Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

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Dead oni, purple oni.

Cyclonus in the IDW Generation 1 continuity isn't a Decepticon, or anything to do with Unicron. He's just an ex-zombie millions of years older than Optimus Prime tagging along on an Autobot starship with a severe antipathy to Whirl. And who doesn't hate Whirl?

He's, like, a multi-billionaire or something. Tetrahexian real estate. No, he just thinks possessions are a weakness. Actually, he thinks everything's a weakness. I like him, but he's phenomenally stern.Tailgate on Cyclonus, "Signal to Noise"

IDW Generation 1 comics

As a young Cybertronian, Cyclonus used be a very religious bot, memorising the catechism of the Guiding Hand and worshiping in the shadow of the Metrotitans, before they departed with the Knights of Cybertron aboard. Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations Later, after lengthy wars, he became part of Nova Prime's inner circle, and joined him and others on a quest to Crystal City to find Titans, and discovered Omega Supreme there, and vocally hoped to learn more Cybertronian legend from him. All Good Things

No cockpit? How will Galvatron ride him??

Ultimately, he became a senior officer on the original Ark which plunged into the Benzuli Expanse millions of meta-cycles ago and hence continued to serve Nova Prime, now calling himself Nemesis Prime. He had a fierce love of Cybertron and wanted to see it bring about an ordered universe, bringing structure to a chaotic universe. Ironically, he was absolutely mental, prone to unpredictable, violent actions; he tried to submerge this behind a fiction of being an ordered intellectual, and hoped ordering the universe might order him.

Cyclonus was sent out of the Dead Universe to arm the Nega-Core and put up Thunderwing as its guardian, but he made a divergence to see first hand the devastation of his beloved Cybertron. Pissed off, he decided to take his anger out on the nearest Transformer and so assaulted the Ark-12, helmed by Hound's crew en route to Garrus-9. He was blown to bits, only to reform and keep on coming until Ultra Magnus arrived and Cyclonus realized he was blowing his mission—too long outside of the Dead Universe can kill its inhabitants.

Get the Holy Hand Grenade!

Arriving on Corata-Vaz, he armed the Nega-Core but balked at activating Thunderwing, due to the destruction he caused Cybertron. Unfortunately Hound's crew and Magnus arrived, and Sideswipe goaded Cyclonus into attacking and in the process made Cyclonus realize he truly was a chaotic loony and just what Nemesis Prime wanted to erase. He was brought down, only to detach his hand, which flew off to activate Thunderwing. Using the distraction, Cyclonus escaped but Magnus sent another tracker after him. Spotlight: Cyclonus

Cyclonus made it back to the Dead Universe on time and was later patrolling the Benzuli Expanse with Galvatron to look for those who would disturb the Expansion. Upon spotting Cloudburst's ship, Cyclonus called "dibs" and Galvatron happily let Cyclonus attack the vessel. Spotlight: Doubledealer After some time, Cyclonus finally destroyed the Mirror-Manifold just as its crew were beamed out by the Technobots, who had brand new Pretender shells waiting for them. Designed to survive the Dead Universe, they were more than a match for Cyclonus and he was defeated. Spotlight: Sideswipe

"I'm not dead!"
"You will be soon, you're very ill."
"I'm getting better!"
"No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment!"

After recovering, Cyclonus made his way back to Gorlam Prime, where he and other minions of Nemesis Prime began to slowly die after the Autobots disconnected them from the Dead Universe. After several years of wasting away, Heart of Darkness #1 he gathered the bodies of his former crewmates to recycle them with honor. One of them, Scourge, was still barely alive, and Cyclonus told him that he would put an end to his miserable existence. He was interrupted by Galvatron, who was now infused with the Darkness. Galvatron blasted the bodies of the dead warriors, prompting Cyclonus to ask if he had gone binary. Galvatron revived Scourge, and created an army of Sweeps, which angered Cyclonus, who said they were sparkless slaves and refused to let this happen to him. Galvatron assured Cyclonus that he had plans and would need a lieutenant to join him. Using the Darkness, Galvatron repaired Cyclonus' spark and although he was unsure of their mission, Cyclonus told Scourge that as Seekers, their new mission is to follow Galvatron. Rebirth

Galvatron had Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps search Gorlam Prime for signs of life, as every single inhabitant of the planet had mysteriously vanished while they were busy dying. After, Cyclonus found nothing in the planet's data archives, they decided to investigate the portal to the Dead Universe, and on the way they found remains of their ally Jhiaxus's Micromaster bodyguards in some rubble. Cyclonus wanted to examine them, but was blown away by Galvatron who was more eager to get through the rubble. They eventually found Jhiaxus in a half-dead state, repaired him, and had him take them to the portal. Heart of Darkness #1 There, they found themselves under attack by Arcee and Hardhead. Cyclonus and Scourge were defeated by Hardhead at first, but Galvatron turned the tide and sent the two to hunt down Arcee as she fled. Using heat-seeking missiles, Cyclonus destroyed the bridge under her feet and sent her falling into the abyss below. He then returned to Galvatron and left the planet in his quest to raise an army to battle D-Void, a new threat he had found in the Dead Universe. Heart of Darkness #2

Though Galvatron turned out to be very good at recruiting (and resurrecting) troops for his army, Cyclonus considered him a bit loopy and was unsure if this D-Void was even real. Unwisely, he voiced his opinion around Galvatron, but was merely mildly chastised by his leader. Cyclonus later accompanied Galvatron to the planet Dykayra, where they investigated ruins similar to ones found on Gorlam Prime. Inside, they discovered another Dead Universe portal and none other than Nemesis Prime, who was alive and well despite having been betrayed and killed by Galvatron years earlier. Heart of Darkness #3 Nemesis revealed that he had been resurrected by D-Void and attacked Galvatron, prompting Cyclonus and the others to come to their leader's aid. Their small scout party was beaten back by the powerful Nemesis, who transformed into a monstrous avatar of D-Void's power, but managed to vanquish him by summoning Galvatron's entire army. Heart of Darkness #4

Seeking to add Optimus Prime's Autobots to his army, Galvatron traveled towards Earth. On the way, the ship under his command ran into a space-time distortion, and inside it they found a block of ice containing what appeared to be organic and robotic corpses. But when the crew thawed the ice, the dead came to life, and Cyclonus and the others found themselves fighting against a zombie outbreak. Their ship crashed in Las Vegas on Earth, where they were attacked by Prime's Autobots, who didn't trust their intentions. Cyclonus eventually surrendered, but not without sarcasm. The Transformers: Infestation #1

Though they eventually stopped bickering with Galvatron long enough to defeat Britt, the zombie mastermind, the Autobots refused to join Galvatron's army. With the zombies safely deposited in the distant past of the Dead Universe, Cyclonus and the others warped back to their base. The Transformers: Infestation #2

Galvatron then took his entire army with him to Cybertron, declaring the planet their first line of defense against D-Void. Heart of Darkness #4

With Cybertron under his control, Galvatron sent Cyclonus and a number of Sweeps to take the Kimia Facility from the Autobots. Cyclonus and his group killed many of those on board and brought the space station into Cybertron's orbit. He arrived on the planet's surface just in time to prevent Ironhide from doing any more damage to Galvatron and carried his leader away from the battlefield. Lamentations

After Galvatron fed the Heart of Darkness into Vector Sigma in an effort to destroy Cybertron, Cyclonus attacked him, angrily claiming that Galvatron had brainwashed him into serving him and that he had forced him to harm Cybertron, something that made Cyclonus furious. However, Galvatron was too powerful for Cyclonus to damage and he tossed him aside with ease. Genesis After Optimus Prime plunged the Matrix into Vector Sigma to defeat D-Void, Cyclonus was dragged to safety by Rodimus and imprisoned alongside the Decepticons, despite his claims that he was not one of them. He was released along with them in order to beat down a NAIL riot. The Death of Optimus Prime

Suck it, Trebek.

The day of the Lost Light's launch, Cyclonus took a farewell flight around the reborn Cybertron, reminiscing as he surveyed the untamed landscape. He was on his way to see Rodimus about something he was promised when he detected a life sign he took to be that of Scourge. It turned out instead to be the remains of Sweeps that Whirl had strung up inside an abandoned structure. Before Cyclonus could get an explanation as to what Whirl had been doing with them, the Autobot attacked him and blew the place up. The two engaged in an aerial chase, passing over the launching site of the Lost Light and accidentally clipping Rung's arm off in the process. Cyclonus finally landed and tried to reason with Whirl, stating that he made a mistake and he didn't care what the Autobot was engaged in. When Whirl called him a Decepticon, Cyclonus exasperatedly tried to point out that he had never been such, only to be tackled off a cliff. Whirl landed on top, with Cyclonus being knocked unconscious after absorbing the fall's impact, one of his helmet horns being broken off in the process. After the situation with Whirl had been unexpectedly defused, Cyclonus was left behind on Cybertron while the others were brought aboard the Lost Light for repairs. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

Cyclonus awoke in time to see the Lost Light taking off. Not wanting to be left behind, he transformed, flew up and attached himself to the ship's hull just before it quantum jumped. Unfortunately, something went wrong, and Cyclonus was flung off the ship as it arrived in a different part of the galaxy. He fell to a planetoid below, along with forty Autobots who were sucked out of a hull breach, and landed in a lake after undergoing atmospheric reentry. Hoist, Chromedome, and Rewind pulled him out and after he had recovered, Cyclonus finally made his appointment with Rodimus. Rodimus wasted no time in pointing out that while his assistance against Galvatron had been invaluable, Cyclonus was still responsible for the deaths of many Autobots during the assault on Kimia.

This is how slash begins.

Cyclonus didn't deny a thing, and simply stated that it was war and he was following orders. He then told Rodimus that he didn't want to be a Decepticon OR an Autobot and he wanted to help find a fresh start on the Lost Light. Rodimus agreed to grant him a chance to prove himself. Ultra Magnus and Whirl arrived, with Ultra Magnus not-so-subtly warning Cyclonus against making trouble. Rodimus then suggested that Cyclonus and Whirl clear the air between them after their battle on Cybertron. Whirl put forth a totally insincere and skewed offering of peace. Cyclonus responded by hugging him and whispering that he'd kill Whirl at some unspecified point and the Autobot would never see it coming. Later, Cyclonus attended a gathering of the crew and listened to Rodimus address their current situation. Hangers On

When a Sparkeater was loose on the ship, Rodimus ordered the majority of the crew to pair off and lock themselves in habitation suites until the situation was resolved. Cyclonus ended up with Tailgate, who was stuck halfway transformed at the moment and unable to walk. Cyclonus carried him to their room, noting a wary look from Hoist along the way, and unceremoniously dumped Tailgate on the floor. Both formerly being of the original Ark's crew under Nova Prime, Cyclonus caught Tailgate up on the six million years of history they both missed, explaining the Autobot-Decepticon war as he understood it. He then wondered aloud which side Tailgate would have fought on if he had been active during it. The Chaos of Warm Things

DAMMIT, JANET!

After hearing Cyclonus' summary, Tailgate got it in his head that the Decepticons were freedom fighters and declared that he wanted to be one. After Rodimus set Tailgate straight on the true nature of the Decepticons, Tailgate angrily confronted Cyclonus, accusing him of being misleading. Cyclonus calmly pointed out Tailgate's naivety, but the smaller robot wasn't hearing it and struck Cyclonus' arm. Cyclonus violently backhanded and kicked him in response, before exiting the room without another word and leaving his shaken roommate curled up on the floor. Life After the Big Bang

A while later, Cyclonus was sitting alone in Swerve's bar. He told Tailgate to drop dead when the latter asked him if he wanted to socialize. Interiors Despite initially appearing disinterested in attending Tailgate's Act of Affiliation ceremony at his roommate's request, Cyclonus secretly showed up, and watched from behind a curtain. The ceremony was soon interrupted by the Galactic Council, and Cyclonus was among the group who were teleported to the planet Theophany's surface. When they discovered the ruins of Crystal City, Cyclonus did a quick fly-over and reported to Rodimus that it seemed that the city had been attacked, but there were no bodies in evidence. The group subsequently found the inert body of a Metrotitan in the ruins. Cyclonus was in awe of the discovery, revealing to Rewind that he used to pray in the shadow of ancient Metrotitans back before he left Cybertron. At Rewind's plea, he recited the creation story of the Guiding Hand for the group. Rewind returned the favor by sharing archived footage of Cybertron from Cyclonus' era with him.

When the Metrotitan violently reawakened, the Galactic Council sent shock-troops to Crystal City in response. Cyclonus joined the others in fending them off until the situation was resolved and everyone was transported back to the Lost Light, which then quantum-jumped to safety. Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations

Upon discovering Red Alert's decapitated body in the oil reservoir, Rodimus' first instinct was to blame Cyclonus. Drift's enthusiastic attempts to interrogate Cyclonus were less than successful, however, as the larger bot simply overpowered him until Ultra Magnus intervened. Though Cyclonus icily explained that he had no beef with Red Alert, the true clincher was when First Aid worked out Red Alert's injuries were self-inflicted. Patternism

Cyclonus took part in a mission to Temptoria, where it was believed a group of Decepticons were holding the Circle of Light. Fighting alongside Whirl, he made it clear the two of them would never be square and he still intended to kill Whirl. Shortly after Cyclonus saved Tailgate from a bomb, Whirl locked the door, trapping Cyclonus and Rewind with said bomb. Cyclonus shielded the small Autobot as best he could as the device exploded. His badly-damaged form was dragged to the Lost Light medibay by Tailgate alone. Chromedome, not knowing that it was Cyclonus that had saved Rewind, expressed disappointment that Cyclonus had not died. Inspired by the ritual of Innermost Energon, Tailgate attempted to leave Cyclonus an offering as others had done for Rewind, only for him to rebuke it and label Tailgate pathetic. After seeing the offerings left for Rewind, he helped Tailgate pick up the pieces of broken vial. Before & After

A short while later, Cyclonus found himself at the center of a security incident when his singing of "Glory to Cybertron, Glinting in the Heavens!" in the Primal Vernacular was mistaken to be him brutally murdering Tailgate in their shared quarters. Once that situation was peaceably resolved, Cyclonus joined roughly one hundred of the Lost Light's crew for a brief shore leave on the planet Hedonia. After wandering into a gift shop and being picked up by Rung, Whirl, Skids, and Rewind, he was taken to a bar where he threw a bit of an exaggerated tantrum to keep his drinking partners from discovering something he'd been hiding for some time—that Tailgate, while certainly older than the rest, was not the incredible, space-faring Primal Vanguard member he had painted himself to be Tailgate was, in fact, a waste disposal bot who was such a nobody that no one bothered to look for him when he disappeared. Taking pity on his roommate, Cyclonus decided to teach Tailgate a song in Old Cybertronian. Cybertronian Homesick Blues

When Overlord went on a rampage through the ship, Cyclonus was part of the contingent who tried to stop him. Hearing Rewind's remark that Overlord was incapable of being killed, Cyclonus replied that he knew—better than most—that anyone can be killed. Under Cold Blue Stars

After Overlord had been expelled from the Lost Light, Cyclonus was one of several who attended the funeral service for their fallen comrades. Tailgate expressed gladness at his normally recalcitrant roommate putting in an apprearance. Cyclonus told Tailgate that he had been invited by Chromedome to come. The Gloaming

Not long afterwards Tailgate admitted to Cyclonus that he had a terminal illness, the fatal and incurable cybercrosis. Cyclonus initially appeared cool and unfeeling in front of Tailgate, but upon leaving their hab-suite, silently self-mutilated his face with his claws. The injury was not mentioned by Rodimus, who invited Cyclonus to take the place on a Luna 1 away-team that would have normally occupied by the absent Drift. Cyclonus agreed to go on the condition he could bring Tailgate with him. Once on the surface of the lost Cybertonian moon, Cyclonus, Perceptor and Rung expressed concern about the attempt to harvest a Point One Percenter spark from the reignited hot-spot. The Fecund Moon

When Lockdown's group of Titan Hunters unexpectedly appeared and attacked, Rodimus ordered a retreat. However, Whirl and Cyclonus decided they'd much rather counterattack and turned to meet their pursuers head-on. House of Ambus

Together they overcame the "more than twelve" Decepticons on their tail, and later found a large smelting pool with a prison block suspended over it. Whirl was keen for a quick rescue and getaway, but Cyclonus wasn't quite ready to leave Luna 1 yet, needing to find... something. Touching his scarred face, he declined to elaborate to a disbelieving Whirl what it was he wanted, telling Whirl that he wouldn't understand anyway. Whirl still required Cyclonus's help - and functional hands - to open the door to the armory so they could pilfer some weapons for the jailbreak. During a distracted conversation about heads, claws and scars, a Legislator stabbed Cyclonus through the midriff with his sword.

Fortunately, Whirl fought the attacker off so that Cyclonus could remove the blade without too much injury. The pair then teamed up with other rescued prisoners, Dai Atlas and the remaining survivors of the Circle of Light, just as an army of Legislators attacked en masse. Whirl asked Cyclonus to call off his previous death threats if they made it out of the fight alive as they rushed into battle wielding Great Swords procured from the armory. The Divided Self

Spoiler warning: Plot details for Remain_in_Light_4_of_5:_Arm_the_Lonely follow. Spoilers expire in 123 days

In the middle of the battle Whirl noticed something very unusual about Cyclonus' Great Sword, it was, in Whirl's words, "frikkin nuclear-powered", glowing with light and cutting a swathe through the attacking Legislator army. Dai Atlas quickly explained that Great Swords all had a nexus in their hilt that was energised by the power of the wielder's spark. Cyclonus had a surprisingly deep connection with his sword for a novice, as only Dai Atlas could manage a similar feat with his own sword. He suggested to Whirl that "your friend is clearly devout". Whirl was more surprised by the use of the word "friend" than the rest of Atlas' explanation.

However much headway they were making, it wasn't fast enough for Cyclonus, wanting to finish it off as he was needed elsewhere. Cyclonus' rather obtuse comment made Whirl respond cattily that he’d finish up himself. Dai Atlas cautioned Cyclonus that the only way to stop the Legislators was to kill all of them, but was himself distracted by Star Saber's teleported appearance on the edge of the smelting pool. Dai Atlas transformed and flew off to clash with the former Circle of Light citizen, leaving Cyclonus to watch him go.

Arm the Lonely

Notes

• In Revelation, it was Galvatron, not Cyclonus, who could remain in the normal universe for long amounts of time without being destroyed, but All Hail Megatron #14 got it backwards. Writer Andy Schmidt has admitted that he misremembered what had been established in Revelation, and that this was just a flat-out biff.