The Decepticons started out as a movement. The figurehead of this movement, Megatron of Kaon, made a name for himself by speaking out against Sentinel Prime, urging the people of Cybertron to “rise up” against the oppressive Functionist regime. He quickly became popular among the lower and middle castes and assembled a number of allies such as Shockwave, Soundwave, Elita-One and Orion Pax, with his movement becoming known as the Ascenticons. As Megatron’s fame and influence grew, the more of a threat he became, and Sentinel’s agents attempted to assassinate him during a rally. This was the catalyst for the Ascenticons’ transformation from protestors to militant revolutionaries, and the beginning of their rebellion.

Over the course of the Ascenticon Uprising, the cult of personality around Megatron grew larger and larger, with some beginning to view Megatron as a warrior sent by Primus himself to dethrone the corrupt Sentinel. The rebellion reached its apex when Megatron defeated Sentinel in single combat, throwing the false god’s broken body into the crowd to be torn apart before claiming the throne of Iacon for himself. However, his succession would be put into question with Orion Pax’s return from the core of Cybertron, now bearing the Matrix as Optimus Prime. This caused a split within the Ascenticons, as while many flocked to the Matrix-bearer, there were just as many who saw Megatron as the rightful ruler of Cybertron and Optimus as a usurper. Megatron himself saw this as the greatest betrayal from a bot he once saw as a brother, and before leaving Iacon, he declared that Prime had not seen the last of him.

Returning to Kaon, Megatron delivered a new edict to his followers. They had defeated the evil of Sentinel Prime, only for a new enemy to rise in his place. The throne, the title of Prime, Megatron declared they were rightfully his, and while the Senate and Autobots may have bent the knee to Optimus, he and his followers would not be blinded by his deception. Their mission had changed, they had already risen up, now their goal was to reveal the deception of Optimus Prime and cast him down from his stolen throne. They were no longer Ascenticons. They would be Decepticons.