Cal Bannes is the father of Mikaela Banes, a main human character. His full first name is Colin, though he is almost exclusively referred to as Cal. He is characterized as a man-child who has struggled with personal responsibility and legal troubles.

With a deep and genuine expertise in automobiles, Cal is described as a true grease monkey who knows everything there is about cars. His passion for automotive work is so profound that he once claimed he did not want to go to heaven if there were no cars there to fix.

In the past, Cal was a career car thief and would sometimes bring a young Mikaela along on his heists when he could not find a babysitter, during which he taught her his trade secrets. Their criminal activities eventually led to them being caught by the police. When Mikaela refused to incriminate her father, the authorities charged her out of spite, giving her a criminal record as well. This background explains Mikaela's inherited mechanical aptitude and her initial reluctance to reveal her knowledge of cars in the first film.

By the events of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Cal has been released from custody and is attempting to lead a more stable life. He has secured employment at a business called Mike's Custom Cycles, where his daughter also works. A significant part of Mikaela's motivation in the sequel is her desire to provide stability for her father. She explicitly cites the need to ensure her man-child father has some consistency in his life and to prevent him from slipping back into his old criminal habits as a primary reason for not leaving their hometown to follow her boyfriend Sam Witwicky to college. She makes this statement loudly enough for Cal to overhear, indicating a dynamic where Mikaela has assumed a parental or caretaker role in their relationship. The character is portrayed by actor Michael Papajohn.