Soundwave functioned as Megatron's communications officer and devoted lieutenant within the Decepticon ranks, commanding a cadre of cassette-form spies like Ravage, Laserbeak, and Rumble directly from his chest compartment. His core duties encompassed intelligence gathering, signal jamming, and deploying his cassette minions for espionage or combat. During a clash in the Arctic Circle while both factions sought the lost Autobot Matrix of Leadership, Soundwave engaged in a final confrontation against his Autobot counterpart, Blaster. This battle culminated in their mutual destruction, Soundwave's body exploding as Blaster collapsed. Soundwave's remains were retrieved by his cassette minions and transported to the planet Master. There, utilizing advanced reconstruction technology under Decepticon Headmaster leader Zarak's direction, Soundwave was rebuilt and upgraded into Soundblaster, also known as New Soundwave. This new form preserved Soundwave's core functions and loyalty to the Decepticon cause but featured a predominantly black color scheme instead of blue, along with enhanced specifications enabling him to store and deploy two cassettes simultaneously. Resuming his duties as Soundblaster under subsequent Decepticon leaders Galvatron and later Scorponok, he continued his focus on espionage and battlefield communication, frequently undertaking missions with cassette operative Ratbat. His relationship with his cassette minions evolved, demonstrating increased protectiveness compared to his earlier iterations.