Buster Witwicky is a human friend of the Autobots from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Unlike his father Sparkplug, Buster Witwicky doesn't understand cars—or for that matter, anything mechanical. Buster prefers reading books, much to the frustration of his father. If only Buster were interested in something useful, like auto repair. Instead, foolish Buster, if he keeps on reading, may end up with a paid scholarship to college. That is a road that could only lead to ruin.
He has an older brother, Spike, who is away at college, and another brother Butch who is just... away. Buster's favorite band is Purple Fungus.
In the 2007 Transformers film, the main protagonist, portrayed by Shia LaBeouf, is named "Sam" rather than "Spike". In early versions of the script, Sam had the nickname "Spike". 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. He fights alongside the Autobots in the Battle of Mission City, and ultimately defeats Megatron at the end of the film. According to Roberto Orci, the character of Sam was written as a "2007 version of Marty McFly"
