Megatron

Megatron is a character from the Transformers franchise, created by toy companies Hasbro and Takara. He is the primary antagonist and leader of the "evil" faction (primarily the Decepticons) in most of the various Transformers universes.

Design
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 saw his reasoning, and approved the name.

Abilities
Originally, Megatron was able to transform into a Walther P38, delivering more focused energy blasts. He can shrink and reduce his mass as he transforms, assuming sizes that comfortably allow either another Transformer or even a human being to wield him. In one instance (the episode S.O.S. Dinobots ), he retained his full size and connected to jet-mode Starscream's underside.

His imposing robot form is dominated by his primary weapon - his arm-mounted fusion cannon, capable of leveling a city block in one blast. He can also sub-dimensionally link the weapon to a black hole, generating even more powerful antimatter blasts. However, this ability is almost never used, as it leaves him extremely weak and vulnerable.

He has a secondary weapon barrel mounted on his back, and can retract and replace his right hand with an energy flail. He can fire electrical blasts from his hands, laser blasts from his eyes on at least one occasion (The Autobot Run) and can reprogram computers with a port in his head. He has proven to be impervious to mind control in some instances. He also wields an energon morning star on rare occasions.(More Than Meets The Eye, Part 2)

According to his original tech spec, Megatron has no known weaknesses. This does not, however, spare him from defeat at the hands of his enemies.

Marvel Comics
Megatron's beginnings are much simpler in the world of Marvel Comics — here, rising from his beginnings as a gladiator for the city-state of Tarn, Megatron and the Decepticons were the ones who developed transformation first, using it to begin the war against the Autobots, who fought back by mimicking the technology. 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 Prime.

Although Megatron became absent from U.S. comics at this point, he continued to appear in the U.K. comics, which would eventually tie in to the U.S. storyline. Prior to Megatron's apparent death, there had been a story in Marvel UK #99 which after being attacked by the Predacons had seen both him and Prime transported to Cybertron. The disembodied local Decepticon leader, Lord Straxus, attempted to possess Megatron's body as his own had been mostly destroyed in a battle with Blaster. The attempt failed as Prime and Ultra Magnus defeated Megatron as the two minds warred for dominance. With the now insane Megatron threatening to destroy Polyhex with his antimatter powers, Ratbat teleported him back to Earth with amnesia in time for his U.S. "death" in issue #25.

However, unbeknown to all, Straxus made another attempt with a specially crafted clone of Megatron created from a regular trooper, which was transported to Earth soon after the real Megatron vanished. The clone believed itself to be the real thing and was salvaged by Shockwave, who brainwashed the clone and unleashed it on Galvatron, a recreated future version of Megatron who had traveled back in time. However, the clone and Galvatron teamed up to battle Autobots and Decepticons from both present and future in the apocalyptic "Time Wars". Subsequently, the clone returned to Cybertron, where it was confronted with the real Megatron — the Space bridge explosion had deposited him in the Dead End region of Cybertron. The clone subsequently destroyed itself to prevent Straxus, buried inside its mind, from taking over.

At this point, Megatron appeared once again in the U.S. comic. He captured Ratchet and forced him to recreate Starscream as a Pretender, reprogrammed to serve Megatron without question. Ratchet did so, but also restored Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee as Pretenders in the same manner, as well as arranging for Starscream's old personality to resurface, thwarting Megatron's scheme. When Megatron then attempted to flee through a trans-time dimensional portal, Ratchet tackled him as his base then exploded around them. Although both were at first presumed dead, an effort by Nightbeat to locate Ratchet found the two alive but fused together. They were separated, sedated, and placed in storage. Soon after, The Ark was stolen by Shockwave and Starscream (as well as a stowaway Galvatron from a parallel universe). Grimlock, unaware of Megatron's presence in storage, reactivated the Ark's store of Transformers, including Megatron. The latter promptly reunited with Galvatron. During their battle on board with Shockwave, the Ark crashed on Earth and supposedly killed all on board.

In the Generation 2 comic book series, Megatron returned in the comics with an M1 Abrams tank mode despite his seeming demise.

In the course of its run, the UK comics produced several stories which do not fit into the continuity of the G1/G2 storyline, instead branching off in their own direction. For example, after the first disappearance of Ratchet and Megatron, a disparate continuity of storylines based around the "Earthforce" — a team of Autobots based on Earth — began, which saw Megatron and Shockwave establishing a joint leadership of the Decepticons only to have command usurped by Starscream and Soundwave.

Also, after the end of the Generation 1 comics, the final UK annual printed a text story entitled "Another Time and Place", which followed up on the events of the Ark crash and saw Bludgeon and his followers locate Megatron's body and revive it with Nucleon (reflecting the release of Megatron as an Action Master figure in 1990). The process only barely succeeded — Megatron was deranged and animalistic, and was ultimately defeated by Optimus Prime and Grimlock. This conflicts with the Generation 2 comic but does not conflict with the rewritten UK Generation 2 comic by Fleetway, in which Megatron simply attributes his new body to human scientists, with no further explanation to contradict the events of "Another Time and Place". This tale, somewhat concurrent with the Earthforce tales, has Optimus Prime arriving on Earth in response to a distress call from Grimlock. Bludgeon has attacked Earth in order to draw Prime into the open. The Decepticons, low on energon, are defeated. Megatron then arrives and battles Prime. He is attacked by both Autobots and Decepticons, holding them off until Starscream arrives to bail him out. After this point it switches to reprints of the U.S. material. The most notable difference between the two is that Bludgeon is not killed by Megatron, and Bludgeon and Prime actually meet (although Bludgeon would later be killed by Megatron in the U.S. reprints).

Animated series
Megatron is a Decepticon, one of the lineal descendants of the military hardware robots created by the Quintessons on their factory world of Cybertron. Following a war between the Decepticons and the other robot race, the Autobots, the Decepticons were defeated by the Autobots' invention of transformation. The Autobot victory began the Golden Age of Cybertron, but the Decepticons too eventually developed transformation, leading to the creation of Megatron. Gathering a small number of troops together, Megatron killed the Autobot leader. However, the ancient Autobot, Alpha Trion reconstructed young robot Orion Pax into Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots as the war erupted again ("War Dawn"). The war drained Cybertron of most of its energy, necessitating that both factions seek out new worlds and new sources of power. Megatron and his forces attacked and boarded the Autobots' craft (named the Ark in Beast Wars, paralleling Marvel Comics' Ark.), causing it to crash on prehistoric Earth, entombing all on the ship in emergency stasis as it crashed into a dormant volcano. Upon awakening, Megatron and his Decepticons discovered that Earth was a world teeming with organic life and vast energy resources, more than enough to re-power Cybertron and allow the Decepticons to conquer it and other worlds. Over the following years, Megatron's schemes to obtain Earth's energies continued. Megatron even made a number of temporary alliances with the Autobots, although most of these alliances ended in double crosses.

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

Although this would be the end of Megatron in the U.S. animated series, he would make several more appearances in the animated segments of various Transformers toy commercials, where it was depicted that he became an Action Master, and eventually a CGI sequence of him in his first Generation 2 form and Combat Hero forms.

The Generation One 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. However, he is distinct from the Megatron of Transformers: Animated, despite the Animated version of the character being heavily based on the original.

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.

Japanese manga
In the Japanese exclusive manga stories accompanying Transformers: The Headmasters Megatron would make a number of appearances. On one occasion Galvatron used a massive army of Megatron clones to overwhelm the Autobots, only being defeated when Rodimus Prime destroyed Galvatron's control over them. Rodimus and Galvatron would also even team up to battle Guiltar, a hybrid of both Optimus Prime and Megatron.

With his transformation into Galvatron, Megatron departed from the Japanese G1 continuity (which took a different direction after the end of series 3, opting to replace the events of The Rebirth with those of Headmasters), until five years later, in the manga-exclusive storyline, Battlestars: The Return of Convoy, which, although not animated itself (told instead through one chapter of manga and color magazine spreads), continues the tale of the cartoon Universe.

In the previous Japanese-exclusive animated series, Transformers: The Headmasters, Galvatron had been apparently destroyed when he was buried on an iceberg. In the "Return of Convoy" storyline, a new evil force named Dark Nova recovers Galvatron's body, and restores him to life as Super Megatron (who transformed into a futuristic jet), pitting him against Star Convoy (the reborn Optimus Prime) and his Autobots.

Super Megatron subsequently gets an upgrade to Ultra Megatron, and for the final battle, merges with Dark Nova himself, becoming Star Giant. In the Japanese Generation 2 manga, he was shown to have survived and, in a body resembling his "Hero" toy, once again opposed Optimus Prime.

Beast Wars
The Predacon leader known as Megatron from the Beast Wars and Beast Machines animated series is a separate character from the original Generation 1 Megatron. However, this was not the original intent for the character, as the original pack-in mini-comic and biographies released with the earliest Beast Wars toys indicate that the character was supposed to be the original Megatron, in a new body. With the advent of the animated series, however, the fiction of Beast Wars was re-imagined and eventually applied to the toy line, establishing this Megatron as an independent character. But that is not to say that the original Megatron did not play a role in his namesake's rise to power.

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

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

Pursued by a crew of Maximals, both ships crashed on the planet, with only Megatron truly aware of when and where they were. However, Megatron, found himself unwilling to carry out the instructions of his ancestor, instead attempting to amass power through the huge reserves of energon and portions of mysterious alien technology that littered the planet. Systematic defeat by the Maximals eventually left all his options exhausted, and he proceeded to strike at Optimus Prime, only to be once again thwarted by his enemies.

This would not be the last time Generation 1 Megatron's influence would be felt. Observing how Primal boosted his own strength and form by holding the spark of Optimus Prime within his body, Beast Wars Megatron made the same move, purloining the spark of his ancestor and taking it into his own body, transforming as a result into a monstrous dragon.

When he was finally defeated by the Maximals, the original Megatron's spark was returned to his body (in a deleted scene from the television series, that is available on the season 3 DVD 2 in the "Scene Selection" menu), and history carried on as before.

Although the producers attempted to get Frank Welker to reprise his role as Megatron for his recording on the Golden Disk, he was unavailable. As a result, during his cameo appearance in Beast Wars, Generation 1 Megatron was voiced by series regular Gary Chalk, who also provided the voice of the heroic Maximal leader Optimus Primal.

Convention comics
Megatron would also appear in several BotCon comic sagas, written principally by Simon Furman. His story Reaching the Omega Point indicates that the Autobot-Decepticon alliance established in the conclusion of the Generation 2 comics didn't last and that Megatron eventually became Galvatron. In a prelude story The last days of Optimus Prime, Prime, feeling that there is no longer a place for him within the new Cybertron, journeys to J'nwan — a quasi-mystical realm — and is greeted peacefully by Megatron. In the Beast Wars future in which the story takes place, the greatest Autobots and Decepticons have passed on to J'nwan, where they can finally live in peace.

Megatron also featured prominently in Alignment, Simon Furman's take on what happened after the Generation 2 comic. In this story Megatron was defeated for command of the Decepticons by Galvatron II (the U.S. comics version) and left for dead. Soundwave had revived his master. Megatron took a fleet of scavenged Warworlds to face the Liege Maximo. He was destroyed by Maximo's arm cannon; he unleashed an energon-fueled blast which destroyed the Maximo. This sets up the Pax Cybertronia and the evolution of the Autobots and Decepticons into Maximals and Predacons. Whether this story is reconcilable with "Reaching the Omega Point", or whether it is even part of the Transformers canon is debatable.

Voice actor plays
Megatron appeared in the 2006 TransformersCon voice actor play. Voices in the play were performed by a variety of volunteers and the actual voice actors attending the convention. The play itself should be considered unofficial, but was notable because it featured several original voice actors reprising their Transformers roles. In this voice actor play various Transformers from different timelines and realities were swept up in a repeat wave and transported along with Unicron to Earth. The Transformers included Generation 1 Tracks, Ariel, Cosmos and Megatron, Beast Wars Tarantulas, Robots in Disguise Sky-Byte and Beast Machines Tankor.

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

Approximately 7.4 million years ago, Megatron and Optimus Prime disappeared in an early test of the new unstable Spacebridge matter-transport system. Spending an undisclosed time on the planet Quintessa, Megatron returned with an overwhelming army of lifeless Seeker clones, quickly subjugating Cybertron. However, this story was never finished due to the closure of Dreamwave.

Four million years ago, when Autobots aboard the Ark saved Cybertron from an asteroid, Decepticons invaded. The craft flew through one of the Spacebridge portals, and was transported to prehistoric Earth, where it crashed, entombing the occupants in stasis for four million years. The Autobots and Decepticons were reactivated in 1984. In 1999, an Autobot/human military alliance succeeded in capturing and deactivating the Decepticons. However, the Ark II, the spaceship carrying them back to Cybertron, exploded, and the Transformers then lay in stasis-lock on Earth for three years. Adam Rook, a rogue military scientist, salvaged many of them and reprogrammed them as mass killing machines, which he then attempted to sell on the black market. Megatron was first to break free of Rook's control. He captured Rook and unleashed a technorganic virus designed to transform all of Earth into a new Cybertron. Megatron unleashed Devastator on San Francisco in a mass slaughter but was defeated by Autobots.

While it was alluded that Megatron had a grand goal in mind that also included the subjugation of the Quintessons, the remainder of the story has yet to be told due to the closure of Dreamwave. However, it has been stated by representatives of IDW Publishing, the current holders of the Transformer comic license, that once Dreamwave has exited bankruptcy court, they intend to finish the story.

The Dreamwave version of Megatron would also appear in a trilogy of iBooks by David Cian set in the main Dreamwave G1 universe: Hardwired, Annihilation and Fusion. In the series, Megatron and Prime were abducted by the alien Keepers and forced to fight in gladiatorial battles. They began working together to return to Earth, where Megatron would predictably attempt to seize their power for himself by uniting with the Autobots to stop the Keepers in return for a favor — which turned out to be asking Optimus to make him the next Prime. While this trilogy is set in the same universe as the Dreamwave stories, whether they fit into the continuity is unclear.

Megatron would also appear in Dreamwave's Transformers/G.I. Joe limited series. Unlike many of the other Transformers (who were given World War II vehicle alternate modes) Megatron would keep his basic Walther P-38 handgun transformation, which was indeed a WWII German handgun. Forming an alliance with Cobra Commander due to their similar natures, Megatron nonetheless had a bitter personal rivalry with the tyrannical Cobra leader, resulting in Megatron killing several of his troops and Cobra Commander having to use the Matrix to keep him in line. Later, Megatron refused to help the Commander as Bruticus tried to crush him, and allowed the Baroness to use him in gun mode to shoot the helpless Cobra Leader. After battling Optimus Prime, he was deactivated when Snake Eyes opened the Matrix, deactivating all the Transformers.

Devil's Due Publishing
In the G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers comics printed by Devil's Due Publishing, Megatron was again among the Decepticons who crashed on in the Ark on Earth, but this time the Ark was discovered by the terrorist group Cobra, who reformatted the Autobots and Decepticons into weapons and vehicles for themselves called Battle Android Troopers controlled by the Televipers.

Megatron was locked in gun mode, and kept by Cobra Commander. When Optimus Prime broke free of the controls, Megatron convinced his keeper to free him to fight Optimus. Wounded by the Autobots and a malfunctioning orbiting weapons system, Megatron was eventually defeated and believed destroyed. In reality much of his body remained and the U.S. government studied his workings to advance their own projects in military super computers.

In the third volume of the series, it was revealed that the 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 is set in the Marvel Comics continuity, but in a timeline where the events of Generation 2 did not occur. The story occurs fifteen years after Megatron was presumed dead in the crash of the Ark. Megatron survived, and eventually upgraded his body (based on his Classics toy) and gathered many other Decepticons to him. Soundwave helped him in recovering the body of Astrotrain, who was then used to help locate the placement of other fallen Decepticons around the globe. Those who joined Megatron included Laserbeak, Ramjet, Ravage, Skywarp, Soundwave, Starscream and the Constructicons. Megatron also reactivated Thrust, Dirge and Thundercracker, but the three left him to join up with Bludgeon's troops - mostly because they couldn't work with Starscream, who had killed them once. Megatron's based his command from the wreck of the Ark in the Yukon, where he keeps the fallen body of Ratchet as a trophy and the severed, but living, head of Shockwave as an advisor.

In Crossing Over, when Skyfall and Landquake were presumed killed in the midst of a bloody Mini-Con civil war and attack by Unicron (set concurrently with the events of Transformers: Cybertron), they were, in actuality, transported across universes, from the world of the Unicron Trilogy into the Marvel Comics timeline. Unclear what had happened, they then found themselves staring down the barrel of Megatron's cannon. The two were saved when a group of Robot Hunters in battle suits attacked Megatron. Megatron slaughtered them, only to be confronted by a team of Autobots led by Optimus Prime. Skyfall went with the Autobots, while Landquake was taken by Megatron. Back at the Ark Landquake was interrogated and swore loyalty to Megatron. Scrapper detected an unusual energon reading similar to that of Landquake and the Decepticons went to investigate, only to be confronted by the Autobots again.

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

Megatron appears in At Fight's End talking to Ratchet.

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

In the IDW continuity, Megatron retains his role as supreme commander of the Decepticon army, although in this continuity, they are no longer based on Cybertron (which was rendered uninhabitable by Thunderwing) and are fighting to conquer multiple worlds simultaneously. In fact, he barely seems to care about Cybertron and was willing to order its total destruction to stop the reanimated Thunderwing. Having now ingested Ore-13, Megatron is able to easily manage mass-displacement and thus turn into an Earth handgun (in Escalation #2), and the newfound power appears to have affected his actions- he personally went on the Brasnya mission and is confident enough to transform & battle Optimus in front of human witnesses, actions that Optimus finds out of character. His instability is also what leads the other Decepticons to awaken Starscream to stand up to him in Devastation.

Kiss Players
Although Megatron himself would not make an appearance in the Japanese exclusive Kiss Players line, he would nonetheless have a small role to play. When Rodimus Prime hurled Galvatron out of Unicron at the climax of The Transformers: The Movie, Galvatron hurtled through space, out of control, until he eventually crash-landed in Tokyo, devastating much of the city. Although comatose, Galvatron's Unicron-corrupted cells spread throughout Earth and fused with various creatures. The resultant hybrids, known as the Legion, bore a marked resemblance to Megatron and would menace the Earth Defense Command on several occasions.

In keeping with the sexual nature of Kiss Players, the Legion possessed phallic tongues, which became the subject of much controversy among the Transformers fandom.

Binaltech
Megatron is largely "off-screen" for most of the Binaltech saga, reflecting the absence of a Megatron figure in that toyline.

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.

Already in control of Cybertron proper, Megatron took advantage of Swindle's release of the modified "Cosmic Rust" pathogen on Earth to launch an assault on the Autobot resistance on Cybertron's moons. With their numbers weakened, they would easily be defeated. However, Ravage's machinations interrupted this assault, by trapping Megatron and a large army of Decepticons in a spacial rift. Ravage, equipped with knowledge of the future, intended protecting the Decepticons from Unicron, and forcing the Autobots to face the planet-eater unaided. The Decepticons would then be in a position to conquer whoever was the victor of that battle...

Per Ravage's original plan, once the Autobots had defeated Unicron, Megatron and the Decepticons returned. The Autobots, spread too thin across multiple initiatives, retreated from Cybertron, and Megatron resumed his control of the planet. However, Optimus Prime planned for this event, and sent Mirage to press a switch, buried deep within Cybertron, that would render all Transformers inert. (This was seen at the conclusion of the "Five Faces of Darkness" story arc from the original animated series.) Optimus hoped that although all the Transformers would be rendered inoperative, the war would be stopped, and that the humans would be able to reactivate the Autobots in the future.

As Megatron prepared his assault on Earth, he met Nemesis Prime for the first time, and was furious that an Optimus Prime look-alike, one created on Earth, no less, would dare to wear the Decepticon symbol. The confrontation came to nothing, however, as Mirage accomplished his mission. But this plan had the surprising side-effect that only those with original Cybertronian bodies were deactivated - those with Earth-made Binaltech bodies continued to function. And thus, the Autobots effectively won the war, with the large army of Binaltech Autobots outnumbering the few remaining functional Decepticons who had obtained Binaltech bodies. Nemesis Prime and Shockwave escaped with the deactivated Megatron and as many other inert Decepticons as they could.

Universe Flash cartoon
Megatron appeared 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.

Video games
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.

Toys
Through the years, there have been many toys representing the original Generation 1 incarnation of Megatron; some of which have appeared in fiction, others of which have not. 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.

In 2007, Takara Tomy released Masterpiece MP-05 Megatron. While retaining the original concept of a transforming gun, this die-cast figure incorporated modern toy manufacturing techniques for improved detail and articulation, while at the same time, captured the look of the cartoon character.

Other merchandise
Megatron, Shockwave and Ravage are the three Decepticon figures available to play in the Monopoly Transformers Collectors Edition game.

Cultural impact and reception
Megatron has been parodied by such shows as Frank TV, Scrubs, Robot Chicken, Drawn Together, Family Guy and MAD. Frank Welker reprised his role for some of Megatron's parodic appearances.

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

Honors
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.

Covenant of Primus
Another being addressed simply as Megatron is an apocalyptic figure said to bring about death and destruction through alteration of the time stream. Possible interpretations in the book of him are "Alpha and Omega" and "The Great Dragon".

Transformers
In the 2007 live action Transformers film, Megatron's alternate mode is a Cybertronian jet. He serves as the primary antagonist of the first movie and secondary antagonist of the two sequels. 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" & "mass displacement".) In one of the special features on the DVD, G1 Megatron's transformation was likened to Darth Vader turning into his own lightsaber to be wielded by someone else. Additionaly, 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.

In the second film, Megatron gains a different alternate mode, that of a flying Cybertronian tank. In the third film, Megatron receives another different alternate mode, that being a Mack 10-wheeler tanker truck (a demented version of Optimus Prime's alternate mode) with a tarp which may act as a cowl to partially hide Megatron's face due to extensive damage he received in the second film.

Hugo Weaving provides the voice of Megatron in the film. His voice in the film 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 official video games of the movies (with Dark of the Moon as the exception, where he was voiced by Fred Tatasciore), along with the exclusive animated prequel.

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 film, he can transform his right hand into a gun, combine both of his arms to form his iconic fusion cannon, and can transform his right arm into a steel flail. In the second film, after Megatron's resurrection, his right arm can transform into the fusion cannon in its entirety, coupled with a lobster claw-like blade/crushing device. In the third film, Instead of using a fusion cannon integrated into his arm, he uses a handheld version of it, which resembles a human shotgun, specifically a Lupara.

According to an early interview with Michael Bay, Megatron stands at 41 feet(11.0M) tall, but according to his profile in the second issue of the Transformers UK comic Megatron stands "35 feet (10.6 m) tall" and weighs 8.6 tons. Additionally, the magazine and the Movie Guide states he is powered by a self-regenerating dark matter power core. Hasbro have now said that Megatron officially stands 35 feet and weighs in at 5.7 metric tons.

BotCon Malaysia 2007 featured a parking space which was "Reserved for Megatron". A car parked in the space had been totaled, presumably by the Decepticon leader for taking his spot.

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 All Spark, 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 All Spark, 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 All Spark, but Megatron sees through the ruse and launches a full-scale attack, during which the All Spark is launched into space. Megatron almost catches up with the All Spark 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.

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 spacecraftt 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.

Role in the films
Megatron appears in Transformers as the main antagonist. Several years after being discovered by Captain Archibald Witwicky, Megatron's frozen body is transported from the Arctic Circle to Hoover Dam to be guarded by Sector 7, a secret government organization that studies extraterrestrial activities (N.B.E.'s). Sector 7 Agent Seymour Simmons explains that the Earth's magnetic field may have interfered with Megatron's telemetry, causing him to crash during the Ice Age. He also explains that his technology was reverse-engineered, producing the world's modern technology. Megatron's location, as well as the All Spark's, is located by a group of Decepticons led by Starscream. After sneaking into Hoover Dam Frenzy thaws out Megatron, who escapes outside and learns from Starscream that the humans and the Autobots have taken the All Spark. Megatron pursues the Autobots and their allies to Los Angeles, where he quickly disposes of Jazz before battling Optimus Prime. He defeats Optimus and then pursues Sam Witwicky up a condemned building, attempting to taunt and threaten the human into giving him the All Spark. Sam declines, prompting Megatron to knock the boy off the roof of the building with his flail. Optimus saves Sam and battles Megatron again. Towards the end of the battle as Megatron and Optimus are fighting, Blackout attempts to help Megatron kill Optimus Prime however, Blackout is killed by Captain Lennox and his team, Megatron attempts to seize the Allspark once again, only to have it shoved into his exposed spark chamber by Sam, killing him. Megatron's body is then dumped in the Laurentian Abyss with the other deceased Decepticons.

Megatron returns in the sequel film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, as one of the secondary antagonist's of the film. In the film, he is revealed to be The Fallen's disciple, and the second commander of the Decepticon armies, as The Fallen is the true commander of the Decepticons. Megatron is revived by Scalpel and the Constructicons with an All Spark shard and now takes on the form of a Cybertronian winged tank. He then flies to the Nemesis, where he is greeted by Starscream (whom he briefly pummels and berates for deserting him on earth). He then reunites with The Fallen, telling of the All Spark'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 is needed by the Decepticons in order to awaken their protoform armies. Sam, his girlfriend Mikaela Banes and his dorm mate Leo Spitz are abducted by Grindor into an abandoned factory where Megatron meets them. Pinning down Sam, threatening to torture him after acquiring what he needed, Megatron orders Scalpel to extract the Energon information from Sam's brain (ordering him to actually remove his brain), but they are quickly stopped by Optimus Prime. Megatron and Prime have a brief fight in the warehouse and then have a major battle in a forest, with Starscream and Grindor joining in. The fight ends with Megatron killing Prime by stabbing and shooting him with his fusion cannon, but then being forced to escape due to the intervention of Autobot reinforcements. Megatron then declares to Starscream that the Decepticons must reveal themselves to the humans in order to flush out Sam, and assists The Fallen in ordering the world's humans to find Sam and bring him to the Decepticons. Megatron and Starscream soon arrive in Egypt, and he commands his Decepticons (including several Constructicons and Starscream) 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 after Devastator's destruction (see Devastator for more info.), and takes the Matrix of Leadership from a recently revived Optimus. Megatron then greets him, but is blown away by an upgraded Optimus Prime (using the parts of Jetfire to fly). Megatron and his master then battle Optimus. In one brutal move, Optimus grabs Megatron's arm cannon and forces it to fire on Megatron's face, destroying half of it, and then tears off his right arm and shoots him through a wall with Jetfire's afterburners. After seeing The Fallen defeated, Starscream advices that they should retreat, and Megatron vowed that it wouldn't be over.

Megatron returns in Transformers: Dark of the Moon as a secondary antagonist. Michael Bay described Megatron's vehicle mode as the demented version of Optimus Prime. In the three years since ROTF, Megatron has been hiding out in African jungles healing his wounds. In the film Megatron allies himself with Sentinel Prime in an attempt to revitalize Cybertron. He hides out in Africa, recovering from his wounds while taking care of some of the hatchlings by giving them what Energon he can. 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 reveals his true intentions to the Autobots, Megatron arrives in Washington D.C. to meet with him. After blasting the statue of Abraham Lincoln and using it as a throne, he witness Sentinel activate his Space Bridge to bring his Decepticon forces to Earth. During the invasion of Chicago, Sentinel demoralizes Megatron after Megatron makes a suggestion of how they will rule Cybertron together after it has arrived through the Space Bridge, who realizes he's no longer in charge. Towards the end of the battle, Megatron is convinced by Carly that Sentinel will take all of the power and credit for revitalizing Cybertron for himself. Megatron turns on Sentinel, declaring that Earth is his planet to rule, and severely damages him. As Cybertron's trip through the Space Bridge fails, Megatron proposes a truce to Optimus, so long as he remains in charge of the Decepticon forces. But the Autobot leader, knowing what Megatron has in mind, denies the offer and rips his head and spine out of his body using his Energon axe, destroying Megatron once and for all.

Cyber Missions
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 he leaves a trail of tank tread marks that lead out of the warehouse.

Megatron returns 8 episodes later in Cyber Missions #12, where he and Starscream scheme in the Arctic. He reveals to Starscream that he is aware of his ambitions and will punish him if he ever shows it again. Optimus Prime, who tracked them, soon arrives and combats them. When the rest of Optimus' team arrive, 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.

Novels
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. As 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 verson 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 sueing for peace. He decares he will work to restore Cybertron to it's previous glory, and will send for the autobots, so that they may rebuild their planet, as brothers.

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 U.K. Transformers magazine, the U.K.-originated strips (written by Simon Furman) reveal Megatron's actions between issues #1 and 2 of the IDW comic. Pursuing the All Spark 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 All Spark's trail.

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

''In "Twilight's Last Gleaming" part 3, Bumblebee attempts to take on Megatron in the Sector 7 base as Mikaela attempts to free Optimus Prime, but she is attacked by Frenzy. In part 4, Mikaela frees Prime and freezes Frenzy just as Autobot reinforcements arrive and assist Bumblebee in fighting Megatron.''

Video games
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 All Spark. 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 All Spark. 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.

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.

Toys

 * Transformers Legends Megatron (2007)
 * A simple, small-sized version of Megatron from the first movie. It transforms into his Cybertronian jet mode. This figure was later re-painted with blue parts as "Ice Megatron".


 * Transformers Jollibee Megatron (2007)
 * A kids meal toy promotional item available at Jollibee restaurants in the Philippines from June to July 2007. This toy was a slightly enlarged and simplified version of the Movie Legends mold.


 * Transformers Fast Action Battlers Fusion Blast Megatron (2007)
 * A Deluxe class toy with a simplified transformation for younger children. This toy is 15 centimeters tall. With movie Megatron's official height of 35 feet (1,067 centimeters), that makes this toy about 1/71 scale.


 * Transformers Voyager Class Megatron (2007)'''
 * This medium-sized version of Megatron features several "ice chunks" attached to the figure. The wings of Megatron's jet mode appear to be made out of translucent ice as well. The toy was repainted and re-released several times, often with other figures.


 * Transformers Leader Class Megatron (2007)
 * The largest version of Megatron from the first movie's toyline. The toy features "Advanced Automorph" technology exclusive to the Leader-class toys, which incorporates lights and sound along with mechanical movement during transformation. Megatron features a flail and fusion cannon in robot mode. This toy was re-released in a movie-accurate "Premium Series" version, with its mechanical screeching sounds replaced with the transformation sound effect from the original TV series.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Legends Class Megatron (2009)
 * An all-new mold of the Legends figure.


 * Revenge of the Fallen EZ Collection Battle Damage Megatron (2009)
 * A Japan-exclusive redeco of the Legends figure with battle damage effects.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Fast Action Battlers Cannon Blast Megatron (2009)
 * A new Deluxe Class toy for younger children that transforms into a tank. Due to the transformation, unlike with the other toys, Megatron's head is not visible in alternate mode.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Class Megatron (2009)
 * An all-new Voyager toy of Megatron, painted greenish gray rather than silver. This color scheme depicts Megatron awakened from the bottom of the ocean, wherein the greenish color represents the corrosion and ocean sediments on his body. Unlike the Leader Class toy, this Megatron has wings in his alternate mode, increasing his accuracy to the final film design. A new "MechAlive" feature consists of visible moving gears in the upper torso and a blade that automatically extends when the right arm is straightened from the elbow. The left arm, which forms the tank's barrel, can fire a projectile. Images of an alternately colored, bright green version of this toy have been leaked; it is unknown whether this is a prototype or a recolored version to be released at some point. Green is not the colour for Megatron.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Gathering at the Nemesis Voyager Class Megatron (2009)
 * A Toys "R" Us exclusive gift pack, featuring a silver redeco of the 2007 Voyager Megatron figure with Voyager The Fallen and Deluxe Soundwave (blue redeco).


 * Revenge of the Fallen Leader Class Megatron (2009)
 * An all-new toy of Megatron. In contrast to his Cybertronian jet mode from the first film, this Megatron transforms into a Cybertronian tank that features lights and sounds. His right arm is a cannon that fires projectiles and that also features a flip-down claw with a spring-loaded sword. The figure yells, "I am Megatron!" when a lever on the chest is pressed down.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Leader Class Shadow Command Megatron (2009)
 * A black/silver redeco of Leader Class Megatron. The phrase, "There is no command but mine!" replaces the recorded phrase of the original figure.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Unite for the Universe Voyager Class Megatron (canceled)
 * A movie-accurate silver redeco of the 2009 Voyager Megatron figure. Takara Tomy canceled the figure before it hit production. However, it appears that this variant will eventually resurface in the Megatron Rising gift set.


 * Transformers: RPMs Battle Chargers Megatron (2010)
 * A toy tank with pull-back action. When it hits an object, the top portion pops open and transforms into the robot's upper torso.


 * Transformers Activators Megatron (2010)
 * A Deluxe-sized toy designed for younger children that features instant transformation at the push of a button. This sub-line replaces both the Fast Action Battlers and Gravity Bots from the movie toy lines.


 * Transformers The Victory of The Fallen Legends Class Megatron (2010)
 * A Kmart Exclusive 5-pack, featuring A silver/gray redeco of the Legends figure. Bundled with other Legends figures of Fallen, Starscream, Optimus Prime and Jetfire.


 * Transformers Megatron Rising Voyager Class Megatron (not yet released)
 * A movie-accurate silver/gold redeco of the 2009 movie Voyager figure. bundled with Legends Class Constructicons Long Haul, Mixmaster, Rampage and Scrapper.


 * Dark of the Moon Burger King Flip Out Megatron (2011)
 * A BK Kids meal toy available at Burger King restaurants in the U.S. The toy consists of a detailed head that opens to reveal a small robot body, giving the overall figure a Bobblehead look. It also has a battery-operated sound feature, wherein the transformation noise plays at the push of a button.


 * Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Commander Class Megatron (2011)
 * A new Commander Class (formerly Scout Class) mold of Megaton.


 * Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Commander Class Megatron with Blastwave Weapons Base (2011)
 * A gift set that includes Commander Class Megatron and a tanker trailer. The trailer can unfold to become a weapons base with a missile launcher and two laser cannons. In addition, the trailer can also transform into a jet pack that attaches to Megatron's back.


 * Dark of the Moon Voyager Class Megatron (2011)
 * An all-new Voyager Class mold for Megatron, featuring his alternate mode as a Mack tanker truck. His Mech Tech weapon is a Fusion Cannon formed from the front end of the tanker trailer, with a retractable claw as its gimmick. The figure also comes with a rubbery "cloth" that acts as Megatron's cloak in robot mode and a tarp in vehicle mode.

Non-transforming merchandise

 * Transformers Robot Replicas Megatron (2007)
 * A poseable, non-transforming action figure that comes with a Fusion Cannon that can be attached to both arms.


 * Transformers Robot Replicas Optimus Prime vs. Megatron (2007)
 * A Wal-Mart exclusive gift pack of Robot Replicas Prime and Megatron.


 * Transformers Unleashed Turnarounds Megatron (2007)
 * A non-posable, non-transforming sculpture featuring Megatron's robot mode on one side and his Cybertronian jet mode on the other.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Power Bots Megatron (2009)
 * A non-transforming figure with posable legs, arms and head with lights and sounds.


 * Revenge of the Fallen Robot Replicas Megatron (2009)
 * An all-new mold featuring Megatron's appearance in the 2009 sequel.


 * Revenge of the Fallen RPMs Megatron (2009)
 * A diecast replica of Megatron's tank mode in the same size as Hot Wheels cars.


 * Revenge of the Fallen RPMs Battle Chargers Megatron (2010)
 * A toy tank with pull-back action. When it hits an object head-on, Megatron's upper torso pops out of the tank's roof.


 * Transformers Speed Stars Stealth Force Megatron (2010)
 * A non-transforming Cybertronian tank that mechanically opens its panels and reveals hidden weapons at the push of a button.

Transformers Animated
In Transformers Animated, Megatron was not the main antagonist for much of the first season, but in season two, he took back the role of the primary antagonist. 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. The swords do not resemble the katana in the image at right, taken from an earlier design. His original alternate mode is an unknown Cybertronian space vehicle, but becomes a tiltrotor aircraft once he is rebuilt to blend in with Earth.

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 particularly 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, he remains as Megatron for the full three seasons.

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.

The scale chart released for the series indicates Megatron stands about 35 feet tall.

In the Japanese translation of Transformers: Animated, the story has been changed to make it a prequel to the 2007 Transformers film. This makes this version of Megatron an earlier version of the film character.

Animated series
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.

His head was not reactivated until "Home is Where the Spark Is", when Sari used her Allspark Key to open her father's door to his lab. The surge of the key's power reached Megatron's head, putting him back online. Upon reactivation, he immediately found out that it was Starscream who betrayed him, and immediately plotted payback, but needed a body to do so. When he found out that the Autobots were on Earth, he took control of one of Sumdac's prototype pocket bots and sent it to their hideout - an abandoned automotive plant. Using the pocket bot, Megatron hacked the plant's automated systems to try and kill the Autobots, but his plan failed, and he would have been discovered by the Autobots if it weren't for Bulkhead accidentally destroying the pocket bot.

In "Blast from the Past", he revealed his existence to Prof. Sumdac while he was repairing Sari's tutor-bot and the future Dinobots, which were accidentally destroyed by Bulkhead. Even though Sumdac wanted to tell the Autobots, Megatron convinced him that he was an Autobot and didn't want the real Autobots to see him in his weakened state. Eventually, Sumdac repaired the Dinobots with Megatron's "help". The Dinobots went on a rampage, got their new Cybertronian-like forms, and Megatron got his second taste of what Sari's key could do. He then proceeded to tell the Dinobots that the Earth cars were malevolent fossil feeders and the Autobots were even worse, sending them on another rampage.

In "Nanosec", he told Sumdac to hurry up with building a body and that he required Destronium (a play on the words cybertonium, the stuff all Cybertronians are made of and require in G1, and Destron, the Japanese name for the Decepticons), but the only Destronium available was across town, and if it wasn't delivered in under 10 minutes, then it would be futile. Upon hearing this, and seeing a test run with a super-speed suit developed by Sumdac Systems, Megatron secretly bailed petty thief Nino Sexton out of jail and supplied him with the super-speed suit, paying him to deliver the Destronium to him. Both Megatron and Sexton (now calling himself Nanosec), however, were unaware that if Destronium were moved at high speeds, it would become unstable, volatile, and catastrophically explosive. At the same time, Nanosec was unaware that the side effect of the suit's speed-enhancing ability was the wearer's rapid aging. Within minutes of continuously using the suit, Nanosec aged into an elderly man and was shortly apprehended while Bumblebee, using his rocket boosters and aided by Bulkhead and Prowl, disposed of the Destronium just outside Earth's atmosphere before it could explode and potentially take most of Detroit with it.

During "Sound and Fury", Megatron created Soundwave, originally a musical toy he created for Sari's birthday - even though his actual reason for creating Soundwave was to create a new body when Sari used her key to upgrade it. However, Sari used her key too many times and gave Soundwave a spark, and after hearing about this, Megatron recruited him to destroy the humans, all other organics, and the Autobots, whom Megatron said were "traitors who live to serve the humans."

After Lugnut and Blitzwing arrived on Earth during "Lost and Found", Megatron initially waited to see if they were truly loyal. After Lugnut and Blitzwing's battle, Megatron denounced Blitzwing as unstable and Lugnut truly loyal to the Decepticon cause, and spent the rest of the episode communicating exclusively to Lugnut, who Blitzwing thought was even more insane than himself.

In "Nature Calls", space barnacles wreaked havoc in a mining area outside Detroit, assimilating with a construction vehicle and becoming a techno-organic monster. The monster was defeated by Bumblebee, Prowl and Sari using hot water sprayed from a fire hose in the mine. It was revealed that the space barnacles had latched on Megatron's body, which crashed in the vicinity 50 years ago. Shortly after the space barnacles were destroyed, Sumdac found Megatron's body lying by the river and brought it back to his lab.

During the "Megatron Rising" saga, Megatron got impatient with Sumdac since he hadn't had much progress in repairing his body. Then he tried to communicate with Lugnut again, even though he and Blitzwing were with Starscream, who also thought that Lugnut had gone insane. After having his signal detected, Megatron received an unexpected visit from Starscream, who, even though he had the upper hand, didn't do anything except talk to Megatron. Then when Bumblebee burst in, Megatron used the lab's robotics to throw Starscream and Bumblebee outside and convinced Sumdac that he should complete his body to "help" his so-called "Autobot brothers". Lugnut and Blitzwing then flew in, and Blitzwing found out that Lugnut wasn't insane, then placed Sari's key (which they stole from Ratchet) into Megatron's head, resulting in him being resurrected into his new Earth mode. Upon his reawakening, Megatron defeated the other Autobots, "killed" Starscream and led Lugnut and Blitzwing to Dinobot Island to retrieve the Allspark. When they arrived, Megatron immediately battled Optimus and both combatants ended up inside the Autobots' ship, rekindling their past struggles. When Megatron got ahold of the Allspark, he placed it in his own spark chamber, giving him more power. Even though he had the upper hand, Sumdac attempted to take him down by disrupting his equilibrium circuits, which distracted Megatron long enough for Optimus to disperse the Allspark and seriously damage Megatron. But while Megatron failed in his quest to acquire the Allspark, he succeeded in kidnapping Sumdac and downloading an incomplete design spec for a Space Bridge.

In "The Elite Guard", Megatron put in motion his plans to create a Space Bridge, so that his forces could transwarp to Cybertron and conquer the planet from within. During construction, Megatron found an Allspark fragment in one of Sumdac's worker robots. In "Mission Accomplished", the Allspark fragment-revived Starscream repeatedly tried to destroy Megatron, only to be repelled each time. Using a tachyon transmitter stolen from the Elite Guard's ship, Megatron sent a message to his fellow Decepticons, letting them know of his return. In "A Fistful of Energon", upon hearing of Starscream's escape from the Autobot Elite Guard, Megatron put out a bounty on the fugitive Decepticon. In "Rise of The Constructicons" Megatron recruited Scrapper and Mixmaster to build the Space bridge, coercing them with a supply of oil.

During the "A Bridge Too Close" two-part special, Megatron officially initiated the Constructicons into the Decepticon ranks. When he realized that his Space Bridge was still not in spec, he received word from Shockwave that Cybertron's best foremost Space Bridge expert was none other than Bulkhead, whom he kidnapped and threatened with a Headmaster unit. In part 2, he battled Starscream, his clones and the Autobots at the same time, telling the Autobots about his plan to conquer Cybertron while the Autobots are at their weakest. Unfortunately, the Allspark fragment he got from the beginning of season 2 wasn't enough to power the Decepticon Space Bridge, so he used the fragment in Starscream's head for more power, but he overloaded the power core and sent himself, Starscream's head, a revived Omega Supreme, and the Space Bridge equipment through, ending up drifting in space with Starscream's head; the two arguing amongst themselves.

However, during "Transwarped", Starscream freed Megatron from his stasis cuffs by shooting a sonic laser from his mouth. An offline Omega Supreme suddenly appeared and Megatron took control of him by using Starscream's head. He attacked the Autobots after transwarping back to Earth to prevent them from exposing Shockwave's cover. After Prowl severed his control of Omega, Megatron battled and easily defeated Optimus. He was then trapped by Starscream and they, along with Omega, wound up transwarping randomly across the universe, courtesy of the plasma dynamic thruster Bumblebee placed on Omega. By the time they managed to get the thruster off Omega, they found themselves in the middle of space with Lugnut drifting towards them. After picking up Shockwave once he had acquired Arcee, Megatron transwarped Omega to Earth's moon to begin his master plan: the construction of Omega Supreme clones. With Lugnut in possession of the activation codes, Megatron entered one of the clones to personally oversee the destruction of Earth's Autobots before focusing on Cybertron. However, Optimus Prime, wielding the Magnus Hammer, managed to disable the clone Megatron rode in, forcing the Decepticon leader to enter the battle himself. During the course of the conflict, the clones were revealed to have been rigged by Starscream to explode, with Megatron and Detroit ending up caught in the explosion. It was only through Prowl and Jazz's "Processor Over Matter" recovery of the Allspark and Prowl's sacrifice that the explosion caused by the final clone was contained, saving Detroit from total destruction. Surviving in spite of heavy damage to his body, Megatron made a vain attempt to destroy Optimus, only to be knocked to the ground by a swing from the Magnus Hammer. Megatron told Optimus to finish him, but was spared (he only smashed his fusion cannon), so that he would face punishment for his war crimes on Cybertron.

Fun Publications
After the events of the animated series Megatron was placed in detention at the Trypticon stronghold in Kaon city.

Video games
Much like the movie version, he is portrayed as larger and more powerful than many other Transformers in the series. Animated Megatron, in an Earth-based tiltrotor mode, appears as a hidden character in the Transformers Net Jet video game by Hasbro.

Toys

 * Animated McDonald's Happy Meal Megatron (2008)
 * A small, simple transforming Megatron toy packaged as a prize with McDonald's Happy Meals.


 * Animated Activators Megatron (2008)
 * A small version of Earth mode Megatron that transforms at the push of a button.
 * This toy is about 1:99 scale.
 * Also sold in Japan as part of the "Super Collection Vol. 1" gift set alongside Activators Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Lockdown.


 * Animated Deluxe Cybertron Mode Megatron Battle Damaged (2008)
 * A Deluxe class toy with painted battle damage and silver paint. This figure was also sold in a Walmart exclusive 2-pack with Deluxe Prowl.


 * Animated Voyager Cybertron Mode Megatron (2008)
 * A Voyager class toy which represents Megatron in his Cybertronian form from before the series begins; as seen in the series debut episode. Features a single projectile-launching Fusion Cannon that converts into a bladed weapon.
 * This toy is about 1:60 scale.


 * Animated Leader Megatron (2008)
 * Released as part of the first wave of toys for the series, it is Megatron as he appears after he gains access to Sari's key card in "Megatron Rising, Pt.1"; as a double-rotor heavy attack helicopter. Features linked main rotors that spin together (and which later transform into swords), a single projectile-launching Fusion Cannon and - as with all Leader-class figures from this series - a light-&-sound function with light-up eyes, chest and cockpit. When the Decepticon symbol button on his chest is pressed, the mouth opens, and his brow drops slightly to one side. In helicopter mode, the button emits a helicopter whirring sound while pressed for an indefinite period of time. In robot mode, Megatron says two lines ("Where is the Allspark?!" and "Crush the Autobots!") and his sinister laugh, as voiced by Corey Burton.
 * A special Toys "R" Us value pack of Leader Megatron came with Activators Starscream as a bonus.
 * This toy is about 1:49 scale.


 * Animated Leader Shadow Blade Megatron (2009)
 * A redeco of the first Leader Class Megatron in black and purple colors.


 * Animated TA-06 Voyager Cybertron Mode Megatron (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * The 2010 Japan version by Takara Tomy sports a metallic silver finish and a purple Decepticon emblem on the chest, as opposed to the original's dull gray finish and gold emblem.
 * Also bundled with TA-01 Voyager Optimus Prime.


 * Animated TA-26 Leader Megatron Light & Sound (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * The Japanese version of the Leader Megatron figure sports a metallic silver finish as opposed to the original's matte gray color, and his voice chip is in Japanese (featuring Norio Wakamoto, Megatron's voice). Released on July 2010.


 * Animated Mini EZ Collection Megatron (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A new mold that stands at 60 mm tall, shorter than the regular Legends/EZ Collection figures.


 * Animated VS-F Deluxe Cybertron Mode Megatron (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A metallic redeco of the Deluxe figure exclusive in Japan. Bundled with Deluxe Cybertron Mode Optimus Prime.


 * Animated Marauder Megatron (canceled)
 * The Animated reference book AllSpark Almanac II reveals that a resin prototype of a triple-changer Megatron was sculpted for possible production. The prototype transformed into a futuristic jet and tank. By season 3 of the series, however, Hasbro abandoned the proposed design.

Transformers: Timelines (Transtech)
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.

Toys

 * Transtech Megatron (unreleased)
 * After the conclusion of the Beast Machines series and toy line, Hasbro's initial plans were for a follow-up series entitled Transtech, which would supposedly bring back some deceased Beast Wars characters, as well as some older Generation 1 characters, all in new, more organic-looking bodies, except with vehicular alternate modes instead of the animal forms which had dominated the two recent series. Although the idea was eventually scrapped in favor of Transformers: Armada (with Transformers: Robots in Disguise being imported for the "filler" year in between), Toronto-based design studio Draxhall Jump produced many concept sketches (from which even a few toy prototypes were produced), among which was a new incarnation of Megatron. Precisely which Megatron, G1 or Beast Wars, is not clear, but it is generally accepted that the design inspired the Megatron of Transformers: Armada.

Transformers: Prime
The being known as Megatron started out as a nameless worker 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.

Megatron is leader of the main group of Decepticons in the 2010 computer animated series Transformers: Prime. 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.

Books
Megatron appears in the short story Bumblebee at Tyger Pax By Alex Irvine.

Megatron appears in the novel Transformers: Exodus. It shows that he got his name originally from the original name of the Fallen, Megatronus Prime.

Video games
Megatron appears in the 2010 video game Transformers: War for Cybertron. 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. He can now spread dark energon anywhere he wants.

With this new power Megatron plans to infect the core of Cybertron with dark energon as a means of destroying all who resist his rule. For this plan to succeed, Megatron launches a full-scale attack on Iacon, the autobot capital looking for an item called the "Omega Key" which unlocks the gates to the core. They learn that autobot leader Zeta Prime has placed the key under his personal guard. Megatron's forces enter his chambers and defeat him in battle, taking him prisoner. Zeta Prime tells Megatron that the Omega Key is not actually the key, but the means to activate the true key: a giant autobot known as Omega Supreme. Upon activation, Omega Supreme chases and attacks Megatron and his minions relentlessly. Megatron, realizing his impending peril, hatches a plan to lure Omega Supreme to a rooftop defended with heavy turrets, where Omega Supreme is ambushed. Omega Supreme sustains heavy damage and plummets into Cybertron's lower levels.

The Decepticons follow Omega Supreme and engage him in a lengthy final battle, in which Omega Supreme is finally defeated and captured by the Decepticons. Megatron forces Omega Supreme to open the door to Cybertron's core and travels there with his minions. Upon arrival, Megatron infects the core of Cybertron with dark energon, corrupting all of Cybertron.

In the Nintendo DS game War for Cybertron: Decepticons Megatron and Brawl are the initial two characters playable in the game.

Reception
The Generations Megatron toy was picked at the 6th best toy of 2010 by Topless Robot.

Animated series
Having played a part in the war on Cybertron, as an ally of Optimus Prime before becoming his enemy, Megatron mysteriously disappeared. However, during a previous visit to Earth, Megatron secretly left a few followers like Skyquake on the planet in stasis.

As the series opens, Megatron returns to Earth thanks to Soundwave and Starscream, bringing with him a crystal made of the fabled Dark Energon and using it on the lifeless body of Cliffjumper to test its ability to revive the dead. Later, bent on obtaining a means of controlling the Dark Energon's power, Megatron risks his own life by stabbing himself with a shard of it. Now imbued with his new-found power, Megatron tests the Dark Energon at a burial site of Cybertronians in preparation of his master plan: using the rest of the Dark Energon on Cybertron via a Space Bridge, turning the planets' Cybertronian dead into an army of Terrorcons to help him defeat the Autobots and take over the Earth. Occasionally, his eyes change colors from red to purple. Though he succeeds in seeding Cybertron with Dark Energon, the Autobots manage to destroy the Space Bridge. However, it turned out Megatron barely survived thanks to the Dark Energon before his life signal was detected by Soundwave and Starscream was forced to investigate. Finding Megatron, Starscream removes the shard to allow Megatron to die of his injuries, only to be forced to have him medically evacuated when Ratbat appears. Megatron is later shown in the Decepticons' sickbay hooked to various medical devices. Starscream continues to pretend to be concerned by saying, "Let us hope that our master pulls through...." Though he gets Knock-Out as a medic to keep Megatron stable, Starscream brides him into convincing Soundwave to pull the plug. By then, to find a cure for Cybertronic Plague to save Optimus' life, Bumblebee enters Megatron's subconscious mind to find the cure. However, Bumblebee unknowingly made Megatron aware of his condition while he was living his fantasy of killing Optimus Prime. Though he agrees to give the Autobot the cure so he can kill Optimus for real in return for being restored, Ratchet scanned the cure as the plug is pulled off by Arcee. Though Starscream was forced to plug Megatron back in at Soundwave's demand, the Deception's body was rendered brain-dead as his consciousness escaped into Bumblebee. Soon, Megatron was able to use Bumblebee to find a shard of Dark Energon (the same one used to create the Terrorcons) and use it to revive his original body, and used the cortical psychic patch used by Bumblebee to enter his mind to transfer it back. The process, though briefly interrupted by Ratchet and Raf, was a success, and the Decepticon leader returned to service, but not before beating Starscream, confining him to the same operating table that he once lie on.

Toys

 * Generations Deluxe Class Cybertronian Megatron (2010)
 * A new mold, based on his appearance in the War for Cybertron video game. Transforms into a Cybertronian tank with launching missile. Has two vehicle modes: one as a hovercraft, the other as a tank with treads. This toy was picked at the 6th best toy of 2010 by Topless Robot.


 * United UN04 Deluxe Megatron Cybertron Mode (2010)
 * The Japanese version of the Generations figure by Takara Tomy features a metallic repaint.


 * Prime Megatron (not yet released)
 * An all-new mold of Megatron from the Prime animated series.