Prowl is an Autobot of many virtues - he is quiet, competent, loyal, and possessed of almost endless patience. When Optimus Prime appoints Prowl a task, he can be guaranteed that it will be completed to the best of Prowl's ability. Prowl is not given to speculation or estimation - the only realm in which he will work is that of the proven fact; if he can't explain it, he will not believe it. He hates doubt, and strives to make a situation as simple and logical as possible, purging excesses of concern from his mind by going to Optimus Prime for assurance. Prowl is friendly, but only as a listener; as a talker, he is not so sociable, entering a conversation usually only when someone makes an unreasonable remark, and demanding an explanation.

Prowl's logic center is unquestionably the most powerful of all the Autobots', giving him the ability to analyze any combat situation almost instantaneously and then advise on the optimal course of action - a skill that makes him eminently suited to his role as the Autobots' military strategist and analyst. For example, he can compute the paths of movement of 800 separate moving objects and determine the proper countermove in half a second. In robot mode, he is armed with a pair of shoulder-mounted cannons which fire wire-guided incendiary missiles, and a semi-automatic rifle that shoots pellets filled with a highly corrosive acid. He transforms into a police car version of a Datsun Fairlady 280ZX.

Prowl's straightforward mind means that non-linear thinking is one of his biggest weaknesses. Irrational situations and thought processes can sometimes scramble his circuits to the extent that his mind will briefly shut down.

Prowl was one of the many Autobots killed in the 1986 film. In the year 2005, when the Autobots had been forced off of Cybertron and were based out of Autobot City on Earth and two orbiting moonbases, Prowl, Ironhide, Ratchet and Brawn were dispatched to Earth to collect a shipment of Energon Cubes that would power the Autobots' subsequent strike at the Decepticons. Getting wind of the plan, Megatron and his forces attacked their shuttle, and a single direct hit from Scavenger's weapon penetrated Prowl's armor, melting his internal workings and ending his life. His recovered body was laid to rest in the Autobots' deep-space mausoleum, which was later destroyed.