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The Dynasty of Primes are the first Cybertronians who came into being.

Seven Primes[]

Michael York, Kevin Michael Richardson and Robin Atkin Downes voice three members of the Seven Primes, a group of which The Fallen is a member.

Sentinel Prime[]

Leonard Nimoy[54][55][56] voices Sentinel Prime, the main antagonist in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He is Optimus Prime's predecessor and mentor, who transforms into aRosenbauer Panther airport crash tender fire truck. Former Autobot leader, served as the captain of the Ark.[57] Apparently, his intention to restore Cybertron to its former glory after the war drove him mad, causing him to go against his ideals by siding with the Decepticons. After betraying the Autobots, Sentinel activates the space bridge pillars in Chicago, intending to summon Cybertron itself to Earth's atmosphere and repair the planet using Earth's resources and mankind as a workforce. Optimus engages Sentinel in battle but is overwhelmed by his old mentor, until Megatron steps in after being convinced to by Carly Spencer. Optimus, tired of war, leaps up, kills Megatron and witnesses Cybertron's destruction with Bumblebee destroying the pillars. Sentinel despairs and attempts to justify his actions, but Optimus mercilessly executes him, claiming Sentinel "betrayed himself".

In Revenge of the Fallen, Sentinel Prime is briefly mentioned in the rambling speech given by Sam Witwicky while under an AllSpark fragment-induced trance, with Sam mentioning a "mission".

Nimoy provided the voice of Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie, and had been considered for voicing The Fallen in Revenge of the Fallen before the role was given to Tony Todd.

Optimus Prime[]

Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots [58] who comes to Earth to destroy the All Spark in order to end the war. Don Murphy decided after discussions with fans on his website that they wanted the surviving voices from the original 1980s cartoon series, The Transformers.[59] Cullen described reprising the role as easy as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a while", and was grateful to the fans for wanting him back.[60] His performance consisted of much improvisation with Bay, and portraying the traditional heroism of the character as well as bringing a sense of humor.[61] Bay told the animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson to inspire Optimus' body language.[3] Optimus transforms into a Peterbilt 379 truck built by truck designer Dave Porter of Wright City, MO. The selection of the Peterbilt, a more aggressive truck compared to the original flat-nosed truck from the animated series was also made as a nod to Spielberg's film Duel.[62] The original cab over design was rejected because that would only transform into a twenty-feet tall model of the character, whereas the filmmakers wanted him to stand thirty feet tall.[3] Optimus has red flame artwork on his blue body. This was a compromise between Hasbro, who wanted to retain the character's iconic red chest, and Bay, who felt red alone would not photograph well.[63] Hasbro had previously rejected designs of Optimus which were too blue.[63] Optimus' head was built on set as a prop.[3]

For Revenge of the Fallen, conceptual essays were made in an attempt to use his classic trailer for his powerup mode,[64] but this was ultimately dropped in favor of the incorporation of Jetfire's parts. Cullen recorded a voiceover for the opening scene in August 2008, but began the majority of voice work in November.[65][66] Originally, a cameo was written for Cullen, but it was not included in the final cut of the film.[67]

For Dark of the Moon, Optimus Prime has added a trailer similar to his Generation 1 counterpart,[68] and has been redesigned to look more heroic.[69] The trailer contains enhanced weapons, a shield and flight gear.

Bumblebee[]

Mark Ryan voices Bumblebee for the character's two lines at the end of the film, when he regains his voice. For most of the film's duration, Bumblebee communicates with radiosoundbites because of his damaged vocal processor, but his throat begins healing after Ratchet fires a regenerative laser when they meet again on Earth: this was not clarified on screen, and Orci feels that Bumblebee being healed by touching the AllSpark is also a valid explanation.[70] Before being cast in the role, Ryan had acted as a stand-in for the robots during filming, reading out their lines.[71] The decision to make Bumblebee silent was inspired by Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, to show that his bond with Sam was beyond words.[72] The filmmakers had considered using lines from various Paramount films, including "I feel the need for speed!" from Top Gun, but decided such lines would be too obvious.[73]Credited clips used in the film include John Wayne from El Dorado and Nichelle Nichols as Uhura from the Star Trek television series. A full scale puppet of Bumblebee was also used for the film. The animators modeled Bumblebee's performance on Michael J. Fox's character in Back to the Future.[17] Bumblebee transforms into a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro, and upgrades into the 2009 model.[17] Bay rejected the character's 1980s form of the Volkswagen Beetle, as it reminded him of Herbie the Love Bug. Hasbro did not mind as long as the car remained yellow. In reference to his original form, the Beetle is parked next to Bumblebee when Sam is buying him.[63] The modern Camaro was chosen for its friendly appearance,[17]while the old model was chosen to show that Sam's father could only buy him the cheapest car he could find.[63]

Two years later, despite being repaired at the end of the 2007 film, Bumblebee's voice is malfunctioning again, so he still uses radio soundbites to communicate. It is explained in the companion comic series that Starscream damaged them again in a fight after they were repaired. Mark Ryan reportedly reprised his role as the voice for Bumblebee, but ultimately no spoken lines by the character were included in the finished film. Ryan also continued his role as stand-in for the robots on set.[74] The filmmakers updated Bumblebee's previous appearance as the 2006 Camaro Concept based on the Super Sport version of the 2010 production model.[75] Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design, said the redesigned car emphasized Bumblebee as becoming stronger after having his severed legs reattached in the 2007 film, with the new intakes and spoilers showing him as a sturdier character.[76]Concept designs were made that portray Bumblebee as the convertible version of the Camaro, but they were ultimately not used.[77]

Two years later, Bumblebee[78] has gone through some changes. His vehicle mode features a new body kit and paint job.

Jazz[]

Darius McCrary voices Jazz, a lieutenant who develops a fondness for urban culture and is Optimus Prime's second in command.[79] McCrary said he was honored to follow in the footsteps of Scatman Crothers, who voiced Jazz on The Transformers. "When I was actually [recording], I really did feel Scatman's presence," he said.[80] Mark Ryan had tried out numerous voices for Jazz, including a Sean Connery impersonation, before McCrary was cast.[71] Jazz transforms into a modified Pontiac Solstice, a car the director felt was too small, but he decided not to argue with GM.[81] Hasbro felt it was still a "cool sports car" reminiscent of his original Porsche 935 form.[63] The screenwriters chose to kill off Jazz as they felt he was the most likable character after Optimus and Bumblebee, although they did not have time to make it effective due to budget constraints.[70]

Ironhide[]

Jess Harnell voices Ironhide, who transforms into a modified GMC TopKick C4500 medium-duty truck. The character is a cantankerous weapons specialist.[82] Peter Cullen also voiced Ironhide on television and auditioned to reprise the role.[83] When Harnell was voicing the character on set, he used a Southern accent as Cullen did.[71]

He is killed by Sentinel Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon when Sentinel betrays the Autobots.

Ratchet[]

Robert Foxworth voices Ratchet, the team's medical officer.[84] He transforms into a search and rescue Hummer H2. The writers had wanted to keep his original ambulance form, but the producers wanted something else. Hasbro did not mind if the character was either an ambulance or a fire apparatus.

For Dark of the Moon, Ratchet had some changes done to his vehicle mode, which was painted green and white.[85]

Skids and Mudflap[]

Tom Kenny and Reno Wilson voice Skids and Mudflap respectively, also known as the twins.[86] These Autobot infiltrators transforms respectively into a green Chevrolet Beat and a red Chevrolet Trax.[75] Mudflap is very hyperactive, while Skids believes himself to be the smarter of the two and tries to come across as mature, but nevertheless appears unable to keep quiet.[87] Skids and Mudflap share an almost psychic link which enables them to coordinate their attacks in battle, when they are not bickering among themselves.[88] Bay compared the message of the bumbling but heroic characters to the story The Little Engine That Could[89] He chose the Beat and Trax for the Autobot twins because he thought those two small cars looked good together.[90] Ed Welburn added when they had designed the cars before Bay selected them, the "character" they wanted to bring to the concepts was a sense that small cars could be as cool as large ones.[91] The twins have the ability to combine. They start the film by combining into a pink and white ice cream van, and although it was dropped at some point during production, it was initially said that they would have the ability to combine to form a bigger robot.[92]

Despite Michael Bay's initial denial of their return,[93] Skids and Mudflap, now both transforming into black Chevrolet Sparks, did have scenes shot for the film.[94][95][96] However, they were dropped from the final cut of Dark of the Moon. The novel and comic book adaptations of the film reveal that they would have died at Sentinel Prime's hands alongside Ironhide

Wilson previously voiced Frenzy in the 2007 film, and Kenny voiced Starscream in Transformers Animated.

Sideswipe[]

André Sogliuzzo voices Sideswipe, a silver Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept.[75] His arms sport detachable sword-like blades, and having wheels for feet, he moves around skating, similarly to the way Bonecrusher did in the 2007 film. For his development, its creators were inspired by roller derby players.[97] Sideswipe was originally scripted to be aLamborghini as he was in G1, but Bay ultimately decided to change him into the Stingray.[98]

For Dark of the Moon, Sideswipe's vehicle mode was upgraded into a convertible.[99] Also, his voice actor was recast, and the role was taken by James Remar, who would later star inTransformers: Prime.

Arcee[]

Grey DeLisle voices Arcee, three female Autobots driven by a single consciousness, that transform into motorcycles. Functions as a field commander.[100] Although given individual names in the official toyline, the sisters are collectively addressed as "Arcee" in the movie. During development, the three bikes were first conceived to be able to combine into a single robot,[101] and this ability can still be seen in the film's novelization.[102] The three sisters are:


All three motorcycles feature customizations performed by custom sportsbike builder retroSBK.[107]

Arcee was initially meant to appear in the 2007 film as a robot that transformed from a single bike, but was ultimately dropped from it due to concerns of her being too small compared to the other bots,[108] and the fact that the writers felt there was not enough time to explain her gender, despite her and several other female Transformers appearing in the 2007 film's toyline and tie-in comics.[89] Whether to explain robotic gender or not was something the writers were unsure about, and it remained undecided until post-production, with the issue eventually remaining unaddressed in the finished film.[109]

Arcee's holographic riders are played by Erin Naas.[110]

Jolt[]

Jolt is a technician[111] armed with a pair of electric whips, befitting his electric car alternate mode is a Chevrolet Volt.[112] He was a last-minute addition to the cast as General Motors, the film's car supplier, wanted to promote the Volt. The writers had already wanted to include the car in the script before the Writers Guild strike, so they had to work out a character that would fit well within the Autobot team afterwards and convince Bay to approve the addition.[113] Welburn was pleased the Volt's character was christened Jolt by the filmmakers, as it reflected that car's design "character".[91]

Jetfire[]

Mark Ryan voices Jetfire, a Yorkshire accented Seeker[114] and former Decepticon who transforms into a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. His wounds and age have made him choose to fight on the side of the Autobots.[115] The writers wanted a geriatric robot, and during scripting they gave Jetfire that personality.[116] He creaks, does not transform well, and is said to be running out of energon.[117] Also, he walks with a cane, which doubles as a battle axe. In the 2009 film, he sacrificed his spark to allow his parts for Optimus Prime to destroy the Fallen.

Wheelie[]

Tom Kenny voices Wheelie, a blue radio-controlled toy monster truck. Speaking with a Brooklyn accent, Wheelie initially serves the Decepticons just because he is scared of them, but during the 2009 film, upon learning that Jetfire had switched sides, he chooses to do so himself.[118] He is called "Wheels" in the 2009 film novel.

In Dark of the Moon, he lives with Sam, Carly and Brains whom he becomes friends with.[119] His fate is unknown when he and Brains crash a Decepticon ship in a river.

Brains[]

Reno Wilson voices Brains, a small and intelligent Autobot who transforms into a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge laptop computer, and is friends with Wheelie.[120][121] His fate is unknown when he and Wheelie sabotage a Decepticon ship and crash landed in a river.

According to the movie prequel comics, he was originally a Decepticon mobile "brain unit" drone that had gained sapience and escaped.

Dino[]

Francesco Quinn voices Dino, an Autobot Spy who transforms into a red Ferrari 458 Italia and speaks with an Italian accent.[48]

He was initially called Mirage, and he goes by that name in the film's related media and toyline, but for the film his name was changed by request from Ferrari, into the nickname given toAlfredo Ferrari.[122] In early concept art for the film he is named "Rush".[123]

Que[]

George Coe voices Wheeljack/Que, an Autobot Scientist whose head design resembles Albert Einstein and transforms into a blue Mercedes-Benz E550. He is an inventor and is seen giving the Autobots weapons and equipment he has created. He is killed when Soundwave orders his execution; an unidentified Decepticon shoots him in the chest and Barricade finishes him by shooting him in the head.

He was initially meant to be called Wheeljack, going by that name in the film's related media and toyline but this was changed late in post production, as an homage to the James Bondcharacter Q.[citation needed] The closing credits of the film list the character as "Que/Wheeljack".

Wreckers[]

The Wreckers are an Autobot sub-team that transform into heavily armed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet Impala stock cars equipped with machine guns.[124][125] They function as a Commando Unit, and are mechanics, helping Epps rebuild an Autobot spaceship, the Xantium.[126]

Roadbuster[]

Ron Bottitta voices Roadbuster (called "Amp" in the film, referring to his NASCAR vehicle mode's primary sponsor, AMP Energy), a Wrecker who is a no-nonsense bot[127] who speaks with a Scottish accent. He transforms into a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. #88 AMP Energy/National Guard car. The closing credits list him as "Roadbuster/Amp".

Leadfoot[]

John DiMaggio voices Leadfoot (called "Target" in the film, referring to his NASCAR vehicle mode's primary sponsor, Target), a Wrecker who applies his knowledge of science to create bigger and louder weapons for his Autobot allies[128] and speaks with a Cockney accent. He transforms into a Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Target car. The closing credits list him as "Leadfoot/Target".

DiMaggio previously voiced Sideways in the 2009 Revenge of the Fallen video game.

Topspin[]

Topspin is a Wrecker who pushes himself to the limit in combat, even when up against the biggest and baddest Decepticons.[129] He transforms into a Jimmie Johnson #48Lowe's/Kobalt car.

Hound[]

Hound is an autobot that transforms into an  Oshkosh Defense Medium Tactical Vehicle.

Others[]

A January 2010 interview with actor James Avery claimed that he would be providing the voice of an Autobot named "Silverbolt" in the film,[130] but no such character appeared in the finished movie. Similary, a January 2011 article in the Idaho Times-News claimed that Bill Fagerbakke, who voiced Bulkhead in Transformers Animated, would be voicing one of the Wreckers, but the actor's voice did not appear.[131] Mark Ryan, who voiced Bumblebee and Jetfire in the first two films, participated in the early production of Dark of the Moon, but his work wasn't ultimately featured in the film.[132]

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