lt seems like in some continuities Megatron started the Decepticon movement while in others Megatron is the latest in a line of leaders.

 

Megatron is the latest in a line of leaders in G1, the Bayverse, and Animated for certain.

I believe he's the founder of the movement in IDW 2005 and 2019, the Unicron Trilogy, Marvel G1, Cyberverse and Aligned.

This is not including the Predacon Megatrons (Beast Wars/Machines, RID 2001). Feel free to add on or correct me.

 

In the G1 cartoon, he did begin the Decepticon movement.

In the Marvel G1 comic, he is descended from the Liege Maximo, the originator of the G2 Decepticons, who predate the current Decepticons.

In IDW, he began the Decepticon revolution.

 

Being the latest leader is way better than being a founder because IDW did a piss poor job at giving the other leader-type decepticons a good spotlight while centering their story on him.

 

That’s not true regarding the G1 cartoon. There, he’s just the next in a long line of Decepticon leaders going back to the aftermath of the war against the Quintessons.

 

Depends on the episode.

 

Pretty sure it was confirmed in Five Faces of Darkness that he's the latest in a line of leaders.

 

Incorrect

the autobots and decepticons were 2 product lines created by the quintasons

1)Consumer goods
2)Military hardware

after the quints were driven off cybertron The consumer goods called them selves autobots And the military hardware called them selves decepticons

The G2 Decepticons Do Not predate the g1 decepticons

The G2 Decepticons rediscovered how to reproduce by “budding” in the 4 million year gap after the Ark was launched

Also, the very first issue tells us the “decepticons” was founded by Megatron

Liege Maximo is older then the group

 

Well... after some research into TFwiki...

you're right.

In the G1 cartoon, it seemed like Megatron started it all based on the episode War Dawn, where Orion meets and initially has no fear of Megatron. Like it wasn't known that Megatron and the Decepticons were a threat yet. Leading me to understand that Megatron led the rise of the Decepticons. But after consulting tfwiki, it looks like that rise started and ended way before the Golden Age.

As for Liege Maximo in the G1 Marvel comic, I was counting him as a G2 Decepticon, and since he was one of the 13, then he predates Megatron. However, he didn't form the Decepticons, or the term, even if Megatron decended from him, so Megatron gets credit for forming the Decepticons.

 

I know, the cartoon writers were always changing and adding things as they went along from season to season

They changed a lot of stuff in the comics to over the years it was running, like the whole concept of primus was a change from what they said early on, making the matrix a physical object other than a computer program was another change

 

As for the G1 cartoon, it’s possible that the military Transformers were disorganized and didn’t have a name, symbol, or shared ideology for themselves until Megatron came along.

As for Liege Maximo, he is the origin of evil and warlike personalities in the Transformer race, but the Decepticons didn’t exist until the events of State Games. It’s like how humans have waged wars and been capable of good and evil for all of recorded history, but Nazis didn’t exist until the 20th Century. Liege Maximo = Adam and Eve eating the Forbidden Fruit, Megatron = Hitler.

 

Well I guess that’s possible, based on what we learned from the ancient leaders inside of the matrix I find that highly unlikely

The ancient leaders referred to their enemies as Decepticons well before the creation of Megatron when they were reciting their history to Rodimus...and they also told Rodimus that the decepticons “Terrorized” and warred with the autobots For centuries

I don’t see a completely disorganized group without a shared ideology Pulling that off for such a long period

Also in the very first episode Megatron makes a statement that would seem to indicate that there have been leaders before him

That’s from the UK cartoon comics (soft retcon)

 

However, the name “Decepticon” implies deceit and stealth, but we’re told that the “military hardware” Cybertronians used “brute force” until shortly before Megatron’s birth and that it was just the “consumer goods” Cybertronians who used stealth before the Third Cybertronian War. Also, Starscream tells Skyfire that “We’re now Decepticons. This is our symbol now. The Autobots are now the enemy” as if Skyfire didn’t already know who the Decepticons were.

What statement is that?

 

What’s the old saying....”what’s in a name?”......the name “Decepticon” might imply deceit (not so much stealth imo) to us but what does it mean to alien robots from an other world?

Or we can examine the issue from the day that the name was just a way to tell kids who the bad guys were lol

If you want to turn this conversation into an examination into the reasons both sides chose their names we can do that, but I was just only trying to point out that it seems they took the name decepticons before megatrons creation

You completely missed quoted the episode, and I feel you have also jumped to the wrong conclusion as to what Skyfire May or may not have known

Starscream didn’t tell him any of that , but Megatron said something similar

MEGATRON:
I am Megatron, Skyfire. Supreme leader of all Decepticons. We are on this planet to collect the energy we need to revive Cybertron and conquer the universe. And the Autobots are now our enemies

MEGATRON:
And, with this symbol, you, Skyfire, become a member of the exalted Decepticon forces. Hail Cybertron!

SKYFIRE:
Hail Cybertron.

MEGATRON:
And destruction to all Autobots!

SKYFIRE  Reluctantly)
Destruction...

MEGATRON:
Put him on guard patrol.

SKYFIRE:
Are you happier being a warrior than a scientist, Starscream?

STARSCREAM:Yes. It is far more exciting. And one day I, not Megatron, will lead us. And then you will be my second in command.

I don’t see anything in that which would strongly indicate Skyfire didn’t know what a decepticon was at all

It could just be that the decepticons of his time were living in peace with the autobots for Centuries

STARSCREAM:
The Autobots would have lost eons ago if I'd been calling the shots.

MEGATRON:
Starscream, only a select few ever lead

If only a select few have lead then there had to be a few before him

 

I Megatron was created by what seems to be a group of constructicons could they or one of them be argued to be the decepticons leader before Megatron? Or perhaps they were carrying out the former leaders dying command?

 

Yes , and in War Dawn he is the first. Trying to make the cartoon not have contradictions is an exercise in futility

 

He is not the first in War Dawn. Orion talks about 'fancy new bots' probably meaning the latest production run of Decepticons, and then Megatron starts the THIRD CYBERTRONIAN WAR and ends the golden age.

First War: Quints
Second War: Initial Faction Split and a war.
The Golden Age follows in peacetime.
Megatron starts the THIRD War.

 

The UK comics provided much of the template for future continuities (Megatron starting out as a Gladiator, Primus and Unicron).

 

And was still a soft retcon at the time
But they did that a lot lol
I remember the first time I learned the UK was doing different stories, I found a UK issue at a comic book store in New York City back in the late 80s and I was hungry for more

that’s actually debatable

the idea of the “THIRD CYBERTRONIAN WAR” and the war with the Quints are also soft retcons of their own

II seems the writer for “war dawn” , and other seasons 1&2 episodes , were working off the basic blue print backstory that was given in the marvel comics ....that Megatron founded the Decepticons

just like the Matrix, much of what was stated in “5 faces of darkness” just doesn’t fit perfectly with every story told before

 

The Fallen is the original Decepticon.