Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

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Ravage! Laserbeak! I choose you!

An Outlier with extremely powerful hearing, Soundwave joined Megatron's Decepticon movement to create a Cybertron based on equality.

IDW Generation 1 continuity

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

Joining the Decepticons

Gaddangit, Soundwave, the answer to that question is always "I'm Batman!"

Soundwave was forged. Arm the Lonely He was found living on the streets by Ravage, Buzzsaw, and Laserbeak, a barely-coherent derelict driven to the brink of insanity by his uncontrolled mind-reading powers, which bombarded him with the thoughts and emotions of all around him. "Smelling" some decency within him, Ravage elected to share with Soundwave the secrets of control he had learned years of mastering his own enhancing olfactory senses, teaching him the art of focus. The quartet lived together on the streets for some time, until Soundwave, slowly gaining control over his abilities, was approached by Senator Ratbat with an offer of employment. The senator saw a political use for Soundwave's mind-reading, and while Soundwave was disgusted by Ratbat's Functionist attitude toward his beast-form companions, he accepted the offer for the position it would afford him. While in Ratbat's employ, Soundwave and his three companions were refitted so that they could store within his chest as cassettes. Soundwaves

When the ex-miner and revolutionary rhetorician Megatron caught Ratbat's eye as a champion of the illegal underground gladiatorial matches, the senator sent Soundwave to offer Megatron funding and weapons technology, seeking to foster political instability for his own profit. When two Autobots were discovered listening in on their conversation, Soundwave dispatched his three cassette partners to capture them. After their capture, he read Bumper's mind to see if there was any immediate threat to Megatron's activities. Megatron Origin #2

Brought to the gladiator arenas, Soundwave was questioned by Megatron over his opinions on Ratbat's activities, but Soundwave—assaulted by the thoughts of the huge throng of gladiators around him—struggled to answer. Impressed by the way in which Soundwave viewed his cassette partners as equals in outright contradiction to the Functionist standards of his employer, Megatron permitted him to read his mind, and there, Soundwave saw Megatron's genuine desire for all Cybertronians to be equal. The strength of his desire became something for Soundwave to focus upon, and his dedication to the Decepticon ideal of equality allowed him to finally master his mind-reading powers, shutting out all other distractions and making Megatron the stillpoint his life revolved around. Soundwaves

Some time later, Soundwave was assigned to find a warrior with flight capabilities, and recruited the Seekers: Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker. Megatron Origin #3 Megatron's next new recruit was senator Shockwave, who Soundwave hated on sight: the Shadowplay Shockwave had been subjected had removed his emotions, leaving Soundwave completely unable to read his thoughts. Though awed by this terrible perfection, Soundwave believed that one day, he would have to kill Shockwave. Soundwaves

"Ratbat, you shall be repurposed as the greatest mix tape ever to be given to Megatron."

His mind now finally clear for the first time in his life, Soundwave turned against Ratbat and formulated for Megatron a plan that would allow the Decepticons to make a formal statement of their intent that could not be ignored. Soundwaves Per Soundwave's plan, the Decepticons allowed themselves to be arrested during a recruitment rally, when Megatron provoked an Autobot response by making an attempt on the life of Senator Decimus, resulting in an emergency convening of the Senate in Kaon. Megatron Origin #3 Soundwave and his cassettes—now joined by Rumble and Frenzy, refitted by Shockwave—were freed on an unwitting Ratbat's orders, and then helped Starscream murder the entire Senate. Attacking Ratbat himself, Soundwave took his former employer offline and placed his spark into a new cassette body. Megatron Origin #4 Shockwave entered just as Soundwave was removing his brain module, and the pair had a terse conversation about means and ends before Shockwave changed the subject to designing Ratbat's new body as a flyer. Soundwaves

After Zeta Prime was made leader of the Autobots, Soundwave was approached by Orion Pax regarding Decepticons smuggling weapons from off-world. Soundwave insisted that the Decepticons were innocent of such acts yet no sooner had the police left did Starscream walk up with a new gun shipped in from off-world. Behind My Bleeding Back Starscream then hatched a new evil plan which Soundwave had reservations about given that it would kill loyal Decepticons. Using his smooth vocalizer, Starscream managed to get Soundwave to look past these reservations. Future Glories Lost After the evil plan was complete, Soundwave expressed the belief that killing was not the Decepticon way but Starscream felt that Megatron would agree that the ends justified the means. Feel Safe Without Regrets

Soundwave later took part in one of Shockwave's schemes to use his telepathic powers to send visions to Bumblebee to have him commit acts of terror in the Decepticons' name. When the police showed up, Bumblebee jumped Soundwave claiming the Decepticons were supposed to fight for the people. Though Soundwave easily repelled Bumblebee, his words had left an impact on the Decepticon. Ghost Stories

When war broke out, Soundwave was captured and taken to the New Institute to be lobotomized, but was saved in the nick of time by Overlord. Remembrance Day Later in the war with Zeta, Soundwave was sent to spy on him and gather information on what he planned to do about the growing Decepticon movement. Smuggled into a Senate security meeting by Starscream, he overheard Zeta announce his plan to drain civilians of their energy in order to power the Omega Destructors' weaponry, but was forced to make a break for it when Starscream revealed his presence in order to ease suspicion against himself. Fearing what would happen if the populace found out about his plans, Zeta Prime sent Orion Pax to hunt Soundwave down. Parasites

As Soundwave fled towards the safety of Kaon, he was continuously set upon by Orion Pax's Autobots, but got away every time by ejecting one of his many cassettes to defeat or distract them. When he finally reached the border of Kaon, Orion himself caught up and put a stop to his minions by crushing his chest window before defeating him in hand-to-hand combat. The Hunt for Soundwave Luckily, a squad of Decepticons showed up before the Autobots could arrest Soundwave, and his findings were delivered to Megatron. Cause and Effect

Soundwave was present when Megatron and Orion Pax formed an alliance to overthrow Zeta Prime. Choices He then participated in their troops' combined assault on Zeta's Citadel. Overthrown After Megatron betrayed Orion and declared himself the new ruler of Cybertron, Soundwave stood by him as he attempted to recruit Hot Rod to the Decepticons. Rise Soundwave was also present when Megatron rechristened Drift as "Deadlock". Drift #2 Soundwave tracked down the location of the anti-Decepticon pirate news broadcaster, Blaster, and had Wildrider and Breakdown sent to assassinate him. He was then present when the Autobots made an assault on the Decepticon-held Citadel. Broadcast Megatron was defeated by Orion, now Optimus Prime, but Soundwave swept past on Astrotrain and rescued his leader before he could be captured. Endgame

A short time after Megatron's defeat, Soundwave watched in silence as Scorponok declared himself Decepticon leader, having exiled Megatron for his failure. Wreckage He participated in Scorponok's assault on the Toraxxis mega-refinery, a battle which ended with the destruction of the facility. Rage Having survived the destruction, he then returned to Kolkular where Scorponok urged him and the other Decepticons to cannibalize parts from those who had perished. Fallout On Scorponok's orders, Soundwave and Shockwave then led an attack on the Starsreach Spaceport to kill the neutrals evacuating Cybertron, a mission they both believed to be a waste of resources. Massacre After getting driven into a retreat by a raging Grimlock, they were relocated to the Toraxxis Plains to bear witness to Scorponok's new plan: the awakening of Trypticon. Unleashed At this point the Decepticons were thoroughly fed up with his leadership, and thus quick to return to Megatron's side when he returned from his exile. The Illusion of Control Soundwave was later present when Megatron was able to turn Trypticon to the Decepticon side, Belly of the Beast and was subsequently among the Decepticons who left Cybertron on Trypticon to gather their forces. Primacy #1

During their journey, Soundwave doubted the wisdom of Megatron's plans to visit Junkion, but was told not to question his leader's judgment. Primacy #2 The Decepticons then returned to Cybertron for an assault on Iacon, during which Soundwave remained by Megatron's side at the sidelines. Primacy #3 He spent the battle keeping Megatron updated on the tactical situation, and was shocked when his leader suddenly ran off, leaving him with the orders to burn Iacon to the ground if he did not return. Primacy #4

Four million years ago, Soundwave and Hook were leading a Decepticon offensive to cover for Tankor's convoy of energon. When Optimus Prime slipped away to intercept the convoy, Soundwave went after him and got the drop on Prime from behind. Prime's bodyguard Ironhide turned the tables on him, though, taking out both Soundwave and his Mini-Cassettes. The Iron Age As the war went on, Soundwave organized a number of anti-neutral pogroms. Life After the Big Bang At another point he had one of his arms sliced off by Springer using a sword that would later end up Ironfist's collection. Bullets

During the war, Thunderwing contacted various scientists on both sides to discuss his startling findings that the conflict would create such devastation that would render the planet uninhabitable, and that the only way to survive was to adopt the organic carapace idea he had come up with. Soundwave was among those scientists who refused to accept Thunderwing's findings and his proposal. Stormbringer #1

After the end of the cataclysm brought by Thunderwing, as part of a plan to assassinate Blaster, now a motivational speaker for the Autobots, Soundwave had Beachcomber captured and used Bombshell to implement a cerebro-shell into him. While Beachcomber didn't outright kill Blaster, his motivational broadcast failed to air at precisely the moment the Decepticons began the big push. Spotlight: Blaster

At some point in time, Soundwave fought against the Dynobots alongside Runamuck and Ravage. They were thoroughly trounced for their efforts. Spotlight: Grimlock

On Earth

Centuries later, after Shockwave disappeared, Megatron assigned Bludgeon to delve into Shockwave's research and relay all the information back to him. As the Decepticon leader did not fully trust Bludgeon, Megatron also assigned Soundwave to spy on him. Soundwave followed Bludgeon and his team as they left for Earth in 1984, Spotlight: Soundwave but became sidetracked by mysterious drones. Curious he tracked the signal to its source and used his alternate mode to hitch a ride on Dr. Elliot Marsh to reach the tomb it was emanating from. After Marsh had been killed, Soundwave hitched a ride on Joe Colton only for more IRON Troopers to arrive which prompted Soundwave to turn to robot mode and blast them away before making an attempt to kill Colton. Now deep enough underground to stay in robot mode, Soundwave continued onwards to the signal source and found an obelisk being studied by Garrison Kreiger who sent the IRON troopers on Soundwave. The drones and the Adventure Team proved little obstacles to Soundwave but, despite being intrigued by the relic's restoration of Atomic Man's limb, he eventually decided the obelisk was more trouble than it was worth and flew off to complete his mission. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb

He's just too busy being an eighties guy.

Soundwave tracked Bludgeon's group to a base within Mount St. Helens and discovered that they intended to resurrect Thunderwing. Though Soundwave tried to stop them, Iguanus used an experimental cannon from Shockwave's arsenal to lock him in his alt mode while they instigated a volcanic eruption. Spotlight: Soundwave When the American government agency Skywatch discovered the base in the early 2000s, the human agency took custody of several Transformers that had survived the eruption. Unable to recognize the tape player for what it really was, Soundwave's mode-locked form was discarded and sold to goodwill. When Eagles Scream Eventually, he found his way into a pawn shop. Spotlight: Soundwave

Soundwave was purchased by a human teenager named Jimmy and taken to his home. When Ravage and Laserbeak were reprogrammed by Skywatch to find the other Transformers, Skywatch's control signal was blocked by a signal emanating from a functioning Soundwave, still in cassette-player mode. Devastation #4 Sometime later on, Ravage and Laserbeak located the signal and reclaimed their master from Jimmy. Relocating to Mount St. Helens, Soundwave told them that he could barely keep blocking Skywatch's hold on them, due to his weakening state in cassette mode. Shockwave suddenly appeared from a cave entrance and said that the four could make a deal together. Maximum Dinobots #3 Maximum Dinobots #4 Soundwave knew how Shockwave could unlock his robot mode, but Shockwave required a favor in return; Skywatch had placed a bomb in Shockwave's head, and that he needed Soundwave to intercept and copy its disarm code. Maximum Dinobots #5 Soundwave attempted to further bargain for information on the Regenesis program, but was rebuffed when Shockwave observed that said information would die with him if the bomb went off. Shockpoint After Soundwave relented, he allowed his cassettes to be recaptured, and once Shockwave's time-limit reached the 30 second mark, Soundwave intercepted Joshua Red's reset code. After transmitting the code to Shockwave, Soundwave was informed of how to disable the mode-lock, finally freeing him. Maximum Dinobots #5

After returning to his position as Megatron's right hand, Soundwave helped defeat the Autobot forces on Earth. All Hail Megatron #7 He was present during the attack on New York City, and detected the incoming human military jets. The planes fired, and on Megatron's orders, Soundwave calmly detonated the arsenal. He then launched Laserbeak to take out the human resistance. All Hail Megatron #1

Soundwave reported that the humans had sent a sizable ground force after the Decepticons. Following Megatron's orders, he released Frenzy and set him loose on the humans. The only being immune to Frenzy's infrasonic manipulation, he silently observed his minion's work. All Hail Megatron #2 With the conquest of New York complete, Soundwave listened to Megatron's victory speech. All Hail Megatron #4 When a group of humans led by Cmdr. Spike Witwicky deactivated Rumble with an experimental weapon which originated from Shockwave, Soundwave, sensing this, found Rumble's lifeless body, grieved, and took him away. All Hail Megatron #9

During Starscream attempt to take control of the Decepticons, Megatron revealed that Soundwave had been watching him all along, reporting his planned rebellion to Megatron. All Hail Megatron #10 The infighting amongst the Decepticons stopped when jets from Europe arrived to take them all on, soon followed by the return of the Autobots. All Hail Megatron #11 Megatron was defeated, and Soundwave escaped alongside the rest of the Decepticons. All Hail Megatron #12 Whilst traveling away from Earth onboard Astrotrain, Soundwave and his cassettes took care of their heavily injured leader. Starscream attempted to dissuade him from wasting energon on Megatron, all the while buttering him up with compliments about his loyalty, but all Soundwave said in response was "Negative. Megatron functions." Uneasy Lies the Head

Soundwave had wondered for years if Megatron would notice if he styled his helm like Optimus's. He wonders no longer.

Three years later, Soundwave was still dutifully attending to Megatron's reconstruction. All His Engines He eventually came to the conclusion that his leader's body was beyond repair, and instead recruited Shockwave to build a new body for him. Once Megatron returned in a new and upgraded form, he hatched a plan to use parts of his old body to make Megatron gun replicas that would subconsciously influence humans. Alongside his cassettes and Shockwave, Soundwave helped produce these weapons. Altered Carbon He was later present when Megatron got rid of Hot Rod and the Matrix, and was ordered to gather everyone in the base so that their leader could address them. Heart Like a Wheel He accompanied Megatron until his confrontation with Starscream, at which point Megatron had him leave... but knew he'd be listening in from afar as he always did. Megatron overall didn't think much of Soundwave's apparent loyalty, believing he'd only assisted in his revival because it suited his own needs. Spotlight: Megatron

"Right between the optics..."

As part of Megatron's master plan, the Decepticons subsequently returned to Earth, where Soundwave led Rumble and Frenzy in an attack on the Skywatch base where several Decepticons were being held captive. The Demolished Man He also trampled a BNN newscaster. Woken Furies Soundwave was then responsible for holding Ultra Magnus hostage while Megatron explained to Optimus Prime that he was the one turning the humans against the Autobots. In an attempt to throw off Megatron's concentration, and with it his influence over the gun-wielding humans, Prime fired on Soundwave, blowing off a large portion of his head. The plan worked: seeing his loyal soldier fall sent Megatron into a rage, and he picked up the barely living Soundwave and flew off. Burning Chrome With his body in stasis lock, Soundwave was brought to Shockwave, who was unsure if he could repair such an extensive injury with the limited resources at his disposal. Enemy Mine

Soundwave was mostly repaired by the time Megatron had surrendered himself to the Autobots, although half his face remained exposed and damaged from Optimus Prime's attack. The damage caused to his vocal processors rendered him completely mute. The World & Everything in It Once on Cybertron and having freed himself, Megatron used the space bridge technology built into his new body to summon Soundwave and the rest of the Decepticons on Earth to him. The Question At first, Soundwave and the others did battle with the Autobots, but were soon entranced by D-Void. The Decepticons along with Galvatron's army of Sweeps combined into an enormous monster. Kings

Back on Cybertron

Following the defeat and fracturing of this "Deceptigod", Soundwave and the rest were left in a weakened state from the ordeal. This allowed the Autobots to round the Decepticons up, stick I/D chips in them, and place them in a holding pen. Prowl was eventually forced to sanction their release to quell a riot, leaving Soundwave and the others with a limited sort of freedom. The Death of Optimus Prime Needlenose, fed up with working as an enforcer for the Autobots, accused Soundwave, Shockwave, and Bombshell of just sitting around instead of doing something about the Decepticons' situation. The Autonomy Lesson Little did Needlenose know that Soundwave and Shockwave had actually been working together to take control of the I/D chips on the orders of Ratbat, who was trying to reassert his authority in Megatron's absence. The World & Everything in It

Even after Ratbat was killed, Soundwave continued working with Shockwave, who apparently had his own ideas about what to do about the Autobots. When Starscream found out about that they were plotting something, he and Prowl had Arcee capture the two and fake their deaths. The End of the Beginning of the World However, Prowl was in fact under Decepticon control, and instead had the captured Decepticons upgraded in anticipation of Megatron's return. His voice restored, Soundwave helped explain to the captured Bumblebee that the Decepticons had been planning this all along in a bid to conquer Cybertron. The Verge Before the Dawn During the ensuing battle with the Autobots, he reported to Megatron that Shockwave had gone off somewhere and that their new and improved Devastator had seemingly gained sentience. Plan for Everything In the end, Megatron was defeated yet again, after which Starscream used the influence of the neutral population to exile all Autobots and Deceptions who would not renounce their factions, including Soundwave. Heavy Is the Head

Somewhere, right now, the "Justice League Unlimited" theme is playing.

While out in the wilderness, Soundwave was alarmed to find Ravage was suffering from intense pain, and in a rare emotional moment ran to the other Decepticons pleading for help. Arm the Lonely Soundwave eavesdropped on Shockwave and Jhiaxus as the pair communicated. As the other Decepticons became disgruntled, he declared his leadership and immediately came under attack by Astrotrain and Blitzwing though in the end Needlenose told him if he wanted to destroy Shockwave, he'd have to do it alone. Soundwave journeyed into Crystal City to confront Shockwave, and discovered when he killed Dreadwing that the Ore-14 in the city promptly brought him back to life. Shockpoint Discovering that Shockwave had betrayed the Decepticon cause, Soundwave unleashed his cassettes, only to discover that the Ore-14 made anything but a stalemate impossible. He returned to the other Decepticons as Shockwave's plan commenced. Soundwaves

After the appearance of Shockwave's Metrotitan, Soundwave and his men attacked the Autobots who had approached it, Black Metal but were unable to prevent Starscream approaching the giant. The combined group was hit moments later by a shockwave of energy. Winners & Losers In the aftermath, as the survivors discussed what to do next, Soundwave heard something he had never heard before: Megatron screaming. Into the Abyss They reached Shockwave's lab to find the scientist using the space bridge in Megatron's chest to extract Nova Prime and Galvatron from the Dead Universe. Soundwave assaulted Shockwave, but ultimately Shockwave triumphed and called in the Metrotitan, which forced the Autobots and Decepticons to retreat. Finest Hour

Fleeing in the direction of Iacon in front of the giant, Soundwave and Frenzy carried Ironhide and Ravage between them. No Exit They eventually made it back to Iacon and found Starscream feeling sorry for himself. Prowl took control, with Soundwave supplying communications. As things went from bad to worse, he told Prowl he had little idea what Shockwave's plans were but believed they would be able to stop the Metrotitan. Moments later Bumblebee arrived with Megatron, the latter of whom had a plan to evacuate Cybertron. While Bumblebee was still objecting, Metroplex and the Lost Light quantum jumped in to lend a hand. Burning Bright Soundwave was among those to greet the Lost Lighters as they disembarked. Finis Temporis

Following the defeat of the Necrotitan, Soundwave busied himself seeing to Megatron's repairs. It wasn't long before the remainder of Shockwave's plan came into play and billions of Ammonites invaded the planet. The Becoming As Megatron joined in a plan to defeat Shockwave, Soundwave told him that he saw the wisdom in using the Autobots' help, however Megatron responded that Bumblebee had command and that a new approach was needed. While Bumblebee's team went to Shockwave's laboratory, Soundwave and his cassettes joined the rest of the population in fighting the Ammonites. Black Planet As the battle concluded in victory, Soundwave was shocked to discover that Megatron had taken on the sigil of the Autobots. Reeling from this betrayal, Soundwave and the other Decepticons were approached by Galvatron, who believed he had an alternative for them. ...And the Damage Done

Questioned by Galvatron on what he truly wanted, Soundwave told the ancient Transformer of the Decepticons' origins and his dream for a community where they could all be equals, ruled by nobody. With Cybertron now ruled by the Autobots, he instead turned his eyes back to Earth, recalling the existence of energon there. Galvatron followed, hoping to conquer the planet, but Soundwave rejected his proposal, telling him they were returning to the Decepticons' true path—peace. Full Fathom Five

Forging a new Decepticon future

Retaining some hope that Megatron's defection was merely a ruse, he left Ravage behind to keep an eye on their former leader. slaughterhouse Arriving on Earth, Soundwave approached Earth Defense Command with a peace offer, telling them—and reminding Galvatron—of the Decepticons' change of heart since their invasion. The humans were skeptical up until Soundwave revealed that Megatron had left them for the Autobots, causing the EDC to turn on the Autobots instead. Detonation Boulevard The EDC agreed to construct a community for the Decepticons in the form of a space station around Jupiter in exchange for the Decepticons' aid in capturing a team of Autobots bound for Earth. Full Fathom Five

When the Autobots arrived, the Decepticons ambushed them together with EDC forces. Hello Cruel World While pursuing the Autobots to the town of Poverty Flat, Soundwave blocked their communications, keeping them from contacting their allies in space. Detonation Boulevard As the battle escalated and bystanders witnessed the combatants' robot modes, the EDC was forced to teleport the Decepticons away, though they had to activate their secret "mind bomb" weapon to knock Soundwave and his comm block out first. Galvatron immediately demanded revenge, but Soundwave insisted on sticking to the plan and calmed him with the information that they had found the location of Galvatron's own goal on Earth—Alpha Trion. The Mind Bomb Warping to the coordinates, Soundwave arrived at the EDC's Marshall Islands base along with Galvatron, who he once again had to talk out of resorting to violence. Full Fathom Five Interrupted by an Autobot attack on the base, Soundwave detected an intruder and set out to take care of them, locating Jazz and an unconscious Prowl. He attempted to capture them, but was blasted out of the way by the EDC's stash of tanks and V.T.O.L.s, the machines having been hacked by Prowl. I Dream of Wires

Not long after, Soundwave chastised Galvatron for taunting the incapacitated Skywarp, before also telling him that he was going to check on the progress of their Jupiter commune. Signals, Calls, and Marches In truth, however, Soundwave had Skywarp teleport him to a remote forest, where he met with former Decepticon Thundercracker. Soundwave offered the flying Cybertronian the chance to return to the fold and come aboard their commune, brushing aside his concerns about Galvatron and the humans. Although Thundercracker promised to think about it, Soundwave was left a bit befuddled when his former comrade gave him one of his screenplays to read. Soundwave then made his leave, though not before warning Thundercracker that those who align with a Prime would not be welcome at the commune. Vs. While enjoying the sights at Tanzania's Mikumi National Park, Soundwave was again contacted by Thundercracker, who asked for his help in stopping the EDC's Ramjet and Thrust clones from engaging in battle with the Autobots and Decepticons. Although Soundwave was angry at this betrayal by their human allies, and tempted to let Galvatron viciously retaliate, Thundercracker ultimately convinced him that Earth was their planet to protect too, causing him to finally relent and shut down the clones via their quantum signal. Soundwave then told the grateful Thundercracker to not contact him again. Upon returning to the Nemesis, Soundwave did not tell Galvatron about any of the events that had transpired and continued to lie that he had been at the commune. The Obliterati

Along with several other Decepticons and some humans, Soundwave was later led on a tour of the commune, Sanctuary Station, by Garrison Blackrock. Soundwave made clear his intentions not to share certain Cybertronian technology with the humans like gravity-wave projection and, while being shown around, excused himself in order to look around alone. In reality, Soundwave wished to investigate a disturbance outside of the station, which turned out to be Cosmos, who was investigating it. Soundwave tried to invite the wayward Autobot inside, but was instead fired upon and then reluctantly chased Cosmos around Jupiter's belt, before finally slamming him into the surface of one of its chunks of rocks. Soundwave was surprised at Cosmos's belief that he was about to be tortured for information, reminding him that the war was over and remarking that Megatron—who was now an Autobot—was responsible for driving the Decepticons to commit so many atrocities. Soundwave subsequently requested for Cosmos to talk to the other Autobots about allowing the Decepticons to use their space bridge for peaceful purposes and, upon seeing how unhappy the Autobot was with his treatment by his teammates, offered to allow him to come live aboard the commune; when Cosmos showed uncertainty, Soundwave instructed him to say his name when he had made up his mind, and he would hear him. Before the two parted ways, Cosmos warned Soundwave that the humans may not be trustworthy allies with their hidden projects like Onyx. While Soundwave saw his alliance with the humans as convenient, he made clear to Cosmos that they were not equal to Cybertronians, being no different from any other Earth animals. Returning inside the station, and not revealing where he had been, Soundwave took Cosmos's warning to heart and asked Blackrock about the Onyx system that ran throughout the installation, but Blackrock claimed that it was just some old Cybertronian coding he had found. Soundwave then began contemplating the day's events as Laserbeak and Buzzsaw told him about their own day. South of Heaven

After returning to the Nemesis, Soundwave told Galvatron of how the first shuttle from Cybertron was already on its way to Sanctuary Station. Soundwave wished to inform the EDC when Rumble picked up some Autobots approaching Earth, but Galvatron thought it unnecessary. This proved to be true, as both Decepticons watched the Autobots' ship get turning into a smoking ruin. Soundwave wondered if Galvatron knew this would happen, but he denied it and then told Soundwave to take a shuttle back to Sanctuary Station, as the Autobots' space bridge would soon be theirs to bring their fellow Decepticons from Cybertron. The Nothing Man When Soundwave arrived back at the station, he welcomed the crew of the aforementioned shuttle from Cybertron, the Peace Without Tyranny, which included Sky-Byte and Slugslinger. Soundwave then heard Cosmos calling out his name like he had told him to, but the Autobot had not made up his mind about joining them; rather, he had nowhere else to turn with the other Autobots not responding to any of his calls, fearing them to be dead. Aphelion Soundwave found himself unable to sense any trace of Cosmos's missing teammates, but invited the hapless Autobot into the commune so that they could plan their next step. Moving on with the Decepticons' own plans, Soundwave used his abilities to take control of the space bridge aboard the Ark-7 so that the Decepticons on Cybertron could infiltrate the ship and take it over. As Soundwave reported this to Galvatron, a furious Cosmos overheard the conversation and believed that the Decepticons really were responsible for what happened to the other Autobots, but Soundwave claimed otherwise; he and the other Decepticons were simply taking advantage of the situation the Autobots were in. Soundwave declared they would be paving the way for a new era of peace, but as Cosmos objected by pointing out the Decepticons who now had their weapons pointed at him, Soundwave ordered them to stand down. Lagrange

At the same time, D.0.C. showed Thundercracker a hologram of Soundwave. Helden Once the Decepticons on board the Ark-7, led by Needlenose and Brawl, had taken control of the craft, Soundwave ordered them to set course for Sanctuary Station. Brawl, however, revealed that he had other orders to take the ship to Earth, leading to much rage on Soundwave's part. Soundwave became further infuriated when he learned Galvatron had given the orders, and tried to convince Skywarp to not help the ancient conqueror in his plans, but the Seeker refused. Believing that his dreams of the Decepticons living in peace were at an end, Soundwave became despondent, and apologized to both Cosmos and Sky-Byte; they would now have to make preparations for war. Perihelion

Galvatron then contacted Soundwave again to ask for his help in fending off the Autobots, which led to the communications officer becoming further outraged and making plans to head to Earth to rescue those Decepticons Galvatron had misled into following his plans of conquest. Soundwave and his allies thus took the Peace Without Tyranny to Shanghai on Earth, where Autobots and Decepticons alike were under attack by the People's Liberation Army Mecha Force. While Soundwave did not want to bring any of Prime's followers onto the craft, he did invite all present Decepticons to come aboard and find refuge on Sanctuary Station, with many taking the offer to escape the battlefield. After the ship made its escape, Soundwave watched Prime's declaration of his annexing Earth, showing little surprise. Once Upon a Time on Earth After the Peace Without Tyranny docked back at Sanctuary Station, Soundwave interrupted Needlenose and Swift's conversation about Galvatron, vowing that the ancient warlord would be the last to manipulate him. New Worlds Order It was around this period that Soundwave telepathically felt Ravage's death as his old friend expired from injuries incurred by Tarn. Do Not Go Gentle

Allying with the Enemy

While recharging, Optimus had a nightmare in which Soundwave, Starscream, and the Mistress of Flame chastised him for his recent actions. Spurred by this and other events, Optimus contacted Soundwave and the other two in order to set up talks with all of them. Edge of the Earth Soundwave had little patience for Optimus and Thundercracker when they arrived at Sanctuary Station, wanting nothing to do with the Prime's attempts to make humans equal to Cybertronians, even despite Thundercracker's bringing up that he had compromised his beliefs for the greater good in the past. However, Prime then revealed that he knew that it was actually Soundwave who had been in control of the I/D chips when Horri-Bull had been killed, and thus he was the one who had pulled the trigger, not Bumblebee. With Optimus threatening to tell Needlenose who had truly murdered the 'bot he loved, and thus lead to Sanctuary Station being torn apart from the inside out, the resigned Soundwave asked what he wanted of the Decepticons. The Medium and the Message

At this point, we're starting to expect all of our favourite villains to turn good.

Soundwave and some of his Decepticons travelled back to Monument Valley alongside Prime to help coordinate an undersea strike against the Nemesis. Soundwave stayed behind to supervise the battle, which took a turn for the worse when Galvatron revealed his newest ability - the power to create combiners at will, thanks to the power of the Onyx code. Soundwave was prepared to help out his comrades when the Earth Defense Command intervened, strafing their temporary command post. Although Soundwave wanted to engage the humans, he was prevented from doing so by Optimus, who was trying to present the best image to Circuit and Longtooth. It's Beginning To And Back Again Soundwave finally lost his temper and returned fire on the humans, goading Aileron into action too. Desperate to call off the violence, Optimus encouraged Soundwave to try and read a human's mind, insinuating that he couldn't do it. Soundwave took the challenge and experienced an epiphany, realizing that human brain impulses were electrical, just like those of Cybertronians - and that their emotions were just as real as any Transformer. Overwhelmed with guilt, Soundwave willingly surrendered, taking full responsibility for his crimes against humanity. As Above...So Below

Hoping to right his wrongs, Soundwave accompanied Arcee and Optimus Prime to Jupiter, where they intercepted Galvatron. Optimus and Soundwave teamed up against the Decepticon warlord, a fight that ended with Opitmus denouncing Galvatron's violent conquests and executing him, tearing his head off for good measure. No Fair Fights Soundwave returned with the two Autobots to Monument Valley, where the recently revived Metrotitan lay waiting for them. Hoping to send a less threatening message to humanity, Optimus ordered the Titan to transform into its city mode, an embassy he dubbed "Autobot City". The transformation was accompanied by a powerful transmission that immortalized Optimus's myriad deeds. Soundwave was left unsettled by this portentous turn of events. The Last Autobot

Soundwave's adventures on Earth were remembered by Scarlett and Joe Colton as they discussed the threat the Cybertronians posed to the planet Earth. Secret Raiders

Soundwave's fears regarding Metrotitan's data pulse proved founded when Sentinel Prime showed up in Autobot City on a rampage. The issue became even more complicated when it was revealed Sentinel Prime was, and always had been, a Titan Master. Leaving his headless body to fight off Optimus and Soundwave, Sentinel left. The fight with the headless body led them all to a large cache of Ore-13. It was then that Sentinel returned with Garrison Blackrock who was revealed to all to be another Titan Master known as Sovereign. The two Titan Masters hijacked Metrotitan's spacebridge and vanished with Soundwave and Optimus Prime. White Light They were transported to the ruined world where the Titan Prion had settled, supposedly left to die by Micronus Prime. Sentinel explained how he truly was Infinitus, what Titan Masters were and that they were offering Optimus a chance to join them for when Onyx Prime arrived. When Soundwave raised the point that Sentinel was not truly a Prime, he was stabbed via Sovereign controlling Alpha Trion's body. Optimus managed to tackle Sentinel into Sovereign freeing Soundwave. The Decepticon then used his telepathy to free Sovereign of Sentinel's influence, reawakening his "Blackrock" personality. This did not deter Sentinel from promptly grabbing Sovereign and rushing through the spacebridge. Soundwave proved unable to track them but Optimus merely ordered him to open a portal to Cybertron so they could get medical aid for Alpha Trion. Before they returned to Earth, Soundwave gave an inspirational speech brought on by Ravage's death about how all lifeforms were equal before Primus and how both Autobots and Decepticons had compromised in the past but they had to put aside their differences and move forward. Both Sentinel and Galvatron had returned from the time of the Thirteen, leaving open the possibility that something else might as well and the Cybertronian race had to be ready to face it as one. White Heat

Later on, Soundwave accompanied Pyra Magna to Iacon to retrieve Windblade for her assistance in deducing why Metrotitan had gone silent. The trio spent several days searching for the cause but found nothing. Informed

Despite the Titan's silence, he still served as a base and informed them that a large cache of Ore-13 detonated under Mount Olympus. Soundwave was able to "hear" the explosion being primed but doubted he would be able to hear it fast enough to evacuate should the much larger cache of Ore-13 beneath Autobot City detonate. Nonetheless, the explosion was enough for the successors of the Earth Defense Command, G.I. Joe to declare open war on the Cybertronians. He accompanied Optimus, Windblade, and Victorion to Portland, Oregon to confront the humans. Thoroughly unimpressed by the humans' lack of rationality or their weapons, he launched a massive EMP attack that deactivated all their equipment (and saved himself from a more lethal version of the old EDC mindbomb), warning the humans that he could have made the attack lethal to them as well. The battle was interrupted by an unknown silver alien who killed four Joes. When the Cybertronians fell back to pursue the alien, Soundwave restored the humans telecommunications so that they could tend to their wounded. Concorde Hymn They tracked the alien to the Umpqua National Forest, where it managed to flip Optimus Prime before the other Cybertronians surrounded it. The alien managed to punch Soundwave in the face before it was soundly defeated and encouraged at gunpoint by Optimus to speak. The Divine Source of Liberty The alien introduced itself as Rom and explained his mission to hunt down the Dire Wraiths who had taken an interest in the power of Ore-13. Soundwave agreed with Windblade that Micronus Prime's realm of Microspace was their priority as Aileron had confirmed the Energon was disappearing into another universe. Before the debate could continue more, the nearby spacebridge activated, and Rom began sending many Ore-13 crystals to Microspace. In doing so, the Space Knight was jeopardizing that universe before Optimus made him see reason. Soundwave then told Rom that he sympathized with placing expediency over morality as he placed the Space Knight in stasis cuffs. O Ship of State

When Arcee began fighting a group of intruders, Soundwave broke it up with a sonic attack. When the Dire Wraiths, bolstered by M.A.S.K. forces, attacked, Soundwave was attacked by the humans before shaking them off to aid Optimus from a Wraith assault. When the spacebridge activated, Soundwave tried to shut it down only for Baron Karza to emerge and absorb all the Wraiths into himself. The New Colossus When G.I. Joe arrived, Soundwave caught the falling Dragonfly of Mainframe and Mayday and apologized to the former for what happened in New York City. Mainframe did not accept it but understood that there were more pressing matters at hand. Realizing that he could communicate with everyone through Ancient Cybertronian, Soundwave formulated a plan to use Rom, Matt Trakker, the Micronauts and Mainframe as buffers while he calculated a counter frequency against the detonation of the Ore-13, though this would destroy the spacebridge. When it the portal sucked Karza back inside and detonated, Soundwave shielded Mainframe inside his chest compartment though losing both his arms in the process. He returned to the lower levels of Autobot City in time to see Optimus announce his intent to work with the humans rather than around them. Valley Forge

Some months later, the group had been joined by Cybertronian colonists who were very overeager to impress Optimus. The rookies were sent to Mexico City to deal with an anti-Cybertronian riot. When the protesters revealed they had guns based off Cybertronian technology, the group went off to the White House to warn the President that Earth could be held in violation of the Tyrest Accord. Soundwave then received a databurst from Metrotitan alerting him of an incoming spaceship which he forwarded to Optimus. While the group waited at the Matterhorn, the Matrix briefly glowed before the ship burrowed into the Earth. To Walk Among the Chosen Soundwave recognized the crew as Junkions and the ship as the same style Megatron had used in the Battle of Iacon. Loudly telling the colonists to shut the hell up, Soundwave explained the Battle of Junkion and his guilt that they had brought the Junkions to Earth. A Lonely Pillar on the Plain Deducing that the Junkions had assimilated the sensor technology of thousands of worlds, Soundwave called Cosmos, Rumble and Frenzy from the Sanctuary Station to sneak aboard their ship with their own custom shielding to try and gleam more information. He then visited the G.I. Joe camp below to try and get more information. Behind My Bleeding Back Soundwave was soon contacted by Optimus to arrange a meeting between the leaders of Earth, something he reluctantly agreed to. Talon noted that despite everything they'd been through, Soundwave was still fundamentally uncomfortable with the idea of working with Optimus. Dance Among the Shadows

When the Junkions unleashed Sharkticons to attack Earth, Soundwave caught the falling Cosmos and brought him to G.I. Joe for medical treatment, where the damaged Autobot revealed that the Sharkticons were being kept as servants by the Junkions. Soundwave then flew into the air and recited Megatron's pre-War texts to every Sharkticon, calling them to rise up and act for themselves. The message worked, and Soundwave led them in tearing apart the Junkion ship. Future Glories Lost Soundwave then stood in the background while Optimus gave a speech on the importance of Cybertronians and Junkions had to work together. Feel Safe Without Regrets He later oversaw the construction of Little Cybertron. The Next Day, and the Next When the Autobots decided to humanely put Sideswipe out his misery via a VR projection, a simulated version of Soundwave appeared within and was beaten up by Sideswipe before Sunstreaker stopped him. The Life of Sideswipe

When the Revolutionaries went to see Richard Ruby for information on the Talisman, the stuntman told them about the last hurrah of the Adventure Team and Soundwave's presence there calling him a jerk though Mayday said that Soundwave was now a good guy. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Joe Colton would forever remember the encounter with Soundwave and when he learned more about the Cybertronians, it would wind up being one of the reasons for his genocidal campaign against Cybertron. First Strike #1

Left behind on Earth for Earth's induction into the Council of Worlds, Soundwave was approached by G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K. who requested passage to Cybertron only for the Decepticon to inform them that the Space Bridge nexus had been shut down. After Scarlett mentioned the M.A.S.S. Device however, Skyburst and Stormclash realized that Colton's group had used the device to get to Cybertron via the Space Bridge's signal and the group headed to Castle Destro to retrieve the M.A.S.S. Device so as to replicate the effect. First Strike #2 The alliance easily breached the castle and emerged on Cybertron where Soundwave casually incapacitated some Iron Grenadiers with a sonic attack before Scarlett tackled Baron Ironblood only to find Doctor Mindbender beneath the mask. After Gloria Baker hacked one of the Trojan horse bots, she discovered Colton's group was heading for the core of the planet though Soundwave was skeptical of what damage the humans could do. After consoling Scarlett about losing faith in a leader, the group headed to the same vent that Colton's team has used only for their path to be barred by Strika who fought Soundwave to a standstill before Ironhide and Sunstreaker broke up the fighting and brought them all to the Council where Elita One ordered the humans to be executed. First Strike #3

Though Soundwave confirmed Scarlett's story of Colton's plan to reach the core, Elita was unconvinced of his word. Starscream knew how difficult it was to lie to Soundwave and sent forces underground to confirm his word before he threw the humans in jail. First Strike #4

Soundwave caught up with Optimus and Arcee as the former prepared to break Scarlett's team out of jail, commenting that the three should handle the problem alone in the interest of speed. After freeing the humans, the group made their way underground only to be met by Colton's various traps. Near the core, they came upon a highly acidic river capable of dissolving sentio metallico but Scarlett saw through the ruse revealing it to be a highly advanced hologram. After Soundwave commented on humanity's daredevil attitude, the group reached the core and barred Colton's path. First Strike #5

Spotlight: Mirage

Not so superior now, are you?

In a dream set in an alternate universe wrapped in an enigma surrounded by a soft taco shell dreamt by Mirage, Soundwave was part of the Decepticon strike force who attacked the last stronghold of the Autobots. Soundwave was attacked by Hound, who snapped his head off, killing him. But it was just a dream, so it didn't matter. Right? Spotlight: Mirage

Notes

What? You mean we don't use brick-sized microcassette recorders anymore?

• IDW Publishing seems to be undecided on Soundwave's speech pattern. In Megatron Origin, he speaks in his classic cartoon-based monotone. However, in Spotlight: Soundwave, he speaks in a normal fashion. Which is once again reverted to the classic speech in All Hail Megatron. During the ongoing series he has lost the ability to speak completely due to damage done to his face. Finally, during Robots In Disguise he has regained the ability to speak, and does so in a normal fashion.
• Guido Guidi made a concept drawing of Soundwave with a modern microcassette recorder as an alt mode (which are still used by reporters and doctors today) for IDW Publishing's All Hail Megatron maxi-series. This was also unused. Consequently, Soundwave may go down as the Transformers character with the most unused designs.

External links

• Soundwave at the IDW Hasbro Wiki