Spotlight # 6
Written by Simon Furman
Penciled by Marcelo Matere
Colors by Rob Ruffolo

SOUNDWAVE

Summary:

On Earth in the year 1984, Soundwave has a mission to carry out.  Given direct orders from Megatron to secretly keep an eye on Bludgeon, who was in turn looking into the disappearance of Shockwave, Soundwave had shadowed the disfigured Decepticon for years and now followed him to Earth.  Bludgeon apparently had stumbled onto a project of Shockwave’s dubbed “Regenesis”, and is undertaking a rogue agenda on Earth.  At a construction site in Eden, Texas, Soundwave rests in tape deck mode, secretly spying on a particular pair of human workers.  These two humans are facsimile constructs in the employ of Bludgeon, and Soundwave is very close to finding out exactly what the errant Decepticon and his followers are planning on this planet and what Regenesis entails.  Soundwave has not informed Megatron of what he has learned yet, waiting until he has a full view of what Bludgeon intends.  Bludgeon and his followers had recovered something from the depths of Cybertron and kept that something under heavy guard.  Soundwave observes as much later, Bludgeon, Iguanus, and Bomb-Burst prepare for a trip to the planet Earth.  He followed them there, and now is disguised as a tape deck for one of the workers at the construction site.  The worker picks Soundwave up and prepares to head home, so Soundwave orders Ravage, who had been hiding in the shadows, to follow the two facsimile constructs that Bludgeon is using.  Ravage follows the two as they drive to a remote, desolate location and spies them meeting Bomb-Burst, who they board and fly off with.  Soundwave contacts Laserbeak to follow them in the air, as Bomb-Burst flies to Mount Saint Helens in Oregon.  There, Bomb-Burst flies through a cloaked passageway in the rock, and Laserbeak begins to carve his own alternate route through the rock.  Inside Mt. Saint Helens, Bludgeon’s group has established a base of operations.  Bludgeon personally greets the two facsimiles as they disembark from Bomb-Burst.  He gives them one final task to complete before they are finished on Earth; to set explosive charges at the construction site.  Once the charges detonate, the mantle will crack open and force the humans to evacuate, at which time Bludgeon and company can go about extracting the ore planted by Shockwave’s Regenesis initiative without notice.  Laserbeak records the entire meeting in secret, relaying the feed directly to Soundwave.  Soundwave considers that this new Regenesis ore is a valuable commodity in an energy-starved time, and decides to use this opportunity for self-advancement.  Early the next morning, Soundwave’s “owner” is up and about before any of the other workers on the site.  Laserbeak swoops down and snags Soundwave right from the startled human’s grasp; Soundwave knows there’s no way anyone will believe what this human has just seen.  Moments later, the explosive charges that the facsimile constructs planted go off, decimating the construction site and sending humans fleeing in panic.  When the area has been evacuated, Bludgeon and his cronies appear to reap their prize.  While they collect the ore, Soundwave has Laserbeak take him into the Mt. Saint Helens base through the secret entrance that was earlier carved by the metal bird, and lies in wait for Bludgeon and the others to return.  An orbital bounce later, and Bludgeon, Bomb-Burst, and Iguanus have returned with a large net full of Regenesis ore.  Soundwave transforms to robot mode and reveals himself to the trio, much to their surprise.  He wastes no time and makes his intentions clear; he wants a cut of the Regenesis ore or he will reveal the full measure of their rogue operations to Megatron.  But Bludgeon shrugs off Soundwave’s blackmail attempt and makes his own goals known; they are going to use the Regenesis ore (dubbed Ultra-Energon) to resurrect Thunderwing!  Soundwave is quite stunned at this admission, realizing that Bludgeon and his gang were not motivated by greed, but rather fanaticism.  Soundwave knows that Thunderwing cannot be allowed to be re-activated and realizes that HE has to stop Bludgeon here and now.  He immediately ejects Laserbeak, and Ravage leaps out from the shadows, having been waiting as Soundwave’s backup.  Laserbeak fires on Bludgeon as Ravage attacks Iguanus.  Bomb-Burst leaps at Soundwave, but is put down by a swarm of mini-missiles from the communication officer’s shoulder cannon.  Bludgeon deftly avoids Laserbeak’s shots and cuts the Decepticon spy-bird near in two with his sword.  Ravage leaps to Laserbeak’s aid, but Bludgeon anticipates it and impales the mecha-jaguar with a reverse-thrust of his blade.  Soundwave briefly hesitates upon seeing his minions downed, but steels himself and reaches for his rifle.  However, Iguanus has recovered and has Soundwave’s back now, wielding an experimental weapon that they had appropriated from Shockwave’s labs.  Soundwave knows even if he beats Iguanus to the draw, he can’t deal with the others alone.  So he quickly aims his rifle at the Ultra-Energon stash that Bludgeon and the others recovered, intending to destroy it.  But he isn’t fast enough, and gets blasted by Iguanus’s weapon.  As Soundwave convulses in agony on the floor, Bludgeon explains the nature of the weapon; it overrides a victim’s transformation cog and forces them into alt-mode, then locks them in it.  Soundwave transforms and shrinks to his small tape-deck mode, as Bludgeon smugly notes that it’s especially inconvenient for the communications officer.  Knowing that they are finished on Earth, Bludgeon tosses a charge into a nearby lava pool, and initiates another orbital bounce to escape.  As Bludgeon and his gang escape with their Ultra-Energon stash, Soundwave can only helplessly watch as the charge blows up and sets off a chain reaction in Mt. Saint Helens.  The volcano explodes and buries all evidence of Bludgeon’s presence on Earth, along with Soundwave, Laserbeak, and Ravage.  Nearly a year later, a human organization called “Skywatch” unearths Laserbeak from the rubble of the Mt. Saint Helens.  The organization’s leader, a man named Joshua Red, looks upon the inert Decepticon’s remains and figures that this discovery will definitely net them additional funding.  We cut all the way to present day Oregon, 2007.  Two kids eye a tape deck in a store window.  One kid decides to buy it, citing it as a “classic”.  As we get a closer look at it, we see that it is Soundwave, still apparently trapped in alt-mode.  THE END


Slagged!:

-Laserbeak manages to clip Bludgeon with his laser cannons, but is almost dismembered in return by a slash from Bludgeon’s sword.

-Ravage clamps down on Iguanus’s arm, but tries to go to Laserbeak’s aid instead of finishing his downed opponent.  This costs him, as he’s impaled by Bludgeon’s sword and deactivated.

-Soundwave manages to knock Bomb-Burst away with some missiles from his shoulder cannon, but Iguanus blasts him with an experimental weapon purloined from Shockwave’s stockpile.  The weapon’s effect quite painfully forces Soundwave to transform and shrink down to tape deck mode, locking him in it.


Sightings:

-The story takes place in 1984, so Soundwave and his cassettes look pretty toy-accurate.  Bludgeon’s group (Skullgrin, Iguanus, Bomb-Burst, and Finback) all appear the same as they looked in Stormbringer.

-We get a repeat of the scene at the end of the Shockwave Spotlight where Megatron orders Bludgeon to look into Shockwave’s projects.  But this is an “extended cut” of that scene, which shows how Megatron gave Soundwave his marching orders after Bludgeon leaves the room.

-Bludgeon’s base on Earth is in Mount Saint Helens, Oregon.  The original cartoon and comic had the Ark crashing into a Mt. Saint “Hilary”, which it is logical to assume, is a thinly-disguised Mt. Saint Helens.  The volcano eruption at the end of this story however, shuts Soundwave down, rather than waking him and his fellow Decepticons up as in the original continuities.

-When Soundwave transforms, there’s noticeable flashes of energy about him, indicating the mass-displacement process.  The same thing happens when Megatron transforms over in Escalation.


Hearings:

-The “Regenesis ore” that Shockwave seeded into the Earth long ago, Bludgeon’s “Ultra-Energon”, and Starscream’s “Ore-13” are all the same power source, or very similar.

-Soundwave obviously was present during Thunderwing’s first rampage, as indicated by his immediate attempt to try and halt Bludgeon’s plans.  Such an event clearly made an impact on all who witnessed it, as even Optimus Prime and Jetfire remain haunted by it in Stormbringer.

-Ravage talks, evoking his Marvel comics and Beast Wars self.  Laserbeak, however, only squawks in this story, more closely mirroring his cartoon self.

-Bludgeon mentions how Shockwave’s experimental weapon overrides Soundwave’s primary transformation cog.  The concept of an internal cog that controls transformation originated in the Season 3 episode of the original cartoon, Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1.  There, Perceptor presents Blurr and Wheelie with the task of transporting Metroplex’s transformation cog to Earth.


Wreck and RULE!:

-As always, some excellent characterization for the main Transformer of the issue.  It was something new to see Soundwave have to play the “hero” as it were, and try to stop a much greater threat.  Some cartoon fans might be a little off-put by the characterization of Soundwave here as anything but a “yes-man” to Megatron, but if you look closely at his original tech specs, not to mention the original Marvel comic, his portrayal falls right in line with those.  It was also nice to see some shared concern between Soundwave and his cassettes; Ravage looks concerned and tries to aid Laserbeak, Soundwave hesitates upon seeing his minions disabled, and it all costs them in the end.  Bludgeon and his gang don’t get much except for “crazed cultists”, but that’s pretty much in line with what Furman established for them in Stormbringer.

-Furman introduces several interesting wrinkles, establishing the human organization “Skywatch” and its leader Joshua Red.  One can only wonder what connections, if any, they have to the Machination.  Plus Soundwave’s location on Earth is revealed (hinted at in Escalation # 1), and it’s not so dignifying.  I’d wager we’ll be seeing more of Soundwave in the near future.

-Marcelo Matere turns in a clear, solid job on pencils.  Soundwave’s design is rather hard to get wrong, and Laserbeak and Ravage look extremely fluid and just “right”.  And Matere handles Don Figueroa’s designs for Bludgeon and co. with ease as well.  Bludgeon’s agility and grace is well-displayed as he takes out Laserbeak and Ravage.  And I liked the little touches like Soundwave pressing a button on his shoulder cannon to launch missiles, and “pumping” his rifle after he picks it up.  Rob Ruffolo’s colors compliment the art well, although I wish he followed Josh Burcham’s standard of giving Megatron a black helmet in flashbacks.


Wreck and ROT!:

-Soundwave clearly states that Bludgeon, Bomb-Burst, and Iguanus were the ones to make the trip to Earth, but in one scene we see Skullgrin also there in the Mt. Saint Helens base.

-Wouldn’t Megatron get, I don’t know, SUSPICIOUS when Shockwave, then Bludgeon, and then Soundwave all disappear without reason?  I guess he’s too busy running the whole intergalactic war thing and all.


Final Judgment:

We have yet another excellent chapter in the Spotlight series, and something that fills in the “gaps” of existing storylines in the main books and also introduces Soundwave into the universe proper.  While it’s hard to care where Bludgeon goes from here (because we already know his plan is foiled in Stormbringer), it’s nice that Furman expanded the story somewhat.  It was also nice and unexpected to see a somewhat altruistic side of Soundwave, and we get a kickass fight scene to boot.  A great read and currently my second-favorite Spotlight issue behind Shockwave.  Pick it up.  Peace.


A Thunderwing review