[Character profile] Megatron

Megatron. A Transformers character with whom I have an extremely ambivalent relationship as a Fanfiction writer, courtesy of Bob Budiansky and Simon Furman.

I always found the cartoon Megatron a cliche. He was at once menacing but also constantly failing. His one great ability was to come full circle after each episode to retain an air of menace despite no tangible results. The cartoon made sure that the status quo never changed. Megatron was boringly evil. He didn't have the sense of desperation of a Cobra Commander or the aura of a Mum-ra. His personality only shined in his clashes with Starscream, but by and large he was busy swearing revenge, or that he'd be back to conquer the universe next time.

Meanwhile, in Bob Budiansky's rendition we got a Megatron who had ruled as a war lord for 4 million years and was on the brink of being overthrown by a calculating computer intent on replacing brute force with cold logic. Reduced to guard duty in the ark, so  began the Ratchet-Megatron dynamic that Furman would pick up on after the Underbase saga.

This Megatron, the warlord on the brink of his downfall, thrown onto an alien planet, was far more interesting than the cartoon Megatron. My intention to introduce Megatron into my comics as still fused to Ratchet's brain was clear from an early episode in Disintergration, where Megatron temporarily takes control of Ratchet's body. However, my odd aversion to the G1 or G1 inspired toys continued. Finally, I settled on Combiner Wars G1 inspired Megatron, but when faced with his mold mate Armada Megatron I simply couldn't resist the allure of the Unicron Trilogy version. 

So in the end, late into my comics, Megatron was finally introduced as having the mind of Marvel Megatron and the body of an amalgamation dutifully pieced together by Chopshop (a perfect nod to his character specifications!) And assembled by a morally torn Ratchet who knew what he was doing was wrong, but couldn't stand to have Megatron pollute his brain any more. (This theme can also be seen in my treatment of Cyclonus and Galvatron).

Speaking of Galvatron, later in the comics when he is introduced and summarily reduced to space garbage which the Terrorcons collect as food for Hun-Grr, it is hinted that his Headmaster is Megatron. This seems to contradict my own story and is never explained or explored again. It is not an example of bad writing, but of being faithful to the source material which progresses despite bizarre holes.

Anyways, Armada/Marvel Megatron hybrid doesn't really stick around for very long, collapsing quickly into the cartoon cliche of exuding menace while at the same time failing in his bids for power. We don't really know what happened to him as The Fires of Hades ends on a cliff hanger which is a mystery to this day.

But it doesn't matter because in Decepticon Roulette, tired of infighting, exile and defeat, a group of Decepticons go in search of the oldest and first  Megatron...er...First Megatron. 

First Megatron had two origins in my comic: first I just liked the design and the figure. I suppose the fusion cannon really spoke to me, as did the overall aesthetic. In general, the movie Megatron designs were all fantastic, but the toys not so much - until Voyager LK Megatron came along.

I decided to try to make him a properly dangerous villain, and for a while things seem to have been successful until his flaw came to light: a suicidal sense of honor.

The character was soon quickly on his way to becoming a pretext for character development for Drift. And that's where we'll see him next following the Volcano cannon saga debacle!