Characters / Transformers Prime Autobots

Transformers: Prime Main Character Index
The Autobots | The Decepticons | The Predacons | Other Characters | Non-show characters

As the Gladiator known as Megatronus started gathering political power in an effort to oppose the fascist caste system of the ruling Cybertronian High Council, the respected data clerk Orion Pax joined his cause and for the first time provided a venue for the cause to gain some ground. As the newly christened Megatron addressed the council, his true lust for power and arrogance became apparent as he demanded to be appointed the next Prime. Orion stepped in and gave a new option of peace and harmony by offering the freedom of all Cybertronians to choose their own path. Orion's nobility and the power of his words touched the council and they recognized him as having the qualities of a Prime, appointing him Optimus Prime.

Megatron's rage over what he viewed as a great injustice filtered to his followers and they started the civil war to install Megatron as the ruler of Cybertron. With the "Grand Deception" finally revealed the Decepticons pushed their attack on all of Cybertron, while the loyal followers of Optimus Prime were named the Autobots so that their values of individual autonomy was made clear. The original Cybertronian High Council were now dissolved and the battle spreading far beyond their home, Optimus is forced to oppose the Decepticons wherever they take their tyranny.

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In General

• Aliens Among Us: The benevolent kind.
• Arm Cannon: Every Autobot, save Ratchet, has demonstrated one in each arm.
• Badass Crew: There's a reason that they're the last major group of Autobots left alive.
• Band of Brothers: The fact that there are so few of them has made them closer than ever.
• But Now I Must Go: At the end of the series, with Cybertron restored, they leave Earth and return to their home, which unfortunately means saying goodbye to their human friends as well.
• Car Fu: These Autobots certainly have a lot more creativity with their vehicle forms, especially with Optimus being as big as he is.
• Dual Wielding: Be it blades or guns, every Autobot does this with every Shapeshifter Weapon they have.
• Mechanical Lifeforms: As is tradition.
• Mildly Military: With the exception of Ultra Magnus.
• The Noseless: The art style of the show.
• The Remnant: Team Prime is basically the only organized military component of the Autobot faction, continuing to fight the war that the Decepticons have already won, if Pyrrhicly. They also have the only known remaining Prime left in existence. It is likely there are still other Autobots fighting the Decepticons as well, but from what things looks like, Optimus and co. are the only ones whose struggle is leaving any impact so far.
• Shapeshifter Weapon: Their arms transform into their weapons, much like in the Transformers Film Series.
• Transforming Mecha: Natch.
• True Companions: They may bicker and get annoyed with each other, but the philosophy of "all for one and one for all" is their guiding principle as a group.

Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax/"Thirteen"

"I chose my side."

Voiced by: Peter Cullen (English), Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), Blas García (Latin American Spanish)

The leader of the Autobots and the last of the Primes. Originally a data clerk named Orion Pax, he formed a friendship with a charismatic gladiator and civil rights leader named after one of the 13 original Primes-the powerful and sinister Megatronus, and being such a close ally put him on the map to being recognized by the Cybertronian High Council. Upon becoming Optimus Prime, he and the newly christened Megatron cut ties, becoming fierce rivals with wildly different ideologies. Optimus is a highly accomplished warrior honed by years of conflict, though his natural disposition is a gentle pacifist.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed. Optimus from the Generation 1 cartoons was more casual and less stoic in the first two seasons, only becoming more serious in the third season. This Optimus is the latter from the very start.
• Antiquated Linguistics: Does not use contractions.
• Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: In the finale, he's forced to store the Allspark within the Matrix of Leadership. This renders his spark inextricable from the Allspark when he re-releases it. However, his spark was immediately saved by the Primes, and he is resurrected years later in Robots in Disguise.
• Badass Bookworm: He used to be that when he used to be a simple data clerk turned rebel leader, before he got upgraded into a Prime. Notably, he used to be much smaller and physically weaker than Megatron.
• Badass Bureaucrat: He was a data clerk as Orion Pax.
• Baritone of Strength: As to be expected when he is voiced by Peter Cullen.
• Big Badass Rig: His vehicle mode.
• Benevolent Boss: Especially when you compare him to Megatron. Unlike Megatron, Optimus grants his soldiers personal freedom to explore about earth and enjoy the cultural norms their human allies pass on to them such as video games, TV and dancing to music. In "Partners", he's kind enough to even accept Starscream's request to join the Autobots once Starscream gets fed up with all the abuse and torment he gets from Megatron.
• Berserk Button: Don't harm humans in his presence and certainly don't gloat about it. He set out to straight-up kill Megatron when this happened. It was most likely the last straw in a series of injustices, but still.
• Beware the Nice Ones: It is very, very hard to get Optimus legitimately angry at you. This is a good thing for all concerned.
• BFG: He gets the biggest arm cannons out of the whole team.
• Big Good: For the entire Autobot faction and during the series, basically for the entire Earth-based effort against Megatron.
• Big Damn Heroes: His job in a nutshell, as he's often brought in to save the day if his subordinates are struggling against a foe.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Each shoulder, in fact. Much like his live-action movie counterpart.
• Blatant Lies: For such a stoic individual, Optimus is an extremely bad liar. When he hands Jack the Key to Vector Sigma, he claims it's the key to the Ground Bridge power supply. During this explanation, Optimus never makes eye contact with Jack, he blinks multiple times rapidly, and he doesn't look at him until he finishes his explanation - all dead giveaways someone is lying. And somehow all of this flies past Jack until Ratchet tells Jack the truth.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu:
  • In "One Shall Rise, Part 3", Optimus unleashes the Matrix of Leadership's power to render Unicron's physical body dormant and wipes his memories as a Prime in the process. This reverts him to Orion Pax and allows Megatron to manipulate him until his memories are restored.
  • In "Predacons Rising", Optimus tricks Unicron into trapping his own Anti-Spark in the reliquary that once contained the Allspark. Since Optimus had to place the Allspark in the Matrix of Leadership (merging it with his own spark), he had to sacrifice himself to return it to Primus in order to restore Cybertron's ability to create new life.
• Came Back Strong: It's a bit vague whether he died before Smokescreen healed him. What's not vague is that he came back with a jetpack, a minigun, and a new body bigger and bulkier than Megatron's. Megatron's fights also went from "evenly matched" to, more frequently, "getting smacked down".
• The Captain: Of Team Prime.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "It stands / would stand to reason..."
  • "It is absolutely paramount..."
• Cold Ham: While Optimus is very stoic and dignified, some of the thing he says are very dramatic simultaneously.
• The Comically Serious: From "One Shall Fall":
  Jack: Optimus, you wanna see something funny?
  Optimus: No.
  • From "Grill":
    Optimus Prime: I am fine, General Bryce. How are you?
  • From "Project Predacon":
    Ultra Magnus: Um... what's a kilt?
    Optimus: (glances between him and Fowler) Agent Fowler can at times be oblique. I find it best to simply nod and mobilize.
• Composite Character: His backstory draws on multiple versions of Optimus Prime. He's named Orion Pax like his cartoon counterpart, he was a data clerk before becoming Prime like his Dreamwave incarnation, and he was friends with Megatron before the war like his live-action self. His robot mode design combines G1 Prime's look with a style similar to the live-action films while his alt-mode is the long nosed truck cab of his movie counterpart, albeit in a more traditional red and blue color scheme. He also shares his live-action self's Dual Wielding tendencies, having two retractable swords.
• Cool Mask: His faceplate.
  • Collapsible Helmet: Similar to his live-action movie counterpart.
• Cool Sword: Gains the Star Saber.
  • Ancestral Weapon: It was formerly one of the weapons of the Thirteen.
  • BFS: It's almost bigger than he is.
  • Sword Beam: Capable of delivering one so powerful it can knock the Nemesis off course.
  • Wrecked Weapon -> Reforged Blade: Shattered by Megatron in "Alpha/Omega", he repairs it in "Regeneration" with the Forge of Solus Prime.
  • And before that, his dual arm blades.
• Criminal Amnesiac: Megatron takes advantage of Optimus losing his memories of the war and tricks him into joining the Decepticons. It doesn't last.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Megatron was his best friend. Wonder how that turned out.
• Dead-Hand Shot: While "Darkest Hour" appears to end this way, it turns out in "Darkmount, NV" Optimus survived, albeit critically damaged.
• Death Glare: Optimus Prime of all bots is capable of pulling off a Glare worthy of the Dark Knight himself it is both awesome and terrifying all at once, an instance of such occurs with Megatron having very nearly killed Raf.
  • He gives one to Smokescreen when he endangered Jack by letting him go on a mission.
• Determinator: In "Darkness Rising, Part 4", he keeps going for Megatron, tearing through any Terrorcons that stand in his way. Megatron even compliments Optimus on his skill.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Sacrifices himself to ensure the future of the Cybertronian race without a moment's hesitation.
• A Father to His Men: Everyone on the team looks up to him as a fatherly figure. When Raf is nearly killed by Megatron, Optimus is grieving his failure to protect Raf like he was his own son.
• The Fettered: "I chose my side."
• Gatling Good: His new form comes with one.
• Genius Bruiser: A former bureaucrat, a good strategist, and an eloquent speaker who can easily kill you if you get on his bad side. He also has the skill to decode the Iacon library's database, with his only equal being Soundwave.
• Gentle Giant: The largest Autobot in the series and one of the largest Cybertronians bar Unicron himself by the end of the series, but he's still Optimus Prime.
• God in Human Form: In a sense. The Covenant Of Primus reveals that he is the Thirteenth of the Original Primes, having willingly given up his status and memories of his former life and reincarnated as an ordinary Cybertronian, though he did regain them when he got the Matrix of Leadership. That said, he still kept this fact to himself.
• Good Is Not Soft: He's the heroic leader of the Autobots but he will not hesitate to get his hands dirty in a fight. Starting in the first season finale, his primary goal is to kill Megatron if he gets the chance.
• The Heart: Is this among the Autobots. This is evidenced in Orion Pax, Part 1, as without him, the Autobots quickly dissolve into bickering without his leadership.
• The Hero: He's the main character, after all.
• The Hero Dies: Sacrifices himself for the future of his race at the end of the series. Is later resurrected in Robots in Disguise.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Being Optimus Prime, it's expected for him to at least attempt this a few times. The "One Shall Rise" trilogy revealed that he didn't anticipate surviving his encounter with Unicron. He did, but lost his memories of being Optimus Prime and reverted back to Orion Pax for a short time. In "Darkest Hour", he stayed behind to ensure the Decepticons couldn't follow their team through the ground bridge and the Decepticons split the base with a Wave-Motion Gun with him inside. He survived, barely, and would have died if Smokescreen didn't give him the Forge of Solus Prime to repair himself. He does it for real in "Predacons Rising". After being forced to merge the Allspark with his own, he has no choice but to enter Primus' core and sacrifice himself to restore Cybertron's ability to create life. However, the Primes save his spark at the last possible moment and he's eventually resurrected in Robots in Disguise.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: First his arm-blades, then the Star Saber.
• He's Back!:
  • At the climax of Orion Pax, Part 3, Orion Pax's memories and his identity as Optimus Prime are restored. The first thing he does? Gives Megatron a well deserved smackdown.
  • In "Rebellion", Team Prime gets their skidplates handed to them during the assault on Darkmount. Guess who shows up for a repeat performance of the Orion Pax arc climax, having been saved from the brink of death by Smokescreen?
• Ideal Hero: A paragon of goodness.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Combines with The Stoic when Ratchet is infuriated by the news of the Omega Lock's destruction by his hand.
  Ratchet: What!?... You did...
  Optimus: What was necessary. There was no time for another prolonged battle, not with Earth in imminent danger.
• It Is Not Your Time: Inverted. It most certainly was his time, a point Alpha Trion elaborated on, but Smokescreen siphoned the last of the energy from the forge into Optimus, saving his life.
• It's All My Fault: While he doesn't put it as bluntly, in "One Shall Fall", it is shown that he blames himself for most of what has happened since the Great War ended on Cybertron. Specifically, that he refused to believe that Decepticons would never be able to coexist peacefully with the Autobots, and that there was still hope for Megatron to change his ways, even after his former friend was responsible for the destruction of their home, the spread of the conflict to various other worlds (including Earth) as well as the countless individuals who have died and suffered as a result. Meaning he never took the opportunity to end the conflict for good (by killing Megatron) when he had the chance (according to Ratchet, many chances). He seems to realize how foolish he was (in his own eyes) when Megatron almost kills Raf.
• Jetpack: Gains one in his new form.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: In first season finale. He gets better.
• Large and in Charge: The tallest Autobot in the series. Moreso when he's upgraded with the Forge of Solus Prime.
• Last of His Kind: He's the last of the Primes. His death at the end of the series even marks the end of the Prime lineage until he's brought back in Robots in Disguise, then he resumes the title.
• Legacy Character: Though it isn't explicitly brought up in-series, he took the title of Prime after the death of his predecessor, Sentinel Zeta Prime, at the hands of the Decepticons. Covenant of Primus revealed that he's the reincarnation of the 13th Prime.
• Lightning Bruiser: Strongest member of Team Prime and one of the fastest.
• Martial Pacifist: Optimus's seen everything from comrades dying to atrocities being committed on myriad sentient species who had nothing to do with the war. As such, he always tries to strive for peace, since he's not only seen the alternative, but also wants to protect both humans and Cybertronians, regardless of allegiance. He is, however, not at all reluctant to lay down an ass-beating when it comes to protecting those weaker than him.
• Master Swordsman: Whenever he gets his hands on a sword, Optimus becomes more lethal than usual.
• Meaningful Rename: Was originally a Cybertronian clerk named Orion Pax. He was eventually granted the title of Prime and was renamed Optimus after receiving the Matrix of Leadership. When said Matrix is used up to defeat Unicron, he reverts back to Orion Pax for a while. Conventant of Primus revealed that Optimus was his name during his previous life as the 13th Prime.
• Messianic Archetype: Willingly goes to what he expects to be his death in order to save humanity from an ancient evil at the heart of our origins. Unlike most other Optimus Primes, he hasn't died yet, but he did lose his memories and identity for a while before regaining them. Not to mention sacrificing himself to destroy the Space Bridge Controls after everyone else has fled to fight another day...
  • His being the reincarnation of "Thirteen," the last of the thirteen original Primes only drives it in further. Optimus was the one whose spark was most alike to Primus, and it was only because of his vision and courage that the Thirteen were able to unite and defeat Unicron. Then he willingly allows himself to be reincarnated as a normal Cybertronian so he may better understand his people, and then willingly gives up his life to merge with the Well of Allsparks in order to bring about a new age.
• Mr. Fanservice: Even that descriptor would be extremely impolite on our Autobot leader, but his body type is unprecedented from other versions of Optimus...
• Nice Guy: He wouldn't be Optimus Prime without this trope. He comes off as very blunt and methodical but there's perhaps no one with a bigger spark.

  Agent Fowler: "The simple fact is, Prime doesn't have a bad circuit in his body."

• "No More Holding Back" Speech: Delivers one in "One Shall Fall", where he finally decides to straight-up kill Megatron.
  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!
• Not So Above It All:
  • Of all bots, he rubs in the fact Starscream can't fly.
  • Admits to Ultra Magnus that he doesn't understand everything their human allies say and just suggests to, "Simply nod and mobilize."
• One-Man Army: He and Ratchet handily mow down an unending tide of zombie robots in the pilot.
• Only Mostly Dead: In "Rebellion", before the power of the Forge of Solus Prime heals/upgrades him.
• Pacifism Breaking Point: Though he can fight and even kill if need be, Optimus has tried to convince multiple Decepticons - namely Starscream and Skyquake, and later the latter's twin, Dreadwing - to stray from Megatron's destructive path and seek a peaceful end to their ongoing war, all of which have either fell on deaf ears or were rejected outright. After Megatron severely injures Raf in One Shall Fall, Optimus is forced to come to terms with the fact that neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons will ever reconcile peacefully this late into the war, and the only way to effectively bring it to an end is to kill Megatron.
• Papa Wolf: He's very protective of his fellow Autobots to say the least, and the only time he has decided to out-and-out murder Megatron was when he thought that he killed Raf and when he killed Bumblebee in their final battle.
• Primary-Color Champion: Natch.
• Reincarnation: The Covenant of Primus revealed that Optimus is actually the reincarnation of the Thirteenth Prime, lacking any knowledge of his previous life until he gained the Matrix of Leadership. He keeps this fact to himself.
• Retcon: According to The Covenant of Primus, this particular incarnation of Optimus Prime is a reincarnated member of the Original Thirteen, specifically, the Thirteenth Prime. This itself isn't too big of a stretch. However, the book goes one step further and states that upon receiving the Matrix of Leadership for the very first time (i.e. back during the events depicted in Transformers: War for Cybertron), he was granted all of the memories of his past life. This part is notable in particular, since at no point in any other form of Aligned fiction prior to this being revealed was anything of the sort even hinted at. He even refers to events that he would have been present at as the Thirteenth Prime as if he was only familiar with the legends surrounding them, specifically Unicron, and the Chaos Bringer himself doesn't recognize Optimus in any form aside from him being a Prime. He does keep the knowledge of being a former member of the Thirteen to himself, but it still leaves a lot of writing around past events.
• Robo Family: According to the Transformers Vault, this universe's Optimus is a possible descendant of Prima, from the Original Thirteen (described as having a "Primian" polarity). A trait he shares with his live-action movie incarnation. According to Conventant of Primus, he isn't a descendant of Prima—he's one of the original 13 himself reincarnated.
• Shoot the Dog: He destroyed the Omega Lock, the only thing capable of restoring Cybertron, to stop the Decepticons from destroying Earth with it.
• Skyward Scream: When Starscream escapes with all four Omega Keys in "Inside Job".
• Standardized Leader: Deliberately invoked, and somewhat deconstructed; it's explicitly stated that all Primes have a similar sort of calm, dignified, slightly sad personality. Carrying the accumulated wisdom of all past Primes in your mind will do that.
  Arcee: Primes are built that way.
  Bulkhead: Never seen Optimus laugh, cry, or lose his cool.
• The Stoic: Bulkhead says he's never seen Optimus laugh, cry, or lose his cool in all the time he's known him.
  • Not So Stoic: When Starscream successfully steals the Omega keys, Optimus screams in frustration. Bonus points for Bulkhead being there to see it.
• Story-Breaker Power: His Season 3 upgrade makes him, while still short of Predaking, one of the most powerful characters in the show, with rarely a scene where Optimus is outmatched, except against Predaking and a few other select characters. Most of the episodes of the season and the epilogue film resolved this by having him away on other business.
• Super-Senses: Possesses telescopic vision that he uses to home in on targets. Which makes a lot of sense considering he's a giant alien robot.
• Super-Strength: Strong enough to stop trains moving well over 90 mph. He’s only equaled by Megatron in this regard. After his upgrade, he’s now far stronger than he was previously and is only really surpassed by Predaking.
• Sympathy for the Devil: After Megatron's apparent death in "Darkness Rising", Optimus mourns the fact that he was never able to turn Megatron away from his destructive path, and remarking that the Megatron who was once his friend is long dead. This sympathy ends permanently in "One Shall Fall", where Optimus decides, in no uncertain terms, that Megatron must die for there to be any chance of peace.
• Team Dad: The father figure of Team Prime bar Fowler and June.
• These Hands Have Killed: The first Cybertronian he ever killed was a former industrial worker turned Decepticon named Drixco. The act of taking his first life caused him to question himself but eventually sealed his resolve to end the war. Similarly, when his memory ends up reverted to his Orion Pax persona, upon the discovery that he is armed, he ends up killing the Vehicons who were in the process of mercilessly beating him. Whilst initially shocked, he then decides that it is his responsibility to stop Megatron, and ends up receiving his memories back soon after.
• Took a Level in Badass: He was already badass to start with; then his upgrade via the Forge of Solus Prime makes him the largest and most physically powerful single character in the show short of Predaking.
• Token Good Teammate: As the memory wiped Orion Pax, for the Decepticons, although only for a short time and changes sides even before regaining his memories.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • In Legacy, his single sentence admonishing of Smokescreen is said with all the tone of a graveyard.
  • His Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Megatron for nearly killing Raf is full to the brim with this. His voice is controlled, absolutely calm and his pace methodical as he cuts down any Decepticon between him and Megatron. Although to see him express the intent to murder Megatron and (if Megatron wasn't powered up by Dark Energon beforehand) actually succeed in following through should tell you how pissed he was.
• Unstoppable Rage: In "One Shall Fall", after Raf is nearly killed by Megatron.
  • In "Deadlock", after Megatron gunned down Bumblebee, Optimus bellows in fury and gives Megatron a serious beating.
• Vocal Evolution: The voice Peter Cullen uses for this series is a much less deep and gravelly take on the voice he uses for the live-action movies, being calmer and smoother sounding, but still with the grandiose manner of speaking. As we hear during his time as the amnesiac Orion Pax, he speaks at a slightly faster cadence, returning to his distinct slower cadence once he gets his memories back.
• Victory-Guided Amnesia: In the finale of Season One, Optimus uses the Matrix of Leadership to put Unicron down at the cost of losing his memory of the Autobot-Decepticon war. Thankfully, he gets better.
• Warrior Poet: His thoughtful, sensitive, introspective and kind nature is what won him his position as a Prime.
• We Used to Be Friends: He and Megatron were once best chums trying to achieve equality for all Cybertronians. Their methods to do so, however, were different. When Optimus's ideals and proposal were accepted by Cybertron's High Council, who ordained him the next Prime, Megatron, who favored violent means to get what he wanted, furiously severed all ties with Optimus and the Council and led his followers to claim the power that he believed should have been his. Ever since then, Optimus and Megatron have been clashing every time they meet.
• When He Smiles: Optimus's smiles are rare and small, but when he does smile, it lights up his entire face. One noteworthy moment was when he smiled at Raf when both of them were recovering from Megatron's attacks in "One Shall Rise, Part 1".
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: As Orion Pax, Megatron's protege in the Cybertronian civil rights movement. This ended up endearing him to the general public (and the council) more than his more ruthless mentor's attitude.
• The Worf Effect: As the most powerful Autobot, he's defeated by Predaking in a brutal fight during the latter part of the third season to establish just how strong the Predacon was.
• Worthy Opponent: Respects Dreadwing's loyalty to Megatron and his combat prowess.
• Would Not Shoot a Civilian: If you do, he will condemn you to a brutal beatdown at his hands.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: In "Darkest Hour", he stays behind after the base is evacuated to destroy the Ground Bridge and ensure the Decepticons cannot pursue his teammates. Too bad Megatron opted to obliterate the base rather than capture it.

Arcee

"This is for Cliffjumper!"

Voiced by: Sumalee Montano (English), Shizuka Itō (Japanese), Rosalba Sotelo (Latin American Spanish)

A small and nimble fighter with experience as a scout and spy, Arcee is haunted by several events that occurred during the Cybertronian Civil War, including the deaths of several partners and being tortured by Airachnid as a POW. She is nonetheless well-respected by her teammates and although she can be impulsive and leave on her own agenda, her number 1 priority is the safety of the team. She is officially the guardian of Jack Darby, and after an initial annoyance with each other, have come to form a powerful bond.

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• Action Girl: She certainly doesn't shirk on the combat duties.
• Adaptational Badass: Probably the most dangerous incarnation of Arcee who isn't an Ax-Crazy test subject.
• Anti-Hero: What happened to her partners has left her as something of a Knight in Sour Armor.
• Badass Biker: She uses a hologram of one wearing a helmet and skintight leather outfit as part of her motorcycle disguise when she's in public.
• Berserk Button: Taunting her about her dead partners, or threatening the life of her current one.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Arcee's blades are forearm-mounted rather than fold-out blades like Optimus and Ratchet's.
• Breast Plate: Her chest armor.
• Broken Bird: Losing two of her partners has done that to her.
• Composite Character: She has the name Arcee, but adopts the color scheme and general demeanor of Generation One Chromia with the alternate mode and loner mentality of Animated Prowl. Her backstory involving dead partners is also similar to Animated Ratchet.
• Cool Bike: Her altmode.
• Cool Big Sis: To Jack, then later to Miko and Smokescreen.
• Dead Partners: First Tailgate, then Cliffjumper.
• Damsel out of Distress: She gets captured and trapped more often than any other Autobot on Team Prime, but usually manages to rescue herself (and often someone else as well), kicking Decepticon skidplates all the way.
• Deadpan Snarker: Particularly as the series goes on, her delivery becomes drier.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: After the death of Cliffjumper- the *second* partner of hers to perish in battle- Arcee is noticeably cold and distant, to the point of wanting nothing to do with Jack. However, Arcee's relationship with Jack and their burgeoning partnership eventually softens her demeanor considerably.
• Demoted to Extra: In season one, she was one of the main characters, alongside Optimus himself. Her role as a protector to Jack and her rivalry with Airachnid gave her a lot of focus and screen time. By season three, she was essentially in the background and had very little to do as a part of the expanded Autobot faction.
• Doom Magnet: Both of her Cybertronian partners are dead. She's worried the same will happen to Jack.
• Energy Weapon: Uses a weapon of this variety from Ultra Magnus' arsenal in season 3.
• Fembot: Also the only female Autobot in the series.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Jack. The pair initially want nothing to do with one another. After several instances of being in the thick of it with one another, they come to appreciate each other as partners.
• Fragile Speedster: She can't take a hit, but it's incredibly hard to hit her.
• Glass Cannon: A skilled combatant and one of the fastest Autobots, but once she gets hit, she takes a while to recover. The trick is actually hitting her, which many opponents find is far easier said than done.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: She has guns and is skilled with them, but she prefers physical combat.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Since the death of her first partner, Tailgate, she has a tendency to close herself off from others, in the event she suffers the same pain of losing another friend. This is explored in "Out Of The Past" and several first-season episodes in regards to her relationships with Cliffjumper and Jack respectively.
• The Lancer: To Optimus.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Not as bad as Miko, but twice it has almost gotten her killed.
• Mama Bear: She's not his actual mom, but in "Legacy" when Jack tags along with Smokescreen and nearly gets killed, her reaction to Smokescreen (who outsizes her by a fair amount) definitely evokes this. And that's not even getting into those who actively try to harm Jack. In "Predatory", Airachnid was on the receiving end of Arcee's wrath for attempting to add the kid's head to her trophy case. It left a notable dent in the surrounding woodlands.
• Meaningful Echo: "Don't make me hunt you down.", first said to Jack as a warning in Darkness Rising Part 4 when he tries to back out, and repeated more affectionately at the end of Deadlock.
• Non-Mammal Mammaries: Her chest-plates are curved to the point where somewhat resembles a pair of breasts, but Down Played considerably to the point it more or less looks more like chest plate armor.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Towards Airachnid.
• Out of Focus: She's a fairly prominent character in the first season. She gets significantly smaller roles in the following two seasons.
• Parental Substitute: She's just as overprotective of Jack as his own mother is, and even nags him to call his mother more often.
• Pink Means Feminine: Downplayed, as she's mostly blue with only touches of pink. Comes with a Mythology Gag in the third season, where she observes Bumblebee's inverted color scheme and notes that doing the same in her case would make her almost entirely pink.
• Revenge Before Reason:
  • Her obsession with bringing down Airachnid. Since "Partners", this also applies to Starscream when she learns that he killed Cliffjumper. By the end of "Partners", she seemed to have put her desire for revenge aside... until "Crossfire" gave her another shot at him and Airachnid.
  • Since "Armada" her general desire for revenge seems to have faded over the remainder of the second season, especially when Airachnid ends up in stasis. By the finale, it has all but vanished.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In "Orion Pax, Part 1", she storms the Nemesis in an effort to find an amnesiac Optimus, killing about ten Vehicons before Soundwave tricks her into taking a GroundBridge out.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: "Predatory" reveals that she has a slight form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a result of being tortured under the captivity of Airachnid and witnessing her partner, Tailgate, executed by Airachnid when Arcee could not provide information the Decepticons demanded.
• Sizeshifter: She's a perfectly normal-sized motorcycle, but far larger◊ than she has any right to be as a robot.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Airachnid's girly girl. While both are brutal warriors, Arcee's stern and tough attitude contrasts sharply with the elegant and polite front that Airachnid puts on, even if it's obvious it isn't sincere at all.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: This incarnation of Arcee was created to be more action-oriented and far less conventionally feminine than the more traditional interpretations of the character. This version is tough, serious, snarky, aggressive and violent when in battle. She's also hangs around with male Autobots all the time and gets along well with them. She is mostly blue and silver, with only pink highlights in her colour scheme, and she makes it clear in one episode that she would not like any more pink. While mostly devoid of any conventionally girly traits aside from the aforementioned pink highlights, she does have her moments of feminine behaviour. Like when Jack's rival calls his motorcycle (really Arcee in disguise) ugly and she rages out. She also has a (really well hidden) soft centre behind the cold and violent exterior, and through Character Development does mellow out later in the show's run.
• Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Downplayed, but it's obvious that by the time of Deadlock, she had successfully confronted all her demons and made peace with her past after successfully managing to protect Jack.
• Vocal Evolution: A very minor version and more so related to how the show dove into her backstory than anything really dramatic or intentional (discussed in this interview). In the beginning of the series, Sumalee Montano played Arcee mostly as a "tough girl" kind of character, intense but vulnerable. Later on, she has a lot more of a dry wit and her vocal style changed accordingly.
• Waif-Fu: It may seem odd for a gigantic, heavily armed robot to be using this... but then you see exactly what she can do to the larger Decepticons without breaking a (metaphorical) sweat.
• Warrior Therapist: No, this doesn't conflict with the above tropes. After finally making peace over her vendetta towards Airachnid, Arcee is more than willing to step in and help Miko and Wheeljack deal with some of their problems.
• Weak, but Skilled: The smallest and lightest of all Cybertronians on the show, and often has trouble damaging tougher enemies. She makes up for it by being fast enough to get the drop on Megatron, and skilled enough to take on enemies far outside her weight class for substantial periods of time. She noticeably fights much better in tandem with the other Autobots.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In "Hard Knocks", when Smokescreen brags about being destined for great things and, later in the episode, complains about not being able to retrieve one of the Omega Keys, Arcee chews him out for not treating the war with the seriousness it deserves and lectures him about being more of a team player. While Smokescreen's exuberance is noticeable, Optimus feels that, behind the enthusiasm, the young rookie is just trying to contribute as much he can to Team Prime and feels worthless in the failure of his mission. When Smokescreen leaves the base upset, Ratchet believes Arcee took her point too far. Basically, she's on the giving and receiving end of this trope at that point in the episode.

Ratchet

"I needed that!"

Voiced by: Jeffrey Combs (English), Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Mario Arvizu (Latin American Spanish)

Team Prime's resident scientist and medic, Ratchet is one of Optimus' close friends from before the war even began and has seen the change in his friend. Ratchet is the oldest of the group and generally less excitable and enthusiastic as his teammates or the human kids. Usually grouchy, he is still a good 'Bot at heart and doesn't like to see anyone hurt. He is also generally responsible for the mechanical equipment and he built the ground bridge that allows instantaneous travel around the world, though he admits that he has his limitations in that field.

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• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: In "Stronger, Faster", he was under the influence of experimental synthetic energon and started challenging every Cybertronian he saw to a fight, even calling Bumblebee a wimp for backing down on his offer. It came back to bite him when he tried to take on Megatron and nearly got killed.
• Artistic License – Biology: Ratchet often forgets that certain aspects of Cybertronian biology, such as "metal burn" do not apply to humans.
• Badass Bookworm: His medical knowledge makes him incredibly deadly.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Arcee from some Vehicons in "Stronger, Faster" and saves Jack from Knock Out after he's cornered onboard the Nemesis.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Part of the show's art style.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Similar to Optimus, but shorter.
• Breakout Character: One of the most popular members of the Autobot main cast who nearly headlined Hasbro’s stillborn Shared Universe. His color scheme would also later be adopted by his 2005 IDW counterpart.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "(X), I needed that!"
  • "Hoo-ah!"
  • "A-yip-pip-pip-pip!"
  • "Puh-lease!"
• Combat Medic: "I recommend dissection."
• The Comically Serious: He's very stern, even in amusing moments.
• Commonality Connection:
  • Bonds with Raf as they are both experts in technology and Non Action Guys.
  • He also seems to have a sense of mutual respect with June Darby, mostly because they're both medics for their respective species.
• Cool Old Guy: A Old Soldier Combat Medic voiced by Jeffrey Combs? Most definitely.
• Cybertronians Are Flawed: Ratchet is as flawed, fallible and emotionally vulnerable as any human hero. When forced to choose between humanity and saving the Cybertronian race, he at first, however grudgingly, prioritized the latter, as shown by his willingness to collaborate with Megatron to rebuild the Omega Lock in "Persuasion". Though come "Synthesis", he started attempting to sabotage Megatron's efforts.
• Deadpan Snarker: Particularly when the humans are around. Or Bulkhead breaks something.
• Defrosting Ice King: Towards the humans. He never actually grows to care about them enough to not help Megatron cyberform Earth to save Cybertron, though Megatron's manipulations may have had something to do with that. In "Deadlock", he claims that Shockwave would have to cyberform Earth over his "sparkless husk" and he was fully willing to let Optimus destroy the Omega Lock in order to stop Megatron.
• Demonization: Megatron does this to him in "Orion Pax, Part 1", trying to convince 'Orion Pax' that "Warlord Ratchet, the Doctor of Doom" is the true Big Bad. He also claims that Ratchet did this to the 'Cons, though Orion questions this.
• Despair Event Horizon: Ratchet, for a while, appears to have crossed this in "Scattered", after the apparent death of Optimus, the scattering of Team Prime, and the final ruination of Cybertron.
• Dirty Old Man: In "Stronger, Faster". The Psycho Serum didn't just affect his confidence on the battlefield, as he actually hit on Arcee after Bumblebee refused his challenge.
• The Exile: In Robots in Disguise, as an outspoken veteran of Team Prime, he is unofficially exiled from Cybertron by the new regime.
• Fantastic Racism: Deconstructed; his refusal to learn about the human body and its biological needs is what leads to Raf almost dying in One Shall Fall. Needless to say, he does not take this well.
• Heroic BSoD: Goes through a major one after Optimus destroys the Omega Lock and gives everyone hell for it when they try to justify the decision:
  Ratchet: So you destroyed the only device in any universe capable of restoring our home? Optimus... we needed that.
  Smokescreen: You weren't there, doc. And it's not your place to second-guess a battlefield decision!
  Ratchet: It most certainly is! There had to be another way!
  Jack: It wasn't that simple, Ratchet.
  Raf: Megatron was using the Omega Lock to attack the Earth!
  Miko: Optimus saved our planet!
  Ratchet: What about our planet?! All of our struggles, and Energon spilled, and countless sacrifices... for NOTHING!?
• Grumpy Old Man: He generally finds the youthful attitudes of the humans and younger bots slightly annoying.
• I Choose to Stay: He decides to stay on Earth to provide technical support to humanity. It doesn't last, as he ends up returning to the stars full-time after Predacons Rising.
• Icy Blue Eyes: While it’s noticeable with a lot, it's more prominent with him. He has blue optics and is a cold, stern 'bot who barely lets anything get in his way.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Pulls this on a helpless Decepticon with a welding torch while under the influence of synthetic energon.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Ratchet may not be the friendliest Autobot, but his spark is in the right place when it comes to fighting the Decepticons. His primary concern is ensuring an Autobot victory for Cybertron, and he wants Optimus to remember that. So when he rails on about Cybertron's one chance at being restored destroyed, you can't deny he's right. The Autobots have been fighting for centuries and a lot on Earth's behalf, for very little in return. It should be expected that they deserve something in return.
  Raf: Megatron was using the Omega Lock to attack the Earth!
  Miko: Optimus saved our planet!
  Ratchet: What about our planet?!
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he may be grumpy from time to time, he's really warmed up to the humans by "One Shall Fall" and really does care about them as well as his fellow bots.
• The Leader: Takes up the role in the "Orion Pax" arc.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Whilst under the influence of Synthetic Energon in "Stronger, Faster". Ended up trying to solo Megatron, with predictable results.
• The Medic: His role.
• Minored in Ass-Kicking:
  • He usually stays back at base, but he makes a pretty good showing against the Terrorcons.
  • And, in "Stronger, Faster", when he injected himself with synthetic energon and went on what can only be called a "roid rage", he took down nearly every Decepticon soldier thrown at him. It took Megatron to bring him down. Even when Megatron seriously wounded him, he was able to fight Knock Out to a standstill.
• Mission Control: Prefers to stay at base to operate the Groundbridge and keep an eye on things.
• Moment of Weakness: Megatron knew that Ratchet loved Cybertron over humanity, and readily took advantage of that love to make him willingly reconstruct the Omega Lock for him.
  (grim smile) I will do it. But you already knew that, didn't you?
  • Little did he know that Ratchet wasn't quite as corruptible as he thought.
• Mr. Exposition: On most things scientific, at least for the Autobots- on occasion, Knock Out will explain instead.
• My Greatest Failure: "Operation Bumblebee, Part 1" reveals he's never forgiven himself for failing to restore Bumblebee's voicebox after Megatron ripped it out, even though he did manage to save Bumblebee's life. He eventually redeems himself when his Synthetic Energon formula combined with the Omega Lock restores Bumblebee's voice.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ratchet's refusal to step away from the base to pick up Jack, Miko and Raf from school during the away team's push to the Omega Lock on Cybertron ultimately proves the team's undoing. It gives the Decepticons an opportunity to take the three humans hostage, forcing the Autobots to give up the Omega Keys, allowing Megatron to build a new base on Earth, which in turn forces Optimus to destroy the Omega Lock, all culminating in the discovery and destruction of the Autobot base and the return of Shockwave when the latter came to investigate the commotion on Cybertron, whom in turn brings Predaking into the Decepticon ranks.
• Noble Bigot: Ratchet is one of the few Autobots who won't hesitate to voice his displeasure over nearly everything humans are and create. He especially hates human technology, though he's much nicer to the humans towards the end of Season 1, to the point he's no longer this trope. In Season 2 it's clear that his angry moments are due to the stress.
• Not So Above It All:
  • In "Masters and Students", he gets so invested in Jack, Miko, and Raf's science projects and insists he stay behind on a mission in favor of "advising" them. Turns out he overhauled them completely and let himself go loose.
    Raf: *looking at Ratchet's new volcano* Ummm... what is it?
    Ratchet: You'll find out. *continues welding*
    Raf: But Ratchet, shouldn't I be doing the work?
    Ratchet: Yip-yip-yip, don't touch! Just watch, and learn...
    Bulkhead: So, [he and Arcee] just gonna go help Jack and Miko finish their—
    Ratchet: Without my supervision!? You want them to be right, don't you?
    *Arcee and Bulkhead exchange looks*
    Ratchet: *wide-eyed, staring at his welder* Then watch a master at work!
    Miko: ... control freak.
    • When the kids return from school following their science fair, Ratchet shows uncharacteristic giddiness to hear the results and goes right back to his grumpy normal self when they weren't as well-received as he hoped.
  • In "One Shall Fall", he lets out a laugh over a cat GIF. When Miko comments on his lapse in character, he quickly recomposes himself.
• Not So Stoic: Despite being a cold professional whom rarely lets anything get in the way, he has freaked out quite a bit. Noticeably, when Raf brought a Scraplet and watching Wheeljack's piloting skills.
• Not That Kind of Doctor: He is a Cybertronian medic but he never bothered to learn about human biology or medicine, and it would have gotten Raf killed if Jack hadn't called in his mom, who is a nurse.
  • Another thing to remember about Ratchet: He's never taken the Hippocratic Oath. At the very minimum, he's older than human civilization and has spent an unhealthy length of that time fighting the War, where the very concept of total war was taken to new heights. Taking a medical oath conceived by a race much younger than his own in a society younger than him doesn't sound like something he would do upon learning it. He is a medical doctor, for sure, but he's not the kind of M.D. we are used to.
• Number Two: If Optimus requires an expert opinion on something or someone to coordinate a mission, it's usually Ratchet. While he may appoint one of the other, younger bots to be field leader on missions, they will still defer to Ratchet when he gives them instructions from within the base. Until Ultra Magnus' arrival, he is the second in command of the team, and even then, while he defers to Magnus, his lengthy friendship with Optimus and wisdom ensures him a high position in the hierarchy. Magnus himself doesn’t insist on him calling him “sir” out of respect for him.
• Old Soldier: Despite not having fought in battle since the war, he's by no means "rusty" when it comes to combat. He's able to keep Shockwave busy for an extended amount of time despite not being his equal in combat.
• One-Man Army: Holds his own reasonably well against the Terrorcons, but goes headlong into this trope in "Stronger, Faster."
• Percussive Maintenance: Attempts it from time to time. It doesn't usually work.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Whenever he enters combat, there's one in the wings.
  "I recommend dissection."
  "It's alright; I'm an emergency vehicle!"
  "I'm here to offer a second opinion!"
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: On the firing end of one to Optimus in "Stronger, Faster". Ratchet calls Optimus soft for: a) losing Cliffjumper and b) passing up numerous opportunities to take out Megatron. Though Ratchet's judgment is indeed impaired at the time, it's implied that he's saying what he would normally hold back.
• Retired Badass: It's commented by Arcee that Ratchet hasn't really been in active combat since the war, instead mostly staying at the base, providing medical and technical assistance to the Autobots working in the field. He does have his moments, however, and wishes that he still could do more in spite of his age.
• Running Gag: He does not like it when his equipment gets broken.
  "(person's name here), I needed that!"
• The Smart Guy: To the bots.
• The Snark Knight: Drops crude remarks at times (especially when humans are around), and sometimes gets his hands dirty fighting the 'Cons.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In "Stronger, Faster", courtesy of some Synthetic Energon refined from an incomplete formula. It doesn't last.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • In "Stronger, Faster", under the influence of Synthetic Energon, Ratchet brutally interrogates a Decepticon miner and would've killed him if Optimus hadn't intervened. After receiving one of these from Optimus, he flips it around and then gives Optimus the mother of all rants on how a lot of their current problems can be traced back to Optimus' unwillingness to act more directly. It very clearly hits home with Optimus and ends up playing into his new goal to kill Megatron.
  • He gives Optimus hell for destroying the Omega Lock. While he wasn't present at the battle, the audience knows that destroying the Lock wasn't the only way, so Ratchet has a point despite Smokescreen insisting it's not his place to question Optimus' decision.
• Worthless Foreign Degree: Ratchet is so proud of his skills as a Cybertronian Doctor that he doesn't even bother to study any human anatomy or medicine in all the time he spends on Earth. This comes back to haunt him big time when Raf, who he's come to care for, is critically wounded by Megatron; the Autobot Doctor panics in desperation, mournfully admitting that he doesn't even know the first thing to do to save the boy's life thanks to his arrogance.
  Ratchet: Curse my Cybertronian Pride! We've accepted these humans into our lives, yet I bothered to learn so little about their science... or medicine...

Bumblebee

"MEGATRON! You took my voice. You will never rob anyone, of anything, ever again. "

Voiced by: Will Friedle (English), Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), José Antonio Macías (Latin American Spanish)

Team Prime's scout, Bumblebee is part of the last generation of Cybertronians created before the Civil War took hold. He is young but exceptionally skilled, a quick thinker and as brave as anyone can get. His voicebox was damaged in combat years ago, a reminder of the harsh realities of war, and "talks" in a series of beeps and whirls that allows him at least a certain degree of communication with the other Autobots and his human partner Raf Esquivel.

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• A Day in the Limelight:
  • "Operation Bumblebee", of course, but also "Masters and Students" and "One Shall Fall". He has a very large role in "Deadlock" as well.
  • The movie "Predacons Rising" focuses on him taking on the responsibilities of leadership.
  • Ascended Extra: Besides the aforementioned episodes, Bumblebee has a very small role in the series. He ends up suddenly becoming a major character in the Grand Finale and the new Autobot leader in the sequel series Robots in Disguise.
• Adaptational Badass: The Autobots reinforce that Bumblebee is their Scout (like his G1 character), but that means he's on the front lines quite often and isn't always able to escape without getting into a fight. He's gone up against Breakdown and held his own, and was also responsible for defeating Skyquake. And he ends up killing Megatron. 'Nuff said.
• Badass Adorable: In spite of being a lethal Autobot, he's also a playful guy with a great relationship with the humans.
• Back from the Dead: Megatron fatally wounds him in "Deadlock", only for him to fall into the Omega Lock, have all his injuries healed, and return the favor.
• Berserk Button: Harming Raf is a good way to trigger it. On the occasion that Megatron nearly killed Raf, he would have attacked Megatron if not for Bulkhead and Arcee stopping him.
  • He also tends to get plenty upset when someone brings up his inability to talk normally, such as when Smokescreen referenced his handicap when Ultra Magnus lost his hand.
• Big Brother Instinct: Towards Raf.
• Child Soldier: We don't know if he'd really count as a "child" exactly, but he is the youngest member on the team (as far as we know - Smokescreen may be the same age or a bit older, it's unclear), and as revealed in the prequel novels he is among the last generation of Cybertronians to be born. In "Masters and Students", it's implied that Bee isn't officially recognized as warrior-class due to his young age. However, Project Predacon has him admit he's holding back so he could be officially promoted on Cybertron.
• Cool Car: A fictional model of a muscle car named the Urbana 500.
• Cute Bruiser: Thanks to his beeping and big eyes, he can be quite cute, but he's still one of the team's most consistently reliable fighters.
• Cute Mute: He lost his voice box before during the war on Cybertron, and can only talk through mechanical bleeps. He recovers his voice at the end of "Deadlock".
• Dark Is Not Evil: His new paint job inverts his usual color scheme to have more black than yellow, but he's still the friendly and lovable Autobot Scout.
• Demonic Possession: By Megatron at the end of "Sick Mind".
• Disney Death: Takes several blasts to the chest from Megatron's fusion cannon in "Deadlock", but the pool of cybermatter that he fell into brought him back.
• The Dog Bites Back: After getting his voicebox ripped out, his body forcibly taken over, his human companion almost killed, and almost killed himself by Megatron, he's the one to deliver the final blow against the Decepticon Leader — and delivers perhaps the most awesome line in the series while doing it.
• Dramatic Unmask: Turns out his mouth was covered by a faceplate for the entire series. Once he gets his voicebox restored by falling into the Omega Lock, he drops the faceplate to reveal a mouth not too different from his fellow Autobots.
• The Face: He's the youngest of the Autobots and gets along with humans the best.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: However impermanent it was, taking multiple shots from Megatron's fusion cannon left a visible hole on his chest.
• Four-Fingered Hands: He only has four robot fingers on his hands.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Tends to use boxing as his fighting style.
• Guile Hero: Has shades of this when the situation calls for it.
  • In "Sick Mind", he gets Megatron to show him the cure for Cybonic Plague that had infected Optimus by playing on the Decepticon leader's desire to kill Prime himself.
  • Then in "Partners", he tricks Airacnid into thinking he was immobilized and then sneak up on her while she had her back on him.
  • In "Predacons Rising", he stops Predaking from attacking by pretending a random predacon bone to be the Immobilizer before attempting a truce.^note It doesn't work at first, but the Predacons do come around to help fighting Unicron at the end. From the same movie, this time he confuses Starscream by lying that the Immobilizer in the latter's hands isn't the real deal.
• The Heart: When Optimus isn't doing his job for him, anyway.
• Intelligible Unintelligible: He speaks in some sort of machine language due to a damaged voice box. Raf and the Autobots can understand him just fine, but everyone else (viewers included) is out of luck. Raf acts as his Translator Buddy to the rest of the kids.
• Kid-Appeal Character: Bumblebee has traditionally always been one of these, but this incarnation ramps up the connection by pairing him with Raf, the youngest member of the cast, for a human partner. He also guest stars in Rescue Bots where he becomes friends with Cody, the resident Kid Hero.
• Lightning Bruiser: While not on par with the likes of Bulkhead or Megatron, Bumblebee's combination of speed and fighting ability allows him opportunities that others can't manage.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Gains an Energy Shield in Season 3.
• Nice Guy: Very friendly to everyone, Raf included.
• Only Mostly Dead: Much like Optimus before him. Good thing he happened to fall into the Omega Lock.
• Out of Focus: Perhaps due to being The Voiceless, he's the least prominent member of the original five Autobots, though he gets his plot-crucial moments, particularly after Deadlock when his voice is restored.
• Palette Swap: In season 3, he modifies his colors to hide from the Decepticons.
  • Paint It Black: A partial variation.
• Passed-Over Promotion: Although quite experienced, he's still a Scout instead of a Warrior because of the narrow hierarchy of the team. Season three reveals that Optimus was willing to promote him, but Bumblebee wanted it when it actually meant something.
  • Optimus promotes him to Warrior at the beginning of "Predacons Rising"
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Being virtually voiceless, he does most of his expression with his eyes, and if you notice he has the largest eyes in proportion to any other character. This makes his suffering in "Operation: Bumblebee" more palpable.
• Suddenly Voiced: His voicebox is restored after falling into the Omega Lock in "Deadlock".
• The Baby of the Bunch: While not technically a baby, he is the youngest and lowest ranked Autobot in the series.
• Took a Level in Badass: He has the sharpest skill curve on the team. While never a liability, he still sometimes struggles against some of the bigger enemies; in the pilot episode, he took a beating from a couple of Vehicons. Later on, he's just as efficient as anyone else. And then, in "Deadlock", he kills Megatron with the Star Saber.
• Walking Spoiler: Due to "Deadlock". Dying, coming back to life, regaining the ability to speak, and killing Megatron himself will do that.
• Wham Line: "MEGATRON! You took my voice. You will never rob anyone, of anything, ever again."
• Wolverine Publicity: As per the films, he's heavily used in advertising and promotions, despite his rather small role in the series.
• Winged Humanoid: His design, partially inspired from the films.
  • Wings Do Nothing: He can't use them to fly, though.

Bulkhead

"Who's ready to rumble?"

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson (English), Takashi Nagasako (Japanese), Salvador Reyes (Latin American Spanish)

A former member of the elite Autobot combat unit the Wreckers, Bulkhead is a tough bruiser and built for combat. Admittedly not the smartest bot, he is so good at breaking things that he doesn't have much room for grace and finesse. Despite that, he is very friendly and partnered with Miko, who helps him develop both his gentle side and learn to unleash his power when necessary.

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• Acrofatic: For a guy his size, he's surprisingly fast on his feet. It probably helps that said feet have two of his vehicle mode wheels incorporated into them, allowing for a potential speed boost.
• Adaptational Badass: The previous incarnation of Bulkhead was the strongest bot on his team, but otherwise was just a simple Space Bridge engineer with no combat experience to speak of. This guy is a former member of the Wreckers, with the battle experience to show for it and is probably second only to Optimus as the most physically combat-capable member of the original five members of Team Prime.
• Adaptational Dumbass: Zig-Zagged. While he has more of a sharp wit and is much more capable of combat, he lacks the advanced knowledge of Space Bridge technology his Animated incarnation had.
• Affectionate Nickname: Fowler, with whom he developed an Intergenerational Friendship due to him being so much older than Fowler— and indeed older than all humans on Earth— would eventually start calling him "Two-Ton". Bulkhead takes it in stride and seems to get a kick out of it.
• And Show It to You: Once he tore out a Vehicon's spark chamber with his bare hands.
• BFG: His arm cannon is second only to Optimus' in size.
  • Uses a handheld one during the Darkmount raid and the final assault on the Nemesis that's roughly the size of a car. It destroys Vehicons in one hit.
• Badass Adorable: The guy's a giant metal teddy bear.
• Badass in Distress: In "Armada", when he's trapped upon the Nemesis. Though he actually rescues himself by bringing down the Nemesis then driving off.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: He's been this with practically every Autobot in the series at one point or another, but special mention goes to "One Shall Fall", when he accompanies Optimus in sneaking onto the Nemesis, and in "Rebellion" when he does marvelously well with Wheeljack against the Seekers. They could've easily held their own for a lot longer had Shockwave not shown up.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't ever even imply harming Miko in his presence.
  • Also, Starscream or rather, one of his clones, found out the hard way that Arcee is not the only one who will become dangerously angered over being reminded of who killed Cliffjumper. It results in Bulkhead beating him to death.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Despite his kind nature, he's a former Wrecker and thus extremely dangerous in combat. Case in point in "Armada" where he beats a Starscream clone to death, then proceeds to damage the Nemesis to the point of crash-landing.
• Big Brother Instinct: Certainly acts this way towards Miko.
• Big Brother Mentor: Surprisingly ends up being one to Smokescreen, teaching the younger bot the ways of war and reminding him of the bigger picture of their fight.
• Big Damn Heroes: Pulls one in "The Human Factor." If not for him, CYLAS would have blown up Jack, Miko, Fowler and Raf^note and his mom, and the Decepticons would have had access to a Kill Sat from their warship.
• Big Fun: Slightly chubby and a great guy.
• The Big Guy: The member of the main cast who holds this position for the longest in the series, and nearly falls victim to the Big Guy Fatality Syndrome that afflicts almost every other one. In Season 3, he begins sharing the role with Wheeljack.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He's usually very sweet and complacent, but sometimes in combat he can get really riled up.
• Book Dumb: Hardly the smartest bot, but still a quick thinker in combat situations.
• The Bus Came Back: Is slated to eventually return in Robots In Disguise in the episode Sick as a Bot.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Bulkhead is a lovable sweetheart, but he occasionally alludes to his past as a Wrecker with some sadness and regret, as they're charged with the "dirty work" (ie. assassination) that 'Bots like Optimus can't stain their hands performing.
• Determinator:
  • Even as his life is being sucked out of him, he manages to punch Starscream in the face and destroy the Energon Harvester. Also when partially chewed up by Scraplets, he was the one to lead them through the ground bridge and let them freeze in the Artic.
  • "Toxicity" is basically one whole episode of him being a Determinator. Wounded, leaking Energon, being poisoned by toxic Energon, pursued by Hardshell, and he just. Won't. Quit. He only gives up when Hardshell shoots him in the back after all of this. And by then, he'd already gotten the job done. Hoo-ah.
• Dork Knight: He's a big dork in a warrior's body.
• Dumb Muscle: He sees himself this way, seemingly. While trying to impress on Miko the importance of education in "Deus ex Machina", he mentions that he was a laborer back on Cybertron (specifically, working in construction), claims that all he's good for is building stuff and breaking it, and wonders why she'd want to be "just like him" when she could be a medic like Ratchet. Regardless, when it comes to fighting smarts, he's second only to Optimus.
• Four-Fingered Hands
• Game-Breaking Injury: Ultimately subverted. At the end of "Hurt", Ratchet claims that because of both prolonged exposure to Tox-En and the wounds Hardshell inflicted, Bulkhead will live, but might never be fully functional again. However, by "Hard Knocks", Bulkhead has recovered enough to be an even match for Dreadwing and shows absolutely no sign of incapacitation ever again.
• Gentle Giant: In spite of his size, he's practically a teddy bear.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Far more intelligent than he makes himself out to be.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: He was this with Wheeljack when they served together in the Wreckers. They're still great buddies in the present day, but they've taken somewhat different courses in their lives.
• The Kirk: Not so much in the group as a whole, but when the Wreckers are all together, he acts as a mediator between the strategic Ultra Magnus and the battle-happy Wheeljack.
• Klingons Love Shakespeare: He's a big heavy metal fan. Also a big, heavy metal fan, but that's beside the point.
• The Lancer: Briefly to Ratchet during the "Orion Pax" arc.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice
• Lightning Bruiser: While he doesn't have the speed or acceleration of Arcee and Bumblebee, he can move surprisingly fast in robot mode. Other than Optimus, which is up for debate, Bulkhead is also the strongest member of Team Prime.
• Nice Guy: He's practically a teddy bear.
• One-Man Army: The core Autobot team's second-most-dangerous combatant. Stands to reason, him being a former Wrecker. Also the only bot (apart from Optimus Prime) to stand up to Megatron while he's on Dark Energon and hold his own.
• Out of Focus: In the third season, he's noticeably less prominent than he was in the earlier seasons.
• Papa Wolf: Towards Miko, of course.
• Power Fist: What his hand changes into.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2" has a great one after Bulkhead manages to heft the giant-even-by-Cybertronian-standards Forge of Solus Prime.
  Bulkhead: Hey, Breakdown... Mine's bigger!
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: At least when it comes to the Wreckers.
• The Resenter: Towards Smokescreen, at first. He quickly gets over it by the end of the next episode, "The Human Factor".
• Screams Like a Little Girl: Cue the mockery from Miko.
• Sizeshifter: Not as bad as Arcee since he has a much larger vehicle mode, but even then his raw girth would not be able to fit inside his vehicle mode. The tires on his back and feet are about as tall as the human characters.
• Stepford Smiler: Implied by how he seems to regret his work with the Wreckers. The poor big lug just sounds so sad sometimes.
• Stout Strength: Very rotund and also very powerful.
• These Hands Have Killed: In Armada, he ends up encountering Starscream (or rather, one of his clones) who proceeds to goad him into violence. The situation ends with Bulkhead beating him to death in rage, becoming horrified at his actions after the deed is done and muttering that Starscream left him no choice. Interesting, since he has killed Decepticons before, though it seems the intent behind his reaction was that he essentially murdered someone in cold blood out of a sense of personal vengeance, as opposed to an enemy in the heat of battle.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Twice he was willing to let humans be kidnapped by the Decepticons, simply because they were jerks. Jack calls him out on both occasions.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Played slightly more seriously than most examples of this trope. Bulkhead's had some bad experiences with Scraplets and while most Cybertronians fear them, Bulkhead has the... girliest response.

Cliffjumper

"Fair warning, boys... I'll put a few dings in ya."

Voiced by: Dwayne Johnson (Season 1), Billy Brown (Season 2) (English), Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese), Sergio Gutierrez Coto (Latin American Spanish)

A born fighter, Cliffjumper doesn't hesitate to get involved with a scuffle and is sometimes antsy when there aren't any 'Cons to scrap. He spent a good deal of time with Arcee, with some implications of a bond that extended beyond simple friends.

---

• Advertised Extra: Was featured heavily in the early promotional material for the show... only to be killed off in the first five minutes of the series.
• The Big Guy: Fairly obvious.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He's rather overjoyed at getting to fight Decepticons again, even if he needs back-up.
• Came Back Wrong: He is resurrected by Megatron in the second episode as a test for Dark Energon, but comes back as a mindless zombie/berserker. Of course, Megatron is perfectly happy with this.
• Cool Car: A 70's Dodge Challenger with bull horns on the hood, to be exact.
• A Day in the Limelight: His appearance in "Out Of The Past".
• Deader than Dead: He gets a very sharp hand shoved through his chest. Then Megatron turns him into a zombie, cuts him in half, and drops him down a mineshaft. Then Starscream blows up the mine with a very powerful bomb.
• Deadpan Snarker: Pretty darn snarky, especially when it comes to riling up Starscream.
• Dead Sidekick/Dead Partner: To Arcee.
• Dead Star Walking: Has a major A-lister voicing him in his first appearance, only to get quickly killed.
• Decoy Protagonist: Being that he was the first one to appear in the series premiere, most were led to believe he'd be one of the main members of Optimus's team. Having him killed off less than seven minutes later was a huge shock.
• Defiant to the End: He's caught in the middle of an Energon explosion and then captured and brought before Starscream whilst badly burned and already bleeding out. He still chooses to taunt Starscream with what turn out to be his final words.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Generally shares a mold with Bumblebee in most continuities they appear in together, but this series instead bases Cliffjumper closely off of his G1 counterpart (horns and bulky appearance), while Bumblebee keeps the traits established by his movie counterpart (camaro lines and smoothed out head).
• Half the Man He Used to Be: Courtesy of Megatron, while zombified.
• Hood Hornament: His vehicle mode has his head-horns on the front.
• Hidden Depths: While mostly depicted as a fun-loving guy, in the flashback episode "Out Of The Past", he demonstrates a strong compassionate side:
  Cliffjumper: Arcee, I know it's rough. I really do.
  Arcee: I don't know what you're talking about.
  Cliffjumper: Tailgate. Closing yourself off from feeling won't help anyone.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How Starscream kills him.
• Killed Off for Real: The first casualty of the series.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Engages the Vehicons in a fistfight at first. When they manage to be too much for him to take on that way, he brings out his Arm Cannons.
  Cliffjumper: You want the horns? You got 'em.
• Mauve Shirt: Gets a little characterization before dying. He later gets fleshed out better in Season 2 through flashbacks.
• Motor Mouth: Rarely stops talking, and it ultimately gets him killed by Starscream.
• Posthumous Character: Starscream loves gloating about being the one to kill him, having mentioned it many times. He is sometimes mentioned by the Autobots as well, often with regards to the friends they've lost.
• Sacrificial Lamb: His death is basically the Series Establishing Moment, and it causes a great deal of emotional strife among the team whenever his name is brought up.
• Take Me Instead: In "Out of the Past", when Shockwave prepares the cortical psychic patch to extract important codes from Arcee, Cliffjumper demands that they use it on him instead. It doesn't work, but he tried.
  "Leave her alone! Use it on me!"
• Walking Spoiler: Being hyped up before the show's release and dying less than five minutes into the first episode will do that.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Subverted. While he dies in the series premiere, he isn't forgotten, as he is regularly addressed within in the series, unlike most dead characters in Transformers. Also "Out of the Past", a flashback episode, explores his personality further as well as his relationship with Arcee.

Wheeljack

"So who do we call for cleanup?"

Voiced by: James Horan (English), Yuki Tai (Japanese), Raul Anaya (Latin American Spanish)

Another former Wrecker and close friends with Bulkhead, is very smart and a quick thinker, but prefers to dive into combat head on. After the war, he wandered the universe in search of both old and new friends and got accustomed to that lifestyle, so much that he has hesitations about sticking around on Earth for too long. He initially starts with a disregard of Optimus as a "clean hands" military commander, but comes to gain respect for Optimus' skill and sense of honor.

---

• Ace Pilot: Good enough to engage hordes of troops in his ship.
• Anti-Hero: He's of the "has no sense of subtlety" and "rebels against authority" variety.
• Ascended Extra: After making a one-off appearance in the first season then becoming a recurring character in the second, he finally joined Team Prime and the main cast in the third.
• Adaptational Badass: The original G1 character was a Mad Scientist type and not one to really get down and dirty. It's telling that his counterpart in the Transformers Film Series (where any character not originally badass was made one) stuck rather close to the scientist role as well. He is the one character that prevented Soundwave from having a perfect streak of Curb Stomp Battles during the run of the series.
• Adaptational Dumbass: This Wheeljack is a warrior first and mechanic second (only really when fixing his ship). He's not stupid by any metric, but is considerably less scientific-minded than his Gadgeteer Genius Generation 1 counterpart.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: An airborne variation with Agent Fowler in a helicopter in "Darkest Hour".
• Badass Creed: "Wreckers don't call for backup. They call for cleanup!"
• BFG: His Arm Cannon is huge.
• Big Brother Instinct: He is deeply, deeply pissed when Hardshell almost kills Bulkhead. After Ultra Magnus loses one of his hands, Wheeljack is shown being abnormally protective of him, both in giving moral support and watching his back in a fight.
• Big Damn Heroes: In "Darkest Hour", where he buys the Autobots time to escape.
• The Big Guy: When he joins Team Prime full-time in the third season. Notable especially when Bulkhead and Wheeljack are paired together for the assault on Darkmount, not even breaking a sweat until Shockwave arrived.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: One of the most notable sets in the series.
• Blood Knight: By far the member of the team who loves getting into fights with the Decepticons the most.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He enjoys fighting.
• The Bus Came Back: In "Loose Cannons".
• Character Development: See Manchild.
• Collapsible Helmet: A notable change from G1, where (like most with faceplates) the faceplate part was permanent.
• Cool Car: Specifically, a custom 2011 Lancia New Stratos Concept.
• Cool People Rebel Against Authority: Doesn't like taking orders and has a... less than stringent record of discretion. Doesn't seem to like Ultra Magnus ordering the Autobots around either.
  Wheeljack: Who put shoulderpads in charge?
• Cool Ship: The Jackhammer.
• Cool Swords: His two scimitars.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: See above.
• Composite Character: As the TF Wiki says, "Wheeljack: determined to make Drift redundant." ^note Drift is a G1 character from the IDW comics who has trouble with authority and wields a curved sword. While not really a badly written character, he was considered overhyped before his debut and calculated to be as cool of a character as popular, hence the Japanese inspired sword and some Kanji on his vehicle mode.
  • He also has a bit of Depth Charge in his obsession for revenge on Dreadwing, and his disregard for Optimus ("Loose Cannons" isn't too far off story-wise from Depth Charge's introductory episode "Deep Metal"). He also prefers to work on his own much like Tigatron.
• Deadpan Snarker: Especially when trying to rile up Ultra Magnus.
• Demolitions Expert:
  Megatron: Wheeljack - the one who enjoys explosive devices.
• The Drifter: He prefers to travel the stars on his own. Even after deciding to stay on Earth full-time, he still refuses to take residence at Outpost Omega One, and becomes their secondary agent in the field. The destruction of the base forces him to join the team full-time, and by "Plus One" he's convinced to stay for good.
• Dual Wielding: Katanas, to be precise.
• Era-Specific Personality: Compare his G1 Gadgeteer Genius incarnation and his Armada turncoat incarnation to his warrior Prime incarnation.
• Foil: A little bit to Ratchet, although they come to appreciate each other after a mission together. But this is even bigger when paired with Ultra Magnus, who is the opposite to him in every way by being a by-the-book leader instead of a loner. Several episodes and even a fake-out of Wheeljack quitting the team and they later have a respect.
• The Gadfly: He has quite a bit of fun teasing others. Just ask Starscream and Ratchet.
• Genius Bruiser: Downplayed. He's a brilliant engineer and has good strategic capabilities when in a good mood, but occasionally his temper gets the better of him and he's not the best scientist on the team.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a couple of scars around his mouth.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: In his first appearance, he tears the arm off one Vehicon and uses it to beat down several others before he switches to his swords.
• Gunship Rescue: He shows up in the Jackhammer during the season two finale to help Fowler and Team Prime.
• Headbutting Heroes: He doesn't exactly get along well with Ultra Magnus, though the two eventually grow to respect each other in "Evolution".
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: He was this with Bulkhead when they served together in the Wreckers. They're still great buddies in the present day, but they've taken somewhat different courses in their lives.
• Hidden Depths: He prefers fostering an independent loner image of himself, but the truth is he left the Wreckers because he felt the Band of Brothers mentality was falling apart when Ultra Magnus took charge and Bulkhead left to join Team Prime. He actually loves working in a team, he just had to reach a True Companions point with his new family.
• It's All About Me: Noticeably, Wheeljack doesn't like it when things don't go his way or conflict with how he thinks his world should work and blows up when anyone questions or criticizes his decisions. He wises up after his chat with Arcee in "Plus One".
• It's Personal: The reason he's chasing Dreadwing is because he killed Seaspray.
  • Not to mention why he goes after Hardshell: Because Hardshell almost killed Bulkhead.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His "jerk" attitude isn't universal, as evidenced by his friendship with Bulkhead, but he's, at first, very anti-authoritarian and tends to get into a personality clash with the likes of Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Ultra Magnus. That said, he genuinely does want to do right and views Team Prime as the only family he has left. He eventually comes to respect those three 'bots and, in turn, gains their respect.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Much to Ultra Magnus's dismay. While a One-Man Army in general, he sometimes overestimates himself or his enemies and has to be bailed out when things go south.
• Lightning Bruiser: Not only is he one of the fastest Autobots, he's also one of the most powerful and resilient. Unlike Bulkhead, who relies on brute force, Wheeljack hits almost as hard but supplements it with being more mobile and unpredictable.
• MacGyvering: Apparently how he goes about inventing things.
• Mad Bomber: He loves his grenades.
• Manchild: While Jackie is a competent soldier and cunning strategist, he also has the tendency to act like a bratty teenager. He rebels against authority figures, reacts poorly to change in his life, and Rage Quits when things don't go his way. All of these flaws show up in "The Chain of Command". He gets over this after his chat with Arcee, and then he Took a Level in Kindness after his battle alongside Ultra Magnus against Predaking.
• The McCoy: With the other Wreckers. His utter disregard for protocol and Leeroy Jenkins attitude pretty clearly paint him as this.
• Mr. Fixit: Is a capable mechanic, but it's downplayed in favor of his love of explosives.
• Mythology Gag: Within the franchise and fandom, Wheeljack's known for (usually inadvertently) causing explosions. This incarnation is an explosives expert, with a particular fondness for grenades.
• One-Man Army: Comes with the territory for Wreckers, it seems.
• Out of Focus: In the Grand Finale, since like Magnus, his character arc already finished.
• Rage Quit: What he does when things don't go his way. Best shown in "Chain of Command", though mercifully he doesn't actually leave the team.
• Recurring Character: He showed up once in the first season and a couple of times in the second. By the third, he joins up with the team full time.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His return to Earth is the culmination of his chasing Dreadwing across the galaxy.
  • He also promises Megatron another one destroying all the Decepticon Energon mines he can find if Megatron doesn't send out Hardshell so Wheeljack can pay him back for what he did to Bulkhead.
• Samurai Cowboy: Twin swords, "loner", devil-may-care attitude...
• Sixth Ranger: Is naturally a loner, but he has shown up when needed. By the third season, he's joined with them full time.
• Throw Down the Bomblet: Bulkhead claims that "one grenade, one shot" is Wheeljack's Signature Move.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Temporarily. During "Chain of Command", all of his character flaws showed themselves while he acted as insubordinate to Ultra Magnus as possible for extremely petty reasons. He gets better after Arcee talked some sense into him.
• Walking the Earth: A habitual wanderer who spent the years after Cybertron's fall exploring the galaxy. Never stays in one place for very long, preferring to keep moving and see new sights. When he actually sticks around on Earth, he still wanders around seperate from the main Autobot team until Season 3, where he feels it's best to stick around and help out the only family he has left.
• What the Hell, Hero?: At the end of Hurt, both Arcee and Bumblebee are visibly angry with Wheeljack for taking Miko with him on his vendetta against Hardshell. It's later confirmed that even Ratchet prefers him 'rogue' after this action. Wheeljack still comes through for them in "Darkest Hour", stating that they're on the same side even if they don't agree on everything.

Smokescreen

"Whoo! Too hot for ya, 'Cons?"

Voiced by: Nolan North (English), Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese), Moisés Iván Mora (Latin American Spanish)

A former guard of the Iacon Hall of Records, Smokescreen grew up in the waning days of Cybertron and learned under Optimus Prime's former mentor, the great Alpha Trion. After being captured, Smokescreen was sent to a Decepticon prison transport, but managed to escape by stealing an escape pod that eventually landed on Earth. On Earth, he becomes a rookie member of the team and strikes up a friendship with Jack Darby.

---

• Ascended Fanboy: Of a sort, given his great admiration for Optimus.
• Bash Brothers: He learned quick how to work as part of a team. He got onto Bulkhead's good graces by helping him defeat CYLAS and later fought alongside Bumblebee.
• Big Damn Heroes: Arrives just in time to save Bulkhead from being offlined by CYLAS in "The Human Factor", managing to improve the Wrecker's perception of the younger Autobot in the process.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Occasionally a bit too cocky, at least before his Character Development.
• Character Development: Smokescreen started out as a trigger-happy Kid-Appeal Character and thought that it would be cool to fight the Decepticons, but gradually learns that War Is Hell and gains a proper level of maturity and humility that made him worthy of being a Prime. His fighting style also changes as he matures, from a flashy guns-blazing fighting style to a clever strategic Confusion Fu fighting style.
• Child Soldiers: Gives the impression of being about the same age as Bumblebee - he may have also been among the final generation "born" on Cybertron - and his behavior can make him seem even younger at times. Especially telling since he's closest to Jack out of all the human characters.
• The Chosen One: The Matrix of Leadership declares him a worthy sucessor to Optimus should the need arise.
• Composite Character: Visually, he takes a lot of cues from other characters, such as a chest and wheel "backpack" similar to Knock Out's, Bumblebee's door wings, and Optimus' head crest (though the last one might be an Iaconian symbol or subtle bit of Foreshadowing). He's arguably the closest thing to a modern incarnation of Hot Rod as he was portrayed in the original 1986 movie.
• Conscience Makes You Go Back: Smokescreen couldn't let Optimus face the Decepticons alone in the second season finale, and snuck back through the Groundbridge.
• Cool Car: If you're wondering what Arcee meant when she commented on Smokescreen's alt-mode not exactly blending in, his raised spoiler shows that he's based on the McLaren MP4-12C GT3. There were only 25 of the GT3 run created for the 2012 F1 World Championship.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Bears a bit of resentment in Project Predacon at still being treated like a rookie, despite effectively being chosen as the next Prime (though the rest of Team Prime is unaware of this fact).
• Establishing Character Moment: Goes rushing on to the Autobot front lines of a fight before they even acknowledged him as an ally. But he also blows most of the Decepticons away by igniting his pod's spilt fuel, indicating that despite his hotheadedness, he's capable of thinking tactically.
  • That same impulsiveness showed him as more willing to try alternate methods of fighting, using the Phase Shifter until it later becomes his signature weapon.
• Expy: Of Hot Rod from G1.
• Hero-Worshipper: To Optimus Prime.
• Highly-Visible Ninja: After being informed he needed to conform to the "robots in disguise" mantra of Team Prime he scanned a high performance racing car, complete with number 38 on the side. Arcee quipped on how "discreet" it was.
  • Then he gets a new paint job. It's even less subtle than his old one.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Smokescreen grew up in the waning days of the War for Cybertron and believed for a long time that he was destined for something great. He wasn't entirely wrong either, being used by Alpha Trion to carry the last Omega Key and later declared a worthy successor to Optimus Prime by The Matrix of Leadership should the need arise.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Once he learns he's been chosen by the Matrix to be the next Prime he seems to want the position less and less as the series progresses (not that he wanted to be a Prime in the first place, he just wanted to be a great solider). He even goes so far as to try and push the future responsibility onto Bumblebee.
• Indy Ploy: He manages to stop Starscream by applying quick wit- literally kicking him out the Apex Armor by using the Phase Shifter. Clever improvisation and creative Phase Shifter use eventually becomes his signature combat style.
• Innocently Insensitive: Happens in Minus One where him boosting up Ultra Magnus's new hand accidentally puts Bumblebee down, causing Bee to storm off angrily.
• Intangibility: The Phase Shifter.
• It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: For Smokey, being chosen by the Matrix to be the next Prime would require that he 1.) shoulder the responsibility of his entire race. 2.) have zero personal time. 3.) and ultimately lose his old personality to become someone entirely different. and 4.) Inherit it from the last guy.. It's no wonder he doesn't want the job.
• Kid-Appeal Character: The biggest example in the series since Bumblebee isn't as relatable to kids since he can't speak and has a smaller role in the series.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Totally goes into fanboy mode upon seeing Optimus. Understandable, since Smokescreen was assigned guard duty at the Hall of Records of Iacon, Optimus's old digs. He also served under Alpha Trion, Optimus's mentor, so it's obvious he'd have respect for the man.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Though not nearly as bad as Miko, he even starts to grow out of it by the end of season two.
• Mission from God: He believes there was some form of fate involved in bringing him to the Autobots at this time, eventually pissing off Arcee with all his talk of being destined for something great. He wasn't entirely wrong, being used by Alpha Trion to carry the last Omega Key.
• Motor Mouth: One of the chattiest characters on either side.
• Naïve Newcomer: Seems to have trouble grasping one basic fact about this series, and also has a bit of trouble adjusting to the social conventions of them being "robots in disguise". He gets over this in Season 3.
• New Meat: Very green when it comes to actual combat. His responsibility was guarding the Hall of Records of Iacon, which only put him in a battle at the tail end of the war on Cybertron, and even then he was either captured or in stasis since. He gets better.
• Nice Guy: Naivety and occasional overconfidence aside, both of which he outgrows, Smokecreen generally is a loyal and friendly bot, always eager to help and do the right thing.
• Palette Swap: Gets himself a new blue and yellow paintjob in "Project Predacon."
  • Zig-zagged when it came to the toy. His show character model is completely original while his Japanese toy was a repaint of Knock-Out (they carry vaguely similar design features but are otherwise very different). Surprising a lot of people, Smokescreen got an original mold in the US more accurate to his character model.
• Praetorian Guard: Was a member of the Cybertronian Elite Guard, tasked with guarding special locations and knew Alpha Trion personally. He technically never got a graduation because of the war, so Optimus offers a consolidation welcome to Team Prime.
• Refused the Call: The Matrix chooses him as Optimus Prime's successor just as Optimus' spark joins the Allspark. Smokescreen has other ideas, stating that he isn't mature enough for the responsibility.
• Screw Destiny: Instead of accepting the Matrix from Optimus as his chosen successor, he brings Optimus back from the brink of death with the last energies of the Forge of Solus Prime.
• Sixth Ranger: The first new Autobot to actually join the team full time.
• Small Name, Big Ego: He's a little too confident for his own good. Though it's downplayed, as he doesn't view everyone else as beneath him. He develops out of it.
• The Sneaky Guy: Due to his inexperience and relative lack of power, he's forced to rely a little less on direct action and a little more on stealth.
• Treasure Chest Cavity: The location of the final Omega Key.
• Undying Loyalty: To Optimus.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gets a big one from Arcee for taking Jack along on a dangerous mission and nearly getting the boy killed. He admits that he deserves every word of it.
  • He himself also (lightly) calls out Ratchet, later, for passing judgement on Optimus destroying the Omega Lock - as he says, Ratchet wasn't there to really understand how intense the battlefield decision was.
  • Subverted completely when the team learns of his decision to repair Optimus with the last of the Forge's energies, which meant sacrificing any chance of repairing the Omega Lock. Considering this decision not only saved Optimus' life (and, by extension, everybody else's), but also handed the Autobots one of their biggest victories ever, it's no wonder even Ratchet applauded this decision.
• Winged Humanoid: His door kibble looks like this, much like Bumblebee's.
  • Wings Do Nothing: He can't use them for flight.

Ultra Magnus

Voiced by: Michael Ironside (English), Dafnis Fernández (Latin American Spanish)

"The indigenous population of this planet...do they all display the same disregard for authority?"

Ultra Magnus served as Optimus Prime's first lieutenant during the war for Cybertron, given charge of the Wreckers to keep them under control. Following the energy trail left by the activation of the Omega Lock, he journeyed to earth, where he found the Autobots scattered in the wake of Decepticon assault. Though stern and militaristic, his leadership, combat prowess and additional resources make him an invaluable ally.

---

• Ace Pilot: Outflew Predaking in a ship clearly not designed for aerial dogfighting.
• All There in the Manual: Sources state he was the leader of Wreckers. This is confirmed in "Project Predacon", where he explains that he was personally appointed by Optimus to the post to bring them under control.
• Badass Boast:
  Shockwave: This is no place for a one-handed Autobot.
  Ultra Magnus: [clocks him right in the face] I'll take one bum hand over one good eye any day! [continues to pummel him]
• Big Badass Rig: His alt-mode.
• Handicapped Badass: Despite having his hand replaced by a rudimentary claw after Predaking wrecked his original hand, Ultra Magnus is still strong enough to fight Shockwave on equal terms.
  • He later puts up a hell of a good fight against Darksteel. He ends up getting beaten badly, however.
• BFG: His first weapon shown on screen. It looks like Optimus' arm cannon. Selects an even larger handheld rifle from his arsenal for the assault on Darkmount.
• By-the-Book Cop: Is fair and reasonable, but doesn't like any loose interpretation of protocol.
• The Cavalry: He was very much needed at a time when the Autobots were at their worst.
• Character Development: In "Evolution", he admits to Optimus he's saddened that his command style has resulted in his lack of popularity with the team. After becoming Fire-Forged Friends with Wheeljack, he gradually becomes a kinder, more flexible commander during the remainder of the series.
• The Comically Serious: Like Optimus, he never jokes around, but ends up a few times on the receiving end of other characters' antics. For example:
  Agent Fowler: We're getting reports of Decepticon activity in Scotland, so grab your kilts.
  Optimus Prime: Ultra Magnus, you will take Bulkhead and Wheeljack to investigate.
  Ultra Magnus: Yes, sir. [quietly] Um, what's a kilt?
  Optimus Prime: [Beat, before briefly glancing at Fowler and quietly answering Ultra Magnus] Agent Fowler can at times be oblique. I find it best to simply nod and mobilize.
• Commanding Coolness: His official rank is Commander within the Autobots, and he certainly has the experience, and is badass enough, to back it up.
• Composite Character: He combines elements from previous versions of Ultra Magnus.
  • His association with the Wreckers comes from the G1 Marvel comics specifically the UK original stories.
  • His personality as an extremely officious By-the-Book Cop traveling in a personal spaceship are taken from the IDW G1 comics. Gets toned down later due to Character Development.
  • Ends up wielding a hammer like Ultra Magnus from Transformers: Animated. Oddly, He takes cues from Animated's version of Optimus Prime in that both end up wielding a hammer near the end of their show for physical attacks instead of using the hammers' mystical powers (Justified in this case as the Forge's powers were depleted).
• Continuity Cameo/Early-Bird Cameo: His character model was first seen in "Orion Pax" as a fake Optimus Prime in the Decepticon database to throw off Orion from discovering the truth (It's actually a combination of his official model, redesigned from Optimus, and an earlier completely original design that was made into a toy, but that's just semantics).
• Determinator:
  Ultra Magnus: (when they're losing faith after having little luck in finding Ratchet) Ratchet may have believed this hand wasn't good enough, but I'll tell you what really isn't: giving up!
• Early-Bird Cameo: His body type appears in the premiere episodes of Season 2, when Megatron tricks Orion into believing the 'bot in the picture is Optimus.
• Fingore: His right hand is left mutilated after Predaking crushes it underfoot. While replacing limbs good-as-new is possible, Ratchet doesn't have the parts to do so and he gets a rudimentary claw as a replacement. At some point in the Time Skip between Prime and Robots In Disguise (2015), he gets a proper replacement for it.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Wheeljack in "Evolution".
• Foil: To Wheeljack, who's the Wild Card and a loner while Ultra Magnus is by-the-book and an experienced leader.
• Gunship Rescue: He’s brought with him a heavily armed ship, larger than Wheeljack's, and that alone provides some desperately needed support.
• Headbutting Heroes: He doesn't get along very well with Wheeljack, though they do end up respecting each other in "Evolution".
• Humongous-Headed Hammer: Ultra Magnus wields an Energon hammer as his primary weapon. He later starts using the now de-powered Forge of Solus Prime as his weapon.
• Innocent Bigot: While a decent character, Magnus has a habit of viewing every human he encounters simply as "native lifeforms".
• Insistent Terminology: You will address him as "sir".
• Jerkass Realization: At the beginning of "Evolution", he realizes that his strictly military attitude has been alienating his new colleagues. When he pressures Ratchet to hasten his research on Synth-En and chides Team Prime for taking breaks between missions, they react irritably. When Wheeljack, who had also had his own Jerkass Realization a couple of days ago, reveals that he's turned a new leaf to him, Magnus seems to feel bad for telling him off for being innocent this time. He starts to catch on that Optimus's command style seems to be more desired by the team when they flock to him when he returns from recon, leaving him standing alone in the corner.
• The Lancer: To Optimus.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: Natch.
• Large and in Charge: Is the only Autobot to approach the size of Optimus, and he was this during his time in the Wreckers, where he was the leader.
• Lonely at the Top: Though it's not so much that being in charge means nobody understands you, but being a strict and unopen boss does that to you.
• Mighty Glacier: Though powerful, he lacks agility, which is a problem when facing Lightning Bruisers like Megatron and Predaking. Reflected nicely in his weapon: Though clearly a chore to wield in battle, the Forge packs a massive wallop.
• Mythology Gag:
  • In the IDW comics, he was also a By-the-Book Cop.
  • Him wielding the Forge of Solus Prime as a battle hammer, like his incarnation in Transformers: Animated.
• The Neidermeyer: Downplayed. Most of the team respects him for his role as Optimus' second-in-command, but he's been out of the loop for so long (and the Autobot military infrastructure has long since disbanded) that his demand of military protocol rubs most of the team the wrong way, especially Wheeljack. After a few episodes, he recognizes the negative effect he's having and makes an effort to be more flexible.
• No Sense of Humor: Not surprisingly, given his militaristic background and by-the-book demeanor.
• No Social Skills: "Evolution" shows that he's not trying to be a Jerkass, it's just that his military mindset translates very poorly into casual interaction with the rest of Team Prime. He's getting better at it.
• Not So Above It All:
  • At the end of "Rebellion", while the Autobots are celebrating their victory over the Decepticons, if you look closely, Ultra Magnus pats Bulkhead on the back for a job well done.
  • When he realizes that he's alienated his newfound colleagues, he feels bad about it and wonders if they consider him a part of their Band of Brothers.
  • While on recon with Smokescreen in "Predacons Rising", he calls him, "kid". Not "soldier", but "kid".
• Number Two: Served as Optimus' second-in-command during the war, and retakes the role upon his arrival on Earth.
• One-Man Army: Seemingly second best to Optimus.
• Out of Focus: Has a minor role in the Grand Finale, though this is a Justified Trope considering his character arc had already finished a few episodes beforehand.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Ultra Magnus is very likely the strongest Autobot besides Optimus (probably being the 4th strongest of either faction under Optimus, Megatron and Soundwave), is one of the best fighters in the show and shows himself to be a highly competent (if uncharismatic) strategist in his own right. However, it's not enough against Megatron's also-competent but much more inspiring (if ruthless) leadership style, who quickly subdues Magnus' forces (albeit he had a huge resources advantage to start with), and would've won if Optimus didn't come back. Lastly, while he puts up a better fight than anyone not-named Optimus Prime, Soundwave or Predaking would against Megatron, and gets a few good hits in, their fight lasted less than 30 seconds before Megatron had him on the ground. Lampshaded by Megatron, who says he is "no Optimus Prime."
• Palette Swap: As per tradition he has the same basic body type as Optimus but with some extensive retools (mostly the shoulders and the chest) and the colors switched around. This extends to his vehicle mode. Downplayed in the show as by the time he arrives, Optimus had already been reformatted to a new body style.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Inverted and subverted. When Megatron immediately realizes what Magnus' idea was, Ultra Magnus confirmed this, responding with "Indeed, Megatron, and you are standing in my way", before charging at Megatron. Though he puts up a decent fight given his opponent, he more or less gets his ass kicked pretty soundly.
• Sergeant Rock: Kind of a hardass compared to the other Autobots, but still highly respected among them all.
• Shoulders of Doom: Well, doom for the Decepticons, but still...
  Wheeljack: Who put Shoulderpads in charge?
• Sixth Ranger: The last Autobot to join the main cast.
• Team Dad: Initially, he's akin to a new parental figure whose rules alienate his new family, but after his Character Development, he appears to have become this. In Predacons Rising, he calls Smokescreen, "kid", and Smokescreen feeling guilty about him getting badly hurt during their fight with the Predacons shows that it's reciprocated. Later, in the Robots In Disguise (2015) comic, evidently, Bulkhead and Arcee must've liked him enough to stay with him despite the Council's anti-Autobot sentiments.
• The Spock: Of the Wreckers. Compare his inflexible adherence to protocol with Wheeljack's indiscretion and disregard for authority, or Bulkhead's careful mediation between the two of them.
• The Strategist: It's implied that he came up with the plan to storm Darkmount that almost worked. He also has a mind for terrain warfare.
• Unexplained Recovery: The Forge of Solus Prime and his right hand are repaired in the Time Skip between Prime and Robots In Disguise (2015). The latter is justified, as it can be assumed he got a hold of better medical equipment, while the former is definitely unexplained.
• Walking the Earth: After the war on Cybertron, he left in search of other Autobots and refugees, but they all ended up either dead or facing off against Decepticons, until he detected the Omega Beam hitting Earth.
• Weapons of Their Trade: He takes the Forge of Solus Prime as his personal weapon, since it's been drained of its power and might as well be put to some practical use.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gives one to Wheeljack on his reckless and risky behavior.
• Worf Had the Flu: Though clearly a capable fighter, he loses against Megatron and Predaking due to being a Mighty Glacier. Just about the only hand-to-hand fight he wins against a named opponent onscreen is against Shockwave, who is another Mighty Glacier.
• Wrecked Weapon: The Forge of Solus Prime is later destroyed by Predaking. Though if the tie-in comic for Robots In Disguise (2015) is any indication, it got fixed at some point.

Knock Out

See Transformers Prime Decepticons.

Other Autobots

Tailgate

Voiced by: Josh Keaton (English), Yuichi Ishigami (Japanese), Oscar Flores (Latin American Spanish)

A partner of Arcee during the war on Cybertron, he was captured and killed in front of her by Airachnid.

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• Death by Origin Story: To Arcee.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: He's gutted and mutilated.
• Gory Discretion Shot: And aren't we thankful.
• Killed Off for Real: By Airachnid.
• Palette Swap: Whilst his appearance in "Predatory" does a good job of hiding it, he shares the same character model as Cliffjumper, but recolored. Given what happens to both him and Cliffjumper, it has resulted in something of a joke amongst the fanbase that Arcee should stay away from Autobots with that body-type (and that it's a good thing Bumblebee doesn't share this trait in this series).
• Posthumous Character: Only seen in a flashback long after his death.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Proves how dangerous and depraved Airachnid is.
• Small Role, Big Impact: His death serves as Arcee's Cynicism Catalyst.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies without much characterization.

Seaspray

A Wrecker and friend to both Wheeljack and Bulkhead, he was killed by Dreadwing and incited Wheeljack to hunt down the 'Con.

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• Adaptational Badass: Well, given this incarnation of Seaspray was a member of the Wreckers. Granted we see none of this onscreen due to his death.
• Killed Off for Real: By Dreadwing.
• Cool Ship: The same model as Wheeljack's ship.
• Posthumous Character: He dies before the story he appears in even starts.
• Red Shirt: Dies just to give Wheeljack a reason to hate Dreadwing.
• Walking the Earth: Like Wheeljack, and the pair were due to meet up... then Dreadwing intercepted and killed Seaspray.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Didn't even see him, and his ship appeared for a grand total of ten or so seconds before it got blown up.

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