Matrix of Conquest

The name or term "Unicron" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Unicron (disambiguation).

This article is about the vessel of Unicron's power. For the flim-flam perpetuated by the Quintessons, see Decepticon Matrix.

The Matrix of Conquest is a powerful artifact from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

That's one badass steering wheel...

The Matrix of Conquest, also called the Anti-Matrix or Matrix of Chaos, is the Matrix containing Unicron's lifeforce, be it named the Dark Essence or Angolmois, and is wielded by Shokaract. It mockingly serves as the opposite of the Matrix of Leadership, which contains Primus's essence and is borne by the leader of the good-guy faction. It was created by and for Shokaract to bring him power beyond mortal comprehension. In turn, Unicron's gain from this contract is his resurrection, which may happen at Shokaract's cost.

“	Step forward, step forward and claim the key to all possible futures. This is your destiny!	”
—Unicron's sales speech, "Paradox"

Fiction

3H comics

The lowly Predacon known as the Hunter found himself hunted and cornered by Maximal forces at some point during or before the 32nd century. Searching for a place to hide, he stumbled into a cave, where a dark whisper urged him onwards with promises of incredible power. In the depths of cavernous structure, the Hunter found the Dark Essence, the remnants of Unicron from after his defeat in 2005 that were displaced in time and space by the release of energy coming from destruction of the god's corporeal form. Paradox

In short time after claiming the Dark Essence, the Hunter created the Matrix of Conquest as housing for it, changed his name into Shokaract and took command of part of the Predacon forces. With their support and the powers bestowed by the Matrix of Conquest, Shokaract conquered Cybertron and established a reign his opponents found impossible to crack.

A, perhaps the only, weak spot was the Dark Essence in the past and when Shokaract sensed temporal disruptions that threatened it, sent two Heralds in succession. When both failed, Shokaract himself went to prehistoric Earth during the Beast Wars to defend the Dark Essence. Thus began Point Omega. Paradox Shokaract's presence warped reality, to the point where many warriors from alternate universes appeared and gathered to attack the demigod. During this barrage of firepower, Shokaract revealed the Matrix of Conquest and used its powers to destroy the attackers. The Covenant used this opportunity to combine their essences and enter the Matrix, severing the bond between the Matrix's Dark Essence and the Dark Essence of the past, thus allowing the Dark Essence to be drawn into overspace and avert Shokaract's timeline. Terminus

IDW Beast Wars comics

Out on a routine survey mission, the lowly Predacon Shokaract found capsules containing a kind of energy he was unfamiliar with, Angolmois. Upon trying to analyze it, the energy suddenly stirred and swiftly invaded his body, forcing him into a deep slumber for many stellar-cycles until he found a way to manipulate the energy towards reformatting his damaged body. To ensure continued control of the Angolmois, he forged a container for it, which he dubbed the Matrix of Chaos. Beast Wars Sourcebook

Shokaract kept the Matrix of Chaos housed inside his chest, fully integrated into his systems. He believed that by partaking of quantities of Angolmois larger than any Cybertronian had ever attempted, as well as stoking the energy's infernal fires by plunging Cybertron into a bloody genocidal riot, the Anti-Matrix would "awaken" and facilitate his ascension as one of the "Masters of Misrule" while remaking the planet in his image. However, moments before the Anti-Matrix had completely fueled up, Magmatron had Shokaract sent to chronospace. There, he enlighted him what true fate awaited him if the Anti-Matrix would be awoken: rather than becoming a god, Shokaract would be consumed by the Angolmois and thus sacrificed for Unicron to be reborn. Hearing this, Shokaract didn't hesitate to rip the Anti-Matrix out of his chest, even though it meant his own death. The Ascending #4

Notes

• More fully, the Matrix of Conquest is also known as the "Decepticon Matrix of Conquest" as mirror image of the "Autobot Matrix of Leadership". Even as an intentional mockery, this is a little odd for Shokaract to call it, since he is a Predacon and at no point ever shows any sort of affinity for the faction of old.

See also

• Other Matrices