open/close all folders
Autobots
Optimus Prime
Voiced by: Peter Cullen (English), Andrey Yaroslavtsev (Russian)
- Benevolent Boss: In contrast to Zeta or Megatron, he supports and protects his men through thick and thin, and this inspires so much loyalty.
- BFG: Optimus's Ion Blaster is essentially a faster firing, harder hitting, version of the standard Neutron Assault Rifle, and just to make it less fair for the Cons, it's more accurate and has more ammo to boot.
- Big Good: After Zeta Prime goes down, he acts as the primary symbol of the Autobot cause. Though to be honest, he was already this even before Zeta Prime's death due to Zeta's questionable methods, disregard for his own men's lives, general arrogance, and mild incompetence.
- Blood Knight: More or less admits he thinks being surrounded by enemies in the middle of their prison to be a good thing.
- The Call Knows Where You Live: Optimus had apparently turned down the title of Prime given by the Autobot high council in the past, but with Zeta Prime's death and every Autobot encouraging him he takes up the role.
- The Captain: He mainly acted as the commander of his group in the heroic Autobot cause, but eventually he gets upgraded to full-on Big Good.
- Character Catchphrase: He calls for the Autobots to "roll out!" in one of the trailer, just like he always does.
- A Father to His Men: Optimus, obviously, cares for his troops, even when they're lost without Sentinel Prime.
- The Hero: Main character and all that.
- Humble Hero: He's a very humble and downplaying guy in regards to his skills and accomplishments. So much so that he refused to take command of the Autobots when everyone else around him knew he would be the perfect choice for the job. And only accepts when he is left with no other choice but to assume command .
- The Leader: Type IV; he leads by example and by being one of the most levelheaded, sensible, and honorable of the Autobots gaining their respect and undying loyalty through his sheer strength of will, determination and genuine love and care for his comrades.
- Nerves of Steel: No matter how dangerous or dire the situation, no matter how grim things may look, he never loses his cool and always remains calm and levelheaded.
- Nice Guy: He wouldn't be Optimus Prime if he wasn't a compassionate and caring guy willing to risk his life for his men.
- Primary-Color Champion: Red and blue and very heroic and fatherly to all of his men.
- Refusal of the Call: Optimus has been a Prime from the very start of the game (and probably since he's been referred to as Optimus and not just Orion Pax) but continually refused the designation until after Zeta Prime's death.
- The Stoic: He's close to always possessing a stern and straightforward attitude no matter the situation... until something happens to Bumblebee, which will really draw out his emotions.
- Time to Step Up, Commander: Most of the Autobots soldiery wanted him to go Prime, but he was too humble to go for it.
- You Are in Command Now: Is given full leadership of the Autobots by the council after the death of Zeta Prime.
Ratchet
Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore (English), Vladimir Antonik (Russian)
The Autobots' main medic.- Combat Medic: He’s a medic and he can fight.
- Cool Old Guy: An old veteran but still pleasant and helpful.
Bumblebee
Voiced by: Johnny Yong Bosch (English), Mikhail Tikhonov (Russian)
An Autobot who volunteered to be a messenger via roads. He joins Optimus in pushing back the Decepticon threat on their lives.- Adaptational Badass: Compare this one with the original incarnation that was just a helpless Kid-Appeal Character.
- Cool Car: Transforms into a sleek yellow Cybertonian mini-car.
- Cool Sword: His melee weapon is an Energon blade.
- Hot-Blooded: "TAKE THAT, DECEPTICREEPS!"
- Kid-Appeal Character: Former trope namer who's the one 'bot who's pleasant for kids to see.
Ironhide
Voiced by: Keith Szarabajka (English), Alexander Novikov (Russian)
An Old Soldier packing in immense strength.- Deadpan Snarker: He snarks Warpath's attitude when he gets annoyed.
- Grumpy Old Man: He’s sour and bitter about almost anything.
- Old Soldier: He's the oldest-sounding of the Autobots and is still strong enough to offline two Brutes within five seconds. With his bare hands.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Warpath's red, where he's more mature and grumpier than the boisterous Warpath.
- Super-Strength: Both the above feat and lifting up a statue many times his size are the results of this.
Warpath
Voiced by: Jamieson Price (English), Konstantin Karasik (Russian)
”Keep dreaming’, old timer! I’m two up on you!”
A boisterous fighter who loves battles.- Blood Knight: Absolutely revels in the fighting and the joy of battle. Moreso then most Autobots.
- Hot-Blooded: He’s easily riled up.
- Hover Tank: His vehicle mode is a Cybertronian levitating tank.
- Large Ham: Everything this guy says and does is loud, proud, and full of attitude>
- Leeroy Jenkins: Loves to barge in without a plan.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: He's Constantly exclaiming combat sound effects, such as "bam" or "pow".
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: He's a boisterous Blood Knight who espouses pride in his abilities and Autobot status.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Ironhide's blue, being more loud and brash than the latter.
- Tank Goodness: His Cybertronian tank vehicle form is one of the few overtly military alt-forms for the Autobots.
Sideswipe
Voiced by: Travis Willingham (English), Vladimir Vikhrov (Russian)
- Ace Pilot: Exodus notes him as the Ark's pilot, and Fall of Cybertron shows him flying an Autobot dropship through a rust-storm.
- Blood Knight: During his stage, almost every word he utters is either a hilarious joke or about how much he loves the fact they're stuck in a Decepticon prison.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He loves a good match.
- Cool Car: An awesome car.
- Deadpan Snarker: Snarks pretty much everyone, but especially Decepticons.
- Fun Personified: Loves to party, fight and snark.
- Lightning Bruiser: Noted to be one of the fastest Autobots and definitely not the weakest.
- The Nicknamer: Constantly trying to give Bumblebee a nickname.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Proud of being an Autobot.
Silverbolt
Voiced by: Patrick Seitz (English), Yuri Derkach (Russian)
The Aerialbots' leader with a fear of heights.- Cool Plane: Has an incredible plane design.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments where he makes some hilarious and serious points about his mission to destroy Megatron's Wave-Motion Gun.
- Ironic Fear: According to Air Raid, Silverbolt has a fear of heights.
- Knight in Sour Armor: He’s dark and sour with a cynical view given by his past, but he’s still as heroic as the rest of them.
- The Leader: He's the guy in charge of commanding the Aerialbots.
- Wingman: As an Aerialbot, he'll provide aerial support and commentary if you're playing as Air Raid or Jetfire. Bonus points for being his own pilot, since he's a transforming plane.
Air Raid
Voiced by: Liam O'Brien (English), Diomid Vinogradov (Russian)
An Aerialbot who can make himself invisible.- Cool Plane: Has an awesome plane design.
- Deadpan Snarker: Lives to snark his friends.
- Invisibility: His ability for when you play as him, as opposed to flight, like Jetfire and Silverbolt, is cloaking tech. Though interestingly, he proves capable of flight both prior and after.
- Wingman: As an aerial bot, he'll provide aerial support and commentary if you're playing as the other two 'bots in his squad.
Jetfire
Voiced by: Troy Baker (English), Konstantin Karasik (Russian)
A scientist who worked with Starscream in researching Dark Energon. He sides with the Autobots when Starscream joins Megatron.- Cool Plane: Incredible plane design.
- Defector from Decadence: Used to work for Starscream, but after Starscream betrays him he sides with the Autobots.
- Heel–Face Turn: Downplayed. When the game begins, he's a Neutral; he only officially joins the Autobots after Starscream aligns himself with Megatron.
- Only Sane Man: Of the Neutral faction in the first chapter. He desperately tries to reason with Megatron and later Starscream that Dark Energon is too dangerous to be used as a weapon. Megatron's too arrogant to listen and Starscream just sees a chance to gain power for himself.
- The Smart Guy: Made especially poignant when he, Silverbolt, and Air Raid are tasked with taking down Megatron's orbital space station (revealed to be Trypticon), as Jetfire's prior experience proves to be vital in knowing how best to take it down from the inside.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Troy Baker's Jetfire clearly has some sort of accent compared to his American-accented comrades, but there is some debate as to whether that accent is meant to be British or Australian. The fact that incarnations of Jetfire have had both accents in previous Transformers fiction* doesn't help. (
According to Baker, Jetfire's accent is a "standard" English accent that has been intentionally mutated to sound less "posh" — so more British than Australian, but not really either.) Though you could say that it's Nebulan. - Wingman: As an aerial bot, he'll provide aerial support and commentary if you're playing as the other two 'bots in his squad.
Sentinel Zeta Prime
Voiced by: Troy Baker (English), Valery Storozhik (Russian)
- Anti-Hero: On the one hand he's opposing Megatron, so he has to be as hardline as possible, and the Decepticons' plan will doom Cybertron. On the other hand, he cares very little for his own troops and is utterly ruthless in battle, and the tie-in novels imply he was one reason the war broke out.
- Big Good: Precedes Optimus Prime as symbol of the Autobot cause, though he's not quite as competent. He also subverts it as his caste system was the main reason Megatron could rise to power.
- Composite Character: He has the name of Zeta Prime, but is more or less Sentinel Prime in that he precedes Optimus Prime. Transformers: Exodus makes it worse by calling him just that. Hasbro apparently claims that both are accurate, and Optimus' predecessor as Prime was named Sentinel Zeta Prime.
- Doomed by Canon: As Zeta Prime, everyone in the audience knows he's scrap due to future-set stories in this continuity.
- Defiant to the End: Say what you want about him, he doesn't beg when Megatron gets his hands on him.
- Evil Gloating: For a Hero Antagonist, he really boasts about his superiority throughout his fight with Megatron and co.
- Evil Laugh: Adds to the gloating with a maniacal laugh, a sign his power is going to his head.
- Fallen Hero: The background material establishes that Sentinel led the revolt against the Quintessons and was a decent ruler before his fall into corruption and apathy.
- Foil: To Megatron. On the one hand, he is a corrupt bastard and the main reason Megatron rose to power. Megatron leads his army from the front lines, while Zeta spends most of the Decepticon campaign hiding behind his troops and giant war machine. On the other, Zeta is not a sadist unlike Megatron, and is actively trying to protect Iacon and everyone else from a mass murdering warlord and his lackeys.
- Hero Antagonist: Of the Decepticon Campaign. While he was corrupt and far from a saint, he was fighting to protect the rest of the Autobots from Megatron's megalomania. As horrible as he was Megatron was so much worse.
- Hero's Evil Predecessor: Tie in novels explain that he's this to Optimus. Thanks to Zeta's caste system, bots all over Cybertron were treated as little better than slaves to those who were rich or had better alt-modes. Megatron exploited this and created the Decepticons. Optimus initially rejects the rank of Prime because he didn't want to be seen as more of the same. The war and his own innate heroism prove he's far better than Zeta, something Zeta admits before dying.
- Flunky Boss: Summons Energon clones of himself to aid him during battle.
- General Ripper: If his tactics are anything to go by, he cares less about ensuring his people survive and thrive and more about fulfilling his personal goals.
- Kick the Dog: Zeta captures and then crushes a lone soldier right before his leader's eyes, just to demonstrate his power over the facility.
- Large Ham: About as boisterous and hammy as Megatron. This is not an accident.
- Not Quite Dead: After his defeat by Megatron, the Autobots believe Zeta Prime to have been killed. He was actually captured and taken to Kaon to be tortured. However, he is finished by Soundwave during the rescue attempt by Optimus and his team.
- Pride: His fatal flaw. He is unable to see or admit that the caste system he created was ruining countless lives even before the war broke out.
- Same Character, But Different: Even with the name retcon, their roles in the games and novel are only broadly similar. In Transformers: Exodus Sentinel Prime was kidnapped before the war broke out and never led the Autobots. Zeta Prime is the acting Autobot leader and is captured after his defeat at Iacon.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He's all bark and little bite, and lacks both the madness and will of Megatron.
- Smug Snake: He's a rare example on the good guys' side, having Megatron's arrogance and pride, but not the skill to back it up.
- This Cannot Be!: Says the exact phrase word for word upon his defeat.
- We Have Reserves: Has no qualms about sending his forces into the grinder.
Omega Supreme
Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore (English), Yuri Derkach (Russian)
A massive Autobot who was activated by the device Megatron thought was the Omega Key, boasting extreme firepower and strength. Upon awakening, he stands as the last line of defence between Cybertron's Core and Megatron.- Arm Cannon: Has two different types of BFGs built right into his arms.
- Attack Its Weak Point: This is how is fight goes for the Decepticons, where first you have to attack his turrets (which are explicitly stated to be outside his shields), damaging him enough to force him to absorb power directly from Cybertron's core, making his chest a weak point for you to attack.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: His boss fight's second and third rounds play out with the Decepticons working around his massive size to try and hurt him.
- Bus Crash: The Sequel mentions in an audio tape that at one point between games he defended Iacon from an attack by Megatron who managed to make a small opening in his armor and firing dark energon into it which eventually caused him to go into stasis lock.
- Cool Ship: His alt-mode is of course a star-ship as big as the cruisers the Decepticons use.
- Determinator: Even as he keeps taking damage from being corrupted by Dark Energon, he keeps fighting.Omega Supreme: SYSTEMS: FAILING. DEFEAT: UNACCEPTABLE.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He's the Final Boss for the Decepticon campaign, but his defeat marks the beginning of the Autobot campaign.
- Fastball Special: One of his more damaging attacks, utilizing a Tractor Beam to yank in an unfortunate 'Con and forcefully throw it at you.
- Final Boss: He acts as the last opponent in the Decepticon campaign.
- Good Is Not Nice: He is an Autobot, so heroism comes standard, but he does not care for empathy or mercy when it comes to dealing with his opponents.
- Gravity Master: His claw arm has a tractor beam that he can use to pull foes towards him, and he gets very creative with how he uses it.
- Hero Antagonist: Unlike Zeta Prime, Omega proves an actual heroic character, the boss fight with him has him making comments to keep fighting in Iacon's defense. So he would be cool to have as an ally, but most of his screen time is in the Decepticon campaign.
- Humongous Mecha: Huge even by Cybertonian standards.
- Macross Missile Massacre: One of his desperation moves is firing an utter onslaught of missiles.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: His robot mode is immune to most forms of attack. The way to damage him is through corruption by Dark Energon.
- No Indoor Voice: LOWERED VOLUME: IMPOSSIBLE.
- Terse Talker: As usual, he speaks in noun-adjective two-word phrases, sometimes slightly extending to noun-adjective-noun three-word ones.MISSION: DESTROY MEGATRON.
- Wave-Motion Gun: His most powerful attack, done in his alt-mode, is an utterly massive laser beam which can tear buildings apart.
Jazz
Voiced by: Scott White (English)
Arcee
Voiced by: Kari Wahlgren (English)
- Action Girl: A female fighter and a deadly one at that.
- The Cameo: Can be seen in the Kaon Prison Complex with Jazz.
- The Smurfette Principle: Is the only female Autobot in the game.
Decepticons
Megatron
Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore (English), Alexander Golovchansky (Russian)
- Arm Cannon: His default weapon is a wrist-mounted massive and deadly cannon.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He fought his way to his command through the gladiator pits and consistently proves himself to be the most combat-savvy of the Decepticons.
- Badass Boast: He bellows a particularly good one in the first level, while a horrified Starscream watches as Dark Energon fuses with the Decepticon leader perfectly.Starscream: What?! This isn't possible! NO! No one can control Dark Energon! It dominates and destroys everything it touches!
Megatron: (Evil Laugh) I... am the dominator! I... AM THE DESTROYER! I AM MEGATRON!!! Decepticons, receive your birthright! - Bad Boss: He treats regular Decepticon soldiers as expendable and killable for defiance. If the named officers complain or try to suggest a less suicidal alternative, though, he'll simply tell them to shut up.Megatron: Unacceptable! They should be victorious, or dead!Breakdown: They're putting a good fight, alright.Megatron: Then put up a better fight!
- Berserk Button: Tell him that his plan is nuts or suicidal. Best case, you get off with a warning. Worst case, you get shot.
- Big Bad: Is the overall big villain of the game, being the one who intends to corrupt Cybertron's core with Dark Energon to bring the whole planet under his control.
- BFG: His default weapon is an utterly massive fusion cannon that devastates anything it hits.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: The reason why he doesn't just kill Starscream, despite the fact he knows full well what a traitor he is, is that apparently Megatron finds Starscream to be cunning and useful—even though the idiot tries to take over the Decepticons whenever Megatron disappears for more than thirty seconds. That and Starscream is apparently the planet's best expert on how to process Dark Energon, and was originally assigned to protect it.
- Carry a Big Stick: He has a large blade covered mace as a melee weapon.
- Character Catchphrase: "I shall not be denied!"
- Determinator: Protest as to the otherwise absolutely suicidal nature of the current mission, he will roar for the course to be stayed. Even if it means ramming a frigate right into a space station, while he's on the bridge.Megatron: I decide what is possible, and what isn't!
- Deadpan Snarker: Breakdown seems to have a particular gift for bringing it out of him.Megatron: Into the tunnels, Decepticons, and try not to get crushed by the trains.
Breakdown: You're joking, right?
Megatron: Yes, Breakdown. I'm famous for my sparkling sense of humor. - Evil Laugh: Reserved for the right occasions, but he does let out a sinister laugh occasionally.
- Evil Overlord: After taking down Omega Supreme, he takes over Cybertron and most of the Autobot campaign is spent trying to take it back.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Fred's voice gives Megatron's vocal processors a deep, growling, booming voice.
- Glory Seeker: Part and parcel for him is doing things for gloriousness. He even shouts "FOR GLORY!" after certain kills in Campaign mode.
- Hero Killer: Subverted: while he deals most of the damage to Zeta Prime, it's actually Soundwave who ultimately kills the Autobot leader. Played straight with the many Autobots that he kills over the course of the story though.
- He Who Fights Monsters: In the Exodus tie-in novel, Megatron's goal for doing what he does is to free Cybertron from an oppressive caste system that stifles personal ambition and cultural development. By the time of War for Cybertron, however, he's devolved into the megalomaniacal tyrant we all know and love, promising to relieve the population of Cybertron of "the burdens of freedom and choice."
- Hidden Depths: When traversing through the Trypticon space station, Megatron states he looks forward to updating it's obsolete technology indicating he has an interest in tech.
- Hypocrite: For all his All There in the Manual backstory about wanting to dismantle Cybertron's overly-restrictive Fantastic Caste System, his actual actions in the game involve bellowing about liberating Cybertron from The Evils of Free Will and imposing his own instead.
- I Control My Minions Through...: Although Megatron of course pulls the You Have Failed Me schtick to rule through fear, one also understands why the Decepticons still follow him, because in the Decepticon campaign, he is a complete and utter badass who is always at the front of his army. He rams a ship into a space station, which he then runs through while it's falling apart, subdues a small army with only two minions, and then gets his hands on the Psycho Serum which he is able to wield like a toy. Instruments of Destruction indeed. Even in his backstory, before his rise to power, he was like this (charismatic and leading by example).
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: He started out wanting to overthrow Cybertron's corrupt caste system, devolved into wanting to conquer the planet, then began using Dark Energon to corrupt Cybertron's core as the means to realize his goals. By the end of the game, he's slaughtering innocent, unarmed Autobots who are trying to leave Cybertron.
- Knight Templar: He seems to believe the Decepticons will bring order to Cybertron and usher in a new golden era for their civilization. Seeing the origins of the Decepticons (and the state of things before the war), Megatron doesn't necessarily come off as (originally) such a bad guy—elimination of the caste system, the freedom to allow everyone to choice their own course in life, betterment of the underclasses (of which he is one). 'course, things got worse.
- Large Ham: When the time is right, he goes all out bombastic in his speeches, especially in defiantly yelling at Omega Supreme. Only Zeta Prime could possibly equal him.
- Master of Unlocking: Megatron loves to use his new Dark Energon powers to open doors. Megatron can be the NPC variant of this trope provided you're not playing as him at the time.
- Necessarily Evil: He views his destructive and ruthless efforts as needed for Cybertron to survive and thrive.
- Never My Fault: Any time his plans go poorly, it isn't Megatron's fault for rushing into things or for giving bad orders, it's the fault of his troops for being too weak and incompetent. This is most apparent when he orders bombers to destroy the doors of the Cybertron Vaults — they're blasted out of the sky by anti-aircraft guns, and Megatron grumbles they were incompetent for being shot down, even though Brawl had warned him that there was too much firepower for them to make it through.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Soundwave is the one Decepticon Megatron has any genuine respect for and quite possibly the only person that Megatron would call a friend, so him telling Soundwave to essentially shut it or shove it for being a Captain Obvious after defeating Omega Supreme shows how thoroughly pissed off Megatron was during the battle.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Downplayed but still present. When Brawl tries explaining that he couldn't relay orders to bombers during the assault on Iacon Megatron responds with his usual accusations of incompetence, but drops the matter entirely when he personally hears Starscream deny Brawl's air support request.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: His optics are red and he's the Big Bad of the whole story.
- Sports Hero Backstory: Megatron started himself off as a simple gladiator from Kaon and eventually proved himself worthy of being a leader during his bouts enough to amass followers and start the Decepticons.
- Tank Goodness: His alt-mode is a Cybertronian land tank.
- The Unfought: Not only is he not fought in the Autobot campaign, he and Optimus never actually meet in person.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: Views his victory as the start of a grand new age. Anybody that doesn't follow him thinks otherwise.
- Villainous Breakdown: After Megatron loses the Core of Cybertron, his most prized asset in the war, he starts using his Kill Sat to destroy the evacuation ships. What makes this a breakdown? Earlier in the game, he actually wanted the Autobots to leave the planet. Given that Cybertron was also currently dying, those ships held some of the last living members of his race.Megatron: I told you, to stay and defy me was to die! And nobody defies Megatron!
* The vid-screen shows the station's weapon destroying all the escaping ships*
Ratchet: He's... insane. - Villainous Valor: One of the main reasons the Decepticons are loyal to him despite being a Bad Boss, he's not afraid to do anything he'd order them to do himself, probably part of why his men running from a fight ticks him off so much.
- Villain Protagonist: He's both a playable character and the primary source of conflict in the game.
Brawl
Voiced by: Nolan North (English), Sergey Chikhachev (Russian)
One of Megatron's many commanders who helps him invade Starscream's research base and Iacon city.- Adaptational Intelligence: He may be a tough brute, but unlike his past selves, he has the mind of a commander.
- Blood Knight: Brawl just loves to fight, and is eager to charge into the fray.
- Characterization Marches On: As noted below, he had a lot of Onslaught’s personality when introduced. However, when Onslaught became a main character, Brawl was demoted to his usual unintelligent bruiser characterization.
- Composite Character: Brawl seems to combine elements of both his G1 incarnation, as well as that of the Combaticon commander, Onslaught, fusing G1 Brawl's violent nature with Onslaught's tactical knowledge (and during the siege on Iacon actually does act as a ground commander). He also shares Onslaught's double-barreled back-mounted turret; the original Brawl only had one barrel (though movieverse Brawl had two). Amusingly, Onslaught himself was added as part of the first DLC and are both in the sequel, though Brawl isn't playable.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Has a deep, booming bass voice to signify his position on the villain's side.
- Mighty Glacier: Proves to have great strength, but compared to the other Decepticons he's relatively slow and clumsy.
- One-Man Army: Manages to take out an entire squad of Autobot troops that were dogpiling him during the assault on the archives.
- Tank Goodness: He turns into an alien hover-tank in his alternate mode.
- Villainous Valor: He shows this during a cutscene while Megatron and crew are trying to get to him. Dog-piled by a crowd of Autobots he throws them off, smacks one out of the way and machine-guns another point blank.
Barricade
Voiced by: Steve Blum (English), Sergey Chikhachev (Russian)
”we’re lucky to have survived that, Megatron.”
A whiny 'con who is surprisingly effective as a warrior.- Bash Brothers: Was this with Megatron in the gladiatorial pits. He used to be the one in charge before the despot climbed the ranks, and from there Barricade was one of the first to join the Decepticons. Its their mutual respect from that era that makes Barricade's unending reserve of witticisms and criticisms tolerable in Megatron's eyes.
- Commander Contrarian: He's constantly whining and complaining about the current situation. He still follows Megatron loyally and gets the job done, which is why Megatron puts up with it.
- Composite Character: Barricade has a body design that seems to be more of a G1-ized version of his Movie form, rather than being based on the G1 Micromaster—though as a Scout, he is the smallest member of the party. The developers have also admitted that Barricade owes more to his movie "mecha bad cop" persona than the original G1 character.
- Cool Car: Turns into an alien muscle-car in his alternate mode.
- Deadpan Snarker: He is, without a doubt, the most sarcastic of Megatron's followers, constantly snarking about the situations he finds himself in.
- Evil Sounds Deep: His voice is extremely deep and iconically "villainous" sounding.
Soundwave
Voiced by Isaac C. Singleton Jr. (English), Nikita Prozorovsky (Russian)
One of Megatron's most loyal followers who serves as the Decepticons' Communications Officer.- Badass Bookworm: He’s Megatron's extremely intelligent Communications Officer.
- Creepy Monotone: Speaks metallic monotone that emphasizes his methodical attitude and monstrous loyalty to Megatron.
- The Dragon: Serves as Megatron's second-in-command for most of the game, since Starscream's a more recent recruit when the game takes place.
- The Dreaded: If Bumblebee's words are anything to go by, most Autobots fear him, and with good reason.
- Drone Deployer: Deploys his loyal minions Rumble, Frenzy and Laserbeak.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Well, sort of. He won't hesitate to rush out to save his cassettes on the grounds that they're his best friends.
- Evil Genius: Megatron’s Communications Officer and surveillance expert.
- Hero Killer: He's the one who ultimately delivers the fatal blow to Zeta Prime.
- Papa Wolf: Risks injury and death in order to rescue his cassettes when they're downed.
- Shoulder Cannon: Soundwave has his usual shoulder-mounted missile launcher.
- Torture Technician: As the head of the Ion prison he’s the main torturer for the Decepticons.
- Villainous Friendship: As usual, a mutual one with Megatron: Soundwave is unquestioningly loyal to Megatron, while Soundwave is the only Decepticon that Megatron seems to genuinely respect: unlike his other troops, he never abuses or threatens Soundwave.
Starscream
Voiced by: Sam Riegel (English), Yaroslav Agikyan (Russian)
A Cybertron Sky Commander who is initially aligned with the Autobots, Starscream has spent over a thousand years serving as the operating commander of the Energon Station, a derelict orbital Energon processing and delivery satellite that also happens to be the last repository of Dark Energon in Cybertron. Although he initially does his best to thwart Megatron's scheme, seeing the Decepticon ruler is the first bot to ever be able to control Dark Energon makes him defect to Megatron's side.
- Adaptational Badass: In contrast to his traditional depiction as a coward and an unskilled combatant at best, this Starscream is a genuinely brave and skilled warrior, even defeating the Aerialbots and actually going toe-to-toe with Optimus, Bumblebee and Ratchet, all at the same time and putting up a decent fight until they injure him sufficiently that he wants to flee. Even in the first mission, he openly stands opposed to Megatron, resisting him physically and verbally until Megatron proves he's more than just another mad-dog whose ambition outweighs his brains.
- Adaptational Dumbass: Not many people remember it, of course, but G1 Starscream was a scientist before he became a warrior, and he often served in a science-guy role in the G1 cartoon. This iteration of Starscream is more strictly military skilled, being completely uninterested in the scientific discoveries that he, Skywarp and Thundercracker make in Cybertron's underground.
- Bad Boss: As shown when you take control of him in the Decepticon missions, Starscream is a real Jerkass to his subordinates, repeatedly insulting, mocking and deriding them.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He wouldn't be The Starscream is he didn't backstab everybody he works for. He actually starts out working for the High Council and through them, technically, the Autobots once the war starts, just so both sides get some knives in the back, and he's not working for Megatron very long before you hear him shriek, "Megatron has fallen!" and try to take command for the first time.
- Cold Sniper: Counts if one takes into account that his signature weapon, the Null Ray, is a high powered sniper rifle. His abilities are also very good at capitalizing on this, hovering and jet form to get him into a better position, and shockwave to knock back anyone that gets close so he can make a getaway. Despite this, he uses a Shotgun in the boss fight against him instead.
- Cool Plane: Turns into an alien jet-fighter, somewhere between his G1 "Tetra-Jet" Cybertronic form and the American jet-fighter he becomes after landing on Earth.
- The Dragon: He comes to eventually serve as the right-hand-man to Megatron.
- Face–Heel Turn: He's aligned with the Autobots at the beginning of the game note , only to switch loyalties at the end of first chapter when it's revealed Megatron can control Dark Energon.
- It's All About Me: Whenever he speaks, he puts a lot of emphasis on words such as "I" and "My".
- Pride: More or less echoed in every scene he has. He thinks so highly of himself that he wants to overthrow Megatron simply because he hates having to work for someone else.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: His assignment to the Energon Station, a 10-thousand-plus years old facility that's falling into obsolescence, is strongly implied to be some kind of punishment for something that Starscream did whilst serving as a "proper" Sky Commander for Cybertron. Exactly what that is, however, is never revealed.
- Seen It All: Invoked; initially, he defies Megatron because he's seen and studied the countless cases of fools trying to exploit Dark Energon, only to be destroyed or hideously mutated by it. It's not until he sees that Megatron really can control it as he claimed that Starscream decides that maybe there's something to be had from switching sides.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Although it doesn't work immediately, Megatron plays him by a harp by promising him a return to glory after the Noodle Incident that saw him practically exiled to the Energon Station.
- Smug Snake: Starscream's sheer ego leads to him making a lot of unwise plans and greatly overestimating himself.
- The Starscream: Of course. He starts the game actually allied to the Autobots, guarding the Energon Station and the last supply of Dark Energon. When Megatron shows he can actually control it, he turns on the Autobots to ally with the Decepticons, secretly planning on usurping control of the Decepticons from under Megatron once he learns how to control Dark Energon himself. Megatron is aware of it, but finds some his qualities, amusing, so he keeps him around.
- You're Insane!: Repeatedly tells Megatron that he's an idiot to consider messing with Dark Energon in the first mission, pointing out that in centuries of trying, nobody has ever been able to control it. Once Megatron shows he is able to control it, Starscream quickly changes his tune.
Thundercracker
Voiced by: Graham McTavish (English), Peter Ivashchenko (Russian)
One of Starscream's colleagues who joins Starscream in siding with the Decepticons.- Anti-Villain: He doesn't get much characterization in-game, but the site notes that Thundercracker isn't sure how strongly he believes in the Decepticon cause. Further, he's the most reasonable of the jets, and even seems to retain some scientific curiosity, where the others are just looking for more to kill or irritated at the prospect of being further hindered in their journey.
- Captain Obvious: Some of his observations fall into being blatantly obvious, hence why Starscream and Skywarp, to their peril, tend to ignore them.
- Cool Plane: Transforms into a sleek Cybertronian jet.
- Evil Genius: The most scientifically inclined of the Decepticons, though an Anti-Villain example.
- Face–Heel Turn: He starts out aligned with the Autobots but defects to the Decepticons along with Starscream.
- Only Sane Man: He's really the only Decepticon seen who isn't bloodthirsty or fanatical, and by the sound of things would prefer some scientific study of Cybertron's literal underworld.
- Sarcastic Devotee: He takes a few swipes at Starscream for his lack of caution, but Thundercracker still serves him faithfully.
- Straight Man: Among the Seekers he's the Only Sane Man and thus tries to keep them on track with their objectives.
- Wingman: Being a Seeker, he acts as aerial support to Starscream.
Skywarp
Voiced by: Richard Epcar (English), Alexander Bobrovsky (Russian)
Another of Starscream's colleagues who joins Starscream in siding with the Decepticons.- Cool Plane: Transforms into a sleek Cybertronian jet.
- Dumb Muscle: Neither Starscream nor Thundercracker have a high opinion of his intelligence, but he's a capable fighter regardless.
- Face–Heel Turn: He starts out aligned with the Autobots but defects to the Decepticons with Starscream.
- Wingman: Being a Seeker, he acts as aerial support to Starscream.
Breakdown
Voiced by: Crispin Freeman (English), Peter Ivashchenko (Russian)
A nervous Decepticon who assists Megatron in invading Iacon city and attacking Omega Supreme.- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his nerves and whining, he's a fast and competent soldier otherwise.
- Butt-Monkey: Megatron snarks and yells at him the most. If only because he's the only one that doesn't get executed for back talk.
- Commander Contrarian: He spends most of the Decepticon campaign complaining, much to Megatron's annoyance.Megatron: Yes, Breakdown, your constant whining saw us through.
- Cowardly Lion: He's always complaining about Megatron's suicidal plans, but he's still up there with him at the front.
- Deadpan Snarker: Snarks at his boss when he thinks Megatron is going to far.
- Expy: The scratchy, youthful voice, paired with his young punk archetype and his relationship with an abusive Villain Protagonist mentor using a super-science chemical to take over the world, paired with his name all combine to bring to mind Jesse Pinkman.
Trypticon (Unmarked Finale Spoilers)
Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore (English)
A massive Decepticon who transforms into a giant Kill Sat.- Attack Its Weak Point: A consequence of being such a major Humongous Mecha is that Giant Equals Invincible under normal circumstances compared to regular-sized bots, so the only way to hurt him is to wait for damageable openings to appear on his body and hit those.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: His bot form is comparable to Omega Supreme in sheer massiveness, especially once he's fought directly.
- Awesome, but Impractical: He's this for the Decepticons, having incredibly destructive capabilities as a super weapon, but the excessive heat build up proves to be his undoing, which is noted by Ironhide and exploited by your three Autobots in the final battle. However, it is a thorough pain to exploit, and the Autobots have the fight of their lives to take him down.
- Ax-Crazy: A Weapon of Mass Destruction that loves his job.
- Beware My Stinger Tail: His primary melee attack involves aiming his tail before forcefully stabbing an area with great strength.
- BFG: What he holds in his hands.
- Breath Weapon: One of his main weapons his a throat laser.
- Death from Above: Megatron uses him for his Kill Sat function to take out Optimus.
- Disney Villain Death: Double Subverted or even Triple-Suberted for him, as he falls from orbit to his near-death, then gets back up to fight the Autobots, then he falls again to almost-certain death after being defeated the second time, but then it turns out he survived that come Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, albeit he might've preferred death from falling given the Fate Worse than Death he experienced.
- Evil Gloating: Nearly every line he utters has him mocking the Autobots and their attempts to defeat him.Trypticon: You thought you could destroy me? You thought you could destroy Trypticon? Ha! Pathetic!
Bumblebee: He's just laughing at us!
Trypticon: Abandon hope, vermin; your death approaches! - Evil Sounds Deep: Fred's vocals give him a very deep voice, deeper than even Megatron's.
- Expy: Mechagodzilla, is that you?
- Final Boss: He's the last boss faced in the Autobot campaign, and thus the last boss of the game as a whole.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Only narrowly averted since he's shown in the opening FMV, aside from that, he appears out of nowhere. However, it's vaguely implied (and straight up confirmed in Rise of the Dark Spark) that Trypicon is Jetfire's station given life.
- Genius Loci: His ship form is comparable in size to a planet.
- Hammerspace: His Kill Sat form is positively massive, large enough to fill the field of view from quite some distance away. Once he ends up in his giant monster form though he seems to lose a lot of mass and you can run from one end to the other pretty quickly. This particular issue is a universal problem
throughout the franchise, so it's understandable it'd show up here. - Humongous Mecha: You wanna know how big? Try having a slagging space station as his alt-mode.
- Kaiju: Definitely has the appearance of one.
- Kill Sat: His alt-mode is a planet-sized laser-cannon that could destroy Cybertron at full power.
- Large Ham: In a World of Ham, this guy is the hammiest through his literally massive presence, No Indoor Voice, and constant claiming of his superiority.
- More Dakka: Let's see, Trypticon has: A gun in his mouth; guns on his shoulders; a rapid-fire gun in his nose; and four gun turrets on his tail, which also houses a ridiculous amount of missile launchers. Put all of these together, and you have an incredibly lethal boss on your hands.
- Person of Mass Destruction: He's able to blow up Cybertronian ships with complete and utter ease and is able to tank even the most devastating attacks. In other word he's an "Instrument of Destruction".
- Shoulder Cannon: He has two utterly massive shoulder-mounted missile launchers
- Walking Spoiler: While Trypticon's presence was already known through the trailers, it's not until the finale that we learn he is Megatron's Kill Sat.
- Wave-Motion Gun: Once transformed, he can fire a massive laser from his mouth to deal tons of damage to the Autobots.Trypticon: FEEL THE BURN OF MY LASER!
Shockwave
Voiced by: Steve Blum, Corey Burton (in a commercial) (English)
- Cyber Cyclops: As usual, he's a robot with only one eye.
- DLC: Not available in the base-game.
- The Starscream: According to his Hall of Fame profile, he dreams of ruling Cybertron himself after reformatting everyone on the planet to a new form of existence. In Transformers: Exodus, Megatron even suspects that one day, Shockwave will turn on him.
Slipstream
Voiced by: Jessica Straus (English)
- Cool Plane: Incredible plane.
- Dark Action Girl: Just like Arcee she's the only female of her faction, but her dialogue during multiplayer matches do seem to indicate that she loves fighting, and being (essentially) a Seeker, she's more than capable of physically backing that up.
- Expy: She's directly based on her Transformers: Animated version.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only female Decepticon in the game and one of the few canon female Decepticons ever.
