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Magnus Armor

2016-06-30T23:26:02Z

Zachimusprime: Removed expired spoiler tag

[[File:MTMTE19 magnus armor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Tyrest plays with his [[Construct-Bots]] set.]]
Following the death of the admired [[Autobot]] warrior [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] in the early days of the [[Great War (G1)|war]], Chief Justice [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]] designed the '''Magnus Armor''' to keep his legend alive. It is an integrated suit of armor worn by a series of [[Autobot]]s, each [[Point One Percenter|load bearers]] with [[spark]]s that allow their bodies to handle extensive physical augmentation, secretly chosen by Tyrest to take on the role of Ultra Magnus and serve as the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the [[Tyrest Accord]].

The armor is equipped with a recall switch so that upon the death of one Ultra Magnus, it would be returned to Tyrest so he could find a new enforcer capable and worthy of donning it.

{{magnusarmor nav}}

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
Disappointed with Minimus Ambus's performance as Ultra Magnus, Tyrest stripped Minimus of the Magnus Armor, intending to retire the role in favour of his new enforcer, [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} Following Tyrest's defeat, Minimus retrieved the armor and back aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] helped him put it back on. {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}

On a quantum duplicate of the ''Lost Light'', after its version of Minimus Ambus was torn from the Magnus Armor by the [[Decepticon Justice Division]], [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] was found hiding inside the armor's remains by the crew of the "other" ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}}

[[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] later defeated Ultra Magnus by using [[Disaggregator gun|a weapon designed to separate the Magnus Armor from Ambus's body]]. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

A protoform made of Scraplets briefly took over the armor when it was set loose inside Magnus' quarters, resulting in 'Magnus' trying to give Megatron a big, warm hug, among other things. The protoform was soon extricated and the armor returned to its original wearer.{{storylink|Silent Light}}

The Magnus Armor was damaged in an explosion after the crew of the ''Lost Light'' staged a mutiny against Rodimus and his supporters. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}}
It was eventually superseded by [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]]'s "Maximum Ambus" armor, a massively upscaled version of the original suit designed to push Minimus's load-bearing capabilities to the limit. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}}

==Notes==
*The Magnus Armor is a nod to the original [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/toys|Ultra Magnus toy]] where, due to its origin as a [[Diaclone]] "Powered Convoy", its [[trailer]] combined with the albino Primealike cab to form a "super robot".
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]]'s outer form was also shown to be a suit of armor in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s "[[Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation]]", though there the inner robot resembled his original toy and represented the same character.
*In [[Megatron Origin issue 3|''Megatron Origin'' #3]] a similar white robot was seen alongside an [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]]-like bot at [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]]'s funeral, suggesting that something like the Magnus Armor may have existed in [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]] before the original Ultra Magnus's death; the same series also saw [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] power himself up with the [[Apex Armor (G1)|Apex Armor]].

[[Category:IDW Generation 1 technology]]
[[Category:Mechanical suits]]

Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2016-06-26T02:39:08Z

Zachimusprime:

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[[File:IDWMegatron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Megatron A, Megatron B, Megatron Retailer's Incentive, Megatron Dynamic Forces Exclusive variant, and Megatron (Second Printing).]]
'''Megatron''' waged a battle to destroy the evil forces of the [[Senate]]! Then he ''continued'' to wage a war against the evil forces of freedom, organic life, and the very idea of an Autobot living.

{{quote|Because in the final analysis, I would happily wade across a river of corpses, chest-deep in rust and grease and engine oil, just to crush the spark of the last Autobot standing. And I would not do so simply as a means to an end. No. I'd do it, Prime, because it would give me '''pleasure'''.|Megatron to Optimus Prime|"[[Chaos Theory Part 1]]"}}

{{quote|And the thing is, when those words were in my head I didn't think I meant them; but when they left my mouth, I realized that I '''did'''. If the world thinks you're a monster, what does it matter? The world is '''wrong'''. But when you start to think of '''yourself''' as a monster...|Megatron on the previous quote|"[[slaughterhouse]]"}}

__TOC__
==IDW Generation 1 comics==
{{ongoing}}
===Birth of a tyrant===
[[File:MTMTE37 megatron under construction.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.0|Megatron (Work in progress)]]
Megatron of [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]] was built in the 1st Cycle 012, one of the many Transformers [[reproduction|constructed cold]] during the [[Silver Harvest]]. The [[spark]] intended for this body was one generated from the [[Matrix of Leadership]] by [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]]... but this spark was destroyed while his body was still in the process of being built, by time-travelling [[Autobot]]s from the future attempting to prevent the destruction they knew Megatron would come to wreak upon the universe. But the non-existence of Megatron meant that the [[Functionist Council]] would eventually plunge [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] into [[Functionist Universe|a dystopian hell]], and the Autobot [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], who loathed the Functionists, refused to permit this to happen. Whirl replaced the deceased body's spark with a forged [[Point One Percenter]] spark that had been harvested by [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] from [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] millions of years in the future—and so Megatron was ''truly'' born: the first "hybrid" Transformer, a powerful forged superspark in a constructed cold body. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

Megatron desired to be a medic, {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} but alas, he lived in a time of functionism, where one's [[alternate mode]] denoted one's role in society, and one's role determined one's rights. As such, the true nature of his exceptionally rare spark apparently unknown, Megatron was assigned the task for which he had been built: that of [[energon]] miner, a member of the lower class, toiling in a mine under [[Nova Point]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}}

[[File:ChaosTheory1 megatron symbol creation.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.66|... And thus the "Silica Fracturism" art movement was born.]]

An idealist, intellectual and poet, Megatron was sickened by the caste-ridden social apartheid of [[Nominus Prime]]'s Cybertron, and so he wrote [[After the Ark: Nominus Prime and the Illusion of Progress|a treatise]] on how pacifist dissent and the exchange of ideas could change things. It was while he was sharing this work with his miner friend [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] over a drink in [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]] that the event occurred which would change the course of his life, as Impactor wound up being drawn into a bar brawl with some of the city's upper classes and Megatron was among those arrested after the fracas. Megatron's writings had been growing in popularity and inspiring some dissent against the current regime, so in order to silence him, the [[Senate]] arranged for a police officer on their payroll, [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], to kill him. Before Whirl could finish the job, however, police captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]], having discovered Megatron's innocence, arranged for his release. Despite Pax expressing support for the message of his writings, Megatron now found himself filled with rage and hate, disillusioned with his former ideology and realizing the power of applied violence. Angrily hurling the datapad on which he had written his treatise through a public info-screen, Megatron observed the jagged shape of the shattered glass, and later turned it into a [[insignia|symbol]] for his cause. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}}
[[File:MTMTE34 what you might call a thinker.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|When considering the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy, one question remains unanswered. Why am I always pictured with phallic-shaped items in awkward positions?]]
Megatron's samizdat writings began to circulate in Cybertron's underground, spawning the "[[Decepticon]]" movement, its name derived from its own slogan, "You are being deceived", warning the common 'bot of the Senate's true nature. Knowing that, at this stage, assassinating Megatron would merely make him a martyr, the Senate instead elected to relocate him off-planet, reassigning him to a mining facility on the world of [[Messatine]] while they tried their own schemes to defuse the growing Decepticon movement. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} It was there that Megatron met [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]], an elderly fellow miner who encouraged him to keep writing, and who, in addition to proofreading his works for him, smuggled each new tract back to Cybertron, helping to continue the spread of the Decepticon movement. When Terminus was maimed in a mining accident and had his fuel rations cut off, Megatron kept him alive by sharing his own [[energon]] with the old 'bot. Eventually, Senate agents [[Froid]] and [[Trepan]] were dispatched to Messatine to perform mind-altering [[Shadowplay]] upon Megatron, in order to cut his writings off at the source. Tased into submission and strapped to Trepan's operating table, Megatron was helpless to stop the [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgeon]] from beginning his vile work. Though the arrival of Froid's rival psychopathologist [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] fortunately forced Trepan to stop before Megatron's personality was altered, the experience left the miner with a lifelong fear of mnemosurgery. Subsequently, a mysterious surge of energy deep within the mine forced an evacuation of the facility; Megatron raced back to his quarters to carry Terminus to safety, but found his friend was not there. With time running out and no sign of Terminus anywhere, Megatron instead chose to save the stack of datapads containing his unpublished works—a decision that would haunt him. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}}
[[File:MegatronOrigin1 first kill.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.3]]
Megatron was relocated to [[Mining Outpost C-12]], and continued to seethe with hate and frustration in his new workplace. His discontent reached a peak when, some time later, [[Decimus|Senator Decimus]] arrived to announce that the mine was being automated and the workers would be relocated. When one of the Senator's guards killed a worker for insubordination and claims of Senate corruption, Megatron's fury boiled over and he hurled his pickaxe at Decimus. In turn, he was attacked by the Senator's guard, whom he killed by smashing his head to fragments—the first time he had ever taken a life. A riot erupted around him, but Megatron himself could only sit amongst the chaos, staring at his fuel-stained hands in abject horror, which allowed him to be easily pacified and rounded up with the other miners as the mayhem was quickly suppressed. En route to [[Penal Facility H-3|imprisonment]] back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], however, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] broke free and started a riot aboard [[Longshot (G1)|their ship]]. Megatron joined in their effort, and together, they overpowered their guards, took control of the ship, and disappeared into the [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] underground. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 1|Megatron Origin #1}}
[[File:MegsOrigin2 Cykill.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Battle of the Awesome Voices!]]
After evading law enforcement, Megatron joined a team of underworld gladiators under the tutelage of [[Clench (G1)|Clench]]. Initially repulsed by killing his opponents, the games eventually turned him more brutal and excessive, and he took control of the entire operation from Clench. The opportunistic Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], after seeing how much money there was in the underworld matches, covertly sent his agent [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] to offer Megatron weaponry and technology to upgrade himself and his comrades. Their meeting was spied upon by [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]], agents from the Senate's forces, who Megatron slew. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} Subsequently, impressed by how he treated his animal-form [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette|cassette partners]] as equals (in contradiction to the teachings of his Senate masters), Megatron invited Soundwave back to the gladiator pits and gave him permission to use his mind-reading abilities on him. Within Megatron's mind, Soundwave saw his honest desire for all Cybertronians to be true equals, and was so moved by it that he joined Megatron's cause. {{storylink|Soundwaves (issue)|Soundwaves}}

Gradually, Megatron used the gladiatorial games to drum up an army of violent malcontents, sending Soundwave to recruit more and more warriors to his cause. Such recruits included [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], who he was presented with while having an arm he lost in a brawl replaced with a new limb that incorporated an [[energon mace]], {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} and the disenfranchised warrior [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], who was personally asked by Megatron to fight at his side when he attended a Decepticon rally, and whom Megatron rechristened "Deadlock," {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} and transformed into a capable Decepticon warrior. {{Storylink|Drift issue 3|Drift #3}} A wave of terrorism and sabotage spread across Cybertron at his command: bombings, wrecking factories and fuel plants, shutting down transport links, a mass poisoning to tank a corporation, and a very public kidnapping of Senator Decimus. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}}

Seeking to enhance his army even further, Megatron reached out to [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Senator Shockwave]], offering to supply him the resources he required to carry out his own mysterious experiments in exchange for his using the teachings of his lost mentor [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] to create a [[combiner]] that would serve the Decepticons. Shockwave cautioned that it could take some time, but Megatron was content to wait. {{storylink|Shockwaves}}

[[File:Apexthrone.JPG|upright=1.4|thumb|You should have gone to IKEA.]]
Despite all his efforts, Megatron believed that the Senate was still not taking the Decepticons seriously, so Soundwave formulated a plan for a declaration of intent that could be not denied: lure the Senate to Kaon and murder them. {{storylink|Soundwaves (issue)|Soundwaves}} In preparation for this scheme, Megatron offered to restore Shockwave's lost hands—a victim of [[empurata]]—believing that doing so might speed his work. {{storylink|Shockwaves}} The following day, in accordance with Soundwave's plan, Megatron and the Decepticons allowed themselves to be arrested by Sentinel Prime's men, after which Soundwave was freed on Ratbat's orders, while Starscream would ensure his own release by pretending to defect. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} Together, Soundwave and Starscream exterminated the entire Senate, then liberated Megatron and the rest of their comrades, in the process granting their leader the gift of a [[fusion cannon]] liberated from the Senate forces' armory. Megatron led his army against Sentinel Prime's men, killed Sentinel himself, and took control of Kaon, now ready to turn his insurgency into a full-blown war. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

===Early days of war===

Megatron formally declared war on "[[Declaration Day]]" when he delivered a stirring speech from [[Nova Point|Nova Peak]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} The growing Decepticon forces swiftly spread across six [[Polities of Cybertron|Torus-States]], {{storylink|Parasites}} and to combat them, Cybertron's new leader [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]] assembled a new military force, the "[[Autobot]]s", led by Megatron's old acquaintance [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]]. Researching his new opposite number, Megatron was intrigued to discover that his now-abandoned treatise had been a source of inspiration for Pax, who had even quoted from it when he confronted the Senate and openly accused them of corruption. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}} Early into the war, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] would admit to Pax that Megatron talked about him sometimes, when he was tired. When Pax asked what was said, Bludgeon told him that it would make "both of us feel ''uncomfortable''". {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}}
[[File:Autocracy4 backroom meeting.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|Megatron Delightful Destuction Exclusive Variant]]
When Orion Pax came close to Kaon during a mission, Megatron saw it as a chance to speak to him and had his Decepticons bring him in. {{storylink|The Hunt for Soundwave}} Megatron attempted to convince him that Zeta Prime was even worse than he appeared—that he had planned to let Orion die in [[Nyon]] so that he could use his death as pretext to invade the rebel-infested city and drain the citizens of their energon—and proposed they work together against him, but Orion refused to hear him and then escaped. Knowing the doubts he'd placed in his head would only serve to damage the Autobot cause, Megatron let him go. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}}
[[File:Autocracy8 megs and pax together.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Megatron, let's roll." <br> "What you thinking?" <br> "...Pub?"]]
Megatron continued to keep an eye on Orion Pax's activities, spying on his encounter with the Nyon insurgent [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]]. {{storylink|Ruins}} When Zeta Prime's [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructor]]s suddenly attacked Nyon, Megatron was surprised by how zealously the new Prime fought against the city's rebels, but his real interest still lay on how Orion would handle the crisis. {{storylink|Purge}} Orion turned on Zeta, who in turn attempted to kill him, prompting Megatron to intervene and force the Prime to retreat. Taking Orion back to Kaon, he again offered that they work together against Zeta's corruption, and this time the Autobot officer accepted. {{storylink|Choices}} As their combined forces invaded the [[Citadel]] in Iacon, Megatron and Orion Pax made their way inside and fought Zeta Prime in person. The battle ended with Megatron killing the Prime with a head shot, and with his objective complete, he then betrayed the injured Orion by shooting him in the back. {{storylink|Overthrown}} This moment lived in infamy as the point at which Megatron revealed his true colors, no longer couched in ideology; {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|Dinobot Hunt}} though curiously, an alternate report incorrectly implied he had assassinated Zeta from afar, sniping him with the rifle alternate mode of [[Vos (DJD)|Vos]]. {{storylink|Bullets}} {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

[[File:Autocracy12 no you dont megatron.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|I can't be the only one with deja vu here.]]
With Zeta dead, Megatron conquered Iacon and declared himself ruler of Cybertron. His soldiers patrolled the planet's streets to "keep the peace", mostly by hunting down and capturing any remaining Autobots who opposed him. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)|Transformation}} During his rule, Megatron attempted to sway the neutral Hot Rod into joining the Decepticons, but he decided otherwise upon witnessing Megatron ordering the execution of several Autobot prisoners. {{storylink|Rise}} Megatron was shocked to learn that Orion Pax had survived the betrayal and was organizing a rebellion against him under the name "Optimus Prime", and even more shocked that people actually had the courage to listen to him. He wasted no time in striking back against the rebels approaching the Citadel with the full force of his army. {{storylink|Broadcast}} During the battle, Megatron unleashed Zeta Prime's energy-draining [[vamparc ribbon|vamparc annihilator]], but when the gigantic [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] took out the cannon, Megatron fell to the streets and was confronted by Optimus Prime himself. He lost the ensuing [[The Transformers: The Movie|familiar-looking duel]] and was badly wounded after a failed attempt to defeat Prime by holding Hot Rod hostage, forcing him to escape aboard Astrotrain. As he fled, he warned Optimus that he hadn't won, he had only started a war unlike any Cybertron had ever seen. {{storylink|Endgame}}

[[File:Monstrosity3 Megatron and Pentius.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Megatron insists on wearing his Darksiders cosplay when he's walking his pet Quintesson.]]
Before Megatron could recover from his injuries, he was betrayed by [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], who was gunning for the position of Decepticon leader (with aid from Starscream). As punishment for his failure to hold Iacon, Scorponok banished the wounded Megatron to the hell-world of [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]]. {{storylink|Derelicts}} Further injured in battle with some [[Junkion (species)|cannibalistic natives]], he stubbornly refused to give up and used the trash littering the world to patch himself up, leaving him with a mismatched, monstrous appearance. {{storylink|Wreckage (issue)|Wreckage}} While searching for a way off Junkion, Megatron entered the wreckage of a starship and found a trapped [[Quintesson]] named [[Pentius]], who had mapped the planet and knew of an area known as the [[Pillar of Rust]] where starships may land and take off. Megatron freed the alien to guide him there, while also putting him in chains to serve as his slave. {{storylink|Faces of Darkness}}
[[File:Monstrosity7 megatron takes pentius spark.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|"Thanks for turning me into the psychopath I've been the whole time!"]]
While crossing the [[Acid Sea]] on the way to the Pillar, Megatron was attacked by [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] who pulled him into the depths. {{storylink|Rage (IDW)|Rage}} For reasons unknown he was then released, the creatures having allowed him to live. As he emerged, Pentius was waiting with a history lesson, telling him that Junkion was once a prosperous world until its inhabitants drained it of resources, leaving it the broken husk it is today: a fate that may also await Cybertron. Megatron rejected this possibility, declaring that under his rule, Cybertron—and his legacy—would last forever. {{storylink|Fallout (issue)|Fallout}} On arrival at the Pillar of Rust, Megatron was met by the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], who had come to Junkion to finish what Scorponok had started by killing him. He was able to fight off several of his attackers, but [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Gar]] was too much for him to handle in his injured state. Egged on and taunted by Pentius, Megatron realized he had one last resource left to use: the Quintesson himself. Telling Pentius that his legacy would live on within him, he tore out the alien's [[spark]] and used it to fuel himself, granting him enough power to defeat Hun-Gar. He spared the Terrorcons in exchange for their loyalty, then returned to Cybertron on their ship to take revenge on Scorponok and take back control of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Prey (issue)|Prey}}
[[File:Monstrosity12 strange turns.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb]]
Megatron returned to a Cybertron in chaos, as the ancient reptilian [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] had been unleashed by Scorponok and was in the midst of razing Iacon. After reasserting his leadership of the Decepticons by beating Scorponok nearly to death, he had Shockwave restore his body to its original shape and condition, {{storylink|The Illusion of Control}} and set out to investigate the Trypticon situation alone, unwilling to risk his soldiers in the face of the beast's uncontrolled fury. Finding an injured Optimus Prime on the battlefield, Megatron lectured him, but opted to leave him alive so that he could watch as the Decepticon leader defeated the enemy that Prime could not. Megatron was attacked by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], but as they grappled, they were swallowed by Trypticon. {{storylink|Annihilation}} Within the giant, the pair set their differences aside to fend off the [[cyber-morphic predator]]s that populated his interior, and together, they destroyed Trypticon's internal power cell, taking him offline. A tense standoff between the Autobots and Decepticons followed as the two warriors emerged from within Trypticon, but both sides agreed to go their separate ways for the time being. Not long after the battle, however, Megatron removed Pentius's spark from within himself and installed it within Trypticon. {{storylink|Belly of the Beast (issue)|Belly of the Beast}}
[[File:Primacy4 megatron imprisoned.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4]]

After being fully repaired following his ordeals, Megatron roused Trypticon by exploiting the connection they now shared thanks to both having borne Pentius's spark. Discovering that Trypticon now possessed the consciousness of Pentius, Megatron was immediately suspicious of the Quintesson's potential treachery and was staggered by the visions of undiluted evil he saw in the aliens' past via their spark-link, but Trypticon assured him that he was dedicated to their shared goal of breaking a world. {{storylink|Primacy issue 1|Primacy #1}} Using Trypticon's city-ship alternate mode, Megatron took to the stars, rounding up the scattered Decepticon army and even recruiting Junkions and Sharkticons. {{storylink|Primacy issue 2|Primacy #2}} Returning to Cybertron in force, Megatron was content to wait and watch from the sidelines while his troops viciously tore into Iacon. Trypticon was defeated in battle by Metroplex, at which point Megatron's folly was revealed: through their link, Pentius mockingly revealed his intention to use Trypticon consume Cybertron once the Autobots and Decepticons had weakened each other. {{storylink|Primacy issue 3|Primacy #3}} Leaving his men with orders to burn Iacon to the ground if he failed in order to spare it such a fate, Megatron set off for Trypticon's fallen body in hopes that he would be able to remove Pentius's spark before the giant revived. Confronted atop Trypticon by Optimus Prime, Megatron tried to goad the Autobot leader into destroying him, believing that Pentius would be destroyed with him thanks to their link. Refusing to accept death as the answer, Optimus instead used the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to purify Megatron, burning Pentius's spark away; Megatron, however, vowed that he would never stop hating Optimus in spite of what he had done for him. Sadly resigned to the fact that the once-noble revolutionary he had admired was now lost, Optimus knocked out the weakened Megatron and took him into custody. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}}
{{-}}

===The spreading conflict===
[[File:MTMTE14 megatron vs overlord.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb]]

Escaping Autobot custody under as-yet-unrevealed circumstances, Megatron continued to wage the war. Early in the continuing conflict, he wrote ''[[Towards Peace]]'', a new treatise to replace ''After the Ark'', in which he described continuing to fight the war until the very notion of conflict was literally inconceivable. Then and only then would he finally give up his fusion cannon. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} The earliest edition of the work featured a dedication to Terminus, which Megatron would later remove to reflect the lesson his friendship with Terminus had taught him: not to get attached. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} He oversaw the creation of a class of super-warriors known as the [[Warriors Elite]], selecting only his most powerful troops to undergo the torturous upgrade, including [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]], a brilliant sadist and frequent opponent of his from his pit-fighting days who had developed an obsession with Megatron after the Decepticon leader dealt him his first ever defeat. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} At some point, he also created the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] to deal with traitors, {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} though he elected not to send them after Deadlock when he defected, valuing the warrior enough to instead dispatch [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] to bring him in. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}}
[[File:ChaosTheory prime vs megatron montage.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Good times, bad times.]]
Megatron would personally clash with Optimus Prime many times; Optimus grew to respect and fear Megatron as a calm, calculating and measured opponent, while Megatron himself respected Prime's sheer power and his skill as a tactician and as a leader. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} Megatron would later incorrectly recall their battle on [[Sherma Bridge]] during the [[Rorsha Campaign]] as the first time they met. Said battle was certainly momentous—every Autobot and Decepticon stopped fighting to witness their duel, during which Megatron's cannon arm was sliced off by Prime's [[energon-axe]], and he claimed revenge by throwing the Autobot leader off the bridge. As the war spread to other planets, they would meet again and again: during the [[Siege of Massunstrad]], Megatron sealed Prime in an anti-matter chamber; on [[Rada Mor]], Prime reduced Megatron to ashes with sentient explosives; and in the midst of the [[Vorsk Offensive]], Megatron was nearly sliced in half by Prime. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Though he resisted [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]]'s attempts to find a "Two City-State Solution" to the war, he did agree to abide by the [[Tyrest Accord]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}}

Megatron took on a new pistol alternate mode for the [[Battle for Hell's Point]], during which he was used by [[Heretech]] to blast [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]]. {{storylink|The Gloaming}} During the same skirmish, Megatron took off half of Prime's face with his energon mace, but had a city block dropped on him by Prime in retribution, which shattered his [[transformation cog]] and trapped him in gun mode for two years. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Prime was not the only old face that Megatron would see again during the war: during a battle on an aerial drilling platform over the [[Manganese Mountains]], Megatron came face-to-face with his old friend Impactor, and stood poised to execute him until Impactor gave him a moment's pause by recalling his old fondness for poetry. In this moment, Megatron was knocked from the platform by [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and sent plummeting to the mountains below. {{storylink|Zero Point}}
[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers2-teleconference.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|"We attack the Rice Krispies guys at dawn! Assuming Judd Hirsch delivers the goods."]]
At the war's zenith, Megatron sealed himself in an [[Omniglobe]] to absorb the relentless flood of data coming in from countless fronts. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement (issue)|Rules of Disengagement}} With total war going nowhere, he would go on to develop a six-stage [[infiltration protocol]] to be used for conquering targeted planets. The sixth phase called for outright planetary razing, and Megatron selected three of his Warriors Elite for this task: [[Sixshot]], {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}}, Overlord and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]]. He informed this trio of his decision via teleconference, but Overlord, tired of being used as someone else's weapon, refused. Megatron threatened to hunt Overlord down for his disobedience, {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} but while the powerful warrior spent the rest of his life preparing for this conflict, Megatron never followed up and left him to stew in his own obsession. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}
[[File:Stormbringer1 get up and fight.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|You don't gotta go home Prime but you can't stay here.]]
Deducing that the Autobot/Decepticon war would culminate in an energy crisis that would threatened the stability of Cybertron itself, Shockwave left Cybertron to secretly pursue alternate energy sources. Around 10,000 years ago, when Shockwave did not return, Megatron ordered Bludgeon to investigate his files, {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} secretly assigning Soundwave to investigate Bludgeon {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}} and probe deeper into whatever it was Shockwave had created. {{storylink|Shockpoint}}

Shockwave's prediction soon proved accurate, and Cybertron found itself in the throes of an energy shortage. Decepticon scientist [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] came to Megatron with a revolutionary, controversial plan to stave off this energy death by [[Pretender|polydermal grafting]], a process where they encased themselves in "symbiotic carapaces", or shells created from living tissue. When Megatron dismissed him angrily and cut him down, Thunderwing did not abandon his research; instead, he experimented on himself. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}} The process gave him immense power, but drove him insane. He became so dangerous that Megatron had to join forces with Optimus Prime to stop him. This battle at [[Thunderhead Pass]] accelerated the apocalypse destined to befall Cybertron, leaving it an uninhabitable, radioactive husk and forcing both armies to continue their war on other worlds. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #1}} Megatron advocated that they simply destroy Cybertron to ensure that Thunderwing was destroyed, but Prime refused, and threatened to stop Megatron if he tried. Megatron agreed not to destroy the planet, but warned Prime that whatever happened was on his head. Shortly after the last big push by the Decepticons, Cybertron was abandoned by both factions. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #2}}

===Breaking protocol===
[[File:Infiltration4 enter megatron.jpg|upright=1.3|left|thumb|Megatron (Second Printing Preview)]]
In the present day, when word reached Megatron that the infiltration unit led by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], stationed on the planet [[Earth]], had broken protocol, he headed for the planet to investigate. Examining the unit's abandoned bunker in [[Nebraska]] for information, he discovered that Starscream had stumbled across [[Ore-13]]—an incredible energy source that (unbeknownst to Megatron) was the end result of Shockwave's experiments—and was planning to use it to usurp Megatron's command. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}} While studying the bunker's files, he was contacted by [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] with some distressing news: Bludgeon's investigations of Shockwave's files had led him to revive Thunderwing. Megatron ordered the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to Cybertron, authorizing them to do whatever was necessary to destroy Thunderwing, including the destruction of their homeworld itself. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} Just as he was handing down this order, Megatron was happened upon by [[Verity Carlo]], a human ally of the Autobot unit active on the planet, {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}} but he utterly ignored her. The bunker was then leveled by an airstrike courtesy of [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], who were merely covering their unit's tracks and unaware of Megatron's presence; when their leader furiously emerged from the wreckage, Skywarp attempted to explain their ignorance, but Megatron simply responded by blasting him out of the sky. Blitzwing favored opening fire rather than attempting explanations, so Megatron beat the stuffing out of him too, then set off for Starscream's new bunker in [[Oregon]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}}

[[File:Infiltration6 takeyourpunishment.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Those librarians are getting really strict on late returns.]]

{{quote|You will stand down. If you fight, you ''die''. There is no room anymore for mercy. In the end, you are ''all'' expendable. Choose.|Megatron's ultimatum to Starscream's renegade troops|[[Infiltration issue 6|''Infiltration'' #6]]}}

[[Orbital jump]]ing to Oregon, Megatron called Starscream out and ordered the team to stand down, disgusted to see such power games being played amongst his troops. His brief, chilling speech was enough to take the fight out of all but Starscream, who, powered-up on Ore-13, took Megatron on himself. Though the new power source made Starscream a formidable adversary, Megatron was still more deadly than he, and Starscream was taken out by a point-blank fusion cannon blast through his torso. Megatron ordered the Decepticons to ensure that Starscream survived, and then, observing the Autobots who had been watching the battle, announced that it was time to begin phase two. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

In light of the discovery of Ore-13, Megatron took stock of Starscream's progress on Earth and elected to get the infiltration protocol back on track himself, calling a meeting to make Starscream's former troops and making them aware, in no uncertain terms, that any further insurrections would be met with deadly force. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} He continued to order his troops on Earth directly, {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} and was even able to revisit his past gun alternate mode, once again able to achieve the [[size changing|mass displacement]] the mode required thanks to the extra energy Ore-13 provided. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}}

[[File:Megsandspidy.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Megatron/Spiderman #1 Retailer's Incentive]]
With his forces joined by [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], a new arrival who Megatron suspected of having ulterior motives, {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} the Decepticon leader initiated phase two of infiltration protocol by destabilizing relations between the European nations of [[Latveria]] and [[Symkaria]] through use of an aggression-inducing [[Psycho-Prism]], stolen from Latverian dictator [[Doctor Doom]]. When the superhero team known as the [[Avengers]] investigated the array the Decepticons' were using to broadcast the prism's signal, Megatron abducted the arachnid-powered [[Spider-Man]] to use as a subject for their [[mirror response mode]], {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part One}} draining the hero's powers and infusing himself and the other Decepticons with them. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} He proceeded to forge a brief alliance with Doctor Doom, who helped him defeat and capture the allied Autobot/Avenger team who snuck inside the Decepticons' array, but when Doom's suggestion to threaten the captives in order to force the other heroes to lay down their arms failed, Megatron violently dissolved the partnership. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Three}} Emerging from the confines of the array to take on the Autobots and Avengers himself, Megatron refrained from engaging Prime, foreseeing a more intimate confrontation between the two of them in the near future, and instead turned his attention to destroying [[Iron Man]]'s Transformer-sized armor. The tables soon turned, however, when Doctor Doom freed the captive Autobots and used the Decepticon's mirror response technology to empower them. Defeated by these enhanced Autobots and with the Psycho-Prism destroyed by [[Wolverine (superhero)|Wolverine]], Megatron used the last of his extra power to teleport the Decepticons out with an [[emergency warp-out]]. He refrained from departing alongside his warriors, intending to slaughter the Avengers for their interference, but when he was immobilized by Spider-Man's webbing, knocked to the ground by [[Luke Cage]], and rattled by a hail of Autobot fire, he finally warped-out with a final taunt to Optimus Prime of the battle yet to come between them. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Four}}
[[File:Escalation3-Massdisplacement.jpg|upright=2.2|thumb]]
With phase two of [[infiltration protocol]] properly underway, Megatron recognized that he ''should'' rightly withdraw and install a new unit commander on Earth, but could not resist the chance to try out his new Ore-13 empowered body, selecting the nation of [[Brasnya]], where Decepticon subterfuge was already underway, as his testing ground. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} Allowing the Decepticon's [[facsimile construct]] [[Georgi Koska]] to wield him in pistol mode, Megatron had Koska use him to first sever a [[Russia]]n oil pipeline, and then to fire upon the soldiers who came to investigate, furthering the political and military tensions already brewing in the region. When word came through from Blitzwing that Optimus Prime and the Autobots had arrived, {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} Megatron at last engaged Optimus directly, {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} and although Prime was able to destroy his fusion cannon, the extra strength afforded Megatron by Ore-13 allowed him to physically beat Prime into submission, punching directly into his chest and crushing his [[spark]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}} [[File:Escalation5 prime vs megs.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb]] The horrified Autobots moved into a full but ineffective counterattack, their only edge being that Megatron had no long-range guns left. It turned out that Prime's apparent death was a desperate ruse when the Autobot leader countered with a surprise attack on Megatron, able to exploit Ore-13's weakness—the more it's used, the faster it burns itself out. Megatron almost collapsed from power loss and was forced to have Skywarp take him to safety before the Autobots could kill him. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

Furious over the embarrassing defeat, Megatron threw protocol out the window and ordered that Sixshot be summoned to the planet. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}} He took out some of his anger on Ramjet, who he discovered had been busy cooking up a plot to overthrow him; without saying a word, he beat the attempted traitor to death before tearing him apart and keeping his head as a trophy. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ramjet}}
[[File:Devastation5 decepticons attack.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb]]
Upon Sixshot's arrival, Megatron ordered him to utterly destroy the Autobots, and although the [[Phase Sixer]] questioned his early deployment, he was happy to go along with the abandonment of the phase structure. The other Decepticons, on the other hand, were worried that Megatron was losing his grip—and since they were too scared to tell him that, they decided to revive Starscream to do it for them. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Megatron monitored Sixshot's attack on the Autobots' [[Ark-19]], ordering him to pursue the escape pod that broke away from the crashing craft, {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} but before he could obliterate the Autobots, Megatron was forced to recall him to deal with a new threat assaulting the Decepticon base—the alien [[Reaper]]s. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} Unfortunately, the Reapers convinced Sixshot to side with them, and when an Ore-13 powered Starscream entered the fray to take Sixshot down, Megatron realized his troops had been conspiring against him. He decided not to punish them '''yet''', due to greater threat posed by the Reapers, {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} and entered battle alongside them all, even allowing Starscream to wield him in pistol mode against the aliens. After the invaders were dead, however, he turned on his men, starting with Blitzwing—but was forced to realize that they needed to remain united when it became apparent that their battle with the Reapers had made humanity inescapably aware of their existence {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}
{{-}}

===All Hail Megatron===
[[File:AHM7 megs rips out matrix.jpg|upright=1.1|left|thumb|"I don't think I'd have made a good medic. No patience."]]
While the Decepticons were occupied fighting the Reapers, the Autobots had left Earth to deal with the greater threat of an incursion by the [[Dead Universe]]. Exploiting their enemies' absence, Megatron and his men went to ground; when Autobots returned, they could find no trace of the Decepticons, who kept one step ahead of them for months. Secretly abducting [[Hunter O'Nion]], former [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner to the Autobot [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], Megatron and his men returned to Cybertron, where Megatron had [[Deluge (G2)|Deluge]] conduct experiments that bred a [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]] of monstrous [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. The experiments culminated in the creation of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]], who Megatron employed in a series of key tasks in his plan: the Insecticon obtained from Hunter's mind various Autobot secrets and codes, completed Shockwave's long-gestating combiner process, granting the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] the ability to combine into [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], and created a working [[space bridge]] {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} based on designs sold to them by Sixshot in exchange for his freedom. {{storylink|Spotlight: Metroplex}}

Returning to Earth, the Decepticons staged a phony schism within their ranks, allowing the Autobots to believe that they had "disappeared" as a result of a power struggle that had split their ranks into two camps, one led by Megatron and one by Starscream. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} Starscream then approached Sunstreaker, whose experience as a Headmaster had left him bitter and jaded, with the proposition that the Autobots join with his forces against Megatron, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} but when the Autobots arrived at the designated time and place, they were instead confronted by the united Decepticon army and quickly defeated by Devastator. After personally tearing [[Matrix of Leadership]] from Optimus Prime's chest, Megatron marched the captive Autobots through the space bridge back to Cybertron, where the Insecticon swarm waited for them. Prime, however, was able to damage the bridge, causing it to deposit the Autobots a safe distance from the swarm, but in the process, fried his own circuits and left himself comatose. Though the Autobots had escaped the fate he had intended for them, Megatron had successfully exiled his enemies to their dead homeworld; moreover, using information and codes gained from Sunstreaker and Hunter, he concurrently orchestrated the event that would later be known as [[Surge (event)|The Surge]], as Decepticons stormed Autobot installations all across the galaxy, achieving total victory. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[File:AHM1 decepticons attack.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Megatron's urban renewal program was off to a flying start.]]
With galaxy-wide domination accomplished, one year after the Decepticons' battle with the Reapers, Megatron chose Earth to become the new Decepticon homeworld. Together with his men, Megatron stormed [[New York City]], humiliating Starscream with a display of his greater capacity for destruction. When the US Air Force retaliated, Megatron shrugged off their fire and ordered the other Decepticons to engage them; when one damaged jet threw itself toward him in a suicide run, Megatron, outraged at the [[DJ (G1)|pilot]]'s temerity, destroyed it and its occupant with a furious swipe of his hand. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} When US Army forces arrived, Megatron ordered [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] dispatched to deal with them, then sent Devastator to destroy the subway tunnels leading out of the city. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 2|All Hail Megatron #2}} With New York secured, Megatron directed the Constructicons to begin building a new space bridge in the city's heart, and had a candid talk with Starscream, revealing his belief that the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]'s attitude and actions marked him as the embodiment of the Decepticon cause, even if he was blind to seeing it himself. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 3|All Hail Megatron #3}} After a series of further attacks on major American cities saw the country firmly crushed under the Decepticons' collective heel, Megatron made a propaganda speech to his men in the ruins of New York. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} As night fell upon the city, Megatron withdrew to privately gloat over the Matrix. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

[[File:AHM6MegatronVsIsrael.jpg|left|upright=1.66|thumb]]
As the Decepticons began attacking other countries around the globe, Megatron was questioned by Starscream on what the next step in his plan was. A recalcitrant Megatron merely informed him that it was merely time to savor their victory, but Starscream accused him of not ''having'' any plans post-victory, and was merely allowing his men to run wild to distract them from any notion of taking power for themselves. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} What Starscream did not realize was that Megatron did indeed have a plan: to defeat the Autobots, he had created an army of killers and monsters, but in order to create his perfect rule, that army would have to be destroyed, the dissenting, distasteful elements obliterated before Megatron's peace could dawn. Megatron was not distracting his warriors... he was ''waiting'' to see which of them would question and turn on him. Silently sorrowful to already know that such dissent would begin with Starscream, an otherwise-model Decepticon, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} Megatron withdrew to [[Israel]] for some silent reflection amid wholesale devastation. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

[[File:AHM10 megs vs devastator.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb]]
Some time later, Megatron surveyed the space bridge Bombshell and the Constructicons had built in New York. He congratulated Bombshell on his work, but revealed that he had always foreseen Bombshell's intellect as a danger—had always known he and his fellow Insecticons would side with Starscream when the time came. His gambit exposed, Starscream made his move and attacked, but the Insecticons proved no match for Megatron's might. The Decepticon leader had failed to anticipate one thing, however: he did not foresee the Constructicons siding with Starscream, and found himself having to fight the mighty Devastator. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} The in-fighting was halted by a last-ditch attack by the mustered might of what remained of the human resistance, forcing Megatron and Starscream to put their differences aside momentarily and organize a defense. This attack came as no surprise to Megatron, but the same could not be said for the next entrants onto the battlefield: the Autobots had returned.

After assuring Starscream that he would be leader in the future, when his time was done, Megatron confronted Optimus Prime, surprised not so much that his old foe had survived, but that he had bothered to return to Earth. Both leaders had always maintained a policy of acceptable losses through their millennia-long war, so Megatron assumed Prime had come back for selfish reasons, to reclaim the Matrix, but Prime insisted that he had changed, and would no longer allow their cold war to endanger innocent lives on this scale. [[File:AHM12 prime vs megs.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66]] Megatron scoffed at the notion, reavling that Prime's supposedly "innocent" humans were planning to nuke New York, killing millions of their own just to get rid of the Decepticons, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} but Prime retorted that it wasn't ''just'' about the humans, but also about the difference between Autobots and Decepticons. The two came to blows, but Megatron triumphed in short order and commanded the Decepticons to depart, leaving the Autobots to be killed by the humans' nuke... but just before they withdrew, he was shot in the face by human soldier [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], wielding a powerful weapon reverse-engineered from Cybertronian technology. Injured and disoriented by the blast, Megatron was finished off when Prime smashed his face in with his own fusion cannon. As he wanted to ''take'' leadership rather than just have it fall in his hands, Starscream picked up his damaged leader and ordered the Decepticons to retreat. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

[[File:AllHisEngines-Megatron.jpg|thumb|Pretty sure when you float in a bacta tank you're supposed to be wearing a diaper.]]
The Decepticons departed Earth aboard Astrotrain, where the gravely wounded Megatron was put on life support and tended to by Soundwave and his cassettes. With Megatron's life signs only at ten percent capacity, Starscream attempted to appeal to Soundwave's sense of logic and have him shut down so that leadership could be his, but Soundwave refused. Starscream was soon able to take command, however, when he recovered the Matrix of Leadership and professed to have been chosen by it. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}}

===New body, new powers===
The Decepticons eventually settled on a desolate asteroid, where Megatron was installed in a [[CR chamber|CR tank]]. Retaining some level of awareness of the events occurring around him during his convalescence, he was forced to watch as his army languished in inactivity, their energy slowly ebbing away until they were reduced to cannibalism. {{storylink|All His Engines}} After a year of trying to free his leader from this living death, Soundwave was finally forced to conclude that Megatron's body was beyond repair, and recruited the recently returned Shockwave, whom Starscream had provided with the majority of the Decepticons' resources to create a space bridge, to help build a new body for Megatron's consciousness to inhabit. The operation succeeded and Megatron was reborn in a deadly new body, powered by Ore-13, armed with a devastatingly powerful rail gun, and even equipped with space bridge nodes stolen from Metroplex, which gave him the ability to open space bridge portals on his own. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

[[File:IDWongoing15 megatrons new body.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"Uh, it's like...did anyone ever see the movie ''Tron''?"]]
Back in action, Megatron devised a plan to destabilize the relationship between the humans and Autobots on Earth. Together with Soundwave and Shockwave, he chopped up his old body and used it to create human-scaled replicas of his former gun mode, containing small pieces of his own consciousness. When Starscream caught them in the act, Megatron elected to table his plan for the moment, as he considered it folly to go against Starscream's wishes for the moment since the Seeker was still in possession of the Matrix of Leadership. Megatron had never truly understood what the talisman ''did'', but it served as a threat merely by being an unknown variable. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} Fortunately, for Megatron this variable was soon removed from the equation when Hot Rod, estranged from the Earthbound Autobots, infiltrated the Decepticons' asteroid base and recovered the Matrix from Starscream. Megatron seized his chance, intercepting the Autobot and blasting him and the Matrix out into the void of space. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}}

[[File:SLMegatron stealth bomber mode.jpg|thumb|275px|Behold... the ''Bomberang!'']]
With Starscream's trump card now gone, Megatron had the Decepticons gathered so he could address them. Distrustful of Shockwave's motives for preparing his new body, wary of Soundwave's constant surveillance, and repulsed by the state of his once fearsome Decepticon war machine, Megatron decided that he needed to unequivocally reestablish dominance over the now Matrix-less Starscream. He intended to beat Starscream near to death as a means of letting them both work out their frustrations with Starscream's inability to lead effectively during Megatron's absence, but Starscream did not want to fight—spiritually broken by his failures, he simply wanted Megatron to kill him. Rather than accept this, Megatron instead goaded Starscream into opening fire upon him. This began a running battle between the two, with Megatron pursuing the fleeing Seeker in his new stealth bomber alternate mode, continuing to bait Starscream every time he appeared willing to give up the fight. Incensed by Starscream's accusation that he did not know what it felt like to see everything he had worked for fall apart, when that was exactly what Starscream's pitiful leadership had done to the empire he had created, Megatron pummeled him to within an inch of his life, then paused to explain why he kept a schemer like Starscream around: as a constant reminder to watch his back. The brutal display galvanized the languid Decepticons, and Megatron was ready to begin his scheme. {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

[[File:IDWongoing14 megatron guns.jpg|upright=1.66|left|thumb|Megatron doesn't support the NRA. He IS the NRA.]]
Roughly two years after the Decepticons' defeat on Earth, Megatron used his space bridge powers to dispatch a container full of the guns made from his old body to Earth, where they were found by South American gun-runners and illegally disseminated amongst an increasingly paranoid public seeking ways to protect themselves against Transformers. This allowed Megatron's consciousness to spread across North America, until it was focused enough to contact one particular owner of a Megatron gun: [[Joe Gladki]]. He deceived and manipulated the paranoid human, and eventually convinced him to perform an assassination attempt on [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], the new Autobot leader. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} In their ignorance, the Autobots then mistook Gladki's gun for Megatron himself and held it captive. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 1: The Demolished Man|The Demolished Man}}

[[File:IDWongoing16 megatron vs autobots.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Not the [[Realignments|first time]] he's traded his [[fusion cannon]] for a [[rail gun]].]]
With the Autobots in chaos, Megatron started the next phase of his plan and returned to Earth personally, where he used his new stealth bomber mode to shoot down a plane carrying Optimus Prime and several other Autobots. He then hunted down the remaining Autobots, effortlessly defeating them and their new temporary leader Ultra Magnus with his powerful new body, and killing some of their [[Skywatch]] allies. Magnus tried to draw Megatron's attention from the humans, claiming the Autobots were the ones he really wanted, but Megatron assured him that humanity was his real target. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}} Taking the defeated Autobots captive, Megatron dumped them in a city and directed three of his mind-controlled human puppets to kill them. Contacting Prime directly, Megatron summoned him to the city's outskirts and revealed his plan: crush Prime's spirit and destroy the Autobots' alliance with humanity by forcing them to choose between fighting the humans or allowing them to kill them. Prime found the hole in Megatron's plan, however, when he realized that Soundwave was maintaining the connection between Megatron and his guns, and shot him in the head. His connection to his pawns severed, Megatron scooped up Soundwave and withdrew. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} Thanks to a tracker Ultra Magnus had slipped on Soundwave, though, Prime was able to follow the Decepticons to their bolthole and called Megatron out for a full and proper confrontation. In actuality, Prime had lured Megatron outside so Skywatch could drop a [[kinetic harpoon]] on him, but even a weapon dropped from orbit barely proved able to put a scratch in Megatron's mighty new exostructure. Megatron proceeded to beat Prime senseless, but then returned him to the Autobots, and to their great shock, surrendered to their custody. After recovering, Optimus demanded to know why he had surrendered, but Megatron merely taunted him by revealing that Spike Witwicky had murdered a Decepticon in cold blood. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}} Prime immediately had Prowl begin investigating Spike and Skywatch, and Prowl interrogated the Decepticon leader for information, which he provided after a little verbal sparring. {{storylink|Police Action: Prologue}}

[[File:ChaosTheory1 megatron imprisoned.jpg|upright=1.5|left|thumb|Megatron and Optimus Prime can't agree on a safe word.]]
When Rodimus returned to Earth and warned the Autobots that [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] had taken control of Cybertron, Optimus decided to lead the Autobots in reclaiming their homeworld. In the name of Earth's safety, he elected to bring Megatron and the confiscated guns made from his old body with them. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}} On the way to Cybertron aboard [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Prime again attempted to discern why Megatron had surrendered, even releasing his old foe from his bonds and having a civil conversation with him about their past together and their dueling ideologies. Optimus tried to reach out to Megatron, offering him the chance to end the war once and for all with a handshake; Megatron appeared to consider it for a moment but ultimately remained silent. With Megatron returned to the confines of the [[variable voltage harness]], the other Autobots pressured Optimus for a decision on his fate: execution or imprisonment. Trying to come to a conclusion, Prime asked Megatron if he regretted any of his actions, but the Decepticon leader remarked that he only regretted not killing ''more'' Autobots. He taunted Prime with the notion that even he was thankful for the war, as it had raised him from a nobody to the greatest Autobot in history, and a furious Prime activated the harness, electrocuting Megatron. The jolt would have killed Megatron if Omega Supreme had not cut the power in time and Megatron, struggling to stay conscious, offered Prime his thanks for saving his life all those years ago in Rodion. Shocked by his actions, Prime realized that Megatron wanted to die and wanted Prime to be the one to kill him. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Eventually, Prime decided to let Megatron choose his own fate, and Megatron calmly replied that he chose death. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2|Chaos Theory #2}}

[[File:Chaos2 armored megatron.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|...Again...?]]
As Omega drew close to Cybertron, Megatron demanded to know who or what was threatening their homeworld, but Optimus Prime refused to provde him with any information. {{storylink| Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} The Autobots subsequently engaged Galvatron's forces in battle, and while they were occupied, Megatron put into motion the ace he had up his sleeve: taking remote control of the numerous "Megatron guns" aboard Omega, Megatron summoned them to him and combined with them into a new armored mode. Breaking free from his restraints, he headed out to confront Galvatron, intent that nobody would take his world from him. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}} As he tore through the Sweeps, Megatron also revealed the reason for his surrender: now that he was back on Cybertron, he could open a space bridge that would allow the massed forces of the Decepticons on Earth to return to their home planet as well. Unfortunately, not long after the Decepticons arrived on the battlefield, Galvatron's secret puppet master, the Dead Universe entity known as the [[D-Void]], seized control of their minds and those of the Sweeps, merging them into a gigantic, monstrous avatar. With Prime occupied pursuing Galvatron into Cybertron's depths, Megatron was left to face this "[[Deceptigod]]" alone. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} Fighting against the D-Void's attempts to ensnare his own mind and make him part of the collective, Megatron was gravely wounded and even lost an arm to the beast, but succeeded into destroying it, blasting it apart with one massive beam from his weapons. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

===The long game===
Even as the Deceptigod disintegrated back into its component Decepticons, Megatron could see the potential the creature embodied—the D-Void had, in essence, created the perfect combiner by means of utterly obliterating free will. With Cybertron reverting into a primordial wasteland around him—a result of Optimus Prime purifying [[Vector Sigma]] with the Matrix to stop Galvatron and the D-Void—Megatron chose to withdraw to experiment with the possibilities this presented. He informed Shockwave, the sole Decepticon who had not been made part of the Deceptigod, of his plans, and Shockwave in turn revealed them to Soundwave and Bombshell. {{storylink|Shockpoint}} While Megatron hid in the wilderness, his Decepticons were left to live as second-class citizens in the new [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] that the Autobots built; Optimus Prime left Cybertron two weeks after the D-Void's defeat to calm tensions with "NAILs"—other unaffiliated Cybertronians—who had returned to their homeworld, but even as he did so, he mused that Megatron must still be out there somewhere. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

[[File:RID11 megatron in wilderness.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Megatron can't find anyone who wants to join his nudist colony to save his skin.]]
In the months of study and experimentation that followed, Megatron discerned that the combination of Ore-13 and space bridge technology in his body somehow gave him the ability to manipulate the natural energy of Cybertron that the D-Void had used to merge the Decepticons into the Deceptigod. After experiments on [[turbofox]]es created larger, more ferocious beasts, Megatron stepped up trials when the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] seceded from the shaky government Bumblebee, [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]] and Starscream were building in Iacon and ventured into the wilderness. The signal Megatron had created from the combination energy first drove the Aerialbots mad, before uniting them in body and mind, spontaneously merging them into the gestalt [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], but this newborn Autobot combiner was considered hopelessly insane by Megatron and left to die in the wilderness. The madness aspect of the signal afforded him the chance to revive some of the principles of the infiltration protocol, however, as he blanketed the wastelands in it, forcing the Autobots, Decepticons and NAILs to stay in Iacon, causing natural conflict among them to snowball, providing a useful cover for his actions. To gain a pawn within Autobot high command, Megatron even provided Bombshell with the energy to use in conjunction with his own mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]]s, ensnaring the mind of Prowl. With the resources and cover control of Prowl provided, Shockwave, Soundwave and Bombshell were able to use Megatron's findings to perfect the combination process, rebuilding the Constructicons with new modular designs that would allow them to merge into a perfect Devastator. The endgame was for Megatron himself to form the head of the combiner, but before risking his own mind and body, Megatron decided that Prowl would be used first as a test subject. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}}

[[File:RID12 kill him.jpg|upright=1.95|thumb]]
The appearance of a [[Crystal City Metrotitan|Metrotitan]] on Cybertron which declared that Starscream was the "Chosen One" threatened Megatron's ability to easily re-take leadership of his Decepticons, forcing him to step up his schedule. Through Prowl, he had his inner circle gathered together in the secret "[[Black Room]]", then boldly strode into Iacon for all to see. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}} His body shattered and skeletal, he professed to come in peace, but Bumblebee did not accept his surrender and ordered his Autobots to kill him. Indeed, Megatron could possibly have died there and then had Iacon's Decepticons not stepped in, insisting that Megatron's defense of Cybertron during the D-Void's attack marked him a hero and that he be taken into custody instead. {{storylink|City on Fire}} After [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] got through examining him to prove his body concealed no weapons, Starscream approached the imprisoned Megatron and attempted to explain that he was not far away from taking complete power in the government, ensuring a Decepticon victory of a different kind. Megatron merely smiled silently at the notion, terrifying his ex-lieutenant with his grin. Presently, the Decepticons rose up in an angry mob and marched on Autobot high command to insist on Megatron's release; the situation quickly devolved into a riot, during which a squad led by [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] stormed the prison and freed Megatron. {{storylink|The Verge}}

[[File:RID14 new body redux.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.55|New body or not, Megatron may want to think twice about standing [[:File:Devastator-ROTFenemyscrotum.jpg|underneath Devastator's legs.]]]]
Megatron brought Starscream and the captured Bumblebee and Metalhawk to the Black Room, where he explained his plans and had himself transferred into a pre-prepared new body that could combine with the Constructicons' new forms. At his command, the Constructicons and Prowl combined into the new Devastator, who immediately set about razing Iacon. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}} Even the return of Superion seemed unable to stop the powerful new combiner, until help came from an unexpected quarter—Prowl's secret assassin [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] killed Bombshell, taking out Prowl's controller and causing Devastator to shut down. This was no real impediment to Megatron, however, as the successful function of the new combiner process had been proven, and he set out to take ''his'' place as Devastator's head. Before Megatron could reach the fallen gestalt, though, Devastator awoke, possessed of his own unique, united consciousness for the first time, and resumed tearing into Iacon. {{storylink|Plan for Everything}}

[[File:RID20 megatron in forcefield.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|You know you can't catch a break when you find yourself trapped inside a novelty plasma lamp from Spencer's.]]
Still Megatron remained unfazed, calmly fending off Autobot attacks and waiting for the inevitable moment when the heroes would take Devastator down. When [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] succeeded in doing so by managing to reach Prowl, Devastator separated, and Megatron immediately stepped in, re-initiation the combination with himself in control. Seconds before uniting with the Constructicons, though, his plan was foiled by Bumblebee, Ironhide and Prowl's activation of a secret failsafe: Wheeljack had integrated a forcefield generator into Megatron's spark casing during his examination of him, and when it was triggered, he was completely paralyzed in mid-transformation. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head}}

In the fallout of the battle, Starscream killed Metalhawk, took control of Iacon and banished the Autobots and Decepticons from the city. He took custody of the immobilized Megatron, and silently gloated over the victory he had accomplished by using guile and politics, rather than Megatron's ways of brute force and firepower. {{storylink|Three Monologues}}

===A new approach===
Megatron would not remain incapacitated for long. That night, as the end result of millennia-long secret machinations by Shockwave, an [[Necrotitan|undead Metrotitan]] appeared on Cybertron and opened a portal to the Dead Universe in the planet's skies. Through the portal, Shockwave made contact with Galvatron and his master, the exiled Cybertron despot [[Nova Prime]], but was unable to bring them through to Cybertron thanks to the unexpected disappearance of the Titan's space bridge system. Intending to use the space bridge within Megatron as a replacement, {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} Shockwave reanimated the deceased Metalhawk with a wave of necrotic energy from the Titan and had him liberate Megatron and bring him to his secret lab in [[Crystal City]]. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}}

[[File:RID24 i remember you.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Somewhere in the multiverse, [[Override (G1)|Override]] and [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] are smiling.]]
Shockwave hoped that Megatron would comply with his plans willingly, but the Decepticon leader refused and Shockwave forcibly activated the space bridge technology in Megatron's body. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} The opening of the bridge in his chest caused Megatron agony, but his screams were heard by Soundwave, who led the united forces of the exiled Autobots and Decepticons to Shockwave's lab to free his leader. Nova Prime and Galvatron attempted to squeeze their way through the space bridge despite this interference, but Ironhide was able to punch Nova back through into the Dead Universe. Just then, Shockwave's "Necrotitan" came crashing into the subterranean city, and in the chaos, Megatron was freed from the restraints holding him. No sooner had Megatron carried Ironhide to the safe hands of the other Autobots, however, than he was ripped in half from behind by Galvatron, who had successfully emerged through the portal {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} — a briefer battle, no doubt, than the one Shockwave had foreseen between the pair in a vision at the outset of his scheme. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}}

[[File:MTMTE26 megs and bee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|I smell a sitcom!]]
After the battle was over, Galvatron and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] lugged Megatron's bisected remains back into Crystal City, only to find their way barred by the unlikely form of Bumblebee, who demanded they hand Megatron over. Galvatron attacked the Autobot, at which point Megatron revealed that he was fine, as he took down Waspinator and knocked Galvatron out with a barrage of fusion cannon fire. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} Bumblebee lugged Megatron back to Iacon, currently being razed by the Necrotitan, where the Decepticon leader announced to the assembled Autobots, Decepticons and NAILs his plan to withdraw to [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]], summon the Decepticon Justice Division and other scattered troops, and strike back. Bumblebee rejected Megatron's notion of retreating, and struck a nerve within him by questioning his entire philosophy: Megatron had ''long'' ago abandoned any notion of fighting for freedom and equality, Bumblebee attested, and merely used the claim to ideology as an excuse for his actions. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} Fortunately, fighting back suddenly got a lot easier when Metroplex and the ''[[Lost Light]]'' space-bridged to Cybertron. During the battle between the Titans, Megatron observed Metroplex reaching for the ''Lost Light''; when the ship's crew explained that they had Metroplex's severed thumb aboard, Megatron had Bumblebee carry him to it, whereupon he realized that the thumb contained one of Shockwave's [[Regenesis]] ores. Megatron used his internal space bridge to teleport the thumb back to Metroplex, and the ore provided the giant with the power boost to defeat the Necrotitan. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

[[File:DCFinale megatron the autobot.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.95|ಠ_ಠ]]
At Bumblebee's order and under protest, [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] repaired Megatron's injuries and reattached his legs, reminding Megatron of his desire in youth to be a medic. His recent string of failures, the success of ''Starscream'', of all 'bots, and Bumblebee's stinging words had turned the Decepticon leader introspective, and he realized he had forgotten something very important that had driven his writings in his early years: winning meant turning people to your way of thinking, not dominating them. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Subsequently, when Shockwave initiated his millennia-long plan to collapse all reality into a universal black hole, Megatron placed himself and the Decepticons under Bumblebee's command to co-ordinate a counter-strike, and journeyed with his uneasy new "friend" into Shockwave's [[Crystal City]] base to confront their shared enemy. There, they found the weakened Galvatron, who Megatron prepared to destroy for past indignities, until Bumblebee talked him down, convincing him that blood did not have to be repaid with blood. At that moment, Shockwave struck, slaying Bumblebee with a blast, and driving Megatron into a rage. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} Empowered by his various ores and the energy of the Dead Universe, Shockwave was a formidable opponent and it was all Megatron could do to hold his own against him until Optimus Prime arrived to join the fight. Prime attempted to reason with Shockwave and remind him of the kindly senator he had once been, but his words had little effect, so Megatron opted for a more object lesson: removing the fallen Bumblebee's insignia, he placed it upon his chest and declared himself an Autobot. The stunned Shockwave lost control of the time machine powering his plot, causing his old pre-[[Shadowplay]] memories to emerge. Horrified at what he had become, he allowed Megatron and Prime to kill him, which caused the time machine to collapse into a singularity. Megatron and Prime made what seemed to be a futile dash for freedom, but were saved from the singularity's pull at the last moment by the timely arrival of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

===Crimes against the Species===

{{quote|I don't want to be acquitted. I want to '''make amends'''|Megatron on his new goal in life|"[[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide]]"}}
[[File:DCFinale this is not a trick.jpg|thumb|upright=1.95|Optimus apparently decided a sincere Megatron was a cue for mood lighting.]]
In a private meeting between Optimus Prime and Megatron a short time after Shockwave's defeat, Megatron affirmed that his change of heart was genuine, and Optimus assured him that he could see past his wartime deeds and remember the well-intentioned 'bot he had started out as. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}} The rest of Cybertron, however, demanded a trial; Autobot High Command agreed, realizing that the Decepticon leader's fate had to be decided in public. Before the trial, Megatron was approached by Optimus, [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and Rodimus in an attempt to extract some of the Decepticon's memories as evidence in hopes of expediting the proceedings, but a horrified Megatron refused, considering the sanctity of his mind all he had left. After Optimus departed, Rodimus remained to taunt Megatron with the certainty of his execution; in return, the impassive Decepticon simply asked Rodimus to deliver a [[communicube]] to Optimus, {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} containing a request to have the trial moved to the [[Raskol Arena]] on Luna 2, in order, he alleged, to accommodate the huge number of spectators that would inevitably attend. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}
[[File:MTMTE28 megatron pleads guilty.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.95|I agreed to this trial on the condition of meeting Matlock.]]
Megatron's trial lasted five months. At the outset of the proceedings, Megatron pled guilty to "Crimes against the Species", {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} but things changed when Starscream took the stand and gave a testimony that presented Megatron as an incapable leader who was unable to control the Decepticon forces under his command, a powerful brute lacking in the qualities of true leadership who led his followers down an ultimately self-destructive path. His treacherous lieutenant's words struck home, and Megatron stunned the assembled crowd by changing his plea to "not guilty". {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} Just as his defender, Ultra Magnus, was reading a statement declaring this, the trial was dramatically interrupted by a small army of Decepticons led by [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snap Trap]] and [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Grr]], who had escaped from the brig on the ''Lost Light''. The invading force attempted to teleport Megatron away to safety, but he refused to escape and the uprising was quickly quelled. During the recess that followed, Optimus confronted Megatron over his true motives: he had requested that the trial be held on Luna 2 in order to exploit the moon's different legal system in the event that he felt the trial was unjust. Caused by Starscream's speech to realize that, were he to submit to execution now, his legacy would be one only of pain and death, Megatron invoked one of the moon's forgotten laws: an individual who had committed sufficiently heinous crimes could request he be judged by the long-lost [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Megatron requested that he be allowed to join the ''Lost Light'' in their search for the Knights and their homeworld of [[Cyberutopia]], thus ensuring that ''that'' would be his legacy, after which he would submit to whatever punishment was deemed necessary. Optimus agreed on the condition that Megatron read a prepared speech denouncing the Decepticon cause and asking all active Decepticons to stand down. Megatron did so, at great personal pain. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Hurt and angry over this perceived abandonment, Soundwave used Megatron's change of faction as evidence to forge a new allegiance of his own, decamping to Earth and working with the [[Earth Defense Command]] to create a new home for Autobots there. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}}
[[File:MTMTE30 cocaptains.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|O captain, my co-captain.]]
Megatron was assigned co-captaincy of the ''Lost Light'' alongside Rodimus, who immediately hated the idea and everything about it, leading to a particularly antagonistic relationship between the two. Megatron was permitted only to fuel himself with "[[Fool's Energon]]", which left him substantially weakened. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Shockwave's machinations had left his internal organs a tortured Gordian knot of space bridge wormholes from which it was impossible to extract his spark; his outward appearance changed between the end of his trial and his co-captaincy, suggesting that his armor was rebuilt around him, or his entire internal structure was transplanted into a new body. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Megatron would later lament that his body did not graft to his spark like past chassis, which he considered a sign of his waning age. {{storylink|Slaughterhouse|Slaughterhouse}} Optimus would see Megatron off on his voyage before he himself headed off to Earth, a meeting Prowl found deeply disturbing. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}}

===Towards Peace===
{{ongoing}}
[[File:MTMTE28 megatron head examined.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"So Megatron, tell me about your mother."<br>"She was hot."]]
The ''Lost Light'' warped back out to the Galactic Rim and set off on the trail of [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]], who they considered their best lead on the location of the Knights. A month into the journey, Megatron agreed to a therapy session with ship's psychoanalyst Rung. Megatron was less than forthcoming, but when Rung inquired about the removed dedication to Terminus from ''Towards Peace'', Megatron explained to him his current thinking on personal history, and one's ability to selectively edit or abandon entirely previously-held truths. Departing for his quarters, Megatron found that his door had been heavily grafittied by Whirl, who then suddenly attacked him, declaring that their shared history made the battle inevitable. Megatron responded by undermining Whirl's entire life with the revelation that the ex-Wrecker's penchant for surviving tough scraps was a falsehood: the second order Megatron had issued upon forming the Decepticons was that under no circumstances was any Decepticon to kill Whirl. As they struggled, Megatron taunted Whirl with the knowledge that his memory of Whirl's actions all those years ago had helped keep him on the path of violence; the outraged ex-Wrecker punched Megatron in the stomach, only to find his hand teleported away by the space bridge tangle inside the former Decepticon. This took the fight out of Whirl, and Megatron offered to forget the incident if the graffiti was removed from his wall. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}}

Leaving Whirl behind and heading for the bridge, Megatron received a report that the ''Lost Light'' had crossed paths with a coffin floating in space. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Megatron oversaw the bringing onboard of the coffin and its transport to the med-bay. A short time later, [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailcutter]] snuck into the med-bay on a drunken dare in search of Megatron's "Fool's Energon", unaware of its true nature; caught in the act and believing he had been poisoned by the fuel, he triggered his forcefield, which inadvertently cracked the coffin open. Megatron reprimanded him by permanently engaging his fuel intake moderation chip, and assigned him the role of Security Director in order to focus his mind. The pair then turned their attention to the opened coffin, which was revealed to contain the body of another Rodimus! {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}}
[[File:MTMTE32 i came to hate the person id become.jpg|thumb|275px|Lolcat is watching you deprecate.]]
Brief analysis suggested that the body was of Rodimus from the future, but before the matter could be settled, the crew of the ''Lost Light'' were forced to abandon the ship as it suddenly began disappearing around them. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} The disappearances did not stop there, however: Megatron found himself on the [[Rodpod]] with a score of other 'bots, and when ''they'' then began to vanish, [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] accused Megatron of being responsible. A tense Mexican standoff ensued, which was brought to a surprising end when [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] was discovered to have been hiding on the pod, having secreted himself on the ''Lost Light'' in order to spy on Megatron for Soundwave. The disappearances continued, and Megatron clashed with [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] as he tried to find a pattern. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} The weirdness only continued as the remaining crew of the Rodpod—Megatron, Ravage, Nightbeat, [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]], [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]], and [[Getaway]]—discovered the wreckage of a second ''Lost Light'', point of origin for the mystery second Rodimus, orbiting the planet [[Ofsted XVII]]. Still believing that the duplicate ship hailed from the future, Skids accused Megatron of being responsible for the devastation, and, realizing that the recent huge changes he had made in his life left him devoid of any surety in his future actions, Megatron allowed himself and Ravage to be imprisoned until the truth could be determined. Locked in a supply closet with Ravage, Megatron had a heart-to-heart with his angry ex-subordinate, justifying his decisions and unable to offer Ravage any consolation. When power returned to the ship, the pair discovered the dead bodies of Ratchet, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] in the closet with them, their [[brain module]]s stuffed in their mouths—calling card of [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]] of the Decepticon Justice Division. Realizing the DJD was responsible for destroying the ship the team re-grouped and prepared to retreat when an even stranger discovery was made: Autobot archivist [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] was found, still alive, the only survivor of the DJD's attack, despite the fact that he had died months beforehand. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}}
[[File:MTMTE33 megatron skids right there.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"...But you're not the [[Skyfall (G1)|worst]] [[Zeta Prime (G1)|guy]] to wear the badge. So keep trying."]]
Nautica and Nightbeat were able to deduce the whole story: the duplicate ''Lost Light'' was not from the future, but rather, it and its crew were quantum duplicates created in the explosion of the [[quantum generator|quantum engines]] during the ship's original launch two years prior. To make matters worse, the [[quantum foam]] leaking from the engines was threatening to destroy Ofsted XVII, but Megatron had no compunctions about getting to safety and leaving the planet to its fate until Skids called him out, forcing him to face up to the fact that being an Autobot meant more than wearing a badge, and had to be reflected in one's actions. When all other options were exhausted, Megatron admitted that he could use his old mass-displacement ability to shrink his robot form down, enabling him to safely make it through the foam and deactivate the engines, saving Ofsted XVII, "cancelling out" the duplicate ''Lost Light'', and reinstating their own. The diminutive Rewind joined him in the task; Megatron showed him kindness by holding back knowledge of his counterpart's passing so that he might die happy, but Rewind was mysteriously ''not'' erased when their task was successfully completed. As they made their way back to the returned ''Lost Light'', Megatron invited Ravage to remain at his side, hoping an up-close view of the DJD's horrors had instilled in him some doubt in the Decepticon cause. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}
[[File:MTMTE38 send me back.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.75|"AND I WANT YOUR LUNCH MONEY TOO NERD!"]]
Returning to "their" ''Lost Light'', Megatron's team discovered that their Brainstorm had incapacitated the crew and used his mysterious [[Time case|briefcase]] to travel back in time. The ridiculousness of the entire situation caused Megatron to have a mini-breakdown, but he soon got ahold of himself, and theorized that Brainstorm was attempting to change history by killing Orion Pax. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} Rodimus led a squad back in time in pursuit, which led to Megatron having a cross-time conversation with the young Orion Pax via Rodimus's "[[time phone]]" communicator. Pretending to be his own younger self during the call, Megatron found the young 'bots optimism for the future a mixed source of both affirmation and tragic amusement. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} After Rodimus's team made several further jumps, Megatron deduced that the dates they were travelling to were not important moments in Pax's life, but Megatron's own. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} Realizing that Brainstorm intended to kill him at the moment of his creation, he flew into a panicked rage, attacking [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] and demanding the scientist send him back in time to save himself, until Ultra Magnus restrained him and the pair talked him down. As events in the past played out, Megatron was visibly shaken to hear that Rewind had been the one to pull the trigger that destroyed the original spark in his body, and that the universe would truly be a better place had he never existed. Although Whirl subsequently set the timeline to rights, Megatron did not join in the celebrations when everyone returned from the past, retiring to his quarters to brood. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}
When Optimus contacted the ''Lost Light'' to invite them home for first contact, Rodimus declined, saying it would interfere with their quest, while Magnus promised to send a shuttle with representatives from the ship, Megatron just hung silently in the background. When the call ended Rodimus told Optimus that Megatron said 'Hi'. Megatron said no such thing but Rodimus ended the call before he could tell Optimus. {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}} Megatron dedicated some of his spare time to writing poetry, but his works remained largely unappreciated- a single poetry reading at Mirage's bar, [["Visages"]], was enough to empty the bar of its patrons. This returned the title of popular Lost Light bar back to [[Swerve's]]. When Brainstorm's time machine was to be destroyed, Megatron had Ravage recover one of them for him.{{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

The crew ended up finding the ''[[Vis Vitalis]]'', and Rodimus took Megatron to school on his solitary sulking. {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} When the strange personality ticks threatened to overrun both ships, Rodimus and Megatron's mere presence upon entering a room with them killed them. {{storylink|The Frail Gaze}} Megatron took part in the voyage into [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s mind to save the dying metallurgist, forcing him to don a holomatter avatar for the first time. Megatron noted the fragility - but not weakness - of humans when his avatar was cut by broken glass. {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}

Bemused that the late [[Agent 113]] left his intel in the form of bullets, Megatron was unsettled by the revelation that Rodimus had somehow drawn a complete map to Cyberutopia. Realizing that his day of judgment was actually now on the horizon, Megatron advocated in favor of an expedition to the [[Censere|Necrobot]]'s planet of operations, confiding in Ravage that he wished to stave off his day of reckoning as long as possible. He realized that it would come for him sooner than later, after learning that the flowers around the holographic statues represented the sparks of other Cybertronians killed by the statue's namesake—and that his happened to have enough flowers to stretch beyond the horizon he so feared. {{storylink|The Not Knowing}}
[[File:MTMTE44-MegatronLookAtTheFlowers.jpg|450px|center|thumb|Yeah, we got nothing.]]

Megatron's fear of mnemosurgery would once again plague him when he awoke to find little Tailgate trying to perform mnemosurgery on him - all part of a plot from [[Getaway]] to provoke Megatron into killing the little guy in order to get him either executed or imprisoned for supposedly betraying the Autobots. Breaking into a panic, Megatron was stopped by Cyclonus' reaction - which involved running him through with his Great Sword - and Megatron was left unconscious as the ship's security team pursued Tailgate and Cyclonus.
{{storylink|The Lopsided Triangle}} Once Getaway's plot had been foiled, Megatron came to the medbay with a patch of metal covering the damage dealt to him by Cyclonus, and made amends with his attacker, promising that he would not have killed Tailgate. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Soon afterward, Megatron was alerted by Run that [[Sunder]] was going on a rampage across the ship, and Megatron fruitlessly attempted to talk him down and had to be saved by the newly powered Tailgate. After Sunder and [[Froid]] were dealt with, Megatron reluctantly accepted Rung's resignation and revealed to Rodimus that he had sworn off violence, no matter the situation or who would bring it against him. {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}} When the ship was preparing to sneak through Mauler-inhabited space, Megatron and Ultra Magnus set about preparing the ship and the crew for the crossing. When a [[Scraplet]]-controlled [[Magnus Armor]] came shambling towards him, Megatron panicked believing Magnus had come for a hug before Swerve, Nautica and Whirl arrived to save him. {{storylink|Silent Light}}

Megatron took part in a brief excursion into the past thanks to Perceptor's "time windows", and he and his closest allies honored the fallen crew members of the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

===Do Not Go Gentle===
Megatron would oversee the ''Lost Light'''s campaign to liberate [[Miliarium]], and though Megatron was dismayed that the crew withheld that the inhabitants of the planet were organic, he softened when he was given the chance to finally use the "[[Roll out|roll out]]" command. During a subsequent class over the Knights of Cybertron, Megatron {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} heard the screaming of every organic he'd ever killed {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} and grabbed his head so hard he dented it. He kept quiet about the exact trauma, merely saying he had felt a strange mental disturbance that several other members of the crew were afflicted with too. Megatron set out with Rodimus and several others to the source of the strange signal, only to find themselves on Censere's planet once again, where they found Censere murdered. After the group found themselves stranded on the planet, things got even worse when Getaway contacted them, announcing that he and the vast majority of the ''Lost Light'' crew had revolted against Megatron and Rodimus, weary of the former's apparent letting off and the latter's poor leadership. As Ravage investigated the planet, Megatron wearily realized the mutineers would never forgive him, and began to put the pieces together when Getaway said the ousted Autobots (who all were found to be unsympathetic to a mutiny against Megatron) were now at the mercy of someone. Ravage returned with horrible news: the Decepticon Justice Division and [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]' army had arrived. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}} To Megatron's great shame, he could identify Tarn's psychological attack, a show of strength before leaving with a threat to come back, as standard operating practice ''he'd'' laid down.

When the Autobots began looking for any useable asset, they found two things: a teleport chamber and a room full of helpless organics in stasis pods. When Brainstorm began to sweet-talk and cajole the others into thinking they could abandon the organics, Megatron announced that he would stay to protect the sleepers regardless and gave a stirring, heartfelt speech that got everyone agreeing to stay. (He later admitted to Rodimus how the psychic trauma had forced him to realise organic lifeforms were people) Ravage urged Megatron to at least try talking to Tarn... and so Megatron went out to meet the man and ''surrendered''. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} On the condition Tarn didn't harm any of the others. He and Tarn talked, about their past, and their history, Megatron expressing his regret for "corrupting" who Tarn had been, stating he'd gone too far during the war. He even expressed regret Brainstorm's attempt to kill him hadn't succeeded. Somehow, this all managed to set the D.J.D.'s leader off, and he began viciously beating Megatron, expressing hatred for who he'd become. Megatron refused to fight back, laughing at how the irony of Fool's Energon might have been changing his nature, and he didn't even care.

Regarding Megatron as being better off dead, Tarn blew a massive hole in his chest. Before he could land the killing blow, Overlord arrived, looking for his own chance at killing Megatron. The two fought, giving a not-quite dead Megatron a chance to drag himself back toward the Necrobot's house, where he was quickly brought inside, still holding his autobrand fiercely in one hand. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears|Your Fierce Tears}} A newly-returned Ratchet managed to patch Megatron up, but it wasn't until twenty minutes before sunset that he got up to find everyone else preparing for a last stand. Megatron refused to join the preparations, rebuffing the new fusion cannon Ten had built specifically for him, and urged the group to cherish what time they had left rather than waste it in battle. In the face of Rodimus's disappointment, Megatron called himself too weak and too afraid to fight, and slunk off deeper into the building. The last word came from Ravage, who yelled after him how ashamed he was of his former leader. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|At Close of Day}} {{spoiler|Rage, Rage|July 22, 2016}} With the ensuing battle outside only getting more heated as time passes, Megatron can only watch his fellow Autobots from inside, while helping Ratchet take care of a dying Skids. Ratchet tried to tell Megatron to go outside and help the others, but he refuses as he tells Ratchet that he's afraid of becoming a monster after fighting again, not being able to stop after he's started, even with the Fool's Energon. Ratchet then tells him the truth, that Fool's Energon doesn't exist, and that it's only foul tasting, unfiltered, regular Energon. Megatron asks why he decides to tell him at this moment, and Ratchet days that he's been in control of himself this whole time, so today should be no different. Right as the news hits him, Megatron, from the screen, watches Tarn tear Ravage in half. Then, when Ratchet asks for his help, he's no where to be seen. With their new-found power running out just as they get cornered, the Autobots decide that this is it, this is where they die. But then a blast comes from behind them, taking out a number of Decepticons. The blast turns out out to be from Megatron's newly-mounted fusion cannon, who continues to blast away dozens of Decpticons by the second. Afraid of losing, Tarn and Deathsaurus order all their troops to focus their Attucks on Megatron, who is telling Rodimus to get Ravage to safety. As the others Autobots flee towards the fortress, a shot from the Decepticons destroys Megatron's fusion cannon. Feeling defeated and on his knees, Megatron looks up to see Tarn and Overlord taunting him, with guns pointed straight at his head. Rodimus watches from the screen Tarm giving the order to fire at Megatron, and then three shots are heard. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}}

===Pax Cybertronia===
In a vision of the future seen by Ironhide and Alpha Trion during the reformatting of Cybertron, fifteen million years hence, Ironhide still believed Megatron to be alive and promised a young Autobot they would defeat him again if he ever returned. {{storylink|Pax Cybertronia (issue)|Pax Cybertronia}} {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}}
{{-}}

==''Spotlight: Mirage''==
[[File:SLMirage all in good time.jpg|thumb|275px]]
Somewhere, in an unknown time or place, the self-serving mercenary [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] dreamed of Megatron and his Decepticons launching a massive attack on the Autobots. But Mirage knew that to only be a dream; in reality, the Autobots were almost eradicated, and Megatron had hired him to hunt down the last of their number. Megatron was outraged by the mercenary's demand for a majority share in all energon mining operations as payment, but it proved to be fuel well spent, as he soon succeeded in locating Optimus Prime and forcing him to surrender. Megatron demanded the prisoners be executed despite Mirage's promise to spare Autobot lives. Seeing Mirage's hesitation, Megatron appealed to his greed. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}
{{--}}

==Ask Vector Prime==
[[File:Megatron cam.jpg|left|150px|thumb|I think this is a killing joke!]]
In [[Primax 708.10-R Lambda]], Megatron cracked the codes to an Autobot forward listening outpost. He walked in, shot [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]], and then laughed and took a photo of what he had done. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 6/8/2015}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
[[File:MegatronOrigin2 Megs hair.jpg|thumb|100px]]
*In [[Megatron Origin issue 2|''Megatron Origin'' #2]], we see that Megatron's helmet is, in fact, a helmet and not part of his head (at least in his original body). Upon removing his helmet, Megatron then briefly unfurls a crest. The significance of this moment is not explained, but it is briefly revisited in [[Remembrance Day|''More than Meets the Eye'' #14]] when a helmetless Megatron spars with [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]].

[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Point One Percenters]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]

2005 IDW continuity

2016-06-14T03:58:43Z

Zachimusprime: /* Media */ Changed the writer of Drift Empire of Stone from "James Barber" (who doesn't exist) to Shane McCarthy

{{nav-G1|logo=IDWTheTransformers 2014 logo.png}}
[[File:ChaosTheory1 montage.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67]]
The '''IDW Generation 1 continuity''' is the storyline of [[IDW Publishing]]'s [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] reboot comic-book series, begun in [[2005]]. It is separate from all other Generation 1 fiction, re-imagining the [[Autobot]]-[[Decepticon]] [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] as a galaxy-spanning conflict, with [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] abandoned as a dead husk and teams from both sides covertly operating on various alien worlds to defend or destroy the native populations—including [[Earth]].

==Overview==
==="-ations"===
[[File:Escalation 1 a.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Remember that time when this didn't happen?]]
Masterminded by classic Transformers author [[Simon Furman]] and told across several consecutive mini-series—almost all given titles ending with "-ation" (''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]'', ''[[The Transformers: Escalation|Escalation]]'', etc.), hence this becoming a catch-all term for Furman's time on the books—and interlocking single-character "[[The Transformers: Spotlight|spotlight]]" one-shots, the story of IDW's first "era" brings the [[Transformer]]s into the modern day. The traditional "crashed on Earth 4 million years ago" origin is done away with, replaced with a cloak-and-dagger storyline of aliens hiding in plain sight on Earth, not dissimilar to the approach that would be taken in a few years by the [[Transformers (film)|live-action film]]. With [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] an uninhabitable wasteland, Earth is presented as simply one of many battlegrounds in a galaxy-spanning war of subversion and conquest that sees the [[Decepticon]]s employ a [[Infiltration protocol|strict protocol]] of infiltration as they attempt to take over alien worlds. [[Alternate mode]]s serve a very real and important purpose of disguise, as discovery by natives is strictly forbidden by both factions. Open conflict is rare, and battles are often fought entirely in vehicle forms. The series is much darker then the original Marvel comics and G1 cartoon, featuring Autobots who make morally ambiguous decisions, Decepticons that regularly kill humans and Autobots, and many themes of horrific modification, racism, and civilian casualties.

The story opens on Earth, as the Decepticons there have discovered a wildly powerful [[Ore-13|source of energy]], and break protocol to secure it. This soon brings both [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] and [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] to the planet, escalating the conflict. The [[human]]s are deeply involved as well, both innocent bystanders and active covert organizations such as the [[Machination]], led by a rogue Cybertronian in hiding and seeking to create a Transformer-human hybrid, and [[Skywatch]], a secret US military organization who have control of multiple Transformers who visited Earth prior to the current conflict. As protocol collapses and the war grows more devastating, threats begin to arrive from space: first the alien [[Reaper]]s, and then a cabal of undead ancient Transformers who attempt to destroy the universe by unleashing the power of the [[Dead Universe]] they serve.

====Cast====
Unconstrained by the needs of portraying a current toyline, Furman was offered a much greater choice in the characters he could feature in his stories, opening with an assortment of the more familiar 1984/85 [[Autobot]]s and Decepticons, but with the added wild cards of the [[Battlecharger]]s. Major characters from latter portions of the Generation 1 franchise like [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] were soon to join, as were fan favorites from Furman's days on the original [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel series]] like [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. Popular characters who had never had a chance to shine in Western fiction like [[Sixshot]] and [[Doubledealer]] became prominent antagonists, while some, such as [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]], seemed like almost random additions! Perhaps the greatest example of characters being unconstrained by previous depictions was the transformation of [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] into a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]].

For ''Infiltration'', artist [[E. J. Su]] created new designs for many members of the cast, giving them updated, modern alternate modes—central protagonist [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]], for instance, became a Dodge Sprinter ambulance, versus his original Generation 1 design of "van with lightbar on top"—with [[robot mode]]s reworked accordingly. A few characters retained their original alternate modes but gained updated robot modes, such as [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], while characters like [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] stuck to their original designs.

====Technology====
One of the more distinctive elements of Furman's run was the large amount of new technology employed by the characters in waging their cold war. The Autobots disguise their true nature with solid-light "[[holomatter]]" projections which serve as decoy drivers for their [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]s, and function as avatars for the Autobots, even quite some distance away, allowing them to covertly interact with a planet's natives. The Decepticons also make use of the human form, employing [[facsimile construct]]s — synthetic humans used to destabilize the societies of target worlds.

Several long-standing concepts that are commonplace in Transformers stories were wound back to their point of origin so their development could be integrated into the ongoing tale. [[Combiner]] technology, for instance, is not in use at the outset of the series, appearing only as a failed experiment that yielded the barbaric [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]. [[Pretender]] technology likewise appeared only as a failed experiment, and Headmaster tech makes its debut after years of covert and illegal development. Even the faithful standby of [[space bridge]] travel is not available to the main characters, who instead employ a short-range teleportation method called "[[orbital jump]]". On the flipside, Furman chose to directly incorporate the implicitly-ever-present concept of [[size changing]], a topic generally left to fan discussion and untouched by official fiction, depicting the attendant mass-displacement as highly energy consumptive.

====Other creators====
Every mini-series and one-shot that was part of the major ongoing story of the "-ations" era was scripted by Simon Furman, but a few other publications at the time saw other writers take the reigns. [[Eric Holmes]]'s ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'' explored the early days of the war on Cybertron, centring on the rise of the Decepticon leader, while the freedom offered by the "Spotlight" format yielded three one-shot tales by new writers: a psycho-thriller horror about [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] by [[Nick Roche]], a confusing parallel timeline story featuring [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] by [[George Strayton]], and a new take on [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] with a humorous bent by [[Stuart Moore]]. Moore also took up scripting duties on a four-issue ''[[New Avengers/Transformers]]'' crossover that took place within the present-day events of the "-ations" storyline and was co-published with [[Marvel Comics]].

===''All Hail Megatron''===
{{main|The Transformers: All Hail Megatron}}
Seeking to provide a jumping-on point for new readers, IDW brought Simon Furman's run to a truncated end with the ''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]'' storyline. While the writer wrapped up what loose ends he could in a follow-up mini-series, ''[[The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots|Maximum Dinobots]]'', the new series began—''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'', a "soft reboot" taking place one year after the end of Furman's storyline and beginning ''in medias res'', with the Autobots mysteriously absent, and the Decepticons free to rain destruction on Earth. As was the case during Furman's run, "Spotlight" one-shots supplemented the series, but were by a variety of creators and rarely tied into its events.

This twelve-issue series was written by newcomer [[Shane McCarthy]] with art primarily by [[Guido Guidi]], and courted controversy among fans for its near-complete abandonment of much of the world-building done during Furman's tenure. The story's cast was stripped down to the major players from 1984–1986, with many characters redesigned to either resemble the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original ''The Transformers'' cartoon]], or to promote their new toys in the current ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' line. Perhaps the most enduring element associated with this year-long era for IDW's Transformers was the introduction of [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], an original Autobot character created by McCarthy who was eventually turned into a toy a few years later in spite of his polarizing effect on the fandom.

The series was initially intended to be followed by a four-issue mini-series entitled ''All Hail Megatron: Coda'', which would contain a variety of short stories that were supposed to address some of the continuity issues between Furman and McCarthy's run. Instead, these four issues were released as issues #13-16 of ''All Hail Megatron'', and contained stories that bridged the gap between the series and the upcoming ongoing comic book.

===Ongoing series===
{{main|The Transformers (IDW)}}
Serving as another jumping-on point for new readers, the [[The Transformers (IDW)|''Transformers'' ongoing series]] by new writer [[Mike Costa]] launched at the start of 2010, beginning two years after the end of ''All Hail Megatron''. As the series begins, the Autobots are attempting to figure out what to do next after the end of the war, while being hounded by the refurbished Skywatch, led by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]. The death of [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] prompts Optimus Prime to retire his post as leader, surrendering himself to Skywatch and leaving leadership split between Bumblebee and [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]]; the former soon takes sole command when a disastrous deal brokered with some Decepticon stragglers forces a disgraced Hot Rod to go it alone. An alliance is soon forged between the Autobots and Skywatch without the knowledge of the government, but everything soon goes wrong when the Decepticons launch a revenge attack on two fronts, assaulting the Autobots directly on the battlefield, and manipulating human minds to turn popular opinion against them.

The ongoing proceeded to transition into a more "space-based" approach to storytelling as it headed towards its final storyline, beginning with the three-part "Space Opera" storyline, and followed by the flashback-heavy "Chaos Theory", a look into Megatron and Optimus Prime's relationship penned by [[James Roberts]]. Roberts co-authored the final arc, "[[Chaos (IDW)|Chaos]]", in which the Autobots battle both the returned [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] and his army, and the true evil of the Dead Universe, the [[D-Void]]. "Chaos" had originally been intended to be a separate mini-series, but was incorporated into the ongoing, which shipped bi-weekly for the duration of the storyline, with alternating issues focusing on the final story on Earth as the Skywatch alliance finally breaks down. Concluding with its 31st issue, the series was wrapped up at the end of 2011 with the one-shot "[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime]]," jointly written by James Roberts and [[John Barber]], who went on to author the new series that launched the following year.

====Art style====
The ongoing heralded the return of popular artist [[Don Figueroa]] to Transformers comics, having left two years prior. Figueroa debuted a new take on Transformer designs that reformatted the entire cast yet again in a very different, mechanically complex design-style that was both evocative of the [[Transformers (film)|live-action movie series]], and immediately very unpopular with the fandom. In a new move, IDW did not require their artists to adhere to these designs, and so the various companion mini-series published alongside the ongoing (see below), and even later issues of the series itself drawn by different artists, featured a bevy of styles and designs that played fast and loose with any kind of consistency regarding character appearance and alternate mode. Artist [[Alex Milne]] went on to take over as main artist for the series at the year-and-a-half mark, and introduced some consistency by drawing the characters in streamlined versions of their Figueroa designs.

====Companion mini-series====
Bumblebee's rise to leadership is chronicled in a [[The Transformers: Bumblebee|companion mini-series]] published concurrently with the first arc of the ongoing, by [[Zander Cannon]] and [[Chee Yang Ong]]. Also released simultaneously as the third part of this opening hat-trick of books was ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', a mini-series following the activities of the much-loved [[Wrecker|Autobot commando team]] elsewhere in the galaxy. Written and drawn by IDW rising star Nick Roche with the aid of longtime fan-author [[James Roberts]], this mini was a breakout super-hit that turned the creative team into fandom darlings, and led to Roberts becoming a regular writer in 2012 (see below).

Costa would also script the final ''Spotlight'' one-shot to date, centered on [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] with art by E. J. Su, and the ''[[The Transformers: Ironhide|Ironhide]]'' series, following up the story of the character's apparent death, illustrated by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]. These were followed at the end of 2010 by ''[[The Transformers: Drift|Drift]]'', in which Shane McCarthy returned to explore the backstory of his creation, drawn by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]].

Build up to ''Chaos'' took place across two other mini-series: the two-issue ''[[Infestation (IDW)|Infestation]]'', a tie-in to IDW's cross-franchise event, and ''[[The Transformers: Heart of Darkness|Heart of Darkness]]'', which both picked back up on lingering continuity points from Simon Furman's run, following Galvatron in his mission to raise an army against the D-Void. Both series were scripted by [[Dan Abnett]] and [[Andy Lanning]], with Nick Roche illustrated the well-received former; conversely, a disjointed story and art from [[Ulises Farinas]], clearly unfamiliar with and lacking the ability to draw Transformers, left ''Heart of Darkness'' as perhaps the worst-received offering of the ongoing era.

===''More than Meets the Eye'', ''Robots in Disguise'', and ''Windblade''===
2012 ushered in not one, but two new ongoing series as successors to the previous series. Establishing that the remaining Transformers had been picked up from Earth, both series are exclusively space-based. Most characters had been redesigned again, but the in-story explanation is that they were courtesy of Wheeljack (at least for the Autobots). Despite the two series going in different directions, they are connected to each other in various ways — sharing cover images that connect with the other series, and themes (like the Dinobots) featured in both series in August 2012. Both series also start a new tradition since IDW's takeover of the license: special Annual issues. Both series are not afraid to kill popular characters (Furman would be proud). The writers of both series collaborate closely with one another. Both series crossed over in 2013 to 2014 for the "[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]" event.

The aftermath of "Dark Cybertron" saw companion miniseries return in full force, starting out with one starring [[Hasbro]]'s "fan-created" character, the female Autobot [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]]. This was followed by prequel series ''[[The Transformers: Primacy|Primacy]]'', loose ''More than Meets the Eye'' tie-in ''[[The Transformers: Drift - Empire of Stone|Drift - Empire of Stone]]'', a second volume of ''Windblade'', and then long-awaited sequel ''[[The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers|Sins of the Wreckers]]''. 2014 saw ''Robots in Disguise'' being retitled as simply ''"The Transformers"'', starting with [[Onyx Interface Part One: Signals, Calls, and Marches|issue #35]], to avoid confusion with the [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 franchise)|2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' franchise]]. ''The Transformers'' later crossed over with ''Windblade'' vol. 2 in 2015 for the ''[[Combiner Wars]]'' event.

====''More than Meets the Eye''====
{{main|The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye}}
''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'', by [[James Roberts]], focuses around Rodimus's crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' and their efforts to find the mystical [[Knights of Cybertron]]. The cast is very diverse — many of the main characters have had little to no prior focus in Transformers fiction. Roberts pulls heavily from both [[Simon Furman]]'s run and his own prior efforts to establish a rich continuity.

====''Robots in Disguise''/''The Transformers''====
{{main|The Transformers: Robots in Disguise}}
''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'', authored by [[John Barber]], involves the efforts of [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] to maintain peace over a post-war, primitive Cybertron. He's joined by [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]] and [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] to appeal to the [[NAIL]]s and Decepticons, respectively. Unfortunately, plots by [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] and various Decepticons threaten to undermine the new peace.

====''Windblade''====
{{main|The Transformers: Windblade}}
While ''The Transformers'' shifted focus from Cybertron to Earth, ''Windblade'' takes over the focus on Cybertron. ''Windblade'', by [[Mairghread Scott]], focuses on the young [[Caminus|Camien]] [[cityspeaker]] Windblade on her mission on her ancestral planet and second homeworld Cybertron. A key player in her mission is the elected ruler of Cybertron, [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], who schemes to gain more power for himself as Cybertron re-establishes contact with its long-lost colonies.

==Media==
The continuity includes the following series, listed in approximate ''chronological'' order:

*''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin]]'' — A four-issue miniseries. Megatron rises from a laboring miner to founder and leader of the [[Decepticon]] faction.
*''[[The Transformers: Spotlight]]'' — An irregularly ongoing series of one-shot stories focusing on a single Transformer per issue. The stories generally fit in to various points in the Transformers' history.
*''[[The Transformers: Autocracy]]'', a digital comic written by [[Flint Dille]] and drawn by [[Livio Ramondelli]].
*''[[The Transformers: Monstrosity]]'', sequel to Autocracy by the same creative team.
*''[[The Transformers: Primacy]]'', sequel to Monstrosity by the same creative team.
*''[[The Transformers: Infiltration]]'' — A seven-issue miniseries (issues #0 to #6). On Earth, the Decepticons have discovered a potent new power source, and risk everything to exploit it.
*''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer]]'' — A four-issue miniseries (issues #7 to #10). On the burnt-out husk of Cybertron, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] works to revive the ultra-powerful but crazed Thunderwing.
*''[[The Transformers: Escalation]]'' — Sequel to ''Infiltration''. Six-issue miniseries (issues #11 to #16). The war on Earth breaks out into open conflict as the Decepticons attempt to make use of the newly discovered Ore-13.
*''[[New Avengers/Transformers]]'' — A four-issue miniseries. The Earth Autobots team up with the superhero squad the [[Avengers|New Avengers]] to confront the Decepticons in the country of [[Latveria]].
*''[[The Transformers: Devastation]]'' — Sequel to ''Escalation''. Six-issue miniseries (issues #17 to #22). Megatron throws caution and protocol to the wind, unleashing his ultimate warrior, Sixshot, on the Earth-based Autobots.
*''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]'' — Sequel to ''Devastation'', presented as a special series of four ''[[The Transformers: Spotlight|Spotlight]]''s. The Autobots abandon Earth to deal with the threat of the [[Dead Universe]].
*''[[The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots]]'' — Sequel to ''Revelation''. Five-issue miniseries that features [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] and his [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]], and the return of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] and [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]].
*''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron]]'' — A 16-issue maxi-series dealing with the fate of Earth at the hands of the Decepticons after the banishment of the Autobots.
*''[[The Transformers Continuum]]'' — A one-issue (somewhat skewed) history of the Transformers thus far.
*''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' — A five-issue miniseries spotlighting the [[Wrecker|Autobot subgroup]]'s adventures outside of Earth. Published alongside the ongoing series but set, initially, before it.
*''[[The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers]]'' ongoing series — takes place 2 years after ''All Hail Megatron'', with the Autobots in hiding from the military out to destroy them. Concludes at issue #31.
*''[[The Transformers: Bumblebee]]'' — A four-issue miniseries focused on Bumblebee as the newly elected Autobot leader, which takes place between issues #3 and #5 of the ongoing series.
*''[[The Transformers: Ironhide]]'' — A four-issue miniseries revolving around [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]]'s mysterious resurrection on Cybertron. It was written by [[Mike Costa]] with art by [[Casey Coller]] and colors by [[Joana Lafuente]].
*''[[The Transformers: Drift]]'' — A four-issue miniseries that was published biweekly, beginning in August 2010. It focuses on [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]'s past as a Decepticon and was written by Drift's creator — [[Shane McCarthy]] — with art by [[Alex Milne]] (line-art) and [[Josh Perez]] (colors).
*''[[The Transformers: Heart of Darkness]]'' — A four-issue miniseries focusing on Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps, and on events that take place between the ''All Hail Megatron'' Coda and ''Infestation''. Written by [[Dan Abnett]] and [[Andy Lanning]], with art by [[Ulises Farinas]].
*''[[Infestation (IDW)|Infestation]]'' — IDW multi-franchise (with ''[[Star Trek]]'', ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', and ''Ghostbusters'') crossover event. With [[zombie]]s. Written by [[Dan Abnett]] and [[Andy Lanning]], with art by [[Nick Roche]].
*''[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime]]'' — A one-shot comic in which the Autobots' leader confronts the ire of newly arrived non-affiliated Cybertronians and renounces his title of Prime.
*''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' — An ongoing continuation of ''The Transformers'' that begun in January 2012, written by [[James Roberts]].
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'' — The second ongoing split off from ''The Transformers'', written by [[John Barber]] that started in January 2012. Retitled ''The Transformers'' vol. 2 in 2014 to avoid confusion with the [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 franchise)|2015 franchise of the same name]].
*''[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|The Transformers: Dark Cybertron]]'' — A 12-issue maxi-series crossover of ''Robots in Disguise'' and ''More than Meets the Eye''. Written by Barber and Roberts.
*''[[The Transformers: Windblade]]'' — A four-issue miniseries focusing on [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] in the wake of the "Dark Cybertron" crossover event, written by [[Mairghread Scott]] and drawn by [[Sarah Stone]]. A second series, published as an ongoing, followed the first.
*''[[The Transformers: Drift - Empire of Stone]]'' - A four-issue mini-series staring Drift and Ratchet who face off against an old enemy. Written by [[Shane McCarthy]] with artwork by Guido Guidi (penciler), [[Stephen Baskerville]] (inker), and [[John-Paul Bove]] (colorist).
*''[[The Transformers: Punishment]]'' - A five-issue motion comic miniseries involving Optimus Prime trying to solve a series of murders that are happening on Cybertron, written by John Barber and illustrated by Livio Ramondelli.
*''[[Combiner Wars|The Transformers: Combiner Wars]]'' - A six-issue maxi-series crossover of ''The Transformers'' vol. 2 (formerly ''Robots in Disguise'') and ''Windblade'' vol. 2.
*''[[An Uneventful Night|The Transformers: Combiner Hunters]]'' - A one-shot comic set in the aftermath of the "Combiner Wars".
*''[[The Transformers: Redemption]]'' - A one-shot sequel to ''Punishment''.
*''[[The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers]]'' - A five-issue miniseries sequel to ''Last Stand of the Wreckers''.
*''[[The Transformers: Till All Are One]]'' - An upcoming ongoing follow-up to ''Windblade''.

==Timeline==
''See main article: [[IDW timeline]].''

==Notes==
*As of, roughly, issue #6 of the 2009 ongoing series, there have been more issues of the IDW continuity published than there were in the original [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel Comics US continuity]].
*When IDW first picked up the ''Transformers'' license, Simon Furman pitched a story that would have tied in to his idea for a ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' ongoing comic, and would possibly have been in continuity with the [[Dreamwave Productions]] comics. The G1 story would have begun with the destruction of Cybertron and the discovery that the destruction of [[Unicron]] in the [[universal stream|Aurex cluster]] had destabilized the entire [[omniverse]]. To save all of existence, the Autobots travel across the galaxy attempting to reassemble an artifact called the 'Decepticon Matrix', which would have resurrected Unicron - a plot which parallels that of ''Cybertron'', in which the Autobots seek out the [[Cyber Planet Key]]s to revive [[Primus]]. [[Vector Prime]] would have appeared in both series, travelling between universes to guide both groups of Autobots in their quest. It seems that series would then have come together with the concurrent ''Cybertron'' comic as Transformers from across the [[multiverse]] were brought together for a final, epic clash.<ref>Pitch printed in ''[[The Transformers: The Best of Simon Furman]]''</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:Continuities]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1| ]]

Alex Milne

2016-06-13T23:26:19Z

Zachimusprime: /* IDW Publishing */

{{disambig3|Alex}}
[[File:Alexmilne.jpg|214px|thumb|Is... is that a lightning bolt behind him? Jesus, Dreamwave.]]
'''Alex Milne''' (born [[October 13]], 19??) is a [[Canada|Canadian]] artist who has done pencils on numerous ''Transformers'' titles.

Milne's ''Transformers'' work started with an ill-fated run at the end of Dreamwave's tenure, during which he was ghosting for [[Pat Lee|Superstar Patrick "Pat The Transman" Lee]], and unfortunately, not being paid very much (or at all) for his work. Pat Lee owed him more than $4,330.00 as of February 2005 - and that was ''before'' he started ghosting for Pat.<ref>[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14886# http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14886#]</ref>

After Dreamwave folded, Milne was picked up by IDW, who presumably pay him a living wage. He penciled a number of live-action movie spin-off books and other miscellaneous titles. In 2012, he became the primary artist on IDW's ''More Than Meets the Eye'' series, drawing the bulk of its issues.

Milne's linework is noted for its high levels of detail, from complex backgrounds to precisely delineated mechanical greeblies on the Transformers themselves. Stylistically, Milne has shown the ability to emulate other artists' work, such as his Pat Lee-styled lines on ''Megatron: Origin''. For ''More Than Meets the Eye'', Milne designed many of the series' characters and settings, and by extension, much of its distinctive overall look. His work on the book has garnered high praise among fans, owing to his detailed character designs, complex action scenes and highly expressive characters.

{{bigquote|[F]rankly he was the best comic penciler on our roster at the time.|[[Pat Lee]] about Alex Milne during his stint at Dream Engine|[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/12/20/pat-lee-talks-to-bleeding-cool-via-a-dabel-brother/ Interview with Rich Johnston] at Bleeding Cool Comics, December 2010}}

==Comic book interior art==
===Dreamwave Productions===
* [[Transformers: Energon (comic)|''Energon'']] #26–29, #31 (the latter was unreleased)

===Devil's Due Press===
* ''[[G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers: The Art of War]]'' #4, #5

===IDW Publishing===
[[File:Megatronorigintpb.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|I told you, NOBODY gets MEGATRON'S milk money!]]
* ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'' (all 4 issues; issue #2 Pages 1–11, 20–22 only)
* [[Transformers: Movie Adaptation|''Transformers'' (2007) Official ''Movie Adaptation'']] (all 4 issues)
* ''[[Spotlight: Arcee]]''
* ''[[Transformers: The Reign of Starscream|The Reign of Starscream]]''
*''[[Transformers: Alliance]]''
*''[[Revenge of the Fallen issue 3|Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation issue 3]]''
*''[[Transformers: Tales of the Fallen|Tales of the Fallen]]'' ''[[Tales of the Fallen issue 5|#5 Ravage]]'', ''[[Tales of the Fallen issue 6|#6 Arcee]]''
*''[[The Transformers: Drift]]''
*''[[The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers]]'' (issues 16-18, 22-23)
*''[[Alex Milne Sketchbook: The Transformers]]''
*''[[Transformers: Jazz]]''
*''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #2–5, #7–12, #14–15, #17–21, #27–30, #32–33, #35-38, #41-43, #45-46, #50 (for main story, [[The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds)]], #51, #52, #53 (Pages 1-13, 19-20; with Hayato Sakamoto)

===Fun Publications===
* [[Games of Deception|Transformers ''Timelines'' Summer Special]]

==Transformers packaging art==
===Alternators===
* [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Alternators/Binaltech|Meister (original release)]]
* [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Alternators/Binaltech|Grimlock]]

==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
File:BeforeAndAfter-DriftTailwindTentakil.jpg|
File:Onegenerationshattered.jpg|
File:ChaosTheory2 sorry bunch.jpg|
File:CyclonusMTMTE.jpg|
File:IDW16 magnus under fire.jpg|
File:Getawaymtmte.jpg|
File:HangersOn-Hoist.jpg|
File:HouseOfAmbus-Rodimuscar.jpg|
File:Minimus ambus rodimus this calamitous life.jpg|
File:MyFirstBlaster.jpg|
File:Nautica-mtmte-32-altmode.jpg|
File:ReignofStarscream5 Dreadwing.jpg|
File:RemembranceDay-Chromedome.jpg
File:Swerves bar life after the big bang.jpg
File:MegOrigin3 seekers.jpg
</gallery>

''[[:Category:Images by Alex Milne|Extended Alex Milne gallery]]''</center>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://markerguru.deviantart.com/ Alex Milne at deviantART]
*[https://twitter.com/markerguru Alex Milne's Twitter feed]
*[http://markerguru001.tumblr.com/ Alex Milne's Tumblr]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, Alex}}
[[Category:Pencillers]]
[[Category:Colorists]]
[[Category:Dreamwave Productions]]
[[Category:IDW Publishing]]

Bludgeon (G1)

2016-01-02T02:44:03Z

Zachimusprime: /* Marvel Generation 2 comic */

{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2|unicron}}
{{disambig3|Bludgeon}}
{{featured}}
:''Bludgeon is a [[Decepticon]] [[Pretender]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[File:MarvelUK-282.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|This is pretty much the most metal cover in TF history.]]
'''Bludgeon''' is a ferocious warrior, skilled in the ancient Cybertronian martial art of [[Metallikato]]. He and his blade can cut through the battlefield as if everyone else is operating at a minimal speed setting. Bludgeon's feats in battle seem nearly supernatural, which is probably the effect he's going for, if he doesn't believe his own hype. Utterly vicious and aloof, Bludgeon is also highly religious, adhering to an arcane code of honor. Though his beliefs fuel his single-minded bloodthirstiness with dogmatic precision, they also cause him to be rather superstitious.

Bludgeon's confidence, skill, and grand words have often catapulted him to the upper ranks of the Decepticons. Who wouldn't fall in line behind him? He's charismatic! The [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] is his usual host of cronies, but he's also been known to fill in as [[Decepticon leader]] if a power vacuum presents itself.

Bludgeon is (obviously) a [[Pretender]] who has adopted a shell which takes the appearance of a skeletal samurai. His signature weapon is an [[Energo weapon|energo-sword]], though he also carries a shield and a [[high-voltage electric cannon]]. In accordance with his martial arts motif, generators in his shell's legs can create disorienting clouds of smoke, and he can generate electric fireballs from the torso of either his body or his shell.<ref>Bludgeon's ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' profile says the electric fireballs are fired from either of his torsos. His original toy bio said they're fired from between his shell's antennas.</ref> It is unknown whether Bludgeon is any less agile or capable in his blocky [[robot mode]], but it wouldn't be surprising.

{{quote|Prattling fool! Your warrior heart is tainted by an idiot's tongue! Perhaps I shall remove '''both''' for you!|Bludgeon takes on [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]|"[[The Primal Scream]]"}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics====
{{noteukonly}}
[[File:Bludgeonasavageplace.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|The shoulder is a well-known [[Transformer]] instant-death spot.]]
''When Decepticons [[Catilla (G1)|Catilla]] and [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] defected to the [[Autobot]]s, a new Mayhem Attack Squad was formed which included Bludgeon, his Pretender cohorts Stranglehold and Octopunch, [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]], [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]], and [[Snarler]]. After a [[solid light simulation]] of a mission in [[Slaughter City]], their prey was authorized—they would hunt down and kill Catilla, Carnivac, and their new [[Wrecker]] friends. ''{{storylink|The Hunting Party (Marvel)|The Hunting Party}}'' They found Carnivac outside [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], and Bludgeon, promising him a warrior's death, led the charge.'' {{storylink|Way of the Warrior}}'' However, Carnivac escaped Bludgeon and the other Mayhems,'' {{storylink|Survival Run}} ''but they tracked him down to [[Los Gravos]], [[Mexico]]. Bludgeon fought Carnivac, and [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] was about to deal the killing blow, when Catilla rescued him. However, Bludgeon threw his [[sword]] into Catilla, killing Carnivac's savior. As the rest of the Autobots arrived, Bludgeon ordered a withdrawal. Carnivac swore that Bludgeon and the other Mayhems would pay.'' {{storylink|A Savage Place!}}

[[File:Bludgeonstrangleholdoctopunchmodelsheet.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|The [[Nelson Yomtov|colorist]] made me look hunchbacked.]]
He later took on the leadership of [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]]'s new [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], sent to slay the newly resurrected [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Bumblebee]], and [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]]. Alongside the [[Rescue Patrol (G1)|Rescue Patrol]], the [[Classic Pretender]]s were due to be teleported to [[Earth]], an operation Bludgeon attempted to interrupt by shoving his blade through the transportation machine. Instead, he and the Mayhems were transported with the Autobots to the center of Cybertron. {{storylink|Yesterday's Heroes!}} Here, the Mayhems were foiled, although they inadvertently awakened the slumbering [[Primus]] in the process. Ultimately, the transportation was completed, and they were sent to Earth along with the Autobots, {{storylink|The Primal Scream}} where they told [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] of Unicron's coming and joined his Decepticons on Earth. When [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] surrendered his Autobots to Scorponok in order to facilitate an alliance against Unicron, Bludgeon helped the other Decepticons imprison the surrendered Autobots. {{storylink|Surrender!}}

Bludgeon was seen fighting on Scorponok's side during the subsequent Decepticon Civil War {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} and was transported with all of them to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] by [[Primus]]. Primus (speaking through the body of [[Emirate]] [[Xaaron]]) told them of the history between himself and Unicron, while Bludgeon cleaned his sword. He was there also to quell the sudden [[Acolyte of Unicron|Unicron cultist]] uprising, remarking that to a master of [[Metallikato]], their moves were like slow motion. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}} When Unicron himself arrived, though, the superstitious Bludgeon ran like hell. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} Thankfully, Optimus Prime's sacrifice saved them all, and Bludgeon was there standing over Prime's body with a few others as he died. The Autobot/Decepticon alliance that emerged was shaky and the Decepticons leaderless, so Bludgeon and [[Krok (G1)|Krok]] discussed a plan of their own. {{storylink|Still Life!}}

[[File:Bludgeonlastautobot.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|It's a good thing the Battlechargers were dead then, or Bludgeon's shell would've been totally ganked.]]
Tensions came to a head when [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] discovered that Cybertron was tearing itself apart in the aftermath of the Transformers' victory against Unicron. While Bludgeon openly kept the peace (like keeping [[Fangry (G1)|Fangry]] in line at meetings), he and Krok began to worry that some of the Decepticons were in ''favour'' of peaceful alliance and plotted to break it up. New Autobot leader Grimlock almost gave them an opening by beating the tar out of Fangry, until [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] stopped the fight; Bludgeon quickly exploited the situation anyway, demanding the full details of the Autobots' plans.

Now knowing they intended to start anew on another planet and live in peace, he sabotaged the Autobot ships and assumed command of the Decepticons. He gave the troops a rousing speech, condemning the Autobot plan as weak and advocating a return to conquest as was the Decepticon way. Having risen from the ranks to light their darkest hour, he was cheered on by the Decepticons. {{storylink|Exodus!}}

[[File:Bludgeon-youlie1.jpg|thumb|Look at him go. What a skeleton!]]
With his Decepticons eager for conquest, Bludgeon randomly selected the planet of [[Klo]] as their first target. {{storylink|A Savage Circle}} The peaceful inhabitants of Klo were easily (and violently) subdued, and Bludgeon thought this planet did not meet the challenges befitting their warrior race. In turn, Krok pleased him with news that their ships were bugged and that they should be expecting the Autobots to be arriving soon. {{storylink|The Last Autobot?}}

Indeed, when the Autobots arrived, Bludgeon's Decepticons were ready for them, luring them into an ambush—only five Autobots escaped their purge, and Bludgeon sent a small hunting party after them. Ultimate victory was snatched from Bludgeon only by divine intervention. The [[Last Autobot]] arrived with a resurrected Optimus Prime and the [[Neo-Knights]]. Bludgeon rejected this development on religious grounds; the Last Autobot, according to his beliefs, was the Ultimate Warrior, who was bent on conquest. He ordered his troops to attack the "unbelievers". Ultimately, the Decepticons were defeated. The Last Autobot was able to revive the fallen Autobots at will, and Bludgeon was forced to admit defeat and withdraw. As he and the Decepticons retreated, he promised a "solitary exile" to the Autobots—while saying something else to his subordinates. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
{{-}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[File:Aspects of evil bludgeon.jpg|left|75px|thumb|GIVE ME YOUR THROAT.]]
In an alternate [[1990]], [[Hot Rod/Marvel Comics continuity|Hot Rod]] was captured by the Decepticons and freed by an agent placed within the Decepticons. [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] accused Bludgeon of being the culprit, and Bludgeon demanded the chance to prove himself through trial by combat. He was released and chased by [[Octopunch (G1)|Octopunch]], [[Stranglehold]] and [[Warmonger]]. Bludgeon easily dispatched the former two but was caught from behind by Warmonger, who couldn't bring himself to kill in cold blood. Realizing who the infiltrator was, Megatron destroyed Warmonger, then reflected that it would have simply been easier to kill all four of them. {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}
{{-}}

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[File:UKBludgeonEarthForce.jpg|thumb|There wolf!]]
Following Catilla's death, the Mayhems set up a base on a deserted island, where Needlenose decided to test their response time in an emergency. Enraged, Bludgeon threatened to tear him apart, but was stopped by Snarler. As Needlenose returned to his quarters, he was ambushed by Carnivac, who had snuck in during the chaos caused by his "drill". His calls for help were ignored by Snarler and Bludgeon. {{storylink|Cry Wolf!}} Carnivac decided to pick off Bludgeon next, finding him meditating. Bludgeon sensed him coming and took him on, and the other Mayhems responded to the commotion. Bludgeon wanted to finish this traitor with his blade as well, but Spinister decided to end it summarily by slagging Carnivac with his blaster instead. {{storylink|Wolf in the Fold!}} Angry at losing his kill, Bludgeon was pleased to find [[Earthforce]] attacking them, in an attempt to rescue Carnivac. He and his fellow Pretenders were defeated, outnumbered by the Autobots. But before they could be executed, a shell-less Carnivac appeared and told the Autobots to spare them, denying them a warrior's death. {{storylink|Where Wolf?}}

Captives of Earthforce, Bludgeon and his Pretender partners were held in a cell together. To get free, Bludgeon arranged a most subtle escape attempt with his cell mates. At first, they all remained completely silent for an extended period of time, partly to unnerve their guard, [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], but also to give Bludgeon time to make mental contact with his katana, locked away in the property vault. Once he found the weapon and began summoning it back to him through the hallways, Bludgeon signaled Stranglehold to begin pounding frantically on the floor. This sudden activity spooked Inferno into opening the cell door to pacify the prisoner, only to wind up with a floating sword in his backside. The Pretenders then simply walked out over his leaking body. {{storylink|Shut Up!}}

Afterwards, Bludgeon and the others hooked up with Megatron and Shockwave, the deposed leaders of the Decepticons, and took on a bounty to assassinate their betrayers, Starscream and Soundwave.
{{storylink|Assassins}} {{storylink|External Forces!}} The assassins outnumbered their prey, but they hadn't counted on the Autobots intervening on Starscream's behalf. It seemed the Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] was dying, and could only be saved by a systems boost from a compatible Transformer, namely Starscream. [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] joined the fight on Starscream's side, and the Mayhems were defeated. {{storylink|The Lesser Evil!}}

=====Another Time & Place=====
[[File:BludgeonStrangleholdOctopunch-AnotherTimeAndPlace.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.85|Bludgeon: All skeleton, no spine.]]
After the defeat on Klo, Bludgeon decided the Decepticons needed some "old blood" back in charge. He traveled to Earth and retrieved the deactivated body of [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] from the wreckage of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. Then, he seized upon an opportunity to follow Grimlock and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] to [[Hydrus Four]], the source of the miraculous energy known as [[Nucleon (substance)|Nucleon]] which had supercharged the Dinobot commander. Slipping ahead of the Dinobots as they made their way to the medical facility, Bludgeon and his Decepticons set up a [[Holocaust Trigger]] to trap the Dinobots, disabling them without firing a shot. Unfortunately for Bludgeon, he ignored [[Fangry (G1)|Fangry]]'s cries of "Let's just kill them already!" and gave in to his inner Bond villain, keeping Grimlock and the Dinobots alive long enough for them to witness the triumphant resurrection of Megatron. That didn't mean, however, that he kept his fellow Decepticons from aggressively torturing their fallen captives.

In a matter of hours, a full scale Autobot strike force had tracked the Dinobots down to Hydrus Four and assaulted Bludgeon's position. Fearing his rag-tag team of Decepticons wouldn't be enough, Bludgeon accelerated Megatron's revival, sending the half-mad, half-living monstrosity at Optimus Prime. He had no time to gloat, though—the heavily-injured Dinobot known as [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] had dragged himself to the control module for one of the medical machines in the area, setting its spidery arms to work on Bludgeon, disassembling him in seconds down to his core components.

Bludgeon didn't even have time to scream. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}
{{-}}

====Marvel ''Generation 2'' comic====
{{note|The ''Generation 2'' stories take place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but does not include the events of "Another Time & Place", which takes place in a [[splinter timeline]].}}
[[File:Bludgeontalesofearth.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|G2, home of New Extreme Weapons.]]
Optimus Prime considered Bludgeon a defeated threat. When the [[Cybertronian (faction)|Empire]] was discovered, he considered if "Bludgeon had lied about his plans" but decided that this was too advanced an operation. {{storylink|War Without End!}}

Turns out Prime was dumb as what Bludgeon had actually meant by "solitary exile" was "build a slag-off big planet-like spacecraft called the [[Warworld]] and attack vessels for their cargo across the galaxy". {{storylink|Primal Fear!|Old Evils}} He also battled Optimus Prime and the Autobots over a store of ancient alien weapons, but an [[Guardian (G2)|alien entity]] drove him off. {{storylink|Ghosts}} After that, he went back to stealing resources—and finished the construction of a [[Bludgeon's new army|new generation of Decepticon warriors]], who just needed the Matrix to come back to life. That meant luring Prime to him... {{storylink|Primal Fear!|Old Evils}}

[[File:Bludgeon-PowerAndTheGlory.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Also, so very much less.]]
To lure Prime out, Bludgeon launched a full-scale attack on Earth and did succeed in drawing Optimus Prime to Earth's defense, but not before Bludgeon was confronted by the newly-rebuilt [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]], who wanted command of the Decepticons for himself once more. {{storylink|Devices and Desires! (Marvel)|Devices and Desires!}} Bludgeon destroyed Megatron's gun with one swipe of his blade, but neglected to realize how enhanced the new Megatron was—the former Decepticon leader ripped Bludgeon's Pretender skull off with one hand. Undaunted, Bludgeon proclaimed himself an agent of chaos and transformed into his little-used tank mode to confront Megatron on his own terms. He briefly drove back Megatron, but ultimately the Decepticons' founder proved to be too much for their current leader, and his new railgun destroyed Bludgeon utterly. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory}}

[[File:Megatron ignores Bludgeon's severed head.jpg|upright=1.6|thumb|If you think this is harsh Bludgeon, Swindle would've sold your skull on eBay by now.]]

The victorious Decepticon leader subsequently displayed Bludgeon's severed head in the Warworld, though he did muse that he might have spared Bludgeon's life if he'd known how much the guy had achieved and envisioned with limited time and resources. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}} Later on, the Decepticons would try not to say the word "bludgeon" around Megatron (even with the "to hit things" meaning) just in case it annoyed him. {{storylink|New Dawn}}
{{-}}

====Fleetway ''Generation 2'' comic====
[[File:Bludgeon-WarWithoutEndUK.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|thumb|[[Robin Smith]], copying a [[character model]] pose??? [[Ravage (G1)|Never!]]]]
Intending to draw out Autobots to Earth and steal the Matrix to bring a new generation of Decepticons to life, Bludgeon attacked Earth in force—specifically [[London]]. Unfortunately for him, the Autobots were already there, and attacked just as his troops were low on fuel. Bludgeon fought Optimus in direct combat and lost. {{storylink|War Without End (issue)|War Without End}} When Megatron turned up afterwards to fight Optimus, Bludgeon's men actually ''attacked'' Megatron just in case it was Bludgeon he was stomping: [[Rage (G1)|Rage]] bluntly said that the Pretender was their boss, not the old guy.

Bludgeon sneaked away {{storylink|War Zone}} to try exactly the same tactic again—and learned if at first you don't succeed, Try #2 will get you killed by Megatron. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory}}
{{-}}

====''Classics''====
{{noteclassics}}
[[File:Bludgeon Piranacon AtFightsEnd.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Is that you, Brainiac?]]
Optimus Prime was reluctant to prolong the war by following Bludgeon and his followers across the galaxy, but [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] was more than happy to. Grimlock, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], and a crew of others searched and fought Bludgeon's Decepticons in the fringes of known space, but to no known resolution. At some point the mysterious Decepticon, [[Bug Bite (GoBots)|Bug Bite]], joined Bludgeon's Decepticons, and Bludgeon put him in charge of his own subgroup. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

As Bludgeon became aware of Megatron's re-emergence, he began to prepare his forces to repel an attempted coup by the former Decepticon leader. Bludgeon and his Sub-Commander [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snaptrap]] were readying their battleplans when [[Darkwing (G1)|Darkwing]] brought to his attention their plans may have been compromised from within. They apparently identified the traitor working for Megatron, [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Gurrr]] of the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcon]]s, and so Bludgeon confronted him with the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacon]]s. A fight broke out between [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] and [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]] as a result, but Bludgeon's loyal gestalt won, and so they returned to battle preparation. In the war room, Bludgeon became so intent on watching for Megatron's next move on the monitors that he failed to notice Seawing removing his sword. Only after the Seacons had formed Piranacon again did Bludgeon finally realize he had miscalculated. Piranacon's mass compression cannon destroyed the Pretender completely, leaving room for Megatron to swoop in and claim full leadership of the Decepticons. {{storylink|At Fight's End}}
{{-}}

====''Regeneration One''====
{{noterg1}}
Twenty years after the defeat at Klo, the Autobots unaware of his location, Bludgeon was finally ready to take his revenge. He contacted Soundwave at the secret [[Fort Scyk]] base, revealing he had agents on Cybertron and even in the Neo-Decepticons, and requested Soundwave retrieve a valuable resource for him in exchange for aid against the Autobots. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 1}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Natural Selection, Part Three}} {{storylink|Destiny, Part One}} {{storylink|Destiny, Part Two}} {{storylink|Destiny, Part Three}} {{storylink|Destiny, Part Four}} {{storylink|Less Than Zero}} {{storylink|Destiny, Part Five}} {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 1}}}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
[[File:WarWithin Escalation Bludgeons vision.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|EPIC FORESHADOWING.]]
During the so-called [[Dark Ages]] of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict, Bludgeon, alongside [[Bugly (G1)|Bugly]] and [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]], formed the [[Chaos Trinity]], a group that sought to harness the dark forces of the universe and use them to their advantage. During one of their ceremonies in the [[Polities of Cybertron|Orbital Torus State]] of [[Kalis]], they were interrupted by the mysterious being known as [[The Fallen]], who applauded their amateur theatrics while mocking the lack of substance behind their words. He offered them [[Furmanism|power beyond measure]] in exchange for their servitude, a proposal that Bludgeon at first boldly refused, then agreed to once The Fallen changed the term for which they would be referred to. The Fallen tasked his new "disciples" with capturing a number of Transformers in order to perform a bizarre ceremony called The [[Unbinding]] in [[Well of All Sparks|Cybertron's core]]. {{storylink|Fragmentation (G1)|Fragmentation}} Soon, Bludgeon began to chafe at being ordered around without any tangible reward, so The Fallen gave him a glimpse of the dark power, ensuring the Decepticon's loyalty. While the [[Wrecker]]s and [[Ultracon]]s busied themselves with their civil war, unaware of the events unfolding, Bludgeon formulated a strategy to capture two of their targets: the Trinity would exploit [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]'s twisted sense of justice and have him deliver himself and [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] into their trap. {{storylink|Escalation}}

When Jetfire met with [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] in the [[Neutral Territories]] to discuss their suspicions about an outside force influencing the current conflict, the Trinity sprung their trap, attacking the Decepticon Commander. Bludgeon declared that once he would have never dared face Shockwave in battle, but he had been given new insights into the [[dark science]] and his ability to see the bigger picture, the latter no longer stood a chance. Once Shockwave was taken care of, the Trinity captured Jetfire, but noticed that Grimlock hadn't taken the bait of Jetfire's supposed treachery. As they prepared to leave, Grimlock jumped them, forcing The Fallen to step in. {{storylink|Revelation (The Dark Ages)|Revelation}}

[[File:WarWithin Confrontation BludgeonBlades.jpg|thumb|upright=2.2|And you call yourself 'Blades'? You don't even have a blade!]]
With two of the targets secured, The Fallen ordered the Trinity to capture [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]], leader of the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]], while he would take care of the fourth target personally. In the ruins of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], while the Protectobots were discussing their problems with maintaining their control while combined as [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]], Bludgeon and the Trinity attacked, taking down the other Protectobots and capturing Hot Spot. {{storylink|Confrontation (issue)|Confrontation}}

While The Fallen used the four prisoners to unlock the [[Seal of Primus]], Bludgeon and the others were forced to defend the access shaft to the underground chamber against the Decepticons. Though Bludgeon stood resolute, ordering his comrades to fight on, with the faith that they would be rewarded for their loyal service, his resolve soon crumbled when the Autobots and the [[Lightning Strike Coalition]] joined forces with Shockwave and eliminated Bugly and Mindwipe. Bludgeon escaped underground to seek his master, only to be gunned down by a teleporting [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]. {{storylink|Conflagration}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Armada'' comic===
{{Askvectorprime}}
[[File:DWDropshot sliced.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Silent but deadly.]]
A version of Bludgeon from an unspecified alternate reality joined [[Unicron]]'s [[Herald of Unicron|Heralds]] ''to serve [[Last Autobot|the Ultimate Warrior]]'', along with [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. They were sent to prepare Cybertron for Unicron's arrival. He was stationed as guard of the [[Decepticon Command Headquarters]] when [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire's]] unit arrived. While he put up a formidable assault (as [[Dropshot (Armada)|Dropshot]] could attest), the Autobots eventually realized the secret to his technique and forced him to retreat, leaving behind his Pretender shell. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4}} He returned when Jetfire attempted to use the space-bridge portal, but like the rest of the Heralds was shortly blown up. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4}}
{{-}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4}} {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 2 of 4}}}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[File:Bludgeon Robot GIJoe.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|Bludgeon always secretly dreamed of being a [[Visionaries|Visionary]].]]
Eons ago, when [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] was given the [[Matrix of Leadership]], Bludgeon attempted to kill him, but failed.

Along with the [[Pretender Monster]]s, Bludgeon traveled to Earth, seeking to be present at the planet's destruction by Unicron. The group was shot down by the [[China|Chinese]] Air Force, however, and damaged in the process. An alliance with the underground kingdom of [[Cobra-La]] provided them with life-sustaining [[Pretender]] shells in exchange for protecting the kingdom. He was responsible for the death of [[Atomic Man]] in 1978, when the [[Adventure Team (G.I. Joe)|Adventure Team]] came snooping too close to Cobra-La's hidden lair in the caves beneath [[Tibet]]. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}}

Decades later, Bludgeon engaged Optimus Prime in battle as the Autobot attempted to infiltrate Cobra-La's caves. After being burned by Bludgeon, Optimus ripped the chest from Bludgeon's Pretender shell. In his anger, Bludgeon lost his edge and fell off a cliff. Although Optimus had caught him, Bludgeon chose to fall, standing by his philosophy of "merciless death and destruction." {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[File:Bludgeon Thundercracker SLOrionPax.jpg|upright=1.55|thumb|left]]
In the earliest days of the war, Bludgeon was ordered by [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] to capture [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] so that the Decepticons could use him to find [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. To this end, he kidnapped [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] and organized a hostage exchange in the [[Rust Spot]], knowing that the Autobots would have to use Alpha Trion to find their way through the area. The plan worked up until that point, but Alpha Trion escaped his clutches thanks to the efforts of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]], one of the hostage exchangers. As payback, Bludgeon had him strapped to a shuttle programmed crash into the nearest settlement, and though Orion tried to stall for time by telling him he'd go far in life only to overreach and become a symbol of failure, Bludgeon didn't really care and launched his captive into the sky. {{storylink|Omega's Conundrum}}
[[File:Bludgeon altmode TheHuntingParty.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Ancient Metallikato secret...the flying tank.]]
Following Metroplex's departure from Cybertron, Bludgeon continued his hunt for the [[Metrotitan (body-type)|titan]] using the starship ''[[Empirion]]''. One of his subordinates, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], tracked their prey to a desolate planetoid inhabitated by some pesky [[Urtuskian|aliens]], so Bludgeon commenced planetary bombardment to get them out of the way. The assault attracted the attention of a group of Autobots who rammed and crippled the ''Empirion'', forcing Bludgeon to abandon ship and fight them until Thundercracker reported that Metroplex was nowhere to be found. As the Decepticons retreated to continue their hunt elsewhere, Bludgeon had Thundercracker transferred out of his unit for seemingly having led them into an Autobot trap. {{storylink|The Hunting Party (IDW)|The Hunting Party}}

During the war, Bludgeon formed an army of "deviants and half-forms" in event that would be remembered as one of the most horrible things the Decepticons did. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

[[File:SpotlightSoundwave Bludgeon defeatsLaserbeakRavage.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|Wait, does this mean that Piranacon [[Bludgeon (G1)#Classics|is stealthier]] than ''Ravage''?]]
Bludgeon was the leader of a team of Decepticons (including [[Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus]], [[Finback]], [[Skullgrin]], and [[Bomb-Burst (G1)|Bomb-Burst]]) who were assigned by Megatron to look into what [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'s various projects were when he disappeared. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}} Megatron also sent [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] to spy on them. {{storylink|Shockpoint}} During this time, Bludgeon discovered Shockwave's work on [[Regenesis]]. Eventually, however, they discovered the remains of [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], the Decepticon scientist who became the cause of the Cybertronian cataclysm. Bludgeon came to believe that Thunderwing was an avatar of the apocalypse, and became bent on restoring the wasted Cybertron to its former glory by resurrecting him. He and his team of Decepticons believed that in reawakening Thunderwing and turning him loose, the mass sacrifice of worlds would allow the rebirth of Cybertron. They also delved into the outlawed [[Pretender|polydermal grafting]] experiments pioneered by Thunderwing, in an attempt to create super-shells of their own.

In [[1984]] they went to [[Earth]] to extract a load of [[Ore 13|Ultra-Energon]], establishing a base within Mt. St. Helens. Soundwave naturally followed them. He eventually came to them asking for a cut of their profits, believing that they meant to sell the energon, but when he realized that they meant to resurrect Thunderwing he tried to stop them. They used one of Shockwave's devices to lock him in his alt-mode, then caused a volcanic eruption and returned to Cybertron via an [[orbital jump|orbital bounce]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

[[File:IDWBludgeonShell.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Yes... I feel it, the power... fills me. Yes, I feel the universe within me! I am... I am a part of the cosmos! Its energy flows... flows through me! Of what consequence are you now?]]
Twenty-three years later, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]], detecting the Ultra-Energon from orbit, went to investigate, and were taken by the cult, planning to use them as raw materials for their shells. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #1}} Bludgeon wanted Jetfire to witness Thunderwing's awakening, to make him see that Thunderwing had been right to experiment, but Jetfire eventually annoyed him too much. Connecting his mind to an [[axis cradle]] that controlled Thunderwing's blank neuroscape, Bludgeon sent Thunderwing to destroy [[Nebulos]], then engaged the auto-drive to inspect his own shell's progress. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 2|Stormbringer #2}} When [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Wreckers attacked Bludgeon's base on Cybertron by surprise, Iguanus escaped to the bio-graft chamber to find Bludgeon—only to find the cult leader having donned full polydermal armor. However, in Bludgeon's rush, the shell was not mentally aligned, causing a psychic backlash that took down the Decepticon before the Wreckers even found him. It is unclear whether Bludgeon's mind survived, but if it did, it is apparently trapped in torment. Prime felt that he got off lightly for having unleashed Thunderwing. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}}

[[File:SpotlightSideswipe Bludgeon attacks.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.95|"I can tell you're happy to see me, Craig...IN YOUR PANTS!"]]
After the defeat of Thunderwing, Bludgeon was transferred to [[Garrus-9]], where [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] stored his extracted [[spark]] in the Rig. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}

However, during [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]]'s attempt to bring forth the [[Expansion]], Bludgeon (his shell at least) was reactivated inside his cell by [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] to stop Jetfire from attempting to take control of Thunderwing. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

The remote-controlled Bludgeon sliced its way into Jetfire's lab and Jhiaxus planned to have it kill the Autobot. However, multiple fronts of Autobot resistance at each [[Nega-Core]] kept Jhiaxus from focusing his full attention on controlling Bludgeon, and he was forced to abandon his effort to kill Jetfire. [[Cloudraker (G1)|Cloudraker]] and [[Fastlane]] arrived and quickly disarmed the now-inert Bludgeon, and Jetfire borrowed the Pretender's [[sword]] to go aid Optimus Prime in his fight against Nemesis Prime. Bludgeon's body was presumably returned to confinement afterwards. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

[[File:AHM bludgeoniseeevill.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Another inconsistency [[John Barber]] has to fix.]]
Somehow freed from Garrus-9 and again in possession of his full faculties (such as they were), Bludgeon was given command of the ''[[Torment]]'', a Decepticon warship crewed by the [[Pretender Monster|Monstructor Six]]. Still displaying cultish fanaticism and a cruel streak a mile wide, he urged his crew onward in pursuit of the maverick Autobot [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]]. Downing the Autobot's shuttlecraft, Bludgeon had his ship land and crew disembark to sacrifice Hot Rod for the greater purpose of restoring Cybertron. With the untimely arrival of the crew of the battleship ''[[Trion]]'', Bludgeon ordered his acolytes to form Monstructor and crush the Autobots. However, his forces were put to rout by a precise shot from [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s sniper rifle, which hit the vulnerable connecting joint of the large combiner. Appearing to realize what he was up against, Bludgeon sounded the retreat. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}} In actuality, he was leading the pursuing ''Trion'' to Cybertron, where several Decepticon battlecruisers staged an ambush, sending the Autobot craft plummeting to the planet below. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

[[File:Bludgeon Wheelie Syndromica1.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Annnnnd ''fixed''. Thanks, John!]]
Several years later, learning that Jhiaxus had returned and was the captive of [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] and [[Wheelie (G1)|his]] [[Garnak|crew]], Bludgeon, following the orders of Shockwave, put into motion a plan to liberate him. Taking Monstructor to the planet [[Arduria]], he sent out a phony distress call that lured Hardhead's crew—joined now by Orion Pax, formerly Optimus Prime—to the frozen world. While Monstructor kept Hardhead and Orion busy, Bludgeon penetrated their ship, easily cutting his way through [[Garnak]] and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] and liberating Jhiaxus. Together, the villains set off to track down the other planets that had been targeted by the Regenesis program crafted by Shockwave, who had been Jhiaxus's greatest student. {{storylink|Syndromica (1)}}

[[File:Syndromica2 pax vs bludgeon.jpg|upright=0.9|thumb|Weak sword or sturdy gun?]]
Bludgeon arrived on planet [[LV-117]], which thanks to the Regenesis missile that had landed there, existed in a constant state of chronal flux. After they both separately came in contact with the time machine aboard [[Turmoil]]'s stolen ship, Bludgeon and Orion Pax were sent adrift across different eras of the planet, moving in opposite directions through time in relation to each other. Bludgeon managed to steal the device that allowed LV-117's inhabitants to control their planet's journey through time and slew Wheelie's friend [[Varta]] in the process, before he and Jhiaxus escaped aboard Turmoil's ship. {{storylink|Syndromica (2)}}

The villains tracked down [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]], one of Bludgeon's old [[Titan Hunters|Titan Hunter]] subordinates, who had once managed to control a Metrotitan. After duping Orion Pax into raising a deactivated [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] on [[Gorlam Prime]], they used Waspinator to seize control of it. The Metrotitan's [[space bridge]] was used to teleport it back to Cybertron, and Jhiaxus' group followed in their own ship. {{storylink|Homecoming (IDW)|Homecoming}} They arrived on Cybertron to join with Shockwave shortly thereafter. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} Bludgeon watched silently as Jhiaxus prepared to undertake Shockwave's master plan. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} The completion of the chronal drive came just in time for the invasion of Cybertron by Shockwave's allies, the [[Ammonite]]s. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}}

Bludgeon began expressing some small doubts of the plan, as he came to realize that his master, Jhiaxus, was actually subservient to Shockwave. Still, he remained at their side, striking out against the Autobots and Decepticons who invaded Crystal City to stop Shockwave's plot. He struck down [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and laughed at [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and his copied Metallikato moves. As he prepared to execute [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], however, Bludgeon was blasted by Optimus Prime, as the Autobot leader and his team re-emerged from the Dead Universe. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} Bludgeon was last seen as Ultra Magnus checked the fallen warrior for signs of life, but ultimately left him behind. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

Managing to escape from the Crystal City before it was consumed into a singularity, Bludgeon set up residence in the Sea of Rust, and in the following months, he discovered that the [[Hot spot]] in [[Alyon]] had reignited with Sparks. He proceeded to perform horrifying experiments upon some of them, including placing some of the sparks within the remains of fallen [[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]] and mutant [[Turbofox|Turbofoxes]], as well as messing with the corrupted energon emanating from the fallen [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]].

Upon discovering a convoy protected by the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] which contained sparks from the colony of [[Caminus]], Bludgeon set some of his Sweeps upon them, but when they were driven off by a [[Torchbearer|second group]] he instead had them followed. Taking advantage of an attack from the [[Badgeless]], Bludgeon attacked the truck himself, destroying it, [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]] and the sparks. Easily disregarding the attack from [[Strafe (IDW)|Strafe]], Bludgeon hurled her into the corrupted energon, curious to see what it would do as it began mutating her. However the equally distraught [[Swift]], upset at Barricade's death, damned him for robbing himself of his "future" by destroying the sparks. Disgusted with the amoral scientist, she pushed Bludgeon over a cliff into a pool of the contaminated energon, only narrowly saved from joining him when [[Slag (G1)|Slug]] caught her by the wrist. Doubting that Bludgeon had perished, Strafe and the Dinobots decided to seek him out and make sure he suffered. {{storylink|The Transformers: Redemption|Redemption}}

===A Tale of the Pretenders===
[[File:Tale of Pretenders Bludgeon.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"''Nyeh-heh-heh!'' Soon the secrets of Castle Greyskull will be mine!"]]

With other Decepticon Pretenders, Bludgeon was active in ancient [[Japan]]. One day, they came across three [[human]] siblings and threatened them. The oldest managed to escape and both [[Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus]] and [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] pursued the remaining two while the other Decepticons followed. Bludgeon found the entire thing beneath their notice, but was rebuked by [[Octopunch (G1)|Octopunch]], who desired to play with the humans. Octopunch was about to step on the two when [[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]] leapt to the rescue. Impressed by this apparent human, Bludgeon challenged him to a duel, but he ultimately proved lacking. Despite the rescuees trying to defend Metalhawk, Bludgeon was about to go in for the kill when other Autobot Pretenders appeared and fought off the Decepticons. Bludgeon and Metalhawk continued their duel, which Metalhawk managed to end by sending Bludgeon falling into a lava pit. {{storylink|A Tale of the Pretenders}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
[[File:TFLegends-Bludgeon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Surely everyone waited for ''official'' permission to [[repurposing|repurpose]] this design, right?]]
Early in the war, Bludgeon was to meet with the Autobots Orion Pax, Alpha Trion and Nightbeat to perform a prisoner exchange for the safe return of Rack'n'Ruin. This turned out to be a Decepticon ploy, however, and the Decepticons ambushed the group, capturing Alpha Trion in the process. {{storylink|Orion's Gambit}} Bludgeon and [[Darkwing (G1)|Darkwing]] attempted to revive [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], but when Thunderwing proved uncontrollable, the pair had to cooperate with the Wreckers to defeat him. {{storylink|Stormbringer (Legends)|Stormbringer}}

Bludgeon was later part of Thunderwing's squad of Decepticons. They attacked a [[Sun-Farming facility]] run by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], only to discover that the Autobots were more formidable than they had counted on. Bludgeon headed for the main building, fending off [[Fastlane]] and cleaving guards with his [[Energo weapon|Energo-Sword]], until he was able to secure the [[Energon]] stored inside. The Autobots subsequently retreated. {{storylink|Revelation (Legends)|Revalation}} Bludgeon was among a group of Decepticons who joined a time-displaced [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] in attacking the fused-together [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], but were fought off by some Autobots. {{storylink|Savage Circle}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[File:G1Bludgeon toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|He's an electric warrior. He is not, however, a Jeepster for your love.]]
*'''Bludgeon''' (Pretender, [[1989]])
:*''Accessories'': Pretender shell, large "Laser Rifle" gun, tank turret/shield, small "[[high-voltage electric cannon|electric cannon]]", helmet

:Bludgeon's inner robot transforms into a green and lilac tank of undetermined origin. Oddly, compared to most ''Transformers'' tanks, he has no wheels inside the static tank tracks for any sort of rolling movement; however, as the treads are arranged in two pairs, he is also one of the very few tank Transformers whose treads do not split apart during transformation. Transformation to [[robot mode]] is very similar to many tank-vehicle Micromaster figures, except one must remove the rotating turret piece to do so, with the removable main gun as his weapon, mounted in a hole in his wrist (rather than his hand).

:Bludgeon's Pretender shell, continuing the Decepticon trend of monstrous or war-like shells, is an orange and maroon humanoid samurai with a human skull for a head. Removing the helmet reveals great attention to detail to the skull, with cranium fusion seams and well-defined teeth, among other sculpting. The shell is armed with a white rifle and the inner robot's tank turret mounted on his arm as a sort of shield.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1989/Decepticon/Bludgeon/bludgeon.htm More info on Bludgeon at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Revenge of the Fallen===
[[File:ROTFtoy-BludgeonVoyager.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66]]
*'''Decepticon Bludgeon''' (Voyager, [[2009]])
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''RD-20'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Wikipedia:Katana|katana]], [[Wikipedia:Tantō|tantō]]

{{note|''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|Bludgeon]] was officially [[repurposing|repurposed]] as Generation 1 Bludgeon via the ''[[Transformers Legends (mobile game)|Transformers Legends]]'' game (albeit with an [[#IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW-based]] head).}}
:[[Bludgeon (ROTF)|Bludgeon]] transforms from a green and orange Japanese [[Wikipedia:Type 90 Kyū-maru|Type 90]] tank into a skeletal samurai robot mode which homages his original [[Pretender]] shell, in colors that homage both the shell and the original inner robot. Bludgeon features a flexible plastic sword which is made out of a portion of the barrel of the tank's main gun as well as a smaller dagger. The dagger can be stored in a sheath which is revealed from inside the tank turret, and both blades can be slotted in holes provided on the robot mode's left hip guard. Additionally, the dagger's handle can fit in the base of the sword's handle, forming a double-bladed weapon. He has [[Mech Alive]] [[gimmick]]s in his thighs and turret: Sculpted cylinders in his thighs rotate whenever his lower legs are rotated, and that pulling his turret open makes a gray sculpted "disc" at the center rotate while a scabbard for the tantō hinges over to the side and props itself up for use.

:The [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]] is one of the very few Transformer tank toys with rubber components to its treads. Portions of the tread links can unlock, allowing them to hang from the robot mode, while the wheels of the treads are integrated separately into the robot mode form itself. The treads still do not function realistically; small plastic wheels on the underside of the treads help the tank mode roll, as is standard with nearly all Transformer tank toys.

[[File:ROTFBludgeon japanese instructions.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.66]]
:There is a paint application error on Bludgeon's rear wheels/thighs, wherein the black [[paint operation]]s, which were meant to help blend his rear wheels in with the black center wheels, are placed on the ''wrong side'', keeping them out of sight in vehicle mode, and behind his thighs in robot mode. The ratcheting hip joint is also flipped 180 degrees from what it should be, with two further ratchet divots on top of the hip than inside of it, meaning the mechanism in the upper leg is trying to click into a smooth surface. The toy seems to have been originally designed to feature light-piping in the head, though this feature is rendered useless with it being cast in the same solid gray plastic used for his arms, weapons, shoulders and Mech Alive features.

:The Japanese [[TakaraTomy]] release of Bludgeon has a different [[instructions|instruction sheet]] that actually labels the weapons as a [[wikipedia:katana|katana]] and [[wikipedia:tantō|tantō]], whereas the Hasbro release doesn't label them at all.

:This mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]]'' [[Banzaitron]], and [[retool]]ed into [[BotCon 2012]] [[Overlord (Masterforce)#Timelines|Gigatron]] and ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys#Generations|Megatron]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2010/Decepticon/Bludgeon/bludgeon.htm More information on ''Voyager''-class Bludgeon at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===G.I. Joe and the Transformers===
*'''''The Epic Conclusion!'' box set''' ([[2013]])
[[File:SDCC2013Bludgeon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"To a master of Metallikato, your kung-fu grip is slow-motion!"]]
:*''Accessories'': helmet, short sword, long sword, chest armor, cloak

:An [[exclusive]] release for [[San Diego Comic-Con]] 2013, this is a 3.75" figure depicting Bludgeon in his Pretender shell. It is a [[retool]] of the ''G.I. Joe Retaliation'' Budo action figure, sporting a new head representing Bludgeon's skeletal visage. The set also comes with a G.I. Joe [[VAMP]] redecoed into [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], a retooled [[Skystriker]] representing [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], a new [[Snake-Eyes]] figure bearing an Autobot symbol, a [[Baroness]] figure with [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] on a leash, and a [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] boombox with cassette pieces representing [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], [[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]], and [[Eject (G1)|Eject]]. Both of Bludgeon's swords feature the same detailing on the front of the blade as Bludgeon's original character model did.

:The box set was announced via a ''USA Today'' [http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/life/2013/06/05/hasbro-2013-comic-con-exclusives/2392295/ article] on June 5, 2013, along with Hasbro's other Comic-Con exclusives.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2013/Decepticon/SDCCBludgeon/bludgeon.htm More information on ''G.I. Joe and the Transformers'' Bludgeon at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Timelines===
[[File:Timelinestoy-Bludgeon.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The samurai skeleton look was going out of fashion.]]
*'''Bludgeon''' (2016)
::''Accessories:'' Twin "high-voltage" cannons, two "cyber-blade" swords, [[Creation Matrix]].

:Part of the [[Transformers Figure Subscription Service#Series 4.0 (2016)|Figure Subscription Service 4.0]], Bludgeon is a [[retool]] of [[Onslaught (G1)#Generations|Onslaught]] from the [[Transformers: Generations#Combiner Wars|Combiner Wars]] subline of ''Generations'' with a new robot head, a new combiner head, and two additional swords from [[Optimus Prime (WFC)/toys#Exprime|''Go!'' Optimus Exprime]]. Being a ''Combiner Wars'' Voyager, he can combine with any four of that line's Deluxes, though he is meant to combine with his fellow [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] to form [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Like the other ''Combiner Wars'' Voyager Class toys, Bludgeon's head and torso kibble is incorporated into the toy itself, rather than being add-on parts. Bludgeon's two rifles combine into a longer rifle for the combined robot. Bludgeon also comes with a redeco of ''[[Masterpiece]]'' [[Hot Rod|Rodimus]]'s [[Matrix of Leadership]].

:Bludgeon's mold was originally retooled from [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]], who was retooled differently as [[Pyra Magna]].

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
*Like [[Stranglehold]] and [[Octopunch (G1)|Octopunch]], Bludgeon's [[character model]] portrays him with a specialized melee weapon. Bludgeon is consistently drawn with the character model's sword, which has become a trademark, despite his toy lacking one. The character model also seems to include a scabbard for the sword, though that is not included nearly as often. Why all three of these characters are given weapons that don't exist is unknown.
*The only time we see his character model is when it's copied faithfully by [[José Delbo]] in "[[Yesterday's Heroes!]]". (However, [[Robin Smith]] takes another crack at it in [[Fleetway]]'s ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (Fleetway)|Generation 2]]'' series, but a tiny few liberties were taken, style-wise.)
*The sword in his character model has unique detailing at the base of the front of the blade. In Delbo's rendition, it looks kind of like a dong. Elsewhere, not so much. Thankfully.
*Bludgeon's outer shell is a "Warrior-Grade Pretender Shell" equipped with an ambient stealth field.<ref>''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'', by [[Simon Furman]]</ref>
*Bludgeon came close to having a new toy on two separate occasions. The first was a planned 6" Titaniums toy, supposedly based on his ''War Within'' design.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/titanium-13/cancelled-titanium-bludgeon-revealed-in-tfw2005-toy-database-164105/ Cancelled Titanium Bludgeon Revealed in TFW2005 Toy Database]</ref> Artist [[Don Figueroa]] then submitted a concept for a [[Unicron Trilogy]] Bludgeon toy way back during the development of the ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' or ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' toylines. Obviously, the concept wasn't put into production as a toy at the time, so Figueroa used it as inspiration for his [[IDW Publishing]] ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' [[Bludgeon (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|rendition of Generation 1 Bludgeon]]. Hasbro considered releasing Bludgeon in the ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' line, but put it on hold because of the large number of tank and tank-like vehicles released recently.<ref>[[Bill Rawley]] in an interview for the Transformers Collector's Club magazine: ''"One that comes to mind right away is Bludgeon. We even started early design sketches for him but the fact that he would transform into a tank, in a line that had a lot of tank-like vehicles in it, meant that he would have to be put on hold... for now."''</ref> This design was evidently [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|resurrected]] for the ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' line. Figueroa notes that his contribution on this toy is very small, as his work on it ended when he submitted the concept to Hasbro way back when.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Bludgeon''' (ブラジオン ''Burajion'')
*''French:'' '''Gourdin''' (Canada, "Club", as in the beat-you-up-with kind)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Husáng''' ("Stick", as in the beat-you-up-with kind)
*''Italian:'' '''Teskior'''

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Armada Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Decepticons]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Martial artists]]
[[Category:Mayhem Attack Squad]]
[[Category:Pretenders]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Decepticons]]
[[Category:Repurposed toys]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Unicron-related characters]]