Transformers AOE film informatics Part 31: Shockwave

Shockwave was left to watch Cybertron by Megatron long ago, arriving on Earth to hunt for the AllSpark shortly after Megatron. A peerless scientist with deadly efficiency and a cold devotion to logic, he is one of the very few who could rival Megatron. Shockwave is ready and willing to destroy the Autobots with his arm-mounted AstroMag Cannon.


Shockwave first appeared during Optimus Prime's mission to Chernobyl with his ally human soldiers. They had discovered a fuel cell from the Ark in an abandoned base that had incredible radiation levels. At that moment, Shockwave and his driller appeared and immediately begin destroying the base and killing soldiers in the process. They then proceed to take the fuel cell and burst out of the base with Optimus following. The fight then takes to the land where the Driller knocks Optimus from his trailer, separating him from his weapons. However, Prime was still able to gain access to them and cut off one of the driller's tentacles to retrieve the fuel cell. At this moment Shockwave appears out of the beast and menacingly utters Prime's name, but he quickly withdraws.


Shockwave later appears during the final battle, where the driller once again knocked over Optimus's trailer, and is attacked by the Wreckers so that the trailer could be retrieved. Soundwave sent the driller to collapse the building containing Sam, Carly and the humans. After tipping the building over, Optimus Prime flies in with his jetpack and is able to kill the driller, cutting off its main head by flying through the section that connects it to the body. Angered by what happened to his pet, Shockwave shoots at Optimus with a burst-missile - causing him to fly out of control and get stuck in tangled tower crane wires. With Optimus out of the way, Shockwave and the Decepticons overpower the Autobots and prepare to execute them. After the Wreckers manage to free Optimus, they join the humans in a coordinated assault on Shockwave. He is eventually damaged badly, after getting temporarily blinded by parachutes and then gets his eye partly shot out of his head by human soldiers, but still refuses to fall. Optimus then flies in and attacks Shockwave, who fires a missile, but Optimus dodges it and punches through Shockwave's torso using bladed knuckles and proceeds to kill him by completely ripping his eye out of his head. Optimus then uses Shockwave's hand canon to blast the space bridge control pillar, temporarily halting Cybertron from transporting into Earth's atmosphere.

Four years after the Battle of Chicago, Shockwave's remains were reused for KSI Decepticons with two heads and are colored purple named Two Heads, after being infected by Galvatron, and fighting the Autobots.


ALTERNATE MODE
Shockwave transforms into a Cybertronian tank. His armaments included a massive cannon, a shield and wrist blade.


DRILLER
The largest subterranean lifeform native to Cybertron, Drillers are not to be taken lightly. Enormous multi-tentacled beasts capable of burrowing through the ground or through buildings with ease, they are capable of great destruction and carnage on any scale. Naturally, all these qualities have endeared them to Shockwave who keeps one as a pet and personal transport.

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 30: Sentinel Prime

Sentinel Prime hails from an older time, when Cybertron was the galaxy's crown jewel, and the Transformer race was full of promise and potential. The only known remaining Prime, he personified what a leader should be: wise, compassionate, and a more than worthy warrior. Revered by both Autobot and Decepticon, few would dare stand against his shield and Primax Blade. He is Optimus Prime's direct predecessor, mentor, and father figure.

But when Sentinel was presumably lost forever on board the Ark, Optimus Prime, his hand-picked successor, was left to fill his void. The loss of Sentinel signaled the end of Cybertron's golden age, and the planet spiraled deeper into war. Some who recall Sentinel's reign bitterly remember when Transformers were masters of their fate, rather than scattered to the stars and living as exiles. Above all, Sentinel Prime is a staunch nationalist. He loves his home planet with all of his Spark and will do anything —even go to extremes— to protect it. His intention is to restore Cybertron to its former glory after the war, driven by desperation he turned him against his ideals by siding with the Decepticons.



Upon returning to base, Sentinel betrays the Autobots, kills Ironhide, transports the pillars to Washington D.C. and rendezvous with Megatron. After teleporting hundreds of Decepticons to Earth, he has a confrontation with Optimus, but spares him, in the hope that he would recognize the moral of what he was doing. He demands the exile of the Autobots, who are apparently destroyed while leaving the planet in their space ship. Decepticons around the world began positioning the pillars precisely according to Sentinel's instructions as the first brunt of the Decepticons' assault began in Chicago. Sentinel had chosen a tall, domed building in Chicago's downtown as the focal point of the space bridge. Megatron joined him on the roof of this building, and the Decepticon leader began to gloat about the success of their partnership. Sentinel usurps Megatron and reminded him that Megatron worked for him, not the other way round.


During the final battle, Sentinel battled Optimus, who faked his death, along with all the Autobots. Sentinel proved to be more than a match for the multitude of Autobots and human soldiers. After a prolonged fight, and the removal of one of Optimus's arms, it became obvious that Sentinel was the more powerful of the two. He appeared to have gained the upper hand and was on the verge of executing Optimus when he came under attack by Megatron, who had been goaded into action by Sam's girlfriend Carly Spencer. Megatron had realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and had decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Sentinel was taken by surprise and amassed critical damage. Though this action by Megatron saved Optimus's life, the Autobot leader refused Megatron's offer of a truce and killed Megatron by splitting his head with his energy axe and ripping it off, leaving Optimus and Sentinel alone once more. Finally, Sentinel seemed to understand how far he himself had also fallen, and apologized for betraying the Autobots as he pleaded for mercy. Optimus countered that Sentinel had, more importantly, betrayed himself and his professed ideals, and as his former mentor howled at the ruination of his plans, Optimus unceremoniously executed Sentinel with Megatron's fusion shotgun, avenging Ironhide's death at the same time.

In Transformers: Age of Extinction, his remains are used by KSI to build human-made transformers. A scene in the film features the remains of his head being used alongside Megatron's head and other fallen transformers.


ALTERNATE MODE
Sentinel transformes into a Rosenbauer Panther fire truck. His weapons include a shield, a double-bladed Primax Blade sword that can be folded into one, and a cosmic rust cannon that causes any metal object that it hits to rust into oblivion, as evidenced when he shoots Ironhide once in the chest and twice in the back.

Trnasformers AOE film informatics Part 29: The Fallen

If the first Transformers were Primus' disciples, then The Fallen is his Judas. At the dawn of time, he was Megatronus, one of a brotherhood of vastly powerful beings dedicated to the well-being of their world. But The Fallen would gain his current moniker by turning against his brother Primes and his purpose to pursue his own ends, also earning the moniker "the first Decepticon" in the process. He deceived the others by building an army and by breaking the law by setting up a Harvester on Earth in 17,000 B.C. after defeating ancient humans. The Primes come to Earth to defeat and imprison that rogue Prime before he can harvest the Earth's sun. The Primes then sacrificed themselves to hide the "Matrix of Leadership", the key to start the Harvester.

The Fallen is immensely powerful. His frightening form is a metal cage for primal, burning forces of chaos, giving him the appearance of a living furnace. These cauldron-like forces purged him of what empathy and morality remained; all that remains now is hatred and purest rage.He commands mystic, entropic arts, and when at full strength he can un-make creation at his focused will. He is rarely defeated; at best he is contained, where he waits with eternal patience for the chance to unleash his dark powers once again.


Though he has at times been imprisoned between dimensions, this rarely lasts. When his power is at its height The Fallen can open space bridges and travel between dimensions and realities at will. His alternate form is that of a Cybertronian Destroyer, briefly seen when he flies to the Sun Harvester to activate it.

Like his brothers, The Fallen is a multiversal singularity, meaning that in all of the vast multiverse, he has no alternate-universe doppelganger. In several realities he is the originator of the Decepticons, the catalyst that prompted Megatron to claim power for himself rather than the greater good. While the exact details of his past are complicated beyond the understanding of mortals, two things remain consistent: He is bad news, and he's on fire.


After being awakened, the Fallen himself travels to Earth to complete his plans to destroy humanity, demanding the humans to turn over Sam Witwicky to him otherwise the Decepticons will kill them all. Because of this, Sam is branded a fugitive by the world. Later, the Fallen, along with Megatron and the Decepticons, travel to the Great Pyramids of Giza, where the Fallen's Sun Harvester lies beneath one of the pyramids. There, the Fallen steals the Matrix of Leadership from Optimus Prime's body and teleports to the Sun Harvester, only seconds after Optimus Prime has been resurrected by Sam. Optimus is easily knocked down, too weak to battle him alone. The Fallen uses the Matrix to activate the Sun Harvester.


However, Optimus - after receiving parts from Jetfire - arrives on the scene and promptly destroys the Sun Harvester before fighting the Fallen and Megatron. Megatron is easily dispatched, and The Fallen finds that Optimus is more than a match for him. The Fallen begins ripping off Optimus' armour, and then attacks him with his spear, but Optimus parries the blow and rips the Fallen's face off with his own weapon. The Fallen attempts to escape, but Optimus punches through his back and rips out his spark core and crushes it as the horrified Megatron watches, unable to help his master. Following the Fallen's death, Megatron flees with the remaining Decepticons, taking over as the new leader.

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 28: Starscream

Starscream is a hero on the wrong side. Over the centuries he's come to believe both Optimus and Megatron have lost sight of what is best for the Cybertronian race, and simply pursue their own agendas. At some point, he came to the decision that, for the good of the species, A new leader must emerge, and he would be that leader. However, over time, he became as corrupt in his own way as Megatron, although he prefers subtlety and deception to Megatron's brute force. Now, what may once have been noble goals are buried under layers of self interest, transforming Starscream into that which he supposedly despised: second-in-command to Megatron.


ALTERNATE MODE
Prior to the events of the first film, Starscream assumed the form of a Cybertronian jet fighter, but upon arriving on Earth, he took on the form of a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, after shooting down a Raptor prototype. The jet's powerful main engines end up on his back, allowing Starscream to leap great heights into the air and take flight, much like a jetpack. They also allow him to control his descent if he transforms out of his jet form in midair. His movements are a combination of acrobatic and avian, grabbing hold of a bridge's bottom to launch himself up into the air and transforming in mid-flight to swoop down upon his prey. His arms store heavy weaponry, with a missile launcher carrying six missiles in both arms, a saw in his right arm, and a high caliber machine gun (probably the jet's Vulcan cannon).

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 27: Megatron

  
Megatron was not always the viciously powerful and brutally direct leader of the Decepticons: he was once brothers-in-arms with Optimus Prime and a student of Sentinel Prime, appointed to be Cybertron's Protector and commander of its Defense Force. But Megatron resented his comrade, knowing he was a Prime and therefore Sentinel's favored son. This anger allowed The Fallen to ensnare him and led to the revival of the Decepticons. Even without The Fallen though, it's not hard to imagine Megatron would have erupted Cybertron into war to rid himself of Optimus.

Megatron tends to become so obsessed with the object of his desires that he can ignore "secondary" matters, glaring flaws in his plans. Otherwise, he likely wouldn't have chased after the AllSpark alone, and spent centuries entombed in the Arctic. Trying to talk Megatron out of blindly going for his goals is useless. He will risk his world, his troops, and even his own spark to achieve his goals; these things do not matter to Megatron. Like his master, Megatron feels a violent hatred towards humans and views them as only slightly above bacteria, a feeling exacerbated by spending decades as their prisoner.

ALTERNATE MODES
Megatron is the only Transformer thus far with more than 2 different modes...


In the first movie, he took the form of a Cybertronian jet.


In the second movie, upon being resurrected, he assumed the form of a flying Cybertronian tank.


In the third movie, Megatron receives another different alternate mode, that being a Mack 10-wheeler tanker truck (a demented version of Optimus Prime's alternate mode) with a tarp which may act as a cowl to partially hide Megatron's face due to extensive damage he received in the second film.


After his death in the third film, Megatron returns in the fourth movie, where his consciousness possesses Galvatron, a man-made Transformer created by KSI, and transforms into a 2014 Freightliner Argosy cab over truck.

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 26: Jazz

First Lieutenant Jazz is one happy-go-lucky Autobot. Good-natured and always able to take things in stride, he provides a decent contrast to the more serious demeanor of Ironhide or Optimus Prime himself. He's also a talker, something Ironhide and Prime like to tease him about. He might be the smallest Autobot but he's by no means a coward, willing to take on any foe, big or small.
Jazz was described as having a love of style, with a hip-hop personality. Jazz is a trickster who manipulates everyone including the Decepticon leader. Jazz first appears in the film arriving to Earth in his Protoform state, and searches for a suitable alternate mode to proceed unnoticed. Afterwards, using a fluid capoeira inspired style, he can be seen transforming using a windmill dance move in his first scene and dialogue.
During the main battle in Mission City, Jazz tried to delay Megatron when he appeared on the scene in order to cover the escape Captain Lennox's men and civilians. Despite Lennox's cries for him to fall back, Jazz bravely faced Megatron alone, but all he got for his trouble was being blasted by the Decepticon's fusion cannon. As Ironhide and Ratchet escorted Sam and the AllSpark to safety, Megatron preyed upon the small Autobot who had the audacity to attack him. The Decepticon leader tossed him through the air onto a nearby building, then landed upon him with the crushing grip of his talons. Valiantly, Jazz fought on to the bitter end as Megatron tore him in two, throwing his pieces to the ground before attacking Optimus Prime. Ratchet separated from Sam and quickly hurried to Jazz, but his spark had already faded. 
In the aftermath of Megatron's defeat, Ironhide somberly handed Optimus Prime Jazz's remains as Ratchet reported that he could not save their comrade. The Autobot leader somewhat half-heartedly eulogized him, and quickly moved on.


ALTERNATE MODE
Jazz transforms into a silver/gray customized hardtop Pontiac Solstice GXP.

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 25: Jolt

Jolt has a tendency towards mischief making. Like any prankster, he's pretty impulsive, and if trouble rears its head, you can bet Jolt is going to try to be in the middle of it. (Though he more often ends behind it, mostly out of focus, as luck would turn out.) Luckily, he's got the fighting ability to make sure his head stays on his shoulders, utilizing electric whips in battle.
He loves to act crazy in battle: it disorients and confuses the Decepticons, drawing them in close so he can whip 'em!
During the Battle in Cairo, Sam Witwicky used the Matrix of Leadership to bring Optimus Prime back to life, at which point the aged Jetfire volunteered to sacrifice himself, so that Optimus could use his parts to give himself a power boost. Following Ratchet's directions, Jolt used his electric whips to link Prime up with Jetfire's remains, generating an electromagnetic field that levitated and bonded the necessary parts to Prime's body, giving him a powerful new flight-capable form which he then used to destroy The Fallen.


ALTERNATE MODE
Jolt transforms into a blue Chevrolet Volt.

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 24: The Twins

When a spark splits into two separate sparks, the resulting two Cybertronians are considered twins, with an incredibly close bond. One such division yielded Skids and Mudflap, a pair of doofy-looking, hyperactive chatterboxes who refer to themselves simply as the Twins.
The inseparable pair spends more time fighting with each other or trying to outdo each other, than paying attention to anything going on around them. They like to think they're hardcore, but when their guard drops, it turns out they're basically a couple of robot rednecks. Still, they can hold their own in a fight, and they are eager to show Optimus Prime just how skilled they are. Whether this will end up getting them killed is another question, though they have had some extremely close calls before.

Each twin can transform into smaller separate vehicles or combine for a single, more durable alternate mode. Upon first arriving on Earth, the twins took the form of a beat-up old ice cream truck, but later scanned a couple of slick new Chevy cars for disguises. That being said, it's unlikely the twins will keep an alt-mode for long.


SKIDS
The dopey-looking Skids spends a lot of his time arguing with his twin brother Mudflap and trying to outdo him in crazy stunts, all while believing he's the responsible, level headed one. In his own mind, everything dangerous and dopey he does is simply making him a better warrior. Underneath it all, he harbors a secret fear that Mudflap is actually the superior warrior of the pair... which is probably true.
Skids' hyper-reactive optical imaging scanner allows him to process tactical information faster than anyone (EXCEPT his twin). Add that to his supreme firepower and his unpredictable actions, and he's a pain in the aft for any Decepticon who wants to counter him! And that's only if they spot him. He changes alt-mode so much it's hard to keep track of him. On Earth, he's already been part of an ice-cream truck (combining with his brother), and more recently a lime-colored Chevrolet BEAT.


MUDFLAP
The goofy-looking Mudflap and his twin Skids are a result of a split spark, and share a close bond accordingly. Mudflap is hyperactive, noisy, argumentative, and eager... not that different from his brother. He's so desperate to impress that he comes off as having the robot equivalent of ADHD. Like Skids, he possesses hyper-reactive optical imaging scanners, making him able to process tactical information faster than any other Transformer (except Skids). As irritated as Mudflap gets from Skids' vocal one-upmanship, he realizes that they actually work best as a team.
Each twin can transform into smaller, separate vehicles or combine into a single, more durable alternate mode, but whether they can combine similarly into a larger robot mode remains to be seen. Upon first arriving on Earth, Mudflap and his brother took the form of a beat-up old ice cream truck, but he later scanned a Chevy Trax for a disguise, and, sometime after that, a brown-colored Chevrolet SPARK.

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 23: Jetfire

In his day, Jetfire was a living legend both in the air and on the battlefield. Sadly, his day has long since passed. His body went south years back. He's got rust in places he didn't even know he had. Basically, Jetfire's old! An ancient Decepticon Seeker, Jetfire was around long before the war broke out, and unlike many, came to see his "comrades" for what they were. This caused him to defect to the Autobots, something virtually unheard of. As a consequence, Jetfire never managed to fully obtain the trust of the others back in the day.


Jetfire is still a fine asset, powerful and able to activate a space bridge to teleport across great distances. This is slightly offset by the fact he's so old. After years without a proper source of energon, he's practically falling apart. His processor gave up the ghost millennia ago. These days he has a hard time remembering his name, and he's lucky if his teleporting puts him on the right planet. It makes him a bit crotchety and also leaves him with the nagging feeling he's forgotten something important. His alternate mode is that of an SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.

During the final battle around the Great Pyramid of Giza (which contained the Star Harvester), Jetfire arrived and attempted to "stick" the landing, which didn't go quite as he planned. He immediately decided to "show how they brought the pain in my day", using his axe to slice Mixmaster across the chest and decapitate the Constructicon. He was critically wounded by a surprise attack from Scorponok and although he managed to crush the Decepticon's head, the injury was fatal. Fortunately, Jetfire was treated to one last wonder, as Sam Witwicky used the Matrix to resurrect Optimus. Jetfire was overjoyed of the moment, hardly believing that he was seeing a living Prime.

Unfortunately, The Fallen teleported in and attacked, damaging Optimus and stealing the Matrix, placing it in the harvester. As he lay dying, Jetfire, who felt that during his entire life he'd never done a thing worth doing, offered his parts to Optimus Prime, saying that they would give him "a power like you've never known". Telling Optimus to fulfill his destiny, Jetfire ripped out his spark core and died.


Jetfire's sacrifice was not in vain: within moments of his death, Ratchet instructed Jolt to begin a full transplant of the afterburners and weapons systems onto Optimus. Now equipped with Jetfire's powerful weapons and engines, Optimus broke through a blockade of debris The Fallen had telekinetically erected around the Pyramid and destroyed the Star Harvester before it could be used against the Earth's Sun. Prime then faced the Fallen and Megatron, using his afterburners to send Megatron flying through some ruins. During the battle, The Fallen pulled off the left wing and afterburner, using them to strike Prime in the face, but Optimus ultimately triumphed and ripped out the Fallen's spark core, killing the treacherous Prime. After the battle, Optimus quickly detached Jetfire's parts.

Transformers AOE film informatics Part 22: The Sisters Three

Not every Transformer was masuline programming, in the 2nd film there were 3 female Autobots. Arcee herself is an unusual Cybertronian as she and her sisters (Chromia and Elita One) are controlled by one mind, allowing them to attack with extremely precise timing.

 
ELITA-ONE
Elita-One is the first of the female Transformer robots. Naturally, she receives a lot of attention, which by no means displeases her, but she's more than a pretty face. She's a cunning fighter and an excellent marksman, capable of hitting a target from at least four miles away. When it comes time to rely on more than her gun, she is able to emit an "attraction field" that can cause those without protection to overheat without warning. Elita-One transforms into a purple MV Agusta F4 R312 motorcycle.

 
ARCEE
Though small compared to many of her peers and adversaries, Arcee compensates with speed and aggressive maneuvers, making her one of the most dangerous Autobots around. Moreover, Arcee is a born hunter. She honed her speed hunting turbofoxes with other speedsters, challenging herself to get as close as possible before tagging them with her bow. She's a crack shot with said crossbow weapon, and Ironhide has trained her to use her speed to her advantage in battle, striking suddenly and swiftly and then vanishing away again as fast as she appeared. Arcee transforms into a Ducati 848 motorcycle.


CHROMIA
Chromia is a tough bot, optics always scanning for the next fight. Naturally that means she and Ironhide agree on a lot of things. This combined with the countless battles they fought together in made for a friendship that has lasted centuries. When the conflict on Earth escalated, both seasoned warriors were pleased to be working together again. Chromia transforms into a Suzuki B-King 2008 motorcycle.