In 2009, the general public was introduced to Megatronus, better known as The Fallen, who was the main antagonist of the Transformers film “Revenge of the Fallen” alongside the classic Megatron.
With a menacing design and a spiteful, vengeful personality, The Fallen demonstrated his considerable power through out the film, though it falls short of the villain’s full potential. So…
Who Is The Fallen In Transformers?
Megatronus Prime is “The Fallen” and founder of the Decepticons. He is the evil Prime of the dynasty created by Primus, supreme God of all Transformers,
Megatronus is an immensely powerful cybertronian, as he masters the mystic and entropic arts, and when at the peak of his strength, he can wipe out an entire planet with just his fingers.
As he is almost impossible to defeat, he is usually locked up in a remote place where he does not last too long thanks to his ability to travel between dimensions and realities. In short, if this villain appears in our world and we don’t have a Prime to protect us, we are doomed.
The Origin And History Of Megatronus
The lore of the Transformers changes depending on the comic book publisher or medium, so we are going to look at its first appearance in DreamWave’s Generation One, specifically, in the second volume of “Transformers: The War Within” (2003).
It all started when Primus, the Lord of Light and Order, was fighting against his evil counterpart, Unicron, both in planet form. To help him fight, Primus created the Dynasty of 13 Primes and the Transformers.
Megatronus’ original mission was to oversee the elements for the next creation, but he ended up falling in love with the opposite, destruction. Thus, he betrayed his brothers and joined Unicron, earning the nickname “The Fallen” and becoming the first Decepticon.
He failed in his attempt to sabotage Cybertron, Primus’ body, and in his escape with his new master, he ended up consumed in a black hole. But millions of years later, he was able to escape because a fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron weakened the barriers of the dimension in which he was trapped.
Megatronus spent the next millennia generating conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons only to prepare for the triumphant return of his master, Unicron.
With the help of 3 Decepticons, he was able to break into the Well of All Sparks, where he intends to awaken Primus and bring him to the attention of his dark master.
Thanks to his immense powers, The Fallen was able to single-handedly kidnap Grimlock (Dinobots), Jetfire (Autobots), and Blitzwing (Decepticon), while his minions captured Hot Spot (Protectobots).
With them in his possession, The Fallen began to drain the energy from his spark cores to break the Primus Seal, although a huge army of various factions threatened to stop him. During the chaos, Grimlock managed to free himself and help the others escape.
After that, he contacted his allies to create a force barrier around the seal, so that when Primus awoke, he only encountered Fallen, whom he disintegrated with a wave of his hand. The only thing that could stop him was a divine being, although his evil essence continues to wreak havoc.
Other Versions Of The Fallen In Transformers Lore
The previous story is just one of the many that this character has throughout the Transformers universe, but what they all agree on is that Megatronus was the Judas of the Primes and started an eternal war between the Autobots and the Decepticons.
One of its most tragic versions is found in the Aligned continuity, where Megatronus developed a romance with Solus Prime, known for her abilities to create almost any weapon, so it is no surprise that she was attracted to Mr. Destruction.
Their relationship ended terribly because of Liege Maximo’s manipulation, who created a confrontation between the two to the point that Megatronus murdered her during a fierce quarrel.
Repentant, he renamed himself The Fallen and exiled himself to space, but his actions inspired a certain Transformer military leader filled with rancor who self-proclaimed himself as Megatron.
Design of The Fallen In Print and On Screen
In his debut, The Fallen had a rather intimidating design where he was predominately black and orange, although the most striking feature is the fiery flames that make him look like a living furnace.
In his alternate mode, he is a large and compact tank, being considered one of the best designs of the character, especially for his Flame Toys figure.
In the Bayverse, The Fallen went through a myriad of redesigns, from one with a Decepticon head to a body over 70 meters tall. Finally, they came up with a version that pays homage to the DreamWave design but with the aesthetics of the movies.
Another fan favorite is the one seen in Prime Wars, with a mix between the original and the Robots In Disguise design, and it is so beloved that it could end up becoming the definitive version.
Wrapping Up
And just like in the movies, I’m running short to tell you everything this character has done and his importance to the Transformers Multiverse, so it’s a real shame that he was so easily defeated in Revenge of the Fallen.
But beyond that, I hope the character will be reused in the new movies, as we are not dealing with just any Decepticon, but with the first of his kind. Without him, the Transformers universe would not be as we know it.
