It's really not as clear cut as you present it.


Many animals are sentient and they also have different degrees of sapience. We know they think, we know they feel.

We still treat them as disposable resource.

There isn't a real equality between Cybertronians and humans, because TFs are something shockingly long-lived and durable even in terms of comic book or sci-fi fictional works. They're also more advanced in terms of scientific progress so it's not a weird assumption to any of them to simply conclude that other species might be less intelligent.

It's incredibly noble of Autobots to care about other species... But at the same time it's not incredibly monstrous for Decepticons to care about their own species first. They're just more pragmatic.


Things that mark Decepticons as bad guys are them being equally brutal to their own species, starting the war, even killing one of their own to get spare parts to repair their leader.

But harvesting other species is just a pragmatic decision. Many humans would do the same in a similar situation not giving it any deeper thoughts.

 

Seriously this franchise continues to vindicate Raksha more and more as it keeps going.  

 

I think it is. The Decepticons have to recognize humans as a technological species regardless of how much more advanced they are. We are not just building things or using basic sticks and stones out of instinct. If cows started building their own steam engines I guarantee people would stop seeing them as cheeseburgers and jackets. I know I'd be eating a lot more sausage...

It is incredibly monstrous for them to attempt to enslave an entire species

 

Pork sausages, presumably?

 

"it makes you wonder, if god made us in his image, who made him?"

sadly, we were robbed of that answer mr. epps thanks to short-sighted morons whose grand plan was "marvel!"

 

To put the Autobots back into positive light, as much as the Decepticons were trying to kill Unicron, their actions ironically are ultimately perhaps the reason why Unicron wants to wake up now. 

TF1: "What the hell is happening on the surface? Oh wait... Did someone destroy the Cube that's sitting above me? Oh my god! My brother is finally dead! Oh, I can rest easy now...."

TF2: "Hmm... It's little colder than usual. Is the sun still there?"

TF3: *Cybertron approaches Earth * "Brother? Is that you? Oh wait.... Never mind. You look pretty dead to me."

TF4: Admittedly nothing in the present day seems to have affected him.

*65 billion years ago...* "Ugh! It's so humiliating to be stuck under this rock." *Creators drop seed bombs on Earth* "Ow! Hey, what's going on up there?"

TF5: *Cybertron approaches Earth again* "LEAVE ME ALONE!" *Sticks his horns out* "Alright, brother. Come at me."

 

Remember the age of imperialism?
When the economy of the world was based on enslaving an entire continent.
Or the native Americans, The Jewish and Armenian genocides, the Cathars, religious wars in general, Rwanda, Palestine, Bosnia, IS...
I'm not saying any of this is normal, pragmatical or in any way not evil.
But the people who comitted those acts, their family, friends and children didn’t and in many cases still don't have a problem with those crimes against humanity.

 

Megatron has been saying he wants peace for ages now.
Through tyranny.... but peace all the same.

It's those meddling Autobots that keep stirring up trouble. lol

 

Imagine in the South won the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln then tried to broker peace with the leader of the south, but then a small group of northern soldiers under a rogue general decided they didn't like how the war ended and decided the best thing to do is steal all the gold and resources, go to Mexico and convince them to help them fight against the current rightful rulers of their home country. This doesn't go that well so they Nuke the USA rather than let their enemies win, killing everyone, soldiers, innocents and any remaining people on their side.

"That's Optimus Prime"

 

This makes no sense.

 

Whether to kill unicorn or not, it’s not up to the Decepticons to decide anything and it definitely doesn’t make them the good guys. GOOD guys don’t wage a war for power (The Allspark) and threaten to destroy an entire populated city to rebuild a new army (Galvatron in AoE). It all just boils down to morals. The Autobots are morally correct for protecting humanity (despite being a terrible species) and the decepticons have no say in anything, Given it is understandable they want to rebuild their world.

 

Did you try to live in tyranny? My country have several historical examples. We were enslaved by Mongol, Polish and partially by Nazis in different times. I live in that part, which was enslaved in 1941-1943. Thousands of people died, because of famina, illness or hard labor. Every building was destroyed. It is just scary, dude.

You're damn right.
 

 

Unfortunately, humans do it quite often. Also are you sure, that Decepticons or even Sentinel consider us as sentient?

 

I concur:
1. Sentinel Prime and Megatron in DOTM wanted to re-build Cybertron
2. Quintessa wanted to drain Earth/Unicron to re-energize Cybertron in TLK

Sure, they wanted to destroy a planet but I don't think our heroic Autobots ever wanted to re-vitalize their homeworld until the end of TLK.

 

They didn't want to enslave an entire race either.

 

The way I see it is that Transformers are going extinct.
#1 no more Allspark
#2 ruined homeworld
#3 no more Energon
#4 dying hatchlings due to starvation.
#5 entire generations lost

What would you be willing to sacrifice in order to avoid your species' extinction?

The Decepticons are basically fighting for the survival of their race now. (See Sentinel Prime)
The Autobots continuously destroy any hopes of survival. (Points 1-5)

So now imagine that you were in the Decepticon's shoes. What would you do to those who...
Made your race sterile, ruined your planet, caused famine, starved your children to death, and wiped out generations of your family?

"ALL HAIL MEGATRON!"

 

Certainly not dooming an entire species to death or enslavement in a small hope of repairing a world that my faction had a large part in destroying in the first place. Especially if it's likely that the cycle will just begin again because my leader is a power hungry tyrant.

 

The Allspark couldn't be destroyed, homeworld is the Earth and Autobots really don't feel the lack of energon  Only greedy Decepticons feel.

 

It is nice to see such "primal optimism".
However, "you fight for the weak. That is why you lose".
"[They] were gods once, all of them. But, on earth they call them *machines*". "The needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few".

 

 

Megatron's Master Plan

1. Gain Allspark. Build army and conquer Cybertron (conquer Earth for a sweet bonus).

2. Lost Allspark? Look at Unicron's life force as alternative to gain the energon necessary for goal.

• Use solar harvester to try draw out Unicron. Get a ton of energon so you can find the larger source of energon from Unicron.
• Use space bridge to bring Cybertron in. Earth physics don't matter so bring it as close as you want. Enslave human race this time and force them to do labor until they can find Unicron's spark. Break promise and conquer Earth anyway.
• Use seed bomb. Harvest that metal first.
• Bring Cybertron back to Earth's atmosphere and this time use the staff. A more convenient tool to getting what you need.

Hmmm... Surprisingly not that convoluted.