The name or term "Lazarus" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, seeLazarus (disambiguation). |
Lazarus. People callAdam Rook "Lazarus". You should too. He's a rogue government engineer turned arms dealer who likes making smug, self-important, meandering speeches while folding origami.
How he got the scar over his left eye is unknown. Maybe someone got sick of listening to him.
Engineer Adam Rook was hired in 1997 by US GeneralRobert Hallo to design and build an army of intelligent shapeshifting robot soldiers. Despite ample resources and staff, each of theLazarus Project's fifty protoypes was an abject failure. Confronted with these setbacks, Hallo changed course, and took advantage of the recentAutobot/Human defeat of theDecepticons to experiment upon the deactivated Decepticons. Eventually, Rook succeeded in creating a program to control Transformers—the program allowed specific objectives to be input into the Transformer's central intelligence, suppressing their free will but retaining a level of intelligence sufficient to make independent decisions while carrying out the mission.
In order to acquire the Autobots, Hallo plotted to destroy theArk II, a ship carrying the victorious Autobots, their Decepticon prisoners, and several humans back toCybertron. The plan was successful—theArk II exploded, killing its human passengers and depositing the Transformers into theArctic Ocean, but Rook disappeared, taking the control program with him.Prime Directive #5
Over the next four years, Rook, motivated by greed, adopted the alias 'Lazarus' and built an organization to retrieve and reactivate the slumbering Transformers.Prime Directive Preview From a remote base in theNorthwest Territories, he succeeded in reviving a number of Transformers, includingSoundwave,Hound,Bumblebee,Grimlock,Starscream,Thundercracker,Rumble,Ravage,Prowl,Laserbeak,Skywarp,Cliffjumper,Ratchet,Ironhide,Bluestreak,Huffer,Brawn—and his 'deluxe model',Megatron. He hired them out to a number of tyrants and terrorists, who used them to attack and exterminate their enemies. Often, he would take potential customers on tours of his base, showing them the 'merchandise' (and using his origami skills) to sell them on his services. On one such tour, Lazarus attempted to demonstrate his control program to a terrorist namedBishop, only to find that Subject 6—Megatron—refused to kneel before him. Explaining it away as a 'minor wrinkle', Lazarus led Bishop away, failing to note that Megatron had switched himself back on...Prime Directive #1
Some time later, Lazarus sent Grimlock, Bumblebee, Soundwave, Starscream, Thundercracker, Rumble, Ravage, and Laserbeak to attack an ArcticSmitco Oil Refinery, as a demonstration to an audience of potential buyers. Once the refinery was destroyed, he proceeded to auction off his Transformers, starting with Megatron. Bidding reached 85 million dollars (and a harem of wives) before Megatron unexpectedly awoke, sending Lazarus's clientele running for their lives.Prime Directive #2 Megatron devastated the base, freed his fellow Decepticons from Lazarus's control, and chained Lazarus himself up like a dog. The Decepticon leader then used Lazarus as the first test subject for his latest doomsday device, a virus powered by the life-forces of captive Autobots and humans; the virusconverted Lazarus's body to lifeless technomatter in a matter of seconds, presumably killing him.Prime Directive #3 The statue-like corpse of Adam Rook was left as a permanent monument to his arrogance and avarice.Prime Directive #4
Lazarus was among the trash thatStarscream threw away.The Beautiful Flower Has Thorns? Temptation of the Female Soldier, Airachnid!