How Did Optimus Prime And Megatron Become Enemies? Explained

Since Transformers appeared on screen in 1984, Optimus Prime and Megatron have been each other’s arch nemesis. This element was carried forward in the live-action Transformers, where we see Megatron as the big bad villain of the original trilogy. However, several stories, including the upcoming Transformers One, tell us they used to be like brothers. So, have you ever wondered why Optimus Prime and Megatron became enemies? Find out in this article!

There Are Two Stories About Optimus Prime and Megatron’s Rivalry

There are two prevailing stories about the origin of Optimus Prime and Megatron’s rivalry, the first one was incorporated in the original Transformers animation where Optimus, then known as Orion Pax, and Megatron then known as Megatronus were brothers and ruled over Cybertron under the guidance of Sentinel Prime.

However, Megatronus was always somewhat jealous of Orion and had completely different ideologies. This jealousy grew stronger when Megatronus learned that his adoptive brother descended from the Dynasty of Primes and gained Sentinel Prime’s favoritism. After Megatronus was corrupted by the fallen he shortened his name to Megatron and betrayed his brother ending all trust and brotherhood they shared turning into bitter enemies for ages to come.

Another story was brought to us by IDW Publishing’s Transformers comic books which even though have never shown Optimus and Megatron in a positive light, contain flashbacks that that tell us that Orion Pax and Megatron used to be good friends. In this comic, Orion who worked as an Archivist, stumbled upon Megatron’s struggle to lift a fallen statue and helped him out and gradually they became friends. However, their friendship was short-lived, and soon Megatron and his extreme ideologies created the Decepticons leading to the start of the War of Cybertron, where Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, the leader of The Autobots fighting against the Decepticons and Megatron.

Transformers One Might Have Changed This Origin a Bit

Looking at the trailer of Transformers One, it is evident that the creators of this movie have stayed true to the story that puts young Optimus Prime or Orion Pax and Megatron (named D-16 in Transformers One) as inseparable friends.

Now the thing to admire here is that even though the director claims that this movie is its own thing it still pays homage to the live-action Transformers franchise with the friendship element. We see in the trailer that both Orion and D-16 get their powers to transform at the same time which is not the case in the original animated show or any other source of Transformers. So, maybe we might also see a different version of Megatron’s fall as well, and to know for sure, we’ll have to wait till the movie hits theaters!