Sir Soundwave is a righteous dude! He and his gnarly cassettes—Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, Ratbat, Overkill, Garboil, Howlback, and Slugfest—bring the good vibrations to Megatron's fight against the totally heinous Autobots! Though the charismatic Soundwave is the Decepticons' "Morale Officer", he's also an expert in communications. He can tap into any data source just through proximity, which not only helps him link his fellow Decepticons together while in battle, but also helps him tap any errant Autobot transmission.
Sir Soundwave carries a sonic cannon that can also convert into a monomolecular blade which vibrates at the speed of sound. He is sometimes known as Monstroso, the Robot Horror from Beyond.
You dudes may be numerous, but there's one thing you don't know. I have no mouth... Yet I must rock.
It's hard to imagine there was ever a time when Soundwave was a background character.
As the Decepticons followed Starscream's plan to disable the Ark's launching platform, Soundwave was among the ground forces that followed Starscream, Divebomb and Whisper's initial assault. Later in the battle he was seen assisting the injured Slugslinger. Shattered Glass
When the Autobots tried to take the Arch-Ayr fuel dump from the Decepticons and it was starting to look bleak, Soundwave called in the Mayhem Suppression Squad as the "cavalry". Dungeons & Dinobots
Starscream reported to Soundwave that the Slugfest and Overkill were missing. Soundwave checked the security tapes, but found only minor glitches. The two Dinocons were soon discovered, having transformed into octaltrack data cartridges.
When boarding the Nemesis, Cliffjumper assigned Soundwave to the comm. Soundwave brought with him his usual complement of tapes as well as the newcomers Slugfest and Overkill.
Soundwave manned the comm throughout the clash with the Ark. He volunteered to stay and help Starscream guide the damaged Nemesis down to Earth, but Cliffjumper insisted that Soundwave seek the safety of an escape pod, because he would need to communicate with Cybertron about their situation. Do Over
Before the Nemesis crash-landed on Earth, Soundwave jettisoned in an escape pod, but went into stasis lock when it landed. Heatwave found him at a scenic spot named Wyatt's Roadsideaganza and reactivated the escape pod's systems and the on-board scanner, which scanned a vehicle nearby for Soundwave and reactivated him. Soundwave tore a flag from a nearby pole and used it as his hachimaki, then detonated the stasis pod as the pair of them set out to find their fallen comrades. The Desert Heat!
Soundwave and Heatwave tracked down the Nemesis crash site, inadvertently hooking up with Professor Arkeville and his students who were also out looking to see what had crashed. Soundwave quickly befriended them and defended the humans in general against Cliffjumper's complaints about the ship being shot down. He and the other Decepticons were disappointed when it turned out that the Autobots had survived the crash of the Ark as well, and had commandeered the humans' orbital laser. Will, Rick, and Soundwave disguised themselves as ice cream delivery and infiltrated Burpleson Air Force Base, which the Autobots had taken over. While Heatwave broke into the base in a more conventional manner, Soundwave kept the Autobots busy while his comrade talked to the orbital laser control system. Everyone got clear before the control system used the orbiting laser to destroy the base. Eye in the Sky
For his various heroic deeds, he was knighted and given the title Sir Soundwave. Shortly thereafter, he attended a Misfits/Cold Slither concert. After Heatwave was lost in an Autobot stellar spanner experiment, Soundwave realized that an oPod that Will had installed in Blitzwing's systems was broadcasting on an Autobot frequency. Unfortunately Blitzwing's broadcast began to spread to Decepticons frequencies, though naturally Soundwave was immune, and went looking for the triple changer so they could surgically remove the oPod. He briefly located Blitzwing at Wyatt's Roadsideaganza, before his target fled in jet mode. Eventually Ravage spotted a Yatter update pointing to a particular alleyway, and arrived just as Blaster found Blitzwing. Soundwave and Blaster fought, until they were interrupted by the arrival of Thunderwing who arrested Soundwave for a transmission he made four million solar cycles ago. Soundwave managed to talk him into suspending the arrest on a technicality and tracked Blaster down as he was preparing to send Blitzwing to Cybertron using the stellar spanner. After Soundwave tricked Blaster into confessing a crime, Thunderwing attempted to arrest the Autobot, allowing Soundwave free reign to rescue Blitzwing. They returned to base, where Thunderwing sentenced Soundwave to 500 hours community service. Blitzwing Bop
The Decepticons got their own stellar spanner working, and Soundwave was overjoyed to discover that Heatwave had survived his trip to Cybertron. Soundwave was among the Decepticons who attended the unveiling of R.J. Blackrock's new Mega-Rig and found himself facing a group of Autobots who attacked the ceremony. When following the attack Sephie Beller had herself augmented with Cybertronian technology, Starscream and Soundwave were concerned for their human ally, but she reacted badly to Starscream confining her to base, and Soundwave sent Ravage to talk to her. She had already gone to attack the Autobots, and when the Decepticons went to help, they stepped into an Autobot trap. With the Decepticons bound, the Autobots prepared a firing squad, and were going to shoot Soundwave first to stop the electronic jamming when Soundwave pointed out it wasn't him doing the jamming. The arrival of Blackrock piloting a Centurion mech kept the Autobots distracted, and Soundwave freed himself using high-frequency vibrations. Unfortunately before he could do anything, Blackrock knocked him out with an EMP blast. He recovered in time to watch Sephie destroy the Centurion, and took Sephie and Rick back to base. He was disappointed when Sephie turned down a spot on the Decepticon team, though unbeknownst to him, she took the opportunity to copy his power chip rectifier before leaving. Transhuman
To complete your Soundwave, you have to buy two box sets to give him a second weapon-arm.
When the Decepticons were tipped off by Optimus Prime that Ultra Magnus had escaped his prison on Paradron, Soundwave joined Treadshot's team to hunt him down. They traveled through a portal to a strange parallel universe where they encountered Magnus and his army battling their destination universe's heroic Autobots. Here Magnus was after this universe's Rarified Energon so that he could open up a hole in space time to bring its Earth to his Cybertron, destroying them both. But when Soundwave and the Decepticons appeared, Magnus used his stolen Terminus Blade to stage an escape.
The heroic Autobots of that dimension were understandably confused, so Soundwave caught them up to speed. (He "tells it way better" than Treadshot.) The heroic Autobots and heroic Decepticons joined forces and fought back the insidious Junkion hive, but after a while Soundwave realized he should sneak away to put an end to Ultra Magnus's scheme. The Junkions swarmed him, however, and Soundwave's end was imminent until he was rescued by Gigatron and his evil Decepticons. Ultimately, Soundwave was able to expand the forcefield surrounding Ultra Magnus's enigmatic contraption below ground to cover the entire Earth. Soundwave and the heroic Decepticons believed this had averted the crisis, but Magnus scoffed. He wanted to destroy this Earth, yes, but he'd also set in motion the destruction of its entire universe! As Earth was pulled into orbit over their universe's Cybertron, the Earth's entire former dimension was destroyed.
Magnus declared victory and retreated as Soundwave sought reassurance that they had won on some level. Invasion
Entertainment 7-20! PEACE!
With the stellar spanner damaged, Soundwave was unable to return to his friends on negative polarity Earth. The heroic Wheeljack created a new "mental spanner" to compensate, allowing Soundwave to project his consciousness across space to possess a secondary body created for him on Earth by Deputy Commander Starscream. On Earth, Soundwave was confronted by Blaster, who managed to find a way back to the planet from the moon. Solar Requiem
With Blitzwing, Soundwave was invited to the Dancitron, where he excitedly told Blitzwing about his experience with Solarbot. Sunrise
Recordicons[]
Run for the border, dude!
While hiding outside a Taco Horn, Soundwave cautioned Ravage to enter stealth mode, including not updating Yatter. A few moments later, Ravage updated his Boxballaccount, as Mexican restaurants were worth three points, and they were consequently found by Blaster. Soundwave was very disappointed. Recordicons #6
Soundwave was concealed as a light pylon when Nightbeat and Hoseheadpassed by. Unfortunately Ravage picked that moment to fall out, giving away Soundwave's disguise, much to his annoyance. Ravage attempted to blame gravity. Recordicons #17 Soundwave grabbed Laserbeak, as he needed a guitar so he could play a set as part of Tape-Filled Idiots. Recordicons #25
Timelines[]
Soundwave was present with several of his comrades on Earth to observe the captured infiltration robot Nightbird. Epilogue Two
IDW Shattered Glass comic[]
Soundwave learned about Howard Stern during his Earthican getaway.
Before the Great War broke out, Soundwave was an anchor for ABN, stepping in after Blaster was caught on camera insulting the viewers' intelligence. Soundwave later went to visit Blaster at a musical event, hoping to mend fences, only to earn his predecessor's ire. Shattered Glass II #2
Soundwave was the Decepticons' top Morale Officer during the war. Shattered Glass #3Alongside Cannonball's crew, Soundwave worked to protect Iacon's Titan Net from Windblade and Lightbright's "Citycrashers". Shattered Glass II #4 A member of Megatron's forces on Earth, he was present for the final battle in Hollywood, gathering with the rest of the troops as Megatron gave a rallying speech and engaging the Autobots behind his leader. Later, he retreated back to Cybertron with the surviving Decepticon forces as the tide of battle turned sour and Megatron stayed behind to engage Optimus in combat. Shattered Glass #2
Over a megacycle after the end of the war, Soundwave had built himself a new existence hiding away in a Gold City bolthole, aided by Laserbeak and Ravage in keeping an eye on any Decepticons still alive, reaching out to them on secured frequencies to help them as needed. He reunited with his former commander, as well as Starscream, when the duo came to him seeking aid in reconnecting with their scattered brethren in preparation to take back Cybertron. Soundwave agreed, but was firm that there were some he would not contact under any circumstances, refusing to put those dealing with particular traumas to stress themselves any further, and let them know he'd already called the Seekers once Megatron and Starscream agreed to his terms. He then immediately began starting to strategize the best way to utilize their remaining forces when Starscream stopped him, commending him and asking when the last time he stepped away from duty was. Soundwave responded that he couldn't risk leaving his equipment, refusing to potentially not be there when somebody who needed him hit rock bottom, then switched topics by mentioning that everybody was talking about Starscream's lightshow near Metroplex. Shattered Glass #3
Soundwave was present for the full scale Decepticon assault on Goldbug's fortress after soldiers began answering Megatron's call. He was engaged with both Ratchet and Blaster when all on the battlefield heard Jetfire's anguished cry over Starscream's death, and later blasted a path into the compound itself along with Dirge and Reflector. Shattered Glass #5
As the Decepticons began rebuilding New Kaon, the Wreckers sent Blaster to destroy Soundwave's communications console only for Soundwave to catch him in the act. Though Soundwave failed to defeat his opposite in combat, Blaster beat a hasty retreat when outside fighting started to spill over to the building. After the Wreckers killed Blaster for failing his mission, Shattered Glass II #2Slicer used his severed head to keep abreast of Soundwave's tranmissions. Shattered Glass II #3
When the Metroplex reactivated, Soundwave was part of the force that met his advance. Shattered Glass II #4 After being briefed on the full danger by Megatron, Soundwave made for Metroplex, managing to recruit Slicer as a temporary ally. Upon scaling the Titan, the two discovered that Ultra Magnus had swapped bodies with Optimus Prime. As Magnus monologued, Soundwave listened to Starscream and Metroplex's minds fusing before the Titan stumbled. The distraction allowed Soundwave to break through the Wrecker lines, kill Drift and Rodimus, before he freed the bound Jetfire, the two managing to disconnect Starscream's spark from Metroplex. After Jetfire flew off with Starscream's spark, Soundwave faced off against Ultra Magnus, taunting the Autobot about his self-confidence issues, before he was saved by Slicer shooting Magnus in the chest. After being carried to safety by Laserbeak, Soundwave reflected on the state of the world and that, no matter what, he would never stop the fight to bring peace to Cybertron. Shattered Glass II #5
Games[]
Transformers Legends[]
Soundwave took part in a battle which prevented the Autobots from launching from Cybertron in a battleship. Shattered Glass
Soundwave's first body was repurposed from the Sonic White version of Music Label Soundwave.
Released in TakaraTomy's Music Label series, Soundwave is an MP3 player which takes a miniSD card. The box says it can take up to 1 GB, but many claims have shown it can support up to 2 GB. The player uses one AAA battery. The player also features a transformation almost entirely accurate to his Generation 1 appearance. He also comes with two sets of hands, his shoulder cannon, and a sidearm. It's totally awesome to so many degrees.
Controls
Play/Pause (Press and hold for three seconds to power on or off)
Next
Previous
Volume Up
Volume Down.
It also treats Folders as Albums.
An LED behind the "cassette" door turns on and flashes to indicate the power's on. The single AAA battery lasts for about 6 hours of continuous play. Soundwave was initially released in two color schemes: "Spark Blue", his normal blue and silver colors; and "Sonic White", a mostly white color scheme with some blue detailing, echoing the traditional iPod color scheme.
More information on Music Label Soundwave at TFU.info
Timelines[]
Headband sold separately? That's not righteous at all!
Invasion (Multi-pack, 2012)
Accessories: Blaster/blade weapon
Timelines Soundwave is a retool of Universe Deluxe Class Ironhide, featuring a new head, transforming into an SUV of indeterminate, probably-made-up model, lovingly slathered with a Cold Slither mural on the side. Soundwave is armed with a double-ended weapon, which deploys a translucent melee blade from one end, and a gatling cannon from the other. His chest features an Automorph-like gimmick that sees mechanical detailing raise up behind his chestplate when his bumper is lowered. Soundwave's head is designed to look fully forward, rather than tilt down like Ironhide or Ratchet's toys. His headband is a plastic piece sold separately (with a Soundwave trading card) at the Club store.
There's a difference in plastic color in the official photos of the robot and vehicle modes. In robot mode, the piece behind his head is white, and in vehicle mode, that same piece forms the roof and is black. While the tinier image of the toy in robot mode within BotCon registration gives Soundwave a black crotch in addition to the piece behind his head, the final toy used a white piece behind his head while having a black crotch and solid-white roof in alt mode. Oddly, the cards that come with the toy *and* the headband still show all these areas as white in the artwork.
"SG Soundwave" is a redeco of EncoreSoundblaster (the then-most-recent iteration of the original The TransformersSoundwavemold), transforming into a microcassette recorder. His extra-deep tape-door chest panel allows him to store two cassettes at once. The two "batteries" that store in the back of the cassette mode becomes a non-firing shoulder-mounted cannon and a spring-loaded rocket launcher for robot mode; as a Japanese-market release, the launcher is fully-functional as it does not have to comply with US toy projectile regulations.
He also has a number of extra customer-applied stickers on a big sheet for the whole set, which includes his "headband". As his headband is entirely made out of stickers, transforming him back with the headband applied will damage the sticker. Either you have to display him in robot mode with the headband applied, or make a cloth headband by scratch.
He was only available in a big boxed versus set which also includes SG Blaster, and the microcassettes SG Slugfest, SG Ratbat, SG Rewind, SG Ramhorn, and Solarbot, as well as a 12-page comic. This set was sold through e-HOBBY in Japan, and imported by Fun Publications to the US as a "shared exclusive".
More information on Shattered Glass Soundwave at TFU.info
The fifth and final release in the second assortment of Hasbro Pulse's exclusive Shattered Glass Collection subline, Soundwave is a white and blue redeco of War for Cybertron TrilogySoundwave. He transforms into a microcassette recorder which can hold a single "cassette" from the Siege-based line of "shield"-bots. In robot mode, he features a new headsculpt with his distinctive headband. Each forearm features a flip-out non-firing blaster, remnants of the original Siege Soundwave toy tooling, where they also act as landing skids for his starship mode.
Soundwave comes packed with his cassette minions Ravage and Laserbeak, and ships with a copy of Shattered Glass IIissue #5 outside the box.
Unfortunately, some parts of his white plastic, like the material used for his shoulder joints and barrel gun, are prone to photodegradation, even immediately right out of the box.
Merchandise[]
Magic: The Gathering[]
Cowabunga!
Soundwave, Sonic Spy / Soundwave, Superior Captain (2022)
"Soundwave, Sonic Spy" is part of the 2022 Magic: The GatheringUniverses BeyondTransformers card set, found in Collector Booster packs of Magic's The Brothers' War set. It can be reversed to become "Soundwave, Superior Captain", representing Soundwave in cassette player mode.
Soundwave can generate tokens of Laserbeak and Ravage. Unfortunately, Shattered Glass versions of the tokens are not officially available, requiring players to either use the Generation 1 versions or create proxies.
A variant of this card was available in both Set Booster and Collector Booster packs, depicting "Generation 1" Soundwave.
Notes[]
Soundwave was conceived by Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop as a hair metal himbo/surfer dude, a character archetype they felt that Transformers was lacking. Cited inspirations include Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Valhallen from Dexter's Laboratory, and Bill S. Preston and Theodore Logan.
