Transformers Animated Main Autobots / Characters

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Optimus Prime

Voiced by: David Kaye (English), Hiroki Takahashi (Japanese)

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

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's a nice guy who does the best he can despite some insecurity and reluctance.

Adaptational Wimp: While competent and efficient from the start, he is far less powerful and experienced than G1 Optimus Prime, posing very little threat to the Decepticons... at first. Over the course of the series, he undergoes massive Character Development, Takes Multiple Levels in Badass, and becomes an Autobot worthy of the name "Optimus Prime".
A Father to His Men: He develops into a caring father figure to the others as the series progresses.
Almighty Janitor: A rookie captain of a space bridge maintenance team who regularly fights the Decepticons' top fighters.
Ascended Meme: According to the short "Career Day", where Daniel Witwicky asks the question to Optimus Prime, not even Optimus knows where his trailer goes when he transforms. Or is he embarrassed.
Being Good Sucks: Crass and ungrateful bots (namely, Sentinel) take advantage of Optimus' naive innocence and good nature for their own benefit.
Benevolent Boss: His team may be somewhat exasperating, especially early on, but he's still a very patient, caring, and reasonable authority figure.
The Captain: He's the leader of the team.
Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Optimus is the Smooth Captain of the Earth-based Autobots, while Ratchet is the Sergeant Rough.
Composite Character: Has some elements of Beast Wars character Optimus Primal, at least in the sense that when we meet him he's working a low-level job and winds up fighting Megatron by sheer chance. He also has the blue face and retractable faceplate of Primal's original body and his mouth is based on Primal's robot mode for Beast Machines. Oddly, an unused background character was to be called Primal Major, and seems to be the valiant war hero that Generation One Optimus was. Inverted characters?
- He also has a lot in common with G1 Orion Pax, who was a low-level worker before encountering Megatron and becoming Optimus Prime.
Classical Anti-Hero: This incarnation of Optimus is a rookie soldier, not an experienced war veteran, though the heroic spirit is still present. He has moments of self-doubt about his role as leader and soldier, whilst gradually evolving into the kind of hero an Optimus Prime should be.
Cruel Mercy: At least partly why he spares Megatron in the Grand Finale; the Decepticon leader doesn't deserve the "easy way out" that is death.
Dark and Troubled Past: Sentinel persuaded him and Elita to go on a mission to a world that was deemed off-limits in search of bountiful energon, but it ended with Elita presumably being killed. Despite being the only one that tried to persuade the other two into not going, Optimus took the fall for the entire mission while Sentinel let him, leading to Optimus losing his prestige at the Autobot Academy and eligibility for the Elite Guard, being deemed by Ultra Magnus that "being a hero isn't in his programming."
Deadpan Snarker: He's not above snarkily commenting on the various absurdities that life throws his way.
Decon-Recon Switch: He's what happens if a young hero is too lenient, naive, and innocent that jerks like Sentinel find a way to take advantage of it and end up ruining his life while they run scot-free. Despite this, Optimus continues to be a good individual, and gradually becomes the hero that fans were expecting him to be.
Elemental Powers: Whilst wielding the Magnus Hammer in the season 3 finale.
- Blow You Away: By spinning around with it, he can generate powerful blasts of wind and even tornadoes.
- Shock and Awe: Its primary power lets it summon or hurl blasts of lightning.
The Everyman: Probably the most relatable, down-to-earth take on Optimus we've ever gotten.
First-Episode Resurrection: A new Optimus record! Sari uses her key to bring him back to life at the end of the three-part series premiere.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Choleric. His main focus is always on the mission.
The Hero: He's the main character, after all.
- Broken Hero: His failure to save Elita-1 does not make him any less heroic, but has had a huge impact on his self-esteem.
Heroic Build: He sports a classical superhero-build, with shoulders and a chest much larger than his waist.
Heroic Sacrifice: In the Pilot Movie (he got better).
His Own Worst Enemy: It's pretty clear that Optimus' Honor Before Reason tendencies and self-doubt are his biggest weaknesses. Even in "Endgame Part 1", he initially refused to use the Magnus Hammer against Megatron's forces, until practically forced to do so. Thankfully, "Endgame Part 2" shows that Optimus is beginning to outgrow this.
Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed, but Optimus' tendency to see goodness in others can cause him to become naive at times. This is most evident towards Sentinel and Blackarachnia, since both mostly ignore their conscience, as well as blaming Optimus for their own mistakes. It's not unjustified, given their history together as friends, Optimus' own guilt complex, and how the two Transformers do have moments of decency.
- He regards Sentinel as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold rather than the plain Jerkass he normally is, even constantly covering for his numerous failings, despite Sentinel's continued Ungrateful Bastard attitude.
- He believes Blackarachnia has the capacity for redemption, despite how she keeps endangering innocents (including his own teammates) and backstabbing him.
Honor Before Reason: Though it was Sentinel's idea to go to that organic planet, Optimus took the fall for what happened to Elita-1 because he was the ranking cadet. It probably didn't help matters that Sentinel pinned the blame on him entirely.
Hunk: He looks like the Cybertronian version of this, due to his Heroic Build and Lantern Jaw of Justice.
Ink-Suit Actor: More than one fan has stated that Human!Optimus looks a lot like David Kaye.
In-Series Nickname: Bumblebee and Bulkhead call him Bossbot.
Jack of All Stats: At the start of the series, Optimus counts as this for the team.
- His physical build is bigger than most of the Autobots, but Bulkhead is a definite exception, with the latter also being stronger and more resilient.
- Though Bumblebee and Prowl are swifter in movement, Optimus still outspeeds Ratchet and Bulkhead, especially when using his Energon Axe for acceleration.
- Ratchet and Prowl have actual experience as soldiers, whereas the rest of the team were simple repair bots. That said, Optimus' training at the Autobot Academy still proved useful against the Decepticons.
Jerkass Ball: In "Megatron Rising, Part 1", Prime seemed angrier and bossier, refusing to listen to Ratchet when he suggested anything else instead of taking Sari's key away and ignoring that he had hurt Sari's feelings. Justified, given he was stressed out about a Decepticon attack, he learned Bulkhead and Prowl had lied about hiding the Dinobots, (and kind of had a point that Sari can't protect the Key herself), and later apologizes for the way he was acting.
Jet Pack: Even though the previous Optimus Prime had a jetpack, this version's based on God Ginrai's, according to Word of God.
Lantern Jaw of Justice: He’s a hero with a really big chin. Strangely, it becomes normal size when wearing his face mask.
The Last DJ: The main reason Optimus is stuck leading a glorified repair crew is that he won't kiss ass and toe the line like Sentinel Prime does. Most obviously presented when Optimus refuses to cave in and lie about the presence of Decepticons on Earth, even though Sentinel threatens to have him locked away for "inciting panic".
Meaningful Name: Received his name from Kup back in boot camp alongside Sentinel and Elita-1, due to his optimistic and cheerful personality.
My Greatest Failure: The fate of Elita-1/Blackarachnia.
"[She's] someone I never should've left behind."
Mythology Gag: At the end of the Season 3 finale, he carries the reconstructed AllSpark in a container hung around his neck, resembling the Matrix of Leadership. In All There in the Manual, he says that he constructed the container with the Magnus Hammer and says this:
Optimus: I hope that this AllSpark, um, Matrix will help light the darkest hour of future Autobot leaders, no matter what corner of the multiverse they may find themselves in.
Nice Guy: He's a very good-natured individual and wishes to protect all innocent life, whether cybernetic or organic.
Oil Slick: One of Optimus' less-used tricks has him spraying "negative friction lubricant".
Papa Wolf: One surefire way to piss Optimus off is harming his crew members.
Primary-Color Champion: Naturally, he's the leader and he's colored with red, blue, and yellow.
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: Then he finds the AllSpark and fights Megatron himself.
Rocket-Powered Weapon: His axe has engines on the back of it. They can add some extra force to his strokes — handy, as it's mostly used for carving through rocks — but its main use is to serve as a propulsion unit in zero gravity environments.
Say My Name: He reminds Megatron of his name in the Grand Finale; Megatron, who has spent the entire series calling Optimus "Autobot," actually remembers it this time, signifying how he now sees Optimus as a Worthy Opponent.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He does this all the time, and it does have its pointers.
Shoulder Cannons: They fire foam, but it still counts.
Skewed Priorities: He briefly criticizes Ratchet for illegally allowing Bumblebee to use battle grade stingers. Never mind how said stingers previously failed to scratch most Decepticons in a fight, but the team was fighting a controlled Omega Supreme at the time.
Talented, but Trained: Comparatively, Optimus was already this as an academy bot, scoring higher than his peers in a simulation battle against Megatron.
Thunder Hammer: He uses the Magnus Hammer in the season 3 finale.
Team Dad: Previous Optimuses (Optimi?) have been like this, but he may be the most Dad-like yet.
That's an Order!: Often pulled this phrase on his teammates during the early days of the show, when they were less willing to obey his commands.
Took a Level in Badass: Over the course of the series, he shapes up into a great leader and combatant like all Optimus Primes have been.
Top-Heavy Guy: His chest and shoulders are much wider than his waist.
Unknown Rival: Megatron knows he exists, but spends almost the entire series calling him "Autobot." Megatron calling him "Optimus Prime" in the finale is when he finally acknowledges Optimus as a credible threat.
Walking Armory: He always does battle with an actual weapon clutched firmly in hand.
Well-Trained, but Inexperienced: In Season 1, with Blackarachnia referring to Prime's moves as "pure textbook Autobot Academy". Subverted over time, becoming skilled enough to fight evenly against Megatron in "Endgame", winning partly via outside factors.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Because of the incident with Elita-1, he's afraid of spiders.
Working-Class Hero: To the extent that his vehicle mode has several trailer attachments intended for maintenance purposes.

Bumblebee

Voiced by: Bumper Robinson (English), Daisuke Kishio (Japanese)

"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 this, he's ready for battle when the situation calls, even if he tends to rush in without thinking first.

Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed. While still the Kid-Appeal Character as usual, Bumblebee is more rude and arrogant than his G1 self, who is the quintessential Nice Guy of the Autobots.
Aesop Amnesia: Not as much as Sentinel, but some of his more humbling lessons don't quite stick with him.
Arch-Enemy: To Wasp/Waspinator.
The Baby of the Bunch: Alongside Bulkhead, he is the youngest member of Prime's crew.
Being Good Sucks: His first course of action in his friendship with Bulkhead costs him his opportunity to get into the Elite Guard. Then again, it did lead to becoming a member of Team Optimus...
Berserk Button: Downplayed. It's not as bad as Edward Elric, but he really doesn't like being called short.
Big Brother Instinct: He treats Sari like a younger sister and is always quick to save her from danger.
Boisterous Weakling: For all of his grandstanding in the early episodes, it's plainly clear that he isn't a very powerful bot, having stingers that are barely strong enough to cause any significant damage. This eventually goes away later in the series, when his stingers are upgraded to military-grade weapons for Cybertronians.
Bratty Half-Pint: He's the youngest of the group and it shows in how much of an immature pest he can be at times.
Child Soldier: "Human Error" indicates that he's mentally around the same age as Sari.
Composite Character: While in general based on G1 Bumblebee, his impulsive personality is based on Armada Hot Shot and his love of speed is taken from G1 Hot Rod.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Sanguine. He's the most emotional and sociable of the group and is very impulsive.
Fragile Speedster: What he lacks in size, strength and power, he makes up for in speed.
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 helping out Bulkhead by taking responsibility tanked his career.
Go Among Mad People: When Wasp switches appearances with him in "Where Is Thy Sting?", Bumblebee attempts to convince the others that he's the real Bumblebee, but they assume his claims to be signs of Wasp's insanity.
Height Angst: He usually doesn't let it get to him, but at times he can take someone just saying the word "short" as a jab against his small stature.
Hot-Blooded: He's always quick to react to everything energetically.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be pretty bratty and impolite at times, but his heart is in the right place and he genuinely is a good person.
Jet Pack: His turbo-boosters can work like this, though he needs someone to get him into the air first.
Keet: He's pretty hyperactive and loud.
Kid-Appeal Character: The former Trope Namer. As in most cases, he is the youngest of the team, serves as comic relief, and has the closest bond with the Token Human. This time around, he also carries the attitude of a kid, being a lot more immature and reckless.
Leeroy Jenkins: He has a bad tendency to go charging into danger at the drop of a hat.
The Load: While he is okay at fighting human super-villains, he is utterly useless when fighting Decepticons on his own, as his one weapon (nodes that shoot out beams of electricity) are too weak to even make any of them flinch. Well, until he gets the limiters on them taken off and they become one of the most powerful weapons on the entire team.
Meaningful Name: In a more negative way. Received his name from Sentinel alongside Bulkhead in boot camp due to his "bumbling" personality.
My God, What Have I Done?: After learning that he fell for Shockwave's trick; Wasp was set up, meaning that he sent an innocent 'bot to the stockades.
Reassignment Backfire: Space Bridge maintenance is largely considered a crap job, especially with Elite Guard aspirations. Then he and the rest find the MacGuffin that catapults him and the rest into the positions of the most important robots on Cybertron.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Prowl's blue.
Rollerblade Good: He uses his feet-based wheels to help accelerate his movement.
Shock and Awe: His stingers project blasts of electrical energy.
Shooting Superman: Before his stingers were set to their full power setting, he may as well have been throwing tennis balls at the 'Cons.
Speed Demon: This show's incarnation of Bumblebee takes inspiration from Cheetor and Hot Shot in being a speed freak to the extent of secretly competing in illegal street racing.
Strong as They Need to Be: Despite his upgraded stingers proving capable of harm towards Lugnut of all bots, it didn't do a whole lot against Shockwave for some reason.
Took a Level in Badass: Ratchet sets his stingers to the full-power setting intended for combat bots. He also gets to retain his booster packs after their second appearance, though it was only shown once more for the remainder of the series.
Unwitting Pawn: Of Shockwave; he unwittingly stumbled across Shockwave when the Decepticon agent was just starting to infiltrate the Autobots' mission. Shockwave promptly manipulated Bumblebee so that he accused Wasp of being the traitor instead, creating a cover that "Longarm" was able to use to make it all the way to the top.
Whack A Mole: He could have made the Elite Guard on the attention he got for seemingly uncovering a traitor, but he forfeited it to save Bulkhead from getting expelled.
What You Are in the Dark: Even before his Character Development as a member of Team Optimus, Bumblebee still saved Bulkhead from expulsion by Sentinel, choosing gratitude over glory.

Bulkhead

Voiced by: Bill Fagerbakke (English), Kenta Miyake (Japanese)

"You guys got it easy. All people want me to do is break stuff. I've got a sensitive side too, you know... but breaking stuff is kinda fun."

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. Bulkhead may be easygoing most of the time, but he is not afraid to fight back against foes when pushed, especially to protect his friends or another innocent. He even outmuscled the Dinobots for kidnapping Sari.
Big Fun: By far the largest of Prime's crew, and he's fairly mellow and friendly.
The Big Guy: He's the biggest, strongest, and heaviest of the group.
Bully Hunter: In the episode Elite Guard, Sentinel's mean attitude significantly upset Bulkhead, especially when he kept insulting Optimus. Likewise, Bulkhead clearly did not appreciate Wasp's bullying at boot camp.
Canon Immigrant: Though he previously appeared in Energon, the two were different in everything but name. Animated Bulkhead would serve as an influence for Prime Bulkhead, who would influence the IDW G1 Bulkhead.
Combat Pragmatist: Bulkhead does not believe that Talking Is a Free Action. Starscream and Lugnut learned this the hard way.
Bulkhead: I hate small talk!
Cool Chair: See Mundane Utility.
Destructive Saviour: He doesn't mean to wreck stuff, but, well, Earth's structures aren't made for giant somewhat clumsy super-strong robots.
Does Not Know His Own Strength: He has a bad tendency to underestimate his own strength, or overestimate the durability of the world around him.
Dub Name Change: The Japanese dub renamed him "Ironhide" in an attempt to tie the series closer to the live-action film series, despite the fact there's already another character called Ironhide^note.
Dub Personality Change: The Japanese dub exaggerates his ditziness, making him a Dumb Muscle.
Epic Flail: His hands can retract to reveal wrecking balls on the ends of long steel cables, which he usually uses to bash 'Cons upside the head.
Et Tu, Brute?: Betrayal is the thing that angers him most. When he believes the Dinobots have betrayed his trust (and when the Constructions inevitably do betray his trust) he gets furious.
Expy:
- You wouldn't be the first to think he's Broadway reincarnated as an Autobot. After all, both are rotund, green genius ditzes who are often used for comic relief and have names starting with "B". Them sharing a voice actor only makes the comparisons more obvious.
- His overall design is oddly similar to Cybertron's Crumplezone, who was also a comical green Top-Heavy Guy with a hefty underbite.
Fake Defector: A minor trait of his is that he sometimes pretends to be on the villain's side to lower their guard, and then he attacks them.
Fat Comic Relief: The show has made a couple of jokes about his weight, such as the episode where his butt gets stuck on an energy field. Most of the time however it's usually just because he has a very goofy personality.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Supine. He's laid back and indifferent most of the time.
Genius Bruiser: Well, Genius Ditz Bruiser. While he's very strong, his wits aren't exactly that keen, unless you're talking about Space Bridges.
Gasshole: He has burped quite a few times in the show.
Genius Ditz: Would you believe this big lug is in fact the foremost expert on Space Bridge technology? Apparently he had a lot of free time to study on the energon farm.
Gentle Giant: Zigzagged. He does, as he admits, enjoy breaking things. He's just got a lot of interests outside of breaking things too, and he's quite placid and friendly by nature.
Hidden Depths: The rest of the cast is shocked to learn that Bulkhead is the top space bridge technician in the galaxy. It actually made Megatron remember his name.
I Just Want to Have Friends: His backstory has him trying to make friends with the other four robots in the boot camp he attends. They ignore him and order him to leave them alone. ^note He does ultimately earn Bumblebee's friendship though, which leads to them joining Team Optimus.
In Name Only: There is nothing linking him to his Energon counterpart to the point where he might as well be a Canon Foreigner reusing the name of another character. Though given his status as a Breakout Character, the original Bulkhead may qualify as Early-Installment Weirdness.
The Klutz: He's not very coordinated at all, with a huge tendency to bump into things, trip over things, knock things over and generally make a mess.
Losing Your Head: Gets his body stolen by Headmaster and reduced to a head for almost a whole episode.
Meaningful Name: Like Bumblebee, also in a negative way. Received his name from Sentinel for being "all bulk and no brains".
Mighty Glacier: Although he is slow, clumsy and not very agile, he is the biggest and most physically powerful of his team.
Mundane Utility: Can use his Kibble as a chair.
Potty Dance: In the episode Human Error, Bulkhead gets excited at the idea of chowing down as a human. but his organic biology disagrees with him, as he runs to the bathroom holding his butt in a comical way.
Rocket Punch: He can launch his wrecking balls from his arms at fairly high velocity, so... close enough.
Smart Ball: He does occasionally point out when someone has a bad idea.
Southern-Fried Genius: He was raised on an Energon farm, though he only has the accent in flashbacks.
Stout Strength: He has the largest, bulkiest frame of the mechs, giving him a "fat" appearance.
Top-Heavy Guy: His human avatar in Soundwave's virtual reality has a huge upper body and thin legs.
Vocal Evolution: He started off sounding identical to Patrick Star but his voice gradually became gruffer to emphasize his size and bulk.

Ratchet

Voiced by: Corey Burton (English), Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese)

"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 due primarily to two traumatic incidents of failing in his profession: accidentally wiping Arcee's memory core and having to participate in the near-death of Omega Supreme that reduced the giant to a mere spaceship. Despite his constant angry outbursts, however, Ratchet possesses a sweet side deep down.

Achey Scars: "Old war wound's actin' up again..."
Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed, as Ratchet has never been the strongest autobot, but he is likely the weakest of Prime's team in a physical sense.
Age Lift: G1 Ratchet was never indicated to be significantly old, but this version of the character is explicitly much older than the rest of his team and certainly acts his age.
Barrier Warrior: He mostly uses electromagnetic fields for combat, with a focus on restraining others from afar.
Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: The Sergeant Rough to Optimus' Captain Smooth.
Composite Character: He's based largely on G1 Ratchet but his Old Soldier characterization is drawn from G1 Kup. His design incorporates elements from various incarnations of Red Alert, whose character he was originally intended to be.
Cool Old Guy: Ratchet is an old mech, but he's definitely not some rusted-up has been.
Deadpan Snarker: Sarcasm is pretty much his default mode of communication.
Defusing the Tyke-Bomb: To Omega, from the moment the big guy was 'born'.
"I am your pupil. Your dependant. Your obedient servant."
"I am Ratchet. I am... your friend."
Dr. Jerk: He's a very skilled doctor, but he's blunt, rude, sarcastic, short-tempered and generally a bit of a hassle.
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: He was originally equipped with one to use as Cybertronian anesthetic.
Every Scar Has a Story: Both of his came from a fateful encounter with Lockdown.
Experienced Protagonist: Of the team, he's the only one who's had experience as a soldier. Optimus, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead were born after the war and Prowl didn't fight in it.
Feeling Their Age: Downplayed, but he tends to make remarks that imply this.
Formerly Fit: The front of his ambulance mode sticks out on the front of his robot mode to resemble a beer gut you might find on an over-the-hill veteran like Ratchet. Tellingly, his appearance in his Cybertronian robot mode from flashbacks to the Great War doesn't have the gut.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Alternates between Choleric and Melancholic. Sometimes his main concern is saving lives and sometimes he's a cynic.
Grumpy Old Man: His bad attitude and age obviously slot him into this trope.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be a cranky old bot, but he's genuinely concerned about protecting the Earth from the Decepticons, which he admits in a rather tearful confession to Sari.
Keeping the Handicap/Scars Are Forever: He has a dinged crest and a cut in his arm despite being a robot doctor. He deliberately didn't fix the former or replace the device that went into the latter to remember "for those who can't."
Knight in Sour Armor: No matter how much he snarks, grumbles or complains, he'll always do the right thing in the end.
The Medic: He's a fully trained Cybertronian biomechanic. Which also makes him a skilled engineer, by human definition of the terms.
- Combat Medic: Healer or not, he will not hesitate to kick some skidplate.
My Greatest Failure: He's deeply troubled over the fact that he had to wipe Arcee's memory clean to prevent her information from falling into the servos of the Decepticons.
Old Soldier: He's the oldest of the main mechs, having been a field medic during the Great War millions of years ago.
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!"
- Also is one to Optimus Prime and the rest of their crew, each of whom are in Cybertronian terms, young enough to be Ratchet's children. Just check out "The Thrill of The Hunt" for proof.
Scars Are Forever: Because he wants them to be.
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: He considers apologizing to Wreck-Gar to be the ultimate sacrifice.
Selective Magnetism: Uses two magnets as his weapons.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: "It's not that I don't want to remember. I have to remember... for those who can't."
The Smart Guy: "Typical Academy bot. Rather hit a problem than fix it."
Subtext: In "Thrill of the Hunt", Arcee lost her memory, hence why Ratchet has to remember for those who can't.
Token Evil Teammate: He's firmly on the side of good, just like the rest of the team. That said, Ratchet is also pretty grumpy and even antagonistic at times. A good example is when he ignored Fanzone getting attacked by Sumdac security drones with lethal weaponry, if solely for comedic effect.
Took a Level in Kindness: Slightly. He becomes less crass over time, at least enough to befriend Sari and show some humility when needed.
When I Was Your Age...: Predictably, he says this kind of thing all the time.

Prowl

Voiced by: Jeff Bennett (English), Koji Yusa (Japanese)

"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.

Adaptational Nice Guy: Whereas G1 Prowl is often portrayed as a jerk, this version is a nature-loving cyber ninja that cares deeply for lives, with Character Development slowly causing him to shed his loner tendencies.
Adaptational Personality Change: In addition to his Cyber-Ninja background, Prowl is much more spiritual than his G1 counterpart, who was the Autobots' resident Spock.
Big Brother Mentor: Acts as such for Bulkhead and Bumblebee on occasion.
Character Death: He sacrifices himself in the series finale, giving up his spark to create a field of AllSpark energy that will contain an explosion that would destroy Detroit otherwise. This actually allows Prowl to rescue Optimus in the process as well.
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: It's unclear if he's wearing them or if that's just how his optic lenses are shaped.
Cyber Ninja: Prowl was trained in the ways of a ninja by Master Yoketron.
Dark Is Not Evil: His main colors are black with secondary gray and is one of the heroes.
Deadpan Snarker: His stoic demeanor lends itself to a very dry wit, which Prowl often displays, especially when working with Bumblebee.
Distress Ball: In episode 2, he tells Optimus Prime that there's only one person he trusts. Himself. He promptly gets sucked into a nanite monster and almost killed were it not for his teammates. In fact, despite being a skilled cyber-ninja, Prowl catches the Distress Ball quite a few times in the series, usually after trying to do something alone. Maybe it's trying to send him a message?
Draft Dodging: Tried to avoid being drafted into the war, but ended up being apprehended by Warpath and taken to Yoketron's Dojo.
Face Death with Dignity: In the series finale, he smiles before making his Heroic Sacrifice.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Phlegmatic. He tends to keep to himself and is very stoic.
Friend to All Living Things: He's the first of the mechs to really become intrigued by organic life, and has much more interest in animals and nature than they do.
Glass Cannon: He can do a lot of damage, but his slender frame can't take much punishment at all.
Heroic Sacrifice: In the series finale, faced with a Decepticon clone of Omega Supreme that's going to self-destruct and obliterate Detroit, he willingly burns up his own spark to give the All-Spark enough energy to create a field to safely contain the explosion.
Improbable Weapon User: His hubcaps turn into ninja throwing stars.
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: He never did finish his Cyber-Ninja training. Not helped by the fact his mentor was murdered whilst he was attempting and failing a vision-quest analogue.
Ineffectual Loner: He mostly gets over this after almost getting killed in the pilot, but relapses now and then.
I Work Alone: He has tried to live this life, but the universe seems unwilling to let him. He eventually realizes how to work more effectively with his teammates.
Jet Pack: His jump jets, although he couldn't truly fly until he gained the samurai armor.
The Lancer: He's not hesitant to challenge Optimus' more naive ways of thinking, though unlike Ratchet, Prowl is not as aggressive about it.
Lantern Jaw of Justice: His chin is rather elongated.
Loner-Turned-Friend: He was originally standoffish and wanted little to do with the rest of the team, before warming up to them. A flashback near the end of the series confirms that he wasn't an official member of the repair crew and only joined them when they accidentally marooned him on an asteroid.
Mecha Expansion Pack: Yoketron's armor becomes this for him.
Mind over Matter: His processor-over-matter technique was introduced in the Season 2 finale, and he perfected it midway through Season 3 (much to Lockdown's misfortune).
Misanthrope Supreme: Downplayed. He finds most humans and bots annoying to be around, but does care about them, especially his friends.
My Greatest Failure: Yoketron's death and the theft of the protoforms he was guarding.
Ninja: He's literally trained in the Cybertronian equivalent of Ninjitsu, having studied at the Cyber-Ninja Academi.
Ninja Samurai 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. He also gets telekinesis.
Nature-Loving Robot: Is a downplayed example, but he shows a fascination with animals (Birds in particular) and him destroying a bird's nest acts as a My God, What Have I Done? moment. He also shows a penchant for meditating in the woods.
Older Than They Look: Was around during the Great War (though unlike Ratchet, didn't fight in it). This makes him older than Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead, though up until his true age was revealed he never came across as being that old unlike Ratchet.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Bumblebee's red.
Small Name, Big Ego: Downplayed, but he initially showed shades of this, at least until receiving a lesson humility.
The Stoic: Shows less emotion than the other Autobots.
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's tall, most of his armor is colored black, and he sometimes makes sarcastic remarks about Bumblebee's impulsiveness.
Took a Level in Badass: He starts out pretty badass, but he gets better over the second and third seasons, such as when he masters his Mind over Matter skill.
Tranquil Fury: "Give. Me. Yoketron's. Helmet."
Weak, but Skilled: Excluding possibly Bumblebee, Prowl is less physically durable than the other main Autobots. In combat skill though, he probably takes the cake; though Jazz's arrival and Optimus Prime's growth later make this more contestable.
Your Size May Vary: The only way he can be taller than Bumblebee.

Characters / Transformers Animated Main Autobots

Optimus Prime

Bumblebee

Bulkhead

Ratchet

Prowl

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