Editing Autobot (section)

==Physical traits==
Autobots are [[living beings]], sometimes referred to as "bio-mechanical" and often depicted as being forged from the same "living metal" that makes up their home planet Cybertron. This living metal can heal, grow, and regenerate like organic cell structures.<ref name=":0" /> Autobots, like all transformers, need to regularly feed on Energon (a form of energy they can produce from certain fuel sources) or they will grow weaker in health and eventually die.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Mania.com" /><ref name=":6" /> Autobots can also age, just much slower than humans, for example Optimus Prime is approximately 9 million years old. Whereas the first [[homo sapiens]] evolved 300,000 years ago.

Since the airing of the animated series ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars]]'', the franchise has consistently portrayed that what distinguishes a Transformer as "living" is that each of them is imbued with a "'''spark'''", a charged mass of positrons that acts as a "life force" (said to be equivalent to a soul)<ref name=":2" /><ref>[[List of Beast Wars episodes|''Transformers: Beast Wars.'' "Possession"]] (Season 1, Episode 21). Original air date: February 3, 1997.</ref> and is unique to each transformer, granting them their basic personality and influencing certain physical traits.<ref name=":2" /> If a transformer dies, either from injury or a lack of Energon, their spark fades and might never be recovered again, as their spark typically returns to the source of positronic energy it originally came from.<ref name=":0" /> Some media portrays the source of these sparks as a pool of positronic energy located on Cybertron that is called the '''Well of All Sparks''',<ref name=":4">[[Power of the Primes|''Transformers:'' Power of the Primes trilogy]].</ref> while other media portrays the source to be an ancient artifact simply called the '''Allspark'''.<ref name=":3">[[Transformers (film series)|''Transformers'' film series]]</ref><ref>''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy|Transfomers: War for Cybertron]]'' trilogy - transmedia toyline and streaming series on [[Netflix]].</ref> Some stories have shown characters being able to preserve a dead transformer's spark under the right circumstances, allowing that fallen transformer to return in a repaired body (though this possibility involves great risk and becomes more unlikely as more time passes).<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":4" />

When a transformer is first forged, they are in a "Proto-form" state that resembles either a featureless, mannequin-like robot<ref name=":2" /> or a being of liquid, shifting metal.<ref name=":3" /> As the transformer's consciousness develops, the proto-form takes shape into a robotic form and an alternate mode is soon determined afterward. How long this process takes varies between different Transformers media. In some media, a Transformer can physically revert to a proto-form to make long space travel easier.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

Along with their spark, each transformer has a mechanical "brain module" that houses their memories and regulates sensory input, as well as the transformation cog (or "T-cog") which regulates and stabilizes their transformations. A transformer can have several parts of their body replaced or upgraded, but damage to the brain module or T-cog, as well as other more sensitive internal mechanics (such as eyes and voice boxes),<ref>''[[Bumblebee (film)]].''</ref><ref name=":3" /> are unique, difficult to upgrade, and can permanently affect or disable a transformer, as well as threaten their life, if seriously damaged.<ref name=":0" />

Some transformers, including several Autobots, have traits that make them part of a subset of their species. Transformers who are so massive in size they are able to convert into fortresses or cities are known as Titans, some of whom (such as [[Metroplex (Transformers)|Metroplex]]) have allied themselves with the Autobots.<ref name=":6" /> "City-speakers" are transformers able to uniquely commune with Titans, such as the Autobot called [[Windblade]]. Like the Decepticons, the Autobots include "combiners" in their ranks, transformers who are able to merge with other specific transformers and become a gestalt, super-robot with greater power and its own distinct personality.<ref name=":6" /> In some stories, transformers are given the ability to become combiners by an ancient artifact called the Enigma of Combination.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> In Cybertron's past, the Guardian Robots were large scale Transformers (though not as large as the Titans) who enforced authority and peace on their planet. While most Guardians are gone, one known as [[The Transformers (TV series)|Omega Supreme]] serves alongside the Autobots.<ref name=":6" /> Mini-Cons (sometimes spelled Minicons) are small, human-sized transformers and, in some stories, are able to increase the power of larger transformers with whom they merge.

Due to their biological and sentient nature, Autobots are people, although humans constantly fail to acknowledge this due to their metal composition.