Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity
An Outlier with extremely powerful hearing, Soundwave joined Megatron's Decepticon movement to create a Cybertron based on equality.
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Joining the Decepticons
Soundwave was found living on the streets by Ravage, Buzzsaw, and Laserbeak, a barely-coherent derelict driven to the brink of insanity by his uncontrolled mind-reading powers, which bombarded him with the thoughts and emotions of all around him. "Smelling" some decency within him, Ravage elected to share with Soundwave the secrets of control he had learned years of mastering his own enhancing olfactory senses, teaching him the art of focus. The quartet lived together on the streets for some time, until Soundwave, slowly gaining control over his abilities, was approached by Senator Ratbat with an offer of employment. The senator saw a political use for Soundwave's mind-reading, and while Soundwave was disgusted by Ratbat's Functionist attitude toward his beast-form companions, he accepted the offer for the position it would afford him. While in Ratbat's employ, Soundwave and his three companions were refitted so that they could store within his chest as cassettes. Soundwaves
When the ex-miner and revolutionary rhetorician Megatron caught Ratbat's eye as a champion of the illegal underground gladiatorial matches, the senator sent Soundwave to offer Megatron funding and weapons technology, seeking to foster political instability for his own profit. When two Autobots were discovered listening in on their conversation, Soundwave dispatched his three cassette partners to capture them. After their capture, he read Bumper's mind to see if there was any immediate threat to Megatron's activities. Megatron Origin #2
Brought to the gladiator arenas, Soundwave was questioned by Megatron over his opinions on Ratbat's activities, but Soundwave—assaulted by the thoughts of the huge throng of gladiators around him—struggled to answer. Impressed by the way in which Soundwave viewed his cassette partners as equals in outright contradiction to the Functionist standards of his employer, Megatron permitted him to read his mind, and there, Soundwave saw Megatron's genuine desire for all Cybertronians to be equal. The strength of his desire became something for Soundwave to focus upon, and his dedication to the Decepticon ideal of equality allowed him to finally master his mind-reading powers, shutting out all other distractions and making Megatron the stillpoint his life revolved around. Soundwaves
Some time later, Soundwave was assigned to find a warrior with flight capabilities, and recruited the Seekers: Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker. Megatron Origin #3 Megatron's next new recruit was senator Shockwave, who Soundwave hated on sight: the Shadowplay Shockwave had been subjected had removed his emotions, leaving Soundwave completely unable to read his thoughts. Though awed by this terrible perfection, Soundwave believed that one day, he would have to kill Shockwave. Soundwaves
His mind now finally clear for the first time in his life, Soundwave turned against Ratbat and formulated for Megatron a plan that would allow the Decepticons to make a formal statement of their intent that could not be ignored. Soundwaves Per Soundwave's plan, the Decepticons allowed themselves to be arrested during a recruitment rally, when Megatron provoked an Autobot response by making an attempt on the life of Senator Decimus, resulting in an emergency convening of the Senate in Kaon. Megatron Origin #3 Soundwave and his cassettes—now joined by Rumble and Frenzy, refitted by Shockwave—were freed on an unwitting Ratbat's orders, and then helped Starscream murder the entire Senate. Attacking Ratbat himself, Soundwave took his former employer offline and placed his spark into a new cassette body. Megatron Origin #4 Shockwave entered just as Soundwave was removing his brain module, and the pair had a terse conversation about means and ends before Shockwave changed the subject to designing Ratbat's new body as a flyer. Soundwaves
After Zeta Prime was made leader of the Autobots, Soundwave was captured and taken to the New Institute to be lobotomized, but was saved in the nick of time by Overlord. Remembrance Day Later in the war with Zeta, Soundwave was sent to spy on him and gather information on what he planned to do about the growing Decepticon movement. Smuggled into a Senate security meeting by Starscream, he overheard Zeta announce his plan to drain civilians of their energy in order to power the Omega Destructors' weaponry, but was forced to make a break for it when Starscream revealed his presence in order to ease suspicion against himself. Fearing what would happen if the populace found out about his plans, Zeta Prime sent Orion Pax to hunt Soundwave down. Parasites
As Soundwave fled towards the safety of Kaon, he was continuously set upon by Orion Pax's Autobots, but got away every time by ejecting one of his many cassettes to defeat or distract them. When he finally reached the border of Kaon, Orion himself caught up and put a stop to his minions by crushing his chest window before defeating him in hand-to-hand combat. The Hunt for Soundwave Luckily, a squad of Decepticons showed up before the Autobots could arrest Soundwave, and his findings were delivered to Megatron. Cause and Effect
Soundwave was present when Megatron and Orion Pax formed an alliance to overthrow Zeta Prime. Choices He then participated in their troops' combined assault on Zeta's Citadel. Overthrown After Megatron betrayed Orion and declared himself the new ruler of Cybertron, Soundwave stood by him as he attempted to recruit Hot Rod to the Decepticons. Rise Soundwave was also present when Megatron rechristened Drift as "Deadlock". Drift #2 Soundwave tracked down the location of the anti-Decepticon pirate news broadcaster, Blaster, and had Wildrider and Breakdown sent to assassinate him. He was then present when the Autobots made an assault on the Decepticon-held Citadel. Broadcast Megatron was defeated by Orion, now Optimus Prime, but Soundwave swept past on Astrotrain and rescued his leader before he could be captured. Endgame
A short time after Megatron's defeat, Soundwave watched in silence as Scorponok declared himself Decepticon leader, having exiled Megatron for his failure. Wreckage He participated in Scorponok's assault on the Toraxxis mega-refinery, a battle which ended with the destruction of the facility. Rage Having survived the destruction, he then returned to Kolkular where Scorponok urged him and the other Decepticons to cannibalize parts from those who had perished. Fallout On Scorponok's orders, Soundwave and Shockwave then led an attack on the Starsreach Spaceport to kill the neutrals evacuating Cybertron, a mission they both believed to be a waste of resources. Massacre After getting driven into a retreat by a raging Grimlock, they were relocated to the Toraxxis Plains to bear witness to Scorponok's new plan: the awakening of Trypticon. Unleashed At this point the Decepticons were thoroughly fed up with his leadership, and thus quick to return to Megatron's side when he returned from his exile. The Illusion of Control Soundwave was later present when Megatron was able to turn Trypticon to the Decepticon side, Belly of the Beast and was subsequently among the Decepticons who left Cybertron on Trypticon to gather their forces. Primacy #1
Four million years ago, Soundwave and Hook were leading a Decepticon offensive to cover for Tankor's convoy of energon. When Optimus Prime slipped away to intercept the convoy, Soundwave went after him and got the drop on Prime from behind. Prime's bodyguard Ironhide turned the tables on him, though, taking out both Soundwave and his Mini-Cassettes. The Iron Age As the war went on, Soundwave organized a number of anti-neutral pogroms. Life After the Big Bang At another point he had one of his arms sliced off by Springer using a sword that would later end up Ironfist's collection. Bullets
During the war, Thunderwing contacted various scientists on both sides to discuss his startling findings that the conflict would create such devastation that would render the planet uninhabitable, and that the only way to survive was to adopt the organic carapace idea he had come up with. Soundwave was among those scientists who refused to accept Thunderwing's findings and his proposal. Stormbringer #1
After the end of the cataclysm brought by Thunderwing, as part of a plan to assassinate Blaster, now a motivational speaker for the Autobots, Soundwave had Beachcomber captured and used Bombshell to implement a cerebro-shell into him. While Beachcomber didn't outright kill Blaster, his motivational broadcast failed to air at precisely the moment the Decepticons began the big push. Spotlight: Blaster
At some point in time, Soundwave fought against the Dynobots alongside Runamuck and Ravage. They were thoroughly trounced for their efforts. Spotlight: Grimlock
On Earth
Centuries later, after Shockwave disappeared, Megatron assigned Bludgeon to delve into Shockwave's research and relay all the information back to him. As the Decepticon leader did not fully trust Bludgeon, Megatron also assigned Soundwave to spy on him. Soundwave followed Bludgeon and his team as they left for Earth in 1984 and established a base within Mount St. Helens, eventually discovering that they intended to resurrect Thunderwing. Though Soundwave tried to stop them, Iguanus used an experimental cannon from Shockwave's arsenal to lock him in his alt mode while they instigated a volcanic eruption. He was eventually recovered by a team of unwitting humans who sold him to a pawn shop. Spotlight: Soundwave
Soundwave was purchased by a human teenager named Jimmy and taken to his home. When Ravage and Laserbeak were reprogrammed by the American government agency Skywatch to find the other Transformers, Skywatch's control signal was blocked by a signal emanating from a functioning Soundwave, still in cassette-player mode. Devastation #4 Sometime later on, Ravage and Laserbeak located the signal and reclaimed their master from Jimmy. Relocating to Mount St. Helens, Soundwave told them that he could barely keep blocking Skywatch's hold on them, due to his weakening state in cassette mode. Shockwave suddenly appeared from a cave entrance and said that the four could make a deal together. Maximum Dinobots #3 Maximum Dinobots #4 Shockwave knew how Soundwave could unlock his robot mode, but would only tell him if he did Shockwave a favour in return, something which Soundwave agreed to. He was told that Skywatch had placed a bomb in Shockwave's head, and that he needed to intercept and copy its disarm code. The plan went off without a hitch, and after transmitting the code to Shockwave, Soundwave was finally freed from his alt mode. Maximum Dinobots #5
After returning to his position as Megatron's right hand, Soundwave helped defeat the Autobot forces on Earth. All Hail Megatron #7 He was present during the attack on New York City, and detected the incoming human military jets. The planes fired, and on Megatron's orders, Soundwave calmly detonated the arsenal. He then launched Laserbeak to take out the human resistance. All Hail Megatron #1
Soundwave reported that the humans had sent a sizable ground force after the Decepticons. Following Megatron's orders, he released Frenzy and set him loose on the humans. The only being immune to Frenzy's infrasonic manipulation, he silently observed his minion's work. All Hail Megatron #2 With the conquest of New York complete, Soundwave listened to Megatron's victory speech. All Hail Megatron #4 When a group of humans led by Cmdr. Spike Witwicky deactivated Rumble with an experimental weapon which originated from Shockwave, Soundwave, sensing this, found Rumble's lifeless body, grieved, and took him away. All Hail Megatron #9
During Starscream attempt to take control of the Decepticons, Megatron revealed that Soundwave had been watching him all along, reporting his planned rebellion to Megatron. All Hail Megatron #10 The infighting amongst the Decepticons stopped when jets from Europe arrived to take them all on, soon followed by the return of the Autobots. All Hail Megatron #11 Megatron was defeated, and Soundwave escaped alongside the rest of the Decepticons. All Hail Megatron #12 Whilst traveling away from Earth onboard Astrotrain, Soundwave and his cassettes took care of their heavily injured leader. Starscream attempted to dissuade him from wasting energon on Megatron, all the while buttering him up with compliments about his loyalty, but all Soundwave said in response was "Negative. Megatron functions." Uneasy Lies the Head
Three years later, Soundwave was still dutifully attending to Megatron's reconstruction. All His Engines He eventually came to the conclusion that his leader's body was beyond repair, and instead recruited Shockwave to build a new body for him. Once Megatron returned in a new and upgraded form, he hatched a plan to use parts of his old body to make Megatron gun replicas that would subconsciously influence humans. Alongside his cassettes and Shockwave, Soundwave helped produce these weapons. Altered Carbon
He was later present when Megatron got rid of Hot Rod and the Matrix, and was ordered to gather everyone in the base so that their leader could address them. Heart Like a Wheel He accompanied Megatron until his confrontation with Starscream, at which point Megatron had him leave... but knew he'd be listening in from afar as he always did. Megatron overall didn't think much of Soundwave's apparent loyalty, believing he'd only assisted in his revival because it suited his own needs. Spotlight: Megatron As part of Megatron's master plan, the Decepticons subsequently returned to Earth, where Soundwave led Rumble and Frenzy in an attack on the Skywatch base where several Decepticons were being held captive. The Demolished Man
He also trampled a BNN newscaster. Woken Furies Soundwave was then responsible for holding Ultra Magnus hostage while Megatron explained to Optimus Prime that he was the one turning the humans against the Autobots. In an attempt to throw off Megatron's concentration, and with it his influence over the gun-wielding humans, Prime fired on Soundwave, blowing off a large portion of his head. The plan worked: seeing his loyal soldier fall sent Megatron into a rage, and he picked up the barely living Soundwave and flew off. Burning Chrome With his body in stasis lock, Soundwave was brought to Shockwave, who was unsure if he could repair such an extensive injury with the limited resources at his disposal. Enemy Mine
Soundwave was mostly repaired by the time Megatron had surrendered himself to the Autobots, although half his face remained exposed and damaged from Optimus Prime's attack. The damage caused to his vocal processors rendered him completely mute. The World & Everything in It Once on Cybertron and having freed himself, Megatron used the space bridge technology built into his new body to summon Soundwave and the rest of the Decepticons on Earth to him. The Question At first, Soundwave and the others did battle with the Autobots, but were soon entranced by D-Void. The Decepticons along with Galvatron's army of Sweeps combined into an enormous monster. Kings
Back on Cybertron
Following the defeat and fracturing of this "Deceptigod", Soundwave and the rest were left in a weakened state from the ordeal. This allowed the Autobots to round the Decepticons up, stick I/D chips in them, and place them in a holding pen. Prowl was eventually forced to sanction their release to quell a riot, leaving Soundwave and the others with a limited sort of freedom. The Death of Optimus Prime Needlenose, fed up with working as an enforcer for the Autobots, accused Soundwave, Shockwave, and Bombshell of just sitting around instead of doing something about the Decepticons' situation. The Autonomy Lesson Little did Needlenose know that Soundwave and Shockwave had actually been working together to take control of the I/D chips on the orders of Ratbat, who was trying to reassert his authority in Megatron's absence. The World & Everything in It
Even after Ratbat was killed, Soundwave continued working with Shockwave, who apparently had his own ideas about what to do about the Autobots. When Starscream found out about that they were plotting something, he and Prowl had Arcee capture the two and fake their deaths. The End of the Beginning of the World However, Prowl was in fact under Decepticon control, and instead had the captured Decepticons upgraded in anticipation of Megatron's return. His voice restored, Soundwave helped explain to the captured Bumblebee that the Decepticons had been planning this all along in a bid to conquer Cybertron. The Verge Before the Dawn During the ensuing battle with the Autobots, he reported to Megatron that Shockwave had gone off somewhere and that their new and improved Devastator had seemingly gained sentience. Plan for Everything In the end, Megatron was defeated yet again, after which Starscream used the influence of the neutral population to exile all Autobots and Deceptions who would not renounce their factions, including Soundwave. Heavy Is the Head
While out in the wilderness, Soundwave was alarmed to find Ravage was suffering from intense pain, and in a rare emotional moment ran to the other Decepticons pleading for help. Arm the Lonely Soundwave eavesdropped on Shockwave and Jhiaxus as the pair communicated. As the other Decepticons became disgruntled, he declared his leadership and immediately came under attack by Astrotrain and Blitzwing though in the end Needlenose told him if he wanted to destroy Shockwave, he'd have to do it alone. Soundwave journeyed into Crystal City to confront Shockwave, and discovered when he killed Dreadwing that the Ore-14 in the city promptly brought him back to life. Shockpoint Discovering that Shockwave had betrayed the Decepticon cause, Soundwave unleashed his cassettes, only to discover that the Ore-14 made anything but a stalemate impossible. He returned to the other Decepticons as Shockwave's plan commenced. Soundwaves
After the appearance of Shockwave's Metrotitan, Soundwave and his men attacked the Autobots who had approached it, Black Metal but were unable to prevent Starscream approaching the giant. The combined group was hit moments later by a shockwave of energy. Winners & Losers In the aftermath, as the survivors discussed what to do next, Soundwave heard something he had never heard before: Megatron screaming. Into the Abyss They reached Shockwave's lab to find the scientist using the space bridge in Megatron's chest to extract Nova Prime and Galvatron from the Dead Universe. Soundwave assaulted Shockwave, but ultimately Shockwave triumphed and called in the Metrotitan, which forced the Autobots and Decepticons to retreat. Finest Hour
Fleeing in the direction of Iacon in front of the giant, Soundwave and Frenzy carried Ironhide and Ravage between them. No Exit They eventually made it back to Iacon and found Starscream feeling sorry for himself. Prowl took control, with Soundwave supplying communications. As things went from bad to worse, he told Prowl he had little idea what Shockwave's plans were but believed they would be able to stop the Metrotitan. Moments later Bumblebee arrived with Megatron, the latter of whom had a plan to evacuate Cybertron. While Bumblebee was still objecting, Metroplex and the Lost Light quantum jumped in to lend a hand. Burning Bright Soundwave was among those to greet the Lost Lighters as they disembarked. Finis Temporis
Following the defeat of the Necrotitan, Soundwave busied himself seeing to Megatron's repairs. It wasn't long before the remainder of Shockwave's plan came into play and billions of Ammonites invaded the planet. The Becoming As Megatron joined in a plan to defeat Shockwave, Soundwave told him that he saw the wisdom in using the Autobots' help, however Megatron responded that Bumblebee had command and that a new approach was needed. While Bumblebee's team went to Shockwave's laboratory, Soundwave and his cassettes joined the rest of the population in fighting the Ammonites. Black Planet As the battle concluded in victory, Soundwave was shocked to discover that Megatron had taken on the sigil of the Autobots. Reeling from this betrayal, Soundwave and the other Decepticons were approached by Galvatron, who believed he had an alternative for them. ...And the Damage Done
Forging a new Decepticon future
Questioned by Galvatron on what he truly wanted, Soundwave told the ancient Transformer of the Decepticons' origins and his dream for a community where they could all be equals, ruled by nobody. With Cybertron now ruled by the Autobots, he instead turned his eyes back to Earth, recalling the existence of energon there. Galvatron followed, hoping to conquer the planet, but Soundwave rejected his proposal, telling him they were returning to the Decepticons' true path—peace. Full Fathom Five Retaining some hope that Megatron's defection was merely a ruse, he left Ravage behind to keep an eye on their former leader. slaughterhouse Arriving on Earth, Soundwave approached Earth Defense Command with a peace offer, telling them—and reminding Galvatron—of the Decepticons' change of heart since their invasion. The humans were skeptical up until Soundwave revealed that Megatron had left them for the Autobots, causing the EDC to turn on the Autobots instead. Detonation Boulevard The EDC agreed to construct a community for the Decepticons in the form of a space station around Jupiter in exchange for the Decepticons' aid in capturing a team of Autobots bound for Earth. Full Fathom Five
When the Autobots arrived, the Decepticons ambushed them together with EDC forces. Hello Cruel World While pursuing the Autobots to the town of Poverty Flat, Soundwave blocked their communications, keeping them from contacting their allies in space. Detonation Boulevard As the battle escalated and bystanders witnessed the combatants' robot modes, the EDC was forced to teleport the Decepticons away, though they had to activate their secret "mind bomb" weapon to knock Soundwave and his comm block out first. Galvatron immediately demanded revenge, but Soundwave insisted on sticking to the plan and calmed him with the information that they had found the location of Galvatron's own goal on Earth—Alpha Trion. The Mind Bomb Warping to the coordinates, Soundwave arrived at the EDC's Marshall Islands base along with Galvatron, who he once again had to talk out of resorting to violence. Full Fathom Five Interrupted by an Autobot attack on the base, Soundwave detected an intruder and set out to take care of them, locating Jazz and an unconscious Prowl. He attempted to capture them, but was blasted out of the way by the EDC's stash of tanks and V.T.O.L.s, the machines having been hacked by Prowl. I Dream of Wires
Not long after, Soundwave chastised Galvatron for taunting the incapacitated Skywarp, before also telling him that he was going to check on the progress of their Jupiter commune. Signals, Calls, and Marches In truth, however, Soundwave had Skywarp teleport him to a remote forest, where he met with former Decepticon Thundercracker. Soundwave offered the flying Cybertronian the chance to return to the fold and come aboard their commune, brushing aside his concerns about Galvatron and the humans. Although Thundercracker promised to think about it, Soundwave was left a bit befuddled when his former comrade gave him one of his screenplays to read. Soundwave then made his leave, though not before warning Thundercracker that those who align with a Prime would not be welcome at the commune. Vs. While enjoying the sights at Tanzania's Mikumi National Park, Soundwave was again contacted by Thundercracker, who asked for his help in stopping the EDC's Ramjet and Thrust clones from engaging in battle with the Autobots and Decepticons. Although Soundwave was angry at this betrayal by their human allies, and tempted to let Galvatron viciously retaliate, Thundercracker ultimately convinced him that Earth was their planet to protect too, causing him to finally relent and shut down the clones via their quantum signal. Soundwave then told the grateful Thundercracker to not contact him again. Upon returning to the Nemesis, Soundwave did not tell Galvatron about any of the events that had transpired and continued to lie that he had been at the commune. The Obliterati
Along with several other Decepticons and some humans, Soundwave was later led on a tour of the commune, Sanctuary Station, by Garrison Blackrock. Soundwave made clear his intentions not to share certain Cybertronian technology with the humans like gravity-wave projection and, while being shown around, excused himself in order to look around alone. In reality, Soundwave wished to investigate a disturbance outside of the station, which turned out to be Cosmos, who was investigating it. Soundwave tried to invite the wayward Autobot inside, but was instead fired upon and then reluctantly chased Cosmos around Jupiter's belt, before finally slamming him into the surface of one of its chunks of rocks. Soundwave was surprised at Cosmos's belief that he was about to be tortured for information, reminding him that the war was over and remarking that Megatron—who was now an Autobot—was responsible for driving the Decepticons to commit so many atrocities. Soundwave subsequently requested for Cosmos to talk to the other Autobots about allowing the Decepticons to use their space bridge for peaceful purposes and, upon seeing how unhappy the Autobot was with his treatment by his teammates, offered to allow him to come live aboard the commune; when Cosmos showed uncertainty, Soundwave instructed him to say his name when he had made up his mind, and he would hear him. Before the two parted ways, Cosmos warned Soundwave that the humans may not be trustworthy allies with their hidden projects like Onyx. While Soundwave saw his alliance with the humans as convenient, he made clear to Cosmos that they were not equal to Cybertronians, being no different from any other Earth animals. Returning inside the station, and not revealing where he had been, Soundwave took Cosmos's warning to heart and asked Blackrock about the Onyx system that ran throughout the installation, but Blackrock claimed that it was just some old Cybertronian coding he had found. Soundwave then began contemplating the day's events as Laserbeak and Buzzsaw told him about their own day. South of Heaven
After returning to the Nemesis, Soundwave told Galvatron of how the first shuttle from Cybertron was already on its way to Sanctuary Station. Soundwave wished to inform the EDC when Rumble picked up some Autobots approaching Earth, but Galvatron thought it unnecessary. This proved to be true, as both Decepticons watched the Autobots' ship get turning into a smoking ruin. Soundwave wondered if Galvatron knew this would happen, but he denied it and then told Soundwave to take a shuttle back to Sanctuary Station, as the Autobots' space bridge would soon be theirs to bring their fellow Decepticons from Cybertron. The Nothing Man When Soundwave arrived back at the station, he welcomed the crew of the aforementioned shuttle from Cybertron, the Peace Without Tyranny, which included Sky-Byte and Slugslinger. Soundwave then heard Cosmos calling out his name like he had told him to, but the Autobot had not made up his mind about joining them; rather, he had nowhere else to turn with the other Autobots not responding to any of his calls, fearing them to be dead. Aphelion Soundwave found himself unable to sense any trace of Cosmos's missing teammates, but invited the hapless Autobot into the commune so that they could plan their next step. Moving on with the Decepticons' own plans, Soundwave used his abilities to take control of the space bridge aboard the Ark-7 so that the Decepticons on Cybertron could infiltrate the ship and take it over. As Soundwave reported this to Galvatron, a furious Cosmos overheard the conversation and believed that the Decepticons really were responsible for what happened to the other Autobots, but Soundwave claimed otherwise; he and the other Decepticons were simply taking advantage of the situation the Autobots were in. Soundwave declared they would be paving the way for a new era of peace, but as Cosmos objected by pointing out the Decepticons who now had their weapons pointed at him, Soundwave ordered them to stand down. Lagrange
At the same time, D.0.C. showed Thundercracker a hologram of Soundwave. Helden Once the Decepticons onboard the Ark-7, led by Needlenose and Brawl, had taken control of the craft, Soundwave ordered them to set course for Sanctuary Station. Brawl, however, revealed that he had other orders to take the ship to Earth, leading to much rage on Soundwave's part. Soundwave became further infuriated when he learned Galvatron had given the orders, and tried to convince Skywarp to not help the ancient conqueror in his plans, but the Seeker refused. Believing that his dreams of the Decepticons living in peace were at an end, Soundwave became despondent, and apologized to both Cosmos and Sky-Byte; they would now have to make preparations for war. Perihelion Galvatron then contacted Soundwave again to ask for his help in fending off the Autobots, which led to the communications officer becoming further outraged and making plans to head to Earth to rescue those Decepticons Galvatron had misled into following his plans of conquest. Soundwave and his allies thus took the Peace Without Tyranny to Shanghai on Earth, where Autobots and Decepticons alike were under attack by the People's Liberation Army Mecha Force. While Soundwave did not want to bring any of Prime's followers onto the craft, he did invite all present Decepticons to come aboard and find refuge on Sanctuary Station, with many taking the offer to escape the battlefield. After the ship made its escape, Soundwave watched Prime's declaration of his annexing Earth, showing little surprise. Once Upon a Time on Earth After the Peace Without Tyranny docked back at Sanctuary Station, Soundwave interrupted Needlenose and Swift's conversation about Galvatron, vowing that the ancient warlord would be the last to manipulate him. New Worlds Order It was around this period that Soundwave telepathically felt Ravage's death as his old friend expired from injuries incurred by Tarn. Do Not Go Gentle
While recharging, Optimus had a nightmare in which Soundwave, Starscream, and the Mistress of Flame chastised him for his recent actions. Spurred by this and other events, Optimus contacted Soundwave and the other two in order to set up talks with all of them. Edge of the Earth Soundwave had little patience for Optimus and Thundercracker when they arrived at Sanctuary Station, wanting nothing to do with the Prime's attempts to to make humans equal to Cybertronians, even despite Thundercracker's bringing up that he had compromised his beliefs for the greater good in the past. However, Prime then revealed that he knew that it was actually Soundwave who had been in control of the I/D chips when Horri-Bull had been killed, and thus he was the one who had pulled the trigger, not Bumblebee. With Optimus threatening to tell Needlenose who had truly murdered the 'bot he loved, and thus lead to Sanctuary Station being torn apart from the inside out, the resigned Soundwave asked what he wanted of the Decepticons. The Medium and the Message
Soundwave and some of his Decepticons travelled back to Monument Valley alongside Prime to help coordinate an undersea strike against the Nemesis. Soundwave stayed behind to supervise the battle, which took a turn for the worse when Galvatron revealed his newest ability - the power to create combiners at will, thanks to the power of the Onyx code. Soundwave was prepared to help out his comrades when the Earth Defence Command intervened, strafing their temporary command post. Although Soundwave wanted to engage the humans, he was prevented from doing so by Optimus, who was trying to present the best image to Circuit and Longtooth. It's Beginning To And Back Again Soundwave finally lost his temper and returned fire on the humans, goading Aileron into action too. Desperate to call off the violence, Optimus encouraged Soundwave to try and read a human's mind, insinuating that he couldn't do it. Soundwave took the challenge and experienced an epiphany, realizing that human brain impulses were electrical, just like those of Cybertronians - and that their emotions were just as real as any Transformer. Overwhelmed with guilt, Soundwave willingly surrendered, taking full responsibility for his crimes against humanity. As Above...So Below
Hoping to right his wrongs, Soundwave accompanied Arcee and Optimus Prime to Jupiter, where they intercepted Galvatron. Optimus and Soundwave teamed up against the Decepticon warlord, a fight that ended with Opitmus denouncing Galvatron's violent conquests and executing him, tearing his head off for good measure. No Fair Fights Soundwave returned with the two Autobots to Monument Valley, where the recently-revived Metrotitan lay waiting for them. Hoping to send a less threatening message to humanity, Optimus ordered the Titan to transform into its city mode, an embassy he dubbed "Autobot City". The transformation was accompanied by a powerful transmission that immortalized Optimus's myriad deeds. Soundwave was left unsettled by this portentous turn of events. The Last Autobot
Soundwave's adventures on Earth were remembered by Scarlett and Joe Colton as they discussed the threat the Cybertronians posed to the planet Earth.Revolution Prelude
Spotlight: Mirage
In a dream set in an alternate universe wrapped in an enigma surrounded by a soft taco shell dreamt by Mirage, Soundwave was part of the Decepticon strike force who attacked the last stronghold of the Autobots. Soundwave was attacked by Hound, who snapped his head off, killing him. But it was just a dream, so it didn't matter. Right? Spotlight: Mirage
Notes
- IDW Publishing seems to be undecided on Soundwave's speech pattern. In Megatron Origin, he speaks in his classic cartoon-based monotone. However, in "Spotlight: Soundwave", he speaks in a normal fashion. Which is once again reverted to the classic speech in All Hail Megatron. During the ongoing series he has lost the ability to speak completely due to damage done to his face. Finally, during Robots In Diguse he has regained the ability to speak, and does so in a normal fashion.
- Guido Guidi made a concept drawing of Soundwave with a modern microcassette recorder as an alt mode (which are still used by reporters and doctors today) for IDW Publishing's All Hail Megatron maxi-series. This was also unused. Consequently, Soundwave may go down as the Transformers character with the most unused designs.
