Members of the Autobot Faction.
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Main Autobots
Bumblebee
Bumblebee
Voiced by: Jeremy Levy (English), Ryohei Kimura (Japanese)
The Autobot scout who is Optimus Prime's best friend. He joined him in the quest for the Allspark, but ended up stranded on Earth unable to remember who he is. Fortunately, with Windblade's help, he rediscovers his memories and finds the Ark.
- Amnesiac Hero: Starts of the series having no idea who he is or what he's doing on Earth. Season 1's entire plot revolves around him restoring his memories.
- Big Brother Mentor: Bumblebee becomes this for Cheetor.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: His Stingers act as these as he can transform his hands into them.
- Character Development: At the start, Bumblebee in and outside of his mind were two different characters with real world Bumblebee's radio dialogue being random and almost incomprehensible. As his memory restores, the two sides begin to merge and his radio dialogue becomes more focused and relevant to the situation at hand.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Is this during his amnesiac state. (and while eccentric in the memory is more on the ball.)
- Composite Character: Bumblebee's design is based heavily on his body from later installments of the IDW Comics continuity, but he has the damaged voice box from his movie and Transformers: Prime incarnations, as well as his Animated counterpart's stingers, while his amnesia is based on his Bumblebee incarnation.
- Cool Car: Per usual for his character, his alt-mode is a car.
- Cute Mute: In some flashbacks.
- Flying Car: His alt mode for last part of Season 3.
- The Load: At first. He can't do much contribute in his current state. To his credit, he does try to stay out of the way and grows out of this as he recovers.
- Naïve Newcomer: He has alot to relearn about his past and present.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: At the end of episode 2, when Bumblebee and Windblade are aboard the Decepticon scout ship, Starscream calls in through radio, asking for a status report. Bee promptly goes over to the radio and answers, alerting Starscream to their presence.
- Out of Focus: He gets much less screentime in the third season, mostly due to being incapacitated by the Quintessons for multiple episodes.
- Static Stun Gun: His Stingers. They deliver a massive jolt of electricity into any enemy he strikes with them. This seems to leave them in a stasis-lock-like state for a brief period. And not only that but the jolt is surprisingly accurate to the point that when it hits two bots in close contact, only the intended target gets shocked.
Windblade
Windblade
Voiced by: Sophia Isabella (English), Aoi Yūki (Japanese)
Bumblebee's best friend, a Cityspeaker from Caminus. She met him on Cybertron before the Great War on a tournament of Cube. Ever since Bumblebee left with Optimus Prine and some Autobots to find the Allspark, she remained on Cybertron to keep it safe from the Decepticons. Unfortunately, she never received any word from Optimus and went to Earth, where she found Bumblebee with his memories and voice damaged. She helps Bee remembering who he is and find the Ark and the Allspark.
- Action Girl: Being the main character and basically Bumblebee's guardian and trainer in earlier episodes definitely qualifies her as one.
- Avenging the Villain: A heroic example; she attempts to assassinate Bludgeon to avenge his killing of Slipstream.
- Badass in Distress: Although she's able to hold her own in most situations she does occasionally get outnumbered, requiring a timely rescue from her comrades.
- Big Brother Mentor: Becomes this to help Bumblebee recover his memory and skills as a soldier.
- Blow You Away: Her wing turbines can generate gale force winds.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In "Ghost Town", she gets brainwashed by mysterious entity and steals the Allspark to bring it to him, even attacking her friends to prevent them from interfering. Fortunately, the entity turns out not to be malicious, and releases her after finishing its mission, not before returning the Allspark.
- Character Development: She's fairly serious in the first few episodes, but it's pretty clear spending some time with Bumblebee again is helping her lighten up more.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Is this to Bumblebee most of the time.
- Cool Big Sis: She was this to Bumblebee pre-memory loss and resumes this as he recovers.
- Cool Plane: She can transform into a plane, and in this form she can fire laser beams from turbines.
- Cool Sword: Her Stormfall Sword, when Slipstream manages to steal it from her. The seeker wonders how many Decepticons fell to her blade.
- Detachment Combat: Can retract her wings, and sometimes uses them in combat.
- Energy Weapon: Her jet mode can fire blaster bolts.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Usually fights with her Stormfall Sword.
- In-Series Nickname: "Not-crew", courtesy of Teletraan-X. Due to the fact Windblade is not a crewmember of the Ark, Teletraan-X used this as an explanation of why he can't assist her, but he still refers to her as such even after Bumblebee told him to take orders from her.
- Miko: Mentions having been a Cityspeaker in the past.
- Naïve Newcomer: In the past, when she first came to Cybertron. Has shades of this in regards to Earth.
- Nerves of Steel: Stranded on an alien planet? Lost in a blizzard hunted by Decepticons? Captured and tortured by Decepticons? Just another day on the job for her.
- Nice Girl: While her fighting skills are closer to her RID 2015 self, her personality is MUCH closer to her IDW iteration.
- Red Is Heroic: She's mostly red and is an Autobot and Bumblebee's best friend.
- Telepathy: Usually uses a cortical psychic patch, but has demonstrated an ability to communicate without one, thanks to her being a City Speaker.
- Sealed Cast in a Multipack: The final arc of season 3 has her conscience being scattered through various interfaces, with Bumblebee and Chromia trying to find the pieces.
- What You Are in the Dark: Despite her massive animosity towards the Decepticons, Windblade is willing to hear out Slipstream, who wants to warn about Starscream's evil and is horrified that Bludgeon murdered the Seeker.
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
"Autobots, roll out!"
Voiced by: Jake Tillman (English), Takehito Koyasu (Japanese)
The leader of the Autobots and Bumblebee's best friend. After he threw the Allspark in the Space Bridge, inadvertently causing Cybertron to slowly die, he gathered a group of Autobots, including Bee, to find the Allspark. But he never responded to Windblade and the rest, because the Ark crashed on Earth. He is eventually found.
- The Ace: On par with the standard depiction of Optimus in the franchise history. Large, fast, strong offense and melee skills, strong defense, good aim and firepower, good tactical acumen and leadership, and role model for Autobots as a whole. See Prime's technical data (near perfect 10s other than speed, and skill which are 8 and 7 respectively), and it is a good depiction of the character.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He's the leader of the Autobots and he can easily take on Decepticons solo and go toe to toe with Megatron without going down easily.
- BFG: Prime's Ion Blaster. The stylistic design of the show depicts his ion blaster as a huge bore, two-handed beam rifle that he wields and shoots one-handed at times.
- Big Badass Rig: As expected from Optimus Prime, his alt-mode is a truck.
- Big Good: He's the leader of the Autobot faction as a whole.
- The Chosen One: Selected to bear the Matrix of Leadership by Alpha Trion.
- The Comically Serious: Most of the time, he's serious and stoic individual. Doesn't stop him from having occasional comedy moments.Optimus Prime (making a celebratory speech before the party): Er, together, we will triumph over, er, I mean, enjoy this party. It is up to every one of us to do our duty and be... festive. Er, now to the best of your ability, I call upon you to have fun!
- A Day in the Limelight: "Matrix of Leadership," which features 3 flashbacks focused on him specifically how he came to bear the Matrix.
- Deflector Shields: He can create an individual one in the form of the Autobot sigil.
- The Dreaded: For the Decepticons, particularly Seekers. This is a running gag for long-time fans from the original Transformers Movie when Prime went on a rampage that nearly wiped out the entire Seeker class Decepticons before engaging in combat with Megatron.
- A Father to His Men: He greatly cares about his subordinates. Best shown in "Party Down", when after Starscream's interference ruins the party and his Autobots' festive mood, Prime decides to restores it for them...by dancing.
- Friend to All Living Things: When a potential energon source is discovered to be the food supply of a species of alien bugs, he chooses to leave it be rather than endanger them.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: He can manifest an energy shield in the shape of the autobot insignia.
- My Greatest Failure: He has two. First, he regrets working with Megatron and not stopping him before he became too powerful. Later, he realizes that jettisoning the Allspark from Cybertron kept the relic out of Megatron's hands but caused Cybertron to start dying.
- No One Gets Left Behind: A firm believer in this, carrying Prowl away from a Decepticon attack when Bumblebee and Wheeljack accidentally lose him amidst the ambush.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- He has the Allspark thrown into a Space Bridge to keep it out of Decepticon hands which works, with the unfortunate side-effect of sickening the planet to the point that it starts to die.
- If the episode "Megatron is My Hero" is anything to go by. His appearance alongside Megatron when he unveils the Decepticon Movements implies that he is one of this continuity's founding members of the Decepticons!
- Out of Focus: The first few episodes center around Windblade and Bumblebee, meaning that although Optimus is still an important presence he is less prominent than many other adaptions.
- Red Is Heroic: As expected from the Leader of the Autobots.
- Vocal Evolution: By Season 2, Jake Tillman's performance, which already took after Peter Cullen, sounds even more like him.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Megatron before he went off the deep end.
Grimlock
Grimlock
Voiced by: Ryan Andes (English), Tetsu Inada (Japanese)
An Autobot warrior famed for his strength. He later was one of the crew members of the Ark. Since he fell on Earth, his alternate mode has been a T-Rex, rerouting his circuits and systems to better enhance his brute force. After the meteor that made the dinosaurs extinct, he entered in stasis and wasn't found until the present by Windblade, Bumblebee and Teletraan-X and joins them in their quest.
- Adaptational Intelligence: He is extremely intelligent in bot mode, but even T-Rex mode demonstrates a knowledge of technology that most versions lack.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Most incarnations of Grimlock are firm examples of Good Is Not Nice, being massive jerks that resent their fellow Autobots and disdain Optimus Prime's authority. This Grimlock is a much more pleasant fellow; he's generally jovial and polite, has no issues working for Prime, and is close friends with Bumblebee and Windblade.
- Adaptation Personality Change: He's a violent and aggressive warrior in most incarnations but here he's a sophisticated intellectual. He also lacks his usual speech impediment. This characterization seems to take some elements from his Shattered Glass incarnation in this respect. His beast mode personality is closer to the original incarnation, though.
- Adaptational Wimp: A downplayed example. He's still much stronger than the average Cybertronian and frequently acts as a one man army unless faced by an opposing heavy hitter. He's also clearly much stronger than the other Dinobots. But he's also very much squarely in the Optimus/Megatron strength rank not above it. He's capable of fighting Megatron evenly in his T. rex mode but Megatron manages to briefly take him out of the fight with just brute strength. He's also been overcome by top tier Decepticons like Alpha Strike and individually can't surpass the Perfect Decepticons.
- Amnesiac Hero: He slowly remembers his ability to speak, transform, and Autobot friends over the course of "King of the Dinosaurs".
- Big Brother Mentor: Quickly becomes this to the Dinobots in the post-series movies, trying to keep them out of trouble.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Bragging and brawling go hand in hand when he is in Bot mode.
- Breath Weapon: Gains his classic fire breath after a dip in molten lava.
- Cool Crown: He has one that doubles as a tracking device that allows him to locate his old base after millions of years of stasis.
- Cultured Badass: Enjoys the finer things in life and doesn't let being stranded on an uncivilized planet stand in the way.
- Dumb Muscle: Zigzagged with this Grimlock. While he's smart in his robot mode, his beast mode is a dull brute but is even more powerful.
- Foregone Conclusion: He's almost certainly the "King of Dinosaurs" mentioned by Maccadam, but Bumblebee and Windblade have no way of knowing this what with them not even knowing what a dinosaur is.
- Genius Bruiser: He is exceedingly intelligent in his robot mode and is very powerful. Smart enough to build a working replica of the Ark's bridge while stranded on prehistoric Earth.
- Heroic BSoD: In "The King of Dinosaurs", after discovering his dinosaur friends were extinct, he falls into despair. However, after seeing the video of himself and dinosaurs bravely pledging to face the apocalypse together, he gets over it, finally remembers who he is, and reverts back to his robot mode.
- HULK MASH!-Up: This version of Grimlock is very similar to the Hulk, being an intellectual hero who can transform into a more powerful, but less intelligent, Super Mode.
- Hulk Speak: Not in robot mode but very prominent in beast mode.
- I Am the Noun: When Shockwave unleashes his plan to destroy the Earth by shutting down the geo-magnetic field. Grimlock suggests that the bots split up to tackle his two ships.Windblade: We can't split up. We don't have the numbers.
Grimlock, transforming in a rage: I am the numbers! - Jekyll & Hyde: Very downplayed. His personality switches between the modes, but his beast form is not evil or malicious in any means, just more brutish and dim-witted. And neither of the personalities have any problem with each other.
- Lightning Bruiser: He's suprisingly agile in his powerful dino mode and can even dodge laser fire.
- Music Soothes the Savage Beast: A music box chime calms him down and brings him back to his senses after being brought back online in dino mode.
- Mythology Gag:
- While he doesn't speak in the traditional caveman speech (in the robot mode, at least), he does manage to get in a "Me, Grimlock!"
- Like with the version seen in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, he's an intelligent robot with a less than intelligent beast mode, though unlike that version, he can at least control the transformation.
- After taking a short bath in Lava, his Dinosaur Mode gets it's traditional flame breath.
- At the end of "Eruption" he is seen with a retractable blue visor and mouthplate, making him look a lot like his Generation 1 counterpart.
- His crown might also be a reference to his stint as the tyrannical leader of the Autobots after Prime's death and even making a crown for himself in the Marvel Comics.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Molten lava is just a really hot bath for him.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He's usually very cool-headed and collected (in robot mode at least) but when it's discovered that Shockwave intends to eradicate all life on earth, (having already experienced a mass extinction) he becomes angered and impetuous, he even briefly speaks with correct grammar while in dino mode!
- Shockwave Stomp: He can do this in both modes but in beast mode it's powerful enough to break apart a large spaceship.
- T. Rexpy: Per usual for a character, his alt-mode is a robotic T. rex.
Crew of the Ark
Hot Rod
Hot Rod
Voiced by: Travis Artz (English), Takuya Sato (Japanese)
Optimus Prime's second-in-command and protégé, and one of Bumblebee's closest friends.
- '90s Anti-Hero: During the Quintesson invasion arc, he adopts a darker color scheme, a deeper voice, and a more serious attitude. However, he doesn't compromise his values in the slightest.
- Bash Brothers: With Bumblebee.
- Big Brother Mentor: To Bumblebee and later Cheetor.
- Character Development: He grows from frivilous young bot to responsible Autobot leader by the end of the series.
- Competition Freak: Can't stand losing in races, and when he does, he constantly demands rematches until he wins.
- Cool Car: He transforms into a sportscar.
- A Day in the Limelight: He's the focal character of the Quintesson arc in season 3.
- Determinator: He can be very stubborn when pushed. Most clearly scene in "The Sleeper," where he goes through loop after loop in order to wake up Optimus Prime and is only stopped by Quintessons forcing him out of the simulation.
- Everyone Has Standards: He is angry that Blurr didn't warn him and Bumblebee that the race track where they went was under repair.
- Fire-Forged Friends: In Season 3, he becomes this with Soundwave of all bots, when the two are forced to work together as co-leaders of the Cybertronian resistance against the Quintessons.
- Heroic Sacrifice: attempts one after being critically injured while fighting Drift, dragging him down with him in a toxic energon puddle. Thankfully, he manages to survive it.
- Hot-Blooded: Well as expected for a young Autobot.
- Lovable Jock: Loves sports, competition, and himself, but is a hero through and through.
- Mythology Gag:
- Like the The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye version, he's a skilled space surfer.
- Much like his counterpart from The Transformers: The Movie, he's forced to take command of the Autobots after Optimus Prime is incapacitated (though this series has him locked in an Lotus-Eater Machine rather than being dead)), plagued with doubts that he could live up to Prime's legacy. Though he does forge his own path, he doesn't do so as Rodimus Prime, and continues to remain as Hot Rod throughout the rest of the show.
- Number Two: He's Optimus' second-in-command, with the Prime preparing him to one day lead the Autobots.
- Odd Friendship: He ultimately forms one with Soundwave during the battle against the Quintessons.
- Playing with Fire: His exhaust pipes double as flamethrowers.
- Red Is Heroic: Has a red and orange coating and is one of the good guys.
- Spanner in the Works: He was trapped underground during the Quintesson invasion and escapes capture, later taking up leadership in the resistance against the invaders.
- Taking You with Me: After the traitorous Drift impales him on his sword, Hot Rod drags them both into a pool of toxic Energon wastes (although he is later revealed to have survived).
- You Are in Command Now: Temporarily takes up the leadership of the Autobots when Optimus Prime went in coma after using up the Matrix energy. This happens again during the Quintesson takeover of Cybertron.
Wheeljack
Wheeljack
Voiced by: Billy Bob Thompson (English), Yoji Ueda (Japanese)
Wheeljack is indispensable to the Autobot cause, inventing weapons, armor, explosives and everything else you could want to battle Decepticons. It's just a pity that he gets so enthusiastic about his work that he sometimes ends up just blowing stuff up.
- Absent-Minded Professor: Seems to forget everything else around him when he throws himself into a project. While showing off his latest inventions to Optimus, he admits that he doesn't remember what some of them do.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He's somewhat eccentric and scatterbrained as mentioned above but he will frequently create new and creative weapons and has zero qualms about using them. Then there's also the fact that when he finds the true body of the Scientist, he straight up kills him by smashing him with his fist.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his quirks, he's still a very capable scientist and inventor, which makes him a very reliable asset to the Autobots.
- Cool Car: Per usual for a character, he transforms into a car.
- Good Counterpart: To Shockwave as the Autobot's lead scientist on Earth.
- Mad Scientist: He used to be science pals with Shockwave, so he naturally liked screwing around with experiments. For example, his reaction to finding out that Unspace disintegrates anything it comes in contact with? Put some in a bottle to use as a weapon later.
- Manchild: Tends to act very kiddy when it comes to science and inventions.
- Mythology Gag: This is not the first time Wheeljack has a mustache. He previously possessed one in Transformers: Animated and his Masterpiece "MP-20" toy (via a hidden faceplate).
- Science Hero: His primary contribution to the Autobot cause.
- Southern-Fried Genius: He sports a Southern accent this time around, much like he did in early G1 episodes before Chris Latta perfected the voice.
- The Smart Guy: The scientist aboard the Ark.
- We Used to Be Friends: He and Shockwave used to work together before the war. Wheeljack still looks back on those days fondly.
Arcee
Arcee
Voiced by: Jamie Lamchick (English), Chinatsu Akasaki (Japanese)
A female Autobot that has an interest in Cybertron's politics and Earth's wildlife.
- Cool Car: Transforms into a Cybertronian car.
- A Day in the Limelight: She gets character focus along with Grimlock in "Perfect Storm".
- Early-Bird Cameo: First seen standing in the back during Megatron's New Era Speech.
- Friend to All Living Things: She's fascinated with Earth's wildlife and even took pictures with some tropical animals. One of her photos helped Bumblebee to identify the creature he saw on the moon (it was a cheetah). We later learn that she has a love of wildlife across the galaxy.
- Gatling Good: Her main weapon.
- Genki Girl: She's very adventurous and energetic.
- Pink Means Feminine: She's female Autobot, and she's pink.
- Selfie Fiend: Really likes to take selfies of herself.
Chromia
Chromia
Voiced by: LaTonia Phipps (English), Akeno Watanabe (Japanese)
A fellow Camien who at first begged Windblade to go back with her to Caminus. She eventually changes her mind and joins her friend in the Great War and later with Optimus Prime's crew to find the Allspark.
- The Bait: She got kidnapped by Decepticons and was forced to send a false distress signal to the Ark under threat of death.
- Blue Is Heroic: Is a blue Transformer who’s an Autobot.
- Cool Bike: Her alt-mode is a cool cybertonian motorcycle.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Appears on the bridge of the Ark before being properly introduced earlier in the timeline.
- Mythology Gag: Her look is based on Sarah Stone's Chromia design from The Transformers: Windblade. Her desire to leave with Windblade for Caminus is also drawn from that book.
- Put on a Bus: At some point during the Time Skip between the first and second seasons, she left Earth to return to Cybertron.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Tried to leave Cybertron as the war was kicking off, and she tried to convince Windblade to go with her. However, considering she was shown with an Ark crew, it seems she preferred to not leave and side with Autobots, and joining the Ark crew.
- Toyless Toyline Character: Doesn't have a toy. Later technically subverted when she did get a toy under the Legacy United toyline in 2024, except being a head-retool of Animated Prowl, it doesn't resemble her design in this show at all.
Ratchet
Ratchet
Voiced by: Todd Perlmutter (English), Yoji Ueda (Japanese)
The skilled Autobot medic.
- Barrier Warrior: He generate a force field around himself which comes in handy when performing operations on the battlefield.
- A Day in the Limelight: Ends up with this in "Rack'N'Ruin'N'Ratchet" when he's called to assist a atomically unstable Jetfire, only to find out that he dragged Rack'N'Ruin along with him.
- Demoted to Extra: Compared to previous series, Ratchet doesn't have too big of a role this time around.
- The Medic: As usual.
- Workaholic: He's married to the job.
Prowl
Prowl
Voiced by: Dick Terhune (English), Tetsu Inada (Japanese)
The military strategist of the Autobots.
- Book Ends: Prowl's first appearance has Optimus Prime saving his life. Prowl's last act is to give his own life to save Prime's.
- By-the-Book Cop: According to his bio, he detests anything unorderly and follows strict protocol.
- Character Death: He's killed after taking a shot from Shadow Striker meant for Prime.
- Cool Car: Per usual for a character, he transforms into a police car.
- Friendly Enemy: Shows some shades of this with Shadow Striker; during the Autobot-Decepticon parley, the two bond over their shared affinity for weapons. When Prowl is killed after taking a shot meant she meant for Prime, Shadow Striker is genuinely shocked.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices himself to save Optimus in the Season 3 premiere.Prowl: Optimus, WATCH OUT!!! *takes the fatal shot from Shadow Striker for Optimus* [...] Prime...
- I Will Only Slow You Down: Invokes this when Optimus saves him. Optimus begs to differ.
- Taking the Bullet: In Battle For Cybertron Prowl takes a shot from Shadow Striker meant for Optimus and goes offline.
- Walking Armory:
- He seems to be the Ark's armory officer; Season 2 often shows him carrying/testing out a wide variety of weapons.
- He's also the only one of the Autobots with visible exterior weapons note , which is generally more of a Decepticon trait.
Rack'n'Ruin
Rack'n'Ruin
Voiced by: Jeremy Levy (English), Satoshi Tsuruoka (Japanese)
Two-headed member of the Autobots.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Original Rack'n'Ruin were two separate Autobots mashed together into one. These Rack'n'Ruin were created that way.
- Adaptational Badass: Unlike G1 Rack'n'Ruin, who lost their transformation abilities when they were merged, this version can transform, even if they never do.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: In "The Crossroads", one of the alternate Rack'n'Ruins is a leader of the Autobots.
- Bash Brothers: They always fight together. Mostly because it's impossible for them to fight separately.
- Boisterous Bruiser: They love to chat with each other during battle.
- Cloudcuckoolander: "Rack'N'Ruin'N'Ratchet" reveals they're not the brightest tools in the shed, seemingly being much dumber than their previous background-character roles had implied.
- Conjoined Twins: They were born as two Autobots fused together.
- Early-Bird Cameo: First appeared in the fake memory created by Shockwave before being properly introduced to the timeline.
- Multiple Head Case: They are two Autobots sharing the same two-headed body.
According to
Word of God, seeing them inspired Shockwave to create his own two-headed Seeker. - Non-Standard Character Design: Sports two heads and no obvious alt-mode. Their toy reveals they transform into a tank.
- Running Gag: No matter how much they'll try, their perfectly-stacked cargo boxes will always get knocked and scattered.
Drift
Deadlock / Drift
Click here to see him as Drift
Once a Decepticon named Deadlock, he realized the wrong path he went, thus defecting to the Autobot side as Drift.
- Adaptational Heroism: IDW Deadlock was one of the Decepticon army's biggest (and smuggest) killers, who only left the Decepticons largely because they got fed up of him. Here, he got wise to the Decepticons early on and left during the earlier years of the war. Completely subverted in Season 3, where it's revealed he was a Decepticon double agent the entire time.
- Adaptational Villainy: Drift is usually shown to have made a genuine Heel–Face Turn whereas here, it was a facade.
- Character Death: Consumed by Toxic Energon.
- Evil Costume Switch: When he reveals himself as a double-agent, his symbol changes to the Decepticon logo. Though he gave it away a bit earlier when his eyes turned red shortly before the group returned to Cybertron.
- Good Costume Switch: Very delayed one, but in "Party Down", he upgrades his body, and it changes his color scheme to a brighter one and turns his eyes blue.
- Heel–Face Turn: He eventually decided he didn't want to be a Decepticon. Or not.
- The Mole: For the Decepticons.
- Mythology Gag: His original design as Deadlock is based on Generation 1 Springer, homaging the character's triple-changing abilities from Transformers: Age of Extinction.
- Resignations Not Accepted: The Decepticons didn't take kindly to his leaving. Though this turned out to be a ruse to fool the Autobots in letting him "defect".
- Uncertain Doom: Drift is last seen being dragged into toxic Energon by Hot Rod, who survived his own dip in the stuff despite a critical stab wound.
Cheetor
Cheetor
Voiced by: TJ Nelson (English), Wataru Takagi (Japanese)
Cheetor used to be a neutral guardian of the Allspark, but ever since it was stolen by Starscream and he discovered how cruel the Decepticons are, he joined the Autobots in hopes of bringing peace to the universe.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Compared to the original Cheetor, who was an impetuous young kid who eventually grew and matured into leadership, this Cheetor is much wiser, if a bit naive.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Cheetor was created on Earth by the Matrix whilst the rest of the cast were around since the start of the war. He's the youngest of the Autobots and several episodes have him learning how the world works.
- Character Death: He becomes one with the Allspark to purge it of Shockwave's evil.
- Dual Wielding: He uses a pair of scimitars in close quarters combat.
- Fish out of Water: He barely knows about Cybertron and the Great War, and is learning about both things from Autobots.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: He never gets so much as a mention after his Heroic Sacrifice.
- Kid-Appeal Character: Takes up after Bumblebee and Hot Rod.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Cheetor gives up his spark to purify the Allspark in Season 3 after Shockwave corrupts it.
- Martial Pacifist: He genuinely wishes for Autobots and Decepticons to coexist together peacefully, but he won't refrain from fighting the latter.
- Mythology Gag: Cheetor isn't the first Maximal to be placed in charge of a sacred Cybertronian relic.
- Naïve Newcomer: He's the newest addition in Autobot ranks, and he's quite naïve.
- Neutral No Longer: Initially, he was a guardian of the Allspark, allied to neither Autobots nor Decepticons. However, after Starscream stole the Allspark, and Megatron claimed the credit for it, revealing he would've also stole it if he got the chance, Cheetor joined the Autobots, who clearly proved to him they were the good side of the war.
- Nice Guy: Very amicable and friendly, and genuinely wants to help the Autobots to restore the peace.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He was the one who revived Starscream after Megatron's attack.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Initially, he was referred only as "moon cheetah" by the Autobots. However, when he introduced himself to them, the nickname was dropped.
- Panthera Awesome: Transforms into a cheetah.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Cheetor was one of the main characters in Season 2, but he dies in the Season 3 premiere.
- Threshold Guardians: He is the guardian of the Allspark, and he tried to test Optimus and Megatron to see who is worthy of possessing the Allspark.
Jetfire
Jetfire
Voiced by: Jeremy Levy (English), Nobuo Tobita (Japanese)
An Autobot who has been locked in a millennia-long rivalry with the Decepticon Sky-Byte, which has resulted in a galaxy-spanning conflict leading to great loss of life thanks to Sky-Byte's attempts to bring his enemy to a spectacular end. His conflict with Sky-Byte draws him to Earth, where he is quickly made to rejoin Optimus Prime's service.
- Arch-Enemy: To Sky-Byte, taken to a very extreme and over-the-top level.
- Cool Plane: Transforms into a superjet.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Acts as a noble hero who tries to bring Sky-Byte to justice.
- Large Ham: Being the heroic type that he is, he tends to be very cheesy with his delivery.
- Powered Armor: Is bestowed Allspark-powered armor by Starscream. His is created from a tank.
- We Used to Be Friends: He once used to be Starscream's friend.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Megatron complimenting him and telling to finish off Sky-Byte in an extreme manner is what led to him letting him go and choosing to save Optimus instead.
Red Five
Voiced by: Marc Thompson
A generic autobot soldier.
- Disney Death: His ship is the first to be shot down by the Decepticons and he appeared to have died, but it is later revealed that it was remote-controlled.
- Mauve Shirt: The Generic Cybertronians usually fall into the Red Shirt category, but Red Five was given a name. He also pilots a ship to act as a decoy for the Decepticons, and it is the first to get shot down. Luckily it turns out he wasn't on the ship and was piloting it remotely.
- Shout-Out: Red Five was Luke's callsign in A New Hope, with "Red Five standing by," being an outright quote.
- You Are Number 6: Or five rather, his name referring to him being a red-colored generic autobot.
Other Autobots
Blurr
Blurr
Voiced by: JC Ernst (English), Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese)
Bumblebee's fast friend, who hails from the planet Velocitron.
- Adaptational Nationality: Much like his Aligned depiction, Blurr is a Velocitronian rather than a Cybertronian as he was in the original cartoon.
- The Apocalypse Brings Out the Best in People: Established as being rather arrogant and dismissive of others, once the Rust Plague hits, almost all his negative traits disappear.
- Blue Is Heroic: Is a blue Transformer who’s an Autobot.
- Character Death: Disintegrated by the Rust Plague.
- Convenient Terminal Illness: He volunteers himself to be stay behind to allow his friends to escape Velocitron, since he discovered he himself was infested with Rust Plague.
- Cool Car: He transforms into a sportscar.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Stays behind to allow Hot Rod and Bumblebee to escape Velocitron via Ground Bridge before the Rust Plague extends even further.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: It's implied that he was holding back during his race with Hot Rod and Bumblebee.
- Informed Ability: His bio says that he talks remarkably fast like his G1 and Animated counterparts, but in the show he speaks normally.
- Malicious Misnaming: Deliberately refers to Hot Rod with incorrect names, such as Hot Shot or Hot Dog.
- Posthumous Character: He died before the events of the series.
- Reduced to Dust: His eventual fate after getting infected with the Rust Plague.
- Second Place Is for Losers: Sums up his feelings on racing.
- Super-Speed: Downplayed. In vehicle mode he's relatively speedy, but nothing to write home about. In robot mode he demonstrates the swiftness that we're accustomed to.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: Constantly mocks these who lost against him in the races, like Hot Rod.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He only appears in one episode and dies from disintegration by the Rust Plague.
Alpha Trion
Alpha Trion
Voiced by: Rich Orlow (English), Yoji Ueda(Japanese)
The wise member of the High Council.
- The Chooser of the One: He's held onto the Matrix for years waiting for a worthy bearer to emerge. He chooses Optimus on his deathbed.
- Cool Starship: Transforms into a Cybertronian starship, however it's shown only in toys.
- Mythology Gag: His conversation with Optimus is similar to the one Ultra Magnus and Optimus had in The Transformers: The Movie.
- I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin: How he passes the Matrix on to Optimus.
- Posthumous Character: Died before the events of the series took place.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Appears to give Optimus the Matrix of Leadership and die.
Perceptor
Perceptor
Voiced by: Jeremy Levy (English)
- An Arm and a Leg: He gets his arm ripped off by Skullcruncher after being left on his own to explore the interior of Iaconus.Dead End: Are you carrying your own arm?Perceptor: Obviously.
- Ascended Extra: He has a few sparse appearances in seasons 1 and 2. Once season 3 rolls around he becomes a major supporting character being a prisoner in the opening four-parter and being the first Cybertronian to escape the Quintesson simulation.
- The Bartender: He takes over Maccadam's after its owner's death.
- Big Damn Heroes: After he frees himself from the Loop he organizes a resistance. When Soundwave gets him the schematics on the illusion, Perceptor plugs himself back in and frees everyone.
- The Comically Serious: Not to the level of Optimus but his deadpan, stoic and logical personality does create some good comedy.
- Didn't Need Those Anyway!: Perceptor's sensory abilities are so sharp that he's barely affected by his optics being destroyed. He functions so well while "blinded" that it takes a while before he even bothers getting his eyes repaired, presumably because he finally got around to it. Case in point: even without his eyes, he can still see what's on a screen, rather than just the screen itself.
- Eye Scream: His eyes are destroyed in the process of breaking him and Chromia out of prison. He doesn't get them fixed until "The Immobilizers" movie.
- High-Class Glass: His right eye resembles a monocle complete with targeting rhetical, as an homage to his IDW self. It's revealed to be a series of mirrors stacked on top of each other that he can manipulate.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: He lambastes Chromia for helping Megatron lure the Autobots home in exchange for his life. However, one of the alternate Arks notes that they received their distress call from Perceptor implying that he would have done the same thing for Chromia if their positions were switched.
- Insufferable Genius: One of the smartest minds on Cybertron and he'll make sure you don't forget it.Perceptor: Not everyone is as perceptive as me.Hot Rod: Or as humble.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears briefly in the first two seasons, where he manages to repair the Space Bridge and send Windblade to Earth, kicking off show's first episode. His success also leads Shockwave to attempt to repair the Space Bridge and come to Earth himself.
- The Smart Guy: One of Cybertron's finest minds.
- Spanner in the Works: He's the only Cybertronian to see through the loop and escape on his own. He later devises a way for others to hack in and free others.
Whirl
Voiced by: Jeremy Levy
An Autobot on Cybertron, who joins up with the anti-Quintesson resistance.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Compared to his comics counterpart, this Whirl is a much nicer bot.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Whirl is a lot more willing to listen to orders, particularly from Hot Rod, than his comics counterpart. He's also friendlier and less violent.
- Butt-Monkey: His role within the Quintesson's loop is to be flattened when a piece of a parade float breaks off. He only avoids this fate when an outsider intervenes.
- Cyber Cyclops: As is typical for the character, he only has a single eye.
- Remember the New Guy?: He simply shows up among the Autobot team in season 3, and treated like he's always been there.
- Token Flyer: When the Autobot/Decepticon alliance first forms he was the only flier amongst the group. This made him valuable in reconnaissance and he manages to make a few saves when his allies are dropped from high places.
Kup
Voiced by: Mike Rose
An old Autobot soldier.
- Cool Old Guy: Despite being old, he puts up a pretty darn good fight, and tells a mean story.
- A Day in the Limelight: He gets to narrate the events of the final battle against the Quintessons.
- Feeling Their Age: He's getting a lot older than he used to, and notes this when taking down a seeker with his bare hands.
- Mythology Gag: His design is based on his Generations design, mixed in with elements from his figure in Titans Return.
- Old Soldier: As per usual.
- Remember the New Guy?: He simply shows up among the Autobot team in season 3, and treated like he's always been there.
Thunderhowl
Thunderhowl
Voiced by: Rich Orlow
A warrior from the age of expansion who was dispatched by his prime to the Crystal City with the mission of destroying that evil place. He was imprisoned within the city until he was freed by Bumblebee and Chromia, after which he joins the Autobots and swears fealty to Optimus Prime.
- Black Knight: He certainly has the look to him, particularly when his faceplate is down.
- Breath Weapon: His wolf mode can fire electricity from its fangs, hence his name.
- Canon Foreigner: He was created exclusively for the show.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His color scheme is mostly black with blue highlights and his beast mode looks pretty menacing but he acts more like a fantasy knight.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: He's been trapped in a state of suspended animation with The Crystal City since the age of expansion, he even asks if Iaconus is still out claiming new worlds unaware that he's been trapped by his own citizens.
- Knight in Shining Armor: He has the aesthetic and demeanor being a noble figure in service to a lord (or prime in this case).
- Knightly Sword and Shield: As befitting a knight he wields a sword and shield in his robot mode.
- Noble Wolf: His alternate mode is a wolf and is a heroic paladin-like figure.
Meteorfire
Voiced by: Rich Orlow
The host of the Cybertronian show Alien Hunt! where he tracks and examines aliens.
- Drowning My Sorrows: After he lost Cosmos, he was seen in his ship drinking out of energon mugs.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is clearly based off the late Steve Irwin, given he's a documentary host with an Aussie accent that treats aliens with the same enthusiasm Irwin did with animals.
Dinobots (Unmarked spoilers ahead)
Dinobots
Voiced by: Rich Orlow (Slug and Snarl), Marc Thompson (Sludge), Laurie Hymes (Swoop)
Four Cybertronians inspired by a recording of Grimlock to take on dinosaur-based alt modes. They can combine with Grimlock to form the sword-wielding gestalt Volcanicus.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Swoop is significantly smarter than her previous incarnations, to the point of being a Gadgeteer Genius in this continuity.
- Adaptational Late Appearance: Most versions of the Dinobots made their debut alongside Grimlock, while this continuity's versions of the rest of the Dinobots don't make their debut until the post-series movie "The Immobilizers".
- Adaptational Nationality: The Dinobots are not native Cybertronians (nor are they from Earth) as they usually are, but rather they hail from a sister world (much like Chromia and Windblade are from Caminus).
- Adaptational Nice Guy: The Dinobots are traditionally rather hostile and arrogant (though Swoop and Sludge are usually less so), but here they are altogether more amiable and cheerful. Especially in dinosaur mode they act more like excitable children than tough warriors. Even The Killjoy Snarl is more a Jerk with a Heart of Gold than the ruthless, antisocial loner he is in other continuities.
- Big Fun: Volcanicus is huge, but acts like a Keet.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Slug, Snarl and Sludge love a good scrap and are always ready to charge into the fray. Swoop is less so, but even she can get carried away and join the boys in a spirited attack.
- Catchphrase:
- "Courage and good cheer!" is their collective motto, battle cry and overall philosophy, taken from Grimlock's speech.
- Swoop is fond of telling everyone that she has an excellent plan.
- Character Exaggeration: Notable with Swoop and Sludge, compared to their classic counterparts. While it was pretty accepted that Swoop was the most intelligent and Sludge the least intelligent Dinobot, in this incarnation Swoop is a downright Gadgeteer Genius and Sludge a Kindhearted Simpleton.
- Combining Mecha: Or combining sentient robots, in this case. These four Dinobots can combine with Grimlock to form Volcanicus.
- The Ditz: While neither Slug nor Snarl would win any awards for "best thinker," Sludge takes it to the next level with his tendency to miss the point by a mile.(After a disastrous training session)
Slug: (dejected) We stink!
Snarl: (angry) You all stink!
Sludge: (chipper) Yeah! I smell bad! - Dumb Muscle: Save for Swoop, all of them are not-too-bright brutes who favor violent solutions over thinking to solve the problem.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Swoop ends up saving the day by creating a shield that deflects Soundblaster's time blaster weapon and helping Wheeljack create a device to unfreeze everyone who has been immobilized.
- Gender Flip: This incarnation of Swoop is the first version of the Dinobot to be female rather than male as prior incarnations were.
- Generic Guy: Slug gets the least characterization of the four; where Swoop and Sludge stand out as The Smart Guy and The Ditz respecively, and Snarl gets a few scenes demonstrating his grouchy Killjoy tendencies, Slug doesn't really get anything (apart from a tendency to suggest using fire when plans are discussed).
- Hero Worship: The Dinobots are big fans of Grimlock, even having taken on dinosaur alt-modes to honor him.
- Hulk Speak: Like Grimlock, in dino mode they speak like this. It's hinted that like Grimlock, they have traded their intelligence for strength in dino mode, but unlike him their personalities don't really change between forms... they just get slightly more dimwitted and with smaller vocabularies. Swoop is the exception; while she occasionally forgets basic grammar in dino mode, for the most part she speaks normally in both forms.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Both Slug and Snarl can come across as this, Snarl especially. Slug is violent and overbearing, and Snarl is quick to complain, insult and act like a jerk towards his teammates, but they're both still loyal and reliable team members.
- Kill It with Fire: Slug's go-to plan for dealing with problems, a clear reference to his firebreathing abilities in other continuities.
- The Killjoy: Not the most extreme of example, but Snarl is a bit of a grouch. While the other three Dinobots are basically cheery and friendly (if rather boisterous and fond of smashing things), Snarl is far likelier to be the one complains, flings insults and generally acts surly. He's not a bad 'bot at heart, though.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: Sludge is not only the stupidest of the Dinobots but also the friendliest and most affectionate.
- No-Respect Guy: Swoop, at first. She tends to have all the best ideas and plans... but the other three tend to dismiss and ignore her because her plans don't begin and end with charging ahead without thinking. They start listening to her more after Grimlock expresses his admiration for her ideas.
- Only Sane Woman: Swoop, who has several "I'm Surrounded by Idiots" moment, especially in the team's first appearance. In "The Perfect Decepticon," however, it becomes obvious that she's Not So Above It All and her Only Sane Woman role is only when compared to the other Dinobots... compared to your average Autobot she still comes across as rather childlike and overeager.
- Posthumous Character: Their former leader Tiny Arms, who took on Grimlock’s T-Rex alt mode.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Downplayed but still notable with Swoop, who has the most advanced vocabulary of the Dinobots and has a fondness for using three-syllable words when there are one-syllable words that fit the situation just as well or even better. Even in dino-mode her speech is far more advanced than the others and she largely avoids the Hulk Speak that the others use in that form.
- The Smurfette Principle: Swoop is the only female Dinobot.
- Women Are Wiser: Swoop is the sole female Dinobot in addition to being the smartest.
