Disassembled: Heroes and Villains

Why Deathsaurus Proves You Can Stand For Nothing and Lose Everything - Transformers Deep Dive

• Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics • Season 1 • Episode 14

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He was a tyrant.

A dragon.

A conqueror of stars.


But Deathsaurus wasn’t always a monster. In some worlds, he fought for domination. In others, for survival—for the families and soldiers who followed him, for the right of his people to exist. Across continuities, one truth remains: even villains believe they’re saving something.


In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we unravel the shifting legacy of Deathsaurus across Transformers history. From his reign of terror in Japanese G1, to the uneasy truce in the Victory manga, to the throne-chasing tyrant of IDW and Wings of Honor, his story reveals the razor-thin line between protector and conqueror.


Was he ever a savior?

Or just another despot wearing the mask of necessity?


We explore:

– His debut as the Emperor of Destruction in Transformers: Victory

– The manga’s surprising reframe of Deathsaurus as a reluctant warlord fighting for survival

– IDW’s darker take, where obsession replaced purpose

– Why his story mirrors a universal truth: that power is nothing without the cause behind it


Because Deathsaurus’ legacy isn’t just destruction.

It’s a question.


🔥 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains every Thursday


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

🎙 Written and hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN POWER BECOMES THE GOAL, WHEN THE MISSION YOU STARTED IS NO LONGER THE ONE YOU FINISH? ACROSS UNIVERSES, DEATHSAURUS HAS EVOLVED AND ADAPTED, IN VICTORY, COMMANDING FROM A THRONE OF PRIDE, IN THE MANGA ADAPTATION, WHEN HE FIGHTS NOT FOR CONQUEST, BUT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF HIS PEOPLE, IN THE WORLD CREATED BY IDW, WHERE VENGEANCE REPLACES VISION, AND IN WINGS OF HONOR, WHERE AMBITION CONSUMES EVERYTHING. BECAUSE BEFORE HE WAS DEATHSAURUS, HE WAS A WARLORD, A COMMANDER, A FORCE FEARED ACROSS THE STARS. IN SOME WORLDS, HE DIDN'T BEGIN AS A MONSTER, DIDN'T ALWAYS FIGHT WITHOUT CAUSE. BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, THE CAUSE GOT LOST. ONLY ONE VERSION REMEMBERS IT. IN THE VICTORY MANGA, HE FIGHTS FOR HIS PEOPLE, FOR THEIR CHILDREN, FOR A FUTURE THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE ANNIHILATION. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, HE LIVES. EVERY OTHER DEATHSAURUS, THEY FORGET. THEY CHASE THRONES, THEY DROWN IN SPILLED ENERGON, AND IN THE END, THEY FALL. THIS IS DISASSEMBLED, HEROES AND VILLAINS. AND TODAY, WE FOLLOW DEATHSAURUS, A TYRANT IN MOST TIMELINES, A PROTECTOR IN ONE, TO ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT DO YOU BECOME WHEN THE WAR OUTLIVES THE REASON YOU STARTED IT? BUT BEFORE THE WAR LOST ITS MEANING, BEFORE THE CAUSE CRUMBLED BENEATH THE CROWN, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN DEATHSAURUS KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS FIGHTING FOR. POWER. GLORY. THE DECEPTICON EMPIRE RESTORED. HE WASN'T A FATHER. HE WASN'T A MARTYR. HE WAS A CONQUEROR, WITH CLAWS SHARP AND AMBITIONS SHARPER. IN TRANSFORMERS VICTORY, WE MEET THE DEATHSAURUS MOST FANS REMEMBER. THE WARLORD. THE TYRANT. THE EMPEROR OF DESTRUCTION. BUT EVEN EMPIRES HAVE BEGINNINGS, AND MONSTERS, NO MATTER HOW FEARSOME, ARE MADE, NOT BORN. HE SITS UPON A THRONE OF RUIN, CLAWED, WINGED, AND CROWNED IN MALICE. THIS IS THE DEATHSAURUS MOST FANS MET FIRST, THE ONE FROM TRANSFORMERS VICTORY, THE FINAL CHAPTER OF JAPAN'S ORIGINAL G1 CONTINUITY. NO LONGER UNDER MEGATRON OR GALVATRON. NO LONGER A LIEUTENANT. NO LONGER WAITING FOR ORDERS. THIS DEATHSAURUS IS THE EMPEROR OF DESTRUCTION. A DECEPTICON LEFT BEHIND AFTER THE FALL OF GALVATRON. HE EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS TO RECLAIM DOMINANCE. BUT UNLIKE THE BRUTAL WARRIORS OF THE PAST, DEATHSAURUS DOESN'T CHARGE INTO BATTLE. HE PLOTS. HE SCHEMES. HE LETS OTHERS FIGHT IN HIS NAME, TESTING THE STRENGTH OF THE AUTOBOTS FROM A DISTANCE, UNTIL HE CAN STRIKE WITH OVERWHELMING FORCE. HIS ARMY REFLECTS THIS COLD CALCULATION, THE BREASTFORCE, LED BY THE ARROGANT AND AMBITIOUS. LEOZAK AND THE BUMBLING DINOFORCE, WHOSE COMIC RELIEF MASKS THEIR DESTRUCTIVE POTENTIAL. AND ABOVE THEM ALL, DEATHSAURUS COMMANDS LOYALTY NOT THROUGH INSPIRATION, BUT FEAR. EVEN LEOZAK, WHO DREAMS OF OVERTHROWING HIS MASTER, RARELY DARES TO CHALLENGE HIM DIRECTLY. BUT WHAT DRIVES THIS INCARNATION? IT IS SIMPLY POWER. BUT NOT JUST POWER FOR ITS OWN SAKE. POWER IS RESTORATION. POWER HAS REVENGE. HIS RETURN IS FRAMED AS A RESURGENCE, A REVIVAL OF DECEPTICON RULE OVER A UNIVERSE THAT HAS TRIED TO FORGET THEM. THE WAR IS NO LONGER ABOUT IDEOLOGY OR SURVIVAL, IT'S ABOUT DOMINATION. HE BUILDS MECHANICAL BEASTS TO HARVEST ENERGY FROM PLANETS, TREATING ENTIRE WORLDS LIKE FUEL TANKS. HE SENDS CHILDREN INTO BATTLE, ORCHESTRATES MASS DESTRUCTION, AND MANIPULATES HIS SUBORDINATES AS PAWNS. EVERY ACTION IS MEANT TO SEND A MESSAGE. THE DECEPTICONS WILL RISE AGAIN. AND YET, SOMETHING ABOUT HIS WAR FEELS HOLLOW. STAR SABER, THE NEW SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE AUTOBOTS, DOESN'T MEET HIM WITH HATRED, BUT WITH RESOLVE. THEIR BATTLES ARE LESS PERSONAL VENDETTAS, MORE SYMBOLIC CONFRONTATIONS. LIGHT VERSUS DARK, HONOR VERSUS TYRANNY. DEATHSAURUS IS GIVEN FEW CHANCES TO SHOW VULNERABILITY, FEW MOMENTS TO REFLECT. HE IS A TYRANT WHO NEVER DOUBTS HIMSELF, AND THAT, IN ITS OWN WAY, MAKES HIM TERRIFYING. THIS DEATHSAURUS DOES NOT COMPROMISE, HE DOES NOT GROW, HE REFUSES TO EVOLVE, HIS PRIDE IS HIS ARMOR, AND HIS ACHILLES HEEL. BECAUSE EVEN AS HIS FORCES FALTER, EVEN AS STAR SABER OUTMANEUVERS HIM AT EVERY TURN, HE NEVER QUESTIONS THE WAR, NEVER QUESTIONS THE CAUSE, AND NEVER QUESTIONS WHETHER CONQUEST IS STILL WORTH THE COST. HE FIGHTS NOT FOR PEOPLE, BUT FOR POWER, AND WHEN HE FAILS, WHEN HIS PLANS COLLAPSE, AND THE AUTOBOTS STAND VICTORIOUS, IT'S NOT TRAGIC, IT'S EXPECTED, INEVITABLE. BECAUSE IN THE WORLD OF VICTORY, DEATHSAURUS IS A VILLAIN DESIGNED TO BE DEFEATED. HIS MENACE IS MYTHIC. HE'S MONSTROUS. BUT HIS PURPOSE? EMPTY. AND YET, THIS VERSION MATTERS, BECAUSE IT SETS THE STAGE, BECAUSE IT SHOWS US WHO DEATHSAURUS BECOMES WHEN HE FORGETS WHAT HE'S FIGHTING FOR. HE MAY BEGIN AS A FEARSOME TYRANT, BUT IF THAT'S ALL HE IS, THEN HE'S ALREADY LOST. BUT WHAT IF THAT WASN'T THE WHOLE STORY? WHAT IF BEHIND THE CROWN OF THORNS AND WINGS OF STEEL, THERE WAS A DEATHSAURUS WHO REMEMBERED WHY HE FOUGHT? IN ANOTHER TIMELINE, TOLD NOT THROUGH ANIMATION, BUT INK AND PAGE, HE ISN'T A TYRANT CHASING CONQUEST. HE'S A LEADER CLINGING TO HOPE. THIS ISN'T THE DEATHSAURUS WHO BUILDS WEAPONS TO BURN PLANETS. IT'S THE ONE WHO BUILDS A FUTURE FOR HIS PEOPLE. BECAUSE IN THE VICTORY MANGA, EVERYTHING CHANGES. THE CAUSE RETURNS, THE PRIDE SOFTENS, AND THE WAR BECOMES SOMETHING MORE THAN DOMINATION. IT BECOMES SURVIVAL. AND FOR ONCE, IT'S NOT ABOUT RULING THE UNIVERSE, IT'S ABOUT SAVING THE ONES YOU LOVE. IN THE VICTORY ANIME, DEATHSAURUS IS A TYRANT, BUT IN THE MANGA ADAPTATION, HE'S SOMETHING FAR RARER IN TRANSFORMERS LORE. HE FIGHTS FOR FAMILY, WHO ISN'T TREATED AS A ONE-DIMENSIONAL MONSTER OF THE WEAK. GONE ARE THE ENDLESS SCENES OF HIM SCHEMING FROM THE SHADOWS. GONE IS THE COLD, CALCULATING GENERAL WHO SACRIFICES HIS SOLDIERS WITHOUT THOUGHT. IN HIS PLACE STANDS A WARLORD SHAPED BY RESPONSIBILITY, A COMMANDER NOT JUST OF WARRIORS, BUT OF FAMILIES. BECAUSE IN THE PAGES OF THE VICTORY MANGA, DEATHSAURUS ISN'T FIGHTING TO CONQUER, HE'S FIGHTING TO PROTECT. HERE, HIS ARMY, THE DINO FORCE, ARE MERELY BUMBLING HENCHMEN, THEIR FATHERS, THEIR CHILDREN, OR THE DECEPTICON SHIP, SMILING AND UNAWARE THAT THEIR FUTURE HANGS IN THE BALANCE. AND DEATHSAURUS, HE'S THE ONE HOLDING THAT BALANCE. NOT FOR GLORY, NOT FOR REVENGE, BUT FOR THEM. AND PERHAPS, NO ONE DEFINES THIS VERSION OF DEATHSAURUS MORE THAN SOLON, A HUMAN ORPHAN LEFT BEHIND BY WAR, ADOPTED, ENHANCED, RAISED BY THE DECEPTICON EMPEROR HIMSELF. SOLON ISN'T JUST A SYMBOL OF DEATHSAURUS'S COMPASSION. HE'S A CHALLENGE TO THE BINARY OF HERO AND VILLAIN, BECAUSE WHILE STAR SABER RAISES JAN, BOY ALIGNED WITH THE AUTOBOTS, DEATHSAURUS RAISES HIS OWN HUMAN SON ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CONFLICT. IT REFRAMES THE WAR, NOT AS FACTIONS, BUT AS FAMILIES, NOT AS CONQUEST, BUT AS SURVIVAL. THE SHIFT REFRAMES EVERYTHING, THE ENERGY RAIDS, A MEANS OF SURVIVAL, NOT CONQUEST. IT CLASHES WITH STAR SABER, STRATEGIC NECESSITY, NOT IDEOLOGICAL CRUSADE. EVEN HIS ANGER FEELS DIFFERENT, NOT ROOTED IN PRIDE, BUT DESPERATION. HE'S RUNNING OUT OF TIME, OUT OF RESOURCES, OUT OF OPTIONS. HE STILL CHOOSES TO LEAD, NOT AS A GOD, NOT AS A MONSTER, BUT AS A GUARDIAN. AND IT CHANGES HOW WE SEE THIS WAR. HIS RIVALRY WITH STAR SABER, SO RIGID IN THE ANIME, BECOMES MORE HONORABLE IN THE MANGA. THEIR BATTLES ARE NOT SIMPLY GOOD VERSUS EVIL, THEY ARE CLASHING IDEALS. STAR SABER FIGHTS FOR PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, DEATHSAURUS FIGHTS FOR PEACE THROUGH PROTECTION. THEY ARE MIRRORS, DISTORTED BY CIRCUMSTANCE. THERE IS RESPECT BETWEEN THEM. A SILENT UNDERSTANDING THAT NEITHER TRULY WANTS TO SEE THE OTHER FALL, BECAUSE THEY BOTH KNOW WHAT'S AT STAKE. IN THAT RESPECT FILTERS DOWN INTO THEIR CHILDREN. JAN AND SOLON BECOME RELUCTANT FRIENDS, TWO BOYS BORN ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A CENTURIES OLD WAR. AND ONCE SOLON ULTIMATELY DEFECTS, CHOOSING PEACE OVER LOYALTY TO DEATHSAURUS, IT BREAKS SOMETHING INSIDE HIS ADOPTIVE FATHER, BUT IT ALSO OPENS THE DOOR TO SOMETHING NEW. AND IN THE END, NEITHER WINS. BECAUSE THE MANGA DOESN'T END IN CONQUEST OR DEFEAT, IT ENDS IN TRUCE. DEATHSAURUS, SEEING THAT FURTHER WAR WOULD DOOM HIS PEOPLE, LAYS DOWN HIS ARMS. NOT IN SURRENDER, BUT IN RECOGNITION. BECAUSE IF SURVIVAL IS THE GOAL, THEN PRIDE MUST COME SECOND. IT'S ONE OF THE RARE TIMES A DECEPTICON LEADER WALKS AWAY FROM THE BATTLEFIELD, WITH HIS SOUL INTACT. THE ENDING DOESN'T JUST REDEFINE DEATHSAURUS, IT REDEFINES VILLAINY. BECAUSE IF THE MEASURE OF A VILLAIN IS THE DESTRUCTION THEY CAUSE, WHAT DO WE CALL SOMEONE WHO CAUSES DESTRUCTION TO PREVENT SOMETHING WORSE? IF A LEADER IS WILLING TO FIGHT FOR THE INNOCENT, EVEN FROM A LOSING SIDE, ARE THEY STILL THE VILLAIN OF THE STORY? OR ARE THEY JUST THE ENEMY OF A WORLD THAT NEVER MADE ROOM FOR THEM? THE VICTORY MANGA LEAVES US WITHOUT EASY ANSWERS. BECAUSE THIS DEATHSAURUS ISN'T REDEEMED. HE STILL FIGHTS. HE STILL THREATENS. HE STILL WALKS THE LINE BETWEEN BRUTALITY AND MERCY. BUT HIS PURPOSE, IT'S CLEAR. HE'S THE LEADER OF A DYING PEOPLE. THE PROTECTOR OF A GENERATION BORN INTO WAR. AND FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, HE IS A FATHER, NOT JUST A WARLORD. HE CANNOT AFFORD THE LUXURY OF PEACE, UNLESS PEACE IS FORCED THROUGH FIRE. AND THAT CLARITY MAKES HIM DANGEROUS. NOT BECAUSE HE'S EVIL, BUT BECAUSE HE BELIEVES HE'S RIGHT. THIS DEATHSAURUS IS THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. THE ONE WHO REMEMBERS WHAT THE WAR WAS FOR. WHO DOESN'T LET THE MISSION CONSUME THE MEANING. AND IN DOING SO, HE SURVIVES. NOT AS A CONQUEROR. NOT AS A MARTYR. BUT AS SOMETHING FAR RARER IN THE WORLD OF TRANSFORMERS. A DECEPTICON WHO KNEW WHEN TO STOP FIGHTING. BEFORE WE BURY THE SWORD AND LEAVE THE BATTLEFIELD BEHIND, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE TO. DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP. EVERY WEEK WE PEEL BACK THE LAYERS OF POP CULTURE'S GREATEST ICONS AND MONSTERS. TO UNCOVER THE PAIN. THE POWER. THE DARKNESS BEHIND THE MASK. AND NEXT WEEK, DISASSEMBLED DEEP CUTS RETURNS. TO TELL THE STORY OF A DECEPTICON UNLIKE ANY OTHER. A WARRIOR OF RUST AND RITUAL. A ZEALOT WHO SPEAKS THROUGH STEEL. A FOLLOWER OF ANCIENT CODES. WHO WORSHIPS THE ART OF DEATH. NEXT WEEK, WE FACE BLUDGEON OF THE TRANSFORMERS. BUT DON'T LOOK AWAY. BECAUSE LATER THIS WEEK, WE FACE A MAN WHO WEARS HIS SCARS LIKE A CROWN. A RULER. A SCIENTIST. A GOD-IN-WAITING. DOCTOR DOOM. AND IF YOU WANT TO SHAPE WHO WE COVER NEXT, CAST YOUR VOTE EVERY WEDNESDAY. IN THE HANDSOME COMICS YOUTUBE COMMUNITY POLL. NOW BACK TO THE BATTLEFIELD AND THE TYRANT WHO REFUSED TO STOP FIGHTING. NOT EVERY DEATHSAURUS REMEMBERED THE MISSION. SOME FORGOT WHAT THEY WERE FIGHTING FOR. AND SOME, LIKE THE ONE WE MEET NEXT, NEVER CARED TO REMEMBER AT ALL. BECAUSE IN THE WINGS OF HONOR UNIVERSE, THE WAR HAS LONG OUTLIVED ITS PURPOSE. AND SO HAS DEATHSAURUS. NO LONGER A LEADER OF FAMILIES. NO LONGER A COMMANDER OF CAUSE. THIS DEATHSAURUS DOESN'T FIGHT TO PROTECT. HE FIGHTS BECAUSE HE WANTS TO. BECAUSE HE CAN. AND WHEN A WARRIOR FORGETS WHAT THE WAR WAS FOR, THERE'S NOTHING LEFT BUT DESTRUCTION. ONCE HE FOUGHT FOR POWER, THEN HE FOUGHT FOR SURVIVAL. BUT IN THIS UNIVERSE, HE FIGHTS FOR NOTHING AT ALL. JUST THE THRILL OF DOMINATION. THE SPECTACLE OF CRUELTY. THE ECHO OF HIS OWN NAME SHOUTED ACROSS THE BATTLEFIELD. IN THE WINGS OF HONOR CONTINUITY, DEATHSAURUS IS NO LONGER THE EMPEROR OF DESTRUCTION OR A PROTECTIVE MONARCH. HE IS A DECEPTICON WARLORD. ONE OF THE 14 BRUTAL RULERS WHO ROSE TO POWER AFTER THE UPRISINGS. HE SURROUNDS HIMSELF NOT WITH FAMILY, BUT WITH SYCOPHANTS. HIS THRONE IS NOT A BURDEN, IT'S A STAGE. FROM THAT THRONE, HE WATCHES HIS EMPIRE EXPAND THROUGH FEAR, ASSASSINATION, AND CAREFUL MANIPULATION. HIS FOLLOWERS, FALCON, VANQUISH, AND LYSAK, AREN'T TRUSTED ALLIES. THEY'RE TOOLS. DISPOSABLE PAWNS. WHEN FALCON OUTLIVES HIS USEFULNESS, DEATHSAURUS SENDS HIM TO THE DECEPTICON WAR COUNCIL STRAPPED WITH A BOMB, KILLING FIVE RIVAL WARLORDS IN A SINGLE EXPLOSION. THE MESSAGE? POWER IS SURVIVAL. AND MERCY IS WEAKNESS. EVEN THE INFAMOUS KAMATICONS AREN'T RECRUITED, THEY'RE SEDUCED. SWINDLE IS BRIBED. VORTEX IS FLATTERED. BRAWL IS ENRAGED AND UNLEASHED. AND ONSLAUGHT, HE'S THE PRIZE. SO DEATHSAURUS APPEALS TO HIS PRIDE, WHISPERING THAT HIS GLORY DAYS ARE BEHIND HIM UNLESS HE CASTS OFF HIS CHAINS AND BECOMES MORE THAN AUTOBOT OR DECEPTICON. HE LURES THEM WITH EGO, THEN BINDS THEM WITH COMBINER TECHNOLOGY, ENSURING THEY BECOME. BRUTICUS ONLY AT HIS COMMAND. THIS IS NO LONGER WAR FOR A CAUSE, IT'S WAR FOR WAR'S SAKE. HE DOESN'T NEED THE AUTOBOTS TO FAIL. HE JUST NEEDS TO BE FEARED. EVEN HIS BATTLES CARRY PERFORMANCE, MOCKING ENEMIES LIKE MAGNUM MID-FIGHT, REVELING IN HIS OWN SUPERIORITY. HIS LEGACY ISN'T WRITTEN IN STRATEGY OR IDEOLOGY, BUT IN OIL AND ASH. AND YET, JUST WHEN HE SEEMS UNSTOPPABLE, HE IS BETRAYED BY THE VERY BEAST HE HELPED CREATE. BRUTICUS BECOMES UNMANAGEABLE. HIS THRONE IS STOLEN. HIS ARMY BEGINS TO SPLINTER, AND MEGATRON, HIS FINAL RIVAL, DOESN'T OFFER DIPLOMACY. HE CHAINS DEATHSAURUS. PUTS HIM INTO THE GLADIATORIAL ARENA AND BEATS HIM MERCILESSLY BEFORE THE DECEPTICON HORDE. HIS MASK IS SHATTERED. HIS PRIDE BROKEN. STILL FUNCTIONING. BUT BARELY. DEATHSAURUS FLEES INTO EXILE WITH LYZAK. NOT IN TRIUMPH. NOT IN VENGEANCE. BUT IN DISGRACE. BECAUSE POWER WHEN DIVORCED FROM PURPOSE ALWAYS TURNS INWARD. IT CONSUMES. IT CORRUPTS. AND IN THE END, IT DEVOURS ITS OWN MASTER. AND YET, THIS ISN'T THE END. BECAUSE ONE MORE VERSION OF DEATHSAURUS STILL WAITS IN THE WINGS. ONE WHO DOESN'T BEG FOR LOYALTY. HE DEMANDS IT. NOT EVERY DEATHSAURUS REMEMBERS WHAT THE WAR WAS FOR. SOME FORGET. SOME CHOOSE TO. BECAUSE THERE'S A VERSION OF DEATHSAURUS WHO DOESN'T FIGHT TO PROTECT, OR EVEN TO RULE. HE FIGHTS TO DOMINATE. TO HUMILIATE. TO REVEL IN THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS. IN OTHER UNIVERSES, HE WAS A GUARDIAN. HERE HE'S A BUTCHER. LET'S NOW TURN TO DEATHSAURUS OF THE IDW UNIVERSE, WHERE COMPASSION DIES, AND THE MASK FINALLY CRACKS. HE DOESN'T FIGHT FOR PEACE. HE DOESN'T FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL. BECAUSE VIOLENCE IS THE ONLY THING HE HAS LEFT. IN THE ORIGINAL IDW CONTINUITY STARTING IN 2005, DEATHSAURUS IS A WARLORD UNMOORED FROM IDEOLOGY. A DECEPTICON BY BIRTHRIGHT, NOT BELIEF. ONCE HE WAS A DECORATED COMMANDER, TASKED WITH CYBER-FORMING PLANETS IN MEGATRON'S NAME. BUT OVER TIME, HE BEGAN TO QUESTION THE EMPIRE HE SERVED, AND THE TYRANT WHO LED IT. HE WATCHED HIS TROOPS SUFFER, BLEED, AND DIE FOR WHAT BEGAN TO FEEL LIKE HOLLOW CONQUEST. AND WHILE MEGATRON SHOWED NO CONCERN, DEATHSAURUS DIDN'T VOICE THE SCENT. HE STOLE THE WARLORD. WITH A LOYAL CONTINGENT AT HIS SIDE, HE BROKE RANKS AND TOOK TO THE STARS, WAGING HIS OWN WAR. ONE WITHOUT ORDERS. WITHOUT RESTRAINT. WITHOUT A PURPOSE BEYOND DESTRUCTION. IT WAS A BETRAYAL THAT PLACED HIS NAME ON THE DJD'S LIST. A DEATH SENTENCE FOR ANY DECEPTICON WHO DEFIED THE CAUSE. SO WHEN TARN AND THE NON-JUSTICE DIVISION FINALLY CAME FOR HIM, DEATHSAURUS DIDN'T NEGOTIATE. HE TRIED TO KILL THEM. BUT TARN WASN'T THERE TO EXECUTE, HE WAS THERE TO RECRUIT. WITH MEGATRON NOW LEADING THE AUTOBOTS, TARN OFFERED A PACT. FIGHT WITH THE DJD TO PUNISH THE TRAITOR. IN EXCHANGE, DEATHSAURUS AND HIS SOLDIERS WOULD BE PARDONED. BUT DEATHSAURUS HAD A CONDITION OF HIS OWN. HE TOLD TARN TO KILL THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE DJD, TO PROVE HE WASN'T JUST ANOTHER TYRANT WILLING TO BURN HIS OWN FOLLOWERS. TARN REFUSED. AND THAT REFUSAL, IT WAS A TEST. SATISFIED THAT TARN STILL VALUED LOYALTY, DEATHSAURUS AGREED. NOT BECAUSE HE BELIEVED IN THE MISSION, BUT BECAUSE HE SAW A KINDRED WEAPON IN TARN. A MEANS TO AN END. AND SO BEGAN THE PERMANENT REVOLUTION. ON THE NECROBOT'S PLANET. DEATHSAURUS STOOD AT THE EDGE OF VICTORY. HE WANTED TO STRIKE. TO CRUSH THE AUTOBOTS QUICKLY. BUT TARN DELAYED. CHOOSING PSYCHOLOGICAL TORMENT OVER TACTICAL EFFICIENCY. DEATHSAURUS GREW RESTLESS. THIS WASN'T WAR. THIS WAS THEATER. AND WHEN MEGATRON FINALLY ARRIVED, SOMETHING CHANGED. DEATHSAURUS WATCHED AS MEGATRON TORE THROUGH HIS RANKS. NOT AS A TIRED EXILE, BUT AS A TITAN REBORN. EVEN AS HIS SOLDIERS FELL, DEATHSAURUS OBEYED TARN'S COMMAND TO SEND IN MORE. PRIDE BATTLED PRAGMATISM. OBEDIENCE BATTLED DOUBT. AND WHEN A PSYCHIC BLAST CRACKED THROUGH THE FOG OF WAR, DEATHSAURUS HESITATED. HE SAW THE FUTILITY. THE WASTE. THE DEATH. HE ORDERED A RETREAT. LET TARN DIE FOR HIS CONVICTIONS. DEATHSAURUS WOULD NOT. BUT EVEN IN EXILE, HE DID NOT STOP. HE CONTINUED TO CYBERFORM WORLDS. TO SEEK NEW BATTLEGROUNDS. ON FREYAS, ALONGSIDE COMMANDER NICKEL, HE LAUNCHED ANOTHER ASSAULT. EVEN AGAINST HER CAUTION. AND ONCE MORE, HIS RECKLESSNESS COST HIM. REINFORCEMENTS OVERWHELMED THEM. THE WAR WENT ON. BUT DEATHSAURUS. HE WAS NO LONGER A LEADER. HE WAS A SHADOW OF AMBITION. A TYRANT WHO HAD OUTLIVED HIS CAUSE. BECAUSE WHEN LOYALTY IS WEAPONIZED AND POWER IS ALL THAT REMAINS, THERE IS NO GLORY. ONLY RUIN. BUT THE CRUELEST FATE WASN'T BEING BEATEN. IT WAS BEING FORGOTTEN. BECAUSE IN IDW'S 2019 REBOOT, DEATHSAURUS RETURNS. NOT AS A MYTHIC CONQUEROR OR DECEPTICON GENERAL. BUT AS CYBERTRON'S AMBASSADOR TO A BACKWATER PLANET NAMED PROBAT. ONCE FEARED ACROSS GALAXIES, HE IS NOW A BUREAUCRATIC BUTCHER, A COLLECTOR OF TRIBUTES, A PETTY TYRANT IN CEREMONIAL ARMOR. AND WHEN THE PROBATS OFFER TOO LITTLE ENERGON, HE KILLS THE LEADER IN COLD BLOOD. NO ARMY. NO IDEOLOGY. JUST VENGEANCE FOR AN INSULT. THERE'S NO TALK OF REVOLUTION. NO LINGERING HATRED OF MEGATRON. NO GRAND SPEECH OF SURVIVAL OR HONOR. THIS DEATHSAURUS ISN'T DRIVEN BY LOYALTY OR LEGACY. HE'S DRIVEN BY APPETITE. APPETITE FOR FEAR. FOR PAIN. FOR CONTROL. AND WHEN CLIFFJUMPER, A SANITATION OFFICER MISTAKEN FOR BUMBLEBEE, DARES TO CHALLENGE HIM. HE IMPALES HIM ON A WALL, FRAMES HIM FOR MURDER, AND PREPARES TO BURN THE ENTIRE PLANET. ALL THE HARVEST ENERGON FROM THE ASHES. AND THE OFFER HE MAKES CLIFFJUMPER ISN'T ONE OF REDEMPTION OR POWER. IT'S CRUELTY. JOIN ME. OR DIE SCREAMING. BUT CLIFFJUMPER REFUSES. AND IN ONE DESPERATE ACT, HE CHARGES A SPIRE AND KNOCKS DEATHSAURUS INTO A FIELD OF SUPERHEATED ENERGON. IMPALING THE TYRANT AND LEAVING HIM COMATOSE. NOT DEAD. NOT AVENGED. JUST BROKEN. AND WHEN HE AWAKENS, HE DOESN'T SEEK GLORY. HE BUYS A SIMULATION COUCH FROM SWINDLE, AND SPENDS THE NEXT 40 CYCLES DOING ONLY ONE THING. KILLING CLIFFJUMPER, AGAIN AND AGAIN. BECAUSE AT THE END OF HIS STORY, THERE IS NO ARMY, NO PEOPLE, NO DREAM, ONLY OBSESSION. AND PERHAPS THAT'S THE TRUE END OF DEATHSAURUS. NOT IN EXILE, NOT IN DEFEAT, BUT IN A RAGE SO HOLLOW, IT FORGETS WHAT IT WAS EVEN FIGHTING FOR. FROM WARLORD TO WEAPON, FROM GENERAL TO GHOST, EVERY VERSION OF DEATHSAURUS REVEALS A NEW FACE. BUT BEHIND THEM ALL IS THE SAME QUESTION. WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR? IS IT CONQUEST? SURVIVAL? REVENGE? OR IS IT JUST THE NEED TO KEEP FIGHTING, BECAUSE IT'S ALL YOU HAVE LEFT? WE'VE SEEN THE FAMILY MAN OF THE VICTORY MANGA WHO FOUGHT TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT. WE'VE SEEN THE TYRANT OF THE VICTORY ANIME WHO FOUGHT TO CLAIM THE STARS. WE'VE SEEN THE SADIST OF THE WINGS OF HONOR WHO FORGOT THE MEANING BEHIND THE WAR. AND WE'VE SEEN THE BROKEN HUSK OF IDW FIGHTING NOT FOR A DREAM, BUT BECAUSE HE COULDN'T REMEMBER HOW TO STOP. SO WHERE DOES THE PURPOSE END? AND WHERE DOES THE MONSTER BEGIN? SOME VILLAINS WANT POWER, OTHERS WANT PEACE. DEATHSAURUS WANTED BOTH, AND NEITHER. IT DEPENDS ON THE UNIVERSE, DEPENDS ON THE WAR. IN THE VICTORY MANGA, HE WAS A PROTECTOR, A WARLORD NOT DRIVEN BY CONQUEST, BUT BY THE QUIET TERROR OF LOSING HIS PEOPLE. EVERY CHOICE WAS CALCULATED NOT IN AMBITION, BUT IN DESPERATION. HE WASN'T FIGHTING TO WIN, HE WAS FIGHTING TO MAKE SURE SOMEONE ELSE WOULD LIVE IF HE FELL. HIS WAR WAS UGLY, BUT IT HAD A PURPOSE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT PURPOSE FADES? IN THE VICTORY ANIME, DEATHSAURUS BECOMES A TYRANT. HIS CRUELTY NO LONGER CONCEALS A CAUSE, HE LASHES OUT, SCHEMES, MANIPULATES. HIS WAR ISN'T ABOUT SURVIVAL, IT'S ABOUT SUPREMACY. AND IN WINGS OF HONOR, THE DESCENT GOES DEEPER. HE FIGHTS FOR NOTHING BUT HIMSELF. THERE IS NO PEOPLE, NO FUTURE, NO MEANING. HE BECOMES A SADIST, A BRUTE. THE WAR BECOMES THE ONLY THING THAT DEFINES HIM. IN AN IDW, WE SEE THE AFTERMATH. DEATHSAURUS REBELS AGAINST MEGATRON, NOT BECAUSE HE'S BECOME A PACIFIST, BUT BECAUSE HE THINKS HE CAN WAGE THE WAR BETTER. HE STEALS THE WARLORD, BECOMES A BUTCHER IN EXILE FOR VENGEANCE. AND WHEN HE LOOKS BACK AT THE EMPIRE HE TRIED TO BUILD, ALL HE SEES IS ASH. EVEN THEN, HE KEEPS FIGHTING. BECAUSE THAT'S ALL HE HAS LEFT. HE FIGHTS WHAT THE WAR WAS FOR. AND WHEN YOU FORGET WHAT THE WAR IS FOR, YOU START TO BELIEVE THAT WAR IS THE REASON. YOU JUSTIFY CRUELTY, YOU CALL IT STRENGTH. YOU BURN BRIDGES, AND CALL IT VICTORY. YOU LOSE YOUR PEOPLE, YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL, AND YOU NEVER EVEN SEE IT HAPPEN. THAT'S NOT JUST A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR DECEPTICONS, IT'S A WARNING FOR US. WE ALL FIGHT FOR SOMETHING, FOR FAMILY, FOR JUSTICE, FOR PRIDE, FOR SURVIVAL. BUT IF WE DON'T PAUSE, DON'T LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND ASK WHY, WE RISK BECOMING THE VERY THING WE SWORE TO STAND AGAINST. SO ASK YOURSELF, WHAT DO YOU FIGHT FOR? IS IT WORTH THE COST? AND WHEN THE DUST SETTLES, WILL YOU STILL RECOGNIZE THE PERSON LEFT STANDING? BECAUSE IN THE END, IT'S NOT WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE, IT'S WHAT THE WAR TURNS YOU INTO. THANK YOU FOR WALKING WITH US THROUGH THE BATTLEFIELD, THROUGH THE ENERGON-SOAKED DREAMS, THROUGH THE ROARS OF DRAGONS AND TYRANTS, THROUGH THE LEADER WHO THOUGHT HE COULD FIGHT FATE AND LOST HIMSELF TRYING. BECAUSE DEATHSAURUS WASN'T FORGED TO BE FEARED, HE WAS BUILT TO PROTECT, TO GUARD A FUTURE FOR THOSE HE CALLED HIS OWN, TO HOLD THE LINE NOT FOR GLORY, BUT FOR SURVIVAL, TO BECOME THE SHIELD NO ONE ELSE COULD CARRY. IN ONE LIFE HE CHOSE MERCY, IN ANOTHER HE DEMANDS OBEDIENCE, IN SOME HE BREAKS THE CHAINS, AND IN OTHERS HE FORGES THEM. BECAUSE THAT'S THE LESSON, ISN'T IT? THAT BELIEF CAN BE BEAUTIFUL UNTIL IT BLINDS YOU, THAT EVEN THE NOBLEST CAUSE CAN CURDLE INTO CRUELTY, THAT WHEN POWER BECOMES THE GOAL INSTEAD OF THE TOOL, YOU STOP BUILDING A FUTURE. AND START BURNING THE PRESENT. DEATH SOURCE TEACHES US THAT WAR DOESN'T SHAPE THE BATTLEFIELD, IT RESHAPES THE SOUL. AND IF YOU DON'T HOLD TIGHT TO WHO YOU ARE, YOU WON'T RECOGNIZE WHAT YOU'VE BECOME. SO SIT WITH THAT. SIT WITH THE THEORY THAT CLOUDS GOOD INTENTIONS. SIT WITH THE GRIEF OF FIGHTING FOR SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T LOVE YOU BACK. SIT WITH THE COST OF CONFUSING STRENGTH AND DOMINATION. BECAUSE SOMEONE OUT THERE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT THE CAUSE YOU FIGHT FOR SHOULD NEVER CONSUME THE PERSON YOU ARE. SO STAY GROUNDED, STAY FIERCE, AND AS ALWAYS, STAY HANDSOME. AND REMEMBER, THE BATTLE MIGHT MAKE YOU A SOLDIER, BUT ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE WHAT KIND OF LEGACY YOU'LL LEAVE BEHIND.