Exarchon is a Transformer from the 2019 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Ex, Exx, n' Exxy

Once a leading figure in Cybertronian society, Exarchon was corrupted by forces unknown, sent back to his home as a weapon to curtail their expansion, and in response unleashed the War of the Threefold Spark on his own people. Whatever kind of bot he was before, he has been twisted by his experience into something only barely recognizable as Cybertronian. Arrogant and uncaring, he despises his fellow Cybertronians, referring to them with disdain as "stubborn machines" and viewing them only as potential assets. Totally divorced from his own species, Exarchon's only concerned with his vision of a Cybertron under his complete control. He hoards exotic technology, cosmic secrets, and what allies he has are few and far between, promised power and riches in exchange for their service. Though one must wonder if even his "chosen few" are safe from becoming potential victims when the chips are down...

After all, Exarchon must succeed. His twisted sense of destiny demands it.

Exarchon's most dangerous ability is the one that earned him the moniker the Threefold Spark: a corrupted spark capable of possessing and "usurping" the bodies of other Cybertronians, stealing them for his own personal use. The only limitation to this ability is he can only inhabit up to three bodies at a time; regardless if one is a Titan or a Micromaster, three is his limit, forcing him to leave behind an empty, dead husk as he jumps from body to body (which he tends to do a lot). Exarchon is always seeking more powerful or interesting shells to inhabit, or to replace a fallen iteration, as he loathes to be limited to just one, which leaves him as vulnerable to destruction as any other Cybertronian. While this ability grants him access to a range of bodies and opportunities, Exarchon does not inherit their memories, and if forced to assume the identity of one of his victims, is reliant on secondhand data to maintain his cover.

Fiction

2019 IDW continuity

First appearance: Transformers #7 (mentioned); Transformers #15 (full appearance)

"Freak?! I'm merely the victim of an accident. And anyone can have an 'accident'."

Once a trusted and respected figure in Cybertronian society, Orion Pax: Free Fall at some point during the Age of Expansion, Exarchon left Cybertronian space, returning as a mad warmonger intent on destroying Cybertron. The Change In Your Nature Part Three Parties that existed "behind the barrier of quintessence" abducted and overpowered Exarchon, altering his very spark into something akin to a biological virus, capable of "usurping" another Cybertronian's body, consuming their sparks and minds. The only mercy was that Exarchon was unable to maintain more than three bodies at any one time. However, this proved barely an obstacle to him, as he swapped bodies repeatedly. While he would not recall all of what befell him, Exarchon was shown and promised a vision of the future where Cybertron would be his to rule, prompting him to turn to conquest. Seeking to silence Cybertron's expansion into the larger galaxy, Exarchon's benefactors provided him with exotic weapons and technology to turn loose on his home planet and make his vision a reality. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part One War's End Part One War's End Part Three To bring this about, Exarchon's ultimate ambition was to usurp the Allspark itself, the massive spark from which all other sparks originated. War's End Part Two

When Exarchon returned to Cybertron, he allied with the amoral Shockwave, offering him the chance to indulge his every scientific curiosity, and the mercurial Skywarp, who was offered every Cybertronian colony world he conquered as playthings. However, despite his promises there were some secrets Exarchon kept from his supposed allies. War's End Part One In time, some Cybertronians deduced that Exarchon had been deliberately corrupted and unleashed upon his homeworld as a weapon to curtail their species' rampant expansionism. Test Flight I Sea of Rust I

With the technology at their disposal, Exarchon and Shockwave developed a revolutionary form of cloning that allowed Cybertronians to raise an army of copies from the planet's living metal—the earliest such experiments yielded Soundblaster, who later became a loyal servant of Shockwave's. Sea of Rust I Although the pair had hoped that cloning the Seeker would give them an army of teleporting warriors, the Skywarp clones did not inherit this ability. Escape Part Three Exarchon soon made his presence known to Cybertron, and the battle to stop him became known as the War of the Threefold Spark. The Change In Your Nature Part Three

In battle, Exarchon proved cautious; he rarely put himself in danger by exposing all three of his bodies on the field at any one time. The Change In Your Nature Part Three His prudence didn't prevent Arcee from assassinating at least one of his bodies, although this setback was ultimately temporary. Arcee/Greenlight: Run At some point during the war, Exarchon attempted to usurp the Titans; he succeeded with Croaton, but this was short-lived, as the Titan Citadel obliterated Croaton with an imploder weapon. Wheeljack: Orbital Decay Titans Light/Star Cybertron as a whole would not learn the truth of Exarchon's changed nature until towards the end of the war. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part One

Other Cybertronians fought for Exarchon voluntarily. Of all of Exarchon's soldiers, Turmoil established a reputation for himself as a cruel and ruthless warrior. We Are Not Meant To Be Darkness

At one point during the war, when Yuss was leveled, and Ultra Magnus's assault force had fallen back, Exarchon felt confident that the battle was over, and began inspecting the battlefield with all three of his bodies. He found a damaged Megatron, and noted that while the miner was his enemy, he could have been of use. Whatever Exarchon was planning, he didn't have a chance to implement it, as Strika's heavies attacked him and destroyed one of his bodies before Skywarp's clone army saved him. Eventually, Megatron would come to realize that it was Exarchon's will, not his weapons or deeds, that came to truly define his fearsome reputation. The Change In Your Nature Part Three

The final battle of the War of the Threefold Spark was fought approximately two megacycles before the rise of the Decepticons, just beyond the city of Iacon. By that time, much of Exarchon's forces had been defeated, captured or killed, leaving only the fanatics. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part One The last of his current bodies critically damaged, Exarchon, seconds before he was buried by the shelling, jumped into Provoke's near-failing shell, doing what he could to sustain it and retreating into stasis lock until the time was right. War's End Part One Sandwiched between the layers of Cybertron's strata, Exarchon became buried beneath the Memorial Crater that commemorated his defeat. Titans Most Cybertronians believed that Exarchon had perished, though it was noted that they'd never found his body. Unconvinced that the Threefold Spark was truly gone, the war veteran Cyclonus maintained a solitary vigil at the Memorial Crater that marked Exarchon's final defeat. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One

"And now it is your darkness that shall be the ark that sustains me!"

When Senator Orion Pax wondered whether he could still trust Megatron, Orion's mentor Codexa reminded him that Cybertron had once trusted Exarchon before he'd led them to ruin. Orion Pax: Free Fall After accepting the Matrix of Leadership, its Mediator program informed Orion that Exarchon's spark had not yet joined the afterlife. Prime

During Megatron's attempted military takeover, he had the Titan Cargohold crash into the Memorial Crater. In the aftermath, the rubble was explored by Gutcruncher and Roadtrap, who found Exarchon in Provoke's body. Titans They brought 'her' to the Iacon medical center, where Flatline attended to Provoke while Cyclonus held vigil. The medic felt that it was unlikely 'Provoke' would ever wake up. Test Flight I However, this prognosis proved incorrect. Test Flight II In the guise of Provoke, Exarchon began studying what had happened in his absence, brushing off Cyclonus's attempts to reconnect with his supposed friend. Meanwhile, he usurped the body of Ruckus, and tried to pass the otherwise completely dead mechanoid's revival as a miracle. When Flatline became curious, a frustrated Exarchon - feeling the need to be three once more - usurped him as well. Enigmatic The Decepticons took no notice of Ruckus's revival, or his strange behaviour, with Swindle shooing Cyclonus off when he tried asking him. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part One

When brought before Megatron, Ultra Magnus tried to warn the Decepticon leader about Exarchon's threat while Exarchon himself consulted the archives regarding what he had missed in Provoke's body. His failure to completely mimic Provoke's mannerisms further roused Cyclonus' suspicions. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part Two

In Provoke's body, Exarchon continued to consult the archives before Cyclonus confronted him again. Unable to put off Cyclonus any longer, Exarchon attacked with the intent to usurp him only for Cyclonus to cut out Provoke's spark chamber, though not before the warlord had confirmed his identity to Cyclonus. In Flatline's body, Exarchon approached Shockwave and Skywarp, eager to conclude their old work. In Ruckus' body, Exarchon discovered the multiworld simulation chambers beneath Swindle's and a sleeping Deathsaurus. Opening the chamber, Exarchon abandoned Ruckus' form and usurped Deathsaurus' body, dramatically erupting out of the building in dragon mode. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part Three

In Deathsaurus' form, Exarchon fled to one his hidden bases in the Sonic Canyons, War's End Part One bringing its store of technology and clones online War's End Part Two while Cyclonus warned Decepticon High Command of his return. In Shockwave's base, Exarchon summoned Soundblaster and the Combaticons, whereupon he informed his minions of his secret caches. After Skywarp teleported out, Exarchon emerged from the base in Deathsaurus' body to confront the Autobot scouts who had been sent to find his hideout. War's End Part One

Exarchon's master plan is straight from Kid Stuff Megatron's playbook.

With Deathsaurus' body proving too large to pursue the Autobots through the Sonic Canyons, Exarchon instead delegated the task of protecting the sanctum and finding the Autobots to Soundblaster's infiltration troopers and the Combaticons. Within the base, Exarchon revealed the massive drill tank he planned to use to burrow down into the core of Cybertron and monologued to Soundblaster of his plan to absorb the AllSpark before the Decepticons arrived. Overpowering Tracer, Exarchon flew back to the surface only to be met by Pyra Magna and her Companions. War's End Part Two

Though initially managing to overpower Pyra Magna, Exarchon was caught off-guard by Jumpstream teleporting onto his head, the distraction allowing Pyra to clip his talon. Wounded, Exarchon retreated back into his sanctum, confirming that the drill tank still functioned, before the Autobots and Decepticons fell back when Devastator approached. In Flatline's body, Exarchon was shown the bound Sunstorm, whose irradiated body he desired, despite Shockwave's warnings before the two were informed that Megatron had arrived, Exarchon ordering the Decepticon leader to be brought to him. With Shockwave gone, Exarchon freed Sunstorm with the intent to usurp him before Megatron arrived. After a few words, Megatron fired on Exarchon, sending him stumbling back into Sunstorm, whose touch melted Flatline's body. In the Sonic Canyons, just as he was being shown Devastator, Exarchon cursed the Decepticons before he made to usurp the combiner. War's End Part Three

However, being made up of six individual minds, Devastator was able to resist Exarchon's touch, though at the cost of decombining into the dazed Constructicons. Furious, Exarchon turned on Team Stream, making to usurp Flamewar before Soundblaster reminded him of their exposed position and nearby enemies. Tossing the Decepticon aside, Exarchon returned to his fortress and inserted a third of his spark into the drill tank. After he had sent it down to the planet's core to usurp the AllSpark, he made for the surface to confront his returned foes. Leading his forces into battle, Exarchon was attacked by Mindwipe's hypnotic gaze, giving him an overwhelming desire to consume a contained Titanspark. When Cyclonus opened the cage, Exarchon made to usurp the spark, the cage's technology drawing him out of Deathsaurus' body and sealing him. Though Sixshot was ready to take the Threefold Spark to Megatron, Pyra Magna destroyed the cage and two-thirds of Exarchon's spark.

In his last iteration, Exarchon continued to drill through the layers of Cybertron, being followed by Zetar's team of Autobots. When the Autobots caught up to the drill tank, Soundblaster and his minions caught up to them, their fighting stalling the tank. Before it could recover, Sureshot frantically ordered Zetar to drill through the machine, the Autobot rupturing the tank's systems, finally destroying the Threefold Spark in a mighty explosion. War's End Part Four

Alternate future

Things have gotten out of hand...

While experimenting with her teleportation abilities, Jumpstream found herself teleporting out of control, and somehow travelled through time into a future where Exarchon had returned from hiding, stolen the bodies of Megatron, Shockwave, and Onslaught, and conquered the planet. Lord of Misrule: Test Flight I As the de facto ruler of Cybertron, Exarchon held court in the ruined Senate building as his minions—Cybertronian, Thraal, and Voin alike—drained Cybertron's energon and sold Transformers into slavery. When his Skywarp clones found Jumpstream, she was brought before the ruler of Cybertron; unaware that she'd travelled through time, Exarchon mistook her for a rebel guerilla and ordered his minions to give her to the Thraal mercenaries as a gift. Test Flight II

Notes

True story: No relationship to Exar Kun

• The name "Exarchon" is a portmanteau of the Ancient Greek words "archon" (ἄρχων árchōn) and "exarch" (ἔξαρχος éxarchos).^[1] Both originally referred to rulers or other individuals in positions of authority, but in modern English usage have come to be used specifically for religious leaders within the Eastern Orthodox Church.
• Exarchon's original form is based on a recolored version of the 1981 Diaclone toy Dia-Attacker (ダイアアタッカー) (also released by Grandstand in the United Kingdom in the Convertors toyline as "Zetanoid"), albeit with some artistic license taken—most notably the breastplate, which is considerably simpler and less impressive on Exarchon than it is on Dia-Attacker. Meanwhile, Exarchon's controlled bodies as seen in Transformers #15 include designs based on Titans Return Twin Twist and Prime Wheeljack.
• While the identities of Exarchon's benefactors went unrevealed before the end of the 2019 IDW continuity, they would have been revealed as the Quintessons had the story continued.^[2]

References

External links

• Dia-Attacker photo review at CollectionDX