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Monday, December 20, 2010

Countdown to Christmas #20: Soundwave

Yes, Soundwave. Megatron's second-in-command (well, the second-in-command who wasn't also constantly trying to kill and/or usurp him). The monotone Transformer who turns into a tape player.


Everyone has that one Christmas gift they always wanted but never received, and Soundwave is mine. As a kid, I loved Soundwave. Partially because I had an odd fascination with loyal sidekick characters (such characters were often too uncool to be the leaders themselves, like me). But really, it was because he transformed into a tape deck, and you could then put another Transformer that turned into a tape inside him. And for six year old Teebore, that was pretty frickin' awesome.


I asked Santa for the Soundwave toy three years straight (which is a long time for a kid) and never received him. Looking back, I realize this is because by the time I was asking for Soundwave he'd been off toy shelves for several years, replaced by newer Transformers, and that those bastards at Hasbro weren't sharing the plans for making more Soundwaves with Santa. Plus, there was no eBay back them, so it wasn't like Santa could just order one for me online.


In place of Soundwave I received plenty of kick ass toys through the years, so it wasn't like I was really suffering or anything. Soundwave-less Christmases were still great Christmases. Eventually, I even bought Soundwave for myself, at Botcon, the annual Transformers convention; now he sits atop my stereo, two relics of an ancient time. But I'll always remember him as that one special toy that taught me there were limits even to Santa's power.

8 comments:

  1. our brother used to go to Botcon with his friends- like 5 years in a row until it got lame and they quit

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  2. There are limits to Santa's power unfortunately. Don't go by The Christmas Story...we won't all get that BB gun we covet. Although birthdays seem to be the best for me, as I did get my machete. Huzzah!

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  3. @Anne: our brother used to go to Botcon with his friends- like 5 years in a row until it got lame and they quit

    I've only gone once, but I've heard they've gotten rather lame recently.

    @Hannah: Don't go by The Christmas Story...we won't all get that BB gun we covet.

    That's what I love about that movie; it works whether you were one of the kids who got the BB gun or one that didn't.

    I did get my machete.

    Next year you should ask for a flame thrower.

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  4. we always wanted a dog. Then we got a dog in 4th grade so everything turned out OK

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  5. @Falen: we always wanted a dog. Then we got a dog in 4th grade so everything turned out OK

    Yeah, I think even as a kid I subconsciously realized there were SOME limits to Santa's power even before Soundwave, cuz I never even wasted my breath asking for a dog (I did a Pound Puppy one year, though. I named him Poundy. Good thing I want to be an author, right?).

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  6. LMAO! we also had pound puppies. They rocked

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  7. Pound Puppies! The head pound puppy... Ace or Boomer or Sport or Mack? He was street wise and wore a bomber jacket. Wasn't there then a line of pregnant pound puppies? And you could get anywhere from 1 to 4 puppies inside the dog? I god-damned loved Transformers and Voltron.

    I had a bit of a gender-identity issue (but that's all in the past, Buddy Boy! *grabs crotch and spits*) as a kid. I vividly remember only wearing one earring for a time in the 80's (as this was the height of masculinity at the time). That, coupled with my mullet, I felt got me closer to being where I wanted to be.

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  8. @Joan: I god-damned loved Transformers and Voltron.

    You truly are one of us.

    I vividly remember only wearing one earring for a time in the 80's (as this was the height of masculinity at the time).

    Remember the complicated sexual politics involved in that? Like, wearing one earring in such-and-such ear meant you were gay whereas the other ear didn't, or something like that.

    And then 90210 came along and taught us it was okay for dudes to wear earrings in whatever ear they wanted?

    Where would we be without 90210...

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