The Energon Pub

Let's consider our options.

Megatron's an Autobot. Soundwave's allied with Optimus in the name of peace. Starscream's leading Cybertron. Bludgeon's off doing god knows what with Trypticon for god knows why (aside from the big upcoming Titan-Class Trypticon in stores now for only £150 event!). Galvatron's dead. Shockwave's dead. Ratbat's dead. Straxus is dead...

Lots of dead guys, aren't there?

Point being, the Decepticons don't have much of a choice for a leader if they don't wanna turn neutral, Autobot or space colony enthusiast. I mean, you could make Acid Storm king, but do you really want that? Do you really? ... you totally do, don't you.

So with all those dead or reformed or sort-of-kind-of-reformed-but-not-really or off-being-a-skeleton-samurai-scientist leaders, who's left?

Now of course there's probably a lot of other possible leaders out there (including going for an out-of-left-field BW Megatron. That'd be cool.) But two leadership roles in particular stand out to me.

1. Deathsaurus and/or Nickel.
This, in my opinion, would be friggin' awesome. Just a few issues made me fall in love with Deathsaurus; his love and compassion for his troops winning through completely. And Nickel? I doubt very much her colony's death at the hands of the Black Block Consortia didn't have an effect on her. This could bring us to a leadership style somewhere between Galvatron and Soundwave; an immense care for their troops... but not quite seeking peace over conquest either. These two could be interesting anti-villains, all I'm saying.

2. Scorponok.
This is probably very likely though. He's been MIA for a while - oh, yeah, he was imprisoned on Garrus-9. I'm suuuure he didn't escape during Overlord's little party - and he's got a Titan Class toy coming in a year or two. Just tell me this bastard isn't gonna resurface. Just try and tell me. Try.


I dunno, just figured I'd make this for fun lol. Who should lead the Evil forces of the Decepticons for the Autobots to wage their battle to destroy?
Even though the comic is no longer about that, having evolved past it into far, far more interesting ideas and storylines

In the G1 comics, Scorponok was always 1 of my favorite leaders, after Shockwave. And even though I always keep a tiny sliver of hope that IDW will bring Shocky back somehow, I think Scorponok would make a very good leader, and I think you're right when you say that he is the likely choice, considering his big-ass toy is on the way. However. If the character stays true to the toy, he will be a massive city-bot, and I don't think he would be effective as a leader that way. Unless they find a way to match him with Fortress Maximus and make him a double headmaster somehow, where the head of Scorponok is actually the leader, not Scorponok himself. Though I would prefer a smaller Scorponok, perhaps a leader size, but we know the Titan figure is coming.

Here's another idea: Megatron was turned into an Autobot, so why can't a high-profile Autobot be turned into a Decepticon, even going as far as taking over as leader? Someone who would want to rebel against Autobot leadership, perhaps even an unhappy-for-some-reason Autobot leader? Imagine Ultra Magnus and Rodimus having a totally knock-down drag-out falling out and one of them (more likely Rodimus) decides to quit the Autobots and become a de-facto Decepticon? Not because he loves the "Decepticon cause" but because he wants to lead and is denied leadership among the Autobots. If Megatron, the worst of the worst, could be turned noble so masterfully, can't Magnus, the most heroic, be taken down into the gutter and dragged through the mud? Or is that what's happening with Optimus right now? I haven't caught up on the current storylines, I still have to read the last 2 volumes of the Transformers trades.

Well, rather the point with Megatron is that he didn't start off the worst of the worst and post-DOOP seemed to imply he was under delusions that what he was doing was for the greater good. His faction betrayal was largely due in part to finally realising that the Decepticons really, really weren't the good guys anymore. We don't really have any hints of any sort of conflict like that in Rodimus or Magnus and it'd be very out of left field; someone like Flame or one of the Monsterbots, sure, but the both of them would laugh off the suggestion.
Well, Rodimus would. Magnus would probably arrest you.

Optimus is... in a strange place right now. Technically he does actually have leadership over a small faction of Decepticons who want peace through Soundwave, though that's a bit complicated at the moment and it's been shown that even the cassettes aren't very fond of Soundwave's decision. Really hope that's something that'll be explored in future issues.



One possibility I didn't mention before actually is Sixshot, who was last shown to be alive in some capacity. A phase-sixer could easily intimidate desperate 'cons into following him - Overlord certainly had no problem on Garrus-9 - and it'd be a cool way to get the best furman-era IDW character into the book

I agree with Roddy here about an Autobot being a potential contender. I can't help but get the feeling that Rodimus' new paintjob is some foreshadowing of what may happen to him.

It's currently Deathsaurus and/or Soundwave, but only in a de facto sense.

I don't think your next big bad for the series will be a Decepticon.



I'm thinking Prowl or Liege Maximo. Already some Impactor anti-hero seeds planted to play around with, plus some Torchbearers that know a lot about a lot.

The amount of pieces on the chess board is growing quickly, some pawns ought to start falling soon. At least I'd hope so! Don't want them to George RR Martin themselves into too much of a continuity (Meereenese?) knot.

Oh, most certainly - an Autobot or even factionless main antagonist seems the most likely route. ... that is, if they're to have a main antagonist at all. I'm currently rather enjoying the set-up of Optimus having to meet up with and try to reconnect with all these different colonies and factions out there while having a no-true-villains little relationship with Earth.

What I was concerned with in particular for this though is the fate of the Decepticon faction itself and what direction it'll go in - since the war it's been falling apart at the seams, and new leaders have joined on and fallen dime a dozen since Megatron's defection. I personally like the idea of Deathsaurus and/or Soundwave leading them to peace, but there's a lot of directions it could go.

Considering his disposition, cunning, and command of the Constructicons, Prowl would be an ideal candidate.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Considering his disposition, cunning, and command of the Constructicons, Prowl would be an ideal candidate.

Ah, but the dude hates Decepticons. It's the whole drive behind pretty much everything he does and has done; the whole reason he went behind everyone's back was because he was that paranoid about the Decepticons (and to some extent, he was correct). He brought on the Constructicons because they were willing to follow and there was no way he wasn't gonna use an asset as potent as Devastator.

Megaempress of course! A little thing like not existing in IDW isn't going to stop her from taking the mantle of leadership, wooing back Megatron to the Decepticon cause, and commencing the domination of the entire universe under her chrome-plated heel! All hail Megaempress, Mistress of Mayhem!