WARNING: The following contains mild spoilers for Transformers: Beast Wars #1, by Erik Burnham, Josh Burcham and Jake M. Wood, on sale now.
Megatron is one of the most feared names throughout the Transformers franchise, as well as one of the most iconic villains in all of fiction. Known in his original incarnation for fighting Optimus Prime, being voiced by Frank Welker and controversially transforming into a handgun, the Generation 1 Decepticon leader is what many people think of when they hear the name Megatron.
However, the second most popular incarnation of the villain is the Megatron of Beast Wars. A descendant of the original Decepticon leader, this Predacon rogue sought to embark on a grand conspiracy that would change the fate of Transformers history. Unknown to some fans, his name wasn't always Megatron. Even more mysterious is what his original name was. In the new IDW Comics reboot of the '90s cartoon, the Predacon commander's first moniker is finally mentioned, albeit possibly for the last time.
The first issue of the new Beast Wars series retells the story that first brought the Maximals and Predacons to prehistoric Earth in the animated show's pilot. On Cybertron, the Tripredacus Council is alerted to the terrorist actions of a vengeful Predacon. This Predacon has his crew of scoundrels not only commandeer a Transwarp capable ship but also steal the mysterious Golden Disk from the Maximal Science Council. When they inform the Predacon that his actions would be most devastating, he informs them that said actions have already occurred.
Before ending his transmission with them, this Predacon officially renames himself Megatron. While this was obvious to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the franchise, it's the name that he briefly goes by beforehand that's new. Right before they're corrected as to his new name, the Tripredacus Council (whose designs combine the show's armor with the looks of the Combiner toys) refer to him by the original name of Galavar. While this name might seemingly come out of nowhere, it is eerily similar to the upgraded form of another Megatron.
In the events of The Transformers: The Movie, Megatron is mortally wounded in a battle to the death with Optimus Prime. The treacherous Starscream discards his body, which is found by the Chaos Bringer, Unicron. In exchange for his forced loyalty, Unicron upgrades Megatron into the more powerful form of Galvatron. While it was initially unclear who else knew of this update, a line from Triple-Changer Astrotrain in the cartoon's third season suggests that it had become common knowledge that Galvatron was simply Megatron reborn.
Ironically, the Beast Wars/Beast Machines Megatron, despite getting several different bodies and forms, never upgraded into Galvatron. Almost all subsequent versions of Megatron, however, from the Unicron Trilogy to the 2000-era Robots in Disguise cartoon to even the live-action movies have all shown Megatron take on this new moniker. While the version in Transformers: Prime did not officially become Galvatron, he did receive a more powerful form courtesy of Unicron, even having a similar crown-like design around his head like Galvatron.
In the Beast Wars cartoon, many of the characters named themselves upon arriving on prehistoric Earth and scanning new forms. For instance, Cheetor only took that name after receiving a cheetah as an alternate mode. The new comic book inverts this by having Megatron rename himself as such before receiving a new body or alternate mode. It's also worth noting that in the Beast Wars: Uprising comics, Megatron renames himself Gnashteeth. Ironically, this name would have been far better fitting for his T-Rex alt-mode than whatever his original form was. Though it may go against the grain for Transformer naming conventions, Megatron's rechristening in Beast Wars #1 signifies his first step in trying to rewrite history.