Soundwave

"Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior."

- Soundwave's only line in Transformers: Prime.

Soundwave is Megatron's communications and surveillance chief of the Decepticons. Soundwave is cold and almost completely devoid of emotion. Soundwave can speak, but chooses not to, preferring to communicate through replayed Cybertronians' voice recordings, including humans he encountered. Soundwave is very skilled in combat and will not hesitate to finish off his opponents. Soundwave and his little pet, Laserbeak, will do whatever it takes to accomplish their assigned mission. Megatron is usually seen talking with Soundwave in the show. Soundwave is capable of using GroundBridges to his advantage, which is useful at times when he needed them. He only has one line in ''Transformers: Prime. ''

Transformers: War for Cybertron
Soundwave took control of the orbital station Starscream was posted at, helping Megatron to reach the Dark Energon by establishing a forward base within the station. He then directed Megatron to a Data Matrix Center in order to find a route to the Dark Energon that had not been blocked by Starscream.

Later, Soundwave notified Megatron that access to the core was impossible, as it was guarded by the Omega Gate. He and Breakdown accompanied Megatron as they led the assault on Iacon, through which they would find and take the Omega Key, opening the Omega Gate and allowing the core to be infused with Dark Energon. On their way to the Stellar Galleries, Soundwave reported snipers, and after taking them down, Megatron infused the entrance with Dark Energon and took his team into the security station. Soundwave noticed that the batteries fed the security grid, and the trio infused each of them with Dark Energon, deactivating the security measures. Soundwave then detected the Omega Key behind their next door, and after opening it, the Decepticons arrived at the Stellar Galleries. They opened the container, finding not the key, but a message from Sentinel Zeta Prime, who announced that he had taken the Omega Key, anticipating Megatron's plan. Zeta sent Autobot attack forces against them, but they were swiftly taken down. Megatron ordered Soundwave to trace Zeta Prime's broadcast, and Soundwave found it came from 12.7 cycles ahead. He then noted a weak wall, and the Decepticons broke it down and entered the cities' subsystems, providing a direct route to Zeta, and the Omega Key.

The group descended down a shaft and went through a tunnel, avoiding trains on the way, and after breaking down a door in a ventilation area, they were ambushed by Autobot cloakers. Soundwave dispatched them and infused Dark Energon into the batteries. Megatron congratulated him, and then ordered him to unlock the exit. Soundwave obliged, and the trio found themselves in another tunnel. Breakdown challenged Soundwave to a race, to which the Decepticon responded, in his trademark monotone, "Negative". Tough crowd. Rushing through the tunnel, this time full of moving trains, the group came to a station where they infiltrated Iacon's lower levels. Soundwave detected the Omega Key at last, and suggested proceeding through the logistics station. Roughing it through the Autobot attackers, Soundwave finally determined that the key was beyond the train tunnels.

Soundwave and his teammates arrived at Iacon's main streets, where they met up with Brawl outside of Zeta Prime's vaults, which were impervious to the small amount of Dark Energon Megatron was capable of channeling. After Megatron's squad helped Brawl clear the area, Brawl called in the Dark Energon bombers, but they were spectacularly shot down by the planetary guns. Brawl suggested disabling them, and Soundwave assisted in carrying out the plan. Autobots advanced all around, but Soundwave and the others managed to hold them off until the next wave of bombers arrived, clearing the street and destroying the Vault doors. Soundwave joined the others on their way to the entrance, but the squad was intercepted by a Destroyer. Soundwave and Breakdown split from Megatron to flank him, and eventually they rendered him non-functional. Inside the vault, they avoided Zeta's traps and finally reached the Omega Key—but it too was a trap. Zeta then attacked them, using a giant hologram and controlling the chamber to his advantage, dropping the ceiling and sending holographic brutes to attack for him while safe within an impenetrable energy shield. (Even during the battle, Soundwave was impressed by the creation of endless Energon clones, to which Breakdown responded, roughly, "NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!") Soundwave's dorkiness proved useful in discerning the weakness of Zeta's machines—that the core rapidly overheated after prolonged use, and needed to open up in order to cool, rendering it vulnerable to attack. After the battle, Megatron plucked from Zeta's hand the "key"... which started to blink its lights and chirp. Zeta Prime informed them that the "key" he was actually a device that activated the real key: Omega Supreme.

As the three Decepticons flew away to track Omega, Soundwave noticed that the "key" was coming for them. Omega Supreme attacked, and thrust the Decepticons' star cruiser into a wall. Crash-landing, Megatron had a change of plans; force Omega Supreme to open the Omega Gate. Soundwave noticed a Decepticon drop-ship across the bridge, but when the squad went to investigate, Omega Supreme intercepted them. Soundwave reported that his weapons were ineffective; Megatron told his soldiers to destroy the bridge supports, causing Omega Supreme's vast bulk to collapse it. But he transformed to his ship mode, flew back up, and forced the Decepticons to retreat inside. In a frenzy, Breakdown noted that the next door was locked, and Soundwave proposed that Dark Energon could open the door, which it did. Inside, Soundwave picked up a transmission from Starscream, who announced that he would be replacing the "deceased" Megatron as Decepticon leader. Enraged, Megatron threatened Starscream, but Soundwave informed his leader that communication to the surface had been cut off, so Starscream could not hear him.

The trio arrived at the lift, but found it to be locked down. Breaking the locks got the lift back to working condition, but on their way up, Omega Supreme returned and blasted it, forcing the Decepticons down the shaft at breakneck speed. Omega was still out there, so the emergency brakes' destruction was the Decepticons' only hope. At the bottom, they continued their journey to find a way to fight Omega Supreme—Soundwave noted that at the top of the tower were several heavy weapons emplacements which could at least theoretically damage Omega—but Omega Supreme didn't know the meaning of the word quit. (He really doesn't; not much in the processor department.) He grabbed the Decepticons, but Soundwave helped out in shooting Omega Supreme's hand, forcing him relinquishing the three from his grasp. They retreated inside a fortified Autobot position, and in order to prevent detection, Soundwave jammed their signals. Slaying the Autobots inside who dared attempt to counterattack, Soundwave unlocked the exit, which only let in more Autobots. They too, met their demise, but as Soundwave and his comrades escaped, he noticed that the Autobots' security was countering the effects of Dark Energon. Destroying the sentries turned to be a worthwhile solution, but then the Decepticons had to deal with Omega Supreme mining the road. Soundwave's sensors indicated the presence of a bridge nearby, and though Breakdown was unsure, Megatron was willing to follow Soundwave's advice. Once again, Omega Supreme continued to stalk them, but Soundwave led his group to an alternate route...a dead end, to be precise, which Megatron was irritated with. Soundwave revealed that breaking a structurally-weak sealed doorway nearby took them to Iacon maintenance tunnels leading straight to the bridge terminal. When they arrived through the power conduits, Soundwave and the others fought through more Autobots and finally activated the bridge.

Racing across the bridge, they barely avoided Omega Supreme's pursuit, and Soundwave located another cargo lift that would transport them straight to the heavy ion turrets. On the lift he picked up several Autobot/Decepticon signals, a sign they were approaching the battle on the surface. Soundwave participated in the slug fest, and his analysis proved that the turrets nearby had enough firepower to legitimately damage Omega Supreme. Then, he showed no mercy using the turrets to breach Omega's armour and finally topple him to the ground below.

Soundwave, Breakdown, and Megatron followed Omega, and at the bottom, they were surprised to see him survive and transform into his mighty robot mode. Soundwave noted that Energon batteries produced from within Cybertron were the source of Omega's limitless endurance, and further advised the team on battling Omega; avoiding his tractor beams would allow them to live, and his turrets were vulnerable, making them the prime target. When the turrets were blown, Soundwave saw that the batteries were being used to repair them, and so it became an objective to corrupt them with Dark Energon. When Omega Supreme used the batteries to heal himself, he was instead weakened, allowing the Decepticons to critically injure him. Omega Supreme was still alive even after all of that, but much weaker. Soundwave observed that his chest plating had been damaged, and Megatron ordered Soundwave and Breakdown to blast it, and Omega Supreme fell at last. Soundwave advised Megatron that now would be a good time to corrupt Omega with Dark Energon, but Megatron told Captain Obvious to shut up and did as he would have done even if Soundwave hadn't brought it up, laughing all the way.

After Cybertron's Core had been infected with Dark Energon, Soundwave was reassigned as head of Kaon's prison, and watched over (i.e., tortured) Zeta Prime in his spare time. Optimus, Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Air Raid led an Autobot breakout and battled Soundwave's minions Frenzy, Rumble and Laserbeak. Soundwave himself sustained heavy damage leaving the safety of his position to revive and retrieve each Minicon, showing uncharacteristic concern for other living beings. Eventually, defeated and critically damaged, Soundwave desperately attempted to restore himself by absorbing life force from Zeta's very own spark. His attempt to fully heal was halted by Optimus, who even took a shot from the Decepticon intended to finish off Prime. Although Soundwave and his minions fled, the damage had already been done and Zeta Prime expired moments later.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Soundwave was present when Optimus was brought to Megatron by Starscream and Onslaught. He watched as Metroplex pulverized Megatron. He was the only one who hesitated in following Starscream. He secretly salvaged and with the help of Laserbeak, Rumble, and an E.D.K. TechVolt, rebuilt his glorious leader, improving on his original design. He infused Megatron with Dark Energon, and pointed his leader in the direction of Starscream. He took part in the assault on the factory the Autobots had built in the crater where Trypticon crashed, and once Megatron had rebuilt the giant Decepticon, came to power up Trypticon's power core. On Megatron's orders, Soundwave rebuilt Trypticon into the Nemesis, a ship strong enough to make it towards the planet Shockwave had chosen. When the Autobots launched the Ark, the Nemesis soon caught up, and Soundwave spearheaded the assault on the other ship.

Transformers: The Covenant of Primus
According to the record kept by Alpha Trion in the Covenant of Primus, Soundwave was part of the resistance against the Quintessons in the War of Wrath. He later sat on Cybertron's ruling council for a time, but grew disgusted at Cybertron's decay under the Caste system.

Transformers: Exodus
Soundwave was one of Megatron's early lieutenants, the pair apparently having met in the gladitorial pits. Soundwave was the only Decepticon ever to defeat Megatron in such a bout, which had been a fight to the first wound rather than a mortal duel. He was present with Shockwave when his master shortened his name from Megatronus, and later employed his Mini-Con spies in the service of the Decepticon cause. This allowed him to gather much information for the Decepticons, such as the imminent revival of Omega Supreme. He later departed Cybertron with Megatron and others aboard the transformed Trypticon, now known as the Nemesis.

Transformers: Exiles
Aboard the Nemesis, Soundwave serves as Megatron's loyal lieutenant as opposed to the impudent Starscream.

Transformers: Retribution
Soundwave and the other Decepticons are drawn with the Autobots into a battle with their ancient enemies, the Quintessons.

Season 1
"Watch out for the quiet ones."

- Knock Out after witnessing Soundwave take down Airachnid in One Shall Rise, Part 3. Throughout the season, Soundwave was always in the background, not really doing much and only playing things back via his audio visor. He acted as a restraint for Starscream, stopping him from terminating the prisoners. Soundwave was used to hack the Radio Satellite Array in Texas to lock onto Cybertron so the SpaceBridge could be activated. He succeeded and retreated at the arrival of the human children. Soundwave helped Starscream bring online Skyquake in a canyon. He monitored the fight between Optimus Prime and him. Starscream ordered the communications officer to download Wheeljack's form into Makeshift so he could infiltrate the Autobot base. Soundwave fled with Starscream when the fake Wheeljack exploded on top of the Nemesis. The silent con aided Knock Out and Breakdown in retrieving the Energon Harvester by sneaking round the back and taking off in his jet mode. Soundwave also made sure Starscream kept Megatron online while he was in stasis.

Soundwave was in charge of monitoring Megatron's signal while he escorted the Autobots to Unicron. The Con was present when Airachnid suggested abandoning Megatron and taking command of the Decepticons. Soundwave decided to take charge and question Airachnid's authority. The two high ranking commanders fought on the bridge of the Nemesis with Airachnid throwing the first blows. He blocked all of her shots and lifted her into the air then throwing her across the ship. He deployed Laserbeak to assist by stunning her. He put his foot down on her and held her down. She then gave Soundwave control over the Decepticons for the time being. He picked up Megatron's life signal after thinking he was offline and was present when the Decepticon leader returned who was accompanied by Optimus Prime.

Season 2
Soundwave was in control of making sure Orion Pax did not come across Decepticon information while decoding the Iacon Database. To make sure Orion did not find out who he was, Soundwave replaced all images of Optimus Prime with pictures of Ultra Magnus. Eventually, Orion broke through his encryptions and realized who Optimus Prime was. He was ordered by Megatron to make sure Arcee was 'escorted' off the ship before she could find the location of the Autobots' missing leader. He used his Ground-Bridge technology to bridge her off the ship and ignored Orion Pax who questioned about the commotion when he came right after the whole situation. Soundwave informed Megatron of Airachnid's disloyalty by playing back her planning to leave Megatron on Earth. Soundwave was on the bridge when the Nemesis was taken over by Dark Energon. He took action by trying to regain control of the vessel by hacking into the systems. However he was zapped into stasis before he could regain control. Soundwave was sent after the 3rd Iacon relic. He attacked Wheeljack and Ratchet by deploying Laserbeak and used him as a distraction. He found the relic before the Autobots but he was attacked by Wheeljack.

The two bots fought, each landing attacks until Wheeljack seemingly got the upper hand. Soundwave was at Wheeljack's mercy until he used the relic against him. The con left Wheeljack to return to Laserbeak's SOS signal. He picked up Laserbeak and returned to the Nemesis with the relic. A grenade was discovered in Soundwave and once disposed of he returned to work. Soundwave used Laserbeak to locate Smokescreen and once he did Soundwave GroundBridged in and captured him. Soundwave broke into a communications building to gain control of a laser satellite, he had control but failed to stop the humans from hacking and retreated in jet mode before the Autobots arrived.

Soundwave later took Raf hostage in exchange for an Omega Key, after locating him and the other human children during his search for the Autobot base. He arrived on Cybertron with the other Decepticons with the humans as hostage. He traded the human for a key with Bumblebee. He also witnessed the activation and destruction of the Omega Lock. He returned to Earth with the other Cons and saw the destruction of the Autobot Base.

Season 3
Soundwave deployed Laserbeak to find the humans and Autobots who were scattered. He tried to fix Laserbeak to recover footage and also SpaceBridged Shockwave to Earth. Soundwave figured out before Starscream that the Autobots were trying to get the Decepticons to separate their army. Soundwave aided Shockwave in Texas, while in jet mode he took on Optimus and shot him down using Laserbeak. Soundwave Groundbridged a Predacon bone to Megatron and retreated. With the infection outbreak on the ship Soundwave was in charge of clean up duty. He took a team of Decepticons and saw the destruction of the infected Cons. He saw that the traitor Airachnid was free from her pod and Spacebridged her to one of Cybertron's moons along with her Insecticon army.

Starscream later accompanied a group of Vehicons on a mission to acquire components for rebuilding the Omega Lock. The Autobots tried to get several Vehicons that were getting away with their spoils. Emerging from the sky in his alternate mode, he prepared a GroundBridge for the Vehicons in front of the retreating Vehicons. Soundwave soon dispatched Laserbeak, preparing for a rematch with Optimus Prime. Despite wanting to defeat him, he himself was taken out when Optimus used his missile launcher and took him out. While Laserbeak escaped, Optimus and the rest of the Autobots brought Soundwave in for questioning. Optimus asked him for information on Megatron's then-upcoming plans. However, Soundwave found his interrogation as a joke and replayed Optimus and his voice set to a musical tone and remix, before showing a smile emoticon on his front screen. While Optimus threatened to subject him to harsher means if he doesn't cooperate, Soundwave broadcasted a sonic pulse that caused the Autobots and humans alike to gain pain in their ears.

Ratchet soon suggested opening Soundwave up to obtain his information, knowing that he kept all of the Decepticon plans he had been informed off in his personal archive. However, those plans came crashing down when Soundwave merely deleted all of his data directly from their drives. In a stunning act, he finally broke his vow of silence when he told the Autobots that he was superior and that they were inferior. Deciding that he would be unable to keep the charade up, Soundwave's visor blacked out as he went off-line, slumping on the table. Soon after, Laserbeak used the surveillance records that Soundwave had on the Autobots' human allies to track down and follow William Fowler|Agent Fowler]], with the intent of getting to the Autobot base with his use. This plan succeeded, Laserbeak arrived at the Autobots' new base and soon reunited with Soundwave, having him come online and soon attacking the Autobots. Despite Smokescreen lunging at him, Soundwave easily disposed of him by grabbing him with his tentacle, shocking him and did the same for Bulkhead. Agent Fowler tried to get involved as well, but failed to defeat him, being easily shoved aside as Soundwave approached Ratchet with his tentacles.

Soundwave was present when Megatron was convincing Ratchet to help the Decepticons. The Communication Chief picked up Laserbeak's signal even though he was on his chest. Realizing that the Autobots were attempting to locate the Nemesis, Megatron dispatched Starscream and his Seekers to destroy

Soundwave was stationed on the bridge during the Autobot assault of the Decepticon war ship. The Wreckers stormed the bridge of the Nemesis. As they charged on toward Soundwave he opened a GroundBridge sending them to a Vehicon platoon. When Ultra Magnus reported this, Jack had a plan to get rid of Soundwave using his "relocation trick" against him. He Groundbridged to the Nemesis bridge where four Vehicons aimed at him. Miko then jumped through wearing the Apex Armor, killed them and charged at Soundwave. He opened a GroundBridge with his fingers, but she stopped before entering. He then walked towards her trying to push her in. Raf then opened a Bridge behind Soundwave. The Decepticon was caught within the two portals feeding off each other. Jack was nearly pulled in before Miko caught him, as her new found mass was seemingly immovable. As the portals disappeared, Soundwave charged at the two humans. To his surprise, he phased right through them, and could hear and see everything but could not be heard or seen. He was forced to watch as Jack and Miko took over the ship, unable to interfere, and was left trapped in the Shadowzone.

Transformers Robots in Disguise
Trapped in the Shadowzone, Soundwave followed Megatron back to Earth, but got stuck on the planet after Megatron departed. Some years after Cybertron's rebirth, a statue of Soundwave was constructed as shown in Pilot (Part 1). His role in the war as Megatron's top lieutenant, and his fearsome reputation as a tactical genius, were well documented on Cybertron, as was his entrapment in the Shadowzone during his final battle aboard the Nemesis.

In Portals, after wandering aimlessly for an unspecified amount of time, Soundwave finally got his chance to escape the Shadowzone after Fixit caused an accident to the GroundBridge, creating a portal to the Shadowzone. Soundwave flew through the rift and, along with his Mini-Con Laserbeak, overwhelmed Bumblebee's team, throwing the yellow Autobot into the Shadowzone and knocking out Grimlock and Strongarm with his tentacles. After that, Soundwave set to work constructing a radio array, hoping to contact Megatron and spark a mass Decepticon exodus to Earth. He was hampered by the antics of Fixit, Denny and Russell, who managed to distract him long enough for Grimlock and Strongarm to regain themselves. The two Autobots renewed their assault on the Decepticon, prompting Soundwave to portal them away with Laserbeak. While the Autobots and humans regrouped and conferred with Bumblebee, Soundwave finished constructing his device. As he chased Denny into a crane with his tentacles, Russell stole the last component. Soundwave fired a barrage of portals at the human, until they overlapped and opened another Shadowzone portal, allowing Bumblebee to return and fight the Decepticon. Denny used his crane to knock Soundwave back through the Groundbridge, and Fixit kept the portal open long enough for Strongarm and Grimlock to return Laserbeak to the same realm.

Season 3
At some point during Soundwave's imprisonment, he was provided with a group of genetically modified Activator Mini-Cons by an unknown group to collect weapons for him as revealed in Collateral Damage.

In King of the Hill (Part 2), after obtaining Bumblebee's Decepticon Hunter, Stuntwing returned it through a GroundBridge portal back to Soundwave.

In Defrosted, Soundwave dispatched Trickout through another portal to find more of the Decepticon Hunters.

In The Great Divide, Trickout returned to Soundwave some time later with a second Decepticon Hunter that he obtained from Sideswipe. Soundwave stated he was halfway to the power he needed before telling Trickout to return to him.

In Guilty as Charged, when Hi-Test returned without a weapon, Soundwave was unhappy and threatened to terminate the Mini-Con, who fled.

In Railroad Rage, Goldgear would later succeed where Hi-Test failed, leaving Soundwave one step closer to completing his "project". At the same time, the Autobots began to realize that there was a connection with the thefts of their Decepticon Hunters.

In Prepare for Departure, after Steeljaw's Pack was sprung from custody by a group of mysterious "benefactors", Soundwave contacted them through a portal, revealing that he was associated with said benefactors and directing them to prepare for their arrival on Earth or face painful deactivation.

In Collateral Damage, after Steeljaw obtained some nuclear fuel rods, Soundwave, now reformatted to a new body and vehicle mode, used the Decepticon Hunters to escape the Shadowzone and rendezvoused with him at a demolition derby. There, he revealed a transgalactic beacon generator constructed from wreckage in the Shadowzone which he planned to use to summon Megatron back to Earth. He dismissed the resulting destruction of life on Earth as a result of the radiation from the rods as collateral damage, much to Steeljaw's disgust. Forcing Steeljaw to retreat, Soundwave proceeded to take the generator to the highest point in the city, the Crown City Bank Building. Detecting Autobots, he sent Laserbeak in pursuit of Optimus Prime before being engaged by Bumblebee's team. Using the combined Hunters weapon to freeze Bumblebee and Strongarm, he found himself being disarmed by Sideswipe before Bumblebee, freed by Grimlock, used the weapon to first cut off the ends of Soundwave's tentacles to bring him to his knees and then freeze his body. As the generator started to fire up, Soundwave declared that Megatron would return before it was suddenly destroyed by a missile from Optimus, who had linked with Hi-Test. His mission failed, Soundwave went into stasis, and he and Laserbeak were taken into custody by Optimus to stand trial.

In Freedom Fighters, Soundwave was metioned by Cyclonus when revealed he freed him from the Shadowzone of working together to summon Megatron for the Decepticon's triumph.

Personality


Up until his capture, Soundwave's most defining characteristic, aside from his apparent lack of what most would consider an actual face, was his total, and unsettling silence; he could speak but chose not to a testament to his evident skill with keeping secrets. His equally defining characteristic was his unquestionable loyalty and devotion to Megatron, who in turn trusted Soundwave fully and completely, possibly more so than any of his other minions and showing him considerable favor. His loyalty drove Soundwave to maintain a constant vigilance on the Nemesis for any potential conspiracies against his master and alert him of the would-be traitors. Megatron even asked Soundwave to remind him of Airachnid's trustworthiness (which Soundwave willingly obliged by replaying a recording of Airachnid declaring her belief in the need to consider a future without Megatron). Soundwave himself apparently did not trust any of his fellow Decepticons, particularly Starscream and Airachnid, keeping a constant watch on the former (who continuously plotted to take over leadership of the Decepticons) and later enlightening Megatron that Airachnid was not to be trusted. Soundwave diligently followed his orders without question or hesitation, and often succeeded in all his efforts, rewarding him with praise and further trust and favor from Megatron. As long as Soundwave is around, Megatron has nothing to fear, and Megatron is well aware of that fact.

It's not just loyalty to Megatron that makes Soundwave such an effective soldier, however. He is a skilled fighter, being that he was second only to Megatron in the gladiatorial arena of Kaon. He is concise and pragmatic in all of his endeavors. This makes him one of the best hunters on Cybertron. If he doesn't personally harm anyone during an outing, it cannot be considered an act of mercy or decency. It is simply not a part of his mission and not worth considering. Primus help those unfortunate souls who are in the way or are his mission, as he will almost certainly find them and it will not be a pleasant experience when he catches his target, as Ratchet found out.

After being blasted down by the Autobots, he was captured by the Autobots and taken to their base for interrogation. Soundwave continuously gave them a run-around, refusing to cooperate or spill any information, mocking them and even using a sonic pulse when he was threatened with "less civil forms of interrogation". Only when Ratchet threatened to open up Soundwave and look at his drives did Soundwave take drastic measures in erasing his drives of sensitive data and then breaking his silence by telling them, in an ominous voice, 'Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior.' He then crashed his own drives, fully preventing the Autobots from interrogating him further. His words to them clearly expressed that he feels superior to them, although (for some reason) he addressed himself in third-person, possibly a sign of narcissism. However, these drastic measures show the full-extent of Soundwave's complete devotion to Megatron and the Decepticon cause, that he is willing to risk his own destruction if it means his last act is for the benefit of his master.

Robot Mode
In Robot-Mode, Soundwave sports stifle-jointed legs, his wings double as his arms, making them, along with his fingers, very thin, and his face is a visor that functions like a computer screen, displaying various frequencies he picks up, radar, maps, etc. It is also capable of snapping photographic images. On his chest he wears his surveillance drone Mini-Con Laserbeak. Aside from Shockwave, Soundwave is the spookiest of the Decepticons.



Vehicle Mode
Soundwave's alt-mode is an MQ-9 Reaper, an unmanned aerial vehicle that is listed in the Hunter-Killer program. He can shoot lasers from his vehicle mode and also deploy Laserbeak while in mid flight. He sometimes uses his jet mode to fly undetected.

Skills, Weapons, and Abilities
Despite his thin and angular build, Soundwave proved to be a deceptively dangerous warrior, skilled in unarmed combat, as well as utilizing his tentacles to overcome his foes. This comes as little shock as he was once a gladiator of Kaon.

Soundwave was a gladiator in the arenas of Kaon and was the sole warrior who came closest to defeating Megatron in battle. He uses his slim arms as blades and to block attacks, as he did against Airachnid and Wheeljack. Soundwave can extend two tentacles from his sides, using them to fight or to hack computer terminals or simply picking things up. They are shown to be very strong as they are capable of throwing around Autobots such as Wheeljack and Bulkhead. The tentacles are capable of shooting red lasers from them, generating electricity to zap opponents, and the claws at the end can rotate and be used as drills, as he did to excavate an Iacon relic.

Soundwave is a walking database, contained, as revealed in Minus One, in his hard drives, in which he stores vast amounts of data. He is capable of hacking computers, intercepting transmissions and communications, and monitoring communications on a planet-wide scale, all of which can be displayed on his visor.

Most commonly known, on Soundwave's chest he can deploy Laserbeak which is used for aerial battle or to stalk. Laserbeak also contains a full backup of Soundwave's information. So if Soundwave's information gets erased, he can reboot it all back via Laserbeak. Lately, it has been shown that Soundwave, possibly, has the ability to open Ground-Bridges anywhere, on or off the Nemesis, dubbed by Ultra Magnus as his "Relocation Trick". Unfortunately, this trick was used against him, leaving Soundwave trapped forever in the Shadowzone.

Quote

 * Soundwave superior. Autobots inferior. - Soundwave's only words in Transformers: Prime in Minus One.

Transformers: Prime
Season 1:
 * Darkness Rising, Part 1 (Prime Debut)
 * Darkness Rising, Part 2
 * Darkness Rising, Part 3
 * Darkness Rising, Part 4
 * Darkness Rising, Part 5
 * Masters and Students
 * Con Job
 * Convoy
 * Deus Ex Machina
 * Predatory
 * Sick Mind
 * Operation: Breakdown
 * Metal Attraction
 * Rock Bottom (Mentioned)
 * Partners
 * One Shall Fall
 * One Shall Rise, Part 1
 * One Shall Rise, Part 2
 * One Shall Rise, Part 3

Season 2:
 * Orion Pax, Part 1
 * Orion Pax, Part 2
 * Orion Pax, Part 3
 * Operation: Bumblebee, Part 1
 * Operation: Bumblebee, Part 2
 * Loose Cannons
 * Crossfire
 * Grill (Flashback)
 * Flying Mind
 * Tunnel Vision
 * Triangulation
 * Triage
 * Toxicity
 * Hurt
 * Out of the Past
 * The Human Factor
 * Legacy
 * Alpha/Omega
 * Hard Knocks
 * Inside Job
 * Patch (Flashback)
 * Regeneration
 * Darkest Hour

Season 3: Beast Hunters
 * Darkmount, NV
 * Scattered
 * Prey
 * Rebellion
 * Project Predacon
 * Plus One
 * Thirst
 * Evolution
 * Minus One
 * Persuasion
 * Synthesis
 * Deadlock

Transformers: Robots in Disguise
Season 2:
 * Portals (RID Debut)

Season 3: Combiner Force
 * King of the Hill (Part 2) (Voice only)
 * Defrosted (Voice only)
 * The Great Divide (Voice only)
 * Guilty as Charged (Voice only)
 * Prepare for Departure (Voice only)
 * Collateral Damage

Video Games

 * Transformers: War for Cybertron
 * Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Books

 * Transformers: The Covenant of Primus
 * Transformers: Exodus
 * Transformers: Exiles
 * Transformers: Retribution

Trivia

 * Soundwave's design appearance is influenced from both his Generation One and live-action film series counterparts.
 * His one line in the show is a reference to the original 1986 movie, where his Gen-1 incarnation declared "Soundwave superior. Constructicons inferior," as the remaining Decepticons argued over who should take over after Megatron's apparent demise.
 * In comparison with his original counterpart, this incrnation only contains Laserbeak as his personal Mini-Con, however, he doesn't possess Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage or Ratbat.
 * Duane Capizzi stated that Soundwave has the ability to speak but chooses not to, the reason behind this decision was to contrast him with the overly talkative Starscream.
 * Starscream once renowned him for his 'Vow of Silence'.
 * According to Hall Of Fame bio, Soundwave deleted his emotions in order to process information more quickly.
 * His vehicle form as a drone is perhaps a representation of his, almost ironically, mechanical nature, his unflinching devotion to Megatron and lack of emotions.
 * At BotCon 2011, the staff stated the character held a similarity to Boba Fett.
 * Ratchet noted that Soundwave possesses a vastly unique biology far greater than that of normal Cybertronians.
 * He is able to record and display spoken phrases and images in order to communicate.
 * His ability to create Space Bridges even without the aid of a control pannel, this abiltiy was dubbed by Ultra Magnus as his 'Relocation Trick'
 * He is able to self crash his own drives and thus can enter into stasis.
 * Soundwave is the first Decepticon from Transformers: Prime to reappear in RID.
 * He seems not to need to use the Energon as much as its congeners as he remained locked in the Shadowzone for years later without a single bit of Energon and yet he was in shape.
 * Shockwave and Soundwave have many similerties.
 * Soundwave has never been seen holding Energon Crystals