So I finally went ahead and got the ROTF Leader Optimus (everyone was right, he's pure awesome), and I plan on getting Leader Starscream as soon as it's released.

These two toys are (from what I understand) considered the "definitive versions" of these characters. (And I must agree on Optimus. I don't see how they could possibly get a more screen-accurate mold. I could see a few minor remolds and some extra paint aps on the TF3 version to make up for the cost cutting sacrifices of this one, but there's no way they're going to top the mold they've got now.) Starscream appears as if it will be (at least) in the the same league.

This got me to thinking: I wonder if Megatron will receive the same "Masterpeice" treatment as these two, possibly in the next movie-verse line. Of the two Megatron Leaders we've got now, one (the TF1) is just... ugh, and the other (the ROTF) is reasonably alright but is based on early concept work and thus is not screen accurate.

Of the "money" characters (Optimus, Bumblebee, Starscream, and Megatron) three have gotten what could be considered "neigh-perfect" versions (Leader for Optimus and Starscream, Human Alliance for Bumblebee). This only leaves Megatron to get a super screen-accurate, feature/gimmick filled "Masterpeice" version.

So I wonder, what are the odds that the TF3 Leader Megatron will be just as awesome as ROTF Leader Prime? What would be needed to make that happen?

The odds? Not good, I'd say. They've had two chances to get it right and have failed - I have no confidence the third time will be any different.

Maybe it will be different if he transforms into something.
In ROTF we barely even saw him in either alt mode. He might as well have not had one.

Yeah, we'll only get a toy of him on the level of Leader Prime if he has an identifiable Earth alt mode. The Earth modes are what ground the movie designs; there's nothing keeping the designers from making Megatron "magically" turn into whatever Cybertronian razor-jet-tank they want to (remember his magical disappearing wings from the 2007 movie?)

Unfortunately, I don't see them doing that this late in the game. Real-life reason: Megatron has now for two years been identifiable as a tower of shrapnel. They won't really be able to do that with him if his alt mode is a real Earth vehicle - there will have to be identifiable vehicle parts (and more than just tread feet). In-fiction reason - in ROTF, Megatron pretty plainly decrees that there is no more need or time for disguises, so I doubt he'll take one on for that reason (of course, his leader's been destroyed, and he seems to be listening to Starscream's strategies now, so who knows).

But anyway, if Megatron's design remains as-is, we won't get a toy as good as Leader Prime unless it is a true masterpiece toy, one with a high enough budget that it can have all of those movable little metal shards.

I've skipped every ROTF Megatron incarnation thus far. With any luck, the plot of TF3 will require Megs to be on Earth in hiding, and actually have an earth mode that can make for a decent figure.

I think they could really make a great Megatron toy for TF3 if his design remains the same as it does in TF2. That way they have time to plan and really get it right - if they just don't re-release the same toy that is.

Randy

RotF Megatron's only real failing is because the movie design further evolved after the toy was developed. He's very accurate to the original concept art.

True, but when Megatron stated there was no more need for disguises he also figured they'd win.


Now that they've lost I REALLY hope that Megs decides an Earth based alt mode would be a good idea so he can get around just a little easier than he would without one. Of course I don't see that happening but one can dream.

As long as they keep the awesome RotF design, and don't give him yet another random alien alt. mode, the TF3 leader has the potential to be wicked sweet.

I've been thinking of this for quite some time. If you think of it Megatron is the lucifer of the Transformers race. Yeah the Fallen might be more powerful but Megatron has that Arrogant way of thinking because he's never really been squared off against anyone who could defeat him. Up until this point the Decepticon army never really needed to rely heavily on strategy.

On Cybertron they had the advantage due to numbers, access to more technology. Prime's group was just a bunch of rebels until they came to earth and got human help.

If, anything the Decepticons as an army and Megatron's own ego are still heavily inflated with this pride that their superior to any form of living being. It's not until the end of ROTF that the cons are finally getting the reality check. Their not as superior to humans as they think. Their army isn't the unstoppable juggernaut they beleived it would be or that it might have been at the beginning or in different circumstances.

As much as Megatron might not get an earth mode anyways in the next film. I can see him becoming the more subtle and naunced Megatron of the G1 cartoon. Not a perfect military leader and he can still bumble some of his over the top plans. They might also be plans that are so big their unworkable to some degree. Yet, he probably will begin to rely on stealth, cunning and strategy. I can see a severely more sober Megatron in the next film. After that blast to the face he got from Prime and seeing the Fallen killed. That should be enough to even make an arrogant character like him start to see whats really going on. I mean if you think of it he isn't stupid, but he's been on a powertrip ever since he took over Cybertron. He was blinded by rage, arrogance and by his own power. Also if the Fallen theoretically had a hold on him. That hold might be gone now. Anyways, I could see those all being reasons why he might be reasonable enough to take upon a earthen vehicle mold. Considering his abilities in the second film I think a Triple changer would make the most sense. Stealth bomber that turns into a tank.

Anyways, if you think of it we could finally get movie Megatron with g1 styled elements. I mean the earthen vehicle mode would cause his helmet to be toned down in cybertronian elements. Making it look like his current helmet mixed with G1 Megatron's helmet. He could have black, silver and grey due to both forms. So we could get some black on him without it being so overbearing that he wouldn't have a few grey parts. If he does have a tank mode. We could get a mounted turret on one of the claw arms. Maybe a turret that opens up and reveals that more alien claw turret on his current tank mode. Or that impaiement blade and a large alien looking cannon barrel.

That, said if he retains the design from TF2. We probably will get a better toy with more of the triple changing elements that he displayed in the movie and on the voyager.


I'd love a movie megatron with an earth mode though. It would be interesting to see how they get the design elements from his helmet and merge it with a more flat panneled type of helmet. Also he will still have the same face with sharp teeth. I really wan't to see how that would look with a helmet thats a merger of G1 and movie.

So what Earth modes would be best?

A normal tank, since Brawl is gone?

A new, unused aircraft, like the B-1B (please!) or B-2? Maybe the F-35?

Or something altogether different?

Railgun.

No, not really. Don't really want to hamper the big guy's mobility. While a big powerful gun might be kinda cool, it lacks practicality.

He could always have Starscream hoist him up and point him in the right direction.

I think the big reason why the first two movie Megs failed was because there wasn't really any sense of direction in terms of the overall design. I mean, for the other three "money characters" as you say, there was, in that Prime was a truck, Screamer a jet, etc. But for Megatron? He can be, well, anything, and basically designed in any way. That leaves a lot of creative license on the part of the designers, and they can pretty much go any way with it without, well, any focus in mind. that being said, they won't really know when to keep going or when to stop in terms of fiddling with the designs. They just kinda run with it until at an arbitrary point they'd say, "meh, looks good enough," and they pack and ship it (the finalized model).

If you had a finalized definitive robt shape in mind, as well as a definite vehicle shape, or hell, just the vehicle shape that's familiar and final, those are end points that are workable in terms of design, and any creative license in between is just icing that could go on in great ways. But when you're working with such a complex robot mode, and subsequently such an unfamiliar vehicle form, pretty much anything goes. But where to go and where to stop is difficult, so they'd just opt for the former and stop kind short in terms of complex design, engineering, etc.

At least, this is my opinion.

Well, he's been a Jet, a Jet-tank, so logically next he'll be a flying gun with tank-treads on the grip-part.

Snrrrrrrk.

He'll more than likely not have a new design in the third movie, which means they can concentrate on making something that looks like his movie form, as opposed to running off of early designs that keep getting altered.

The first movie toy was just plain bad. Mainly due to the bulk. The second one is pretty good, just, as has been said, based on earlier designs. Biggest problem I see is the fact that he's restricted to the Leader price point. If they could just make him a bit taller, that would help things a bit.

He could easily be a little taller at the leader price point -- there's no reason he needs to be so bulky. I cheerfully admit that a sturdy Megatron is a good look for him, but a lot of his leader-class bulk is really just so when he bends over he looks like a bulky tank-plane-thing. Really, longer legs is all it would take to make him a fair bit taller, since he already has the thick proportions to work with a taller overall frame.

My personal feeling is that Megatron's previous toys have been gimped by accuracy to an unexciting character model. The Optimus toys were both great (although it's funny how the second one is just so amazing that the first seems like garbage comparatively) at least partly because they had more interesting designs to work with in the first place. And, ROTF Optimus is so wonderfully intricate, it's hard not to see Megatron as an up-sized deluxe instead of a true leader-class design. Can you imagine a tank Megatron with that degree of intricacy and accuracy?

Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Would fans consider it a G1 manga homage?

I'd second that shortcuts seem to be taken in the transformation for lack of a definitive thing that the alt mode is meant to resemble, although the Voyager ROTF toy doesn't have this problem at all - it's every bit as intricate and carefully designed as any of the earth-mode Voyagers. (And air-freshener green, but what does one do?)

Really, a real transformation based on his 2007 alt mode, something that would keep to the proper proportions in vehicle mode and make use of the kibble in robot mode, would be an incredibly interesting design. It's also just damned unlikely.

You could tack legs on it and make him a walker or something.

Kinda like the scarab from Halo.

I'd prefer him to stay a Jettank, though, that is a really cool alt-mode, they should stick with it.

The main problem is, Megatron keeps changing alternate modes. the RotF leader Prime figure is so awesome because the designers are already familiar with the design, and have the first movie to use as reference. With Megatron, they're just working off of early concept art, because a leader figure takes longer to develop, so they probably had RotF Megatron all ready before the first trailer with him in it even came out.

Is he really?
he seems less complex than most deluxes to me.

i loved the design for rotf megatron (the on screen design). i don't know why hasbro didn't learn this from last time.. but the figure needs to transform.. not just roll up.

the first movie megatron, his body split apart, his legs rolled under the wings, and his arms flipped to the front. the movie to megatron.. his heal treads go to the back, his body splits apart and his arm folds up while the other is the cannon..

compare that with prime.. if they had used the same amount of engineering on rotf megatron, i bet we would have gotten a better megatron. they need to understand that they can split up his chest/torso, they make his legs have more parts, they can give him better arms.. i just don't get it.

i think they could've done a much better job, it seems like they just didn't try hard enough.

maybe he won't change forms next movie so what happened to rotf leader prime will happen to TF3 leader megatron.

i just hope that for TF3 his alt mode looks better (ie the voyager megatron) which will hopefully make his transformation a bit more complex, possibly leading to a better robot mode, but i wouldn't could on it.

actually.. thinking about it.. they could have EASILY very very easily made this megatron better by changing a few things. they could have given us the articulated crab looking arm cannon, they could have made his other arm more normal, and they could have rounded the sides of his head a bit and made it a little wider. those changes could have gone a LONG way in making rotf leader megatron a much much better figure.

ROTF Megs biggest failing is his giant ugly fused arm. If they basically made the arms transform the way the Voyager's does, it would be fairly 'definitive' feeling. I really like the legs and the chunkiness, he looks like he'd wreck just about anybody. Agree that they should have made him taller as a robot.

The only thing I wish they would change about his right arm is to add hinges to make the two side blades fold flat against the muzzle of the missile launcher. It would make it look just a bit more like the Voyager's arm cannon.

It sounds to me that since Megatron's vehicle modes don't really resemble anything, Hasbro concentrates more on making the robot modes movie accurate. Even ROTF Leader Meg's robot mode is fairly accurate to the original unmodified design.