing the cube as its physical form (and essentially transforming it into an object much more like the traditional depiction of the Matrix in Transformers fiction). After the death of The Fallen, Optimus Prime recovered the Matrix, reclaiming the history of the Transformers.}}

====IDW post-''Revenge of the Fallen'' comics====

[[Image:Nefarious1 facsimile allspark.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]

Following the defeat of The Fallen, a new threat emerged to bedevil both Autobot and Decepticon alike: the [[Initiative]], a mysterious cabal headed by the Transformer-hating [[Carter Newell]]. The organization sought to recreate the AllSpark,although the other members of the Initiative board did not realize Carter's true reasons for doing so: having been crippled by a Decepticon Seeker named [[Fortress (ROTF)|Fortress]] in his youth, he now sought to exterminate the Transformers with their own technology. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 5|Nefarious #5}}

Recovering and reanimating the remains of the deceased Ravage, the Initiative placed the Decepticon under their control and had him liberate the appliancebots from [[Guantanamo Bay]]. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 5|Tales of the Fallen #5}} They drained the AllSpark energy from their bodies in order to feed the artificial AllSpark construct they had created at their mobile base in Inyokern, [[California]], but it proved an inadequate yield: if the construct was not fed with more genuine AllSpark energy to keep it stable, it would rage out of control and destroy most of the [[solar system]]. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 1|Nefarious #1}}

[[Image:Nefarious6 carter and allspark.jpg|left|thumb|170px]]

To feed the construct, Initiative troops penetrated Hoover Dam and gathered up the residual AllSpark energy left there after the cube's long residence. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 4|Nefarious #4}} The still-growing AllSpark consumed it quickly, but was briefly stabilized by the influx of new power, allowing Carter to connect his body and mind to the AllSpark's energies. Contact with the vast cosmic consciousness of the cube only gave him that final push into true megalomania, and during a subsequent virtual conference with the other members of the Initiatve board, he transmitted the AllSpark's energy over the network, bringing to life various pieces of equipment in the board members' offices. The feral newborn robots promptly killed all the board members, leaving him in sole control of the organization.

Soon after, the Autobots and NEST arrived, having tracked the Initiative to their base, which had since moved to [[Crater Lake]] in [[Oregon]]. To fight back, Carter instructed that all the Transformers that had been captured and brainwashed by the Initiative over the years be released, and that he would power them with the artificial AllSpark. This proved too much for the cube to handle, and it went into meltdown. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 5|Nefarious #5}} Carter refused to listen the warnings of the Initiative staff, using the AllSpark's power to kill [[Hank Kirkpatrick]] before being badly wounded by Reedman, who had been released by Ravage for just that purpose. Believing that the AllSpark would heal his wounds given time, Carter retreated in a portion of the mobile base, but was pursued by Optimus Prime, [[Buzzsaw (ROTF)|Buzzsaw]] (at the command of Soundwave, watching from above) and Fortress, who had been serving as the living core of the mobile base and had been freed by Carter's relative and Initiative staffer [[Ingrid]]. Prime caused Carter's vehicle to crash, and recovered the artificial AllSpark from the wreckage, attempting to stop its meltdown by feeding it with energy from his own [[Spark]]. Buzzsaw proceeded to kill Carter, and Fortress then convinced Prime to hand over the AllSpark construct so that he could teleport it away to the depths of space, where it exploded without harming any innocent life. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 6|Nefarious #6}}
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====''Cyber Missions''====
During a series of battles that followed the defeat of The Fallen, the AllSpark was repeatedly and rather anomalously referred to as if it still existed, when the cube had long since been destroyed. When describing a clash between [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] and [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]], Optimus Prime claimed that the Autobot warrior was acting "in defense of the AllSpark" {{storylink|Cyber Missions 6|Cyber Missions #6}}; Megatron claimed he was searching for the AllSpark; and Optimus Prime described the Autobots as "defenders of the AllSpark". {{storylink|Decepticons Attack}} Maybe they were talking about the AllSpark knowledge that's now in the Matrix...?

===''Animated'' continuity family===
====''Animated'' cartoon====
[[Image:Animated allspark.jpg|right|325px|thumb|Obligatory mysterious life-giving MacGuffin.]]

The AllSpark of this universe is a sphere of blueish crystal. It is not known with absolute certainty if it predates Cybertron in this reality; the earliest record of its existence is its appearance in many primitive etchings from Cybertronian pre-history, dating to around eight billion years ago. The AllSpark's volatility meant that it required a housing to safely harness its powers, and so legend says that seven billion years ago, a mysterious hammer of alien origin that would become the symbol of Autobot leadership known as the [[Magnus Hammer]] was used to forge a container for the crystal sphere, which then held it through until the present day. Kept in the hands of the ruling body of Cybertron (originally the [[Guardian (Animated)|Guardians]], later the [[Protectobot (Animated)|Protectobots]] and finally the Autobots) the AllSpark was used to generate new Transformer life by infusing the [[protoform]]s formed from the proto-matter mined from Cybertron's [[Sonic Canyons]] with Sparks.

Around seventy million years ago, the Decepticon faction emerged, advocating the use of the AllSpark to bring Cybertron itself to life, that it might serve as a cosmic juggernaut that would allow the Transformers to return to the era of expansion and colonization of other worlds they had enjoyed nearly 700 million years beforehand. When the Decepticon leader [[Megazarak (Animated)|Megazarak]] was ousted by charismatic rhetorician named [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], tensions finally exploded, and the Autobots and Decepticons went to [[Great War (Animated)|war]] for possession of the AllSpark.

After something in the vicinity of six million years of civil war, things reached a crisis point when the Decepticons began a strategic bombing campaign on Cybertron, demanding the AllSpark be turned over in exchange for a cessation of hostilities. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}} Rather than give in to Megatron's demands, the Autobots instead sought to put the AllSpark beyond any Cybertronian's reach, launching it randomly through a [[space bridge]] to some distant corner of the galaxy, where it was hoped it would never be found. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

[[Image:Tfnro allspark found.jpg|left|215px|thumb|Before time began there was…the irregular decahedron.]]

Four million years later, an Autobot maintenance crew led by [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] were repairing a space bridge in the [[Azazel asteroid belt]] when they stumbled across the AllSpark, hidden away inside a rock. Of their number, only [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] recognized the relic, telling them of its history and significance in the Great War, and believing that the AllSpark had now found them, rather than the other way around. Almost immediately, a small band of Decepticons led by Megatron—long since exiled after the war's end—showed up in [[Nemesis (Animated)|their warship]], having detected the AllSpark's energy readings. Megatron attacked the Autobots' fleeing [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|ship]] to claim the AllSpark himself, but his attempt was sabotaged by a bomb placed on him by his lieutenant, [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]. The explosion sent the Autobots' ship careening out of control, at which point the AllSpark activated the space bridge, opening a portal through which the ship disappeared. It rematerialized over [[Earth]], and the Autobots entered emergency stasis just before crash-landing in [[Lake Erie]].

[[Image:Tfnro sari meets allspark.jpg|right|thumb|215px]]

Fifty years later, the Autobots awoke ventured into the nearby city of [[Detroit]] to save people from a rampaging monster. [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] quickly befriended a young girl named [[Sari Sumdac]], who convinced him to take her aboard the Autobots' ship when his teammate [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] was badly injured. While aboard, Sari came in contact with the AllSpark, which decided for some reason to open up to her—in more ways than one. Under its own power, the container opened to reveal the crystal within, which fired a beam of light at Sari's security keycard, reconfiguring it into the [[AllSpark Key]], a powerful tool with which Sari could upgrade, modify, heal and reconfigure just about any electrical device or appliance, including the bodies of the Transformers themselves.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Prime SS Allsparkactivates.jpg|left|thumb|215px]]

For a time, the Autobots were celebrated as Detroit's newest superheroes, but then Starscream tracked them down. He took hostages and demanded the AllSpark in exchange for their return. With Sari's help, the hostages were freed, but Starscream still managed to get hold of the AllSpark, and he quickly started obliterating sections of Detroit with it. Prime attempted to wrestle the AllSpark away from him in mid-air but again it opened, this time unleashing a powerful surge of energy that blasted away Starscream to parts unknown. Prime [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|did not survive]] his subsequent fall, but in desperation, Sari used the reconfigured AllSpark Key on him. The AllSpark intervened directly this time, and Prime's [[spark]] was restored online. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

Following this, the AllSpark was returned to the Autobots ship of the bottom of Lake Erie, and kept there for safety, rather than in their new Detroit headquarters. When more and more Decepticons began appearing on Earth, the Autobots believed it would be necessary to reactivate their ship and take the AllSpark away from Earth, but Sari refused to let her new friends go, and tried to sabotage their ship. The AllSpark, however, refused to let her, automatically repairing any damaged she inflicted before opening once more to project a terrifying hologram of Megatron, warning Sari of the danger that secretly lay in hiding on Earth. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

[[Image:Megatron Rising 2 All Spark Megs boom.jpg|right|215px|thumb|Ouch.]]
The day of reckoning the Autobots had long feared came to pass when Megatron—whose decapitated head had been recovered by Sari's father in his youth and had since been kept in his laboratory—was restored through the power of Sari's stolen key. Invading the Autobots' now-airborne ship, Megatron tore the crystal sphere of the AllSpark from its container and inserted it into his chest, planning to use it as a weapon to destroy Earth and conquer Cybertron. However, Optimus Prime was able to reclaim Sari's AllSpark Key, and used it to crack the crystal, causing an energy surge that led the AllSpark to shatter explosively. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

[[Image: Missionaccomplished_allspark_fragments.jpg|left|thumb|215px]]

The AllSpark's physical form may have been destroyed, but its power was as potent as ever, merely dispersed. Portions of its substance also remained in the form of crystalline shards, which rained down across the greater Detroit area, yielding a variety of different effects. The earliest shards discovered had embedded themselves into [[Sumdac Systems]]s [[automaton]]s, machinery and vehicles causing them to go berserk, {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}, while other vehicles actually wound up being brought to life by the shards' power, creating [[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]], {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}, [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] and [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]]. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}} The human supervillains of Detroit were even able to get their hands on a few shards and put them to nefarious uses: [[Master Disaster (Animated)|Master Disaster]] used one to built a remote that allowed him to control other machines and fix the results of his underground street races, [[Image:Bridgetoofar1_starscreams_shard.jpg|right|thumb|215px]] {{storylink|Velocity}} and [[Slo-Mo]] found a shard that allowed her to slow down time. {{storylink|SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy}}

Starscream also felt the life-giving power of a shard: having been killed by Megatron shortly after his restoration, the treacherous Decepticon was brought back to life by a fragment, rendered essentially immortal for as long as it remained lodged in his head. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}} By breaking off small chips of the fragment, Starscream was able to create an army of clones of himself that he intended to use to usurp Megatron as Decepticon leader. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}} During the subsequent attack, however, Starscream was decapitated by a [[Headmaster unit]], and Megatron used his head and the AllSpark fragment within it to power his newly-constructed space bridge. To stop Megatron's plan to invade Cybertron, the Autobots used all the shards they had collected to bring their ship—in actuality the giant Autobot warrior [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]—back online. Omega shut the bridge down by absorbing its [[transwarp]] energies, but was sucked through the vortex just before it closed, taking all the fragments the Autobots had gathered with him. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}} Nevertheless, the Autobots were seen with another shard in their possession soon after, which inadvertently merged with a [[Headmaster unit]] and a fork lift to create [[Dirt Boss (Animated)|Dirt Boss]]. {{storylink|Three's a Crowd}}

[[Image:Endgame1_prowl_reforms_allspark.jpg|left|thumb|215px]]

Some time later, working with [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] to complete his training in the use of [[processor-over-matter]], [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] successfully communed with the AllSpark, summoning together tiny slivers of its substance and energy to re-form a shard. This revelation came at the best possible time: soon after, Megatron attacked Detroit with three [[Lugnut Supreme|clones of Omega Supreme]], powered by AllSpark shards he had salvaged from the giant Autobot's body. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}} [[Image:TFA Prime with Matrix.jpg|160px|thumb|right|It may not light our darkest hour, but it sure does look cool.]] To save the city, Jazz and Prowl combined their abilities to reconstitute as much of the AllSpark as they could, intending to use its power to project a shield over the metropolis. Although the pair were able to summon and re-combine many crystals, including Starscream's, they were unable to gather enough to accomplish the task, and so Prowl sacrificed himself, adding his own spark to the crystal mass, providing the necessary power. The AllSpark generated a shield that protected Detroit from the explosion caused by bombs Starscream had planted in the Omega Supreme clones, and the Autobots emerged triumphant. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}

Discovering that the reconstituted AllSpark was a volatile as legend claimed, Optimus Prime used the Magnus Hammer (previously stolen from [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] but later reclaimed by the Earthbound Autobots) to forge a new, smaller container for the crystal that he called an "[[AllSpark Matrix]]". {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}} Wearing this Matrix around his neck on a chain, Prime led the victorious Autobots back to Cybertron. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}
{{-}}
====''Shattered Glass''====
[[Image:SG Sari character model.JPG|right|thumb|100px]]
In a twisted mirror-universe version of this universe, the AllSpark crystal is red, rather than blue. It was shattered under undivulged circumstances, and at least some of the remaining fragments came into the possession this universe's incarnation of [[Isaac Sumdac (SG Animated)|Isaac Sumdac]], who experimented with them by implanting them into [[Sari Sumdac (SG Animated)|his Sari]], who in this reality was the feral protoform he had imprisoned and raised in his lab. The AllSpark energies unleashed Sari's true power, giving her a battle mode, and the crystal fragments now permanently jut from various spots over her body. {{storylink|Sari Sumdac (SG Animated)|Sari's bio}}

===Aligned continuity family===
====''Exodus'' novel====
This universe's AllSpark resided in the [[Well of All Sparks]] on Cybertron, where it carried out the will of [[Primus]] by creating every Cybertronian life. When the Autobot/Decepticon war erupted, however, the AllSpark briefly ceased to produce life in a seeming act of divine rebellion, only to apparently change its mind and create one final generation — including [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]]—who entirely joined the Autobots. As the Decepticons besieged [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] made the decision to eject the AllSpark into space.

Many cycles later, after the war had drained Cybertron of energon, forcing the Autobots and Decepticons to depart the planet, the Autobot ''[[Ark (WFC)|Ark]]'' emerged from the space bridge to an unknown [[Milky Way|spiral galaxy]], and detected the energy of the AllSpark nearby... {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus}}

====''Prime'' cartoon====
Multiple characters have sworn by the AllSpark. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 3}}

==Games==
===''Transformers The Game'' (console)===
====Autobot campaign====
[[Image:Moviegame sam gives prime allspark.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]
The AllSpark was held in Hoover Dam behind a laser security grid. Once liberated by Bumblebee, it began to shrink to a more manageable size, but gave off jolts of energy as it did so, bringing the surrounding machinery to life as [[Energon drone]]s. After fending the critters off, Bumblebee took the AllSpark to Mission City, but it continued radiating Energon all the way, producing more and more Energon drones from the city's machines to bedevil the Autobots.

Following a huge subsequent battle with the Decepticons, Sam Witwicky was in the middle of handing the AllSpark to Optimus Prime when the apparently-defeated Megatron sprang to life and lunged at them. Prime seized the Decepticon leader's flail weapon and pulled him in, ramming the All Spark into Megatron's chest and destroying him. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)|Transformers The Game}}
{{-}}
====Decepticon campaign====
[[Image:Moviegame_megatron_absorbs_allspark.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
After the Autobots recovered the All Spark from Hoover Dam and brought it to Mission City, Sam Witwicky handed it off to Optimus Prime, who proceeded to play cat-and-mouse around the city with Megatron, trying to keep the cube out of his clutches. Unfortunately, Optimus tired before Megatron did, and the villain succeeded in killing him and obtaining the AllSpark. Megatron proceeded to safely absorb the cube into his body, boosting his power to obscene levels, and prepared to conquer the rest of Earth. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)|Transformers The Game}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers The Game'' (PSP)===

[[Image:Psp_game_allspark_sculpture.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]

Mysterious military organization "The Corporation" had a large stone sculpture of the AllSpark decorating their front lawn, so presumably they were a division of, a cover or front for, or an alternate version of Sector Seven.

During the battle in Mission City, Megatron himself targeted Bumblebee for attack, swooping down on the little Autobot from above and seizing the AllSpark. Channelling its energies, Megatron then faced off against Optimus Prime in a protracted city-wide battle, using the cube's power to bring surrounding vehicles to life to make things even tougher for the Autobot leader. Eventually, Prime was able to knock the AllSpark from Megatron's grasp, at which point Sam Witwicky stepped in, grabbing the cube and plunging it into Megatron's chest, destroying him. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (PSP)|Transformers The Game}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Autobots''===

[[Image:Ds_autobots_energon_drone.jpg|right|thumb]]

When Bumblebee located the AllSpark inside Hoover Dam, he didn't just have to get through a forcefield to recover it—he also had to deal with the Energon drones the cube began to create in some panicked act of self-defense, apparently believing itself to be under attack. Bumblebee persisted, fighting his way through the beasties and shutting the forcefield down, recovering the now-shrunken AllSpark.

Soon after, during the Battle of Mission City, Megatron claimed the AllSpark from Bumblebee, but this did not stop the [[Create-A-Bot (Autobot)|Autobot Create-A-Bot]] from attacking him. The brave Autobot succeeded in knocking the cube from Megatron's hand, and sacrificed his own life grabbing it and slamming it into Megatron's chest. The Decepticon leader was greatly weakened by the blast, allowing Optimus Prime to finish him off once and for all. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Autobots}}
{{-}}
===''Transformers: Decepticons''===

At the height of the battle in Mission City, Starscream tracked Bumblebee down and exterminated him, obtaining the power of the AllSpark for himself. Killing both [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] with his new powers, [[Starscream (Movie)|Lord Starscream]] was then faced with his own protégé, the [[Create-A-Bot (Decepticon)|Decepticon Create-A-Bot]], and used his AllSpark abilities to create Energon drones to keep him occupied rather than kill him. This momentary generosity proved Starscream's undoing, however, as the Create-A-Bot defeated the drones, and managed to knock the AllSpark from Starscream, slamming it into him in hopes of destroying him. While the heroic act left the Create-A-Bot on the verge of death, Starscream was not hurt at all... until Megatron entered the scene, scooped up the AllSpark, and used its powers to destroy him. {{storylink|Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers: Decepticons}}
{{-}}

===Allspark Highway===
The Autobots recovered the AllSpark, but had to carry it down treacherous dirt roads in a sort of relay race to get it to safety. The Decepticons repeatedly tried to snatch it from them, but eventually they just sorta gave up after [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] got hold of it, and the Autobots were victorious! {{storylink|Allspark Highway}}

===''Transformers Animated: The Game''===

[[Image:Eliteguard_allsparkfragment.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]

Megatron hired [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] to gather up scattered AllSpark fragments that he would use to power the space bridge he had secretly constructed. As coincidence would have it, the Autobots got wise to Megatron's plan just as they were dealing with some Sumdac drones that had gone berserk as a result of an AllSpark fragment becoming lodged in the machinery that was constructing them. They proved unable to stop Lockdown from obtaining the fragments, and Megatron departed through the space bridge to Cybertron. Optimus Prime and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] followed, but the bridge shut down before [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] could follow, requiring the little Autobot to find some more fragments to power it back up. He located a few with Sari's help, but they were promptly stolen by Lockdown, who intended to sell them on to the highest bidder. With a timely assist from Prowl, Bumblebee reclaimed the shards from Lockdown and was able to rejoin his teammates on Cybertron. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Transformers (2007)===
[[Image:Movietoy_japanese_allspark_accessory.jpg|right|thumb|Dude, how are we supposed to play craps with this!]]
*'''Arcee Black Version''' (Deluxe, 2008)
*'''Incinerator''' (Voyager, 2008)
*'''Landmine''' (Deluxe, 2008)
*'''Stockade''' (Deluxe, 2008)

:While the "[[AllSpark Power]]" [[subline imprint]] was quite expansive in [[Hasbro]] markets, featuring numerous new figures and [[redeco]]es in various size classes, in Japan, [[TakaraTomy]] elected to release only [[Incinerator (Movie)|Incinerator]], [[Landmine (Movie)|Landmine]], [[Stockade (Movie)|Stockade]] and an exclusive black redeco of [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]]. Each of these four figures came packaged with a small AllSpark accessory that was not available with Hasbro's releases of the figures.
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers (2007)===
[[Image:Allspark_paperweight.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''All Spark Cube''' (2007)

:Released by [[PopBox Collectibles]], this 1:4 scaled, 7cm paperweight replica of the AllSpark is made from die-cast metal. It also comes with a small 3x3x2cm square perspex base.
{{-}}
[[Image:Allspark usb hub.jpg|right|thumb|300px| "because it has all our porn stored on it."]]
*'''AllSpark 4-socket USB hub''' (2007)

:Sculpted in the likeness of the AllSpark, this 4-port USB hub features an Optimus Prime sound clip—"We must protect the AllSpark Cube!"—that plays when new hardware is connected, and can also be triggered at will via a secret button.
{{-}}
[[Image:Allspark cube with candy.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* '''AllSpark Cube with candy''' (2007)

: Produced by [[Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company]] for Hasbro's [[Cap Candy]] brand, this AllSpark is made up of a set of four interconnected transparent plastic cubes that can be opened and folded into various different configurations to reveal pictures of the Transformers. The hollow cubes have delicious life-giving candy pieces inside!
{{-}}
[[Image:Allspark_party_favors.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* '''Allsparks cubes''' (2007)

: Like the candy cubes above, these sticker-labeled plastic folding party favor Allsparks {{sic}} cubes can be opened and stacked in different configurations to complete images of the movie Transformers, but they're much smaller and there's no candy involved. Created by DesignWare, a subsidiary of the [[American Greetings]] greeting card company. (Says it all, doesn't it?)
{{-}}

===Revenge of the Fallen===
[[Image:Allspark_rubiks_cube.jpg|right|thumb|300px| Because Rubik's cubes weren't nerdy enough.]]
*'''Rubik's Cube Allspark Edition''' (2009)

:Originally slated to be released in 2008, this item was held back and was instead released in new packaging as part of the [[Milton Bradley]]'s ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' merchandise line. While it comes in the standard Rubik's Cube colors, the cube itself is cast in light grey plastic and the patterns seen on the movie AllSpark are printed on the colored facets, as well as an Autobot and Decepticon sigil on the white and yellow faces, respectively. This actually makes this version harder than the original Rubik's Cube, as the center faces must be properly aligned so that the patterns match up correctly. It comes with a grey stand with [[Vacuum metallizing|vacuum metallization]] on one of the three embossed Rubik's logos.
{{-}}

==Notes==
*Due to the fact that Transformers say their soul merges with the AllSpark when they die, it is possible that transformers like Wheelie, who came to be because the Allspark fell on the ground, actually died on Cybertron, but were brought back to life.
*The concept of the AllSpark was introduced in the first live-action movie, derived from hybridizing the concepts of previous life-giving talismans of Transformer lore, the Matrix of Leadership and [[Vector Sigma]]. The term "Matrix" was off limits because of the [[Wikipedia: The Matrix|movie of the same name]], so instead, the object was known as "[[energon cube|the Energon Cube]]" for most of the film's production, even appearing under that name in the movie's [[Transformers (novel)|novelisation]]. Producer [[Don Murphy]] was never entirely happy with the name, however, and so it was rechristened "the AllSpark" for the finished film. The finalized moniker came from the ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' cartoon, where it was the name of the [[Allspark|Transformer afterlife]].
*In one instance in the Cybertronian subtitles used in the first movie, the object's named is parsed "All Spark". This particular parsing was also used consistently in [[Titan Books|Titan]]'s [[United Kingdom]] ''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Transformers]]'' comic.
* In July 2007, several items from the movie were auctioned off on e-bay including the 'Hero' AllSpark prop used for closeups, with the money benefiting the [[wikipedia:Fisher House Foundation|Fisher House Foundation]], a living facility attached to many US Military Hospitals. The auction collected 99 bids and the prop was sold for US $20,100.
* While the ''Animated'' cartoon drew upon the movie in developing its AllSpark, sharing its life-giving powers, enigmatic origins and fated launch into space, the ''Animated'' AllSpark's outer container was designed in homage to the object that inspired them both, the Matrix of Leadership. As noted at [[BotCon 2008]], the ''Animated'' creative team had no intention of providing an in-story origin for their AllSpark, because to do so would run the risk of making the artifact less interesting, or being so bizarre that it shattered the audience's willing suspension of disbelief, or being so wildly convoluted that explaining it all would get in the way of telling the actual story, or all of the above.

*The launching of the ''Prime'' AllSpark was detailed in the apocryphal story, "[[Bumblebee at Tyger Pax]]".

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''AllSpark''' (オールスパーク ''Ōrusupāku'')
*''Dutch name:'' '''Oervonk''' (roughly "Ancient Spark")
*''Hungarian:'' '''Örök Szikra''' ("Ever Spark")
*''Polish:'' '''Wszechiskra''' ("Allspark")
*''Russian:'' '''Iskra''' (Искра "The Spark")
*''Spanish:'' '''La Chispa Suprema''' (America, "The Supreme Spark")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Vseiskra''' ("Allspark")

==References==
<References/>

[[Category:Animated]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon]]
[[Category:Interjections]]
[[Category:MacGuffins]]
[[Category:Movie]]
[[Category:Prime]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron]]

Pillar

2012-05-21T16:16:01Z

24.18.205.72: /* Dark of the Moon film */

{{picsneeded}}
{{disambig2|the devices from Dark of the Moon|the human from Transformers: Prime|Pilar Esquivel}}
:''Pillars are a type of technology from the [[Dark of the Moon (franchise)|''Dark of the Moon'' franchise]] in the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:DOTM pillar active.jpg|thumb|300px]]
The '''Pillars''' are an example of advanced [[Cybertronian]] equipment that is related to their [[Space Bridge]] technology. They are small by [[Transformer]] standards, and resemble spikes. In groups, they are capable of creating a wormhole between two points. As few as four Pillars are capable of linking two points together and hundreds are able to even move entire planets. Two vital components of the Pillars are the Control Pillar and the [[Autobot]] who developed the technology, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]. Perhaps as a security measure, the Control Pillar was keyed to only respond to its creator's commands. Pillars tend to float under their own power and moved under the direction of Cybertronians, with them being able to reach into orbit by themselves without assistance.

==Fiction==
===IDW movie prequel comics===
As the war raged, Sentinel Prime revealed to [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]] that he had created a golden orb that would decisively win the war. Optimus went through with the idea, as Sentinel said it would allow for ending the war without more casualties. The torch required the [[AllSpark]] to activate it, so Ironhide led an assault on [[Simfur Temple]]. {{storylink|Foundation issue 3}} Elita-One activated the torch, turning it red, and delivered it to Sentinel. Sentinel boarded the [[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]], where he presumably placed it within the control pillar, and flew to Simfur to end the battle. However, [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] attacked the ship, causing it to disappear in a fiery explosion. {{storylink|Foundation issue 4|Foundation #4}}

Unbeknownst to the Autobots and Decepticons, the attack caused the pillars to activate and transport the Ark through space and time. It collided with the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'' and crashed on [[Earth]]'s [[moon (moon)|moon]], near its intended location. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 1}} {{storylink|Dark of the Moon issue 3}} [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]'s crew recovered hundreds of pillars, and eventually returned to the wreck of the ''Nemesis'' to consult [[The Fallen]] as to its purpose. The Fallen asked Soundwave to leave it with him as he returned to Earth, and used the pillar to release himself from his [[sarcophagus]]. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 4}}

===''Classified'' novels===
Nineteen thousand years ago, during the war against [[The Fallen]], a munitions stronghold was established on Earth. In the present day, the stronghold was located under [[Hawthorne Army Depot]] and still contained many pieces of ancient and powerful technology, including a long cylindrical pillar of dark metal covered in Autobot symbols. It was the pillar that was of particular interest to [[Reverb (ROTF)|Reverb]], who was sent there by [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] to steal it, but [[Gears (ROTF)|Gears]] was on a mission to stop him. Gears got to the stronghold first, but Reverb followed him after conning [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] into bringing him there.

Inside, Reverb damaged Gears and loaded up with ancient technology, including the pillar. Reverb fought off Ratchet, [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], and the human soldiers that were stationed there. In the process, Reverb activated the pillar and threw it at the human soldiers. It stuck in the desert floor and caused five soldiers, including [[Duane Bowman]], to disappear in a flash. After Reverb was outsmarted by [[Kevin Bowman]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] inspected the cylinder. He recognized the technology and concluded that the soldiers were transported someplace that was probably very far away and probably not inhabitable by humans... but there is always hope. {{storylink|Transformers Classified: Switching Gears|Switching Gears}}

===''Dark of the Moon'' film===
[[Image:DOTM-Moonspacebridge.jpg|thumb|left|300px|"Mommy, I want to go to the merry-go-round!" "All right, sweetie, just get your ion cannon ready."]]
The Autobot leader known as Sentinel Prime developed the Pillar technology during the final years of the [[Great War]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with hundreds of such machines being created. Their intention was to use these advanced devices as a means of winning a war against [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s newly formed [[Decepticon]] faction. Unknown to anyone, Sentinel Prime had struck a secret pact with the [[Lord High Protector]] with the intention of saving Cybertron where the two were to meet on a distant planet called [[Earth]]. Taking hundreds of these machines, he stashed them onboard the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' but it was lost in the war where it crashed on Earth's moon. There, the devices and their creator undiscovered for an unknown number of years.

During the 1960's, the Decepticons discovered the ''Ark'' and began pillaging it of the Pillars, removing hundreds from Sentinel's vault, and leaving only five, including the control pillar. Unable to revive Sentinel, the Decepticons left the Autobot behind until such an opportunity presented itself. In [[2011]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and his Autobots learned of the existence of the ''Ark'' after recovering an engine component at Chernobyl. Thus, they launched an expedition to the dark side of the moon where they retrieved Sentinel Prime as well as the control pillar.

Following Sentinel's resurrection using the [[Matrix of Leadership]], the pillars were kept at the [[NEST]] base at the direction of the national intelligence director's command as she believed their power as WMD's were too great. Unknown to anyone, the Decepticons were secretly masterminding the blanketing of all attempts at seeing the dark side of the moon where they had gathered their forces in secret. When [[Sam Witwicky]] learned of the Decepticon's plans, he believed that they intended to target Sentinel Prime and the Autobots rushed him to safety. However, Sentinel Prime revealed his true allegiance and attacked Optimus Prime's forces whereupon he retrieved his pillars and escaped.
[[Image:DOTMCybertrontransit.jpg|thumb|right|300px|That's some kamehameha.]]

Using the four pillars in conjunction with the Control Pillar, around two hundred Decepticons were let loose on Earth through Washington. Afterwards, the remaining stores of Pillars, brought to Earth by the Decepticon army, were set across the globe where they were to be launched into orbit under their own power as part of a grand plan to bring Cybertron to Earth. This was under Sentinel Prime's belief that to save their species, they needed to use Humanity as a slave force to rebuild their homeworld. Stationing the Control Pillar in [[Chicago]], they activated the device whilst attempting to defend it from Autobot forces and the Human military. This created a massive portal that brought half of Cybertron through before the Control Pillar was knocked out, thus temporarily stalling the process. However, [[Dylan Gould]] reactivated it, continuing the transport, but the device was ultimately destroyed by [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] which stopped Cybertron from appearing in Earth's orbit. The Pillars that were bringing through Cybertron were likely pulled through the wormhole that had consumed Cybertron. {{storylink|Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)''===
[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ordered [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] to go to [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] to retrieve one of the Space bridge pillars. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)}}

== Notes ==
*The pillars seen in the movie vaguely resemble [[Transwarp cell]]s.

[[Category:Classified]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon]]
[[Category:Technology]]

Shockwave (Movie)

2012-05-21T16:04:18Z

24.18.205.72: /* (Xbox 360/PS3) */

{{factions|decepticonfilm|hofsilver}}
{{disambig3|Shockwave}}
:''Shockwave is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[live-action film series|live-action movie]] [[Continuity family|continuity family]].''

[[Image:ShockwaveDOTMgamepromo.jpg|right|thumb|400px|[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s most bewildering foe: the faceless!]]

'''Shockwave''' was left to watch [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] by [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] long ago, arriving on Earth to hunt for the [[AllSpark]] shortly after Megatron. A peerless scientist with deadly efficiency and a cold devotion to logic, he is one of the very few who could rival Megatron. Shockwave is ready and willing to destroy the Autobots with his arm-mounted AstroMag Cannon.

{{bigquote|Emotionless, coldly logical, utterly ruthless... killing is all Shockwave lives for.|[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]|[[Dark of the Moon issue 1|''Dark of the Moon'' #1]]}}

==Fiction==
===IDW live-action film prequel comics===
[[Image:Foundation1-Shockwavedoesntlikeit.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"'''Your star burns!''' I require frozen treats."]]
Eons after the [[Dynasty of Primes]] were vanquished, Cybertron fell into dark times. The [[AllSpark]] had been buried somewhere within Cybertron and been dismissed as a legend, and the planet itself lacked a star to orbit. As energy became more and more scarce, Cybertronians segregated into tribes. Shockwave chose to rally behind [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], who claimed to be descended from [[Primus]] himself. However, he faced opposition from the non-believer [[Thetacon (tribe)|Thetacons]], and Shockwave joined [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]], and several others in repelling their attacks. Ultimately, Sentinel Prime won the day, as he and [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] were successful in locating the lost AllSpark and harnessing a new sun to orbit. This, however, did not please Shockwave. Now that the war was over, he was dissatisfied, and he no longer knew his purpose. This shocked his old friend, Megatron, and Shockwave explained that it was the journey he enjoyed, not the destination. Plus, well, that new sun was kind of bright. {{storylink|Foundation issue 1|Foundation #1}}

The next day, Megatron detailed to Shockwave how he had eavesdropped on a conversation between Sentinel and Optimus, where Sentinel had tried to pass on leadership to Optimus, who refused, unable to accept he was also a Prime. At the outskirts of [[Thetacon (polity)|Thetacon]], they encountered a [[Driller]], a subterranean lifeform that had been brought to the planet's surface by the new energy flowing through it, which was attacking a group of [[Hatchling]]s and their protector [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. Shockwave was amazed by the creature and called it "magnificent". After besting it, he joined the Cybertronian [[Defense Force]] that Sentinel placed under Megatron's command, rooting out dissident Transformers. {{storylink|Foundation issue 2|Foundation #2}}

After the war broke out he joined the Decepticons. As Starscream was asking what to do next minutes before the [[Nemesis (ROTF)|''Nemesis'']] went to space, Shockwave told him that they would obey Megatron's orders without any question. {{storylink|Foundation issue 3|Foundation #3}} When the Autobots attacked [[Simfur Temple]], Shockwave attempted to apprehend [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]], but with no success. When Starscream blew up the [[Ark (DOTM)|ship]] carrying Sentinel and his [[pillar|secret weapon]], Shockwave ordered the annihilation of the retreating Autobots, but Megatron made him stand down, gleefully predicting Optimus would return with a vengeance. {{storylink|Foundation issue 4|Foundation #4}}

Shockwave returned with Megatron to his [[Lord High Protector citadel|citadel]] during Optimus's revenge attack. {{storylink|Foundation issue 1|Foundation #1}} Shockwave asked Megatron if he could kill Optimus Prime and [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] after they had been stuck by the [[smelting pool]], but Megatron was disappointed by Shockwave's lack of vision. {{Storylink|Foundation issue 3|Foundation #3}} Optimus got inside to fight Megatron, while Starscream and Shockwave attempted to kill their former comrade Ironhide. Suddenly, the skies darkened: the Autobots had attacked the citadel to distract the Decepticons from their true goal of stealing the AllSpark from the temple. Optimus blasted Starscream and Shockwave, and the two Autobots escaped. {{storylink|Foundation issue 4|Foundation #4}}

[[Image:RisingStorm2-ShockwaveAllSpark.jpg|thumb|250px|]] Some time later, after the Autobots sent the All Spark into space, Starscream left Shockwave in charge of the Decepticons still on Cybertron as he went in search of his prize. During a battle with a team of Autobots, Shockwave heard the scream of the AllSpark when it was found by [[Sector Seven]]. Leaving [[Dreadwing (Movie)|Dreadwing]] in charge of the Decepticons on Cybertron, Shockwave set out in an impossibly fast ship, swearing not to return without the AllSpark. He crashed in Tunguska, [[Siberia]] in [[1908]].<ref>''Rising Storm'' issue 2 reveals that Shockwave caused the mysterious real-life [[wikipedia:Tunguska_event|Tunguska event.]]</ref> He remained buried there in [[stasis lock]], healing until [[Soviet Union|Soviet Russia]] found him ten years later. Using stolen research from the U.S., who had found Megatron the same way, the Russians reverse-engineered his technology to invent nuclear power plants. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}} {{storylink|Frozen}}

There were no digital records of Shockwave's existence, and the physical documents pertaining to him were lost, burned, shredded or stolen in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse. The Siberian facility was abandoned and Shockwave was left forgotten. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 4}}
{{-}}

===Titan Magazines===
While Starscream doesn't like or trust Shockwave, he respects his intelligence and, if he had to choose, would give the nod to Shockwave being his successor. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 21|#21's Star Screams}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' film===
[[Image:Shockwave-ROTFnewspaper.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Quick, add him to the character list!]]
At some point during 2009, Shockwave was caught on film and the event was written up for a newspaper article. A newspaper page with the headline "Mysterious Robot Spotted" was discarded in [[Egypt]], where it was sucked up by a rampaging [[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]]. {{Storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
{{-}}

===IDW ''Dark of the Moon'' comics===
[[Image:RisingStorm_Shockwave_and_astrotrain.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Astrotrain, go away. You're spoiling the G1 ambiance around me."]]
Soundwave discovered the satirical article and its photograph, and deduced it was based on stolen Soviet documents. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 4}} In [[2010]], Megatron freed Shockwave and brought him to his "base" in [[Namibia]], where he was eager to get back to killing Autobots as soon as possible. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}}

Shockwave and [[Astrotrain (DOTM)|Astrotrain]] made their presence known on Earth near [[Dalian]], [[China]], where they quickly disposed of the Autobots [[Longarm (Movie)|Longarm]] and [[Salvage (Movie)|Salvage]] and stole material for a mysterious construction project.

Shockwave began following the exploits of Earth's stranded Transformers from afar, and derided its war's combatants as idiots after watching a skirmish in [[California]]. After contacting Astrotrain for an update on their project, he tracked [[Divebomb (Movie)|Divebomb]]'s radiation trail back to Starscream's current base of operations, in a junkyard on the outskirts of [[Mexico City]]. Blasting his way through the Decepticons unwise enough to try defending Starscream, Shockwave informed the treacherous air commander that Megatron had "requested his services." Before the conversation could go any further, Astrotrain radioed Shockwave with some bad news: the "[[Brains|brain unit]]" scrap drone that held the control software for the machine he was constructing had escaped. Shockwave charged Starscream and his followers with recovering the drone. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 1|Rising Storm #1}}

[[Image:Risingstorm_3_shockwave_on_NEST.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Shock blast!]]

Shockwave contacted an angry Starscream who thought he was promised the Autobots would be occupied. Shockwave countered that they were occupied, but, you know, with Starscream, leaving Shockwave free to leave a message for [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] at the [[NEST]] Headquarters in [[Diego Garcia]]. After killing [[Knock Out (ROTF)|Knock Out]], [[Dune Runner (ROTF)|Dune Runner]], and other Autobots who stood in his way, Shockwave confronted the trembling humans left to fend for themselves. When Shockwave asked who was in command, [[Theodore Galloway]] told him that he was. Shockwave killed Galloway and the other humans save one, and he asked his question one more time. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 3|Rising Storm #3}}

After killing [[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]], he and [[Fearswoop (ROTF)|Fearswoop]] left Diego Garcia, then he arrived in [[Philadelphia]] killing [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]] in the process and shot down [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] and [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage]]. Enraged by the death of Elita-One and the other Autobots. Optimus Prime battled Shockwave destroying half of his face and body, Prime was about to kill Shockwave, till Shockwave's [[Driller|"pet"]] came to save his master. the badly damaged Shockwave returned to Namibia along Starscream and Soundwave. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 4|Rising Storm #4}}
{{-}}

===''Dark of the Moon'' film===
:''Voice actor'': [[Frank Welker]] (English), [[Jirō Saitō]] (Japanese), [[Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Horst Lampe]] (German)

[[Image:DOTM - ShockwaveDriller.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"We have wormsign."]]

Shockwave and his pet [[Driller]] attacked the Autobots when they were summoned to [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant|Chernobyl]] by the Decepticon agent [[Alexi Voskhod]]. This was done as an act of misdirection to ensure that the Autobots did not realize that the Decepticons actually wanted them to find the fuel cell from the [[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]] located within the facility. After Optimus retrieved the fuel cell from the Driller, Shockwave emerged from it to reveal himself to Optimus, and the pair quickly retreated underground, leaving Optimus very disturbed to see Shockwave on Earth.

[[Image:DOTM-Shockwavecloseup.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The four tall tales of Robodian the one-eyed jerk.]]

Later, Shockwave took part in the invasion of [[Chicago]]. He and the Driller emerged from beneath the convoy of Autobots, and the Driller separated Optimus from his trailer. Shockwave left the Driller and proceeded to track down the Autobots. The [[Wrecker]]s were sent to distract him, peppering his armor with fire from their machineguns. He used a car as a shield and fired at them, and once they drove off he menacingly began to pursue them down the road, missing the two small Autobots, [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Brains]], who quickly fled.

[[Image:830px-Dotm-shockwave&driller-film-chicago.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Wanna pet my worm?]]
Later, he noticed humans inside a building, and sent his Driller into the fray to topple a building and kill [[Sam Witwicky]], [[Carly Spencer]], [[Robert Epps]], and the other humans inside. However the beast was killed by Optimus Prime using his flight gear, and Shockwave, enraged by the death of his pet, opened fire on the Autobot leader, briefly disabling him and taking him out of the fight.

[[Image:DOTM-OptimusShockwave.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Welcome to the refinery.]]

He soon joined [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] and [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] to round up the other Autobots. Brains and Wheelie forestalled the Decepticon's from further executing their prisoners by taking control of a Decepticon gunship, and dropping [[Orbital Assault Carrier|fighters]] onto the battlefield. Shockwave retreated further away with Barricade and some other Decepticons. However the human soldiers had set a trap, and while firing at them, Shockwave was blinded by one of their parachutes, and his eye was then shot out, causing it to dangle by its wires. Optimus Prime then came charging back into the battle, and when Shockwave fired at him the Autobot dodged the shot, donned a set of knuckle-spikes, and punched Shockwave so hard that part of his abdomen shattered. Even this did not put Shockwave down, but Prime did not let up - he punched Shockwave again, pinned the Decepticon down and tore his dangling eye out through his throat, finally ending the Decepticon's life. Optimus then used Shockwave's cannon to shoot out the control pillar set up in the city. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: The Game'' (console)===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Daniel Riordan]]

[[Image:Tf2007console shockwave.jpg|left|200px|thumb|1% assorted Shockwave parts, 99% weapons.]]
Under the orders of Starscream, Shockwave attacked [[Tranquility]] in an effort to interfere with [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s attempt to rescue [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] from [[Sector Seven]]. Prime actually had a grip on the helicopter net that held Bumblebee, but the force of Shockwave's entry mode's impact knocked him off, allowing Sector Seven to get away.

[[Image:Tf2007console shockwave turret.jpg|200px|thumb|Death Cannon OF LOGIC!]]
Landing in downtown, the [[Triple Changer|triple-changing]] Shockwave adopted a helicopter and an artillery emplacement as his alternate modes, promptly transforming into the latter and lobbing explosives around the city. Prime, forced to cut off his rescue, charged in and pounded Shockwave until the goliath transformed and retreated to another position. Prime doggedly kept at Shockwave, following him every time he retreated, eventually defeating the Decepticon and saving Tranquility. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (console)|Transformers The Game (console)}}

Later, when the Autobots returned to Cybertron, Shockwave appeared on the planet alongside (and presumably leading) an army of Decepticon drones. Optimus quickly defeated the drones and once more defeated Shockwave.

{{note|Shockwave is not a playable character in the game, appearing only as a boss character during the Autobot campaign. He also appears (but does not transform) as one of the enemies battled in the Autobot campaign's bonus level set on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], but what this implies about Shocky is debatable at best, given the level's questionable in-game continuity.}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: The Game'' (PSP)===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Daniel Riordan]]

[[Image:Shockwave movie psp.jpg|left|170px|thumb|He makes up for his loss of weapons by being the most awesome character in the game. It is only logical.]]

The massive Shockwave might ''look'' like he's purely about muscle and firepower, but he's actually remarkably shrewd and cunning. Coveting the position of Decepticon leader for himself, Shockwave has been working to oust Megatron for years. As you might imagine, he and Starscream don't get along very well.

When the Decepticons arrived on Earth in search of their lost leader, Megatron, Shockwave adopted a tank as his alternate mode. Shockwave was supposed to join [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] in his attack on the [[SOCCENT Forward Operations Base]] in [[Qatar]], but instead busied himself surrepticiously searching for leads to the location of the [[AllSpark]]. After receiving a communique from [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]], who informed him that the Autobots were on Earth and had discovered their own leads to the location of Megatron, Shockwave had [[Thundercracker (Movie)|Thundercracker]] airlift him to Qatar, where he helped Blackout take care of the last few military units opposing him. He relayed Frenzy's message to Blackout, then departed for the Arctic with Thundercracker, intending to investigate the site where Megatron's body was discovered.

In the Arctic, Shockwave and Thundercracker faced resistance from an Autobot unit in the area, but fought their way through them to discover that Megatron's body had been moved by [[Sector Seven]]. The trip was not a wasted one, however: after scanning a computer terminal in the cavern, Shockwave discovered that Megatron had brought an army of drones with him to Earth to help in the search for the All Spark. These drones were presently lying dormant all over the Earth, and Shockwave schemed to reactivate them so that they could serve him as his personal army. The signal required to reanimated the drones had to be broadcast from a great height, so Shockwave and Thundercracker quickly made their way to a rocket launch site, where Shockwave
programmed the code into a rocket that subsequently beamed the signal down over the Earth from space. Drones sprang to life all over the planet, and began attacking the Autobots. Shockwave's control of his
self-made army was short lived, however, as Autobots [[Trailbreaker (Movie)|Trailbreaker]] and [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] successfully transmitted a virus that shut the drones down. Simultaneously, Shockwave received another message from Frenzy that the he had discovered the location of Megatron, and that the Decepticon leader was about to reawaken.

After the Autobots defeated Megatron and most of the other Decepticons in battle in [[Center City]], Shockwave retreated back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], as did Starscream. Back on their homeworld, Shockwave and Starscream faced off for leadership of the Decepticons, with Starscream ultimately claiming victory. {{storylink|Transformers The Game (PSP)|Transformers The Game (PSP)}}

{{note|In contrast to the console version of the game, Shockwave ''is'' a playable character on the PSP.}}

===Autobot Stronghold===

Shockwave was used as the basis for an army of [[drone]] units, who were part of the constant attacks on the Autobot's [[LG]] Stronghold. For some reason, these drones had ''two'' Sparks. {{storylink|Autobot Stronghold}}

===''Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The Game''===

:''Voice actor:'' [[Isaac C. Singleton, Jr.]] (Wii version only)

====(Xbox 360/PS3)====
[[Image:Dark of the Moon game Shockwave.jpg|thumb|300px|Shockwave on the warpath.]]
Shockwave had crashed on Earth thousands of years ago and fell into stasis mode. He was later discovered by the Russians and a facility was built to contain him, where he was frozen to prevent him from waking up.

Three years after Megatron was wounded, the Decepticons took refuge in that same Russian facility to repair themselves. His leader [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] decided to release him, since he was needed for the upcoming operation. The base came under fire, however, thanks to Starscream leading the [[Autobot]]s straight to Megatron. The 'Cons abandoned base and left Shockwave to thaw out.

[[Image:Transformers DOTM Shockwave Game.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Give me your face- ew... on second thought, Just give me your eye- ew... what IS wrong with your face?]]
Optimus discovered Shockwave and ordered [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] to activate more freeze tanks to keep him frozen. Unfortunately, Shockwave's [[Driller|pet]] awoke from its slumber, and lashed out at the intruders. The attempts to keep him frozen eventually failed, and Shockwave woke up and decided to destroy the Autobot leader. Years under stasis meant that he wasn't fully combat ready, and it was something Optimus took advantage of when he attacked the Decepticon assassin. Shockwave soon managed to fully recover and lashed out at Prime with everything he had. Autobot reinforcements arrived to help in Optimus' assault, but were dispatched quite easily. During their skirmish, Optimus Prime (with a little help from Ratchet) deduced his weak spot as the three cylinder-shaped generators mounted on his back. With this knowledge, Optimus Prime was then able to take down Shockwave with his jetpack/machinegun upgrades, until the Driller decided to intervene, and blocked off the shots while retreating with its master.

Shortly after, Shockwave met up with Megatron, [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], and [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in Nambia, Africa. He was ordered to find a device in a nuclear power plant called Chernobyl. Shockwave agreed, and Megatron told him and the others of Operation Pillar... {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)}}

====Autobots/Decepticons====
[[Image:DOTMDS Shockwave.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]
Shockwave was in some state where he needed to be revived and was stored in the Decepticons' base in [[Siberia]]. When the Autobots invaded the base, Megatron was forced to revive Shockwave early, but managed to get the assassin out and began preparing for the next stage of the plan. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons|Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Dark of the Moon===
====Cyberverse====
{{anchor|CyberverseActionSet}}
[[Image:DOTM Cyberverse Shockwave FusionTank.jpg|thumb|350px|right|It's a fusion of terror and more terror.]]
*'''Shockwave / Fusion Tank''' (Cyberverse Action Set, 2011)
**''Series:'' '''1'''
**''Number:'' '''006'''
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''CV19'''
**''Accessories:'' Battle Cannon/Particle Wave Blaster, rubber hose, arm blade, missile, Chicago

: The [[Cyberverse]] Commander class Shockwave is cast in a lighter purple than his Voyager class figure. Like that larger toy, he transforms into a Cybertronian tank, and features a removable cannon, blade, and hose. He also has a [[Fusion Tank add-on|back component]] that attaches to his vehicle to form a "Fusion Tank," and that can separately transform into "Ground Weapon" and "Battle Base" modes.

: Shockwave's alternate mode has some rather annoying problems with the treads refusing to straighten out or peg onto his body and front "wheels" securely. As a result, combining him with the action set to form the "Fusion Tank" mode will result in the back treads becoming parallel with the rest of the tank... while the front treads split open and detach from the wheels.

: Like other action sets, Shockwave comes with a cardboard backdrop. In his case, it’s a scene of Chicago under attack. Oddly, the box bio mentions ''Shockwave'''s ability to drill through the ground, with no mention of his [[Driller|friend]].
{{-}}

====Voyager Class toys====
[[Image:DOTM_Shockwave_Voyager.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Observation: gun hose. Conclusion: awesome.]]
*'''Shockwave''' (MechTech Voyager, 2011)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''DD05'''
**''Accessories:'' [[MechTech]] Battle Cannon/Particle Wave Blaster, rubber hose, arm blade

: Part of the second wave of ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (toyline)|Dark of the Moon]]'' Voyager Class [[MechTech]] toys, Shockwave transforms into a purple Cybertronian tank. He has a large, detachable MechTech Battle Cannon on his right arm with a rubber tube which connects to his back, and a removable blade on his left arm. When a button is pushed on the rear of his arm cannon, MechTech gearing opens up the cannon, widening it and exposing more gun barrels. [[C joint]] rungs are located on Shockwave's arm-blade, with one concealed underneath said blade, two on his AstroMag cannon, two more on his backpack, and two more on his feet. Other MechTech weapons can peg into Shockwave's hands, on the barrel of his cannon, and behind each shoulder blade. Due to the nature of his MechTech weapon being integrated with his arm, it is not a prime candidate for swapping with other toys, due to the shape and color of the weapon; although it does fit with the Dark of the Moon Voyager Megatron.

: Shockwave's forearms seem to be backward in robot mode, with the screws holding them together facing out while the backs of his forearms are smooth and screw-hole-free. Also, his arm blade, when put in its proper place on his tank mode, is clearly backward. The blade has an obvious back, its left side, marked with gaps, whereas the mold detail on its right side is much cleaner. These may have been done to keep the screw-holes out of sight in vehicle mode and the gaps out-of-sight in robot mode as a form of compromise, instead. It should be noted that disassembling the figure's forearms and swapping them would change the cannon to the left and the blade to the right, which shouldn't be done because:
:# it's [[Show-accuracy|movie-inaccurate]],
:# the wrists are each held together with a pin which can be tricky to remove,
:# you'll end up with the screw-holes visible in tank mode instead, and
:# the gun hose is clearly meant to go to the right in robot mode, otherwise it will restrict articulation or keep falling off - though it should be mentioned that the peg hole where the hose attaches to the gun can actually be rotated 180 degrees instead of 90 (with the slightly more flexible plastic used in these areas allowing such movement), thus enabling the hose to be positioned on either side of the weapon.
:The extra barrels in the cannon also feature gaps like the arm blade for some reason.

: The instructions tell you to keep the cannon attached to his right arm in tank mode, though it is possible to stick it in between the arms. This is done by sliding the cannon's bottom in between Shockwave's thumbs. It is fairly stable, matches some stock photography, and makes for a more coherent tank.

: Shockwave's stock photography depicts him in a much, much brighter and bluer purple, while the MechTech lever on the cannon is bright red. Although partly cropped, his packaging photography on the box-front depicts an alternative placement of his gun hose in tank mode, plugging into the port on the side of his rear treads, which actually aligns better than the awkward frontal position depicted in the [[instructions]]; in the box-back. The gun hose in vehicle mode is not shown, but since the picture was taken from a left profile, it could just be covered by the toy itself, reinforcing the alternate placement. The stock photography also depicts Shockwave's hands to be articulated at the wrists, as the right arm in the photo has the hand rotated 90 degrees from the position actually possible with the figure. Many more paint applications are also present in the stock photography, not being limited to the red lever on the cannon, with vents on the vehicle mode being picked out in silver, gold details being present on the hips, and both halves of tread on each side of the body being painted silver. Overall, the colour scheme shown on the box photography is completely different from the actual figure within, with the stock photo's silver being replaced with a metallic lilac on the hands, feet spikes and knees.

{{-}}
{{anchor|CyberArmour}}
[[Image:DOTM-VoyagerShockwave-CyberArmour.JPG|thumb|300px]]
*'''Optimus Prime vs. Shockwave''' (MechTech Voyager-Class two-pack, 2011)
**''Accessories:'' [[MechTech]] Battle Cannon/Particle Wave Blaster, rubber hose, arm blade

: Advertised as "'''SHOCKWAVE with CYBER METAL Armour'''" on the sticker, this Canadian [[Costco]]-[[exclusive]] two-pack contains a redeco of Shockwave along with an unchanged ''Dark of the Moon'' Voyager class [[Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys#CyberArmour|Optimus Prime]].

: His purple plastic was changed to dark blue and gray, the lilac was replaced by gray, and the gray on his face cover and feet was replaced by a dark purple, with all the grays being darker and cooler in general. Paint differences include the purple on his crotch being replaced by dark blue, the purple on his shoulders being replaced by metallic lavender, the purple on his feet being replaced by a silver that gradients towards the "toes", the bronze on all three of his "wheel" rims being replaced by pink, the bronze on the sides of his back treads being replaced by a "worn out" silver, the metallic lavender on his knee flaps being replaced by a dark silver, his spiky bumper, thighs, and head lacking paint in favor of having his ribs painted silver, and his treads and aforementioned ribs being painted in a much brighter silver than usual. His MechTech weapon has also been redecoed, with the purple housing and black hose being cast in a brighter, translucent purple plastic, the gray parts also being darker and cooler, the silver paint on the main barrel being replaced by the brighter silver, and the silver paint on the sides being replaced with a ''very'' faint and subtle brownish orange.

{{-}}
{{anchor|StreetsideBotBrawl}}
[[Image:DOTMVoyShockwaveStreetsideBotBrawl.jpg|thumb|300px]]
*'''Streetside Bot Brawl''' (Multi-pack, 2011)
**''Accessories:'' [[MechTech]] Battle Cannon/Particle Wave Blaster, rubber hose, arm blade

:Part of the [[Toys R Us]]-exclusive "Streetside Bot Brawl" three-pack, this grey and purple redeco of Shockwave was sold with battle-damaged redecos of ''Dark of the Moon'' Deluxe-Class [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#StreetsideBotBrawl|Bumblebee]] and ''Dark of the Moon'' Voyager-Class [[Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys#StreetsideBotBrawl|Optimus Prime]].

{{-}}

==Notes==
* [[Transformers The Game (console)|''Transformers: The Game'']] Shockwave was designed by artist [[Ken Christiansen]].
*The "Attack Copter", "Recon Chopper" and "Stealth Chopper" [[Create-A-Bot (Autobot)|Create-]][[Create-A-Bot (Decepticon)|A-Bot]] vehicle modes from the [[Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Nintendo DS video games]] transform into robot modes bearing some resemblance to Shockwave. The Attack Chopper is the only one that can be customized to appear purple, though.
*The photo on the newspaper article in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' is of [[:Image:Shockwaveministatue.jpg|Palisades's statue]] of [[Shockwave (G1)|Generation 1 Shockwave]], with something digitally added in the foreground.
*Shockwave was heavily touted as the new main villain prior to the release of ''Dark of the Moon'', no doubt in an attempt to conceal [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s unexpected betrayal halfway through the movie. A piece of information that commonly popped up in media coverage was the claim that Shockwave was the ruler of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the other Autobots and Decepticons were duking it out on Earth.<ref name="pushpops">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-plot-summary-revealed-170756/ "Transformers 3 Plot Summary Revealed"], TFW2005, October 2010.</ref> The last bit could be written off as a case of [[Wikipedia:Chinese whispers|chinese whisper]]: Shockwave got announced as the villain for ''Dark of the Moon'', mainstream media (such as USA Today<ref name="usatodayswitch">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"], USA Today, June 2010.</ref>) who aren't versed in Transformers lore looked up the character, found out about his ''[[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|namesake]]'s role in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], included it as a piece of trivia to show they did their research, and then the trivia note got picked up as gospel by other media. Nevertheless, it was included in the ''official plot summary'' by Paramount's German branch (which also claimed that ''Shockwave'' was the robot discovered inside the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' as seen in the trailer).<ref name="germansite">[http://www.transformers3-film.de/ Official German DOTM site] including faulty plot summary.</ref>
*Despite being one of the most highly anticipated characters in the film (being placed in commercials, newspaper articles, websites, magazines and even on billboards), Shockwave has very minimal screentime. His only understandable line in the film is at Chernobyl: "Optimus," and seems more like a drone than Megatron's greatest assassin (he gets a lot more lines in the comic book adaptation of the film, but was probably the work of its writer). As with [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|Bonecrusher]] in the first film, and multiple characters in the second, he emits a lot of gnashing, gurgling noises that could be mis-heard as dialogue if one strains hard to hear something in them; as happened with [[Mixmaster (ROTF)|Mixmaster]] on the ''Revenge of the Fallen'' DVD, the subtitle writer misinterpreted one of Shockwave's snarls as the hilarious sentence, "Driller-bot is thirsty".
*Shockwave does not have the same form in IDW's ''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Foundation|Foundation]]'' that he does in ''Dark of the Moon'' despite both being Cybertronian forms. His form in the comics is less skeletal in robot mode than his appearance in the film, and he also transforms into a Cybertronian jet, much like [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s original body, whereas his film design transforms into some form of Cybertronian tank. (Following the leader, maybe?) [[John Barber]] commented on his Twitter account that he isn't sure why Shockwave's appearance is different from that in the film, but that an explanation will be given in issue 4 of ''Rising Storm''. <ref>http://twitter.com/#!/TheJohnBarber/status/60710221739339776</ref> While the issue doesn't explicitly show how he gets his ''Dark of the Moon'' body, Shockwave is indeed badly damaged by Optimus Prime. Possibly because of this extensive reconstruction, Shockwave doesn't transform in the film (or the video game prequel before it, which displayed him with his current body instead of the old, G1-esque one).
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Generation 1 Shockwave]]'s original voice actor, [[Corey Burton]], expressed that he had no interest in voicing him for ''Dark of the Moon'', explaining "[I] have practically no interest in that kind of mega-budget movie enterprise involvement" and that the inspiration for his Shockwave voice, [[wikipedia:David Warner (actor)|David Warner]], was rumored to have been considered.<ref>[http://www.coreyburton.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=2707&highlight=#2707 Corey Burton's message board post.]</ref> In the end, Shockwave's almost-entirely-wordless-snarl-based role would have been something of a waste of Warner; the role ultimately went to Frank Welker. There's a nice touch of symmetry in the casting, with Welker taking over a Burton-originated role not long after Burton took on a Welker-originated character in [[Megatron (Animated)|''Animated'' Megatron]].
*Hasbro's online bio for Shockwave claims he had spent decades trapped under Chernobyl, but this was not reflected in any actual media; both the video game and ''Rising Storm'' comics have him held at a Russian facility from which he is freed shortly before the film's events, and the film itself doesn't give any indication that his appearance at Chernobyl in its opening scenes is an "escape" of any kind.
[[Image:ShockwaveBoxartFace.jpg|thumb|150px|right|"Logically, I must gnaw your head off."]]
*Bucking tradition, this Shockwave has a mouth. Sure, it's more like a horrifying maw of teeth, but it's there. He also has a scar on his right cheek.
*Shockwave's AstroMag cannon is a reference to [[Shockwave (G1)/toys#Notes|the original Shockwave's]] toy mold being first released by ToyCo as the "[http://www.robot-japan.com/Gallery/Takara/Transformers/G1/AstroMagnum/Toybox-Astro-Magnum.asp 4 Changeable Astro Magnum]".
*Select [[Toys"R"Us|ToysЯUs]] stores in the US had a promotion for a Shockwave poster with the purchase of any [[Transformers brand]] [[toy]] from [[June 5]], 2011 to [[June 11]], 2011.
*Although Shockwave's toy transforms into a Cybertronian tank, this alternate mode is never seen in the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|live-action movie]] nor the Dark of the Moon video game.
*While Shockwave's weapon of choice is described as a particle or laser cannon in most related ''Dark of the Moon'' media, it appears to be some variety of cluster missile launcher in the movie proper.
*Early artwork for Shockwave for ''Dark of the Moon'' showed '''Blitzwing''' as a working name for the character.<ref name="nizzi">[http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi DOTM concepts.]</ref>
*Shockwave appears to have the ability of flight in his robot mode.
*Shockwave's appearance in a [[Burger King]] commercial that depicts him fighting Optimus Prime does not depict any scene in the film. Rather, the animation places Shockwave's model over Sentinel Prime's motions during part of his own fight against Optimus.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Shockwave''' (ショックウェーブ ''Shokkuwēbu'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Jèn-dàng-pō''' (震盪波, "Shock Wave"), '''Zhèngdàngbō''' (震荡波, "Shock Wave")

== References ==
<references/>

==External links==
*''Transformers: The Game'' Shockwave [http://badflipblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/tf1-shockwave-01.html concepts], [http://badflipblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/tf1-shockwave-02.html vehicle mode renderings], [http://badflipblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/tf1-shockwave-03.html robot mode and head concepts], [http://badflipblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/tf1-shockwave-04.html final robot mode rendering] and [http://badflipblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/tf1-shockwave-05.html transformation animation guide] on Ken Christiansen's blog.
* [http://www.gamespot.com/video/932116/6172356/transformers-the-game-interview-1 ''Transformers: The Game'' video interview with Daniel Suarez, featuring Shockwave footage]

[[Category:Dark of the Moon Decepticons]]
[[Category:Movie Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Decepticons]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]
[[Category:Costco exclusives]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]

Key to Vector Sigma

2012-05-12T03:35:16Z

24.18.205.72: /* The Transformers cartoon */

{{disambig2|the Key itself|the episode that introduced it|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}

[[Image:key to vector sigma bm.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Not a Sky TV remote so don't think about changing the channel.]]
The '''Key to Vector Sigma''' was an ancient device that was connected to [[Vector Sigma]] and allowed a [[Transformer]] to activate the ancient intelligence. It appeared as a small remote with an overdeveloped power circuit and had the ability to control the robotic [[Centurion droid|Centurion droids]] that remained in the lower levels of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and defended Vector Sigma.

Apparently, [[Beta Maxx]]'s vehicle mode can replace it.

==Fiction==
===''The Transformers'' cartoon===
[[Image:KeyVectorSigma2 key metal.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Honey, did you see the keys?]]

By the 20th century, the Key was present in the hands of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] on Cybertron until [[Alpha Trion's base‎|his home]] was attacked by the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] who gave the key to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] in his quest to imbue five cars with intelligence. Megatron would face some resistance from the guardians below but learned that the Key could reprogram them. He would activate Vector Sigma and give life to the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]]. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}

When he returned to [[Earth]], [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] informed him that the Key possessed a different power on Earth which was capable of destroying it. Megatron accidentally learned, while studying the Key, that it was capable of transforming matter into metal. He began the process of transforming Earth into another Cybertron but was defeated by the [[Autobot]]s. [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] would later destroy the Key after he forced Megatron to drop it which reversed its effect on Earth. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}
{{-}}

===Beast Machines cartoon===
[[Image:Nightscream Technomatter.jpg|100px|thumb|Suddenly everyone realized how those trees on Earth had suffered.]]
Using the [[Diagnostic Drone]], [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] was able to obtain the code that formed the basis for the Key and materialize copies of it. He shot [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] with it, which caused the [[Maximal]] to turn to [[technomatter]] and go insane. The condition was contagious, as anyone Nightscream touched ''also'' became technomatter. Pleased with the results, Tankor faked his own death, knowing that [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] would find the decoy corpse and plunder the Key program from it. {{storylink|The Key}} Tankor hoped that Megatron would use it to destroy all organic and techno-organic life on Cybertron—including Megatron himself, who still possessed his dragon beast mode. Megatron had the key duplicated and added to his Vehicon drones, who used them to zap a huge vine grown from the Maximals' orchard. The Maximals were able to sever the vine before the effects of the technomatter reached the rest of their plants. {{storylink|The Catalyst}}

Eventually, after Tankor gave [[Optimus Primal]] the key to activate the [[Plasma Energy Chamber]] in an attempt to force Megatron's hand, both Megatron and Primal activated their doomsday weapons, apparently disintegrating all three of them, but (thanks to a last-second change of mind from Primal) leaving Cybertron intact. {{storylink|End of the Line}}

Primal would be resurrected by the Oracle shortly afterward, while Megatron would survive in a purely organic form. Rhinox, however, was lost to the Allspark. {{storylink|Fallout}}

Megatron later attempted to use the key to turn Cybertron into a [[technomatter]] planet but was stopped by Optimus Primal. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future}}
{{-}}

===''The AllSpark Almanac''===
The Key was one of ten figures that made up the Cybertronian zodiac. Its associated aspect was "secrets" and assigned [[orbital cycle]] was [[Rokuneon]]. Its constellation forms a key. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

===''Prime'' cartoon===
[[Image:OneShallRise3-KeytoVectorSigma.jpg|thumb|]]
The Key was within the possession of [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] when he led [[Team Prime]] on Earth. When [[Unicron]] was awakening within the planet's core, he decided to team up with [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] to defeat this threat. Before departing through a [[GroundBridge]] to Earth's core, he gave [[Jack Darby]] the Key, calling it "the key to the GroundBridge power supply" and stating that Jack had shown enough maturity to be entrusted with the device (the Key transformed into a smaller version of itself as it passed from one to the other). {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 2}} [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] later noticed the Key and asked Jack where he got it from; upon being told Optimus had given him the item Ratchet explained that there was no "key to the GroundBridge" and that the artifact was the Key to Vector Sigma, describing it as "one of Cybertron's most important relics." When Jack asked why Prime would entrust him with it, Ratchet answered that it was because Optimus did not expect to survive his confrontation with Unicron. {{Storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

Once Jack and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] reached Cybertron, they began using the key to try to track down Vector Sigma, and it began leading them towards [[Kaon]]. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 2}}

Within the Decepticon capital, the key triggered the rising of an ancient portal, which Jack entered while Arcee was otherwise occupied with an [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]]. He followed the key's signal down to the chamber containing Vector Sigma itself and used it to activate the ancient computer. Despite an attack by [[scraplet]]s, the Key received the contents of the [[Matrix of Leadership]] and Jack took it back with him to Earth, where he transferred his contents back into Optimus Prime's Matrix, restoring the Autobot leader's memory. The Key was then returned to Prime's possession. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 3}}

{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===Diamond Select Toys===
* The human-scaled [[Matrix of Leadership/toys|Autobot Matrix of Leadership]] includes a human-scaled Key to Vector Sigma.

===Timelines===
[[Image:VectorSigmaBotcon07b.jpg|right|180px|thumb|So the volley ball and dodge ball are the same thing.]]
* A removable key was packaged with a hollow plastic Vector Sigma, a special souvenir item offered [[Exclusive|exclusively]] at [[BotCon 2007]].
{{--}}

==Notes==
===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Vector Sigma no Kagi''' (ベクターシグマの鍵 ''Bekutā Shiguma no Kagi'', "Key to Vector Sigma"), '''Vector Sigma no Key''' (ベクターシグマのキー ''Bekutā Shiguma no Kī'')

[[Category:Animated]]
[[Category:Beast Machines technology]]
[[Category:Generation 1 objects]]
[[Category:Generation 1 technology]]
[[Category:MacGuffins]]
[[Category:Prime]]