Decepticon

File:Decept.gif

The original Decepticon sigil.

The Decepticons (Destrons usually, in Japanese shows and literature) are one of the primary factions in the Transformers mythos. They are typically concerned with such things as amassing large quantities of energon, developing powerful weaponry, and galactic conquest.

They are "the bad guys" in most Transformers stories.

Generation 1

In the various continuities descending from Generation 1, the Decepticons and the Autobots are the two great powers in the Transformer population. The factions, however, are not a complete set -- there are Transformers who are unaffiliated / neutral, or even members of smaller or splinter factions.

Many G1 timelines actually credit Megatron as the founder of the Decepticons, not merely its most recent leader. In contrast, Optimus Prime is almost always depicted as only the latest in a long line of Primes or Matrix Bearers.

Robots in Disguise

In the Robots in Disguise cartoon, the Decepticons were a brand new faction that came into being during the events of the story. Because there were so few Decepticons (only six or seven), and because they were a subset of the Predacon antagonists, they can almost be viewed as a subgroup rather than a proper faction. The RiD Decepticons were created on Earth when Megatron's forces captured a set of stasis pods from an ancient Transformer spaceship that had been found on Earth, leading to the birth of the Commandos and Scourge. The toy version of Galvatron was also labelled as a Decepticon, although this "change" in the character's faction was not established in the cartoon series.

In the Japanese version of RiD, Car Robots, the Decepticons were known as Combatrons.

Unicron Trilogy

Animated Continuity

The exact origins of the Decepticon faction is a bit muddled. It is widely assumed, though never directly confirmed, that the movement was founded by Megatron. Also, the enslavement of the power-enhancing Mini-Cons is considered to be the impetus to the Decepticons' rise to a massive multi-planet-spanning army, though at what point in the war this occurred is unclear; it's possible the Mini-Cons' arrival was what gave Megatron the opportunity to rise to power, or if they arrived after the war had already begun.

Either way, the Mini-Cons fueled the war machine for centuries, and the war with the Autobots soon spread from Cybertron to other worlds. The self-imposed exile of the Mini-Cons to an unknown destination was seen as a major setback for the Decepticons (and something of a pyrrhic victory for the Autobots), but despite this, the war continued, as both sides had amassed a large enough power base to continue on without the Mini-Cons.

The Autobots and Decepticons seemed to fight to a stalemate, neither able to gain a distinct advantage over the other. When a signal reached Cybertron centuries later that the Mini-Cons had landed on Earth, it seems neither side was capable of sending a full force to retrieve them, despite the power they contained. Though the Decepticon force sent to Earth was small in numbers, it was far from insignificant; Megatron himself led the squad, backed by some of his most trusted warriors.

When Megatron returned to Cybertron, the overwhelming majority of the Mini-Cons were in the protective custody of the Autobots, but Megatron was unfazed; he had assembled the Mini-Cons required to make the three legendary weapons the Star Saber, Skyboom shield and Requiem Blaster cannon. Bolstered by this new power and the apparent death of Optimus Prime, Megatron attempted to take Cybertron once and for all.

But Megatron's return to Cybertron was the beginning of the end of the Decepticon army. When Unicron revealed himself as a threat to both armies, fueled by the negative psychic energies from centuries of death and destruction, the two sides eventually joined together to beat back the planet-eater. Despite the truce, Megatron and Prime engaged in a brutal duel on the surface of the weakened Unicron after the three legendary weapons had been removed from his core. Realizing their battle was keeping Unicron active, Megatron sacrificed himself, and both Unicron and Megatron disappeared into nothingness.

Megatron's final orders to his troops still stood: work with the Autobots. The Decepticons maintained a degree of autonomy, still wearing the faction sigil and often taking military/defensive positions in the growing number of energon-mining colonies, but they were ultiamtely answerable to Optimus Prime and the Autobots. There were naturally dissenters, most of which were captured and imprisoned. For a decade, Autobot and Decepticon worked side-by-side in a somewhat stable truce.

Comics Continuity

From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.