Prowl (G1)

Prowl is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers series. "Prowl" is one of the most re-used American names in the assorted Transformers series, and its use has become almost synonymous with Autobots who possess a police car alternate mode. An Autobot named Prowl was one of the main heroes in both the Transformers: Robots in Disguise and Transformers: Animated series.

Transformers: Generation 1
Prowl is an Autobot of many virtues - he is quiet, competent, loyal, and possessed of almost endless patience. When Optimus Prime appoints Prowl a task, he can be guaranteed that it will be completed to the best of Prowl's ability. Prowl is not given to speculation or estimation - the only realm in which he will work is that of the proven fact; if he cannot explain it, he will not believe it. He hates doubt, and strives to make a situation as simple and logical as possible, purging excesses of concern from his mind by going to Optimus Prime for assurance. Prowl is friendly, but only as a listener; as a talker, he is not so sociable, entering a conversation usually only when someone makes an unreasonable remark, and demanding an explanation.

Prowl's logic center is unquestionably the most powerful of all the Autobots', giving him the ability to analyze any combat situation almost instantaneously and then advise on the optimal course of action - a skill that makes him eminently suited to his role as the Autobots' military strategist and analyst. For example, he can compute the paths of movement of 800 separate moving objects and determine the proper countermove in half a second. In robot mode, he is armed with a pair of shoulder-mounted cannons which fire wire-guided incendiary missiles, and a semi-automatic rifle that shoots pellets filled with a highly corrosive acid. He transforms into a police car version of a Datsun Fairlady 280ZX.

Prowl's straightforward mind means that non-linear thinking is one of his biggest weaknesses. Irrational situations and thought processes can sometimes scramble his circuits to the extent that his mind will briefly shut down.

Animated series
Strangely, although his toy tech specs placed him as second-in-command of the Autobots, in the animated series, both Jazz and Ironhide seem to share this duty with him in certain cases. Jazz was in charge of special operations, Ironhide security and Prowl tactics.

A regular member of the battle units assembled to combat the assorted threats the Decepticons posed to Earth, Prowl's primary solo adventure saw him pursue Starscream, Thundercracker and Soundwave alongside Bluestreak after a botched raid, only for injuries sustained in the ensuing battle to knock his battle computer offline. Unable to mobilize himself without its functions, Prowl reached out electronically and interfaced with the nearby computer of Chip Chase, who manipulated Prowl's body and fended off the Decepticons.

Beyond that, however, Prowl's role as a strategist put him firmly in the background of the Transformers' ongoing adventures on Earth, participating in many battles but playing key roles in few; among some of his roles in conflict involving him orchestrating the plan to invade the Decepticons' underwater base, devising security measures to prevent Megatron from stealing super-fuel from an Autobot convoy and leading the attack against the Triple changer, Blitzwing's fortress when he separated from the Decepticons, only to wind up built into a throne by Scrapper, after being smashed and defeated by Blitzwing's tank mode.

In the year 2005, when the Autobots had been forced off of Cybertron and were based out of Autobot City on Earth and two orbiting moon bases, Prowl, Ironhide, Ratchet and Brawn were dispatched to Earth to collect a shipment of energon cubes that would power the Autobots' subsequent strike at the Decepticons. Getting wind of the plan, Megatron and his forces attacked their shuttle, and a single direct hit from Scavenger's weapon penetrated Prowl's armor, melting his internal workings, which ended his life. He and the others were killed in the line of duty. His recovered body was laid to rest in the Autobots' deep-space mausoleum, which was later destroyed.

Prowl continued to appear in the toy line, and even made the occasional appearance in the animated segments of the toy commercials.

Prowl appears in episode 1 and 3 of the Japanese exclusive Headmasters series. He is among the Autobot forces on Earth.

