Soundwaves (issue)

« The Transformers: Robots in Disguise #22 » Dark Cybertron »
"Soundwaves"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	October 30, 2013
Cover date	October 2013
Written by	John Barber
Art by	Andrew Griffith (present) Livio Ramondelli (past)
Colors by	Priscilla Tramontano (present) Livio Ramondelli (past)
Letters by	Shawn Lee
Editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era (2013)

As the secrets of Soundwave's past are laid bare, Shockwave's preparations reach their final phase.

Synopsis

Four million years ago, at the peak of the Decepticon uprising, Shockwave joins Soundwave in the Senate chambers just as the communications officer is extracting Ratbat's brain module. Kaon burns as Megatron battles Sentinel Prime, which Soundwave sees as the first step towards a new Cybertron, but which Shockwave views as an end unto itself, rather than a means.

In the present day, Soundwave attacks Shockwave, furiously declaring that he has no understanding of loyalty. Based on his brief battle with Dreadwing, Shockwave believes Soundwave has come without his cassettes, but the spymaster proves him wrong when he ejects his entire army of tapes from his chest.

Before the Decepticons' uprising, Megatron and Soundwave talk about their ongoing attempts to destabilize the political climate of Cybertron. Soundwave has recently gained full control of his mind-reading powers, and with the new clarity he has gained, he puts forth a plan to use his employer Ratbat to achieve Megatron's goals: allow the Decepticons to be captured, forcing an emergency assembly of the Senate in Kaon. The Decepticons could then kill their oppressors, at last making a clear declaration to the planet that they are a force to be reckoned with.

While most of the cassettes tackle Dreadwing, Soundwave and Ravage grapple with Shockwave. Ravage flings himself in the path of a blast meant for his master and is fatally wounded, driving Soundwave into a rage, but that only lasts a moment as the Ore-14 of the cavern restores Ravage to life. Shockwave explains this to Soundwave in terms he believes he will understand: thanks to Shockwave's work, the concepts of life and death are now mere data to be manipulated.

Soundwave watches silently as Shockwave is brought before Megatron for the first time and charged with creating a combiner for the Decepticons. Unable to detect any emotions from the former senator thanks to the Shadowplay he was subject to, Soundwave is both awed and disgusted by his utter unreadability, and knows that one day, it will be his job to kill Shockwave.

But thanks to Ore-14, no matter how hard he and his cassettes fight, Soundwave discovers that Crystal City is not -or more accurately, cannot- be the place where he'll fulfill his millennia-old vow...

Not long after his first meeting with Megatron, Soundwave is brought to the gladiator pits of Kaon, where he watches Scorponok and Grimlock brawl. Megatron inquires if the damage to Cybertron that Ratbat's manipulation of the burgeoning Decepticon movement causes bothers Soundwave, but Soundwave struggles to answer, bombarded with the unfocused input of so many minds and emotions around him. Ravage, Laserbeak and Buzzaw also intrigue Megatron, and he is pleased to see Soundwave views them as equals, rather than lesser beings as the Functionists do. Megatron permits Soundwave to read his mind, and Soundwave sees within Megatron's spark his genuine desire for Functionism to be done away with and all Cybertronians made equal. The strength of this dream gives something Soundwave to believe in, to focus on...

Knowing that the battle within Crystal City is unwinnable, Soundwave and his cassettes depart, and Shockwave allows them to go, much to Dreadwing's consternation. Shockwave re-establishes contact with Jhiaxus, who updates him on the events on Gorlam Prime: though the planet is dying, Orion Pax lives, and the Metrotitan is ready to depart for Cybertron. In a flash, the titan materializes in the cavern behind Shockwave.

Far into the past, a destitute Soundwave is living in isolation on the streets with Ravage, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw, slowly gaining control of his mind-reading powers when he is approached by Ratbat, who offers to employ him for his abilities. Soundwave hates him on sight, but the hate gives him focus...

Soundwave returns to the Decepticon camp, where his comrades demand to know if Shockwave has been stopped. The sudden eruption of a mysterious light from off in the distance confirms that Soundwave has not succeeded, but as they wonder what the illumination is, Soundwave informs them that it is the beginning of the Decepticons' most important battle—the battle to save Cybertron.

Long, long ago, Ravage, Buzzsaw and Frenzy are wandering through the street grousing about the Senate when they happen upon Soundwave: delirious, barely coherent, and being bombarded by a sensory maelstrom thanks to his yet-uncontrolled mind-powers. Ravage approaches him, saying that he smells like "an alright guy", and shares with him the tricks of control that a lifetime mastering his own enhanced olfactory senses have taught him. Focus is the key, Ravage explains: find something to focus on, and mastery can be achieved.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Others
Sentinel Prime (5)	Ratbat (1) Soundwave (2) Shockwave (3) Ravage (4) Megatron (6) Dreadwing (7) Buzzsaw (8) Laserbeak (9) Rumble (10) Frenzy (11) Scorponok (12) Blackwall (14) Waspinator (17) Needlenose (18) Astrotrain (19) Blitzwing (20)	Grimlock (13) Jhiaxus (15) Metrotitan (16)

Notes

• In this issue and the previous one, Rumble and Frenzy have once again changed colors. For those still desperately trying to follow along, during The Transformers: Robots in Disguise it's been...
  • In #11, the cassettes were Rumble (red-and-black) and Frenzy (cartoon purple). The red guy was specifically named Rumble (with piledrivers), and the purple guy had Frenzy's IDW-specific drill hands.
  • In #13-16, the tanks were Rumble (red-and-black) and Frenzy (toy blue). During the uprising, both are identified by name and by special power (Frenzy's sonics and Rumble's piledrivers).
  • In #21-22, the tanks are Rumble (cartoon purple) and Frenzy (red-and-black). In Soundwave's cassette roll call from #22, the name-box for "Rumble" is closest to the purple one, and "Frenzy" is closest to the red one. Additionally, the purple one is now seen using the same piledrivers that Rumble used during the uprising.
• They were last seen with this name and color configuration during the ongoing #14-18, in the Revenge of the Decepticons arc.
• This issue also confirms that, despite their reconfiguration as tanks, Rumble and Frenzy can still function as "cassettes" inside Soundwave's chest.

Continuity notes

• As with the previous issue, the flashbacks in this issue occur in reverse-chronological order, moving further backward in time with each passing scene. Where last issue's flashbacks were about Soundwave and Shockwave's history together, this issue is specifically about Soundwave's personal history; as such, its title "Soundwaves" parallels the title of issue #17, "Shockwaves", which was about Shockwave's history.
• The first flashback occurs concurrently with Megatron: Origin #4, continuing the scene within its pages of Soundwave removing Ratbat's spark. Here, in accordance with the establishment of Rossum's Trinity that has taken place within IDW continuity since the publication of Megatron: Origin (specifically, in More than Meets the Eye #3), Soundwave is further seen removing Ratbat's brain module.
• The second flashback takes place somewhere within Megatron: Origin #3, and reveals that it was Soundwave who formulated the plan to allow the Decepticons to be captured that was then carried out across the third and fourth issues of the series.
• Flashback number three takes us back to events seen in issue #17 of Robots in Disguise, also occurring within Megatron: Origin #3, again extending a scene from that issue.
• The fourth flashback occurs between Megatron: Origin #2 and #3, and shows us Scorponok and Grimlock battling in the gladiatorial pits under Megatron—something that we've been told is part of the characters' histories, but which we've not actually seen until now! This scene also shows the moment and reason that Soundwave came to believe in Megatron's mission, something that Megatron: Origin itself didn't actually go into.
• The Metrotitan arrives in Crystal City following its departure from Gorlam Prime in issue #19.
• The "sunrise" that glows behind Soundwave upon his return to the Decepticon camp is that same mysterious light that we saw appear at the end of issues issue #18 and issue #20.

Real-life references

• When he declares that "some are more equal than others", Soundwave is quoting from George Orwell's Animal Farm.

Errors

• Shockwave's empurata is credited as the reason Soundwave cannot read his mind, but in actuality, it was the Shadowplay that affected his brain.

Covers (3)

• Cover A: Shockwave, Monstructor, Dreadwing and Jhiaxus, by Andrew Griffith.
• Cover B: Soundwave and his cassettes, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente.
• Cover RI: Soundwave and Laserbeak by Livio Ramondelli, in the third part of a three-part image formed with the RI covers of issues #20 and #21.

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