Frieza vs Megatron

by on October 8, 2023 at 2:28 am

What, Was Cy-Kill’s Death Card Already Filled Out Or Something?

Well this is shaping up to be a real stinker of a season, isn’t it? At least the fight in the preview looks good, so this may end up like Captain Falcon vs Johnny Cage where the theme is garbage but the episode is salvaged because the fight animation is really cool. At the very least, its going to draw serious numbers, since Frieza is the most popular shonen villain on Earth and Transformers isn’t exactly hurting for fans.

Thanks Ultra, for writing the most uninformative list of Megatron source material possible. Very nice, very informative, it’s not like this match hinges on what all they put on Megatron’s character sheet. This is an awful fight to do a prediction for, because Death Battle doesn’t give enough information to work with. Imagine if they did Bond vs Wick but instead of saying out the gate “We’re compositing Bond and giving him everything, even the games” they said “lol guess.”

It’s like that for Megatron but worse.

“Oh but we’re just using G1. What’s the problem? It’s simple.”

You have no idea how stupid a statement that is until you deep dive Transformers lore.

Let me give you a quick overview of Transformers cosmology. The Transformers multiverse is built off of universal streams. It’s honestly a very neat organization system and I wish Marvel and DC would adopt it, because its a very elegant way to organize a multimedia multiverse.

Universe designations go “name numbers name.” The first name marks the “continuity family” the universe belongs to. The numbers are, in-setting, arbitrary, but are typically taken from the date of the universe’s first appearance. The second name tells what form of media the universe is.

First names include Aurex for Unicron Trilogy universes, Tyran for Michael Bay movie universes, Primax for G1 universes, etc, etc. Second names include Alpha for cartoon universes, Beta for toy based universes (as in universes built from back-of-the-box lore, pack-in comics, and tech specs. Technically speaking, every Transformers universe is a toy based universe), Gamma for comic based universes, Delta for live action based universes, Epsilon for universes based on convention lore (it’s a thing in Transformers, basically convention exclusive action figures come with their own storylines), Zeta for text based universes, Eta for audio story based universes, Theta for universes based on live script readings (Transformers cosmology is very thorough. Other settings may pretend that “everything is cannon,” but in Transformers, everything really IS cannon), Iota for universes based in various odds and ends (Iota includes the old Burger King “Transform Your Way” website, a proposal Greg “Gargoyles” Weismann had for a season 3 episode of the Sunbow cartoon, and the online text story of the Evangelion crossover),Kappa for video game based universes, and Lambda based on comic covers (as in covers that depict things that don’t actually happen inside the story).

So to give a few examples of how this all works, Aurex 802.23 Alpha is the universe of the Unicron Trilogy anime, Aurex 402.24 Gamma is the universe of the Armada comics published by Dream Wave, and Aurex 404.11 Kappa is the universe of the PS2 Transformers game (actually really good, I highly recommend it).

Let’s use Batman as an example of how this all would work in other settings. Burton 1989 Delta would be the universe of the 1989 Batman film and Batman Returns. Burton 1989.22 Kappa is the universe of the NES Batman, who recently had a bad run in with a certain ninja, and Burton 2022 Gamma is the universe of the godawful Batman’89 comics.

“G1,” as previously stated, is the Primax steram, and it’s the largest universal stream by far.

I counted 111 Primax universes.

Now keep in mind DC tries to keep its “local multiverse” down to 52. “G1” is more than twice that. So when someone, like so say, a clueless Death Battle researcher making minimum wage (justly) for their hasty work (cough Speedy cough), says “What’s the problem? we’re just using G1?” you now know that they didn’t do their homework. It’s a little like someone saying they’re using “the Superman from the cartoons” or “the Spider-Man from the comics.” Which cartoon? Which comic?

You know the Optimus they used for Optimus Prime vs Gundam? That Optimus was composited from several Primax universes. The “surface to space” ion blasts came from the Sunbow cartoon, the “refinery explosion” feat came from IDW, his matrix blast feat came from the Marvel comics, and him beating up Devastator came from Transformers Devastation. 

Under Death Battle rules, the Prime we got was a combination of 4 distinct Primes, and while they strong, none are “blow up the universe” strong. None are even so much as “blow up a galaxy” strong. But those four universes aren’t all the Primax universes. Those aren’t all the G1 universes. And if the rule is “G1 only,” there are still a lot of universes that can be put in that are just as valid as Sunbow+Devastation+IDW.

And there we find the problem with Megatron.

How many universes is Sunbow+IDW+Devastation Megatron worth? I wouldn’t say 1. I wouldn’t even say 0.5. If you go full rabid fanboy I doubt you could make him universe level let alone something to match the 5-8 figures worth of universes Frieza is going to get.

So open-shut case, right? Megatron should lose and lose convincingly, right?

But like I said, that 4 universe mix that Death Battle thinks is “G1” is far from all of G1.

Now we talk about Alternity, a very obscure and very complicated toyline that spans the Transformers multiverse. Those heavily into collecting Transformers toys know Alternity as “that series where the Transformers got licensed vehicle forms.” as in they didn’t turn into cars that looked like licensed vehicles, they turned into those vehicles complete with trademarks and logos. Optimus turned into a Nissan. Bumblebee turned into a Suzuki. Skywarp turned into a Mitsuoka (you don’t see many of those). But those into exploring Transformers lore know Alternity as “that series where the Trasformers got DC powerful.”

I’ll make a long story short. The Transformers of the Binaltech universe (an earlier line of Japanese exclusive Transformers toys), Primax 903.0 Beta, figured out how to ascend to multiversal godhood. They became disembodied higher dimensional hive minds composed of all their multiversal counterparts. The Optimus Prime Alternity, for instance, was all Optimus Primes. He was telepathically connected with the Bayverse Optimus and the Marvel Optimus and the Angry Birds Optimus, even if these Optimus Primes weren’t necessarily aware of being connected. It’s complicated, to be sure, but think of it like how the New Gods work in DC with each universe having “avatars” connected spiritually and telepathically in a higher dimensional gestalt. There’s a “single” Darkseid” in the Sphere of the God but he’s also “connected” to each individual universe’s Darkseid.

The Alternity (Alternities?) worked together to police the Transformers multiverse. Their powers were nigh-omnipotent. They could create “auto avatars” to work in lower dimensions on their behalf. They could travel through time. They could alter reality. But they didn’t invite dicks like Megatron to the “let’s become gods” party, and of course Megatron didn’t like that, so he covertly formed his own multiverse clubhouse for Megatrons and with them hatched a plan to become an Alternity by slaving a big cosmic monster called the Hytherion to his will. The Hytherion ate timelines, specifically those that were ravaged by various Unicrons beyond repair. In that regard, the Hytherion had a use in the multiverse. But under super science mind control, it was converted into Megatron’s power source, and Megatron became his own Alternity. Eventually, the other Alternties were able to defeat the Megatron Alternity, because the various Megatrons of the multiverse were not as experienced in fighting across time and space (they had a crazy war, literally sniping each other from the future, from the past, from other universes, it was great, crazy fun) the other Alternities were able to break his Alternity apart by stretching his/their attention across space and time. By destroying 667 Megatron auto avatars, the Alternities were able to weaken his control over the Hytherion enough for them to use their powers to break it, ending the Megatron Alternity once and for all.

Could the Megatron Alternity beat Frieza? Uh, yeah. Very much yeah. He orders his time eating god slave to eat Frieza’s timeline. GG. He orders one hundred auto avatars armed with swords that can cut across timelines and universes to do to Frieza what Trunks did to him times a billion. GG. It’s GG if Alternity gets included in…but that’s just the thing, it might not, and in fact, I don’t expect it to get in at all, even though, as I’ve demonstrated, Alternity is just as much “G1” as what Death Battle considers “G1.” And in fact, Alternity is MORE cannon than the fan-created composite they’re using. Alternity Megatron is an actual, real, composite. The version Death Battle is using is, by their own rules, less appropriate as a “Megatron” than Alternity Megatron.

Dragon Ball has been on a losing streak, and I think this is an episode created with the goal of breaking that streak. I think they’re going to use the time IDW Megatron destroyed the Deceptigod, avatar of the D-Void, a big, evil, living universe, to make Megatron worth a universe, or a handful, but even a handful of universes isn’t going to match the gorillion universes they’re going to rate Frieza as. I think this is going to be a Beerus vs Galaxia situation where they bump the loser up to “multiverse level” on a technicality to make the bloodbath not look as one sided as it actually is.

But in the final calculation, I think I feel bad for Dragon Ball fans. Their losing streak breaker is their current strongest villain killing a guy that can’t blow up a galaxy let alone a universe who hides a big DC level hax god in his extended lore that could easily chop him down to size, but won’t, because Death Battle likely envisioned this match as an easy Frieza win and when presented with Alternity went “Uh…not cannon, lol.”

I don’t see any Dragon Ball fan celebrating this Leticia James level mockery of justice.

Oh well. I bet in another universe we got the below instead of what we’re actually going to get:

It’s what the people over in Quadwal 2023.10 Delta are getting.  Trump’s also president over there and Christmas comes twice a year.

I know a lot of people are expecting some sort of swerve where Megatron wins. Darkseid vs Thanos set a precedent for higher dimensional hive minds to step in and win the day for their side. Anyone remember “It’ll have to wait.”? Alternity Megatron could do that. Suddenly, right as Megatron gets death beamed, a black Nissan drives out of the multiverse and runs over Frieza. It’s conceivable and far from unprecedented. But I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think they want this to be an easy Dragon Ball win, and so it’s going to be an easy Dragon Ball win.

Guest Commentary By Smacky Jackson

And now some words from Smacky Jackson, Transformers fan, creator of the webcomic Tad Danger, Substitute Ranger, which is the best Adult Swim cartoon never made, and creator of the upcoming fighting game Chlorophyter, the world’s only houseplant brawler.

Eh. Frieza is a weird choice. I would have figured they would have marched up Megs with another robot. Megatron’s kit makes him undefeatable to any other machine. I expected Megatron vs Ultron. As far as this fight goes, obviously Frieza is a planet buster. But Megatron is a planet buster survivor. He’s Mary Sue levels of unstoppable.
I’m biased towards megs honestly. It just depends on how Mary Sue they are going to seriously go with him. Because, as far as IDW continuity goes, he’s never allowed to lose. Transformers has a power level system, and even the things Megatron should lose to, he doesn’t.
Furthermore his ace in the hole is the panic bubble, and the anti-matter generator. He uses the bubble to trap you, then the antimatter generator just tears you apart and you can do nothing to retaliate. He’s invulnerable, and his strength is immeasurable when it’s active. He also constantly pukes and bleeds antimatter from his eyes that just rips shit apart.
To compare it, he was matched up with Tarn. Tarn, according to the writer, was written with the sole intention of being the most Mary Sue transformer possible. He’s a big tank, with a Decepticon logo for a face, and TWO fusion cannons. Tarn is a phase sixer. Which means he is a .1%er with a green spark. Point one percenters are ridiculously over powered as a rule. As a phase sixer, he is a point one percenters that has an ununtrium skeleton. Which means he is literally indestructible. He is immortal, because his spark cannot be accessed from outside by any means. He cannot be injured beyond superficial scratches. Furthermore, he is also an outlier. An outlier is a transformer with superpowers. Not weapons or devices or technology. Literal, unexplained X-Men style super powers. His is talking. The sound of Tarn’s voice can manipulate machinery of all types in any way. He can literally talk people to death. Transformers just explode when he speaks to them.
Antimatter Generator Megatron just casually pulled him apart with zero effort. He just picked him up, and plucked him to pieces like a small flower and dissolved his body to nothingness. And this was also while killing the entire DJD at the same time. The entire DJD is all phase sixers. Also this power was written into the back of his 1984 toy box. He’s always been able to do this.