Sari Sumdac

Voice Actor: Tara Strong

Cartoon Overview
Although Sari is (apparently at the time of her introduction) one hundred percent human, she’s an “honorary” AUTOBOT. As the adopted daughter of robotics magnate Isaac Sumdac, Sari lived a sheltered life until she met the AUTOBOTS. Obsessed by his work, Sumdac had little time for Sari growing up. As a result, she was raised largely by his domestic robot drones, whom little Sari came to love as deeply as any parent, nanny, teddy bear and/or imaginary friend.

Sari is also integral to the survival of the AUTOBOTS. When they first awakened on Earth, the ALLSPARK scanned for technology that would allow the AUTOBOTS to blend in with their environment. But it also scanned Sari. Call it an accident or call it destiny, but the ALLSPARK projected part of itself onto Sari in the form of THE KEY. Wearing it on a chain around her neck, Sari can use the Key to make on the fly repairs to the Autobots, or to transform a huge variety of technological objects, upgrading them or changing their functions. On several occasions Sari's over liberal use of the Key causes as much trouble as it fixes.

Sari celebrates her birthday in episode 10, Sound and Fury. Much to the concern of the Autobots, she uses her Allspark empowered key for everything from saving the Autobots, to playing pranks, to relieving her boredom and making things "cooler". This fact has not gone unnoticed by Megatron, who uses it to his advantage when he created Soundwave, who would upgrade every time the Key was used on him, although not even Megatron could have anticipated the Key's power making Soundwave a sentient being. Sari may have finally got the message by the episode Lost and Found, when her Key gave her a vision of Megatron in his new body, which scared her enough to listen to the warnings of the other Autobots.

Sari has a mechanical dog, Sparkplug, which was last year's birthday gift, and was forgotten after she met the Autobots. Her education is handled by the eternally-suffering tutorbot, a robot who is forever being reprogrammed by Sari's key, blown up, or some other nasty fate. Sparkplug was apparently destroyed after being rebuilt into a weapon by Henry Masterson aka The Headmaster, in the episode "Return of Headmaster".

Sari loves music, the louder the better. Because she is not around other kids that much, she is considered "weird" and her manners are not the best. She gets on well with all the Autobots, especially Bumblebee who has a similar personality to her. She does not get on with Ratchet, because she is put off by his gruff attitude, but when she learns his true feelings she learns to accept it and their relationship improves (Lost and Found). Her friendship with the Autobots means she gets upset at the thought of the Autobots leaving to draw the Decepticons away from Earth, even though it is for her own good (not to mention the rest of humanity).

Even though on several occasions Sari has seen that her Key could be dangerous in the wrong hands, she did not learn her lesson. By Megatron Rising, Optimus decided to make the hard decision to take the Key away from Sari. Upset, Sari ran away hating Optimus and the others, and was captured by Blackarachnia, who still wanted the Key to restore her original form. When Blackarachnia learned Sari no longer had the Key, she kept Sari with her, so that she could guide her to the Allspark itself. Sari outsmarted Blackarachnia though, leading Blackarachnia around in circles until Ratchet came to the rescue.
Aboard the Autobot's ship, Sari proved her courage by standing up to Megatron. The ship had been forced down by the Decepticons, Optimus was defeated, and the other Autobots were busy fighting Lugnut and Blitzwing. All that stood between Megatron and the Allspark was Sari. Fortunately, Sari's father Isaac Sumdac was able to throw Megatron off balance, and he dropped Sari's Key, which Sari retrieved. Megatron, though, got his hands on the Allspark itself, which he used to inflict considerable damage to Optimus Prime. Sari took a chance. She threw the Key to Optimus, who used it to shatter the Allspark, dispersing it explosively. Recognising Sari's courage, as well as his own mistake in taking the key away in the first place, Optimus returned the Key to Sari, reminding her that now the Allspark was gone, it was the most powerful Cybertronian artifact on Earth.

In The Elite Guard, Sari was keeping herself busy running her father's company as well as putting money into searching for her missing father (despite the objections of Porter C. Powell). Sari is devastated at the thought of being separated from her friends when the Cybertronian Elite Guard arrive, although the worst news of all is when she loses her company and discovers that she does not exist. She has no social security number, birth certificate or anything of the sort. This causes Sari to become very upset, especially after she is evicted from her room in Sumdac Tower by Porter C. Powell, and with nowhere else to go moves in with the Autobots. This does not go smoothly at first, though, since the Autobots aren't used to looking after a human girl. Later, in Mission Accomplished, the Autobots have to look for someone else to care for Sari, since they are faced with leaving Earth with the Elite Guard. They decide to ask Captain Fanzone to look after her. Fortunately the appearance of Starscream meant that Optimus' claim of Decepticons on Earth was proven, and the Autobots were allowed to stay, and Sari could stay with them.

In Black Friday, Sari was looking for a way to get her father's company back, and tries to get advice from another who has had dealings with Porter C. Powell, Prometheus Black aka Meltdown. Meltdown is less than helpful, though, offering only to "make the problem melt away" if Bumblebee springs him from jail. Sari leaves in disgust, annoyed she wasted time coming to see Meltdown in the first place.

Sari is sometimes annoyed when she is left behind by the Autobots, she tries to convince them that she can "hold her own" against Decepticons, or Constructicons. Although, when she gets the chance to prove herself against the Constructicons, Sari does not fare well at first, until she manages to trick them - and even then, if the Constructicons had been fully aware of what was going on and not slightly disoriented after the events of Rise of the Constructicons, things could have turned out very differently.

Sari was with Ratchet on board the Ark in A Bridge Too close when Ratchet revealed the Ark's final secret - the ship was a giant Transformer named Omega Supreme, who had helped to win the Great Wars! With her Key, Sari was able to help to jump start the giant Transformer and get him online again, although she was not able to stop Omega from sacrificing himself to save the day. But although the danger was ended and her father was saved, an unwelcome revelation kept it from being a happy reunion - Sari's elbow had been cut open to reveal circuitry below her skin.

This revelation greatly upset Sari, and she refused to talk to her father, angry that he had kept the truth about her being a robot from her for so long. Isaac admitted the truth had been a hard tale to tell, explaining that Sari had begun as a Transformer Protoform that had appeared in his lab one day. When he touched it, it absorbed some of his DNA, the resulting organic / technological mix producing Sari. Sari refused to talk to her father, though, angry at the fact Isaac had kept it from her for so long, until Isaac bravely defended Sari from Headmaster. Afterwards, Sari and her father made up.

As Sari became aware of her robotic side, she began to manifest new mechanical abilities. Her hands could transform into energy weapons, allowing her to throw small blasts of energy like fireballs, although they were not very strong, and they disolved after flying a short distance ("Now that's just sad."). Desperate to help the Autobots now that she was a "Robot Hero", Sari ignored the Autobot's warnings to take it slow and decided to use her Key on herself, upgrading herself into a new teenaged body. Sari's eyes changed color as a result of this upgrade, changing from redish brown to blue. Upgraded, Sari is more mechanical than before, and has access to a wide variety of powers.

Unfortunately, the Key induced an overload, and after defeating an alien monster that had swallowed Bumblebee, the new Sari ran out of control, near fatally wounding Bumblebee and causing massive damage to everything around her. Even when Optimus, Bulkhead and Prowl working together removed the Key from Sari, the overload did not stop. Sari continued to run out of control until Ratchet used his EMP Generator to blast Sari and knock her out. Ratchet later rewired Sari to bypass the systems that had gone out of control, and Sari resolved to take her learning to be a robot girl slower from then onwards.

After an extended break, Sari returned in the Christmas-themed "Human Error" episodes. She made the Autobots oil nog, and taught them a few of the other finer points about the holiday season.

Sari herself received a Soundwave toy (manufactured by Porter C. Powell using patents he acquired while in charge of Sumdac Systems) and a moped that could transform into a rocket pack. She flew off to show the Autobots, but instead found that they had been captured by the real Soundwave. Sari tried to rescue her friends, but was knocked back by Soundwave using Laserbeak (although Sari did manage to damage Soundwave's VR simulator which slowed down Soundwave's brainwashing of the Autobots for a while).

Sari went to seek help, but Soundwave was one step ahead of her and used the Soundwave toys to reduce all of New Detroit to a zombie like state. As an extra twist, Soundwave then manipulated Isaac Sumdac to attack his own daughter. Sari managed to get away, and headed for Dinobot Island, to try to recruit the Dinobots. However, Grimlock was less than willing to help (but revised his decision to stomp all over Sari when he found out she can fight back). Sari was however able to recruit the castaway Constructicon, Scrapper, who had washed up on Dinobot Island, and his "pet" Snarl. On the way back, Sari gave Scrapper a talk about heroism, attracting the attention of Wreck Gar. And so the substitute Autobots were formed!

The substitutes soon engaged Soundwave and the brainwashed Autobots in battle. Sari found she had a hard time guiding her rag tag group, coupled with the superior firepower of the Autobots. It also did not help that Wreck Gar forgot what side he was on part way through, though Sari set him straight soon enough. However, it was not until Scrapper commented that the reason they were all over the place was because Soundwave was directing all five Autobots that Sari figured out how to win the battle. She had her group attack individually, straining Soundwave's ability to maintain control, to the point where Prowl got loose and the other Autobots except for Optimus Prime were subdued. Prowl freed Optimus from Soundwave's control, and Optimus proceeded to defeat Soundwave. Sari and the Autobots were reminded after the battle of the importance of family and friends.

"Decepticon Air" saw Sari demonstrate some awesome new knowledge of Transwarp fields and Spacebridges. Sari herself speculated that when she used her key to upgrade herself, she also upgraded her brain / processor / whatever. Sari was also a little frustrated at being told what she could and could not do by her father, simply because none of them, Sari included, actually know at this time what she is now capable of. "Endgame" suggests that Sari can actually communicate with machines to analyze what is wrong with them, or how to make them work properly. This comes in handy in the final battle, when she was able to identify what was wrong with Arcee and helped Ratchet to reconfigure his EMP to restore her mind.

"Endgame" also saw Sari get frustrated by the way the Autobots continued to treat her like a kid, even though she had proven herself capable of holding her own in a fight, but she relented when Optimus Prime explained that actually he wanted her to stay clear of the battle to protect her father. Sari would later join the team of Autobots that journeyed to the moon, where she helped Ratchet restore Arcee's memories before seeing the Decepticon's stolen Protoforms, remarking "so this is where I came from", although the mystery of how her unique Protoform got into Isaac Sumdac's lab is never expanded upon.

Sari is seen with the Autobots when they triumphantly return to Cybertron victorious.


Powers and Abilities

In the first two seasons, Sari is for all intents and purposes a normal human girl. She does however possess the Allspark Key, which is for all intents and purposes a cure-all for whatever problem the Autobots are facing - it can repair them, activate machines, change the function of machines, whatever is required of the situation.

In season 3, after learning that she is a robot, Sari gains the ability to shoot energy bolts from her hands. After using the Allspark Key to upgrade herself, Sari gains a huge selection of weapons, including foot mounted blades, arm mounted swords and a huge hammer, as well as the ability to transform into an armored battle form. Most of these abilities are sealed away by Ratchet following Sari's near fatal rampage through the city in "Transwarped", although for the rest of the series, Sari retains her energy blasts and battle form, as well as strength well exceeding that of the average human. She also gains some new abilities - Isaac Sumdac gives Sari a jetpack for Christmas, allowing Sari to fly while wearing it, and Sari herself demonstrates an ability to understand what is wrong with a broken machine merely by touching it.

IDW Overview

IDW Appearances Animated The Arrival Part 1 Animated The Arrival Part 3 Animated The Arrival Part 4

Notes

Official Cartoon Network Press Release Bio

Although Sari is one hundred percent human, she’s an “honorary” AUTOBOT. As the adopted daughter of robotics magnate Isaac Sumdac, Sari lived a sheltered life until she met the AUTOBOTS. Obsessed by his work, Sumdac had little time for Sari growing up. As a result, she was raised largely by his domestic robot drones, whom little Sari came to love as deeply as any parent, nanny, teddy bear and/or imaginary friend.

Sari is also integral to the survival of the AUTOBOTS. When they first awakened on Earth, the ALLSPARK scanned for technology that would allow the AUTOBOTS to blend in with their environment. But it scanned something else first: an organic life form—specifically, a pre-pubescent girl who was hanging around her father’s robotics factory. Call it an accident or call it destiny, but the ALLSPARK projected part of itself onto Sari in the form of THE KEY. Wearing it on a chain around her neck, Sari can use the Key to absorb the ALLSPARK energy and store it like a battery, providing an emergency power supply and healing source for the AUTOBOTS in battle. It also provides Sari with an almost psychic connection to the AUTOBOTS. She can sense when they’re in danger and when DECEPTICONS are near.

Sari acts as the unofficial ambassador to the planet Earth for the AUTOBOTS, cluing them in on such alien concepts as junk food, school, sleep, popularity, shopping, belching contests, fashion and the dreaded tow away zones.



Other Comic Appearances

Titan UK

Sari continues to accompany the Autobots in the UK comic series.

In the special story in Transformers #17, Sari is the only one who can save the Autobots from Starscream, who has invaded their base and captured them. Somehow she manages to make her way to Dinobot Island and enlist the help of the Dinobots. With their help she is able to see off Starscream and his army of clones.
In the main Transformers Animated comic, Sari is overawed when Afterburn explodes onto the scene. She later accompanies him, Ratchet and Bumblebee to Dinobot Island where her key proves invaluable in healing Grimlock and curing Snarl and Swoop of a rage virus (aka a Hate Plague).

Sari is at a basketball game with Bulkhead, Afterburn and Prowl in issue #3. When the supervillain Crossroad attacks the city by turning the robots against the humans, Sari eventually is able to identify him as Roland Cross, an ex-employee of her father's, fired because he enjoyed making robots fight one another. Thanks to Sari's information, the Autobots are able to track Crossroad to Sumdac Tower and put an end to his crimewave.

Appearances

Titan UK Transformers #17
Titan UK Transformers Animated Comic #1 - Burnout
Titan UK Transformers Animated Comic #2 - Ratchet & Grimlock are dead?!
Titan UK Transformers Animated Comic #3 - Crossroads

Contributors: Tony_Bacala, ATLianz

Views: 6,313