Transformers Prime

Overview

Team Prime, an elite group of Autobots stationed on planet Earth fight the remnants of a Decepticon invasion and search for Energon. It has been three years since the last major battle with the Decepticons for the group but that changes when a teammate is suddenly killed, and the Decepticon leader, Megatron, returns to Earth with a dark and sinister plan to resurrect an army of the dead by reanimating the bodies of fallen Autobot and Decepticon soldiers using Dark Energon, the blood of Unicron.

Along the way the Autobots befriend three teenagers and are forced to destroy the Space Bridge, their only means of returning back to their home planet, Cybertron. Now the Autobots are dedicated to defending their new home Earth from the Decepticons and anything, or anyone else who would dare threaten it.

Transformers Prime is a series produced by Hasbro Studios in the United States of America, and animated by Polygon Pictures in Japan. The series has already received high critical acclaim, receiving 6 Daytime Emmy nominations in 2011, winning some as well. Season 1 is scheduled for a 26 episode run, with 26 additional episodes already ordered for season 2. Transformers Prime also holds the distinction of being it's network, The Hub's highest rated show.

Transformers Prime is part of the "Aligned" continuity of the Transformers Universe, which also includes the IDW comic books, and the video game Transformers: War For Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron.

Characters

Autobots-Team Prime

Optimus Prime - Voiced by: Peter Cullen (English) Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese)

Optimus Prime

The heroic Optimus Prime is the leader of Team Prime, he is as kind and wise as he is brave and skilled in battle. Optimus will never back down from a fight, though he seeks to make peace with the Decepticons above all else.

Arcee - Voiced by: Sumalee Montano (English) Shizuka Ito (Japanese)

Arcee

Seeming to be the second in command of the Autobots during field operations, Arcee is tough, and sometimes sarcastic, but loyal to her friends above all else. She is partnered with Jack Darby, and the two soon become a formidable team.

Bulkhead - Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson (English) Takashi Nagasako (Japanese)

Bulkhead

Former member of the elite Autobot combat team known as The Wreckers, Bulkhead is somewhat clumsy on Earth due to his large size and the scale in which humans build things, and is known to accidentally break things frequently. But in combat where breaking things is encouraged he is virtually unstoppable. He becomes partnered with Miko Nakadai, and develops a close friendship with her.

Bumblebee (no voice actor)

Bumblebee

The youngest member of Team Prime and the groups scout, Bumblebee is curious and fearless. Bumblebee does not speak any human language, though he does understand them, and instead of speaking communicates through hums, buzzes, and other electronic sounds, which the Autobots understand, but the only human who is capable of understanding Bee's speach is his young friend, Rafael Esquivel.

Ratchet - Voiced by: Jeffrey Combs (English) Nobuo Tobita (Japanese)

Ratchet

Team Prime's resident scientist and doctor, the Autobot named Ratchet, the oldest of the group, had a very low opinion of humans, and an even lower opinion on human technology, His opinion of humans gradually seems to change due to the influence of the kids, but his view of Earth technology remains unchanged. He comes off as being very negative and pessimistic, but when push comes to shove he is dependable and always comes through when it counts most.

Cliffjumper - Voiced by: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (English) Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese)

Cliffjumper

A fearsome warrior with a sense of humor just as sharp as his skills with a weapon, Cliffjumper fell prey to the Decepticons sudden reappearance where he was first on the scene and found himself hopelessly outnumbered by Eradicon soldiers. He was captured and brought before Starscream, who murdered the Autobot soldier. Cliffjumper's deceased body was used as the first experiment of Dark Energon, which transformed him into the first Terrorcon zombie. His undead body was soon after presumed destroyed in an Energon mine explosion.

Other Autobots

Wheeljack - Voiced by: James Horan (English) Yuki Tai (Japanese)

Wheeljack

The nomadic and hard as nails member of The Wreckers named Wheeljack was Bulkhead's closest friend during his time as a member of that group. Wheeljack surfaced abruptly near Earth, and Team Prime made contact with him, but Soundwave was also monitoring the communication, and the Decepticons captured Wheeljack and replaced him with Makeshift. Wheeljack broke free though and took down the imposter personally, but turned down the offer to join Team Prime, deciding instead to search for other wayward Autobots, especially other Wreckers, scattered throughout space.

Tailgate (voiced by Josh Keaton)

Arcee's former partner during the War for Cybertron, Tailgate was captured by Decepticon forces during a key battle in which Arcee was also captured. The sadistic Decepticon named Airachnid had failed to torture information from Arcee, and threatened the life of Tailgate if Arcee continued to refuse to talk. But Airachnid did not wait long to make good on her threat, and murdered Tailgate in front of the restrained Arcee. Tailgate is often brought up by Arcee and Airachnid.

Seaspray (voiced by)

Seaspray was a former member of The Wreckers, he is presumed to be dead after Dreadwing blew up his starship.

Ironhide (voiced by )

Info coming soon

Decepticons

Megatron - Voiced by: Frank Welker (English) Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese)

Megatron

The cruel, twisted, and somewhat insane leader of the Decepticons, Megatron's desire for power knows no bounds. Since his return to Earth he has experimented with Dark Energon, using it to reanimate the dead, and introducing it into his own spark chamber in an effort to gain control of the Terrorcons. After his exposure to Dark Energon, Megatron claimed to hear the will of Unicron. After the Space Bridge explosion, and an attack by Starscream that followed, Megatron remained comatose, until he took possession of Bumblebee's body as a means of repairing his own. He is now once more absolute ruler of the Decepticons.

Starscream - Voiced by: Steve Blum (English) Satoshi Tsuruoka (Japanese)

Starscream

The conniving and scheming second in command of the Decepticons, Starscream has had a taste of power, having served as leader of the Decepticons both during Megatron's absence and coma, even going so far as to declaring himself the Emperor of Destruction, and demanding the other Decepticons call him Lord Starscream. Since Megatron has awaken from his coma and retaken leadership from Starscream (after nearly beating Starscream into a coma) Starscream's ambition to overthrow Megatron has only grown.

Soundwave (no voice actor)

Soundwave

The eyes and ears of the Decepticons, Soundwave is the evil robot faction's communications officer and a master of espionage to boot. His loyalty to Megatron is unwavering, and probably the only thing that kept Starscream from killing Megatron while he was comatose. Soundwave does not speak through words, using a sonar, or morse code like beeps as a speech pattern instead.

Knockout (voiced by Daran Norris)

Knockout

The Decepticon's resident doctor, and a vain egomaniac to boot, Knockout is all about flash, style, and appearance. He enjoys racing against humans in the guise of his sports car alt mode, and though he is a talented doctor, admits he is in fact better at breaking things then fixing them. He is manipulative to an extreme, and attempted to help Starscream take out Megatron permanently. Though it remains to be seen if his loyalty to Starscream will waver now that Megatron is conscious.

Breakdown (voiced by Adam Baldwin)

Breakdown

Breakdown is Knockout's medical assistant, and like Knockout has some medical expertise, but though he is a competent medic, his interests seem more focussed on field operations and combat. Little is known about Breakdown, though he seems to have a grudge against Bulkhead.

Skyquake (voiced by Richard Green)

Skyquake

A Decepticon who has been left in stasis on Earth for centuries so he could be awoken should he be needed to protect Energon deposits on Earth for the Decepticons, Skyquake was awoken by Starscream in the wake of Megatron's apparent death. Skyquake refused to follow Starscream however, and behaved irrationally and enraged, attacking Starscream before engaging Optimus and Bumblebee in battle. Skyquake was killed, but Starscream resurrects him as a Terrorcon zombie who is now trapped in the Shadowzone.

Makeshift (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson)

Makeshift

A unique Decepticon with an odd skill that makes him an ideal spy, Makeshift is capable of mimicking the robot mode and voice of other Transformers. He used this skill to replace Wheeljack in an effort to discover the location of Outpost Omega-1. Makeshift was apparently destroyed by the true Wheeljack however, who attached a grenade to Makeshift before Bulkhead threw him into the Groundbridge portal leading back to the Nemesis where the grenade and presumably Makeshift were blown up.

Airachnid (voiced by Gina Torres)

Airachnid

The sadistic Airachnid no longer considers herself an affiliate of the Decepticons, though during the War for Cybertron she was a valued agent who obtained information through gruesome acts of torture. She came to Earth for the same reason she visits any world, to hunt, and kill, the indigenous sentient species, not just one member, or a few, but all until the race is extinct. Due to the destruction of her ship her agenda of eradicating all human life seems to have been put on hold. Now her main focus is killing Jack and Arcee,

Eradicons (Voiced by various actors including Steve Blum and Kevin Michael Richardson)

Eradicon

Eradicons (AKA Vehicons or Decepticon Soldiers) are the massive army of nameless Decepticon forces. They are usually seen as Sports cars or fighter jets.

Dreadwing (voiced by Tony Todd)

Dreadwing

Dreadwing is the twin brother of Skyquake, he came to Earth after sensing his brothers death and seeks revenge on the Autobots he feels are responsible for killing Skyquake, Dreadwing claims the two share a spark, the brothers are revealed to have once been members of the Seekers

Lazerbeak (no voice actor)

Soundwave's main Deployer agent, Lazerbeak's presence when Starscream found the nearly dead Megatron likely saved Megatron's life.

Insecticons

Insecticons are massive Decepticon soldiers, they are referred to as "vermin" by Arcee. They are incredibly strong and have been shown to be easily capable of physically dominating Arcee or Starscream.

Humans

Jackson "Jack" Darby - Voiced by: Josh Keaton (English) Jun Fukuyama (Japanese)

Jack Darby

Jack is the more level headed and low key of the kids, he is calm and collected, and sometimes can be a bit wreckless, especially when it comes to impressing Sierra. His largest act of bravery to date came when he had to face Airachnid who was trying to kill him. He is considered by Arcee to be her "junior partner".

Miko Nakadai - Voiced by: Tania Gunadi (English) Nozomi Furuki (Japanese)

Miko Nakadai

To say Miko is energetic would be an understatement, she puts herself in dangerous situation after dangerous situation knowingly. Miko, an exchange student from Tokyo, Japan, is also a fan of heavy metal and anime. She has a stuffed animal sometimes tied to her belt that seems to be a reference to Paranoia Agent. Miko is partnered with the heaviest of metal... The Autobot Bulkhead

Rafael "Raf" Esquivel - Voiced by: Andy Pessoa (English) Motoko Kumai (Japanese)

Raf Esquivel

The youngest of the kids, Raf is a child prodigy skilled with computers. He is a talented hacker, and the only human who can understand Bumblebee.

Agent William Fowler - Voiced by: Ernie Hudson (English) Kenji Nomura (Japanese)

Fowler

Assigned to monitor the activities of the Autobots, Agent Fowler was wary to trust the members of Team Prime at first, but now considers the Autobots as trusted friends and proven allies.

Sierra - Voiced by: Alexandra Krosney (English) Chisato Mori (Japanese)

Sierra

She is the object of Jack's boyhood crush, Sierra now seems to have at least some interest in him as well.

Vince (voiced by Brad Raider)

Vince

A high school bully and street racer. Vince seems to have a grudging respect for Jack since Jack beat him in a race and took him home after he was knocked out by Knockout,

June Darby - Voiced by: Markie Post (English) Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese)

June Darby

Jack's mom and a nurse by profession, June is a nurse and was not very happy that Jack drove a motorcycle. She later discovers the truth about the Autobots and Decepticons when Silas and Airachnid hold her hostage as bait for Jack and Arcee. She sometimes comes off as a bit overprotective, but at least feels better now that she knows Jack's motorcycle is actually a heroic robot in disguise.

Silas (voiced by Clancy Brown)

Silas

The leader of the terrorist group known as MECH. Silas wants to create his own Earth-born Transformers to serve as agents of MECH.

Others

Unicron

Unicron (voiced by John Noble)

The world destroying entity whose life blood is the Terrorcon creating Dark Energon, Unicron imposes his will on Megatron, and is the only being Megatron himself is subservient to.

Vector Sigma

info coming soon

Theme Music

The music for the show has been created by Brian Tyler who has composed the show's theme song and background music. Matthew Margeson served as music arranger. Also since the show has started airing in Japan, it has received a Japanese opening and ending theme just as Beast Wars did when it came to Japan.

Openings

1. "FEELING" by BIG BANG

Endings

1. "I Believe in All" by CLUTCHO