They started out as a crank movement preaching that endless expansion is the way to solve Cybertron's energy needs but they gained the support of several key military figures and eventually staged a coup becoming the de facto Cybertronian Government.
The Decepticons, believing it's their birthright as an uber advanced civilization to absolute rule over all life--organic, mechanic, other--slowly and secretly stockpiled manpower, munitions, fleets of ships etc over millenia for a hostile takeover to take what they believe is rightfully theirs. Stockpiling credits, influence, anything that will give them a leg up. But their target isn't Cybertron. They swiftly take over a strategically advantageous, energy and mineral rich planet to become the homeworld of the new Decepticon army. The dessenters of the native beings are wiped and the remainder work double duty: planetwide slaves (to build and expand their empire) and legal hostages (to keep the galactic governments off their backs). The Decepticons are shrewd in that they produce product at an insane rate to embed themselves into the galactic economy, forcing the more needy planets to toe the line as they effectively need the Decepticons to live. Rinse and repeat as they expand across the galaxy, mechaforming their taken planets, with every planet growing bolder, leaving the Cybertronian government (Autobots) in a pickle. Since the Decepticons are native Cybertronians, the galaxy at large is like basically,"Hey come handle your $#!t." And that's how the Decepticon empire--Born to Rule--started the war against all life, forcing the Autobots to counter and get them under control. In my take, the Autobots aren't pushovers. There's a reason why the cons didn't try to take Cybertron. The established regime would've been too hard of a task to takedown. So the Cons started with neighboring planets to build enough of an imperial army to eventually take Cybertron from the Autobots.
General Megatron of the Primal Vanguard Armed Forces was one of the most respected and intelligent military leaders on Seibertron, and a seasoned veteran. Megatron, believing Seibertron's leaders had grown weak, leaving the planet vulnerable to outside forces, set up a coup, and ended up dismantling the Primal Vanguard into two factions. Half of the Navy, half of the Army, and the Air Force were reformed into the Decepticons, and the rest into the Autobots. Megatron led the Decepticons in his conquest, thus starting the Great War for Cybertron. (Megatron Art by Kamizono144)
I love this art, combining the gun and tank modes of Megatron together. My own take of the Decepticons is that they are mostly made up of Cybertron's own military forces, spies and scientists that decided to take control of the planet due to the fact that their rulers and citizens had become weak and complacent from their luxury and wealth during the golden age. Megatron has a history with Sentinel, while Megatron tried to completely replace the rulers governing Cybertron's cities, Sentinel tried to change their thinking from the inside which proves to be harder because of years of stability in the current government. Once Megatron saw that Cybertron's society were unwilling to change he decided to rally up his followers and formed the Decepticons.
To me the Decepticons are essentially like the Klingons from Star Trek just without the heavy basis on honor since the Cons have never really shown any desire for honor. (To my knowledge anyways.) I think of them as basically a rag-tag group of bots from differing backdrops who may not have fit the Autobot template so the lot of them that are so different and maybe lean a little more towards the chaotic side of things, banded together and formed their own group when Megatron decided the gladiatorial arena was enough and chose to rise above his station. Sure, a lot of them lean towards the lawless side of things but they band together regardless so there has to be something binding them together in the form of a common faction. I don't see the decepticons as evil but just a faction of misfits trying to do thing their own way.
-Part of the populace forming a political movement to oppose the fascism and tyranny of a corrupt Cybertronian government -Members are anyone from jaded gladiators(*coughMegatroncough*) to rejected politicians to Cybertronian intellectuals -Protestors with Decepticon flags but no discernible leader flood the streets; not much hostility -Sentinel Prime smears Decepticon protestors as terrorists, pointing at a few rioters who took advantage of the chaos at protests -Megatron rallies the 'cons; protest groups slowly turn into militias as they adopt more militaristic alt modes -A new group calling themselves the Autobots was formed both as a counter to Megatron's militias and as a symbol of anti-fascism, claiming that they're against Sentinel Prime's policies, yet are against Megatron's methods -Sentinel Prime praises the Autobots and declares himself an honorary Autobot despite the Autobot opposition to his politics -Megatron's forces best the Autobots, allowing Megatron to kill Sentinel Prime -Orion Pax becomes Optimus Prime as Megatron turns his eyes to the Autobots, accusing them of siding with Sentinel Prime instead of overthrowing him by force -Optimus Prime is forced to stand in Megatron's way, earning his place as Autobot leader -Megatron accuses Optimus of continuing Sentinel Prime's fascist tendencies -War ensues -None of that unrealistic "follow us or die" BS from the 'cons -No "I let you live because you're of use to me" attitude from Megatron -No other fictional villain "they do this unrealistic evil stuff to be a stronger antagonist" crap -Megatron has anger problems and lets it frequently get in the way of his compassion and eventually consumes him -There are *some* outright sadists in the faction, but it's not an overarching theme of it -No good vs evil, almost everything is gray; Autobots still label Decepticons as evil though in this headcanon -The only other characters that die before they get to Earth are characters that never appeared in the Sunbow cartoon because muh GEEWUN -Also, Megatron and Starscream are fucking because that's the only realistic way that Megatron would put up with that little shit Thank you for reading my blog.
From the Sunbow cartoon, in the early years, I would have the Decepticons as just one of a number of Military Hardware factions. In the first war, after Quintessons leave, I would have the Military Hardware factions forming a coalition to wage war against the Autobots. Ultimately the Autobots win that war and during the Golden Age some of the other factions of Military Hardware going into other areas such as science and exploration (Skyfire) and Construction and Engineering (I would say the reason for the creation of the Constructicons) and maybe one or two other areas while the Decepticons themselves are not doing well. I like to think this all changes with the creation of Megatron who is able to inspire the Decepticons and maybe some other factions of Military Hardware, to ultimately start a new war against the Autobots as per the War Dawn episode.
A muddled and loosely-knit coalition of opportunistic career politicians (Starscream, Shockwave, Sentinel Prime sometimes), fanatic ideologues (The Fallen, Megatron, Soundwave), and basically a bunch of militia groups coming together (Constructicons, Combaticons, Lockdown sometimes) coming together to advance supremacy of Cybertron across the galaxy. Each coalition tries to out-backstab the other, but will always find themselves backstabbed first.
A Short History of the Decepticons (Part 1) Although many pro-Functionist groups rose and fell during the Autobot Era, the most successful of these groups was the Decepticons. Through a combination of overt brutality and covert subversion, the Decepticons have come back from defeat time and time again. Beginnings The Decepticon movement formed in the aftermath of the Quintesson War. Trannis, a veteran of the war, accused the Autobot government of starting the war in the first place to advance the financial interests of Chancellor Proteus and the plutocrats who financed his campaigns. Proteus branded Trannis and his supporters Decepticons for their supposed slander, a name Trannis and his supporters eagerly adopted. The Decepticon movement attracted a multitude of Cybertronians who believed the Autobots were corrupt and had led the Commonwealth into a steep decline. Trannis promised to purge the government of corruption, revitalize Cybertronian culture, and strengthen the Cybertronian military. The Decepticons' advocacy of Functionism, which would have been political suicide just twenty megacycles ago, began to receive increasing popular support. In the 46th megacycle of the reign of Regulus Prime, Trannis was appointed Chancellor after the Decepticons won a plurality in the Commonwealth parliament. Rise to Power Over the next megacycle, the Decepticons would increase their hold on power by staging false flag terrorist attacks and blaming them on the Autobots. After the last attack ended with the assassination of Proteus, Trannis had Regulus Prime declare a state of emergency, suspending parliament and ruling by decree. However, since Regulus Prime was ancient even by Cybertronian standards and becoming increasingly infirm, he was but a puppet for Trannis. When Regulus Prime died in the 47th megacycle of his reign, Trannis, rather than the First Senator, became acting head of state. He had the office of Prime abolished and had both its powers and those of the Chancellor transferred to a new position—Liege Maximo. The New Cybertron Now with unlimited power, Liege Maximo Trannis wasted no time in shaping the Commonwealth into his idea of perfection. The capital was moved from Iacon to Trannis's own base of power at Kaon. The constitution was abolished and Functionism was made the law of the land. Cybertronians were sorted into castes based on their alternate modes. Changing modes required a special dispensation from Trannis himself. Enemies of the state were placed under the care of The Institute, a facility where Cybertronians were subject to mnemosurgery and reeducated to become "patriotic citizens who loved the Liege Maximo unconditionally". Non-Decepticons were barred from any kind of government service. All media companies were nationalized and made to broadcast Decepticon propaganda. The colonies were stripped of their autonomy and subject to direct military control. To compensate for the increased demands on the military, Trannis ordered the construction of a new generation of Decepticon warriors. This was how future Decepticon leaders Megatron and Straxus came into being. The Autobot Uprising In the fourth megacycle of Trannis's reign, the colonists of Paradron overthrew their military governor and proclaimed independence from Trannis's regime. Trannis ordered Liege Centuro Cannibaron to crush the rebels at any cost. Cannibaron made short work of the rebellion and bombarded Paradron from orbit, superheating the southern hemisphere and exterminating half of the Paradronian population as a result. The Paradron Massacre caused outrage throughout the Cyberverse and many Cybertronians, Autobots and non-Autobots alike, began openly rebelling against the Decepticons. Lieges Centuro Obsidian and Strika were horrified by such wanton brutality and conspired to assassinate Trannis. However, the assassination attempt failed and the pair were quickly arrested and sentenced to death. Liege Centuro Sentinel, a friend of Obsidian and Strika, helped them escape and the three of them joined the Autobot rebels. Sentinel rallied the disparate rebel factions into a united alliance and led them in the resulting civil war. The Autobots seized control of Cybertron and Trannis was killed in the battle. Though Trannis was dead, the Decepticons were far from defeated. Cannibaron became the new Liege Maximo and ruled from his stronghold on planet Gorgon. Cannibaron was just as charismatic as Trannis but twice as brutal. He personally led the Decepticons in a great counterattack that threatened to reverse the Autobots' gains. Cannibaron and Sentinel fought each other for the first and only time at the legendary Battle of Prominion where the Decepticon Liege Maximo was slain. Rapieron, head of the Decepticon secret police, became the next Liege Maximo. Since he came online after the Quintesson War, Rapieron had no military experience to speak of. Rather than leave the war in the hands of his generals, Rapieron believed winning the war was a matter of ideological fidelity and willpower. Military command was given out based on political reliability rather than actual military competence. As a result, the Decepticons soon began to be driven from world after world. Rapieron met his end at the Battle of Klo where he became the third Decepticon leader to be slain by Sentinel. Rise of the Triumvirate Klo had been the last planet under Decepticon control. With no territory to rule, the Decepticons became a roving band of insurgents skulking around the outer rim of the Cyberverse. A triumvirate of Lieges Centuro consolidated power by surreptitiously assassinating their rivals and seizing control of their meager assets. The Decepticon Triumvirate saw that the war was lost and ordered that the Decepticons retreat from the Cyberverse and take refuge in the Greater Magellanic Cloud. The Decepticons began raiding poorly defended border worlds for Autobots to take as slaves. If the Decepticons were to rebuild their forces, they needed the labor to make it a reality. The Triumvirate had planned to reconquer the Cyberverse one day and ordered Liege Superio Shockwave to stay behind and do what he could to weaken the Autobots from within. The Great Exodus The exodus to the Greater Magellanic cloud was long and arduous, so much so that a group of dissidents renounced the Decepticons and colonized the planet Monacus instead. Eventually, the Decepticons reached the Greater Magellanic Cloud and started the construction of a series of fortress worlds known as the Exclave. The Exclave was completely militarized, the only civilians were the Autobot slaves who were brutally worked to death. When the Autobot numbers were depleted, the Triumvirate then authorized the creation of a Decepticon labor force called the Proletaricons. The Decepticon Exclave began to grow little by little until it was rocked by a crisis so great, it threatened to destroy the Decepticons once and for all—civil war! The Decepticon Civil War Six megacycles after the Exclave was created, the Triumvir Siezer was assassinated. Siezer's second-in-command, Calibreak, was accused of being the mastermind behind the assassination and was thus barred from becoming a Triumvir himself. The other members of the Triumvirate, Octus and Legonis, launched simultaneous invasions of Siezer's former territory. Calibreak's forces were no match for the combined might of the Triumvirs. Calibreak was killed in battle and most of his generals defected to either Octus or Legonis. Soon, Legonis and Octus began to argue over which territory belonged to them and fighting soon broke out between the two. The resulting civil war threatened to completely undo all the progress that had been made. During the war, Megatron and Straxus proved themselves in battle after battle and rose through the ranks. Megatron became the youngest Liege Centuro in history, with Straxus serving as his second-in-command. The two warriors fought at the Battle of Lucifer which saw the death of Lepidus and the end of the war. However, the killing was far from over. While Octus celebrated his victory and ascension to sole ruler of the Decepticons, he was poisoned by his second-in-command, Terminus. Unknown to all, it was Terminus who had ordered the assassination of Siezer which set the entire war into motion in the first place. The entirety of the war had been a long gambit for Terminus to seize power. And seize power he did. A number of Legonis's generals who had previously been spared by Octus were accused by Terminus of assassinating him. These generals and anyone else who posed a threat to Terminus were eliminated. Terminus then declared himself Liege Maximo and began preparing the Decepticons for the reconquest of the Cyberverse. Legions of Decepticons were constructed and fleets of warworlds were built. Space bridges were built and placed at strategic locations to provide an easy path to the Autobot Commonwealth. The Insidious Shockwave Meanwhile, Shockwave continued his work on Cybertron undetected. After the war, he had gathered former Decepticon soldiers and reorganized them into a terrorist organization called The Rise. In addition, he ingratiated himself with a young Maraudicon prelate named Black Shadow and helped him become Pontifex of the entire Maraudicon Syndicate. With both The Rise and the Maraudicons under his control, Shockwave became the secret ruler of the Commonwealth's criminal underworld. Shockwave used the Maraudicons to bribe, and The Rise to threaten, politicians into adopting a platform of demilitarization and pacifism. The task was not too difficult, the Autobots had become both war-weary and warry of standing militaries in general after the war. Territorial defense would be left to colonial militias while an Elite Guard would be created to coordinate defense should war break out. Shockwave saw his opportunity to infiltrate both groups and subvert them from within. Shockwave's infiltration of the Elite Guard was so thorough that the Autobots did not have a military intelligence service, Shockwave had a military intelligence service. As a result, the Autobots were completely blind to the threat the Decepticons posed and were completely unprepared when the Decepticons launched their invasion of the Autobot Commonwealth and began the Great War.
I mean it works for me, but I think a better way of explaining it would be they're married and 1/3 of the Cons are Seekers loyal to Starscream and he's better at manipulating Megatron to get what he wants, than trying to outright overthrow him.
I've been thinking of doing the Decepticons as like a secret society before they staged a coup and took control, but I need to think it over a bit more.
So would that make them Unicron worshippers and Megatron they're eventually prophesize savior, Galvatron?
That could be an interesting take, but what I had in mind was a bit different: the Decepticons want to seize control of Cybertron so that they can make it the heart of an ever-expanding galactic empire.
The Decepticon movement started from a Communist uprising on Cybertron wanting their one party to take complete control over everything, free speech was eliminated, entertainment, music, education, military, and news was controlled by the Elite Council of Elders feeding nothing but propoganda to the masses to divide them. Decentors that questioned this new authority were eliminated. This took the Autobots by surprise during peaceful times after defeating the Quintessons. The wealthy Cybertron Elite funded and controlled the coup to consolidate their power to control the masses and Cybertron's resources, but the Elite could not control their General Megatron (a very famous and popular slave turned champion Gladiator) who was winning the war for them. Megatron did not like how the elites treated all Transformers, especially him and his Decepticons who where treated the worst during the times of slavery. Megatron snapped when he found out the Cybertron elite became wealthy and powerful by helping the Quintessons enslave all Transformers, and were just pretending to support the Decepticon cause for their own selfish gain. Megatron eventually wiped them all out and took control himself creating hope for peace all over the planet. After the Elite who most had looked down on both the Autobots and Decepticons were gone, the Autobots led by Alpha Trion tried to make peace with Megatron since he overthrew the leaders of the communist coup, and seemed more reasonable since he did not come from wealth. Things looked good for a while, but eventually Megatron felt the Decepticons were being taken advantage of by the Autobots. He killed Alpha Trion and demanded all Autobots join with him or face death. Optimus Prime takes over and starts another Autobot Rebellion against the Decepticons that rages on to this day. Megatron believes in a better life for all on Cybertron, but only under his rule. Megatron feels the Autobots can not be trusted to lead because of how they allowed the Decepticons to be treated the worst under Quintesson slavery, while the Autobots got to have all the cushy jobs and seemed content in their easier life of servitude while the hard labor Decepticons were continually worked to death and punished severely for poor work output. The Autobots feel bad about the past, and want to live in peace together as free citizens, but were forced to go to war for freedom and survival of their race and culture.
