Gauntlet's Guide to Galvatron!

Ah, Galvatron. A great concept gone horribly, horribly awry.

If you don't know anything at all about this guy, lemme clue you in. There was once a TV show about Transforming robots called "Transformers". NO,, not the Transformers we have now ..... Nobody said "Maximize", Optimus was not an ape.....I am referring to G1 (or Generation 1) Transformers. In these cartoons, Optimus Prime (The first one) leader of the AUTOBOTS fought Megatron (WAY cooler than the new one, may I add) leader of the DECEPTICONS (not the Predicons, ignorant fools). Well, they fought for many a season until TF the movie came out. In the movie allot of everybody's favorite TFs were killed. OP was dead and Megatron was tossed into space where he met the planet-munchin Unicron! Unicron changed Megatron into Galvatron, and the first thing Galvatron did as leader was destroy that squeaky-voiced loser Starscream.....in style!

You see, Starscream was a complete loser. Nobody can say why Megatron kept him around. He just constantly betrayed Megatron whenever he fell down during battle. And he pulled these stunts all the time.

After being sent out of the shuttle to DIE, Megatron (as Galvatron) FINALLY had enough of that bullshit and blew Starscream to comic vapor in what HAD to be the best part of the entire movie.

Galvatron is Megatron to the upteeth power. If Megs lived for years and years to come, he'd evolve into Galvatron, or at least that was the premise here. Alas, such potential was not be be realized.

Except for one colossal blunder on the writer's part. After the events in the movie they made Galvatron go insane. GONE was the cool lines..... GONE was the style.....and GONE were the cool blitzes that Galvatron employed in the movie. Galvatron remained in control only because he was the strongest of all. Now, we would suffer at the hands of Galvy having to play "figurehead". Cyclonus really took control here. While Galvatron was mumbling to himself in his padded room, Cyclonus had the starring lines and Cyclonus had all the great attacks. At the end I think Galvy had his wits almost restored....but it was far too late. No, by now the show had lost that magic that the old G1 series had and faded into obscurity. Galvatron appeared for some time in the comics (none of which I have) and in one story where, I hear, he is done justice but..........it is just not the same, is it? Nope...bad writing slew the potentially greatest Decepticon leader there is.

And Galvatron became a walking joke. Geez, what were they thinking!?

I do readily believe that one of the main reasons Galvatron failed is because he directly succeeded the greatest Decepticon leader off all time, Megatron. Megatron lasted 3 seasons, numerous toy variants and had a great rep. Same with Optimus Prime. Nothing that follows up on Megatron could succeed. In everybody's mind they would be compared. Indeed, in the show, Rodimus constantly has inferiority complexes that he isn't as good as Optimus and in the movie Galvatron is always trying to prove he's superior to his old Megatron form. In my mind, he was, although the show ruined him for many TF fans. It is because the writers felt, perhaps, that in order to make him more dangerous than the greatest Decepticon general of all time, he needed to be insane. And then he was cast into the realms of comedy relief. To add insult to injury, in any timeline you look at, Galvatron is either lost in space, put to sleep, or changed BACK into Megatron!!! That's like saying "okay I guess humans weren't all that great, lets go back to Cro-Magnon man!" The logic of it is baffling! It is a step in the wrong direction. If the movie was released today instead of Beasies or "Beast Machines" he would have a far better reception now that Megatron has been gone for many year.

So in short, I like the movie Galvatron. In the movie he had style, tactics and cool lines. He had achievements! He was the logical upgrade for Megatron. In the end, however all his greatness can only be captured rightly by fan fic.

I am Gauntlet and this has been Gauntlet's guides.