About LL: Being French, TF comics are not available in my country so I had to buy them online. Everyone seemed to love it and I decided to give it a go, even if digital is not my cup of tea. I DID NOT REGRET IT. The evolution of the characters really touched me (one example being Cyclonus and Whirl, first enemies, then friends at the end) and everyone had their flaws but also qualities, making them sympathetic, relatable and "human", one may say. It really was a roller coaster of emotions. (1)
Like I sorta understand why some people would be uncomfortable about it, cus itās, yāknow... an uncomfortable topic to talk about whether a man who has been responsible for so much death and destruction, even if it was in the name of good, deserves to live. (It also helps that he is fictional... To some people this seems like a way toĀ excuse horrible things, though thats a discussion i have had many times and Iād rather not have it again lol)
Tbh I think most people look at his redemption arc from the wrong angle. Redemption doesnāt always mean that a character may clean their conscience by reversing their crimes, in fact thatās definitely not what redemption arcs are really about... Itās about the hard and perilous journey of changing yourself for the better, even if what you have done was terrible, because what is done is, unfortunately, done. (A good example of this is Prince Zuko from atla)
Megatron did try and redeem himself, and he did okay imo... He didnāt think so, though, even at the very end of LL, and by then he had probably saved as many lives as he had destroyed, even making his iconic cannon into a med kit.
Furthermore, MTMTE/LL didnāt really focus on politics as much as ExRiD did. It focused more on mental health, character relationships and growth, which is seen in all of the characters, from prominent characters of the main cast like Whirl and Cyclonus, which you mentioned, and some that showed up a bit less like Fort Max, who overcame his horrible PTSD and became friends with Decepticons who he would have not hesitated to tear apart with his bare hands in the start of MTMTE. I find it useless to try and view MTMTE/LL as something political, because it only uses politics as a means to tell the emotional story Jro is telling. Like spice in a dish.
I also like to mention this because I donāt see a lot of people point this out: While Megatron most absolutely definitely was responsible for the war and many trillions of deaths... No one of the survivors of that very war wasnāt a murderer. Even the most wholesome of Autobots have killed, which is pointed out when the crew meets the Necrobot.
Itās weird, really, because Drift goes through a redemption arc as well, but no one really bothers to mention that either... He used to be a notorious Decepticon known for being unreasonably murderous even for Decepticon standards. Yet by the end of LL, he has found himself and after a lot of ups and downs he has found a balance (and a husband)
And thatās just Drift. Itās worth mentioning a lot of prominent characters started out as bad people, like Whirl, Cyclonus and The Scavengers (remember when they made a campfire of an Autobot that was still alive and then shot him dead? Yeah what the fuck james roberts). Rodimus is seen making a game out of murdering enemies with Drift, for godssakes.
In the end is about how much things like this appeal to you and what content you can stomach. I, for one, canāt stand gory live action horror and donāt want to watch it. I suppose in the same way some people canāt stomach Megatronās redemption arc for their own reasons, and thatās alright. They donāt have to like it, but they definitely arenāt allowed to try and make themselves look morally superior by shitting on people who love Megatronās redemption arc, and thatās that on that.