As the Transformers franchise has grown, more continuities separate from the original series and its subsidiaries have come into existence, each featuring their own unique version of the character Megatron. In most cases, the "Megatron" character serves as the primary antagonist and Decepticon (or Predacon) leader of his respective continuity, much like the original version of the character.

Beast Era

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Megatron is a Six-Changer, powerful enough to transform into five additional modes besides his robot form - twin-headed dragon, bat-gargoyle creature, race car, spaceship and claw (GigaDragon, GigaBat, GigaFormula, GigaJet and GigaHand in Japanese). Each form has its own different frightening capabilities, making Megatron a very unstable and unpredictable fighter. (In Car Robots, each mode even had its own personality.) Unlike his namesake, Megatron would often sit back from a conflict and allow his subordinates to do the dirty work, like his counterparts, he is arrogant, but unlike them, he also was incompetent, as most of his schemes were badly planned, and badly executed.

(It should be noted that in the original Car Robots series, the character was developed as a new, unique villain character, rather than a Megatron, however the name was used in the U.S. due to recognition, as well as maintaining ownership of the trademark.)

Animated series

A Predacon warlord before coming to Earth, he is believed to have decimated numerous planets in his quest for energy. Optimus stated that Megatron left entire planets as "lifeless barren rocks". Needing ever more energy, Megatron targeted Earth's energy; to that end, he kidnapped the human energy-research expert, Doctor Kenneth Onishi, using his psycho-probe to drain information on Earth's energy sources from his mind. But even his subordinates were unaware that Megatron had a greater scheme in motion...

His attempts to amass energy thwarted by the Autobots and the incompetence of his own troops, Megatron sought to bolster his forces, locating six Autobot protoforms in a crashed Cybertronian spaceship, bestowing them with military vehicle modes and corrupting them with his own Spark energy, creating the Decepticons. However, their leader, Scourge, happened to scan Optimus Prime along with the tanker that would form his alternate mode, and as a result became something of an "evil clone" of Prime, whose cruelty and cunning eventually extended to plotting against Megatron.

In the pursuit of his greater agenda, Megatron began seeking the mysterious O-Parts, which led to the Orb of Sigma, in a subterranean pyramid. The orb would lead to Cerebros, the power key to the huge Autobot battle station, Fortress Maximus, who, it was revealed, he had actually come to Earth to obtain. When Megatron was buried in the ruins of the pyramid following a failed attempt to steal the orb from the Autobots, he underwent his most startling transformation of all, as the energies of the pyramid resurrected him as the vampiric Galvatron (known in Japan as DevilGigatron), able to enhance his own strength by draining the life energy from others. As Galvatron, he possessed four additional transformations - a hydrofoil, a gryphon, a pterodactyl and an elephant, used to terrifying effect when he drained the energy of Fortress Maximus and engaged Omega Prime in a final battle at the Earth's core. Thankfully, Prime was able to defeat him with the gathered energy of Earth's children, courtesy of Fortress Maximus, and he was sent back to Cybertron for imprisonment.

Dreamwave Productions

The character of RiD Megatron made one appearance in Dreamwave comics Summer Special issue before the company went under, sending his bickering lieutenants Scourge and Sky-Byte to steal a nuclear generator while he led the other Decepticons and Predacons to distract the Autobots. There was a contest in the issue as to whether RiD or Beast Wars would be the next Dreamwave comic series, which Beast Wars won.

Toys

• Car Robots Gigatron' (2000)

An Ultra-sized figure that transforms from robot to two-headed dragon (GigaDragon), bat-gargoyle (GigaBat), Cybertronian race car (GigaFormula), Cybertronian jet (GigaJet) and giant hand (GigaHand).

• Car Robots Devil Gigatron' (2000)

A white redeco of Gigatron retooled to transform into four extra modes: hydrofoil, gryphon, pterodactyl and elephant.

• Robots in Disguise Ultra Megatron' (2001)

In Japan, Car Robots Gigatron has 6 modes, while Devil Gigatron has retooling to support 10 modes. However when the line was brought to the U.S., RiD Megatron was based on the retooled Devil Gigatron mold, but with the black Gigatron color scheme, and is therefore capable of the same 10 modes as RiD Galvatron.

This figure was also remolded as the BotCon 2005 exclusive figure Deathsaurus.

• Robots in Disguise Ultra Galvatron' (2002)

The U.S. version of Devil Gigatron.

Unicron Trilogy

2007 Transformers film

In the 2007 live action Transformers film, Megatron appears as a Cybertronian jet. He functions as the main villain of the film. 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".) 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. In the second film, Megatron gains a different alternate mode, that of a Cybertronian tank.

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 movie, along with the exclusive animated prequel.

Like all characters in the film, Megatron was heavily redesigned for purposes of realism and focus on an 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 apparatus.According to an early interview with Michael Bay, Megatron stands at 34 feet(10.3M) tall , but according to his profile in the second issue of the Transformers UK comic Megatron stands "over 35 feet (10.6 m) tall" and weighs 5.7 tons. Additionally, the magazine and the Movie Guide states he is powered by a self-regenerating dark matter power core.

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 Allspark, just as a mysterious artifact was unearthed. Megatron was gravely injured, but the artifact (containing the Fallen) awoke and healed him, swaying him with promises of power. Megatron soon desired power over the Allspark, and under the Fallen's influence, formed the Decepticons, sending the bulk of his soldiers in a craft, the Nemesis.

The Autobots attempted to hide the Allspark, but Megatron saw through the ruse and launched a full scale attack, during which the Allspark was launched into space. Megatron almost caught up with the Allspark as it landed on Earth. In his reckless desire to possess it, Megatron pursued it right into Earth's atmosphere, resulting in his being frozen in stasis lock. At the turn of the 20th century, Captain Archibald Witwicky discovered the Decepticon during an Arctic expedition. A crew of men later took his body, dubbing him the "Ice-man", and kept him in storage up until the present day, eventually relocating him to 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 was revealed that reverse engineering of his body had produced a spacecraft called "Ghost-1", which was sent into space in 1969, where the humans on board encountered Megatron (here referred to throughout as the "Ice Man") is briefly reanimated in the middle of a battle between Americans and Russians. However, he becomes frozen once again.

The children's book, Transformers - Meet The Decepticons by Jennifer Frantz, had a slightly different ending than the movie. This book had all six Decepticons leaving Earth together after being defeated by the Autobots, instead of having most of their numbers die.

Movie plot

After being discovered by Archibald Witwicky, Megatron's frozen body was transported to Hoover Dam to be guarded by Sector Seven, a secret government organization who studies extraterrestrial activities. Agent Seymour Simmons explains that Megatron's technology was reverse-engineered, producing the world's modern technology. Megatron's location, as well as the Allspark's, is located by a group of Decepticons led by Starscream. Frenzy thaws out Megatron, who escapes outside and learns from Starscream that the humans have the Allspark. Megatron pursues the Autobots and their allies to Mission City where he quickly disposes of Jazz and then battled 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 Allspark. Sam declines, prompting Megatron to knock the boy off the roof of the building with his flail. Optimus saves Sam and battles Megatron again. During the battle, 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 for the sequel film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, where he is depicted more as The Fallen's enforcer rather than commander of the Decepticon armies. Megatron is revived by Scalpel and the Constructicons with an Allspark shard and now takes on the form of a Cybertronian winged tank. He then flies to the Nemesis and talks to his master, the Fallen, of the Allspark's demise before discovering 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, Mikaela Banes and Leo Spitz then get dropped 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 remove energon information from Sam's brain, but Scalpel is quickly stopped by Optimus Prime. Megatron and Prime fight outside and Starscream and Grindor join in. The fight ends with Megatron killing Prime, but then being forced to escape due to 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 into finding Sam and bringing him to the Decepticons. Megatron then fights in the final battle in Egypt, where Optimus shoots him in the face with his own cannon, destroying half of it, and tearing off his right arm. After seeing the Fallen defeated, he and Starscream retreat, vowing that it wouldn't be over.

In the novel, comic and video game adaptions 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. Megatron then betrays his master and allows him to be killed by Optimus, and afterwards flies back aboard the Nemesis to take command of the remaining Decepticon army.

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) revealed Megatron's actions between issues #1 and 2 of the IDW comic. Pursuing the Allspark into space following the events of Movie Prequel #1, Megatron was delayed in his pursuit by a tractor beam from Cybertron. Breaking free and attacking the culprits - Jazz, Ratchet and Ironhide - Megatron realized that if he engaged them, he would be delayed further. Summoning Devastator to deal with them, he resumed his pursuit - but the desperate gamble had worked and he (temporarily) lost the Allspark's trail.

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

In "Twilight's Last Gleaming" part 3 Bumblebee attempted to take on Megatron in the Sector 7 base as Mikaela attempted to free Optimus Prime, but she was 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 videogame 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 Allspark. 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 Allspark. 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) .

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 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-relased 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 Megatron' (2009)

A new mold. On the back of the packaging for the Legends figure, he is referred to as a fusion tank.

• Revenge of the Fallen Fast Action Battlers 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 Megatron' (2009)

An all-new Voyager toy of Megatron, painted greenish gray rather than silver. 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.

• Revenge of the Fallen Leader 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 "shield" with a spring-loaded sword. This toy will be re-released in a primarily black color scheme as "Shadow Command Megatron".

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. [707930]

• 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.

• Transformers Power Bots Megatron' (2009)

A non-transforming figure with posable legs, arms and head with lights and sounds.

Reception

Prior to the release of the first Transformers film, the consensus among fans was have Frank Welker, the voice of the original Megatron, reprise his role in the film. The decision to instead cast Hugo Weaving caused some controversy.

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. (It should be noted that 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.

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 Netjet video game by Hasbro.

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.

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.

Animated series

>As revealed in "Transform and Roll Out", Megatron had spent 4 million solar 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 smash his fusion cannon), so that he would face punishment for his war crimes on Cybertron.

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.

• 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 inspired by Maleficent.

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 trail 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: Timelines (Shattered Glass)

This Megatron is a heroic mirror image of the usual Megatron character from the BotCon exclusive "Shattered Glass" comic, in which the Decepticons are on the side of good and the Autobots on the side of evil.

According to his Tech Specs Megatron was once a young mathematician who lectured at one of Cybertron's most prestigious universities.

According to Grimlock's Tech Specs Grimlock was created as an experiment in artificial intelligence by the Decepticons which became too violent and Megatron shut him down. Optimus Prime then liberated Grimlock and let him work for the Autobots.

Megatron transforms into a Cybertronian jet. He has a drone partner named Rumbler, who can act act as a cannon for Megatron or form a neutronic blade weapon.

Among Megatron's troops are Bludgeon, Bombshell, Buzzsaw, Cyclonus, Demolishor, Divebomb, Frenzy, Gutcruncher, Heatwave, Hook, Kickback, Laserbeak, Long Haul, Rampage, Razorclaw, Reflector, Rumble, Scrapper, Slugslinger, Soundwave, Starscream, Stonecruncher, Submarauder, Tailwind , Whisper and Wildrider. He recruited the Autobot Sideswipe to his side after Sideswipe became disenchanted with the Autobots and the dimensional traveler Cliffjumper. His troops later captured several Dinobots who became his troops, including Goryu, Overkill and Slugfest.

Fun Publications

Megatron appears in the Transformers: Timelines story "Shattered Glass" by Fun Publications. He recruits the Autobot Cliffjumper from an alternate reality to aid him against the Autobots of his world. He later leads an attack on the Autobot's Ark launch site.

Megatron appears in the fiction Dungeons & Dinobots, a text based story. He defends the Arch-Ayr fuel dump from an Autobot attack. He later sends several of his troops to capture and reprogram the rogue Dinobots built by the mad Autobot scientist Wheeljack.

Megatron is captured by the Autobot Targetmasters in Do Over, but was freed thanks to help by the Predacons and Whisper. When confronted by Optimus Prime he attempts to use the Autobot Targetmaster Nightstick to shoot the Autobot leader, but Nightstick takes control of Megatron's arm. Megatron then tricks Optimus into using Megatron's own weapon to cut Megatron's hand off, freeing him from Nightstick. He misses the launching of the Decepticon ship Nemesis, which is taken over by Starscream to counter Autobot ship Ark and Rodimus' Autobots.

In Reunification Megatron greets a Quintesson and the dimensional travelers Breakaway, Topspin Skyfall and Landquake after their escape from the Autobot combiner Computron. Megatron introduced the travelers to Heatwave, but then was shot by the traitor Cyclonus, who was working for Alpha Trion. The Dimensional travelers Breakaway, Landquake and Topspin then try to combine their powers with Heatwave to return Megatron to life, but instead have a vision of Skyfall and are combined into Nexus Prime.

Toys

• Timelines Voyager Megatron with Rumbler and Divebomb' (2008)

Megatron is a remold of Energon Megatron with the colors of Generation 1 Megatron and a new head. He came packaged with the Decepticon Mini-Con Divebomb and the Autobot Rodimus.

References

1. Transformers Movie Webcast - The Recap - Transformers Toys News Reviews - TFormers.com
2. Transformers: Original Megatron, Prime Actors To Voice TF Game
3. In the movie, he shoots Jazz down with a single blast from his right hand
4. First look at Movie Megatron's Arm Cannon - TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards
5. Transformers Set Visit Preview! - Movie News - Latest Movie Reviews and trailers
6. Megatron was here by ~Stiffy-tha-lord on deviantART
7. http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0901/15/idwfirsts.htm
8. http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/video-games-17/official-images-from-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-game-167565/
9. Transformers Allspark Battles: Battle Jazz Vs. Ice Megatron - Product Detail
10. Cybertron Philippines » Blog Archive » Jollibee The Transformers Movie Kiddie Meal Toys
11. TFW2005.com - ROTF Gathering at the Nemesis Gallery
12. http://www.allspark.com/news/new-transformers-premium-series-info--pictures-20071202.html
13. http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-toys--products-30/unknown-revenge-of-the-fallen-voyager-megatron-redeco-test-shot-168468/
14. http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-toys--products-30/first-images-and-bio-of-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-leader-class-megatron-toy-166882/
15. http://toynewsi.com/index.php?itemid=15009
16. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/219891-share-some-tf-design-spoiler-4.html
17. First Look at Transformers Animated Happy Meal Toys
18. TFW2005.com - News
19. The Allspark: Transformers News, Transformers The Movie News, Beast Wars, G1 - UK Toyfair Report: 3 Bulkheads, Animated Leader Megatron and Marvel Transformers!
20. transformers-fr_FR - default
21. http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/attachment.php?do=fullview&attachmentid=8774
22. http://www.tfw2005.com/resources/convention-exclusives-246/megatron-1624/