Editing The Fallen

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{{disambigm|Fallen (episode)|Megatronus (disambiguation)}}

[[File:AOTP Fallen bot mode.jpg|upright=1.96|thumb|"Eh, y'know, it's funny, these people, they go to sleep, they think everything's fine, everything's good... they wake up the next day and they're on fire!"]]
When [[Primus]] created the [[Thirteen|first Transformers]], he made a "Dark Warrior" who would be in touch with entropy and destruction. Known as '''Megatronus''' or '''Megatronus Prime''', he is the most powerful of the original [[Prime (rank)|Primes]], who [[Expulsion of Unicron|battled]] [[Unicron]] in the earliest days of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. When not using fiery mystic abilities, [[dark science]], or [[Void Scepter|gravitational powers]], he wields the most dangerous of [[Artifacts of the Primes|artifacts]]: the [[Requiem Blaster (Megatronus)|Requiem Blaster]].

Unfortunately, his inherently dark nature often leads him down a tragic path. In most realities, his original name is replaced by a more well-known title: '''the Fallen'''. Often manipulated by [[Liege Maximo|other]] [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|members]] of the Thirteen, the Fallen is best known for becoming a [[Transformer|Cybertronian]] analog to the biblical {{w|Cain}}, committing Cybertron's first murder with the death of his [[Solus Prime|beloved]]. In some realities, he willingly betrays the Thirteen by siding with Unicron, and becomes the "the first Decepticon", making him more akin to {{w|Judas Iscariot|Judas}}. Even in realities where he doesn't take a villainous turn, [[Megatron (One)|his legacy]] is inevitably one of betrayal and death. 

While his size, shape, and colors may vary between realities, his most common physical feature is his face, which often serves as the inspiration for a certain [[Decepticon|faction]]'s [[insignia]] during the [[Great War (disambiguation)|Great War]]. 

In short: he's usually bad, bad news.

{{bigquote|You... you're from '''before'''. Aren't you? Before the '''Golden Age''', before recorded time.|[[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]|"[[Confrontation (issue)|Confrontation]]"}}

==Conceptual history==
[[File:Fallenpatlee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Original Dreamwave Productions concept art for the Fallen]]
Created by writer [[Simon Furman]] and artist [[Pat Lee]]<ref>[[Pat Lee#Failure to give proper credit|Allegedly.]]</ref> with contributions from [[Andrew Wildman]]<ref>Namely the fire thing.</ref> and [[Don Figueroa]], the Fallen debuted in the [[2003]] [[Dreamwave Productions]] comic mini-series ''[[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|War Within: The Dark Ages]]'' as a [[Herald of Unicron]]. A mysterious, fiery being from the Transformers' ancient past, he returned to Cybertron to enact the [[Unbinding]], a ritual that would alert Unicron to Primus's location. Wielding mystical, entropic abilities, he was defeated by his creator, trapping him within the [[Seal of Primus]]. Only a month after this series concluded, ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]''—also written by Furman—was released, and filled in more details of the Fallen's backstory, established him to be one of the mysterious "Thirteen Original Transformers" created by Primus to battle Unicron. According to the Guide, the Fallen betrayed his siblings by joining forces with Unicron, and the battle ended with the Fallen being sucked into a black hole until his escape, as seen in ''The Dark Ages''. A [[2007]] [[bio]] written for the Fallen's ''[[Titanium Series]]'' toy would reveal he was the overseer of entropy.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/toys/titanium/the-fallen/1126/2/9/ Fallen's ''Titanium Series'' on-package bio]</ref>

As various parties slowly developed the concept of the Thirteen, [[2009]] would be a significant year for the character, becoming the titular main antagonist of the [[Live-action film series]]' second film, ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The film would establish the character's connection to Megatron, and use his Decepticon-insignia-looking face to cement him as the true originator of the Decepticons: "The First Decepticon". Despite his death in the film, online Q&A sessions with [[Hasbro]] representatives<ref>See [[Hasbro Q&A/July 2009: Answers|Hasbro Q&A/July 2009: Answer #3]] for more information.</ref> established that the Fallen and his siblings were "[[multiversal singularity|multiversal singularities]]": special entities who existed across all realities, moving between them; this provided a loophole for the Fallen to survive the events of the film. 

The novels of the [[Aligned continuity family]] significantly fleshed out the character's backstory, relationships, and weaponry. The [[2010]] novel ''[[Transformers: Exodus|Exodus]]'' established his original name of Megatronus, further strengthening the character's connection to Megatron and the Decepticon cause. Its sequel, [[2011]]'s ''[[Transformers: Exiles|Exiles]]'', re-introduced the Requiem Blaster as the personal artifact of Megatronus, unlike the Mini-Con weapon of ''[[Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]''. The novel would reveal that the weapon's existence became a great point of contention among the Primes, and would be the weapon that killed [[Solus Prime]], who was introduced as his love interest. Two years later, ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]'' provided an alternate, less-villainous interpretation of the Fallen's backstory, exploring his tense relationship with [[Prima]], the "Warrior of Light", and how the manipulations of the silver-tongued [[Liege Maximo]] led to an accidental death of Solus Prime in the [[War of the Primes]]. This less-villainous, more tragic interpretation of the character would be largely ignored when he made his proper television debut in the [[2015]] [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon]], which highlighted his role as the "First Decepticon". 

The Fallen was introduced to IDW Publishing's [[2005 IDW continuity|long-running continuity]], being mentioned in [[The Crucible|''Robots in Disguise'' #34]], and making visual appearances in [[Heavy|''Till All Are One ''#9]], [[Origin Myths|''Optimus Prime'' #10]], and [[The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|''Optimus Prime'' #18]], albeit in flashback sequences. In this universe, Megatronus and the rest of the Thirteen were warlords of [[Thirteen Tribes]] rather than demigods. 

Concurrently with IDW's continuity, the concept of multiversal singularities was nullified in the 2015 Collectors' Club comic storyline ''[[Another Light]]''. The [[All Things Must Pass|final episode]] of the [[Transformers: Titans Return (cartoon)|''Titans Return'' cartoon]] introduced an amalgamated version of the Fallen—featuring his fiery abilities of the Dreamwave incarnation and the Egyptian-crown-like head and color scheme of ''Revenge of the Fallen''. The proceeding [[Transformers: Power of the Primes (cartoon)|''Power of the Primes'' cartoon]] would adapt his backstory from ''The Covenant of Primus'', featuring the Requiem Blaster and Solus Prime prominently in flashbacks and the present-day story. 

For a few years, the Fallen was absent from ''Transformers'' media, save the rare cameo appearance in the [[2019 IDW continuity]] or mention in ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)|Cyberverse]]'', until [[2024]] brought him back to relevance with the ''[[Transformers One (film)|Transformers One]]'' film. The film established Megatronus Prime as the strongest and most powerful of the Primes, whose facial design was virtually identical to the Decepticon insignia, including its purple color. Unlike previous incarnations, this Megatronus remained heroic right up to his death, having never betrayed or murdered his fellow Primes. Later that year, the ''[[Transformers: Age of the Primes|Age of the Primes]]'' toyline would be revealed, introducing "Megatronus the Fallen" as a Leader Class toy inspired primarily by his appearance in ''War Within: The Dark Ages''.

==Fiction==
===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
[[File:Thefallen.jpg|left|thumb|"Like the Phoenix, I have risen from the ashes. And into my fire, you shall fall."]]
When Primus and Unicron first battled as planets, Primus created the first 13 Transformers to assist him in planet mode. The Fallen's original purpose as one of the 13 was to oversee entropy, the orderly dissolution of all things in preparation for the next creation. But the concept of destruction fascinated him too much, and he lost sight of the goal of rebirth and the necessity of restraint. His investigations into the dark sciences led him to Unicron, to whom he gave himself.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/toys/titanium/the-fallen/1126/2/9/ Fallen's ''Titanium Series'' on-package bio]</ref> Corrupted by Unicron, the Fallen then tried to sabotage his creator's body. This attempt ended in failure, and "the Fallen" fled to his master, but there was little refuge to be found: They were both sucked into a [[black hole]]. {{storylink|Transformers: The Ultimate Guide}}

Approximately 7 million years before the 21st century, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] were lost in a [[space bridge]] accident. This accident weakened the barrier between reality and [[unspace|the dimension]] in which the Fallen was trapped, allowing the Fallen to eventually break free and return to Cybertron. The Fallen set about initiating the "[[Unbinding]]", to precipitate the return of Unicron, and spent years, if not millennia, subtly manipulating the Autobots and Decepticons, causing them to splinter into multiple sub-factions that engaged in a constant series of escalating conflicts.

[[File:Thefallengrimlock.jpg|thumb|Someone should tell Grimlock this more often.]]
As the time for the Unbinding drew near, the Fallen recruited a [[Chaos Trinity|trio of Decepticon outcasts]], [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]], and [[Bugly (G1)|Bugly]], who hungered for a command of [[Dark science|the occult]]. The Fallen promised them all manner of dark powers in exchange for serving him. Leading his three followers to the [[Well of All Sparks]], hidden within Cybertron, he explained that the Unbinding required four particular Transformers, who would function as "angles in the geometry of dissolution", and named [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] as the first. {{storylink|Fragmentation (G1)|Fragmentation}}

The Fallen and company proceeded to construct a strange machine within the Well of All Sparks in preparation for the Unbinding. Unfortunately, Bludgeon and friends got impatient for more than the Fallen's praise and demanded a more tangible reward: the arcane power he had promised them. The Fallen responded by grabbing Bludgeon's head and giving him a mere glimpse of what he sought: images of a fiery vortex, demonic faces, stabbing swords and a human skull engulfed Bludgeon. The Fallen stated that this was but a peek inside a dark door he would fully open if they served him well. This left Bludgeon suitably inspired to begin hunting down their targets.

Bugly and Mindwipe leaked information to draw the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] out into combat with [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], while Bludgeon hatched a plot to snare both Grimlock and [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]. {{storylink|Escalation}} Bludgeon, Bugly, and Mindwipe ambushed Jetfire as he attempted a cross-faction meeting with [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]. When Grimlock crashed the party earlier than they expected, however, the Fallen himself had to intervene and caught Grimlock's blazing energo-sword in his bare hand. {{storylink|Revelation (The Dark Ages)|Revelation}}

Grimlock took one punch from the Fallen yet still got back up, so the Fallen grabbed him by the shoulders and unleashed a huge blast of energy that put the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] leader out cold. Shocked by the display, Jetfire surmised that the Fallen predated the Golden Age. The Fallen responded by knocking Jetfire out cold too. He then dragged Grimlock and Jetfire away and commanded his followers to gather the third angle, while he handled the fourth. The Fallen singlehandedly abducted [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] from his well-guarded holding cell in Autobot headquarters, shrugging off attacks by some of the Autobots' best warriors and causing their weapons to corrode away into uselessness with a mere gesture. Bludgeon's team, meanwhile, succeeded in acquiring [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] from the Protectobots.

[[File:Fallenmoreonfire.jpg|thumb|left|The Fallen somehow sets himself ''more on fire''.]]
All four angles were strapped to the device in the Well of All Sparks. The Fallen theatrically explained to the awakening Jetfire that they were casualties in the war of the Gods, and would be used to break the Seal of Primus, after which "all chaos will follow". {{storylink|Confrontation (issue)|Confrontation}}

The Fallen continued his villainous monologue, apparently directing it not at Jetfire but at Primus himself, as the four Transformers' unique sparks were drained to unlock the Seal of Primus. A combined army of forces from several factions defeated the Chaos Trinity and penetrated the Fallen's operation. By the time they reached the door, the Fallen was satisfied that the Transformers were too late, until Jetfire arranged a force-field to surround the Seal. The Fallen was further impressed that Jetfire understood enough to try to contain the Seal, but his distraction cost him victory: the God of Light himself was subsequently roused from his slumber where he saw the Fallen. With a gesture of his radiant hand, Primus engulfed his wayward creation in a torrent of searing energy that was then sucked back into the Seal of Primus. {{storylink|Conflagration}}

{{Unreleased DW G1 comic}}
Shockwave broke the Seal for his cloning experiments, siphoning from within it the energy needed to create life. The Fallen's essence had then escaped and corrupted [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]]. Following the clone's death, the Fallen's essence passed into Jetfire. Within visions, The Fallen attacked the Autobot over and over, while around them various key moments in Cybertron's history unfolded. Jetfire returned to reality as the Autobots were digging him free from the frozen prison he now found himself in. He was unable to warn them that the Fallen's essence had taken root in his spark as they broke through the ice holding him. {{storylink|The Enemy Within}}
{{--}}

===Fun Publications===
[[File:The Evil One.jpg|left|upright=0.8|thumb|"Someone remembered me!"]]
Though [[Vector Prime]] did not necessarily think history was wrong to record Megatronus as a monster, he ''was'' his brother, and Vector still had happy memories of their time together before Megatronus's fall from grace. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/14}} During the Thirteen's time in ancient Greece in some [[universal stream]]s, the holomatter avatar that the rage-filled Megatronus used to interact with the human population inspired the myth of {{w|Ares}}. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/20}} He used to have an impressive collection of antique melee weapons before [[Sideways (AVP)|Sideways]] ruined it with Cosmic Rust... at least, according to Sideways. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime|Sideways, 2015/07/02}}

In the [[Gargent]] realities, where he went by the name "'''the Evil One'''", Megatronus nearly destroyed [[Gobotron]] with the Dark Heart, only to wind up under the [[Nazca Lines]] on Earth. [[Vector Prime]] noted that this was not the only reality where Megatronus was drawn to human pyramids and wondered if there was any link to [[Devil Z]]'s own affinity for pyramids and the Nazca Lines. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/30}} [[Cy-Kill (GoBots)|Cy-Kill]] would even be heard to swear by the Evil One. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Renegade Rhetoric|Renegade Rhetoric (1), 2015/10/13}}

[[File:Vectorprimeut.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Back, and to the left.]]
Jealous of his brothers and sisters, Megatronus was motivated to move against his siblings, and targeted Prima's [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]], intending to take it for his own. To keep it out of his hands, [[Solus Prime]] shattered the blade with her [[Forge of Solus Prime|Forge]], and each piece was taken by one of [[Nexus Prime]]'s components and scattered across the multiverse. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/18}} {{storylink|Out of the One, Many}}

Millions of years later, when [[Vector Prime]] returned to the linear universe to deal with the [[Unicron Singularity]] crisis, he reminisced about his mission and his past, including the silhouetted form of the Fallen. {{storylink|Vector Prime: In the Beginning}} Vector's return was soon followed by the that of Nexus Prime, who set about reassembling the Star Saber. While visiting [[Primax 509.28 Epsilon|one universe]]'s Cybertron as part of his quest for the sword's fragments, Nexus decided to tell his companion [[Aquarius (SG)|Aquarius]] about his quest. As he explained the danger of the artifact falling into evil hands, the face of the Fallen flashed through his mind. {{storylink|The Coming Storm: Part 1}}

When dimensional scoundrel [[Sideways (AVP)|Sideways]] seized control of Vector Prime's [[Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|ANN Q&A column]], he commented, "Every time The Fallen polishes his pistons reality splits." to explain why he could be cloned. Surprisingly, this was actually the truth, more or less. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Sideways, 2015/06/29}}

When Nexus succeeded in locating the Star Saber, he combined its power with that of the [[Terminus Blade]] to [[Shroud|thicken the walls of reality]], limiting dimensional travel. The Fallen and the other members of the Thirteen gathered to witness this momentous event, and found that, as a side effect, they ceased to exist as [[Multiversal singularity|multiversal singularities]]. {{storylink|Out of the One, Many}}
{{l-}}

===Live-action film series continuity family===
====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====
{{voiceactor|[[Tony Todd]] (English), [[Masafumi Kimura]] (Japanese)|[[Zhao Xiaoming]] (Chinese), [[José Luccioni]] (European French), [[Bert Franzke]] (German), [[Gabriel Pingarrón]] (Latin American-Spanish), [[Ramón Canals]] (Castilian Spanish), [[Carlos Gesteira]] (Portuguese), [[Gaetano Varcasia]] (Italian), [[Ender Yiğit]] (Turkish)}}

[[File:TheFallen-ROTFwithPrimes.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.95|''Way-oh, way-oh, oh-way-oh-way-oooooh'']]
Nineteen thousand years ago, the Fallen accompanied [[Dynasty of Primes|his brother Primes]] to [[Earth]] in an attempt to harvest the [[Sun|star]] it orbited. Just as they had completed construction of the [[Star Harvester]], however, the Fallen discovered [[Human|a primitive race of hunters]]. The Primes invoked their rule of the sanctity of life and refused to activate the harvester, but the Fallen despised the humans as simple insects and attempted to activate the Harvester. A great battle took place, but ultimately, the Fallen was defeated and the remaining Primes hid themselves and the [[Matrix of Leadership]], and the Fallen's harvester was concealed within a pyramid in [[Egypt]]. The Fallen dispatched the [[Seeker (ROTF)|Seekers]] to locate the Matrix, but they proved unable and he eventually abandoned them. The Fallen became known as the first [[Decepticon]], and he became the master of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], leader of the faction. He employed Megatron in the pursuit of the [[AllSpark]], but after Megatron's defeat at [[Mission City]], the AllSpark was reduced to a mere fragment.

[[File:TheFallen-ROTFNemesis.jpg|thumb|upright=1.95|''Ocupado!'']]
Upon Megatron's revival he traveled to the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', where the Fallen stayed in a life-support chair while [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] oversaw the creation of a new army of Decepticons. Prostrating himself before the Fallen, Megatron said that he had failed his master and their race by allowing the AllSpark to be destroyed. Amused by his disciple's misinformation, the Fallen revealed that the cube was merely a vessel, while the knowledge within the AllSpark was instead placed within the mind of the human who had challenged Megatron, [[Sam Witwicky]]. With the knowledge within Sam's mind, they could find the Star Harvester and the Matrix needed to activate it. Megatron asked permission to avenge himself and reclaim the AllSpark, but the Fallen asked for patience, though he could understand his desire, as the Fallen himself hungered to return to the wretched planet where his brother Primes had betrayed him. The Fallen also explained that the only threat to him was the last surviving Prime, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]]. Since Optimus would protect Sam, the Fallen ordered Megatron to capture the boy and draw out the Prime.

Megatron's mission was partially successful: although the boy escaped, Optimus came to defend him and died in the process. The Fallen sensed his death and was very pleased, knowing that the time to strike was now. When the Decepticons traveled to the Earth's surface in [[transition form|re-entry mode]]s, the Fallen accompanied them, destroying an [[USS Theodore Roosevelt|aircraft carrier]] as well as attacking several cities. As the aircraft carrier sank into the ocean, the Fallen quietly intoned that revenge was finally his. The Fallen tapped into Earth's communication network, and announced the presence of the Transformers on Earth on worldwide television, demanding the "human hive" hand over Sam or be destroyed. 

[[File:ROTF Fallen headchop.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|Can't. Take. Our. Sun. Unless you got buns, hon! And, oh man, he don't.]]
Unfortunately, Sam was in Egypt hunting for the [[Matrix of Leadership]] after being told it might be able to revive Optimus. He succeeded, but moments after Prime's resurrection, the Fallen appeared amongst the assorted NEST troops, scattering the soldiers, pinning Optimus, and stealing the Matrix. He then teleported to the harvester that was uncovered earlier by [[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]], and as he inserted the Matrix into the machine, he declared that his brothers had failed as he now claimed the Sun. While it charged, the humans attempted to destroy the harvester with their heavy weapons. Unimpressed with their display, the Fallen demonstrated his considerable power by destroying the attacking military forces with telekinesis, then raised a blockade of debris to prevent an air strike. However, a super-powered Optimus Prime, now fused with [[Jetfire (Movie)|Jetfire]], destroyed the harvester and attacked the Fallen, sending them both falling to the ground below. 

[[File:TheFallen-ROTFfacegotten.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Don't talk to me or my Sun ever again!]]
{{quote|Die, like your brothers!}}
{{quote|They were your brothers, too.|The Fallen and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]|''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''}}

Enraged, the Fallen commanded Optimus to join his brothers in death and two engaged in a fierce duel, but it quickly became apparent that Optimus was strong enough to face the Fallen. Megatron attacked Optimus in an attempt to help his master, but was quickly overpowered and knocked out. The Fallen counterattacked Optimus, managing to rip off Prime's left rocket thruster and strike him in the face with it. However, Optimus eventually managed to impale the Fallen through the shoulder with his own spear, then demanded his face, tearing it off. The Fallen tried to flee, but Optimus Prime punched through his chest and ripped out his spark core, finally killing the Fallen.

Afterwards, a wounded and horrified Megatron fled with Starscream, and the Autobots and their allies declared victory. {{Storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

{{note|The Fallen's involvement in the preceding events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the novels ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''[[Revenge of the Fallen: The Junior Novel]]'', and ''[[The Last Prime]]''; the ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Official Movie Adaptation]]'' and ''[[Movie Trilogy]]'' comics; and the storybooks "[[I Am Optimus Prime (ROTF)|I Am Optimus Prime]]", "[[Rise of the Decepticons]]", "[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Electronic Voice Changer]]", and "[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Mix & Match]]". Most of these adaptations are based on early drafts of the script and provide more backstory for the Fallen, such as his hunt for the descendants of his brother Primes, and his promise to Megatron that he would make him a Prime—something Optimus exposes as a lie during their final battle, as one can only be born a Prime, leading Megatron to abandon his teacher. In several, Optimus defeats him not by killing him, but by [[:File:TheFallen-thrownintospace.jpg|hurling him into space]].}}
{{--}}

====IDW movie comics====
[[File:Defianceissue4-creation.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.85|Look [[Prima|familiar]]?]]
According to the Fallen, he and his brothers were the first creations of the [[AllSpark]]. The planet that would become [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was mostly barren, but as the AllSpark gradually shaped Cybertron around them and gave the Fallen and his brothers power beyond measure, the cube's own power was depleted. They learned that its power could be replenished by harvesting the energy of stars, but they were unable to locate new stars to suit their purposes, despite their amazing ability to travel between dimensions using triangular "[[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]]". {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}} As he quested, the Fallen came to believe that the AllSpark was speaking to him, telling him of a grander destiny than that of his brothers, picking him as its "chosen one." {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 4|Tales of the Fallen #4}}

To aid the Dynasty of Primes in their quest, the AllSpark created for them a race of [[Transformer|workers]] that had a power of their own: the ability to transform their bodies into new forms! Some, called "[[Seeker (ROTF)|Seekers]]", could change into interstellar crafts that could locate stars for them, the energies of which would then be harvested to power the AllSpark by massive devices built by the [[Constructicon (ROTF)|other workers]]. The Dynasty tempered their search with the rule of sparing stars with inhabited worlds, but the Fallen believed that the Dynasty's compassion would ultimately doom the Cybertronians to inevitable extinction. As he sought a way to fix this problem, the Fallen came to think evil thoughts. What if there were no other Primes to share the AllSpark with? What if its power was his alone? {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}}

[[File:TalesoftheFallen4-theyshallpay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Yummy, yummy, yummy, I got hate in my tummy!]]
The Fallen began to court some Transformers to his side. He selected a small number of the [[Constructicon (ROTF)|Constructicon]] drones to do his bidding in private, ultimately in service of subverting the Dynasty of Primes in favor of his own agenda. He called this group the Decepticons. [[Jetfire (Movie)|Jetfire]], the Fallen's most trusted and capable Seeker, began to unwittingly harvest the stars of inhabited star systems; the two would scan a system together, but the Fallen would report that his search areas were devoid of life. This practice got the Fallen and Jetfire into trouble with the other Primes, and so the Fallen began to sow seeds of mistrust in Jetfire. He claimed the Primes' refusal to sacrifice life to save their own planet would be its downfall, and that an army had to be readied in case the Primes betrayed them all. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 3|Tales of the Fallen #3}}

The Fallen attempted to build a Star Harvester on his own, powered by a counterfeit [[Matrix of Leadership]] he had constructed. However, it was unstable, and the resulting explosion infused the Fallen with power he had never known. He now burned with dark, unimaginable powers from within. The Fallen, feeling a darker sense of purpose that complemented his darker powers, traveled from world to world to world, killing scores of organisms and assimilating their technology, and leaving the dry husks of planets in his wake. He evolved, and during his ascension he planned for the eventual battle with his brothers. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 4|Tales of the Fallen #4}}

As Jetfire joined the Decepticons, The Fallen took them to a planet named Earth, and they built a [[Star Harvester]] to claim the [[Sun]]. However, it, too, harbored life: the Fallen was building the harvester there to either bait his brothers into taking action (while he was prepared to kill them all) or to remain in limbo. Either way, he won! Jetfire finally turned against his master, just as the remaining Primes arrived, falling into the traitor's trap. The Fallen warped Jetfire and his other underlings away and faced his brothers alone. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 3|Tales of the Fallen #3}}

[[File:TalesoftheFallen4-notlikethis.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|left|Ever since he was a child, he was hated by triangles.]]
The battle between the Fallen and the other Primes was costly. They did not expect the Fallen to have so much power, and one by one they fell by his wretched hand. He had "expanded [his] consciousness—absorbed the mental mass of a hive intelligence seventy trillion strong, probed the neural functions of creatures that swim in unrefined thought..." Since last they met, he was "so much more" than they were. The Fallen was able to grab weapons from his stockpile through personal dimensional portals, and one by one he murdered his brothers until there was only one Prime left to oppose him. With one last desperate gamble, the final Prime fled, and he and the Fallen warped from location to location; the Fallen thought this Prime was merely stalling, but he was gravely mistaken. The final Prime had gathered up the bodies of his defeated brothers, and when at last he had collected them all and the Fallen was weak from overteleportation, he used their combined lifeforce to banish the Fallen forever. The Fallen was sent through his sarcophagus and trapped in another dimension, where he crashed into a desolate landscape, swearing revenge. {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 4|Tales of the Fallen #4}}{{storylink|Foundation issue 2|Foundation #2}}

Knowledge of this was lost through the ages, and the Dynasty of Primes became little more than a myth. Thousands of years later, however, the Fallen's sarcophagus was unearthed on modern-day Cybertron and brought to the quarters of the planet's military leader Megatron. There, sensing the fury and resentment, the Fallen established contact with Megatron, filling him with a new resolve to destroy those who sought out the AllSpark. {{Storylink|Defiance issue 2|Defiance #2}} In the aftermath of Megatron's ruthless battle against a band of [[Ejoornian|aliens]] seeking the AllSpark, the Fallen further counseled him to seize control of Cybertron to make way for The Fallen's return. He also told him that [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]] sought the AllSpark for himself, and Megatron immediately decided that Optimus and his followers deserved to be killed for this transgression. {{Storylink|Defiance issue 3|Defiance #3}}

[[File:Defiance4 Megatron TheFallen.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|All right, who changed the thermostat!?]]
But simply taking the planet would not be enough. The Fallen also ordered Megatron to build a [[Nemesis (Movie)|space cruiser]] to seek out the Matrix, which he said was a prerequisite to his return. As the ship's construction came to an end, the Fallen told Megatron the story of his origin and his plans regarding the harvester on Earth. The Fallen ordered Megatron to put his sarcophagus on the ship and then stay behind to fight Optimus's forces and safeguard the AllSpark. [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] and a majority of the Decepticon soldiers crewed the ship. 
Meanwhile, on Cybertron, civil war raged between Optimus's Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons, a war which eventually led to the AllSpark being launched into space. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}} {{storylink|Foundation issue 3|Foundation #3}}

The ''Nemesis'' came across the AllSpark's energon signature, to Soundwave's disbelief. The Fallen began speaking to Soundwave just as a [[Ark (DOTM)|ship]] crashed into the ''Nemesis'', and disappeared once more through a portal. After landing the ship on a dead planet, Soundwave was commanded to pursue the ship via the portal—that the Fallen recognized as a [[space bridge]]—it left behind. {{storylink|Convergence chapter 1}} Later, Megatron found the abandoned ''Nemesis'' during his pursuit of the AllSpark. He once again spoke with the Fallen, who was furious that Megatron had taken this detour. He ordered him to resume the chase immediately, confident that the Cube would guide them to the harvester. Megatron obeyed, leaving the sarcophagus in the barren wreckage. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4|Defiance #4}}

Thousands of years later, Soundwave returned, having recovered a space bridge [[pillar]] from the Autobot ship. The Fallen informed Soundwave of Megatron's visit, and Soundwave deduced Megatron was one of the Cybertronians rumored to be held captive by the humans, prompting him to return. The Fallen then used the pillar to warp space and time, leaving his prison at last... {{storylink|Convergence chapter 4}}

====''Transformers: The Movie Universe''====
The original Transformers, all of them Primes, were united by a directive that safeguarded all life, and as such they refused to utilize the harvester on the inhabited Earth. One of their number, however, decided "I want Energon!" and slaughtered his brothers so he could harvest the Sun. He threw away his original name and became the Fallen. In the end, he slaughtered all of his brethren, but they were still able to imprison him in a pocket dimension and save the Earth. In the process, his appearance had changed to a terrifying, cage-like exostructure burning with chaotic energies from the universe's creation, forces that had purged him of all morality. Since his body was never meant to contain the unholy power flowing through it, he had to steadily vent that energy to ensure his own continued existence. This created the visual effect of a constant fiery nimbus. 

While effectively harmless to the universe outside his prison, his powers remained vast: He could generate space bridges spontaneously, as well as focus his energies into discrete blasts that could unmake creation itself. Were he ever able to escape, he would be a supremely powerful danger. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe|The Movie Universe}}

====Titan movie comics====
The Fallen was the worst of the worst—he made Devastator look like a puppy with a bad tummy! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.3|#3's Contents section}}

Legend had it that the first seven Transformers were created by [[Primus]], but the Fallen believed them to be creations of the AllSpark. Their task was to harvest Energon for the AllSpark without endangering alien life, but the Fallen cared nothing for the [[Human|puny meatsacks]] of Earth and tried to harvest the Sun! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.3|The Fallen Profile}} His duped servant Jetfire watched in horror as the Fallen imprisoned the other six Primes! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.8|Jetfire Profile}} However, the Primes still managed to sacrifice themselves to hide the Creation Matrix, key to the AllSpark, while the Fallen was imprisoned in a pocket dimension on one of Saturn's moons... until Megatron released him! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.3|The Fallen Profile}}

[[File:Titan1 FallenStarscream.jpg|upright=2|thumb|left|Behold my <s>resting</s> mighty hand!]]
Soon after Megatron's death in Mission City, the Fallen made contact with [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and used him to organize the Decepticon army and lay the groundwork for his return. He ordered Starscream and his forces to go to Cybertron and await further instruction, and promised that once the Matrix was found, [[Earth]] would ''burn''! Unfortunately for the Fallen, Autobot twins [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]] learned the Starscream was colluding with the Fallen (though not who or what the Fallen ''was''), and headed for Earth to warn Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.1|Training Day}} The Fallen had [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] contact one of his Seekers still on the planet, [[Ransack (ROTF)|Ransack]], and had him dispatched him to deal with the Twins. He angrily warned Starscream not to fail again, grrrr! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.2|Dogfight!}}

However, due to his imprisonment, the Fallen could only communicate with his generals and not Ransack directly, which led to Soundwave taking his own actions and working his own angles to try and find the Tomb of the Primes, which included recruiting the Twins, rather than eliminating them. In a fitting act of cosmic irony, the twins turned out to be faking their defection, and they put an end to Soundwave's treacherous scheme. Ransack intended to inform the Fallen, but evidently never made it, while Skids and Mudflap decided that, after all the trouble they had gotten in to after coming to Earth, they'd better not tell anyone about that whole "Fallen" thing they'd learned about after all. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.8|Back-to-Back}}

=====Law and Disorder=====
The Fallen suffered from iron barnacles in the folds of his armor... and if YOU were an Autobot sympathizer, you would be forced to clean them out! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.7|#7's Law and Disorder}}

====Toy bios====
[[File:TF2010-The-Fallen-art.jpg|thumb|I did more things here than on my feature film.]]
Since even before history was recorded on Cybertron, the Fallen has lurked in the shadows, guiding the fate of his fellow machines. His is the hand in the darkness that drives the engines of fate. It was him that engineered the civil war on Cybertron and drove the Decepticons to slaughter their Autobot counterparts. Now on the primitive, flesh-slug infected planet known as Earth, he has stepped out of the shadows to finally seize the [[Star Harvester|power]] he has sought for millennia. {{storylink|The Fallen/toys#Robot Replicas|Robot Replicas The Fallen}}

For thousands of years, the Fallen has recruited proxies to scour the cosmos for the star harvester he required before returning to Earth, the very planet on which his quest began. Nothing will stand in his way this time, and he will scour the surface of this disgusting world clean in the fire of his rage and search through the blasted rubble for that which he seeks. {{storylink|The Fallen/toys#Voyager Class toys|''Revenge of the Fallen'' Voyager The Fallen}}

Aware that only a true Prime can destroy him, the Fallen has entered every battle knowing that the outcome of his victory is inevitable. Modern-day Autobots such as [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] and [[Highbrow (TF 2010)|Highbrow]] stand no chance against him, for he wields the power of advanced technology that looks like magic. The Fallen will crush the miserable Autobots that dare to challenge him before proceeding with his plans as if the interruption never occurred. {{storylink|The Fallen/toys#TF2010Voyager|''Hunt for the Decepticons'' Voyager The Fallen}}

As a desperate battle raged in the desert below him, the Fallen reveled in his triumph. The ancient machine with which he intends to harvest the Sun's energy would soon be uncovered and the Earth would be destroyed if he were to win. {{storylink|The Fallen/toys#Transformers (2010)|The Victory of The Fallen}}

====Ask Vector Prime====
Vector Prime recounted the story of [[Tyran 208.28 Gamma]], an alternate timeline in which Megatron and the Decepticons triumphed in the battle of [[Mission City]], but were then trapped on the dead Cybertron by the Autobots before they managed to free The Fallen. Sensing the loss of his servants, the Fallen summoned a new army of Decepticons (including [[Blue Maximus]], [[Chopsaw]], [[Undertow (PCC)|Undertow]], and [[Duststorm (TF 2010)|Duststorm]]) to terrorize Earth! Many an epic battle was fought against them! {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/21}}

====''Shattered Glass''====
[[File:Coalescence FallenSunstormAlphaTrion.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|Their adventures were recorded in Realityripple Comics.]]
One version of the Fallen from an unknown universe found himself on the brink of defeat at the hands of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|the last descendant]] of [[Dynasty of Primes|his brothers]].  Desperately fleeing through a seam in reality, he miscalculated and ended up in [[Primax -408.24 Epsilon|an unconventional negative polarity universe]]. In this universe, rather than being constantly on fire, the Fallen was now constantly freezing and risked becoming immobile as ice constantly built up from within him.  He soon attracted a devoted servant, [[Sunstorm (Universe)|Sunstorm]], who used his heat-generating abilities to keep him warm.  Also gaining [[Cybaxx (SG)|Cybaxx]]'s allegiance, the Fallen sought to create a dimensional gateway that would allow him to enter and conquer other negative-polarity universes.  Cybaxx's followers were tasked with retrieving components to complete this gateway.

The Fallen was soon confronted by a number of Decepticons, Autobots, and humans seeking to halt his plans.  After the captive [[Beta Maxx (RID)|Beta Maxx]] was freed, he rallied the others against the Fallen, who was somewhat deflated to learn that no one had ever heard of him in this universe.  With Sunstorm taxing himself beyond limits to keep the Fallen defrosted, the ancient Prime was set upon by a ferocious [[Alpha Trion#Shattered Glass|mechanical lion]] commanded by Beta Maxx.  Noticing the Fallen's reliance on Sunstorm to keep him mobile, [[Sephie Beller|Emulator]] knocked Sunstorm out with her powers, hobbling the ancient Prime.  The frozen Fallen was helpless to stop himself as he was sucked into the now-active dimensional gateway.  He found himself in a positive-polarity universe and quickly defrosted, only to realize that he was now trapped in an empty, desolate [[void]].  To his horror, the Fallen beheld the [[Unicron|only other living thing]] within the void, which began approaching him with a ravenous hunger.  {{storylink|Coalescence}}
{{--}}

===''Animated'' cartoon===
[[Kup (Animated)|Kup]] sardonically compared [[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Hot Rod]]'s paint job to the Fallen's. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

===Aligned continuity family===
====''The Covenant of Primus''====
[[File:MegatronusPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|To have a helmet as good as this will cost you your soul... and also ten cents.]]
Megatronus was the twelfth Prime created by Primus to defeat [[Unicron]]. Rightfully proud of his power and unwaveringly loyal to his creator [[Primus]], he thought of himself as a warrior first and foremost, but his dark powers and conflicted nature meant that he was rarely at peace with himself. His artifact of power—the deadly [[Requiem Blaster (Megatronus)|Requiem Blaster]]—used stellar fusion as an energy conduit, exponentially increasing his already destructive powers. Viewing himself as an outsider, he frequently butted heads with the warrior of light [[Prima]], to the point where even his closest allies among the Thirteen viewed him as an unpredictable and unstable presence. In spite of this, he struck up a close friendship with Solus Prime, which eventually blossomed into a mutual romance. Not even Solus Prime's comforting presence could rein in Megatronus's chaotic tendencies; his private insecurities and hidden fears continued to fester, and soon gave way to something darker.

The thirteen newly created Primes soon began experimenting with their powers and strategizing for the upcoming conflict. Megatronus considered himself a warrior and trained alongside Vector Prime, Prima, [[Onyx Prime]], and [[Amalgamous Prime|Amalgamous]]. Megatronus, having the closest connection to Unicron, offered advice to Solus Prime on how to create the best weapons to defeat the chaos-bringer. Among their collaborative efforts were [[Dark Energon skin]]s, which would protect the Primes from the toxic [[Dark Energon]]. Megatronus eventually requested that a blaster be made for him by Solus Prime. She reluctantly agreed, and the Requiem Blaster was forged. Solus had doubts about the weapon, but her deep faith in Megatronus was what allowed her to trust him with the Blaster.

[[File:COP-Megatronusshootssolus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|"How could this happen? We started out like Romeo and Juliet but it ended up in tragedy!"]]
When the fight against Unicron came, Megatronus fought alongside his siblings, and was ultimately triumphant. However, some of Unicron's darkness had rubbed off on all of them; a fact that Megatronus strangely appeared to revel in. In the era of peace and rebuilding that followed, Megatronus worked alongside [[Liege Maximo]], [[Micronus Prime]], and Amalgmous Prime, refining [[Energon]] for future use. He slowly befriended more of the Thirteen, although his love for Solus Prime never faded.

Unfortunately, this period of peace was not to last. Megatronus and Solus Prime were both being manipulated by Liege Maximo, who managed to drive a schism between the two lovers. Megatronus confronted Solus Prime over a newly created suit of armor intended for Maximo's "farm". Their disagreement eventually grew into a full-fledged fight after Megatronus killed her pet, which had secretly been recording Solus Prime's actions. In the chaos, Megatronus fired the Requiem Blaster without thinking, fatally wounding Solus Prime. Before Solus passed away, however, she professed her love for him.

Megatronus hid himself away in the untamed regions of Cybertron, until the surviving Primes discovered him. Megatronus confessed his crime, but also accused Maximo of setting up the whole plot, and aimed to kill him once and for all. The accusations flew quickly, and before long the argument descended into a free-for-all. In the aftermath, Liege Maximo was apparently blown apart by a shot from the Requiem Blaster, although [[Alpha Trion]] could not identify just who had fired the weapon. Along with the surviving Primes, a repentant Megatronus attended Solus's funeral. Renaming himself "the Fallen", he donned Solus Prime's suit of armor and went into exile in space, never to be seen again.

Eons later, a young gladiator and social rhetorician named [[Megatron (WFC)|D-16]] took inspiration from ancient folk tales, renaming himself "Megatronus". {{storylink|Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus}}

====Aligned novels====
Megatronus conceived the idea of the [[Requiem Blaster (Megatronus)|Requiem Blaster]], a weapon so powerful that it dwarfed all other weapons in existence. With great reluctance, Solus Prime agreed to forge the weapon for Megatronus, and even then only after Megatronus convinced other members of the Thirteen to petition her on his behalf as well. Even after the weapon was completed, Solus Prime showed great reluctance in allowing it to remain in existence. After demonstrating its awesome power to the Thirteen, she asked for a vote as to whether the Requiem Blaster should be destroyed. Megatronus led the group who voted in favor of retaining the Blaster, and they won by the slimmest of margins, 7-to-6.

At some later date, Megatronus killed Solus Prime in a fit of rage, and became the Fallen, forever more. The reason for the murder is not fully known at this point, although Solus did favor [[Nexus Prime]] over others in the Thirteen, a fact that had stirred jealousy in Megatronus in the past. Though a terrible thing, Vector Prime considered the Fallen lashing out in a moment of anger forgivable over Liege Maximo's active plotting. {{storylink|Transformers: Exiles|Exiles}}

Megatron, who took his name to inspire fear, took a favorable view of the Fallen, considering him the one member of the Thirteen who refused to bow down to the others, and the only Prime who sought his own destiny. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus|Exodus}}

====''Prime'' cartoon====
[[File:OneShallRise1-WellofAllSparks.jpg|right|thumb|Dum de dum, not thinking about demons...]]
According to legend, at the beginning of time, Unicron and Primus battled each other for eons, with neither side remaining victorious for long. Until, that is, Primus created the [[Thirteen]]. These Thirteen defeated Unicron and cast him into space. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 1}} At some point statues of Megatronus and his brothers were made. They were placed in the chamber of the High Council. A [[Megatron (WFC)|gladiator]] would also name himself after Megatronus before shortening his name to simply "Megatron". {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

When [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] proclaimed to Optimus Prime that he wished to change sides, [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] sarcastically claimed that he had been [[Cybertronian sport#Lobbing|lobbing]] with the Fallen. {{storylink|Partners (Prime)|Partners}}

====2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Gil Gerard]] (English), [[Fumihiko Tachiki]] (Japanese)|[[Klaus Lochthove]] (German), [[Salvador Reyes]] (Latin American-Spanish), [[Martin Spinhayer]] (French), [[Ferenc Borbiczki]] (Hungarian), [[Antônio Moreno]] (Brazilian Portuguese, first voice), [[Vanderlan Mendes]] (Brazilian Portuguese, "[[Battlegrounds, Part 2]]" only), [[Janusz German]] (Polish), [[Yeong-jun Si]] (Korean, Tooniverse dub))}}

[[file:RID-phantommegatronus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.7|"You will bow down before me, Jor-El!"]]
In the distant past, Megatronus killed Solus Prime. {{storylink|Battlegrounds, Part 2}} He was eventually imprisoned in another dimension, and held both [[Earth]] and Cybertron responsible for his defeat. {{storylink|Battlegrounds, Part 1}} He maintained a degree of agency over the events in this world, and he was able to influence events so that the prison ship ''[[Alchemor (RID)|Alchemor]]'' crash-landed on Earth, releasing its cargo of [[Decepticon]] convicts in the process. From there, Megatronus bided his time. Eventually, he contacted the Decepticon revolutionary [[Steeljaw (RID)|Steeljaw]], who had just suffered a humiliating rout at the hands of [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]]'s [[Autobot]]s. Introducing himself as "the first Decepticon", Megatronus struck a bargain with Steeljaw: if Steeljaw helped free him from his prison, Megatronus would let Steeljaw and his gang have the Earth. Steeljaw reluctantly agreed. {{storylink|Lockout}}

[[File:Battlegrounds2-Megatronus.jpg|thumb]]
Megatronus interrupted Steeljaw while the latter was scheming, demanding to know if they had made progress on the device that would allow him to escape. Steeljaw retorted that he needed more Decepticons to help him with the task, but Megatronus was less than moved, using his telekinetic powers to make [[Clampdown (RID)|Clampdown]] pull on his arm hard until Steeljaw capitulated. Megatronus informed his new servant that the device would require a mass of sufficient metal to anchor the energies generated by his arrival- namely, the [[Crown City Colossus]]. Although the Autobots, accompanied with a reborn [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]], attempted to intervene, their efforts weren't enough to stop Steeljaw from activating the portal. A triumphant Megatronus materialized, ready to carry out his plan. {{storylink|Battlegrounds, Part 1}} 

Megatronus moved to attack the weakened Autobots, but was intercepted by Optimus, and the two began dueling. Megatronus gained the upper hand and managed to slash at Optimus, knocking him into the water and temporarily taking him out of the fight. Megatronus retieved his fallen [[Spark fuser]] and activated it, intending to draw the remnants of [[Unicron]]'s anti-[[spark]] from the Earth's core and merge it with the AllSpark, destroying both Earth and Cybertron. When Steeljaw realized this, Megatronus retorted that he had never technically lied to him about his right to own Earth... or whatever would be left of it. Megatronus restrained the furious Steeljaw with his telekinesis and opened a rift in the sky.

[[File:RID-megatronustank.jpg|thumb|left|Megatronus deploys his dreaded drill-nipples.]]
Fighting Steeljaw distracted Megatronus long enough for Bumblebee to resuscitate Optimus, and the two Autobot leaders moved in to finish him off after Megatronus hurled Steeljaw away. While Optimus once again dueled with Megatronus, Bumblebee, [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]], and [[Sideswipe (RID 2015)|Sideswipe]] used their [[Decepticon Hunter]]s to power themselves up. Optimus managed to shatter Megatronus's Spark fuser, closing the rift and ruining his plan. Furious, Megatronus redoubled his attack. [[Drift (RID)|Drift]] helped to drop part of the Colossus on Megatronus. The weight of the statue was enough that Bumblebee's team could blast him with a sustained burst of energy, disintegrating his body and seemingly destroying him, though Bumblebee questioned if he truly was destroyed. {{storylink|Battlegrounds, Part 2}}

====IDW ''Robots in Disguise'' comic====
In later happier times, Bumblebee recalled the events of their battle against Megatronus. {{storylink|Robots in Disguise issue 5|Robots in Disguise #5}}

====''Adventure'' toy bios====
On the moment of Megatronus's defeat at the hands of Bumblebee's team, an evil presence emanated from his wounds and resonated with [[Nemesis Prime (RID)|Nemesis Prime]], powering him up into a new form. {{storylink|Nemesis Prime (RID)#TAV56|Nemesis Prime bio}}
{{--}}

===''Kre-O'' online comic===
[[File:Kreo fallen skybyte.JPG|thumb]]
When [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] attacked [[Metroplex (G1)|Autobot City]], the Fallen stood next to [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Gelshark]]. {{storylink|Behemoth Combination! But They're Cute? The Predacon Unit}}

===Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====Train Wars====
[[File:TrainWars TheFallen.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.5|The aftermath of when Queen Metallia claimed his Sun.]]
The Fallen staged an attack on Cybertron to steal [[Vector Sigma]], smashing his way through all Autobot resistance. The mega-computer managed to wrest itself free of the ancient villain's grip long enough to transform into its "[[Primus|Oracle]]" robot mode and lend its power to [[Overdrive]], who then used his powered-up [[Quantum Dial]] to bring forth reinforcements from time itself. The Fallen responded by summoning up troops of his own, who [[combiner|combined]] with him. {{storylink|Train Wars}} In his new combiner mode, the Fallen laid waste to the Autobots' multiversal reinforcements, impaling them on energy-blades. Recovering Vector Sigma, he began to integrate the computer into his body, but was fortunately distracted by [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] long enough for [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] to arrive with more reinforcements, made up of all kinds of train Transformers. Daniel and his partner [[Shouki]] blasted Vector Sigma free, and [[Shūta Gō]] and [[Goshooter]] then ''kicked'' the computer like a soccer ball, straight into The Fallen's face. The dazed demi-god found himself bound in a [[Trainbot Omni-Car Joint|living chain made up of all the interlinked train Transformers]], leaving him immobilized and open for one final attack. Using the power of Vector Sigma, Shouki unlocked a new transformation, becoming the gigantic "Train Bazooka" weapon, which Shuta then fired at the Fallen, obliterating him. {{storylink|Train Wars 2}}

====''Legends'' comic====
[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] cheered on the Fallen in the battle against the opposition. {{storylink|The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 4: LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part One|LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part One}}
{{--}}

===2005 IDW continuity===
{{first|[[The Crucible|''Robots in Disguise'' #34]] (mentioned), [[Heavy|''Till All Are One'' #9]] (depicted)}}
[[File:TheFirstWhoWasNamed-MegatronusOrigins.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"[[Darth Vader|What is thy bidding, my master?]]"]]
Twelve million years ago, in the primitive age that followed the departure of the [[Knights of Cybertron]], the 'bot who would become "Megatronus" was a humble nomad who wandered the deserts of prehistoric Cybertron alongside the shepherd [[Onyx Prime|Onyx]] and his flock of beasts. One day, the flock came across a badly damaged Transformer in the wastes—unbeknownst to any of them, this was [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Shockwave]], who had been cast backwards in time following the destruction of his [[chronal drive]].

Having recognized the figures for who they would become, Shockwave slew Onyx without a moment's hesitation, sending his followers fleeing... all of them, that is, except one of Onyx's compatriots. Realizing that he could use his understanding of Cybertron's past to set the planet's history along the preordained course that he knew it must follow, Shockwave dubbed Onyx's terrified compatriot "Megatronus," naming him after [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|the Decepticon leader that would one day arise]]. Fashioning a new body for himself from Onyx's remains, Shockwave thus became "Onyx"; knowing from history that Megatronus's conquests would lead to the eventual unification of Cybertron, "Onyx Prime" trained Megatronus in the ways of war and deliberately inspired him to build an empire of his own.

His tutelage complete, Shockwave set Megatronus on the lands to the west, and Shockwave's pupil soon established a kingdom that became known as the "[[Darklands]]". As his power and influence grew over the course of his campaigns, Megatronus became a feared warrior and tyrant, and took to calling himself "The First Who Was Named." {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

[[File:OriginMyths-Megatronuskillspeople.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"[[Megatron (Movie)|You still fight for the '''weak!''' That is why you '''lose!'''"]]]]
Late into his conquests, Megatronus marched on neighboring [[Protihex|Protohex]] and easily annexed it into the Darklands, overthrowing its ruler [[Septimus Prime]] and murdering his [[Supplicants of Arrius]]. There, he recruited the gladiator twins [[Arcee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Arcee]] and [[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]], who proved their loyalty to him by slaughtering their old master. The pair thus became the vanguards of the army as Megatronus continued their eastward advance, conquering the [[Forgotten Plains]], deposing [[Liege Maximo]], and giving them the opportunity to attack the humble village that would one day become the [[Crystal City]]. Unbeknownst to Megatronus, "Onyx Prime" and Liege Maximo had arrived beforehand and galvanized the local tribes into allying with his army of beasts to battle Megatronus—deliberately providing the necessary impetus that would unite the scattered tribes of Cybertron into a single civilization. Megatronus fought on the front lines before three [[Titan (group)|Titans]], drawn to the sounds of battle, arose from the ground. Megatronus paused to look, giving Onyx the opening to fight his way through Megatronus's forces, meet with his old friend, and convince him to stand down. The two armies quickly ratified a proper truce, and Megatronus and his warriors joined the alliance of [[Prime (rank)|Prime]]s. {{storylink|Origin Myths}}

In the era that followed, the seven Primes were joined by five more, giving rise to the [[Thirteen]], who ruled over the [[Thirteen Tribes]]. Many of the Primes had grown arrogant, however, and began spreading rumors that only a Prime could kill another Prime so as to maintain their superiority over their followers. {{storylink|The Crucible}} At Onyx's urging, [[Prima]] began a program of interstellar expansion; aiming to spread [[Pax Cybertronia]] across the galaxy, he sent Megatronus, Onyx, Alpha Trion, [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], and the [[Guardian robot|Omega Sentinels]] to lead an extraplanetary colonization mission to neighboring [[Antilla]], claiming that their deeds would spread the "enlightenment" of Cybertronian civilization to other worlds. The Cybertronian colonization force quickly encountered severe resistance from the Antillans; the devastating Antillan/Cybertronian war would end when an [[Unicron's creator|Antillan scientist]] deployed a [[Talisman (G1)|doomsday weapon]] that scoured all life on the planet, and the fallout from the war would ensure that the rest of the universe would come to fear the destructive power of the Transformers. {{storylink|Our Finest}} {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

[[File:TheFirstWhoWasNamed-MegatronusKillsSolus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"You're with '''HIM!!!''' You brought him here to kill me!"]]
Prima was enraged to learn that their benevolent mission had failed and blamed Megatronus for the disaster; when an insulted Megatronus was subsequently approached by Liege Maximo, the manipulative Prime stoked Megatronus's resentment and eventually brokered a secret alliance, a sequence of events that had been deliberately orchestrated by Shockwave so as to bring about the fall of the Primes as history had foretold. Megatronus and Liege Maximo sought to overthrow Prima, but in the ensuing struggle [[Solus Prime]] sacrificed her life to defend their leader, allowing Megatronus to run her through with her own [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]]. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}} Their conspiracy unveiled, the grand alliance between the Primes collapsed and their followers fell to fighting amongst one another, heralding the beginning of the [[First Cybertronian Civil War]]. {{storylink|Heavy}} Megatronus subsequently fled the planet with, leaving his co-conspirator to be imprisoned aboard his own [[Titan (group)|Titan]], [[Vigilem]]. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

Without Megatronus leading his tribe, his empire collapsed and his followers went their own ways; Galvatron became notable for deserting his post in Megatronus's faltering army in order to wage a personal crusade against the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s of [[Nexus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Crucible}} {{storylink|Earthfall Part 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}} By the time that Galvatron hunted down and killed Nexus Prime, many of the remaining Primes had fled Cybertron entirely {{storylink|The Crucible}} and Megatronus had taken up residence on the barren world of [[Tsiehshi]], using its voltaic blooms to fuel his systems.

[[File:TheFirstWhoWasNamed-Megatronus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"I '''SMELL''' you, boy!"]]
Seeking to bring him to justice, Prima, Alpha Trion, and Onyx Prime left Cybertron to search for him aboard the Titan [[Emissary (IDW)|Emissary]]. They tracked him to Tsiehshi, where Prima and Onyx faced down the rogue Prime in a final duel; in the ensuing battle, Megatronus simply bisected Prima with the Star Saber. To ensure that the [[Matrix of Leadership]] in the sword's hilt would find its way to its [[Nova Prime|next owner]] when the time was right, however, Onyx coldly informed his student that his usefulness was at an end and murdered him, telling him that—thanks to the impending rise of Megatron—Cybertronians would, after a fashion, remember his name.

On returning to Alpha Trion, Onyx told the record-keeper the version of events that would find their way into the records of Cybertronian myth, lying that Prima had heroically slain Megatronus at the cost of his own life... a fabrication based on the stories that Shockwave had been told in his youth. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

[[File:OP18-MegatronusDead.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.5|"Who would you be without me, Prime?"<br>"Time to find out."]]
Megatronus's name was stricken from the Cybertronian records for his crimes, and on both Cybertron and its colony worlds he was only remembered as "the Fallen". {{storylink|Conquerors Part 2: Lagrange|Lagrange}} When Alpha Trion recounted the story of the war's end to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime]], he was unable to elaborate on why Megatronus and Megatron shared such similar names. {{storylink|The Crucible}} He was, however, able to point out that Shockwave had sent one of his [[Regenesis]] ores, [[Ore-8]], to Tsiehshi, where Megatronus had once resided; unbeknownst to Trion, this was because "Onyx Prime" had manipulated events so that his younger self would select this planet for the Regenesis project. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

On the eve of [[Earth]]'s official induction into the [[Council of Worlds]], Alpha Trion told Optimus Prime, [[Starscream (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Starscream]], and [[Pyra Magna]] the story of how Megatronus's conquests had first brought the Thirteen together all those years ago. Starscream questioned if he was represented in this story by Arcee or Megatronus, believing the latter to be a made-up name. {{storylink|Origin Myths}}

When "Onyx Prime" and his tribe of [[Maximal]]s invaded Cybertron some weeks later, [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], driven on by [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]]'s religious fanaticism, reached an earth-shattering epiphany: the duplicitous, backstabbing Starscream was the reincarnation of Megatronus. Initially unsure of this revelation, Starscream went with it until Shockwave, unmasked as an impostor, revealed that he had orchestrated the decidedly mortal Starscream's disastrous rise and fall from power. {{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 4: The Hallowing|The Hallowing}}

===''Prime Wars Trilogy'' cartoons===
{{voiceactor|[[Mark Hamill]] (English)}}
[[File:POTP-Cartoon-Ep3-SolusDies.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|"You will remain here in the Fire Nation."]]
Long ago, Megatronus was hailed as a hero for his defeat of [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] using the [[Requiem Blaster (Megatronus)|Requiem Blaster]]. However, he and his lover [[Solus Prime]] clashed over what to do with the Blaster afterwards, as Megatronus wanted to keep it for his own rather than see it destroyed. {{storylink|The Swamp}} As the two fought, the weapon was accidentally discharged, killing Solus and leaving Megatronus to grieve. {{storylink|Without Warning}} The other Primes took back the Blaster from Megatronus, sealing it away, and he placed himself into exile until he could find a way to reunite with his deceased love. {{storylink|Athenaeum Sanctorum (episode)|Athenaeum Sanctorum}}

Many years later, Megatronus orchestrated the events of both the [[Combiner Wars (event)|Combiner Wars]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s resurrection from behind the scenes in an attempt to claim the [[Enigma of Combination]] and the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. To this end, he recruited [[Overlord (G1)|Overlord]] to his cause and guided him to the [[Matrix of Conquest|Matrix of Chaos]] within Unicron's remains, promising Overlord immense power after his plan had succeeded. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] also joined the ranks of his acolytes after Overlord used the Matrix of Chaos to turn him into Rodimus Cron. {{storylink|Volcanicus (episode)|Volcanicus}} After Trypticon's defeat, [[Victorion]] attempted to claim the Enigma and Matrix, but Megatronus surrounded them with a fiery aura, destroying part of Victorion's [[Dust Up|arm]]. He appeared before the other Transformers, warning them that their time had come to an end. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] attempted to distract Megatronus with an angry outburst, giving [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] a chance to surprise attack him, but Megatronus brushed Maximus aside and killed Optimus. With no one else daring to challenge him, Megatronus took the two relics and departed to complete his plans. {{storylink|All Things Must Pass}}

[[File:TR-Ep10-All-Things-Must-Pass-Fallen-appears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|"Even with all the power in the world, you are still weak."]]
Determined to reunite with Solus, Megatronus turned his sights towards the missing Requiem Blaster. Unsure where it might have been hidden, he began searching its most likely hiding places, burning them to the ground when left empty-handed. {{storylink|The Swamp}} In the [[Well of All Sparks|Well of Sparks]], he began gathering the sparks of Overlord's and Rodimus Cron's victims and installed the Enigma and Matrix into an device which, when combined with the Blaster, would be capable of ripping the spark from every Transformer. {{storylink|Without Warning}} Taking notice of the Blaster being fired, Megatronus rushed to the [[Athenaeum Sanctorum]], where he revealed his plan. After clashing with Megatron, [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] and a Unicron-possessed Rodimus, he grabbed the Blaster and took off to put his plan into motion. {{storylink|Consequences}}

[[File:POTP-Cartoon-Ep7-FlameOn.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|"It's time for this world to end in fire, and for a new world to be born from the ashes."]]
Megatronus returned to the [[Well of All Sparks|Well of Sparks]] and installed the Blaster, activating his doomsday weapon. The machine began to drain everyone's sparks as planned, causing Solus to manifest, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Megatron and his team. Refusing to lose, Megatronus shot down Windblade, but was restrained by Grimlock and Optimus Primal. However, the sight of his nearly-resurrected lover gave him the strength to break free, and he burned all the others except Megatron, who moved to protect them. Before he could finish them off, their battle was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Rodimus Cron, now totally under Unicron's control {{storylink|Collision Course}} and determined to destroy Megatronus and Solus for being part of [[Primus]]'s Thirteen, along with the Matrix. Megatronus battled against Unicron while repeatedly having to divert his attention towards the others attacking his device. Temporarily incapacitating Unicron, Megatronus attacked the others despite Solus's pleas for him to stop, but was unable to prevent them from releasing the relics as the Matrix transformed Primal into Optimal Optimus. While Unicron attacked the new Prime, Megatronus made a grab for the Enigma and Blaster, only to be restrained by the other heroes. {{storylink|Megatronus Unleashed}} He managed to overtake them and grab the Blaster, seeking vengeance for the failure of his plans, but was caught off guard when new arrival [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] landed on him from above. The two briefly battled before Megatronus gained the upper hand and ripped off Predaking's head, and attempted to stop Megatron from destroying Solus. His lover, however, suddenly grew in size and grabbed him. Despite his pleas that his love for her was everlasting, she rebuked him and dragged him into the Well, finally killing him. {{storylink|Saga's End}}
{{--}}

===''Power of the Primes'' marketing material===
Megatronus's [[Spark]] passed into the possession of one of the twelve [[Prime Master]]s; hidden within a suit of decoy armor, they safeguarded the abilities of the Primes until the present day. By uniting with a larger Transformer, the Prime Master could channel the powers of Megatronus's Spark and grant them unique abilities that varied with each new partner. {{storylink|The Fallen/toys#Generations|''Power of the Primes'' Bomb-Burst / Megatronus online bio}}
{{note|For a list of every permutation of Megatronus's abilities, see [[Prime Master/Combinations|this link]].}}

===''Cyberverse'' cartoon===
Megatronus was one of the [[Thirteen]], {{storylink|Dweller In The Depths (Cyberverse)|Dweller In The Depths}} {{storylink|Silent Strike}} {{storylink|The Other One}} Cybertronians being known to swear by his name in times of shock. {{storylink|The Extinction Event}} {{storylink|The Immobilizers}}

After gaining control of the AllSpark, [[Starscream (Cyberverse)|Starscream]] believed he had pulled Megatronus's spark back to the world of the living and implanted it into one of his "[[scraplet|children]]", though some questioned the legitimacy of his claims. {{storylink|Parley}}
{{--}}

===2019 IDW continuity===
[[File:EndOfTime-Thirteen.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.66]]
Megatronus was remembered as one of the Thirteen, described by [[Termagax]] as avatars of the life pattern that infused Cybertron itself. {{storylink|End of Time}}

===Energon Universe===
When [[human]]s began to attack [[Optimus Prime (G1)#Energon Universe|Optimus Prime]] even after he helped them, [[Skywarp (G1)#Energon Universe|Skywarp]] swore "by the soul of the Fallen", noting that humanity was stupid in addition to weak. Just like Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 3|Transformers #3}}

===''One'' film===
[[File:TransformersOne-Megatronushologram.jpg|left|upright=1.66|thumb|Remember me as I was: not on fire.]]
A member of the [[Thirteen|Primes]], Megatronus Prime was the strongest and largest of them all. He and the other Primes participated in the war against the [[Quintesson]]s. At a critical point in the war, the Primes, including Megatronus, moved to intercept a Quintesson high command meeting following a report from [[Sentinel Prime (One)|Sentinel]], unaware that the aide had led them into a trap to be ambushed. Megatronus fought bravely against the Quintesson horde alongside his siblings, almost emerging victorious until Sentinel revealed his treachery and killed several of the Primes himself. Overpowered and subdued by his enemies, Megatronus was personally beheaded by a grandstanding Sentinel, who took Megatronus's [[transformation cog]] for himself after failing to obtain the [[Matrix of Leadership]].

Megatronus was widely known as a heroic figure after his death, and merchandise was made of him including [[sticker]]s of various rarity. The miner [[Megatron (One)|D-16]] idolized Megatronus the most out of all the Primes for his mighty power, eagerly accepting when his friend [[Optimus Prime (One)|Orion Pax]] gave him a rare sticker based on Megatronus's face. D-16 proudly wore the sticker on his shoulder. However, it continued to sustain damage as he got involved in a mining accident, the [[Iacon 5000]], and a dangerous adventure to the surface alongside Orion, [[Bumblebee (One)|B-127]], and [[Elita-1 (One)|Elita-1]]. When D-16 was captured and taken to Sentinel's tower, the false Prime mocked him for his hero worship, revealing his possession of Megatronus's cog to D-16 and painfully scoring a crude rendition of Megatronus's face into the captive miner's chest. The sticker was destroyed in the process. After being freed by a coordinated assault by Orion, Elita, and the [[High Guard]], D-16 killed the false Prime and ripped the cog from Sentinel's chest, installing it into his own and discarding the one he had previously received from [[Alpha Trion]]. As he did so, he renamed himself "Megatron" after his hero and idol. This powerful cog granted Megatron new upgrades such as a triple-barrel rapid-fire [[fusion cannon]], an arm-mounted [[machine gun]] on his left arm, and additional armor. A vision of Megatronus appeared among his fellow Primes to a heavily damaged [[Optimus Prime (One)|Orion Pax]] as he fell into Cybertron's core, who was chosen by Primus to carry the Matrix and would be reborn as Optimus Prime.

Later, after being exiled from [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] by the newly christened Optimus Prime, Megatron fashioned a new [[insignia]] based on Megatronus Prime's face and branded it onto himself and his followers, officially forming the [[Decepticon]]s. {{storylink|Transformers One (film)|One}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: Battle for the Matrix''===
{{Note|Battle for the Matrix is a simplified retelling of the events of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. It can be played from the perspective of either Bumblebee or Optimus Prime. The final battle is against Megatron and the Fallen at the [[Star Harvester]].}}
[[File:The Fallen battleforthematrix.jpg|thumb|Behind you!]]
The Fallen tried to defend the Sun Harvester from some Autobot attackers. {{storylink|Transformers: Battle for the Matrix}}
{{--}}

===''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' - The Game===
{{voiceactor|[[James Arnold Taylor]] (English)|[[Sylvain Lemarié]] (French), [[Luis Fernando Ríos]] (Castilian Spanish)}}
[[File:ROTF 360PS3PC TheFallen.jpg|thumb|I shall light this holy ring, release its cleansing flame, and burn a path into the divine beyond!!! ...Wait, what game is this again?]]

====Xbox 360/PS3/PC====
=====Decepticon campaign=====
With Optimus Prime seemingly defeated, the Fallen and the Decepticons journeyed to Egypt, where he uncovered the Star Harvester from inside the Great Pyramid of Giza and commenced his plans to destroy the Sun. However, the last of the Primes had survived his battle with Megatron and now revealed to the enraged Decepticon leader that the Fallen had betrayed him. the Fallen's promise to Megatron that he would make his student a Prime would never be fulfilled, as Primes were born, not made. Megatron demanded what he had been promised, but the Fallen, disgusted with the creature that he no longer needed, attacked. Righteous indignation fueled Megatron through this battle, and ultimately, he ended the Fallen's mastery over the Decepticons by impaling him through his head and letting the corpse fall into the depths of the Star Harvester. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)}}

=====Autobot campaign=====
Optimus Prime had survived his battle with Megatron and merged with the parts of Jetfire, and now this new, powered-up form faced the might of the Fallen at the Great Pyramid. Optimus's ancestor mocked this young upstart who dared to face his elder, telekinetically throwing debris at the Autobot, summoning great bursts of energy from the ground, and unleashing an army of Decepticon drones. However, Optimus Prime's new armour more than enabled him to survive this onslaught, and as he rained energy slugs into the Fallen, the ancient Cybertronian called out to Megatron for help, but to no avail, for his student had since learned of the Fallen's treachery. Optimus ended the Fallen's reign of terror by impaling him through his head and letting the corpse fall into the depths of the Star Harvester. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)}}

====PSP====
{{charstubgame|{{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (PSP)}}}}
{{--}}

===''Transformers Autobots''/''Decepticons''===
====''Autobots''====
The Fallen was the true leader of the Decepticons, orchestrating Megatron's resurrection. While the new recruit fought Megatron, the Fallen was defeated by Optimus Prime and Jetfire.

====''Decepticons''====
The Fallen was still the true leader of the Decepticons despite Starscream having taken ''de facto'' command after Megatron's death. When the new recruit arrived, Grindor and Sideways made no bones to him about how the Fallen was really the one calling the shots, and that they'd soon get Megatron back. The recruit would be introduced to the Fallen during the hunt for the Matrix and the Harvester. Things came to a head in a battle in Egypt, where the recruit presented the Matrix to the Fallen. The overlord was pleased by his performance and code of loyalty, complaining that other Decepticons didn't share it while throwing a big fat side glance at his other henchmen present. This caused Starscream to tease Megatron that his job as Decepticon leader was in jeopardy.

The Fallen sent the recruit to wipe out most of the remaining Autobots to pave the way for their final plan in what was likely a final test for his new position, and sure enough, the recruit succeeded and even killed Optimus Prime. Megatron was horrified since he was supposed to be the one to kill Optimus, and the Fallen snarked that he obviously didn't. Noting that his apprentice had been outperformed by a Decepticon who was merely a lowly foot soldier, the Fallen announced some role changes: the recruit would now replace Megatron as Decepticon leader and his apprentice, with Megatron now being just a lowly foot soldier in his place. The Fallen congratulated the recruit, and with his new apprentice by his side, activated the Harvester, claimed the resultant Energon, and prepared to engage in a universe-wide campaign of conquest, now that Earth, humanity, and the Autobots had been destroyed. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots/Decepticons|Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots/Decepticons}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' mobile game===
The Fallen sent [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and some Decepticon forces to [[Shanghai]] to retrieve a fragment of the [[AllSpark]]. Starscream returned successful, and the Fallen sent him to NEST HQ as a diversion. the Fallen himself used the AllSpark shard to resurrect [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] as part of the ongoing plan to gain possession of the [[Matrix of Leadership]] so they could reactivate the "[[Star Harvester|Great Machine]]". The Fallen sent Megatron to [[Egypt]], but when the other Decepticons fell, he himself put in an appearance. the Fallen was confident that [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] had worn himself out fighting Megatron, however Optimus channeled the power of the Matrix into a single blast, destroying the Fallen. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Glu)}}

====Wii/PS2====
{{charstubgame|{{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Wii/PS2)}}}}

===''Robots in Disguise'' mobile game===
<center>
{|class="wikitable" border="5" style="width:65%"
|-
! scope="col" width="30%" | '''Version'''
! style="background: #00CCFF; color: black" scope="col" width="35%" | '''Unlock Cost (Energon)'''
! style="background: #BF00FF; color: white" scope="col" width="35%" | '''Unlock Cost (Ultra Sparks)'''
|-
|Starter
|500
|10
|-
|Legion
|1500
|30
|-
|Warrior
|4000
|80
|-
|Warrior Elite
|4000
|80
|-
|Ultra
|8000
|140
|}
</center>
<gallery>
File:TF-RID2015-Mobage-Legion-Megatronus.jpg
File:TF-RID2015-Mobage-Warrior-Megatronus.jpg
File:TF-RID2015-Mobage-Warrior-Elite-Megatronus.jpg
File:TF-RID2015-Mobage-Ultra-Megatronus.jpg
</gallery>

Megatronus was among the many Decepticons available to repel an Insecticon invasion. {{storylink|Transformers: Robots in Disguise (mobile game)|Robots in Disguise}}

===''Splatoon''===
[[Squid Sisters|Marie]] considered Megatronus among the coolest of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Splatoon}}

===''Transformers: Forged to Fight''===
[[File:ForgedToFight-Megatronus.jpg|thumb|Megatronus after hitting the jackpot through watching ''Sushi Girl''.]]
One of the original Thirteen Primes created by Primus to combat Unicron, Megatronus betrayed his fellow Primes in his quest for power, leading to his banishment.<ref>[https://transformersforgedtofight.com/bot-intel-report-megatronus/ Bot Intel Report - Megatronous]</ref> He returned in the present day on [[New Quintessa]] to trouble the Cybertronians marooned on the strange planet.

In an attempt by Megatronus to take the power of the dormant [[Quintessa (IDW)|Necrotitan]], their sparks merged to become [[Necrotronus]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Forged to Fight}}

{{--}}
===''Transformers: Earth Wars''===
;'''Megatronus Core'''
[[File:Earth Wars Megatronus Core.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6]]

Megatronus's [[Prime Master#Transformers: Earth Wars|Prime Core]] (his "heart" as one of the primordial [[Thirteen|Thirteen Primes]]) fell to Earth under mysterious circumstances along with those of his siblings to become a hotly contested resource in the [[Earth Wars (conflict)|Earth Wars]]. {{storylink|Power of the Primes (Earth Wars)|Power of the Primes}}

*'''Effect:''' You are enveloped in hellfire, constantly damaging nearby enemies for a percentage of your attack power.

[https://tfew.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4733780017183-Prime-Cores-Bot Megatronus Core at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki]

{{chargamestub|{{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars}}}}
{{--}}
;'''Rodimus Unicronus'''
[[File:RodimusUnicronusEarthWars.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75]]
{{main|Hot Rod (G1)#Transformers: Earth Wars}}
The Megatronus Core possessed [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]], [[Reformatting|reformatting]] him into Rodimus Unicronus. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Rodimus Unicronus bio}} Inside of his mind, when Rodimus Prime was talking to Rodimus Unicronus, he wasn't sure if he was speaking to Unicron or Megatronus. {{storylink|Inferno & Rodimus Unicronus Saga#Rodimus Unicronus|Rodimus Unicronus story}}

{{chargamestub|{{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars}}}}
{{--}}
;'''The Entity'''
{{chargamestub|{{storylink|New Armada}}{{storylink|Second Armada}}{{storylink|Earth Wars Saga 85|Saga 85}}}}
{{--}}

===''Transformers Roleplaying Game''===
Megatronus was the youngest and most powerful member of the Thirteen. As the lord of entropy, he was destined to betray his siblings, earning him the title of the First Decepticon. His Requiem Blaster could tear reality itself, and his destructive powers caused early humans to venerate him as the war god {{w|Ares}}. {{storylink|Transformers One Sourcebook}}

==Toys==
{{main|The Fallen/toys}}

==Notes==
===Generation 1===
[[File:Fallenpatlee.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|I'm The Fallen, and I can't get up!]]
*The Fallen was created by [[Simon Furman]] for [[Dreamwave Productions]]' ''[[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|War Within: The Dark Ages]]'' comic book. Furman used him to recycle some of the plans he had for the [[Last Autobot]] in the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|original Marvel comic]], but which he was unable to use as a result of the comic's cancellation.<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/otfcc2004.txt OTFCC 2004 convention report]</ref>
*The Fallen design was created by [[Pat Lee]], his first (and only) original Transformers character. The early design concept differed incredibly from the final product, noticeably lacking the Fallen's characteristic mouthplate. He was envisioned as a medieval, ancient-looking Transformer who glowed like a furnace, but he was not depicted as being perpetually on fire until [[Andrew Wildman]] penciled his appearances in ''The Dark Ages'' and the colorists caught on. When questioned about him constantly being aflame, Furman responded that they went with it "because it looks cool".
*Lee designed [[:File:Thefallentank.jpg|a tank alternate mode for the Fallen]], which was shown in the profile series ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]''; it was never used in fiction.
*The Fallen can speak Spanish.<ref>Fanclub-exclusive Mini Mayhem strip, March 19, 2007</ref>
*The Fallen's appearance in the ''Train Wars'' comic is based on [[:File:TFGenerations2014 Rejected TheFallen.jpg|a mock-up]] created for a [[Fan polls#Generations Magazine Exclusive Character Popularity Vote|poll]] in ''[[Transformers Generations 2014 Volume 1]]'', one of ten potential exclusives for Vol. 2. A redeco of ''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' [[Onslaught (WFC)#Toys|Onslaught]], it would have featured the [[Ruination (FOC)#Toys|Ruination]] head in combiner mode, which would have been making its Japanese market debut. Ultimately, the Fallen only claimed 5% of the votes.<ref>[http://millionhero.sblo.jp/article/101898683.html Poll results at Hero-X]</ref>
* [[Jason Marnocha]] provided the scratch track recording voice for Megatronus in ''Prime Wars Trilogy'' before [[Mark Hamill]] was cast in the role.

===''Revenge of the Fallen''===
[[File:TheFallen-ROTFstaff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Give him the stick! Don't give him the stick!]]
* Michael Bay attempted to hide the Fallen's involvement in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', going so far as to claim that statements made by Simon Furman at [[San Diego Comic-Con]] 2008<ref>[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17412 Simon Furman confirms the Fallen is a character in an interview with Comic Book Resources (Fallen details removed)]</ref> and [[Chris Mowry]] in an interview with MTV Splash Page <ref>[http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/07/28/exclusive-transformers-2-prequel-comic-gives-inside-scoop-on-2009-movie/ MTV Splash Page interviews Chris Mowry (Fallen details removed)]</ref> were part of a disinformation campaign, and that only a small number of people had seen the script.<ref>[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showpost.php?p=44729&postcount=2 A post made by Michael Bay on his forum]</ref> On August 5, 2008, after a fan posted on Michael Bay's forum pointing out that several IDW representatives had said they had the script, all references to the Fallen were removed from the aforementioned interviews, as well as any references to IDW Publishing having the script. 
* Voice actor [[James Arnold Taylor]] was originally cast as the Fallen in the film version of ''Revenge of the Fallen'' (which led to him getting the same role in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)|Revenge of the Fallen: The Game]]''), but was replaced by [[Tony Todd]] in the final edit of the film, to his disappointment. [[Leonard Nimoy]] was also considered for the role, but did not get it on the basis Bay feared Nimoy would have been paid too little money.{{fact}}
* The Fallen's "Command Staff" (also known as the "[[Void Scepter]]"<ref>[http://www2.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm#/characters/the-fallen The Fallen's bio at Hasbro.com]</ref>) seemed to be a later addition to the film, as the staff made no appearances in secondary fiction, and was not included with the Fallen's original toy releases. The [[The Fallen/toys#TF2010Voyager|later Voyager Class figure]] includes said staff, and the toy's hands were retooled to be able to hold it.
* [[Paul Ozzimo]] and [[Josh Nizzi]] designed Earth modes for the Fallen to take on in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but he does not assume one in the finished film. Ozzimo clarified on his website he was to turn into an {{w|Aurora (aircraft)|Aurora}} reconnaissance aircraft, the alleged modern replacement for the [[Jetfire (Movie)|SR-71 Blackbird]].
* The Fallen was planned to be much larger in ''Revenge of the Fallen'': the novelization describes him as making Optimus look like an infant, and ''Defiance'' #4 depicts him as about the size of a pyramid. In the finished film, the Fallen is only slightly bigger than Optimus and Megatron, and ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe]]'' clarifies he is 42 feet tall.
* Michael Bay doesn't actually like The Fallen, calling him "kind of a (expletive) character".<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm?csp=usat.me USA Today, "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"]</ref>
* In early drafts of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', the Fallen doesn't appear in person until the climax, communicating with Megatron aboard the ''Nemesis'' via an interdimensional window. This led to the [[sarcophagus]] storyline in the comics, where only discovering the harvester's location would free him. When dropped from the film to give the character more screen time, it led to a massive plot hole in the comic storyline that was only resolved two years later by [[John Barber]] in ''[[Transformers: Convergence|Convergence]]''.
* The Fallen's design—at least in the early stages of development—appears to be heavily inspired by Egyptian {{w|pharaoh}}s and their attire, which is most noticeable on his [[The Fallen/toys#Voyager Class toys|original Voyager Class toy]] (which was based on early concept art), as it sports a [[Facial hair|goatee]] not unlike the long, fake metal goatees pharaohs like King {{w|Tutankhamun}} wore; as well as his spiky bearded parts somewhat resembling {{w|Nemes}}, which are the striped-cloth headdresses that pharaohs wore. Given both the film's central location being Egypt, and the Egyptian hieroglyph-styled packaging for the toyline, the inspiration makes sense.
** The aforementioned sarcophagus plotline from the IDW comics also adds another layer of Egyptian inspiration into the mix.
** The Fallen's face is also a highly stylized Decepticon [[insignia]] in both early concept art and the final CGI model. While it isn't as prominent a Decepticon insignia as [[Tarn (G1)|IDW Tarn]]'s mask is with the points and everything poking up off the top of his head, the design elements are still there, you just have to look a little harder to notice them.

===Other===
[[File:The Evil One-Goodbye Renegade.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He's a redeco of himself!]]
* The Evil One was originally a one-off character from the ''{{gb|Challenge of the GoBots (cartoon)|Challenge of the GoBots}}'' episode "{{gb|In Search of Ancient GoBonauts}}", where [[Cy-Kill (GoBots)|Cy-Kill]] was looking for the ancient villain, who'd hidden a weapon of great power underneath an ancient pyramid. The idea that the Evil One could be an alternate-universe equivalent of the Fallen was inspired by [https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=The_Fallen&oldid=685238 an edit] of this very page back in 2012, which noted the episode's coincidental similarities to ''Revenge of the Fallen''.<ref>[https://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/129168-out-of-printhard-to-find-media-mega-thread/page-9#entry3440904 Post by Verity Carlo on the Allspark Forums, 2017/02/12]</ref>
*"Megatronus Prime" occurs in the ''[[Transformers Vault]]'' book and the ''[[Transformers One (film)|Transformers One]]'' film. All other instances are "Megatronus".

===Foreign names===
====The Fallen====
*''Japanese:'' '''The Fallen''' (ザ・フォールン ''Za Fōrun'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Duòluò Jīngāng''' (堕落金刚, "Corrupted Vajra")

====Megatronus====
*''Japanese:'' '''Megatronus''' (メガトロナス ''Megatoronasu'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Zhèn Tiān Zūn''' (震天尊, "Majesty Shocking the Heaven")

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{GBwiki|Evil One}}

{{Thirteen}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fallen}}
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