Froid

Froid is a Transformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Sometimes a cy-gar is just a cy-gar.

Froid is a psychologist and the Senate's chief psychopathologist in the pre-war era. The ethically-bankrupt Froid plagiarised much of his contemporary Rung's work and damaged his reputation, turning what had once been a close friendship into a bitter professional rivalry.

“	We grieve for the murdered word.	”
—Froid on revisionism, "Towards Peace"

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: More than Meets the Eye #13 (mentioned); #34 (depicted)

Froid and Rung were once such good friends that Rung felt able to tell his fellow psychotherapist his deepest, darkest secret: the fact that Rung had been disbarred from practising medicine by a tribunal on the ship Fateful Archetype, but that the entire crew save for himself had died in a crash and nobody knew. Speak, Memory: Part 1 Unfortunately, over time, their professional rivalry superseded their friendship. Signal to Noise Froid's tendency toward plagiarism saw him steal much of Rung's work and publish it as his own, including that which became his greatest claim to fame, the Froidian Classification System of personality types. The Sensuous Frame Speak, Memory: Part 1

Shortly before the outbreak of war on Cybertron, Froid was sent by the Senate to the world of Messatine to put a stop to the rabble-rousing writings a miner stationed on the planet named Megatron was producing. Under only the slightest of pretences, Froid "diagnosed" Megatron with mental illness and had Trepan subject him to shadowplay to remove his anti-authoritarian thoughts. However, before the procedure could be completed, Rung arrived on Messatine with news of a sudden change to the law that meant a "personality adjustment" decision needed two signatures to reduce the risk of abuse. Rung offered to countersign if he agreed with the findings; Froid knew Rung wouldn't do it and could only despair that he was going to suffer for this. Fortunately for all involved, a sudden energy surge prompted a planetary evacuation, tabling the issue. Births, Deaths, and Interventions

Froid was instrumental in the arrest of Sunder, the mnemosurgeon-turned-serial killer known as the "Tetrahex Ripper", when his profiling led Cyberforensics to Sunder's brother Sceptre. The day Sunder was caught was the last time Froid and Rung saw each other. Froid became fascinated with Sunder's case and joined the crew of the prison ship taking the brothers to Garrus 6. In-transit, the brothers escaped and took Froid hostage, fleeing aboard a shuttle that was subsequently shot down. Speak, Memory: Part 1 Unaware that his former friend had been on the ship, Rung did not know what had become of Froid, but believed he died during the war. Signal to Noise In later years, Rung would privately lament that Froid and other rivals had inflicted irreparable damage on his reputation, Signal to Noise but he still respected his work enough to quote Froid aboard the Lost Light when discussing an edit made to Towards Peace during a session with Megatron. Towards Peace

In truth, Sunder and Froid survived the destruction of the shuttle and eventually holed up on the planet Scarvix, where Froid professed he had become something of a celebrity. He entered into a perverse doctor-patient relationship with Sunder: in return for Sunder serving as a subject for him to study, Froid found new victims for the serial killer, who killed by using his "remote mnemosurgery" abilities to feed on buried memories. Froid removed Sunder's eyes to inhibit this power, wearing them around his neck under the guise of a pair of Primal Beads. But hey, those deaths were a small price to pay because a controlled Sunder could read the mind of any patient and tell Froid about their memories without the patient ever knowing! It was invaluable to making fat stacks curing people! Speak, Memory! (Part 2)

Seeking new victims, Froid made his way to the Lost Light in hopes of getting his hands on Rung's patient files. Rung was shocked to see him alive, but any good feelings that Froid's "resurrection" might had stirred up were firmly stamped down when his one-time friend implied he would reveal his old secret if he did not give him access to his files. Rung refused all the same, so Froid took him to meet Sunder, intending to feed Rung himself to him. He gave Sunder back his eyeballs, restoring his power, just as Skids rushed in. Speak, Memory: Part 1 Taking the "least worst option", Froid unlocked Sunder's cage and retreated while Sunder had his way with others aboard the ship.

Transforms into psychological trauma.

Froid later met up with Tailgate, Rung, and Skids to look for Chromedome, but Sunder found them and launched a mental attack on Skids. Rung blocked Sunder's line of sight and Sunder switched his sights to Froid. Being told to "open up", Froid was forcibly turned inside out. Speak, Memory! (Part 2)

At some point afterward, Froid was repaired, and then imprisoned in the Lost Light's brig. It wasn't until over a year later that he was freed, on Getaway's orders. The unscrupulous bot filled Froid in on what had been happening since the psychiatrist's imprisonment, then admitted it wasn't just Froid he needed, but Sunder's mnemosurgery skills. When Getaway balked at the maniac's price, that of the ship's crew, Froid needled him, as a chance to study the escape artist's veritable psychological cocktail in action. Filling in the Blanks

A short time later, Getaway showed Froid the temporal window inside Swerve's. After a moment's observation, Froid asked Getaway whether he thought anyone of the mutiny's victims survived, then began needling Getaway's superiority complex, intimating that 'bots claiming they were Matrix sensitive were usually suffering from Primus apotheosis, before reassuring Getaway he didn't think he was delusional at all, no siree.

Later on, after the Proctectobots' failed attempt to get revenge on Getaway, he called up Froid to ask for another favor, to help the crew remember how Thunderclash totally murdered Atomizer in cold blood. Froid gave him Sunder's asking price of five crewmembers, and when Getaway hesitated, he immediately doubled it. The haggle was interrupted when Blaster made the happy announcement that they'd finally found Cyberutopia. Journey's End

The happy atmosphere was not to last however as it was soon revealed that the fabled promised land was nothing more than an elaborate illusion created by the artificial moon of Mederi. The Lost Light then came under attack from a group of Worldsweepers in the employ of the Grand Architect, with Getaway managing to bargain with the being. While most of the crew were turned into sparkeaters as a sign of loyalty, Lūstrāre Froid and Sunder found themselves properly recruited, being transferred to the flagship. After Team Rodimus' capture, Scorponok ordered Sunder to hack into the Architect's mind and discover who he really was and his true goals. Though Sunder managed a quick scan, the Architect resisted, forcing him out, and stripping the mnemosurgeron of his powers. Along with Froid, Sunder was placed in Team Rodimus' cell where they compared notes on the Architect and his plan before the God Gun punched open a hole between universes. Farsickness

When Megatron flew through, followed by an alternate version of the Functionist Council who were using a planet-sized avatar of Primus, the Architect's forces attacked. In the confusion, Megatron freed most of the group from the cell, Froid being brought aboard the Last Light to learn of the Council's plans. The Return of the King When the rest of the group freed themselves, everyone boarded the Lost Light to brainstorm ideas, (though Froid largely chose to express doubts over the fact that Rung was the real Primus) eventually hitting on the plan of using twelve duplicate Matrices of Leadership to overload Vector Sigma and erase the Functionists. At this idea, the enraged Omega Guardians spoke via the Magnificence and unleashed a powerful bolt of energy that tore into Sunder, Froid, and Nine-of-Twelve, killing all three on the spot. The Unremembering

TransTech

Swindle, of Swindle, Swindle and Swindle, didn't always get along with Swindle and Swindle. He recommended Blot or Froid for Conjunx Endura counseling. Swindle's Spiel

2019 IDW continuity

Following the War of the Threefold Spark, Froid took on Quake as a patient but failed to aid him in readjusting to civilian life. Quake would go on to become of Froid's "four substantial failures," on whom his treatments had had no effect (it might have been three but Froid had been barred access to an unidentified prisoner). The World In Your Eyes Part Three Froid also treated Cyclonus, who coped by talking to the dead. When Froid attempted to push Cyclonus into speaking with Paragon however, the surly veteran left Froid's care. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Four

When Quake was publicly announced as part of Megatron's Ascenticon Guard, Froid ran to Orion Pax to try and remove Quake from the guard with the Senator reassuring him that the matter would be dealt with. The World In Your Eyes Part Three

After Rubble had been gruesomely murdered, Security Operations called in Froid. Amused by the whole situation, Froid pointed out that, although Quake had the psychological profile necessary for murder, so did many others. When his interrogators still failed to connect the dots, the psychologist explained that the constraints that Autobot law, specifically the Nominus Edict, were creating a tense and volatile political climate on account of the many self-restrictions, and that the metaphorical eruption was imminent. It was then that Cyclonus crashed into the room, with Froid, who only looked like he was having considerable difficulty moving, taking him to see Paragon, someone he keenly felt that Cyclonus should speak with. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Two After Cyclonus had been treated, Froid came to visit him to try and uncover why he refused to speak to Paragon with the veteran snapping that, unlike the others, Paragon had not died, but had been killed by Pyra Magna. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Four

Notes

• Froid's name is an obvious pun.
• The character was designed by Alex Milne, who loosely patterned him after Prime Soundwave. The full character model can be seen on Milne's Twitter account.