Disassembled: Heroes and Villains

Why Tarn and the DJD Were the Decepticons’ Scariest Creation - Transformers Deep Dive

• Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics • Season 1 • Episode 4

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Tarn wasn’t a conqueror. He wasn’t a warlord.

He was something far more dangerous—a believer.


In this haunting deep dive, Disassembled: Heroes and Villains unpacks the story of Tarn and the Decepticon Justice Division—a group so feared, even Decepticons whispered their names. But behind the executions, the list, and the voice that could kill… was a tragic spiral of loyalty turned lethal.


We trace Tarn’s descent from prison commandant to ideological enforcer, revealing how his obsession with Megatron’s teachings destroyed not only others—but himself. And in doing so, we confront a terrifying truth: when belief becomes identity, even mercy becomes treason.


This episode explores:


  • The emotional horror of Grindcore Prison
  • Tarn’s manipulation of Skids and betrayal of Quark
  • The DJD’s most chilling executions
  • Cross-franchise parallels to Vader, Magneto, and Zamasu
  • What real-world extremism teaches us about blind devotion


If you’ve ever asked how a hero becomes a villain—this is the answer.


📩 For sponsorships or business inquiries: handsomecomics@gmail.com

🧠 New episodes every Thursday.

🎙 Written and hosted by Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics.

HE DIDN'T FIGHT FOR POWER. HE DIDN'T FIGHT FOR CONQUEST. HE FOUGHT FOR SOMETHING FAR MORE DANGEROUS, AN IDEA. IN THE SHADOWS OF CYBERTRON'S GREAT WAR, WHERE PROPAGANDA BLURRED REALITY AND DOCTRINE IGNITED VIOLENCE ACROSS THE STARS, THERE WAS A NAME WHISPERED WITH FEAR EVEN DECEPTICONS DARED NOT SPEAK. TARN, LEADER OF THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION. TO HIS VICTIMS, HE WAS A REAPER OF TRAITORS. TO HIS FOLLOWERS, THE EMBODIMENT OF DECEPTICON SUPREMACY. BUT BEHIND THE MASK WAS A LOYALIST TURNED FANATIC, A SCHOLAR OF MEGATRON'S TEACHINGS WHO MISTOOK OBEDIENCE FOR TRUTH. HE DIDN'T JUST BELIEVE IN THE CAUSE, HE WORSHIPPED IT, AND IN DOING SO, HE BECAME ITS SHARPEST WEAPON. THIS IS NOT THE STORY OF A TYRANT OR EVEN A MONSTER. THIS IS THE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LOYALTY BECOMES OBSESSION AND BELIEF BECOMES DEADLY. THIS IS DISASSEMBLED, HEROES AND. VILLAINS, AND TODAY WE'RE DIVING INTO THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK, THE FIRE BEHIND THE MISSION, AND THE TERRIFYING PRICE OF UNSHAKEN CONVICTION, WITH THE STORY OF TARN AND THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE. DIVISION. BUT HOW DOES A LOYAL FOLLOWER BECOME THE EXECUTIONER OF HIS OWN BELIEFS? TO UNDERSTAND. TARN, WE HAVE TO STRIP AWAY THE MASK, AND BEHIND THAT FEARSOME VOICE, THAT UNRELENTING CONVICTION, WAS A NAME ONCE SPOKEN WITHOUT FEAR, DAMUS. LONG BEFORE HIS NAME WAS SPOKEN WITH DREAD, BEFORE HE WAS THE MASKED EXECUTIONER OF THE DECEPTICON CAUSE, HE WAS DAMUS. NOT A TYRANT, NOT A FANATIC, JUST A GIFTED, BURDENED SPARK IN THE DYING WORLD, FORGED INTO EXISTENCE AS A RARE .1 PERCENTER. DAMUS WAS A STATISTICAL ANOMALY. TRANSFORMERS LIKE HIM, BORN WITH UNIQUELY INTENSE SPARKS, OFTEN DREW FEAR, FASCINATION, OR REVERENCE. BUT CYBERTRON, ESPECIALLY IN ITS TWILIGHT UNDER THE FUNCTIONIST REGIME, HAD NO ROOM FOR MIRACLES, ONLY FOR FUNCTION, ORDER, CONTROL. TO BE DIFFERENT WAS DANGEROUS, TO BE POWERFUL WITHOUT PURPOSE WAS CRIMINAL, AND DAMUS WASN'T JUST RARE, HE WAS AN OUTLIER. A TRANSFORMER WITH ABILITIES THAT DEFIED CLASSIFICATION. HIS POWER? THE ABILITY TO DISABLE A NON-SENTIENT MACHINERY WITH A SINGLE TOUCH. BUT EACH USE CAME AT A PRICE. THE BACKLASH TORE THROUGH HIS SYSTEMS LIKE WILDFIRE, LEAVING PAIN AND DAMAGE BEHIND. HE COULD BRING ENTIRE ENGINES TO A HALT, YET BEAR THE SCARS FOR EVERY SECOND IT LASTED. HE WAS SENT TO THE GIAXAN ACADEMY OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. ON THE SURFACE, IT WAS PRESTIGIOUS. IN TRUTH, IT WAS A CONTAINMENT ZONE FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL, FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT ONE DAY SERVE THE STATE OR BE SILENCED BY IT. HIS ABILITIES WERE STUDIED, HIS BRAIN PATTERNS ANALYZED. HIS IDENTITY, HIDDEN FROM BOTH THE SENATE AND THE. FUNCTIONIST COUNCIL. TO THEM, HE WAS A PROTOTYPE, A PROJECT, A WEAPON IN WAITING. BUT THE SENATE'S FEAR OF OUTLIERS RAN DEEP, AND THEIR CRUELTY DEEPER. SOMETIME BEFORE THE PLOT SURROUNDING. NOMINUS PRIME, DAMUS WAS ARRESTED AND SUBJECTED TO IMPERATA. WHETHER FOR A SUSPECTED ACT OF REBELLION OR SIMPLY FOR EXISTING OUTSIDE OF THEIR DESIGN, THE PUNISHMENT WAS BRUTAL. HIS HANDS AND FACE WERE REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH LIFELESS MACHINERY. HIS NAME WAS STRIPPED, HIS RECORDS ALTERED. AND IN HIS PLACE STOOD A BROKEN SHELL, KNOWN ONLY AS GLITCH. AND GLITCH FADED INTO THE MARGINS OF. CYBERTRONIAN SOCIETY. BUT THE STORY DIDN'T END THERE. THE CYBERTRONIAN SENATE, GROWING DESPERATE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL, PLANTED A FALSE MATRIX OF LEADERSHIP INSIDE THE CORPSE OF NOMINUS PRIME. THE PLOT WAS A TRAP, MEANT TO DETONATE DURING A PUBLIC FUNERAL, FRAME THE DECEPTICON, AND JUSTIFY A SWEEPING AUTHORITARIAN CRACKDOWN. BUT ORION PAX UNCOVERED THE TRUTH. AND WITH THE HELP OF SENATOR SHOCKWAVE, HE LAUNCHED A PLAN TO STOP THE DETONATION. HE NEEDED A TEAM, A BOSS HE COULD TRUST, AND GLITCH, ALONG WITH WINDCHARGER AND SKIDS, WERE RECRUITED FOR THE MISSION. GLITCH'S TASK WAS CRITICAL. DISABLE THE BASILICA'S DEFLECTOR BEAMS, ALLOWING ACCESS TO THE CORPSE WITHOUT TRIGGERING DEFENSES. HE SUCCEEDED, DESPITE A HICCUP. A POWER SURGE FROM HIS TOUCH JAMMED SKID'S GRAPPLING HOOK MID-SESSION. BUT THE PLAN WORKED. THE BOMB WAS DISARMED. CIVIL WAR AVERTED. FOR A MOMENT, THERE WAS HOPE. BUT NOT FOR GLITCH. SOON AFTER, THE SENATE RETALIATED, TURNING ON ITS OWN. SHOCKWAVE WAS PUNISHED WITH A, SECOND ACT OF VIOLENCE. NOT ONLY WAS HE SUBJECTED TO EMPERATA, BUT HIS MIND WAS BROKEN BY SHADOWPLAY. THE COLD, ANALYTICAL FIGURE HISTORY REMEMBERS WAS FORGED IN THAT MOMENT. BUT GLITCH? HE WAS ALREADY BROKEN. ALREADY REMADE. THE SENATE HAD DISCARDED HIM LONG BEFORE THEY DISCARDED THEIR OWN. AND STILL, HE ENDURED. FOUR MILLION YEARS AGO, A HOTSPOT, THE FIRST IN A MILLION YEARS, IGNITED IN THE. ALLIAN REGION OF CYBERTRON. ORION PAX, ROLLER, WINDCHARGER, AND A RAGTAG GROUP OF OUTLIERS, INCLUDING GLITCH, FOUGHT DESPERATELY TO DEFEND IT. THEY BELIEVED SENTINEL PRIME'S ELITE GUARD AIMED TO DESTROY THE EMERGING SPARKS, ERASING ANY FUTURE THAT DARED DEFY A FUNCTIONIST DOCTRINE. THE BATTLEFIELD BECAME A PROVING GROUND. GLITCH, NOW ARMED WITH REFINED REPLACEMENT HANDS, DEMONSTRATED TERRIFYING PRECISION, DISABLING WAR MACHINES FROM AFAR, COLLAPSING CIRQUE WITH A THOUGHT. HE WASN'T JUST HELPING PAX ANYMORE, HE WAS STANDING FOR SOMETHING. BUT THEN CAME THE VISITORS FROM THE FUTURE. RODIMUS AND THE CREW OF THE LOST FLIGHT ARRIVED BY TIME JUMP, PRETENDING TO BE REINFORCED AND SENT BY ZETA PRIME. AMONG THEM WAS CHROMEDOME, TASKED WITH A SIMPLE YET OMINOUS MISSION, TO PRESERVE THE TIMELINE BY ERASING A MEMORY OF THEIR PRESENCE. ONE BY ONE, CHROMEDOME SHOOK THEIR HANDS. THE MEMORIES OF THIS IMPOSSIBLE MEETING, OF SPARKS SAVED AND LIVES CHANGED, WERE DELETED, BUT NOT IN GLITCH. THE WIPE FALTERED. MAYBE IT WAS HIS UNIQUE SPARK. MAYBE IT WAS FATE. BUT A SLIVER OF MEMORY REMAINED. A VOICE. A PHRASE. YOU SHOULD READ MEGATRON'S EARLY WORK, POWERFUL STUFF. IN THAT HAUNTED, FRACTURED MIND, ONE ALREADY WEIGHTED WITH PAIN, REJECTION, AND LOSS, A NEW PURPOSE BEGAN TO FORM. HE FOUND MEGATRON'S WRITINGS, NOT DECLARATIONS OF WAR, NOT MANIFESTOS OF CONQUEST, BUT POETRY, PHILOSOPHY, RAGE TEMPERED BY REASON, A DREAM OF FREEDOM CARVED INTO VERSE. AND DAMAS, GLITCH, BELIEVED EVERY WORD. IT GAVE SHAPE TO HIS SUFFERING. IT GAVE MEANING TO THE SCARS. IT GAVE HIM SOMETHING TO BECOME. AND WHEN THE TRANSFORMATION CAME, IT WAS TOTAL. HE FORGED A NEW NAME, NOT TO ESCAPE HIS PAIN, BUT TO WEAPONIZE IT. TARN. DAMAS DIED THE MOMENT HE PUT ON THE MASK. BUT TARN? TARN NEEDED OTHERS. BECAUSE BELIEF, NO MATTER HOW PURE, MEANS NOTHING IN SILENCE. SO HE BUILT A CHOIR OF VIOLENCE. NOT COMRADES, NOT BROTHERS. INSTRUMENTS. EACH ONE TUNED TO A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY OF FEAR. TOGETHER, THEY BECAME SOMETHING CYBERTRON HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND WOULD NEVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN. DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION. BEFORE WE CONTINUE WITH THIS STORY OF THE DECEPTICON'S MOST TERRIFYING ENFORCERS, BE SURE TO HIT FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE ON YOUR PODCAST APP IF YOU'RE ENJOYING THIS EXPLORATION OF TARN AND HIS TRAIL OF BODIES ACROSS THIS INCARNATION OF THE TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE FROM. IDW. DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS DROPS NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEK, SPOTLIGHTING THE ICONS THAT SHAPE POP CULTURE. AND NEXT WEEK, WE EXPLORE THE NEAR INDESTRUCTIBLE OVERLORD. NOW, BACK TO THE BLOODY LEDGER OF TARN AND THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION. THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION DIDN'T JUST WAGE WAR. THEY CLEANSED THE COSMOS OF HERETICS. LONG BEFORE THE GALAXY TREMBLED AT TARN'S VOICE, THE MONSTER BEHIND THE MASK WAS FORGED IN SILENCE, WITHIN THE WALLS OF GRINDCORE PRISON. IN THE DYING YEARS OF THE OTTO DECEPTICON. WAR, DOM, A NAME ALREADY NEARLY ERASED, SERVED AS COMMANDANT OF ONE OF THE MOST INFAMOUS. DECEPTICON DEATH CAMPS. NOT A PRISON, A FACTORY OF DESPAIR. GRINDCORE DIDN'T REHABILITATE, IT HARVESTED. PRISONERS WERE STARVED, BEATEN, KEPT IN PERPETUAL DARKNESS. SOME DIED OF NEGLECT, OTHERS OF DESPAIR. FOR MANY, DEATH CAME AT THE HANDS OF THE SMELTER, THE SO-CALLED TELEPORTATION CHAMBER THAT REDUCED PRISONERS INTO RAW MATERIALS FOR WAR. AND BEHIND EVERY EXECUTION, MUSIC. DOMUS WOULD BLAST THE EMPYREAN SUITE, A SACRED HYMN COMPOSED TO HONOR PRIMA IN THE CITADEL OF LIGHT, AT MAXIMUM VOLUME TO DROWN OUT THE SCREAMS OF THOSE MELTING ALIVE. HE DEFILED THE SONG DELIBERATELY, A PERVERSE SYMPHONY OF SUFFERING, A HYMN TO A FALLEN FAITH. BUT PERHAPS HIS CRUELEST ACT WASN'T MECHANICAL, IT WAS EMOTIONAL. AMONG THE PRISONERS WAS SKIDS, HIS FORMER COMRADE AND A BEING OF DEEP SPIRITUAL CONVICTION. DOMUS TOLD HIM THE SMELTER WAS A TELEPORTATION DEVICE, THAT IF SKIDS FIXED IT, FIFTY PRISONERS WOULD BE FREED. AND SKIDS, HOPEFUL, DESPERATE TO BELIEVE IN SOMETHING GOOD, COMPLIED. HE EVEN BEGAN TO SEE HUMANITY IN DOMUS AGAIN, PUSHED FOR MORE RELEASES, TRUSTED THE MAN HE USED TO KNOW. BUT IT WAS ALL A LIE. DOMUS HAD NEVER INTENDED MERCY. HE USED SKIDS TO RESTART THE SMELTER, THEN FORCED HIM TO WATCH AS FIFTY PRISONERS, INCLUDING HIMSELF AND INCLUDING SKID SWELLMAY QUARK, WERE MELTED INTO MATERIAL FOR MTOS. COLD, LIFELESS SOLDIERS FOR A WAR THAT NO LONGER HAD MEANING. SKID DIDN'T JUST WITNESS GENOCIDE. HE WAS AN UNWILLING PARTICIPANT IN IT. AND DOMUS DIDN'T FLINCH. HE WATCHED THE SUFFERING. HE ORCHESTRATED THE HORROR. AND IN DOING SO, HE SEVERED THE LAST THREAD OF HIS OWN PAST. FROM THAT DAY FORWARD, THE NAME DOMUS WAS DEAD. ONLY TARN REMAINED. AND WITH THE DJD ASSEMBLED BEHIND HIM, THE CLEANSING BEGAN IN EARNEST. BUT. GRINDCORE WAS ONLY THE PRELUDE. WHAT CAME NEXT WASN'T HIDDEN IN THE SHADOWS OF PRISON. IT WAS PERFORMED CENTER STAGE ACROSS THE GALAXY. BECAUSE TARN HAD LEARNED SOMETHING IN GRINDCORE. FEAR ISN'T ENOUGH. TO TRULY ENFORCE LOYALTY, YOU HAVE TO MAKE EXAMPLES. AND FEW WERE MORE INFAMOUS, OR MORE DESERVING IN TARN'S EYES, THAN BLACK SHADOW. ACROSS STAR SYSTEMS AND SHATTERED MOONS, FROM FRONTIER WORLDS TO FORGOTTEN OUTPOSTS, THEIR NAMES WERE WHISPERED LIKE A CURSE. THE DJD DIDN'T JUST LEAVE BODIES IN THEIR WAKE, THEY LEFT MESSAGES, ETCHED IN ENERGON, BROADCAST IN SCREAMS. TO THEM, EXECUTION WASN'T AN END, IT WAS AN ART, A PERFORMANCE, A SERMON. AND THEIR VICTIMS? EACH ONE A VERSE IN TARN'S GOSPEL OF OBEDIENCE. THEIR REIGN OF TERROR BEGAN WITH FORMER DECEPTICONS, THOSE WHO HAD DEFECTED, RENOUNCED THE CAUSE, OR DARED SPEAK ILL OF MEGATRON'S TEACHINGS. BUT AS THE LIST GREW LONGER, THE DEFINITION OF TRAITOR GREW LOOSER. BLACK SHADOW WAS AMONG THE FIRST HIGH-PROFILE NAMES TO BE CROSSED OUT. ONCE A FACE-SIXER LIKE OVERLORD, BLACK SHADOW WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF BILLIONS. ENTIRE COLONIES FELL BY HIS HAND. HE SLAUGHTERED MEMBERS OF THE WRECKERS. HE EVEN STOOD VICTORIOUS AGAINST TITANS LIKE ULTRA MAGNUS AND OPTIMUS PRIME. BUT EVENTUALLY, POWER WASN'T ENOUGH. HE ABANDONED THE DECEPTICON IDEAL. PLEASURE AND WEALTH REPLACED DUTY AND CONQUEST. WHEN THE DJD FOUND HIM, THERE WAS NO TRIAL, NO OFFER OF REPENTANCE. TARN READ THE LIST, ONE NAME ONLY, AND THEN SPOKE. WHAT FOLLOWED WASN'T A BATTLE, IT WAS ANNIHILATION. BLACK SHADOW'S INTERNALS CRUSHED INWARD FROM THE FORCE OF TARN'S VOICE ALONE. HIS FRAME SHATTERED, HIS SPARK EXTINGUISHED. IT WASN'T JUST EXECUTION, IT WAS ERASURE. A MESSAGE TO EVERY DECEPTICON WATCHING, STEP OUT OF LINE AND THIS WILL BE YOUR END. BUT BLACK SHADOW WAS MERELY THE OPENING ACT. AS THE LIST GREW, SO DID THE DJD'S REACH. NO LONGER CONTENT WITH PUNISHING DESERTERS AND DEFECTORS, THEY TURNED THEIR GAZE TO THOSE IN THE GRAY SPACE, BOTS LIKE FULCRUM, WHO HAD ONCE SERVED THE DECEPTICON CAUSE BUT ABANDONED IT, NOT FOR AUTO BODY DEALS, BUT SURVIVAL. FULCRUM HAD BEEN A MEMBER OF A K-CLASS SUICIDE SQUAD, SENT ON A MISSION THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO SUCCEED. AND WHEN THE OPERATION FAILED, HE DIDN'T BETRAY THE DECEPTICONS, HE SIMPLY REFUSED TO DIE FOR THEM. AND IN TARN'S EYES, THAT ALONE WAS TREASON ENOUGH. BUT THE DJD WOULD REMEMBER. BUT THE DJD'S MOST HORRIFYING ACT WASN'T A MASSACRE, IT WAS A TRANSFORMATION. BECAUSE SOMETIMES, LOYALTY ISN'T TESTED WITH BLOOD, BUT WITH SILENCE. UNKNOWN EVEN TO HIS CLOSEST ALLIES, TARN'S UNIT HAD BEEN COMPROMISED. DEEP WITHIN THE RANKS OF THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION, A SPY WAS WATCHING. AGENT 113, AUTOBOT, SCHOLAR, LOADBEARER. HIS REAL NAME? DOMINUS AMBUS. SPARKBROTHER TO MINIMUS AMBUS, AND CONJEX ENDURA TO REWIND. DOMINUS WAS ONCE A RESPECTED PHILOSOPHER AND FIERCE ADVOCATE FOR THE RIGHTS OF CYBERTRON'S MOST VULNERABLE, BUT WAR CHANGES EVERYTHING. SELECTED BY PROWL FOR AN INFILTRATION MISSION SO NOT EVEN REWIND KNEW THE TRUTH, DOMINUS USED HIS LOAD-BEARING ABILITIES TO ADOPT THE NEW FORM AND A NEW NAME, BOSS OF THE DJD. HE ENDURED YEARS AMONG THE MONSTERS, PARTICIPATED IN EXECUTIONS, WATCHED COMRADES FALL. TO MAINTAIN HIS COVER, HE DEVELOPED THE METHOD OF PASSING INTEL, EMBEDDING DATA CHIPS INSIDE SNIPER ROUNDS. FIRED INTO FALLEN AUTOBOT INSIGNIAS MID-BATTLE, WHISPERS OF REBELLION WRAPPED IN SHRAPNEL. BUT EVEN SHADOWS CAST TOO LONG CAN BE SEEN. EVENTUALLY, TARN DISCOVERED THE TRUTH, AND DOMINUS AMBUS WAS ERASED. NOT KILLED, DOMESTICATED. HIS MIND WAS LOBOTOMIZED. HIS TRANSFORMATION COG REMOVED. HE WAS LOCKED IN HIS TURBOFOX MODE. MUTE. FERAL. ENSLAVED. THE DJD CALLED HIM THE PET. K'ON KEPT HIM ON A LEASH. THEY SAID HE WAS A PARTIALLY-TAMED SPARK-EATER, BUT IN TRUTH, HE WAS A MAN MUTILATED FOR DARING TO CARE. ONCE A SCHOLAR, NOW A WEAPON. HE HUNTED FORMER FRIENDS ON COMMAND, TORE INTO MISFIRE'S ARMOR LIKE A STARVING BEAST. BUT MONSTERS AREN'T ALWAYS BORN. SOMETIMES THEY'RE BROKEN AND DISFIGURED. AND SOMETIMES, SOMEONE VOLUNTEERS TO STAND BESIDE THEM. NICKEL WAS A MINICON, ONE OF THE SMALLEST. TRANSFORMERS IN THE WAR, BUT WHAT SHE LACKED IN SIZE, SHE MADE UP FOR IN RESOLVE. SHE WAS THE LAST SURVIVOR OF A PLANETARY MASSACRE, PRION, A COLONY OF MAKRONIS PRIME. SLAUGHTERED BY THE BLACK BLOCK CONSORTIA SIMPLY FOR BEING MECHANICAL. WHEN THE DJD FOUND HER, SHE SAW NOT CRUELTY, BUT JUSTICE. TO NICKEL, THE DECEPTICONS WEREN'T JUST WARRIORS, THEY WERE AVENGERS. AND. TARN? TARN WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN'T LOOK DOWN ON HER. SHE JOINED THE DJD NOT JUST AS A MEDIC, BUT AS A MOTHER, A SISTER, A CARETAKER. SHE TENDED TO WOUNDS, CLEANED THEIR WEAPONS, SCOLDED THEM FOR POOR HYGIENE AND SLOWLY BECAME THEIR MORAL COMPASS OR SO SHE BELIEVED TARN EVEN GAVE HER A SPECIAL RECORDING HIS VOICE WEAPONIZED AN AUDIO FORM A GIFT A TOKEN OF TRUST AND PERHAPS THAT'S WHY SHE STAYED WHEN OTHERS WOULD HAVE RUN EVEN WHEN THEY TORTURED EVEN WHEN THEY DOMESTICATED A FELLOW CYBERTRONIAN INTO A MINDLESS BEAST EVEN WHEN COMPASSION WAS MET WITH EXECUTION NICKEL BELIEVED THEY COULD STILL BE BETTER THAT TARN COULD STILL BE BETTER AND WHEN HE NEARLY OVERDOSED ON NUKE AFTER LEARNING OF MEGATRON'S DEFECTION IT WAS NICKEL'S WORRIED FACE THAT PULLED HIM BACK FROM THE BRINK BUT HOW DO YOU SAVE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WANT TO BE SAVED THE MORE SHE TRIED TO ANCHOR THE TEAM OF MORALITY THE MORE THEY DRIFTED TOWARD OBLIVION THE PETS GROWING SORROW KAON'S TENDERNESS THESE WEREN'T SIGNS OF WEAKNESS THESE WERE SIGNS OF AWAKENING BUT IN THE DJD AN AWAKENING WASN'T A BLESSING IT WAS A DEATH SENTENCE AND NICKEL SAW THE SIGNS THE PET HAD GROWN QUIET LESS OBEDIENT MORE WITHDRAWN KAON THE EXECUTIONER HAD STARTED SPENDING MORE TIME BY HIS SIDE TENDING TO WOUNDS SPEAKING SOFTLY ENTIRE NOTICED HE ALWAYS NOTICED BUT NOTHING WAS SAID NOT YET THE DJD WAS ON THE VERGE OF THEIR GREATEST TRIUMPH THE LIST WAS NEARLY COMPLETE MEGATRON THE TRAITOR HIMSELF WAS WITHIN REACH AND IF TARN'S TEAM HAD DOUBTS THE CRACKS WERE FORMING BEHIND THE MASK OF LOYALTY HE WOULD DEAL WITH THEM IN TIME BECAUSE TARN WASN'T LEADING A SQUAD HE WAS CONDUCTING A FINALE AND THE CURTAIN WAS ABOUT TO RISE BUT EVEN MONSTERS BUILT ON LOYALTY CAN BEGIN TO FRACTURE THE DJD HAD CLEANSED PLANETS SILENCED THE SCENT AND BUTCHERED THEIR OWN IN THE NAME OF PURITY YET WITH EACH ACT OF TERROR THE ROCK GREW DEEPER NOT IN THEIR VICTIMS BUT WITHIN THEMSELVES SKID SCREAMS STILL ECHOED IN TARN'S SILENCE THE PET WHIMPERED IN THE DARK A HOLLOW SHELL OF A LIFE ONCE LIVED AND NICKEL THE SMALLEST AMONG THEM BEGAN TO SEE THE TRUTH BEHIND THE CAUSE SHE HAD ONCE CALLED JUSTICE BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE EXECUTIONERS BEGIN TO FEEL WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BELIEF COLLIDES WITH BETRAYAL THE DJD WEREN'T JUST HUNTING TRAITORS ANYMORE THEY WERE BECOMING THEM AND AS THE LIST TURNED TOWARD ITS FINAL MOST SACRED NAME THE DECEPTIC JUSTICE DIVISION WOULD FACE THE ONE ENEMY THEY HAD NEVER PREPARED FOR DOUBT TARN ONCE BELIEVED THE CAUSE WAS BIGGER THAN ANY ONE BOT THAT HAD TRANSCENDED PAIN TRANSCENDED BETRAYAL TRANSCENDED EVEN MEGATRON BUT BELIEF WHEN BUILT ON OBSESSION RARELY ENDS IN PEACE IT ENDS IN COLLAPSE AFTER LEARNING THAT MEGATRON HAD DEFECTED TARN SPIRALED HIS MASK. ONCE A SYMBOL OF DOCTRINE AND DEVOTION, NOW HE HAD A FACE TWISTED WITH DOUBT. HE RETURNED TO MESATINE, WHEN HE TRIED TO OVERDOSE ON NUKE, THE COMBAT-ENHANCING FUEL THAT HAD LONG CORRODED HIS BODY, BUT EVEN DEATH WOULDN'T COME. ALL IT GAVE HIM WAS A DIM, FLICKERING REFLECTION, UNTIL HE SAW NICOL, PRESSED AGAINST THE GLASS, WATCHING HIM FADE. IN HER EYES, HE DIDN'T SEE JUDGMENT, HE SAW CONVICTION. SHE HAD SURVIVED THE BLACK BLOCK CONSORTIA, SHE HAD CHOSEN THE DECEPTICONS AFTER THE WAR. TO HER, THE CAUSE WAS STILL RIGHTEOUS, AND IN THAT MOMENT, TARN MADE A CHOICE. NOT TO DIE, BUT TO DESTROY THE BOT WHO HAD BETRAYED EVERYTHING HE HAD ONCE INSPIRED. TO KILL MEGATRON, TARN TURNED TO MONSTERS. HE BROKERED AN ALLIANCE WITH DEATHSAURUS, ABOARD THE WARLORD, OFFERING SURVIVAL IN EXCHANGE FOR ALLEGIANCE. DEATHSAURUS DIDN'T TRUST TARN, NOT REALLY, HE EVEN DEMANDED TARN KILL HIS OWN TEAM TO PROVE HIS LOYALTY. WHEN TARN REFUSED, DEATHSAURUS SMILED. THAT REFUSAL WAS THE REAL PROOF, TARN STILL BELIEVED IN SOMETHING. THEIR ALLIANCE BROUGHT WAR. TOGETHER TARN, DEATHSAURUS, AND OVERLORD LAID SIEGE TO THE NECROBOT'S PLANET, BAITING. MEGATRON AND HIS CREW WITH A MESSAGE BROADCAST FROM THE FALLEN ARCHIVUS MACHINERY. WHEN THE LOST LIGHT ARRIVED, THEY WERE AMBUSHED AND FORCED TO CRASH. PINNED DOWN BY DECEPTICON FIRE, TARN PULLED HIS FORCES BACK JUST LONG ENOUGH TO LET MEGATRON STEW IN FEAR, WARNING THAT THEY WOULD RETURN AT SUNSET. THE CRUELTY WASN'T JUST TACTICAL, IT WAS PERSONAL. BUT EVEN IN RETREAT, TARN WAS UNRAVELING. BACK ABOARD THE PEACEFUL TYRANNY, HE SHOWED DEATHSAURUS HIS CHERISHED COPIES OF TORD'S PIECE, TURNING PAGES LIKE RELICS OF A FATE THAT NO LONGER SUSTAINED HIM, IN A RARE MOMENT OF STILLNESS. TARN RECEIVED A MESSAGE, ON HIS PERSONAL COMMUNICATOR, FROM MEGATRON. THE TWO MET ALONE, UNDER THE DYING SUN. MEGATRON DIDN'T RAISE A WEAPON, HE OFFERED HIMSELF. ONE LIFE, IN EXCHANGE FOR MANY. TARN HESITATED. THIS WAS THE MOMENT HE CRAVED, YET, IT FELT HOLLOW. HIS IDOL WASN'T JUST A TRAITOR, HE WAS TIRED. A WEAK GOD. IN DISGUST, TARN STRUCK HIM DOWN, FISTS POUNDING METAL, RAGE SPILLING LIKE COOLANT. BUT BEFORE HE COULD FINISH IT, OVERLORD APPEARED, THE PHASE SIXER HAD HIS OWN VENDETTA AND WASN'T GOING TO LET TARN TAKE THE FINAL BLOW. THE ARGUMENT TURNED TO VIOLENCE. BLOWS WERE EXCHANGED, EGOS BRUISED, BUT IN THE END, THEY RELENTED, AGREEING TO SHARE THE KILL. THAT TRUCE LASTED HOURS. WHEN TARN RETURNED TO SHIP, HE FOUND KAON, THE DJD EXECUTIONER, DEVASTATED. THE AUTOBOTS HAD TAKEN THEIR PET SPARK EATER. TO KAON, THIS WASN'T JUST A FAILURE, IT WAS GRIEF. AND TARN? TARN ANSWERED IT WITH A LESSON. HE TORE KAON'S HEAD FROM HIS SHOULDERS, NOT OUT OF MALICE, BUT OUT OF IDEOLOGY. COMPASSION, HE TOLD HIS TEAM, WAS MEGATRON'S DISEASE. AS THE SUN SANK BENEATH THE NECROBOTS' HORIZON, TARN LED THE CHARGE. THE EMPYREAN'S SUITE ECHOED ACROSS THE BATTLEFIELD. A TWISTED SYMPATHY, ONCE COMPOSED IN PRIMA'S HONOR, NOW REPURPOSED FOR MASSACRE. DEATHSAURUS STAYED BACK, TARN SURGED FORWARD. HE KILLED RAVAGE, AND THAT WAS ALL MEGATRON NEEDED. LIKE A GOD WOKEN FROM SLUMBER, MEGATRON DESCENDED ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD. HIS FUSION CANNON DECIMATED WHOLE SQUADS. HIS PRESENCE SHATTERED MORALE, AND WHEN TARN TRIED TO RALLY HIS TROOPS, MEGATRON ACTIVATED A FORCE FIELD AND VANISHED WITHIN. TARN DIDN'T PANIC, HE SAW OPPORTUNITY. HE LED THE DJD INSIDE, BUT MEGATRON HAD BEEN PLANNING. HE HAD LINKED HIMSELF TO A BLACK HOLE. EVERY MOVEMENT CHANNELED ANTIMATTER, EVERY GESTURE A DEATH SENTENCE. HE UNLEASHED TENDRILS OF IT LIKE A WRATHFUL DEITY, CALLING EACH DJD MEMBER BY THEIR TRUE NAME BEFORE OBLITERATING THEM. HELIX. VOS. TESSERIS. AND FINALLY, TARN. MEGATRON DIDN'T CALL HIM TARN, HE CALLED HIM GLITCH. IN HIS FINAL MOMENTS, TARN BEGGED, THEN HE MOCKED, THEN HE BROKE. FLINCH. EVERYTHING YOU DID WAS FOR NOTHING, HE SAID, AND THE ANTIMATTER CONSUMED HIM. GLITCH. DOMUS. TARN. THE ZEALOT TURNED TRAITOR. THE BELIEVER TURNED BUTCHER. DIED NOT AS A SYMBOL OF DEVOTION, BUT AS A MONUMENT TO ITS COLLAPSE. HE SPARKED INTO BURNOUT AND MARTYRDOM. HE WAS SNUFFED OUT IN SILENCE. TARN HAD PLANNED EVERYTHING. THE ALLIANCE. THE AMBUSH. THE KILL. BUT WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED, HE WAS THE ONE LEFT IN PIECES. HIS GOD LIVED. HIS TEAM WAS ASH. THE ONLY THING TARN PROVED IN THE END WAS HOW LITTLE HE UNDERSTOOD THE MAN HE WORSHIPPED. BECAUSE MEGATRON DIDN'T JUST SURVIVE. HE REFUSED TO PLAY THE ROLE THEY WROTE FOR HIM. AND IF YOUR FAITH CAN'T SURVIVE ITS PROPHET'S TRANSFORMATION, WAS IT EVER FAITH AT ALL? TARN'S STORY IS A CAUTIONARY TALE OF THOSE WHO BLINDLY DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO A CAUSE ENTIRELY WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THEIR ACTIONS. HE WASN'T A CONQUEROR. HE WASN'T EVEN A TRUE LEADER. HE WAS A DISCIPLE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DEVOTION BECOMES DELUSION? WHEN LOYALTY TO A CAUSE OVERRIDES COMPASSION? TARN'S FALL WASN'T TRIGGERED BY BETRAYAL. IT WAS TRIGGERED BY DISOBEDIENCE. THE MOMENT MEGATRON CHOSE PEACE, TARN'S BELIEF SYSTEM CRACKED. BECAUSE HE HADN'T FALLEN IN LOVE WITH MEGATRON THE BOT, HE'D FALLEN IN LOVE WITH MEGATRON THE MYTH. AND MYTHS DON'T GET THE CHANGE. TARN'S ARC EXPOSED THE DANGEROUS TRUTH THAT WHEN IDEOLOGY BECOMES IDENTITY, DISSENT FEELS LIKE DEATH. HE SILENCED OPPOSITION NOT TO STRENGTHEN THE DECEPTICONS, BUT TO PRESERVE HIS OWN WORLDVIEW. HE DIDN'T LOVE THE CAUSE. HE NEEDED IT. WE SEE IT IN THE REAL WORLD. IN THE RISE OF RADICALISM. RADICALIZATION. POLITICAL. RELIGIOUS. IDEOLOGICAL. WHEN PEOPLE LOVE A MOVEMENT MORE THAN THE PEOPLE IT'S MEANT TO PROTECT, THEY'LL JUSTIFY ANYTHING. EVEN ATROCITY. TARN BECAME A MONSTER NOT BECAUSE HE BELIEVED IN JUSTICE, BUT BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO QUESTION HIS VERSION OF IT. ACROSS FRANCHISES, HIS STORY RESONATES. DARTH VADER, WHO SLAUGHTERED IN THE NAME OF THE EMPIRE. MAGNETO, WHO SOUGHT JUSTICE FOR MUTANTS THROUGH DOMINATION OF HUMANITY. AND ZAMASU, WHO JUDGED THE UNIVERSE UNWORTHY OF ITS OWN SURVIVAL DUE TO HIS BELIEF THAT MORTALS WERE A MISTAKE. EACH BELIEVED THEIR FALL WAS A FORM OF ASCENSION. EACH MISTOOK OBEDIENCE FOR PURPOSE. BUT ONLY TARN SANG AS HE BURNED THE GALAXY. BECAUSE TO HIM, EVERY SCREAM WAS A PROOF THAT THE SONG STILL MATTERED. WHAT MAKES A VILLAIN UNFORGETTABLE, IS IT THE SCOPE OF THEIR VIOLENCE, THE DEPTH OF THEIR IDEOLOGY, OR THE MOMENT THEY LEAVE BEHIND. FOR THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION, IT WAS ALL THREE. FROM THEIR FIRST APPEARANCE, THE DJD SHATTERED EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT DECEPTICONS COULD BE. THEY WEREN'T BRUTISH THUGS OR MISGUIDED SOLDIERS. THEY WERE ZEALOTS. ASSASSINS. CLERICS OF CRUELTY. THEIR PRESENCE REWIRED THE AUDIENCE'S UNDERSTANDING OF NON-PHILOSOPHY. NOT AS A POLITICAL REBELLION, BUT AS A BELIEF SYSTEM SO DOGMATIC, IT COULD EVEN TURN MERCY INTO TREASON. AND YET, WE COULDN'T LOOK AWAY. TARN. VOSS. KAON. HELIX. TESSERIS. EACH WAS METICULOUSLY DESIGNED, VISUALLY AND THEMATICALLY, TO EMBODY THE HORROR OF LOYALTY WITHOUT CONSCIENCE. THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL IN THE WAY MONSTERS SOMETIMES ARE, PRECISE, COMPOSED, ALMOST SACRED IN THEIR VIOLENCE, AND THAT AESTHETIC, COMBINED WITH THEIR TERRIFYING MORAL CLARITY, CEMENTED THEM AS ICONS. THEY DIDN'T JUST PUNISH, THEY MADE PUNISHMENT OPERATIC. BUT HERE'S THE TRUTH. THE DJD ONLY WORKS IN A STORY WILLING TO INTERROGATE THEM. AND MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE, JAMES ROBERT DOESN'T GLORIFY THEM, HE DISSECTS THEM. EVERY ACT OF BRUTALITY IS COUNTERBALANCED BY CONSEQUENCE. BY GRIEF. BY BETRAYAL. BY COLLAPSE. THE DJD ISN'T A POWER FANTASY, THEY'RE A TRAGEDY IN SLOW MOTION, ONE THAT ONLY LANDS BECAUSE THE NARRATIVE DATES. MIND OBEDIENCE COSTS. THAT'S WHY THEIR OTHER APPEARANCES OFTEN FALL FLAT. TAKE CYBERVERSE TARN, A POWERFUL VISUAL, BUT HOLLOW IN PURPOSE. THE PERFECT DECEPTICON. HE'S A TANK. A NAME. A REFERENCE. BUT WITHOUT THE IDEOLOGY. WITHOUT THE INTERNAL ROT. HE'S JUST A STRONG VILLAIN, NOT A HAUNTING ONE. BECAUSE THE DJD AREN'T JUST ABOUT DEATH. THEY'RE ABOUT WHAT DEATH MEANS WHEN COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF SOMETHING SACRED. AND ONCE ITS SACREDNESS IS GONE, SO IS THE POWER. THEIR LEGACY LINGERS, LIKE A HYMN ECHOING AFTER THE CATHEDRAL HAS COLLAPSED. NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE COOL, BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE COMMITTED. TO THEIR DOCTRINE. TO THEIR DEATHS. AND TO A DECEPTICON DREAM THAT SHOULD HAVE DIED LONG BEFORE THEY DID. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON THIS DEEP DIVE THROUGH ONE OF THE MOST TERRIFYING CREATURES IN TRANSFORMERS HISTORY, TARN AND THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION. TARN WAS THE PERFECT FOLLOWER, AND THAT WAS THE PROBLEM. HE OBEYED SO FIERCELY, HE FORGOT TO QUESTION. HE LOVED HIS LEADER SO DEEPLY, HE FORGOT TO LOVE ANYONE ELSE. HE WASN'T SEARCHING FOR PEACE, HE WAS CLINGING TO PURPOSE. WHEN THAT PURPOSE CRUMBLED, SO DID HE. HIS DEATH WASN'T A TRAGEDY, IT WAS A REVELATION. BECAUSE BEHIND THE MASK, BEHIND THE SERMONS AND EXECUTIONS, THERE WAS NO GRAND DESIGN. THERE'S A LONELY SPARK DESPERATE TO MAKE THE PAIN MEAN SOMETHING. HE DIDN'T DIE A MARTYR, HE DIED A MONUMENT. TO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IDEOLOGY BECOMES IDENTITY, AND OBEDIENCE REPLACES THOUGHT. BUT PERHAPS THE MOST HAUNTING PART OF TARN'S STORY IS THAT HE WAS NEVER ALONE. HOW MANY OTHERS HAVE WORN THE MASK? SUNG THE ANTHEM LOUDER TO DROWN OUT THEIR DOUBTS, CHOSEN CONVICTION NOT OUT OF STRENGTH, BUT OUT OF FEAR. THE DECEPTICON JUSTICE DIVISION DIDN'T DIE SCREAMING, THEY DIED BELIEVING. BELIEVING THEY WERE RIGHTEOUS. BELIEVING THEIR GODS STILL WASHED. BELIEVING THAT SOMEWHERE, MEGATRON STILL APPROVED, AND WHEN THAT BELIEF COLLAPSED, SO DID EVERYTHING ELSE. IN THE END, TARN WASN'T A WARNING ABOUT VILLAINS, HE WAS A WARNING ABOUT BELIEVERS. BECAUSE HISTORY ISN'T WRITTEN BY THOSE WHO QUESTION, IT'S WRITTEN BY THOSE WHO OBEY. AND SOMETIMES, THE OBEDIENCE DOESN'T SAVE THE WORLD, IT BURNS IT TO ASH. SO STAY QUESTIONING, STAY FIGHTING. AND AS ALWAYS, STAY HANDSOME. AND REMEMBER, OBEDIENCE WITHOUT THOUGHT ISN'T LOYALTY, IT'S SURRENDER.