Anyone who knows me at all well, is aware that the concept of "name" is a significant one to me. To my mind, a name isn't simply a convenient label, but a definition of who you are; it stands for something, and thus should ideally be self-chosen in order to express your own concept of who you are, rather than someone else's. If you happen to be lucky enough that your given name already expresses your self-image, then there's no problem; in my case, it did not. It was an issue so important to me that I went to court over it, to insure that my real name was properly recorded.
Among the Transformers, too, a name stands for something. It may express some aspect of personality, alt mode, or function, but it's more than that too. For truly exceptional characters, there's an element of respect involved; the name conveys the dignity and excellence of the character, and vice versa - the excellence of the character lends dignity to the name. How many TFs sound intriguing right from the start, just by virtue of having a great name? Cyclonus comes to mind, as does Thunderwing. Without knowing anything else about the characters, my first thought upon reading those names was "They must be really neat individuals to earn such great names." And in their case, they didn't disappoint me. Such is not always true, however.
My dictionaries define galvanism as "1. a direct current of electricity; 2. forcefulness" - and galvanize as "1. to startle into sudden activity; 2. to coat (metal, esp. iron or steel) with zinc for added strength." One might expect, therefore, that a character named Galvatron would be a strong and forceful individual, someone with great courage, self-control, and personal integrity, who had the capacity to inspire others to follow his vision and electrify them into heroic action. How sad, then, that the character to originally bear the name, could not personify such a noble etymology. I imagine the name was meant to convey "a stronger version of Megatron" - but as is quite clear from the Movie and third season, Galvatron is no more Megatron than Wheelie is, and certainly cannot begin to measure up in terms of leadership ability, strength of character, charisma, and force of personality. Whereas Megatron is an empire-builder crafting a better future for his species, Galvatron could
barely keep his own mind together long enough to keep from killing off all his own troops in a mad rage. The name Galvatron became synonymous with psychopath, lunatic, loose cannon (figuratively and literally) - someone who made a mockery of what it meant to be a Decepticon leader. It's a pity, really, because the same name applied to a different character might have carried a very different meaning.
But wait - all is not lost. While it has been conclusively shown to be impossible for a worthless character to use a respected name and thereby gain honor, it may be possible to do the reverse - for a great character to take a shameful name and make it stand for something decent again. On the heels of the abominably bad Beast Wars concept, and many years after the desolate post-Movie universe, the surprisingly excellent Beast Wars 2 series came to us out of Japan. Let me be very clear about one thing: BW2 is not Beast Wars. BW2 is Transformers. And this is something we hadn't seen in quite a while until then. In contrast to the other material that has been puked out by the "official sources" in recent years, BW2 despite some of its minor flaws really can be called excellent - and oddly enough, one of its greatest assets is a Decepticon leader named Galvatron.
Oh, I heard all the objections in the beginning. "He's pink!" (sure, in part - due to the absorption of an energy source that gave him a third mode and changed his color scheme) ... "He looks silly always clenching his teeth like that!" (I thought so too at first, but quickly got used to it) ... "He spends most of the series in a coma" (he doesn't get as much air time as I'd like, but we're talking quality over quantity here) ... "He doesn't treat his brother very well" (now this is true, and I don't exactly approve of it, but it's part of the very interesting sibling rivalry between himself and Megastorm, which almost harkens back to the Megatron vs Starscream conflict) ... and of course, "His name is Galvatron." Now, you would think that any individual who bears the name of a character whom I have such disdain for, would have no hope whatsoever of winning my admiration. And you'd almost be right. Imagine, then, how amazing a character must be, to overcome all of those obstacles
(plus a language barrier!) and make his way into my list of top-favorite Decepticons! Because in BW2 Galvatron, at long last, we have again a compelling and dignified Decepticon leader, someone with a tangible command presence and a fascinatingly ominous aura - a focused intensity, a tremendous controlled confidence, and vast reserves of power - someone who inspires trust and dedication the way a leader should. It's clear that he has willingly loyal troops, and even Megastorm must repeatedly wrestle with his own conscience when acting against him.
His nature is very unlike Megatron's - he is more reserved, less likely to gamble against great odds - but is still very capable of adapting to the unknown. He is, in fact, the closest thing I've ever seen to an animated Jhiaxus - not in appearance and coloration, of course, but in leadership style and personality. He is, altogether, an extraordinary individual. So call him Galvatron - and say the name with the respect that it has finally earned.
--Raksha the Plumed Serpent
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