Name: Soundwave
Allegiance: Decepticons
Function: Communications
Timeline: Generation 1
Cries and screams are music to my ears.
Profile:
Soundwave is Megatron's right-hand man, and the Decepticon spymaster. A monolithic, monotone menace, Soundwave is one of Megatron's most trusted and indispensable lieutenants. A true believer in the Decepticon ideology, Soundwave is unshakably loyal to Megatron, but sometimes questions why Megatron chooses to depart from his own code; often, Soundwave resolves himself that Megatron does so with good reason. Soundwave is one of the few Decepticons trusted by Megatron (and later Megatron's successor, Galvatron; an achievement considering Galvatron's insanity and paranoia). When assigned a task, Soundwave will carry it out efficiently and effectively, and without question. Although Soundwave comes across as emotioness, he is not completely heartless. He cares deeply for his minions who he stores within his chest as cassettes. Soundwave views his minions as his family, and would lay down his life to protect almost any of them, and they would do the same for Soundwave. To all others, though, Soundwave is completely untrustworthy; an opportunistic blackmailer. Every Decepticon is aware that Soundwave abuses his position of favour as Megatron's trusted lieutenant, and knows to watch what they say around him, knowing that Soundwave is always listening. Some underestimate just how sharp and perceptive Soundwave is; nothing escapes his sight and he can hear a fly sneeze, plus Soundwave is capable of limited mindreading. All this combined makes Soundwave terrifyingly effective at gathering information on those around him, compiling dossiers should he ever need leverage. Worst of all, most Decepticons know that Soundwave's trusted position means nobody can take action against him, and so most pretend to be his friend. Rumble sometimes remarks "Soundwave always has the last laugh"; hearing this, Skywarp once muttered "and it's the most terrifying sound in the universe."
Tape recorder mode:
Author notes:
Soundwave is one of those iconic Transformers characters, thanks to his distinctive voice and legion of minions who he launches out of his chest. For his bio, I wanted to capture that version of Soundwave, rather than the version whose loyalties were less established. I wrote in a line inspired by the IDW comics, where Soundwave is a true believer in the Decepticon cause as embodied by Megatron; this sets up a potential endgame for Soundwave where he leads a Decepticon remnant down a different path to the violent successor groups, much as he did in the IDW comics.
Likewise, I took inspiration from IDW Soundwave's relationship with his cassettes. As a whole, Soundwave and his cassettes are family, pure and simple. They operate as both a combat unit and as a familial one, protecting and looking out for one another. This isn't something we saw a whole lot in Generation 1, but it is definitely something I'd play with were I writing a story with the characters.
Toys of Transformers Generation 1 Soundwave
Transformers Masterpiece Soundwave
Masterpiece Soundwave is an amazing release. The early (pre-MP-10 Convoy version 2) Masterpieces turned me off of the line; while a few like Grimlock were solid releases, others like Starscream, Megatron and Rodimus felt too expensive and too delicate for what I was looking for in my collection at that time. Soundwave was the first post MP-10 Masterpiece I picked up, and I am glad I did. Everything I disliked in those earlier Masterpieces was fixed by this new design. Soundwave was robust, poseable, and really nicely detailed. He was basically the perfect rendition of Soundwave. I felt like I was holding a definitive version of the character in toy form when I got Masterpiece Soundwave, and I still have warm, happy feelings picking him up and playing with him now. He's one of the best toys in my collection, definitely my favourite version of Soundwave, and a solid reason why I love what the Masterpiece line used to be.
More information on Transformers Masterpiece Soundwave at TFW2005
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Transformers Masterpiece toys in my collection.
