Megatron (TFA)


 * Megatron is a Decepticon in the Transformers Animated continuity family.



If you were to ask Megatron to describe himself in one word, he'd probably go with "heroic". He sees himself as a freedom fighter, leading the Decepticons out of the days of Autobot tyranny. The fact he's hoping to replace that with Decepticon tyranny isn't really a concern. A fanatic at heart, he revels in every Autobot who suffers at Decepticon hands and doesn't register humans as anything more than "collateral damage."

Megatron demands loyalty from the Decepticons, loyalty he gains by his awe-inspiring power. With the combined threat of a sharp mind, his fusion cannon, a pair of deadly swords and simple brute strength, there aren't many who'd dare cross him. Still, he has no problem manhandling troops as a gentle reminder.

The loss of his body and former power was only a minor setback for him, as Megatron proved a master manipulator. He effortlessly duped Isaac Sumdac into helping him--and once Megatron was restored to full power, he turned the tables on his old captor.

"Laugh now, child. I will show you true fear!"

- Megatron as he listens in on Sari's ghost stories

Transformers Animated cartoon

 * Voice actor: Corey Burton (English), Jan Spitzer (German)



Aboard his massive flagship, Megatron went after the Ark after detecting the AllSpark. When Starscream volunteered to attack, Megs saw right through him, pointing out "I didn't spend the last four million solar cycles combing the galaxy just so you can get your greasy wings on the AllSpark." He even crumpled a part of said wings to make his point. Later, Starscream approached the Decepticon leader again, wishing him "luck", to which Megatron replied, "I do not believe in luck." Starscream got his own back by planting a bomb on Megatron, which blew just as his fusion cannon was about to breach the Ark's hull. The Autobot crew managed to steer the now-failing ship through an asteroid field and into a nearby space bridge.

With the Ark now plummeting through the Earth's atmosphere, a wounded Megatron still managed to thrash the crew soundly and nearly claimed the AllSpark. Quick thinking on the part of Optimus Prime sent the Decepticon leader out the cargo hatch and into free fall. Megatron fell from the sky and crashed in Paw Paw, Michigan, where his head (and later, a hand) was found by a young Isaac Sumdac.

Over the next fifty years, Sumdac built a robotics empire by reverse-engineering Megatron's components. Fifty years after his fall to Earth, Megatron's inert head remained secretly in Sumdac's private lab, the source of the human's engineering genius and also a secret shame. Megatron's severed hand was there as well, used by Sumdac as a piece of furniture.



After the Autobots re-awoke, Sari used her AllSpark key to sneak into her father's lab. He stopped her from seeing anything it contained, but the AllSpark energy from the key was absorbed by Megatron's head, reawakening his spark and bringing him back online. Confused and disoriented, he automatically brought up video footage of Starscream and the Autobots. Furious both at Starscream's betrayal and the fact he didn't have the hands to reach out and take the AllSpark which was finally within his grasp, he released a burst of energy which activated a small drone Dr. Sumdac had been working on. Megatron thus realized he could control the extremely primitive (by his standards) technology around him. Learning Sari was going to spend the night at the Autobot base, he secreted his drone into her backpack.

Once she arrived, Megatron sent the drone to look for the AllSpark, but his search was fruitless. He decided to try a simpler method: kill the Autobots and extract the data from their lifeless corpses. Interfacing with the factory's assembly line, he attacked. As the Autobots fought back, he decided to cut out the middleman and knocked a hole in a fuel tank. Prowl arrived, realized the factory was working via motion sensors, and managed to get close to the control panel. To counter him, Megatron simply took over the factory arms and snatched up Prowl. However, he failed to stop Bumblebee, due to the primitive tools he was forced to use. With his plans foiled, Megatron was out of patience, refusing to work through these worthless machines. He needed a body. Perhaps it was time to reveal something more advanced to Sumdac...

Megatron soon revealed to Isaac that he still functioned and, when Isaac guessed he was a friend of the Autobots, Megatron played along. He persuaded Isaac to keep his existence secret until Isaac had built him a new body, as then the Autobots would be more forgiving of how Isaac had reverse-engineered their friend. He then helped construct the Dinobots, deliberately programming them to go on a rampage and building fire-breath into them as a prototype for a planned army of drones. When they were defeated, Megatron despaired he might never gain a new body, but upon discovering they'd been turned into sentient Transformers, he quickly convinced them that cars, trucks and "car robots" were evil beings that ate dinosaurs.

During their second rampage, Isaac realized Megatron had deliberately built weapons into the Dinobots. The tyrant feigned shame, saying he'd added experimental features out of a desire to have a body again. Isaac promised not to tell the Autobots and that Megatron would have a body again one day...

Soon, Dr. Sumdac began attempting to build him some new servos, but these proved inadequate. Megatron revealed that his body would need Destronium to work, but Isaac responded there was only a small amount available and that it would have to be delivered across town in less then 10 minutes or it would become unstable. Taking notice of an experimental turbo suit Sumdac's labs were developing (with flaws that possibly precluded Isaac considering it as a solution), Megatron manipulated computer systems so the suit was delivered to small-time hood Nino Sexton. Once Sexton began using the suit to commit crimes too quickly to be stopped, Megatron contacted him with an offer of much money out of Dr. Sumdac's private account if Sexton used the suit to steal and deliver the Destronium. Between Autobot interference and the suit aging him prematurely, Sexton failed. Worse, the Destronium was at critical levels, risking an explosion that would destroy Detroit. The Autobots barely managed to send the Destronium sample into the upper atmosphere before it exploded, and they were left to wonder why a human had tried to steal it in the first place.

After Megatron learned of the power of Sari's key and the careless nature in which she used it, he attempted to trick her into assisting him. He designed Soundwave, a musical toy that was secretly meant to grow more powerful every time Sari used her key upon it, until eventually it would be a suitable robotic body for Megatron himself. When the Key instead brought Soundwave into independent life, Megatron changed his plan and, with convincing logic, recruited Soundwave as a Decepticon warrior.

When Blitzwing and Lugnut arrived on Earth, Megatron, remembering Starscream's betrayal, was hesitant to act. After witnessing a battle between his soldiers and the Autobots, Megatron concluded that Blitzwing was too unstable while Lugnut was genuinely loyal. He contacted Lugnut only, instructing him to locate the AllSpark, which would help restore him. Later, he also informed Lugnut about Sari's key. Unfortunately, Lugnut and Blitzwing were defeated and damaged by the Autobots, severing Lugnut's link with Megatron—and Megatron's only link to the outside world.



Although Megatron himself was not mentally involved, his headless body was infected with space barnacles, causing the barnacles to mutate into a semi-sentient form. After absorbing two mining bots and possibly killing a familar-looking miner, it was defeated by Bumblebee and Prowl. Later, it was discovered (minus space barnacles) by Isaac Sumdac, and most likely brought back to his laboratory. Sumdac was heard to remark that Megatron would be very pleased...

Sumdac attempted to rebuild Megatron, but progress was slowed by a power failure. Frustrated, Megatron again contacted Lugnut and ordered him to bring him the Key. This communication triggered Starscream's curiosity, and the treacherous jet located Megatron. Starscream didn't have time to slay Megatron before he was distracted by the Autobots--and Megatron used that distraction to take Starscream by surprise and eject him from the lab. When Blitzwing and Lugnut arrived with the Key, Megatron revealed his true identity to his human "friend". Sumdac, seized by the mechanical hand he had so long used as a chair, could only watch and wail in horror as the Decepticon tyrant used the power of the AllSpark to reconstruct himself, more powerful than ever. Finally restored, he burst through the roof of Sumdac Tower, to the horror of the Autobots and Starscreamready to unleash his vengeance on all of them.

Megatron's revenge was quick and brutal. Trashing the Autobots in short order, he called his Decepticons to him. As Starscream bootlicked, Megatron powered up his fusion cannon to destroy the one responsible for his defeatthen used the key to send a painful power surge through Starscream, both punishing the traitor and reinforcing his authority over Blitzwing and Lugnut. He commanded them to "transform and rise up," and the three Decepticons took to the sky, using the key to track the AllSpark.

Finding it aboard the Autobots' ship, the Decepticons caused it to crash on Dinobot Island, where Megatron proceeded to beat the slag out of Optimus Prime. Getting into the Ark, Megatron removed the AllSpark from its casing and placed it in his chest, preparing to devastate Earth before conquering Cybertron. However, Professor Sumdac used his knowledge of Megatron's circuitry to disrupt his equilibrium sensors, causing Megatron to drop the key. Optimus Prime used the key to force a surge of power through the AllSpark within Megatron, causing it to explode and disperse its energy.

However, it was not a total loss for Megatron; despite the damage, he escaped and managed to abduct Sumdac. Once again, their fates were intertwined, only this time Sumdac was Megatron's prisoner.

Establishing a base deep underground, Megatron quickly adjusted his plans after the loss of the AllSpark. During his battle aboard the Autobot ship, he had managed to download a partial space bridge schematic from their computers. He planned to use the space bridge to teleport himself, Lugnut, and Blitzwing to Cybertron, then conquer the planet from within. To facilitate this plan, Megatron used the captive Professor Sumdac to reverse-engineer the space bridge and fill in the "gaps" within the schematics. However, when a service bot suddenly malfunctioned, it was revealed that a shard of the AllSpark was imbedded within it. This gave Megatron hope that the AllSpark was not destroyed, but dispersed throughout the city of Detroit...

Finding out about the Allspark fragments, however, didn't seem to cause him to make any changes in his plans. Megatron received word from a spy that the Decepticons had begun making random assaults on the Autobots. He realized that they needed to make a concentrated effort in order to secure his victory. After Lugnut and Blitzwing stole what they needed to send the message from the Elite Guard, Megatron was interrupted by a revived Starscream. After quickly beating him to a pulp, he relayed his commands to the space faring cons, only to be repeatedly attacked by a seemingly invincible Starscream. The renegade even attempted to draw Megatron out with an AllSpark fragment. Megatron emerged victorious every time, and was informed by his spy that all was going as planned, with his forces now drawing the Autobots away from Cybertron, so that when he can complete his space bridge he can attack a weakened Cybertron from within.

Transformers Animated

 * Optimus Prime vs. Megatron: The Battle Begins (Deluxe class figure multi-pack, 2008)


 * Transforms into a sleek spacecraft with VTOL turbofans (uhh...). Megatron's signature fusion cannon forms the central chassis and cockpit section of the spacecraft; his sword sections mount on the sides of the cannon for storage.  The figure also features a silver color scheme and battle damage paint applications.


 * CYBERTRON Mode Megatron (Voyager, 2008)


 * A larger, bulkier, more detailed, and more gimmick-laden version of the Deluxe toy above. Note that while both modes of both toys look very similar, they have different transformation mechanisms.  Where the deluxe version is straight silver, this version has a pearl-gray paint scheme.


 * Megatron (Leader, 2008)
 * Megatron's "Earth" robot mode bears a significant resemblance to Generation 1 Super Megatron from the Battlestars storyline, and thus, in turn, to his original G1 body. His alt-mode is a dual-rotored helicopter design, somewhat like an Osprey helicopter or the Cobra Mamba; its rotors form double-bladed swords. The toy has a voice chip with three quotes:  "Crush the Autobots!", "Where is the AllSpark?", and evil laughter.  It is compatible with the Headmaster toy.

Trivia

 * Megatron's pre-Earth head has a rather pointed resemblance to the somewhat early head of 2007 movie's Megatron, which went unused in the actual movie but appeared on loads of promotional materials and merchandise.


 * Also in common with Movie Megatron, Animated Megatron lay inert for many years while his technology was reverse-engineered by humans.


 * Yes, his outer-space altmode, shown for all of 20 seconds, is getting two toy molds devoted to it.


 * In this series, Megatron has his own catchphrase: "Decepticons, transform and rise up!", contrasting Optimus Prime's classic "Autobots, transform and roll out!" line.