Starscream

Due to his treachery and personality, he has become a fan favorite and has had many future characters within the franchise to bear his name, some of which share his desire to become leader of the Decepticons. Starscream has, at some points, had control over the Decepticons, but his actions usually lead him to being defeated, or overruled by the more powerful Megatron. Starscream makes no secret of his ambition to overthrow Megatron as Decepticon leader. He is more intelligent than the average Decepticon, ruthless, and cruel, but he is also unlikely to directly act on his ultimate ambition without assurance of conditions favorable to his ascension. He considers himself vastly superior to other Decepticons, and looks down on Megatron for being antiquated in his military strategy and tactics. Starscream believes that the Decepticons should rely more on guile and speed rather than brute destructive force to defeat the Autobots, though, even when given the chance to strike out on his own, he is equally as successful as Megatron. Megatron frequently overlooks the potential threat that Starscream represents. However, Starscream often exhausts Megatron's patience quickly; violent-yet-brief verbal and/or physical conflicts are not uncommon between the two. Usually, these result in Megatron treating Starscream in a humiliatingly dismissive manner and in two cases actually resulted in his banishment: once to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific and once to a desolate asteroid in deep space.

Unicron

The character Unicron first appeared in the opening scene of 1986's The Transformers: The Movie, immediately making clear his driving goal by consuming the small world of Lithone in the year 2005. Subsequently, when the battered bodies of Decepticon leader Megatron and several of his troops were set adrift in space by Starscream following a furious battle with the Autobots, Unicron appeared before them and offered Megatron a deal: in exchange for a new body, and new troops, Megatron would destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, the only thing that could stand in Unicron's way. Thus, Megatron became Galvatron, and began to carry out his assigned task, although he was loath to do so. When Galvatron showed any signs of opposition to Unicron's will, Unicron inflicted agonizing torture on his servant, even from a great distance, to coerce into obedience. Following Unicron's consumption of Cybertron's two moons, Galvatron successfully obtained the Matrix, believing he could use it to bring Unicron under his control. Attempting to open the Matrix to intimidate Unicron, Galvatron only prompted his transformation into robot mode, and was swallowed by the planet-eater. Unicron proceeded to lay waste to Cybertron, halted briefly when the young Autobot, Hot Rod, crashed a Quintesson spacecraft through his eye. Finding Hot Rod inside Unicron's body, Galvatron suggested an alliance against their common enemy. However, Unicron inflicted his mental torture upon Galvatron, forcing him to fight Hot Rod. Hot Rod took the Matrix from Galvatron during the battle, and became Rodimus Prime. Rodimus threw Galvatron into space, and opened the Matrix within Unicron, destroying his body, leaving only his head drifting in space.

Soundwave

Soundwave is one of the most recognizable characters from the original Transformers line due to his unique alternate mode, a microcassette recorder, and his distinctive, monotone, computerized voice.

Soundwave can detect and jam radio transmissions all across the energy spectrum, a talent that makes him naturally suited to his position as Decepticon Communications Officer. Soundwave also possesses the ability to monitor electrical impulses within brain circuitry - i.e. he can read minds. Additionally, he has a photographic memory thanks to the vast data storage capacity of the magnetic disks in his chest compartment, and he is armed with a shoulder-mounted radio wave sensor and hand-held concussion blaster. Soundwave is also one of the physically strongest Transformers. He transforms, shrinking as he does so, into an Earthly microcassette deck, and in the tape compartment, which becomes his chest in robot mode, he stores the Decepticon spy cassettes Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ratbat, Rumble, Frenzy, Slugfest and Overkill who are under his command in the original television series.

Rodimus Prime

Rodimus Prime is the upgraded, reformatted form of the youthful Autobot Hot Rod, and the Chosen One of Autobot legend who would rise from their ranks and open the Matrix of Leadership to "light [their] darkest hour", marking him as the new Autobot commander.

Although Rodimus speaks with the savvy voice of a seasoned veteran, in truth, at his heart, he is still Hot Rod, and bears the burden of leadership heavily, constantly second-guessing himself and feeling that he can never live up to the legacy of Optimus Prime. He can, on occasion, be hot-headed, tending to act first and ask questions later, but he has dedicated himself to the preservation of life in its myriad forms. He transforms into a futuristic recreational vehicle (resembling 1980 concept car, the Citroën Penthouse CX) and in robot mode, wields a photon eliminator that shoots high voltage electricity.

Shockwave

As the Decepticons' military operations commander, Shockwave's power is second only to Megatron's, and even that is disputed. His actions are carried out with the cold, brutal clarity and perfection one would expect of a purely mechanical being — his way is not that of blood lust, like so many other Decepticons, but rather that of a scientist attempting to solve a problem. And that problem is: how can he use his abilities to most effectively eliminate the greatest number of enemies? Unfortunately for the Autobots, it is rare that Shockwave does not find an answer.

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