Wheeljack
Wheeljack is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series.
Transformers: Generation 1
Fictional biography
Wheeljack is the mad scientist of the Autobots. Always inventing new weapons and gadgets. Most adept at driving while in car mode. Likes to show off his stunts. Flying range of 800 miles using solid-fuel rockets in arms. Shoots magnetic inducer, shrapnel-needle, and gyro-inhibitor shells from his shoulder cannons. He is his own worst enemy. Often injured while experimenting with new weapons.
Animated series
Wheeljack (voiced by Chris Latta, who also played Starscream, among others) is notably the first Autobot ever shown in the Generation 1 cartoon series. He is also the "mad scientist" of the group and responsible for the creation of many of the weapons, gizmos, gadgets and sometimes even new Autobots (most famously the Dinobots, who strangely have no particular affinity towards him) with the assistance of Ratchet as needed. Wheeljack is always turning out something new for the Autobots to use; however, these inventions usually backfire, creating undesirable effects, unknown and dangerous factors, or sometimes even being hijacked by the Decepticons and used against them.
His usual scientist duties were later in season 2 of the cartoon taken on by Perceptor.
Books
Ladybird Books
Wheeljack is featured in the 1986 Ladybird Books story Galvatron's Air Attack.[1]
Comics
Devil's Due Publishing
In this crossover series with G.I. Joe, the Ark, along with the Autobots and Decepticons within, is discovered by the Cobra organization, who turn both factions into robotic drones to do their bidding. Wheeljack and Bumblebee managed to escape discovery, and are awakened when Cobra seals the ship. The two of them hide out in plain sight, until they managed to get in the middle of a battle between Transformer-augmented Cobra forces and G.I. Joe, the elite combat unit recently formed to battle Cobra. Throwing their lot in with the Joes, Wheeljack gained access to an emergency signal that had been released into the net by Optimus Prime, and was able to not only track down Cobra's hidden island base, but also awaken all the Transformers, both Autobot and Decepticon, and free them from Cobra's control.
With the situation on Cobra island quickly turning into a three-way battle, Wheeljack and Bumblebee planned to join the Joes to assault the island, rendezvous with the other Autobots, and together take down both Cobra and the Decepticons. However, a group of US generals had other plans: the Joes were to disable Wheeljack and Bumblebee and take them to Area 51 in New Mexico for study, while the island would be destroyed by nuclear weapons. G.I. Joe commander Hawk reluctantly complied, hitting them with an EMP device, but Wheeljack was able to maintain consciousness long enough to warn the Joes that a nuclear explosion would have a cataclysmic reaction with the Energon Cobra sought to synthesize. With the fate of the world at stake, the Joes disobeyed their orders and went with their original plan. On the island, Wheeljack, with the help of Bumblebee and a large force of Joes, managed to take down the mighty Decepticon Devastator, and helped Mainframe and a coerced Doctor Mindbender stop the nuclear missiles from destroying the island, and a good portion of the earth as well.
He would later make background appearances in the next two G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover mini-series.
Dreamwave Productions
In Transformers: The War Within--The Dark Ages, Wheeljack was a scientist turned soldier on Cybertron at the dawn of the Autobot and Decepticon civil war. He was under Grimlock's command during the disastrous battle of Altihex and once again in a mission to rescue Optimus Prime in Cybertron's depths. When Megatron and Optimus disappeared in an accident with a space bridge, the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions, and Wheeljack joined Grimlock's command once more in the Lighting Strike Coalition.
Wheeljack was among the Autobots commanded by Optimus Prime in the Ark mission, crashing deactivated on Earth and reawakening in Earth forms in 1984. Following initial Decepticon defeat and the explosion of the Ark II, the Autobots were deactivated and lost in the ocean. Wheeljack was among those reactivated by Optimus in 2002 and was part of a small task force led by Jazz assigned to stop the spread of Megatron’s deadly metal virus in the Canadian Northwest territories. Wheeljack was temporarily deactivated once more, using all his power to neutralize the virus.
When a Cybertronian task force came to arrest the Earth-bound Transformers in 2003, Wheeljack was once more placed under Jazz's command was one of the few Autobots left on Earth to guard the Ark. Later in the year, Starscream and the Combaticons (in their combined form of Bruticus) launched a vicious assault on the Ark that left Wheeljack deactivated. He was retrieved and repaired by the Earth Defense Command, and later rejoined the other Autobots to be shown the site of construction for the new Autobot City.
IDW Publishing
In IDW's Transformers: Infiltration mini-series, Wheeljack is part of an infiltration unit consisting of Ratchet, Ironhide, Jazz, Bumblebee, and Sunstreaker, led by Prowl. He has not played a major role thus far, other than to accompany the other Autobots to the Decepticon base to watch the duel between Megatron and a super-powered Starscream.
In the Escalation mini-series, when Sunstreaker is presumed destroyed by the secret organization Machination, Wheeljack and Jazz tracked them to their base - only to be temporarily disabled by the Machination's advanced weaponry. After this he accompanied Optimus Prime to Brasnya to hunt down Megatron and his human facsimile - only to wind up in battle with Skywarp and the triple-changer Blitzwing. He and Jazz put Skywarp to flight, but the Decepticon promised to return with reinforcements. They then confronted Megatron (who had nearly killed Optimus Prime). On Prime's orders, they focused fire on Megatron long enough for Prime to recover and drive off the Decepticon leader, although they were prevented from dealing a killing blow by the appearance of Skywarp and Thundercracker.
In the Devastation mini-series, both Wheeljack and Hot Rod were given the assignment of stopping a wounded Ironhide from being pneumatically compacted at a junkyard in Warsaw. While both Autobots were en route to save their comrade, they were intercepted by multiple Headmaster versions of Sunstreaker created by the Machination.
In the 2011 company-wide crossover Infestation, Optimus Prime leads Bumblebee, Drift, Kup, Prowl, Ratchet and Wheeljack in Las Vegas when a Cybertronian ship crashes containing Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and an infestation of zombies from another universe. Galvatron attempts to take command of the Autobots, and after fighting them explains his mission to stop an undead infestation. Wheeljack sets up an energy shield around the city to keep the infestation contained, but it will only last for 24 hours. Kup recognizes a Decepticon named Bayonet in Galvatron's command as not being right, and she is revealed to be the extra-dimensional vampire Britt.
Wheeljack appeared in the Transformers: Robots in Disguise title.
Marvel Comics
Wheeljack performs the same function as in the cartoons, but was more of a background character. He got his first important role in issue #9 of the series when he and Jazz go to negotiate a fuel deal with industrialist G.B. Blackrock, and end up saving him from the Decepticons Starscream and Frenzy; he, in turn, keeps them from getting killed by Circuit Breaker, his former employee-turned-super-powered vigilante with an extreme hatred for robotic life.
Later in issue #32, he completes a geothermal generator to create energon cubes by tapping into the geothermal heat of the Earth's core. He believed this would impress Dinobot commander Grimlock (who had been given command of the Autobots in issue #27), but Grimlock still believed they should take what they need from the humans.
In issue #36, when Grimlock planned to boot a quartet of human children who had befriended Blaster (who had left the Autobots because of Grimlock's command), Wheeljack secretly called in his old friend Sky Lynx to rescue the children. In issue #41, Wheeljack is among the Autobots severely injured in a massive battle against the Decepticons on Earth's moon.
He and many others were out of action until issue #75, where Grimlock revived them with the untested fuel source known as Nucleon, in time to help in the battle against the chaos-bringer Unicron (which he advised against doing, especially in their recently-revived state). He then appears in the last four issues of the series as one of Grimlock and Prowl's trusted confidants.
He nearly meets his end in the final issue (#80), but is revived in that same issue by the legendary Last Autobot.
He would then appear sporadically in the Generation 2 comic series.
Other fiction
Wheeljack is mentioned by the name "Jack" in the biography for the TFC Toys Gear of War set as the developer of the weapons in the set.
Transformers: Prime
Fictional biography
As a former member of The Wreckers, Wheeljack is more than capable of taking care of himself. But he's glad to know that at least one of his old friends - Bulkhead - is still around, bringing the pain to the Decepticons
Comics
Fun Publications
Games
In Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Wheeljack appears as one of the five DLC multiplayer characters in the Havok pack for the Autobot side. His alternate form is a Cybertronian car.
References
- ↑ Grant, John (1986). Galvatron's Air Attack. Ladybird Books. ISBN 0-7214-0988-1.
External links
- Autobots
- Devil's Due Publishing characters
- Dreamwave Productions characters
- Fictional automobiles
- Fictional characters introduced in 1984
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- Fun Publications characters
- IDW Publishing characters
- Ladybird Books characters
- Lightning Strike Coalition
- Marvel Comics characters
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- The Transformers characters
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- Transformers: Fall of Cybertron characters
