Megatron

Not to be confused with Metatron, Megagon, or Magnetron.

For other uses, see Megatron (disambiguation).

Megatron
Transformers character
Generation 1 Megatron art
Voiced by	English: Frank Welker (television series, Transformers: Devastation) Garry Chalk (Beast Wars – Golden Disk recording) David Kaye (Unicron Trilogy) Jason Marnocha (Transformers: Combiner Wars) Marc Thompson (Transformers: Cyberverse) Rory McCann (Transformers: EarthSpark) Brian Tyree Henry (Transformers One) Japanese: Seizō Katō (television series) Wataru Takagi (Beast Wars – Golden Disk recording) Keiji Fujiwara (Q Transformers: Mystery of Convoy) Shigeru Chiba (Cyberverse)(EarthSpark) Hōchū Ōtsuka (War for Cybertron Trilogy)
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon
Japanese name	Megatron, Reverse Convoy/Rebirth Megatron
Sub-group	Action Masters, Go-Bots, Combat Heroes, Voyagers, Basic Beasts
Function	Decepticon Leader, Emperor of Destruction, Decepticon Supreme Commander, Strongest Emperor of Destruction, Dark Emperor of Destruction
Rank	10
Partner	Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave
Motto	"Peace through tyranny!" "Everything is fodder." "Lesser creatures are the playthings of my will." (Classics) "My power is everything; defeat is absurd!" (Galvatron)
Alternate modes	Walther P38 U.N.C.L.E. Special, various tanks, various jets, Nerf N-Strike Maverick REV-6, Porsche, Cybertronian mobile weapon platform, Nissan 370Z, laser cannon (Galvatron)

Megatron is the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villainous faction of alien robots that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe, and serves as the archenemy of Optimus Prime, the leader of the rival Autobot faction. As with all Cybertronians, Megatron can disguise himself by transforming into vehicles or weapons. His alternate modes have included a Walther P38 handgun, a particle-beam weapon, a telescopic laser cannon, a Cybertronian jet, and various tanks, depending on which continuity he is depicted in. In some continuities, his original name is D-16.

Megatron's most consistent origin portrays him as having risen up from being an oppressed worker to a gladiatorial champion who took the legendary name of one of the original Thirteen Primes—Megatronus—as his own. He shortened his name when he became a political revolutionary who attempted to reform Cybertron's corrupt governing body and called for an end to its decrepit caste system. As the mentor of the young Orion Pax, Megatron preached that freedom of self-determination was the right of all sentient beings. When Megatron grew corrupted by his power, Orion would utilize his teachings against him as Optimus Prime. In most incarnations, Megatron would eventually meet his demise at Optimus' hands, only to later be resurrected as Galvatron.

Megatron has become one of the franchise's most iconic characters and a widely recognized villain in popular culture. The character's popularity has seen him appear on a variety of merchandise, such as toys, clothing and collectible items, theme park attractions, and be referenced in a number of media. He has been adapted in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations, having been voiced by actors including Frank Welker, Corey Burton, Hugo Weaving, and Brian Tyree Henry.

Thirteen Original Primes

See also: List of Transformers film series cast and characters § The Fallen

The original Megatronus, better known as the Fallen, was one of the original Thirteen Primes created by Primus. Megatronus betrayed his creator by siding with Primus' dark twin, the malevolent planet-eater Unicron. In the final battle between Primus and Unicron, Megatronus fell victim to the same fate as his master, sucked through a black hole into another dimension. However, while Unicron emerged in another universe, the Fallen was not so fortunate, finding himself trapped in the "underspace" between dimensions.

The Fallen made his first appearance in the fifth volume of Transformers: The War Within. The character appears as the main antagonist in the second live action film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the 2009 sequel to the 2007 Transformers movie, voiced by Tony Todd. He has the ability to teleport and generate a shockwave upon reappearance. He wields a spear as his weapon and has the ability of telekinesis. Megatronus is also mentioned as one of Thirteen in Transformers: Exodus and later appeared as the main antagonist in the first-season finale of Transformers: Robots in Disguise, voiced by Gil Gerard.

Generation 1

Megatron is the founder of the Decepticon uprising and their most feared leader. Bob Budiansky, the writer for the Marvel Comics series, stated that originally Hasbro took issue with the name, saying it sounded too frightening. Budiansky responded that as the lead villain, that was the point. Hasbro later agreed with his reasoning, and approved the name "Megatron". Budiansky has said in interviews that it is a portmanteau of electronic and megaton.

Megatron is able to transform into a handgun, delivering more focused energy blasts than he could in his robotic form. He can adjust his size and mass as he transforms, to comfortably allow another Transformer or even a human being to wield him. His robot form has an arm-mounted fusion cannon. He can retract and replace his right hand with energy flail. He can fire electrical blasts from his hands, laser blasts from his eyes, and can reprogram computers with a port in his head.

Megatron is a Decepticon, one of the lineal descendants of the military hardware robots created by the Quintessons on their factory world of Cybertron. In a conflict between two robotic factions, the Decepticons and the Autobots, the Autobots' invention of transformation gave them an advantage, leading to their victory. The ensuing Golden Age of Cybertron was disrupted by the rise of Megatron, who led the Decepticons against the Autobots. Megatron's eventual defeat resulted in his rebirth as Galvatron through an alliance with the cosmic entity Unicron. Galvatron aimed to destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, but his plans were thwarted, and he was thrown into space.

Megatron reformatted into Galvatron by Unicron from G1 television series

Galvatron's minions later rescued him from a plasma-inflicted insanity. He regained his sanity and leadership, even temporarily cooperating with Optimus Prime to combat a cosmic plague. Following a period of peace, Galvatron devised a plan to destroy Cybertron and Earth. His scheme involved using a powerful energy chamber to trigger a solar explosion. Despite his efforts, Galvatron's plan failed, and he and his followers were launched into space.

In the Japanese continuation of the Transformers series, Galvatron remained a central figure as he led the Decepticons in various conflicts. Ultimately, he was entombed in ice by Autobot Headmasters.

The narrative centers on the ongoing struggle between the Autobots and Decepticons, highlighting the transformation of key characters, Megatron's evolution, his alliance with Unicron, and his relentless pursuit of power and dominance. The story unfolds across different series and episodes, depicting battles, alliances, and Megatron's relentless determination to achieve his goals, which ultimately lead to his eventual defeat and entombment.

Other appearances

Megatron appears in the short-lived online Universe cartoon, where he plots to steal gasoline in order to produce Energon. Notably, his alternate mode of a jet is exactly the same as that of Cyclonus, and he incorporates several elements from his live-action movie design, such as both arms fusing together to form his fusion cannon. 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.

Books

Megatron appeared in the following books:

• The Revenge of the Decepticons written by Suzanne Weyn and published by Marvel Books in 1984.
• The 1985 audio story Sun Raid and Satellite of Doom.
• The Ladybird Transformers audio books Autobots' Lightning Strike, Laserbeak's Fury, Megatron's Fight for Power and Autobots Fight Back.
• The 1985 Find Your Fate Junior book called Dinobots Strike Back by Casey Todd.
• The 1985 Find Your Fate Junior book called Battle Drive by Barbara Siegel and Scott Siegel.

Megatron was featured in the 1993 Transformers: Generation 2 coloring book "Decepticon Madness" by Bud Simpson.

Comics

Japanese manga

In the Japanese manga "Big War" #2, the Autobots Rodimus Prime, Grimlock, Kup and Wheelie, along with their human allies Spike Witwicky and Daniel Witwicky send Computron into battle against Galvatron's new warrior combiner Abominus. The Terrorcons spit "corrosive control liquid" against Computron, taking control of him and turning him into a Decepticon. Spike luckily uses his new Exosuit to free Computron with "defense spray." Defeated, Galvatron retreats.

In the Transformers Manga #5, Galvatron and his Decepticons attacked the Prime Energy Tower. Galvatron ordered the Decepticons to form Menasor, Devastator and Bruticus and attack. Rodimus Prime counted this move by ordering in Superion, Omega Supreme and Defensor. Galvatron then ordered in Predaking, knowing that Sky Lynx was elsewhere and couldn't counter them. Rodimus ordered the Omnibots to attack Predaking's legs. Tripping up the giant he fell into the other Decepticon giants, winning the day for the Autobots.

Galvatron also appeared in a series of Japanese Manga comic strips set in continuity with the Headmasters series, where he attempted to destroy the Autobots with such schemes as creating his own army of Megatron clones, attempting to destroy Fortress Maximus and creating a hybrid of the original Megatron and Optimus Prime named Guiltor to destroy Rodimus Prime, although he ended up teaming up with his enemy to destroy it after it went rogue.

After Galvatron's seeming destruction in Headmasters, this was all that was heard from Galvatron in the animated continuity for several years until the Battlestars: The Return of Convoy storyline (although not animated in itself, consisting of one manga chapter and a selection of magazine spreads, it continues the storyline of the animated series). Buried and deactivated beneath the ice, Galvatron was recovered by the evil entity, Dark Nova, and reformatted into Super Megatron and later on as Ultra Megatron, going on to battle Star Convoy (a similarly reborn Optimus Prime).

Marvel Comics

In the world of Marvel Comics, Megatron begins by 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. Eventually, Cybertron was shaken from its orbit and fell into the path of an asteroid cluster. This would result in the Ark venturing out and then crashing into prehistoric Earth. Four million years later, in 1984, the Transformers were reawakened, and Megatron was defeated twice by Optimus Prime.

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 that 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.

TFcon comics

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 Transformers' original voice actors reprising their Transformers roles. In this voice actor play various Transformers from different timelines and realities were swept up in a repeating 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.

Dreamwave Productions

In the 21st-century reimagining of the Generation One Universe by Dreamwave Productions, Megatron was envisioned as an ancient gladiatorial combatant in the depths of Cybertron's underworld. As victory upon victory mounted, he began to realize that the games were nothing more than an elaborate attempt by the Cybertronian elders to hide the truth of Cybertron's history from the masses. When Megatron attempted to gain access to that knowledge through exploration and research, the Cybertronian elders attempted to have him assassinated—a plan that only resulted in stirring up even more discontent among Cybertronians which allowed Megatron to begin recruiting for the Decepticon movement. It is known that at one point Megatron attempted to recruit Grimlock as one of his inner circle, but the fellow gladiator refused the position, eventually joining the Autobots.

Megatron 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 P38 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 leader of the terrorist group Cobra, resulting in Megatron killing several of his troops and Cobra Commander having to use the Matrix to keep him in line. Later, Megatron refuses to help the Commander since Bruticus had tried to crush him and allows the Baroness to use him in gun mode to shoot the helpless Cobra Leader. After battling Optimus Prime, he was deactivated along with all the Transformers when Snake Eyes opened the Matrix.

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 in the Ark on Earth, but this time the Ark was discovered by Cobra, who reformatted the Autobots and Decepticons into weapons and vehicles for themselves called Battle Android Troopers controlled by the Tele-Vipers.

Megatron is 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 supercomputers.

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 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 based his command on 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.

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.

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 zombie army from the mostly-Decepticon victims of the Underbase-empowered Starscream, while lobotomizing the still-living Starscream himself. Megatron proceeds to devastate the Earth, turning its nuclear arsenal against the population and destroying Fortress Maximus. The Wreckers discover what Megatron's done in the year 2012, prompting Optimus Prime to bring an assault team from Cybertron. Megatron is defeated when Kup destroys Ratchet, stopping Megatron in his tracks and permitting Optimus to destroy him once and for all.

In an interview, writer Simon Furman indicated that Galvatron made his first IDW Publishing appearance in The Transformers: Spotlight issue featuring Nightbeat. Unlike other incarnations, this Galvatron was not a recreated Megatron, but instead a separate Transformer from the Golden Age of Cybertron who is driven by a belief in having a great destiny. He was one of the crew of the lost Ark-1, which had secretly been seeking out (under orders from Nova Prime) an anomaly that was "a door to somewhere else... a dark mirror of the Matrix itself". Galvatron deliberately flew the Ark into the anomaly to find out the answers, thus marooning the crew in the Dead Universe. In the present day, he heads for Cybertron to obtain Thunderwing's body, destroying an alien observation station on the way. On Cybertron, Galvatron killed Leadfoot and easily overpowered Hound's unit, though he left them alive as a small act of defiance against his master. He made his first appearance in the main storyline in issue 3 of The Transformers: Devastation, being sent to Earth by Nemesis Prime to stop the Reapers from destroying it too soon. He turned the Reaper leader into a dead being able to kill by touch (like himself) and left it to decimate his fellow Reapers. Caught between this and the Ore-13-charged Decepticons, the Reapers were soon annihilated, and Galvatron left with the body of Sixshot. He then reported back to Prime, who made it clear in conversation with Jhiaxus that he was not unaware of Galvatron's rebellious ambitions.

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 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". 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".

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.

Binaltech

Megatron is largely "off-screen" for most of the Binaltech saga, reflecting the absence of a Megatron figure in that toy line. Due to the interference of Ravage (the same future Ravage who appears in the Beast Wars), most of the events of the original animated feature do not transpire; most importantly the Battle of Autobot City does not occur, and Optimus Prime and Megatron do not have their final showdown, meaning that Optimus Prime does not die, and Megatron is never reformatted into Galvatron.

Unite Warriors

The Unite Warriors storyline—exclusive to Japan—introduced the character of Megaempress, a female Decepticon whose bio states that she was created from parts left over from Megatron's construction. She thus considers herself to be Megatron's wife—or the Transformer equivalent—and Empress of the Decepticons; whether Megatron views her in this fashion is unknown.

Beast Era

Megatron
Transformers character
Voiced by	English: David Kaye Japanese: Shigeru Chiba (Beast Wars and Beast Machines) Toshitsugu Takashina (Robot Masters)
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon/Predacon/Vehicon
Japanese name	Beast Megatron
Sub-group	Deluxe Beasts, Transmetal, Transmetal 2, Ultra Beasts
Function	Predacon Commander, Vehicon Leader, Emperor of Destruction
Rank	10
Partner	Arachnid, Waspinator
Motto	"What does not destroy me makes me strong . . . what attempts to destroy me shall be obliterated." (Beast Wars) "Purification is the key to our salvation!" (Beast Machines)
Alternate modes	Tyrannosaurus rex, European dragon, wolf/dragon, head/spaceship, diagnostic drone, jet and land assault vehicle (as Optimal Optimus clone), hypersonic attack/ground assault vehicle, missile launcher truck similar to a BTR-80 APC

The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron appears in the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse. This Megatron is a separate character from his original Generation 1 counterpart, but 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 reimagined and eventually applied to the toy line, establishing this Megatron as an independent character.

In the past, a few fans have referred to him as Megatron II to distinguish him from the original character of the same name; in the Japanese Transformers: Robot Masters series, he was named Beast Megatron for this purpose. Usually, however, he is simply referred to as the Beast Wars Megatron. His ultimate goal is the conquest of Cybertron, where he was branded a criminal. Few pieces of information exist about Megatron before the Beast Wars. The Japanese Beast Wars II toy catalogue claims that he had battled and lost to Galvatron (the villain of that series) in the past, while the 2006 BotCon comics claime he was previously a commander in the Predacon army who had developed many of the Predacons' tactics.

According to the 2007 CGI movie Theft of the Golden Disk, Megatron was Cryotek's pupil. It was Cryotek who masterminded the theft of the Golden Disk, but Megatron betrayed his mentor and fled Cybertron with his prize, leaving Cryotek and Dirge to be arrested by Maximals. In a 2010 interview with Shogun Gamer, David Kaye said that Megatron is the role he is more likely to be remembered for.

Three centuries after the end of The Great War, when Maximal and Predacon had risen to replace the Autobots and the Decepticons, one Predacon, in particular, was discontented with the Maximals' control of Cybertron following the Autobot victory in the war. Studying the ancient Cybertronian text called the Covenant of Primus, the Predacon took the name Megatron from a great destroyer of the same name that the book foretold (which may or may not have been also an indirect homage to his namesake, the Decepticon Megatron). Searching for Energon to power his takeover bid, he stole the legendary artifact known as the Golden Disk but discovered amongst its data more than the mere location of an Energon source—encoded onto the disk was a message from the original Megatron, which contained the coordinates of the prehistoric planet Earth. Using transwarp technology would allow a user to travel back in time and alter history—specifically, to destroy Optimus Prime as he lay in stasis within the Ark, thereby preventing the Autobots from winning The Great War.

In Beast Machines, Megatron's personality underwent a change to become a much darker character. Losing many of his previous personality quirks, he developed a hatred of organics and free will, but oddly saw himself as a savior of Cybertron. His sense of humor vanished, replaced with "Machine Precision" and his plans had evolved to galactic conquest. He even developed some sense of honor, keeping his word to Rattrap in one case where he would have formerly taken advantage of an opponent. However, he still retained his strategic brilliance and manipulative abilities, outwitting the Maximals and other enemies with his plans on nearly every occasion.

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, Cryotek. Cryotek offered to free Megatron of his beast mode by transferring most of it to himself, only to have the transfer send him into a period of stasis lock. Megatron went into seclusion, using Cryotek's plundered inventions to develop the technology that he used to enslave Cybertron.

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 Dreamwave's Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye series of character profiles. The tale started and finished the series, showing a mysterious figure (who would be revealed at the story's close as Megatron) and his accomplice accessing the supercomputer Vector Sigma through a node in an ancient Autobot library and viewing the profiles of the Autobots and Decepticons of the Great War (in reality the character profiles of the series). As the accomplice dispatched a Maximal security agent his leader obtained the Golden Disk and announced he wished to be addressed as Megatron from now on, implying he took the name after viewing the profile of the original Megatron.

In addition to his surprise appearance in Dreamwave's More Than Meets The Eye series, Megatron was 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 Magmatron.

IDW Publishing

IDW Publishing's 2006 comic book, Beast Wars: The Gathering, sees Megatron's old rival from Cybertron, Magmatron, travel back to the time of the Beast Wars (shortly after Megatron's failed attempt at killing Optimus Prime) at the behest of the Tripredacus Council. Activating all the remaining stasis pods on the planet, Magmatron quickly assembled a Predacon army of his own, including a reanimated Ravage. Although Magmatron had ambitions to stage a coup like Megatron, he did not want to reveal his intentions to the Tripredacus Council yet and aimed to capture Megatron for them as his mission required, to divert suspicion. Revealing himself to Megatron, the two would-be tyrants battled, but Megatron was captured when Magmatron's lackeys Iguanus and Drill Bit managed to knock Megatron out. Magmatron aimed to send him back to Cybertron, but due to the intervention of Razorbeast, Optimus Minor, and Grimlock, Magmatron was sent back to Cybertron instead. Razorbeast left the unconscious Megatron on Earth, fearing an alteration to the time stream if he captured him.

Megatron's presence is felt in IDW's second Beast Wars series as well, with Ravage (resurrected as a Transmetal by Magmatron) aiming to capture Razorbeast's chronal armband, which would allow him to interfere with the "main" timestream (the Beast Wars of the TV show). He planned to free Megatron from his imprisonment on the Autobot shuttle and ally with him to kill all the Maximals on the planet. His plan was thwarted by Razorbeast. However, in the very last panel of the series, Megatron is seen overlooking a ravaged Cybertron, presumably having just arrived from his long transwarp journey before his Maximal rivals.

Megatron has a biography printed in the Beast Wars Sourcebook by IDW Publishing. In 2016, he also appeared in the "Dawn of the Predacus" comic released at the BotCon convention that year, with IDW publishing the comic in place of Fun Publications. In this storyline, set some 300 years before the Beast Wars, Megatron's form—a Retool of Robots in Disguise Megatron/Galvatron—is the result of having his body reconstructed with Techno-Organic Tri-Malteranium, a technology also known as "TM3". In this story, Megatron is a Decepticon commander who, after learning of Galvatron's death and the Tripredacus Council's resolution to call a cease-fire, orders his forces—including Predaking—to attack. His force is then engaged by Magnaboss, but after learning of Predaking's defeat he is stunned by Ravage, and later disciplined for failing to follow the orders of the Tripredacus Council.

Fun Publications

Megatron was featured in the 2006 BotCon tale Timelines: Dawn of Futures Past, which picked up where the Dreamwave story left off. Much more of the background surrounding his theft of the Golden Disk artifacts was revealed. A feared general in the Predacon army, he went rogue from the Predacons after the signing of the Pax Cybertronia—a peace treaty between the Maximal and Predacon factions—and took the name of Megatron. He swiftly gathered a crew of like-minded individuals and, while Waspinator and Terrorsaur stole a ship, he, Dinobot, and Scorponok stole the disk, battling the guards and destroying one, leaving the other to commandeer a ship to pursue them. Picked up by their ship, they fled and were pursued by two ships—one of which was the Axalon. Tarantulas was able to decode enough information from the Golden Disk to set a course through transwarp space. With a little help from Laserbeak and Buzzsaw (secretly sent by Divebomb to ensure Megatron's plan to change history succeeded), they destroy one of their pursuers, and the newly christened Darkside flees into Transwarp space, with the Axalon in pursuit—thus beginning the Beast Wars.

To marry the visual appearance of Megatron's pre-Beast form seen in the first episode of the Beast Wars animated series (indeed, Megatron is the only character whose entire body is depicted, albeit briefly, prior to reformatting into a beast mode) with the toy of the character available exclusively at the convention, the story notes that Megatron adopts a detachable suit of armor that transforms into a missile tank, similar to a Pretender Shell or Ultra Magnus's outer armor in Dreamwave's series. The tank is his toy; the character's profile in the widespread release of the comic notes that his original body transforms into a hover tank. Notably, Timelines presents a slightly different version of the disk's theft to the story presented in Dreamwave comics. In Timelines, Megatron seems to already be known to other characters by that name, whereas in Dreamwave's story, he only takes the name after taking possession of the disk. Whether the two are reconcilable is unknown.

Megatron appeared in the 2008 BotCon voice-actor play "Bee in the City", voiced by David Kaye. After losing Optimus Prime and Sari to the Transtech incarnation of Shockwave, Bumblebee and Flareup meet Megatron, who goes by the name of "Joe" to avoid any attraction. Learning of the Allspark key on Sari's person, Megatron offers his aid. Once Bumblebee frees his friends, Megatron reveals himself as he uses the key to bring an army to life. However, when his army realizes the consequence of their coming to being within Transtech Cybertron, a mutiny ensues as Megatron is dragged off while vowing revenge.

"Ask Vector Prime" also introduces an alternate version of Megatron created by the events of the Binaltech storyline who later invades the Robots in Disguise universe and is transformed into the villainous "Megahead Megatron". Establishing a horde of Vehicons as his original counterpart had, he proceeded to plunge Cybertron into a Spark War, with Mirage as one of his many victims. However, he was eventually defeated due to the actions of the Binaltech Alternity in dispatching a crew of similarly created Maximals—including Air Attack Optimus Primal—to challenge his efforts. However, his legacy would continue to plague that universe, as his associate Cryotek would use the Transwarp technology Megatron contributed to their efforts to launch a campaign across time and space.

Megatron's story continued in the pages of the biography printed by Fun Publications for the 25th-anniversary Optimus Primal toy. Even his death at the conclusion of Beast Machines would not be the end of Megatron's villainy. Due to the inextricable link that had been forged between himself and Optimus Primal when Cybertron was reformatted, Primal's return to life to lead the "Children of Primus" against the machinations of Unicron meant that Megatron was also brought back to the land of the living. This time, however, the two old enemies found themselves in an uneasy alliance, traveling from universe to universe to wherever the multiversal conflict had spread. While this storyline would never play out, the design used for Megatron's Universe form—a remold/redeco of Robots in Disguise Megatron—would later see use in the "Dawn of Predacus" storyline for BotCon 2016.

TFcon comics

Megatron appears among the characters in Re-Unification, the 2010 TFCon voice actor play prelude comic. He is featured in the Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game by Parker Brothers.

Beast Wars Second

In the interim between the first and second seasons of the Beast Wars animated series, the Beast Wars II anime was produced in Japan to fill the gap, producing a feature film titled Beast Wars II: Lio Convoy's Close Call! In this film, the Predacons of the series discover a mysterious transwarp device. The Predacons' leader, Galvatron, attempted to use the time-and-space-warping gate to summon a "Megatron" to his aid. It is unclear whether he was searching for the original Megatron or the Predacon who went by the same name, but regardless, Galvatron's brother Gigastorm screwed up the calculations and instead summoned the titanic Majin Zarak, whom Galvatron proudly declared to be far superior to Megatron.

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 Starscream after the disappearance of Megatron. Dubbed "Beast Megatron" to distinguish him from his predecessor, Megatron bested Starscream and took leadership of the Decepticons until the original Megatron returned in the form of Reverse Convoy, and the two Megatrons merged their energies to create the "Double Megatron Tornado". This power, however, was thwarted by the "Triple Convoy Tornado Link Attack" formed from the energy of Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal, and Lio Convoy.

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, neither of which he can do in the Beast Wars TV series.

Robots in Disguise

Megatron
Transformers character
Voiced by	Daniel Riordan
In-universe information
Affiliation	Predacon/Decepticon
Japanese name	Gigatron→Devil Gigatron
Sub-group	Six Changers, Ten Changers, Ultra Beasts
Function	Decepticon/Predacon Leader, Dark God of Destruction/Ultimate God of Destruction, Predacon Emperor of Destruction
Rank	10
Motto	"My power is unequaled. My strength is unmatched. My opponents are unworthy. And my presence is that of death."
Alternate modes	Dragon, gargoyle, car, spaceship, hand, jet, and twin-headed dragon

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 dragon, bat-gargoyle creature, race car, spaceship and claw (GigaDragon, GigaBat, GigaFormula, GigaJet and GigaHand in Japanese). Each form has its own different frightening capabilities, making Megatron a very unstable and unpredictable fighter. Unlike his namesake, Megatron would often sit back from a conflict and allow his subordinates to do the dirty work. Like his counterparts, he is arrogant, but unlike them, he also was incompetent, as most of his schemes were badly planned and badly executed. Upon his upgrade into Galvatron, he gains additional forms and the ability to absorb energy from other lifeforms.

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 has 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 Scourge and Sky-Byte to steal a nuclear generator while he led the other Decepticons and Predacons to distract the Autobots. There was a contest in the issue as to whether RiD or Beast Wars would be the next Dreamwave comic series, which Beast Wars won. But Dreamwave went bankrupt before the series began.

IDW Publishing

Gigatron appears in the Generation 1 IDW Publishing series that focuses on the Autobot Drift in design completely based on his Robots in Disguise appearance, but as a character separate from G1 Megatron.

Other versions

"Ask Vector Prime" would introduce additional versions of this Megatron/Galvatron, both associating with other tyrants. One version would join forces with the Predacon Cryotek, who reformatted him into the Vehicon Megabolt to enable him to control Fortress Maximus. Similarly, in another universe, the tyrannical Megazarak would use the remains of the fallen Megatron to create an undead Megabolt to serve as his own controller for Fortress Maximus. However, before he could implement this plan, Megabolt and others of Megazarak's forces would be abducted by Unicron.

Unicron trilogy

Megatron
Transformers character
Voiced by	English: David Kaye Japanese: Yanada Kiyoyuki (Micron Legend) Junichi Endou (Superlink) Jouji Nakata (Galaxy Force)
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon
Japanese name	Megatron (Micron Legend) Galvatron (Superlink) Master Megatron→Master Galvatron (Galaxy Force)
Sub-group	Deluxe Beasts, Leaders, Micro Vehicles, Triple Changers
Function	Decepticon Leader
Rank	10
Partner	Clench, Hardtop, Leader-1, Soundwave
Motto	"My power is your doom!" (Armada) "Join me and I will send you to battle. Defy me, and I will send you to oblivion." (Energon)
Alternate modes	Cybertronian tank resembling an M808B Scorpion, Cybertronian jet, Cybertronian racer/jet, robotic T-Rex

The Megatron of the "Unicron Trilogy" (Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron) is the leader of the evil Decepticons in that universe of the Transformers mythology. In all three animated series, he is modified into Galvatron, reverting to his Megatron name at the beginning of each series. He is voiced by David Kaye, who also voiced the Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron.

Animated series

Megatron is a refined, focused general of the Decepticons. He is extremely cruel, ruthless, and cunning as well as incredibly strong and intelligent. Only Optimus Prime can be compared with him in force. Megatron will stop at nothing in order to achieve his ultimate object, that is to say, to rule over the entire Universe, in the end. In Micron Legend (the Japanese version of Transformers: Armada) Megatron did not rename himself Galvatron when he received his power boost. Instead, he renames himself when he is reborn in Superlink, using the name "Galvatron" throughout the series. In the American version, on the other hand, he reverts to using the name Megatron again, changing it to Galvatron once more towards the end of the series.

Ten years later, Primus's plan to imprison Unicron's spark at the heart of the sun ultimately failed, leading the star to collapse, creating a black hole that threatened the existence of Cybertron, and the rest of the universe. Escaping his confinement within the sun, Megatron (now known as Master Megatron in Japan) enhanced his powers by merging his body with the remnants of Unicron's shattered form, increasing his power with the dark god's own. In this new form, Megatron becomes a Triple Changer with the ability to change into a monstrous racing vehicle and a Cybertronian jet plane. His primary weapons consist of two rear-mounted missile launchers and the ability to unleash energy streams from his palms in the shape of lightning bolts. In addition, he can call upon a Cyber Key to activate high-speed thrusters in vehicle mode, as well as a battle claw (named Death Claw in Japan) in robot mode.

Megatron (in his Cybertron form) appears among the characters in Re-Unification, the 2010 TFcon voice actor play prelude comic.

Comics

Dreamwave Productions

The story of Megatron in the Armada comics would be similar to his animated counterpart, but with an expanded backstory. Attacking various Mini-Con villages to draw the Autobots away, Megatron's forces then declared war and invaded Cyber-City, crushing all resistance and announcing himself as its new leader. The Autobots returned but were no match for the Mini-Con-enhanced Decepticons. However, a handful of Mini-Cons broke into Decepticon headquarters, freed most of their comrades, and evacuated the planet. Despite this setback, the few Mini-Cons that Megatron had left were still enough to allow him to conquer Cybertron.

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, Hot Shot, Red Alert and Scavenger attacked Megatron and knocked him into Unicron's mouth, where he was devoured alive.(Transformers: Armada #18 )

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 Snowcat, Shockwave, Mirage and Demolishor, has cornered Optimus Prime and a wounded Hot Shot. Optimus refused to give up despite the odds. The other Autobot reinforcements were over ten minutes away when Wing Saber arrived. Megatron was shocked to learn the power of Optimus Prime when he Powerlink with Wing Saber and turned back all the Decepticons, and then Megatron himself. The Autobots then arrive and Optimus thanked Wing Saber for his help.

3H Enterprises

Plucked from his timeline by the power of Unicron immediately after building the Star Saber, Megatron was thrust together with Grimlock and Optimus Primal to battle Striker and Reptilion. Though his fate was not revealed in the line before its cancellation, "Ask Vector Prime" revealed the continued history of this incarnation of Armada Megatron. Having witnessed the evil of Unicron firsthand, he was more easily convinced to join forces with the Autobots, and did not have to witness Starscream's willingness to sacrifice himself. As a result, Starscream stepped up to fill his shoes after Megatron fell during the battle with Unicron, and the Autobots and Decepticons were more fully united when he reappeared as leader of the Terrorcons. Later, during the events of the Unicron Singularity, Megatron would be reformatted into Beast Megatron rather than Galvatron, and eventually face the similarly reformatted Beast Optimus in battle before being destroyed by Vector Prime's sword Rhisling.

"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 Prowl, Inferno and Landmine discover some hills on Earth that are rich with Energon and call in to Optimus Prime that they should put an Energon tower up. Optimus warns the Autobots that Decepticon activity has been scanned nearby. Megatron attacks with a horde of Divebomb Terrorcon clones. The Autobots attempt to fight back by having Mirage and Inferno Powerlinx while Landmine goes into brute mode, but they are overwhelmed when Insecticon Terrorcon hordes join in the attack. The Autobots retreat and Megatron takes the Energon for himself.

Transformers Cinematic Universe

Megatron
Transformers character
Voiced by	English: Hugo Weaving (Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon and leader class figures) Frank Welker (animated prequel, 2007 video game, 2009 video game and The Last Knight) Brian Tyree Henry (Transformers One) Fred Tatasciore (2011 video game) Tony Gialluca II (Cyber Missions) Japanese: Kotaro Nakamura
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon
Sub-group	Fast Action Battlers, Leaders, Micro Vehicles, Voyagers, Triple Changers, Voyager Class, Fast Action Battlers, Deluxe Vehicles, Transformer Knights
Function	Decepticon Leader, Decepticon Overlord, New Emperor of Destruction
Rank	10
Partner	Quintessa, Nemesis Prime, The Fallen, Starscream, Soundwave, Blackout, Barricade, Onslaught, Long Haul, Mixmaster, Rampage, Scrapper, Dylan Gould, Sentinel Prime, Shockwave, Lockdown, and Stinger
Motto	Peace through Tyranny. Everything is fodder. Lesser creatures are play things in my will. We were brothers once.
Alternate modes	Cybertronian jet/Cybertronian flying tank/Mack Titan Tank Truck/2014 Freightliner Argosy cab over truck (as Galvatron)

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". (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 is 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.

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.

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 his right arm into a steel flail. He can also combine both of his hands to form an more powerful, long-barreled variation of his fusion cannon that functions akin to a sniper rifle. In the second film, after his resurrection, he can transform his right arm into a fusion cannon, coupled with a lobster claw-like blade. In the third film, he uses a handheld version of his fusion cannon, which resembles a human shotgun, specifically a Lupara. In the fourth and fifth film, Megatron (or Galvatron in the fourth film) once again uses a fusion cannon integrated into his right arm, as well as utilizing a handheld sword resembling a Congolese short sword in the fifth film.

According to an early interview with Michael Bay, Megatron stands at 41 feet (12 m) tall, 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.

Films

Megatron appears in Transformers. Megatron was the leader of the Decepticons in a war against the Autobots. Megatron has located the AllSpark on Earth, but he crash lands during the Ice Age and becomes frozen due to the Earth's magnetic field interfering with Megatron's telemetry. Megatron's body was discovered by Captain Archibald Witwicky and is transported to the Hoover Dam guarded by Sector 7, a secret government organization that studies Non-Biological Extraterrestrials (N.B.E.), as well as other alien-related activities.

Megatron was studied, and his technology was reverse-engineered to advance human technology. Megatron's location, as well as the AllSpark's, is located by a group of Decepticons led by Starscream. Frenzy thaws out Megatron, who escapes outside and learns from Starscream that the humans and the Autobots have taken the Allspark. Megatron pursues the Autobots and their allies where he kills Jazz before battling Optimus Prime. After being weakened by human fighter jets, Megatron attempts to seize the AllSpark, but Sam Witwicky shoves it into his exposed spark chamber, killing him. Megatron's body is later dumped into the Laurentian Abyss, along with the other dead Decepticons.

In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, he is revealed to be the Fallen's disciple, the first Decepticon. Megatron is revived by Scalpel and the Constructicons with an AllSpark shard. He then flies to the Nemesis, where he is greeted by Starscream and then reunites with the Fallen, telling of the AllSpark's demise before being told by his master that its knowledge (which has been passed on to Sam) is the key for providing Energon, which the Decepticons need to awaken their protoform armies. Sam, his girlfriend Mikaela Banes, and his dorm mate Leo Spitz are abducted by Grindor. Before the Decepticons can extract Sam's brain, the Autobots rescue them. Megatron chases after Optimus and Sam in a forest, with Starscream and Grindor joining the battle. Megatron kills Prime but then is forced to escape due to the intervention of Autobot reinforcements.

Megatron and Starscream soon arrive in Egypt, and he commands his Decepticons to prevent Sam from getting the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus and retrieve it for the Fallen's machine. He then summons Devastator, who destroys the top part of the Great Pyramid of Giza, revealing the Star Harvester. The Fallen soon arrives and takes the Matrix from a recently revived Optimus. Jetfire sacrifices himself to give Optimus his parts, and then Megatron, and the Fallen battle Optimus. Optimus severely wounds Megatron and kills the Fallen. With his master dead, Starscream advises that they should retreat. Megatron does so but vows that the war isn't over.

Megatron returns in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In the four years since the events of Revenge of the Fallen, Megatron has been hiding out in Africa healing his wounds, and taking care of the hatchlings. In the film, it is revealed that Megatron allied himself with Sentinel Prime in an attempt to revitalize Cybertron. Soundwave and Laserbeak inform him of the Autobot's discovery of the Ark ship on the moon and orders them to kill their human allies. When Sentinel betrays the Autobots, he transport Decepticon forces from the Moon to Earth and invade Chicago. Sentinel overthrows Megatron and becomes the leader of the Decepticons. Megatron is convinced by Carly Spencer that Sentinel will take all of the power and credit for himself. Angered, Megatron turns on Sentinel and severely damages him. When Cybertron is destroyed by the Space Bridge, Megatron proposes a truce to Optimus. Knowing that Megatron would betray him, Optimus refuses and finally kills him.

In Transformers: Age of Extinction, despite being destroyed, Megatron's mind is still alive inside his severed head. Megatron's remains are acquired by KSI, who attempts to forge their own Transformers with "transformium". Their CEO, Joshua Joyce, forces Brains to download information from Megatron's head, which the Decepticon leader silently allows so Joshua will gain the information needed to succeed, which will grant Megatron access to a new body. Megatron then infects and possesses the unit Galvatron. He then pretends to obey orders, only to finally defy his creators at the film's climax and accept his new identity as Galvatron and rebirth.

Megatron returns in Transformers: The Last Knight, having discarded his identity as Galvatron. He is in league with Quintessa, the creator of Cybertronians. When Barricade reports that Cade Yeager has received the talisman from the Cybertronian knight Steelbane, he decides to use the TRF (Transformers Reaction Force) to lead him to Cade. Megatron then goes after Cade, 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 and face off against the Autobots and Optimus. Megatron is defeated by Optimus and is kicked out of Quintessa's chamber.

Animation film

In Transformers One (2024), Megatron reappeared as D-16, voiced by Brian Tyree Henry. As D-16, he is a Energon mining robot with his best friend Orion Pax. D-16 admires the legendary Megatronus Prime. They secretly enter a race organized by Cybertron's leader, Sentinel Prime, but lose. While Sentinel is impressed by their stunt, a jealous guard reassigns them to garbage incineration, where they meet B-127. The three discovered a chip among the junk containing a distress message from Alpha Trion, one of the Primes, revealing coordinates to his location on the surface.

Accidentally taking Elita One with them, they found Alpha Trion alongside the corpses of the other Primes. Alpha Trion reveals that Sentinel betrayed the Primes and has been secretly working for the Quintessons, giving them regular supplies of Energon in exchange for letting him rule Cybertron while removing the miners' transformation cog to keep them subservient. D-16 was outraged that Sentinel lied to him, and receives his cog to transform into a silver tank. D-16 and his team manage to escape from Sentinel's guards, but they are captured by the High Guard, Cybertronians rebelling against Sentinel. D-16 refuses to take orders from anyone else and seized command of them by defeating their leader, Starscream, with a new fusion cannon he transformed. D-16 was growing increasingly aggressive since learning the truth, before Sentinel's guards attack and capture D-16, B-127 and half of the High Guard being taken to Iacon for public execution.

D-16 is tortured by Sentinel, upon learning that he took the cog of his idol, Megatronus Prime, before being branded with his symbol. Being rescued by Orion and shown Sentinel evidence of his betrayal, D-16 refuses to spare Sentinel and attempts to execute him in revenge, but is stopped by Orion, who is then mortally injured after taking the shot for Sentinel instead. D-16 lets his anger get the better of him, and decides to betray Orion by dropping him into Cybertron's core. After killing Sentinel, D-16 announces his new rule over Cybertron after taking Megatronous' cog inside Sentinel, renaming himself "Megatron" and commands the High Guard to destroy Iacon. D-16 fought against Elita-1 and B-127, and before he could kill them, Orion Pax is resurrected as "Optimus Prime" and confronts him. Megatron was enraged that Orion was given the Matrix of Leadership and fights him. In a single combat, Optimus defeats him. He was called out for using his new powers to destroy Iacon instead of what Alpha Trion intended, and as punishment, Optimus exiles him and the High Guard. Megatron swore revenge against Optimus before leaving Iacon with the rest of the High Guard. Despite being defeated, Megatron vows to rule Cybertron and renames the High Guard as the Decepticons and declares war on Optimus.

Animated series

After the events of the Revenge of the Fallen film, Megatron goes into hiding, orchestrating the events from Soundwave getting into NEST headquarters to 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 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 Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday, where it is revealed that reverse-engineering of his body has produced a spacecraft called Ghost-1. The spacecraft is sent into space in 1969, where the humans on board encounter Megatron (here referred to throughout as the "ice man"), who is briefly reanimated in the middle of a battle between the Americans and the 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 Transformers: Movie Prequel comic. In the comics, Megatron is revealed to have co-ruled Cybertron together with Optimus Prime, serving as Lord High Protector. Megatron and Optimus learned of an alien force coming to their planet for the Allspark, just as a mysterious artifact was unearthed. Megatron is gravely injured, but the artifact (containing the Fallen) awakens and heals him, swaying him with promises of power. Megatron soon desires power over the Allspark, and under the Fallen's influence, forms the Decepticons, sending the bulk of his soldiers in a craft, 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 Earth. In his reckless desire to possess it, Megatron pursues it right into Earth's atmosphere and falls into the icy waters, resulting in his being frozen in stasis lock. In the late 19th century, Captain 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 Titan Magazines' Transformers magazine, the UK-originated strips (written by Simon Furman) reveal Megatron's actions between issues #1 and 2 of the IDW comic. Pursuing the Allspark into space following the events of Movie Prequel #1, Megatron is delayed in his pursuit by a tractor beam from Cybertron. Breaking free and attacking the culprits—Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide—Megatron realizes that if he engages them, he would be delayed further. Summoning 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 begins 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: Rodimus Prime. Defeated and left hanging from the edge of a spacebridge, Megatron chose to abandon himself to fate rather than allow Rodimus to kill him, and wound up in the interdimensional city of Axiom Nexus, despite restrictions put in place by the Transtech to prevent versions of Megatron from taking up residence there. He soon formed a new gang of criminals including Maximal thief Packrat, Decepticon Triple-Changer 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

Megatron
Transformers character
Voiced by	English: Corey Burton Japanese: Norio Wakamoto
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon
Sub-group	Activators, Deluxe Vehicles, Leaders, Voyagers
Function	Decepticon Tyrant, Ultimate Cybertronian Intergalactic Tyrant, Emperor of Destruction
Rank	10 (Takara)
Partner	Starscream, Shockwave, Soundwave, Blitzwing, Lugnut, Blackarachnia, Mixmaster, Scrapper and 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 Optimus Prime's classic "Autobots, transform and roll out!" line. A marked contrast between this and other series is that Megatron and Optimus Prime's antagonism is not personal: before their first battle, they had never met, and they continue to clash on the basis that they are on opposite sides rather than on any particular personal hatred. Megatron does not even bother to remember Optimus's name until the series finale. Unlike several other series, Megatron does not upgrade into Galvatron (though a character named 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 Trypticon stronghold in Kaon city. If Cyclonus is to be believed, in the far future, Megatron will become Galvatron, under unknown circumstances, and kill Oil Slick.

Transtech

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.

Megatron appeared in Invasion Prologue by Fun Publications.

"Shattered Glass"

Megatron
Transformers character
In-universe information
Affiliation	Decepticon
Sub-group	Club Exclusives, Voyagers
Function	Decepticon Leader
Rank	10
Partner	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. 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.

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.

In Reunification, Megatron greets a Quintesson and the dimensional travelers Breakaway, Topspin Skyfall and Landquake after their escape from the Autobot combiner Computron. Megatron introduces the travelers to Heatwave but then is shot by the traitor Cyclonus, who is working for 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 Darksyde, was battling the Axalon when it was pulled through an unexpected temporal and dimensional rift and crash-landed on prehistoric Earth. He and his crew disembarked to find Depth Charge outside. Megatron appears to be based on the deluxe-sized Beast Wars 10th-anniversary Megatron toy with Optimus Primal's color scheme.

Transformers: Prime

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 animated robot superhero TV series Transformers: Prime. Megatron started out as a nameless worker, numbered D-16, who took the name Megatronus (after a "mythical" character in Cybertronian history) during his days in the Gladiator ring. His name was shortened to simply Megatron by the chanting crowds at one match, and he took it as his own unique name. He believes that Earth-style forms are beneath him, preferring to hold onto his frequently changed Cybertronian forms. After infusing Dark Energon in his system, Megatron's eyes flicker between red and purple. The Generations Megatron toy was picked at the 6th-best toy of 2010 by Topless Robot.

Animated series

Megatron was a regular character in the Transformers: Prime animated series, the main antagonist along with Unicron, and one of the main characters in War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. He is the leader of the Decepticons during the Great War on Cybertron. During the Golden Age on Cybertron, Megatron named himself Megatronus, named after one of the Thirteen, Megatronus Prime. Megatronus was a gladiator in the pits of Kaon, who grew ambitious and saw corruption within the caste system and sought to put an end to it, with his own rule. Megatron began talking with his old friend, 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 Terrorcons but he himself was gravely wounded, leaving Starscream in charge of the Decepticon army until he was reawakened by Bumblebee who he managed to possess for a brief time where he retook command. Megatron then, however, found himself teaming up with Team Prime, at that time, to counter the threat of Unicron. After Unicron's defeat, Megatron found himself both on a mission to retrieve the Iacon relic weapons as well as keep his troops in line from various infighting among the ranks which resulted in a few casualties and several betrayals. Eventually fighting for the restoration of Cybertron and cyberforming of Earth, which was foiled by Optimus, but Megatron had his revenge and used the Nemesis to destroy the Autobot base before setting up the new fortress of Darkmount. Shortly after the destruction of the base Megatron sent massive search parties to find the surviving Autobots and was even given a 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 Alex Irvine. Megatron also appears in the novel Transformers: Exodus. It shows that he got his name originated from the original name of the Fallen, Megatronus. He reappears in the sequels Transformers: Exiles and Transformers: Retribution. In the novels, he is portrayed as a miner originally known only by the designation D-16 who fought alongside Sentinel Prime and others in resisting the 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 Matrix of Leadership. Enraged by this ruling, Megatron and his Decepticons declared war against Optimus and his Autobot adherents. The conflict devastated much of Cybertron, and in his quest for an advantage, Megatron learned of the existence of Dark Energon. Utilizing this new power, the Decepticons began to gain ground, and Megatron sought a means of infecting all of Cybertron with the substance to ensure an unending supply. In the process, he was forced to face Sentinel Prime, whom his forces had previously held prisoner, and Starscream, who made a bid to take over the Decepticons. After mortally wounding Sentinel and humbling Starscream into continued subservience, Megatron succeeded in defeating Omega Supreme as well as infecting Cybertron with Dark Energon. The Autobots managed to remove the taint, but Optimus Prime and many of his forces departed Cybertron in the Ark to give the planet time to heal, prompting Megatron to give chase in his 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

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 with a Scottish accent, now being an ally with the Autobots, as well as G.H.O.S.T. operative, to protect the people of Earth, human and Cybertronian alike.

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. Eventually, to honor the 40th Anniversary of the Transformers, with the second animated feature film, since 1986's Transformers: The Movie, actor Brian Tyree Henry landed the role of D-16 later turned into Megatron in the 2024's Transformers One.

The second most consistent voice actor may be David Kaye, who originally voiced the Beast Wars Predacon leader and an alternate version of the Decepticon leader in the Unicron Trilogy.

A number of other voice actors have voiced versions of Megatron such as Garry Chalk, Daniel Riordan, Corey Burton, Fred Tatasciore, Marc Thompson, and Rory McCann, in Beast Wars as the original Megatron, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Transformers Animated, Transformers: Cyberverse, 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. 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.

Beast Era Megatron appears in the 1999 Game Boy Color video game 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.

Movie Megatron appears in the first film's video game adaptation, Transformers: The Game. In the Autobot Campaign, Megatron appears at the last cut scene on level three being released from Hoover Dam in the Autobot campaign. He later appears as the final boss and is killed when Optimus Prime shoves the Allspark into his chest. In the Decepticon Campaign, Megatron is freed by Starscream and 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.

Movie Megatron is one of the Decepticons featured in Transformers: The Ride at 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.

Megatron appears as the main antagonist in the 2015 videogame Transformers: Devastation. Set during the events of the 1984 series, Megatron seeks to control of the Proudstar so he will command the Insecticons to terraform the Earth into a new Cybertron. Unlike the original series where he transforms into a Walther P38 pistol, he instead turns into a M1 Abrams tank.

Toys

The original Megatron toy in gun mode

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". 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.

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 transforms 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.

Cultural legacy

• In the cheating scandal of Charles Ingram on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Megatron appears as one of the wrong answers (other two being Gigabit and Nanomole) to the million pound question being "A number one followed by one hundred is known by what name?". Ingram goes for the right answer of Googol after receiving several coughs from his accomplice Tecwen Whittock.
• Former American football player Calvin Johnson is nicknamed "Megatron".
• Prime Megatron appears as one of the Hub Carolers in a Christmas-themed commercial for The Hub.
• In 2009, a Canadian man was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police, during which he wielded only an "'80s-style" Megatron toy.
• At BotCon 2010, Hasbro named Megatron as one of the first five robot inductees in the Transformers Hall of Fame.
• Wizard magazine rated Megatron the 68th-greatest villain of all time.
• Beast Era Megatron was named the best upgrade in Beast Wars history by Topless Robot. By contrast, that outlet named Transmetal Megatron the fourth-strangest Transformers Beast Wars figure.
• In 2019, American rapper Nicki Minaj released a song entitled "Megatron" in reference to her "bad guy" persona.
• In the song "The Outside" by the American band Twenty One Pilots, Megatron is referenced.

External links

• Megatron on IMDb
• The MC-12 Gun Robo, Megatron's pre-Transformers incarnation as a Microman figure Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Original Patent for the MC-12 Gun Robo toy by Takashi Matsuda
• Brief Description of the G1 Megatron toy