Small Details You Might've Missed In Transformers One

Contains spoilers for "Transformers One"

"Transformers One" feels like the movie that fans of the franchise have been waiting a long time for. It's the first theatrically-released animated "Transformers" movie since 1986's "The Transformers: The Movie," and it's a complete return to form. There are no humans or Earth politics to get in the way of the epic tale of how Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) went from best buds to mortal enemies. 

The two mighty Transformers — who begin as Orion Pax and D-16, respectively — stumble upon a secret that could allow them to locate the missing Matrix of Leadership, thereby restoring the flow of Energon so that they and others like them don't have to mine for it. Along the way, they realize Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm) has manipulated the masses and that he's responsible for the deaths of the rest of the Primes. While Orion wants everyone to have transformation cogs and choose their destinies, D-16 is out for revenge. 

The ending of "Transformers One" sets up massive implications for the future of the franchise, as the newly dubbed Optimus Prime and Megatron prepare for war. However, before the film reaches its climax, there are numerous hidden details, Easter eggs, subtle nods, and clever references that you might have missed upon first watch.

There's still a ton of nostalgic goodwill toward 1986's "The Transformers: The Movie" — in fact, many consider it to be one of the best animated movies of all time. Seeing as "Transformers One" is also a fully-animated project, it's only natural to include some "The Transformers: The Movie" Easter eggs. Fans of the '80s flick will recall that the song "The Touch" by Stan Bush features prominently. Early in "Transformers One," when Orion Pax and D-16 work in the mines, Orion boasts to Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) that he could touch Sentinel Prime with all his power. Elita-1 responds, "You don't have the touch or the power," a clever nod to "The Touch," which contains the lyrics "You got the touch / You got the power."

It was actually very important for director Josh Cooley to get some kind of reference to "The Transformers: The Movie" into "Transformers One." He spoke with Gizmodo about wanting to include the catchy song somewhere. "We had this one version where D-16 and Orion were playing a video game," Cooley revealed. "They're playing that together like friends and the song, like the 8-bit song that's playing is ['The Touch']." That part had to be cut, though Cooley still managed to reference the song in a more subtle way with Elita-1's cheeky putdown. He added: "That was one where I'm like, 'I just love that song and those lyrics and that's Transformers to me so I want to get that in there.'"

For a TV and movie franchise that basically exists to sell toys, there's a ton of lore to keep track of when it comes to "Transformers." Fortunately, "Transformers One" is easy to watch even if you're completely unfamiliar with the story. The movie really hones in on a select few characters, mostly Orion Pax, D-16, Elita-1, and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), the last of which will become Bumblebee. However, there are still nods to plenty of other Transformers if you know where to look. 

Jazz (Evan Michael Lee) has been a fan-favorite Transformer since the beginning, being Optimus Prime's right-hand bot. He's not a major character in "Transformers One," but when the mine's collapsing in the first act, he's the one who gets stuck. Orion insists on staying behind to get him out of there, and he's successful in that mission. Jazz also supports Orion Pax later as he rallies the miners to stand up against Sentinel Prime. It's a much more respectful interpretation of the character than the first live-action "Transformers" movie, in which Megatron murders Jazz in a shocking moment that barely impacts the plot in any way.

The Iacon 5000 (Cybertron's most prestigious racing event) is also a feast for fans. The leaderboard has numerous names that will sound familiar, from Motormouth to Double Clutch. Additionally, the stands are filled with cheering bots, and if you look hard enough, you'll no doubt recognize some designs. Even with a more streamlined cast, "Transformers One" manages to keep longtime fans happy with some Easter eggs that only they will notice.

Another name most people will likely recognize on the Iacon 5000 leaderboard is Mirage, who's actually in first place for the brief glimpses we get of the rankings. Mirage was voiced by Pete Davidson in 2023's "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," which is an appropriate casting considering he's a jokester throughout the franchise. But he's also incredibly fast, with some illusion-creating abilities. It makes sense that he'd be in first place due to that speed (or perhaps just making everyone think he's ahead while he's actually kicking back).

It's also understandable that Mirage would've been born with a transformation cog, as he's part of the elite class throughout much of "Transformers" lore. He comes from wealth but joins the Autobots when he realizes the fight against the Decepticons will impact him, too. We learn in "Transformers One" that many of Cybertron's citizens should've had transformation cogs, but Sentinel Prime saw to it that they were removed, creating a lower societal rung of miners that aren't as respected.

Those small details in "Transformers One" really show the care that went into crafting each scene. A bunch of names weren't just thrown up on the leaderboard haphazardly; it does appear as though their backstories were taken into account.

Orion Pax and D-16 get banged up pretty bad during the Iacon 5000. The thing is, they kind of went outside the boundaries of who could compete, so after the race, they're waiting in a medical wing, likely expecting to be chewed out. While waiting, we hear someone over the intercom mention a Dr. Ratchet. 

Ratchet is a medical officer in the "Transformers" franchise. Audiences don't get the chance to physically see him in "Transformers One," but he is clearly around. He had a sizable presence in the live-action "Transformers" movies before getting killed by Lockdown in "Transformers: Age of Extinction." Optimus Prime came out of hiding to avenge his death and killed Lockdown in kind. 

It's pretty amusing to hear him referred to as "Dr. Ratchet" as opposed to just Ratchet, which is what he typically goes by. The medical signifier almost calls to mind Nurse Ratched from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," brilliantly played by Louise Fletcher. However, it's safe to say that this Ratchet is a medically-trained Transformer and not a sadistic authoritarian.

Orion Pax and D-16 get banished to Sub-Level 50 where they meet the incredibly talkative B-127. He's been down there for who knows how long, and he reveals that to keep his sanity, he made some friends out of the junk he received from the higher levels. He introduces his new friends to his old friends, including one entity named A-A-Tron.

Keegan-Michael Key voices B-127, which is appropriate as he's an immensely talented comedic actor, and B-127 offers much of the comedic relief throughout the movie. The name A-A-Tron is a clear nod to the famous "Key & Peele" sketch "Substitute Teacher." Key plays a teacher who pronounces names like "Jacqueline" as "Jay Quellin." When he gets to a boy named "Aaron," he calls him "A-A-Ron," so "A-A-Tron" is an apparent play on this gag.

There's another deep cut reference among B-127's friends, as the last one is simply "Steve." The joke is that while the first two had robot names, the last one is a banal human name. But Steve actually exists in "Transformers" canon: He's a Vehicon who forgot his real name and started going by "Steve" after reading it on a billboard.

The Primes largely function as a reminder of the glory Cybertron could exist in. When Orion Pax and his friends go to the surface to find the Matrix of Leadership, the only one left alive is Alpha Trion (Laurence Fishburne). His is the voice Orion Pax listens to at the very beginning of the film when he breaks into the archives and finds a recording about the creation of the original Thirteen Primes.

You could argue that Alpha Trion is only there to explain the plot and keep viewers in the loop. However, much like how it's within canon for Mirage to lead in a race, it makes sense that Alpha Trion is the one used to deliver exposition, as he's canonically Cybertron's records keeper. He's even been referred to as the "Archivist of Iacon."

Alpha Trion narrating the records at Iacon City and then providing the footage of how Sentinel Prime betrayed the Primes is in line with what we know of his character from other "Transformers" media. Sadly, he's killed, so he likely won't get to further mentor Optimus Prime in the coming war with the Decepticons, but having Laurence Fishburne deliver much of the backstory certainly helps it go down smoother. 

In the 1980s, the world was introduced to transforming robot toys in the form of... GoBots. Some may think GoBots exist among the many ridiculous Transformers rip-offs, but they actually predate the robots in disguise. GoBots, made by Tonka, came out in 1983, while Hasbro's Transformers debuted in 1984. Of course, Transformers would become the clear winner, both at toy stores and in the overall zeitgeist (after all, there's no movie coming out this year called "GoBots One"). What you may not know is that the two actually exist under the same banner now, as Hasbro acquired Tonka in 1991, getting all of its intellectual property in the process.

In "Transformers One," GoBot is some kind of in-universe reference, because at one point, Elita-1 refers to D-16 and B-127 as "two idiot GoBots." Given the insulting context, it doesn't sound like the term "GoBot" is held in such high regard on Cybertron at this point in time. Whether GoBots exist in this universe or the term is just used to put down other Vehicons, it's a funny little reminder of Transformers' beginnings that no doubt got a lot of chuckles from longtime fans in the audience. 

While some references in "Transformers One" are right in your face, others fade into the background, only noticed by the most extreme of fans who pay attention to every last detail. That's the case when Orion Pax and his squad meet Starscream (Steve Buscemi) and the rest of the Cybertronian High Guard. Starscream is definitely one of the most popular and evil Decepticons, having been involved in some of the most terrible things any Transformer has ever done. 

Special attention was given to Starscream's throne, which is in the shape of the crown he wore in 1986's "The Transformers: The Movie." In certain lighting within the scene, it even comes across as golden, just like the crown. Josh Cooley explained to Gizmodo how he didn't even know about this particular Easter egg until he spoke with the film's production designer, Jason Scheier. Many Transformers fans worked on this movie, and Cooley was totally cool with them adding whatever details they wanted.

"Our lead animator, Stephen King at ILM, he's a major, major Transformers fan," Cooley said. "I'd just say, look, fill in this area with crowds, but bring forward anybody you want to bring forward in terms of the color or anything. And so I'd let him cast the characters that are getting kind of front-row shots. And so that's all his love going out." Knowing the production team could go wild, it'll be interesting to see what Easter eggs people continue to discover the longer the movie is out.

A giant battle breaks out at the climax of "Transformers One," with Elita-1 tussling with Airachnid (Vanessa Liguori), who works for Sentinel Prime. Everyone really should've guessed that Sentinel was evil just from him having such a creepy bodyguard. Airachnid proves pivotal to the plot, as Orion Pax and his cohorts need to get video footage from her memory banks to prove what Sentinel did. The fight itself has multiple intriguing layers to dig through.

First, Airachnid has the shape of a spider, and not just any spider — a black widow. Elita-1 is voiced by Scarlett Johansson, who famously played Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, you could say that two black widows are going at it. Interestingly, Elita-1 becomes a character called Blackarachnia in "Transformers: Animated." As Elita-1, she fought alongside Optimus Prime and the Autobots, but after getting abandoned on an alien world, she develops a spider-centric mutation and becomes Blackarachnia, joining the Decepticons after becoming disillusioned with the Autobots' cause.

"Transformers One" already shows D-16's fall, as he goes from Orion Pax's friend to his sworn enemy as Megatron. Could a potential "Transformers One" sequel see a similar fate befall Elita-1, with her ultimately joining Megatron's side? It's far too early to say, but it's still fun to consider the future.

D-16 is a total fanboy over Megatronus, his favorite of the Primes. However, fans know Megatronus goes by another name — the Fallen. He's typically portrayed as a god of chaos and the antagonistic namesake for the film "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." We don't really see much of Megatronus; we only hear how much D-16 looks up to him, with Megatronus serving as the basis for his new name: Megatron. 

It's interesting because throughout the film, the antagonists each sport Megatronus' transformation cog. Sentinel Prime took Megatronus' cog as his own, and after D-16 rips Sentinel apart in front of a crowd of Transformers, he inserts Megatronus' cog into himself. It's possible the cog could have some kind of corrupting power, although both Sentinel and D-16 displayed evil tendencies before getting it.

At the very least, it does appear that Transformers with darkness in their sparks are drawn to Megatronus one way or another. Seeing as Sentinel was able to take Megatronus' cog, it's likely he's dead along with the rest of the Primes, sidelining him for any other conflicts. But his spirit lives on in Megatron, the new threat to Cybertronian peace.