If there’s any villain faction that synonymous with Transformers, it’s the Decepticons. But they aren’t the only game in town when it comes to evil forces the Transformers have to fight. Transformers: EarthSpark, the new series in the long running franchise, will feature a new villain called the “Mandroid” and we’ve got an exclusive first look at him right here. Watch the video below!

This is our best look yet at the new villain of EarthSpark, Dr. Meridian, aka “Mandroid.” This isn’t his chosen name, it’s one given to him by the new Terran Transforms. It’s all there, he’s half-human, half-android, he’s Mandroid! I mean look, sometimes simple is best and Dr. Meridian should be thankful the Terrans have given him such a catchy nickname. Even Optimus Prime is into it!

We’d previously heard about this character when EarthSpark was announced at 2022 San Diego Comic-Con and we’ve got his description right here. Diedrich Bader (Better Things) as “Mandroid,” the villain. He was a scientist-soldier in the war, jaded and ultimately, very anti-Cybertronian. With this new anti-Transformer ideology, he believes Earth and its humans need his protection and surmises that the annihilation of all Cybertronians is the best for the planet.

It’s no wonder him being given the nickname of Mandroid by a Transformer would tick him off so much! The trailer confirms his hatred of Cybertronians, specifically stating he, “will rid this planet of your invasive species.” This certainly isn’t the first time humans have been opposed to the Transformers but one that’s directly influenced by a previous war on the planet? That has some extremely intriguing possibilities for upcoming story lines.

Was it the actions of both Autobots and Decepticons that fueled his rage, or is more squarely focused on the Autobots? If so, why? The character description says he’s “anti-Transformer” so we’d assume the former. Dr. Meridian is a character who sees himself as helping Earth which adds a nice extra wrinkle to his character.

Even with his android enhancements, Dr. Meridian can’t do it all alone and the trailers gives us some looks at his own group of robots. The Arachnimechs. These spider like bots are at his call and look to be the prime cannon fodder of the series, because of course the Autobots need something to blow up on the regular.

Dr. Meridian being part human tracks with EarthSpark’s focus on its human characters. In past trailers we’ve seen the human kids in combat against the evil bots, so giving them a human adversary levels the playing field a bit. We can’t wait to see how those battles play out.

We’d be remiss to point out a fun Easter egg in the trailer. The name of the city the series takes places in is “Witwicky.” This is a reference back to the original last name of Spike Witwicky, the first human ally to the Transformers. Can’t go wrong with little nods to long time fans.