Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a faction of sentient, war-mongering robotic lifeforms that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe. He serves as the archenemy of Optimus Prime, the leader of the rival Autobot faction. As with all Cybertronians, Megatron has the ability to transform between his robot form and various vehicles or weapons. His alternate modes have ranged from a Walther P38 handgun, a particle-beam weapon, a telescopic laser cannon, and a Cybertronian jet, depending on which continuity he is depicted in.
Megatron's most consistent origin portrays him as having risen up from being an oppressed worker to a gladiatorial champion who took the legendary name of one of the original Thirteen Primes—Megatronus—as his own. He shortened his name when he became a political revolutionary who attempted to reform Cybertron's corrupt governing body and called for an end to its decrepit caste system. As the mentor of the young Orion Pax, Megatron preached that freedom of self-determination was the right of all sentient beings. When Megatron grew corrupted by his power, Orion would utilize his teachings against him as Optimus Prime. In most incarnations, Megatron would eventually meet his demise at Optimus' hands, only to later be resurrected as Galvatron.
Megatron has become one of the franchise's most iconic characters and a widely recognized villain in popular culture. The character's popularity has seen him appear on a variety of merchandise, such as toys, clothing and collectible items, theme park attractions, and be referenced in a number of media. He has been adapted in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations, having been voiced by actors including Frank Welker, Corey Burton, and Hugo Weaving.
Thirteen Original Primes
The original Megatronus, better known as the Fallen, was one of the original Thirteen Primes created by Primus. Megatronus betrayed his creator by siding with Primus' dark twin, the malevolent planet-eater Unicron. In the final battle between Primus and Unicron, Megatronus fell victim to the same fate as his master, sucked through a black hole into another dimension. However, while Unicron emerged in another universe, the Fallen was not so fortunate, finding himself trapped in the "underspace" between dimensions. 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".
The Fallen made his first appearance in the second volume of Transformers: The War Within. The character appears as the main antagonist in the second live action film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the 2009 sequel to the 2007 Transformers movie, voiced by Tony Todd. Director Michael Bay described him as "apocalyptic". He has the ability to teleport and generate a shockwave upon reappearance. He wields a spear as his weapon and has the ability of telekinesis. Megatronus is also mentioned as one of Thirteen in Transformers: Exodus and later appeared as the main antagonist in the first-season finale of Transformers: Robots in Disguise, voiced by Gil Gerard.
Megatronus's history would be retconned in Transformers: The Covenant of Primus, which depicts him in more tragic light and omits his involvement with Unicron. Megatronus was one of the original thirteen Primes. Megatronus commissioned Solus Prime to create the Requiem Blaster. It's revealed that Megatronus and Solus Prime were in love, but that Megatronus was prone to bursts of temper and aggression due to his pride and secret shame at being a necessary counter-force to balance out light and darkness within the Thirteen. Following the War of the Primes, he exiled himself from Cybertron after unintentionally murdering Solus Prime.
Generation 1
Megatron is the founder of the Decepticon uprising and their most feared leader. Bob Budiansky, the writer for the Marvel Comics series, stated that originally Hasbro took issue with the name, saying it sounded too frightening. Budiansky responded that as the lead villain, that was the point. Hasbro later agreed with his reasoning, and approved the name "Megatron". Budiansky has said in interviews that it is a portmanteau of electronic and megaton.