Shockwave (Animated)
| The name or term "Shockwave" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Shockwave (disambiguation). |
- Shockwave is a Decepticon from the Transformers Animated continuity family.
Shockwave is a covert agent in service to Megatron. This size-changing master of disguise has infiltrated the Autobot security apparatus at the highest level: His cover persona is Longarm Prime, head of Cybertron Intelligence, reporting directly to Ultra Magnus himself. Shockwave even represents Megatron's long-term plans, if outright military conquest proves unfeasible. He's been in deep cover on Cybertron for so long that even he probably doesn't know who he really is, but he provides the inside scoop on what the Autobots are doing. This puts Shockwave in the perfect position to undermine and mislead the Autobots while feeding strategic information to his true master. To establish his credibility, "Longarm" attended the Autobot boot camp alongside Bumblebee and Bulkhead.
Befitting a double agent, Shockwave is highly secretive and fearful of detection. Befitting a cartoon villain, he can confidently give those secrets away if he thinks he's winning.
| “ | Everything is going as planned, O great one. | ” |
—Shockwave, the competent Lugnut, A Bridge Too Close, Part I | ||
Fiction
Animated cartoon
- Voice actor: Corey Burton (English), Helmut Gauß (German)
Shockwave was recruited by Megatron because his mass-shifting abilities allowed him to impersonate effectively a wide variety of shapes and sizes, making it difficult for Autobots to accurately track him during missions of infiltration and sabotage. It was these traits which led to Megatron sending him to enlist in the Autobot armed services as a means of climbing the ranks and eventually taking the organization down from within.
Disguising himself as "Longarm", Shockwave enrolled in Autobot boot camp, but slipped up in the early days of training and was overheard reporting to Megatron by the black sheep recruit Bumblebee. Although Shockwave managed to avoid detection right away, Bumblebee was tipped off to the presence of a traitor in the camp and suspected fellow recruit Wasp, whom he spotted leaving the building shortly afterward. Seeing his fellow recruit Wasp (probably Shockwave) leaving the building shortly afterwards, Bumblebee was aware there was a traitor in their midst, and suspected Wasp. Bumblebee turned to the espionage-savvy Longarm for advice, and Shockwave used the opportunity to divert attention away from himself by suggesting that the young Autobot refrain from telling their commander, Sentinel Minor, so that 'Bee could take all the credit when he exposed the traitor himself as a means to ensuring his career in the Cybertron Elite Guard. Unfortunately, all of Bumblebee's efforts only got him in worse trouble, and his fellow recruits began to bully him, with Longarm being the only one to stick up for him. After several failures on Bumblebee's part, Shockwave took matters into his own hands during a training exercise and switched the training equipment to live ammo in an attempt to offline the Autobot and keep the whole matter of a traitor a secret. Luckily for Bumblebee, this plan was foiled by Bulkhead.
Eventually, Shockwave found out that Sentinel Minor intended to conduct a surprise inspection, and he contrived to set up Wasp to take the fall himself. After planting a Decepticon communicator in Wasp's locker, Shockwave, as Longarm, informed Bumblebee of the upcoming inspection, telling him that it was his last chance to find the evidence he needed. Using one of his extensible limbs to trip up Wasp, Shockwave allowed Bumblebee to palm Wasp's locker key as 'Bee helped him up, allowing him to find the communicator and show it to Sentinel. In the end, Wasp was dragged off to prison, and Longarm commended Bumblebee for his deductive work.
Subsequently, Shockwave graduated boot camp and became a member of the Cybertron Elite Guard. Now "Longarm Prime", he became head of Cybertron Intelligence and remained in this position, hiding in plain sight, for the fifty stellar cycles that Megatron was lost on Earth. Autoboot Camp
After Optimus Prime's ship was lost, Longarm pressed Sentinel to continue the search for the ship's crew, the AllSpark and Megatron. His pleas fell on deaf ears. The Arrival issue 1
After Megatron succeeded in restoring himself and the Decepticons were assembled on Earth, he re-established contact with Shockwave on Cybertron and initiated a plan to construct a space bridge that would allow the Decepticons to conquer the planet from within. Mission Accomplished Wasp, now criminally insane, escaped from prison, and Megatron started receiving transmissions from his double agent on Cybertron. When Megatron's captive, Isaac Sumdac, attempted to alert the Autobots to the existence of the double agent by bouncing a transmission to their base, Bumblebee again suspected Wasp. He reported the news to Longarm Prime on Cybertron, but of course, that accomplished nothing. Autoboot Camp
When the completed space bridge failed to function, Megatron contacted Shockwave and instructed him to locate the top space bridge specialist on Cybertron to help correct the problem. Shockwave was surprised to discover that the specialist was already on Earth; it was Bulkhead! Bulkhead was subsequently captured by Megatron and forced to perfect the space bridge. A Bridge Too Close, Part I The other Autobots arrived too late to stop him, and they were defeated by the Decepticons and strung up to watch as the bridge was activated. Shockwave revealed his alter ego of Longarm Prime to the Autobots, disclosing that he had already given Megatron an appropriate access code and forcing Bumblebee to feel the shame of sending an innocent Wasp to prison. When Megatron tried to test the space bridge by sending Optimus Prime through it, Shockwave assured his master that he awaited the "test subject" on the other side. Unfortunately, an attempt by Megatron to boost power caused the space bridge to overload, deleting the access code and setting the space bridge to random coordinates. A Bridge Too Close, Part II
Megacycles later, Shockwave, as Longarm once more, assured Ultra Magnus that the Decepticons would not be able to reach the Cybertron Space Bridge nexus. Shockwave then contacted Team Chaar, who had successfully taken over a space bridge and were ready to use it in order to gate to Cybertron. Strika asked for permission to begin the assault, only to have Shockwave deny her request. She was to stay put with her team and wait for Megatron to arrive, even if he was megacycles overdue.
Not long afterward, the entire Space Bridge Nexus powered down. Confused, Longarm questioned Cybertron Command, and Cliffjumper informed him that Ultra Magnus had ordered the shutdown in order to prevent the Decepticons from accessing Cybertron. Just then, Agent Blurr arrived and (very) quickly informed Longarm that while on Earth, he had intercepted a transmission between Megatron and and his double agent on Cybertron, Shockwave. Further, Blurr noted that Shockwave's voice didn't match that of the suspected Wasp, but quick search of the Cybertron Intel Database would allow them to find the true identity of the traitor. Shocked, Longarm asked if Blurr had shared this information with anyone else. When Blurr replied that he had not, Shockwave decided it would be wise to quiet him down—permanently. Blurr eluded his initial attempts and escaped into the corridors around the nexus control center. Rather than give chase, Shockwave simply had the corridors' security hatches slam shut and close in on Blurr, trapping and effectively crushing him to death.
At the Elite Guard Headquarters, Longarm handed over a small cube of "sensitive materials" to Cliffjumper to dispose, then went to his office, where he received an incoming transmission from Lord Megatron himself. They traded information on their respective setbacks, but Megatron assured Shockwave that he had a method of preventing the Earth Autobots from blowing Shockwave's cover.
Shortly, Longarm Prime attended an Elite Guard meeting, where Ultra Magnus declared that the Decepticons’ attacks were too organized to be random acts of sabotage. Rather, evidence pointed to a double agent in the Autobots' midst. Longarm nervously pointed out that the Decepticon uprisings had started after Wasp's escape, making the cause plain. Ultra Magnus agreed and ordered Jazz and Sentinel Prime to organize an Elite Guard Unit to find the escapee. He then requested that the Earth-bound Autobots be contacted. Increasingly distraught, Longarm declared that all communications should be first filtered through him, without exceptions—for the sake of security and the protection of Cybertron, naturally. TransWarped
Toys
Transformers Animated
- Shockwave (Voyager, 2008)
- Representing his double nature in the cartoon, Animated Shockwave becomes both the Autobot Longarm and Decepticon Shockwave, featuring four distinct modes. In "Infiltration Mode," the shorter, stockier Autobot Longarm transforms into a four-legged crane platform. If one fancies, one can stretch out his Shockwave-mode elbows to emulate his limb-stretching ability in Longarm mode (abeit not very well). In "Spy Mode," he stretches and converts into the taller, lankier Decepticon Shockwave, as the crane portion of Longarm's body converts into a hand-held cannon. The center panel on his chest flips between Autobot and Decepticon symbols. Both chest symbols are vacuum metalized, with very shiny silver and gold.
- Curiously, while the rotating faction symbols on his chest use the usual "classic" designs, the tampographed Decepticon symbol on his cannon/crane is in the movie style. It is also plainly visible in his Autobot modes. Whoops!
- Shockwave VS Bumblebee (Multi-pack, 2009)
- A predominantly purple redeco of the Voyager toy, this version of Shockwave is packaged with an apparently unaltered Activators-class Bumblebee figure. Shockwave retains his four modes and gimmickry within each. A Target stores exclusive, this set was available simultaneously with the Sunstorm (Animated/Ratchet multi-pack.
Trivia
- Actor Corey Burton reprises the role of Shockwave from Generation One, reusing precisely the same British-accented, David-Warner-inspired voice for the character (while employing an American accented variation for Longarm). In a recent interview, Burton revealed that Shockwave's inclusion in Season 2 arose from a between-scenes conversation he had with the production team, regarding how little the original Shockwave actually had to do.
- While Shockwave possesses the single, round optic and window-chest of his Generation 1 counterpart, much of the rest of his body appears to be largely patterned after Armada Megatron; he transforms into an "H-tank", the front treads end up on his shoulders, plus he has the large, spiky "antlers" on his head. Additionally, Shockwave's vehicle mode appears to be loosely based on one of the Transtech sketch designs for Megatron, with the high angled treads and turret.
- Despite Shockwave's on-package bio saying that, as Longarm, he rose through the ranks of the Elite Guard to reach his current position, Derrick Wyatt has informed this wiki that Longarm is not actually a member of that group in the cartoon. This is borne out by the fact that Longarm lacks the Elite Guard's winged Autobot symbol.
- In addition to his shapeshifting powers, Shockwave appears to be able to mimic Autobot energy signatures. Either that, or the Autobots are so arrogant they don't bother to scan Cybertron for Decepticons.
- Though probably not intentional, Animated Shockwave's color scheme (grey body, red eye, white hands and chest) coincidentally reference the original Shockwave's Astro Magnum days.
- Despite not having a face, Shockwave still manages to have a chin.
