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Shockwave (G1)

2010-06-04T04:53:32Z

96.238.135.121: /* The Transformers cartoon */

{{disambig3|Shockwave}}
{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2}}
:''Shockwave is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|continuity family of the same name]]. He was also briefly known as '''Shockblast'''.''

[[Image:Shockwavearealldead.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Transformers images don't GET much more awesome than this. Or [[The Reign of Starscream Issue Number One|imitated]].]]

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

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

As an [[Action Master]], he is [[Action Master partner|partnered]] with [[Fistfight]].

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

:''Japanese name'': '''Laserwave'''
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jèn pō''' (震波, "Shock Wave")
:''French name (Canada):'' '''Onde de Choc'''
:''Italian name':' '''Brutal'''
:''Hungarian name'': '''Sokkoló''' ("Shocker")
:''Portuguese name (Brazil comic):'' '''Onda de Choque''' ("Shock Wave")
:''Portuguese name (Portugal comic):'' '''Onda-Choque''' ("Shock-Wave")
:''Russian name'': '''Vzrivala''' (Взрывала, "Blaster")

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

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

[[Image:Laststand-autobotsarenomore.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]

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

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

[[Image:Megatrong1marvelhumiliation.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Early on, Shockwave establishes the pecking order.]]

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

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

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

[[Image:Repeatperformance-preparedtheprisoner.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Dammit, woman! Where's my supper?!]]

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

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

[[Image:Buzzsawyikes1.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Speaking of "pecking order"...]]

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

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

[[Image:Brainstorm-welcomeboost.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hasbro probably sold a LOT of Shockwave toys just from this panel.]]

Buster used Jetfire to travel to the Aerospace Plant, intending to free Optimus Prime. Jetfire's pre-programmed response to an Air Force attack, however, meant that Buster was knocked unconscious and delivered to Shockwave as a captive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[[Image:Shockwaveburnsup.jpg|thumb|250px|Shockwave's mistake was whittling [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fort Max]] down to the story-protected [[human]] center.]]

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

[[Image:Shockwavetimewars.jpg|thumb|left|250px|It's okay, [[Time Wars]] didn't make sense to any of us, either.]]

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

[[Image:Shockwavefightmoretalkless.jpg|thumb|250px|Hypothesis: Shockwave should internalize his thought process.]]

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

After Unicron was destroyed, Shockwave teamed up with Starscream once more to find the remains of the Autobots' Ark, which had crashed during the battle. {{storylink|Still Life!}} The pair succeeded in getting the craft airborne again, but were unaware that the numerous damaged Transformers in the ship's stasis pods had been reactivated with [[nucleon]]—Megatron among them—and that an alternate future version of [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]] was also on board. {{storylink|Exodus!}} Conflict erupted when Megatron and Galvatron met, but the sight of Shockwave saw the two Decepticons team up against him. To put an end to things once and for all, the revived Ratchet sent the Ark crashing to Earth. {{storylink|A Savage Circle}} There was no indication that Shockwave survived, suggesting that his evil had once and for all been put to rest.

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

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

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

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}

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

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

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

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

====Fun Publications ''Classics'' comics====
Megatron decided to keep Shockwave alive in spite of past betrayals because of the use of his logical skills. However, he decided to prevent further betrayals by keeping him only as a head hooked to some sort of life support. Megatron queried him on information regarding [[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]] and Shockwave told him all he knew, but when he requested computer access for more information, Megatron refused and closed up the chamber. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

===''Generation 1'' cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Yū Shimaka|Yutaka Shimaka]] (Japanese), [[Peter Musäus]] (German; Generation 1), [[Claus Brockmeyer]] (German; The Movie & Generation 2 Season One), [[Vladimiro Conti]] (Italian, second dub), [[Georges Atlas]] (French)

{{note|Shockwave’s cartoon portrayal is highly inconsistent with his appearances in all other fictional media. Instead of a coldly logical, power hungry rival to Megatron, in the cartoon Shockwave is consistently loyal and subservient. In a [[Shout! Factory|2009 retrospective documentary about the brand]], [[Hasbro]] staff said this disparity was a simple--though extreme--result of there not having been enough time during the production of the G1 cartoon and comic to get all the story basics firmly and consistently established from the outset. The character descriptions in the cartoon's [[production bible]] are mostly abridged versions of [[Bob Budiansky]]'s original character writeups, which went on to become the toys' [[Tech Spec|tech spec]]s... yet Shockwave's show bible description is entirely different from his tech spec [[bio]].}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By 2005, Megatron had returned to Cybertron and completely conquered the planet, leading Shockwave to rejoin Megatron's inner circle. He participated in the [[Battle of Autobot City]] and was present for both Starscream's coronation and his subsequent destruction by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], the reformatted version of Megatron. With Galvatron indisposed, Shockwave commanded the Decepticon forces during [[Unicron]]'s attack on Cybertron and his whereabouts after the ensuing battle was unknown. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

{{note|Though Shockwave's death was written into the movie's script, it did not make it into the released film. However, IDW's [[Transformers: The Animated Movie#4|20th Anniversary comic adaptation]] did include Shockwave's death. Shockwave's model did show up in season 3 episodes as possible animation errors, in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]" and "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]".}}

====''Story of Binaltech''====

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{note|Given his absence from other G2 media, it's possible Shockwave's mention in this [[Slipstream (G2)|typo-riddled]] text story was meant to be Soundwave. However, the G2 annual seems be its own [[micro-continuity]], so there's no reason Shockwave couldn't have been there.}}

===''Call of the Future'' video game===
[[Image:Ps2tatakai shockwave1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Absolute Power, etc., etc.]]

Shockwave grew frustrated with [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s increasingly abusive leadership, and when he discovered the [[Zel Quartz]], which could vastly boost the power of a Transformer, he implanted it into himself and staged a one-robot mutiny. Unfortunately, the power proved too much for Shockwave's systems and he ran wild. Neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons could stop him and they took massive casualties in the attempt. Shockwave eventually destroyed Cybertron, then set out on a quest to destroy all planets with life.

Elite teams of Autobots and Decepticons traveled to the past to prevent these events by either destroying or seizing the Zel Quartz years before Shockwave would find it. In the end, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] accidentally negated the quartz's powers, and Shockwave's reign of terror was averted.

Shockwave was among the present-day Decepticons sent to investigate the arrival of the visitors from the future. He remained ignorant of the circumstances that prompted their arrival. {{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|Transformers: Call of the Future}}
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===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:Shockwavedwtww1.jpg|thumb|left|Dreamwave is all his fault.]]

As a major player in the Decepticon army in Cybertron's past, Shockwave led the main attack on the Autobots' stronghold shortly after the appointment of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], and personally destroyed two [[Guardian robot|guardian robots]] with one blast in space gun mode. {{storylink|The War Within}}

After Megatron's apparent death in an early space bridge test, the Decepticon faction splintered, with [[Air Commander]] [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] creating the "[[Predacon (War Within)|Predacons]]" and High Auditor [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] the [[Ultracon|Ultracons]], while Shockwave led the Decepticons through the [[Dark Ages]] of Cybertron. During this period, his logic allowed him to put aside differences with Jetfire and the Autobots in order to defeat the greater evil of [[The Fallen]]. Meeting up with Jetfire to discuss the upsurge in violence, the two were attacked by the [[Chaos Trinity]], and Shockwave was taken down. Recovered by the newly built [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], Shockwave organized a counter strike against the three mystics that included Trypticon, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], and the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]]. Exactly how logic dictated that Shockwave bring an entire army to deal with three rogue Decepticons is unknown. Grimlock's [[Lightning Strike Coalition]] arrived, saying that they had a stake in this, and Shockwave agreed to a temporary ceasefire. After the Fallen was defeated, Shockwave and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] agreed to seal the [[Well of All Sparks]] with six coded barriers for each faction. They were to remain in place until Cybertron was united. Or, as Shockwave put it, [['Til all are one|until all are one]]. {{storylink|War Within: The Dark Ages}} As the Dark Ages came to an end, Shockwave was ready to sign a peace treaty with Ratbat's Ultracons and the Autobots, but the return of Megatron derailed the plan. Shockwave was tasked with reverse engineering the [[Quintesson]]-created clones he brought back to the planet with him, which suffered difficulties due to Megatron's refusal to divulge their origin, but greatly intrigued Shockwave. {{storylink|War Within: The Age of Wrath}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===IDW ''Generation 1'' comics===
{{ongoing}}

Long before the war, Shockwave was an understudy of some sort for the mad scientist [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}
[[Image:Shockwave Regenesis.jpg‎|200px|thumb|left|IDW is mostly his fault.]]
Six hundred thousand [[Units of time|meta-cycles]] ago, he had become a Decepticon scientist. He predicted the eventual destruction of Cybertron as a result of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], driving the combatants out across the galaxy. Knowing that control of resources in this period would be crucial, Shockwave decided to create his own secret network of energon sources on scattered planets, a tool he could use to ensure his own domination. Calling the project "[[Regenesis]]", Shockwave covertly launched rockets from Cybertron to several worlds with specific geological properties. The rockets contained a distilled form of energon that would act as a catalyst in their target planets, sparking chain reactions that, if properly regulated, would create seams of an extremely potent [[Ultra-Energon|energon ore]]. One of these planets was Earth, and after a long period (possibly millions of years), the energon reaction reached a critical point. Shockwave needed to plant global dampers to prevent the reaction from spiraling out of control, so he traveled to Earth and found it at the end of its [[Wikipedia:Pleistocene|most recent ice age]]. As he went about his business, he was unaware of a threat that had shadowed him.

Before departing Cybertron, Shockwave had been dispatched to "tidy up" after an energon raid by the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]], following the team of misfits back to Autobot territory and blowing up their stolen fuel. The Dynobots had vowed revenge, and after their explosion-inflicted injuries had been repaired, they tracked Shockwave to Earth. While Shockwave was busy on the planet, the Dynobots either destroyed or disabled his ship and then altered their own bodies to withstand the energon-rich atmosphere.
[[Image:Shockwaveg1idw.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Shockwave began to have second thoughts over his choice of manicurists.]]
As Shockwave finished planting the dampers and was preparing to visit other Regenesis worlds, the Dynobots teleported upon him. The attack threw Shockwave off-kilter with both its ferocity and its unexpectedness, as he had anticipated a stab in the back from Megatron but had failed to consider the simple vengeance of the Dynobots. Mentally and physically confounded by the assault, Shockwave deactivated his higher reasoning and allowed a subroutine simulating rage to take over. This brutal, violent Shockwave decimated the Dynobots, burning off the organic coating shielding them from the planet's high energon fields and forcing them into [[stasis lock]]. As the battle concluded, Shockwave restored his full neural operations and logged the emotional experience for further study. But, as his logic center churned away once more, it again failed to anticipate his enemies' chaotic nature. Specifically, Grimlock had set a dead-man's switch on [[Skyfire (ship)|the Dynobots' ship]], and before Shockwave could act upon his own victory, the ship shot an energy beam into a nearby volcano, causing it to erupt and consume all of the combatants.

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

[[Image:Shockwave Agent Red.jpg‎|200px|thumb|left|[[Transformers (2007)|Call him NBE-1]].]]
Coindentally, around the same time ([[2006]], to be precise), a [[Professor Goring|human archaeological team]] uncovered Shockwave's body. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} As the dig continued and the Dynobots also began to be unearthed, a government organization swept in and took the operation over. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5}} This organization, [[Skywatch]], had also recovered Ravage and Laserbeak back in 1985. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

Skywatch repaired and attempted to control their captives through neural inhibitors, but the results were consistently disastrous. As the Dynobots and cassettes wreaked havoc (due to the [[Machination]]'s interference) or otherwise pursued unknown agendas (due to Soundwave's interference), Skywatch commander [[Joshua Red]] decided to use a less sophisticated method on their last remaining subject. Bringing Shockwave online in their Salt Lake City base, Red told him there was a bomb in his head set to detonate in 24 hours if Skywatch didn't transmit a reset code. Shockwave's task was to take down the rogue [[Transformer]]s in that time. Shockwave casually asked if they knew how much damage he could do in 24 hours, then he made a beeline for Soundwave, who was active but still mode-locked in a [[Portland]], [[Oregon]] child's possession. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3}}
[[Image:Shockwave V Scorponok MD.jpg‎‎|200px|thumb|right|Hypothesis: [[...All This and Civil War 2|Turnabout is fair play]].]]
At the same time, Soundwave was using his broadcast abilities to block Skywatch's control over Ravage and Laserbeak, who retrieved Soundwave from his human captivity. The three returned to Mt. St. Helens, where Shockwave joined them and struck a deal. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4}} Deducing that his own weapon had mode-locked Soundwave, Shockwave offered to undo its effects, but only after they helped him thwart Skywatch's threat to himself. They agreed, and the first step of the plan was for the cassettes to help Shockwave feign obedience to Skywatch. Shockwave told Skywatch where to find the cassettes, and indeed Ravage and Laserbeak allowed themselves to be recaptured without a fight.

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

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

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

Shockwave eventually wound up on the same asteroid where many Decepticons had set up camp after escaping from Earth. He claimed to be working on rebuilding the Space Bridge. However, no one had bothered to observe his work, and even if they had, none of them had the knowledge to understand what he might be doing.{{storylink|The Transformers issue 7}}

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

{{-}}

===IDW ''Hearts of Steel'' comics===
After awakening in 19th century America, Shockwave took on the form of an ironclad warship and recruited inventor [[Tobias Muldoon]] to the Decepticon side (by pretending to be a friend to humanity). {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1}} He took Muldoon to his Decepticon comrades underwater, where he was questioned by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2}} As a huge ship, he did not participate in the [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]'s attempted attack on New York, and thus may have survived the story unharmed. Clever bot.

<br clear="all">

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

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

==Trivia==
[[Image:ToyCoAstroMagnum.jpg|250px|thumb|"Shackwave"? '''"Shackwave"?!''' RADIOWAVE, [[fandom|you]] idiots!]]
* Although Shockwave was depicted in the very first episode of the original cartoon series, he did not receive a toy release until early in 1985. Unlike the bulk of early Transformers that drew their molds from [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Diaclone]]'' and ''[[Micro Change|Microchange]]'' toys, Shockwave's original form was first produced by ToyCo as the "[http://www.robot-japan.com/Gallery/Takara/Transformers/G1/AstroMagnum/Toybox-Astro-Magnum.asp 4 Changeable Astro Magnum]". As such, similar non-Transformer toys using the same mold were released in 1985, including a [[RadioShack]] exclusive called "Galactic Man". A minor but amusing difference between the Radio Shack version, humorously called "Shackwave" by fans, and the [[Hasbro]] version, is that Shockwave's inconveniently placed trigger was remolded and appears less... inconvenient.
* The Astro Magnum mold also appears to have been licensed to a small company called Village Toys in the 1980s, where it showed up in their [http://counter-x.net/footnotes/convert-a-bots/index.html Convert-A-Bots] line under the name "N-4-SR". This release was [http://plasticcrack.net/archives/2009/04/convert-a-bot_shockwave_that_is_not_shockwave dark grey, with purple highlights].
[[Image:StudioOxCybertronBattleCons.jpg|250px|thumb|It's not easy being grey. It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.]]
* A Cybertronian battle scene in ''[[TV Magazine]]'' (reprinted in ''[[Transformers Generations]]'' and ''[[Transformers Visualworks]]'') depicts Shockwave not in purple, but in the original grey color scheme of the Astro Magnum/Galactic Man toy.
* Shockwave has been periodically drawn with two hands in various media. He first shows up this way in [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]], and the condition briefly reappears in [[Divide and Conquer]]. He also wound up this way on the cover of ''[[Ashes, Ashes...|G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]'' #3.
* Voice actor Corey Burton based Shockwave's voice on that of actor [[wikipedia:David Warner (actor)|David Warner]], specifically his role as evil computer thingy [[wikipedia:Sark (Tron)|Sark]] in ''[[wikipedia:Tron (film)|Tron]]''.<ref>[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/corey-burton/corey_burton_1.html Corey Burton interview on the Cybertron Chronicle]</ref> Burton even provided the voice of Sark in the video game ''[[wikipedia:Kingdom Hearts II|Kingdom Hearts II]]''.
* In contrast to Megatron, when Shockwave transforms, he does not [[Size changing|change size]]. He can also fly, aim, and fire himself in gun mode. [[Combiner|Combiners]] are large enough to wield him. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}
[[Image:Starbrigade.jpg|125px|thumb|Product and colors (and franchise) may vary.]]
* In the Japanese dub of the Generation 1 cartoon, Shockwave's personality was altered from the American interpretation—he was presented like a grizzled old man with a loud, raspy voice and a very short temper.
* One of the earliest pictured versions of Action Master Shockwave features some awkward proportions and Fistfight with reversed colors. Another oddity of this version is that Shockwave's right hand is sculpted in an open position.
* A silhouette of Action Master Shockwave's card art appears on the back of the [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] Star Brigade packaging... as [[Hawk (G.I. Joe)|Hawk]]!
* Shockwave is, of course, the basis for the ''[[Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' Decepticon [[homage]] [[character]] [[Shockblast (Energon)|Shockblast]].
* A company named Lanard Toys held the "Shockwave" [[trademark]] in the "toys" field for several years. For that reason, the ''Energon'' toy/character mentioned above was given the substitute name "Shockblast". The same name was later given to the ''[[Alternators]]'' version of G1 Shockwave for the same reason. However, by that point Lanard had abandoned their "Shockwave" trademark, making it available to Hasbro again. Unfortunately, the packaging for ''Alternators'' Shockwave had already been printed by that point, so Hasbro decided to go with the substitute name. They then slapped the name "Shockwave" onto the [[Shockwave (Cybertron)|next available]] [[Mini-Con]] just so they could reclaim the trademark. Subsequently, all new toys of the G1 Shockwave character, as well as [[Shockwave (Animated)|homage characters]], were released under the name "Shockwave" again. (Ironically, [[Hasbro]] later used the name "[http://www.yojoe.com/action/08/shockblast.shtml Shockblast]" for new toys of a ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I.Joe]]'' character originally also named "[http://www.yojoe.com/action/88/shockwave.shtml Shockwave]", possibly in order to avoid brand confusion; apparently, Hasbro view the name "Shockwave" as more iconic for the Transformers character than his G.I. Joe namesake.)

*According to a gamestop [[Transformers: War for Cybertron]] commercial, Shockwave is the Decepticon second in command, not Starscream.

* Shockwave bears the rather strange distinction of receiving a number of particularly high quality [[Knockoff|knockoffs]], all of which known retain the electronics and some even having odd [[wikipedia:Flash Gordon|Flash Gordonesque]] [[Retool|retools]].
<br clear="all">

==References==
<references/>

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

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Alternators]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Strategists]]

Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)

2010-05-26T22:28:42Z

96.238.135.121: /* Characters */

[[Image:Transformerswarforcybertron.jpg|center|500px|]]

'''''Transformers: War for Cybertron''''' is a video game developed by [[High Moon Studios]] and published by [[Activision Blizzard|Activision]], set before the Transformers take their war to [[Earth]]. [[Hasbro]] intends it to act as a foundation for ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' franchise storylines for years to come, and so they've been giving a lot of input and stressing character development.<ref name="tfw2005">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/video-games-17/tfw2005-war-for-cybertron-interview-with-aaron-archer-and-matt-tieger-168910/ War for Cybertron interview with Aaron Archer and Matt Tieger @ TFW2005.com]</ref> The upcoming book ''[[Exodus: The Official History of the War for Cybertron]]'' will be a tie-in to the game and its fiction, as will the cartoon series ''[[Transformers: Prime]]''.{{fact}}

Unlike previous ''Transformers'' video games which feature distinctly separate campaigns for the Autobots and the Decepticons (traditionally depicting the playable faction utterly defeating the other), ''War for Cybertron'' will feature a single, linear storyline; the Decepticon campaign occurs chronologically before the Autobot campaign, but [[Fandom|fans]] can play through them in whichever order they prefer.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/news/index.php?f_keyword=war+for+cybertron Seibertron Q&A with Activision]</ref>

The game itself will be an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter in which the player can choose his character from a small roster of either Autobots or Decepticons. The game will be released on [[June 22]], [[2010]], for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii (as ''[[Transformers: Cybertron Adventures]]''), Nintendo DS and personal computers.
{{quote|One shall stand.|Optimus}}
:{{quote|One shall fall.|Megatron}}

==Synopsis==

[[Image:WarforCybertron-OptimusPrime.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Prime auditions for Unreal Tournament. There were no survivors.]]

The game is set during the waning days of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] before coming to Earth. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], genuinely believing a caste system will bring Cybertron back to its [[Golden Age]], is researching a dangerous power source known as [[Dark Energon]] to fuel his conquest of the planet. [[Optimus Prime (G1)|A guy called Optimus]] assumes temporary command following an attack on [[Iacon]] that killed [[Zeta Prime]], but he is not yet leader of the Autobots and doesn't really want to be in charge either. <ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/video-games-17/war-for-cybertron---tfw2005-visits-high-moon-studios--gameplay-impressions-169615/ TFW2005 visits High Moon Studios]</ref>

[[Starscream]] joins the Decepticons as second-in-command, but does not consider either Optimus or Megatron to have the planet's best interests at heart. (We will apparently learn ''why'' Starscream is such a whopping traitor and why Megatron [[:Image:Infiltration6_takeyourpunishment.jpg|doesn't just]] [[:Image:Swordscream.JPG|kill him]]).

==Characters==
At the start of each level, the player can choose from one of three characters. Characters belong to one of four distinct classes:

* '''Leaders:''' Vehicle forms are trucks. Support their team with buffs and debuff the enemy team.
* '''Soldiers:''' Vehicle forms are tanks. Have heavy-hitting ranged and melee weaponry.
* '''Scientists:''' Vehicle forms are jets. Use a variety of tricky technology and precise long-distance weaponry to heal their allies and control the battlefield from a distance.
* '''Scouts:''' Vehicle forms are cars. Specialize in evasion and high-speed combat, along with disabling functions like EMP grenades.

The characters available will shift from level to level.

Known playable characters include:

'''Autobots'''
*[[Optimus_Prime_(G1)#War_for_Cybertron_video_game|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]]) ([http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/11/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-optimus-prime.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Johnny Yong Bosch]]) <ref>[http://twitter.com/johnnyyongbosch/status/11686292590 Twitter post by Johnny Yong Bosch confirming his role as Bumblebee.]</ref>
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]
*[[Zeta Prime]]
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]]
*[[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]
*[[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]]
*[[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]]
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]]
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (Best Buy preorder exclusive) <ref>[http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=0BAF66FE711A7E74FCE4428DB954168C.bbolsp-app04-47?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=4725946217004960156&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=Transformers+War+for+Cybertron&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960 Bestbuy.com preorder page featuring a special Jazz trailer]</ref>
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]
'''Decepticons'''
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/18/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-megatron.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/23/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-starscream.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]
*[[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]]
*[[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]]
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (Gamestop preorder Multiplayer exclusive)
*[[Demolishor (WFC)|Demolishor]] (Amazon.com preorder Multiplayer exclusive <ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-War-Cybertron-Playstation-3/dp/B0030HM2WO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1270579997&sr=8-1 Amazon.com preorder page featuring a special Demolishor trailer]</ref>, Play.com exclusive in UK)
*[[Slipstream]]
*[[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]

The Decepticon campaign includes a boss battle with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and the Autobot campaign includes defending [[Iacon]]. [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] appears in the IGN trailer, but he's, uh, probably not playable. Players should expect references to Cybertron locations taken from all previous Transformer stories, "things which may have only been referenced once, in one comic way back when, could be used and expanded upon."<ref name="tfw2005"/>

...They're totally reading the Wiki, aren't they? Hello, designers!

<center><gallery>
Image:WfC-IGN-Bumblebee.jpg|Bumblebee fires his weapon.
Image:WfC-IGN-RatchetBumblebeePrime.jpg|Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Prime in battle.
Image:WfC-IGN-OmegaSupreme.jpg|Omega Supreme attacks a platoon of Decepticons.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatron.jpg|Starscream and Megatron get ready for the ground assault.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatronSoundwave.jpg|More Decepticons!
Image:WfC-IGN-Soundwave.jpg|Soundwave sneaks around.
Image:WfC-IGN-Trypticon.jpg|Oh Primus.
Image:War for Cybertron Shockwave.jpg|Resistance really does seem to be futile.
Image:WfC-Kutaku-Grimlock.jpg|Dynobot?
Image: DemolishorWar for Cyb.jpg
</gallery></center>

==Features==
* Campaigns will be co-op online for the first time in a Transformers game.
* All playable characters have two special abilities, such as absorbing health from enemies or marking targets.
* The game will run on the Unreal engine.
* High Moon is prepared to "support the game after release," meaning either patches or downloadable content.
* Online Multiplayer is being developed for the game.
* All environments, including cover, can be destroyed.
* Characters transform at any time with an easy and quick tap of the Left Analog stick. There is no "cool down" so players can transform as often and as freely as they wish.
* The ability to create your own Transformers character for multiplayer. <ref>[http://www.3news.co.nz/Transformers-War-for-Cybertron-trailer/tabid/418/articleID/144347/Default.aspx War For Cybertron trailer news at 3news.co.nz]</ref>

==Production==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips" to you and me).

The art and design team did intense research (i.e. watched the original cartoon, looked at comics, and watched "typical sci-fi cool stuff" like ''Blade Runner'') to work out the aesthetic of Cybertron; lead artist [[Ivan Power]] remarked that the original cartoon was the main inspiration, and that Cybertron wasn't shown there so they had to rewatch the same few clips "over and over". While many of the city designs are elaborate and shiny, Decepticon [[Kaon]] was deliberately designed to be sharp-edged, rusting, and slapped together to show the Decepticons weren't interested in building a functioning society. <ref>[http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/21/transformers-art-video.aspx Game Informer: Behind the Art of War for Cybertron]</ref>

==Operation Transmission Recovery==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips/images" to you and me).

There are two dials, blue (outer) and yellow (inner). Using your mouse, you can drag the dial to set coordinates. The blue dial is set by aligning it to marks on the outer circle. When aligned, it becomes a blue ring. After that, the yellow dial is set so that signal strength is full, as indicated by a meter on the right. Once a transmission is unlocked its symbol lights up and the "Total Recovered" amount increases a little bit. When you reach 100%, it tells you how many hours remain until next batch.

As of January 12, 2010, the following transmissions (Batch 9), almost all of which are part of the second trailer (link below), were available:

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5
| '''S. No.'''
| '''Blue'''
| '''Yellow'''
| '''Type'''
| '''Description'''
|-
| 1
| 351
| 327
| Video
| Game Trailer (unlocked by default).
|-
| 2
| 018
| 088
| Video
| Starscream flying.
|-
| 3
| 018
| 088
| Image
| Starscream standing.
|-
| 4
| 029
| 209
| Video
| Battle scene: Camera behind Autobots, Optimus is prominent.
|-
| 5
| 040
| 328
| Image
| Holographic map of Cybertron and its two moons.
|-
| 6
| 051
| 110
| Image
| Cybertron .
|-
| 7
| 073
| 190
| Image
| Optimus vs an average Decepticon.
|-
| 8
| 085
| 298
| Video
| Decepticon insignia (on Starscream).
|-
| 9
| 096
| 347
| Video
| A bomb explosion on Cybertron's surface (possibly the same one which made a huge hole in it).
|-
| 10
| 107
| 035
| Image
| Megatron crushes cranial unit of a poor Autobot, Starscream is visible behind him, just before the ground assault.
|-
| 11
| 120
| 040
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from a moon.
|-
| 12
| 140
| 201
| Image
| Starscream flying towards Cybertron .
|-
| 13
| 162
| 359
| Image
| A red robot (Ironhide?).
|-
| 14
| 173
| 003
| Image
| A hall (Council of Autobot Elders?).
|-
| 15
| 192
| 147
| Video
| Injured Autobot, trying to get up .
|-
| 16
| 203
| 094
| Video
| Battle scene: Trypticon joins the battle as a burning asteroid (Entry mode) behind Decepticons and Autobots run towards it.
|-
| 17
| 214
| 004
| Image
| A city seen from a tunnel .
|-
| 18
| 225
| 199
| Image
| A city tower falling and hitting another tower.
|-
| 19
| 265
| 011
| Image
| Optimus Prime.
|-
| 20
| 284
| 021
| Image
| Megatron firing his gun (at YOU).
|-
| 21
| 295
| 249
| Video
| Optimus uses his axe on a Decepticon.
|-
| 22
| 306
| 041
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from another moon.
|-
| 23
| 317
| 081
| Video
| City skyline, camera moving down, some music in the background (start of the second trailer).
|-
| 24
| 328
| 221
| Video
| Battle scene: A missile hits a battlestation and an Autobot falls down from it.
|}

==Toy tie-ins==
[[Hasbro]] has confirmed that several toys will be made to tie into the promotion of the video game. These include figures of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee. At [[Toy Fair 2010]], they were confirmed to be part of the [[Generations (toyline)|''Generations'' toyline]].

<gallery>
Image:WFC Optimus Prime toy.jpg
Image:WFC Megatron toy.jpg
Image:WFC Bumblebee toy.jpg
</gallery>

==Comic adaptation==

[[IDW Publishing]] are bringing out a comic based on the game. News of this first got leaked when [[Australia|Australian]] website JB Hi-Fi offered a ''free'' copy of issue 1 if you pre-ordered the game from them. <ref>[http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/game/ps3/transformers-war-for-cybertron-bonus-comic-book/513755 TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON (Bonus Comic Book)]</ref> The artist to the cover is revealed to be [[Marcelo Matere]], who updated his DeviantArt gallery with the inked version, <ref>[http://mmatere.deviantart.com/art/War-of-Cybertron-Cover-inks-165279485 Inks-only comic cover at Marcelo's DA gallery]</ref> with [[Priscilla Tramontano]] as colorist. <ref>[http://noprips.deviantart.com/art/War-of-Cybertron-Cover-165344432 Colored cover at Priscilla's DA gallery]</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersgame.com/ Official site]
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-debut-transformers-war/59860 Exclusive trailer via 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-gameplay-transformers-war/62343 Exclusive gameplay trailer via 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/54929/transformers-war-for-cybertron/videos/transformerscyber_trl_revealtrailer_10710.html;jsessionid=8yroitu115mw Second, fuller trailer from IGN]
*[http://gameinformer.com/mag/cybertron.aspx Behind the scenes bios and information from ''Game Informer'' magazine.]
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gdc-10-transformers-war/62925 Civil War Story Interview at 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6450/20/ Press release]

[[Category: Video games]]

Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)

2010-05-26T22:27:23Z

96.238.135.121: /* Characters */

[[Image:Transformerswarforcybertron.jpg|center|500px|]]

'''''Transformers: War for Cybertron''''' is a video game developed by [[High Moon Studios]] and published by [[Activision Blizzard|Activision]], set before the Transformers take their war to [[Earth]]. [[Hasbro]] intends it to act as a foundation for ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' franchise storylines for years to come, and so they've been giving a lot of input and stressing character development.<ref name="tfw2005">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/video-games-17/tfw2005-war-for-cybertron-interview-with-aaron-archer-and-matt-tieger-168910/ War for Cybertron interview with Aaron Archer and Matt Tieger @ TFW2005.com]</ref> The upcoming book ''[[Exodus: The Official History of the War for Cybertron]]'' will be a tie-in to the game and its fiction, as will the cartoon series ''[[Transformers: Prime]]''.{{fact}}

Unlike previous ''Transformers'' video games which feature distinctly separate campaigns for the Autobots and the Decepticons (traditionally depicting the playable faction utterly defeating the other), ''War for Cybertron'' will feature a single, linear storyline; the Decepticon campaign occurs chronologically before the Autobot campaign, but [[Fandom|fans]] can play through them in whichever order they prefer.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/news/index.php?f_keyword=war+for+cybertron Seibertron Q&A with Activision]</ref>

The game itself will be an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter in which the player can choose his character from a small roster of either Autobots or Decepticons. The game will be released on [[June 22]], [[2010]], for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii (as ''[[Transformers: Cybertron Adventures]]''), Nintendo DS and personal computers.
{{quote|One shall stand.|Optimus}}
:{{quote|One shall fall.|Megatron}}

==Synopsis==

[[Image:WarforCybertron-OptimusPrime.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Prime auditions for Unreal Tournament. There were no survivors.]]

The game is set during the waning days of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] before coming to Earth. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], genuinely believing a caste system will bring Cybertron back to its [[Golden Age]], is researching a dangerous power source known as [[Dark Energon]] to fuel his conquest of the planet. [[Optimus Prime (G1)|A guy called Optimus]] assumes temporary command following an attack on [[Iacon]] that killed [[Zeta Prime]], but he is not yet leader of the Autobots and doesn't really want to be in charge either. <ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/video-games-17/war-for-cybertron---tfw2005-visits-high-moon-studios--gameplay-impressions-169615/ TFW2005 visits High Moon Studios]</ref>

[[Starscream]] joins the Decepticons as second-in-command, but does not consider either Optimus or Megatron to have the planet's best interests at heart. (We will apparently learn ''why'' Starscream is such a whopping traitor and why Megatron [[:Image:Infiltration6_takeyourpunishment.jpg|doesn't just]] [[:Image:Swordscream.JPG|kill him]]).

==Characters==
At the start of each level, the player can choose from one of three characters. Characters belong to one of four distinct classes:

* '''Leaders:''' Vehicle forms are trucks. Support their team with buffs and debuff the enemy team.
* '''Soldiers:''' Vehicle forms are tanks. Have heavy-hitting ranged and melee weaponry.
* '''Scientists:''' Vehicle forms are jets. Use a variety of tricky technology and precise long-distance weaponry to heal their allies and control the battlefield from a distance.
* '''Scouts:''' Vehicle forms are cars. Specialize in evasion and high-speed combat, along with disabling functions like EMP grenades.

The characters available will shift from level to level.

Known playable characters include:

'''Autobots'''
*[[Optimus_Prime_(G1)#War_for_Cybertron_video_game|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]]) ([http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/11/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-optimus-prime.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Johnny Yong Bosch]]) <ref>[http://twitter.com/johnnyyongbosch/status/11686292590 Twitter post by Johnny Yong Bosch confirming his role as Bumblebee.]</ref>
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]
*[[Zeta Prime]]
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]]
*[[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]
*[[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]]
*[[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]]
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]]
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (Best Buy preorder exclusive) <ref>[http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=0BAF66FE711A7E74FCE4428DB954168C.bbolsp-app04-47?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=4725946217004960156&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=Transformers+War+for+Cybertron&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960 Bestbuy.com preorder page featuring a special Jazz trailer]</ref>
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]
'''Decepticons'''
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/18/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-megatron.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/23/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-starscream.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]
*[[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]]
*[[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]]
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (Gamestop preorder Multiplayer exclusive)
*[[Demolishor (WFC)|Demolishor]] (Amazon.com preorder Multiplayer exclusive <ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-War-Cybertron-Playstation-3/dp/B0030HM2WO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1270579997&sr=8-1 Amazon.com preorder page featuring a special Demolishor trailer]</ref>, Play.com exclusive in UK)
*[[Slipstream]]
*[[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]

The Decepticon campaign includes a boss battle with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and the Autobot campaign includes defending [[Iacon]]. [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] appears in the IGN trailer, but he's, uh, probably not playable. Players should expect references to Cybertron locations taken from all previous Transformer stories, "things which may have only been referenced once, in one comic way back when, could be used and expanded upon."<ref name="tfw2005"/>

...They're totally reading the Wiki, aren't they? Hello, designers!

<center><gallery>
Image:WfC-IGN-Bumblebee.jpg|Bumblebee fires his weapon.
Image:WfC-IGN-RatchetBumblebeePrime.jpg|Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Prime in battle.
Image:WfC-IGN-OmegaSupreme.jpg|Omega Supreme attacks a platoon of Decepticons.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatron.jpg|Starscream and Megatron get ready for the ground assault.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatronSoundwave.jpg|More Decepticons!
Image:WfC-IGN-Soundwave.jpg|Soundwave sneaks around.
Image:WfC-IGN-Trypticon.jpg|Oh Primus.
Image:War for Cybertron Shockwave.jpg|Resistance really does seem to be futile.
Image:WfC-Kutaku-Grimlock.jpg|Dynobot?
Image: DemolishorWar for Cyb.jpg
</gallery></center>

==Features==
* Campaigns will be co-op online for the first time in a Transformers game.
* All playable characters have two special abilities, such as absorbing health from enemies or marking targets.
* The game will run on the Unreal engine.
* High Moon is prepared to "support the game after release," meaning either patches or downloadable content.
* Online Multiplayer is being developed for the game.
* All environments, including cover, can be destroyed.
* Characters transform at any time with an easy and quick tap of the Left Analog stick. There is no "cool down" so players can transform as often and as freely as they wish.
* The ability to create your own Transformers character for multiplayer. <ref>[http://www.3news.co.nz/Transformers-War-for-Cybertron-trailer/tabid/418/articleID/144347/Default.aspx War For Cybertron trailer news at 3news.co.nz]</ref>

==Production==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips" to you and me).

The art and design team did intense research (i.e. watched the original cartoon, looked at comics, and watched "typical sci-fi cool stuff" like ''Blade Runner'') to work out the aesthetic of Cybertron; lead artist [[Ivan Power]] remarked that the original cartoon was the main inspiration, and that Cybertron wasn't shown there so they had to rewatch the same few clips "over and over". While many of the city designs are elaborate and shiny, Decepticon [[Kaon]] was deliberately designed to be sharp-edged, rusting, and slapped together to show the Decepticons weren't interested in building a functioning society. <ref>[http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/21/transformers-art-video.aspx Game Informer: Behind the Art of War for Cybertron]</ref>

==Operation Transmission Recovery==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips/images" to you and me).

There are two dials, blue (outer) and yellow (inner). Using your mouse, you can drag the dial to set coordinates. The blue dial is set by aligning it to marks on the outer circle. When aligned, it becomes a blue ring. After that, the yellow dial is set so that signal strength is full, as indicated by a meter on the right. Once a transmission is unlocked its symbol lights up and the "Total Recovered" amount increases a little bit. When you reach 100%, it tells you how many hours remain until next batch.

As of January 12, 2010, the following transmissions (Batch 9), almost all of which are part of the second trailer (link below), were available:

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5
| '''S. No.'''
| '''Blue'''
| '''Yellow'''
| '''Type'''
| '''Description'''
|-
| 1
| 351
| 327
| Video
| Game Trailer (unlocked by default).
|-
| 2
| 018
| 088
| Video
| Starscream flying.
|-
| 3
| 018
| 088
| Image
| Starscream standing.
|-
| 4
| 029
| 209
| Video
| Battle scene: Camera behind Autobots, Optimus is prominent.
|-
| 5
| 040
| 328
| Image
| Holographic map of Cybertron and its two moons.
|-
| 6
| 051
| 110
| Image
| Cybertron .
|-
| 7
| 073
| 190
| Image
| Optimus vs an average Decepticon.
|-
| 8
| 085
| 298
| Video
| Decepticon insignia (on Starscream).
|-
| 9
| 096
| 347
| Video
| A bomb explosion on Cybertron's surface (possibly the same one which made a huge hole in it).
|-
| 10
| 107
| 035
| Image
| Megatron crushes cranial unit of a poor Autobot, Starscream is visible behind him, just before the ground assault.
|-
| 11
| 120
| 040
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from a moon.
|-
| 12
| 140
| 201
| Image
| Starscream flying towards Cybertron .
|-
| 13
| 162
| 359
| Image
| A red robot (Ironhide?).
|-
| 14
| 173
| 003
| Image
| A hall (Council of Autobot Elders?).
|-
| 15
| 192
| 147
| Video
| Injured Autobot, trying to get up .
|-
| 16
| 203
| 094
| Video
| Battle scene: Trypticon joins the battle as a burning asteroid (Entry mode) behind Decepticons and Autobots run towards it.
|-
| 17
| 214
| 004
| Image
| A city seen from a tunnel .
|-
| 18
| 225
| 199
| Image
| A city tower falling and hitting another tower.
|-
| 19
| 265
| 011
| Image
| Optimus Prime.
|-
| 20
| 284
| 021
| Image
| Megatron firing his gun (at YOU).
|-
| 21
| 295
| 249
| Video
| Optimus uses his axe on a Decepticon.
|-
| 22
| 306
| 041
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from another moon.
|-
| 23
| 317
| 081
| Video
| City skyline, camera moving down, some music in the background (start of the second trailer).
|-
| 24
| 328
| 221
| Video
| Battle scene: A missile hits a battlestation and an Autobot falls down from it.
|}

==Toy tie-ins==
[[Hasbro]] has confirmed that several toys will be made to tie into the promotion of the video game. These include figures of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee. At [[Toy Fair 2010]], they were confirmed to be part of the [[Generations (toyline)|''Generations'' toyline]].

<gallery>
Image:WFC Optimus Prime toy.jpg
Image:WFC Megatron toy.jpg
Image:WFC Bumblebee toy.jpg
</gallery>

==Comic adaptation==

[[IDW Publishing]] are bringing out a comic based on the game. News of this first got leaked when [[Australia|Australian]] website JB Hi-Fi offered a ''free'' copy of issue 1 if you pre-ordered the game from them. <ref>[http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/game/ps3/transformers-war-for-cybertron-bonus-comic-book/513755 TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON (Bonus Comic Book)]</ref> The artist to the cover is revealed to be [[Marcelo Matere]], who updated his DeviantArt gallery with the inked version, <ref>[http://mmatere.deviantart.com/art/War-of-Cybertron-Cover-inks-165279485 Inks-only comic cover at Marcelo's DA gallery]</ref> with [[Priscilla Tramontano]] as colorist. <ref>[http://noprips.deviantart.com/art/War-of-Cybertron-Cover-165344432 Colored cover at Priscilla's DA gallery]</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersgame.com/ Official site]
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-debut-transformers-war/59860 Exclusive trailer via 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-gameplay-transformers-war/62343 Exclusive gameplay trailer via 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/54929/transformers-war-for-cybertron/videos/transformerscyber_trl_revealtrailer_10710.html;jsessionid=8yroitu115mw Second, fuller trailer from IGN]
*[http://gameinformer.com/mag/cybertron.aspx Behind the scenes bios and information from ''Game Informer'' magazine.]
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gdc-10-transformers-war/62925 Civil War Story Interview at 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6450/20/ Press release]

[[Category: Video games]]