Soundwave (G2)

Soundwave is a Decepticon from the Wings Universe portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Hey, Marvel called, and they want their purple Soundwave with a mouth back.

Soundwave is a clone of the original Soundwave, fashioned by Jhiaxus from stolen memory components and pilfered Nebulan science scientists. Unsurprisingly, Soundwave is very similar to the original; he's a fiercely loyal master-of-sound and a "walking communications hub" who monitors his teammates obsessively. This makes his teammates feel uneasy, but they know that if they ever run into trouble, Soundwave will be able to find them.

The only being Soundwave exempts from his surveillance is the original Soundwave. He likes to think the other Soundwave extends the same courtesy.^[1]

Fiction

Wings Universe

Designating clones with such unnecessarily large numbers makes it sound more sciencey, don't you think?

Jhiaxus, seeking to create a new unified faction of Transformers, "borrowed" personality components, forestonite, Hi-Q, and blueprints from Quantum Laboratories. One of his creations was a clone of Soundwave. A Flash Forward, Part 3 At some point after his creation, Soundwave converted an entire wing of Jhiaxus's base on Qre into into an extensive surveillance network aimed out into space. He subsequently would spend days in this information hub to catalogue his findings. Soundwave's profile in Club magazine #47 Soon Autobots were on the trail of the stolen and/or kidnapped goods, but Soundwave and the other clones were able to help Jhiaxus corner and capture the intruders. A Flash Forward, Part 4 Soundwave and the other five clones were introduced to the captured Autobots, described as a "true" second generation of Transformers unburdened by the baggage of both Decepticon or Autobot propaganda.

Soundwave detected movement in the room where other clones were gestating, so he and Ironhide investigated. Sideswipe burst from a tube, disguised as his own clone and gasping for air, so Ironhide and Soundwave helped him up off the ground and offered assistance. Soundwave and Jhiaxus unwittingly escorted Sideswipe into where the Autobots were being held, allowing him to reveal his true identity and free the captives. A Flash Forward, Part 5

Toys

Generation 2

Colors so loud you can practically hear them.

• Soundwave (Go-Bot, 1995)
  • Accessories: Gun

Part of the third wave of Generation 2 Go-Bots, Soundwave is a very bright redeco of Gearhead, transforming into a NASCAR-style Ford Thunderbird stock car with precision wheels and wire axles, compatible with Hot Wheels and Matchbox playsets and tracks (which he was properly sized to fit). His exceptionally loud color scheme, being composed of bright shades of fluorescent yellow, pink and blue, is one of the few times fans can actually get away with describing a toy as "neon".

Soundwave was one of only three Go-Bots sold in the Takara G-2 line, but it was a... weird release. While the car shell is identical to the Hasbro Soundwave, his robot parts are identical to the second-wave opaque version of Gearhead, being red and metallic silver, due to the gang-molding process that produced the Takara-release Go-Bots Optimus Prime and Megatron... and his stylized "T" with the Transformers logo tampograph was also applied to them to boot. He also has Gearhead's red face-paint rather than the Hasbro Soundwave black. These three toys were sold on cards that were nigh-identical to the Hasbro cards on the front, rather than the usual G-2 style packaging, with only a small bit of Japanese text on the front in the logo. The back side is stylistically close to the Generation 2 packaging, but a "generic" cardback used for all three toys and entirely in Japanese. It's unclear why these toys were released this way; it's possible these were sold in convenience stores or some other similar outlet rather than in conventional toy stores/departments.

This mold was also used to make various versions of Robots in Disguise W.A.R.S. and the Universe incarnation of Camshaft. It was planned to be used to make Generation 2 Greasepit, but that toy was canceled.

• More information on Soundwave (Go-Bot) at TFU.info

Notes

• In the Wings continuity, this Soundwave clone would be followed up with by another Soundwave clone only about 1 year later. Guess Jhiaxus really likes Soundwaves, eh?

See also

• Soundblaster, a clone of Soundwave in various other continuities

References