Top Ten Villains #8: Megatron

"Everything I touch is food for my hunger, my hunger for power!"

Megatron, the megalomaniac leader of the Decepticons, is a highly dangerous and competent general, and is responsible for many atrocities on his homeworld of Cybertron, including plunging it into a civil war. Like his fellow Cybertronians, Megatron can transform into a variety of vehicles and weapons - indeed, the precise object he transforms into changes pretty constantly. What doesn't change is his desire for conquest - indeed, without the Autobots standing in his path, Megatron would basically rule the Earth now. 

First Appearance:

Transformers: Generation 1

Powers/Abilities:

Being a giant-sized metal-based life form, Megatron is a terrifying opponent at close quarters, having a level of durability and strength hugely above that of a trained human. In addition, he has the ability to transform into various combat vehicles and weapons - he has, at varying times in the canon, been able to transform into a gun, a tank, a jet fighter and a Cybertronian mobile weapon platform, as well as a few sports cars. Hey, every  leader's got an ego. 

In robot form, his primary weapon is his arm-mounted cannon, capable of levelling a city block at full power, and with which he fights those damn Autobots who keep getting in the way of his domination. He also has the ability to link this cannon to a black hole, generating significantly more powerful shots at the trade-off of leaving himself vulnerable to attack due to the energy drained from him to achieve this.

So why #8 on the list of villains? Well, I like Megatron a lot. He's cool, calm, and somewhat unusually for a supervillain, rational in his planning and strategy. However, I think it ultimately comes down to the fact that, unfortunately, Megs doesn't impress me as much as the villains that I chose above him. In a sense, he's less remarkable than them due to that rational behaviour, despite his robotic coolness, and that's probably why he's comparatively low.

But who has foiled Megatron's plans of conquest (again) and risen to #7? Find out soon...