Sunder (G1)

Sunder is an Autobot from the 2005 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

In the mood for some nightmare fuel? He's just around the corner!

Mnemosurgery is no easy job; some 'bots are not cut out for the task of browsing through memories of patients and analyzing them. Such is the case with Sunder. A former practitioner of the field, nowadays he's more well known for having embarked on numerous murders.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

Sunder used to be a world-class mnemosurgeon. Speak, Memory: Part 1 Like many with his skills, Sunder suffered for his profession, which he considered akin to "walking with death," unable to stop despite knowing that the "fatal injection" was getting closer and closer. Speak, Memory! (Part 2) Eventually, he went insane and embarked on a killing spree, and became known as the Tetrahex Ripper. Speak, Memory: Part 1 He was arrested thanks to information provided by his spark brother Sceptre, whom the police found thanks to a profile composed by noted psychopathologist Froid. Froid became fascinated with Sunder's case and tagged along on the prison transport taking the brothers to Garrus 6. But nobody could have foreseen what happened next. While imprisoned, Sunder had evolved his skills to the next level, developing the ability to perform "remote mnemosurgery", able to probe a 'bot's mind without physical contact. It was with this ability that he effected his and Sceptre's escape, using it to make the guards forget to lock the doors. Sunder took Froid hostage and fled aboard Sceptre in his spaceship alternate mode, but a barrage of fire crippled Sceptre, resulting in a crash that ended his life. Sunder and Froid survived and forged an unusual partnership: in return for Sunder allowing Froid to study him and his skills, Froid would help Sunder cope with Sceptre's death and provide him with fresh victims. Sunder developed a "taste" for the memories of his victims, "feasting" on their darkest secrets. Speak, Memory: Part 1

Kids might not have slept when they saw this face.

Sceptre's body was repaired and used by Froid and Sunder as a ship, with a cell in which Froid kept his "patient". By now thoroughly off his rocker, Sunder smeared the words "Mortilus" and "the death bringer" over and over in various dialects across his cell walls. To better control his appetite, Froid convinced Sunder that he needed to see his patients before he could feed on them, then removed his eyes to prevent him from doing so, wearing them around his neck disguised as a pair of Primal Beads. Speak, Memory: Part 1 For a time, the pair settled on Scarvix, where Sunder's remote viewing powers allowed Froid to learn his patients' memories without them knowing, earning him a reputation as the most effective (and rich and famous!) therapist on the planet. Speak, Memory! (Part 2)

Seeking new victims for Sunder, Froid came to the Lost Light in order to obtain patient notes from his old rival Rung, but when Rung refused, Froid sought to feed him to Sunder instead. Sunder was denied from feasting upon the psychiatrist thanks to the intervention of Skids, but Froid was able to return his eyes, Speak, Memory: Part 1 then released him, believing it the "least worst option" now the Ripper knew there was all sorts of food out there. Sunder displayed a new power, mentally forcing Transformers to transform after making them forget how and thus making them turn themselves inside out. He started with the guards Fervor and Kindle and then moved into the rest of the ship, which went under lockdown. Numerous others fell, including Rodimus. Karma caught up with Froid as Sunder feasted on his sin and turned him inside-out, after which Thunderclash and Megatron engaged the monster. Rattled to the point that he ceased affecting the creepy voice and overwrought speech pattern he normally employed, Sunder retreated to the ship's hangar and transformed his brother's huge body into robot mode, which he piloted as battle armor. He took down Thunderclash but Rung, using remote-controlled gun-wielding drone ships, distracted him long enough for Tailgate to land the final blow by dropping the Rodpod on him. Speak, Memory! (Part 2)

C'mon bro, be my murder-pimp.

When Getaway took over the ship, he released Sunder from prison in the hope of using his powers to control the crew: trapping Thunderclash in a memory loop and making everyone think the turfed-out Autobots had left willingly. Sunder agreed in exchange for the disembodied life cords of twenty five people so he could feast on their memories, and while Getaway almost balked at the price, Sunder's old pal Froid helped swing him around, and thus the Ripper got to eat two dozen potential troublemakers. As a result, everyone was duly mind-altered. Filling in the Blanks

When Getaway needed the crew's memories altered again, Sunder asked for five life cords and then upped it to ten when Getaway refused. They were interrupted mid-haggle by Blaster, who triumphantly announced that they had reached Cyberutopia. Journey's End

The happy atmosphere was not to last however, as it was soon revealed that the fabled promised land was nothing more than an elaborate illusion created by the artificial moon of Mederi. The Lost Light then came under attack from a group of Worldsweepers in the employ of the Grand Architect, with Getaway managing to bargain with the being. While most of the crew were turned into sparkeaters as a sign of loyalty, Lūstrāre Froid and Sunder found themselves properly recruited, being transferred to the flagship. After capturing Team Rodimus, Scorponok ordered Sunder to hack into the Architect's mind and discover who he really was and his true goals. Though Sunder managed a quick scan, the Architect resisted, forcing him out and stripping the mnemosurgeon of his powers in the process. Along with Froid, Sunder was placed in Team Rodimus's cell, where they compared notes on the Architect and his plan before the God Gun punched open a hole between universes. Farsickness

When Megatron flew through, followed by an alternate version of the Functionist Council, the Architect's forces attacked. In the confusion, Megatron freed most of the group from the cell, Sunder being brought aboard the Last Light to learn of the Council's plans. The Return of the King When the rest of the group freed themselves, everyone boarded the Lost Light to brainstorm ideas, eventually hitting on the plan of using twelve duplicate Matrices of Leadership to overload Vector Sigma and erase the Functionists. At this idea, the enraged Omega Guardians spoke via the Magnificence and unleashed a powerful bolt of energy that tore through Sunder, Froid, and Nine-of-Twelve, killing all three on the spot. The Unremembering

Notes

• His nom du meurtrier, "the Tetrahex Ripper", is a nod to Peter Sutcliffe's press name of "the Yorkshire Ripper".
• In "Speak, Memory", most of his word balloons are creepily black with white text. This is revealed at the end to be a Mortilus impression done to scare people and he has to concentrate on doing it.
• James Roberts stated on Twitter that Sunder had a jet alt-mode with which he could combine with Sceptre, but the alt-mode had become useless due to self-mutilation. Roberts also commented that Sunder sounds like John Hurt when not doing his Mortilus impression.^[1]
• By contrast, Hayato Sakamoto created a full-body sketch of Sunder as having a lunar rover alt-mode, with the robot head forming a satellite dish.^[2]

References