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Thundercracker (G1)

2011-10-09T23:37:12Z

ScreamSeeker89: /* G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers */

{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2}}
{{picsneeded|fictional appearances}}
{{disambig3|Thundercracker}}{{suite}}
:''Thundercracker is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Thundercrackerg1guido.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The blue one. No, the other blue one.]]
'''Thundercracker''' claims the skies as his arena. He looks down in contempt on those who cannot leave the ground — he considers them lesser beings. He will often attack the flightless beings below him for no other reason than to satisfy his scorn.

His superiority in this realm is the only thing he is sure of. Thundercracker is not entirely committed to the Decepticon cause, and even has some seemingly contradictory sympathy for the [[human]]s they terrorize. Fear of retribution from [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and the influence of his peers is usually enough to bury these doubts. Regardless, he needs constant reassurance that he's where he needs to be. Sometimes, his [[Spark|heart's]] just not in the job.
{{bigquote|[[Human|These creatures]] were never worthy adversaries. The Decepticons are forged through combat, not slaughter.|Thundercracker|[[All Hail Megatron issue 12|''All Hail Megatron'' #12]]}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Introdump decepticons marvelus01.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Thundercracker is the one that is not Skywarp.]]
Thundercracker was one of [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]]'s troops who attacked the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] during its mission to clear a path for [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] through an asteroid field. He was deactivated when it crashed on [[Earth]], and he lay dormant for four million years. When he and his fellow Decepticons awoke, Thundercracker was given a new [[alternate mode]], that of an Earth jet. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}} He aided the Decepticons in their building of their new base constructed of parts from [[Harrison Nuclear Power Plant]] and joined in their attack on [[Sparkplug Witwicky]]'s [[S. Witwicky Auto Repairs & Tow Service|auto repair shop]]. After the successful abduction of Sparkplug Witwicky, Thundercracker, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] defended their base from [[Autobot|Autobots]], though [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] and [[Spider-Man]] were able to sneak through and rescue Sparkplug. {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}}

''On another occasion, he and Skywarp made a strafing run on two Autobot spies, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]. Jazz was deafened and blasted off the road, but Sunstreaker led them into a human military zone, prompting Megatron to call them back to base.'' {{storylink|Perchance to Dream}}

Though Sparkplug Witwicky was able to devise a way for the Decepticons to convert Earth fuel into a usable substance, he also poisoned the result, so Thundercracker and his fellow Decepticons were immobilized at the climax of their would-be final battle with the Autobots. {{storylink|The Last Stand}} The Decepticon [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] took command of the Decepticons and the Ark shortly thereafter, and nursed Thundercracker and his comrades back to full health. Thundercracker may have helped Shockwave attempt to capture and brainwash [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] into a Decepticon, or it may have been Skywarp. It's hard to tell. {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}

He served the Decepticon cause up until he was deactivated while battling [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and placed in prison stasis at Autobot headquarters. {{storylink|Command Performances!}}

''Like Starscream and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]], he revived early and soon quickly escaped from the Ark. He, Frenzy and Shockwave were then temporarily displaced to [[Limbo]] when [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] time-jumped from 2006. {{storylink|Target: 2006}}''

During a massive battle between the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth's moon, Thundercracker and the other Decepticons held in stasis aboard the Ark were liberated by the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] and subsequently brought back on-line. {{storylink|Totaled!}} Much later, Thundercracker manned the battle stations with his fellow Decepticons when [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] reported an intruder. {{storylink|Cold War!}} He next attacked an [[Underbase]]-powered Starscream in [[Tokyo]], but both he and Skywarp were destroyed by their former flying partner. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

====''Generation 2''====
Thundercracker was active on Earth during the Decepticons' major offensive against the human population, and was present when [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] stole the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] from [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}} He later served in the [[Tykos]] raid, albeit in a menial role.

Starscream thinks he's a moron. {{storylink|New Dawn}}

====''Classics''====
After being revived from a state of near death, Thundercracker couldn't bring himself to serve with Starscream, the bot who killed him, and so he joined [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s Decepticon faction instead of his old leader Megatron's group. Of course, he ended up unable to control himself due to the [[Cerebro-shell|cerebro-shells]] of his latest maniacal boss, [[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]], so... tough break. To make matters worse, he had to listen to [[Weirdwolf]]. Even under Bug Bite's control, he threatened bodily harm if Weirdwolf didn't shut up.

Under Bug Bite's control, he fired a cerebro-shell at Skywarp, and was forced to help enslave Megatron and his forces. He was liberated by the interference of [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

Thundercracker was repaired and brought back on-line by [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]]. He was apparently willing to put aside his animosity towards Starscream at this point in order to serve under his glorious leader once more. When Megatron staged an attack on Bludgeon, he placed Thundercracker in command of one of the three warships. {{storylink|At Fight's End}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[John Stephenson]], [[Wally Burr]] ("[[War Dawn]]" only) (English), [[Yū Shimaka|Yutaka Shimaka]] (Japanese), [[Jacques Ferrière]] (French), [[Isidro Olace]] (Latin American)

[[Image:Tetrajet seekers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Cybertron alt-mode (on the right). Out of all the pre-earth alt modes, these pyramid jets seem to be the only ones anyone really cares about.]]

In the early days of the Decepticon rebellion, Thundercracker and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] both faced the powerful protectors of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s cities, the [[Guardian Robots]]. According to Thundercracker, he was often not very successful. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

Thundercracker was one of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron's]] elite warriors, participating in the attack on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and joining the rest of the Earth-bound Transformers in their several-million-year nap under an inactive volcano. He awoke when the rest of the Decepticons did, and took part in their attempts to gather [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] and escape the planet [[Earth]], which he loathed for being too "flat". It was he and [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] who spotted the first "potential Autobot", when in fact they had discovered the planet's native inhabitants, two [[human]]s, in a non-sentient vehicle. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

Megatron took the Decepticons to [[Sherman Dam]], a major source of energy. The Autobots, upon discovering their plot, soon arrived to prevent their ambition from becoming reality. Thundercracker and Skywarp fought off [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], only for Mirage to make a recovery and send the two Seekers off the bridge they were standing on. They were at least able to recover in time to escape with the rest of the group once Megatron had knocked [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] into the rushing river nearby. Though Thundercracker assisted in filling the energon cubes, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] wasted a huge amount of energon testing it with a cannon. The Decepticons were then forced to make two stops: one at the [[ruby crystal mines of Burma]], and another hunting for rocket fuel. Thundercracker and a handful of [[generic]]s painted like him were among the strike force headed for the Crystal Mines. While there, he pushed a cart of these gems with Skywarp, talking to Skywarp about his dislike for Earth, something Skywarp agreed with. They just barely avoided noticing [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and his ally [[Sparkplug Witwicky]], who had come to investigate. The two set a bomb, but ran into the two Seekers on their way back out. Thundercracker attacked them until they were on the ground, Skywarp proposing that they give them as a present to Megatron. The bomb went off almost immediately afterward, burying the Decepticons and their enemies, so this did not come to be. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}}

[[Image:MTMTEpt2-Thundercracker_Skywarp_Mine.jpg|thumb|250px|left|"Gee Thundercracker, what are we going to do today?"<br/> "The same thing we do every day, Skywarp... try to take over the world!"]]

Both parties managed to escape safely, and Thundercracker went with the other Decepticons (save for Megatron) to a [[Cape Carlson|rocket fuel base]], where Thundercracker made his mark by destroying a couple of tanks. The Autobots arrived to stop them, with Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Laserbeak unleashing an aerial assault upon Cliffjumper and Wheeljack. During the brawl, Megatron called Thundercracker and the other troops to the [[Victory (G1)|space cruiser]] to return to Cybertron. However, a surprise attack from Mirage grounded their plans, literally and metaphorically. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

This would not be the end of the Decepticons, however. The crashed Victory was rebuilt into a [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|fortress]], from which they made another assault looking for energon. Thundercracker participated in many other attacks following this, also witnessing Megatron's disappearance in a [[space bridge]] accident, {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} and being part of the attack on a hydroelectric power generator along with Soundwave and Starscream, who declared himself leader in Megatron's absence. Though a group of Autobots came to stop them, Thundercracker bashed the charging Cliffjumper with a pillar from the building. The energon cubes they were making were destroyed, and Soundwave suggested that the squad should retreat. As they escaped, Thundercracker criticized Starscream's leader capabilities, going on to praise Megatron when he revealed himself to have survived. Starscream took his squad (and Skywarp) to an airplane factory for spare parts, but while Thundercracker was having his wings reattached, Bluestreak and Prowl crashed the party. The Seekers shot at the Autobots, but [[Chip Chase]] took control of the injured Prowl and had him unleash a spectacular assault forcing Starscream's squad to escape. However, they made a quick stop at Chip's house and abducted him, taking him to [[Alcazar|Dr. Alcazar]]'s lab where the other Decepticons were. They extracted the [[antimatter]] formula from his brain, making them stronger. Thundercracker was unable to kill the now-useless Chip, as Autobots interrupted and took him back. The next morning, after leaving the lab, [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] used his [[jet judo]] on the antimatter-powered Thundercracker, but Starscream thwarted this plan. Thundercracker was then ordered to give Megatron the antimatter cubes, transforming him into "the most powerful weapon of all". This plan was a failure, and the Decepticons had no choice but to get away. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[Image:Thundercrackerg1.jpg|right|180px|thumb|FLINTSTOOOOONE!!!]]

Thundercracker again joined his fellow Seekers in raiding a factory for energy and heavily damaging Optimus Prime, who had been called in by Chip. When more Autobots showed up, Megatron ordered the Seekers to escape with the energon cubes rather than fighting them. At the end of the day, Thundercracker participated in a battle in front of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], where he was punched down by [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] immediately as he landed. When Megatron suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of a recovered Optimus Prime, Starscream smugly instructed everybody to take Megatron back for repairs. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} Following this, Thundercracker witnessed the rebirth of Starscream's former colleague [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} and was shot down by [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] during a mission at the [[Great Falls]]. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

One of the few things he seemed to loathe even more than the world he was stranded on was the attitude of his commander, Starscream. Thundercracker often started fights with the [[Air Commander]], usually over whether or not Megatron's latest plan was a waste of time (Thundercracker took Megatron's side). At one point, Thundercracker's distaste for "that geeky Starscream" became so strong that he was willing to let Skyfire destroy one of the Decepticons' greatest weapons, just in the hopes that Starscream would get blamed for it! {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}} Despite these brushes with treachery, however, Thundercracker just never had it in him to do anything more than complain about his fellow Decepticons.

Thundercracker and the other Seekers helped haul [[Meteorini Chipperoni|an unstable meteor]] back for the Decepticons, {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}} and the Seekers next attacked a solar plant located in [[India]] as a diversion so Megatron could continue his plan. When Skywarp and Starscream began arguing over the effectiveness of the plan, Thundercracker merely kept his mouth shut. The Autobots came to rescue Sparkplug, going to the underwater base to do so. During this underwater battle, Thundercracker sent a missile at Bumblebee, only for Bumblebee to direct it back at him. He was next doing some work on a large space bridge for Megatron, one that would bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit and create devastating weather. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} Starscream ordered Thundercracker to use his flamethrower against the Autobots, and despite Thundercracker's protests saying that the wind is too strong, Starscream wouldn't give in. Thundercracker turned out to be correct, and his fire ended up scorching to two Seekers instead, something [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] found humourous. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} When the other Decepticons noticed that Megatron had left for Cybertron by himself, Thundercracker was in hot pursuit. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}} Thundercracker was the straight man when Skywarp, Rumble, and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] were bickering when they should have been working. Though he was as surprised as everybody else when Megatron arrived, perfectly healthy, to shut everybody up, Thundercracker was willing to go with Megatron when he discovered Starscream and [[Doctor Arkeville|Dr. Arkeville]]'s plot. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}

[[Image:CTE-Thundercracker_Skywarp_Rumble.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Somebody must have forgotten to lock the gate at the petting zoo...]]

Megatron took [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] and Thundercracker to [[Bali]] after [[Insecticon (G1)|giant insects]] were reported in the area. When [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] showed them to a Decepticon escape pod disguised as a hollow rock, Thundercracker deduced that the giant insects were Decepticons who came to Earth and scanned insects as [[alternate mode]]s. This group met up with the Insecticons, and [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] requested that they help defeat the group of Autobots challenging them, to which they agreed. When reinforcement Autobots came in, Megatron ordered the Decepticons (Insecticons included) to head for the oil refinery to rest up. The Insecticons separated, with the rest going to the refinery, where Thundercracker poured oil from the pipes into Soundwave's energon cubes, and brought more cubes when Rumble requested them. [[Jetfire (G1)|A visitor]] soon showed up, and Thundercracker joined in giving him a "warm welcome". Other Autobots arrived, with Brawn, Wheeljack and Optimus Prime being forced to dive into the water to avoid a "Shrapnel grenade". Thundercracker used his flamethrower on the trio of Autobots, who avoided it and retaliated by swimming underwater and then pushing up the dock Thundercracker was standing on, throwing him into his own inferno. He retreated with the rest of his group to follow the fleeing Insecticons. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

Megatron used the power chip rectifiers taken from the other Decepticons in his one-on-one battle against Optimus Prime. Thundercracker contributed his, allowing Megatron to use ear-splitting sonic booms. After the battle, the Autobots went back to base so Optimus could recover, where they discovered the Decepticons' plan. After distracting and threatening them with a hologram, the Autobots shot at their enemies until they fell down the crevice, into the lava below. {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[Image:TheImmobilizer-Thundercracker_River.jpg|thumb|215px|right|''Transformers: Revenge of the Redecos'' never quite came to pass.]]

Thundercracker obviously survived his fall with the rest of his group, as he was around for attacks on Air Force rocket bases, and on the hunt for [[Autobot X]], {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} and was with the other Decepticons in Africa, but at the end of the day, he was sent flying into a tree by Ratchet. When the solar needle situation became dire, causing the sun to come close to self-destruction, Thundercracker was smart enough to fly away, the first Decepticon to do so. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} He was also part of an aerial strike force bombarding the Autobots as they attempted to recover Optimus Prime's right arm from the Decepticons' fortress in [[New Cybertron]]. {{storylink|City of Steel}} Along with the other Seekers, Thundercracker attacked the outside of the Ark as a diversion so Megatron could insert [[Personality destabilizer device|a device]] in the Ark's recharging chamber that would turn the Autobots evil. Notably, Thundercracker's blasts created a landslide that stopped [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] in his tracks. He was later boarding a rocket that would hopefully take the Decepticons back to Cybertron, but the Autobots, who had become good again, damaged the fuel tanks and forced the Decepticons to jump ship. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}} Thundercracker was seen with the other Decepticons, shooting at Optimus Prime when he came for their electro-cells, {{storylink|Traitor}} and was among those who came to steal Wheeljack's [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]]. {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} When the Autobots became trapped in their vehicle modes thanks to the transfixatron, Thundercracker blasted Optimus Prime and Ironhide and overheated them. He also helped Starscream bring out the Decepticon body shell, and then attempted (and failed) to kill [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|an Earthcrawler with an overdue termination]]. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} After Soundwave's discovery of [[Sub-Atlantica|an underwater city]], Thundercracker and the other Decepticons went to go plunder it for energy. When they discovered [[Nergill|a new ally]], Thundercracker worked on some technology that would hopefully raise his submerged city. Although he was skeptical about working with them, he had to go along anyway as part of a larger plan. He was then among the Seekers who menaced a squad of Autobots when they came to check out the situation. When Sub-Atlantica had risen to the water's surface and floated towards [[Washington, D.C.]], Thundercracker entered the city with his fellow Decepticons. Though he and Skywarp threatened [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and Prowl from above, Brawn held Thundercracker with a hooked rope so Optimus Prime could blast him out of the sky. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

The three Seekers tore the roof off the building where [[Doctor Fujiyama the Famous Scientist|Dr. Fujiyama, the famous scientist]] unveiled his new robot [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]], with Thundercracker and Starscream promptly transporting Nightbird to the Decepticons' temporary base. Later, Megatron considered replacing Starscream with the now-reprogrammed Nightbird. Starscream threw a fit and Megatron told Thundercracker and Skywarp to hold him back before Soundwave and Bombshell trapped him in a force field. Megatron led the Decepticons (minus Starscream) to retrieve Nightbird's World Energy Chip, but Starscream escaped and shot her with his [[null-ray]] in yet another act of treachery. Megatron sent the other Decepticons to catch the traitor, allowing the Autobots to collect it. {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}

[[Image:APrimeProblem-Thundercracker_and_Gears.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Let me at least keep this Autobot, please Starscream?]]

When the Autobots were investigating a mysterious source of energy in a crevice, the Seekers attacked Optimus Prime. Thundercracker charged at Optimus, only to be grabbed and thrown to the ground. Much later, as part of a ploy by Megatron, Thundercracker was surprised to hear [[Starscream clone (G1)|"Starscream"]] announce for everybody to hold their fire, as he had [[Gears (G1)|an Autobot]] in his very hands and could kill him. Starscream shut him up by repeating the order. But when Starscream explained his plan to fight [[Optimus Prime clone|"Optimus Prime"]], Thundercracker went along with it and was the one who announced the start of the match. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}} On a later mission, he ambushed the Autobots from above, only to be swatted away by an Autobot-controlled Devastator. {{storylink|The Core}} He was subsequently around at the mission to [[Nova Power Plant]], firing at the Autobots and a group of helicopter-piloting humans. At [[Iron Mountain]], the Insecticons managed to enslave Thundercracker and the other Seekers. However, when the now enormous-sized Shrapnel exploded, it also deactivated the [[cerebro-shell]]s that had taken over the Seekers, and they were returned to normal. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}} When Laserbeak reported [[Dinobot Island (G1)|a strange, prehistoric island]] chock-full of energon sources to Megatron, he brought a team of Decepticons with him, Thundercracker helping to fill up the energon cubes. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Thundercracker also assisted in repelling both Autobots on the island and [[Dinosaur (dinosaur)|the island's monsters]], only to be run over by a stampede. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}} Next, he and the other jets came to a ravine to get a few shots in at the Autobots. This failed when [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] used his eponymous ability to blind them. {{storylink|Auto Berserk}}

[[Image:Microbots-DrunkThundercracker.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Before we could transform, we had to walk ''15 MILES'' to Cybertronian school every day! (hic!)]]

He was also around to assist the Decepticons in recovering the wreck of the Nemesis, which had crashed in South America. He also got completely smashed when the Decepticons went on an energon binge. {{storylink|Microbots}} He also disguised himself as an Autobot as part of a Decepticon plan to frame the Autobots. When the plan worked, he and the others witnessed the Autobots' banishment from Earth. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} Thundercracker and Skywarp supervised the humans filling up energon cubes at a power plant, and he later took part in attacking a squad of fighter jets that had come for the Decepticons, only for them to be overwhelmed by the Autobots, who had returned from their banishment. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

When Spike, Carly, and Bumblebee went to the airport to pick up Sparkplug, Spike thought it was suspicious that brightly coloured military jets were at a commercial location such as theirs. Surely enough, they turned out to be Thundercracker and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]], and the hangar that they flew into was [[Hangar|a new Decepticon base]]. However, the Dinobots showed up to stop them, and [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] dispatched the Seekers by tripping them with barrels. Next, [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] bombed Thundercracker and Thrust, causing them to crash into the base and destroy it. Slag then sent the two of them flying into an airplane, Thundercracker cushioning Thrust's fall. He got better, and later helped fill energon cubes, and by shooting Mirage, asserted to him that he was not, in fact, invisible. However, Thundercracker did not laugh for long, as his Cybertonium deteriorated and rendered him incapable of transformation. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}}

Thundercracker, Starscream, and Megatron went to go steal [[Haley|Professor Haley]]'s [[Voltronic Galaxer]], after which they then boarded Astrotrain with the device and headed to the moon. After capturing [[Cosmos (G1)|a pair]] [[Blaster (G1)|of intruders]], Megatron ordered Starscream and Thundercracker to return to Earth while the galaxer did its work interrupting Earth's radiowaves. As Optimus Prime was directing traffic at an airport, Thundercracker and Starscream unleashed a surprise assault that damaged [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] and Prime. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}} When Starscream tackled Megatron after returning from Camelot, Thundercracker arrived to see what was going on. {{storylink|A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court}}

[[Image:GoldenLagoon-Guards.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Don't try anything funny...]]

Thundercracker and Skywarp also worked as guards for the Decepticons, ensuring that [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] and [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] didn't attempt to attack those who had captured them. When a lagoon full of [[electrum]] was discovered, Thundercracker and the other Decepticons took a dive and became invulnerable, showing off their power against the Autobots. He also came on the quest to topple Omega Supreme, but when he and Skywarp went to go retrieve [[Beachcomber (G1)|a prisoner]] at the base, he was defeated. The Decepticons attempted to attack the now electrum-powered Autobots at the lagoon, but their electrum began to wear off and Thundercracker was shot down and they were forced to retreat. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}} Thundercracker assisted in guarding the Decepticons' base in the Pine Barrens, {{storylink|Make Tracks}} and came to a valley that was full of [[Morphobot]]s. He went into hiding when an Autobot convoy arrived, and didn't do much else except retreat. {{storylink|Quest for Survival}}

When Astrotrain declared himself leader of the Decepticons, Thundercracker snarked at the idea, and it certainly didn't help when Astrotrain's "troops" got themselves in a mess. He barely escaped with his fellow jets when one of the troops accidentally created a flood. He later made a bet with Thrust and Ramjet (four energon cubes!) over whether or not Megatron will prevail over the rebellious Triple Changers and Devastator. {{storylink|Triple Takeover}}

[[Image:WarDawn-ThundercrackerPounding.jpg|220px|thumb|right|[[Guardian robot|They]] sure used to give us a pounding. By that, I mean we needed plastic surgery.]]

Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker had held several humans hostage, so it was only natural they would find the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] on their tails. Thundercracker got in a dogfight with [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] and [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]], and he emerged as the loser, returning to Cybertron for repairs. On Cybertron, the three Seekers caught up with the Aerialbots again, but they were calmed when [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] announced that he simply wanted to talk. Starscream saw this as an opportunity to trick the Aerialbots, but the remaining Autobots discovered their plan. The Seekers tried to ward them off, but Ironhide crashed into them. Eventually, the Decepticons discovered a guardian robot from Cybertron's past, which Thundercracker recalled as "giving them a pounding in the old days". When the Autobots repaired the time machine that had sent the Aerialbots to the past, the Decepticons attacked them with a guardian robot. When it was destroyed by [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], they retreated. {{storylink|War Dawn}} Thundercracker and Skywarp were guarding a space bridge when Starscream flew in and requested to go to Cybertron. The two of them refused to let anybody through without proper authorization, leading Starscream to aim his gun directly in Skywarp's face. They reluctantly let him through. Thundercracker took part in the assault on the traitorous Starscream and his warriors, the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

[[Image:StarscreamsBrigade-SpaceBridgeGuards.jpg|thumb|left|240px|You shall not pass!]]

He and Dirge were instructed by Megatron to transport some energon cubes to the space bridge. He was then sent to Cybertron via space bridge with the other Decepticons and the Autobots, who had temporarily made an alliance in order to stop Starscream. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}} Finally, he took part attacking the Ark and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

Thundercracker was present for [[Battle of Autobot City|the Decepticon assault]] on [[Autobot City]] in 2005, and was among the Decepticons gunned down by Optimus Prime. After the battle, Astrotrain transported the Decepticons away, but requested that some dead weight should be jettisoned. The injured Thundercracker, along with Skywarp and the Insecticons, were tossed out of Astrotrain following a decidedly stacked vote.

[[Image:TFTM Thundercracker.jpg|right|250px|thumb|NAZGUUUUL!!]]
That was not, however, entirely the end of Thundercracker's story. [[Unicron]] was waiting in space for a chance like this, and when the newly reborn [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] needed some new troops to command, Thundercracker was among the old Decepticons used as raw materials. His body was used to create [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

Later [[Octane]] would show concern when he ran into a [[Decepticon Crypt]] to hide from Cyclonus, the Sweeps and Scourge and found [[:Image:ThundercrackerCryptMarker1.jpg|a statue of Thundercracker]] there. After apologizing for the intrusion, Octane decided it would be better to hide behind someone else's statue. {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost}}

{{-}}
====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic====
Under orders from [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], Thundercracker accompanied [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] in an energy raid on [[Tokyo]]. They succeeded in bombing pedestrians and children until [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and a unit of Autobot vehicles arrived. Though a Decepticon victory seemed assured when they unleashed [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] on their foes, their strategy was undone when the Autobots drove up a ramp at top speed, transformed to vehicle mode and punched everybody in the face. Thundercracker was forced to retreat. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 1|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1}}

Thundercracker later took part in an all-out assault on [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]] in [[Arizona]]. The attack was nothing more than a diversion so [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] could go do unspecified ''stuff'' in Japan and the Decepticons were eventually defeated and driven off. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #2}}

====''Robot Masters'' online comic====
{{charstubfiction}}

===S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers===
[[Image:PackIn HaveTheDecepticons Inside1.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Somebody told him the femmebots are all into vampires these days.]]
A [[S.T.A.R.S. continuity|series of recruitment messages]] sent by the Autobots to [[human]] allies featured Thundercracker as a recurrent bogeyman. He first appeared in the story of [[Johnny]], a member of [[S.T.A.R.S.]] who spotted Thundercracker draining the energy from the boy's town. Despite all other power being knocked out, Johnny was able to activate his [[Command Center]] and summon an Autobot squad. {{storylink|Have the Decepticons defeated us once and for all?}} However, even they were somewhat affected by Thundercracker's siphoning, and just as Johnny was preparing to issue orders, his Command Center went dead and the walls around him began to shake. {{storylink|Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons?}}

[[Image:PackIn RodimusPrimeRemembers Inside2.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Greatest battle of all time, and Reflector takes the picture when my damn wings are still down. Thanks, buddy."]]

The Autobot messages ended that story there, leaving the outcome unknown. But in later messages, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] would recall what he considered [[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction (G1)|the Transformers' greatest battle on Earth]], in which the only enemy combatants were Megatron and Thundercracker. The two Decepticons set up an ambush for an Autobot convoy searching for a site on which to build [[Autobot City]]. As the battle erupted, Thundercracker again employed his energy-draining attack (described here as a "[[force field]]"). {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}} [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ordered [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] to retreat out of the weapon's range and get help, but as they left, Thundercracker pursued. {{storylink|Transformers Combat Data}}

[[Image:Theautobotsareunderattack.jpg|left|150px|thumb|The match-up no one demanded!]]

Again, the story was cut short, but it would not be the last time Thundercracker was said to tangle with that particular group of Autobots. The final S.T.A.R.S. recruitment message told of [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] discovering that the squad was out scouting for new energy sources, and Thundercracker was sent on a sneak-attack run. The message warned that if the recipient failed to help out by joining S.T.A.R.S., the Autobots might be destroyed. {{storylink|The Autobots Are Under Attack!}}

{{note|Thundercracker's consistent use of an energy-draining weapon is unique to this [[micro-continuity]]. It seems to make him an incredibly dangerous foe; however, given that all of this is literally Autobot propaganda, the "[[Wikipedia:Unreliable narrator|unreliable narrator]]" factor is worth consideration.}}

===''Machine Wars'' toy bio===
The mysterious [[Machine Wars]] were a tumultuous time for Thundercracker. At long last he was convinced of and committed to the truth of the Decepticon cause, but Thundercracker now ironically found himself in open rebellion against Megatron's leadership of the faction. It is unknown what events lead to his reversal of heart about the Decepticons and his being branded a "Rebel Warrior."

{{note|Since no fictional backstory has ever been established for the Machine Wars line it is possible that it is set in some alternate reality where this was simply Thundercracker's nature, but given that the rest of the characters are clearly their classic G1-selves unrevealed events/character development seem more likely explanations.}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
{{notekeepers}}
{{charstubfiction}}

One of the first Decepticons recruited by Megatron. Early in [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s scheming, Thundercracker was sent to [[Sector Zero-Six]] with [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. On the way, Starscream unintelligently leaked the plan to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. {{storylink|DW Preview Special 2002}} During the war, Thundercracker served under [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] during the [[Dark Ages]], when Megatron was missing and believed dead. {{storylink|War Within: The Dark Ages}}

Thundercracker was one of several Decepticon invaders on-board the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' when it crashed into [[Earth]] four million years ago while the Autobot ship was clearing an asteroid in the path of Cybertron. He was reactivated in 1984 with the rest of the Transformers, and fought at Megatron's side until the Decepticons were ultimately defeated. In 2002, he was captured and reprogrammed by arms dealer [[Lazarus|Adam 'Lazarus' Rook]] alongside many other Cybertronians. Lazarus intended to rent out the services of the enslaved robots to various terrorist groups. In a demonstration of their power to a group of prospective clients, Thundercracker participated in an attack on the Arctic division of the Smitco Oil Refinery by blowing something up. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}}

After Megatron reactivated himself, he freed his Decepticon subordinates in order to put forward his plans to infect Earth with a metallic virus of doom. To pass the time while this happened, Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp busied themselves by tearing apart the Autobot [[Mini Vehicle]] team. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3|Prime Directive #3}} Thundercracker later participated in Megatron's attack on San Francisco, where he followed Starscream's orders to maintain formation and drop cluster bombs on the Autobot giant [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], forcing the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to split into their separate component robots. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 4|Prime Directive #4}} Thundercracker stood watch over the defeated Autobots while Megatron tried to persuade [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] to help the Decepticons conquer Earth. After some human firefighters distracted the Decepticons long enough for Optimus Prime to free the Autobots, Thundercracker was presumably beaten up and escaped when Superion sacrificed himself to stop a nuclear missile launched by rogue US General [[Robert Hallo]]. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 6|Prime Directive #6}}

''Oddly enough, Thundercracker turned to weapons smuggling after Megatron vanished and the Decepticons were left leaderless, working with [[Mexico|Mexican]] arms dealers south of the border. He was moored at [[Mesa Verde|Atahulpa Aeropuerto de Mesa Verde]], getting his cargo hold loaded with guns, when [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] sieged the tiny airport. As his human allies scattered, Thundercracker transformed and engaged the Autobots with his drone missile launchers. One of the guided projectiles nearly blasted Prowl in the back, but Bumblebee knocked it off course... right into a tanker filled with jet fuel. The resulting explosion was catastrophic, and threw the Autobots for a loop. Thundercracker was prepared to finish off Prowl when the renegade [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] Grimlock arrived on the scene. Fresh for battle, Grimlock easily defeated Thundercracker, battering him from head to toe before knocking him into the airport terminal. {{storylink|Hardwired}}''

{{note|Thundercracker's smuggling operation may have been connected to Starscream supplying advanced weapons technology to his human servants in [[Las Vegas]], but this was never made clear.}}
''Recovering from his injuries, Thundercracker joined up with Starscream and his forces in "[[Las Vegas|New Centurion]]" (formerly Las Vegas) some time before Megatron returned to Earth with the nigh-invincible aliens known as the [[Keeper (species)|Keepers]] in tow. He got another chance at Prowl and Bumblebee while fighting on the Strip, but the Autobots were better prepared this time and Thundercracker was brought down by Prowl's wire-guided missiles and crashed in front of Caesar's Palace. He revived in time to join Soundwave in double-teaming Grimlock, who had also come in the assault on Las Vegas. Unfortunately, Thundercracker once again fell before the Dinobot's superior might after only a few blows. He stayed under Starscream's command after Megatron returned, remaining in Las Vegas while the former Decepticon leader and those loyal to him quit the city. This only led to Thundercracker being captured with the rest of Starscream's Decepticons when their leader was killed by the Keepers and reanimated as a host body for their awesome power. Thundercracker, Skywarp and the others were trapped beneath a massive energy field, like mice in a cage to the god-like aliens.''

''The [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] eventually dug a tunnel to freedom, and Thundercracker's group of Decepticons reunited with Megatron, working with the Autobots against the Keepers. Thundercracker joined [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and the Autobot [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] on air patrol during the fight with the Keepers, strafing the aliens and their puppets, [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] and Starscream. He survived the battle with the Keepers (not to mention the nuclear missile launched by the American government) thanks to Optimus Prime super-charging the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] with a pool of newly discovered energon.'' {{storylink|Annihilation}}

''Thundercracker began working for Megatron again, and was present in the Nevada desert when the Autobots and Decepticons confronted the United States military. Thanks to their airborne tactics, Thundercracker and Skywarp did significant injury to the troops and survived the [[deconstructionite]] assault virtually unscathed.'' {{storylink|Fusion (novel)|Fusion}}

After Shockwave had defeated Megatron and brought the Decepticons back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Thundercracker and Skywarp spent their time relaxing and bathing, though Thundercracker was skeptical of Shockwave's new order, and compared its promised benefits to the benefits originally promised by Megatron. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}}

Starscream eventually brought the Nemesis crew back to Earth and led them in a battle against the Autobots who had stayed behind there. {{storylink|Night of the Combaticons}} Thundercracker was among those captured by the Autobots, but was eventually freed in exchange for Starscream's assistance in fighting against [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]]. They were only given half-power, though, and had to stumble out of the Autobot camp in an extremely weakened condition. {{storylink|Skyfire (issue)|Skyfire}} Hardly the sort of leadership they had in mind, Thundercracker and the other Decepticons eagerly re-accepted Megatron as their leader when he returned to Earth and chastised Starscream for his incompetence and treachery. {{storylink|The Route of All Evil}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoevsTF1_Seeker.jpg|right|thumb|200px|]]FEAR MEEEE!!!
Thundercracker was one of the many Transformers found dormant aboard the ''Ark'' by [[Cobra]], who reprogrammed the alien robots to serve them. After rebuilding Thundercracker and Skywarp into [[Rattler]] planes, Cobra sent them to attack a peace ceremony at [[Washington, D.C.]], where one of the Seekers was the first of the attackers to reveal their [[transformation]] ability before punching [[Ace]] out of the sky. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1}}

Eventually, the Decepticons were freed from Cobra's control, and Thundercracker and Skywarp started fighting against the newly freed Autobots. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5}} When the [[SPS Satellite]] went out of control and sent energy beams raining down on [[Cobra Island]], the two Seekers were caught in its blasts and deactivated. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6}}

{{note|Thundercracker and Skywarp are identical in this series, so it's possible that Thundercracker was also the one to kill [[Major Bludd]] in [[G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4]]. It seems more like something Skywarp would do, though.}}

{{-}}

===''Transformers Legends''===
Thundercracker and Skywarp were getting bawled out by Megatron when the news came in that Starscream had injured himself. When they went to retrieve Starscream, the Seeker was gone, and Thundercracker pointed out the Autobot tire-marks leading away from the area. He later totally bought Starscream's story that he'd been feigning amnesia to gain access to the Autobot base. {{storylink|Redemption Center}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:MegatronOrigin4 Thundercracker Skywarp.jpg|left|450px|thumb|"When I joined this murderous terrorist group, I wasn't ever intending to shoot at anyone!"]]
Thundercracker and his fellow Seekers were recruited into Megatron's [[Gladiatorial combat|underground fights]] when Soundwave was sent to recruit flight capable warriors. However, Megatron did not intend for them to be pit fighters, but his new warriors. After being given [[weapons systems]] by [[Hook (G1)|Hook]], the Seekers went and kidnapped [[Decimus|Senator Decimus]], who was to be executed at Megatron's recruitment rally. However, [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] and the Autobots arrived and arrested the whole of them. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} After Starscream killed the [[Kaon Council]] and liberated them, Megatron launched his new "Decepticons" in an "Everything burns" offensive on Kaon. Thundercracker and Skywarp were sent to target a ship carrying the wealthy and elite. Thundercracker expressed some reservations about attacking the ship, but Skywarp gave him simple advice: "Don't think. Just do it." {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

[[Image:Infiltration0 Thundercracker.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Tha-Boom, I want you in my room...]]
Millions of years later, Thundercracker operated as part of a Decepticon [[Infiltration protocol|insurgent cell]] that had operated covertly on Earth for at least four years, working to destabilize Earth's governing organizations and create global anarchy. He was known to the Autobots as a professional soldier, in contrast to the likes of the [[Battlecharger]]s.

He, [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] and [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] were assigned by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] to intercept the human [[Stoker]] and retrieve his [[SM-40]] palmtop PC, containing data on their [[Nebraska]] operation. The team caught up with and killed Stoker outside Phoenix, AZ, but the [[SM-40]] was missing. Thundercracker tracked the device to [[Hunter O'Nion]] and [[Verity Carlo]], but was driven off by [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], {{storylink|Infiltration issue 0|Infiltration #0}} who managed to temporarily lose him and the two [[Battlecharger|Battlechargers]]. After picking Ratchet up again, Thundercracker was later shot down by [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 2|Infiltration #2}} When Megatron arrived on Earth to take command of Starscream's infiltration team, Thundercracker, along with the other Decepticons, were unwilling to stand against him when the Decepticon leader ordered them to stand down. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

After Megatron trashed Starscream, Thundercracker and the other Decepticons were only all too willing to accept Megatron's leadership once again. The Decepticons took up temporary residence in an [[array]] structure in [[Latveria]]. There, Megatron activated the [[Psycho-Prism]] he had stolen from [[Doctor Doom]]. The Psycho-Prism emitted an aggression wave that acted on humans, increasing international tensions in the area. Megatron sent Thundercracker an Skywarp to bomb the neighboring country of [[Symkaria]] so they would blame Latveria and start a war. After their return the Decepticon array was being besieged by Autobots and [[Avengers]]. Along with the other Decepticons (except [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]), Thundercraker powered-up with the captured [[Spider-Man]]'s super powers as part of [[mirror response mode]]. Thundercraker, Runabout, and Runamuck left the array to confront the Autobots and Avengers outside. Thundercracker shot and injured [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}}

After shooting [[Ms. Marvel]] and getting chased by [[Captain America]] in the [[Quinjet]], Thundercraker was brought down by a blast from [[Iron Man]] in Transformer-sized armor. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Three}} He laid there until Megatron called for a retreat via [[emergency warp-out]]. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Four}}

Thundercracker and Skywarp were sent to destroy the El Jira power plant in the middle east to inflame global tensions and spark a global energy shortage. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} During the battle of [[Brasnya]], the sorely-pressed Skywarp teleported Thundercracker in to try and stop [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] from escaping with the [[Georgi Koska]] facimile. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[Image:Devastation1 Ruining Everything.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Megatron's lost it! It must be a Tuesday.]]
Thundercracker was among the concerned Decepticons who feared that Megatron had made a serious error in judgement by bringing the destructive [[Sixshot]] to Earth, and so conspired to bring Starscream back into the fold to talk some sense into their leader. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} Though outnumbered and outgunned, the Decepticons fought valiantly when the [[Reaper|Reapers]] attacked, and with a little help from [[Galvatron (G1)|a mysterious combatant]], they managed to defeat the alien invaders. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

Sometime after that (we think), Thundercracker was on Cybertron watching the experiments to create [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. He was outraged by the existence of the [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]], freakish monsters created as a side-effect, and demanded Megatron euthanise them rather than allow fellow Decepticons to endure such torturous existence. Megatron, shockingly, didn't give a toss. A while later, Thundercracker helped defeat the Autobots staying on Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

A year on from the Reaper battle, Thundercracker was part of the Decepticon attack on [[New York City]]. Unlike his comrades, he showed no enthusiasm for mindless slaughter and could be seen staring at the devastation Megatron left in his wake. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} When Megatron later made his propaganda speech, Thundercracker looked unimpressed. (Having to stand outside when it was pissing down probably didn't help.) {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}}
{{-}}

[[Image:AHM12_Betrayer.jpg|right|200px|thumb|How DARE you act like your [[bio]] suggests you should act!]]

Thundercracker came to the aid of Skywarp when the latter was being threatened by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]. While Skywarp enjoyed working with his pal Thundercracker again, he also noted that Thundercracker hadn't actually participated in any of the fighting since the initial strike. Thundercracker for his part looked about as depressed as a robot CAN look, suggesting he was unhappy about the invasion plan, or at least the gratuitous death and destruction some of the others had caused. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} When Starscream betrayed Megatron and sent the Insecticons and [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] to attack him, Thundercracker merely stood back and watched. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} He was later seen fighting back against human jets sent from [[Europe]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}}

When Megatron ordered [[Octane|Tankor]] to destroy New York City using a nuclear bomb, Thundercracker volunteered himself to redirect it. When questioned, he said that in his opinion, the Decepticons had lost their way, and the mass slaughter of unworthy foes was dishonorable. He succeeded in redirecting the bomb, but was then confronted by a furious Skywarp, who was outraged at the idea of a Seeker "betrayer" and, despite Thundercracker's attempts to explain his position, blasted him point-blank in the head. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

Thundercracker survived, albeit heavily injured and incapable of traveling far. As he made his way to a ruined New York skyscraper which human cleanup crews likely wouldn't reach for months, he reflected on how life on Earth was always changing and always finding a way to survive. He eventually managed to construct a distress beacon, and as he waited for his fellow Decepticons to find him, he also got a [[television]] working. For the next two and a half years, Thundercracker spent his time watching human programs and growing increasingly fascinated with their ever-changing world and society. Eventually, he was found by a ragtag team of 'cons left behind on the planet, who repaired him and hoped that he, as an elite Seeker, would lead them. Thundercracker refused, as he saw no point in a warrior leading the team, since the war was over for them. {{storylink|Seasons in Flight}}

Instead, [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] took command, and led Thundercracker and the others for a revenge attack on [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. After some quick battlefield thinking by Swindle, the Decepticons changed their tunes and instead offered to help [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and his group leave Earth. {{storylink|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}} As Thundercracker helped them construct a ship, he thought about how Swindle had to be planning something, and how he felt remorse for the Autobots and how lost they were. His thoughts strayed back to the humans and their ever-changing world, comparing them to his own so-called "transforming" race that had remained the same for millions of years. While Thundercracker used to laugh at it, he now saw the beauty of Earth, where every act of destruction was also an act of creation. He knew that they had a lot to learn from the humans, but all his fellow Transformers wanted to do was to run away. {{storylink|Seasons in Flight}}

Thundercracker watched from the sidelines as Ultra Magnus confronted Hot Rod's group for a second time, and witnessed Swindle's unveiling of [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. {{storylink|Enemies of the System}} While the other Decepticons turned on their Autobot "comrades", Thundercracker remained true to his honor. He saved [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] during a scrap with [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]], and proceeded to help Rodimus as well. {{storylink|Earthworks}}

Months later, Bumblebee contacted Thundercracker, asking him for help in getting the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] out of [[North Korea]]. {{storylink|International Incident Part 2: "Ranks of Bronze"}} While he had left the Decepticons, Thundercracker was uninterested in rejoining the war, having found a new hobby in studying humanity from a hideout filled with televisions. After Bumblebee's attempts to befriend him were rebuffed, the Autobot confronted him with the fact that despite his admirable attempts at changing, Thundercracker was a warrior at heart, and would get back in the action sooner or later. Realizing that he was right, Thundercracker agreed to aid Bumblebee's Autobots, and traveled to North Korea where he knocked [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] out of the sky. {{storylink|International Incident Part 3: "Hawk Among the Sparrows"}} The Combaticons were defeated, only for the Autobots to get attacked by the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] instead. Thundercracker faced off against [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] before personally blowing up the [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] plants in North Korea and [[China]], thus ending the Combaticons' and Predacons' alliances with those nations. {{storylink|International Incident Part 4: "All My Sins Remembered"}}

Returning home from Asia, Thundercracker found his hideout trashed—the humans had discovered it while he was away. And if that wasn't bad enough, ''Starscream'' was there, asking for his help. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon}} He had recently been ousted from his position of Decepticon leader by Megatron, and tried to convince Thundercracker to return to the Decepticons and help him overthrow Megatron again. Thundercracker reacted with the same disinterest as he had shown Bumblebee's proposition, reminding Starscream that the Decepticons had left him to rot and that he couldn't care less about galactic conquest. His attitude only served to anger Starscream, who shot him in the back repeatedly. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies}} Thundercracker's life was saved by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], sent by the Autobots to again request his help against the returning Decepticon army, who defeated Starscream and carried the injured Seeker to safety. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome}}

At the Autobot base, Thundercracker got medical attention from [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (and complained that he wasn't Ratchet). In exchange for his repairs, Optimus Prime wanted him to tell the Autobots where Megatron could have the recently injured Soundwave, but Thundercracker had no helpful information for him. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine}}

With his repairs done, Thundercracker left the Autobot base, electing not to follow the "sentimental" Autobots back to Cybertron. Prowl tried to stop him, but he only warned the Autobot against provoking him before flying off to places unknown. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix}}

{{-}}
===Alternity===
{{storylink|Alternation}}
{{charstubfiction}}

==Commercial appearances==
Thundercracker snuck his way into several bits of original [[commercial]] animation:
* He appears in the first Transformers animation, a 1984 commercial advertising the Marvel comic. He is animated with an early model featuring a black face.
* He appears alongside Starscream in a commercial for Jetfire, strafing three Autobot cars. Later Jetfire shoots him down, forcing him and Starscream to transform and land.
* Thundercracker and the other two jets get beat up by the Dinobots in a commercial for the Predacons.

==Games==
===Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons===
When Optimus embarked on his mission to rescue the Autobots' [[Mini Vehicle|Minicar]] troops from the Decepticons, Thundercracker could hinder Optimus Prime's progress, by attacking him, temporarilly breaking down the Autobots' leader. {{storylink|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons packaging blurb and game}}

===The Transformers (PS2)===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}

===Transformers G1: Awakening===
{{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
{{charstubfiction}}

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

==Notes==
* The mold for ''Machine Wars'' Thundercracker was originally developed for ''[[Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'', but was canceled when that line went under. It is unknown if it was intended to be a new character or a recurring one, though odds are it would have been later [[Redeco|redecoed]] into a recurring character if the former was true.

* A redeco of the ''Classics'' Seeker mold as ''Action Master'' Thundercracker was originally going to be the attendee freebie figure for [[BotCon 2010]], but the mold was being used for ''Generations'' Thrust by Hasbro at the time and thus unavailable. So [[Fun Publications]] opted to produce [[Slicer|Slice]] instead. The redeco was released one year later at [[BotCon 2011]] instead, though characterized as "[[Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]" [[Thundercracker (SG)|Thundercracker]].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Thundercracker''' (サンダークラッカー ''Sandākurakkā'')
*''French:'' '''Coup de Tonnerre''' (Canada, "Thunderclap")
*''Hungarian:'' '''Villámcsapás''' ("Lightning strike")
*''Italian:'' '''Vampiro''' ("Vampire")
*''Mandarin:'' '''Lìeh Léi''' (Taiwan, 裂雷, "Cracking Thunder"), '''Léi-gōng''' (Taiwan, 雷公, "[[wikipedia:Lei Gong|Duke of Thunder]]"), '''Jing Tian Léi''' (China, 驚天雷, "Sky-shocking Thunder")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Grande Trovão''' (Portugal comics, "Big Thunder"), '''Arrasador''' (Brazil comics, "Destroyer")
*''Russian:'' '''Gromoverzhec''' (Громовержец, "Thunderer")

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1984/Decepticon/Thundercracker/thundercracker.htm Thundercracker at TFU.info]
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Thundercracker Thundercracker's Universe profile at NTFA.net]
*[http://www.toybin.org/search.php?q=1984+Decepticon+Thundercracker ToyBin Thundercracker Toy Gallery]

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Shockwave (Animated)

2011-10-09T23:30:09Z

ScreamSeeker89: /* Notes */

{{factions|decepticon|autobot|eliteguard}}
{{disambig3|Shockwave}}
{{disambig3|Longarm}}
:''Shockwave is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:TFA Shockwave.jpg|thumb|right|250px|My awesomeness is logical.]]

'''Shockwave''' is a covert agent in service to [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. This size-changing master of disguise has infiltrated the Autobot security apparatus at the highest level: his cover persona is '''Longarm Prime''', head of [[Cybertron Intelligence]], reporting directly to [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] himself. The undercover Decepticon is the perfect agent to pull this off, as he's able to change his voice, his appearance, and even his energy signature. This puts Shockwave in the perfect position to undermine and mislead the Autobots while feeding strategic information to his true master. To establish his credibility, "Longarm" attended the [[Autobot boot camp]] alongside Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Over the years, he worked his way up the Autobot hierarchy until finally he was promoted to be the very head of the Intelligence Division itself!

Befitting a double agent, Shockwave is highly secretive and fearful of detection. Befitting a cartoon villain, he can confidently give those secrets away if he thinks he's winning. If he suspects his cover may be compromised, he's given to acts of desperation.

{{bigquote|Rise, Shockwave: my most loyal servant!|Megatron|"[[This Is Why I Hate Machines]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{Idw-tfa}}
:''Voice actor'': [[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Nobuyuki Hiyama]] (Japanese), [[Helmut Gauß]] (German), [[Ulisses Bezerra]] (Portuguese), [[Leonardo Salas]] (Latin American Spanish, season 3)

[[Image:TFA Longarm.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Why am I wearing a scuba mask?]]

[[Image:TFA Shockwave DoubleAgent.jpg|thumb|right|150px|So does that mean he's Shockwave Prime?]]
Shockwave was recruited by Megatron because his mass-shifting abilities allowed him to impersonate effectively a wide variety of shapes and sizes, making it difficult for Autobots to accurately track him during missions of infiltration and sabotage. It was these traits which led to Megatron sending him to enlist in the Autobot armed services as a means of climbing the ranks and eventually taking the organization down from within.

With the aid of [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]], {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}} Shockwave crafted a young Autobot persona and form for himself from old historical records <ref>Shockwave's on-package bio</ref> and enrolled in [[Autobot boot camp]], where his ability to stretch his limbs to great lengths (a limited use of his ability to change shape and size) earned him the name "Longarm" from his drill sergeant [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Minor]]. However, he slipped up in the early days of training and was overheard reporting to Megatron by the black sheep recruit [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]. Although Shockwave managed to avoid detection right away, Bumblebee was tipped off to the presence of a traitor in the camp and suspected fellow recruit [[Wasp]], whom he spotted leaving the building shortly afterward. Bumblebee turned to the espionage-savvy Longarm for advice, and Shockwave used the opportunity to divert attention away from himself. He suggested that the young Autobot refrain from telling their commander, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Minor]], so that 'Bee could take all the credit himself. Unfortunately, all of Bumblebee's efforts only got him in worse trouble, and his fellow recruits began to bully him, with Longarm being the only one to stick up for him. After several failures on Bumblebee's part, Shockwave took matters into his own hands during a training exercise and switched the training equipment to live ammo in an attempt to offline the Autobot and keep the whole matter of a traitor a secret. Luckily for Bumblebee, this plan was foiled by [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]].

Eventually, Shockwave found out that Sentinel Minor intended to conduct a surprise inspection, and he contrived to set up Wasp to take the fall himself. After planting a Decepticon communicator in Wasp's locker, Shockwave, as Longarm, informed Bumblebee of the upcoming inspection, telling him that it was his last chance to find the evidence he needed. Using one of his extensible limbs to trip up Wasp, Shockwave allowed Bumblebee to palm Wasp's locker key as 'Bee helped him up, allowing him to find the communicator and show it to Sentinel. In the end, Wasp was dragged off to prison, and Longarm commended Bumblebee for his deductive work.

Subsequently, Shockwave graduated boot camp and eventually became the head of [[Cybertron Intelligence]]. Now "Longarm [[Prime (rank)#Transformers Animated|'''Prime''']]", he remained in this position, hiding in plain sight, for the fifty stellar cycles that Megatron was lost on [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}} He murdered [[Highbrow (Animated)|Intel director Highbrow]] to get the job. <ref>''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac Volume 2]]''</ref>

''After [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]'s ship was lost, Longarm pressed Sentinel to continue the search for the ship's crew, the AllSpark and [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. His pleas fell on deaf ears. {{storylink|Dispatches}}''

After Megatron succeeded in restoring himself and the Decepticons were assembled on Earth, he re-established contact with Shockwave on Cybertron and initiated a plan to construct a [[space bridge]] that would allow the Decepticons to conquer the planet from within. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}} Wasp, now criminally insane, escaped from prison, and Megatron started receiving transmissions from his double agent on Cybertron. When Megatron's captive, [[Isaac Sumdac]], attempted to alert the Autobots to the existence of the double agent by bouncing a transmission to their base, Bumblebee again suspected Wasp. He reported the news to Longarm Prime on Cybertron, but of course, that accomplished nothing. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

[[Image:Anim shockwave pinchy.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Pinchy pinchy!]]

When the completed space bridge failed to function, Megatron contacted Shockwave and instructed him to locate the top space bridge specialist on Cybertron to help correct the problem. Shockwave was surprised to discover that the specialist was already on Earth; it was Bulkhead! Bulkhead was subsequently captured by Megatron and forced to perfect the space bridge. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}} The other Autobots arrived too late to stop him, and they were defeated by the Decepticons and strung up to watch as the bridge was activated. Shockwave revealed his alter ego of Longarm Prime to the Autobots, disclosing that he had already given Megatron an appropriate access code and forcing Bumblebee to feel the shame of sending an innocent Wasp to prison. When Megatron tried to test the space bridge by sending Optimus Prime through it, Shockwave assured his master that he awaited the "test subject" on the other side. Unfortunately, an attempt by Megatron to boost power caused the space bridge to overload, deleting the access code and setting the space bridge to random coordinates. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

Megacycles later, Shockwave, as Longarm once more, assured Ultra Magnus that the Decepticons would not be able to reach the Cybertron Space Bridge nexus. Shockwave then contacted [[Team Chaar]], who had successfully taken over a space bridge and were ready to use it in order to gate to Cybertron. [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] asked for permission to begin the assault, only to have Shockwave deny her request. She was to stay put with her team and wait for Megatron to arrive, even if he was megacycles overdue.

[[Image:TransWarpedBlurrLongarm.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Whoops—there's a bug on your head, Blurr. Holllld stilll..."]]

Not long afterward, the entire Space Bridge Nexus powered down. Confused, Longarm questioned Cybertron Command, and [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] informed him that Ultra Magnus had ordered the shutdown in order to prevent the Decepticons from accessing Cybertron. Just then, Agent [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] arrived and (very) quickly informed Longarm that while on Earth, he had intercepted a transmission between Megatron and his double agent on Cybertron, Shockwave. Further, Blurr noted that Shockwave's voice didn't match that of the suspected Wasp, but quick search of the Cybertron Intel Database would allow them to find the true identity of the traitor. Shocked, Longarm asked if Blurr had shared this information with anyone else. When Blurr replied that he had not, Shockwave decided it would be wise to quiet him down—permanently. Blurr eluded his initial attempts and escaped into the corridors around the nexus control center. Rather than give chase, Shockwave simply had the corridors' security hatches slam shut and close in on Blurr, trapping and crushing him to death.

At the [[Metroplex (Animated)|Metroplex]], Longarm handed over Blurr's remains to Cliffjumper, calling the small cube "sensitive materials." He received an incoming transmission from Lord Megatron in his private office. They traded information on their respective setbacks, but Megatron assured Shockwave that he had [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|a method]] of preventing the Earth Autobots from blowing Shockwave's cover.

Shortly, Longarm Prime attended an [[Autobot High Council]] meeting, where Ultra Magnus declared that the Decepticons' attacks were too organized to be random acts of sabotage. Rather, evidence pointed to a double agent in the Autobots' midst. Longarm nervously pointed out that the Decepticon uprisings had started after Wasp's escape, making the cause plain. Ultra Magnus agreed and ordered [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] and Sentinel Prime to organize an Elite Guard Unit to find the escapee. He then requested that the Earth-bound Autobots be contacted. Increasingly distraught, Longarm declared that all communications should be first filtered through him, without exceptions—for the sake of security and the protection of Cybertron, naturally. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

Unfortunately, Longarm's insistence on diverting blame toward Wasp was his undoing. When Wasp headed to Earth, Ultra Magnus didn't inform him about Wasp's destination until the Elite Guard's ship was in sight of the planet. Knowing he was on the verge of being exposed, Shockwave tried to contact Megatron, but still received no response. With no other orders on how to proceed, Shockwave took matters into his own hands: In an effort to inflict one last blow to the Autobots, Shockwave attacked and seriously damaged Ultra Magnus, stealing his Magnus hammer in the process. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

When the Autobots became trapped in [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave's]] virtual reality, Shockwave appeared to invade and attack Earth. However, he didn't seem to do much besides set an apartment on fire. {{storylink|Human Error, Part I}}

[[Image:TFAni ThisisWhyIHateMachines Shockwave TrueColors.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Wish you'd bought that repaint now, don't you?]]
After escaping, Shockwave hid in an underground tunnel, concealed from detection, waiting for Megatron to call. The Decepticon leader, trapped inside of [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] along with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]], contacted Shockwave, who revealed a way to gain the access codes for Omega Supreme. However, Shockwave was soon discovered by [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and [[Captain Fanzone]]. He easily defeated them and went to find the female intelligence agent [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]]. To do this, he "asked" an informant-bot named [[Rattletrap]] for the directions. However, he apparently got lost, and so merely hid and waited for Fanzone and Ratchet to find her. He battled Ratchet and severely wounded the elderly Autobot. During the battle, he then found Ultra Magnus, still wounded. He was about to kill him for good when Ratchet used his EMP generator on both Shockwave ''and'' Ultra Magnus's hammer. Ratchet was then distracted by the arrival of temporary Magnus Sentinel Prime. After getting back online, Shockwave took Arcee and escaped to Omega Supreme, using the access codes to transwarp to Earth's orbit. He then celebrated his freedom to serve Megatron openly by [[electronic paint job|changing]] into more... [[Shockwave (G1)|suitable colors]], while Lugnut silently fumed at Megatron's description of him as his "most loyal servant". {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-ShockwavePointsAndLaughs.jpg|thumb|left|240px|It is only logical that you're an idiot.]]
Shockwave worked on the captured Arcee, initially hitting an early datatrax from her time as a teacher before the Great War. Megatron assured his "ever-loyal Shockwave" that if any bot could access the right datatrax, it was him. Combined with some taunting by Starscream, this sent Lugnut into a frenzy of jealousy, and he knocked Shockwave across the room as he begged for Megatron's favour. Shockwave in turn pointed out that while Lugnut was "fawning at Megatron's feet", he'd risked "spark and servo" as a double agent. This didn't go over well, and soon the two purple 'Cons were fighting one another. Later, with both sent to convert material from the wrecked [[Nemesis (Animated)|Decepticon flagship]] into [[Lugnut Supreme|clones of Omega Supreme]], Shockwave could be seen pointing and laughing at a misfortune on his rival's part.

After dropping a bit of stripped material from the wrecked ship, unwittingly nearly crushing a spying Bumblebee, Shockwave returned to working on Arcee and successfully restored her to the [[The Thrill of the Hunt|point at which her memory was wiped]]. Briefly returning to his grey "Longarm" mode, he confirmed that she had the activation codes, so he ripped the wires which artificially sustained her from her head, knocking her back into stasis. Outside, with the clones ready for activation, he rebooted Arcee. Despite "Longarm's" prompting, she refused to give the activation codes to Megatron voluntarily. Instead, Shockwave knocked her back into stasis and extracted the codes manually, making no comment when they ended up in Lugnut and Megatron proclaimed Lugnut his "most loyal lieutenant". As it turned out, however, the codes which Shockwave had torn from Arcee were missing a crucial "security upgrade patch", and he was forced to rig up an inelegant bypass—involving Lugnut directly puppeteering the clones—until he could retrieve the rest of the code from Arcee. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}}

[[Image:EndGamePartII-Longarm.jpg|right|thumb|200px|You wouldn't hit a purple guy, would you?]]

As Shockwave attempted to find the patch in Arcee's processor, Megatron grew impatient with Lugnut's giving a long speech on the greatness of his Glorious Leader before he would actually do anything with the clones, and angrily inquired of Shockwave if he was done yet. Shockwave replied, with great amusement in his voice, that he was still working on it and Megatron would have to relay all orders through Lugnut for the time being.

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-PanAcrossEveryone.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Decepticons have failed forevermore.]]

Apparently, he gave up on extracting the patch, and instead left Arcee - her datatrax once again reverted to her teaching days - on the lunar surface as a trap, while he waited to ambush any Autobots who came for her and Omega Supreme. The group which transwarped there, led by Ratchet, blundered straight into the trap, and Ratchet was forced to flee with Arcee and [[Sari Sumdac]] while Bumblebee and Bulkhead confronted their old classmate. While Shockwave initially had little difficulty as they attempted to attack from distance, he couldn't deal with Bulkhead's strength Bot-to-Con, and was left sprawled on the lunar surface, his cannon knocked out of reach. In a desperate attempt to buy time, he switched to Longarm mode - forgetting to activate his [[electronic paint job]] - but the pair of Autobots were not impressed, and Bulkhead smashed the cannon.

He was last seen as the Autobots' prisoner, being paraded before a large crowd on Cybertron. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}

{{-}}

===''The Cool'' comic===

With all foes defeated, Megatron contacted Shockwave on Cybertron to activate the [[Space Bridge]]. When the Space Bridge would not work, Shockwave deduced that it had yet to be connected to a power source. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 8}}

As Ultra Magnus lay wounded in a medical facility, Shockwave plotted to end the Autobot's vital functions once and for all. His assassination attempt was foiled by the combined efforts of Ratchet and Ultra Magnus though, and although victory seemed briefly within Shockwave's reach, having acquired the famed Magnus Hammer, he did not anticipate it still being under Ultra Magnus's control, and was electrocuted to death for his troubles. {{storylink|The Cool Extra issue 1}}

===Toy bios===
After graduating near the top of his class at the [[Autobot Academy]], he rose through the ranks of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] to become the head of its Intelligence Division. Though he normally enjoys a subtle approach, blackmailing Autobots in positions of authority, Bumblebee's hyperactive personality annoys him enough to make him break cover and attack the Autobot directly.

==Games==
===Transformers Animated: The Game===
[[Image:TFAnimated Game Shockwave.jpg|thumb|right|134px]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Corey Burton]] (English)
When [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] put out the call to his Decepticons to take as many Space Bridges as they could, Shockwave reported back that they'd captured over a dozen and were ready to invade Cybertron. Megatron radioed back to stand by and wait for his orders. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Longarmanimatedvoyager.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Punch.]]
[[Image:Shockwaveanimatedvoyager.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Counterpunch.]]
* '''Shockwave''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-14'''
:Representing his double nature in the cartoon, ''Animated'' Shockwave becomes both the Autobot Longarm and Decepticon Shockwave, featuring four distinct modes. In "Infiltration Mode," the shorter, stockier Autobot Longarm transforms into a four-legged crane platform. If one fancies, one can stretch out his Shockwave-mode limbs to emulate his limb-stretching ability in Longarm mode (albeit not very well). In "Spy Mode," he stretches and converts into the taller, lankier Decepticon Shockwave, as the crane portion of Longarm's body converts into a hand-held cannon. The center panel on his chest flips between Autobot and Decepticon symbols. Both chest symbols are vacuum metalized, with very shiny silver and gold. Curiously, while the rotating faction symbols on his chest use the usual "classic" designs, the tampographed Decepticon symbol on his cannon/crane is in the movie style, and is visible in his Autobot modes. Additionally, the only mode in which Longarm's head is not fully visible is Shockwave himself.

:All the differences between Shockwave and Longarm can be difficult to remember, even for Hasbro. In the "tank mode" picture at right, the secondary guns are incorrectly folded back. On the back of this toy's box, there are several small transformation errors, the most obvious being that only ''one'' of Shockwave's shoulders has been correctly rotated up. Also, the toy [[instruction booklet|instructions]] do not show Shockwave's neck as correctly extended (his chin is touching his chestplate in the instructions, just as for Longarm). They also fail to mention that you can bend his upper torso forward as Shockwave to better replicate the slouch that he has in the cartoon.

:The instructions for the trilingual packaging version of Shockwave have an odd error, in the space that should explain the transformation for his hands, is a glitched/overlapping version of the final two steps instead.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Shockwave/shockwave.htm More information on Shockwave at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Target}}
[[Image:Animated longarm targetexclusive.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Chugway.<ref>According to the ''Animated'' DVD closed captioning for [[Autoboot Camp]].</ref>]]
[[Image:Animated shockwave targetexclusive.jpg|thumb|right|300px|One-eyed one-horned giant purple [[Blurr (Animated)|people squisher...]] ]]
* '''Shockwave VS Bumblebee''' (Multi-pack, 2009)

:A predominantly purple [[redeco]] of the Voyager toy, this version of Shockwave is packaged with an apparently unaltered [[Activators]]-class [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] figure. Shockwave retains his four modes and gimmickry within each. A Target stores [[exclusive]], this set was available simultaneously with the [[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]]/[[Ratchet (Animated)#Activators|Ratchet]] multi-pack. Although this version seems to be a less convincing Autobot due to its purple paintjob, in one respect he would be a better spy in this form, as the redeco doesn't have the Decepticon symbol on the cannon arm to give him away. The Autobot and Decepticon symbols are also now red and purple, as opposed to the original silver and gold.
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/Shockwave/shockwave.htm More information on Purple Shockwave at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

* '''Shockwave Original Ver.''' (Voyager, 2010)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-42'''

: The Japanese edition of purple Shockwave is available on his own, and like most of the Japanese ''Animated'' toys, he features a shiny metallic finish for some of his purple parts, including his chest and main shoulder and leg pieces. The Decepticon insignia on his cannon also makes its return, this time in purple.
: Oddly, despite Japanese toys generally having less stringent [[For safety reasons|safety requirements]] than in America, the soft plastic used on this Shockwave's claws and antennae are made of a noticeably more rubbery plastic than in Hasbro's release.

{{-}}

==Notes==
* Actor Corey Burton reprises the role of Shockwave from Generation 1, reusing precisely the same British-accented, [[Wikipedia:Sark (Tron)|David-Warner-inspired]] voice for the character (while employing an American accented variation for Longarm). In an online interview with Seibertron.com in early 2009 (sadly lost owing to a server crash), Burton revealed that Shockwave's inclusion in Season 2 arose from a between-scenes conversation he had with the production team, regarding how little the original Shockwave actually had to do.

* In somewhat of a reversal, while this incarnation of Shockwave has much fewer appearances than his original incarnation, he does a heck of a lot more stuff: in just a few fleeting appearances on Animated, Shockwave manages to destroy Wasp's life, kill a [[Blurr (Animated)|popular recurring character]], bring down Cybertron's entire interplanetary transport and communications system, brutally assault the Magnus (and steal his hammer!), and give Megatron control of the Autobots' [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|most feared and powerful weapon]]. Oh, and according to the Almanacs, he probably offed Highbrow, and Magnus wasn't going to survive. Shockwave is ''awesome''. And it is very logical indeed.

* While Shockwave possesses the single, round optic and window-chest of his Generation 1 counterpart, much of the rest of his body appears to be largely patterned after ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]]; he transforms into an "H-tank", the front treads end up on his shoulders and the rear treads end up on the back of his lower legs, plus he has the large, spiky "antlers" on his head. Additionally, Shockwave's vehicle mode appears to be loosely based on one of the [[Transtech]] sketch designs for Megatron, with the high angled treads and turret. However, Shockwave is much thinner and taller than Megatron, and is also able to bend his knees.

[[Image:Chugway.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Closed Captioning provided by the Zero Wing Translation Team.]]
* The [[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|DVD]] closed captioning for the episode "[[Autoboot Camp]]" misspelled Shockwave's name as '''Chugway'''. Seriously. No, it's not a joke.

* Shockwave's status as an Elite Guard member in his Longarm identity is an issue fraught with much confusion. His on-package [[bio]] states that, as Longarm, he rose through the ranks of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] to reach his current position; this theoretically meshes with Longarm's cover story in "Autoboot Camp", where he states that he wishes to become an Elite Guard intelligence officer<ref>On the other hand, ''everyone else'' (outside of Bulkhead) in Sentinel Minor's recruit line-up stated that they wanted to serve some function in the Elite Guard, and none of them actually ended up in it.</ref>. However, [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] has informed this wiki that Longarm is not actually a member of that group in the cartoon continuity. Shockwave's status as a nonmember of the Elite Guard is supported by Longarm's lack of the Elite Guard's winged Autobot symbol, and the evident fact that, while Longarm ''is'' head of the Autobot Intelligence Division, the Autobot Intelligence Division is ''not'' a part of the Elite Guard; Longarm's immediate predecessor as head of the organization, [[Highbrow (Animated)|Highbrow]], did not sport the Elite Guard symbol either. Adding to this confusion, Longarm was drawn with an Elite Guard symbol in [[Dispatches|''The Arrival'' #1]], but this seems to have been in error, as Sentinel Prime {{m-}} stated to be ''the second-in-command'' of the Elite Guard in the story {{m-}} sported a normal Autobot symbol throughout it, suggesting the symbol-paster got confused.
** ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II]]'' suggests that part of the reason Shockwave isn't an Elite Guardsman is toy-based. The toy's faction symbol rotates to switch allegiances, and the wider Elite Guard symbol wouldn't have been mechanically feasible.

[[Image:Shockwave_goodside.jpg|thumb|right|180px|"I heard Starscream makes Boy George look straight."]]

*Both "Shockwave and "Longarm" have official alternate capitalizations. The credits of "[[TransWarped]]" give "LongArm Prime", and the credits for "[[This Is Why I Hate Machines]]" have "ShockWave".

* Despite not having a face, Shockwave still manages to have a [[chin]].

* Like [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]], Shockwave has the ability to fly despite having a land-based vehicle mode. Unlike Soundwave, his ability is explained by having rocket boosters in his feet [[Megatron (Animated)|like]] [[Starscream (Animated)|several]] [[Lugnut (Animated)|other]] [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Decepticons]].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Shockwave''' (ショックウェーブ ''Shokkuwēbu''), '''Longarm''' (ロングアーム ''Ronguāmu'')

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated Autobots]]
[[Category:Animated Decepticons]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Elite Guard]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Transformers with multiple modes]]

Shockwave (Animated)

2011-10-09T23:29:38Z

ScreamSeeker89: /* Notes */

{{factions|decepticon|autobot|eliteguard}}
{{disambig3|Shockwave}}
{{disambig3|Longarm}}
:''Shockwave is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:TFA Shockwave.jpg|thumb|right|250px|My awesomeness is logical.]]

'''Shockwave''' is a covert agent in service to [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. This size-changing master of disguise has infiltrated the Autobot security apparatus at the highest level: his cover persona is '''Longarm Prime''', head of [[Cybertron Intelligence]], reporting directly to [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] himself. The undercover Decepticon is the perfect agent to pull this off, as he's able to change his voice, his appearance, and even his energy signature. This puts Shockwave in the perfect position to undermine and mislead the Autobots while feeding strategic information to his true master. To establish his credibility, "Longarm" attended the [[Autobot boot camp]] alongside Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Over the years, he worked his way up the Autobot hierarchy until finally he was promoted to be the very head of the Intelligence Division itself!

Befitting a double agent, Shockwave is highly secretive and fearful of detection. Befitting a cartoon villain, he can confidently give those secrets away if he thinks he's winning. If he suspects his cover may be compromised, he's given to acts of desperation.

{{bigquote|Rise, Shockwave: my most loyal servant!|Megatron|"[[This Is Why I Hate Machines]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{Idw-tfa}}
:''Voice actor'': [[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Nobuyuki Hiyama]] (Japanese), [[Helmut Gauß]] (German), [[Ulisses Bezerra]] (Portuguese), [[Leonardo Salas]] (Latin American Spanish, season 3)

[[Image:TFA Longarm.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Why am I wearing a scuba mask?]]

[[Image:TFA Shockwave DoubleAgent.jpg|thumb|right|150px|So does that mean he's Shockwave Prime?]]
Shockwave was recruited by Megatron because his mass-shifting abilities allowed him to impersonate effectively a wide variety of shapes and sizes, making it difficult for Autobots to accurately track him during missions of infiltration and sabotage. It was these traits which led to Megatron sending him to enlist in the Autobot armed services as a means of climbing the ranks and eventually taking the organization down from within.

With the aid of [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]], {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}} Shockwave crafted a young Autobot persona and form for himself from old historical records <ref>Shockwave's on-package bio</ref> and enrolled in [[Autobot boot camp]], where his ability to stretch his limbs to great lengths (a limited use of his ability to change shape and size) earned him the name "Longarm" from his drill sergeant [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Minor]]. However, he slipped up in the early days of training and was overheard reporting to Megatron by the black sheep recruit [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]. Although Shockwave managed to avoid detection right away, Bumblebee was tipped off to the presence of a traitor in the camp and suspected fellow recruit [[Wasp]], whom he spotted leaving the building shortly afterward. Bumblebee turned to the espionage-savvy Longarm for advice, and Shockwave used the opportunity to divert attention away from himself. He suggested that the young Autobot refrain from telling their commander, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Minor]], so that 'Bee could take all the credit himself. Unfortunately, all of Bumblebee's efforts only got him in worse trouble, and his fellow recruits began to bully him, with Longarm being the only one to stick up for him. After several failures on Bumblebee's part, Shockwave took matters into his own hands during a training exercise and switched the training equipment to live ammo in an attempt to offline the Autobot and keep the whole matter of a traitor a secret. Luckily for Bumblebee, this plan was foiled by [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]].

Eventually, Shockwave found out that Sentinel Minor intended to conduct a surprise inspection, and he contrived to set up Wasp to take the fall himself. After planting a Decepticon communicator in Wasp's locker, Shockwave, as Longarm, informed Bumblebee of the upcoming inspection, telling him that it was his last chance to find the evidence he needed. Using one of his extensible limbs to trip up Wasp, Shockwave allowed Bumblebee to palm Wasp's locker key as 'Bee helped him up, allowing him to find the communicator and show it to Sentinel. In the end, Wasp was dragged off to prison, and Longarm commended Bumblebee for his deductive work.

Subsequently, Shockwave graduated boot camp and eventually became the head of [[Cybertron Intelligence]]. Now "Longarm [[Prime (rank)#Transformers Animated|'''Prime''']]", he remained in this position, hiding in plain sight, for the fifty stellar cycles that Megatron was lost on [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}} He murdered [[Highbrow (Animated)|Intel director Highbrow]] to get the job. <ref>''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac Volume 2]]''</ref>

''After [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]'s ship was lost, Longarm pressed Sentinel to continue the search for the ship's crew, the AllSpark and [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. His pleas fell on deaf ears. {{storylink|Dispatches}}''

After Megatron succeeded in restoring himself and the Decepticons were assembled on Earth, he re-established contact with Shockwave on Cybertron and initiated a plan to construct a [[space bridge]] that would allow the Decepticons to conquer the planet from within. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}} Wasp, now criminally insane, escaped from prison, and Megatron started receiving transmissions from his double agent on Cybertron. When Megatron's captive, [[Isaac Sumdac]], attempted to alert the Autobots to the existence of the double agent by bouncing a transmission to their base, Bumblebee again suspected Wasp. He reported the news to Longarm Prime on Cybertron, but of course, that accomplished nothing. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

[[Image:Anim shockwave pinchy.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Pinchy pinchy!]]

When the completed space bridge failed to function, Megatron contacted Shockwave and instructed him to locate the top space bridge specialist on Cybertron to help correct the problem. Shockwave was surprised to discover that the specialist was already on Earth; it was Bulkhead! Bulkhead was subsequently captured by Megatron and forced to perfect the space bridge. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}} The other Autobots arrived too late to stop him, and they were defeated by the Decepticons and strung up to watch as the bridge was activated. Shockwave revealed his alter ego of Longarm Prime to the Autobots, disclosing that he had already given Megatron an appropriate access code and forcing Bumblebee to feel the shame of sending an innocent Wasp to prison. When Megatron tried to test the space bridge by sending Optimus Prime through it, Shockwave assured his master that he awaited the "test subject" on the other side. Unfortunately, an attempt by Megatron to boost power caused the space bridge to overload, deleting the access code and setting the space bridge to random coordinates. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

Megacycles later, Shockwave, as Longarm once more, assured Ultra Magnus that the Decepticons would not be able to reach the Cybertron Space Bridge nexus. Shockwave then contacted [[Team Chaar]], who had successfully taken over a space bridge and were ready to use it in order to gate to Cybertron. [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] asked for permission to begin the assault, only to have Shockwave deny her request. She was to stay put with her team and wait for Megatron to arrive, even if he was megacycles overdue.

[[Image:TransWarpedBlurrLongarm.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Whoops—there's a bug on your head, Blurr. Holllld stilll..."]]

Not long afterward, the entire Space Bridge Nexus powered down. Confused, Longarm questioned Cybertron Command, and [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] informed him that Ultra Magnus had ordered the shutdown in order to prevent the Decepticons from accessing Cybertron. Just then, Agent [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] arrived and (very) quickly informed Longarm that while on Earth, he had intercepted a transmission between Megatron and his double agent on Cybertron, Shockwave. Further, Blurr noted that Shockwave's voice didn't match that of the suspected Wasp, but quick search of the Cybertron Intel Database would allow them to find the true identity of the traitor. Shocked, Longarm asked if Blurr had shared this information with anyone else. When Blurr replied that he had not, Shockwave decided it would be wise to quiet him down—permanently. Blurr eluded his initial attempts and escaped into the corridors around the nexus control center. Rather than give chase, Shockwave simply had the corridors' security hatches slam shut and close in on Blurr, trapping and crushing him to death.

At the [[Metroplex (Animated)|Metroplex]], Longarm handed over Blurr's remains to Cliffjumper, calling the small cube "sensitive materials." He received an incoming transmission from Lord Megatron in his private office. They traded information on their respective setbacks, but Megatron assured Shockwave that he had [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|a method]] of preventing the Earth Autobots from blowing Shockwave's cover.

Shortly, Longarm Prime attended an [[Autobot High Council]] meeting, where Ultra Magnus declared that the Decepticons' attacks were too organized to be random acts of sabotage. Rather, evidence pointed to a double agent in the Autobots' midst. Longarm nervously pointed out that the Decepticon uprisings had started after Wasp's escape, making the cause plain. Ultra Magnus agreed and ordered [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] and Sentinel Prime to organize an Elite Guard Unit to find the escapee. He then requested that the Earth-bound Autobots be contacted. Increasingly distraught, Longarm declared that all communications should be first filtered through him, without exceptions—for the sake of security and the protection of Cybertron, naturally. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

Unfortunately, Longarm's insistence on diverting blame toward Wasp was his undoing. When Wasp headed to Earth, Ultra Magnus didn't inform him about Wasp's destination until the Elite Guard's ship was in sight of the planet. Knowing he was on the verge of being exposed, Shockwave tried to contact Megatron, but still received no response. With no other orders on how to proceed, Shockwave took matters into his own hands: In an effort to inflict one last blow to the Autobots, Shockwave attacked and seriously damaged Ultra Magnus, stealing his Magnus hammer in the process. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

When the Autobots became trapped in [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave's]] virtual reality, Shockwave appeared to invade and attack Earth. However, he didn't seem to do much besides set an apartment on fire. {{storylink|Human Error, Part I}}

[[Image:TFAni ThisisWhyIHateMachines Shockwave TrueColors.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Wish you'd bought that repaint now, don't you?]]
After escaping, Shockwave hid in an underground tunnel, concealed from detection, waiting for Megatron to call. The Decepticon leader, trapped inside of [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] along with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]], contacted Shockwave, who revealed a way to gain the access codes for Omega Supreme. However, Shockwave was soon discovered by [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and [[Captain Fanzone]]. He easily defeated them and went to find the female intelligence agent [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]]. To do this, he "asked" an informant-bot named [[Rattletrap]] for the directions. However, he apparently got lost, and so merely hid and waited for Fanzone and Ratchet to find her. He battled Ratchet and severely wounded the elderly Autobot. During the battle, he then found Ultra Magnus, still wounded. He was about to kill him for good when Ratchet used his EMP generator on both Shockwave ''and'' Ultra Magnus's hammer. Ratchet was then distracted by the arrival of temporary Magnus Sentinel Prime. After getting back online, Shockwave took Arcee and escaped to Omega Supreme, using the access codes to transwarp to Earth's orbit. He then celebrated his freedom to serve Megatron openly by [[electronic paint job|changing]] into more... [[Shockwave (G1)|suitable colors]], while Lugnut silently fumed at Megatron's description of him as his "most loyal servant". {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-ShockwavePointsAndLaughs.jpg|thumb|left|240px|It is only logical that you're an idiot.]]
Shockwave worked on the captured Arcee, initially hitting an early datatrax from her time as a teacher before the Great War. Megatron assured his "ever-loyal Shockwave" that if any bot could access the right datatrax, it was him. Combined with some taunting by Starscream, this sent Lugnut into a frenzy of jealousy, and he knocked Shockwave across the room as he begged for Megatron's favour. Shockwave in turn pointed out that while Lugnut was "fawning at Megatron's feet", he'd risked "spark and servo" as a double agent. This didn't go over well, and soon the two purple 'Cons were fighting one another. Later, with both sent to convert material from the wrecked [[Nemesis (Animated)|Decepticon flagship]] into [[Lugnut Supreme|clones of Omega Supreme]], Shockwave could be seen pointing and laughing at a misfortune on his rival's part.

After dropping a bit of stripped material from the wrecked ship, unwittingly nearly crushing a spying Bumblebee, Shockwave returned to working on Arcee and successfully restored her to the [[The Thrill of the Hunt|point at which her memory was wiped]]. Briefly returning to his grey "Longarm" mode, he confirmed that she had the activation codes, so he ripped the wires which artificially sustained her from her head, knocking her back into stasis. Outside, with the clones ready for activation, he rebooted Arcee. Despite "Longarm's" prompting, she refused to give the activation codes to Megatron voluntarily. Instead, Shockwave knocked her back into stasis and extracted the codes manually, making no comment when they ended up in Lugnut and Megatron proclaimed Lugnut his "most loyal lieutenant". As it turned out, however, the codes which Shockwave had torn from Arcee were missing a crucial "security upgrade patch", and he was forced to rig up an inelegant bypass—involving Lugnut directly puppeteering the clones—until he could retrieve the rest of the code from Arcee. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}}

[[Image:EndGamePartII-Longarm.jpg|right|thumb|200px|You wouldn't hit a purple guy, would you?]]

As Shockwave attempted to find the patch in Arcee's processor, Megatron grew impatient with Lugnut's giving a long speech on the greatness of his Glorious Leader before he would actually do anything with the clones, and angrily inquired of Shockwave if he was done yet. Shockwave replied, with great amusement in his voice, that he was still working on it and Megatron would have to relay all orders through Lugnut for the time being.

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-PanAcrossEveryone.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Decepticons have failed forevermore.]]

Apparently, he gave up on extracting the patch, and instead left Arcee - her datatrax once again reverted to her teaching days - on the lunar surface as a trap, while he waited to ambush any Autobots who came for her and Omega Supreme. The group which transwarped there, led by Ratchet, blundered straight into the trap, and Ratchet was forced to flee with Arcee and [[Sari Sumdac]] while Bumblebee and Bulkhead confronted their old classmate. While Shockwave initially had little difficulty as they attempted to attack from distance, he couldn't deal with Bulkhead's strength Bot-to-Con, and was left sprawled on the lunar surface, his cannon knocked out of reach. In a desperate attempt to buy time, he switched to Longarm mode - forgetting to activate his [[electronic paint job]] - but the pair of Autobots were not impressed, and Bulkhead smashed the cannon.

He was last seen as the Autobots' prisoner, being paraded before a large crowd on Cybertron. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}

{{-}}

===''The Cool'' comic===

With all foes defeated, Megatron contacted Shockwave on Cybertron to activate the [[Space Bridge]]. When the Space Bridge would not work, Shockwave deduced that it had yet to be connected to a power source. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 8}}

As Ultra Magnus lay wounded in a medical facility, Shockwave plotted to end the Autobot's vital functions once and for all. His assassination attempt was foiled by the combined efforts of Ratchet and Ultra Magnus though, and although victory seemed briefly within Shockwave's reach, having acquired the famed Magnus Hammer, he did not anticipate it still being under Ultra Magnus's control, and was electrocuted to death for his troubles. {{storylink|The Cool Extra issue 1}}

===Toy bios===
After graduating near the top of his class at the [[Autobot Academy]], he rose through the ranks of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] to become the head of its Intelligence Division. Though he normally enjoys a subtle approach, blackmailing Autobots in positions of authority, Bumblebee's hyperactive personality annoys him enough to make him break cover and attack the Autobot directly.

==Games==
===Transformers Animated: The Game===
[[Image:TFAnimated Game Shockwave.jpg|thumb|right|134px]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Corey Burton]] (English)
When [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] put out the call to his Decepticons to take as many Space Bridges as they could, Shockwave reported back that they'd captured over a dozen and were ready to invade Cybertron. Megatron radioed back to stand by and wait for his orders. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Longarmanimatedvoyager.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Punch.]]
[[Image:Shockwaveanimatedvoyager.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Counterpunch.]]
* '''Shockwave''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-14'''
:Representing his double nature in the cartoon, ''Animated'' Shockwave becomes both the Autobot Longarm and Decepticon Shockwave, featuring four distinct modes. In "Infiltration Mode," the shorter, stockier Autobot Longarm transforms into a four-legged crane platform. If one fancies, one can stretch out his Shockwave-mode limbs to emulate his limb-stretching ability in Longarm mode (albeit not very well). In "Spy Mode," he stretches and converts into the taller, lankier Decepticon Shockwave, as the crane portion of Longarm's body converts into a hand-held cannon. The center panel on his chest flips between Autobot and Decepticon symbols. Both chest symbols are vacuum metalized, with very shiny silver and gold. Curiously, while the rotating faction symbols on his chest use the usual "classic" designs, the tampographed Decepticon symbol on his cannon/crane is in the movie style, and is visible in his Autobot modes. Additionally, the only mode in which Longarm's head is not fully visible is Shockwave himself.

:All the differences between Shockwave and Longarm can be difficult to remember, even for Hasbro. In the "tank mode" picture at right, the secondary guns are incorrectly folded back. On the back of this toy's box, there are several small transformation errors, the most obvious being that only ''one'' of Shockwave's shoulders has been correctly rotated up. Also, the toy [[instruction booklet|instructions]] do not show Shockwave's neck as correctly extended (his chin is touching his chestplate in the instructions, just as for Longarm). They also fail to mention that you can bend his upper torso forward as Shockwave to better replicate the slouch that he has in the cartoon.

:The instructions for the trilingual packaging version of Shockwave have an odd error, in the space that should explain the transformation for his hands, is a glitched/overlapping version of the final two steps instead.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Shockwave/shockwave.htm More information on Shockwave at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Target}}
[[Image:Animated longarm targetexclusive.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Chugway.<ref>According to the ''Animated'' DVD closed captioning for [[Autoboot Camp]].</ref>]]
[[Image:Animated shockwave targetexclusive.jpg|thumb|right|300px|One-eyed one-horned giant purple [[Blurr (Animated)|people squisher...]] ]]
* '''Shockwave VS Bumblebee''' (Multi-pack, 2009)

:A predominantly purple [[redeco]] of the Voyager toy, this version of Shockwave is packaged with an apparently unaltered [[Activators]]-class [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] figure. Shockwave retains his four modes and gimmickry within each. A Target stores [[exclusive]], this set was available simultaneously with the [[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]]/[[Ratchet (Animated)#Activators|Ratchet]] multi-pack. Although this version seems to be a less convincing Autobot due to its purple paintjob, in one respect he would be a better spy in this form, as the redeco doesn't have the Decepticon symbol on the cannon arm to give him away. The Autobot and Decepticon symbols are also now red and purple, as opposed to the original silver and gold.
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/Shockwave/shockwave.htm More information on Purple Shockwave at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

* '''Shockwave Original Ver.''' (Voyager, 2010)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-42'''

: The Japanese edition of purple Shockwave is available on his own, and like most of the Japanese ''Animated'' toys, he features a shiny metallic finish for some of his purple parts, including his chest and main shoulder and leg pieces. The Decepticon insignia on his cannon also makes its return, this time in purple.
: Oddly, despite Japanese toys generally having less stringent [[For safety reasons|safety requirements]] than in America, the soft plastic used on this Shockwave's claws and antennae are made of a noticeably more rubbery plastic than in Hasbro's release.

{{-}}

==Notes==
* Actor Corey Burton reprises the role of Shockwave from Generation 1, reusing precisely the same British-accented, [[Wikipedia:Sark (Tron)|David-Warner-inspired]] voice for the character (while employing an American accented variation for Longarm). In an online interview with Seibertron.com in early 2009 (sadly lost owing to a server crash), Burton revealed that Shockwave's inclusion in Season 2 arose from a between-scenes conversation he had with the production team, regarding how little the original Shockwave actually had to do.

* In somewhat of a reversal, while this incarnation of Shockwave has much fewer appearances than his original incarnation, he does a heck of a lot more stuff: in just a few fleeting appearances on Animated, Shockwave manages to destroy Wasp's life, kill a [[Blurr (Animated)|popular recurring character]], bring down Cybertron's entire interplanetary transport and communications system, brutally assault the Magnus (and steal his hammer!), and give Megatron control of the Autobots' [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|most feared and powerful weapon]]. Oh, and according to the Almanacs, he probably offed Highbrow, and Magnus wasn't going to survive. Shockwave is ''awesome''. And it is very logical indeed.

* While Shockwave possesses the single, round optic and window-chest of his Generation 1 counterpart, much of the rest of his body appears to be largely patterned after ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]]; he transforms into an "H-tank", the front treads end up on his shoulders and the rear treads end up on the back of his lower legs, plus he has the large, spiky "antlers" on his head. Additionally, Shockwave's vehicle mode appears to be loosely based on one of the [[Transtech]] sketch designs for Megatron, with the high angled treads and turret. However, Shockwave is much thinner and taller than Megatron, and is also able to bend his knees.

[[Image:Chugway.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Closed Captioning provided by the Zero Wing Translation Team.]]
* The [[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|DVD]] closed captioning for the episode "[[Autoboot Camp]]" misspelled Shockwave's name as '''Chugway'''. Seriously. No, it's not a joke.

* Shockwave's status as an Elite Guard member in his Longarm identity is an issue fraught with much confusion. His on-package [[bio]] states that, as Longarm, he rose through the ranks of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] to reach his current position; this theoretically meshes with Longarm's cover story in "Autoboot Camp", where he states that he wishes to become an Elite Guard intelligence officer<ref>On the other hand, ''everyone else'' (outside of Bulkhead) in Sentinel Minor's recruit line-up stated that they wanted to serve some function in the Elite Guard, and none of them actually ended up in it.</ref>. However, [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] has informed this wiki that Longarm is not actually a member of that group in the cartoon continuity. Shockwave's status as a nonmember of the Elite Guard is supported by Longarm's lack of the Elite Guard's winged Autobot symbol, and the evident fact that, while Longarm ''is'' head of the Autobot Intelligence Division, the Autobot Intelligence Division is ''not'' a part of the Elite Guard; Longarm's immediate predecessor as head of the organization, [[Highbrow (Animated)|Highbrow]], did not sport the Elite Guard symbol either. Adding to this confusion, Longarm was drawn with an Elite Guard symbol in [[Dispatches|''The Arrival'' #1]], but this seems to have been in error, as Sentinel Prime {{m-}} stated to be ''the second-in-command'' of the Elite Guard in the story {{m-}} sported a normal Autobot symbol throughout it, suggesting the symbol-paster got confused.
** ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II]]'' suggests that part of the reason Shockwave isn't an Elite Guardsman is toy-based. The toy's faction symbol rotates to switch allegiances, and the wider Elite Guard symbol wouldn't have been mechanically feasible.

[[Image:Shockwave_goodside.jpg|thumb|right|180px|"I heard Starscream makes Boy George look straight. j]]

*Both "Shockwave and "Longarm" have official alternate capitalizations. The credits of "[[TransWarped]]" give "LongArm Prime", and the credits for "[[This Is Why I Hate Machines]]" have "ShockWave".

* Despite not having a face, Shockwave still manages to have a [[chin]].

* Like [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]], Shockwave has the ability to fly despite having a land-based vehicle mode. Unlike Soundwave, his ability is explained by having rocket boosters in his feet [[Megatron (Animated)|like]] [[Starscream (Animated)|several]] [[Lugnut (Animated)|other]] [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Decepticons]].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Shockwave''' (ショックウェーブ ''Shokkuwēbu''), '''Longarm''' (ロングアーム ''Ronguāmu'')

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated Autobots]]
[[Category:Animated Decepticons]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Elite Guard]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Transformers with multiple modes]]

Starscream (BW)

2011-10-09T23:18:36Z

ScreamSeeker89: /* Beast Wars */

{{factions|predacon}}
{{disambig3|Starscream}}
:''Starscream is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Combatron (BWII)|Combatron]] from the [[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:BWIIStarscreamVideoBox.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Probably sounds just like [[wikipedia:Maximillion Pegasus|Maximillion Pegasus]].]]
'''Starscream''' (スタースクリーム ''Sutāsukurīmu'') is the effeminate [[Air Commander]] of [[Galvatron (BWII)|Galvatron]]'s Predacons on [[Gaea]]. He is partnered with the dull-witted [[BB]]; strangely, he seems to interpret BB's grunts of "Roger" into actual sentences. Though ridiculously girly, he is in reality a treacherous little so-and-so who will take any opportunity to seize power, much as [[Starscream (G1)|his namesake]]. He hates the other Predacon Jet Warriors, [[Dirge (BWII)|Dirge]] and [[Thrust (BWII)|Thrust]], considering them simpletons. In jet mode he can combine with BB into the "Formation Scream" which enhances their aerial attack power.

He was later upgraded via [[Angolmois]] energy into the [[Cyborg Beast]] '''Hellscream''' (ヘルスクリーム ''Herusukurīmu'').

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hiroki Takahashi]] (Japanese)

{{cleanup|September 2010|Needs more detail and ALL appearances, with links to these episodes.}}

[[Image:Girlyscream1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Tee hee!]]
Starscream and BB were the right-hand men of Galvatron and [[Megastorm]] during the Beast Wars on Gaea. Starscream's major role during those Beast Wars, however, was to try and kill his fellow Predacons so he could move up the chain of command. (he was gunning for [[Emperor of Destruction]]). At one point, he even went so far as to dunk Megastorm in a pit of pure Angolmois energy, assuming it would kill him. Unfortunately, all it did was upgrade Megastorm into Gigastorm.

Starscream later got his own Angolmois energy upgrade. Gigastorm, hoping to destroy all the [[Maximal]]s at once, set up a series of bombs and then hid himself behind a mountain. Starscream and BB then showed up and tangled with the Maximals. They lost, but rather than face an honorable defeat, Starscream pleaded for the chance to switch sides and fight against the Predacons. This enraged Gigastorm, who then activated the explosives regardless of Starscream and BB's safety. The pair then fell into a pit of pure Angolmois, supposedly to their doom. However, Starscream weathered it quite well, emerging from the pit in a new cybernetic shark form as "Hellscream".

[[Image:HellscreamMovie1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Artemis has low standards when it comes to men]]
Later when a strange ship landed on Gaea, Hellscream took part in stealing the Control Unit for it. However a few minutes later Lio Junior charged at him and almost killed him, but he was saved by [[BB|Max-B]] (the upgraded BB). Hellscream was present for the summoning of [[Majin Zarak]], and took part in the climactic battle only to be beaten up by [[Diver (BWII)|Diver]] and [[Bighorn]], and forced into retreat along with the others. Galvatron stated that he and the others were morons and continued the attack on the Maximals. {{storylink|Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger!}}

{{charstubfiction}}
{{-}}

====''Beast Wars Neo'' cartoon====
After the defeat of [[Unicron]], Hellscream and the rest of the exiled Predacons were invited back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to help restore their home planet. {{storylink|Graduation Ceremony!!}}
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars II'' comic===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{-}}

===IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics===
[[Image:BWAscending3 heralds.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Let's get this rave started! ACEEEEEED!"]]
Starscream first met BB in a Maximal detention center, where he befriended the traumatized giant. During an escape from the prison, Starscream took BB with him, solidifying BB's loyalty to Starscream. {{storylink|Beast Wars Sourcebook}}

At some point, Starscream was reformatted into Hellscream and became one of [[Herald of Unicron|Unicron's heralds]] and subsequently one of [[Herald of Shokaract|Shokaract's Heralds]]. When [[Shokaract]] faced [[Big Convoy]] in battle, Hellscream and the other Heralds returned to Cybertron with, as Hellscream put it, more than enough [[Angolmois]] for Shokaract's eternal glory. {{storylink|The Ascending issue 3|The Ascending # 3}} He went on to help spread Angolmois across Cybertron, causing widespread chaos and violence. When Shokaract suddenly disappeared from the battlefield, he and his fellow Heralds temporarily retreated to think up what to do next. 'Next' never happened due to [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] and a grenade, which put an end to the Heralds' deaths. {{storylink|The Ascending issue 4|The Ascending # 4}}
{{-}}

==Games==
===''Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle'' video game===
When a super-powerful [[Energon crystal]] was discovered on [[Earth]], Starscream was one of the several Predacons involved in the ensuing conflicts. He was not, however, directly involved in combat: instead, sent on missions to traverse pit-riddled fields, occasionally having to fend off enormous bacteria opponents. {{storylink|Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
[[Image:BW2 Starscream toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Soon to be hosting "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy".]]
* '''Starscream and BB''' (Ultra, 1998)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-13'''
**''Accessories:'' 2 missile launchers, 2 missiles

: A recolor of [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] with [[Smokescreen (G2)|Smokescreen]], this toy is nearly identical to the unreleased ''[[Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Megatron ATB]] with [[Starscream (G1)/toys|Starscream]] toy. Starscream transforms into a fighter jet of undetermined (probably made-up) model. He has two side-mounted spring-loaded rocket launchers that become hand-weapons in robot mode. He can combine with BB's vehicle mode to form the large Formation Scream stealth bomber jet.

: The stickers on his tailfins and on BB's arms call him "Starscrem." This is easily ignorable as bad [[romanization|transliteration]].

: This mold is also used by ''[[Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Smokejumper]] and ''[[Robot Masters (franchise)|Robot Masters]]'' [[Smokesniper]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1998/Destron/Stascream/starscream.htm More information on Starscream at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Hellscream}}
[[Image:BWII-toy_Hellscream.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Oh god, it's the Mega Bi-I mean Mega Shark!]]
*'''Hellscream''' (Deluxe, 1998)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-23'''
**''Accessories:'' Head missile launcher/sword hilt, spear missile, 2 missiles

: An extensive [[retool]]ing of the ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' [[Cybershark]] mold, "Hellscream" now transforms into a heavily-cyborged shark. This toy features a new mechanically styled beast mode head, fins and tail, a new robot mode head, arm, and leg. The beast mode head may be launched in shark mode and used as a hand-weapon in robot mode. The beast mode body/robot mode chest has a flip-up spring-loaded missile launcher that can fire the head or the two missiles that store in Hellscream's back. The tail turbine has a spring-loaded missile launcher as well.

: This mold was slightly [[redeco]]ed to make ''[[Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Overbite (Universe)|Overbite]]. A [[retool]] of the original mold was used to make [[Sharp Edge (BWN)|Sharp Edge]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1998/Destron/Hellscream/hellscream.htm More information on Hellscream at TFU.info]''
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==Merchandise==
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==Notes==
*Starscream's name is repeatedly mistranslated as "Starscrem" in Japanese material, including the stickers on the toy.
*According to the Beast Wars Sourcebook, Hellscream hates his new form and would prefer to have his jet form back.

==External links==
*[http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-toys/toy-gallery/1784/Generation+2/Starscream.html Gallery of G2 Starscream with comparison to BW Starscream at Transformers At the Moon]

[[Category:Beast Wars Predacons]]
[[Category:Beast Wars II Predacons]]
[[Category:Beast Wars Neo Predacons]]
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[[Category:Destrons]]
[[Category:Japanese-original characters]]