Megatron

Character
Name:	Megatron
Occupation:	Decepticon leader
Relationships:	varies by series
Fandom:	Transformers
Other:
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Megatron is a major character from the Transformers franchise. He is usually, although not always, the leader of the Decepticons, and often has some connection with Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots.

Canon Background

Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons or the Predacons in all of his appearances. He is sometimes the founder of the faction, but not always. He is often rebelling against the government of Cybertron, or at least was when the war began. His personality varies drastically across the different series, ranging from the controlled, cultured Megatron of Transformers Animated to the vicious, bloodlust-filled Megatron of the movies. Interestingly, his alternate mode also displays an unusual amount of variation, going from a Transformer-sized gun in the original series to some form of Cybertronian flying vehicle in Transformers: Prime or Animated, with Transformers: Beast Wars contributing a Tyrannosaurus rex and Robots in Disguise providing everything from a hand to a two-headed dragon.

Fandom

Often Megatron is from a disadvantaged background and feels that the Cybertronian government is corrupt and taking advantage of him and others like him, and starts a revolution in an attempt to fix this injustice. This has won him and the Decepticons a large fandom among humans who feel similarly towards their own governments. At one of the far extremes of this, "Megatron for President" is a perennial US election season joke campaign.

Common pairings with Megatron are Starscream, his traitorous second-in-command, and Optimus Prime, his Autobot counterpart. Both of these are very common across most Transformers series, outstripping any competition among Megatron pairings but each other easily. Megatron/Starscream is slightly but consistently more popular than Megatron/Optimus Prime.

Notable Megatron-Centered Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.