Soundwave (G1)
| The name or term "Soundwave" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Soundwave (disambiguation). |
| This article is about the Generation 1 character eventually upgraded to Soundblaster. For the Cybertron character, see Soundblaster (Cybertron). |
- Soundwave is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family. In the Japanese series, he later took the name Soundblaster.
Soundwave is one of Megatron's most reliable troops, and he has positioned himself comfortably and irreplaceably in Megatron's upper command structure. He stands at the Decepticon leader's side as a confidant. Though "only" Communications Officer, he is comparable to Starscream and Shockwave in rank and is the only one of the three to display consistent loyalty to Megatron. Soundwave guards his place in the hierarchy fiercely. Other Decepticons (except Megatron) see him as a two-faced snake, since, as Communications Officer, Soundwave hears all and doesn't hesitate to use blackmail to keep himself high in Megatron's esteem. The other Decepticons wouldn't mind abandoning him on the battlefield—if they thought Megatron would let them get away with it.
Soundwave commands a legion of cassette troops to carry out tasks big and small. He has a symbiotic relationship with them, providing them transportation and a cheap, if cramped, place to live in his chest. Sometimes he lets them all out to watch impromptu gladiator games or takes them to discotheques. In return, they perform spy and recon missions for him and make sure no one calls him "un-krozzo-matic".
He usually has all the personality of a stump (as evidenced by his computer-style speech). He also has no imagination, sending the aforementioned cassettes on operations with mundane names.
As an Action Master, he is partnered with Wingthing.
Soundwave's scanning systems are so powerful that he can actually read and decode the electrical impulses that comprise "thoughts" in both organics and Cybertronians. This telepathic power is likely one of the reasons why he is so highly placed in Megatron's hierarchy.
- French-Canadian name: Radar
- French-Canadian name (Action Master): Sonore ("Sound")
- Chinese name (Soundwave, Taiwan): Shēng-bō (聲波, "Sound Wave")
- Chinese name (Soundblaster, Taiwan): Shēng Bàu (聲爆, "Sound Blast")
- Cantonese name: Jam Bo (音波, "Voice Wave")
- Hungarian name: Fülelő ("Listener")
- Italian name: Memor
- Italian name (Soundblaster): Vizar
- Polish name (The Movie): Dźwiękofalowiec ("Soundwaver")
- Portugese name (Brazil comics): Microonda ("Microwave", as in the radiation)
- Portugese name (Portugal comics): Onda-Sonora
- Russian name (TV): Barkhan ("Dune". Dubbers thought his name was "Sandwave". Jerks.)
- RTM dub name (Soundblaster): New Soundwave
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
Millions of years ago, Soundwave was one of the first members of the Decepticons; after sowing discontent amongst the masses, he, Megatron, and Ravage began the war that tore the planet itself out of its orbit. The Decepticons, including Soundwave, attempted to hijack the Ark four million years ago, only to fail and fall into deactivation sleep for four million years. In 1984, the detonation of the volcano, Mount St. Hilary, reactivated the Autobots and Decepticons, unleashing their war on Earth. Learning the inhabitants of this planet had access to its vast energy sources, Soundwave joined the Decepticons in raiding a drive-in movie theatre. The Transformers Soon after, Soundwave participated in a raid on Harrison Nuclear Power Plant, and after helping the Decepticons make off with large chunks of its machinery, helped use their bounty to build a new headquarters atop a cliffside. Power Play! After returning from S. Witwicky Auto Repairs with Sparkplug Witwicky, a human the Decepticons kidnapped to help them convert human fuel to Transformer fuel, the Decepticons' headquarters were infiltrated by a rescue party of Gears and the human superhero Spider-Man. While Spider-Man caused a diversion in front of Soundwave, Gears was able to suckerpunch him. Prisoner of War!
When Starscream nearly caused the death of Ravage, Megatron rallied the other Decepticons, including Soundwave, to enact vengeance for his treason. The Enemy Within! Later, the Decepticons unleashed a surprise attack on the Ark. After Soundwave defeated Jazz, the battle was halted when Auntie, the Ark's computer system, turned rogue. After the crisis was averted, Soundwave and the others were able to retreat. Raiders of the Last Ark Due to Sparkplug's efforts during his kidnapping, the Decepticons were able to refuel, and Soundwave and his comrades attacked the Autobots. However, Sparkplug had poisoned the fuel, and Soundwave shorted out along with the others. As Soundwave lay deactivated, it was only the surprise arrival of Shockwave that turned the tide. The Last Stand
Shockwave assumed command, and immediately began restoring Soundwave and the other poisoned Decepticons. Soundwave was ordered to prepare the bodies of the fallen Autobots to serve as spare parts for Shockwave's new army of Decepticons. The New Order Megatron objected to this new order and rebelled, but Shockwave quelled him quickly, and paraded Megatron's broken body in front of Soundwave and his peers as a warning to those who would cross him. The Worse of Two Evils! Under Shockwave's command, Soundwave attacked the Blackrock Aerospace Plant and secured it for Decepticon use. Warrior School! The plant's facilities were used to create the Constructicons, who built a massive radio dish that Soundwave used to beam a message back to Cybertron. However, the radio dish was destroyed when Soundwave was defeated by Huffer and the human trucker Bomber Bill. The Next Best Thing to Being There!
A short time later, during a brief period when both Megatron and Shockwave were missing in action, Soundwave assumed leadership of the Decepticons, happily slagging off Starscream's ambitions of leadership. His first attempt at manipulating Autobots into a trap failed. Crisis of Command! The second, taking advantage of the "Dinobot Hunt", was a major success—six Autobots were badly injured, not counting two of the Dinobots, and a large amount of fuel was stolen while the Autobots tried to stop a Dinobot rampage in a human town. On the way out, Soundwave proudly declared their victory, a turn of events that Optimus Prime did not enjoy. Dinobot Hunt!
When Megatron resurfaced, rendered immobile in a Wyoming coal mine due to lack of fuel, Soundwave sped to his rescue, re-energizing him. I, Robot-Master! Using the splintered state of the Decepticon forces to his advantage, Soundwave worked both sides of the field, reporting to both Megatron and the returned Shockwave, each without the other's knowledge. When Shockwave learned that the human Buster Witwicky had begun to suffer Matrix-induced visions of the next leap in Transformer evolution, Soundwave reported this to Megatron, prompting him to battle Shockwave for leadership. The Decepticons' human ally, Robot-Master, televised the battle, much to Soundwave's distaste, and in order to prevent the Decepticons from looking like fools, he interrupted the duel and insisted that they agree to a joint leadership. Second Generation!
When the Robot-Master hoax the Decepticons were perpetrating was threatened by the investigative work of Joy Meadows, Soundwave was instrumental in ending the conflict that ensued between the Decepticons and the Dinobots by holding the reporter hostage and destroying her footage. In the National Interest Not long thereafter, when the deranged future Decepticon, Galvatron, traveled back in time, Soundwave was intrigued by the fact that he was unable to scan his mind to discern the truth of his identity. Siding with Megatron when conflict erupted, Soundwave and his leader were buried under an avalanche by Galvatron and then rescued by the Autobots in the name of forming an alliance to defeat their common enemy. Target: 2006
Soundwave's loyalty to Megatron was shaken when the latter became increasingly paranoid. Consequently he manipulated his leader into summoning the Predacons to Earth as part of a scheme by Shockwave to ensure a weaponless Megatron was destroyed by Optimus Prime. Prey! However Megatron survived and soon returned to the Decepticon leadership, albeit with his memories of the events lost. Resurrection! Soundwave again served as co-conspirator when Shockwave once more used the Predacons to destroy Megatron. In the process a deranged Megatron seemingly committed suicide on the Space Bridge. Gone but Not Forgotten!
Soundwave was now once again under Shockwave's command, and, while patrolling on the Decepticons' mobile island base, he found himself attacked and subdued by the time-traveling freelance peace-keeping agent, Death's Head, and tricked into giving up information on the whereabouts of Galvatron. Hunters Although Death's Head's attempts to track down the Decepticon met with failure, Galvatron was ultimately entombed in lava, where he was later discovered by Susan Hoffman. Soundwave observed a televised broadcast of her discovery, and he and the Combaticons attempted to destroy Galvatron with explosives planted around the volcano in question. After a battle with the Throttlebots, Soundwave found that he was unable to remote-detonate the explosives thanks to Blaster jamming his signal. Ladies' Night
When Shockwave was removed from power, Soundwave smoothly transitioned to serving under the new Decepticon leader, Ratbat, and helped to operate his Realvision playback system to decode data from Autobot tapes Grand Slam and Raindance. The Flames of Boltax! The tapes, it was discovered, contained information on the Underbase, the power of which was desired by Starscream so badly he sparked off a Decepticon-Decepticon war to cover himself. Soundwave ended up having his fuel pump torn into by Bomb-Burst. Cold War! When Starscream gained the Underbase's power and targeted the Earth, Soundwave co-led the defense of Buenos Aires alongside Fortress Maximus, but was temporarily deactivated by a blast of cosmic power from Starscream. Dark Star
He was back on his feet by the time that Starscream, now a Pretender, was busy doubting his self-worth. Soundwave was extremely scared of Starscream by this point. Fallen Star! He continued to operate under the command of the new Decepticon Earth commander, Scorponok, though like the other troops he was very unhappy about Starscream being allowed back in after trying to kill everyone. Primal Scream He was put in charge of guarding Optimus Prime after the Autobot leader surrendered his troops to Scorponok, hoping to elicit an alliance against the coming of Unicron. When Prime changed his mind about meekly waiting in a cell for Scorponok to make time for him, however, Soundwave provided little resistance in keeping him there. Surrender! After the Decepticon auxiliary army bombed Scorponok's base in New Jersey, Soundwave assumed temporary command of the active Decepticons in fighting back against the traitors, led by Starscream and Shockwave. This "Decepticon Civil War" didn't last long, though, as all the Autobots and Decepticons of Earth were summoned to Cybertron by Primus to deal with Unicron. Out of Time!
Soundwave survived the battle with Unicron, and attended a meeting between the briefly-allied Autobots and Decepticons with Treadshot. There Blaster announced the imminent end of their world, and an evacuation was called for. Soundwave was still hanging out with Treadbolt when he witnessed a fight break out between Grimlock and Fangry. Bludgeon, who had assumed command of the Decepticons, doublecrossed the Autobots by sabotaging their ships. Soundwave was last seen beside Bludgeon as the Decepticons left their self-destructing homeworld. Exodus!
Marvel UK future timelines
In 2008, Soundwave was under the command of Shockwave on Cybertron. When the bounty hunter named Death's Head arrived with the deactivated bodies of the renegades Scourge and Cyclonus and demanded an audience, Shockwave had Soundwave wait nearby as a precautionary measure. Sure enough, Soundwave's monitoring abilities alerted Shockwave that the two Decepticons were not as dead as they seemed, and the three invaders began an assassination attempt on Shockwave. Soundwave summoned the Stunticons, hoping that Menasor could breach the sealed doors of the audience chamber in time, but wasn't swift enough. Death's Head killed Shockwave, and together the trio demanded that the Decepticons accept Scourge and Cyclonus as their new leaders. Faced with superior firepower and a hefty dose of explosives, Soundwave was reluctantly forced to accept on behalf of the Decepticons.
Wasting no time, Scourge and Cyclonus commanded the Decepticons to begin a full-scale assault on Autobase. This was effectively suicide, as the two armies were just about evenly matched. That, of course, was the point—Scourge and Cyclonus's true master, Unicron, wanted the children of Primus exhausted and depleted in number by the time of his glorious resurrection. After Rodimus Prime and Death's Head took the fight straight to the recuperating Unicron on Junk, however, he summoned his two minions back to his side. Seeing their "glorious leaders" abandon the battle, Soundwave and Hun-Grrr sounded a retreat. In the absence of Unicron's spawn, Soundwave became the new permanent leader of the Decepticons. The Legacy of Unicron!
Aching to make a name for himself in Decepticon military history, Soundwave soon fell into a Quintesson trap. A lone Quintesson arrived at Decepticon headquarters, seeking an alliance against the Autobots, who supposedly had assembled most of their fleet and were on their way to Quintessa. Instead of helping the Quintessons, Soundwave saw this as an opportunity to invade and destroy the Autobot territory on Cybertron, when most of their warriors were off-world. He assembled his various sub-commanders and set out aboard Astrotrain to claim a glorious victory.
Instead, Soundwave and the Decepticons walked right into an ambush. There were no Autobots on Quintessa: it was a ruse to draw them out of their base, where legions of Allicons and Trident assault craft waited to overwhelm the Decepticons. Seeing the danger his troops were in, Soundwave was forced to call in the Autobots. Sending a garbled distress beacon to Autobase, Soundwave hoped to draw a suitable fighting force of Autobots to their location. He was successful, as Ultra Magnus and his men remained to fight even after learning who the distress call came from. Autobot and Decepticon fought side-by-side until the Quintesson invaders were either destroyed or driven off-world. In a moment of introspection, Soundwave realized how effective the two armies were when fighting as one instead of as enemies... but quickly brushed aside the idea. Simply too much had happened between the Autobots and Decepticons to ever hope for a peaceful end to the war. Space Pirates!
In 2009, Soundwave and the Terrorcons were on Earth, prepping a new energy extraction system to leech the planet dry. A surgical strike led by Kup and Ultra Magnus destroyed all their equipment, however, leaving their power cells empty of energon. Looking for revenge, the Decepticons pursued the Autobots back to Autobot City, only to find an open trans-time dimensional portal. Realizing the Autobots had fled back to 1989 on a mission of unknown purpose, the vengeful Terrorcons wanted to pursue them. Giving in to popular opinion, Soundwave led his troops back through time and right into the midst of the Time Wars.
Recognizing that the uncontrolled timestorm could conceivably destroy all of existence, Soundwave chose to put aside vendettas for the moment, and added his men to the alliance of Autobots and Decepticons from two time periods against the unmatched power and evil of Galvatron and Megatron combined. Still, the alliance was far from perfect: Soundwave was more than willing to allow the Autobots to charge in first, letting them die in order to "soften up" the resistance. When things turned ugly, Soundwave and the Terrorcons then fled back to 2009, apparently without ever getting their hands dirty. Their final fate after reality restructured itself and the timestorm abated is unknown. Time Wars
Earthforce
In an alternate timeline, Soundwave left Scorponok's army and returned to serving at Megatron's side during the Decepticon Civil War against Shockwave. He was not above exploiting the conflict for his own ends, however. When an energon shipment was hijacked by Shockwave's forces thanks to information Soundwave had given them, Megatron came to suspect the presence of a traitor in his ranks, but ironically assigned Soundwave to identify the culprit. To keep his own duplicity a secret, Soundwave set up Wildrider to take the fall, and Megatron destroyed the Stunticon. Soundwave not only got away with his treachery, he went on to happily blackmail everyone he'd mind-scanned—eat your heart out, Starscream! Secrets
Approached by Starscream with a plan to make them both Decepticon leaders, Soundwave joined forces with the schemer and lured Megatron and Shockwave to an airport, tipping off the Autobots to their location. With the two leaders thus occupied, Soundwave and Starscream took control of both factions. Internal Affairs! Subsequently, Soundwave led an all-out attack on the Earthforce base as a diversion, while Starscream attempted to plunder an oil tanker. Starscream met with failure, however, leading Soundwave to withdraw his forces and hint to them that maybe be should have sole command... Divide and Conquer! Starscream was aware of Soundwave's goals, and when he was attacked by a group of alien assassins, he suspected that Soundwave had ordered the hit and struck back at him. Soundwave was able to convince Starscream he was not responsible and that in actuality, it was the work of Megatron and Shockwave. External Forces!
Soon afterward, Soundwave learned that human reporter Irwin Spoon had secured an interview with the Autobots that could potentially resolve the public view of the Transformer war. Seeking to prevent this, he had the Stunticons capture the journalist. Although the Autobots were able to rescue him, a carefully planted cerebro-shell ensured that the story Irwin wrote was anything but accurate. End of the Road!
Generation 2
After Megatron deposed Bludgeon and reassumed control of the Decepticons, Soundwave once again served Megatron as a close adviser. One of his first acts was to ask, "Why revive Starscream?". Megatron shared Soundwave's concerns, and assured him the on-again-off-again traitor would be dealt with once Megatron had regrown his army. Tales of Earth Part Three
Megatron immediately drew his Decepticons to the moon of Tykos to violently acquire Rheanimum from the natives. However, things soured when Soundwave received a distress call from Skullgrin. In moments, Jhiaxus's Cybertronian Empire was upon them. After several casualties, and Megatron missing in action, Soundwave led a party to discover if Megatron had survived and recover him if he had; when Mindwipe expressed doubts about the mission, Soundwave told him to shut up. He appeared to assume command when Megatron appeared dead, but ceased when Megatron turned out to still function. New Dawn
He was in command of the Warworld while Megatron was on Earth. When the Empire boarded the ship (thanks to Starscream's treachery) he and his bridge crew fled to Earth in escape pods. Total War! He was later seen standing by in the final battle against the Swarm. A Rage in Heaven!
Classics
Cartoon continuity
Generation 1 cartoon
- Voice Actor: Frank Welker (English), Issei Masamune (Japanese)
Soundwave served as intelligence officer during the war on Cybertron. He had the questionably useful altmode of a space-age lamp-post, which allowed him to get as close to Autobot headquarters as the street leading into Iacon. There, he deployed his chest-dwelling minion Laserbeak who could snoop even closer. Laserbeak overheard talk of the Autobot mission to seek new energy sources off Cybertron, which prompted the Decepticons to intercept and board the Ark. During the fight aboard the Ark, Soundwave easily fought off Jazz, Prowl and Sideswipe only to be kicked in the back by Ironhide. He then somehow got up again to be punched in the chest by Ratchet, whom he threw against a console. However, this battle was cut short when the gravity of a primitive planet forced both ships to crash land. Four million years later in the Earth year of 1984, the Transformers awakened and Soundwave was reformatted into a portable cassette player. He played an essential role in the generation of energon cubes and the formation of plans for a new space cruiser to return the Decepticons to Cybertron. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
"Silence, Starscream!"
Soundwave's cassette player mode allowed him to dupe a grabby and none-too-questioning Spike Witwicky into carrying his shrunken form into Autobot headquarters, where he was able to deploy Ravage and record information on Earth's most plentiful resources. Though Ravage was captured, Soundwave escaped to report to Megatron. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2 After Ravage returned after being allowed to escape, Soundwave proved his loyalty to Megatron by warning his leader of Starscream's foolish attempt to take his life. During the subsequent battle at the launch site of the space cruiser, Sound deployed several tapes in Operation: Warfare (read: he wanted them to fight the Autobots). Soundwave served as helmsman for the space cruiser on its remarkably short flight from Earth, and alerted the others to Mirage's intrusion. Implacable in the face of destruction, Soundwave monotonally reported his failure to halt their descent while the rest of the Decepticons totally freaked out. More than Meets the Eye, Part 3
After the Decepticons established an undersea headquarters, Soundwave fooled the workers of a solar power plant into thinking he was a worker's tape player, even though he wasn't, which begged the question of how he managed to get inside in the first place. Transport to Oblivion After Megatron was seemingly destroyed, he chafed under the command of Starscream, whose inept leadership he was forced to endure. Their first sortie ended in comical defeat that saw Soundwave bowled over by Prowl as he ran away. When Megatron eventually returned in a scheme to steal Doctor Alcazar's antimatter formula, Soundwave happily latched back onto his master. After Alcazar deleted the formula from his own computer, Soundwave used his mind-reading talents to acquire the formula from the brain of Chip Chase. Roll for It
During their mission in the Peruvian Andes to exploit the fabled Incan Crystal of Power, Soundwave and Reflector were ambushed by Brawn and Windcharger in mid-air. Brawn drove Soundwave head first into the side of a mountain. As Soundwave got up, he was knocked over by Brawn, who had been blasted by Megatron. He got the Autobot back, though, firing sonic bursts directly into Brawn's head, then going after the Autobot with Megatron's gun mode. Fire on the Mountain Soundwave's mind-reading abilities came into use again when he scanned the brains of Grimlock, Slag and Sludge in order to determine their weaknesses. War of the Dinobots
One of Soundwave's most notable misadventures came in 1985, when, operating a plan conceived by Starscream, he brainwashed humans with ultrasonic vibrations inside the Decepticon-built night club Dancitron in New York City, leading to a confrontation with his Autobot Communications Officer counterpart, Blaster. This began a lasting rivalry between the two. Auto-Bop
In the year 2005, the Autobots had been driven from Cybertron and were now based on their homeworld's moons and on Earth. After scouting from Laserbeak, Megatron concocted a scheme to strike at the heart of Autobot strength by sacking their great fortress of Autobot City. During the subsequent battle, Soundwave deployed an array of his cassettes against the Autobot communications array manned by Blaster. Little did he know Blaster had since gathered a group of cassettes of his own, and in any case Soundwave's minions failed to stop the distress signal. Soundwave's loyalty to Megatron was demonstrated when he recovered the seriously damaged Decepticon leader, who'd been left for dead after Optimus Prime defeated him. But while Soundwave was loyal, he was far from stupid, and he kept his mouth shut when Megatron was subsequently ejected into space. Although he did suggest himself as a replacement leader, he again loyally served Megatron when that being returned as Galvatron. The Transformers: The Movie
In the year 2006, although operating in a less prominent capacity for most of the time, Soundwave played a prominent role in Galvatron's attempt to learn the secret of a sonic weapon on the planet Eurythma, where sound and music were the way of life, leaving Soundwave entranced by the planet's perfect melodies. Recording each piece of the harmony that formed the devastating sonic effect, Soundwave was defeated when the Eurythmans countered the harmony with white noise, and he was again pulled into a confrontation with Blaster, who erased his recordings. Carnage in C-Minor
Madman The Transformers comic
In 2001, Soundwave and his squad of cassettes were deployed to the construction site of Autobot City while the balance of the Autobot forces were engaged in an evacuation of Cybertron. He managed to record a secret conversation between Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus where the Autobot leaders discussed hiding the Autobot Matrix of Leadership in a bunker at the build site, against the chance Prime would be captured or destroyed while off-world. Soundwave returned to the not-so-secret bunker and deployed his minions to dig up the Matrix. Just as the artifact had been secured and Soundwave was about to call for retrieval, the young Autobot Hot Rod took the Matrix and defeated Soundwave's team. The Transformers
Japanese cartoon continuity
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic
While Megatron and the Decepticons engaged the Autobots in battle in Arizona, Soundwave and his cassettes were dispatched to do something unspecified (but likely evil) in Tokyo. Optimus Prime dispatched a unit of Autobots led by Bumblebee and Kenji to track them down. He was ultimately defeated when Bumblebee got the drop on him with a patented "Bumble-Kick" and shattered his chest. This made it impossible for his cassette forces to return to him, leaving them to be captured as well. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2 When he next appeared, Soundwave hadn't quite got over his injuries, and was seen with bandages stuck to his chest-window. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers story pages
When Soundwave learned that the Autobots were keeping themselves in shape by having a friendly race, he set up a trap within a narrow canyon, walling the Autobots in and opening fire on them. Luckily, Hound arrived on the scene and delivered a powerful punch to Soundwave's chest, shattering his tape door once again. Soundwave immediately fled. Anime Theater 2: Sic' Em, Hound!
The Headmasters cartoon
In 2011, the Decepticons were offered a chance to regain control of Cybertron when Vector Sigma began to destabilize due to the release of the energy of the Matrix. To discover the Autobots' plan of action, Soundwave and his cassettes infiltrated Autobot City. Although discovered by Blaster and his own cassettes, they escaped with the knowledge that the Matrix was currently missing, and that the Autobots were preparing to search Earth for it. Blaster and Hot Rod subsequently embarked on a search mission to the Arctic, where Soundwave and his cassettes attacked them. Blaster allowed Hot Rod to escape, and he and Soundwave engaged in a one-on-one battle, with shattered chests and severed limbs aplenty. The two combatants ultimately inflicted fatal damage to one another, and Soundwave's body exploded even as Blaster collapsed. The Mystery of Planet Master
The deceased Soundwave's cassettes were able to recover fragments of his body, allowing Decepticon Headmaster leader Scorponok to reconstruct him using the planet Master's super-technology. Soundwave was thusly restored to life as Soundblaster, although now black in appearance as opposed to blue. Immediately Soundblaster set to work using his broadcasting powers to direct the Decepticons' latest creation, the Madmachine, in another attack on Cybertron. The science of Master had also restored the Autobot Blaster to life, however, and under the new name "Twincast" he destroyed Soundblaster's sonic control and foiled the Decepticons' plot. The Great Cassette Operation
Soundblaster continued to serve in his role as a spy for the Decepticons, and he and his cassettes would regularly snoop on the Autobots on Cybertron, Earth and Athenia. Soundblaster and his team were responsible for discovering that Vector Sigma was in the process of creating Cybertonuron, Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1 but they didn't take kindly to the arrival of the new intelligence officer, Counterpunch, who seemed able to dig up information that they couldn't (because he was actually the Autobot double-agent, Punch). Return of the Immortal Emperor Soundblaster was himself specifically responsible for the destruction of planet Mars, acting upon the twisted orders of Scorponok; he readily pressed the button which triggered the detonation of plasma bombs placed at the Martian magnetic poles in accord with Scorponok's scheme. Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears
Although rarely doing more than standing guard and relaying information over large distances (save for one daring instance where he and Ratbat actually managed to sneak board Battleship Maximus), Soundblaster was a regular battlefield presence and accompanied the Decepticon army on interplanetary energy raids, voyaged to planet Master, and was present on Earth during the final battle at the North Pole. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)
The Headmasters comic
After their defeat at the North Pole, the Decepticons were preparing to retreat from Earth entirely when Scorponok instructed Soundblaster to remain on the planet in secret to act as a spy for the Decepticons. Soundblaster proved that he wasn't up to the challenge by making his presence and intentions known almost instantly when he kicked Wheelie square in the face and took the Witwicky family hostage. Chromedome was left powerless to do anything but surrender, as Slugfest and Overkill brutalized Spike and threatened Carly. Daniel finally snapped and beat the living crap out of the two Cassette dinosaurs, leaving Soundblaster open to Chromedome's poorly named "Master-Chrome Hurricane Throw to the End of Hell!" Chromedome chucked Soundblaster over the horizon, where he landed near the rogue Decepticon Sixshot. The Headmasters issue 8
Kid Stuff Talking Story Books continuity
- Voice actor: Unknown
According to Megatron, Soundwave is a "blundering, tape-filled idiot." While the veracity of this statement is subjective, Soundwave does whine a lot. When Continents Collide
Beast Wars cartoon continuity
Beast Wars cartoon
Soundwave was among the many Transformers strewn about the bridge of the Ark when the Predacon Megatron infiltrated the ship on his mission to destroy Optimus Prime. The Agenda (Part III)
3H comics
Soundwave is one of the ancient warriors who appears from J'nwan to help battle the warlord Shokaract.
Dreamwave comics continuity
Soundwave was chosen by Megatron to lead his second assassination team against the new Autobot supreme commander, Optimus Prime. With the aid of Soundwave's cassette troops, most notably Ravage, as well as Shrapnel, Bombshell, and Kickback, it was assumed he would have no problem with a young, peace-loving Autobot. Soundwave, like many others, underestimated Prime's resolve and was quickly incapacitated. He recovered quickly enough to rescue Megatron after the latter's own battle with Prime. The War Within
In the present day, Soundwave was among the Decepticons defeated by the Autobots and their human allies. The Ark II, the spacecraft that would have taken the Transformers back to Cybertron, was sabotaged by General Robert Hallo and Adam Rook, and it exploded upon liftoff, scattering the robots across the Arctic Ocean. Soundwave and the others were recovered, Autobot and Decepticon alike, and reprogrammed by Rook to accept commands and were leased to terrorist organisations and military juntas as powerful weapons of war. Prime Directive issue 2 After Megatron freed himself and the other Decepticons, Soundwave developed a 'metallic virus' that cyberformed Earth organics into cybertronic materials. Prime Directive issue 3 During the subsequent battle with the Autobots in San Francisco, Soundwave warned Megatron that a nuclear missile launched by Hallo was headed for the city. The Decepticons used the distraction to escape. Prime Directive issue 6
Soundwave was among the Decepticons who joined Shockwave's forces when the new ruler of Cybertron appeared on Earth. War and Peace When Shockwave brutally deposed Megatron, Soundwave stood by in silence and did nothing to help his former leader. Soundwave worked his way quietly into Shockwave's good graces, earning the ire of Starscream. However, it didn't take many words to bring Soundwave around to the Seeker's point of view. Later, when interrogated by Shockwave, a single, silent look from Soundwave stopped Frenzy and Rumble from revealing that Starscream was behind Megatron's disappearance during their voyage to Cybertron. As the battle between the Autobots and Shockwave's forces intensified, Soundwave followed Starscream's lead without a word, and helped him prepare for a return trip to Earth aboard Sky Lynx. Starscream rewarded him by giving him a present. Soundwave silently approved.
Though Soundwave feigned subservience to Starscream, it was later revealed that he had been serving Megatron the entire time in secret. The Route of All Evil
G.I.Joe vs. the Transformers
Arms dealer Destro made a visit to the human terrorist organization known as Cobra where Dr. Mindbender introduced him to Soundwave and his cassettes. The robots were under the complete control of Cobra's scientists. Destro liked what he saw but he wanted to run a test. He operated Soundwave's controls personally during an attack on the SPS Research Facility.
Meanwhile, a picture of Soundwave was secretly sent out to hundreds of email boxes. The message turned out to be a secret signal from Optimus Prime, which alerted Wheeljack and Bumblebee to the location of Cobra's secret base where the rest of the Transformers were being held. When the two Autobots appeared to stop Destro's attack, the human brought Soundwave and himself back to Cobra Island.
Soundwave was released from Cobra control thanks to Wheeljack and attacked his former human masters. With Megatron and the other Decepticons freed, Soundwave went to work making energon cubes. Just as things were going their way, Optimus Prime arrived, powered up using the energon, and punched his fist right through Soundwave's chest and took him out of the battle. After the Autobots left on a return voyage to Cybertron, Soundwave's head and remains were taken in secret by human scientists for study. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
IDW comics continuity
Long before the war began, Soundwave was the personal assistant to Senator Ratbat. When Megatron caught Ratbat's eye as a champion of the illegal underground gladiatorial matches, Ratbat sent Soundwave to offer Megatron funding and weapons technology. When two Autobots were discovered listening in on their conversation, Soundwave dispatched Ravage, Buzzsaw, and Laserbeak to capture them. Some time later, Soundwave was assigned to find a warrior with flight capabilities. He found the Seekers: Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker. During a recruitment rally in which Megatron attempted to kill Senator Decimus, a raid by the Autobots under Sentinel Prime resulted in the participants being arrested. Soundwave, however, was freed under Senate directive, something which greatly angered Sentinel Prime. Soundwave had apparently switched loyalties at this time, becoming one of Megatron's own in not only helping Starscream exterminate Kaon senators but also to the extent that he destroyed Ratbat's original body, placing his spark into a relatively weak cassette form and thus forcing him into the Decepticons. Megatron Origin
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 issue 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, presumably involving Soundwave being restored to normal. Maximum Dinobots issue 4
One year later, Soundwave returned to his position at Megatron's right hand. He was present during the attack on a human 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 issue 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 issue 2 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 issue 9
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
TransTech
Soundwave—in his Laser Cycle body—was seen among the inhabitants of the multiversal hub city of Axiom Nexus. Transcendent: Part 4
Commercial appearances
Soundwave's commercial appearances include:
- An appearance in his very own 1984 commercial. This early animation featured a Soundwave model colored in lavender, versus the dark blue used later. Also, instead of the cassettes ejecting themselves from his chest, he reached into his chest compartment with his own fingers and threw the (tiny) tapes into the air.
- He's more on-form in a commercial for the Dinobots, where he, Ravage and Laserbeak are driven back by the robotic monsters amid a thunderstorm.
- Soundwave has a speaking part in the commercial for Blaster. When Frenzy strolls into his base carrying a radio, Soundwave immediately identifies it as an "Autobot intruder" and dispatches Ravage and Laserbeak to attack the Autobot. Soundwave is given his correct voice and modulation.
- He's seen grappling with Springer in a 1987 commercial for the Headmasters comic.
Toys
- Main article: Soundwave (G1)/toys
Merchandise
- Main article: Soundwave (G1) toys#Merchandise
Trivia
- The Decepticon faction insignia appears to be roughly based on Soundwave's head, or vice versa.
- Though Soundwave's toy is a microcassette recorder, his fictional appearances depict him as a stereo cassette deck or Walkman. (Likewise, his microcassette tapes are depicted as regular audio cassettes.)
- The Marvel U.S. comics chose a purple scheme for Soundwave. This could have been an attempt to distinguish him from the other Decepticons, who were mostly blue (especially since blacks also ended up as blues in the industry's then-limited color palette). Or it could have been a simple error. But very likely, it had something to do with his early animation model, which appeared lavender, rather than blue. (See Commercial Appearances.) Compounding this error, Marvel US Soundwave was drawn without a mouthplate by artist José Delbo. The Marvel UK comics colored him blue like everywhere else (partially due to using a more sophisticated coloring system) and always included his faceplate.
- The G1 cartoon almost always depicted him as having to press all his own controls to eject minions or perform other functions even though these are actually part of him. This has led to many a shot of Soundwave pressing his own crotch. What will the children think?
- Soundwave's distinctive voice proved to be one of Generation 1's most memorable aspects. The highly processed voice began with Frank Welker basically doing his "Dr. Claw" voice from Inspector Gadget. Whether due to variations in the performance or the processing, the final result varied quite a bit across Soundwave's three seasons on the show. Occasionally, as in the episodes "Roll for It" and "Webworld", the processing was left out and Welker's actual voice can be heard. This Dr. Claw version of Soundwave's voice made a return when Welker reprised the role for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the processing was, again, left out.
- The typically emotionally-barren Soundwave actually laughs on two separate occasions in the Generation 1 cartoon ("Quest for Survival" and "Auto-Bop"), while he screams like a little girl only once ("Roll for It").
- Soundwave has flown in his alt mode one time, in the episode "Masquerade". In Transformers: Call of the Future, Soundwave can transform to tape mode and kind of bounces around to move in that form. No, really.
- In the Japanese dub of the Generation 1 cartoon, as well as the supporting manga, all of Soundwave's cassette forces which could talk referred to him as "Anikii" or "Big Brother". This is a fairly common way to refer to others you admire and such in Japanese. It's also a term that gang members use toward older, more experienced members who aren't actual gang bosses. Take it as you will. Whatever it says about his relationship with them, it does give new meaning to the phrase "Big Brother is watching over you".
- Soundwave was in charge of the UK letters page from issues 22 to 78, barring a few interruptions.
- Soundwave's computer model was used for one of the generic Transformers in Beast Machines. It is seen in Nightscream's flashback being cornered by Vehicon drones just before Nightscream flees into the lower levels of Cybertron. Though the model was recolored, it was still really 'Soundwavey,' causing much confusion among fans. Apparently, he is not the only one. Forbidden Fruit
- Later, Soundwave's character model showed up numerous times in various color schemes as a generic background character in the Armada cartoon.
- Sideways listened to music using a tape deck resembling Soundwave in the Cybertron episode Memory. Later, after a new Planet X was found, Cybertron Soundwave held tape deck Soundwave in his arms. This caused a great disturbance in the force...
- 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.
- 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.
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