Megatron is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons in the live-action Transformers movie. Originally the Lord High Protector of Cybertron, he was corrupted by the influence of The Fallen and sought to use the power of the life-giving Allspark to conquer the universe, starting the terrible war that would leave Cybertron a dead husk of a world. He is voiced by Hugo Weaving in the first three Transformers films, but from Age of Extinction onward he is voiced by Frank Welker.
History[]
Transformers (2007)(first death)[]
During the war, the Allspark was jettisoned into space and Megatron went in search of it. His pursuit of the cube took him to Earth, where he crash-landed in the Arctic Circle. In 1897, explorer Archibald Witwicky discovered Megatron's inactive body frozen beneath the ice. This discovery would later lead to the founding of US government agency Sector 7, who took Megatron's frozen body and hid him away beneath Hoover Dam.
In 2007, when the Autobots and Decepticons came looking for the Allspark, the Decepticon Frenzy infiltrated Hoover Dam and discovered the cube and Megatron. Frenzy raised the temperature in the storage bay and thawed Megatron out, who awoke to resume command of the Decepticons. As the Autobots and Decepticons battled in Mission City, Megatron pursued Sam Witwicky, who carried the shrunken Allspark cube on his person. Optimus tried to defend Sam and take the cube so that he could destroy it in order to stop Megatron from using it. Sam, however, refused to let Optimus sacrifice himself destroying the cube, and he lifted the
cube towards Megatron's core. The cube merged with his spark, and its raw power overloaded Megatron's systems and burnt out his spark, killing him.
Megatron's body was dumped into the Laurentian Abyss at its deepest point, along with the remains of the other Decepticons, where the near-freezing temperatures would, hopefully, keep them dormant indefinitely.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen[]
In the two years since the destruction of the Allspark, the Decepticons had increased their activities on Earth, seeking out potential sources of energon. After a fragment of the Allspark was discovered to be under human guard, Soundwave deployed Ravage to retrieve it. With the fragment in their possession, the Decepticon sub-unit known as the Constructicons - commanded by the Minicon doctor Scalpel - dove into the Laurentian Abyss to recover Megatron's body and resurrect him. New parts were needed to complete the resurrection and the Constructicons killed the smallest amongst them to harvest his components. The cube shard was then implanted into Megatron's chest and re-ignited his spark. The Decepticon leader awoke and rose from the ocean depths, destroying a US Navy carrier patrolling the area. After returning to the lair of his own master - The Fallen - he and Starscream were sent to capture Sam Witwicky, who had somehow absorbed the knowledge contained within the Allspark. Megatron would lose track of Sam, but managed to kill his former brother Optimus Prime in battle.
Nearer the end of the film, Megatron led the Decepticon assault on the Sun Harvester, an ancient Cybertronian device that would harvest energon by destroying Earth's star. Before he and the Fallen could activate the machine, the resurrected Optimus destroyed it and took back the Matrix that powered it. Megatron attempted to assist his master against Optimus, but he was blasted in the jaw with his own cannon, had that cannon arm sliced clean off, and was sent flying through a wall. The Fallen was slain, and he vowed to return one day before making his escape.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon(second death)[]
With all of Earth now aware of the Transformers' presence, Megatron and the few remaining Decepticons had gone into hiding in Africa, with Megatron himself having fallen into disrepair. However, he had concocted a scheme with which to finally dominate Earth, using former Autobot leader Sentinel Prime and a handful of human sympathizers. Sentinel Prime's ship, the Ark, carried several pillar devices that together would form a Space Bridge: a portal between different areas of space.
Sentinel had allied himself with the Decepticons and arranged to rendezvous with Megatron at Earth, along with a fleet of Decepticon warships. The Decepticon fleet attacked Chicago, Illinois and Megatron and Sentinel began to assemble the pillars to form a Space Bridge large enough to transport the planet Cybertron to Earth orbit. With Cybertron nearby, the Decepticons could use the enslaved humans to gather up Earth's resources and have them rebuild the Transformers' homeworld. Their plan was put in jeopardy by Optimus Prime and the Autobots, who had feigned their destruction in order to sneak into Chicago to stop Sentinel from assembling the Space Bridge.
Sentinel assumed command of the Decepticon forces and Megatron came to realise just how much his power had fallen. It was only after he had been goaded by the human Carly Spencer that he took action to put himself back on top. As Optimus and Sentinel fought each other, Megatron stepped in and prevented Sentinel from killing Optimus, mortally wounding him. Megatron then suggested a truce between the Autobots and Decepticons, but Optimus was not going to risk his rival's treachery again and the two adversaries charged each other. Their fight was all too brief and Megatron was decapitated by Prime's energon axe, ending his tyranny once and for all. Or so it seemed...
Transformers: Age of Extinction[]
Although Megatron's body was destroyed, his consciousness refused to die with it. Fragments of Megatron's malignant code remained and when human scientists salvaged the Decepticon leader's head, they unwittingly brought along his mind, as well.
For the next five years, Megatron's head was meticulously examined by Kinetic Solutions Incorporated who used the head to essentially hack the Transformer genome, allowing them to fabricate the same metals in Transformer biology. They created several prototypes, one of them being dubbed "Galvatron" and being modelled after Optimus Prime, but Megatron's consciousness uploaded itself to the prototype and was able to reshape it as he wished. With a powerful new body and the ability to seize control of all of KSI's Transformium-based robots, Megatron and the Decepticons were reborn.
Turning on KSI and learning of the deal between Cemetery Wind and Lockdown, Megatron sought to acquire the Seed: a bomb-like device that could convert matter into Transformium. Megatron intended to detonate the device in a heavily-populated area, wiping out millions and creating enough raw material to raise a new Decepticon army. His plan was thwarted by the Autobots, however, and his troops were destroyed, but Megatron himself survived and vowed to return.
Transformers: The Last Knight[]
At some point following Optimus Prime's departure from Earth, Megatron resumed using his original name and acquired a new body. The details of how this happened are uncertain, though it is believed that his body was reconfigured by the alien sorceress Quintessa. Quintessa had made contact with Megatron and gained his assistance, commanding him and his remaining Decepticon forces to seek out her staff that had been stolen from her millennia ago by the Knights of Iacon. With the staff back in her possession, Quintessa planned to drain Earth of its lifeforce and use it to restore Cybertron as well as destroy the ancient enemy of Cybertron known as Unicron, which was revealed to be Earth itself. From his agent Barricade, Megatron had learned that the human Cade Yeager and the Autobots were also on the hunt for the staff.
Requiring additional Decepticon reinforcements to take on Yeager's Autobot protectors, Megatron kidnapped two CIA officers, offering to trade them for the release of a squad of Decepticons of his choosing from the custody of the Transformer Reaction Force. Meeting with William Lennox in the desert, Megatron secured the release of Mohawk, Dreadbot, Nitro Zeus, and Onslaught (only settling for the latter after his first choice, Berserker, was refused). The Decepticons tracked Yeager to his South Dakota junkyard hideout, but their quarry had already escaped to a nearby town. Among the refuse, Megatron discovered the head of Starscream, and mused to his traitorous former lieutenant that his victory was near, pitying that Starscream hadn't lived to see his victory. He was then attacked by Hound, but he dispatched the Autobot with a blast of his fusion cannon. Megatron's team followed the Autobots, but all they could find in the town was the ramshackle little Autobot Sqweeks. Megatron was disgusted by the human scent he could smell upon the tiny 'bot... whereupon Sqweeks's friend and guardian Izabella emerged from hiding, furiously ordering the Decepticon leader to put Sqweeks down. Yeager and the other Autobots broke cover and sprung an explosive trap. As battle with the Autobots raged, Grimlock arrived to join the fight and personally tossed Megatron around like a toy. The Decepticons were quickly overpowered and after Dreadbot and Onslaught fell, Megatron called a retreat, escaping with Nitro Zeus and Barricade but leaving Mohawk behind to perish(if he did, that is). TRF then stepped in to take over the chase for Yeager.
When Yeager and Bumblebee went to England to meet with Sir Edmund Burton, Megatron and his remaining forces followed, knowing Yeager would lead them to the Staff. Yeager was subsequently joined by Viviane Wembly, and successfully located Quintessa's staff in the knight's ship at the bottom of the ocean. Quintessa had, in the intervening time, also placed Optimus Prime under her control and sent him to obtain the staff, but when Bumblebee helped Prime break her control, Megatron seized his opportunity, streaking in, blindsiding the disoriented Prime, and snatching the staff away. He proclaimed to his nemesis that he had turned his back on Cybertron for the last time, and would watch Earth die. As Cybertron arrived in Earth orbit, the Decepticons headed for Stonehenge, where Megatron activated the portal through which Unicron's energy would be drained. When Burton and the British military attempted to stop them, Megatron fatally wounded Burton with a single blast.
Megatron's last defeat(in the series).
The Decepticons proceeded to relocate to Cybertron, where Megatron delivered the staff to Quintessa and led the defense of her ignition chamber against the joint forces of the Autobots, humans, and Dragonstorm. His forces held the line until Sqweeks destroyed their gun emplacement and Optimus arrived and slew Infernocus. He and Nitro fell back as the Autobots broke through the defenses and arrived to thwart their plan, and soon engaged all the Autobots together. As he prepared to deliver a killing blow to Hound, he was briefly frozen by Hot Rod's time slowing gun and blasted by Hound. He was then tackled by Bumblebee and when he prepared to blast the small Autobot, Optimus Prime intervened, slicing his arm off. Megatron, despite his injury, managed to subdue Optimus and attempted to sway him by reminding him of how they had once been "brothers", but Optimus retorted that it had indeed only been once, and kicked him through a wall, sending him plummeting through the air. Quintessa was defeated and her plans foiled, but Megatron escaped to fight another day.