Mortdred
- Mortdred is a Darkling Lord from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Once a servant of Darkstorm, Mortdred is skeptical of his new leader Virulina, and his dissatisfaction with her leadership manifests as a cowardly streak a mile wide. Beholden to nobody and nothing other than his own skin, he's not above using his beetle form to sneak into—or get out of—tight spaces.
Fiction
[edit]2005 IDW continuity
[edit]Mortdred was one of the Darkling Lords who served Darkstorm on Prysmos; following the destruction of the plaent, he was one of the few Prysmosians who survived and found their way to Merklynn's colony of New Prysmos beneath Cybertron. Schismatic Following Virulina's coup against Leoric and the Spectral Knights and her subsequent ascension as the next leader of New Prysmos, Mortdred pointed out that their new ruler had no interest in binding wounds and would only spread further discord between the two factions. His complaining, however, prompted the conflicted Cryotek to announce his decision to join the Darkling Lords.
Realizing that Virulina would surely kill him if he remained in the city, Mortdred fled, and joined Leoric and his group of breakaway knights in Wheeljack's workshop in Iacon, where he warned them of Cryotek's treachery. Leoric assigned him, Witterquick, and Arzon to return to New Prysmos on an assassination mission in the hopes of preemptively ending Virulina's reign before she could consolidate her power over the city. Using his beetle form, Mortdred was sent to spy ahead, and watched from the shadows as Virulina used her magic to transform their captive Waspinator into a mindless monster. Ultimately, he wound up betraying his Spectral Knight companions and revealed their presence to Virulina. Desperate Measures
Despite his intentions, Mortdred was imprisoned alongside Witterquick and tortured by Reekon, using a spell to drain their life-forces so as to accelerate the progress of the Talisman to Cybertron's core. Though Mortdred attempted to convince their tormenter into setting them free, the arrival of Cryotek meant that he was unable to persuade either of them. Good Men
When Leoric himself arrived in New Prysmos, he freed Witterquick but left Mortdred imprisoned for his betrayal. The Curtain