Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes

Sam (Samuel James Witwicky)

In the 2007 Transformers live-action film, the main character, portrayed by Shia LaBeouf, is named "Sam" rather than "Spike". He buys Bumblebee unintentionally as his first car. In early versions of the script, Sam had the nickname "Spike". It has been referred that Sam fictionally has English and Dutch colonial ancestry. This idea was later scrapped because, according to writer Roberto Orci, these nicknames were appropriate for a mechanic and an oil rig worker in the animated series, occupations in which the characters did not work in the film. However, he has stated that these nicknames may possibly be earned in any sequels. He fights alongside the Autobots in the Battle of Mission City, and ultimately defeats Megatron at the end of the movie. According to Roberto Orci, the character of Sam was written as a "2007 version of Marty McFly". LaBeouf has signed for three films, and has indicated that, if the film series continues, Sam will be reused in future installments.

Mikaela Banes

Mikaela Banes, portrayed by Megan Fox, serves the role of Sam's love interest. She has inherited some mechanical skills from her father, who is a grease monkey and paroled car thief.

In the film, Mikaela is initially the girlfriend of football player Trent; however, she ditches him because of his snobbish attitude and how he treats her like a trophy wife. Sam offers her a ride home, and she inspects Sam's broken-down 1976 Chevrolet Camaro (actually Bumblebee). Mikaela is astonished at the various modifications present in the engine bay, much to Sam's surprise which he finds more attractive than the bimbo popular shallow girl she acts like around others. She keeps her intelligence about engines a secret because; "Guys don't like it when you know more about cars than they do". This scene is similar to Spike and Carly's first meeting in 1985, with Carly showing more interest in Bumblebee rather than in Spike. Mikaela criticizes the poor conditions of Bumblebee's vehicle mode, causing him to scan a passing 2009 Camaro and transform into the same model. She fights in the Battle of Mission City, initially pulling the seriously injured Bumblebee out of battle, then returning to it with him out of guilt and worry for her friends. With her help, Bumblebee rejoins the battle supported by a tow truck, and destroys Brawl. After the battle, she and Sam begin dating.