Some things you might not know about Darkwave:
Hasbro made four different action figures for him : Darkecho: Evil Predacon Vampire Bat™, Transmetal Darkecho™, Transmetal II Darkecho™ and Darkwave: Decepticon Reborn™ (with Fracas™, Ruckus™ and Scratch™). The Transmetal II version was originally going to be used on the show by having the character return to the Predacon Revolutionaries. However, the writers decided it would be better to leave him with the Maximals after they finally hammered out the details of the Maximal command structure. I don't want to leave any spoilers here for anyone who hasn't seen the famous "Magnaboss" episode in Season Three but after you see it you'll understand why the writers decided to just leave Darkecho with the Maximals and skip straight to the Darkwave body.
The character of Darkwave has his own secret collection of action figures of some of the other characters that he makes as a hobby in his spare time. Over 70% of the D: DR figures were bought by and for people over the age of 20. A full 25% of those are estimated to still be in their original boxes. The color schemes for Fracas and Ruckus are switched on the show compared to the action figures. The writers did this intentionally as a sort of tribute to the original Generation One characters Rumble™ and Frenzy™.
The following are the Tech Specs as presented on the package of the Darkwave: Decepticon Reborn™ figure.
Darkwave
Allegiance: Predacon
Function: Loyalty Enforcer
Motto: "All will join with us or be destroyed by us. You can no more evade my wrath than you can your own shadow."
Strength - 10+
Intelligence - 10
Speed - 8
Endurance - 10
Rank - 10
Courage - 10+
Firepower - 10+
Skill - 10+
Profile: Darkwave is the rebuilt form of Soundwave. In his new incarnation he serves Tripredicus as a spy. He can hear even the slightest traitorous whisper and his massive strength and firepower allow him to immediately punish any Predacon foolish enough to voice dissent within earshot of him. Predacons all fear Darkwave. The Tripredacus Council use him as a figurehead of menace, a robotic bogeyman, to keep their subordinates in line as part of their doctrine of fear.
Abilities: Darkwave's sensors can detect radio transmissions of the lowest energy levels. He can even "read minds" by monitoring the electrical activity in someone's brain circuitry, if he's standing nearby. His audio sensors are so acute that he can hear a 10-decibel whisper at a range of 5 miles. He is capable of pulverizing buildings by emitting audio disruption waves in the form of a massive scream from his sonar emitters. He carries a concussion-blaster gun and a massive axe that he uses to execute Predacon traitors.
Weaknesses: Darkwave is loyal to Tripredicus and determined to see that everyone else is too. His obsession with rooting out traitors has frequently caused him to destroy Predacons that Tripredacus still had uses for. Tripredacus has always forgiven him until now because of his great loyalty and usefulness. Darkwave considers himself indispensable and so he often extends his authority farther than Tripredicus would like. The council has recently been having doubts about what would happen if one of them did something questionable in Darkwave's presence. Would he try to enforce one of them as well?
The following are Tech Specs as written by fans of the Secrets of Cybertron show. They are more representative of the character in the cartoon than the Tech Specs on the toy package.
Darkwave
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Conqueror
Motto: "All are one. All are not equal. Cybertron will be one under Decepticon rule."
Strength - 9
Intelligence - 10+
Speed - 6
Endurance - 7
Rank - 7
Courage - 8
Firepower - 10
Skill - 10
Profile: Darkwave is reincarnation of Soundwave. He took on his present form after optimizing with the spark of Soundwave. In his new incarnation he strives to once again place Cybertron under Decepticon rule. He can hear even the slightest whisper and he puts all the information he discovers to use in achieving his goal. Maximals generally distrust Darkwave but he has discovered many secrets about the Maximal Council and Magnaboss to achieve a position of power despite their mistrust of him. For now, Darkwave is a Maximal but he continues to secretly work towards uniting Cybertron under his rule. The Maximal Council uses him as a figurehead of equality, showing how free from prejudice the Maximals are and how anyone can rise to prominence as a Maximal.
Abilities: Darkwave's sensors can detect radio transmissions of the lowest energy levels. He can even "read minds" by monitoring the electrical activity in someone's brain circuitry, if he touches them. His audio sensors are so acute that he can hear (and "see" with sonar) through solid walls and he can even determine someone's allegiance by the sound their internal mechanisms make. He is capable of emitting a powerful ultrasonic scream from his vocalizer unit but his preferred weapons are the energy of his own spark and his massive fists. He carries a concussion-blaster gun that he rarely uses and a massive "axe" that he uses equally more for playing music than for fighting.
Weakness: Darkwave cannot abide traitors. He does not trust defectors or converts unless he can personally check their programming (and correct any "errors"). Darkwave is also blind. He sees through the use of radar and sonar so he "sees" only shapes making computer screens and color designations useless to him. No one really likes to be around Darkwave because, intentionally or not, he overhears everything said in the same building with him. His eavesdropping makes others uncomfortable.