History Characters / TransformersAnimated

* [[Characters/TransformersAnimatedOtherAutobots Other Autobots]]
* [[Characters/TransformersAnimatedDecepticons Decepticons]]
* [[Characters/TransformersAnimatedHumans Humans]]
* [[Characters/TransformersAnimatedShatteredGlass Shattered Glass]]

[[foldercontrol]]

!Autobots

[[folder:In General]]
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* BlackAndGreyMorality: The Decepticons are obviously evil, but the Autobots are still prone to committing rather questionable acts.
* FactionCalculus: Of the Subversive variety, in contrast to the Decepticons' Powerhouse.
[[/folder]]

!!Main Autobots

[[folder:Optimus Prime]]
!!Optimus Prime
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-optimusprimeanimated_637.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/DavidKaye / Creator/HirokiTakahashi

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

The leader of a small maintenance crew, Optimus Prime is a well-meaning young 'bot who dreams of a bigger, more heroic lifestyle. He gets his wish when his crew stumbles upon the elusive [=AllSpark=]. A run-in with Megatron and his Decepticon crew causes Prime and his crew to land on Earth where they try to adapt while saving the world on a daily basis. Though Optimus gets the "hero" life he asked for, he is inexperienced. He's a nice guy who does the best he can despite some insecurity and reluctance.
----
* AdaptationalWimp: While competent and efficient from the start, he is much more inexperienced than G1 Optimus Prime and poses very little threat to the Decepticons... at least at first. Over the course of the series he undergoes massive CharacterDevelopment, [[TookALevelInBadass Takes Multiple Levels in Badass]], and grows into a formidable leader and warrior in his own right.
* AFatherToHisMen: He develops into a caring father figure to the other Autobots as the series progresses.
* AlmightyJanitor: A rookie starship captain of a spacebridge maintenance team who regularly fights the Decepticons' top fighters.
* AscendedMeme: According to the short "Career Day", where Daniel Witwicky asks the question to Optimus Prime, not even Optimus knows [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 where his trailer goes]] when he transforms. [[EpilepticTrees Or is he embarrassed.]]
* BeingGoodSucks: Crass and ungrateful bots (namely, Sentinel) take advantage of Optimus' naive innocence and good nature to exploit his heroism for their own benefit.
* BenevolentBoss: His team may be somewhat exasperating, especially early on, but he's still a very patient and reasonable authority figure.
* TheCaptain: He's the leader of the team.
* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: Optimus is the Smooth Captain of the Earth-based Autobots, while Ratchet is the Sergeant Rough.
* CompositeCharacter: Has some elements of ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastWars Beast Wars]]'' character Optimus Primal, at least in the sense that when we meet him he's working a low level job and winds up fighting Megatron by sheer chance. He also has the blue face and retractable faceplate of Primal's original body and his mouth is based on Primal's robot mode for ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines''. Oddly, an [[AllThereInTheManual unused background character]] was to be called Primal Major, and seems to be the valiant war hero that ''Generation One'' Optimus was. Inverted characters?
** He also has a lot in common with G1 Orion Pax, who was a low level worker before encountering Megatron and becoming Optimus Prime.
* ClassicalAntiHero: This incarnation of Optimus is a rookie soldier, not an experienced war veteran, though the heroic spirit is still present. Early on, he has moments of self-doubt about his role as leader, though he [[CharacterDevelopment gradually evolves into]] [[TheHero the kind of hero an Optimus Prime should be]].
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler: Why he spares Megatron in the GrandFinale; the Decepticon leader doesn't deserve the "easy way out" that is death.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Sentinel persuaded him and Elita to go on a mission to a world that was deemed offlimits in search of bountiful energon, but it ended with Elita presumably being killed. Despite being the only one that tried to persuade the other two into not going, Optimus took the fall for the entire mission while Sentinel let him, leading to Optimus losing his prestige at the Autobot Academy and eligibility for the Elite Guard, being deemed by Ultra Magnus that [[DisappointedInYou "being a hero isn't in his programming."]]
* DeadpanSnarker: He's not above snarkily commenting on the various absurdities that life throws his way.
* DeconReconSwitch: He's what happens if a young hero is too lenient, naive, and innocent that jerks like Sentinel find a way to take advantage of it and end up ruining his life while they run scot-free. Despite this, Optimus continues to be a good person, and learns on his own how to become the hero everyone was expecting him to be in spite of the odds and losses.
* ElementalPowers: Whilst wielding the Magnus Hammer in the season 3 finale.
** BlowYouAway: By spinning around with it, he can generate powerful blasts of wind and even tornadoes.
** ShockAndAwe: Its primary power lets it summon or hurl blasts of lightning.
* FirstEpisodeResurrection: A new Optimus record! Sari uses her key to being him back to life at the end of the three-part series premiere.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Choleric. His main focus is always on the mission.
* TheHero: He's the main character, after all.
** BrokenHero: His failure to save Elita-1 does not make him any less heroic, but has had a huge impact on his self-esteem.
* HeroicBuild: He sports a classical superhero-build, with a much larger chest than legs.
* HeroicSacrifice: In the PilotMovie (he got better).
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Downplayed, but Optimus tends to see goodness in people that's just not there. He regards Sentinel as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold rather than the plain {{Jerkass}} he really is, and believes Blackarachnia has the capacity for redemption when evidence points to the contrary. Of course, given his history with the both of them, its hard to fault him for this.
* HonorBeforeReason: Even though it was Sentinel's idea to go to that organic planet, Optimus took the fall for what happened to Elita-1 because he was the ranking cadet. Then again, it didn't help matters that Sentinel pinned the blame on him entirely.
* InkSuitActor: More than one fan has stated that Human!Optimus looks a lot like Creator/DavidKaye.
* InSeriesNickname: Bumblebee and Bulkhead call him Bossbot.
* JerkassBall: In "Megatron Rising, Part 1", Prime seemed angrier and bossier, refusing to listen to Ratchet when he suggested anything else instead of taking Sari's key away and ignoring that he had hurt Sari's feelings. Justified, given he was stressed out about a Decepticon attack, he learned Bulkhead and Prowl had lied about hiding the Dinobots, ([[JerkassHasAPoint and kind of had a point that Sari can't protect the Key herself]]), and later apologizes for the way he was acting.
* JetPack: Even though the [[Anime/TransformersCybertron previous Optimus Prime]] had a jetpack, this version's based on [[Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce God Ginrai's]], according to WordOfGod.
** {{Shoulder Cannon}}s: They fire ''foam'', but it still counts.
* MeaningfulName: Received his name from Kup back in boot camp alongside Sentinel and Elita-1, due to his optimistic and cheerful personality.
* MyGreatestFailure: The fate of Elita-1/Blackarachnia.
--> "[[She's]] someone I never should've left behind."
* MythologyGag: At the end of the Season 3 finale, he carries the reconstructed [=AllSpark=] in a container hung around his neck, resembling the Matrix of Leadership. In AllThereInTheManual, he says that he constructed the container with the Magnus Hammer and says this:
-->'''Optimus:''' I hope that this [=AllSpark=], [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall um,]] Matrix will help light the {{darkest hour}} of [[PassingTheTorch future]] [[EndOfAnEra Autobot]] [[RealitySubtext leaders]], no matter what corner of the multiverse they may find themselves in.
* NiceGuy: He's a very good-natured individual and wishes to protect both humans and other Autobots.
* OilSlick: One of Optimus' less-used tricks has him spraying "negative friction lubricant".
* PapaWolf: This Prime is as noble as his other incarnations, but hurting one of his crew members is a surefire way to significantly piss him off.
* PrimaryColorChampion: Naturally, he's the leader and he's colored with red, blue, and yellow.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: He was on the fast track to the Elite Guard as a cadet, maybe even future Magnus. That was derailed after Sentinel talked him into visiting a planet with a crashed Decepticon warship, resulting in the loss of Elita-1. The reassignment actually could have been worse, though; he got his rank and position on the charity of Ultra Magnus.
** ReassignmentBackfire: Then he finds the [=AllSpark=] and fights Megatron himself.
* RedOniBlueOni: The blue to Sentinel Prime's red.
* SayMyName: He reminds Megatron of his name in the GrandFinale; Megatron, who has spent the entire series calling Optimus "Autobot," actually remembers it this time, signifying how he now sees Optimus as a WorthyOpponent.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: He does this all the time, and it does have its pointers.
* TeamDad: Previous Optimuses (Optimi?) have been like this, but he may be the most Dad-like yet.
* TookALevelInBadass: Of the course of the series.
* UnknownRival: Megatron knows he exists, but spends almost the entire series calling him "Autobot." Megatron calling him "Optimus Prime" in the finale is when he finally acknowledges Optimus as his greatest enemy.
* WeaponOfChoice: He always does battle with an actual weapon clutched firmly in hand.
** AnAxeToGrind: His default weapon, an energy-bladed axe with an extendable hilt that he can use as a one-handed or two-handed multipurpose tool and weapon.
** DropTheHammer: During the season three finale, he wields the Magnus Hammer.
** RocketPoweredWeapon: His axe has engines on the back of it. They can add some extra force to his strokes -- handy, as it's mostly used for carving through rocks -- but its main use is to serve as a propulsion unit in zero gravity environments.
* ThatsAnOrder: Often pulled this phrase on his teammates during the early days of the show, when they were less willing to obey his commands.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Because of the incident with Elita-1, he's afraid of spiders.
* YouAreInCommandNow: [[spoiler: ''The Trial Of Megatron'' script reading reveals that in the Season 4 premiere, Ultra Magnus would have named Optimus his successor before going offline, and it's indicated the struggle between Optimus and Sentinel to claim the title of Magnus would have been one of the driving forces of the season.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bumblebee]]
!!Bumblebee
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-bumblebeeanimated_3113.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/BumperRobinson / Creator/DaisukeKishio

--> ''"Fastest thing on wheels, coming through!"''

Bumblebee is a speedy, impatient, and impulsive young Cybertronian. He thinks on his wheels and less on his head and tends to goof-up and have fun with his human friend, Sari. Despite it, he's ready for battle when the situation calls, even if he tends to rush in without thinking first.
----
* AesopAmnesia: Like with Sentinel, some of his more humbling lessons don't quite stick with him. Though unlike Sentinel, he at least tries to be better.
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: The youngest member of Prime's crew.
* BeingGoodSucks: His first course of action in his friendship with Bulkhead costs him his opportunity to get into the Elite Guard.
* BerserkButton: Downplayed. It's not as bad as [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Edward Elric]], but he ''really'' doesn't like being called short.
* BigBrotherInstinct: He treats Sari like a younger sister and is always quick to save her from danger.
* BrattyHalfPint: He's the youngest of the group and it shows in how much of an immature pest he can be at time.
* ChildSoldier: "Human Error" indicates that he's mentally around the same age as Sari.
* CompositeCharacter: While in general based on G1 Bumblebee, his impulsive personality is based on ''Armada'' Hot Shot.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Sanguine. He's the most emotional and sociable of the group and is very impuslive.
* FragileSpeedster: What he lacks in size, strength and power, he makes up for in speed.
* FreudianExcuse: Non-villainous example: his attitude towards teamwork makes a lot more sense once you've seen "Autoboot Camp". Everyone but Bulkhead and Longarm treated him like slag, and helping out Bulkhead by taking responsibility [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished tanked his career.]]
* GoAmongMadPeople: When Wasp switches appearances with him in "Where Is Thy Sting?", Bumblebee attempts to convince the others that he's the real Bumblebee, but they assume his claims to be signs of Wasp's insanity.
* HotBlooded: He's always quick to react to everything energetically.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He can be pretty bratty and impolite at times, but his heart is in the right place and he genuinely is a good person.
* JetPack: His turbo-boosters can work like this, though he needs someone to get him into the air first.
* {{Keet}}: He's pretty hyperactive and loud.
* KidAppealCharacter: The former TropeNamer. As in most cases, he is the youngest of the team and serves as comic relief.
* LeeroyJenkins: He has a bad tendency to go charging into danger at the drop of a hat.
* TheLoad: While he is okay at fighting human super-villains, he is utterly ''useless'' when fighting Decepticons on his own, as his one weapon (nodes that shoot out beams of electricity) are too weak to even make any of them flinch. Well, until he gets the limiters on them taken off and they become the most powerful weapon on the entire team.
* MeaningfulName: In a more negative way. Received his name from Sentinel alongside Bulkhead in boot camp due to his "bumbling" personality.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After learning that he fell for Shockwave's trick; Wasp was set-up, meaning that he sent an innocent 'bot to the stockades.
* ReassignmentBackfire: Space Bridge maintenance is largely considered a crap job, especially with Elite Guard aspirations. Then he and the rest find the MacGuffin that catapults him and the rest into the positions of the most important robots on Cybertron.
* RedOniBlueOni: The red to Prowl's blue.
* RollerbladeGood: He uses his feet-based wheels to help accelerate his movement.
* ShockAndAwe: His stingers project blasts of electrical energy.
* ShootingSuperman: Before his stingers were set to their full power setting, he may as well have been throwing tennis balls at the 'Cons.
* TookALevelInBadass: Ratchet sets his stingers to the full-power setting intended for combat bots. After this, his stingers do become a genuinely useful weapon.
* UnwittingPawn: Of Shockwave; he unwittingly stumbled across Shockwave when the Decepticon agent was just starting to infiltrate the Autobots' mission. Shockwave promptly manipulated Bumblebee so that he accused Wasp of being the traitor instead, creating a cover that "Longarm" was able to use to make it all the way to the top.
* WhackAMole: He could have made the Elite Guard on the attention he got for seemingly uncovering a traitor, but he forfeited it to save Bulkhead from getting expelled.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bulkhead]]
!!Bulkhead
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-anibulkheadpromo_5691.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/BillFagerbakke / Creator/KentaMiyake

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

Bulkhead may be big and strong and he may enjoy smashing things around here and there, but he wants you to know he has a sensitive side, too. Ever the GentleGiant, he is often taken for granted, thinking because of his brawny nature, he isn't all that smart. Though unsubtle, Bulkhead is an insightful 'bot with a natural gift for art.
----
* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: Bulkhead doesn't know what art is, but when Sari introduces him to the concept, he takes to it immediately and has a gallery show at the end of the episode. He's painting again in the season 2 finale.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Second only to [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Rhinox]]. He may be easygoing most of the time, but he will best anyone who tries to harm Sari or his fellow Autobots.
* BerserkButton: Betrayal. When he thinks the Dinobots have betrayed his trust (and later on, when the Constructicons do betray his trust) he gets MAD.
* BigFun: As close as a HumongousMecha can get, at least.
* TheBigGuy: He's the biggest, strongest, toughest and heaviest of the group.
* CanonForeigner: Though he previously appeared in ''[[Anime/TransformersEnergon Energon]]'', [[InNameOnly the two were different in everything but name]]. ''Animated'' Bulkhead would serve as an influence for ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Prime]]'' Bulkhead, who would influence the IDW G1 Bulkhead.
* CoolChair: See MundaneUtility.
* DestructiveSaviour: He doesn't ''mean'' to wreck stuff, but, well, Earth's structures aren't made for giant somewhat clumsy super-strong robots.
* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: He has a bad tendency to underestimate his own strength, or overestimate the durability of the world around him.
* DubNameChange: In Japan, he's called "Ironhide" despite the fact there's ''already'' another character called Ironhide[[note]]As an aside, ''that'' Ironhide gets renamed "Armorhide".[[/note]].
* {{Expy}}:
** You wouldn't be the first to think he's [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} Broadway]] reincarnated as an Autobot.
** His overall design is oddly similar to ''Cybertron'''s Crumplezone, who was also a comical green TopHeavyGuy with a hefty underbite.
* FakeDefector: A minor trait of his is that he sometimes pretends to be on the villain's side to lower their guard, and then he attacks them.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Supine. He's laid back and indifferent most of the time.
* GeniusBruiser: Well, GeniusDitz Bruiser. While he's very strong, his wits aren't exactly that keen, unless you're talking about Space Bridges.
* GeniusDitz: Would you believe this big lug is in fact ''the'' foremost expert on Space Bridge technology? Apparently he had a lot of free time to study on the energon farm.
* GentleGiant: Zigzagged. He does, as he admits, ''enjoy'' breaking things. He's just got a lot of interests outside of breaking things too, and he's quite placid and friendly by nature.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Autoboot_Camp His backstory]] has him trying to make friends with the other four robots in the boot camp he attends. They ignore him and order him to leave them alone. [[note]]As the four were all trying to accomplish their dreams of joining the elite guard, while Bulkhead had the dream of becoming a Space-bridge technician.[[/note]] So he had to wait until joining Optimus Prime's group to gain friends.
* InNameOnly: There is nothing linking him to his ''[[Anime/TransformersEnergon Energon]]'' counterpart to the point where he might as well be a CanonForeigner reusing the name of another character.
* TheKlutz: He's not very coordinated at all, with a huge tendency to bump into things, trip over things, knock things over and generally make a mess.
* LosingYourHead: Gets his body stolen by Headmaster and reduced to a head for almost a whole episode.
* MeaningfulName: Like Bumblebee, also in a negative way. Received his name from Sentinel for being "all bulk and no brains".
* MightyGlacier: Although he is slow, clumsy and not very agile, he is the biggest, strongest and most physically powerful of his team.
* MoralDissonance: Subjects himself to this a lot.
* MundaneUtility: Can use his {{Kibble|s And Bits}} as a chair.
* SmartBall: He does occasionally point out when someone has a bad idea.
* SouthernFriedGenius: He was raised on an Energon farm, though he only has the accent in flashbacks.
* StoutStrength: He has the largest, bulkiest frame of the mechs, giving him a "fat" appearance.
* TopHeavyGuy: His human avatar in Soundwave's virtual reality has a huge upper body and thin legs.
* WeaponOfChoice: He isn't above just using his claws if he must, but he prefers to wield his built-in weapons first.
** EpicFlail: His hands can retract to reveal wrecking balls on the ends of long steel cables, which he usually uses to bash 'Cons upside the head.
** RocketPunch: He can launch his wrecking balls from his arms at fairly high velocity, so... close enough.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ratchet]]
!!Ratchet
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-aniratchetpromomodel_2536.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CoreyBurton / Creator/ToruOkawa

--> ''"It's not that I don't want to remember. I have to remember -- for those who can't."''

Ratchet suffered through the Great War millions of years back, experiences which have caused him to be grumpy 24/7. He refuses to talk about his time there (especially with an eager Optimus Prime) and suffers Vietnam-style flashbacks due primarily to two traumatic incidents of failing in his profession: accidentally wiping Arcee's memory core and having to participate in the near-death of Omega Supreme that reduced the giant to a mere spaceship. Despite his constant angry outbursts, however, Ratchet possesses a sweet side deep down.
----
* AcheyScars: "Old war wound's actin' up again..."
* BarrierWarrior: He mostly uses electro-magnetic fields for combat, with a focus on restraining others from afar.
* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: The Sergeant Rough to Optimus' Captain Smooth.
* CompositeCharacter: He's based largely on G1 Ratchet but his OldSoldier characterization is drawn from G1 Kup. His design incorporates elements from various incarnations of Red Alert, whose character he was originally intended to be.
* CoolOldGuy: He's an old mech, but he's definitely not some rusted-up hasbeen.
* DeadpanSnarker: Sarcasm is pretty much his default mode of communication.
* DefusingTheTykeBomb: To Omega, from the moment the big guy was 'born'.
--> "I am your pupil. Your dependant. Your obedient servant."
--> "I am Ratchet. I am... your friend."
* DrJerk: He's a very skilled doctor, but he's blunt, rude, sarcastic, short-tempered and generally a bit of a hassle.
* DropTheHammer: After taking the Magnus Hammer from Shockwave.
* TheDulcineaEffect: It's never directly implied, but Ratchet cares an awful lot about Arcee for a ''long'' time and we can safely guess that it's not just out of guilt.
* {{EMP}}: He was originally equipped with one to use as Cybertronian anesthetic.
* EveryScarHasAStory: Both of his came from a fateful encounter with Lockdown.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Alternates between Choleric and Melancholic. Sometimes his main concern is saving lives and sometimes he's a cynic.
* GrumpyBear: He's the most sour-tempered and melancholic of the team.
* GrumpyOldMan: His bad attitude and his age obviously slot him into this trope.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He may be a cranky old bot, but he's genuinely concerned about protecting the Earth from Megatron and the Decepticons, which he admits in a rather tearful confession to Sari.
* KeepingTheHandicap[=/=]ScarsAreForever: He has a dinged crest and a cut in his arm despite being a robot doctor. He deliberately didn't fix the former or replace the device that went into the latter to remember "for those who can't."
* KnightInSourArmor: No matter how much he snarks, grumbles or complains, he'll always do the right thing in the end.
* TheMedic: He's a fully trained Cybertronian biomechanic. Which also makes him a skilled engineer, by human definition of the terms.
** CombatMedic: Healer or not, he will ''not'' hesitate to kick some skidplate.
* MyGreatestFailure: He's deeply troubled over the fact that he had to wipe Arcee's memory clean to prevent her information from falling into the servos of the Decepticons.
* OldSoldier: He's the oldest of the main mechs, having been a field medic during the Great War millions of years ago.
* PapaWolf: To someone several times his size. "Omega Supreme is one of us. An Autobot. A friend. Harm one circuit on him, and you'll answer to me!"
** Also is one to Optimus Prime, who is in Cybertronian terms, young enough to be considered a son to Ratchet. Just check out "The Thrill of The Hunt" for proof.
* ScarsAreForever: Because he wants them to be.
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: He considers apologizing to Wreck-Gar to be the ultimate sacrifice.
* SelectiveMagnetism: Uses two magnets as his weapons.
* ShellShockedVeteran: "It's not that I don't want to remember. I have to remember... [[{{Subtext}} for those who can't]]."
* TheSmartGuy: "Typical Academy bot. Rather hit a problem than fix it."
* {{Subtext}}: In "Thrill of the Hunt", Arcee lost her memory, hence why Ratchet has to remember for those who can't.
* UpToEleven: Generally agreed to be the grumpiest, most sour version of Ratchet yet, even after the more combat-orientated version seen in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime.''
* WhenIWasYourAge: Predictably, he says this kind of thing all the time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Prowl]]
!!Prowl
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-aniprowlpromomodel_3458.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffBennett / Creator/KojiYusa

--> ''"Stillness... then strike."''

Prowl is a lone Ninja-Bot who doesn't play well with others, preferring to rely on only himself. Stuck with Optimus and crew, he is forced to learn how to work as part of a team. Prowl is sneaky and clever due to his occupation and spends countless hours meditating. He enjoys observing nature and the organic life that most of his kind fear. He later [[CharacterDevelopment develops]] from a stoic warrior into a true hero.
----
* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: In addition to his Cyber-Ninja background, this Prowl is much more spiritual than his ''G1'' counterpart, who was the Autobots' resident [[TheSpock Spock.]]
* BeingGoodSucks: Prowl gets the honour of studying under Yoketron, but ends up losing his master and spends the next million years [[WanderingTheEarth wandering the galaxy]]. He ends up working "as a common maintenance bot" in Optimus Prime's team for the next few years. And then he's forced to make a HeroicSacrifice to save Detroit and its people -- but in doing so, is able to save Optimus one last time and help him defeat [[BigBad Megatron]].
* BigBrotherMentor: Acts as such for Bulkhead and Bumblebee on occasion.
* CharacterDeath: He sacrifices himself in the series finale, giving up his spark to create a field of [=AllSpark=] energy that will contain an explosion that would destroy Detroit otherwise.
* CoolBike: And he later gets the ultimate CoolSidecar.
* CoolHelmet: Part of his samurai armor. Doubles as a MementoMacguffin from his old master Yoketron.
* CoolShades: It's unclear if he's wearing them or if that's just how his optic lenses are shaped.
* DarkIsNotEvil: His main colors are black with secondary gray and is one of the heroes.
* DeadpanSnarker: His stoic demeanor lends itself to a very dry wit, which Prowl often displays, especially when working with Bumblebee.
* DistressBall: In episode 2, he tells Optimus Prime that there's only one person he trusts. Himself. He promptly gets sucked into a nanite monster and almost killed were it not for his teammates. In fact, despite him being the best fighter of the team, Prowl catches the Distress Ball quite a few times in the series, usually after trying to do something alone. Maybe it's trying to send him a message?
* DraftDodging: Tried to avoid being drafted into the war, but ended up being apprehended by Warpath and taken to Yoketron's Dojo.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Phlegmatic. He tends to keep to himself and is very stoic.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: He's the first of the mechs to really become intrigued by organic life, and has much more interest in animals and nature than they do.
* GlassCannon: He can do a lot of damage, but his slender frame can't take much punishment at all.
* GoOutWithASmile: In the series finale, he smiles before making his HeroicSacrifice.
* HeroicSacrifice: In the series finale, faced with a Decepticon clone of Omega Supreme that's going to self-destruct and obliterate Detroit, he willingly burns up his own spark to give the All-Spark enough energy to create a field to safely contain the explosion.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: His hubcaps turns into ninja throwing stars.
* ImprovisedWeapon: He's used a metal pole as a staff a time or two. As well as his toy having a traffic light flail.
* IncompletelyTrained: He never did finish his Cyber-Ninja training. Not helped by the fact his mentor was murdered whilst he was attempting and failing a vision-quest analogue.
* IneffectualLoner: He ''mostly'' gets over this after almost getting killed in the pilot, but relapses now and then.
* IWorkAlone: He has tried to live this life, but the universe seems unwilling to let him. He eventually realizes how to work more effectively with his teammates.
* JetPack: His [[JumpJetpack jump jets]], although he couldn't ''truly'' fly until he gained the samurai armor.
* TheLancer: He's not hesitant to challenge Optimus' more naive ways of thinking, though unlike Ratchet, Prowl is not as aggressive about it.
* LanternJawOfJustice: His chin is rather elongated.
* LonerTurnedFriend: He's standoffish and wants little to do with the rest of the team, especially at the beginning of the series beforing warming up to them. A flashback near the end of the series confirms that isn't an official member of the repair crew and only joined them when they accidentally marooned him on an asteroid.
* MindOverMatter: His processor-over-matter technique was introduced in the Season 2 finale, and he perfected it midway through Season 3 (much to Lockdown's misfortune).
* MyGreatestFailure: Yoketron's death and the theft of the protoforms he was guarding.
* {{Ninja}}: He's literally trained in the [[McNinja Cybertronian equivalent of Ninjitsu]], having studied at the Cyber-Ninja Academi.
* [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ninja Samurai Zombie Robot]]: He starts as a [[McNinja ninja robot]] and goes from there. He was actually zombified in one episode, and dons samurai armor once in season 2 and permanently in season 3.
* NatureLovingRobot: Is a downplayed example, but he shows a fascination with animals (Birds in particular) and him destroying a bird's nest acts as a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment. He also shows a penchant for meditating in the woods.
* NotGoodWithPeople: He finds most humans annoying to be around.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Was around during the Great War (though unlike Ratchet, didn't fight in it). This makes him older than Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead.
* RedOniBlueOni: The blue to Bumblebee's red.
* TheStoic: Shows less emotion than the other Autobots.
* SurpassedTheTeacher: Jazz, being a fully-fledged cyber-ninja, resolves to help Prowl complete his training... although Prowl is able to master Processor Over Mater when [[EleventhHourSuperpower captured by Lockdown]].
* TallDarkAndSnarky: He's tall, most of his armor is colored black, and he sometimes makes sarcastic remarks about Bumblebee's impulsiveness.
* TookALevelInBadass: He starts out pretty badass, but he gets better over the second and third seasons, such as when he masters his MindOverMatter skill.
* TranquilFury: "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Give. Me. Yoketron's. Helmet.]]"
* WeaponOfChoice:
** [[LaserBlade Laser Scalpel]]: He uses a laser scalpel as his main weapon.
** LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: He also uses a shield in battle.
** SimpleStaff
* YourSizeMayVary: The only way he can be taller than Bumblebee.
[[/folder]]



!!The Elite Guard

[[folder:Sentinel Prime]]
!!Sentinel Prime
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sentinel_9.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Townsend Coleman / Creator/JunichiSuwabe

--> ''"If I need a trash-can emptied or a floor mopped, I'll call on my buddy Optimus Prime. Or should I say "Maintenance Prime"?"''

Sentinel Prime is, plain and simple, a jerkass. He is an egotistical, boisterous bot who uses his high position to issue orders and command high respect, especially towards Optimus (despite sharing the same rank). Years back, the two and Elita-1 were best friends until an incident on a foreign organic planet, during which Elita was separated from them and assumed dead. Their relationship has been strained since.
----
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Prior incarnations of Sentinel Prime (who was largely a character only from G1's continuity family at the time) were usually Optimus's respected mentor. Optimus and Sentinel in this incarnation, however, are roughly the same age, went through the academy together, and used to be friends.
* AesopAmnesia: Thanks to his ego, none of the lessons he learns about humility or compassion stick.
* AssholeVictim: [[ButtMonkey Of a similar type to]] WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}. If something bad happens to him, he's probably done something to make it hard to feel sympathy.
* AntiHero: While he's an Autobot, he isn't very nice.
** NominalHero: If his general characterization doesn't establish him as this, then his actions in "Five Servos Of Doom" and "Predacons Rising" certainly do.
* BoisterousWeakling: He's very confident in his combat skills, but his combat record is abysmal. It seems like he's not a ''bad'' fighter, but he's also a lot worse than anyone he fights.
* BreakTheCutie: The flashbacks to "Along Came a Spider" show he was a nice (if somewhat smug) guy who considered Optimus his friend. What happened to Elita-1 broke him, which was of course his own fault for dragging Elita-1 into the planet filled with giant spiders but he blamed [[NeverMyFault Optimus for the rushed evacuation]].
* BreakTheHaughty: He goes through several [[HumiliationConga Humiliation Congas]], including having his head cut off and body taken, losing prisoners on his watch and having his ship taken over (then beaten flung and frozen), getting a beating from his friends, accidentally, when a Starscream clone uses him as a shield. Ultimately, this does nothing to reduce his arrogance, it does however, repair his relationship with Optimus, as he finally stops blaming Optimus for Elita-1's fate, and even helps him on Cybertron (even if he does give him some digs about Toxitron looking like him).
* ButtMonkey: If you get annoyed at him, just wait five minutes and ''something'' nasty will happen to him. Usually it's related to Earth's weather/inhabitants/road structure, but he's also [[GrandTheftMe had his body stolen by a human]], been humiliated in front of his comrades, screamed like a little girl when encountering organics, failed at driving in the rain, and been wrong in pretty much every arrogant assertion he's made.
* CassandraTruth: 99% of the time, he's the one who ends up invoking this trope whenever Optimus Prime tries to tell the truth (such as the Allspark being shattered, Decepticons being active on Earth, and Longarm being a Decepticon spy). Most of it comes from being a pompous ass, along with him seeing Optimus as little more than a maintenance bot. He ends up being proven wrong, much to his chagrin.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Back when he ''was'' a sergeant, he was pretty strict and demanding to all the recruits he supervized.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: He assumes traffic laws only apply to organics. Thus, he'll run every light, cut through cross traffic, run over parked cars, gets a stop sign jammed in his grill, and during his first drive on Earth, he drove himself off an unfinished overpass.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: His head (which was the only part of him that they had designed at that point) has a different design in "Transform and Roll Out!", and his body has smokestacks not found on his later full-body shots.
* EnemyMine: Sentinel knows it, but he won't admit it: he really needs Optimus to rescue him every time he's in danger.
* EntitledBastard: He begs Optimus for help in "The Return of the Headmaster" when the Headmaster steals his body in spite of constantly belittling him. Optimus does indeed help him out.
* {{Expy}}:
** Several of his design elements (he's energetic, mostly blue, with a ''very'' prominent chin) are based on WesternAnimation/TheTick, with whom he shares a voice actor. This was done on purpose after said actor was cast for the role.
** He's partly inspired by [[Series/{{MASH}} Major Frank Burns]].
* FantasticRacism: Towards organics. He has a bigger problem with Blackarachnia's organic nature than even Blackarachnia herself does, making severely disgusted comments when he meets her.
* GloryHound: His greatest goal in life is promoting himself as being amazing and wonderful.
* GoodIsNotNice: He is aligned with the Autobots, so technically he's a good guy, but he's an absolute ''tool'' of a mech and a constant vainglorious narcissist with a NeverMyFault mentality.
* HateSink: Considering his dickish personality and being despised by everyone else, it's highly probable that they made him unlikable on purpose.
* {{Jerkass}}: By no stretch of the imagination is Sentinel an okay guy, though at least some of this can be traced to what happened with Elita-1 and the spiders. He is basically what one would get if [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Zapp Branigan]] turned into a robot and then became a [[Literature/TheBible New Testament Pharisee]].
** JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: A crowning example of one. Just when we think he may have redeeming qualities, he tries to destroy Elita-1 when he learns she's become part organic. Though this could also fall into JerkassHasAPoint.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** In "Autoboot Camp", Sentinel is particularly quite hard on Bumblebee for constantly screwing up, and punishes the rest of the cadets by making them all do Transformups every time the young bot makes a mistake. He's being unpleasant about it per usual, but considering that Bumblebee makes all these mistakes and lacks both the skill and discipline to be an Elite Guard member, he isn't entirely wrong.
** In "Five Servos Of Doom", Prowl takes the fact that the primary mods of his prisoners are not on the prisoners as evidence that Sentinel had help from Lockdown. Sentinel shows him the mods then points out that he'd have to be pretty stupid to let his prisoners keep explosives on them (if only because he's already let it happen).
** His whole approach to Blackarachnia is based on FantasticRacism, but considering some of her actions, he has a point when he says "Elita-1 went off-line a long time ago."
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In "Endgame: Part 1", in a flashback, Optimus is shown taking the fall for the Elita-1 incident, even though it was Sentinel's idea to go to the organic planet in the first place. [[KarmaHoudini As a result, Optimus gets expelled from Autobot Academy, while Sentinel goes on to become a member of the Elite Guard.]] {{Karma}} catches up with him when the Elite Guard arrive on Earth and Sentinel is [[HumiliationConga subjected to frequent humiliations]] [[LaserGuidedKarma due to his arrogance, contempt of the human race and general]] {{Jerkass}} [[LaserGuidedKarma behaviour.]] Furthermore, in "This Is Why I Hate Machines", when Sentinel attempts to defeat the 'cons, putting the ''whole planet'' at risk, the Cybertron High Council [[WhatTheHellHero actually call Sentinel out for his reckless actions]], though are unable to demote him as 'acting Magnus'. By the end of the series, when Optimus and his crew return to Cybertron with Megatron, Shockwave and Lugnut as prisoners, Sentinel stands glowering amidst a huge crowd of cheering Autobots. Had there been a fourth season, his downfall would have occurred entirely.
* LanternJawOfJustice: His chin is more pronounced than any other and it's his BerserkButton.
* LaserBlade: His lightsaber-esque lance.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Every time he shows up on Earth, the planet decides to make an example of him.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: It can sprout spikes and expand into a wall (or even a bubble).
* MeaningfulName: Received his name from Kup alongside Optimus and Elita-1, due to his vigilance.
* MilesGloriosus: Sentinel likes to flaunt his position to anyone and rub it in their faces, especially Optimus Prime's. When Ultra Magnus gets taken down by Starscream, Jazz quickly asks Sentinel what to do since he's next in command after Ultra Magnus, but he was frozen in place, having no idea what to do. Despite all his bragging, Sentinel proved to be an incompetent leader and that when the chips were down, he can't back up his big talk. Fortunately, Optimus takes the reigns.
* TheNeidermeyer: A classical example, complete with delusions of competence. Handled a little differently in that he does suffer for his screw-ups, even if he retains UltimateJobSecurity.
* NeverMyFault: How he reacted to the Elita-1 incident. Optimus did prevent him from going back for her, but the whole trip was his idea in the first place, and Elita-1 was just as eager to tag along. Optimus ''tried'' to talk them both out of it. He even let Optimus take the fall for the whole incident during a tribunal.
-->"This is all ''your'' fault!"
** Though when Optimus decides to apologize for not letting him save her, he at least admits he feels like the damage had already been done.
--> "Yeah, I guess I'm sorry too. Sorry we ever went to that stupid planet in the first place. Besides, it's too late for apologies now, Optimus. Too late for all of us."
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The whole Elita-One incident leads to Blackarachnia creating the science of triple-changing, which Blitzwing (and had Season 4 happened, Megatron as well) would use; Blackarachnia helping Shockwave forge a new identity to infiltrate Autobot Intelligence; and Blackarachnia learning how to create techno-organics from transwarp technology and creating two new factions from it.
* NobleBigotWithABadge: Emphasis on "Bigot". He detests organics, absolutely despising them, and holds great authority in Autobot society as a member of the military/legal group, the Elite Guard.
* [[OhCrap Oh Slag]]: Says this as a tower falls on him, during a flashback in the episode "Autoboot Camp".
* PetTheDog: He does get one or two such moments during the series, usually brought on by Optimus.
** He begrudgingly thanks Optimus for helping him out and telling Ultra Magnus that he deliberately let the Headmaster take his body to lure him into a trap in "The Return of the Headmaster". He was even willing to let him back into the Elite Guard if Prime cooperated with him, specifically as thanks for covering for him in said incident.
** "Predacons Rising" has him admit to Optimus that he's sorry about his part in the Elita-1 incident, he just doesn't think any of them should really be forgiven by this point.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: He's ''terrified'' of organics, which results in him being quite dismissive and racist towards them.
* RedOniBlueOni: The red to Optimus' blue.
* TheRival: To Optimus Prime as the were constantly butting heads, when Ultra Magnus and his crew arrived on earth.
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: When scared, he lets out a surprisingly girlish squeal.
* {{Tsundere}}: In [[AllThereInTheManual his report for "Decepticon Air"]], he says that he owes his fame and glory to Optimus and that he's a good bot to have around, but he'll never tell him that. He's partly talking about using him as a tool instead of a buddy, but it's a start, we guess.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He wants to stop the Decepticons as much as any Autobot, but he's such an unbearable egotistical jerk and control freak he ends up being just as much of a threat. When he becomes "Acting Magnus", he turns Cybertron into a police state complete with curfews and body searches and declares any opposition to his policies to be treason. He even tries to destroy Omega Supreme when it was controlled by Decepticons despite being told doing so would destroy all of Cyberton.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: With Optimus and Elita-1/Blackarachnia. Though he does regret falling out with the former on some level, he's too arrogant to admit it. The latter he feels is too far gone.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: At least partially because of the incident with Optimus Prime and Elita-1, he absolutely despises organics.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jazz]]
!!Jazz
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/PhilLaMarr / Creator/HideoIshikawa
[[quoteright:279:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jazz_0.png]]

--> ''"Besides, any species that can come up with a sweet ride like this can't be all bad!"''

Jazz is calm and collected and just plain ''cool''. He is a graduate of the Cyber-Ninja Corps and later on, befriends fellow ninja Prowl. Jazz, like Prowl, has an interest in organic life.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], as the original was definitely a pretty skilled fighter, but this Jazz is a fully-trained Cyber Ninja.
* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: His assessment of human culture is fairly positive, immediately taking a liking to the local CoolCar selection and finding the idea of video games "wild".
* {{Beatnik}}: He's given a personality and speech patterns to invoke this archetype.
* BigBrotherMentor: Resolves to finish Prowl's training, given that the younger bot never finished his apprenticeship due to the fact that Yoketron was murdered.
* CoolCar: His Earth alt-mode is one, and he freely admits that any species that could come up with a vehicle that slick couldn't be ''all'' bad.
* CoolShades: As with Prowl, it's hard to say if they're really shades or if it's just that his optics invoke the appearance.
* HypercompetentSidekick: To Sentinel. He's not as egocentric or haughty and is focused more on doing the job.
* NiceGuy: He's an overall calm and pleasant-to-be-around person.
* {{Ninja}}: He's a trained Cyber ninja.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Judging by his utter lack of reaction to Bumblebee's assessment of Sentinel as a glitch-head, he completely agrees. And he agrees with Bumblebee's LoopholeAbuse.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Had the same trainer as Prowl did - in fact, he was already a graduated Cyber-ninja before Prowl became apprenticed to Yoketron - making him older than Sentinel (among others).
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: A bit more subtle when he deserts Sentinel's crew to be the...
* SixthRanger: Towards the end of Season 3, he becomes fed-up with Sentinel and joins Optimus' team on Earth; had the show continued for a fourth season, he would've continued as a member of the main cast.
* SoulBrotha: Is at least following the archetype of the badass and cool black guy in spirit, considering he's an alien robot. His "chinstrap" even evokes the appearance of a soul patch.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Downplayed, but he's the nicest member of the Elite Guard, compared to the aloof and stern Ultra Magnus and the supreme {{Jerkass}} Sentinel.
* WeaponOfChoice:
** DualWielding: With laser nunchucks.
** FightingWithChucks: His weapons are nunchucks.
** ImprobableWeaponUser: Can turn his tailpipes into said nunchucks.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Ultra Magnus]]
!!Supreme Commander Ultra Magnus
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ultra_magnus.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffBennett / Creator/BanjoGinga

--> ''"We're at [[WarIsHell war]], soldier. We do what we must."''

Current leader of the Autobots, Ultra Magnus is a straightforward leader. He usually makes decisions that would benefit the Autobots no matter how unethical they may seem, though he has his soft spots, mainly concerning Optimus Prime, in whom he sees potential. He is tragically damaged by traitor Longarm Prime aka Shockwave, and according to the [[WordOfGod AllSpark Almanac]], would have died in season four, making his current position nebulous.
----
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler: One of the more noticeable parts of the damage from Shockwave's assault is his left arm having been blasted/ripped off.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: It's at least implied that he can dish out quite a beating in an open battle.
* BigBadassRig: His Earth alt-mode (selected by Sentinel) is a huge, heavily armed military munitions truck. [[PaperThinDisguise It's even less effective at "blending in" than Sentinel's alt-mode.]]
* BigGood: He's the leader of the Autobots and, in stark contrast to Sentinel Prime, a very levelheaded, reasonable, responsible figure.
* CelebrityImpersonator: Creator/JeffBennett does a pretty good impersonation of G1 Ultra Magnus from TheMovie (Robert Stack, if you wanted to know).
* CharacterDeath: It's left ambiguous in the context of the show, but it's been confirmed that had Season 4 been produced, he would have gone offline from the injuries Shockwave inflicted on him.
* CommandingCoolness: ''Supreme'' Commander. In this 'verse, "Magnus" is an actual rank and the leader of all Autobots, with "Prime" being a non-exclusive rank equivalent to TheCaptain.
* DropTheHammer: He wields the Magnus Hammer, a powerful technological warhammer that serves as the symbol of his authority and grants the wielder ElementalPowers over air and lightning, making it a deadly weapon in combat.
* {{Expy}}: ''[[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Magnus_Hammer Whoever holds this hammer, if they can deal with that now, shall posses the power of the Magnus...]]'' One could say the Magnus Hammer is basically an Expy of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Mjolnir]], and Animated Ultra Magnus is basically Thor for wielding it. Also, the hammer is the symbol of office for the Magnus, since in this continuity the suffix "Magnus" is a military rank, and they must have the hammer in their possesion at all times to be considered the Magnus similar to Mjolnir only granting the power of Thor to whom it deems worthy.
* TheExtremistWasRight: Using the supplementary materials and the Transwarped three-parter, Ultra Magnus was this for the war, instituting a draft and creating the Supreme-class Autobots, super robots with reduced intelligence so they wouldn't question the destruction they'd bring. Considering that blowing up a planet was considered a Decepticon victory, and the death toll, his actions aren't unreasonable. He also has the ability to rein it in, and stop before his methods get too extreme, unlike Sentinel.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: He would have been confirmed dead in Season 4. Shockwave had beaten him to death with his own hammer.
* GoodIsNotDumb: In spite of his HorribleJudgeOfCharacter tendencies with Sentinel, he admits to Optimus that he doesn't think that Sentinel was telling the entire truth during the hearing. It's partially why he makes Optimus a Prime.
* GoodIsNotSoft: He has made some very questionable decisions during his regime, but he's still unquestionably a hero.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Optimus willingly took the blame for the Elita-1 incident, but that doesn't quite explain how [[{{Jerkass}} Sentinel]] ended up as Magnus's right hand guy. Granted, he seems to be aware of Sentinel's faults, given his frequent passive-aggressive reprimands of him.
* LargeAndInCharge: The tallest non-Omega Sentinel Autobot on the show.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: His voice is an impersonation of the late Creator/RobertStack, who voiced the original G1 Ultra Magnus in the 1986 film.
* OldSoldier: Was the Autobot Leader during the Great War, from start to finish and then onwards. This makes him older than Ratchet, Brawn, Jazz and Prowl.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He pulled a lot of strings to get Optimus his rank and command and often gives Sentinel a subtle reprimand for his rude and self-centered tendencies.
* ShockAndAwe: The Magnus Hammer can summon lightning, [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]-style.
* SupportingLeader: He doesn't show up a lot of the time, but he's still the guy that Optimus Prime is subordinate to.
* TheWorfEffect: Leader and one of the most powerful of the Autobots, capable of raining thunder down from the sky. In his only onscreen fight with a Decepticon Starscream cheap shotted him in the face and knocked him out. Then Shockwave critically injures him offscreen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Blurr]]
!!Blurr
[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blurr.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JohnMoschitta (another G1 reprisal) / Creator/TakahiroSakurai

--> ''"I'll warn them even if I have to run halfway across the galaxy to Cybertron to do it!"''

Blurr is a member of the Autobot Elite Guard—specifically, a spy tasked with watching over Optimus and crew. With his lightning-fast speed (and speech), no one can keep him down ...except Shockwave.
----
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: In the original cartoon he was a flighty, silly character. Here he's a no nonsense elite agent.
* AdaptationalBadass: ''Generation One'' Blurr: comic relief. ''Animated'' Blurr: a very powerful and agile member of the Elite Guard.
* AndIMustScream:
** He gets crushed into a cube by Shockwave and stays that way until the events of the script reading "The Return of Blurr", where his spark is put into a new body.
** Earlier, in "Velocity", he's shown to have been under Master Disaster's control via an [=AllSpark=] fragment in a remote, presumably while conscious. Poor guy barely gets a break in this series.
* BackFromTheDead: While it's arguable whether he was actually ''dead'' per se, ''The Return of Blurr'' gives him back a body instead of being trapped in the cube.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Master Disaster controls him via an [=AllSpark=] fragment in a remote in "Velocity".
* CanonCharacterAllAlong: In his first appearance, he remains in vehicle mode and never speaks. While Bumblebee assumed he was a Decepticon, his second appearance revealed he was not only an Autobot, but Blurr.
* ChainsawGood: The weapon his action figure comes with. It doesn't show up in the series, unfortunately.
* {{Determinator}}: If he has a message important enough, he will traverse the galaxy on ''wheels'' to get it to Cybertron. "The Return of Blurr" reveals he escaped the incinerator. But his spark is still trapped in the cube until the events of ''The Return of Blurr'', in which he gets a new body.
* FragileSpeedster: In spite of his speed, he's still quite weak.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Shockwave crushes him into a cube because he becomes dangerously close to realizing that Longarm Prime is actually his cover identity to infilatrate the Autobots.
* HypercompetentSidekick: To Longarm.
* MotorMouth: He speaks very rapidly -- not ''quite'' as rapidly as his Generation 1 incarnation, in that it's slightly easier to follow exactly what he's saying, and he's capable of slowing down on certain words or sentences for emphasis or clarity. But unlike his Generation 1 counterpart, he never resorts to repeating himself, so where Generation 1 Blurr used a ton of words to say very little, ''this'' Blurr crams as much information and exposition as possible into each second of speech.
* MysteriousStranger: A subplot in Season 2 is about who the heck the mysterious blue racecar is or who the driver is. It isn't until the Season 2 finale that he reveals his identity as Blurr, a member of the Autobot Elite Guard.
* SacrificialLion: Shockwave's disposing of him was done to demonstrate that the Decepticons were still a threat even if the Autobots thwarted their plans in the first two seasons.
* SuddenlyVoiced: Does not speak or transform during his first appearance while under Master of Disaster's control.
* SuperSpeed: He is able to move very fast.
* WalkingSpoiler: The blue racecar in Season 2 is actually an Autobot.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Was unexpectedly put out of the way by Shockwave after barely getting any characterization. Although he was crushed into the form of a cube, Blurr did not fade away into a grey offline mode and his build is still light blue, though we're not sure if he survived going through the trash compactor that Cliffjumper threw him in.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jetfire & Jetstorm]]
!!Jetfire and Jetstorm
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jetstorm_jetfire.png]]
-> '''Jetfire voiced by:''' Creator/TomKenny / Creator/KappeiYamaguchi
-> '''Jetstorm voiced by:''' Creator/PhilLaMarr / Creator/WataruTakagi

--> ''"Is time to... double up!"''

Twin brothers (if you're wondering how that works for robots, they come from a single spark that split in two) who became the first official flying Autobots after a risky experiment. They are lively and work together.
----
* AllThereInTheManual: Their backstory is only shown in the sixth issue of the show's tie-in comic "The Arrival", which was only available with their toys, in the series' trade paperback collection, and in digital form from iBooks.
* CombiningMecha: They combine into Safeguard.
** And a combined vehicle form, which may also be Safeguard.
* ElementalPowers: One for each of them.
** BlowYouAway: Jetstorm can control wind.
** PlayingWithFire: Conversely, this is Jetfire's ability.
* {{Expy}}: Of Enryuu and Hyoruu/Choryuujin from ''Anime/GaoGaiGar''.
* GogglesDoNothing: Jetfire (like Blitzwing, they're ''part of his head'').
* HuskyRusskie: They are formidable fighters and speak in Russian accents.
* InNameOnly: While most characters in the series are somewhat based on older ones, these two don't really have anything in common with older versions of Jetfire or Jetstorm aside from the fact that they fly. Their designs are actually from a much earlier phase of the series, and weren't intended to be associated with any preexisting character.
* SiblingTeam: They're twins who fight together.
* SingleMindedTwins: They seldom show any signs of independence.
* SkySurfing: [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace Galaxy Glider-style]].
* ThemeTwinNaming: Their names both begin with "Jet".
** OddNameOut: Their combined form, Safeguard, does not have "Jet" anywhere in their name.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Safeguard speaks with both Jetfire and Jetstorm's voices simultaneously.
* WonderTwinPowers: They're twins who become a CombiningMecha.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Warpath]]
!!Warpath
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warpat.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/DavidKaye / Atsushi Imaruoka

--> ''"Any Autobot who won't fight Decepticons is no better than a 'Con himself. We're at war."''

An Elite Guard member who answered to Yoketron during the Great War. The loss of his master hit him hard, and he's had trouble finding an outlet for his anger since the end of the War. He's even been known to rough up prisoners when he's in a bad enough mood. He does manage to have a healthy relationship with Flareup, thanks to their mutual love of StuffBlowingUp.
----
* ChestBlaster: A radar modified into a sonic cannon.
* GeneralRipper: Shows little sympathy towards Prowl for draft dodging and feels that it's necessary for every Autobot to risk their lives in battling the Decepticons.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: There was never a toy made for him.
* UnexplainedRecovery: During the third season: [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Warpath_(Animated) he had an appearance in a flashback.]] However, he actually had already appeared in a smaller role in another flashback a couple episode earlier than that, namely ''[[http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/d/d8/Transwarped-Warpath.jpg a dismembered body in the middle of a battlefield.]]'' Despite this, he's still in a crowd shot set in modern-day Cybertron.
* VerbalTic: Bam, Pow!
[[/folder]]

!!Dinobots

[[folder:Grimlock]]
!!Grimlock
[[quoteright:306:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grimlock_4.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/DavidKaye / Creator/KeijiFujiwara

--> ''"Dinobots rule!"''

Grimlock is the leader of the Dinobots. He and the other Dinobots are simpleminded and aggressive creatures who started out as animatronic dinosaurs for a theme park, which Megatron upgraded with weapons in the hopes of using one of them as a new body. This plan went off the rails when they were brought to life in an accident involving the Key. They tend to get violent very fast the moment they sense hostility, and Prowl is the only one who can calm them down...usually.
----
* ActorAllusion: Creator/DavidKaye is once again voicing a character [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars who turns into a T-Rex]].
* AdaptationalJerkass: Grimlock in G1 is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who can look past his hatred of Optimus to work together to save the day. Here, he's a selfish JerkAss and the only time he ever teamed up with Optimus is when he felt Optimus would help him win over Blackarachnia's affection.
* {{BFS}}: He has a big sword as his main weapon.
* BreathWeapon: He breathes fire.
* CoolShades: Like Prowl, it's unclear whether he's wearing shades or if his optic sensors are just shaped that way.
* DumbMuscle: He's very strong, but also not too bright.
* FlamingSword: His sword produces flames.
* HulkSpeak[=/=]ThirdPersonPerson: He has a limited vocabulary and always addresses himself as "Me Grimlock".
* {{Hypocrite}}: He declares "Dinobots not pets!" though in one short he wanted Bulkhead to throw a tree so he can fetch it, and Grimlock outright started behaving like a puppy.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: His mannerisms are based on FrankensteinsMonster from the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketches. Fitting, because the story behind Grimlock's creation is a play on Frankenstein itself.
-->"Whoopsie. Fire bad."
* NominalHero: Despite being Autobots, Grimlock and the Dinobots act as antagonists to Optimus' team more often than not.
* TyrannosaurusRex: His alt mode is a T. rex.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Snarl & Swoop]]
!!Snarl and Swoop
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swnarl.png]]

Grimlock's fellow Dinobots.
----
* AdaptationalDumbass: While the Dinobots are all DumbMuscle in the original cartoon, they're at least capable of talking. Here, Snarl and Swoop are TheSpeechless.
* AdaptationNameChange: Snarl is actually based on Slag, but since other English-speaking countries use "slag" as a derogatory name for females, he was given Snarl's name.
* AdaptedOut: The original Snarl, as well as Sludge, were never part of this version of the team.
* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Snarl in "Human Error Part 2", when he becomes the pet of a castaway Scrapper.
* TheBigGuy: Snarl is this in the "Substitute Autobots".
* BreathWeapon: Like Grimlock, they can spew flames from their mouths.
* {{Silent Partner}}s: Unlike Grimlock, they ''never'' speak.
* TheSpeechless: They're never shown speaking at all, and rarely even make animal noises.
** PokemonSpeak: In the Japanese dub. Heck, Grimlock lampshades it in one of the episode previews!
* ThoseTwoGuys: They're always seen together.
* WeaponOfChoice: One for each of them. As with Grimlock's sword, they also burst into flames.
** CarryABigStick: Snarl carries an immense club.
** EpicFlail: Swoop wields a bladed flail.
[[/folder]]

!!Others

[[folder:Arcee]]
!!Teaching Unit RC-687-040, "Arcee"
[[quoteright:172:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arcee.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Susan Blu / Creator/AyahiTakagaki

--> ''"Wipe my memory core. Ratchet, the access codes in my processor are crucial to the war effort. If Megatron gets them..."''

Formerly a schoolteacher to young Autobots, Arcee became an intel courier during the Great War, tasked with carrying the important codes for Project: Omega, a valuable resource that the Decepticons wanted. This job came to an abrupt end when Ratchet accidentally wiped her memory during the Great War, causing her to suffer amnesia. She isn't seen until later on when Megatron and crew manage to get their hands on her and the code. Fortunately, Sari and Ratchet restore her memory afterwards.
----
* TheAgeless: Due to being put into stasis, she hasn't aged a day since the Great War.
* AlmightyJanitor: She started out as the Autobot equivalent of a ''kindergarten teacher'', and then went on to be a skilled spy and covert operative during the Great War.
* AndIMustScream: Subverted. Arcee says that while she may have been in a vegetative state since the Great War, she says in AllThereInTheManual that she isn't afraid of spending the rest of her life on spark-support and encourages her students to think the same.
* BadassTeacher: Uses her swords like it's nothing and helped take down Kremzeek.
* ChekhovsGunman: Thanks to some ArcWelding, she later returns with an important role in the third season.
* DualWielding: Her toy comes with two short swords.
* EasyAmnesia: Taking a concentrated electromagnetic pulse directly to the processor specifically calibrated for that purpose will do that to a robot.
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Uses this word for word (talking about Ratchet) in ''The Return of Blurr''.
* OlderThanTheyLook: While being in stasis has preserved her beauty, Arcee is implied to be slightly older than Ratchet (she was an officer while he was a rookie medic during their time spent together in the war).
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: According to a comment she makes in the third season, her full name is actually Teaching Unit RC-687-040. But she prefers to go by "Arcee".
* ShipTease: With Ratchet. Though the show is more vague as to whether or not she and Ratchet actually have feelings for each other or just feel obligated towards each other, it's hinted at more in the post-show comic, ''The Return of Blurr'' (see HeIsNotMyBoyfriend).
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: After she gives Shockwave the information in "Endgame", he rips out her life support and shuts her down. Subverted in that she survives, with Sari and Ratchet able to bring her fully back online.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wreck-Gar]]
!!Wreck-Gar
[[quoteright:247:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wreckgar.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Music/WeirdAlYankovic / Creator/MitsuoIwata

--> ''"Did someone say hero? I am Wreck-Gar! I am a hero!"''

Wreck-Gar means well, he really does. When he first arrives, he has no idea who he is and what his purpose in life is. He spends the entire episode switching between hero and villain in an effort to find what his life goal is, though in a somewhat unintentional manner. Wreck-Gar literally does whatever he is told — good or bad — with hilarious results. He later becomes an Autobot and tries his darnedest to be the hero he would like to be. His head may not be in the right place, but his spark is.
----
* AffablyEvil: When he briefly sides with Lugnut or Angry Archer, he still has a warm and friendly demeanor.
* AlwaysIntroducesThemselves: As a part of his {{Catchphrase}}.
* AppropriatedAppellation: See LineOfSightName.
* ChaoticStupid: His insanity manifests as doing whatever someone says, regardless of how inconsistent it is from his previous actions.
* CloudCuckoolander: He's completely nuts and eccentric.
* TheFool: While not all there, he's still a very kindhearted person and generally tends to come out on top.
* FunnySchizophrenia: His mental disorder is mainly done for the sake of comedy.
* {{Hammerspace}}: He's somehow able to pull out anything from his trash bucket.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Because he does whatever someone tells him to, he'll always switch sides depending on the allegiance of the last person who told him what to do.
* InkSuitActor: His face was drawn to resemble Weird Al's.
* LineOfSightName: Mixed together from stuff people were yelling at him. "They call me Angry Archer." "They call ''me'' "Worthless-wreck-walking-pile-of-garbage"." "Oh, really? Bit of a mouthful..."
* LiteralMinded: Most of the time. When Sari asks him to cover her in "Human Error, Part II", he drops a blanket on her.
* MadLibsCatchPhrase: "I am Wreck-Gar! I/I'm (insert random action or noun, particularly one he's just been told)!"
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His eyes turn red for a brief time in "Garbage In, Garbage Out" when he declares that he's going to destroy the city, a nod to TheMovie and the original Wreck-Gar's toy commercial.
* ShoutOut:
** His head looking like a TV is likely a reference to ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'', as WordOfGod has admitted to watching Creator/StudioGainax anime.
** In TheMovie the junkions leitmotif “Dare to be Stupid” was sung by Music/WeirdAlYankovic who voices Wreck-Gar in this incarnation.
* SuperGullible: Believes practically anything he's told, even if it contradicts his previous actions.
* TVHeadRobot: His head resembles an old, boxy televsision set. He even has two little dial knobs on the side of his helmet.
* UncertainDoom: A deleted scene in "Endgame" would've had Wreck-Gar be affected by the restoration of the [=AllSpark=], with the implication that he would've lost his fragment and died. The canoncity of this scene is debatable.
* VerbalTic: "I am Wreck-Gar!"
** He also has the tendency to go "Right." when he's been told to do something. It's a bit more subtle than his tic above, though.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Orion '''(Spoilers)''']]
!!Omega Supreme
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/omega_supreme.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson (season two), Creator/PhilLaMarr (season three) / Creator/TesshoGenda

--> '''"I AM... OMEGA SUPREME."'''

The current ship of Optimus Prime's crew, codename Orion, Omega Supreme was part of a huge project against the Decepticons during the Great War. He nearly lost his spark during the FinalBattle and ended up comatose in ship form. Ratchet is his linked partner and constantly keeps him well maintained.
----
* BadassBaritone: To be expected, since many characters played by Kevin Michael Richardson or Phil [=LaMarr=] have deep voices.
* CoolStarship: At first glance, a beat-up repair ship. In reality, an Autobot war machine.
* DumbMuscle: He was deliberately designed with a simplistic processor to prevent him questioning the commands of his mentor-bot...or thinking too hard about the amount of deaths he'd be responsible for.
* GiantRobot: He's definitely bigger than most of the other Autobots.
* HeroicSacrifice: ''Twice''. He survives both of them, but the first one puts him in modified stasis for ''millions'' of years.
* IAmNotAGun: Omega and the other sentinels were built to be war-ending [=WMDs=] by desperate Autobots. While Omega couldn't avoid this, he was at least able to reflect on the contradiction of his actions.
-->'''Omega:''' You taught me to protect like an Autobot, but all I did was destroy like a Decepticon
-->'''Ratchet:''' We do what we must...even if sometimes it doesn't make sense.
* ItsWhatIDo: "I am programmed to protect... and sacrifice, if necessary."
* LastOfHisKind: Omega is the last surviving and active Omega Sentinel, with Steelhaven/Sigma Supreme being used as a regular spaceship.
* MeaningfulEcho: "We do what we must, even if it sometimes doesn't make sense."
* MetaMecha: He doubled as the Autobots' spaceship and Ratchet and Sari ride him during the events of the second season finale.
* NotAfraidToDie: He is far more concerned about what his size and weapons might do to his allies and the people under his protection than his own life.
-->"I am programmed to protect and sacrifice if necessary."
* OlderThanTheyLook: Despite his naive mannerisms, Omega is yet another Autobot who participated in the Great War, millions of years before the events of the show take place.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: He's basically a giant sentient weapon.
* SapientShip: Once some [=AllSpark=] fragments are used to revive him.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: There is no toy of him.
* WalkingSpoiler: It's not until the second season finale that it is revealed that the ship the Autobots are in at the start of the series is sentient.
* WeaponOfChoice
** ArmCannon: Both of his arms end in weapons. He was built to blow things up, after all.
** MoreDakka
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wasp(inator)]]
!!Wasp / Waspinator
[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wasp_7.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/waspinator.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see Waspinator.]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomKenny, Bumper Robinson ("Where is Thy Sting?") / Creator/KenjiNojima (as Wasp), Kenso Kata (as Waspinator)

--> ''"Wasp not thing, Wasp upgrade! Spider-bot Wasp friend... make Wasp powerful... make Wasp... Waspinator!"''

A former Autobot who worked alongside Bumblebee and Bulkhead in Autoboot Camp, Wasp is a cocky little guy who often got on the latters' nerves. After overhearing a Decepticon spy communicating with Megatron, Bumblebee accused Wasp of being said spy, leading to his imprisonment—thanks to some evidence planted by the real deal. Wasp eventually escapes (again with the help of the real spy) but he's not the bot he used to be. One thing is clear: He will get his revenge on Bumblebee!
----
* AdaptationalBadass: This incarnation of Wasp/Waspinator is much, ''much'' scarier and more villainous than the Waspinator in Beast Wars, who was mostly the ChewToy of the series, being blown apart frequently.
* AntiVillain: When you don't focus too much on his obsession with getting even with Bumblebee, he's not such a bad guy.
* AssholeVictim: Subverted, although he is something of a JerkJock at boot camp, but even he didn't deserve most of what he got put through.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: Duh. He's a giant wasp.
* ButtMonkey: Much like his ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' counterpart, although in this series, it's not played for laughs. He ended up getting framed for being a Decepticon spy, going to jail for 50+ years, and went ''insane''. And then he is tricked into becoming a techno-organic monstrosity by Blackarachnia and explodes into pieces on what may or may not be a version of the prehistoric Earth from ''Beast Wars''. Like his predecessor, he lives through the dismemberment, but the scene of him trying to pull himself back together is terrifying rather than comedic.
* CassandraTruth: Despite pleading that he isn't the spy, apparently, nobody believed him for quite a while. Then again, considering Longarm/Shockwave managed to become chief of Autobot Intelligence, it can be assumed he tied some strings together to make it hard for Wasp to prove his innocence.
* CosmicPlaything: Nothing seems to go right for him and his situation keeps getting worse.
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the original Waspinator, he takes some of original's iconic characteristics, but with a horrifying twist. His quirky speech patern is the result of going insane at the hands of the stockade run by the ''Autobots'' and seeing him blown up to pieces is rather horrifying than funny.
* DistractedByTheSexy: When Wasp first meets Blackarachnia he just stares at her and gibbers inanely.
* DrivenToVillainy: He became evil because of all he's been through after being framed for being a Decepticon spy.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: The series makes it clear that the tragedies and misunderstandings that ruined Wasp's life and drove him insane do not justify his current actions, which is flat out stated by Bulkhead himself.
-->'''Wasp:''' Alright, you caught Wasp! But Wasp was good bot once, until Bumblebot ruined Wasp!
-->'''Bulkhead:''' No Wasp! You were always mean to me and Bumblebee! You may not be a traitor, but you were never a good bot!
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Both in-universe and in a meta sense. He started out as just another Autobot recruit before becoming a very dangerous wasp monster. The meta sense is that the Waspinator of the [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Beast]] [[WesternAnimation/BeastMachines Era]] was just incompetent comic relief, while this version is actually a threat.
* HateSink: While he's ultimately innocent of the crimes he was framed for, and did seem to be friends with Ironhide, he's also a smarmy jerk who liked to flaunt his superiority over everybody else. Shockwave seemed to use this unpleasant personality to his advantage, given how he readily frames Wasp when Bumblebee accidentally presents him the opportunity.
* HiddenAgendaVillain: He mentions having plans when we last see him, but the show got canceled before we could learn what they were.
* {{Homage}}: Does [[Film/TheFly1958 combining with an insect through the use of teleportation technology]] sound familiar to you?
* {{Irony}}: He does a MistreatmentInducedBetrayal in both continuities, but in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' he leaves the bad guys, and here he leaves the good guys (okay, [[BlackAndGrayMorality the neutral guys]]).
* {{Jerkass}}: Before going crazy, he was this. From the moment he met Bumblebee on the streets of Cybertron, the first thing he said to him was insulting his height, [[{{Hypocrite}} in spite of them sharing the same model]].
* JerkJock: As Wasp, he constantly bullied Bumblebee. This made it all the easier for Bumblebee to assume that ''he'' was the Decepticon spy.
* LaserGuidedKarma: After all the horrible things he did to Bumblebee, getting thrown into the stockades was probably the least he deserved. Granted, he was framed, but as Bulkhead said, he was never a good bot to begin with.
* MeaningfulName: Received his, alongside Ironhide from Sentinel in boot camp, for his incredibly accurate shooting with his stingers.
* MythologyGag: There are many similarities between this version of Wasp and the ''Beast Wars'' incarnation. It could even be said that his misfortune of being thrown out of the academy and into the stockades referenced the original incarnation's misfortune of being TheChewToy.
-->'''Waspinator''': [[IronicEcho Waspinator not go offline.]] ''[[NightmareFuel Waspinator has planzzz...]]''
* NeverMyFault: While it wasn't entirely his fault that he got thrown into the stockades for being a Decepticon traitor, his horrible behavior made it all the more easier for Shockwave to get Bumblebee to go after him. Bulkhead even [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech points this out to him]] when he tries to claim he was a "good bot".
* TheNicknamer: After going nuts, he has a hard time using names, instead nicknaming them. Examples include "Bumblebot" for Bumblebee, and "Spider Lady" for Blackarachnia.
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: When he turns into Waspinator he doesn't seem to be falling over Blackarachnia, and with the discovery of her using him he proceeds to brutally beat her until the transwarp build up stops him.
* OneWingedAngel: Normally, scanning a new form doesn't count, but when the result is a towering, monstrous behemoth of a transformer, it definitely does.
* PainfulTransformation: The experiment that makes him Waspinator is not pretty.
* PaletteSwap: He was forged from the same protoform mold as Bumblebee. He takes this further by scanning the same Earth mode as Bumblebee as part of his revenge scheme.
* RedHerringMole: Bumblebee thought that he was the traitor reporting to the Decepticons. He's innocent and the real culprit is Longarm Prime/Shockwave.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Cares more about getting even with Bumblebee for ruining his life than redeeming himself and proving his innocence of being a Decepticon spy.
* TheRival: To Bumblebee when they were cadets.
* SanitySlippage: When first seen in the present time, he's clearly become less mentally stable and has an unnerving obsession with making Bumblebee suffer for unintentionally ruining his life.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: States that even with skills, what ''really'' matters is who you know. It's never indicated if he does have any good connections, but impressing Sentinel at the boot camp may have been part of his plans to build said connections. On the other hand, it foreshadows Bumblebee trying to find out who the spy is to improve his reputation.
* ShockAndAwe: Stingers, same as Bumblebee. He retains them after becoming techno-organic, with all the associated power boosts.
** PsychoElectro: In addition to his stingers, he's not of sound mind at all.
* ShutUpHannibal: Ends up on the receiving end of it when he tries to frame Bumblebee as being the sole guilty party in his downfall. Bulkhead was quick to point out that he was a {{Jerkass}} through and through.
* SpotTheImposter: To tell between Wasp and Bumblebee after Wasp switches around their appearances, Bulkhead has them play a fighting video game, citing Bumblebee as the best player. Since Wasp knows he would lose, he makes a break for it instead, which ends up exposing himself as the impostor.
* ThatManIsDead: "Wasp forgive Bumblebot... [[RedemptionRejection but Waspinator NEVER forgive!]]"
* ThirdPersonPerson: By the show's present, he's taken to talking like his BW incarnation. And unlike ''Beast Wars'', it is ''NOT'' played for laughs, being a result of the toll untold stellar cycles locked in the Stockade had on his psyche.
* ThoseTwoGuys: With Ironhide. At least until he was arrested, and Ironhide quickly changed his demeanor.
* TookALevelInBadass: He's still the universe's ChewToy, but in a much darker and less amusing way, which makes his transformation to Waspinator all the more terrifying.
* TroubledFetalPosition: How the now damaged Wasp is first seen after escaping the stockade. Rocking himself and muttering about vengeance.
* WhamLine: At the end of "Autoboot Camp", Wasp mutters to himself in a similar speech pattern to ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastWars Beast Wars]]'' Waspinator, hinting that Wasp will somehow become just like his original incarnation...and ''boy'' does he.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Since he spent most of his life being wrongly accused of being a Decepticon spy, it's hard not to sympathize with him even after what he's become.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yoketron]]
!!Yoketron
[[quoteright:262:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yoketron.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/GeorgeTakei / Creator/KinryuArimoto

--> ''"You must not sacrifice a piece of the future to bring back the past."''

Prowl's former master, Master Yoketron was the head of the Cyber-Ninja Corps. He trained a then-punkish Prowl in the ways of the ninja, humbling him in the process. He planned to make Prowl his successor after his pupil mastered the Processer-over-Matter technique, but he was brutally murdered by Lockdown while Prowl was on an optics quest.
----
* BadassBaritone: Comes with being voiced by Creator/GeorgeTakei.
* CoolHelmet: Lockdown certainly thought so.
* DeathByOriginStory: His death is part of Prowl's backstory.
* MindOverMatter: Or rather, "processor over matter". It took Prowl a few thousand years to get the hang of this without him.
* {{Ninja}}: He was the head of the Cyber-Ninja Corps.
* OldMaster: He trained Jazz, Prowl, and others in the ways of the Cyber-Ninja.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: He does not have a toy.
* {{Tuckerization}}: He's named after Hideaki Yoke, Takara's lead designer.
* UnwantedRevival: Prowl attempted to save his spark by moving it to one of the few protoforms Lockdown hadn't stolen. He wasn't happy and lectured his disciple that he shouldn't sacrifice the future to bring back the past before dying again.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cliffjumper]]
!!Cliffjumper
[[quoteright:344:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anicliffjumpermodel1.jpg]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/DavidKaye / Itsushi Imaruoka

An officer in Autobot Intel, working directly under Longarm Prime and the Elite Guard.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: An episode in Season 4 would've been about Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ironhide, Waspinator, Shockwave, and Sentinel -- all members of the same cadet platoon (or in charge, in Sentinel's case) being targeted by an unknown assailant. The ''[[AllThereInTheManual Collector's Club Magazine]]'' shows a troubling image of a shadowed Cliffjumper with Shockwave's eye on his forehead while there are silhouettes of an uncertain Bumblebee & Waspinator in the background...
* GrumpyBear: He apparently has a temper, which stopped him from being a field spy.
* HypercompetentSidekick: In comparison to the Elite Guard's head-in-the-sand management and Longarm actually being a spy, he seems to do his job fairly well if the Elite Guard and the Council likes him.
* MythologyGag:
** According to AllThereInTheManual, he doesn't trust Mirage, just like in the episode, "Traitor", from ''Generation 1''.
** Per usual, he shares a body type with Bumblebee.
* PaletteSwap: He shares the same body mold as Bumblebee.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's fairly level-headed when talking to figures of higher or equal authority, such as requesting Sentinel to return to Cybertron as soon as possible after Ultra Magnus is assassinated and wanting to give proper credit to the right bot for catching the Decepticon fugitives on Earth.
* UnwittingPawn: Longarm requests him to throw away a mysterious blue box... which is actually a crushed and still-alive Blurr. Subverted later in "The Stunticon Job" in that he's seen holding Blurr, suggesting he realized something wasn't right.
* VocalEvolution: His voice varies in each of his appearances, from gruff to normal-sounding.
* YouAreInCommandNow: He is placed as the acting head of Autobot Intel after Longarm is revealed to be Shockwave. He may be promoted to Prime later.
[[/folder]]

!!Team Athenia

[[folder:Rodimus Prime]]
!!Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime
[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rodimus_prime.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JuddNelson / Creator/HiroyaIshimaru

-->''"You'll have to get past me first, Decepticreeps!"''

Hot Rod, later Rodimus, earned the attention of the higher-ups before he even finished boot camp, and he was accepted into Autobot Academy long before any of his campmates. Everyone seems to agree he's destined for big things... if he survives his first encounter with the Decepticons, that is.
----
* TheAce: If his magazine bio is to be believed, Rodimus is popular, well-versed in several forms of armed and unarmed combat, and was even nicknamed "TheChosenOne" in the Academy (see below).
* ArcherArchetype: He's an archer and he's determined to stop the Decepticons.
* BigBrotherMentor: Implied to be this, especially to Hot Shot, in comparison to Optimus's status as TeamDad of his own team.
* TheChosenOne: [[AllThereInTheManual Additional material]] indicates that Rodimus is most likely to become the next Magnus. Or that's at least what everyone believes.
* {{Determinator}}: His entire team is defeated while defending a space bridge, and he winds up surrounded by much larger Decepticons. His response?
-->'''Rodimus:''' You'll have to get past me first, Decepti-creeps!
* EnergyBow: He uses a bow of energy to fire arrows.
* {{Foil}}: To Optimus. Both of them are young promising Primes from the Autobot Academy, but Optimus fell out of favor when it was believed that he had done wrong (but in actuality took the blame because of his good spark) while Rodimus was initially seen as a punk but later respected as an up and coming leader.
* FormerTeenRebel: According to the Allspark Almanac, he was quite a rebellious bad boy back at the Academy, until he proved his drill instructor Kup wrong by jumping on a grenade that got loose and went live. It turned out to be a dud, but he started maturing from that point forward.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Another young and promising Prime from the Autobot Academy that leads another group of
* JumpingOnAGrenade: He did this in boot camp to protect his drill sergeant, Kup, from a stray grenade. It turned out to be a dud, but neither of them had any way of knowing that. Kup was touched by the gesture.
* MeaningfulName: Received his name from Kup in boot camp for his punk attitude and the flames on his chest.
* MythologyGag: His team being based on Athenia while the rival Decepticon team is based on Chaar is a reference to ''[[Anime/TransformersHeadmasters Headmasters]]'', where Rodimus lead an Autobot team on Athenia against the rival Decepticon team on Chaar.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Though it has yet to be confirmed as canon, some art by staff suggests that Rodimus still hasn't totally matured despite being a Prime, such as [[http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l630/MASABON1980/IMG_1404_zpsubxfj8ed.jpg this piece]] by [[WordOfGod Matt Youngberg]].
* ShoutOut: He resembles ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} in appearance and weapon choice.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Fell victim to Oil Slick’s cosmic rust attack, but showed up completely fine in "Decepticon Air" and "Endgame, Part 2". The comics reveal that there's a cure for cosmic rust, so it can be assumed it was administered to him.
* YouShallNotPass / GoThroughMe: After the rest of his team has been disabled, he tells Team Chaar they'll have to get past him to get to the space bridge. Oil Slick, unimpressed, takes him out with a vial of cosmic rust.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hot Shot]]
!!Hot Shot
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hot_shot.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/BillFagerbakke / Kōsuke Okano

--> ''"Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"''

Team Athenia's own [[KidAppealCharacter Bumblebee]], Hot Shot's speed and recklessness lead to him spending more time in the medbay than any other member, much to Red Alert's exasperation. Why Rodimus thinks he has command potential, she can't imagine.
----
* AnArmAndALeg: Strika's bomb damages his leg so severely that Red Alert says she needs to amputate it. She's yanked away before she can finish, and he remains out of the fight. He gets better.
* FireBreathingWeapon: He has flamethrowers in his arms.
* FragileSpeedster: While fast, he's still pretty vulnerable and is taken down in one hit during his debut.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In "The Stunticon Job", he can be seen cheering on the Stunticon show while Red Alert sits right next to him stoically.
* MythologyGag: He's based off of his appearance in ''[[Anime/TransformersCybertron Cybertron]]'', and his flame throwers are a reference to his flame decos in the ''[[Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise Robots In Disguise]]'' anime.
* PrimaryColorChampion: His color palette is yellow, blue, and red, and he's heroic enough that Rodimus thinks he could be a commander one day.
* SouthernFriedPrivate: He has a Southern accent.
* StreetUrchin: Though it's only vaguely implied at best.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: His reaction to Red Alert needing to amputate his leg, followed by Rodimus falling victim to the cosmic rust attack emended upon him by Oil Slick just reads “Well, we’re screwed.”
* ToylessToylineCharacter: He was close to getting one, but the show was cancelled before it could be released.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brawn]]
!!Brawn
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfa_brawn_11.jpg]]
-> ''Might over microchips.''
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CoreyBurton (grunts only) / Takashi Nagasako

Smaller than Bumblebee, stronger than Bulkhead. Do not cross.
----
* TheBigGuy: The most aggressive member of Team Athenia.
* MeaningfulName: He's ''very'' strong.
* OldSoldier: Supplementary materials reveal that he was one of the Great War veterans. In one comic set during Ratchet's early days as a medic, Brawn was already one of the high-ranking Autobot officers reporting directly to Ultra Magnus.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: He may be small, but he's still very formidable.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: He does not have a toy.
* TheVoiceless: He doesn't speak and only grunts.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Red Alert]]
!!Red Alert
[[quoteright:198:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/red_alert.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TaraStrong / Rikako Aikawa

--> ''"I'm gonna have to amputate. Don't worry, Cybertron Service will issue a replacement leg within six to eight solar cycles."''

R.A is less of a CombatMedic than Ratchet, but she lived through the height of the Great War and created a cure for [[FandomNod Gold Plastic Syndrome]] along the way. Her teammates appreciate her dedication, although her bedside manner leaves something to be desired.
----
* AnArmAndALeg: She lost her left arm in the Great War, but replaced it with a surgical tool.
* CapedMecha: Her kibble resembles a labcoat, although it's actually part of her vehicle-mode.
* {{Foil}}: To Ratchet. Both served in the Great War, though Ratchet was a CombatMedic while Red Alert was more on the doctor/scientist side. While both would serve important roles in scientific developments, Red Alert is more well-known for her contributions while Ratchet does not receive attention out of a combination of maintaining the secrecy of his role and [[ShellShockedVeteran being troubled by the war]]. In addition, Ratchet was an ordinary medic until [[ItBeganWithATwistOfFate he was assigned to help Arcee]] while Red Alert became known for actions she performed on her own.
* GenderFlip: Previous incarnations of Red Alert have all been male, here the character is a female.
* TheMedic / [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Girl]]: She helped upload the twins with Starscream's flight tech.
* MythologyGag:
** She's based off of her appearance in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', but is a medic and lost her hand like her ''[[Anime/TransformersArmada Armada]]'' incarnation.
** Her profile in "The Allspark Almanac" indicates she found a cure for "Gold Plastic Syndrome", which, in real life, is a common phenomenon where ''Transformers'' toys made with more metallic paint end up crumbling to pieces.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only female member of Team Athenia.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: She's not very sensitive towards her patients, but is still a decent person deep down.
* SwissArmyAppendage: After losing her left arm to a Decepticon boobytrap, she replaced it with a Transfer Interlink that can form HardLight surgical equipment.
* TeamMom: Implied, despite her SugarAndIcePersonality.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: She doesn't have a toy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ironhide]]
!!Ironhide
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ironhide_7.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CoreyBurton / Atsushi Imaruoka

--> ''"Hit me with everything you got, sir!"''

Ironhide was protoformed in a rural prefecture on one of Cybertron's moons, and he was in the same boot camp squad as Bumblebee, Bulkhead, "Longarm", and Wasp. His pranks can get a little crude, but he's generally a decent "country" bot.
----
* AdaptationalDyeJob: He's orange in ''Animated'' while he was red in the G1 cartoon (though this could be to contrast him from Ratchet).
* AscendedExtra: Had the series gotten a fourth season, he would've joined the main cast and scanned an Earth mode, taking Bulkhead's [[TheBigGuy place]] [[note]] Bulkhead would've stay behind on Cybertron to help defend his family Energon farms from Decepticon raids and help Sari learn more about her origin. [[/note]]
* AdaptationalJerkass: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] and [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zagged]], but as a recruit into the Elite Guard, he was shown to be particularly unkind to Bumblebee and Bulkhead for no good reason, whereas the original was more of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. By the present day, he's become a lot nicer, especially since one of his fellow cadets was (framed into being) a Decepticon traitor.
* ChromeChampion: He's capable of turning his body super-hard.
* DubNameChange: In Japan, Bulkhead is now called "Ironhide", so this Ironhide is now "Armorhide".
* JerkJock: With Wasp as an Autobot cadet. Unlike Wasp (or Sentinel), he TookALevelInKindness.
* MeaningfulName: Ironhide is a pretty appropriate name for an Autobot who can harden his armor.
** Justified in that Autobots are, in this continuity, named at boot camp after demonstrating their abilities and/or personality.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: His voice is based on Huell Howser.
* PaletteSwap: The same body-type as Ratchet, only with a different head design.
* ShoutOut: His transmutation ability is similar to that of X-Men character Colossus.
* SouthernFriedPrivate: He speaks in a Southern accent and is part of an Autobot task force.
* TookALevelInKindness: After attending boot camp, he becomes a nicer 'bot, presumably because Wasp supposedly being a Decepticon spy [[HeelRealization made him realize]] that Wasp was the bad crowd.
[[/folder]]

!!Comics & the Almanac

[[folder:Afterburn]]
!!Afterburn

If your first thought was "Who?", this guy only appeared in the UK comics.
----
* TheAce: He shows up the other Autobots and comes off as very competent and badass.
* AlasPoorVillain: Bumblebee feels sorry for him after Megatron kills him.
* CanonForeigner: Only appears in the short-lived Titan Comics adaptation.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Megatron [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe rips him in two]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill and then blasts his top half]].
* TheMole: He's actually a minion of Megatron.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: He does not have a toy.
* YouHaveFailedMe: Megatron destroys him for failing to destroy the Autobots from within. Which leads to...
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Megatron no longer needed him after he proved to be ineffectual.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cheetor]]
!!Cheetor
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/GreggBerger ([=BotCon 2012=]), [[ContestWinnerCameo Briam Orms]] ([=BotCon 2015=])

A glory-seeking street cop. After attempting to arrest two troublemakers despite them not having caused any trouble, he was reassigned from Transtech to Iacon Central to be partnered up with Sideswipe.
----
* AdaptationSpeciesChange: Sort of. His original iteration was a Maximal--an Autobot descendant. This version is simply an Autobot.
* AdaptedOut: As he's an Autobot this time around instead of a Maximal, he cannot change into an organic mode. And seeing as the only way that's happened is thanks to some very nasty circumstances, he's probably lucky in that regard.
* CastingGag: Initially voiced by Gregg Berger, who also voiced Hunter, an actual Cheetah, in the Franchise/SpyroTheDragon games.
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: The spots weren't always there; he got them when he spilled paint while chasing down Crumplezone and Ransack.
* MythologyGag: Numerous towards ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''.
** Depth Charge is his boss. In ''Beast Wars'', Depth Charge was his senior, though not boss.
** Upon Rattletrap asking him to be gentle on him and perhaps even team up with him, Cheetor snarks [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars "Maybe in another life."]]
** In an usual example of this, his design, a redeco of Blurr, was based on concept art of the original Cheetor for a planned ''Beast Machines'' sequel, ''Transtech''.
* PaletteSwap: Of Blurr. He was originally supposed to have the same head mold as Blurr as well, though his finalized appearance has him have a unique head mold.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Depth Charge reassigns him to quiet Iacon Central, where surely he won't get into any more trouble...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sideswipe]]
!!Sideswipe
->'''Voiced by:''' Neil Ross ([=BotCon 2010=]), John Moscitta ([=BotCon 2015=])

A senior investigator for the Cybertron Police Defense Command in Iacon Central.
----
* AdaptationalRelationshipOverhaul: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]], but the original Sideswipe was brothers with Sunstreaker. In this version, they're still related, but thanks to some time-travel shenanigans, Sunstreaker is his sister this time around.
* GrumpyBear: Didn't see what all the big fuss was about regarding Optimus ''defeating and arresting Megatron''.
* GrumpyOldMan: Similar to Ratchet in this way.
* KnightInSourArmor: Sideswipe is another jaded war veteran, but still chose to devote ''30,000 years of his life'' to police service following the Great War.
* OldSoldier: The Complete [=AllSpark=] Almanac reveals that he was an Autobot soldier who got captured during the Great War.
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: He's hard on Cheetor, the new rookie cop assigned to take his position once he retires.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nightbeat]]
!!Nightbeat
->'''Voiced by:''' [[ContestWinnerCameo Laura Knapton]]

One of Arcee's students and a classmate of Sari. She wants to be a detective.
----
* AmateurSleuth: Sideswipe notes that while she's has good detective skills, he wishes she'd tone down on the GenkiGirl aspect.
* GenderFlip: In every other continuity, Nightbeat is male.
* MythologyGag: She shares the same [[PaletteSwap character mold]] as Minerva in this continuity, just like in ''Generation 1''.
** She also shares the same name with another Autobot, who is also a detective. The difference being said-Autobot is male.
[[/folder]]

!Decepticons

[[folder:In General]]
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: They used to be Cybertron's military defense, but then they got tired of it and decided to stage war on Cybertron against the Autobots instead. Now they just seek out power, are just really loyal to Megatron, or are just evil [[ForTheEvulz because they can be]].
* AdaptationalBadass: The average Decepticon in this incarnation is able to take on a team of Autobots, five to one.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Downplayed. While they continue to be a threat requiring multiple Autobots to defeat individually, they became steadily easier to deal with as the series went on, and this is justified as the Autobots become more experienced fighting them.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Averted. If they had a troubled backstory, it isn't relevant to who they are anymore. The only Decepticon known to have a dark and troubled past and continues to be affected by it is [[FallenHero Blackarachnia]].
* EvilIsBigger: The average Decepticon towers over most of the Autobots! This is a JustifiedTrope, because a guy who turns into a plane is obviously going to have more mass to account for than a guy who can turn into a car.
** Though some of them are the same height/smaller than the Autobots, such as Lockdown, Dirt Boss, Swindle and Soundwave. [[spoiler:Though that's because Swindle and Lockdown are heavily implied to be former Autobots.]]
* FactionCalculus: Of the Powerhouse variety, in contrast to the Autobots' Subversive.
* RobotSoldier: Their entire history, as they are descendants of Cybertronians built for military applications and, for a time, were the entirety of Cybertron's armed forces.
* SequelAdaptationIconicVillain: The first season of the show focused on human villains and lone Decepticons, or else their plots were downplayed. The first season ended with Megatron getting his own body again and Starscream's arrival on Earth, setting the Decepticons up as much more prominent antagonists in season two.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: Decepticons see themselves as freedom fighters, but everyone else sees them as terrorists.
[[/folder]]

!!Main Decepticons

[[folder:Megatron]]
!!Megatron
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-megatronanimated_8121.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CoreyBurton / Creator/NorioWakamoto

--> ''"With the power of the [=AllSpark=], I will reclaim Cybertron for all Decepticon-kind - but not before I lay waste to the miserable world that held me captive for so long."''

Megatron likes to think of himself as a freedom fighter, leading his troops to reclaim their home from the Autobots who exiled them after the Great War. This claim is somewhat undermined by his complete lack of concern for anyone not useful to him and his willingness to manhandle his own soldiers to remind them who's in charge or to field-test weapons of mass destruction on defenseless human cities.

In a surprising turn from the regular "Optimus Prime vs. Megatron" setup of most Transformers series, here Megatron regards Optimus as a minor nuisance, in fact, up until the last episode he never even calls him by name.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: Probably the most powerful major Megatron in the franchise as of this writing. He manages to menace the Autobots without having a body, trounces them easily when he does get one, and consistently needs either a lot of luck or a ''very'' strong opponent to be laid low. His revival alone was considered a big enough threat to warrant a season finale. He also has nowhere near the resources or armies of other Megatrons, and yet still manages to threaten all of Cybertron on a regular basis.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: In practice, he's a lot smarter than his G1 counterpart, who was basically a GeneralFailure at the end of the day. ''This'' Megatron, however, is TheChessmaster; he always has a long term scheme going, is easily able to manipulate others to do his bidding, can [[XanatosSpeedChess skillfully turn unexpected complications to his advantage]], and deals with [[TheStarscream treacherous lieutenants]] with a vicious, zero-tolerance policy.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's a lot more polite and generous than most other incarnations of Megatron. Make no mistake, however; he's not really any more noble.
* AliensOfLondon: He speaks in a British accent.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Even his larger, more powerful subjects bow down to him with little hesitation.
* AxCrazy: In Season 4, he would've gone off the deep end after being reformatted into a Triple-Changer.
* BackFromTheDead: Given the state of his body and that his head was apparently inert for the entire time Sumdac possessed it, it seems he really did go offline after crash-landing on Earth, and the burst of [=AllSpark=] energy from Sari's Key reignited his spark.
* BenevolentBoss: Compared to [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers his past]] [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars incarnations]], Megatron is a very charismatic leader who inspires UndyingLoyalty to many of his followers. He's also generally not as needlessly cruel to his minions, [[KickTheDog unless they're]] [[TheStarscream Starscream]] or [[PunyEarthlings Sumdac]].
* BigBad: As always for the leader of the Decepticons. He spends much of the first season a disembodied head after an assassination attempt by Starscream, but continues to cause a lot of trouble behind the scenes. Once he acquires his new body, he takes the throne full-time from the first season finale onward.
* CatchPhrase: Whenever one of his troops (typically [[UndyingLoyalty Lugnut]]) annoys him, he has a tendency to remark "Oh for spark's sake".
* CapturedSuperEntity: For most of season one, he's just a disembodied head in Isaac Sumdac's secret lab.
* TheChessmaster: Always has a long-term plan going on, and is known to edit them on the fly when necessary.
** Pulls a ''delicious'' gambit in the final episodes with Shockwave, Starscream and Lugnut as his pawns in the game. He needs a template for his Omega clones, but using himself will likely result in massive Megatron clones that ''will'' try to overthrow him and likely will succeed. Starscream is currently in league with him out of no other choice, so Megatron keeps him around to help out despite knowing he will betray him and likely try to become the template himself. So when Shockwave returns to the fold full-time, he begins showering him with praise as his most loyal servant - deliberately to piss off Lugnut, who's loyal to Megs to the point of religious fanaticism and starts making obscenely over-the-top displays of loyalty. When the time comes to make a template, Lugnut stops Starscream from betraying Megatron... and becomes the template for the clones himself. Now Megatron has three massive Lugnut's with UndyingLoyalty to him to do his bidding.
* ChewingTheScenery: While he's usually a lot more sedate than other incarnations of the character, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOU2oAiHadQ he has his moments]]. ''[[SayMyName Starscream!!]]''.
** Bonus points for being voiced by none other than Creator/NorioWakamoto in the Japanese version.
* CompositeCharacter: Of a few previous incarnations. While based mostly off of his ''G1'' counterpart (with his design borrowing from his ''Battlestars'' incarnation), his extended planner qualities are from the ''Beast Wars'' incarnation (and would have looked somewhat like his ''Beast Machines'' counterpart had Season 4 happened). His look prior to Earth and the fact technology was reverse-engineered from him were taken from the first live-action film, specifically in the shape of his helmet. His Season 4 look would have also given him the ability to triple change, as with ''Revenge of the Fallen''.
* ConsummateLiar: He's extremely good at manipulating people with his words, telling them exactly what they need to hear to either allay their suspicion of himself or send them against the Autobots. Professor Sumdac, the Dinobots, Soundwave, and the Constructicons all fell prey to his silver tongue ([[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters though Soundwave didn't need much convincing]]).
* CreepyMonotone: He doesn't have much inflection when he speaks, making him sound sinister and emotionless.
* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: After crashing onto Earth, he's stuck as a disembodied head and is forced to trick Isaac Sumdac into building him a new body.
* DeadpanSnarker: Occasionally. One of the most notable examples is in "The Elite Guard", where he refutes Isaac Sumdac's hopes of the Autobots eventually rescuing him by snarkily pointing out how unlikely it would be for the Autobots to trust Professor Sumdac because of his hand in reviving Megatron.
--> '''Megatron''': [''to Starscream''] And to think, you actually believed you could take over as leader of the Decepticons? You couldn't lead a parade.
* TheDreaded: He is so feared that there are even rumors that he eats protoforms for breakfast.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: While he had already got a good deal of screentime, one of the defining moments for his character occurred in the Season 1 finale; having just come back online and aware that Starscream played a key role in his original demise, the very first thing he does is outright ''kill'' Starscream [[note]] [[ResurrectiveImmortality it doesn't last.]] [[/note]]. This shows that, unlike previous incarnations, ''this'' Megatron is not so forgiving of treachery.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** When addressing Swindle, he remarks with disdain that the latter would sell out his own motherboard for profit.
** Compared to the reputation the Autobot High command has(especially Sentinel Prime) Megatron seems to have no reservations about partially-organic cybertronians. That Blackarachnia was more willing to serve under him than the Elite Guard really says something.
* EvilBrit: Speaks with a slight accent.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Creator/CoreyBurton took inspiration from Creator/TimCurry, Creator/ChristopherLee, and Creator/JohnHurt.
* FalseFriend: Paints himself as a friend of the Autobots and ally of humanity during his time trapped in Professor Sumdac's lab.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Very little is given about his background in the series, and the [[AllThereInTheManual Complete AllSpark Almanac]] doesn't give much, but it ''does'' indicate he wasn't nearly as infamous before he overthrew the original Decepticon leader, Megazarak.
* HeyYou: Viewing Team Optimus as below him, he never bothers to learn their names until it turns out Bulkhead is a space bridge technician at the end of Season 2 and Optimus gets on his level at the end of Season 3.
-->'''Megatron:''' You're a persistent little Autobot.\\
'''Optimus:''' [[MyNameIsInigoMontoya My name is]] '''[[MyNameIsInigoMontoya OPTIMUS PRIME!]]'''\\
''[later]''\\
'''Megatron:''' If I cannot save my clones, I will at least have the satisfaction of destroying you, Optimus Prime!\\
'''Optimus:''' So you ''can'' remember my name.
* HostileTerraforming: In the Season 4 premiere, he and his 'Cons would've detached the city of Kaon from Cybertron and landed it smack-dab in the middle of Lake Erie. At the end of the season, they would then go on to try to turn the rest of Earth into their own personal Cybertron, but the Autobots and company would've put a stop to it.
* KnightTemplar: Maybe. He talks of himself as a freedom fighter struggling against "Autobot tyranny", but it's not entirely clear if he genuinely feels this way or if it's just empty rhetoric designed to win sympathy for the Decepticon cause.
* LargeAndInCharge: Averted. He's huge, but he's got soldiers bigger than him like Lugnut and Blackout.
* LargeHam: Averted; in fact, he's probably the most subdued incarnation of Megatron to date, especially in comparison to his ''Beast Wars'' and ''Prime'' counterparts.
* LightningBruiser: Has incredible strength and speed.
* LosingYourHead: When falling through the Earth's atmosphere, his head was severed from the rest of his body and crash-landed separately. It's reconnected in the Season 1 Finale.
* ManipulativeBastard: Can play people like a fiddle, including Professor Sumac, the Constructicons, his troops...
* MoralMyopia: He's outraged when he learns of Starscream's treacherous attempt to kill him and usurp his role... even though he became leader of the Decepticons when he overthrew his predecessor.
* MythologyGag:
** His [[spoiler:Triple Changer]] robot mode appearance looks to be based on ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastMachines Beast Machines]]'' Megatron.
** It's claimed by Cyclonus that he'll [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie he'll become Galvatron]] and kill Oil Slick.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: As much as Megatron talks about liberating the Decepticons from Autobot oppression, his main goal is, as in most other incarnations, the conquest of Cybertron. The main difference between this Megatron and most others is his rhetoric.
* OracularHead: Season 1, following the destruction of his body in the pilot. He gets a new one in the season finale.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: During season 2, his space bridge project keeps him too busy to go out. Unless it involves Starscream.
* PsychoticSmirk: Does this frequently.
* SealedEvilInACan: For most of season 1, he's just a head locked up in Sumdac's secret lab waiting for a new body.
* ShouldersOfDoom: In his Cybertronian body; his Earth form replaced them with VerticalMechaFins.
* ShroudedInMyth: At least by the time of the present day, if Bumblebee's crazy stories in the pilot about him are any suggestion.
* TheStarscream: Ironically, WordOfGod says that he didn't start the Decepticons. Megazarak started them but Megatron overthrew him.
* TheStoic: For the most part, he's not as emotional or expressive as the other Decepticons.
** NotSoStoic: See VillainousBreakdown.
* TakingYouWithMe: He tries to pull this on Optimus in ''Endgame'' [[note]] They both survive regardless [[/note]]. This is a stark contrast from the beginning of the series, where he saw the Autobot as beneath him, and shows Optimus' development into a true hero and thus a WorthyOpponent for Megatron.
* UngratefulBastard:
** Sumdac spent almost a year trying to repair him and was nothing but respectful and kind while doing so. Yet not only does Megatron sabotage his inventions more than once in order to destroy the Autobots, as soon as he gets his body back he takes Sumdac hostage and forces him to work for the Decepticons, all the while being as openly callous and disrespectful as possible. This might have something to do with the fact that Sumdac built his entire empire from Megatron's salvaged remains while he was offline all those years, which he saw as a ''massive'' insult.
** In ''A Bridge Too Close'', Optimus saves him from being blasted by Starscream; Megatron repays him by using the Autobot as a HumanShield against a subsequent attack by Ramjet.
* VillainousBreakdown: Megatron spends much of the series very composed and rarely ever loses his temper. Come "Endgame", where his plans are ''yet again'' thwarted by the same band of second-rate Autobots that have been a persistent thorn in his side, and Megatron completely drops all pretense and settles for just destroying everything in sight.
-->'''Megatron''': "DESTROY ''ANYTHING'' THAT'S NOT '''''ME!'''''"
* VillainousCheekbones: He has these because of his face being rather angular.
* WeaponOfChoice: Quite a few.
** ArmCannon: He has an arm cannon on his arm.
** {{BFG}}: As always, his iconic Fusion Cannon.
** {{Cool Sword}}s
** DualWielding: He uses two swords.
* WickedCultured: He's the vicious leader of the Decepticons, but he's also an oil connoisseur, even brewing his own blends!
** Hilariously, his delicious oil blends help him connect with and recruit the LowerClassLout Contructicons to his cause.
* WorthyOpponent: He's alarmed when he believes Ultra Magnus has come to fight him in the GrandFinale. By the end of the episode, he regards Optimus Prime as this after he's stood in the way of his plans for far too long and too stubbornly.
-->'''Megatron''': If I cannot save my clones, then at least I'll have the satisfaction of destroying ''you'', '''Optimus Prime!'''
-->'''Optimus Prime''': So you ''can'' remember my name.
* XanatosSpeedChess: One of his greatest strengths is his ability to turn unexpected developments to his advantage. The Dinobots get sparks? Convince them that "car robots" are their enemies. Soundwave develops self-awareness, making him unsuitable as a new body? Persuade him to lead a machine uprising against the humans and Autobots.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Starscream]]
!!Starscream
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-starscreamanimated_7961.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"YES! Right then, solemn face, ''solemn'' face..."'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomKenny / Creator/JinYamanoi

-->''"Don't try to deceive a Decepticon, Autobot! ''We'' are the ''masters'' of deception!"''

Starscream is an actual threat to the Autobots this time around, capable of flooring even Ultra Magnus with a close enough shot, but he has about as much chance of winning a fair fight with Megatron as his G1 self. Of course, being Starscream, a fair fight is generally the last thing on his mind.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: He's not as competent a leader as he thinks he is, but he's still a powerful fighter in comparison to other Starscreams.
* BackFromTheDead: Megatron slags him in the last episode of season one, but an [=AllSpark=] fragment lands on his head a few episodes into season two and ''keeps'' bringing him back to life no matter what happens to him. At least, until Prowl and Jazz removed it.
* BigBadWannabe: He wants to take over as leader of the Decepticons, but his attempts at getting Megatron out of the picture never work out.
* ButtMonkey: From season 2 onward, he becomes a Butt Monkey in this series. It starts with the infamous [[Funny/TransformersAnimated "Starscream Death Montage"]] with Megatron killing him over and over again (with the [=Allspark=] fragment on his head being the only thing keeping him alive). All of his plans always fail and in the finale in which may be his Crowning Moment of Butt Monkery, his clones (with one heavily implied to represent his self-loathing) betray him for Megatron. He spends the majority of season three as a disembodied head trapped with Megatron aboard Omega Supreme, and just when he finally gets a new body, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Megatron blasts him (He recovers).]] And in the finale, The [=AllSpark=] fragment that was keeping him alive is pulled out, thus killing him. And if you count the comic adaptation, he gets humiliated and blackmailed by Professor Princess. One can't help but feel a bit sorry for him.
* CardCarryingVillain: Says "You Autobots and your pathetic heroics" at one point.
* CharacterDeath: After [[DeathIsCheap numerous fake-outs]], he dies for real in the series finale when Prowl and Jazz, using processor-over-matter, yank the [=AllSpark=] fragment out of his head; to emphasize that he's really dead, the last shot we see of him is his greyed, offline body.
* TheChewToy: This is pretty much what his role amounts to from the second season on, taking all kinds of abuse that gets PlayedForLaughs.
* CompositeCharacter: While in most versions they are completely separate characters, Dirge, Ramjet, Skywarp, Sunstorm, Thundercracker, Thrust, and Cyclonus are each aspects of Starscream's personality given form in a clone body.
* {{Determinator}}: No matter how often he fails to overthrow Megatron, he never gives up.
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:He meets his end with his eyes open when he has his [=AllSpark=] fragment yanked out during the series finale.]]
* TheDragon: He started out as Megatron's second-in-command, but he spends pretty much the entirety of the series attempting to turn against him.
* EasilyForgiven: ''Averted''. In a shift from their classic dynamic, Megatron is completely intolerant and unforgiving of Starscream's treachery. He spends the majority of the series exiled from the Decepticons as a result, and indeed only survives his leader's initial retribution due to the ResurrectiveImmortality granted by the [=AllSpark=] fragment in his head. Any time he ended up bumping into Megatron afterwards, the Decepticon tried to put him down, and only used him in instances where he would further his plans. [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness After that...]]
* EvilGloating: To the point where he was ''[[BerserkButton furious]]'' when he was once interrupted.
* EvilLaugh: As a heavy contrast to [[TheStoic Megatron]], he has a tendency to do this.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He's charismatic and he knows it, but it's obvious he only ever does it to earn favor so he can manipulate others or stab them in the back, usually both.
* GaspOfLife: After Megatron kills him for the umpteenth time and he's brought back to life (again) by the [=AllSpark=] fragment, Starscream gasps for air and tiredly admits that he ''might'' just need a new approach.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: He starts taking a lot more punishment after becoming immortal (see above).
* HeroKiller: Was responsible for the destruction of Theta Supreme.
* ImmortalityInducer: His [=AllSpark=] fragment enables him to come back every time he's killed.
* IronButtMonkey: Because of his ResurrectiveImmortality, he takes a ''lot'' of fatal abuse, but he always comes back. Well, until the final episode.
* LargeHam: His ego is as big as the volume of his voice.
* LeanAndMean: He's very skinny and also a treacherous jerk.
* LosingYourHead: The end of Season 2. Lasts until the GrandFinale.
* MesACrowd: He eventually starts making clones of himself.
* MythologyGag: G1 Starscream had an indestructible spark. This incarnation of the character also has a form of immortality.
* NoIndoorVoice: "YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEEEEECH!"
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Starscream is enough of a threat to give the Autobots a hard time... when Megatron's not around, that is.
* PsychoticSmirk: He's constantly grinning slightly.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: As long as he keeps the [=AllSpark=] fragment in his head, he'll quickly revive after every death.
* ShoutOut: In his transformation sequence, there's a part where his legs are in robot mode while the upper half of his body is still a jet, referencing the gerwalk mode from ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' (specifically the YF-19 Alpha One from ''Anime/MacrossPlus'', as both are based on the Russian Su-47 Berkut).
* SmugSnake: Thinks he's better than everyone else.
* TheStarscream: [[TropeNamer Obviously]]. Although he doesn't do nearly as well as his [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime counterpart]].
* TheyKilledKennyAgain: Behold: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR5G3gcNKwg The Starscream Death Montage]]. His [[Creator/TomKenny voice actor]]'s last name is even the same as [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark the]] TropeNamer's first.
* ThinChinOfSin
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lugnut]]
!!Lugnut
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-lugnutpromomodel_9779.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Megatron cannot be stopped! Megatron is EVERYWHERE!"'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/DavidKaye / Kentarō Itō

-->'''Lugnut:''' Stasis lock itself could not deter me from your grand and glorious plan, oh wise and noble Megatron!
-->'''Megatron:''' [[TwitchyEye Just... go]].

A powerful Decepticon and former gladiator, Lugnut is extremely and utterly devoted to Megatron. During the GrandFinale, he becomes the imprint for Megatron's Omega Sentinel clones, transforming them into a trio of Lugnut Supremes.
----
* BattleButler: A very powerful and devoted minion of Megatron.
* TheBrute: He and Blitzwing were the muscle of Megatron's crew. After Starscream's treachery was uncovered, Lugnut and Blitzwing upgraded to CoDragons.
* [[CanonImmigrant Canon Emigrant]]: Has gotten a toy in the 2010 ''Transformers'' toyline, and later made a few appearances in the IDW G1 comics as well as the Aligned continuity.
* CanonForeigner: He was created for ''Animated''.
* CharacterShilling: He's Megatron's no. 1 fanboy, to the point it actually annoys him:
-->'''Lugnut''': Stasis lock itself could not deter me from your grand and glorious plan, oh wise and noble Megatron!
-->'''Megatron''': ''[[EyeTwitch (Left optic twitches)]]'' Just ''go''.
* CoDragons: Once Starscream is ousted, Lugnut and Blitzwing shared his position, until they were both captured. Lugnut managed to escape in "Decepticon Air" and rejoin Megatron, but ended up sharing the spot again with the returning Shockwave.
* TheComicallySerious: He's the straight man to Blitzwing (which isn't saying much), but a few moments shine.
-->(''after finding Megatron'') '''Lugnut''': Oh master! I am not worthy! I am not worthy! *beat* What happened to your body??
-->'''Megatron''': Long story.
* DumbMuscle: He's very strong, but his blind devotion to Megatron doesn't do his competence any favors.
* DropTheHammer: He doesn't use it often.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Lugnut hates Lockdown, seeing the mercenary as "a disgrace" to the Decepticons.
* EvilSoundsDeep: He has a very deep voice.
* ExtraEyes: He resembles a CyberCyclops, but those red dots on the side of his head are ''also'' eyes, so he actually has five eyes.
* {{Foil}}: Serves as a foil of sorts to several characters.
** Starscream: Starscream's [[TheStarscream legendary treachery]] makes a big contrast to Lugnut's UndyingLoyalty.
** Bulkhead: They're both the [[TheBigGuy biggest, strongest and least intelligent]] members of their respective teams, but where Bulkhead is a GentleGiant with HiddenDepths, Lugnut is a destructive brute with no depths seen.
** Shockwave: They're both devoted to Megatron (and have been known to brawl over who's the most loyal) but while Lugnut is [[DumbMuscle dumb as a rock]], Shockwave is loyal but ''smart''.
* GroundPunch: Lugnut often uses his [[PowerFist Punch Of Kill Everything]] in this manner, leaving enormous craters and devastating any Autobots (and unfortunate Decepticons) who happen to be in nearby.
** This can be turned against him, however. The trigger on the POKE is a BigRedButton on top that's highly sensitive. In "Megatron Rising, Part 2", Lugnut tries using the POKE against Bulkhead, but the Autobot is able to use his flail to push the button, sending Lugnut flying. In "Garbage In, Garbage Out", Wreck-Gar misinterprets Lugnut's threatening to Ratchet as the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie universal greeting]]... which in this continuity, ends in a '''high five'''.
* HeroKiller: Was responsible for the destruction of Iota Supreme.
* HiddenDepths: He displays some considerably competent leadership abilities during "Decepticon Air", and several other times he's shown to be rather cunning.
* HonorBeforeReason: "I will not hide! I will stand proudly and shout Megatron's name to the HEAVENS!"
* ImplacableMan: He's very hard to get rid of or bring down.
* LargeHam: Especially when he starts praising "The great and GLORIOUS Megatron!".
* LightningBruiser: Suprisingly fast as well as incredibly strong.
* MinionShipping: With Strika, although this is only mentioned in secondary material.
* StuffBlowingUp: He has perfected the art of making things explode. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew0RO4mNm54 Behold! The P.O.K.E!]]
* SycophanticServant: To the point where even the '''Grand and GLORIOUS''' Megatron gets tired of the praise.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: With Blitzwing. They hang out even when they aren't fighting.
* UndyingLoyalty: Taken to the extreme. He can practically make religious sermons about his great and [[MemeticMutation GLORIOUS]] leader. To the point that in the "The Trial of Megatron" reading, [[spoiler:when [[BadBoss Megatron]] is throwing a bunch of 'Cons into the Trypticon core to keep it powered, Lugnut willingly throws himself in, killing himself]].
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Blitzwing, the two often bicker and sometimes even fight with Lugnut sometimes hitting Blitzwing when he's annoyed by Random's antics or him disrespecting Megatron, but until Blitzwing's capture at the end of "Air Decepticon" the two almost always seen together and Lugnut shows of being sorry after he punched Blitzwing by mistake in "Lost and Found".
* WeaponOfChoice[=/=]AnatomyArsenal
** PowerFist: His Punch Of Kill Everything.
** RocketPunch: Or rather turns his hand into a bomb and uses a jet engine on his arm to punch things really hard.
*** Played straight against Omega Supreme in the second season finale.
* YesMan: He's always agreeing with Megatron's ideas.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Blitzwing]]
!!Blitzwing
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-aniblitzwingpromomodel_3397.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/BumperRobinson / Yuichi Nagashima

-> (Hothead): '''AUTOBOTS! I WILL CRUSH THEM INTO IRON FILINGS!'''
-> (Icy): But my orders are to retrieve the Constructicons...
-> (Random): Oooh, but I like iron filings! [[{{Squick}} Especially sprinkled on top of servo salad!]]

At first glance, Blitzwing seems to be a stoic, no-nonsense Decepticon. However, he is a master MoodSwinger, able to change from stoic to anger to insanity depending on his mood.
----
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Only the Hothead personality is based off of a previous version of Blitzwing (specifically, his G1 toy bio that describes him as a raging JerkAss), with his SplitPersonality aspect and the two extra personalities being original to ''Animated''.
* AffablyEvil: Well, a two-thirds case of this trope. Icy is coolly polite, while Random is cheerful and friendly, though neither is a "good" personality. Averted with Hothead, who's a bad-tempered asshole.
* TheAhnold: Hothead, to a degree, resembles Schwarzenegger and has a similar accent.
** Icy, meanwhile, would be "The Colonel Klink".
** While Random is, well, Random.
* TheBrute: Hothead fits the bill best, but he and Lugnut shared the role until Starscream was shown the door for his treachery. Then, he became CoDragons with Lugnut.
* BullyingADragon: Hothead thought it'd be a good idea to get up in [[HumongousMecha Omega Supreme]]'s face with threats he could ''not'' back up.
* CaptainObvious: "Curious, my electrical systems have gone offline. Which means... '''I'M FALLING! WHOA-HOHOHOHOHOHO-A!'''"
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Random is completely nuts and always says something absurd when Blitzwing switches to his face.
* CanonImmigrant: His three faces were implemented onto a ''Thrilling 30'' version of Generation One Blitzwing, while his "Random" face was used on a toy of the [[Film/{{Bumblebee}} movie]] version of the character.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Compared to how the other Cybertronian designs are more or less the same robot designs but with slightly different vehicle parts, Blitzwing had spikes on his shoulders and didn't have the large, square weapon pack on his back (His weapons just came out from his back). His wings were also smaller.
* ElementalPowers: Two out of three of his personalites have one.
** AnIcePerson: Icy has ice weapons.
** PlayingWithFire: Hothead has fire powers.
* FreudianTrio: His personalites are this.
** TheKirk: Random, albeit an insane version.
** TheMcCoy: Hothead.
** TheSpock: Icy.
* DrivenToMadness: According to AllThereInTheManual plans for Season 4, it would've been explained that Blitzwing is a MoodSwinger due to the experimentation that turned him into a Triple-Changer by Blackarachnia.
* GigglingVillain: Random is constantly laughing.
* GogglesDoNothing: He has goggles on his helmet that are never used.
* HairTriggerTemper: Say anything that sets him off and he'll switch to Hothead.
* HeroKiller: Was responsible for the destruction of Kappa Supreme.
* HighClassGlass: Icy has the appearance of this thanks to one of his optic sensors being big and round like a monocle.
* HotBlooded: Hothead is very passionate and ill-tempered.
* {{Jerkass}}: "Hothead" is a lot more confrontational than Blitzwing's other two faces.
* [[LanternJawOfJustice Lantern Jaw Of Injustice]]: Hothead's got the only chin in the universe that can compete with Sentinel Prime's.
* LargeHam: Hothead and Random are ''always'' yelling at the top of their vocal processor.
* LaughablyEvil: "Random" is very humorous due to how insane and wacky he is.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: He often fires a barrage of missiles.
* ManipulativeBastard: Upon meeting Mixmaster and Scrapper he is quick to manipulate them into taking materials that he and Lugnut had stolen, and to work for the Decepticons.
* MoodSwinger: Thanks to being turned into a Triple-Changer by Blackarachnia.
* PerpetualFrowner: Icy and Hothead are constantly frowning.
* PersonalityPowers: Icy and Hothead are ice/jet and fire/tank respectively, while his Random persona can use both. His big weakness is that it's involuntary - if you can get him to, say, switch from Icy to Hothead when he's in jet mode, [[TrickingTheShapeshifter he'll have no choice but to turn into a tank]] [[GravityIsAHarshMistress while still in midair.]]
* PragmaticVillainy: Unlike Lugnut he has no issues working with Lockdown, knowing the hunting skills of the bounty hunter, prefers to avoid confrontations with human policemen as he wanted to know their numbers and strength before a fight and quickly recognizes the usefulness of the Constructicons just after meeting them.
* PutOnABus: He's brought to Cybertron as a prisoner at the end of ''Decepticon Air,'' and consequently is absent in the GrandFinale, unlike the rest of the Decepticon main cast.
* RedOniBlueOni: The passionately aggressive Hothead is the red to the stoic Icy's blue. They are even literally red and blue respectively.
* {{Shoulder Cannon}}s: He has cannons in his shoulders.
* SlasherSmile: Random's default expression is a manic grin.
* SplitPersonality: Icy and Hothead actually argued over a vehicle mode choice (the former wanted a jet while the latter preferred a tank). Random then [[TakeAThirdOption chose both]].
* TheStoic: Icy is a lot less emotional than Hothead and Random.
* TankGoodness: Transforms into a tank as one of his altmodes.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Before his capture, Blitzwing is rarely seen without Lugnut.
* TrickingTheShapeshifter: Several times Blitzwing is tricked into switching to his tank mode while still in mid-flight in jet mode, sending him plummeting to the ground.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Lugnut, the two often bicker and fight and Blitzwing is generally annoyed by Lugnut's obsessive loyalty to Megatron and only follow him reluctantly, but the two are rarely seen without each other and Blitzwing still follows Lugnut's lead no matter how much it annoys him.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: WordOfGod is that he was "different" before becoming a triple-changer.
** ''The [=AllSpark=] Almanac'' elaborated further: Blackarachnia experimented on him and made him a triple-changer. He may have been different before, but that had to have pushed him over the edge.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Blackarachnia]]
!!Elita-One / Blackarachnia
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-finalaniblackarachnia_7755.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elita_one_tfa.png[[/labelnote]] to see her as Elita-One.]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CreeSummer / Creator/RyokaYuzuki

--> ''"It'll be a long time before I ever trust another Autobot. ''Especially'' you, Optimus."''

Formerly Elita-1 -- Optimus and Sentinel's best friend -- Blackarachnia joined up with the Decepticons to find a cure for her cursed techno-organic form. Though she uses her spider abilities to her advantage, she can't stand her hideous appearance and is desperate for a cure. She tends to use her beauty to seduce those around her to get what she wants -- just... don't look under the helmet. She's currently stuck in an unknown jungle with Waspinator.
----
* AdaptationalOriginConnection: The original Blackarachnia was a Maximal protoform transformed into a Predacon for a time before she made a HeelFaceTurn, with no connection to Optimus Prime other than learning of Beast Wars Megatron's plot to kill him (and later working with Prime's descendant, Optimus Primal). Here, she and Prime were both cadets at the Autobot Academy, and have an implied romantic past.
** Additionally, had there been a fourth season, her connection to the Predacons would have changed from being forced into the faction, to ''founding'' the entire faction.
* AdaptationalVillainy: ''Beast Wars'' Blackarachnia had a HeelFaceTurn because of LoveRedeems, and wasn't evil by her own choice as she was the result of the Predacons tampering with a Maximal protoform, while Elita-One from the original series was always good. Here, she has a DarkAndTroubledPast that may possibly justify her FaceHeelTurn, though she's done some undeniably evil things.
* AdvertisedExtra: Despite her importance to Optimus and Sentinel's backstory, and receiving top billing, the Dinobots, who are recurring characters at best, make far more appearances than her. It's almost acknowledged later on, as by Season 3, her spot on the Decepticon main cast is taken by [[TheMole Shockwave]], who makes far more appearances over the course of the show than her.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: In-universe. After being transwarped by Waspinator's explosion by containing it, Optimus thinks she did it as a HeroicSacrifice. Sentinel, on the other hand, thinks she did it to escape. We're not entirely sure either.
* AmbiguousSituation: The last we see of her is being transwarped to a jungle area with giant wildlife from Earth, but it's unknown if she's still on Earth or a similar world. In this franchise, if it's a similar world, [[EarthAllAlong it usually turns out to indeed be Earth]]. AllThereInTheManual states that Blackarachnia and her Predacons would've stepped in to help the Autobots protect Earth at the end of Season 4, pointing towards her being on Earth since she would have little incentive to do so if she wasn't on Earth.
* AntiVillain: All she really wants is to be cured of her techno-organic form.
* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: She has spider-like traits, even in robot mode.
* BuildingSwing: She gets around by swinging on her webbing.
* CombatStilettos: Oddly, she only has these ''after'' becoming part-organic.
* CompositeCharacter: She's a combination of the original Blackarachnia from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' and Elita-One from ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''.
* CorruptTheCutie: Her transformation from Elita-1 after being mistakenly LeftForDead with the giant spiders. Also doubling as her StartOfDarkness.
* DarkActionGirl: She's a female villain and every bit as formidable as the other Decepticons.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Elita used to be a promising Autobot Academy student and a friend of Optimus & Sentinel, but a reckless trip to find energon on a planet that was deemed off-limits by the Elite Guard due to its dangers led to her supposedly being killed in a freak accident. Optimus and Sentinel are forced to leave her for dead, and after attempting to use her [[PowerCopying downloading powers]] on the native giant spiders, she mutated into a techno-organic. [[TheyWouldCutYouUp Unable to return home]], she chose to join the Decepticons.
* DatingCatwoman: She and Prime have some sort of romantic tension, but while both hold regrets over what might have been, neither of them seem willing to act on it, unlike the TropeNamer.
* DistractedByTheSexy: She plays it up for the male bots.
* EnemyMine: How much she and the others consider each other "enemies" by then is [[HeelFaceTurn currently]] [[RedemptionRejection unk]][[IChooseToStay nown]], but she and her Predacons would've worked together with the Autobots to defend Earth from Megatron's invasion.
* EverybodyHasStandards: When Sentinel learns about her techno-organic state, being the xenophobe he is, ''he'' has more issues about it than she does, leading to her cutting him off and saying that it's bad, not ''that'' bad. Considering Season 4 would've provided closure on her character arc, it's possible this was {{foreshadowing}} that she would [[IAmWhatIAm come to terms with herself]].
-->'''Sentinel:''' I just never knew, never imagined that something this... unspeakable could have happened to you. [[InnocentlyInsensitive How can you even live like that?!]] [[UpToEleven It's horrible! It's disgusting!]]\\
'''Blackarachnia:''' Okay, okay, I get it! It's bad, but it's not ''that'' bad, all right?!\\
'''Sentinel:''' No. It's worse. [[MoodWhiplash You]] [[IWishedYouWereDead should have gone offline.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: After being left behind by Optimus and Sentinel, she joined the Decepticons.
* FallenHero: She used to be an Autobot before her transformation.
* FantasticRacism: Or a victim of such. She left the Autobots rather than risk [[TheyWouldCutYouUp being strapped to a lab table]], and she’s disgusted that she’s part-organic.
** Also, a self-inflicted example: she can't stand being part-organic.
* FauxActionGirl:
** Her evil schemes very often ended with her needing to be rescued as well as, or rather than, her victims.
** In ''The Arrival'' she defeats ''Lockdown''... by playing possum then stinging him with her cyber-venom once he's distracted.
* FemmeFatale: She's very attractive and manipulates everyone to suit her own agenda.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Implied to be this among the Decepticons; Blitzwing at least expresses distaste for both her [[DeadpanSnarker demeanor]] and her techno-organic status. Considering she never associates with the core Decepticons after ThePilot, the feeling's probably mutual.
* GiantSpider: And unlike her ''Beast Wars'' version, her spider mode is the same size as the ones she gained it from.
* IAmAMonster: Thanks to a combination of Cybertronian anti-organic prejudice, the trauma of her transformation and the fact she is kind of disfigured looking, she's really, ''really'' not happy about her present state.
* IChooseToStay: It is implied by information about Season 4 that she would've stayed with her Predacons and there is at least some closure with the bots she had ties with.
* IGaveMyWord: She pulls a PoisonAndCureGambit on Optimus's team to force him to do something for her. Optimus completes his end of the bargain, but everything else goes wrong. Despite [[RedemptionRejection rejecting Optimus's offer to help her again]], she still leaves a cure for the poison behind, continuing to give evidence to Optimus that she could be redeemed one day.
* IveComeTooFar: Implied. When Waspinator is about to explode, she rejects Optimus's help once again and contains the explosion while still inside, saying that she's going to ''have'' to leave him and Sentinel, implying that she believes it's too late for her to be saved.
-->'''Optimus:''' This time, we're not leaving without you!\\
'''Blackarachnia:''' This time, I am!
* MadScientist: Not only regarding techno-organics; [[AllThereInTheManual The [=AllSpark=] Almanac]] states that she rebuilt Blitzwing into a triple-changer sometime after the Great War.
* MeaningfulName: Elita-1's name, at least. Received from Kup alongside Optimus and Sentinel in boot camp due to her snobby and "elitist" attitude.
* MinorMajorCharacter: Though she ended up not being a part of the main cast, she still plays a large role in the show's lore, including Optimus and Sentinel's DarkAndTroubledPast that continues to have effects in the present day, being responsible for the creation of triple-changing (which Blitzwing, and had Season 4 come, Megatron, would use), and had Season 4 come, the creation of one or possibly two new (sub-?)factions formed by techno-organics she created.
* MythologyGag:
** Her HeelFaceTurn in ''Beast Wars'' was caused by [[LoveRedeems her love for Silverbolt]]. A couple of times, it seems that her ShipTease with Optimus would be the key to her redemption, but is actually just her being a FemmeFatale.
** In Season 4, her new design would've been based off of her first design in ''Beast Wars'', having spent the rest of the show using a design based off of her Transmetal form from later in ''Beast Wars''.
** Her head design as Elita-One is based off of Ariel, Elita's previous identity in ''Generation 1'' before being reformatted. Meanwhile, the rest of her body is based off of ''Generation 1'' Elita's body.
* NeverMyFault: Has elements of this in her attitude; Optimus may have been the one to assume she was dead and leave her behind, but it was (presumably) Sentinel's idea to go to Archa-Seven in the first place, and she was willing to go along in the first place -- she and Sentinel convinced Optimus to come, not the other way around. There's also the little detail that she ended up being mutated because she ignored Optimus' warnings not to try and use her copying powers on organics.
* PowerCopying: Her original special power was the ability to download and temporarily replicate the powers of other transformers. Trying to use this on Energon-infused alien spiders turned her into what she is now. She still has the power, though she doesn't use it very often.
* PrimaryColorChampion: Elita was primarily yellow with blue, while Sentinel is blue with yellow and Optimus is red with blue. After her mutation, yellow (or gold, that is) is the only part of her color scheme that stays.
* RedemptionRejection: Refuses to take Optimus's offers to help her if she stays, bitterly citing that it'll be a long time until she trusts Autobots again, ''especially'' Optimus. Season 4 information isn't clear if she ever does redeem herself.
* SealedEvilInACan: "Black Friday" reveals she washed up on the shore of Dinobot Island after the Season 1 finale. Because of her organic nature, she can't simply swim back to the mainland. Prometheus Black's laboratory, however, gives her a reason to not want to leave. After the events of the episode, it was left unclear if she left, but "Predacons Rising" confirms that she did stay, and Optimus presumably knew and let her be.
* ShipTease: [[UnresolvedSexualTension With Optimus]]. Might just be a result of her being a FemmeFatale.
* StagesOfMonsterGrief:
** '''Denial:''' Though it's pretty hard to pretend that she isn't techno-organic, she believes that once she gets rid of her organic half, everything will be fine and dandy, ignoring the fact that she's cut ties with everything from her past life, [[NowWhat so she has nothing to return to]].
** '''DrivenToSuicide:''' Never explicitly stated, but Optimus implies that he thinks she performed a HeroicSacrifice on Wasp at the end of "Predacons Rising" because [[DeathSeeker she wanted to die]].
** '''Defiance:''' She holds a grudge against Optimus, Sentinel, and the Autobots for not going back for her as well as the fact that [[TheyWouldCutYouUp they would've cut her up]] if they ''did'' go back for her.
** '''[[IAmWhatIAm Acceptance:]]''' The extent of this is unknown, but from what we know of Season 4, she would've continued making Predacons, but instead of doing it for experimental purposes, it would be so that she had her own army. The intended series finale would've had her and her Predacons do an EnemyMine with Team Prime, a possibility being that she got over her self-hatred and anger.
* [[ThatManIsDead That Bot Is Dead]]: "It's ''Blackarachnia'' now!"
* TheyWouldCutYouUp: Considering Autobot attitudes towards organics, she probably has a point as to why she won't go back to them. Meltdown also attempts this on her, but Optimus stops him in time.
* TragicVillain: She used to be close friends with Optimus and Sentinel, but now she's a Decepticon who outright loathes the Autobots.
* TwoGirlsToATeam: She and Strika are the ''only'' female Decepticons that were properly in the ranks. Though Blackarachnia later goes rogue, like Slipstream, who was never properly ranked.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Despite showing anger towards Optimus and Sentinel, when she's alone at the end of "Along Came A Spider" after her RedemptionRejection, she cries, with the Japanese dub adding her whispering "I'm sorry.", suggesting that she really does wish she could go back to the Autobots.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: She definitely deserves sympathy because of the trauma she's been through that made her techno-organic.
* WouldHurtAChild: Doesn't care that using the Key on herself is harming every organic nearby, including Sari, and then proceeds to throw Sari off of a building in an attempt to distract Optimus. She later tries to hurt Sari in the Season 1 finale.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shockwave]]
!!Shockwave/Longarm Prime
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-tfa_shockwave_4206.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfa_longarm.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see Longarm Prime]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CoreyBurton / Creator/NobuyukiHiyama

-->''"That's the beauty of activation codes. They wipe clean of all that unpleasant morality."''

Shockwave is a Decepticon spy taking on the form of Autobot Longarm Prime. When rumors of a spy were floating around Autoboot camp, Longarm secretly plotted for Wasp to take the fall, succeeding admirably. He later becomes leader of Cybertronian Intelligence and uses his position to spy for the Decepticons. He gloatingly reveals himself to Bumblebee in the season two finale, only for Megatron's space-bridge plan to fail, leaving him terrified of discovery. Shockwave eventually attacks and severely damages Ultra Magnus, stealing his hammer in the process.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: Shockwave's inclusion came from a conversation between Corey Burton and the creators of ''Animated'' about how Shockwave didn't get to do much in the original cartoon. As such, while this Shockwave appears less, he accomplishes ''far'' more, including taking down several prominent Autobots and dealing several hard blows after infiltrating their ranks, compared how the original Shockwave would get clobbered every time the Autobots used the space bridge he was meant to guard.
* BaitTheDog: Longarm seems like a NiceGuy, as the only one in the Autoboot camp besides Bulkhead who isn't a jerk to Bumblebee and is actively supportive of him. Then it turns out that he is a Decepticon spy who assisted Bumblebee in arresting an innocent bot to draw suspicion away from himself.
* {{BFG}}: His main weapon.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Presents himself as a NiceGuy as Longarm and is an old pal of Bumblebee, and turns out to be a ruthless spy for the Decepticons.
* BondVillainStupidity: When it seems that Team Optimus is defeated, Shockwave decides to rub it in Bumblebee and Bulkhead's faces by revealing that he had tricked them--he, as Longarm, was the ''real'' spy. Team Optimus ends up getting bailed out and connection to Earth is lost, leading to Shockwave's increasing paranoia over being discovered in the following episodes once the Elite Guard attempts to contact Earth again.
* CanonCharacterAllAlong: He first appears as an Autobot named Longarm, who seems to be an original character created for the series, before it is revealed that he is a Decepticon spy named Shockwave, who is an established character in ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''.
* CardCarryingVillain: While on his way to kidnap Arcee in order to get access to the Project Supreme activation codes, he mocks to Ratchet that the heroic weapons the Autobots used to win the Great War will now fall into the hands of the Decepticons, but now "wiped clean of all that unpleasant morality".
* CompositeCharacter: His DoubleAgent gimmick and ability to transform into another identity is similar to ''G1'' character Punch, just aligned with the Decepticons. His design also takes cues from both the original Shockwave and ''Anime/TransformersArmada'' Megatron.
* CoDragons: With Lugnut after Starscream is ousted. Shockwave's stint as a double agent makes him one of Megatron's most valuable lieutenants.
* CreepyMonotone: As Shockwave, he speaks with little emotion. (Though he does show ''some'' emotion a few times such as being in fear of having his cover exposed or proudly bowing to Megatron.)
* CyberCyclops: He even quotes [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey HAL 9000]] in season 3.
* DeepCoverAgent: He disguises himself as an Autobot named Longarm Prime to infiltrate the Autobots.
* DevilInPlainSight: Spent several decades, if not longer, worming his way up the Autobot chain of command, and no-one was the wiser.
* DropTheHammer: He steals the Magnus Hammer after almost killing its owner. Ratchet retrieves it in "This Is Why I Hate Machines".
* EveryoneHasStandards: Implied. After learning that Arcee was a schoolteacher before the war, he says it regrettably, suggesting that he pities her for being a public servant turned into an espionage agent and casualty of war.
* EvilBrit: Corey Burton uses the same Creator/DavidWarner impression that he used for Shockwave in the ''G1'' cartoon.
* [[EvilCostumeSwitch Eviler Color Switch]]: He celebrates his reunion with Megatron by switching to his G1 colours.
* FalseFriend: To Bumblebee during their academy days.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of "Where Is Thy Sting?". He forces [[BeingEvilSucks Wasp to play the main antagonist]] of said episode to keep the Earth Autobots busy with a SpotTheImposter situation and at the end escapes with Ultra Magnus's hammer after pounding Magnus to death with his own hammer.
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Blurr hadn't told anyone on Cybertron that Shockwave was among the ranks of the Autobots, resulting in him nearly getting murdered. Though he survives and gets better, he's too late by the time he’s brought back, with Ultra Magnus being another victim of Shockwave.
* HeroKiller: He nearly killed Blurr ([[AllInTheManual who actually survived being crushed]]) and had the series continued, his attack on Ultra Magnus would've proven fatal. He also murdered Highbrow for the job of Head of Cybertron Intelligence in the past.
* InTheHood: His head's shape and one eye glowing on a dark panel visually evokes a face hidden under a hood.
* ItsPersonal: Bumblebee and Bulkhead are the ones that take him down in the series finale.
* TheKingslayer: If the series had continued, Ultra Magnus would've succumbed to the injuries he'd inflicted on him.
* KnightOfCerebus: Unlike many other Decepticons in the show, he has little to no humorous quirks to balance out how frightening and serious he is. Though during the series finale, [[NotSoAboveItAll he can be heard bickering childishly with Lugnut.]]
** As mentioned under HeroKiller, He also has the highest body-count of the main Decepticons; he [[BackFromTheDead (temporarily)]] killed Blurr onscreen, supplementary material reveals he killed Autobot Intelligence Director Highbrow so that "Longarm" could take his place, and had the series continued, the wounds he inflicted on Ultra Magnus would've proven fatal.
* LiteralMetaphor: When he reunites with Megatron towards the end of season 3, he expresses relief at being able to serve his leader "under [his] true colors". His color scheme then shifts from gray to purple, the color he's traditionally depicted being.
* MeaningfulName: For his Longarm persona. Received his alongside Wasp, Bumblebee, etc. from Sentinel due to... exactly what his name says.
* TheMole: He infiltrates the Autobots as Longarm Prime.
* {{Mondegreen}}: The subtitles for “Autoboot Camp” claim his name is Chugway.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Shockwave ultimately proves to be his own undoing by blaming Wasp for the space bridge attacks.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: He has one giant red eye and isn’t as armored as the other Decepticons. The strange red circle on Longarm’s forehead as well as his weird scuba-brace tips off that something isn't completely right about him.
** In one of the tie-in comics, [[TheCameo Whirl]] ([[https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/thumb/5/5a/BotsofScience-moveout.jpg/300px-BotsofScience-moveout.jpg the Autobot on the bottom right]]) is also a cyclops, which seems to point at cyclop-type Cybertronians not being too uncommon. [[SchrodingersCanon Unless]] you want to take the [[BodyHorror explanation]] from [[ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise the IDW]] [[ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye comics]]...
* NoSell: [[VillainousBreakdown After getting defeated]] by Bumblebee and Bulkhead, he tries transforming into Longarm to get them to show mercy while he reaches for a blaster to backstab them. They sarcastically show mercy before they crush his weapon.
* NotSoAboveItAll:
** As Longarm, he and the others laugh at Bulkhead wanting to be a certified space bridge technician. Doubles as KickTheDog, along with everyone else.
** He seems to be annoyed with doing transform-ups as punishment for Bumblebee's constant blunders while in boot camp as Longarm.
** He gets into a petty fight with Lugnut over who is more loyal to Megatron, and later laughs at him when he falls over while they're constructing copies of Omega Supreme.
* PetTheDog: The way he comments to Megatron that Arcee used to be a school teacher before the war suggests he may feel bad for her.
* RubberMan: His shapeshifting ability allows him to extend his limbs. Unlike most examples, since he’s a robot made of metal, he’s not elastic-like.
* SecretIdentity: It's his secret that he and Longarm Prime are one and the same.
* ShoutOut:
** With his grey and purple coloring, antler-like comm antennae, extensible arms & sinister mono-eye, he's a dead ringer for [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Perfect Zeong]].
** At the end of his report of the events of "[=TransWarped=]" in AllThereInTheManual, he says that "I am determined that, should I be revealed, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_not_go_gentle_into_that_good_night I will not go peaceably into that dark night.]]"
** The inspiration for him was characters like the Horned King from ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' and the Grim Reaper -- scary and hooded, like an angel of death.
** His much colder and more emotionless demeanor is similar to that of [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey HAL 9000]], even quoting the A.I. in "This Is Why I Hate Machines".
* SixthRanger: After his stint as TheMole is over, he rejoins Megatron's team at the end of Season 3, temporarily replacing Blitzwing until Season 4.
* TankGoodness: As Shockwave, he can turn into a tank.
* TinmanTypist: He uses his fingers to interface with computer systems.
* UndyingLoyalty: He's just as devoted to Megatron as Lugnut is, though he's generally far more subdued in expressing it.
* VillainousBreakdown:
** Approaches this by the time people have found him out, worrying that Team Optimus will reveal his identity to the Elite Guard soon. He resorts to assassinating Ultra Magnus before running off.
** Has another in the series finale when Bumblebee and Bulkhead defeat him. Out of desperation, he transforms into Longarm and tries to get buddy-buddy with them while he reaches for his blaster to backstab them. He takes their [[SarcasmMode refusals to hurt him]] seriously and looks away indignant after Bulkhead sees him reaching for his blaster and destroys it.
* VocalEvolution: Burton, who's obviously been improving his Creator/DavidWarner impression, delivers a more whispery and soft-spoken voice for Shockwave compared to the G1 cartoon, where he bordered on NoIndoorVoice.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Moreso than the other Transformers. In addition to the standard alt mode, he's a master of disguise.
* WorthyOpponent: Admits this much to Ratchet during “This Is Why I Hate Machines”.
[[/folder]]

!!Other Decepticons

[[folder:Soundwave]]
!!Soundwave
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soundwave.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffBennett / Creator/NobuoTobita

-->''"I am Soundwave. I am Decepticon. The revolution begins now."''

Soundwave was another of Megatron's attempts to regain a body during his tenure as a talking head. He presented the plans to Isaac as a walking music player he could give Sari for her birthday, anticipating that Sari would use the Key on it and programming Soundwave to upgrade into a specific form. What he didn't expect was that Soundwave would become sentient, although he was only too willing to take up the Decepticon emblem.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: ''Animated'' Soundwave possesses certain abilities his G1 counterpart does not such as being able to control machines and humans to do his bidding.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Soundwave's defining trait in G1 is his UndyingLoyalty to Megatron. Here, while Megatron is the reason for Soundwave turning to villainy, he mostly acts on his own agenda rather than taking orders from Megatron.
* AdaptedOut: Ravage, Rumble, Buzzsaw, and Frenzy aren't part of his lineup, and it's unclear if he ever would have gotten them.
* AIIsACrapshoot: Megatron created him to serve as a test body, but he became sentient and started going about his own agenda. Then again, Megatron wanted it to happen, and he was still able to make it work to his advantage.
* ArcVillain: Of the "Human Error" two-parter.
* TheAssimilator: After Soundwave was upgraded to the point he became self-aware, he quickly brainwashed dozens of smaller robots and merged with them into his current form.
* CoolShades: He appears to wear angular sunglasses, but like Prowl and Grimlock before him, it's possible that his optic sensors just look like angular sunglasses because of how they are shaped.
* CreepyMonotone: He speaks in a sinister and robotic voice that's devoid of emotion.
* DemotedToExtra: Unlike in ''Generation 1'', he's not an official member of the Decepticons and mostly does his own thing akin to a [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villain of the Week]]. Even when he's under Megatron's command, he manages to ''use'' him for his own goals too. However...
** AscendedExtra: He does get upgraded to ArcVillain status in the "Human Error" two-parter. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Had the show been renewed for Season 4, he would've joined Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons full-time.]]
* DevilInPlainSight: He obviously looks a little sinister and yet no civilians get the hint that he's evil.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Megatron intended him to break him free from Sumdac labs. Soundwave instead chose to go with his own ambition of overthrowing the human race.
* FantasticRacism: He is very contemptuous of human beings.
* FromASingleCell: A variant. After many of his defeats, he's reduced to a tiny piece of hardware [[MythologyGag identical to his G1 cassette player mode]] and rebuilds himself later. The first time he gets away because everyone thought he was destroyed, the second [[VillainExitStageLeft he's carried away by Laserbeak.]]
* GlassCannon: Despite his all-too-threatening abilities, Soundwave isn't really that tough. Both Bulkhead and Optimus were able to demolish him easily once they got past his defenses. Justified, because Soundwave is composed of earth machines, in contrast to natural Cybertronians.
* ItCanThink: Sari upgraded him so many times that Soundwave developed a will of his own.
* MachineMonotone: His voice sounds very robotic.
* MadeOfPlasticine: Due to making his body out of Earth-born materials, Soundwave is far less durable than the other Decepticons.
* MakeMeWannaShout: After being upgraded by Sari's key, he gains a pair of loudspeakers on his shoulders that emit sonic blasts.
* ManipulativeBastard: You know someone is cunning when they manage to play ''Megatron'' for a chump.
* MusicalAssassin: Complete with two [[InstrumentOfMurder Instruments of Murder]]. Laserbeak is a guitar, Ratbat a keytar.
* MythologyGag: His core is designed to resemble his original cassette mode.
* ThePowerOfRock: He uses rock music as a weapon.
* RobotWar: Tries to start one, but it only works when he makes them rise up.
* SixthRanger: Would've officially joined Megatron and the Decepticons in Season 4.
* ShoutOut: His behavior and goals are eerily similar to that of ComicBook/{{Ultron}}.
* {{Technopath}}: He can control other robots.
* TookALevelInBadass: He was a serious menace in his first appearance, but in Season 3 he acquires his instrument minions, Ratbat and Laserbeak, and extends the reach of his hypnosis to Cybertronians and humans.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: After he becomes self-aware, he takes no time at all to decide that humans should serve machines instead of the other way around. When Megatron lies to him that the Autobots are traitors who willingly serve humans, he's baffled by the idea that a robot would ''choose'' to do so.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Scrapper & Mixmaster]]
!!Scrapper and Mixmaster
[[quoteright:263:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfascrapper.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:263:Scrapper]]
[[quoteright:263:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mixmaster_animated.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:263:Mixmaster]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffBennett (Mixmaster) and Creator/TomKenny (Scrapper) / Daiki Nakaruma (Mixmaster) and Masashi Endō (Scrapper)

-->'''Mixmaster:''' Who puts the "crude" in "crude oil"?\\
'''Scrapper:''' Mixmaster and Scrapper, that's who!

Two 'bots brought to life by [=AllSpark=] fragments, Mixmaster and Scrapper (known as the Constructicons) want two things: hot cars and oil. Though Bulkhead tries his best to befriend them, their minds drift right back into trouble just searching for those two things. They later join the Decepticon side by building Megatron a space bridge in exchange for oil. They're later caught in a massive explosion alongside their boss, Dirt Boss, but only Scrapper is currently shown to be alive. The whereabouts of the other two are unknown. During their separation, Scrapper ended up on Dinobot Island, befriended Snarl, and briefly joined the "Subtitute Autobots", with poor effects.
----
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Compared to their original villainous iterations, or their monstrous movie versions, these guys are surprisingly affable and friendly. That is, when they aren't acting like party animals (er, bots).
* AdaptedOut: The rest of the Constructicons (Hook/Hightower, Long Haul, Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Rampage, Skipjack, Overhaul) don't appear with them. As there were plans to have Devastator in Season 4, it's possible more of them might have been introduced.
* TheAlcoholic: Pretty much always drinking oil, which is treated as a GRatedDrug for alcohol.
* AffablyEvil: Even after their FaceHeelTurn, they get along surprisingly well with Bulkhead (when they remember him, that is).
* CombiningMecha: They, along with Dirt Boss and the newly added Constructicons, would've been able to combine into Devastator in Season 4.
* CompositeCharacter: Scrapper has Scavenger's excavator mode, and Bonecrusher's tread legs and loader chest.
* ConstructionCatcalls: They have the appearance of construction workers and sometimes hit on cars as if they were beautiful women.
* EvilCostumeSwitch: Their initial appearances had them in the Construction vehicle colors, yellow grey and pale green with yellow eyes. After undergoing Decepticon branding their eyes change from yellow to red, their color schemes go to lime green and purple and Mixmaster gains some red accents.
* FatAndSkinny: Mixmaster and Scrapper, respectively.
* FluffyTamer: Somehow, Scrapper was able to make the Dinobot Snarl his pet.
* TheLancer: Scrapper is this to Sari in the team of "Substitute Autobots".
* LineOfSightName: Thanks to the name tag on Mix's vehicle mode and a pile of, well, scrap.
* NeutralNoLonger: They start out as unaffiliated before joining the Decepticons.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Mixmaster's voice is an imitation of Creator/JoePesci (which helps in the WholePlotReference [[Film/HomeAlone "Sari, No One's Home"]]).
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: They don't even know what Cybertron is. They just joined the Decepticons for the oil.
* OnlySaneMan: Scrapper is able to figure out Sari's trying to trap them in "Sari, No One's Home". Mixmaster tells him to shut up, and then they go through a HumiliationConga.
* PlumbersCrack: They somehow have gluteal clefts.
* PoisonousFriend: When they first come online, their rowdy behavior leads the other Autobots to think of them as this to Bulkhead.
* PunchClockVillain: They'd probably work for Optimus instead if he offered them oil. Though not so much after they join the 'cons. It takes some sweet-talking from Bulkhead to get them to help him with something.
* SiblingTeam: [[WordOfGod According to Wyatt]], they are brothers.
* SkewedPriorities: Even after their closest friend Bulkhead informs them of Megatron and the Decepticons really being the bad guys, Scrapper and Mixmaster choose to side with the Decepticons simply because their oil is better than the Autobots'.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Scrapper is definitely the kindest member of the Constructicons. Sari is even able to recruit him into helping the Autobots.
* ThisIsADrill: Scrapper's primary weapons.
* ThoseTwoGuys[=/=]ThoseTwoBadGuys: They're inseparable both as neutral Cybertronians and as Decepticons.
* {{Toyless Toyline Character}}s: Neither of them got a toy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dirt Boss]]
!!Dirt Boss
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/animateddirtboss1.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' John Mariano / Tetsuo Gotō

--> ''"What're you cogs lookin' at? You wanna piece 'a me? Try it and you'll be goin' to the scrapyard in a crankin' box!"''
---> -- His ''first words''.

Mixmaster and Scrapper's self-appointed boss, also a product of an [=AllSpark=] fragment (combined with a damaged Headmaster unit and a forklift). He is a no-nonsense, strict and nasty piece of work who keeps the Constructicons busy.
----
* CanonImmigrant: While there were other characters in the franchise that had the name "Dirt Boss" (specifically from ''Armada'' and ''Cybertron'', this one was designed to be entirely different from those two. A version similar to him would even appear in media for ''Revenge of the Fallen''.
* CombiningMecha: They, along with Dirt Boss and the newly added Constructicons, would've been able to combine into Devastator in Season 4.
* EvilCostumeSwitch: Averted. Unlike the other Constructicons, Dirt Boss was born into his Decepticon colors and insignia.
* HairTriggerTemper: "You got a PROBLEM?!"
* TheNapoleon: He was plotting to take over Detroit minutes after being created, and doesn't take kindly to anyone contradicting him. He also doesn't like people pointing out his height.
* NeverFoundTheBody: Scrapper survived the oil rig's explosion, but Dirt Boss and Mixmaster never showed up again. According to Wyatt, they 'exploded away'. The AAII says they're alive, and working on [[CombiningMecha something called 'Devastator']].
* OneShotCharacter: Only appears in the episode "Three's A Crowd". If there had been a fourth season, he would have made another appearance.
* PeoplePuppets: Capable of taking over other robots' bodies.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Even without his drill, he is still capable of giving roundhouses that can knock over bots larger than he is.
* ShoutOut: He looks like a [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Gunmen]].
* ThisIsADrill: He fires a drill prong out of his forehead [[PeoplePuppets to take control of other robots]].
* ToylessToylineCharacter: No toy for him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lockdown]]
!!Lockdown (technically unaffiliated)
[[quoteright:249:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lockdown.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/LanceHenriksen / Akio Ōtsuka

--> ''"I know you... EMP generator, right? I'm not good with names and faces, but I never forget a trophy."''

A neutral bounty hunter, Lockdown caters to whoever pays him the most (usually the Decepticons). He is a mish-mash of different mods and body-parts and a hoarder of trophies from various 'bots he has stripped and robbed over the years. He was also a former student of Yoketron before he realized he didn't like all that spiritual crud. As his first act as a bounty hunter, Lockdown killed him and took the protoforms Yoketron was tasked to guard. He has a history with Ratchet and a rivalry with Prowl, in whom he sees a WorthyOpponent and kindred spirit.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: After Ratchet tears Optimus' grappling hook out of his arm, Lockdown begs him to use his EMP to make the pain go away. Though knowing him and seeing as he tries to attack Ratchet the second he makes a step towards him it was probably a WoundedGazelleGambit.
* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Lockdown was a student of Yoketron before he disgraced and ultimately betrayed and murdered his former teacher.
* AllThereInTheManual: ''The [=AllSpark=] Almanac'' confirms that Lockdown utilizes an Autobot shell, which adds further evidence to the possibility that Lockdown was actually an Autobot before his current form of business.
* ArchEnemy: To Prowl and especially Ratchet, due to having personal history with both.
* TheAssimilator: He takes trophies from his victims and incorporates whatever bits he likes or needs into himself. The rest go on the wall.
* BadassInANiceSuit: His design suggests a skull-like head on top of an undertaker's tuxedo.
* BaitTheDog: His second appearance is him at his most likable. He's not sympathetic by any means, but it plays up his friendly rivalry with Prowl and he's in a supporting role with Starscream as the antagonist. The episode ends with him offering Prowl a partnership and when Prowl denies him, he laughs it off and goes his own way. Then he returns in season 3 and he shows the audience the extent of his cruelty.
* BountyHunter: He captures and kills Autobots as a hired job from the Decepticons.
* CanonImmigrant: Has shown up in the ''Revenge of the Fallen'' toyline, IDW's G1 comic continuity, and the [[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction fourth live action Michael Bay film.]]
* ChainsawGood: One of his hands can become a chainsaw.
* CollectorOfTheStrange / CreepySouvenir: He states outright that collecting trophies from his victims is his favorite part of the hunt.
* CoolCar: His alt mode is a spiky muscle car.
* DeceptiveDisciple: He used to be an Autobot in the Cyber-Ninja Corps, but was expelled after 'bringing shame to it' somehow. He later killed Yoketron and stole the Corps' cache of protoforms to sell to the 'Cons.
* EvilSoundsDeep: He has a deep and sinister voice.
* EvilPaysBetter: Why he tends to work for the Decepticons, in addition to his [[PsychoForHire personality]] being a better fit for them.
* {{Expy}}: [[WordOfGod Marty Isenberg confirmed]] that Lockdown was inspired by ComicBook/DeathsHead [[note]] as a nod to this, the name of his ship is ''Death's Head'' [[/note]], and the impetus for Lockdown's creation was to make a Hasbro-owned version of the latter character.
* FaceHeelTurn: His size, car-based vehicle mode, and training with Yoketron indicate that Lockdown was an Autobot before his current line-of-work.
* FashionableAsymmetry: to represent that he has parts from former preys, each of his limbs has a different color, with a yellow right arm, a purple left arm, a metallic left leg with purple features, and his right leg is the only one that actually fits with the black and green pattern of his torso. The first figure of the character is the only one that keeps him that way (even if both arms are the same color when removing the hook hand), while later recolors and the movie versions miss the point by keeping him in more uniform color patterns, with the hook as the only asymmetrical element.
* FauxAffablyEvil: One of the scarier parts about him is how nice he acts in spite of having no qualms with dismembering robots and taking their parts.
* HookHand: One of his arms has a hook for a hand.
* IdiotBall: He ultimately terminates his partnership with Sentinel because Ramjet offered him a better deal. Putting aside the fact that a minute listening to Ramjet reveals him to be a compulsive liar, what guarantee did Lockdown have that Ramjet had any kind of capital? For a bot as business-savvy as Lockdown is, he bought into Ramjet's trickery rather easily.
* KnightOfCerebus: Has nothing comedic about him and is by far the most outright evil character in the series.
* MorphWeapon: His left arm becomes a chainsaw.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: His hook hand effectively makes him a robot pirate; early designs even had an eyepatch. What's more, he has a death motif in his undertaker look and skull-like head, and was once a ninja pupil of Yoketron - meaning he may be one of very few literal expressions of the trope depending on how you count it.
* OnceASeason: Lockdown's appearances play out like this. He shows up three times, once in each season.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Lockdown is only loyal to whoever's paying him; ''Five Servos Of Doom'' shows that he's perfectly willing to capture Decepticons for the Autobots provided the latter's pay is better.
* PsychoForHire: He does business for the Decepticons and really enjoys harvesting parts from other Cybertronians.
* RocketPunch: He used one in his first appearance; when Ratchet destroyed it, he replaced it with a HookHand.
* ShouldersOfDoom: He has very pronounced shoulders.
* TheSociopath: Lockdown sees his victims as little more than trophies, only cares about his own benefit, and has no morals whatsoever. Case in point, he murdered his own mentor and sold a large number of protoforms to Megatron.
* SoftSpokenSadist: As part of his [[FauxAffablyEvil affable façade]], Lockdown rarely raises his voice, which only underlines how evil he is.
* SpikesOfVillainy: He has spikes on his body.
* TheUnfettered: He has absolutely no scruples to prevent him from doing whatever job he is given.
* WholeCostumeReference: His color scheme is very reminiscent of [[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett]], who the creators said was part of the inspiration for Lockdown.
* WorkingForABodyUpgrade: Between taking parts from those he hunts and preferring to be paid in upgrades, Lockdown has a double dose of this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Swindle]]
!!Swindle (technically a Decepticon)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swindle.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/FredWillard / Nobutoshi Canna

--> ''"Hmmm, maybe I should help them - or maybe I should just help myself!"''

The Decepticon equivalent of a used car salesman. Swindle is a charming individual who sells weaponry and whatever business he can get his hands on - as long as he can make a profit, it doesn't matter! Voiced, fittingly enough, by the CEO of Buy & Large.
----
* AdaptedOut: The rest of the Combaticons don't appear along with him.
* AffablyEvil: Acts friendly and charming toward his clients.
* AndIMustScream: "SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy" ends with him being hauled away to be broken down to spare parts after being immobilized by Slo-Mo. He gets better.
* ArmsDealer: He sells weapons to the Decepticons.
* BadassInANiceSuit: He has a bolo tie.
* TheBarnum: He takes advantage of the other Decepticons' needs. The ''Arrival'' story "Everything Must Go" even has him scam Blitzwing and Lugnut into buying stuff to blast each other with.
* ContinuityNod / {{Homage}}: His design is noticably more angular than most ''Animated'' Cybertronians, as he was specfically designed to resemble G1 Swindle as closely as possible.
* DeflectorShields: He claims to have purchased it from the ''[[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Vok]]''.
* FaceHeelTurn: His size and vehicle mode suggest he was originally an Autobot who ([[EvilPaysBetter nominally]]) threw in with the Decepticons. The [=AllSpark=] Almanac makes this connection more explicit with Strika expressing distrust of ex-Autobots, and distrusts Swindle especially.
* GlassCannon: Very impressively armed, yet the only Decepticon Bumblebee's stingers have ever proved effective against.
* {{Hammerspace}}: The drawer built into his chest contains a transwarp frequency that leads directly to his own personal storage dimension. It's where he keeps most of his merchandice safe before offering it to potential customers.
* HellishPupils: His pupils are slit like a cat's or snake's.
* HonestJohnsDealership: Doesn't care at all about the quality of his services.
* LargeHam: He's a salesman ''and'' a showman and (according to Megatron) would sell his own motherboard to the highest bidder.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: His voice and mannerisms are based on Ron Popeil.
** NowHowMuchWouldYouPay
** ButWaitTheresMore
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: All he cares about his services is getting paid for them.
* PunchClockVillain: He's not very malicious, unless his business ventures are threatened. His joining up with Lugnut and the Decepticons in "Decepticon Air" was only to get some payment from Megatron, and he outright abandons them.
* PutOnABusToHell: At the end of his first appearance, he's put into stasis in vehicle mode and Fanzone expresses interest in sending him to a dump to be dismantled. Lockdown finds him at some point in Season 3, though he's not unfrozen until halfway through the season.
* WeaponOfChoice
** AnatomyArsenal
*** ArmCannon
*** ChestBlaster:Something resembling a futuristic [[GatlingGood gatling gun]] pops out of his chest. He's lost most of these weapons by his second appearance - possibly the police or the Elite Guard removed them - but makes up for it using his personal storage dimension.
** {{BFG}}
** MoreDakka: [[http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/2/2c/TFASwindlefullyarmed.jpg And how!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Starscream Clones]]
!!Slipstream, Ramjet, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Sunstorm, Thrust, Dirge
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomKenny (all males), Creator/TaraStrong (Slipstream) / Jin Yamanoi (all males), Creator/AtsukoTanaka (Slipstream)

--> ''"Ah, never before have I seen a more impressive group of lethal fighting machines... and pretty good-looking if I do say so myself."''

Stolen protoforms + Starscream personality mod suits + [=AllSpark=] slivers from the chunk keeping the real Starscream online = trouble (and [[HilarityEnsues hilarity]]). While they have the same weapons and speed as the original, they each represent an exaggerated (er, even more so) aspect of his personality, which makes [[DirtyCoward some]] [[SmallNameBigEgo of them]] a lot less effective than they could be. Two of them show up in ''A Fistful of Energon'', but are revealed to be walking bombs. Starscream builds five more during the season two finale for his assault on Megatron.

The second Almanac adds another two - Dirge (toy-only) and Thrust (who never showed up at all), created by Swindle to act as bodyguards. All in all, not one of his best ideas. You want them? He can let them go cheap!
----
* AdaptationalVillainy: Thundercracker represents Starscream’s ego, with all his doubts over the Decepticon cause omitted.
* AdaptationalWimp: Skywarp may not have been the most powerful of the Decepticons, but he was nowhere near as cowardly or weak, as he is the clone representing Starscream’s cowardice.
* AffablyEvil: Sunstorm tends to heap compliments and praise on even his enemies, being Starscream's sycophant side.
* AllThereInTheManual[=/=]MythologyGag: None of them are ever named in the cartoon, although if you're a fan of the original series, you can guess all but one or two based on color scheme.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: At the end of "Endgame", Slipstream would've come across Starscream's dead body and given him part of her [=AllSpark=] fragment to revive him.
-->'''Slipstream:''' Arghh, I know I'm going to hate myself for this...
* BackForTheFinale: Slipstream briefly shows up again in "Endgame", mistaking a flying Optimus Prime for Starscream and then shooting him down once she realizes her mistake. This was originally meant to set up her reviving Starscream, but ended up becoming [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse her last appearance]].
* BadFuture: Cyclonus is heavily implied to be Skywarp from a future where TheBadGuyWins -- Unicron was presumably involved and Megatron became Galvatron, who Cyclonus is completely loyal to.
* BadLiar: Ramjet, who literally can't say anything except outright contradictions.
-->'''Ramjet:''' Oh, I would ''never'' do that.
* BigNo: Skywarp lets our one of these when Lockdown drags him away to Megatron.
* BreakoutVillain: Slipstream, the female Starscream clone, was created exclusively for this series as part of Starscream's squadron, and shows up the least out of them. Due to the uniqueness of being a female Seeker, however, and fan popularity, she's since found her way into other incarnations, often separately from Starscream.
* CannotTellALie: Inverted by Ramjet, who is unable to tell the truth and can't say anything other than blatant falsehoods.
* CanonForeigner: Slipstream was created for ''Animated''.
* DarkActionGirl: Slipstream is a female clone of Starscream and just as aggressive and cunning as the original.
* DirtyCoward: Skywarp represents Starscream's cowardice.
* EnemyMine: At the end of Season 4 (and the intended series finale), Slipstream and her team of Decepticons would've worked together with the Autobots to defend Earth from Megatron's invasion.
* {{Greed}}: Dirge is this trope in spades.
* GreenEyedMonster: Thrust, the clone created late in the game according to the [=AllSpark=] Almanac II, is the embodiment of Starscream's intense envy. He pals around with Dirge, which is appropriate since their quirks more or less compliment one another.
* HazyFeelTurn[=/=]HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: They turn against Starscream and join Megatron in the fight for the space bridge in "A Bridge Too Close". And then...
** Slipstream would've revived Starscream at the end of "Endgame", but it was cut for time, leaving it unknown as to whether or not this scene is still canon. And then AllThereInTheManual states that she would've formed a Decepticon team of her own, but would've joined forces with Optimus and the Autobots to fight against Megatron in the SeriesFinale.
** Sunstorm and Ramjet decide to stick with the main Decepticons.
** Skywarp is implied to become Cyclonus, growing an UndyingLoyalty to Megatron (or Galvatron, technically).
* IdenticalTwinIDTag: Swindle eventually gives Ramjet and Sunstorm helmets ([[MythologyGag inspired by their G1 counterparts' heads]]) to tell them apart.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Poor Skywarp can't catch a break because of his cowardice.
* InformedAbility: Their bios claim they have various unique abilities based on their G1 counterparts (teleportation for Skywarp, energy absorption for Sunstorm, etc). None of these ever had a chance to appear in the cartoon.
* {{Irony}}:
** While Starscream was the TheFriendNobodyLikes, his colleagues seem to get along ''a lot'' better with his LiteralSplitPersonality clones. Probably because the only 'bot they'd pull their ChronicBackstabbingDisorder on is ''him''.
** In AllThereInTheManual, the information we're given about Cyclonus, who is implied to be a future version of Skywarp, Scalpel states that he shares similar algorithms to Starscream, which have been switched off. An implication of this is that Starscream could've ''turned off'' the LiteralSplitPersonality aspect of his clones.
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: Ramjet does this to Starscream after the latter has had his clones rebelling against him and head removed from his body by Professor Sumdac.
-->'''Ramjet:''' [[BlatantLies I will remain loyal to you forever.]] ''[kicks Starscream]''
* LiteralSplitPersonality: All of them represent an aspect of Starscream's personality (Sunstorm being his sycophant side, Thundercracker embodying his egomaniacal tendencies, Skywarp representing his cowardice, and Ramjet being the embodiment of his deceitful nature. Whatever aspect of his personality is represented by Slipstream remains unknown).
** Supposedly, WordOfGod states that they would've grown into their own individuals. It is unknown if that is officially the case, though AllThereInTheManual heavily implies that Skywarp will become Cyclonus.
* MesACrowd: They're all clones of Starscream.
* MythologyGag:
** Ramjet, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Sunstorm, Thrust, and Dirge are all nods to Starscream's PaletteSwap characters from ''Generation 1''.
** Ramjet kicking Starscream while the latter was headless is similar to how Starscream [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown kicked Megatron while he was heavily wounded]] after battling Optimus Prime in the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie original 1986 film]].
** In what is ultimately their final appearance in the show, Thundercracker and Skywarp are last seen with each other. In ''Generation 1'', it is implied that the both of them were reformatted by Unicron alongside Megatron.
** See NiceHat below.
* NiceHat: Swindle gives Sunstorm and Ramjet helmets to help him differentiate them. Doubles as a MythologyGag because the helmets make them resemble their counterparts in [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon]].
* NoNameGiven: They are not named in the show. The Japanese dub of "A Bridge Too Close" has Slipstream tell Starscream their names.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most have comedic points, but they can be quite dangerous. Sunstorm especially was effective in the Season 2 finale.
* PaletteSwap: With the exception of Slipstream, all of them are basically Starscream given a different color scheme.
* PetTheDog:
** Slipstream, despite supposedly hating Starscream enough that she would lead a betrayal against him out of [[EvilIsPetty spite]], would've revived him at the end of Season 3 with a piece of her own [=AllSpark=] fragment.
** Despite turning against Starscream to help the main Decepticons against him and the Autobots in the Season 2 finale, the Season 4 finale would've had her and her group of splinter Decepticons perform an EnemyMine with Team Prime to defend Earth against Megatron. Best guess as to why is presumably because she sees Earth as her home.
* ProfessionalButtKisser: Sunstorm will praise anyone if it will allow him to weasel his way out of getting hurt.
* RiddleForTheAges: According to WordOfGod, the aspect of Starscream that Slipstream represents is one of these.
* SchrodingersCanon: Given that Skywarp is implied to become Cyclonus after Unicron reformats him, by MythologyGag logic, you could also assume that Thundercracker (who just so happens to be accompanying Skywarp in their last appearance in the show) becomes Scourge.
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Skywarp does this when he [[OhCrap finds sees Prowl flying right behind him.]]
* SmallNameBigEgo: Thundercracker embodies Starscream's egotism, so of course he'll have an inflated opinion of himself.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Slipstream is the only female of the group.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: Slipstream. Inverted by Dirge, who ''does'' have a toy, but never appeared on the show. Thrust didn't get ''either'' and is only known to exist through supplementary material. No wonder he's envious.
** Slipstream did eventually get a toy...in the Transformers Legends line. This is a confusing example as while the tie in comic ''does'' say she's the same character having jumped dimensions (with her head specifically made to look animated style), it's a completely different toyline altogether.
* VillainousGlutton: Dirge, the one toy-only clone, represents Starscream's insatiable greed.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** It is unknown what happened to Thundercracker and Skywarp after Blurr left them behind in [="TransWarped"=]. Skywarp is implied to become Cyclonus, at least in an alternate timeline, meaning that [[UnexplainedRecovery he got better]].
** Slipstream's appearance in "Endgame" was originally written to set up her reviving Starscream. This was cut when it became clear the third season would be the last, leaving it a mystery where Slipstream went afterward (though this version of the character does appear in the multi-universe ''Transformers Legends'' comic).
* YesMan: Sunstorm will agree with anyone to get on their good side.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow: What part of Starscream's personality ''does'' Slipstream represent, anyway? Best just not to ask. Word Of God isn't being entirely serious [[http://www.formspring.me/DerrickJWyatt/q/770787093 about this.]]
[[/folder]]

!!Team Chaar

[[folder:In General]]
[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin An elite team of Decepticons stationed on the Planet of Chaar.]]
----
* AscendedExtra: Released details about Season 4 indicates they would have a larger role.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Strika]]
!!Strika
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strika.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Oooh, the Autobot Elite Guard. This should be fun."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TaraStrong / Rikako Aikawa

-->''"Victory lies in the tactics of destruction."''

A big, hulking fembot who is just as loyal to Megatron as Lugnut is. Makes sense, too -- they're married.
----
* AdaptationalVillainy: A WellIntentionedExtremist in her home continuity, Strika was loyal to Cybertron above all others even if that meant following Megatron. Here Strika's a fascist, loyal to the Decepticon ideals and their vision for Cybertron.
* BigBad: Of Team Chaar.
* BoobsOfSteel: Quite literally. Mostly because she's a BrawnHilda and that her chest literally contains [[ChestBlaster two bombs]].
* BrawnHilda: She's a very brawny woman.
* CanonImmigrant: From ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines''.
* ChekhovsGunman: She and Team Chaar lead an attack on Bulkhead's hometown during "Trial of Megatron", as seen in "The Stunticon Job".
* ChestBlaster: According to a piece of art by Derrick J. Wyatt, she literally has two bombs in her chest.
* DarkActionGirl: A formidable female Decepticon.
* DragonAscendant: After Megatron's capture in the series finale.
* GeniusBruiser: She's as cunning as she is strong.
* HuskyRusskie: She has a Russian accent.
* MythologyGag:
** Back in ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', she was romantically involved with another loyalist of Megatron.
** Said ''Beast Machines'' lover's preproduction name was "Blitzwing", which is the name of Lugnut's [[ThoseTwoGuys partner-in-crime]] in this continuity.
* RedBaron: Holds title of Megatron's "General of Destruction".
* TankGoodness: She becomes a tank-like vehicle.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: She has no toy.
* UndyingLoyalty: Almost as fanatical as Lugnut, although she does (briefly) question Megatron when he denies her a rumble with the Elite Guard.
* WeAREStrugglingTogether: According to Lugnut, she's not fond of [[ItsPersonal Blackarachnia]] and [[OpportunisticBastard Swindle]] because neither of them are truly dedicated to the Decepticon cause.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spittor]]
!!Spittor
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/transwarpedspittor1.jpg]]

-->''"Are you going to eat that?"''

A Decepticon who can suck in Autobots with his tentacles and either "eat them" or spit them out, covered in explosive slime. He's kind of horrible.
----
* AnimalMotifs: His robot and alt modes are frog-like in appearance.
* CanonImmigrant: From the ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastWars Beast Wars]]'' comics.
* CombatTentacles: Or rather, combat ''tongues''. The Almanac II calls them [[MythologyGag Legion tentacles]].
* GrievousHarmWithABody: One of his major battle tactics is to grab an opponent with his tongues, swallow them, coat them in explosive slime, and fire them at their other opponents as a living projectile.
* ThePigPen: He's not very tidy.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: There is no toy of him.
* VillainousGlutton: He always eats Autobots alive.
* TheVoiceless: He never speaks on the show.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Blackout]]
!!Blackout
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blackoutanimated1.jpg]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/BumperRobinson / Creator/KentaMiyake

-->''"Lights out."''

An extremely large Decepticon -- in fact, until the advent of Project: Omega, he was the single largest Cybertronian ever protoformed. He fought during the Great War and was essentially a one-man army.
----
* TheBrute: He's a very aggressive Decepticon.
* CanonImmigrant: Based heavily on his live-action counterpart. His transformation sound is deeper and more metallic than the other characters, very much like the movies' sound.
* DumbMuscle: He's the biggest, most heavily-armed Decepticon alive, but isn't much help without supervision. He sheepishly apologizes when Strika tells him off for accidentally shutting down the space bridge they were supposed to use.
-->''[Blackout stomps, activating his EMP and turning off the space bridge]''\\
'''Strika:''' Blackout, [[YouFool you fool!]] We need the space bridge operational.\\
'''Blackout:''' Ooh. Sorry.
* {{EMP}}: Also works in reverse.
* HeroKiller: He's one of the biggest and most feared Decepticons that was ever created.
* OneManArmy: His custom Decepticon sigil means he ''is'' the Decepticon Heavy Brigade: the rest of his unit died fighting Zeta Supreme. Blackout went on to kill ''three other'' Omega Sentinels during the War.
* PercussiveMaintenance: He can use his stomp to knock out electronics and then reactivate them by doing it again.
* VillainDecay: Only in ''The Cool'' comic. Jetfire and Jetstorm are able to easily avoid his attacks because of their speed, and then they turn into their combined mode to take him down. In the War, Blackout killed robots the size of Omega Supreme, and took down opponents both larger and smaller than him (like Rodimus).
* WeaponOfChoice
** {{Arm Cannon}}s: In his toy-only Earth form, they become [[GatlingGood gatling guns]].
** MoreDakka
** RingsOfDeath: His Earth form has an arm-mounted disc launcher.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Oil Slick]]
!!Oil Slick
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tfa_oilslick_1.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/PhilLaMarr / Atsushi Imaruoka

-->'''Rodimus Prime:''' You'll have to get past me first, Decepticreeps!
-->'''Oil Slick:''' You say that like it's a difficult thing, Autobot.

An expert chemist, Oil Slick invented the deadly weapon "cosmic rust", is a master of vehicle-to-vehicle combat and claims to have trained in Circuit-Su with an Autobot motorcycle, although he's not giving out any details.
----
* BadFuture: According to Cyclonus (who was either simply hoping it would happen or accidentally let it slip), he can't wait to see Oil Slick get offed by Galvatron.
* CanonImmigrant: He started as an unrelated sketch, got produced as a toy, made an appearance in a side-comic, and was introduced in the third season.
* CoolBike: Based on the 'Dodge Tomahawk' concept motorcycle, with a goat skull at the front.
* EpicFlail
* EvilGenius: He serves as the evil brains of Team Chaar.
* LeanAndMean: He's very skinny and also quite cruel.
* MadScientist: His expertise is in chemical warfare.
* ManipulativeBastard: A story in ''The Arrival'' had him afflicted with cosmic rust and using it to his advantage by tricking Ratchet into helping him make more of his weaponized chemical while claiming it to be an antidote for cosmic rust.
* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: A ninja robot ''chemist'', though the 'ninja' part is only mentioned in secondary material: he apparently studied Circuit-Su with Prowl. How that could happen is unclear, but there is a big gap in Prowl's past...
* PlagueMaster: His dome-helmet protects him from his own chemical weapons and poisons.
* SpikesOfVillainy: More notably in his Cybertronian mode, where he's practically covered in them.
* WeHaveReserves: In the comic where he was introduced, he tested his "Cosmic Rust" chemical in the middle of a battle, taking out soldiers from both sides. He flat-out tells Ratchet this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cyclonus]]
!!Cyclonus
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cyclonus_animated1.jpg]]

-->''Compassion is the Autobots' downfall.''

The stoic Cyclonus appeared in the skies of New Kaon in a storm of light and tachyons some time after the Great War ended, and has remained a complete mystery ever since. He has sworn loyalty to Megatron, but even that seems somehow abstract - and just who is this "Galvatron" he keeps talking about?
----
* CameFromTheSky: He first appeared when he fell out of the sky over New Kaon.
* TheDragon: He serves as Strika's second-in-command.
* DualWielding: He wields two [[CoolSword Bleedback Blades]].
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: His Almanac II bio "implies" that he's from the future and is just waiting for Megs to become Galvatron.
* FutureBadass: Like Cyclonus from G1, this one is implied to be the result of a Decepticon being reformatted, but it is unknown as to who. The implication seems to be that he's ''[[DirtyCoward Skywarp]]''.
* MysteriousPast: No information is given about his backstory in the show. As suggested in the Almanac, Cyclonus' past is more than likely everyone else's ''future''.
* MythologyGag: Him possibly being Skywarp reformatted by Unicron is a reference to him either implied to be Bombshell (whose existence in ''Animated'' is a mere cameo via AllThereInTheManual) or Skywarp before being reformatted by Unicron in various ''Generation 1'' continuities. Most interpretations go with him being Bombshell, making ''Animated'' the only case so far where he was Skywarp.
* NobleDemon: He finds Oil Slick's tactics distateful, preferring to face his enemies one-on-one.
* NoodleIncident: Apparently, he wants Galvatron's forgiveness.
* ShouldersOfDoom: He has very pronounced shoulders.
* StrawNihilist: According to his magazine bio, he believes that nothing truly matters because "the end is near".
* SwordBeam: The through-the-ground version.
* TookALevelInBadass: It's implied that he's Skywarp, the cowardly clone of Starscream, but his self-preservation algorithms from Starscream have been switched off.
* ToylessToylineCharacter: Hasbro stated that this particular incarnation never got a toy because his design was considered too similar to the ''Generation 1'' incarnation's figure in the ''Universe'' line.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Galvatron, whoever that is. The same applies to Megatron.
* VerbalTic: Apparently speaks entirely in "[[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Furmanism Furmanisms]]".
* TheVoiceless: He has no dialogue.
[[/folder]]

!Humans

[[folder:Sari Sumdac (SPOILER!)]]
!!Sari Sumdac
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/150px-sari_animated_491.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:150:[[labelnote:Click]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sari_upgrade.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see her after her upgrade.]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TaraStrong / Satomi Akesaka

-->''"Listen up, oil brain! My family needs your help, and you ''are'' going to help, get me?"''

The young daughter of Issac Sumdac, Sari is what anyone her age is; precocious and spunky. She is immediately drawn to the Autobots (especially Bumblebee) and serves as their representative and educator of Planet Earth. When she comes in contact with the [=AllSpark=], Sari's access key turned into a literal key that can fix damaged Autobots and allow her to manipulate nearly any type of machinery.

We later find out why the [=AllSpark=] chose her: Sari is really a Cybertronian protoform turned half-human, half-robot after Issac accidentally input his DNA into said protoform. Naturally, she doesn't take this well at first. Sari then gets a system upgrade that [[PlotRelevantAgeUp ages her up to a sixteen-year-old to make her more powerful]]. She continuously uses her skills in battle and later helps out during the final battle.
----
* ActionGirl: She's as useful in combat as the Autobots.
* AlliterativeName: Her first and last names both begin with S.
* AmbiguousSituation:
** It is unknown how her protoform got into Sumdac Towers. The "The Trial of Megatron" reading reveals that [[spoiler:she isn't a protoform and no one is sure of what she is. ''Not even WordOfGod came up with an explanation on what she was,'' although they also state that this would have been answered by the Season 5 finale]].
** According to Vector Prime in AllThereInTheManual, he says that something feels familiar about her.
* BadassAdorable: She's a very cute child and is also a useful ally to the Autobots.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: Post-upgrade, switching to her robot alt-mode is sufficient to protect her from the vacuum of space. Notable because Blackarachina, also a techno-organic, threw a fit about her own organic parts not being able to survive underwater long enough to reach the Autobots' sunken spaceship. Then again, maybe Sari's version is just better given its source.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Her upgrade included pop-out arm blades that can do some serious damage, as poor Bumblebee found out the hard way. Ratchet apparently had to shut most of her weapons down after she nearly overloaded.
* ButNotTooBlack: She is suppossed to be Indian, but has distinctly un-Indian facial features(possibly due to the art style), has red hair, is voiced by Creator/TaraStrong(who is white), and lacks her father's Hindi accent. Granted, she isn't fully human, but that still doesn't explain why she looks radically different from her very much Indian father.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Until her upgrade, when she gets Autobot-style eyes.
* DarkSkinnedRedhead: Her hair is red and her skin is dark brown. This may be a nod to the unnatural "neon" colors often used for beast modes in the Beast Era.
* DropTheHammer: The Almanac II even calls it a HyperspaceMallet!
* ExpressiveHair: Her pigtails sometimes droop down or stand on end to reflect her emotions.
* FieryRedhead: She's a pretty passionate young girl.
* FriendlessBackground: Because she's been homeschooled her whole life, she doesn't have any friends.
* GenkiGirl: She's very chipper and energetic.
* GirlishPigtails: She has pigtails. Even in her robot mode.
* HalfHumanHybrid: She is eventually revealed to be half-Cybertronian and born from a protoform copying her father's DNA.
* HasTwoMommies: [[UnusualEuphemism Primus]] only knows how many actual daddies she has. Isaac Sumdac plus however many it takes to make a protoform.
* JetPack: That forms out of a scooter.
* JumpedAtTheCall: She eagerly wanted to help the Autobots in their adventures from day one.
* KidAppealCharacter: She's the youngest of the main cast and provides some comic relief.
* KillerRabbit: Just ask Mixmaster and Scrapper.
* TheLoad: Averted as she is somewhat of a liaison between humans and the Autobots as well as having a key empowered by the [=AllSpark=].
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: A weapon that never made it to air.
* LukeIAmYourFather: Inverted and otherwise played with with Isaac Sumdac.
* MagicSkirt:
** Her skirt usually keeps covering her pelvic area in spite of how short it is. At one point, her leg goes right through it.
** Subverted in "[=TransWarped=]" when she is upgraded. While we see up her skirt in some scenes, it's the standard armored Cybertronian body, so it's okay.
* MissingMom: Averted - she never had one due to her 'birth'.
** Although, since the [=AllSpark=] is the source of life for all Cybertronians that would technically make the [=AllSpark=] Sari's "mother".
* MundaneUtility: There is virtually no situation in which she wouldn't use the [=AllSpark=] key to make things easier.
* PubertySuperpower: Inverted in that making herself stronger has accelerated her growth.
* RaisedByRobots: She has a robotic tutor educate her, and the Autobots pretty much serve as guardians whenever her father is missing or busy.
* RobotGirl: Before the upgrade, she could eat, sleep, cry and catch colds, but just happened to have metal under her skin and hidden palm blasters. Post-upgrade, she's still at least partly human, but has a lot more tricks.
* RoboticReveal: It is eventually revealed that she's part-Cybertronian.
* SixthRanger: At least, she was by the time of the finale. She grew into the role over the course of Season 3.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: Has a much better time getting along with giant robots than kids her age. Justified, as she was home-educated, and spent most of her time around robots anyway.
* SuperStrength: After her [=AllSpark=] upgrade, she can effortlessly lift a full oil drum with each hand, even in her human form.
* TagalongKid: She used to be this to the Autobots before she TookALevelInBadass.
* {{Technopath}}: She gains control over machines after her upgrade.
* TinmanTypist: After her upgrade, her fingers interface with whatever computer system she hacks into.
* TookALevelInBadass: She becomes a more capable ally to the Autobots than ever after her upgrade, thanks to gaining some new abilities.
* TwoferTokenMinority: Female, Indian, cyborg.
* UndeadTaxExemption: Averted. When she takes over her father's company in season 2, she's quickly ousted because there are no documents proving she legally exists. This also serves to explain why she was so sheltered. It's not that he didn't want to send her to regular schools, he simply couldn't.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: It was Sari using her key to enter her dad's lab that caused Megatron to reawaken.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Isaac Sumdac]]
!!Professor Isaac Sumdac
[[quoteright:201:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isaac_sumdac.jpg]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomKenny / Creator/TakashiNagasako

-->''[[CaptainObvious "I should be more careful when reverse-engineering alien technology."]]''

Isaac Sumdac is the head of Sumdac Systems, the business at the heart of 22nd century Detroit, which relies heavily on his "tireless mechanical helpers". He managed to create these elusive robots by reverse-engineering technology from Megatron, whose head he discovered as a teenager. When Megatron reactivated, he convinced Isaac, who had no idea he was talking to a Decepticon, to keep him a secret from the Autobots. When they found out, they weren't pleased. Megatron later kidnapped Isaac to work on his space bridge, leaving Sari to take over Sumdac Systems briefly before Porter C. Powell kicked her out. He is eventually freed - just in time for Sari to learn the truth about herself.

He is the classic absent-minded professor, forgetting to ''eat'' in order to get his robotics in tune. He is well-meaning despite it and remains a loving father to Sari.
----
* AbsentMindedProfessor: He runs his own company, but sometimes forgets to feed himself and... isn't that great at judging how trustworthy someone is.
* AdultFear: He chose to raise Sari in isolation for fear of her alien nature being discovered. When Sari finds out about this, it throws their whole relationship into question. And he almost loses her right after.
* BollywoodNerd: He's a genius inventor and Indian.
* DitzyGenius: He's a brilliant inventor, but unfortunately he's also forgetful and has poor judgment of the people who try to deceive him.
* ForgetsToEat: "When was the last time you ate?" "What is today?"
* HonestCorporateExecutive: His only real "crime" is withholding his knowledge of Megatron and designing his tech around him. Even then, he had no knowledge of what Megs was upon finding him, the legality of salvaging alien robots is probably not well established, and the only reason he didn't tell Prime decades later is out of shame.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Despite Megatron's menacing nature, aggressive tone, [[ManipulativeBastard and fairly obvious choice of words]], Isaac trusts him entirely and believes every word he says right up until it's too late.
* ManlyTears: He cries at the end of the Season 1 finale when Megatron takes him captive, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone especially given what]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero he had learned earlier that day]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: At the end of "Megatron Rising", having realized that that robot he was helping this whole time was actually the BigBad.
%%* NiceJobBreakingItHero
* OlderThanTheyLook: Since he saw Megatron fall to Earth 50 years ago, he's at least 60 years old.
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Working for Megatron, as Bulkhead often brings this up.
* OpenMindedParent: He loves his daughter even after unlocking her Cybertronian powers and aging up into adolescence.
* RobotMaster: He creates and controls a lot of robots.
* SdrawkcabName: His last name is "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmus Cadmus]]" backwards.
* SkunkStripe: He has a white S-shaped stripe on his hair.
** {{Retcon}}: We see him with it during flashbacks in Season 1, but in Season 3 it's revealed he got it when he touched the protoform that became Sari.
* TechnologicalPacifist: He says so himself that his company does not make weapons.
* TrulySingleParent: Sort of. Maybe. He's the only ''human'' parent, at any rate.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Captain Fanzone]]
!!Captain Carmine Fanzone
[[quoteright:265:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/captainfanzone1.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffBennett / Creator/NobuoTobita

--> ''"A technophobe is someone who '''fears''' technology. [[SuddenlyShouting Does]] '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis this!]]''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Look! Like!]] '''[[PercussiveMaintenance FEAR TO YOU?! *smashes a phone*]]'''"''

The loud-mouthed captain of the Detroit Police Department (and master of yelling into megaphones), Fanzone dislike one thing and one thing only: machines. This hits him over the head when Detroit's heroes turns out to be giant robots. Still, for the sake of peace, he tries and learns to live with it, relying on them when he has to. Ironically, Fanzone is also the first human to visit Cybertron and most of the residents fear him because of his organic nature.
----
* ADayInTheLimelight: The episode featuring him and Ratchet (hilariously, named by his {{Catchphrase}}) being sent to Cybertron. HilarityEnsues then some {{Mood Whiplash}}es.
* BadassMustache: He has a mustache and is a very competent police officer.
* BadassNormal: He's a useful ally to the Autobots even though he's just a normal man.
* BornInTheWrongCentury: He doesn't really approve of the inconveniences of modern tech.
* CatchPhrase: "This is why I '''hate''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6jqUqI5T7Q machines!]]" [[MadLibsCatchPhrase He also hates kids and lawyers]], but above all else, he hates [[ForInconveniencePressOne tech support]].
* ChildHater: Admits to being one in "Mission Accomplished", though in his defense, he said so after Sari was making a list of extensive demands while the Autobots suggested that he be Sari's legal guardian.
* TheCommissionerGordon: He's the main authority figure the Autobots work with.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Despite being a bit bumbling, he actually fights competently alongside the Autobots on several occasions.
* DaChief: He often gets angry at the Autobots whenever they mess up or inadvertently inconvenience him.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Though it appears to vary by episode (and animation studio)
* FailedASpotCheck: By the time he arrives at a military base to investigate the ruckus caused by Blitzwing and Lugnut, the two Decepticons have scanned plane modes for themselves and hid among the jets present. Captain Fanzone angrily asks how the Decepticons could simply disappear into thin air, seemingly forgetting that Transformers can disguise themselves as vehicles and not noticing that the Decepticons' plane modes sport bizarre purple paintjobs that are hugely out of place among the normal military vehicles. Even more incongruously, due to his status as a Triple-Changer, Blitzwing's plane mode has ''tank treads'' under its wings ''in place of landing gear''.
* FantasticRacism: He has plenty of disdain for machines. Especially since a lot of times he's at the expense of gags involving them. However, he's always willing to help the Autobots in times of need and his disdain never veers into outright hatred like it does with [[EvilutionaryBiologist Meltdown]].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's often very grumpy, but he's an honest police officer and helps the Autobots whenever they need it.
* NobleBigotWithABadge: He repeatedly states ''[[FantasticRacism "This is why I hate machines."]]'' That doesn't stop him from working with the Autobots, helping them, or saving them.
** He also recognizes the good bots from the bad ones.
--->"This is why I hate machines." ''(looks at Sentinel)'' "Certain machines more than others."
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He accepts that the Autobots have noble intentions.
* RunningGag: His car is regularly crushed and was once ''blown up'' by Blitzwing, but it keeps coming back, complete with its characteristic rust. Is it possible for a non-sentient object to be TheChewToy?
* {{Technophobia}}: Dislikes machines, and the ones he does use tend to be oddly old-fashion for such a futuristic setting.
* {{Tuckerization}}: According to Marty Isenberg, he's named after Detroit native Car''men'' Fanzone, a former neighbour of his who used to play for the Chicago Cubs.
* WalkingTechbane: This is ''why'' he hates machines. They seldom work for him the way he wants them to.
* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Robots?]]: Parodied when the Elite Guard make a public arrival in Detroit.
-->"Robots. Why did it have to be robots?"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Prometheus Black/Meltdown]]
!!Prometheus Black/Meltdown
[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/meltdown.jpg]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/PeterStormare / Creator/FumihikoTachiki

--> ''"Are you ready to feel the burn?"''

An expert biologist, Prometheus Black used his talents to manufacture "[[BioAugmentation biochemical makeovers]]", but lost his funding when a PR stunt involving Bumblebee and [[TheBrute Colossus Rhodes]] went badly wrong. Angry that he has to compete with the likes of Sumdac and his machinery (which he hates), Prometheus vows vengeance. He gets it when he's accidentally turned into essentially walking acid. He's one of the few who can melt Cybertronians without even trying, making him a deadly foe.
----
* BewareTheSillyOnes: His outfits and DiscoDan-nature aside, Meltdown is the only human villain who poses a real threat to the Autobots one-on-one and his experiments are about as depraved as anything the Decepticons do.
* BodyHorror: Himself obviously. But those two monsters working for him in two episodes? The bat one used to be [[EvilLawyerJoke his lawyer.]]
* CoolShades: He wears sunglasses, even after his mutation.
* DiscoDan: Dresses like he should be at a 70's disco club.
* EvilCounterpart: To Isaac Sumdac. Both are scientific geniuses who are quite famous. But whereas Sumdac's specialty is robotics, Black's is biotechnology. While Sumdac uses his robots to benefit mankind, Black uses his biotech for his agenda about organic material being better than machines.
** Come season 3, he also counts as one to Sari herself. Both are humans affiliated with a revolutionary tech company who are granted inhuman powers by their encounters with the Transformers, and while Sari fights alongside the Autobots and embraces who she is, Prometheus resents his transformation and seeks to exploit them for his twisted experiments.
* EvilutionaryBiologist: He's a biochemist who creates bio-augmentations for humans, and for his own nefarious schemes.
* FantasticRacism: Against machines, to a FAR more vicious extent than Captain Fanzone.
* FreakLabAccident: Autobot fluid + his special steroids = ouch.
* HollywoodAcid: Outside of some specific things that can apparently resist acid, he can melt through anything he touches, including the Autobots.
* ImMelting: His own genetic modifier liquefies him in ''Black Friday''. The end of the episode reveals he's still alive, but he never shows up again.
* KnightOfCerebus: Of the show's human villains: he's the only one who isn't played for laughs and poses a genuine threat to the Autobots.
* MadScientist: He performs genetic experiments that turn people into deformed monsters and superpowered beings.
* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize: He blames the Sumdacs for his company's failure and kidnaps Sari when he decides he needs a child for an experiment.
* PlayingWithSyringes: He'll perform experiments on people regardless of how they are affected.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: He once says Isaac Sumdac merely got lucky with his success in robotics; if only Prometheus knew the half of it...
* SesquipedalianSmith: His first name Prometheus is rather sophisticated when compared to his mundane surname of Black.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Black never appears again after his supposed "death", but Blackarachnia is still using his lab and resources in "Predacons Rising." And as it turns out,creating a "Transforming organic" isn't entirely impossible...
* SquishyWizard: His acid, which he can also fire from his hands, will burn through anything, but he's helpless if faced by something that's resistant to it, notably shown when Fanzone grabbed one of his protective suits and overpowered him.
* TheResenter: He absolutely loathes Isaac Sumdac, viewing him as intellectually inferior and a fraud.
* TokenSuper: He's the only human villain with real superpowers, though his condition came from exposure to Mech-Fluid, basically Transformer blood.
* UnknownRival: Sumdac knew about him and his company, but he had no idea how much Prometheus outright hated him.
* UnskilledButStrong: His acidic powers make him a huge threat, but beyond that he's not very combat capable. When Fanzone neutralizes his powers using a backup acid-proof suit, he takes Black down easily.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After he's melted into a puddle in Season 2, he never appeared in the show again.
* WouldHurtAChild: When his experiments don't get the results he wants he decides to try the procedures out on child test subjects. And then he decides to get even with Sumdac at the same time by abducting Sari. As Fanzone put it, he's a seriously twisted fruitcake.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Porter C. Powell]]
!!Porter C. Powell
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/BumperRobinson / Creator/ToruOkawa

--> ''"Oh, I don't ''think'' I'm in charge, young lady: I know it."''

A shrewd business man who uses every dirty trick in the book to gain power and money. He works in Sumdac Systems, but briefly takes over it when Isaac "mysteriously disappears".
----
* AscendedExtra: He originally appeared as one of Prometheus Black's investors in "Total Meltdown." He wasn't going to appear afterwards, but the crew were taken by his design and wanted to see more of him.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: He's very sleazy and often does questionable things with his businesses. One of his most heinous violations, however, would be in the tie-in comic story "The insincerest Form of Flattery", where he tried to sell a bunch of SWAT Vehicles named after Bulkhead without the Autobot's permission, used ManipulativeEditing to make it look like the vehicles' namesake approved of them, and was later made to confess that he sold the vehicles even while aware that they were completely unsafe.
* HateSink: Aside from [[KickTheSonOfABitch cutting funding to Promethus Black]] in "Total Meltdown", everything Powell does just makes him more and more of a hatable {{Jerkass}}, the biggest offense being when he kicked Sari Sumdac out of her home and usurped ownership of Sumdac Systems all the while smugly reminding her that she can't prove she legally exists.
* {{Jerkass}}: Big time, especially when he took sadistic glee in kicking Sari out of her home after exposing there was no legal proof she existed.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Downplayed. His defunding of Prometheus Black was a sound business decision as Black had not only failed to deliver a product but had also brought legal action down on himself. Since this was before Powell's characterization as a money grubbing asshole the scene frames his actions as sympathetic and logical. With Powell's later characterization as a CorruptCorporateExecutive this action stands out as one of the more sensible and less assholish things he'd done. Even if he helped kickstart Black's StartOfDarkness, Black wasn't the most sympathetic of characters.
** Similarly, while he was being an absolute jerk about it, he is right that a child shouldn't be running a massive, multi-billion dollar robotics company.
* KarmaHoudini: He gets away with all the shit he pulls... [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty well]], until things start going pear-shaped for him starting with "Black Friday".
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: His luck starts slowly running out as the season progresses. First, Ratchet threatens to throw him and the mayor into the river if they don't settle a contract dispute over malfunctioning garbage bots. Then, when Prometheus Black is busted out of jail, not only do his attempts to make it seem that Sari did it fail miserably, but his lab is broken into, he's tossed around and frightened by Grimlock, and Fanzone threatens to arrest ''him'' for causing a public disturbance leaves him completely stunned. Then, when Sumdac comes back, he's not only fired, but Sari angrily blasts him with her newly discovered Cybertronian abilities. And to put the cherry on top, he tries selling his own brand of Soundwave toys, but when said toys end up nearly enslaving all of Detroit under the ''real'' Soundwave's thrall, he's left in ruin by the mass demand of recalls and refunds.
* KickTheDog: When he throws Sari out of Sumdac Tower, he continuously gloats about how she can't prove that she legally exists.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: In his first scene, he cuts off his funding to Prometheus Black. Given what an asshole Black already was, it's not hard to see what Powell did as karmic.
* LaserGuidedKarma[=/=]BreakTheHaughty: After being a KarmaHoudini throughout Season 2, "Black Friday" saw him tormented by Grimlock, lose a valuable piece of equipment and Fanzone threatening to arrest him for being a "public nuisance". The third season begins with him being kicked out of Sumdac Tower when Professor Sumdac regains control of his company. Much later in "Human Error," he sells Soundwave toys based on Sumdac's original design. After the real Soundwave's villainous actions, however, Powell is financially ruined by the returns/refunds.
* MakingASpectacleOfYourself: He wears big pink-lensed glasses.
* MysteriousMiddleInitial: It's never been revealed what the initial "C" stands for.
* SmugSnake: He's not very respectful or humble towards anyone.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He's very well respected by the public in spite of being a highly contemptible dick. Well, he was until "Human Error", thanks to the whole fiasco with Soundwave.
* WhatExactlyIsHisJob: He's... he's definitely a businessman. Yeah. But he's been seen as the CEO of a car company, breaking deals with gene-splicers, usurping a robotics company from an 8-year-old girl, and selling knockoffs of the original Soundwave toy. His main area of expertise remains a mystery.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Henry Masterson/Headmaster]]
!!Henry Masterson/Headmaster
-> '''Voiced by:''' Alexander Polinsky / Kōsuke Okano

--> ''"Get ready for T.O.T.: Total Ownage Time!"''

A young scientist who has created a robotic head that can take over any other living robots' body (he's kind of a [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans control freak]] that way), controlling them under his will. Headmaster speaks in computer leet speak (''retro'' leet speak, considering this is the 22nd century).
----
* AdaptationalVillainy: Headmasters are normally supposed to enable a cybernetic partnership, with the bot gaining an extra perspective from his new partner. Here they're the creation of an unstable, angry manchild with emphasis on forceful control, and no consent from the disembodied bot.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Headmaster Units are very powerful and very dangerous machines, especially to Transformers, granting the pilot control of a powerful alien war machine. If the Transformers weren't there, however, their flaws outweigh their benefits. The Headmaster Units are far too heavy for conventional Earth weaponry, and even when he takes over Transformer bodies the size of the thing prevents actual transformation. What the units boil down to are expensive upgrades to already functional weaponry that are more likely to compromise the weapon's infrastructure than provide any major benefits.
** The Headmaster Units' MiniMecha mode is similarly redundant. While the humanoid form does allow the ability to operate other devices from within the Unit, Masterson has been shown doing so in head mode. On top of that, Optimus at one point thwarts Masterson's getaway by [[FlippingHelpless knocking the tiny robot on its back, whereupon it immediately got stuck.]]
* BewareTheSillyOnes: This guy might be an idiot, but outside of Meltdown, he's the only human that manages to actually a pose a danger to the Autobots without any help from the Decepticons.
* BrokenPedestal: When he first meets Professor Sumdac, he gushes on how he's always admired his work and how he grew up tinkering with his robots. He loses his respect for Sumdac when he gets fired because of his dangerous Headmaster unit demonstration and is chewed out for attempting to make weapons for the company.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: His ludicrous tendency to speak in outdated Internet slang aside, he's still very dangerous to the Autobots and he made the Headmaster unit himself.
* CatchPhrase: "Total ownage, noobs!"
* CombiningMecha: The Headmaster unit will make any other robot one ''against their will''.
* DiscoDan: He talks like an early 2000s online game nerd in the 22nd century when "l33tsp33k" was ''already'' on its way out when the show premiered.
* ExpressiveMask: It's [[FreezeFrameBonus subtle]], but despite being a piece of technology with no mind of its own, the Headmaster Unit sometimes changes to match the presumed expressions of its owner.
* {{Expy}}: He's essentially the same guy as [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans Control Freak]].
* GadgeteerGenius: He invents his own equipment.
* GrandTheftMe: His modus operandi is using his tech to steal Cybertronians' bodies.
* InternetToughGuy: Well, he ''acts'' like one at least. And he has the machine to back it up.
* KarmaHoudini: Twice he's able to scoot out of legal punishment. First, Porter C. Powell is able to keep him from being charged with ''nearly destroying all of Detroit''. Then, in the same episode, Powell gets him off charges of destruction of property and assault through legal loopholes. Fortunately, [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty karma catches up with him]].
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: His third attack on Sumdac ends with his arrest.
* LeetLingo: He speaks in outdated Internet slang.
* MadScientist: He uses technology of his own creation in his crimes and is not exactly mentally stable.
* MythologyGag: His Headmaster suit is one for the entire "Headmasters" concept in the Generation 1 comics, albeit as a weapon that takes control of an unwilling bot, rather than a symbiotic partnership. Later iterations of the unit even go as far as to give it a MiniMecha form.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: He tries attacking Sumdac just around the same time Sari had angrily disowned him for refusing to tell her about her robotic origins. Doing so leads Sumdac to throw his life on the line for his daughter, causing Sari to forgive him for the whole thing in the end.
* RealMenWearPink: When he moves into Sari's room in "The Return of the Headmaster", he is quite ecstatic about it and doesn't appear to mind that everything in it is pink and frilly.
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: His first name begins with H, his surname contains "master", and he calls himself Headmaster.
* TooDumbToLive: Yes, overload the solar fusion reactor after you've requested $7 billion, and think the government will want your war bots. [[SarcasmMode That will look good on your resume.]]
* TotallyRadical: A somewhat updated example in that his slang is based on Internet lingo.
* VillainExitStageLeft: His debut episode ends with him getting away.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Angry Archer]]
!!A. A. Archer/Angry Archer
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffBennett / Katsuyuki Konishi

--> ''"An Autobot! Verily the arrows of outrageous misfortune seek to pierce me to the quick - exeunt!"''

A Robin Hood-ish figure who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, namely himself. The Angry Archer also has a habit of speaking in quasi-Shakespearean diction.
----
* AlliterativeName: His first, middle, and last name all begin with the letter A.
* ArcherArchetype: He's an archer-themed crook.
* ArtificialLimbs: He has a robotic hand.
* JustLikeRobinHood: Parodied. In this case, when he claims to give the spoils he stole from the rich to the poor, by "the poor" he means himself.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Jeff Bennett uses his John Cleese impression.
* NonIndicativeName: For someone called the Angry Archer, he's actually not that angry.
* ASinisterClue: After learning about the character, the real Aaron Archer requested that the cartoon Archer be left-handed like him.
* TrickArrow: Magnets, armoured fists, grenades, lasers, and grappling lines among others.
* {{Tuckerization}}: After [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Aaron_Archer character designer Aaron Archer]] (he was even originally supposed to be named "Aaron the Angry Archer").
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: He talks as if he's from one of Shakespeare's plays.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mayor Edsel]]
!!Mayor Edsel
->.....

A silent mayor who lets his secretary do all the talking.
----
* SilentBob: Even though he never speaks, no one has trouble understanding him.
* SilentPartner: Flipped around from what you'd expect.
* TheVoiceless: He needs his assistant to interpret him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professor Princess]]
!!Penny Princess, Ph.D./Professor Princess
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/KathSoucie / Megumi Toyoguchi

--> ''"Explosions aren't nice... EXCEPT WHEN THEY LOOK LIKE BEAUTIFUL RAINBOWS!"''

A bratty "princess" whose goal in life is to destroy anything "boyish" so the world can be a happier, pinker place.
----
* AlliterativeName: Her surname, her given name, and her title all begin with P.
* BrattyHalfPint: She's a bratty little girl who hates everything boyish.
* ChildProdigy: She's a real Professor and presumably built her own weapons, including the flying plush unicorn. Too bad she doesn't have the maturity to go with it.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Per the comics: despite being a joke villain, she manages to humble Starscream.
* EnfantTerrible: Fans weren't certain, but WordOfGod says she's really a kid.
* GigglingVillain: She constantly laughs.
* MyLittlePhony: Her flying companion bears a strong resemblance to Hasbro's other famous property.
* ShoutOut: She rides around on [[Franchise/MyLittlePony a flying plush unicorn toy]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Witwicky Family]]
!!The Witwicky Family
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/CoreyBurton (Spike), Creator/TaraStrong (Carly and Daniel) / Katsuyuki Konishi (Spike)

A family of in-jokes, the Witwickys are generally somewhere in the background, although they briefly join the main plot in "Garbage In, Garbage Out", during which Carly is giving birth and is unlucky enough to be picked up by Ratchet in ambulance mode. Spike and/or Carly work for Isaac, since Daniel is one of the few kids at Sari's birthday party.
----
* AllThereInTheManual: The ''[=AllSpark=] Almanac'' books reveal that the family's infant daughter is named Nancy.
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Spike Witwicky's father Sparkplug Witwicky is also present in this continuity, but he is never seen with the rest of the Witwicky family and is never named, which makes it unclear whether he is still Spike's father.
* ConstantlyCurious: Daniel Witwicky in the short "Career Day". Optimus Prime introduces himself to Daniel's school, but Daniel won't stop asking Optimus questions about how he transforms.
* ContinuityCameo: They are based on the characters of the same names from [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the Generation 1 cartoon]].
* PanickyExpectantFather: Spike Witwicky is visibly nervous when he is seen with a pregnant Carly in "Garbage In, Garbage Out", and he doesn't get any calmer when Ratchet's attempt to drive them to the hospital goes awry.
* {{Recurring Extra}}s: Their appearances are generally limited to background cameos.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nanosec]]
!!Nino Sexton/Nanosec
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/BrianPosehn / Takehito Koyasu

--> ''"I ain't nobody's errand boy... unless the price is right."''

Nino was once a common thief until he was given a speed suit secretly by Megatron, causing him to create wanton havoc until the suit aged him up. He is eventually restored to his youth by Slo-Mo, whom he falls for.
----
* DubNameChange: In Japanese dub, he goes by "Speed King".
* EvilRedhead: He has red hair.
* LineOfSightName: Despite his name, he didn't get the idea for his supervillain moniker until one of his victims claimed his money "disappeared in a nanosec!"
* OppositesAttract: The man with SuperSpeed gets interested in a woman who can slow down time.
* RapidAging: A side-effect of the suit was that he'd grow older the more he used it. Slo-Mo fixed him up in season 2.
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: Nino Sexton, Nanosec. Oddly enough, he didn't come up with it himself.
* SuperSpeed: His power is moving superhumanly fast.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Slo-Mo]]
!!Slo-Mo
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TaraStrong / Takako Honda

--> ''"I'm the leader of this syndicate. The head honcho, the big cheese, see?"''

Speaking in 1930s moxie speak, Slo-Mo is a woman with the ability to slow down time, thanks to a watch embedded with an [=AllSpark=] fragment. She rounds up all the other human villains and forms the S.U.V (Society of Ultimate Villainy). She also has a thing for Nanosec.
----
* MotorMouth: In stark contrast to her power, she speaks very rapidly.
* OneShotCharacter: Only appears in "SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy", and then never again.
* OppositesAttract: The woman with the power to slow down time gets interested in the man with SuperSpeed.
* TimeStandsStill: Thanks to her [=AllSpark=] amplified timepiece.
* {{Tuckerization}}: Named and designed after [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Samantha_Lomow Hasbro exec Samantha Lomow.]] S. Lomow, [[IncrediblyLamePun get it?]]
* UnwittingPawn: To Swindle. True to the Decepticons' name, he turns out to be playing her and the other human villains for chumps and was only interested in obtaining her [=AllSpark=]-empowered watch.
[[/folder]]

!Shattered Glass

A MirrorUniverse of the usual ''Transformers Animated'' universe, where Optimus Prime's severed head was found by one Isaac Sumdac, who promptly used the stolen tech to take over the world.

!!Autobots

[[folder:Optimus Prime]]
!!Optimus Prime

-->''"All sentient beings will be forced to serve me."''

An exile from the Cybertron Elite Guard, he led a group of renegades and found the [=AllSpark=], only to loose his head, crash land on Earth, and spend the next several decades helpless as a human used him and his technology for his own purposes.
----
* BeardOfEvil: The black markings on his face-plate make it look like he has one.
* TheExile: From the Elite Guard on Cybertron. Since the Autbots are the ''bad guys'' in this universe, one wonders just what he did that was bad enough to warrant such an extreme measure.
* MadeASlave: When he did get his body back, he was enslaved by Sumdac, the same as the rest of his Autobots.
* OffWithHisHead: His head got removed on his crash-landing. He did eventually get his body back, but it didn't help much.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bumblebee]]
!!Bumblebee

-->''"The least likely can be the most deadly."''

A small, quiet sadist. He specializes in espionage.
----
* DirtyCoward: Hates fighting and would rather hide, then finish the job at the end of the battle, like a scavenger.
* MadeASlave: Complete with ExplosiveLeash.
* TheQuietOne: While the main universe's Bumblebee is a talkative bunch.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bulkhead]]
!!Bulkhead
----
* TheBrute: Like Lugnut.
* TheGhost: Not much is known about him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Prowl]]
!!Prowl
----
* MadScientist: Like Starscream, he's made a clone army of himself.
* TheGhost: Not much is known about him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ratchet]]
!!Ratchet
----
* TheGhost: Not much is known about him.
* GoodCounterpart: According to Derrick J. Wyatt, he would've had the color scheme of the main universe's Lockdown.
* MadScientist: Like Blackarachnia, he's making some rather curious experiments...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sari Sumdac]]
!!Sari Sumdac

-->''"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"''

A mysterious protoform Isaac found in his lab, which took human form after attacking him. Isaac then spent the next several years violently experimenting on her. Experimentation with [=AllSpark=] fragments caused her to grow in size and power... at which point Isaac drafted her into service with the rest of the Autobots.
----
* AbusiveParents: Isaac was a grade-a dick to Sari.
* EyeScream: She did remove one of his eyes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sentinel Prime]]
!!Sentinel Prime

Ultra Magnus's second-in-command. He and Optmius are still buds.
----
* FantasticRacism: He believes that [[AmbiguousSyntax subjugating organics]] are the key to overthrowing Ultra Magnus. Whether he means bossing around organics or bossy organics (like Professor Sumdac) is vague.
* TheStarscream: To Ultra Magnus.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Blurr]]
!!Blurr

An Autobot agent that was accidentally crushed by Shockwave.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: The joke comic shows him yelling at Shockwave to wait when the latter accidentally presses the button to crush him, implying that Blurr begged Shockwave to turn off the trap in the real version.
[[/folder]]

!!Decepticons

[[folder:Megatron]]
!!Megatron

The leader of the Decepticons.
----
* BigGood: He's the leader of the heroic Decepticons.
* BlueIsHeroic: His color palette is blue and white, based off of mainverse Ultra Magnus's color palette.
* GoodCounterpart: To not only mainverse Megatron, but he's also evocative of mainverse Ultra Magnus.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Starscream]]
!!Starscream

Megatron's loyal second-in-command.
----
* TheLancer: To Megatron.
* GoodCounterpart: To not only mainverse Starscream, but he's also evocative of mainverse Sky Garry, at least according to his color scheme.
* PrimaryColorChampion: He bears mainverse Sky Garry's colors.
* TheStarscream: Averted. [[UndyingLoyalty His loyalty to Megatron is undying.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Soundwave]]
!!Soundwave

Formerly one of Isaac Sumdac's sonic attack robots, Megatron got a hold of him and turned him to the side of good. Now, he uses his weapons to turn other robots playful and happy. At one point, he tried to brainwash Isaac's Autobots into good with the help of a superhero force known as HYBRID, but Sari and a bunch of hobobots put a stop to it.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: Soundwave still ends up smashed at the end of this version's "Sound and Fury", though it's unknown if Laserbeak or one of his Recordicons still got away with a piece of him.
* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: How he tries to get the Autobots to HeelFaceTurn. It doesn't work out.
* HeelFaceBrainwashing: He was presumably reprogrammed by Megatron and co.
* ShoutOut: He apparently tried to brainwash the Autobots with videos of a purple techno-organic dinosaurs. Either that's a reference to ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' Megatron and/or ''Series/BarneyTheDinosaur''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shockwave]]
!!Shockwave

A spy for the Decepticons, hidden in the ranks of the Autobots.
----
* AccidentalMurder: Judging by the exaggeration of the events of how Blurr got crushed according to "The Re-burn of Blurr", it would seem that Shockwave crushing him was an accident.
* AscendedFanon: A fan on [=TFW2005=] had theorized Shockwave's color scheme in the ''Shattered Glass'' version of ''Animated'' as using main universe's Perceptor's colors.
* TheCameo: He briefly appears in "The Re-burn of Blurr".
* GoodCounterpart: He uses the color scheme of the main universe's Perceptor.
[[/folder]]

!!Humans

[[folder:Isaac Sumdac]]
!!!Isaac Sumdac

-->''"Complete domination of machine and man is mine!"''

A human scientist who found a decapitated Transformer's head, and used it to build an empire to try and take over the world.
----
* AbusiveParents: Kept Sari in a cage and experimented on her. Then, once she was old enough, put a Control Collar on her and sent her out to fight alongside the other Autobots.
* BaldOfEvil: Lacks the regular Isaac's hair.
* EvilOverlord: He rules part of Michigan from his Terrordrome, with an army of robots at his beck and call. His ultimate goal is to rule the world.
* EyeScream: Lost an eye to Sari when she was a Protoform.
* EyepatchOfPower: Was forced to wear one after Sari ripped out his eye.
* FatBastard: He's just as pudgy as his mainverse counterpart, but not nearly as nice.
* MadScientist: So much so that he experimented on what was technically his ''daughter''.
[[/folder]]

* ShoutOut: His behavior and goals are eerie similar to that of ComicBook/{{Ultron}}.

* JerkJock: As Wasp, he constantly bullied Bumblebee.

* CompositeCharacter: Of a few previous incarnations. While based mostly off of his ''G1'' counterpart (with his design borrowing from his ''Battlestars'' incarnation), his extended planner qualities are from the ''Beast Wars'' incarnation (and would have looked somewhat like his ''Beast Machines'' counterpart had Season 4 happened). His look prior to Earth and the fact technology was reverse-engineered from him were taken from the first live-action film.

* EvilSoundsDeep: Creator/CoreyBurton took inspiration from Creator/TimCurry and Creator/ChristopherLee.

* MythologyGag: His [[spoiler:Triple Changer]] robot mode appearance looks to be based on ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastMachines Beast Machines]]'' Megatron.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: During season 2, his space bridge project keeps him too busy to go out.

* EasilyForgiven: ''Averted''. In a shift from their classic dynamic, Megatron is completely intolerant and unforgiving of Starscream's treachery. He spends the majority of the series exiled from the Decepticons as a result, and indeed only survives his leader's initial retribution due to the ResurrectiveImmortality granted by the [=AllSpark=] fragment in his head.

* His much colder and more emotionless demeanor is similar to that of [[Film/2001ASpaceOdyssey HAL 9000]], even quoting the A.I. in "This Is Why I Hate Machines".

* CannonImmigrant: While there were other characters in the franchise that had the name "Dirt Boss" (specifically from ''Armada'' and ''Cybertron'', this one was designed to be entirely different from those two. A version similar to him would even appear in media for ''Revenge of the Fallen''.

* ThoseTwoGuys: With Ironhide.

* WhamLine: At the end of "Autoboot Camp", Wasp mutters to himself in a similar speech pattern to ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastWars Beast Wars]]'' Waspinator, hinting that Wasp will somehow become just like his original incarnation...

* NeverMyFault: Has elements of this in her attitude; Optimus may have been the one to assume she was dead and leave her behind, but it was (presumably) Sentinel's idea to go to Archa-Seven in the first place, and she was willing to go along in the first place -- she and Sentinel convinced Optimus to come, not the other way around.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Megatron created him to serve as a test body, but he became sentient and started going about his own agenda.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Downplayed. His defunding of Prometheus Black was a sound business decision as Black had not only failed to deliver a product but had also brought legal action down on himself. Since this was before Powell's characterization as a money grubbing asshole the scene frames his actions as sympathetic and logical. With Powell's later characterization as a CorruptCorporateExecutive this action stands out as one of the more sensible and less assholish things he'd done. Even if he helped kickstart Black's StartOfDarkness, Black wasn't the most sympathetic of characters.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He's very well respected by the public in spite of being a highly contemptible dick.

* MythologyGag: According to AllThereInTheManual, he doesn't trust Mirage, just like in the episode, "Traitor", from ''Generation 1''.

* MythologyGag: She's based off of her appearance in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', but is a medic and lost her hand like her ''[[Anime/TransformersArmada Armada]]'' incarnation.

** PowerFist

* HonorBeforeReason: Even though it was Sentinel's idea to go to that organic planet, Optimus took the fall for what happened to Elita-1 because he was the ranking cadet.

* JerkassBall: In "Megatron Rising, Part 1", Prime seemed angrier and bossier, refusing to listen to Ratchet when he suggested anything else instead of taking Sari's key away and ignoring that he had hurt Sari's feelings. Justified, given he was stressed out about a Decepticon attack ([[JerkassHasAPoint and kind of had a point that Sari can't protect the Key herself]]), and later apologizes for the way he was acting.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In "Endgame: Part 1", in a flashback, Optimus is shown taking the fall for the Elita-1 incident, even though it was Sentinel's idea to go to the organic planet in the first place. [[KarmaHoudini As a result, Optimus gets expelled from Autobot Academy, while Sentinel goes on to become a member of the Elite Guard.]] {{Karma}} catches up with him when the Elite Guard arrive on Earth and Sentinel is [[HumiliationConga subjected to frequent humiliations]] [[LaserGuidedKarma due to his arrogance, contempt of the human race and general]] {{Jerkass}} [[LaserGuidedKarma behaviour.]] Furthermore, in "This Is Why I Hate Machines", when Sentinel attempts to defeat the 'cons, putting the ''whole planet'' at risk, the Cybertron High Council [[WhatTheHellHero actually call Sentinel out for his reckless actions]], though are unable to demote him as 'acting Magnus'. By the end of the series, when Optimus and his crew return to Cybertron with Megatron, Shockwave and Lugnut as prisoners, Sentinel stands glowering amidst a huge crowd of cheering Autobots.

* NeverMyFault: How he reacted to the Elita-1 incident. Optimus did prevent him from going back for her, but the whole trip was his idea in the first place, and Elita-1 was just as eager to tag along. Optimus ''tried'' to talk them both out of it.

** He begrudgingly thanks Optimus for helping him out and telling Ultra Magnus that he deliberately let the Headmaster take his body to lure him into a trap in "The Return of the Headmaster".

* KeepingTheHandicap[=/=]ScarsAreForever: He has a dinged crest and a cut in his arm despite being a robot doctor. He deliberately didn't fix the former or replace the device that went it to the former to remember "for those who can't."

* CyberCyclops: He seems this way, but those red dots on the side of his head are ''also'' eyes, so he actually has five.

** PlayingWithFire: On the flipside, Jetfire projects flames.

* ShoutOut: Notably Enryuu and Hyoruu/Choryuujin from ''Anime/GaoGaiGar''.

* SkySurfing: [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace Galaxy Glider-style]]

** And a combined vehicle form, which may also be Safeguard

** PlayingWithFire: Jetfire projects flames.
* GogglesDoNothing: Jetfire (like Blitzwing, they're ''part of his head'')

** OddNameOut: Their combined form, Safeguard

->'''Mix:''' Who puts the "crude" in "crude oil"?
->'''Scrap:''' Mixmaster and Scrapper, that's who!

* PintsizedPowerhouse:Even without his drill, he can still give a pretty good roundhouse.

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomKenny / Takashi Nagasako

* ZettaiRyouiki: Her attire leaves her thighs exposed.

* PragmaticVillainy: Unlike Lugnut he has no issues working with Lockdown, knowing the hunting skills of the bounty hunter, prefers to avoid confrontations with human policemen as he wanted to know their numbers and strength before a fight and quickly recognizes the usefulness of the Constricons just after meeting them.

* VitriolicBestBuds: With Lugnut, the two often bicker and fight and Blitzwing is generally annoyed by Lugnut's obsessive loyalty to Megatron and only follow him relucdantly, but the two are rarely seen without each other and Blitzwing still follows Lugnut's lead no matter how much it annoys him.