Transformers Film Series/Characters

The character sheet for the Live Action Transformers Film Series.

Optimus Prime
""Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

Voiced by Peter Cullen"

The valiant, courageous and noble leader of the Autobots, Optimus is very guilt-ridden about the damage done to Cybertron and protects the Earth so it does not suffer the same fate. He transforms into a long-nosed Peterbilt 379 truck.

""Taking the children was a bad move.""
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: There is a reason why some of the best fight scenes have him in them.
 * An Axe to Grind: Used in DOTM to devastating effect, and in the end.
 * Badass: Of course.
 * Badass Baritone: Well, he is voiced by Peter Cullen.
 * Badass Boast: "I'll take you all on!"
 * Badass Bookworm: Head of the Science Division of Cybertron just before the war began
 * Badass in Charge
 * Berserk Button: Enslaving and murdering innocents. Not even  is spared when he he did just that.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: The greatest living Cybertronian warrior is according to Word of God a peace loving and kind-hearted scientist, so don't make him pissed or he'll take your face.
 * BFG: Two of 'em,
 * In DOTM, he uses one  to
 * Big Damn Heroes: Rescuing Sam and company. from Megatron & Starscream at the warehouse AND  in ROTF.
 * Big Good
 * Blade Below the Shoulder: Has two sets in Revenge of the Fallen, a traditional set of blades and a pair of hooks.
 * Hot Blade
 * Bond One-Liner: After
 * Cool Mask: He has a retractable faceplate for combat situations.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Against
 * Dual-Wielding
 * Gentle Giant
 * Good Is Not Soft
 * Grievous Harm With a Body: Slices Starscream's arm off and starts beating him with it
 * The Hero
 * Honor Before Reason
 * Hooks and Crooks
 * Hurting Hero: Just like in Generation 1, there is an ever present yet dignified sadness in Peter Cullen's performance of Optimus, as if The Great War has affected him so deeply, that he is always crying deep inside. Cullen stated in interviews that he drew inspiration from his brother, a Shell-Shocked Veteran of the Vietnam War, who told him before the audition for Optimus "Don't be a tough hero; you are strong enough to be gentle."
 * Ideal Hero
 * Large Ham: Cullen plays the role with extreme gravitas.
 * Large and In Charge: The tallest of the Autobots -- 32 ft. Until Jetfire, at ~50 ft. gets involved.
 * Last of His Kind: Was believed to be the last of the Primes, and was therefore hunted by the Fallen (who lost his title when he betrayed his brothers). Dark of the Moon reveals that he actually isn't; Sentinel Prime is still around, and when Optimus finds out, he revives the old warrior.
 * Lightning Bruiser / Mighty Glacier: Very powerful and durable, though a bit on the slow side according to his official bio.
 * The Messiah
 * My God, What Have I Done?:
 * Nice Guy
 * Off With His Head: His fondness for this spawned the meme.
 * Papa Wolf: He loves humans like his own children, and would literally tear you a new one if you harm even one of them; Starscream, Grindor,  AND Megatron find this out the hard way.
 * My God, What Have I Done?:
 * Nice Guy
 * Off With His Head: His fondness for this spawned the meme.
 * Papa Wolf: He loves humans like his own children, and would literally tear you a new one if you harm even one of them; Starscream, Grindor,  AND Megatron find this out the hard way.
 * Papa Wolf: He loves humans like his own children, and would literally tear you a new one if you harm even one of them; Starscream, Grindor,  AND Megatron find this out the hard way.


 * And then in DOTM when Seriously, do NOT screw with a race that Optimus Prime has come to love.
 * Pre-Mortem One-Liner: "Give me your Face" on, "Time to find out!"   and "You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself." on
 * Rage Against the Mentor:.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * Series Mascot: Shares this role with Bumblebee.
 * Supporting Leader: In the first film.
 * Unstoppable Rage
 * Walking Armory: Two ion blasters, two retractable Hot Blades, two superheated hooks, an axe (also superheated), and the trailer he gets in the third film adds a shield, a BFG, spiked knuckles, and a jetpack. This version of Optimus is positively armed to the teeth.
 * You Are Not Ready: Refuses to share Autobot weapons advances with the humans for fear of them pointing said weapons at non-Decepticon targets. Part of this is because he's afraid of contributing to mankind destroying themselves like his own race did. In other words, if the Cybertronians weren't responsible enough not to wipe out their own race with their weapons, how is a race who are millions of years behind them supposed to?

Bumblebee
""Any more questions you wanna ask?"

Voiced by Mark Ryan"

Sam's designated guardian, Bumblebee is a 16-foot tall yellow Autobot. His vocal processor was crushed by Megatron so he speaks through the radio in his Chevrolet Camaro form.


 * Adaptational Badass
 * Arm Cannon: His main weapon.
 * At Arm's Length: Breaks up the twins' fight by picking them up, bashing them together, and chucking them out the doorway.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Several: The first film has him showing up to help . The second has him bursting in and blasting up the kitchen appliances, helping Optimus rescue Sam & co. from the warehouse, and.
 * Cool Car: A top-of-the-line Camaro.
 * Deadpan Snarker: He can't talk, but he gets his points across.
 * Fragile Speedster
 * Handicapped Badass
 * Heroic Mime: Not by choice in the first movie: backstory reveals that a battle that takes place before the films ended with Megatron ripping his arms off and then crushing his vocal processors. In the second movie, Sam says that he plays it up.
 * Kid Appeal Character: Though he is much more Badass this time around.
 * Nakama: Considers Sam this, at one point "saying" that Sam is "the person I care about most in this world. If there's anything you ever need, I won't be far away".
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Compared to other Autobots, at least.
 * Poor Communication Kills: His failed attempts to inform Sam that.
 * Alternate Character Interpretation:
 * Since neither Bee nor the other Autobots notice that Frenzy's hitched a ride with them in the first film, the 2nd theory is more likely the case.
 * Series Mascot: Shares this role with Optimus.
 * Shipper On Deck: In the first two movies, its quite apparent he was all for Sam & Mikaela. In the first he was outright trying to play The Matchmaker. And in the second,  While we don't know his thoughts on "Sam and Mikaela's break up", but whatever the case, he like Sam has clearly moved on, and totally
 * The Speechless: Due to Megatron ripping out his vocal processors prior to the first film. However, he "speaks" using radio/sound clips.

Ironhide
""You feelin' lucky, punk?"

Voiced by Jess Harnell"

A grouchy war veteran and Optimus' oldest friend. Ironhide is a proud figure who enjoys fighting and likes showing off his arm cannons. He transforms into a black GMC Topkick pickup truck. .


 * Arm Cannons
 * BFGs
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Blood Knight: Though thankfully much nicer than Sideswipe.
 * The Big Guy
 * Sociopathic Hero : His Trigger Happy nature could easily associate him as such.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold
 * Mighty Glacier/Lightning Bruiser: Blurs the line between the two: He's certainly slow but quite agile.
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy
 * Trigger Happy: Replying to Optimus scolding him for half-jokingly suggesting they slag Sam's annoying parents: "I'm just sayin' we could. It's an option...". The first movie's Video Game also implies that he's responsible for destroying an entire planet. Though Ironhide claims that "it was gonna blow up anyway".
 * Unnecessary Combat Roll: Seems very fond of this, especially in the first movie.
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy
 * Trigger Happy: Replying to Optimus scolding him for half-jokingly suggesting they slag Sam's annoying parents: "I'm just sayin' we could. It's an option...". The first movie's Video Game also implies that he's responsible for destroying an entire planet. Though Ironhide claims that "it was gonna blow up anyway".
 * Unnecessary Combat Roll: Seems very fond of this, especially in the first movie.
 * Unnecessary Combat Roll: Seems very fond of this, especially in the first movie.

Ratchet
""The boy's pheromone levels suggest he wants to mate with the female."

Voiced by Robert Foxworth"

The Autobot's medical and science officer. A former member of Cybertron's High Council, Ratchet is very diplomatic and intelligent. He transforms into a Hummer Search & Rescue truck.


 * Arm Cannon: His right arm turns into a machine gun.
 * Combat Medic
 * My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: "The boy's pheromone levels suggest he wants to mate with the female."
 * Noble Profession - Being a doctor and all
 * Technical Pacifist
 * The Medic
 * The Smart Guy

Jazz
""What's crackin', little bitches?"

Voiced by Darius McCrary"

Optimus' first lieutenant and the resident "black" guy. He loves Earth's cultures and styles and has since taken on several of Earth's customs. He transforms into a Pontiac Solstice car.


 * Black Dude Dies First: According to some
 * Cool Car: Pontiac Solstice
 * Half the Man He Used To Be: How Megatron kills him.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: He deliberately stayed behind to fight Megatron; most likely knowing full well it was suicide, after telling the others to fall back. This buys enough time for Optimus to show up.
 * Jive Turkey
 * Famous Last Words: "You wanna piece'a me? YOU WANNA PIECE?!" (to which Megatron responds: "No! I want two!")

Sideswipe
""Damn, I'm good."

Voiced by André Sogliuzzo (ROTF), James Remar (DOTM)"

Introduced in the second film. Sideswipe is a silver-armoured Autobot with retractable blades on his arms and has wheels for feet. He is a bit of a showoff. In the tie-in comics, Sideswipe was in charge of an Autobot colony until it was destroyed by Demolishor and chased him to Earth where he joined Optimus' team. He transforms into a Corvette Stingray car.


 * Backpack Cannon
 * Blade Below the Shoulder
 * Dual-Wielding
 * Blood Knight: According to the Tales of the Fallen tie-in comic: "I am a warrior; I bleed conflict."
 * Cool Car: Shiny new Corvette.
 * Sociopathic Hero: Tie-in comics establish him to not give a shit about killing innocent people. He mellowed out a bit by the time the appears in the movie though.
 * One-Scene Wonder: Only makes a real impact in the opening scene of Revenge of the Fallen and is barely a background character in the rest of the film.
 * In the third movie, the only real scene with him in it, making much of an impact, is when he and Ironhide have a Mexican Standoff with Crankcase and Crowbar. But, just like his brief scene in ROTF, this one was also freaking awesome.
 * However, while it doesn't get much detail, he's also seen in the big group fight scenes comanding the other Autobots during the fight, so its possible that the plausible next film will have him get more time,
 * Rollerblade Good
 * Shout-Out / Continuity Nod: Sideswipe's backstory appears to be inspired by that of Depth Charge from Beast Wars, who guarded a Maximal colony until it was destroyed by Rampage.
 * Single-Stroke Battle: Against Sideways: "Damn, I'm good..."

Jetfire
""Behold, the eternal glory of Jetfire!"

Voiced by Mark Ryan"

An elderly Decepticon turned Autobot. He was once a Seeker Transformer, but was abandoned on Earth by the Fallen and joined the Autobots as a result. He is falling to pieces but is resourceful and actually a pretty awesome fighter. He transforms into an SR-71 Blackbird jet.


 * An Axe to Grind
 * Badass Beard: Yes, robots can have beards, why do you ask?
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Bifurcated Weapon: His cane/axe.
 * Character Blog: He has a formspring account.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Cool Plane: His altmode is an SR-71 Blackbird, which for the uninformed holds the still-unbeaten record for fastest military aircraft.
 * Grumpy Old Man
 * Heel Face Turn: Technically he made it decades -- if not centuries -- before the movies take place, but never got around to changing his altmode's emblem, leading to a slight panic situation with Sam & co. at first
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold
 * Large Ham
 * Incoming Ham: "BEHOLD! The eternal glory of...Jetfire!!!" (and of course, his first line: "What kind of hideous mausoleum is this?")
 * Incoming Ham: "BEHOLD! The eternal glory of...Jetfire!!!" (and of course, his first line: "What kind of hideous mausoleum is this?")

Arcee, Chromia, & Elita-1
"" We're on our way."

Voiced by Grey Delisle, hologram rider played by Erin Naas"

A trio of female Autobots who transform into motorcycles. Arcee was captured by Decepticons Thundercracker and scientist Flatline who created Chromia and Elita-1, planning to use the three as attack drones but they combined their mental links and escaped to Earth.


 * Action Girl: Some would say "Faux Action Girl", but ymmv.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Absent from Film 3
 * According to the tie-in comics, she (or at least Elita-1) ran afoul of Shockwave in Philadelphia. It didn't end well for her.
 * According to the Revenge of the Fallen film commentary,.
 * The comics overrode that however,
 * Fragile Speedster
 * Hive Mind: According to some sources, but not others.
 * The current accepted version in the comics is that Arcee, Chromia and Elita-1 started as three siblings and entirely separate beings. The latter two were eventually killed, with their bodies salvaged, while the third was eventually captured and experimented upon. Arcee's spark ended up reanimating the other two and leaving a permanent bond.
 * Combining Mecha: Not in the movie itself, mind, but they originally would have. They still do combine in the comics and (supposedly in the toyline.)

Skids & Mudflap
"Skids: "You scared?"

Mudflap: "Scared? Scared of your ugly face!"

Skids: "I'm ugly? We're twins, you stupid genius!"

Voiced by Tom Kenny (Skids) and Reno Wilson (Mudflap)"

A pair of kid-like Autobots who are identical twins save their colours (green and red). They are comic relief characters, but were not exactly welcomed by the public.


 * Bad Humor Truck: "Suck my popsicle!"
 * Bash Brothers: It's averted due to their clumsiness/stupidity, despite their best efforts.
 * Berserk Button: Attempting to harm or kill one of them is going to get you into big trouble with the other.
 * Child Soldiers: According to ancillary media. Probably would have helped their reception if it was stated outright...
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Absent from Film 3 with no explanation.
 * The novelization and comic adaptation have
 * Combining Mecha: Sorta-subverted: In the opening chase scene, their combined vehicle mode breaks in half and sends them crashing into a wall.
 * Colossus Climb: Skids tries this on Devastator; Mudflap had the benefit of already being drawn up there when Devastator ate him.
 * Fridge Brilliance: Mudflap's new alt mode of a slightly different version of Skids might be an odd change, until you remember that Mudflap wanted the Chevy Spark mode to start with, but Skids took it first. Once the battle with the Fallen was over, Mudflap was able to go find the alt mode he wanted at his lesiure.
 * I Just Shot Skids In The Face: Though lucky for Skids, this only cost him the gold tooth. He was still pretty pissed.
 * Jive Turkey/Uncle Tomfoolery: The primary reason for the immense backlash from the audience.
 * Though the voice actors intention was that of wiggers Ymmv, on how well they succeeded in that.
 * But one way or another, since they're robots who don't actually have ethnicity, all they could ever be is trying to be black, even if they're way off.
 * Robo-Family: They aren't called "The Twins" for nothing.
 * Sibling Team
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: Skids thinks he's the smart one, but to everyone else they're both obviously kinda stupid. Skids is also inwardly fearful that he's ultimately the weaker of the two, which frankly he sort of is. However, they both process information much more rapidly than any of the other Earthbound Autobots, so that's something...
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: Skids thinks he's the smart one, but to everyone else they're both obviously kinda stupid. Skids is also inwardly fearful that he's ultimately the weaker of the two, which frankly he sort of is. However, they both process information much more rapidly than any of the other Earthbound Autobots, so that's something...

Jolt
""Jolt, electrify! Transfer those afterburners!""

- Ratchet

A blue-armoured Autobot who becomes a Chevrolet Volt. He is shown to be an assistant to Ratchet, wielding a pair of electrical whips. .


 * Satellite Character: He doesn't have a single line throughout the entire movie, and has no apparent plot importance besides.
 * And promoting the at-the-time unreleased Volt.
 * Curb Stomp Battle:
 * Shock and Awe
 * Whip It Good
 * Whip It Good

Wheelie
""Easy, Warrior Goddess, I'm just a little salvage-scrap drone!"

Voiced by Tom Kenny"

A small salvage scrap drone used by the Decepticons as a spy. He is sent to retrieve the Allspark shard given to Mikaela by Sam, but ends up siding with the Autobots.


 * At Arm's Length
 * Heel Face Turn
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Disappears near the end of the second film; by the third film, though, he's living with Sam and Carly.
 * Those Two Guys: In the third film with Brains.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Disappears near the end of the second film; by the third film, though, he's living with Sam and Carly.
 * Those Two Guys: In the third film with Brains.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Disappears near the end of the second film; by the third film, though, he's living with Sam and Carly.
 * Those Two Guys: In the third film with Brains.
 * Those Two Guys: In the third film with Brains.

Brains
""	Want me to tell ya what I know? I can tell ya about the solar system, all the fun planets to hang out in. "

Voiced by Reno Wilson"

A Decepticon drone that gained sentience, Brains sided with the Autobots and now lives with Wheelie in Sam and Carly's apartment. He transforms into a laptop.


 * AI Is a Crapshoot: Was built by the Decepticons, but gained sentience and defected.
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Those Two Guys: With Wheelie in DOTM.
 * Those Two Guys: With Wheelie in DOTM.

Sentinel Prime
"Voiced by Leonard Nimoy"

- "All I ever wanted was the survival of our race."

The leader of the Autobot faction before Optimus Prime, who looks up to him almost as a father with admiration and respect. He transforms into a Rosenbauer fire engine.


 * Actor Allusion: "The Needs of the Many outweigh the needs of the few."
 * Leonard Nimoy also played Galvatron in the 1986 movie.
 * BFS: Carries one on his arm.
 * Double Weapon:
 * Deal With the Devil:
 * Foreshadowing: Also a case of Fridge Brilliance.
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me
 * Master Swordsman
 * The Mentor
 * Offing the Offspring: What he spent most of the war trying to do to Megatron.
 * Parental Substitute: To Optimus and Megatron.
 * Sealed Good in A Can: Sealed himself in a vault on the Ark for a great many years in stasis until the Autobots revive him.
 * Shout-Out: Sentinel has numerous Gundam-like design elements. The most noticeable are the iconic "V" on his forehead, along with his shield, which he even holds in a very Gundam-like fashion.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
 * Wham! Line:
 * Foreshadowing: Also a case of Fridge Brilliance.
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me
 * Master Swordsman
 * The Mentor
 * Offing the Offspring: What he spent most of the war trying to do to Megatron.
 * Parental Substitute: To Optimus and Megatron.
 * Sealed Good in A Can: Sealed himself in a vault on the Ark for a great many years in stasis until the Autobots revive him.
 * Shout-Out: Sentinel has numerous Gundam-like design elements. The most noticeable are the iconic "V" on his forehead, along with his shield, which he even holds in a very Gundam-like fashion.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
 * Wham! Line:
 * Shout-Out: Sentinel has numerous Gundam-like design elements. The most noticeable are the iconic "V" on his forehead, along with his shield, which he even holds in a very Gundam-like fashion.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
 * Wham! Line:
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
 * Wham! Line:
 * Wham! Line:
 * Wham! Line:

Dino/Mirage
"Voiced by Francesco Quinn"

- "On the ground, per favore, and stay there!"

A new member of the team in the third film who speaks with an Italian accent. While he doesn't do much, what little there is of him in the film does have him as a combat partner with Sideswipe.


 * Blade Below the Shoulder
 * Cool Car: His alt-mode is a Ferrari 458 Italia
 * Shout-Out: His name is an homage to Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, son of the company founder Enzo Ferrari.
 * Toyless Toyline Character: So far his only toy is a die-cast which doesn't look like his car mode. (then it must be considered that Hasbro has the problem of Mattel retaining the rights for Ferrari toys)
 * Toyless Toyline Character: So far his only toy is a die-cast which doesn't look like his car mode. (then it must be considered that Hasbro has the problem of Mattel retaining the rights for Ferrari toys)

Que/Wheeljack
"Voiced by George Coe"

- "They're great inventions for kicking ass!"

Speaks with a vaguely Irish (?) accent. Doesn't really have any awesome moments, but does contribute for others'.


 * Alien Hair / Einstein Hair: Has glowing, fiber-optic cables on his head that increase his resemblance to Albert Einstein.
 * Barrier Warrior: Makes use of an impenetrable force field during the Philadelphia battle in Rising Storm; Fearswoop learns about the "impenetrable" part the hard way.
 * Cool Car: Turns into a Mercedes.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Gadgeteer Genius: He's a genius inventor.
 * Non-Action Guy: Rather ironically, given all the weapons he carries on his person. Nonetheless, he's clearly not that great in a straight-up fight, as evidenced by his getting blown up by Shockwave in Rising Storm,
 * Shout-Out: To the character Q from the James Bond franchise. He's also a real-life shout out to a certain German scientist.
 * Non-Action Guy: Rather ironically, given all the weapons he carries on his person. Nonetheless, he's clearly not that great in a straight-up fight, as evidenced by his getting blown up by Shockwave in Rising Storm,
 * Shout-Out: To the character Q from the James Bond franchise. He's also a real-life shout out to a certain German scientist.

The Wreckers (Leadfoot, Roadbuster, and Topspin)
"Voiced by John Dimaggio (Leadfoot) and Ron Bottitta (Roadbuster)"

- "This is going to hurt...alot!"

Mechanical engineers, warriors, and (according to the novelization) Nascar fans, the Wreckers were left to look after an Autobot ship in NASA custody.


 * Ax Crazy: Let's just say their name is really fitting when they actually get into combat.
 * Chromatic Arrangement
 * Cool Shades
 * Sociopathic Hero
 * Jerkass: This is explained as why they weren't active with the other Autobots; they don't get along well with humans.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Despite that, they're all for defending humanity with the other Autobots. Leadfoot even reassures Sam that "We ain't goin nowhere."
 * The Voiceless: Topspin
 * Topspin was apparently to be voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, but his lines didn't make it to the final film.
 * Weaponised Car: Their alternate modes seem to automatically be like this.
 * Violent Glaswegian: Leadfoot and Roadbuster both have Scottish accents, and if you need proof of the "violent" bit

Megatron
""I AM... MEGATRON."

Voiced by Hugo Weaving"

Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons. Corrupted by the power of the Allspark and the Fallen's influence, he wages war on Cybertron. He chased after the Allspark after it was launched into space, but he crashed into the Arctic Circle and froze. What happens next is pretty coincidental or what.


 * Ax Crazy
 * Back From the Dead
 * Badass: Just as powerful as Optimus, but much more ferocious, which often gives him the upper hand. As long as you don't rip his face apart and cripple him, he can also shrug off hits from tanks and other Transformers as if they were nothing.
 * Badass Decay: Becomes less of a threat in each movie, though it could just as well be due to the humans and other Autobots becoming more skilled/advanced. Though in ROTF, Optimus rips his face apart and tears his arm off, causing him to become a...
 * Retired Badass: Due to his injuries, he becomes an evil variant in DOTM. Instead of fighting, he spends most of his time commanding his Mooks . It takes to rouse him back into action, and
 * Bad Boss
 * Batman Gambit: In DOTM.
 * The Berserker
 * Break the Haughty: Got broken hard, twice in ROTF. First by the "insects" when their tanks and machineguns totally screwed him over and forced him to retreat, and then by Optimus Prime, who tossed him aside like no business during his match against the Fallen; blasting half of his face off, leaving him bleeding and crying for Starscream.
 * Big Bad: In the first and third films, as part of a Big Bad Duumvirate with in the latter.
 * BFG: His fusion cannon
 * Cain and Abel: Arguably, his relationship with Optimus.
 * Captured Super Entity
 * Celebrity Voice Actor: Hugo Weaving, in yet another badass villain role.
 * Cybertronian Popsicle
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: In DOTM, he spends most of his time commanding Mooks from the sidelines rather than fighting himself. The fact that this is probably because of his injured state is strongly supported by.
 * Darker and Edgier: Far more nightmarish than any other incarnation of the character.
 * The Determinator
 * The Dragon: In the second movie.
 * The Heavy
 * Epic Flail
 * Evil Overlord
 * Evil Sounds Deep
 * Expy: Of Darth Vader. Right down to being the apparent Big Bad in the first film but turning out to be The Dragon, yet remaining the more recognizable, central and active villain.
 * Fantastic Racism: Against organic lifeforms.
 * Genius Bruiser: Implied by his official bio, but DOTM and supplemental material reveal his somewhat elaborate scheming tendencies.
 * Guttural Growler
 * Homage: "Yesss..."
 * How the Mighty Have Fallen: By the third film, this describes him pretty well.
 * I'm a Cybertronitarian: Ancilliary material describes him as cannibalistic, but it doesn't really show up in the movies.
 * In the Hood: In the third film.
 * The Juggernaut
 * Large Ham
 * Incoming Ham: "I AM... MEGATRON!"
 * His first lines in DOTM: "ALL... HAIL... MEGATRON!", said towards a herd of elephants.
 * Lightning Bruiser: As powerful as Optimus, and faster too.
 * Manipulative Bastard / The Chessmaster: Shows shades of this in DOTM.
 * Parental Issues: In the IDW comics, where all the anger in him was over the fact that Optimus, not Megatron, was Sentinel's favorite.
 * Pet the Dog: Megatron's reaction in DOTM at seeing Cybertron again and thinking it saved. It really showed how he did care for something other than himself.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Sealed Evil in A Can
 * Shout-Out: In DOTM, his green colour hue, raggy cloak and chains wrapped around him makes him look a bit like Dr. Doom.
 * May I mention that Megs is a Humongous Mecha who is missing half a face and wears a raggy cloak that covers up his left side? Now wasn't there another mecha like that?
 * Some even draw parallels to EVA-02.
 * Not to mention that his oil tanker alternate mode looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic Australian outback.
 * That's supposed to liken him to Optimus.
 * Word of God says that Megatron's face was intended to resemble Freddy Krueger's. The claw on his left hand was also made to resemble Freddy's glove, but the desired effect was for viewers to only make the connection subconciously and find Megatron scarier.
 * Maybe that's why his chest plates are in a more even, stripelike pattern during ROTF.
 * Shotguns Are Just Better: Ditches his fusion cannon for one in DOTM
 * Villainous Rescue: He comes to the rescue of  when he realized by the end of the invasion he will be nothing more than
 * Wound That Will Not Heal: The facial injuries he sustained in ROTF. It didn't help that he casually killed the repair-bots like fleas when he got bored or angry.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Arguably the case, considering that he apparently desires the survival and future of the Transformer race in the Second movie, and apparently by the time of the third, apparently he was in on wanting to restore Cybertron.
 * Shotguns Are Just Better: Ditches his fusion cannon for one in DOTM
 * Villainous Rescue: He comes to the rescue of  when he realized by the end of the invasion he will be nothing more than
 * Wound That Will Not Heal: The facial injuries he sustained in ROTF. It didn't help that he casually killed the repair-bots like fleas when he got bored or angry.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Arguably the case, considering that he apparently desires the survival and future of the Transformer race in the Second movie, and apparently by the time of the third, apparently he was in on wanting to restore Cybertron.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Arguably the case, considering that he apparently desires the survival and future of the Transformer race in the Second movie, and apparently by the time of the third, apparently he was in on wanting to restore Cybertron.

The Fallen
""Revenge is mine."

Voiced by Tony Todd"

The Bigger Bad than Megatron, The Fallen is  Having Fantastic Racism against humanity, he tries to wipe them out by building a Sun Harvester machine on Earth, but is thwarted by his fellow Primes. Years later, he returns to exact his revenge.


 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Rather than go out and get killed, he absolutely refuses to leave his lair until Optimus is dead. Reason being, it's stated that only another Prime is capable of killing him and he's well aware that he needs to take this fact dead serious..
 * Evil Sounds Deep
 * Expy: Of Emperor Palpatine
 * Fantastic Racism: Against humans.
 * The Man Behind the Man
 * Possibly inverted. It's implied that
 * Mind Over Matter
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Simple Staff
 * Spell My Name With a "The"
 * Villain Teleportation
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Simple Staff
 * Spell My Name With a "The"
 * Villain Teleportation

Starscream
""Not to call you a coward, master, but sometimes, cowards do survive."

Voiced by Charlie Adler, hologram pilot played by Brian Reece"

Megatron's Dragon, Starscream is a Dirty Coward and often sucks up to Megatron. Despite his previous incarnations' acts of betrayal, this Starscream has yet to display this trait.


 * Adaptational Badass
 * Cool Plane: His alt mode is an F-22 Raptor, which some would call the cool plane of the modern age
 * The Dragon
 * Noble Demon: According to the tie-in comics, the only reason he remains with the Decepticons despite having no respect for Megatron is because he feels that he nonetheless feels it is his duty to protect the Decepticons from other Starscreams who actually won't lead them effectively.
 * Genre Savvy: "Sometimes, cowards do survive"
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * The Starscream: Apparently. He's less proactive than other incarnations, although he was happy to leave Megatron to die in Mission City. This comes back to bite him when Megatron makes his return.
 * Then again, the mere fact that he could lead the Decepticons quite effectively in the tens of thousands of years of Megatron's absence would probably have Starscream being justified in feeling that he is the better leader compared to Megatron.
 * Top-Heavy Guy: He's almost triangle-shaped in order to keep him around the same height as the Autobots.
 * Villainous Breakdown:
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: According to tie-in comics, he doesn't believe in Optimus or Megatron - his only goal is to save his species from extinction.
 * Then again, the mere fact that he could lead the Decepticons quite effectively in the tens of thousands of years of Megatron's absence would probably have Starscream being justified in feeling that he is the better leader compared to Megatron.
 * Top-Heavy Guy: He's almost triangle-shaped in order to keep him around the same height as the Autobots.
 * Villainous Breakdown:
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: According to tie-in comics, he doesn't believe in Optimus or Megatron - his only goal is to save his species from extinction.

Barricade
""Are you username ladiesman217? Where are the glasses?!"

Voiced by Jess Harnell, hologram driver played by Brian Reece"

An aggressive Rabid Cop who transforms into a police car. He and Frenzy hunt down Sam Witwicky to get information on the glasses, but he is defeated offscreen by Bumblebee, before being Put On a Bus.


 * Epic Flail
 * Good Cop, Bad Cop: Minus the good cop
 * Rabid Cop
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Shoot the Hostage: Has no qualms about doing this at all.
 * : The prequel novel to ROTF reveals that.
 * : The prequel novel to ROTF reveals that.
 * : The prequel novel to ROTF reveals that.

The UK comics are having a lot of fun with this - Barricade and Ironhide co-host the letters page, and Barricade fluctuates between treating the movies with disdain and demanding more screentime.

Blackout
""Blackout incoming. All hail Megatron!"

Hologram pilot played by Brian Reece"

Megatron's Yes-Man. Blackout transforms into a military helicopter and obliterates an American air force base in Qatar. He is partnered with Scorponok. Blackout fights in the Mission City battle,


 * Chest Blaster
 * EMP
 * Expy: For Soundwave, largely because his role was originally meant to go to Soundwave.
 * Groin Attack: How Lennox takes him down... with a Grenade Launcher.
 * Helicopter Blender: Sort of, it's the Transforming Mecha variant.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Yes-Man: Some sources portray him as this to Megatron.

Bonecrusher
""Bonecrusher rolling."

Voiced by Jimmie Wood"


 * The Berserker: rollerblading, hate-driven Badass who rips up a highway before fighting Optimus Prime. It doesn't go very well for him.
 * Hates Everyone Equally: We cannot emphasize this enough.
 * I Know Madden Kombat: His moves are based on sports (cross-checking a bus, tackling Optimus).
 * The Power of Hate
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Rollerblade Good
 * Screaming Warrior: He does nothing but yell in rage whilst fighting Optimus. If you listen carefully it even sounds like he shouts "I hate you!" when Optimus cuts his arm off. Which definately fits with his character.
 * The Unintelligible: Doesn't say a single word in English.
 * The Unintelligible: Doesn't say a single word in English.

Brawl (sometimes erroneously called "Devastator")
""Devastator reporting.""

A Decepticon built for war, Brawl transforms into a tank and is armed to the teeth with weapons. After suffering several Rasputinian Deaths, Brawl is


 * Arm Cannon
 * Backpack Cannon
 * Blade Below the Shoulder
 * Blood Knight: Word of God refers to him as such, stating that he not only enjoys battle, but is consumed by it.
 * Fan Nickname: "Brawlastator", mocking the name problem
 * Made of Iron: Even by Transformer standards, he soaked up a lot of damage before going down.
 * Made of Plasticine: It was pretty easy for Ratchet to chop his arm off. Same for Jazz and his shoulder-gun.
 * More Dakka
 * Not Quite Dead: He falls early in the Mission City battle after Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide triple-team him, but gets up a few minutes later.
 * One Steve Limit: One big reason for calling him "Brawl" instead of "Devastator"
 * Rasputinian Death: He was being shot up with grenade launchers and getting his appendages cut off for nearly half an hour before he finally went down for good.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Shoulder Cannon: Two of 'em.
 * Tank Goodness: Subverts this by being a bad guy.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Brawl is made entirely out of Weapons and Wielding Tropes.

Frenzy
""Oh shi-"

Voiced by Reno Wilson"

Barricade's partner, Frenzy serves as recon and sabotage. He speaks in garbled words and is Multi-Armed and Dangerous.


 * Flipping the Bird: He did it to the Secret Service.
 * Losing Your Head: Twice: one from Mikaela, and one from his own ricocheting shuriken. The second movie shows that Simmons kept it as a trophy even after losing his job.
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous
 * The Unintelligible: He does say a few words in English, especially his last words: "Oh shit".

Scorponok
""My mother, she had the gift. You know, she saw things. Now I got the gene. That thing at the base, I got a feeling it ain't over.""

- Figueroa

A Scary Scorpion who works as Blackout's partner, having a symbiotic relationship with him. He is deployed to chase Captain Lennox's team across Qatar, but retreats when attacked by US aircrafts. He reappears in Revenge of the Fallen, but


 * Beware My Stinger Tail: Like a real scorpion, he has a rather fearsome one.
 * Big Creepy Crawlies
 * Dynamic Entry: He makes his reappearance in ROTF with one of these.
 * Scary Scorpions
 * Worm Sign
 * Worm Sign

Soundwave
""Decepticons, mobilize. It is time."

Voiced by Frank Welker"

Megatron's loyal communications officer. He floats above Earth as a Kill Sat, observing the communications of N.E.S.T., learning where Megatron's corpse is located. He deploys Ravage to retrieve the humans' Allspark shard, and later commands Decepticons to attack Earth and capture Sam's parents. He's a bit of a Memetic Molester on an American satellite. Oh, and Frank Welker is voicing him.


 * The Beast Master: Utilizes Ravage and Laserbeak, animalistic Transformers, to do his dirty work.
 * Big No - Lets one out before
 * Evil Counterpart: Becomes one to in Dark of the Moon.
 * Evil Sounds Deep
 * Fangs Are Evil: In his DOTM form only; in Fallen, he had insect-like mandibles instead.
 * Kill Sat
 * Light Is Not Good: Both his Satellite form and robot form resemble angels.
 * Mission Control: For the Decepticons.
 * Naughty Tentacles: Ahem...
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Shoot the Hostage: "(evil laugh) Understood. No prisoners; only trophies."
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Averted; Soundwave never came to Earth and so is still in orbit; his actions get picked up on in the comic sequel
 * Shoot the Hostage: "(evil laugh) Understood. No prisoners; only trophies."
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Averted; Soundwave never came to Earth and so is still in orbit; his actions get picked up on in the comic sequel

Sideways
A relatively harmless Decepticon refugee who hides in Shanghai with Demolishor. He flees but is chased by the Twins, Arcee and co., and then Sideswipe who slices him in two.


 * Cool Car: An Audi.
 * Continuity Snarl: Implied by the Animated Allspark Almanac.
 * Dirty Coward: According to his bio, he's a simple courier who shuns combat and hides behind bigger Decepticons, like Demolishor. When the Autobots and NEST discover him, rather than trying to fight, he flees in vehicle mode.

Grindor
A Decepticon who looks a lot like Blackout. He captures Sam, Mikaela and Leo, delivering them to Megatron, Starscream and Scalpel to remove Sam's brain. He fights Optimus in battle, but  Ouch.


 * Clock King: What his bio makes him out to be; it doesn't show up much in fiction.
 * Expy: Of Blackout
 * Eye Scream: Courtesy of Optimus.
 * Helicopter Blender: Has this as a weapon.
 * Nigh Identical Stranger: He looks awfully similar to Blackout, don't you think?
 * Palette Swap: From Blackout, though with a technically different alt mode
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning

Demolishor
""The Fallen shall rise again!"

Voiced by Calvin Wimmer"

A giant Constructicon who hides out in Shanghai. A Psycho for Hire in the comics, Demolishor destroyed several Autobot colonies before coming to Earth. He flees from the Autobots on Earth until taken out by Optimus.


 * Ax Crazy
 * Famous Last Words: "This is not your planet to rule. The Fallen will rise again!"
 * Palette Swap: Demolishor, who is white with red details, into Scavenger, who is red with white details
 * Pet the Dog: His treatment of smaller, weaker Decepticons like Sideways
 * Psycho for Hire: As seen in Tales of the Fallen; he especially enjoys hiding in populated areas, both to cause as much collateral damage as possible and to lure large groups of Autobots toward him to fight.
 * Starfish Alien: Look at him. Just look at him.
 * Team Mom: according to the toy bio
 * Team Mom: according to the toy bio

Devastator

 * Combining Mecha
 * Humongous Mecha: Bigger compared to the regular bots than the regular bots are compared to humans.
 * Visual Innuendo: He has a pair of... wrecking balls.
 * Weapons That Suck

The Constructicons
"Scalpel: Need parts. Kill ze little one!"
 * Arm Cannon: Long Haul
 * Combining Mecha: They combine to form Devastator.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: They're on the receiving end of it. Although they do seem to be pressing the humans and Autobots back at first, they're all wiped out without scoring any kills on their Autobot opponents, and they fail in their other objectives as well.
 * Cybertronian Resources: Scrapmetal


 * Elite Mooks
 * Epic Flail: Scrapper
 * Fan Nickname: Scrapmetal is affectionately called "ze little one", after Scalpel's order to tear him to shreds ("Kill ze little one!" He actually got a canon name solely because of his surprising fan following, meaning the Fan Nickname came first in this case.)
 * Kevin Michael Richardson: Rampage
 * Palette Swap: Rampage comes in both red and yellow, plus Demolishor and Scavenger
 * Unusual Weapon Mounting: Mixmaster's spine-gun
 * Whip It Good: Rampage
 * Unusual Weapon Mounting: Mixmaster's spine-gun
 * Whip It Good: Rampage

Ravage

 * Cyber Cyclops
 * Mega Neko
 * Mega Neko
 * Mega Neko
 * Mega Neko

Reedman

 * Cyber Cyclops
 * Red Eye Take Warning

Scalpel (the Doctor)
""Ve must have ze brain on ze table, chop-chop!"

Voiced by John Di Crosta"


 * Ax Crazy
 * Herr Doctor
 * Mad Doctor
 * Scary Shiny Glasses
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: The novel says that this particular mouse gets squashed by Optimus, but the film leaves it unclear

Shockwave
""Optimus!"

Voiced by Frank Welker"

Much like Megatron crashed into the North Pole and was discovered and kept on ice by the USA, Shockwave arrived at Tunguska, Siberia in 1908 and wound up in the Soviets' hands. Now he's awake, and he's not very happy about being kept in stasis by these filthy organics. His most dangerous weapon is the Driller, a gargantuan, tentacled Sand Worm-like monster that does Shockwave's bidding.


 * Arm Cannon
 * Big Bad:
 * Blade Below the Shoulder
 * Cyber Cyclops
 * Expy:.
 * Hero-Killer: Not in the movie, but in the IDW comics, good Lord, he's killed . In fact, the go-to explanation for why an Autobot from RotF is not present for the third film seems to be "Shockwave did it."
 * Mighty Glacier: In the game. He's got incredible defense and a top damage blaster arm, but he runs like a turtle and is the only character in the game that doesn't have a vehicle form.
 * Psycho for Hire: Functions as Megatron's top assassin, and absolutely revels in slaughtering Autobots in the most brutal way possible.
 * The Quiet One: Has one, maybe two, lines in the entire film, yet unlike the other characters who get hit with that he is a significant presence.
 * Notably only in the final film, though; in the comic adaptation, he's actually quite talkative.
 * The Quiet One: Has one, maybe two, lines in the entire film, yet unlike the other characters who get hit with that he is a significant presence.
 * Notably only in the final film, though; in the comic adaptation, he's actually quite talkative.

The Driller
Shockwave's warbeast/"pet", essentially a massive Mechanical Lifeform version of a Sand Worm. Drillers are Cybertron's apex predators. This absolutely humongous beast (in the novel, Optimus outright calls this particular specimen the largest Driller ever seen) was, at some point, tamed by Shockwave. It travelled to Earth with him, was entombed in cryo-stasis by the Russians with him, and woke up when he did. Large and strong enough to bring down a skyscraper (by tunneling into and up through it, finding a weak spot, wrapping around, and then making like a boa constrictor). .


 * Attack of the 100+ Meter Whatever
 * Combat Tentacles: Has at least four of them in addition to its main head.
 * Expy: Of The Dweller from the original generation 1 show
 * Sand Worm: Mechanical Lifeform version of one, anyway
 * Super-Persistent Predator: Justified as it's being commanded to be so.
 * Worm Sign: Big Worm Sign
 * Worm Sign: Big Worm Sign

Laserbeak
""Is your daddy home?"

Voiced by Keith Szarabajka"


 * Animal Assassin: Not in terms of personality (he's rather chatty), but due to the fact that he's a murderous robotic bird.
 * Artifact Title: In that he dozen't even have any lasers this time, but ballistic slug throwers like every other Transformers in this universe.
 * Badass
 * Feathered Fiend
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Master of Disguise: Much more than other Decepticons and Autobots, Laserbeak is shown changing his alternate mode numerous times to quick and horrific effect. He can even become other Transformers, just not in the proper scale or color.
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Compared to other transformers, that is.
 * The Spymaster
 * Suddenly Voiced: He's the first version of Laserbeak to speak on-screen.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:

The Dreads (Crankcase, Crowbar, and Hatchet)

 * Animal Motifs: Crowbar has raven-like features, Hatchet's robot mode is a giant, hungry alien lion, and Crankcase, in addition to looking like the Predator, resembles some manner of stag beetle.
 * Alien Hair: All three of these have this, but Crowbar's in particular are long, Medusa-like tendrils.
 * Badass Long Hair: Crowbar's dreadlocks are absolutely whiplike.
 * Combat Pragmatist: In their battle with Ironhide and Sideswipe, Crankcase and Crowbar drop their weapons and feign surrender, only to whip out hidden spears and attempt to pull a cheap shot on their would-be captors.
 * Elite Mooks: Their bios describe the Dreads as an elite infiltration unit, specialising in assassination of high-value Autobot targets and hacking enemy systems to acquire vital data.
 * Flipping the Bird: Crankcase's middle finger is longer than the others. As such, some shipments of his toy came with it snipped, while Takara-Tomy opted to simply remold the hand entirely.
 * Panthera Awesome: Hatchet
 * Shout-Out: Crankcase is visibly based on the titular alien from the Predator franchise.
 * Terrible Trio: They're such an example of this, they each share the same vehicle mode, a black police suburban.
 * Theme Naming: Crowbar and Hatchet are both named for objects that can be used as weapons. Their team name is derived from the fact that all three of them have robo-dreadlocks.
 * Odd Name Out: Crankcase

Alice
""Is she your girlfriend?"

Played by Isabel Lucas"


 * Alice Allusion
 * Becoming the Mask: Mentioned in John Barber's "Convergence" prose story as a risk that all Pretenders like her take; going undercover as another species long enough causes one to start thinking like them.
 * Mythology Gag: "How about tonight, you pretend I'm your girlfriend?"
 * Uncanny Valley Girl
 * Uncanny Valley Girl
 * Uncanny Valley Girl

Sam Witwicky
""I just think there's more than meets the eye... with you."

Played by Shia La Beouf"


 * Action Survivor
 * : As of Dark of the Moon
 * Deadpan Snarker: Developed it in Dark of the Moon.
 * Determinator: Particularly in the third film. The whole world is about to fall under Decepticon control, but he won't give up, even if it means going into Chicago to rescue Carly without human or Autobot assistance. Additionally, his reluctance to give up enables him to kill both  and.
 * Give Geeks a Chance: Well, it is Sam, after all...now meet his two love interests.
 * Heroic BSOD: Has one after
 * I'm Not A Hero, I'm Just A Messenger
 * Nice Guy
 * Official Couple:
 * Ordinary High School Student: Technically an Ordinary College Student by the second film -- at least, he wants to be.
 * Rapid-Fire "No": Loves to use this trope, especially when running from Decepticons.
 * Shut UP, Hannibal:
 * Took a Level In Badass:
 * Took a Level In Badass:

Mikaela Banes
""You know what I don't understand? If he's like, this super-advanced robot, why does he transform into this piece-of-crap Camaro?"

Played by Megan Fox"


 * Action Girl - Sort of...
 * Car Fu: How she
 * Lovable Alpha Bitch
 * Ms. Fanservice
 * Wrench Wench
 * Wrench Wench
 * Wrench Wench

William Lennox
""Listen to me! You're a soldier now."

Played by Josh Duhamel"


 * Badass Normal
 * The Captain: Got promoted to Major by the time of the second film.
 * Colonel Badass: As of the third film.
 * Fatal Family Photo: Subverted, he lives and so do his wife and kid.
 * Genre Savvy
 * Good Looking Privates: Well, his actor is a model.
 * Hot Dad
 * Humans Are Warriors
 * Supporting Leader: Arguably serves this role in the second film.

Robert Epps
""Bring it!"

Played by Tyrese Gibson"


 * Badass Normal
 * Bald Black Leader Guy
 * Black Dude Dies First and Retirony:
 * Catch Phrase: "Bring the rain!"
 * Death From Above: As a Joint Tactical Air Controller, his job is to invoke this trope. Beware the soldier with the radio.
 * Humans Are Warriors
 * The Lancer: To Lennox.
 * This Is Gonna Suck: "We're about to get our asses whupped"

Seymour Simmons
""Tell Megatron, let's tango."

Played by John Turturro"


 * Badass Normal: In the second and third films.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer
 * Fan Disservice: Did we really need a close-up of Turturro's almost-bare ass?
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Keeps trying this in ROTF, but it doesn't work.
 * Honor Before Reason: In ROTF, he takes this concept and makes it work awesomely.
 * Humans Are Warriors: Not as much as Lennox and Epps, but definitely has the heart of one, at least.
 * Large Ham: Particularly from the second movie on, as he's free from Men in Black constraints.
 * Single-Episode Handicap: In DOTM, he ends up in a car crash during the Dreads chase scene, and for the rest of the movie is confined to a wheelchair. Doesn't stop him from being as much of a conspiracy nut as he was earlier in the film and in the last one.
 * Worth It: In The Stinger for DOTM, he.

Ron & Judy Witwicky
"Judy: "You are so cheap."

Ron: "It's his first car. It's supposed to be that way."

Played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White"


 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Especially after Judy eats some brownies baked with marijuana... hoo, boy...
 * Speaking of marijuana, Judy's escapades after eating a pot brownie were the reason why both Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania forced Michael Bay from revealing what college Sam went to.
 * Doting Parents
 * Executive Meddling: See Amazingly Embarrassing Parents for full details.

Secretary of Defense John Keller
""You didn't think that the United States Military might need to know that you're keeping a hostile alien robot frozen in the basement?"

Played by Jon Voight"


 * Authority Equals Asskicking: The Secretary of Defense has no problems kicking Decepticon ass when he wants to.
 * Badass Normal
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Completely absent in the second two films, most likely either retired, replaced after Obama takes office, or some other reason. Either way, the next time a secretary of defense shows up, its a different actor, adifferent character, and a different gender.
 * Genre Savvy
 * Humans Are Warriors
 * Reasonable Authority Figure

Jorge "Fig" Figueroa
"Lennox: "Fig, how many times must I tell you? None of us here speak Spanish!"

Fig: "What's your problem, man?"

Played by Amaury Nolasco"


 * Foreign Queasine: Tries to explain the virtues of alligator meat.
 * Gratuitous Spanish: Lapses into this when annoyed/stressed
 * Schrodingers Cat: Dead in the novels, but Michael Bay has expressed interest in bringing him back in the 3rd film.
 * Shout-Out: To Transformers artist and designer Don Figueroa.

Leo Spitz
""I'm the key to this. The aliens, they want me 'cause of my site."

Played by Ramon Rodriguez"


 * Butt Monkey
 * Conspiracy Theorist: Who finds out that, much to his misfortune, one of his theories is right.
 * Innocent Bystander
 * What Happened to The Mouse? / Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Totally absent from Dark of the Moon (despite Michael Bay's "misinformation campaign" stating otherwise before the film's release).

Galloway
"Galloway:"So let me ask: If we ultimately conclude that our national security is best served by denying you further asylum on our planet, will you leave peacefully?"

Optimus Prime:"Freedom is your right. If you make that request, we will honor it. But before your President decides, please ask him this: What if we leave, and you're wrong?"

Played by John Benjamin Hickey"


 * Jerkass
 * Heel Face Turn: In the pre-DOTM comics, after the Autobots save his life.
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat: "This fool is terribly misinformed."
 * Stop Helping Me!: In the pre-DOTM comics, he ends up coming to like the Autobots and NEST after they save his life, and insists on helping out. Unfortunately, he isn't very good at it.
 * Stop Helping Me!: In the pre-DOTM comics, he ends up coming to like the Autobots and NEST after they save his life, and insists on helping out. Unfortunately, he isn't very good at it.

General Morshower
"Played by Glenn Morshower"


 * Benevolent Boss
 * The Danza
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * You Look Familiar: Played by the same actor as the the doomed base commander in the first movie. Even shared Reasonable Authority Figure and Benevolent Boss tropes. But, it is not the same character.

Carly Spencer
""I love this car."

Played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley"


 * Action Survivor
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Throughout this film, with all the stuff she goes through with Sam, she never has a hair out of place or any scrapes to her flawless skin, whereas Sam looks like he's on the verge of needing to be in the emergency room.
 * Hannibal Lecture: Rare heroic example executed on, calling him   and prompting him to
 * Ms. Fanservice: Well duh! What did you expect? I mean she's a blonde, tall, curvy Victoria's Secret Model, with some killer legs and a British Accent, in a Michael Bay summer action flick.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * Screaming Woman: Sam! Sam!
 * Second Love:
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Carly pulls a short one on
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Carly pulls a short one on

Dylan Gould
""When it's not your war, you pick the side that's going to win."

Played by Patrick Dempsey"


 * Big No: When
 * Cool Car: Has a big damn collection/museum of restored antique cars.
 * Dirty Coward:
 * Expy: Of the Generation One character
 * Hannibal Lecture:
 * It's Personal:
 * Skewed Priorities: "Not the couch! It's Ralph Lauren!"
 * Survival Mantra: "They said I'd be safe... they said I'd be safe..."
 * Hannibal Lecture:
 * It's Personal:
 * Skewed Priorities: "Not the couch! It's Ralph Lauren!"
 * Survival Mantra: "They said I'd be safe... they said I'd be safe..."
 * Skewed Priorities: "Not the couch! It's Ralph Lauren!"
 * Survival Mantra: "They said I'd be safe... they said I'd be safe..."
 * Skewed Priorities: "Not the couch! It's Ralph Lauren!"
 * Survival Mantra: "They said I'd be safe... they said I'd be safe..."

Charlotte Mearing
""Don't call me 'Ma'am!' Do I look like a Ma'am!?"

Played by Frances McDormand"


 * Iron Lady
 * Jerkass: It comes with the job.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: She softens up a bit to the protagonists as time goes on. In fact, she even apologizes to Sam for not taking his warnings seriously.
 * Jerkass Has a Point:
 * Noodle Incident: Had a fling with  in the past.
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat: But not as bad as Galloway. In fact, she's actually somewhat helpful to our heroes.
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her hostility towards the Autobots and insistiance on the Pillars getting detained

Dutch
""That was the old me!"

Played by Alan Tudyk"


 * Battle Butler: For Simmons.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: He's a generally kind person, but tick him off and you. Will. Pay.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Implied.
 * Kubrick Stare
 * That Man Is Dead: It's implied that he has a rather violent history, something he doesn't want to lapse back into. See above quote.
 * Would Hit a Girl

Jerry Wang
""I'm Wang. Deep Wang."

Played by Ken Jeong"


 * Asian Rudeness
 * Not What It Looks Like: He lures Sam into the bathroom to . Sam's boss comes into the bathroom, and hears both of them arguing in the bathroom stall.
 * Properly Paranoid:
 * Properly Paranoid: