The Transformers movies have always contained several villains, but there is one that endures in popularity and the ability to return from the grave in particular. Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons and the nemesis of Optimus Prime.
Over his time in both the Transformers movies and other media, Megatron has engaged in some truly despicable acts. From murder to attempted genocide, Megatron has seemingly never had any qualms about leading the Decepticons to be truly malicious villains. Though he hasn’t returned for Rise of the Beasts, the Decepticon leader is always lurking in the background.
7 Murdering Michael Bay
While it isn’t a major moment, it is a humorous Easter Egg to look back on the time that Megatron killed the man behind most of the Transformers movies himself. Michael Bay appeared in the 2007 Transformers movie in a cameo role where he had Megatron kill him in a brutal, individual fashion.
Instead of just showing a general disregard while fighting the Autobots for human life, Megatron specifically called one human disgusting and flicked him to his death. This embarrassing demise was that of an unnamed character played by Michael Bay, and though his face is never clearly seen, it is easy to imagine he was smiling at being part of the carnage and action he loves to add to his movies.
6 Releasing The Fallen
In the second Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen, Megatron works with The Fallen who is the first-ever Decepticon. However, this isn’t the only time in Transformers media that Megatron has worked alongside this dark, murderous being. The Fallen is a well-known villain in the Transformers fandom, and he frequently engages in horrifying acts.
This and other villains that Megatron has worked alongside, including Unicron, show that he is completely remorseless and does not care what destructive forces he allies himself to as long as it could help him win against the Autobots.
5 Using The Hatchlings
In Transformers media outside the live-action films, there is plenty to be more than concerned about regarding Megatron’s behavior and tactics. More than just a villain, Megatron has, at times, gone too far, devolving into something cruel and vicious, beyond what a villain should.
Once, when cornered by Optimus Prime, who was determined to finally kill Megatron once and for all, the Decepticon leader covered himself in newly hatched Transformers. Allowing Optimus the chance to take the shot but at the risk of killing many newborns, Megatron would go on to corrupt as many of the hatchlings as he could.
4 Possessing Bumblebee
Megatron has done several cruel things to the Autobots in battle over the years, including killing Bumblebee and others among their number. However, one of the more sickening acts to even contemplate is when he merged with Bumblebee, possessing him and forcing Bumblebee to bring Megatron’s own body back after it was partially destroyed.
This effect, coupled with the fact that after this Megatron would kill Bumblebee (in the same temporary manner with which all Transformer deaths occur) makes it one of the most despicable sequences of events in which Megatron has been involved.
3 Destroying Cybertron
One of the worst crimes Megatron committed is causing the initial rift between Transformers that caused the war of Cybertron. This battle surged outward across the galaxy later, but not before it led to the absolute destruction of Cybertron during the battles between the Autobots and Decepticons.
While the origins of the Transformers have changed over time, one fact usually remains the same: it is primarily the fault of Megatron that Cybertron has become uninhabitable and that the Transformers have been forced to go anywhere else to attempt to find a new home. The destruction of an entire world is far worse than the majority of acts that any villain can commit, short of Thanos himself taking half the universe away.
2 Destroying Much Of Earth
Not to mention that after destroying Cybertron, Megatron, and the Decepticons came to Earth and brought their war with them. Much of the hatred between the sides remains because Megatron continues to have such wanton disrespect for life, including the humans whose planet he would be all too happy to colonize.
Attempting to destroy Earth on many occasions, and launching attacks with the Decepticons that leave many humans dead, Megatron has been the source of much pain for humankind. His ultimate ambitions much of the time across various Transformers media involve the death of all humans, so he can turn Earth into a new Cybertron, completely devoid of biological life.
1 Killing Optimus Prime
Of course, it isn’t exactly the worst crime of the entire lot, but Megatron has, at different times but notably in Revenge of the Fallen, murdered Optimus Prime. This shocking act is usually depicted as the height of great evil and triumph for the Decepticons and was the precursor to simultaneous Decepticon attacks all around the Earth.
In the Transformers franchise, Optimus Prime is the strongest Autobot and the one thing that holds Megatron in check, their constant war throughout the stars is a destructive force that would be far worse without Optimus and the Autobots holding the Decepticons at least somewhat back from their most horrifying plans being enacted.