He led the Decepticons for millions of years - although to be fair, most of that time was spent in stasis. The Generation One telling of Megatron portrays a classic villain, hell-bent on domination and power. The consummate bully, his subscription to “might makes right” philosophies is in direct opposition to Starscream’s stance on loyalty.
There’s a bit of confusion as to Megatron’s origins in the classic 80’s G1 cartoon. As I mentioned in a previous post about the Matrix of Leadership, we get some insight into Megatron’s origins in the early Season 3 episode “Five Faces of Darkness” Part 4, which show him being built and activated by the Constructicons. And here we land ourselves in downtown Discontinuityville, where the population consists of Megatron and all 8 - wait, did I say 8? - Constructicons. See, in Season 2, the episode “The Secret of Omega Supreme” shows how the Constructicons became Decepticons through the machinations of Megatron. You know, the guy that was built by members of the Decepticon ranks to be their leader. Nah, no plot holes here… Nope. Keep on stepping.
(from the Season 3 episode "The Five Faces of Darkness")
Suffice to say that Megatron’s origins are clouded in mystery and lost in the haze of time, space, and long-term hibernation aboard a downed spaceship for millions of years.
Origins aside, Megatron is the leader. Despite his failures on Earth, the events leading up to the arrival of the Cybertronians on Earth showed some harrowing times for the Autobots. It could be said that Megatron’s only real failure as a leader was his attack on a loading dock in which a young Autobot named Orion Pax and his girlfriend Ariel were heavily damaged, but not fatally so. Megatron inadvertently gave cause and opportunity for the rise of Optimus Prime and Elita One, who were reconstructed from Orion Pax and Ariel. Otherwise, Megatron’s domination of Cybertron was very much assured.
If the behavior he exhibited on Earth was any indication, then he was a remorseless bully and tyrant. Seeing as his origins are about as fuzzy as shag carpet, one could speculate that ol’ Megs was not very well-liked in school as a wee ‘Con. Maybe he had a rough home life, like Ma and Pa ‘Tron were not involved. Maybe Pa ‘Tron spent too much time at Maccadam’s Old Oil House instead of going to Megs’s t-ball games? Or maybe Megatron was the chubby ‘bot in phys. ed., and after getting made fun of for it, he turned to the Decepticons for some cosmetic surgery, and that is what we saw with the Constructicons (although that still does not explain the 8 of them, as opposed to the 6 that make up Devastator).
All of his posturing and bullying proved to be counterproductive for the two years post-awakening, seeing as human beings don’t care to be shoved around so easily. On top of that, the humans were also more willing to share with the benevolent Autobots who asked very nicely to borrow a cup or two of oil instead of trying to claim it for themselves.
Plus, Megatron’s whole “world domination” thing is rather off-putting.
Eventually he manages to lead his forces to take control of Cybertron. Yeah, it took him about 20 years, but in the lifespan of a Cybertronian, that’s a drop in the bucket. And admittedly quite an accomplishment, considering that (1) the war lasted for millions of years and (2) he really did not do himself any favors when it came to energy acquisition while on Earth.
The events of Transformers: The Movie unfold - Optimus Prime and Megatron face off and do massive damage to one another. They each leave the battlefield, carried away by loyal troops, although Starscream manages to add insult to the literal injuries when he b!tch kicks Megatron while heaping on some sarcasm. I already covered Optimus’s situation, so moving on to Megatron. The Decepticons get into space and are fleeing back to Cybertron, and that’s when Starscream plans his coup, tossing Megatron into space. A broken Megatron drifts towards his final power down when he encounters Unicron, the planet eater. Unicron offers Megatron a new lease on life, but like all things, it has a price - being in thrall to Unicron.
(GIF from gifer.com and Transformers: The Movie)
And Megatron, the proud and boastful, the mighty and powerful, he submitted. Unicron reformats him as Galvatron, and the Decepticon is sent to do the things. His first order of business: reclaim his army. When Starscream demands to know “who dares disrupt my coronation?”, Galvatron responds with, “Here’s a hint.” The Decepticons decide that following Galvatron is a good idea™, and he leads them on an assault on Autobot City on Earth. Galvatron claims that, “I, Galvatron, will crush you just as Megatron crushed Prime.”
(from Transformers: The Movie)
Bad enough that Megatron’s origins are squiffy, but now there seems to be this mental separation of Megatron from Galvatron. Or is there…? There are a number of characters who are reformatted in the movie, most of them Decepticons, and there is only one of them who seems to know exactly who he is - Rodimus Prime. But anyone who Unicron reformatted seems to have no memory of his previous existence - Cyclonus and Scourge seemed to have no memory of being Skywarp and Thundercracker, respectively. Perhaps their sparks had extinguished, or perhaps Unicron considered their personalities to be lacking and suppressed them. Or maybe he just felt that Megatron needed to be preserved in mind and just physically upgrade, as Megatron’s ego was a veritable force of nature.
There’s also the matter of the psychology of Megatron. His many failures, particularly the beating he received at the hands of Optimus Prime and subsequent disposal by Starscream made him appear weak to the Decepticons. If he had rolled in simply repaired, his troops would not have respected him - Starscream would not follow him, and rightfully so based on the Decepticon principles of might, power, and peace through tyranny. Megatron had proven that he was incapable of that. A new name to go with a new look went a long way to earning the respect of his troops.
Plus, nuking the living crap outta Starscream added to his credibility. Just a lil bit…
(from Transformers: The Movie)
Galvatron needed a mental separation from his failures as Megatron, a clean slate, a fresh start. Unlike the transformation of Hot Rod to Rodimus Prime [see what I did there? Hehe…], in which Hot Rod achieved the full realization of his being with the Matrix of Leadership, Megatron’s change into Galvatron was artificial, and with that he had a strong desire to make certain that his new successes could not be marred or colored in the eyes of his troops. Galvatron is well aware of who he is, and he indicates it when he says to Hot Rod, “First Prime, then Ultra-Magnus, and now you. It's a pity you Autobots die so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now.”
Fast forward to Season 3 “The Return of Optimus Prime,” in which a revived and restored (NOT resurrected) Optimus Prime indicates a familiarity with Galvatron that could happen from one of three ways - Rodimus Prime’s knowledge stored in the Matrix and then shared with Optimus during the events of “Dark Awakening” [I know that I am self-referencing here a bunch, but just check out my Matrix of Leadership post, for pity’s sake, please! LOL], or the fact that Galvatron is Megatron, or maybe some great combination of the two. After all, Optimus had just met Megatron with his newer body and name, so my bet is on the combo platter.
Being fair, Megatron really is not deep in the Generation 1 cartoon before Transformers: The Movie. He gains a measure of depth at the moments of his defeats - his cries for mercy, especially during the climactic clash with Optimus Prime, show that he is an opportunist. He does not hesitate to swallow his pride when it suits him, although there is a false humility in it. Rarely does Megatron maintain that humility for more than a fleeting instant, as he demonstrates when he grabs the blaster gun and shoots Optimus. Also, once he steals the Matrix of Leadership from Ultra Magnus, he pulls a full Benedict Arnold on Unicron and immediately decides to liberate himself from indentured servitude. His capacity for suppressing his ego shows that there is more to him than meets the eye [See what I did there?], he is more than just a bully, but a strategist as well, someone who finds it acceptable to give an inch for the briefest of moments so that he can take several light years. Again, not overly profound, but still a bit deeper than the average schoolyard bully.
Galvatron does not demonstrate the same principles; however, he did find himself immersed in a plasma pit for a while, and that was enough to twist up his mind a bit. OK, more than a bit. Megatron was known for abusing his troops, but mostly as a show of force or as a consequence to their screw ups. Galvatron had no qualms about using his arm cannon on even his most loyal and efficient troops, and the Decepticons found themselves under conditions that would make the average union rep start twitching. His plans were not nearly as coherent and poignant as Megatron’s, and yet he tended to have more success. There were many variables in play - the Autobots’ leader was greener than Optimus Prime, Galvatron’s troops were more loyal and obedient, and Galvatron was not being undermined by his lieutenant, as Megatron had been with Starscream. It would seem that the ball game had changed once Megatron became Galvatron. Such a change as Megatron endured in the events leading up to his reformatting would be enough to knock anyone off their footing. It could not even be argued that he won against Optimus Prime - had he not drifted across the path of Unicron, he would have followed his opponent into death. Then throw in having to swallow his pride with Unicron, another crushing defeat at the hands of that darn kid Hot Rod, and the spa visit to Planet Plasma just seemed to break him.
(from the Season 3 episode "The Five Faces of Darkness")
I would almost feel badly for the guy, if, ya know, he wasn't a psychopathic, genocidal megalomaniac.