Reception

According to X-Entertainment, Soundwave was one of the top Transformers figures of all time.^[3]

Animated series

In the original Transformers cartoon, Soundwave was Megatron's most reliable aide, 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 lamp-post to spy on the Autobot city of Iacon, learning of the Autobots' plan to search for energy on other worlds. Soundwave participated in Megatron's assault on the Autobots' spacecraft, the Ark, and met the same fate as the other occupants when the ship crashed on prehistoric Earth, leaving everyone trapped in stasis. After awakening on Earth in 1984, Soundwave played a crucial part in generating energon cubes and devising strategies to construct a new spacecraft for the Decepticons to journey back 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 season 2 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 beaten close to death by Optimus Prime at the battle of Autobot City in 2005 (The Transformers: The Movie). But while Soundwave was loyal, he was far from outspoken, and he 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 reformatted as Galvatron.

In season 3, 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 made his final appearance in the American cartoon series, the Season 3 finale, The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 as he was only seen giving the latest piece of information gathered by Ratbat that two scientists had discovered Optimus Prime's body, a fact which made Galvatron eager to destroy it once and for all. 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 1987 anime robot superhero TV series Transformers: The Headmasters, Soundwave and Blaster's rivalry had increased dramatically. 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 and renamed him 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. In Headmasters, his character was somewhat changed to have more of a father-son relationship with the cassettes, as it was hinted on his resurrection as Soundblaster.

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. This left him sounding like Dr. Claw, another role Welker performed, from Inspector Gadget.

Books

Soundwave appeared in the following books:

• The 1984 sticker and story book Return to Cybertron written by Suzanne Weyn and published by Marvel Books. However, he was mistakenly depicted as an Autobot.^[4]
• The 1985 Find Your Fate Junior book called Dinobots Strike Back by Casey Todd.^[5]
• The 1985 Find Your Fate Junior book called Battle Drive by Barbara Siegel and Scott Siegel.^[6]
• 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.
• The 1985 audio story Sun Raid.
• The 1986 story and coloring book The Lost Treasure of Cybertron by Marvel Books.^[7]

Comics

Other appearances

A parody of the Generation 1 Transformers was aired in the December 23, 2008 episode of Frank TV, called "Frank the Halls". In the story, Optimus Prime and his Autobots (Bumblebee, Jazz and Wheeljack) battle Megatron and his Decepticons (Soundwave and Starscream) when Optimus runs out of gas. Optimus becomes enraged at the price of gas, steals the fuel from the annoying hybrid Autobot Prius Maximus, then joins the Decepticons in destroying the city.^[12]

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, his spy tactics now do not work (the people who discovered him in the skit were laughing at his mixtape which was Rumble 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.^[13] Soundwave also 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 as part of Takara's Micro Change line, designed by Satoshi Koizumi, 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 be stored in a compartment on 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.^[14]

• 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.^[15]

• 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, resembles 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 with Jaguar (2003)

Part of the first wave of the Japan-only Smallest Transformers toy line. Despite the small size (roughly 2 inches in robot height), the toy is virtually faithful to the original G1 toy in design and transformation. Soundwave also comes with a micro cassette that transforms into Ravage.^[16]

In 2006, this toy was to be released with a redeco of Energon Megatron as a Targetexclusive in the U.S., but plans to release the toy were canceled.^[17]

• Universe Soundwave with Space Case (2004)

A redeco of Soundwave's Machine Wars figure, this toy was rendered in shades of blue and yellow, and packaged with fellow Decepticon Space Case.

• Classics 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.^[18]

• 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.

• Music Label Soundwave (2007)

An MP3 player designed to look like the Generation 1 Soundwave figure. MiniSD cards fit inside his chest compartment, and it 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 card 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.

Soundwave is available in three colors: Sonic White, Spark Blue (which closely resembles his original G1 incarnation) and Blaster Black (an homage to Soundblaster).

This figure was voted the 43rd top toy released in the last 10 years by ToyFare Magazine.^[19]

• Transformers Encore Reissue Soundwave (2007)

A release by Takara Tomy in Japan that 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.^[20]

• Mighty Muggs Soundwave (2008)

A Mighty Muggs doll of Soundwave with gun.

• Universe 25th Anniversary Soundwave (2009)

A San Diego Comic-Con International exclusive reissue of the original G1 Soundwave figure that comes with Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, Ravage and Ratbat.^[21]

• Classics Deluxe Soundwave (unreleased)

Although no new mold was released for Classics 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.^[22]

• Masterpiece MP-13 Soundwave (2012)

An all-new mold of Soundwave in Takara Tomy's Masterpiece line. Comes packaged with Condor/Laserbeak, collapsible weapons that transform into batteries, a clear Energon cube that can be attached to his chest, a detachable display grid, a forearm scanner attachment, a translucent pink cassette case and a new version of the Megatron gun originally offered in MP-01 Convoy/Optimus Prime. Aside from holding up to three newer Masterpiece cassette robots, Soundwave's chest can also accommodate the original G1 cassettes. Laserbeak in bird mode can peg on Soundwave's left shoulder or forearm.

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 of newly activated Predacons led 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 was not worth their lives, Scourge and Insecticon fled. However, in "The Ascending" it is revealed that Powerpinch, Transquito and Retrax survived.

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 did not 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 Deluxe Mutant Soundwave (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.^[23]

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 Sideways 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, while Soundwave and Sideways were shown to have found a dimension where Planet X still existed.

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.^[24]

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 be stored within Soundwave's chest compartment. This toy was recolored into Universe Blaster. This toy was based on an F-117 Nighthawk.

• Galaxy Force Voyager Soundblaster

A black repaint of Soundwave, predictably named Soundblaster, was released exclusively in Japan through Takara's "Toy's Dream Project" series. However, this Soundblaster is a separate character from Soundwave.

• 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 toys was released. It included Jetfire, Megatron, Optimus Prime and Soundwave, all identical to their original releases.

Creation and development

Almost from the moment the live action Transformers movie was announced in 2007, 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, there was some discussion over whether or not to change Soundwave's tape deck alternate mode 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.^[26] 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". 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.

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.^[27]

Soundwave appears in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Soundwave is a satellite in the film. Soundwave is not seen in his robot form in the film. Frank Welker reprised his voicing role, and used his Doctor Claw voice from Inspector Gadget, which, when run through a vocoder, gives Soundwave his unique voice from the original animated series. The lack of this vocoder in the 2009 film left the voice sounding more like Doctor Claw than the original Soundwave. He has his minion Ravage to do his bidding in the film.

Soundwave also appears in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, this time transforming into a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and with Laserbeak to serve him. Soundwave is armed with sonic cannons.

His Hasbro Battle Bio states that he is 22 feet tall and that his main weapons are sonic cannons which can only be used in the atmosphere, as sound waves will not travel in the vacuum.

Soundwave also makes a brief appearance in the movie Bumblebee. His appearance closely matches his G1 counterpart and appears alongside Shockwave and Starscream (a non-speaking role for the latter). He is voiced by Jon Bailey, who also voices Shockwave in the film. Unlike previous films, Bailey's voice is run through a vocoder to bring back Soundwave's signature voice.

Films

In Revenge of the Fallen, Soundwave is only seen in his Cybertronian satellite mode, hovering above Earth in orbit. Like his original counterpart, he functions as a Decepticon espionage agent and communications officer. In the film, he receives a message from Wheelie on Mikaela Banes possessing a shard of the Allspark and orders him to retrieve it. Soundwave would later hack into a human satellite and discover the location of another Allspark shard, deploying his servant Ravage to retrieve it. Following the death of Optimus Prime, Soundwave would carry out Megatron's orders to prepare the Decepticons for an invasion of Earth. Soundwave would later locate Sam Witwicky's parents in Paris, France. Ravage was later killed by Bumblebee. Frank Welker returned to reprise his role as Soundwave in this movie, and the film following after, but unlike his G1 counterpart, his voice was not vocoded, which the character was well known for. In Dark of the Moon, Soundwave was retconned into having been on Earth since the 1970s. He discovered the Autobot spaceship, the Ark, on the Moon, and forcibly recruited various human servants from the U.S. and Russian space agencies to prevent further exploration of it following the initial Moon landings, while he ordered an army of Decepticons to steal most of the pillars onboard and hide under the moon's surface. In the modern day he appears at Megatron's base in Africa, where he and Laserbeak report the Autobot's recovery of Sentinel Prime and the remaining pillars from the crashed Ark. Megatron praises Soundwave's initiative in the decades-long plan and orders Laserbeak to kill their human allies. The only human ally they don't kill, Dylan Gould, has Soundwave disguise himself as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG that belonged to Sam's girlfriend, Carly, in order to get close to the Autobots. He reveals himself and captures Carly once the two humans learn of Gould's alliance with the Decepticons, and threatens her in order to convince Sam to discover the Autobot's plans. During the battle in Chicago, Soundwave and Barricade lead several Decepticons in capturing some of the Autobots. Gould convinces Soundwave not to take prisoners, and Soundwave orders the others to execute their "trophies". Once Que is dead, Soundwave prepares to kill Bumblebee himself, but a Decepticon battle-cruiser hijacked by Wheelie and Brains drops fighters near Soundwave, distracting him and allowing the Autobots to fight back. Bumblebee attacks Soundwave who tries to shoot him, but is confused among the crushing ships and shoots the other Decepticons. He throws Bumblebee, but Bumblebee then slays Soundwave by sticking his cannon into Soundwave's chest and shooting upwards. This causes Soundwave's head to disintegrate, killing him instantly.

In Bumblebee, Soundwave is seen on Cybertron along with Shockwave and Starscream commanding the Decepticons in the war against the Autobots. He apparently manages to capture Optimus Prime with the help of a small army and Ravage and then Prime escapes from them.

Other media

Toys

• Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Soundwave (2009)

A Triple Changer that transforms from a Cybertronian battleship to a satellite and robot.

The toy stands 12.5 centimeters tall in robot mode.

• Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Soundwave G1 redeco (2009)

A redeco of Soundwave in blue and gray, resembling his G1 colors. Bundled with Voyager The Fallen and Voyager Megatron (2007 version) in the Toys "R" Us exclusive Gathering at the Nemesis gift set.^[29]

• Revenge of the Fallen RPMs Soundwave (2009)

A non-transformable diecast car the size of Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars. This Scion xB-derived vehicle depicts Soundwave's alternate Earth mode, based on that of his Transformers Animated incarnation. An illustration of his robot mode is molded on the undercarriage.^[30]

• Revenge of the Fallen Legends Soundwave (2010)

A new Legends mold of Soundwave, which transforms into a satellite.^[31][32]

• Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Black Soundwave (unreleased)

A Chara Hobby exclusive in Japan, this figure is a black redeco of Soundwave.^[33]

• Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe N.E.S.T Infiltration Soundwave (2010)

A blue and red redeco of the original Deluxe Soundwave from the film. Will be included in a N.E.S.T. Battle two-pack with a redecorated Bumblebee sporting a N.E.S.T. symbol on the driver and passenger side doors.^[32]

• Transformers Speed Stars Soundwave (2010)

A reissue of the RPMs Soundwave diecast car.

• Transformers Speed Stars Stealth Force Soundwave (2010)^[34]

A non-transforming Scion xB (designed similarly to the Speed Stars diecast car) that mechanically opens its panels and reveals hidden weapons at the slide of the roof.^[35]

• Dark of the Moon Burger King Flip Out Soundwave (2011)

A BK Kids meal toy available at Burger King restaurants in the U.S. The toy consists of a detailed head that opens to reveal a small robot body, giving the overall figure a Bobblehead look. It also has parts that glow in the dark.^[36]

• Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Legion Bumblebee vs. Soundwave (2011)

A Walmart exclusive Legion (formerly Legends) set featuring a gold redeco of Bumblebee and a purple redeco of Soundwave - both originally released in the Revenge of the Fallen line. Also included in this set is an orange redeco of Universe Legends Rodimus.

• Dark of the Moon Mech Tech Deluxe Class Soundwave (2011 in Japan, Cancelled for the Hasbro version, 2011 in Asia)

An all-new Deluxe mold of Soundwave, which transforms into a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Includes a Mech Tech weapon and satellite dish. It is told that the toy has been cancelled along with Target's Leadfoot, Human Alliance Soundwave and Deluxe Wheeljack in the states. It is unknown if it was actually released or not. This toy was cancelled due to retailers such as Walmart, Target, etc. wanting Hasbro's new Transformers Prime toy line, so they stopped doing these figures. It was cancelled along with Deluxe Leadfoot, Deluxe Wheeljack, and Human Alliance Soundwave. In the Asian market, Soundwave saw release in deluxe form.^[37]

• Dark of the Moon Mech Tech Deluxe Class Soundblaster Soundwave (TakaraTomy, 2012)

A black redeco of Deluxe Soundwave as an homage to Soundblaster from the Japanese G1 prequel toy line, Diaclone. Only in Japan with white Wheeljack, small stripes Bumblebee and white with red Ratchet.^[38]

• Dark of the Moon Human Alliance Soundwave with Laserbeak and Mr. Gould (2011 in Japan, later 2012 in the US)

A new Human Alliance figure of Soundwave with Laserbeak and a 2-inch Dylan Gould driver figure. Soundwave's license plate reads "SUPERIOR" - a reference to his catch phrase, "Soundwave superior," from The Transformers: The Movie. Laserbeak transforms into a blaster with a mounting point for any human figure. As with the Deluxe figure, this figure is officially licensed from Mercedes-Benz. It has also been canceled with the Deluxe figure mentioned above and the other two Autobots.^[39][40]

• Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Legion Class Soundwave (2011)

A brand new Legion mold of Soundwave that transforms into a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.^[41]

• Transformers Cyberverse Legion Soundwave (2012)

This toy is sold along with the Transformers Prime Cyberverse figures.

• Age of Extinction Movie Advanced Series Deluxe Soundwave (2014)

This toy is a black/gray redeco of Dark of the Moon MechTech Soundwave. It was renamed Darkside Soundwave. Darkside Soundwave transforms from a fully licensed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG into a robot.

• Movie The Best Human Alliance Soundwave (2017)

Released by Takara Tomy to conclude the 10th anniversary of the live-action film series, this Soundwave is an extensive redeco of his Human Alliance toy, without the Laserbeak and the Mr. Gould figure.

• The Last Knight Tiny Turbo Changer Soundwave (2017)

Released in Series 1 of Tiny Turbo Changers, Soundwave changes from a robot based on his appearance in Dark of the Moon to a sports car of fictitious origin. He features articulation at his shoulders and waist and his hands are compatible with Cyberverse weapons and other small accessories. Blind-Bags stamped with the letter 'H' contain Soundwave figures.

Animated series

Soundwave was originally a simple robotic toy that Sari got for her birthday, built by Megatron as part of a plan to take advantage of Sari's careless and repeated use of her Allspark key to continuously upgrade the toy until it serves as a suitable body for Megatron to host. However, the excessive usage of the key to enhance Soundwave caused an unexpected side-effect: Developing almost Cybertronian sophistication at an alarmingly increasing rate to the point of becoming self-aware, refusing to take orders from Sari (or any other human) anymore. It was by observing the common labor-robots in the city that he concluded that not only 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. By then, Megatron introduced himself to Soundwave through televisions in a nearby electronics store as his creator "of sorts" to impose onto him his plan to crush the Autobots. At first, Soundwave declared it illogical to fight robot-kind until Megatron insisted that they were traitors that upheld the human race's slavery of all robot-kind, convincing Soundwave to ultimately side with the Decepticons with the intent to overthrow all humans and obliterate the robots that protect them. He used his technology-manipulating speakers to summon all nearby labor-robots to convert them into his new Transformer body while using his stereo-system to spark a robot-revolution against their "human-oppressors." All automated forms of public transportation stopped, and the city's labor robots jumped the Autobots when they appeared on the scene. After failing to convince Bulkhead into joining him and killing Sari in the name of all robot-kind, it appeared that Bulkhead destroyed Soundwave with a single blow of his powerful wrecking-ball arm, shattering his body into hundreds of pieces. However, unknown to the Autobot, his core survived, in the form of a small, almost-invisible media player.

Soundwave regenerated at Christmas time as ex-Sumdac Systems Vice President Porter C. Powell, who had acquired Soundwave's original patents while he was in charge of the company, and was distributing multiple Soundwave toys during the Christmas season. Soundwave managed to reprogram some of the toys, using one of them to spike the Autobots' oil nog. With the Autobots now sedated and out of commission, Soundwave proceeded to take them to the basement where he attempted to brainwash them into taking on his ideology as Decepticons by placing them in a virtual program in human form. However, the plan was briefly halted by the attempted intervention of Sari as well as the Autobots learning the truth about where they are. Soundwave had a backup plan, using Laserbeak to force Sari into a retreat, then using Ratbat in keytar mode to complete the Autobots' reformatting. Soundwave succeeded in placing the Autobots under his control, and used the numerous toy replicas of himself to take control of the humans in Detroit. However, since Sari was techno-organic, she was immune to the mind-control waves. Soundwave was defeated when Sari recruited the help of Scrapper, Snarl and Wreck-Gar to fight the brainwashed Autobots, and was smashed apart along with Ratbat by Optimus using Laserbeak's guitar mode as a makeshift axe. Though Soundwave's core still remained intact, it was eventually turned off by Sari before being rescued by Laserbeak. It is unknown what became of Soundwave after that.

Toys

• Animated Deluxe Soundwave with Laserbeak (2008)

A Deluxe sized figure that 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 that resembles a small minivan. Its most notable feature is that one of his "minions", Laserbeak, is present in the form of a Flying V-style 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.

• Animated Deluxe Electrostatic Soundwave with Ratbat (2009)

A gray/red redeco of Soundwave, which resembles G1 Soundblaster. Ratbat comes with this figure and transforms into a keytar.^[43]

• Animated Activators Soundwave (2009)

A Scout-sized figure with near-instant transformation at the push of a button.

• Animated TA-16 Deluxe Soundwave (Takara Tomy) (2010)

The 2010 Japan release version of Deluxe Soundwave by Takara Tomy sports a metallic dark blue finish, as opposed to the matte finish of the Hasbro version. Also bundled with a TA-03 Voyager Ironhide (Bulkhead).

• Animated TA-25 Activators Soundblaster (Takara Tomy) (2010)

A gray/red redeco of Activators Soundwave. Available only in Japan.^[44]

• Animated TA-47 Deluxe Electrostatic Soundwave (Takara Tomy) (2010)

The Japan release version of Electrostatic Soundwave.^[45]

Fun Publications

Soundwave first appears as a member of Megatron's forces in the Transformers: Timelines story "Shattered Glass" by Fun Publications. He helps in the attack on the Autobots' Ark launching platform, working with Buzzsaw.

Soundwave makes a cameo in the fiction "Dungeons & Dinobots", a text-based story. When the Autobots are gaining the advantage in an attack on the Arch-Ayr fuel dump he calls in the Mayhem Suppression Squad to help the Decepticons.^[46]

Soundwave appears in the story "Do Over". He is among the crew of the Nemesis, which follows the Autobots' Ark to Earth. When the ship is damaged in battle with the Ark, he escapes in a stasis pod to Earth.^[47]

Soundwave is spotlighted in the story The Desert Heat!. In this story, having crashed to Earth in an escape pod, Heatwave recovers Soundwave and helps his fellow Decepticon get back online and assume an Earth-style alternate mode.^[48]

Soundwave appears in the story Eye in the Sky. Cliffjumper, Crasher, Frenzy, Heatwave, Ravage and Soundwave are sent on a mission to Burpleson Air Force Base to stop the Autobots from controlling the GODS defense system. Heatwave uses his powers to convince the GODS transmitter to fire the weapon on itself and stop the Autobots from taking control.

Soundwave is spotlighted in the story Blitzwing Bop. The Elite Guardsman Thunderwing intercepts a radio signal from Earth which mentions Soundwave. Finding Soundwave is wanted for a minor offense from long ago he heads to Earth. Thunderwing finds Soundwave involved in a battle with the Autobot Blaster for the possession of the malfunctioning Decepticon Blitzwing. Although not interested in the dispute, Soundwave convinces Thunderwing that he cannot leave Earth for trial on Cybertron until his commanding officer can be notified, and the only way to get Starscream online is to rescue Blitzwing. Thunderwing is still unwilling to take sides in the battle against Blaster, merely following the Decepticon, but Soundwave tricks Blaster into mentioning a crime he committed on Cybertron while Thunderwing is nearby. Thunderwing immediately goes into arrest mode and tries to capture Blaster, but Blaster escapes in a malfunctioning Stellar Spanner. With Starscream back online, Soundwave confesses to his minor crimes and Thunderwing passes a sentence of community service on him.

Toys

An official toy exists, as part of the SG Blaster Vs SG Soundwave box-set, and is a repaint of the G1 Soundblaster toy (itself, a retool of the G1 Soundwave toy). In addition, the white Music Label Soundwave figure matches his colors almost exactly, save for the Decepticon symbol on his chest, and has been officially repurposed as one of this character's forms.

• Timelines Deluxe Shattered Glass Soundwave (2012)

A BotCon 2012 exclusive white and blue redeco of the Universe/Classics 2.0 Deluxe Ironhide/Ratchet figure with a new head sculpt. The van's side panels are decorated with "Cold Slither" logos as a nod to the G.I. Joe episode of the same name.^[49]

Transformers: Prime

Soundwave is one of the main antagonists in the 2011 computer-animated series Transformers: Prime.^[50] Unlike his previous incarnations, Soundwave rarely speaks, instead recording archive audio and videos from other sources and repeating it when needed, displaying it on his face, which is composed entirely of an electronic screen. This was because Duane Capizzi, the producer of the show, wanted Soundwave to contrast with the talkative Starscream.^[51] Due to his silent persona, the show's staff compared him to Star Wars' Boba Fett. He is armed with two cables that extend from his chest, each having an electrical appendage on their end that has a variety of uses, and can create portals to transport objects. He is rarely seen in combat, spending most of his time supporting the Decepticons as a communications officer and technical specialist. However, he is shown to be a proficient fighter when circumstances need it.

Soundwave speaks only once in the episode "Minus One", mocking the Autobots before going offline ("Soundwave: superior, Autobots: inferior"). Once again, his voice was modulated like his G1 counterpart, albeit less enhanced. Frank Welker reprises his role as Soundwave for the episode.

In the Darkness Rising 5 part mini-series, Soundwave detects the presence of Arcee, so Starscream sends a pair of Decepticons to attack her. Later, Soundwave detects a signal from deep space, which he is certain is Megatron, so the Space Bridge is opened, and Megatron returns. Later, Soundwave deploys Laserbeak at Starscream's orders to capture Fowler in order to locate the Autobot base. He is later assigned to hijack an Earth bond radio telescope array to locate Cybertron, as part Megatron's plan to use their Space Bridge to transport Dark Energon to Cybertron. However, the Autobots' young human allies figure out the Decepticons have hijacked the array and go to the array to shut it down. The young computer wiz Raf hacks into the array's computer system, and Soundwave attacks them. He cuts the array's main line locking the dishes in place. While preparing to leave, the Autobots human ally Miko takes a picture of Soundwave with her cell phone.

Soundwave responds to this by taking a picture of Jack, Miko, and Raf (possibly with the intention of passing it along with information of their connection with the Autobots onto his fellow Decepticons).

Soundwave is well aware of Starscream's treachery against Megatron, and on several occasions saves Megatron from his treacherous lieutenant. In "Masters & Students", Soundwave sent Laserbeak to make sure that Starscream retrieved the incapacitated Megatron from the Space Bridge wreckage while he witnesses Optimus' battle with Skyquake. In "Sick Mind", when Starscream and Knock Out conspire to euthanize the comatose Megatron, Soundwave at first appears to consider agreeing with the two, but points out the cord of Bumblebee's cortical psychic patch the Autobot is hooked up to, and orders Megatron to be put back online so that he will not have fallen by an Autobot's hand.

In "Rock Bottom", Megatron reveals that he is aware of Starscream's ongoing treachery due to Soundwave having constant surveillance on the traitor and relaying his attempts of usurping him.

In "One Shall Rise" Pt. 3, Airachnid is placed in temporary command of the Decepticons when Megatron leaves to aid Optimus in defeating Unicron. In an attempt to secure her power for good, and to escape Unicron's wrath, Airachnid suggests that the Decepticons leave Megatron to continue their efforts on another world. Soundwave, being eternally loyal to Megatron, vetoed her orders and displayed unexpected combat skills to secure the ship for when Megatron returned. It is implied that, although Megatron is made aware of Airachnid's attempted grab for power, he does not punish her until Soundwave reminds him of her treachery in the season 2 episode "Crossfire".

In "Orion Pax" Pt. 1, Megatron orders Soundwave to remove Arcee from the ship after she broke in to try to rescue Optimus Prime. Soundwave manages to open a ground bridge to bridge her off, right before Orion saw her.

In "Triage", Soundwave hunts for an ancient Cybertronian relic. Having lost his minion Laserbeak, he continues the search on his own, fighting Wheeljack to claim the relic, the Resonance Blaster, and defeat Wheeljack before he reclaims Laserbeak. He returns to the Nemesis with Megatron's prize, and is highly praised for it by Megatron, putting Knock Out and Dreadwing, who lost their relics to Arcee, Bumblebee and Starscream, to shame.

In "Hard Knocks", Soundwave captured Smokescreen and brought him on board the Nemesis after the Decepticons learned that Smokescreen was a clue to finding the final Omega Key.

In "Regeneration" and "Darkest Hour", Soundwave, along with Starscream and Knock Out, captured the children and held them for ransom unless the Autobots gave the Omega Keys to the Decepticons. However, when Optimus Prime destroyed the Omega Lock (and the Keys with them), Soundwave retreated back to the Nemesis with the other Decepticons.

In "Darkmount, NV", when Jack and Arcee were spotted in Jasper following the destruction of the Autobot base, Soundwave sent Laserbeak, along with two Vehicons, to terminate them. However, after Laserbeak was destroyed, Soundwave was unable to retrieve any surveillance footage from his remains.

In "Scattered" and "Prey", Soundwave was present when Shockwave presented Predaking to Megatron.

In "Rebellion", when Starscream sent out members of his armada to investigate a number of Autobot signals, Soundwave pointed out to him that their army was thinly spread and suggested that the Autobots were using the Harbinger as a base of operations. He later retreated with the other Decepticons as Darkmount was destroyed by Optimus Prime, aided by Agent Fowler and several Air Force pilots.

In "Thirst", he oversees the destruction of the mutant Terrorcons and is confronted by a newly freed Airachnid, who regained control of her Insecticons. When she charges him, he opens a space bridge to one of Cybertron's moons stranding her and her minions.

In "Minus One", Soundwave is taken captive by the Autobots and questioned for information regarding Megatron's motives. However, Soundwave erases all the data of Megatron's plans before Optimus gives Ratchet approval to crack him open. The normally mute Decepticon then taunts the Autobots in his own voice before deactivating. Later, Laserbeak attacks the Autobot base and hooks up with Soundwave, reactivating him and giving him a new copy of Megatron's plans. He then proceeds to incapacitate Bulkhead and Smokescreen before kidnapping Ratchet and bringing him to the Nemesis.

In "Deadlock", Soundwave fights Jack and Miko (who is in the Apex armor) on the bridge of the Nemesis. With help from Raf, Jack and Miko trap Soundwave in the Shadowzone.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Soundwave returns from the Shadowzone in the tenth episode of the second season of the sequel series Transformers: Robots in Disguise. He escapes, trapping Bumblebee in the Shadowzone. Then, he quickly immobilizes most of the Autobots before getting tricked by Fixit and the humans into letting Bumblebee back in. The Autobots corner Soundwave and throw him back into the Shadowzone. However, he returns in the final season, as a major antagonist with a new body. In "Collateral Damage", he tries to return Megatron from his exile, but his plan fails when he is defeated by Bumblebee and his team along with Optimus Prime who was upgraded with Hi-Test.

Frank Welker reprises his role once again, with his voice more closely resembling his G1 counterpart than in Transformers: Prime.

Books

Soundwave appears in the novel Transformers: Exodus. He was one of Megatrons' opponents and nearly defeated him, however this brought respect between the two instead. Soundwave commanded the Mini-Cons Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, and Laserbeak, and joined Megatron as one of the Decepticons.

Soundwave appears in the short story "Bumblebee at Tyger Pax" by Alex Irvine.^[52]

Soundwave appears in the novels Transformers: Exiles and Transformers: Retribution.

Video games

Transformers: War for Cybertron

A playable character in the last three chapters of the Decepticon campaign. While Shockwave is established as Megatron's second-in-command, Soundwave is shown acting as Megatron's right hand during the campaign in Shockwave's absence.

Soundwave assists Megatron and Breakdown into infiltrating Iacon, defeating Zeta Prime, and hunting down Omega Supreme. He is also a boss in the Autobot campaign, being the warden of Kaon Prison in the Decepticons' capital city and using his tape cassettes Frenzy, Rumble and Laserbeak to attack. The Autobots manage to defeat him, but not before he delivers a fatal blow to Zeta Prime, absorbing what remained of his life force energy in order to regenerate his own strength, and then managing to escape before Optimus can finish him.

Aside from transforming into a Cybertronian truck, Soundwave can also turn into a boombox, as shown right before his boss battle, in the game's ending credits and a GameStop promotional commercial for the game featuring Shockwave.^[53] In this mode, he plays the Stan Bush songs "The Touch" and "Till All Are One".

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

In this sequel to Transformers: War for Cybertron, Soundwave is playable in two levels. The first time is in Chapter 9 in which he rebuilds Megatron after he was destroyed by Metroplex. The other level is the final one, in which Soundwave boards the Ark and helps destroy the Ark's defenses. Rumble and Laserbeak assist Soundwave in these tasks. He pops up throughout the rest of the game as an NPC.

Toys

• Generations Deluxe Cybertronian Soundwave (2010)

A new mold, based on his appearance on War for Cybertron.^[54]

• United UN05 Deluxe Soundwave Cybertron Mode (2010)

The Japanese version of the Generations figure by Takara Tomy is in a metallic repaint.

• Prime Cyberverse Legion Soundwave (2012)^[55]
• Prime Robots in Disguise Revealers Deluxe Soundwave with Laserbeak (2012)

A new Deluxe mold of Soundwave, which transforms into a UAV. A piece of his chest separates to form Laserbeak, which can be mounted on either of his hands.^[56]

• Prime: Beast Hunters Deluxe Soundwave & Ravage w/ Thunder Talon (2013)

A retooled and a repaint of the Deluxe Robots in Disguise Soundwave. Soundwave comes with a new chest piece which can transform into Ravage and comes with a Talon Grapple Gun.

• Prime: Beast Hunters Cyberverse Legion Soundwave w/ Sonic Saw (2013)^[57]