Ascenticon Guard

The Ascenticon Guard is a security organization from the 2019 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Unwilling to rely on the Autobot-controlled Security Operations, Megatron formed the Ascenticon Guard to protect the group's political gatherings. The Guard operates out of the main Ascenticon headquarters on Cybertron and employs several veterans of the War of the Threefold Spark. Soundwave is in charge of recruitment for the Guard, and Elita-1 handles deployment, although Megatron has final say over all operations.

After the movement's rebranding, the Ascenticon Guard became the Decepticon Guard, and Megatron installed Sixshot as its new commander.

Members

Fiction

2019 IDW continuity

"Eh, I prefer Unreal."

At an Ascenticon rally in Tarn, Megatron was the victim of an assassination attempt, The World In Your Eyes Part Two which he used as a prelude to introduce the Ascenticon Guard to Cybertron. Much to the concern of all sane people on the planet, Quake counted among the ranks of the guard. The World In Your Eyes Part Three After reviewing the footage, and finding the assassination conspicuously incompetent, The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Five Orion Pax contacted Bumblebee and asked him to join the Guard to serve as a mole. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One Bumblebee readily agreed only for tragedy to strike when, while Bumblebee was being interviewed, his protégé, Rubble was beaten to death by Quake. The World In Your Eyes Part Five Horrified by what had happened, Orion begged Bumblebee to abandon his infiltration only for Bumblebee to double down on his commitment. Storming to Ascenticon headquarters, Bumblebee quickly mopped the floor with Skytread as his credentials. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One

After Bumblebee had been inducted into the guard, he and Elita-1 were chosen by Megatron to accompany him to a Senate meeting. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Two As they got ready, the Guard experienced a boom in applicants, among them Barricade. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Three After the Senate meeting had concluded, Bumblebee and Elita found themselves having to fight off a mob of civilians that wanted a piece of the Ascenticon leader. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Four

After learning about Soundwave and Shockwave's ham-fisted attempts at tying loose ends, Megatron ordered the cyclopean scientist to come and collect Barricade, setting the stage for a grand performance. Though Soundwave placed the Guard where they could not respond to the Rise's entrance fast enough, Bumblebee, growing increasingly suspicious of Soundwave, broke ranks and tried to stop the Rise only to be downed by Skytread. That night, the Guard stood behind Megatron as he rebranded the Ascenticons. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Five

The next morning, the Guard was rebranded with the new insignia before Bumblebee and Skytread came to blows again. Pulled away by Elita, Bumblebee voiced his suspicions to his commander before he decided to simply hack into the system, managing to convince Elita to help him when she caught him. When Soundwave popped up, he ordered the two, along with Refraktor and Acid Storm to accompany him to an immersant Titan in the Cybertronian Mountains. The Change In Your Nature Part One His suspicions continuing to mount, Bumblebee leapt into the Titan after Soundwave while Starscream came to check in with his own spy in the Guard, Refraktor. The Change In Your Nature Part Two

After the Tether fell, Megatron ordered the Guard to protect Soundwave, whom he promptly consigned to house arrest within Ascenticon headquarters, while also declaring that both Elita-1 and Bumblebee had served their purposes. Busying himself with the new recruits for the Guard, Soundwave informed Elita of her demotion and put Skytread in command. On the search-and-rescue mission that followed, Skytread set-up Bumblebee to be assassinated by Treadshot and Catgut. Already having suspected a set-up, Bumblebee had called Chromia for back-up. After the Security Chief had sent the Risers packing, she confirmed Bumblebee's suspicions that the Guard had abandoned him and relieved him of his mission, congratulating him on a job well done. Feeling that he'd accomplished nothing, Bumblebee mournfully disagreed. All Fall Down

Skytread and much of the Guard blocked Chromia's attempt to gain access to Ascenticon HQ on Sentinel Prime's orders. Swindle's Some members of the Guard participated in the takeover of the Senate and Megatron's unveiling of their movement's new name- the "Decepticons", We Have Deceived You as well as the assassination of Sentinel Prime. Prime Following the rebranding and taking over Iacon, the now-"Decepticon" Guard began scouring the city for Autobots and Senate loyalists, even raiding medical facilities. Escape Part One Hearing of the Autobots escorting a caravan of refugees to get off-planet, Skytread led a small team to attack them en-route, but the Decepticons were driven off by the arrival of Dai Atlas. Escape Part Two

During a patrol through Iacon's streets, Crasher's group discussed rumors of Sixshot becoming the Guard's new leader. Awakenings Skytread was not happy to hear he might be replaced, and it later came to pass when Megatron unveiled Sixshot as the new head of the Guard during a staged broadcast with Andromeda. Sixshot immediately began preparations to drill his new soldiers, setting up training courses in Decepticon HQ. Hunt Members of the Guard aided in the attack on the Forge Pyramid Titans and with an ultimately-unsuccessful assassination attempt on Pyra Magna. We Are Not Meant To Be Darkness

Swindle reopened his casino under Iacon's new regime, with the understanding that he would only cater exclusively to Decepticons, and many Guardsmen spent their off-duty time there. Breaking Elita-1 out of Guard custody, Bumblebee came into conflict with Barricade, but ultimately decided to spare his life. Swindle's II

After Termagax was located near the Sea of Rust, Sixshot fielded the entire Decepticon Guard to take the Enigma of Combination from her. The Autobots beat them there and a massive battle soon erupted in front of Termagax's home. Sea of Rust II It ended when the Enigma was lost to the Sea of Rust along with Skytread, who made a failed attempt to seize his old position back from Sixshot. The Decepticon Guard then retreated from the area at Sixshot's command. Enigmatic

A team of Autobots infiltrated Iacon to rescue the captive Ultra Magnus, fighting their way past numerous Guardsmen on patrol in the city along the way. They tried to hole up in Swindle's, and Sixshot brought a squad right to the casino's doorstep to corner the Autobots. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part Two The Guard breached the place, attacking the intruders, but the Autobots managed to escape via a hidden underground tunnel. The Decepticons managed to make it out of the crumbling building and witnessed the returned Exarchon, now clad in Deathsaurus' body, erupt from below and fly off. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part Three

The bulk of the Decepticon Guard were placed under Strika's command for the siege on Crystal City. A Dust of Crystals However, once Lodestar arrived on the scene, they fled the city, unwilling to fight a Titan. The Landscape of Fear After Exarchon's return was confirmed, Megatron had Sixshot bring a small squad of Guardsmen to the Sonic Canyons to confront him and his loyalists. War's End Part Two Meanwhile, the rest of the Guard fell under Jhiaxus' command, who had them corral the Autobots trekking to Darkmount into the path of a horde of rust worms. Radical Time The Autobots managed to hold out against the rust worms, despite the Decepticon Guard's bombardment and established perimeter. End of Time

At the Sonic Canyons, Sixshot's squad teamed up with Pyra Magna's Companions to take on Exarchon's forces. War's End Part Three They ultimately triumphed, ending Exarchon's threat for good. War's End Part Four

Though initially ordered to escort the recently arrived Constructicons back to Iacon, the Guard was redirected to Darkmount to join the army in a final push to prevent the Autobots from fleeing the planet. While the Decepticons managed to bring down an enhanced Computron, they failed to stop the Autobots from leaving the planet. Fate of Cybertron