Transformers Prime Megatron: The Perfect Villain 

There’s some thing about losing, getting killed, getting possessed by the devil, and then losing again that really makes you reassess your goals in life.

Kinda crazy how he went from "we shall break free from goverment oppression" to " I shall make an undead army out of all those who have died on cybertron"

They managed to combine the charisma, power-hunger, intelligence and intimidation of megatron into this version and combine that with being voiced by the OG voice actor and you have one of the best versions of the Decepticon warlord.

The moment when he bowed to Arcee in the Autobot base makes Megatron, in my view, a true gentleman. Also I find it funny as he spared her 3 times : -1.When he asked Soundwave to escort her off the ship ; -2.When he captured her in his hand during the Orion Pax thing ; -3.When he sent Smokescreen into a pyramid ; *STOP RIGHT THERE!* I am not one of those weirdos who makes unbiased ships. I know he almost killed her in episode 5 with a shot of dark energon blast. It's just, it feels that Arcee survived most of the encounters with Megatron without really trying to escape.

There is so much to like about this version of megatron and i can't find it to hate him he's so well written

A lot of it has to do with Frank Welker giving his best performance as Megatron to this version of him So much depth and inflection in this show

I don't know about you but for me Transformers Prime is by far the best Transformers series ever made.

It's interesting how the writers of the Aligned continuity were able to make Megatron both a tragic, and "evil for the sake of evil" type villain. From "humble" beginning as a slave, toiling away as first a miner, then a gladiator, under a despondent functionalist state, seeking freedom for the people, only to eventually devolve into a shining example of the classic saying "power corrupts". Becoming a tyrant just as bad, if not worse than the old regime. Committing crimes unpardonable without the faintest hint of mercy, or remorse.

They reslly did him justice its sad to see that no other megatron in tv and movies have matched him i hope knightverse megatron will be unstoppable

I feel that Megatron's actions in the end can be explained and understood by looking at his obsession with Optimus. Early on Megatron made it clear that Optimus was his opponent and only his and wanted to fight him at his best. This can be seen as he helped BumbleBee to make a cure for the Cybonic Plague infecting Optimus, and after being revived stopped StarScream from killing Optimus and didn't finish him off when he had the chance. Even after Optimus reverted back to Orion Pax for a time, Megatron still did not kill him and even allowed him to be a Deception, even if it was only to use his knowledge of the Iacon Relics, it can be seen as Megatron possibly having some underlying regret and/or respect for Optimus. Megatron would only end up attempting to kill Orion when he goes against Megatron and that there would be no turning back at that point. This is all to say that Megatron wanted to kill Optimus when they were both at their best and was perhaps content with dying as long as it was Optimus who killed him, this can be seen when he questioned Unicron about why he hadn't joined the All Spark. However, he wasn't killed by Optimus, he was killed by Bumblebee, someone he looked down on and constantly referred to as 'the Scout'. This probably shattered Megatron's perception of himself and would only further shatter as he was brought back only to be used as a tool by Unicron, where he had even less power than he did when he was miner under the cast system because even then he had control over his own body. In conclusion, Megatron built himself and Optimus up to be more than they were and when that perception came crashing down he had lost his obsession that had kept him going for so long and had accepted defeat with the understanding that he could no longer have outcome he had been obsessing over.

“YOU POSSESS NOTHING! IT IS *I* THAT HOLDS WHO YOU ARE, AND *EVER WILL BE!”* You can see it in Megatron’s optics right here that he figured something out. All he wanted was peace and freedom, but with the roll that Unicron was on, it didn’t sound like Megatron wasn’t going to get that. Also: “Megatron may *hear* you, but he canNOT HELP YOU! FOR HE IS ENDURING *ETERNAL SUFFERING!”* I think in that moment, whatever had snapped in him was “fixed” if you will (because that kind of trauma doesn’t exactly go away). No one wants to endure the kind of pain where you feel like you’re getting ripped apart over and over again for a fragging eternity. Because if you think about it, if you *really* think about it, there is no end to that threat. No ceasing of torture. Even for Megatron, that thought is terrifying. I think he reflected a lot in his moments alone with Unicron, and that reflection maybe appealed to whatever “humanity” he had left in him. The “humanity” he suppressed for so many years. Because even Ratchet knew Megatron had limits: “Megatron may be evil, but he’s no ghoul…” But ultimately, while he is the perfect villain… *None can escape the writing…*

Predecons Rising wasn’t a Megatron redemption. There’s a difference between quitting doing evil and beginning to do good.

I feel like Primes biggest flaw was that it's huge budget got in the way of them fully going through with their ideas. But what we got was still cool.

I'd like to highlight one of the books, which I forgot the name of. The Quintessons are the reason that Megatron and so many others were put under a caste system. Yet, when Megatron finally met the people literally responsible for his horrible way of life, he wasn't upset or anything. He just wanted to hurt Optimus. This is also the book where Optimus says something along the lines of: "Shut up about that lobster!"

Transformers Prime is my all time favorite in the entire saga.

I think one of the things about Megatron is that at the start he was fighting to have a voice and his true turning point the moment he couldn't turn back was when he took Bumblebee's voice.

This version of and megatron and the 2007 version where my personal favorites due to them giving a more depth into his backstory and treating him like a threat not to mention the designs

"Everyone thinks they're the Hero of their own story." - Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2.

As I watch this nice video, it brings to light the unmatched caliber of Megatron as a villain. While characters like Ozai, Zuko, Darth Vader, Thanos and Darkseid have their merits, none quite capture the essence of villainy as Megatron does. His unmatched cunning and sheer intimidation are unparalleled. But it's not just about the menace; his charisma, amplified by his colossal size, sets him apart from other iconic villains. With an age and potential for ultimate power that's been executed to perfection, he stands as a testament to what a true antagonist should embody. The nod to G1, especially with the original voice actor returning for Megatron, was a masterstroke, blending nostalgia with modern media. This Megatron, along with his predecessors like IDW all the way up to the G1 version, truly sets a gold standard for villains, proving that he's truly one of a kind, just like Optimus Prime.

I swear I love Megatron so much. His backstory makes me understand and kinda empathize him in that way. To me he is a tragedy because he was once an advocate for oppressed people. As someone from an oppressed minority I needed a hero like that. He’s become someone that reminds me of my own abusers and that’s what makes him so scary to me. From someone I’d look up to and project as a dad to me, to an abuser that’s too familiar for me to ever trust or be comfortable around him. A part of me loves redemption stories for him so much. Because now I have that person to look up to again.

I like how he dies. No speech, no emotional reveals, no sorries, just shock, trying to process what happened and going dark

Personally I disagree about Megatron's change of heart at the end of the series, though I do think it could have been handled better. Even simply replacing "Because I now *know* the true meaning of oppression" with something like "Because I now *remember* the true meaning of oppression" would have went a long way in my opinion.

man. i love how you are keeping the memory of the cybertron games alive it just warms my heart. edit : same with transformers prime, both of em were my childhood and i grew up loving then, my love for transformers is unexplainable

Could you analyse Predaking from this series? I love both his character and design and I wonder what you think of the choice to turn a combiner into a single character…

This was a great introspection of buckethead himself. Despite it not being a show, are you familiar with the idw comic more than meets the eye? They have handled megs so called redemption arc really well and it was a interesting take.

I prefer Animated Megatron, but Prime is great. I also believe it to be Frank Welker's best performance which is a really high bar.

HELLO RANDOM CHANNEL IVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE?? this is actually so good sending this vid to all my TF buddies

Tf prime Megatron is probably one of the best. He is the megatron. And in my view he is better than g1 megatron.

Megatron may had noble intentions at spark, but notice how Ratchet describes him more of a power-hungry, egoistical and vengeful maniac, who was only concerned about what he says, what he thinks, what he does. He will serve no one, he will bow to one (unless mockingly)... unfortunately it devolved into listening to no one, even his comrades who always had best intentions at their spark, like Orion Pax, who was his best friend, as close as brother. Megatron was maybe a mentor to Orion, but Orion was more like an guardian angel, who protected him from his descent into villainy. Unfortunately Megatron's psyche became so paranoid, so twisted, that once Orion was named the next Prime instead of him right in front of him, it was not that hard for him to feel betrayed and leave Pax behind, abandoning perhaps the last ounce of conscience, becoming finally a "prisoner of his own twisted delusions", symbolized by his noble features turning more evil, his blue turning red and getting sharp teeth in his mouth.

Another fantastic video. Tho i gotta say i dont really think Megatrons' actions were what you could call a redemption arc because we never saw the fallout of his change of opinion on opression - let alone whether or not his views towards organics have been reformed outside of that one kudos he gave to Raf for surviving this blast among several other problematic traits Megatron possesed throughout the show. I do understand how unbelievable such this change can be and I myself agree to an extent of what you said about it, though the best i can surmise is that we only saw very few portions of those days where Megatron was overtaken with Unicrons' spirit and thus don't know the full display of what he put megatron through and Megs himself through eons of tyranny had forgotten of the actual truth of his opression since Optimus himself said Megatron had lost his way. The few times he does bring up being a gladiator/lower class - he does so as a massive flex as if to empower himself which was definitely not the intent with that entire system. It definitely is a pretty shaky explaination. Another season where, maybe not a redemption arc, but a self-realization journey ala what Megatron in the comics went through when he became apart of the Lost Light crew. Either way the turn and the character of Megatron wouldve benefitted from even a short movie or a comic strip that went into detail about his mindset and what he did after he left. Someone made a headcanon where he overlooked Optimus Prime making that final dive into the very heart of Cybertron to rebirth the planet so selfishly that is also my headcanon lmao. Sidenote are you purposely calling Megatrons' change in the finale a heel turn as like a double meaning sorta thing, cause heel turn in wrestling terminology-where it originated from-means to turn into a bad guy. A babyface turn is when a bad guy turns into a good guy and it just confused me a lot lmfao.

The sad part is how many real freedom fighters end up like Megatron in real life.

Bro as a kid i would watch transformers prime on netflix, bro that scene scared me so much i didnt finish s1 until like a month later lol 14:43

This Villain can be a good template for anime Villain tho

I totally agree with the Flopped “Redemption” Arc of Megatron and it needs to be Completely ReThought out. Even the Bestest of Shows have Flaws, Especially Transformers Prime. Or in other Words; TFP isn’t Perfect, but it is the Best Iteration of The Transformers Franchise.

REALLY GREAT UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHARECTER

This is the Transformers version of "either you die as a hero or live long enough to become a villain"

I also love how he speaks the truth when you expect him to lie. Because there is a lot of moments when he could lie, but choose bold truth. Like when he was recruiting Ratchet in 3 season. "There are no guarantees that I won't kill you, and you know that any promises from a decepticon are worthless anyway"

the music in the background speaks words.

I don’t know man, I’m pretty much fine with Megatron giving up the Oppression at the end of Predicons Rising. Felt like a shocking twist in a good way, and not a bad way.

thanks man great video!

What if Dreadwing sided with the Autobots?

This and animated megatron are both awesome

Fun fact: I actually grew up with this megatron and he’s my favorite

I love Transformers Prime it’s a great show and they did a great job bringing Optimus Prime and Megatron to life. ^^

Prime Megatron is Frank Welker _finally_ being allowed to stretch his legs with that iconic G1 voice, much like (whether you think the game is _good_ or not) John St. John in Duke Nukem Forever vs. the original Duke Nukem 3D. Both got the opportunities to explore further ranges of those voices than the original media allowed for, and both benefited from it.

_"Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons who balances might with cunning to repeatedly orchestrate schemes for his goals of conquest. Formerly known as the Kaon gladiator D-16, Megatron sought to shift a hierarchy balance within Cybertron-rallying up thousands of loyal troops to serve his cause. Formulating several schemes that conflict the Autobots, Megatron usually leaves the heroes with a narrow victory or an outright loss. With the resurrection of Unicron imminent, Megatron forms a truce with the Autobots to combat the Chaos Bringer-being completely honest that it will be temporary and that their dynamic will return to normal. To combat Optimus' Star Saber, Megatron forges his own-grafting his arm with that of a Prime's to be able to wield it. Forging the Omega Lock, Megatron intends on using to restore Cybertron to allow the masses to return-with the restoration granting him the leadership of the planet. To combat the Primus and Unicron dynamic of only dominion over one planet, Megatron also has the Lock almost convert Earth-with the effect of wiping out all organic-based life. After losing the lock, Megatron formulates an assault against the Autobot's base, leaving it in ruins and the Autobots disbanded. When Predaking reveals his sapience, Megatron concurs with his command staff that they are outnumbered by the Predacons, and terminates the Predacon pods with a scheme to frame the Autobots and enrage Predaking against them. Slain after almost utilizing the Omega Lock's power and finding himself trapped as a vessel for Unicron's goal of destruction, Megatron convinces him to approach Predaking under the pretense of loyalty-knowing that Predaking would attempt to destroy Megatron's body. Free from Unicron's control, Megatron dissolves the Decepticons-understanding the true meaning of oppression and thus losing the taste for conquest-before departing."_ ~ *TV Tropes' Magnificent Bastard Entry on Prime Megatron*

That ending of Transformers Prime with Megatron not wanting to be evil anymore struck me as incredibly lame. Actions have consequences and criminals (especially war criminals) can't just walk away from all the awful things they did as if it were a game that they're no longer interested in playing. The other Decepticons (especially Soundwave and Shockwave) won't allow it, either. They've committed everything to their cause and they won't stand by and just let bygones be bygones after all is said and done. If fact, in some continuities the most powerful Decepticons (some even rivaling Megatron) are employed in their Justice Division to hunt down and punish deserters. How do you think Megatron's desertion will play out?

This is the Best Megatron Bar NONE!!

This was an Incredible Video for My All Time Favorite Version of Megatron and My Seventh Favorite Villain of All Time. Fred Tatasciore did a Phenomenal Performance Bringing Transformers The Align Continuity Version of Megatron to Life and I’am Always Going To Be Grateful that Frank Welker got a Chance to Prove Why he himself is The One and Only True Voice of Megatron.

Great video but you forgot one thing that shaped megatron. It might seem like minor detail but Megatron unlike other miners was born during day and he deemed sun beautiful and then he was forced underground to work in the mines set to never see sun again

This is a goated series with a goated ending

So megatron is like a Spartacus who instead fight for freedom he became a tyrant for power.

22:43 damn i remember when i watched the movie for the first time it was amazing i couldn’t sleep

From Megatron's time under Unicron's control in a few days it does seem out of character, yet in the fight despite Optimus battling the possessed war lord you can tell in Optimus's voice he wants to help this monster. Even after all he has done he offers a hand of an aliance but knowing Prime no doubt he would try to give his former friend and brother a chance to redeem himself. Megatron finally knew what it was like to be under true oppression being controlled with no will under the Chaos bringer, and when he was freed he realised there and then that he was wrong, the Decipticons fought for their freedom and justice, and he tainted their cause.

Hey man your videos are amazing keep it up.

I have a hunch that the TFP Megatron, was always being subtly nudged by Unicron since he discovered dark energon

How the heck dose a guy with an energon that is like lean x meth, LEAD TO THIS I like that you used the show's bg

I had issues with narrative decisions made in TFP. With anything Hasrbo owns , we all know the deal - decisions made to entertain children of a specific age and to go for dramatic pizazz than logical follow through. Megatron could have ambushed Bee and destroyed him AND Raf. Making Unicron the Earths core and allowing a so-so vocal performance and weak ambitions for plot when hes supposed to be a god. Soundwave could have tracked down the kids and presented them to Megatron to use as bait way back in episode 6, not season 3. Speaking of... Soundwave was so OP they deliberately kept him in the background. Certainly very cool, hes my fave character of all time, but Soundwave had all the means to act on intel and frequently didnt. Mostly cuz Starscream or someone else was getting the spotlight. The decision to keep Knock Out alive no matter what cuz he was a studio fave, but offer no character development on screen. And lots more. BUTTTT.... This is still one of my favorite Transformers series. Better than any of the Bay films, imo, and better than anythinf else but Beast Wars, which i argue is a bit better overall. THIS is the incarnation of these charcaters i love most. This is the Cybertronian lore i love most. The art direction, animation, the fact that the character designs dont have noses, and yes, to agree with thi video, the BEST Megatron ever to grace the screen. I would have LOVED to see THIS Megatron on the big screen. THIS is a Megatron i can fully believe has been drawing out a war for thousands of years - fueled by hatred, armed with strategy, and amused by vengeance. Frank Welker did an absolutely phenomenal job. Immense passion shines through every delivered line, AND through his silence by the animators - like in Rock Bottom when he said nothing and just stared at Starscream. Incredibly menacing. His presense is so loud in this series that his season finale death, his eye going dark, was a punch in the heart where i dunno if im mourning or celebrating. Just. There are so many things to say. Thank you for making this video to say them too!

2:55 Small note: The golden age actually ended when the rust plague started, the time leading up to the war was known as the age of rust. From the Covenant Of Primus, which is set in the Aligned continuity and came out after Prime ended thus is more creditable: "The Golden Age of Cybertron came to an abrupt conclusion when the colonies became infected with a Rust Plague. Possibly a deliberate attack by unknown parties, the plague was incredibly virulent and apparently incurable. Sentinel Zeta Prime and the council of thirteen on Cybertron made the heavy decision to destroy the Space bridge network for maximum quarantine, cutting off the colonies from Cybertron and abandoning them to their fate to prevent the plague from spreading to the homeworld. By rust they fell and to rust they came. The global optimism brought about by the space exploration and colony programs was irrevocably lost. The people of Cybertron felt they no longer had anything to strive for, and merely went through the motions of existence. This malaise only intensified when nameless bots began emerging from the Well of All Sparks en masse, just as they had during the Age of Wrath. The general consensus was that these new bots saw existence as too pointless to even bother choosing a name, or have things to look forward to. They merely went about their appointed role in life, no more or less. Sentinel Zeta Prime managed to hold on to power during the Age of Rust, but accomplished little else. The rest of his council was too gun-shy and lacked the drive to begin new social programs or expeditions to reignite the people's spirit. The one exception was councilor Soundwave, who abandoned the council in disgust for their failures. The one growing "industry" on Cybertron during the age was gladiator combat, ruthless games of merciless combat and bloodsport arising from Kaon. Either vicariously or in the gladiator pit themselves, Cybertronians found themselves momentarily alive again as part of the ritual combat. It was in these games that a miner designated D-16 claimed the title of Megatronus, fallen of the Primes, before the exuberant crowds shortened his name to Megatron. Megatron was a visionary as well as a warrior, and began addressing his audience of fans about the possibility of social change, even revolution. Indeed, Megatron ultimately brought about the end of the Age of Rust, but not how he expected. Megatron and his allies received an audience before Sentinel and the council to address their concerns, but the council sidestepped Megatron and presented the title of Prime to one of his less extreme advisors, the archivist Orion Pax. As Pax rose to become Optimus Prime, Megatron rejected his former friend and began open warfare in the streets of Cybertron. These two leaders and their factions, the Autobots and Decepticons, began the Great War that shook the rust from Cybertron's society, for good or ill."

For me personally, I enjoy the unicron trilogy version of megatron simply because of nostalgia and the fact that version is a giant ham and SO over the top.

I will die on this hill TFP megatron is the best megatron on the BEST transformers piece of content all of the charcyers are written as they should be megatron isn’t playing second fiddle he’s a bad ass gladiator star scream is always planning and sometimes wins but megatron was written perfectly

And you now got a new subscriber. Please make more TFP or transformers content.

Imagine being a prisoner in your own body and being able to do absolutely nothing about it. One of megatrons biggest qualities is he'd rather die than be controlled by anyone. The first time unicrons threat came around, he atleast had a chance and did something about it. Pay attention to how unicron literally tortured him. Maybe he actually understood how much he had strayed from his original ideals. Maybe when he died, he was reminded of his former self. The ending was a bit rushed, sure but it was justified.

His beginning NG origins remind me alot of napoleon rise to power

I wouldn’t say that Megatron was redeemed at the end of the movie, but just that he decided to take his first step towards redemption, that’s why he left.

I love what he did to bumblebee in out of his head because it reminds me of lilo and stitch 2 stitch has a glitch.🤖📺👽👾🌌🚀🛸

Personally, TFP is below animated for me, but what would really take the cake would be a IDW Inspired series, that would be a perfect villain and redemption arc. Also, I just really need to say it: TFP Megatron’s design isn’t the best one, it’s stealth bomber.

Tfp megatron is an addict

Honestly considering he has tainted his spark so much he is now effectively barred from the afterlife and with Unicorn taking his own body and keeping his soul as something to torture broke through the tyrant to the point he tried to commit suicide through Predaking. Probably he would have been satisfied living in his corpse than with Unicron again or him destroying Cybertron. Considering everything despite his new resurrection he has no choice to live in exile, well aware of what he has done and that should he die again his spark could no longer be reincarnated through the Allspark.

I think that the ending to Prime was good, as the enslavement perhaps awakened his original goal of freedom for all, rather than peace through tyranny.

No matter what you say what is your opinion what is you explanation you can never sway my decision megatron is my favorite character in the entire tf universe.

He was a minner in the cave if you are read comicbookd

I love this video but can you do a video on transformers animated megatron

I just figured something out everything has a spiritual tie in think megatron was a warrior right he was on the right path as well as Optimus Now think the devil was on Gods side in the beginning but jealousy plays a big role in wat goes on in this whole thibg

I think this video would be good if some words were switched around: "Megatron of Transformers Prime: The Perfect Villain" Not telling you to do so, just a humble suggestion that would be in-line with your channel's theme.

reading the books on transformers prime does give better insight on megatron, and every character as a whole. Especially on megatron's sudden change of heart As the show really only has rachet to tell the past, and the books help prove he's a biased story teller

Gotta disagree, being possessed by Satan for any amount of time would definitely change my mind that what I’ve been doing is wrong. Also proves Optimus right, all beings are capable of change. And speaking from experience, people who used to love evil and later choose to do what is good and right are always the greatest people to be redeemed, all that capacity to do evil is now put into doing good instead.

Can you pls do a analysis on me, the Soundwave clone, not a FALIURE!, a Mercenary, and finally a Godfather of own Maifa at same time and I may hate Megatron but he has good character I admit that

I think you should make a video on beast wars megatron. He’s a far better villian

Can you do a beast wars video? I never wstched it, but people say it's good

Real they ruined megatron by trying to copy mtme megatron which did a amazing redemption arc and prime tried to copy but did none of the work

ummmm Oppression thousands of years ago that grew hatred that blinded him . Oppression behind a glass not in controle a prisoner in his own body is a different experience a new experience so I didnt hate that conclusion . I wish they put more time in it and explore it more . rather than I just feel bad now.

Shockwave did not create the insecticons.

Megatron from the Cybertron games is not the same Megatron from Transformers Prime.