- “Sam! No matter what happens, I'm really glad I got in that car with you.”
- ―Mikaela to Sam in case they don't survive the war
Mikaela Banes is one of the two deuteragonists of the 2007 film Transformers and one of the tritagonists of the 2009 sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (alongside Bumblebee).
She is Sam Witwicky's love interest and ex-girlfriend from the first two films. Mikaela is a reformed criminal and former car thief, as well as an ally to the Autobots.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Mikaela Banes was born in 1990 to Colin Banes and an unnamed woman. When her father would steal cars, Mikaela would tag along with him whenever he couldn't find a babysitter for her. Unfortunately, because her father was a car thief, Mikaela eventually had a juvenile record because she refused to rat her father out, and the police officer charged her out of spite. She kept this part of her past hidden from everyone at school. She was one of the popular girls. Having known Sam since the first grade, she was mostly unaware he was in her classes, and in truth, was jealous of other people's lives. When she began growing closer to people, Mikaela never wanted them to find out.
Transformers[]
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen[]
Transformers: Dark of the Moon[]
Mikaela and Sam broke up between the second and third films. Had her actress not been removed from the film's production, it would have seen her grow from the teenage convict to the confident young woman.
In the film, she has apparently left Sam, only leaving Wheelie and their dog, Bonecrusher, behind.
Comics[]
Alternate Reality[]
In another timeline, Mikaela Banes' life was the same until the battle of Mission City. In an alternate reality, Sam Witwicky was killed in the battle of Mission City during his and Optimus Prime's confrontation with Megatron. Guilt-ridden, Mikaela lost the boy she loved, Megatron took over the Earth, and defeated Optimus. Changed, Mikaela joined Bumblebee as partners and vigilantes. She helped rescue her old friend. Optimus Prime saw him out of cryogenesis when Frenzy attacked her. With Banachek's help, Mikaela located an antivirus experiment that blocks the AllSpark's power. The power consumed and killed Megatron, avenging Sam and Jazz. She and Bumblebee remain partners against crime as they drive off into the sunset.
Film Novelizations[]
Mikaela Banes (Transformers Novelizations) Mikaela appears in the novel adaptation of the Transformers film. She and Sam argue about her relationship with Trent and her personal life more than the film versions do. Her role is mostly the same in the movie. They do, however, become boyfriend and girlfriend. Mikaela kissing Sam in the school parking lot is the last time. Q
Mikaela appears in the novel adaptation of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Personality[]
At first, dismissive of transforming cars due to her terrible experience with Barricade, Mikaela was impressed with the Autobots after Bumblebee transformed from a beaten 1970s Chevrolet Camaro to a 2007 version. She was immediately in awe of the Autobots when she first met them, telling Sam, in a wondrous tone, that they knew his name.
Powers and Abilities[]
Abilities[]
- Expert Mechanic: Mikaela is mechanically taught, by her father, Colin Banes, and learned how to fix cars, as she knows about the parts that are needed for machinery such as cars, motorcycles, and engines to work excellently, including being able to use her bare hands to hotwire one to start them up without a car key.
- Expert Driver: Mikaela demonstrated to be a very skilled and professional driver throughout the films, during the battle in the city, while Bumblebee shot many, she drove a tow truck and evaded their attacks without any damage, and successfully reached safety with allies. Then in the second film, she was able to ride away when the Decepticon pretender Alice was attacking the car until Mikaela rammed her against a metal pole, killing her.
- Peak Human Beauty: Mikaela is a beautiful woman in her teens; she has light brown skin, black hair, and blue eyes, which was enough to mesmerize Sam. In "Dark of the Moon," Judy told Sam she was a "world-class hottie."
- Athleticism: She was shown to be in top shape and capable of performing athletic feats during war zones. As in Revenge of the Fallen, she outran many Decepticons alongside Sam without any signs of fatigue.
- Strong-Willed: Mikaela displays great feats of courage and bravery, giving her a complete hand to her boyfriend in helping the Autobots, and not being scared off by the Decepticons, which somewhat marks her as a good representation of a mechanic.
- Lockpicking: Due to Mikaela being raised by her father, Colin, who was a long-time car thief, it was presumably stated that he had her along with his trade. This gave Mikaela the ability to learn how to break out of handcuffs, as shown when she got Sam out of his in the first
film.
Appearance[]
Relationships[]
Real Universe[]
====Family====
- Colin Banes - Father
- Mother †
Allies[]
- Sam Witwicky - Ex-boyfriend
- Autobots
- Ron Witwicky
- Judy Witwicky
- Seymour Simmons - former enemy and arrester turned stronger ally
- Leo Spitz - friend
- NEST
- John Keller
- Maggie Madsen
- Glen Whitmann
- Tom Banachek
Enemies[]
- Trent DeMarco - Ex-boyfriend
- Decepticons
- Megatron
- Barricade - Attempted Killer
- Frenzy - Attempted Killer
- Brawl
- Grindor
- Blackout
- Alice † - attempted killer and victim
- Bonecrusher
- Scalpel
- Megatronus Prime/The Fallen
- Sector Seven Agents
Alternate Timeline[]
Allies
- Bumblebee - Best Friend and Partner
- Optimus Prime - Good Friend
- Tom Banachek
- Sam Witwicky † - Love Interest
Enemies
- Barricade
- Megatron
- Frenzy
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Brains never liked Mikaela, calling her a "mean girl." (Dark of the Moon).
- Mikaela's name is a play on the director, Michael Bay
- People consider her a live-action version of Carly Witwicky and Raoul combined before a version of Carly was introduced. Like Carly, Mikaela was introduced as the love interest of Sam Witwicky (who is based on Carly's husband Spike) and a lover of cars. However, she also shared Raoul's past of being a car thief and later befriending the Autobots like her.
- It is currently unknown what has happened to Mikaela since she has not been seen since her breakup with Sam.
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