Brains

Brains is a drone from the live-action film series continuity family.

The magic labyrinth of I.M.Meen!

Not long ago, the Decepticons constructed a "brain unit" drone to receive a very important download. However, the Decepticons underestimated the independent thought capacity of their new member, and before long the drone rebelled, defected to the Autobots, and now calls himself "Brains." Despite his somewhat eccentric behaviour and mannerisms, he's essentially a nice guy, and gets along well with his fellow miniature Decepticon drone-turned-Autobot, Wheelie. He transforms into a laptop computer.

“	Want me to tell ya what I know? I can tell ya about the Solar System, all the fun planets to hang out in.	”
—Brains, Dark of the Moon

Fiction

IDW Dark of the Moon prequel comics

Hello to you, too, sir.

When Shockwave was tasked by Megatron to help put his house in order by re-consolidating the scattered Decepticon forces, Shockwave naturally set about it in the most duplicitous manner possible. Tasking his subordinate Astrotrain with the construction of an enclosure for his pet Driller in upstate New York, Shockwave provided him with a brain unit that supposedly contained a data download that was integral to the cage's construction. The unit, however, had deliberately been equipped with a level of independent thought its kind were not normally outfitted with, and when it overheard Shockwave telling Astrotrain to terminate it upon completion of its task, it decided to flee, adopting the name "Brains" and fleeing across the state line to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Failing to understand that the fleshy meat-poles walking around were the dominant lifeform, Brains tried to get some aid from local machines, but after getting no response, he kicked a car in anger. This car, as it turned out, was Bumblebee, whose partner Sam Witwicky was not far away. Rising Storm #1

Sam brought Brains back to his school, where he formed a quick friendship with Sam's live-in Transformer "buddy", his fellow scrap drone Wheelie. Unfortunately, Brains's arrival at Sam's school had all been part of Shockwave's plan: attributing a non-existent significance to the drone, Shockwave had tracked down and forced Starscream and the Decepticons loyal to him to recover Brains, leading a huge Decepticon assault force to strike Sam's school. Rising Storm #2 Brains spent the entire fight trying to avoid getting killed, stumbling across Carly Spencer in the midst of the chaos. Rising Storm #3 He was amazed when Optimus Prime's Autobots arrived to join the battle, and was told by Wheelie that he'd be seeing a lot more amazing sights now that he was with the Autobots. Brains teared up a little, deeming that the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. Brains subsequently took up residence with Wheelie and Sam, and when Sam moved to Washington, D.C. to live with Carly, Brains and Wheelie went with him. Rising Storm #4

Dark of the Moon film

Voice actor: Reno Wilson (English), Shirō Saitō (Japanese), Andrés García (Latin American Spanish), Jorge Lucas (Portuguese)

“	This is a total clusterf—	”
—Brains, upon crashlanding aboard a Decepticon batleship

Brains and Wheelie moved in with Sam and Carly Spencer. Brains and Wheelie had a deep friendship, as shown by their constant companionship and their agreement on the last girl being mean. However neither Brains was a complete pervert, going through Carly's underwear drawer and watching Sam and Carly kiss. Brains, not exactly happy with the living arrangements, complained that Carly was treating them like toys or pets rather than the super-advanced alien refugees he claimed they were.

Bad news, nobody!

The duo went with their human housemates to the NEST base to reveal information to the Autobots, however their offer of help was turned down by Charlotte Mearing. However when the Autobots were forced to leave Earth by the human authorities, both Brains and Wheelie were captured and shoved into a small cage. They begged for help from Sam, warning him the whole thing was a Decepticons trap. The duo, along with the other Autobots, were presumed to be killed when Starscream destroyed the Xantium shortly after take-off.

Thankfully, Brains and Wheelie survived along with the rest of the Autobots by hiding in one of the booster rockets, and came to the aid of Sam, Epps and the human race in Chicago. Brains declared to them that no one was going to exile the Autobots, and they soon marched off to battle, riding Leadfoot into the city. Unfortunately, Brains and Wheelie were left behind by the Wreckers when they were done distracting Shockwave, having fallen off while they were firing.

Eh, they're not exactly the Wright Brothers.

As they wandered through the streets hopelessly, mumbling about the lack of support, they happened upon a crashed Decepticon ship. They rode it up to one of the massive Decepticon "mother ships" hovering over Chicago that was controlling several smaller ships like the one they hijacked. Brains and Wheelie sabotaged and overrode the ship's controls, dropping several of the small fighters onto the battlefield, causing a distraction just at the right second for Soundwave, preventing Bumblebee from being executed after Que. This also allowed the Autobots to gain an essential lead in the battle, proving the duo's worth in the end as the massive ship crashed into a large body of water below. Dark of the Moon

Brains's fate is not revealed in the film, although he and Wheelie presume they are about to perish. He does, however, survive in the novel, which depicts him swimming away with Wheelie after the crash.

Notes

• Brains's head design seems to be based upon the archetypical 'mad scientist', with enormous goggle-eyes and a wild white hairstyle.
• Brains's head also constantly emits smoke, likely to show that his brain is overheating from his intelligence.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Brains (ブレインズ Bureinzu)