Transformers Animated/Characters

Optimus Prime
"Voiced by: David Kaye / Hiroki Takahashi"

"My name...is Optimus Prime, and I'm prepared to sacrifice my life to defend the Allspark."

- Optimus, after Starscream calls him "Autobot scum" in the pilot. He's gonna get this a lot...

The leader of a small maintenance crew, Optimus Prime is a well-meaning young 'bot who dreams of a bigger, more heroic lifestyle. He gets his wish when his crew stumbles upon the elusive Allspark. A run-in with Megatron and his Decepticon crew causes Prime and his crew to land on Earth where they try to adapt while saving the world on a daily basis. Though Optimus gets the "hero" life he asked for, he is inexperienced. He is a dogged nice guy who does the best he can despite some insecurity and reluctance.


 * Almighty Janitor
 * Badass
 * Benevolent Boss
 * The Captain
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * First-Episode Resurrection - A new Optimus record!
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble - The Choleric.
 * The Hero
 * Broken Hero
 * Heroic Sacrifice - In the Pilot Movie (he got better)
 * Ink Suit Actor - More than one fan has stated that Human!Optimus looks a lot like David Kaye.
 * Jet Pack
 * Shoulder Cannons: They fire foam, but it still counts.
 * Nice Guy
 * Oil Slick - One of Optimus' less-used tricks lets him spray "negative friction lubricant".
 * Reassigned to Antarctica - He was on the fast track to the Elite Guard as a cadet, maybe even future Magnus. That was derailed after Sentinel talked him into visiting a planet with a crashed Decepticon warship, resulting in the loss of Elita-1. The reassignment actually could have been worse, though; he got his rank and position on the charity of Ultra Magnus.
 * Reassignment Backfire - One MacGuffin later he and his little group become the single most important Autobots to Cybertron.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni - The blue to Sentinel Prime's red.
 * Team Dad - Previous Optimuses (Optimi?) have been like this, but he may be the most Dad-like one yet.
 * Heroic Build
 * Took a Level in Badass
 * Unknown Rival - Megatron knows he exists, but spends almost the entire series calling him "Autobot".
 * Weapon of Choice
 * An Axe to Grind
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - Spiders
 * Weapon of Choice
 * An Axe to Grind
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - Spiders
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - Spiders

Bumblebee
"Voiced by: Bumper Robinson / Daisuke Kishio"

"Fastest thing on wheels, coming through!"

Bumblebee is a speedy, impatient, and impulsive young Cybertronian. He thinks on his wheels and less on his head and tends to goof-up and have fun with his human friend, Sari. Despite it, he's ready for battle when the situation calls, even if he tends to rush in without thinking first.


 * Aesop Amnesia
 * Cat Robot Boy: His face, mask, and striped patterns evoke a cat-like image moreso than a real bumblebee motif.
 * Child Soldier - "Human Error" indicates that he's mentally around the same age as Sari.
 * Cute Shotaro Boy - Or the closest robot equivalent.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble - The Sanguine.
 * Fragile Speedster
 * Freudian Excuse - Non-villainous example: his attitude towards teamwork makes a lot more sense once you've seen "Autoboot Camp". Everyone but Bulkhead and Longarm treated him like slag, and taking the fall for Bulkhead (of his own free will) tanked his career.
 * Jet Pack - His turbo-boosters can work like this, though he needs someone to get him into the air first.
 * Keet - About as much as a robot can be.
 * Kid Appeal Character: The former Trope Namer.
 * Leeroy Jenkins
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni - The red to Prowl's blue.
 * Rollerblade Good
 * Shock and Awe - His stingers, which usually result in a case of...
 * Shooting Superman - He might as well be firing paintballs at Decepticons, for now.
 * Took a Level in Badass - Ratchet sets his stingers to the full-power setting intended for combat bots. After this, his stingers do become a genuinely useful weapon.

Bulkhead
"Voiced by: Bill Fagerbakke / Kenta Miyake"

"But I did dream big, Bumblebee. I dreamed of being your friend."

Bulkhead may be big and strong and he may enjoy smashing things around here and there, but he wants you to know he has a sensitive side, too. Ever the Gentle Giant, he is often taken for granted, thinking because of his brawny nature, he isn't all that smart. Though unsubtle, Bulkhead is an insightful 'bot with a natural gift for art.


 * Alien Arts Are Appreciated - Bulkhead doesn't know what art is, but when Sari introduces him to the concept, he takes to it immediately, and has a gallery show at the end of the episode. He's painting again in the season 2 finale.
 * Beware the Nice Ones - Second only to Rhinox.
 * Big Fun - As close as a Humongous Mecha can get, at least.
 * The Big Guy
 * Cool Chair - See Mundane Utility.
 * Destructive Saviour
 * Does Not Know His Own Strength
 * Dub Name Change - In Japan, he's called "Ironhide" despite the fact there's already another character called Ironhide.
 * Expy: You wouldn't be the first to think he's Broadway reincarnated as an Autobot.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble - The Supine.
 * Genius Bruiser
 * Genius Ditz
 * Gentle Giant
 * The Klutz
 * Moral Dissonance - Subjects himself to this a lot.
 * Mundane Utility - Can use his Kibble as a chair.
 * Stout Strength
 * Southern-Fried Genius - He was raised on an Energon farm, though he only has the accent in flashbacks.
 * Top-Heavy Guy - His human avatar in Soundwave's virtual reality.
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Epic Flail
 * Rocket Punch - He has a fist that turns into a wrecking ball attached to a cord. Close enough.
 * The Worf Effect - Lampshaded. "He always shoots at me first!" *BOOM* "Called it."

Ratchet
"Voiced by: Corey Burton / Toru Okawa"

"It's not that I don't want to remember. I have to remember - for those who can't."

Ratchet suffered through the Great War millions of years back, experiences which have caused him to be grumpy 24/7. He refuses to talk about his time there (especially with an eager Optimus Prime) and suffers Vietnam-style flashbacks. Despite his constant angry outbursts, however, Ratchet possesses a sweet side deep down.

""I am your pupil. Your dependant. Your obedient servant." "I am Ratchet. I am...your friend.""
 * Achey Scars
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Barrier Warrior
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Defusing the Tykebomb - To Omega, from the moment the big guy was 'born'.


 * Dr. Jerk
 * The Dulcinea Effect: It's never directly implied, but Ratchet cares an awful lot about Arcee for a long time, and we can safely guess that it's not just out of guilt.
 * EMP
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble - Alternates between Choleric and Melancholic.
 * Grumpy Bear
 * Grumpy Old Man
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold - He may be a cranky old bot, but he is genuinely concerned about protecting the Earth from Megatron and the Decepticons, which he reveals in a rather tearful confession to Sari.
 * Knight in Sour Armor
 * The Medic
 * Combat Medic
 * Papa Wolf - To someone several times his size. "Omega Supreme is one of us. An Autobot. A friend. Harm one circuit on him, and you'll answer to me!"
 * Scars Are Forever - because he wants them to be.
 * Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior! - He considers apologizing to Wreck-Gar the ultimate sacrifice.
 * Selective Magnetism: Uses two magnets as his weapons.
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran
 * The Smart Guy - "Typical Academy bot. Rather hit a problem than fix it."
 * The Smart Guy - "Typical Academy bot. Rather hit a problem than fix it."

Prowl
"Voiced by: Jeff Bennett / Koji Yusa"

"Stillness... then strike."

Prowl is a lone Ninja-Bot who doesn't play well with others, preferring to rely on only himself. Stuck with Optimus and crew, he is forced to learn how to work as part of a team. Prowl is sneaky and clever due to his occupation and spends countless hours meditating. He enjoys observing nature and the organic life that most of his kind fear. He later develops from a stoic warrior into a true hero.


 * Big Brother Mentor: Acts as such for Bulkhead and Bumblebee on occasion.
 * Cool Bike - And he later gets the ultimate Cool Sidecar.
 * Cool Helmet: Part of his samurai armor. Doubles as a Memento MacGuffin from his old master Yoketron.
 * Cool Shades
 * Draft Dodging: Tried to avoid being drafted into the war, but ended up being apprehended by Warpath and taken to Yoketron's Dojo.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble - The Phlegmatic.
 * Friend to All Living Things
 * Improbable Weapon User - His hubcaps turns into shuriken.
 * Improvised Weapon - He's used a metal pole as a staff a time or two. As well as his toy having a traffic light flail.
 * Incompletely Trained
 * Ineffectual Loner - He mostly gets over this after almost getting killed in the pilot, but relapses now and then.
 * Jet Pack - His jump jets, although he can't truly fly until he gets the samurai armour.
 * The Lancer
 * Mind Over Matter - His processor-over-matter technique was introduced in the Season 2 finale, and he perfected it midway through Season 3.
 * Ninja
 * Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot - He starts as a ninja robot and goes from there. He was actually zombified in one episode, and dons samurai armor once in season 2 and permanently in season 3.
 * Not Good with People
 * Older Than He Looks: Was around during the Great War (though unlike Ratchet, didn't fight in it). This makes him older than Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni - The blue to Bumblebee's red.
 * The Stoic
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Took a Level in Badass
 * Tranquil Fury - "Give. Me. Yoketron's. Helmet."
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Laser Scalpel
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me
 * Simple Staff
 * Your Size May Vary - The only way he can be taller than Bumblebee.
 * Simple Staff
 * Your Size May Vary - The only way he can be taller than Bumblebee.

Arcee
"Voiced by: Susan Blu (the original Arcee) / Ayahi Takagaki"

"Wipe my memory core. Ratchet, the access codes in my processor are crucial to the war effort. If Megatron gets them..."

Formerly a schoolteacher to young Autobots, Arcee became an intel courier during the Great War, tasked with carrying the important codes for Project: Omega, a valuable resource that the Decepticons wanted. This job came to an abrupt end. She isn't seen until later on.


 * Chekhov's Gunman - thanks to some Arc Welding
 * Dual-Wielding - Her toy comes with two short swords that are sadly never seen in the show. Maybe if Season 4 had been a reality...
 * Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher - Before she was a spy in the Great War, she taught the Cybertronian equivalent of kindergarten.
 * Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher - Before she was a spy in the Great War, she taught the Cybertronian equivalent of kindergarten.

Grimlock
"Voiced by: David Kaye / Keiji Fujiwara"

"Dinobots RULE!"

Grimlock is the leader of the Dinobots. He and the other Dinobots are simpleminded and aggressive creatures who started out as animatronic dinosaurs for a theme park, which Megatron upgraded with weapons in the hopes of using one of them as a new body. This plan went off the rails when they were brought to life in an accident involving the Key. They tend to get violent very fast the moment they sense hostility, and Prowl is the only one who can calm them down...usually.

""Whoopsie. Fire bad.""
 * BFS
 * Breath Weapon
 * Cool Shades
 * Dumb Muscle
 * Flaming Sword
 * Hulk Speak / Third Person Person
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed - His mannerisms are supposed to be based on Frankenstein's monster from the Saturday Night Live sketches.


 * Tyrannosaurus Rex

Snarl and Swoop

 * All Animals Are Dogs - Snarl in Human Error Part 2,
 * Breath Weapon
 * Silent Partners
 * The Speechless
 * Pokémon-Speak - in the Japanese dub. Heck, Grimlock lampshades it in one of the episode previews!
 * Those Two Guys
 * Weapon of Choice: One for each of them. As with Grimlock's sword, they also burst into flames.
 * Carry a Big Stick - Snarl
 * Epic Flail - Swoop

Sentinel Prime
"Voiced by: Townsend Coleman / Junichi Suwabe"

"If I need a trash-can emptied or a floor mopped, I'll call on my buddy Optimus Prime. Or should I say "Maintenance Prime"?"

Sentinel Prime is, plain and simple, a jerkass. He is an egotistical, boisterous bot who uses his high position to issue orders and command high respect, especially towards Optimus (despite sharing the same rank).


 * Actor Allusion: "Energony-goodness."
 * Do NOT mention his chin! It Ticks him off!
 * Aesop Amnesia
 * Amusing Injuries
 * Break the Haughty
 * Butt Monkey
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty - Back when he was a sergeant.
 * Drives Like Crazy: He assumes traffic laws only apply to organics. Thus, he'll run every light, cut through cross traffic, run over parked cars, gets a stop sign jammed in his grill, and during his first drive on Earth drove himself off an unfinished overpass.
 * Dumbass Has a Point: In Five Servos Of Doom, Prowl takes the fact that the primary mods of his prisoners are not on the prisoners as evidence that Sentinel had help from Lockdown. Sentinel shows him the mods then points out that he'd have to be pretty stupid to let his prisoners keep explosives on them (if only because he's already let it happen).
 * Entitled Bastard
 * Expy - Several of his design elements (he's energetic, mostly blue, with a very prominent chin) are based on The Tick (animation), with whom he shares a voice actor. This was done on purpose after said actor was cast for the role.
 * Glory Hound
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * Jerkass - By no stretch of the imagination is Sentinel an okay guy, although at least some of this can be traced to what happened with Elita-1 and the spiders.
 * Sentinel Prime is what one would get if Zapp Branigan turned into a robot and then became a New Testament Pharisee.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: A crowning example of one. Just when we think he may have redeeming qualities !
 * Karma Houdini - Although he does end up losing the hero worship he craves.
 * Lantern Jaw of Justice - Moreso than any other, and it's his Berserk Button.
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me - It can sprout spikes and expand into a wall (or even a bubble).
 * The Neidermeyer
 * Noble Bigot with a Badge - Emphasis on "Bigot".
 * Politically Incorrect Hero: He has a hatred of organics.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni - The red to Optimus' blue.
 * Screams Like a Little Girl
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - Organic lifeforms, to the point of Fantastic Racism

Jazz
"Voiced by: Phil LaMarr / Hideo Ishikawa"

"The classic Metallikato "Five Servos of Doom" attack! But have you seen this one?"

Jazz is calm and collected and just plain cool. He is a graduate of the Cyber-Ninja Corps. Jazz, like Prowl, has an interest in organic life.


 * Beatnik
 * Black Best Friend: Becomes this to Prowl.
 * Cool Shades
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick
 * Jive Turkey
 * Ninja
 * Older Than He Looks: Had the same trainer as Prowl did, making him older than Sentinel (among others).
 * Soul Brotha
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Dual-Wielding: Laser nunchucks.
 * Fighting with Chucks
 * Improbable Weapon User: Can turn his tailpipes into nunchucks.
 * Fighting with Chucks
 * Improbable Weapon User: Can turn his tailpipes into nunchucks.

Supreme Commander Ultra Magnus
"Voiced by: Jeff Bennett / Banjo Ginga"

"We're at war, soldier. We do what we must."

Current leader of the Autobots, Ultra Magnus is a straightforward leader. He usually makes decisions that would benefit the Autobots no matter how unethical they may seem, though he has his soft spots, mainly concerning Optimus Prime, in whom he sees potential.


 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Big Good
 * Drop the Hammer
 * Horrible Judge of Character - Optimus willingly took the blame for the Elita-1 incident, but that doesn't quite explain how Sentinel ended up as Magnus's right hand guy.
 * Large and In Charge
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed - Jeff Bennett does a pretty good impersonation of G1 Ultra Magnus from The Movie (Robert Stack, if you wanted to know).
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * Shock and Awe - The Hammer can summon lightning, Thor-style.
 * Supporting Leader

Wreck-Gar
"Voiced by: "Weird Al" Yankovic / Mitsuo Iwata"

"Did someone say HERO? I am Wreck-Gar! I am a hero!"

Wreck-Gar means well, he really does. When he first arrives, he has no idea who he is and what his purpose in life is. He spends the entire episode switching between hero and villain in an effort to find what his life goal is, though in a somewhat unintentional manner. Wreck-Gar literally does whatever he hears—good or evil—with hilarious results. He later becomes an Autobot and tries his darnedest to be the hero he thinks he is. His head is not in the right place, but his spark is.


 * Actor Allusion - Almost as blatant as Sentinel. He references "Dare to be Stupid" (which was used for the G1 film, making it a double reference) and plays an accordion in "Human Error".
 * Chaotic Stupid - His insanity manifests as doing whatever someone says, regardless of how inconsistent it is from his previous actions.
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Funny Schizophrenia
 * Hammerspace - His trash bucket.
 * Heel Face Revolving Door - Because he does whatever someone tells him to.
 * Ink Suit Actor - His face was drawn to resemble Weird Al's.
 * Line-of-Sight Name - Mixed together from stuff people were yelling at him. "They call me Angry Archer." "They call me "Worthless-wreck-walking-pile-of-garbage"." "Oh, really? Bit of a mouthful..."
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes turn red for a brief time in "Garbage In, Garbage Out" when he declares that he's going to destroy the city, a nod to The Movie and the original Wreck-Gar's toy commercial.
 * Verbal Tic - "I am Wreck-Gar!"

Omega Supreme
"Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson (season two), Phil LaMarr (season three) / Tessho Genda"

"I AM...OMEGA SUPREME."


 * Cool Starship: At first glance, a beat-up repair ship. In reality, an Autobot war machine.
 * Giant Robot
 * Heroic Sacrifice - Twice. He survives both of them, but the first one puts him in modified stasis for millions of years.
 * I Am Not a Gun
 * It's What I Do - "I am programmed to protect...and sacrifice, if necessary."
 * Last of His Kind - Omega is the last surviving and active Omega Sentinel, with Steelhaven/Sigma Supreme being used as a regular spaceship.
 * Meaningful Echo: "We do what we must, even if it sometimes doesn't make sense."
 * Meta Mecha
 * Person of Mass Destruction
 * Sapient Ship
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Arm Cannon: Both of his arms end in weapons. He was built to blow things up, after all.
 * More Dakka

Wasp/Waspinator
"Voiced by: Tom Kenny / Kenji Nojima (as Wasp), Kenso Kata (as Waspinator)"

"Wasp not thing, Wasp upgrade! Spider-bot Wasp friend....make Wasp powerful...make Wasp....Waspinator!"

A former Autobot who worked alongside Bumblebee and Bulkhead in Autoboot Camp, Wasp is a cocky little guy who often got on the latters' nerves.


 * Adaptational Badass
 * Adaptational Villainy: This incarnation of Wasp/Waspinator is much, much scarier and more villainous than the Waspinator in Beast Wars, who was mostly the Chew Toy of the series, being blown apart frequently.
 * Big Creepy-Crawlies - Duh.
 * Cosmic Plaything
 * Driven to Villainy
 * From Nobody to Nightmare
 * Go Among Mad People
 * Good Thing You Can Heal - Or is it?
 * Hidden Agenda Villain - Due to the series being canceled thanks to the network, he becomes this way permanently.
 * Homage - Does combining with an insect through the use of teleportation technology sound familiar to you?
 * Jerk Jock: As Wasp.
 * One-Winged Angel - Normally, scanning a new form doesn't count, but when the result is a towering, monstrous behemoth of a transformer, it definitely does.
 * Painful Transformation: With Nightmare Fuel resulting
 * Palette Swap - He was forged from the same protoform mold as Bumblebee. He takes this further by scanning the same Earth mode as Bumblebee as part of his revenge scheme.
 * Purple Eyes - gained them at some point during his incarceration.
 * Red Herring Mole
 * Revenge Before Reason
 * Shock and Awe - Stingers, same as Bumblebee. He retains them after becoming techno-organic, too.
 * Psycho Electro
 * Shout-Out - There are many similarities between this version of Wasp and the BW incarnation. It could even be said that his misfortune of being thrown out of the academy and into the stockades referenced the original incarnation's misfortune of being The Chew Toy.
 * That Man Is Dead - "Wasp forgive Bumblebot...but Waspinator NEVER forgive!"
 * Third Person Person - By the show's present, he's taken to talking like his BW incarnation, and it is not played for laughs.
 * Took a Level in Badass - He's still the universe's Chew Toy, but in a much darker and less amusing way, which makes his transformation to Waspinator all the more terrifying.
 * We Will Meet Again - Though his plotline was cut short, it's obvious that he intends to go after the Autobots again, as "Waspinator has plans."

Blurr
"Voiced by: John Moschitta (another G1 reprisal) / Takahiro Sakurai"

"I'llwarnthemevenifIhavetorunhalfwayacrossthegalaxytoCybertrontodoit!"

Blurr is a member of the Autobot Elite Guard. With his lightning-fast speed (and speech), no one can keep him down.


 * Chainsaw Good - His toy-only weapon
 * Determinator: If he has a message important enough, he will traverse the galaxy on wheels to get it to Cybertron.
 * The comics show
 * Motor Mouth
 * Super Speed
 * Motor Mouth
 * Super Speed
 * Super Speed
 * Super Speed

Jetfire and Jetstorm
"Jetfire voiced by: Tom Kenny / Kappei Yamaguchi Jetstorm voiced by: Phil LaMarr / Wataru Takagi"

"Is time to...double up!"

Twin brothers (if you're wondering how that works for robots, they come from a single spark that split in two) who became the first official flying Autobots after a risky experiment. They are lively and work together.


 * Combining Mecha - Into Safeguard.
 * And a combined vehicle form, which may also be Safeguard
 * Elemental Powers: One for each of them.
 * Blow You Away - Jetstorm
 * Playing with Fire - Jetfire
 * Fake Russians
 * Goggles Do Nothing - Jetfire (like Blitzwing, they're part of his forehead)
 * Shout-Out - Notably Enryuu and Hyoruu/Choryuujin from GaoGaiGar.
 * Sibling Team
 * Single-Minded Twins
 * Sky Surfing: Galaxy Glider-style
 * Wonder Twin Powers

Yoketron
"Voiced by: George Takei / Kinryu Arimoto"

"You must not sacrifice a piece of the future to bring back the past."

Prowl's former master, Master Yoketron was the head of the Cyber-Ninja Corps. He trained a then-punkish Prowl in the ways of the ninja, humbling him in the process. He planned to make Prowl his successor after his pupil mastered the Processer-over-Matter technique. Oh, and he's Robot Ninja Sulu. 'Nuff said.


 * Cool Helmet:
 * Ninja
 * Mind Over Matter - Or rather, "processor over matter". It took Prowl a few thousand years to get the hang of this without him.
 * Old Master
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * Tuckerization - He's named after Hideaki Yoke, Takara's lead designer.
 * Tuckerization - He's named after Hideaki Yoke, Takara's lead designer.

Warpath
"Voiced by: David Kaye / Atsushi Imaruoka"

"Any Autobot who won't fight Decepticons is no better than a 'Con himself. We're at war."

An Elite Guard member who answered to Yoketron during the Great War. The loss of his master hit him hard, and he's had trouble finding an outlet for his anger since the end of the War. He's even been known to rough up prisoners when he's in a bad enough mood. He does manage to have a healthy relationship with Flareup, thanks to their mutual love of Stuff Blowing Up.


 * Chest Blaster: A radar modified into a sonic cannon
 * General Ripper
 * Unexplained Recovery - He had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance in one of Ratchet's war flashbacks, lying in a battlefield without a head. Then again, Bulkhead and Sentinel both survived being decapitated...
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * Verbal Tic - Bam, Pow!

Afterburn
If your first thought was "Who?", this guy only appeared in the UK comics.


 * The Ace
 * Canon Foreigner - Only appears in the short-lived Titan Comics adaptation.
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * Toyless Toyline Character

Rodimus Prime
"Voiced by: Judd Nelson (G1 Rodimus's movie VA) / Hiroya Ishimaru"

"You'll have to get past me first, Decepticreeps!"

Hot Rod, later Rodimus, earned the attention of the higher-ups before he even finished boot camp, and he was accepted into Autobot Academy long before any of his campmates. Everyone seems to agree he's destined for big things...if he survives his first encounter with the Decepticons, that is.

""You'll have to get past me first, Decepti-creeps!""
 * The Ace - If his magazine bio is to be believed, Rodimus is popular, well-versed in several forms of armed and unarmed combat, and was even nicknamed "The Chosen One" in the Academy (see below).
 * The Archer - He designed his own energy bow.
 * The Chosen One - Additional material indicates that Rodimus is most likely to become the next Magnus.
 * Determinator: His entire team is defeated while defending a space bridge, and he winds up surrounded by much larger Decepticons. His response?


 * Jumping on a Grenade - He did this in boot camp to protect his drill sergeant (Kup) from a stray grenade. It turned out to be a dud, but neither of them had any way of knowing that.
 * You Shall Not Pass / Go Through Me - After the rest of his team has been disabled, he tells Team Chaar they'll have to get past him to get to the space bridge. Oil Slick, unimpressed, takes him out with a vial of cosmic rust.

Hot Shot
"Voiced by: Bill Fagerbakke /"

"Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"

Team Athenia's own Bumblebee, Hot Shot's speed and recklessness lead to him spending more time in the medbay than any other member, much to Red Alert's exasperation. Why Rodimus thinks he has command potential, she can't imagine.


 * Fragile Speedster
 * Playing with Fire
 * Southern-Fried Private
 * Street Urchin - Though it's only vaguely implied at best.
 * Toyless Toyline Character - He was going to have a toy, but it only got as far as the prototype before the show was cancelled. Tough luck, Willis!

Brawn
"Might over microchips."

Smaller than Bumblebee, stronger than Bulkhead. Do not cross.


 * The Big Guy
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * The Voiceless

Red Alert
"Voiced by: Tara Strong,"

"I'm gonna have to amputate. Don't worry, Cybertron Service will issue a replacement leg within six to eight solar cycles."

R.A is less of a Combat Medic than Ratchet, but she lived through the height of the Great War and created a cure for Gold Plastic Syndrome along the way. Her teammates appreciate her dedication, although her bedside manner leaves something to be desired.


 * Caped Mecha - Her labcoat, although it's actually part of her vehicle-mode.
 * Kuudere
 * The Medic / The Smart Girl - She helped upload the twins with Starscream's flight tech.
 * Swiss Army Appendage - After losing her left arm to a Decepticon boobytrap, she replaced it with a Transfer Interlink that can form Hard Light surgical equipment.
 * Toyless Toyline Character

Ironhide
"Voiced by: Corey Burton /"

"Hit me with everything you got, sir!"

Ironhide was protoformed in a rural prefecture on one of Cybertron's moons, and he was in the same boot camp squad as Bumblebee, Bulkhead, "Longarm" and Wasp. His pranks can get a little crude, but he's generally a decent "country" bot.


 * Dub Name Change - In Japan, Bulkhead is now called "Ironhide", so this Ironhide is now "Armorhide".
 * Jerk Jock - With Wasp as an Autobot cadet. Unlike Wasp (or Sentinel), he got better.
 * Made of Iron - He's capable of turning his body super-hard.
 * Meaningful Name
 * Palette Swap - The same body-type as Ratchet.
 * Southern-Fried Private

Megatron
"Voiced by: Corey Burton / Norio Wakamoto"

"With the power of the Allspark, I will reclaim Cybertron for all Decepticon-kind - but not before I lay waste to the miserable world that held me captive for so long."

Megatron likes to think of himself as a freedom fighter, leading his troops to reclaim their home from the Autobots who exiled them after the Great War. This claim is somewhat undermined by his complete lack of concern for anyone not useful to him and his willingness to manhandle his own soldiers to remind them who's in charge... In a surprising turn from the regular "Optimus Prime vs. Megatron" setup of most Transformers toons, here Megatron regards Optimus as a minor nuisance, in fact, up until the last episode he NEVER even calls him by name! Despite the fact that Optimus (no matter how physically outmatched) has stopped him three times so far thanks to pure ingeniuity and luck, Megatron still considers Ultra Magnus his main adversary - though the two never meet face to face.


 * Affably Evil
 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Badass
 * Big Bad
 * Captured Super Entity - For most of season one.
 * Chewing the Scenery: While he's usually a lot more sedate than other incarnations of the character, he has his moments. STARSCREEEAAAM!!.
 * Bonus points for being voiced by none other than NORRRIO WAKAMOTO in the Japanese version.
 * Creepy Monotone: It's an incredibly bad sign if he isn't talking with this.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy - This particular incarnation does not take Starscream's crap at all.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * The Dreaded
 * Large and In Charge
 * Losing Your Head
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Oracular Head: Season 1, following the destruction of his body is the pilot. He gets a new one in the season finale.
 * Psychotic Smirk - Does this frequently.
 * Shoulders of Doom - In his Cybertronian body: his Earth form replaced them with Eva Fins.
 * Shrouded in Myth
 * The Stoic
 * Villainous Cheekbones
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Arm Cannon
 * BFG
 * Cool Swords
 * Dual-Wielding - As if the fusion cannon wasn't enough!
 * Cool Swords
 * Dual-Wielding - As if the fusion cannon wasn't enough!

Starscream
"Voiced by: Tom Kenny / Jin Yamanoi"

"YES! Right then, solemn face, solemn face..."

Starscream is an actual threat to the Autobots this time around, capable of flooring even Ultra Magnus with a close enough shot, but he has about as much chance of winning a fair fight with Megatron as his G1 self. Of course, being a Starscream, a "fair fight" is generally the last thing on his mind.


 * Amusing Injuries - Three Words: Starscream Death Montage.
 * Back from the Dead - Megatron slags him in the last episode of season one, but an Allspark fragment lands on his head a few episodes into season two, and keeps bringing him back to life no matter what happens to him.
 * Big Bad Wannabe
 * Butt Monkey - From season 2 onwards.
 * Iron Butt Monkey
 * The Chew Toy
 * The Dragon - For about five minutes.
 * Evilly Affable
 * Evil Gloating - to the point where he was furious when he was once interrupted.
 * Evil Laugh: As a heavy contrast to Megatron, he does this alot.
 * Good Thing You Can Heal - He starts taking a lot more punishment after becoming immortal (see above).
 * Immortality Inducer - His Allspark fragment.
 * Large Ham
 * Lean and Mean
 * Losing Your Head: The end of Season 2. Lasts until the Grand Finale.
 * Me's a Crowd
 * Psychotic Smirk
 * The Sadistic Choice: "You have one mega-cycle to bring me the AllSpark. If not, this vessel and all its contents - human and Autobot - will perish! Then I will tear this planet apart until I find the AllSpark myself!"
 * Smug Snake
 * The Starscream - Duh.
 * They Killed Starscream

Lugnut
"Voiced by: David Kaye /"

"Stasis lock itself could not deter me from your grand and glorious plan, o wise and noble Megatron! Just...go."

A powerful Decepticon and former gladiator, Lugnut is extremely and utterly devoted to Megatron.


 * Battle Butler
 * The Brute: One of two.
 * Canon Emigrant: Has gotten a toy in the 2010 Transformers toyline.
 * Dumb Muscle
 * Foil: Serves as a foil of sorts to several characters...
 * Starscream: Starscream's legendary treachery makes a big contrast to Lugnut's Undying Loyalty.
 * Bulkhead: they're both the biggest, strongest and least intelligent members of their respective teams, but where Bulkhead is a Gentle Giant with Hidden Depths, Lugnut is a destructive brute with no depths seen.
 * Shockwave: they're both insanely devoted to Megatron (and have been known to brawl over who's the most loyal) but while Lugnut is dumb as a rock, Shockwave is loyal but smart.
 * Honor Before Reason: "I will not hide. I will stand proudly and shout Megatron's name to the HEAVENS!"
 * Implacable Man
 * Large Ham: Especially when he starts praising "The great and GLORIOUS Megatron!".
 * Minion Shipping - With Strika, although this is only mentioned in secondary material.
 * The Renfield: An effective version this time.
 * Undying Loyalty - Taken to the extreme. He can practically make religious sermons about his great and GLORIOUS leader.
 * Weapon of Choice/Anatomy Arsenal
 * Power Fist - The Punch Of Kill Everything, AKA The P.O.K.E
 * Rocket Punch - Or rather turns his hand into a bomb and uses a jet engine on his arm to punch things really hard.
 * Played straight against Omega Supreme in the second season finale, with his hands magically reappearing in the next shot.
 * The Worf Barrage - The Punch; it's not ineffective, but he is always interrupted before he can it. Once, when he actually uses it, it levels the entire Autobot team and creates a huge crater.
 * Yes-Man
 * Yes-Man

Blitzwing
"Voiced by: Bumper Robinson /"

"(Hothead): AUTOBOTS! I WILL CRUSH THEM INTO IRON FILINGS! (Icy): But my orders are to retrieve the Constructicons... (Random): Oooh, but I like iron filings! Especially sprinkled on top of servo salad!"

At first glance, Blitzwing seems to be a stoic, no-nonsense Decepticon. However, he is a master Mood Swinger, able to change from stoic to anger to insanity depending on his mood.


 * The Ahnold - Hothead, to a degree.
 * Icy, meanwhile, would be "The Colonel Klink".
 * While Random is, well, Random.
 * The Brute: One of two.
 * Cloudcuckoolander - Random.
 * Elemental Powers - Two out of three of his personalites have one.
 * An Ice Person: Icy.
 * Playing with Fire: Hothead.
 * Evilly Affable
 * Fan Nicknames - His faces get a lot, although the Word of God titles them "Icy", "Hothead" and "Random".
 * Freudian Trio - His personalites are this.
 * The Kirk: Random.
 * The McCoy: Hothead.
 * The Spock: Icy.
 * Giggling Villain - Random.
 * Goggles Do Nothing
 * High-Class Glass - Icy.
 * Hot-Blooded - Hothead.
 * Macross Missile Massacre
 * Perpetual Frowner: Icy and Hothead.
 * Personality Powers - Icy and Hothead are ice/jet and fire/tank respectively, while his Random persona can use both. His big weakness is that it's involuntary - if you can get him to, say, switch from Icy to Hothead when he's in jet mode, he'll have no choice but to turn into a tank while in midair.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Hothead and Icy, respectively.
 * Shoulder Cannon
 * Slasher Smile: Random.
 * Split Personality: Ice and Hothead actually argued over a vehicle mode choice. Random then suggested choosing both.
 * Tank Goodness
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity - Word of God is that he was "different" before becoming a triple-changer.
 * The AllSpark Almanac elaborated further: . He may've been different before, but that had to have pushed him over the edge.

Blackarachnia
"Voiced by: Cree Summer / Ryoka Yuzuki"

"It'll be a long time before I ever trust another Autobot. Especially you, Optimus."

Blackarachnia joined up with the Decepticons to find a cure for her cursed techno-organic form. Though she uses her spider abilities to her advantage, she can't stand her hideous appearance and is desperate for a cure. She tends to use her beauty to seduce those around her to get what she wants - just...don't look under the helmet. .


 * Arachnid Appearance and Attire
 * Building Swing
 * Combat Stilettos - Oddly, she only has these after becoming part-organic.
 * Composite Character - She's a combination of the original Blackarachnia from Beast Wars and Elita One from Transformers Generation 1
 * Corrupt the Cutie - Her transformation from Elita-1 after being mistakenly Left for Dead with the giant spiders. Also doubling as her Start of Darkness.
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Dark Chick
 * Distracted by the Sexy - She plays it up a little for Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and the Dinobots.
 * Fallen Hero
 * Fantastic Racism - Or a victim of such. She left the Autobots rather than risk being strapped to a lab table.
 * Also a self-inflicted example: she can't stand being part-organic.
 * Femme Fatale
 * Giant Spider - And unlike her BW version, her spider mode is the same size as the ones she gained it from.
 * I Am a Monster
 * Mad Scientist - Not only regarding techno-organics; The AllSpark Almanac states that she rebuilt Blitzwing into a triple-changer sometime after the Great War.
 * Mega Manning

Soundwave
"Voiced by: Jeff Bennett / Nobuo Tobita"

"I am Soundwave. I am Decepticon. The revolution begins now."

Soundwave was another of Megatron's attempts to regain a body during his tenure as a talking head. He presented the plans to Isaac as a walking music player he could give Sari for her birthday, anticipating that Sari would use the Key on it and programming Soundwave to upgrade into a specific form. What he didn't expect was that Soundwave would become sentient, although he was only too willing to take up the Decepticon emblem.


 * A.I. Is a Crapshoot
 * Cool Shades
 * Creepy Monotone: Much more emotional than the original, though.
 * Devil in Plain Sight
 * Glass Cannon
 * Machine Monotone
 * Made of Plasticine
 * Make Me Wanna Shout
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Musical Assassin - complete with two Instruments of Murder. Laserbeak is a guitar, Ratbat a keytar.
 * The Power of Rock
 * Robot War - Tries to start one, but it only works when he makes them rise up.
 * Technopath

Shockwave{{spoiler|/Longarm Prime}}
"Voiced by: Corey Burton / Nobuyuki Hiyama"

"At long last, I serve you, my liege... under my true colours."

Shockwave is a.


 * BFG
 * Captain Ersatz - With his grey and purple coloring, antler-like comm antennae, extensible arms & sinister mono-eye, he's a dead ringer for Perfect Zeong.
 * Cyber Cyclops - He even quotes HAL in season 3.
 * Deep-Cover Agent
 * Devil in Plain Sight
 * Eva Fins
 * Evil Costume Switch - He was already evil, but he celebrates his reunion with Megatron by switching to his G1 colours.
 * Have You Told Anyone Else? -.
 * Knight of Cerebus: Unlike many, many other Decepticons in the show, up to and including Megatron himself, he has no humorous quirks to balance out how frightening and serious he is.
 * The Mole
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed - Burton, who previously voiced G1 Shockwave, uses the same David Warner-inspired voice.
 * Rubber Man - His shapeshifting ability allows him to extend his limbs.
 * Secret Identity
 * Tank Goodness
 * Tinman Typist
 * Villainous Breakdown - Approaches this by the time people have found him out.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting - Moreso than the other Transformers.
 * Villainous Breakdown - Approaches this by the time people have found him out.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting - Moreso than the other Transformers.

Scrapper and Mixmaster
"Voiced by: Jeff Bennett (Mixmaster) and Tom Kenny (Scrapper) /"

"Mix: Who puts the "crude" in "crude oil"? Scrap: Mixmaster and Scrapper, that's who!"

Two 'bots brought to life by Allspark fragments, Mixmaster and Scrapper (known as the Constructicons) want two things: hot cars and oil. Though Bulkhead tries his best to befriend them, their minds drift right back into trouble just searching for those two things. .


 * Affably Evil: Even after their Face Heel Turn, they get along surprisingly well with Bulkhead (when they remember him, that is).
 * Fat and Skinny - Mixmaster and Scrapper, respectively.
 * G-Rated Drug - They're big oil drinkers.
 * Line-of-Sight Name - Thanks to the name tag on Mix's vehicle mode and a pile of, well, scrap.
 * Neutral No Longer
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Mixmaster's voice is an imitation of Joe Pesci (which helps in the Shout-Out "Sari, No One's Home").
 * Punch Clock Villain: They'd probably work for Optimus instead if he offered them oil.
 * Sibling Team - So says Wyatt.
 * This Is a Drill - Scrapper's primary weapons.
 * Those Two Guys -> Those Two Bad Guys
 * Toyless Toyline Characters

Dirt Boss
"What're you cogs lookin' at? You wanna piece 'a me? Try it and you'll be goin' to the scrapyard in a crankin' box!"

- Dirt Boss's first words

Mixmaster and Scrapper's self-appointed boss, also a product of an Allspark fragment (combined with a damaged Headmaster unit and a forklift). He is a no-nonsense, strict and nasty piece of work who keeps the Constructicons busy.

""Stop hittin' yourself! Stop hittin' yourself!""
 * Captain Ersatz - He looks like a Gunmen.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper - "You gotta PROBLEM?"
 * The Napoleon - He was plotting to take over Detroit minutes after being created, and doesn't take kindly to anyone contradicting him.
 * Never Found the Body - Scrapper survived the oil rig's explosion, but Dirt Boss and Mixmaster never showed up again. According to Wyatt, they 'exploded away'. The AAII says they're alive, and working on something called 'Devastator'...
 * People Puppets - Capable of taking over other robots' bodies.
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse - Even without his drill, he can still give a pretty good roundhouse.
 * This Is a Drill - He fires a drill prong out of his forehead to take control of other robots.


 * Toyless Toyline Character

Lockdown (technically unaffiliated)
"Voiced by: Lance Henriksen I know you...EMP generator, right? I'm not good with names and faces, but I never forget a trophy."

A neutral bounty hunter, Lockdown caters to whoever pays him the most (usually the Decepitcons). He is a mish-mash of different mods and body-parts and a hoarder of trophies from various 'bots he has stripped and robbed over the years. . He has a history with Ratchet and a rivalry with Prowl, in whom he sees a Worthy Opponent and kindred spirit.


 * Affably Evil: "Nothing personal, kid."
 * He's also quite sincere when he offers Prowl a partnership.
 * The Assimilator - He takes trophies from his victims and incorporates whatever bits he likes or needs into himself. The rest go on the wall.
 * Badass in a Nice Suit - His design suggests a skull-like head on top of an undertaker's tuxedo - he even has coat-tails.
 * Bounty Hunter
 * Canon Emigrant: Has shown up in the Revenge of the Fallen toyline and in IDW's G1 comic continuity.
 * Caped Mecha - It's a poncho, but close enough.
 * Chainsaw Good
 * Collector of the Strange / Creepy Souvenir
 * Cool Car - His vehicle mode has a skull-and-bones gearstick. That is all.
 * Hey, It's That Voice! - Lance "Bishop/Frank Black" Henriksen.
 * Hook Hand
 * Karma Houdini - Unless we get some new fiction.
 * Morph Weapon - His chainsaw.
 * Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot - His hook hand effectively makes him a robot pirate; early designs even had an eyepatch. What's more, he has a death motif in his undertaker look and skull-like head, and
 * Psycho for Hire
 * Shoulders of Doom
 * Spikes of Villainy
 * Rocket Punch - He used one in his first appearance: when Ratchet destroyed it, he replaced it with the Hook Hand.
 * Rocket Punch - He used one in his first appearance: when Ratchet destroyed it, he replaced it with the Hook Hand.

Swindle (technically a Decepticon)
"Hmmm, maybe I should help them - or maybe I should just help myself!"

The Decepticon equivalent of a used car salesman. Swindle is a charming individual who sells weaponry and whatever business he can get his hands on - as long as he can make a profit, it doesn't matter! Voiced, fittingly enough, by the CEO of Buy & Large.


 * Affably Evil
 * Arms Dealer
 * Badass in a Nice Suit - He has a bolo tie.
 * The Barnum
 * Deflector Shields - He claims to have purchased it from the Vok.
 * Glass Cannon: Very impressively armed, yet the only Decepticon Bumblebee's stingers ever proved effective against.
 * Hammerspace / Bag of Holding
 * Hellish Pupils
 * Honest John's Dealership
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed - His voice and mannerisms are based on Ron Popeil.
 * Now How Much Would You Pay?
 * But Wait! There's More!
 * Purple Eyes
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Anatomy Arsenal
 * Arm Cannon
 * Chest Blaster - Something resembling a futuristic gatling gun pops out of his chest. He's lost most of these weapons by his second appearance - possibly the police or the Elite Guard removed them - but makes up for it using his personal storage dimension.
 * BFG
 * More Dakka - And how!
 * More Dakka - And how!

Starscream Clones
"Ah, never before have I seen a more impressive group of lethal fighting machines...and pretty good-looking if I do say so myself."

Stolen protoforms + Starscream personality mod suits + Allspark slivers from the chunk keeping the real Starscream online = trouble (and hilarity). While they have the same weapons and speed as the original, they each represent an exaggerated (er, even more so) aspect of his personality, which makes some of them a lot less effective than they could be. Two of them show up in A Fistful of Energon, but are revealed to be walking bombs. Starscream builds five more during the season two finale for his assault on Megatron.

The second Almanac adds another two - Dirge (toy-only) and Thrust (who never showed up at all), created by Swindle to act as bodyguards. All in all, not one of his best ideas. You want them? He can let them go cheap!

""Oh, I would never do that.""
 * All There in the Manual/Mythology Gag - None of them are ever named in the cartoon, although if you're a fan of the original series, you can guess all but one or two based on color scheme.
 * Bad Liar - Ramjet, who literally cannot say anything except outright contradictions.


 * Can Not Tell a Lie - Inverted by Ramjet.
 * Dark Action Girl - Slipstream.
 * Dirty Coward - Skywarp.
 * Green-Eyed Monster - Thrust, the clone created late in the game according to the Allspark Almanac 2, is the embodiment of Starscream's intense envy. He pals around with Dirge, which is appropriate since their quirks more or less compliment one another.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!
 * Tom Kenny - All the male Starscream clones.
 * Tara Strong - Slipstream
 * Informed Ability - Their bios claim they have various unique abilities based on their G1 counterparts (teleportation for Skywarp, energy absorption for Sunstorm, etc). None of these ever had a chance to appear in the cartoon.
 * Literal Split Personality
 * Me's a Crowd
 * Nice Hat - Swindle gives Sunstorm and Ramjet helmets to help him differentiate them. Doubles as a Mythology Gag.
 * Not So Harmless: Most have comedic points, but they can be quite dangerous. Sunstorm especially was effective in the 2nd Season Finale.
 * Palette Swap
 * Professional Butt-Kisser - Sunstorm.
 * Riddle for the Ages - According to Word of God, the aspect of Starscream that Slipstream represents is one of these.
 * Small Name, Big Ego - Thundercracker.
 * In the Blood: They were cloned from Starscream. Thundercracker is the most notable, but how could this trope not apply to each clone in some respect?
 * The Smurfette Principle - Slipstream.
 * Toyless Toyline Character - Slipstream. Inverted by Dirge, who does have a toy but never appeared on the show. Thrust didn't get either and is only known to exist through supplementary material. No wonder he's envious.
 * Villainous Glutton - Dirge, the one toy-only clone, represents Starscream's insatiable greed.
 * Yes-Man - Sunstorm.
 * You Do NOT Want to Know - What part of Starscream's personality does Slipstream represent, anyway? Best just not to ask. Word Of God isn't being entirely serious about this.

Strika
"Oooh, the Autobot Elite Guard. This should be fun."

A big, hulking fembot who is just as loyal to Megatron as Lugnut is. Makes sense, too -.


 * Brawn Hilda
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Fake Russian - At least we think so. She's only got three or four lines.
 * Genius Bruiser
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl - Averted. She is more than enough female for Lugnut.
 * Husky Russkie
 * Minion Shipping - She and Lugnut are 'consorts'.
 * Red Baron - Holds title of Megatron's "General of Destruction". It's an Informed Ability, though, as we don't see her long enough for her to do much commanding.
 * Tank Goodness
 * Tara Strong
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * Undying Loyalty - Almost as fanatical as Lugnut, although she does (briefly) question Megatron when he denies her a rumble with the Elite Guard.

Spittor
"Are you going to eat that?"

A Decepticon who can suck in Autobots with his tentacles and either "eat them" or chew them out, covered in burning acid. He's kind of horrible.


 * Combat Tentacles - Or rather, combat tongues. The Almanac II calls them Legion tentacles.
 * Grievous Harm with a Body - One of his major battle tactics is to grab an opponent with his tongues, swallow them, coat them in explosive slime, and fire them at their other opponents as a living projectile.
 * The Pig Pen
 * Toyless Toyline Character
 * Villainous Glutton
 * The Voiceless

Blackout
"Lights out."

An extremely large Decepticon - in fact, until the advent of Project: Omega, he was the single largest Cybertronian ever protoformed. He fought during the Great War and was essentially a one-man army.


 * The Brute: Moreso than even Lugnut, whom he exceeds in both size and stupidity.
 * Canon Immigrant - Based heavily on his live-action counterpart. His transformation sound is deeper and more metallic than the other characters, very much like the movies' sound.
 * Dumb Muscle - He's the biggest, most heavily-armed Decepticon alive, but isn't much help without supervision.
 * EMP
 * One-Man Army: His custom Decepticon sigil means he is the Decepticon Heavy Brigade: the rest of his unit died fighting Zeta Supreme. Blackout went on to kill three other Omega Sentinels during the War.
 * Percussive Maintenance - He can use his stomp to knock out electronics, and then reactivate them by doing it again.
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Arm Cannons - In his toy-only Earth form, they become gatling guns.
 * More Dakka
 * Rings of Death - His Earth form has an arm-mounted disc launcher.

Oil Slick
"Rodimus Prime: You'll have to get past me first, Decepticreeps! Oil Slick: You say that like it's a difficult thing, Autobot."

An expert chemist, Oil Slick invented the deadly weapon "cosmic rust", is a master of vehicle-to-vehicle combat and claims to have trained in Circuit-Su with an Autobot motorcycle, although he's not giving out any details.


 * Canon Immigrant - He started as an unrelated sketch, got produced as a toy, made an appearance in a side-comic, and was introduced in the third season.
 * Cool Bike - Based on the 'Dodge Tomahawk' concept motorcycle, with a goat skull at the front.
 * Epic Flail
 * Evil Counterpart - Was intended to be this for Prowl, having been specifically designed to be the "evil motorcycle." He lost out on the position to Lockdown, though.
 * Evil Genius
 * Lean and Mean
 * Mad Scientist
 * Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie - A ninja robot chemist, though the 'ninja' part is only mentioned in secondary material: he apparently studied Circuit-Su with Prowl. How that could happen is unclear, but there is a big gap in Prowl's past...
 * Phil LaMarr
 * Spikes of Villainy - More notably in his Cybertronian mode, where he's practically covered in them.
 * We Have Reserves - In the comic he was introduced in, he tested his "Cosmic Rust" chemical in the middle of a battle, taking out soldiers from both sides.

Cyclonus
"Compassion is the Autobots' downfall."

The stoic Cyclonus appeared in the skies of New Kaon in a storm of light and tachyons some time after the Great War ended, and has remained a complete mystery ever since. He has sworn loyalty to Megatron, but even that seems somehow abstract - and just who is this "Galvatron" he keeps talking about?


 * The Dragon - To Strika.
 * Dual-Wielding Cool Swords - "Bleedback Blades" that can drain the strength of his enemies or generate black light.
 * Fish Out of Temporal Water: His Almanac II bio "implies" that he's from the future and is just waiting for Megs to become Galvatron.
 * Huh, then going with his G1 counterpart, he could easily be one of Starscream's clones reformatted...
 * His bio does mention sharing some of Starscream's code, with the self-preservation commented out.
 * Mysterious Past
 * Nietzsche Wannabe - According to his magazine bio, he believes that nothing truly matters because "the end is near". It makes you wonder if he knew the show was going to end...
 * Noble Demon - He finds Oil Slick's tactics distateful, preferring to face his enemies one-on-one.
 * Shoulders of Doom
 * Sword Beam - The through-the-ground version.
 * Toyless Toyline Character - Hasbro clarified that Animated Cyclonus doesn't get a toy...because the 2008 Universe toyline model is close enough. They were right.
 * The Voiceless

Sari Sumdac
"Voiced by: Tara Strong /"

"Listen up, oil brain! My family needs your help, and you are going to help, get me?"

The young daughter of Issac Sumdac, Sari is what anyone her age is; precocious and spunky. She is immediately drawn to the Autobots (especially Bumblebee) and serves as their representative and educator of Planet Earth. When she comes in contact with the Allspark, Sari's access key turned into a literal key that can fix damaged Autobots and allow her to manipulate nearly any type of machinery.


 * Action Girl: Season 3 gives her quite the fighting prowess with a plenty of tools to use on Decepticreep scum. Downplayed after Ratchet shuts almost all of her weapon systems down - she's still quite good, especially with her palm blasters, but direct fights are almost a complete no-no. Thankfully she's savvy enough to kinda make up for it.
 * Aesop Amnesia - It took quite a few lessons before she scaled back her abuse of the Key.
 * Alliterative Name
 * Arm Cannon: The first of her many weapons systems to activate, and also the only system Sari actually masters before deciding to give herself a jump-start with the AllSpark key. Ratchet also leaves them online (with somewhat reduced output) after he EMPs her.
 * Badass Adorable: For the first 2 seasons, definitely more on the Adorable side. Had the show not been cancelled, she would've grown into an outright Badass by a Season 5, which was thrown around by Marty Isenberg.
 * Curtains Match the Window:
 * Dark-Skinned Redhead: Indian skin tone, metallic red hair..
 * Every Girl Is Cuter With Hair Decs
 * Expressive Hair
 * Friendless Background
 * Genki Girl - Until Season 3, when she gets a much more Let's Get Dangerous-attitude.
 * Girlish Pigtails -
 * Has Two Mommies - Or rather she eventually has five robot daddies, adopted.
 * Hyperspace Mallet: Sari has one of those as her strongest weapon - it did fairly short work of a Rock Lord, and they're no slouch when it comes to their durability.
 * I Got Bigger: Sari has a near instantaneous growth spurt after she jump-starts herself with the AllSpark key at the start of Season 3. Her body goes from that of an 8-year-old prepubescent girl to that of an teenage-bordering-on-adult woman of above average stature.
 * Jet Pack: That forms out of a scooter.
 * Jumped At the Call: In season 1, and her first reaction to her new gizmos in season 3 was a non-verbal "Awesome!"
 * Kid Appeal Character
 * Killer Rabbit - Ask Mixmaster and Scrapper.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father - Inverted and otherwise played with with Isaac Sumdac.
 * Magic Skirt - Did Isaac install decency-preserving nanomachines in it or something?
 * Missing Mom -
 * Mundane Utility - There is virtually no situation in which she wouldn't use the Allspark key to make things easier.
 * Out of Focus: Like with most humans in season 3. A potential season 4 would still have had her out of focus (going with Bulkhead to learn more about Cybertron) but a season 5 (which was the planned endpoint for the show) would've brought her back in an outright Badass status.
 * Raised by Robots
 * Redheaded Hero
 * Rich Bitch: Subverted. She's Isaac's intended heir to Sumdac Enterprises (which would make her one of the wealthiest women in the world given how Sumdac practically made a new industrial revolution out of advanced robotics). However, Sari is an incredibly kind girl who's a Deadpan Snarker at worst (and even then she keeps the snark for Decepticons around 90% of the time).
 * - At least, she was by the time of the finale. She grew into the role over the course of Season 3.
 * Socially Awkward Hero - Has a much better time getting along with giant robots than kids her age.
 * Team Pet -
 * Twofer Token Minority: Female, Indian,.
 * Raised by Robots
 * Redheaded Hero
 * Rich Bitch: Subverted. She's Isaac's intended heir to Sumdac Enterprises (which would make her one of the wealthiest women in the world given how Sumdac practically made a new industrial revolution out of advanced robotics). However, Sari is an incredibly kind girl who's a Deadpan Snarker at worst (and even then she keeps the snark for Decepticons around 90% of the time).
 * - At least, she was by the time of the finale. She grew into the role over the course of Season 3.
 * Socially Awkward Hero - Has a much better time getting along with giant robots than kids her age.
 * Team Pet -
 * Twofer Token Minority: Female, Indian,.
 * Team Pet -
 * Twofer Token Minority: Female, Indian,.
 * Twofer Token Minority: Female, Indian,.
 * Twofer Token Minority: Female, Indian,.
 * Twofer Token Minority: Female, Indian,.

Professor Isaac Sumdac
"Voiced by: Tom Kenny /"

"I should be more careful when reverse-engineering alien technology."

Isaac Sumdac is the head of Sumdac Systems, the business at the heart of 22nd century Detroit, which relies heavily on his "tireless mechanical helpers". He managed to create these elusive robots by reverse-engineering technology from Megatron, whose head he discovered as a teenager. When Megatron reactivated, he convinced Isaac, who had no idea he was talking to a Decepticon, to keep him a secret from the Autobots.

He is the classic absent-minded professor, forgetting to eat in order to get his robotics in tune. He is well-meaning despite it and remains a loving father to Sari.


 * Absent-Minded Professor - He runs his own company, but sometimes forgets to feed himself and... isn't that great at judging how trustworthy someone is.
 * Bollywood Nerd
 * Forgets to Eat - "When was the last time you ate?" "What is today?"
 * Genius Ditz
 * Horrible Judge of Character
 * Never Live It Down - In-Universe. Working for Megatron, as Bulkhead often brings this up.
 * Open-Minded Parent
 * Sdrawkcab Name - His last name is "Cadmus" backwards.
 * Skunk Stripe
 * Retcon - We see him with it during flashbacks in Season 1, but in Season 3 it's revealed.
 * Robot Master
 * Technological Pacifist
 * - Sort of. Maybe., at any rate.

Captain Carmine Fanzone
"Voiced by: Jeff Bennett /"

"A technophobe is someone who fears technology. *smashes a phone* Does THIS look like fear to you?!"

The loud captain of the Detroit Police (and master of yelling into megaphones), Fanzone dislike one thing and one thing only: machines. This hits him over the head when Detroit's heroes turns out to be giant robots. Still, for the sake of peace, he tries and learns to live with it, relying on them when he has to. .

""This is why I hate machines." (looks at Sentinel) "Certain machines more than others.""
 * Badass Mustache
 * Badass Normal
 * Born in the Wrong Century
 * Catch Phrase - "This is why I hate machines!" He also hates kids and lawyers, but above all else, he hates tech support.
 * The Commissioner Gordon
 * Da Chief
 * Demoted to Extra: For most of Season 3, though he gets a buddy-cop episode with Ratchet near the end.
 * Eyes Always Shut - Though it appears to vary by episode (and animation studio)
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Noble Bigot with a Badge: He repeatedly states "This is why I hate machines". That doesn't stop him from working with the Autobots, helping them, or saving them.
 * He also recognizes the good bots from the bad ones.

""Robots. Why did it have to be robots?""
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: All things considered, yeah.
 * Running Gag - His car is regularly crushed and was once blown up by Blitzwing, but it keeps coming back, complete with its characteristic rust. Is it possible for a non-sentient object to be The Chew Toy?
 * Tuckerization - According to Marty Isenberg, he's named after Detroit native Carmen Fanzone, a former neighbour of his who used to play for the Chicago Cubs.
 * Walking Techbane: This is why he hates machines.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Parodied when the Elite Guard make a public arrival in Detroit.

Prometheus Black/Meltdown
"Voiced by: Peter Stormare / Fumihiko Tachiki"

"Are you ready to feel the burn?"

An expert biologist, Prometheus Black used his talents to manufacture "biochemical makeovers", but lost his funding when a PR stunt involving Bumblebee and Colossus Rhodes went badly wrong. Angry that he has to compete with the likes of Sumdac and his machinery (which he hates), Prometheus vows vengeance. He gets it when he's accidentally turned into essentially walking acid. He's one of the few who can melt Cybertronians without even trying, making him a deadly foe.

"Fanzone: Prometheus Black?! Meltdown: The name is Meltdown!"
 * Becoming the Mask:


 * Beware the Silly Ones - His outfits and Disco Dan-nature aside, Meltdown is the only human villain who poses a real threat to the Autobots one-on-one, and his experiments are about as depraved as anything the Decepticons do.
 * Body Horror: Himself obviously. But those two monsters working for him in two episodes? One used to be his lawyer.
 * Cool Shades
 * Disco Dan
 * I'm Melting - His own genetic modifier liquefies him in Black Friday. The end of the episode reveals he's still alive, but he never shows up again.
 * Fantastic Racism - Against machines, to a far more vicious extent than Captain Fanzone.
 * Freak Lab Accident - Autobot fluid + his special steroids = ouch.
 * Mad Scientist
 * Pick on Someone Your Own Size - He blames the Sumdacs for his company's failure and kidnaps Sari when he decides he needs a child for an experiment.
 * Playing with Syringes
 * Sesquipedalian Smith

Porter C. Powell
"Oh, I don't think I'm in charge, young lady: I know it."

A shrewd business man who uses every dirty trick in the book to gain power and money. He works in Sumdac Systems, but


 * Ascended Extra: He originally appeared as one of Prometheus Black's investors in "Total Meltdown." He wasn't going to appear afterwards, but the crew were taken by his design and wanted to see more of him.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Jerkass - Bordering on Too Dumb to Live. He was screwing over Cybertronian representatives and claimed they couldn't touch him because "Alien Robots Don't Have Rights". Never mind that he was picking a fight with interstellar powers who could very well level the planet from orbit were they so inclined.
 * Don't forget kicking a little girl out of her home and mocking her for not legally existing.
 * Laser-Guided Karma: After being a Karma Houdini throughout Season 2, "Black Friday" saw him tormented by Grimlock, lose a valuable piece of equipment and Fanzone threatening to arrest him for "disturbing the peace." Later in Season 3's "Human Error," he sells Soundwave toys based on Sumdac's original design. After the real Soundwave's villainous actions, however, Powell is financially ruined by the returns/refunds.
 * Making a Spectacle of Yourself
 * Smug Snake
 * Villain with Good Publicity

Henry Masterson/Headmaster
"Get ready for T.O.T.: Total Ownage Time!"

A young scientist who has created a robotic head that can take over any other living robots' body (he's kind of a control freak that way), controlling them under his will. Headmaster speaks in computer leet speak (retro leet speak, considering this is the 22nd century).


 * Catch Phrase - "Total ownage, noobs!"
 * Combining Mecha - The Headmaster unit will make any other robot one against their will.
 * Disco Dan - He talks like an early 2000s online game nerd in the 22nd century when "l33tsp33k" was already on its way out when the show premiered.
 * Not to mention his goofy 00s Emo Teen hairstyle.
 * Gadgeteer Genius
 * Grand Theft Me
 * Internet Tough Guy - Well, he acts like one at least.
 * And has the machine to back it up.
 * Leet Lingo
 * Mad Scientist
 * Rule of Cool - He stated that he ignored Sumdac's orders and built the Headmaster unit more or less because he thought it was cool.
 * Steven Ulysses Perhero - Really, it applies to most of the supervillains.
 * Totally Radical - A somewhat updated example.

A. A. Archer/Angry Archer
"An Autobot! Verily the arrows of outrageous misfortune seek to pierce me to the quick - exeunt!"

A Robin Hood-ish figure who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, namely himself. The Angry Archer also has a habit of speaking in quasi-Shakespearean diction.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Artificial Limbs - A robotic hand.
 * A Sinister Clue - After learning about the character, the real Aaron Archer requested that the cartoon Archer be left-handed like him.
 * Jeff Bennett - Using his 'Lord Bravery' voice from Freakazoid!.
 * Just Like Robin Hood - Parodied.
 * Trick Arrow - Magnets, armoured fists, grenades, lasers and grappling lines, among others.
 * Tuckerization - After character designer Aaron Archer (he was even originally supposed to be named "Aaron the Angry Archer").
 * Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe

Mayor Edsel
"....."

A silent mayor who lets his secretary do all the talking.


 * Bow Ties Are Cool
 * Silent Bob
 * Silent Partner - Flipped around from what you'd expect
 * The Voiceless - He needs his assistant to interpret him.

Penny Princess, Ph.D./Professor Princess
"Explosions aren't nice... EXCEPT WHEN THEY LOOK LIKE BEAUTFIUL RAINBOWS!"

A bratty "princess" whose goal in life is to destroy anything "boyish" so the world can be a happier, pinker place.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Child Prodigy: She's a real Professor, and presumably built her own weapons, including the flying plush unicorn. Too bad she doesn't have the maturity to go with it.
 * Enfant Terrible - Fans weren't certain, but Word of God says she's really a kid.
 * Giggling Villain
 * Kath Soucie
 * Shout-Out: She rides a flying plush unicorn. Hmm...

The Witwicky Family
A family of in-jokes, the Witwickys are generally somewhere in the background, although they briefly join the main plot in "Garbage In, Garbage Out", during which Carly is giving birth and is unlucky enough to be picked up by Ratchet in ambulance mode. Spike and/or Carly work for Isaac, since Daniel is one of the few kids at Sari's birthday party.


 * Continuity Cameo
 * Corey Burton - Spike
 * Casting Gag: Burton voiced the adult Spike in the G1 movie and following episodes.
 * Tara Strong - Carly
 * Yuppie Couple

Nino Sexton/Nanosec
"I ain't nobody's errand boy...unless the price is right."

Nino was once a common thief until he was given a speed suit secretly by Megatron, causing him to create wanton havoc until the suit aged him up. .


 * Brian Posehn
 * Evil Redhead
 * Line-of-Sight Name - Despite his name, he didn't get the idea for his supervillain moniker until one of his victims claimed his money "disappeared...in a nanosec!"
 * Rapid Aging - A side-effect of the suit. Slo-Mo fixed him up in season 2.
 * Super Speed

Slo-Mo
"I'm the leader of this syndicate. The head honcho, the big cheese, see?"

Speaking in 1930s moxie speak, Slo-Mo is a woman with the ability to slow down time, thanks to a watch embedded with an Allspark fragment. She rounds up all the other human villains and forms the S.U.V (Society of Ultimate Villainy). She also has a thing for Nanosec.


 * Clock Queen: Sorta.
 * Motor Mouth - In stark contrast to her power.
 * Tara Strong
 * Tuckerization - Named and designed after Hasbro exec Samantha Lomow. S. Lomow, geddit?
 * Zettai Ryouiki