Transformers: Prime: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''My name is Optimus Prime, and I send this message: Though we did not choose to be of Earth, it would seem that we are here to stay. If you approach this planet with hostile intent, know this: We will defend ourselves. We will defend humanity. We will defend - our ''home''.''}}

 

 

 

The show is animated in CGI but carries a bit of a [[For the Cel of It|2-D flair]]. Here is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVu67D2hXyA the opening sequence] for the series. The overall look and tone of the show follows closely with the [[Transformers (film)|live-action films]] (with Optimus, Bumblebee and Megatron having similar designs) while it continues to take inspiration from many other Transformers incarnations, and it has inspired a new MMO game, ''[[Transformers Universe]]''. By the end of its premiere season, the show has accumulated not only good ratings, but has become one of the most highly-praised incarnations of the franchise for its high production standards in both writing and animation.

 

Now with a [[Transformers Prime/Recap|recap]] page.

{{tropelist}}

* [[Action Girl]]: Arcee.

** Miko gets points for ''trying'', if nothing else.

** In the Japanese version, Arcee and Jack are played by [[Shizuka Ito]] and [[Jun Fukuyama]] respectively. They reprise their roles from the [[Romantic Comedy]] [[Harem Anime]] ''[[To Heart 2]]'' in that they once again play a couple with a Big-Sister and Little-Brother relationship.

** Similarly, [[Steve Blum]] in the English version once again plays Shin from ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'', in that Starscream is a sadistic warlord who takes pleasure in ''literally'' shoving his hand through the rib-cages of helpless prisoners.

* [[Adaptational Badass]]: Taking from movies again, Bumblebee and Starscream are quite competent soldiers. 'Bee isn't quite the bruiser as from the films, but he charges headlong into a fight and holds his own just as well. Starscream is also scary in both his new competence and even his appearance; they made him a sadist who is unafraid of killing prisoners for talking back at him and willing to make [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty|cheap shots]] to gain the advantage in a fight.

** Also, Wheeljack. He went from an inventor of wacky devices (that end up exploding) to a dual-sword-wielding ex-Wrecker who is willing to go up against a 'Con army and even boast [[I Like Those Odds|about his odds]]. Rather than the mad scientist of G1, he's known for inventing things on the fly (Yes, he's [[MacGyver]]) and for being an explosives expert.

** Arcee is rivaling [[Beast Wars|Blackarachnia]] for the best [[Action Girl]] in a ''[[Transformers]]'' series. Not bad for being simply [[The Chick]] from ''G1''.

* [[Adult Fear]]: June Darby worries about Jack riding and racing Arcee because she works in an emergency room. Naturally, she is also not at all pleased after realizing that children are near the front lines of five robots' war against the Decepticons.

* [[Advancing Wall of Doom]]: Knock Out tries to push Optimus and Arcee off a cliff with a [[Force Field]] generator in "Operation Bumblebee Part 2".

{{quote|'''Ratchet''': Yes, well... the medic could have done better. }}

* [[And This Is For]]: When Arcee first battles the Vehicons, she begins pummeling one of them whilst exclaiming; "This! Is! For! Cliff!"

** In "Armada," Bulkhead gives one to {{spoiler|a Starscream clone}} one while ''[[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|beating him to death]]''. [[Beware the Nice Ones|Do]] ''[[Beware the Nice Ones|not]]'' [[Beware the Nice Ones|mess with Bulkhead.]]

{{quote|'''Bulkhead:''' This is for [[Killed Off for Real|Cliffjumper]]! *Punch* For [[Kick the Dog|Bumblebee!]] *Punch* For '''everything.''' *Punch*}}

{{quote|'''Breakdown:''' AGRATFDAZGTDSGRAD!!!

'''Airachnid:''' Sorry, can't understand you. }}

** It's particularly evident in "Partners", but the lighting and the detail on the individual characters (dings, scrapes, paint scratches, etc.) has only improved as the series progressed.

* [[Animesque]]: Somewhat, it was animated by a Japanese company and the designs are a hybrid of this and [[Transformers (film)|the Live-Action film series]].

* [[Apocalypse How]]: Cybertron itself endured a Class-6.

** [[God of Evil|Unicron]], {{spoiler|who is the Earth itself}}, endangers all life on Earth by performing a Class-X, then intends to cause a Class-Z.

** Likewise, when Optimus describes what would happen to Earth should Megatron bring an undead army to it, various elements of the scene are non-CGI elements such as the fire and explosions.

* [[Atlas Pose]]: Pulled off by ''Megatron'', of all bots.

* [[The Atoner]]: A mild version in Ratchet, who felt that if he was skilled enough, he could have repaired Bumblebee's voice box.

* [[Badass Bystander]]: The human kids can't really get involved with the heavy metal action, but the show has gone out of its way to show moments where they are able to help just by being an extra set of hands.

* [[Badass Normal]]: Agent William Fowler. He "has some pretty big bearings, for a human," according to Bulkhead. He's willing to argue with the Autobots, dogfights Soundwave's drone in a ''helicopter'' rather than be captured without a fight, and continued to mock Starscream while being tortured, never giving up the location of the Autobot base.

** His Badassitude is further shown and justified in "Nemesis Prime". Turns out he's a [[Retired Badass|retired Army Ranger]].

** Jack gets into this every now and again. Raf proves to be helpful with his tech savvy. Miko wants to be this, but is too enthusiastic to be of actual help.

* [[Band of Brothers]]: The Autobots seem to be this way.

{{quote|'''Jack:''' *in reference to Bumblebee* Friend of yours?

'''Arcee:''' [[True Companions|Family]]. }}

** Followed up by an EPIC [[Call Back]] in "Orion Pax, Part 3", with the striking and blocking positions reversed. Could also count as a [[Book Ends]] situation, since it effectively closes a storyline lasting ''seven'' episodes.

* [[Bash Brothers]]: Knock Out and Breakdown. Bulkhead and Wheeljack were this back on Cybertron as part of the Wreckers.

* [[Batman Gambit]]: Ratchet {{spoiler|decides that losing one Iacon relic would be worth it if he could use Laserbeak to download the entire archive from the ''Nemesis'' so the Autobots could find the rest of the relics before the Decepticons could.}}

* [[Battle in the Center of the Mind]]: Subverted. Megatron ''tries,'' but any attacks he throws at Bumblebee are useless. The two are forced to an impasse.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Arcee is ''very'' touchy about her ex-partners she's lost in the field.

** That's nothing. Optimus is ''not'' happy when an innocent human is harmed.

** {{spoiler|Starscream's clone}} must really have had a death wish when he threw Cliffjumper's death in Bulkhead's face.

* [[Big Bad]]: During the first season the role gets handed back and forth between three villains- first Megatron, then Starscream, then Megatron again, then {{spoiler|Unicron, though technically he is the [[Bigger Bad]] of the series}}.

** [[Big Bad Ensemble]]: Season Two is setting this up with Megatron, Silas and {{spoiler|Airachnid}} all laying potential claim to this on an episode to episode basis. Starscream also tries from time to time.

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Happens a ''lot''.

** Bulkhead finishes the fight in the drainage ditch by simply showing up and delivering what would have been a [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]... if the Vehicons hadn't turned tail rather than face him.

** Agent Fowler gets to do this, showing up with helicopters to rescue Jack and June from Airachnid and MECH.

** Bulkhead and the others do it again in the following episode, saving Optimus from Unicron's copies.

** {{spoiler|A restored Optimus Prime comes to the aid of his comrades against Megatron}} in "Orion Pax, Part 3".

** Arcee {{spoiler|when Unicron is about to step on Optimus.}}

** Knock Out does it again after he sees what stopping a train with his face did to his paintjob.

* [[Big Ol' Eyebrows]]: It would be safe to say that what ''[[Transformers Animated|Animated]]'' had in chins, ''Prime'' has in eyebrows.

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: The ending of Season One. {{spoiler|The Autobots stop Unicron from awakening and the Earth is saved. However, Optimus loses his memories of the Autobot-Decepticon war, and Megatron uses this to get him onboard the ''Nemesis'' and away from Autobot hands.}}

* [[Blood From the Mouth]]:

** Followed shortly by Optimus doing the same thing to Megatron in the following episode. ''Repeatedly.'' He was seriously pissed off at the time.

* [[Blood Sport]]: Ratchet considers monster truck rallies to be this.

** Which takes on a slightly darker dimension when we find out that Cybertron had ''actual'' gladiators and Megatron used to be one.

** The "One Shall Fall/One Shall Rise/Orion Pax" [[Story Arc]] is effectively bookended by fights between Optimus and Megatron wherein one pulls a [[Barehanded Blade Block]] on the other.

* [[A Boy and His X]]: Threefold. The creators have even admitted that they wanted the humans' relationship with the robots to resemble the close dynamic seen in ''[[The Iron Giant]]''.

* [[Broad Strokes]]: Hasbro has stated that Prime is part of a "modern continuity" that also encompasses ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron]]'' and the ''[[Transformers Exodus]]'' and ''[[Transformers Exiles]]'' novels, evidently meaning it is part of a continuity ''family'' (in much the same way that the Sunbow cartoon, Marvel comics, Dreamwave comics and IDW comics are all part of ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' without all being in continuity with one another) and later clarified this was the intent. See the [[Transformers Aligned Universe]] page for more information on that.

* [[Broken Faceplate]]: Inflicted on Soundwave by Wheeljack in "Triage"... and [[Feels No Pain|yet]] he manages to get right back up and keep on fighting, despite the fact the Wheeljack basically just put a crack in ''his face''.

** As does Arcee in "Orion Pax, Part 1".

* [[Came Back Wrong]]: Dark Energon revives the dead, but turns them into mindless berserkers unless something is around to command them.

* [[The Cameo]]: Cliffjumper appears briefly in a [[Flash Back]], with him and Bumblebee [[Big Damn Heroes|rescuing]] Arcee from Airachnid.

** Not that it's restricted to covert battles. One especially memorable instance involves Optimus turning into a truck, ramming Megatron, and ''grinding his wheels into his [[Arch Enemy]]'s face''.

** Agent Fowler has a similar problem when debriefing his superiors after the incident with Nemesis Prime. Until Optimus Prime showed up in person to prove that he was alive and well, Fowler's superior was ready to send him away for psychiatric rehabilitation.

* [[Casual Danger Dialog]]: Fowler reacts very nonchalantly to being tortured, though it's mostly so he can mock Starscream. In the end, the torture leaves him so drained that he's delirious and saying how much he likes pie.

** Wheeljack's grenade. Makeshift's disguise as him includes one, which winds up being used to kill him.

** The camera on Miko's cell phone comes in handy on multiple occasions.

** The Dark Energon shard Starscream plucked out of Megatron in an attempt to murder him is used by Starscream to empower himself.

** The ''Harbinger.'' {{spoiler|The downed ship becomes Starscream's base of operations in Season 2.}}

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: A nasty example in the form of several deceased characters' corpses. If the body hasn't been utterly destroyed (as in Makeshift's case) you'll be seeing them again. So far, Cliffjumper's body has been used as Mgeatron's Dark Energon test subject, Skyquake's corpse was resurrected by Starscream as another zombie, and {{spoiler|Breakdown}}'s remains have been reconstructed for MECH's nerfarious purposes... namely, {{spoiler|seemingly uploading the critically injured Silas' consciousness into them}}.

** Bonus points for Skyquake. His split-spark twin, Dreadwing, sensed his death and traveled to Earth to avenge him.

* [[Cliff Hanger]]: Good LORD. Several during season one, but special note goes to the last four episodes.

** And then there is "Triage" and "Toxicity", which get special note for using the same cliffhanger twice, but somehow making it work both times.

* [[Clip Show]]: "Grill."

* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: [[Blue Eyes]] = good, [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|Red eyes]] = bad, [[Purple Eyes]] = [[Demonic Possession|worst]] [[Necromancer|of]] [[Psycho for Hire|all]].

* [[Come Alone]]: Starscream, while acting as [[The Informant]], tells Ratchet to do this. Twice. [[Genre Savvy|He brings Bulkhead along. Both times.]] The second time, he doesn't even come through the GroundBridge until Bulkhead gives the all-clear.

*** [[Mission Control]]/[[Communications Officer]]: Soundwave

*** The Security Officer: Breakdown

**** [[Elite Mooks]]: Insecticons

* [[Composite Character]]: Arcee has more in common in her general demeanor and [[Palette Swap|color scheme]] with Chromia than the original character. Likely an attempt to avoid the "[[Pink Girl, Blue Boy|Girls Wear Pink]]" cliche (she does have some pink highlights), while Arcee is still the best known female Autobot.

** Cybertron's design when shown in the series, is the exact same design used to depict the planet in ''War For Cybertron'' (just recoloured a little).

** Also, Megatron is using Dark Energon in the series, which he acquired control of in ''War For Cybertron''.

** The bulk of the Decepticon forces in ''War For Cybertron'' are formed by nameless Decepticon Troopers that are purple in color and have red visors. In this series, similar troops are used, only they're called Vehicons (which is itself a nod to ''[[Beast Machines]]'').

** In the story told about the legend of Unicron and Primus, Optimus notes that Primus became one with Cybertron's Core, which as shown in the flashback, is almost identical to how it appeared in ''War For Cybertron'', and was how Optimus acquired the Matrix of Leadership in this continuity.

* [[Cool Starship]]: The ''Nemesis'', which serves as the Decepticon base.

* [[Criminal Amnesiac]]: {{spoiler|Optimus}} in the first episodes of season 2.

* [[Cute Mute]]: The few times Bumblebee speaks, it's in mechanical beeps and whirls that, among the humans, only Raf can understand (and he does so immediately), whereas the other Autobots seem to have no trouble understanding him.

* [[Dare to Be Badass]]: Miko tries this on Jack after he [[Refusal of the Call|refuses the Call]] the second time, but it doesn't work, at least not on the spot.

* [[Darker and Edgier]]: And '''how.'''

** The series opens with the death of Cliffjumper, showing just about anyone can be offed at any moment.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: This applies to many of the Autobots (Arcee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Cliffjumper most prominently), as well as Jack.

** Knock Out has become one too, to the frequent irritation of Starscream.

* [[The Determinator]]: Megatron. Go on, try and kill him.

** Also, Optimus and Bulkhead.

* [[Diagonal Cut]]: Megatron manages one of these on zombie!Cliffjumper.

* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Optimus {{spoiler|turns the full power of the Matrix onto Unicron's Spark. Either it returned him to stasis or extinguished his Spark outright}}.

* [[Disney Villain Death]]: Happens to the Insecticon in "Orion Pax, Part 3" while simultaneously being devoured by Scraplets.

* [[Divergent Character Evolution]]: The series is probably the first of any Transformers continuity to make Bumblebee and Cliffjumper wholly independent of one another. Not only are their personalities entirely different, but this time around, they [[Averted Trope|don't]] [[Palette Swap|share the same body-type]].

* [[Don't Look Down]]: Or Up. Or Left.

* [[Dream Apocalypse]]: Happens when Arcee disconnects Bumblebee's mind from Megatron's in "Sick Mind."

* [[Drill Tank]]: Several of these are used in the energon mines in the second episode. They're used to fend off the Autobot attackers, but don't do very well.

* [[Drop the Hammer]]:

** Breakdown's hands turn into hammers as weapons.

*** {{spoiler|Solus Prime's hammer appears for real in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2".}}

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: Wheeljack, with a pair of giant scimitars.

* [[Dumb Muscle]]: Bulkhead knows he is't particularly smart, but no other Autobot has the same [[The Determinator|raw determination]] as he does. Bulkhead saves the day (accidentally or not) more often than the others.

* [[Elite Mooks]]: Insecticons.

* [[Enemy Mine]]: Bulkhead and Breakdown vs. MECH.

** {{spoiler|Optimus and Dreadwing vs Starscream, who's wearing the Apex Armor and knocking both of them around with ease.}}

* [[Energy Absorption]]: The Energon Harvester can absorb energon from anything, including other Transformers.

* [[Evil Former Friend]]/[[We Used to Be Friends]]: Optimus Prime and Megatron.

** In the ''Exodus'' novel, Megatron takes this a step further, and refers to him as brother in the symbolic sense, claiming he felt Optimus was like family. It gets a bit odder in ''Exiles'' when it is stated he had once wanted Optimus, then Orion Pax, to be his trusted right hand and advisor if the High Council had done what he saw as the right thing and named him Prime. Megatron's current actions suggest he still misses their old friendship, but is also more than willing to use and discard him after millions of years as enemies.

* [[Evil Gloating]]: Starscream is fond of this, usually when he thinks he's rid of Megatron once and for all.

* [[Evil Knockoff]]: Nemesis Prime, a MECH-built copy of Optimus controlled by remote.

** Breakdown vs. MECH.

** {{spoiler|Megatron vs. Unicron}}

'''Optimus''': That is a matter of perspective.

''The ice falls on top of Dreadwing and buries him.'' }}

* [[Eye Scream]]: Optimus' plague infection starts at his eye. Breakdown has one eye ''torn out'' when he's captured by MECH.

** Megatron does this to a copy of Unicron.

* [[Faceless Goons]]: The Decepticon Troopers, as well as all MECH members shown except Silas.

** "Grill" deconstructs this trope when Fowler points out that some of MECH's members could be serving members of the military, hence their masks.

{{quote|'''Arcee:''' I wouldn't.

'''Starscream:''' Oh, but I ''might.'' }}

* [[Failed a Spot Check]]: In "Nemesis Prime" {{spoiler|Silas, piloting the titular machine via remote control, climbs on top of the structure he is sitting in, with Optimus following behind. This ends up backfiring horribly, because Optimus ends up smashing Nemesis Prime through the roof, severely injuring Silas. He apparently didn't notice the location of the bots until the roof started to cave in}}.

** Given how the fight was going, he might not have run into this problem, except for {{spoiler|Fowler coming in and [[We Need a Distraction|tricking Silas into a fistfight]], keeping him away from the controls long enough to give Optimus an opening. By the time Silas got back to the controls, [[Oh Crap|it was too late]].}}

* [[Family-Unfriendly Death]]:

** Cliffjumper in the first episode.

** The Insecticons can't seem to catch a break: in "Toxicity", one of them gets shards of Tox-En ''driven through his throat'' by an explosion, courtesy of Bulkhead's hidden grenade. You can see him writhing and choking in agony for several seconds before he finally kicks the bucket.

* [[Family-Unfriendly Violence]]: Despite the TV-Y7FV rating, there are several instances of explicit robot violence. In fact, the sole reason the series is rated TV-Y7FV with all this violence is because these are robots, which serves as an example of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]].

** The "Terrorcons" are effectively zombies; robotic limbs and parts are flying. Optimus impales one, then morphs his still-imbedded arm into a gun to blast the head off of another.

** Not to mention Fowler's torture by Starscream, which manages to be deeply disturbing even though it's not directly shown onscreen.

** The next time MECH shows up, this continues. Breakdown and Bulkhead have a [[Back-to-Back Badasses]] moment that is not shy about showing them smashing and exploding clearly manned cars and helicopters.

** In the next expisode, Arcee smacks around MECH soldiers... outside the cars into walls. Owch!

** Airachnid cuts {{spoiler|Breakdown}} to pieces. The actual violence is offscreen, but we get a glimpse of his mangled remains.

** The brawl between Megatron and the rogue Insecticon from the same episode is also pretty brutal. It ends with Megatron tearing two of the Insecticon's forelegs off, and then decapitating it; and this happens onscreen.

** Unicron views humans as parasites. {{spoiler|Although, to be fair, we kinda ''are''. We do live on the filth that accumulated on his body while he slept, after all}}.

* [[Fascinating Eyebrow]]: Optimus' response to Miko and Raf's [[Acting Unnatural]].

* [[Fish Eyes]]: Megatron

* [[Five Episode Pilot]]: The series premiered with two episodes back-to-back as a preview, then the whole pilot over the course of the next week.

* [[Five-Bad Band]]:

** [[Big Bad]]: Megatron

** [[Evil Genius]]: Soundwave (espionage) and Knock Out (medic and tech advisor).

** [[The Brute]]: Breakdown. {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real|But not anymore.]]}}

*** Skyquake had a ''very'' brief tenure as one before he died.

*** Hardshell has now taken this role.

*** Makeshift was one as well before his death.

** [[Sixth Ranger]]: {{spoiler|Orion Pax, AKA amnesiac Optimus Prime}} Only lasts a few episodes, though.

* [[Forced to Watch]]: Airachnid threatens to kill Tailgate in order to get Arcee to talk. [[Interrogated for Nothing|Arcee doesn't actually have the information Airachnid's after]]. This leads to a [[Gory Discretion Shot]].

* [[Foreshadowing]]: Dark Energon has been confirmed as the blood of Unicron in this series, and Megatron plunges a raw shard of it into his own spark in the second episode, after which he comments that he feels as if {{spoiler|he can hear Unicron's thoughts}}.

** A couple instances in "Darkness Rising", in relation to "One Shall Rise":

*** Megatron claims to be able to {{spoiler|hear Unicron's thoughts}}. He says the exact same thing 20 episodes later, in "One Shall Fall".

** Starscream is a slightly tougher version of this for the 'Cons.

** In general, the bigger you are the more damage you can absorb. The smaller you are the faster you are.

* [[Fun with Acronyms]]: The DNGS (Dynamic Nuclear Generation System), a.k.a. the Dingus. Presumably the case with the terrorist organization out to steal it, MECH.

** Subverted in one of the tie-in comics. When Ratchet builds a training area for the Autobots called the "Safe," Raf asks if the name's short of "'''S'''ystems '''A'''nd '''F'''iring '''E'''valuation." Ratchet says no, the name just means that it's a safe place to train, but he likes Raf's idea too.

* [[Genki Girl]]: Miko. For bonus points, she's a Japanese exchange student living in Jasper.

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Megatron. When Dreadwing declares that he's going to kill Optimus, Megatron warns him that 'Cons who try that and aren't named Megatron tend to end up dead. He eventually relents and lets Dreadwing give it a shot... then hangs up the comm signal, turns to Soundwave, and notes that he'll be very surprised if they ever see Dreadwing again.

** Starscream as well. {{spoiler|During "Triangulation", even though he's got the Apex Armor and has become basically unkillable, and thus his arrogance starts going through the roof, he retains enough awareness to realize that Optimus and Dreadwing have something planned to try and stop him. Too bad it didn't kick in until just a moment too late.}}

* [[Gentle Giant]]: Bulkhead.

* [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]: Megatron, when the Dark Energon in his system ''really'' starts working.

* [[God Is Evil]]/[[God of Evil]]: {{spoiler|Unicron. As Optimus puts it he is, metaphorically speaking, the parent of humanity and all life on Earth. He agrees with Optimus on this, and then Unicron declares his creations parasites unworthy of living}}.

* [[Good Scars, Evil Scars]]: Wheeljack has several scars on his cheek and lower lip, indicating his past as a Wrecker.

* [[Great Offscreen War]]: There was apparently a fairly elaborate conflict between the two factions on Earth long ago, and considering Megatron's plans, Optimus correctly assumes he would test out Dark Energon on the site of an unexplained battlefield.

* [[Green Rocks]]: Dark Energon, which generally has similar properties within the show but is quite different to the stuff shown in ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron|War For Cybertron]]''.

* [[Grievous Harm with a Body]]: Starscream blows off Arcee's arm in the prequel comic and proceeds to smack Cliffjumper around with it.

** Wheeljack chops off a Vehicon's arm and smacks another Vehicon with it.

** Megatron himself does it in "One Shall Rise, Part 1" when {{spoiler|Unicron rejects his offer.}}

* [[Harmful to Minors]]: Bulkhead tells Miko to look away before finishing off a Vehicon by ripping out its equivalent to a heart. She doesn't.

** In "Partners," Starscream nearly kills Arcee, but she gets back to her feet and kicks his ass.

* [[Hero-Killer]]: Several of the Decepticons. Starscream murders Cliffjumper, Airachnid killed Tailgate, Dreadwing blew up Seaspray, and Megatron is shown impaling an unnamed Autobot in a flashback.

* [[Hope Spot]]: Done to ''the villains'' when the Decepticons find out that Makeshift does indeed know the location of the base, it's cut short by the Decepticons finding a bomb on Makeshift, which promptly explodes, killing Makeshift and denying the incredibly important information to the Decepticons.

* [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl]]: Played straight in Miko and Bulkhead's case, [[Inverted Trope|inverted]] with Jack and Arcee.

** Knock Out really goes through the wringer in "Tunnel Vision", and it doesn't get any better for him in "Triage".

* [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]]: Soundwave to this to both Megatron and Starscream. Unusual is that while Megatron is competent in his own right, he is more of a broad schemer and uses brutal tactics while Soundwave takes care of the fine details. Starscream clearly knows it and is careful around him; Airachnid did not and learned a hard lesson.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]:

** To drive the point home, Megatron's thoughts are revealed to the audience, saying that Bumblebee can't hear Raf anymore, just to show how total of a control Megs has over Bumblebee.

* [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming]]: A series of episodes in the second season that are four seperate stories about hunting Iacon relics occuring at the exact same time all begin with "T." "Tunnel Vision," "Triangulation," "Triage" and "Toxicity."

* [[In Harm's Way]]: Miko, full tilt. She's constantly sneaking onto the battlefield to watch the Autobots fight, and is almost killed every single time.

* [[In Medias Res]]: The Autobots have been on Earth for some time and have contacts with the human governments, and references are made to an initial Autobot/Decepticon conflict on Earth several years prior.

* [[Info Dump]]: The explanation of Dark Energon in "Darkness Rising, Part 2" is ''very'' informative for people who haven't played ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron]]''; the Transformers Wiki pointed out that the Infodump was to the point that it sounded like Megatron and Starscream had never encountered it before, which they have. Of course, given the [[Broad Strokes]] relationship between this series and WFC, the exact properties of Dark Energon are also up to change.

** Ratchet takes almost an entire segment between commercial breaks to explain the history between Megatron and Optimus. [[Art Shift|It works, though.]]

* [[Instrumental Theme Tune]]: Courtesy of Mr. Tyler; no "More than meets the eye/Robots in disguise!" to be found here.

* [[Intergenerational Friendship]]: The Autobots (who lived for many, many years) and their human allies who range from pre-teens to teens.

{{quote|'''Megatron:''' How was it that you put it, Optimus? "I could not have allowed this to end otherwise"?}}

** Soundwave does this sometimes; repeating a voice clip of another character in a different context. For instance, Starscream mentions that he "Must bear witness" to Optimus Prime's defeat, before flying off. Soundwave repeats "Must bear witness" before sending his drone to follow Starscream.

** In "Stronger, Faster" Ratchet tells Megatron he is his Doctor of Doom. Later in "Orion Pax, Part 1", Megatron uses the same title for Ratchet when demonizing him to {{spoiler|Orion Pax}}.

* [[It Got Worse]]: When the kids are attacked by one of Soundwave's [[Combat Tentacles]], Miko goes at it with an axe. It knocks her down before she can land a hit, then grabs the axe. Subverted in that Soundwave doesn't kill them though.

* [[It Has Been an Honor]]: Arcee says this to Optimus when it seems like they're going to freeze to death in the Arctic.

** Wheeljack's rivalry with Dreadwing.

** Miko lists this as the reason why Fowler should go after Silas in "Nemesis Prime", referring to how Silas tried to kill Fowler earlier in the episode.

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: Agent Fowler, Ratchet, and now Wheeljack. Arguably, Breakdown is a villainous version.

* [[Journey to the Center of the Mind]]: Bumblebee enters Megatron's mind in order to find a cure for Optimus' disease.

** Many fans are worried that this trope will apply to even Optimus, since it has become almost tradition for the big guy to die in each continuity only to be quickly revived soon after.

* [[Killer Rabbit]]: Scraplets. Cute to organics, deadly pests to mechanisms, with a particular sweet tooth for Transformers.

* [[Kryptonite Factor]]: "Tox-En" is a dangerous form of energon which instead of powering a Cybertronian, shuts them down to the point of spark loss.

* [[Large and In Charge]]: Optimus and Megatron are a lot taller than their subordinates. Subverted with Bulkhead when Optimus appoints a temporary leader; Bulkhead never gets picked.

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: {{spoiler|When Optimus gives up the Matrix of Leadership to defeat Unicron, he subsequently loses all of his memories since he originally obtained the Matrix millenia ago, thinking him and Megatron to still be allies and not recognizing any of the Autobots.}}

* [[Laser-Guided Karma]]: Starscream, in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2", makes fun of {{spoiler|Bumblebee's inability to transform due to MECH stealing his T-Cog. After almost destroying it, guess what MECH does after Starscream returns to give the news of the destroyed T-Cog?}}

* [[Last-Second Word Swap]]: "[Airachnid] is planning to retaliate against Mega- er, man...kind!"

* [[Lean and Mean]]: [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_A3LYFEP8MTs/TR28qp0f_yI/AAAAAAAAAhE/mXcoJAB_AIg/s1600/7_Starscream.jpg Starscream,] [http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_A3LYFEP8MTs/TR28qaQn_zI/AAAAAAAAAg0/YtTLX7ktn5s/s1600/9_Soundwave.jpg Soundwave,] and the [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_A3LYFEP8MTs/TR28pKDFJ7I/AAAAAAAAAgs/isJxWpfrVBU/s1600/10_Trooper.jpg Vehicons], the last of whom look like slimmed-down versions of the [http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/uploads/1278384005_79_71646_463fb4ac5dac0ae.jpg Decepticon soldiers] from ''War for Cybertron''.

** Fowler's case is explained in "[[Clip Show|Grill]]" as being upgrades to his jet from Ratchet. And a preference for being comfortable.

* [[Living Relic]]: All of the Transformers. Their civilization is old beyond reckoning and is now destroyed. While their technological capabilities are impressive, it is clear in many episodes that they only have SCRAPS knowledge compared to what once was.

* [[Look on My Works Ye Mighty and Despair]]: {{spoiler|The gigantic statue glorifying Megatron in the ruins of his former capital of Kaon oozes this.}}

{{quote|'''Ratchet:''' We lost one this week, by the Allspark, don't let it be two.}}

* [[Lost Technology]]: Earth appears to be littered with Cybertronian technology (and a few Cybertronians), including at least two crashed starships. And yet humanity hasn't discovered any of it, despite some of it sitting out in the open. MECH is... working on it, however.

** Somewhat justified in that the crashed starships and battlefields are in isolated wilderness areas. Smaller tech (like the energon extractor) has been found, but it seems no one realized what it was.

* [[Lotus Eater Machine]]: During his coma, Megatron dreams of perpetual duels with Optimus that he always wins. He's tempted to stay, but Bumblebee convinces him that this is ultimately empty.

* [[Magnetic Plot Device]]: In the first season, several episodes were dedicated to fighting over some Cybertronian artifacts that seemed to be randomly on Earth somehow. The second season clarifies that as the Cybertronian Civil War got worse, Autobot officials took a lot of culturally and technologically significant artifacts and scattered them into space to prevent Decepticon usage in case the Iacon Archives were compromised (and some artifacts were too dangerous/valuable for even Autobot use), providing a handy justification for a new [[MacGuffin]] every so often.

* [[Makes Us Even]]: Starscream name-checks this trope when he {{spoiler|frees Arcee from Airachnid's webbing in "Crossfire"}}.

* [[Mecha-Mooks]]: The Vehicon drones, who function as generic footsoldiers for Megatron and Starscream. They're actually dangerous, though, as they captured Cliffjumper and give Bumblebee and Arcee a hard time.

* [[Mechanical Lifeforms]]: When properly introduced to the Autobots, Raf asks, "So, if you guys are robots, who made you?" Ratchet is insulted by the question. Optimus then explains that they are "autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron." It's shown later in the series that they have an approximation of the same nervous system and "vital components" that regular organic life has. They have limits to the amount of damage they can take, and even cold arctic weather can be dangerous.

* [[Mind Rape]]: {{spoiler|Optimus}}' time as a [[Criminal Amnesiac]] could count as this, given the way Megatron took advantage of him. When Megatron uses this to taunt him, it gets a little uncomfortable to watch.

** A more straightforward example is Bumblebee's brief [[Demonic Possession]] by Megatron.

** A similar thing is done by Bumblebee, also against MECH.

* [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family]]: Scraplets. Tiny little critters that actually look cute. But when they see living metal, they open their mouths and show their teeth, and you can hear a dentist's drill as they speed toward their target.

* [[Mugging the Monster]]: MECH thinks it's stealing the D.N.G.S. from "an unarmed civilian truck". The Autobots don't even need to transform to trash the MECH cars, and it takes Decepticon interference to reveal the Autobots to MECH.

* [[My Skull Runneth Over]]: Bulkhead, after getting the data cylinder's contents uploaded into his brain.

** And that's ''after'' Megatron stopped beating him.

* [[Never Say "Die"]]: Averted throughout, particularly in the first five minutes of the show with Cliffjumper.

* [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain]]: In "Orion Pax, Part 3", a pair of Vehicons {{spoiler|start beating up Orion Pax (who is starting to doubt Megatron's lies) when he protests against Megatron's plans. The beatdown causes Orion's arm cannons to appear -- the arm cannons Orion didn't know he had. He immediately kills the Vehicons and leaves to confront Megatron.}}

* [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot]]: [[Humongous Mecha]] Zombies!

* [[No Flow in CGI]]: Subverted, due to the series being animated by a [[Polygon Pictures|veteran CG animation studio]]. All of the human characters' hair looks somewhat like clay, but this is largely due to the art style and most likely intentional.

** Done more successfully by Bulkhead with the energon harvester.

** Subverted with the polarity gauntlet and the immobilizer staff.

** In "Toxicity" Bulkhead does it again with the Tox-En by throwing it in a volcano.

* [[No One Could Survive That]]: Optimus and Starscream both write Megatron off after the space bridge explodes with him at ground zero. It takes until the next episode for Megatron to show up again, alive... [http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/5/5b/Masters%26Students-Megatronstasis.jpg but not exactly well.]

* [[No Ontological Inertia]]: Averted; breaking the Immobilizer does ''not'' unfreeze Optimus and Bulkhead.

** Played straight when Unicron is defeated and all the natural disasters he was causing on Earth just stop.

{{quote|'''Jack:''' Uh, Optimus! You wanna see something funny?

'''Optimus:''' No. }}

* [[Non-Action Guy]]: Ratchet doesn't see much fighting and usually stays at base as [[Mission Control]]. But when needed, he is still willing to go into battle, surgical blades and all.

** Soundwave tends to stay out of combat as well; for almost the entire first season, his only fight scene was when he attacked the kids with one of his tentacles in the pilot. In the season finale, however, he proved that when motivated, he's easily one of the more dangerous Decepticons.

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: Megatron survived the space bridge exploding thanks to dark energon, which left him barely alive.

** {{spoiler|Silas, after Nemesis Prime gets dropped on him. He's left on heavy life support, with the implication that they might need to [[Brain Uploading|upload his consciousness]] into Breakdown's body to save him.}}

* [[Off with His Head]]: Happens twice in "Crossfire":

** When MECH finds what's left of {{spoiler|Breakdown}}, his head is lying well away from his body with an expression of terror on his face.

** Megatron decapitates {{spoiler|Airachnid's Insecticon}} later in the episode.

* [[Oh Crap]]: When Cliffjumper is confronted with almost a dozen Vehicons in the first episode. "Arcee... about that backup..."

** At the end of episode 3, Optimus and Ratchet have one when Megatron raises his army of Terrorcons.

** In Episode 4, the Autobots' reaction to Megatron's latest plan, which involves creating a space bridge to Cybertron and releasing dark energon to make an army out of thousands upon thousands of dead Autobots and Decepticons.

** In "Orion Pax, Part 3," Megatron himself has this reaction when {{spoiler|Orion Pax goes back to being Optimus Prime.}}

** A hilarious one from Miko and Raf in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 1" when they try to distract Bee with TV. What are the odds they'd see ''that'' car commercial, right then?

*** The second is during her fight with Soundwave, when she sees that Laserbeak isn't resting on his chest. Cue being shot in the back.

*** The big one, though, comes in "Armada," when she realizes {{spoiler|she's standing on a primed stasis pod. The pod activates before she can get away, freezing her in a permanent [[Oh Crap]] expression}}.

** Ditto for Wheeljack. It seems that for the Wreckers, this trope is par for the course.

** In "Orion Pax, Part 3", Megatron takes on Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead at the same time, and wins.

* [[Our Zombies Are Different]]: Adding Dark Energon to a Cybertronian's corpse results in a savage monster who kills everything in its path. They can be controlled by a living Cybertronian with Dark Energon in their system.

** Also counts as [[Non-Human Undead]].

* [[Palette Swap]]: In proud ''Transformers'' tradition. One of Arcee's old partners, Tailgate, is a recoloring of Cliffjumper in a white primary with red accents. They manage to hide it by showing sharp camera angles on him so it isn't so obvious.

** Dreadwing is a recoloring of Skyquake, [[Justified Trope|justified]] because they are brothers (split from the same spark).

* [[Pardon My Klingon]]: Cybertronian-style swears such as "scrap" and "frag". Notably missing is "slag", which is an actual swear word over in England and the UK (but not America or Canada).

* [[Perpetual Frowner]]: Agent Fowler is constantly grumpy.

* [[Playing Both Sides]]: Starscream. {{spoiler|Though, it's not what it sounds like. Starscream's just trying to survive and ends up trying to get help from the Autobots when he's injured and wrecking Megatron's plans when he can, but he's not above trying to convince Dreadwing to let him help fight against Optimus Prime, only to turn around and help Optimus take out some of the Vehicons, only to later exclaim to Dreadwing that he was forced to help Optimus.}}

** It is lampshaded by Ratchet: "We're lucky it happened... on a Saturday."

* [[Plug N Play Technology]]: Averted. Raf tries to download Decepticon information onto a flash drive, but can't find a port for it. Miko has to take a picture of the screen on her cell phone.

* [[POV Cam]]: The show is fond of showing the view of an Autobot, usually Bulkhead, while he's firing at Decepticons. Sometimes it's closer to an over-the-shoulder view, possibly in homage to ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron]]''.

** A literal one is used during Bumblebee's trip into Megatron's mind, which later proves to be more than just giving a reason why the others know of Bumblebee's adventures.

* [[Powered Armour]]: The Apex Armor, as seen in "Triangulation". {{spoiler|Currently in Starscream's possession.}}

* [[Punch Catch]]: Megatron grabs Ratchet's second [[Psycho Serum|synthetic Energon]]-powered punch, twists his arm, and punches a hole in Ratchet's gut with his free hand.

* [[Punch-Punch-Punch Uh-Oh]]

* [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!]] : A rare quiet example: "All. Hail. Starscream."

* [[Punctuated Pounding]]: Accompanies the above examples of [[And This Is For]] and leads into [[Punch-Punch-Punch Uh-Oh]] for the first one.

* [[Puny Humans]]: Used to insult Breakdown after he gets captured by MECH. Megatron refuses to send a rescue team, claiming that since Breakdown got captured by creatures smaller and weaker than him, he's not worth rescuing. Starscream also uses the trope name later to make Breakdown "forget" about the unauthorized rescue.

* [[Puppy Dog Eyes]]: Starscream, of all bots, does this a few times in "Partners".

* [[The Quiet One]]: Both Bumblebee and Soundwave. When Bumblebee does speak, his "voice" is a series of beeps and whirrs, but even then, he doesn't seem to carry on long conversations. Soundwave only "speaks" using recorded audio tracks of a recent conversation; that and his blank stare are meant to be unsettling.

* [[Reality Subtext]]: "Decepticons! [[Frank Welker|I]] have [[The Transformers (animation)|returned!]]"

* [[Recap Episode]]: S02E09 "Grill".

* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Standard for Decepticons. Megatron tops this one, his stare alone is enough to frighten anyone at first glance.

** Even though the former is long dead and they never actually met in-show, twins Skyquake and Dreadwing seem to be a pair. Skyquake carries himself like a gladiator, takes absolutely ''no'' crap from Starscream, and is quick to attack the Autobots. Dreadwing has an noticeably cooler temperament than his brother and employs more sophisticated weapons and tactics.

** Miko is an obvious red to Jack and Raf's blue.

*** In "Orion Pax, Part 2", when Bulkhead and Ratchet try to hide who they got their info from, they're surprised at how nonchalantly Arcee deduces it's Starscream, despite their fears that she would fly into an uncontrollable rage finding out that they actually accepted Starscream's help.

*** Arcee seems to have backslid a bit by "Crossfire" when she breaks ranks and attempts to go after Airachnid on her own and would have gotten killed for it {{spoiler|had Starscream not come to her aid.}}

** One that actually ''is'' mentioned in-series, and is plot-relevant at the same time, are Skyquake and Dreadwing. Dreadwing is Skyquake's twin brother, come to avenge his death.

* [[Running Gag]]: "I needed that!!", said by Ratchet in regards to whenever ''anyone'' damages something he needs.

** Fowler showing up to help out, saving an Autobot's hide, and getting his plane/helicopter scanned by the con who had no means of escape.

* [[Sacrificial Lion]]: Cliffjumper. Originally billed alongside the main robots, his death is referenced repeatedly during the initial five-episode pilot, and the possibility of him being alive drives most of the plot in the second episode.

** {{spoiler|Breakdown is a rare villainous example. His death at Airachnid's claws shows she's playing for keeps about deserting}}.

* [[Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl]]: Jack and Miko.

* [[Say My Name]]: See [[Skyward Scream]].

*** Before that, Starscream had another when {{spoiler|MECH stunned him in order to steal his T-cog.}}

* [[Screams Like a Little Girl]]: Bulkhead. Made even funnier because his voice is naturally very deep and baritone.

* [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]: Scraplets, who even seem to emerge from a dumpster-like container.

** To a lesser extent, there's also Skyquake, who is in stasis on Earth as a sleeper agent until Starscream releases him.

** Unicron {{spoiler|who has been sleeping inside Earth for eons.}}

* [[Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You]]: A lot of combat shots, if they aren't in slow-motion, tend to be of this sort.

* [[Send in the Clones]]: {{spoiler|Starscream does this with five clones of himself. Unlike ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' though, they aren't that distinct from each other, which probably contributes to why they come within a few seconds of actually terminating Megatron if Airachnid hadn't chosen to attack as well.}}

* [[Serious Business]]: Ratchet and the science fair projects.

* [[Ship Tease]]: The writers have made a few ''[[Getting Crap Past the Radar|questionable]]'' dialogue choices in some scenes featuring Jack and Arcee. Just look at Jack when he first meets Arcee (who was disguised as a motorbike); if he talked and behaved that way to her [[FemBot|robot form]], he'd come across as quite the [[Robosexual]] [[Casanova]]. Also, there was his heartfelt confession to Arcee that ''[[A Man Is Not a Virgin|she was his first]]...[[Less Disturbing in Context|bike]]."

** Considering what June said when she found out that Optimus Prime wasn't around makes you wonder if it runs in the family.

{{quote|'''Ratchet:''' The gauntlet may be our best solution for your current... attraction.

'''Miko:''' Ugh! They're not attracted to each other! }}

*** {{spoiler|[[Ship Sinking|She ends up killing him with those extra arms. And before that, Breakdown showed that he had no qualms about crushing Airachnid for stepping out of line]].}}

** As of the end of the season, there seem to be a few hints of an attraction between Agent Fowler and June Darby. Most noticeably, he gave her a gigantic bearhug when {{spoiler|Unicron was finally defeated.}}

** Neither do any of them appear in the incredibly complex and dark episode Crossfire. Except some MECH grunts who salvage {{spoiler|Breakdown's corpse.}}

** Jack is the only human to feature in "Predatory," and by the end of the episode, he's [[Badass Normal|left behind]] his clown status.

* [[Short Run in Peru]]: Canada aired episodes 21 to 23 several weeks before [[The Hub]] did, but then stopped until the two stations were roughly in sync in terms of episodes. Singapore, however, aired the three-part season finale several days before North America did.

* [[Shout-Out]]: As is tradition for ''Transformers'', we have a ton of Shout Outs to other continuities, way too many to list here (check the Trivia page).

** The large radio antenna array in Ep 5 actually does exist in real life and it really is astronomically accurate.

* [[The Silent Bob]]: Soundwave doesn't speak much, and so far, anything he "says" is a rather creepy recording of another character (complete with G1's heavily modulated voice). It seems to be a type of [[Evil Counterpart]] to Bumblebee's [[Cute Mute]] status. Most likely, the irony that someone called ''Soundwave'' is mute is intentional.

* [[Simultaneous Arcs]]: "Tunnel Vision", "Triangulation", "Triage" and "Toxicity" all take place at the same time.

** June also gets a happy one upon hearing that Jack has returned from {{spoiler|Cybertron}} unharmed.

** Arcee provides one when Soundwave teleports her to the Arctic before {{spoiler|she can recover Optimus/Orion from the ''Nemesis''.}}

** Megatron does one in "Orion Pax part 3" when {{spoiler|the restored Optimus escapes with Jack and the Autobots}}.

* [[So Proud of You]]: June, as she watches her son Jack grow from a child into a responsible adult and brave warrior in "Orion Pax, Part 3."

* [[Space Is Cold]]: Averted. The Autobots have no problems in space, but the sub-zero temperatures in the Arctic are a major concern.

* [[Space Is Noisy]]: Fails on this account, though. Starscream hears Megatron's voice and Soundwave's Deployer in space.

* [[Spikes of Villainy]]: The ''Nemesis'' is covered in them.

** As is Unicron, but that's tradition.

* [[Stab the Scorpion]]: Megatron, in the season 1 finale.

* [[Standardized Leader]]: To a certain degree, deconstructed. It's mentioned several times that Optimus is a very compassionate and noble leader, but he doesn't have much of a sense of humor and doesn't socialize, either. Arcee and Bulkhead have said it comes with the title of Prime, as such a responsibility weighs upon an individual. Ratchet notes that Optimus was much different before he became a Prime, and in fact compares him to Jack.

** Airachnid plans on taking command of the Decepticons, due to Megatron's absence. Soundwave is [[Curb Stomp Battle|quick to veto.]]

* [[Stealth Pun]]: Right before being abducted at gunpoint by MECH, June is saying that as a parent, she needs to stick to her guns.

** Optimus, as Bulkhead points out that he had never seen Optimus laugh, cry or lose his cool in all the time he has known him. However, Optimus is certainly warmer and allows a few rare smiles once in a while.

* [[Stop Helping Me!]]: Bulkhead is wrestling a Vehicon with Miko too close for comfort. She tries to "help" when Bulkhead has the 'con pinned to the ground by dropping a big rock (for her) on its head. It understandably doesn't do anything, and Bulkhead takes a moment to get her out of harm's way before he makes the finishing blow.

* [[Stylistic Suck]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3iKDbKQwKI&feature=related This] [[Mockumentary]]-based "Making Of" feature. "Are... we going to get PAID for this?"

* [[Suspiciously Similar Song]]: The score isn't done by the films' Steve Jablonsky, but is clearly meant to emulate it (as well as some elements of Hans Zimmer's and James Newton Howards' scores for the new ''Batman'' films).

* [[Sword Over Head]]: Arcee has such a moment when faced with a critically damaged Megatron, but stands down when she learns Megatron has information the Autobots need. [[Subverted Trope|As soon as Bumblebee gets what they needed, Arcee cuts Megatron's life support.]] Megatron survives, however.

** She has Starscream at her mercy several times after finding out he killed Cliffjumper, but ultimately refuses to murder him once she sees Bumblebee giving her the [[Puppy Dog Eyes]].

** This happens virtually every time Megatron and Optimus have a one-on-one fight.

* [[Symbolic Blood]]: Much like in the movies, the robots tend to bleed a blue fluid that appears to be energon.

* [[Take That]]: In episode 3, Starscream actually says "Humans... always the weak link." Miko herself seems to be a [[Take That]], as she's got all the traits of most hated human tagalongs that have infuriated fans over the years, and she irritates the in-universe characters just as much.

* [[The Teaser]]: The first ''Transformer'' series to have one.

* [[Technical Pacifist]]: Played with: With Decepticons, the Autobots hold no restraints, but against human enemies, Optimus is adament on using ''minimal'' force. This still involves driving people off the road and crashing people's cars. Some are shown to survive but others are more than likely killed.

* [[Teenage Mutant Samurai Wombats]]: Other ''[[Transformers]]'' series have had elements of this, but ''Prime'' is the first one to play it completely straight.

* [[Tempting Fate]]:

** "Easy prey." -- [[Famous Last Words]], {{spoiler|Breakdown}}.

* [[Terrible Artist]]: Miko, judging by her sketch of Arcee.

* [[This Is the Part Where]]: "So, is this the part where you say goodbye and tell us we need to forget we ever saw you?" No, Miko, it's not.

* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: Knock Out and Breakdown.

* [[Three-Point Landing]]: Starscream is rather fond of these when making his big entrances.

* [[Throat Light]]: The common trait of the Terrorcons and the zombified Cliffjumper, and those under the influence of the Blood of Unicron.

{{quote|'''Arcee:''' Spiking hard... his sick mind is still at work.}}

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: No matter how many times Miko almost dies, she jumps right back into harm's way. This is not unlike some real-life adrenaline junkies.

{{quote|'''Starscream:''' She showed up one day, and the next thing you know, she's acting like she runs the place! She whispered lies into Megatron's ear, manuevered to rob me of my rightful place.

'''Arcee:''' Well, she terminated my partner.

'''Stascream:''' Who's Tailgate?

'''Arcee:''' You were the one... [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|You extinguished Cliffjumper!]] }}

* [[Trash Talk]]: It wouldn't be Transformers without it.

** While fighting over a [[MacGuffin]], this little exchange occurs:

* Gets grabbed and lifted by the head by Breakdown*

'''Breakdown:''' Say Uncle! Say it! }}

* [[Trust Me, I'm an X]]:

{{quote|'''Ratchet:''' It's all right, [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|I'm an emergency vehicle!]]}}

* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: Per ''[[Transformers]]'' tradition, various car parts are substituted for more inappropriate normal words. Arcee in particular seems fond of using "scrap" to stand in for a slightly shorter word.

** Also, they may be using it as a substitute for the more classic Cybertronian curse "slag", as it's quite insulting in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland.

* [[Useless Security Camera]]: In "Deus Ex Machina," Miko uses her phone to take a picture of the Energon harvester the kids are stealing, and then places it in front of the camera lens. The guard watching the screens barely blinks.

* [[Variable Terminal Velocity]]: Fowler's car falls off a bridge. Bulkhead manages to jump down, beat it to the ground, and catch it.

* [[Verb This]]: Skyquake's response to being told to bow to Starscream:

{{quote|"Bow to ''this!''" (''punches Starscream into a canyon wall'')}}

* [[V-Formation Team Shot]]: Averted in the opening credits due to the fairly large size difference between the characters. Instead they're arranged from smallest in front to largest in back.

** Megatron has one in "Orion Pax, Part 3" when {{spoiler|his manipulations of Orion/Optimus start to fall apart and his plans go straight to hell.}}

** Silas has one in "Nemesis Prime" when {{spoiler|he realizes that Agent Fowler has successfully distracted him from the fight with Optimus; he starts panicing as he loses control of the fight, which ends with Nemesis being dropped ''on top of him''}}.

** In "Crossfire", {{spoiler|Starscream, of all bots, ends up saving Arcee from Airachnid.}}

* [[Vocal Evolution]]: [[Frank Welker]] has purposefully reimagined his classic Megatron voice into something that's not quite as screechy, (some would say a voice that almost sounds ill) but more of a softer, controlled evil instead. As he has said, "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAi_MJay5Xw&feature=player_embedded More of an acting place...]" Of course, [[Peter Cullen]]'s voice has only become more dignified as he's aged.

* [[We Hardly Knew Ye]]: Cliffjumper, Skyquake, Makeshift.

* [[We Have Reserves]]: Megatron revives Cliffjumper, turning him into a zombie, and simply stands back and watches with a smile on his face as the creature tears apart two Vehicons.

* [[Wham! Line]]:

{{quote|'''Optimus:''' Megatron must be ''destroyed''!}}

{{quote|'''Optimus:''' {{spoiler|Agent Fowler, I do not believe that Earth became Unicron's home, but rather that, with time and gravitational force, debris collected around the slumbering titan.}}

'''Ratchet:''' {{spoiler|Forming ''your Earth'', itself.}} }}

{{quote|'''Optimus:''' {{spoiler|Where are we, '''Megatronus'''?}}}}

{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Optimus}}:''' Megatron, be gone! *beats the crap out of Megatron*}}

{{quote|'''Knock Out:''' No! Not the finish! Anything but the finish! [[Big No|NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!]]}}

** Though, it is pretty heinous when you remember that the finish is ''his skin!''

*** Which means Starscream is essentially giving him a cut. A scratch really, not even anything deep enough to draw blood/energon.

* [[What Measure Is a Mook?]]: Where to begin...

** Even ''human'' Mooks aren't safe from this.

'''Bulkhead:''' Fowler's a jerk!

'''Jack:''' Whoa! Whether you like the guy or not, the Decepticons may have him! }}

{{quote|'''Bulkhead:''' Oh, well.

'''Jack:''' Bulkhead!

** Ratchet (while under the effects of the [[Psycho Serum|synthetic energon]]) gets this when he [[Cold-Blooded Torture|tortures]] and tries to kill a Decepticon miner, who is a non-combat unit that was fleeing from the site of a battle.

*** He gives one to Optimus for not defeating Megatron for good when he had the chance, and pointed out he had MANY chances.

* [[What Were You Thinking?]]: Jack asks this of Miko. Repeatedly.

* [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?]]: When an exhausted Megatron is at the mercy of Optimus, the latter aims his ion cannon and prepares to fire with ''just'' enough hesitation for Dreadwing and the Vehicons to pull a [[Big Damn Villains]].

** Constantly averted with Arcee who spares both Starscream and Arachnid. Although she did attempt to take out a comatose Megatron, so she does make some exceptions.

* [[Wild Card]]: Wheeljack. He's an Autobot through and through, but he's used to operating as a Wrecker with no chain of command but your own team.

* [[World Building]]: Every episode is trying to build up this incarnation by constantly referring to previous events, characters and other things that are common knowledge to them but unknown to the human characters. In that regard, they sort of act as [[The Watson]].

* [[World of Badass]]

* [[World of Cardboard Speech]]: After Megatron almost kills Raf with Dark Energon, Optimus finally decides that he has allowed the war, and Megatron's life, to continue far longer that he ever should have, and immediately resolves to rectify this mistake:

{{quote|'''Optimus:''' I have been foolish not to see what history has proven over and over again. That Autobots and Decepticons will ''never'' mend their ways. If there can be no diplomatic solution to this perpetual conflict, then I must not allow more darkness to fall upon this or any planet. Megatron must be ''destroyed''!}}

* [[Would Hurt a Child]]: The Decepticons certainly have no problem in endangering any of the children. Megatron nearly kills Raf in "One Shall Fall".

** Averted to a degree by Soundwave. During the opening miniseries, and later on in the series he encounters the children, but only uses as much force as he needs to to accomplish his objective, even when Miko unintentionally hands him an axe. Being [[The Voiceless|Soundwave]] his motives for this are unclear.

* [[Wreathed in Flames]]: Starscream briefly does this when he gives himself a Dark Energon upgrade.

* [[Wrecked Weapon]]: Both times Optimus fought Megatron one-on-one ended in his arm-blade getting broken off.

* [[You Owe Me]]: Starscream does this to Breakdown after leading an unsanctioned mission to rescue him.

** Bulkhead tries to do this to {{spoiler|one of}} Starscream{{spoiler|'s clones}} in "Armada", saying that he and Ratchet fixed him up when he was in trouble, twice. Starscream points out that they only bothered to help him ''after'' he gave them useful information.

** {{spoiler|Starscream tries this on Optimus in "Triangulation", pointing out that he had helped restore Prime's memories among other things. Optimus points out that Starscream only did that to further his own agenda. Starscream doesn't deny it.}}

* [[You Shall Not Pass]]: Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee pull this on Megatron in "Orion Pax, Part 3" {{spoiler|keeping him from getting through the space bridge while Jack and Arcee are retrieving Optimus' memories from Vector Sigma.}}

* [[Your Size May Vary]]: The approximate size of the characters' vehicle vs. robot forms is subject to interpretation, which is nothing unusual in ''[[Transformers]]'' media. [http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/6/6c/DarknessRising3-Arceesizechange.jpg Arcee] stands out the most, and while Bulkhead is about the same size as he was in ''Animated,'' his vehicle form was downgraded from an (extremely large) armored SWAT transport into a (moderately large) SUV. Optimus and Bumblebee seem to be about the appropriate sizes. On the villains' side Megatron doesn't have an Earth-based alternate mode, but if Starscream is an approximation of a real F-16, his robot mode would be ''extremely'' small. (He's not much taller than Bulkhead.)

* [[Zerg Rush]]: {{spoiler|Unicron can make many, MANY copies of himself out of the Earth.}}

** The Insecticons did this to {{spoiler|Megatron's ship}} before the Decepticon leader regained control of them.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Prime Time Cartoon]]

[[Category:The Millennium Age of Animation]]

[[Category:The New Tens]]

[[Category:All CGI Cartoon]]

[[Category:The Hub]]