Megatron

In the third volume of the series, it was revealed that the U.S. 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. 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.

Fun Publications

The Transformers Classics comics published in the Official Transformers Collectors Club magazine are 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. Megatron survived, and eventually upgraded his body (based on his Classics toy) and gathered many other Decepticons to him. Soundwave helped him in recovering the body of Astrotrain, which was then used to help locate the placement of other fallen Decepticons around the globe. Those who joined Megatron included

In Crossing Over, when

Megatron appears in At Fight's End talking to Ratchet. Megatron defeated Deathsaurus in combat for leadership of the Decepticons. He orders the combiner technology that he captures from Deathsaurus to be used on the Constructicons. Megatron then attacks Iacon with his new weapon, Devastator.[14]

IDW Publishing

After Dreamwave's closure, the rights to the Transformers comics were taken over by IDW Publishing. IDW would take the opportunity to reboot the Transformers universe, including a revised origin for Megatron detailing how he came to power. Here, Megatron was originally a lowly Energon miner. He also formed an uneasy truce with Starscream.

In the IDW continuity, 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. His instability is also what leads the other Decepticons to awaken Starscream to stand up to him in Devastation. Eventually, after witnessing Bumblebee's willingness to sacrifice himself in order to stop the machinations of Shockwave, Megatron does the unthinkable and joins the Autobot cause. Megatron joins the crew of the Lost Light as its captain, though the bulk of the crew refuses to accept his change of heart and mutinies against him and his new Autobot friends. Megatron subsequently leads the outcasts into battle against the fanatical Decepticon Justice Division but later is trapped in the alternate Functionist universe with his old mentor Terminus.

Megatron features prominently in Transformers: Regeneration One, Simon Furman's continuation of the original Marvel series in which the events of Generation 2 did not occur. Here, Megatron's lifeforce is still linked to Ratchet's, and after waking up on Earth in 1994, he has built what's left of Ratchet into a battle sled. Megatron also creates a

In an interview, writer

As with the Marvel version of Galvatron, he is seemingly invincible and shrugs off powerful weapons. Unlike other incarnations of the character, he appears to be able to kill and decay others by touch[18] and can even survive being shot through the head at close range by powerful weapons. In Devastation he is shown to be able to confer his touch of death onto others, turning the Reaper leader into an unwilling "giver of unlife".^[19] There are hints that he is not actually alive—after surviving his headshot, he responded to a cry of "He's not dead!" by thinking "Wrong", and he has referred to the others in the Dead Universe as actually being dead: "I killed them".^[20]

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

In Beast Machines, Megatron's personality underwent a change to become a much darker character.

Comics

3H Enterprises

Megatron's sudden development of a transformation-freezing virus, spark-extraction and Vehicon technology, and drones went without explanation in the animated series, with the large time gap between his return and the Maximals' left to serve as a grey area in which these innovations occurred. The comics exclusive to the BotCon convention, however, shone some light on this period of time and revealed that upon his return to Cybertron, Megatron met his former mentor,

Megatron was intended to appear in an upgraded form during the Universe storyline, but the line was canceled before this could come to pass. However, an alternate version was mentioned as hailing from a universe where he was overthrown and killed by Obisidian after taking control of Cybertron with his Vehicons. "Ask Vector Prime" later expanded on this storyline, revealing that in this universe Starscream's Spark had possessed Waspinator and destroyed the Maximals, while the Quantum Surge was caused when Megatron tricked Blackarachnia into destroying the Vok weapon in orbit around prehistoric Earth. "Waspscream" then overthrew Megatron and killed him, Scorponok, and Inferno, later doing the same to Silverbolt after he left the Predacons. However, during the crew's journey back to Cybertron, Megatron would escape and beat the others back to the planet, taking it over as he had in Beast Machines.

Waspscream, Tarantulas, Protoform X, and Terrorsaur would escape Megatron's transformation virus and be reformatted into techno-organic forms by the Oracle, becoming a resistance force that opposed Megatron and his generals: the liberated Inferno and the reprogrammed/reformatted Silverbolt and Scorponok, who became Jetstorm and Tankor. Waspscream's forces later saved Silverbolt, and the threat of other resistance groups soon pushed Megatron to recruit Obsidian as a new general; however, without Strika to serve as his counterbalance Obsidian turned against Megatron and overthrew him. This pushed Inferno into the Predacon camp, and after Obsidian and Tankor were drawn into the Universe War by Unicron Waspscream and the other rebel forces reclaimed Cybertron.

Dreamwave Productions

Megatron's earliest fictional depiction in comics was in a two-part short story told in

In addition to his surprise appearance in Dreamwave's More Than Meets The Eye series Megatron was also set to appear in Dreamwave's unpublished Beast Wars comic. Although the company's bankruptcy meant that no issues were released, released art and information have revealed that the second issue would have dealt with Megatron's trial on Cybertron at the hands of

Transformers: Robot Masters

The short-lived Transformers: Robot Masters line released exclusively in Japan saw Megatron transported through the mysterious "Blastizone" to Earth in the early 21st century, where he sided with the Decepticons, currently led by

Oddly, the Robot Masters series depicted Megatron standing as tall as the original Decepticon characters, when Maximals and Predacons were much smaller. Additionally, he is capable of robot-mode flight and breathes fire in dinosaur mode, none of which he could do in the Beast Wars TV series.

Robots in Disguise

This version of Megatron (known as Gigatron in Japan) is a six-changer, powerful enough to transform into five additional modes besides his robot form—twin-headed

A Predacon warlord before coming to Earth, Megatron is believed to have decimated numerous planets in his quest for energy. Optimus stated that Megatron left entire planets as "lifeless barren rocks". Needing ever more energy, Megatron targeted Earth's energy; to that end, he kidnapped the human energy-research expert, Doctor Kenneth Onishi, using his psycho-probe to drain information on Earth's energy sources from his mind. But even his subordinates were unaware that Megatron had a greater scheme in motion. In the original Car Robots series, the character was developed as a new, unique villain character called Gigatron; however, the name "Megatron" was used in the U.S. dub due to recognition, as well as maintaining ownership of the trademark. In Korea, the character has been established as being the same character as Beast Wars II Galvatron. In this version of the series, each of Gigatron's modes had its own personality.

Comics

Dreamwave Productions

The character of RiD Megatron made one appearance in Dreamwave comics 'Summer Special' issue before the company went under, sending his bickering lieutenants

Realizing that the threat Unicron posed was too great to be overcome on his own, Megatron agreed to cooperate with Optimus Prime by pooling resources. Megatron's Decepticons and the Autobots came to a truce for their final battle with Unicron. Megatron returned the Mini-Cons and joined the battle against Unicron, but secretly planned to let the Autobots die and then strike a bargain with Unicron. In the final battle with Unicron,

The origin of Energon Megatron was different in the Dreamwave comics. Although Megatron appeared dead, seemingly devoured by Unicron at the end of the Armada comics, it was later revealed that Megatron's mind was trapped within Unicron's bulk, where he existed undetected by Unicron, slowly building himself a new body. However, he could not move his consciousness into the body without being detected by Unicron.

Megatron would also appear in the Energon promotional comic. On Earth, Megatron, with the aid of

3H Enterprises

Plucked from his timeline by the power of Unicron immediately after building the Star Saber, Megatron was thrust together with

"Ask Vector Prime" would also feature another alternate Armada Megatron, this one has become Galvatron, who attempted to form an alliance with Megazarak when that Decepticon arrived in his universe. However, after briefly working together and defeating the Autobots and Rodimus's Omnicons, Galvatron and his Decepticons were set upon by Megazarak and his Destructicons and destroyed.

Pack-in comics

In the second Transformers: Energon pack-in comic

Transformers Cinematic Universe

In the 2007 live-action Transformers film, Megatron's alternate mode is a Cybertronian jet. 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, which the writers described as "cheating".^[35] (This significant change in size is known in Transformers fan communities as "mass shifting" and "mass displacement".) In one of the special features on the DVD, G1 Megatron's transformation was likened to Darth Vader turning into his own lightsaber to be wielded by another person. Additionally, Bay states in the DVD that Megatron's face was originally different from the one shown in the film, but he asked it to be redesigned due to fans reacting with strong opposition to it once Megatron's design was unveiled before the film was completed.^[36]

Actor Hugo Weaving provides the voice of Megatron in the first three films. His voice in the series seems to have been modulated to give it a deeper, growling tone as well as the other voice actors. The original voice of Megatron, Frank Welker, provides his voice for the 2007 and 2009 video games, the exclusive animated prequel and The Last Knight.^[37]

Like all characters in the film, Megatron was redesigned for purposes of realism and focus on the alien aspect of the Transformer race. However, he still retains some minor aspects of his Generation 1 design. As shown in the first film, he can transform his right hand into his iconic fusion cannon, and can also transform his right arm into a steel flail. In the second film, after Megatron's resurrection, his right arm could transform into a fusion cannon, coupled with a lobster claw-like blade/crushing device. In the third film, Instead of using a fusion cannon integrated into either of his arms, he uses a handheld version of it, which resembles a human shotgun, specifically a Lupara. In the fifth film, Megatron once again uses a fusion cannon integrated into his right arm as well as utilizing a handheld sword resembling a Congolese short sword.^{[original research?]}

According to an early interview with Michael Bay, Megatron stands at 41 feet (12 m) tall,^[38] but according to his profile in the second issue of the Transformers UK comic Megatron stands "35 feet (11 m) tall" and weighs 8.6 tons. Additionally, the magazine and the Movie Guide state he is powered by a self-regenerating dark matter power core. Hasbro has now said that Megatron officially stands 35 feet and weighs in at 5.7 metric tons.^{[citation needed]}

Films

Megatron appears in Transformers, the first film of the series. Several years after being discovered by Captain

In

to fly). Megatron and his master then battle Optimus. In one brutal move, Optimus grabs Megatron's arm cannon and forces it to fire on Megatron's face, destroying half of it, and then slices off his right arm and shoots him through a wall with Jetfire's afterburners. After seeing the Fallen killed, Starscream advises that they should retreat. Megatron does so but vows that the war isn't over.

Megatron returns in

Carly Spencer

that Sentinel will take all of the power and credit for revitalizing Cybertron for himself. Angered, Megatron turns on Sentinel and severely damages him, declaring that the Earth is his planet to rule. When Cybertron's trip through the Space Bridge fails, Megatron slyly proposes a truce to Optimus, so long as he remains in charge of the Decepticon forces. But the Autobot leader, knowing that Megatron would not give in so easily, denies the offer and attacks him, overpowering him and ripping Megatron's head off with an axe, finally killing him. Shortly after, Optimus uses Megatron's shotgun to execute Sentinel.

In

Galvatron

. He then pretends to obey orders, only to finally defy his creators at the film's climax and accept his new identity and rebirth.

Megatron returns reborn in Transformers: The Last Knight, having discarded his identity as Galvatron and having gained a new body that resembles a Dark Knight, and taken a new vehicle mode in the form of a Cybertronian jet, though how remains unspecified in the film (though it is hinted that Quintessa, the creator of Cybertronians, is responsible for his new form). He first appears when Barricade reports to him that Cade Yeager has received the talisman carried by the Cybertronian knight Steelbane. He then decides to use the TRF (Transformers Reaction Force) to lead him to Cade. Megatron also kidnaps two CIA agents to bargain for the release of a new "crew" to help him hunt Yeager. Upon meeting with William Lennox, Megatron successfully bargains for the release of Mohawk, Dreadbot, Nitro Zeus, and Onslaught (only settling for the latter after his first choice, the maniacal Berserker, is refused) to hunt Yeager and the Autobots. Megatron then goes after Cade and attacks his hideout, but Cade and his companions lure Megatron into a trap, killing all the Decepticons except him, Barricade, and Nitro Zeus. Forced to retreat, Megatron later sends Barricade after Cade and Bumblebee, but his plan is thwarted and he instead follows Cade, Bumblebee, and Viviane Wembly to the submerged ship of the Knights of Iacon, where Quintessa's Staff of Life, once wielded by Merlin, is hidden. When Optimus Prime steals the staff as Nemesis Prime, Megatron steals it himself and takes it to Stonehenge, where he uses it to open a portal that will allow Quintessa to destroy the Earth (revealed to be Unicron) before killing Sir Edmund Burton and facing off against the Autobots and Optimus in battle. Megatron is eventually defeated by Optimus during the melee over the staff when he has his arm sliced off and is kicked out of Quintessa's chamber into thin air.

Animated series

After the events of the Revenge of the Fallen film, Megatron goes into hiding, orchestrating the events from

Lockdown being pursued by Ratchet. Megatron finally reveals himself in Cyber Missions 4, when Optimus and Sideswipe

track his spark's signal, which leads them to an abandoned warehouse. The two realize that Megatron is always one step ahead of them, and Megatron slashes at Sideswipe from behind. Megatron starts dueling Optimus, then Sideswipe joins in with him. Realizing that he is outnumbered, Megatron transforms into tank mode and shoots the roof, which collapses on Optimus and Sideswipe. Megatron gets away, but he leaves a trail of tank tread marks that lead out of the warehouse.

Megatron returns 8 episodes later in Cyber Missions #12, where he and Starscream scheme in the Arctic. He reveals to Starscream that he is aware of his ambitions and will punish him if he ever shows it again. Optimus Prime, who tracked them, soon arrives and combats them. When the rest of Optimus's team arrives, Megatron orders Starscream to take care of them, which Starscream agrees to, but not without complaint. Megatron and Starscream are simultaneously defeated, and the Decepticon commander flees after Optimus grants him mercy.

Most of the Decepticons return for the final mission, Decepticons Attack. After receiving a signal from Soundwave emitting from a bullet train, Megatron arrived on the other side of the tunnel the train was emerging from and derailed it. Ripping open one of the cars, Megatron berated Soundwave for being captured so easily, until it was revealed it was simply a hologram of his communications officer. Megatron declared it a trap, to which Optimus replied that it was a moment later. The Autobots and Decepticons battled for one last time, with Optimus telling Megatron that his alliances were made out of fear, not friendship. The Decepticons are then cornered by the human troops. Optimus Prime then demands that all Decepticons leave Earth. All of the Decepticons, including Megatron, leave Earth, but not before the commander declares that he will return.

Books

Megatron appears in the prequel novel

Soviets

. However, he is placed in cryo-stasis once again.

The children's book Transformers – Meet The Decepticons, by Jennifer Frantz, has a slightly different ending than the movie. This book has all six Decepticons leaving Earth together after being defeated by the Autobots, instead of having most of their numbers die.

The novelization for Transformers: Dark of the Moon ends with Megatron laying down his weapons and calling for a truce in earnest. Optimus Prime spares him and the Decepticons leave Earth to rebuild Cybertron.

In the novel, comic, and video game adaptations of Revenge of the Fallen, the slightly different ending gives more depth to Megatron's relationship with the Fallen. The Fallen prepares for the final battle with Optimus Prime, it is revealed that the Fallen's promises of power to his apprentice were lies. Out of anger, Megatron betrays the Fallen and allows Optimus to kill him for good. He then flies back aboard the Nemesis to take command of the remaining Decepticon army. In the novel version of Dark of the Moon, Optimus and Megatron work together and defeat Sentinel Prime. Though a fight was teased, Megatron reveals to Optimus he is tired of fighting and is suing for peace. He declares he will work to restore Cybertron to its previous glory and will send for the Autobots, so that they may rebuild their planet, as brothers.

Comics

IDW Publishing

The back story of Megatron is told in both Transformers: Defiance and issue #1 of the

Nemesis

.

The Autobots attempt to hide the Allspark, but Megatron sees through the ruse and launches a full-scale attack, during which the Allspark is launched into space. Megatron almost catches up with the Allspark as it lands on

Archibald Witwicky discovers the Decepticon during an Arctic expedition. At the turn of the 20th century, a crew of men later take his body—dubbing him the "ice man"—and keep him in storage up until the present day, eventually relocating him to Hoover Dam

in Nevada.

In a flashback in the movie sequel comic

Transformers: The Reign of Starscream, Megatron's negative relationship with Starscream

is shown to be a result of Starscream failing on a mission.

Titan Magazines

All events that take place in the alternate reality where Megatron won the battle at Mission City are in italics.

In

Devastator

to deal with them, he resumes his pursuit—but the desperate gamble works and he (temporarily) loses the Allspark's trail.

The character profile the magazine provided sheds a little more light on Megatron's desire to possess the Allspark. He believes that while Cybertronians could already transform into other forms via a scanning process, the Allspark could allow Transformers to simply imagine the form they want and change accordingly. Interfacing with the Allspark directly, Megatron gains his deadly jet mode and now began his plans to obtain it permanently.

In "Twilight's Last Gleaming" part 3,

Bumblebee

attempts to take on Megatron in the Sector 7 base as Mikaela attempts to free Optimus Prime, but she is attacked by Frenzy. In part 4, Mikaela frees Prime and freezes Frenzy just as Autobot reinforcements arrive and assist Bumblebee in fighting Megatron.

Cybertron's Most Wanted

Yet another version of Megatron was featured in BotCon's 2015 "Cybertron's Most Wanted" storyline. This version featured a history virtually identical to that of the Megatron of the films, up until the final battle of Dark of the Moon. At this point, some force intervened to save Megatron from Optimus's killing blow, allowing Megatron to kill not only Optimus but Sentinel Prime as well. After rebuilding himself and conquering Earth, Megatron set out to reclaim Cybertron, only to be forced to contend with a new Autobot leader who proved to be an even more dangerous foe than Optimus:

Battletrap

, Shattered Glass Autobot Stepper, and a trio of Microns.

Sector 7 Adventures: The Battle at Half Dome

In the Bumblebee movie tie-in comic, Megatron was frozen at the Igloo foreshadowing his appearance in The 2007 film

Transformers Animated

Fictional character

Megatron
Transformers character
Voiced by	English: Corey Burton Japanese: Lockdown .
Motto	"The Allspark will be mine, and Cybertron will tremble at my feet.", "Crush the Autobots!", "Peace through tyranny!!"
Alternate modes	Cybertronian Fusion Jet Fighter, Tiltrotor gunship

Megatron's Cybertronian design hearkens to the movie version but with more human-like features, while his Earth design bears similarities to the "Super Megatron" form of his G1 incarnation. He wields his trademark fusion cannon (which is much larger than usual in this series) and carries a pair of swords. Early artwork depicted them as katana, but this was later changed. His original alternate mode is an unknown Cybertronian space vehicle but becomes a tiltrotor aircraft once he is rebuilt to blend in with Earth.

Animated series

In this series, Megatron has his own catchphrase: "Decepticons, transform and rise up!", contrasting

Cyclonus

appears in season 3 mentioning a Galvatron), he remains as Megatron for the full three seasons. The scale chart released for the series indicates Megatron stands about 35 ft (11 m) tall.

As revealed in "Transform and Roll Out", Megatron had spent 4 million stellar cycles (years) in search of the Allspark. Even though he found it, Megatron was betrayed at the beginning of the series by Starscream, who planted an explosive device on his back. Due to the explosion that crippled the Autobots craft, Megatron's lifeless body crashed on Earth, contracting "space barnacles," while his disembodied head was found in rural Michigan by a young Isaac Sumdac. Megatron's head subsequently became a keystone for Sumdac's various robotic creations, which he used to help convert Detroit into a technological metropolis within the next 50 years.

This version is less tolerant of Starscream's treachery: after gaining his new body, he uses

Sari Sumdac

's key to slay Starscream, and takes great pleasure in killing him several times once he discovers that Starscream has become immortal due to a shard of the Allspark embedded in his head, and he would later destroy Starscream's replacement body, moments after he got it, once the treacherous Decepticon had outgrown his usefulness. Megatron is also the most cool-headed among his other adaptations, despite being just as arrogant as his predecessors. Furthermore, he doesn't consider Optimus of any actual importance until the climactic final battle on Earth, where Megatron finally acknowledged him as a threat by name. In the end, Megatron is captured and brought to Cybertron.

After the events of the animated series, Megatron was placed in detention at the

Galvatron

, under unknown circumstances, and kill Oil Slick.

Transtech

Fictional character

Megatron
Transformers character
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon
Sub-group	Transtechs
Motto	"Rehabilitation of these rebels will not be a problem. Slaughter them all."
Alternate modes	Cybertronian tank

The Megatron of the Transtech world works together with his world's Optimus Prime. Shockwave is one of his chief scientific researchers. Shockwave used to work for the renegade Decepticon Jhiaxus as a scientist, but after Jhiaxus was destroyed Shockwave was brought in by Megatron as a prisoner. Initially put on trial for war crimes he was freed by Megatron, who argued to Sentinel Prime that Shockwave's mind would be an invaluable asset to them.

Fun Publications

In Withered Hope Megatron and Optimus Prime heard the pleas of six Gobots whose home dimension was being destroyed, but he wasn't interested in helping them.

In Transcendent Shockwave kidnapped Breakaway to examine him under the orders of Megatron. After Shockwave discovered that certain systems in Breakaway were unique and might be useful Megatron requested permission from Transtech Ratbat to take the Autobot apart, even if it may kill him. When Alpha Trion's forces raided the lab to free Skyfall Megatron opposed them, but they escaped to another dimension.^[42]

Megatron appeared in Invasion Prologue by Fun Publications.^[43]

"Shattered Glass"

Fictional character

Megatron
Divebomb , Rumbler & Thundercracker
Motto	"Peace will come for all Cybertronians.", "Power is nothing without wisdom."
Alternate modes	Cybertronian jet, rescue helicopter

This Megatron, later called Galvatron, is a heroic mirror image of the usual Megatron character from the BotCon exclusive "Shattered Glass" comic, in which the Decepticons are on the side of good and the Autobots on the side of evil. Megatron transforms into a Cybertronian jet. He has a drone partner named Rumbler, who can act as a cannon for Megatron or form a neutronic blade weapon. After nearly being killed in an assassination attempt Megatron was rebuilt by Nexus Prime into

Galvatron

. According to his Tech Specs Megatron was once a young mathematician who lectured at one of Cybertron's most prestigious universities.

Fun Publications

In the Fun Publications story "Shattered Glass" Megatron recruits the Autobot Cliffjumper from an alternate reality to aid him against the Autobots of his world. He later leads an attack on the Autobot's Ark launch site.^[44] Megatron appears in "Dungeons & Dinobots", a text-based story. He defends the Arch-Ayr fuel dump from an Autobot attack. He later sends several of his troops to capture and reprogram the rogue Dinobots built by the mad Autobot scientist Wheeljack.^[45]

Megatron is captured by the Autobot Targetmasters in "

Do Over", but is freed thanks to help by the Predacons and Whisper. When confronted by Optimus Prime he attempts to use the Autobot Targetmaster Nightstick to shoot the Autobot leader, but Nightstick takes control of Megatron's arm. Megatron then tricks Optimus into using Megatron's own weapon to cut Megatron's hand off, freeing him from Nightstick. Megatron misses the launch of the Decepticon ship Nemesis, which is taken over by Starscream to counter Autobot ship Ark.^[46]

In Reunification, Megatron greets a

Alpha Trion

. The travelers try to combine their powers with Heatwave to return Megatron to life, but instead, have a vision of Skyfall and are combined into Nexus Prime. Nexus Prime resurrects Megatron as Galvatron. Megatron appears in a flashback in "The Coming Storm", depicting his rebirth as Galvatron by Nexus Prime.

Another character named "Megatron" would appear in the story "Shattered Destiny", the final chapter of the Beast Wars Shattered Glass comic arc. This version is a heroic counterpart to the Beast Era Megatron. Megatron is a heroic Predacon. Megatron's ship, the

Optimus Primal

's color scheme.

Transformers: Prime

Fictional character

Megatronus/Megatron
Transformers character
Voiced by	English: Fred Tatasciore (video games) Frank Welker (Prime TV series) Japanese: Keiji Fujiwara (Prime TV series)
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon
Sub-group	Deluxe Vehicles
Function	Dark Lord, Emperor of Destruction
Rank	10
Partner	Starscream, Shockwave, Soundwave, Knock Out, Breakdown, Dreadwing, Barricade, Brawl, Onslaught, Vortex, Swindle, Blast Off
Motto	"I am the dominator. I am the destroyer. I am MEGATRON!"
Alternate modes	Cybertronian Tank, Cybertronian Jet

Megatron is the leader of the main group of Decepticons in the 2010 computer-animated robot superhero TV series

Topless Robot.^[47]

Animated series

Megatron was a regular character in the

Orion Pax, who became a mentor to him. After leaving the gladiatorial arena for the political one, Megatronus saw fit to shorten his name. When "Megatron" was rejected by the Autobot High Council, he waged war on Cybertron and left the planet wasted. Now he and his long story rival, Optimus Prime, battle on the planet Earth for control of the human

planet.

Megatron's first grand plan was to invade Earth with an army of undead

Predacon

to look for them. However, Darkmount was soon destroyed by an all-out attack by the Autobots. Megatron's next plan was to create an entire army of Predacons to serve him. However, when his lone beast evolved and transformed, Megatron became fearful of what he was capable of and scrapped it. In the destruction Megatron found the means to restore Cybertron once more with Synthetic Energon, as Megatron's plan to rebuild the Omega Lock progressed, the Autobots invaded the Nemesis. As Optimus and Megatron fought, the tyrant was finally killed by Bumblebee.

The series' finale movie, Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, though "killed", Megatron was awakened by Unicron, who took possession of his body and reformatted him with new improvements upon his chassis. Unicron would then inflict eternal suffering upon the warlord as Unicron attempted to kill his brother, Primus, which would also destroy Cybertron, but was freed from the chaos lord by Optimus Prime. Megatron then regained control of his body, but then abandoned any plans of conquest, having realized the true meaning of oppression by Unicron's treatment of him. He abandons leading the Decepticons and disbands them as a military force, then flies off into space, presumably as banishment and self-imposed exile for his past actions. Optimus even stated that every sentient being, including Megatron, has the capacity to change for the better.

While Megatron doesn't appear in the sequel series, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, or the spin-off, Transformers: Rescue Bots, which is aimed at younger audiences, he is sometimes referenced or mentioned, tying those series into the larger continuity.

Books

Megatron appears in the short story Bumblebee at Tyger Pax By

Quintesson

occupation of Cybertron. However, the resulting caste system imposed on Cybertron left Megatron on the lower rungs of society, and he eventually became a gladiator. Desiring to establish a new identity for himself and reshape Cybertron, he took the name of Megatronus, which was eventually shortened to Megatron by his followers. He eventually began using his fame as a gladiator to take a political stance, crying for the lower members of Cybertronian society to rise up and claim what was rightfully theirs. In the process of this, he attracted the attention of a data clerk named Orion Pax, who contacted Megatron and began consulting with him regarding their agenda.

Megatron's followers soon began launching terrorist attacks which he denied involvement in, and he arranged through Orion to appear before the High Council of Cybertron. There Megatron argued for the destruction of the old system, while Orion called for reform; it was after their appeals that the Council renamed Orion, dubbing him Optimus Prime and charging him with seeking out the

Nemesis

battleship.

Megatron and his forces pursued the Ark to Velocitron, where he made contact with a local Decepticon faction alerted to his impending arrival by a Decepticon double-agent amongst the Autobots. Continuing on, they arrived on the planet Junkion, where they discovered the Requiem Blaster, Megatronus Prime's long-lost weapon of mass destruction. Recovering the weapon from within the planet, the Decepticons attached it to the Nemesis and engaged the Autobots in battle. However, the Requiem Blaster proved too powerful to utilize more than once, prompting the Decepticons to jettison it. After dueling Optimus Prime, who wielded the legendary Cyber Caliber, Megatron was confronted by another member of the Thirteen: Nexus Prime. During his battle with Optimus, he briefly saw into his opponent's mind and got a sense of the direction in which to seek the Allspark, a legendary artifact jettisoned from Cybertron by Optimus to keep it out of Megatron's hands. Megatron and his forces set out in search of it but ran afoul of a crew of Star Seeker pirates led by Thundertron, who engaged the Decepticons in a heated battle before withdrawing.

The supposed Allspark signal would prove to be a ruse, generated by the Quintessons to lure the Autobots and Decepticons to one of their conquered worlds. Thus, on the planet Aquatron, Megatron, and Optimus were commanded to come to a peace agreement. However, this all proved to be another ruse intended to capture both factions of Transformers and use them to provide power for the Quintessons' invasion of Cybertron. Megatron and Optimus were forced into another duel and afterward drawn into the sewer-like depths of the Quintesson city. While there, Megatron discovered prophecies about himself recorded by the

Sharkticons

who had resisted Quintesson slavery in times past. Eventually, he realized these prophecies by taking into his body a facsimile of the Matrix of Leadership, which caused him to take on Sharkticon qualities. Leading the Sharkticons in battle, he fought against the Quintessons and sought to take over their world, only to be defeated by Quintesson-created Sharkticon General Tyrannicon, who stole the Matrix replica from him. The Autobots and Decepticons subsequently departed Aquatron, with their destinies eventually leading them to Earth.

Transformers: EarthSpark

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2023)

Megatron appears as a supporting character in the animated series Transformers: EarthSpark, voiced by Rory McCann, this incarnation transforms into an armored tiltrotor and speaks in a Scottish-accent.

Voice actors

Megatron is often voiced by Frank Welker, who originally voiced the G1 character, and while Hugo Weaving was chosen to voice Megatron in the first three live-action films, Welker voiced Megatron once again in supporting media and eventually inherited the role in 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight. He would later reprise his role as Megatron for the series Transformers: Prime.

The second most consistent voice actor may be

Unicron Trilogy

.

A number of other voice actors have voiced versions of Megatron such as

Transformers Animated, the Transformers: War for Cybertron and the Transformers: Dark of the Moon video game, and Transformers: EarthSpark

, respectively.

Games

Generation 1 Megatron has appeared in numerous Transformers video games. Megatron appeared as a final boss in Transformers Battle Circuit, a simple Flash-based video game on the Hasbro web site.^[49] Megatron appeared as a playable character in the fighting games Transformers Battle Universe, a Net Jet game in which four incarnations of the character are playable, and DreamMix TV World Fighters, a crossover between various franchises including Transformers. The Generation 1 version of Megatron is offered as a downloadable character for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game. Despite being a distinct playable character, he is also summoned in gun mode by Generation 1 Starscream as an attack move.

Armada Megatron is among the characters appearing in the 2004 Transformers video game for the PlayStation 2 as a boss.^[50]

Beast Era Megatron appears in the 1999

Kettō Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Senshi Saikyō Ketteisen. He is a playable character in the fighting games Transformers Battle Universe, a Net Jet game. He is among the licensed characters in the PC video game Beast Wars Transformers.^[51]

Movie Megatron appears in the first film's video game adaptation,

Blackout

at the last cut scene when he goes on a rampage through the city looking for Optimus Prime, Sam, and the Allspark. He is also playable on the last mission where Optimus Prime is fought as the final boss. At the end, Optimus appears dead but is then seen sneaking up towards the Allspark. Megatron stops him in his path and kills him with his flail. He then appears in the last cut scene where he rules Earth and orders Barricade, Starscream, Blackout, and Brawl to kill off the rest of the human race.

In Transformers Autobots, Megatron fulfills much of the same role as he had in the 2007 film, awakening from stasis towards the climax and ultimately being killed with the Allspark. Transformers Decepticons revolves around a power struggle between Megatron and Starscream, who had taken command in his absence. The Decepticons ultimately side with Megatron as the player-created character learns that the true meaning of being a Decepticon is loyalty to Megatron. After all of his men are killed in Starscream's bid for power, Megatron battles and kills Starscream for his treachery. Though he has lost the Allspark and his troops, Megatron is nonetheless satisfied, declaring that the weak all deserve to die and only serve to benefit the strong.

Movie Megatron is among the playable characters in the 2009 Revenge of the Fallen video game by Activision. In the game, he has two modes, Megatron (tank mode) and Megatron Flight (jetpack mode), the latter of which is only used in his fight against the Fallen after being betrayed. Megatron appears as a playable character in the fighting games Transformers Battle Universe, a Net Jet game. Megatron is among the characters who appear in the TRANSFORMERS CVBERVERSE Battle Builder Game.^[52]

Movie Megatron is one of the Decepticons featured in

Universal Studios

theme parks. In the ride, Megatron and the Decepticons invade N.E.S.T. headquarters to steal the Allspark shard, but the Autobot Evac acquires it and rushes across the city to keep it away from the Decepticons. Ultimately, in a scene similar to the end of the first film, Evac stabs Megatron in the chest with the Allspark shard, killing the Decepticon leader.

A younger version of Prime Megatron appears in the 2010 video game Transformers: War for Cybertron voiced by Fred Tatasciore. In the Decepticon Campaign, Megatron fights to return Cybertron to his version of the "golden age" by any means necessary. He discovers a source of all-powerful Dark Energon guarded by Starscream in a research station in orbit. Despite warnings from Starscream and his partner Jetfire that Dark Energon destroys all those who come into contact with it, Megatron obtains it and immerses himself in it, and uses it to power the Decepticon war effort. After Megatron corrupts the Core of Cybertron with Dark Energon, Cybertron begins shutting down to recover from the corruption in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. Megatron blames Optimus Prime for the death of the planet but is killed by Metroplex. After being revived by Soundwave, Megatron leads his army into space to strip Earth of its resources. Megatron also appears in Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, set in between War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, in which he attempts to harness the power of the Dark Spark.

Toys

The Hasbro toys predate the film and animation versions of the Transformers. Since the character's introduction, there have been many toys representing the original Generation 1 incarnation of Megatron, some of which are adaptations of versions that appeared in narrative media. Additionally, some toy makers have made unlicensed toys in his image, or accessories for the existing toys. The original 1984 Megatron toy was released in Japan as part of Takara's Microman line under the name "MC-12 Gun Robo".^[2] The toy's characteristics such as the head design and Fusion Cannon have been incorporated in other variants and incarnations of Megatron toys. Today, this toy is on a list of banned items on planes in the U.S., and a special license is required to own this toy in Australia. Despite this, Takara Tomy has reissued this toy numerous times in Japan, mostly to commemorate the anniversary of the Transformers franchise.^{[citation needed]}

Due to stricter laws on toys resembling real weapons, toys of Megatron have undergone different forms of alternate modes such as tanks, cars and jets. In 2006, Hasbro released the Classics Voyager Megatron figure, which transformed into a

Nerf Maverick REV-6 replica—the first Megatron toy in over two decades to have a gun mode. Megatron, Shockwave, and Ravage are the three Decepticon figures available to play in the Monopoly Transformers Collectors Edition game.^[53]

Cultural legacy

This section may contain irrelevant references to popular culture. Please remove the content or add citations to reliable and independent sources. (August 2022)

• Megatron has been parodied or referenced by such shows as Frank TV,^[54] Scrubs, Robot Chicken, Drawn Together, Family Guy and Mad. Frank Welker reprised his role for some of Megatron's parodic appearances.^{[citation needed]}
• Former
  Calvin Johnson is nicknamed "Megatron".^[55]
• Prime Megatron appears as one of the Hub Carolers in a Christmas-themed commercial for The Hub.^[56]

• In 2009, a Canadian man was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police, during which he wielded only an "'80s-style" Megatron toy.^[57]
• At BotCon 2010, Hasbro named Megatron as one of the first five robot inductees in the Transformers Hall of Fame.^[58]
• Wizard magazine rated Megatron the 68th-greatest villain of all time.^[59]
• Beast Era Megatron was named the best upgrade in Beast Wars history by
  Topless Robot.^[60] By contrast, that outlet named Transmetal Megatron the fourth-strangest Transformers Beast Wars figure.^[61]
• In 2019, American rapper Nicki Minaj released a song entitled "Megatron" in reference to her "bad guy" persona.^[62]
• In the song "The Outside" by the American band Twenty One Pilots, Megatron is referenced.^[63]

References

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   ISBN 9780896894457. Retrieved December 17, 2013.^{[permanent dead link}
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4. ^ "First look: Robo-brawlers big, small in new 'Transformers' - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
5. ^ de Semlyen, Nick (February 2009). "20 to watch in 2009". Empire. pp. 67–69.^{[verification needed]}
6. ^ "ASM — Your Future Nostalgia. Today". Alteredstatesmag.com. 2004-07-26. Archived from the original on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
7. ^ "Interviews: Bob Budiansky". Ben's World of Transformers. 2004-02-01. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
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14. ^ Pete Sinclair & Jesse Wittenrich (October–November 2011). "Battle Lines Part 5". Transformers Collectors Club Magazine. 1 (41): 3.
15. ^ Simon Furman (w). The Transformers: Spotlight, no. 9 (Optimus Prime) (August 2007). IDW Publishing.
16. ^ Simon Furman (w). The Transformers: Spotlight, no. 8 (Galvatron), p. 13 (July 2007). IDW Publishing.
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18. ^ Simon Furman (w). The Transformers: Spotlight, no. 8 (Galvatron), p. 15 (July 2007). IDW Publishing.
19. ^ Simon Furman (w). The Transformers: Devastation, no. 6, p. 13 (February 2008). IDW Publishing.
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21. ^ GameCentral (2010-08-09). "More Ratchet & Clank on the way? | Metro News". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
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24. ^ GameAxis Unwired – Jul 2007 – Page 99
25. ^ Seibertron.com (2005-03-01). "Transformers: Beast Wars #2: "Transformers: Beast Wars"". Seibertron.com. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
26. ^ "Creators of Transformers: Beast Wars: The Gathering are back". Monsters and Critics. 2007-09-15. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
27. ^ Seibertron.com (2006-09-28). "Transformers: Timelines #1: "Dawn of Future's Past"". Seibertron.com. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
28. ^ TFCon Archived September 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
29. ^ "BEAST WARS! "Board Game in Disguise"". Zippygamer.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
30. ^ The African American entrepreneur: then and now By W. Sherman Rogers page 321
31. ^ TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE Returns! Hasbro Launches Product Line Based on Original '80s Theme; Fox Kids Series to Debut September 8th. Business Wire September 5, 2001
32. ^ "Transformers – Galaxy Force Secret Special DVD!". TV Magazine. February 2006. Archived from the original on 2013-10-02.
33. ^ [1] Archived September 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
34. ^ Hasbro.com – Transformers Battle Bios Archived April 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
35. ^ Tformers.com (2006-08-18). "Transformers Movie Webcast – The Recap – Transformers Toys News Reviews". TFormers.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
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39. ^ Bierly, Mandi (2011-02-11). "'Transformers' 3 clues found in new Hasbro toys – EXCLUSIVE". Insidemovies.ew.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
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41. Transformers: Timelines
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43. ^ Pete Sinclair & Jesse Wittenrich (w), Will Mangin (p), Jake Isenberg (i). "Invasion Prologue" Transformers Timelines (March 2012). Fun Publications. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-03-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
44. ^ Pete Sinclair & Benson Yee (w), Don Figueroa (p), Don Figueroa (i), Espen Grundetjern (col), Jesse Wittenrich (let), Pete Sinclair & Brian Savage (ed). "Shattered Glass" Transformers Timelines, vol. 2, no. 3 (Botcon 2008). Fun Publications.
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50. ^ Atari Begins the "Ultimate Conflict" with Worldwide Release of 'TRANSFORMERS' Video Game, Business Wire, May 12, 2004
51. ^ [2] Archived July 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
52. ^ "Transformers Cyberverse Battle Builder Game | Cyberverse". Hasbro. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
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55. ^ Curran, Tom (September 6, 2009). "If Lions transform into winner, 'Megatron' wins". Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
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63. ^ Kaufman, Gil (May 21, 2021). "Twenty One Pilots Saying Hello, Goodbye to Livestreams With Massive, Broadway-Style Blowout". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2021.

External links

• Megatron on IMDb
• 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
• Brief Description of the G1 Megatron toy