Dominus Ambus
- Dominus Ambus is an Autobot from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Grow a nice one and get ready for your time to shine
Scientist, explorer, philosopher, and more, Dominus Ambus is one of pre-war Cybertron's movers and shakers. He rocks the 'stache.
His spark-brother is Minimus Ambus. The two have always had friction, especially thanks to Dominus being the accomplished 'bot-of-all-trades he is, leaving the less accomplished brother in his shadow. Not to mention the fact that while Dominus can be stiff and serious, prone to saying things like "pleasure is a distraction from the truth", he is apparently quite the talker, once he gets going.
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
 Spoiler warning: Plot details for The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day follow. |
Dominus Ambus of Ambustus Minor The Not Knowing was the spark-brother of Minimus Ambus. Both were loadbearers, a specific variety of Point One Percenters. Dominus was always sensitive about his appearance, particularly his turbofox beast mode. This unusual shape would have made him an outcast in functionist-era Cybertronian society; to this end, he always wore an extensive suit of armor to hide his innermost robot mode. Minimus Ambus noted that although Dominus was better than him at just about everything else, his body couldn't handle the extensive augmentation that Minimus could endure. At Close of Day
Before the war, Dominus spearheaded the movement to recognize the rights of the so-called "disposable class". He was inspired by his strong friendship with Rewind, whom he employed as a data receptacle. He would secretly give Rewind some of his own premium energon, instead of leaving him to feed off the cruder stuff society said he was supposed to use.
He authored a work called The Ascetic Cybertronian, in which he wrote, "Pleasure is a distraction from pursuit of truth." Omega's Conundrum
The two shared the closest of bonds and became Conjunx Endurae.Words Hang in the Air Together they went off searching for Luna 1, which they believed held a cure for cybercrosis. They returned empty-handed to find war had broken out, and they quickly chose to become Autobots. Before & After
At some point, Dominus Ambus, as "Agent 113", was tasked with infiltrating the Decepticon Justice Division. As part of the D.J.D., Dominus went by the codename Vos. The Not Knowing As "Vos", he was infamous for his hook-based weaponry, sporting them on his hands and feet. World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air
Not knowing where his Conjunx Endura had went, Rewind began a lifelong quest to find his whereabouts. Before & After
In order to conceal his identity, Dominus would wait until the D.J.D. had a battle with Autobots and then he would shoot an Autobot right in his insignia. The bullet was not explosive, but instead housed a data chip with the secret information. Springer quietly recruited Autobots stationed in medical facilities, such as First Aid, to keep a look out for these bullets. Bullets Domnus communicated information regarding Garrus-9. The Decepticons had lost contact with the planet—scout parties did not return. Bullets Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 During his time with the D.J.D, Vos tracked down Gripper's friends and murdered them. World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air
At some point before he was posted to Kimia, the Autobot Swerve faced the D.J.D. and was hit in the shoulder by one of Dominus's bullets. He attempted to repair the injury himself but the bullet remained inside him for years. The One Where They Go to Earth In this message, Agent 113 mentioned being compromised, referred to a schism within the Decepticons, and left a warning not to trust Brainstorm. The Not Knowing
With Dominus's deception discovered by the D.J.D., he was forced to undergo domestication, a process that involved lobotomization and the removal of his transformation cog. Trapped in his turbofox mode, he became nothing more than a feral "Pet" that Kaon took a liking to. At Close of Day
As "the Pet", Dominus's leash was held by Helex while Kaon participated in the execution of Black Shadow. Rules of Disengagement
When the Decepticon Justice Division was on the hunt for the fugitive Fulcrum on the planet Clemency, Kaon unleashed the Pet on the unfortunate Misfire, who suffered numerous claw and bite wounds from the turbofox for aiding the criminal. Who's Afraid of the DJD? He later participated in the DJD attack on a version of the Lost Light, where they killed Overlord and all but one of the Autobot crew. slaughterhouse
The Pet comforted his master Kaon, after an unknown malady struck him. This Calamitous Life
During Megatron's trial, Gripper mentioned "Vos" in his testimony. Words Hang in the Air
The bullet in Swerve eventually caused a rust infection that, along with a case of extreme self-neglect, ultimately threatened to kill the metallurgist. Upon learning the cause of this injury, First Aid was able to instruct Velocity in the removal and retrieval of the bullet and Agent 113's message finally reached the Autobots. The One Where They Go to Earth Much of the message had been corrupted by rust, so the Autobots could only make out portions of the message. The Necrobot's base of operations recorded Dominus as dead, but his name was also engraved on a monolith labelled "In Honor of the Disappeared". The Not Knowing
After the D.J.D's murder of Blip, the Pet watched on as Nickel berated the others for ruining their victim's transformation cog in the process. He was later brought to Tarn's negotiations with Deathsaurus to join forces and kill the traitorous Megatron. The Permanent Revolution The Pet accompanied the D.J.D. and their Decepticon allies to the Necroworld, where they sprung a trap for Megatron and his comrades. How Bright Their Frail Deeds Scouting the area, Ravage found the enemy base and used Ten as distraction. The Pet sped along with his master into savagely attacking the Legislator, but he was eventually rescued by Ratchet and Drift, The Sun in Flight who took the Pet hostage. Not wanting his companion harmed, Kaon told the other Decepticons to stand down, allowing the Autobots to escape with the help of Ravage and with the Pet in tow. Kaon's later blubbering about the kidnapping of his pet led Tarn to tear out his head to serve as an example of the follies of compassion. Your Fierce Tears
Desiring to learn the location of the D.J.D.'s ship, Rodimus had Chromedome pry into the Pet's memories. At the same time, Rewind and Minimus Ambus discussed the latter's brother, with Minimus explaining that Dominus was a loadbearer like him. Looking up Dominus's alternate mode in the Necrobot's copy of the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy, Rewind realized the truth at the same time as Chromedome. Speeding to Dominus and Chromedome, Rewind was faced with a choice: Chromedome could restore Dominus, but the stress would snuff out his spark. Otherwise, cutting the connection between the two would kill Dominus. Making his choice, Rewind took Drift's blade and cut Chromedome's arm, dooming his former Conjunx Endura to save his lover. At Close of Day
The Functionist Universe
In an alternate timeline where the Functionist Council had slowly but surely conquered Cybertron, Dominus failed to end widespread discrimination against the disposable class and could only pull strings to get Rewind upgraded from disposable to research assistant. He also removed Rewind's obsolence chip, ensuring he couldn't be "recalled" if the Council turned on memory sticks. The two acted against the monstrous dictatorship both secretly and verbally, which got Dominus turned into a "flathead": his head replaced with a computer screen that was Council property, given no voice and 'talking' with text so he couldn't express himself, and his face showing propaganda pop-ups at random moments. He continued to resist and reached out to his spark-brother Minimus Ambus, but the Council found him out.
In an act of supreme cruelty, the Council deleted Dominus's vocabulary so he only knew the simplest of words and "love" was not among them. His screen was then used to taunt Rewind and Minimus about their impending doom. The Custom-Made Now
Notes
- "Dominus" means "lord" or "master" in Latin, while "Ambus" appears to be derived from "ambulare", meaning "to walk".
- Members of the House Of Ambus all have those distinct 'taches.
- In "Into the Abyss" Ultra Magnus refers to the Ambus Test, a universally recognised question-set designed to detect sentience in mechanical lifeforms that was presumably named after Dominus.
