Rung (G1)
This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.
| This article is about the Generation 1 Autobot. For the Kre-O Autobot, see Rung (Kre-O). |
- Rung is an Autobot from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
The Autobots have this, you know, psy-ops specialist. He's red, right? Orangey-red? And tiny? Basically defenseless? Does anyone remember his name? It's something like... Ring? Rong? Rang? Dang. It's on the tip of my tongue. He files these reports, you know, for Autopedia? He's written entries for each Autobot, from Red Alert to Impactor to Red Alert again. As part of his duties, he performs the mental assessments of potential Wreckers-to-be. He's very important. He's got... these huge eyebrows. You gotta know who this is describing, right? Collects and builds model spacecraft? Seriously. What's his name?
Oh, right! Rung! Thanks.
Or maybe Wrung. Who knows, really.
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Rung may be a quiet, unassuming guy in the background but he's managed to meet almost every post-war surviving Autobot you care to name! Rewind has called him a historical constant. An Intimate Beheading He thinks his backgrounder status is because he's always kept his original design, leaving everyone to get used to him; that and those gits like Froid damaging his reputation of a psychiatrist. Signal to Noise
While hanging out at Maccadam's New Oil House, Rung spilled a cadet's drink. After refusing to clean up the spill, the poor bot was tossed across the bar, right onto Impactor and Megatron's table, which led to a barfight. Chaos Theory Part 1 Rung seemed to be a regular at the Oil House, and a suspicious Quark believed he was a Senate spy. Nightbeat correctly realised Rung was just a billy-no-mates. Post Hoc
After the war broke out, Red Alert became one of Rung's patients. He'd stay one of Rung's patients for six centuries, his paranoia so bad it took ninety-seven sessions before he let Rung see his face, two hundred eighty-eight sessions before he told Rung his real name, and three hundred thirty-two sessions before he stopped recording their conversations. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
Rung did a psychological evaluation of Impactor before his trial for unlawful executions. He ended up being physically assaulted and threatened with extreme violence if he tried 'putting ideas' in Impactor's head, but managed to calm the situation down. In the end, Rung was left questioning whether Autobot High Command shared the blame for Impactor's crimes for turning a blind eye to the robot's growing psychopathy. Impactor's Autopedia entry
Rung later performed a pre-mission psych-screening on new Wreckers Rotorstorm, Ironfist, Pyro, and Guzzle to estimate if they were suited to be put on the Garrus-9 case. Rung was unimpressed by Rotorstorm's unrelenting bragging and joking, and found himself cutting through the charade when he mentioned Simanzi. Taking note of his dual personality, Rung declared him cleared for mission. Rotorstorm's Autopedia entry With Pyro, he diagnosed the robot as an extreme sufferer of Primus apotheosis and noted with sadness that the robot was suppressing his own engaging personality for a copy of another's. He cleared Pyro with reservations, noting that apotheosis sufferers were known for sacrificing themselves. Pyro's Autopedia entry With Guzzle, he cleared the 'bot as having personality flaws but no real psychological flaws, though he was unnerved by his disturbing habit of playing with his gun's safety. Guzzle's Autopedia entry
When screening Ironfist, he was impressed by his enthusiasm and knowledge, but not so much by his actual combat experience and mentality. Rung advised against Ironfist's participation, but retracted his negative conclusion when he received 'unsolicited advice' from an undisclosed party. Ironfist's Autopedia entry
Rung treated the shell-shocked Autobot Flattop. He discovered Flattop was a survivor of the Babu Yar atrocity, but that was not his immediate problem. What pushed him over the edge this time was an encounter with the Shimmer. Rung tried to give rational explanations for the appearance of Shimmer, but Flattop died right there in his office. Bullets
Kup, one of Rung's oldest friends, asked him to examine Springer after a zero point affliction had left him in a coma. Believing that certain emotional triggers could cause Springer's subconscious to force his spark across the zero point, Rung asked Roadbuster to read Wreckers: Declassified datalogs to him in hopes that the memories would have some effect. Zero Point
Rung was among the survivors of Cyclonus's attack on Kimia Facility. He and the others drifted in a cramped escape pod for some time until they were rescued by Arcee. Chaos Part Three: Kings
After Cybertron was reborn in the wake of D-Void's defeat, Rung joined Rodimus's crew on the Lost Light in search for the Knights of Cybertron. Before he could get on the ship, his arm was detached by a wildly flying Cyclonus. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It After getting his arm repaired in Ratchet's care, Rung was choked by an irrational and unresponsive Whirl. The psychiatrist managed to get him to release his grip when he reminded Whirl that he would go back to prison, forever, if he didn't stay in line. When Skids joined the crew, Rung informed him of their quest. Hangers On Rung later had a close call with a Sparkeater, but was saved by Skids. Rodimus used the two to lure the Sparkeater so he could defeat it. The Chaos of Warm Things
Red Alert, previously thought cured, returned to therapy shortly after the launch of the Lost Light. Rung was concerned that all the progress they had made on Red Alert's rampant paranoia over the years was coming undone. Red Alert informed Rung that he was hearing noises coming from a crack in the floor of the Sparkeater's chamber. He gave him a recording of the noise which Rung vaguely recognized as a voice, albeit tremendously slowed-down. When they sped the sound up, the words "kill...me" could be identified. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
Rung held a session with the newly-returned Fortress Maximus, whose mental state had been called into question after he had suffered torture and humiliation at the hands of Overlord for three years. Rung urged him to open up and explore his trauma, to no avail. Maximus later snapped and went on a rampage across the Lost Light, gunning down Autobots that reminded him of Overlord. Rung was in the middle of a session with Whirl when Max broke in and took them both hostage. Rung was bound to his chair and Whirl was overpowered and pinned to the ground. Rung tried to reason with Maximus, while simultaneously recording and broadcasting what was happening in his office through the microphone in his thumb. When Maximus noticed it, he tore Rung's thumb off.
As the situation dragged on, Rung continued to try and break through to Maximus. Max kept dodging the issue, pinning the reason for his actions on Prowl's delay in sending help to Garrus-9, instead of acknowledging that Overlord was at the root of his psychosis. Maximus then confronted Whirl, who told Maximus about his life. Rung expressed wonder at this, as there were details that Whirl told Maximus that he's never told Rung. Whirl replied that Rung had never threatened any of his friends, to Rung's visible surprise. When a holo-image of Overlord torturing him was projected into the room by Rewind, Maximus froze up and crumbled to his knees. Rung tenderly comforted him and the hostage situation appeared to be at an end. Unfortunately, a shot from Swerve meant to disable Fortress Maximus instead hit Rung in the head. A memorial service was later held for Rung, which Rodimus presided over. Interiors
Surprisingly, Rung's spark and brain module survived and the medical staff believed he might pull through: something Ratchet said was akin to a miracle. Later, after a visit by Skids and a horrified Swerve, Red Alert came to see the comatose psychiatrist. Believing that Rung's near-death was a result of the recording he had played to Rung, the paranoid security officer said he couldn't tell anyone else the truth he'd discovered — the voice was Overlord's, the sadistic Decepticon "strung up and sedated" in the bowels of the Lost Light. Expecting to be killed himself, he left a data slug of his findings in Rung's hand and said goodbye. Unfortunately, a Diagnostic Drone had recorded Red Alert's confession, and summoned a mysterious figure who removed the slug... Rules of Disengagement
After Rung's head was rebuilt, it took hours of patient work from First Aid to get Rung to be able to distinguish between people and objects. Then it took Swerve talking for 147 hours straight to get Rung to move again (placing a finger over Swerve's mouth). With Rung still locked into the fog of his own thoughtsSignal to Noise, Rewind decided that they could help repair the psychiatrist's brain by telling him a story: hearing stories required the brain to use its cognitive functions. He assembled a group of Autobots who'd all been part of interlinked events and tried to use the story to kick-start Rung's brain. And then he tried again. Patternism Not knowing when to try a different tack, he then tried a third time with a group of 'Bots who had been involved in a chain of events during the Clampdown and prompted them to talk about it. Post Hoc Rewind checked Rung again during the story later and still found no mental signs in him Patternism and he still showed no signs when the story was finished. Seeing that Rewind was on the wrong track, Skids tried a simpler idea, drawing from the sheer number of connections the psychiatrist had made during his lifespan without leaving an impact on many. He deliberately got his name wrong several times in front of him, and an irritated Rung immediately said his name was "Rung. Forever." An Intimate Beheading
After being fully repaired and helping Brainstorm rejig the holomatter avatars to be more effective (and to reflect the Autobot's inner psyche), he went down to Hedonia to hang out at a bar with Swerve, Skids, Tailgate, Rewind and Cyclonus, Whirl, and Ultra Magnus, who just tagged along. He had to help drag an unconscious Magnus back home. Cybertronian Homesick Blues It was then that he remembered what Red Alert had told him before his 'accident', and he reported it to Rodimus. Signal to Noise
Unfortunately, this didn't stop Overlord escaping and killing part of the crew, including damaging Ultra Magnus' spark. Rodimus was left despondent and angry, and made angrier when Rung, correctly, realised his problem was that others had stopped Overlord and not him. At the funerals, Rung's stern, silent glance got Rodimus to admit that others, including the poor, dead Rewind, had saved the day. The Gloaming Speaking truth to power got Rung drafted for a mission to the legendary Luna 1, in search of a missing Ultra Magnus: Rodimus needed someone who was willing to say things he didn't want to hear. The Fecund Moon
On the mission, they came under attack by Chief Justice Tyrest, were arrested, and shoved into a cell with a guy called Minimus Ambus. Rung swiftly picked up that Ambus had the same mannerisms, nervous tics, and speech patterns as Ultra Magnus. Keeping his suspicions to himself at first, Rung tested his theory by wearing an Autobot badge at an angle and deliberately making a mess. "Ambus"'s reaction to both revealed that he was, in fact, Ultra Magnus. House of Ambus
Toys
Fictional toys
- Rung
- Accessories: Data Journal, "ARK-1" Model, Tech Specs Decoder
- In some time-lost continuity, Swerve tried to figure out a Rung toy. Its features included moveable eyebrows to alter the robot's expression, and a "Listening Mode."Little Victories
Notes
- A psychoanalyst named Rung was referenced in the unofficial Transformers novel Eugenesis, written by James Roberts.
- The name "Rung" is a reference to Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology.[1] The mention of "Rungian analysis" in "How to Say Goodbye and Mean It" is a further play on this.
- Incidentally, the above reference to "Rungian analysis" came from Tailgate on his way to the original Ark. This means Rung was an established psychotherapist as far back as six million years ago, in the times of Nova Prime, making him one of the few identified survivors of that era.
- Rung's longest suffering patient was Bluestreak.
- Alex Milne modeled Rung's appearance on actors Brent Spiner and David Hyde-Pierce.[2]
- More than a few hints have been dropped indicating that Rung is, well, more than meets the eye. Red Alert cites his "impressive" serial number of 1,000,000 in Liars Part 1; he has an utterly unique alternate mode; the Sparkeater apparently seeks him out as having the brightest Spark on the ship in Liars Part 3; Rewind describes him as a "historical constant", somehow always present during significant events while remaining outside them, in Shadowplay Part 3; and somehow he manages to stay (mostly) out of harm's way throughout millions of years of war and remain in like-new condition, as commented on by Ratchet in Liars Part 2 - and that's all before his near-miraculous survival of having his head destroyed. Could it be building up to something? Nahhhh, no chance of that!
- In his many Roberts-penned appearances, Rung tends to avoid being identified by his name while he's around others and conscious. In his comic appearances, his name is mispronounced or he's only described, only able to be named by others when they're not in his vicinity or when he's unconscious. In prose stories, others can name him directly while he's around. Rung's dismay at being unidentified and his general inability to be noticed likely tie in to the promo image for MTMTE #1, where Rung was identified as wanting "to be remembered."
- He was Red Alert's psychiatrist for six centuries and still Red Alert didn't recognize him when he saw Rung at the Lost Light. Go Rung!
- Rung's Holomatter avatar is named Mary Sue, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the literary term of the same name and a wink at fans who consider Rung to be Roberts' own alter-ego.
