Let’s all just admit it.

If you have seen all four of the Transformers films, you have already made this comparison.

Whether it was in an open discussion with your friends, or when you were daydreaming while watching the relentless and never-ending Transformers: Age of Extinction, you know that you have compared the three young actresses who graced the screen as Transformers‘ leading ladies.

Since we’ve all already shed some thought on this matter, perhaps it is time to just get it out in the open and decide who was the best Transformers girl, once and for all.

Was it Megan Fox, the original? Or was it the two ladies brought in to succeed Fox after she was fired; former Victoria’s Secret Angel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, or up-and-coming teenager Nicola Peltz?

To determine the ‘winner’ (if we want to call it that), we have decided to rank the three actresses based on five criteria: Memorability, hotness in Transformers, hotness outside Transformers, desirability, and their character function.

Why so shallow? Let’s be real; these are Michael Bay films. These actresses didn’t exactly play deep characters.

Rankings are subjective, of course, but here’s what we think:

MEMORABILITY

Megan Fox in ‘Transformers’
Image source: hotwallpaper2013.com

Megan:
Where do we even begin? Remember the way Fox’s Mikaela Banes posed when she was inspecting Sam Witwicky’s car? Or the way she was leaning on that motorcycle when she was painting it? Or when she slipped out of her leather jacket and pants and into a white dress? The list goes on and on.

One thing is for certain; the actress (or rather, Michael Bay through her) turned something as casual as leaning on vehicles into a lethal seduction skill for the ladies. And while Fox had double the screen time of either of her successors, and thus more scenes to remember her by, you have to admit that some of the most memorable Transformers moments have Mikaela in them.

Also, we challenge you to name a single scene with Huntington-Whiteley or Peltz that impacted you the way Megan/Mikaela did. No? Didn’t think so.

Rosie:
Think about Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s Carly Spencer in Transformers, and you probably only remember her in a white dress stepping out of a silver Mercedes-Benz with scissor doors. If memory serves you well, you might also remember her endless runway legs getting plenty of screen time in her opening scene. She was climbing the stairs to toss a soft toy bunny at Sam Witwicky, a,k.a. her American lover boy toy.

Other than that, what happened to Carly again? Some of you don’t even remember that her character’s name was ‘Carly’. Admit it.

Nicola:
Um, her dad was Mark Wahlberg, she had a boyfriend, and she wore the shortest shorts in the world. And [SPOILER ALERT] she got trapped on an alien spaceship at one point.

Other than that, we’ve got nothing on Peltz’s Tessa Yeager.

HOTNESS IN TRANSFORMERS

Megan Fox in ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’
Image source: skandaliky.sk

Megan:
Let’s be real. Fox became a major movie star after Transformers because she was smokin’ hot in the movie. Throwing her killer looks and ‘wow’ factor into a blockbuster film was the perfect formula to the actress’ rapid rise to global stardom. The fact that Bay had to find a Victoria’s Secret Angel to replace Fox tells you something about the bar she set for Transformers leading ladies.

Rosie:
It is hard to decide whether Rosie or her predecessor was hotter. If anything, it seems to come down to a matter of individual tastes. A “blonde vs brunette” preference might even be a deciding factor. From a neutral standpoint, we really can’t say that Rosie was more or less attractive than Megan. Let’s call it a tie.

Nicola:
It is hard to pit a teenager against a 21-year-old (Fox in 2007′s Transformers) or 24-year-old (Huntington-Whiteley in 2011′s Transformers: Dark of the Moon). Even though only two years separate 19-year-old Peltz from Fox at the time of their respective first Transformers movie releases, there seems to be a subconscious drop in hotness value when Peltz’s character is presented, first and foremost, as the main character’s daughter. It’s probably a “girl vs woman” matter, but Peltz’s Tessa Yeager did not seem to present much of a challenge.

HOTNESS OUTSIDE TRANSFORMERS

It’s no secret that Michael Bay knows how to make his leading ladies look very desirable. To evaluate the actresses on their own, it seems fitting that we analyse how the three ladies fared, hotness-wise, in projects outside of Transformers.

Megan:
Fox probably looked the hottest she’s ever looked as Mikaela Banes, but that does not mean that she was significantly less attractive in other projects. She was stunning in Friends With Kids, partly thanks to the use of sunlight as a lighting tool in her character’s introductory scene. Putting criticism aside for Fox’s other projects, she did look decently hot in her other films as well. In all honesty, when you look like Megan Fox, it would actually be a challenge to make you look unattractive.

Rosie:
Did we mention that she is a model and former Victoria’s Secret Angel? Take a look at Huntington-Whiteley’s runway videos, and there is really not much competition here. She really is a one percenter in the looks department.

Nicola:
Peltz had to have a certain level of hotness to be selected as Michael Bay’s leading lady. But without that Michael Bay magic to back her up, she has not really been that impressive. In her defence, she is still a teenager and has not had as many opportunities to be portrayed in that light, if you catch our drift. Also, her mom is a former model. Give her time; it’s already in the genes.

DESIRABILITY

Megan:
If public rankings are anything to go by (and they most certainly are), Fox has pretty much solidified her status as one of the most desirable women in the world. In 2008, she was crowned FHM’s Sexiest Woman in the World in a winning debut, and still came in strong as the runner-up the following year. On AskMen, Fox’s sex appeal is rated as 88 out of 100. We think the numbers speak for themselves.

Rosie:
Like her predecessor, Huntington-Whiteley was named FHM’s Sexiest Woman in the World the same year her Transformers film was released. Surprise, surprise. She managed a #18 on the coveted FHM list the following year. A strong contender to Fox’s reign, AskMen rated the model’s sex appeal as 81 out of 100. Just shy of but not that far off Fox when it comes to numbers, Huntington-Whiteley comes in as a close second.

Nicola Peltz in ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’
Image source: YouTube / Screen grab

Nicola:
Following Transformers leading lady fashion, Peltz appeared in the FHM 100 Sexiest Women rankings in 2014, coming in at #91. AskMen also ranked Peltz as #6 out of all of “Michael Bay’s Women in Film”, beating even Scarlett Johannson (#8), but losing out to Liv Tyler (#5), Tea Leoni (#4), Kate Beckinsale (#2), and, of course, her two Transformers predecessors, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (#3) and Megan Fox (#1). However, taking into account the fact that Peltz is still a relative newbie in the hot actresses scene, she has fared pretty well in the rankings. Once again, give her time.

CHARACTER FUNCTION

Megan/Mikaela:
Sure, she was the archetypal dream girl for the common boy hero, Sam Witwicky, to chase after. But Mikaela Banes was also more than just that. Fitting comfortably into the plot, Mikaela did more for the franchise than most would give her credit for. Sam became a part of the Transformers adventures because he purchased Autobot Bumblebee, or what he thought was a 1975 Chevrolet Camaro, to pursue Mikaela. So technically, she played a somewhat vital role in establishing a human connection for the franchise.

It should also be acknowledged that some of Sam Witwicky’s most memorable moments had Mikaela in them. Remember when he flexed his arms to point out the “new additions in the car”, and chased Mikaela with Baby Come Back? All for Megan Fox’s character. With that in mind, did Mikaela Banes have a lot of value? Pretty much.

Rosie/Carly:
If we ignore the obvious marketing motive and focus solely on the plot, no one really knows what Carly Spencer was even doing in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Her rebound girlfriend role only made the entire Sam and Mikaela adventure redundant. And we are struggling to find any substantial contributions she made to the franchise besides being eye candy.

Image source: collider.com

Nicola/Tessa:
If Mark Wahlberg’s main character was the only likeable human in Transformers: Age of Extinction, it was because he had a daughter in the form of Nicola Peltz’s Tessa Yeager. Cade Yeager’s sincere efforts to provide for his daughter made his character a hero the audience would want to root for, and more importantly, led to his purchase of Autobot leader Optimus Prime, disguised as an abandoned truck.

That being said, Tessa’s function was somewhat reminiscent of Mikaela’s when it comes to establishing motive and a human connection. But apart from that, her damsel-in-distress front was already overdone with Carly. As if we needed her to do it again for another two hours.

Based on the average rankings, our undisputed winner is Megan Fox.

But even if you prefer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or Nicola Peltz, remember that people tend to have a soft spot for the first actor we see in a certain role.

In other words, it’s always going to be Megan Fox.