ReBoot

So why was Megabyte such an interesting and perfect character for ReBoot? There are so many reasons to list, but I'll try to keep it brief while also trying to avoid the completely obvious. I've omitted so much to try and get in the meat and potatoes, but hopefully this scratches the surface of what could be said about everyone's favorite Green Eyed Monster.

Having a convincing driving force to counter by the hero is what makes or breaks villains in general. Megabyte's desire for ultimate power may have seemed too simplistic and cliche at first glance, but his actions to achieve his goals defined the show's unique angle. Villains commonly try the usual act of blotting out the sun, but how does a virus accomplish that in a world without one? And why try and destroy something that would ultimately destroy you? Fascinatingly enough, there are actually viruses so chaotic that they'd destroy themselves to go out in a blaze of glory with an entire city in tow. But enough about his sister and viral diversity as a whole, we're discussing Megabyte.

His schemes to escape the little city of Mainframe for the 'Net and achieve his "destiny" were so unique to the environment provided that we could only sit back and watch as he exposed every weakness in Mainframe, showing us the inter-workings of a brand new world far beyond the limitations of our own. Without his devious brilliance and Bob's lucky and daring counters, we wouldn't have been able to have experienced ReBoot's environment in so many extreme situations that pushed its limits under Megabyte's iron fist.
- Why show the inside of the Core for a boring upgrade? Why, because Megabyte's about to infect it and erase the whole system, of course!
- What's so interesting about this game? Because Megabyte's messed with it, so it's not just guns and tanks anymore, it's Tryrannotanks and Pterojets that Bob and Megabyte will have to counter together to get out alive!
- And this game? Because Megabyte's stolen the core energy, and the game's landed on the Principle Office! Plus he's now a mindless TRUCK carrying the Core's energy, along with the city, to its doom. He even salvaged "Belly of the Beast" from its potty humor and still somehow maintained his dignity.

Thus far, I believe it was best stated here: "There seemed to him no moral susceptibility; and, what was more remarkable in a proud nature, little or nothing of the true point of honor. He had, to a morbid excess, that desire to rise which is vulgarly called ambition, but no wish for the love or esteem of his species; only the hard wish to succeed - not shine not serve - succeed, that he might have the right to despise a world which galled his self conceit." - Rufus Griswold of Edgar Allan Poe.

Though there is a mention in the quote of a lack of honor, Megabyte, in one surprising moment in "When Games Collide," let Dot and her brother leave the Tor unharmed after Bob willingly saved him from drowning in a tar pit. However, Megabyte mumbled to himself darkly that now he and Bob were even such that the next time Bob would have no ace to play. Whether Megabyte let them go because it was honorable or because he thought that letting them go would keep the populace of Mainframe peacable for a while longer remains to be seen, but from the young viewer's point of view, which those episodes were geared toward at the time, this is seen as the only real moment Megabyte displayed honor and not just a surprising act with ulterior motives.

Megabyte's interpretable dark character can stem from his cold exterior; he never tells anyone what he's thinking or what specific route he'll take next to accomplish his goals. Though he isn't entirely unpredictable until he acquires his Trojan Horse abilities, part of the concern from the citizens of Mainframe has to stem from him being a complete to-a-T sociopath. Nothing stops this character from getting what he desires, and if it does, he'll only keep it around long enough to put it to good use, and this includes children, the elderly, puppies and people with a penchant for goofy catch phrases. Be on his side, be useful to him, or do not get in his way. You'd have a better chance of standing up against an oncoming train. Because of his intellect, reasoning skills can get one out of a run-in with him, but only to the point where he sees no further use for them and either deems them harmless enough to dump at the sector limits, nuisance enough to infect so he can keep an eye on them, or problematic enough to waste energy on destroying them. His mind can be seen as a dizzying web of deceipt and plans within plans, not to mention it being a thing with a steel grip on his constantly boiling temper due to impatience to escape Mainframe and practice his "Order and Calm" out in the 'Net and, finally, the Supercomputer. Ironically, even if he were to escape and do the impossible of acquiring the entire 'Net, defeating the legions of Guardians by sheer force and take over the Supercomputer, Megabyte's code-driven greed would still have him unsatisfied and burning for more power. This virus' thirst for total 'Net domination is insatiable.

He's done every despicable deed in the book of villainy; subjugating an entire sector: attempting with his sister to create a weapon of mass destruction: invading the mind of an elderly sprite to steal passwords: decapitating and torturing the head of a sprite so as to obtain a portal: sending a child into the Core, as doing so himself would be too risky: brainwashing for recruitment of his army: launching a propaganda campaign to generate mistrust among the people: outright attacking a young boy to destroy public morale: and finally, taunting said boy, once grown, into a fist fight against a virus notorious for tossing tanks halfway down a hallway.

In spite of his unrepentant nature and complete embracing of his viral code's wicked tendencies, Megabyte still remains an incredibly likable character as far as villains go, arguably the best villain yet. Part of this may stem from the fact that, in spite of all the villainy, we know, and Megabyte is also fully aware, that this is what he is programmed to do. If he were truly able to be swayed, he wouldn't be Megabyte, and he's even shown disdain toward the potential of being forcibly "redeemed" (or de-clawed, to be frank) as a sprite, calling it "a fate worse than deletion" as well as monstrous, though it's uncertain if that last one wasn't mocking or serious. The audience can easily set aside associations with any humanly-recognizable nature or expectations of such from Megabyte because he's so far removed from the sprites that seem so human. He even seems at times to put himself far above them, even Bob, as though they were merely tools to be manipulated within his lands. With that in mind, it can be easily understood why an audience can give him so much allowance, even cheers of delite, when he does such dastardly things. He's excellent at what he's been created to do, and viewers can't wait to see what he comes up with next that will challenge his foes.

Regardless of old cliches about villains turning good or trying to for a time, any ReBoot fan will know Megabyte isn't going to turn good and side with the heroes in the face of a crisis anytime soon. As a virus sure to remain true to his nature, he's going to bide his time, do what's necessary for himself and take advantage of the situation with anyone who dares to get too close as soon as the opportunity arises. What's always interesting to witness is how he refuses to overdo his excitement when he's getting close to succeeding. The most we get is a low chuckle, and even then, he once stifled it (There was a moment of insane laughter for him, but it was, honestly, an homage to old horror movies, and the homages became famous for later pulling the characters of ReBoot out of their show and thrusting them into another at the sacrifice of their own characterizations). Truly, several cliches have been avoided in the character of Megabyte. He even steps over Bob's departing cliche line of "You'll never get away with this!" with an almost painfully nonchalant "No time to talk now, Bob," as opposed to the obvious retort of "I already have, you fool!" It's only through a glowing-green glare and grinding of the teeth at Bob that we get a sense of his immeasurable jubilation at finally being rid of the Guardian and sending him to the Web, which by the way, could very well have been a plan to bide his time in Mainframe and at least get the Web portal closed until Bob returned and put the place back online when things were safe.

The first reason of what made Megabyte such an incredible character I saved for the last, and it is obviously his voice actor, the late Tony Jay. Many in the fandom have given their appraising opinions on the voice work of such an unforgettable actor. Often when a voice actor puts himself into one role or another, the voice actor's own traits create the character, and with Tony Jay this was no exception. He himself has been described as "a gentleman with a capital G," and Megabyte came off from the start as an individual with the untouchable gentlemanly calm and presence of a distant mountain storm because of Jay's smooth British barritone. Many a fan have deemed Tony Jay a precious jem of the show and a heartbreaking loss, in a word...irreplacable.