Megatron
- This article is about The Transformers' leader of the Decepticons, for other meanings, see Megatron (disambiguation).
Template:Transformers character Megatron is the primary fictional villain of the Transformers franchise throughout the various "Generation 1" series. Megatron is a Transformer robot, giving him the ability to modify his body's structure into other objects, the original and most common "alternate mode" being a gun.
Megatron is an iconic Transformer alongside his rival, Optimus Prime, primarily because of his large exposure in the comics and television series as well as his function as the leader of the villainous Decepticons, opposite the heroic Autobots.
Transformers: Generation 1
Megatron is very powerful and utterly ruthless. His imposing robot form is dominated by his primary weapon - his arm-mounted fusion cannon, capable of leveling a city block in one blast. He can also sub-dimensionally link the cannon to a black hole, generating even more powerful antimatter blasts (capable of destroying a small planetary body). However, this ability is almost never used, as it leaves him extremely weak and vulnerable.
He has a secondary weapon barrel mounted on his back, and can retract and replace his right hand with an energy flail. He can fire electrical blasts from his hands, laser blasts from his eyes on at least one occasion (The Autobot Run) and can reprogram computers with a port in his head.
Megatron transforms into a Walther P38 pistol, delivering more focused energy blasts. He can shrink and reduce his mass as he transforms, assuming sizes that comfortably allow either another Transformer or even a human being to wield him. In one instance (the episode Dinobot S.O.S.), he retained his full size and connected to jet-mode Starscream's underside.
There have been several interpretations of his character; some see Megatron as a strategic leader who calls the shots from afar, whilst others see him as a tactical battlefield commander who leads by brutal example. Unlike many other villains in popular fiction, Megatron was not generally depicted as overly chaotic or insane. He was highly aggressive and a megalomaniac, but there was usually a consistent rationale behind his actions, albeit that Megatron was often the only one who could perceive this.
There have been some sparing occasions where Megatron displays a personal sense of fair play and even honor, a complexity that is most evident in his complicated relationship with Optimus Prime. There is an unspoken mutual respect between the two leaders, born of each knowing the other better than anyone else. Megatron at times seems to derive enjoyment from the perpetual conflict that exists between them — the pleasure of ending the life of Optimus Prime will be Megatron's and Megatron's alone, and to ensure this, he has aided Prime in the face of greater threats, such as the Combaticons or Jhiaxus's second generation Cybertronians. In instances such as these, the two have come to face the fact that were it not for their diametrically opposed ideology and views, in another life, the two could be comrades — a fact that Optimus Prime views as a tragedy, but which provides Megatron with amusement.
According to his original tech spec, Megatron has no known weaknesses. This does not, however, spare him from defeat at the hands of his enemies. For all his famed battle prowess and tactical ability, Megatron often overlooks some significant detail, and has a bad habit of ordering a retreat as soon as the tables start to turn against him (even when the overall strategic level of the battle remains firmly in the Decepticons' favor). Despite his lust for galactic domination, one of Megatron's key priorities remains the safety and health of Cybertron; and from his viewpoint, the best way to accomplish that is for him to conquer it.
Animated series
Megatron is a Decepticon, one of the lineal descendants of the military hardware robots created by the Quintessons on their factory world of Cybertron. Following a war between the Decepticons and the other robot race, the Autobots, the Decepticons were defeated by the Autobots' invention of transformation, which allowed them the advantage of stealth. The Autobot victory in the war began the Golden Age of Cybertron, but a viper lurked within this paradise, as the Decepticons too eventually developed transformation, eventually leading to the creation of Megatron. Gathering a small number of troops together, Megatron made a small strike on an outer city, killing the current Autobot leader. However, this event was not made public knowledge, and young robots like the naive Orion Pax still looked up to Megatron and his followers because of their new robot-mode flight powers. Pax soon learned the error of his ways when Megatron duped him into allowing him access to energon warehouses, and Megatron fatally injured him in a scuffle. However, the ancient Autobot, Alpha Trion, reconstructed Pax into a battle hardy configuration — now, he was Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots and Megatron's sworn opponent as the civil war erupted again (War Dawn).
Eventually, the war drained Cybertron of most of its energy, necessitating that both factions seek out new worlds and new sources of power. Megatron and his elite forces pursued the Autobots' craft (referred to as the Ark in Beast Wars, following the ship's name from the Generation 1 Marvel Comics) in their star cruiser (referred to as the Nemesis in Beast Wars) and attacked and boarded the craft, causing it to crash on prehistoric Earth, entombing all on the ship in emergency stasis as it crashed into a dormant volcano.
In 1984 (again, cited from Transformers: Beast Wars; the year was also mentioned in the Marvel comic, and "Starscream's Brigade, a second-season episode of the original animated series, features a subtitle that places that episode in 1985), a volcanic eruption jarred the Ark's computer, Teletraan I, back to life, and it proceeded to repair the Autobots and Decepticons, re-igniting the war on the energy-rich world they found themselves upon: Earth. After their first series of battles, the Autobots believed Megatron and the Decepticons were destroyed when their new space cruiser crashed into the Pacific Ocean, but in reality they survived and reconstructed the cruiser to serve as a sub-oceanic staging base and bunker.
Megatron re-established contact with Cybertron, and began construction of an intergalactic transport system called a space bridge, although the early tests nearly resulted in his destruction when he was sucked into the portal and teleported to Cybertron. The technology was eventually stabilized, however, and used in a grand scheme to transport Cybertron through space into Earth's orbit, where the natural disasters its gravity wreaked created tremendous energy which Megatron and the Decepticons gathered. The planet Earth was saved, however, when Megatron's stockpiles of energy were detonated by the Autobots, the explosion forcing Cybertron out of orbit. Again, however, Megatron was able to cheat death, and was forced to team up with Optimus Prime in order to stop the machinations of his treacherous lieutenant, Starscream.
In his next scheme in Heavy Metal War, Megatron absorbed all the separate powers of the other Decepticons into himself, and challenged Optimus Prime to one-on-one combat. With the added abilities of all his minions, Megatron easily defeated Prime in the battle, but when his deception was revealed, he and his followers were defeated in a group attack.
Over the following years, Megatron's schemes to obtain Earth's energies continued. His assorted plans included various attempts to harness the power of Earth's core, thefts of several unstable energy devices from human scientists, the draining of energy from a time-lost prehistoric island, forming a partnership with a corrupt human politician that allowed him to force the Autobots off Earth and briefly conquer Central City, co-opting Earth technologies, and reprogramming the robotic ninja Nightbird.
Fed up with the Autobots ruling the roads, Megatron ordered the creation of the Stunticons, four Decepticon cars and a truck. He even traveled to Cybertron and stole the key to Vector Sigma to give them full cybernetic personalities. Megatron used the Stunticons in many schemes, including sending the Stunticons to sabotage a race in the Middle East to obtain the power source to control weather.
Megatron even made an number of temporary alliances with the Autobots - including stopping the Insecticons and his own mind controlled troops, stopping the Combaticons from destroying Cybertron and forcibly making Perceptor cure him of a plague of Cosmic Rust (although most of these alliances ended in double crosses).
Eventually, however, Megatron turned his attention away from Earth, and succeeded in completely conquering Cybertron by the Earth year 2005. Learning the Autobots were preparing a strike against the planet, Megatron and the Decepticons intercepted the shuttle sent to Earth to acquire energy to power the raid, and unleashed a mighty assault on Autobot City. In the course of the conflict, word was sent to Optimus Prime, who arrived the following morning after the slaughter and personally confronted Megatron in a final, violent fight.
Megatron appeared beaten, but spying a discarded pistol, stalled for time by pleading for mercy as he attempted to reach it. The young Autobot Hot Rod then intervened, tackling Megatron, but the Decepticon was too powerful for him, seizing Hot Rod and using him as shield. Prime would not fire for fear of hitting Hot Rod. Megatron grabbed the pistol and opened fire on Prime. The wounds were fatal and led to Prime's death — but not before Prime delivered his own final blow to Megatron, seriously damaging him and forcing the Decepticons to flee.
On the return trip to Cybertron, it became necessary to jettison excess mass, or else the Decepticons would be unable to reach the planet. At Starscream's instigation, the wounded Decepticons were voted out, and set adrift in space, including Megatron. This was not to be the end for the deposed Decepticon leader, as the world-devourer Unicron offered Megatron a new body and new troops in exchange for Megatron's cooperation in destroying the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Thus, Megatron was reborn as Galvatron, while the rest of the wounded Deceptions became Galvatron's new warriors.
Although this would be the end of Megatron in the U.S. animated series, he would make several more appearances in the animated segments of various Transformers toy commercials, where it was depicted that he became an Action Master, and eventually a CGI sequence of him in his first Generation 2 form and Combat Hero forms. [1]
Japanese Manga
In the Japanese exclusive manga stories accompanying Transformers: The Headmasters Megatron would make a number of appearances.
On one occasion Galvatron used a massive army of Megatron clones to overwhelm the Autobots, only being defeated when Rodimus Prime destroyed Galvatron's control over them.
Rodimus and Galvatron would also even team up to battle Guiltor, a hybrid of both Optimus Prime and Megatron.
With his transformation into Galvatron, Megatron departed from the Japanese G1 continuity (which took a different direction after the end of series 3, opting to replace the events of The Rebirth with those of Headmasters), until five years later, in the manga-exclusive storyline, Battlestars: The Return of Convoy, which, although not animated itself (told instead through one chapter of manga and color magazine spreads), continues the tale of the cartoon Universe.
In the previous Japanese-exclusive animated series, Transformers: The Headmasters, Galvatron had been apparently destroyed when he was buried on an iceberg. In the "Return of Convoy" storyline, a new evil force named Dark Nova recovers Galvatron's body, and restores him to life as Super Megatron (who transformed into a futuristic jet), pitting him against Star Convoy (the reborn Optimus Prime) and his Autobots.
Super Megatron subsequently gets an upgrade to Ultra Megatron, and for the final battle, merges with Dark Nova himself, becoming Star Giant. In the Japanese Generation 2 manga, he was shown to have survived and, in a body resembling his "Hero" toy, once again opposed Optimus Prime.
Beast Wars
The Predacon leader known as Megatron from the Beast Wars and Beast Machines animated series is a separate character from the original Generation 1 Megatron, and should not be confused with him. However, this was not the original intent for the character, as the original pack-in mini-comic and biographies released with the earliest Beast Wars toys indicate that the character was supposed to be the original Megatron, in yet another new body. With the advent of the animated series, however, the fiction of Beast Wars was re-imagined and eventually applied to the toy line, establishing this Megatron as an independent character. But that is not to say that the original Megatron did not play a role in his namesake's rise to power.
At some undefined point during the Autobot-Decepticon war, the original Megatron acquired the Voyager probe's Golden Disk and inscribed a secret message onto it, intending for future generations of Decepticons to uncover it and follow its instructions should he fail, to use transwarp technology to travel back in time and kill Optimus Prime while he lay in stasis aboard the Ark, thus ending the great war early with the Decepticons the victors. Around three centuries after the eventual end of the "Great War," a Predacon named Megatron uncovered this message and quickly stole a Predacon transwarp cruiser called the Darkside with the aid of a small like-minded army, heading to prehistoric Earth.
Pursued by a crew of Maximals, both ships crashed on the planet, with only Megatron truly aware of when and where they were. Megatron, however, found himself unwilling to carry out the instructions of his ancestor, instead attempting to amass power through the huge reserves of energon and portions of mysterious alien technology that littered the planet. Systematic defeat by the Maximals eventually left all his options exhausted, and he proceeded to strike at Optimus Prime, only to be once again thwarted by his enemies.
This would not be the last time G1 Megatron's influence would be felt. Observing how Primal boosted his own strength and form by holding the spark of Optimus Prime within his body, Beast Wars Megatron made the same move, purloining the spark of his ancestor and taking it into his own body, transforming as a result into a monstrous dragon.
When he was finally defeated by the Maximals, the original Megatron's spark was returned to his body (in a deleted scene from the television series), and history carried on as before.
Although the producers attempted to get Frank Welker to reprise his role as Megatron for his recording on the Golden Disk, he was unavailable. As a result, during his cameo appearance in Beast Wars, G1 Megatron was voiced by series regular Gary Chalk, who also provided the voice of the heroic Maximal leader Optimus Primal.
Marvel Comics
Megatron's beginnings are much simpler in the world of Marvel Comics — here, rising from his beginnings as a gladiator for the city-state of Tarn, Megatron and the Decepticons were the ones who developed transformation first, using it to begin the war against the Autobots, who fought back by mimicking the technology. Megatron is known to have competed with Sureshot and Optimus Prime in a sharpshooting competition some time in his past.
In time, the war grew so fierce that Cybertron itself was shaken from its orbit, and set adrift in the cosmos. Eventually, four million years ago, the planet fell into the path of an asteroid cluster in the Sol system that threatened to destroy it, and so Optimus Prime led a contingent of his troops in the Ark to reduce the asteroids to rubble, saving Cybertron. The plan was a success, but immediately afterwards, Megatron and his troops attack, forcing Optimus Prime to crash the Ark into prehistoric Earth.
Four million years later, in 1984, the Transformers were reawakened, and Megatron immediately set about trying to locate a source of fuel for the Decepticons. Unable to ingest common Earth gasoline, the Decepticons kidnapped Sparkplug Witwicky and forced him to develop a conversion process, but this only afforded him the chance to poison their fuel, deactivating them all. The Autobots were not saved, however, as Shockwave then defeated them all and brought the Decepticons back online to serve him — including Megatron. Chafing under his command, Megatron battled Shockwave, but was soundly defeated. This forced him into an alliance with Ratchet, who located and reactivated the Dinobots, who had defeated Shockwave in the past. However, Ratchet unleashed the Dinobots on Megatron after convincing him that the recordings of their previous battle with Shockwave were the real thing. Though Megatron knocked out the recently reactivated Dinobots, in a near suicidal move, Ratchet managed to knock Megatron off a cliff. As he fell, Megatron transformed and shrunk to a human-sized pistol to reduce his mass and increase his chances of surviving the impact. Megatron disappeared in a snowbank for some time.
Soon, however, Megatron re-emerged, trapped in pistol mode, his higher brain functions disconnected. Used as a weapon by wannabe gangster, Joey Slick, Megatron eventually restored himself, and was impressed enough with Slick for standing up to him that he allowed him to live. At this point Megatron was desperately low on fuel, and attacked a coal mine in an attempt to locate some when he eventually completely ran out and froze in place. He was soon located by Soundwave and brought back online. They then entered into an alliance with the human Donny Finkleberg, who used the alias of "Robot Master" to con humankind into thinking all Transformers worked for him. After a communication from Lord Straxus on Cybertron, Shockwave and Megatron entered into a period of shared leadership; but when a two-pronged attack by the Autobots saw Megatron defeated by Omega Supreme and Shockwave allowing the Autobots to capture the secrets of Devastator, Megatron was able to spin the situation and reclaim his leadership.
In order to attain possession of a new energy-generating device known as the hydrothermacline, Megatron battled Optimus Prime in a video game duel, using a cheat code to continue the fight after he had lost. Prime defeated him again, but at the expense of some of the game's characters, and ruled himself the loser because he would not have committed such an act in real life. As per agreement, Prime was destroyed, and Megatron's elation soon turned into paranoia as he had not killed Prime with his own hands and believed he may still be alive. Eventually descending into insanity, Megatron boarded the space bridge to Cybertron and detonated it with his fusion cannon, apparently killing himself.
That would be all the U.S. comics saw of Megatron for quite some time, but their sister title in the UK, which produced its own material, interspliced with the U.S. stories, soon brought back the great slag-maker for more adventures. Prior to Megatron's seeming death, there had been a story in Marvel UK #99 which after being attacked by the Predacons had seen both him and Prime transported to Cybertron. There Prime was accused of being a Decepticon spy and hunted down by the Wreckers and Ultra Magnus thanks to misinformation spread by Megatron. However the disembodied local Decepticon leader, Lord Straxus, attempted to possess Megatron's body as his own had been mostly destroyed in a battle with Blaster. The attempt failed as Prime and Magnus defeated Megatron as the two minds warred for dominance. With the now insane Megatron threatening to destroy Polyhex with his antimatter powers, Ratbat teleported him back to Earth with amnesia in time for his U.S. "death" in issue #25.
However, unbeknown to all, Straxus made another attempt with a specially-crafted clone of Megatron created from a regular trooper, which was transported to Earth soon after the real Megatron vanished. The clone believed itself to be the real thing — as did the comics' readers, thinking that the space bridge explosion had transported Megatron elsewhere on Earth — and after a battle with the mechanoid, Centurion, it was salvaged by Shockwave, who brainwashed the clone and unleashed it on Galvatron, a recreated future version of Megatron who had traveled back in time from the year 2006 and posed a threat to Shockwave's leadership. The clone Megatron, however, saw a possible partner in Galvatron, and the two teamed up to battle Autobots and Decepticons from both present and future in the apocalyptic "Time Wars". Subsequently, the clone returned to Cybertron, where it defeated the ruling Decepticon triumvirate, but was then confronted with the real Megatron — the Space bridge explosion had deposited him in the Dead End region of Cybertron, where he had wandered with no recollection of who he was, until he had saved a Decepticon from Autobots and regained his memories. The clone Megatron subsequently destroyed itself to prevent Straxus, buried inside its mind, from taking over.
The stage was now set for Megatron's return in the U.S. comics, as he had his Micromaster Sports Car patrol capture the Autobot medic, Ratchet and forced him to recreate Starscream as a Pretender with his personality reprogrammed to serve Megatron without question. Ratchet did so, but also restored Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee as Pretenders in the same manner, as well as arranging for Starscream's old personality to resurface, thwarting Megatron's scheme. When Megatron then attempted to flee through a trans-time dimensional portal, Ratchet tackled him as his base then exploded around them, apparently killing them both.
Soon after, however, Autobot detective Nightbeat discovered that the explosion had actually blown them through the portal, and he dispatched a probe to pull them back from the gaps between reality. However, when they rematerialised, it was revealed that the explosion had fused the two enemies together into a hideous, twisted mockery of a being which ran rampant through the Ark. The half that was Ratchet begged Optimus Prime to kill them, but Prime could not, ordering the Micromaster Fixit to separate their bodies. Unfortunately, Fixit could not separate their minds, as the two discovered when they were reactivated with Nucleon — sharing each other's thoughts, feelings, sensations and sights. When the Ark was stolen by Shockwave and Starscream (as well as a stowaway Galvatron from an parallel universe) in order to escape Cybertron's destruction both Megatron and Ratchet were reactivated. A confused and disorientated Megatron soon encountered Galvatron and the two attacked each other — Galvatron wanting to end the madness of Megatron buried within himself, while Megatron thought he was fighting Ratchet. The mental link with Ratchet nearly proved his undoing — Ratchet's return to consciousness and the horror of his previous bond froze Megatron and nearly allowed Galvatron to kill him. Galvatron stopped just in time, however, coming to the realization that killing Megatron could mean he was in effect killing himself. Shockwave then appeared and attempted to kill Megatron, but a hidden Galvatron stopped him and Galvatron and Megatron teamed up once again. Matters were soon taken out of their hands, though, as an eager and desperate Ratchet crashed the Ark on Earth to escape the cycle of death and insanity of being bonded to Megatron as well as stopping a renewed Megatron/Galvatron alliance. This supposedly killed everyone on board.
Transformers: Generation 2
A few years later, the Transformers franchise was given a shot in the arm with the launch of the Generation 2 toy line and comic book series.
To go along with his return to the toy line with a new tank alternate mode, Megatron also returned in the comics despite his seeming demise. Although thought dead for a year or two, Megatron had actually survived the Ark crash, and had quietly worked to repair it, concealing it beneath the ground (Ratchet apparently died in the crash, as their shared mind does not come up in the story). Tracking a transforming signal, mistakenly believing it was another Transformer, Megatron came across the shape-shifting castle of the terrorist organization Cobra, and entered into a bargain with its leader Cobra Commander, offering him the technology of the Ark in exchange for the new weapons his organization was developing. Reconstructed into a new tank body with a powerful railgun, Megatron defeated a squad of Autobots sent to stop him, and then turned on COBRA, capturing the scientist who had developed his gun (Doctor Biggles-Jones) and escaping in the airborne Ark.
Following a climactic battle with Fortress Maximus, Megatron then battled and killed Bludgeon, reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. He then stole the Matrix from Optimus Prime, using it to bring his newest warriors online only to have his faction bested by the forces of Jhiaxus and his second-generation Cybertronians. Megatron then entered into an alliance with the Autobots to defeat Starscream, who had seized control of the Decepticon ship Warworld through the power of the Matrix, stop Jhiaxus, and halt the spread of the Swarm. The tale ended with the Autobots and Decepticons uniting.
The final page implies that Megatron is in fact a direct offspring of the Liege Maximo through the same replication process that created the Generation 2 Cybertronians of the story.
Transformers: Classics
The Transformers: Classics comic strip published in the Official Transformers Collectors Club magazine is set in the Marvel Comics continuity, but in a timeline where the events of Generation 2 did not occur. The story occurs fifteen years after Megatron was presumed dead in the crash of the Ark.
When Skyfall and Landquake were presumed killed in the midst of a bloody Mini-Con civil war and attack by Unicron (set concurrently with the events of Transformers: Cybertron), they were, in actuality, transported across universes, from the world of the Unicron Trilogy into the Marvel Comics timeline. Unclear what had happened, they then found themselves staring down the barrel of Megatron's cannon. The two were saved by a group of Robot Hunters in battle suits. Megatron slaughtered them, only to be confronted by a team of Autobots led by Optimus Prime.
Convention Comics
Megatron would also appear in several BotCon comic sagas, written principally by Simon Furman. His story Reaching the Omega Point indicates that the Autobot-Decepticon alliance established in the conclusion of the Generation 2 comics didn't last and that Megatron eventually became Galvatron. In a prelude story The last days of Optimus Prime, Prime, feeling that there is no longer a place for him within the new Cybertron, journeys to J'nwan — a quasi-mystical realm — and is greeted peacefully by Megatron. In the Beast Wars future in which the story takes place, the greatest Autobots and Decepticons have passed on to J'nwan, where they can finally live in peace. A Predacon called Sandstorm, one of the Covenant of Twelve created by Primus, journeyed to this realm in order to get them to help against Shokaract — an evil being created from a Predacon fusing with Unicron's essence — who was attacking the Beast Wars Transformers — including Optimus Primal — and ruled the universe in their future. They refuse, but later in the story a group of these Transformers including Megatron, Optimus Prime, Grimlock, and Soundwave distracted Shokaract long enough for Primus to deal the killing blow.
Megatron also featured prominently in Alignment, Simon Furman's take on what happened after the Generation 2 comic. In this story Megatron was defeated for command of the Decepticons by Galvatron II (the U.S comics version) and left for dead. Galvatron then constructed a fleet of Warworlds and attacked the Autobots before being killed by Optimus Prime. The Decepticons then retreated to their base, a conquered replica of Cybertron, before being attacked by the Liege Maximo's troops. Unbeknown to all, Soundwave had retrieved his master's body and had it rebuilt and upgraded, finally resurrecting Megatron's Spark via Unicron-inspired dark science with his fellow conspirators Direwolf, Ramjet and Ravage. Megatron then killed the entire Decepticon High Council for their failure to lead, save for Shrapnel who pledged his allegiance once more. Megatron then made a sacrifice play, destroying the now evacuated planet and annihilating the Liege Maximo's fleet with it. Taking a fleet of scavenged Warworlds to face the Liege Maximo and thwart his plan to become a god, Megatron was finally destroyed for good when he unleashed a massive energon-fueled blast which actually hurt the Liege Maximo. In retaliation, the Maximo used his arm cannon to obliterate Megatron. However, his sacrifice was not in vain as this caused the Liege Maximo to flee too soon and be destroyed when his energy gateway collapsed, shredding him between the physical realm and the realm he wanted to ascend to. This sets up the Pax Cybertronia and the evolution of the Autobots and Decepticons into Maximals and Predacons. Whether this story is reconcilable with "Reaching the Omega Point", or whether it is even part of the Transformers canon is debatable.
Other comic stories
In the course of its run, the U.K. comics produced several stories which do not fit into the continuity of the G1/G2 storyline, instead branching off in their own direction. For example, after the first disappearance of Ratchet and Megatron, a disparate continuity of storylines based around the "Earthforce" — a team of Autobots based on Earth — began, which saw Megatron and Shockwave establishing a joint leadership of the Decepticons only to have command usurped by Starscream and Soundwave.
Also, after the end of the Generation 1 comics, the final U.K. annual printed a text story entitled "Another Time and Place", which followed up on the events of the Ark crash and saw Bludgeon and his followers locate Megatron's body and revive it with Nucleon (reflecting the release of Megatron as an Action Master figure in 1990). The process only barely succeeded — Megatron was deranged and animalistic, and was ultimately defeated by Optimus Prime and Grimlock. This conflicts with the Generation 2 comic but does not conflict with the rewritten UK Generation 2 comic by Fleetway, in which Megatron simply attributes his new body to human scientists, with no further explanation to contradict the events of "Another Time and Place". This tale, somewhat concurrent with the Earthforce tales, has Optimus Prime arriving on Earth in response to a distress call from Grimlock. Bludgeon has attacked Earth in order to draw Prime into the open. The Decepticons, low on energon, are defeated. Megatron then arrives and battles Prime. He is attacked by both Autobots and Decepticons, holding them off until Starscream arrives to bail him out. After this point it switches to reprints of the U.S. material. The most notable difference between the two is that Bludgeon is not killed by Megatron, and Bludgeon and Prime actually meet (although Bludgeon would later be killed by Megatron in the U.S. reprints).
Voice actor plays
Megatron appeared in the 2006 TransformersCon voice actor play. Voices in the play were performed by a variety of volunteers and the actual voice actors attending the convention. In this play, various Transformers from different timelines and realities were swept up in a repeat wave and transported along with Unicron to Earth. The Transformers included Generation 1 Tracks, Ariel, Cosmos and Megatron, Beast Wars Tarantulas, Robots in Disguise Sky-Byte and Beast Machines Tankor.
Upon arrival, Ariel found herself enamored with Megatron for his ability to fly. Sky-Byte, ever loyal to Megatron, any Megatron, pledged himself to his new leader. Although Megatron initially attempted to ally himself with Unicron, Tracks and Cosmos, who were from a later timeline than Megatron, warned him of his fate in their future.
Eventually the Transformers were able to learn that the death of Unicron in 2005 was what created the repeat wave. They defeated Unicron by tricking him into Transforming and using up his power, then using the Key to Vector Sigma program (which Tankor had brought with him) to tap into the power of Vector Sigma itself, and through it the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. With Unicron's energy severely drained the various Transformers faded back to their original timelines. Megatron, enraged at being bounced around the time stream, decided to take out his anger on Starscream.
Audio books
Megatron was featured in the 1985 Transformers audio books Autobots' Lightning Strike, Laserbeak's Fury and Satellite of Doom.
Dreamwave Productions
In the 21st Century reimagining of the Generation One Universe by Dreamwave Productions, Megatron was envisioned as an ancient gladiatorial combatant in the depths of Cybertron's underworld. As victory upon victory mounted, he began to realize that the games were nothing more than an elaborate attempt by the Cybertronian elders to hide the truth of Cybertron's history from the masses. When Megatron attempted to gain access to that knowledge through exploration and research, the Cybertronian elders attempted to have him assassinated — a plan that only resulted in stirring up even more discontent among Cybertronians which allowed Megatron to begin recruiting for the Decepticon movement. It is known that at one point Megatron attempted to recruit Grimlock as one of his inner circle, but the fellow gladiator refused the position, eventually joining the Autobots.
Megatron's forces began a civil war of Autobot against Decepticon in order to mask his reactivation of the ancient planetary engines buried beneath Cybertron's surface, as part of this ultimate intent for the planet — it would be transformed into a massive war world that would cut a swath of destruction through the galaxy. This plan initially failed, as during a conflict with Optimus Prime, Megatron's lieutenant Starscream activated the planet mechaforming process too soon — resulting in the destruction of the machinery.
Approximately 7.4 million years ago, Megatron and Optimus Prime disappeared in an early test of the new unstable Spacebridge matter-transport system. Spending an undisclosed time on the planet Quintessa, Megatron returned with an overwhelming army of lifeless Seeker clones, quickly subjugating Cybertron. However, this story was never finished due to the closure of Dreamwave.
Four million years ago, when Cybertron was threatened by a massive approaching asteroid, Optimus Prime led a contingent of Autobots aboard the Ark to blow the rock to fragments, which were transported away by an orbital Spacebridge network. When this task was completed, Megatron chose this moment to strike, attacking the Ark with his troops. Crippled, the craft flew through one of the Spacebridge portals, and was transported to prehistoric Earth, where it crashed, entombing the occupants in stasis for four million years.
The Autobots and Decepticons were reactivated in 1984, but specific details of the battles were unrecorded, although what few flashbacks are seen of that time imply events similar to the animated series pilot "More Than Meets the Eye" parts 1-3 occurred.
In 1999, an Autobot/human military alliance succeeded in capturing and deactivating the Decepticons. However, the Ark II, the spaceship carrying them back to Cybertron, exploded shortly after liftoff (sabotaged by rogue elements of the military, unwittingly being manipulated by Shockwave), and the Transformers were believed destroyed — but in actuality, they had been scattered back to Earth, where they lay in stasis-lock across the globe for three years. This slumber was brought to an end when Adam Rook, a rogue military scientist who had devised a method of controlling Transformers, salvaged many of the fallen Cybertronians and reprogrammed them as mass killing machines, which he then attempted to sell on the black market. Megatron was first to break free of Rook's control, overriding the new programming and capturing Rook during an auction. Megatron forced Rook to watch as he unleashed a technorganic virus designed to transform all of Earth into a new Cybertron. It also served to lure Optimus Prime and the Autobots, also now reactivated, to his location, where Megatron, tired of the war, continuously asked Prime to join him. After his first failed attempt, Megatron unleashed Devastator on San Francisco in a mass slaughter, in an attempt to show Prime that humans were not worth his protection. However, the selfless sacrifice of several firemen restored Prime's faith in humanity and allowed him and the Autobots to beat back Megatron.
Several months later. Megatron was subliminally summoned to a remote area in Alaska along with the other earthbound Transformers. There they battled until Megatron's former second-in-command, Shockwave, arrived and revealed that in their absence, the war on Cybertron had ended, and attempted to arrest Megatron, Prime and their troops as war criminals. Megatron, weakened by battle, was quickly defeated by Shockwave and loaded aboard his shuttle for return to Cybertron, only to have Starscream seize the opportunity to be rid of his former leader by jettisoning him into space on the return trip. Megatron used the time floating in space in stasis lock to contemplate his existence and the Decepticon goal. Realizing that he had wasted millennia in his feud with Prime, Megatron resolved to once again conquer Cybertron as a means to enhancing the Transformer race and strengthening it from outside threats. It seemed as through he would not live to accomplish this goal, however, as death closed in on him but to his fortune, he was retrieved by the Junkion Wreck-Gar. The Junkion who took Megatron to the planet of Junk and repaired and re-armed him, only to be killed in return.
Traveling to the Planet Beest, Megatron defeated the exiled Decepticon warlords, the Predacons, and rebuilt them into the mightiest of all combiners — Predaking — to serve as his ace in the hole in his quest to reclaim leadership of the Decepticons. Moving in stealth on Cybertron, Megatron defeated Shockwave, severing his gun arm and forcing him into servitude. He then returned to Earth to collect the remaining Decepticons under Starscream's command, and to teach Starscream a lesson long in coming.
While it was alluded that Megatron had a grand goal in mind that also included the subjugation of the Quintessons, the remainder of the story has yet to be told due to the closure of Dreamwave. However, it has been stated by representatives of IDW Publishing, the current holders of the Transformer comic license, that once Dreamwave has exited bankruptcy court, they intend to finish the story.
The Dreamwave version of Megatron would also appear in a trilogy of iBooks by David Cian set in the main Dreamwave G1 universe: Hardwired, Annihilation and Fusion. In the series, Megatron and Prime were abducted by the alien Keepers and forced to fight in gladiatorial battles. They began working together to return to Earth, where Megatron would predictably attempt to seize their power for himself by uniting with the Autobots to stop the Keepers in return for a favor — which turned out to be asking Optimus to make him the next Prime. While this trilogy is set in the same universe as the Dreamwave stories, whether they fit into the continuity is unclear.
Transformers/G.I. Joe
Megatron would also appear in Dreamwave's Transformers/G.I. Joe limited series. Unlike many of the other Transformers (who were given World War II vehicle alternate modes) Megatron would keep his basic Walther P-38 handgun transformation, which was indeed a WWII German handgun. Forming an alliance with Cobra Commander due to their similar natures, Megatron nonetheless had a bitter personal rivalry with the tyrannical Cobra leader, resulting in Megatron killing several of his troops and Cobra Commander having to use the Matrix to keep him in line. Later, Megatron refused to help the Commander as Bruticus tried to crush him, and allowed the Baroness to use him in gun mode to shoot the helpless Cobra Leader. After battling Optimus Prime, he was deactivated when Snake-Eyes opened the Matrix, deactivating all the Transformers.
Devil's Due Publishing
In the G.I. Joe vs The Transformers comics printed by Devil's Due Publishing, Megatron was again among the Decepticons who crashed on in the Ark on Earth, but this time the Ark was discovered by the terrorist group Cobra, who reformatted the Autobots and Decepticons into weapons and vehicles for themselves called Battle Android Troopers controlled by the Televipers.
Megatron was locked in gun mode, and kept by Cobra Commander as his personal sidearm, as it amused him to allow Megatron to speak and advise him. When Optimus Prime broke free of the controls Cobra had placed on him and attacked Cobra Commander, Megatron convinced his keeper to free him to fight Optimus. While Megatron did battle Optimus Prime, he also attempted to take over the Cobra installation and use it to manufacture Energon cubes to power the other Decepticons and eventually take over the Earth. Wounded by the Autobots and a malfunctioning orbiting weapons system, Megatron was eventually defeated and believed destroyed. In reality much of his body remained and the U.S. government studied his workings to advance their own projects in military super computers.
Although Megatron was deactivated, his legacy would still come back to haunt the Autobots and G.I Joe. In the third volume of the series, it was revealed that the US Government had created the android Serpentor (or, as he is called here, Serpent O.R., standing for Organic Robot) using DNA from great historical war leaders and parts from Megatron. Freed by a raid by Cobra Commander, he then downloaded information on Cybertron and the Autobot Matrix of Leadership from the deactivated Soundwave and escaped to Cybertron via the Space bridge, uniting the various Decepticon factions.
Serpentor managed to capture the group of G.I. Joes and Autobots pursuing him from Earth, killing Bumblebee in the process. It is explained that the program of Serpentor was overridden by the elements of the programming that were Megatron's (the scientists using Megatron's personality template upon which to base Serpentor's personality). Calling all the surviving Decepticons (including the Stunticons, Terrorcons, Triple Changers and Sixshot) together, Serpentor is at first mocked due to his size but convinces the Decepticons to rally against the Autobots using Megatron's memories. His attack comes during the Autobots' celebration of peace following the Decepticons defeat. The attack was successful and Serpentor succeeded where Megatron had failed, and captured Optimus Prime. But Serpentor's exposure to the Matrix, possession by Cobra Commander and subsequent destruction left Megatron's legacy unfulfilled.
Optimus Prime notes that only Megatron was capable of launching such an effective and coordinated Decepticon attack. It is interesting to note that the Decepticons here venerate Megatron as an almost mythical heroic figure. Also, the information Serpentor downloads from Soundwave indicates that Megatron's pre-Earth form is similar to his Dreamwave universe War Within form. In addition, Serpentor refers to himself as Megatron's "son" at one point.
IDW Publishing
After Dreamwave's closure, the rights to the Transformers comics were taken over by IDW Publishing. In their debut mini-series, The Transformers: Infiltration, Megatron retains his role as supreme commander of the Decepticon army, although in this continuity, they are no longer based on Cybertron (which was rendered uninhabitable by Thunderwing) and are fighting to conquer multiple worlds simultaneously. In fact, he barely seems to care about Cybertron and was willing to order its total destruction to stop the reanimated Thunderwing. Having now ingested Ore-13, Megatron is able to easily manage mass-displacement and thus turn into an Earth handgun (in Escalation #2), and the newfound power appears to have affected his actions- he personally went on the Brasnya mission and is confident enough to transform & battle Optimus in front of human witnesses, actions that Optimus finds out of character.
Angered by Starscream's Earth-based unit breaking cover far too early, Megatron personally journeys to the planet (still in his Cybertronian mode), only to be attacked by Blitzwing and Skywarp, both of whom he nearly killed in response to their perceived treachery. Journeying to the Decepticon's Earth base via an "orbital bounce" , Megatron offered Starscream's troops the chance to stand down and not be scrapped (which they accepted) before engaging in a titanic struggle with an ore-13 (a derivative of energon)-enhanced Starscream, who he eventually defeated, ominously informing the watching Autobots that events were moving into "phase 2".
As of The Transformers: Escalation , Megatron has taken overall command of the Decepticons on Earth, warning them there would be no further tolerance of their poor performance, and ordering them to move into the next stage. He then orders Skywarp and Thundercracker to destroy a desert power plant to provoke an international confrontation. In the disputed Russian border state of Brasnya, he uses a facsimile of a resistance commander to increase tensions between Russia & Brasnya and both himself & Blitzwing's alternate modes to make both sides think the other is firing on them. However, Optimus Prime himself appeared leading a squad of Autobots. Megatron called in Skywarp and Astrotrain as the conflict escalated. When Blitzwing's ambush failed, Megatron transformed from gun mode and prepared to deal with Prime personally. Although the Autobot leader fought back as best he could, he was no match for the Ore-13 empowered Decepticon leader, and the battle ended with Megatron standing over Prime's body. Megatron then moved on to engage Prime's squad. However, Prime had survived by transferring his conscoiusness to his trailer, and informed them of Megatron's weakness: the more he exerted himself, the more the Ore-13 would burn out. A recovered Prime shot Megatron in the face, causing him to lose his power. He was then evacuated by Skywarp. Incensed, he then called in Sixshot.
The Transformers: Stormbringer revealed Megatron and Optimus fought side by side in the battle against Thunderwing. However, after Thunderwing was defeated, Prime stopped Megatron from calling on his forces to destroy the planet to eliminate the creature for good — a decision that would have dire consequences in Stormbringer. With the reappearance of Thunderwing, Megatron gave the order for the Decepticons to destroy as many worlds as it takes, including Cybertron, to stop him, although this was not necessary in the end.
Megatron was also seen briefly at the end of Spotlight: Shockwave, directing Bludgeon to quarantine Shockwave's laboratory, implying that this is how Bludgeon has gained the knowledge he has in Stormbringer. Oddly, his helmet here is blue in the style of his Marvel rendering (see above) rather than the gray-white helmet of Infiltration and Stormbringer. Since Megatron's helmet is also blue in several flashbacks throughout "Stormbringer", it is likely he simply had a blue-colored helmet in the past.
Origin
IDW editor in chief Chris Ryall has indicated that a series detailing Megatron's origin is due in May, 2007. [1] The series is to be called "The Transformers: Megatron: Origin". [2]
Kiss Players
Although Megatron himself would not make an appearance in the Japanese exclusive Kiss Players line, he would nonetheless have a small role to play. When Rodimus Prime hurled Galvatron out of Unicron at the climax of The Transformers: The Movie, Galvatron hurtled through space, out of control, until he eventually crash-landed in Tokyo, devastating much of the city. Although comatose, Galvatron's Unicron-corrupted cells spread throughout Earth and fused with various creatures. The resultant hybrids, known as the Legion, bore a marked resemblance to Megatron and would menace the Earth Defense Command on several occasions.
Toys
Through the years, there have been many toys representing the original Generation 1 incarnation of Megatron, some of which have appeared in fiction, others of which have not.
- Generation 1 Megatron (1984)
- The original Megatron toy was based on the MC-12 Gun Robo, a robot doll released in Japan as part of Takara's Microman line of the late 1970s. The doll was designed to transform from a robot into a model of a Walther P38 handgun. In particular, Megatron was specifically based on a special edition of the MC-12, called the "MC-13 Gun Robo — P38 U.N.C.L.E". This was in turn based on a customized Walther P38 handgun that featured prominently in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a popular American television spy series from the 1960s. The MC-13 Gun Robo included a hollow plastic telescopic sight, a barrel extension/silencer, and a shoulder stock, which could be combined together to form a static gun emplacement, or a giant over-shoulder mounted laser weapon for the robot doll. These extras were not included with the standard MC-12 model. [3] The toy could be made to fire small plastic pellets, a feature that was removed from the international version of Megatron, when he was incorporated into the Transformers line.
- Megatron was reissued in Japan in 2000, and included all the components and features of his western and Japanese releases (all extensions, sword weapon, chrome surfacing, and pellet-firing mechanism), as well as a second firing mechanism that allows the combined gun emplacement or shoulder laser to fire the plastic pellets also. The "Collection" version of Megatron, issued again in 2003, included yet another new accessory, his energy flail from the animated series. This reissue was recolored into Megaplex as an exclusive for the online retailer, eHobby.
- Decoy Megatron (1986)
- A small, purple rubber model of Megatron, part of a large number of similar figures of other Transformers that were packaged as promotional items with figures in the 1986–87 toy line. Japanese in origin, the sculpt of the figure did not include the character's fusion cannon, and had him brandishing his Japanese-only sword accessory.
- Action Master Megatron (1990)
- Part of the new sub-line of Transformers figures which did not actually transform, Action Master Megatron is a poseable action figure resembling his animated appearance. Instead of transforming himself, he came packaged with the Neutro-Fusion Tank, a large tank which could transform into a battle station and an aircraft. This figure lacked a fusion cannon on the arm, instead it was part of the tank.
- Generation 2 Megatron (1993)
- With the advent of new toy safety laws, Megatron's return in the Generation 2 toy line meant that, unlike Optimus Prime, he could not simply be a slightly modified version of his old Generation 1 toy. Reimagined with an entirely new body, Megatron was now a huge LeClerk tank with lots of gimmicks, including an auto-loading, missile-launching cannon with lock-and-load electronic sounds, laser noises, rumbling treads, and speech — when the figure's head was pressed, it would drawl "Megatron attack!" Since M1 Abrams tank is 7.92 meters long and this toy is 28 cm tall, it would have a scale of about 1:28 scale. With the robot form standing 27 cm tall, this would make a real G2 Megatron about 25 feet tall.
- This figure was slightly redecoed to become Megastorm for Japan's Beast Wars II in 1998.
- Generation 2 Combat Hero Megatron (1994)
- The primary feature of this new figure was an air-pressure cannon that shot rubber-tipped missiles by pressing a small plastic bellows, but for many, its more notable decoration is the loud-and-proud sticker on its chest which reads "MEGATRON RULES!" A redeco of the figure in a white and gray camouflage deco was planned, but was ultimately never released. Since an M1A1 tank is 7.92 meters long and the toy is 14 cm long it would have a scale of about 1:47. With a robot form standing 19 cm tall, this Megatron would be 29 feet tall.
- In Europe this toy was released as Archforce.
- Hero Megatron was later redecoed in yellow and green for the Transformers: Robots in Disguise line as Destructicon Bludgeon, and remolded to create Reverse Convoy for Transformers: Robot Masters (see below).
- Generation 2 Go-Bot Megatron (1995)
- Part of the large sub-line of simplistic free-wheeling "Go-Bots" figures, Megatron was a repaint of an earlier figure named Blowout, and transformed into a silver Porsche. The Japanese version of the toy featured a blue Transformers logo across the figure's chest. Like all Go-Bots toys, Megatron is a 1:64 scale toy.
- This figure was later redecoed in black and translucent plastic to become the Autobot Hot Shot for Robots in Disguise.
- Generation 2 ATB Megatron (unreleased)
- A proposed redeco of Generation 2 Dreadwing in gray, black, purple and yellow, this figure would have featured Starscream as the redecoed Smokescreen. This mold would next be released as BB, a Japanese exclusive Predacon. BB is almost identical to ATB Megatron, with the exception of his stickers. This has lead to fan-made sticker sets which make BB look like ATB Megatron. A B2 Bomber has a 52.12 meter wingspan while this toy has a 30 cm wide wingspan. This makes it have a scale of about 1:173. With an 18.5 cm tall robot mode, he would stand about 104 feet tall in real life.
- Beast Wars Megatron (1996)
- Although as discussed above, the later storyline of Beast Wars would go on to depict its Megatron as a different character than the original holder of the name, the comic which shipped with the original Beast Wars toy versions of Optimus Primal and Megatron depicted them as new incarnations of their Generation 1 vresions. Presumably, these forms — Primal as a bat and Megatron as a crocodile — were to be their new bodies post-Generation 2.
- This toy was redecoed in purple and black for an exclusive release in Japan as Megalligator.
- Machine Wars Megatron (1997)
- Originally proposed for release during the Generation 2 line, this unusual incarnation of Megatron was eventually made available through the small KB Toys exclusive Transformers toy line, Machine Wars. Megatron was now a teal and gray basic-size jet, and although the lack of any supporting fiction for the line makes its place in continuity hard to define. In all other regards, this Megatron seemed very much to be the Megatron of old. Taking the skies in disguise, Megatron's new body is composed of stealth deflector shields for invisible attacks, and can attain speeds of 600 mph via twin turbo thrusters. An actual F-22 Raptor is 1890 cm long, while this toy is 12 cm long. This gives him a scale of 1:157. With a robot height of 10 cm this means Megatron would stand 51.7 feet tall.
- This figure was also redecoed within the Machine Wars line itself, simply swapping the teal and grey around, and released as Megaplex, a clone of Megatron designed to serve as a decoy for the Decepticon leader in battle. Megaplex also later inspired the above-mentioned redeco of the original G1 Megatron toy in 2003. Claimed to be one of numerous dopplegangers created to dupe the Autobots and protect Megatron against Decepticon traitors, Megaplex has the same abilities as Megatron, although they are restricted by a failsafe device.
- This toy was redecoed several times: into Thrust' for Beast Wars II in 1998, Wind Sheer for Robots in Disguise in 2001, and Air Hunter for Transformers: Robot Masters in 2004.
- Transtech Megatron (unreleased)
- After the conclusion of the Beast Machines series and toy line, Hasbro's initial plans were for a follow-up series entitled Transtech, which would supposedly bring back some deceased Beast Wars characters, as well as some older Generation 1 characters, all in new, more organic-looking bodies, except with vehicular alternate modes instead of the animal forms which had dominated the two recent series. Although the idea was eventually scrapped in favor of Transformers: Armada (with Transformers: Robots in Disguise being imported for the "filler" year in between), Toronto-based design studio Draxhall Jump produced many concept sketches (from which even a few toy prototypes were produced), among which was a new incarnation of Megatron. Precisely which Megatron, G1 or Beast Wars, is not clear, but it is generally accepted that the design inspired the Megatron of Transformers: Armada.
- 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime with Megatron (2004)
- Released in 2004 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Transformers franchise, this 12" tall version of Optimus Prime strives to reproduce his cartoon appearance in the most intricate detail, he even carried a gun-mode Megatron. When this figure was repainted as Ultra Magnus in Japan, it also came with Megatron but this time the silver was replaced with black and the black handle was now brown. The re-release of the figure in 2006 for the 20th anniversary of the 1986 movie also included Megatron.
- Smallest Transformers Megatron (2004)
- A miniature, two-inch-high version of the original Megatron figure was sold in the second wave of the blind-packaged Smallest Transformers series (often incorrectly called "World's Smallest Transformers," or "WSTF").
- McDonald's Transformers: Energon Megatron
- This McDonald's-exclusive Megatron figure included an energon cube (like all of the four toys) with light effects. The flashing was activated remotely by a small tank, much like Optimus' sounds were activated by a small plane.
- Robot Masters Megatron (2005)
- In the exclusive Japanese toy line, Transformers: Robot Masters (begins in the time line of the G1 animated series, but branched off at some point in the twenty-year interim between seasons 2 and 3), Megatron was lost in an undisclosed accident, leaving his time-displaced Beast Wars descendant to take his place as Decepticon leader. Robot Masters applied the qualifying titles of G1 Megatron and Beast Megatron to the characters to distinguish them. As events progressed, it was revealed that G1 Megatron's consciousness took possession of the body of a "Convoy" (an Autobot leader) known as Reverse Convoy, leader of the planet Vehicon, and then used it to pose as an ally to the Autobots, only to betray them by revealing himself as the aptly-named Rebirth Megatron.
- The Reverse Convoy/Rebirth Megatron toy is a remolded version of the Generation 2 Hero Megatron figure, with a new cannon and gun, and two interchangeable heads — one Convoy, one Megatron.
- Transformers: Titanium Generation 2 Megatron (2006)
- A 6" tall transforming figure composed heavily of die-cast metal, this incarnation of Megatron is a brand new design by artist Don Figueroa. Equipped with a new tank alternate mode, the tech spec on the packaging of this figure credits the body as the work of COBRA, in a reinterpretation of the Generation 2 Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover.
- Transformers Classics Megatron (2006)
- Megatron returned to his roots for the Transformers Classics toy line, which rendered him as a fully transformable gun for the first time since his original toy. Unlike that figure, however, he is not based on any real firearm, and is instead rendered as a Nerf-like blaster in the character's traditional blacks and grays, with added patches of purple, green and orange to conform to U.S. laws regulating the appearance of toy guns. The toy retains Megatron's distinctive arm-mounted fusion cannon, which, as on his original toy, forms a scope for his gun mode, complete with translucent viewing holes and crosshairs. His spring-loaded trigger clicks when pulled.
- Ultimate Battle Megatron (2006)
- Having already re-imagined the original Megatron for the Classics line, Hasbro took the next step and re-interpreted his Generation 2 tank body for this two-pack. This Deluxe-sized figure is armed with a spinning battle blade action. The set also includes an Ultimate Optimus Prime and a DVD narrated by Optimus Prime himself. The disk features a photo gallery slideshow with photos of the the first two waves of Classics figures. It also features 22 minutes of clips starting with the Transformers: Cybertron theme song over a montage of various Cybertron scenes and a story of what the Transformers are, what they can do, what Mini-Cons and Planet Keys are, etc.
- Later releases of this pack included two random bonus Mini-Cons chosen from Cybertron line Longarm, Overcast and Deepdive.
- Many (possibly all) units of this figure have Megatron's splayed feet assembled backwards, a fact which is not immediately apparent as the "heel" half of his feet are actually larger than the "toe" half (this is the opposite of most splay-footed transformers), and the situation is not helped by promotional images (such as the one above) and the box-art photography displaying an identically misassembled figure. However, examination of the instructions and any attempt to transform Megatron into tank mode immediately demonstrate the mistake, which is easily corrected by unscrewing the halves of his lower legs and reversing the foot pieces.
- Masterpiece Megatron (2007)
- Released in late March 2007, this toy is, like the 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime figure, a new figure based on Megatron's original animation model, and returns him to his original Walther P38 form, although considerably larger. The scope, which becomes the arm cannon, holds a red LED light that forms a spotlight shape. Special accessories packaged with the toy include Megatron's energy mace from More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2, the laser sword and pistol used in his climactic battle with Optimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie, and a figurine of the energy imp, Kremzeek, from the cartoon episode of the same name.
- After much debate over whether or not the figure would be able to pass through US customs due to its appearance as a realistic firearm, online retailers opted to insert an orange or yellow plug onto the barrel of the gun in order to comply with the current standards. So far, images of the plug from two online retailers have surfaced online. However, depending on the retailer, not all the plugs installed will be permanently attached to the barrel with an adhesive.
- Revoltech Megatron (2007)
- The third Transformers character in the Kaiyodo Revoltech line, and second original mold, Megatron has a permanently affixed arm cannon, two different heads (Normal and grin), and five hands (Two fists, two open hands, and one trigger hand to hold a gun even though it does not have one included).
- Transformers: Titanium War Within Megatron (2007)
- A 6" tall transforming figure composed heavily of die-cast metal, this incarnation of Megatron is based on the form he had in the Dreamwave Productions War Within series, and transforms into a Cybertronian tank. It was fist seen on display at BotCon in 2006.
- Attacktix Generaton 1 Megatron (2007)
- Part of a 4 pack starter set for Attacktix, Megatron comes with Generation 1 Optimus Prime, Energon Landquake and San Diego ComicCon inspired Skywarp.
Other incarnations of Megatron
As the Transformers franchise has grown, more characters bearing the name of Megatron have come into existence, some existing in separate continuities to the original G1 iteration of the character. For articles on these characters, see:
- Megatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines) for the above-mentioned Megatron of Beast Wars and Beast Machines
- Megatron (Robots in Disguise) for the Megatron of Transformers: Robots in Disguise (Originally known as Gigatron in Japan)
- Megatron (Unicron Trilogy) for the Megatron of Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron
Most recently, there is the new incarnation of Megatron featured in the 2007 live-action Transformers movie. Although inspired - like the majority of the film's cast - by the original Generation 1 character, all indications are that he is a distinct enough character to be considered a separate entity, and hence, this version of the character is detailed separately, below.
2007 movie
In the game based on the upcoming live-action film, Megatron will appear as a stealth bomber,[2] while production designs for his movie form that have emerged merely describe his form as an Alien Jet.[3]
The apparent explanation for the departure from his gun form is that director Michael Bay does not want to include any sort of size changing in the transformations, with the writers describing it as cheating [4]. The Sector 7 website, part of the Transformers movie advertising campaign, released an email on March 23 that indicates that actor Hugo Weaving has been cast as the voice of Megatron[5], [6]. Weaving is famous for his roles as Agent Smith in The Matrix and Elrond in The Lord of the Rings trilogies. It has also been confirmed the original voice of Megatron, Frank Welker, will provide his voice for the official videogames of the movie. [7]
Like all characters in the film, Megatron was heavily redesigned for purposes of realism and focus on an alien aspect of the Transformer race.
He appears very bio-mechanical. Nonetheless, he is still silver, has a helmet, heavily built shoulders and large legs, characteristics that some might say faintly mirror the G1 look. Producer Don Murphy noted in a recent interview that Megatron's head design has been changed, [8] and recently leaked images of Megatron's "Battle Mode" shows him to have a helmet, as the G1 Megatron did: likewise, recently leaked concept art proves that one of Megatron's arms does indeed turn into a cannon, helping keep some semblance to his original G1 form. [9]
Transformers: The Movie Prequel
In issue #1 of the Transformers: The Movie Prequel comic, set before the events of the film, Megatron is revealed to have co-ruled Cybertron together with Optimus Prime, serving as Lord High Protector. He soon desired power over the Allspark, and thus life itself. To this end, he gathered an army of like-minded separatists — the Decepticons. The Autobots attempted to hide the Allspark in Tyger Pax, but Megatron saw through the ruse and launched a full scale attack. A squad led by Bumblebee offered valiant resistance, but in the end, they fell and were captured. Megatron's forces tortured them, with Megatron eventually intervening personally. However, Bumblebee had refused to talk just long enough for Prime's plan to go ahead — the Allspark was launched into space. Megatron prepared to pursue in his jet mode, but was stopped by Bumblebee, who delayed him as the Allspark vanished beyond his reach. An irate Megatron then crushed Bumblebee's vocal circuits beyond repair and promising that the Allspark would be his, pursuing it into space.
Megatron has almost caught up with the Allspark as it lands on a lifeless planet — Earth. In his reckless desire to possess it, Megatron pursues it right into Earth's atmosphere, losing contact with it in the process. His body is immensely hot from atmosphere re-entry as he lands on Arctic ice sheets. His body mass and temperature leads the ice to give way beneath, him sending him into the ocean waters. The rapid temperature change and low energon supply forces Megatron into stasis-lock and he becomes frozen in ice beneath the surface. At the turn of the twentieth century, Captain Witwicky discovers the Decepticon in an Arctic expedition. A crew of men later take his body, dubbing him the "Mega-man", and keep him in storage up until the present day, eventually relocating him to Colorado.
This incarnation of Megatron has a near obsession with the Allspark, and is able to sense it even from afar. He cares little about Cybertron or his followers as long as they allow him to possess the Allspark.
Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday
Megatron appeared in the prequel novel Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday, where it was revealed that reverse engineering of his body had produced a spacecraft called Ghost-1, which was sent into space in 1969, where they encountered the Autobots and Decepticons. It was also revealed that the humans keep Megatron in stasis by maintaining his body temerature at a very low rate: any higher and he begins to reanimate.
In 1969 Megatron (here referred to throughout as the "Ice Man") was moved from the Arctic to Southern Nevada for ease of study. However, the convoy was sabotaged by KGB operatives hoping to capture Megatron's body. However, the cooling conditions that allowed Megatron's stasis lock were damaged in the crash, and he began to reanimate. Reawakening in the middle of a pitched battle between the Americans and Russians, Megatron was once again put offline by the sacrifices of Colonel Kinnear (the convoy commander) and Colonel Nolan, who managed to knock Megatron down first with a Snow Truck and then with explosives, and then refreeze him with liquid Nitrogen even as he killed them.
Trivia
- Megatron and Optimus Prime made a cameo on the television series Scrubs. In episode "His Story III" J.D. and Turk paint a mural on the baby's room wall of Powermaster Optimus Prime and Generation 1 Megatron fighting each other.
- The chief competition for the Transformers as a toy line and television series in the 1980's was the Go-Bots. Ironically, Frank Welker, who voiced Megatron, the most powerful Decepticon, also voiced Scootor on the Go-Bots, the least powerful Guardian.
- When 3H was designing the BotCon exclusive character which would eventually become Megazarak, they originally intended for the toy to be a future version of Megatron, but Hasbro didn't want them to use the name for a convention exclusive, so they changed the character to Megazarak.
- The character of Battle Ravage from the Energon line comes with an energon weapon which looks like Megatron's scope/cannon and a flail weapon which looks like Megatron's energon flail in the animated series pilot.
- In a popular joke, Dane Cook says he would like to name his children after Transformers. One being Megatron the other Optimus Prime, with him addressing himself as Cobra Commander.
External links
- The MC-12 Gun Robo, Megatron's pre-Transformers incarnation as a Microman figure
- Original Patent for the MC-12 Gun Robo toy by Takashi Matsuda
- Champions Role Playing Game character of Megatron.
- ToyBin Megatron photo gallery
- [10] Hugo Weaving as Megatron
References
- ^ http://www.tfcommercials.com/american.htm
- ^ Mark Bozon (2007-02-09). "Transformers Eyes-on". IGN. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Megatron Pictures".
| Toy lines |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Media | |||||||||
| Video games |
| ||||||||
| Characters |
| ||||||||
| Fan engagement | |||||||||
