title: Social behavior

text: Conformity refers to the behavior that an individual is unconsciously pressured by the group to make his behavior tend to be consistent with the majority of people in the group. Generally speaking, the larger the group size, the easier it is for individuals to display conformity behaviors. Individuals may submit to the group for two reasons: first, to gain acceptance from the group (normative social influence); second, to obtain important information for the group (informational social influence).


title: Social behavior

text: Aggression is an important social behavior that can have both negative consequences (in a social interaction) and adaptive consequences (adaptive in humans and other primates for survival). There are many differences in aggressive behavior, and a lot of these differences are sex-difference based.


title: Social behavior

text: Although most animals can communicate nonverbally, humans have the ability to communicate with "both" verbal and nonverbal behavior. Verbal behavior is the content one's spoken word. Verbal and nonverbal behavior intersect in what is known as coverbal behavior, which is nonverbal behavior that contribute to the meaning of verbal speech (i.e. hand gestures used to emphasize the importance of what someone is saying). Although the spoken words convey meaning in and of themselves, one cannot dismiss the coverbal behaviors that accompany the words, as they place great emphasis on the thought and importance contributing to the verbal speech. Therefore, the verbal behaviors and gestures that accompany it work together to make up a conversation. Although many have posited this idea that nonverbal behavior accompanying speech serves an important role in communication, it is important to note that not all researchers agree. However, in most literature on gestures, we see that unlike body language, gestures can accompany speech in ways that bring inner thoughts to life (often thoughts unable to be expressed verbally). Gestures (coverbal behaviors) and speech occur simultaneously, and develop along the same trajectory within children as well.


title: Social behavior

text: Behaviors that include any change in facial expression or body movement constitute the meaning of nonverbal behavior. Communicative nonverbal behavior include facial and body expressions that are intentionally meant to convey a message to those who are meant to receive it. Nonverbal behavior can serve a specific purpose (i.e. to convey a message), or can be more of an impulse/reflex. Paul Ekman, an influential psychologist, investigated both verbal and nonverbal behavior (and their role in communication) a great deal, emphasizing how difficult it is to empirically test such behaviors. Nonverbal cues can serve the function of conveying a message, thought, or emotion both to the person viewing the behavior and the person sending these cues.


title: Social behavior

text: A number of forms of mental disorder affect social behavior. Social anxiety disorder is a phobic disorder characterized by a fear of being judged by others, which manifests itself as a fear of people in general. Due to this pervasive fear of embarrassing oneself in front of others, it causes those affected to avoid interactions with other people. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder mainly identified by its symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Hyperactivity-Impulsivity may lead to hampered social interactions, as one who displays these symptoms may be socially intrusive, unable to maintain personal space, and talk over others. The majority of children that display symptoms of ADHD also have problems with their social behavior. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the functioning of social interaction and communication. People who fall on the autism spectrum scale may have difficulties in understanding social cues and the emotional states of others.


title: Social behavior

text: Learning disabilities are often defined as a specific deficit in "academic achievement"; however, research has shown that with a learning disability can come social skill deficits as well.


title: Harry J. Sonneborn

text: Harry J. Sonneborn (June 12, 1916 – September 21, 1992) was an American businessman, best known for being the first president and chief executive of McDonald's Corporation.


title: Harry J. Sonneborn

text: Sonneborn was born in Evansville, Indiana, the son of Minnie (Greenbaum) and Mark Harry Joseph. He was adopted and raised by his paternal aunt, Jeanette (Joseph), and her husband, Louis Sonneborn, in New York City. His family was Jewish.


title: Harry J. Sonneborn

text: A former vice president of finances at Tastee-Freez, Sonneborn approached Ray Kroc with the concept of Kroc owning the land that McDonald outlets were to be built on and then leasing that land to the franchisee. This business model led to the explosive growth of McDonald's; the real estate deals were handled through a specially formed corporation named McDonald's Franchise Realty Corp. The "Sonneborn model" persists to this day within the corporation, and might have been the most important financial decision in the company's history. McDonald's present-day real estate holdings represent $37.7Bn on its balance sheet, about 99% of the company's assets and about 35% of its global revenue.


title: Harry J. Sonneborn

text: Kroc appointed Sonneborn as McDonald's first president and chief executive officer in 1959, which he held until he resigned in 1967, due to falling out with Kroc. Kroc had insisted on continuing expansion whereas Sonneborn was conservative with the view that the country was heading into a recession and put a stop on constructing new stores. Kroc took his title afterwards.


title: Harry J. Sonneborn

text: After leaving McDonald's, Sonneborn continued to be involved in the business world through the stock market, capital investments, and banking. He and his wife Aloyis founded several philanthropic foundations.


title: Harry J. Sonneborn

text: In the 2016 film "The Founder", Sonneborn was portrayed by actor B. J. Novak, who spoke the famous line "You're not in the burger business; you're in the real estate business."


title: Dumnonia

text: Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, but also included modern Cornwall and part of Somerset, with its eastern boundary changing over time as the gradual westward expansion of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex encroached on its territory. The spelling Damnonia is sometimes encountered, but that spelling is also used for the land of the Damnonii, later part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, in present-day southern Scotland.


title: Dumnonia

text: The form Domnonia also occurs and shares a linguistic relationship with the Breton region of Domnonée ().


title: Dumnonia

text: The kingdom is named after the Dumnonii, a British Celtic tribe living in the south-west at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain, according to Ptolemy's "Geography". Variants of the name "Dumnonia" include "Domnonia" and "Damnonia", the latter being used by Gildas in the 6th century as a pun on "damnation" to deprecate the area's contemporary ruler Constantine. The name has etymological origins in the proto-Celtic root word "*dubno-", meaning both "deep" and "world". Groups with similar names existed in Scotland ("Damnonii") and Ireland ("Fir Domnann"). Later, the area became known to the English of neighbouring Wessex as the kingdom of West Wales, and its inhabitants were also known to them as "Defnas" (i.e. men of Dumnonia). In Welsh, and similarly in the Southwestern Brythonic languages, it was "Dyfneint" and this is the form which survives today in the name of the county of Devon (Modern , , ).


title: Dumnonia

text: There is evidence, based on an entry in the "Ravenna Cosmography", that there may have been a sub-tribe in the western part of the territory known as the Cornovii from whose name the first element of the present-day name of Cornwall is probably derived.


title: Dumnonia

text: Following a period of emigration from south-western Britain to north-western Gaul (Armorica) in the 5th and 6th centuries, a sister kingdom (Domnonée in modern French), was established on the north-facing Atlantic coast of the continent in the region that was to become known as Brittany. Historian Barbara Yorke has speculated that the Dumnonii may have seen the end of the Roman empire as an opportunity to establish control in new areas.


title: Dumnonia

text: Before the arrival of the Romans, the Dumnonii seem to have inhabited the south-west peninsula of Britain as far east as the River Parrett in Somerset and the River Axe in Dorset, judging by the coin distributions of the Dobunni and Durotriges. In the Roman period there was a provincial boundary between the area governed from Exeter and those governed from Dorchester and Ilchester. Julius Caesar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico", Book III notes the close trading and military relationship between the continental Veneti of Armorica and the south-western insular British.


title: Dumnonia

text: In the post Roman period the kingdom of Dumnonia covered Cornwall, Devon and parts of west Somerset. It had close cultural and religious links with Brittany, Wales and Ireland.


title: Dumnonia

text: The cultural connections of the pre-Roman Dumnonii, as expressed in their ceramics, are thought to have been with the peninsula of Armorica across the Channel, and with Wales and Ireland, rather than with the south-east of Britain. The people of Dumnonia would have spoken a Brythonic dialect, the ancestor of modern Cornish and Breton. Irish immigrants, the Déisi, are evidenced by the inscribed stones they have left behind—sometimes written in Ogham, sometimes in Latin, sometimes in both, confirmed and supplemented by place-name studies.


title: Dumnonia

text: Apart from fishing and agriculture, the main economic resource of the Dumnonii was tin mining, the tin having been exported since ancient times from the port of "Ictis" (St Michael's Mount or Mount Batten). Tin working continued throughout Roman occupation and appears to have reached a peak during the 3rd century CE. The area maintained trade links with Gaul and the Mediterranean after the Roman withdrawal, and it is likely that tin played an important part in this trade. Post-Roman imported pottery has been excavated from many sites across the region. An apparent surge in late-5th-century Mediterranean imports is thought to be related to the trade in metals from Cornwall and Wales to the Byzantine Empire.


title: Dumnonia

text: Christianity seems to have survived in Dumnonia after the Roman departure from Britain, with a number of late Roman Christian cemeteries extending into the post-Roman period. In the 5th and 6th centuries the area was allegedly evangelised by the children of Brychan and saints from Ireland, like Saint Piran; and Wales, like Saint Petroc or Saint Keyne. There were important monasteries at Bodmin and Glastonbury; and also Exeter where 5th-century burials discovered near the cathedral probably represent the cemetery of the foundation attended by Saint Boniface (although whether this was Saxon or Brythonic is somewhat controversial). Sporadically, Cornish bishops are named in various records until they submitted to the See of Canterbury in the mid-9th century. Parish organisation was a later development of fully Normanised times.


title: Dumnonia

text: Around 55 CE, the Romans established a legionary fortress at "Isca Dumnoniorum", modern Exeter, but west of Exeter the area remained largely un-Romanised. Most of Dumnonia is notable for its lack of a villa system, though there were substantial numbers south of Bath and around Ilchester, and for its many settlements that have survived from the Romano-British period. As in other Brythonic areas, Iron Age hillforts, such as Hembury and Cadbury Castle, were refortified in post-Roman times for the use of chieftains or kings, and other high-status settlements such as Tintagel seem to have been reconstructed during the period. Local archaeology has revealed that the isolated enclosed farmsteads known locally as "rounds" seem to have survived the Roman departure from Britain; but they were subsequently replaced, in the 6th and 7th centuries, by unenclosed farms taking the Brythonic toponymic "tre(f)-".


title: Dumnonia

text: Exeter, called "Caer Uisc" in Brythonic, was later the site of an important Saxon minster, but was still partially inhabited by Dumnonian Britons until the 10th century when Æthelstan expelled them. By the mid-9th century, the royal seat may have been relocated further west, during the West Saxon advance, to "Lis-Cerruyt" (modern Liskeard). Cornish earls in the 10th century were said to have moved to Lostwithiel after Liskeard was seized. It has been suggested that the rulers of Dumnonia were itinerant, stopping at various royal residences, such as Tintagel and Cadbury Castle, at different times of the year, and possibly simultaneously holding lands in Brittany across the Channel. There is textual and archaeological evidence that districts such as Trigg were used as marshalling points for "war hosts" from across the region.


title: Dumnonia

text: Although subjugated by about 78 CE, the local population could have retained strong local control, and Dumnonia may have been self-governed under Roman rule. Geoffrey of Monmouth stated that the ruler of Dumnonia, perhaps about the period 290 – 305, was Caradocus. If not an entirely legendary figure, Caradocus would not have been a king in the true sense but may have held a powerful office within the Roman administration.


title: Dumnonia

text: The post-Roman history of Dumnonia comes from a variety of sources and is considered exceedingly difficult to interpret given that historical fact, legend and confused pseudo-history are compounded by a variety of sources in Middle Welsh and Latin. The main sources available for discussion of this period include Gildas's "De Excidio Britanniae" and Nennius's "Historia Brittonum", the "Annales Cambriae", "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", William of Malmesbury's "Gesta Regum Anglorum" and "De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae", along with texts from the "Black Book of Carmarthen" and the "Red Book of Hergest", and Bede's "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum" as well as "The Descent of the Men of the North" ("Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd", in Peniarth MS 45 and elsewhere) and the "Book of Baglan".


title: Dumnonia

text: In 577 Ceawlin of Wessex's victory at the Battle of Deorham caused the Britons of Dumnonia to be cut off by land from their Welsh allies, but since sea travel was not difficult this may not have been a severe loss. Clemen is thought to have been king when the Britons fought the Battle of Beandun in 614. This is most likely to have been at Bindon near Axmouth in Devon. Bampton, Oxfordshire has also been proposed as the site, but the claim lacks evidence.


title: Dumnonia

text: According to the "Flores Historiarum", attributed incorrectly to Matthew of Westminster, the Britons were still in possession of Exeter in 632, when it was bravely defended against Penda of Mercia until relieved by Cadwallon, who engaged and, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, defeated the Mercians with "great slaughter to their troops". However, since the late 19th century this siege has not been considered a historical fact.


title: Dumnonia

text: Around 652 Cenwalh of Wessex made a breakthrough against the Dumnonian defensive lines at the battle of Bradford-upon-Avon. The West Saxon victory at the Battle of "Peonnum" (possibly modern Penselwood in east Somerset), around 658, resulted in the Saxons capturing "as far as the Parrett" and the eastern part of Dumnonia being permanently annexed by Wessex.


title: Dumnonia

text: The entry for 661 in Æthelweard's translation of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" into Latin, known as the "Chronicon Æthelweardi", describes Cenwalh of Wessex fighting a battle at "Posentesburh". Though it appears from the context that this is a battle against Wulfhere of Mercia (which he may have lost), if "Posentesburh" is identified with Posbury, near Crediton, Devon, then some conflict with the Britons can be postulated. In Willibald's "Life of Saint Boniface" the head of "Examchester" monastery, which can be identified with Exeter, Devon, has a Germanic name (Wulfhard) during the time Boniface studied there. Boniface self-identifies as Anglo-Saxon by birth (using "Anglorum" in his letter to the English people) and therefore Exeter may have been under West Saxon control at this time, that is, the late 7th century. At this time Dumnonia was sufficiently part of the known world for Aldhelm, later bishop of Sherborne, to address a letter around 705, to its king Geraint regarding the date of Easter. In 682 Wessex forces "advanced as far as the sea", but it is unclear where this was. In 705 a bishopric was set up in Sherborne for the Saxon area west of Selwood.


title: Dumnonia

text: In 710 Geraint was defeated in battle by King Ine of Wessex, but in 722 the "Annales Cambriae" claim a victory by the British in Cornwall at "Hehil". By about 755, the territory of the ""Defnas"" was coming under significant pressure from the Saxon army. The campaigns of Egbert of Wessex in Devon between 813 and 822 probably signalled the conquest of insular Dumnonia leaving a rump state in what is today called Cornwall, known at the time as "Cerniu", "Cernyw", or "Kernow", and to the Anglo-Saxons as Cornwall or ""West Wales"".


title: Dumnonia

text: In 825 a battle was fought between the ""Welsh"", presumably those of Dumnonia, and the Anglo-Saxons. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" states: "We fought the "Wealas" (Cornish) and the "Defnas" (Devonians) at "Gafulforda"" (perhaps Galford in west Devon). However, there is no mention of who won or who lost. A further rebellion in 838, when the ""West Welsh"" were supported by Danish forces, was crushed by Egbert at the battle of Hingston Down.


title: Dumnonia

text: The Cornish bishop of Bodmin acknowledged the authority of Canterbury in 870 and the last-known Cornish king, Donyarth, died in 875. By the 880s Wessex had gained control of at least part of Cornwall, where Alfred the Great had estates. In about 936, according to William of Malmesbury writing around 1120, Athelstan evicted the Britons from Exeter and the rest of Devon, and set the east bank of the River Tamar as Cornwall's border.


title: Dumnonia

text: Although the chronology of Wessex expansion into all of Dumnonia is unclear, Devon had long been absorbed into England by the reign of Edward the Confessor. The early-12th-century "Gesta Herewardi" gives the King of Cornwall just before the Norman Conquest as a man named Alef.


title: Dumnonia

text: Two waves of migrations took place to Armorica (Brittany) from Dumnonia. Some histories propose the theory that this may have resulted in rulers who exercised kingship in both Brittany and Dumnonia, explaining those occurrences of the same names of rulers in both territories. There are also numerous correspondences of Insular Celtic saints, and place names and a close linguistic relationship between Cornish ("Kernowek") and Breton ("Brezhoneg"). However, the Breton regions of "Kernev"/Cornouaille (Cornwall) and Domnonée (Devon) have well-established histories including entirely separate rulers from Dumnonia in Britain (see Duchy of Brittany).


title: Dumnonia

text: While Cornwall retained its language and culture, Devon's had significantly diminished by the arrival of the Saxon invaders in the 7th century, almost entirely due to the large-scale migration of Britons from greater Dumnonia to Armorica at the end of the Roman occupation. J.B. Gover wrote in 1931 thatby the middle of the seventh century Devon was a sparsely settled Celtic kingdom due to large-scale emigration to Armorica a century and more earlier, and that once the resistance of its kings had been broken down no considerable native population remained to complicate the life of the new settlers.The relationship between the new Saxon overlords and the remaining indigenous Britons appears to have been peaceable and many Celtic place-names survive in the county, although not to the extent of that of the neighbouring sub-tribe, the Cornovii, who became modern-day Cornwall.


title: Dumnonia

text: The pre-medieval region of Cornouaille (Breton: "Kernev") in the Brittany region of the Armorican peninsula is assumed to owe its name to descendants originating in insular Cornwall. The territories of the ancient Cornouaille region coincide mostly with the southern part of the French "departement" of the Finistère, and some of its territorial lands are included in the "departements" of Côtes d'Armor and Morbihan. At least part of the original territory associated with the pre-medieval Breton kingdom of "Domnonea", coincides with the modern French department of Côtes-d'Armor.


title: Dumnonia

text: There is debate about the location of Arthur's supposed great victory at the Battle of Mount Badon, where the Britons fought off Anglo-Saxons. Most historians believe this battle, if it was historical, was fought outside the territory, at Bath, for instance. Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed that Arthur's final Battle of Camlann was fought in Cornwall: tradition points to Slaughterbridge, near Camelford, which itself has been claimed, without foundation, to be the location of Camelot.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is a fictional character appearing in various "Transformers" continuities within the "Transformers" franchise. His most well-known disguise is that of a micro cassette recorder. Throughout most of his incarnations, he is an underlying loyal lieutenant of the Decepticon leader Megatron. He is commonly depicted as Megatron's communications officer and, in some interpretations, only speaks when mocking the Autobots.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is one of the characters from the original Transformers line. His alternate mode is a microcassette recorder and he has a distinctive monotone, computerized voice.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is able to detect and jam transmissions across the entire energy spectrum, a talent that makes him suited to his position as a Deception Communications Officer. Additionally, he has a photographic memory on account of the data storage capacity of the magnetic disks in his chest compartment, and he is armed with a shoulder-mounted laser cannon and hand-held concussion blaster. Soundwave is physically strong compared to most Transformers. His alternative form is that of an Earthly microcassette deck. Within the tape compartment, which becomes his chest in robot mode, he stores a variety of Decepticon spies, all of which take the alternative form of a microcassette. These spy characters include Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ratbat, Rumble, Frenzy, Slugfest, Wingthing, Autoscout and Overkill, all of whom are under Soundwave's command in the original television series. Squawktalk and Beastbox were additional cassette characters under Soundwave's control in the US toyline, who were never shown in the cartoon.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave's cassettes are quick to serve and defend Soundwave in a crisis, and generally relate to him as servants or even pets. However, when his cassette Ratbat became leader of the Decepticons in the Marvel Comics series, Soundwave fully shifted his trademark loyalty from Megatron to him. In the Dreamwave comics, Ratbat led the Ultracons faction, while Soundwave remained with the Decepticons led by Shockwave, although within that continuity these events occurred before Ratbat took up a cassette form. In the IDW comics, on pre-war Cybertron Soundwave functioned as personal assistant to Ratbat, who was a Senator at the time, however, Soundwave's true loyalty lay with Megatron. When the time came for him and Starscream to massacre the Senate, he enslaved Ratbat by bestowing the smaller, weaker cassette body upon him.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In the original "Transformers" cartoon, Soundwave was Megatron's right-hand mech, frequently sent on important reconnaissance missions with his cassettes, and often playing a key role in many schemes against the Autobots. On Cybertron, he used his ability to transform into a lamp-post to spy on the Autobot city of Lacon, learning of the Autobots' plan to search for energy on other worlds. Joining in Megatron's attack on the Autobot's craft, the Arc, Soundwave fell to the same fate as the rest of the ship's occupants when the craft crashed on prehistoric Earth, entombing everyone within stasis. Immediately after the Transformers awakened on Earth in 1984, Soundwave played an essential role in the generation of energon cubes and the formation of plans for a new space cruiser to return the Decepticons to Cybertron.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Later, he used his mind-reading talents to acquire an antimatter formula for the Decepticons from the brain of Chip Chase. He and his cassette minions were often on spying missions against the Autobots.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: One of Soundwave's most notable misadventures came in season 2 when, operating a plan conceived by Starscream, he brainwashed humans with ultrasonic vibrations, leading to a confrontation with his Autobot Communications Officer counterpart, Blaster, and to a lasting rivalry between the two.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave rarely displayed much emotion, infrequently exhibiting any traits that could be considered to be in line with his tech spec. However, he showed distress when one of his cassettes were hurt in battle, and he always came across as extremely loyal to Megatron, even going so far as to recover his body after beaten close to death by Optimus Prime at the battle of Autobot City in 2005 (""). But while Soundwave was loyal, he was far from outspoken, and kept silent when Megatron's body was subsequently ejected into space, and although he did suggest himself as a replacement leader (""Soundwave: superior. Constructicons: inferior.""), Soundwave again loyally served Megatron when he was reformatted as Galvatron.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In season 3, although operating in a less prominent capacity for most of the time, Soundwave played a prominent role in Galvatron's attempt to learn the secret of a sonic weapon on the planet Eurythma, where sound and music were the way of life, leaving Soundwave entranced by the planet's perfect melodies. Recording each piece of the harmony that formed the devastating sonic effect, Soundwave was defeated when the Eurythmans countered the harmony with white noise, and was again pulled into a confrontation with Blaster, who erased his recordings.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave made his final appearance in the American cartoon series, the Season 3 finale "The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1" as he was only seen giving the latest piece of information gathered by Ratbat that two scientists had discovered Optimus Prime's body which made Galvatron eager destroy it once and for all. Although Soundwave only appeared as a background character in the American cartoon series finale, the three-part "The Rebirth", he returned to the forefront in the new Japanese-exclusive series, "", which was created to replace "The Rebirth". Reborn as Soundblaster (New Soundwave in the English version and Vizar in Italy) Soundwave's new toy incarnation was, like the series, available only in Japan.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In the 1987 anime robot superhero TV series "", Soundwave and Blaster's rivalry had increased dramatically. In the opening cut and thrust of "Headmasters", Soundwave and Blaster engaged in their final clash in the Arctic Circle as the Autobots and Decepticons were in the process of searching for the missing Autobot Matrix of Leadership. The two opponents inflicted fatal damage to each other, and Soundwave's body exploded even as Blaster collapsed. Soundwave's fragments were recovered by his cassettes. Using reconstructive technology from the planet Master, the leader of the Decepticon Headmasters, Zarak successfully rebuilt and resurrected Soundwave and renamed him Soundblaster—essentially identical to his former self, except for his predominantly black color scheme. As Soundblaster, he served the same role as he had as Soundwave under the leadership of Galvatron and later Scorponok, frequently embarking on spying missions with Ratbat. In "Headmasters", his character was somewhat changed to have a father-son relationship with the cassettes, as it was hinted on his resurrection as Soundblaster.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave was performed by Frank Welker, whose voice was heavily modulated by a vocoder to achieve Soundwave's distinctive, metallic monotone. However, Welker's voice was left unmodulated at certain points during the episodes "Roll for It" and "Webworld" due to production errors. This left him sounding like Dr. Claw, another role Welker performed, from "Inspector Gadget".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: He also appeared in the Furman written "Reaching the Omega Point", as one of the Transformers legends (alongside Optimus Prime, Megatron and Grimlock) who came to the aid of the forces of Optimus Primal against the Predacon/Unicron hybrid Shokaract, distracting him long enough for Primus to deal the fatal blow.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In Devil's Due's run of "G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers" comic book miniseries, Soundwave was among the Transformers captured by the ruthless terrorist Cobra Organization, when they discovered the Ark. Refitted by Destro, Soundwave was intended to become a battlefield communications station, but when he and the other Decepticons eventually broke free of their control he was damaged in a battle with the Autobots and his parts were captured by the US Government for study. From his data banks, the android SerpentO.R. downloaded information on the history of Cybertron, using it to further the Decepticon goal of conquest. It is indicated that his pre-Earth form was similar to his Dreamwave War Within form.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In Dreamwave's 21st century re-imagining of the Generation 1 continuity, Soundwave was recruited to the Decepticons 9 million years ago through Megatron's underground gladiatorial games, and made head of communications. When a new Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, was chosen, Soundwave was sent along with the Insecticons and Ravage, to attempt to kill him and recover the Autobot Matrix of Leadership for Megatron, but they failed, forcing Megatron to confront Optimus personally.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Even in the face of failures such as this, and later the loss of Megatron in an early space bridge experiment, Soundwave's loyalty to the Decepticon cause never wavered, as he remained true to the faction under Shockwave's leadership.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: As in most other continuities, the story continues in the traditional manner, with Soundwave a member of the "Nemesis" crew who attacked the "Ark" and was sent into stasis when the craft crashed on Earth, awakening again in 1984. After years of fighting on Earth, eventually the combined forces of the Autobots and their human allies were able to defeat and capture the Decepticons. The intent was for the Autobots to take their enemies back to Cybertron aboard a new craft named the "Ark II", but just as the ship cleared the atmosphere, it exploded, the victim of machinations by Shockwave, who did not want Prime and Megatron to return to Cybertron yet.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave's body crashed back to Earth in the Arctic, where he lay inactive for several years, until rogue military scientist Adam Rook, calling himself "Lazarus," recovered and reactivated him, putting him under his control with a program he had developed while studying the Transformers before their explosive departure. Several other Autobots and Decepticons fell to the same fate, and were to be sold on the black market—Soundwave himself was put on display by being sent to attack the Smitco Oil Refinery alongside several other Transformers—but when Megatron liberated himself, Soundwave was soon freed by his leader and assumed his position at his side.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: When Shockwave arranged for the capture and extradition of Prime and Megatron's forces as war criminals, Soundwave was among the captives, but when Starscream jettisoned Megatron into space on the return trip to Cybertron, Soundwave made the best of a bad lot and teamed with Starscream to return to Earth and conquer it, being reunited with Ratbat in the process. Heading back to Earth in a kidnapped Sky Lynx and with the Combaticons now added to their ranks, the Decepticons attacked the "Ark" in hopes of acquiring parts to make the "Nemesis" spaceworthy again, however Soundwave, Skywarp and Thundercracker were defeated and thrown in the "Ark"'s brig. When the Combaticons, combined as Bruticus, laid into the vessel, they were freed.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: It was not much later that the surviving Megatron made contact with Soundwave from space, and Soundwave was all too willing to return to his service, setting up Starscream to fall before Megatron when he returned. And return, Megatron did—but the bankruptcy and subsequent closure of Dreamwave left the rest of the story untold.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave also appeared in the Dreamwave Transformers/G.I. Joe series as one of the Decepticons uncovered by Cobra at the start of the World War II. Transforming into a radio, he was deactivated at the series' close by Grimlock. Although Dreamwave's collapse precluded the completion of the second series, released art and information revealed that Soundwave would have been involved in the conclusion of that series.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Based on the Transformers Classics toy line, the Timelines 2007 story is set 15 years after the end of the Marvel Comics story (ignoring all events of the Marvel UK and Generation 2 comics). Megatron survived the crash of the Ark on Earth, reformatted himself into a new form and now leads Astrotrain, Laserbeak, Ramjet, Ravage, Skywarp, Soundwave, Starscream and the Constructicons. Optimus Prime has also returned to Earth commanding Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Grimlock, Jetfire, Mirage and Rodimus (formerly Hot Rod). When the Cybertronians Skyfall and Landquake arrive on Earth unexpectedly Megatron attempts to destroy them, but Optimus Prime and his Autobots are able to drive Megatron away.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave was among Megatron's troops when Megatron defeated Deathsaurus in combat for leadership of the Decepticons and when Megatron attacked Iacon with his new weapon, Devastator.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave's first chronological appearance in the rebooted IDW Publishing Generation One universe was in the prequel miniseries, "". In the story, Soundwave works for Senator Ratbat, who takes an interest in the rising gladiator, Megatron. Ratbat sends Soundwave to offer weaponry to Megatron and his followers. Soundwave also assists Megatron with the interrogation of Autobot soldier, Bumper. Soundwave is later jailed along with Megatron and other when Sentinel Prime's forces capture them, but is released by Ratbat. When Megatron's plan is sprung, Soundwave helps Starscream massacre the Autobot Senate. He later confronts Ratbat and forcibly extracts his Spark for implantation in one of his Cassette bodies. Soundwave's alternate mode appears to be a communication vehicle with tank treads.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Sometime later, Soundwave was part of the conference of scientists called by Thunderwing in "", where he refuses to accept Thunderwing's findings that Cybertron was dying. In around the same time period he had Beachcomber captured and implanted with a cerebro-shell, having the unwilling traitor eject his opposite number Blaster into space (in "") in order to demoralize the Autobots prior to a Decepticon offensive.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave's story was later continued in his own "" one-shot, where he was a self-serving and duplicitous Decepticon internal affairs agent. Soundwave was dispatched by Megatron to keep an eye on Bludgeon's investigation of Shockwave's lab. However, he kept quiet about Bludgeon's obsession with the Regenesis project, thinking he could turn it to his advantage. Following him to Earth in 1984, Soundwave monitored Bludgeon's attempts to harvest Ultra Energon and confronted him after he'd acquired it. Horrified to discover they were not planning to use it in a power-play but instead to reanimate Thunderwing (who previously devastated Cybertron), Soundwave attempted to stop them but was trapped in stasis-lock in cassette player mode. It was revealed in the epilogue that two young humans considered buying him at a pawn shop in 2007.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "" #1, Optimus stated there was evidence that Soundwave had been present in Earth's history. Despite this, he did not reappear until issue #4 of "", where, still trapped in cassette player mode, he interfered with Skywatch's control of Laserbeak and Ravage.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave also appeared as one of the Decepticon forces, serving under Starscream in the out-of-continuity "" tale "Hearts of Steel". He appeared as one of Starscream's lieutenants. He was presumably destroyed when John Henry and Bumblebee diverted the Decepticon train convoy into a chasm.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Like much of the original 1984 cast of Decepticons, Soundwave played a much smaller role in the Marvel book series than he did in the cartoon. He quietly and efficiently served loyally, first under Megatron (even sending Ravage and the Insecticons to derail talks between the Autobots and Ronald Reagan at one point in the 1985 Transformers UK annual), then under Shockwave, attacking an aerospace construction plant whose facilities were used to build the Constructicons, who then built a massive radio dish that Soundwave used to beam a message back to Cybertron.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Continuing to operate under Shockwave, Soundwave then moved to serving Ratbat, and co-led the defense of Buenos Aires against the Underbase-empowered Starscream alongside Fortress Maximus, only to wind up deactivated by the villain.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Unlike many of the others deactivated by Starscream, Soundwave would appear again, under Scorponok's command. Throughout the U.S. comic, Soundwave was colored purple instead of his more trademark blue, and additionally was frequently drawn with a visible mouth.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in the UK, a sister title to the American series was also in production. It reprinted the American stories, but as it was released on a weekly (as opposed to monthly) schedule, it soon began to run out of material to reprint. It opted to create its own original stories at that point, which deftly weaved in and out of the ongoing American storyline. Under writer Simon Furman, Soundwave—coloured-blue was a fairly major player, portrayed in a manner much more consistent with his profile - that of a manipulator and blackmailer, reading others' minds and using their secrets to his own ends, always working towards his own goals.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: When Megatron and Shockwave were both briefly believed deceased, he assumed leadership of the Decepticons during Optimus Prime's "Crisis of Command" and then the "Dinobot Hunt" story arcs, manipulating events to weaken the Autobot leadership and cause maximum casualties. When the two commanders returned and vied for leadership of the Decepticons, he turned the situation to his own advantage by working both sides of the field. He also enjoyed a rare victory in this period when he, Dirge and Kickback took over a NASA complex in an attempt to contact Cybertron with the facility's deep space radio equipment. The Autobots arrived, but a series of miscommunications between Prowl and Jetfire resulted in the transmission being sent, allowing the Decepticons to claim victory.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Towards the end of the UK series, a storyline began which separated from the regular ongoing American continuity, covering the exploits of the proactive Autobot "Earthforce". In these stories, Soundwave sold Decepticon secrets to both the Autobots and Shockwave's group of Decepticons. Wildrider was blamed for this intelligence leak, and Soundwave silently allowed him to be killed rather than be discovered. After Starscream successfully removed Megatron and Shockwave from power, he and Soundwave entered into joint leadership of the Decepticons.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Issue #279 of the Marvel UK Transformers comic featured a story called "Divide and Conquor!" where Soundwave lead the bulk of the Decepticon forces on Earth against the Autobot Earthforce headquarters while Starscream attacked an oil tanker. Sent into battle by Prowl, the Dinobots routed the main Decepticon forces while Springer lead the Autobot Survivors, Broadside, Inferno, Skids, and Carnivac to defeat Starscream.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave attained leadership of the Decepticons in the future world of 2008, following the death of Shockwave (who had seized power when Galvatron traveled back in time). Soundwave led his era's Decepticons back to 1989 to participate in the Time Wars when the fabric of reality began to crumble, but as the conflict came to a head they fled back to their own time. Since it was later established that the damage done to the time stream may have resulted in their future being erased from the timeline, the final fate of the future Soundwave is unknown.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave returned to the pages of the US "Transformers" comic books for the relaunch of the series as "". He participated in the Decepticon attack on Earth, and oversaw the reconstruction of the damaged Darkwing into a new, more powerful form.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Like many of the other Generation 1 Decepticons, Soundwave seemed to return to a command position on Megatron's return (killing Bludgeon in the process).


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave made an appearance in the Decepticon forces under the command of Megatron in issue #7 of the Marvel "Generation 2" comic series, in a story called "New Dawn." Megatron lead his Decepticons against Jhiaxus' second generation Cybertronians near the moon of Tykos. The Decepticons were defeated and Megatron left injured, presumed dead, but swearing revenge.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: He was aboard the Warworld when Jhiaxus' forces attacked, but managed to evacuate. His fate within the Generation 2 comic series beyond this point is unknown.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave would also play a brief but important role in the text-only novel, "Alignment", writer Simon Furman's take on what happened after the "" comic series ended. He was the one who recovered Megatron's broken body after his duel with Galvatron. Subsequently, he was the ringleader of the conspirators (along with Ravage, Ramjet and Direwolf) who gave some of their spark energy to resurrect Megatron in a more powerful body, allowing him to defeat the forces of the Liege Maximo. After Megatron executes the Decepticon High Council save Shrapnel, Soundwave once again acted as Megatron's second in command and coordinated the strike against the Maximo with Ultra Magnus. His fate beyond this is unknown, save for a brief cameo in "Beast Machines".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave as depicted in the Marvel Universe tends to be the most intellectual and philosophical of the Decepticons. He is appalled by the barbarity of Megatron and Shockwave battling in hand-to-hand combat for leadership of the Decepticons, especially as the entire spectacle is being broadcast on live television for human entertainment by Robo-Master. When the future Autobots and Decepticons join forces and repel an alien invasion of Cybertron he begins to propose a lasting truce to Ultra Magnus but stops himself, observing that too much has occurred between the 2 factions and their differences are irreconcilable.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: A parody of the "Generation 1" Transformers was aired in the December 23, 2008 episode of "Frank TV", called "Frank the Halls". In the story, Optimus Prime and his Autobots (Bumblebee, Jazz and Wheeljack) battle Megatron and his Decepticons (Soundwave and Starscream) when Optimus runs out of gas. Optimus becomes enraged at the price of gas, steals the fuel from the annoying hybrid Autobot Prius Maximus, then joins the Decepticons in destroying the city.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave appears in the "Robot Chicken" episode "Toy Meets Girl", voiced by Seth Green. He is portrayed as having retired from the Decepticon army and obtained honest employment as a transformable portable toilet. Frank Welker reprises his role of Soundwave (as well as Megatron but not Rumble) when he appears again in another "Robot Chicken" episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn" where in the current years it's revealed that because the audio cassette tape and cassette players have long become obsolete and therefore no longer widely used, that his spy tactics now do not work (the people who discovered him in the skit were laughing at his mixtape which was Rumble being killed by them puling his tape out). He is later found by Megatron and Shockwave to be on sale on eBay with options to place a bid for 500 dollars or "Buy it now" for 1000 dollars, whereupon Shockwave exclaims ""Request permission to buy it now!"" The Commemorative Soundwave figure was used in "Werewolf vs. Unicorn".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave made a cameo appearance in the "Family Guy" episode "The Courtship of Stewie's Father" as Peter's new supervisor. In it, Soundwave releases a framed photograph from his cassette deck cavity, of himself and a human woman named Denise, who Soundwave proclaims is his wife, whom he met in a Christian chat room. Soundwave also appears in the "Sealab 2021" episode "Hail, Squishface" as a toy on an Asian girl's cart, who sells Capt. Murphy Gloop, from the show "The Herculoids".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: A music video featuring Soundwave and a robot similar to Rumble and Frenzy named Lazer (though purely white in colour) breakdancing has surfaced throughout the Internet since 2000. The video contains audio clips from both the animated series and "" alongside music.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In 2007, shortly before the release of the live-action "Transformers" film, Soundwave appeared in the viral comedy short "Soundwave: The Touch."


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: A character named Soundwave—but with no relation to the original character—was released as part of the "Beast Wars Mutants" sub-line in 2000. As a Mutant, this Soundwave transforms from bat to alligator, with no humanoid mode. Due to his in-built radar in bat mode, and crushing jaws in alligator mode, he excels at a variety of missions. However, due to his situation, Soundwave is a dark and bitter character. He has an ultra-sensitive internal radar in bat mode, and in alligator mode, his tail can send seismic shockwaves through the ground.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: This version of Soundwave also appeared in IDW Publishing's miniseries. Activated on Earth by Magmatron and a group of Predacons from the future, Soundwave and the mutants emerged from their stasis pods and took up residence in a swamp that they quickly made their own. When a group newly activated Predacons led by Transquito ventured through the swamp on a mission they were attacked by the Mutants. Poison Bite attacked Retrax, Soundwave attacked Powerpinch and Icebird attacked Transquito. Deciding the swamp was not worth their lives, Scourge and Insecticon fled. However, in "The Ascending" it is revealed that Powerpinch, Transquito and Retrax survived.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: IDW's Beast Wars Sourcebook series identifies the mutant Soundwave as a former warrior who may have been a veteran of the Great War, though the details are ambiguous at best. Sourcebook #4 states that Soundwave became an actor/entertainer after the ratification of the Pax Cybertronia, developing a "dramatic flair in everything from his movements to his speech paterns".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Transformers: Universe - The Wreckers" the Mutants traveled to Cybertron and sought the guidance of the Oracle computer, seeking a cure for their condition. What they did not know is that the Oracle was under the influence of the Quintessons. The Mutants were sent to the outer Orion Cluster. Once there they were captured by the Quintessons, found in contempt by the five-faced aliens, and destroyed in an attack by a swarm of Sharkticons.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "", Soundwave's origins are greatly altered. While in the original G1 continuity, he was a native of Cybertron like Megatron and Starscream, this incarnation of Soundwave is the second Transformer from the mysterious Planet X. This is also the first incarnation to have an actual vehicle mode. He transforms into a Planet X Jet (bearing a resemblance to a stealth bomber) and is partnered with a smaller robot called Laserbeak "(Killer Condor in Japan)". In the English dub of this series, he has a synthesized voice, similar to his G1 counterpart. Unlike the Generation One Soundwave, he speaks like a modern disc jockey—using terms like ""He got served"" and ""Peace out, bots"" and calling the battlefield, ""The Floor"", giving him more of a personality than his normally emotionless G1 counterpart. This version of Soundwave is unique in comparison to any other incarnation, as while in most other continuities, outside of the Armada trilogy, Soundwave was Megatron's most loyal soldier, this Soundwave has no true loyalty towards the Decepticon leader.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: The package bio for Soundwave mentions that Planet X itself may be a total deception, and that it is actually a term the agents use to refer to their service to Unicron. Although he and Sideways are the survivors of a dead civilization, they actually serve Unicron throughout space and time as his heralds in taking over new worlds to replace his loss of previous forms.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is armed with two cannons, and can hide himself behind holograms when working in conjunction with Laserbeak.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave first makes his appearance in the episode "Titan", offering to lead Megatron and his minions to the planet Gigantion, however in a scene featuring Sideways and Starscream aboard the Atlantis a purple cassette player with the Decepticon symbol is on board playing music to ease the tension between the two evil robots. It is not clear if this is Soundwave or not, but it is interesting that he appeared in "Titan" just a few episodes later. In his first encounter with the Autobots he fought Optimus Prime and Wing Saber in their Sonic Wing mode and was able to hold his own in combat until Megatron was defeated by Metroplex and the Decepticons retreated.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Shortly after they arrived on Gigantion and there Megatron was upgraded into Galvatron, Soundwave abandoned the Decepticons, and joined up with his counterpart, Sideways. During a battle with the Autobot Cybertron Defense Team, he revealed the history of his world, and how they desired the Cyber Planet Keys to get revenge on the inhabitants of Gigantion.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Later, he and Sideways attempted to intervene in the epic battle between Galvatron and Starscream in order to claim the Planet Keys and Omega Lock, only to be sent into another universe by the distortion caused by the two fighters' conflict.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: However, Soundwave would appear later, when Starscream reached out to Galvatron across dimensions, seemingly trapped along with him and Sideways. However, Starscream seemed to have returned by the series' end, while Soundwave and Sideways were shown to have found a dimension where Planet X still existed.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is the only major transformer in the series who never summons his Cyber Key. In his toy version, his Cyber Key opens his chest compartment to store Laserbeak or one of his two cannons. In his first appearance to the Autobots, Soundwave demonstrates the ability to do this without the aid of a Cyber Key.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: G1 Soundwave makes a cameo appearance in the animated series as a blue boombox that Sideways used to hear music.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: The "Cybertron" incarnation of Soundwave was among the characters to appear in the comic strip published exclusively through the Transformers Collectors Club, arriving on the planet itself to observe Vector Prime, Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime after their defeat of Unicron's heralds, Nemesis Prime and Ramjet, and capture of the Dead Matrix. Dispatching Laserbeak to recover the Dead Matrix from its place in storage, Soundwave threw the talisman into the black hole that had been created by the collapse of Unicron, allowing the Chaos Bringer's Spark to escape and infiltrate the planet Yst, which he corrupted and transformed into his new body. Soundwave would link up with his master, and watch the unfolding carnage of a Mini-Con civil war. However, when Unicron chose that moment to attack, Soundwave was attacked by several Mini-Cons, including Scythe and Perceptor. Unable to hit the smaller Mini-Cons, Soundwave fled with Unicron when Primus awoke.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Almost from the moment the live action "Transformers" movie was announced in 2007, producer Don Murphy and the production team made it clear they did not want to feature mass/size shifting in transformation (excluding the Allspark), due to concerns over realism. With this process an inherent part of Soundwave's tape deck alternate mode, there was some discussion over whether or not to change it due to its obsolescence, or to include the character in the film at all. It was announced by Hasbro at SDCC 2004 that movie Soundwave would be a helicopter. Early leaked movie scripts proposed that his alternate mode would be a helicopter, but animatics shown at the 2005 Comic Con were poorly received. This led to a rethink, with the eventual helicopter character rechristened as Vortex, then finally Blackout. 2006 script reviews named Soundwave as a spying boombox on Air Force One, able to transform into a small robot, but eventually, this character was amended to being Frenzy, with Don Murphy stating that Soundwave will be reserved for a future sequel, until they can "do him right". When the film was released on DVD a special on-line content from Best Buy showed early animation footage of Blackout as a blue helicopter with a head that resembled Soundwave.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In a "USA Today" online fan poll, Soundwave was one of the 10 Transformers that the fans wanted in the sequel, winning with 20% of the votes.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave appears in "". Soundwave is a satellite in the film. Soundwave is not seen in his robot form in the film. Frank Welker reprised his voicing role, and used his Doctor Claw voice from "Inspector Gadget", which, when run through a vocoder, gives Soundwave his unique voice from the original animated series. The lack of this vocoder in the 2009 film left the voice sounding more like Doctor Claw than the original Soundwave. He has his minion Ravage to do his bidding in the film.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave also appears in "", this time transforming into a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and with Laserbeak to serve him. Soundwave is armed with sonic cannons.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: His Hasbro Battle Bio states that he is 22 feet tall and that his main weapons are sonic cannons which can only be used in the atmosphere, as sound waves will not travel in vacuum.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave also makes a brief appearance in the movie "Bumblebee". His appearance closely matches his G1 counterpart and appears alongside Shockwave and Starscream (a non-speaking role). He is voiced by Jon Bailey, who also voices Shockwave in the film.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Revenge of the Fallen", Soundwave is only seen in his Cybertronian satellite mode, hovering above Earth in orbit. Like his original counterpart, he functions as a Decepticon espionage agent and communications officer. In the film, he receives a message from Wheelie on Mikaela Banes possessing a shard of the Allspark and orders him to retrieve it. Soundwave would later hack into a human satellite and discover the location of another Allspark shard, deploying his servant Ravage to retrieve it. Following the death of Optimus Prime, Soundwave would carry out Megatron's orders to prepare the Decepticons for an invasion of Earth. Soundwave would later locate Sam Witwicky's parents in Paris, France. Ravage was later killed by Bumblebee.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Frank Welker returned to reprise his role as Soundwave in this movie, and the film following after. but unlike his G1 counterpart, his voice was not vocoded, which the character was well known for.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Dark of the Moon", Soundwave was retconned into having been on Earth since the 1970s. He discovered the Autobot spaceship, the "Ark" on the Moon, and forcibly recruited various human servants from the U.S. and Russian space agencies to prevent further exploration of it following the initial Moon landings, while he ordered an army of Decepticons to steal most of the pillars onboard and hide under the moon's surface. In the modern day he appears at Megatron's base in Africa, where he and Laserbeak report the Autobot's recovery of Sentinel Prime and the remaining pillars from the crashed "Ark". Megatron praises Soundwave's initiative in the decades-long plan and orders Laserbeak to kill their human allies. The only human ally they don't kill, Dylan Gould, has Soundwave disguise himself as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG that belonged to Sam's girlfriend, Carly, in order to get close to the Autobots. He reveals himself and captures Carly once the two humans learn of Gould's alliance with the Decepticons, and threatens her in order to convince Sam to discover the Autobot's plans. During the battle in Chicago, Soundwave and Barricade lead several Decepticons in capturing some of the Autobots. Gould convinces Soundwave not to take prisoners, and Soundwave orders the others to execute their "trophies". Once Que is dead, Soundwave prepares to kill Bumblebee himself, but a Decepticon battle-cruiser hijacked by Wheelie and Brains drops fighters near Soundwave, distracting him and allowing the Autobots to fight back. Bumblebee attacks Soundwave who tries to shoot him, but is confused among the crushing ships and shoots the other Decepticons. He throws Bumblebee, but Bumblebee then slays Soundwave by sticking his cannon into Soundwave's chest and shooting upwards. This causes Soundwave's head to disintegrate, killing him instantly.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Bumblebee", Soundwave is seen on Cybertron along with Shockwave and Starscream commanding the Decepticons in the war against the Autobots. He apparently manages to capture Optimus Prime with the help of a small army and Ravage and then Prime escapes from them.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In issue #4 of "Transformers: Defiance", it is revealed that the reason for Soundwave to have believed to have been dead is because he was on the Decepticons ship that "The Fallen" was commanding, and that all of its crew were missing by the time Megatron noticed the emergency signal emitting from the ship while he was chasing the Allspark.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave first appeared in issue #2 of "" where he arrived at the crash site of the "Nemesis" on Mars. There he found Dreadwing's head, as well as the body of Frenzy, then contacted Starscream and told him to rally to his signal. Starscream was surprised to hear from Soundwave, as he had been believed dead for years. Soundwave deployed a number of his forces on Earth, leaving others on his ship.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Tales of the Fallen" #5 Soundwave, still in orbit after the events of the 2009 film, notices someone has reactivated Ravage.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave appears in "Transformers: Nefarious" #1, set months after the events of the 2009 film. Bumblebee, Breakaway, Jolt, Knock Out and Dune Runner are sent to investigate spark fragments detected at Kingdom Petrochemicals. Arriving first Breakaway is warned by Soundwave to leave, but unwilling to give in the Autobot is swiftly defeated. Bumblebee and his team fire on Soundwave, who escapes. In "Nefarious" #2, Soundwave sent Dirt Boss, Reverb, and Brakedown to Wendover, Utah to find an "Initiative" facility. Soundwave then contacted Ravage in order to discover how he was resurrected. Then, he proceeded to assist Reverb, Dirt Boss, and Brakedown, in a fight with the Autobots. After a battle with Optimus Prime, Soundwave convinces the Autobot leader to join forces temporarily, in order to find "the Initiative".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" coloring book, Soundwave is depicted hacking into a military satellite.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Cyber Missions #1", Soundwave successfully infiltrates the NEST command base (in his satellite mode, oddly), which is guarded by Bumblebee. Soundwave transforms and smashes the screen projecting Optimus Prime and engages the Autobot. Bumblebee fires a shot, but Soundwave sends it back to Bumblebee as a sonic boom. Bumblebee then fires several more rounds with Soundwave frantically trying to absorb all the bullets, but is finally blown backwards. In "Cyber Missions #2", Bumblebee trapped Soundwave in a vacuum-sealed electromagnetic bubble, rendering his abilities useless.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Like the movie, Soundwave coordinates the mission to the playable Decepticon. His voice is now a similar Vocoder fashion of his G1 counterpart.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In Dark of the Moon, Soundwave is a playable character. He is ordered by Megatron to destroy a Sector 7 nest base that contains information about Sentinel Prime. Soundwave is among the Decepticons that greet Shockwave at the end of the game in South Africa. He shows Shockwave a 3D hologram of Chernobly and the artifact he must recover. He transforms into a Modified white SUV similar to a Cadillac SRX


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In the Nintendo DS game "", Grindor, Sideways, Soundwave and Starscream greet a new Decepticon protoform and send him on a mission. Soundwave directs the new protoform to survive on Earth.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In the downloadable content pack for the Xbox 360 and PS3, Soundwave is confirmed to be a playable character. He is probably based on the Deluxe toy.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "" for the Wii and 3DS Soundwave is a playable character, and (like with the PS3/360 version) transforms into a heavily modified Cadillac SRX


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "", Soundwave is a playable character taking the alternate form of a cybertronian truck. He is playable in levels 3, 4 and 5 of the decepticon campaign and is a boss that players have to fight in the autobot level 2. Like all characters within the game, he is playable in escalation mode, and players have to have their decepticon leader look like him in multiplayer mode. In the game his default weapon is a neutron assault rifle, although he does have an energon repair ray in level 5 of the decepticon campaign.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: "Transformers Animated" Soundwave has a completely different origin story from most other versions of Soundwave. Starting off as an Earth-based robot toy, he became sentient after exposure to the Allspark. Whilst his robot mode still retains elements of his original tapedeck incarnation, more so in his toy form, his alt-mode is now a loudspeaker-equipped Scion xB. He also possesses two supporters: Laserbeak, who transforms into an electric guitar he uses for a sonic boom attack, and Ratbat, which becomes a keytar for use in sonic hypnosis. His voice, now provided by Jeff Bennett in the United States and Nobuo Tobita in Japan, once again requires a vocoder to create Soundwave's trademark robotic monotone voice.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave was originally a simple robotic toy that Sari got for her birthday, built by Megatron as a part of a plan to take advantage of Sari's careless and repeated use of her Allspark key to continuously upgrade the toy until it serves as a suitable body for Megatron to host. However, the excessive usage of the key to enhance Soundwave caused an unexpected side-effect: Developing almost Cybertronian sophistication at an alarmingly increasing rate to the point of becoming self-aware to the point where he refuses to take orders from Sari (or any other human) anymore. It was by observing the common labor-robots in the city that he concluded that not only robots are superior to humans in every way, but that it's illogical that robots are forced to succumb to their human masters, and it should be the other way around. By then, Megatron introduced himself to Soundwave through televisions in a nearby electronics store as his creator "of sorts" to impose unto him his plan to crush the Autobots. At first, Soundwave declared this illogical to fight robot-kind until Megatron insisted that they were traitors that upheld the human race's slavery of all robot-kind, convincing Soundwave to ultimately side with the Decepticons with the intent to overthrow all humans and obliterate the robots that protect them. He used his technology-manipulating speakers to summon all nearby labor-robots to convert them into his new Transformer body while using his stereo-system to spark a robot-revolution against their "human-oppressors." All automated forms of public transportation stopped, and the city's labor robots jumped the Autobots when they appeared on the scene. After failing to convince Bulkhead into joining him and killing Sari in the name of all robot-kind, it appeared that Bulkhead destroyed Soundwave with a single blow of his powerful wrecking-ball arm, shattering his body into hundreds of pieces. However, unknown to the Autobot, his core survived, in the form of a small, almost-invisible media player.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave regenerated at Christmas time as ex-Sumdac Systems Vice President Porter C. Powell, who had acquired Soundwave's original patents while he was in charge of the company, was distributing multiple Soundwave toys during the Christmas season. Soundwave managed to reprogram some of the toys, using one of them to spike the Autobots' oil nog. With the Autobots now sedated and out of commission, Soundwave proceeded to take them to the basement where he attempted to brainwash them into taking on his ideology as Decepticons by placing them in a virtual program in human form. However, the plan was briefly halted by the attempted intervention of Sari as well as the Autobots learning the truth of where they are. Soundwave had a backup plan, using Laserbeak to force Sari into a retreat, then using Ratbat in keytar mode to complete the Autobots' reformat. Soundwave succeeded in placing the Autobots under his control, and used the numerous toy replicas of himself to take control of the humans in Detroit. However, since Sari was techno-organic, she was immune to the mind-control waves. Soundwave was defeated when Sari recruited the help of Scrapper, Snarl and Wreck-Gar to fight the brainwashed Autobots, and was smashed apart along with Ratbat by Optimus using Laserbeak's guitar mode as a makeshift axe. Though Soundwave's core still remained intact, it was eventually turned off by Sari before being rescued by Laserbeak. It is unknown what became of Soundwave after that.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: This Soundwave is an alternate good version of the Generation 1 character from the BotCon exclusive "Shattered Glass" comic, in which the Decepticons are on the side of good and the Autobots on the side of evil. His appearance is based on the white music label Soundwave MP3 player, while Buzzsaw seems to be based on Steeljaw in appearance.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave first appears as a member of Megatron's forces in the "Transformers: Timelines" story "Shattered Glass" story by Fun Publications. He helps in the attack on the Autobots' Ark launching platform, working with Buzzsaw.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave makes a cameo in the fiction "Dungeons & Dinobots", a text-based story. When the Autobots are gaining the advantage in an attack on the Arch-Ayr fuel dump he calls in the Mayhem Suppression Squad to help the Decepticons.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave appears in the story "Do Over". He is among the crew of the "Nemesis", which follows the Autobots' Ark to Earth. When the ship is damaged in battle with the Ark, he escapes in a stasis pod to Earth.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is spotlighted in the story "The Desert Heat!". In this story, having crashed to Earth in an escape pod, Heatwave recovers Soundwave and helps his fellow Decepticon get back online and assume an Earth-style alternate mode.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave appears in the story "Eye in the Sky". Cliffjumper, Crasher, Frenzy, Heatwave, Ravage and Soundwave are sent on a mission to Burpleson Air Force Base to stop the Autobots from controlling the GODS defense system. Heatwave uses his powers to convince the GODS transmitter to fire the weapon on itself and stop the Autobots from taking control.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is spotlighted in the story "Blitzwing Bop". The Elite Guardsman Thunderwing intercepts a radio signal from Earth which mentions Soundwave. Finding Soundwave is wanted for a minor offense from long ago he heads to Earth. Thunderwing finds Soundwave involved in a battle the Autobot Blaster for the possession of the malfunctioning Decepticon Blitzwing. Although not interested in the dispute, Soundwave convinces Thunderwing that Soundwave cannot leave Earth for trial on Cybertron until his commanding officer can be notified, and the only way to get Starscream online is to rescue Blitzwing. Thunderwing is still unwilling to takes sides in the battle against Blaster, merely following the Decepticon, but Soundwave tricks Blaster into mentioning a crime he committed on Cybertron while Thunderwing is in nearby. Thunderwing immediately goes into arrest mode and tries to capture Blaster, but Blaster escapes in a malfunctioning Stellar Spanner. With Starscream back online Soundwave confesses to his minor crimes and Thunderwing passes a sentence of community service on him.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: An official toy exists, as part of the SG Blaster Vs SG Soundwave box-set, and is a repaint of the G1 Soundblaster toy (itself, a retool of the G1 Soundwave toy). In addition, the white Music Label Soundwave figure matches his colors almost exactly, save for the Decepticon symbol on his chest, and has been officially repurposed as one of this character's forms.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave was a gladiator around the same time as Megatron. He has many pet Mini-Cons who work for him, particularly Laserbeak.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is one of the main antagonists in the 2011 computer animated series "". Unlike his previous incarnations, Soundwave rarely speaks, instead recording archive audio and videos from other sources and repeats it when needed, displaying it on his face, which is composed entirely of an electronic screen. This was because Duane Capizzi, the producer of the show, wanted Soundwave to contrast with the talkative Starscream. Due to his silent persona, the show's staff compared him to Star Wars' Boba Fett. He is armed with two cables that extend from his chest that have an electrical appendage on each end that have a variety of uses, and can create portals to transport objects. He is rarely seen in combat, spending most of his time supporting the Decepticons as a communications officer and technical specialist. However, he is shown to be a proficient fighter when circumstances need it.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave speaks only once in the episode "Minus One". Once again, his voice was modulated like his G1 counterpart, albeit less enhanced. Frank Welker reprises his role as Soundwave for that episode.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In the "Darkness Rising" 5 part mini-series, Soundwave detects the presence of Arcee, so Starscream sends a pair of Decepticons to attack her. Later, Soundwave detects a signal from deep space, which he is certain is Megatron, so the Space Bridge is opened, and Megatron returns. Later, Soundwave deploys Laserbeak at Starscream's orders to capture Fowler in order to locate the Autobot base. He is later assigned to hijack an Earth bond radio telescope array to location of Cybertron, as part Megatron's plan to use their Space Bridge to transport Dark Energon to Cybertron. However, the Autobots' young human allies figure out the Decepticons have hijacked the array and go to the array to shut it down. The young computer wiz Raf hacks into the array computer system, and Soundwave attacks them. He cuts the array's main line locking the dishes in place. While preparing to leave, the Autobots human ally Miko takes a picture of Soundwave with her cell phone, Soundwave responds to this by taking a picture of Jack, Miko, and Raf (possibly with the intention of passing it along with information of their connection with the Autobots onto his fellow Decepticons).


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is well aware of Starscream's treachery against Megatron, and on several occasions saved Megatron from his treacherous lieutenant. In "Masters & Students", Soundwave sent Laserbeak to make sure that Starscream retrieved the incapacitated Megatron from the Space Bridge wreckage while he witnesses Optimus' battle with Skyquake. In "Sick Mind" when Starscream and Knock Out conspire to euthanize the comatose Megatron, Soundwave at first appears to consider agreeing with the two, but points out the cord of Bumblebee's cortical psychic patch Bumblebee is hooked up to, and orders Megatron be put back online so that he will not have fallen by an Autobot's hand.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Rock Bottom" Megatron reveals he is aware of Starscream's ongoing treachery due to Soundwave having constant surveillance on the traitor and relaying his attempts of usurping him.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "One Shall Rise" Pt. 3, Airachnid is placed in temporary command of the Decepticons when Megatron leaves to aid Optimus in defeating Unicron. In an attempt to secure her power for good, and to escape Unicron's wrath, Airachnid suggests that the Decepticons leave Megatron to continue their efforts on another world. Soundwave, being eternally loyal to Megatron, vetoed her orders and displayed unexpected combat skills to secure the ship for when Megatron returned. It is implied that, although Megatron is made aware of Airachnid's attempted grab for power, he does not punish her until Soundwave reminds him of her treachery in the season 2 episode "Crossfire".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Orion Pax" Pt. 1, Megatron orders Soundwave to remove Arcee from the ship after she broke in to try to rescue Optimus Prime. Soundwave manages to open a ground bridge to bridge her off, right before Orion saw her.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Triage", Soundwave hunts for an ancient Cybertronian relic. Having lost his minion Laserbeak, he continues the search on his own, fighting Wheeljack to claim the relic, the Resonance Blaster and defeat Wheeljack before he reclaims Laserbeak. He returns to the Nemesis with Megatron's prize, and is highly praised for it by Megatron, putting Knock Out and Dreadwing to shame who lost their relics to Arcee, Bumblebee and Starscream.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Hard Knocks", Soundwave captured Smokescreen and brought him on board the "Nemesis" after the Decepticons learned that Smokescreen was a clue to finding the final Omega Key.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Regeneration" and "Darkest Hour", Soundwave, along with Starscream and Knock Out, captured the children and held them for ransom unless the Autobots gave the Omega Keys to the Decepticons. However, when Optimus Prime destroyed the Omega Lock (and the Keys with them), Soundwave retreated back to the "Nemesis" with the other Decepticons.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Darkmount, NV", when Jack and Arcee were spotted in Jasper following the destruction of the Autobot base, Soundwave sent Laserbeak, along with two Vehicons, to terminate them. However, after Laserbeak was destroyed, Soundwave was unable to retrieve any surveillance footage from his remains.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Rebellion", when Starscream sent out members of his armada to investigate a number of Autobot signals, Soundwave pointed out to him that their army was thinly spread and suggested that the Autobots were using the "Harbinger" as a base of operations. He later retreated with the other Decepticons as Darkmount was destroyed by Optimus Prime, aided by Agent Fowler and several Air Force pilots.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Thirst", he oversees the destruction of the mutant Terrorcons and is confronted by a newly freed Airachnid, who regained control of her Insecticons. When she charges him, he opens a space bridge to one of Cybertron's moons stranding her and her minions.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Minus One", Soundwave is taken captive by the Autobots and questioned for information regarding Megatron's motives. However, Soundwave erases all the data of Megatron's plans before Optimus gives Ratchet approval to crack him open. The normally mute Decepticon then taunts the Autobots in his own voice before deactivating. Later, Laserbeak attacks the Autobot base and hooks up with Soundwave, reactivating him and giving him a new copy of Megatron's plans. He then proceeds to incapacitate Bulkhead and Smokescreen before kidnapping Ratchet and bringing him to the Nemesis.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In "Deadlock", Soundwave fights Jack and Miko (who is in the Apex armor) on the bridge of the Nemesis. With help from Raf, Jack and Miko trap Soundwave in the Shadowzone.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave returns from the Shadowzone in the tenth episode of the second season of the sequel series "". He escapes, trapping Bumblebee in the Shadowzone. Then, he quickly immobilizes most of the Autobots before getting tricked by Fixit and the humans into letting Bumblebee back in. The Autobots corner Soundwave and throw him back into the Shadowzone.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: However, he returns in the final season, as a major antagonist with a new body. In "Collateral Damage", he tries to return Megatron from his exile, but his plan failed when he was defeated by Bumblebee and his team along with Optimus Prime who was upgraded with Hi-Test.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave appears in the novel "". He was one of Megatronus' opponents and nearly defeated him, however this instead brought respect between the two. Soundwave commanded the Mini-Cons Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, and Laserbeak, and joined Megatron as one of the Decepticons.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: A playable character in the last three chapters of the Decepticon campaign. While is established as 's second-in-command, Soundwave is shown acting as Megatron's right hand during the campaign in Shockwave's absence.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave assists Megatron and Breakdown into infiltrating Iacon, defeating Zeta Prime, and hunting down Omega Supreme. He is also a boss in the Autobot campaign, being the warden of Kaon Prison in the Decepticons' capital city and using his tape cassettes Frenzy, Rumble and Laserbeak to attack. The Autobots manage to defeat him, but not before he delivers a fatal blow to Zeta Prime, absorbing what remained of his life force energy in order to regenerate his own strength, and then manages to escape before Optimus can finish him.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Aside from transforming into a Cybertronian truck, Soundwave can also turn into a boombox, as shown right before his boss battle, in the game's ending credits and a GameStop promotional commercial for the game featuring Shockwave. In this mode, he plays the Stan Bush songs "The Touch" and "Till All Are One".


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: In this sequel to "Transformers: War for Cybertron," Soundwave is playable in two levels. The first time is in Chapter 9 in which he rebuilds Megatron after he was destroyed by Metroplex. The other level is the final one in which Soundwave boards the "Ark" and helps destroy the Ark's defenses. Rumble and Laserbeak assist Soundwave in these tasks. He pops up throughout the rest of the game as an NPC.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave appears in "", appearing sporadically in season one and becoming a primary villain starting in season two, though he enters a much more heroic role in season three and four. More brutish and petty than previously incarnations, he is often shown playing fitting music for whatever situation is at hand on his speakers, annoying both Autobots and Decepticons alike.


title: Soundwave (Transformers)

text: Soundwave is first seen in the animated series in season one during a memory of Bumblebee's at Maccadam's Old Oil House, where he impresses some of the other patrons with his dancing skills. During season two, he butts heads with fellow Decepticon Shockwave, such as taking the opportunity to mock Shockwave when he gets chastised for "making excuses" by Megatron. During the first half of season three, Soundwave is one of the few Cybertronians freed from the Quintessons' time loop, where he learns to work alongside the Autobot Hot Rod to mount a campaign of resistance against them, and eventually becomes Hot Rod's friend. However, as a result of being forcibly pulled out of the time loop, Soundwave occasionally freezes up. The two eventually learn about the Quintesson Scientist and go to confront him. The Scientist reveals that he keeps Soundwaves from universes that the Quintessons have judged "guilty" and destroyed as "souvenirs", much to Soundwave's disgust. After he freezes up again, the Scientist fixes him, and Soundwave "thanks" the Scientist by attacking him before releasing Laserbeak to help the other Cybertronians free all the Autobots and Decepticons from the loop. Soundwave and Hot Rod attempt to rally the bickering Autobots and Decepticons, though when this doesn't work Soundwave releases a sonic blast to pacify everyone, before ordering them to train against the Quintesson forces. Soundwave plays a major role during the second half of season four, helping his fellow Cybertronians fight Tarn's brainwashed Perfect Decepticons. During the ensuing chaos, he manages to seize the Cortex Helm from Tarn and uses it to free the Perfect Decepticons, ultimately sacrificing himself to annihilate both Tarn and the helm. Hot Rod holds a memorial for his fallen friend after the battle, which both Autobots and Decepticons attend as Cybertron finally enters a new age of peace.


title: Quercus suber

text: Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section "Quercus" sect. "Cerris". It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period.


title: Quercus suber

text: It endures drought and makes little demand on the soil quality and is regarded as a defence against desertification. Cork oak forests are home to a multitude of animal and plant species. Since cork is increasingly being displaced by other materials as a bottle cap, these forests are at risk as part of the cultural landscape and animal species such as the Iberian lynx are threatened with extinction.


title: Quercus suber

text: The cork oak grows as an evergreen tree, reaching an average height of or in rare cases up to 25 m and a trunk diameter (DBH) of . It forms a dense and asymmetrical crown that starts at a height of and spreads widely in free-standing trees. The crown can be divided into several separate, rounded partial crowns.


title: Quercus suber

text: The young twigs are densely hairy light gray or whitish. Older branches are strong and knotty. Older trees only form short shoots between in length.


title: Quercus suber

text: The thick, longitudinally cracked cork layers of the gray-brown trunk bark are characteristic of the cork oak. The cambium of the smooth bark of young trees forms a cork layer very early on, which can be thick. The light and spongy cork fabric shows vertical cracks and is white on the outside and red to red-brown on the inside. After the cork has been harvested, the trunk appears reddish brown, but later it is significantly darker. The wood is ring-pored, has a brown heartwood and a light reddish sapwood. The cork oak develops a taproot that reaches a depth of and from which several meters long, horizontally running side roots extend. The trees can reach over 400 years old, and harvested specimens can be 150 to 200 years old.


title: Quercus suber

text: The leathery leaves are alternate and are long and wide. The shape varies between round, oval and lanceolate-oval. The leaf blade has five to seven sharp teeth on both edges and a pointed vegetation cone (apex). The midrib stands out clearly on the underside of the leaf, the first-order lateral nerves usually lead to the teeth of the leaf margin. The upper side of the leaf is light green, the underside of the leaf whitish and densely hairy. There is no hair on young trees. The leaf stalks are long and are also hairy. At the base of the petiole are two narrow, lanceolate, long and bright red stipules that fall off in the first year. The new leaves appear in April and May, when older leaves are also shed. They usually stay on the tree for two to three years, less often only one year, the latter especially in severe environmental conditions and on the northern border of the distribution area. Extremely cold winters can also lead to complete defoliation.


title: Quercus suber

text: The cork oak is single sexed (monoecious), with both female and male flowers on one specimen. The female flowers form upright inflorescences in the leaf axils of young branches. These are formed from a hairy axis long with two to five separate flowers. The female flowers contain a small, hairy, four- to six-lobed flower envelope and three to four styles. The male catkins also arise on the leaf axils of young branches. They are bright red at the beginning and stand upright, older catkins are yellow and pendulous, long and have a whitish hairy axis. The single flowers are sessile and have a densely hairy flower cover that is colored red when opened. The four to six stamens are whitish with yellow, egg-shaped anthers. They are longer than the bracts.


title: Quercus suber

text: The fruit clusters are long and carry two to eight acorns. About half of the fruits are enclosed in the fruit cup (cupule); the fruit cups are in diameter. The upper scales of the cupula are gray and hairy, in the subspecies "Quercus suber occidentalis" the scales are close together or are fused. The size of the acorns varies between lengths of and diameters of . The fruit casing (pericarp) is bare, smooth and shiny brownish red. The hilum (the starting point of the seed) is convex and has a diameter of .


title: Quercus suber

text: "Quercus suber" is a species of the "Cerris" section to which, for example, the following species also belong:


title: Quercus suber

text: Characteristic for the section are the hairless pericarp and the usually two-year ripening time of the fruits. The cork oak is an exception because the fruits can ripen in both the first and the second year.


title: Quercus suber

text: Together with the Turkey oak ("Quercus cerris") and the holm oak ("Quercus ilex"), the cork oak forms hybrid bastards.


title: Quercus suber

text: The scientific name "Quercus suber" is derived from the Latin word "quercus", which the Romans used to describe the pedunculate oak ("Quercus robur"). The specific epithet "suber" means in Latin cork oak and also cork.


title: Quercus suber

text: The cork oak occupies the area around the western Mediterranean basin. In Portugal, natural and cultivated stands cover an area of 750,000 hectares. There are natural populations of the nominate form at altitudes between above sea level, the subspecies "occidentalis" is found along the Atlantic coast. In Spain the occurrences remain mostly below , but rarely reach heights of . In Spain, cork oaks are common in the southern half of the country, as well as in the western and northeastern areas, but rare in central Spain. In Italy one finds natural occurrences along the Tyrrhenian Sea and in eastern Apulia on the Adriatic Sea. Also on the Adriatic is the cork oak on the Dalmatian coast. It is one of the most common forest trees in Sardinia. Natural and man-made occurrences exist in Africa on the Mediterranean coast of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco and at altitudes up to , on the High Atlas up to . In its native range, cork oak forests cover approximately . Outside of its natural range, the cork oak is cultivated in the Crimea, the Caucasus, India and the Southwestern United States. The subspecies "Quercus suber occidentalis" also thrives in mild areas of England.


title: Quercus suber

text: The species needs very little light and cannot survive in dense populations. It loves warmth, grows at annual mean temperatures of and can withstand maximum temperatures of up to . In the area of distribution, the temperature rarely falls below freezing point, but temperatures down to without damage and down to without major damage can be tolerated. The cork oak is not hardy in Central Europe. It endures drought and survives dry periods in summer by reducing its metabolism. An annual rainfall of is considered optimal, in cooler locations can be sufficient with enough humidity. Cork oaks have low soil demands and also grow in poor, dry or rocky locations. They rarely thrive on calcareous soils, but they are often found on crystalline slates, on gneiss, granite and sands. The acidity of the soil should be between pH 4.5 and 7.


title: Quercus suber

text: The cork oak is considered a pyrophyte because it recovers quickly after forest fires as it is protected by the cork.


title: Quercus suber

text: The cork oak forest is one of the major plant communities of the Mediterranean woodlands and forests ecoregion. In natural populations, the cork oak grows together with the holm oaks ("Quercus ilex", "Quercus rotundifolia"), the downy oak ("Quercus pubescens"), the maritime pine ("Pinus pinaster"), the stone pine ("Pinus pinea"), the strawberry tree ("Arbutus unedo") and the olive tree ("Olea europaea"), in cooler locations also with the sweet chestnut ("Castanea sativa"). In addition to these tree species, the shrub-forming species include the Kermes oak ("Quercus coccifera"), the holly buckthorn ("Rhamnus alaternus"), species of the genus "Phillyrea", the myrtle ("Myrtus communis"), the green heather ("Erica scoparia"), the common smilax ("Smilax aspera") and the Montpellier cistus ("Cistus monspeliensis") are often found together with the cork oak.


title: Quercus suber

text: Cork oak forests are home to several rare species, such as the Iberian Peninsula for the threatened Iberian lynx ("Lynx pardinus") and the endangered Iberian imperial eagle ("Aquila adalberti"), and a large part of the European crane population winters here. In the northwestern Maghreb, some cork oak forests are habitat to the endangered Barbary macaque ("Macaca sylvanus"), a species whose habitat is fragmented and whose range was prehistorically much wider. The Berber deer ("Cervus elaphus" subsp. "Barbarus") lives in the cork oak forests of Tunisia.


title: Quercus suber

text: As a pyrophyte, this tree has a thick, insulating bark that makes it well adapted to forest fires. After a fire, many tree species regenerate from seeds (as, for example, the maritime pine) or resprout from the base of the tree (as, for example, the holm oak). The bark of the cork oak allows it to survive fires and then simply regrow branches to fill out the canopy. The quick regeneration of this oak makes it successful in the fire-adapted ecosystems of the Mediterranean biome.


title: Quercus suber

text: The cork oak enters into a mycorrhizal symbiosis with several types of fungus. The fine root system of the oak is in close contact with the mycelium of the fungus. The oak receives water and nutrient salts from the fungus in exchange for products of photosynthesis. Such a symbiosis exists among others with the following species:


title: Quercus suber

text: Cork oak is relatively resistant to pathogens, but some diseases occur in the species. Leaf spot can be caused by the fungus "Apiognomonia errabunda". Other fungi can cause leaf scorching, powdery mildew, rust, and cankers.


title: Quercus suber

text: The most virulent cork oak pathogen may be "Diplodia corticola", a sac fungus which causes sap-bleeding sunken canker wounds in the wood, withering of the leaves, and lesions on the acorns. The fungus "Biscogniauxia mediterranea" is becoming more common in cork oak forests. Its fruiting bodies appear as charcoal-black cankers. Both of these fungi are transmitted by the oak pinhole borer ("Platypus cylindrus"), a species of weevil.


title: Quercus suber

text: The common water mould "Phytophthora cinnamomi" grows in the roots of the tree and has been known to devastate cork oak woodlands.


title: Quercus suber

text: Several species of butterflies damage the cork oak, the most important being the gypsy moth ("Lymantria dispar"). The species lays its eggs in the bark of the branches and trunks, and the caterpillars that hatch in spring are distributed in the crown and eat them bare. The bacterial species "Bacillus thuringiensis" is used as a biological plant protection agent against the gypsy moth. Another pest is the green oak tortrix ("Tortrix viridana"), whose caterpillars eat flowers and young leaves and roll them up with thread to form typical coils. The lackey moth ("Malacosoma neustria") also causes damage to the leaves, sticking its eggs to the bark of thin twigs in multiple rows, and also the brown-tail moth ("Euproctis chrysorrhoea"), whose caterpillars skeletonize the leaves and further damage the tree after overwintering in spring. A special cork pest is the jewel beetle "Coraebus undatus", which lays its eggs in the cork tissue. Another harmful species of beetle is the great capricorn beetle ("Cerambyx cerdo"), whose larvae eat long corridors in the oak wood.


title: Quercus suber

text: Unfavorable climatic conditions and fungal attack are made responsible for the weakening of trees and for crown damage. Such fungal parasites of weakness are "Botryosphaeria stevensii", "Biscogniauxia mediterranea", "Endothiella gyrosa" and representatives of the mold genus "Fusarium". Drought and parasite infestation are also considered to be the cause of the weakness syndrome in parts of Spain and Portugal.


title: Quercus suber

text: The cork oak is grown for the production of cork in several Mediterranean countries. The centers of cork production are in southern Portugal (accounting for 50% of the total production) and southern Spain, where low trees with large crowns and strong branches are grown in large areas, which provide the highest yield of cork. These mostly extensively managed habitats are called "montados" in Portugal and "dehesas" in Spain. They are considered to be extremely valuable from the point of view of biodiversity and cultural heritage.