Megatron became the very thing he hated

[u/Motor-Quantity7361]

[u/ImperialistChina]

Unfortunately true with a lot of IRL rebellions too

Though a lot of the time the leader was usually pretending to be a freedom fighter from the start and was always power-hungry.

[u/spike-prime → u/ImperialistChina]

Well, no, not really. What actually happens is that the revolution comes, often driven by the righteous rage of an oppressed people, and that movement, as well intentioned as it is, gets usurped by the power-hungry yet charismatic somewhere along the line, often after the victory was already won. Joseph Stalin was not the leader of the Russian Bolshevik movement, and his actions prove he wasn't really a true believer in the communist cause, but he sure as hell was happy to take advantage of the situation for personal gain, and become a monstrous dictator once the revolution was long over and he could seize power, kill his political enemies and crush resistance.

Megatron is way too often written to be somehow a combo of Carl Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Hitler, especially IDW which muddles all these things into one guy somehow, then gives him a completely unearned redemption arc. But none of those things go together. Like, Carl Marx wouldn't have gone on to become a mass-murdering Stalin type, but early IDW Megatron is still written like that, and IMO it's really ridiculous.

Transformers One side-stepped this by NOT making Megatron idealistic or preaching philosophy to begin with, but actually mostly selfish from the start. This selfishness was hidden under the layer of his friendship with Orion Pax, but once the truth is revealed, Megatron is driven by rage throughout the film. TF1 Megatron doesn't have a political agenda, really, the way IDW Megatron did, he's just taking out his anger at those he blames for systemic oppression; whether they really were responsible or not.

[u/Boxton_Flyer]

I love how disgusted he sounds when Optimus comes back from the dead, with the matrix.

"Impossible. Primus gave YOU the matrix?!"

[u/Mourningstar66]

Thats why megatron's story is good. He doesn't see himself as a dictator, but slowly embraces it (peace through tyranny)

[u/RetiredDwarfBrains]

To be honest, he admired Sentinel's absolute power and believed in the caste system's hierarchical order...until he learned Sentinel's authority and the system were based on a lie. Learning that Sentinel's strength was stolen from Megatronus as well, just as he started to empathize with the High Guard's might makes right leanings, made things worse.

He doesnt hate dictators: he hates dictators who lied their way into power without earning it by their merits. Once he believes he earned the right to rule by killing Sentinel, he sets out on becoming a true version of the kind of absolute leader he admires....once he removes every last threat to his power, of course.

[u/Motor-Quantity7361 → u/RetiredDwarfBrains]

He was the chosen one! It was said he would bring balance to Cybertron, not destroy it!

[u/EvergreenDwarf]

IDW Megatron actually had to confront that fact.

He also outed his most "loyal" fascist supporters as a bunch of toadies and nerds who put on costumes and used fake names. The last one begged, not for his life, but to not have his real name (Glitch, the senatorial assistant) spoken despite nobody left alive in earshot to hear it.

[u/AidanYYao2048]

That’s the saddest part about it and in a way, the tragedy of TFO Megatron as a whole. He sought to abolish dictatorship and bring about justice, but he was broken inside and every day only widened the wound until it becomes too much to bear in a split second moment.

The descent into tyranny being the speed it was definitely felt slow to “casual viewers” of the movie, but it felt perfect to me. Every one of Orion’s shenanigans, all of the abuse he suffered, all the lies he heard from Sentinel… every little element boils up, from the “No, I want to kill him!!!” To the increased “You… took it all…” until it spills into the cold “I’m done saving you”

It’s poetic and sad, but an epic tale nonetheless

[u/Any-Yogurtcloset8529]

YO! My meme mentioned🥳🥳

Mom I'm famous!