History Sandbox / TransformersEnsembleDarkhorse

* Sideswipe is another example; he very rarely did more than be in the background or get any starring appearances in the cartoon or comics, but he's still one of the most popular characters. A likely factor is that he's a CoolCar (a Lamborghini), so his toys tend to be the best. Particularly, in his ''[[Film/{{Transformers}} film]]'' appearances, the fans clamored for more of him. '''Streamlined Sideswipe's section. Considering cutting due to being a fairly prominent S1 bot, but not convinced'''

* Impactor won himself some fans as a representative for the common grunts who make up the Decepticon army.
* Soundblaster gained a few fans for being made a separate character from Soundwave, as a self-serving crime boss with CloneAngst. His appearance here is the basis for later versions of Soundblaster in ''ComicBook/Transformers2019'' and ''WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse''.

* Take a look at who the Hall of Fame winners are.
* Megatron's Rubber Ducky. No lines, not interaction with anyone else, but one of the 3 fully loyal Predacons. And the only one of those three (the others being Inferno and Scorponok) to get ''transmetallized''.
** [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Rubber_Ducky The Rubber Ducky]] has his own page on the wiki.
* Inferno, largely due to his LargeHam qualities. He would eventually make it to the Hall of Fame in 2021.
** The fact he was a [[KillItWithFire fire ant]] with [[PsychoForHire a few screws loose]] didn't hurt.
* In WesternAnimation/BeastMachines, this role was taken by Jetstorm due to his gleefully evil, sarcastic, arrogant personality. A keen sense of wit and the fact that his [[Creator/BrianDrummond voice actor]] played him as a LargeHam didn't hurt, either.
* Rampage and Depth Charge. The former for being an immortal psychopath who is basically the ''Transformers'' take on [[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], the latter for being the only one badass enough to take him on. They are drawn to each other like matter and antimatter, and are about as safe to be around when it happens. Put them in a scene together and watch the awesome.
* Of the toy-only characters who didn't make it into the show, Razorbeast is quite popular with fans. This is largely due to Simon Furman's usage of him in IDW's ''Beast Wars'' comics, where he's portrayed as a snarky and stern yet kind-hearted GuileHero. (And the fact that [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir Will Smith was looking for him since October]].)
* Particularly among female fans, Terrorsaur seems to be oddly popular, considering that he rarely got any focus and wound up dying at the start of the second season. It likely owes to him being TheStarscream, and his somewhat effeminate character design.
* While the Japanese ''Beast Wars II/Neo'' anime filler series received much criticism, the characters of Lio Convoy and Magmatron were well-received by fans, so much so that the former got ''many'' toy representations to himself while the latter was imported to the states via ''Beast Machines''.

* Mirage. Being a cool F1 car that is a lone sniper helps a lot.
* Scourge, the evil clone of Optimus Prime. These days other evil clones of Optimus Prime are typically called Nemesis Prime, but Scourge is still immensely loved as one of the few of them to have an actual personality.
* Sky-Byte for being a hilarious IneffectualSympatheticVillain with equally spread moments of badassery and kind gestures alongside his funny moments. It also helps that his color scheme and character were received ''far more positively'' than that of the mold's first iteration, Transmetal II Cybershark. Much like with the later ''Animated'' Swindle, the grief from the fandom after the passing of his original voice actor, Peter Spellos, took everyone ''hard''.

* Starscream. This incarnation of him was easily the show's most popular character, to the point where he has received toys in both the ''Thrilling 30'' and ''Legacy'' MilestoneCelebration toylines. Unlike the typical [[TheStarscream treacherous]] versions of him, this version was the most honorable, often compared to Beast Wars Dinobot. His relationship to Alexis and the Minicons really help highlight his popularity.

* Demolishor. A rare example of not-overtly villainous Decepticon grunt in ''Armada'' who early on the SequelSeries ''Energon'' exhibits conflicting loyalties between both sides that he gained from living in an era without the war, [[spoiler:and losing that is considered to be one of the worst mistakes the show made]].
* While Tidal Wave is only known for a few things, it's for these ''exact same reasons'' that the fans love him; he towers over other Transformers, he splits into several ''marine vehicles'' (aquatic Transformers have become infamous for being rare in the franchise), and he can ''combine with Megatron/Galvatron''. It says a lot that fans ''immediately'' sought out his new Titan Class toy once ''Legacy: United'' made the reveal.

This page is for the EnsembleDarkhorse characters spanning all ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', WesternAnimation/BeastWars, etc. media. Listed first are the characters who won fan voting in the Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame selection process: Each year, starting in 2010, several characters and real life humans associated with the series are inducted into the Transformers Hall of Fame. One additional character is inducted, based on fan voting, out of 5 characters as choices. As the main characters are automatically inducted, and most of the choices are already on this page, this makes the winner a BreakoutCharacter among the Ensemble Darkhorse characters. For 2010 and 2011, the choices were four G1 characters (each lumped with their other incarnations, if any) and one WesternAnimation/BeastWars character.

* '''2010 winner: WesternAnimation/BeastWars' Dinobot''', beating other characters Soundwave, Grimlock, Shockwave and Jazz.
** Dinobot is renowned for being one of the most complete and complex characters in all of Transformers history, from his VitriolicBestBuds fights with Rattrap, to his ProudWarriorRaceGuy and HonorBeforeReason conflicts, to his ShoutOutToShakespeare tendencies. His [[spoiler: [[ADeathInTheLimelight death]]]] episode "Code of Hero" is one of the most well received episodes ever, cementing this.
* '''2011 winner: WesternAnimation/BeastWars' Waspinator''', beating other characters Grimlock, Shockwave, Jazz and Erector.[[note]]Soundwave, the only voting option to not return, was automatically inducted[[/note]]
** He was slated to be killed off at the start of the second season, but due to the unlucky Predacon's popularity among fans, he was spared. Waspinator continued as a supporting character, played for [[TheChewToy increasingly painful]] and [[ButtMonkey humiliating comic relief]], and his personality continued to develop. He also became just the third character outside of G1 to get an alternate version into another continuity (Wasp in ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Animated]]'').
* '''2012 winner: G1's Wheeljack''', beating other characters Megatron (WesternAnimation/BeastWars), Sky Byte (''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise''), Arcee, and Rodimus.
** Don't let the last two years fool you; the fans aren't too formulaic. This selection also included several more major characters, proving the fan voting options weren't just about ensemble darkhorses. Wheeljack's not just popular for being one of the original Autobots from 1984. He was the first Transformer to ever speak, and is also a lovably wacky MadScientist with a [[BrooklynRage Brooklyn accent]]. Even though some other popular 1984 'Bots, like Sideswipe, are basically [[FlatCharacter cardboard cutouts]], Wheeljack's got as much personality as Jazz, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Hound, Mirage, Prowl, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Optimus Prime.
* '''2013 winners: Beast Wars' Megatron and G1's Ultra Magnus''':
** And then the fans went and jumped back to the formula by voting for Megatron of the Beast Wars to get into the Hall of Fame. He's arguably one of the most ''successful'' bearers of the name Megatron, [[VerbalTic yeess...]]; where his namesake fumbled around with giant purple griffins and various gadgets, the Predacon of his name almost ''erased the Maximals from existance'' and was going to use the ''Nemesis'' to paradox humanity out of the picture, as well.
** [[Memes/{{Transformers}} Ultra Magnus can't deal with theatrics now.]][[note]]Notably, the 2013 induction was the first to only feature fan-nominated inductees, and the only one that didn't induct any humans.[[/note]]
* '''2014 winners: Arcee and [[IHaveManyNames Hot Rod/Rodimus Minor/Rodimus Prime/Rodimus Convoy]]'''
* '''2015 winners: Prowl and [[CombiningMecha Predaking]]'''
* '''2016 winners: [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Optimus Primal]] and Cosmos'''
* '''2017 winners: Galvatron, [[Film/Transformers2007 Barricade]], and Trypticon'''[[note]]Toy of the Year for his ''Titans Return'' toy[[/note]]
* '''2018 winners: [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Blackarachnia]] and Battletrap'''[[note]]Toy of the Year for his ''Generations'' toy[[/note]]
* '''2019 winners: Skywarp and Omega Supreme'''[[note]]Toy of the Year for his ''War for Cybertron: Siege'' toy[[/note]]
* '''2020 winners: [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Knock Out]] and Sky Lynx'''[[note]]Toy of the Year for his ''War for Cybertron: Earthrise'' toy[[/note]]
* '''2021 winners: [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Inferno]] and Tigatron'''[[note]]Toy of the Year for his ''War for Cybertron: Kingdom'' toy[[/note]]
* '''2022 winners: [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Lugnut]] and Motormaster'''[[note]]Toy of the Year for his ''Legacy'' toy[[/note]]
* '''2023 winners: [[Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise Sky-Byte]] and Armada Optimus Prime'''[[note]]Toy of the Year for his ''Legacy: Evolution'' toy[[/note]]
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* Despite being far less notable in the animation and largely effectively being character-less crowd fillers, Starscream's windmen, the Seekers, maintain a great deal of popularity in pretty much every iteration of the franchise. Thundercracker and Skywarp can be easily churned out via simply repainting a line's Starscream, which often leads to the awkward event where a line will feature all three of the original Seekers even when only Starscream appears in the actual cartoon being made to promote the line. And yet they're still invariably reliable sellers, and any release of a Starscream toy ''will'' lead to fans clamoring for a Thundercracker and Skywarp repaint. The popularity of the Seekers came out at its clearest when Hasbro, having killed the popular Transformers Classic line to focus solely on the BrokenBase Transformers live action movie, dumped the remaining Seeker figures (Dirge, Thrust, and Thundercracker) into an ultra-rare 2007 Botcon "Games of Deception" set. Needless to say, Transformer fans shat bricks over the fact that they were denied a chance to all the Classic versions of the Seekers, since Botcon sets are made in ultra-low quantity and the massive desire for the figures ensuring that the few that made it to the secondary market would sell for $100 and up PER FIGURE.

* Sideswipe is another example; he very rarely did more than be in the background or get any starring appearances in the cartoon or comics, but he's still one of the most popular characters. A likely factor is that he's a CoolCar (a Lamborghini), so his toys tend to be the best. Particularly, in his ''[[Film/{{Transformers}} film]]'' appearances, the fans clamored for more of him.
* Erector. Only ever had one toy, and never appeared in fiction save for a Japanese magazine story, but he experienced such a [[{{Pun}} rise]] in popularity that the fans voted him into the final nominees for the ''Transformers: Hall of Fame'', competing with such insanely popular and famous characters as Grimlock, Jazz, Shockwave and Waspinator. Hasbro even wrote a completely new character bio for him, seemingly having embraced his sudden importance, but handled him as more than a simple dick joke. Considering his reputation started ''because'' of his name, this can fully well be seen as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the character.
* Nightbeat was just one of the small Headmasters released in the later years of the original line. Then Simon Furman got his hands on him, turning Nightbeat into an awesome DeadpanSnarker detective who was capable of defeating a Matrix powered Thunderwing via shooting a harpoon into his back and tossing him out the airlock. He eventually got seen as the secondary signature character for Furman besides Grimlock and eventually got a new toy in 2014.
* Despite most Pretenders being obscure, there are two that stand out.
** Bludgeon is a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Samurai Skeleton Tank Robot]] who, like most Decepticon leaders in the comics, was far more effective than Megatron. This popularity landed him a brand new Voyager class toy that skips the inner robot and goes straight from tank to skeletal samurai!
** Thunderwing is also this for having some NobleDemon traits. Oh, and he also managed to hijack [[MacGuffin the Creation Matrix]]. This popularity also landed him a top spot in one of the newest [[VideoGame/TransformersPrimeTheGame Transformer games]], and a new toy.
* [[LargeHam Straxus]] was a character created specifically for the Marvel Comics, a deranged tyrant who basically existed to be killed off by Blaster after he killed Blaster's best buddy. However, Simon Furman revived him and had him [[spoiler: retroactively [[HijackedByGanon hijack a lot of badass Megatron moments]].]] He eventually got a rather awesome Deluxe class toy in Generations.
* Blaster himself is one of the most consistently beloved characters of Budiansky's run, with even fans who dislike the run as a whole rarely having anything bad to say about Blaster's storylines, which were on the whole far more ambitious and dark than most of the other issues. Budiansky himself [[CreatorsFavorite agrees with this assessment]], and it tends to be generally accepted that Budiansky's Blaster is by far the most interesting version of the character.
* And in yet another case of "Decepticon leader who's better than [[GeneralFailure Megatron]]," we have [[CyberCyclops Shockwave]]. In the cartoon, he was just a dull YesMan, essentially a poor man's Soundwave, generally receiving less focus due to more complicated toy rights. In the comics, he was the Big Bad for most of Budiansky's run, and his reason for [[TheStarscream constantly and successfully usurping Megatron]]? It's because he simply deems it logical, whilst also averting the StrawVulcan trope in actually ''being'' logical.
* [[VerbalTic Heh heh]], the Battlechargers, Runabout and Runamuck, have a decent fan following due to being some of the only Decepticons who are genuine friends. Not to mention the [[MemeticMutation fandom meme]] that has them associated with ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead''. Uh huh huh huh. It's become an AscendedMeme as Runabout and Runamuck are deliberately drawn visual {{Shout Out}}s to Beavis and Butthead, respectively, for the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' [[AllThereInTheManual source book]]. [[http://billforster.deviantart.com/art/Runabout-and-Runamuck-176356248 Yes, really]].
* Galvatron in the Marvel UK run of the Generation 1 comic. An outright [[TheJuggernaut nigh unstoppable]] badass whose [[SavedByTheFans popularity]] effectively gave him JokerImmunity up until the Time War storyline, where he was finally KilledOffForReal.
* Black Shadow is a surprisingly popular character, despite appearing in very little fiction (he originated in Japan in 1989, but didn't appear in any western fiction until the IDW continuity, where he still had a very minor role, and he didn't get a toy in the west until 2011). Part of his appeal is his function is the highly unusual "Space Gangster," coupled with being a more robotic retool of the already popular Thunderwing.
* Speaking of Japanese-exclusive Generation 1 characters, [[Anime/TransformersVictory Star Saber]] has become a fan favorite on both sides of the Pacific by standing out among other Autobot leaders as a Badass Robot Samurai and MasterSwordsman who turns into a space fighter (being effectively the ''Transformers'' version of [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWars Sanger Zonvolt]]). The fact that he is basically the closest the franchise has gotten to a proper SuperRobot only serves to make him stand out more. He is popular enough among the fandom that James Roberts's portrayal of him in ''More Than Meets the Eye'' as a EgocentricallyReligious [[TheFundamentalist Fundamentalist]] KnightTemplar caused considerable outcry and became one of the few unanimously despised elements of his otherwise fan favorite run (not helped by the fact it stemmed from him being given the RonTheDeathEater treatment in Roberts's fan circle). On a more positive note, his popularity led to him becoming the first Japanese-only character to receive a Masterpiece figure and the second Transformers project on [=HasLab=] alongside his combining partner Victory Leo for the ''Legacy'' line (the first project being GreaterScopeVillain Unicron), as well as making it to the semifinals of the ''Power of the Primes'' Fan Poll (where he lost to Optimus Primal),
* ComicBook/DeathsHead, the eccentric ''[[InsistentTerminology Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]]'' from the Creator/MarvelUK comics was one of first Ensemble Darkhorses of the franchise. Made the jump (with a little [[Series/DoctorWho Gallifreyan assistance]]) from those comics into ''mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse'', up to and including getting multiple comic series. Admittedly, many of those series were of [[TheNineties 90's successor]], but can't have everything, [[VerbalTic right?]] The original proved popular enough to be brought BackFromTheDead at least twice and is now finally getting an official action figure of his own. Happy endings, yes?
* Banzai-Tron is far and away the most popular Action Master (at least, until Krok became more notable in ''More than Meets the Eye''), surprising given that Action Masters are [[AudienceAlienatingEra generally reviled]]. An interesting look and a neat bio were all well and good, including the incredibly badass motto of "To the victor go the profits," but what really sealed it was the fancomic ''Transformers: Chronicles'', where he was basically [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Kenshiro]] as a Decepticon. Since then, he's received far more toys than any other Action Master, including a convention-exclusive, a retail figure, and a high-end ''Alternity'' release. Perhaps his most notable showing is in ''Transformers Ultimates'', a non-transforming licensed line where he managed to show up in the ''first wave'', and his accessories include parts clearly based on that old fancomic.
* Nightbird only appears in a single episode of the original cartoon, but her popularity from being a robot ninja ActionGirl has given her several toys in later years.