Recap / Transformers G1 Megatron's Master Plan

Save the humans!

— Megatron

Megatron devises a plan to fully rid himself of the Autobots, with the help of a man known as Shawn Berger. The plan? Frame the Autobots, and make out the Decepticons to be the condemned heroes all along! How will the Autobots be able to set things right, now with the looming threat of their own demise hanging over them?

Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon borrows elements from this episode and remakes them into a live-action medium, especially the part where the Autobots are exiled from Earth and supposedly boarded onto a ship to leave while the Decepticons are free to rampage on human cities in their absence. Earlier Titan Comic's story Transformers: Twilight's Last Gleaming also used the same plotline in the final arc.

Tropes

• All for Nothing: Spike already knows something is wrong with the footage that the Autobots have turned against humanity and races to retrieve evidence. He finds out that Megatron's minions were wearing disguises to fool everyone. Unfortunately, he arrives too late when the Autobots are already exiled at the end of Part 1, and Megatron reveals his true colors in Part 2, making his mission pointless. Luckily, the Autobots return to settle the score.
• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Megatron announces this in all his ultra-loud Large Ham hamminess.
  Megatron: This city is under martial law, and I am the martial. I CHRISTEN THIS CITY, MEGATRONIA ONE! SOON THERE WILL BE MANY MORE!
• Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: The United States Air Force attempt to take down the Decepticons themselves when the Autobots are unavailable. Starscream and the other Seekers immediately shoot down the human fighter jets due to better maneuverability, forcing them all to retreat in a pattern as they had arrived.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Part 1 has the Decepticons' Frame-Up successful, resulting in the Autobots being exiled into space. Megatron's attempt to eliminate the Autobots post-exile backfires in Part 2.
• Big Damn Heroes: When Optimus and the Autobots finally arrive back to Earth in Part 2 and engage the Decepticons in a laser cannon gunfight, easily winning and forcing Megatron to call a retreat.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Soundwave does not want human slaves of his chatting amongst themselves.
  Soundwave: Increase Efficiency, or Be Terminated. (awhile later, they chat again making Soundwave angrily fire a laser and point at them) LESS TALK AND MORE WORK!
• Celebrating the Heroes: Central City is seen celebrating Autobot Day in the first part. In the second part, after the Decepticons get away with their plan, Decepticon Day is held instead. Hilariously enough, there are more children seen celebrating Decepticon Day than Autobot Day.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Shawn Berger is a rich industrialist who became embittered after losing the mayoral election for Central City. He teams up with the Decepticons to discredit the Autobots in exchange for them making him mayor of multiple cities, but is later enslaved with the rest of humanity when the Autobots are seemingly destroyed.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: When the Autobots return to Earth, they're so mad at the Decepticons that they rapidly fire their guns at their foes and completely overwhelm them and force Megatron to declare a retreat.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: During the final battle, some of the Decepticons get in good shots such as Blitzwing, but in the end, they are completely overwhelmed.
• Deal with the Devil: Shawn Berger, the rich corporate man who wants to have political power over at least one city and jealous after recently losing an election, strikes a deal with Megatron to incriminate the Autobots with false charges of crimes and treason. His ultimate reward from Megatron is just being enslaved with the rest of the humans who are now powerless without the Autobots around.
  Megatron: He thinks he will be king, but he will never be more than a pawn!
• Description Cut: After returning from the failed mission to Autobot Headquaters, where Teletrann One was destroyed, Chip laments that hope is lost. Cut to the Autobots in space, where Cosmos realises that he has control back, allowing the Autobots to return to Earth.
• Easily Condemned: All it takes is one falsified video for nearly all humanity to turn on the Autobots, even after all the good the bots have done.
• Exact Words: Berger's price for helping the Decepticons is to have up to three cities. During the Decepticons' temporary victory, Megatron fulfills his end of the bargain... by making him and other humans work in said cities.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Berger attempted to rebel against Megatron in Part 2, but is easily overpowered. Since he played a part in Megatron's plan, he doesn't get much of a break even after the Autobots returns. Most of his private military quit on him and he is going to have to face justice in the end. At the very least, Spike acknowledges he tried.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: While it doesn't last long, the Autobots suffer this immediately upon being framed as the real villains.
  • As well as their human friends, accused of being traitors for siding with the Autobots.
• Hurl It into the Sun: How Megatron plans to kill the Autobots, which almost worked.
• Idiot Ball:
  • The Autobots actually board the ship directed by Megatron towards the sun, despite having access to the ability to create illusions that make it look like they're in places they aren't and simply never actually board the ship. Transformers: Dark of the Moon corrects their thinking in a similar Decepticon-mandated exile by having the Autobots simply board the rocket but get off immediately before anyone notices.
  • The humans (with the exceptions of the Witwickys, Chip Chase and the Mayor) easily buy into the Decepticon's false video, even though the Autobots have been saving their hides for a couple of years now.
• Kick the Dog: Megatron doesn't just settle on seeing the Autobots leave Earth. He hacks into Teletraan 1 to redirect their ship into the Sun to ensure their demise.
• Laser-Guided Karma: At the end after he and the Autobots chase away the Decepticons, Optimus implies Shawn Berger will face some jail time for collaborating with Megatron.
  Berger: I said I'm sorry...
  Optimus Prime: You are going to face justice, and may it be kinder to you than it was to us.
• Made a Slave: Without the Autobots around, the Decepticons force humans into slave labor such as mining in underground caves and powering regenerators for Energon. Soundwave threatens he'll kill whoever doesn't pick up the pace.
• Militaries Are Useless: The U.S. Air Force are defeated in less than 2 minutes when trying to liberate the city that the Decepticons dominated and christened as "Megatronia One". Then Megatron gloats that the Earth really doesn't have any military better than that.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Berger works with Megatron for power, but he definitely has his moments of this once the Decepticons reveal their true intentions.
• Near-Villain Victory: Megatron is able to convince humanity that the Decepticons are actually the heroes and to turn against the Autobots. The Autobots are exiled from Earth and Megatron sends their ship on a collision course with the Sun. With the Autobots out of the way, the Decepticons take over the Earth and enslave humanity. Had it not been for Thrust shooting Teletraan-1 and cutting off Cosmos's course towards the Sun, Megatron would have truly won.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: While Chip Chase contributed, Thrust firing at Teletraan 1 shuts off the auto-navigation and allows the Autobots to return to earth.
• Oh, Crap!: Megatron, when the Autobots return to confront the Decepticons.
• Out-of-Character Moment: For once, Starscream is overjoyed at being given an order by Megatron. Said order is to show the human fighter jets that he's the boss when the US Air Force attempt a liberation of the enslaved civilians.
• Police Are Useless: The police (or rather Berger's security) attempt to shoot down the Decepticons after they explain their plan is to rule earth, drain all out its energy and enslave all of humanity - Starscream with just a lift of his finger evaporates their guns.
• Present Company Excluded:
  Sunstreaker: I knew the humans would turn on us someday. They're such undependable creatures. Inferior lifeforms.
  Bumblebee: Ahh, I'm not so sure, Sunstreaker. (gestures Spike, Sparkplug, and Chip) Some of my best friends are humans.
  Spike: Thanks, Bee.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: The mayor doesn't really believe the Autobots are evil.
• The Slow Walk: While he gets shot by the fake Prime, Megatron does a combination of this and the Unflinching Walk.
  Megatron: You won't tarnish our reputation again, Prime! Today, Earth learns the truth!
• Unstoppable Rage: The climax of Part 2 is the very angry Autobots blasting the Decepticons with every ounce of firepower they have. After a few minutes, Megatron declares the Decepticons have lost the advantage and they need to retreat.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Likewise, the Decepticons get a little bit of this upon "exposing" the Autobots, but this doesn't last long either when Spike retrieves evidence of their deception, though Megatron reveals himself anyway.
• Who Would Be Stupid Enough?: Now that his archenemy Optimus Prime and the Autobots have been exiled, Megatron now has the ability to enslave the human race because the flesh-and-blood weaklings won't be able to stand up to giant weaponized robots with the technology gap let alone sheer strength to crush humans. Megatron asks if any humans fit this trope.
  Megatron: Is anyone brave, or stupid enough to oppose us?
• The Worf Effect: The Constructicons are easily blasted down during the climax to show how angry the Autobots are.

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