They way i would handle i’d have him as a normal cybertonian (not the reformatted form of whoever nor a ancient Cybertronian) he got his sword skills from dai atlas and also he would be an outlier with the ability to create cyclones his power was so impressive he was recruited in a decepticon elite guard under the command of overlord there he also met his partner scourge he would usually be sent into battlefield when it required absolute chaos and he would often go into battle against ultra magnus because the magnus armor protected magnus from cylonus’s ability making it more of a challenge.

 

Bombshell reformatted.

 

Skywarp reformatted into Cyclonus. JG1 and all that.

 

Didn’t JG1 depict him as a bit of a Clumsy buffoon?

 

Since I don't follow the 86 movie origin at all, Cyclonus and the rest of the "Galvatron" troops all have a completely different take on them, With the sweeps being special guard forces for the Decepticons, and Cyclonus the "captain" of this specialized squad, but with a very particular twist, as they were meant to keep the Decepticons "in line".

Cyclonus himself was a very dedicated character, following his orders to the letter, until the structure broke down, and himself and his troop end up becoming more like mercenaries than anything else. Loyal to Galvatron, he refused to accept Megatron's leadership, even leading his services to Overlord's forces.

While he maintained his allegiance to the Decepticons, he developed a few limited friendships, including with Shockwave, but at some point, he does lose his direction and being one of the few Cybertronians that has space capacity (though limited) he considers leaving Cybertron on many occasions to seek the lost cybertronians as a way to redeem himself.

He does accept his darker side that separates him from having much compassion, and if anything, has more empathy towards the Autobots that he's destroyed over any Decepticons that he's had to put down.

 

He’d be reformatted from Skywarp.

 

I second this, so I can have that scene in Universe where Skywarp tells him off.

 

My stories depiction of Cyclonus...

Megatronus Prime has the body of Thundercracker recovered from Autobot City after Skywarp was tasked with killing the traitor during the Autobot Civil War arc. Following the first time skip Megatronus Prime has more dead Seeker bodies collected following Megatron's assault on the Moon Prison to be experimented upon by his chief scientist Magnificus, at the time keeping his project top secret. Skywarp is killed during the Autobot's siege on the Smelting Pool that also sees Shockwave & Darkmount parish as well. Skywarp's body is transported to one of Megatronus Prime's many outposts, outposts targeted for high levels of Dark Energon. The Decepticons have been experimented on upgrading their soldiers with Dark Energon, seeing what this Dark Energon does. So far the experiment has failed as many of the Seekers have come out looking like horribly mangled blobs of metal. Megatron is on the verge of death following the defeat of Unicron & Nova Prime, Megatronus Prime orders Astrotrain & Blitzwing to take him to the same outpost the Seeker's bodies are being kept all under the command of Starscream. The Dark Energon mixed with Megatron's rage turn him into Galvatron, he "kills" Starscream and orders the Seekers bodies to be dumped into the pool.

Skywarp's blind loyalty to the Decepticon cause merges with the Dark Energon in his corpse transforming him into a new being, the ever loyal Cyclonus. Now a hyper loyal servant to Galvatron, he acts as his advisor and second in command with the Dark Energon seemingly increasing his intelligence to better serve his master. His friend turned traitor being transformed into Scourge and forced to serve under him alongside the rest of the Seekers turned Sweeps. Cyclonus would participate in many more battles under Galvatron's command like he did to Megatron as Skywarp, partaking in the Assault on Caminus (being witness to Galvatron defeating Rodimus Prime) or leading the Sweeps into aerial combat against the Aerialbots led by Jetfire over Chaar. Though loyal he did have time to question Galvatron such as when he tried to recruit Windblade to his cause and overthrow Megatronus Prime, only to be severally beaten by Galvatron.

Cyclonus would continue to serve loyally to Galvatron when they learned of Megatronus Prime's ultimate plan (to wipe out 99% of Cybertron and its colonies population to bring about a new golden age and to revive Solus Prime). Galvatron broke away alongside a small sect of loyal Decepticons including Cyclonus, Soundwave, Nitro Zeus, Knock Out, Brakedown, the Triple Changers, the Stunticons, & Reflector. As such this small group including Cyclonus had to deal with the Decepticon Justice Division coming after them but was successful in killing off everyone except Nickel & Tarn. This new small sect of Decepticons would find themselves allying with the Autobots & a still living Starscream. Cyclonus himself would witness as Galvatron make a heroic last ditch effort fight against Megatronus Prime at the cusp of total defeat. Using the Heart of Cybertron, knowing full well it would kill him, Galvatron tried in vain only to be disintegrated by the combined power of Megatronus' fusion cannon & the Heart of Cybertron overwhelming him. Witnessing his leader die and being unable to do anything deeply messed with Cyclonus & Soundwave.

When the combined forces of Galvatron's Decepticons & the Autobots lost, with 99% of the population gone Cyclonus was left as one of the few survivors, seeing it as a cruel joke. In the six year time skip he exiled himself and eventually came upon the former Decepticon Sixshot who have left the Decepticon cause years ago and survived the wrath of the DJD. He trained under Sixshot and learned to use one of the last three Great Swords still in existence, swearing to avenge Galvatron's death. When the surviving Autobots & Decepticons put together a valiant attempt to revive the 99% lost, Cyclonus & Sixshot happily joined the fight. During this final battle that saw the 99% revived and aid in defeating Megatronus' forces, Cyclonus locked swords with Bludgeon with the two plunging their swords into each other's sparks, the two had killed each other in a stalemate. Cyclonus passed away in that battle returning to the Well of Allsparks as Skywarp and pledging eternal loyalty to Megatron in the afterlife once again.

 

Is that Elmo in hell?

 

My Cyclonus: A religious zealot in cahoots with Galvatron in the latter's long game to turn the entire galaxy against both Optimus Prime AND Megatron, and against the Autobots and Decepticons in general. Galvatron himself doesn't buy any of that Giant Space Robot Satan B.S., but so long as Cyclonus is able to incite his followers to give their time, effort and/or resources to the cause - and is able to intimida--er, sorry, convince others to join in the fun - he doesn't give a **** how Cyclonus deals with them. For his part, Cyclonus does appreciate having the latitude to act as he pleases with his followers - but somewhere, in the back of his mind, there lurks the distinct possibility that the very fact that they are HIS followers, rather than Galvatron's, will someday end up being a bit of a sticky point...the kind of sticky point that naturally usually ends in violence.

Beyond that, though, when it comes to battle I'd probably envision Cyclonus as one of Galvatron's "big guns", equal on his own of accomplishing what Scourge and a small army of Sweeps could do. Given his usual fanatical devotion to other priorities Cyclonus himself tends to be indifferent towards this comparison, but to Scourge it's a bit grating and causes him to look even more askance at the larger robot. Speaking of size, the more I think about it, with regards to this Cyclonus's design I kind of dig some of the earlier concepts for him in terms of his appearance and size:


Something about this design strikes me as sufficiently creepy.

 

Dead brain: Cyclonus is made from Bombshell

Regular Brain: Cyclonus is made from Skywarp

Galaxy Brain: Bomshell and Skywarp are made from Cyclonus.

 

Definitely not a reformatted character. And the same goes for Galvatron. I thought it would've been interesting to have Galvatron show up in 2015 RID as a new character, like Cyclonus did.

 

Cyclonus is one of those rare instances where looking at the Universe/techspec profile, the Marvel Comic depiction and the cartoon, I think the cartoon did it best.

Thus I would use the cartoon depiction of Cyclonus, with one major exception.

Unlike the cartoon where his undying loyalty lies with Galvatron, it would be with the Decepticon cause and the warrior code that stems from it. As Galvatron's second in command he would fill the position of Riker in TNG: representing the crew to the captain (the Decepticons to Galvatron) and vice versa, but also prioritise the safety of the ship (the Decepticon cause) over anything else.

After Galvatron has returned and his mental state threatens Decepticon conquest and the safety of the Decepticons themselves, Cyclonus would conclude that Galvatron as leader is detrimental to the cause. He would oust Galvatron and take over command himself. (Galvatron would then become a rogue element. The Autobots would sent Ultra Magnus and Sky Lynx to hunt him down.) Cyclonus wouldn't do so because he wanted to lead, but because it was the best for the Decepticons. He would be a reluctant leader, but a very capable one. With his warrior code he would transform the Decepticons from a backstabbing group into a proper army.

 

I was thinking the honorable anti-villain personality the IDW books gave him but he's a helicopter like in Armada. I'm surprised no one's thought to mesh G1 and Armada together.

 

Cyclonus​

Cyclonus was a proud Decepticon warrior who constantly longed for the days of a Decepticon Empire that fell before he was even constructed. This devotion would take Cyclonus to many places and caused him to take part in many of history's most pivotal events. Though he was a born leader, Cyclonus considered himself a humble servant of the Decepticon cause.

Construction

Cyclonus was constructed after the Autobot Uprising by a Neo-Decepticon terrorist group known as The Rise to fight in their private war against the Autobot government. Under the watchful optics of Liege Centuro Shockwave, Cyclonus was indoctrinated to revere the earlier Decepticon regime of Tranis as a Functionist paradise that was brought to ruin by Autobot treachery. Partly as a result, Cyclonus took an interest in history and liked to collect antiquities. He longed for the day when the Decepticons would return from exile and reconquer the Cyberverse.

Maraudicon Enforcer

Prior to the Great War, Cyclonus was loaned out to the Maraudicon Syndicate to serve as the chief enforcer to the newly installed Hierophant of Kaon, Nitro Zeus. The disciplined warrior held nothing but contempt for the crude Nitro Zeus, but Cyclonus nevertheless did as he was told. During this time, the Maraudicon Cabal of Kaon was engaged in a turf war against a heretical cabal of Maraudicons led by Mirage, the son of the previous Hierophant. Additionally, the new police commissioner of Kaon, Chromia, was determined to wage a war on crime and establish Kaon as a beacon of law and order. As First Targetmaster of the Kaon Cabal, Cyclonus was unversed in Maraudicon traditions and fought Mirage's cabal with ruthless precision. If not for the fact that both Chromia and Windblade, a bodyguard of Mirage, were former guerillas from Caminus who also fought with the same ruthlessness, Cyclonus would have easily won control of the city.

The Great War

When the Great War began, the Kaon Cabal was forced to shift its focus to aiding the Decepticon war effort. Cyclonus himself was ordered to give the Maraudicon Targetmasters military training in preparation for a Decepticon invasion of Cybertron himself. When the invasion did come, Cyclonus personally led the Maraudicons in a full-scale attack on Kaon's Capital District. Though many Maruadicons were slain, including Nitro Zeus, Cyclonus succeeded in capturing the city for the Decepticons.

After the Decepticon conquest of Cybertron, Cyclonus left the Maraudicons to be integrated into the Decepticon military along with the rest of The Rise. He was assigned to Tidalwave's deep space fleet fighting the crumbling remnants of the Autobot space fleet. He was eventually promoted to the rank of Liege Major and given command of the warship Abyss. As its captain, Cyclonus hounded the Autobot privateer brothers Inferno and Hot Rod. Although he was able to slay Inferno, Hot Rod continued to plague him. The two came to a truce at one point to defend the Cybertronian colony at Metascan Alpha from a reawakened menace known as the Destructons.

Cyclonus was personally devastated when news reached him that Cybertron had been retaken by the Autobots. Nevertheless, he resolved to continue fighting for his dream of a restored Decepticon Empire. After the Fifth Battle of Gigantion, Cyclonus was promoted to Liege Superio and given command of a naval flotilla guarding the temporary imperial capital of Idessa. After the Constructicons attempted to usurp Straxus in the Gigatron Conspiracy, Cyclonus was tasked with hunting down the remaining Constructicons and executing them for their treason.

After Straxus was overthrown by Starscream, Cyclonus was initially loyal to the new Liege Maximo until Starscream started peace negotiations with the Autobots. Conspiring with Bludgeon and Thunderwing, Cyclonus stormed Garrus 9 to rescue Straxus. Incidentally, he was unwittingly aided by the renegade Autobot Grimlock who had also stormed Garrus 9 at the same time in order to recruit members for his growing Firestormers faction. Straxus promoted Cyclonus, Thunderwing, and Bludgeon to Lieges Centuro in gratitude. Ultimately, Straxus would be driven from the Commonwealth altogether following the disastrous Battle of Opulus. If not for Cyclonus's intervention, Straxus would have died in the battle.

Post Great War Career

After the Pax Cybertronia went into effect, Cyclonus would remain in Straxus's service as the commander of his naval forces. During this time, he led raids against the Autobots as well as Starscream's Decepticons. He also defended Straxus's empire-in-exile from the same as well as a radical sect of Autobots known as the Firestormers. Since he was in near constant battle against a number of enemies, Cyclonus considered these years the best in his life.

After Straxus was believed to be lost after the Earth Incident, Cyclonus ascended to rule Straxus's territory as part of a ruling triumvirate with Bludgeon and Thunderwing. Though not particularly close, the triumvirate remained united to keep from being overrun by outside enemies. During this time, Cyclonus hired a group of bandits called the Stormtroopers to scour the galaxy for Cybertronian artifacts to add to his personal collection.

The Machine Wars

When Megatron announced his return, Cyclonus immediately swore allegiance to the Emperor of Destruction and pledged his entire empire to his cause. Cyclonus believed in his spark of sparks that Megatron would be able to unite the Decepticons into a mighty empire once more and begin the great reconquest of the Cyberverse. Unfortunately for him, this miraculous rebirth of the Decepticon Empire did not come to pass. Megatron was defeated once more, and both Cyclonus and Bludgeon were driven from their territories by Thunderwing, who had sided with the Anti-Eradicon Coalition.

Herald of Galvatron

After the Machine Wars, Cyclonus wandered the galaxy as a vagabond constantly on the run from bounty hunters and assassins. It was in this climate of desperation and despair that Cyclonus came into contact with a mysterious traveler named Galvatron. The dark prophet spoke of a coming time when the old order would be swept away with fire and death and a new order put in its place. Cyclonus found himself liking what Galvatron had to say and joined his cause, thinking this new order would be a Neo-Decepticon Empire. He became the first of Galvatron's twelve Heralds of Oblivion. As such, he was second only to Galvatron in commanding his growing cult of followers, the Chaoticons. But unknown to him, he was actually helping Galvatron prepare the galaxy to be devoured by the Enemy of All Life—Unicron. When Cyclonus discovered Galvatron's true motives, he renounced the Chaoticons and surrendered himself to Starscream.

Unicron Cataclysm

During the Unicron Cataclysm, Cyclonus fought under Starscream's banner against Unicron and his Chaoticon hordes. Though he was initially distrusted, Cyclonus proved to be a trustworthy and honorable warrior. During Operation Fantastic Voyage, Cyclonus was placed in charge of the Galactic Coalition fleet that kept Unicron occupied while a strike team would infiltrate the creature and destroy him from within. Cyclonus was slain by his former comrade, Scourge, during the battle when the artificial Transformer bisected him lengthwise. After the destruction of Unicron, Cyclonus's name was placed on the Unicron Cataclysm Memorial on Cybertron.

 

This doesn't 100% apply to my "ideal Cyclonus origin", but there's an idea I've had kicking around in my head that I'd like to use for a character made from dead/dying characters. I had this idea originally for the KSIbots from AOE, specifically as a story where "most of" Ratchet managed to re-emerge from one of the KSI bots.

I like the idea of a character who is made from parts of multiple dead/dying TFs. Not in a Frankenstein's monster sense directly - they would still look perfectly normal and not a hodge-podge. But they would have multiple conflicting and fragmented memories inside them from their multiple previous lives. Clearly this doesn't gel with the visuals used in TFTM, but if you had a situation where multiple bots were harvested/reformatted en masse, it'd be a fun thing to explore. The KSI bots were the perfect fodder for that just because they were literally made from a pool of melted-down Transformers. Imagine if Unicron made Cyclonus and the others from that melted-down sludge that Spike and Bumblebee almost got dropped into. All of those many lives and minds leaving behind a trace on the new lifeform.

So imagine a Cyclonus who is Skywarp.... but not all of Skywarp. But he's also Bombshell. And others too, including heroic characters.

 

Cyclonus being loyal to Galvatron, rather than the cause is one of the things I like best about him. It's almost wholly unique in the G1 cartoon. The only other Decepticons that seem to share that level of personal loyalty and loving relationship are Soundwave with his Cassettes.

 

Ironic

I felt his actions in the episode Webworld showed his “undying“ loyalty lied with the Decepticon cause over Galvatron

and the only reason why he tolerated And Backed Galvatron was because he felt there wasn’t any others that were better for the job, not even himself

either by self doubt or just plain realizes he wasn’t strong enough or didn’t command enough respect to keep the other decepticons in line

the only reason why he tolerated

 

Cyclonus being a loyal Decepticon XO is definitely a change: Starscream, Shockwave, Soundwave... all XO's who (in different fictions) coveted leadership for different reasons.

But I wouldn't say that the other Sunbow Decepticons weren't loyal. The opposite actually, because none (save for the episode Triple Takeover) ever express any interest in taking over and whenever Starscream makes an attempt they either look concerned for Megatron or express a clear loyalty to Megatron. It's a thing I always disliked about the Sunbow Decepticons: in an army where the strong lead, there are very who make an attempt to use their strength to better their position.

Hm, I interpreted it differently. Cyclonus still acted out of loyalty to Galvatron. The other Decepticons made clear to him that they would no longer tolerate Galvatron, and if Cyclonus didn't act they would mutiny and/or despose Galvatron. By luring Galvatron to the Webworld so he could be treated and cured, Cyclonus protected Galvatron. To me, his actions were thus not out of a loyalty to the Decepticons but still to Galvatron.

He definitely didn't consider himself worthy to be leader, but that in my view was again mostly because his loyalty was first and foremost to Galvatron that he felt himself unworthy to even consider taking over. The impression I get from season 3 is that the other Decepticons did absolutely respect him. Perhaps even more than Galvatron whom they seem to fear more than respect.

 

But Galvatron needed no protection……from anyone

but the other Decepticons did…from Galvatron

Even combined as a unified “Complement” (And I say that loosely) the whole of the decepticons army realky couldn’t stand against Galvatron and his madness ….even if Galvatron fell by the end of tge fight The Deceptacon only would’ve been decimated with very very few survivors (Sunbow Equivalent of survivors anyway)

They would’ve had to surrender to the autobots by the very next day because they would be in no position to Continue hostility for years.

In committing Galvatron to the Webworld for treatment , Cyclonus protected the other decepticons from their shortsighted bravado thinking they could mount an effective Mutiny . He protected many, if not all, of them from being destroyed or Severely/permanently injured in the fight and ultimately saves the Decepticons cause from defeat at the autobots hands


To me, these actions show his Loyalty was to the team and their cause , which included Galvatron……But not to go to Galvatron only

Are you agree he didn’t consider himself a worthy leader, but I feel that was because of his failure to lead effectively following the events of the movie

He was certainly in charge there and we saw the results in the first few episodes…..The army has fallen into complete despair with no motivation to go on…….

and even though we didn’t see it happening there had to be a number of events that took place between the end of the film snd Their retreat to the planet charr…..And it’s saying those events did not go well for the Deceptacon’s

And respect isint a thing decepticons really do, If anything it’s a very temporary thing for them with fear being the strongest motivation towards backing any given meter

If they really had respect for him they wouldn’t have threatened him as well