Shockwave (Transformers)

"Ultimately, I serve only one master... pure logic."

- Shockwave

Shockwave is a Decepticon from the Transformers Franchise. He is usually treated as the "mad scientist" of the Decepticons. In some continuties, he is Megatron's true second in command but is forced to stay on Cybertron leaving Starscream as the acting second in command. Although he appears loyal to Megatron, his true loyalty lies in logic and would overthrow Megatron without hesitation if that is the logical choice.

Generation One
"Fear not, Megatron. Cybertron shall remain as you leave it."

- Shockwave after having Megatron entrust the safety of Cybertron

Shockwave was a minor Decepticon in the Generation One cartoon, but he did appear in some episodes as a main character. He was left behind by Megatron to look after Cybertron, with Shockwave announcing "Cybertron shall remain as you leave it". Megatron hardly shown any respect for Shockwave, such as in Desertion of the Dinobots where he threatened to make Shockwave become a maintenance worker if he fails to give the Decepticons enough Cybertonium to recharge and still be active for the war against the Autobots on Earth. Shockwave claims that he will only serve Megatron, learning of how Starscream wanted to make Megatron either surrender or die when the Decepticon Combaticons tried to move Earth into the sun. Shockwave's fate is unknown after the G1 movie. He was never seen afterwards. It is likely that Unicron killed him during his attack on Cybertron and Shockwave, small and weak compared to Unicron, did not survive the attack. His last known dialogue was, "Decepticons, we're under attack! Scramble!"

Dark of the Moon
in the 2011 third movie of Transformers film series of Michael Bay ,Shockwave appeared as the tertiary antagonist in this movie.

Animated Cartoon
Shockwave was a young Decepticon who secretly slipped into his enemy's ranks and disguised himself as a loyal, friendly Autobot nicknamed Longarm. He befriended several Autobots and became a respected Cybertronian Intelligence director titled Longarm Prime after secretly murdering the previous director and constantly reported back to his true master, Megatron. When two squads of Autobot and Decepticons led by Optimus Prime and Megatron crashed landed on a mysterious planet called Earth, Megatron contacted Shockwave, still on Cybertron, and initiated a plan to construct a space bridge from Earth to Cybertron in order to take them both over. After Megatron was defeated, almost all Decepticons were executed, and Shockwave was exposed for the traitor that he was, the two sociopathic robots were arrested and locked away in a Cybertronian prison for good.

Not long afterward, the entire Space Bridge Nexus powered down. Confused, Longarm questioned Cybertron Command, and Cliffjumperinformed him that Ultra Magnus had ordered the shutdown in order to prevent the Decepticons from accessing Cybertron. Just then, Agent Blurrarrived and (very) quickly informed Longarm that while on Earth, he had intercepted a transmission between Megatron and his double agent on Cybertron, Shockwave. Further, Blurr noted that Shockwave's voice didn't match that of the suspected Wasp, but quick search of the Cybertron Intel Database would allow them to find the true identity of the traitor. Shocked, Longarm asked if Blurr had shared this information with anyone else. When Blurr replied that he had not, Shockwave decided it would be wise to quiet him down—permanently. Blurr eluded his initial attempts and escaped into the corridors around the nexus control center. Rather than give chase, Shockwave simply had the corridors' security hatches slam shut and close in on Blurr, trapping and crushing him.

At the Metroplex, Longarm handed over Blurr's remains to Cliffjumper, calling the small cube "sensitive materials." He received an incoming transmission from Lord Megatron in his private office. They traded information on their respective setbacks, but Megatron assured Shockwave that he had a method of preventing the Earth Autobots from blowing Shockwave's cover.

Shortly, Longarm Prime attended an Autobot High Council meeting, where Ultra Magnus declared that the Decepticons' attacks were too organized to be random acts of sabotage. Rather, evidence pointed to a double agent in the Autobots' midst. Longarm nervously pointed out that the Decepticon uprisings had started after Wasp's escape, making the cause plain. Ultra Magnus agreed and ordered Jazz and Sentinel Prime to organize an Elite Guard Unit to find the escapee. He then requested that the Earth-bound Autobots be contacted. Increasingly distraught, Longarm declared that all communications should be first filtered through him, without exceptions for the sake of security and the protection of Cybertron, naturally. TransWarped

Unfortunately, Longarm's insistence on diverting blame toward Wasp was his undoing. When Wasp headed to Earth, Ultra Magnus didn't inform him about Wasp's destination until the Elite Guard's ship was in sight of the planet. Knowing he was on the verge of being exposed, Shockwave tried to contact Megatron, but still received no response. With no other orders on how to proceed, Shockwave took matters into his own hands: In an effort to inflict one last blow to the Autobots, Shockwave attacked and seriously damaged Ultra Magnus, stealing his Magnus hammer in the process.

War for Cybertron
Though Shockwave doesn't appear in the game's campaign, he does make an appearance in multiplayer. In a promo commercial for the character, Shockwave is placed the commander of the Decepticons as Megatron retreats from the battlefield. Shockwave, now the leader of the tyrannical military, orders Soundwave to play the famous Touch song, known for being the iconic theme where Optimus Prime plows through armies of Decepticons and guns down Megatron. Starscream, annoyed, questions why they of all songs must blare that one, and Soundwave answers by saying when he's the commander, he can pick battle soundtrack.

Fall of Cybertron
Shockwave is first seen operating machinery in the middle of an Energon reservoir. Starscream berates him for wasting both time and resources, but Shockwave shrugs it off, saying that the Air Commander simply doesn't understand.

Far later, he, along with several Insecticon minions, are shown to be experimenting on the Dinobots in an attempt to have them transform. After gathering enough results, he leaves the complex just before Grimlock escapes and goes on a rampage through all the chambers and frees his teammates, but Shockwave still mocks him via audio and holograms throughout the mission. Near the end of the game, he is encountered again, preparing the final adjustments to his tower and Space Bridge. He briefly succeeds in restraining Grimlock, saying that he would not have made something so powerful without adding a way to control it. However, Grimlock transforms to his alt mode, bites off Shockwave's left arm, and tosses him aside.

Comics
in The comics Shockwave becomes the main villain for being an even more effective leader than Megatron in the Marvel comics.

in IDW comics he served as the main villain of Dark Cybertron.

Similar Villains

 * Dr. Mindbender (G.I. Joe series)
 * Bird Brain (T.U.F.F. Puppy)
 * Marvin the Martian (Looney Tunes series)
 * Dr. Drakken (Kim Possible)
 * Zim (Invader Zim)

Trivia

 * Bob Budiansky, the creator of Shockwave, intended his creation to be an evil robotic Spock from Star Trek.
 * In the original cartoon, Animated series, and War for Cybertron he is voiced by Corey Burton. In Fall of Cybertron, he is voiced by Steven Blum.
 * Animated Shockwave seems to have his abilities inspired by G1 Autobot Punch, an Autobot double agent who is posing as a high-ranked Decepticon named Counterpunch.