| “ | Revenge is mine. | „ |
| ~ The Fallen's most famous quote. |
| “ | Citizens of the human hive, your "leaders" have withheld the truth. You are not alone in this universe. We have lived upon you, hidden, but no more. As you've seen, we can destroy your cities at will, unless you turnover this boy. If you resist us, we will destroy the world as you know it. | „ |
| ~ The Fallen revealing his existence to humanity. |
The Fallen is one of the overarching antagonists of the Transformers film series, serving as the main antagonist of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He is the first of the original 13 Primes, and the founder of the Decepticons, as well as Megatron's master.
Originally a regular Prime, the Fallen's hatred for humanity caused him to betray his brothers, forming the Decepticons in the process, causing him to be banished. Centuries later, the Fallen returned, seeking to claim Earth's sun and destroy humanity.
He is voiced by Tony Todd, who played Venom in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
Story[]
IDW Comics[]
As revealed in Defiance, The Fallen was among the Dynasty of Primes, the first Cybertronians created by the Allspark. The Primes kept the Allspark charged with the power of stars. The Fallen believed the Allspark secretly communicated with him, anointing him it's chosen one. The Allspark created lesser beings to aid the Primes, including the Seekers and the Constructicons. The Primes vowed not to destroy stars with life, but the Fallen disagreed, and believed the energy should be taken regardless. He started to believe the Primes compassion would doom their race, and began to think evil thoughts. He began to believe he should get rid of the Primes, and have the Allspark's power for himself.
Tales of the Fallen[]
Over time, the Fallen began recruiting others to his side.The Fallen would deceive Jetfire, his most trusted Seeker, into unwittingly harvesting suns with life, reporting that there was none to him. After the Fallen discovered another planet quickly, Jetfire began questioning him on this. His master became impressed that he dared seek answers from a Prime, and told him the rest of the Dynasty had betrayed Cybertron. Their practice got The Fallen and Jetfire into trouble with the other Primes, and the Fallen defended his actions, and assured his brothers he would not make this mistake again. After the trial he claimed to Jetfire the Primes' refusal to sacrifice life to save their own planet would be its downfall, and that an army, called the Decepticons, had to be readied in case the Primes betrayed them all.
The Fallen attempted to build his own personal Star Harvester, with a counterfeit Matrix he had constructed. The unstable Star Harvester exploded, and infused the Fallen with unimaginable power. He travelled to many worlds, killing their inhabitants, and assimilating their technology, leaving dry husks in his wake. The Fallen evolved, and readied himself for his inevitable battle with his brothers. To bait his brothers, the Fallen and his army created a Star Harvester on Earth, an inhabited planet. Knowing either his brothers would take action (as he was prepared to kill them all) or would remain in limbo, he would win. Jetfire finally turned against his master, just as the remaining Primes arrived, falling into the traitor's trap. The Fallen warped Jetfire and his other underlings away and faced his brothers alone.
The Primes did not expect the Fallen's power, as he had become "so much more" than them. Using weapons stockpiled in personal dimension portals, The Fallen successfully killed the majority of his brothers. Only one remained, Prima, his greatest rival, who warped from location to location, with the Fallen following him. He believed Prima was simply fleeing, but in reality it was a trick. While the Fallen was exhausted from the teleportation, Prima gathered the energy of his bretheren, and banished him into a sarcophagus and the Fallen was trapped in another dimension, where he crashed into a desolate landscape, swearing revenge.
Defiance[]
After thousands of years, long after the Dynasty of Primes passed into myth, the Fallen's sarcophagus was unearthed in modern day Cybertron, and brought to the chambers of Lord High protector Megatron. Sensing someone he could manipulate, the Fallen reached out to Megatron, filling him with a new resolve to destroy those who sought out the AllSpark. In the aftermath of Megatron's battle against a band of aliens seeking the AllSpark, The Fallen convinced him to seize control of Cybertron to make way for The Fallen's return. He also told him that Optimus sought the AllSpark for himself, and Megatron decided that Optimus and his followers deserved to be killed for this transgression.
The Fallen also ordered Megatron to build a space cruiser to seek out the Matrix. As the ship's construction came to an end, The Fallen told Megatron of his origin and his plans regarding Earth's harvester. The Fallen ordered Megatron to put his sarcophagus on the ship and then stay behind to fight Optimus's forces and safeguard the AllSpark. Soundwave and a majority of Decepticons crewed the ship. Meanwhile, the civil war between the Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons eventually led to the AllSpark being launched into space.
The Nemesis came across the AllSpark's energon signature. The Fallen spoke to Soundwave just as a ship crashed into the Nemesis, and disappeared once more through a portal. After landing the ship on a dead planet, The Fallen commanded Soundwave to pursue the ship though the portal. Later, Megatron found the abandoned Nemesis during his pursuit of the AllSpark. He spoke with The Fallen, who was furious that Megatron had taken a detour. He ordered him to resume the chase, confident that the Cube would guide them to the harvester.
Thousands of years later, Soundwave recovered a space bridge pillar from the Autobot ship. The Fallen informed Soundwave of Megatron's visit, and the Fallen used the pillar to warp space and time, leaving his prison. After Megatron's defeat in the first Movie, the AllSpark was reduced to a fragment.
Revenge of the Fallen[]
Upon Megatron's revival he travelled to the Nemesis, where The Fallen stayed in a life-support chair while Starscream oversaw the creation of a new army. Megatron admitted the AllSpark was destroyed. The Fallen revealed that the cube was merely a vessel, the AllSpark's knowledge was within the mind of Sam Witwicky. With the knowledge within Sam's mind, they could find the Star Harvester and the Matrix needed to activate it. 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 Sam and draw out Prime.
Later, The Fallen sensed Optimus' death and was very pleased, knowing that the time to strike was now. When the Decepticons traveled to Earth, The Fallen accompanied them, destroying an aircraft carrier and attacking several cities. The Fallen tapped into Earth's communication network, and announced the presence of the Transformers on Earth on worldwide television, demanding humanity hand over Sam.
The Fallen arrived in Egypt, pinning the revived Optimus to the ground and stealing the Matrix. He then teleported to the harvester, and as he inserted the Matrix into the machine, he gloated his brothers had failed as he now claimed the Sun. While it charged, the humans tried to attack him, as they were destroyed by the Fallen's telekinesis. An empowered Optimus Prime, using Jetfire's parts, destroyed the harvester and attacked The Fallen, sending them both falling to the ground below.
Enraged, The Fallen engaged in a fierce duel with Optimus, but it quickly became apparent that he was strong enough to face The Fallen. The Fallen attacked Optimus, managing to rip off Prime's left rocket thruster and strike him in the face with it. However, Optimus eventually managed to impale The Fallen through the shoulder with his own spear, then tore his face off. The Fallen tried to flee, but Optimus Prime punched through his chest and ripped out his spark core, finally killing The Fallen.
Leitmotif []
Trivia[]
- Most of the adaptations of Revenge of the Fallen, being based on early drafts of the script, provide more backstory for The Fallen, such as his hunt for the descendants of the Primes, and his promise to Megatron that he would make him a Prime, which Optimus exposes as a lie during their final battle, leading Megatron to abandon his teacher. In several, Optimus defeats him not by killing him, but by hurling him into space.
- The Fallen is given the name Megatronus in other series, such as the Aligned continuity, and the Prime Wars trilogy.
- Tony Todd would go onto voice Dreadwing in Transformers Prime.