Leading up to the release of Netflix’s new Transformers show, I thought now would be the perfect chance to look back at the last one, the three-season Transformers: Power of the Primes Trilogy. Now, let’s be clear, as I quickly discovered, the Power of the Primes Trilogy is not a good show. It is poorly directed with stilted animation and scenes that go on far too long. Its Cybertron is supposed to be full of robotic life yet seems totally depopulated while the music is so underwhelming, it’s hard to tell if there is actually any danger or not. However, there is one aspect that makes it worth watching: Megatron.
As the trilogy begins, it appears that Windblade is the main character. But by the time the series ends, it becomes clear that it was Megatron, not Windblade, who was the main character all along.
The story begins in the middle of a battle. After watching the destruction that two fighting combiners cause on her world, Windblade sets off on a mission of revenge to destroy the artifact responsible for the creation of combiners before it can be used to make more. Eventually, she is joined by the now self-exiled Optimus Prime–who chose to step away at the end of the Autobot-Decepticon War.
While the pair hope to be able to talk the rulers of Cybertron into destroying or seeling away the artifact, the pair know that they won’t be able to force their point with only the two of them alone if push comes to shove–not when facing Starscream, Rodimus Prime, and the Mistress of Flame. Thus, they search out the one person with the power to help them: Megatron.
Since the end of the war, Megatron has been living in exile. In a way, he has been living a life Optimus Prime would be proud of: one of freedom. Megatron has no ambitions, no armies, no friends, and no followers. He can do anything he wants–free from the responsibility he carried for so many years. And for the most part, he is happy. He has returned to the arena he was metaphorically born in and fights those who come to challenge him.
Of course, at first, Megatron is reluctant to help Windblade and Optimus Prime. Yet, here’s the thing about Megatron, while egotistical to the extreme, he does care about Cybertron and the transformers living on it in his own twisted way. He fought the war because he believed he could be the one to bring the planet–perhaps the galaxy into a new peaceful age. Now, he just needs a suitably villainous excuse to play the hero.
Eventually, the three are able to overcome the combiner threat and Megatron even allows Prime to use him in gun-form to save the day. After this, the trio split apart—though not for long.
For the second act of the trilogy, Megatron largely sits on the sidelines–trying to figure out who is truly behind the combiner war and the resurrection of the Titans. It’s not until the end that he actually joins in, deciding to help Windblade in return for a future favor. Then he later distracts the main villain, Megatronus, long enough for Optimus Prime to attempt a sneak attack–which, unfortunately, ends in the former Autobot leader’s second death.
It’s in the final part of the trilogy that focus shifts almost entirely to Megatron. In a world without Optimus Prime where they are tasked with fighting a living god, it is Megatron who stands up to save all robotic life in the universe. Over the series, he builds a team of allies–not like the Decepticons who once joined him for their own attempts at grabbing power–but people who want to believe in him as well as his new cause.
And it’s an odd team at that. Perceptor, the elderly Autobot with no skill in combat; Victorion the former leader of the combiners; Grimlock, the not-so-intelligent leader of the Dinobots; Optimus Primal, an ancient, powerful warrior who has failed his mission; and, of course, Windblade, perhaps the first real friend Megatron’s ever had.
None of them trust Megatron–all of them are quick to call out his apparent treachery at the first sign of trouble. But the fact remains, all of them want to trust him. They can see in him the potential to lead them and save the galaxy.
Megatron, on the other hand, is against this. The last time he led, he led his entire race into a civil war millions of years long. To lead is to once again give up a part of himself–a part of his freedom. But it is with his new companions that he finally learns what it was like to be Optimus Prime–a leader through honor and not fear.
And, in the end, he leads them to victory. His clever plans outsmart even the god of Decepticons and he even manages to do the impossible by freeing Hot Rod from the soul of Unicron. But by doing so, he dooms himself.
Megatron, though no longer Galvitron, is still linked to the dark creature. With Unicron’s soul no longer able to take root in Hot Rod, it heads for Megatron–and though he fights it, it’s only a matter of time until he loses. Megatron has learned after the end of the war that freedom is the greatest thing in life. It allowed him to find happiness and evolve into a true leader with truer friends. He refuses to be a slave again–to return to the evil ways that he once followed. And so the transformer who always valued his life above all others asks his allies to kill him–and in the process save not only their own lives but to also free the universe from Unicron forever.
It’s an amazing end for the character–one that brings him full circle. He goes from egotistical despot to god-killing freedom fighter twice over. And in the process, he has gained something he never would have in his Decepticon days, a group of transformers, saddened by his death, and grateful for his sacrifice.
It’s a poignant note to end on… it’s just too bad the show has to undercut all this by then suddenly resurrecting Optimus Prime again for no good reason to close out the show.
Transformers: Power of the Primes Trilogy can be seen of RoosterTeeth.com.
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