Galvatron (G1)

This article is about the Galvatron that appeared in most Generation 1 media. For the alternate-future Galvatron who played a more prominent role in the Marvel comic, see Galvatron II. For a list of other meanings, see Galvatron (disambiguation).

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Galvatron is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Bwaaaaah! Kneepad of Dooooom!

Born from the fires of Unicron himself (usually), Galvatron is a focal point of power and madness given form. He is blind to all but his lust for power; his whims and desires can be sacrificed in a moment's rage. Not even his own subordinates are safe. Though he is not beyond the capacity for long-term goals, it is his unpredictability and his casual disregard for any and all life that strike such horror in friend and foe alike. Truly, the Decepticon leader is without any sense of empathy.

Galvatron was (usually) once Megatron, but was reborn from his death throes in a Faustian pact with Unicron. He retains the memories and spark of Megatron, but his personality was significantly altered after the near-death experience, massive physical upgrade, and reprogramming; just ask Starscream about the difference. And all that was before he went insane. The cause and extent of Galvatron's madness varies between different timelines, as does his physical power. Sometimes he's all but invincible.

“	Please, meet your end with dignity. I despise whiners.	”
—Galvatron, allowing one of his own troops to die, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3"

“	Before a society can move forward, everyone must agree on the rules. Now kneel!	”
—Galvatron, "Fight or Flee"

Galvatron's mental state, personality, and even origin differ considerably across many continuities. See separate character notes in the sections below.

Fiction

Generation 1 toy bio

Galvatron is an arrogant, compassionless, cold-hearted robotic villain. He is a City Commander, but sets his determination toward nothing less than the leadership of Decepticons. He plots against his own allies, which weakens his position in the Decepticon cause.

Galvatron's toy bio establishes him as a new character with a rank of 9 and the function "City Commander" who covets the leadership of the Decepticons. No mention is made of him having once been Megatron. Given the omission of similar details from Rodimus Prime's bio, it is likely that this was done to avoid spoiling the surprise of Galvatron's origin in the movie.

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The sparks mean he's going to shoot you. No sparks also means he's going to shoot you.

Following Optimus Prime's death, Megatron was rebuilt by Unicron into Galvatron. Though Galvatron at first proved to be a potently cunning Decepticon leader, he suffered brain damage following his defeat at the hands of Rodimus Prime. Galvatron was now a screaming, unpredictable madman who would turn on his own soldiers as readily as his enemies.

Diverging timelines took Galvatron in two paths. In one, Galvatron fled to space with Scorponok following a failure to blow up the sun, Earth, and Cybertron. In another, Galvatron became buried under ice by the Headmasters and eventually returned as Super Megatron with the aid of Dark Nova.

Scramble City diorama

This fifteen-minute, stop-motion, extended toy advert retells the story of the original Scramble City: Mobilization OVA with the addition of Galvatron. Created before the Japanese production staff were aware that Galvatron was a recreated Megatron, this OVA features the infamous gaffe that presents Galvatron and Megatron as separate characters. It ain't in continuity with jack, yo.

Galvatron shoots silly string of doom.

During a massive brawl between the Autobot and Decepticon combiners, Megatron took the upper hand. To counter this, Optimus Prime ordered Metroplex to enter the fray. Metroplex rolled onto the scene and towered over his enemies, with City Commander Ultra Magnus in tow. Not to be outdone, Megatron ordered his own City Commander to enter battle. Beaming down from the sky on a ball of light, the silent and menacing Galvatron stormed the battle. Transforming into cannon mode, Galvatron fired a blast of energy at Ultra Magnus, who quickly transformed to robot mode and engaged his foe in hand-to-hand combat. As the fight seemed evenly matched, City Commander Galvatron's city finally arrived to tip the odds: Trypticon! Scramble City

Marvel Comics continuity

There were multiple Galvatrons from various alternate futures who often time-jumped to give the Autobots trouble. Their precise number — and even their precise pre-Unicron character of origin — remains inconclusive, due to the brevity of some stories, the confusing effects of serial time travel, and the retcon being worked into the Marvel comics at about the same time that would eventually reveal the "Megatron" in many of these stories to have actually been a clone vessel for Straxus.

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

Galvatron I

Darn that Soundwave.

Cast out of Astrotrain on the journey back to Cybertron after a failed attack on Autobot City in 2006, the wounded and dying Megatron was found by Unicron and recreated as Galvatron. The Planet-Eater! Immediately after destroying Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons, Galvatron watched as Unicron consumed one of the Cybertron's moons, and furiously announced that they belonged to him. Unicron responded by psychically torturing Galvatron, reminding him that he was his master. Judgment Day! Immediately resolving to free himself from the shackles he was unaware he had donned, Galvatron formed a plan to use Autobot time-travel technology to send himself and his lieutenants Cyclonus and Scourge back in time to the year 1986, thereby putting himself beyond Unicron's reach. Once in the past, Galvatron planned to create a superweapon with the power to destroy Unicron, which would be left hidden on the planet, to be activated upon his return to the future. Target: 2006

File:2006-1.jpg

Sure glad these guys don't have a Pathblaster!

Upon Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge's arrival in 1986, the laws of space and time caused them to mass-displace Prowl, Ratchet, and Optimus Prime to limbo, immediately removing some of the greatest obstructions to Galvatron's scheme. Seeking an alliance with his past self to expedite his plan, Galvatron traveled to the Decepticon base in Wyoming and shared his story with Megatron, carefully leaving out the fact that they were the same individual. Naturally, Megatron didn't buy into the time-traveller's story and attacked him, but Galvatron was more than a match for his past self, who he left unconscious and entombed under a mountain of rubble. Taking control of the Decepticons, Galvatron put the Constructicons to work building the colossal cannon he would use to destroy Unicron, but soon found himself forced to alter his plan when news came in that Ultra Magnus had come to Earth. Capturing Jazz, who had been spying on the Decepticon construction project, Galvatron lured the Autobots into a battle which he used to prove his superiority, taking every shot they fired and utterly dominating them with his Unicron-borne strength.

Realizing they were helpless against Galvatron, the Autobots were forced to unearth the buried Megatron and strike a deal with him, hoping his talent for warfare would help them defeat their future enemy. Alas, this plan fared little better, until a trio of Autobots—Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr—arrived from the future to help (who had, unbeknownst to anyone, actually been sent back in time by Unicron to curb his rebellious creation). Ultra Magnus engaged Galvatron in a furious travelling battle, drawing the future Decepticon away from the cannon construction site so that the Autobots could set up their plan. Although he fought bravely, Magnus was ultimately defeated, and Galvatron returned to the cannon site, only for the weapon to be suddenly destroyed in a huge explosion set by the Autobots. Galvatron emerged from the wreckage to see what he thought was the architect of the explosion, Starscream (but was, in fact, an unconscious Skywarp painted to look like the air commander by Hot Rod's team), and in a fit of anger, blew him up. After a moment, Galvatron realizing something was amiss: if he had now destroyed Starscream in the past, how then could he go on to destroy him in the future? Coming to the conclusion that he had accidentally travelled back into an alternate timeline, and thus, no action taken then would affect his future, Galvatron and his troops returned to their proper time—just as the Autobots had planned. Target: 2006

No wonder he's nigh-invincible! He's denser than Unicron's skin!

Upon his return to 2006, Galvatron was tortured back into submission by Unicron and sent on a quest to steal the Creation Matrix. Accomplishing this goal, Galvatron then tried to use the power of the Matrix against Unicron himself, but found he was unable to open the talisman. Unicron consumed Galvatron for his treachery, and it was there, within the chaos-bringer's body, that Galvatron was soon confronted in climactic battle by Hot Rod. During their fight, Hot Rod reclaimed the Matrix and was transformed into Rodimus Prime, then used his new strength to hurl Galvatron through Unicron's hide and into the void of space. The Final Battle! What nobody knew, however, was that Galvatron had kept the time-jump trigger device he had used to control his return from 1986, and he was able to save himself by using it to send himself back into the past once more, this time with the intent to stay. Arriving in 1987, he materialized above Earth and proceeded to crash down to the planet's surface like a meteor, catching the attention of a group of Autobots who had just arrived on Earth themselves. His mind unhinged by the terminal velocity impact, madness began to creep over Galvatron, and he easily bested the Autobots, believing himself to battling the hated Rodimus Prime. A contingent of nearby Decepticons led by Shockwave were drawn to the battle, and Shockwave concluded based on past reports that Galvatron posed a threat to his leadership, ordering his troops to aid the Autobots. This had something of a calming effect on Galvatron, who retreated on the basis that he could not destroy the Decepticons, as then he would have no army to command in the future. Fallen Angel

Galvatron! We have finally completed your hot tub!

Galvatron's escape to 1987 went unnoticed by all, save one: the bounty hunter Death's Head, who sought to claim the reward Rodimus Prime had rashly placed on the Decepticon leader's head. Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive! Death's Head arrived in 1987 just has Galvatron's latest plan was nearing fruition: he had constructed a massive magma tap that would siphon the energy of an erupting volcano, Mount Verona, into his own body, making him as powerful as a god. Burning Sky! In addition to the bounty hunter, Ultra Magnus, Goldbug, and several Autobots who had travelled back from Galvatron's own era all stood together to disrupt his plans. Rodimus Prime attempted to manipulate Galvatron's time-jump device to send them all back to the future, but when he and the other Autobots slingshoted back to 2008, Galvatron inexplicably remained behind. Fire on High! Believing himself incapable of beating Galvatron, Ultra Magnus bowed out of the fight, leaving Goldbug to fight alone, but naturally, he soon returned to aid his friend in the impossible combat. Insanity once again washing over Galvatron in the heat of battle, and the Decepticon tore a portion of his magma tap's control equipment loose, causing the machine's control of the volcano to be lost. Magnus held the deranged Galvatron back while Goldbug escaped, and both combatants were entombed in lava as Mount Verona erupted. Vicious Circle!

But while Galvatron was trapped, encased in a tomb of his own making, he was also very much alive. Learning of this, and seeking to remove any opposition to his leadership, then-Decepticon leader Shockwave sent the Combaticons and Soundwave to rig the volcano with bombs and blow up Galvatron. As this would have meant the destruction of Ultra Magnus as well, the Throttlebots stepped in, and with the aid of humans Cindy Newell, Joy Meadows and Susan Hoffman, drove the Decepticons off. Unfortunately for the Autobots, a small explosion triggered during the battle cracked Galvatron's lava prison, Ladies' Night and he was soon able to tear himself free. Knowing that taking over the Decepticons by force would not win him any favors among their ranks, Galvatron instead resolved to turn them against Shockwave by making them doubt his leadership. To this end, he made a menacing bee-line for the Decepticons' undersea base, prompting the panicked Shockwave to send the Seacons against him. Galvatron was moderately impressed by the might that their combined form Piranacon was able to bring to bear, but the gestalt was still no match for the future Decepticon's might and quickly fell before him. Galvatron proceeded to tear his way into the base, and declared before the assembled Decepticons that he had actually desired an alliance, but that Shockwave's aggressive actions and rendered it an impossibility, and then departing, knowing the seeds of dissent had successfully been sown. On his way back to the surface, Galvatron discovered the damaged Autobot Fizzle, and in a fit of charity, carried him out of the ocean, emerging into the midst of a battle between Fizzle's fellow Sparkler Mini-Bots and the Firecons. Galvatron laughed off the Firecons' suggestion of an alliance, then backhanded Fizzle into a tree when he tried in vain to stop him from leaving. Enemy Action!

Galvatron proceeded to stalk the Sparkler Mini-Bots after they rescued Ultra Magnus from Mount Verona, and attacked the smaller Autobots with relish, knowing Magnus was helpless to stop him, demoralised from the psychological scars cut from repeated defeats at his hands. As Galvatron pretty much beat the crap out of the Sparkabots, Magnus finally managed to get his act together, taking Galvatron by surprise. With a few powerful punches (and one heck of a kick), Magnus managed to sent Galvatron into retreat, defeating Galvatron at last! Salvage!

Soon after, Galvatron arranged to meet his ex-lieutenants Cyclonus and Scourge, who had since wound up stranded in the past and sought use of his time jump trigger device to return to the future, unaware the device had been destroyed. Drafting a particularly freaked-out human to carry him into the middle of a city in his shrunken pistol mode, Galvatron informed his former subordinates that they would have to swear complete loyalty to him; unsurprisingly, they refused, but before a battle could begin, the three Decepticons were interrupted by the Wreckers, sent to Earth via dimensional portal to take Galvatron out. Galvatron's choice of meeting place hampered the Wreckers significantly, leaving them unable to unleash their weapons for fear of harming humans, and the battle did not to go well, forcing Springer to resort to trickery. Pouncing on Galvatron, he loudly announced he had stolen the non-existent time jump device, luring the dimwitted Cyclonus and Scourge away. Galvatron was left facing the rest of the Wreckers, but he easily convinced them to go to Springer's aid and fled while they were occupied. Wrecking Havoc

Oh no, look out, c-string characters!

Galvatron's time-travelling (along with that of the other Autobots and Decepticons) eventually caused a rift in time and space that threatened both the present and the future, opening a timestorm at both ends of the timeline that consumed the planet Quintessa in 2008. Space Pirates!

Having sought a weapon to use against Galvatron, Shockwave recovered what he believed to be the deactivated Megatron from the bottom of the Thames (but which was in fact a clone) and brainwashed him into his service, unleashing him in the hopes of eliminating one or both of his rivals. Unfortunately, Galvatron managed to appeal to the suppressed personality within Megatron, and the two joined forces. Altered Image!

File:MarvelUKTimeRift.jpg

Furman liked Galvatron, he just liked killing characters more.

Megatron and Galvatron forged an alliance and launched an assault against the combined forces of the present-day Autobot and Decepticons, the future Autobots and Decepticons, and the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad. By this stage, Galvatron was consumed by madness, reliving memories of the same battle as Megatron and unable to stand that things were going differently this time round. In his fury, he was able to overcome all resistance: even a direct Pathblaster to the face and single combat with Powermaster Optimus Prime failed to stop him completely. His threat was only truly ended when the time rift itself appeared in the skies over Earth, and Galvatron, lost to insanity, stood defiantly before it, declaring his superiority. The energies of the rift consumed Galvatron, tearing his to pieces and dragging his remains into its timeless depths. Time Wars

In an alternate future of 2006, Galvatron was leader of the Decepticons on their home base of Chaar. Astrotrain tried to tell him about some strange activity on the planet Junkion, but he wouldn't listen. Meanwhile, the events on Junkion caused a hypnotic signal to be broadcast out into space, which affected Galvatron while he was watching his bubbling pool. The signal compelled him to travel to Junkion, where he was led to believe he could "be a winner". He was followed by Cyclonus and Scourge.

Once on Junkion, they were soon joined by Autobots. Galvatron immediately attacked Rodimus Prime, and the two battled to a stalemate. The other Autobots worked to disrupt the hypnotic signal, which cleared Galvatron's mind long enough to blast the Junkions' television, which he recognized as influencing his mind. This broke the spell on everyone, including the Junkions, who then added their power to the Autobots' and forced the Decepticons to retreat in Blast Off.

In the course of this battle, his defeat at the hands of Rodimus Prime while inside Unicron was alluded to. The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)

In the UK version of the story, the events of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" are a fabrication invented by Wreck-Gar.

Other

"Now HEADS up! Ha, I'm on a roll today!"

In the year 2356 of an alternate future, a geriatric Rodimus Prime recounted tales of his exploits to a curious youth from his deathbed. In that timeline, the Time Wars had reset history: now the newly-created Galvatron hadn't time-traveled to 1987 Earth, and instead had remained in the 21st-century and conquered Cybertron. This "reset" Galvatron tried to enrage Rodimus—even going so far as throwing Blurr's severed head at him—so that the Autobot leader's vengeful thoughts would corrupt the Matrix itself. This Galvatron was last seen in a flashback to Unicron's third coming in the year 2010 (of that timeline): as Galvatron was left buried under rubble and Transformer corpses, Rodimus noted that on this occasion Unicron had no need for minions. Aspects of Evil!

Transformers PD Type

After taking to wearing four Blackballs around his neck as a necklace, Galvatron spotted Rodimus Prime, who'd found another of the precious artifacts. He attempted to throttle the Autobot, only for a brilliant light to shine directly at him. Galvatron fled, believing it to be the power of the Blackball, only for Rodimus to reveal it was just a flashlight... Take a Stand! Rodimus Prime!

Galvatron later led an attack on Battleship Maximus, Bigger than Life! Fortress Maximus! was knocked flat by God Ginrai, Now! Deliver the Finishing Blow! God Ginrai!! and he and his men were sent scrambling as Fortress Maximus and Mega Zarak traded blows. Watch Out! Mega Zarak! When Ultra Magnus found the final Blackball, Galvatron blew the defiant Autobot apart in order to obtain it. As he was enjoying his victory, he was suddenly bowled over — by Ultra Magnus' head. Improve Yourself! Ultra Magnus!

Galvatron's insanity finally out of control, Sixshot, Liokaiser and the other Decepticons were left with no choice but to bound their leader in rope and try to rationally explain to him that he was too crazy to be left free any longer. Galvatron then reminded them that unless they made his detainment more comfortable, such as providing a futon among other luxuries, he would surely destroy them all. Frightened by his looney faces, the Decepticons quickly brought him a hot cup of tea. Two in One! Lord Galvatron

When a Blackball landed somewhere in a field of tall grass, Galvatron sent Liokaiser to fetch it. Bitter with the menial task, Liokaiser began muttering unflattering remarks under his breath. He was then left to nervously explain himself to Galvatron, who was in earshot the whole time. Find the Bright Day! Liokaiser!!

Transformers in 3-D

Galvatron took to talking to Ratbat, as the cassette perched mutely on his shoulder. He was also even more abusive than usual towards his men. He was pleased when a potential new source of energon was discovered on an asteroid, but particularly displeased when Cyclonus returned with a small alien. After exhaustive tests by a violently coerced Cyclonus, positive results were found, and Galvatron rubbed his hands together in glee before sending out Ratbat to find more of the aliens. Instead, they discovered that the Autobots were also on the asteroid, and Galvatron was more than happy to start inflicting violence on the enemy rather than waste time on small organics. The Test

In search of slaves for the Decepticon energy research laboratory, Galvatron took Razorclaw and Ratbat to attack the space station S.S. Exton 9. The Decepticons used their new suspension-ray beam to paralyze the humans, and sat back to wait for the containment ship to turn up. When they detected Cosmos leaving the station, Galvatron ordered Ratbat to contact Cybertron for reinforcements. Unfortunately Cosmos' mission was a success, helping some children to return with the Prism of Power. Galvatron demanded the children surrender and turn over the Prism, threatening to kill them unless they complied, but Cosmos was able to distract him long enough for Ironhide to finish off Razorclaw and blast the Decepticon leader. Transformers in 3-D #2

Alerted to the existence of the Intergon Device, Galvatron led a strike force to Tau-Ursa and successfully seized the device from its inventor, Monitorus, before razing the city to the ground. Building the device into the "Nullification Cannon", Galvatron used it to attack the Autobots' energon plant on Cybertron, rendering its contents useless. While Optimus Prime was distracted by Slugslinger, Galvatron left, announcing as he did so that the Autobots would now have no choice but to surrender. Returning to the ancient, burned-out destroyer which the Decepticons were using as a base, Galvatron was informed by the Clones that the Autobots were searching for Metascan Alpha, the planet of the Logicons that also contained a bounty of energon. While he was ruminating about the implications, Galvatron was forcefully reminded by Lord Zarak that the Nebulan now led the Decepticons. A short time later, Optimus Prime attacked their location, fighting Galvatron. Before Galvatron could stop him, Scorponok swung a claw at the Autobot leader and struck the cannon instead, destroying it. The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3

Blackthorne Publishing's bankruptcy effectively ended the story at this point.

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Beast Wars cartoon

Galvatron killed Starscream.

When Starscream's immortal spark travelled to prehistoric Earth and possessed Waspinator, the Decepticon claimed to the Predacons that he was killed trying to defend Galvatron from Unicron. Blackarachnia, having a better grasp of history than Starscream expected, later pointed out in private with Starscream that she knew that he was actually destroyed by Galvatron for being a traitor. Possession

IDW Beast Wars comics

Galvatron's ultimate fate was unknown. Some said he was defeated by four Autobot warriors and buried under ice on Earth. Others said he was pulled to another universe by Unicron. Beast Wars Sourcebook

A Predacon named himself after Galvatron. The paranoid Killer Punch believed that Galvatron was still active and plotting the destruction of the Maximal Imperium. Beast Wars Sourcebook 2

Dreamwave Armada comic

Paradox!

An alternate version of Galvatron travelled into this reality as one of Unicron's heralds, along with alternate versions of Thunderwing, Bludgeon, Dirge, and Scourge, to prepare the way for their master's arrival. While the others defeated the Decepticon forces on Cybertron and took control of the space bridge Nexus, Galvatron was headed to Earth to track down Over-Run, a Mini-Con refugee from a Cybertron that Unicron was in the process of consuming. Over-Run was carrying the Mini-Con Matrix, which contained the essence of all the Mini-Cons from his reality, and might be a means to defeat Unicron. When Galvatron arrived in San Francisco, he was distracted by several Transformers on this planet, including Starscream, Hot Shot and Thrust, but easily bested them all. However, they managed to distract him long enough for Over-Run to escape. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4

When the Megatron of this reality launched his attack on the local Autobots on Earth, Galvatron arrived to destroy him, Worlds Collide, Part 2 of 4 declaring that he had killed "many" Megatrons in other alternate realities. Despite his putting up a valiant struggle, Megatron was pummelled within an inch of his life, but before Galvatron could finish him off, the Air Defense Mini-Con Team intervened, forming the mighty Star Saber. This allowed Megatron to overwhelm and eventually destroy Galvatron. Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4 The gloating Megatron subsequently hacked Galvatron's corpse to pieces. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Galvatron in the IDW continuity is an ancient Cybertronian who has no links to Megatron, nor Unicron.

Messiah Complex.

Galvatron hails from Cybertron's Golden Age, where he was one of Nova Prime's closest friends and advisors. Primus: All Good Things He later served on the first Ark, part of Prime's dream of expanding Cybertronian domination throughout the cosmos. However, Galvatron and the crew were lost when he plunged the ship into the mysterious anomaly in the Benzuli Expanse, a selfish act that killed the rest of the crew. Undead, Galvatron became the herald for Nova, now known as Nemesis Prime, ruler of the Dead Universe. As the only member of the crew who could survive the living universe for any length of time, he was sent to secure the inactive Thunderwing Spotlight: Galvatron and to prevent any interference with their plans for Earth. Devastation Ultimately, however, he betrayed Nemesis Prime's plans for expansion, shooting him in the back to obtain the Heart of Darkness, which Optimus Prime let him have - along with a dip in a solar pool. Revelation Years later, he emerged, remade by the Darkness and raising an army to defeat the Dead Universe's controlling intelligence, D-Void Heart of Darkness, until discovering he was actually doing D-Void's bidding at his last, just after infecting Vector Sigma with the Heart of Darkness revealed to be its' version of the Matrix of Leadership. As he finally died for real, Optimus Prime was forced to sacrifice the Matrix to undo his deluded acts Chaos.

Universe Classic Series toy bio

At a time when the Decepticons were a scattered confederation of assassins and warlords, Galvatron arrived from parts unknown and quickly asserted his dominance. Crushing all who opposed him, he united the Decepticons into a powerful army "capable of threatening the entire universe". Rumors about his past were plentiful, but facts were hard to come by. Mostly the Decepticons simply cowered before his might, their fear preventing them from even thinking about following anyone else. Those few who dared to conceive otherwise, simply hoped that one day a rival would emerge who could best the tyrant.

It is unclear where this story fits in continuity, or even which Galvatron is being referred to. If one assumes the "Classic Series" bios to be an extension of the Classics comic book, then he is likely "Galvatron II", as that is the only Galvatron established in that continuity. However, if one assumes that the "Classic Series" bios are not tied to any particular continuity, then the identity of this Galvatron becomes likewise open-ended.

Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic

Upon being cornered with his supply of energon cubes by the Autobots, Megatron took a bite out of one cube, transforming into Galvatron, who easily pulverized the Autobots. Ironhide tried to come to the rescue, but his attempt to attack Galvatron with his blade only ended in it being caught between Galvatron's teeth. But as Galvatron was about to fire upon Ironhide, an explosion occurred, revealing a weakened Megatron, who was then subsequently attacked by Ironhide. Henkei! Henkei! volume 7

Once Megatron learned he had the ability to "power up" and become Galvatron, he later sought the chance to do this again by immersing himself in a pool of molten lava. Cyclonus, accompanied by Starscream and Nightstick, watched and gloated in anticipation of the re-emergence of their unstoppable leader. However, the Autobots arrived, and during the subsequent battle, the lava pool was shot and collapsed. Galvatron did emerge after all...but all he did was berate his defeated troops for having allowed him to be awoken too early, while Cyclonus weakly attempted to protest. Henkei! Henkei! volume 9

Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun comic

Holy freaking yikes.

Badly wounded in battle by Optimus Prime's energon sword, the defeated and barely functional Megatron was carried from the battlefield by Cyclonus. Brought to a subterranean network of volcanic caves, Megatron was immersed in a "bath" of molten energon cubes to restore his strength. Time of Resurrection While Megatron was recuperating, Starscream led Optimus Prime and Bumblebee to his location, in hopes that they would destroy him so that he could take his throne. As Starscream and Cyclonus battled in the air, Prime approached Megatron, and without hesitation, plunged his energon sword into the Decepticon leader's chest and broke the blade off within his body. Megatron howled in pain and fury, and the energon cubes around him began to react, rising to whirl around him and surround his body with their glow. The maddened Megatron seized one of the cubes and bit into it deeply, causing a huge energon explosion. As the light from the blast faded, Megatron stood restored, renewed and reformatted... now, he was Galvatron! Creation! The New Emperor of Destruction!!

Cue the "oh slag" moment.

The hulking, slavering form of Galvatron immediately lunged for Optimus Prime, displaying a strength far greater than Megatron ever had when he punched Prime so hard that he shattered his mouthplate. Before Galvatron could destroy the fallen Prime, he was attacked from above by Starscream, but easily shrugged off the treacherous Air Commander's attacks. After seizing Starscream and slamming him into the rocks below, Galvatron unleashed the power of his cannon and apparently obliterated Starscream with a single colossal shot. This distraction gave Prime the time he needed to recover, but when he charged at Galvatron with his energon-axe, Galvatron countered it with a dagger-like blade of energy projected from his hand. Next, Galvatron used his cannon to collapse a chunk of the cavern ceiling, hoping to crush Prime, but when Prime evaded the debris by transforming to truck mode, Galvatron shifted to tank mode and pursued him, blasting all the way. Eventually, Galvatron caught up to Prime and pinned him against a wall...by which stage, the other Autobots had arrived to back their leader up! The Threat of Galvatron At first, the combined might of the Autobots seemed to be a match for Galvatron, but with terrifying ease, the reformatted Emperor of Destruction tore through their ranks, defeating each and every one of them. His foes bested, Galvatron then turned his attention to the Autobots' ally Wataru Hoshinoumi, a human born with the power to control energon. Wataru used his powers to create a forcefield to keep himself safe from Galvatron, and another threat soon appeared to occupy Galvatron's attention: Starscream was not quite defeated yet! His body broken and crippled, Starscream still pressed his attack against his former leader, and Wataru leant him a hand, providing a forcefield and boosted weapon power. Before being taken down, Starscream was able to hit Galvatron with one well-placed power-shot, re-opening the gash Optimus had originally torn in Megatron's shoulder with his energon sword. Seeing an opening, Optimus repeated the tactic, thrusting his sword into the wound and tearing Galvatron wide open. The resulted was a catastrophic release of energy from Galvatron's body, which caused the caves to collapse. The Autobots were able to escape to safety, but all the Decepticons were buried. Revenge

Is that how you treat someone after the first date?!

Although badly damaged, Cyclonus was able to survive the cave-in, and recovered the apparently-deceased body of Galvatron. After bringing the "corpse" back to the Decepticons' underwater base, Cyclonus discovered that Galvatron was not yet dead when the twisted cadaver of his leader lurched back into life and seized him about the throat, howling Optimus Prime's name...

Now he's copying his subordinate. And they say mimicry is the highest form of flattery.

A little later, the Autobots were shocked to discover Galvatron going on a very public rampage in the middle of Hoshinochō, and were forced to abandon any hope of hiding their presence from the humans in order to stop him. Even more of a monster than before and still bleeding destructive energy from his wound, Galvatron tore through both the human military and Autobot ranks, resisting even Wataru's boosted attacks. When Galvatron dived for the boy, Optimus Prime threw himself into his enemy's path, and Galvatron's claws smashed their way clean through Prime's chest, knocking the Autobot leader out. Unexpectedly, the Autobots' salvation was revealed by Galvatron's actions: Optimus Prime's Matrix of Leadership now stood revealed within his shattered chest. Responding to Wataru's powers, the Matrix surged to life and restored Prime, who struck Galvatron with an enormously powerful blow. As the Decepticon reeled, the energy bleeding from him shifted, and the Autobots discovered they were not fighting Galvatron at all, but Cyclonus...possessed by Galvatron's spark! A Nightmare, Once Again

Comes with power windows (not quite necessary), USB slot for the music collection (unless lacking a USB), adjustable seats with temperature settings (must have!), and the most important one: a cup holder for that wonderful (yet stolen) energon!

His true nature revealed, Galvatron unleashed the full extent of his bizarre powers, raking the cityscape with wild, unrestrained bolts of energy. Charging through the heart of the maelstrom, Prime summoned up the energy of the Matrix and struck Cyclonus' body with one almighty Matrix-powered punch. Cyclonus was atomized, and Galvatron's bodiless spirit flowed over Prime, dissipating into the ether.

The Autobots celebrated the apparent destruction of their eternal enemy, formally revealing themselves to the people of Earth and rounding up the remaining Decepticons hidden on the planet. Just as things seemed their brightest, Prime revealed the terrible truth: before disappearing, Galvatron's spark had revealed to him that he was not yet dead. In truth, before his rampage, Galvatron had his body placed in a small spaceship, which was then launched into space, on a course heading back to Cybertron. With a new group of Autobots appointed protectors of Earth, Prime and his team left the planet, hot on Galvatron's trail... To the Sea of Stars

Controversy over identity

Yeah, this'll really help with the whole insanity thing.

“	Well, they were the same guy.	”
—Astrotrain's thoughts on the subject, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1"

As the above media summaries show, Galvatron has had wildly differing origins across numerous continuities. Some of this was the result of Galvatron's "intended" identity, popularized in the 1986 movie, having not been known in advance by all the creators of all the international franchise branches at once. However, other cases represent later creators deliberately starting from scratch. Since the conceptual existence of multiple dimensional variants of Galvatron predates — by about 17 years — the development of multiple dimensions of Transformers storytelling within a multiverse, it can be especially hard to neatly separate all his appearances into "main" and "peripheral" storylines / personifications.

Even when focusing strictly on Galvatron's most well-known incarnation — the G1 animated series — there has been considerable debate through the years. Some fans believe Galvatron is a psychologically distinct and discontinuous entity from Megatron, almost, or equally, as much as Scourge and Cyclonus, who demonstrate no continuity of memory or personality with their former Decepticon selves. This remains a topic of heated debate in some circles, in spite of a fairly unambiguous canon.

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

In the Generation 1 cartoon continuity, Galvatron evidently still self-identifies as being the same person as Megatron, albeit with greater power and a new name. Although not seen to be making a point of revealing this former identity to his troops at large, Galvatron makes his sense of self clear when Starscream asks "Megatron? Is that you?" to which he replies, "Here's a hint", before obliterating him. Later in The Transformers: The Movie when Galvatron is poised to crush Hot Rod's neck, he boasts: "First Prime, then Ultra Magnus, and now you. It's a pity you Autobots die so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now." Again, Galvatron is obviously speaking with no sense of discontinuity of identity or personality as he refers to past and current acts as both Megatron and Galvatron without qualification or distinction. Some might contrast this statement with his earlier line, "I, Galvatron, shall crush you, just as Megatron crushed Prime", interpreting that such a statement implies a disconnect from his former life.

Early story notes for the movie state that Galvatron is "a deadlier version of Megatron. Less bluster, more ruthless action". Further, in an early draft of the script, Galvatron reveals his "true" name—Megatron—to Hot Rod at the film's climax, with the implication that Megatron has merely been playing along with Ingestor's (the early version of Unicron) plans and has only pretended to be his willing servant, while in fact retaining his original identity and plans for conquest. The final version of the film leaves this a bit more ambiguous. Although, as noted, it seems fairly clear in the film that Megatron is playing the role of "Galvatron" that has been imposed upon him (even for his own troops) until such time as he can betray Unicron.

During season three, Galvatron makes little or no further references to his past life as Megatron. Upon meeting the resurrected Optimus Prime in "The Return of Optimus Prime", Galvatron behaves as though simply picking up where he left off with his old nemesis from his Megatron days, as does Prime, saying that he knows Galvatron "all too well". This indicates that the Autobot leader is capable of recognising his former adversary despite the change in name and appearance. Furthermore, in "Five Faces of Darkness", Astrotrain states that Megatron and Galvatron are "the same guy", implying that the other Decepticons (or, at the very least, Astrotrain) figured out what was going on or were simply always aware of Galvatron's identity.

Despite all that, a memorial of Megatron can be seen prominently in the Decepticon Crypt in "Starscream's Ghost", implying that the Decepticons who built it considered Megatron to be dead. This could possibly be explained by presuming the Decepticons built the marker before Galvatron returned and seized command, though their window of opportunity to do so was rather slim.

Japanese fiction

I hope you enjoyed that shining wizard, Magnus, because it's a very long way down.

Early advertisements for the Galvatron toy presented the character as an altogether separate being from Megatron, and in some cases, even being Megatron's underling. The second "Scramble City" OVA was a remake of the original animated version, albeit including the Galvatron toy for promotion. Galvatron appears to fight his nemesis, Ultra Magnus, as Megatron barks orders from the background. This is likely due to Takara wishing to advertise the toy as quickly as possible, without full knowledge of the character's history. To maintain Galvatron's mystique, he was given the function of "City Commander", with no indication that he was an upgraded Megatron. Continuing this trend of unintentional disassociation, very early promotional artwork featured in TV Magazine and Comic Bom Bom also presented Galvatron as a separate character.

However, this era was very short-lived. In all official Japanese fiction, including the manga and the Japanese-exclusive cartoons, Galvatron is locked in as an upgrade of Megatron. A retcon was created by writer Hirofumi Ichikawa for e-HOBBY in order to explain away the bizarreness of some of these early story pages, detailing that the Galvatron seen there was actually a dimension-travelling Galvatron II.

Marvel Comics continuity

In the US and UK Marvel comics, the various time-hopping Galvatrons all demonstrate an awareness of having previously been Megatron with no strong indicators of a break in psychological identification. Indeed, at one point, a Galvatron says outright, "Like Megatron? No—I AM Megatron!" The closest that these Galvatrons come to identity crisis are incidents in which a time-displaced Galvatron is confronted by Megatrons (or copies thereof) and does battle with his former self. Although in these instances Galvatron experiences trains of thought that suggest he sees Megatron as a separate being and/or the source of his madness that needs to be destroyed, these are not the musings of a calm, rational mind. In these instances, Galvatron is in the grips of a psychotic episode, which he generally snaps out of by realising that he and his opponent are indeed the same person.

However, things are complicated by many appearances by Megatron being retconned as a clone of Megatron. There was no hint the clone was a clone until "Two Megatrons!", so naturally "Megatron" and Galvatron were written as being past and future versions of themselves. Galvatron even remembers events that happened to the clone, and the clone goes on to plot his schemes under the knowledge that he will become Galvatron one day. The memories do not fit with Galvatron's known backstory at all. (One theory is that this Galvatron wasn't the same one as in "Target: 2006" but a different one formed from the clone.)

A possible explanation for why (any version of) Galvatron retains psychological continuity with Megatron, while his fellow Unicron-creations do not, may be that Thundercracker, et al. were apparently already dead or in total stasis lock at the time of their reformatting, and thus it is widely speculated that only their bodies were used to create Cyclonus and company. Whether this indicates that they retained their life-essences and merely suffered total mind-wipes (either as the result of recent death or by Unicron's doing), or if Unicron actually infused their reformatted bodies with new life-forces is unknown. (On the other hand, none of the other Unicron-created Decepticons have faced their past selves or deeds the way Galvatron has.) Megatron, by comparison, was clearly alive and awake at the time of his reformatting and struck a bargain with Unicron for "a new body", a deal which implied that his mind would remain his own.

Games

Transformers: The Headmasters

When the Decepticons captured some of the Autobots' greatest warriors, Galvatron and Bruticus stood guard over Rodimus Prime and Highbrow on Cybertron. They were defeated and their prisoners were rescued by Chromedome and the other freed Autobots. Transformers: The Headmasters

The Transformers (PS2)

Voice actor: Jeff Manning (English)

Galvatron appeared in a valley where the Autobots had detected an SOS signal. He materialized in front of the Autobots and mistakenly believed that the Rodimus Prime was among them. He berated Rodimus for thinking that he could vanish and get help from the Autobots of the current time period. He then realized his mistake and was momentarily startled by the sight of Optimus Prime before realizing that Optimus was not killed yet in this time period. He introduced himself to the Autobots and then contemplated aloud if he should say that is was nice to meet them before realizing that he already knew Optimus very well. Galvatron decided to fight Optimus, deciding that Rodimus was a worthless opponent, and warned Optimus that he would feel the power of the future Decepticons. He summoned his troops and charged the Autobot squad. The Autobots severely damaged Galvatron, but this only angered him. Galvatron transformed to his turret form and blasted the Autobots, disorientating them. Galvatron decided to use this chance to flee and commanded his forces to retreat. The Transformers

Notes

This toy IS a time paradox.

Why can't I see the sailboat???

• Galvatron's design went through at least seven versions, with the final version being a simplified version of one depicting Galvatron as having mostly exposed mechanical components. When asked about Galvatron's design in an interview, Floro Dery's reply was, "But about Galvatron, my inspiration for him are those 'stupid people'." ...Ooookay.

• In 2010, a set of Galvatron's original color models from The Transformers: The Movie went up for sale on Heritage Auctions, sold from Ron Friedman's collection of Sunbow Productions materials. This model depicted Galvatron with his earlier, more Megatron-ish head design, and showed his cannon as being grey in color.

• In the 1986 Hasbro Pre-Toy Fair catalog, Galvatron's orange cannon is colored dark (either black or a dark purple). Presumably, this version of the toy was based upon his early color model.

• A triple changer was proposed which would switch between a very awkward Galvatron, Megatron, and a Walther P-38 handgun with added futuristic silencer and laser sight. It is notable that the strange "Reverse Megatron" design has a mild resemblance to the also-unproduced Galvatron Action Master, especially in the chest design.

• A Galvatron Action Master was planned at one point, but apparently went no further than a concept sketch. It is only vaguely similar to Galvatron's normal appearance and may possibly have been a "powered up" Galvatron of some sort.

• According to the 1986 Diamond Transformers: The Movie stickerbook, Galvatron transforms into "a Galvagun". The sentence describing this is phrased somewhat oddly, and seems to insinuate that a "Galvagun" is a kind of common object. Of course, it is just a stickerbook...

• Galvatron's toy's instruction sheet names the big orange weapon a "laser" which, according to the toy bio, "emits chemically-produced, direct-current electricity". While this is a rather strange thing for a laser to do, it is a neat pun on his name. A galvanic cell, named after Luigi Galvani, is a certain type of chemical voltage source. Though Galvatron's toy's batteries are not galvanic cells, they do produce DC electricity chemically, making his toy one of the more fiction-accurate in the original toyline.

• Just as Megatron's fusion cannon was sometimes shown in commercials to have a handle, Galvatron's cannon had a trigger on at least one occasion (during "The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"). Galvatron apparently doesn't need to use the trigger; however, several times in season three, he behaved as if he was, holding his cannon with his fist vertically, rather than horizontally, while having one finger in front of the others... go figure.

• The Galvatron toy's gun mode's only fictional appearances were in the UK comics "Target: 2006" and "Wrecking Havoc", which featured it as a shrunken, human-scaled weapon, and a form that he assumed merely so that he could easily be conveyed by other parties, but never wielded as a weapon. It was also referenced in Dreamwave's More than Meets the Eye profile of Galvatron, which Cyclonus describes as a weapon "none are worthy to wield".

• The UK comics generally referred to Galvatron's big orange weapon as a particle (or particle-accelerator) cannon, in comparison to Megatron's fusion cannon. That seems to jibe with the DC-electricity laser description above. The 2008 Universe Galvatron toy has a "firing particle cannon" callout on the packaging, adding weight to that being the correct name of the weapon.

• Marvel UK artist Lee Sullivan based his rendition of Galvatron on actor Jack Nicholson!

• The brand director in 1989 who had to approve Transformers comics content, Vinnie D'Alleva, was the victim of an April Fool's Day joke when he was given a story draft and cover layout featuring Galvatron "killing people and eating sheep!" ... that seems pretty plausible, actually.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Galvatron (ガルバトロン Garubatoron)
• Mandarin Jīa Bó Wáng (Taiwan, 加博王, "King Galva"), Jīng Pò Tīan (China, 惊破天, "Sky-breaking Awe")
• Russian: Galvatron (Гальватрон Gal'vatron)
• Spanish: Zan Rás

External links

• Galvatron's Universe profile at NTFA.net
• Who Was Galvatron? at Transformers Omniverse