Megatron

Megatron is a character from the Transformers, being the evil leader of the Decepticons and the primary antagonist of the series.

Transformers: Generation 1

Bob Budiansky, the writer for the Marvel Comics series stated in an interview that the name "Megatron" is a portmanteau derived from "Megaton" and "Electronic". Originally Hasbro took issue with the name, saying it sounded too dangerous, like an atomic bomb. Budiansky responded that as the lead villain, that was the whole point. Hasbro saw his reasoning, and approved the name.^[1]

He would become his own character in the 1984 series. Wizard Magazine rated him the 68th greatest villain of all time.^[2]

Controversy

The Megatron toy has been seized by Customs in Sydney because it can be mistaken for a real weapon. Customs seized more than 50 MP-05 Masterpiece Megatron Transformers in inbound foreign mail. U.S. Customs has also forbidden imports of Masterpiece Megatron toys unless the boxes are opened by the seller and an orange muzzle cap is placed on the toy. Imports without the cap are liable to be seized by customs upon entry. ^[3]

Personality

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. During one episode of the first series, Megatron fell victim to his own weapon, when Autobot Brawn managed to get a hold of it and fired it at him. He can also sub-dimensionally link the weapon 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.

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 (at first). 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.

Abilities

Originally, Megatron was able to transform into a Walther P38, 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.

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.

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's complacent overconfidence often causes him to overlook some vital strategic detail. Also, he has a bad habit of ordering a retreat at the first sign that the tables have turned against his side in battle (even when the Decepticons still maintain the overall strategic advantage). Another factor that could contribute to his losses is his rough relationship with some of his own troops (most specifically Starscream). 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.

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.

The war grew so fierce that Cybertron was shaken from its orbit and fell into the path of an asteroid cluster. So Optimus Prime his troops in the Ark to destroy the asteroids. The plan was a success, but immediately after wards, 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 was defeated twice by Prime.

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. 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 Ultra 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 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. However, the clone and Galvatron 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 was confronted with the real Megatron — the Space bridge explosion had deposited him in the Dead End region of Cybertron. The clone 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, The Ark was stolen by Shockwave and Starscream (as well as a stowaway Galvatron from a parallel universe. Megatron and Galvatron reunited. During their battle on board with Shockwave, the Ark crashed on Earth and supposedly killed everyone.

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 M1A1 Abrams tank alternate mode, Megatron also returned in the comics despite his seeming demise. He collaborated with the terrorist organization Cobra to defeat Autobots. He also killed Bludgeon and entered an alliance with the Autobots to defeat Starscream, who had seized control of the Decepticon ship Warworld. The tale ended with the Autobots and Decepticons uniting.

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. The Autobot victory began the Golden Age of Cybertron, but the Decepticons too eventually developed transformation, leading to the creation of Megatron. Gathering a small number of troops together, Megatron killed the Autobot leader. However, the ancient Autobot, Alpha Trion reconstructed young robot Orion Pax into Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots as the war erupted again ("War Dawn"). 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 forces attacked and boarded the Autobots' craft (the Ark in Beast Wars), causing it to crash on prehistoric Earth, entombing all on the ship in emergency stasis as it crashed into a dormant volcano. Over the following years, Megatron's schemes to obtain Earth's energies continued. Megatron even made a number of temporary alliances with the Autobots, although most of these alliances ended in double crosses.

Megatron conquered Cybertron by the Earth year 2005 in Transformers: The Movie. Megatron proceeded with an attack on Autobot City on Earth. Optimus Prime arrived there and confronted Megatron. Megatron mortally wounded Prime — but not before Prime delivered his own final blow to Megatron, fatally damaging him and forcing the Decepticons to flee. On the return trip to Cybertron, it became necessary to jettison excess mass. Wounded Decepticons were set adrift in space - including Megatron. The world-devourer Unicron offered him a new body and new troops in exchange for cooperation in destroying the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Thus, Megatron is reformatted as Galvatron, while the rest of the wounded Deceptions were also recycled into Galvatron's new warriors. Megatron would later appear in flashbacks, during the season three episodes "Five Faces of Darkness" Part 4, and "The Return of Optimus Prime" Part 1.

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.^[4]

Megatron made a cameo in the pilot of the Transformers: Animated series on a historical video being viewed by Optimus Prime. This historical video was stock footage from the original animated series. He does not appear to be related to the Megatron who appears in this series though, and may not even have had the same name in the history of the Transformers: Animated universe.

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. 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 a 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 point during the Great Autobot-Decepticon War, the original Megatron acquired the Voyager probe's Golden Disk and inscribed a hidden message onto it. His intention was for future generations of Decepticons to uncover it and, following its instructions, complete the task he set himself: to use transwarp technology to travel back in time and kill Optimus Prime while he lay in stasis aboard the Ark, thereby prematurely ending the Great War with the Decepticons the victors.

Three centuries after the "Great War" ended, the Predacon that would become Megatron uncovered this message. He quickly stole a Predacon transwarp cruiser, the Darkside, and, with the aid of a small, like-minded army, travelled to prehistoric Earth. In honour of the plan's originator, he took the moniker "Megatron"

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 Generation 1 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, that is available on the Season 3 DVD 2 in the "Scene Selection" menu), 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.

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.

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. Soundwave had revived his master. Megatron took a fleet of scavenged Warworlds to face the Liege Maximo. He was destroyed by Maximo's arm cannon; he unleashed an energon-fueled blast which destroyed the Maximo. 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.

Books

Megatron was featured in the 1985 Transformers audio books Autobots' Lightning Strike, Laserbeak's Fury, Megatron's Fight for Power, Autobots Fight Back and Satellite of Doom.

Other comic stories

In the course of its run, the UK 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 UK 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. The play itself should be considered unofficial, but was notable because it featured several original voice actors reprising their Transformers roles.

In this voice actor 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.

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.

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 Autobots aboard the Ark saved Cybertron from an asteroid, Decepticons invaded. 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. 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, and the Transformers they lay in stasis-lock on Earth for three years. Adam Rook, a rogue military scientist, salvaged many of them 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. He captured Rook and unleashed a technorganic virus designed to transform all of Earth into a new Cybertron. Megatron unleashed Devastator on San Francisco in a mass slaughter but was defeated by Autobots.

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. When Optimus Prime broke free of the controls, Megatron convinced his keeper to free him to fight Optimus. 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.

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. 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 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. 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, who was then used to help locate the placement of other fallen Decepticons around the globe. Those who joined Megatron included Laserbeak, Ramjet, Ravage, Skywarp, Soundwave, Starscream and the Constructicons). Megatron also reactivated Thrust, Dirge and Thundercracker, but the three left him to join up with Bludgeon's troops - mostly because they couldn't work with Starscream, who had killed them once. Megatron's based his command from the wreck of the Ark in the Yukon, where he keeps the fallen body of Ratchet as a trophy and the severed, but living, head of Shockwave as an advisor.

In Crossing Over, 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 when a group of Robot Hunters in battle suits attacked Megatron. Megatron slaughtered them, only to be confronted by a team of Autobots led by Optimus Prime. Skyfall went with the Autobots, while Landquake was taken by Megatron. Back at the Ark Landquake was interrogated and swore loyalty to Megatron. Scrapper detected an unusual energon reading similar to that of Landquake and the Decepticons went to investigate, only to be confronted by the Autobots again.

In Games of Decepticon Megatron detects the arrival of Bugbite's ship on Earth and sends Starscream, Skywarp and Ramjet to investigate. The Decepticons capture the Autobot spy Mirage. Returning to the Ark the Decepticons fall under the sway of Bugbite, who is using cerebro shells he stole from the Insecticon Bombshell. Megatron overcomes the shell and destroys Bugbite, as the Autobots under the command of Grimlock raid the Ark, destroying the computer and saving Mirage.

Transformers Battle Circuit

The Classic line appeared in a simple Flash-based video game on the Hasbro web site. In this one-on-one fighting game you press the right and left arrow keys to try to overpower your opponent. In the came you can play Rodimus, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Jetfire, Starscream, Astrotrain, Trypticon or Menasor. Optimus Prime and Megatron each appear as the boss you must defeat to win the game.^[5]

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.

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.

Popular culture

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.

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.

Megatron makes a cameo in the Robot Chicken episode "Junk in the Trunk" where he and the Decepticons are using a dam to stockpile Energon Cubes. Frank Welker reprises his roles of Megatron and Soundwave in the episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn" where he sends Soundwave to obtain the Ultimate Deathray. When Soundwave has been missing for a week, he and Shockwave find him on eBay.

Megatron makes an animated cameo in the Drawn Together episode "Nipple Ring-Ring Goes to Foster Care". When Foxxy uses the Foster Care system to look for Ling-Ling, Megatron threatens her to transform.

Another cameo is in the 2008 comedy movie Meet The Spartans.

In the novel World War Z by Max Brooks, an expandable pistol for use against zombies is called the "Meg"; a footnote points out that it is named after the Megatron toy.

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. These extras were not included with the standard MC-12 model. [1] 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. In U.S. Airports this toy is on a list of banned items on planes.

This toy was used to represent Megatron when he appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn", where he was voiced by Frank Welker.

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.

• Generation 1 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.

• Generation 1 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 Abrams 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, with only the sticker on his chest changed to remove the words "MEGATRON RULES".

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 led 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 versions. 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.

• 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").

• 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.

• 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. ^[6]

• Classics Voyager 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. ^[7]

• Classics Ultimate Battle Optimus Prime vs. 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 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. ^[8]

Later releases of this pack included two random bonus Mini-Cons chosen from Cybertron line Longarm, Overcast and Deepdive.

In late 2007 this set was repackaged in Transformers: Universe packing without the DVD available at Dollar General stores.

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 Japan-exclusive non-transforming Kaiyodo Revoltech line, and second original mold, Megatron has the arm cannon permanently affixed, 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). He was released in April, 2007 as Revoltech set #25.

• 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. ^[9]

• Attacktix Generation 1 Megatron (2007)

Part of a 4 pack starter set for Attacktix, Megatron comes with Generation 1 Optimus Prime, Energon Landquake and San Diego CoOnline GamesGame SelectmicCon inspired Skywarp.

• Super Laser Gun (2007)

An unofficial Chinese remake of Classic Megatron produced by MYM. This figure is slightly remolded to remove the Decepticon symbols and is redecoed in red, white, black and gold.

• Megatron feat. Nike Free 7.0 (2007)

A special collaboration with Nike and Takara Tomy called "Transformers: Sports Label" features both Megatron and Optimus Prime with the ability to transform into life sized versions the "Nike Free 7.0" shoe. Megatron's shoe form is colored black, silver, and white and retains his silver, black, and red markings in robot form. Keeping with the shoe theme, he is come packaged in a Nike shoebox and his feet are patterned after the very shoe he transforms into.^[10]

• Universe Classic Series Legends Megatron (2008)

A small figure based on the appearance of Generation 2 Megatron. ^[11]

• Universe Deluxe Special Edition Megatron (2008/not relesased yet)

A redeco of Classic Deluxe Megatron in the colors of Generation 1 Megatron. A Hasbro Toy Shop exclusive. ^[12]

Other incarnations

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:

Megatron for Beast Wars and Beast Machines

Megatron for the Unicron Trilogy (Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron)

Megatron (other incarnations) for the Megatrons from other various Transformer continuities.

References

External links

• Megatron at the Internet Movie Database
• G1 Megatron on the Transformers Wiki
• 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