Most incarnations of Megatron in the Transformers franchise can occasionally fall into the trap of inane, outlandish schemes. The Beast Wars version of the character, however, was all about playing the long game. This involved Transwarp technology, prehistoric Earth, and a mysterious Golden Disk.

This Golden Disk, based on a real-life space probe mission, was vital to Megatron embracing the legacy and mission of his namesake. Though its nature was hidden to most Cybertronians, Megatron knew that the message encoded on it could change the course of the Beast Wars, and as a result, history itself. In IDW's new Beast Wars comic book, history may be repeating. It all starts with the Megatron stealing the Golden Disk.

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Theft of the Golden Disk

Optimus Primal and Beast Megatron in the Transformers: Beast Wars comics

Issue #1 of Beast Wars expounds on the Predacons leaving Cybertron before they and the Maximals become stuck on prehistoric Earth. Megatron (who at the time went by Galavar) relays to the Tripedacus Council his plans to take the Golden Disk and follow its rumored message, using a Transwarp-drive ready vehicle to travel through time to do so.

The Council reprimands him for his seemingly foolhardy plan, not realizing that he's describing a plan which has already long since been in action. His followers (the future Terrorsaur, Scorponok, and Dinobot) attack the Maximal Science Ministry where the Golden Disk resides. Their ruthless assault is borderline uncontested thanks to the brutality of the Predacon forces. From there, Megatron and his small army leave Cybertron, hoping to fulfill their plan and change the future for the Predacon race.

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History of the Voyager's Golden Disk

Megatron approaches the Golden Disk in Beast Wars: Transformers.

As portrayed in Beast Wars, the Golden Disk seems to be an amalgam of the cover and the record itself. It appears to be at least a few centimeters thick and has the cover's pictograms on one side, but the record grooves and title "The Sounds of Earth" on the other. The indication is that the cover is one-sided, and we are seeing the record through the empty rear, as later episodes would present the disc in its real-life, thin, record form.

This Golden Disk, which originally appeared in the Beast Wars cartoon, was based on an object released into space in real life. In the 1970s, NASA launched the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts, which contained gold-colored disks with information about Earth. These disks were a record that held images and audio about Earth, humans and a variety of wildlife. The idea was that, in the event that alien lifeforms discovered the disk, they would be able to learn about life on Earth.

As shown in the cartoon, the original Megatron was able to acquire one of these disks, which he promptly recorded his own message on. At this point in the original series' continuity, Megatron and his Decepticon forces were losing their battle on Earth against Optimus Prime and the Autobots. Megatron's message implored any Decepticon or Decepticon descendants that would find the disk to use Transwarp technology to travel back and change the Decepticons' fate.

The second Megatron intended to do just that, traveling back far enough to hopefully assassinate Optimus Prime as he and the Autobots lay dormant in the Ark. This would keep the Autobot's valiant leader from standing against the Decepticons, thus dooming his side to failure in the Great War. This new Megatron was one of the few who knew of this supposed message on the disk and stole it in hopes that he could learn its specifics.

Though the comic book reboot of Beast Wars will likely make a few changes, it seems that Megatron's ultimate ambition concerning the history of the Transformers remains intact.

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