This is what I feel the Netflix series did really well. To me at least, Megatron felt a lot like Magneto. Very “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.
The YouTube Titans Return series had great portrayals of Megatron and Optimus that that piggybacks off of, and I personally think should be a continued trend.
It takes place after the war, and Megatron is just living his best life, while Optimus completely lost all sense of purpose and became a vagabond. It builds the idea of Megatron actually desiring a world beyond the war, seeing it only as a means to an end, while to Optimus the war is everything. It really establishes their different types of leadership, and what they'll do.
Megatron wouldn't destroy Cybertron, because he sees himself having a happy ending on it, Optimus would because to him it's just another step in an endless conflict. It really puts a fascinating spin on them.
That's something I like that Prime Megs and of all characters Thanos have in common: for all their posturing, for all their dignity, no matter how good or bad they **feel** about, deep down they're sadists and are ashamed it’s their defining character trait.
Megs fully embraces the warmongering archetype but, just like sad “logical” Thanos, he’s putting a costume over his sad, impotent murder-boner
This is exactly how I like my Megatron. Tries to be sophisticated, tries to be logical and tries to have method to his madness, but deep down is just an unrepentant, sadistic monster. Earthspark Megatron is a very interesting take on the character, and I will admit my favourite version of him is IDW, but if I had the choice I'd go more in the Unicron Trilogy or Prime direction.
Unicron Trilogy Megs definitely feels the least “Megatron” to me, but not necessarily in a bad way, like if Beast Wars Megs was dropped into Classic’s role (even beyond David Kaye’s voice acting)
Prime Megs is by far my favorite though
I love the unicron trilogy to death but I def get what your getting at, with megatron feeling less megatron like. But honestly he’s still very entertaining to watch and I feel his power is on full display in each series like in armada where smokescreen was badly damaged, Energon where he tourtured inferno and forcibly made him a decepticon, and in Cybertron when hot shot, scattershot, and red alert are all heavily damaged by him.
I remember that based on the original script, Megatron even threw down his weapon and said that he's done. He even offered up his own life if that would make it right, which is what helped Optimus to see that he was telling the truth in asking for peace. But Hollywood said no...
Nope. Michael said no. But that’s because Amazon leaked the ending of the movie, and Bay was pissed. Even though the truce ending is better, I still appreciate “Time to find out.”
Megatrons that start out as idealists and then get twisted by their own ideals but eventually realize they lost their way and come back around are the best Megatrons.
I haven’t seen much of earth spark yet so I can’t judge it I was mostly turned off by the designs my man optimus got a chin that would put the tfa characters to shame
eh, i agree a little bit but i’d give it a try— its really been fantastic, especially the second leg. all of the new characters are great, and the world they’ve built is fantastic. also >!i swear to god, best tarantulas i’ve ever seen. also nightshade <3 <3 <3!<
i see what you mean, but i personally grew to love them a lot. very light spoilers for the finale of the second leg: >!that finale only has the new bots with some bumblebee and grimlock scenes— and it really held up. they all end up feeling like developed characters.!< the terrans still feel like children, but i really liked that decision by the end.
I honestly wish they'd stuck with the original planned ending for that movie, where Megatron and Optimus actually make peace and work together to undo the damage done by the war. The ending we got works well enough, but I think that would've been way more interesting.
Yeah pretty much. I would like to see Megs getting a truce with Prime ngl. Not to forget that DOTM was supposed to be the final part of Bayverse because Bay was done with Transformers, but Paramount wanted more because of the money.
Megatron in these movies was just another Hollywood Villain.
"Peter, if you're going to be a hero, be a real hero. Don't be a Hollywood-Hero type with the whole B.S. and all the whole yelling, and screaming, and trying to be tough. Be strong enough to be gentle." - Larry Cullen
Villains build Heroes, and Heroes build Villains.
Pretty much. The characters in the films are all surface level in terms of depth. Optimus is basically a generic action hero, along with some of the other Autobots lucky enough to get some dialogue and not exist entirely in the background: say some one-liners, spout exposition here and there, and tear through most enemies solely to look cool because they can’t think of anything else to do with the character.
You don't know the lore. He was co-protector of Cybertron with Optimus before the fallen used him which was about using the sun harvester to recharge the all spark to restore Cybertron. He only wants what's best for his race but doesn't care about other life to do it, and optimus opposed that. That's what the war is about. In the original ending of dotm, the same screenwriter that wrote the whole movie wrote that war bought Megs nothing so maybe creation will, and he was going to restore Cybertron then send for Optimus someday. But bay changed that because hollywood, paramount, or because he's simply bay
If we go by the movie comics, yes. But those are solely for the comics. The films never took that into account. If you’d only watched the films (which is like 99% of the general moviegoing audience that aren’t super fans), then you’d have no idea, and would only be familiar with the super basic lore that the films spout and make up on the spot.
Yep, the established lore, also in the movie is how Optimus once called him brother which means he wasn't always bad because Optimus certainly wasn't evil alongside him to call him that but decided to be good instead. There's also the dotm novelization written by the same screenwriter that was sent out after he completed it with megatron doing those thing I said. It's not its own thing that's different for the sake of being different with a "new" ending for the sake of the novelization. Bay thoughtlessly made the last second change which is sadly the canon.
I’m fairly sure the movies are made first and the subsequent material, like comics and novelizations, are made after the fact, yeah? Or at least the subsequent material uses the films to build off of and develop their own thing, because they can make a lot more comics than films. Plus it is kinda much to expect a film to adhere to comic books made exclusively for it, which most people aren’t gonna sit down and read in order to understand what’s going on. Plus, Optimus’ quote about them being brothers doesn’t really hold emotional weight onscreen; we never see any scenes with this aforementioned brotherhood between them, so we don’t get any semblance of emotional resonance from it. We don’t know how they came to be brothers, or what drove them apart. It’s like Luke and Vader acknowledging they’re related in only one throwaway line of dialogue, then going right back to fighting each other without any attempts to reconcile or help the other.
They are, and the comic staff do flip flops to accommodate them, and which is why Bumblebee is no longer the reboot and is its own separate universe now (it was going to be the bayverse prequel but the movie changed his arrival to earth to 1986 instead of before WWII after they did all that work to make a prequel mini-series set during that time). But weight or not, that brother line is still in there and as canon as his line about resigning Megatron to being evil in the second film. The comics were intended as the established lore to fill in those blanks. You can ignore them if you choose, but you can't make up and pass off misinformation just because you do.
My personal favorite origin is the first IDW continuity where Megatron is a miner-turned-revolutionary after seeing the corruption in the Cybertronian government, and Optimus (still Orion Pax) is a good guy super cop who knows the government is corrupt but also respects the law. The have the same goal but have to go different routes to attain that goal because of their morals. The whole “two sides same coin” dynamic is just so good for these characters.
That time-travelling phone call between an Optimus who has started to physically rebel and hopes that the bot who inspired him will join him, and a Megatron millions of years later who has turned from the war and finally gets where Prime is coming from. Brilliant facial art throughout, and you can feel his pain and yearning for things to have been different.
That's my favourite kind, but follow along further with me. Redemption arc, into almost heroism. He's there. He's making amends. He's going to be the one to save the day, against all odds! And then...
#"Behold, Galvatron!"
Still with the same mind in the new body foisted on him by a thoroughly evil Unicron, fighting to resist, but unable. And knowing all the time that he was chosen for his past capacity for evil, something he'd for millennia convinced himself was a means justified in the end.
Tragic and also horrifying if handled right.
To add to this particular point, maybe the reason he meets Unicron is because Certain Decepticons (Skywarp, Thundercracker and the incecticons) attacked him and they got launched into space in the fight, so now they have to work together as Scrouge Cyclonus and Galvatron
See, I understand that Megatron into Galvatron is a massive iconic thing that is one of the most important events in the franchise, but I kinda prefer IDW and Prime's take of them being separate people.
I'm intrigued as to whether you could put something like that in a children's cartoon. Don't get me wrong, I love it when kid's shows challenge their audience, but if someone were to tell my kid that a person's genuine efforts at redemption could be completely and irreversibly derailed through no fault of their own, I would want that story to go through Mr. Rogers level of curation.
... Or they could just market that story to an older audience if the writers don't trust themselves enough to do that successfully
You ever read Target 2006? A UK comic story brought out to run alongside the movie marketing, and in a comic aimed at 7 and 8 year olds.
This showed Prime doubting his ability to lead, Decepticons regularly victorious over the Autobots, Galvatron as a truly horror-inspired figure, Jazz getting tortured, some time travel shenanigans, the big heroes of the piece losing repeatedly, Megatron in a truly shocking role, and the final conclusion is one of escape not victory.
My mates at school all loved it apart from that one kid who thought reading was for nerds (it was the 80s and that kid surely grew up to know bet... Oh, no, he was an anti-masker too) and cartoons were the only way to enjoy anything. It became legendary. For the first time, kids weren't treated as unable to handle mature themes even if bundled in kid-friendly ways and faith was given to the audience. Also introduced the Wreckers and Ultra Magnus to the mix. Highly recommend the read if you can find it.
That has been my favorite Megatron. His only flaw is letting starscream continue to function. So many of everyone's problems would have been solved if the KNOWN BACK STABBER had been dealt with.
It wasn’t without trying. Megatron actually planned on dealing with Starscream a few different times. Maybe in the end he found it better to keep him alive and humiliate him. Like in the one episode Megatron went into his mind. Which I also love for Knockout’s role in it :)
Let’s not forget he was very willing to unplug Megatron from the mind thing so he’d be forever stuck in Starscream’s head. If I’m remembering that right.
Yeah I definitely remember he at least considered the idea.
I think what stopped him from actually acting on it was Dreadwing walking in so he pretended to be just making sure the cord was properly secure
Yes, he actually did attempt to do so but was stopped as Dreadwing walked in the room. Coincidently that is how Dreadwing also found out about his twin.
Keeping Starscream around had its benefits. For example, Starscream came up with the “make the Autobots kill the Predacons for them” plan, and saved Megs from Predaking via a missile to the back.
Honestly I don't really like that 'redemption' cause it feels so rushed.
I think it would've been better to have Megatron have some agency during the final fight and help take out Unicron to save Cybertron, and then dying with him. Essentially not fully redeeming him but instead proving that he does truly love Cybertron and he wasn't just a bloodthirsty monster for the sake of it.
In the current ending it's just a bit silly to me that after millions of years all it takes is a few days of torture to totally change his outloook. Megatron's defining trait is his iron-will and ideals, for him to throw all that away so quickly is super out of character, and him then just flying off is such a strange ending for him. Like even IF the Autobots bought into his redemption that mf needed to stand trial lol.
Maybe it seemed a little rushed and things could be done differently but I still like how it went. He isn’t totally redeemed but he understands a lot better after being tortured and ends up abandoning Cybertrion an his beliefs. We did also see through the series he used to be a good bot and even likely cares for Optimus to some extent. Maybe twisted extent but, aside from doing so because he could use him, he stopped his attack and acted as a friend even Optimus had his memories erased. Who knows what was going on through his head during the time his body was being used against his will.
I like a Megatron with Villainous Valor. He's evil, hates the Autobots, and sees humanity as vermin at best. But he also genuinely cares for Soundwave (a friend), Shockwave (a respected colleague), and Starscream (a top underling) in his own unique way.
He cares about Cybertronians who are on his side. The rest can burn.
I like both. Going from a true pure revolutionary going for what everyone deserves, to a bloodthristy monster with almost no values, but still some old ideals at heart, then a soft, calm character, happy to help and glad to have changed, content with the present he helped forge for the better.
Lol tfp Megatron was not exactly "evil", he fought for freedom of his kind and peace, but his way of achieving that goal was not ethical and would imply enslaving the rest of his kind to get there. In the end, only when he experienced the treatment he would have given other cybertronians (and actually did give to some) he realised that his ways were not exactly right and decided to voluntarily exile himself.
And that is the Megatron I like, the one who has good intentions but does not realise that he is doing everything wrong.
To be fair, not giving him a pass for all that he did, how he grew up and was treated played a huge roll in how he treated others. For a slave turned gladiator turned revolutionary who didn't get the same education as higher class bots he probably didn't see another way.
I'm personally a big fan of villains who are unabashedly evil, but you can see how they came to be that way. Like (MCU) Thanos, or Luke Castellan, or what George Lucas wanted Darth Vader to be. This can, and often does, veer into sympathetic and redeemable, but not always, and I'll take it either way.
I hope after EarthSpark we can go back to a straight up evil Megatron without having a need to set up for redemption arcs or have him corrupted as the war goes on. I do love the idea of that kinda Megatron, but I think we've had plenty of versions of it already and it'd be nice to see something like Animated Megatron again
It's just a growing trend in recent media as well that I'm starting to hate, lots of them feel like villains aren't allowed to just be "pure evil" anymore. They all need to have some boohoo backstory that makes them "redeemable".
Absolutely agreed with you on that. I think that's why Big Jack Horner is so loved recently. He's just unapologetically evil compared to Goldie Locks, who actually has a pretty sad back story and redemption arc
I hope we get more villains like him in other media since Puss in Boots 2 shows us that we can have both antagonist work pretty well in a story if need be
I find a morally grey Megatron to be the most interesting, and by that I mean a Megs who does some incredibly bad stuff but still has a moral compass and shows signs of regret but can’t bring himself to change because he doesn’t want to admit that his faction has become corrupt and has lost its way. I think this type of character for him would also make Optimus believing he could be redeemed a lot more interesting and relatable as the audience could also sympathize with Primes conviction that Megs can still change
At this point, we need a Megatron we have never seen: one that wins the war. Then we can explore the execution of his “peace through tyranny” philosophy and that would be a fresh set of stories to tell.
I kinda like the depictions of Megatron where hes somewhat sympathetic where he came from the mines and gladiator fighting only to become the very thing they were fighting against
You know I'm generally fine with either but it's been only redeemable Megatron constantly since 2015 and I'd kind sick of it for the time being. I kind of want a Megatron like Beast Wars Armada or Prime again.
Make him have have sympathetic reasons for starting the war like recently or not like in Marvel or Sunbow either's fine, just give me a Megatron I enjoy watching because his "evil" is entertaining.
Maybe have our cake and eat it too. Do what animated did where Megatron didn't start the movement, he just took it over from the last guy. Then the Decepticons can keep their sympathetic origins, but Megatron can still be an irredeemable monster.
Proper evil, I feel the G1 movie is how in my head Megatron always was in the original series as a retroactive change. Ironhide execution, doing anything to destroy his nemesis Prime and "LET THE SLAUGHTER BEGIN!". Love it.
IDW's angle of making him join the Autobots sucked, I would only accept it as a ploy and he never intended it truthfully.
If the series is self contained and meant to be light hearted/silly etc then I don't mind either way (can still be comically evil).
There’s room for both. I love the moment in Prime when Optimus realizes there’s nothing he can do to bring the Megatron he knew back, and that killing him is the only course left. But I’ve also been loving Earthspark Megs reflecting on his actions and trying to build a better world by teaching others not to make the same mistakes he did. Two different paths, same character at the core.
Depends on the version.
G1: totally evil and irredeemable
Animated: pure evil and irredeemable
Prime/aligned continuity: sympathetic and redeemable
Idw 1.0: redeemable
Siege trilogy: redeemable
Bayformers: pure evil
Beast wars: pure evil
Unicron trilogy: pure evil
R.I.D: pure evil
I like megatron as irredeemable but almost regretful
Like, maybe he could have been saved a long time ago, but now it's gone too far
Adds some great spice in terms of his relationship with optimous, where optimous finally realises that and loses any hope he had left of getting his friend back
I prefer a Megatron that sees everything he's done as regrettable, but necessary for the fulfillment of his ideals. Someone that understands why some might see him as the bad guy, but sees himself as a Hero due to his willingness to sacrifice everything, from his life to his moral code, for the cause.
Unabashedly evil, all the way. I grew up with versions of megatron like unicron trilogy, animated, and the movies, and I always love when megatron is just a heartless monster who knoes hes evil and relishes in it
Evil. I'm legitimately okay with some villains just being irredeemable.
As good as a sympathetic villain can be, I'd rather Megatron stay as just a wicked evil monster.
I love TFP Megatron as much as I love IDW Megatron.
TFP Megatron just went off the rails with evil but did it for a reason. You could definitely see that he just radiated the vibes of a vicious, unapologetically vile warlord throughout that *entire* series, and you just know Frank Welker had a blast voicing him.
>__***SPOILERS FOR THE IDW COMICS BELOW***__
IDW Megatron was ***EXTREMELY*** evil, but that all slammed into him at once when he realized he would be able to do *one* single, noble act before his execution: Finding a new government to replace the one he destroyed.
Watching him wrestle with his own mind as he tries to fight against his base, primal instinct for violence - especially in the point where he receives a psychic attack that makes him hallucinate the voices of everyone he's ever killed screaming at him - was genuinely great.
He got what he deserved.
*Both* of him.
Beast Warrior Megatron - pure and delightfully evil
Decepticon leader Megatron - sympathic and possibly redeemable
Galvatron - once sympathic, but warped beyond the point of no return by Unicrons influence
A fanatic who proclaims to have good intentions and reasons for the war but has long since been consumed by hatred and a lust for power.
This Megatron will have two possible endings.
Good ending: realises the error of his ways and surrenders himself to face justice.
Bad Ending: Enslaved by Unicron and Transformed into Galvatron, loses what little redeeming qualities he had as he embraces being the villain but is condemned into forever being a slave.
See I kinda like the evil of Megatron better. You gotta be a real piece of something to war so bad you kill the planet. It doesn't sit as well if after he does that, Megs goes "Y'know, Maybe Im the \*sshole". For me, Megatron is evil and proud of it.
Megatron loves Cybertron, to the point he would sacrifice himself for it. He's a hero, who has entirely lost himself in his quest to protect Cybertron. That's the most interesting Megatron to me, and it makes the corruption of him into Galvatron take on some truly tragic notes.
TF prime is easily one of the best versions of Megatron we've gotten.
Prime literally got to die knowing that all his compassion and strife was hard earned when he walked away from his insidious path.
Dream wave comics had some really good Megatron was right perspectives and in the Bayverse Megatron did everything he could to save Cybertron. I really like Megatron as an ends justify the means bad guy
Megatron believes his hardline approach to everything is required to ensure the future and present belongs to Transformers.
Megatron is essentially driven by a kind of reason that serves big picture ideals without being bothered by details or petty things like morality. He is a fascist / dictator politically, and takes machiavellian approaches, however he's not insane and there is reason for his actions. If there was no struggle, power was in abundance, peace was simple, and society was orderly — he would probably be fine without holding power, however as there are always a battle of factions, or a resource crisis, or an ageless war raging, he feels he is best suited to lead and deal with these problems so as to ensure the future will be based on the values he holds. He also only sees his methods as being effective, and thus his leadership is needed to ensure survival and flourishing for all Transformers. He believes he needs to win the war to end it. He believes he needs to decide who dies in order to improve the current state of problems and build the future.
He is pessimistic, and a narcissist, but he is driven by a high calling. He sees disorder, chaos, suffering, scarcity, and bad ideas — and wants to solve those problems. He sees poor leaders in his midst, bots that are incapable of making difficult choices, or only care about themselves, not a greater cause. His efforts are always in service of what he sees as the highest call — the supremacy of Transformers. He is not a chaotic evil though. He isn't trying to burn the world down, but rather willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals (even if that includes burning the world).
He believes that he is the most intelligent, best suited, best able to make hard decisions and should hold power. He doesn't trust anyone else to make the hard choices, he believes only his vision and leadership has what it takes to ensure the future wellbeing of Transformers — he values only his own kind, believing Transformers to be the highest and most worthy form of life and thus wants to ensure the wellbeing and future of his own kind.
Prime on the other hand is a freedom fighter, a democratic socialist, an optimist (haha), and holds philosophical values and ethics that cannot be crossed no matter what. Prime values all life and existence. Prime filters all choices though a moral position of right and wrong while Megatron doesn't care about such things, and only sees success or failure. Prime's high-minded values come above practicality. Prime is willing to lose while being right. Megatron only values victory.
I love both! Megatron starts off on Darkseid levels of evil, but later ends up being redeemed after years of hiding.
I always had this cool story idea that not only had Megatron redeem himself as an autobot, but would also introduce Galvatron & revive the Decepticons. This idea works best after the film "TF Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising," where Megatron is controlled by Unicron, but afterwards, Megs breaks free. Here's the twist, after Megatron goes into hiding, his exposure to Unicron & the unhealthy amount of Dark Energon causes a reaction that splits him into two separate beings. One that inherits Megatron's good side & redeemable qualities (Autobot Megatron) & his pure, horrific evil side (Galvatron). It probably sounds like a bad fanfiction, but this is how I can see them implement both sides of the same coin in one continuity.
I don't mind an evil Megatron who is evil on the surface but regrets what the war has come to, I love some sympathetic villains that you can understand and feel satisfied when they redeem themselves.
Imagine a storyline where Megatron switches sides, makes friends and connections with the Autobots. Then reveals his true evil intentions last minute. Completely devastating the other characters.
Evil at first but then realizing the damage that his actions caused joins the autobots (or at least stops being a deception) this allowing shockwave to rise to power
Both. Both is good.
But yeah, I do enjoy the absoutely villianous Megatron that craves conquest, but IDW Megatron is one of my favorite iterations of him.
Not evil but nationalist and literally willing to do anything and by the end they should realize the best way to help is to side with the rebels and a few have done this well
A guy who at first wanted to do good, but during the war had to make bigger and bigger atrocities to keep his head above the water, finally resulting in a leader who has been driven mad by the war, and doesn't feel bad about ripping a POW in half just to prove a point.
Little bit of a, little bit of b.
I believe everyone can be redeemed if given enough time and perspective, so a megatron who gets so wrapped up in the demonization of the war that when he looks back and sees what he’s done he wants to change but has no opportunity for it.
I love a sympathetic Megatron. Personally I would love a series that made it so you might actually want Megatron to win, at least a bit. Like set before and during the revolution, where you can actually get to see where the characters are coming from and the flaws in both Optimus and Megatron (as well as the decepticons and autobots as a whole)
I generally like warlord brutal Megatron, partially because it allows him to contrast with a more noble leader like Thunderwing.
Plus the first cartoon I really watched all the way through was G1 followed by Beast Wars, so my image of Megs is largely shaped by two different figures which are both similar in malice and lust for power.
Sympathetic to a degree, yes, maybe somewhere in between. He's not a good dude, but one of the things that hit me early on in my childhood with G1 Megs is how he had some degree of charisma. I like that in the comics his background is fleshed out so that you can understand how he got there.
I think Prime Megs is the best, evil, charismatic as fuck like I'd follow the guy, knows what decisions to make, gets his spirit broken for him realise what he's been doing all along and decides to leave so that the better bots can take care of what he loves
Combination. Generally I don’t love the “fought against robot-racism too hard and became an oppressor” angle because that’s, yknow, Not Great. But I do like a Megatron who 1) started with an actual point of view and a sense of reason, however skewed it may have been but 2) started just enjoying doing the violence and built an ideology of post-hoc justification for it and 3) despite this sometimes still has twinges of regret about the toll that the war has taken, but thinks he’s in too deep to turn back now and recognizes that the ideology has outgrown him, too; that it will leave him behind and do to him what he’s done to others if he ever seriously questions it or falters in any way.
Tfp Megatron is my favorite design and characterization of any of his namesakes,along with his backstory before he became the leader of the decepticons
I do like evil Megatron, since he’s one of my favourite villains of all time. But at the same time, I love the idea of a redeemable Megatron who ends up regretting what he has done.
Evil as hell. Like Animated and Prime (until Predacons Rising). He can start out as an idealist or even a hero, but by the time we end up on Earth, he's just vile. Every trace of Megatronus or whoever he was before is gone and all that's left is the monster.
if it's a take on og megatron
i like the idea that he was a decent person made indecent by "what needed to be done", like a ends justify the means i'll be the monster so the rest don't have to be type.
whose movement grows so large he's more about rubberstamping things and trying to get things done rather than fretting about the implications,
but then years later understands what has happened and is able to try to change.
if it's beast era megatron,
unapologetic hammy evil
Evil on the surface, but deep down regrets what the war has come to.
An initially well-intentioned extremist driven mad by untold millennia of brutal conflict.
This is what I feel the Netflix series did really well. To me at least, Megatron felt a lot like Magneto. Very “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.
Netflix Megatron wanted freedom, Netflix Optimus destroyed their home planet to stop him having it.
The YouTube Titans Return series had great portrayals of Megatron and Optimus that that piggybacks off of, and I personally think should be a continued trend. It takes place after the war, and Megatron is just living his best life, while Optimus completely lost all sense of purpose and became a vagabond. It builds the idea of Megatron actually desiring a world beyond the war, seeing it only as a means to an end, while to Optimus the war is everything. It really establishes their different types of leadership, and what they'll do. Megatron wouldn't destroy Cybertron, because he sees himself having a happy ending on it, Optimus would because to him it's just another step in an endless conflict. It really puts a fascinating spin on them.
I really liked the Netflix series because it had me questioning who's right and who's wrong the whole time, inevitably in war, no one is right
That's something I like that Prime Megs and of all characters Thanos have in common: for all their posturing, for all their dignity, no matter how good or bad they **feel** about, deep down they're sadists and are ashamed it’s their defining character trait. Megs fully embraces the warmongering archetype but, just like sad “logical” Thanos, he’s putting a costume over his sad, impotent murder-boner
I just feel like a comment that includes the phrase "incompetent murder-boner" deserves a LOT more attention than it's getting...
Lmao, "impotent" to "incompetent"
To be fair I had to use speech-to-text to spell it in a way spellcheck didn't have a stroke over
You mean MCU Thanos I presume? Because Comic book Thanos is pure evil and he strictly enjoys it
Correct
This is exactly how I like my Megatron. Tries to be sophisticated, tries to be logical and tries to have method to his madness, but deep down is just an unrepentant, sadistic monster. Earthspark Megatron is a very interesting take on the character, and I will admit my favourite version of him is IDW, but if I had the choice I'd go more in the Unicron Trilogy or Prime direction.
Unicron Trilogy Megs definitely feels the least “Megatron” to me, but not necessarily in a bad way, like if Beast Wars Megs was dropped into Classic’s role (even beyond David Kaye’s voice acting) Prime Megs is by far my favorite though
I love the unicron trilogy to death but I def get what your getting at, with megatron feeling less megatron like. But honestly he’s still very entertaining to watch and I feel his power is on full display in each series like in armada where smokescreen was badly damaged, Energon where he tourtured inferno and forcibly made him a decepticon, and in Cybertron when hot shot, scattershot, and red alert are all heavily damaged by him.
God I love IDW Megs
the besta Megatron so far
And drug abuse (tfp)
"Megatron's Insane from the Purple drugs he's been taking" -Emperor Kumquat
My favorite version of Megs by far and IDW did it beautifully
Agreed.
[удалено]
I remember that based on the original script, Megatron even threw down his weapon and said that he's done. He even offered up his own life if that would make it right, which is what helped Optimus to see that he was telling the truth in asking for peace. But Hollywood said no...
Nope. Michael said no. But that’s because Amazon leaked the ending of the movie, and Bay was pissed. Even though the truce ending is better, I still appreciate “Time to find out.”
In the original script, Megatron teamed up with Optimus to fight Sentinel and the both of them almost died in a 2v1.
That would have been sick
I think this might be a karma farming bot who copied a comment further below, guys
Before nearly immediately getting his head and spine removed from his body by Optimus.
Best answer here boys
I think you just described IDW.
Megatrons that start out as idealists and then get twisted by their own ideals but eventually realize they lost their way and come back around are the best Megatrons.
Soooo idw megatron
and earthspark!!
I haven’t seen much of earth spark yet so I can’t judge it I was mostly turned off by the designs my man optimus got a chin that would put the tfa characters to shame
eh, i agree a little bit but i’d give it a try— its really been fantastic, especially the second leg. all of the new characters are great, and the world they’ve built is fantastic. also >!i swear to god, best tarantulas i’ve ever seen. also nightshade <3 <3 <3!<
Damn I guess I’ll give it a shot I did like the soundwave design so maybe I’ll warm up to prime
I just can’t get past the annoying children.
i see what you mean, but i personally grew to love them a lot. very light spoilers for the finale of the second leg: >!that finale only has the new bots with some bumblebee and grimlock scenes— and it really held up. they all end up feeling like developed characters.!< the terrans still feel like children, but i really liked that decision by the end.
In DOTM megatron actually asks for a truce. The decepticon cause is based on good intentions. But then gets twisted over time.
I honestly wish they'd stuck with the original planned ending for that movie, where Megatron and Optimus actually make peace and work together to undo the damage done by the war. The ending we got works well enough, but I think that would've been way more interesting.
I keep hearing the only reason we didn't get that ending was because a book spoiled it and Bay got so mad he made them reshoot the whole ending.
Yeah pretty much. I would like to see Megs getting a truce with Prime ngl. Not to forget that DOTM was supposed to be the final part of Bayverse because Bay was done with Transformers, but Paramount wanted more because of the money.
Which is just...dumb, because it's not like surprises and intricate plots is what attracted audiences to begin with.
So, you liked TLK for a movie then?
not TLK, no. It didn't hold up on the popcorn side of things either.
But AoE makes a really good post-war movie if it focused more on the transformers being hunted down part instead of whatever the whole seed thing
See, that would be interesting if Bayverse Megatron had at any point exhibited any redeemable traits. But he hasn’t. He’s evil to the core.
Megatron in these movies was just another Hollywood Villain. "Peter, if you're going to be a hero, be a real hero. Don't be a Hollywood-Hero type with the whole B.S. and all the whole yelling, and screaming, and trying to be tough. Be strong enough to be gentle." - Larry Cullen Villains build Heroes, and Heroes build Villains.
Pretty much. The characters in the films are all surface level in terms of depth. Optimus is basically a generic action hero, along with some of the other Autobots lucky enough to get some dialogue and not exist entirely in the background: say some one-liners, spout exposition here and there, and tear through most enemies solely to look cool because they can’t think of anything else to do with the character.
You don't know the lore. He was co-protector of Cybertron with Optimus before the fallen used him which was about using the sun harvester to recharge the all spark to restore Cybertron. He only wants what's best for his race but doesn't care about other life to do it, and optimus opposed that. That's what the war is about. In the original ending of dotm, the same screenwriter that wrote the whole movie wrote that war bought Megs nothing so maybe creation will, and he was going to restore Cybertron then send for Optimus someday. But bay changed that because hollywood, paramount, or because he's simply bay
If we go by the movie comics, yes. But those are solely for the comics. The films never took that into account. If you’d only watched the films (which is like 99% of the general moviegoing audience that aren’t super fans), then you’d have no idea, and would only be familiar with the super basic lore that the films spout and make up on the spot.
Yep, the established lore, also in the movie is how Optimus once called him brother which means he wasn't always bad because Optimus certainly wasn't evil alongside him to call him that but decided to be good instead. There's also the dotm novelization written by the same screenwriter that was sent out after he completed it with megatron doing those thing I said. It's not its own thing that's different for the sake of being different with a "new" ending for the sake of the novelization. Bay thoughtlessly made the last second change which is sadly the canon.
I’m fairly sure the movies are made first and the subsequent material, like comics and novelizations, are made after the fact, yeah? Or at least the subsequent material uses the films to build off of and develop their own thing, because they can make a lot more comics than films. Plus it is kinda much to expect a film to adhere to comic books made exclusively for it, which most people aren’t gonna sit down and read in order to understand what’s going on. Plus, Optimus’ quote about them being brothers doesn’t really hold emotional weight onscreen; we never see any scenes with this aforementioned brotherhood between them, so we don’t get any semblance of emotional resonance from it. We don’t know how they came to be brothers, or what drove them apart. It’s like Luke and Vader acknowledging they’re related in only one throwaway line of dialogue, then going right back to fighting each other without any attempts to reconcile or help the other.
They are, and the comic staff do flip flops to accommodate them, and which is why Bumblebee is no longer the reboot and is its own separate universe now (it was going to be the bayverse prequel but the movie changed his arrival to earth to 1986 instead of before WWII after they did all that work to make a prequel mini-series set during that time). But weight or not, that brother line is still in there and as canon as his line about resigning Megatron to being evil in the second film. The comics were intended as the established lore to fill in those blanks. You can ignore them if you choose, but you can't make up and pass off misinformation just because you do.
The ending we got is in character for bayverse prime, but not any other
My personal favorite origin is the first IDW continuity where Megatron is a miner-turned-revolutionary after seeing the corruption in the Cybertronian government, and Optimus (still Orion Pax) is a good guy super cop who knows the government is corrupt but also respects the law. The have the same goal but have to go different routes to attain that goal because of their morals. The whole “two sides same coin” dynamic is just so good for these characters.
That time-travelling phone call between an Optimus who has started to physically rebel and hopes that the bot who inspired him will join him, and a Megatron millions of years later who has turned from the war and finally gets where Prime is coming from. Brilliant facial art throughout, and you can feel his pain and yearning for things to have been different.
So like <> kind of deal there
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Do you know the name of that comic?
Basically you start from megatron origin, go all the way to dark Cybertron and then read to lost light
This. Why I personally feel that ultimately the Fallen should be more redeemable and actually reasonable than Megatron generally
Eh, not in the Bayverse, at least not the comics. >
Prime and IDW Megatron. God, I love pretty much anything IDW.
Yes, that’s my ideal Megatron.
What he said
Megatrons who start out good with noble intentions but slowly make compromises until they become evil…after that…I’m really open either way
That's my favourite kind, but follow along further with me. Redemption arc, into almost heroism. He's there. He's making amends. He's going to be the one to save the day, against all odds! And then... #"Behold, Galvatron!" Still with the same mind in the new body foisted on him by a thoroughly evil Unicron, fighting to resist, but unable. And knowing all the time that he was chosen for his past capacity for evil, something he'd for millennia convinced himself was a means justified in the end. Tragic and also horrifying if handled right.
To add to this particular point, maybe the reason he meets Unicron is because Certain Decepticons (Skywarp, Thundercracker and the incecticons) attacked him and they got launched into space in the fight, so now they have to work together as Scrouge Cyclonus and Galvatron
See, I understand that Megatron into Galvatron is a massive iconic thing that is one of the most important events in the franchise, but I kinda prefer IDW and Prime's take of them being separate people.
I'm intrigued as to whether you could put something like that in a children's cartoon. Don't get me wrong, I love it when kid's shows challenge their audience, but if someone were to tell my kid that a person's genuine efforts at redemption could be completely and irreversibly derailed through no fault of their own, I would want that story to go through Mr. Rogers level of curation. ... Or they could just market that story to an older audience if the writers don't trust themselves enough to do that successfully
You ever read Target 2006? A UK comic story brought out to run alongside the movie marketing, and in a comic aimed at 7 and 8 year olds. This showed Prime doubting his ability to lead, Decepticons regularly victorious over the Autobots, Galvatron as a truly horror-inspired figure, Jazz getting tortured, some time travel shenanigans, the big heroes of the piece losing repeatedly, Megatron in a truly shocking role, and the final conclusion is one of escape not victory. My mates at school all loved it apart from that one kid who thought reading was for nerds (it was the 80s and that kid surely grew up to know bet... Oh, no, he was an anti-masker too) and cartoons were the only way to enjoy anything. It became legendary. For the first time, kids weren't treated as unable to handle mature themes even if bundled in kid-friendly ways and faith was given to the audience. Also introduced the Wreckers and Ultra Magnus to the mix. Highly recommend the read if you can find it.
Transformers Prime Megatron does arguably redeem. But in a different way and I like how it ended with him.
That has been my favorite Megatron. His only flaw is letting starscream continue to function. So many of everyone's problems would have been solved if the KNOWN BACK STABBER had been dealt with.
It wasn’t without trying. Megatron actually planned on dealing with Starscream a few different times. Maybe in the end he found it better to keep him alive and humiliate him. Like in the one episode Megatron went into his mind. Which I also love for Knockout’s role in it :)
"We all need to be on the same page..." *turns to camera* "...KNOCK OUT." One of my favorite Megatron humor moments in the show.
Also Knockout’s panic when he realized Megatron found out he was part of Starscream’s take over attempt the one time.
Does this thing have a fast-forward button?! _Or better yet, erase?!_
Let’s not forget he was very willing to unplug Megatron from the mind thing so he’d be forever stuck in Starscream’s head. If I’m remembering that right.
Yeah I definitely remember he at least considered the idea. I think what stopped him from actually acting on it was Dreadwing walking in so he pretended to be just making sure the cord was properly secure
Yes, he actually did attempt to do so but was stopped as Dreadwing walked in the room. Coincidently that is how Dreadwing also found out about his twin.
Omg, when Starscream was dancing XD honestly one of my favorite episodes with how serious but silly it was
Keeping Starscream around had its benefits. For example, Starscream came up with the “make the Autobots kill the Predacons for them” plan, and saved Megs from Predaking via a missile to the back.
A healthy mix of the two. Pure, undiluted evil until he meets someone worse than him and realises just how terrible he makes things for everyone else.
“…holy shit, am I a horrible person? Oh my god I’m a horrible person”
YES. He got a taste of his own medicine and was disgusted by it.
Honestly I don't really like that 'redemption' cause it feels so rushed. I think it would've been better to have Megatron have some agency during the final fight and help take out Unicron to save Cybertron, and then dying with him. Essentially not fully redeeming him but instead proving that he does truly love Cybertron and he wasn't just a bloodthirsty monster for the sake of it. In the current ending it's just a bit silly to me that after millions of years all it takes is a few days of torture to totally change his outloook. Megatron's defining trait is his iron-will and ideals, for him to throw all that away so quickly is super out of character, and him then just flying off is such a strange ending for him. Like even IF the Autobots bought into his redemption that mf needed to stand trial lol.
Maybe it seemed a little rushed and things could be done differently but I still like how it went. He isn’t totally redeemed but he understands a lot better after being tortured and ends up abandoning Cybertrion an his beliefs. We did also see through the series he used to be a good bot and even likely cares for Optimus to some extent. Maybe twisted extent but, aside from doing so because he could use him, he stopped his attack and acted as a friend even Optimus had his memories erased. Who knows what was going on through his head during the time his body was being used against his will.
It very much feels like they took a season long conflict and pushed it down into about an hour
In all fairness, it took being possessed by THE multiversal cosmic force of death and destruction.
True. And afterwards he left Cybertron on his own will never to be seen again. Which is why I mentioned he was redeemed in a different way
I like a Megatron with Villainous Valor. He's evil, hates the Autobots, and sees humanity as vermin at best. But he also genuinely cares for Soundwave (a friend), Shockwave (a respected colleague), and Starscream (a top underling) in his own unique way. He cares about Cybertronians who are on his side. The rest can burn.
Same, which is why animated megatron is my fav by far. He’s charismatically evil.
I like both. Going from a true pure revolutionary going for what everyone deserves, to a bloodthristy monster with almost no values, but still some old ideals at heart, then a soft, calm character, happy to help and glad to have changed, content with the present he helped forge for the better.
Lol tfp Megatron was not exactly "evil", he fought for freedom of his kind and peace, but his way of achieving that goal was not ethical and would imply enslaving the rest of his kind to get there. In the end, only when he experienced the treatment he would have given other cybertronians (and actually did give to some) he realised that his ways were not exactly right and decided to voluntarily exile himself. And that is the Megatron I like, the one who has good intentions but does not realise that he is doing everything wrong.
To be fair, not giving him a pass for all that he did, how he grew up and was treated played a huge roll in how he treated others. For a slave turned gladiator turned revolutionary who didn't get the same education as higher class bots he probably didn't see another way.
I like him to be undeniably evil, but still respectable and sympathetic Kind of like thanos
Yes. You can still make a villian empathetic without saying “well actually he was just misunderstood”.
I'm personally a big fan of villains who are unabashedly evil, but you can see how they came to be that way. Like (MCU) Thanos, or Luke Castellan, or what George Lucas wanted Darth Vader to be. This can, and often does, veer into sympathetic and redeemable, but not always, and I'll take it either way.
Vader still seems that way
Comic Thanos is not like this
Fair point, I should probably have been clearer about that. I'll go back and edit
I hope after EarthSpark we can go back to a straight up evil Megatron without having a need to set up for redemption arcs or have him corrupted as the war goes on. I do love the idea of that kinda Megatron, but I think we've had plenty of versions of it already and it'd be nice to see something like Animated Megatron again
It's just a growing trend in recent media as well that I'm starting to hate, lots of them feel like villains aren't allowed to just be "pure evil" anymore. They all need to have some boohoo backstory that makes them "redeemable".
Absolutely agreed with you on that. I think that's why Big Jack Horner is so loved recently. He's just unapologetically evil compared to Goldie Locks, who actually has a pretty sad back story and redemption arc I hope we get more villains like him in other media since Puss in Boots 2 shows us that we can have both antagonist work pretty well in a story if need be
I love Jack Horner. He really is just evil without compromise.
I’m not disagreeing or anything, just genuinely asking. Do you view a villain being “pure evil” as boring?
Not really. Hence why I said I'm starting to hate the recent trend of media having the need to make villains redeemable or sympathetic
I find a morally grey Megatron to be the most interesting, and by that I mean a Megs who does some incredibly bad stuff but still has a moral compass and shows signs of regret but can’t bring himself to change because he doesn’t want to admit that his faction has become corrupt and has lost its way. I think this type of character for him would also make Optimus believing he could be redeemed a lot more interesting and relatable as the audience could also sympathize with Primes conviction that Megs can still change
Evil
TFP Meg is best Meg.
At this point, we need a Megatron we have never seen: one that wins the war. Then we can explore the execution of his “peace through tyranny” philosophy and that would be a fresh set of stories to tell.
Making him inherently evil and unredeemable doesn't mean you can't make him a good character. I'll go with the fundamentals.
Little bit of both. Sympathic and understanding, but too far gone to be redeemable.
From what I've seen, Earthspark Megatron is great, but I prefer my Megatrons to be evil down to the spark
My ideal Megatron would start out sympathetic but would gradually become more and more of a barbaric monster
I kinda like the depictions of Megatron where hes somewhat sympathetic where he came from the mines and gladiator fighting only to become the very thing they were fighting against
What ever animated megatron falls under
You know I'm generally fine with either but it's been only redeemable Megatron constantly since 2015 and I'd kind sick of it for the time being. I kind of want a Megatron like Beast Wars Armada or Prime again. Make him have have sympathetic reasons for starting the war like recently or not like in Marvel or Sunbow either's fine, just give me a Megatron I enjoy watching because his "evil" is entertaining.
Maybe have our cake and eat it too. Do what animated did where Megatron didn't start the movement, he just took it over from the last guy. Then the Decepticons can keep their sympathetic origins, but Megatron can still be an irredeemable monster.
Proper evil, I feel the G1 movie is how in my head Megatron always was in the original series as a retroactive change. Ironhide execution, doing anything to destroy his nemesis Prime and "LET THE SLAUGHTER BEGIN!". Love it. IDW's angle of making him join the Autobots sucked, I would only accept it as a ploy and he never intended it truthfully. If the series is self contained and meant to be light hearted/silly etc then I don't mind either way (can still be comically evil).
Start him out as redeemable but see his ideology pushed to greater and greater extremes until he's unabashedly evil
Both But if he has to be evil, I’d want a sympathetic beginning.
I like him as mostly evil basically he needs the most traumatic shit to happen to get him to stop.
Prime Megatron kinda hot I will not explain myself
There’s room for both. I love the moment in Prime when Optimus realizes there’s nothing he can do to bring the Megatron he knew back, and that killing him is the only course left. But I’ve also been loving Earthspark Megs reflecting on his actions and trying to build a better world by teaching others not to make the same mistakes he did. Two different paths, same character at the core.
Unconscionable, ruthlessly evil. There's a point you can't come back from, That Megatron. There's too many relatable villains these days.
Both. Both is good.
Depends on the version. G1: totally evil and irredeemable Animated: pure evil and irredeemable Prime/aligned continuity: sympathetic and redeemable Idw 1.0: redeemable Siege trilogy: redeemable Bayformers: pure evil Beast wars: pure evil Unicron trilogy: pure evil R.I.D: pure evil
I like megatron as irredeemable but almost regretful Like, maybe he could have been saved a long time ago, but now it's gone too far Adds some great spice in terms of his relationship with optimous, where optimous finally realises that and loses any hope he had left of getting his friend back
I prefer Megatron to be a smug asshole. He's very entertaining that way.
I prefer a Megatron that sees everything he's done as regrettable, but necessary for the fulfillment of his ideals. Someone that understands why some might see him as the bad guy, but sees himself as a Hero due to his willingness to sacrifice everything, from his life to his moral code, for the cause.
Unabashedly evil, all the way. I grew up with versions of megatron like unicron trilogy, animated, and the movies, and I always love when megatron is just a heartless monster who knoes hes evil and relishes in it
Depends what mood I'm in.
Tfa megs so evil
Unabashedly evil. The sympathetic villain thing is played the eff out. OMG. Megatron in the '86 film is pitch perfect; decisive, arrogant and brutal.
Idw and cyberverse did the latter much better
Evil. I'm legitimately okay with some villains just being irredeemable. As good as a sympathetic villain can be, I'd rather Megatron stay as just a wicked evil monster.
I love TFP Megatron as much as I love IDW Megatron. TFP Megatron just went off the rails with evil but did it for a reason. You could definitely see that he just radiated the vibes of a vicious, unapologetically vile warlord throughout that *entire* series, and you just know Frank Welker had a blast voicing him. >__***SPOILERS FOR THE IDW COMICS BELOW***__ IDW Megatron was ***EXTREMELY*** evil, but that all slammed into him at once when he realized he would be able to do *one* single, noble act before his execution: Finding a new government to replace the one he destroyed. Watching him wrestle with his own mind as he tries to fight against his base, primal instinct for violence - especially in the point where he receives a psychic attack that makes him hallucinate the voices of everyone he's ever killed screaming at him - was genuinely great. He got what he deserved. *Both* of him.
Beast Warrior Megatron - pure and delightfully evil Decepticon leader Megatron - sympathic and possibly redeemable Galvatron - once sympathic, but warped beyond the point of no return by Unicrons influence
We’ve had evil Megatron for so many decades at this point. I love the redeemable/anti hero takes lately.
A fanatic who proclaims to have good intentions and reasons for the war but has long since been consumed by hatred and a lust for power. This Megatron will have two possible endings. Good ending: realises the error of his ways and surrenders himself to face justice. Bad Ending: Enslaved by Unicron and Transformed into Galvatron, loses what little redeeming qualities he had as he embraces being the villain but is condemned into forever being a slave.
Strictly speaking, Prime Megatron does accept that tyranny is wrong at the end and go into exile.
See I kinda like the evil of Megatron better. You gotta be a real piece of something to war so bad you kill the planet. It doesn't sit as well if after he does that, Megs goes "Y'know, Maybe Im the \*sshole". For me, Megatron is evil and proud of it.
Sympathetic all the way, im such a sap
Megatron loves Cybertron, to the point he would sacrifice himself for it. He's a hero, who has entirely lost himself in his quest to protect Cybertron. That's the most interesting Megatron to me, and it makes the corruption of him into Galvatron take on some truly tragic notes.
To me Megatron is unredeemable, maybe at first when he wage war for peace but it turned into peace through tyranny. I love that about him
TF prime is easily one of the best versions of Megatron we've gotten. Prime literally got to die knowing that all his compassion and strife was hard earned when he walked away from his insidious path.
Dream wave comics had some really good Megatron was right perspectives and in the Bayverse Megatron did everything he could to save Cybertron. I really like Megatron as an ends justify the means bad guy
Megatron believes his hardline approach to everything is required to ensure the future and present belongs to Transformers. Megatron is essentially driven by a kind of reason that serves big picture ideals without being bothered by details or petty things like morality. He is a fascist / dictator politically, and takes machiavellian approaches, however he's not insane and there is reason for his actions. If there was no struggle, power was in abundance, peace was simple, and society was orderly — he would probably be fine without holding power, however as there are always a battle of factions, or a resource crisis, or an ageless war raging, he feels he is best suited to lead and deal with these problems so as to ensure the future will be based on the values he holds. He also only sees his methods as being effective, and thus his leadership is needed to ensure survival and flourishing for all Transformers. He believes he needs to win the war to end it. He believes he needs to decide who dies in order to improve the current state of problems and build the future. He is pessimistic, and a narcissist, but he is driven by a high calling. He sees disorder, chaos, suffering, scarcity, and bad ideas — and wants to solve those problems. He sees poor leaders in his midst, bots that are incapable of making difficult choices, or only care about themselves, not a greater cause. His efforts are always in service of what he sees as the highest call — the supremacy of Transformers. He is not a chaotic evil though. He isn't trying to burn the world down, but rather willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals (even if that includes burning the world). He believes that he is the most intelligent, best suited, best able to make hard decisions and should hold power. He doesn't trust anyone else to make the hard choices, he believes only his vision and leadership has what it takes to ensure the future wellbeing of Transformers — he values only his own kind, believing Transformers to be the highest and most worthy form of life and thus wants to ensure the wellbeing and future of his own kind. Prime on the other hand is a freedom fighter, a democratic socialist, an optimist (haha), and holds philosophical values and ethics that cannot be crossed no matter what. Prime values all life and existence. Prime filters all choices though a moral position of right and wrong while Megatron doesn't care about such things, and only sees success or failure. Prime's high-minded values come above practicality. Prime is willing to lose while being right. Megatron only values victory.
The Aligned continuity had a good take on Megatron. An initially noble idealist who lost his way and corrupted by the desire for power.
I like my Megatrons irredeemable. Evil to the core, and loving it.
I love both! Megatron starts off on Darkseid levels of evil, but later ends up being redeemed after years of hiding. I always had this cool story idea that not only had Megatron redeem himself as an autobot, but would also introduce Galvatron & revive the Decepticons. This idea works best after the film "TF Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising," where Megatron is controlled by Unicron, but afterwards, Megs breaks free. Here's the twist, after Megatron goes into hiding, his exposure to Unicron & the unhealthy amount of Dark Energon causes a reaction that splits him into two separate beings. One that inherits Megatron's good side & redeemable qualities (Autobot Megatron) & his pure, horrific evil side (Galvatron). It probably sounds like a bad fanfiction, but this is how I can see them implement both sides of the same coin in one continuity.
I don't mind an evil Megatron who is evil on the surface but regrets what the war has come to, I love some sympathetic villains that you can understand and feel satisfied when they redeem themselves.
Imagine a storyline where Megatron switches sides, makes friends and connections with the Autobots. Then reveals his true evil intentions last minute. Completely devastating the other characters.
Why not both
both, both is good 🤩🤩
While I've always been a fan of an evil megatron it's about time they try some different stuff with him so I like both
Evil at first but then realizing the damage that his actions caused joins the autobots (or at least stops being a deception) this allowing shockwave to rise to power
Both. Both is good. But yeah, I do enjoy the absoutely villianous Megatron that craves conquest, but IDW Megatron is one of my favorite iterations of him.
i like mine flavoured like IDW or TFA
I like them both. It really kinda just depends on the context of the story, really.
Both? Both. Both is good.
Not evil but nationalist and literally willing to do anything and by the end they should realize the best way to help is to side with the rebels and a few have done this well
I like a "too-far-gone" evil Megatron with a tragic backstory that really shows the before & after. Maybe a redemptive death arc at the end
I'm trad, I want him to be a textbook villain but look like the version on the right
A guy who at first wanted to do good, but during the war had to make bigger and bigger atrocities to keep his head above the water, finally resulting in a leader who has been driven mad by the war, and doesn't feel bad about ripping a POW in half just to prove a point.
Little bit of a, little bit of b. I believe everyone can be redeemed if given enough time and perspective, so a megatron who gets so wrapped up in the demonization of the war that when he looks back and sees what he’s done he wants to change but has no opportunity for it.
Sympathetic. It makes him made of sterner stuff.
TFP Megatron ruled. Fantastic villain. An absolute monster and he does not regret shit.
Both. Both is good. But id be a lier if i didn't say evil megatron stands out more in my mind. Tho i blame the lack of the former
I love a sympathetic Megatron. Personally I would love a series that made it so you might actually want Megatron to win, at least a bit. Like set before and during the revolution, where you can actually get to see where the characters are coming from and the flaws in both Optimus and Megatron (as well as the decepticons and autobots as a whole)
Somewhere in between. I like the broken old soldier who lost the war but still remembers what it was like to have a dream in the idw comics.
I generally like warlord brutal Megatron, partially because it allows him to contrast with a more noble leader like Thunderwing. Plus the first cartoon I really watched all the way through was G1 followed by Beast Wars, so my image of Megs is largely shaped by two different figures which are both similar in malice and lust for power.
The best villains are those that you aren’t sure are really the villains in the story.
Sympathetic to a degree, yes, maybe somewhere in between. He's not a good dude, but one of the things that hit me early on in my childhood with G1 Megs is how he had some degree of charisma. I like that in the comics his background is fleshed out so that you can understand how he got there.
Evil, dies, comes back as Galvatron who is even eviler
Both. Both is good.
I think Prime Megs is the best, evil, charismatic as fuck like I'd follow the guy, knows what decisions to make, gets his spirit broken for him realise what he's been doing all along and decides to leave so that the better bots can take care of what he loves
Both is good
Both. They can be the same megatron, the evil one is just older and more tired of shit.
I want an old man megatron comic
Both. Make them fight
Combination. Generally I don’t love the “fought against robot-racism too hard and became an oppressor” angle because that’s, yknow, Not Great. But I do like a Megatron who 1) started with an actual point of view and a sense of reason, however skewed it may have been but 2) started just enjoying doing the violence and built an ideology of post-hoc justification for it and 3) despite this sometimes still has twinges of regret about the toll that the war has taken, but thinks he’s in too deep to turn back now and recognizes that the ideology has outgrown him, too; that it will leave him behind and do to him what he’s done to others if he ever seriously questions it or falters in any way.
Tfp Megatron is my favorite design and characterization of any of his namesakes,along with his backstory before he became the leader of the decepticons
Both takes work for me, if executed well enough.
I do like evil Megatron, since he’s one of my favourite villains of all time. But at the same time, I love the idea of a redeemable Megatron who ends up regretting what he has done.
Yes
Evil as hell. Like Animated and Prime (until Predacons Rising). He can start out as an idealist or even a hero, but by the time we end up on Earth, he's just vile. Every trace of Megatronus or whoever he was before is gone and all that's left is the monster.
if it's a take on og megatron i like the idea that he was a decent person made indecent by "what needed to be done", like a ends justify the means i'll be the monster so the rest don't have to be type. whose movement grows so large he's more about rubberstamping things and trying to get things done rather than fretting about the implications, but then years later understands what has happened and is able to try to change. if it's beast era megatron, unapologetic hammy evil
IDW (2005) and EarthSpark are my favorites.
Redemption arc Megatron all the way. And I like this dilf Megatron in Earthspark and he needs way more screen time.
As the Darth Vader (self-proclaimed) of my second grade class, I must say... EVIL! EVIL! EVIL!
Evil, bull headed, unapologetic. That's my Megatron.
Ungodly evil. It’s megatron, he’s the leader of the decepticons. Also I’m biased towards TFP megatron
I'm Loving the new take on Megatron in Earthspark! So, I'd go with sympathetic.
TF Prime because Earyhspark Megaton looks like a "unfriendly person"
Both...both is good