Occasionally someone will make the preposterous claim that Soundwave couldn't possibly be as loyal and dedicated to his leader as I've always insisted, quoting the scene in the Movie where Soundwave stands by and makes no counter-move while a badly-wounded Megatron is tossed out of the shuttle - and then subsequently tries to claim leadership for himself! Sounds pretty horrendous, doesn't it? But ignoring for a moment the overall poor quality of the Movie script to begin with, and the fact that I don't consider it to take place within the same universe as the first- and second-season cartoons, I will point out that this action was entirely within the bounds of Soundwave's character, and was in no way an expression of disloyalty, selfishness, or ruthless opportunism.

A mistake in judgment, yes. A moment of weakness, perhaps. But most of all, a tormented weighing of those lives that he cared for most (equivalent to asking someone "Which of your children do you want shot?"). During those terrible moments, Soundwave assessed the situation in the shuttle as one of mindless anarchy and extreme danger, where the lives of the tapes he carried within him would be equally at risk if he tried to counter Starscream by force. Having seen Megatron survive overwhelming odds many times, Soundwave assumed that the Decepticon leader would be alright until Astrotrain made it back to Cybertron, from where Soundwave could procure another ship and return to retrieve Megatron. And his assessment would have been correct if not for the intervention of fate (Unicron). But some instinct must have told Soundwave almost immediately thereafter, that his judgment had been a horrific mistake - and that's why he made his own ploy for the vacant leadership position: to force the others to turn back. Sadly, by then it was too late....