Action Movies

Just in case you haven’t been to a toy store, caught the last Transformers movie, or tuned into the Cartoon Network anytime recently, here’s a rundown of the Transformers characters rumored or announced to appear in the sequel to the summer blockbuster.

Transformers 2 Human Characters
The alien robots are the real stars of the movie, but there’s not much at stake if there aren’t some humans in jeopardy and/or saving the day.

Sam Witwicky – Shia LaBeouf reprises his role as the smart kid who bought the Camaro (Bumblebee) that started it all. This time out, he’s a freshman at Princeton who unwittingly discovers the history of the Transformers.

Mikaela Banes – Megan Fox also reprises her role as the hot love interest. She also happens to be a mechanical whiz, unlike semi-geek Sam.

Captain Lennox – Josh Duhamel also returns as the hunky Army captain who led the military charge in the first Transformers movie. Expect more hunkiness and brave-type stuff.

Sergeant Epps – Tyrese Gibson returns as a member of Lennox’s special ops team.

Transformers 2 Autobots

Now that we’ve gotten the human characters out of the way, it’s time to get down to the real business of the movie: the robots. The Autobots are the good Transformers and usually take the form of GM vehicles, although a few take other forms.

Optimus Prime – As the leader of the Autobots, he takes the form of Peterbilt semi truck when he’s not a patriotic red and blue robot.

Bumblebee – A classic Chevy Camaro that transforms into a helpful giant yellow robot ready to defend all mankind, especially Sam.

Ironhide – A GMC Topkick by day, a hulking weapons specialist robot by night, expect lots of action from this Autobot.

Ratchet – We always suspected there was something off with the Hummer H2. Now we know it’s because it’s actually a search and rescue Autobot with x-ray vision.

Arcee – There are also girl Autobots. Three motorcycles (pink, blue, and purple, naturally), merge to form this sleek robot. We suppose she’s sexy if you’re into that sort of thing.

Skids and Mudflap – Also known as the Twins, these are the Chevy Beat and Chevy Trax.

Sideswipe – The big thing on wheels is apparently a Chevy Corvette Stingray that transforms into, well, a big thing on wheels.

Jetfire – The first non-GM vehicle, this is actually the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance jet. Rumor had it he was supposed to be an F-22, but it’s a good thing he isn’t because the military wants to cancel those. Oops.

Jolt – Now we know why the Chevy Volt costs so much – it’s actually an Autobot. If that doesn’t get you to work on time, nothing will.

Transformers 2 Decepticons
Where there are good guys, there must also be bad guys. (Standard action movie policy.) In this case, the bad Transformers are also giant robots, but none of them are GM vehicles (perish the thought.) Most of them aren’t even human vehicles.

Megatron – The leader of the Decepticons and the brother of Optimus Prime. He’s expected to take the form of a tank (non-branded) in the latest film. His primary duty is to protect the Allspark, which was destroyed in the last film, but he’s also bent on annihilating the Autobots. What sort of villain would he be if that weren’t the case? Even more villainous? He’s voiced by Hugo Weaving, AKA the Matrix’s Agent Smith.

Starscream – An F-22 Raptor that considers himself Megatron’s first lieutenant. He rallies support and additional troops for their epic battle.

Sideways – One of the rare human cars that is also a Decepticon, this Audi R8 is a courier for the dark side.

Scorponok – Unlike other Transformers, this one never bothers to assume a human-friendly form. Instead he takes the shape of a terrifying giant metal scorpion.

Ravage – A fierce dog or cat robot with really scary teeth.

Devastator – 7 Constructicons (construction vehicle-based Transformers) combine to form this one destructive machine. Most of the components are Caterpillar, but some hail from other makers.

Soundwave – A communications officer that is very, very loyal to Megatron.

The Fallen – The Fallen is unlikely to take an appearance that would disguise it to humans. As one of the original 13 Transformers, his role was in monitoring the primal force of entropy, but he went rogue and created the Decepticons. Megatron reports to him.

Transformers 2 Insecticons

Yeah, it’s not bad enough that real insects bite us, but now we have to put up with tiny insect robots, too? Not cool.

And those, folks, are the major characters slated to appear in the next edition of the Transformers franchise. There are likely to be more robots that are currently being kept under wraps as well as many additional human characters. Keep your eyes peeled for these fan favorites and see if they live up to the hype.