Rung (G1): Difference between revisions
I don't think anyone actually understood the joke of the previous iteration, so here's something that gets the same idea across while actually... you know, getting the idea across. |
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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}} Eventually, he chose to move into the field of psychotherapy, 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}} | 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}} Eventually, he chose to move into the field of psychotherapy, 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}} | ||
During the reign of [[Nominus Prime]], Rung ran afoul of the [[Functionist Council]], as his strange alternate mode presented a unique problem: not even Rung himself | During the reign of [[Nominus Prime]], Rung ran afoul of the [[Functionist Council]], as his strange alternate mode presented a unique problem: not even Rung himself knew the purpose of his alternate mode anymore, threatening to undermine their [[functionism|entire philosophy]] and the [[Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy]]. Rung was subjected to repeated and rigorous tests, to "reassure" other Cybertronians, he was forced to wear a false wheel on his back so as to fake an alternate mode. 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 altmode: they classified him as an "[[Ornament class|ornament]]". {{storylink|Little Victories}} | ||
Rung was subsequently employed by the Senate as a patho-psychologist alongside [[Froid]], {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}} and though 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'' the [[Froidian Classification System]] of personality types from Rung.{{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} | Rung was subsequently employed by the Senate as a patho-psychologist alongside [[Froid]], {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}} and though 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'' the [[Froidian Classification System]] of personality types from Rung.{{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} | ||
Revision as of 11:58, 25 October 2018
This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.
| This article is about the Generation 1 Autobot. For the Animated Autobot, see Rung (Animated). |
- Rung is an Autobot from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
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 to Impactor to Red Alert again. As part of his duties, he performs the mental assessments of potential Wreckers-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
IDW Generation 1 continuity
 Spoiler warning: Plot details for Crucible (Part 6): A Spark Among Embers follow. |
- First appearance: Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 (prose); The Transformers vol. 1 #22 (comic)
The robot who would become known as Primus was supposedly the first Transformer to come into existence, bearing the unique serial number of "000000001". The Unremembering One legend states that the original Cybertronian first learned that he could transform twelve million years ago, in the land that would one day become Iacon. 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 wounds that no other Transformers could survive; Rules of Disengagement more importantly, however, he was able to manufacture photonic crystals, which were able to indefinitely store the energies of a spark. The Unremembering At some point after his creation, Primus would use this power to give life to a quartet of robots like himself, which 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. You, Me, and Other Revelations The Unremembering
Together, this group of Cybertronians were responsible for bringing forth the first generation of Transformers, supposedly igniting the hot spots that would ensure the continued reproduction of the species. The Unremembering Supposedly, Primus delivered his Prime Pastoral on the site that would one day become the Crystal City, and consorted with the Titans Metrotitan, Metroplex and Chela. Origin Myths Primus's many titles included the "Celestial Architect" and the "Mechanica Divine", Metastasis and the Primal Sacrament attributed the famous verse "Survive and Thrive" to Primus. Anomie
At some point in the past, Primus used his ability to generate photonic crystals to create the divine artifact known as the Matrix of Leadership, which subsequently fell into the care of the Knights of Cybertron. 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 expansion. Primus and the other members of the Hand refused, and so the treacherous Adaptus battled his former comrades in what would be known as the "God War", deploying a legion of experimental horrors from his base on Cybertron's first moon. The Unremembering The God War
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, introducing the neurological phenomenon "information creep" to the planet. Primus sought to take as much of this blast as he could bear; in doing so, however, his memories of his origins and identity were garbled beyond repair, the fallout from the blast rendering him "permanently forgettable" so that nobody on Cybertron would be able to clearly remember him. The Unremembering
Legends of Primus's existence continued on, however; in many religious sects, Primus would become remembered as a mighty warrior-god, "the clenched fist that became the Guiding Hand", Anomie by literally dividing his 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. You, Me, and Other Revelations The God War
A different story remembered Primus as the first Cybertronian, who supposedly dueled his dreaded "opposite" in a war that predated the universe itself; in this permutation of the myth, Primus triumphed and became Cybertron itself. Unicron #1 At some point afterwards, 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. You Are Here 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 Primes, commissioned the construction of the Crystal City to honor the ground where he had once stood. This would prove convenient for "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. 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. All Our Parlous Yesterdays Chaos Theory Part 2 Future Glories Lost
When Primus himself reemerged, some seven million years ago, it was in the humble shape of Rung of the Pious Pools, Little Victories a quiet, unassuming 'bot 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. 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. Signal to Noise In spite of this, he was one of Kup's oldest friends. Zero Point
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. Do Not Go Gentle 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". The Divided Self 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. Modes of Production Eventually, he chose to move into the field of psychotherapy, and by six million years ago, his "Rungian analysis" therapy was already in common parlance. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It Though Rung was originally slated to join the crew of the Ark-1, he was recalled at the last second, as the Senate allegedly needed him. Speak, Memory: Part 1
During the reign of Nominus Prime, Rung ran afoul of the Functionist Council, as his strange alternate mode presented a unique problem: not even Rung himself knew the purpose of his alternate mode anymore, threatening to undermine their entire philosophy and the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy. Rung was subjected to repeated and rigorous tests, to "reassure" other Cybertronians, he was forced to wear a false wheel on his back so as to fake an alternate mode. 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 altmode: they classified him as an "ornament". Little Victories
Rung was subsequently employed by the Senate as a patho-psychologist alongside Froid, Births, Deaths, and Interventions and though Froid claimed that they were friends, they endured a heated rivalry, clashing over the proper use of personality adjustment treatments Births, Deaths, and Interventions and eventually culminating in Froid stealing the Froidian Classification System of personality types from Rung.The Sensuous Frame Speak, Memory: Part 1
In 4th Cycle 499, Rung was returning to his wellbeing clinic when a time-traveling Brainstorm attacked him with electric knuckledusters, knocking the psychiatrist unconscious. Stet
In 51st Cycle 500, Rung travelled to Croteus 12 after a secret Senate session amended the law to require two signatures on requests for personality adjustments. His arrival interrupted the use of the procedure on the exiled revolutionary 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. Births, Deaths, and Interventions
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 Orion Pax. Omega's Conundrum At some point, Rung served aboard the Autobot vessel Fateful Archetype. This would prove to be the source of one of his darkest secrets: after getting too close to a patient aboard the vessel, Rung had been disbarred from practicing medicine by a tribunal... but when that ship crashed, Rung's supernatural durability meant that he was the only survivor, with nobody else aware of the events aboard. Froid would use this as leverage over his rival. Speak, Memory: Part 1 Serving aboard more ships, Rung picked up a hobby of making models of every ship he'd been part of. Speak, Memory: Part 1
After Zeta's death and the outbreak of the Great War, Rung was present during a battle that saw Metroplex and Trypticon clash. Primacy #4
As the war continued, 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. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
Rung did a psychological evaluation of Impactor before his trial for 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. Impactor's Autopedia entry
Over time, Froid and other rivals inflicted irreparable damage on Rung's reputation. Long after their deaths, Rung would write papers but never distribute them. Signal to Noise With his reputation wrecked, Rung left Cybertron. Speak, Memory: Part 1
Rung later performed a pre-mission psych-screening on new Wreckers Rotorstorm, Ironfist, Pyro, and 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. Taking note of his dual personality, Rung declared him cleared for mission. 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. 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. 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 an undisclosed party. Ironfist's Autopedia entry
Rung treated the shell-shocked 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. Bullets
Kup, one of Rung's oldest friends, asked him to examine 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 to read Wreckers: Declassified datalogs to him in hopes that the memories would have some effect. Zero Point
Rung was among the survivors of 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. Kings Genesis
After Cybertron was reborn in the wake of the D-Void's defeat, Rung joined 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. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It After getting his arm repaired in Ratchet's care, Rung was choked by an irrational and unresponsive 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 joined the crew, Rung informed him of their quest. Hangers On Rung later had a close call with a Sparkeater, but was saved by Skids. Rodimus used the two to lure the Sparkeater so he could defeat it. 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 and 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. Little Victories
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. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
Rung held a session with the newly returned Fortress Maximus, whose mental state had been called into question after he had suffered torture and humiliation at the hands of 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'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. Interiors
Surprisingly, Rung's spark and brain module survived and the medical staff believed he might pull through: something Ratchet said was akin to a miracle. Later, after a visit by 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... Rules of Disengagement After the Lost Light's encounter with a Metrotitan, Swerve explained his religious interpretation of events to the comatose Rung. You, Me, and Other Revelations
After Rung's head was rebuilt, it took hours of patient work from 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, 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. Patternism Not knowing when to try a different tack and intending to finally talk to Rung about Dominus Ambus 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 and prompted them to talk about it. Post Hoc Rewind checked Rung again during the story later and still found no mental signs in him 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." An Intimate Beheading
After being fully repaired and helping Brainstorm develop holomatter avatars that could reflect an Autobot's inner psyche, he 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 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. 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. 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. Signal to Noise
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 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. 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. 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. The Gloaming Speaking truth to power got Rung drafted for a mission to the legendary 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 gang of mercenaries The Fecund Moon in the employ of Chief Justice Tyrest.
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, House of Ambus explaining that "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. 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 Transformers and reach Cyberutopia revealed. Immobilizing the Lost Lighters, the Chief Justice activated his universal killswitch, 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. 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. 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. The Sound of Breaking Glass
When Orion Pax and the crew of the Skyroller came aboard the Lost Light, Rung was present for the 'welcome aboard' party at Swerve's. 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 Ammonites 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. 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's machinations. Finis Temporis With the scientist's 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's presence. 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. 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. ...And the Damage Done
In the days that followed, Rung was in the crowd on 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. 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". Towards Peace Later that day, Nightbeat examined a schematic of Rung's enigmatic alt-mode, Words Hang in the Air whilst the psychiatrist himself attended a screening of the Earth 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. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide Eventually Rung and every other original crew member disappeared, with the remaining Lost Lighters discovering that the ship's initial quantum jump had caused it and its passengers to duplicate. The other ship's Rung, they learned, was "lost" during the explosive jump. Eventually, the Lost Light and its crew were restored and its duplicate vanished. The Road Not Taken
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. 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 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 was taking circuit speeders 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, All Our Parlous Yesterdays to 4th Cycle 501, during the Clampdown.
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, Stet and Quark and Nightbeat, who bickered over whether the psychiatrist was a Senate spy or just a billy-no-mates. 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. Stet After refusing to clean up the spill, the poor 'bot was tossed across the bar, right onto Impactor and Megatron's table. Chaos Theory Part 1 A barfight quickly ensued, away from which Rodimus dragged the unconscious Rung. Stet
Having realized that Brainstorm intended to kill Megatron, Rung and the Lost Lighters 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 pre-destined, already part of established history, and that tampering with the time machine might have lead to a multitude of alternate realities being created. Predestination: An Expert's Guide
As well as helping on the Lost Light, Rung was remotely providing aid to Fortress Maximus. The new enforcer of the Tyrest Accord admitted to 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, as many Decepticons may be like that now. Animals
While assisting Skids with reclaiming his lost memories, Rung was surprised to find Froid (who was supposed to be 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 mnemosurgeon, Sunder the Tetraxian Ripper!
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. 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.Speak, Memory! (Part 2)
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. No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases
Rung had been asked (and his mind wiped) by Getaway if he'd be willing to mutiny against Megatron. As he wasn't, the mutiny tricked 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 before learning the Lost Light was abandoning them. How Bright Their Frail Deeds The Autobots holed up in the Necrobot's old house and Rung helped Rodimus run through their assets. Which were none.
Others found there were dozens of slumbering organics underneath the base and that there was a long-range teleporter, 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 they could create a forcefield. The Sun in Flight After Nightbeat put in a polite request to 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, At Close of Day prompting Rodimus and Drift to question what became of them after the D.J.D. had been defeated.
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 the conclusion that Necroworld was the mould into which Cybertron was poured. Then a geobomb showed up to ruin the moment. 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 me beyond use". How Bright Their Frail Deeds
When Sentinel Prime tried to take over his mind, Red Alert used Rung's image as his inner voice to override the brainwashing. Last Light
The geobomb had not killed anyone and just appeared to have itself out. It would be a while before anyone learned they'd been shunted into a parallel universe. Some Other Cybertron Modes of Production Brainstorm teleported the two (nearly!) back to the surface where Rung asked to see Skids. Ratchet brought him to Skids' corpse. The trauma of the sight causing Rung to involuntarily create a photonic crystal Some Other Cybertron and thus reawakened his old memories of his true purpose. Nightbeat then asked to speak to Rung about the former psychiatrist's issues and feelings of uselessness. Rung confessed that information creep had caused him to forget a good chunk of his past and what he was for. Rung showed Nightbeat the crystals he'd produced much to the detective's shock. Modes of Production When Brainstorm had worked out a way back to their reality, Ratchet embraced Rung due to the fate of the psychologist's alternate self. 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. After Megatron
Part of the group that left Necroworld aboard Skip, 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 back to robot mode. Sardines Ten surprisingly spoke up and directed the crew through the Warren, a nexus of compressed space that was intended to bring them to safety. On the trek, however, Skip divested all his extra mass and Rung and the crew were forced to abandon ship. They awoke in what appeared to be the Afterspark, on the outskirts of the Matrix itself waiting to ascend to the final afterlife. Metastasis In fact, they had arrived on Mederi, a ten million year old euthanasia clinic that used hallucinations and holomatter to serenely guide the terminally ill into the afterlife. The Knights of Cybertron had ended their space trek on Mederi and, mistaking the false environment for a perfect version of Cybertron, enshrined a map to Mederi inside the Matrix before sending it home. Mederi was Cyberutopia, and the Lost Light's original mission was finished. You Are Here
The Functionist Universe
In the Functionist Universe, Primus was used as the justification for the dystopia and a square in Iacon boasted a building sized statue of an old-school Primus, "SURVIVE AND THRIVE" inscribed under it. Twelve-of-Twelve expressed the opinion that if something was essential to anyone, Primus would have created a Cybertronian that turned into it. Anomie Six-of-Twelve came to believe that Primus was speaking to him through the Matrix of Leadership and telling him to arm Cybertron for a coming war. Nine-of-Twelve expressed the belief that Team Rodimus' arrival in their universe was Primus' doing. A World Misplaced
When the Functionist Council discovered Rung's ability to produce photonic crystals they first thought him the spawn of Mortilus before deciding it was Primus' endorsement of cold construction. Now having a way of storing new Sparks until bodies were built, the Council decided that their own function was to bring Functionism to the galaxy by removing any race that didn't serve a function in Primus' optics. In laybot's terms: Every single race that wasn't Cybertronian had to go to fulfill their vision of Primus' grand plan. Modes of Production
No one could figure out the exact purpose of Rung's alternate mode, so he was locked up in The Cog and regularly tortured for two million years by the scientist Quark to try and discern the mystery. Predestination: An Expert's Guide His unique position in a purely functionist society caused a cult to develop around him. He was hailed as the "Useless One", with his "followers" openly defying the government and being met with a reminder of the status quo. The Custom-Made Now Eventually while he was cleaning Rung's cell Sweep (a janitor, not a scientist) figured out his purpose, Predestination: An Expert's Guide by finding the photonic crystals Rung had unconsciously produced. Modes of Production One-of-Twelve was not pleased, labelling Rung a threat to the Functionist Council and the spawn of Mortilus. One-of-Twelve greeted the "Useless One" (which Rung commented was ironic given that One-of-Twelve's alternate mode needed eleven others to form and was useless itself) and pulled a gun to his head. Rung warned him that if he took the shot, the Functionist world would be destroyed and then proceeded to goad him into firing, 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 hid Rung for a year to try and work out how to spin this. Six-of-Twelve viewed Rung's purpose as endorsement of cold construction and further testing by One-of-Twelve showed that Rung could produce crystals against his will. Modes of Production
A year later, the Functionist Council announced Revelation Day: at the end of the countdown, they'd disprove this whole "Useless One" anti-functionist talk by revealing exactly what Rung was for. Anomie
Supposedly Rung turned into a colossal mining tank with a very conspicuous crystalline drill, something which Team Rodimus found suspicious. According to Six-of-Twelve, the point of Rung's alternate mode was to drill through the ununtrium wall that surrounded Vector Sigma. A World Misplaced 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, Bad Moon Rising by pretending to hold him hostage so that Six-of-Twelve would release Rodimus. Before the group teleported away, Rung laid into the Council by mocking their own useless alternate mode and saying that all of them were the real "Useless Ones". Materializing in Iacon, Rung directed the group to steal the Cog which he intended to ram into Luna 2 to destroy them both. Before that however, Rodimus demanded an explanation of Rung's true purpose and why the Functionists wanted him. Rung reluctantly displayed his ability to produce photonic crystals and explained the Functionists viewed that as Primus endorsing the cold construction process. As such, they wanted to draw more Sparks from Vector Sigma and store them in Rung's crystals to create an army of Cybertronians to purify the galaxy of alien life. When the Cog arrived at 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. 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. Emerging from the wreckage, Rung decided to enact his backup plan over Ratchet's protests to his health. 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. Rung's fate prompted Ratchet to hug the Rung of his own timeline when they reunited. 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. After Megatron
Kre-O online manga
Rung directed a crane hauling a load of energy blocks into Scramble City when the Constructicons attacked. 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
Fictional toys
- Rung
- Accessories: Data Journal, "ARK-1" Model, Tech Specs Decoder
- In 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". 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 Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology.[1] The mention of "Rungian analysis" in More Than Meets the Eye #1 is a further play on this.
- Rung's longest suffering patient was Bluestreak.
- Alex Milne modeled Rung's appearance on actors Brent Spiner and David Hyde-Pierce.[2]
- Rung's Holomatter avatar is named 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 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 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.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Rung (ラング Rangu)
References
External links
- Rung concept art at Alex Milne's deviantART
- More Rung design art, featuring an unused alternate mode concept
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