This post includes Failed for “Transformers One”.
“Transformers One,” the fully animated prequel, is here. Set on Cybertron, the home planet of these autonomous robots, the film shows how Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) went from best friends — and nemeses named Orion Pax and D-16 — to leading two sides of a galactic civil war. (To find out whether or not it succeeds, read our “Transformers One” review here /Movie.)
Despite its brief 104-minute running time, “Transformers One” shows the beginning Other The most important conflict in Megatron’s life: with his future second-in-command, the Decepticons’ treacherous Air Commander Starscream (Steve Buscemi, using the same serpent-like voice he used as Randall in “Monsters Inc.”).
Starscream’s greatest trait has always been his desire to overthrow Megatron and replace him as Decepticon leader. He is too ambitious and egotistical to accept serving under anyone else, but in the end, he can never surpass Megatron as a warrior or leader. Starscream is a warrior so synonymous with his character TV Tropes even used his name to label it,
“Transformers” has mixed this style up over the years. Sometimes Starscream is competent and outmatched by Megatron, other times he is a complete idiot and his repeated failures become comic relief. The anime series “Transformers: Armada” reinvented this as an abusive father-son dynamic. Starscream was not out to betray or usurp Megatron, but simply to gain his leader’s respect and favor – which Megatron always hid. This turned Starscream’s feelings into hatred and a desire to defeat his leader.
Sometimes Starscream tries to pretend loyalty, while other times Megatron is fed up with being stabbed in the back. Watch “Transformers: Infiltration” by Simon Furman and EJ Su:
The original 1986 “The Transformers: The Movie” also featured Megatron being reborn as Galvatron, reducing Starscream to dust after a number of betrayals.
But no matter how a series portrays the details of their dynamic, Megatron and Starscream almost always bump heads. The major exception, surprisingly, is the live-action “Transformers” movies. These films couldn’t be bothered to characterize the robots, so Starscream was merely sycophantic – his first line is “I live to serve you, Lord Megatron” said without a hint of sarcasm or backhanded praise. “Transformers One,” however, plants the seeds of this franchise-defining rivalry. Starscream has often claimed that without Megatron, he would be the Decepticon leader, and this new movie shows he wasn’t exaggerating it.
