Characters / Code Prime Megatron

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D-16 / Megatronus / Megatron

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"I don't run from my mistakes, nor do I delude myself on foolish ideas of heroism. I know full well what I have done in the past, what I am doing right now in the present, and what I intend to do in the future."

The ruthless and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons. He is a cruel, merciless, and power-hungry madman who aims to expand his voyage of conquest and war to other worlds after damaging the core of his home planet.

He aims to destroy anyone who may oppose his rule, including his arch nemesis Optimus Prime and the Autobot Resistance. He is also the one who helped a young Charles zi Britannia's rise to power and establish his empire's Darwinist ideals, having been Charles's mentor, corrupting him with said ideals.

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#-C

• 0% Approval Rating: Unlike Optimus who is seen as the ultimate symbol of hope and a great leader beloved by all, Megatron had become the ultimate symbol of hatred, a vile, horrible madman despised by all due to his crimes against Cybertron and against Humanity. Even when he's ruling over the half of the world in R2, the people among his empire, all keep in line for fear of execution despite not liking him. It's little wonder all of the Autobot-Black Knight Alliance celebrate Megatron's death after Lelouch destroys him for good and Optimus confirms it to the troops.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • If his canon powers weren't bad enough, he also gets a Dark Geass, which can kill anyone who looks at him by overwhelming them with pure fear.
  • By R2's endgame, he's taken V.V.'s Code, thus making him completely immortal at the cost of his Dark Geass.
• Adaptational Villainy: Megatron is always a nasty piece of work, but he's a lot viler here compared to his original Aligned incarnation. The big events he's been behind include setting up Charles zi Britannia on the path to evil, convincing Suzaku to join the Decepticons, kidnapping Euphemia and using a Pretender to set off the SAZ massacre, and being directly responsible for Skyquake's death. In the end, it's clear that Lelouch killing him effectively erases him from existence; he ultimately lacks his Prime counterpart's Heel Realization.
• Ambition Is Evil: He goes from being a gladiator trying to fix the system to wanting to rule Cybertron as the next Prime to conquering a big chunk of Earth and eventually moves up to wanting to eliminate free will, all for his goal of achieving "peace through tyranny". Shockwave feels that "ambitious" is the single best defining word for Megatron.
• Antagonist Abilities: Megatron's Dark Geass is ridiculously overpowered, being a One-Hit Kill vs just about anyone due to being a fusion of the powers of Geass and Dark Energon. Just looking at him is a death sentence. The only being who resisted the Dark Geass so far is Optimus Prime, but it was only due to the Matrix of Leadership's essence countering the Dark Energon in the Geass.
• Arch-Enemy: Megatron has a knack for acquiring these.
  • As always, Optimus opposes Megatron due to their radically different views on leadership and the fact that Megatron has repeatedly crossed the Moral Event Horizon in pursuit of power and conquest. The events that lead to Megatron acquiring additional nemeses also further raises the enmity between himself and Optimus.
  • Lelouch gradually ends up viewing Megatron as his greatest foe due to the Decepticon leader regularly ruining his plans and encouraging his forces to indulge in savagery against the humans of Earth. Using a Pretender to imitate Euphie and trigger the SAZ Massacre cements this status.
  • The SAZ Massacre, alongside Megatron deliberately torturing and abusing the boy for reasons ranging from discipline to amusement, ultimately solidify his role as Suzaku's Arch-Enemy.
• Arm Cannon: His signature weapon, a massive fusion cannon mounted on his right arm.
• Assimilation Plot: What Megatron's Neo Ragnarök project amounts to. Using the combined power of his and C.C.'s Codes, Megatron shall spread the resulting energy to Cybertron and the rest of the universe by using a Spacebridge to turn all beings into an extension of himself.
• Badass Boast: While he is prone these from time to time, one of the best examples comes in The United Federation of Nations, when he reveals to have escaped the Shadowzone during the UFN live broadcast.
  Megatron: Decepticons, your rightful Lord and Master has returned! Do not let this charter or collection of rabble intimidate you! I have led you through fire and rust for eons and I have no intention of stopping now! This world is ours, and it is time we remind humanity of that! And now, speaking to my enemies... Optimus, Zero, I must applaud your resolve. Despite the odds, you two have refused to give up the fight, I respect your conviction, but I cannot accept it. I told you before, to defy my will is to die... and no one defies Megatron! But if you believe this army of yours can truly stop me, then by all means, face me with everything you have, because that is what I intend to do! Fight to obliterate your enemy until there is none left standing! Come and face me! I... am the dominator! I... am the destroyer! I AM MEGATRON!
• Bad Powers, Bad People: His powers include feeding people their worst fears through eye contact and controlling robot zombies, and he's a sadistic, tyrannical, power-hungry intergalactic warlord.
• Batman Gambit:
  • He orders Soundwave to publicly broadcast the mission to rescue Tohdoh so as to force Charles to act, hopefully exposing whatever plans the Britannian Emperor made behind his back.
  • He later uses the SAZ Massacre, triggered by the Euphemia Pretender Drone, as a distraction, knowing that it will spark the Black Rebellion. This is so he can attack Pendragon while everyone is too busy to notice until it's too late, allowing him to take out Charles and seize control of Britannia.
• Big Bad: Of the first two seasons. As the leader of the Decepticons who started the war in the first place and became responsible for Britannia's rise to power, Megatron was the main source of conflict and the prime mover behind all the horrific events that transpire within the Decepticon saga.
• Big "WHAT?!": Mixed with This Cannot Be! and Oh, Crap! in the first chapter of R2 when he sees that Lelouch is still alive, and blew up Mt. Fuji.
• Blackmail: Once he learns that Suzaku knows that Lelouch and Nunnally are still alive, Megatron informs Suzaku that if the latter disobeys any orders from this moment onward, he will tell Charles that Lelouch and Nunnally are still alive and attending Ashford... oh, and he will have Suzaku removed from the military by another member of the royal family.
• Blood Knight: He's a shrewd tactician and cunning manipulator, but Megatron relishes any opportunity to leap into direct combat with those he deems worthy of his time, especially if it's Optimus.
• Broken Pedestal: Over the course of his saga, his continuous and worsening atrocities cost him the loyalty and respect of several of his staunchest followers.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Megatron's response to C.C. calling him "a monster, a demon, the Devil incarnate" is more or less confirming her accusations.
  Megatron: You only realize that now?
• Carry a Big Stick: In R2 he wields a large Dark Energon mace — similar to the one he had back on Cybertron — against Optimus' Synthetic Energon axe.
• Character Death: Is impaled by Lelouch using the Star Saber in One Shall Fall, which erases all of his powers and abilities and, eventually, him.
• The Chessmaster: Megatron is shown to be both a powerful warrior as he is a master planner, being capable of pulling the strings of those around him to get them to do what he wants. Accelerating and improvising his plans when gathering new information that could benefit him. His most evil act is being the orchestrator of the SAZ Massacre; using a Pretender Drone bearing Euphemia's likeness to trigger the event as a distraction, knowing that it will spark an attack from the Grand Alliance in order destroy the Britannian Empire by sacking its capital while everyone is distracted with Japan.
• Complete Immortality: Megatron had achieved immortality by the end of Light and Darkness, after stealing Victor's code during the Autobot-Black Knight Alliance's attack on the Geass Order.
• Composite Character: Transformers-wise, he's already this due to him being his Aligned incarnation, but author-wise, he's this to many of the author's then-previous works at the time.
  • He initially serves as an Orcus on His Throne responsible for most of the story's conflict, akin to Fairy May Cry's Mundus.
  • He kills off the other faction's villains once they are of no use to him, thus changing the trajectory of the canon story. It's akin to both iterations of the Shredder, with the latter destroying a nation as well.
  • He keeps said faction's villains on a hypothetical leash, like with what The Overlord did to Mother Gothel in Tangled With Ninja.
• The Conqueror: Megatron conquers Pendragon at the climax of R1, and by the time of the Time Skip at the start of R2 has also taken over all of Britannia's former territory.
• Cowardice Callout: He hands Charles a "Reason You Suck" Speech, during which he points out that Charles' Assimilation Plot is really motivated by fear of humanity turning against him and stripping him of his precious power rather than any benevolence. Even an illusion of Megatron created by the Dark Geass calls Charles a weak, cowardly child.
• Crossover Villain-in-Chief: Megatron is bar-none the most dangerous threat in the setting and he's not afraid to remind any insubordinate lackeys or would-be schemers of this fact. The only thing even worse than him is Unicron the Chaos Bringer, who's yet to take an active role in the series. Any doubts about who is in charge are removed when he conquers Pendragon and kills Charles, cementing himself as the greatest villain in the setting.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Megatron is a borderline Invincible Villain against anyone except Optimus Prime.
  • Battle of Narita has him make quick work out of a hapless platoon of Burais and Knightmares to Optimus's horror.
  • In Setting the Stage, he also effortlessly defeats a rage-driven Cornelia when she confronts him for kidnapping her sister.
  • Perhaps the most infamous display is in Rise of the Decepticons, where Megatron dominates both Lelouch and Suzaku simultaneously and completely wrecks both the Gawain and the Lancelot.
  • One Shall Fall finally has him on the receiving end of one, as Lelouch, revived as Zero Prime, easily blocks and parries his attacks, shatters the Dark Star Saber with one strike, and then runs him through to purge the Dark Energon and Code from his body, rendering him mortal and killing him for good.

D-F

• Deader than Dead: The narration for when Lelouch stabs him with the Star Saber in One Shall Fall implies that he was erased from existence after being bisected. The final scene of One Shall Rise, though, implies that he still exists in some capacity, but is bound to Unicron.
• Deadpan Snarker: Every now and then, Megatron gives a sarcastic remark. Usually in response to one of Starscream's antics.
• Death Glare: Just like in canon, he gives these a lot when he's unhappy about something, usually when his subordinates fail him (which happens a lot). Becomes quite literal in School Festival Declaration when he gains a Dark Geass, which can kill anyone by literally scaring them to death.
• Desecrating the Dead: Suzaku is utterly disgusted at the sight of Megatron using Dark Energon to reanimate every Vehicon and Knightmare that fell during the Black Rebellion as Terrorcons, seeing it as beyond merely desecrating their remains. He also does this to Marianne's preserved corpse, which he used to power and create his Dark Queen, and it almost mentally breaks Lelouch again. Megatron later goes to Liege Maximo's tomb and sever one of his arms to replace one of his own, allowing Megatron to activate the Forge of Solus Prime and harness its power to create the Dark Star Saber.
• The Determinator: He has an extremely powerful force of will making a uniquely charismatic and powerful combatant. It also contributes to his ability to control Dark Energon, and his survival from being crushed by Metroplex and later crash-landing on Earth.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: Megatron was killed by Bumbleebee stabbing the Star Saber through his spark in Deadlock, the final episode of Transformers Prime, though he was revived by Unicron not long later in the Finale Movie, as a form of Demonic Possession thanks to the Dark Energon flowing through him. Here, while Lelouch still stabs him with the Star Saber, that alone is not enough to finish him thanks to his Complete Immortality. Instead, Lelouch uses the power of the Primes given to him to remove Megatron's Dark Energon, and with that gone he loses V.V.'s Code and his immortality, and is slowly erased from existence. Lelouch bisects him with the Star Saber right before he is completely erased, ensuring that he's never coming back this time.
• Disappointed by the Motive:
  • When he finds out about Suzaku’s motivations for joining the military, namely that he wants to redeem himself for killing his father, he reacts with annoyance, and calls him out on it.
  • He would almost be proud of Charles for deceiving him... if not for the fact that the Fallen Emperor's plan and motivation shows that he's mentally a small boy who wants the world to revolve around him, rather than a proud ruler who would change the world through his own will.
• Discard and Draw: In a brief moment alone with Victor, Megatron steals V.V's code. He admits it's a shame he can't keep his Dark Geass, but given that he's immortal now, he doesn't mind too much.
• Disc-One Final Boss: As the leader of the Decepticons and true power behind Emperor Charles, Megatron presented himself as the most powerful and feared threat for the first two seasons of the series before meeting his demise at the hands of Lelouch in R2 finale, One Shall Fall. Of course, his death and the fall of the Decepticon Empire opens a door for the other villains for the third and final season, such as the Kingdom of Zilkhistan, Predaking, and worst of all, Unicron the Chaos Bringer.
• The Dreaded: From the very start of the series, the Autobots make certain to let their allies know how dangerous and malevolent Megatron is, between his skills in fighting, his strategic mind, and his lack of empathy. When Lelouch fights him in Rise of the Decepticons, he's in complete shock and horror over Megatron's power, violence and ruthlessness.
• "Eureka!" Moment: He manages to deduce that while Clovis' Code R project researched on Geass, the information was limited and that Clovis wasn't the most intelligent of Charles' children. Due to being the one to train Charles from youth, he never put much thought about Victor zi Britannia's 'death'... until now.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He ultimately shows himself to be disgusted by Suzaku's refusal to accept blame for his actions and failures, even though he can be a bit hypocritical about it.
• The Emperor: Megatron had ruled the Decepticon Empire since he first started the war and had conquered half of Earth in order to annex them a part of his empire.
• Eviler than Thou: Ultimately, Megatron is this compared to both Charles and his most brutal subordinates, Starscream and Airachnid. Megatron is more malevolent than Charles, more competent than Starscream, and while Airachnid can be just as cruel and brutal than him — if not more so — Megatron's ambitions, power level, and proactiveness ensure that the amount of sentient beings who have lost their lives, livelihoods and freedoms to him is infinitely greater than those of the other three combined.
• Evil Is Bigger: He is as twice as tall as the Lancelot and easily one of the biggest physical threats out there.
• Evil Is Petty: Dear Primus is he ever!
  • It's implied that he ordered the Lancelot to deploy at Narita just to spite Zero by forcing him to fight Suzaku, as Megatron already knows that Lelouch and Zero are the same person.
  • Attacking the SAZ after Euphemia declares her intent to use it to ally Britannia with the Black Knights and Autobots to oppose the Decepticons? Cruel, but understandable. Replacing Euphemia with a Pretender in her likeness and using said Pretender to initiate the massacre? Not to mention forcing poor Euphie to watch the carnage? This trope.
  • Keeps calling Elita-One “Ariel” long after she changed her name, with how petty it is lampshaded.
  • He made the Dark Queen using Marianne's preserved corpse just to screw with Lelouch (okay, also because Marianne is a very talented pilot, but that appears to be a secondary concern to tormenting Lelouch).
• Evil Learns of Outside Context: He becomes intrigued with Geass when Mao reveals its existence to him when offering him a deal. After Mao fails to keep his end of the bargain, Megatron has Shockwave experiment on him to learn more about Geass. He’s eventually able to give himself a Geass after Shockwave collects enough data on Mao, and V.V. after he reveals himself to Megatron, along with combining their energies with Dark Energon.
• Evil Mentor: Is this to Charles and Victor, in the early days of their childhood. He also served as one to Suzaku until he finally defects to the Autobot-Black Knight alliance.
• Evil Overlord: Megatron is the Lord of the Decepticons who helped support and eventually conquer the Holy Britannian Empire when he learns of Charles secret plot and outlived their usefulness.
• Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: Megatron loves to pontificate about his new Dark Geass powers. This can be seen as both for the reader's benefit and Megatron engaging in some gloating.
• Faking the Dead: Since neither Starscream or Schneizel are aware that he possesses V.V.'s Code, they assume he perished when the Damocles opened fire against New Kaon. Megatron decides to let them think so until the time comes for him to strike back.
• Fallen Hero: As this series combines the event's of Code Geass and the Transformers Aligned Continuity, Megatron's backstory is the same as the one he had in Transformers Prime: Cybertronian identification number D-16 was born at the bottom of Cybertron's social hierarchy (essentially equivalent to an Untouchable) but there through sheer drive and force of will, he made a name for himself as a mighty gladiator and later as a revolutionary determined to challenge the corrupt system and inequality among the masses. His inspiration drew the attention of young Orion Pax who shared many of then-Megatron's visions and ideals and after many collaborations, the two became close as brothers. However, when he finally got his audience with the ruling council, Megatron soon revealed his true colors, proclaiming his intention of overthrowing the current administration with force and requested (read: demanded) to be named the next Prime. Orion promptly stepped in and proposed his own peaceful and benevolent vision for a new Cybertronian order and subsequently won the favor of the High Council. Megatron, however, saw this as betrayal, and following this spitefully severed his ties with Orion and would soon go to wage a war that would consume the whole planet...
• A Father to His Men: Motivated almost entirely by pragmatism, and he is still more of an abusive father to his followers, especially Suzaku, but Megatron tends to prefer peacefully sorting out his underlings' differences —- or at least get them to put their grievances aside for the moment —- instead of using force to cow them into submission. The only exceptions to this so far involve either Seekers, Airachnid, or both, all of whom have Chronic Backstabbing Disorder and never seem to learn.
• Faux Affably Evil: He can appear polite and reasonable when the situation requires it, but he's still the genocidal tyrant that we know and loathe.
• Feel No Pain: Megatron's pain tolerance is such that he can endure being conscious while being surgically operated on, but after stealing V.V.'s code and becoming immortal, Megatron treats being rapidly disintegrated into Cosmic Rust like taking an afternoon shower.
• Foil: To Airachnid - both are bloodthirsty Decepticons, but are diametrically opposite in all other regards. Airachnid is defined by her sadism while Megatron merely indulges in it when doing so will not compromise his other goals. Megatron is a Lawful Evil warlord who wants to dominate others while Airachnid is a Chaotic Evil Torture Technician who wants to be free to torment others as she sees fit. Airachnid chooses to use an Earth helicopter alt-mode to allow her to blend in better with human forces while Megatron proudly uses a Cybertronian jet as his alt-mode because he wants to be recognized. Finally, Megatron rarely if ever loses his cool while Airachnid is tends to rapidly fall apart when things don't go her way. Lastly, Megatron comes out of R1 considerably better than he was at the start, while Airachnid comes out worse. That being said, both are Arch Enemies of Suzaku, for much the same reason - belittling his ideals, killing innocents, and tormenting Euphemia for their own amusement.
• Foreshadowing: Throughout the fic it's been noted multiple times, from Euphie to even Lloyd that Megatron's presence alone inspires fear. This foreshadows that his Dark Geass makes its victims experience their greatest fears.

G-M

• Galactic Conqueror: In addition of wanting to conquer the rest of Earth after subjugating the Holy Britannian Empire. He plans to start a Neo Ragnarök to enslave all free will in the entire universe to his will.
• Genius Bruiser: He might not be a scientific expert like Ratchet, Shockwave, or Knock Out, but he's an amazing strategist (as good as Optimus, Lelouch and Schneizel), effective if brutal leader, former politician (who did quite well too until Orion Pax screwed it up), and he seems to understand science enough to work out who works better on what.
• Godhood Seeker: His plan for Neo Ragnarök? First, he gains access to the Sword of Akasha. Second, he infuses Dark Energon into C's World. Finally, he would send that world to Cybertron via Spacebridge and assimilate everything in his path as it spreads from there and Earth. The result: Everything and everyone would become an extension of himself, turning him into nothing short of a god.
• Greater-Scope Villain: To the Holy Empire of Britannia - while he is certainly involved in the main plot, his actions and guidance are what allowed Charles to take power, making the madman responsible for everything that happened under Charles' reign (such as the invasion of Japan and Lelouch and Nunnally's exile).
• Hero Killer: In addition to killing many Autobots back on Cybertron, including Sentinel Zeta Prime and Alpha Trion, Megatron also kills Lelouch during the final battle, though it's brief as Lelouch is revived thanks to the Primes and Marianne.
• Hypocrite:
  • While he is correct that Suzaku constantly avoids taking responsibility for his actions and choices, Megatron isn't much better since he blames Optimus for the War and for Cybertron's destruction despite both happening almost entirely as a result of Megatron's choices. Megatron chose violence when he wasn't allowed to rule Cybertron by the council and later poisoned Cybertron's core thinking he'd be able to control it. However, Megatron later reveals that he is actually fully aware that he was completely at fault for causing the destruction of his home planet and merely fed Suzaku that story to further manipulate him.
  • He encourages unity among his forces even though he doesn't trust any of them except for Soundwave and Shockwave.
• I Control My Minions Through...: Megatron has different ways to control each of his minions.
  • Starscream: Fear - Megatron is amply aware of Starscream's backstabbing tendencies, so he regularly intimidates his second in command to ensure he knows his place.
  • Soundwave: Kindness/Power - Megatron originally earned the loyalty of his Communications Officer by besting him in battle, but the two have a genuine Villainous Friendship.
  • Breakdown: Power - Breakdown's loyalty to Megatron is derived solely from Megatron besting him in battle.
  • Knockout and Shockwave: Material Benefits/Sadism - Megatron maintains the loyalty of his scientists by allowing them to work without any ethical constraints.
  • Airachnid: Sadism - before she left the Decepticons, Airachnid served Megatron because she enjoyed being given free rein to hurt people whenever she wanted to. Later adds fear to this when Airachnid's sadism begins to compromise her effectiveness in combat.
  • Dreadwing and Suzaku: Obligation - Dreadwing swore an oath to serve Megatron and refuses to renege on it, while Suzaku doesn't really trust Megatron, but follows him both because Megatron outranks him and promised to help him try and reform Britannia. Megatron obviously has no intent on following through with his promise. Both Suzaku and Dreadwing eventually defect because they no longer feel obligated to serve him after his actions at the SAZ.
• Irony: He blackmails Suzaku by stating that, should he disobey anymore orders, he will tell Charles that Lelouch and Nunnally are still alive and attending Ashford. What neither realize is that Charles is already aware that they're alive and attending Ashford. Assuming, of course, that V.V.'s interrogation didn't reveal this to Megs. It's later revealed that Megatron did learn about that.
• It Amused Me:
  • Megatron's reason for allowing Lelouch to continue with the rebellion and Suzaku with his goals of changing Britannia was because he took a certain delight in seeing the two boys' friendship fall apart and become enemies.
  • This is also the reason he kept V.V. around despite his rebellious attitude against him and his inability to deal with Optimus and Lelouch even with his new body as Nemesis Prime because Megatron enjoyed seeing V.V. constantly fall from the pedastal he placed himself on, until Megatron stole his Code after his failures start to become predictable.
• It's All About Me: While he started out as a revolutionary trying to bring equality to Cybertron, he soon became obsessed with gaining personal power, to the point that he started a civil war and destroyed his home planet, and hasn't slowed down since.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Island of Gods and Monsters has him and Shockwave utilize this against V.V., who had been hiding secrets from them regarding the true nature of Geass. When the immortal wouldn't respond, Megatron has Shockwave use the Cortical Psychic Patch to forcefully extract the information, and during the process, V.V. dies seventy-eight times.
• Kick the Dog:
  • In Façade of Blood, he kidnaps Euphemia and replaces her with an android bearing her likeness to start a massacre at the SAZ, thus destroying her hopes of creating peace between Britannia, the Black Knights and the Autobots.
  • When he later reveals what Marianne was truly like to Nunnally, he takes a particular pleasure over seeing the young girl dissolve into a crying wreck over hearing this.
• Large and in Charge: He towers over his subordinates and he's undisputedly the one in charge.
• Lightning Bruiser: Huge, fast, and powerful, his only known equal is Optimus Prime himself.
• Logical Weakness: Megatron might be able to control anything that contains Dark Energon, but doing that requires a great deal of focus. If he is forced into a fight against enemies who can actually keep him on his toes, it severely hinders how well he can control his Terrorcons.
• Magical Eye: After Shockwave develops a liquid form of Geass power, Megatron first mixes it with a shard of Dark Energon, then implants the combination in himself. The result: a Dark Geass that grants Megatron the power of Absolute Terror.
• The Man Behind the Man: As Charles' mentor, he's the one responsible for much of Britannia's current policies and actions. He doesn't really get involved, though, unless Prime is involved, otherwise preferring to just remain aboard the Nemesis and have Charles send him a portion of Britannia's Sakuradite.
• Manipulative Bastard: Is capable of pulling the strings of those around him to get them to do what he wants.
• The Mentor: Is one to Charles and, for a time, Suzaku (though in a more manipulative way with the latter).

N-S

• Never My Fault: Played With. To manipulate Suzaku to his side, Megatron tells him that Optimus started the Great War that led to Cybertron's destruction, when it was in fact Megatron's own decisions that were to blame. He chose violence when he wasn't put in power, and poisoned Cybertron's core causing it ail and Cybertron to die. However, when he is later confronted with the truth by Suzaku and Lelouch in Rise of the Decepticons, Megatron actually acknowledges what he's done but he doesn't let his past mistakes deter him from still pursuing his goals.
• "Not So Different" Remark: In Rise of the Decepticons, Megatron admits that he probably has more in common with Suzaku than he does with Lelouch, as they both despised the state of their worlds and how it oppressed them and sought to change it through their own force of will.
• Not So Similar: Simultaneously with above, Megatron admits that while he and Lelouch share quite a bit of similarities, their differences far outweigh them.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Megatron's backstory here is the same as it was in Transformers Prime. After making a name for himself as a gladiator and becoming a revolutionary, he proclaimed he would challenge the corrupt Cybertronian system and demand that all Cybertronians be treated as equals. However, when he finally got an audience with the council he showed his true colors, demanding to be made the next Prime, and severing his ties with Orion Pax when the council chose his own views instead. When Optimus Prime is explaining his and Megatron's history to Lelouch and Princess Euphemia, Lelouch says at this point that that must have been Megatron's true intentions from the start. He never actually wanted peace for his race, he just wanted power for himself.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Is in absolute shock in Rise of the Decepticons when Optimus manages to resist and throw off his Dark Geass.
  • Becomes extremely afraid in The Sword in the Stone, when seeing that the final Iacon relic is no less of a weapon than the Star Saber. Optimus successfully obtaining the weapon makes him feel legitimate fear, telling the Decepticons that their faction now faces its Darkest Hour.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You:
  • Megatron would wait for an eternity if it means being the one to take the life or give the order to exterminate Optimus Prime. In battle, Prime is his only target when the two sides face out. He also lays a smackdown on Starscream for trying to get Optimus killed in the hotel jacking incident without getting his permission.
  • This is also inverted as well. As shown in his thoughts when Lelouch kills him, Megatron is in disbelief that it was not Optimus who stopped him for good, but rather, Lelouch.
• Orcus on His Throne: Megatron only gets involved with a conflict if he actually needs to and otherwise leaves the grunt work to his minions. That said, he is anything but a poor fighter or incapable of carrying out tasks personally. He's starting to step out of this in later chapters, though, as the situation has escalated enough to justify his involvement.
• Power at a Price: He willingly exchanges his Dark Geass of Absolute Terror for V.V.'s Code in Light and Darkness, becoming immortal in the process.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Like with Shockwave below, Megatron is against the idea of bringing Luciano Bradley into the Decepticon ranks, noticing how the Vampire of Britannia and Airachnid are too similar in personality, and he has enough wild cards as it is.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: The undisputed master of the Decepticons and one of the most powerful Cybertronians alive. Currently, only Optimus (and possibly Soundwave) can stand against him as an equal. Even while facing him together in the Lancelot and Gawain, Suzaku, Lelouch, and C.C. are ultimately defeated.
• Satanic Archetype: Once a former hero that fell to the darkness, turned his entire homeworld into a wasteland as a consequence of his quest for power, Megatron arrived on Earth by falling from the skies, much like the deciptions of Lucifer being expelled from Heaven. Upon firming resindence on Earth, Megatron became an Evil Mentor to Charles zi Britannia, corrupting the young prince with the social darwinist ideology that is the basis of the Britannian. He also controls Dark Energon, a malevolent and highly dangerous power that descends from Unicron, who is acknowledged In-Universe as Satan, and is capable of rising the dead as horrific abominations. Megatron also gains the power of Dark Geass, a corrupted form of Geass capable of killing anyone with a single glare. Being a Code Bearer also allows him to form contracts with others, as shown with V.V. after his capture. To put it in the bluntest way possible, C.C. calls him the Devil, and the leader of the Decepticons doesn't make an effort to convey his unhinged nature.
• Satisfied Street Rat: Megatron is almost as proud to have been a gladiator champion from Kaon as to be leader of the Decepticons currently, and he says as much to Charles and Suzaku on different occasions.
• Savage Spiked Weapons: He wields an Energon mace in Battle for the Ark against Optimus' Energon axe.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: In R2 C.C. lures him into The Sword of Akasha, then has him trapped in a Shadowzone. However, his confinement there only lasts about a week.
• Shadow Archetype:
  • It is recognized early on by the Autobots that he is one to Lelouch, representing what Lelouch could've become had he stayed with the Britannian Royal Family, and what Lelouch could become if he ever lost sight of his goals.
  • By the end of R1, it's apparent that he's one to Suzaku as well. They both fought for nearly everything they wanted to change, but Megatron represent what Suzaku may become if he ever chose to abandon his conscience. Indeed, Suzaku's behavior and disposition in the canonical R2 shares a fair bit of similarities to Megatron.
• So Proud of You: A dark, twisted and mocking version; Megatron expresses pride in Charles for taking his teachings to heart and actually managing to deceive not only his own family and nation, but Megatron himself as well. He's also quite impressed with the Excalibur. However, he is really, really let down by Charles' real plan.
• Story-Breaker Power: His Dark Geass of "Absolute Terror" is ridiculously overpowered, being a One-Hit Kill with absolutely no limitations at all - it even works on Code Bearers. It's revealed in Fall of Britannia that Megatron can bring out a person's worst fears by looking deep in their soul, and can manipulate the fears and the visions they cause. In addition, Megatron can either kill his victims by making their visions so severe that their hearts can't take it, or have them live by bringing them out of their vision. The only things that can shake it off is sheer willpower, which Optimus has in spades (with a little morale boost from the Matrix of Leadership), or a Geass of equal power to counter it, which Optimus gains from C.C. (Cera) in Till All Are One. It isn't used a lot, however, due to it being so deadly, with Optimus being the only one to face it and emerge none the worse from it.
• Strong and Skilled: Megatron is a hulk of a machine, but he was also a gladiator long before becoming the commander of the Decepticons, which has given him plenty of time to master the art of battle. He easily defeats Charles in a one on one duel, while Lelouch, C.C., and Suzaku only last as long as they do because they fight as a team. He is also a master strategist and tactician, better than Lelouch and Schneizel combined.
• Supernatural Fear Inducer: His Dark Geass of Absolute Terror allows him to induce literally heart-stopping terror in both humans and Cybertronians.

T-Y

• Terms of Endangerment: Continues to refer to Lelouch and Suzaku as 'boys' in an almost friendly tone, even after completely dropping any pretense of civility or good intentions.
• Tranquil Fury: In Nerves of Steel, he catches everyone off guard when he tells them they are dismissed, despite the fact that they failed to acquire another Cybertronian artifact and lost another energon mine, as well as a large number of slaves. He doesn’t raise his voice, nor does he punish any of them, but he makes it clear that he’s absolutely livid when Starscream tries to question him.
  • Later in A United Front Facing the Dark Horizon, Megatron recaps everything he was told regarding the failed attempts to take over the EU and Chinese Federation, all while growling lowly. He eventually explodes with anger when Starscream tries to make excuses.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: Upon conquering Britannia, destroying Pendragon and killing Charles, he proclaims himself supreme ruler of Earth, promising prosperity and peace to all... so long as they completely submit to his will.
• The Unfettered: Unlike Suzaku, Megatron is not chained down by nor regrets his past mistakes (such as essentially destroying his own planet); nothing will stop Megatron from his goal of galactic conquest.
• Unreliable Narrator: In What Is Justice?, he recalls the War for Cybertron to Suzaku. While he truthfully notes that neither side was completely good or evil, Megatron lies about why Cybertron was rendered uninhabitable (which was actually due to him inducing Dark Energon to the planet's core instead of the war going out of control), why he and his Decepticons rose against Cybertron's High Council (which was actually out of envy towards the council for choosing Optimus' solution over his and appointing Optimus as leader instead of the council declaring war on them), and trying to reach to Optimus to work things out together even though all of his former friends turned him away for his atrocities.
• Unwitting Pawn: There's a strong implication that Beleth is the reason Megatron was able to use Dark Energon to gain his Dark Geass, meaning that the Decepticon warlord is playing right into the Skull's metaphorical hands.
• Villain Has a Point:
  • When Suzaku angrily confronts Megatron about letting Airachnid rejoin the Decepticons, Megatron merely brings up how Britannia invaded Japan despite knowing it risked Lelouch and Nunnally's lives and then refused to take responsibility for it. Suzaku is forced to admit that Britannia isn't that much better than he's viewing Airachnid as.
  • The Patch Paradox is basically one long montage of Megatron taking apart Suzaku's life philosophy, showing how it's incapable of getting results.
  • In Fall of Britannia, he also completely deconstructs Charles' plans as childish and pointing out that he never really grew up.
• Villain Killer: An interesting case, as while he is the Big Bad of the story, much of his body count includes other villains who turned on him or attempted to do so. Said body count includes Charles, V.V., Schneizel, Anticlea, Guinevere, Kanon, and Starscream.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • In Battle of the Ark, when Megatron realizes that Lelouch was able to beat him, all he can do is roar in anger.
  • In Light and Darkness, Megatron screams in utter fury when he's not only trapped in the Shadowzone but also trapped in the Sword of Akasha that is now deprived of any Thought Elevators that can allow him to return to Earth.
  • Big-time in One Shall Fall when Lelouch succeeds in killing him and purges the Dark Energon and Code from his body. He ends up ranting to Lelouch that he'll never have peace since evil will always exist. Lelouch retorts that there will always be someone to fight that evil before finishing him off, leaving him to release one final scream of agony and fury.
• Villainous Friendship: Like in canon, he gets along swimmingly with Soundwave, and to Shockwave as well, as both of them are his most loyal servants.
• Villainous Valor: No matter the obstacles or the setbacks, Megatron will always strive on forward towards his goal. And unlike Starscream, Megatron is absolutely no coward — if faced with a threat that even he realizes might be too much for him, Megatron will confront it head-on and fight with every spark in his being. Even when confronted with a Terrorcon monstrosity featured in Stronger, Faster, Deadlier!, he opts to engage it without a moment's hesitation, even going into its mouth to rip out and crush its "heart".
• Villain Respect: Megatron is incredibly arrogant and sadistic, but he does acknowledge when someone has impressed him. Despite their friendship having long since deteriorated, Megatron still considers Optimus his equal in battle and is always eager to trade blows with him. He also quickly shows interest in Zero even before he learns who is under the mask. Then once he realizes Lelouch's story, Megatron seems rather pleased to watch him fully grow into the adversary he could become under Optimus' guidance. Notably, Megatron never once mocks or downplays either one's accomplishments or prowess. Heck, one of his put-downs to Charles is that his son was able to go through the crucible of surpassing his limits and reaching a new level as Megatron and Optimus did while Charles himself could not.
• Worthy Opponent: As stated in Villain Respect, he sees Optimus Prime and Lelouch/Zero as his equals, the former for his combat skills, especially when he easily defeats Cornelia, and the latter for his effective strategic planning, resolve, and growth under Optimus and the Autobots' guidance. Defied so far with Suzaku Kururugi despite Megatron even admitting that he sees more of himself in Suzaku than even Lelouch; Megatron admits that he would consider Suzaku this if the Honorary Britannian had more foresight on what he truly wanted to accomplish.
• Xanatos Gambit: The SAZ Massacre is this for Megatron. Even if the Autobots and Black Knights stop it, the damage it does to Britannia's reputation will vilify them to the entire world, ensuring they will have to seek the Decepticons' aid.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
  • Facade of Blood has Thundercracker point out that following through with the SAZ Massacre will result in Suzaku defecting. Megatron dismisses it as an "acceptable loss", abandoning Suzaku to the mercy of the Britannians. He also deems Dreadwing this as well, knowing Dreadwing will defect along with Suzaku.
  • In Setting the Stage, when he learns what Charles has been plotting behind his back, Megatron and the Decepticons decide to use the SAZ Massacre to spark a full-scale war to destroy Britannia, with the massacre itself acting as a distraction to attack Pendragon.
  • In Light and Darkness, he stole V.V.'s Code after growing bored of his failures to defeat Optimus and Lelouch even as Nemesis Prime too many times, which results in the latter dead.
• You Monster!: Gets called this and the "Devil incarnate" by C.C. in Rise of the Decepticons when he uses his Dark Geass on Lelouch. His reply is a mocking "You only realized that now?"