Editing Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity

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Humiliated, but never humbled, '''[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]''''s tale in [[Marvel Comics continuity|Marvel Comics]] is one of survival against all odds!

==Generation 1==
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Megatrong1marvelarmy.jpg|250px|left|thumb|No, not fascist at all.]]

Four million years ago, ''rising from his beginnings as a gladiator for the city-state of [[Tarn]],'' Megatron and the Decepticons developed the ability of transformation, using it to begin the war against the Autobots, who fought back by mimicking the technology. Megatron declared his intent to transform [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] into a "cosmic dreadnought" to conquer the universe. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}} ''However, he would only get as far as building massive engines deep beneath the planet's surface.'' {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}} 

Megatron also vowed to possess the planet's superdatabase, the [[Underbase]], for himself, so he followed a young [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] on his quest into the [[Temple of Knowledge]], where he destroyed the temple's curator, [[Boltax (G1)|Boltax]]. In order to keep the Underbase out of Megatron's hands, Optimus Prime destroyed the temple and launched the Underbase into space. {{storylink|The Flames of Boltax!}}

[[Image:Megatrong1earlymarvel.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Check out my awesome preproduction model!]] 

''After the death of [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]], Megatron's troops poised themselves around the Autobot capital city of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], slowly disintegrating its defenses. [[Emirate]] [[Xaaron]] chose Optimus Prime, a warrior, to take the [[Council of Autobot Elders]]' place as leader of the Autobot forces. Optimus Prime and Megatron's armies then met in battle, and Megatron's forces were defeated—with help from an exploding bridge.'' {{storylink|And There Shall Come...a Leader!}}

In time, the war grew so fierce that Cybertron itself was shaken from its orbit, and set adrift in the cosmos. Eventually, over a thousand years after Megatron's war had begun,<ref>The length of the war is given as "over a thousand years" in [[The Transformers (issue)|Marvel Comics #1]], but it's said to be just a hundred years in Marvel UK's [[Legion of the Lost!|Legion of the Lost!, Part 1]].</ref> the planet fell into the path of an asteroid cluster in the Sol system that threatened to destroy it, and so Optimus Prime led a contingent of his troops in the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] to reduce the asteroids to rubble, saving Cybertron. The plan was a success, but immediately afterwards, Megatron and his troops attacked, forcing Optimus Prime to crash the Ark into prehistoric Earth.

Four million years later, in 1984, the Transformers were reawakened, and Megatron immediately set about trying to locate a source of fuel for the Decepticons. Unable to ingest common Earth gasoline, the Decepticons kidnapped [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] and forced him to develop a conversion process. Megatron soon found his Decepticons and his base of operations under siege by the Autobot [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] and a strange super-powered human named [[Spider-Man]]. The pair escaped with Sparkplug, but not before he had managed to convert Earth fuel into usable energy. {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}}

[[Image:Megatrong1marvelblackhole.jpg|left|250px|thumb|In early Marvel UK stories, Megatron's colors were blinged up to match his box art.]]

''After an argument with Megatron, [[Starscream (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Starscream]] left their headquarters and set about on a plan to position himself above Megatron in the eyes of his comrades. [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], sent by Megatron to spy on Starscream, was discovered overhearing Starscream's treachery, and so Starscream tried to eliminate the elusive jaguar. This enraged Megatron, who punished Starscream by having him duel the Autobot [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]].'' {{storylink|The Enemy Within!}} ''Soon, Megatron and the full fury of the Decepticons under his command laid siege to the Ark itself, but his attack was stopped short by a malfunctioning [[Aunty|Auntie]], the Ark's computer system. Captured with Optimus Prime in a stasis field, Auntie's fatal intentions towards them prompted Megatron to activate his rarely-used ability to tap into the power of a black hole. This proved unnecessary after [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] saved them, so Megatron moved to use his cosmic power on Prime—until Windcharger magnetically launched him out of the Ark and into the stratosphere.'' {{storylink|Raiders of the Last Ark}}

While Sparkplug was kidnapped, this had only afforded him the chance to poison their fuel, and the Decepticons were forcibly deactivated at the end of a climactic fight between the two factions. The Autobots were not saved, however, as [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] suddenly arrived and defeated the Autobots with a single blast. He brought the Decepticons back online to serve him—including Megatron. {{storylink|The New Order}} Chafing under his command, Megatron battled Shockwave, but was soundly defeated. {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}}

[[Image:Megatrong1marvelhumiliation.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Get used to this, Megatron.]]

This forced Megatron into an alliance with [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], who located and reactivated the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], who had defeated Shockwave in the past. However, Ratchet loosed them on Megatron, and was willing to sacrifice himself to knock Megatron off a cliff. While Ratchet survived, Megatron disappeared for some time. {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}}

Soon, however, Megatron re-emerged, trapped in pistol mode, his higher brain functions disconnected. Used as a weapon by wannabe gangster, [[Joey Slick]], Megatron eventually restored himself, and was impressed enough with Slick for standing up to him that he allowed him to live. {{storylink|Shooting Star!}} At this point, Megatron was desperately low on fuel and attacked a [[Wyoming base|coal mine]], finding the coal to be an unsuitable type of nourishment. He eventually completely ran out of fuel and froze in place. He was located by [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], who brought him back online, and they subsequently entered into an alliance with the human [[Donny Finkleberg]], who used the alias of "Robot-Master" to con humankind into thinking the Transformers worked for him. {{storylink|I, Robot-Master!}}

Shockwave and Megatron entered into a period of shared leadership, but when a two-pronged attack by the Autobots saw Megatron defeated by [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], and Shockwave allowing the Autobots to capture the secrets of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], Megatron was able to spin the situation and reclaim his leadership. {{storylink|Command Performances!}}

[[Image:Megatrong1marveltarget2006.jpg|left|250px|thumb|SPOILERS!]]

''A mysterious Decepticon called [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], along with his henchmen [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], entered the Decepticon camp and claimed he was the future Decepticon leader from the year 2006. Megatron found this preposterous, but though he tried to destroy the alleged impostor, he and Soundwave were buried under rubble by the powerful newcomers. Megatron was retrieved from the rubble by [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], and he and the Autobots forged an uneasy alliance against Galvatron. This was still not enough, as Galvatron (who was revealed to be Megatron himself from the future) easily disposed of all of them, and was only deterred when he was tricked into believing he had traveled back in time to a past that would not become his own future.'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

[[Image:Megatrong1marveltooclever.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Yes, you're very smart. Shut up.]]

''Megatron summoned the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] to Earth with the intention of having them hunt down Optimus Prime, but Shockwave used the opportunity to try and remove Megatron from the picture. After trailing Prime through a forest and bringing him to his knees, the Predacons turned on Megatron, blindsiding him, stealing his fusion cannon, and absconding.'' {{storylink|Prey!}} ''When Megatron came to, he continued hunting Prime, but when the Autobot leader attacked him, he summoned the [[space bridge]] in hopes of escaping to Cybertron, only for Prime to be transported with him. On Cybertron, Megatron established contact with local Decepticon commander Lord [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]], whose body had been destroyed by [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], leaving him a head floating in a jar.'' {{storylink|...The Harder They Die!}}

[[Image:MegatronAntimatterUK.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Cry me an antimatter river.]]

''Straxus soon came to consider the irrational Megatron a liability and sought to dispose of him by transplanting his mind into Megatron's body, giving him mobility again while trapping Megatron in his remains. Megatron resisted the transfer, however, and the process went awry, leaving both Straxus and Megatron's minds trapped in Megatron's body together. Outwardly, Megatron seemed to become more and more unstable as the two personalities inside him battled for control; when attacked by Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], he even proved desperate enough to use his [[antimatter]] manipulation powers, nearly destroying the entire [[Polyhex Decepticon stronghold|Decepticon complex]], until [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] activated the space bridge and sent him back to Earth. Straxus's consciousness fled Megatron's body, and Megatron himself was left with no memory of the whole affair.'' {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

Megatron saw the [[Dreadnok]]s' failed attempt to steal [[Power Station Alpha]] on television and set his own plan in motion to steal it for himself. {{storylink|Blood on the Tracks}} In order to attain possession of a new energy-generating device, the hydrothermocline, Megatron battled Optimus Prime in a video game duel, using a cheat code to continue the fight after he had lost. Prime defeated him again, but at the expense of some of the game's characters, and ruled himself the loser because he would not have committed such an act in real life. {{storylink|Afterdeath!}} Prime was destroyed, and Megatron's elation soon turned into paranoia, as he had not killed Prime with his own hands, and believed he could still be alive. Bringing the Predacons ''back'' to Earth, Shockwave had them pose as Autobots and attack Megatron in another attempt to remove his threat, but the plan failed when the deranged Megatron defeated even [[Predaking]]. Believing (correctly, as it would turn out) that Prime's mind could have been preserved on computer disk, Megatron descended into outright insanity, and boarded the space bridge, vowing to go where Prime could not follow—right before he blew it up with his fusion cannon, apparently killing himself. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}} However, the explosion had merely deposited him in [[Dead End (place)|the Dead End]] region of Cybertron, where he wandered as an [[empty]], with no recollection of who he was. {{storylink|The Resurrection Gambit!}}

[[Image:Megatrong1marveltwomegatrons.jpg|right|200px|thumb|buggabuggaWHA?]]

''Megatron's absence allowed a contingency plan arranged by Lord Straxus to be put into motion. In the event that his attempt to seize Megatron's body failed, Straxus had had a clone of Megatron created, complete with a copy of his brain patterns, into which his consciousness retreated following the previous debacle. Straxus lay dormant within the clone, which was activated following Megatron's seeming demise, and sent to Earth, to the sewers beneath [[London]]. There, the clone—believing itself to be the genuine article—battled the Autobots, [[G.I. Joe (team)|Action Force]], and the mechanoid [[Centurion (Marvel)|Centurion]], and wound up submerged in the Thames river.'' {{storylink|Ancient Relics!}}

''Some time later, it was salvaged by Shockwave, who brainwashed it and unleashed it on [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], a recreated future version of Megatron who had traveled back in time from the year 2006 and posed a threat to Shockwave's leadership. The clone Megatron, however, saw a possible partner in Galvatron, and the two teamed up to battle Autobots and Decepticons from both present and future in the apocalyptic [[Time Wars]]. Subsequently, the clone returned to Cybertron, where it defeated the ruling Decepticon [[Triumverate]], {{storylink|The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire.}} but was then confronted with the ''real'' Megatron—''who was still wandering incoherently through Dead End until he had saved [[Blackjack|a Decepticon]] from Autobots and regained his memories. {{storylink|The Resurrection Gambit!}}'' The clone Megatron subsequently destroyed itself to prevent Straxus, buried inside its mind, from taking over.'' {{storylink|Two Megatrons!}}

[[Image:Megs ratch.jpg|left|200px|thumb|As you can tell, the Marvel Comics weren't very good to Megatron. Or Ratchet for that matter...]]

While Megatron's [[Micromaster]] [[Air Strike Patrol]] created a diversion which pitted Optimus Prime's forces against [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s, Megatron sent his Micromaster [[Sports Car Patrol]] to capture Ratchet from the Ark, bringing him to [[Megatron's base|his base]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} Threatening Ratchet with the destruction of the Ark and all of his patients aboard, Megatron forced him to recreate Starscream as a [[Pretender]]. Ratchet did so, but also restored [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Bumblebee]] in the same manner, thwarting Megatron's scheme, and also bringing the explosives on board the Ark through a [[trans-time dimensional portal]] into Megatron's base. When Megatron then attempted to flee through the portal, Ratchet tackled him as the Decepticon's base exploded around them, apparently killing them both. {{storylink|Skin Deep}}

Soon after, however, Autobot detective [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] discovered that the explosion had actually blown them through the portal, and he dispatched a probe to pull them back from the gaps between reality. However, when they rematerialized, it was revealed that the explosion had fused the two enemies together, into a hideous, twisted mockery of a being, which ran rampant through the Ark. The half that was Ratchet begged Optimus Prime to kill them, but Prime could not, and had the Micromaster [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]] separate their bodies. Unfortunately, Fixit could not separate their minds, as they were bonded at a molecular level; one could not survive without the other. {{storylink|The Pri¢e of Life!}}

[[Image:Galvatron2vsmegatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Two mes enter, one me leaves!]]

Their separated bodies lay in the Ark's medbay until Grimlock pumped them full of [[Nucleon]], though the revitalizing effect took some time to help Ratchet and Megatron come to. Megatron awoke to find [[Galvatron II]], another version of him from the future, wandering the halls of the Ark as it returned to Earth. Galvatron II, driven to insanity, initially tried to kill Megatron to purge the memory of him that haunted his mind. Megatron was in no state to comprehend what was going on around him, and began interpreting Galvatron II's blows as coming from Ratchet. 

Though Galvatron II and Megatron eventually came to terms with each other while beating up Shockwave (he and Starscream had stolen the ship), vowing to join forces and take over the galaxy, Ratchet doomed them all by igniting the Ark's engines and spiraling the Autobot spacecraft into the Earth below. Megatron was presumed dead among the remains that constituted the crash site in northern [[Canada]]. {{storylink|A Savage Circle}}

====''Transformers Comic-Magazin''====
{{TransformersComicMagazin}}
[[Image:Megs comic-magazin9.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Neon|NEON]] RULEZZZ!]]

Megatron held the rank of Headmaster and served as joint leader with his rival Shockwave. Together, they worked out that hijacking the oil reserves of [[Alaska]] would make more sense than hitting oil refineries, and battled the Autobots to seize the Alaskan oil. Megatron ordered his forces to ensure not a single Decepticon was downed, or they'd be overrun and forced to retreat. And they ''did'' retreat! {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 2|Transformers in Action: Attack at Dawn}}

He had the more fiendish plan of making peace gestures to Humanity, and made a public speech in [[New York City]] of how the Decepticons would now agree to live peacefully under human laws (adding in the threat that humanity couldn't ''make'' them do it). As a gesture, a "statue" of [[Snaptrap (G1)|Snaptrap]] was placed in New York, and he promised Decepticons would help patrol the city, assist in human space programs, and help "secure" oil reserves. Unsurprisingly, once Humanity was off-guard, the Decepticons struck, and the Autobots barely stopped them. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 4|Transformers in Action: The Troy Principle}}

A more standard plan involved seizing an oil tanker, in order to distract the Autobots from sudden blitzkrieg strikes across America. However, Megatron's plan was thwarted, as Optimus had placed [[Micromaster|Micronaut]] squads across the continent. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin|Transformers in the Battle for Peace: A Big Day for Powermaster Optimus Prime}} He later tried to seal off New York's harbour with a mine belt but was conned into heading for the Rocky Mountains for fake oil deposits. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 7|Transformers — Transforming Robots in Action: New York — A City Sinking in Terror}}

Megatron had three nuclear missiles stolen and threatened to nuke New York, Berlin, and Moscow if he was not given one million tons of oil! His demands were met...and he threatened to nuke the same cities unless the world's arsenal was handed over! At the same time, he had Starscream made into a [[Pretender]] to kill Shockwave for him. The Autobot [[Classic Pretender]]s wrecked these plans, though, and Megatron was shot down by the mighty Bumblebee! {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 8|Transformers in Action: Megatron's Ultimatum}}

When both an oil tanker crashed at Alaska ''and'' an interdimensional portal ripped open, Megatron—now holding Powermaster rank!—naturally decided the tanker was more important. He got the tanker to surrender to him by threatening to make the oil spill worse. Battle broke out with an Autobot rescue team, and the Decepticons were driven off, all while Megatron politely ignored the extradimensional battle raging in eyeshot. {{storylink|Transformers Comic-Magazin issue 9|The Transformers' Grand Hour: Headmaster of the Dimensions}}

====Marvel UK future timelines====
''In an alternate 1990, Megatron was in control of Decepticon forces on Cybertron, including [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], [[Stranglehold]], [[Octopunch (G1)|Octopunch]], and [[Warmonger]]. After they captured a trio of Autobots, the heroes somehow managed to escape custody. They were recaptured, but Megatron realized there must be a traitor in his midst. Accusing Bludgeon of the crime, he attempted to beat the [[Pretender]] into confessing. Instead, Bludgeon demanded a trial by combat, as was his right as a Decepticon. Megatron agreed, and sent him out into the wreckage surrounding the base, with his three fellow Decepticons chasing after him, eager for the kill. Octopunch and Stranglehold both tried and failed to destroy Bludgeon, but Warmonger managed to get the drop on him. When Warmonger hesitated to kill a helpless foe, however, Megatron executed him as the REAL traitor. He then revealed this was his plan all along, to draw out the traitor by trusting in the sickeningly honorable Autobot code to make the spy reveal himself. Megatron also made it clear he would have had no regrets if Bludgeon had died in the "testing" process.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

{{note|The above story is the earliest known account from the Marvel UK alternate "Movie" timeline. The split between the main comic and the future stories almost certainly took place in 1989, either due to the Time Wars, the events of "[[Primal Scream]]" where Primus alerted Unicron to his location 15 years early, or both.}}

====Earthforce====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Megs earthforce.jpg|left|200px|thumb|The real culprit behind global warming!]]
''In an offshoot of the Marvel timeline following the restoration of the Autobots aboard the Ark with Nucleon, but before... uh ... (okay, see [[Earthforce]] for continuity notes, it's pretty complicated...)''

''Somewhere in the Arizona desert, Megatron and the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] built a rocket that would launch into Earth's atmosphere and detonate, converting the atmosphere into [[energon]]. The Decepticons were interrupted by [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and though Megatron insisted they were too late to stop the rocket,'' {{storylink|Starting Over!}} ''Prowl rode the rocket into the atmosphere, and was able to destroy the satellite the rocket carried before it released its gas canisters.'' {{storylink|Desert Island Risks!}}

''Now that [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]]'s [[Earthforce]] had installed itself to counter Megatron and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s Decepticons on Earth, the two leaders decided to hold an [[Enclave]] to foster unity. This event was sabotaged by the Earthforce by staging an assassination attempt on Megatron, and once again, Megatron and Shockwave's respective groups were at each other's throats.'' {{storylink|The Bad Guy's Ball!}}

''After being ambushed at a secret energon drop by Shockwave and the [[Triple Changer|Triple Changers]], an enraged Megatron demanded that [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] use his mind-reading powers to find the traitor who betrayed his location to the enemy. Of course, Soundwave WAS the traitor, so this proved difficult. He managed to satisfy Megatron, though, by framing the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] named [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] for leaking the information, knowing Megatron would destroy Wildrider before he could explain himself. {{storylink|Secrets}} When Megatron gained information as to Shockwave's whereabouts, Megatron ambushed him, unaware the information had been deliberately leaked by [[Starscream (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Starscream]]. Starscream and Soundwave subsequently deposed their respective leaders and when they came under attack from the Autobots (who had been alerted to their position by Starscream) Megatron and Shockwave were forced to join forces to escape.'' {{storylink|Internal Affairs!}}

''Megatron and Shockwave soon hired a [[Louisiana bounty hunters|group of inept assassins]] to attack Starscream, knowing he would believe Soundwave had sent them and thus initiate a confrontation between the pair. They then hired the surviving members of the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]—Bludgeon, Octopunch and Stranglehold—to kill whichever one of the two survived. The plan failed thanks to the intervention of the Autobots, who needed Starscream's help to save [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]], and Megatron and Shockwave were forced to retreat again.'' {{storylink|Assassins}} {{storylink|External Forces!}} {{storylink|The Lesser Evil!}}
{{-}}

====''Another Time & Place''====
[[Image:TFAnnual1991rip.JPG|right|100px|thumb|Prime and Grimlock disapprove of Megatron's Bludgeon cosplay.]]
Trapped in non-transforming Action Master bodies, Grimlock and the Dinobots snuck a shuttle to [[Hydrus Four]], where rumor had it a new, less destructive brand of [[Nucleon]] had been developed. However, the allegedly defeated Decepticons were waiting for just such a trip, and followed the Dinobots to the planet's surface, where they were ambushed and captured. Grimlock woke up to hear endless chants of "Megatron! Megatron! Megatron!" as technicians had strung up the late Decepticon leader's body, culled from his supposed doom on Earth, for repairs. Bludgeon would revive him and revive their fallen, and then the war would begin anew.

But Bludgeon wouldn't get the chance. The cavalry arrived, and Optimus Prime's Autobots quickly quelled the Decepticons' would-be resurgence. As Bludgeon was taken to pieces by a vicious repair spider, a partially-restored Megatron, a visual monstrosity, lunged half-alive at Grimlock and Optimus Prime. With a double-teamed punch, Megatron's undead corpse was easily defeated. The war was truly over. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}

===''Regeneration One''===
{{noteRG1}}

When the [[Wrecker]]s arrived at Earth in 2012, twenty-one years after the Ark crashed into Northern Canada with Megatron aboard, they found an utterly devastated planet. To make matters worse, Megatron himself took control of one of their probes, questioning them from his throne in the ruins of Washington DC why they took so long to notice what he had done, before apparently destroying their ship with a cluster of nuclear missiles. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 1}}

==Generation 2==
[[Image:Megatrong2cobra.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Green with evil!]]
Although thought dead for a year or two, Megatron had actually survived the Ark crash (though his mental link with Ratchet was forgotten), and had quietly worked to repair it, concealing it beneath the ground. From there, Megatron tracked a signal, mistakenly believing it was another Transformer, but instead he found the shape-shifting castle of the terrorist organization, [[Cobra]]. {{storylink|Unfoldings!}} He entered into a bargain with its leader, [[Cobra Commander]], offering him the technology of the Ark in exchange for the new weapons his organization was developing. {{storylink|Realignments}} Reconstructed into a new tank body with a powerful [[rail gun]], Megatron defeated a squad of Autobots sent to stop him, and then turned on Cobra, capturing the scientist who had developed his gun, Doctor [[Sidney Biggles-Jones]] and escaping in the Ark. {{storylink|Final Transformations}}

Both [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] had snuck on board, and following a clearly one-sided battle with Spike's [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster partner]], [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], Megatron was seemingly killed again when Fortress Maximus threw himself into the Ark's power core, destroying it once and for all. {{storylink|All or Nothing!}} But Megatron (and a repaired Starscream) rejoined the Decepticons on Earth to challenge the current Decepticon leader, Bludgeon. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory}} Bludgeon was deposed, fatally, though Megatron continued many of the Pretender's ongoing projects, such as calling the attentions of Optimus Prime to Earth by indiscriminately rampaging across it. When Prime finally showed up, Megatron's old foe at first attempted to talk and join forces against the new threat of [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] and his [[Cybertronian (faction)|Advanced-Decepticons]], but Megatron ignored him, ripped the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] from his chest, and left to infuse a [[Bludgeon's new army|new generation of warriors]] with life. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}} His new warriors proved to be highly successful, and helped Megatron secure the galvanizing additive known as [[Rheanimum]]. Immediately thereafter, however, Megatron's Decepticons came into conflict with Jhiaxus's forces. Many of Megatron's troops were killed in the resulting battle, and Megatron himself was humbled brutally in battle against Jhiaxus, getting knocked out of space and crashing with immense force into the planet below. {{storylink|New Dawn}}

[[Image:Megatrong2idiot.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Megatron's getting a little too self-aware.]]
In order to gain revenge, Megatron entered into an alliance with the Autobots to "put their house in order". He was forced to deal with Prime's more altruistic streak, but toughed it out for the sake of the alliance. {{storylink|Escalation!}} But, of course, they were betrayed by Starscream, who joined forces with Jhiaxus' troops, alerted Jhiaxus to the location of the Autobot/Decepticon camp on Earth, and then again betrayed both sides by using the opportunity to steal the Creation Matrix and Megatron's [[Warworld]]. {{storylink|Total War!}} Starscream, using the powers of the Matrix, fused himself with the Warworld, which gave Megatron and Optimus Prime great difficulty as they fought their way through its shifting insides. {{storylink|Dark Shadows!}} Ultimately, Starscream relinquished the Creation Matrix to Optimus Prime when it was discovered that the artifact was making him nice, allowing Megatron to load a ship with canisters of [[Rheanimum]] gas and head back to Earth, where the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]] was beginning its attack. Megatron arrived just in time to coat the remaining Transformers with the gas, which protected them from the Swarm long enough for Optimus Prime to defeat the Swarm with the Matrix. The Swarm departed, changed into a force for good, leaving both Autobot and Decepticon seemingly united for good. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}

{{-}}

==''Classics''==
{{note|''Classics'' takes place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a [[splinter timeline]] that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or ''Generation 2''.}}

[[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]] believed that Megatron was a key factor in the splintering of this universe from it's [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|core universe]]. The creation of this universe caused the [[Cataclysm (GoBots)|Cataclysm]], which began to replace Bug Bite's [[GoBots (franchise)|home universe]]. {{storylink|Withered Hope}}

[[Image:Megatronclassicscrossingover.jpg|left|175px|thumb|I got your child safety right here pal!]]
Fifteen years had passed since Megatron supposedly died along with Shockwave, Starscream, and Ratchet when the Ark crashed violently into the Yukon. The defeated Decepticon army scattered, and the Autobots were able to return to a peaceful Cybertron.

Inexplicably, Megatron returned (in a new body) and once again stalked the Earth, rallying the remaining Decepticons to him. Megatron rebuilt many of these Decepticons using altered specifications created by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], who was now nothing more than a disembodied head summoned by Megatron when he desired counsel. Eventually, Megatron happened across [[Skyfall (Cybertron)|Skyfall]] and [[Landquake (Timelines)|Landquake]], who had travelled from [[Unicron Trilogy|their universe]] in a fantastic energon/force field explosion, but his evil intentions for them were interrupted by human-piloted [[Armored Robot Hunters]] (or RUNTs) and subsequently a small team of Autobots led by Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 1}}

Megatron managed to escape with Landquake and return with him to the Decepticons' base of operations, where he had Landquake restrained, interrogated, and inspected. Megatron was intrigued by Landquake's claims of being from another dimension. He was further intrigued by a radiation wavelength signature detected in [[South America]] that exactly matched Landquake's readouts, and so Megatron led his Decepticons to the source of the signature. {{storylink|Crossing Over, Part 2}} There, he encountered not only a fleet of jet-piloting RUNTs, but also the Autobots again. This time, with the might of his Decepticons behind him, he eagerly engaged in battle. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 3}}

The Autobots and Decepticons continued their struggle while events of cosmic significance took place beneath their feet. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 5}} Ultimately, Megatron was unable to claim the power he coveted, as an explosion sealed the area from any further recovery efforts. The Decepticons were forced into a withdrawal. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 6}}

Megatron soon received word of a delegation of Decepticons from those loyal to [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] seeking a parley. When Starscream brought [[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]] and his agents back to the Ark, Megatron was surprised to see all the Decepticon troops turn against him. Bug Bite had a personal vendetta against Megatron, and had modified Cerebro-shell technology to amass enough forces to overpower the Decepticon leader. Or...so he thought. Megatron overcame the effects of the Cerebro-shell used against him and, even during an Autobot raid, saw fit to behead Bug Bite with his fusion cannon for the pathetic attempt on his life. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

In a plot to end the Decepticon civil war with Bludgeon, Megatron distracted him with a space fleet performing [[Offensive Strategy LV-117]] while his mole in Bludgeon's forces, [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]], assassinated the [[Pretender]]. Assuming leadership of all Decepticons, Megatron shared his philosophy on the natured of the Transformer race with Ratchet before leaving him in a [[CR chamber]] for the [[Autobot]]s to find. {{storylink|At Fight's End}}

==Notes==
* In the Marvel Comics, Megatron was often drawn with his chest [[insignia]] off-center to his right. This is probably due to his [[character model]] (as seen in his [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Megatron Universe profile]). In that pose, the insignia is centered with respect to ''his belly'', but because of the way his upper body is drawn, it actually is located farther to one side of his chest. (Compare the distance the insignia is from one side of the line above it to the other.) If he moved to any other camera angle, the insignia would look off-center.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&amp;char=Megatron Megatron's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Classics Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Robo-Capers characters]]