Prowl (TFA)


 * Prowl is an Autobot in the Transformers Animated continuity family.

Some people are team players, and some...well, aren't. Prowl falls into the latter category. A loner at heart, he has little interest in teamwork, something Optimus Prime finds extremely frustrating.

Prowl is an adept and agile one-on-one fighter who strikes swiftly and unseen with throwing stars and swords, and he feels cooperation with the loud and unsubtle Autobots around him would cramp his style. He uses an array of throwing weapons, such as cutting discs, that he can throw with high accuracy. While useful as thrown projectiles, these weapons tend to be far more damaging at close range and will occasionally bounce off their target with little damage if thrown from too great a distance. He's the only Autobot with a jetpack, granting him limited flight. Despite Prowl's battle prowess, this unwillingness to work with his teammates causes problems.

Still, he's not without his redeeming features. He has a deep, deep fascination with organic lifeforms. His quarters on Earth is missing most of its ceiling, allowing him a permanent window into nature. In fact, he seems to have a deeper appreciation of his new surroundings than the humans who grew up with them. The phrase "stop and smell the roses" is a life truth for Prowl, and he can spend hours motionless, watching the world play out around him.

Interestingly, he is drawn considerably larger, or at least taller, than Bumblebee, despite the fact that his vehicle mode is much smaller.

"Stillness...then strike."

- Prowl getting past motion detectors

Transformers: Animated cartoon

 * Voice actor: Jeff Bennett (US), ? (Japan)

Prowl showed a lack of interest in both teamwork (as a loner type) and in the motivational (kinda long-winded) speeches of Optimus Prime. He did not obey orders at first and learned of the consequences firsthand as he was nearly killed by a nanite-enhanced cockroach. After his revival at the hands of Sari and her All Spark-empowered key, he showed that he had become a valuable team player when he headed out with Bumblebee and Sari to save Professor Sumdac and Captain Fanzone from Starscream.

Later, Prowl was watching a cat stalk a bird. He found it fascinating, but was aggravated when he was interrupted by human fans. Returning to base, he hid out in his Japanese-themed room, only to be interrupted by Prime and Bumblebee. Even worse, Sari threw a slumber party, pushing Prowl to the edge by the commotion. Ironically, when Megatron took over the factory, Prowl was able to show Bumblebee the value of stillness in battle, something the pair would work on later in a game of Twister™.

In an attempt to get Bulkhead to be less bumbling and destructive, he tried to teach his comrade how to move with ninja-like grace as he did. It...did not go well. Bulkhead's effectiveness in battle was undermined until Prowl realized Bulkhead's approach had its place and encouraged him to "do what you do." He also sensed sparks within the Dinobots and, unwilling to let them be destroyed, secretly hid them on a small island before they were melted down. As he explained to Bulkhead, "Just because something's big and lumbering and destructive, doesn't mean you give up on it."

Transformers Animated

 * Prowl (Deluxe, 2008)


 * Prowl transforms into a police motorcycle of made-up model. His removable hubcaps turn into three-bladed shuriken. He comes with a traffic light with a chain attached to it, which functions as a weapon.