transformers

So, the very first Transformers show I watched was TFP. And the thing that attracted me to Soundwave was... He was just soooo beautiful. All of the animation work in that show was amazing!! But Soundwave. His cute visor face, with the pretty blue and red display lights, his beautiful wing arms, his sort of bird-like legs? And the way he moves. There’s this one episode, Triage, which is basically the only time you really see Soundwave go out into the field to fight, and he fights like he’s dancing. I must have watched that one episode about a dozen times. Even when he’s not fighting, the way Soundwave moves is so graceful and deliberate, when he moves his head, his fingers, everything about him is beautiful. 

Check out these sketches of concept art Soundwave by Jose Lopez - amazing!! https://www.instagram.com/p/BG-E8V2AY81/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BG-FFSEAY9I/ And here is a gifset of that fight with Wheeljack. Just stunning. http://sirkai.tumblr.com/post/59344451327

It’s more than that, though. In Triage, we see Laserbeak get hurt, and Soundwave like, drops everything to go to Laserbeak’s rescue. And the way he never doubts Megatron even for a second. You get the feeling he is a very devoted person to those he cares about! On several occasions, we see that Soundwave is very strong. He fends off Airachnid super easily. He had the advantage in the fight against Wheeljack. The prequel novel establishes Soundwave as a gladiator who was on par with Megatron. I mean, how many people in Prime can claim that?? He’s so strong, but he stays in the background and takes care of communications, except when he’s really needed. That’s such a fascinating quality. And I love thinking about him and Megatron, getting to know each other as fellow gladiators, developing that sort of trust as they took care of the Decepticons together throughout the years, Megs as the figurehead and Soundwave behind the scenes.

After TFP, I read More than Meets the Eye, of course, and then I read Robots in Disguise. And I loved seeing Soundwave here too, with his cassettes, but it wasn’t until the last two issues of RiD before Dark Cybertron, and I think I share the experience with many people when I say it knocked me all the way off my feet and in love with this robot and his cassette family.

Firstly... The way he talks. 

I really have to hand it to John Barber at times like these. This is an amazing detail to give Soundwave, taking his empathic perception of others’ emotions and writing it with synesthesia, in parallel with his other senses like taste, and colour, and texture, it’s visceral, it fits the character, it’s beautiful written and I can’t tell you how much I love it. 

Secondly, the way he talks about Megatron. 

This is... Another thing about John Barber’s writing, I feel like, in that when he writes these strong affectionate feelings he absolutely does not hold back! (I’m thinking of exRiD #44, with Needlenose and Horri-Bull, those two’s tragedy really made me cry) I really just have a huge soft spot for characters who are absolutely devoted to a person or a cause, and Soundwave’s feelings are so strong and I love them so much. 

And lastly... 

The last three pages of #22, Soundwaves. I’d really have to paste the entire pages since it’s just that whole scene. That entire scene gets me. 

The way Ravage and the birds found this poor kid out on the street and immediately asked him how he was doing. The way Ravage immediately stopped and gave him advice, based on his own experiences. In a part of Cybertron where it was probably every bot for themselves. They found each other and they took care of each other. 

The way that Soundwave was out here because his needs as an outlier weren’t seen to, because there was no place for him in the then Cybertronian society, and he started off here, barely able to hold a conversation, and with Ravage’s help and with the birds he was able to become extremely powerful and fight for what he believed in with the Decepticons. 

I love his resilience, I love how strong he is, I love how deeply he feels, I love how much he loves his cassette family. 

And into exRiD, I love the way he moved on past Megatron. He was so heartbroken when he found out Megatron had defected - and he’s not over it... 

“Once more.”

“He wasn’t the first.” He hasn’t stopped talking about Megatron’s betrayal. He’s so hurt. But he keeps going. He doesn’t have Megatron’s charisma. But he keeps going and he keeps trying to lead because he cares about the other Decepticons and he really truly wants a better future for all of them. 

Look at how much his family loves him...

In TFP, he doesn’t lead because he doesn’t need to. In IDW, he’s trying to lead because nobody else is stepping up to uphold the cause. He’s not good at it. But he’s trying so hard, he’s doing his best and he’s gotten so far. He’s got his Jupiter colony. He’s got a small band of robots. I believe in him. I really do. 

So, in conclusion, he’s beautiful - IDW him is beautiful too! Look at those pretty optics, and his blue and yellow paint, just gorgeous! - he’s quiet, he’s been through a lot, but he’s strong and he’s tough and he can do anything!