Wideload (G1)

This article is about . For other uses of "Wideload", see Wideload (disambiguation)|The name or term "Wideload" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Wideload (disambiguation).}}
Wideload is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Wideload (aka Wide Load) is the biggest and strongest of the Throttlebots; he can haul as much as one million pounds in his role as a materials transporter. But this supreme strength is no source of pride for Wideload: his work keeps him pretty filthy most of the time, and he's a consummate neat freak. Highly superficial, he prides himself on his appearance and judges others on theirs. His unusual susceptibility to rust is thus a source of embarrassment.<ref>Generation 1 Wideload packaging bio and Marvel The Transformers Universe profile in The Transformers #56</ref>

{{#if:Wideload, Generation 1 bio quote|
“ Look good and you'll have the world in your pocket. ”
{{#if:Wideload, Generation 1 bio quote|

—Wideload, Generation 1 bio quote{{#if:|, {{{3}}}}}

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Fiction

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Marvel Comics continuity

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Marvel The Transformers comics

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Who smudged my Autobot symbol?!

Thanks to a Decepticon Titanium-class Destruction Drone, Wide Load and his fellow Throttlebots were captured during an attack on a fuel storage depot and brought to the Chief Decepticon Fuel Auditor Ratbat. An outbreak of Scraplets had begun on Earth, and Ratbat ordered them to travel there and destroy all of the infected—or he would destroy the planet itself to prevent spread of the deadly disease. Given new Earth-style vehicle forms and canisters of corrosive acid, Wide Load and the others arrive on Earth and soon find Goldbug in the death throes of a Scraplets infection. They attempted to destroy him, but during the skirmish, Goldbug's human friend, Charley Fong, revealed he had discovered a cure for Scraplets: the "rare chemical" water. With this knowledge, they managed to destroy all the Scraplets with help from another of the Earthbound Autobots' allies, G.B. Blackrock. The Cure!

Following that incident, Wideload and the rest of the Throttlebots joined Goldbug and Blaster as they traveled about the country. While Goldbug was watching tv, he learned that two Cybertronians had been discovered trapped in the cooled lava flow of Mount Verona. He led the group in the hopes of freeing one of the pair, fellow Autobot Ultra Magnus. But upon arrival, the group found the Combaticons already on-site, preparing the obliterate the entire area to eliminate the other trapped Transformer, Galvatron. Though at first willing to let their enemies rid the world of the mad tyrant, even at the expense of one of their own, the Throttlebots were forced into action when a trio of human women took it upon themselves to prevent Magnus's destruction. The Combaticons were driven off, though they swore revenge against Wideload's team for their interference. Ladies' Night

The Throttlebots' continued travels on Earth only made them targets for virtually everyone—the Decepticons, the Autobot faction Goldbug had gone AWOL from, and the humans who hated and feared all Cybertronians. After escaping one of the Combaticons, Goldbug suggested they hide in a used car lot (because that worked so well for him before). Astonishingly the owner, Big Steve Ludwig, noticed a giant earthmover dump truck magically appearing on his lot, and soon put two-and-two together after receiving a notice from the local RAAT boys. After pouring sugar into the Autobots' gas tanks, he summoned the proper authorities. Wide Load and the Throttlebots were carted off and taken prisoner by RAAT's parent organization, Triple-I. Used Autobots

Starscream has no sense of humor.

Still not recognizing the difference between Autobots and Decepticons, III's bigwigs publicly threatened to execute their prisoners if any more robot attacks took place. Guess what—the Decepticons were willing to call their bluff. After the inevitable raid, Forrest Forsythe ordered the Autobots crushed into cubes. However, a sympathetic (and borderline competent) agent named Walter Barnett realized Wide Load and his friends were telling the truth about there being two factions of robots, and salvaged their cerebro-circuits before the execution, transferring their brain chips into electronic toy cars. Barnett then brought the Autobots in his care to meet with Buster Witiwicky, longtime friend of their Earthbound forces. The reunion was cut short by the Predacons, who had caught the Throttlebots' scent, and sought to crush them dead in their vulnerable state. The Throttlebots managed to outmaneuver their pursuers through a shopping center. Barnett and Buster were separated during the chase, with most of the Throttlebots winding up in Barnett's custody once more. Toy Soldiers!

Wide Load and the Throttlebots remained in Barnett's possession for some time. The human brought the five of them to consult on a hostage situation, after Buster wound up on the Decepticons' island-base. Before they had the chance to dispense any advice, however, they island transformed into a spacecraft and launched, with Buster still on board. The Desert Island of Space! The Throttlebots were apparently returned to the Autobots at some point, and reconstructed into new bodies replicating their old ones. When an Underbase-powered Starscream announced that he would "destroy the cities of New York, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires," Wideload was among the allied Autobot/Decepticon teams sent ahead to Japan to try and stop him. He and the rest of the Throttlebots didn't get to put up much of a fight, as they were all destroyed by Starscream before even getting a chance to transform. Dark Star

Marvel UK future timelines

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In 2008, Autobot City went off-line, and Rodimus Prime wanted to find out why. Wideload was part of the team who came to Earth and saw the horrific sight of their fellow Autobots strung up by the ramparts. Rodimus sent Wideload out on point with Kup, Blurr, and Smokescreen, but a sudden surprise attack by the Quintessons quickly put them all on the defensive. Luckily, Roddy eventually got to the control center and woke up Metroplex, the living core of Autobot City, to drive off the invaders. Space Pirates!

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

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The Transformers cartoon

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Voice actor: Corey Burton (English), Takao Ishii (Japanese){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
You have red on you.

Wideload was a member of the strike force assembled by Rodimus Prime to retrieve the body of Optimus Prime from Mark Morgan and Gregory Swofford. During the mission, he became infected with the Hate Plague. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1

Wideload later participated in the defense of Autobot City during the attack launched by Galvatron to divert attention while the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber was stolen. He was mauled by Apeface. The Rebirth, Part 1

Japanese cartoon continuity

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The Headmasters cartoon
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Voice actor: Masato Hirano (Japanese){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Come on baby, let's do The Twist!

Alongside his fellow Throttlebots, a pair of Dinobots, and Beachcomber, Wideload tried his best to defend Vector Sigma from a major Decepticon assault on Cybertron. The entire force ended up being hypnotized and put to sleep by the Decepticon Headmaster Mindwipe. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky The Throttlebots came to the planet's defense again when the Decepticons sent the Madmachine to clear the way to Vector Sigma, but their firepower was no match for the machine's armor. The Great Cassette Operation

During a battle on Earth, the Throttlebots snuck off to destroy the Decepticon asteroid Metamorphose. They were all quite confident, with Wideload boasting that "it's so obvious that we're gonna win". Unfortunately, Metamorphose had the power to warp any metal in close proximity to it, and the Throttlebots were horribly twisted and mutilated. Approach of the Demon Meteorite

They got better, as they challenged Predaking on Earth later on. Wideload and his friends didn't do particularly well against the combiner, and had to be rescued by the Autobot Targetmasters. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)

Legends comic
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In 2021, a villain posing as Universal Peace Alliance chairman Spike Witwicky declared Goldbug a traitor and ordered the other Throttlebots to destroy him, bringing them to the Legends World to confront their leader. Wideload was much too busy inspecting his body for dirt to listen to orders, however, and ended up staying out of the fight. LG54 Bumblebee & Exo-Suit Spike

2005 IDW continuity

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Wideload was stationed on the Orvus Base orbiting Salvvatan VI until a deadly assault by Sixshot. He was one of the six Throttlebots that survived the assault and fled in a shuttlecraft. Upon landing on the surface of Salvvatan VIII, he stated that hiding from their foe would be a good idea. Sixshot appeared in front of the Throttlebots, causing them all to flee. Wideload attempted to shoot Sixshot while the Decepticon was busy smashing Freeway, but was spotted and blasted off a building before he could take his shot. Spotlight: Metroplex Wideload did not survive the ordeal. The Dead Come Home, Part 1

Beast Wars Uprising

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In the Beast Wars: Uprising continuity, Wideload the Autobot and Wideload the Decepticon are one and the same.

During Rodimus Prime's lackluster tenure as Autobot leader, Wideload quit the Autobots and became a Decepticon. Throttlebot leader Goldbug cursed him for a traitor.

Much much later, after the Vehicon Apocalypse which ended the Grand Uprising, Wideload had downsized, becoming a Micromaster. He was one of several bots to try out for a spot on the Constructicons under Buckethead. He made the cut and, during the commencement address (given by Hot Rod of all people) managed something of a reconciliation with his old Throttlebot commander. He united with his new teammates into Devastator as a symbol of Builder hope and pride. The Inexorable March

Games

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Transformers Roleplaying Game

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According to unconfirmed reports, Wideload was once part of an alternate configuration for Devastator. The Enigma of Combination

Toys

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The Transformers

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Sadly, NOT a Happy Meal version of another, larger toy.
  • Wideload (Throttlebot, 1987)
Released in the fourth year of Hasbro's US The Transformers toyline (third year in Europe and in Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line), Throttlebot Wideload transforms into an orange "earth-mover" dump truck resembling a Komatsu HD465-3 with a blue load cover in the bed. Like all Throttlebots, he features a pull-back motor that zips him forward on smooth surfaces in both vehicle and robot modes when placed on a smooth surface.
He is unique among his teammates in a number of ways. Most obvious is the presence of a second (non-painted) color on his vehicular mode, provided by the load cover in his bed. That feature also means that Wideload is made with two more pieces of plastic and one more screw than the other five Throttlebots, and, consequently, weighs noticeably more. Also, owing to the high-set forward lip of his bed, his legs are provided by the back plate of his robot mode rather than the top/middle piece of his vehicle mode as the others' are. That same high-settedness means his arms, when forming the sides of his dump truck mode, do not reach down to the tabs on his undercarriage to hold him together as the rest do. Furthermore, the back plate only provides the rear half of Wideload's head, the forward half being part of his vehicle shell, whereas the other Throttlebots' heads are entirely part of the back plate. Lastly, on the subject of heads, he is one head taller than his teammates in robot mode.
The Throttlebots were part of the Decoy promotion in 1987, where the carded toys came with a soft-rubber figurine. The Throttlebots were the only team to come with either Autobot or Decepticon Decoys; the other toys in the promotion only came with Decoys of the same faction they belonged to.
In Japan, they were also the focus of the "Throttlebot Promotional Sales Campaign", where buying a Throttlebot at select Japanese retailers (sadly, we do not know which retailers these were) got the buyer one of six random all-white Autobot Master Warriors free. These promotional toys are now among the most expensive Transformers toys ever "mass"-released, if not the most expensive (especially when size is taken into account).


  • Wideload (Throttlebot, 1991)
Wideload was re-released as part of the European-market Classics line in 1991, along with the rest of the Throttlebots.
But unlike the other Throttlebots, Wideload uniquely retained the indent for the heat-sensitive rubsign insignia decal, even though said decal was still replaced by a normal paper sigil decal.


Classics

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He gained basic articulation, at the cost of "wheel boobs".
  • Demolition Team (Mini-Con Team, 2006)
Classics Wideload was repurposed as a new body for G1 Wideload in Beast Wars: Uprising.
Part of the first wave of Classics Mini-Cons, Wideload transforms into an "earth-mover" dump truck. He was only available with his teammates Broadside and Sledge.
This mold was used to make Refuser, Universe Knockdown, Mighty Dozer, and Heavy-Liftor.


Notes

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"I am a jack-in-the-box. Fear me!"

Foreign names

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  • Japanese: Wideload (ワイドロード Waidorōdo)
  • English: Buck (Omni Productions dub)
  • French: Fardeau (Canada, "Burden")
  • Italian: Rollerbot, Rapidbot (Classics)
  • Mandarin: Kuānzài (China, 宽载, "Wideload")

References

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<references />
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