Rumble (G1)
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Millions of years ago, Rumble and Frenzy worked as "industrial equipment" at Mining Outpost C-12, until the Senate shut down the site in favor of automating the work involved. Once a furious Megatron kicked off a riot, Rumble and Frenzy joined in the fighting and were soon taken prisoner, destined for Penal Facility H-3. They managed to break free aboard their prison transport, however, and took control of it with Megatron's help. Megatron Origin #1 The renegade miners then fled to Kaon, where they got lost in the underground fighting tournaments that ran rampant throughout that city-state. As time passed, Megatron rose high in the ranks of the gladiators, eventually taking control of the games themselves. While accompanying him to a meeting with Soundwave, sent by Senator Ratbat to help foster the public unrest Megatron was fomenting, Rumble and Frenzy helped capture and restrain the spying Bumper and Fastback . Megatron Origin #2
As Megatron's passions turned from arena combat to outright insurrection, Rumble and Frenzy became part of his growing Decepticon movement. When Megatron crafted his plan for infiltrating and destroying the Senate, Rumble and his brother underwent alterations so that they could hide inside Soundwave's chest compartment, although neither of them were particularly enthusiastic about it. Megatron Origin #3 This allowed Soundwave to smuggle them into the Senate facilities, where they aided in annihilating the Senators, freeing arrested gladiators and stealing weapons from the armory. At the climax of the uprising, Rumble bore witness as Megatron personally beat down and humiliated the leader of the Senate's security, Sentinel Prime. Megatron Origin #4
As the uprising led to outright civil war, Rumble accompanied Soundwave on a mission to spy on Zeta Prime. After being discovered and forced to escape, Soundwave released Rumble to deal with Prowl and Ironhide, which he did by collapsing the Neurospan Bridge with his piledrivers, burying the two pursuers in rubble. The Hunt for Soundwave Four million years ago, Rumble assisted Soundwave in defending an energon convoy from the Autobots. While fighting Optimus Prime, Soundwave ejected Rumble for Operation: Go For the Eyes!!!, but Ironhide intervened and knocked the junk-punk for a loop. The Iron Age
In modern times, Rumble was active on Earth where he helped defeat the local Autobot forces and exile them to Cybertron. All Hail Megatron #7 After this, he was involved in the Decepticon full-frontal offensive on the planet, and the conquest of New York City. After the siege was over, however, the lack of organized resistance left Rumble with little to do. He and Reflector took to the streets, blowing up stray abandoned vehicles that happened to remind him of certain people. All Hail Megatron #3
While on a patrol in New York City, he ran afoul of Cmdr. Spike Witwicky and three other survivors. Rumble went after Spike and nearly succeeded in knocking him off his motorcycle, but one of the survivors, Charles, seeking revenge for his son's death at the hands of Rumble, fired off a shot from a rocket launcher that hit Rumble point blank in the face, downing him instantly. Sensing something wrong, Soundwave found Rumble, picked up his damaged body, and went into a rage in which he lost control of his communications-blocking effect. All Hail Megatron #9 He was apparently repaired and sided with Starscream during his coup. All Hail Megatron #10 When the Autobots returned from their exile, Rumble fought against them alongside Shrapnel and Kickback. All Hail Megatron #11 However, Megatron was defeated, and the Decepticons were forced to flee the planet aboard Astrotrain. Along with Soundwave and the other cassettes, Rumble spent the trip looking after the severely injured Megatron. Uneasy Lies the Head
Two years later, Starscream's newfound leadership had only led to the Decepticons hiding on some distant, desolate asteroid, where energy was rare and violence was common. Rumble was seen fighting with Kickback over an unknown argument. All His Engines He later assisted Soundwave and Shockwave as they restored Megatron and used his old body to make Rumble-scaled replicas of his gun mode. Altered Carbon Four months later, Rumble returned to Earth and attacked a Skywatch base alongside Soundwave and Frenzy, freeing several Decepticons held in Skywatch custody. The Demolished Man
Once the war finally ended, Rumble was amongst the Decepticons in Autobot captivity on Cybertron. The Autonomy Lesson He joined a Cybertronian crowd recruited by Starscream to pressure Prowl into revealing one of his secret discoveries below ground on Cybertron. Once they finally got down there, they witnessed a Metrotitan declare that Starscream was the Cybertronian destined to unite their whole race. He and the other Cybertronians celebrated afterwards with Starscream. All Good Things His support was but a ruse, however, as he and the other cassettes were already planning for Megatron's return alongside Soundwave and Shockwave. When the time came, they used their mind-controlled minion Prowl to stage their own deaths so they hide away and finish their plans in secrecy, though Prowl's catspaw Arcee did it in the most violent way possible, slicing off Rumble's arms, stomping him in the face and blowing up their base. The End of the Beginning of the World Relocated to the Black Room, Rumble was upgraded into a new body with a tank alternate mode The Verge and took to the streets as the Decepticons put their plans into motion. Plan for Everything During the battle over the city, he used his piledrivers to knock out Sideswipe and was ready to take his revenge on Arcee as well, but instead got himself punched in the face by Ironhide and burned to a crisp by Slag. Heavy Is the Head} After the battle was over, all Autobots and Decepticons who wouldn't renounce their factions were banished into the wilderness, including Rumble. Heavy Is the Head
In the wilderness, Soundwave attempted to rally the Decepticons around him and hunt down the Shockwave for deserting them during the battle, but the other Decepticons had lost their faith in the cause and refused. Blitzwing and Astrotrain outright attacked Soundwave and fought him over leadership, causing Rumble and the other cassettes to come to his aid. Shockpoint In the end, they were the only ones to follow Soundwave to Shockwave's base at Crystal City, where they fought Shockwave and his minion, Dreadwing. However, because of the presence of Shockwave's regenerative Ore-14, neither side was able to harm one another, and Rumble and the others soon retreated. Soundwaves After returning with the other Decepticons in tow, they were caught in a wave of death emitted from Shockwave's Necrotitan. Rumble initial confusion about what happened turned to horror when he found that Frenzy was among the injured. Into the Abyss He participated in the joint Autobot-Decepticon assault on Shockwave's location, only to have to flee with an injured Ravage in his arm when Shockwave sicked the Necrotitan on them. Finest Hour
