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The Human Factor

2012-09-15T13:00:37Z

Cosmicprime:

{{disambig2|the episode of ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]''|the story originally published in [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''The Transformers'' (Marvel US)]] #68|The Human Factor!}}
{{picsneeded}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 45
|prev=New Recruit
|next=Legacy
|image=
|caption=
|title="The Human Factor"
|airdate=[[September 14]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Bob Skir|Robert N. Skir]]
|directed by=[[Scooter Tidwell]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Silas is given a new lease on life and approaches Megatron with a plan to join the Decepticon ranks.'''

==Synopsis==
Within a [[MECH]] base, a small team of surgeons and technicians hook [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]]'s reassembled remains up to their computer and infuse them with electricity and Energon. Breakdown awakens, only it's not Breakdown—MECH has implanted [[Silas]] within the Decepticon's corpse. Silas is impressed with their ingenuity, but decides that as he is no longer human and longer needs their services—by shooting them.

Some time later, Silas drives up to the entrance to a military facility, stopping at the gate to introduce himself. Meanwhile in the [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|Autobot base]], [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] and [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] are trying to encourage [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] to keep up his recuperation, despite the Wrecker's belief at being replaced. [[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] suggests he uses the [[Apex Armor (Prime)|Apex Armor]] for extra strength and power, but Bulkhead sees it as a crutch and knocks it aside, causing it to damage the computer system. As Ratchet grumbles over the negative atmosphere, [[Jack Darby|Jack]] talks with [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] on the phone and is surprised to learn that Raf's been grounded for his slipping grades.

The Decepticons on the ''[[Trypticon (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', namely [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]], are likewise surprised when Breakdown's signal shows up on their scanners. Knock Out is sent to investigate with some [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]], and finds the military base wrecked. Moments after they arrive, what appears to be Breakdown strides out of the smoke. In response to the Decepticons' reaction to his marred appearance, "Breakdown" asks in Silas's voice to be taken to [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]].

[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] briefs the Autobots on the theft of the [[Project Damocles]] satellite apparently by Breakdown assisted by a human whom Fowler believes is Silas. Ratchet strongly dismisses the idea of Decepticons and humans pairing together, rebuffed only by Jack's reasoning of the alliance working for the Autobots. Aboard the warship, Megatron is introduced to the Breakdown/Silas combo, now calling himself Cylas as in "CYbernetic Life Augmented by Symbiosis". Though Megatron is disgusted of such an abomination and Knock Out is keen to dissect Cylas in revenge for Breakdown, the MECH commander wants to strike a deal with the Decepticons and offers the Damocles weapon as a token of friendship. As Fowler's briefing in the Autobot base ends, the Autobots realize they must protect the satellite's interface codes, currently stored on servers in [[Colorado]].

[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] has already gotten to the Colorado base, clearing it using a recording of Fowler's voice, and by the time the Autobots get there, the place is already heavily guarded by Decepticons. Cylas points out to Megatron that since Soundwave is now connected to the mainframe, he can operate the satellite. The Damocles satellite is duly launched from the ''Nemesis'', and Soundwave starts targeting the Autobots on the ground. His first shot narrowly misses Smokescreen, and [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] contacts base for backup. Bulkhead is ready to go but Ratchet stops him as Optimus is actually after ''technical'' help to disable the satellite. Ratchet decides Raf is required for this mission and so Raf gets unexpected visitors in the form of Fowler, Miko and Jack.

While the Autobots try to keep Soundwave distracted, Bulkhead attempts to talk Ratchet into sending him to help. Ratchet finally concedes, but has his own ideas. While Raf works on a way to crash the satellite and Fowler tries to work out a way to get to the toilet without Raf's mom seeing, the Decepticons detect Raf's hacking attempt. When they track the source to [[Jasper]], Megatron sends Cylas to deal with the matter, despite Cylas's chagrin. Cylas soon hauls up outside Raf's house and takes aim, only for Bulkhead to come barreling down the street and slam him into a nearby drainage canal. After a tense reintroduction, Bulkhead realizes his opponent is not Breakdown—and is shocked to find that it is actually Silas operating the Con's body. The pair start fighting, but Bulkhead's weakness quickly begins to show.

Ratchet contacts Optimus who is still running from the Damocles beam, to report that Bulkhead needs backup. Indeed, the Wrecker is still not operating fully and not doing well against Cylas, but the addition of Smokescreen to the fight helps. Megatron, impatient at Cylas's failure, orders Soundwave to target the source of the hack. The Autobots take advantage of the cessation of the Damocles attack to try to storm the command center. The kids, meanwhile, spot that the satellite has moved and is now aiming at them. Raf manages to get the satellite's thrusters under his control, and the shot does little more than knock the corner off the [[KO Burger]] sign before the satellite starts reentry. Their celebration is interrupted by Raf's mom, but luckily they break out the "study group" defense. Meanwhile, the Autobots break into the command center in time to see Soundwave leaving. Elsewhere, Cylas begins to lose his fight and is called back to the ''Nemesis''. Bulkhead and Smokescreen see the satellite's reentry and congratulate each other.

Back on the ship, Megatron announces that Silas has earned his place at the table—Knock Out's dissection table, that is—explaining that the MECH commander was correct about the human factor tipping the war's scales, but in the Autobots' favor. Cylas is then zapped from behind and dragged away for "study", much to his fearful displeasure and Knock Out's delight.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (4)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] (7)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (16)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (17)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (18)

|c2=
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (11)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (12)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (13)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (14)

|c3=
*MECH troopers (1)
*[[MECH Surgeon]] (2)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (5)
*[[Jack Darby]] (8)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (9)
*[[Raf's mom]] (10)
*[[William Fowler]] (15)

|c4=
*[[Silas|Cylas]] (3)
}}

==Quotes==
"Bulkhead! I ''needed'' that!"
:—'''Ratchet''' ''still'' hasn't learned that saying that phrase won't change anything.

"What? No! If my mom sees you..." 
"Relax, I trained in covert ops." 
"I don't care if you were trained by ninja! My mom has eyes in the back of ''your'' head." 
:—'''Raf''' tells '''Agent Fowler''' why he can't use the restroom.

"FYI, you're almost out of TP."
:—'''Agent Fowler''' on Raf's toilet paper.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* When Fowler gives the location of the Damocles control code to the Autobots, the map of the United States on the screen behind him shows the state of Louisiana inside Texas, with an empty spot where it's supposed to be.
* When Knock Out detects Breakdown's signal, the image of Breakdown on the screen is that from this episode. As the Decepticons didn't know what he looked like after MECH got through with him, Breakdown's image should have at least still had the optic patch.
* When Silas targets the window of Raf's room, his zoomed-in view is from the wrong angle. To be able to see Jack and the others within, he would have to be firing from the opposite side.
* The final shot of the satellite fires parallel to Raf's house. To do this, the satellite would have to be in position below the equator. When it fires, it is shown to be above North America, and burns up in the skies above Jasper not long after. In addition, the beam is constant, even though it should be changing position with the satellite.
*There are 4 Autobots(without Smokescreen) arriving through the Groundbridge but in the next scene Smokescreen's there, with a total of 5 bots.
*Cylas can talk after being zapped with the energon prod, a phenomenon that didn't appear on other robots such as Optimus Prime. This may not be an error, as the human inside 'Breakdown' might not have been electrocuted.

===Continuity notes===
* The base in which Silas is revived is the same one used in "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 2]]".
* MECH was preparing to save Silas using Breakdown's corpse at the end of "[[Nemesis Prime (episode)|Nemesis Prime]]".
* Smokescreen offers Bulkhead the use of the Apex Armor, which he took from Starscream in the [[New Recruit|previous episode]].
* Bulkhead uses the [[Cybertronian sport#Lobbing|lobbing]] ball from "[[Con Job]]" as a medicine ball.
* Knockout references the events of "[[Operation: Breakdown]]" and wants vengeance for it.
* Project Damocles, and Silas' role in it, was first mentioned in "[[Grill]]".
* Soundwave displays the picture he took of Jack, Miko, and Raf back in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 5]]".

===Transformers references===
* This isn't the [[Autobot Spike|first time]] a human mind was placed in a robot body to preserve it.
* Nor is this the [[Novo|first MECH operative]] who would control a mechanical body.

===Real-world references===
*The surging electricity and twitching hand during Silas' revival reflects toward the animation of Frankenstein's monster.
*The missing-eye appearance on Breakdown's face resembles that of the ''Terminator''.
*Cylas's request phrase of "take me to your leader" is a stereotypical phrase used in early sci-fi movies involving aliens arriving to Earth from another world.

===Trivia===
*Cylas' shoulder cannon glows yellow like that of Nemesis Prime's cannons. The eyes don't count, since they were yellow anyway.
*Aww, Knock Out is willing to avenge Breakdown.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Factor}}
[[Category:Prime episodes]]
*Raf's full name is Rafael Jorge Gonzales Esquivel.
*Satellites name, Damocles, may be a reference to the Sword of Damocles, a sword which hung over a throne in which Damocles sat in to strike fear into him, showing how 'fortunate' the king was. This one functions the same way as it hovers in the upper atmosphere and could strike anytime.

Megatron (WFC)

2012-09-13T13:52:19Z

Cosmicprime:

{{faction|decepticon|hofsilver}}
{{disambig3|Megatron}}
:''Megatron is the [[Decepticon]] leader from the [[Aligned continuity family]].''
[[Image:PrimeMegatron.jpg|thumb|400px|"What happened to my [[fusion cannon]]?"]]
The awesomely powerful '''Megatron''' is, in many ways, a fallen hero. He rose up from the oppressed lower working castes of [[Kaon]] to become a champion in the region's illegal [[gladiatorial combat|deathmatches]], cast aside his designation of '''D-16''' and took the legendary name '''[[The Fallen|Megatronus]]'''<ref>Megatron was an abbreviation, so it'd be easier for the masses to chant his name; ''Transformers: Exodus'', Chapter 3</ref> as his own, he called for an end to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s decrepit [[caste system]] and told the downtrodden that freedom of self-determination was the right of all sentient beings!

But absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Megatron's Decepticon revolution, like many such movements, ended up becoming a whole new tyranny. Powerful, charismatic, violent, and full of rage for any who would stand in the way of his ambition and drive, Megatron brought Cybertron ''past'' the brink of destruction. Now he and his former brother-in-arms [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] fight on other worlds. Megatron will never forgive Optimus for "betraying" him, stealing from the Council the rank of Prime which was rightfully his. He has reserved for his old friend the greatest honor possible: glorious death at his hands.

Megatron has been gone for three years, but now he's returned. He's brought the monstrous [[Dark Energon]] to Earth, and quite possibly left his sanity in space.

{{quote|I... am the Dominator, I... am the Destroyer, I am '''Megatron!'''|Megatron|''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron]]''}}

==Fiction==
===Aligned novels===
[[Image:WFCcomicD16.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"Alright! What's the square root of pi?! What's the capital of Sierre Leone?! What's... awww, this 'ask questions later' thing doesn't work at ''all''."]]
Megatron nicknamed himself D-16 after the sector of the mine where he performed demolition operations. As a gladiator, in killing others he began to appreciate the value of life, and in between matches he became something of an intellectual, debating the castes with other miners. After bosses requested he lose a few fights, D-16 killed them and took over Kaon and [[Slaughter City]]. After murdering one boss in front of his employees, D-16 declared himself Megatronus, whom he considered the greatest of the [[Thirteen]]. After hearing his preaching on the [[Communication Grid]] against the [[Guilds of Cybertron]], the concerned [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|Sentinel Prime]] sent [[Bumper (WFC)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (WFC)|Fastback]] to investigate. Megatronus killed them, believing two lives were worthless compared to the millions doomed by the castes Sentinel created.

After a victorious battle with the [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]]s, in which the crowd redubbed him Megatron, the gladiator was contacted by the [[Iacon (polity)|Iaconian]] [[Hall of Records|records monitor]] [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Orion Pax]], and they began exchanging their ideas in intense but friendly philosophical discussions. Megatron encouraged Orion to learn self defense and invited him to visit Kaon, which he did to a warm welcome from Megatron (and from none of his gladiators). By this point Megatron was planning to call his movement the Decepticons, and he had begun sending his followers on a search for artifacts of the Primes, as their discovery would be signs their cause was just. His followers began bombing Cybertron, and Megatron distanced himself from their extremism to gain credibility. Orion and his mentor [[Alpha Trion (Prime)|Alpha Trion]] believed him, but the latter was well aware Megatron might have gained a taste for violence after the attention it earned him. Soon enough, Megatron accepted the gift of a kidnapped Sentinel Prime from [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]].

[[Image:WFCcomicHalogendies.jpg|thumb|250px|]]

Alpha Trion organized a hearing for Orion and Megatron with the [[Autobot High Council|High Council]]. They protested involvement in Sentinel's disappearance. When confronted with the phrase "Decepticon", Megatron denied any knowledge of it but accepted his followers' term wholeheartedly, stating deception was necessary sometimes for the corrupt to see the truth. When [[Halogen (Prime)|Halogen]] revealed Megatron's followers had been trying to locate the [[Matrix of Leadership]], he declared that Orion should become the Prime that he desperately wanted to lead Cybertron into the new [[Golden Age]], and find it. Incensed, Megatron killed Halogen, and when Optimus prevented the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] from attacking Megatron, the ungrateful gladiator declared Optimus had fallen into the trap of power the High Council had given him. He declared Optimus was no longer his brother (though he would continue to refer to him as such privately), and that the Matrix would be his.

In the subsequent war with Optimus' [[Autobot]]s, the Decepticons took control of eighty-five percent of the planet. Wherever Starscream's [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] aided, they were victorious. Megatron was initially merciful to neutrals, but he let [[Shockwave (Prime)|Shockwave]] take control of [[Tarn (city)|Tarn]] and torture Autobot sympathizers there. When the [[Praxus|Praxians]], a progressive city-state who were disappointed with the direction Megatron took, allied with the Autobots, Megatron decided he would no longer try to convert followers and launched the first genocide of the war, slaughtering all in [[Nova Cronum]] who would not submit to the Decepticons as they attacked.

As the war dragged into a siege of Iacon, Soundwave's spying bore fruit as he discovered [[Dark Energon]], the essence of [[Unicron]], was aboard [[Trypticon (Prime)|Trypticon]]. Megatron forgave Starscream for hiding its existence from him, acknowledging its potentially dangerous nature. To ensure loyalty, Megatron's gladiators stormed the Station slaughtering and maiming Starscream's scientists. He forced Starscream to pick two test subjects to be Darkened, and following an astonishingly successful result, Megatron absorbed some, invigorating him. Soon Darkened Decepticons appeared on the battlefield, but it proved to be an inefficient resource and they would have to flee if a battle was prolonged. Megatron needed more, and even Starscream's activation of the [[Geosynchronous Energon Bridge]] didn't provide enough. Megatron felt he would kill all the Decepticons before he was deprived of Dark Energon and turn rabid.

Fortunately, Soundwave revealed the existence of the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]] within [[Teletraan-1]], which required the [[Code Key]]s of Power and Justice to activate it. Starscream recovered the Key of Power, while Megatron and his best soldiers searched for the Key of Justice below the [[High Council Tower]]. Sentinel Prime emerged, to Megatron's surprise. Sentinel confronted him about Bumper and Fastback, and the two dueled. Megatron disarmed and sliced open Sentinel, revealing the Key of Justice within. Starscream made a grab for it, exposing that he had released Sentinel to kill Megatron and take leadership for himself. After fighting Starscream to a standstill, Megatron pardoned him as he found him a better soldier than would-be example, and used the Keys to open Teletraan-1: which activated [[Omega Supreme (WFC)|Omega Supreme]] to fly the Chamber to safety.

The Seekers shot Omega Supreme out of the air, causing him to crash. Optimus's Autobots arrived to fight the Decepticons, but the more they killed them the more Dark Energon left their bodies and empowered Megatron. He was able to knee Omega Supreme and turn him on his back, tearing the Chamber out of his chest. Using the Chamber, Megatron poisoned the [[core]] of Cybertron and Darkened the entire planet. But then the core stopped producing Dark Energon, and Megatron learnt Optimus had gone to the core and received the Matrix. As the Autobots attempted to flee Cybertron via the last [[space bridge]], Megatron used Trypticon to fire on their ships, and used his and Orion's old frequency to criticize Optimus for fleeing. He added he never believed in individual freedom for every Cybertronian, only the illusion of freedom that he as leader would provide and that the Guilds did not. Optimus responded that Megatron had turned his soldiers into addicts and they would turn on him, and used the ''[[Eight Track (WFC)|Eight Track]]'' to board, sabotage and crash Trypticon.

As the Autobots left on the completed ''[[Ark (WFC)|Ark]]'', the Decepticons fully invaded Iacon. Megatron ordered Trypticon to transform into the ''Nemesis'', boarding it with Starscream, Soundwave, [[Lugnut (WFC)|Lugnut]] and other elite soldiers, leaving Shockwave in charge. He used his old frequency once again to warn Optimus that he would hound him through the stars and finally kill him for the Matrix. He explained they were still brothers, as they were bonded for life despite their enmity. Optimus was just glad his hunt would get him off Cybertron. The two ships entered the last [[space bridge]] together, and when the ''Ark'' emerged, the ''Nemesis'' was gone. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus|Exodus}}

{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|Transformers: Exiles|Exiles}}

===''Prime'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Frank Welker]] (English)|[[Keiji Fujiwara]] (Japanese), [[Sean Long]] (BotCon 2011), [[Juan Carlos Lozano]] (Spain-Spanish), [[Ja-hyeong Gu]] (Korean), [[Tony Fuochi|Antonio Fuochi]] (Italian), [[Hans-Jürgen Wolf]] (German), [[Gerardo Vásquez]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Antônio Moreno]] (Brazilian Portuguese), [[Paweł Szczesny]] (Polish)}}

[[Image:OneShallRise3-corresponding.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"I'm a fox!" "I'm a hound doooog!"]]

In the waning years of the [[Golden Age]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Megatronus (who named himself after [[The Fallen|one of the original thirteen Primes]]) was a gladiator who fought in the [[Kaon]] arena. Observing a disparity in freedom among the classes of his race, and that the ruling class was corrupt and all-powerful, Megatron turned rhetorician, trying to effect change. In drawing attention to this inequity, he inspired a [[Hall of Records]] clerk named [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Orion Pax]], and the two joined forces to end corruption and bring equality to the masses. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}} Orion and Megatronus became close allies, almost like brothers. {{storylink|Masters & Students}}

[[Image:DarknessRising2-Megsflashback.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Things were very red in those days.]]

Megatronus shortened his name to Megatron before he and Orion Pax appeared before the [[Autobot High Council|High Council]]. Megatron threatened the council, promising to overthrow them and instate himself as the next [[Prime (rank)|Prime]]—a declaration of hostility that shocked Orion, and moved him to an impassioned speech in favour of autonomy that successfully swayed the council where Megatron had failed. Jealous, Megatron left the council and Orion behind and assembled his followers—including perennial loyalist [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] and scheming second-in-command [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]—into an army he would name "Decepticons", beginning the war for Cybertron and vowing to find the [[Matrix of Leadership]] which was denied to him by the council. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

The war saw Megatron successfully take the city of [[Kaon]], which contained the very arena he fought in as a gladiator, as the Decepticon capital. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 1}} During a battle at [[Tyger Pax]], Megatron crushed the Autobot [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]]'s voice box when the scout refused to break under interrogation. {{storylink|Operation Bumblebee, Part 1}} Furthermore, Megatron's wartime achievements were not limited to those achieved through might: he also created the deadly [[cybonic plague]] which wiped out millions {{storylink|Sick Mind}} and found a way to weaponize [[Tox-En]] which he used to wipe out an entire unit in front of a horrified Bulkhead. {{storylink|Toxicity}} It was through similarly poisonous means that Megatron came closest to seizing victory in the war's final stages, [[Dark Energon|infecting]] the [[Core]] of Cybertron itself. In purifying the core, Orion was granted the Matrix Megatron had long-sought, becoming Optimus Prime. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}} After his assassin [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]] failed to kill Optimus at the [[Battle of Technahar]], {{storylink|Masters & Students}} Megatron became obsessed with the Autobot leader and decided that destroying him was his right alone. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 4}}

[[Image:DarknessRising2-MegatronDarkEnergon.jpg|right|thumb|250px|We can relate. We're just like this with our [[BotCon]] toys.]]

Eventually, the war left Cybertron in ruin and forced the whole Transformer race to exile into space. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 2}} Megatron would not leave the planet unguarded and placed a few [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]] guards in stasis on the planet, should the enemy return. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 3}} In time, Megatron and his army arrived on Earth, establishing mines to collect the Energon that the planet had been seeded with during the war. {{storylink|Stronger, Faster}} He also had some of his best warriors, such as Skyquake to guard deposits either not ready to mine {{storylink|Masters & Students}}. After some early conflicts on the planet, Megatron withdrew to space to search for more troops, leaving Starscream in charge. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 1}} Searching the void for three years, Megatron found something better than mere warriors: he discovered a new source of Dark Energon, the "blood of [[Unicron]]", with which he could reanimate fallen Transformers as an army of the undead. Returning to Earth and resuming command of the Decepticons, Megatron tested the Dark Energon on the deceased Autobot [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]], reviving him as a [[zombie]] "[[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcon]]" that slaughtered several [[Decepticon Miner]]s, but which posed no threat to Megatron himself. Unfortunately for Megatron, this partial reactivation of Cliffjumper's lifesigns drew Optimus Prime's Autobots to the Decepticons' mining operations. Deciding it was not yet time for a confrontation with Prime, Megatron withdrew aboard the [[Trypticon (Prime)|''Nemesis'']] and continued to brood over the Dark Energon.

[[Image:darknessrising3_Megatronglowy.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Megatron, you fool! Rave glowsticks aren't candy!]]
Megatron's inability to control the zombie Cliffjumper convinced him that he needed to integrate the Dark Energon into his own body in order to control the undead legions he planned to create. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 2}} Thrusting a shard of the material into his [[spark]], he was filled with its power, feeling as though he was connected to Unicron's very thoughts. Requiring a test run for his new power, Megatron headed to the site of an ancient Cybertronian battle on Earth, one full of the remains of fallen warriors, where he was confronted by Optimus and [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]]. Using Dark Energon to raise the dead Transformers as Terrorcons, Megatron successfully found he had complete control of the undead horde, and send them against the two Autobots. [[Image:DarknessRising4-Megatron.jpg|right|thumb|250px|I chew scenery while the zombies chew ''you''.]] {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 3}} While Optimus and Ratchet fought their way through the Terrorcons, Megatron flew off before they could reach him, satisfied with his test results and ready put his plan into action—to open a [[space bridge]] to Cybertron and use Dark Energon to revive all the dead. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 4}} Despite the Autobots' best efforts to damage the ''Nemesis'' and prevent the bridge from opening, Megatron succeeded in his plans, and then had his showdown with Optimus Prime atop the bridge itself as he waited for the Terrorcon legions to pass through to Earth. While the two old foes battled, the other Autobots sabotaged the bridge, causing it to explode and destroy both the Terrorcon army and seemingly Megatron himself. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 5}}[[Image:Masters&Students-Megatronstasis.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Well, it's better than just [[Megatron (Animated)|being a head]] I suppose.]]

The Autobots were not so lucky, however: the Dark Energon in his spark allowed Megatron to survive the explosion, but just barely. When Starscream found his leader floating in space, he tore the Dark Energon from his body in the hope that he would expire, but was caught in the act by [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]]'s [[Deployer (Prime)|Deployer]], [[Laserbeak (Prime)|Laserbeak]], and forced to take Megatron back to the ''Nemesis'', where he was placed in [[Stasis lock|stasis]] in the sick bay. {{storylink|Masters & Students}}

Starscream was content to leave Megatron in this state to recover or expire as fate saw fit, but the crew of the ''Nemesis'' disagreed, and voted to bring in the Decepticon medic [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] to help heal their wounded leader. But the discovery of an [[Energon Harvester]] forced them to push off Megatron's recovery.{{storylink|Deus ex Machina}} Even with Knock Out's expertise, it seemed unlikely that Megatron would recover, but his assistant [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] gave his body a good buffing nonetheless, and Starscream approved, as it meant their ex-leader would look his best for the memorial service. {{storylink|Speed Metal}}

[[Image:SickMind megs and bee.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Hey, [[Megatron (Animated)|you]] really ''are'' [[Transform and Roll Out|uglier from this angle]]!]]

When Optimus Prime was infected by cybonic plague, Arcee and [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] boarded the ''Nemesis'' to search for an antidote. While they failed to find one in the database, the two Autobots did discover Megatron in stasis, and Bumblebee mind-linked with the Decepticon leader via a [[cortical psychic patch]] to try and pluck the cure from his sleeping brain. Bumblebee found himself within Megatron's mind, which took the form of [[Kaon]], where the Decepticon's subconscious was spending its time killing endless visions of Optimus Primes. Unfortunately, Bumblebee's intrusion only caused Megatron to become aware of his situation when he found he was unable to kill Bumblebee. Learning what had befallen Optimus, Megatron initially refused to give up the cure until Bumblebee convinced him that he would gain greater satisfaction from finishing his enemy off with his own two hands. Megatron offered the cure in exchange for Bumblebee's help in escaping his mental prison, but Bumblebee double-crossed him, withdrawing from his mind as soon as the cure was in Autobot hands. At the last moment, Megatron was able to effect his own escape, leaping into Bumblebee's mind along with him. {{storylink|Sick Mind}} [[Image:OutofhisHead megatron revived.jpg|left|thumb|250px|IT'S... AAALLLLLIIIIIIIIVE!]] Recalling the sliver of Dark Energon Starscream had removed from his body, Megatron took full control of Bumblebee's body a short time later and used the GroundBridge to return to the ancient battlefield where he had raised his original Terrorcons, recovering the Dark Energon shard he had used to do so. He returned to the [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|Autobot base]], where he dealt with Ratchet and [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] before again GroundBridging to the ''Nemesis'' and using the Dark Energon to restore his body and return his mind to it. Storming out of the ''Nemesis'' to find Starscream, Megatron snatched his subordinate out of the air in the middle of a battle with Optimus Prime and took him back for his punishment. {{storylink|Out of His Head}}

[[Image:Shadowzone-MegsStarscream.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Lulz.]]
Despite his treason, Megatron decided not to terminate Starscream, viewing him as no real threat and taking perverse amusement in his repeated failures. {{storylink|Rock Bottom}} Instead, Megatron proceeded to beat Starscream only to ''near'' death, then had him placed in the infirmary, occasionally visiting to gloat. {{storylink|Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone}}

When Breakdown was captured by the humans of [[MECH]], Megatron refuted Starscream's suggestion that they rescue him, announcing that if Breakdown had allowed himself to be captured by those weaker than him, then he deserved whatever he got. {{storylink|Operation: Breakdown}} Breakdown did manage to escape, however, and in his wounded pride, volunteered to recover a [[polarity gauntlet]] for Megatron in order to prove his worth. Megatron was disappointed when his minion returned without the gauntlet, but was placated with the revelation that he had instead brought back [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]]. {{storylink|Metal Attraction}}

[[Image:RockBottom-Starscreamprays.jpg|thumb|250px|left]]
Discovering that Starscream was still attempting to mine energon for his personal use without his knowledge, Megatron determined that the amusement had come to an end. Taking him to the mine in question, Megatron revealed that he had been aware of Starscream's previous transgressions the whole time thanks to Soundwave, and was about to execute his grovelling lieutenant when [[Jack Darby]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] walked in. In the firefight that followed, stray shots from Megatron's fusion cannon brought the mine down on top of them all, with Megatron being completely pinned by rubble. Jack happened upon the Decepticon leader with a mining drill, and Megatron, knowing that the human would not help him, instead urged Jack to finish him off. Jack refused, saying that wasn't what Optimus would do, and left, but the opening he had created allowed Megatron to begin his escape. After finally extricating himself, Megatron came upon Starscream trying to keep a large rock from crushing him. Starscream insisted that he had come to rescue Megatron, and begged the Decepticon leader to spare him, and Megatron acquiesced with a smirk. {{storylink|Rock Bottom}}

Though Megatron allowed Starscream to live and continue as his second-in-command, he was furious to learn from Airachnid that Starscream had kept the location of the ''[[Harbinger]]'' from him. He ordered Starscream to lead Airachnid to the crash site and retrieve an [[Immobilizer|experimental weapon]] that was inside. Much to Megatron's fury, Airachnid returned not only without the weapon, but with the news that Starscream had been captured by the Autobots as well. {{storylink|Partners}}

[[Image:StrongerFaster-KnockOutMegatronRatchet.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Steroids?" "Yup." "Ah."]]
When a formula for [[Synthetic Energon]] was transferred from a [[Cybertronian data cylinder]] into the mind of the Autobot [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]], Optimus Prime petitioned Megatron for the return of the cylinder so they could extract the formula, after which they would willingly hand it over. Megatron briefly considered the proposal, but instead sent Knock Out and Breakdown to capture Bulkhead and dared Prime to fight for the cylinder. When his Vehicon troops were defeated, Megatron simply crushed the device and took flight. {{storylink|T.M.I.}} The synthetic energon formula helped the Autobots counter Megatron's next tactic: causing the Autobots to burn through their energon supplies at an accelerated rate by leading them on wild goose chases. Juiced up on the "SynthEn", Ratchet attacked Megatron and Knock Out while they were surveying an energon mine, and sent the Decepticon leader flying with one punch. Unfortunately for Ratchet, Megatron swiftly recovered and subdued the Autobot medic with ease. {{storylink|Stronger, Faster}}

[[Image:PrimeEp23-Megatronjetmode.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Hold still, jet mode, so we can screencap you, dammit!]]
Convinced by Dark Energon-induced visions that an impending prophecy detailed his own destiny, Megatron stepped up the Decepticons' work in constructing a new space bridge so they could obtain more Dark Energon. When they located the last component they needed, Megatron went in personally, grievously wounding Raf with a blast of Dark Energon on the way and creating an unintended distraction that allowed him to make off with the power source he needed. Soon after, Megatron lured Optimus Prime to a volcano he had seen in his visions, and during their battle, it erupted with Dark Energon, imbuing Megatron with the power he needed to fell Prime. {{storylink|One Shall Fall}} [[Image:OneShallFall-visionfulfilled.jpg|thumb|255px|right|Look, Prime! Look at the fireworks! Aren't they splendid?!]] The intervention of the other Autobots saved Prime's life, but this was of little concern to Megatron, who now had all the Dark Energon he needed and set his miners to work gathering it up. When Soundwave detected a spark-beat coming from within the Earth, Megatron felt it pounding through his brain and realized what his visions had meant: the lifeforce of Unicron himself dwelt within Earth. Leaving Airachnid in command, Megatron flew into the volcano to address Unicron, but did not receive the power he had hoped the chaos-bringer would bestow on him, instead receiving Unicron's displeasure at the fact that Optimus Prime still lived. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 1}}

Spurned, Megatron instead went to the aid of Optimus and his Autobots, who were under attack from Unicron's stone avatars. He offered Optimus his services—he intended to lead them to Unicron's real form so that Optimus could use the [[Matrix of Leadership]] on the Chaos God. While the Autobots returned to base, Megatron kept the giant stone Unicrons busy, and Prime eventually accepted Megatron's offer. On arrival in the Autobot base, Megatron encountered a couple of humans he recognized, Raf and Jack, as well as a [[Miko Nakadai|new loud one]]. Megatron was first to step through the GroundBridge into the Earth's core, and as the Autobots followed, he warned them that Unicron already knew they were there. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 2}}

[[Image:OneShallRise3-together.jpg|thumb|255px|left|"Just this once, we work together! Mortal enemies working together for the common good!" "Be quiet!"]]
Despite the persistent influence of Unicron, Megatron led the Autobots through Unicron's insides, even helping them fight off [[Unicron's antibodies|antibodies]]. The Dark Energon he was imbued with allowed him to enter Unicron's spark chamber with Optimus, though at that point Unicron's influence became so great that the Chaos God was able to commandeer his body. After Optimus unleashed the power of the Matrix, apparently extinguishing Unicron's spark, Megatron went to kill Optimus, only to discover his foe had lost his memory and now believed himself to be Orion Pax. Megatron convinced Optimus that the other Autobots were enemies, and the pair returned to the ''Nemesis'', where Megatron introduced "Orion Pax" to his men. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

[[Image:Orion-Pax-Part-1-OP-Megatron.jpg|thumb|250px|right]]
Megatron wasted no time in spinning a tale of Autobot warlord Ratchet and the destruction of Cybertron, and put Orion Pax to work decoding data from the [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] archives for a [[Project Iacon|project]] of the same name. Though aware that at some point Orion would find out the truth, Megatron made all precautions to make sure that didn't happen before Orion finished his work. Knock Out was ordered to set up Orion's work station a mere few inches away from the Energon storage vault.

During Orion's decoding, the archivist noted several references to Starscream as being Megatron's second in command. As part of his deception, Megatron claimed Starscream to be dead, and ordered Soundwave to carefully remove Arcee from the ship with a GroundBridge. Arachnid offered to destroy the bike bot herself, but Megatron feared that Orion would become weary of their activity's should he bare witness to an Autobot's destruction. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 1}} Megatron attempted to cover for a surprise visit by Starscream when he managed to sneak aboard the ship. Orion asked why Megatron lied, but the con leader stated that Starscream as "dead" to their cause for joining the Autobots. However, Starscream's visit caused Orion to uncover the truth and find out that he was, in fact, Optimus Prime, the so called leader of the Autobot "invaders". Soundwave notified Megatron of Orion finding information on Optimus Prime, and Megatron realized that harsher methods would be necessary to complete [[Project Iacon]]. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 2}}

[[Image:OrionPax3 Megatron threatens Orion.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Do you see what's in your teeth ''NOW''?!]]
Megatron payed Orion a visit to expose Orion's findings. Orion demanded to know the full truth, but Megatron refused, causing Orion to delete his findings. Fortunately, Soundwave had recorded his findings, and the data was saved. Soundwave also informed Megatron of the activity at the space bridge and went there to find that the Autobots had taken control of it, and that one of their [[Insecticon (Prime)|traps]] on Cybertron was activated. Megatron ordered the guards to watch Orion while he went out and threatened to kill the archivist if he had not completed the project. Megatron realized that the Autobots must have been searching for a way to restore Orion to Optimus. Megatron arrived at the space bridge and defeated the trio of Autobots present, and waited for Arcee to return from the open space bridge with the Matrix in her possession. When Orion had overpowered his guards and came to attack Megatron, Orion declared his loyalty to the Autobots, pulled out his blades, and attacked Megatron. The amnesiac Autobot was no match for him. While the Decepticon leader was subsequently kept busy by Arcee, Jack returned the Matrix to Orion, who regained his memory and left with the Autobots, leaving Megatron screaming furiously at his failure. {{storylink|Orion Pax, Part 3}}

[[Image:OperationBumblebee1 spark extractor.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Now ''I'' have [[The Touch]].]]
Following the first of the artifact coordinates left by Orion, Megatron and his men unearthed the [[spark extractor|Spark Extractor]]. While Megatron was bringing it back through the GroundBridge, it was taken from him by Bumblebee. He then ordered Knock Out and Breakdown to retrieve another artifact before Bulkhead and Bumblebee did. {{storylink|Operation Bumblebee, Part 1}} Megatron was pleased when Knock Out returned with a force field generator, quickly demonstrating the object's power with a cannon-blast. Megatron himself joined the mission to get the third artifact, and managed to secure the [[Forge of Solus Prime]] by holding a prone Bulkhead hostage. Unfortunately, he discovered that the Forge wouldn't work without the power of a Prime behind it. {{Storylink|Operation Bumblebee, Part 2}}

When [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] arrived on Earth, Megatron filled him in on what had happened to his brother Skyquake, but warned him not to seek revenge on his own. When Dreadwing did anyway, Megatron figured that would be the last they saw of him, although he was glad that Dreadwing both survived and learned his lesson. {{storylink|Loose Cannons}}

[[Image:Crossfire Megatron and Insecticon close together.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"You do know that you will be splattered across the ceiling after this screencap"]]
Reminded of Airachnid's past treachery, Megatron tasked Dreadwing with ridding them of her. Dreadwing not only failed, but returned minus Breakdown, much to Megatron's disgust. Megatron responded to Airachnid's later communication by attempting to get rid of her himself. Although she set an [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]] on him, the mighty Megatron eventually prevailed against it. The fight took all of his strength, and he was subsequently surrounded by Autobots. With Dreadwing's help, he escaped and made Dreadwing his new [[second-in-command]]. {{storylink|Crossfire}}

Megatron responded to reports of Starscream on the ship and found not one but four [[Starscream clone (Prime)|Starscreams]] on the bridge. After attempting to appeal to their treacherous nature, he took advantage of a diversion to offline three of them before the fourth escaped. The diversion turned out to be a mass Insecticon attack, but after a fight, the Insecticons suddenly stopped and announced they were loyal to him. Then the ''Nemesis'' crashed. {{storylink|Armada (episode)|Armada}} Megatron got the ship moving again using Dark Energon, but when it exhibited its own intelligence and refused to follow his orders, he tried to shut it down, only to be put into stasis lock. He only awoke when the kids reversed the energon flow. {{storylink|Flying Mind}}

As Knock Out prepared to go and try to find the first of the four relics which the ship had found the location of, Megatron instructed him to take an Insecticon as muscle. {{storylink|Tunnel Vision}} Megatron then sent Dreadwing to [[Antarctica]] to find the relic there {{storylink|Triangulation}} and then sent [[Hardshell]] and three other Insecticons to a volcanic area at the equator, {{storylink|Toxicity}} before sending Soundwave to find the last relic.

He was impressed with the [[Resonance Blaster]] Soundwave found, but less so with Dreadwing and Knock Out, the latter of whom returned looking like he'd been run over by a train. After they found a grenade implanted in Laserbeak, Megatron set Soundwave back to work decoding the Iacon database. {{storylink|Triage}} His rage over Hardshell's failure was mollified when the Insecticon claimed to have offlined Bulkhead, but when they later got a call from [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] revealing Bulkhead was still alive, Megatron demanded Hardshell bring him Wheeljack's spark as a substitute. Instead Hardshell's corpse was brought back before him, and Megatron was shocked to learn a [[Miko Nakadai|human girl]] was responsible. {{storylink|Hurt}}

===Commercial appearances===
{{voiceactor|[[Frank Welker]] (English)}}

Megatron, [[wikipedia:Dan Vs.|Dan]] and [[My Little Pony|Pinkie Pie]], a pony, sang a collaborative group song while the scene quickly shifted between a variety of strange alternate universes. {{storylink|Commercial/Prime|The Hub summer promo 2011}}
{{quote|Are you ready for the summer? Are you ready for the hot <strike> nuts</strike> nights?|Megatron}}

At some point he ended up in detention at a school because he had "anger issues". {{storylink|Commercial/Prime|The Hub promo}}

He later joined back up with Pinkie Pie as well as other ponies Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] in scatting "[[wikipedia:Deck the Halls|Deck the Halls]]" {{storylink|Commercial/Prime|The Hub Carolers}} and singing "[[wikipedia:Jingle Bells|Jingle Bells]]". {{storylink|Commercial/Prime|The Hub Carolers (Second spot)}}

He also demanded that viewers vote for him in the Hub's 2010 "Naughty or Nice" contest. They must have been listening, because he was eventually voted the "Naughtiest" villain on the Hub that year.

===Titan Magazines ''Prime'' comics===
Under Megatron's leadership, the Decepticons conquered many city states including [[Kalis]], [[Tarn (city)|Tarn]] and [[Vos]]. When the time came to strike against [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], Megatron led a five-con team in under the cover of darkness to bomb the [[Iacon Energon Refinery]]. They had barely planted the first bomb when they were spotted and fired on. After the other three Decepticons were shot down, Megatron gave Soundwave a bomb and set about causing a distraction while his second-in-command went to plant it. When Soundwave was also shot down, Megatron flew into action, helping up the rest of his team and carrying Soundwave as they retreated under the cover of an exploding bomb. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.2|War Story}}

With a new plan, Megatron took [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] to attack the [[Yamal|NS ''Yamal'']], a Russian icebreaker near [[Antarctica]]. He intended to use a [[static lance]] to cause the ship's reactors to meltdown exposing energon deposits beneath the ice. Unfortunately Optimus got wind of the plan and came storming in. As Megatron detailed his plan during their one-on-one fight, Optimus took possession of the lance. Megatron attempted to take it back, only for Optimus to hit him with it. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.3|Ice Breaker}}

Megatron and Soundwave somehow slipped some code into ''[[Invasionauts II]]'' to hypnotise Raf into opening the GroundBridge so they could send Vehicons through. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.4|Tinker, Tailor, Gamer, Spy!}} Irritated at Starscream's failure to end the Autobot problem, Megatron demanded his subordinate try and lure the Autobots into a trap instead for fruitlessly searching for them. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.6|All the President's 'Bots!}}

Now infuriated at his army being constantly bested by the Autobots, Megatron took the ''Nemesis'' to the [[Erta Ale volcano]] where he had his troops fight in a series of deathmatches to apply the principal of survival of the fittest. He forced Starscream to fight [[Fearstorm]], and when Starscream won, seemed happy enough to let his lieutenant return to the ship. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.7|Megatron's Law}} After Bulkhead destroyed an energon store, Megatron had him captured and taken aboard the warship, where the Autobot was placed in the newly developed [[Ultra Prison]]. Megatron sneeringly informed Bulkhead that the prison would slowly wipe his mind, but it was Megatron who got the raw end of the deal when the ''Nemesis'' was badly damaged during the inevitable Autobot rescue. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 4.11|The Battle for Bulkhead}}

====Mega-Mouth====
Megatron occasionally takes time out from conquering the universe to...answer fan mail? He also sometimes seems [[Megatron (Movie)|confused]] about which [[universal stream]] he hails from, as he claimed he attacked [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel]] {{storylink|Transformers_Comic_issue_4.1#Mega-Mouth|Mega-Mouth #1}} he also explained why he wore a cowl in ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' {{storylink|Transformers_Comic_issue_4.4#Mega-Mouth|Mega-Mouth #4}} and he also said he survived ''Dark of the Moon'', after some fan asked how Megatron could be answering those fanmails. {{storylink|Transformers_Comic_issue_4.5#Mega-Mouth|Mega-Mouth #5}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: War for Cybertron'' (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)===
{{voiceactor|[[Fred Tatasciore]] (English)|[[Oliviero Corbetta]] (Italian), [[Juan Carlos Lozano]] (Spanish)}}
[[Image:WFC_Megatron.jpg|thumb|350px|He wants the whooole wooorld, in his hand!]]
During the early war on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Megatron found reference to an energy source called [[Dark Energon]], which had impressive potential as a weapon, and became determined to claim it for himself. One of the few places it was made was in a station in orbit around Cybertron, guarded by a politically neutral force led by [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]. With this knowledge, he took a ship and launched an assault on the station.

The ship was badly damaged in the attack, and so he ordered [[Barricade (Prime)|Barricade]] and [[Brawl (WFC)| Brawl]], piloting it, to ram the station. He and many of his soldiers survived the impact and escaped the core's detonation. They were then confronted by Starscream, who informed them that they would not allow them to take what he had guarded for ten thousand years. After surviving a trap of sentry guns, Megatron, Barricade, and Brawl were reinforced by more of Megatron's troops, and set out on their way to find the station's Dark Energon stores and claim them for the war effort. They encountered significant resistance, but managed to shoot their way through, with directional aid from [[Soundwave (Prime)| Soundwave]]. Barricade noted that the station itself seemed quite primitive; Megatron noted it was very old, and that he intended to modernize it... At one point, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] [[Jetfire (WFC)|Jetfire]] confronted Megatron nonviolently, asking him to give up his quest, as Dark Energon would result in only horror, death, and destruction, to which Megatron sneered, "You say that as if it were a bad thing."

[[Image:WFC-MegatronmeetsStarscream.jpg|left|thumb|300px|At last we meet, my punching bag.]]

Along their way to the Dark Energon, they found that a large portion of the station had been blasted clean off, the debris field traversable but sparse enough to allow easy viewing of Cybertron itself. Soundwave soon found records indicating that a small amount of Dark Energon lost containment and was the sole cause of the destruction, underscoring Megatron's desire for it. When Barricade asked how he expected to control it when no other had, Megatron said that such power was only for the strong, that he was the strongest, and not to question him again.

When they finally reached the storage chamber, and Megatron averted Starscream's destruction of it, he calmly entered into a container full of raw Dark Energon, while Starscream watched and gloated at his imminent destruction...only for him to walk out, not only unscathed, but crackling with power, which he further bestowed upon Barricade and Brawl. A single blast of Dark Energon was enough to destroy an entire company of station security forces, the last line of defense between Megatron and Starscream and his companions.

Jetfire again tried to warn Megatron about the dangers of Dark Energon, but Starscream interrupted, asking to join the Decepticon leader. Megatron asked what Starscream could offer that he could not simply take. Starscream revealed the station's supply of Dark Energon was almost spent, and he knew how to manufacture more—and as luck would have it, there was a dormant [[Geosynchronous Energon Bridge]] which could be used to power it. Jetfire retreated to inform [[Sentinel Zeta Prime| Zeta Prime]]; Megatron let him go, seeming pleased by the notion of letting the Autobots tremble in advance of their actions, and sent Starscream, [[Thundercracker (WFC)| Thundercracker]], and [[Skywarp (Prime)| Skywarp]] to activate the bridge.

Megatron repeatedly mocked what he perceived as Starscream's slowness in his simple mission, but the Seeker did what he said he could. With a steady supply of Dark Energon, Megatron launched an attack on Iacon City, intending to take a device called the [[Omega Key]] and use it to enter the Core of Cybertron. This time, he took [[Breakdown (Prime)| Breakdown]] and Soundwave with him. The trio took the less-guarded way in—which, since the Autobots were not complete fools (as even Megatron would admit), still had significant military presence. During the attack, Starscream noted that Dark Energon was proving every bit as potent as Megatron had promised. Breakdown let Megatron know of his misgivings about the Sky Commander; Megatron admitted he was treacherous and untrustworthy, but he had useful talents, and his cunning and ambition was intriguing.

The Omega Key had been taken from its normal resting place, however, by Autobot leader Zeta Prime, and so Megatron took his squad on an assault on Zeta's headquarters. They met Brawl, leading an attack on the doors to Zeta Prime's armory, along the way. Even Megatron's touch of Dark Energon could not breach the vault doors, however, and so he called in [[Dark Energon Bomber]]s. When they were shot down, Brawl suggested they take out the Autobots' air defense guns, after which bombers were called in again; Megatron's troops then held off a massive assault from what seemed like the entire Autobot army while waiting for the bombing run to finally arrive.

[[Image:WFC Megatron Vs ZetaPrime.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Zeta Prime, you might be more egotistical than me. I mean really, a huge holographic version of you and smaller holograms doing what you can't do without your pointy stick thing?]]

After the vault doors were breached, they reached Zeta Prime himself, who had constructed several layers of security while he waited. An invincible energy field protected him, while he could drop portions of the ceiling with pistons to crush anything beneath them, and construct endless holographic clones of himself outfitted for melee combat, which Megatron personally found nauseating. However, his defenses were not without flaw: periodically, the power core would need to disperse waste heat, and Megatron's team survived long enough to destroy it during this stage. Zeta fell, buried under the wreckage of his own defenses, and Megatron took the device he'd carried...which started to make electronic chirping noises. Zeta, with black humor, noted that the device was not the Omega Key. It merely ''activated'' the Key, which would come to them...

Searching for the Key in the skies aboard another ship, Megatron, with Soundwave and Breakdown at the controls, were abruptly confronted by a massive ship, [[Omega Supreme (WFC)|Omega Supreme]], who knocked them out of the sky, causing them to crash back in Iacon. There, they played a cat-and-mouse campaign in a desperate attempt to survive the enormous Autobot's vast firepower, though Soundwave noted that the weaponry they bore had little chance of penetrating Omega Supreme's armor. Megatron, for his part, at least contrived to appear unafraid, claiming that if it came to a real fight, the brute wouldn't stand a chance against Megatron's intellect. However, Omega's attacks drove them underground and left them unable to immediately transmit counter to Starscream, who declared Megatron dead and announced he was taking control. Even when they re-established contact, Starscream's aerial forces only briefly distracted Omega, who dispensed large numbers of troops, sucked up Decepticons with a tractor beam, fired weapons of mass destruction, and mined the roads Megatron and his squad were using.

[[Image:Omega Supreme smash.jpg|Right|thumb|300px|"I challenge you to a thumb wrestling competition" "Thats a thumb!?"]]
Soundwave, however, had come up with a suggestion—there were weapons emplacements higher up that had the ability to damage Omega Supreme. Taking them from the Autobots was a battle in and of itself, but nothing compared to the fight against Omega Supreme, who could unload entire squadrons of Aerialbots. Nonetheless, Megatron's boldness and tactical acumen finally shot Omega Supreme out of the sky.

[[Image:WFC-hearmynameandtremble.jpg|left|thumb|300px|I stand on your crotch!]]

Gloating, Megatron found that the behemoth was still not defeated, and indeed was drawing power from Cybertron itself to repair his systems, making him stronger, if anything. However, by corrupting the energon batteries with which he was using to feed himself with Dark Energon charges, they were able to weaken him to the point where they could finally blast away his last defenses and brought him to heel. With Omega Supreme defeated, Megatron went underground, directly to the Core, and corrupted it with a massive infusion of Dark Energon, finally bringing Cybertron itself more completely under his control.

At this point, Megatron was clearly convinced, and for good reason, that he'd won, making propaganda broadcasts extolling his greatness and how he had taken away the Autobots' burdens of "liberty" and "choice". When Starscream was defeated and the Decagon retaken, however, he realized the Autobots were not yet going to roll over for him, and sent a distress signal from Zeta Prime, whom he had kept alive in the Kaon prison camp, in order to provoke a rescue attempt from the Autobots. His old acquaintance Optimus took the bait, and Megatron confronted him, telling him that the war could be over tomorrow if Optimus took the Autobots and left. Optimus refused, so Megatron consigned him and his team to the prisons. When they managed to stage a mass breakout, an enraged Megatron ordered his troops to prevent their escape at any cost, to the point of tearing apart portions of Kaon.

This was not enough, however, and they escaped, journeying to the Core, where they kickstarted the cleansing of Megatron's corruption. Doing so, however, would take the Core millions of years of shutdown, rendering Cybertron uninhabitable. Whether Megatron knew this or not, when he saw the Autobots leaving after Optimus's refusal of his earlier offer, he apparently took offense. His earlier plans of renovating Starscream's station had come to fruition; now, it mounted a powerful superweapon, capable of destroying entire structures in one shot. He had it fire upon the Autobot transports as they left. When a team of Aerialbots attempted to disable or destroy it, he called Jetfire, now one of them, and taunted him about his past. He further mocked them when they destroyed the plasma coolant system without apparently having accounted for backups. Finally, during the attack he came into possession of information on Optimus Prime's location, and ordered Trypticon—the name of the weapon, for it was actually a Cybertronian—to fire upon it.

Trypticon, however, was forced into his natural form and defeated after he crash-landed on Cybertron. Megatron's reaction to this went unrecorded. {{storylink|Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron}}

===''Transformers: War for Cybertron'' (DS)===
Megatron was the Decepticon Leader during the final days of the Great War. After capturing an Autobot facility, and killing a cadet, Megatron revealed his plan to his troops. Megatron intended to conquer Trypticon Space Station, which had the means and power to manufacture Dark Energon: a variant of Energon which greatly increased the stamina and strength of its host. Megatron fought his way through the station to its commander, the Autobot Starscream. Upon Starscream's defeat, Starscream offered his services and the Dark Energon if he was spared. Megatron agreed, and Starscream joined the Decepticons.

After a test run of the Dark Energon in Kaon Prison, Soundwave deduced the element would only kill the host, but Starscream was able to find a way to fix it. Megatron then decided the time was right, and led his army to the inner levels of Cybertron. He was able to activate the uplink to channel energy from the Core of Cybertron itself to Trypticon Station, but he needed the Omega Key to access it once it was shut down with a firewall.

[[Image:WFCDS Defeat Omega Supreme.jpg|thumb|left|256px|Simple enough... OH GOD BULLETS.]]
Megatron learned through a recording from Laserbeak that Autobot Leader Zeta Prime had the Omega Key in his possession and had holed up deep within Iacon. Megatron led a full-scale assault on the city, totally devastating Iacon, until he found Zeta Prime at last. After a hard battle, Zeta fell, and Megatron obtained the Omega Key. However, immediately upon taking it, alarms went off, and Iacon itself was shaking. Zeta Prime, despite being mortally wounded, laughed at Megatron's face, saying the Omega Key was only the key to the ''true'' key: the city-sized Autobot Omega Supreme.

Omega immediately attacked the victorious Decepticons, and quickly decimated their presence in Iacon, save for Megatron's team and a few others. By this point, Megatron was absolutely furious at Starscream: Megatron declared it was he who led them to Omega Supreme and the devastating onslaught he carried out. Starscream bitterly retorted even if Megatron killed him, Omega Supreme would still be out for his blood, helping nothing whatsoever. Megatron angrily let it go for the time being, and led his army to battle. His troops' confidence beginning to falter, Megatron declared they would either be kicking themselves for not acting for the rest of their lives, or heroes in a historic event. His men followed him to battle Omega, and the titan fell. Megatron was free to corrupt the Core of Cybertron with Dark Energon, and obtain near-supremacy of Cybertron.

That kind of went downhill when the new Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, extinguished the Dark Energon and destroyed Trypticon Space Station, didn't it? {{Storylink|Transformers: War for Cybertron (DS)|Transformers: War for Cybertron}}

===''Transformers: Cybertron Adventures''===
{{voiceactor|[[Fred Tatasciore]] (English)|[[Oliviero Corbetta]] (Italian)}}

Early in the war, when the Autobots learned of the existence of the orbiting superweapon [[Trypticon (Prime)|Trypticon]], Megatron sent waves of Decepticon forces to keep them from discovering more about it. Megatron, happy to see the destruction Trypticon was creating, ordered Starscream and Skywarp at gunpoint to return to Trypticon and clean up after it, while he took his troops into battle to scour the area for Autobots to kill. Few Autobots other than the medic, [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]], were spared Megatron's initial assault.

When Megatron found out that Starscream had left his post at Trypticon, Megatron grew angry. But the Autobots had infiltrated the [[Datacore]], so Megatron focused his efforts there instead. Bumblebee was captured, and information useful for the taking of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] was pulled from his mind. Megatron assigned Skywarp the task of the initial Iacon assault. The traitorous Starscream returned to Megatron's focus, and the Air Commander was ordered to infiltrate the Core of Cybertron to reactivate the [[Geosynchronous Energon Bridge]]. But Starscream took too long, discovering Megatron had already reached the Core by the time he arrived. In a foul mood, Megatron would test Starscream's loyalty by putting him on the Iacon assault's front lines.

The assault went as planned, and Iacon crumbled. As Barricade and Starscream reached an empty Council Chamber, Megatron alerted them to the evacuation of the surviving Autobots. Three Autobot ships positioned themselves to escape, and so Megatron ordered Thundercracker and Skywarp to take them down.

Though Iacon fell, the Trypticon orbiting superweapon was destroyed by the Autobots... but not before Megatron ripped the datacore from its brain so as to salvage its information on Dark Energon. Megatron was pleased. Despite his loss, he still had the upper hand. {{storylink|Transformers: Cybertron Adventures}}

===''Transformers: Fall of Cybertron'' (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)===
{{voiceactor|[[Fred Tatasciore]] (English)}}
{{spoiler|Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|September 21, 2012}}
[[Image:Megatron_FOC.png‎|thumb|left|200px|Seriously Soundwave, where is my fusion cannon?! It was in your remodeling designs, for crying out loud...]]
When Cybertron had begun to die, Megatron blamed Optimus Prime, as he was the one who had ruined his plans for the planet. Megatron launched an attack on [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] in order to destroy the Ark and get revenge. He sent Starscream and the Combaticons to capture Optimus and bring him before him. As he prepared to destroy both the Ark and the Autobot leader, the newly awakened [[Metroplex (FOC)|Metroplex]] tore the roof off of the building they were in. Refusing to retreat, Megatron fired at the colossus, only to be pulverized by the giant Autobot's fist. Due to Megatron's death, Starscream took control of the Decepticons and proceeded to run the organization into the ground. Unhappy with the change in management, Soundwave salvaged what was left of Megatron, rebuilt him, and reactivated him with Dark Energon. After awakening, Megatron was enraged to see that Starscream was in control. Megatron then proceeded to crash Starscream's [[The Transformers: The Movie|coronation]] and drove him off. Due to Starscream's self indulgence, the Decepticons' energon supply was dwindling, forcing Megatron to find more power. He decided to retrieve the power core from the fallen Trypticon and while doing so, he happily "reintroduced" himself to the Autobots. After arriving at Trypticon's crash site, he realized the beast was still alive and had Soundwave revitalize him. Megatron didn't know or care whether or not Trypticon was still sentient or not, but told the beast that since he had failed him, he would be rebuilt to Megatron's liking. Megatron then told Soundwave to intiate the "Nemesis Protocol" and permanently lock Trypticon in his alternate form.{{storylink|Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron}}
{{-}}

=== ''Transformers Prime: The Game'' ===
[[Image:Transformers prime the game megatron.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
{{voiceactor|[[Frank Welker]] (English)}}
{{comingsoon}}
{{storylink|Transformers Prime: The Game}}

==Toys==
===Generations===
[[Image:Generationstoy-CybertronianMegatron.jpg|thumb|right|300px| Fashionably asymmetrical.]]
*'''Cybertronian Megatron''' (Deluxe, 2010)
**''Accessories'': clear purple missile, [[Fusion Cannon]]

: Part of the second wave of [[Transformers Generations|''Generations'']] toys, Cybertronian Megatron is a toy is based on his appearance in the video game ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron]]'', transforming into a Cybertronian self-propelled gun. The treads of his vehicle can be positioned in either a vertical configuration like a traditional tank, or in a horizontal hover-tank configuration. Megatron's spring-loaded cannon can attach to either arm. He also has an insignia on his back, but unlike Optimus, his is not hidden by kibble. Like [[Soundwave (Prime)#Generations|''War for Cybertron'' Soundwave]], his head has a light-piping gimmick that has been neutered by his painted eyes.

: Some units of the figure have Megatron's left internal shoulder strut misassembled, preventing that side of the tank-mode from becoming properly flush to the body when transforming. This can be corrected by unscrewing and separating the outer shoulder structure, flipping the strut 180 degrees, and reassembling the shoulder covering.

: Also, the packaging image for his tank mode is flipped.

: This mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers United|United]]'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys#United|Megatron Cybertron Mode]] and [[Darkside Megatron]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2010/Decepticon/GenerationsMegatron/megatron.htm More information on Cybertronian Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Transformers (2010)===
[[Image:TRURageOverCybertronCybertronianMegatron.jpg|thumb|300px|Nobody makes fun of Megatron's lovely skirt. Not more than once, anyway.]]
*'''Rage over Cybertron''' (Multipack, 2011)
**''Accessories'': Fusion Cannon, missile

:A [[redeco]] of Cybertronian Megatron with purple parts, a translucent purple cannon and purple and red paint details resembling the effects of [[Dark Energon]], available in a [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] three-pack with Cybertronian Optimus Prime and Cybertronian Bumblebee.

:The [[stock photography|stock photo]] to the right has his vehicle mode mis-transformed. His treads are left almost untransformed as his arms, but with his hands folded inside the treads, and the top panel on his left shoulder hasn't been rotated and pegged between his shoulders/tank front. His robot mode is also mis-transformed, with his back panel not being pegged into his back and being left hanging behind his thighs.

{{-}}

===Prime: First Edition===
{{anchor|EntertainmentPack}}
[[Image:Primetoy-MegatronEP.jpg|right|thumb|300px|His jet mode needs a little scarf attached to the robot head.]]
*'''Optimus Prime vs Megatron: A Rivalry Reborn''' (First Edition 5 figure gift set, 2011)
**''Accessories'': Fusion Cannon

: Part of ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)#First Edition (2011)|Prime: First Edition]]'', this Deluxe Class version of Megatron transforms into his alien ship mode. He comes with his Fusion Cannon, which can either be held with his hands in robot mode, or peg onto his jet mode by folding the handle in and pegging it behind his exposed, peeking head. It is also in this latter configuration for the cannon that the otherwise useless groove and tab on the cannon and its handle can be pegged onto the tab and otherwise useless socket on his right arm, giving him the classic, arm-mounted, yet ''strangely undocumented'' Fusion Cannon configuration shown in his [[stock photography]]. Funny enough, the blade from the Cyberverse Commander figure of the character can fit in the hole of the fusion cannon's mouth, which enables it to reenact fighting scenes with his sword.

: Speaking of undocumented features, his [[instructions]] show a noticeably different "completed" vehicle mode when compared to his stock photos. Specifically, the instructions completely neglect the extra steps to flip his wings out and form a more [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] vehicle mode, opting instead for a more slender, wingless vehicle mode. To achieve this undocumented form, his underside leg panels must be opened, flipped around and over to the top of the ship, be pegged onto a tab on the side of his intakes, and his pointy wingtips must be flipped out from underneath. He also has some clearance issues when transforming. His intakes and the panel that surrounds his head in vehicle mode tend to collide when the intakes are snugly angled into and out of the panel, often resulting in the intakes popping off the (detachable) plastic hinges that they're on. He also comes somewhat mis-transformed in the package, with the positions of the intakes and the panel on his back being switched around, with the panel being placed ''after'' the intakes, instead of ''before''.

: He comes with a similarly-scaled [[Optimus Prime (Prime)#EntertainmentPack|Optimus Prime]] and PVC figurines of [[Miko Nakadai#Prime|Miko Nakadai]], [[Jack Darby#EntertainmentPack|Jack Darby]] and [[Raf Esquivel#EntertainmentPack|Raf Esquivel]], as well as a DVD of the "Series Premiere" episode "[[Masters & Students]]".

{{-}}{{anchor|FirstEdition}}
*'''Megatron''' (First Edition Deluxe, 2011)
**''Accessories'': Fusion Cannon

: The Japanese release of Deluxe Class Megatron was packaged by itself on a card. The instructions show the proper vehicle mode, how to attach his fusion cannon to his arm, and the figure is transformed correctly in the box.

{{-}}

===Prime===
{{anchor|Cyberverse}}
[[Image:TF-Cyberverse-Commander-Megatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Megatron''' (Cyberverse Commander, 2012)
** ''Series / Number'': '''02 / 004'''
**''Accessories'': "Cyber sword"

: [[Cyberverse#Series 2|Cyberverse]] Megatron features translucent purple plastic on his entire torso (although with the chest panels covering a portion of it) so that he can be illuminated by the lights from the larger play-sets. He comes with a translucent "cyber sword" weapon which features two [[C joint|3mm post]]s and a peg-hole in-between, allowing it to combine with other Cyberverse weapons, peg in two different ways into either his hands, into the hole just above his right wrist, or onto the top of his Fusion Cannon, or be pegged and stored on his back. Rare for a Hasbro product, his sword is both hard plastic and pointy. The Hasbro release comes with a pack-in file card, and his initial first wave release additionally comes with a mini DVD featuring the Transformers Prime episode, "Masters & Students".

: While the transformation-related post on his arm-mounted Fusion Cannon may seem 3mm-compatible, it is actually slightly too big, and mounting the sword onto it may cause the sword's peg-hole to crack. Fortunately, the transformation-related hole under his left arm can hold the sword and other 3mm posts just fine.

{{-}}{{anchor|Voyager}}
[[Image:PrimeRIDtoy-MegatronPowerizer.jpg|right|thumb|300px|And it's like the sky is new.]]
*'''Megatron''' (Voyager, 2012)
**''Series / Number'': '''01 / 002'''
**''Japanese release date'': '''[[July 28|7-28]]-2012'''
**''Japanese ID number'': '''AM-15'''
**''Accessories'': "Cannon" & "Combat Claw" (Hasbro only), "Gora II" & "Hades" Arms Microns (TakaraTomy only)

: Like the Cyberverse version, ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)#Robots in Disguise (2012)|Prime: Robots in Disguise]]'' Megatron has a fair amount of translucent purple plastic in the torso and forearms, and a similar general design to his other ''Prime'' toys of the line in both modes, although the plastic is a little more matte than in the stock photo. He comes with two weapons; the arm cannon is a MechTech-like weapon, where pushing a plunger at the back swings two blades out from either side and pushes a third one forward, combining to make a larger one below the cannon's mouth. At the same time, a red LED swings out and activates, shining through the plastic blades. The cannon can be mounted on either arm, either in the classic elbow port or from one on the wrist, and the blade can be locked in place by manually swinging the blades out while holding the plunger back.

:He also comes with a combat claw, which mounts on the wrist point on either hand and has a piece which rests in the hand to appear more as if it's being held. The claw can also be mounted in front of the cannon, which does not interfere with the cannon's blade gimmick. Both weapons can also be stored on the back when not in use, and it is possible to trigger the cannon's LED gimmick and lock it on while on the back without unfolding the blade much, resulting in the LED shining through and making the inner chest glow red.

[[Image:Primetoy-MegatronDarkness.jpg|right|thumb|300px|More like an Arms ''Macron'', amirite???]]

: The TakaraTomy release of Voyager Megatron sports many differences. '''Megatron Darkness''', part of the fifth wave of Japanese ''Prime'' product, is said to be Megatron's reborn form, having "come back from Hell" (aka the events of "[[Sick Mind]]" and "[[Out of His Head]]"). His base plastics are shades of cold-gray as opposed to the [[Hasbro]] warm-grays, and his chestplates, shoulderplates and head have been given a silver [[Vacuum metallizing|vac-metal]] finish. He comes with a silver-foil [[sticker]] sheet that adds a lot of purple filigree designs to him in a matter similar to the [[e-HOBBY]] [[exclusive]] [[Galvatron II#Toys|Galvatron II]]. The Hasbro accessories have been replaced with a pair of [[Arms Micron]] kits; [[Gora#II|Gora II]], a gorilla that becomes Megatron's fusion cannon, and [[Hades]], a massive bat that becomes a winged backpack or a giant scythe weapon. In addition, both Microns CAN combine in an unofficial way that approximates the show-accurate "sword" emerging from the base of the fusion cannon configuration. However, it is both unsightly, ungainly, and a complete and utter royal mess.

: People who purchased Megatron Darkness from Ion stores on his release date got a free [[Gul#Hellflame|Hellflame Gul]] Arms Micron (while supplies last). Those who preordered Megatron Darkness through Amazon Japan got a free [[B.2#Shining|Shining B.2 Arms Micron]] with their order.

::*''[http://higekumatoytoy.blog60.fc2.com/blog-entry-1623.html Megatron Darkness at Alfes's Toy Blog]''

{{-}}{{anchor|JapanDeluxe}}
[[Image:Prime-toy_MegatronTakTomDx.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Megatron tries to get the monkey off his back.]]
* '''Megatron''' (Deluxe, [[March 31|3-31]]-[[2012|12]])
** ''ID number:'' '''AM-05'''
** ''Accessories:'' "Gora" Arms Micron

: As part of the first wave of the Japanese ''Prime'' line, this toy is a [[redeco]] and [[retool]]ing of the First Edition Megatron toy. He has had some of his [[paint operation]]s replaced with customer-applied foil [[sticker]]s (mostly the silver bits on his pelvis). His "backpack" has also been retooled to add [[5mm post]]s and post-holes as part of the line-wide [[Arms Micron]] gimmick. Rather than coming with his original fusion cannon, he instead comes with [[Gora]], a gorilla-like robot who transforms into the fusion cannon, complete with flip-out blades.

::*''[http://higekumatoytoy.blog60.fc2.com/blog-entry-1469.html Arms Micron Megatron at Alfes's blog]''

{{-}}{{anchor|DarkEnergon}}
[[Image:Primetoy-MegatronDarkEnergon.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"So, they think can outdo [[Hasbro|us]] by giving [[TakaraTomy|their]] [[black repaint]] chrome, eh? We'll show them! Give him more translucent plastic!"]]
*'''Megatron''' (Dark Energon Voyager, 2012)
**''Accessories'': "Cannon" & "Combat Claw"

:A [[BigBadToyStore]]-exclusive [[redeco]] of Prime RID Megatron in translucent purple, black, and violet.
{{comingsoontoy}}
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===Mcdonald's===
[[Image:Primetoy-MegatronHappyMeal.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Megatron''' (Happy Meal, 2012)
:*''McNumber:'' '''2'''
:Happy Meal Megatron is a nontransformable space jet! A spring-loaded paddle is launched when his robot mode head is pressed down, and when the fusion cannon on the back of the vehicle is pushed forward, a yellow LED shines out the front of it. An on/off switch on the jet's underside enables or disables the light feature.
{{-}}

==Notes==
[[Image:Tfprimemegatronjet.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Too fast for screen caps.]]
[[Image:VectorSigmaBotBuilderMegatron.jpg|thumb|250px|Green with evil.]]
*Megatron's model is usable in ''War for Cybertron'' multiplayer as the Destroyer-type chassis for [[Soldier (WFC)|Soldier]]-class characters. His parts are also available in ''Fall of Cybertron'', now classified as Gunner-type components for [[Titan (FOC)|Titan]]-class characters.
*As revealed in [[One Shall Rise, Part 3]], Megatron used to have blue optics.
*Megatron's designation as an energon miner was "D-16".<ref>[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/play/details.cfm?guid=7fd5ecd9-19b9-f369-1041-a7635be83172 War for Cybertron timeline].</ref> Megatron's original [[List of Japanese ID numbers|Japanese ID number]] was "16". Takara would eventually change the numbering system using a "D" to denote [[Decepticon|Destrons]]. So Megatron's Japanese ID number could retroactively be considered "D-16".
*In ''Transformers: War for Cybertron'', Megatron has multiple glitches when controlled by the computer, among them shrinking (quite hilariously), losing his Fusion Cannon, and having his Tank mode cannon stick straight up (also humorous). He may be the most glitchy character in the game.
*The show design of this version of Megatron takes visual cues from both Generation 1 (the ever-famous [[Megatron (G1)|buckethead]] and lower legs resembling a pistol's handgrip) and [[Megatron (Movie)|the movie version]] of the Decepticon leader (the sharp angles and bits on his shoulders, along with two-toed feet and a demonic-looking face with sharp shark-like teeth), even including the jet mode the latter version appeared in.
*The ''Prime'' staff used the rationale that Megatron would not scan an Earth mode out of disgust at humans.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-prime-39/botcon-2010-transformers-prime-panel-coverage-170054/ BotCon 2010 Transformers Prime Panel Coverage]</ref> According to Cybertronian Megatron's packaging bio, Megatron often changes his alternate mode, probably in an attempt to explain why he's a tank in the game and a jet in the cartoon.
* Megatron's body parts are available to use in the Hub website's [[Vector Sigma Bot Builder]] online game. Normally, you cannot configure a generic 'bot using all Megatron parts, but you can see what one would look like at right through the magic of Photoshop.

{{-}}
===Arms Up Modes===
In the Japanese ''Prime'' toyline, Megatron has named powered-up modes when given various [[Arms Micron]]s in certain configurations:

*'''Crusher Mode''' (クラッシャーモード ''kurasshāmōdo'')
**''Arms Microns'': Balo, Gora
: Megatron's "Crusher Mode", as seen on his box-back photo, uses a combined-weapon made up of Gora in "extended-cannon" mode, with [[Balo]] in drill-mode at the end, attached to Megatron's arm.

*'''Darkness Mode''' (ダークネスモード ''dākunesumōdo'')
**''Arms Microns'': Balo (x2), Gora II, Gul, Hades, Igu, Jida, Noji, Zori
: This is one heavy loadout! Megatron Darkness's Arms Up Mode has him wearing [[Hades]] as wings, with [[Noji]] and [[Igu]] in weapon modes in the inner part of each wing, and a pair of [[Balo]]s in shield/shuriken mode, one on each wingtip. (Presumably, Balo G will work as a substitute for one of them.) He carries [[Jida]] in scissors mode in his left hand, and wields the [[Planet Bowgun]] in his right.

===Foreign names===

*''Mandarin:'' {{hanyu|'''Megaton'''|密卡登|Mìkǎdēng|Taiwan}}, {{hanyu|'''Wēi Zhèn Tīan'''|威震天||lit. "Extremely Prestigious" or "Heaven-shaking Might", China}}

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Generations]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Letters page answerers]]
[[Category:Prime Decepticons]]
[[Category:Transformers (2010) Decepticons]]
[[Category:Transformers Online Decepticons]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Decepticons]]
[[Category:Fall of Cybertron Decepticons]]

Out of the Past

2012-09-03T10:12:20Z

Cosmicprime:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 43
|prev=Hurt
|next=New Recruit
|image=OutofthePast-Shockwave.jpg
|caption=Insert "are all dead" reference here.
|title="Out of the Past"
|airdate=[[August 31]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Mike Johnson]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Arcee recalls the time she and Cliffjumper discovered Shockwave and Starscream were building a space bridge.'''

==Synopsis==
:''The ''[[Trypticon (Prime)|Nemesis]]'' flies through space. On the bridge, [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] is dragged before [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] who's interested in decrypting an Autobot signal he's intercepted. While Arcee defies his "offer" by telling him where to go, Starscream reveals he has another prisoner—[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]].''

In the present day, [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] is struggling with his recovery, with [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] providing some "encouragement" in the form of ordering him around. [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] is similarly struggling to decode the recovered Iacon database. [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] says Bulkhead needs a break, despite Miko being annoyed at the slow progress her friend is making. She storms out of the base, but Arcee follows and finds her crying atop the plateau in which the base is located. The Autobot tries to talk to her friend about Bulkhead, and the conversation leads to Miko asking about Cliffjumper.

:''Cliffjumper is dumped in the cell, having undergone torture but has resisted talking. He and Arcee discuss how they came to be back on Cybertron. Elsewhere Starscream complains about the failure of his interrogation, and [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] suggests taking them down on the planet's surface. Starscream and some [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] are soon leading the two prisoners through [[Kaon]] to a laboratory. Cliffjumper is concerned at the sight of the many tools lying ready to be used, even moreso when Starscream introduces them to [[Shockwave (Prime)|Shockwave]] himself. The two Autobots are strapped to tables, and Shockwave uses a [[cortical psychic patch]] to hook in to Arcee's mind. The process is successful and Starscream uses it to decode the transmission—which turns out to be Optimus Prime's message to bring the other Autobots to [[Earth]].''

:''Though the Decepticons have assumed Arcee is dead, she is very much alive and surreptitiously begins freeing herself. As Shockwave prepares to finish off Cliffjumper, Cliff suggests Starscream should be the one to do it. Shockwave leaves them to it, but as Starscream moves in, he's attacked by Arcee. She straps him to the free table and releases Cliffjumper. Starscream quickly folds under questioning and confesses Shockwave remained on the planet because he's building a [[space bridge]]. Knocking the 'Con out, Arcee goes to shut down the space bridge, and Cliffjumper insists on going along, despite her skepticism about his capacity for stealth. As they walk, Cliff suggests they should join Optimus's team, but Arcee isn't as keen, and rejects the idea that Cliff is her partner. Cliffjumper believes she shouldn't close herself off just because of [[Tailgate (Prime)|Tailgate]]'s death.''

Miko recognizes the truth of this advice, but asks Arcee what happened next.

:''Arcee and Cliffjumper find the space bridge, with two Vehicons operating it. While Cliff provides a distraction, Arcee starts sabotaging the bridge to overload it. Unfortunately Shockwave arrives and attempts to fix the bridge. Cliffjumper dispatches the Vehicons before sparring with Shockwave, ultimately being defeated by the hulking Decepticon. Arcee lends a hand, bringing the roof down on the Decepticon, but the pair become pinned down by Starscream and some Vehicons. Starscream demands they reverse the damage to the space bridge, but they instead head through it. Halfway through the space bridge tunnel, Shockwave catches up with the two Autobots and they exchange fire until Arcee shoots him in the eye. The space bridge deposits Cliffjumper and Arcee on Earth seconds before exploding, and after declaring themselves partners, they go to find Optimus.''

Arcee finishes her story as the sun goes down, saying she misses Cliffjumper. Miko rests her hand on Arcee's in a gesture of comfort as they watch the sunset.

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.) 

{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Arcee (Prime) | Arcee]] (2)
*''[[Cliffjumper (Prime) | Cliffjumper]] (5)''
*[[Bulkhead (Prime) | Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime) | Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Ratchet (Prime) | Ratchet]] (9)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime) | Bumblebee]] (10)
* ''[[Tailgate (Prime) | Tailgate]] (13)''
|c2=
*''[[Vehicon (Prime) | Vehicons]] (1)''
*''[[Starscream (Prime) | Starscream]] (3)''
*''[[Soundwave (Prime) | Soundwave]] (4)''
*''[[Shockwave (Prime) | Shockwave]] (11)''
*''[[Airachnid (Prime) | Airachnid]] (12)''
|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==
"So this is Kaon, huh? Love what you Decepticons have done with the place. The ruins are especially picturesque."
:—'''Cliffjumper'''

"Your reasoning is hardly...''logical''."
:—'''Shockwave'''

"While it often pains me, I ''try'' to be a team player."
:—'''Starscream'''

"Funny. At first I didn't think I'd ever get used to Cliff's constant chatter. Now, there's nothing louder to me than the silence."
:—'''Arcee'''

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*Within the space bridge, Cliffjumper is by Arcee's side while shooting at Shockwave, but disappears when it's just Arcee facing the Decepticon. He reappears as Arcee shoots Shockwave's eye.

===Continuity notes===
* This episode retells the prequel story told in [[Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)|the IDW graphic novel]] (also written by Mike Johnson). The story's still about Arcee and Cliffjumper learning about Optimus Prime on Earth, uncovering a Decepticon plot to reestablish forgotten [[space bridge]] technology, Cliffjumper pretending to forfeit to the Decepticons as a cover for Arcee's hijinks, and them running for the space bridge portal to Earth while being blasted at by Decepticons. However, how each of these things occurs happens in an incompatible way, and the story gives responsibility for the space bridge project to Shockwave instead of Starscream.
* Cliffjumper is voiced by [[Billy Brown]], whose imitation of [[Dwayne Johnson]] generally sounds quite convincing.
* Bulkhead has regained consciousness since the events of "[[Hurt]]", but he can barely walk.
* Optimus tries to decode the rest of the Iacon database gained in "[[Triage]]".
*This is not the first space bridge explosion to happen in the series, beaten by the space bridge of 'Darkness Rising, Part 5'.

===Continuity errors===

===Transformers references===
*Cliffjumper mentions getting lost in the [[Rust Sea|Sea of Rust]], which did sort of happen in ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron| Fall of Cybertron]]'', and he was, kind of, separated from his unit (if you count [[Sideswipe (WFC)|two]] [[Jazz (WFC)|bots]] as a unit). However, Cliff ''did'' have Jazz to talk to.
*Shockwave stayed behind on Cybertron, much like how his G1-counterpart remained on the planet.
*Arcee's declaration that space bridge technology was lost for a long time was true in the ''Transformers: Exodus'' novel.
*Throughout several continuities, Shockwave has kept to logic as his sense for reason.
*This isn't the first time that [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] has attempted to extract [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|codes]] from [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]]. The same happened [[This Is Why I Hate Machines|towards]] [[Endgame, Part I|the end]] of ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers: Animated]]''.

===Real-world references===
===Trivia===
*Shockwave is apparently the inventor of the illegal cortical psychic patch. Not surprising, considering he's also responsible for some "certain" changes made to some "certain" [[Dinobot (FOC)|Autobots]].
*As in "[[Predatory]]", the primary characters use the same models, meaning they all have Earth-mode kibble well before ever visiting Earth.
*Starscream gloats about how he captured the uncaptureable Arcee. Apparently he never heard of [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]]'s [[Predatory|encounter]] with [[Airachnid]]. This is consistent with comments he makes in the episode "[[Partners]]", in which he asks "Who's Tailgate?", accidentally revealing to Arcee that it was he who killed Cliffjumper.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Armada (episode)

2012-08-29T08:51:05Z

Cosmicprime:

{{disambig3|Armada}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 36
|prev=Grill
|next=Flying Mind
|image=Armada-clonessurroundMegatron.jpg
|caption=Megatron remembers seeing this scenario on Tumblr.
|title="Armada"
|airdate=[[April 21]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Matt Wayne]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Bulkhead is trapped on the ''Nemesis'' amid dual attempts on Megatron's life.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] recovers consciousness, and realizes he's on the ''[[Trypticon (Prime)|Nemesis]]''. Unable to contact base, he begins to explore, but while hiding from [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]], he runs into [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]. Starscream is reluctant to help, and strikes at Bulkhead, so Bulkhead returns the favor by jumping on Starscream and literally beating the life out of him. Guiltily justifying his actions by muttering that Starscream left him no choice, Bulkhead returns to his exploration.

[[Image:Armada-protoforms.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Quick! Reprogram them into Combaticons!]]

Some 24 hours before, Starscream reaches the wreck of the ''[[Harbinger]]'' in his search for [[energon]]. Instead, he finds a laboratory containing five [[protoform]]s. Elsewhere, Bulkhead picks up a strong energon reading. Starscream finds information in the ''Harbinger''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> computer on cloning, and fires up the lab equipment. Soon, five [[Starscream clone (Prime)|duplicates of himself]] stand before him. Meanwhile Bulkhead, clambering into a hole he's found, realizes there's boxed energon at the bottom of it, and that the ''Nemesis'' is arriving overhead, ready to pick it up. As he struggles, he falls among the energon and, losing consciousness, is transported up to the Decepticon ship with it.

Starscream discovers that his clones are complete duplicates of himself, personality, memories, and all. The one significant difference seems to be that the clones have intact [[Transformation Cog]]s, and thus can fly. As the ''Harbinger'' is able to track where the ''Nemesis'' is, he sends his clones to eliminate [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] once and for all. The five clones board the ''Nemesis'' and split up, one of them running into Bulkhead, who terminates the clone. The original Starscream is dismayed to discover that he feels the same pain his clones feel. Bulkhead locates a comm unit and attempts to use it to contact the other Autobots, only to set off an alarm and bring Vehicons running. As he escapes, the Vehicons are distracted by another Starscream clone, but unbeknownst to anyone, Bulkhead has inadvertently triggered a Decepticon beacon.

The beacon is detected by [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]], who releases her [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]] army from their [[stasis pod]]s to go terminate Megatron. The activity is detected by the Autobots, and [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]], [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] [[GroundBridge]] to the location to investigate, discovering Airachnid in the middle of sending her troops. She sets some of the Insecticons after the trio, but Arcee bursts through the explosions and begins pursuing her. Optimus and Bumblebee begin mowing down Insecticons.

Bulkhead crawls through a service duct, and spots Megatron. Megatron starts heading for the bridge in response to reports that Starscream's there.

Arcee continues her pursuit of Airachnid, despite having to contend with two Insecticons. After the Insecticons are taken out, Airachnid disappears underground, and Arcee follows.

On the ''Nemesis'' bridge, Megatron finds himself face-to-faces with the four remaining Starscream clones. He offers to make them all [[second-in-command]] if they terminate Starscream for him, but the clones are stable enough to keep to the mission. Before they can open fire, the ship is attacked by Insecticons. The distraction is all Megatron needs, and he starts taking out clones. The last of the clones manages to escape as the Insecticon attack intensifies, and Megatron finally checks on what's going on outside.

[[Image:Armada-armadasurroundMegatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Megatron also remembers ''this'' from Tumblr.]]

Optimus and Bumblebee finish off the last of the Insecticons that were attacking them, and start looking for Arcee. Their comrade is currently deep underground hunting Airachnid. Arcee exchanges fire with her foe, and manages to manoeuvre Airachnid onto one of the open stasis pods, which promptly closes and puts the rogue Decepticon on ice. The Insecticons attacking the ''Nemesis'' all immediately stop their attack, drop on to the ship's hull, and proclaim their loyalty to a bemused Megatron.

Within the ''Nemesis'', Bulkhead finds the ship's power core, and severely damages it with his mace, causing it to explode. The ship slowly begins its descent. As he runs to the exit, Bulkhead encounters the Starscream clone, who promptly takes off. Bulkhead is puzzled at the fact that Starscream is alive and can transform. Once the ''Nemesis'' has crashed to earth, Bulkhead is able to drive off and speed away. He soon reaches base, where the Autobots are inspecting the stasis-locked Airachnid.

The last Starscream clone returns to the ''Harbinger'' and lets the original Starscream know the mission failed. He's about to shoot his progenitor, when Starscream turns and blasts him, complaining about the shared pain he experiences as he finally terminates him.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (1)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (7)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (10)
|c2=
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (2)
*[[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]] (5)
*[[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticons]] (6)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (11)
|c4=
*[[Starscream clone (Prime)|Starscream clones]] (3)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (4)
}}

==Quotes==
"This is for [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]! For [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]]! For ''everything''."
:—'''Bulkhead''' delivers some much-deserved payback unto Starscream. Well, actually his clone, but what's the difference?

"You left me no choice."
:—'''Bulkhead''' pulling an [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]].

"My genetic code provides my clones with a [[Transformation cog|T-Cog]] I no longer possess and all I get is their agony?!"
:—'''Starscream''' laments over the side-effects of cloning.

"Exterminating you was so gratifying the first three times."
:—'''Megatron''' approaching the last of Starscream's clones.

"When you extinguish my spark, make it hurt. You know I would extend that courtesy to you."
:—'''Airachnid''', creepy to the last.

'''Bulkhead''' (rushing inside the Autobot's base)''':''' Guys, you are not gonna believe the day I had! 
''Bulkhead spots Airachnid in stasis, then looks at Ratchet and Arcee'' 
'''Bulkhead:''' Oh, you too, huh?
:—It's been a busy day for everyone.

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGHHH! ''Scrap'', that hurt!"
:—'''Starscream''' after killing the last clone.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*When Airachnid commands the Insecticon rear guard to fight, 6 are seen flying off the group. In the next scene, there are 5.
*Apparently, nobody on the Nemesis could hear Bulkhead's yells and the sound of pounding Starscream into scrap.

===Continuity errors===
* Previously, one Insecticon was so powerful that it was able to fight toe-to-toe with Megatron (deprived of his fusion cannon). The Insecticons in this episode are considerably weaker, enough that several go down in one hit and another is taken out by crashing into a tree. You can do plenty of rationalizing—the Autobots have an open battlefield and their ranged weapons which Megatron did not, a lot of Insecticons die from crashing out the air rather than from attacks—but this downgrade is nothing special, being a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConservationOfNinjitsu widely observed phenomenon] with armies of generic henchmen in fiction of all kinds. The Insecticons position as freakishly powerful is restored in [[Tunnel Vision]] and [[Toxicity]].
*So where does Starscream keep getting those replacement missiles from, anyway?

===Continuity notes===
* Starscream returns to the ''[[Harbinger]]'', first seen in "[[Partners]]", the episode in which he defected.
* Starscream references sneaking on board the ''Nemesis'' and meeting Optimus Prime in "[[Orion Pax, Part 1]]".
* Starscream mentions [[Darkness Rising, Part 1|killing Cliffjumper]] and [[Crossfire|sparing Arcee's life]]... again.
* Bulkhead pounds Starscream (well, his clone really, but still...) for killing Cliffjumper and damaging Bumblebee's T-cog in "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 2]]".
* Starscream laments over losing his T-cog in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2".
* Airachnid had apparently repaired her [[Crossfire|severed limb]]. It didn't last.
* In "Grill", Agent Fowler said the next time Arcee and Airachnid meet, only one is going to walk away. That's exactly what happened.

===Transformers references===
*Starscream follows in the footsteps of his [[Starscream (Animated)|''Animated'' predecessor]], who also once cloned [[Starscream clone (Animated)|multiple copies of himself]], though he knows how to handle the treacherous clones better than his predecessor.
*Starscream's clones are mentally linked to him via [[binary bonding]].
*We see protoforms again.
*The crash of the ''Nemesis'' on a cliff edge resembles the one of [[Axalon (BW)|a certain other Transformer spacecraft]].

===Real-world references===
* Starscream's activation of the clones, with all the electricity and cackling, seems inspired by [[Frankenstein|''Frankenstein'']].
* The Nemesis has [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Jefferies_tube Jefferies tubes].

===Trivia===
* The Insecticons speak for the first time. They're still vermin, though.
* Soundwave, Knock Out, and Dreadwing do not seem to be on board the Nemesis to defend it from its Insecticon assailants for some unknown reason. While you could argue they were present and simply off-screen (e.g. when Megatron arrives, Vehicons are seen in the background firing on the Insecticons), considering how prominent the three of them are their absence is rather odd. Dreadwing, in particular, would most likely be heading the counterattack because of his position of second in command.
* Oddly, immediately after he laments the lack of energon on the Harbinger, and after spending episodes going on about how he needed to scrounge for scraps just to survive, Starscream, on finding the protoforms, takes some of his own energon from his arm to power the clones. Perhaps his ambitions got the better of his common sense, or he was counting on the clones winning and he could then resupply on the Nemesis.
* This is the second time Arcee has basically "saved" Megatron. Even though she couldn't think of a reason why she would want to stop that, Arcee's greater hatred towards Airachnid then starts a chase after her trying to kill her and Airachnid got trapped in a stasis egg freeing the Insecticons from her control, making them loyal to Megatron again. Arcee defeats Airachnid but saves Megatron and boosts the Decepticon ranks in the process.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Hurt

2012-08-28T03:06:25Z

Cosmicprime:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 42
|prev=Toxicity
|next=Out of the Past
|image=Hurt-Mikosleeps.jpg
|caption=You could have it all/My empire of dirt
|title="Hurt"
|airdate=[[August 24]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Mairghread Scott]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Miko and Wheeljack embark on a quest for revenge.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Manhattan]]. [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]], [[Jack Darby|Jack]], [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] are on their way back from their successful relic mission. While Miko is feeling victorious and listening to rock music, she announces she's ready to get back to hanging with [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]. As they arrive through the [[GroundBridge]], they almost run into Bulkhead's body, still laying by the entrance as [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] attempts to revive the [[Wrecker]] with defibrillators. [[William Fowler|Fowler]] has to restrain Miko as Ratchet explains what has happened to Bulkhead while the other [[Autobot]]s drag Bulkhead to the medical bay. Miko blames herself for not going with Bulkhead, but Fowler points out there's nothing she could have done against [[Hardshell]].

On the ''[[Trypticon (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] rages that only [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] brought back a relic. Hardshell claims that, though he failed to secure the [[Tox-En]], Bulkhead was terminated in the process. He and [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] almost come to blows over the effectiveness of [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]]s.

Fowler is called away to cover up the activities in [[New York City|New York]], but makes [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] promise to keep him updated. Arcee reports that [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] is coming in, which causes Miko to storm off as she believes the others are giving up on Bulkhead. As Ratchet reports that Bulkhead is stable, Wheeljack arrives and promises to go after whoever did this. Optimus, however, refuses to say who's responsible. Wheeljack rushes off anyway, but doesn't get far in the ''[[Jackhammer (Prime)|Jackhammer]]'' before Miko reveals herself. Though Wheeljack's immediate instinct is to take her back to the base, Miko makes a deal to tell him who's responsible for Bulkhead's damage, if he takes her with him.

[[Image:Hurt-KnockOutbuffs.jpg|left|thumb|200px|It's in Knock Out's contract to periodically throw the Tumblr shippers a bone.]]

Hardshell boasts to his fellow Insecticons, but they overhear a couple of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s badmouthing them. Knock Out's buffing session is thus interrupted by an all-in brawl between the two groups, and ends up being punched by an Insecticon.

Miko and Wheeljack find an [[energon]] mine that Wheeljack intends to attack to draw out Hardshell. Miko goes in first, using [[miko's phone|her phone]] to transmit footage back to Wheeljack. Mid-way through her recon, Wheeljack himself assaults the cave, leaving her to duck for cover while Vehicon parts fly everywhere. He makes swift work of the Decepticon contingent.

Knock Out takes his concerns about the Insecticons to Megatron, insisting they be confined somewhere. Hardshell is defiant, but the discussion is interrupted by a transmission from the mine—Wheeljack informs Megatron that the mine is his and he's going to attack more mines until the Decepticons give him Hardshell. To underscore the threat, he blows up the mine. Megatron is more upset at the news that Bulkhead might not be dead, and announces Hardshell owes him a [[spark]].

[[Image:Hurt-WheeljackHardshell.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Hold still! There's a bug on your... oh wait...]]

As they head to the next mine, Miko and Wheeljack discuss Bulkhead's chances, but Miko's so tired she falls asleep mid-conversation. She wakes up when they arrive, but Wheeljack leaves her in the ship with instructions to use the auto-pilot to return to the Autobot base. She watches from the cockpit as Wheeljack approaches the mine and calls out Hardshell, who promptly appears on the clifftop above. Wheeljack and Hardshell clash, though the latter is wise to the former's grenade trick. The much-larger Insecticon soon gets the better of Wheeljack, tossing him about and landing solid blows, until the Autobot is left lying on the ground. With the fight's outcome clear, Miko goes to press the autopilot, but instead uses the controls to fire off a couple of missiles that strike Hardshell. As Wheeljack stands, more Insecticons appear at the clifftop, and he has to limp back to the ''Jackhammer''. The swarm follows the ship, but Wheeljack throws a box of grenades at them, and the explosions dissipate the swarm. He congratulates Miko by welcoming her to the Wreckers, but she remains despondent over Bulkhead's condition.

Some time later, the pair drag themselves back into the [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|Autobot base]]. Ratchet sadly reports that Bulkhead will survive, but may not be fully-functional again. While Miko rushes to her friend's side, Wheeljack opts to leave, not wanting to see Bulkhead that way.

Megatron looks in fury down at the corpse of Hardshell, and is shocked when he's told that the one responsible is a human girl.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (1)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (3)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (5)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (14)
*[[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] (15)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (9)
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (10)
*[[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] (11)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (12)
*[[Hardshell]] (13)
*[[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]]s (16)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (17)
|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (2)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (4)
*[[William Fowler]] (7)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (8)

}}

==Quotes==
"Let me guess. You and [[Raf]] spend all your drive-time listening to chiptunes." 
"''Wraaaaaaaa''?"
:—'''Miko''' and '''Bumblebee''' on music.

"Pit-bound scavengers." 
"Scrap-eaters."
:—Two '''Vehicons''' and their take on Insecticons.

"Detailing was so much easier when Breakdown was around!"
:—'''Knock Out''' gives fangirls an inch.

"Wheeljack. The one who enjoys explosive devices."
:—'''Megatron''', describing more [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljacks]] than one.

"Talk during battle is a sign of weakness." 
"Only when you're too primitive to do two things at once."
:—'''Hardshell''' and '''Wheeljack''' exchange smack talk.

"Your spark will now belong to Megatron!"
:—'''Hardshell's''' last words

"I thought I told you to hit autopilot." 
"Bad things happen to bots when I leave their side."
:—'''Wheeljack''' shows concern for '''Miko''', who is [[Rock Bottom|not entirely wrong]].

''(Looking at Hardshell's corpse)'' "The Autobot did '''''THIS?!''''''' 
"No, my lord... it was... a human... girl."
:— '''Megatron''' quickly learns that [[Miko Nakadai|some humans]] [[One Shall Rise, Part 2|make good on the promises they make]].

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*How could Wheeljack have possibly missed the massive group of Insections on his approach to the mine? If they were already there when he arrived, he should have seen them when he landed. If they came in later, the synchronized buzzing of nearly a hundred Insections should have been audible to him.
*When Wheeljack retreats back into his ship after his fight against Hardshell, he sits down without a grenade at his hip. As he's standing up to open his case of grenades, he suddenly has one in its usual spot, despite not picking up a new one in the interim. His swords, which he also lost in the battle, are back despite him not picking them up.
*As Wheeljack limps towards his ship, he has his mouthplate retracted. However, when he gets on the ship, his mouthplate is back out again. In the next scene, it's retracted again.
*I wonder how the Insecticons figured out there was a 'human girl' on Wheeljack's ship.

===Continuity notes===
*Miko, Jack, Bumblebee, and Arcee return from their mission, which occurred in "[[Tunnel Vision]]". They are followed shortly by Optimus, whose mission took place in "[[Triangulation]]". Bulkhead is suffering from [[Tox-En]] poisoning from the [[Toxicity|previous episode]]. On the Decepticon side, Hardshell is the last to return from his mission, which is also shown in the previous episode.
*Miko mentioned their success in obtaining the [[phase shifter]] from "Tunnel Vision", which happened to be sitting next to her at the time.
*Knock Out refers to [[Crossfire|Breakdown's demise]].
*Wheeljack shows the newfound respect for Ratchet that he gained in "[[Triage]]".
*Knock Out comments that it has been a long time since a Decepticon extinguished an Autobot's spark. Starscream's murder of [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] was the first and last successful termination of an Earth-bound Autobot by a Decepticon, which occurred all the way back in the [[Darkness Rising, Part 1|series premiere]].
*Hardshell easily predicts Wheeljack's "one grenade, one shot" strategy, having watched his men fall victim to Bulkhead's own grenade booby trap in the previous episode.

===Transformers references===
* A Vehicon mentions the [[Pit]].

===Real-world references===
*Energon mine TVC 15 is named after the [[wikipedia:David Bowie|David Bowie]] song [[wikipedia:TVC_15|of the same name]].
*Miko asks Bumblebee if he and Raf listen to chiptunes, electronic music which intentionally sounds like an 8bit video game console synthesizer.

===Trivia===
*Wheeljack's "one grenade, one shot" strategy is actually more of a "one grenade at a time, one shot" strategy, as Wheeljack says when Miko sees his case of grenades in the ''Jackhammer''.
*Wheeljack lets us know that [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]]s are bound by a single mind.
*Miko is the second human in the series to have killed an Insecticon, Jack having destroyed the first one on Cybertron in "[[Orion Pax, Part 3]]". So... Raf... no pressure, then?
*Unlike previous episodes where he has shown annoyance, Fowler seems to have developed concern for Bulkhead's condition since "[[Toxicity]]".

[[Category:Prime episodes]]