Simanzi Massacre

The Simanzi Massacre was a watershed moment for the Cybertronian race–a titanic battle in the region known as Simanzi that raged for generations, annihilating half of the entire Cybertronian race and leaving the devastated planet Cybertron almost entirely under Decepticon control. Something called the Crucible was at the centre of it; an associated event was known as the Forced Flood. So great were the forces unleashed that the planet's southern hemisphere was superheated.

They said that after Simanzi, Cybertron glowed purple in the heavens...Megatron, "The Becoming"

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

The Simanzi Massacre occurred in 1st Cycle 3178. As with many military campaigns, a number of Made To Order soldiers such as Riptide were created specifically to fight in it. Twenty Plus One The Wreckers, however, ignored it in favour of chasing Squadron X. Zero Point

"When they told me Simanzi was a toilet, I thought it was a metaphor."

The contemporary Ultra Magnus was killed five miles from the Crucible in the first year of the conflict. He and Rotorstorm had waded through a muddy muck of some kind in an attempt to evade a troop of Cybernoughts but were caught unawares. Magnus was gunned down The Gloaming and his replacement rushed into action.

The battle, or perhaps the Crucible, caused some kind of superheating of Cybertron's entire southern hemisphere, requiring some length of time to cool down. The planet still burnt your feet in cycle 3180. Speak, Memory: Part 1 By the time it finally cooled, 99% of the planet was now under Decepticon control and half of the planet's population were dead. The Becoming The Autobots responded with the Endless Retaliation Life After the Big Bang and the tide was turned, but Megatron would still consider it as the closest he'd ever come to winning. The Becoming

Many Autobots would gain fame for their actions. Rotorstorm's timely intervention saved the Autobot 9th Battalion from annihilation, earning him the Novic Medal for Outstanding Valor Rotorstorm's Profile and decorated hero Countdown was involved enough that Nightbeat would call him "Simanzi Countdown?". The Sensuous Frame Optimus Prime saved over a thousand Autobots (such as Pyro) and neutrals from falling into The Crucible. Pyro's Profile Fortress Maximus became famous for the amount of Decepticons he killed at Simanzi. Interiors

Long after the battle, some survivors, such as the Duobots Shock and Ore, simply noted it as one of their bigger events. The Chaos of Warm Things Others were left mentally scarred: Rotorstorm was so haunted by what he saw that he had to create a 'cover personality' to compensate and Pyro's road to primus apotheosis began at the Crucible. Rotorstorm's Profile Pyro's Profile Fortress Maximus would recount he walked away from Simanzi with a smile. Animals

The Massacre was such an evil act on the behalf of the Decepticons that, years later, Rewind used it to show Tailgate the true nature of the Decepticons. Life After the Big Bang When a repentant Megatron admitted he'd seen Simanzi as a victory, Bumblebee was appalled. The Becoming

Notes

• "Simanzi" can mean grief, depression, or deep sorrow in Swahili.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Simanzi no Gyakusatsu (シマンジの虐殺 Shimanji no Gyakusatsu, "Shimanzi Massacre")