Weird Overlord rant at 3am
He's such an interesting character who I wish was put in more stuff and I really hate how he's given the short end of the stick in fandom discourse where Tarn is treated as sympathetic a lot of the time but not him even though both were manipulated and exploited by Megatron.
One of my favourite parts about him is we don't know much about his time before Megatron, when he's going through his memories it skips from his first flash to immediately his first fight with Megs. Granted its probably just for brevity and because Chromedome is looking for a specific thing but it's interesting that he doesn't see anything before that fight as even worth noting. Surely if it's was just looking for phase sixer stuff there would have been something prior?
He only understands violence because to him its directly tied to power, domination and survival. He was put into gladiator work fresh off the assembly line so it's the earliest form of positive reinforcement he got. 'The more energon I spill the more the crowds cheer, the more depraved I am the more they talk about me.' Type shit
His only measure of worth would have been how well he can present himself and how well he can fight. To have that stage presence means he would have been able to draw a crowd and get more afts in seats, how well he can fight and kill would be how well he could have people show up again and again. Theatrics and sadism, two things that throughout his life are incredibly important to him. He lives and dies by the attention he receives, almost exclusively Megatron's but whenever hes around other cons he had to elude to his own superiority, he is the most important person in the room and everyone needs to know that at all times.
Megatron is so important to him because he bested him in combat but also because he represents his own shortcomings.
The Garrus 9 incident wasn't supposed to be full blown treason imo, to me he had full intentions of going back after Megatron pulled him back into line. A quick fight to re-establish the pecking order. It's less mutiny and more a child throwing a fit in as much of a destructive manner as possible to get his attention which he didn't get because Megs was kind of busy being dead. It's an incredibly infantile display and shows his thought process clear as day.
What does he do on Garrus 9? Throw death matches.
He's fantasising about what he hopes the Megatron encounter will go like over and over in his head and probably what he had to go through only the tables are flipped where he's the observer. The fighters bow to his whim where they compete for his approval. It's partially a form of entertainment for him but also a way of exercising scenes that play out in his head over and over.
His feelings towards Megatron are conflicting because he wants to best Megs and prove to himself and everyone around him that he is the better bot but deep down he knows he isn't and wants his adoration and approval.
It's why he doesn't bother to kill him at the end of mtmte. By showing that weakness of not even bothering to fight back he isn't worthy of being bested. Killing him in that state would be meaningless, a fight against an enemy far past his prime carries little luster so he cuts his losses and leaves.
To me one of the best sources of comparison for them is Megatron stands for something, he's his own bot and even without the cause he has hobbies, wants, loves and morals.
Overlord doesn't stand for anything, he exists for the betterment of others and to be used as their weapon. He has no ideals, he only exists for his own short sighted pleasure and to be seen by others.
In short he's hollow, wanting that rush of killing Megatron thinking that will make him whole and running from thr fact that he knows he can't and he doesn't want that.
Ty for coming to my tedtalk
