Soundwave (Transformers)

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For sound waves, see Sound and Wave.

Soundwave (Radar in France, Memor in Italy; later known as Soundblaster in Japan) is a fictional character from the Transformers Universe.

Generation 1 Soundwave

The toy that would become Soundwave was originally part of the Japanese Microman line. When released as Soundwave it was packaged with the Decepticon Buzzsaw.

Original Tech Spec: It is said Soundwave can hear a fly sneeze. Uses anything he hears for blackmail to advance his status. Opportunist. Despised by all other Decepticons. Sensors can detect even lowest energy radio transmissions. Able to read minds by monitoring electrical brain impulses. Acts as radio link for others. Locates and identifies Autobots, then informs Decepticons. Carries a concussion blaster gun. Often target of retaliation by his comrades.

If his fellow Decepticons think that Soundwave is listening (he is almost literally faceless, having only eyes as recognizable features), they keep their mouths shut. Despite his impenetrable exterior, Soundwave is a blackmailer through and through, an unrepentant opportunist who will eavesdrop in search of any information to improve his standing in Megatron's eyes. His comrades will usually pretend to like him in order to keep on his good side, but in reality, he doesn't care what his victims think of him, because he knows that he is indispensable to the Decepticon cause, although that sense of self-importance occasionally gives rise to overconfidence. Unfortunately for those who Soundwave sets his sights upon, however, keeping quiet is not quite enough, due to Soundwave's ability to monitor electrical impulses within brain circuitry - in other words, his ability to read minds.

Soundwave can detect and jam radio transmissions all across the energy spectrum, a talent that makes him naturally suited to his position as Decepticon Communications Officer. He possesses a photographic memory thanks to the vast data storage capacity of the magnetic disks in his chest compartment, and he is armed with a shoulder-mounted radiowave sensor and hand-held concussion blaster. He transforms, shrinking as he does so, into an Earthly tape deck, and in the tape compartment, which becomes his chest in robot mode, he stores the Decepticon spy cassettes such as Ravage, Laserbeak,Ratbat, Rumble, and Frenzy, who seem to exist in a quasi-symbiotic relationship with him.

Many fans claim that the head of the Soundwave toy is the inspiration for the design of the Decepticon symbol.

Animated Series

In the original Transformers cartoon - his most prominent role in Transformers fiction - Soundwave was Megatron's right-hand man, frequently sent on important reconnaissance missions with his cassettes, and often playing a key role in many schemes against the Autobots. Immediately after the Transformers awakened on Earth in 1984, Soundwave 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. Later, he used his mind-reading talents to acquire an antimatter formula for the Decepticons from the brain of Chip Chase. One of Soundwave's most notable misadventures came in 1985, when, operating a plan conceived by Starscream, he brainwashed humans with ultrasonic vibrations, leading to a confrontation with his Autobot Communications Officer counterpart, Blaster, and to a lasting rivalry between the two.

Although Soundwave rarely displayed much emotion, only infrequently exhibiting any traits that could be considered to be in line with his tech spec, he always came across as extremely loyal to Megatron, even going so far as to recover his body after being left for dead at The Battle of Autobot City in 2005. But while Soundwave was loyal, he was far from stupid, and kept his mouth shut when Megatron's body was subsequently ejected into space, and although he did suggest himself as a replacement leader, he again loyally served him when he was recreated as Galvatron.

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 was again pulled into a confrontation with Blaster, who erased his recordings.

Soundwave was performed by Frank Welker, whose voice was heavily modulated by a vocoder to achieve Soundwave's distinctive, metallic monotone. However, Welker's voice was left unmodulated at certain points during the episodes Roll For It and Webworld due to production errors. Welker's voice is then very similar to the one he used for his role as Dr. Claw in the series Inspector Gadget [link]. In Japan, Soundwave's voice was performed by Issei Masamune. The Chinese dub, presumably lacking a vocoder, attempts to imitate Soundwave's original mechanical voice by having the actor "sing" the dialogue in different tones, resulting in an operatic (and unintentionally hilarious) performance.

Soundblaster

Although Soundwave did not appear in the American cartoon series finale, the three-part The Rebirth, he returned to the forefront in the new Japanese-exclusive series, Transformers: Headmasters, which was created to take The Rebirths place in the East. Reborn as Soundblaster', Soundwave's new toy incarnation was, like the series, available only in Japan.

In the opening cut and thrust of Headmasters, Soundwave and Blaster engaged in their final clash in the Arctic circle as the Autobots and Decepticons were in the process of searching for the missing Autobot Matrix of Leadership. The two opponents inflicted fatal damage to each other, and Soundwave's body exploded even as Blaster collapsed, but his fragments were recovered by his cassettes. Using reconstructive technology from the planet Master, the leader of the Decepticon Headmasters, Zarak successfully rebuilt and resurrected Soundwave as Soundblaster - essentially identical to his former self, except for his predominantly black color scheme. As Soundblaster, Soundwave served the same role as he had ever done under the leadership of Galvatron and later Scorponok, frequently embarking on spying missions with Ratbat.

Marvel Comics

Like much of the original 1984 cast of Decepticons, Soundwave played a much smaller role in the Marvel comic book series than he did in the cartoon. He quietly and efficiently served loyally, first under Megatron, then under Shockwave, attacking an aerospace construction plant whose facilities were used to build the Constructicons, who then built a massive radio dish that Soundwave used to beam a message back to Cybertron. Continuing to operate under Shockwave, Soundwave then moved to serving Ratbat, and co-led the defence of Buenos Aires against the Underbase-empowered Starscream alongside Fortress Maximus, only to wind up deactivated by the villain. Unlike many of the others deactivated by Starscream, Soundwave would appear again, under Scorponok's command. Throughout the US comic, Soundwave was colored purple instead of blue (presumably in an attempt to break up the large amount of blue coloration used in the comic, as it was often substituted in place of black and grey) and frequently appeared with a mouth.

"I will monitor transmissions and read Autobot electrical impulses to learn their plans. Even my photographic memory serves as a defensive weapon." - Soundwave in Marvel Comics.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in the UK, a sister title to the American series was also in production. It reprinted the American stories, but it was released weekly, as opposed to monthly. It soon began to run out of material to reprint, opting to create its own original stories which deftly weaved in and out of the ongoing American storyline. Under writer Simon Furman, Soundwave - colored in his correct blue hues - was a fairly major player, portrayed in a manner much more consistent with his profile - that of a manipulator and blackmailer, reading others' minds and using their secrets to his own ends, always working towards his own goals. When Megatron and Shockwave were both briefly believed deceased, he assumed leadership of the Decepticons during the "Dinobot Hunt," and when the two commanders returned and vied for the single leadership, he turned the situation to his own advantage by working both sides of the field, reporting to both commanders without either knowing.

Towards the end of the UK series, a break-away storyline began which separated from the regular ongoing American continuity, covering the exploits of the proactive Autobot "Earthforce". In these stories, Soundwave's selling of Decepticon secrets to both the Autobots and Shockwave's group of Decepticons resulted in Wildrider getting blamed for his actions, and Soundwave silently allowed him to be killed rather than be discovered. After Starscream was successfully able to remove Megatron and Shockwave from power, he and Soundwave entered into joint leadership of the Decepticons. Notably, it was not explained how Soundwave was restored after his deactivation at the hands of Starscream - like other similarly-affected Transformers, he may have been revived with the transformation-paralysing fuel Nucleon; this theory makes sense, as an Action Master figure of Soundwave, with a partner named Wingthing, was released in 1990.

Soundwave also attained the leadership position in the future world of 2008, following the death of Shockwave (who had seized power when Galvatron travelled back in time). Soundwave led his era's Decepticons back to 1989 to participate in the Time Wars when the fabric of reality began to crumble, but before as the conflict came to a head they fled back to their own time. Since it was later established that the damage done to the timestream had resulted in their future being erased from the timeline, the final fate of the future Soundwave is unknown.

Generation 2 Comics

Soundwave returned to the pages of the US Transformers comic books for the first time since Starscream deactivated him for the relaunch of the series as . He participated in the Decepticon attack on Earth, and oversaw the reconstruction of the damaged Darkwing into a new, more powerful form.

Dreamwave Comics

Soundwave was recruited as a Decepticon under the leadership of Megatron in his war against the Autobots on the planet Cybertron. He was made head of communications.

When a new Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, was chosen, Soundwave was sent along withthe Insecticons and Ravage, to attempt to kill him and bring to Matrix to Megatron, but they failed, forcing Megatron to confront Optimus personally.

After Megatron and Optimus Prime were lost in an accident with a space bridge, the Decepticon forces splintered. Soundwave stayed with the Decepticons under the command of Shockwave.

Soundwave was chosen as a member of the crew of the Nemesis when Megatron launched it to attack the Ark, an Autobot ship. Both ships fought, and after the Decepticons boarded the Ark, it crashed on the planet Earth, where all on board were placed in emergency stasis lock for millions of years.

In the Earth year 1984, a volcanic explosion awakened the Ark. Its computer, Teletran One, reformatted all on board to be able to assume the forms of Earth machines. Soundwave was given the form of a Sony Walkman cassette player.

Eventually the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth, and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. A ship called the Ark II was built to take the Cybertonians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but Soundwave and the other Cybertonians were lost in the ocean, again in stasis lock.

Soundwave and others were recovered by a rogue military unit and reprogrammed as slave war machines.

Bumblebee, Frenzy, Grimlock, Laserbeak, Prowl, Ravage, Soundwave and Starscream were forced at attack the Smitco oil refinery in the Arctic to display their power for sale to the highest bidder (Transformer: Generation One #2).

Megatron broke free and then freed his fellow Decepticons.

Eventually Soundwave was among the Decepticons captured by Shockwave and taken back to Cybertron. With Megatron seemingly gone thanks to the treachery of Starscream, Soundwave plotted with Starscream to return to Earth to conquer it.

Returning to Earth under the command of Starscream, Skywarp, Soundwave and Thundercracker were captured by the Autobots and locked in cells on board the Ark. They escaped when the Ark was attacked by Bruticus (Transformers: Generation One III #1).

Eventually Soundwave betrayed Starscream and revealed he had been loyal to Megatron all along, awaiting his return.

Devil's Due Comics

In the Devil's Due comics Soundwave was among the Transformers captured by the terrorist group Cobra. Eventually breaking free of their control he was damaged in a battle with the Autobots and his parts were captured by the US Government for study.

In the third volume of the Devil's due comics the android Serpentor downloaded information on the history of Cybertron from Soundwave. Mentioned among that information was the Quintessons, Alpha Trion, Megatron and Soundwave, the planet of Junk, a warrior named Optimus Primal and the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Generation 2

Although the Marvel comic continued to render Soundwave in his original body, still rendered in purple; it concluded before it could feature the G2 toyline's new, distinctly different version of Soundwave from 1995 - a fluorescent yellow, blue and pink Ford Thunderbird Go-Bot. A repaint of the Laser Cycle figure, Road Pig, in Soundwave's original blue and silver was also planned, but abandoned.

Tech Spec: Audio receptors detect lowest possible energy frequencies and sounds - even a fly sneezing! Eavesdrops on Autobot transmissions. Relays their position to Decepticons. Monitors electrical impulses to read minds, then uses intercepted information to blackmail others. Despised by many of his comrades - often a target for retaliation.

Machine Wars

1997's Machine Wars toyline, released exclusively in KB Toy stores, featured another new version of Soundwave. A repaint of the 1992 European-exclusive figure, Stalker, this toy transformed into a missile tank and, colored in shades of black, grey and maroon, resembled Soundwave only through a similar head sculpt, and a shoulder-mounted weapon, in this case, an electron rocket. His tech spec, however, was clearly based on that of the original Soundwave toy's, with an additional mention of a new nickname for this version of the character: "The Terror Tank."

Beast Wars Soundwave

Although the main Beast Wars toyline concluded in 1999, a small sub-line of "Mutant" figures were released under its banner in 2000 while the main line, Beast Machines continued on. Among these Mutants was the next character to bear the name of Soundwave. However, although Beast Wars officially exists in the same continuity as a version of the G1 universe and its Soundwave, this character has no connection to the original Decepticon.

As a Mutant, this Soundwave transforms from bat to alligator, with no robot mode. In bat mode, his ultra-sensetive internal radar makes him ideal for stealthy aerial recon missions, while his alligator-mode jaws can fracture even the strongest known alloy, and his tail can generate circuit-disrupting seismic wave when pounded on the ground. Like the other Mutants, Soundwave is a dark, brooding character, amplified by his tendecy to be over-dramatic.

Mutants Icebird, Poison Bite and Soundwave appeared in the third issue of the IDW Beast Wars series.

Although Soundwave didn't appear in Beast Machines, there was were a number of robots shown in a flashback scene with Nightscream before Megatron took over Cybertron. In this flashback is a robot who looks almost identical to Generation 1 Soundwave. When asked about this, show writer Bob Skir said this wasn't Soundwave, but in order to save time the animators reused Soundwave's model for the character.

Transtech

After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic. Hasbro commissioned sets of designs from Draxhall Jump. The series was supposedly to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars along with some Generation 1 characters, all in new, techno-organic bodies, though with vehicle alternate modes instead of the animals used in Beast Machines. Many concept sketches and even a few toy prototypes were made, but Hasbro scrapped the idea in favor of bringing to their markets as .

Concept sketches or prototype toys have been seen for Blackarachnia, Cheetor, Depth Charge, Megatron, Nightscream, Optimus Prime, Scavenger, Shockwave, Silverbolt, Soundwave, Starscream and a new character called Immorticon. There were also rumors of a Transtech Dinobot.

Transformers: Universe

In 2004's toyline, the Machine Wars toy was again released under the name of Soundwave, this time with a blue, silver and yellow color scheme to somewhat evoke the original character. He was packaged with the Decepticon Spacecase.

A recolor of the Beast Wars mutant Soundwave was also planned for the Universe line, but it was never released. It is unknown if it would have been an Autobot or Decepticon.

Neither of the Universe Soundwave characters appeared in the Transformers Universe comics, however the Beast Wars Soundwave in his original colors did appear along with the other mutants in the Transformers: Universe - Wreckers comics. He and the other mutants were executed by the Quintessons.

Transformers: Cybertron

In , Soundwave is the second Transformer from the mysterious Planet X. He transforms into a stealth fightercraft and is partnered with a smaller robot called Laserbeak (Killer Condor in Japan). Like his G1 counterpart, he has a synthesized robotic-sounding voice, which is counterbalanced by his tendency to speak like a modern DJ - using terms like "He got served" and "Peace out, bots."

Soundwave is armed with two cannons, and can hide himself behind holograms when working in conjunction with Laserbeak.

Television Series

Soundwave first makes his appearance, offering to lead Megatron and his minions to the planet Gigantion. However, after they arrived there, he abandoned them, and joined up with his counterpart, Sideways. During a battle with the Autobot Cybertron Defense Team, he revealed the history of his world, and how they desired the Cyber Planet Keys to get revenge on the inhabitants of Gigantion.

Later, he and Sideways attempted to intervene in the epic battle between Megatron (now Galvatron) and Starscream in order to claim the Planet Keys and Omega Lock, only to be sent into another universe by the distortion caused by the two fighters' conflict.

However, Soundwave would appear later, when Starscream reached out to Galvatron across dimensions, seemingly trapped along with him and Sideways. However, Starscream seemed to have returned by the series' end, which meant that the same possibility existed for both Sideways and Soundwave.

The package bio for Soundwave mentions that Planet X itself may be a total deception, and that it is actually a term the agents use to refer to their service to Unicron. Although he and Sideways are the survivors of a dead civilization, they actually serve Unicron throughout space and time as his heralds in taking over new worlds to replace his loss of previous forms. Soundwave makes an appearance in the club comic as Unicron's agent, prevailing where Ramjet and Nemesis Prime failed. He tosses the dead matrix into the black hole, and Unicron's spark emerges, travelling to a nearby world and taking it as his new host.

Soundwave is the only transformer in the series who never summons his Cyber Key. In his toy version, his Cyber Key opens his chest compartment to store Laserbeak or one of his two cannons. In his first apperance to the Autobots Soundwave demonstrates the ability to do this without the aid of a Cyber Key.

Comic Series

Cybertron Soundwave was among the character to appear in the Transformers Collectors Club comic series.

Issue #8 (Revelations Part 2) - Vector Prime returns to Alpha Trion's chamber carrying Skyfall, with both needing repairs. As Vector Prime is telling Downshift what happened, Sentinel Maximus, Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus return and inform them that Nemesis Prime is in stasis lock and was placed in an energy dampening cell. Optimus Prime tells the story of where they came from (The Transformers: Universe comic). Vector Prime is unable to maintain his form and begs Sentinel Maximus to protect Skyfall, thinking he came to Cybertron for a reason. Vector Prime then vanishes. A voice speaks from nowhere that explains that Vector Prime and Safeguard are now on Earth (where he continues in the television series). The voice is the Mini-Con Over-Run, whose body was killed by Starscream while he was linked with the planet, and he now lives in Cybertron's computer system. Over-Run was the one who activated the autoguns that defeated Scorponok and the one who brought Omega Prime to Cybertron. Over-Run has Optimus and Magnus store the Dead Matrix in the rare items locker at the Cybertron archives, but they are observed by Soundwave.

Issue #9 (Revelations Part 3) - Soundwave sends his drone Laserbeak into the Cybertron archives to retrieve the Dead Matrix. Soundwave then takes the Dead Matrix, activates it and tosses it into the Grand Black Hole. Unicron's spark then escapes the and heads to the planet Yst. Unicron's influence turns the peaceful inhabitants of Yst into savage killers who kill one another. As the planet dies Unicron is reborn.

2007 movie

According to leaked movie scripts, Soundwave's alternate mode for the upcoming live-action feature film is rumored to be a four-foot tall boombox. Other rumors include: an Ipod, a vending machine selling either Coke products (the cans transform into his minions) or Mars, Twix, Milky Way and Munchies chocolates (the sweeties transform into his minions, and can combine with the vending machine to form MasterFoods). It all depends who sponsors the film, Impactor, a box of tic-tacs. The tic-tacs will transform into his minions, or a human female called Sharon. However, the director of the Transformers movie, Michael Bay, has stated in his blog that the scripts that were leaked were several months old, leading to speculation that this information may no longer be accurate. It is still possible that Soundwave may appear as a helicopter in the 2007 live film.

Other appearances

• Soundwave appears in an episode of Robot Chicken in which he transforms into a toilet.
• Soundwave appears in the Family Guy episode "The Courtship of Stewie's Father" as Peter's supervisor. In it, Soundwave is married to a woman named Dennise whom he met in a Christian chat room.
• Soundwave appears in short movie directed by Colin Miller and Irfan Nathod where he breakdances. This located at http://students.washington.edu/colin2/breakformers/Video_player_06.html.

 

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