Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity - Transformers Wiki

Logic dictates that this is the most preferred version of Shockwave.

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

Millions of years ago, on the troubled planet Cybertron, Shockwave was the military ruler of the city-state of Tarn. Following a botched attempt by Vos to ignite war between Iacon and Tarn, Tarn went to war with Vos and both cities were destroyed by an exchange of photon missiles. The survivors of both cities—presumably including Shockwave—were gathered together by the ex-gladiator Megatron, who used their bitterness towards Iacon to unite them under his control as the Decepticons. State Games Shockwave formed part of the 'nucleus' of the Decepticons with Megatron and Soundwave. Datafile: Megatron

As Military Commander, Shockwave planned the strategy of the Decepticon assault on the Ark. Warrior School! After the Autobots had successfully destroyed the asteroids threatening Cybertron, Megatron and the other Decepticons attacked the ship while Shockwave remained behind on their ship to pilot it and act as a potential backup. When the Ark subsequently crashed on Earth, deactivating all those within, Shockwave followed the ship down, but the planet's magnetic fields caused a malfunction in his guidance systems, resulting in him landing half a world away, in the tropical Antarctic jungle known as the Savage Land.

The Ark's dying computer detected Shockwave's presence on the planet and reactivated five Autobots to combat him, rebuilding them in the shapes of the Savage Land's native dinosaurs. The Last Stand These "Dinobots" battled Shockwave, a battle that ended in permanent stalemate when Snarl brought down the mountain that Shockwave stood upon, knocking all the combatants into a tar pit. Repeat Performance!

In 1984, when the rest of the Transformers aboard the Ark were awakened by a volcanic eruption, the Autobots attempted to track down their five missing comrades. A sensor drone tracked them to the Savage Land, but inadvertently wound up reactivating Shockwave, who headed straight for Oregon. He arrived just as the Autobots had claimed victory over the Decepticons and his explosive entry saw all the weakened combatants knocked off-line. The Last Stand These events were observed by the time travelling Dicet Alpha-zero. The Quest!

Rounding up the bodies, Shockwave took control of the Ark, strung up the Autobots for spare parts, decapitated Optimus Prime and restored his fellow Decepticons back to health. This came as something of a rude shock to Megatron, who awoke to find that Shockwave had decided it was only logical for him to take over leadership of the Decepticons in light of Megatron's failure. After declaring his leadership and the superiority of Decepticons over humans, he flew off to begin his conquests. The New Order At some point during his control of the Ark, Shockwave bested Guardian and had Soundwave booby-trap the drone with a thermonuclear bomb in case Megatron or the Autobots attempted to usurp his command. The Wrath of Grimlock!

Shockwave's first attack was on the new offshore oil-drilling platform of tycoon G.B. Blackrock. Tearing his way through the rig's defenses, he quickly secured it for use as a secondary base of operations. Unbeknownst to Shockwave, the violent attack crippled the human Josie Beller, leading to her transformation into Circuit Breaker. When Shockwave returned to the Ark, a weakened Megatron engaged him in combat for leadership. Despite his power, Megatron was soundly defeated. Shockwave dumped Megatron's broken body before the troops he had once commanded and demanded that they vow to serve Shockwave alone. They didn't argue. Megatron grudgingly swore his fealty as well. The Worse of Two Evils!

Shockwave's next attack came through Soundwave and Laserbeak, who took control of the Blackrock Aerospace Assembly Plant Number One. Warrior School! After Soundwave reported his success, Shockwave traveled from the oil platform to the Ark, checking in with Megatron and reminding him again of where he stood. From the Ark, he transported Optimus Prime's head to the Aerospace Plant. Shockwave effortlessly blasted his way past the Army cordon surrounding the plant, all the while lecturing the foolish humans about the raw strength of his armor. Repeat Performance!

Shockwave prepared six Decepticon brain modules and used the Creation Matrix within Prime's head to give them life. The Wrath of Guardian! Shockwave quickly began setting up the Aerospace Plant's facilities to carry out his plans; however, this was rather boring work for Decepticon warriors, leading to some diminished morale; Shockwave had to sic Buzzsaw on Frenzy when the latter started throwing a temper tantrum over threats from the human G.B. Blackrock. Still, accepting Starscream's argument that morale could use a boost, Shockwave granted permission for Starscream and Frenzy to destroy Blackrock's weapon. DIS-Integrated Circuits!

After some time, the plant was ready and Shockwave used it to create the bodies of the Constructicons, whose brain modules had already been brought to life with the power of the Creation Matrix drained from Prime's head. Shockwave then began work on his next project, the superjet Jetfire, but was startled to find that he could not bring him to life. The Next Best Thing to Being There!

Shockwave had the plant's captive workers begin construction of a hundred jet warriors; meanwhile, he tried yet again to bring Jetfire to life. When the process failed, he deduced that Optimus Prime must have hidden the Matrix somewhere. Scanning the memory banks of Rumble, he discovered that Optimus had transferred the Matrix into the mind of the human, Buster Witwicky. Shockwave programmed Jetfire to capture Buster, but the boy was able to use the power of the Matrix to bring the robot under his own control. Brainstorm!

Buster used Jetfire to travel to the Aerospace Plant, intending to free Optimus Prime. Jetfire's pre-programmed response to an Air Force attack, however, meant that Buster was knocked unconscious and delivered to Shockwave as a captive.

The Autobots' attempts to keep Buster away from the Decepticons led Shockwave to suspect that his headquarters was bugged. Soundwave soon ferreted out a telephone link that was allowing the Autobots to listen in on their plans. Shockwave used the link to manipulate the Autobots into bringing their leader's body with them to a nearby swamp, where his head was to be deposited, there to corrode away forever. The head that actually arrived there, however, was a false one constructed by Shockwave, which attacked the Autobots once it was joined with Optimus Prime's body.

Shockwave had reckoned without Buster's fighting back, however; as Jetfire was about to take the real head of Optimus Prime and pitch it into the swamp, the captive human used his Matrix powers to take control of Jetfire and knock out Shockwave. Shockwave awoke to find both Optimus Prime and the human workers gone; he quickly deduced what had happened and flew to the battle site. There he engaged the newly-whole Optimus in a one-on-one battle which ended when the Decepticon leader was tossed into a swamp. Prime Time! These events were also observed by Dicet Alpha-zero. The Quest!

That Christmas, Circuit Breaker had a flashback to the attack on the oil-drilling platform and blasted a Christmas tree that she thought was Shockwave. Christmas Breaker! While suffering a crisis of command, Optimus Prime sat and moped about his treatment at Shockwave's, er, hand. Crisis of Command! Professor Morris would later show footage of Shockwave to Roxxon Oil executives in an attempt to gain more funding for his neural relay link. The Icarus Theory Finally extricating himself from the swamp after being trapped for several months, Shockwave returned to leadership of the Decepticons at their oil-drilling platform base with a power siphon he had designed, capable of converting the oil into energon cubes, freeing them from their reliance on static fuel sources. This led to an ill-fated plan involving stealing sonic energy from a Brick Springhorn concert that was ultimately scuppered by the Autobots. Rock and Roll-Out! At a meeting of the Intelligence and Information Institute, Walter Barnett and Forrest Forsythe reviewed footage of Shockwave and Megatron fighting at Vallemont when trying to formulate a policy regarding the giant robots. I, Robot-Master! Subsequently, Shockwave attempted to exploit Bumblebee as a weak link in the Autobot forces, and assembled a squad to pursue, abduct, and brainwash him. Though Shockwave managed to isolate Bumblebee and wound Jetfire in his chase, the diminutive scout was rescued by his team-mates. Calculating a low chance of his plan to succeed at this juncture, Shockwave ordered a retreat. Plight of the Bumblebee!

When Wheeljack and Ratchet built Buster a mechanoid battlesuit, the human test-drove it by attacking Frenzy. Shockwave responded to the attack, only to be briefly blinded when a desperate Buster flung a handful of sand into his optic sensor. The darkness this brought about revived memories of his four-million-year burial and his humiliating swamp submergence and an enraged, barely-sane Shockwave disregarded logic in a desire for revenge that saw him pursue Buster throughout the night. As the new day dawned, Buster made one final attack with all the suit's power, which destroyed it but merely injured Shockwave. Seizing the boy in his hand, Shockwave was about to crush the life from him when the Autobot forces arrived to rescue him. Robot Buster! Around this time aboard the Ark, the comatose Slag relived his one-on-one confrontation with Shockwave in the Savage Land. Victory!

His rationality returning, Shockwave realized that Buster could potentially be a powerful tool to use against the Autobots and had the Constructicons attempt to abduct him, but during the battle Soundwave discovered that the Matrix had planted in Buster's mind a vision for the future of the Transformer race. Devastation Derby! Shockwave watched intently as Soundwave tapped into Buster's dreams and witnessed a vision of combiner Transformers battling. Little did he know that Soundwave was also beaming the vision to Megatron (now operating independently of Shockwave), who decided that it was time for him to retake Decepticon leadership. Shockwave and Megatron battled once more, but with Megatron at full health, the fight was much more evenly matched and drawn-out and was even televised by the Decepticons' unwilling human ally, Robot Master. To prevent the Decepticons from being made to look like fools, Soundwave demanded they cease fighting and consent to a joint leadership. Begrudgingly, both agreed. Second Generation! During this period of joint leadership, the Decepticons were rampaging through a human town when they were struck by a strange burst of energy. This temporarily reversed their personalities, turning the lot into big softies. While the other Decepticons helped repair the damage they had caused, Shockwave and Megatron stood around complimenting each other and insisting that the other 'bot was the best choice for leader. The personality-reversal wore off in short order, and the Decepticons swore revenge for what they assumed to be an Autobot trick. To a Power Unknown!

Shockwave and Megatron agreed to put their differences aside when they were contacted by Lord Straxus on Cybertron with news of a plan to transport energon cubes back across the space bridge. The Bridge to Nowhere! This joint leadership did not last long. Leaving Shockwave in charge of the Decepticons' Wyoming base, Megatron led a team of Decepticons to attack the Autobot base, only for the majority of their number to be deactivated and captured by Omega Supreme. At the same time, however, the Autobots attacked the Decepticon base to draw out Devastator, to learn more about the combiner process. With the day having firmly been won by the Autobots on both fronts, Megatron argued that although he may have charged into a trap, Shockwave had been ineffective enough to do nothing and had allowed a trap to spring up around him. Bowing to the logic of this argument, Shockwave stepped down and allowed Megatron to resume sole command. Command Performances!

Although footage of Shockwave and Megatron fighting was broadcast on Between the Lines In the National Interest Shockwave's movements were unknown for the brief time that followed this embarrassment. He was absent from the Decepticons' base when the time-traveling future Decepticon Galvatron arrived from 2006 and temporarily disposed of Megatron, but returned not long thereafter. Wondering where everyone was, he was met by Thundercracker and Frenzy, who had escaped their confinement in the Autobot base, but then, abruptly, all three were mass-displaced into limbo when three future Autobots traveled back in time to thwart Galvatron's plans. Target: 2006 In limbo, Shockwave and his two companions battled alongside the similarly-displaced Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet against the deadly illusions created by the dimension's native lifeforms, before returning to their natural place in space and time when the time-travellers returned to their point of origin. Distant Thunder!

It was not long before Shockwave began scheming to return to the position of leader and when Megatron summoned the Decepticon hunters the Predacons to Earth to stalk Optimus Prime, he saw his opportunity. Conspiring with them, Shockwave arranged for the team to turn on Megatron during the hunt, depriving him of his weapons, expecting that he would have no chance against Prime one-on-one. Prey! When Megatron did not return, Shockwave believed him dead, but in truth, he had escaped to Cybertron—though this was of little concern to the cyclopean schemer, who took up the mantle of leadership in his absence again. It was not long after this that Galvatron returned, having traveled back from the future once more and now dancing dangerously on the edge of sanity. Fearing the threat Galvatron might pose to his own leadership, Shockwave had the Decepticons aid the Dinobots in battling him, and Galvatron departed rather than fight his own future troops. Fallen Angel Shortly thereafter, Megatron returned from Cybertron with a case of amnesia, sparing Shockwave any retribution for his actions. Resurrection!

Not long afterwards, Optimus Prime perished in a video game duel with Megatron, but the Decepticon leader grew distant and unresponsive. Shockwave decided that even though he had given up on taking leadership from Megatron, he would have to take Megatron out of the equation. Power Struggle Megatron progressively grew more paranoid, fearing his foe had survived. Apparently attempting to shock Megatron back to his senses, Shockwave had the Predacons come to Earth and force him into a combat situation, implanting a copy of his personality program in the team so that he could "be part" of the battle from a safe distance. Events culminated in Megatron's apparent death when, having fully plunged into insanity, he blew the space bridge up while standing on it. Once again, Shockwave was leader. Gone but Not Forgotten!

Shockwave took over the implementation of Megatron's plan to take over Power Station Alpha, adjusting the plan to include an alliance of convenience with Cobra. Power Struggle Cobra delivered Power Station Alpha to the Decepticons Ashes, Ashes... The Decepticons modified the power station and set it loose on the Earth, collecting energy while crating wide-scale destruction. Shockwave made plans to evacuate Earth and allow the power station to run rampant with destruction and energy collection until the whole Earth was destroyed. However, Cobra had found out about this plan and worked with G.I. Joe and the Autobots to destroy the power station. ...All Fall Down!

Shockwave established regular contact with Cybertron Decepticon commander Ratbat, who threatened to cut off the Earthbound Decepticons' access to the space bridge should their war efforts continue to prove an inefficient use of fuel. Shockwave convinced Ratbat to send over their greatest warrior over from Cybertron before any further decisions were made, but the envoy, Trypticon, was defeated by the Dinobots and returned to Cybertron after his assault. King of the Hill! The fuel auditor would later embarrass Shockwave when it transpired that the oil tanker Shockwave had captured in the Caribbean had already offloaded its cargo. Berating him for his inefficient methods, Ratbat implemented his own plan to hypnotize humans into gathering fuel for them. Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom

When Shockwave learned that Galvatron was trapped beneath Mount Verona, he dispatched Soundwave and the Combaticons to destroy him. They failed. Ladies' Night He had the Seacons sent from Cybertron so that they could use their aquatic abilities to help fortify the Decepticons' new artificial mobile island base. It was while they were performing this task that Galvatron returned, advancing on the island, much to Shockwave's distress. He ordered the Seacons to attack, but Galvatron tore through both them and the base walls—he had, he claimed, come in peace, but Shockwave's attack had made an enemy of him, putting all Decepticons in danger. This of course, was a complete lie, but it turned the Decepticons against Shockwave, thereby disrupting the one-eyed warrior's command. Enemy Action!

After interfering in a scheme of Ratbat's, Buster Witwicky was captured by the Decepticons and, at Shockwave's request, brought to their island. Though Ratbat was sour over keeping such a "fuel-consumptive" liability around, Shockwave pointed out to him that so long as they had a hostage, the human military would hesitate to launch an offensive. But upon discovering the island's location, the Autobots were more than ready to rush its shores. To rid himself of these nuisances, Shockwave then transformed the landmass into its spaceship mode and took to the fringes of Earth's atmosphere. Autobot Headmaster leader Fortress Maximus pursued the craft and battled Shockwave in the void of space, where he defeated him and sent him tumbling back through Earth's atmosphere in free-fall. The Desert Island of Space! Although thought dead by many, Shockwave in actuality survived and returned to the Decepticons' original fortress base, where he concentrated on resolving the threat posed by Galvatron. Seeking to use the missing Megatron as a weapon against him, Shockwave had the small number of Decepticons still under his control recover a clone of the departed leader from the River Thames, which he and Snaptrap repaired and brainwashed using the psycho-probe. Salvage!

Around the same time, Galvatron's fellow time-travelers Cyclonus and Scourge had joined up with Shockwave's Decepticons, Wrecking Havoc but, chafing in his service, Cyclonus wound up accidentally blurting out that they would be responsible for killing him in the future of 2008. Seeking to preserve his continued existence, Shockwave unleashed the Megatron clone upon them, resulting in the death of Cyclonus. Satisfied with the clone's performance, he dispatched him against Galvatron. Dry Run! The battle had an unexpected conclusion, however, when "Megatron" found a kindred spirit in Galvatron and actually joined forces with him. Altered Image!

This unfortunate chain of events led to Shockwave losing his grip on sanity. Unable to logically fathom the situation, he slipped into despondency, stringing up the remains of Cyclonus on the walls of his castle as a twisted trophy. What Shockwave did not realize, however, was that the repeated time-travel and the death of Cyclonus had caused a rift in space-time that threatened the stability of reality. Hoping to restore the balance by returning all time-travelers to their proper place in time, Scourge attempted to reclaim Cyclonus's body, but was shot down by Shockwave for his trouble. At Scourge's urging, Ravage was able to present events logically enough to Shockwave to restore some semblance of coherency to his thoughts, and Shockwave himself deposited Cyclonus's remains in the rift, and sealed it with an x-ray blast. Time Wars

Circuit Breaker would once again reflect on her encounter with Shockwave before taking out her anger on Skullgrin. Monstercon from Mars!

It would be some time before Shockwave next resurfaced, emerging from the sea on the coast of Blackpool, England, and killing a human who had seen him. Dark Creation Seeking to establish his own faction of Decepticons, he spied on the current Decepticon Earth commander, Scorponok's New Jersey base, observing the duplicitous Starscream leaving the base to pursue his own agenda. All Fall Down Following the Seeker, Shockwave witnessed Starscream attempt to abduct the superhuman Dynamo, wanting to force the fleshling into becoming his Powermaster. Starscream's efforts were interrupted by Circuit Breaker, but Shockwave, standing out-of-sight saved Starscream from being pried apart by the woman's magnetic abilities. Despite Shockwave's assistance, Starscream was unable to secure Dynamo, and was forced down into the nearby surf. When he re-emerged, Shockwave approached him, and offered a partnership so they could dispose of Scorponok. The Human Factor! The pair, along with Ravage, recruited those who had grown disenfranchised with Scorponok's leadership. Eye of the Storm

Though the group's latest recruits, Triggerhappy and Mindwipe, were hesitant at first to fully betray Scorponok, Starscream and Shockwave were quick to convince them that they had no choice in the matter; either they helped in the insurgency against their former leader, or perish at their hands. The small group then staged an attack on Scorponok's New Jersey base, collapsing it from above. Surrender! Starscream was ready to call it an easy victory, but Shockwave cautioned his partner against premature celebrations. True to Shockwave's suspicions, Scorponok emerged from the debris, itching for a fight. With Shockwave's underlings proving themselves to be no match for Scorponok, it fell on Shockwave to battle his rival himself. Their bout took them to the waters around Manhattan, where it was interrupted first by Optimus Prime, eager to minimize collateral damage to the nearby city, and then by the Neo-Knights. ...All This and Civil War 2 Shockwave used the ensuing confusion to implicate the Autobots in an attack on the human team, but was later recognized by Circuit Breaker as the robot responsible for crippling her, and was blown out of the sky by her powers. Out of Time! Abruptly, the battle was ended when the Transformers were all teleported to Cybertron, where Primus spoke to his children, pleading with them to put their differences aside so as to face the threat of Unicron as a race united. Despite the severity of the situation, Shockwave took the time to threaten Scorponok, telling him not to expect a reprieve from their feud. He evidently had to reassess his priorities when Unicron suddenly and unexpectedly appeared in Cybertron's orbit. The Void! Even Shockwave's data grid could not compute the vastness of the threat the chaos-bringer posed. Unable to cope with the situation at hand, he and Starscream fled rather than participate in the battle against the Chaos Bringer. On the Edge of Extinction!

After Unicron was destroyed, Shockwave teamed up with Starscream once more to find the remains of the Autobots' Ark, which had crashed during the battle. Though Starscream whined that they should seek out a ship in better condition, Shockwave assured his partner-in-crime that the Ark was the best trans-stellar transporter on Cybertron, and urged him to help in repairing it. Still Life! The pair succeeded in getting the craft airborne again, but were unaware that the numerous damaged Transformers in the ship's stasis pods had been reactivated with nucleon—Megatron among them—and that an alternate future version of Galvatron was also on board. Exodus!

After Shockwave and Starscream encountered Megatron in a corridor, Starscream immediately began groveling at his former master and Shockwave, disgusted, ordered him away so he could deal with Megatron himself. His assassination attempt was interrupted by Galvatron, who had allied with Megatron, and Shockwave found himself at the other end of a beating as he was ganged-up on. To put an end to things once and for all, the revived Ratchet sent the Ark crashing to Earth. A Savage Circle Although Galvatron walked away from the crash and Megatron was left buried under rubble, Shockwave was lost in the ship's detonation. The Last Autobot?

Marvel UK future timelines

The movie adaptation, originally published by Marvel US, is in italics

In an alternate future timeline, Shockwave attacked the unveiling of the first female Transformer Arcee in 1995 with Fangry, Squeezeplay and Horri-Bull. When Arcee quickly disabled his men, though, Shockwave took off and left them to fend for themselves. Prime's Rib! Years later, in 2004, he staged an attack on the opening day of Autobot City, hoping to permanently damage Autobot-human relations by assassinating the diplomats in attendance. Though logic indicated a high probability of success, Shockwave's plans didn't account for the extremely illogical actions of the young Hot Rod. In a "single act of blind stupidity," Hot Rod tackled Shockwave head on, sending the both of them repetedly tumbling down a mountain. Unable to adjust to the situation, Shockwave fled, his troops taking notice and aborting the mission completely. Aspects of Evil!

By 2005 Shockwave was put in command of the Decepticons on Cybertron. When the planet came under attack by Unicron, he ordered his troops to scramble, though they were ineffectual against the giant Transformer. The Final Battle!

After Decepticon commander Galvatron disappeared following Unicron's attack on Cybertron in 2006, the new Autobot leader Rodimus Prime devoted his forces to searching the galaxy and making sure the Decepticon was truly dead. This diverted attention allowed Shockwave to assume leadership of the Decepticons in the chaos that followed, and he consolidated them into a strong force on Cybertron that ultimately resulted in a stalemate between the factions by 2008. Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!

Knowing that the freelance peacekeeping agent named Death's Head had a grudge against Rodimus Prime, Shockwave had Blot hire him for 10,000 shanix to hunt down and exterminate the Autobot, providing him with secret entry into Cybertron and information about Prime's movements.

At the same time, Shockwave allowed Scourge and Cyclonus, Galvatron's former top two lackeys, to brazenly go after Rodimus Prime themselves. Seeing the powerful duo as a potential threat to his position, Shockwave hoped that by tossing these various parties into the mix together, at least some of his problems would turn out dead. Headhunt

Unfortunately for Shockwave's plans, it was then that Unicron's influence was felt again, as he mind-controlled Cyclonus, Scourge and Death's Head into trying to assassinate Shockwave. Death's Head used the supposedly deactivated bodies of the duo to gain access to Shockwave's audience chamber, and then left his "comrades" to seal the doors while he chased down the Decepticon leader. After a hard-fought battle, Shockwave was ultimately destroyed, his body blown to pieces and his memory module crushed between Death's Head's fingers, ensuring that he could never return. Still, the hunter was sickened by being forced to kill against his will, and Death's Head promised Shockwave's corpse that he would eventually avenge them both. The Legacy of Unicron!

Earthforce

These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel continuity. See Earthforce for details.

Reality unfolds in many ways, across many dimensions. In one such dimension, it was not Scorponok that Shockwave challenged for leadership in the Decepticon Civil War, but a returning Megatron, and the two of them built their armies up for a renewed battle for control over the Earth. Upon hearing that Grimlock had somehow restored his Dinobots to life without the Creation Matrix, Shockwave and his soldiers attempted to force the secret out of the Dinobots. The scuffle brought Grimlock and Shockwave to blows, with a headbutt on Grimlock's part leaving Shockwave dazed and scrambling away. When Optimus showed up to berate Grimlock over his penchant for violence, Shockwave took the opportunity to withdraw with his troops while the Dinobot was distracted. Two Steps Back!

Unable to gain an advantage over Megatron, Shockwave was forced to suggest an Enclave, a truce whereby the Decepticons could meet and hopefully overcome their differences as they had in the past, for the mutual goal of destruction of the Autobots. Certainly, the Autobots had something to say about that, and they rigged a scenario so that Megatron was tricked into thinking Shockwave had sent an assassin sniper to kill him during the meeting. A brawl broke out, and any chance at peace was chucked out the window, along with several dismembered body parts. The Bad Guy's Ball!

Thanks to a secret informer inside Megatron's camp, Shockwave was able to surprise his rival at the site of an energon delivery, and he and the Triple Changers overpowered Megatron and tossed him over a cliff, claiming his energon as their own. Secrets Turnabout's fair play, however, and Shockwave's own lieutenant Starscream tipped off Megatron about when Shockwave would be alone and open for attack. What's worse, Starscream and Soundwave took advantage of their leaders' absence to stage a coup, and so Shockwave and Megatron were left on the run from Earthforce while their troops abandoned them to their fates. Internal Affairs!

Shockwave and Megatron subsequently organized a hit on Starscream, using a series of cheap assassins to trick Starscream into assuming Soundwave wanted to wipe him out and assume sole command of the Decepticons. Assassins Assuming that only one of their usurpers would be left alive, they sent in Bludgeon's Mayhem Attack Squad to kill the survivor. However, things didn't go quite to plan and they found their path blocked by the Earthforce, who needed Starscream alive to help heal Snarl, afflicted with Corrodia Gravis. External Forces! Although they initially had the upper hand when Grimlock was forced to split his forces to help save Starscream, the tide of battle soon turned against them when Megatron was roasted by Slag and Grimlock impaled Shockwave on his energo-sword. With the day lost, Megatron and Shockwave ran away. Fast. The Lesser Evil!

Cybertron comic

Vector Prime witnessed many momentous occasions that happened across the multiverse, including the time Shockwave captured and decapitated Optimus Prime. Vector Prime: In the Beginning

Hot Shot's Bot Thoughts

The Shockwave of Primax 984.0 Gamma was interviewed by Hot Shot. He brought up his one-time possession of the Creation Matrix when it was left off the list of his achievements that Hot Shot read out, however Hot Shot asserted that it wasn't that hard to get hold of a Matrix, and proved it by stealing one from the nearest available Optimus Prime. Hot Shot's Bot Thoughts

Transformers Comic-Magazin

Shockwave served as joint leader with his rival Megatron. Together, they worked out that hijacking the oil reserves of Alaska would make more sense than hitting oil refineries, and battled the Autobots to seize the Alaskan oil. They were driven off by Optimus Prime and the Autobots. Attack at Dawn Recordings of this attack on Alaska were used in a wayward simulation experienced by Goldbug. Memories of Bumblebee

He was present when Megatron made peaceful gestures to Humanity in New York City and gave a speech about how Megatron was an "intergalactic diplomat", who managed by "the greastest possible personal investment" to reconcile "such different citizens of the galaxy as TRANSFORMERS and humans". He then gave a "statue" of Snaptrap as a gift to the city. Unsurprisingly, once Humanity was off-guard, the Decepticons struck, and the Autobots barely stopped them. The Troy Principle Autobot footage of this conflict was analyzed later by Optimus Prime to uncover another Decepticon plot. Wanderer Between the WorldsThose events were also recorded on a videotape that was later found and watched by Autobots on Cybertron after a nuclear disaster in Kalis. In Memory of Earth

In 1973, Powermaster Optimus Prime - A Robot, a Hero Shockwave aided Megatron in capturing an oil tanker, and then using it as a distraction to launch a series of raids. He helped Megatron to battle a squad of Autobot Pretenders aboard the tanker, but was eventually defeated. A Big Day for Powermaster Optimus Prime Those events would later be observed via log recording by Autobots in the year 2008. Powermaster Optimus Prime - A Robot, a Hero

Later, he was present when the Decepticons unleashed a robotic hell-beast known as 'King Con' on New York and helped Megatron and Soundwave to set up a mine belt around the harbor. However Optimus Prime rented a helicopter to fly a banner announcing huge raw oil deposit finds in the Rocky Mountains. After a short hesitation, the Decepticons retreated to pursue these findings. New York — A City Sinking in Terror

Shockwave led a contignent of Decepticons who attempted to steal a submarine's cargo of nuclear weapons, preparing to use planet-destroying super blasters if needed. However, the risk of using those weapons became too great when the cargo was transferred to a freighter, which also confused the Decepticons. The threat of planetry destruction was used by the Autobots to lull the Decepticons into a truce, only for the Autobots to blast the Decepticons out of the sky. The Energon Trap When the humans were about to launch a cutting-edge satellite that would make it harder for the Decepticons to commit their crimes undetected, Shockwave led Decepticons in an ambush on the Autobots and then tried to intercept the launch of the satellite. However, he had wasted too much time with the Autobots and the launch went off as planned. The Countdown to a New Space Age!

At some point, Shockwave and the Decepticons managed to hold Optimus Prime hostage and demanded ransom. Despite an attempted pretense that their prisoner was on the Moon, Optimus was rescued by his fellow Autobots from Shockwave's laser lab on Earth. The Case of Optimus Prime Later, getting ideas from a television program about meteors, Shockwave built the largest laser cannon ever and tried to use it to harness the destructive power of a meteor. Shockwave's actions mystified the Autobots, who sent a team to investigate, but this team ended up being captured by the Decepticons and Shockwave planned to use them to build an even bigger laser cannon. The Autobots eventually escaped and the meteorite hit by the laser flew by Earth harmlessly a few months later. Shockwave's Galactic Secret

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Upon discovering an outpost of the Cybertronian Empire, Optimus Prime thought back over all the threats the Autobots had defeated, including Shockwave. War Without End!

Classics

Megatron decided to keep Shockwave alive in spite of past betrayals because of the use of his logical skills. However, he decided to prevent further betrayals by keeping him only as a head hooked to some sort of life support. Megatron queried him on information regarding Bug Bite and Shockwave told him all he knew, but when he requested computer access for more information, Megatron refused and closed up the chamber. Games of Deception

Some time after the Earth was transported into a "negative polarity" universe, that world's Longarm developed a curious obsession with logical action and began disappearing for long periods without explanation. One couldn't possibly speculate that Shockwave had anything to do with this... Longarm's customization class bio

Regeneration One

Although he was aboard the Ark when Ratchet had forced it to crash in the Yukon, Shockwave was conspicuously absent from Megatron's reanimated army. Loose Ends, Part 2 Loose Ends, Part 5 As Galvatron discovered, there was a good reason, as with Starscream's help, the time-displaced Decepticon found that Shockwave was wired directly into the Ark's computer systems. Natural Selection, Part Two With Auntie, the Ark's operating system, having been destroyed, Galvatron left Shockwave plugged in to serve as the new OS, Natural Selection, Part Three unaware that Shockwave was starting to regain consciousness. Natural Selection, Part Four

Starscream, who had been partially lobotomized by Megatron, Loose Ends, Part 2 was surprised to hear Shockwave speak to him through the Ark, and even more surprised that Starscream himself could speak again! Shockwave revealed that he had removed the blocks Megatron had placed in Starscream's mind, and that the destruction of Auntie had indeed awoken him. Though Shockwave was one with the Ark now, he revealed that he did not have complete autonomy, and required a pilot. Starscream, returning to his old ways, concluded that the pilot needn't be Galvatron.

Nevertheless, the Ark began to take off, with Galvatron aboard, just as Optimus Prime arrived on the scene, unaware of Shockwave's or Starscream's presence on the ship. Natural Selection, Part Five

As the Ark approached Cybertron, Shockwave's voice alerted Galvatron to an intruder on board. As soon as Galvatron left the bridge, however, Shockwave transferred control of the ship's functions to Starscream. Using a Guardian drone to distract Galvatron, Starscream ejected the time-displaced Decepticon from the Ark and fired on him using the ship's weaponry, forcing Galvatron to fall to Cybertron's surface. Starscream then directed Shockwave to take the Ark away from Cybertron to avoid the Autobots' early-warning system, unaware that it now consisted entirely of Cosmos, who was quickly dispatched by the incoming Warworld. Destiny, Part Three

Starscream failed to specify a flight plan, however, so Shockwave, still lacking in initiative, had no reason to remove the Ark from the vicinity of Cybertron during Bludgeon's invasion - which Shockwave explained to him when he asked why they were still hanging around. This led Starscream to bring the Ark's legendary weaponry to bear on the Warworld. As the newly arrived Rodimus Prime was still on board with the Wreckers after having defeated Bludgeon, the Autobots were forced to beat a hasty retreat from the ship as the Ark destroyed it. Destiny, Part Five

After the battle, however, Starscream became unresponsive to Shockwave, who was trying to convince him to relocate the Ark since they would've been noticed when they destroyed the Warworld, and an Autobot probe passed by them. Starscream snapped out of his apparent stupor and exclaimed "He's here!", as if to herald the arrival of Jhiaxus and his Cybertronian fleet! The War to End All Wars, Part 1

As the two watched Jhiaxus's fleet, Shockwave inquired as to how Starscream could know the identity of this mysterious visitor. Glowing yellow energy lines began to manifest on Starscream's body, as a strange voice came from Starscream's mouth, identifying Jhiaxus as "one of the five", and vowing a reckoning. The War to End All Wars, Part 2 The possessed Starscream directed the Ark to a Hub world, hiding their approach by manipulating the minds of any onlookers. Shockwave inquired to the identity of the force possessing Starscream; it merely replied back that it was "the four", and that it sought out "the fifth". As the entity had a use for Shockwave, it used its powers to separate him from the Ark's computers, and rebuilt him, rendering Shockwave whole once again. The War to End All Wars, Part 3

Shockwave remained with the Ark as Starscream, now completely controlled by the Underbase, departed to confront Jhiaxus. After forcibly reuniting the wayward ex-senator with the consciousnesses of High Circuitmaster Boltax and the other members of the ancient "Brain Trust" that created it, the Underbase left Starscream's unconscious body behind next to the drained husk that had been Jhiaxus. As the Wreckers' actions began to destroy the Hub Network, Shockwave stopped to retrieve Starscream. As he did so, he found himself surprised by such an act of compassion, and pondered if he was experiencing emotion. The War to End All Wars, Part 4

By the time Shockwave and Starscream returned to Cybertron, the Transformer population had been reduced to shadow-leeches, save for a few who were able to evade the life energy-draining creatures. The War to End All Wars, Part 5 One such Transformer was Ravage, who was rescued from the shadow-leeches that used to be Soundwave and the other cassette Decepticons by Starscream. King of Shadows The shadow-leeches ceased to exist when their creator, the Dark Matrix creature, was defeated by Rodimus Prime, though the damage had been done; the sparks of those who'd been converted passed on, and Cybertron had been rendered uninhabitable. With the Decepticon faction all but extinct, Shockwave, Starscream, and Ravage renounced the Great War, and spent the remainder of their days as the Autobots would—as emissaries of peace, helping to end conflicts among other worlds. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Transformers '84

The driving force behind Project Dreadnought, Shockwave's division faced a constant resource shortage thanks to the Great War. After Starscream pegged the cause of this as Megatron's increasing obsession with Optimus Prime, Shockwave test fired one of Dreadnought's half-completed planetary turbines, sending Cybertron, since ripped from its orbit, towards the Stellae Cimeterium. Though Shockwave hoped that this would cause Megatron to refocus their resources on Project Dreadnought, Megatron instead waited to see Optimus Prime's response. Secrets & Lies #1 Shockwave was later present when Counterpunch brought news of the Autobots' response in the form of Project: Ark. '84 #0 Seeing an opportunity to destroy Autobot High Command, Megatron commissioned the starship Nemesis to destroy the Autobot Ark. Shockwave however barred Skyfire from boarding, feeling his subordinate's talents were better served on Cybertron.

After a motion sensor had been activated at the destroyed turbine, Shockwave ordered Skyfire to meet him there, his unannounced absence causing Megatron to send the Coneheads after him. When Shockwave arrived, Skyfire had been nearly killed by the Dynobots whom Shockwave inflicted the same fate onto. After Shockwave had retrieved Skyfire's intact brain module from his remains, he was confronted by the Coneheads who took him back to the Nemesis. As Megatron reprimanded him, Shockwave decided that the Decepticon leader would have to be removed from power if the Decepticon Empire could ever rise, and began plotting his destruction. Secrets & Lies #1

Delegating Counterpunch to handle planetside affairs, Shockwave remained behind on the Nemesis to watch Megatron blunder into Optimus Prime's obvious trap. After the Ark crashed on the nearby Earth, Shockwave, after incapacitating the Coneheads, prepared to return to Cybertron before he headed down to the planet to ensure there were no loose ends. Finding instead a rich supply of resources and energy, Shockwave set up a mining station where he was attacked by the Dinobots. Though initially holding the advantage, Shockwave was unprepared for Grimlock injecting himself with sample of raw energon, the power boost allowing him to punch the scientist directly into a mountain and knock him off-line. Secrets & Lies #2

Royal Mail stamp bio

Shockwave ruled the city of Tarn before the war, where he imposed a system of "socialized logic" on all its citizens. When Tarn declared war on Vos, both cities were destroyed, allowing Megatron to form a terrorist cell from the survivors of both cities: the Decepticons.

Notes

• Marvel writer Bob Budiansky stated Shockwave was "my attempt to take Spock from Star Trek and make him into a Decepticon".^[1] How logical!

References