The Fallen as he appears in the Transformers "Bayverse"
He was originally known as Megatronus Prime, one of the original thirteen children of the creator-god Primus. His was to be a life of preserving the balance between order and chaos alongside his brother Primes as lord over the fundamental force of entropy, the natural dissolution of all things to make way for new creation. However, the power he wielded was both too much, yet not enough; he became fascinated by the art of destruction and lost sight of the need for rebirth and recreation. In his quest to achieve absolute mastery of the forces of chaos, Megatronus turned to Unicron and became the Chaos-Bringer's herald. He attempted to sabotage Primus' planetary body but was thwarted by his former brothers and cast into a black hole along with his master. From that moment onward, Megatronus would be forevermore known as "The Fallen".
The Fallen is immensely powerful. He commands mystic, entropic arts, and when at full strength he can un-make creation at his focused will. He is rarely defeated; at best he is contained, where he waits with eternal patience for the chance to unleash his dark powers once again. Though he has at times been imprisoned between dimensions, this rarely lasts. When his power is at its height, the Fallen can open space bridges and travel between dimensions and realities at will.
In his physical manifestations, the Fallen is truly a terrible sight to behold. Beneath the seams of his robotic shells burns the forces of purest chaos and malevolence, making him appear to be a living furnace. Whatever empathy he had was long burned away in an inferno of rage and hatred. In many of the different realities of the Transformers, the Fallen has been regarded as the "first Decepticon" since he betrayed his brothers for the sake of gaining ultimate power. In fact, the Decepticon badge is based on the image of the Fallen's own face.
Appearances[]
Dreamwave Transformers[]
When Primus and Unicron first battled as planets, Primus created the first 13 Transformers to assist him in planet mode. The Fallen's original purpose as one of the 13 was to oversee entropy, the orderly dissolution of all things in preparation for the next creation. But the concept of destruction fascinated him too much, and he lost sight of the goal of rebirth and the necessity of restraint. His investigations into the dark sciences led him to Unicron, to whom he gave himself. Corrupted by Unicron, the Fallen then tried to sabotage his creator's body. This attempt ended in failure, and "The Fallen" fled to his master, but there was little refuge to be found: They were both sucked into a black hole.
Approximately 7 million years before the 21st century, Optimus Prime and Megatron were lost in a space bridge accident. This accident weakened the barrier between reality and the dimension in which The Fallen was trapped, allowing The Fallen to eventually break free and return to Cybertron.
The Fallen immediately set about initiating the "Unbinding", an event which required four particular Transformers, who would function as "angles in the geometry of dissolution". To help him round up the required Transformers, the Fallen recruited a trio of Decepticon outcasts, Bludgeon, Mindwipe, and Bugly, who hungered for a command of the occult. The Fallen promised them all manner of dark powers in exchange for serving him. Leading his three followers to a hidden room within Cybertron, he named Grimlock as the first of the angles to be gathered.
The Fallen and company proceeded to construct a strange machine within the Well of All Sparks in preparation for the Unbinding. Unfortunately, Bludgeon and friends got impatient for more than The Fallen's praise and demanded a more tangible reward: the arcane power he had promised them. The Fallen responded by grabbing Bludgeon’s head and giving him a mere glimpse of what he sought: images of a fiery vortex, demonic faces, stabbing swords and a human skull engulfed Bludgeon. The Fallen stated that this was but a peek inside a dark door he would fully open if they served him well. This left Bludgeon suitably inspired to begin hunting down their targets.
Bugly and Mindwipe leaked information to draw the Protectobots out into combat with Devastator, while Bludgeon hatched a plot to snare both Grimlock and Jetfire. Bludgeon, Bugly, and Mindwipe ambushed Jetfire as he attempted a cross-faction meeting with Shockwave. When Grimlock crashed the party earlier than they expected, however, The Fallen himself had to intervene and caught Grimlock’s blazing energo-sword in his bare hand.
Grimlock took one punch from The Fallen yet still got back up, so The Fallen grabbed him by the shoulders and unleashed a huge blast of energy that put the Dinobot leader out cold. Shocked by the display, Jetfire surmised that The Fallen predated the Golden Age, which impressed The Fallen, but he still knocked Jetfire out cold. He dragged Grimlock and Jetfire away and commanded his followers to gather the third angle while he handled the fourth. The Fallen singlehandedly abducted Blitzwing from his well-guarded holding cell in Autobot headquarters, shrugging off attacks by some of the Autobots' best warriors and causing their weapons to corrode away into uselessness with a mere gesture. Bludgeon's team, meanwhile, succeeded in acquiring Hot Spot from the Protectobots.
All four angles were strapped to the device in the Well of All Sparks and the Fallen theatrically monologued to the awakening Jetfire that they were casualties in the war of the Gods, and would be used to break the Seal of Primus, after which "all chaos will follow". However, a combined army of forces from several factions defeated the Chaos Trinity and penetrated The Fallen's operation. By the time they reached the door, The Fallen was satisfied that the Transformers were too late, until Jetfire arranged a force-field to surround the Seal. The Fallen was further impressed that Jetfire understood enough to try to contain the Seal, but his distraction cost him victory: the God of Light himself was subsequently roused from his slumber where he saw The Fallen. With a gesture of his radiant hand, Primus engulfed his wayward creation in a torrent of searing energy that was then sucked back into the Seal of Primus.
Bayverse[]
Nineteen thousand years ago, The Fallen accompanied his brother Primes to Earth in an attempt to harvest the star it orbited. Just as they had completed construction of the Star Harvester, however, The Fallen discovered a primitive race of hunters. The Primes invoked their rule of the sanctity of life and refused to activate the harvester, but The Fallen despised the humans as simple insects and attempted to activate the Harvester. A great battle took place, but ultimately, The Fallen was defeated and the remaining Primes hid themselves and the Matrix of Leadership, and The Fallen's harvester was concealed within a pyramid in Egypt. The Fallen dispatched the Seekers to locate the Matrix, but they proved unable and he eventually abandoned them. The Fallen became known as the first Decepticon, and he became the master of Megatron, leader of the faction. He employed Megatron in the pursuit of the AllSpark, but after Megatron's defeat at Mission City, the AllSpark was reduced to a mere fragment.
Upon Megatron's revival he traveled to the Nemesis, where The Fallen stayed in a life-support chair while Starscream oversaw the creation of a new army of Decepticons. Prostrating himself before the Fallen, Megatron said that he had failed his master and their race by allowing the AllSpark to be destroyed. Amused by his disciple's misinformation, The Fallen revealed that the cube was merely a vessel, while the knowledge within the AllSpark was instead placed within the mind of the human who had challenged Megatron, Sam Witwicky. With the knowledge within Sam's mind, they could find the Star Harvester and the Matrix needed to activate it. Megatron asked permission to avenge himself and reclaim the AllSpark, but The Fallen asked for patience, though he could understand his desire, as The Fallen himself hungered to return to the wretched planet where his brother Primes had betrayed him. The Fallen also explained that the only threat to him was the last surviving Prime, Optimus. Since Optimus would protect Sam, The Fallen ordered Megatron to capture the boy and draw out the Prime.
Megatron's plan was partially successful: although the boy escaped, Optimus came to defend him and died in the process. The Fallen sensed his death and was very pleased, knowing that the time to strike was now. When the Decepticons traveled to the Earth's surface in re-entry modes, The Fallen accompanied them, destroying an aircraft carrier as well as attacking several cities. As the aircraft carrier sank into the ocean, The Fallen quietly intoned that revenge was finally his. The Fallen tapped into Earth's communication network, and announced the presence of the Transformers on Earth on worldwide television, demanding the "human hive" hand over Sam.
Unfortunately, Sam was in Egypt hunting for the Matrix of Leadership after being told it might be able to revive Optimus. He succeeded, but moments after Prime's resurrection, The Fallen appeared amongst the assorted NEST troops, pinning Optimus and stealing the Matrix. He then teleported to the now uncovered harvester, and as he inserted the Matrix into the machine, declared that his brothers had failed as he now claimed the Sun. While it charged, the humans attempted to destroy the harvester with their heavy weapons. Unimpressed with their display, The Fallen demonstrated his considerable power by destroying the attacking military forces with telekinesis, then raised a blockade of debris to prevent an air strike, but a super-powered Optimus Prime, now fused with Jetfire, destroyed the harvester, knocking The Fallen to the ground below.
Facing the last Prime, The Fallen commanded Optimus to join his brothers in death, but it quickly became apparent that Optimus was strong enough to face The Fallen. Megatron came to the aid of his master, but was quickly dispatched. Although The Fallen managed to rip off one of Prime's thrusters and strike him with it, Optimus soon impaled The Fallen with his own spear, then demanded his face, tearing it off. As The Fallen tried to flee, Optimus Prime punched through his abdomen, crushing his spark core and killing The Fallen, as a wounded Megatron watched in horror.
Abilities[]
- Multiversal Singularity - Like Primus, Unicron and the rest of the Thirteen, there is only one Fallen in the entire multiverse. He may only exist in one physical realm at any given time and returns to the astral plane should his body be destroyed.
- Telekinesis - In his physical form, the Fallen has demonstrated the ability to manipulate objects without physically touching them. Whether or not this is true telekinesis is uncertain and it is possible that he actually manipulates the forces of gravity and/or magnetism.
- Space Bridge - At full power, The Fallen can teleport anywhere in the universe at will. He can even leap into different dimensions if he chooses.
- Transformation - The Fallen assumes an alt-mode in his appearance in Dreamwave's G1 comic series, transforming into an incredibly powerful Cybertronian battle tank. (The various Fallen toy designs from Hasbro also transform, typically into an alien tank or jet.)