Laine

Transformers: Prime is my favorite series in the franchise, and the usual characters as portrayed in this series are, in my opinion, the best. The characters are more nuanced, and while Optimus Prime and Megatron are again voiced by their G1 voice actors - Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, respectively - these are not the voices you may be expecting, and that's a good thing. After nearly 30 years since initially voicing Prime, Cullen's voice has aged and as a result this OP has a deeper, more war-weary, voice - one who's seen friends die and sent young soldiers into war even though he realizes that some won't return. This Optimus obviously understands that he has the weight of two worlds on his shoulders. He still has the hope that all Cybertronians will be joined as one in the future, but he gets discouraged and eventually acknowledges the truth. There will be no peace while Megatron still lives.

TFP's Megatron is vastly different than that of the G1 version. This Megatron has hate & fury in his spark, and Welker's interpretation of this Megatron reflects that. There's no "metallic" and occasionally higher pitched voice. Instead, TFP's Megatron's voice is a deeper, sometimes gravelly, one. This voice strikes fear in enemies and subordinates alike. Still, there are moments where you see how charismatic Megatron can be and how he's effectively used that magnetism to build a faction who trust him to lead them to victory. He orders no one to retreat. Instead, he strolls out of the groundbridge and onto the battlefield at the critical moment, easily winning what his troops would otherwise have lost. Despite Megatron not being my favorite character, this version inspired me, when he proclaimed, "Decepticons, transform and rise up!"