cactusmaac
05-17-2005, 09:46 AM
I found this while I was cleaning out my old computer.
Something I think posted on alt.toys.transformers a long while back.
Enjoy the geeky analysis!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've recently been watching the Season Two Part One boxset of the G1
series, reliving the glory days of Transformers. One thing that's
occurred to me is that taking the plasma bath isn't probably the only
reason Galvatron was a lunatic.
I'm making the assumption here that Galvatron wasn't a different
personality implanted by Unicron but like in RiD and Armada, simply an
amped-up version of Megatron with a different name. Hence the past
events occurring in Megatron's lifespan directly impacted on Emperor
Nutbucket.
One thing that's apparent in Season Two is that Megatron is a pretty
frustrated character. He's got a galaxy-sized ego and regards being
the ruler of the universe as his ultimate destiny. Unfortunately the
Autobots keep getting in his darned way, their resistance putting him
under more and more pressure and increasing mental stress.
After a very long, hard period of grinding down Autobot resistance on
Cybertron, Megs finds himself on Earth where, tactically speaking, the
tables are very distinctly turned and all the hard work he'd put in
before is nullified. Thanks to being the good guys, the Autobots get
somewhat easier access to energon from humanity while the Cons are
always on the run. This is because the Autobots, despite individually
being weaker fighters than the Decepticons, can spare the energy to
bring superior numbers to each battle. Presumably after the events of
"More Than Meets The Eye" when the Decepticons were always one step
ahead of them, they have also built up a very smooth intelligence
operation enabling them to rapidly respond whenever Decepticons are
sighted.
This is why Megatron always has to sound the retreat when battles
begin to turn against them (usually when Optimus Prime clocks him) and
why he's forced to keep Starscream around since he simply can't afford
to lose what little manpower he has, probably causing more and more
anger and stress to build up inside of him. You get a hint of this in
"Microbots" when a drunken Megatron rambles on about how he wished he
was back on Cybertron instead of always scurrying around on Earth.
Additionally while the Autobots can quite easily bring deactivated or
Cyberton-based Autobots to Earth thanks to their energon supplies, as
evidenced by the plethora of Season Two Autobots, Megatron would
always have to be running short since besides always being on the run,
he'd have to be regularly sending back large supplies back to Cyberton
in order for Shockwave to keep things running and maintain the
Decepticons' dominant position there (see "Desertion of the Dinobots
Pt Two"). Another factor that would put him at a distinct tactical
disadvantage is the casualties he sustained in "More Than Meets The
Eye Pt 3" where several seekers who were seen collecting energy are
never seen again.
Now in order to win the war for the disadvantaged Decepticons who lack
both energon and numbers, Megatron does what any decent cartoon
supervillain does: he concocts one fiendish plan after another.
Unfortunately when the Autobots don't mess up his plans, his own
Decepticons do so rather spectacularly. Starscream's scheming ruins
one plan after another, Skyfire turns on him, Devastator mucks things
up in "The Core", the Dinobots refuse to stay, Ramjet hits him when
he's about to disintegrate the Autobots in "AutoBeserk" (eliciting a
"I have a team of morons!" comment from Megs) and Thrust rather
spectacularly messes things up in "Megatron's Master Plan".
Since he can't rely on his troops, Megatron also tries to come up with one
superweapon after another in order to win the war in one stroke. The
reliance on superweapons brings to mind Hitler's madness when he'd
fantasise that his "war-winning weapons" would dramatically turn the
tide of battle when the Allies were at the doorstep of Berlin,
probably because of his disillusionment with his armed forces who had,
in his mind, cocked things up for him. Megatron also seems somewhat
unhinged in his thinking during episodes like "A Prime Problem", "The
Core" and "City of Steel" when instead of destroying the Autobots when
he has an easy chance to do so, he goes the extra, unnecessary step or
makes an error a four-year-old would spot (like not killing or at
least imprisoning the real Prime in A Prime Problem) and blows his
opportunity.
I suppose the most dramatic example of showing how a
reliance on superweapons has had an unhinging effect on Megatron was
in the Season Three episode "The Ultimate Weapon" when Galvatron tried
scaring Rodimus Prime by waving a TV remote at him and shouting
loudly. Earlier signs of madness can be seen in epsiodes like
"Changing Gears" and "Dinobot Island" where despite good evidence that
his energon-gathering would destroy the Earth and him along with it,
he refuses to listen to reason.
Megatron would have also been under immense pressure from being leader
of the Decepticons. He'd trained and molded them into a devastating,
ruthless force that could be terrifying in battle but in doing so he
would have to constantly be on the lookout for challenges to his
authority and assassination attempts from those who openly said they
could do a better job like Starscream to those like Soundwave and
Shockwave who were silent rivals. This could not have been conducive
to a stress-free life. Additionally changing tack as a leader and
trying a more cooperative approach (perhaps hinted at in "Desertion of
the Dinobots pt 1" where at the research station, Megatron promise to
not harm the humans if they cooperate earns derision from Starscream)
would have been seen as unforgivable weakness by the rest of the
Decepticons thus keeping them trapped in a role of raiders and pirates
instead of empire-builders.
The above are what I would call contributing factors to Galvatron's
eventual mental state but emphasis also has to be put on the events
depicted in the movie. There Megatron is on the cusp of ultimate
victory. He's master of a rejuvenated Cybertron, has devastated the
Autobots' principal base on Earth and has very nearly killed his
eternal enemy, Optimus Prime. Then with one blow, it's all undone. His
army of Deceptions who he's led for millennia show how well they've
learned his lessons about showing contempt to the weak by throwing him
into deep space like a sack of garbage.
Even his most seemingly loyal lieutenant Soundwave turns his back on him. If this isn't bad enough, the one to do the deed is the incompetent buffoon Starscream who gladly takes advantage of all the damage Optimus Prime has inflicted. Megatron then does the one thing which probably causes him the most pain in the years ahead. He sells out his independence and dignity in
order to survive and become a lackey and slave to an entity that later
tries to destroy Cybertron and wipes out most of the Decepticons
there, again demolishing everything Megatron has ever worked for. Then
while his Decepticons are being slaughtered and his planet ravaged,
Galvatron is forced to attack Hot Rod but ends up getting his ass
kicked by the Transformer equivalent of a teenager.
I think all of the above stresses and strains finally broke out and
scrambled Galvatron's brain while the plasma fried his circuitry. In
his mind his army had failed him again and again which is why he kept
himself very firmly apart from all the other Decepticons and made no
secret of his contempt for them. He pretty much cut off all ties with
Soundwave who was always at his side previously but had revealed his
true colours by voting for Megatron to be jettisoned off Astrotrain.
The few Decepticons he personally commanded were the other reformatted
Decepticons who were programmed to be loyal to him, but even their
presence must have pissed him off since they were an eternal reminder
of how he'd sold out to Unicron.
The Autobots were now masters of both
Cybertron and Earth with the Decepticons forced into eking out an
existence on Charr which probably pissed Galvatron off hugely and made
him constantly put on airs like sitting on a throne when not on a
mission. There was probably also the utter frustration of seeing the
Autobots led by the neophyte who'd thrashed him and the knowledge that
if he had his mental faculties back, he could easily outthink the
inexperienced Rodimus Prime.
However I think the madness was temporary and while Galvatron was not
back to his old self, he was a much better commander in "Rebirth" than
he'd been in Season Three. Either Vector Sigma cured him before
"Rebirth" or the events in "Return of Optimus Prime" when most of the
Decepticon Army was trying to kill him along with the implied major
defeat mentioned in the early scenes of "Rebirth", convinced him he
had to exercise more control over himself if the Decepticons were to
be a force especially since Optimus Prime was back in charge again.
Something I think posted on alt.toys.transformers a long while back.
Enjoy the geeky analysis!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've recently been watching the Season Two Part One boxset of the G1
series, reliving the glory days of Transformers. One thing that's
occurred to me is that taking the plasma bath isn't probably the only
reason Galvatron was a lunatic.
I'm making the assumption here that Galvatron wasn't a different
personality implanted by Unicron but like in RiD and Armada, simply an
amped-up version of Megatron with a different name. Hence the past
events occurring in Megatron's lifespan directly impacted on Emperor
Nutbucket.
One thing that's apparent in Season Two is that Megatron is a pretty
frustrated character. He's got a galaxy-sized ego and regards being
the ruler of the universe as his ultimate destiny. Unfortunately the
Autobots keep getting in his darned way, their resistance putting him
under more and more pressure and increasing mental stress.
After a very long, hard period of grinding down Autobot resistance on
Cybertron, Megs finds himself on Earth where, tactically speaking, the
tables are very distinctly turned and all the hard work he'd put in
before is nullified. Thanks to being the good guys, the Autobots get
somewhat easier access to energon from humanity while the Cons are
always on the run. This is because the Autobots, despite individually
being weaker fighters than the Decepticons, can spare the energy to
bring superior numbers to each battle. Presumably after the events of
"More Than Meets The Eye" when the Decepticons were always one step
ahead of them, they have also built up a very smooth intelligence
operation enabling them to rapidly respond whenever Decepticons are
sighted.
This is why Megatron always has to sound the retreat when battles
begin to turn against them (usually when Optimus Prime clocks him) and
why he's forced to keep Starscream around since he simply can't afford
to lose what little manpower he has, probably causing more and more
anger and stress to build up inside of him. You get a hint of this in
"Microbots" when a drunken Megatron rambles on about how he wished he
was back on Cybertron instead of always scurrying around on Earth.
Additionally while the Autobots can quite easily bring deactivated or
Cyberton-based Autobots to Earth thanks to their energon supplies, as
evidenced by the plethora of Season Two Autobots, Megatron would
always have to be running short since besides always being on the run,
he'd have to be regularly sending back large supplies back to Cyberton
in order for Shockwave to keep things running and maintain the
Decepticons' dominant position there (see "Desertion of the Dinobots
Pt Two"). Another factor that would put him at a distinct tactical
disadvantage is the casualties he sustained in "More Than Meets The
Eye Pt 3" where several seekers who were seen collecting energy are
never seen again.
Now in order to win the war for the disadvantaged Decepticons who lack
both energon and numbers, Megatron does what any decent cartoon
supervillain does: he concocts one fiendish plan after another.
Unfortunately when the Autobots don't mess up his plans, his own
Decepticons do so rather spectacularly. Starscream's scheming ruins
one plan after another, Skyfire turns on him, Devastator mucks things
up in "The Core", the Dinobots refuse to stay, Ramjet hits him when
he's about to disintegrate the Autobots in "AutoBeserk" (eliciting a
"I have a team of morons!" comment from Megs) and Thrust rather
spectacularly messes things up in "Megatron's Master Plan".
Since he can't rely on his troops, Megatron also tries to come up with one
superweapon after another in order to win the war in one stroke. The
reliance on superweapons brings to mind Hitler's madness when he'd
fantasise that his "war-winning weapons" would dramatically turn the
tide of battle when the Allies were at the doorstep of Berlin,
probably because of his disillusionment with his armed forces who had,
in his mind, cocked things up for him. Megatron also seems somewhat
unhinged in his thinking during episodes like "A Prime Problem", "The
Core" and "City of Steel" when instead of destroying the Autobots when
he has an easy chance to do so, he goes the extra, unnecessary step or
makes an error a four-year-old would spot (like not killing or at
least imprisoning the real Prime in A Prime Problem) and blows his
opportunity.
I suppose the most dramatic example of showing how a
reliance on superweapons has had an unhinging effect on Megatron was
in the Season Three episode "The Ultimate Weapon" when Galvatron tried
scaring Rodimus Prime by waving a TV remote at him and shouting
loudly. Earlier signs of madness can be seen in epsiodes like
"Changing Gears" and "Dinobot Island" where despite good evidence that
his energon-gathering would destroy the Earth and him along with it,
he refuses to listen to reason.
Megatron would have also been under immense pressure from being leader
of the Decepticons. He'd trained and molded them into a devastating,
ruthless force that could be terrifying in battle but in doing so he
would have to constantly be on the lookout for challenges to his
authority and assassination attempts from those who openly said they
could do a better job like Starscream to those like Soundwave and
Shockwave who were silent rivals. This could not have been conducive
to a stress-free life. Additionally changing tack as a leader and
trying a more cooperative approach (perhaps hinted at in "Desertion of
the Dinobots pt 1" where at the research station, Megatron promise to
not harm the humans if they cooperate earns derision from Starscream)
would have been seen as unforgivable weakness by the rest of the
Decepticons thus keeping them trapped in a role of raiders and pirates
instead of empire-builders.
The above are what I would call contributing factors to Galvatron's
eventual mental state but emphasis also has to be put on the events
depicted in the movie. There Megatron is on the cusp of ultimate
victory. He's master of a rejuvenated Cybertron, has devastated the
Autobots' principal base on Earth and has very nearly killed his
eternal enemy, Optimus Prime. Then with one blow, it's all undone. His
army of Deceptions who he's led for millennia show how well they've
learned his lessons about showing contempt to the weak by throwing him
into deep space like a sack of garbage.
Even his most seemingly loyal lieutenant Soundwave turns his back on him. If this isn't bad enough, the one to do the deed is the incompetent buffoon Starscream who gladly takes advantage of all the damage Optimus Prime has inflicted. Megatron then does the one thing which probably causes him the most pain in the years ahead. He sells out his independence and dignity in
order to survive and become a lackey and slave to an entity that later
tries to destroy Cybertron and wipes out most of the Decepticons
there, again demolishing everything Megatron has ever worked for. Then
while his Decepticons are being slaughtered and his planet ravaged,
Galvatron is forced to attack Hot Rod but ends up getting his ass
kicked by the Transformer equivalent of a teenager.
I think all of the above stresses and strains finally broke out and
scrambled Galvatron's brain while the plasma fried his circuitry. In
his mind his army had failed him again and again which is why he kept
himself very firmly apart from all the other Decepticons and made no
secret of his contempt for them. He pretty much cut off all ties with
Soundwave who was always at his side previously but had revealed his
true colours by voting for Megatron to be jettisoned off Astrotrain.
The few Decepticons he personally commanded were the other reformatted
Decepticons who were programmed to be loyal to him, but even their
presence must have pissed him off since they were an eternal reminder
of how he'd sold out to Unicron.
The Autobots were now masters of both
Cybertron and Earth with the Decepticons forced into eking out an
existence on Charr which probably pissed Galvatron off hugely and made
him constantly put on airs like sitting on a throne when not on a
mission. There was probably also the utter frustration of seeing the
Autobots led by the neophyte who'd thrashed him and the knowledge that
if he had his mental faculties back, he could easily outthink the
inexperienced Rodimus Prime.
However I think the madness was temporary and while Galvatron was not
back to his old self, he was a much better commander in "Rebirth" than
he'd been in Season Three. Either Vector Sigma cured him before
"Rebirth" or the events in "Return of Optimus Prime" when most of the
Decepticon Army was trying to kill him along with the implied major
defeat mentioned in the early scenes of "Rebirth", convinced him he
had to exercise more control over himself if the Decepticons were to
be a force especially since Optimus Prime was back in charge again.