"By every measure, I am your superior! That is why you shall lose this battle! That is why I command the Decepticons!"
"Farewell, Maximals. With the destruction of Optimus Prime, the Decepticons and Predacons now take their rightful places as rulers of Cybertron. I, Megatron, have triumphed... Yeeesssss."
— "Megatron", Beast Wars
Ever since the 1980s, the Robots in Disguise have matched wits with various devious robotic masterminds all throughout the universe. These are the most audacious and brilliant.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
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Examples
- The Transformers (Marvel):
- Shockwave is the military commander of the Decepticons and has devoted his entire life to logic and conquest. After masterminding the original attack on the Ark that left both sides stranded on Earth, Shockwave emerged from stasis to destroy all the Autobots in a single blow. He seized control of the Decepticons away from Megatron, and attempted to use the Creation Matrix to create new soldiers for his army. Although he eventually stepped down as the Decepticons' leader, he soon manipulated Megatron into seemingly killing himself by taking advantage of his paranoid delusions. Shockwave entered a brief alliance with Cobra to gain control of Power Station Alpha and betrayed them, all so he could steal the Earth's resources for himself. When he lost his forces after being left for dead, Shockwave teamed up with Starscream to stage a coup against Scorponok and try to take command again. With intelligence to match his strength, Shockwave is one of the most dangerous Decepticons the Autobots have ever faced.
- Ratbat was once the Decepticon's fuel auditor, but he rose through the ranks to eventually become the leader of the Decepticons. Obsessed with maximizing efficiency on all aspects of the war effort, Ratbat refused to take unnecessary risks and waste precious energy. Upon arriving to Earth, he brainwashed G.B. Blackrock into producing a line of car washes that would hypnotize its customers into supplying fuel for the Decepticons. Ratbat soon took Buster Witwicky as a hostage, and seized command over Shockwave's forces after his supposed death. Ratbat took advantage of the Autobot's splintered command after Optimus's death, and launched a surprise attack on the Ark that nearly wiped them all out. When Starscream betrayed the Decepticons to steal the power of the Underbase, Ratbat helped coordinate an offensive against him, all while planning to take the Underbase's power for himself. Despite not being the strongest Decepticon, Ratbat proved to be one of their most efficient leaders.
- Doubledealer is a Transformer with the unique ability to transform between Autobot and Decepticon, which he uses to manipulate both sides into paying him for his services. After learning that Chainclaw was delivering a set of battle plans to the Autobots, Doubledealer kidnapped him and demanded a hefty ransom of Energon units for his release. He then transformed into his Autobot persona of "Double" and offered to deliver the ransom, while secretly pocketing it for himself. As his Decepticon persona "Dealer", he sold the plans to Scorponok before heading back to the Autobots as Double, claiming the Decepticons had double-crossed them. The two sides fought each other as Doubledealer made a clean getaway, having successfully conned both teams and doubling his profits in the process.
- The Transformers' "Prime Target": Lord Chumley is a big-game hunter who uses his vast fortune to hunt down military vehicles and technology. After stealing a Soviet jet during a test-flight, Chumley decided to add the head of Optimus Prime to his vast collection. With the help of his butler Dinsmore, Chumley lures the Autobots into numerous traps scattered across the city and holds them hostage in various Death Traps to lure Optimus to his castle fortress. Optimus was forced to go through the numerous traps laid out for him, including a monster Chumley had captured in the jungles of Borneo. He was able to take out Blitzwing and Astrotrain when they interrupted his fight with Optimus, wanting the honor of finishing Prime off for himself. Despite being a normal human, Chumley proved to be one of the more resourceful villains the Autobots have faced.
- Beast Wars: "Megatron", a rogue Predacon general who took the name of the Decepticon leader, is a brilliant, charismatic and ruthless foe who repeatedly comes up with new schemes to defeat the Maximals under Optimus Primal. Faking the Predacons' destruction to gain an advantage as well as using spies and psychological warfare, Megatron even uses cover of a truce to betray Optimus and succeeds in temporarily destroying him. Utilizing his soldiers as expendable resources, Megatron routinely comes within inches of victory, even manipulating a former Decepticon into working for him so he can destroy the sleeping Autobots and completely change history. Megatron is also an expert at highjacking the plans of his disloyal minions, instead using them to further his own goals. By the sequel, Beast Machines, Megatron turns out to have taken over Cybertron and repeatedly keeps the Maximals on the run, having taken power by manipulating the villainous Tankor/Rhinox's plans to lay a trap for the Maximals and faking his own death to take the form of the innocent Maximal "Noble" to trick them into allowing him ascension to ruler of the planet. Bombastic, hammy and theatrical, Megatron would set a new Machiavellian standard for villains in the franchise.
- War for Cybertron Trilogy: Kingdom: Blackarachnia is a sultry and manipulative spiderbot minion to Predacon Megatron who plans to overthrow him. Blackarachnia manipulates the feelings of Starscream into helping her discover the location of the Allspark. She later tricks Starscream into wounding the original Megatron in order to gather his Energon to discover a way to access the prophetic Golden Disc, which is only accessible through Megatron's blood-like Energon. After the original Megatron plans to wipe out the heroes, Blackarachnia switches sides to ally with them to shut down his defense systems through her skilled hacking. Even at the end, Blackarachnia is left in good graces with the villainous factions and is ready to face off against the coming threat of Unicron.
Examples
Original continuity
- Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, is a believer that freedom is the right of all beings and a cold and ruthless warrior. Arriving on Earth into a battle against his sworn brother and Arch-Enemy Megatron and his wicked Decepticons, Optimus forms a plan to keep the All-Spark from Decepticon hands, even if it means his life, then after dying to Megatron and resurrecting later, kills his ancestors' ancient enemy, The Fallen. Upon his old mentor Sentinel Prime turning on the Autobots, Optimus fakes his and the Autobots' deaths, knowing that the Decepticons cannot be trusted, indirectly sacrificing human lives to prove it and shows no mercy even for the helpless and bested Sentinel Prime for his treachery. Forced on the run from ungrateful humans, Optimus, later captured by the bounty hunter Lockdown, steals the Dinobots and forces them to defend his comrades on the threat of death. Even after being brainwashed by Quintessa, Optimus is freed from her control and stops his creator and Megatron's plan to steal Earth's core.
- The Last Knight: Quintessa, "the Prime of Life" and "the Great Deceiver", is the Creator of the Transformers. Growing sick of the civil war and planning to restore Cybertron, she hires the Bounty Hunter Lockdown to hunt down Optimus Prime. When this fails, she lures Optimus to her and gets him to lower his guard enough to brainwash him to her cause, sending him to attack humans and retrieve the staff of Merlin for her. Quintessa's plan is to harness its power to not only drain Earth of its resources and transfer them all to Cybertron, but she intends to restore a peaceful Cybertron and destroy the ancient evil Unicron in one masterstroke too. When this fails, Quintessa turns herself human and conscripts other humans in her quest to help bring Unicron down.
Rebooted continuity
- Rise of the Beasts: Noah Diaz is a former solider who turned to crime to support his family, willing taking up a carjacking job for his friend Reek. Being roped into helping the Autobots by a disguised Mirage, he sneaks into a facility to get the Transwarp Key, saving the researcher Elana Wallace when the Terrorcons attack. Willingly joining the Autobots after learning of Unicron's potential arrival, he secretly plans on destroying the Transwarp Key to prevent Unicron from being summoned, risking the Autobots being stranded on earth without their consent. Once talked down by Optimus Prime from destroying it at the last second, Noah's contributions to the battle ultimately result in the earth being saved from Unicron while also staying behind to save Optimus, afterwards being offered a job by G.I. Joe while getting the pay for his brother's medical bills in the process.
Examples
- Transformers: Prime:
- 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 pretence 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.
- Soundwave is Megatron's most trusted operative, an oft-silent head of Decepticon communications who uses his position to spy on friend and foe alike to further the Decepticon cause. Regularly thwarting attempts to overthrow Megatron with both tactical surveillance and physical might, Soundwave is always on standby to supply Decepticon troops with transportation and strategic schemes, serving as the primary source of Decepticon victories. Always taking the most pragmatic ways to accomplish his goals, Soundwave contrasts fellow lieutenants Starscream and Airachnid's sadism and cruelty with his own brand of cold efficiency, often forgoing outright physical confrontations in favor of just teleporting entire armies of enemies out of his way. Even when captured and threatened with torture and interrogation by the Autobots, Soundwave just mocks his captors before wiping his own hard drives, fully willing to perish to ensure Decepticon victory. Returning in Robots In Disguise, Soundwave still maintains his ruthless efficiency and loyalty to Megatron, procuring schemes that test the heroes to their limit in a bid to try and regain contact with his former master.
- Dreadwing is a member of the Decepticons who contrasts his team's villainous nature with a sense of honour and loyalty. The brother of the Decepticon Skyquake who was slain by the Autbots, Autobots, Dreadwing travels to Earth—taking out an Autobot and almost killing Wheeljack in the process. Seeking revenge for his fallen twin, Dreadwing concocts a scheme to hold the Autobot Bulkhead hostage lure Optimus and Wheeljack into a deadly trap. Disobeying Megatron's orders to not tail him, Dreadwing manages to get the drop on the Autobots in which he rescues Megatron—earning the tyrant's respect for his loyalty. Heading to Antarctica to hunt for an Iacon relic, Dreadwing forms an alliance with Optimus to stop Starscream from killing them both with the apex armour. Disillusioned with the Decepticon cause after discovering that Starscream used his brother's corpse as a Terrorcon and denied him an eternal rest, Dreadwing steals the Forge of Solus Prime from the Nemesis and hands it to the Autobots for their advantage—later almost striking down Starscream.Starscream.
- Shockwave is the head scientist of the Decepticons, dictating his actions based not on personal feelings, but on logic and greatest chances for success. Established immediately as Starscream's far more competent, threatening rival, Shockwave survives an attempt by Starscream to leave him for dead, instead fully repairing himself and his lab of his own construction using nothing but ruins of Cybertron. Upon finding his way to Earth back into the Decepticon fold, Shockwave quickly proves his usefulness in furthering the groups' schemes, as he creates and unleashes Predaking, outwits the Autobots in retrieving Decepticon artifacts, and even concocts the final plan of the Decepticons in the series, adapting materials from a freak accident to reform Cybertron and return it to prosperity. As efficient physically as mentally, Shockwave thrashes any opponents he faces personally, and cements his status as a truly impressive Decepticon when he singlehandedly convinces the Predacons to fight Unicron alongside the Autobots for the good of Cybertron.
Other Continuities
Examples
- Unicron Trilogy: Starscream here is presented as one of his most cunning, dangerous and even noble adaptations. In Armada, Starscream is a tragic and troubled warrior who regularly proves himself the most courageous and convicted Decepticon. Often outdoing those around him to gain powerful advantages, Starscream eventually turns on Megatron out of sheer disgust at his master's evil. Starscream then becomes a valuable ally to the Autobots in freeing the Mini-Con slaves and stopping Megatron from destroying the Earth. Starscream's nobility is so strong that he nearly humbles Megatron and sacrifices his own life to inspire the Decepticons and Autobots to team up against Unicron, his death mourned by friend and foe alike. Revived in Energon, an amnesiac Starscream shows himself to be as deadly as ever, nearly assassinating both Optimus Prime and Megatron before swearing fierce loyalty to the latter and enacting countless schemes to perfection on his part. By the time of Cybertron, Starscream has embraced his own ambition and schemes to rule the universe. He feigns loyalty to Megatron before betraying him and invading Earth with a Decepticon army of his own, after which Starscream thrashes and outwits the entire Autobot team. Claiming the Omega Lock, Starscream duels with Primus more than once in an attempt to claim godlike power, surviving each time, and even when eventually beaten by Galvatron in a final battle, Starscream accepts his defeat and inspires Galvatron into continuing his own personal quest for power.
- Animated:
- Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons and the Arch-Enemy of the Autobots. A brilliant tactician who kickstarted the entire Decepticon cause into an organized, deadly army and initiated the Great War, Megatron was reduced to but a head after the betrayal of his lieutenant Starscream; however, even this doesn't stop Megatron, as he manipulates Isaac Sumdac and several other humans to reconstruct his body and return to life. Megatron is constantly updating and adapting his plans, going from trying to steal the Allspark to using its shattered fragments to create a Space Bridge with ease, and uses the mole he planted in Cybertron ages ago, Shockwave, to construct Decepticon uprisings so as to distract Cybertron and let Megatron invade. Rarely losing his cool and his plans always being foiled only by an outside source he couldn't have predicted, Megatron makes one final scheme by using rudimentary tech to take control of Omega Supreme, create clones of him, then use them to conquer Cybertron before expanding the Decepticon rule across the cosmos.
- Shockwave is Megatron's "most loyal servant", a manipulative shapeshifter who infiltrates Cybertron as the Autobot Longarm. When Bumblebee learns that there is a Decepticon spy in their midst, Shockwave first tries to murder the bot before framing the innocent Wasp as the spy, successfully protecting his identity to such a point that he murders the current head of Cybertron intelligence to get himself the promotion with no suspicions. Shockwave manipulates the Autobot leadership for years as he orchestrates Decepticons across the galaxy, and always pounces on any potential leaks of his identity, leading Blurr into a lethal trap when he tries to investigate Longarm and cutting off communications with Optimus Prime when his team learn of Shockwave's status as a mole. When realizing he is moments away from being exposed, Shockwave deals a fatal blow to Ultra Magnus, kidnaps Arcee and uses her memories to help Megatron with his plans to clone Omega Supreme, only being beaten after he lures an Autobot team into a trap and nearly murders them all by playing on their compassion.
- Soundwave, a walking music player intended to be upgraded into a new body for the crippled Megatron, instead gained self-awareness and set out to establish machines as the dominant species, even extending an offer to the Autobots to join his revolution. Returning after his apparent destruction with new robotic minions in tow, Soundwave drugs and captures the Autobots, placing their minds in a virtual world where they're human while he reprograms them to follow his commands. Upon being discovered by Sari, Soundwave takes advantage of the redistribution of his original toy model to brainwash every human in the city and impede her search for help. Adapting to complications in his plans with ease, Soundwave manages to escape even with his body once again destroyed, free to return for revenge another day.
- Swindle is a fast-talking, smooth arms dealer who plays both sides of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict to bring himself the most profit. Introducing himself by manipulating a group of human villains into building a powerful EMP weapon, Swindle betrays them all and tries to sell the weapon to Megatron, demonstrating its abilities by easily incapacitating the entire Autobot team. Though he is captured thanks to a surprise attack, Swindle bounces right back as he stages a breakout of an Autobot prison ship, taking control and planning to use the Autobot crew as hostages before harvesting their parts for extra cash. Swindle is always ready with a new gadget or weapon to get out of any situation, such as arming the Decepticon prisoners or disabling Jetfire and Jetstorm in a cinch, and he ultimately gets away scot-free, using an Autobot rescue attempt to distract his cohorts, looting the entire prison ship's belongings, and fleeing into space while remarking how much he "loves a shopping spree."
- Bumblebee: Movie Prequel, by John Barbber: Diabla is a Decepticon spy who once infiltrated the Autobot's ranks and made such a good impression that Bumblebee still thinks she's good-hearted, in spite of her later betrayal. Supposedly helping Malignus' plot to start a nuclear war, she uses her wit and charisma to ambush Bumblebee and his human companions several times, nearly killing them with each attack. After the heroes are captured in the Malignus' base, Diabla helps them escape, revealing her true allegiance to the Soviet Union and forming a temporary truce to stop the Decepticons. When Malignus desperately launches a nuclear warhead at the heart of Russia, Diabla intercepts the missile and brings it back down to destroy the Decepticon headquarters, saving the world at the cost of her own life.
- Cyberverse: Shockwave, while more prideful than most incarnations, remains the Decepticons' resident Mad Scientist motivated solely by logic. First introduced while trying to trick an amnesiac Bumblebee into believing he was a Decepticon by planting false memories through his cortical psychic patch, Shockwave later instructs the Seekers in rebuilding the Space Bridge, allowing him to arrive on Earth long before the rest of the Decepticon armada even enters the solar system. Putting into motion various schemes that come close to utterly annihilating the Autobot forces, Shockwave eventually returns to his role as Megatron's Hypercompetent Sidekick and designs countless backup plans for their plots to claim the AllSpark, notably faking the destruction of the Space Bridge so the Decepticons can quickly return to Cybertron before the duped Autobots. Largely responsible for most of the Decepticons' victories and expressing a willingness to overthrow Megatron himself should he become too much of a liability, Shockwave's loyalty to his cause nevertheless stands true, as he ultimately sacrifices himself to corrupt the AllSpark in the wake of the Decepticons' defeat.
- Superman and Spider-Man & New Avengers/Transformers: Dr. Victor Von Doom is as megalomaniacal and brilliant as ever. In the first story, Doom allies with Parasite and uses the supervillain as a pawn in his scheme to destroy the Earth's fuel and electrical supply so that Doom's powerful energy source will enable him to institute his own, utopian rule. Doom uses both the confines of the law and stealthy red herrings to regularly outwit Superman and Spider-Man, nearly killing the duo. Though he ends the comic with a heavy dose of cowardice, Doom later returns with all his gravitas restored, risking his own life to fight the Decepticons and help save the entire planet from their schemes. Doom personally damages the Decepticons' HQ and saves a variety of heroes from brainwashing, ending the comic developing a new plan with stoic resolve even as the base explodes around him.
