Soundwave is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes.

Transformers: Generation 1

Soundwave is one of the most recognizable characters from the original Transformers line due to his unique alternate mode, a microcassette recorder, and his distinctive, monotone, computerized voice.

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. Soundwave also possesses the ability to monitor electrical impulses within brain circuitry - i.e. he can read minds. Additionally, he has 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 radio wave sensor and hand-held concussion blaster. Soundwave is also one of the physically strongest Transformers. He transforms, shrinking as he does so, into an Earthly microcassette deck, and in the tape compartment, which becomes his chest in robot mode, he stores the Decepticon spy cassettes Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ratbat, Rumble, Frenzy, Slugfest and Overkill who are under his command in the original television series.

The relationships among Soundwave and his counterpart cassettes are only briefly touched upon in the animated series and comics. However, there are indications the relationship is much like a family, with the cassettes quick to defend and protect Soundwave during a crisis. The "animal" versions of the cassettes such as Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, and Ravage appear to relate to Soundwave much like a pet relates to its owner. The exceptions to this were in the Marvel and Dreamwave comic book series, which portrayed Ratbat as an independent-minded Decepticon who had risen to a position of power. In the Marvel series, Ratbat even had authority over Soundwave within the leadership of the Decepticons' forces. Even in this situation, Soundwave showed himself to be loyal to Ratbat in the same way that he was loyal to Megatron. In the Dreamwave comics, Ratbat led the Ultracons faction, while Soundwave remained with the Decepticons led by Shockwave, although this was before Ratbat became a cassette.

Animated series

In the original Transformers cartoon — his most prominent role in Transformers fiction — Soundwave was Megatron's right-hand robot, frequently sent on important reconnaissance missions with his cassettes, and often playing a key role in many schemes against the Autobots. On Cybertron, he used his ability to transform into a roadside fixture to spy on the Autobot city of Iacon, learning of the Autobots' plan to search for energy on other worlds. Joining in Megatron's attack on the Autobots' craft, the Ark, Soundwave fell to the same fate as the rest of the ship's occupants when the craft crashed on prehistoric Earth, entombing everyone within in stasis. 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. He and his cassette minions were often on spying missions against the Autobots.

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.

Soundwave rarely displayed much emotion, infrequently exhibiting any traits that could be considered to be in line with his tech spec. However, he showed distress when one of his cassettes were hurt in battle, and 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 outspoken, and kept silent when Megatron's body was subsequently ejected into space, and although he did suggest himself as a replacement leader ("Soundwave: superior. Constructicons: inferior."), Soundwave again loyally served Megatron 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. 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 dialog in different tones, resulting in an operatic performance which may strike viewers as comical.

Transformers: The Headmasters

Although Soundwave only appeared as a background character in the American cartoon series finale, the three-part The Rebirth, he returned to the forefront in the new Japanese-exclusive series, Transformers: The Headmasters, which was created to replace The Rebirth. Reborn as Soundblaster (New Soundwave in the English version and Vizar in Italy) 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. Soundwave's 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, he served the same role as he had as Soundwave under the leadership of Galvatron and later Scorponok, frequently embarking on spying missions with Ratbat.

A flashback in episode 5 of Beast Machines, "Forbidden Fruit", showed the G1 Soundwave (or a close likeness of him) being gunned down and presumably killed while helping the Maximal Nightscream escape the Vehicon tank drones.

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 (even sending Ravage and the Insecticons to derail talks between the Autobots and Ronald Reagan at one point in the 1985 Transformers U.K. annual), 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 defense 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 U.S. 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 gray) and frequently appeared with a mouth.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in the U.K., 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 Optimus Prime's Crisis of Command and then the Dinobot Hunt; manipulating events to weaken the Autobot leadership and cause maximum casualties. 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. He also enjoyed a rare victory in this period when he, Dirge and Kickback took over a NASA complex, attempting to contact Cybertron with the facility's deep space radio equipment. The Autobots arrived, but a series of miscommunications between Prowl and Jetfire resulted in the transmission being sent, allowing the Decepticons to claim victory.

Towards the end of the U.K. 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-paralyzing fuel nucleon.

Issue #279 of the Marvel U.K. Transformers comic featured a story called "Divide and Conquor!" where Soundwave lead the bulk of the Decepticon forces on Earth against the Autobot Earthforce headquarters while Starscream attacked an oil tanker. Sent into battle by Prowl, the Dinobots routed the main Decepticon forces while Springer lead the Autobot Survivors, Broadside, Inferno, Skids, and Carnivac to defeat Starscream.

Soundwave also attained the leadership position in the future world of 2008, following the death of Shockwave (who had seized power when Galvatron traveled 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 time stream may have resulted in their future being erased from the timeline, the final fate of the future Soundwave is unknown.

Transformers: Generation 2

Soundwave returned to the pages of the U.S. Transformers comic books for the relaunch of the series as Transformers: Generation 2. He participated in the Decepticon attack on Earth, and oversaw the reconstruction of the damaged Darkwing into a new, more powerful form. Like many of the other Generation 1 Decepticons, Soundwave seemed to return to a command position on Megatron's return to lead the Decepticons (killing Bludgeon in the process). He was aboard the Warworld when Jhiaxus' forces attacked, but managed to evacuate. His fate beyond this point is unknown.

Transformers: Alignment

Soundwave would also play a brief but important role in the text-only novel, Alignment, writer Simon Furman's take on what happened after the Transformers: Generation 2 comic series ended. He was the one who recovered Megatron's broken body after his duel with Galvatron. Subsequently he was the ringleader of the conspirators (along with Ravage, Ramjet and Direwolf) who gave some of their spark energy to resurrect Megatron in a more powerful body, allowing him to defeat the forces of the Liege Maximo. After Megatron's execution of the entire Decepticon High Council, save Shrapnel, Soundwave once again acted as Megatron's second in command and coordinated the strike against the Maximo with Ultra Magnus. His fate beyond this is unknown, save for a brief cameo in Beast Machines.

3H Enterprises

He also appeared in the Furman written Reaching the Omega Point, as one of the Transformers legends (alongside Optimus Prime, Megatron and Grimlock) who came to the aid of the forces of Optimus Primal against the Predacon/Unicron hybrid Shokaract, distracting him long enough for Primus to deal the fatal blow.

Fun Publications

Based on the Transformers Classics toy line, the Timelines 2007 story is set 15 years after the end of the Marvel Comics story (ignoring all events of the Marvel U.K. and Generation 2 comics). Megatron survived the crash of the Ark on Earth, reformatted himself into a new form and now leads Astrotrain, Laserbeak, Ramjet, Ravage, Skywarp, Soundwave, Starscream and the Constructicons. Optimus Prime has also returned to Earth commanding Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Grimlock, Jetfire, Mirage and Rodimus (formerly Hot Rod). When the Cybertronians Skyfall and Landquake arrive on Earth unexpectedly Megatron attempts to destroy them, but Optimus Prime and his Autobots are able to drive Megatron away.

Books

Soundwave was featured in the 1985 Transformers audio books Autobots' Lightning Strike, Megatron's Fight For Power, Autobots Fight Back, Laserbeak's Fury and Satellite of Doom, as well as Galvatron's Air Attack from the 1986 series.

Soundwave appeared in the 1986 story and coloring book The Lost Treasure of Cybertron by Marvel Books.

Dreamwave Productions

In Dreamwave's 21st century re-imagining of the Generation 1 continuity, Soundwave was recruited to the Decepticons 9 million years ago through Megatron's underground gladiatorial games, and made head of communications. When a new Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, was chosen, Soundwave was sent along with the Insecticons and Ravage, to attempt to kill him and recover the Matrix for Megatron, but they failed, forcing Megatron to confront Optimus personally.

Even in the face of failures such as this, and later the loss of Megatron in an early space bridge experiment, Soundwave's loyalty to the Decepticon cause never wavered, as he remained true to the faction under Shockwave's leadership.

As in most other continuities, the story continues in the traditional manner, with Soundwave a member of the Nemesis crew who attacked the Ark and was sent into stasis when the craft crashed on Earth, awakening again in 1984. After years of fighting on Earth, eventually the combined forces of the Autobots and their human allies were able to defeat and capture the Decepticons. The intent was for the Autobots to take their enemies back to Cybertron aboard a new craft named the Ark II, but just as the ship cleared the atmosphere, it exploded, the victim of machinations by Shockwave, who did not want Prime and Megatron to return to Cybertron yet.

Soundwave's body crashed back to Earth in the Arctic, where he lay inactive for several years, until rogue military scientist Adam Rook, calling himself "Lazarus," recovered and reactivated him, putting him under his control with a program he had developed while studying the Transformers before their explosive departure. Several other Autobots and Decepticons fell to the same fate, and were to be sold on the black market — Soundwave himself was put on display by being sent to attack the Smitco Oil Refinery alongside several other Transformers — but when Megatron liberated himself, Soundwave was soon freed by his leader and assumed his position at his side. When Shockwave arranged for the capture and extradition of Prime and Megatron's forces as war criminals, Soundwave was among the captives, but when Starscream jettisoned Megatron into space on the return trip to Cybertron, Soundwave made the best of a bad lot and teamed with Starscream to return to Earth and conquer it, being reunited with Ratbat in the process. Heading back to Earth in a kidnapped Sky Lynx and with the Combaticons now added to their ranks, the Decepticons attacked the Ark in hopes of acquiring parts to make the Nemesis spaceworthy again, however Soundwave, Skywarp and Thundercracker were defeated and thrown in the Ark's brig. When the Combaticons, combined as Bruticus, laid into the vessel, they were freed.

It was not much later that the surviving Megatron made contact with Soundwave from space, and Soundwave was all too willing to return to his service, setting up Starscream to fall before Megatron when he returned. And return, Megatron did — but the bankruptcy and subsequent closure of Dreamwave left the rest of the story untold.

Transformers/G.I. Joe

Soundwave also appeared in the Dreamwave Transformers/G.I. Joe series as one of the Decepticons uncovered by Cobra at the start of the Second World War. Transforming into a radio, he was deactivated at the series' close by Grimlock. Although Dreamwave's collapse precluded the completion of the second series, released art and information revealed that Soundwave would have been involved in the conclusion of that series.

Devil's Due Publishing

In Devil's Due's run of G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers comic book miniseries, Soundwave was among the Transformers captured by the ruthless terrorist organization, Cobra when they discovered the Ark. Refitted by Destro, Soundwave was intended to become a battlefield communications station, but when he and the other Decepticons eventually broke free of their control he was damaged in a battle with the Autobots and his parts were captured by the US Government for study. From his data banks, the android SerpentO.R. downloaded information on the history of Cybertron, using it to further the Decepticon goal of conquest. It is indicated that his pre-Earth form was similar to his Dreamwave War Within form.

IDW Publishing

Soundwave's first chronological appearance in the rebooted IDW Publishing Generation One universe was in the prequel miniseries, The Transformers: Megatron Origin. In the story, Soundwave works for Senator Ratbat, who takes an interest in the rising gladiator, Megatron. Ratbat sends Soundwave to offer weaponry to Megatron and his followers. Soundwave also assists Megatron with the interrogation of Autobot soldier, Bumper. Soundwave is later jailed along with Megatron and other when Sentinel Prime's forces capture them, but is released by Ratbat. When Megatron's plan is sprung, Soundwave helps Starscream massacre the Autobot Senate. He later confronts Ratbat and forcibly extracts his Spark for implantaion in one of his Cassette bodies. Soundwave's alternate mode appears to be a communication vehicle with tank treads.

Sometime later, Soundwave was part of the conference of scientists called by Thunderwing in the The Transformers: Stormbringer, where he refuses to accept Thunderwing's findings that Cybertron was dying. In around the same time period he had Beachcomber captured and implanted with a cerebro-shell, having the unwilling traitor eject his opposite number Blaster into space (in Spotlight Blaster) in order to demoralize the Autobots prior to a Decepticon offensive.

Soundwave's story was later continued in his own Spotlight one-shot, where he was a self-serving and duplicitous Decepticon internal affairs agent. Soundwave was dispatched by Megatron to keep an eye on Bludgeon's investigation of Shockwave's lab. However, he kept quiet about Bludgeon's obsession with the Regenesis project, thinking he could turn it to his advantage. Following him to Earth in 1984, Soundwave monitored Bludgeon's attempts to harvest Ultra Energon and confronted him after he'd acquired it. Horrified to discover they were not planning to use it in a power-play but instead to reanimate Thunderwing (who previously devastated Cybertron), Soundwave attempted to stop them but was trapped in stasis-lock in cassette player mode. It was revealed in the epilogue that two young humans considered buying him at a pawn shop in 2007.

In The Transformers: Escalation #1, Optimus stated there was evidence that Soundwave had been present in Earth's history. Despite this, he didn't reappear until issue #4 of The Transformers: Devastation, where, still trapped in cassette player mode, he interfered with Skywatch's control of Laserbeak and Ravage, presumably calling them to free him.

Hearts of Steel

Soundwave also appeared as one of the Decepticon forces, serving under Starscream in the out-of-continuity The Transformers: Evolutions tale "Hearts of Steel". He appeared as one of Starscream's lieutenants. He was presumably destroyed when John Henry and Bumblebee diverted the Decepticon train convoy into a chasm.

Other media

• Soundwave appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Toy Meets Girl" voiced by Seth Green. He is portrayed as having retired from the Decepticon Army and obtained honest employment as a transformable portable toilet. Frank Welker reprises his role of Soundwave (as well as Megatron but not Rumble) when he appears again in another Robot Chicken episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn" where in the current years it's revealed that because the audio cassette tape and cassette players have long become obsolete and therefore no longer widely used, that his spy tactics now don't work (the people who discovered him in the skit were laughing at his mixtape which was Rumble in his black and red colors being killed by them puling his tape out). He is later found by Megatron and Shockwave to be on sale on eBay with options to place a bid for 500 dollars or "Buy it now" for 1000 dollars, whereupon Shockwave exclaims "Request permission to buy it now!" The Commemorative Soundwave figure was used in "Werewolf vs. Unicorn."
• Soundwave made a cameo appearance in the Family Guy episode "The Courtship of Stewie's Father" as Peter's new supervisor. In it, Soundwave releases a framed photograph from his cassette deck cavity, of himself and a human woman named Denise, who Soundwave proclaims is his wife, whom he met in a Christian chat room.
• Soundwave appears in the Sealab 2021 episode "Hail, Squishface" as a toy on an Asian girl's cart, who sells Capt. Murphy Gloop, from the show The Herculoids.
• A music video featuring Soundwave and a robot similar to Rumble and Frenzy named Lazer (though purely white in colour) breakdancing has surfaced throughout the Internet since 2000. The video contains audio clips from both the animated series and The Transformers: The Movie alongside music.
• In 2007, shortly before the release of the live-action Transformers film, Soundwave appeared in the viral comedy short "Soundwave: The Touch."

Toys

• Generation 1 Soundwave (1984)

The original Soundwave toy (and his cassettes) began life as part of Takara's Micro Change line, featuring household objects that transformed into accurately-scaled robots. Incorporated into the Transformers toy line by Hasbro, the figure was packaged with Buzzsaw in the US, and with Rumble in Japan (also including a set of non-functional headphones). The tapes could fit into Soundwave's opening chest door (released by a push of his shoulder-mounted "eject" button), while the interaction level was maintained by his two guns, which turned into AA-sized batteries that could store in a compartment in his back. Cassette tapes that could interact with Soundwave were released regularly until 1988. The Soundwave toy was reissued in Japan in 2004, and in the U.S. in 2006 using the Soundblaster mold.

It is generally thought that the head of the Soundwave toy was the inspiration for the design of the Decepticon symbol.

• Generation 1 Soundblaster (1987)

A re-mold of the Soundwave toy exclusive to Japan, Soundblaster is cast in black plastic where Soundwave was blue, with a retooled chest door, now made of translucent red plastic and able to hold two cassettes at once. Soundblaster came with a variant edition of Buzzsaw, who had a special sticker on his body that, when viewed through Soundblaster's door, would reveal the weak spots of Fortress Maximus. Soundblaster was reissued in Japan in 2005.

• Generation 1 Action Master Soundwave (1990)

The non-transforming Action Master incarnation of Soundwave came packaged with a transforming partner named Wingthing, who could become a gun for Soundwave to wield.

• Generation 2 Go-Bot Soundwave (1995)

The Marvel Comics Generation 2 series concluded before it could feature the Generation 2 toy line's new, distinctly different version of Soundwave from 1995 - a fluorescent yellow, blue and pink Ford Thunderbird stock car Go-Bot, a re-deco of an earlier figure named Gearhead. The figure was later recolored into W.A.R.S. for Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

• Generation 2 Laser Cycle Soundwave (unreleased)

Plans existed to repaint the Laser Cycle, Road Pig, into a version of Soundwave featuring his classic color scheme, but the figure was never released.

• Machine Wars Soundwave (1997)

1997's Machine Wars toy line, released exclusively in KB Toy stores, featured Soundwave as a repaint of the 1992 European and Canadian exclusive figure, Stalker. The toy transforms into a missile tank and, colored in shades of black, gray 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."

• Transtech Soundwave (unreleased)

With the conclusion of the Beast Machines toy line, the initial plan for a follow-up was through the futuristic Transtech series. Although the idea was scrapped in favor of Transformers: Armada, Toronto-based design studio Draxhall Jump produced several designs for characters, including Soundwave.

• Smallest Transformers Soundwave (2003)

A shrunken interpretation of the original Soundwave toy, released exclusive to Japan, this version of Soundwave even came with its own Ravage, likely the smallest Transformer ever made.

• Universe Soundwave with Space Case (2004)

A re-deco of Soundwave's Machine Wars figure, this toy was rendered in shades of blue and yellow, perhaps to invoke the original character's color scheme. Packaged with Space Case, the lack of any supporting figure makes the identity of this figure indiscernible, but he may or may not be an alternate-universe incarnation of the original Soundwave.

• Classic Commemorative Soundwave (2007)

A Toys "R" Us exclusive is said to be near identical to the original toy. This however has one difference from that of the 1984 figure, being that the chest compartment (tape deck door) has been re-molded to hold two cassette Transformers as opposed to one. This version of Soundwave is actually a 'reverse repaint' of the Japanese-exclusive Soundblaster, himself a retooling of the original Soundwave. Commemorative Soundwave includes both Ravage and Laserbeak, two cassettes seen prominently in the original series.

• Titanium 6 inch Soundwave with Laserbeak (2007)

Two versions of Generation 1 Soundwave were released in the Transformers: Titanium toy line. One was a 3-inch non-transforming version in robot mode. The other is a transformable 6-inch version that transforms into a cassette deck. Both Soundwave's feature die cast metal and plastic parts, and the 6-inch version also includes a transformable Laserbeak. It is also rumored that the larger version would be repainted and released as Soundblaster along with Ravage.

• Attacktix Soundwave (2007)

Series 2 of the Transformers Attacktix figures included a Generation 1 Soundwave figure.

• Musiclabel Soundwave (2007)

An MP3 player designed to look like the Generation 1 Soundwave figure. MiniSD cards fit inside his chest compartment, and comes with the shoulder gun, blaster, and alternate hands for holding the gun, making fists, and his "eject" finger. Uses 1 AAA battery. Despite the claim on the box, it can use at least up to a 2 GB memory stick, and play songs over 128kbit/s. In robot mode, he is the same size as Titanium Soundwave, though in "Cassette" mode he is longer and slightly taller. There are also headphones that are sold separately designed to look like Soundwave's minions Rumble and Frenzy.

• Transformers Encore Reissue Soundwave (2007)

A Release by Takara Tomy in Japan. Is nearly identical to the original 1984 toy. Unlike the original 1984 release that was packaged with Buzzsaw, the Encore figure was packaged with Laserbeak.

• Classic Soundwave (unreleased)

Although no new mold was released for Classic Soundwave (they instead reused the Takara Soundblaster mold), a design for a new Soundwave toy that turned into a SUV was considered. This design seems to have inspired Animated Soundwave.

Beast Wars

A character named Soundwave — but with no relation to the original character — was released as part of the Beast Wars Mutants sub-line in 2000. However, although Beast Wars officially exists in the same continuity as a version of the Generation 1 universe and its Soundwave (who made a brief cameo in the Beast Wars episode The Agenda, Part III), this character has no connection to the original Decepticon.

As a Mutant, this Soundwave transforms from bat to alligator, with no robot mode. Due to his in-built radar in bat mode, and crushing jaws in alligator mode, he excels at a variety of missions. However, due to his situation, Soundwave is a dark and bitter character. He has an ultra-sensitive internal radar in bat mode, and in alligator mode, his tail can send seismic shockwaves through the ground.

Animated series

Soundwave's stasis pod was presumably among those who were launched into orbit around prehistoric Earth in the Beast Wars series pilot.

IDW Publishing

This version of Soundwave also appeared in IDW Publishing's Beast Wars: The Gathering miniseries. Activated on Earth by Magmatron and a group of Predacons from the future, Soundwave and the mutants emerged from their stasis pods and took up residence in a swamp that they quickly made their own. When a group newly-activated Predacons lead by Transquito ventured through the swamp on a mission they were attacked by the Mutants. Poison Bite attacked Retrax, Soundwave attacked Powerpinch and Icebird attacked Transquito. Deciding the swamp wasn't worth their lives, Scourge and Insecticon fled. However, in "The Ascending" it is revealed that Powerpinch, Transquito and Retrax survived. As Powerpinch was thrown back at the predacons presumably he was carried off, Transquito must have evaded Icebird's attack and managed to escape, and Retrax probably escaped by beating off, or possibly killing, Poison bite.

IDW's Beast Wars Sourcebook series identifies the mutant Soundwave as a former warrior who may have been a veteran of the Great War, though the details are ambiguous at best. Sourcebook #4 states that Soundwave became an actor/entertainer after the ratification of the Pax Cybertronia, developing a "dramatic flair in everything from his movements to his speech paterns".

3H Enterprises

In Transformers: Universe - The Wreckers the Mutants traveled to Cybertron and sought the guidance of the Oracle computer, seeking a cure for their condition. What they didn't know is that the Oracle was under the influence of the Quintessons. The Mutants were sent to the outer Orion Cluster. Once there they were captured by the Quintessons, found in contempt by the five-faced aliens, and destroyed in an attack by a swarm of Sharkticons.

Toys

• Beast Wars Mutants (2000)

Although the Beast Wars toy line had concluded in 1998, this sub-line was released during the Beast Machines era. Although the figures lack robot modes, they all feature vestigial robotic components — such as Soundwave's robot head, concealed within his bat mouth. A re-deco of the figure known as Leatherneck was intended for release in Transformers: Universe, but did not come to fruition.

This figure was based on drawings by Hasbro designer Tim Bradley.

Transformers: Cybertron

In Transformers: Cybertron, Soundwave is the second Transformer from the mysterious Planet X. He transforms into a Planet X Jet and is partnered with a smaller robot called Laserbeak (Killer Condor in Japan). In the English dub of this series, he has a more "human-sounding" voice, though at the same time, like his G1 counterpart, he also has a synthesized robotic-sounding voice (the human sounding voice is more prominent however), which is counterbalanced by his tendency (in the English dub) to speak like a modern disc jockey — using terms like "He got served" and "Peace out, bots" and calling the battlefield, "The Floor."

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

Animated series

Soundwave first makes his appearance in the episode Titan, offering to lead Megatron and his minions to the planet Gigantion, however in a scene featuring Sidways and Starscream aboard the Atlantis a purple cassette player with the Decepticon symbol is on board playing music to ease the tension between the two evil robots. It is not clear if this is Soundwave or not, but it is interesting that he appeared in "Titan" just a few episodes later. In his first encounter with the Autobots he fought Optimus Prime and Wing Saber in their Sonic Wing mode and was able to hold his own in combat until Megatron was defeated by Metroplex and the Decepticons retreated.

Shortly after they arrived on Gigantion and there Megatron was upgraded into Galvatron, Soundwave abandoned the Decepticons, 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 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.

Soundwave is the only major 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 appearance to the Autobots, Soundwave demonstrates the ability to do this without the aid of a Cyber Key.

G1 Soundwave makes a cameo appearance in the animated series as a blue boombox that Sideways used to hear music.

Fun Publications

The Cybertron incarnation of Soundwave was among the characters to appear in the comic strip published exclusively through the Transformers Collectors Club, arriving on the planet itself to observe Vector Prime, Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime after their defeat of Unicron's heralds, Nemesis Prime and Ramjet, and capture of the Dead Matrix. Dispatching Laserbeak to recover the Dead Matrix from its place in storage, Soundwave threw the talisman into the black hole that had been created by the collapse of Unicron, allowing the Chaos Bringer's Spark to escape and infiltrate the planet Yst, which he corrupted and transformed into his new body. Soundwave would link up with his master, and watch the unfolding carnage of a Mini-Con civil war. However, when Unicron chose that moment to attack, Soundwave was attacked by several Mini-Cons, including Scythe and Perceptor. Unable to hit the smaller Mini-Cons, Soundwave fled with Unicron when Primus awoke.

Toys

• Cybertron Voyager Soundwave (2005)

The first actual homage to the original Soundwave in modern times, the Cybertron toy transforms not into a tape deck, but a sleek alien stealth fighter. Beyond this, however, the nods to the original character are many, from his head design, his multi-barreled shoulder cannon to his opening chest door, activated by his Cyber Key. Soundwave comes with a new incarnation of Laserbeak, who transforms into a battery bomb that can store within Soundwave's chest compartment. This toy was recolored into Universe Blaster.

• Galaxy Force Soundblaster

A black repaint of Soundwave, predictably named Soundblaster, was released exclusively in Japan through Takara's "Toy's Dream Project" series. Whether or not he is the same character as Soundwave is unknown.

• Cybertron Legends Soundwave (2006)

A Micro class Soundwave was released in the third wave of the Legends of Cybertron toy line. It came without Laserbeak. In 2007 a Target store exclusive value pack of four Voyager class Cybertron toy was released. It included Jetfire, Megatron, Optimus Prime and Soundwave. All identical to their original releases.

A Chinese made knockoff of this toy was released in 2008. It was slightly similified and recolored to be part of a combiner set called Super Change to United.

Live-action film series

Almost from the moment the live action Transformers movie was announced in 2004, producer Don Murphy and the production team made it clear they did not want to feature mass/size shifting in transformation (excluding the Allspark), due to concerns over realism. With this process an inherent part of Soundwave's tape deck alternate mode, there was some discussion over whether or not to change it due to its obsolescence, or to include the character in the film at all. It was announced by Hasbro at SDCC 2004 that movie Soundwave would be a helicopter.

Early leaked movie scripts proposed that his alternate mode would be a helicopter, but animatics shown at the 2005 Comic Con were poorly received. This led to a rethink, with the eventual helicopter character rechristened as Vortex, then finally Blackout.

2006 script reviews named Soundwave as a spying boombox on Air Force One, able to transform into a small robot, but eventually, this character was amended to being Frenzy, with Don Murphy stating that Soundwave will be reserved for a future sequel, until they can "do him right".

In a USA Today online fan poll, Soundwave was one of the 10 Transformers that the fans wanted in the sequel, winning with 20% of the votes.

When the film was released on DVD a special on-line content from Best Buy showed early animation footage of Blackout as a blue helicopter with a head that resembled Soundwave.

Soundwave was recently confirmed to be appearing in Transformers 2 by one of the script-writers, Roberto Orci. His minions Ravage and Laserbeak are tentatively suggested to appear with him.

Transformers: Animated

Soundwave appears in Transformers: Animated as a modular music-based Decepticon, who specialises in sonic interference. Whilst his robot mode still retains elements of his original tapedeck incarnation, his alt-mode is now a loudspeaker-equipped Scion xB, while his minion Laserbeak transforms from robotic bird into a Razorback V guitar; meanwhile, his voice, now provided by Jeff Bennett, once again employs a vocoder to emulate Soundwave's trademark robotic monotone.

Animated Series

Soundwave first appeared in "Sound and Fury" where Megatron comes with a new plan to exploit Sari's careless, repeated usage of her powerful Allspark key to continuously upgrade a simple robotic toy until it serves as a suitable body for Megatron to host. Soundwave was given to Sari as a birthday present (which was designed by Megatron and built by her father), and was a popular music playing, dancing robot no larger than the average human. Decorated in Blue and Gold, it danced, performed a light-show, and blasted tunes through his shoulder-mounted speakers...as entertaining as this was to Sari, it got old pretty fast for her, thus upgrading Soundwave with the key just as Megatron had predicted. Also, until he joined the Decepticons, he was programmed to obey Sari's commands.

However, the excessive usage of the key to give Soundwave niftier, more entertaining functions, wrought a side-effect Megatron had not anticipated; Soundwave was developing almost Cybertronian sophistication at an alarmingly increasing rate due to the unique, almost sentient, energy-signature of the Allspark Key. Within no time, Soundwave became self-aware, and refused to take orders from Sari (or any other human) any more. It was by observing the common labor-robots in the city that he deduced not only that robots are superior to humans in every way, but that it's illogical that robots are forced to succumb to their human masters, and it should be the other way around. It's here that Megatron discovers that Soundwave's central processor was altered by the Allspark Key's last surge, causing him to become self-aware. He introduces himself to Soundwave through televisions in a nearby electronics store as his creator (of sorts). Also imposing his plan to crush the Autobots. At first, Soundwave deems this illogical, for they are robots themselves, but Megatron insists that they are traitors that uphold the humans slavery of all robot-kind...it is here that Soundwave ultimately sides with the Decepticons, and makes it a point to crush all organic life and the robots that protect them. He uses his technology-manipulating speakers to summon all nearby labor-robots to merge with him, melting and morphing his simple robot-form into a massive, near-Cybertronian-class robot mode that loosely resembles the G1 Soundwave.

Transforming into his vehicle mode, he uses his sophisticated sound-system to try to initiate a robot-revolution against their human-oppressors. Trains get stopped, and all of the labor robots jump the Autobots when they appear on the scene.

After failing in hypnotizing Bulkhead into killing Sari in the name of all robot-kind, it would appear that Bulkhead destroyed Soundwave with a single blast with his powerful wrecking-ball arms, shattering his body into hundreds of pieces. Fortunately for Soundwave (and fans) he appeared to transform into a tiny, overlooked media player (that bares an uncanny resemblance to G1 Soundwave's Tape-Cassette Player) with a blinking Decepticon logo on his screen.

Toy

• Animated Soundwave with Laserbeak (2008)

A Deluxe sized figure. Transforms into a Scion xB like vehicle. Soundwave's bio describes his alternate mode as an SUV, although the Scion xB is actually a station wagon. It's most notable feature is that one of his "minions", Laserbeak, is present in the form of an electric guitar that transforms into a bird. It can also be attached to the top of his vehicle mode or held like a guitar in robot mode. His upper torso has the look of an old cassette player door, set up as a nod to his G1 toy.

Unlike most of the "Transformers Animated" line-up of toys, the Deluxe-class Soundwave does not have an Auto-conversion feature.

Transformers: Timelines

This Soundwave is an alternate version good of the Generation 1 character from the BotCon exclusive "Shattered Glass" comic, in which the Decepticons are on the side of good and the Autobots on the side of evil. His appearance is based on the white music label Soundwave MP3 player, while Buzzsaw seems to be based on Steeljaw in appearance. Presumably like all Decepticons of his world, he is heroic and opposed to the evil Autobots.

Fun Publications

Soundwave appeared as a member of Megatron's forces in the "Shattered Glass" story.

External links

• Soundwave PapercraftBuild your own Soundwave robot
• A Tribute to Soundwave 2007
• The MC-10 Cassette Man, Soundwave's pre-Transformers incarnation as a Microman figure
• ToyBin Soundwave photo gallery
• 3-D Soundwave and "Laser" breakdancing video
• Blaster vs. Soundwave Commercial
• Soundwave as a joke candidate at the University of Alberta student government election.
• Raksha's tribute to Soundwave with pics, fics, toys, merchandise, essays thougts, insights and more
• Soundwave: The Touch a comedy short by Gabe Uhr

References