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Shockwave (G1)

2012-03-12T19:10:10Z

96.238.157.169: /* Foreign names */

{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2|hofsilver}}
{{disambig3|Shockwave}}{{suite}}
:''Shockwave is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|continuity family of the same name]].''

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

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

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

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

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

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====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 (polity)|Iacon]] and Tarn, Tarn went to war with Vos, and both cities were destroyed by an exchange of [[Photon missile|photon missiles]]. The survivors of both cities—presumably including Shockwave—were gathered together by the ex-gladiator [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]], who used their bitterness towards Iacon to unite them under his control as the Decepticons.'' {{storylink|State Games}}

[[Image:Laststand-autobotsarenomore.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Shockwave shot the mini out of miniseries.]]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)|Fortress Maximus]] down to the story-protected [[human]] center.]]

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

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

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

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

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

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

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
''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)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] had somehow restored his Dinobots to life without the Creation Matrix, Shockwave and his soldiers attempted to force the secret out of the Dinobots. They failed, miserably.'' {{storylink|Two Steps Back!}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''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), [[Jorge García]] (Latin American)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}
===''Transformers Legends''===
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|Stormbringer #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 [[Goring|human archaeological team]] uncovered Shockwave's body. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} As the dig continued and the Dynobots also began to be unearthed, a government organization swept in and took the operation over. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} This organization, [[Skywatch]], had also recovered Ravage and Laserbeak back in 1985. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{spoiler|The World & Everything in It|March 22, 2012}}
[[Needlenose]], fed up with working as an enforcer for the Autobots, accused Shockwave, Soundwave and [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] of just sitting around instead of doing something about the Decepticons' situation. {{storylink|The Autonomy Lesson}} Of course he was wrong: Shockwave is always doing ''something''. In this case he, along with Soundwave, worked with [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] to take control of the [[inhibitor/deterrence chip]]s implanted in them by the Autobots. He seemed uninterested in Ratbat's further plans to fight their captors, only saying "Events will play out as they will." when asked for his opinion. {{storylink|The World & Everything in It}}
{{-}}

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

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

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

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

==Games==
===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
{{bigquote|Megatron's personal watchdog. With the ability to transform into a laser gun, Shockwave boasts a powerful attack!|The [[narrator]]|"[[The Transformers (PS2)]]"}}
:''Voice actor'': [[Barry Gjerde]]
[[Image:Ps2tatakai shockwave1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Absolute Power, etc., etc.]]

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

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

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

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

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

===Transformers G1: Awakening===
[[Image:Gluawakening shockwave.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
Shockwave enslaved every Autobot on Cybertron millenia before the Autobots returned. He planned a "welcome party" for them when they arrived through the space bridge, captured them, confiscated their weapons, and put them in a prison(which used to be a field hospital). It's also a possibility that he was the one who turned the hospital into said prison. {{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
{{charstubfiction}}

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

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

==Notes==
* [[Bob Budiansky]] said Shockwave was "my attempt to take [[Spock]] from ''Star Trek'' and make him into a Decepticon".<ref>[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954/t/Bob-Budiansky.html Rusting Carcass interview]</ref>
[[Image:StudioOxCybertronBattleCons.jpg|250px|thumb|It's not easy being grey. It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.]]
* According to early drafts of the script for the series' pilot episode, Shockwave was at one point to be called "Flash Beam".
* A Cybertronian battle scene 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}}
* 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.
* Shockwave is, of course, the basis for the ''[[Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' Decepticon [[homage]] [[character]] [[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]] [[Shockwave (Movie)|characters]], were released under the name "Shockwave" again. (Ironically, [[Hasbro]] later used the name "[http://www.yojoe.com/action/08/shockblast.shtml Shockblast]" for new toys of a ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I.Joe]]'' character originally also named "[http://www.yojoe.com/action/88/shockwave.shtml Shockwave]", possibly in order to avoid brand confusion; apparently, Hasbro view the name "Shockwave" as more iconic for the Transformers character than his G.I. Joe namesake.)

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

==References==
<references/>

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

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

Matrix of Leadership

2012-03-10T15:55:20Z

96.238.157.169: /* The Transformers (PS2) */

{{disambig3|Matrix}}
{{featured}}
{{suite}}

[[Image:Matrix.jpg|right|375px|thumb|You put the life in the coconut.]]

The '''Autobot Matrix of Leadership''' (also known as the '''Creation Matrix''' or rarely, the '''Autobot Matrix of Power'''<ref>[[The Autobots Have a Special Mission for:]]</ref> or the '''Matrix of Light'''<ref>For the majority of the ''Transformers: The Movie'' sticker book (see right), though it is also referred to as the "Matrix of Leadership" once or twice.</ref>) is an [[sacred implement|artifact of great power]], traditionally carried by the [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot]]s. Although its appearance differs slightly from [[universal stream]] to universal stream, it generally appears as a glowing crystal sphere encased within a hollow metal shell, with a handle on either side.

By most accounts, the Matrix is a conduit for the power of [[Primus]], the creator-god of the [[Transformer|Transformers]], serving as a means of access to the [[Allspark]], the "afterlife" of the Transformer race, through which it can either bestow new Transformer life, or provide its wielder with a means of communicating with the deceased leaders who have come before them. These divine powers put it at the centre of much Autobot [[religion]], spirituality and prophecy; while many [[Decepticon]]s are less inclined to believe in its divinity, they certainly covet the increased physical power it is known to convey upon its holders, and several have made obtaining the Matrix one of their primary goals. As one of the embodiments of the power of Primus, the Matrix is antithesis to [[Unicron]], and one of the very few things the chaos-bringer fears.

{{quote|But one day... an Autobot shall rise from our ranks... and use the power of the Matrix... to light... our [[darkest hour]].|A [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dying Optimus Prime]]|''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''}}

==Conceptual history==
[[Image:SecondGeneration prime gives buster matrix.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The Matrix made its fictional debut when [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] transferred it to [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]], an event recounted in this scene from "[[Second Generation!]]".]]
The Matrix and the concepts associated with it have continuously evolved over twenty-five-plus years, with different pieces of ''Transformers'' fiction creating new ideas centred on it, which have in turn influenced its representation in ''other'' fiction, and so on. The current nature of the Matrix as it is understood is beholden to quite a few different sources, and its development is described here to minimize confusion. For the specifics on the different interpretations of the Matrix in various continuities, see the "Fiction" section below.

The concept of the Matrix originates from the brain of [[Marvel Comics]] writer [[Bob Budiansky]] and is a result of the "no girls"/"no gender" policy enforced by [[Hasbro]] regarding their then-new robot brand. Because there were no female robots/the robots had no gender, Budiansky came up with an asexual method of reproduction in the form of the Creation Matrix, a "[[Primal Program]]" housed within the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] that could bring new Transformers to life, which would also prove a helpful plot device when he was required to introduce new characters to the series.<ref>[http://www.bwtf.com/interviews/bb204/ Bob Budiansky Interview at BWTF.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.metalmachine.net/blog/2009/11/21/todds-take-with-bob-budiansky-the-architect-of-the-transformers/ Metal Machine interview with Bob]</ref><ref>[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Rusting Carcass interview]</ref>

The appearance of the Matrix in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 animated series]] originated with early script drafts of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', which introduced the idea of "[[Life Spark]]s", very similar to the [[spark]]s that would later be introduced with ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. The Matrix was not present in the earliest known incarnation of the movie; instead, upon his death, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] transferred his own Life Spark to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], with the implication that this was standard practise among Autobot leaders. This idea was eventually discarded, replaced with a physical object known as the "Matrix of Leadership", which evidently derived its name from the Creation Matrix of the comic book. The episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]" attempted to introduce the concept of the Matrix to the animated universe before the movie, but the dialogue containing the reference was deleted during production. The line, which dated the creation of the Matrix to 4.5 million years ago, would ultimately have conflicted greatly with what would be learned of the Matrix in the future.

[[Image:FFOD4 passing the matrix.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Zeta Prime]] inherits the Matrix from [[Guardian Prime]] in the first recounting of the Prime lineage from "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]].]]

Virtually nothing of the Matrix's nature was actually divulged in the finished film, where it was treated as simply a magic talisman of prophecy that was the antithesis of [[Unicron]]. The idea that had originated with the Life Spark concept—that of dying Autobot leaders merging their lifeforces with others—remained, albeit in a vague way, as Optimus Prime intoned upon his deathbed that he would soon be "one with the Matrix". The mini-series "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]" fully expanded on the meaning of his line, revealing that the Matrix contained the lifeforces of all the deceased [[ancient Autobots|Autobot leaders]] who had previously held it, collectively known as the "Wisdom of the Ages," which could be consulted for aid in moments of need.

[[Image:Sentinel prime lou.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The dying [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] passes the Matrix to Optimus Prime in this flashback scene from "[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]".]]

Having already cannibalized many of the movie's best elements for use in his comic book stories, writer [[Simon Furman]] contradicted Bob Budiansky's US comic book stories by presenting the Matrix as it had appeared in the film, as a physical object, in his own UK storylines, and carried this over to the US comic when he later began writing it. This alteration was also reflected in a ''[[The Transformers Universe|Universe]]'' profile written for Powermaster Optimus Prime around the time, where Budiansky's "program" concept and the cartoon's "physical object" idea were merged with the explanation that the program was encoded in light patterns in the Matrix's crystal core. As Furman's run progressed, the "lifeforces of previous holders" concept was also adapted into the comics, with the Matrix possessing a genetic memory of those that had held it. Most notably, in both UK and US books, Furman crafted a story to explain the origins of the Matrix, why Unicron was vulnerable to it, and how it could create new life, ultimately revealing it to be the essence of the Transformers' creator-god, [[Primus]].

It was the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|''Beast Machines'' animated series]] which made the next big addition to the growing mythology of the Matrix when it introduced the [[Allspark]], the extradimensional source of all Transformers sparks living or dead, which was also known as "the Matrix." Although it did not explicitly make any callbacks to the Matrix as seen in the Generation 1 cartoons or comics, the implication was obvious—rather than ''contain'' anything, the physical Matrix object from those continuities was a ''gateway'' to the Allspark. Where the animated "Matrix of Leadership" and the comic book "Creation Matrix" had previously seemed incompatible, this revelation united them conceptually—the lifeforces of the dead from the cartoon and the ability to bring new life from the comics could now both be tied to the features of the Allspark dimension. [[Dreamwave Productions]]' comics proceeded to cement this concept, depicting a Matrix of Leadership that possessed both these traits, and explicitly identifying it not as a holder of Primus's power, but a ''conduit'' for it.

The Matrix took something of a back seat in major fiction in the latter years of the 2000s, effectively replaced in the worlds of the [[live-action film series|live-action movies]] and ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' by the [[AllSpark]]—a mystical object that, while physically distinct from the Matrix, possessed its life-giving powers and record of Transformer history. Before long, however, both these continuities reintroduced the idea of the Matrix: In both universes, the AllSpark was destroyed and its knowledge and power was reincarnated in an object either specifically named, or designed to look like, the Matrix, thereby bringing the whole concept full-circle.

Finally, the recent revelation (implied in the movies, confirmed by [[Fun Publications]]' "[[Crossing Over]]" and reiterated in ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'') that the energy that is the basis of Transformer life is actually the rarefied form of the Transformers' fuel, [[energon]] itself, suggests that the energy of the Matrix is also (a form of) energon. This had actually been portrayed as the case in some formerly-questionable pieces of fiction such as the [[Keepers Trilogy]] novels, which retroactively makes sense now.

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Prima.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Intel Inside!]]

When Primus created the Transformer race, before entering voluntary systems shutdown, he bestowed upon them a genetic matrix containing his essence and the majority of his power, which could be used to give life to more Transformers so that the race might grow without his direct involvement. {{storylink|Primal Scream}} Later named the "Creation Matrix", this divine gift took the form of a "[[Primal Program]]" encoded in intricate patterns of light within a crystal,<ref>[http://ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Optimus_Prime_PM Powermaster Optimus Prime's Marvel comic profile]</ref> which was passed from leader to leader down through the millennia. The first holder of the Creation Matrix was the first Transformer, [[Prima]], then subsequently [[Prime Nova]], [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] and in the modern era, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|Dark Creation}} The Autobot leaders evidently elected to keep the true nature of the Matrix a secret, since most other Transformers were shown to believe it was a program stored within the mind of Optimus Prime himself, rather than housed within a separate physical object. This mistaken belief gave rise to a legend that claimed that the Program was encoded into a new Autobot leader once every ten millennia. {{storylink|The New Order}}

[[Image:WhoseLifeforce prime and longtooth.jpg|left|200px|thumb]]

''At one point during his tenure as Autobot leader, Optimus Prime came across [[Longtooth]] struggling to save the life of [[Longtooth's comrade|a fallen comrade]] on the battlefield after a particularly ferocious conflict. Mistakenly believing he was witnessing a great show of Autobot spirit (when in actuality, Longtooth was simply terrified of being the last one left alive), Prime extracted a tiny portion of the Creation Matrix's energy and gave it to Longtooth, telling him to use it wisely. Once Prime had left, however, Longtooth gave into his fear and kept the Matrix energy for himself, to serve as a "spare life" that allowed him to be daring and brave on the battlefield without fearing death.'' {{storylink|Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?}}

[[Image:DisintegratedCircuits buster uses matrix.jpg|right|thumb|275px]]

When the Transformers' war moved to [[Earth]] in 1984, current Decepticon leader [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] elected to increase his forces by creating new Transformers with the power of the Creation Matrix. Capturing the [[Autobot]]s and decapitating Optimus Prime, Shockwave tapped the energies of the Matrix and brought the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] to life. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}} Prime was able to transfer the Matrix into the mind of the Autobots' human ally, [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]], {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}} thereby preventing Shockwave from animating his newest construct, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], but the presence of the Matrix within Buster's mind gave the boy incredible powers over machinery. {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}} {{storylink|Brainstorm!}} Deducing that Buster possessed the Matrix, Shockwave programmed the unliving Jetfire to capture the boy, but Buster used the Matrix to bring Jetfire under his control and used him to thwart Shockwave's plan and save Optimus Prime. With Prime and the Autobots rescued, Buster transferred the Creation Matrix back to the Autobot leader, {{storylink|Prime Time!}} and Prime subsequently used the Matrix to give Jetfire true life. {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}}

''Residual energy from the Matrix that lingered in Buster's brain soon began to give the youth nightmarish visions, causing him to black out and create strange images of previously-unheard of Transformers.'' {{storylink|Devastation Derby!}} ''Seeking to help Buster, the Autobots hooked him up to equipment that would allow them to monitor his dreams, and discovered that the Matrix was showing them all them a vision of the future, and the creation of the [[Special Teams]].'' {{storylink|Second Generation!}}

[[Image:Matrixflame.jpg|left|thumb|275px|If the Autobots were Jewish, it would have burned another six days.]]

''The Matrix was also known to have an analog on Cybertron, the [[Matrix Flame]], which burned constantly as long as the Matrix still existed, no matter where in the universe it was. It could also be used to channel the energy of the Matrix, which the Autobots on Cybertron did to bring life to their new warrior, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]].<ref>Ultra Magnus profile page in Marvel UK [[Target: 2006#Defeat!|#81]]</ref> Not long after, however, the Matrix Flame flickered out when Optimus Prime was shunted into [[limbo]] by time-travelling Decepticons, leading the Autobots on Cybertron to send Magnus to Earth to investigate. Prime was returned in due time, and the Matrix Flame re-ignited.'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

''Following the earlier vision from the Matrix,'' the Autobots created the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], and Optimus Prime used the Matrix to bring them to life. Little did the Autobots realise, however, that [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] had deduced a way to usurp the Matrix's power, using a [[cerebro-shell]] previously planted in Prime's body by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] to siphon off some of the life-giving energy, which he employed it to animate his own new creations, the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]]. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}

[[Image:DarkCreation_we_would_know_more.jpg|right|thumb|275px]]

When Optimus Prime died following a video-game duel with Megatron a short time later, {{storylink|Afterdeath!}}, the Autobots loaded his body into a funeral bier and launched it into space in accordance with Cybertronian tradition. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} Unfortunately, having been unaware of the existence of the physical Creation Matrix crystal within the corpse's chest, this meant that they unwittingly set the sacred lifeforce of their race adrift in the sea of stars. After some time, the craft eventually crashed on the distant moon of [[VsQs]], where it lay undisturbed for a time. Left in solitude, the rudimentary consciousness of the Matrix formed from the genetic memory of its past holders began to desire new sensations. {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

It got its chance when a [[Deathbringer (Marvel)|Deathbringer]], a medical mechanoid created to painlessly end the life of the terminally ill, crashed on VsQs. Critically wounded, the dying robot reached out to touch the Matrix, and in its hunger for new experiences, the talisman used its powers of creation to disassemble and rebuild the Deathbringer, inadvertently warping its programming and transforming it into a powerful being who sought to destroy ''all'' life. A trace of its energy remaining in its body, the Matrix revelled in its first experience of "evil" as the Deathbringer cut a swathe of destruction across the galaxy, ultimately finding its way to Earth. ''Sensing the Matrix's power within the creature, Optimus Prime—since resurrected by the technology of [[Nebulos]]—was hesitant to destroy the only link they had discovered to the lost Matrix, but [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] solved the problem by convincing the Deathbringer that since the Matrix's power was eating away at it, it should destroy itself.'' {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}

[[Image:Creation Matrix 65.jpg|left|thumb|210px|The Creation Matrix was the Leader-1's-head of the Marvel comic. Can't be drawn the same way twice.]]

Back on VsQs, the Matrix's curiosity found new expression when an insectoid creature crawled into Prime's corpse's chest cavity and became the next recipient of the Matrix's power. Dissecting and studying the beast, the Matrix was fascinated that the creature seemed to be meant to do nothing but destroy, so it re-created the thing into a [[Matrixspawn|larger, more powerful predator]]. {{storylink|Dark Creation}} The monster attacked a team of astronauts that had set up a research station on VsQs, killing nearly all of them, but at least one escaped and crashed in the seas of the nearby planet [[Pequod]]. His body infused with Matrix energy from the beast that had attacked him, the astronaut was swallowed by a [[klud]], which ingested the energy. {{storylink|Deadly Obsession}}

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime became aware of the threat of Unicron, and, realizing that the Matrix would be necessary to defeat the Chaos-Bringer, arranged for search parties to scour the cosmos for any trace of it. ''Longtooth was among the Autobots recruited for the search mission, and was forced for the first time to truly confront the selfishness of what he had done with the Matrix energy Prime had given him millennia before. In hopes of redemption, he loaded the energy fragment into a pod and sent it back to Optimus Prime.'' {{storylink|Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?}} [[Image:Thunderwing with matrix.jpg|right|thumb|215px]] ''Prime agonized over how to best use the Matrix energy, knowing that it had the power to revive only one of the deactivated Autobots on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], and ultimately, elected to disperse it the Earth's atmosphere to rejuvenate damage done to the ecosystem by the Transformers' warring on the planet.'' {{storylink|The Greatest Gift of All!}}

In the meantime, the search parties seeking the Matrix had piqued the curiosity of new Decepticon leader [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], who possessed an affinity with the Matrix and a desire to possess its power for his own. As the opposing teams dodged each other, they eventually set their sights on Pequod, where the klud had been attracting attention because its species was supposed to have been extinct. Thunderwing used his Matrix affinity to psychically link with the Matrix-infused beast and see the memory of swallowing the dying scientist. Recognizing the "VsQs" stamp on his equipment, Thunderwing set out for that moon. {{storylink|Deadly Obsession}} Once there, both sides battled the creature the Matrix had created, which had grown to enormous size, with Thunderwing ultimately killing the beast and taking the Matrix. {{storylink|Dark Creation}} The Decepticon immediately attacked the spaceborne [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], manifesting the Matrix power in the form of a giant, vaguely humanoid energy field around himself. Soon, however, the Matrix began to speak through Thunderwing, delighting in the firsthand experience of evil, and the Decepticon realized he was being possessed. Thunderwing tried to mentally battle the Matrix, to no avail, but the Autobots exploited his erratic behaviour to impale him with a harpoon and blow him out the Ark's airlock into space. {{storylink|All Fall Down}}

[[Image:EdgeofExtinction-sothatallmaylive.jpg|left|thumb|275px|It cures what ails ya.]]

Thunderwing's body came to rest on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]], where the Matrix began to heal his battered frame. Repairs took time, but once completed, the Matrix set out for Cybertron, coincidentally arriving just as Unicron was trying to destroy the planet. The Matrix-creature fought Unicron, but Unicron soon realized that the Matrix had been tainted with evil, and that it was no longer a threat to him, given the infinitely greater magnitude of his own evil nature. Thunderwing was destroyed by Unicron's attack and Optimus Prime was able to recover the Matrix, cleansing it of the taint of evil and restoring its purity. Rocketing into Unicron's gaping maw, Prime released the Matrix's energy within the planet-eater's body, destroying him. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} The explosion should have killed Prime as well, but his devastated body was saturated with Matrix energy, keeping it alive long enough for the suffering Prime to pass on leadership of the Autobots to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. {{storylink|Still Life!}} Prime's consciousness, however, was transferred to his [[Nebulan]] partner, [[Hi-Q]], who was later recreated into a new Optimus Prime by the [[Last Autobot]], complete with a reconstructed Matrix. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
{{-}}
=====Marvel UK future timelines=====

[[Image:MatrixCoconut1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Will I become a great Autobot leader?"<br/> "All signs point to no."]]

''In the alternate future timeline of [[Earth-120185]], a dying Optimus Prime passed the Matrix to Ultra Magnus in 2006. {{storylink|The Planet-Eater!}} It was then used by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] to destroy Unicron, in the process transforming the young Autobot into Rodimus Prime. {{storylink|The Final Battle!}}

''In the year 2008, Unicron attempted to engineer his resurrection by mentally controlling the [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]] into building him a new body. Drawn into the conflict by [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]], Rodimus Prime used the power of the Matrix to battle Unicron on his own mindscape, while [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] set explosives to destroy the portion of Unicron's body that had been constructed. The explosion tore Unicron's body apart, but did not destroy him; instead, with no physical shell to inhabit, his essence wound up trapped within the Matrix.'' {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}

[[Image:MarvelUK-187.jpg|left|thumb|215px]]

''Later in 2008, the [[Quintesson]]s invaded and conquered [[Autobot City]] while Rodimus Prime was absent, and set a trap for the Autobot leader by leaving the wounded [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] at the city entrance. Arriving to find the one-time object of his affections in dire straits, Rodimus opened his chest cavity in order to heal Arcee with the energy of the Creation Matrix, only to be blindsided by the Quintessons and have the Matrix plucked from him, transforming him back into Hot Rod. The Matrix wound up the hands of Quintesson [[Ghyrik|General Ghyrik]], who was able to harness its power and boost his strength for a throwdown with Hot Rod. A bout of impromptu ventriloquism from the young Autobot distracted Ghyrik, allowing Hot Rod to rip the Matrix from his body and transform back into Rodimus Prime, handing Ghyrik an ignominious defeat. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}

''When disruption to the fabric of space and time forced Rodimus and several other Autobots to travel back in time from 2009 to 1989 in order to discover the source of the disturbance, the presence of the Matrix within his body required that Optimus Prime once again be shunted into limbo in order to maintain balance. Rodimus was able to use the power of the Matrix they shared to allow Optimus to communicate with the other Autobots, and when Rodimus was then defeated in battle, Optimus risked the security of the space-time continuum by using the Matrix as a stepping stone to return to reality for a final battle with [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]].'' {{storylink|Time Wars}}

[[Image:WhiteFire kup yanks matrix.jpg|right|thumb|160px|I honestly can't tell if it's the Matrix, or a weird kind of saucepan...]]

''Returning to Cybertron after their time-travel adventure, Rodimus and the Autobots found that the disruption of space and time had altered their future, and that Galvatron was waiting for them. Galvatron attempted to force Rodimus Prime into a savage battle, hoping to force him to unleash his basest, most violent impulses, and by extension, lead them to corrupt the Matrix. Fortunately, Rodimus realized his plan and stopped.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}} ''However, it soon became apparent that the Matrix required no external corruption; Unicron's essence, still trapped within the talisman following the events of 2008, slowly began to take hold of Rodimus Prime's mind, forcing him to sabotage the guidance systems of the Autobots' craft when they were on a hyperspace trip to Earth in 2010.'' {{storylink|The Void! (UK)|The Void!}} {{storylink|Edge of Impact}} ''Rodimus battled within Unicron inside the Matrix in an attempt to win back control of his mind and body, but it took [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] deducing what was going on and wrenching the Matrix from Rodimus's chest to free him from the chaos-bringer's influence. But now, Rodimus knew that the evil of Unicron would be waiting for him within it...'' {{storylink|Shadow of Evil}} {{storylink|White Fire}}

''Alas, later in 2010, Unicron's essence succeeded in taking over Rodimus's body, transforming it into a duplicate of his own and attacking Cybertron once more, until Rodimus was able to defeat him from within and re-seal him within the Matrix.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

''When last seen, in the far future of 2356, Unicron's essence remained sealed within the Matrix, causing Rodimus's body to steadily wither and weaken.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

{{-}}

====Marvel ''Generation 2'' comic====
[[Image:G210 starscream warworld.jpg|left|thumb|180px]]
Requiring the Matrix to bring the new warriors created by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] to life, Megatron defeated Optimus Prime in battle and tore the Matrix from his body with an energy siphon. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}} The Matrix's energy was then used to give life to the [[Laser Rod|Laser Rods]] and [[Rotor Force]]. {{storylink|New Dawn}}

Subsequently, Prime and Megatron were forced into an uneasy alliance against the massed forces of the [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]], and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] exploited the chaos of the huge battle to take the power of the Matrix for himself. Using it, he merged his mind and body with the Decepticons' [[Warworld]], becoming a colossal living weapon able to reshape himself at will. {{storylink|Total War!|Tales of Earth, Part Seven}} However, unlike with Thunderwing, Starscream found his own evil being subverted by the Matrix's goodness, {{storylink|Dark Shadows!|Tales of Earth, Part Eight}} and he returned the Matrix to Prime, for fear of being changed beyond recognition.

Soon after, when Prime was consumed by the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]], he channelled the Matrix's energy into the dark force, enlightening and completing it with the purity of Primus's vision. Suddenly transformed from a destructive force into a force for life, the Swarm re-created Prime and departed into space. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}
{{-}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
[[Image:OracleMatrix.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]

The origins of the Matrix of Leadership are almost entirely unknown. The only hint of its beginnings was given in an account from near the dawn of time, soon after the ancient genius [[Primacron (G1)|Primacron]] and [[Oracle (G1)|his assistant]] created the colossal robot, Unicron. Unicron turned on his creators and destroyed the assistant's body, but seen to rise from his remains and disappear into space was an object that appeared identical to the Matrix. If this was truly the Matrix, it is wholly unknown how it came to be held by the Autobots and how it was elevated to the position of power it became known for. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

However it came to be in Autobot hands, the Matrix came to be at the centre of the robots' belief system and was safeguarded by each successive generation of Autobot leaders. Upon the passing of its holder, the Matrix became a receptacle for the deceased Autobot's lifeforce, which cumulatively became known as the "Wisdom of the Ages", a storehouse of knowledge and experience stretching back to the dawn of Cybertronian history (and potentially beyond) that could be consulted by the Matrix's living wielders in times of need. The spirits of many Autobots have been seen within the Matrix, but the names of only a select few are known: The oldest entity within the Matrix is known only as "[[It]]" {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}; [[Image:Matrix 5faces4 7.jpg|left|225px|thumb|My preciousssss!]] following this entity, the next oldest known was [[Primon]], who possessed the Matrix in the early days of the Cybertronian race around twelve million years ago; [[Prima]] bore it at the height of their oppression by the [[Quintesson]]s about a million years later; [[Prime Nova]] was its wielder during the eventual rebellion against the five-faced aliens; [[Guardian Prime]] and his successor [[Zeta Prime]] carried it during the first war between the Autobots and Decepticons, before it was passed to Sentinel Prime, under whose leadership the war came to an end.

Around nine million years ago, the Autobot/Decepticon war was reignited by the creation of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], who killed Sentinel Prime as one of his first actions. In his death throes, Sentinel entrusted the Matrix to the ancient Autobot [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], who kept it hidden until a damaged young robot was brought to his workshop, another victim of Megatron's wrath. Trion recreated him as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], new leader of the Autobots, and gave him the Matrix. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:Optimusg1passingthematrix.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

Fatally wounded by Megatron in the year 2005, Optimus Prime passed the Matrix and leadership of the Autobots to his chosen successor, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. Before passing away, Prime spoke of a prophecy—that one day, a "Chosen One" would rise from the ranks of the Autobots, and use the power of the Matrix to light the Transformers' darkest hour. When Prime's strength faltered at the last moment and he dropped the Matrix, the young Autobot Hot Rod stooped to catch it before it hit the floor. The Matrix glowed brightly in response to his touch, signifying what none of the Autobots present would realize until later: that Hot Rod was the Chosen One.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]

When word of Unicron's approach on Cybertron reached the Autobots on Earth, Ultra Magnus believed (and Hot Rod agreed, based on nothing more than a feeling) that the Matrix might be able to stop the world-eater. Knowing that this was indeed the case, Unicron recreated Megatron as Galvatron and dispatched him to steal the Matrix, leading to a confrontation on the [[Junkion (planet)|Planet of Junk]] in which Ultra Magnus tried in vain to open the Matrix and use it to fend off the attacking Decepticons. Galvatron bested him and took the Matrix, believing he could use it to subjugate Unicron himself, but he had no more luck opening it than Magnus did. Unicron swallowed Galvatron whole as punishment, and it was within Unicron's body that the Decepticon leader engaged Hot Rod in the battle that saw the young Autobot claim his destiny. Seizing the Matrix from around Galvatron's neck, Hot Rod was transformed by its power into Rodimus Prime, then proceeded to fulfil the prophecy by opening the talisman and releasing its power, which tore Unicron apart from within. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

Later, when injured in battle, Rodimus's consciousness briefly entered the Matrix itself and witnessed a vision that led him to believe that the answer to the mystery of the alien Quintessons currently plaguing the Autobots was held within it. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} To find his answer, Rodimus deliberately short-circuited himself and entered the Matrix a second time. Guided by the ancient Autobots within, Rodimus was shown the history of Cybertron and discovered the Quintessons' role in the creation of the Transformers. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:Darkawakening_matrix_pain.jpg|right|225px|thumb|The zombified Optimus Prime reacts in pain to the light of the Matrix.]]

The burden of leadership weighed heavily upon Rodimus, and he was all too eager to return the Matrix to Optimus Prime when it seemed that the Autobot leader had returned from the dead in 2006. It transpired, however, that Optimus had only been reanimated as a robotic zombie by the Quintessons, with the intent of luring the assembled Autobot forces into a trap. Fortunately, with the Matrix now back within him, its energies overrode the evil intentions the aliens had programmed him with, and he returned it to Rodimus before apparently sacrificing himself again to trigger the Quintessons' trap alone. {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod retrieves matrix.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

Still struggling with leadership, Rodimus tried to forget his woes with a bout of drag-racing in the hills of [[Japan]], only to be ambushed by [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] and [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]]. The two Stunticons stole the Matrix and brought it back to Galvatron, but when the Decepticon leader attempted to use its energy to power his cannon, he was instead tormented by the spirits of the Autobots within it. The terrified Galvatron instructed [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] to dispose of the Matrix, but Scourge grasped the true nature of its power where his leader could not, and instead placed it within his own chest. The Matrix's energies warped his body into a powerful, misshapen hulk, increasing his power to the point that he was able to oust Galvatron and take control of the Decepticons himself. Scourge proceeded to lead the Decepticons in an attack on Earth, only to be bested by Hot Rod, who had since learned the importance of "the burden hardest to bear", and reclaimed the Matrix once more. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Matrix open.JPG|right|thumb|225px]]

When Optimus Prime was at last truly resurrected, he was forced to battle the [[Hate Plague]]-infected Rodimus in order to reclaim the Matrix from him, in hopes of consulting the Wisdom of the Ages to find a cure for the disease. Communicating with the mysterious It, he learned that the only way combat the madness of the plague was with wisdom, and opened the Matrix, expelling all of the wisdom within it to extinguish the disease (in the process claiming that this was also the Autobots' "darkest hour"). Although the Matrix was emptied, leaving only a shell, Optimus claimed they would have to start filling it with wisdom again, from that moment on. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

In 2007, Optimus Prime used the shell of the Matrix as a substitute key to access [[Vector Sigma]], where he consulted Alpha Trion on the mystery of the [[Plasma Energy Chamber]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}
{{-}}

====Madman ''The Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic PrimeHotrod.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Optimus's proposal to Hot Rod.]]
The significance of the Matrix to the Autobots was such that when Optimus Prime prepared to lead the Autobots in an evacuation of Cybertron in the year 2001, he hid the Matrix in a bunker at the construction site of the future Autobot City. Unfortunately, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] had monitored the Autobot leader's meeting with Ultra Magnus, and moved to steal the Matrix for the Decepticons. Fate intervened in the form of Hot Rod, who defeated the Decepticons and took back the ancient Autobot relic, and at the same time received a vision of his future as the Autobot who would light Cybertron's darkest hour. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
====Rodimus vs. Cyclonus====
After their adventure on [[Quintessa]], while Hot Rod, Kup and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s were searching space for Ultra Magnus's team, they were attacked by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. A flash of ancient knowledge he had received from the Matrix upon catching it when Optimus Prime had passed it to Magnus inspired Hot Rod to invoke the [[Challenge of Aria-Bellum]]. {{storylink|Rodimus vs. Cyclonus}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese animated continuity as described above, except that the events of 2006 are moved forward to 2010, and "The Rebirth" does not occur. A 2007 [[retcon]] built upon the original cartoon's confusing hints to create a full origin for the Matrix in this continuity.}}

When Primacron and his assistant (also known as the "Oracle") were attacked by the rebelling Unicron, the assistant's body was destroyed, but his lifeforce persisted. Sealed within a protective shell, the Oracle's lifeforce fled to a dead world at the centre of the galaxy, which the Oracle used his powers to transform into a lush, green world. In time, however, the alien Quintessons came to the Oracle's world and were able to bring him under their power, transforming him into the mega-computer, Vector Sigma. Using the [[Key to Vector Sigma]], the Quintessons cyber-formed the Oracle's world into [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], and the Oracle's life-giving powers were harnessed to produce a race of robotic slaves. The shell which had contained the Oracle's essence became the Matrix, but precisely how it came to be held by the Quintessons' consumer goods robots (later known as the Autobots), or even why the Quintessons would ''allow'' their creations to possess such a powerful item, is unknown. {{storylink|Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|2007 TakaraTomy Transformers timeline}}

=====''The Battle of the Star Gate''=====

[[Image:StargateBattles_matrix_powered_megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb]]

In the mid-1990s, Optimus Prime put the power of the Matrix to an unconventional use when a battle in space forced him to team up with Megatron in order to stop the rampage of Starscream, who had fused himself with the space station known as the [[Trigger]]. With Megatron in gun mode clutched in his arms, Prime summoned up the Matrix's energy and channelled it through his body, into the Decepticon leader, who unleashed it all in one colossal shot of cosmic proportions. The blast obliterated Starscream's new Trigger-body, but the backwash of the explosion was so great that it sent Prime, Megatron and all the Transformers observing the battle on a fiery plummet into Earth's atmosphere. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}

=====''Story of Binaltech''=====
In a parallel timeline that diverged off from this one thanks to the flow of history being altered by the time-tossed [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], Optimus Prime did not die in 2005, and was prepared to confront Unicron himself. However, after sustaining serious injuries in the opening salvo of the battle with the chaos-bringer, Prime passed the Matrix to Ultra Magnus. Despite knowing he was not the Chosen One, Magnus bravely petitioned the Matrix to allow him to wield its power anyway, as otherwise, the Autobots' destruction was assured. The Matrix granted Magnus his wish, and its energy was used to destroy Unicron. {{storylink|Binal Time}}
{{-}}

=====''Kiss Players''=====
After inheriting the Matrix in 2005, Rodimus Prime was horrified to discover that when he threw Galvatron out of Unicron, the Decepticon leader had wound up crash-landing on Earth, destroying [[Tokyo]]. Seeking to atone for his sins, Rodimus returned the Matrix to Ultra Magnus and became Hot Rod again, leaving both the talisman and the role of leadership in Magnus's hands for five years until he returned to his post in 2010. {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (radio drama)|A Big Catch Tonight?!}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====

After emptying the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, Optimus Prime sought to restore the lifeforce that had been lost by filling it with energy drawn from the lifeforce of [[Earth]] itself. To this end, the Matrix was secreted away in the lower levels of one of many Autobot energy-gathering facilities on Earth, where Prime hoped it would steadily recharge. Whether or not this odd-sounding plan would have ''worked'' is an area of some debate, but ultimately, a different set of circumstances soon came into play...

[[Image:DoublePrime matrix recharged.jpg|left|260px|thumb|Alpha Trion's spirit re-enters the Matrix, recharging it.]]

In the year 2011, a catastrophic side-effect of the Matrix's energy being released became apparent—without the Matrix to act as a controlling force, Vector Sigma began to destabilize, putting all of Cybertron in great danger. The Decepticons took this opportunity to invade the planet, hoping to take control of the unstable computer and by extension, the planet itself. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} During the battle that followed, Optimus Prime headed for Vector Sigma's chamber to try and bring the computer back under control, but without the Matrix—which remained hidden on Earth, its location known only to Prime himself—the only recourse would be to give up his own life. To stop Prime from making this sacrifice, Hot Rod led the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] in a methodical search across Earth, checking every Autobot energy facility. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} After successfully locating the Matrix in the last possible hiding place and evading his pursuers, Hot Rod returned to Cybertron, arriving in Vector Sigma's chamber just as Optimus Prime was facing off against the Decepticons. The ghost of Alpha Trion, who had survived the emptying of the Matrix and who had led Prime safely to the computer chamber, merged with the Matrix, restoring its lost lifeforce and giving it the power to once again transform Hot Rod into Rodimus Prime. The two Primes dispatched the Decepticons, but before Rodimus could use the Matrix to stabilize Vector Sigma, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself by merging with the computer to bring it back under control. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

Some time later, when Cybertron was subsequently devastated thanks to the machinations of Decepticon Headmaster leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], Rodimus Prime voyaged into space to search for a new homeworld for the Transformers, taking the Matrix with him. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}
{{-}}

=====''The Headmasters'' comic=====

On his many travels through space, the Matrix gave Rodimus Prime courage to face every challenge that presented itself. In addition to the teachings of the ancient Autobots, the energy of Earth's lifeforce that now dwelled within the Matrix as well truly opened Rodimus's eyes to the beauty of Earth and humanity. Believing that Transformers should aspire to be more like human beings, he returned to Earth and announced his desire for humans and Transformers to live and work together to move forward and evolve. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8|The Headmasters #8}}

=====''G-2'' story pages and mini-comics=====

[[Image:G2StoryPageReconfigurationMatrix1.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]

Presumably, Rodimus Prime must have returned the Matrix to Optimus Prime when he was restored to life as Star Convoy, since Prime had the talisman back in his chest when he adopted his "Hero" body at the beginning of the renewed war against Megatron some number of years after 2025. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|G-2 Part 1}} A research team led by [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] later discovered new properties of the Matrix, which prompted Megatron to duel Optimus Prime in the [[Mirtonian constellation]] in order to steal the Matrix for himself. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|G-2 Part 4}} Megatron fatally wounded Prime, but the ancient Autobots within the Matrix were able to restore him thanks to the newly-discovered power Jetfire's team had learned of: the [[Reconfiguration Matrix]], which repaired and restored Prime in a new Laser Rod body. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|G-2 Part 5}}

=====e-HOBBY storyline=====
Having briefly held the Matrix, Ultra Magnus's spark was among the chosen few which retained autonomy within the Allspark. Sensing the threat [[Galvatron II]] posed to the universe with his fleet of [[Warworld]]s, Magnus used the powers of the Reconfiguration Matrix to resurrect himself in a new body based on Prime's Laser Rod form so that he could battle the Decepticon leader. It didn't go very well. {{storylink|Hybrid Style Convoy Black Version}}
{{-}}

===Start Your Own Decoy Collection===
[[Image:Decoy_comic_matrix.jpg|left|thumb]]
Through unknown means, the Decepticons were able to steal the Creation Matrix and holed it up in their headquarters. In order to stage a recovery, the Autobots created an army of [[Decoy]]s to distract the Decepticon forces, while Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, Kup and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] secretly penetrated the base. Fighting their way through a slew of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], the team discovered the Matrix in a transparent case. Blurr blasted it open at Hot Rod's direction, and the Autobots successfully escaped with the talisman back in their possession. {{storylink|Start Your Own Decoy Collection|The Decepticon Deception}}
{{-}}
===Beast Era===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[Image:OptimalSituation_spark_holder.jpg|right|thumb|The similarity between Prime's "spark holder" and the Matrix was a source of some confusion.]]
Several enigmatic references were made to the Matrix by the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Warriors]] at various points, though it is never precisely clear if they are referring to the Matrix of Leadership, the Allspark dimension, [[Matrix (facility)|the protoform production facility on Cybertron]] that also goes by that name, or some theoretical conglomeration of any of the above that they only speak of out of misconception.

When the body of Optimus Prime was fatally wounded by [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], Optimus Primal opened Prime's chest compartment in order to take the Autobot leader's spark into his own body for safety. Prime's spark was shown to be contained within a holder shaped just like the Matrix of Leadership, and Rhinox remarked that Prime's spark had "the Matrix with it". {{storylink|Optimal Situation}}
{{-}}

====3H comics====
While experiencing a swirl of visions from throughout history, the [[Covenant]] witnessed the Matrix being torn by the [[Liege Maximo]] from the body of the enigmatic [[Primon]], its first holder. {{storylink|Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox|Covenant}}

[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|left|300px|thumb|The Matrix, beneath Prime's "spark holder".]]

The confusion surrounding the Matrix-like "spark holder" in Prime's chest and its relation to the actual Matrix of Leadership was clarified when it was revealed that the Matrix was actually concealed in a compartment beneath Prime's own spark, a deception specifically designed to protect the Matrix and keep it from those who would misuse its power.

[[Image:Primevaldawn2 tarantulas matrix.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

Following the end of the Beast Wars, the deceased [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] was resurrected, having harnessed the powers of the alien [[Vok]] with the intention of stealing the Matrix and delivering it to his master, Unicron. Seeking to keep the Matrix out of Tarantulas's hands, the Vok took the talisman from the sleeping Optimus Prime and used its power to transform the discarded control suit the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] had previously used to manipulate Optimus Primal into [[Primal Prime]]. Primal Prime was made guardian of the Matrix, and filled with all the wisdom of the past leaders within it. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}} Unfortunately, the Vok had miscalcuated: While it was within Optimus Prime, the Matrix had been safe, but once they had broken the forces that had bound it to Prime in order to transfer it to their creation, it had become vulnerable. This was proven in drastic fashion when, in the following battle, Tarantulas was able to overpower Primal Prime and rip the Matrix from his body. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2}} The shock threw Primal Prime into a comatose state, while Tarantulas took the Matrix back to his lab to await the completion of the [[Transwarp]] portal that would take him and his prize to Unicron. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 3}}

{{note|"Primeval Dawn" was never finished as a result of [[3H Productions]] losing the Transformers license. Obviously enough, its finale would have seen our heroes recover the Matrix from Tarantulas and replace it in Optimus Prime's chest.}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:Ancients.jpg|left|thumb|225px|The Matrix-shaped platform above the Oracle Tank.]]
Most modern Cybertronians eschew the mythology of the Matrix as set out by the [[Council of Ancients]], which claims that it is a conduit for the energies of Primus, choosing instead to believe in [[atechnogenesis]]. Despite this, Transformer society still holds the Matrix itself in great reverence, as, product of a deity or not, it is indisputably the most effective source of new Transformer life. Many conflicting stories and rumors swirl about the Matrix's true nature, born of claims that the Council actively prevented Alpha Trion from telling the general public more about it, but what ''is'' known about the talisman is that it is a virtually limitless source of energy. Only those with an affinity for the Matrix can wield its power; these Transformers are typically those chosen to be the next Prime, who often receive physical augmentation when the Matrix is taken into their bodies. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye #8}} The Ancients claim that the Matrix contains the wisdom of all sparks that return to it after death, though they do keep a more tangible version of that sort of thing in the form of a [[Golden Disk (council)|golden disk]] that holds the knowledge of past Primes. {{storylink|The War Within issue 6|The War Within #6}}
[[Image:TWW1 prime gets matrix.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]

The earliest known bearer of the Matrix was [[Primon|Alpha Prime]], who was succeeded by Guardian Prime, and then Sentinel Prime. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye #8}} Around 8.2 million years ago, seeking to use the Matrix to power the planetary turbine engines he had discovered beneath Cybertron's surface, Megatron attacked and killed Sentinel Prime, only to discover upon tearing his victim open that the Matrix was gone, having already been given by Sentinel Prime to the Council of Ancients for unknown reasons (perhaps having foreseen his own death). The Council subsequently chose a data archivist named Optronix to be the new bearer of the Matrix, and brought him to the [[Oracle Tank]], in which both he and the Matrix were immersed. Optronix was enlarged and strengthened by the Matrix, and transformed into Optimus Prime. {{storylink|The War Within issue 1|The War Within #1}}

Soon after, Megatron attacked Prime in the catacombs beneath Cybertron and cracked open his form, exposing the Matrix. A blinding flash burst from the Matrix, showing Prime and Megatron visions of future conflicts on Earth and [[Nebulos]], but it was implied that Optimus somehow used the Matrix to force Megatron to forget these visions. How much knowledge he himself retained is unknown. {{storylink|The War Within issue 5|The War Within #5}}
[[Image:PrimeDirective2 spike replaces matrix.jpg|left|300px|thumb]]

Millions of years later, after their war on Earth, the Transformers were set to return to Cybertron aboard the [[Ark II]] in 1999, at which point Optimus Prime gave [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] a piece of the Matrix as a promise that he would be back. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}} The Ark II proved to have been sabotaged, however, and exploded in mid-flight, leaving the world to believe that the Transformers were dead until 2002, when the terrorist [[Lazarus]] recovered several of their bodies and reprogrammed them for use as weapons that he would sell on the black market. The American military recovered the body of Optimus Prime and [[Robert Hallo|General Hallo]] drafted Spike to help in bringing him back to life, {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1|Prime Directive #1}} which Spike accomplished by returning the portion of the Matrix Prime had given him. Thus restored, Prime revived the other surviving Autobots by casting the light of the Matrix across the Arctic landscape where their bodies lay, melting away the ice that held them and bringing them back online. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}}
[[Image:G1 Vol.2 Issue6 2.jpg|right|thumb]]
When the Autobots and Decepticons were finally able to return to Cybertron, a chain of events ultimately led Optimus Prime into a confrontation with Shockwave in Vector Sigma's chamber. Knocking Prime out and blasting his chest open, Shockwave harnessed the energy of the Matrix and used it to access Vector Sigma's databanks in an attempt to learn all of the dark secrets at the heart of Cybertron. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (issue)|Countdown to Extinction}} Before Shockwave could complete his dark experiments, enemy forces converged on his lab, so the Decepticon logician tore the Matrix from Prime's body, intending to flee, only to be stopped and defeated by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. Grimlock recovered the Matrix and returned it to Prime, {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}} but the trauma of its forceful removal necessitated that Prime spend an extended session in a CR chamber to recover. {{storylink|Black Sunshine}}

====Keepers Trilogy novels====
Captured by the enigmatic aliens known as the [[Keeper (species)|Keepers]] and imprisoned inside their giant techno-organic bodies, Optimus Prime found himself forced into a suicide ploy, using a torrent of energon from the Matrix to destroy the creatures from within, willing to take himself with it. The gateway back to Earth was opened by Spike at the last moment, allowing Prime to hold off on his sacrifice, but unfortunately, the Keepers came through the portal as well. {{storylink|Hardwired}} During the battle that ensued against the Keepers in [[Las Vegas]], a pool of pure energon was uncovered beneath the city, which Prime combined with the energon of the Matrix to temporarily imbue himself with incredible power. Simultaneously, the American government launched a nuclear missile at Las Vegas in order to destroy both the Transformers and the Keepers, but the super-charged Prime was able to capture the missile's explosion in a net of Matrix energy, hurling it at the Keepers and blasting them through their portal. {{storylink|Annihilation}}

Following the Keepers' apparent defeat, Megatron called Prime in on a favour he had extracted from him in order to ensure his co-operation when they had been captives of the Keepers: Prime was to hand over the Matrix itself. Prime complied, partially out of honor, and partially due to the fact that he knew Megatron, as a Decepticon, would be unable to use the Matrix's power. Unfortunately, Prime had not reckoned with Megatron's giant soldier, [[Omega Sentinel (G1)|Omega Sentinel]], who was actually a reprogrammed Autobot whose non-Decepticon circuitry could interface with the Matrix to some extent. Omega Sentinel used his new Matrix-powered strength to destroy the White House, but the talisman's effect on his systems was immediately apparent by the fact that no life was lost in the attack. When the Sentinel refused to kill the Keeper-controlled [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] and Starscream on Megatron's orders, the Decepticon leader realized that the Matrix was influencing the giant and had him remove it from his body. The Matrix was recovered by the Keepers' agent [[Franklin Townsend]] and brought to the pocket-dimension into which the aliens had been transported, but Optimus Prime pursued Townsend and recovered the Matrix, once again intending to use it to destroy his alien enemies by collapsing the pocket dimension, at the cost of his own life. And once again the portal opened, leaving Prime content to force the Keepers back with the Matrix's light while he himself returned to Earth. However, Prime was unable to shut the portal off, required as he was to devote his attention to using the Matrix to keep the creatures from passing through the gateway. Salvation came in the form of the Omega Sentinel, the Matrix's effect on his systems persisting even after its removal: the giant threw himself and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] into the portal just as Prime shut off the Matrix, collapsing the gate and sealing the Keepers away forever. {{storylink|Fusion (novel)|Fusion}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:ArtofWar1_matrix.jpg|left|thumb]]
Optimus Prime was formerly a simple data archivist until the Matrix chose him to be the new leader of the Autobots. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 2|The Art of War #2}}

Renegade military artificial intelligence [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]] learned about the Matrix whilst downloading information on the history of Cybertron from Soundwave, and ''really'' liked the bit about "bestowing great power". {{storylink|The Art of War issue 1|The Art of War #1}} He subsequently captured Optimus Prime and tried to convince him to give up the Matrix peacefully. From Serpent O.R.'s point of view, he was a great and respected leader too, so surely the Matrix would deem him a worthy bearer. In addition, he was sure the ancient relic would provide him with a spark so he could finally understand what life and death really meant. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 4|The Art of War #4}}
[[Image:ArtofWar5 hawk serpentor matrix.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
Unfortunately, Prime disagreed, so Serpent O.R. ended up having to take the Matrix by force. As he had planned, the Matrix did deem him worthy and did give him a soul, all while transforming him into a new form to boot. However, with his newfound wisdom, "Serpentor Prime" quickly saw the error of his ways, and would've committed suicide if it weren't for [[Cobra Commander]] hijacking his body. In order to stop the commander, [[Hawk (G.I. Joe)|Hawk]] tried to take the Matrix away from him, and was deemed worthy of it as well. This caused a power feedback that destroyed Serpent O.R., fried Cobra Commander's mind, and imbued Hawk with all the knowledge of the Matrix. While artifact was unharmed and was returned to Optimus Prime when everything was over, the knowledge that now filled Hawk's mind gave him visions of future conflicts to come. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 5|The Art of War #5}}

In addition to vision, the Matrix also gave Hawk the ability to control machinery with his mind, converse with Transformers telepathically, and force enough information into Transformers to incapacitate them with a single touch. Unfortunately, it also gave him recurring nightmares about an [[Unicron|angry god]]. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:DWTFJoe3 cobra commander matrix.jpg|left|thumb|125px]]
As the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth lay deactivated among the [[Fera Islands]], the Matrix was discovered by local [[human]]s, and became the sacred relic of a group of monks, who built it into the chest of a statue. Unfortunately, a rumour spread that the glowing blue orb possessed by the monks was an "ultimate weapon", and in 1938, [[Cobra]] massacred the monks and stole the Matrix. When [[Major Bludd]] touched the relic, the Decepticons who laid dormant on the island were reactivated. {{storylink|The Line}}

The Matrix subsequently came into the possession of [[Cobra Commander]], who learned that he could use it to hurt and weaken [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Using this method, he blackmailed the Decepticons into serving him. {{storylink|Trial by Fire}} In the end, Cobra Commander was killed, and [[Snake-Eyes]] grabbed the Matrix. By this time, the Autobots and [[G.I. Joe (team)|Joes]] were under attack by the unstoppable [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], so [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] urged Snake-Eyes to smash the Matrix, in hopes that the destruction of the life-giving artifact would take away Bruticus's lifeforce. Snake-Eyes complied and let Bruticus crush the Matrix with his wildly swinging fists, causing a flash of blue light that killed all Transformers present. {{storylink|The Iron Fist}}
{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
The Matrix is carried by each successive generation of Primes, stretching back to the days of the legendary [[Knights of Cybertron]], who claimed it could create life, and so called it the "Creation Matrix". {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} For reasons unknown, the cruel supremacist [[Nova Prime]] did not take the Matrix with him on the fateful space voyage that ultimately led him to the [[Dead Universe]].<ref>Author Simon Furman has [http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/another-quick-qa/ December 2007 Q&A on Simon Furman's blog implied] that in his original plans for this story, Nova ''did'' take the Matrix into the Dark Universe (Optimus Prime is never shown to carry it in Furman's stories), where it would have "become" something. Presumably, it was his intention for it to become the Darkness itself, which would not have been the separate entity it was in the finished story. These plans were cut short and wrapped up when Furman left the series, and subsequent writers established that Optimus had indeed been carrying the Matrix all along.</ref> There, Nova came into contact with the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]], a kind of "anti-Matrix" created by the ultimate evil of the Dead Universe, the [[D-Void]], to seek out Matrix-bearers and use them as agents to forge a link between the dead and living universes. {{storylink|Spotlight: Galvatron}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}{{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

[[Image:AHM7 megs rips out matrix.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
The Matrix came to be held by [[Nominus Prime]], and although some Autobots like [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] remained sceptical of its touted divinity, most embraced the religion surrounding it—Orion's co-worker [[Springarm]] even had an image of the Matrix "tattooed" on his helmet, and claimed that in moments of stress, he tried to calm himself by channeling the talisman's wisdom.

When rebel factions within the [[Senate]] arranged for an attack upon Nominus Prime in order to orchestrate the introduction of a draconian new planet-wide security regime that became known as the "[[Clampdown]]", they also moved Nominus into hiding so that they would have unfettered access to the Matrix, hoping to unlock the life-giving secrets the Knights spoke of. Learning of the corruption within the Senate, Orion Pax was imprisoned for speaking out, but an anonymous Senator, aware of the misdeeds of his fellows, arranged for his release. Moved by Orion's speech and realizing that greatness lay in his future, the senator secretly had a chamber built within Orion's chest to contain the Matrix. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} It was not long after the initiation of the Clampdown that tensions exploded in the outbreak of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]; {{storylink|The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin}} when reflecting back on this time, Kup distilled the reasons behind the outbreak of the conflict down to blaming the Matrix as the root cause. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} The Matrix passed from Nominus to Sentinel Prime, then to Zeta Prime. The precise circumstances under which Orion Pax received the Matrix and became Optimus Prime are unknown, but years later, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] would comment that to say Optimus was "given" the Matrix wouldn't be quite the right way to describe it. Prime admitted to experiencing great pain upon taking the Matrix into his body. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

After the Transformers' conflict moved to Earth in the present day, Megatron determined to separate Optimus Prime from the Matrix. He was unaware of what the Matrix was actually capable of, but viewed any unknown element as a potential threat, and rationed that even if he could not use it himself, it would still be safer in his hands than in those of his enemies. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} To this end, Megatron staged a trap for the Autobots with the aid of the traitorous [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], catching them off-guard with his newly-created gestalt Devastator. Defeated, the Autobots were dumped via space bridge in the ruins of Cybertron, but not before Megatron tore the Matrix from Prime's chest himself. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}
[[Image:IDW13 hotrod starscream matrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]
When Megatron was defeated a year later and his forces were routed off of Earth, Starscream took up the role of leader and "inherited" the captive Matrix. Frustrated by his failure to find any "ultimate power" within it after several cycles of study, he decided to throw it away, only to be caught by [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] just before blowing it out an airlock. Scrabbling for an explanation as to why he had the Matrix and reminded by the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] of its massive symbolic importance to the Autobots, Starscream claimed he had been "chosen" by the talisman and now wielded its power. He went on to make this declaration before all the Decepticons, boosting morale and rallying them beneath him, but immediately regretted the decision. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}} And rightfully so: with the Matrix hung around his neck on a chain, its subtle influence on his mind over the next three years made the Decepticon air commander subdued and withdrawn, lost in contemplation of its mysteries, lashing out violently at any Decepticons who tried to touch it. This left him open to a brash attack by Hot Rod, who infiltrated the Decepticons' asteroid base in order to recover the Matrix. Hot Rod actually ''shot'' the Matrix to cause a discharge of energy that knocked Starscream out, then attempted to escape with the Matrix in hand, but was confronted by the newly-repaired Megatron. He proceeded to blast both the Matrix and Hot Rod through the base wall, setting them adrift in the void of space. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}} Starscream's possession of the "potentially threatening" Matrix had previously made Megatron hesitant to take back leadership of the Decepticons, but with the artifact lost in space, he had nothing to fear and quickly reclaimed his position. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}
[[Image:IDW19_matrix_in_chest.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
As they drifted through space together, the Matrix fused itself to Hot Rod's chest, keeping him alive and healing the damage Megatron had done. Eventually, Hot Rod crash-landed on the planet [[LV-118]], where he was taken captive by the [[Ilxian]] "[[Admiral]]", a stranded alien who sought to use the Matrix as a power source for his ship. With help from [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], another Autobot stranded on the planet, Hot Rod was able to seize control of the Admiral's ship, and allowed Wheelie to tap the energy of the Matrix to get them off the planet. {{storylink|Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination|The Stars My Destination}} Knocked unconscious by the process, Hot Rod awoke some time later to find that Wheelie had been able to remove the Matrix from his chest, and had piloted the ship to Cybertron. Knowing that the planet was overrun by the [[Insecticon swarm]], Hot Rod tried to convince Wheelie that they needed to leave right away, but that proved impossible, as the Matrix had ceased providing power to the ship. Things on Cybertron turned out to be better than Hot Rod had thought, though, as they met up with [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], who provided a fuel cell for their ship. {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet|Out of the Silent Planet}} The entire group returned to Earth, where Hot Rod made his first duty the return of the Matrix to Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}}

Departing for Cybertron aboard [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] with Megatron a captive, Prime removed the Matrix from his chest in order to prove to himself that even without its wisdom, he still had the ability to make rational judgements under his own power. Ratchet watched over the talisman while Prime deliberated on Megatron's fate, and was holding it while he examined the damaged [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], whose ability to walk was suddenly restored by its power. Although Prime ultimately concluded that Megatron's fate should be left for Megatron himself to decide, he did experience one disquieting revelation: Hot Rod revealed that when the Matrix had bonded with him, he had experienced not pain, as Optimus had felt, but unbridled elation. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

Upon the Autobots' return to Cybertron, they were faced with the threat of Galvatron, latest carrier of the Heart of Darkness, who combined it with Vector Sigma in order to allow the D-Void to emerge into the universe through Cybertron. To prevent this, Optimus Prime opened the Matrix, which succeeded in stopping the D-Void, but also left the Matrix not only spent, but its crystal core dark and split in two. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}} With unrest growing between the Autobots and the unaligned Transformers in the process of returning to the planet, Prime brought the two halves of the Matrix to [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] for study, and the scientist discovered that the crystal was artificial, designed to [[photonic crystal|split in two]], and contained a map of the stars. [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] believed the map would lead the way to the long-lost Knights of Cybertron, and Rodimus elected to gather a crew and follow the path it charted, much to acting leader [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s consternation. Optimus Prime gave each of them one of the Matrix-halves, before departing Cybertron himself in hopes of ending the civil unrest. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}
{{-}}

===''Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun'' comic===
[[Image:Henkei11 matrix.jpg|thumb|left|IT BURNS!!]]

When the demented [[Galvatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun comic|Galvatron]] went on a rampage in [[Hoshinochō]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun comic|Optimus Prime]] and his Autobots were forced to abandoned the secrecy with which they had been operating on Earth in order to confront the villain and save the human lives he was threatening. Just as Galvatron targeted the Autobots' human ally [[Wataru Hoshinoumi]], Optimus Prime threw himself into the path of the villain's attack, and was knocked unconscious by the force of the attack. In addition to rendering Prime insensate, however, Galvatron's blow had also shattered his chest, exposing the Matrix of Leadership that was kept within. Responding to Wataru's ability to manipulate [[energon]], the Matrix surged to life, restoring Prime and boosting his strength. The light of the Matrix also revealed an unexpected deception: the Autobots were not merely fighting Galvatron, but [[Cyclonus (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun comic|Cyclonus]], possessed by Galvatron's disembodied spark! {{storylink|A Nightmare, Once Again}} Summoning up the Matrix's energy, Prime struck Cyclonus with one almighty Matrix-powered punch, utterly obliterating his body and causing Galvatron's spark to dissipate. {{storylink|To the Sea of Stars}}
{{-}}

===''Robot Heroes''===
[[Image:Robotheroes primus and matrix.jpg|right|thumb]]
The Matrix is a glowing crystal that gives the Autobots knowledge. It was created by the first Transformer, Primus, who gave it to Optimus Prime. {{storylink|I Am Optimus Prime (Robot Heroes)|I Am Optimus Prime}}
{{-}}

===''Wings Universe''===
{{stub}}

<hr>
===''Robots in Disguise''===
====''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon====
[[Image:PowerToBurn_prime_matrix.jpg|left|225px|thumb]]
[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] was chosen by Vector Sigma to be leader of the Autobots and to carry the Matrix. Less a physical object and more an energy that suffused his form, Prime could call on the power of the Matrix in moments of great emotion, at which point his body would glow with its green light. {{storylink|The Test (episode)|The Test}}
[[Image:TwoFaces magnus matrix.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]
Unfortunately for Prime, his brother [[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] was furious at being passed over for the leadership role, and about halfway through Prime's campaign against [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] on Earth, Magnus arrived on the planet with the intent to take the Matrix for himself. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus (episode)|Ultra Magnus}} When he attempted to absorb the energy of the Matrix from Prime's body, however, a bizarre fusion occurred instead, merging the two brothers into [[Omega Prime]] and revealing that the intention had always been for them to ''share'' the energy of the Matrix between them. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!}} Magnus later inadvertently used this link to channel the energy of the Matrix into the [[Autobot Brothers]], supercharging them. {{storylink|The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus}}

In the final battle against Megatron—now Galvatron—at the Earth's core, [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] channelled all his energy into Omega Prime to give his leader the power boost that he hoped would ensure triumph. The extra energy combined with that of the Matrix and it burst forth, coalescing into the colossal [[Matrix Blade]], which Omega Prime used to claim victory. {{storylink|The Final Battle (RID)|The Final Battle}}
{{note|In ''Car Robots'', the original Japanese version of ''Robots in Disguise'', Prime does ''not'' possess the Matrix of Leadership, instead carrying an [[Energon Matrix]].}}
{{--}}
====''Cybertron'' comic====
[[Image:OptimusPrimeRIDprimuschamber.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
Teleported into the midst of a battle in another universe, Prime and Magnus found themselves on Cybertron, where the evil [[Nemesis Prime (Universe)|Nemesis Prime]] was attempting to use his [[Dead Matrix]] to destroy Primus. The brothers took him down, then separated so that Optimus could use his own Matrix to negate the evil energies released by the Dead Matrix. Opening the chamber in his Super Mode chest, he projected a beam of the Matrix's pure light into the Dead Matrix's swirling darkness, eliminating it. {{storylink|Revelations Part 1}}
{{note|This was the first fictional use of the detail sculpted into the ''Robots in Disguise'' Prime toy's Super Mode chest as the Matrix; the ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon had opted to portray it as a power socket, and treated the Matrix as an energy, as noted above.}}
{{-}}
<hr>

===Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity===
{{note|Plot points derived only from the original Japanese versions of the Unicron Trilogy cartoons, lost to the slipshod dubbing that plagued the series, are in italics.}}
====''Armada'' cartoon====
[[Image:Crisis_Hot_Shot_Matrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]
When [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] threatened to destroy the Earth with the [[Hydra Cannon]], [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]], not expecting to survive the battle ahead, tried to pass the Matrix on to [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] before entering the conflict. Hot Shot refused, not feeling himself worthy, and Prime subsequently died throwing himself into the path of the Hydra Cannon blast meant for Earth. Prime's body was reduced to ashes, and the Matrix was all that remained, clung onto by his [[Mini-Con]] partner [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], floating helplessly until rescued. {{storylink|Crisis}}

[[Image:Miracle sparkplug and matrix.jpg‎|right|thumb|''in your eyes, the light, the heat<br>
''in your eyes, I am complete]]

Not long thereafter, as the Autobots and Decepticons battled in space on their way back to Cybertron, Sparkplug and [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]] presented the Matrix to the large armada of Mini-Cons who had joined the Autobots on their journey. Many Mini-Cons plunged themselves into the Matrix, using their powers to recreate Prime's body and restore him to life. {{storylink|Miracle}}

Some time later, in the midst of the Transformers' battle with Unicron, Optimus Prime was confronted by the evil demi-god with the suggestion that, on some level, he enjoyed the thrill of combat as much as Megatron did, ''and that the only difference between the two leaders was the Matrix in Prime's chest.'' {{storylink|Origin}} Following Unicron's defeat, when Megatron (now Galvatron) challenged Optimus to one final battle, these words led Prime to discard the Matrix, that he might battle Galvatron not as the leader of the Autobots, ''but as an individual, and the equal of his foe''.

[[Image:ArmadaMatrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px|A Unicorn designed this. (See the pretty rainbows?)]]

Prime flung the Matrix through Unicron's hide, out into space, where it later drifted by the two combatants as their fight moved to Unicron's surface. Soon, however, it became apparent that Prime and Galvatron's fight was sustaining and re-energizing Unicron, and Galvatron allowed himself to die into order to destroy the chaos-bringer. As the battered Prime hung in space afterwards, the Matrix floated past him. Prime turned to look at it, but, having revelled in his battle with Galvatron and in a way proven Unicron correct, shifted his glance away, pronouncing himself unworthy to carry it.

Prime did not return to his fellow Autobots immediately, as Cybertron was now at peace. Instead, he apparently embarked on some sort of soul-searching space voyage, seeking to find worthiness once again. {{storylink|Mortal Combat}}
{{-}}

====''Energon'' cartoon====
[[Image:MysteriousMercenary matrix generates blaster.jpg‎|right|thumb]]
Prime returned to reclaim the Matrix and leadership of the Autobots at some point over the next ten years. ''Despite the talisman being back in his hands once more, its power was employed but once during the war for [[energon]] of 2020, when Prime was badly injured by [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] during a battle on Earth's Moon and fell unconscious. When Prime was infused with a massive jolt of Energon in an attempt by the [[Omnicon]] [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] to revive him, the interaction of the element with the Matrix brought forth the [[Energon Blaster]], which coalesced out of a sphere of light that burst out of Prime's chest. Prime considered the weapon a gift from the previous commanders within the Matrix and fended off the Decepticons with it, then proceeded to never use or even mention it again.'' {{storylink|Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary}}
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====''Cybertron'' cartoon====

[[Image:Cybertron matrix of leadership.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Good grief, Prime! There are KIDS present!]]

A further ten years later, during the quest to stop the [[Unicron Singularity]] in 2030, Optimus Prime used the Matrix of Leadership in concert with [[Vector Prime]]'s [[Rhisling|sword]] to open dimension gates to the various colony worlds that held the [[Cyber Planet Key]]s. It was only through the stabilizing powers of both objects that safe transit through the gates was made possible. {{storylink|Landmine (episode)|Landmine}} The Matrix influenced Optimus Prime's [[Cyber Key]], giving it a unique shape that mimicked the Matrix's own as opposed to the standard design shared by the other Autobots. {{storylink|Savage}}

[[Image:Unfinished matrix glow prime.jpg‎|right|thumb|225px]]

After the Autobots had obtained the Cyber Planet Keys from [[Velocitron]], [[Animatron|Jungle Planet]] and Earth and placed them in the [[Omega Lock]] on Cybertron, Optimus Prime substituted the energy of the Matrix for the still-missing fourth key. This proved enough to initiate Cybertron's transformation into the body of Primus, but without the key from [[Gigantion]], the god's power remained at an ebb, unable to close the black hole. {{storylink|Cybertron (episode)|Cybertron}} Before departing for Gigantion to obtain the final key, the Autobots were able to develop a method that allowed Primus to use the energy of the three keys and the Matrix to at least halt the singularity's growth, giving them the time the needed to complete their mission. {{storylink|Titans}} In order for the Autobots to safely traverse the tunnel in space-time that led to Gigantion, [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] created a "vaccine" program based on the stabilizing properties of the Matrix and Vector Prime's sword. {{storylink|Family}}

The Matrix would often glow with energy when Prime poised himself to unleash powerful combat moves; during his final battle with Galvatron, the golden glow of the Matrix surrounded Prime's entire body. {{storylink|Unfinished}}
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===Ask Vector Prime===
Vector Prime claimed to have held the Matrix in Cybertron's past, during its [[Golden Age|golden age]]. He led for many years until he received a higher calling to become the protector of space and time. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime}}

===''Galaxy Force'' comic===
[[Image:GFmanga_matrix.jpg|left|thumb|RESPECT MAH AUTHORITAH!]]
With the Earth besieged by the [[Ancient Decepticon]]s under the command of [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], and the treacherous air commander himself transformed into a skyscraper-sized giant by the power of Primus, things were looking grim for the Autobots. Taking a direct hit from the giant Starscream, Optimus Prime's chest was smashed open, exposing the Matrix within. Reviving after only a few moments of unconsciousness to find that [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]] had arrived on the planet with news that Primus had reawakened, Prime doubted how important he was to the battle if their god was now restored. Wing Saber pointed to his open chest, telling him that the Matrix within him signified him as the true leader of the Autobots, and Prime, his resolve restored, plucked the talisman from within himself and called upon its power to initiate his and Wing Saber's combination into Sonic Wing Mode for the first time. {{storylink|Galaxy Force Mission.9}}
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<hr>

===Live-action ''Transformers'' film series===
[[Image:Tf2009 mol.jpg|thumb|250px|Now...how do you open this thing, dammit?]]
Created by the [[Dynasty of Primes]], the '''Matrix of Leadership''' is required to operate the [[Star Harvester]]. It can only be properly utilized by one who shares the lineage of the Primes.

====Sector Seven ARG====
The Matrix was mentioned in passing.{{fact}} {{storylink|Sector Seven (game)|Sector Seven}}

====Titan Magazines====
According to [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] carries the Matrix of Leadership. Not quite yet, he doesn't, Screamer! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 8|Star Screams #2}}

====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====
[[Image:ROTF Matrix crumbles.jpg|thumb|left|250px|And Unicron breathed a sigh of relief.]]
The [[Dynasty of Primes#Revenge of the Fallen movie|Seven Primes]] had agreed never to use a [[Star Harvester]] on a [[Sun]] that fed intelligent life. But in 17,000 BC, [[the Fallen]] chose to activate it on [[Earth]], for he hated [[human]]s, so the other Primes fought him and stole the Matrix. They sealed it away in a [[Tomb of the Primes|tomb]] made of their own bodies in a secret location. In 2009 AD, following the death of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], the last Prime, the Fallen had returned to Earth and was seeking the Matrix to finish what he'd started.

[[Image:TheFallen-ROTFMatrix.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Hot Rod's gonna have trouble gettin' his fingers in this one.]]
[[Sam Witwicky]], having deciphered the only clue to the tomb's location, found the Matrix in [[Petra (Earth)|Petra]], but it crumbled to dust. He stuffed its remains into a sock and took it to the [[Pyramid]]s of [[Egypt]], where he still hoped it could resurrect Optimus, who was being protected by the human-Autobot alliance [[NEST]]. The Fallen's pupil, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], shot and killed Sam, but the [[spark]]s of the Primes came and revived him. They also revealed the Matrix could not be found but only earned, and they restored its shape. Sam then used the Matrix to resurrect Optimus by shoving its sharp end into his chest. Almost immediately afterward, the Fallen teleported in and stole the Matrix, then used it to activate the harvester. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

{{Note|The [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]] reveals the Matrix was created by the AllSpark to help the Primes in their search for energon. After Sam Witwicky conversed with the Dynasty of Primes in the afterlife, the intent was that the power and knowledge of the AllSpark moved from his mind into the remains of the Matrix, reconstituting it; ''this'', then, was why it was able to bring Prime back to life. In turn, this essentially transforms this universe's version of the Matrix (initially entirely distinct from the other depictions of the object seen in this article) into the same life-giving, knowledge-holding object from other Transformers fiction. Additionally, Prime was to recover the Matrix from the sun harvester and carry it within himself in traditional Matrix fashion. While none of these events were seen to play out explicitly on-screen, the Matrix's continued presence in ''Dark of the Moon'', within Prime's body, and the reverence it receives suggests that these events still "happened" within the continuity of the films, even if they didn't explicitly talk about them.}}

====''Dark of the Moon'' film====
[[Image:DOTM-SentinelOptimusMatrix.jpg|left|300px|thumb]]
After the dormant body of [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was retrieved from the [[Moon (moon)|moon]], the Autobots' former leader was brought to [[NEST]] headquarters on Earth. Optimus Prime removed the Matrix of Leadership from his chest (which he was able to manipulate as it hovered through the air) and inserted it into Sentinel Prime's chest, similarly to how Sam Witwicky used it to resurrect Optimus three years prior.

Optimus later offered it to Sentinel, as he felt that Sentinel was the rightful leader of the Autobots. Sentinel refused it, citing that he was the wiser on their own homeworld, but on this strange new planet, Optimus was the more experienced.

Megatron later explained to Starscream that he wanted Prime to use the Matrix on Sentinel as he was vital to Megatrons plan for invasion. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}
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===''Animated'' cartoon===
[[Image:Tfanimated_matrix.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
Following [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] and [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]]'s successful reconstruction of a substantial portion of the shattered [[AllSpark#Animated|AllSpark]], [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] used the [[Magnus Hammer]] to forge a new containment vessel for the crystal sphere. He termed the resultant holder the "[[AllSpark Matrix]]", and wore it on a chain around his neck upon the Autobots' return to Cybertron. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}} {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Alamanc II}}
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----
===''Exodus'' novel===
[[Image:TransformersVault-Prima.jpg|left|thumb|Prime lucked out. Feel bad for the guy who has to carry that blade around in his chest.]]
Originally the jewel in the hilt of Prima's [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]] sword in the distant past of Cybertron, the Matrix had been missing for billions of cycles by the time data clerk [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Orion Pax]] met the charismatic gladiator named [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]. Unbeknownst to Orion, Megatron plotted revolution, and, desiring the Matrix's power to fuel his ambition, had [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] send [[Rumble (WFC)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (WFC)|Frenzy]] to search for the Matrix in [[Crystal City]] to no avail.

Later, when the [[Autobot High Council|High Council]] appointed Orion as Cybertron's leader, Optimus Prime, they ordered him to find the Matrix, and Megatron's true motives stood revealed as he also declared it would be his. War erupted across Cybertron and raged for millions of years, until, during the conflict's dying days, Optimus purged Cybertron's [[core]] of a [[Dark Energon]] infection that Megatron had wrought upon it. Speaking directly into Prime's mind, the core explained that Prime's predecessor, [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|Sentinel Prime]] had been unworthy of the Matrix, but as long as he had survived in [[Kaon]]'s prisons, Optimus was technically not [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] and could not receive it. With Sentinel's death and the core's purification, however, the time had at last come: the Matrix emerged from the core, and Optimus accepted it into his body. Subsequently, the Autobots left Cybertron on the ''[[Ark (WFC)|Ark]]'', but Optimus knew that the Matrix would guide them home one day, where it would act in concert with the core to fully restore their ravaged homeworld. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus}}
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===''Prime'' cartoon===

During the great war the core of Cybertron which contained the Spark of Primus, the creator of the Transformers became [[Dark Energon|poisoned]]. Orion Pax journeyed there hoping to cure the god, but instead was given the Matrix of Leadership by Primus himself. And so Orion Pax became [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] the last of the Primes. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

[[Image:PrimeMatrixboxart.jpg|thumb|"By the Power Of... have we done this joke yet?"]]
The Matrix of Leadership was the combined wisdom of all the Primes and it rested inside [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]]. [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] offered to take [[Team Prime]] to the Earth's core to destroy [[Unicron]] and Optimus believed that the only way that could destroy Unicron was to unleash all the power of the Matrix at Unicron's spark, although he had no idea what would happen when he did it. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 2}}

[[Image:OneShallRise3-unleash.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Care Bear Stare!]]
After much struggling and fighting through the body of Unicron himself, Optimus finally reached his spark.Optimus unleashed the full power of the Matrix unto the dark god, overwhelming him, putting him into stasis, and quite possibly extinguishing his spark. Unicron possessed Megatron and tried to stop him but the Matrix also put up a protective energy shield for the Autobot leader. However using the Matrix came at a cost. When Optimus regained consciousness, he referred to Megatron as "Megatronus", asking where they were and failed to recognize his Autobots. He went with Megatronus to the ''Nemesis'', where he was welcomed as Orion Pax. Ratchet deduced that using the Matrix caused Optimus's own memory to be wiped. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

{{--}}

==Games==
===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
[[Image:TFPS2_matrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]
The quest for the [[Zel Quartz]], a powerful crystal upon which the fate of the future hinged, led groups of Autobots and Decepticons from both the present day and time-travellers from the near-future to converge on the planet Zel Samine, culminating in a two-way showdown between Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime and Megatron and Galvatron in the complex housing the planetary power generator [[ELTA]]. When the battle threatened to cause the computer to overload, it appeared that all four Transformers were doomed, until the twin Primes opened both their Matrixes, using their power to bring the computer under control and win the day. {{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}
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===''Transformers Battle Universe''===
[[Image:Netjetmatrix.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
The Matrix would appear following the successful defeat of an opponent. Picking it up would initiate the next round of combat, accompanied by a burst of music from ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. {{storylink|Transformers Battle Universe}}
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===''Transformers: War for Cybertron'' (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)===
[[Image:WFC Matrix of Leadership.jpg|left|thumb|200px|How are you supposed to hold it up and release its cleansing flame if the handles aren't even attached to the sphere?]]
Though [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] and his Autobots helped purge the [[Core|Core of Cybertron]] of the [[Dark Energon]] infection, its spark had been corrupted and had to shut itself down completely if it was to survive. For the millions of years that this process would take, Cybertron would be left cold and barren, meaning the Transformers would be forced to take to the stars. However, the Core bestowed a portion of its spark within the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus Prime, leader of the free Autobots. For as long as the Matrix survived, Cybertron's spark would remain. {{storylink|Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
{{main|Matrix of Leadership/toys}}

==Notes==
[[Image:G1toon matrix strings.jpg|right|thumb|Strings connect the Matrix's core to its holder in the Generation 1 cartoon.]]
*Bob Budiansky's original pitch for the Transformers comic book included an event known as the "[[Ceremony of the Unending Circuit]]", held by the Autobots every ten millennia to commemorate the passing of the Creation Matrix from one Autobot leader to the next, according to Autobot Law. Although the "ten millennia" bit made it into the comic, the ceremony itself was never realized.
*When asked about the visual design of the Matrix in an interview, [[Floro Dery]]'s reply was, "The inspiration for the Matrix of Leadership is a thermonuclear bomb."<ref>[http://transformersph.blogspot.com/2007/06/interview-with-floro-dery.html TransFormers Philippines: Interview With Floro Dery]</ref> "Light our darkest hour", indeed.
*Blink and you'll miss it—the crystal core of the original Generation 1 cartoon incarnation of the Matrix is connected to the two halves of its holder by a string! This oddity of design is visible during the two instances the Matrix is opened in the cartoon, in ''The Transformers: The Movie'' and "The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2".
* The body-mod shop "[[Swindle, Swindle & Swindle]]" has empty Generation 1 Matrix containers for sale, as seen in an illustration from the prose story "[[I, Lowtech]]".
*The Matrix of Leadership [[:Image:The Arrival 4 Lockdown's cabinet.jpg|makes a cameo]] as one of ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]'s possessions in "[[The Arrival issue 4|A Few Loose Strands]]".

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Matrix''' (マトリクス ''Matorikusu''), '''Leader no Matrix''' (''Revenge'', リーダーのマトリクス, "Matrix of Leader")
*''English:'' '''Power Pack''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub)
*''German:'' '''Hauptprogramm''' ("Core Program", used once in fiction), '''Matrix der Führerschaft''' ("Matrix of Leadership")
*''Polish:'' '''Matryca Przywództwa''', '''Matryca Przywódcy''' (''War for Cybertron'' PC, "Matrix of Leadership", "Matrix of the Leader")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Matriz da Liderança'''
{{--}}

==Footnotes==
[[Image:DiamondStickerbookMatrixOfLight.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Not shown: Anything in the caption.]]
<references />

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