Hey Transfans, it a new year and we’re closing in on the official 30th anniversary of Transformers. Right now, let’s take a look at the dark side of the battle field—the Decepticons. Started by Megatron, the Decepticons rose to oppose the High Council after Megatron was denied the title of “Prime”. He has recruited several soldiers, mostly gladiators from the Pits of Kaon. But there are a few he has high regard for especially if they follow his orders unconditionally. And there those that simply standout because they almost as ambitious as he is. They are so many to choose from but let’s take a look at the best. This is the Top 5 Decepticons.
Hanging out at number 5 is Cyclonus. Reformatted from the remains of Skywarp in the original movie, Cyclonus dedicated his life to Galvatron. He is never too far away from his leader’s side and wreaks destruction in his name. Cyclonus transforms into a nuclear-powered multi-turbine-engine jet fighter, capable of space flight and able to expand in size to convey Galvatron. He served as little more than Galvatron’s personal ship, carrying his leader to Starscream’s coronation, into the battle in Autobot City, and pursuing Autobots on the Planet of Junk, as well as attacking and crippling the shuttle carrying Hot Rod and Kup in the midst of it all. Cyclonus’ dedication to Galvatron is so strong that he pushes out all other emotions and interests from his mind. It is this fierce loyalty that makes him such a formidable combatant as he will crush any Autobot (and Decepticon) who opposes his leader. This also carries over into his other incarnations through the Transformers Unicron series (Armada, Energon and Cybertron). However, he is more erratic and unpredictable, and prone to fits of rage similar to G1 Galvatron. This attitude is a far cry from his previous, and more familiar, incarnation where he is more level headed and had cool, sleek demeanor. Megatron/Galvatron praises his prowess on the battlefield which makes him an invaluable asset to his cause above most other Decepticons.
Coming in at number 4 are the Terrorcons. The Terrorcons refer to several sub-groups of Decepticons that have appeared throughout various storylines in the Transformers mythos. They first appeared in the third season of the original series as a team of Combiners consisting of the leader Hun-Gurrr, Blot, Cutthroat, Rippersnappper and Sinnertwin, but their presence was limited. The same goes for their appearances in other subsequent comic book and animated series. However, they did make an impact in their appearance and turned the tide of battle with their animalistic brutality. The group of Terrorcons that stands out is their latest incarnation in Transformers Prime. Here, they are something far worse and perhaps more powerful than the beast/animal versions. After acquiring Dark Energon, Megatron used it to revive the bodies of dead Cybertronians, bringing about a new, more terrifying breed of Terrorcons. Since they are already dead, they could not be destroyed by conventional weapons. Like horror movies, the only way to stop these Terrorcons was to behead them. Megatron planned to bring a massive army of undead warriors to Earth via a space bridge in the five-part Transformer Prime series premiere. Had he succeeded, Optimus Prime and the Autobots would have been overrun with robotic zombies. Luckily, the Space Bridge was destroyed just as the Terrorcons approached it. Just like before, the Terrorcons’ presence was limited but they still make manage to add suspense to this darker take in a Transformers series. In the series finale movie Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, Unicron, in Megatron’s body, raised a massive army of Terrorcons using the remains of Predacons for one of the most climatic battles since the finale battle against Unicron in the original animated film. The Transformers Prime Terrorcons put the true terror in their name.
Soundwave is one of the most recognizable characters from the original Transformers line. He had an alternate mode – a microcassette recorder – and possessed a distinctive monotone, computerized voice. He commands a host of mini Decepticon spies who transformed into cassettes and were housed in his chest. Soundwave’s primary function is espionage in which he spied on the Autobots and humans using his cassette minions. In his alt-mode, he can easily be picked up by humans and taken inside a location he would otherwise not be able to infiltrate in his normal size. However, this mode was given to him when Teletraan-1 revived him and the other Decepticons after they crash landed on Earth. On Cybertron, he transformed into a streetlight. No matter what mode he is in, he would gather information, mostly through the use of his spies and relay it back to Megatron. Soundwave doesn’t get much time on the battle field though he is more than capable of handling himself and lets his cassettes take action. Soundwave is firmly loyal to Megatron and completes his task with due diligence and no questions asked. Because of this, Meagtron values Soundwave more than any of his followers. But Soundwave’s loyalty isn’t bound to just Megatron. In the comics, he served under the Minicon Senator Ratbat before shifting his loyalty back to Megatron when the champion gladiator of Kaon destroyed the Council Building as his first attack. Soundwave then gave Ratbat a cassette body and made him his servant. Though he is speaks only when spoken to, he is not outspoken as he remained silent in Transformers: The Movie when Starscream jettisoned a severely damaged yet functional Megatron from Astrotrain. Afterward, he did suggest himself as a candidate for leader of the Decepticons. Soundwave’s demeanor has remained relatively unchanged throughout other Transformers series, letting his actions speak for him. This plays out in the recent Transformers Prime series where Soundwave doesn’t speak at all. Even so, he still gets his point across and is fiercely loyal to this series Megatron. This loyalty is displayed when Soundwave strongly opposed Starscream on taking Megatron off of life-support. And that loyalty earned him the third spot on the list.
At number 2 is Starscream. He is a bot with a mission, to overthrow Megatron and be leader of the Decepticons which he has no problem keeping secret. Starscream is ruthless, cruel, and more intelligent than average Decepticons, but also unlikely to act directly on his aspirations without first securing conditions favorable to his ascension. He considers himself vastly superior to other Decepticons and finds Megatron contemptible for his antiquated military strategies and tactics. Starscream believes the Decepticons should employ guile and speed more readily than brute force to defeat the Autobots. Ever the opportunist, almost every time that (the virtually indestructible) Megatron sustained even the slightest damage in a battle, Starscream would claim that Megatron had “fallen”, and frantically urge the Decepticons to immediately follow himself as their new leader. However, this has led to him being undone by his own ambitions at times. His tenacity, on the other hand, is also what keeps him going. Starscream is unafraid of working with temporary partner to help him in his endeavors. He has worked with the human scientist Doctor Arkeville during the cataclysmic events when Megatron brought Cybertron into Earth’s orbit, the triple changers Astrotrain and Blitzwing, only to be double-crossed later and paranoiac Autobot Red Alert whom he duped into acquiring a powerful weapon from the Autobots. His greatest achievement came when he created the Combaticons after being exiled by Megatron who was feed up with Starscream’s constantly plotting against him, where their combined form Bruticus forced Megatron to relinquish leadership to Starscream, though this was only temporary. Starscream’s boundless desire to usurp Megatron has led to several violent-yet-brief verbal and/or physical conflicts between them. Even so, Megatron does not see Starscream as a major treat as he believes the Seeker leader would become soft and overconfident.
What sets Starscream apart from other Decepticons is his refusal to die. After he disposed of Megatron who was critically injured in his confrontation with Optimus Prime, Starscream proclaimed himself leader of the Decepticons until Galvatron interrupted his coronation. Starscream immediately recognized Megatron in a new, powerful body before he is blasted by Galvatron and reduced to dust. He later returned as a ghost and eventually struck a deal with Unicron to grant him life one more. In the UK and US comics, Starscream would die and be resurrected constantly. The reason for his Christ like dying and rebirth is explained in the Beast War storyline when his spark arrived on a prehistoric Earth and took over the Predacon Waspinator. Later in that series, Optimus Primal reveals that Starscream’s spark is mutated and cannot be extinguished, which led to it being replicated in Protoform X who later becomes Rampage. Also, he is the most tenacious amongst the Decepticons as he sees each loss he suffers as a set back and will regroup for another effort. Starscream’s personality remained relatively unchanged throughout the various storylines except the Unicron Trilogy. He still begrudges Megatron’s status as leader of the Decepticons yet he does not seek to overthrow him. Unlike his previous incarnations, this Starscream is a brave warrior who has no trouble throwing himself in the thick of battle where before he was portrayed as cowardly. Another aspect that should be pointed out is that Starscream of the Unicron Trilogy universe was hailed as a hero when he sacrificed himself to stop the Chaos Bringer Unicron, making him the only Starscream to do a good deed. Arrogant, treacherous, brilliant, cowardly, brave, tenacious, love him or hate him, Starscream is the best at what he does.
Topping the list at number 1 is the only Decepticon whose power is second to Megatron—Shockwave. Described as being cold and emotionless, Shockwave’s actions are based purely on logic and carried out with perfection—a far cry from the brutality of the other Decepticons. He is a scientist solving a simple problem. And that problem is: how can he use his abilities to destroy more of his enemies? Sadly for the Autobots, Shockwave rarely ever gets his calculations wrong. He has even used this logic to suggest himself to be a more suitable leader for the Decepticons than Megatron who achieved his leadership through bloodlust. Shockwave deduced that this behavior is the reason behind the hindrance of the Decepticons advancement in their war against the Autobots. He has plotted to overthrow Megatron not for personal reasons like Starscream but because it is the logical thing to do. This calculating demeanor also makes him a just as big a threat on the battlefield as Megatron. In the comics, he eventually became leader of the Decepticons. His counterpart in the original animated series is played down from this frightening incarnation where he is loyally bound to Megatron and an easily beatable foe. Hasbro lost the rights to the name Shockwave to toy company Lanard Toys and for a decade, he didn’t resurface until the Transformer: Energon series where he received the name Shockblast. Here, he was made into someone more egotistical and arrogant than Starscream. Thankfully, he was returned to his logical way of thinking in the recent Transformers Prime series. Again he proved to be a formidable asset to Megatron when it came to tactility. He uses his science ingenuity to clone the powerful Predacon to hunt down the Autobots. As in the comics, he bases his decisions solely on the most productive method. An example of this is after his encountered with Optimus Prime where he decided to confine himself to his lab in order to better further his project at cloning more Predacons. However, if he truly had the chance, he could easily take control of the Decepticons and defeat the Autobots along with those who oppose him. This why Shockwave is the logical choice as the top Decepticon.
