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Autobots

The largest political faction on Cybertron.

Orion Pax/Optimus Prime

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orion2019.png

"I do not think we have fallen quite so far that two Senators of Cybertron - two old friends - cannot have a civil and safe talk."

Function: Archivist

Alt Mode: Blockade Runner

First Appearance: Transformers #1

"Maybe being a unfinished project is a good thing. I can think of quite a few who might benefit from recognizing that's what we all are."

Forged in the Cybertronian capitol of Iacon, Orion Pax initially studied to be an archivist. Eventually, he became a prominent Senator and heir-apparent to Autobot leader Sentinel Prime. The rise of an extremist faction, and the first murder in Cybertron's recorded history, prompt him to reluctantly assume a position of leadership.

Action Politician: A Cybertronian senator and a former fighter in the war against the Threefold Spark.
Badass Bookworm: A former librarian turned soldier, senator and de-facto leader of the biggest political party on the planet.
Big Good: As usual, he becomes the new leader of the Autobots after inheriting the Matrix of Leadership.
Optimus: I have no wish to fight, since it can only be a fight against ourselves. But I will. If that is what it takes to save lives, to prevent something worse... if there is truly no other choice, I will fight.
The Call Knows Where You Live: A line from Sentinel Prime ("The Matrix chose ME, not YOU!") implies that Orion had already been rejected before, and Sentinel is adamant even in his dying moments that Ultra Magnus is to succeed him as Matrix-bearer. But it turns out destiny has other ideas.
Mediator: The greatest of Matrix-Bearers is required. The best. One to stand tall beneath a greater weight than any who went before.
Orion: Can I choose?
Mediator: Yes. What happens here may fade from your memory. But two things you will certainly remember. That the burden is great. And that you made a choice.
Foregone Conclusion: He will eventually become Optimus Prime and succeed Sentinel as leader of the Autobots, much like in every other Transformers story based on G1. It finally happens in issue #25.
Ironic Echo:
- After Megatron derides Sentinel as "bold" for comparing their respective chances of a happy ending, he chews out Orion for using Bumblebee to spy on him. Orion has this to say in response:
  Orion: "Comparing the scale of our betrayals is... bold."
- Happens later in the same issue with his first words as Optimus Prime being a reference to Megatron's last words to him before pulling his coup.
  Orion: "No. We must become what the times require of us."
Lawful Pushover: Asserts little authority to keep Megatron's rallies from getting out of hand despite being appointed to temporary leader of Cybertron, mainly out of a desire to not escalate tensions further. Until he becomes Optimus Prime.
Pinball Protagonist: Before he becomes Optimus Prime, he has a benign influence on the ongoing plot, not doing much to combat the frequent acts of chaos engulfing Cybertron aside from voicing his displeasure at the situation. Once Sentinel Prime returns, he has even less of a hand to play in things. This is a Justified Trope, as Orion’s hesitation to take control of the situation and inability to prevent everything from spiraling out of control is Played for Drama.
We Used to Be Friends: With Megatron.
Optimus: I remember that Megatron and his followers... whatever happens, they remain of us. We are parts of a whole.
You Are in Command Now:
- Was temporarily put in charge of Cybertron as Sentinel Prime went on a tour of the colony worlds.
- Happens more permanently when Sentinel Prime is killed in the Battle of Iacon.
  Orion: We must become what the times require of us. Not Orion Pax. OPTIMUS PRIME.

Ironhide

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Van

First Appearance: Transformers #1

"Inside these precincts, we make the rules. Outside, we’re just more bodies."

A veteran car soldier who serves as head of the Cybertronian Senate Guard. Although nominally neutral among the political factions, Ironhide has formed a strong bond with Autobot Orion Pax, becoming one of the latter’s most trusted friends and advisors.

Bodyguarding a Badass: Oversees the protection of Sentinel Prime and Orion Pax, who are fairly capable fighters in their own right.
Sentinel Prime: I will break Megatron with my own—
Ironhide: You will not, First Senator! Me and this guard're in here because we all swore to protect the Senate and everyone who sat in it. Megatron and his Decepticons've forfeited that protection, but you haven’t and you will allow us to keep you safe. Right now, everyone who's not a Decepticon needs a leader. And you're it.
Noodle Incident: Frequently mentions these in his conversations with Orion.
Ironhide: "You know how sometimes news can't make up its mind whether to be good or bad? Like that time Perceptor upped the plasma pyre output by six percent, but melted his hand off doing it?"
Number Two: Is Orion Pax's closest aide and assistant, almost always seen by his side.
Praetorian Guard: Serves this role for the Cybertronian Senate.
Rousing Speech: Gives one when Megatron takes over the Senate.
Ironhide: "Whoever we were before, whatever any of us think of Sentinel Prime, we all have to be Autobots now. For this one cycle. We've got to stand up if we want to have a choice about who we'll be afterwards."

Sentinel Prime

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sentinel2019.png

"We are going to the Senate. There are some heads I want to smash together."

Function: Autobot Leader

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Shuttle

First Appearance: Transformers #10

"Such outrages shame every one of us. They belong in a past we all thought gone forever. And make no mistake: It is gone. We will make sure of that."

The First Senator of Cybertron and twelfth bearer of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Adaptational Heroism: The previous incarnation was a murderous reactionary who attempted to purge all "deviants" from Cybertron. This one, while bad-tempered and mildly corrupt, is an ultimately well-intentioned 'bot who seeks to coexist with the rest of the universe.
Berserk Button: Pyra Magna after her vendetta against Turmoil resulted in the deaths of numerous prisoners. Orion just suggesting that she be freed to help with the was enough to immediately disinherit him as the next Autobot leader.
Big Good: Downplayed as he wants the best for Cybertron and is trying to fix the political strife on the planet, but he has a lot of critics of his policies and he becomes more determined to take down the Rise.
Optimus Prime: He was flawed, as we all are. Perhaps he failed. But he faced a choice, when the Matrix came to him. And in that moment, he chose to try.
Big "NO!": Says one when Soundwave suggests an early election to try and ease the rising tensions between factions.
Corrupt Politician: Tried to use a senate debate to denounce the Ascenticon movement and arrest Soundwave. He later tries to convene the Senate without the Ascenticons which backfires on him spectacularly.
Defiant to the End:
- Even after being captured by Megatron, he refuses to yield, insisting the Decepticon victory will only be temporary.
  Megatron: I think perhaps we should talk.
  Sentinel Prime: I have nothing to say to you, Megatron. Save that you have lost your mind if you think this ends well.
  Megatron: Comparing our chances of a happy ending is… bold.
- Puts up a strong fight against the Rainmakers, even if it isn't enough.
  Sentinel Prime: "You think I am so easily laid low? When you are no longer supercharged? I am a PRIME!"
Dispense with the Pleasantries: Tells Ironhide this when he tries to greets Sentinel and his retinue when they return to Cybertron.
Hair-Trigger Temper: He's noted to have little patience for the nuances of politics.
Nautica: Precisely calibrated responses to uncertain information are not always Sentinel Prime's strong point.
Half the Man He Used to Be: Nova Storm ends Sentinel's battle with the Rainmakers when she flies through him, cutting him in two at the waist.
Hidden Depths: As shown in his Kirk Summation below he is surprisingly philosophical about Cybertron's place in the universe and he also values restraint.
Hoist by His Own Petard: He is right that the Ascenticons is the cause of all the chaos on Cybertron but he has no tangible proof and his rash and harsh decisions in dealing with the large and influential rival faction that could potentially be the spark that leads into open conflict.
Kirk Summation: Gives one to Megatron:
Sentinel Prime: "The universe is not ours alone. It belongs just as much to other sentients, and to those of us not yet forged. If we make other civilizations fear us, they will act, as they have before. If we incur debts, our successors will repay them. Restraint can be the purest form of strength. And a small cost to bear, for the sake of peace. For the future. Such a small sacrifice. Is it really too much to ask for ourselves?"
Pet the Dog: Offering sanctuary to the A'ovan, a peaceful alien race whose home planet was nuked into oblivion by the warlike Thraal. Hardline representatives of the Thraal government, eager to complete their attempted genocide, constantly pressure the Autobots to deport the refugees. Sentinel's response is always "No".
Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: He is the leader of the Autobots, the largest political faction on Cybertron with the highest number of senators. This means that no other faction in the senate can veto his decisions.
Sentinel Prime: The Matrix resides within ME! When Nominus Prime left us, it passed to me, NOT you. When I am no more, it will pass to Ultra Magnus, NOT TO YOU! It's power, and its authority, are MINE!
Skewed Priorities: After Vigilem caused the Tether to crash onto Cybertron, Sentinel became even more focused on breaking the Ascenticon movement and refused to listen to any of the more immediate concerns or politically wise suggestions brought up by Orion.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: His strict methods upon returning from his tours in combating the Rise and later wanting to outright denounce the Ascenticon faction are to try and fix the tension and strife on Cybertron. The "well-intentioned" part is highlighted before his death, as he calmly defends his support of the Nominus Edict to Megatron from his prison cell, explaining how making the universe fear them will cause problems for future generations, possibly invoking Termagax's quote from the series' beginning.

Nominus Prime

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nominus2019.jpg

Function: Autobot Leader

Alt Mode: Spaceship

First Appearance: Transformers Galaxies #3

"Even lives as long as ours can only accommodate so much loss. Peace is our only shield against it. Peace through stability, through restraint."

The last leader in Cybertron’s Age of Expansion and eleventh bearer of the Matrix, Nominus was First Senator during the War of the Threefold Spark. To ensure that the horrors of such a ruinous war never threatened Cybertron again, he drafted a controversial system of laws known as the Nominus Edict in order to ensure peace for future generations. Though the Edict helped Cybertron recover from the war, it contained elements that many Cybertronians found oppressive, and led to stagnation in the centuries after his passing.

Adaptational Nice Guy: In the previous IDW comic, he was a xenophobic jackboot who ruled Cybertron through corruption and oppression. In this comic, he was a war hero who created strict guidelines to how Cybertron should be run in the belief that it was the best choice for the planet. Notably here he actually held the Matrix of Leadership as Prime, unlike his original counterpart who was a false Prime propped up by a fake Matrix.
Didn't Think This Through: After the War of the Threefold Spark, most Cybertronians wanted their society to go “back to normal.” To Nominus, “normal” was what caused the war in the first place, and he feared returning to the old status quo would lead to another, potentially worse, war. But his edict ultimately led to stagnation, and, eventually, the more destructive conflict he was trying to prevent.
Dystopian Edict: The Nominus Edict is ultimately this: Though designed to prevent future wars, it called for massive demilitarization, energy rationing that many considered oppressive, limiting forgings of new Cybertronians, and a moratorium on creating new colonies (even if a suitable world is uninhabited).
Jerkass: He sent the Constructicons to Malayx on a false mission of building a new colony, really banishing them out of fear of their powers.
Jerkass Has a Point: As Long Haul sadly notes, the Constructicon's rampage against the citizens of Malayx proves that Nominus was right to exile them.
One-Tract Mind: Extremely obsessive about fuel usage and energy consumption, constantly bringing up Cybertron’s past energy crisis and his attempts to prevent another. This makes him shortsighted when it comes to other issues.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the aftermath of the war against the Threefold Spark, he created the Nominus Edict, which heavily regulates and rations the energon each citizen receives to ensure that they always had a surplus in case of a crisis. This had the effect of many Cybertronians being unable to function at full capacity. He also banished countless Cybertronians from the planet who could potentially cause trouble even if they hadn't done anything wrong.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He has been replaced by Sentinel Prime by the start of the comic with no current explanation of his whereabouts. Sentinel claims in issue #19 that Nominus "left us", implying he had already died prior to the events of the comic.

Chromia

"No mistakes. From ANY of us."

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #2

The Director of Cybertron's Domestic Security Operations, frequently paired with Prowl. Late in Sentinel Prime's reign, Chromia is tasked with investigating the first recorded homicide in Cybertron's living history, along with the increasingly militant activity of the Ascenticon movement and its' Rise splinter faction. As civil unrest becomes increasingly rampant, Chromia finds her agency merged with the rival Colonial Security, becoming the investigator and ground reconnaissance specialist in a joint rapid response team.

Adaptational Personality Change: This Chromia lacks the sharper edges of the previous IDW version, who was just as dutiful but was more than willing to do some very unsavoury things.
Big Damn Heroes: Saves Bumblebee from an assassination attempt by Treadshot and Catgut.
But Thou Must!: When Sentinel Prime is killed, his last command is to pass the Matrix on to Ultra Magnus, who is off planet. While Orion prepares to honor Sentinel's last wishes, Chromia is adamant that they need a Prime now, not later. Enter Optimus Prime.
More Dakka: After a shootout with Sixshot where her blaster pistol does little more than annoy him, Chromia brings a machine gun with her to rescue Bumblebee from Decepticon assassins.
Only Friend: She's the only one who can tolerate Prowl, even though he questions her a lot and seems to be vying for her job.
Only Sane Man: When the Autobots begin cracking down on Ascenticon and Rise activities, she's the one who notes that it likely won't help (and will probably make it worse) and that Security Operations are already stretched incredibly thin.

Prowl

Function: Detective

Alt Mode: Patrol Car

First Appearance: Transformers #2

"I used to start every cycle wondering what I didn't know. Thinking about how I could find out. Now, I start each cycle wondering what I haven't done. And who'll die because of it."

An officer in the Security Operations, frequently partnered with Chromia. A brilliant detective and strategist, Prowl's anger management issues has hindered his advancement within the agency's ranks.

Adaptational Nice Guy: For all that he's a Jerkass, he's still a much nicer person in this continuity than he was in the 2005 adaptation.
Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: After being trapped under a pylon for ten cycles, he criticized his rescuers so much that they requested therapy.
Cowboy Cop: He actually wants to be a By-the-Book Cop, but his anger management issues and the growing tensions on Cybertron (and his frustrations over failing to defuse them) ultimately conspire to make him this.
Prowl: It's way too late for calm. Calm is for people who don't have two new dead bodies!
Giver of Lame Names: Gives his pets Shaped Like Itself style names, like naming his green flyt “Green.”
Hair-Trigger Temper: Prowl's ill-tempered, prickly disposition is legendary enough that Orion Pax and Ironhide use it as a measuring stick to describe the foul moods of others.
Ironhide: You remember that time Prowl was stuck under a collapsed pylon for ten cycles?
Orion: I do. Half his rescuers requested esteem-reinforcement counseling afterwards. Two of them still cannot be around him without their joints freezing.
It's Personal: He was the last person Rubble talked to before he was brutally murdered and Prowl is determined to bring his killer to justice.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Well known for his standoffish personality but he is dedicated to his job as a cop and when Rubble calls for help he tries to help him as much as he can and is haunted by his death.
Police Brutality: As the situation on Cybertron gets worse, Prowl begins doing stuff like beating and threatening detained suspects for information.

Windblade

"Not prepared in so many ways."

Function: Aerial Reconnaisance

Alt Mode: VTOL Jet

First Appearance: Transformers #1

An aerial reconnaissance specialist for Cybertron Security Operations. Windblade was frequently partnered with Bumblebee when he worked with them, and remained friends after his dismissal. While assisting Chromia investigating Cybertron's first recorded murder, she gets a lead on the Rise, leading to a battle that leads to injuries that take her offline. After spending several cycles in stasis, she awakens to find Cybertron rampant with civil unrest, and joins a rapid response task force to fight against those who would seek to bring down the planet from within.

Convenient Coma: Gets put into one after getting severely injured in a battle against the Rise.
Cool Big Sis: Acts like one to Rubble.
"Meet everyone you can, get a fit for all the roles you might have. Discover where you might fit in life. It is a world of possibilities, Rubble."
Heroes Prefer Swords: Wields a sword in close-quarter combat.

Wheeljack

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3c664bff_7697_4a2a_8148_eabf40d45a09.jpeg

Function: Engineer

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #2

"Fun? This isn’t about fun. It's about the endless, selfless struggle against entropy! Don’t worry. I'm joking. Of course it's fun."

The chief engineer of the Winged Moon, and Termagax’s old friend.

Broken Pedestal: Is clearly disheartened over Termagax’s self-imposed exile.
“I'm an engineer, Termagax. I want to raise things up. Mend them. Not tear them down. I thought that was you, too.”
Good Parents: Is patient and encouraging towards his mentee, Gears, and defends him when Huffer suggests that he’s being too patient.
"Too patient? Too patient?! What would you suggest? That I shout at him? That I whine at him or undermine him with sarcasm? I am his mentor! I am responsible for his care, his guidance, his preparation. I am his gateway into the world. The responsibility is absolute! Unconditional! Not some petty inconvenience to be set aside when I choose. And it is an honor. He tries, Huffer! He persists! He hopes! Which is more than I can say for you."
Locked Out of the Loop: When he returns to Cybertron, Runabout and Runamuck ask him if he’s with or against the Decepticons. Wheeljack can only ask “What’s a Decepticon?” in sheer confusion.
The Mentor: To Gears.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Wheeljack inadvertently caused the Constructicons’ Start of Darkness by reporting his concerns about them losing control of Devastator to the Senate. He merely thought they and Termagax should be more cautious, but Nominus and the Senate decided the best solution was effectively exiling the Constructicons by reassigning them to Mayalx, an act which eventually pushes them into the Ascenticons’ arms.
“It's finally happened. They lost control! I hate being right all the time.”
We Used to Be Friends: With Termagax.

Nautica

Function: Diplomat

Alt Mode: Submersible

First Appearance: Transformers #10

"Somehow, everything that has Cybertron in its grip—the megacycles of stratified, unforgotten history, the intricacies of doctrinal differences... somewhere along the way I slipped free and the rest of the universe got a grip instead."

A xenobiologist by trade and explorer by function, Nautica has spent more time in the home environments of alien races than any other Cybertronian. This has given her a greater appreciation of alien culture than her own. After several diplomatic accomplishments, Sentinel Prime appointed her Director of Xenorelations. Returning to an increasingly factionalized Cybertron, with long buried tensions threatening to boil over, Nautica sees to the safety of Cyberton's alien refugees, ensuring they are not caught in the crossfire of war.

Ambadassador: She's Cybertron's leading diplomat for organic races. However, she and Road Rage also have to deal with dangerous members of the species they interact with, as seen when they kept a Thraal terrorist from bombing their ship.
Going Native: She's spent so much time interacting with alien races that she admits that going home to Cybertron after a long absence doesn't excite her very much.
Oblivious to Love: According to Starscream, her past two bodyguards, Proxima and Crosscut, were infatuated with her but their feelings just "bounced" off of her.
Time Dissonance: She finds it fascinating to interact with organics due to how differently they conceive time and mortality than Cybertronians.

Road Rage

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Sportscar

First Appearance: Transformers #10

"Since this could be time-critical, I get to be the failsafe."

Road Rage is a car soldier who gets her name due to a unique design flaw: Though calm and collected in robot mode, she becomes reckless and impulsive in vehicle mode. Despite this disadvantage, she was still able to find a career in Colonial Security. She is currently the bodyguard to Nautica, a position she has held for several kilocycles.

Bodyguard Crush: Starscream accuses her of having one on Nautica, which she fully denies despite her obvious swooning.
Does Not Know Her Own Strength: Road Rage stops a Thraal terrorist shooting at her and Nautica by tackling him. Since he's a squishy organic, she ends up crushing all his internal organs and likely killing him.
Drives Like Crazy: A short-circuit in her brain module when she transforms into vehicle mode causes her to become violent and aggressive toward anything else on the road with her.
Flying Car: Her alt-mode.
Forgot About Her Powers: Discussed, and ultimately averted.
Nautica: You can't teleport, can you?
Road Rage: What? You don't think I would have mentioned it before now, if I could teleport?
Meaningful Name: She's fairly calm and reasonable, but only in robot mode. Once she turns into her vehicle mode she becomes much more violent and aggressive.

Arcee

Function: Search and Rescue

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #4

A former soldier and current mentor to Gauge.

Adaptational Sexuality: She's in a relationship with the also female Greenlight in this continuity.
Dad the Veteran: She fought in the war against Exarchon and later became a mentor to Gauge.
Mama Bear: To Gauge. She chews out a group of Cybertronians for suggesting that she was forged solely because Brainstorm was killed.
Noodle Incident: Destroyed one of Exarchon's bodies during the War of the Threefold Spark. It was not an assassination, it was a "targeted intervention".
Shell-Shocked Veteran: It's subtly implied the reason she so protective of Gauge is perhaps due to what happen during the 'War of the Threefold Spark', doesn't help that not only was Rubble murdered but Cybertron is entering into a new war.

Ultra Magnus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ultra2019_3.png

"Being a relic of a past era has its advantages."

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Truck

First Appearance: Transformers Galaxies #10

"A warrior's mandate is clear, but simplistic. A functional world requires greater complexity than edge of a sword."

Ultra Magnus was one of the Four Great Generals in the War of the Threefold Spark ^note, with a young Megatron being one of the soldiers under his command. Although Sentinel Prime saw great potential in him as a future Autobot leader and Matrix-bearer, Magnus chose a different path, choosing instead to keep the peace in deep space as captain of the Fist of Iacon.

Badass Boast: Quite fond of making them, and can usually back it up.
Ultra Magnus: I’ll continue to explore the area.
Chromedome: What if you encounter the crew of the downed battlecruiser?
Ultra Magnus: You should ask them what will happen when they encounter me.
Born in the Wrong Century: Spinister accuses him of being this in a Breaking Speech, and Magnus himself begins to wonder if he is. He gets better, though. He becomes a bit more of a literal example after getting caught in the singularity causes many years to pass by before he gets his ship out.
A Father to His Men: Was this to his troops in the war, and it extends to his crew after he became the Captain of the Fist of Iacon.
Four-Star Badass: He was this during the War of the Threefold Spark.
Front Line General: Gained fame being this during the War of the Threefold Spark. Now he’s The Captain, but he still retains the title.
Heroes Prefer Swords: He’ll use ranged weapons when pragmatism demands it, but his sword is his first choice.
"A long-range weapon is the arsenal of a coward. We're meant to look our enemies in the eyes. Or what passes for eyes!"
Honor Before Reason: If he has any potential weakness, it’s this. Spinister uses it to play him like a fiddle.
Ideal Hero: To contrast Orion Pax's Pinball Protagonist status.
The Last DJ: As Cybertron’s political situation gets messier and messier, Magnus finds himself wondering if he is (and is accused by others of being) this trope; an obsolete relic of an age of heroism and idealism that’s simply not viable anymore.
One Last Job: He believes the events of Storm Horizon will be this. He is wrong.
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Zigzagged. When Megatron addresses him as General, Magnus brushes it off, telling him that “true soldiers don’t collect badges.” Later on, however, he insists that Spinister address him by his proper rank.

Pyra Magna

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pyra2019.png

“I’m told there may be a cause worth fighting for. Is it true?”

Function: Warrior

First Appearance: Transfomers #26

"I'm content to wait for the judgment of the universe to find me. Are you? Wars create monsters, and require more monsters to fight them."

The Captain of an elite squadron known as the Torchbearers, Pyra Magna served as one of the Four Great Generals during the War of the Threefold Spark. In the aftermath of the war, Pyra ignored orders and pursued her Arch-Enemy Turmoil into space, resulting in a disastrous battle that resulted in massive Collateral Damage. Arrested on numerous charges of insubordination, treason, and murder, Pyra Magna is sentenced to life imprisonment at the White Tower Detention Fortress - where she remains in suspended animation for nearly two millennia.

Be All My Sins Remembered: She hates the way that the Torchbearers still honor her, especially Termagax's hero worship. She insists that the imprisonment she's been subjected to was completely justified, as her reckless attack against Turmoil resulted in the deaths of the hostages he was carrying and she'd disobeyed direct orders to stand down.
Deadpan Snarker: Particularly with Roadmaster, the warden of the White Tower.
Pyra: Isn't it every jailor's ambition to see their most famous prisoner released, then? Of course, you've got so few inmates up here, perhaps you'll be out of a job soon anyway.
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Cowboy Cop and Military Maverick style of action hero who runs up high Hero Insurance bills that are generally considered small prices to pay in light of the "evil" threats they're trying to stop. When Pyra Magna tells Optimus Prime that he may need to become a monster himself in order win the war against the Decepticons, he sharply rebukes her, insisting that becoming a "necessary monster" will make him no better than Megatron.
Optimus: We are not meant to be darkness. That is all.
Four-Star Badass: One of the "Great Generals" of the War of the Threefold Spark.
Kick the Dog: For the past two megacycles^noteRoughly 2000 years., Pyra Magna has been kept in stasis and is periodically woken up just to remind her that she is a prisoner.
Pyra: This is the thirty-ninth time they've woken me.
A Mother to Her Men: Appears to be this to those under her command. Several of the Torchbearers adopted her color scheme to protest her imprisonment.
Pyra Magna: Stand up, Jumpstream. You look different.
Jumpstream: After you were imprisoned, some of us took your colors, General. In protest and in your honor.
Pyra Magna: I don't approve. I earned my place in that stasis cell.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her obsession with seeing Turmoil pay for his crimes results in his prisoners getting killed.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The circumstances that led to Pyra Magna's imprisonment are a rather dark deconstruction. The War of the Threefold Spark was over and several of Exarchon's followers were granted amnesty. Turmoil, one of Exarchon's most brutal enforcers, attempted to flee to neutral space with several prisoners as his hostages. Nominus Prime ordered Pyra Magna to let Turmoil go to ensure the hostages would not get hurt. Pyra ignored these orders, intending to cripple Turmoil's ship, free the hostages, and kill Turmoil. Instead, Turmoil's ship exploded, killing the hostages. While Termagax, among others, felt that Pyra was wrongfully scapegoated - noting the lack of evidence for what really caused the explosion, and the whole thing really being Turmoil's fault anyway - it was Pyra's decision to disobey her orders that caused the incident to escalate the way it did.
She Who Fights Monsters: Her obsession with taking down Turmoil during the War of the Threefold Spark ultimately made her as bad as he is. Something she admits:
Pyra: I was the universe's answer to Turmoil. I"m still waiting to see what answer the universe has to me. And whatever that answer may be, I still cannot tell you I regret what they did.
Stop Worshipping Me: When she and Termagax finally meet in issue #35, she doesn't like how Termagax views her imprisonment as moral cowardice of the Autobots, instead of (as Pyra Magna herself views it) as a rightful sentence for causing the hostages' deaths.

Sideswipe

Function: Security

First Appearance: Transformers #5

A member of Security Operations who works under Prowl and Chromia's command.

Blood Knight: Sideswipe is eager for action and battle. He's delighted to gain access to weaponry such as a thermal lance and becomes annoyed when Prowl sets him on lookout instead of letting him in on the action. His annoyance becomes joy again when an escaping Riser runs right into him outside of Swindle's, giving him the fight he wants.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: Downplayed. Sideswipe has plenty of confidence but when he saves Bumper's life, the latter's hero worship of him makes him uncomfortable and he says he isn't a good role model.
Hidden Depths: Sideswipe comes across as a reckless and over-confident younger officer. However, his hurt expression and comment that he just wants to be useful when Hound dismisses him, along with his discomfort when Bumper Hero Worships him, indicates he has deep-set insecurities.
Related Differently in the Adaptation: Sideswipe was forged after the War of the Threefold Spark while Sunstreaker was forged prior to it, so the two are not twins in this continuity.
Skewed Priorities: He's more annoyed about Flamewar calling him slow than worried about the injuries he sustained in his fight with her.

Sunstreaker

Function: Warrior

First Appearance: Transformers #30

A member of Pyra Magna's Companions.

Related Differently in the Adaptation: Sunstreaker was forged prior to the War of the Threefold Spark while Sideswipe was forged after, meaning the two are not twins in this continuity.
Undying Loyalty: Like the other Companions, Sunstreaker is completely loyal to Pyra Magna and returns to her side the moment she is freed from the White Tower.

Jumpstream

Function: Warrior

First Appearance: Transformers #26

A member of Pyra Magna's Companions who possesses the ability to teleport. After her General was imprisoned, Jumpstream changed her colors to match hers in protest.

A Day in the Limelight: Issues 31 and 32 focus on her misadventures as her overcharged teleportation goes out of control. She ends up in a Bad Future where Exarchon has returned and conquered Cybertron.
Undying Loyalty: Like many other Companions, Jumpstream is completely loyal to Pyra Magna and changed her colors to that of her General in protest of her imprisonment. Jumpstream returns to Pyra Magna's side the moment she is freed from the White Tower, ready to serve her once again.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her uncontrolled teleportation allows Skywarp to leech off the energy she's giving off to escape Unspace.

The Wreckers

Wreckers

An elite team of Autobot agents who disguise themselves as a stunt show.

Adaptational Job Change: The Wreckers being a team of stuntpeople and daredevils is unique to this continuity. In addition, the team's true purpose is to act as secret agents whereas the faction is normally depicted as an elite kill team.
Ascended Extra: Ricochet and Circuit weren't exactly well-known members of the Autobots beforehand, the former mostly known for being a Palette Swap of Jazz and a Targetmaster, and the latter an Action Master that was a Toyline-Exclusive Character until they got a minor role in the original IDW continuity as an Intrepid Reporter. Here, both are mainstays of the team, even if Circuit ends up dying by the end.
Boom, Headshot!: Circuit is taken out of action via a shot to the head in Tread & Circuits issue 2. It's a messy wound but Minerva is able to stabilize him, though he eventually succumbs to his wounds and dies in his sleep.
Canon Immigrant: Most are drawn from the G1 continuity, but a couple come from outside.
- Hot Shot is based on his depiction in Transformers: Cybertron specifically the Cybertron Defense version.
- Minerva is imported from Transformers: Super-God Masterforce.
- Aileron was created in the old IDW continuity and transported into this one.
Famed In-Story: The Wreckers's public personas are basically celebrities.
The Leader: Thunderclash is the Wreckers' leader this time around. He fought in the War of the Threefold Spark and has the most combat experience of the group.

Ascenticons/Decepticons

A political movement on Cybertron founded by Termagax, with the aim to overturn the Nominus Edict. Among them are a radical splinter group called "the Rise", which was secretly led by Megatron through Shockwave.

Megatron

"Ideas are like shrapnel. They do not know friend from foe."

Function: Worker

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Tank

First Appearance: Transfomers #1

"Perfect balance is an illusion. It never lasts. Sooner or later, there must be movement. The universe insists. If we stand still, if we cling to stability thinking it will save us, we will fall."

A miner from the industrial city of Kaon, Megatron worked to fuel the expansion of the Cybertronian hegemony during it's Golden Age, and became a renowned gladiatorial fighter in his spare time. After serving with distinction in the War of the Threefold Spark, Megatron became disillusioned with the postwar Cybertron and gravitated to the Ascenticon movement. Quickly rising through Ascenticon ranks due to his charisma, he became their de-facto leader after their founder withdrew from public life.

Action Politician: A Cybertronian senator and a former gladiator and fighter in the war against the Threefold Spark.
Adaptational Backstory Change: This version of Megatron is the leader of an increasingly corrupt social movement rather than an oppressed miner and gladiator turned evil rebel. Here, he was proud to have worked in the mines to help fuel Cybertron's progress and the gladiator pits were a legitimate sport where he fought and inspired others. He was very disappointed when Nominus Prime decided to close both the mines and the pits down after the war with the Threefold Spark.
Megatron: "We fought, and we died, and did terrible things, and we won. But lost everything we had been fighting for anyway."
Admiring the Abomination: While he admits that Exarchon was an insane monster, he also was in awe in how he was able to force history and society to his will and eventually decides to emulate it.
Megatron: "Events did not happen around, or to, Exarchon. He was the event. He happened to us. Like a supernova."
Big Bad: He is the secret backer of the Rise and seeks to put himself in power and take down the Nominus Edict. He ends up succeeding in seizing power of Cybertron, transforming the Ascenticons and the Rise into the Decepticons.
Can't Take Criticism:
- He nearly decks Ironhide at Brainstorm's funeral due to him suggesting that Termagax is ashamed of what he turned her movement into.
- In the past, after tricking Orion Pax into a skydive with a faulty parachute, he was personally insulted when Orion grumbles that Megatron's a tad mad.
  Orion: Have you ever wondered whether you're just a little bit mad?
  Megatron: No! This isn't what madness looks like.
Corrupt Politician: He took control of a terrorist cell in order to create tension and manipulate the planet's government. Whatever doubt there could've been that he wasn't this trope is thrown out the window when he and the rest of the Decepticons forcibly invade and take over the Senate.
Faux Affably Evil: Par for the course, Megatron is often soft-spoken in spite of his ambitious and wrathful demeanor.
Hypocrite:
- Gets offended when Orion and others associate him and the Ascenticon Movement with the terrorist Rise. He helped Shockwave take control of the Rise in order to sow discord and gain more support.
- Acts as if he is championing the reclusive Termagax's beliefs when, in reality, he wants her to remain uninvolved in his plans. When she finally catches up to him and calls him out on his actions, he mocks her for her inaction before attempting to blow her to bits.
- He's appalled to learn that the Autobots are scheming against him and his faction despite him secretly using a terrorist organization to try and force his own agenda. He has the gall to act this this was an utterly heinous act and Orion calls him out on this when Megatron snarls at him for it.
It's All About Me: As time goes on, it becomes increasingly obvious that for all his talk of doing things for Cybertron's benefit, it's really just to feed his megalomania, and his way of doing things, anyone else's opinions be damned. Even the Rise and the Ascenticons are just means of enforcing his will on everyone.
Made of Iron:
- He took direct hits from both a bomb and a sniper during an attack on an Ascenticon rally. They don't even faze him and immediately he tears through a building to try to get to his would-be assassin.
- While pummeling Shockwave, the scientist managed to use his arm cannon to blast a hole through his abdomen. Thanks to being overfueled at the time, Megatron barely flinches.
Malicious Misnaming: Refuses to accept Orion's change of name to Optimus Prime.
New Era Speech: Gives one when he takes over the Senate.
Megatron: Cybertronians! You will be free to realize your potential. Cybertron will be free to become all it can be. The Rise has submitted to the Decepticons. In time, there will be punishment for those who truly deserve it. This failed Senate is suspended. In time, there will be elections for you to choose rulers fit for a brighter future. Many Senators are under our guard for their protection. In time, there will be a negotiated agreement on how to proceed. In time, we will answer all your questions and all your needs. But first, there must be order. The incompetence of the Autobot rule has unleashed strife, fear, chaos. We will save you from that.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Gave an extreme one to Shockwave for causing the mess in the first place and to establish that there is to be no backstabbing.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: While his main platform is to allow Cybertron to have a grand and prosperous future, and to later maintain order when the Tether incident occurs, Termagax calls him out as being nothing more than a megalomaniacal zealot after she realizes the Decepticons have become a bigger threat to Cybertron's freedom than possibly even the Nominus Edict was.
Termagax: I created the Ascenticons to win the argument, not launch a revolution. In what mad world do you suppose this violence and destruction makes you better than the Autobots?
Megatron: Things are different now. These are not your Ascenticons, Termagax. They are Decepticons. And they are mine.
Termagax: I really didn't think I had it in me to care. Yet here I am, finding that I do. And I understand. How stupid of me not to have seen it long ago. It's not about the cause. It's about you. Self-elevation. Self-glorification. You mislearned every lesson I tried to teach. Look at you, standing there, with that cannon on your arm. What are you doing? Fighting another war? Cybertron had to choose a better future, you fool."
Pragmatic Villainy: As the Ascenticon movement gains momentum, Megatron struggles to control the violent risk-takers who find their home under his cause. Megatron values cunning and schemes in addition to brute force to get his way and he becomes increasingly frustrated at the Rise's sole reliance on the latter.
- Quake's violent rampage and the chaos that ensued was not something Megatron wanted. What should have been a quietly killed loose-end became such a public spectacle and liability to the movement that he's ultimately forced to accelerate his planned take-over.
- Downplayed with Sentinel Prime's death. Megatron would have preferred he be taken alive but with the situation becoming what it was he chose not to dwell too much on it. This comes back to bite him later when the fact that the First Senator (i.e. the elected head of government) was murdered by his subordinates not long after the coup was launched is used against his calls for unity under his leadership.
Rabble Rouser: His Ascenticon rallies often lead to the gathered crowd injuring others and causing property damage.
Slowly Slipping Into Evil: At first his only obvious issue was his refusal to discourage his rallies from getting violent. Then it's revealed that he's the private backer of the Rise, hoping that the extremist group causing act could help the Ascenticons achieve their goals. Once incidents involving the Rise starts getting out of hand, Megatron decides that force is the best solution, publicly turning the Ascenticons into a much more militant organization and pummeling Shockwave into submission to get the Rise firmly under his will.
Shut Up, Kirk!: Does this a lot.
- His rebuttal to Sentinel Prime's Kirk Summation in particular stands out:
  Sentinel Prime: Restraint can be the purest form of strength. And a small cost to bear, for the sake of peace. For the future. Such a small sacrifice. Is it really too much to ask for ourselves?
  Megatron: You call it a small sacrifice. I can think of none greater than to ask an entire society to be less what it can be. I can think of nothing more corrosive, more stultifying, more diminishing.
- As does his earlier response to Orion Pax's warning of the dangers of going the Well-Intentioned Extremist route:
  Orion: I do not know what ends you are pursuing, but the means will consume the ends. How a thing is done becomes the thing itself. You will become the means you employ, Megatron.
  Megatron: We must become what the times require of us.
Surrounded by Idiots: Has a strong opinion of this considering the mess Soundwave and Shockwave (specifically their subordinates) caused, especially Soundwave’s use of Quake for the murder.

Termagax

"Sometimes the price of progress is shattering the present."

Function: Engineer

Alt Mode: Cybetronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #8

"Your life is yours to shape. In doing so, you owe nothing to those who came before you. But you owe everything to those as yet unforged. Let no shaping of yours limit what they, in turn, might be and achieve."

A deep thinker and a believer in the right to self-determination, Termagax is considered by many to be one of Cyberton’s greatest minds. Recruited to oversee the rebuilding of Cybertron following the War of the Threefold Spark, Termagax eventually found that the Nominus Edict ran counter to her grand ambitions to replace the old status quo with something better. Attempting to reform the system from within, she formed the Ascenticon Movement, a populist faction influenced by her early writings. Ultimately, however, she failed to achieve the level of change she wanted and withdrew from public life.

Actually a Doombot: Termagax uses a remote-controlled drone body to confront the Decepticons in issue #26 - a justified precaution, as Megatron blows it to bits while she is raking him over the coals.
Broken Pedestal: To Megatron. He frequently talks her up at his rallies but privately believes that she lacked the force needed to make her vision for Cybertron a reality.
Can't Take Criticism: Or even the slightest contradiction, which is why she quit society altogether.
Everyone Has Standards: Stubborn and disillusioned she may be, she (remotely via a clone body) unflinchingly leans into Megatron and the Decepticons for perverting the values of the original Ascenticon movement, tyrannically forcing them onto the populace without even giving them a choice.
Termagax: So this is what it comes to. Force. Wreckage. Death. This is what you've made of my legacy? I know some of you are old. You listened to me then, and campaigned with me. In all that time, when did I ever say that the purpose of the Ascenticons was to break the government? We were to become the government, through consent, through conviction. You cannot enforce the kind of future I—we—imagined. I watch the Tether fall, the moon run loose, and I venture out to see what's happening, and this is what I find? Streets choked with debris, roamed by armed bullies? The Senate overthrown? The First Senator killed?
Evil Colonialist: Not evil, but she definitely doesn't see anything wrong with Cybertronian expansionism, even when it was at the cost of Cybertron's reputation.
Internal Reformist: She created the Ascenticon movement to try and undo the Nominus Edict and various other actions taken in the aftermath of the War Against the Threefold Spark that she considered immoral.
Locked Out of the Loop: Her decision to cut all ties from Cybertron and her movement means that she is unaware of current events. Megatron secretly enjoys this as he is free to do what he wish with the Ascenticon faction without her interference. When she does find out in issue #26, she is definitely not happy about how the movement she started pulled a hostile takeover of Cybertron and killed Sentinel Prime.
Mad Scientist: She spends her time in seclusion creating dangerous weapons and is shown to be experimenting on a voin. When Megatron asked what she was doing, she vaguely responded with "whatever she wants."
MacGuffin Guardian: Nominus decided to let Termagax to keep the enigma, on the condition, that she keeps it hidden till she wins the argument of the enigma being MORE helpful to cybertronian than harmful.
Meaningful Name: The name Termagax is derived from "termagant", an old English term for a false god... or a woman who is particularly headstrong and temperamental.
Our Founder: The creator of the original Ascenticon movement and their beliefs.
Rage Quit: At the end of the day, Termagax just got fed up with the Senate not listening to all her ideas and stormed out rather than not get her way. Wheeljack tried to point out that this sort of fiery, demanding behavior was the whole reason why the Senate wouldn’t listen to her, but Termagax didn’t care to hear it.
Reclusive Artist: In-Universe. She has receded from public life and the Ascenticon movement out of protest due to what she considers unfairness in Cybertron's government and morals. She currently spends her days living alone, building new inventions and weapons and almost never takes in any visitors.
Termagax: Unfortunately, the world seems to be insisting I pay it some attention.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She abandoned the Ascenticon movement and Cybertronian society after failing to achieve any of her political goals and now lives in seclusion in a private sanctuary in the wilderness of Cybertron.
We Used to Be Friends: With Wheeljack.

Soundwave

"I am the first obstacle, and you are not trusted."

Function: Communications

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Hovercraft

First Apperance: Transformers #2

Soundwave was originally the Director of Cybertronian Intelligence, before losing the position to Starscream. He eventually gravitated toward the Ascenticon movement, becoming a trusted confidant of Megatron and one of the few Ascenticon representatives in the Senate. As Megatron's most trusted lieutenant, Soundwave serves as Control Officer for the Ascenticon Guard and liaison between them and the more militant Rise.

Adaptational Villainy: In the previous comic continuity, he was a Noble Demon who taken advantage of by a corrupt senator. Here, he himself is a corrupt senator.
Co-Dragons: He shares this role with Shockwave to Megatron.
The Dragon:He’s Megatron's right-hand bot.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: Is this to Megatron as Senators.
Mission Control: Becomes this for the Ascenticon Guard after he becomes a fugitive who needs to stay off the grid.
Mythology Gag: His dialogue is much more stilted than other characters and his word balloons colored with blue with a static effect, likely to emulate the robotic way he speaks in the cartoons.
Noodle Incident: In the past he was a member of Cybertronian Intelligence, but conflicts with Starscream resulted in him getting kicked out. Starscream implies that his inability to judge others' true intentions might have been a factor when he tells Megatron of Bumblebee's true allegiance to Orion Pax. It's later discovered that he was kicked out of his position as Head of Cybertronian Intelligence because Sentinel Prime gave the position to Starscream to buy his silence concerning the Titansparks.
Properly Paranoid: He trusts no one outside the Ascenticons and anyone who wants to join the Ascenticon Guard needs his permission. And even then, he still lets in Bumblebee, who is secretly reporting to Orion Pax.
Tranquil Fury: Soundwave releases centuries of suppressed rage against Starscream by beating the crap out of him until he finally swears fealty to the Decepticons.
Megatron: Soundwave, Starscream remains attached to games and negotiation. Remind him again how things now work.

Starscream

"I'm not yet sure what kind of game you're playing, but it never hurts to back both competitors early on."

Function: Intelligence

Alt Mode: Tetrajet Suborbital Fighter

First Appearance: Transformers #10

"Megatron thinks the game's all but won because he's got a few secrets out of me. He thinks he's in control. Let's see how he does when the scales are rebalanced. Let's see if he's really got what it takes for this game."

The Head of Cybertronian Intelligence, after having wrested control of the position from Soundwave. Starscream keeps detailed files of every notable Cybertronian, and manipulates both sides of the conflict for his own personal benefit.

A Day in the Limelight: He's the main character in the Halloween Special.
Everyone Has Standards: Is willing to scheme, backstab, and double-deal in order to gain power, but draws the line at outright genocide, as Cryak learns.
Fantastic Racism: Like earlier depictions, holds organic lifeforms in low regard.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Neither his underlings or his colleagues particularly like him.
The Mole: He secretly gives Megatron information about Sentinel Prime and the Autobots, shamelessly admitting to backing both sides of the conflict early on.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Megatron eventually grows tired of bartering with Starscream and gives the petulant flyer An Offer You Can't Refuse. When Starscream still tries to cling to the old pecking order, Soundwave beats him up.
Playing Both Sides: While Cybertron becomes more and more factionalized and divided, he’s shown making sure he has fingers in everybody’s pies, such as ingratiating himself with the Ascenticons by blowing Bumblebee’s cover. This ends when the Decepticons take over the Senate.
Self-Made Orphan: "Orphan" is perhaps a strong word, but he winds up leaving his mentor Cryak's spark trapped in a stranded Voin ape, able to do nothing but scream.
Smug Snake: Loves to act condescending towards everyone he meets.
The Spymaster: Has numerous contacts throughout Cybertron and her colonies.
The Starscream: Finally settles into this role once neutrality is no longer an option for him.
Refraktor: Don't mind keeping you informed, but I don't want to get too far on Megatron's wrong side. He is winning.
Starscream: Is he indeed? Don't start thinking you're a player, Refraktor. Megatron—and you— don't even know all the rules of this game yet. You don't know all the pieces. I don't know what's coming, but I guarantee you there are surprises.
Too Clever by Half: When Megatron launches his attack on the Senate, Sentinel Prime is able to put two and two together and figure out that Starscream has sold him out. In his dying moments, Sentinel orders Orion Pax to kill Starscream for his betrayal.
Chromia: Every Senator on Cybertron’s either part of this or a prisoner. Starscream’s suspiciously hard to find.
Novastar: Someone needs to have a serious talk with our supposed head of intelligence.

Jhiaxus

"Time to get your angry face on."

Function: Scientist

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Jet

First Apperance:' Transformers #11

"We are your fellow Senators, Megatron. Not minions to be deployed at your whim."

An Ascenticon senator working alongside Megatron.

Adaptational Nice Guy: He’s much more personable than his previous incarnations.
The Confidant: Alongside Strika and Ratbat, he's one of Megatron's closer aides in his scheme to lead Cybertron.
Demoted to Dragon: As a senator, he's Megatron's equal and dislikes him ordering him and the other senators around like minions. But as the Ascenticons' methods become more and more destructive, he has to follow Megatron's orders to avoid potentially being discovered and arrested as a criminal.
Evil Genius: One of several scientists under Megatron. As Shockwave was something of a rogue element at the faction's start, Megatron relied on Jhiaxus.

Strika

"I am restoring Cybertron to sanity!"

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: Siege Tank

First Appearance: Transfomers #11

"A new horizon opens, and Megatron and the Decepticons have come to show you the way!"

One of the Four Great Generals of the War of the Threefold Spark, commanding a team of Armored Assault Specialists nicknamed "The Heavies". Dissatisfied with the reforms initiated in the aftermath of the war, Strika and most of her Heavies gravitated toward the Ascenticon movement, eventually becoming one of its five representatives on the Cybertronian Senate.

Badass Crew: Commands an elite, highly-trained artillery unit, which includes heavyweights like Apeface, Snaptrap, and Blitzwing.
Broken Pedestal: To the Autobots who served under her during the War of the Threefold Spark, who express some disappointment (and some level of fear) when she reveals her villainous true colors.
The Confidant: Assisting Megatron in his schemes to overthrow the Autobots.
The Dragon: She becomes this after the Decepticons overthrow the Senate in issue #23: Megatron runs the overall show, but Strika leads from the front lines when the Decepticons clash against the Autobots.
Even Evil Has Standards: She admits to Pyra that she lured her into a trap and wishes that it hadn't come to it as they were acting under the pretense of Parley. Pyra isn't too amused as while Strika says she wishes it were different, she still allowed the attack to happen. Though Strika herself simply leaves rather than join in and seems confident that Pyra will pull through fine.
Friendly Enemy: She still respects Pyra Magna enough to hold a reasonably civil conversation with her in issue #30.
Four-Star Badass: One of the "Great Generals" in the War of the Threefold Spark.
Token Evil Teammate: Of the Great Generals, Strika's fanaticism was most apparent. She is the only one of them to side with the Decepticons.
Villain Respect: She and Ultra Magnus were once comrades and while she thinks him on the wrong side of the war she states that his honor and dedication are undoubted.

Quake

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Tank

First Appearance: Transformers #3

A ground assault specialist who served with distinction in the War of Threefold Spark, Quake failed to readjust to peacetime life in the aftermath of the war - it was as though his only legitimate medium of self-expression had been taken away from him. In the following centuries, Quake becomes a psychotic thug with no interest in reintegrating into society. Recruited into the Ascenticon guard, his instability eventually gets him transferred into the Rise.

Ascended Extra: Though he's not a major character this is Quake's largest role in any continuity. He receives a lot more relevance and character focus compared to his normal role as a Red Shirt.
Ax-Crazy: Crushed a Voin witness even though it was already dead and beat Rubble to death with enough force to kill him multiple times over.
Blood Knight: Froid described killing as being the only thing Quake is good at.
Deliberate Injury Gambit: While trying to escape Security Forces, Quake gets attacked by the Voin Asserter. Since he’s still handcuffed, Quake baits the Asserter into slicing off his left hand at the wrist, allowing him to move his arms properly and fight back.
The Dreaded: Notorious for his brutality in the war against the Threefold Spark and addiction to violence. When Orion and his team see that Megatron has added Quake to his militia, they seriously wonder if Megatron’s lost his mind.
Off with His Head!: Bumblebee decapitates him at the end of issue 22.
Psycho Party Member: Subverted. The protagonists see him as a particularly violent hard to control monster amongst Megatron's more presentable Ascenticon Guard. While that's true in the context of the Ascenticon's public appearances, amongst The Rise, his behavior isn't out of place.
The Quiet One: Doesn't speak very often, and when he does, it's rarely anything more complex than "Bring It" or "Get outta my way".
Reassigned to Antarctica: Shockwave and Sixshot attempt this when Quake becomes more difficult to rein in. This ultimately results in him getting captured instead.
The Sociopath: Froid describes him as such.
Would Harm a Child: Brutally killed Rubble after he witnessed him silence a Voin who witnessed Brainstorm's murder.

Elita-1

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elita2019.png

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #1

"Change has come, and all anyone wants is for it to be orderly."

A critic of the Nominus Edict and its stymieing effect on Cybertronian society, Elita-1 joined the Ascenticons confident that the group could affect change through peaceful means. Late into Sentinel Prime's reign, Elita is promoted to Captain of the newly formed Ascenticon Guard. As the Ascenticon movement becomes more militant and begins to be implicated in more illegal activities, Elita becomes disillusioned and is ultimately dismissed from their ranks.

Broken Pedestal: Megatron, after she learns the Ascenticons and the Rise are connected.
Token Good Teammate: Of the first four members of the Ascenticon Guard, Elita is the only one who actually believes in the cause, rather than using her position as a justification for further violence.
Unwitting Pawn: She was made the figurehead leader of the Ascenticon Guard only because Megatron wanted a friendly face publicly leading the group, with her being the only member of the Guard who was Locked Out of the Loop of the faction's more immoral affairs. Once she begins to learn more of the faction's true agenda and the conflict with the Autobots grows more dangerous, he replaces her with the more dangerous and ruthless Skytread.

Shockwave

"We'll see whose actions carry more weight. We'll see."

Function: Scientist

Alt Mode: Flying Cannon

First Appearance: Transformers #10

"To kill you would be a phenomenal waste. And I'd hate for you to miss the storm approaching the horizon of the future: The Decepticon future."

A renegade scientist who sided with Exarchon during the War of the Threefold Spark. Exiled for his numerous war crimes, Shockwave was smuggled back to Cybertron by Megatron and placed in charge of the Rise. Intended to serve as an Agent Provocateur that would stoke preexisting societal tensions to legitimize the Ascenticons in the optics of the public, Shockwave instead uses his position to cause more chaos, guiding Cybertron irrevocably closer to war.

Adaptational Personality Change: Most versions of Shockwave are shown to be coldly logical and ruthlessly pragmatic when it comes to achieving his objective but as stated below, this incarnation seems more interested in chaos and destruction and is much more careless in the orders he gives to his troops which only causes more problems for the Rise and Ascenticons as a whole. He's also much more overtly emotive and short-tempered than most other incarnations.
Ax-Crazy: Nominus Prime banished him due to being dangerous and Megatron accuses him of having an obsession with causing chaos.
Apathy Killed the Cat: His careless decision to use violent and unstable Rise members for sensitive missions has resulted in the deaths of many Cybertronians, as well as his being beaten within an inch of his life by Megatron.
Co-Dragons: Used to be one with Skywarp for Exarchon. Now he shares this position with Soundwave to Megatron.
Demoted to Dragon: Megatron was originally willing to tolerate Shockwave's assertion that they were equals in his plan to topple the Autobots, but after the Rise caused too much chaos and death Megatron violently forced Shockwave to submit to his will.
The Dragon: To Megatron; while Soundwave is Megatron’s 2nd in command of the Ascenticons; Shockwave is secretly The Heavy when it comes to the Rise.
The Exile: Nominus Prime considered him dangerous and banished him from Cybertron. Megatron brought him back in secret to run the Rise.
Eye Scream: During Megatron's beating, he cracks Shockwave's eye with a right hook and then shatters it with a left uppercut.
For Science!: How Exarchon got him on side to begin with, offering Shockwave the chance to push science to its limits on anything or anyone he wanted.
Make an Example of Them: Megatron pummels him in front of his lieutenants to establish who's in charge.
Multi-Armed and Dangerous: After getting beaten up by Megatron and betrayed by the Insecticons, Shockwave gives himself a combat upgrade that gives him an extra pair of arms that end with energy cannons, matching his action figure from the Siege toyline.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Is beaten to within an inch of his life by Megatron for allowing the Rise's terrorist actions to get out of control.

Sixshot

"Time's up, Security. See you in the Void!"

Function: Space Explorer

Alt Modes: Armored Car, Laser Cannon, Mechanical Wolf, Suborbital Fighter

First Appearance: Transformers #9

A rare hexa-changer and "solo assault group." During Cybertron's Age of Expansion, Sixshot was tasked with exploring space in search of planets suitable for colonization, as well as keeping the peace on harsh frontier worlds. In the aftermath of the War of the Threefold Spark, the decreased emphasis on colonization left Sixshot without a true purpose. He gravitated toward the Ascenticon movement, eventually becoming the field commander and primary enforcer for the Rise.

Arch-Enemy: Though he’s earned the enmity of many in his lifetime, he harbors a serious grudge against Windblade for stabbing him in the transformation cog during their first fight.
Bad Boss: A power-tripping jerk towards the Rise goons under his command, slapping Flamewar around for failing to kill Cyclonus and nearly doing the same to Shadow Striker.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Schools Windblade and Chromia during their fight at the Memorial Crater. They only survive at all because Sixshot was just a distraction to buy time for Shadow Striker to rig the base to explode and destroy any evidence.
The Dragon: To Shockwave.
Evil Colonialist: Implied to be a dark side of his space exploration and peacekeeping missions, until the Nominus Edict pulled the plug on it.
Fallen Hero: Had a fairly heroic reputation as a space explorer during the Age of Expansion. It’s a far cry from he’s like now.
Implacable Man: Gets impaled by Windblade’s sword and it doesn’t even hurt him; he just grumbles in irritation and swats Windblade aside. Though he does later complain that it nicked his transformation cog and makes transforming to his car mode somewhat painful.
Kick the Dog: The first thing we see him do is viciously slap around Flamewar for disobeying his orders.

Insecticons

Bombshell, Kickback, Skrapnel

A trio of bots known as the Insecticons who were exiled to Mayalx. The Insecticons possessed the unique ability to eat metal and produce Energon with their taste for Cybertronians getting them kicked off the planet. In turn they joined the Rise.

Adaptation Name Change: Hasbro lost the trademark for Shrapnel's name and changed it to Skrapnel (formerly Sharpshot). Though the IDW comics can still use the name, they followed suit to synergize with the toy brand. That said, Bombshell's name was reacquired at some point and thus was kept (previous toys had changed his name to Hardshell).
Appropriated Appellation: According to Bombshell, the name "Insecticon" was created as an insult as if he and his brethren should be squashed like pests.
Extreme Omnivore: They can eat anything and produce an extra powerful form of energon as waste.
Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook: It's left ambiguous, but is implied that they might not have gained their taste for devouring other Cybertronians if they hadn't been exiled for fear that they'd start cannibalizing living Cybertronians.
The Leader: As in the previous IDW continuity, Bombshell is presented as the Insecticon leader rather than Shrapnel/Skrapnel.
Manipulative Bastard: Whether it's forced mind control via Cerebro-Shells or just plain old half truths and social pressure; Bombshell holds a dangerous sway over others.
Monstrous Cannibalism: During the War for the Threefold Spark they were tasked with battlefield clean-up, meaning they ate the corpses of dead soldiers to recycle them. This got them exiled as the administration feared they would eat living Cybertronians as well.
- They also do this to their own clones in the ending of the Escape mini-series, since they created the clones to go out and devour things so that they could be devoured in turn.
Riddle for the Ages: The scientists of Cybertron failed to figure out exactly what the Insecticons were or how they worked.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Bombshell claims this, saying that they banished to a remote colony after the war since they were too strong to be imprisoned and too useful to be killed.

Vigilem

"I exceed all things. This is my nature."

Function: Orbital Defense

Alt Mode: Dreadnought

First Appearance: Transformers #16

"I return whence I came. I carry the fire and fury home."

One of the oldest and most powerful Titans, from one of the most violent periods of Cybertron's Age of Expansion. In the aftermath of the Nominus Edict he went dormant, but resented the new regime's dismissal of his kind as relics of a bygone age. Awakened by the Ascenticon Cityspeaker Skystalker after Megatron decides to Summon Bigger Fish, Vigilem unleashes a devastating attack on Cybertron's Winged Moon before breaking free of their control to pursue his own agenda.

Adaptational Sympathy: In Till All Are One, Vigilem was a far nastier character, a ruthless acolyte of the Liege Maximo who attempted to steal Windblade's body. In the reboot, he's a grouchy Old Soldier who resents how the Cybertronian government forced him and his fellow Titans into stasis for the good of the universe.
Evil Counterpart: To Lodestar, the Autobot Titan.
Vigilem: Stasis. Such absence. Such silence. That is not our purpose, we giants, we titans.
Lodestar: Our purposes changed, Vigilem.
Vigilem: Our purpose? No. Not changed. We exist to excel. To exceed.
Ironic Echo: While he attacks Lodestar and the Winged Moon he bitterly recites Codexa's writings about how she believes the Titans, despite their accomplishments and sacrifices during the Age of Expansion, were dangerous beings who should remain asleep.
"Some say we are lesser for the Titans' absence, and for their sleep. But we should fear what terrible circumstance brings their waking. And what terrible circumstance might follow it."
Killed Off for Real: While he dominated his first fight with Lodestar, he is not so lucky in their second fight. Lodestar's upgraded weapons allow her to put up a better fight, but she becomes desperate enough to use an imploder (the same type of weapon used to kill the Titan Croaton during the War of the Threefold Spark) to kill him. She loses her arm, but the imploder leaves Vigilem's shattered corpse drifting into a nearby sun.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Chooses to help the Rise destroy the Winged Moon out of bitterness of modern Cybertron choosing to disregard the Titans actions during the Age of Expansion as a shameful part of their history.
Person of Mass Destruction: A giant Titan with countless armaments who has been fighting since time immemorial.

Mindwipe

Function: Psychological Warfare

Alt Mode: Bat

First Appearance: Transformers #19

"If you are attempting either threat or renegotiation, it will not work."

A member of the Rise with hypnotic abilities.

Bat Out of Hell: He's a ruthless member of the murderous Ascenticon organization with a bat alternate mode.
Faux Affably Evil: He speaks in calm and intellectual manor but he also hypnotizes Bumper into attacking Prowl just as a distraction.
Hypnotic Eyes: He's able to mind control other Cybertonians through eye contact.

Spinister

"You're a relic of a past era, Magnus. And the first casualty of the new order."

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Gunship

First Appearance: Transformers Galaxies #10

"A storm is coming to our world. All the old rules will be rendered obsolete."

A Cybertronian air warrior exiled in the aftermath of the War of the Threefold Spark, Spinister fled to the crime-ridden Decimus Sector. He resurfaces centuries later as the leader of a gang of splicers – vicious pirates who harvest the brain modules of dead Cybertronians and sell them on the black market.

Adaptational Villainy: Previous incarnations of Spinister have been punch clock villains or idiot savants. Here, he’s a sociopath who sells the bodies of dead Cybertronians for parts.
Adventurer Archaeologist: An evil variation, as he’s seeking Cybertonian artifacts that he can sell for profit.
Break Them by Talking: Attempts this on Ultra Magnus:
“Look at you, the great soldier/hero from the last war. Hanging onto the threads of respectability, living in a haze of selective nostalgia. You’ve been on deep-space survey missions for a long time. The one warrior on a ship full of weakling scientists. Do you have any idea of what's happening back home? Any idea what's about to occur? The Cybertron you cradle in your memories like a delicate crystal is long gone. You're in love with the ghost of a dead world.”
The Heavy: He’s the main villain in the Storm Horizon arc of Galaxies, but it’s implied that he’s working for Shockwave.
Leonine Contract: Forces one on Ultra Magnus: Find Alpha Trion, or his crew dies.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Finds himself on the receiving end of one once Ultra Magnus turns the tables on him.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Since Spinister was small potatoes compared to the likes of Shockwave and Devastator, he was largely forgotten about after his exile. But he proves quite deadly to the crew of the Fist of Iacon, who only have one real soldier among them.
Sinister Scythe: He wields one; it appears to be made of his rotors.
Shut Up, Kirk!: To Ultra Magnus:
Ultra Magnus: There's nothing obsolete about maintaining faith in our system. I'm not a naïve recruit, blinded by jingoistic idealism. I've protected Cybertron with every ounce of my being. Every spark has value to me. Even the lowest, scum-laden 'bots deserve a chance. But once you squander that chance, violate the trust of our social compact... the anchor of redemption falls around your shoulders. And it is a mighty weight.
Spinister: Great speech. But it’s time to make an example of you and your pathetic research team.

Slipstream

Function: Aerial Reconnaisance

Alt Modes: Tetrajet Suborbital Fighter

First Appearance: Transformers #15

“The stakes could not be higher. There is zero room for error.”

A Seeker class air warrior from Kaon, Slipstream is one of the top lieutenants in the Rise, serving as one of its two principal field commanders alongside Sixshot. She leads a commando team that specializes in sabotage, reconnaissance, and hit and run attacks.

Adaptational Badass: She's primarily based on her Cyberverse incarnation who struggled with a baseline competency. Here she's one of the higher-ups in the Decepticons and a fairly skilled agent.
All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Takes over the Winged Moon in ‘’War World.”
Deadpan Snarker: After she and Sixshot witness Megatron beat the living daylights out of Shockwave, he asks the duo if anyone has any questions concerning the chain of command. She simply gives a thumbs up and notes that everything seemed pretty clear to her.
Evil Counterpart: To Windblade, as a flyer specializing in stealth and aerial reconnaissance. Windblade used her skills to keep the peace as a member of Cybertronian Security, while Slipstream serves as a terrorist and saboteur.
Expy: Heavily based on her Cyberverse incarnation.
Mook Lieutenant: Co-Dragons with Sixshot in the Rise. She also the captain of a Quirky Miniboss Squad; “Team Stream.”
Unrelated in the Adaptation: Not a clone of Starscream, as it goes for most Slipstream incarnations not from Transformers: Animated.

Flamewar

Function: Saboteur

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Motorycle

First Appearance: Transformers #7

"Team Stream Mark Two is here, losers! Bigger, badder, and stealing your moon!"

A junior member of the Rise who is eager to prove herself. Frequently paired with Shadow Striker, Flamewar was initially deployed as a rear-guard before she became a member of “Team Stream”, a cadre of dysfunctional Ascenticon warriors employed primarily as saboteurs.

Adaptational Wimp: The Timelines and Wings Universe incarnations of Flamewar were tough, ruthless evil geniuses. Here, she is a comic-relief Perky Female Minion who isn’t much of a threat without help. It’s telling that the only individual opponent she comes up even with is Sideswipe, who is as brash and inexperienced as she is.
Atrocious Alias: Calls her quirky miniboss squad “Team Stream.”
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Implied by a line from Shadow Striker:
Shadow Striker: Some other shiny thought’ll distract her eventually. That’s the only way it stops.
Butt-Monkey: Flamewar spends most of her time on-panel making mistakes and getting smacked around for it by her superiors.
Chest Blaster: Has one that fires a beam of thermal energy.
Distaff Counterpart: Flamewar’s overall personality is something of a mixture of the cartoon versions of Rumble and Starscream, but her tendency to play pranks on her squadmates - and only being a credible opponent when a more experienced, capable warrior is supervising her actions, are characteristics classically associated with Skywarp.
Evil Counterpart: To Sideswipe: Both are young, inexperienced, and eager to prove themselves, which makes them prone to impulsivity.
Leeroy Jenkins: Flamewar is a little too eager to prove herself to the rest of the Rise, to the point of regularly starting fights without orders. It does nothing but make her allies mock and belittle her even more.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Though normally not much of a threat without help, the attack on the Titan Net has her gleefully gunning down red shirts.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: They turn into headlights in vehicle mode.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Shadow Striker’s blue.

Shadow Striker

Function: Sabotuer

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Sportscar

First Appearance: Transformers #8

“We’re supposed to be acting like we know what we’re doing now.”

A tough and competent saboteur for the Rise, Shadow Striker is frequently partnered with Flamewar. The two of them eventually join Slipstream’s commando team of similarly dysfunctional warriors.

Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: A small one but when Slipstream orders a retreat from Exarchon, she's the only one who notices Flamewar wasn't among them.
Berserk Button: Do not enter her room.
Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Assigned to keep the impulsive Flamewar in check. She has gotten to the point where she either doesn’t mind Flamewar’s antics, or simply doesn’t care enough to object to them.
Expy: Heavily based on her Cyberverse incarnation.
Eyepatch of Power: The targeting lens on her left photoreceptor resembles the stock supervillain cyborg’s eye.
Gamer Chick: When she’s not on the field, she enjoys playing ‘’Dead-Dark Drone” with Frenzy.
Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Fills this role for Flamewar, and to a lesser degree, Hyperdrive.
Servile Snarker: After Sixshot slaps around Flamewar for disobeying his orders, Shadow Striker makes it clear to him that she would not be pushed around in a similar manner.

Others

Bumblebee

"Change isn't just in our nature, it's what we're made of."

Function: Scout

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Hovercar

First Appearance: Transformers #1

"I stay until I've cleared my debts and made anyone else that needs to pay theirs. Because if I don't, I will break. I will break."

One of the last Cybertronians to be forged during the reign of Nominus Prime, Bumblebee served as a reconnaisance scout for Cyberonian Security Operations. After an unspecified failure, Bumblebee was discharged from Security and became a search and rescue specialist. It was not long after that he was chosen to adopt Rubble, a newly minted protoform, as his ward. Owing a previous debt to Orion Pax, Bumblebee agrees to infiltrate Ascenticon guard... and does not like what he finds.

Adaptational Personality Change: Most incarnations of Bumblebee depict him as a young rookie. Here, he's an experienced fighter and considered mature enough to mentor a newly-forged Cybertronian.
Loved by All: He's evidently quite popular, if Cliffjumper's experiences are anything to go by. The natives of the planet Probat even worship him.
The Mentor: Chosen to take Rubble under his wing.
My Greatest Failure: Rubble. Agreeing to become Orion Pax's mole resulted in him not being there when Rubble got off his work shift with Wheeljack, meaning the young Cybertronian had to walk home alone. The last thing Bumblebee ever said to him was to apologize for not being able to keep his promise and meet up with him.
Neutral No Longer: He originally didn't belong to any political faction, believing they weren't worth the trouble. However, he decides to act as Orion’s mole out of previous debt to him, implied to be connected to his dismissal from Security Operations.
" I don't want a crazy world. I want the world I thought we had: Safe."
Parents as People: Isn't able to accompany Rubble everywhere he goes and he isn't there to protect him from Quake.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Wiped the floor with Skytread and Refraktor after they taunted him over Rubble's death.
The Protagonist: The closest we have to one for most of the stories. He helps viewpoint character Rubble, and later tries to avenge his murder which drives the plot.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Megatron, sensing that Bumblebee is becoming trouble, attempts to have him killed, believing that he would better serve the Ascenticons by being the Guard's first "tragic" loss.

Rubble

"What a world to be alive in."

Function: Protoform

Alt Mode: Undeclared

First Appearance: Transformers #1

"My mentor has shown me wonders and marvels beyond imagining. There's a question that would occur to anyone forged into such an amazing world, and such a life. Can I lose this?"

A newly forged Cybertronian put in Bumblebee's care.

Audience Surrogate: Bumblebee regularly explains to him how aspects of Cybertronian society works.
Book Ends: Issue #2 starts with his thoughts about how Bumblebee told him about that Cybertronians are hard to kill, concluding he's wrong after seeing Brainstorm's corpse. They're also his last thoughts just as he dies.
"Not all of Cybertron is entirely safe. There is violence out in the void and on colony planets. But not on Cybertron. Not now."
"There is violence out in the void and on colony planets. But not on Cybertron. Not now. It does not happen here, he told me. My mentor does not know everything. Bumblebee can be wrong."
Decoy Protagonist: Introduced as a new main character but is ultimately more of a viewpoint character to show the other more important leads and the world they live in. Rubble is killed in issue #5.
Killed Off for Real: Brutally murdered by Quake after he witnesses him kill a Voin who potentially witnessed Brainstorm's murder.
Meaningful Name: Guess what happens to him?
Robot Kid: Only a little more than 41 days old at the time of his murder.
Spared by the Adaptation: My Little Pony/Transformers: The Magic of Cybertron has him appear alive and well.
Tagalong Kid: Gets embroiled the mystery of Brainstorm's murder as his friends bring him along for the first part of the investigation.

Cyclonus

"You want a fight? You GET A FIGHT!"

Function: Warrior/Drifter

Alt Mode: Suborbital Fighter

First Appearance: Transformers #3

A veteran of the war against the Threefold Spark. Haunted by the death of his squadmates who fell in battle, and disillusioned with the postwar reconstruction of Nominus Prime's reign, Cyclonus failed to readjust to peacetime life and eventually left Cybertronian civilization behind entirely. Wandering the badlands beyond Iacon as a reclusive nomad, he is largely neutral in the current conflict.

Adaptational Heroism: Based more off his anti-heroic incarnation from the previous IDW comics rather than his earlier villainous interpretations.
Berserk Button: He has more than a few:
- Desecrating monuments to those who were killed in the War of the Threefold Spark.
  Cyclonus: I know every name that was on that memorial. Everyone who fell in the last battle. Do you?
  Sixshot: Now, Cyclonus...
  Cyclonus: Did you memorize them before you destroyed it? Or did you just decide Cybertron didn't need to remember?
- He hates Pyra Magna, as his lover, Paragon, was one of the casualties in her unauthorized pursuit of Turmoil.
  Froid: Why the conversation with fallen friends, yet none with one who was so much more than a friend? Paragon died...
  Cyclonus: He did not DIE, Froid! He was KILLED! He should NOT have been killed. He did not NEED to be killed. But Pyra Magna did it anyway.
Body Horror: The appearance of Cyclonus' ghostly companions give pretty strong indicators on how they died, and it ain't pretty: Highfire was disintegrated. Gridlock was shot in the head. Grudge was melted by a fire-based attack. Provoke was riddled by blaster fire, though her body is otherwise intact.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's ambiguous whether Cyclonus is actually seeing the ghosts of his dead comrades, or just hallucinating due to Sanity Slippage.
The Mentally Disturbed: Regularly sees and speaks to illusions of his deceased friends from the war.
The Mourning After: Implied to feel this way toward Paragon:
Cyclonus: Paragon, I've missed you.
Paragon: Yet you wouldn't talk to me.
Cyclonus: No. Your presence was always the greatest... comfort. Being reminded of its absence... too much.
Paragon: We loved each other. That's what love is, in the end. Comfort. The sheltering wing.
The Hermit: Lives alone in the wildernesses of Cybertron and doesn't really like to talk to others.
Off the Grid: He destroyed his communicators to ensure that no Cybertronian could contact him. The Autobots are only able to track his movements because he is a creature of habit.
Survivor Guilt: The unit he served in during the War of the Threefold Spark was effectively wiped out, with him as the only survivor.
Paragon: It's always been you, Cyc. Trying to understand. It's about everyone who died. Everyone who didn't care as much as you. And about you not dying.
Cyclonus: Maybe it stops if I get Pyra Magna.
Paragon: I don't know and neither do you. Certainly does if she gets you, of course.

Froid

Function: Counselor

Alt Mode: Airspeeder

First Appearance: Transformers #3

"We are wilful, protean, assertive, creative, troublesome beings. Restraint and constraint were never going to work forever."

A psychiatrist who works with veterans.

Adaptational Heroism: In the original IDW continuity he was a Psycho Psychologist who would steal Rung's accomplishments but here he seems to care for his patients (and tries to warn Orion about Quake). However, he was forbidden from one particular patient so there may be more to it. Gets played with overall later. In private, he's still a snide little asshole, he's just better at hiding it this time around. However, he's still nowhere near as bad as the original continuity, since he's not enabling a psychotic Serial Killer For Science!. As for his patient he was forbidden from seeing, that was Pyra Magna, who Sentinel forbade Froid from continuing to see due to believing Froid's sympathies for her was clouding his objectivity.
My Greatest Failure: He has three: Cyclonus, Quake, and Pyra Magna.

The Constructicons

Scrapper, Long Haul, Mixmaster, Scavenger, Scrapper and Hook.

A team formed from six of Cybertron’s greatest engineering prodigies: Scrapper (Architect), Hook (Craftsman), Bonecrusher (Demolitions), Mixmaster (Chemist), Scavenger (Excavator), and Long Haul (Freight Transportation). Recruited to assist in the restoration of Iacon in the aftermath of the War of the Threefold Spark, they found a kindred spirit in Termagax, who sought not to merely rebuild Iacon, but to replace it with something better. While excavating for raw materials in the city’s Rivets Field district, the Constructicons inadvertently unearthed the Enigma of Combination – an ancient artifact capable of merging multiple Cybertronians into a single entity. This greatly disturbed Nominus Prime, who recalled the destructive rampage of the previous Gestalt and decided not to take any chances. He transferred the Constructicons to the remote colony of Mayalx, where they were assigned to menial tasks beneath their talent, and deliberately under-fueled so they could not merge into their Gestalt form. In the centuries that followed, the Constructicons came to deeply resent the world that abandoned them, and allied with the Rise to take revenge.

The Ace: They were the greatest construction team on Cybertron. The parts of Iacon they worked on were rebuilt faster and with finer detail than any other team rebuilding the city.
Blood Knight: Bonecrusher enjoys fighting and takes pleasure in mocking the less combative Scavenger and Long Haul.
The Brute: Though Long Haul is the bulkiest it's ultimately Bonecrusher who fills in this role on the team. He's the muscle, the demolitions expert and the one most willing to brute force his way through problems. He's even used to try and whip Long Haul and Scavenger into shape. Of the six he's the only one who doesn't care if their minds are lost to Devastator's consciousness as he enjoys the feelings of rage and destruction that come with him.
Combining Mecha: Together they form Devastator.
Dude, Where's My Respect?: They're more than a little bitter over the fact that Nominus Prime effective banished them from Cybertron despite them rebuilding Iacon.
The Heart: Of all the Constructicons, Long Haul is the only one who doesn't show any anticipation over destroying Mayalx. When it's over, he laments that others were right for believing the Constructicons to be too dangerous for Cybertron, and that he liked it on Mayalx.
Merging Mistake: They have to be in perfect mental sync when they combine or else they risk falling apart or going on a rampage.
Misplaced Retribution: The Constructicons combine and destroy Mayalx as payback for Nominus Prime banishing them, committing genocide against a colony of Cybertronians who did nothing to them.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: They choose to help the Insecticons and destroy Mayalx due to being betrayed and abandoned by Nominus Prime and Cybertron.
No-Sell: Downplayed. Exarchon attempts to take Devastator's body for his own, an action that kills the original body's host and is done almost effortlessly. As Devastator has six sparks inside of him, the Constructicons successfully fight Exarchon off by holding together as Exarchon can only limit himself to three bodies. They succeed but the stress from doing so decouples them and leaves them all dazed.
Restraining Bolt: They are only given just enough energon to function and they are given less than that if they don't meet their energon harvesting quotas, meaning that they don't have the energy to combine. Hook secretly created an invention that allows them to create energon from recycled waste, allowing them to function at full capacity.
Teach Him Anger: Scrapper has the Constructicons regularly battle one another to increase their aggressiveness.

Devastator

"Witness the liberation… of Devastator."

"I have been in darkness too long. Now I emerge into the light. You will feel my freedom. Taste my vengeance."

When the Constructicons discovered the Enigma of Combination, they found that whenever they combined into their Gestalt form, a seventh personality, comprised of their baser impulses, emerged and attempted to assert its dominance. At first, this dark side was kept in check – the team’s shared desire to rebuild Iacon enabled them to harness its anger and draw strength from it. But after centuries in exile, this anger could not be controlled. Calling this dark personality Devastator, the Constructicons combine into this form not out of a shared urge to create, but to destroy.

Adaptational Intelligence: In previous continuities, he had a rudimentary AI that was limited to actions all six components agreed on. This meant that, for all the hitting power he brought to the table, he was ultimately an idiot with slow reaction time. While he's not exactly a genius here, he's a separate personality that dominates his individual components (similar to that other green giant and the long-suffering doctor he shares a body with), removing this mental weakness.
Evil Sounds Deep: Implied, he is given black speech bubbles.
Improvised Weapon: Given his size, he is able to use an anti-aircraft cannon as a rifle.
Ironic Echo: After destroying everything on Mayalx, Devastator comes across a statue of Nominus Prime. In a final act of spite, he quotes Nominus' Medal of Dishonor speech as he blasts the statue to smithereens.
"Nominus Prime, accept this token of gratitude. For your hard work and sacrifice."
Leave No Survivors: Before he attacks Mayalx, he's asked to leave some survivors if possible. He doesn't.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He goes on one through Mayalx, leaving NO survivors.
Superpowered Evil Side: He's the negative emotions of each individual Constructicon, coalesced into a single personality.
Then Let Me Be Evil: The Constructicons initially feared the consequences of letting him out. But after the raw deal they get from Nominus Prime, they willingly embrace the darkness.
Hook: Losing control is scary, but I'm comfortable with letting him go. I've got a lot of rage to fuel the big guy.
Unstoppable Rage
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Possibly one of the strongest Transformers in existence, but he's also a violent psychopath fueled by murderous rage.

Geomotus

Function: Surveyor

Alt Mode: Lunar Rover

First Apperance: Transformers #3

A renowned Cybetronian geologist.

Advertised Extra: He was one of the comic's most advertised new characters but he plays only a minor role in helping solve Brainstorm's murder.
Hollywood Autism: Averted. He's portrayed as being on the autistic spectrum in a very neuanced and respectful manner.
Non-Action Guy: Dislikes being dragged away from his geology work to help Cybertron's Security Operations.
No Social Skills: Struggles with interacting with others and hates having to spend time with the abrasive Prowl.
Security Blanket: His shapes, small blocks that he always keeps on hand to give himself something comfortable to focus on in difficult situations, particularly enclosed spaces.

Voin

A complex aquatic race that migrated to Iacon's Xeno-Quarter.

Blue-and-Orange Morality: They're noted to have "perplexing and extraordinary" ethical models that makes diplomacy difficult.
Elite Mook: A Voin Asserter, a voin encased in an armored bubble that controls two armed, giant gorilla like creatures.
He Knows Too Much: One of the Voin had witness Brainstorm's murder and was hunted down and killed by Quake for it. We later learn that the Voin in question had already traded the information to another one of his race.
Mobile Fishbowl: They travel on land in sealed, floating bubbles of water that are attached to their slaved organics. The Voin die instantly if the bubble is breached.
Slave Race: The Voin breed a race of mindless ape like creatures that they control.
Starfish Aliens: They're squid-like creatures from an aquatic world.

Gauge

Function: Architectural Engineer

Alt Mode: Half-Track Excavation Vehicle

First Appearance: Tranformers #4

"I make my own decisions, now. I choose who I'm going to be. Sure, there may be some beauty in repetition. But I think the real beauty... is in the unknown."

A newly forged Cybertronian.

Replacement Goldfish: Her forging was done in clear response to Brainstorm's murder, causing her to have the negative reputation of only being born because he was killed.
Wise Beyond Their Years: Only a few weeks old and is already skilled in design.

Heretech

Function: Cleric

Alt Mode: Drill Tank

First Appearance: Transformers #10

“Primus speaks through me, and I speak for Primus. And Primus declares the Reversionists are meant for greatness.”

Leader of the Reversionist faction.

Arc Villain: Of the Gauging the Truth arc of Transformers Galaxies.
Ascended Extra: Heretech's debut in the original IDW comics was unremarkable. He only had a handful of panels and was Killed Offscreen. Heretech plays a much larger role in the new continuity, having much more character and role in the plot.
Drill Tank: His altmode.
The Fundamentalist: A devout Reversionist who posits himself as divine and above the petty sinful rabble of the non-believers and even his own followers.
Hate Sink: In Galaxies, he becomes a snarling, narcissistic cult leader with no positive personality traits.
High Priest: A major religious leader and a high ranking member of the Senate.
The Pawn: Averted. Sentinel Prime attempts to get him to lie to Megatron in his scheme to denounce the Ascenticons, but Heretech chooses to tell Megatron everything Sentinel is planning on doing.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Due to the escalating tensions between the Autobots and Ascenticons and the acts of death and destruction, Heretech and many other Reversionists choose to leave Cybertron and start anew elsewhere, believing Cybertronian society has declined beyond saving. Subverted when he tries to cause an ecological disaster on Cybertron.
Heretech: This planet, and this civilization... they are failing, sinking ever further from the light of our origins.
Megatron: I did not know you were a declinist, Heretech.
Heretech: I find evidence of that decline ever more persuasive. As a culture. As spiritual beings.
Sinister Minister: Plenary Heretech is the high priest of the Reversionists and while initially presenting himself as a cautious and wise leader, the audience learns more of his fanaticism and controlling behavior in Galaxies. The Reversionists are a Cult of Personality revering him as the will of Primus itself and he can be quite violent when that will is so much as questioned.
Took a Level in Jerkass: When he was first introduced, he was depicted as a reasonable and respected senator and religious leader who decided to peacefully leave Cybertron with his followers as it began to fall into conflict. When he appears in Galaxies, he suddenly becomes a radical cult leader who believes himself to be the chosen of Primus, abuses his followers and is so obsessed with converting all of Cybertron to that he's willing to effectively destroy the planet he supposedly worships in order to force them to do so.

Codexa

Function: Historian

First Appearance: Transfomers #3

Former mentor to Orion Pax.

A Form You Are Comfortable With: The Matrix assumes her form to communicate with Orion.
Cloud Cuckoolander: Her "immersant" state has left her barely conscious of her surroundings. When Orion comes to try and talk to her, she thinks it's Cybertron talking to her.
Distaff Counterpart: To Alpha Trion in being Orion Pax's mentor.
The Mentor: To Orion Pax.
We Will Have Euthanasia in the Future: She isn't dead but has gone "immersant," allowing her body and mind to be merged to Cybertron itself.

Exarchon

First Appearance: Transformers #15

"I know of you. An enemy, but one who might be of use."

A once respected figure from Cybertron's Age of Expansion, Exarchon sought to explore the Uncharted Territories beyond the fringes of Cybertron's then vast Galactic Empire. Travelling farther beyond known space than any Cybertronian before him, Exarchon fell under a corrupting influence and returned to Cybertronian space to declare war on his kind. Amassing an army harnessing exotic alien technologies and swarms of clone soldiers, the struggle to stop him became known as the War of the Threefold Spark.

Armchair Military: Megatron reflects that Exarchon likely thought that the battle they met at was over as otherwise he never would have risked himself on the field.
Death of Personality: Anyone who's body Exarchon takes is effectively dead and completely overwritten by him.
Fallen Hero: Apparently Cybertron trusted him once.
Grand Theft Me:
- He's a body snatcher that inhabits three Cybertronian bodies at once and destroys their minds in the process as the Bad Future Jumpstream ends up in has Exarchon ruling over a ruined Cybertron in the bodies of Megatron, Onslaught and Shockwave.
- Exarchon turns out to have survived the war by taking over the body of Cyclonus's friend Provoke; after being dug up, he promptly starts possessing additional bodies such as Ruckus, Flatline, and Deathsaurus.
Greater-Scope Villain: Megatron remarks that events didn't happen to or around Exarchon, he was the event that shaped modern Cybertron.
Hive Mind: He could control at least three different bodies at once.
It's All About Me: His ultimate goal is to be the only Cybertronian left, by eating the Allspark itself.
Meaningful Name: Specifically, a meaningful Portmanteau:
- An exarch was a military governor within the Byzantine Empire, or alternately, a senior clergy within the Eastern Orthodox Church.
- Archon is the Greek word for "ruler," and referred to autocratic rulers in general.
- His title "The Threefold Spark" might have something to do with how in all his appearances, he shows up using three different bodies acting together.
Never Found the Body: No one on Cybertron knows what happened to him after the war, but it's eventually revealed that he's not dead.
Noodle Incident: Exarchon found something or someone in space that corrupted him into a mad warmonger with dangerous technologies. He claims to have encountered beings "beyond the quintessence", which Word of God confirms meant the Quintessons were responsible.
Omnicidal Maniac: He openly states that his goal is nothing short of the complete destruction of Cybertron and the Cybertronian race.
Parasitic Immortality: Exarchon earned the "Threefold Spark" sobriquet because whatever mysterious "benefactors" drove him insane and unleashed him on Cybertron also granted him the ability to divide his Spark into three. This allowed him to control three bodies simultaneously, generally by infecting a Cybertronian and snuffing out their own Spark to replace it with his. A Bad Future shows him inhabiting the bodies of Megatron, Shockwave, and Onslaught, and through the story he takes over characters like Ruckus, Flatline, and Deathsaurus, taking over and abandoning bodies as he sees fit. His ultimate goal is discovered to be drilling to the center of Cybertron to infect the Allspark, the source of all Sparks, so he will achieve Complete Immortality. It's also shown to be his greatest weakness: he has an instinctive need to control three bodies at all times, and the combined Autobot-Decepticon army take advantage of this to trap and destroy two-thirds of his Spark (and an Autobot assault team barely manage to destroy his final body before he locates the Allspark).
Predecessor Villain: He was a warlord who threatened Cybertron in the past and echoes of his reign of terror helped forge the Decepticons. His sudden reappearence in modern times really throws a wrench into Megatron's plans.
Reforged into a Minion: Found by unknown aliens and painfully reforged into a monster, then sent back at them. Orion speculates he was probably turned into what he is as a response to Cybertron's expansionism.
Sorting Algorithm of Evil: For all their flaws, Megatron, Deathsaurus, Heretech, Straxxus, and the other Arc Villains genuinely want to help Cybertron and its citizens on some level. Exarchon does not-under his rule, Cybertron is a post-apocalyptic Corpse Land where the planet's been drained of fuel and most of its population has been sold into slavery.

Deathsaurus

Function: Diplomat

Alt Mode: Dragon

First Appearance: Transformers Galaxies #5

"Wasting my time is a disaster. Lying to me, though? Thinking me your equal—no, your inferior? That's not a disaster. IT'S A CATASTROPHE!"

A Cybertonian ambassador sent to collect Energon from the planet Probat.

"Ass" in Ambassador: He feigns politeness but he isn't very fond of the inhabitants of the planet he was sent to and he brought along Cliffjumper since his resemblance to Bumblebee will distract the natives long enough for him to kill their leader and steal their emergency energon stockpile.
Adaptational Jerkass: While Deathsaurus's morality has varied across the different continuities, this incarnation really plays him up as a contemptuous asshole. Even before he's revealed to be a villain, Deathsaurus was condescending, short-tempered, and viewed basic acts like holding an elevator door open as a drain on his patience.
Adaptational Villainy: In the previous IDW continuity he was an Affably Evil Father to His Men. Here he's an utterly ruthless and greedy plunderer who'll give you An Offer You Can't Refuse. However, one thing they both share is a disdain for organic life. Zig-zagged trope in that the Deathsaurus from the Transformers Victory anime wasn't particularly kind to his underlings, while his manga incarnation was fighting for his and the other Decepticons' families and was a good father to his adopted son, Solon.
Breath Weapon: His dragon mode has fire breath though using it uses up his energy supply.
Demonic Possession: His body ends up getting possessed by Exarchon, who immediately appreciates its size and power.
Dirty Coward: He was quick to manhandle Cliffjumper when it seemed like the smaller bot wouldn't defend himself but once Cliffjumper gets a full charge and starts putting up a fight, Deathsaurus hastily tries to reason with him. He now repeatedly kills a virtual Cliffjumper because he's too cowardly to go after the real thing.
Evil Sounds Deep: Implied. When he changes into his dragon mode his speech bubbles change from normal to black with frayed edges.
Extra Eyes: His humanoid mode has four eyes.
Faux Affably Evil: He acts civil towards Natalus at first but quickly murders him once he confronts him over the hidden energon, shortly after that when he learns from Cliffjumper where he can get more energon he compliments him and says he can join in but also attacks and threatens him when Cliffjumper refuses.
Fantastic Racism: Deathsaurus hates organics and one of his biggest grievances with Natalus is apparently that he viewed him as an equal and once he learns that he can get energon crystals by burning the Probats home spires, he's all to happy to do so.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Cliffjumper rams into him in midair and skewers him on the giant energon crystal he made, though this renders him comatose rather than kills him.
Lotus-Eater Machine: A self-inflicted example. He disappeared from Cybertronian society because he ended up cutting a deal with Swindle and now spends all his time in a virtual reality pod killing Cliffjumper over and over again.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Both his robot and beast mode have bright red eyes and he is cold-hearted murderer.

Cliffjumper

"I'm never getting away from this, am I?"

Function: Maintenance Technician

Alt Mode: Cybertonian Hovercar

First Appearance: Transformers Galaxies #5

"I sincerely apologize for any taboos I've violated."

The "brother" of Bumblebee - Cliffjumper's transtector was accidentally imbued with a Spark from the residual energies of the forging that created Bumblebee. Developing a sense of self-deprecation regarding his accidental status, Cliffjumper spends several centuries leading a low key existence as a sanitation worker before a unique set of circumstances turn him into an Unlikely Hero.

Adaptational Personality Change: Most versions of Cliffjumper depict him as some flavor of reckless or aggressive Blood Knight but this incarnation is much more meek and non-confrontational. You could even say that his attitude is Bumblebee-esque.
Everyone Has Standards: He is horrified by the sight of Deathsaurus burning Natalus to death and his intention to do the same to the rest of the planet.
Identical Stranger: He shares the exact same body as Bumblebee and the only way to tell them apart is his red color scheme. As a result he is frequently mistaken for the yellow bot and this irritates him greatly. Later it's shown that he was accidentally forged at the same time as Bumblebee which likely explains why they have the same bodies.
Pintsized Powerhouse: When he gets a full charge from an energon crystal he's able to swiftly defeat the much larger Deathsaurus.
Red Is Heroic: He has a red and grey color palate and while he's not an Autobot, he is still a decent bot who doesn't agree with greed motivated genocide.
The Unfavorite: From the day of his forging, he's played second fiddle to Bumblebee.
Unwitting Pawn: Deathsaurus only brought him along so that his resemblance to Bumblebee will distract the Probats so he can take their hidden energon.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When he learns to source of the Probat's energon is burning their waste, he ends up bringing it to Deathsaurus' attention and this convinces him to burn the whole planet to get more.

Dai Atlas

“I sought a place where violence ceases. A place of unity, not strife. At first, I thought I was finding it. But it is changing.”

Function: Peacekeeper

Alt Mode: Spaceship

First Appearance: Transformers: Escape #1

"The span of our individual sparks... it's not all we are. I can't see it clearly any more, but I truly think there's a unity that precedes it, and follows it. Even my enemies... they are me. If I use violence against them, I use it against all of us."

Dai Atlas served in the War of the Threefold Spark as one of Cybertron’s Four Great Generals. In the aftermath of that War, he oversaw the evacuation of A’ovan refugees to Cybertron when their homeworld was invaded by the warlike Thraal. Emotionally scarred by centuries of conflict and haunted by his failure to stop the Thraal’s genocidal purge, Dai Atlas renounced violence and chose to become Immersant. But the Autobot-Decepticon conflict rouses him from his slumber…

Bat Signal: Dai Atlas gave the A’ovans a beacon that could be used to call him in times of distress. It’s powerful enough to bring him Back from the Dead.
“The new turmoil was already making dissolution difficult. Then I heard a call from old friends.”
Came Back Wrong: A more benign example than most. When he comes back online to answer the A'voan beacon it seems like most of him was left behind after being immersant for so long.
The Dreaded: Like the other Great Generals, he has this reputation. The sight of him arriving sends Skytread and his goons fleeing before he even transforms.
Four-Star Badass: As mentioned above, one of the Four Great Generals.
Gentle Giant: He's one of the largest (non-Titan) Cybertronians, and he strives for a peaceful existence.
Godzilla Threshold: Will only fight if he's been pushed past it.
Hero of Another Story: He bested the first combiner, Abominus, in battle (though he's quick to point out it was most assuredly ''not'' a one-on-one duel). Also implied to have had several adventures in space, culminating in his role in the Thraal-A'ovan conflict.
My Greatest Failure: Though his heroic actions enabled the A’ovan to survive the Thraal’s genocidal purge, he was haunted by those he failed to save.
Only Mostly Dead: When Hound and Wheeljack ask Dai Atlas how he can return from an Immersant state, he tells them that his transtector is only holding half of his Spark, while the other half rests in the Allspark. He seems just as confused by it as they are.
Hound: I didn’t know this was even possible.
Wheeljack: I’m not sure it is. I mean, evidently, irrefutably, it is possible. But still…
Road Rage: Is it really you?
Dai Atlas: It is… some version of me. What remains after a few dozen kilocycles of immersion. The journey has been interrupted, yet some part of me abides there, perhaps continues on. Forgive me, I cannot explain it.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: His experiences in the War of the Threefold Spark and the Thraal-A’ovan conflict affected him hard, to the point where he eventually chose to end his mortal existence to find peace in the Allspark.
Warrior Monk: Believes all life, be it robotic or organic, is connected, and will only "meet force with force" if absolutely necessary.
- In this case, the arrival of the voracious Insecticon clone swarm.

Straxxus

Function: Scientist

First Appearance: Transformers: Escape #1

"This had better be important. My time is more precious than ever."

A highly intelligent multi-disciplinary theoretician with a gruff demeanor, Senator Straxxus was once a student of the Cybertonian Science Academy, but eventually left the academy after too many disagreements with his peers. Leaving his academic studies behind, Straxxus became the Senate’s sole representative of the province of Darkmount, which he governs as an independent state.

Adaptational Heroism: While previous incarnations of Straxus were Ax-Crazy tyrannical despots, this incarnation - despite being somewhat grouchy and a little full of himself - is capable of reasoning with the Autobots and seems to have the best interests of his subjects in mind.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In the final issue of Escape, he shuts the doors of Darkmount and intends to leave the Autobots to be eaten by the Insecticon clone swarm while he and his citizens escape.
Crazy-Prepared: His research into Cybertron’s increasing global instability led him to believe that the planet might literally shake itself apart. So he acquired four Interstellar Arks and repurposed them for a possible evacuation.
Dark Is Not Evil: He has a somewhat sinister look, a black color scheme and is the Senator of a place literally called Darkmount but he is shown to be a reasonable bot who will lend some assistance if he can spare it. But as the finale of Escape shows, the "if he can spare it" part is very important: if he can't spare the help he has no trouble leaving others high and dry.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Choosing to launch the Arks while the Autobots and organics are making a desperate Last Stand against the Insecticon clone swarm was a logical decision from his point of view because he figured the swarm would be busy slaughtering the refugees while he and his citizens escaped. Unfortunately he failed to take into account two very important factors: that the second Ark was loaded with all sorts of equipment and thus slower than the first (which only carried the populace of Darkmount), and that the Insecticons would be drawn to the largest available source of energon: the Arks themselves.
Insufferable Genius: This got him kicked out of the Science Academy. And despite holding the title of Senator, he's never bothered to attend a single Senate meeting; even Megatron and Heretech would show up every now and then.
Just the First Citizen: Is essentially the Governor of Darkmount, but answers to the title of Senator. Though it should be noted that during the launch of the Arks, his subordinates refer to him as "Lord".
Reasonable Authority Figure: Ego aside he takes his job as leader of Darkmount seriously and his responsibility is to its citizens well-being first and foremost. He's also willing to help others as after keeping one of the Arks to evacuate Darkmount's population he hands the other three over to the effort to evacuate Cybertron's organic inhabitants when they ask him for help. Then cruelly averted as the Escape mini-series goes on, and it's made clear that while Straxxus might be willing to help, it's only after his own citizens of Darkmount are cared for.
Spell My Name With An S: Straxxus, not Straxus.

Skywarp

Function: Saboteur

Alt Mode: Tetrajet Suborbital Fighter

First Appearance: Transformers #15

"Aah, Cybertron. What's become of you? All this chaos, all this destruction. I love it. I know we didn't part on the best of terms, dear Cybertron... but let's give it another go, you and me."

A mysterious, chaos loving Cybertonian with the ability to teleport. Skywarp was one of the most infamous servants of Exarchon during the War of the Threefold Spark before disappearing. It was later discovered that he somehow got stranded in unspace and was trapped for centuries, until now...

Adaptational Badass: Most incarnations are just dumb henchmen with a useful power but here he's a widely feared anarchist whose actions nearly destroyed Cybertron in the past.
Chaos Is Evil: He has a love of destructive chaos and disorder which is presumably why he joined Exarchon in the past and why he wants to meet with Megatron in the present due to how much damage the Decepticons are causing.
The Dreaded: He was one of Exarchon's most infamous followers and the Decepticons who realize who he is after he returns become very worried.
Red Baron: Calls himself the "Lord of Misrule".
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Has red eyes that ominously glow on a nearly permanent basis.
Sealed Evil in a Can: He somehow got stuck in unspace after the War of the Threefold Spark but managed to escape after Jumpstream's leap through time gave him a tether to follow back.
Send in the Clones: While the clones Shockwave made from him weren't able to teleport the Skywarp drones as they are called did prove useful as an army which he led and also prompted the creation of the seeker clones to fight them.
Teleportation: His defining ability and part of what makes him so dangerous, it's also why Shockwave attempted to clone him so he could replicate it but found no success on that part.

Characters / Transformers (2019)

Edit Locked

Autobots

Orion Pax/Optimus Prime

Function: Archivist

Alt Mode: Blockade Runner

First Appearance: Transformers #1

Ironhide

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Van

First Appearance: Transformers #1

Function: Autobot Leader

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Shuttle

First Appearance: Transformers #10

Nominus Prime

Function: Autobot Leader

Alt Mode: Spaceship

First Appearance: Transformers Galaxies #3

Chromia

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #2

Prowl

Function: Detective

Alt Mode: Patrol Car

First Appearance: Transformers #2

Windblade

Function: Aerial Reconnaisance

Alt Mode: VTOL Jet

First Appearance: Transformers #1

Wheeljack

Function: Engineer

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #2

Nautica

Function: Diplomat

Alt Mode: Submersible

First Appearance: Transformers #10

Road Rage

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Sportscar

First Appearance: Transformers #10

Arcee

Function: Search and Rescue

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #4

Ultra Magnus

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Truck

First Appearance: Transformers Galaxies #10

Pyra Magna

Function: Warrior

First Appearance: Transfomers #26

Sideswipe

Function: Security

First Appearance: Transformers #5

Sunstreaker

Function: Warrior

First Appearance: Transformers #30

Jumpstream

Function: Warrior

First Appearance: Transformers #26

Wreckers

Ascenticons/Decepticons

Megatron

Function: Worker

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Tank

First Appearance: Transfomers #1

Termagax

Function: Engineer

Alt Mode: Cybetronian Car

First Appearance: Transformers #8

Soundwave

Function: Communications

Alt Mode: Cybertronian Hovercraft

First Apperance: Transformers #2

Starscream

Function: Intelligence

Alt Mode: Tetrajet Suborbital Fighter

First Appearance: Transformers #10