I thought TFP Megatron was the founder of the Decepticons, but I learned that actually he wasn't. So, I'm confused. I'm not sure which Megatrons are founders of the Decepticons..

Edit: Backstories of Bayverse Megatron and TFP Megatron contradict themselves.

TFP: In Darkness Rising, Part 1 and Masters & Students, Optimus stated that Megatron and he were allies during the war. But the war corrupted the ideals of Megatron, and he became a Decepticon.
However, in One Shall Rise, Part 3, Ratchet stated that Decepticons were followers of Megatron, and Megatron was always a Decepticon since he started the war.

Bayverse: According to IDW Bayverse comics, Megatron was the leader of Defense Force, and was Cybertron's protector, a.k.a. Lord High Protector Megatron.
But according to The Last Knight App timeline, a miner named D-16 became a gladiator. Deriving his name from the most fearsome Prime, Megatronus, he called himself ''Megatron''. (Ah, seriously? Isn't Liege Maximo the most fearsome and evil Prime?)

 

No, you're correct. Megatron did found the Decepticon movement in the Aligned continuity, including Prime and the old War for Cybertron games. He's also the founder of the movement in the 2005 IDW continuity, and in Cyberverse.

I'm not sure about the origins of the Decepticons in the Unicron Trilogy, but Megatron most certainly did not found the movement in G1, the Bayverse, or in Animated; in all three, he's the latest in a line of leaders. In G1 this was revealed in "Five Faces of Darkness," in the Bayverse it's stated that The Fallen is the "First Decepticon" and Megatron is his acolyte, while in Animated it's revealed via the AllSpark Almanacs that Megatron seized leadership of the Decepticons from the original founder.

 

Well, you weren't wrong. Initially, Megatron was meant to be the founder of the Decepticons, but then RID15 went and introduced The Fallen as the "First Decepticon" without really explaining what that meant. It seems to me at least, that somewhere between Prime and RID15, the writers retconed the Decepticons from a political movement to a race.

 

G1 Cartoon Megatron is a bit convoluted, he did use the Robo-smasher to convert others to being Decepticons and ignited what would be called the Great War, but in flashbacks he was created by the Constructicons and there had been multiple iterations of the conflict, so whether you can truly attribute Megatron as being the founder is debatable. As an aside, the UK comics and later Marvel comics makes references to various leading bodies of the Decepticons, from Nobility to the later Triumvirate, to the council that Thunderwing needs to win the approval of, which would imply that there was a structure to the Decepticons outside of Megatrons sphere of influence.

Bayverse Comic Megatron founded the Decepticons after making contact with The Fallen via artifact.

Animated Megatron, via the AllSpark almanacs did not found the Decepticons, but he was the one whose writings and defiance to the Decepticon Registration Act caused the Autobot reactions that ignited the war.

Exodus/WFC Megatron founded the movement to rebel against the corrupt system.

Cyberverse via flashback founded the movement for the same reason.

IDW Megatron's writings led to the foundation of the Decepticon movement.

Unicron Trilogy is the founder of the Decepticon movement in every version, as he's power hungry.

 

You should specify which G1 you’re referring to

Megatron founded the movement in the original marvel continuity

 

I don’t think he was the complete founder of the Decepticon movement in Idw as he had a mentor and it existed as a very obscure movement just before he became its leader and he popularised it and became a catalyst in its growth through his radical political writing and brutal prowess in the gladiators arena.

 

Totally agree, and to me some of the Cons aboard the Alchemor are hardly Decepticons at all. Some of them it literally says they were imprisoned for stealing or scamming. It's like anyone who commits a crime of any kind or who stands up to the Cybertronian government is considered a decepticon in that series.

 

Oh, if you ask ''why did you split WFC Megatron and Exodus Megatron?'', because WFC and Exodus don't match. I know Hasbro stated that they are the same continuity, but they just don't match.
And if you ask ''why did you merge TFP with Exodus instead WFC?'', because TFP matches better with Exodus

Even TFP Megatron's backstory contradicts itself. In Darkness Rising, Part 1 and Masters & Students, Optimus stated that Megatron and he were allies during the war. But the war corrupted the ideals of Megatron, and he became a Decepticon.
However, in One Shall Rise, Part 3, Ratchet stated that Decepticons were followers of Megatron, and Megatron was always a Decepticon since he started the war.

 

Agreed on all points here. The aligned continuity is full of discrepancies. Strangely, Exodus seems to be the only piece of Aligned fiction that TFP actively worked to align itself with (not that some contradictions don’t exist between those two as well).

Such discrepancies certainly do exist, which is why I wrote specifically that Megatron was intended to have founded the Decepticons.

 

He did found the Decepticons in most continuities, but there are exceptions. In G1, he was built by the Constructicons as a new Decepticon weapon, in the UT, it's never stated, in RiD2001, Megatron isn't a Decepticon, but references to Decepticons on Cybertron are made, not to mention Scourge/Black Convoy and the Commandos.

 

Yeah, I wonder why this continuity is called ''Aligned''. It doesn't even align with itself. Especially Exodus novel and WFC/FoC games.

I agree. The inconsistency between TFP and Exodus is only Dark Energon. But it was retconned. So Aligned novels and TFP match perfectly.

 

THE FALLEN is the founder of the Decepticons, Megatron is his puppet.

 

Only in the Bay movies, my friend, only in the Bay movies.

 

Please read:

Fallen (Transformers) - Wikipedia

 

Ahem. That article uses information primarily from the Bayverse. Please read:
The Fallen - Transformers Wiki
In most universes, Megatronus was simply the inspiration for Megatron's name. Most times, Megatron founded the Decepticons.

 

G1 cartoon Megs was not a founder.

The Decepticons were the military hardware line, superseding Megatron by two Cybertonian wars and billions/millions of years.
Megatron in that continuity was the Decepticon ultimate weapon, to spark and start their final war against the Autobots.

 

The best way to think about it is that by "war", he is including the rebellion against the high council. They were at war with the Council and its tyranny. At the dawn of the overall Cybertronian conflict, they were allies until Megatron's ideals were corrupted and that's when he turned bad.

Honestly its the only way to explain it away based on the vaguess of the inital statement.

 

Wow, makes sense.

In Bayverse, yes. The Fallen was the founder of the Decepticons. But not in other continuities.

Hmm, according to IDW Bayverse comics, The Fallen is the founder of the Decepticons. But according to The Last Knight app timeline, Bayverse Megatron is the founder of the Decepticons. And this timeline contradicts ROTF and DOTM movies. But matches perfectly with AOE and TLK. Oh, Aaron Archer, help us!

 

If Archer gets his mittens on a script the bay-verse will look like a masterpiece in comparison  

 

Did Optimus really say that he and Megatron were allies during the war? I could have sworn it was just allies before the war. I know that RID2015 directly and irrevocably contradicted/retconned this by bringing in Megatronus as the first Decepticon— which was just a way for the showrunners to incorporate the Fallen, I guess to add some synergy with the movie timeline.

In the movie comics and rotf, Megatron is sort of the founder of the movement, but in both cases he is a disciple to The Fallen, who, I think in Defiance at least, did some minor brainwashing on Megatron to start the Decepticons for him, even though the Fallen isn’t generally known about by anyone when this occurs. Granted, the comics only really apply as their own separate canon divergence now rather than the tie-ins they were considered initially.

The Last Knight timeline is frustrating but should be expected given the complete lack of continuity within the films. Also I figure that app shouldn’t be that canon right? Because how in the sam hell does a giant spaceship work in the mines?! That would be wholly impractical, where’s functionism when you need it?