Carly (G1)

The name or term "Carly" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Carly (disambiguation).

Carly is a human honorary Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

MIT graduates make either great ambassadors or fantastic housewives!

Carly is a human ally of the Autobots. She attended MIT and has a gift for chemistry and electronics. She married Spike Witwicky and eventually gave birth to Daniel.

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Arlene Banas (English), Gara Takashima (Japanese, teenager), Kazue Komiya (Japanese, adult)

Spike now knows how Dudley Do-Right feels.

Carly first met Spike and Bumblebee at the Robots Video Arcade, though she was more interested in the Autobot than Spike, much to his disgust. Sometime later, she encountered Ironhide, who was standing guard during the test of Wheeljack's Immobilizer. She blamed herself for the device's capture by the Decepticons, and after Ironhide took her on a tour of Autobot Headquarters, she went on a solo mission to retrieve it and was promptly captured. After Ironhide, Bumblebee and Spike rescued her, she was able to put her MIT studies to use and reverse the Immobilizer's operation, ensuring an Autobot victory. Back at base, she accepted Spike's offer of a date, despite the obvious age difference. The Immobilizer

After a stop at a fun park, Carly, Spike and Bumblebee picked up Sparkplug at an airport, only to discover the Decepticons were using the location as a secret base. The Dinobots were called in, but became critically injured during the battle. The three humans returned to headquarters, where the Dinobots decided to desert the Autobot cause. When the Autobots themselves later became crippled by the levels of Cybertonium deteriorating in their systems, Carly realised that the Dinobots would still be functioning, and the trio of humans were able to persuade the Dinobots to help by intercepting a Decepticon shipment of the mineral. Unfortunately Grimlock instead led his troops to Cybertron, and Carly and Spike were forced to follow them there. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1

Carly's technical know-how once again proved useful as she, Spike and the Dinobots outwitted Shockwave. She also undid some Decepticon cross-circuiting of the Dinobots, and helped the Dinobots and Spike steal some Cybertonium. She was very impressed with Cybertron's design and layout, and even watched a cybertronic history disc from a neglected machine. Unfortunately, the trip had several drawbacks; among them, Shockwave disintegrated her car (Decepticreep!), and she twisted her ankle. However, after the Cybertonium mission was completed, some good came of it all — Optimus Prime gave both Carly and Spike the title of honorary Autobots. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2

The pair took Blaster along with them to a rock concert, however Blaster's transmission of the concert to the other Autobots caused them to miss a distress signal, resulting in the theft of the Voltronic Galaxer. Carly and Spike started searching the globe in Powerglide, however Megatron used the missing device to jam Earth's radio signals. Carly used her technical knowhow to track the signal to the Moon, and she and Spike accompanied Powerglide and Optimus there in Omega Supreme, though the two humans couldn't do much more than be a cheering squad. Blaster Blues

Out driving in Hoist, Spike and Carly stumbled on a film shoot. After Hoist rescued some stuntmen, he was invited to be part of the movie, while Spike and Carly got free passes to the studio. The duo went to watch the filming, and were dismayed as the other Autobots also attempted to get in on the act, but their time was soon occupied in preventing the Decepticons from getting their hands on a film reel. They were chased through the backlot by Megatron, until a cunning ruse by Hoist involving dropping the pair into a vat of "lava" fooled the Decepticons into thinking the film reel had been destroyed. Hoist Goes Hollywood

Spike, Carly and Sparkplug got all dressed up to watch Perceptor get presented with a prestegious award for his invention of corrostop. Cosmic Rust

By the year 2006, she and Spike, who had become Earth's ambassador to Cybertron, had married and had a son, Daniel. The family attended the first Galactic Olympics together, from which Spike was abducted by the Quintessons, along with Ultra Magnus and Kup. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1

Daniel? Daniel? Oh, good, I lost him.

The Witwickys attended a diplomatic event on Cybertron, during which Daniel wandered off with Grimlock. It was a while before Carly noticed her son was missing, and insisted on joining in the search. The Autobots followed the trail to a secret Quintesson room with portals leading to prison dimensions. Carly and the Autobots traveled to Menonia in search of Daniel and Grimlock. Carly was able to find a piece of Daniel's tuxedo and, with the aid of Steeljaw and Ramhorn, tracked down the boy himself. After defeating the Quintesson who'd been exiled to Menonia, the Autobots and the two humans returned to Cybertron. Madman's Paradise

When Daniel started having bad dreams, Spike and Carly asked Rodimus to help the boy overcome them. Nightmare Planet

Japanese cartoon continuity

The events of the American animated series occur in Japanese continuity as noted above, except that the events of season three were moved back to 2010. Japanese animated continuity inserts several additional storylines into the timeline.

Scramble City cartoon

In the late 1980s, the Autobots began work on a mobile battle fortress dubbed "Scramble City", and began construction of the massive structure in a subterranean cavern. Carly helped the Autobots work on the project, and was seen twiddling knobs and consulting some paperwork. Scramble City: Mobilization

The Headmasters cartoon

Voice actor: Kazue Komiya (Japanese)

Apparently, doing anything constructive with her degree from MIT wasn't a priority for Carly, as she became strictly a doting housewife by 2011. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky Her new duties included: serving coffee, worrying about things, and getting injured so that men could rescue her. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)

The Headmasters comic

Carly was strolling the beach with her family and Autobot friends shortly after the defeat of Mega Zarak. After Soundblaster attacked, Carly was taken hostage by Slugfest and Overkill until she was rescued by Daniel. The Headmasters #8

Dreamwave comics continuity

It turned out blondes actually did have more fun.

In 2002, Carly was a brunette. Prime Directive #1 She was back to her natural blonde locks when Bumblebee arrived at the Witwicky household to talk to Spike. When Daniel asked who the yellow car was, Carly, not wishing to reveal to her son the family's history with the Transformers, merely replied that it was his father's best friend. Extermination

Notes

• Carly never appeared in any of the Marvel comics, though she arguably exists within its continuity. Daniel at least does, and someone has to be his mother.
• Carly and Chip Chase never appeared in the same episode during the entire US run. Coincidence!? Shocking dual identity!? (Actually, it just never occured to the writers to put the two of them in the same episode). The only time they're both seen on screen is near the beginning of "Scramble City: Mobilization". Blink twice and you'll miss 'em.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Carly (カーリー Kārī)
• English: Carey (Omni Productions dub)