Is Megatron Redeemable? Does It Matter?
Apr. 2nd, 2026 01:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bensectThere has been debate among fans since the plotline was first introduced in MTMTE about the merits of giving Megatron a redemption arc and whether he is actually redeemable/this is a valid choice for writers in the franchise to be making. This is my opinion on the matter based on my interpretation of MTMTE/LL and Earthspark S1 (the two main continuities where this happens).
It is a common criticism of IDW1 that the story spends too much time woobifying Megatron and focusing on his emotional struggle as he tries to be a better person and not enough time with any of the people he catastrophically materially harmed. I understand why people feel this way but I feel like this is somewhat off base because essentially all of the IDW1 continuity up until the second half of MTMTE was focused heavily on the consequences of his war and him committing all sorts of atrocities. MTMTE is the part of IDW1 that people read and remember the most (because it's really good) but it is not disproportionate in size to the rest of the continuity.
It is made abundantly clear over the course of MTMTE that Megatron knows that he has erred so severely that it isn't possible anymore for him to proportionally atone for it and fully right his wrongs. The scene on Necroworld with the rolling plain of blue flowers each representing a single life ended by his hand surrounding his statue comes to mind. Most of the crew never really accepts him and at most they tolerate him. I think James Roberts did a phenomenal job of writing him as sympathetic and as someone who is really trying so that the audience gets emotionally invested in him and the jolts back to the reality that he has done absolutely horrific things are shockingly impactful. The continuity also goes into the idea that the Autobot/Decepticon ideological divide is not strictly a good vs. bad black and white morality situation and that a necessary part of the war ending is the forging of bonds across factions, the ability to trust that people are trying to be good, and collaboration to rebuild.
Earthspark presents similar concepts in that the war is over and the faction split no longer has meaning like it once did. A crucial part of the plot of the show (talking only about the first season because that's what I watched and consider personally canon) is the idea that Decepticons are capable of being good and of making that choice to take a better path, with Megatron being the primary example given of this. There is not as much focus on the specific wrongs that he committed (because it has a lighter tone for a younger audience) but he emphatically states on multiple occasions that the war is over and he wants to move forward as a different person than who he was before. There is also some discussion of the idea that he had mistreated Starscream at some point in the past and that the latter is emotionally scarred by this and wants nothing to do with him. There is not a reconciliation presented for the two of them and it is presented that their relationship being fractured permanently is a consequence of his behavior.
In my opinion, arguing about whether Megatron deserves to be redeemed in-universe based on this or that specific thing he did is the wrong angle to be coming at this topic from because ultimately the out-of-universe intent in both instances of this happening is to make the statement in the narrative that EVERYONE has the opportunity at any time to make the choice to be a better person and work to make things right. It does the opposite of cheapen the wartime atrocities of the Decepticons: if they are capable of turning around then it cements that the ones who do not are making a choice not to. I feel that presenting Megatron as capable of redemption is a powerful statement of hope for the good in people and the potential of restorative justice. It is disappointing to me that Hasbro has seemingly been uninterested in exploring this more nuanced angle of faction morality since IDW1 ended and Earthspark was handed to a different writing team for its subsequent seasons, and that jokes have even been made at the expense of this idea (see: Skybound Bulkhead saying "What's next? Megatron joining up?"). I hope they will allow writers to revisit it at some point in the future.
It is a common criticism of IDW1 that the story spends too much time woobifying Megatron and focusing on his emotional struggle as he tries to be a better person and not enough time with any of the people he catastrophically materially harmed. I understand why people feel this way but I feel like this is somewhat off base because essentially all of the IDW1 continuity up until the second half of MTMTE was focused heavily on the consequences of his war and him committing all sorts of atrocities. MTMTE is the part of IDW1 that people read and remember the most (because it's really good) but it is not disproportionate in size to the rest of the continuity.
It is made abundantly clear over the course of MTMTE that Megatron knows that he has erred so severely that it isn't possible anymore for him to proportionally atone for it and fully right his wrongs. The scene on Necroworld with the rolling plain of blue flowers each representing a single life ended by his hand surrounding his statue comes to mind. Most of the crew never really accepts him and at most they tolerate him. I think James Roberts did a phenomenal job of writing him as sympathetic and as someone who is really trying so that the audience gets emotionally invested in him and the jolts back to the reality that he has done absolutely horrific things are shockingly impactful. The continuity also goes into the idea that the Autobot/Decepticon ideological divide is not strictly a good vs. bad black and white morality situation and that a necessary part of the war ending is the forging of bonds across factions, the ability to trust that people are trying to be good, and collaboration to rebuild.
Earthspark presents similar concepts in that the war is over and the faction split no longer has meaning like it once did. A crucial part of the plot of the show (talking only about the first season because that's what I watched and consider personally canon) is the idea that Decepticons are capable of being good and of making that choice to take a better path, with Megatron being the primary example given of this. There is not as much focus on the specific wrongs that he committed (because it has a lighter tone for a younger audience) but he emphatically states on multiple occasions that the war is over and he wants to move forward as a different person than who he was before. There is also some discussion of the idea that he had mistreated Starscream at some point in the past and that the latter is emotionally scarred by this and wants nothing to do with him. There is not a reconciliation presented for the two of them and it is presented that their relationship being fractured permanently is a consequence of his behavior.
In my opinion, arguing about whether Megatron deserves to be redeemed in-universe based on this or that specific thing he did is the wrong angle to be coming at this topic from because ultimately the out-of-universe intent in both instances of this happening is to make the statement in the narrative that EVERYONE has the opportunity at any time to make the choice to be a better person and work to make things right. It does the opposite of cheapen the wartime atrocities of the Decepticons: if they are capable of turning around then it cements that the ones who do not are making a choice not to. I feel that presenting Megatron as capable of redemption is a powerful statement of hope for the good in people and the potential of restorative justice. It is disappointing to me that Hasbro has seemingly been uninterested in exploring this more nuanced angle of faction morality since IDW1 ended and Earthspark was handed to a different writing team for its subsequent seasons, and that jokes have even been made at the expense of this idea (see: Skybound Bulkhead saying "What's next? Megatron joining up?"). I hope they will allow writers to revisit it at some point in the future.
