The Transformers, the robots in disguise have been around for much longer than most of us might think…not just in-universe, but in real life as well. The media franchise dates as far back as the 1980s, with the launch of the cartoon series called Transformers: The Animated Series. It ran for multiple seasons and even had a movie. There were Transformers comics as well, which told even more stories about the giant robots. The franchise is based on a line of toys…a lot like GI Joe and the Thundercats, and the comics and cartoons serve to show us the characters’ lives. The two major factions of the Transformers lineup are the Autobots and Decepticons. There are others like the Dinobots and Maximals, who partake in the seemingly eternal conflict. The leaders of the two major factions are Optimus Prime and Megatron. What the mainstream audience knows is that they both lead their factions against each other in a war that started long ago, but what more do we know about it? Is that all there is to it? This article will explain the true history between Optimus and Megatron.
Their history dates back to the days when Cybertron was still habitable, during its golden age. It starts with Megatron who started off as an oppressed worker. He then became a gladiator, and took on the name Megatron, which was a shortened version of Megatronus, one of the Thirteen Primes. Megatronus was created by a being called Primus, and was one of the original transformers to exist, and eventually became enamored by the enemy of Primus: Unicron. Unicron took in Megatronus and trained him. Eventually, Megatronus took on a new name; a name that he would forevermore be known as: The Fallen. The war between Unicron and Primus in which The Fallen took part, ended with the defeat of Unicron and The Fallen. Unicron ended up on another dimension, and The Fallen ended up stuck in between dimensions. Megatron became a political figure and had the goal of reforming the corrupt governing body of Cybertron. The ruling body of Cybertron used a caste system to maintain order in the planet. During this time, he met a cybertronian called Orion Pax and taught him that freedom and self-determination was the right of all sentient beings. He taught him the value of life, the importance of freedom and how he should always stand up for those who cannot defend themselves. Of course, this is one of many different origins, but this is the most consistent one.
From the other point of view, there is Orion Pax. Orion was a young, impressionable cybertronian who was inspired by the way Megatron stood up for what was right, despite who he had to go against. He also made a good impression on Megatron, who took a liking to him and took him under his wing, teaching him the philosophy that he was adapting. Their relationship blossomed, but it soon went awry when Megatron started to become corrupted by the power that he was attaining through his influence. He was slowly descending to the same madness that he was fighting against, and Orion, being the eager, impressionable being that he was, still inspired by what he saw his hero as, tried to reason with Megatron, whose views were rapidly changing, and was leading to a potential war on the planet. Orion eventually changed his name to Optimus Prime, taking on a name that one of the Thirteen Primes would have had. Optimus then led an army of cybertronians composed of Autobots against the rising dictatorship and iron fist rule of the Decepticons, led by his old mentor – Megatron, and so, the war that destroyed the planet, started.
So, that is the story between the two in the source material. There are many versions of the story, as one can imagine, with all the different animated series and movies telling different versions of the origins of the same characters. However, this is the most consistent story between the two, and is one of the oldest, if not the definitive oldest story between the two, which emphasizes its canonicity.
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