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Starscream (WFC)

2020-10-07T23:54:59Z

Zynoveous-Prime: /* IDW Aligned comics */

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{{disambig3|Starscream}}
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:''Starscream is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Aligned continuity family]].''
[[File:StarscreamPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|In a cruel twist of fate, perhaps the most legitimately competent Starscream ever, but no one will take him seriously for even a minute.]]
'''Starscream''' was an Air Commander of the [[Energon]] [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s, [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s finest air warriors. His dream was to recover the [[Matrix of Leadership]] and become the [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] that would return the Transformers to the [[Golden Age]], and he saw opportunity with the rebel upstart [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]]. A patient and polite schemer, Starscream used to wish Megatron would drop the heroic anti-[[caste system|caste]] charade and be more honest about his lust for power.

These days, he alternatively wishes Megatron would stop being obsessed with ''his'' lust for power and chafes under having to work for such a madman. While he serves as Megatron's right-hand man, he constantly looks for a way to become the commander himself and Megatron knows it: Starscream's extremely volatile personality means he is not adept at hiding his true intent. Fortunately for Megatron, Starscream is prone to panic, cowardice and bombastic gestures, meaning that it'd take exceptional circumstances for Starscream to actually manage to get behind him to shove the knife in.

He may be a scientist, but [[#Notes|we're not quite sure]].

{{quote|That shot was perfect, much like the one who fired it!|Starscream after achieving a headshot|''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron]]''}}

==Fiction==
===Aligned novels===
Starscream may or may not have had a history as a scientist. Regardless of what he did prior, in the early days before the war began he was one of the leaders of the Cybertronian Air Command. When [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] fell into chaos following bombings by [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]]'s [[Decepticon]] followers, Starscream was posted as [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|Sentinel Prime]]'s bodyguard. He was with the Prime at [[Altihex]] Casino during a performance by comedian [[Armorhide (WFC)|Armorhide]] when the Decepticons attacked. Sentinel's attempt to flee rather than fight back made Starscream ashamed of his leader, so he had [[Skywarp (WFC)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (WFC)|Thundercracker]] take him to [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] Prison rather than the safety of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]. This earned him loyalty with Megatron, but wary of how sour a revolution could quickly turn Starscream opted not to be directly involved in the gladiator's operations, posting his Seekers at [[Moonbase One|Moon Base One]] and [[Trypticon (WFC)|Trypticon]] Station. Megatron was intrigued by why Starscream wanted to occupy "that semi-sentient pile of junk" but despite [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Orion Pax]]'s research they found no clues, with information regarding the Station seemingly censored.

Whenever Starscream's Seekers were present, the Decepticons were victorious in battle against the [[Autobot]]s. Starscream however, found Megatron's strategies overly convoluted. As the war devolved into a siege of Iacon, Megatron and [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]], by probing into forgotten areas of the [[DataNet]], discovered Trypticon was a storage of [[Dark Energon]], the life essence of [[Unicron]]. When questioned, Starscream explained since even the Air Command was not sure what Dark Energon was, he had forbidden its use, fearing the damage Megatron's gladiators would unleash. Megatron forgave Starscream, noting how he "was smart enough to be afraid of it", and was granted access.

Starscream sent a message to the Autobots proposing a meeting. Optimus only granted him a communication channel. Starscream stated if the Autobots did not know what Dark Energon was (they did) they would need to find out — and asked what would he could expect from them if something happened to Megatron. Optimus replied that he sought a just peace. Starscream said he understood, broke off the conversation and flew to [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] Prison where Sentinel was held. Starscream offered Sentinel a chance to redeem his cowardly behavior at Altihex. The ultimate aim of this road to becoming Decepticon leader was to become [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] in a peace settlement with Optimus, and lead Cybertron back to its [[Golden Age]]. Starscream then flew to Moon Base One when Megatron ordered him to Trypticon, where he found the Decepticons had invaded the Station and slaughtered and maimed his scientists.

Megatron and [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] forced Starscream to select two survivors to absorb [[Dark Energon]], for what was a successful experiment. Requiring more for the Decepticon war effort, Megatron ordered Starscream to capture the [[Geosynchronous Energon Bridge]], below the ruins of [[Crystal City]]. Empowered by his first taste of Dark Energon, Starscream activated the device that transmitted Energon to the Station for it to be Darkened. But the Bridge still did not produce enough, and Starscream was ordered to find the [[Code Key]] of Power and Key of Justice to the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]] underneath the [[High Council Tower]] in Iacon. Starscream decided it was time to release Sentinel, renouncing Dark Energon after realizing Megatron had turned his soldiers into addicts. Starscream found the Key of Power within the [[High Council Tower|Hall of Justice]] and flew underground to find his plan had failed, as Megatron had mortally wounded Sentinel. He could see within Sentinel's body was the Key of Justice, but was prevented from taking it by [[Blackout (WFC)|Blackout]]. Megatron fought Starscream to a standstill, sparing him because he realized he was a better soldier than a would-be example.

As Megatron entered the Chamber, [[Teletraan-1 (WFC)|Teletraan-1]] activated the legendary [[Omega Supreme (WFC)|Omega Supreme]] to fly it away. Aware Starscream had a better chance of escaping Omega's awakening, Megatron ordered Starscream and his Seekers to down Omega, in exchange for more Dark Energon. Giving up on his attempt to give up his addiction, Starscream gleefully accepted and they successfully blew Omega out of the sky, allowing the Decepticons to retrieve the Chamber and corrupt the [[core]]. As Cybertron became uninhabitable, the Autobots left on the largest starship ever built - the ''[[Ark (WFC)|Ark]]''. Starscream left the planet with Megatron as they gave pursuit on Trypticon, now a ''Nemesis''-class supercruiser. The two ships entered a [[space bridge]], which separated the two ships to unknown parts of space... {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus|Exodus}}

{{note|Starscream's involvement in the preceding events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the comic "[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)|Transformers: War for Cybertron]]."}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Transformers: Exiles|Exiles}} {{storylink|Transformers: Retribution|Retribution}}}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
In [[Uniend 610.23 Zeta]], {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime}} Starscream lead the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s in the Battle at [[Tyger Pax]]. Focused on taking the pressure off the Decepticons' vulnerable rear, Starscream opened fire on [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] to protect [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]], and then forced the Autobot into a retreat, despite [[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]]'s attempts to bring Starscream down.

After the [[AllSpark]] was launched into space, Starscream, stunned and damaged, tumbled out of control and crashed on the surface of Tyger Pax, though he recovered in time to retreat with Megatron. {{storylink|Bumblebee at Tyger Pax}}

===IDW Aligned comics===
Visiting [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]]'s citadel to check up on his research, Starscream was annoyed to find that the scientist was prioritizing his experiments on [[Insecticon (WFC)|Insecticons]] over supplying the Decepticon war effort with more energon. He failed to see how the "bugs" would win them the war but gave up on trying to convince Shockwave otherwise, choosing to let Megatron deal with him instead. {{storylink|Secrets (FOC)|Secrets}} Starscream later participated in Megatron's assault on [[Metroplex (FOC)|Autobot City]]. {{storylink|Last Stand}} {{storylink|Fragmentation (FOC)|Fragmentation}}

While [[Grimlock (WFC)|Grimlock]]'s mind was suffering from Shockwave's experiments, he had a vision of himself being approached by Starscream and throwing him into a nearby console. {{storylink|Fall}} This vision eventually came to pass, and Grimlock was able to escape from Shockwave's lab by exploiting Starscream's greed and lust for power. {{storylink|Rage of the Dinobots issue 4|Rage of the Dinobots #4}}

[[File:Primecomic-Starscream.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|I am okay with the events that are unfolding currently.]]
Starscream had been on [[Earth]] at some point, but was assigned by Megatron to scour the galaxy for remnants of space bridge technology. Returning to their dead homeworld, Starscream built a weapons lab in Kaon and began building a space bridge. He was informed by his [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s elsewhere they had apprehended the Autobot spy [[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]]. Later, after basking in the glory of successfully activating the space bridge that would return them to Earth and its [[Energon]], Starscream realized Cliffjumper was present. The Autobot claimed to be freed by his captors after defecting to the Decepticons, and warned them of [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]]: this ruse successfully distracted Starscream long enough for Arcee to activate and overload the space bridge, but he jumped in after them moments before the lab was blown sky high.

Falling to Earth, a dazed Starscream picked up a [[bunny rabbit]], commenting that [[human]]s were smaller than he remembered. [[Scanning]] a fleet of jets flying overhead, he found Cliffjumper and Arcee driving on a road and launched a missile at them. He picked up Arcee's blown off arm and started battering Cliffjumper with it, but the Autobot blew up the rock formation above them and crushed Starscream with the rubble. Having received Starscream's signal, [[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] came to his rescue, and the duo pursued and overwhelmed the Autobots. Just as Starscream was about to send them back to the [[AllSpark]], Optimus jumped and landed on him, while gunning Breakdown away. As Starscream greeted his opponent, [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] tapped him on the shoulder and sent him flying. Optimus opted not to finish the job, allowing Starscream to escape and fight another day as he got Cliffjumper and Arcee to base. {{storylink|Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)|Transformers: Prime}}
{{-}}

===''Prime'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Steve Blum]] (English), [[Satoshi Tsuruoka]] (Japanese)|[[Jiang Ke]] (Chinese), [[Leopoldo Ballesteros]] (Spain-Spanish), [[Jin-uk Hong]] (Korean), [[Gianluca Iacono]] (Italian), [[Gerald Paradies]] (German), [[José Antonio Macías]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Nicolas Dubois]] (French), [[Nestor Chiesse]] (Brazilian Portuguese), [[Tero Koponen]] (Finnish), [[Gunnar Ernblad]] (Swedish)}}

[[File:DarknessRising1-Starscreamsneer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|One look sells him as Starscream.]]
Before Starscream joined Megatron and the Decepticons, he was commander of a squadron of Energon Seekers on Cybertron. {{Storylink|Partners (Prime)|Partners}} During the War, Starscream was present at [[Tyger Pax]] when [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] interrogated the Autobot [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]]. {{storylink|Operation Bumblebee, Part 1}}

Following the [[Great Exodus]], Starscream intercepted a coded Autobot transmission and managed to trap [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] and [[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]]. When his interrogation methods failed to extract anything he could use to decode the transmission, he took them to [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]], who used a [[cortical psychic patch]] on Arcee and revealed the transmission to be from Optimus Prime on [[Earth]]. Upon being questioned by Cliffjumper of his lack of bravery, Starscream tried to kill the Autobot only to be captured by Arcee. Upon being threatened by Arcee, he cracked and revealed Shockwave's plan; to build a space bridge under Kaon. Starscream was then knocked out but regained contentiousness and pursued the two Autobots to the space bridge. Unfortunately, the space bridge was destroyed with Shockwave, Cliffjumper, and Arcee still inside, but Starscream was able to escape. Starscream presumably took the Decepticons to Earth via the Nemesis soon after. {{storylink|Out of the Past}}

When the Decepticons arrived on Earth, Starscream scouted an old Decepticon ship called the ''[[Harbinger]]'' that had crashed landed years back. However, he failed to record the coordinates of the crash site or find the [[Immobilizer]]. {{Storylink|Partners (Prime)|Partners}} In time, Megatron departed Earth to gather an army out in space, leaving Starscream in charge. Starscream spent his time sending out [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon grunts]] to search for [[Energon]] deposits{{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 2}}, and managed to set up a lucrative energon mine in secret. {{storylink|Rock Bottom}}

Three years later, one of Starscream's energon searches was interrupted by Cliffjumper. Once Cliffjumper was defeated by the Vehicons, Starscream personally killed the Autobot. [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] alerted him to Arcee's location, and Starscream decided she would be their next target. Later, when Soundwave received a signal from deep space, Starscream hesitantly opened the space bridge for Megatron's return. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 1}} Megatron revealed to Starscream that he'd brought back [[Dark Energon]], and Starscream provided Cliffjumper's corpse so they could test the substance's reanimation properties. When the undead Cliffjumper's signal led the Autobots to the mine, Starscream blew the facility up on Megatron's orders. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 2}}

[[File:DarknessRising3-interrogateFowler.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"No, Mister Fowler, I expect you to be saved at the last minute!"]]
Following a test of Dark Energon on himself, Megatron took off for parts unknown, leaving Starscream in charge once more. When Soundwave picked up [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]]'s transmissions, Starscream had the human captured and began trying to extract the location of the Autobot base from him. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 3}} The interrogation almost succeeded, but for the arrival of Arcee, Bumblebee and [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] who, after a standoff, forced Starscream to retreat. Once Megatron returned to the ship, he was outraged at Starscream's actions and proceeded to beat his subordinate for "delaying his plans". Starscream managed to quell his master's anger by announcing he had a way to get their plans back on course. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 4}}

[[File:DarknessRising5-ohgeez.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|Oh my God. It's called toothpaste, use it.]]
As it turned out, his plan was to send Soundwave down to use the [[Giant Sized Array]] radio telescope on Earth to set the space bridge's target. Once the bridge was properly targeted, Starscream opened it so that Megatron could throw the chunk of Dark Energon though. Starscream moved the ship back to a safe distance when the fighting on the rim of the space bridge became more intense, while imploring his master to withdraw as well. Alas, the space bridge exploded, apparently taking Megatron with it, and Starscream gave a brief eulogy before declaring himself leader {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 5}} and danced in celebration while imploring the troops to chant his name. {{storylink|Patch (episode)|Patch}}
[[File:Patch Starscream dances.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|What'cha doin' on your back?! You should be dancing, YEAH!!!!]]

[[File:Masters&Students-SoundwaveStarscream.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|*ping*"FINE! FINE! I'LL WRITE A THANK-YOU NOTE!"]]
Starscream's speeches were poorly received. Intending to find more potentially-loyal warriors, Starscream took Soundwave to try to revive the long-dormant [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]]. To Starscream's disappointment, Skyquake was loyal only to Megatron, and interested only in fighting the Autobots who arrived. A signal detected by Soundwave sent Starscream to the location of the space bridge explosion, where he found Megatron's body and ripped the sliver of Dark Energon from it. He was forced by the observing [[Laserbeak (WFC)|Laserbeak]] to return the body to the ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'', where he also learned that Skyquake had been terminated by the Autobots. {{storylink|Masters & Students}}

When [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] arrived on Earth, Starscream had him captured and substituted [[Makeshift (Prime)|Makeshift]] with the mission to open the Autobot [[GroundBridge]] to let the Decepticon forces into the Autobot base. Unfortunately Wheeljack broke free before the plan could succeed, and as a result, Makeshift was expelled from the Autobot base onto the ''Nemesis'' hull with an activated grenade. Starscream vacated the hull before Makeshift exploded. {{storylink|Con Job}} After Soundwave picked up on [[Dynamic Nuclear Generation System|another Autobot operation]], Starscream figured it was a good opportunity to get rid of the Autobots while they were distracted, and sent a squadron of Vehicons on a search and destroy mission. {{storylink|Convoy (episode)|Convoy}}

[[File:DeusExMachina-Screamer grins.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"We've had too much Energon shed. I think that a cleansing is in order."]]
To Starscream's discomfort, the crew held a vote and he was obliged to call in [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] and [[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] to aid in Megatron's recovery. The discovery that an [[Energon Harvester]] was located in an museum on Earth was all the excuse Starscream needed to put that on hold, and the other Decepticons soon obtained the device for him. While they were testing it in [[Greece]], Bulkhead attacked them and destroyed the Harvester. {{storylink|Deus ex Machina}} Starscream was irritated by Knock Out's participation in street racing, and eventually decided to make an example of him. {{storylink|Speed Metal}}

[[File:OutOfHisHead-grabby.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|That's ''not'' how ATB Megatron and Starscream combine!]]
Some time later, after the ship's electromagnetic shielding failed, Starscream put the Vehicons to work fixing it. Offering Knock Out a post as second-in-command, Starscream persuaded him to help convince Soundwave that Megatron was a lost cause. They were interrupted by Arcee and Bumblebee, who were doing something with Megatron's corpse, and after chasing the two Autobots off, they discovered that Megatron no longer had any brain activity. {{storylink|Sick Mind}} Overjoyed at this, Starscream began a new plan, constructing a heat ray which he attempted to use to melt a glacier to get to a huge [[energon]] deposit. Unfortunately, not only did the Autobots arrive and destroy the heat ray, but Megatron was resurrected and dragged the protesting Starscream away for punishment. {{storylink|Out of His Head}}

[[File:Shadowzone-gah.jpg|thumb|225px|Damn, in another [[Starscream (Movie)|continuity]] the arm comes off and they mock it in this one.]]
Starscream ended up in the infirmary as a result of Megatron's punishment, but continued undaunted in his plans. He took the chunk of Dark Energon he'd been hiding, and went to the site of Skyquake's grave, intending to resurrect the warrior as well as imbuing himself with Dark Energon. Unfortunately the Autobots arrived before Skyquake rose, and Starscream had to retreat through the Decepticon GroundBridge, albeit minus his right arm. After subjecting himself to treatment from Knock Out, Starscream returned to the site to confirm whether Skyquake had risen, only to be attacked by Skyquake's zombified right arm. {{storylink|Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone}}

When Breakdown was captured to [[MECH]], Starscream's suggestion they rescue their comrade was turned down by Megatron. Starscream went anyway, and found Breakdown had already been rescued by Bulkhead, but escorted Breakdown back to the ship. {{storylink|Operation: Breakdown}} At an old energon mine, Megatron confronted Starscream about his many transgressions and prepared to terminate his subordinate. Starscream was only saved by the arrival of the Autobots, but on escaping the collapsed mine, realized that he would have to go back in and attempt to rescue Megatron, or face his master's possible wrath later. Venturing back inside, he ended up tangling with the Autobots, and when Megatron later found him, he had been left supporting a large boulder. {{storylink|Rock Bottom}}

[[File:Partners-ScreamPrisoner.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|Why am I always seen like this? Chest and lower body off to one side, head towards y'all.]]
Starscream was sent with [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]] to locate the ''Harbinger'' wreck, only for the spider to leave him webbed up when it turned out the ship was broken in half and the weapon they sought was in the other half. Starscream was found by the Autobots and attempted to convince them he wanted to switch sides, even pointing them to the location of the weapon Airachnid was after. Unfortunately he let slip he'd been the one to kill Cliffjumper, provoking Arcee into attacking him. After fighting her, he was able to limp away, though he decided from then on he would be an independent. {{storylink|Partners (Prime)|Partners}}

Many months later, Starscream snuck on board the ''Nemesis'' to steal [[energon cube]]s and blundered into the workroom that was being used by the recently-amnesiac Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 1}} Starscream soon realized what was going on, but when more Vehicons arrived, he was wounded while fleeing the ship. He contacted the Autobots to exchange information for medical help. When [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] and Bulkhead arrived, it turned out they already knew about Optimus's situation, but were interested in what he knew about the space bridge, so he was able to trade the information for aid. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 2}}

[[File:OperationBumblebee1 Silas meets Starscream.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Wanna know how I got these scars?"]]
Tracking a signal, Starscream stumbled upon a MECH trap already sprung by Bumblebee. He was intrigued and followed the MECH helicopter and watched as they tried to install the [[transformation cog|T-cog]] they'd taken into a robot. When their attempt to make the robot work failed, Starscream revealed himself and managed to strike a partnership with them. {{storylink|Operation Bumblebee, Part 1}} With Starscream's help, MECH secured a source of energon and Starscream was there when they used it on their robot. As Bumblebee came looking for his T-cog, Starscream helped defend it, but when it looked like Bumblebee might get it back, Starscream blasted it and left. Unfortunately Silas was less than impressed, and after a short nap thanks to MECH's weapons, Starscream woke up minus his own T-cog. {{Storylink|Operation Bumblebee, Part 2}}

When [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] arrived on Earth looking for Skyquake, Megatron informed him of Skyquake's passing, noting that Skyquake had perished under Starscream's command. {{storylink|Loose Cannons}}

[[File:Crossfire Starscream injured.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|Ouch.]]
While scavenging for energon, Starscream found that Airachnid had been cast out from the Decepticons and obtained a pet in the form of an [[Insecticon (WFC)|Insecticon]]. She spurned his suggestion that they team up to defeat Megatron, and he barely escaped with his life. Wounded, he employed his previous trick to get medical help from the Autobots in exchange for information about Airachnid's activities, and even later saved Arcee from Airachnid, sparing her life like she spared his much, much earlier. {{storylink|Crossfire (Prime)|Crossfire}}

Starscream returned to the ''Harbinger'' in search of energon, and instead found a laboratory containing five [[protoform]]s and the equipment necessary for [[cloning]]. He had soon whipped up five [[Starscream clone (Prime)|Starscream clone]]s, which he dispatched to dispatch Megatron. Unfortunately he soon discovered that he could sympathetically feel every injury they suffered, which gave him a good idea how the mission was going. When the last clone returned to report failure, Starscream sensed the clone's treachery and blasted it. Fully aware of the effect on him, he terminated the clone, screaming in their shared pain as he did. {{storylink|Armada (episode)|Armada}}

[[File:Triangulation Starscream Apex armor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.34|Starscream SMASH!]]
He was about to operate on himself to install the clone's T-cog when the ship detected the Decepticons sending teams out to locations around the globe. Intrigued, he used the ship's GroundBridge to reach [[Antarctica]], only to be captured by Dreadwing, whom he at first mistook for Skyquake. Eventually, Optimus arrived, and after Dreadwing was buried in an avalanche and the Vehicons accompanying him were dispatched, Starscream now found himself as Optimus's prisoner. The two followed a trail to a human research station where the relic everyone was after was being held. Dreadwing soon arrived and another battle between him and Optimus took place. As they fought, Starscream freed the relic, the [[Apex Armor (Prime)|Apex Armor]], from the ice block containing it and claimed it as his own. Covered in a full body suit and towering over both of them, Starscream used the armor to fight both Optimus and Dreadwing, a fight in which he was the aggressor for once in a long time. Though Starscream had enhanced strength and was rendered invulnerable, he still couldn't fly, and a few of Dreadwing's bombs created a hole in the ice which he fell through. He was subsequently forced to plod along the bottom of the ocean. {{storylink|Triangulation}}

[[File:NewRecruit-Starscreammonkey.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Next on his list of cat-related videos is Nyan Ravage.]]
Back at the ''Harbinger'', Starscream discovered a photo of [[Red Energon]] on the [[Internet]], as well as a dancing monkey which came as much amusement to him. He took the Apex Armor with him, tracking the substance down to a dockyard where he was confronted by Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee. Donning the armor, he attempted to retrieve the Red Energon first, and managed to rip a chunk off after Optimus knocked him off the crane. While he was trying to tip the crane over, [[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] arrived, and using a [[phase shifter]], removed Starscream from the Apex Armor. The Decepticon responded by firing a missile at the three Autobots on the crane and escaping with a chunk of Red Energon. {{storylink|New Recruit}}

Starscream set about refining the Red Energon, though the process was slow and only yielded enough for one or two doses. Alerted to a Decepticon operation by the ''Harbinger'''s computers, he used it on himself and soon found Smokescreen had uncovered a relic. Using his new hyperspeed to blindside him, Starscream was able to obtain one of the [[Omega Key]]s, which he later overheard Bulkhead describing as a way to revitalize Cybertron. {{storylink|Hard Knocks}}

[[File:TFP Inside Job Starscream fistful of keys.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|SQUEE! I've collected all four!]]
Though thinking of restoring Cybertron and ruling it himself, Starscream decided that he didn't have the proper resources to do so. Coming up with a plan, Starscream lured Optimus, Ratchet and Bulkhead to a remote location with the promise of the key he'd found in return for the installation of the T-Cog from his clone. In reality, he used his remaining Red Energon to allow him to infiltrate the Autobot base while leaving the clone behind for the Autobots to find. While stealing the other three keys from, the Autobots figured out his clone was a ruse, and Starscream only just managed to get back through the Ground Bridge. After taking a moment to taunt the Autobots, the Red Energon wore off, and he quickly bridged away to the ''Nemesis'', with the Omega Keys as a peace offering to Megatron. {{storylink|Inside Job}}

[[File:PatchMegatronStarscream.JPG|thumb|left|upright=1.4| This feels familiar...]]
Requesting to rejoin the Decepticons, the unconvinced Megatron subjected Starscream to a cortical psychic patch and began rummaging in his memories to determine his true motives. Despite the incriminating nature of most of the memories, Megatron's analysis of Starscream's strengths and weaknesses (including the loss of his T-cog and the fact that Starscream is not the only untrustworthy Decepticon on the Nemesis), has him decide to allow Starscream to serve by his side, as he is better with him than against him. Starscream was so relieved by the turn of events that he thanked the All Spark, but Dreadwing was not so pleased about this development. {{storylink|Patch (episode)|Patch}}

[[File:RegenerationOmegaKeysHologram.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4| now he can find the [[Cyber Planet Keys]] again]]
Knock Out restored Starscream's T-Cog, though immediately afterwards Starscream was attacked by a murderous Dreadwing and had to be saved by Megatron. After Starscream helped Knock Out unlock the secret of the Omega Keys, Megatron left him in charge of the ''Nemesis''. Starscream used information gathered by Soundwave to kidnap the Autobots' three human friends and took them to Cybertron for Megatron to use as hostages. {{storylink|Regeneration (Prime)|Regeneration}}

After handing over [[Jack Darby]] in exchange for two of the keys, Starscream took part in the activation of the [[Omega Lock]]. He survived the explosion caused by the Lock's destruction at Optimus's hand, and when Knock Out attempted a quip, knocked the medic down and demanded he tend to Megatron. Starscream returned to Earth with Megatron to take part in an attack on the Autobot base, during which he shot down Wheeljack's ship, the ''[[Jackhammer (Prime)|Jackhammer]]'', with Wheeljack still inside. Following the attack, he and Megatron landed in the remains of the base. {{storylink|Darkest Hour (episode)|Darkest Hour}}

While the other Decepticons dug around in the ruins, Starscream more productively had Wheeljack pulled from the wreckage of the ''Jackhammer''. When human military forces turned up, Starscream offered to unleash the armada on them, but Megatron dealt with the matter using [[Darkmount (Earth)|Darkmount]]'s fusion cannons. His interrogation of Wheeljack did not go nearly as well. {{storylink|Darkmount, NV}}

With the arrival of Shockwave, Megatron appointed the newcomer second lieutenant in charge of science, usurping Starscream's role slightly. Starscream attempted to get his own back by discovering a photo of Ratchet on the internet, only to be embarrassed when it was switched for a picture of a dancing monkey by Raf. He attempted a new gambit—allowing Wheeljack to escape with a tracking device, believing it would lead them to the other Autobots, however Wheeljack discovered the bug and turned the tables on the pursuing Decepticons. Megatron's anger was only stemmed by Shockwave bringing [[Predaking (Prime)|a Predacon he cloned]] to Earth. {{storylink|Scattered}}

Starscream complained to Knock Out about the pressures of his position. When the Predacon returned from its flight to catch Autobots empty-handed, Starscream noted it was a pity the beast couldn't tell them why it failed. {{storylink|Prey (episode)|Prey}} Starscream was pleased when Decepticon monitoring finally bore fruit and located the Autobots. Unfortunate this turned out to be a series of diversions designed to have the Decepticons spread their forces out, and Megatron was not happy that Starscream fell for it. Darkmount subsequently came under attack and though Starscream did his best to coordinate a defense, the battle ended with him ordering a retreat to the ''Nemesis'' as the base was destroyed. {{storylink|Rebellion (Prime)|Rebellion}} When it looked like the Decepticons were about to embark on another scavenger hunt, Starscream was dismayed, but fortunately it turned out that Shockwave had micro-chipped all his creations, and the fossils they needed would be easy to find. {{storylink|Project Predacon}}

[[File:ChainOfCommandInForItNow.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The hills are alive with the sound of Starscream's butthurt.]]
Following the surprise return of the existing Predacon, Starscream was dismayed to find it put in his charge. He had immense trouble controlling the beast and resorted to using the Apex Armor to protect himself from its attacks. Megatron sent Starscream and the Predacon to [[Scotland]], where they found the Autobots had destroyed a team of Decepticons hunting for bones there. While the Predacon took on the Autobots, Starscream found Miko trying to reach Magnus's ship and accidentally lost the Apex Armor to her. Battle ensued, but when the Predacon left for the ''Nemesis'', Starscream and his two seekers found themselves outnumbered by Autobots and retreated. {{storylink|Chain of Command (Prime)|Chain of Command}} In Megatron's bad books again, Starscream was further inconvenienced when the Predacon damaged the ship's communication dish. Though he tried to have it repaired by the Vehicons, it didn't go so well, and Megatron eventually found out. {{storylink|Plus One (Prime)|Plus One}}

Starscream found Knock Out in the middle of experimenting with [[Synthetic Energon]], and had the medic add Dark Energon to the mix, believing it would allow Megatron to control the results. Instead the new mix transformed Cylas into an energon-sucking zombie and created a plague which resulted in Knock Out and Starscream being chased through the ship. Confronted by Megatron, they were forced to admit what they were done, and were sent to locate and destroy Cylas. They eventually found he had already been dispatched, but to Starscream's dismay, the deed had been done by the recently freed Airachnid. Fortunately he didn't have to deal with her as well, but he later had to face Megatron's wrath over his part in the affair. {{storylink|Thirst}}

When Megatron took him to another abandoned mine, Starscream assumed his demise was near, but they were merely visiting Shockwave's off-site laboratory. The Predacon unexpectedly arrived and Starscream hit it with a metal bar, only for it to transform and speak. The Decepticons quickly realized that despite Predaking's loyalty, it would not take him and his fellow Predacons long to realize their superiority to the Decepticons, so Starscream hatched a plan to kill two birds with one stone, luring the Autobots to the laboratory so its destruction could be blamed on them. The plan succeeded, and in the aftermath, the Decepticons discovered that the synthetic energon stored at the base had created cybermatter. {{storylink|Evolution}} Starscream managed to talk his way out of being disfigured by Shockwave over not warning the latter that the Autobots were attacking the lab. As Shockwave was put in charge of perfecting the Synthetic Energon formula, Megatron assigned Starscream to gather technology to repair the Omega Lock, which they would need for a delivery mechanism. {{storylink|Minus One}}

After establishing the location of the Autobot base when they kidnapped Ratchet, Starscream was sent with his armada to destroy the hanger. He did so with aplomb, unaware that the Autobots had swapped the letters on the hangers and he'd destroyed the wrong one. {{storylink|Persuasion}} The error came back to bite him when the Decepticons detected an [[Chip|Autobot probe]] carrying Laserbeak's transponder. Starscream went out and personally destroyed the probe before fleeing through a GroundBridge to escape Optimus. Back on the ''Nemesis'', when Predaking found out about the Decepticons' earlier treachery and went on a rampage, Starscream aided Megatron by blasting Predaking in the back. Though the Predacon was defeated, the ship next came under attack by Autobots. {{storylink|Synthesis}}

Starscream took his squad of Vehicons and encountered Arcee and Bumblebee. They battled the two Autobots, but were driven back to the Omega Lock room where Starscream tried unsuccessfully to get his hands on the Star Saber which Smokescreen had brought along. Starscream watched in horror as Megatron was killed by Bumblebee, but his desire to avenge his leader was unable to be fulfilled, as Shockwave dragged him away. The pair escaped the ship in a lifepod, somewhere over Cybertron. {{storylink|Deadlock}}

[[File:Predaconsrising-Starscreamupthecreek.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|No! Bad pets! Bad! Don't you want to know what the fox says?!?]]
As Shockwave continued to try to clone Predacons, Starscream searched for more bones, and was soon assisted by [[Darksteel (Prime)|Darksteel]] and [[Skylynx (Prime)|Skylynx]]. The two Predacons eventually led him to a whole burial ground of Predacon remains, but as they were gathering their find up, they were witness to the apparent return of Megatron. Unfortunately it instead turned out to be Unicron using Megatron's body, and as the dark god created an army of undead Predacons, Starscream fled.

Finding the warship, he freed Knock Out and some Vehicons and attempted to retake the ship, only for Knock Out to betray him. He was locked in a cell, however when the warship crashed during the battle against Unicron, he was freed. Once Megatron was free of Unicron's will, Starscream approached him, believing he would resume leadership of the Decepticons, but Megatron was no longer interested in the Decepticon cause. Starscream therefore went to [[Darkmount (Cybertron)|Darkmount]] to take his own rightful place as Decepticon ruler, only for Predaking, Darksteel and Skylynx to arrive looking to settle scores with him. {{storylink|Predacons Rising (Prime)|Predacons Rising}}

===Toy bios===
Once upon a time, Starscream was an honorable soldier who fought to defend Cybertron. His long isloation aboard an orbital platform changed all that, making him greedy and ambitious, and he jumped at the chance to join Decepticons and get to lead troops again. {{storylink|Starscream (WFC)#Generations|Generations Starscream}} This path would lead to him binging on Dark Energon, revelling in the power it gave him! {{storylink|Starscream (WFC)#Prime|Dark Energon Starscream}}

Starscream, whatever you might think, ''isn't'' running away all the time: he's actually making calculated retreats and when the enemy is going "ha ha Starscream's run away", he comes back without warning and wipes them out. {{storylink|Starscream (WFC)#Prime|Voyager Starscream}}

===Titan ''Prime'' comic===
[[File:Titan4.6 Starscream holding president.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The president's been kidnapped by Decepticons! Are you a bad enough dude to save the president?]]
Starscream accompanied [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] on a trip to [[Antarctica]] to attack the [[Yamal|NS ''Yamal'']]. He carried the [[static lance]] that Megatron intended to use to detonate the ship's nuclear reactors, and when the Autobots arrived to intercede, Starscream used the weapon to knock [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] out. He tried to do the same to [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]], but the Autobot dodged the blow and kicked him in the head, taking the lance himself and ruining the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.3|Ice Breaker}}

Tasked by Megatron with trying to draw the Autobots out, Starscream attacked and captured [[Air Force One]], taking it to the [[Grand Canyon]]. He sent a message demanding Optimus Prime's surrender in exchange for the safe return of the [[President of the United States|President]], but the Autobots turned up in force. Starscream's accompaniment of Vehicons was soon quashed, and Optimus rescued the President, whom Starscream was using as a human shield, by chopping the Decepticon's left arm off. Defeated, Starscream fled. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.6|All the President's 'Bots!}}

Starscream was appalled when Megatron revealed the latest plan—pitting the Vehicons against each other in a series of deathmatches to ensure their army contained only the toughest. He was even more shocked when Megatron expected ''him'' to fight against [[Fearstorm]]. Starscream was able to defeat the much-larger Decepticon through application of his wits; he first managed to snap off the pointed end of on the bars enclosing their match, then used it to pin Fearstorm's arms to the ground. Fearstorm was thus incapacitated, leaving Starscream easy access to the key that granted him victory; his opponent's spark. Afterwards, Megatron was content to let Starscream return to the ship. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.7|Megatron's Law}}

On Soundwave's prompting, Starscream set up an ambush for the Autobots in [[The Wave]]. When it predictably went badly for the Decepticons, Starscream demanded his companion take matters into his own hands. Soundwave did, and as a result Starscream had to later help Soundwave look for his missing hand. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.12|The Evil Shred}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.17|Collider Scope}} {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.18|Power Outage}} {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.20|Starscream's Beast}}}}

===Eaglemoss ''Prime'' comic===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Horrible TV}}}}

===''Tales of the Beast Hunters''===
When [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] returned from a battle with the news that [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] had apparently perished in a mysterious explosion, everyone on the ''Nemesis'' assumed Starscream was to blame, simply because he had repeatedly expressed an interest in becoming Decepticon leader. He had to go on the run, all the while Megatron would turn up alive so his name would be cleared. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 7}} Dreadwing managed to track him down, but he convinced Dreadwing that he was not the one who eliminated Megatron, on the grounds that he would immediately take [[Decepticon leader]]ship, rather than flee, should Megatron die by his hands. Dreadwing believed him, and ordered his assistance in finding Megatron. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 14}}

===''Regeneration One''===
[[File:Gas skunk blackarachnia jetstorm leobreaker starscream war to end all wars.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67]]
As the [[Dark Matrix|Dark Matrix creature]] tortured [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Circuit Smasher]] with visions of his [[Sparkplug Witwicky|dead father]] in [[Zero Space]], cracks began to appear in the membrane of infinite worlds. Starscream could be seen through one, alongside [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Leobreaker]], [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]], [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], and [[Gas Skunk]]. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}
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===''Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe''===
After the Transformers had made their way to Earth, Starscream encountered Bumblebee. Not fooled by the Autobot's vehicle disguise, Starscream pursued the Autobot scout. {{storylink|Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe|The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe}}

===''Rescue Bots'' cartoon===
When Heatwave was captured by Chumley, Kade came looking for him. Kade called out asking if Heatwave was there, causing Heatwave to ask sarcastically if he was expecting Starscream. {{storylink|Enemy of My Enemy (RB)|Enemy of My Enemy}}

===2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Steve Blum]] (English), [[Daisuke Hirakawa]] (Japanese)|[[Jiang Ke]] (Chinese), [[Gerardo Alonso]] (Latin-American Spanish), [[Nicolas Dubois]] (French), [[Axel Lutter]] (German), [[János Bácskai]] (Hungarian)}}
[[File:MightyBigTrouble Starscream.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hello, I'm SpaceNapoleHitler. Give me the thing!]]
Starscream managed to survive his encounter with the Predacons by <s>strategically luring them</s> sheer dumb luck, stumbling upon a weapons cache with enough power to kill [[Skylynx (Prime)|Skylynx]] and [[Darksteel (Prime)|Darksteel]]. He then explored the fortress and found the laboratory where the Decepticons had bred the Weaponizer Mini-Cons and sought to use them to take revenge on Megatron for his cruel acts towards him. {{storylink|Mini-Con Madness (RID)|Mini-Con Madness}} Starscream then reformatted himself {{storylink|Mighty Big Trouble}} to his old body type, before he freed the Mini-Cons but they managed to escape him. {{storylink|Mini-Con Madness (RID)|Mini-Con Madness}} The Autobots believed him to be dead following his encounter with the Predacons, but he was remembered as a dangerous Decepticon in the records of the War. {{storylink|Mighty Big Trouble}}

After he had "helped save the universe, from Starscream, Megatron, and Dark Energon", [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] refused to be defeated by [[Bisk (RID)|Bisk]]. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye (RID)|More than Meets the Eye}} When Bumblebee attempted to inspire his team with an [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] impression, [[Sideswipe (RID)|Sideswipe]] instead believed Bumblebee to be going for a bad Starscream. {{storylink|W.W.O.D.?}}

In his hunt for the Weaponizer Mini-Cons, Starscream hired [[Shadelock]], [[RoughEdge]], and [[Razorhorn]] to procure them. {{storylink|Mighty Big Trouble}} His hunt forced the Mini-Cons off [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and led them to joining a group of [[Scavenger (RID 2015)|scavengers]]. {{storylink|History Lessons}} He tracked them down to the planet Earth, where Shadelock found [[Tricerashot]]. Starscream ordered him to follow the Mini-Con to lead them to the remainder of them. {{storylink|Pretzel Logic}} He tracked the Mini-Cons to a human ship, missing them by seconds. There he found the scavengers and the [[Dark Star Saber]]. He immediately claimed the weapon as his own intending to use it for conquest before he noted that it seemed to be operating at less than full power. Nonetheless he still desired the Mini-Cons and ordered his minions to track them and bring them to him. His minions brought him the wrong Mini-Cons. [[Fixit (RID)|One of them]] accidentally revealed [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] was back on Earth and Starscream was able to take the yellow Autobot prisoner by threatening the Mini-Cons. {{storylink|Mighty Big Trouble}}

[[File:RiD 2015 Worthy One-Winged Seeker.jpg|thumb|left|280px|At least he's not a giant screaming head this time.]]
When Bumblebee was aboard, Starscream gloated about his good fortune before the Autobot escaped only to be quickly recaptured. With his captive now in [[stasis cuffs]], Starscream monologued about his cunning escape from the Predacons and his plan to use the Weaponizer Mini-Cons and the Dark Star Saber to not only kill Megatron but conquer the galaxy. He then resumed scanning for his "little doomsday devices" before Bumblebee began taunting him that no one, not even the Dark Star Saber, took him seriously. Starscream swore that everyone would take him seriously, aiming the cursed blade at Bumblebee's throat. A nearby battle between Autobots and scavengers caught his attention where he used his ship's tractor beam to abduct the Weaponizer Mini-Cons before flying off and gloating to Bumblebee of his imminent victory. {{storylink|Mini-Con Madness (RID)|Mini-Con Madness}} Unfortunately it turned out he only had six of the seven Mini-Cons needed, with an attempt at merging resulting in failure. Luckily the last Mini-Con needed turned up at his ship with the Autobots, and he was able to obtain it by knocking everyone out with the Dark Star Saber. He successfully merged with the Mini-Cons, only to lose [[Aerobolt]] thanks to a signal initiated from the ship by Fixit. Starscream managed to fly clear of the ship and engage Optimus and Aerobolt, now merged, in combat until the Autobots succeeded in dragging him back into range of the signal. Separated from the Mini-Cons, Starscream fell comatose and was loaded onto [[Prime Force One|Optimus's ship]] for transport back to Cybertron for justice. {{storylink|Worthy}}
{{--}}

===IDW ''Robots in Disguise'' comic===
Years ago, Starscream assigned three Vehicons to construct an [[energon]] mine near the [[Sierra Ridge]] mountains, {{storylink|Robots in Disguise issue 5|Robots in Disguise #5}} and left them with a bomb triggered by a dead man's switch as an "explosive insurance policy".

At some point after [[Predacons Rising (Prime)|Cybertron's restoration]], Starscream's severed arm was brought to Earth with [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]]. [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Windblade (RID)|Windblade]] fought Predaking for the arm, so they could convince the three Sierra Ridge Vehicons that [[Steeljaw (RID)|Steeljaw]] was not their superior officer. {{storylink|Robots in Disguise issue 6|Robots in Disguise #6}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: War for Cybertron'' (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)===
{{voiceactor|[[Sam Riegel]] (English)|[[Gianluca Iacono]] (Italian), [[Leopoldo Ballesteros]] (Spain-Spanish), [[Cyrille Monge]] (French)}}
[[File:WFC Starscream.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Where are your stupid Macross jokes now?!]]

{{quote|Have no fear, Lord Megatron. Under my leadership, Decepticon victory is assured!|Starscream being all modest|''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron]]''}}

For the last thousand years of the [[Great War (Prime)|Great War]], Starscream was in charge of an orbital facility that had the capability of producing [[Dark Energon]], though they maintained only a small stockpile because of its unpredictable and uncontrollable nature. The station's force of neutral soldiers were no match for Megatron's invading forces, while Starscream and [[Jetfire (WFC)|Jetfire]]'s repeated warnings that no one could control Dark Energon had no effect on Megatron's determination. Instead, Megatron tempted Starscream with knowledge of his past, reminding him of his demotion from Sky Commander to a mere guard over an all-but-derelict station, and offered to let him join the Decepticons, something Starscream scoffed at — at least, at first. Starscream attempted to destroy the station's stock of Dark Energon before the Decepticon leader could reach it, but failed, and watched, first with amusement as Megatron entered the storage chamber...and then with shock as Megatron infused himself with the substance and bent it to his will within moments. Starscream quickly volunteered his services for the Decepticon cause, causing Jetfire to label him a traitor and leave to warn [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|Zeta Prime]]. Megatron sent him with [[Thundercracker (WFC)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (WFC)|Skywarp]] to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to reactivate the [[Geosynchronous Energon Bridge|Energon Bridge]]. Starscream performed the mission successfully using his trademark style, flair, and modesty, never mind Megatron's taunting and unreasonable impatience, or Thundercracker's warning him of the danger of certain courses of action, or even Skywarp's cluing in to his constant insults.

During the Battle of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon City]], Starscream led the Decepticons aerial squadrons and [[Brawl (WFC)|Brawl]] led the Decepticons' ground assault, while Megatron, [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]], and [[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] went behind enemy lines and tried to secure the [[Omega Key]]. When Megatron's group met up with Brawl, Starscream refused to send Dark Energon bombers, saying that he wouldn't let Brawl waste anymore of "his ships". Megatron took issue with Starscream dubbing the bombers his, and overrode Starscream's refusal. Later that evening, while looking for the "real" Omega Key, they ran into it: [[Omega Supreme (WFC)|Omega Supreme]]. Starscream assumed Megatron was killed when Omega attacked a [[dropship (WFC)|dropship]] Megatron was heading for and declared himself Decepticon commander. Shortly afterward, Megatron managed to communicate with Starscream and ordered him to attack Omega Supreme, getting the massive Autobot off Megatron's back. By the time Megatron's group were heading for the Autobot turrets, Starscream was ready to sound a retreat, which Megatron overrode with the threat of marking any retreating Decepticon as "kill on sight". Fortunately, Megatron arrived moments later and managed to defeat Omega Supreme, making the retreat unnecessary. Later on, he was present at the [[Core]] of Cybertron as Megatron corrupted it with Dark Energon.

As the Battle of Iacon continued, Starscream fought through Jetfire and [[Silverbolt (WFC)|Silverbolt]], and attacked [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus]]'s group in the [[Decagon]]. However, the Air Commander was injured by Optimus's [[Energon-axe]] and forced to retreat. The wound was apparently bad enough to cause him to sit out the remainder of the conflict. {{storylink|Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: War for Cybertron'' (DS)===
{{voiceactor|Sam Riegel (English)|Gianluca Iacono (Italian)}}
Starscream had been in control of Trypticon Space Station for years, until Megatron and his forces invaded. Megatron wished to revive the Dark Energon project to aid him in his conquest of Cybertron, but Starscream would have none of it. Megatron was able to fight his way to Starscream himself, and after a brief battle, Starscream had lost. He begged for mercy, and Megatrons spared Starscream in exchange for loyalty to the Decepticons. Starscream obliged and Megatron was taken to the core of the station.

After a test run of the Dark Energon's effects on Decepticons in Kaon Prison, Soundwave deduced the element would only destroy the host. A furious Megatron set Starscream to work on fixing the problem, with Starscream continuously bickering with Barricade over his usefulness. The problem was eventually solved in time for an attack on Iacon City. When Megatron felled Zeta Prime and found the Omega Key, the titanic Autobot Omega Supreme was unleashed upon the Decepticons, quickly crushing them with ease.

Megatron was downright furious with Starscream, declaring he had brought Omega Supreme's rampage upon them all. Starscream retorted that if it wasn't for Megatron and his blind troops, none of this would've happened. Starscream invited Megatron to kill him, but warned him it wouldn't do a thing about Omega Supreme out for their blood. Megatron for the moment let it go, and finally felled Omega Supreme, gaining total dominance over Cybertron.

Sometime later, Starscream ambushed an [[Autobot rookie|Autobot recruit-in-training]], and would've killed him if it wasn't for Optimus charging to the rescue. He wasn't seen again after that.
{{storylink|Transformers: War for Cybertron (DS)|War for Cybertron - Autobots/Decepticons}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Cybertron Adventures''===
{{voiceactor|[[Sam Riegel]] (English)|[[Gianluca Iacono]] (Italian)}}

Being Megatron's "right-hand man," he wonders how the war could have changed if HE were to be the leader, not Megatron. Still he was ordered by Megatron to do his dirty work, and growing jealous, he waits for the right time, to take his place, as leader of the Decepticons.
{{storylink|Transformers: Cybertron Adventures}}

===''Transformers: Fall of Cybertron''===
{{voiceactor|[[Sam Riegel]] (English)}}
Under Megatron's orders, Starscream and the [[Combaticon (WFC)|Combaticons]] ambushed and captured Optimus Prime under the ruins of Iacon during the assault on the Ark. Starscream's gloating on how he defeated Megatron's nemesis would earn him a blast from the Decepticon's leader's fusion cannon. Starscream's luck would take an uphill turn, however, for Megatron was soon crushed by Metroplex, leaving him the new leader of the Decepticons. At the urging of both Prime and Metroplex, Starscream ordered the Decepticons to retreat.

Starscream's reign as a leader was lackluster at best. He used most of the Decepticon energon and supplies to further his own ego and cover the Decepticon bases with portraits and effigies of himself and constantly broadcasting self glorifying speeches to his troops. Anyone who wasn't on board with Starscream's reign was thrown into the prisons of Kaon. Needless to say, the prisons were full to bursting as barely a handful of Decepticons had any faith in their new leader. When the Autobots acquired the entire energon supply the Decepticons kept in the [[Rust Sea|Sea of Rust]]. Starscream sent the Combaticons to stop the transport. When the transport was out in the open, Starscream ordered an assault on it, despite the fact the anti-aircraft guns were still functional. As the Decepticons suffered heavy losses, Starscream aborted the mission and ordered a full retreat. The Combaticons ignored the order and brought the transport down, at the cost of half the energon on board. Despite the fact that the Combaticons had saved the mission he had abandoned, Starscream accused them of failing and had them arrested.

Later, Starscream decided to have a coronation for himself (despite the fact he had been in charge for some time now). Though sadly it was not to be, as [[The Transformers: The Movie|a newly rebuilt Megatron crashed the event]] and took his crown back from the would-be king, much to everyone else's elation. Luckily, the Air Commander escaped Megatron's wrath, swearing revenge.

Seeking the means to get back at Megatron, Starscream made his way to Shockwave's lab. He came across [[Grimlock (WFC)|Grimlock]] and promised to free him and his team if they would serve him. The Dinobot kindly refused the offer by throwing him into the control panel, freeing himself. This apparently knocked Starscream out as he didn't get back up. What happened to him afterwords is unknown, since most of Decepticons that might have arrested him were cut to pieces by Grimlock. {{storylink|Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron}}

===''Transformers: Prime - The Game''===
[[File:TransformersPrimeTheGame Starscream.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
{{voiceactor|[[Steve Blum]] (English)}}
Starscream was present when the Decepticons were hauling in an asteroid rich with Dark Energon heading toward Earth. When the Autobots came to stop them, he witnessed the asteroid explode and the Autobots fall out of orbit. He then mocked their inability to fly, which annoyed Megatron. He commissioned Knock Out and Airachnid to seek and retrieve the Autobots, joining in the hunt himself.

Starscream found Bulkhead and Miko in some sort of tomb, and played on his life by nearly collapsing the whole cave on him. Bulkhead escaped the falling cave, and the big guy unleashed tenfold on him. However, one of the Vehicons managed to swipe Miko and take her captive, and Starscream retreated with them.

Starscream later assisted Megatron in finding a missing component of Thunderwing's, and managed to run into his old pal Bulkhead again. Unfortunately, Bulkhead bested him again, this time taking him captive in his own ship! The treacherous Decepticon tricked Bulkhead, however, into bringing him into a room where he was ambushed by Vehicon troopers. Yet again, Bulkhead came out on top of the pile with Starscream retreating in defeat.

Starscream quickly installed the biggest component in Thunderwing, which resulted in him attacking Megatron... ''Megatron used Starscream as a shield.'' {{storylink|Transformers: Prime - The Game}}
{{-}}
===''Transformers Online''===
{{charstubgame|{{storylink|Transformers Online}}}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark''===
====Console====
{{Charstubgames|{{storylink|Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (console)|Rise of the Dark Spark}}}}

====3DS====
{{Charstubgames|{{storylink|Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (3DS)|Rise of the Dark Spark}}}}

===''Transformers Prime: Battle For Energon''===
When Bulkhead infiltrate the Nemesis to snatch away the Decepticons' Energon stores, Starscream faced off against the Autobot before he could take his leave. Starscream was defeated, and Bulkhead took off with the Energon in hand. {{storylink|Transformers Prime: Battle For Energon}}

===''Transformers Prime: Terrorcon Defense''===
Starscream led a battalion of Vehicon drones to the town of [[Jasper]] in order to secure Dark Energon from a nearby mine. His efforts were thwarted by Arcee. Starscream then attempted to escape from an abandoned military installation with the Vehicons under his command, only to be stopped by both Arcee and Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Transformers Prime: Terrorcon Defense}}

===''Transformers Prime: Pulsar Defense''===
Starscream and the other Decepticons attempted to prevent the Autobots from constructing a [[Pulsar Dish]], which would destroy the [[Energon Drain]] that the Decepticons had built in an asteroid field. {{storylink|Transformers Prime: Pulsar Defense}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers Prime: Decepticon Strike''===
Using his jet mode to fire upon the Autobot leader, and leaving floating "aerial mines" behind him, Starscream fought it out against Optimus Prime in the skies over a lush tropical forest. Optimus managed to drive off Starscream nevertheless, and Starscream howled back that he wouldn't forget his defeat as he sped away. {{storylink|Transformers Prime: Decepticon Strike|Decepticon Strike}}

===''Transformers: Battle Tactics''===
[[File:Battle-Tactics-Starscream-(WFC).jpg|thumb|400px|So I'm ''Cybertron'' Starscream as WFC Starscream, introduced in a WFC event with seekers from ''Cybertron''. Confused? ''Good!'' '''*Hotshot 47 BLAM!*''']]
Starscream participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Epic character who was available as a reward in the "Cybertron Episode 2 - Seekers" event. {{storylink|Transformers: Battle Tactics}}
{{--}}

===''Robots in Disguise'' mobile game===
{{note|For some reason, the Legion Class version of the character is not included in the character selection.}}
<center>
{|class="wikitable" border="5" style="width:65%"
|-
! scope="col" width="30%" | '''Version'''
! style="background: #00CCFF; color: black" scope="col" width="35%" | '''Unlock Cost (Energon)'''
! style="background: #BF00FF; color: white" scope="col" width="35%" | '''Unlock Cost (Ultra Sparks)'''
|-
| Starter
|4500
|90
|-
|Power Hero
|8000
|140
|-
|}
</center>

==Commercial appearances==
[[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] arrived to a location where [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]], Starscream, and Soundwave were battling Autobots. Megatron left, leaving Shockwave in charge. Shockwave ordered Soundwave to [[Transformation|Transform]] and play "[[The Touch]]." Starscream was displeased with Shockwave's choice of song, but Shockwave told him that once he got a higher hit percentage than his own, then Starscream could choose a soundtrack. {{storylink|Commercial#War for Cybertron|GameSpot's commercial for their Shockwave multiplayer exclusive}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
{{main|Starscream (WFC)/toys}}

==Merchandise==
{{main|Starscream (WFC)/toys#Merchandise}}

==Notes==
[[File:Tfprimestarscreamjet.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|''ooooo-ooooo/We fade to grey!'']]
[[File:VectorSigmaBotBuilderStarscream.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Fabulouscream.]]
[[File:Screamer_dashboard.jpg|thumb|right|Nintendoscream.]]
*Starscream's model is usable in ''War for Cybertron'' multiplayer as the Energon Seeker-type chassis for [[Scientist (WFC)|Scientist]]-class characters. His parts are also available to Scientists in ''Fall of Cybertron'', now classified as Arclight-type components.
*Starscream's backstory in ''Exodus'' is self-contradictory:
:''"Not even Starscream, who had spent much of his scientific career in the labs contained within these refracting walls..."'' (p. 78).
:''"See what?" Starscream asked. Neither Starscream nor Megatron were scientists."'' (p. 158).
:*When asked via Twitter, Exodus's writer [[Alex Irvine]] stated "Let's say he's always been scientifically curious."<ref>[http://twitter.com/alexirvine/status/36051088754868224 Twitter post]</ref>
:*In ''[[Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (console)|Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark]]'', when Starscream sarcastically remarks how Shockwave is "ever the scientist", Shockwave replies with "as you once were". This implies that Starscream had been a scientist at some point in time, but has since left that field.
*Despite being a [[Neutral]] before joining Megatron's cause in War for Cybertron, Starscream begins the game with his glowing details already in Decepticon purple as opposed to Neutral yellow. The Decepticon symbols do not appear on his wings until AFTER he has been recruited by Megatron however.
*Starscream's thin body and narrow, upward-swept wings in [[robot mode]] recalls [[Starscream (Animated)|''Animated'' Starscream]], but his voice, colour scheme, Igor-like posture and subservience to Megatron recalls the [[Starscream (Movie)|live-action incarnation]]. The game design has the movie bulk but with a [[Starscream (G1)|Generation 1]] head and colours.
*Starscream's chest design is basically his live-action incarnation's head design. Now that's a visual homage.
**And an unintentional one at that, according to the [[New York Comic Con]] Transformers: Prime panel.
*''Prime'''s Starscream has [[Starscream (SG)|a red Decepticon insignia]].
*Starscream's feet have pointed toes and elevated heels that make them resemble a pair of women's pumps. They are quite daring.
*[[Steve Blum]] said he was a fan of [[Charlie Adler]] and [[Tom Kenny]]'s portrayals of Starscream, and had Adler give him his blessing after he got the part.<ref>[http://sknr.net/2011/04/20/steve-blum-talks-transformers-prime-guild-wars-2-bulletstorm-more/ Skewed magazine Steve Blum interview.]</ref> Coincidentally, Blum, Adler, and Kenny are all in ''The Super Hero Squad Show''. Blum would later take over the role of Adler's [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] for the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|Dark of the Moon]]'' game.
*For the rest of the series after "[[Partners (Prime)|Partners]]", Starscream has a scar on his right cheek from his battle with Arcee. However, after [[Regeneration (Prime)|Regeneration]] it is gone. It is possible that in addition to restoring his T-cog, Knock Out also got rid of the scar.
*Up until "Partners", his eyes were empty (like Arcee's eyes) with a solid red iris and lighter red pupils, but following said episode, his eyes change color from episode to episode. On some occasions, they are solid red with lighter red dots for his pupils.
*Starscream's body parts are available to use in the Hub website's [[Vector Sigma Bot Builder]] online game. Normally, you cannot configure a generic 'bot using all Starscream parts, but you can see what one would look like at right through the magic of Photoshop.
*In Starscream's dedicated level in ''Fall Of Cybertron'', a secret room on the exterior of Shockwave's tower complex contains a very G1-esque gold crown that can be picked up by the player and worn for the remainder of the level. Words cannot describe how awesome this is...
*Starscream's Hasbro bio takes Fowler's comment "Starscream is his own worst enemy", a little too literally as it lists his arch-enemy as himself. And his ally is Optimus, for some reason...
*In one of the rare noticeable instances of physical change within the "Aligned" continuity family, Starscream's appearance in ''Robots in Disguise'' is changed to be more similar to his ''Fall of Cybertron appearance'', but this time is inspired by both his [[Starscream (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]] and his [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|G1 cartoon counterpart]]'s look during the coronation scene in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.

===Arms Up Modes===
In the Japanese ''Prime'' toyline, Starscream has named powered-up modes when given various [[Arms Micron]]s in certain configurations:

*'''Full Weapon Mode''' (フルウェポンモード ''Furu Wepon Mōdo'')
**''Arms Microns'': Balo, Gora, Gul, Jida, Zori
:Starscream's box-back Arms Up mode has him using the [[Laser Gunblade]] on his right arm, the [[High-Defense Shield]] on the left, and [[Zori]] in "Flexible Rod Mode" (yyyyeah) on his back.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Starscream''' (スタースクリーム ''Sutāsukurīmu'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Tiānwángxīng''' (Taiwan, 天王星, "Uranus"), '''Hóng Zhīzhū''' (China, 红蜘蛛, "Red Spider")
*''Russian:'' '''Starscream''' (''War for Cybertron'', ''Prime'', Старскрим), '''Skandalist''' (''Fall of Cybertron'', Скандалист, "Troublemaker")

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Aligned Seekers]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Fall of Cybertron Decepticons]]
[[Category:Go! Decepticons]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame characters]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Decepticons]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Transformers Online Decepticons]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Decepticons]]
[[Category:Robots in Disguise (2015) Decepticons]]

Rung (G1)

2019-10-03T23:13:31Z

Zynoveous-Prime:

{{factions|primus|autobot}}
{{featured}}
{{disambig2|the Generation 1 Autobot|the ''Animated'' Autobot|Rung (Animated)}}
{{suite|root=Primus}}
:''Rung is an [[Autobot]] from the [[2005 IDW continuity|2005 IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:Rungisolated LostLight4cvr.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|"Tell me again about your mother."]]

The Autobots have this, you know, psy-ops specialist. He's red, right? Orangey-red? And tiny? Basically defenseless? Does anyone remember his name? It's something like... Ring? Rong? Rang? Dang. It's on the tip of my tongue. He files these reports, you know, for [[Autopedia]]? He's written entries for each Autobot, from [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] to [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] to Red Alert again. As part of his duties, he performs the mental assessments of potential [[Wrecker]]s-to-be. He's very important. He's got... these huge eyebrows. You gotta know who this is describing, right? Collects and builds model spacecraft? Seriously. What's his name?

Oh, right! '''Rung'''! Thanks.

Or maybe Wrung. Who knows, really.

==Fiction==
===2005 IDW continuity===
{{first|[[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|''The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #1]] (prose); [[Chaos Theory Part 1|''The Transformers'' vol. 1 #22]] (comic)}}

[[File:MtMtEAnn2012-TheGuidingHand.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The popular depictions of Primus and the Guiding Hand that would later surface in Cybertron's history bore little resemblance to the genuine articles.]]

The robot who would become known as '''Primus''' was supposedly the first [[Transformer]] to come into existence, bearing the unique serial number of "000000001". {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}} One legend states that the original Cybertronian first learned that he could [[transformation|transform]] twelve million years ago, in the land that would one day become [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

In many ways, Primus was no different from the rest of the Cybertronian race that would one day come into existence, but was marked by several unique traits that no other Cybertronian displayed: he possessed supernatural durability, able to recover from even the most grievous injuries; {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} more importantly, however, he was able to manufacture [[photonic crystal]]s, which were able to indefinitely store the energies of a [[spark]]. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}} He was soon followed by a quartet of robots like himself, and together they would be remembered in mythology as the "[[Guiding Hand]]," each remembered as embodying an aspect of the Cybertronian race: [[Mortilus]], death, [[Epistemus]], wisdom, [[Solomus]], knowledge, and [[Adaptus]], change. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}}

[[File:LL-23-GuidingHandWar.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Behold the power of the Guiding Hand! Adaptus uses deadly laser blasts! Mortilus wields the Power Cosmic! Primus... has a stick!]]

Before long, [[hot spot]]s ignited across Cybertron, giving rise to the planet's first generation. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}} Supposedly, Primus delivered his [[Prime Pastoral]] on the site that would one day become the [[Crystal City]], and consorted with the [[Titan (group)|Titan]]s [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and [[Chela]]. {{storylink|Origin Myths}} Primus's many titles included the "Celestial Architect" and the "Mechanica Divine", {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (1): Metastasis|Metastasis}} and the [[Primal Sacrament]] attributed the famous verse "Survive and Thrive" to Primus. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}}

At some point in the past, Primus used his unique [[alternate mode]] to weld together dozens of photonic crystals, creating the artifact that would come to be deified as the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which would in time, fall into the care of the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}} The Guiding Hand ruled benevolently for some time, even transforming the planet into a utopia, but tensions arose when Adaptus, worrying that their way of life would only lead to stagnation, sought to wage war against the races of the universe so as to encourage the evolution of their own species. Primus and the other members of the Hand refused, and so the treacherous Adaptus battled his former comrades in the event that would be remembered as the "[[God War]]", deploying a legion of experimental horrors from his base on [[Moonbase One|Cybertron's first moon]]. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}} {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (2): The God War|The God War}}

[[File:TheUnremembering-informationcreep.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Forget him not.]]

When it became clear that Adaptus could not win against his brothers, he retreated to his lunar base and readied a massive electromagnetic blast that would leave the population of Cybertron confused and disoriented so that he could flee aboard his retrofitted moon. Primus sought to absorb as much of the blast as he could bear; while he was able to survive the brunt of the attack, he was only partially succcessful: Adaptus had indeed corrupted the memories of Cybertron's population, introducing the malady known as "[[information creep]]" to the Cybertronian species, and the fallout from his heroic sacrifice would render Primus himself "permanently forgettable," his memories of his original identity now garbled beyond repair, and ensuring that nobody on Cybertron would be able to clearly remember him. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}} The robot that had once been Primus faded into the background of Cybertronian civilization, a quiet 'bot who began to study the science of psychiatry. {{storylink|Transformers: Historia|Historia}}

Legends of Primus's existence persisted, however, however; in many religious sects, Primus would become remembered as a mighty warrior-god, "the clenched fist that became the Guiding Hand", {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} by literally dividing his own essence into their being. Those same legends would come to demonize ''Mortilus'' as the evil member of the Guiding Hand, and the nature of Primus's final sacrifice became distorted by information creep—many would claim that, when the rest of the Guiding Hand had been trapped and deceived into giving up their divine forms, Primus had struck down Mortilus in their final battle, and the wounded god survived only by becoming the life-giving supercomputer [[Vector Sigma]]. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (2): The God War|The God War}}

[[File:Unicron-1-PrimusUnicronLegend.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A different version of the Primus myth hewed closer to the [[Primus#Toys|classic interpretation]] of the character.]]

Another story remembered Primus as the first Cybertronian, who supposedly duelled his dreaded "[[Unicron/Generation 1|opposite]]" in a war that predated the universe itself; in this permutation of the myth, Primus triumphed and became Cybertron itself. {{storylink|Last Stand (Unicron)|Last Stand}} Still another version of the myth claimed that Primus had created Cybertron at the dawn of time. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention}}

Eventually, the Knights of Cybertron left their homeworld, taking the Matrix with them, and in the absence of the Guiding Hand or their original acolytes, Cybertronian civilization descended into barbarism. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}} {{storylink|The Crucible}}

What became of the real Primus in this era is unknown; his influence was still felt, however, by the various primitive tribes that sprung up across Cybertron. One such group, an alliance of [[Prime (rank)|Prime]]s, commissioned the construction of the [[Crystal City]] to honor the ground where he had once stood. This would prove convenient for "[[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Onyx Prime]]", who painted a new flag to symbolize the alliance of the [[Thirteen]] and dubbed it the "First Face", claiming that it had been based off Metrotitan's description of the countenance of Primus. {{storylink|Origin Myths}} In time, however, a more secular culture would grip Cybertron, and fewer and fewer individuals came to see Primus and the other members of the Guiding Hand as concrete deities. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}}

Some seven million years ago, the bot that had once been "Primus" re-emerged as '''Rung of the [[Pious Pools]]''', {{storylink|Little Victories}} a humble, unassuming psychiatrist who was content to remain in the background. Rung had indeed forgotten everything about his origins—even interpreting his serial number upside down, leading him and everyone around him to believe that he was number 100000000. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} Rung himself assumed that he remained so forgettable because of his [[mode attachment]], leaving everyone to get used to him. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}} [[Kup (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Kup]] counted him as one of his oldest friends. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

[[File:Stet-Rungwhistle.jpg|left|thumb|200px|They see me rolling...]]

Early into his new life, Rung was known to have lived in the [[Vinvissius Canals]] for a time, but left his home behind before they were redeveloped into the Vinvissisus Heights. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}} As [[Nova Prime]] took the reins of Cybertronian civilization after the [[First Cybertronian Civil War]] and began his campaign of [[Expansion]], he required a massive population boom to maintain a sizeable interstellar colonization force. Rung somehow found himself pressed into the task of manufacturing enough photonic crystals to house the vast amount of sparks "bled" from the Matrix of Leadership during the event known as the "[[Silver Harvest]]". {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

At some point afterwards, Rung forgot that he had been responsible for the creation of so many sparks, and, like most Cybertronians, came to believe that the crystals were artificially made. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}} During Cybertron's [[Golden Age]], Rung became an officially licensed psychiatrist, {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} opening a clinic in the city of [[Rodion]], {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} and by six million years ago his "Rungian analysis" therapy was already in common parlance. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} Though Rung was originally slated to join the crew of the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark-1]]'', he was recalled at the last second, as the [[Senate]] allegedly needed him. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Rung was subsequently employed by the Senate as a patho-psychologist alongside [[Froid]]. Although Froid claimed that they were friends, they endured a heated rivalry, clashing over the proper use of personality adjustment treatments {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}} and eventually culminating in Froid ''stealing'' a classification system of personality types from Rung, which he selfishly renamed the "[[Froidian Classification System]]." {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}}

During the subsequent reign of [[Nominus Prime]], Rung ran afoul of the [[Functionist Council]]. As his nobody, not even Rung himself, could identify the purpose of his strange, seemingly-useless alternate mode, his mere existence threatened to undermine the tenets of [[functionism]], which held that every Cybertronian's alternate mode served a clear purpose within the [[Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy]]. After repeated, rigorous testing, he was forced to wear a false wheel on his back to "reassure" other Cybertronians that he possessed a useful altmode. Eventually, even the Functionists found themselves stumped as to what Rung's purpose could be and so the problem was neatly sidestepped by creating a new entry in the [[Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy]], specifically for Rung's alternate mode: they classified him as an "[[Ornament class|ornament]]". {{storylink|Little Victories}}

[[File:BirthsDeathsAndInterventions-RungFroid.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

In 4th Cycle 499, Rung was returning to his wellbeing clinic when a time-traveling [[Brainstorm (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Brainstorm]] attacked him with electric knuckledusters, knocking the psychiatrist unconscious. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}}

In 51st Cycle 500, Rung traveled to [[Mining Outpost C-12|Croteus 12]] after a secret Senate session amended the law to require two signatures on requests for [[shadowplay|personality adjustments]]. His arrival interrupted the use of the procedure on the exiled revolutionary [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]], which had been approved by Froid. However, before Rung could assess whether he would countersign the operation, an underground energy surge prompted a complete evacuation of the facility. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}}

Shortly before the start of the war, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] became one of Rung's patients. He'd stay one of Rung's patients for six centuries, his paranoia so bad it took ninety-seven sessions before he let Rung see his face, two hundred eighty-eight sessions before he told Rung his '''real''' name, and three hundred thirty-two sessions before he stopped recording their conversations. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

[[File:OmegasConundrum-Rung.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]

Once Zeta Prime rose to power, Rung served as a psychotherapist under the new Autobot regime. He provided literature and adjustment assistance to bots undergoing body augmentation or retrofitting, including the New Senate operative [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]]. {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}}

During his time as an Autobot, Rung lend his psychiatric talents aboard a variety of starships, including the ''[[Ark-6]]'', and picked up a hobby of building models of every ship he'd served aboard. However, while aboard one of these ships—the ''[[Fateful Archetype]]''—Rung got too close to a patient, was subsequently found to be guilty of malpractice by tribunal, and ultimately disbarred... but when that ship crashed, Rung's supernatural durability meant that he was the only survivor. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}}

[[File:Fateful archetype unremembering.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

Feeling that the verdict had been in error, Rung would continue to practice medicine; when he revealed the truth to Froid, the other psychiatrist eagerly used this dark secret as leverage against his rival. Their already strained relationship now officially severed, the last time that the two spoke was just after Froid used "his" system of personality classification to help law enforcement capture the infamous mass-murderer [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]]. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Froid disappeared afterwards while helping to transport Sunder to [[Garrus 6]], and Rung was left to assume that his old friend had died. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}} {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}}

After Zeta's death and the outbreak of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], Rung was present during a battle that saw [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] clash. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}} With his therapies now firmly out of vogue, and his reputation damaged, Rung opted to leave Cybertron entirely at some point before the planet was rendered permanently uninhabitable by the war. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Long after the apparent deaths of most of his rivals, Rung would write papers but never distribute them. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}} At some point during the Great War, Rung would first diagnose the personality disorder known as "[[Primus apotheosis]]." {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 3): Journey's End|Journey's End}}

In the present day, Rung was stationed aboard the [[Kimia Facility]], where he performed a psychological evaluation of [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] before his trial for [[Squadron X|unlawful executions]]. He ended up being physically assaulted and threatened with extreme violence if he tried 'putting ideas' in Impactor's head, but managed to calm the situation down. In the end, Rung was left questioning whether Autobot High Command shared the blame for Impactor's crimes for turning a blind eye to the robot's growing psychopathy. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Impactor's Autopedia entry}}

Rung later performed a pre-mission psych-screening on new Wreckers [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]], [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]], and [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] to estimate if they were suited to be put on the [[Garrus-9]] case. Rung was unimpressed by Rotorstorm's unrelenting bragging and joking, and found himself cutting through the charade when he mentioned [[Simanzi Massacre|Simanzi]]. Taking note of his dual personality, Rung declared him cleared for mission. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Rotorstorm's Autopedia entry}} With Pyro, he diagnosed the robot as an extreme sufferer of Primus apotheosis and noted with sadness that the robot was suppressing his own engaging personality for a copy of another's. He cleared Pyro with reservations, noting that apotheosis sufferers were known for sacrificing themselves. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Pyro's Autopedia entry}} With Guzzle, he cleared the 'bot as having personality flaws but no real psychological flaws, though he was unnerved by his disturbing habit of playing with his gun's safety. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Guzzle's Autopedia entry}}

When screening Ironfist, he was impressed by his enthusiasm and knowledge, but not so much by his actual combat experience and mentality. Rung advised against Ironfist's participation, but retracted his negative conclusion when he received 'unsolicited advice' from [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|an undisclosed party]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Ironfist's Autopedia entry}}

[[File:Chaos3-KimiaSurvivors.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|At least Rung's right there to treat any outbreaks of claustrophobia.]]
Rung treated the shell-shocked Autobot [[Flattop (Autobot)|Flattop]]. He discovered Flattop was a survivor of the [[Babu Yar]] atrocity, but that was not his immediate problem. What pushed him over the edge this time was an encounter with the [[Shimmer]]. Rung tried to give rational explanations for the appearance of Shimmer, but Flattop died right there in his office. {{storylink|Bullets}}

Kup, one of Rung's oldest friends, asked him to examine [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] after a [[zero point]] affliction had left him in a coma. Believing that certain emotional triggers could cause Springer's subconscious to force his [[spark]] across the zero point, Rung asked [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] to read ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' datalogs to him in hopes that the memories would have some effect. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Rung was among the survivors of [[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]]'s attack on [[Kimia Facility]]. He and the others drifted in a cramped escape pod for some time until they were rescued by [[Arcee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Arcee]]. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

[[File:LiarsAtoD3-RungSkids.jpg|left|thumb|200px|This large panel is the source of 80% of Transformers-related shipping on Tumblr.]]

After Cybertron was reborn in the wake of the [[D-Void]]'s defeat, Rung joined [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]]'s crew on the ''[[Lost Light]]'' in search for the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Before he could get on the ship, his arm was detached by a wildly flying Cyclonus. {{Storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} As the ''Lost Light'' took off, its [[Quantum generator|quantum engines]] malfunctioned, and the subsequent explosion meant that the ship wound up duplicating itself into two identical copies in different parts of the galaxy, one on-course and one wildly off-course. While hte other members of the crew were also duplicated in the incident, Rung was the only member to ''not'' be duplicated, perhaps as a result of his supernatural origins, and the copies who inhabited the "on-course" version of the ''Lost Light'' assumed that he he had been "lost" in the explosion. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}}

Aboard the off-course ''Lost Light'', Rung had his arm repaired in [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]]'s care before he was choked by an irrational and unresponsive [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]. The psychiatrist managed to get him to release his grip when he reminded Whirl that he would go back to prison, forever, if he didn't stay in line. When [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] joined the crew, Rung informed him of their quest. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Rung later had a close call with a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]], but was saved by Skids. Rodimus used the two to lure the Sparkeater—drawn by Rung's spark, the brightest on the ship—so he could defeat it. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

As a result of his almost never using it, the nature of Rung's [[alternate mode]] became the subject of a 100 [[shanix]] wager between [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] and [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]. A early blow in this "war" came when Swerve repeatedly threw a hand grenade at the back of Rung's head, hoping to trigger an involuntary mode change. {{storylink|Little Victories}}

[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], previously thought cured, returned to therapy shortly after the launch of the ''Lost Light''. Rung was concerned that all the progress they had made on Red Alert's rampant paranoia over the years was coming undone. Red Alert informed Rung that he was hearing noises coming from a crack in the floor of the Sparkeater's chamber. He gave him a recording of the noise which Rung vaguely recognized as a voice, albeit tremendously slowed-down. When they sped the sound up, the words "kill...me" could be identified. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

[[File:Rung FortMax Interiors.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"Wait! I'm starting to come down with Stockholm syndrome...handsome!"]]

Rung held a session with the newly returned [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Fortress Maximus]], whose mental state had been called into question after he had suffered torture and humiliation at the hands of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] for three years. Rung urged him to open up and explore his trauma, to no avail. Maximus later snapped and went on a rampage across the ''Lost Light'', gunning down Autobots that reminded him of Overlord. Rung was in the middle of a session with Whirl when Max broke in and took them both hostage. Rung was bound to his chair and Whirl was overpowered and pinned to the ground. Rung tried to reason with Maximus, while simultaneously recording and broadcasting what was happening in his office through the microphone in his thumb. When Maximus noticed it, he tore Rung's thumb off.

As the situation dragged on, Rung continued to try and break through to Maximus. Max kept dodging the issue, pinning the reason for his actions on [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'s delay in sending help to [[Garrus-9]], instead of acknowledging that Overlord was at the root of his psychosis. Maximus then confronted Whirl, who told Maximus about his life. Rung expressed wonder at this, as there were details that Whirl told Maximus that he had never told Rung. Whirl replied that Rung had never threatened any of his friends, to Rung's visible surprise. When a holo-image of Overlord torturing him was projected into the room by Rewind, Maximus froze up and crumbled to his knees. Rung tenderly comforted him and the hostage situation appeared to be at an end. Unfortunately, a shot from Swerve meant to disable Fortress Maximus instead hit Rung in the head. A memorial service was later held for Rung, which Rodimus presided over. {{storylink|Interiors}}

[[File:RulesOfDisengagement-Rung.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]

While the shot would have killed any normal Transformer, Rung's unique physiology meant that both his spark and [[brain module]] had survived, and the medical staff believed he might pull through: something Ratchet said was akin to a miracle. Later, after a visit by [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and a horrified Swerve, Red Alert came to see the comatose psychiatrist. Believing that Rung's near-death was a result of the recording he had played to Rung, the paranoid security officer said he couldn't tell anyone else the truth he'd discovered—the voice was Overlord's, the sadistic Decepticon "strung up and sedated" in the bowels of the ''Lost Light''. Expecting to be killed himself, he left a [[data slug]] of his findings in Rung's hand and said goodbye. Unfortunately, a [[Diagnostic Drone]] had recorded Red Alert's confession, and summoned a mysterious figure who removed the slug... {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} After the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s encounter with the Titan [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], Swerve explained his religious interpretation of events to the comatose Rung. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

[[File:PostHoc-RungsBrain.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"What have you done with Rung's Brain?"]]

After Rung's head was rebuilt, it took hours of patient work from [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] to get Rung to be able to distinguish between people and objects. Then it took Swerve talking for ''147 hours straight'' to get Rung to move again (placing a finger over Swerve's mouth). With Rung still locked into the fog of his own thoughts, {{storylink|Signal to Noise}} Rewind decided that they could help repair the psychiatrist's brain by telling him a story: hearing stories required the brain to use its cognitive functions. He assembled a group of Autobots who'd all been part of interlinked events and tried to use the story to kick-start Rung's brain. And then he tried again. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} Not knowing when to try a different tack and intending to finally talk to Rung about [[Dominus Ambus]] {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}, he then tried a third time with a group of 'Bots who had been involved in a chain of events during the [[Clampdown (event)|Clampdown]] and prompted them to talk about it. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}}

Rewind checked Rung again during the story later and still found no mental signs in him {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} and he still showed no signs when the story was finished. Seeing that Rewind was on the wrong track, Skids tried a simpler idea, drawing from the sheer number of connections the psychiatrist had made during his lifespan without leaving an impact on many. He deliberately got his name wrong several times in front of him, and an irritated Rung immediately said his name was "Rung. Forever." {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

[[File:CybertronianHomesickBlues-SkidsRung.jpg|left|thumb|200px|How much is the bill?]]

After being fully repaired and helping Brainstorm develop [[Holomatter|holomatter avatars]] that could reflect an Autobot's inner psyche, Rung went down to [[Hedonia]] for shore leave with Swerve, Skids, Tailgate, Rewind and Cyclonus, Whirl, and Ultra Magnus, who just tagged along. The group spent the evening between a bar {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} and a gift shop, where the sight of a memory stick caused the psychiatrist to remember his last conversation with Red Alert. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}}

After a violent outburst from Cyclonus saw the group leave the bar, Rung helped bring an unconscious Ultra Magnus back to the shuttle. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} Back aboard the ''Lost Light'', Rung shared Red Alert's concerns with Rodimus, but the ship's captain claimed to have greater priorities than immediately investigating. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}}

[[File:MTMTE22 Rung's alternate mode.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Maybe he turns into a PlayStation Move.]]

As part of the ongoing bet, Tailgate attempted to have Rung transform as part of an "alt-mode party", although the psychiatrist wound up simply bemused. When the ''[[Vis Vitalis]]'' contacted the ''Lost Light'', Rung was excited at the prospect of meeting its captain, the superlative [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]. However, the famous Autobot wound up held at gunpoint by his First Officer [[Paddox]], who had been revealed as an [[Ammonite]] spy. Rung was instrumental in saving the day, allowing Swerve to wield his "ornamental" alt mode as a blunt instrument with which to bludgeon the aggressor. Rung was also interviewed by Rewind, as part of the documentary the archivist was producing. {{storylink|Little Victories}}

Rung visited Fortress Maximus in the ship's brig, where he forgave the ex-warden for the events surrounding the psychiatrist's near-death. Their moment was interrupted, however, by an alarm signaling Overlord's escape into the ship. In the battle that followed, Rung mostly watched helplessly from the sidelines. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}}

After Overlord's defeat, Rodimus was left despondent and angry, and made angrier when Rung, correctly, realised his problem was that ''others'' had stopped Overlord and not him. At the funerals, Rung's stern, silent glance got Rodimus to admit that others, including the poor, dead Rewind, had saved the day. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} Speaking truth to power got Rung drafted for a mission to the legendary [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], in pursuit of the missing Ultra Magnus: Rodimus needed someone who was willing to say things he didn't want to hear. After reaching the moon's surface, the group encountered a newly ignited [[hot spot]], but they were quickly chased away by a [[Titan Hunter|gang of mercenaries]] {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}} in the employ of [[Solomus|Chief Justice Tyrest]].

[[File:HouseofAmbus-Rung&Minimus.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Given his history, Rung should really know better now than to get involved in situations with angry poets.]]

The group was charged with "crimes against creation", and shoved into a cell with a guy called Minimus Ambus. Rung swiftly picked up that Ambus had the same mannerisms, nervous tics, and speech patterns as Ultra Magnus. Keeping his suspicions to himself at first, Rung tested his theory by wearing his Autobot badge at an angle and deliberately making a mess. Before long, Ambus relented and confirmed his identity, {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} explaining that "[[Magnus Armor|Ultra Magnus]]" was an identity passed down through the ages. Confused by the charges against the ''Lost Light'' crew, Ambus left to confront Tyrest, whilst Skids, Swerve, and [[Getaway]] were dumped into the cell. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}}

Getaway revealed that he and the amnesiac Skids had been dispatched by Prowl to alter the unstable Tyrest's memories, and used his escapology skills to break the entire group out. Rung and the others confronted Tyrest, his deranged plan to kill all cold-constructed [[Transformer]]s and reach [[Cyberutopia]] revealed. Immobilizing the ''Lost Light''ers, the Chief Justice activated his [[universal killswitch]], {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} but was defeated by Tailgate and Minimus Ambus. Whilst Rodimus and Perceptor used the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to disable the killswitch, Rung comforted First Aid, who had been goaded into killing Tyrest's accomplice [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]]. When a final order from Tyrest brought his [[Legislator]] robots back to accost Rung and the others, Tailgate saved the day by amending the law at the Chief Justice's computer console. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} In the aftermath of the battle, Rung met with Fortress Maximus in Swerve's, and the ex-warden revealed that he had been offered the role of Duly Appointed Enforcer of the [[Tyrest Accord]] by Rodimus and Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}

[[File:IntoTheAbyss-Rung.jpg|thumb|right|300px|With goggles that thick, he could be a ''Digimon'' protagonist.]]

When [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]] and the crew of the ''[[Skyroller]]'' came aboard the ''Lost Light'', Rung was present for the 'welcome aboard' party at Swerve's. {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} Shortly afterwards, the ship quantum jumped beneath the seas of [[Hydrophena]] in search of Metroplex, and Rung was one of the crew members who disembarked to battle the [[Ammonite]]s who set upon the ''Lost Light''. The psychiatrist was able to split apart one "Minicon" combiner by striking its weak spot, but was immediately shoulder-barged by another. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} Eventually the ship's crew was able to rescue Metroplex and jump the Metrotitan and the ''Lost Light'' back to Cybertron. Rung was among the crew who met up with the contingent of Autobots and Decepticons fighting against [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Shockwave]]'s machinations. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} With the scientist's [[Quintessa (IDW)|Necrotitan]] defeated by Metroplex, the psychiatrist and several other Autobots took some time to relax at Swerve's, where Rung watched the bar's owner freak out over [[Blurr (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Blurr]]'s presence. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}}

The festivities were cut short, however, by the materialization of seventy billion Ammonites in the planet's skies, and Rung mostly spent the battle that followed looking on in horror. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} After the dust settled, Rung was present to see Optimus Prime and Megatron stand side-by-side, the Decepticon leader having declared his new faction during the climactic confrontation with Shockwave. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

[[File:WordsHangInTheAir-Nightbeat.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Nightbeat's wondering why Raiz drew it differently.]]

In the days that followed, Rung was in the crowd on [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] observing Megatron stand trial for his crimes during the war. By the trial's resolution, Megatron was declared co-captain of the ''Lost Light'', and six months later, after the ship had resumed its quest, the former Decepticon attended a therapy session with the Autobot psychiatrist. Megatron spent much of the session evading Rung's inquiries, at one point changing the subject to the first time he encountered the psychotherapist, at [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]] in 4th Cycle 496. Unable to remember this incident, Rung took the opportunity to segue into discussing a first-edition copy of Megatron's original autobiography, ''Towards Peace'', that he had been given by new crew member [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]]. Of interest was a dedication to 'Terminus' that the ex-Decepticon removed from all subsequent copies. The session was then interrupted by a brief black-out, and Megatron took the chance to end the meeting. As he left, Megatron revealed that Terminus was somebody who taught him "not to get attached". {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}}

Later that day, [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] examined a schematic of Rung's enigmatic alt-mode, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} whilst the psychiatrist himself attended a screening of the [[Earth]] film ''{{w|Zulu (1964 film)|Zulu}}'' at Swerve's. The event was interrupted, however, when the ''Lost Light'' began disappearing piece by piece, and Rung escaped onto a shuttle. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Eventually Rung and every other original crew member disappeared, with the remaining ''Lost Light''ers discovering that the ship's initial quantum jump had caused it and its passengers to duplicate. Eventually, the ''Lost Light'' and its crew were restored and its duplicate vanished. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

[[File:AllOurParlousYesterdays-RungRoller.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

Not long after the ship's reappearance, Rung was at [[Swerve's]] when Brainstorm activated an electro-sensitive poison, knocking everybody who'd been drinking from the spiked engex vats unconscious. As a teetotaler, Rung merely wound up buried under a pile of his collapsed crewmates. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} When Brainstorm, apparently revealed as a Decepticon, travelled back in time, Rung was recruited to the team pursuing the engineer into the past. Materializing in [[Alyon]] in 1st Cycle 502, the group encountered a team of insurgents and [[Outlier (group)|outliers]], led by Orion Pax, trying to protect a hot spot from Senate forces. Whilst the two teams rested, Rung was startled to discover that [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] was taking [[circuit speeder]]s to keep up with his Outlier teammates, and warned of their health risks. After helping save the hot spot's newborn sparks, the ''Lost Light'' team followed Brainstorm further into the past, {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} to 4th Cycle 501, during the Clampdown.

[[File:Chaos Theory P1 - Rung starts the Great War.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.7|"Hey, I didn't order that!"]]
Rung was assigned to survey Maccadam's New Oil House in [[Rodion]], where he passed the time building a model of the ''Lost Light''. Unbeknownst to him, he was observed by both Brainstorm, who realized that he had been pursued into the past, {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} and [[Quark]] and Nightbeat, who bickered over whether the psychiatrist was a Senate spy or just a billy-no-mates. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} After Brainstorm time-jumped again, Rung's crewmates regrouped at Maccadam's to be sent even further into the past, to 4th Cycle 499. When the group split up, Rung was in the contingent that stayed at the bar, and was dispatched to fetch a [[curly straw]] for Tailgate. In doing so, however, he spilled a Senate cadet's drink. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} After refusing to clean up the spill, the poor 'bot was tossed across the bar, right onto [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] and Megatron's table. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory Part 1}} A bar fight quickly ensued, away from which Rodimus dragged the unconscious Rung. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}}

Having realized that Brainstorm intended to kill Megatron, Rung and the ''Lost Light''ers pursued the engineer back to 1st Cycle 012, where the Decepticon-to-be had just been created in a cold construction facility. After Brainstorm was hit with a "grenado", Rung checked the facility's computer's and found that the rogue engineer had already wiped Megatron's batch code, and then spent ten minutes pointing his gun at the newborn. When Brainstorm pulled a pistol again, Rung was able to talk him down, realizing that the engineer was still conflicted. A short time later, the crew used Rodimus's "time phone" to send a warning message for their past selves, and Rung chipped in with instructions to not visit [[Delphi]] (though the message failed to reach its intended recipients). After the group returned to the present day, Rung visited Perceptor, who revealed that their actions in the past were predestined, already part of established history, and that tampering with the time machine might have lead to a multitude of alternate realities being created. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

Some time later, Rung was part of the group sent to investigate the holographic planet "[[Swearth]]" while trying to rescue a comatose Swerve, using his holomatter avatar. After enduring several wacky escapades, it was Rung who discovered that the three "roommates" who shared an apartment were, in fact, three diametrically opposed aspects of Swerve's psyche, and uniting them allowed a depressed Swerve's consciousness to reassert itself. {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}

[[File:MTMTE48 skids and rung.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Let's face it, Rung isn't Robert's self-insert; he's ''ours''.]]

As well as helping on the ''Lost Light'', Rung continued to provide therapy to Fortress Maximus, who had left the ''Lost Light'' to continue enforcing the [[Tyrest Accord]]. After an encounter with the [[Scavenger (group)|Scavenger]]s, Maximus confided in him how he'd been thrown to discover some Decepticons had been a bunch of damaged guys and not complete monsters. Rung gently steered him towards changing his ultraviolent approach, noting that many Decepticons in the postwar galaxy were like that. {{storylink|Animals}}

While assisting Skids with reclaiming his lost memories, Rung was surprised to find ''Froid'' (who was supposed to be [[death|dead]]) visiting the ''Lost Light''! His rival wrangled a private chat with his "old friend" and began to mock, cajole, intimidate, and outright blackmail Rung to hand over all his patient notes. Even the threat of revealing he shouldn't be practicing therapy anymore wouldn't break Rung. Instead, Rung ran a sting and asked if he could 'help' with anything else while quietly alerting Skids to show up loaded for bastard. Unfortunately, it turned out Froid wanted the patient information as a way of feeding his "prisoner": monstrous serial killer and memory-eating [[Mnemosurgery|mnemosurgeon]], [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder the Tetraxian Ripper]]!

[[File:MTMTE48 creepy froid.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.0|Aaaaaand this panel is the source of the other 20%.]]

Sunder remotely accessed Rung's memories of the patients and broke out to have this all-you-can-eat buffet of repressed memories, starting with Skids. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Rung had been recording the event and transmitted everything to Megatron, who declared the ship on lockdown. As Sunder prowled the ship, attacking anyone who hadn't locked themselves away, Rung was carrying Skids in a search for Chromedome, hoping the mnemosurgeon could stop the guy's memory surge. Froid tagged along and was brutally killed by Sunder before Thunderclash and Megatron could drive him back; when the monster proved too much, Rung saved Megatron with his ''ship collection'', all capable of flight and shooting!

Once the Ripper was finally stopped, Rung resigned as therapist: the transmission meant Megatron knew he had been struck off. When the captain tried to talk him out of this, Rung snapped that the only way you could defend what he'd done is if you thought his work was unimportant.{{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}} Sunder's brief mental attack would have an unexpected effect on the ex-psychiatrist: the mnemosurgical nature of Sunder's powers partially nullified the effects of information creep and reawakened Rung's old memories, giving him subconscious "inklings" of his original identity and purpose. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}}

The crew found a shrinking 'time window' in [[Swerve's]] that could allow you to look back in its past. Rung and Chromedome both went to look back at Rewind's attempt to fix his brain-damaged self, and Rung would have to gently remind Chromedome when it was time to go. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

At some point after Megatron joined the crew of the ship, Rung had been asked by Getaway if he'd be willing to mutiny against the new co-captain, his mind then wiped via [[nudge gun]] when he refused. When Getaway and the mutineers made their move, they tricked Rung Rung into leaving the ship with the other Megatron 'loyalists': a transmission was sent from the Necrobot's planet to draw them in. (A dying Necrobot, corrupting it in the hope of scaring people away, made it terrify them; Rung heard something he refused to discuss) The group followed the transmission to the planet and came under immediate, violent attack from the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] and [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]] before learning the ''Lost Light'' was abandoning them. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} The Autobots holed up in the Necrobot's old house and Rung helped Rodimus run through their assets.

A cursory search of the structure revealed what appeared to be dozens of slumbering organics and the long-range teleporter by which the Necrobot performed his duties, but using the latter meant abandoning the former. Rung listened with weariness as Brainstorm argued for abandoning the organics, as they could do far more good for the world if they escaped but, after Megatron spoke in favour of staying, Rung stayed to protect the helpless. While preparing for battle, he and the others realized [[Ten]] had been trying to alert them that they could create a forcefield. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} After Nightbeat <s>put in a polite request to</s> begged Minimus Ambus to be allowed to investigate the hollow planet, Minimus agreed so long as Nightbeat had an escort. Nightbeat chose Rung for his total lack of fighting skills. Rung was not amused. Despite the two promising to be back by sunset, they weren't, {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} prompting Rodimus and Drift to question what became of them after the D.J.D. had been defeated.

[[Image:mtmte50 rung's funeral request.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

Rung was very close to raising his voice at Nightbeat when the two finally breached the last layer of the "crust" to find the hollow insides where Nightbeat concluded that the intense gravitational forces were playing havoc with their internal clocks... which Rung couldn't care less about, since an examination of the landscape, particularly an inverted pattern of the [[Vinvissius Canals]], led him to wonder if Necroworld was the mould into which Cybertron was poured. Then a [[geobomb]] showed up to ruin the moment. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

Three weeks after the mutiny, the crew's last messages, including Rung's, were received by several parties on Earth and Cybertron. Rung begged them to dismantle him if he died in alternate mode and "put [him] beyond use". {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}}

When [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] tried to take over his mind, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] used Rung's image as his inner voice to override the brainwashing. {{storylink|Last Light (issue)|Last Light}}

[[File:ModesOfProduction-Rung.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]

While the geobomb appeared to be a dud, it took the crew some time to learn that the entire Necroworld had been shunted into a [[Functionist Universe|a parallel universe]]. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|Some Other Cybertron}} {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}} Brainstorm teleported the pair back to the surface, where Rung asked to see Skids, unaware that Skids had sacrificed his life to help empower the other members of the crew against the Decepticons. The trauma of the sight of his friend's corpse caused Rung to involuntarily create a photonic crystal—and this reaction reawakened some more of his memories. While grappling with his renewed feelings of uselessness with Nightbeat, Rung confessed that he had a muddled recollection that he used to "make things," including the crystals.{{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

When Brainstorm had worked out a way back to their reality, Ratchet, who had encountered, and subsequently witnessed the fate of, [[Rung (G1)#The Functionist Universe|Rung's parallel universe-counterpart]] embraced the psychologist when he and the others returned, minus Megatron. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}} Rewind and Chromedome later took Rung aside to tell him the fate of his alternate self, and how he'd served as an inspiration for billions, much to the psychologist's shock and surprise. {{storylink|After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)|After Megatron}}

[[File:Metastasis-RungRollerNightbeat.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

Part of the group that left Necroworld aboard [[Skip]], {{storylink|After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)|After Megatron}} Rung tucked himself away in alternate mode to deal with the limited space. When Skip began to contract and tensions mounted, Rung reverted to robot mode. {{storylink|Sardines}}

Salvation, surprisingly, came from Ten, who dramatically spoke up and told the crew how to access the [[Warren]], a nexus of time/space tunnels that could take them to a [[Mederi]] facility. Mid-transit however, Skip's mass displacement gave out and the crew were forced to bail out. They'd come within spitting distance of the original Mederi however, and the moon repaired their damaged bodies and created an illusory world for them to inhabit as the planetary euthanasia clinic eliminated them one by one: presenting itself as the "[[Transformer afterlife|Afterspark]]," the ''Lost Light'' crew would "ascend" one by one into the next life, in reality dying as the moon killed them. Before they were all killed, however, Rodimus's group discovered the truth of where they were, and learnt that Mederi ''was'' the mythical [[Cyberutopia]], the Knights of Cybertron having fallen victim to the same trap that had nearly killed them. As the crew took stock, they were soon beset by the mutineers, now transformed into ravenous [[Sparkeater (creature)|sparkeaters]]. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (1): Metastasis|Metastasis}} {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}}

[[File:Farsickness-RungTransforms.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]

When the mutated crew attacked, Rung lost an arm to [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] before being saved by [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]. While a small detachment went to board the ''Lost Light'', the rest of the group barricaded themselves inside Ward Zero so the medics could find a cure to the sparkwater virus. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 1): A Dance Before Dying|A Dance Before Dying}} As they worked, Rung was drawn to the telepaths and their chanting, having memories of his past stirred up when the organics began "saying" Adaptus's sigil before counting down from one thousand. When the countdown concluded, a massive tear in the Warren opened above the moon. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 2): Lūstrāre|Lūstrāre}}

[[File:ReturnOfTheKing-Rung.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"That's what I'm sayin'. I. Am. Your. God." <br>"Okay... turn this into a woman." <br>"I'm serious!" <br>"So am I!"]]

As everyone scrambled to evacuate, Rung stopped Rewind from touching a [[geobomb]] that had been teleported in before the ''Lost Light'' launched only to find that the ship could not match the rift's gravitational pull. Brought to the [[Benzene Cluster]], the group was taken prisoner by the forces of the Grand Architect. While in the cell, Rung felt that the Magnificence – in reality Epistemus – was calling to him, involuntarily transforming when he looked into its pupil. From the confines of their prison, the crew watched as the Architect's [[God Gun]] opened a tear between realities, and the Functionist Council began to invade their universe. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 3): Farsickness|Farsickness}}

When the Functionist Council made their way through, their version of Cybertron now remade into a massive effigy of "Primus," their forces immediately went to war with the Architect's. Megatron then came to the crew's rescue, via blasting the hull of the [[Worldsweeper]] they were trapped in, only for the Architect to seal the breach before everyone could be freed. Those who remained confronted the Architect, who claimed to be Adaptus. Though the claim was met with skepticism by all, the Architect verified it by identifying Tyrest as the new identity of Solomus and that Rung himself... was Primus! {{storylink|Crucible (Part 4): The Return of the King|The Return of the King}}

[[File:LL24 Rung's Last Transformation.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]

Being recognized and named subsequently undid the information creep; Rung now fully remembered his past, explaining that he'd been reading his serial number upside down. After demonstrating his self-healing abilities, Rung explained the truth behind the [[God War]] before Solomus attacked Adaptus, resulting in both their deaths. Back aboard the ''Lost Light'', Epistemus proposed Rung create three duplicates of the Matrix of Leadership so that [[Rossum's Trinity]] could be exploited to bring down the Functionist Primus. The crew overruled the suggestion however, noting the trapped civilians that would be condemned to death. Instead, a group brainstorm led to the idea of creating twelve Matrices, which would be opened at each of Cybertron's twelve hot spots so as to overload [[Vector Sigma]]. As the [[Omega Guardian]]s who controlled the device lashed out, [[Nickel]] smashed the Magnificence between her hands, and Chromedome and Rewind dragged Rung away so he could put their plan into action. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|The Unremembering}}

Though able to manufacture the twelve Matrices, Rung was fully aware the exertion would kill him. Telling Chromedome and Rewind that they should be more forgiving to each other, Rung accepted his fate, taking a moment to recall his time with Skids before deleting his patient files. Once the last Matrix was produced, Rung's body exploded into inert sentio metallico, only his removed glasses remaining. When the Matrices were opened, they indeed overloaded Vector Sigma with the excess energy being shunted to Luna 1 where it reignited the hot spot to reveal a final message from the psychologist: "Don't Forget Me." {{storylink|Crucible (Part 6): A Spark Among Embers|A Spark Among Embers}}

Shortly afterwards, during the final battle for [[Earth]] against the forces of [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]], [[Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Soundwave]] glimpsed Rung's spirit as he used the [[Enigma of Combination]] to send the strength of the dead to bolster Optimus Prime during his battle against [[Unicron's creator]] in [[Infraspace]]. {{storylink|Ceremony}}

[[File:ASparkAmongEmbers-dontforgetaboutme.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jlHz0wF0Ig Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh woah.]]]

Despite the best efforts of the ''Lost Light'' crew, Adaptus's information creep had proven too strong and Rung was once again forgotten; when Chromedome and Rewind explored the ship shortly afterwards, they were confused by the sight of Rung's old office. However, Rung's legacy would live on in another way: over the years, the generation birthed from his sacrifice, the [[Lunarian]]s, would take after their creator, with a remarkably high ratio of [[Point One Percenter]]s and a tendency to fade into the background of any given situation. {{storylink|How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2}}
{{-}}

====The Functionist Universe====
In the [[Functionist Universe]], where the Functionist Council had overthrown the [[Senate]] and seized control of Cybertron, Primus and the other members of the Guiding Hand were used to justify the various atrocities that the Functionist Council carried out in their religious pursuit of the perfect society: in the words of [[Twelve-of-Twelve]], if something was essential, Primus would've created a Cybertronian that turned into it. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} A square in [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] boasted a building sized statue of the mythological Primus, "SURVIVE AND THRIVE" inscribed under it. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}

[[File:Rung predestination an experts guide.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|We ''told'' you he was an ornament.]]

The Functionist Council were unaware that they had imprisoned the ''real'' Primus: still unable to discern the purpose of Rung's alternate mode, the Council kept him chained up in the [[Cog (base)|The Cog]], and assigned [[Quark]] to try and figure out what purpose he could possibly serve. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}} As a result of his unique position in a purely functionist society, a cult sprang up around him; Cybertronians who followed him defied the Council by modifying their bodies to better resemble the "Useless One." {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} In the meantime, [[Six-of-Twelve]], who had taken possession of [[Nominus Prime]]'s Matrix of Leadership, came to believe that Primus was speaking to him, telling him to arm Cybertron for a coming war. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}}

After two million years of torture and experimentation, it was the humble janitor [[Sweep (IDW)|Sweep]] who finally figured out his purpose after finding the photonic crystals Rung had unconsciously produced while under stress. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}} [[One-of-Twelve]] was not pleased, labelling Rung a threat to the [[Functionist Council]] and the unholy spawn of [[Mortilus]]. One-of-Twelve greeted the "Useless One" and pulled a gun to his head. Rung warned him that if he took the shot, the totalitarian regime would be destroyed and then proceeded to goad him into firing, {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}} so as to become a martyr for the [[Anti-Vocationist League]]. One-of-Twelve didn't take the bait and kept Rung under lock and key until the Council could spin his talent to their advantage.

[[File:AWorldDisplaced-RungAlternateMode.jpg|thumb|right|200px|His is the drill that will pierce the heavens.]]

Despite their initial controversy, the Council soon found a way to turn this sequence of events to their favor: deciding that Rung's existence represented Primus's endorsement of [[Reproduction#2005 IDW continuity|cold construction]], the Council decided that their ''own'' function was to spread their doctrine across the galaxy by annihilating every non-Cybertronian species, who served no function in the eyes of Primus. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

A year later, the Functionist Council announced [[Revelation Day]], a public event where the Council would publically reveal Rung's "true" alternate mode and his purpose. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 2: Anomie|Anomie}} Fitting him with a [[holomatter]] drill and forcing him to undergo a torturous [[size changing|mass-displacement]] procedure, the Council revealed Rung's "alternate mode" to the public: supposedly, he turned into a colossal mining tank, one that would drill through the [[ununtrium]] wall that surrounded [[Vector Sigma]] since the war against the Senate. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|A World Misplaced}} By claiming that Rung had done so, the Council would be free to use his photonic crystals to jump-start the population boom required to raise an army in service of their plans, while misleading the public to believe that Vector Sigma would once again produce new sparks. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

Rung was teleported to Vector Sigma's chamber but left to the side in his alternate mode. Ratchet managed to return Rung to robot mode (causing the holo-matter treads to disappear and the "drill" to shatter) and he immediately told Ratchet to follow his instructions, {{storylink|Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising|Bad Moon Rising}} by pretending to hold him hostage so that Six-of-Twelve would release [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]]. Rung laid into the Council by mocking their own useless alternate mode, dubbing them the ''real'' "USeless Ones" before the group teleporting away.

[[File:ModesOfProduction-photoniccrystals.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]

Materializing in Iacon, Rung directed the group to steal [[Cog (base)|the Cog]] which he intended to ram into Luna 2 to destroy them both. Along the way, Runge explained his history and the true intentions of the Functionist Council; when the Cog arrived over [[Kalis|Adaptica]], Rung locked in a collision course only for Rodimus to insist they save Luna 2 for its teleporter. Rung refused and said that Rodimus would have to fight him for Luna 2. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|Modes of Production}}

A single punch across the jaw was all it took for Rodimus to win the "fight" and gain control of the Cog. While Rewind scolded his captain, Rodimus came to his senses and ordered everyone else to evacuate while he and Rung crashed the Cog into Luna 2; however, The Cog was accidentally shot down by [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]]. Emerging from the wreckage, Rung decided to enact his backup plan over Ratchet's protests to his health.

[[File:ThisMachineKillsFascists-GiantRung.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]

To the shock of all, Rung used the mass displacement generator the Functionists had forcibly installed in him to grow to humungous size (far surpassing even the Titans) to punch Luna 2 out of the sky. The moon simply turned its guns on Rung and killed him, sending him back to the ground at normal size and in pieces. Megatron and Terminus briefly paused to comment on Rung before they continued to the teleporter. {{storylink|Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists|This Machine Kills Fascists}} His fate and role as an inspiration to billions was told by Rewind and Chromedome to the Rung of their timeline. {{storylink|After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)|After Megatron}}

Once they'd lost Luna 2, the Council built [[planetary engine]]s onto Cybertron and used their homeworld as their cosmic weapon. When the planet's lack of maneuverability proved an issue, they engineered a robot mode cast in the likeness of Primus. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 4): The Return of the King|The Return of the King}}
{{-}}

===''Kre-O'' online manga===
[[File:KreO-webcomic-6-Rung.jpg|75px|thumb|left|Insert appropriate Doc Brown sound here.]]
Rung directed a crane hauling a load of energy blocks into [[Metroplex (Kre-O)|Scramble City]] when the [[Devastator (Kre-O)|Constructicons]] attacked. {{Storylink|A New Menace! The Giant Soldier Devastator Appears!}}
{{-}}

===Transformers Facebook page===
Rung managed to get his own TV show, ''[[Rung Up with Rung]]'', in which he analyzed a weekly Cybertronian guest.

==Toys==
===''Generations''===
====''War for Cybertron: Siege''====
[[File:Siege Rung.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|thumb|[[Primus#Toys|This time I'm not a planet toy]].]]
*'''Rung''' (Battle Master, [[2019]])
**''ID number'': '''WFC-S45'''
**''Japanese name'': '''Autobot Rung'''
**''Japanese ID number'': '''SG-40'''
**''Japanese release date'': '''[[January 25]], [[2020]]'''
**''Accessories'': Backpack, 2 "Fire Blasts"
: Part of a future wave of ''[[War for Cybertron: Siege (toyline)|War for Cybertron: Siege]]'' [[Battle Master]]s, Rung transforms from a robot into a "cerebral circuit scanner" loosely based on his Matrix-creating alternate mode from ''More than Meets the Eye''. He comes with two translucent blue "Fire Blast" effects parts.

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

===Fictional toys===
[[File:Mtmte22-coverb-rung-toy.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Quite articulated for a G1 dude.]]
*'''Rung'''
**''Accessories:'' Data Journal, "ARK-1" Model, Tech Specs Decoder

:In [[Micro-continuity|some time-lost continuity]], Swerve tried to figure out a Rung toy. Its features included moveable eyebrows to alter the robot's expression, and a "Listening Mode". {{storylink|Little Victories}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*A psychoanalyst named Rung was referenced in the unofficial Transformers novel ''Eugenesis'', written by [[James Roberts]].
*The name "Rung" is a reference to {{w|Carl Jung}}, founder of analytical psychology.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/comics-16/tfw2005-interviews-james-roberts-175563/ TFW2005.com interview with James Roberts]</ref> The mention of "Rungian analysis" in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|''More Than Meets the Eye'' #1]] is a further play on this.
*Rung's longest suffering patient was [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]].
*[[Alex Milne]] modeled Rung's appearance on actors {{w|Brent Spiner}} and {{w|David Hyde-Pierce}}.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/notes/transformers/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-vol-2-alex-milne-interview/395646703838863 Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye vol. 2 Alex Milne interview]</ref>
*Rung's Holomatter avatar is named {{w|Mary Sue}}, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the literary term of the same name and a wink at fans who consider Rung to be Roberts's own alter-ego.
*In [[Speak, Memory: Part 1|''More Than Meets the Eye'' #48]] we learn Rung collects models of ships he's served on. His collection has all the Arks from 1 to 9, as we know from [[Little Victories|''More Than Meets the Eye'' #22]].
*As with all non-toy Kreons, Rung is made entirely from pre-existing parts. It isn't particularly clear but it seems as though he's using Ironhide's helmet.
*An unexplored subplot would have revealed that Rung had been [[shadowplay]]ed into forgetting his ability to create photonic crystals; it would have also been revealed that said ability was the reason the Senate had him removed from the ''Ark'''s roster.<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/1052268654493032448 Twitter conversation with James Roberts on 16 October, 2018]</ref>

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Rung''' (ラング ''Rangu'')

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/rung-colour-guide-253698917 Rung concept art at Alex Milne's deviantART]
*[http://markerguru.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=rung#/d471m8d More Rung design art, featuring an unused alternate mode concept]

{{Guiding Hand}}

[[Category:Battle Masters]]
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[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege Autobots]]
[[Category:Things that don't exist]]