Quark
From Transformers Wiki
- Quark is anAutobotfrom the2005 IDW portionof theGeneration 1continuity family.
A member of thescientific class,Quarkfears for what would happen if those menial "Decepticon"types ever rose to power. Not that he's content with the current ruling body ofCybertroneither: he's paranoid that theSenateis listening in on everyone and everything. He'd really just like to be able to get on with his duties in electron microscope mode and not have to worry about the state of the world, but his friendNightbeatkeeps bringing it up...
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Fiction
2005 IDW continuity
Quark ofRodionPredestination: An Expert's Guidemet Nightbeat for a drink outsideMaccadam's New Oil House,where his detective friend had him read a story about a shooting inApophenia.Quark suspected Decepticon involvement, which Nightbeat refuted, leading to a discussion about theDecepticon Registration Actand what would happen if the requisite number of Decepticons signed up, allowing their faction to be recognised as a legitimate political party. Quark feared that if they ever took power, the Decepticons would execute everyone who wasn'tmanual class,but their debate was promptly forgotten when, upon commenting that his drink tasted funny, Quark realized something had been dripping into it from overhead:energonleaking from the dead body ofSenator Sherma,suspended from thebridgeabove them!Post Hoc
Quark eventually became an Autobot as war broke out on Cybertron. Following the Decepticon uprising and the fall ofK'th Kinsere,he was interred at theGrindcoreprison camp,Predestination: An Expert's Guidelocked in his microscope mode. AfterSimanzi,thecommandantgave Quark a new cellmate namedSkidswho was able to use hisoutlierskills to remove Quark'sinhibitor spike,allowing him totransform.Speak, Memory: Part 1Skids was put to work on Grindcore's "teleport" chamber, using his skills to repair the damaged systems. In exchange, the commandant promised to teleport 50 prisoners to the relative freedom of off-world slavery. When the time came, the commandant gave Skids one of the 50 spots. Skids asked to let Quark leave instead, and Tarn agreed to let both of them depart with the 50 prisoners. Inside the chamber, however, the prisoners quickly learned the "teleporter" was actually a smelting chamber. The commandant teleported Skids to safety and forced him to watch as Quark and the others were melted down into raw materials for the Decepticon cause.Speak, Memory! (Part 2)
Years later (or earlier, thanks totime travel)Brainstormrevealed that he had been in love with Quark, though his affections were not reciprocated. He had devised an elaborate plan to go back in time and save Quark's life.Predestination: An Expert's Guide
When Skids finally got his memories back, his dying need was to find Brainstorm and apologize to him for Quark's death.Rage, Rage
A hologram of Quark appeared to Brainstorm onMederi,presented to the Autobots as theAfterspark.Declaring his love for Brainstorm, "Quark" led the scientist away from answers,The God Warwinking out whenRatchetdestroyed Mederi's power supply.You Are Here
The Functionist Universe
Inanother timeline,the Decepticons never arose and so Quark survived until the present day, working for the Functionist Council. He was tasked with studying the captiveRung,also known as "The Useless One", to discover just what it was that he transformed into. Ultimately however, it wasSweep,thejanitor,who solved the riddle. Quark reported this to the Council's Convener,One-of-Twelve,who was pleased with their findings.Predestination: An Expert's Guide
Notes
- Quark's head design is based on that ofAnimatedPerceptor,as both 'bots turn into microscopes.
- James Roberts,author of "Shadowplay", had previously created an Autobot named "Quark" for his unofficial Transformers fan-novel,Eugenesis,though the name is about the only similarity between the two characters. Despite being in a prose novel, the earlier Quark did get a pictoral appearance in the illustrated comic-strip prologue to the work, "Liars, A to D" (pictured).
