Megatron (RID)

The name or term "Megatron" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Megatron (disambiguation).

Megatron is a Predacon and later a Decepticon from the 2001 Robots in Disguise continuity family.

Let's see, I conquered Care-a-lot, Sesame Street, Shining Time Station, that planet Gumby came from...

Megatron is the leader of the Predacons with the ability to take on six forms. He claims to have decimated numerous planets during his campaign for Predacon supremacy before coming to Earth in search of the megaweapon Fortress Maximus. He appears to have come into conflict with Optimus Prime and his Autobots numerous times before.

Although Megatron is a great and powerful warrior, he typically leaves the fighting to his Predacon lackeys, such as Sky-Byte, preferring to stalk around his headquarters the Megastar and berate his underlings when they inevitably fail. Upon his conversion to Galvatron, he is a lot more active and effective. His primary attack seems to be his Cutter Beam technique. As Galvatron, he can increase his power by draining the life energy of other beings!

Fiction

American cartoon continuity

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Voice actor: Daniel Riordan (English), Yōichi Kobiyama (Japanese), Byeong Gwan Kim (Korean), Luiz Carlos Persy (Brazilian Portuguese), Gerardo Vásquez (Latin American Spanish), Giorgio Locuratolo (Italian)

He wants the whole world, in his hand...

Megatron arrived on Earth in search of Fortress Maximus by orders of the Predacon Council Surprise Attack! with a cover story of plundering Earth's energy. His first appearance was at the International Scientific Symposium in New York, during which he and the Predacon trio fought Optimus Prime and the Autobot Brothers. Although the battle did not go well, Megatron was able to abduct Doctor Kenneth Onishi, an energy expert and archaeologist. Battle Protocol! Doctor Onishi was subjected to the psycho-probe which was proving to be slow work in extracting information. In the meantime, Megatron sent his minions out to steal energy to refuel the Megastar, only occasionally venturing out himself to help them. He would often bemoan the Predacons' predicament, and wished that he could simply bully the humans into handing over their energy supply.

The first energy-gathering mission that Megatron assigned to Sky-Byte was the retrieval of a bomb hidden within a XC-12 model red sports car, planted there by a group of terrorists. Sky-Byte failed Megatron in this assignment. An Explosive Situation Megatron was next seen when he caught his troops out and about attempting to destroy the Linear RFG without orders to do so. After briefly berating his troops, he opened fire on Optimus Prime. Team Bullet Train then joined the Autobots, and attempted to retaliate against the Predacon leader. Their attacks were easily brushed away, however. As Rail Racer, the trains gained the speed and power necessary to drive Megatron off, who sped away in his jet mode. Bullet Train to the Rescue

Megatron then orchestrated a plot to steal a Plutonium Energy Generator as it was being escorted by the Autobots across the city. Half-way through the mission, Gas Skunk, Slapper and Dark Scream ran into trouble, as they were unable to fend off the Spy Changers. Megatron sent Sky-Byte into the field to assist his troops. Although at first it seemed that the Predacons returned to base successfully, it turned out that the Spy Changers had somehow managed to swap out the real Energy Generator with a decoy. Infuriated, Megatron declared that he would turn his incompetent toadies into scrap. Spychangers to the Rescue

Next, Megatron sought to activate the Black Pyramid, an ancient ruin which he boasted he had known about long before the humans. The power-generating matrix chamber within was to be Megatron’s next target in his quest for energy. As the Predacons prepared to tap into the Black Pyramid’s power, a ship entered the area. Fearing that it would draw the Autobots’ attention, Megatron ordered Sky-Byte to take it out before it got any closer. Of course, attacking the ship did nothing but bring the Autobots onto the scene faster. As the Predacon’s mission went south, Megatron decided to destroy the Black Pyramid rather than allow it to fall into anybody else’s hands, then fled. The Hunt for Black Pyramid

Attempting to provide a distraction for Sky-Byte's mission to some ruins, Megatron and the Predacon trio attacked Metro City, fighting Team Bullet Train. The Secret of the Ruins Another plan to trap Optimus Prime started off well — Megatron disguising himself as a red sports car proved to be an effective method to trap the Autobot Side Burn and they were soon able to trap Optimus as well. Megatron took great pleasure in punishing the Autobot leader until the rest of the Autobots mounted a rescue and the Predacons were forced to flee. Sideburn's Obsession

I DO NOT NEED ANGER MANAGEMENT!

With little information forthcoming from the psycho-probing of Doctor Onishi, the Predacons stole a disk left by the doctor, leading them to attack a steam train under the mistaken assumption it was a weapon of some sort. This did not help Megatron's temper. Secret Weapon: D-5 Nor did the destruction of his Mega-Laser Cannon by the Autobots. Mirage's Betrayal In an attempt to destroy their foe, Megatron and Sky-Byte entered the International Grand Prix which the Autobots had also entered in an attempt to find one of their number who'd gone rogue. Megatron managed to trap Optimus and the three brothers under a huge rock, but the rogue Autobot, Skid-Z, turned up in time to rescue them and Megatron was sent packing. Skid Z's Choice

In the middle of yet another one of the Decepticons' harebrained schemes, Megatron checked up on Sky-Byte to see if his plan to brainwash Tow-Line was going smoothly. He and Sky-Byte came upon the Autobots as the now clear-headed Tow-Line was rescuing the Autobots he had been tricked into taking captive. Attempting the salvage the scheme, Megatron faced off against Rapid Run. Megatron's Mega Sword wound up not being a match for Rapid Run's Deflector Shield, and the Predacon leader was forced to fly off. Tow-Line Goes Haywire

On one of Megatron's many attempts to glean secrets from Doctor Onishi's mind using the psycho-probe, he uncovered images of a "Cave of the Dragon". Coincidently, Gas Skunk caught footage on one of the base's monitor about a movie taking place within the same cave. The Predacon misinterpreted what he saw as footage of an "ultimate robot warrior", capable of transforming into a dragon, and so informed his leader about his discovery. Intrigued about this "transformer" the humans had hidden away on their planet, Megatron sent out his troops to convince this potential "champion of the Predacons" to join his crew. Slapper’s later report that the Autobots “knew” about the transforming statue only cemented Megatron’s desire to acquire the statue. In reality, there was no robot warrior, only a bunch of flashy special effects for a movie being filmed at the cave. The Ultimate Robot Warrior

"Are you saying that there's a Decepticon who stole my name, crash-landed here and got frozen a hundred years ago and is secretly being hidden inside this dam while humans steal his technology for themselves? DO YOU REALIZE HOW STUPID THAT SOUNDS?!

After several more failed missions, the interrogation of Dr. Onishi finally saw results in the discovery of a crashed Autobot spaceship in America. Megatron was able to snatch six protoforms from the ship and took them to the nearby McKinley Army Base where he imbued them with energy from his spark and gave them new forms as Decepticons. The Decepticons Eager to test his new troops, he sent them to destroy Sherman Dam and hacked into the primitive human television transmissions in order to extort the humans in the nearby city of Los Bogus into surrendering. Unfortunately, things did not go well and Megatron was left looking embarrassed in front of all the humans. Commandos

Megatron largely stayed back at base after these incidents until the Commandos were able to sabotage the Autobot Global Space Bridge. With the Autobots unable to reach specific destinations, Megatron and Scourge attacked an energy facility near the North Pole. Unfortunately for them, the Autobots were able to get the space bridge repaired in time for Megatron to be seen off by Landfill. Landfill

Dragon-back rides were the hit of the fair!

Megatron was especially interested in the arrival of a new Autobot, Ultra Magnus, who had an intense rivalry with Optimus Prime. Ultra Magnus After Magnus badly damaged Prime in a fight, causing the latter to retreat to an island to recuperate, Megatron saw his chance and personally led the attack on Optimus Prime. The attack might have succeeded if it weren't for the arrival of Ultra Magnus, who merged with Optimus to form the powerful Omega Prime. Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!

After the capture of the three Autobot brothers, Megatron again ventured out and was able to successfully fight Optimus, who was unwilling to fight back while the three brothers were under threat. Even after the brothers were freed, Megatron attempted to stomp the trio, only to have them fight back after they supercharged under the influence of mysterious energy channelled through Ultra Magnus. The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus

Finally, information obtained from Dr Onishi led the Decepticons to discover the location of Fortress Maximus and the fulfilling of Megatron's quest. Fortress Maximus Although the Autobots hid Fortress Maximus, Megatron had his men try to track down the rest of the O-Parts. The Autobots again got there first, but Megatron was able to take Wedge hostage, offering him back in exchange for the O-Parts. The exchange was ruined by Sky-Byte, which didn't exactly endear the Predacon to his master. A Friendly Contest

Arise, Chooktimus Prime

The Decepticons subsequently tracked the Autobots to the Sahara Desert, Megatron leading the mission himself. By the time they caught up to the Autobots, Optimus had already located the Orb of Sigma, the key to finding Fortress Maximus' commanding entity Cerebros, in a deep cavern. Megatron attempted to take the Orb, but was caught in a booby trap which seized him in a powerful energy field. Soon he and Optimus were locked in combat, resulting in Megatron disappearing in the collapsing cavern. In the aftermath, the three beast Predacons pulled themselves out of the rubble, only to have their energy drained. Megatron was back with a new form and name—Galvatron. Peril from the Past

...wait, that's proper scale. What are they playing at in Japan?!

Galvatron rejoined his troops as Scourge attempted to take control of Fortress Maximus in the heart of Metro City. He proclaimed Megatron dead and he himself to be an entirely new person. Though the attempt to control Fortress Maximus was unsuccessful, Galvatron seized Cerebros during the retreat. Maximus Emerges

Scourge's second attempt to control Maximus failed as well, leading the Decepticons to try and capture Koji Onishi, the Autobots' pet human. Instead they got hold of Koji's friend Karl, but Galvatron accompanied Scourge and Sky-Byte to Maximus's location. Once Karl had taken control of the titan, Scourge turned on his master, ordering Karl to destroy Galvatron. With the attempt a failure, Galvatron stunned his minion and retreated. Mistaken Identity

Galvatron used one of his new abilities to seize the traitorous Decepticons in an energy field and forcibly reprogram them to serve him. Placing them under the command of Sky-Byte, he then sent them to attack the Autobot base. Although the Decepticons and Predacons were led into a trap by the Autobots, Galvatron brought the Megastar to the battle, growing in size to join with the battle station as its right hand. After Fortress Maximus destroyed the battle station, Galvatron fell, apparently lifeless, to the ground. Surprise Attack! Not finished yet, Galvatron used his new vampiric powers to drain energy from Maximus. When confronted by Omega Prime, Galvatron demonstrated another new ability, releasing from his mouth thousands of cyber-bats which took control of Earth's children. The Autobots were forced to call a retreat.

Have at thee!

Galvatron sent his Decepticon forces in after the Autobots, intending to kill two birds with one stone—he used his Striker Lance to rupture the wall of the Global Space Bridge, flooding it with lava. Galvatron's Revenge The Autobots soon escaped, but Galvatron was able to swiftly seize them in an energy field, only losing Optimus Prime when the other Autobots shielded their leader from Galvatron's energies. Optimus and Ultra Magnus again combined into Omega Prime to confront Galvatron, leading him through the space bridge to Earth's core for a final confrontation.

When Omega Prime used the Matrix Blade to destroy Galvatron's Striker Lance, the resulting explosion (and apparent release of Galvatron's absorbed energies) was enough to defeat the villain. He was last seen being exiled to the Asteroid Prison Colony, swearing that he would return to seek revenge. The Final Battle

Dreamwave Summer Special comic

Megatron's seventh "Ugly Drawing" mode was impossible to hold back.

Annoyed at the Predacons' inability to steal energy, Megatron ordered Scourge and Sky-Byte to undertake a joint operation to an energy research facility in Arizona, while he and several of the other Decepticons kept the Autobots busy. Megatron was soon struggling with the Autobot Brothers in Oregon. Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?

Japanese cartoon continuity

As this fiction takes place in a different continuity family, "Gigatron" will be used to refer to the character.

Car Robots catalog

Template:Askvectorprime Gigatron and his Destrongers arrived on Earth in the year 2000 via a dimensional rift. They were pursued by Fire Convoy and his Dimensional Patrol at the behest of the Convoy Council.

Vector Prime noted that the Gigatron of Primax 603.0 Beta was coincidentally a dimension-hopper just as with Primax 400.05 Alpha's Gigatron and his Destrongers.

Transformers Legends comic

Having escaped from Autobot captivity, Black Convoy sought to return and break Gigatron out of jail as well, believing he would need his leader's power to reach his own selfish goals. To this end he recruited the dimensionally-displaced Gelshark from the Legends Universe, and together the two set out to free Gigatron. Bonus Edition Vol. EX

Toy bios

Template:Askvectorprime On 21st century Earth in Viron 102.0 Beta, Galvatron offered Cryotek, who had came from the future, refuge aboard his ship, the Megastar, in exchange for a body upgrade. By Cryotek's hand, the Predacon leader become “Megatron Megabolt”. This "emissary mode" was designed to combine with both his space cruiser and the Autobots' secret defense fortress. In a show of arrogance, Megatron also began calling himself a Decepticon. Megatron Megabolt's toy bio Megatron thusly took control of Fortress Maximus, becoming Megabolt Maximus. However, Autobot leader Optimus Prime received assistance from Optimus Primal the Protector. Air Attack Optimus Primal's toy bio In the tough battle that ensued, Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal fought against Megatron and Cryotek and emerged victorious.

Shell Game

Template:Askvectorprime In universal stream Viron 704.31 Epsilon, Megazarak arrived from Cybertron after the death of Megatron and declared for leadership of the Predacon/Decepticon forces. Megazarak later used Megatron's corpse to create Megabolt to take control of Brave Maximus after the death of the Emissary.

Ask Vector Prime

When Bio Ranger Iga formed the Thirteen Great Demon Generals, Gigatron came from "beyond the reach of time itself" to join. Ask Vector Prime

Toys

Robots in Disguise (2001)

It sorta looks like a bat, right?

• Megatron (Ultra, 2001)
  • Japanese ID number: D-001
  • Accessories: 2 missiles, 2 missile launchers

The only new-mold bad guy from the Car Robots line, Megatron (or "Gigatron", as he was called in Japan) has six different configurations: robot, jet, bat, two-headed dragon, giant hand (awesome), and roadster. His hand mode has a spring-loaded "gripping" gimmick (oh hell yeah). He comes with a pair of pressure-launch missile launchers that can double as swords, or be combined to form a single naginata-like weapon.

Gigatron was later retooled into "Devil Gigatron", and it was this slightly modified version of the mold that Hasbro released in their Robots in Disguise line (see "Galvatron", below, for specific details). The blades of his missiles were also rounded off a bit more to comply with safety standards.

The Hasbro version of this mold was also used to make Timelines Deathsaurus. It was also later repurposed by IDW as G1 Gigatron.

Oddly enough, in Transformers: The Ultimate Guide, Simon Furman boasts that Hasbro's Megatron had ten modes and was a completely different toy from Gigatron. While Megatron could convert into all 10 alternate modes, the instructions only mentioned the original 6. Also, the Hasbro version is not a completely different toy from the Takara version so much as it is a slightly retooled version.

• More information on Megatron at TFU.info

One little, two little, three little alt-modes. Four little, five little, six little alt-modes. Seven little, eight little, nine little alt-modes. Ten little modes has he.

• Galvatron (Ultra, 2001)
  • Japanese ID number: D-013
  • Accessories: 2 missiles, 2 missile launchers

Redecoed into a color scheme more traditionally associated with "dead" in Japan, "Devil Gigatron" featured four additional transformations. Although this does make Galvatron the Transformer with the most official alt-modes in a single body, the four new modes were pretty clearly just made up by fiddling with the original toy, given that they feature no dedicated parts, and that all four can be reproduced on the original Gigatron mold. These new modes are a winged griffin, a one-headed dragon, a hydroplane (riiiiiight), and an elephant. The toy actually received a very slight retool to accommodate this fourth form: a pair of tabs were added to that allow the elephant's "trunk" to clip securely into place, which merely hangs loose if one attempts to configure the original Gigatron into this form. As noted above, this slight retool was used by Hasbro for their Megatron figure, and for all other Hasbro-released incarnations of the mold.

• More information on Galvatron at TFU.info

Transforms into a Predator mask!

• Megatron Megabolt (Deluxe, 2002)
  • Accessories: Missile

Originally developed for the Beast Machines toyline but shelved, it finally saw release as a Robots in Disguise KB Toys exclusive. Megatron Megabolt transforms into a head-shaped spider tank based on the Grand Mal design. A gear-wheel mechanism moves the legs up and down as the tank mode is pushed along. Pressing the (Vehicon) spark crystal on the tank's top opens its jaw and fires a spring-loaded missile. In robot mode, this swings the entire cannon assembly up over the robot's head, along with a "battle mask".

In a rather clever retcon, this toy's bio (described above) says that the alt mode is a means for Megatron to take control of Fortress Maximus. As it happens, the figure can actually be used as Maximus's head if you remove the spider-legs.

The original prototype of this toy looked vastly different and sported a different transformation.

This toy was released in Japan on August 8, 2002 as a ToysЯUs-exclusive "USA Edition".

This mold was redecoed as simply "Megabolt" in the 2003 Universe line. It was then redecoed again in Beast Wars Returns as Megahead Megatron, the character it had been designed for.

• More information on Megatron Megabolt at TFU.info

Car Bot

GIGA GIGA/Rock the Giga/ GIGATRON Z!

• Gigatron Z (Ultra, 2003)
  • ID number: D-16
  • Accessories: Two axe/missiles, claw weapon

A reissue of the Beast Wars Galvatron toy for Korean markets, Dinosaur Warrior Gigatron Z (기가트론Z Gigateuron Jedeu) has three modes, transforming from robot to dragon and "drill-tank" alternate modes.

Gigatron Z is armed with a pair of bladed missiles that are fired by two spring-loaded launchers located in the bifurcated tail of his dragon mode. These launchers wind up on his wrists in robot mode, and can be flipped forward over his fists to act as weapons in this mode. He can also wield the missiles in his fists as scythe- or axe-like melee weapons. In robot mode, Gigatron Z's dragon-wings unfold into a pair of serrated claws that can either be angled over his shoulders, or disconnect to become a hand-held weapon that features a lever-activated pinching gimmick. His drill-tank mode features a gear-activated spinning drill, activated by pushing a large black button on his back.

• More information on Gigatron Z (Galvatron) at TFU.info

Merchandise

Robot Heroes

If it's so bad to be jolly, he doesn't want to be good!

• Super Optimus Prime / Megatron

Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Notes

• In Car Robots, each of Gigatron's alternate modes not only have their own voice, but their own personality. Hooray for leaders who are even crazier than Generation 1 Galvatron!
• According to the first Car Robots toy catalog, Gigatron and his Destrongers "passed through a rift in dimensions" to appear on 21st-century Earth, with Fire Convoy/Optimus Prime's Autobot "Dimensional Patrol" following them. This seems to have been only vaguely alluded to in the Japanese version of the show—Fire Convoy proclaimed in the first episode that he would follow Gigatron wherever he went, "even if it's to the edge of the universe"—but does not seem to have played a large part of the main story, to the extent that the Robots in Disguise dub was able to omit it entirely. It gets a mention in a Megatron character profile on the R2 DVD boxsets, which refer to "rumours" that he comes from another time and place. The author claims that, at the time, he was just willfully screwing with people by including it, since back then it was more rumor in the fandom than the cited fact it is now.
• Years later, the Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity timeline and the Facebook edition of Ask Vector Prime would explicitly establish Gigatron and his Destrongers and time and dimension travelers.
• The first Car Robots catalog also stated that Fire Convoy and Gigatron were once "childhood friends" that became eternal rivals. We don't really have any idea how that was supposed to work.
• The CG illustrations on Car Robots Gigatron and Devil Gigatron's packaging were done by Tamotsu Shinohara, a designer at Toei who mainly does creature design for live-action tokusatsu series such as "Kamen Rider" and "Super Sentai".

Put it up to eleven.

• Megatron was left out of the BotCon 2010 Transformers Hall of Fame video tribute to Megatron(s), possibly due to rights issues.
• The name "Gigatron" was later used for Overlord's Heroes of Cybertron and Timelines figures. It literally means "one thousand Megatrons".
• The IDW G1 miniseries The Transformers: Drift - Empire of Stone has a G1 Decepticon named Gigatron, directly adapted from Car Robots Gigatron/2001 RiD Megatron.
• An interview with TakaraTomy employee Takashi Kunihiro in the August 2011 issue of Figure King magazine revealed that Car Robots Gigatron is his favorite design of the Transformers items he's worked on. Kunihiro also revealed an "eleventh mode" for Devil Gigatron in the interview, the "Devil Ostrich". How official one wants to consider this mode is up to the reader.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Gigatron (Megatron, ギガトロン Gigatoron), Devil Gigatron (Galvatron, デビルギガトロン Debiru Gigatoron)
• Korean: Gigatron (기가트론 Gigateuron)