Transformers: Generation 1
| Transformers character | |
 Megatron's original box art | |
| Megatron | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Decepticon |
| Japanese name | Megatron (メガトロン?) |
| Sub-Group | Action Masters Go-Bots Combat Heroes Voyagers |
| Function | Decepticon Leader Decepticon Commander |
| Partner | Starscream (Unreleased ATB Megatron) |
| Motto | "Peace through tyranny!" "Lesser creatures are the playthings of my will." (Classics) |
| Alternate Modes | Walther P 38 U.N.C.L.E. Special, various tanks (including M1A1 Abrams), various jets, blaster, Porsche |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 Beast Wars Transformers: Robot Masters Transformers: Titanium Transformers: Classics Transformers Attacktix |
| English voice actor | Frank Welker (The Transformers) Gary Chalk(Beast Wars) |
| Japanese voice actor | Seizō Katō |
Megatron is a Transformer robot, giving him the ability to modify his body's structure into other objects, the original "alternate mode" being a custom Walther P38.
Megatron is an iconic Transformer alongside his rival, Optimus Prime, primarily because of his large exposure in the comics and television series as well as his function as the leader of the villainous Decepticons, opposite the heroic Autobots.
Bob Budiansky, the writer for the Marvel Comics series stated in an interview that the name "Megatron" is a portmanteau derived from "Megaton" and "Electronic." Originally Hasbro took issue with the name, saying it sounded too dangerous, like an atomic bomb. Budiansky responded that as the lead villain, that was the whole point. Hasbro saw his reasoning, and approved the name.
Megatron is very powerful and utterly ruthless. His imposing robot form is dominated by his primary weapon - his arm-mounted fusion cannon, capable of leveling a city block in one blast. He can also sub-dimensionally link the weapon to a black hole, generating even more powerful antimatter blasts (capable of destroying a small planetary body). However, this ability is almost never used, as it leaves him extremely weak and vulnerable.
He has a secondary weapon barrel mounted on his back, and can retract and replace his right hand with an energy flail. He can fire electrical blasts from his hands, laser blasts from his eyes on at least one occasion (The Autobot Run) and can reprogram computers with a port in his head.
