Decepticon
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The Decepticons (known as Destrons or on occasion Deathtrons in Japan) are the enemies of the Autobots, and the villains in the fictional universe of the Transformers toyline and related spin-off comics and cartoons. Their best known leader is Megatron.
Other terms for the Decepticons are Decepticans (in France), Distructors (in Italy), and Bedragarna (in Sweden).
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[edit] Generation One
[edit] Animated series
In the original animated series continuity, the Decepticons owe their warlike ways to their faction's origin as military hardware robots, created by the five-faced aliens, the Quintessons, while the Autobots were designed as consumer goods. Following the rebellion that forced the Quintessons off the planet, the Decepticons - as they named themselves - lusting for power, began a civil war. The Autobots could not hope to match the superior firepower and battlefield powers of the Decepticons, and instead turned to stealth, developing the art of transformation, modifying their bodies so that they could assume other forms. With this additional power, the Autobots were able to win the conflict, and a period of peace began, known as the Golden Age of Cybertron, when energy was plentiful and the planet shone with a golden hue.
However, a viper lurked within this paradise. Working in secret, the Decepticons also developed transformation technology, along with new robot-mode flight powers, and, under the command of one of the first of this new breed, Megatron, they attacked one of the capital's outer cities, killing the current Autobot leader. As the knowledge of this act was not made public, younger robots continued to idolise these powerful new flying robots - until one such young robot, Orion Pax, was duped by Megatron into allowing him access to an energy storage facility. Megatron turned on Pax and fatally injured him, but the ancient Autobot, Alpha Trion, then rebuilt Pax into the first of a new, battle-hardy breed of Autobot - now, he was Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, who led them against Megatron and the Decepticons as the civil war erupted once more.
By the Earth year 2005, however, the Decepticons had succeeded in completely conquering Cybertron, but the attack by Unicron, coupled with the temporary loss of Galvatron (a reconstructed Megatron) in that same year shattered their forces, allowing the Autobots to reclaim their home planet and rout their foes. The Decepticons fled to the planet Chaar, a world of ash and ruin, where they struggled to survive until Galvatron returned to them and reorganised them into a fighting force, battling to take back Cybertron.
The Decepticon faction logo as seen in the cartoon series is slightly different than its appearance in every other incarnation of the Transformers. There is an extra spire on the "forehead" of the symbol (resulting in the "forehead" having three spires instead of the usual two).
[edit] Marvel comic continuity
In the Marvel comic continuity, it was established that the Decepticons came out of the gladiator pits on Cybertron. Early on, the Decepticons had numerous leaders as its leadership was constantly changing due to Decepticons constantly killing their leaders so that they could replace them. It would not be until a lowly Decepticon affiliated gladiator named Megatron assumed the throne that the Decepticons became a true threat to the rest of the population of Cybertron.
While Megatron was the primary leader, other Decepticons had prominent roles as leaders of the group. Shockwave, Scorponok, Bludgeon, and Ratbat all led the Decepticons, often overthrowing Megatron in the process or taking over the group during the period when Megatron was believed dead.
In the G2 Marvel series (which continues from the G1 Marvel series), it is stated that the Decepticon forces on Cybertron underwent a massive split in the wake of Megatron's disappearance when Megatron, Optimus Prime, and their respective troops crashed on Earth. The smartest, strongest, and most intelligent Decepticons left Cybertron to colonize nearby galaxies, leaving a token leadership of overly cruel and duplicitous Decepticons to control Cybertron. These Decepticons who left their homeworld became "The Second Generation" Decepticons, who were led by the villainous Liege Maximo. On the final page of the last issue, the Liege Maximo indicates that the Decepticons and all their descendants came from him, which indicates that he is the original founder of the Decepticons.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions continuity
While keeping with the Marvel continuity that states that the Transformers evolve from the will of Primus (a godlike figure whose material body is Cybertron itself), Dreamwave portrays the Decepticons as a militant group that ultimately gains control over Cybertron through a coup staged against the ruling body of Transformers. In Dreamwave continuity, Megatron--an icon in Cybertronian gladiatorial combat--is the true founder and leader of the Decepticons, having stoked dissatisfaction with the Autobot High Council for not revealing the "true" conquest-oriented nature of Cybertronians. His army consisting of fellow like-minded Transformers, brought to his cause through skillful and charismatic rhetoric and propaganda. To further their military strength and prowess, many of those who joined his cause were subjected to highly painful reformatting processes that enhanced their strength and gave them self-propelled flight capabilities (although some Decepticons, such as Thundercracker already possessed such traits).
Megatron is at the center of the Decepticon movement, leading with an iron fist and the use of violence against any Decepticon who dares to question Megatron's leadership. However, not all Decepticons follow Megatron. One of which, Shockwave, ultimately takes over when Megatron is presumed dead. Shockwave attempts to make peace with the Autobots but is stopped by a combination of Starscream's splinter Predacon faction and Megatron, who upon his return to Cybertron goes about enslaving the entire Autobot population of Cybertron as slave labor with help from an army of mindless "Seeker" drones. The details of this massive victory were to be the plot of "The War Within III" but due to Dreamwave Comics going out of business, the series ended as a small group of Autobots lead by Blaster escaped enslavement and began a rebellion against the Decepticons.
Ultimately, Megatron is overthown and is stranded on Earth with Optimus Prime and a small selection of Autobots. Shockwave resumes control over Cybertron as the entire planet and Transformers population entered the "Great Shutdown". Shockwave was the first to awaken after this lengthy period of deactivation and discovered shocking information about the Transformers species. Ultimately the rest of the Decepticons and Autobots woke up and with Shockwave's help, the two sides reconciled. However this was all a part of Shockwave's plans to turn the entire Transformers race into a war-mongering species. Shockwave revealed that Primus specifically built Transformers for two different purposes: warriors and domestic forces. The Decepticons, in Shockwave's mind, were built with the purpose of conquering worlds while the Autobots were built to defend conquered territories. Shockwave was defeated and left for dead when he sought to destroy Megatron and Optimus Prime. Since then, Megatron has reclaimed control over Cybertron's Decepticon forces. However, with the bankruptcy of Dreamwave it is likely this story will never be finished.
[edit] IDW Publishing continuity
In IDW Publishing's new Transformers continuity, there are a number of differences to the traditional norm. The Decepticons are no longer based on Cybertron due to its devastation by rogue scientist Thunderwing. Instead, they have spread out through the galaxy, using their transforming abilities to infiltrate target worlds (such as Earth or Nebulos) disguised as local vehicles and equipment. They then use their modes to ferment conflict, leading to complete anarchy as the world's political and social systems collapse. The Decepticons then move in and harvest the world's raw resources. How the world is pacified is unknown, although the The Transformers: Spotlight issue on Sixshot revealed he is often sent in to complete the destruction of entire worlds. As in other continuities, Megatron is in command, and thus far has had to deal with the rebellion of Starscream's Earth infiltration unit and the reemergence of Thunderwing, as well as moving on to Earth in order to harvest the extremely powerful Energon variant Ore-13, something which promises to give the Decepticons a significant edge over the Autobots.
In addition, the forthcoming miniseries The Transformers: Megatron: Origin will not only detail how Megatron rose to power, but show how the Decepticons were formed as well. [1]
[edit] Robots in Disguise Continuity
In this continuity, the Decepticons were not the name of the evil faction, but rather a sub-faction created by Megatron. Realising that their ability to travel as Earth vehicles gave the Autobots an edge in stealth (whereas the Predacons mostly transformed into mechanical animals) Megatron decided to take drastic action.
Megatron recovered the protoforms of six Autobots that had crashed to Earth some time before looking for Fortress Maximus. Scanning them with vehicle modes at a military base and infusing them with a fraction of his spark energy to ensure their new loyalty, the first five became the Commandos. But when Megatron tried to scan a tanker truck as an alternate mode for the leader Scourge, Optimus Prime was scanned as well, resulting in much of Prime's personality being scanned as well. With an infusion of Megatron's spark energy to complete the concoction, Scourge was born, emerging from his pod as a dark twin of Optimus Prime, who proved that Megatron's programming had over-ridden any Autobot goodness within him. Appointed leader of the new "Decepticons," they quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
The newly created Decepticons would try many schemes over the course of the series, including attacking various dams and faking their defection to the Autobots. But their leader, Scourge, had grander ambitions in mind. The copy of Optimus' personality had been warped by Megatron's evil influence, but the individuality of Optimus remained and Scourge now wanted to control both Predacons and Decepticons. He would seize his chance when Fortress Maximus was awakened, directing him to destroy Galvatron( Megatron's new form). The attempt failed and Galvatron took a terrible revenge - he stripped the Decepticons of their individuality, turning them into little more than drones. After Galvatron's defeat by Omega Prime, the Decepticons were among those sent back to Cybertron for imprisonment.
[edit] Transformers: Universe continuity
In the BotCon exclusive Transformers: Universe storyline, following on from the end of Beast Machines, the Decepticon name would once again be used to represent the evil faction of the story. However, these Decepticons had few links with their G1 predecessors - here they were an army of evil Transformers from across the multiverse assembled by the crippled hulk of the Dark God Unicron. Led by Razorclaw (a twisted alternate version of Tigerhawk) they took the name of one of the ancient factions in the Great War - the Decepticons. However, they were unaware that their war with the Autobots (assembled by Primus and led by Optimus Primal) served to repower Unicron as he consumed their energy and Sparks. The Universe storyline finished after the third issue, but a resolution would be found in issue #8 of the Collector's Club Comic, which revealed in flashback that, in the midst of a final battle, Unicron had disappeared (due to his destruction in Transformers: Energon), and most of the Decepticons were destroyed with him.
[edit] 2007 Movie continuity
The Decepticons are due to appear in the upcoming 2007 Transformers film. The Movie Prequel comic by IDW Publishing would reveal how the Decepticons got started. Originally Optimus Prime and Megatron ruled Cybertron together, thanks to the power of the Allspark, a mysterious device that could give life to Transformers - and keep Cybertron itself alive. Eventually, Megatron began to desire its power for himself and assembled a like-minded army of separatists - the Decepticons. Megatron soon struck, and Cybertron became embroiled in civil war.
[edit] Trivia
- Despite being the villains, the Decepticons are very popular. Part of their popularity comes from having many more memorable personalities within their ranks than their Autobot foes. Examples include the eternally depressed Stunticon Dead End, the 'one robot Black Market' Swindle of the Combaticons, street thug Rumble, the ever-loyal Soundwave and the legendary traitor Starscream.
- Unlike the Autobots, the Decepticons have many sub-groups that could be seen as special forces units. For example, the Horrorcons are two very powerful Headmasters and Triple Changers that are paired up as interceptors. The Stunticons are presumably ground combat experts and the Combaticons are famous for being the most overtly militarily-oriented unit of the original Transformers line.
- According to Gangs in Greenhaven Press’ Opposing Viewpoints series the Decepticons inspired at least one real life criminal group. In the essay “A Need for Power and Respect Encourages Gang Behavior,” Isis Sap Grant recalls joining the Decepticons and that the “name was inspired by a silly Saturday morning cartoon, Transformers, which pitted the Decepticons, who were the bad guys against the Autobots, who were the law enforcers.” Formed in the early 1980s at a New York City high school, Brooklyn Tech, the gang leader, “Derek,” renamed himself Megatron and the school Cybertron. According to Isis-Sap Grant, Derek has since been shot in the head and paralyzed.
