SHOCKWAVE
There’s something scarier about a villain who’s utterly logical about everything he does; whose decisions aren’t tempered by any of the self-defeating mood swings of your typical narcissistic megalomaniac. Scorpius from FARSCAPE is one of my favorite villains of science-fiction (I even put him on my Top Five Evil Aliens list on Screened) for precisely those inhuman qualities. I thought it was so innovative how that show envisioned him as an “evil Mr. Spock” but, after doing some research for this guide, I learned that the creators of TRANSFORMERS beat FARSCAPE to the punch by about 15 years.
point of what the world’s favorite Vulcan would be like if his unwavering
rationality was directed toward malevolent ends instead of benevolent ones. And
just as Spock, for all his wondrous intellect, still played second fiddle to
Captain Kirk, so too did Shockwave obediently do the bidding of Megatron. In
some iterations anyway. If you thought that keeping up with the
respective continuities of Marvel and DC was a tall order, you’ll likely be
overwhelmed by all the pieces of the fractal mosaic that is as the TRANSFORMERS franchise. Characters’ alliances,
relationships and very natures change more drastically over all the iterations than any of the robot-to-vehicle transformations.
commander of the Decepticons’ military forces, yet still somehow subservient to
Megatron. His appreciation of that subservience differs from version to
version, though. In some, his cold logic concludes that Megatron’s the most
suitable leader, and he is thus content in his position. In others, that logic
deems Megatron unfit and, because of that, he's always scheming to usurp him with a tenacity
much like Starscream’s. Considering how
he’s identified as the main antagonist of DARK OF THE MOON, my guess is that his characterization will lean more to the latter in the movie. One facet of Shockwave that remains constant,
however, is that he’ll transform into an alien vehicle instead of something
that blends into Earthly scenery. Originally, he turned into a giant Cybertronian cannon
but, in this movie, he’ll be turning into a Cybertronian tank. Added mobility
makes for a step up, perhaps?
SENTINEL PRIME
Optimus holds as leader of the Autobots. It’s sort-of like calling him
Captain Optimus or Lord Optimus. At least, it is in most iterations of TRANSFORMERS.
The last movie, REVENGE OF THE FALLEN,
reconceived “Prime” as something of a clan name, with Optimus being the last of
the Primes (at least that’s how I interpreted that whole “robot heaven” scene.) We’ll
see how that’ll be reconciled with the appearance of Optimus’ direct
predecessor, Sentinel Prime, in DARK OF
THE MOON.
This particular bit of lore was first explored in the ’86 animated
TRANSFORMERS movie when it was
revealed that Optimus’ right of command was given to him by a Matrix of
Leadership he carried around inside his chest. It was fitting that this venerable object was held right where the robot’s heart would
be, as it basically served as deus ex machina that would “light the Autobot’s
darkest hour” and remedy whatever overwhelming problem was present when opened
by their leader at the proper time.
After getting killed by Megatron (at the
time, anyway) Optimus bequeathed the Matrix to his second-in-command, Ultra Magnus,
who ultimately couldn’t use it because, even with his courage and nobility, he
wasn’t worthy of leadership. The real chosen one was the young punk Hot Rod, who
grew into the larger and more powerful Rodimus Prime when he wielded the Matrix
at the precisely right moment. Later storylines revealed that Optimus had been known as Orion Pax prior to undergoing a similar trial, and that he had inherited the
Matrix from Sentinel Prime (who was once known as Sentinel Minor.)
Sentinel Prime will be revealed to have crashed the Autobot’s Ark on the Moon
in the 60s and to have perhaps been hibernating amidst all the highly-valuable wreckage
there over all the decades. For all we know, he could very likely be Optimus’ father or
grandfather or uncle or what have you, as the Autobot Matrix has already been show and it
has little to do with succession of leadership.
Here's a tidbit: things come full circle a bit with Leonard Nimoy’s involvement.
He was actually the voice of Galvatron in ’86 animated TRANSFORMERS movie, replacing the earlier model of Megatron who was
voiced Frank Welker. And guess who Welker’s
playing in DARK OF THE MOON? Yep,
Shockwave. One shall stand and one shall fall, right?
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