Dreadwing. Starscream is an idiot and a failure who outright boasts his ambition to betray Megatron, can barely fight, can barely do anything. Dreadwing is loyal, capable, and far more crafty than Starscream. All of Starscream's battles consist of him maybe firing one missile before running away, wheras Dreadwing incorperated numerous different tactics depending on his surroundings and enemys, and from a narrative standpoint was far mor einteresting and had a bright future plot brewing.

Killing Dreadwing was the stupidest thing Megatron has ever done, and is the final note in a long line of failings as a villain that firmly cement him as one of the worst Megatrons ever in my opinion.

 

Dreadwings scorecard: Rescues Megatron to become 1st Lieutenant, then fails to accomplish any other mission, and blatantly refuses an order from Megatron... yeah thats neither capable nor loyal. Honor has never been a worthwhile quality of being a Decepticon.

Starscreams scorecard: Successfully leads the Decepticons in Megatrons absence, locating and gathering lots of energon. On his own (without any backup) he acquires (but loses) the Apex Armor, acquires red energon, and steals the 4 omega keys from the guarded autobots base. Returns to the Decepticons, giving the keys to Megatron to conquer cybertron, makes the plan to capture the children so as to ensure the Autobots loss in the battle, then fights like a total badass in the final show down. He's much more capable, and never defied Megatron straight to his face. Plus its well known that Megatron has a hidden respect for Starscreams scheming nature as it is a quality at the heart of being a Decepticon.

Everyone seems blinded to Dreadwings inadequacy just because they want him to be Dinobot part III.

 

That's what I would have done. Let them take it outside, winner comes back and the story goes on.

 

Or, you know, this:

Yeah, both have succeeded and both have failed, but Dreadwing basically edges out Starscream as "lesser of two evils" (or "lesser of two failures", if you wish), even just by a small margin. It mostly boils down to a smart Megatron asking: "Which of these two has a history of stabbing me in the back, scheming his own schemes behind my back and has actively tried to impede me and my plans? Whoever it is, I should probably kill him". I'll give you a hint, the answer isn't Dreadwing.

 

Let's see. A lying, treacherous bastard who has the nerve to steal from you & insult you what he's doing it. That or an honest warrior with a mysterious background that is on the brink of becoming an Autobot? That's like asking if you could have Fortress Maximus or getting a bag of crap. Starscream by far.

 

While at first I was thinking that I'd have killed Starscream as soon as he'd returned, I've just realized something. Starscream is the best strategist of the Cons.

Bountyan pointed out just how many times Starscream has failed. But that also points out how many times he's tried, something Dreadwing rarely did. If Dread was put in a command position above Megatron or went solo, I doubt he'd do any better.

And what Scream has done has been far more important and impressive than what Dread had. Despite being as skinny as a twig and just as durable, Scream not only survived on his own but captured a few relics and even stole the Omega Keys which led to the Cons being able to build a massive fortress in which they can make their stand against Earth. And who gave the Autobots a way to stop them? Dreadwing. But Starscream's quick thinking, yet again, allowed the Cons to win. Not to mention, if Arcee wasn't captured under Starscream's command, the Cons would never have even found Optimus on Earth.

Dreadwing was primarily a warrior, not a strategist. The same goes for Megatron. And while Scream is treacherous, with the help of the ever loyal Soundwave, Starscream will never be able to successfully use his smarts against Megatron. So it comes down to keeping either the warrior alive so there's two of them or keeping a strategist alive so there can be brains and brawn. Whether that was the reasoning to do it or not, Megatron made the smartest move he had made in a long time when he allowed Starscream to live. So if I was Megatron, I'd have done what he did do and kill Dreadwing.

 

Exactly how i see things.

Starscream in checkmate is the best option.

 

I would personally much rather have Starscream as an ally rather than be an enemy. He would be more useful to me alive then Dreadwing because of...well, being Starscream.

 

This.