Summary
- Some Transformers characters have switched sides between the Autobots and Decepticons, with their allegiance guided by their values and experiences.
- Characters like Grimlock, Dreadwing, and Jetfire have all been part of both factions at different points in various Transformers stories.
- Betrayals and allegiances can be influenced by personal grudges, feelings of loyalty, and a desire for revenge, as seen in the stories of Wheeljack, Blackarachnia, and Optimus Prime himself.
Some of the most interesting characters in Transformers canon are those who opted to eschew their original team and change sides. Across the many different versions of the Transformers universe, the eternal conflict between the Decepticons and Autobots is a primary recurring component to the story, battling on Cybertron and Earth for supremacy. While it’s easy to think of the Transformers as robots, their personalities can shine through when it comes to the different values the two factions offer individual bots.
While there are other factions in many Transformers stories beyond the Autobots and Decepticons, typically, the two parties are presented as the only options for most Transformers worth their wheels. However, there are a few characters who have found themselves on both teams at some point or another. Across the many Transformers films and shows, there’s more than a handful of Transformers who can be counted as both Decepticon and Autobot.
12 Grimlock Can’t Make Up His Mind
Generation 1
Since their introduction in the original Transformers cartoon, the Dinobots have been something of antiheroes, their bestial natures sometimes clashing with the stoic, ideological Autobots. Their ferocious leader, Grimlock, is no exception; the sauroid Transformer’s Darwinist beliefs were taken advantage of by Megatron, who convinced him to come to the side of the Decepticons for a time. Luckily, Optimus Prime was able to appeal to his values just as well, wooing him back to the side of the Autobots by demonstrating the strength of a leader.
11 Dreadwing Had A Brief Tenure On The Autobots
Transformers: Prime
A longtime supporter of Megatron and Decepticon, Dreadwing stood by the ranks of the villainous group through thick and thin, displaying an unwavering loyalty to Megatron. Despite this, Dreadwing demonstrated a sort of honorable rivalry with Optimus Prime, appreciating him as a worthy foe. It was only when his split-Spark Twin, Skyquake, was revealed to have been killed by Starscream that Dreadwing finally defected. Unfortunately, his Autobot career would be quickly cut short in battle by Megatron himself.
10 Jetfire Was The First Jet To Become An Autobot
Generation 1
The original traitor, Jetfire was yet another jet-themed Decepticon, introduced as an old friend of Starscream, having been lost on Earth a millennium prior to the start of the story. Upon being revived in the present day, Jetfire originally joined up with his old allies but was quick to defect upon learning exactly how the Decepticons operated. Thus, Jetfire was given the rare distinction of being the first Autobot with a flying alt-mode, as well as the first in the series to betray Megatron’s forces and become a hero.
9 The Enemy Of Starscream’s Enemy Was Briefly His Friend
Transformers: Armada
Between all of the Transformers cartoons put to screen, Transformers: Armada finally took Starscream’s megalomania and hatred of Megatron to its natural conclusion. Finally accepting that he couldn’t overthrow Megatron on his own, Starscream opted to enlist with the Autobots to take him down from the outside. While the conniving construct’s plan fizzled out soon after, he briefly enjoyed a friendship with the human Alexis, who made enough of an impact to inspire this version of Starscream to go out heroically, uniting both sides against the destructive Unicron.
8 Knock Out Went Unappreciated By The Decepticons
Transformers: Prime
An original creation of the series, Transformers: Prime introduced Knock Out as a hapless doctor, serving the Decepticons as their version of the Autobot, Ratchet. Similarly, Knock Out had a car alt form, unusual for the warlike Decepticons, which led to him getting little respect from his peers, who valued combat skills above all else. It took Knock Out two attempts before the Autobots would accept him, initially seeming only to want to join the winning side at the last moment.
7 Drift Renamed Himself As An Autobot
All-Hail Megatron
Drift was once a Decepticon named Deadlock, a Samurai-coded sword expert with a keen sense of honor. Naturally, his values didn’t fit in well with the Decepticon’s cartoonishly evil ethos, and he went on to cast off his Decepticon-given name, rebranding himself as Drift in All-Hail Megatron. Drift actually was given a brief appearance as an Autobot in the live-action films, though his turncoat backstory wasn’t elaborated upon. It’s not a bad legacy for a character originating in a relatively obscure miniseries.
6 Cliffjumper Was Brought Back From The Dead By Decepticons
Transformers: Prime
Easy to overlook as a palette-swap of Bumblebee, Cliffjumper has lived up to his name in many iterations of the series, meeting his doom in a heroic sacrifice or tragic death in many versions of the Transformers mythos. This was the case in Transformers: Prime, which had Cliffjumper felled by Starscream, only to be re-purposed as a zombified Terrorcon for the Decepticons using the shard of Dark Energon. Though not exactly a willing traitor, Cliffjumper was possessed by the same foul necromancy that did in Skyquake.
5 The Constructicons Were Taken In Under New Management
Generation 1
The first combining Transformers, the group of walking construction equipment consisting of Scrapper, Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hook, and Long Haul are capable of combining their bodies and minds to form the mighty Devastator. Despite their brutal-sounding names, The Constructicons weren’t always Decepticons, originally serving as peaceful guardians of the planet of Cybertron. Unfortunately, they were reprogrammed by Megatron to be weapons of war, and have since worn purple insignias in every subsequent iteration.
4 Wheeljack’s Desire For Revenge Informed His Allegiance
Transformers: Armada
While the original version of Wheeljack was a quirky inventor, always backing the Autobots up with some new weapon he’d cooked up, Transformers: Armada took the character in a darker direction. After being left for dead on a battlefield by Hot Shot, Wheeljack vowed revenge, scratching a scar through the Autobot insignia on his chest to demonstrate his commitment. It wasn’t until later in the series that he would officially join the Decepticons, his personal grudge outweighing all else.
3 Blackarachnia Was Left For Dead And Mutated
Beast Wars: Transformers
True to the name of herself and her debut series, Beast Wars: Transformers‘ arachnoid appearance was the basis of her betrayal. Originally an Autobot named Elita-One, Blackarachnia was gifted with absorption powers that allowed her to copy the form of others. After being stranded on a remote planet, Elita-One was left for dead by her team, leaving her at the mercy of the planet’s giant spiders. Absorbing their forms and permanently mutating into a spider-like techno-organic, Blackarachnia blamed her fate on the Autobots, joining their historic enemies out of sheer spite.
2 Wildwheel Spent More Time On Earth Than Most Autobots
Transformers: Cyberverse
A late addition to the series, Wildwheel was introduced in Transformers: Cyberverse‘s third season as a traitorous gunslinger. Originally a passenger aboard the massive Autobot ship, The Ark, Wildwheel’s stasis pod was ejected into a prehistoric Earth, awakening in the American Wild West in the 1800s, where he adopted some colorful cowboy mannerisms and style before finally making it back to Cybertron. Blaming the Autobots for his 200-year detour, Wildwheel joined the Decepticons after rejecting an attempt at reconciliation from Optimus Prime.
1 Optimus Prime’s Erased Memories Led Him To A Stint As A Decepticon
Transformers: Prime
Despite being the unchallenged leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime himself wasn’t completely safe from falling under the Decepticons’ wiles. After using up the power of the Matrix of Leadership to defeat Unicron, stripping himself of his Prime status, Optimus was reverted to his pre-Prime self, Orion Pax. His memories of the Cybertronian War being erased, he trusted Megatron, the only friendly face he knew. Megatron took advantage of the opportunity, shepherding Optimus into the Decepticons in one of the most shocking betrayals in all of Transformers canon.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
