Megatron (RID)

Megatron is a Predacon originally from the Robots in Disguise continuity family.

Let's see, I conquered Care-a-lot, Sesame Street, Shining Time Station, that planet Gumby came from...

Megatron (aka Gigatron) is the leader of the Predacons with the ability to take on six forms. He claims to have decimated numerous planets during his campaign for Predacon supremacy before coming to Earth in search of the megaweapon Fortress Maximus. He appears to have come into conflict with Optimus Prime and his Autobots numerous times before.

Although Megatron is a great and powerful warrior, he typically leaves the fighting to his Predacon lackeys, such as Sky-Byte, preferring to stalk around his headquarters, the Megastar, and berate his underlings when they inevitably fail. Upon his conversion to Galvatron (aka Devil Gigatron), he is a lot more active and effective, able to change into ten forms. His primary attack seems to be his Cutter Beam technique. As Galvatron, he can increase his power by draining the life energy of other beings!^[1]

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Voice actor: Daniel Riordan (English), Yōichi Kobiyama (Japanese), Oleg Kutsenko (Russian), Byeong-gwan Kim (Korean), Luiz Carlos Persy (Megatron and Galvatron's second voice, Brazilian Portuguese), Carlos Seidl (Galvatron's first voice, Brazilian Portuguese), Gerardo Vásquez (Latin American Spanish), Giorgio Locuratolo (Italian)

He wants the whole world, in his hand...

Megatron arrived on Earth in search of Fortress Maximus by orders of the Predacon Council Surprise Attack! with a cover story of plundering Earth's energy. His first appearance was at the International Scientific Symposium in New York, during which he and the Predacon trio fought Optimus Prime and the Autobot Brothers. Although the battle did not go well, Megatron was able to abduct Doctor Kenneth Onishi, an energy expert and archaeologist. Battle Protocol! Doctor Onishi was subjected to the psycho-probe which was proving to be slow work in extracting information. In the meantime, Megatron sent his minions out to steal energy to refuel the Megastar, only occasionally venturing out himself to help them. He would often bemoan the Predacons' predicament, and wished that he could simply bully the humans into handing over their energy supply.

The first energy-gathering mission that Megatron assigned to Sky-Byte was the retrieval of a bomb hidden within a XC-12 model red sports car, planted there by a group of terrorists. Sky-Byte failed Megatron in this assignment. An Explosive Situation Megatron was next seen when he caught his troops out and about attempting to destroy the Linear RFG without orders to do so. After briefly berating his troops, he opened fire on Optimus Prime. Team Bullet Train then joined the Autobots, and attempted to retaliate against the Predacon leader. Their attacks were easily brushed away, however. As Rail Racer, the trains gained the speed and power necessary to drive Megatron off, who sped away in his jet mode. Bullet Train to the Rescue

Megatron then orchestrated a plot to steal a Plutonium Energy Generator as it was being escorted by the Autobots across the city. Halfway through the mission, Gas Skunk, Slapper, and Dark Scream ran into trouble, as they were unable to fend off the Spychangers. Megatron sent Sky-Byte into the field to assist his troops. Although at first it seemed that the Predacons returned to base successfully, it turned out that the Spychangers had somehow managed to swap out the real Energy Generator with a decoy. Infuriated, Megatron declared that he would turn his incompetent toadies into scrap. Spychangers to the Rescue

I DO NOT NEED ANGER MANAGEMENT!

Next, Megatron sought to activate the Black Pyramid, an ancient ruin which he boasted he had known about long before the humans. The power-generating matrix chamber within was to be Megatron's next _target in his quest for energy. As the Predacons prepared to tap into the Black Pyramid's power, a ship entered the area. Fearing that it would draw the Autobots’ attention, Megatron ordered Sky-Byte to take it out before it got any closer. Of course, attacking the ship did nothing but bring the Autobots onto the scene faster. As the Predacon's mission went south, Megatron decided to destroy the Black Pyramid rather than allow it to fall into anybody else's hands, then fled. The Hunt for Black Pyramid

Attempting to provide a distraction for Sky-Byte's mission to some ruins, Megatron and the Predacon trio attacked Metro City, fighting Team Bullet Train. The Secret of the Ruins Another plan to trap Optimus Prime started off well—Megatron disguising himself as a red sports car proved to be an effective method to trap the Autobot Side Burn and they were soon able to trap Optimus as well. Megatron took great pleasure in punishing the Autobot leader until the rest of the Autobots mounted a rescue and the Predacons were forced to flee. Sideburn's Obsession

With little information forthcoming from the psycho-probing of Doctor Onishi, the Predacons stole a disk left by the doctor, leading them to attack a steam train under the mistaken assumption it was a weapon of some sort. This did not help Megatron's temper. Secret Weapon: D-5 Nor did the destruction of his Mega-Laser Cannon by the Autobots. Mirage's Betrayal In an attempt to destroy their foe, Megatron and Sky-Byte entered the International Grand Prix which the Autobots had also entered in an attempt to find one of their number who'd gone rogue. Megatron managed to trap Optimus and the three brothers under a huge rock, but the rogue Autobot, Skid-Z, turned up in time to rescue them and Megatron was sent packing. Skid Z's Choice

In the middle of yet another one of the Predacons' harebrained schemes, Megatron checked up on Sky-Byte to see if his plan to brainwash Tow-Line was going smoothly. He and Sky-Byte came upon the Autobots as the now clear-headed Tow-Line was rescuing the Autobots he had been tricked into taking captive. Attempting the salvage the scheme, Megatron faced off against Rapid Run. Megatron's Mega Sword wound up not being a match for Rapid Run's Deflector Shield, and the Predacon leader was forced to fly off. Tow-Line Goes Haywire

On one of Megatron's many attempts to glean secrets from Doctor Onishi's mind using the psycho-probe, he uncovered images of a "Cave of the Dragon". Coincidently, Gas Skunk caught footage on one of the base's monitor about a movie taking place within the same cave. The Predacon misinterpreted what he saw as footage of an "ultimate robot warrior", capable of transforming into a dragon, and so informed his leader about his discovery. Intrigued about this "transformer" the humans had hidden away on their planet, Megatron sent out his troops to convince this potential "champion of the Predacons" to join his crew. Slapper's later report that the Autobots “knew” about the transforming statue only cemented Megatron's desire to acquire the statue. In reality, there was no robot warrior, only a bunch of flashy special effects for a movie being filmed at the cave. The Ultimate Robot Warrior

Despite Megatron's numerous defeats, the Autobots considered him “just as dangerous as ever." They also somehow acquired footage of Megatron's point of view... Hope for the Future

After several more failed missions, the interrogation of Dr. Onishi finally saw results in the discovery of a crashed Autobot spaceship in America. Megatron was able to snatch six protoforms from the ship and took them to the nearby McKinley Army Base where he imbued them with energy from his spark and gave them new forms as Decepticons. The Decepticons Eager to test his new troops, he sent them to destroy Sherman Dam and hacked into the primitive human television transmissions in order to extort the humans in the nearby city of Las Bogus into surrendering. Unfortunately, things did not go well and Megatron was left looking embarrassed in front of all the humans. Commandos Megatron largely stayed back at base after these incidents.

Dragonback rides were the hit of the fair!

Megatron supervised the Commandos' plan to find the Autobots' base by sending Movor out into orbit. His patience began to wear thin when he realized that the results of this plan wouldn't be immediate. Ultimately, the plan would yield no results whatsoever, as Movor came crashing down to Earth before he yielded any useful information. Attack from Outer Space The next plan that Megatron orchestrated involved having the Decepticons pretend they had turned over a new leaf, in order to infiltrate the Autobots and discover the secret location of their base. Megatron went so far as to keep Sky-Byte in the dark, so that he would clash with his rivals, making the act look that much more genuine. But the Decepticons’ track record remained as bad as it always had been. The Decepticons' ruse fell through, and the base's location continued to elude Megatron. The Test Tired of Sky-Byte's incompetence, Megatron ordered Sky-Byte to listen to whatever Scourge said from now on, while the much more reliable Decepticon spearheaded energy raids. Sky-Byte, being Sky-Byte, did the exact opposite of what he was told in a misguided attempt to mend his tarnished reputation. Three separate attacks on three separate power plants were thus botched. Megatron assigned Sky-Byte the unappealing task of cleaning out the base's Energon Smelters as punishment. The Fish Test

The Commandos were able to sabotage the Autobot Global Space Bridge. With the Autobots unable to reach specific destinations, Megatron and Scourge attacked an energy facility near the North Pole. Unfortunately for them, the Autobots were able to get the space bridge repaired in time for Megatron to be seen off by Landfill. Landfill

Unexpectedly, Megatron heard some good news pertaining to Sky-Byte for once. Sky-Byte, Slapper, Gas Skunk, and Dark Scream had managed to take all the humans attending the opening of the CGA Tower hostage, and had negotiated their release in exchange of the O-Parts in the Autobots' position. Megatron nonetheless felt the need to send Scourge to actually retrieve the O-parts. Ironically, for once Sky-Byte might have pleased Megatron... if not for the fact that Scourge forestalling the exchange meant that Sky-Byte got caught up in being called a hero, and forgot to actually acquire the O-parts. Oops. Sky-Byte Saves the Day

When the Commandos reported that Rail Racer and the Build Team had thwarted the Commandos' latest heist, Megatron uncharacteristically plainly stated that he was disappointed instead of blowing a gasket, as he usually would. A Test of Metal

Megatron was especially interested in the arrival of a new Autobot, Ultra Magnus, who had an intense rivalry with Optimus Prime. Ultra Magnus After Magnus badly damaged Prime in a fight, causing the latter to retreat to an island to recuperate, Megatron saw his chance and personally led the attack on Optimus Prime. The attack might have succeeded if it weren't for the arrival of Ultra Magnus, who merged with Optimus to form the powerful Omega Prime. Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!

Arise, Chooktimus Prime

After the capture of the three Autobot brothers, Megatron again ventured out and was able to successfully fight Optimus, who was unwilling to fight back while the three brothers were under threat. Even after the brothers were freed, Megatron attempted to stomp the trio, only to have them fight back after they supercharged under the influence of mysterious energy channelled through Ultra Magnus. The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus Megatron watched archival footage of Ultra Magnus with his troops in order to get a better understanding of his newly arrived enemy. Mystery of the Ultra Magnus Despite a previous attempt at making Ultra Magnus join the Decepticons having ended in total failure, Megatron allowed Scourge a second attempt at convincing the Autobot in joining the forces of evil. Though Ultra Magnus remained steadfast in his allegiance to the Autobots, Scourge plan resulted in Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime being led to an isolated area, where both the Decepticons and the Predacons were granted free reign to pummel the brothers. Though Megatron's forces dealt their fair share of punishment onto the Autobots, Ultra Magnus was able to put aside his and Optimus's differences aside once more, and the pair combined into Omega Prime. Megatron fled as Omega Prime overwhelmed the entirety of his forces. Power to Burn!

Finally, information obtained from Dr. Onishi led the Decepticons to discover the location of Fortress Maximus and the fulfilling of Megatron's quest. Fortress Maximus However, the Autobots hid Fortress Maximus, and Doctor Onishi escape from the Predacons' grasp. (In other words, Sky-Byte screwed up again...) Megatron was undeterred nonetheless, and officially had the Predacons and Decepticons join together as a single group, as per Scourge's suggestion. Koji Gets His Wish Megatron also had his men try to track down the rest of the O-Parts. The Autobots again got there first, but Megatron was able to take Wedge hostage, offering him back in exchange for the O-Parts. The exchange was ruined by Sky-Byte, which didn't exactly endear the Predacon to his master. A Friendly Contest

The Decepticons subsequently tracked the Autobots to the Sahara Desert, Megatron leading the mission himself. By the time they caught up to the Autobots, Optimus had already located the Orb of Sigma, the key to finding Fortress Maximus' commanding entity Cerebros, in a deep cavern. Megatron attempted to take the Orb, but was caught in a booby trap which seized him in a powerful energy field. Soon he and Optimus were locked in combat, resulting in Megatron disappearing in the collapsing cavern. In the aftermath, the three beast Predacons pulled themselves out of the rubble, only to have their energy drained. Megatron was back with a new form and name—Galvatron. Peril from the Past

...wait, that's proper scale. What are they playing at in Japan?!

Galvatron rejoined his troops as Scourge attempted to take control of Fortress Maximus in the heart of Metro City. He proclaimed Megatron dead and he himself to be an entirely new person. Though the attempt to control Fortress Maximus was unsuccessful, Galvatron seized Cerebros during the retreat. Maximus Emerges Enraged by the complications involved in controlling Fortress Maximus, Galvatron ordered Scourge to continue researching Cerebros's circuits in order to bypass their current setback. Scourge discovered that Fortress Maximus was programmed to recognized human bio-signatures, and was marginally more successful in controlling the giant Autobot on a second go at it... But the attempt proved once more unsuccessful when Dr. Onishi brought in a thousand Earth children to overpower Scourge's own bio-signature. Galvatron made a brief appearance on the battlefield to seize Cerebros once more before retreating with his troops. The Human Element

This led to the Decepticons trying to capture Koji Onishi, the Autobots' pet human. Instead they got hold of Koji's friend Carl, but Galvatron accompanied Scourge and Sky-Byte to Maximus's location nevertheless. Once Carl had taken control of the titan, Scourge turned on his master, ordering Carl to destroy Galvatron. With the coup a failure, Galvatron stunned his minion and retreated. Mistaken Identity

Have at thee!

Galvatron used one of his new abilities to seize the traitorous Decepticons in an energy field and forcibly reprogram them to serve him. Placing them under the command of Sky-Byte, he then sent them to attack the Autobot base. Although the Decepticons and Predacons were led into a trap by the Autobots, Galvatron brought the Megastar to the battle, growing in size to join with the battle station as its right hand. After Fortress Maximus destroyed the battle station, Galvatron fell, apparently lifeless, to the ground. Surprise Attack! Not finished yet, Galvatron used his new vampiric powers to drain energy from Maximus. When confronted by Omega Prime, Galvatron demonstrated another new ability, releasing from his mouth thousands of cyber-bats which took control of Earth's children. The Autobots were forced to call a retreat.

Galvatron sent his Decepticon forces in after the Autobots, intending to kill two birds with one stone—he used his Striker Lance to rupture the wall of the Global Space Bridge, flooding it with lava. Galvatron's Revenge The Autobots soon escaped, but Galvatron was able to swiftly seize them in an energy field, only losing Optimus Prime when the other Autobots shielded their leader from Galvatron's energies. Optimus and Ultra Magnus again combined into Omega Prime to confront Galvatron, leading him through the space bridge to Earth's core for a final confrontation.

When Omega Prime used the Matrix Blade to destroy Galvatron's Striker Lance, the resulting explosion (and apparent release of Galvatron's absorbed energies) was enough to defeat the villain. He was last seen being exiled to the asteroid prison colony, swearing that he would return to seek revenge. The Final Battle

Dreamwave Robots in Disguise comic

Megatron's seventh "Ugly Drawing" mode was impossible to hold back.

Annoyed at the Predacons' inability to steal energy, Megatron ordered Scourge and Sky-Byte to undertake a joint operation to an energy research facility in Arizona, while he and several of the other Decepticons kept the Autobots busy. Megatron was soon struggling with the Autobot Brothers in Oregon. Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Car Robots catalog

Fire Convoy and Gigatron were once "childhood friends" that became eternal rivals.

Gigatron and his Predacons arrived on Earth in the year 2000 via a dimensional rift. They were pursued by Fire Convoy and his Dimensional Patrol.

Kiss Players

Shaoshao Li time-traveled the year 2000 to acquire Fire Convoy's piece of the Allspark (in reality Unicron's lifeforce) while Fire Convoy was battling Gigatron in New York City. Shortly thereafter, a golden hand snatched away the Allspark fragment. Kiss Players #47

Legends/Unite Warriors

Having escaped from Autobot captivity, Scourge sought to return and break Devil Gigatron out of jail as well, believing he would need his leader's power to reach his own selfish goals. To this end he recruited the dimensionally-displaced Sky-Byte from the Legends Universe, and together the two set out to free Gigatron. Bonus Edition Vol. EX

While in the process of reformatting the Combatrons back to their original programming, the Autobots of the post-Cybertron Alliance era explained how they were corrupted by Gigatron and his Predacons. Ruination Chapter, Part One

After escaping captivity, the Combatrons joined up with Scourge and Sky-Byte on their quest to rescue Devil Gigatron. They convened in a bath house to discuss their strategy, though Scourge was annoyed to find the team was more interested in bathing than planning. Strategy Meeting in an Earth Bath?!

Scourge's group eventually reached Devil Gigatron inside Neo Brave Maximus where he was held, only to find that he refused to be rescued. He explained that upon learning of the extradimensional threats the Dimensional Patrol protected them all against, he had decided to give up on his evil ambitions, rekindle his old friendship with Fire Convoy, and join the Patrol in defending the universe. Determined to remain evil, Scourge refused to do the same and attacked Gigatron to absorb the power in his spark. In return, Gigatron used his Devilostrich mode to extract the evil he once infused Scourge with, reverting him to a heroic protoform. LGEX Scourge Prologue

I want to tell you about the Transformers! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their fictional appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Epiloge, probably more

Spacewarp's Log

In one timeline, Devil Gigatron ended up at Garrus-7 after his defeat, where he was kept securely under lock. Unfortunately, the very protocols that kept Gigatron from getting out were tiresome and irritating to the dissatisfied Autobot warden, Armored Corps. Striking when the iron was hot, Gigatron managed to lure Armored Corps over to his philosophy, along with Stealth Saber, Victory Bomber, and the Scoutforce. Even then, it proved impossible to break out, so Gigatron sent Stealth Saber and Victory Bomber to the Dark Nebula, where they were able to successfully convince Devil Z to assist. With the god's power, Devil Gigatron was upgraded to Gigatron Z, and the Predacon was able to bust out of Garrus-7 and lead his new Predacon crew on a swath of destruction across the universe. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he faced against his nemesis, Fire Convoy, again. Spacewarp presumed that the Predacons were defeated as Armored Corps eventually wound up at Axiom Nexus. Spacewarp's Log (1), 2015/10/27

Robots in Disguise toy bio continuity

On 21st century Earth in Viron 102.0 Beta, Galvatron offered Cryotek, who had came from the future, refuge aboard his ship, the Megastar, in exchange for a body upgrade. By Cryotek's hand, the Predacon leader become "Megatron Megabolt". Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30 This "emissary mode" was designed to combine with both his space cruiser and the Autobots' secret defense fortress. In a show of arrogance, Megatron also began calling himself a Decepticon.^[2] Megatron Megabolt toy bio Megatron thusly took control of Fortress Maximus, becoming Megabolt Maximus. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30 However, Autobot leader Optimus Prime received assistance from Optimus Primal the Protector. Air Attack Optimus Primal toy bio In the tough battle that ensued, Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal fought against Megatron and Cryotek and emerged victorious. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30

Lil Formers

Megatron went over all the different modes he could change into, including a cheese grater, a socket wrench, and a bocce ball set. Lil Formers

Universe toy bios

Megatron did not trust Bruticus to do more than act as a guard, but Bruticus was content to serve in the dungeons beneath the Predacon leader's headquarters. Universe Bruticus toy bio

2005 IDW continuity

During the war, Gigatron learned from Deadlock and Turmoil that an army of stone soldiers was hidden on an obscure planet, though Megatron saw no use for it at the time. Centuries later, refusing to accept that the war had ended, he returned to absorb the army into his forces, but couldn't find it. Empire of Stone #2 Fortunately, Deadlock—having defected and changed his name to Drift—also arrived on the planet, where he was captured and brought before Gigatron. Empire of Stone #1 Gigatron convinced the former Decepticon to lead him to the Stone Army in exchange for freeing his friend Ratchet, but went back on his word on the advice of Hellbat. When the captives then tried to escape, he lost his temper, cut off their escape route and would have killed them on the spot if Hellbat hadn't again intervened, convincing him to imprison them instead. Empire of Stone #2

And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire

Not long afterwards, the captives came running straight back into Gigatron's throne room, followed closely by Stone Army soldiers that attacked the Decepticons. Told by Drift that Hellbat had betrayed him and activated the army for his own gain, Gigatron was enraged and transformed into his two-headed dragon mode, single-handedly wiping out the stone soldiers. Drift then brokered an alliance with the Decepticon commander against Hellbat's new army. Empire of Stone #3 Unwilling to destroy too many of his potential soldiers, however, Gigatron soon left the group to confront Hellbat directly and was faced with a gigantic stone warrior. Kept at bay by the giant, Gigatron instead tossed Drift onto Hellbat's platform to deal with him, which he did by cutting the army's control device off of the traitor's arm. Gigatron tried to take the chance to kill Hellbat and retrieve the device for himself, but was stopped in his tracks by Drift, who urged him to give up on war. The interruption allowed Hellbat to take back the device and send the entire army after Gigatron, who in his rage waded through the stone soldiers to get to his treacherous second-in-command and cut him down. Unfortunately, his strike also destroyed the machinery used to activate the army, causing a series of explosions that collapsed the building on top of him as he fought off the remaining soldiers. Empire of Stone #4

Ask Vector Prime

When Bio Ranger Iga formed the Thirteen Great Demon Generals, Gigatron came from "beyond the reach of time itself" to join. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/27

Shell Game

In Viron 704.31 Epsilon, Megazarak then arrived from Cybertron after the death of Megatron by Omega Prime and declared for leadership of the Predacon/Decepticon forces. Megazarak later used Megatron's corpse to create the undead monstrosity Megabolt. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/30

Spychanger continuity

In Viron 1103.12 Gamma, Megatron was pleased that Sky-Byte had (accidentally) rendered all energon on Earth toxic, which forced all the Autobots to downsize to Spychangers. However, after Daytonus and X-Brawn destroyed the Predacons' pure energon stash, the war ground to a halt. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/18

Last Bot Standing

Gigatron was among the many Decepticons who fought against the Autobots as both sides drained the universe of its resources. Last Bot Standing #2

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Leatherhide pointed out that some of Gigatron's many forms could be considered Transmetal 2 beasts. Technorganic Secrets

Toys

Robots in Disguise (2001)

It sorta looks like a bat, right?
(Hasbro version pictured)

• Gigatron (March 2000) / Megatron (Ultra Class, July 2001)

• Takara ID number: D-001
• Accessories: 2 missiles, 2 missile launchers
• Known designers: Takashi Kunihiro (Takara), Junichi Akutsu and Masakatsu Saito (concept art)

The only new-mold bad guy from the Car Robots line, "Gigatron", (as he was called in Japan) has six modes: robot, a bat named "Gigabat" (ギガバット), a two-headed dragon named Gigadragon (ギガドラゴン), a jet called Gigajet (ギガジェット), a strange-looking car called Gigaformula (ギガフォーミュラ), and a hand called Gigahand (ギガハンド). As Gigahand, he has a spring-loaded "gripping" gimmick triggered by pulling on the codpiece to articulate the fingers. Gigatron comes with a pair of pressure-launch missile launchers that can double as swords, or be combined to form a single staff-like weapon. Gigatron was later retooled into "Devil Gigatron", and it was this slightly modified version of the mold that Hasbro released in their Robots in Disguise line (see "Galvatron", below, for specific details).

The Hasbro version was renamed "Megatron" and sold in the first wave of the Robots in Disguise toyline. Three of his altmodes were likewise renamed by the toy's instructions: His bat mode was labeled a "gargoyle" (though, the cartoon's English dub continued to call it a bat), his car mode was called a "transport", and his hand mode was more precisely a "claw". The blades of his missiles were also heavily retooled for safety reasons, completely reshaped to remove all of their spiky edges while rounding off and reducing the sizes of the edges left intact.

Megatron (and the later Galvatron version) suffers a common misassembly: the sliding ball joint that connects the tail/thumb/fuselage to the body is often the wrong way around. As intended (and seen in the instructions), the tail should be positioned centrally when the joint is slid as far to Megatron's right as possible, with tabs on the joint locking into a notch on Megatron's back. The joint slides to the left so that the thumb sticks out to make the claw a right hand, with a cutout nesting against the end of the slider. Flipping the joint requires removing screws and punching out several heavy-duty pins from the torso, and is probably more trouble than it's worth.^[3]

The Hasbro version of this mold, albeit without the bat snout piece, was also used to make Timelines Deathsaurus and BotCon 2016 Beast Wars Megatron.

By chance, the pegs keeping Megatron's chromed chest closed are able to fit into the port within Omega Prime's palms. If used to combine with Megatron in Claw mode, this combination gives Omega Prime a huge, unwieldy fist that can barely be held up due to the weight of having an entire figure on his arm. It was canonized in 2019 by Hayato Sakamoto using the Devil Gigatron version of the mold in Transformers Legends as Devil God Fire Convoy.

Sonokong also released Gigatron in Korean markets with no differences other than the packaging.

• More information on Megatron at TFU.info

One little, two little, three little alt-modes. Four little, five little, six little alt-modes. Seven little, eight little, nine little alt-modes. Ten little modes has he.
(Hasbro version pictured)

• Devil Gigatron (October 2000)
• Galvatron (Ultra Class, December 2001)

• Takara ID number: D-013
• Accessories: 2 missiles, 2 missile launchers

Redecoed into a color scheme more traditionally associated with "death" in Japan, "Devil Gigatron" retains his previous alternates modes but renamed in the Japanese market accordingly: Devilbat (デビルバット), Devildragon (デビルドラゴン), Deviljet (デビルジェット), Devilformula (デビルフォーミュラ) and Devilhand (デビルハンド). With that in mind, he features four additional transformations, which make this toy the Transformer with the most official altmodes in a single body. These new modes are a winged, quadrupedal dinosaur creature named Devilsaurer (デビルザウラー), a Pteranodon named Devilnodon (デビルノドン), a hydrofoil called Devilcruiser (デビルクルーザー), and an elephant named Devilelephant (デビルエレファント).

The first three of these new modes were pretty clearly just made up by fiddling with the original toy, given that they feature no dedicated parts and can be reproduced on the original Gigatron mold, while a very slight retool was actually made to accommodate Devilelephant: a pair of tabs were added to that allow the elephant's "trunk" to clip securely into place, which merely hangs loose if one attempts to configure the original Gigatron into this form. As noted above, this slight retool was used by Hasbro for their Megatron figure, and for all other Hasbro-released incarnations of the mold.

The Hasbro version was renamed "Galvatron" and released near at end of 2001 in the Robots in Disguise toyline, just in time for Christmas. While there are no notable differences, deco-wise, between Hasbro's Galvatron and Takara's Devil Gigatron, Galvatron features the same modified missile blades as Megatron, which would be used for all future releases of the mold. In addition to the three renamed modes of the Megatron release, three of Galvatron's new modes were likewise renamed by the toy's instructions: His "Devil Saurer" mode was (arguably more sensibly) labeled a "griffin", his Pteranodon mode was labeled a "flying dragon", and his hydrofoil mode was more simply a "boat" (ironically, while his elephant mode wasn't renamed, the cartoon's English dub instead gave it the name of "Iron Mammoth", and erroneously did the same for the dinosaur/griffin and Pteranodon/flying dragon modes, calling all three "Iron Mammoth"). Galvatron also has the exact same common misassembly as Megatron.

In addition to the four extra official modes, Takara employee Takashi Kunihiro created an additional eleventh fan-mode which he dubbed the "Devilostrich" (デビルオーストリッチ) mode. This eleventh mode wasn't officially canonized until 2017 when it was included in the Legends comic story taking place post-Car Robots. For a complete reference of all canon modes, we have included the Devilostrich form in a thick-bordered box to separate it from the modes that were originally included in the figure's instructions upon release. For more on this, see #Notes below.

• More information on Galvatron at TFU.info

Transforms into a Predator mask!

• Megatron Megabolt (Deluxe Class, May 2002)

• Takara release date: August 8, 2002
• Accessories: Missile
• Known designers: Hironori Kobayashi (Takara)

"Megatron Megabolt" transforms into a head-shaped spider tank based on the Grand Mal design from the Beast Machines cartoon. A gear-wheel mechanism moves the mouth and legs up and down as the tank mode is pushed along. Pressing the (Vehicon) spark crystal on the tank's top opens its jaw and fires a spring-loaded missile. In robot mode, this swings the entire cannon assembly up over the robot's head, along with a "battle mask". The mask and cannon are held in this position by a magnet on the back of his head. Pressing the button again fires the missile.

He can have some difficulty standing unsupported due to the ball joints of his knees. While not particularly loose, his upper body is very heavy due to the mechanisms used in his gimmicks.

In a rather clever retcon, this toy's bio (described above) says that the altmode is a means for Megatron to take control of Fortress Maximus. As it happens, the figure can actually be used as Maximus's head if you remove the spider-legs.^[4]

This mold was originally developed for the Beast Machines toyline but shelved, finally seeing release as a Robots in Disguise KB Toys exclusive in May of 2002 (the original prototype of this toy looked vastly different and sported a different transformation^[5]). It was also released in Japan a few months later as a Toys"R"Us-exclusive "USA Edition".

This mold was redecoed as simply "Megabolt". It was then redecoed again in Beast Wars Returns as Megahead Megatron, the character it had originally been designed for.

• More information on Megatron Megabolt at TFU.info

Car Bot

GIGA GIGA/Rock the Giga/ GIGATRON Z!

• Gigatron Z (2003)

• ID number: D-16
• Accessories: Two axe/missiles, wing/claw weapon
• Known designers: Hisashi Yuki (Takara)

A reissue of the Beast Wars Ultra-sized Galvatron toy for Korean markets, Dinosaur Warrior Gigatron Z (기가트론Z Gigateuron Jedeu) has three modes, transforming from robot to dragon and "drill-tank" alternate modes.

Gigatron Z is armed with a pair of bladed missiles that are fired by two spring-loaded launchers located in the bifurcated tail of his dragon mode. These launchers wind up on his wrists in robot mode, and can be flipped forward over his fists to act as weapons in this mode. He can also wield the missiles in his fists as scythe- or axe-like melee weapons. In robot mode, Gigatron Z's dragon-wings unfold into a pair of serrated claws that can either be angled over his shoulders, or disconnect to become a hand-held weapon that features a lever-activated pinching gimmick. His drill-tank mode features a gear-activated spinning drill, activated by pushing a large black button on his back.

• More information on Gigatron Z (Galvatron) at TFU.info

Merchandise

Robot Heroes

ADORABLE BURNING SPIRIT with lazy madman

• Optimus Prime & Megatron (Two-pack, 2009)

• Known designers: Bill Rawley (Hasbro), Alex Androski (deco artist), Marcelo Matere (concept artist)

Universe Robot Heroes Megatron was an adorable little robot and was going to be available with his rival Optimus Prime. Unfortunately, the line was cancelled before this pack could see any release.

Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Notes

• According to the early Car Robots bible, Gigatron has the following statistics:

Height: 7 meters

Weight: 10 tons

Speed: 700 kilometers per hour

• In Car Robots, Gigatron's Gigabat and Gigadragon alternate modes each have their own distinct voice and mannerisms. The bat's voice is higher-pitched, a bit dumber, and speaks how older people used to speak during the Japan's Edo period by ending most of his dialogue with deansu (であんす). Conversely, the dragon's voice is deeper, angrier, and overall more aggressive-sounding. The first Car Robots toy catalog describes this as Gigatron having developed multiple personalities from transforming too much, but only as speculation rather than fact.
• Per the catalog, Gigatron and his Destrongers "passed through a rift in dimensions" to appear on 21st-century Earth, with Fire Convoy's Cybertron "Dimensional Patrol" following them. This seems to have been only vaguely alluded to in the Japanese version of the show—Fire Convoy expressed bewilderment in the 12th episode for an OOPArt "to exist during this time", suggesting that he and the OOPArts come from another time—but does not seem to have played a large part of the main story, to the extent that the Robots in Disguise dub was able to omit it entirely. It gets a mention in a Megatron character profile on the R2 DVD boxsets, which refer to "rumours" that he comes from another time and place. The author claims that, at the time, he was just willfully screwing with people by including it, it was more rumor in the fandom than the cited fact it is now. The Japanese Generation 1 cartoon timeline and the Facebook edition of Ask Vector Prime would expand upon this to explicitly establish Gigatron and his Destrongers as time travelers.
• The CG illustrations on Car Robots Gigatron and Devil Gigatron's packaging were done by Tamotsu Shinohara, a designer at Toei who mainly does creature design for live-action tokusatsu series such as Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. ^[6]

Put it up to eleven.

• An interview with TakaraTomy employee Takashi Kunihiro in the August 2011 issue of Figure King magazine revealed that Car Robots Gigatron is his favorite design of the Transformers items he's worked on. Kunihiro also revealed an "eleventh mode" for Devil Gigatron in the interview, the "Devilostrich". This mode later appeared in a chapter of the Legends comic, making it canon.

Foreign names

Megatron

• Japanese: Gigatron (ギガトロン Gigatoron), Megatron Megabolt (メガトロン メガボルト Megatoron Megaboruto)
• Korean: Gigatron (기가트론 Gigateuron), Gigatron Z (기가트론Z Gigateuron Jedeu)
• Mandarin: Jīng Jié Tiān (惊劫天, "Sky-hijacking Awe")
• Spanish: Megatrón (Latin America)

Galvatron

• Japanese: Devil Gigatron (デビルギガトロン Debiru Gigatoron)
• Mandarin: Èmó Jīng Jié Tiān (恶魔惊劫天, "Devil Sky-hijacking Awe")
• Spanish: Galvatrón (Latin America)

References