Info about BW Megatron [NO SPOILERS]
Grrrlgoyle
I thought I would share this email from Larry Ditillo with the group.
DiTillio wrote:
>
(Grrrlgoyle asked these questions)
> I would really like to know how you see Megatron as a character; what
> traits you feel define him and what his past might have been like and (if you
> wish) where you see him going in the future. Does he care at all about the
> other Predacons? Did he actually handpick the original Predacons he crashed
> with? What does he do when the camera isn't on him? What is going on in his
> mind? I'm not asking you to reveal his master plan, since that would
> probably spoil Beast Wars for me but I feel I know so little about such an intriguing
> character.
>
(Larry replies:)
> Okay, MEGATRON... Megatron is a leader, a planner. He was meant to function
> as a real military General functions. This is why he is more likely to send
> troops than enter a fray himself. He is NOT a coward by any means, BUT he
> believes his function is to plan and issue orders. While he easily has the
> most firepower of any of the Preds in BW, he does not use it until his troops
> have softened up the enemy.
> At times of course, it becomes necessary for him to be in the forefront of an
> attack and then he unleashes his maximum power. If I wanted to sum him up in
> one word it would MACHIAVELLIAN... He schemes, he betrays, he maximizes his
> gains, minimizes his losses. He trusts NO ONE a hundred percent. He is
> clever, he his ruthless and he is cool.
>
> Now as to his past - While much has been made of an off-hand remark that
> Megatron and his band are Pred "criminals" this is not entirely true. Yes
> Megatron and his original band(which he did handpick) are considered renegades
> by the Predacon Alliance, but they are not merely petty criminals. More
> properly, they are revolutionaries, supporting a volatile and unpopular world-
> view. This view is that the Predacons are a superior breed of Transformer and
> by rights should rule Cybertron (and eventually as much of the galaxy as they
> can conquer)... Megatron's original band still subscribes to this goal,
> though since each is an individual in his own right, each has his or her own
> agenda as well.
>
> Megatron's style - well it's easily apparent that Megatron has a keen sense of
> style
> (witness his "hunt" in "Call of the Wild"). He is a flamboyant character, he
> does things for dramatic effect. As you've seen on BW, Megatron may haul off
> and slug one of his troops for no apparent reason. But this is not the case.
> He rules by terror and one component of that terror is his unpredictability.
> So he commits random acts of senseless brutality, keeping his troops on their
> toes. Does he have any affection for his troops? - NO. His troops, like
> everyone else, are merely pawns in his game.
> As long as they are useful to him, he will keep them alive which is why he
> suffered Terrorsaur's power grabs and the treachery of Tarantulas and
> Blackarachnia. Keep in mind that Megatron never meant to be followed to Earth
> by Maximals, if his plan had worked the way he envisioned it, he would have
> already pulled off what he had in mind. But as fate would have it, he was
> followed and it put a major uh "monkey wrench" (No pun intended) into his
> scheme. Since he now has to hold off the Maximals and deal with the alien
> presence (another x-factor in his plan) he now has to fight a war on two
> fronts as well as carry out his master plan.
>
> ASIDE - Those two things - the Maximal and alien presence - has also changed
> the agenda of certain Predacons in Megatron's band. DinoBot was the first
> instance of this and you can see how conflicted he has become because of it.
>
> Wha does Megatron do off-camera? What is in his mind? - Very simply, Megatron
> is a robot obssessed. He has a goal and he is single-minded in pursuing it.
> He spent much of season one studying the planet via the Golden Disk and later
> the Alien Disk.
> In season 2 he is implementing the results of his research. Megatron may
> appear frivolous or casual at times, but this is a ruse. His mind is always
> processing the situation around him.
>
> And what is Megatron trying to do? - Well, for that answer you'll have to
> watch the rest of season 2.
>
> One last reply - Certain folks feel Megatron is a buffoon compared to the
> original Megatron. That is an opinion anyone has a right to, but it's one I
> disagree with.
> As many fans point out, Megatron has won his share of victories in the Beast
> Wars.
> Moreover he is a DIFFERENT entity than the original Meggs. He does not have
> the same style of doing things. And even more to the point, the original
> Megatron led a large force of Decepticons. Our Megatron is not he ruler of the
> Predacons, though he means to be, that much is certain. He is leading a small
> band of renegades against ALL of Cybertron, Autobots, Decepticons, Maximals
> and Predacons. He does not rely on force to do this, he relies on careful
> planning. Like all good characters he is not infallible and not without
> flaws, so sometimes he does not plan well. No General wins every battle.
>
> And that will have to do you for now...
>
> Larry DiTillio
> Story Editor - Beast Wars
~~~~Grrrlgoyle
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BlueNight
You wanted complex "villians" with real motives...
Here's a description of an unfortunately named
character, straight from the creator.
With a few comments by me. :)
> DiTillio wrote:
> >
> > Okay, MEGATRON... Megatron is a leader, a planner. He was meant to function
> > as a real military General functions. This is why he is more likely to send
> > troops than enter a fray himself. He is NOT a coward by any means, BUT he
> > believes his function is to plan and issue orders. While he easily has the
> > most firepower of any of the Preds in BW, he does not use it until his troops
> > have softened up the enemy.
> > At times of course, it becomes necessary for him to be in the forefront of an
> > attack and then he unleashes his maximum power. If I wanted to sum him up in
> > one word it would MACHIAVELLIAN... He schemes, he betrays, he maximizes his
> > gains, minimizes his losses. He trusts NO ONE a hundred percent. He is
> > clever, he his ruthless and he is cool.
This is no two-dimensional phycho coward. Reread this twice.
> > Now as to his past - While much has been made of an off-hand remark that
> > Megatron and his band are Pred "criminals" this is not entirely true. Yes
> > Megatron and his original band(which he did handpick) are considered renegades
> > by the Predacon Alliance, but they are not merely petty criminals. More
> > properly, they are revolutionaries, supporting a volatile and unpopular world-
> > view. This view is that the Predacons are a superior breed of Transformer and
> > by rights should rule Cybertron (and eventually as much of the galaxy as they
> > can conquer)... Megatron's original band still subscribes to this goal,
> > though since each is an individual in his own right, each has his or her own
> > agenda as well.
Yes, the Decepticons and Autobots settled their differences, and they
made a peaceful government. Then they split on party lines, but it was
still peaceful.
I see an analogy here. The Great War (Autobots vs Decepticons)
was similar to the American Civil War. The situation on Cybertron
seems to have been resolved to something like the current
Republican vs. Democrat situation. I imagine the Pred criminals
to be like that Texas group that said they were no longer a part
of the United States.
Okay, maybe it's not the best analogy. But a new rebel arose. He felt
that the status quo was going to be the death of them all. He knew
exactly what was wrong, and he knew how to fix it.
> > Megatron's style - well it's easily apparent that Megatron has a keen sense of
> > style
> > (witness his "hunt" in "Call of the Wild"). He is a flamboyant character, he
> > does things for dramatic effect. As you've seen on BW, Megatron may haul off
> > and slug one of his troops for no apparent reason. But this is not the case.
> > He rules by terror and one component of that terror is his unpredictability.
> > So he commits random acts of senseless brutality, keeping his troops on their
> > toes. Does he have any affection for his troops? - NO. His troops, like
> > everyone else, are merely pawns in his game.
> > As long as they are useful to him, he will keep them alive which is why he
> > suffered Terrorsaur's power grabs and the treachery of Tarantulas and
> > Blackarachnia. Keep in mind that Megatron never meant to be followed to Earth
> > by Maximals, if his plan had worked the way he envisioned it, he would have
> > already pulled off what he had in mind. But as fate would have it, he was
> > followed and it put a major uh "monkey wrench" (No pun intended) into his
> > scheme. Since he now has to hold off the Maximals and deal with the alien
> > presence (another x-factor in his plan) he now has to fight a war on two
> > fronts as well as carry out his master plan.
More planning. More scheming. They follow him for their own reasons,
and he knows that. He also knows their weaknesses, and their desires
for power.
> > ASIDE - Those two things - the Maximal and alien presence - has also changed
> > the agenda of certain Predacons in Megatron's band. DinoBot was the first
> > instance of this and you can see how conflicted he has become because of it.
Megatron used this instability to get the Voyager disc back. He
manipulated Dinobot like a hand puppet.
> > What does Megatron do off-camera? What is in his mind? - Very simply, Megatron
> > is a robot obssessed. He has a goal and he is single-minded in pursuing it.
> > He spent much of season one studying the planet via the Golden Disk and later
> > the Alien Disk.
> > In season 2 he is implementing the results of his research. Megatron may
> > appear frivolous or casual at times, but this is a ruse. His mind is always
> > processing the situation around him.
His plans are updating every moment, trying to get the best outcome.
> > And what is Megatron trying to do? - Well, for that answer you'll have to
> > watch the rest of season 2.
When does the next new episode air?
> > One last reply - Certain folks feel Megatron is a buffoon compared to the
> > original Megatron. That is an opinion anyone has a right to, but it's one I
> > disagree with.
> > As many fans point out, Megatron has won his share of victories in the Beast
> > Wars.
> > Moreover he is a DIFFERENT entity than the original Meggs. He does not have
> > the same style of doing things. And even more to the point, the original
> > Megatron led a large force of Decepticons. Our Megatron is not he ruler of the
> > Predacons, though he means to be, that much is certain. He is leading a small
> > band of renegades against ALL of Cybertron, Autobots, Decepticons, Maximals
> > and Predacons. He does not rely on force to do this, he relies on careful
> > planning. Like all good characters he is not infallible and not without
> > flaws, so sometimes he does not plan well. No General wins every battle.
Different. He can't help but be. He seems to have taken his name to
signify that he was leading a new rebellion, one that could result in
sweeping social changes. If anyone is to take the name of the great
Megatron, I am glad it is someone that has a reason to do so.
> > And that will have to do you for now...
> >
> > Larry DiTillio
> > Story Editor - Beast Wars
>
> ~~~~Grrrlgoyle
Thank you, Larry and Grrlgoyle. This cleared a few things up for me.
G1 Megs was a leader by charisma. His troops knew that he could win,
and indeed he almost did.
BW Megs is a military leader, and his troops know that none of them
could do as good a job as he can.
Leaders of the New Orders, I have a new respect for both Megatrons.
--
BlueNight
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The_Great_Cornholio
BlueNight (blue....@usa.net) wrote:
: G1 Megs was a leader by charisma. His troops knew that he could win,
: and indeed he almost did.
: BW Megs is a military leader, and his troops know that none of them
: could do as good a job as he can.
Ok, if and when Raksha sees this, she will undoubtly issue the venom. I
thought I would take the logical approach, as much as possible.
First off, your characterization of G1 Megs is dead-on IMHO. However you
leave out a very important piece of it : Megatron is a good MILITARY leader
as well. He is well versed not only in the mundane aspects of combat, but
long range warfare : mainly supply lines. Read any book on combat tactics,
you'll find supplies the most important factor. No food, no bullets, no
victory.
If you take the movie as canon, look at what Megatron accomplished. He did
what he always said he would, take over Cybertron. He did so with the humans
helping the Bots, we assume providing them with the supplies the Cons were
forced to take.
However, BW Megs acts more like a monarch than a military commander engaged
in war, or a rebel leader. Larry's description of him as "MACHIAVELLIAN" is
dead-on also IMHO. A monarch is a much different entity from a military
leader. Well, perhaps not SO different, but one simply can not run a
military team with backstabbers and treachery around every corner.
Challenges yes, an honourable system of succession or confrontation, yes.
But undermining the leader for your own gain, using any means, at the expense
of the overall group is the stuff of palace intrigue, not warfare. (at least
successful warfare.)
For example, Raksha's Klingon and wolf analogy. (archived at
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/1139/cqwolves.html) A military leader
(and his troops) act for the good of the group. A monarch like BW Megatron
acts for his OWN good, and so, predictably, do his troops. This is not very
multi-faceted, for it allows no room for any type of relationship with
anyone other than explotation. Megatron was perfectly willing to treat
humans in this way (my one problem with him) but BW Megatron treats EVERYONE
this way. This, ultimately, leads to complete predictability. The real
Megatron was never absolutely predictable.
Consider if you heard him described prior to seeing MTMTE (no matter your
personal opinion of him). I for one would expect Starscream to be a one
episode character, someone that Megs kills right off for challenging him.
But he doesn't, he lets him live. (Now, I know some people are going to jump
on this saying "It was only because they couldn't show deaths in the
cartoon." Well, I could right around and use the same arguement for any
number of things. The point is, they DID write it that way, for whatever
reason, and fans will always read their own interpretations into things.)
So, when I say BW Megatron isn't characterized, I mean it this way : We don't
know anything about his past, really. We don't know who created him, we
don't know how or where he grew up so to speak. We never got to see any
prior relationships, or even how he put the Preds together. He always
interacts with everyone in the same way, not-so-quiet contempt and explotation.
Ok, a good writer can still make me interested in watching him, and I do
like to see what the guy will do next. But Megatron he ain't.
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Tengu
In article <66igkd$6...@examiner.concentric.net>, Bea...@cris.com says...
> First off, your characterization of G1 Megs is dead-on IMHO. However you
> leave out a very important piece of it : Megatron is a good MILITARY leader
> as well. He is well versed not only in the mundane aspects of combat, but
> long range warfare : mainly supply lines. Read any book on combat tactics,
> you'll find supplies the most important factor. No food, no bullets, no
> victory.
Well, the term "combat tactics" refers directly to more specific
aspects of warfare, but I can agree that an army is only as good as its
supply line (Hmm... I'm becoming Long Haul ;). One of Sun Wu's most
emphasized lessons- a good strategy must be backed by good resources.
> If you take the movie as canon, look at what Megatron accomplished. He did
> what he always said he would, take over Cybertron. He did so with the humans
> helping the Bots, we assume providing them with the supplies the Cons were
> forced to take.
IMO, this makes Megatron not only a strategist, but even more, an
improvisor. Think of it: he's an incredibly resourceful leader, though
his *strategies* don't always work out. Even though he was beaten time
and time again on Earth, he was able to turn these failures into an off-
world victory. Resourceful, if nothing else.
> However, BW Megs acts more like a monarch than a military commander engaged
> in war, or a rebel leader. Larry's description of him as "MACHIAVELLIAN" is
> dead-on also IMHO. A monarch is a much different entity from a military
> leader.
I see Megatron (BW) as less of a monarch and more of a
megalomaniac. He's not just a figurehead, though he does often lead from
the comfort of his "hot tub." He often will accompany his troops into
battle, almost *making sure* that they do things his way. He's ruthless,
but also extremely sensitive that things go according to *his* plan.
> But undermining the leader for your own gain, using any means, at the expense
> of the overall group is the stuff of palace intrigue, not warfare. (at least
> successful warfare.)
Actually, many successful military campaigns can be partially
attributed to these means (Sekigahara comes to mind). I suppose it
depends on whose benefit is the final goal, though.
> For example, Raksha's Klingon and wolf analogy. (archived at
> http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/1139/cqwolves.html) A military leader
> (and his troops) act for the good of the group.
Ah, it depends on the group, though. In the case of the
Decepticons, they're fighting, on a whole, to sustain themselves. Most
armies fight for the protection of some sovereign body, not for the
protection of the army itself. To a certain degree, the Decepticons are
just excessively paranoid about their own survival- and see its success
as something that overshadows all else. I see the Decepticons quite in
the same way I see the Mongols- a culture which has adapted itself to
survive by specifically aggressive means.
> A monarch like BW Megatron
> acts for his OWN good, and so, predictably, do his troops. This is not very
> multi-faceted, for it allows no room for any type of relationship with
> anyone other than explotation.
Again, I see the BW Megatron as a megalomaniac- he seems to want
to believe that *all* Predacons are oppressed and share his viewpoint.
In many ways, he almost has a messianic complex- he wants everyone to
follow him, because he sincerely believes that he's the only one who
knows the score.
> So, when I say BW Megatron isn't characterized, I mean it this way : We don't
> know anything about his past, really. We don't know who created him, we
> don't know how or where he grew up so to speak. We never got to see any
> prior relationships, or even how he put the Preds together. He always
> interacts with everyone in the same way, not-so-quiet contempt and explotation.
> Ok, a good writer can still make me interested in watching him, and I do
> like to see what the guy will do next. But Megatron he ain't.
The BW Megatron, IMO, doesn't need backstory to be a well-
characterized individual. His seemingly overwhelming opinion of himself,
coupled with the degree to which he condescends to his troops, gives me a
fairly complete portrayal of his personality. He's a megalomaniacal
know-it-all who thinks he should be running the show- if only because no
one else approaches his "genius." Just because you don't have to look
under a rock to find his personality doesn't mean it isn't there.
Tengu:<>
lta...@netpath.net
Bea...@cris.com (The_Great_Cornholio) wrote:
<serious snipping>
> But Megatron he ain't.
I agreed with everything you said up to this point. He IS Megatron. G1
Megatron...no. BW Megatron...yes. That doesn't make him any less
Megatron.
Leemur
--
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Where's my light pen? Hey, my computer didn't come
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