Just as Optimus Prime has lead the Autobots throughout each generation of TransFormers, Megatron has lead the Decepticons. Over the years, fewer have been released (for example, there was no Powermaster Megatron), and I've bought fewer because a lot of them have been crap. From his beginnings as a handgun which transformed into the Decepticon leader, Megatron evolved into various forms of tank (largely due to changes in the US gun laws, which meant toy guns could no longer be realistic), and most of them were chunky, ugly and inarticulate toys. It seems I'm one of the lucky few who own both Gen 1 Optimus Prime (supposedly underproduced and highly sought-after) and Gen 1 Megatron, and I really do like him. Gun mode is a nigh perfect rendition of a Walther P38, and robot mode is awkward but reasonably impressive. The rest range from the absolutely dire (Like Gen 2 Megatron, which I didn't bother getting) to the hideously overcomplicated (like RiD Megatron). What's in my ever-so-snobby collection? Take a look...
(1) Original Megatron - slightly taller than Optimus Prime (but then, who wasn't?), and with a flippin' huge cannon attached to one arm, Megatron transforms into a Walther P38, often referred to as the 'U.N.C.L.E. version' because of the stock, silencer and sight attachments which turn it into a rifle, and this featured in the TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It's an incredibly accurate model of the weapon with chrome-effect paintwork, and the original Japanese version (and, consequently, the 20th Anniversary re-release) had a firing mechanism for little pellets loaded into the top of the gun. Transformation is simple, but robot mode is very awkward looking. The legs are thin (and a design weakness means they don't always stay properly extended), the arms only move at the shoulder, and he has that odd looking groinal protrudance. The stock and silencer can be combined in various ways to make extra guns for Megatron, but the sight generally stays on his right arm, to act as his black hole-powered Fusion Cannon. This version of Megatron is really my favourite, which is why I didn't bother with some of the later ones. Personally, I was very disappointed when the UK comics decided to adopt the American/Anime standard appearance of Megatron, which I never liked.
(2) Original Galvatron - absolutely massive, compared to Megatron, and only the same character according to the comics and cartoons (Megatron was refashioned into Galvatron by Unicron in TF: The Movie, but the toy range appears to treat them as separate characters - Galvatron is the Decepticon City Commander according to his Tech Spec), he is quite a blocky, unwieldy toy, a far cry from the smooth, shapely cartoon version. His daft-looking handgun mode was never used in either the comics or the cartoons, but his weird tank mode destroyed Starscream in the movie. Only barely more posable than Megatron, and he requires a whopping 9v battery to power his very basic sound-and-light effects.
(3) Beast Wars Megatron - while the Beast Wars range originally appeared to be a cash-in on the dinosaur frenzy caused by the Jurassic Park movies, some of the toys actually turned out to be reasonably impressive. Megatron is one of them, thanks to a fairly complex transformation and a couple of interesting features. On the downside, he has no real hands (though this has been partly addressed in the Robot Masters 'remix' range). Instead, he has his water pistol Tyranosaurus Rex head on his right arm, and his claw-action Tyranosaurus Rex tail on the other. He's somewhat let down by the fact that the robot legs and feet look exactly like the dinosaur legs and feet, and the colour scheme could have been better. Robot mode is reasonably articulate, and the hip-mounted rocket launchers are interesting.
(4) RiD Megatron (and 5, inset, RiD Galvatron) - an excellent, malevolent robot mode gives way to several bizarre alternative modes, none of which are remotely convincing, though the Claw mode has a reasonably impressive finger-flexing action. RiD Megatron and Galvatron are essentially the same robot with very different paint-jobs and slightly different moldings which allow Galvatron a few extra (deeply unconvincing) alternative modes. His weapons are simple, but quite clever, in that they function as missile launchers, swords, or a quarterstaff, depending on how they're attached.
(6) Armada Megatron - quite an odd looking version, thanks to the large tank tracks on his shoulders and the claw/antennae on his head. Harking back to the original, the tank's cannon can be rotated round to the front, under his chest. He can also combine with Tidal Wave and become heavily powered up (see below). Still nothing like the original with his Fusion Cannon, but impressive nonetheless. Carrying on the tradition started with the RiD range, Armada Megatron was repainted to become Armada Galvatron.
(1) The first tank form for Megatron was, in fact, Gen 1 Galvatron. It's not a particularly convincing tank, and the tread detail is from stickers rather than being molded, but that seems to be a feature of many later Gen 1 toys. He has all the same sound effects, regardless of which mode he's in, and none of them are very interesting. He's also not a very useful tank, considering his cannon is fixed in the direction he's facing.
(2) The first impressive tank form for Megatron has to be Armada. Mold detail is excellent, there are loads of extra features, and the all-important sound effects (there are also light effects, but they're limited to a single flashing light behind the Decepticon insignia. Mini-Con features include a capture ramp and prison cell (see insets), a launch ramp, a spring loaded missile launcher (with sound effect) and a machine gun sound effect. Twist the turret round to either side, and Megatron commands the Decepticons to attack
(1) Original Megatron - the stock and silencer can combine to form the shoulder-mounted cannon (a) and the gun emplacement (b). Quite an impressive feat, and both make pretty good extra weapons, looking powerful and deadly. Megatron can actually hold the controls on the gun emplacement, thanks to little holes in his hands, and the shoulder-mounted cannon has some freedom of movement.
(2) Armada Megatron - switch the turret round from Megatron's back to his front and he's in full-on Attack Mode, but that's not the limit of his special power-ups. Combined with Tidal Wave (as shown), Megatron gains a huge selection of weapons on one arm (though still nothing to rival his Gen 1 Fusion Cannon) and a massive hand on the other. Quite what the backpack is supposed to do is anyone's guess, but it's very neat how it all connects up. Clearly some of the designers who worked on Armada were utterly devious... shame there were so many disappointing toys in that range.
| MEGATRON'S ALTERNATIVE MODES | |
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Gargoyle
Very odd-looking. More like a bat, really. Robot mode's arms become his legs, while the legs are wrapped around behind. The mouthpiece is flipped out from inside his chest. Can't imagine this being a very useful mode, and there's next to no articulation. |
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Two-Headed Dragon
Certainly a useful mode, where robot mode's feet turn into menacing dragon heads, but the tiny dragon arms don't look very dangerous. There's far more articulation in this mode than in Gargoyle mode, possibly almost as much as in robot mode. |
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Plane
Possibly the only vaguely convincing form of RiD Megatron, in that it's fairly clear that it is some form of aircraft. It has a cockpit, wings, and two large jet engine things. The wings aren't very convincing, though. No articulation to this mode, but then, it's a plane... |
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Claw
Yes, really. Megatron becomes a huge floating claw. The trigger on top (which is the groin area of the robot mode) controls the movement of the fingers. For those who - inevitably - cannot see this thing as a claw, here's an alternative view. It's worth noting that the Claw modes of both Megatron and Galvatron are right hands. Might have been better for one of them to be the left hand, and it should only have needed one small piece to be remoulded the other way around. |
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Transport
Quick, hide it before Warner Brothers decide that's the look they want for the next Batmobile!! Seriously, though, what could this thing possibly transport? It's a weird-looking car that would never be any use on the road. It almost works as a menacing race car, but the only parts which look reasonably good are the wings at the front... and then only if you're thinking 'Batmobile'. |
| GALVATRON'S ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE MODES | |
| There's some debate as to whether all of these modes are also accessible by Megatron. The whole idea is that, when Megatron became the powered-up Galvatron, he gained an extra four modes of transformation. Both models are essentially the same, so it all comes down to subtle changes in the mold. I certainly couldn't get Megatron to transform into Elephant mode. | |
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Alternative Dragon
Single-headed, and basically a variation on the gargoyle mode. This one just looks silly. Virtually no articulation, except in the head, and the weapons hang off the back like a pair of tails. Also, I'm pretty certain that Megatron could pull off this transformation. It doesn't appear to require any parts to be molded differently. |
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Boat
Yes, that's supposed to be a boat of some kind. Maybe 'Hydrofoil' would be a more appropriate name but, as with the 'Transport', you have to wonder what the point is. It's very similar to the transport, but with the 'wings' flipped down and the back wheels twisted round so they're facing down. Megatron could certainly change into this form. I suspect someone was playing around with the first toys off the production line and said "Hey, look! I've found a new mode!" |
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Elephant
Erm. Yeah. Elephant mode. Viewed from the front, it's almost vaguely convincing as a weird, robotic elephant-thing... but from any other angle, it just looks daft. This mode may hold the key to the difference between Megatron and Galvatron, because I can't make the 'trunk' connect with the 'ears' on Megatron. Reminds me of that episode of Futurama in which Fry, Leela and Bender become superheroes and go up against various criminal animals, including the elephant who never forgets... to kill! I seem to recall seeing a picture of this mode used in the RiD cartoon, and I guess it'd probably work better there, because they wouldn't have to make it look like the toy. |
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Griffin
Slightly reminiscent of Skylinx, I suppose, but this thing really does look daft. It's only a couple of steps removed from Elephant mode anyway. Megatron could easily use this form as well. None of the transformation is unique to Galvatron. |
(1) Superlink Galvatron General - For some strange reason, there were several versions of the Superlink Megatron/Galvatron mold. In the West, there was a two-pack of a smaller version of Energon Optimus Prime and Energon Megatron, with both packaged separately in larger forms. In Japan, it appears that only the smaller version was ever released - as Galvatron in white, and in this Gen 1-inspired colourscheme as Galvatron General (aka Galvatron-G). Like far too much of the Superlink/Energon line, this model is very simplistic but, unlike much of the line, this has a negative impact on his posability. Superlink/Energon was, overall, a very patchy line. On the one hand, it carried on - and in most cases, far bettered - Armada's tradition of increased posability for the robots but, in some cases, both robot and alternate mode were very disappointing. Galvatron General is one such example. The paintwork is sparse - this is one example of the American version being a huge improvement - making him look rather plain - particularly the tank he carries as a weapon. Still, the design of the robot mode is so heavily influenced by Galvatron from the Gen 1 cartoons and the animated movie, you can't help but like him.
(2) Galaxy Force Master Galvatron - A far more consistent and less garish repaint of Galaxy Force Master Megatron, this one would be the pinnacle of Galvatron toys if it weren't for a few loose joints. It's an incredibly posable model (if you can keep his hips and knees in place, and have a surface that's not so smooth his feet slip) but, while it has a couple of neat key-activated gimmicks, the one thing he's lacking is a huge gun. Just about every other Megatron and Galvatron have had massive weapons bristling all over them - this one manages a weedy handgun (actually one of the wheels) and a set of spikes for robot mode, and a pair of missile launchers in alternate mode.
While Superlink/Energon Galvatron has a deeply unconvincing and very chunky jet as his alternate mode, with only a kind of 'Power Up' effect which changes the configuration of his wings, Galaxy Force Master Galvatron has two full-blown alternate modes... Well, sort of. His main alternate mode is a very impressive and somewhat menacing race car, somewhat reminiscent of a certain anime sports car. It could easily be used as a Batmobile (if given an all-black paint job), and does a fair job of concealing robot parts - the only let-down being the feet, which are supposed to form some kind of spoiler.
The second alternate mode is somewhat less convincing - it's supposed to be a jet, but the 'wings' could never be called aerodynamic, and it's doubtful that this would fly in any direction but down. At least Superlink Galvatron has two massive engines which could, conceivably, keep him aloft though sheer force of thrust.
