Wheeljack (G1)

The name or term "Wheeljack" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Wheeljack (disambiguation).

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Wheeljack is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Optimus Prime! I built a machine that builds machines that build catapults! Come see! Yeah, we can wait for Ratchet...

Wheeljack is his own worst enemy. Something of a crackpot inventor, a good half of his creations blow up in his face, and that's just if he's lucky. His constant need to invent increasingly complex devices stems from his desire to improve the Autobots' tech, but as a result he's simultaneously one of the Autobots' greatest assets and problems; for every successful gadget he builds, there's one which requires Ratchet or Hoist to put him (and his lab) back together. But once in a while he strikes gold, which has won him respect from even the Decepticons.

He is, however, not a complete nerd. As good as he is in the lab, Wheeljack is just as amazing on the road: there are few stunts he can't pull off, and he loves to show off his driving skills as much as he does his inventions. He is, however, a little less confident when it comes to flying, which he accomplishes using solid-fuel rocket jets in his forearms.

As an Action Master Wheeljack utilizes another of his inventions, the dual-mode Turbo Racer, to get around quickly. In some universes he can combine with his fellow Autobots to form Sky Reign.

“	It sure is nice when one of my inventions actually works!	”
—Wheeljack on his track record, "Fire on the Mountain"

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

They thought I was crazy, absolutely mad.

Throughout the war on Cybertron, Wheeljack rescued fellow Autobot Sky Lynx numerous times, earning him the latter's eternal gratitude and friendship. Spacehikers! He was present at the battle of Jan-Ja where Optimus Prime rallied the troops in the defence of Iacon. Surrender!

Wheeljack was one of the select Autobots chosen by Optimus Prime to travel aboard the Ark, and ended up in stasis lock for four million years at the base of Mount St. Hilary with the rest of the crew. Once the volcano exploded and the Transformers reactivated, Wheeljack was rebuilt to transform into a race car. As the Autobots counted their ranks, he apologized to Ratchet for being "the guy you've had to patch up most." The Transformers Unfortunately, upon their awakening, the Autobots had already a major problem to deal with; they were in dire need of a fuel source. A solution to the predicament presented itself while the Autobots were discussing it: Bumblebee had made friends with a human, Buster Witwicky, whose father had suggested a means of converting gasoline to Energon. Wheeljack and the rest of the Autobots rolled out to meet with the humans, only to be caught in a fight with the Decepticons upon meeting them. The battle ended with Sparkplug being abducted by the evil robots. Power Play!

Later, after Sparkplug Witwicky had been retrieved, Wheeljack witnessed the human suffer a heart attack, requiring Ratchet to drive him and his son to the hospital. The Last Stand After a battle with the Decepticons, the Autobots were defeated by Shockwave, who took over the Ark and hung the bodies of Wheeljack and his defeated peers from the ceiling. The New Order Repeat Performance!

Ratchet was able to reclaim the Ark and began to reactivate the fallen warriors. Wheeljack was the second Autobot after Prowl to be brought back on-line, so that he could aid Ratchet with his technical skills. Wheeljack used the Ark's computers to track down the Guardian droid, reprogrammed by the Decepticons, that was running wild within the ship. Upon finding the droid, Wheeljack discovered that it had been booby-trapped with a thermo-nuclear bomb. The Wrath of Guardian! He saved the Autobots from total destruction by remote-controlling Optimus Prime's deactivated body and using it to intervene in Grimlock's attempted execution of Guardian, preventing him from blowing them all to smithereens. Guardian fled, and the Autobots began planning on how to defeat him. The droid burst into the medical bay some time later, now intent on detonating the bomb within his body himself. Swoop seemingly sacrificed himself to save his fellow Autobots, and Wheeljack and the others grieved by placing a marking beacon for the lost Dinobot. The Wrath of Grimlock!

Don't worry! As long as you hit the wire with the connecting hook at precisely eighty-eight miles per hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower... everything will be fine!

Wheeljack accompanied Jazz on a mission to secure a fuel supply for the Autobots. He stayed in the background while Jazz forged an alliance with the human G.B. Blackrock. But when Starscream and Frenzy showed up at the unveiling of Blackrock's new anti-robot cannon, Wheeljack couldn't just sit around. He transformed and blasted Frenzy with magnetic powder, which buried the Decepticon in an avalanche of ferrous materials. Wheeljack was saved from an attack by Starscream when Circuit Breaker brought the Decepticon crashing to the ground. The save was unintentional, however; when Wheeljack thanked the human for her help, she turned her fury on him, blasting him into unconsciousness. DIS-Integrated Circuits! Christmas Breaker!

Following the capture and subsequent escape of Ravage from Autobot headquarters, Bumblebee attempted to chase down the Decepticon spy on his own. Bumblebee's signal was soon after detected returning towards the Ark, and Wheeljack headed out to welcome him. He was instead met by Bumblebee's severed arm, delivered by Laserbeak to goad Optimus Prime into a trap. Crisis of Command! After Bumblebee's rescue, the Autobots detected an unidentified flying Transformer heading towards the Ark, and assumed battle positions to meet him. Wheeljack and the others wound up tangling against mind-controlled Swoop, and found themselves unable to subdue him. Optimus ended the battle by issuing Swoop an order, prompting the rebellious bot to break free of the mind-control. The Icarus Theory Following this battle, Wheeljack attended a briefing where the Autobots planned out to corral the other Dinobots on the loose, but did not personally participate in the "Dinobot Hunt." Dinobot Hunt!

To help boost the Autobots' fallen forces, Wheeljack installed the minds of Grapple, Skids, Hoist, Smokescreen, and Tracks into bodies that were created by the Ark. The minds were stored on the Ark for such an occasion. Rock and Roll-Out! While perusing Earth's broadcasts, Wheeljack stumbled upon a message being shown on all television channels: a human "super-villain" called Robot-Master was claiming responsibility for the Transformers' presense on Earth, and making terrorist demands. Wheeljack relayed the transmission to Optimus. Via another broadcast, Wheeljack was able to determine the whereabouts of Megatron, who had become idle due to a lack of fuel out in the open. He transferred the necessary coordinates to Optimus's mapping circuitry so that he could lead a team to the Decepticon's location. I, Robot-Master!

At some point, Wheeljack wounded himself while arm-wrestling a Decepticon. Such an injury earned him a talking-to from Ratchet within the repair bay. Later that day, upon learning that Bumblebee had gotten himself cornered by Shockwave, Wheeljack rolled out with the Autobots to come to their diminutive friend's help. Plight of the Bumblebee!

Though tasked with repairing the Ark's stellar drive boosters, Wheeljack forewent his duties when he and Ratchet got it into their heads that they should build Buster a robotic battle suit. Optimus Prime was unamused upon finding out, and ordered the suit destroyed. Feeling sorry for Buster, Wheeljack and Ratchet agreed to wait a day's time before destroying the armor. They failed in accomplishing this task as well, since Buster stole the suit under cover of night, and wound up destroying it in a battle against Shockwave. Upon discovering his absence, the Autobots rushed out to rescue Buster, happening on him just as Shockwave was readying to squeeze the life out of the boy. Unwilling to stand against the united Autobot forces, Shockwave walked away, leaving the Autobots to escort Buster back to safety.Robot Buster!

The Autobots were visited by Sparkplug, who had curious news regarding his son; Buster was being increasingly plagued by frightful nightmare, and during a somnambulic episode, had drawn crude design specs for a Transformer. Wheeljack recognized the design immediately as something he himself had been trying to wrack his mind around for some time; an Autobot Combiner. Devastation Derby! By hooking them both up to a mind-link device, Optimus helped Buster decipher his prophetic visions. Upon awakening, Optimus summoned Wheeljack to begin schematic-work on the Transformers foretold by Buster's Matrix-induced dreams. Wheeljack began designing Superion to Optimus Prime's specifications, though the process through which the components would combine, he admitted, would take him some time to work out. Second Generation!

Wheeljack was among the Autobots who witnessed the debut of Omega Supreme, and he participated in the subsequent attack on the Decepticons' coal strip mine base. Once Bumblebee had extracted combiner technology data from Devastator, Wheeljack and the others retreated. Command Performances!

Upon traveling back to the past from twenty years in the future, Galvatron displaced Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet to another dimension. Wheeljack was present to witness his leader's sudden vanishment, and was left to believe that he had perished. Wheeljack was later an early casualty of a disastrous attack on Galvatron and his cronies, led by acting Autobot Commander Jetfire. He was not seriously damaged, and was back on his feet in time to see Optimus return and resume command. Target: 2006

To give the Autobots some air (and combiner) power, Wheeljack designed the Aerialbots. However, all but Silverbolt's minds were incomplete when the Autobots were forced to dispatch them prematurely to deal with a Decepticon attack on Hoover Dam. During this mission, the Aerialbots almost killed a human due to their partial programming. Aerialbots over America! Wheeljack later had to erase their minds and unfortunately, by this time, Bombshell had implanted a cerebro-shell in Optimus that, while not controlling him, allowed the Decepticons to tap into the Creation Matrix to create the Stunticons. Heavy Traffic! Wheeljack likely helped build the Protectobots as well (which allowed Megatron to create the Combaticons).

While on monitor duty, Wheeljack learned that the Decepticons had taken control of a NASA space monitoring station, and alerted Optimus to the fact. Prowl, Jetfire, and Trailbreaker were sent out to deal with the situation while Wheeljack stayed at his post. The Gift

Later, he aided Optimus Prime in a plan to temporarily fake his own death, in order to teach the Earth-bound Autobots to learn to cope without him. Wheeljack was the only Autobot Prime told of his plan, probably since Prime needed him to build a facsimile construct in his likeness to be destroyed. When Megatron did destroy the facsimile, even Wheeljack mistakenly believed Prime had been killed. Prey! He somberly watched as his fellow Autobots gathered up the remains of "Optimus Prime," and was comforted by Ratchet before driving back to Autobot headquarters....The Harder They Die! A funeral was held for the Autobots' fallen leader, attended by all. At least, until Optimus spontaneously reappeared on Earth standing atop his headstone, and the whole matter was quickly forgotten. Resurrection!

Optimus began to suspect that the Decepticons were anticipating the Autobots' plans a bit too well, and had Wheeljack check his circuitry for any irregularities. Sure enough, Wheeljack found a cerebro-shell inside Optimus's head and removed it. Using some of his technical wizardry, Wheeljack then reversed the shell's audio-feed, allowing him to listen in on the Decepticons. The Autobots learned that their enemies were heading out to attack a hydro-thermocline plant, and Optimus led a team out to confront them. Afterdeath!

Throw open the switches on the sonic oscillator, and step up the reactor power THREE—MORE—TRIANGLES!

After Optimus Prime died for real, Wheeljack was one of the several Autobots who watched on as Ratchet futilely tried to repair his body. Once the Autobot leader was declared irreparable, the Autobots held a funeral service for their leader, and launched his remains into space. Funeral for a Friend! Trypticon attacked the Ark as the Autobots were choosing their new leader. Wheeljack was among the many whose motor skills were inhibited by sonic-scrambler mines launched by the behemoth. Following the battle, the Autobots chose Grimlock as their new leader. King of the Hill! Like Prime before him, Grimlock relied heavily on Wheeljack's skills. Wheeljack tracked down the missing power booster rod, Mechanical Difficulties! and was then tasked with repairing Centurion above all other robots under his care. Wheeljack gripped about this latter task all the while he was doing it, complaining that repairing the "ancient relic" was a waste of his time and effort. Ancient Relics! Afterwards, Wheeljack supervised the construction of the Geothermal Generator. By the time the device was complete, Wheeljack was beginning to have serious doubts about Grimlock's leadership, noting to himself that their leader wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. Used Autobots By the time the Ark was repaired and ready for launching, Wheeljack was wondering if he shouldn't be helping Blaster out, rather than assisting Grimlock's efforts to capture him. Child's Play

These doubts soon grew into a covert rebellion, as he called in his old friend Sky Lynx to help deal with the situation. Wheeljack acted as the Ark's pilot, once it was spaceborne. He enabled the craft to overtake and capture the Decepticon Blast Off, who was under Blaster's control. When Blast-Off's passengers turned out to be nothing more than four human children, he advised the other Autobots that they could probably lower their weapons.

Welcome to my secret lair on Skullcrusher Mountain. I hope you've enjoyed your stay so far.

Wheeljack did his best to make the four humans welcome and comfortable, fitting them with customized space suits, but soon ran up against Grimlock's monomaniacal quest to bring Blaster to "justice". When Grimlock ordered the humans cast into space in hopes of drawing out Blaster, Wheeljack had Skylynx save them. Though the humans were safe, Grimlock captured Blaster anyway, and Wheeljack's attempt at subversion ultimately failed. Spacehikers!

Wheeljack was among the dozens of Autobots who gathered on the moon to watch Blaster and Grimlock battle for Autobot leadership, and subsequently came under Decepticon attack. Totaled! Optimus Prime eventually returned from the dead, and retook command of his forces on Earth. Wheeljack was among those assembled when Fortress Maximus, Grimlock, and Optimus held a conference to discuss the threat of a time-displaced Galvatron on Earth. Though the Autobots planned to attack Galvatron's headquarters, the operation was postponed by the sudden arrival of several Autobots from the year 2009. A great deal of confusion ensued when these time-travelers caused Optimus and a handful of other present-day Autobots to be displaced to Limbo with their arrival. Fortress Maximus, believing the new arrivals to be "imposters" ordered the troops to attack them, and Wheeljack helped Scattershot in taking on Blurr. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and the Autobots from the present and future joined forces, along with Decepticons from both time periods, to go after Galvatron. Through their efforts, all time-travelers were eventually sent back to their appropriate eras. Time Wars

Wheeljack was assumed destroyed by the Underbase-powered Starscream; like most of his compatriots, he was not seen in action for some time thereafter. Dark Star

Alive.... ALIVE... IT'S ALIIIIIIVE!!!

Grimlock eventually revived him with Nucleon, along with the rest of the Autobots' deactivated roster. The Void! Wheeljack questioned Grimlock on the wisdom of ramming Unicron with the Ark and of charging into battle so soon after being reactivated, but Grimlock just told him to be quiet and fight, before shoving him out the airlock. On the Edge of Extinction!

After the defeat of Unicron, Wheeljack was with a handful of Transformers who found Optimus Prime's desiccated remains. He theorized that the Matrix energy unleashed by Unicron's destruction was somehow, just barely, keeping him alive. He mourned Prime's death alongside Prowl, Kup and others after their leader ultimately gave out and expired. Still Life!

Mein Führer! I can walk!!

Wheeljack had a short altercation with Quake, which was symptomatic of the growing unrest between the two factions. He subsequently discovered the betrayal of the Decepticons, who had sabotaged the Autobot spacecraft before leaving the dying Cybertron. Exodus!

Grimlock saved the day again though, providing some stolen Decepticon cruisers. However, when they followed the Decepticons to Klo, the Autobots were ambushed and nearly wiped out. Bludgeon was about to dismember the crippled Wheeljack when he was saved by the timely arrival of the reborn Optimus Prime and the Neo-Knights. End of the Road!

Marvel UK future timelines

Wheeljack survived the battle of Autobot City in this timeline, but was later strung up by Quintessons there in 2008, anyway. He wasn't seen after that, though Blaster survived the same treatment, so Wheeljack may have survived. Space Pirates!

Earthforce

These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel continuity. See Earthforce for details.

Following Jetfire's defection to the Autobots, Wheeljack became obsessed with the technology the Decepticons had used to bring the jet online, deducing that it could be the means to reactivate those fallen in the Dinobot Hunt. While sneaking about G.B. Blackrock's power plant to uncover some clues to the technology's workings, he bumped into Ravage. Rather than kill him, Ravage offered him a deal: if Wheeljack used Ravage's neuro-control helmet to brainwash Jetfire into returning to the Decepticons, the Decepticons would fork over whatever information Wheeljack needed. Wheeljack returned to base and had Jetfire come to the workshop under the pretense of giving him a tune-up. But despite his distrust of Jetfire, Wheeljack ultimately did not go through with brainwashing him. Returning to the factory, he found it aflame, and realized that Ravage had no intention whatsoever of upholding his end of their bargain.

When Galvatron infiltrated the Ark to brainwash some new troops, Wheeljack was one of the deactivated Autobots he attempted to control. Wheeljack and the others were revived by Galvatron's mind bug, an unexpected side-effect of the device's monitoring of their dreams. The mind bug was crushed, and its controller soon burst into the Ark to investigate. Wheeljack was the first to attack the intruder, but Galvatron proved invulnerable to his blows. Galvatron then slapped mind-control devices onto Wheeljack and Prowl, meant to brainwash them by exploiting their psychological weaknesses. However, Wheeljack proved capable of resisting his base instincts, and using a device he had cobbled together from the remains of the mind bug, put Galvatron in a coma-like state. ...Perchance to Dream Back in action, Wheeljack felt somewhat out of place among the various Headmasters, Targetmasters and Powermasters wandering around the Ark now. On a scouting mission, he and Prowl grumbled to one another about how they just wanted some good ol' fashioned Decepticons to beat up on. Obligingly, the Constructicons Mixmaster and Long Haul showed up right then to stop the Autobots from finding out about their evil plans. Thrilled about fighting bad guys who weren't "MicroHeadTargetmasters with a Pretender shell", Wheeljack and Prowl tracked down the Constructicons' leader, Megatron, nearby, and learned of his plans to destroy Earth's atmosphere with a rocket. Starting Over! While Wheeljack distracted Soundwave and the Stunticons, Prowl leapt aboard the rocket and knocked it off course, saving the planet. Desert Island Risks!

Fresh from their adventure with old, familiar enemies, Wheeljack and Prowl both joined the new Earthforce team Optimus Prime set up under Grimlock's command. Operating out of a shuttle in the Canadian wilderness, the Autobots began constructing a larger Earthbase on site. Although the location of their base was unknown, the construction-in-progress was open to attack, and so a 24-hour guard watch was arranged. One dark and stormy night, Wheeljack was trying to keep warm on guard duty using a thermo-heating unit from the ship, but it overheated and started smoking on him. He knocked over a table and lamp while trying to shut off the device and attracted the attention of a polar bear, which ended up chasing him back towards the shuttle. To top it all off, he was jumped from behind by Skydive, who had seen all the mess and mistaken Wheeljack for an attacking Decepticon. It was not Wheeljack's best night ever. Mystery!

Bah. Warm, fuzzy nice-nice! What good is science if nobody gets hurt!?

When a new thought-activated set of nightlights called Sleepfast was released to human buyers, Wheeljack got suspicious and tested the little items. He found not only the presence of Cybertronian technology in the devices, but also evidence that the thought-sensitive nightlights would eventually turn on their owners, allowing them to manipulate the humans' minds as well as read them. Wheeljack took Snarl to investigate the Sleepfast warehouse, only to be swarmed by hundreds of the critters. The mastermind behind the scheme, Mindwipe, then made his presence known to gloat on his plan. The Autobots used the thought-activation effect of the Sleepfasts to will all of the nearby nightlights on at once, the sudden flare overloading Mindwipe's neural circuitry, leaving him unresponsive and foiling his plot. The Living Nightlights!

"Zhose are ze largest trousers in ze vorld!"

Finally, Autobot Earthbase was completed, and Wheeljack called the entire team outside to witness his defense grid in action. Prowl was dubious at the lack of obvious protection, and so Wheeljack handed him the activation remote. Once Prowl hit the button, Wheeljack tossed a rock towards the base, where it was instantly obliterated by the retractable laser cannons. When Prowl expressed concern that someone could knock the defense system offline, Wheeljack assured him that once the defense system was activated, it could only be deactivated from a console inside the base. Prowl paused for a minute, took a head count, then turned hesitantly to Wheeljack and asked, "So who's inside with the console NOW...?"

The response? "Oh..."

While Prowl and the other Autobots braved the defenses in order to reach the console and turn off the security system, Grimlock grabbed Wheeljack by the ankle and shook him out upside-down over the snow for good measure. The House that Wheeljack Built! Wheeljack went to work decentralizing the base's defenses, which unfortunately left it vulnerable to attack in the interim. This coincided with the Decepticons discovering the Earthbase's location, and launching an all-out siege against it. Thankfully, the attack turned out to be nothing more than a distraction from an attempted oil tanker hijacking, and when the theft was foiled by the Survivors, the Decepticons retreated. Divide and Conquer!

From the tempest's fury, the spark ignites—to sire new life! Transmet—wait, we're getting a bit too meta here, aren't we.

When Optimus Prime returned to Earth for an inspection of the new operation, he also brought back Tracks's body for Wheeljack to reactivate in his Body Shop. Grimlock was hardly impressed with the idea of bringing the vain and complaining Tracks back to life, and he tried to derail the process. Despite his efforts, though, Wheeljack not only revived Tracks, but Optimus Prime decreed that Tracks would remain with Earthforce instead of going back on the Ark with him. Makin' Tracks! Later, Wheeljack diagnosed Snarl with Corrodia Gravis, prompting the Autobots to seek out the only compatible Transformer who could give him a systems boost: Starscream. Assassins

Wheeljack was last seen during the Autobot chase of Motormaster, who had kidnapped their ally, Irwin Spoon. He abandoned the chase to check on Prowl after Motormaster ran him off the highway. End of the Road!

Marvel Generation 2 comic

While investigating an apparent planet-wide genocide on J'asik, Wheeljack joined Perceptor and First Aid on a science team in attempting to find out just what had destroyed all life on the planet so utterly. Their findings were so surprising, the team double-checked fifty times before confirming the results: A Cybertronian biological by-product had somehow achieved quasi-sentience and motivation, and was prowling the galaxy as the entity known as the Swarm. The full impact of their discovery was cut short, however, by the arriving armada of Jhiaxus and his second generation Cybertronians, the accidental harbingers of the Swarm. Swarm The battle with Jhiaxus kept the Transformers occupied long enough for the Swarm to find them on Earth. Presenting a united front, the Autobots and Decepticons desperately attempted to drive back the creature. Wheeljack cooked up a method of dramatically augmenting Frenzy's sonic powers, but while the Decepticon was consumed by the excess power pumping through his system, it seemed to do little good against the Swarm. Wheeljack's fate is unknown. A Rage in Heaven!

Classics

Classics continues from the Marvel US series, and does not include the UK stories or any subsequently published stories.

When Cliffjumper was revived post-war after languishing on life-support for fifteen years, the first thing the little 'bot did was pester Wheeljack nonstop until the scientist agreed to rebuild his old glass gas gun. Cliffjumper's Classics profile

Wheeljack was stationed at the Iron Works when it was invaded by Ultra Magnus and the evil Autobots of the negative polarity universe. Wheeljack tried to defend the Autobot station from attack, but he was cut down by Magnus's Terminus Blade. Invasion

After the heroic Autobots' Earth passed through into the negative universe, however, Wheeljack was eventually rebuilt with a new body. He also constructed a mental spanner that allowed Soundwave to project his consciousness from that universe's Cybertron to Earth, moving between bodies. Solar Requiem

Wheeljack and Perceptor continued their analysis of positive-Earth's Rarefied Energon, and discovered anomalies indicating the substance may actually be alive. When the world started to shake up, Wheeljack and the others were evacuated in time to see the truth: Earth was actually a secret Transformer named Gaea and the Rarefied Energon was actually her lifeblood! Of course! It was so obvious! The Future Buried...

Regeneration One

Wheeljack was one of the Autobots Optimus Prime brought with him to confront Megatron on Earth in 2012. Loose Ends, Part 4 While the two leaders clashed, Wheeljack and the others fought off Megatron's zombie army until the signal reanimating the "Ex-Bots" was shut off and they fell inactive to the ground. Loose Ends, Part 5 Afterwards, Wheeljack, Cosmos, Red Alert and Smokescreen were given the unenviable task of clearing away the fallen zombies, throwing them into a huge pit where they could be vaporized from orbit. Natural Selection, Part One

After returning to Cybertron, Wheeljack helped with the clean-up and medevac after the assault of the Warworld. The War to End All Wars, Part 1 He led one of Rodimus Prime's assault teams on Jhiaxus's Hub Network, commanding Powerglide, Scattershot, Blades and Groove aboard Lancer One. Although they successfully carried out their mission, Jhiaxus was prepared for them and the Autobots' attack fell to pieces when they were overwhelmed by his forces. Rodimus Prime was forced to surrender and the Autobots were rounded up and imprisoned. The War to End All Wars, Part 3 Wheeljack was among those who escaped and returned to Cybertron, only to find that almost all the Transformers left on the planet had been converted into life-sapping shadow-leeches by the Dark Matrix Creature. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Part of the crew of the Ark, Wheeljack served as Optimus Prime's top scientist during the early years of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict on Earth.

Marvel coloring books

Wheeljack built a ship for the Autobots to use. They got the chance to when Megatron decided to try to raid sunken ships full of treasure. Search for Treasure Under the Sea After the Decepticons captured Sparkplug and Buster Witwicky, Wheeljack, and Prowl were badly damaged in the battle to rescue the two humans. Sparkplug fixed them both up and they subsequently helped repel a Decepticon attack on Hoover Dam. The Deadly Fuel Shortage

Big Looker storybooks continuity

When the Cybertronian civil war had yet to leave the planet, Optimus asked his Autobots to join him in leaving their home world behind and travel out into space. When Bumblebee volunteered to join Optimus, Wheeljack and the rest of the Autobots jumped in as well. After crash-landing on Earth and being offline for about 65 millions years, Wheeljack and the rest of the Autobots met Sparkplug and his son Spike. With the Decepticons still not in the know of what forms the Autobots had taken, Wheeljack was one of the troops that Optimus led into the desert in order to ambush their enemies. Though they successfully took by surprise a squadron of Decepticons, the Autobots had not anticipated a second group flying in from the opposite direction. Thanks to a warning from Spike and Sparkplug, the Autobots managed to fend off the Decepticons, and came to accept Earth as their new home. Battle for Cybertron

Ladybird Books continuity

The Autobots were low on valuable Cybertronian materials such as cybernite. When Kup suggested a salvage expedition to an old battle field near a mountain valley, Ultra Magnus assembled Wheeljack, Hoist, and Grapple to go with him. Their expedition was cut short by a Decepticon air raid, however. Later, Kup commissioned Wheeljack and Huffer to help him crystallize an idea for blinding the Decepticon space stations who spotted them for the air raid. Galvatron's Air Attack

S.T.A.R.S. continuity

When Johnny spotted Thundercracker stealing energy, he called his Autobot allies through his S.T.A.R.S. control center. Wheeljack was amongst those who responded to Johnny's call. Have the Decepticons defeated us once and for all? Wheeljack and the other Autobots struggled against Thundercracker energy-syphoning powers. Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons? What happened afterwards is not known.

Later, Ultra Magnus pleaded for you to "requisition" Wheeljack and other Autobots in order to combat the Decepticon threat. Using the human power known as "imagination," S.T.A.R.S. recruits could perceive what it was like to be Wheeljack. You Have Been Chosen.

Before the construction of Autobot City on Earth, Optimus led a convoy of Autobots to find the ideal location for their new base's construction. Wheeljack was amongst the troops accompanying Optimus. As they drove along, the Autobots were ambushed by the Decepticons. The battle that ensued later came to be known as "Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction." Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth. The Autobots Are Under Attack!

Find Your Fate Junior

The following summarizes one or more multipath adventures. Details vary depending on the paths taken in-story. See the book's page for information on alternate paths.

Dinobots Strike Back

As Optimus Prime assigned Skids and Bumblebee to inspect signs of Decepticon activity around Dolphin's Bay, Wheeljack looked up when he heard the word "underwater". He claimed that the mission would be a good chance to test out the new mini-submarine he'd been building. Optimus agreed, and Wheeljack programmed it by remote control to meet the two Autobots at the bay. Dinobots Strike Back

Attack of the Insecticons

Wheeljack was present, yet mostly uninvolved, in a number of possible adventures revolving around the Sun-Pak, a device invented by Sparkplug that would end the Autobots' energy woes. Attack of the Insecticons

Desert Flight

Wheeljack was part of a group of the Autobots’ best scouts, led by Optimus on a fuel-finding mission. When the convoy heard a large explosion in the distance, Optimus sent Cosmos to investigate the noise.

If Cosmos radioed his findings to Optimus immediately, Optimus’s convoy moved in to investigate a nearby Decepticon base. En route, the Autobots passed near a human town and noticed that they had begun floating in mid-air as they approached it. Evidently, the phenomenon was caused by a Decepticon anti-gravity weapon.

If Optimus ordered his troops to come to the humans’ aid, they found themselves taking part in a struggle in futility, as the entire town was near-weightless, meaning they couldn’t put the humans anywhere where they wouldn’t float away once more. Then, the Autobots heard Decepticons approaching. Helpless in their current position, the Autobots were quickly eradicated by the Decepticons.

If Optimus ordered his troops to attack the Decepticon base, they soon reached an area free of the anti-gravity beam’s influence. They were then attacked by a small fleet of Decepticons. The Decepticons were quickly forced to break off their attack and retreated. But with the battle over, the Autobots noticed a small human boy at their feet. The Autobots then headed for the Decepticon base, with their stowaway. Megatron delivered an ultimatum; if the Autobots did not surrender Optimus Prime to the Decepticons immediately, he would use his gravity beam to have the nearby humans float off into space.

If the Autobots decided to continue with their initial plan to simply attack the Decepticon base, their advance was halted by a force field. Megatron then fired his beam in all directions, causing a ripple effect that sent everything not fastened down to the Earth’s surface to float helplessly out into space.

Alternatively, the Autobots could concoct a plan where Optimus would pretend to allow himself to be taken prisoner, per Buddy’s suggestion. In actuality, Wheeljack and the rest of the Autobots were hidden away inside Optimus’s trailer. The Autobots then led a surprise attack on their unsuspecting foes.

In one possible turn of events, Wheeljack and the rest of the Autobots leading the attack were turned to scrap metal when Windcharger failed to disable the Decepticons’ forcefield.

In a completely different possible sequence of events, wherein Cosmos had taken off to explore the Decepticon base on his own, The Autobot convoy were surprised to see two Cosmoses flying back towards them some time later. Both Cosmoses declared themselves to be the real one, and urged Optimus to destroy the other.

If Optimus destroyed the wrong Cosmos, the duplicate obliterated Wheeljack and the rest of the Autobots with the proton bomb it housed within its body.

If Optimus destroyed the duplicate Cosmos, the real one would inform the Autobots of the Decepticons’ schemes, and the convoy would roll out to take on their adversaries. They were soon met by a squad of flying Decepticons, but were at a strict disadvantage against their adversaries as their vehicle modes possessed no weapons. The Autobots nonetheless managed to fight their way to the Decepticons’ base, one way or another, and defeated the Decepticons by using their own gravity weapon against them.Desert Flight

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Events from The Transformers Trilogy novels are in italics.

Box!

Wheeljack suffers from a mild form of mode attachment, feeling more comfortable in his vehicle mode than robot mode. As a consequence he does his best thinking in vehicle mode, often while attempting something insanely dangerous. Transformers: The Ultimate Guide

Wheeljack was part of Grimlock's unit, along with Kup and Ironhide, at the time when Sentinel Prime died and Optimus Prime rose to command the Autobots. The War Within #1 When the Decepticons placed Iacon under siege, Grimlock took Wheeljack and the rest of his team deep within the planet, where the new Prime was battling Megatron for his life. The War Within #4 The team stumbled upon the planetary turbines that Starscream was planning to activate to mechaform the planet. Learning the Decepticon's plan, Grimlock had his team split up; he would continue searching for Optimus Prime, while Wheeljack and the others were to shut down the turbines. But while they were listening in to Starscream's plan, the Autobots were spotted by the Constructicons. The War Within #5 The Autobots barely managed to hold their own until Grimlock returned with Optimus in tow. Optimus quickly took command of the situation, and instructed Wheeljack to shut down the engines in a... creative way. Wheeljack grumbled a bit that all his education and mechanical engineering skill had led up to just blowing things up. He nonetheless accomplished his task while the rest of his team provided him cover. With the Decepticons driven off, the group managed to return to Iacon, where Prime halted his order to abandon the planet. The War Within #6

When Prime and Megatron disappeared during a space bridge explosion, Grimlock broke off from the Autobot army and formed the Lightning Strike Coalition, taking his former squad members with him. While Kup and the Dynobots attacked the Predacons, Wheeljack and Ironhide hijacked some shuttles carrying raw energon, making Starscream very angry. That's always a plus. Fragmentation Afterwards, Ultra Magnus managed to unite the Autobots once more, and under his leadership gained a significant hold over Cybertron's resources and territories. This eventually forced the Ultracons and Shockwave's Decepticons to sign a peace treaty with the Autobots. With Cybertron on the verge of peace, Wheeljack was put in charge of the Tyger Pax's defenses. As predicted by the Autobots, Starscream and his Predacons struck to disrupt the peace signing, sending in transports filled with explosives to level the whole area. Grimlock ordered Wheeljack to enact emergency protocol Hydra-Nine in response to the attack, prompting Wheeljack to encase many of the attendees within a forcefield, sparing them from the ensuing explosion. Though the Autobots, Ultracons, and Decepticons stood united against these aggressors, any chance at long-term peace was shattered when Megatron made a dramatic return. The Age of Wrath #1 After Megatron took over, Wheeljack ended up in Internment Camp Pi with many of his fellow Autobots. The Age of Wrath #2

Due to Dreamwave's closure, the end of itsWar Within series was never published. Years later, Simon Furman released the unpublished scripts to the final three issues. Within said issues, Optimus would return to Cybertron, and the Autobots would be freed from slavery.

Wheeljack was one of the engineers that designed and constructed the Ark, and part of the ship's original crew. In 1986, Ironhide and Ratchet discovered Wheeljack in pieces but functional after an explosion while bug-testing his neutron detonator shell. Wheeljack's More Than Meets The Eye profile He was also responsible for temporarily transferring the consciousness of Spike Witwicky into a Cybertronian body, though the full story remains untold. Hardwired

Wheeljack was among the Transformers involved in the Ark II disaster. He survived the explosion of their spacecraft, crashing back to Earth where he and several others lay deactivated and frozen within an iceberg until awakened by Optimus Prime in 2002. Prime Directive #2

Wheeljack calms a group of panicked humans by charging at them while brandishing a weapon.

After helping clean-up the damage caused by Transformers under the control of Lazarus, Wheeljack participated in the assault on the human terrorist's Canadian headquarters. There, they found that all Decepticons under Lazarus's control had already freed themselves, and the battle between the two factions began anew. This brawl was interrupted when General Hallo betrayed the Autobots, and attempted to bomb both them and the Decepticons out of existence. Prime Directive #3 The blast was mostly absorbed by Megatron's cyber-virus, previously unleashed by the Decepticon leader, allowing it to expand violently. Wheeljack and Mirage were the first Autobots to free themselves from its envelopement. Once Optimus had pried himself free as well, he set Wheeljack to task, instructing him to find some way to counter Megatron's doomsday weapon. Prime Directive #4 While Prime took some of the Autobots after Megatron, Wheeljack diagnosed the nature of the cyber-virus, and created a set of anti-viral blasters that used the Autobots' energy to return the converted matter to normal. Prime Directive #5 The intervention of Canada's military force scuttled that plan when they fired into the virus, expanding it beyond the point the Autobots could contain. In response, Wheeljack converted a nearby satellite dish into a giant anti-viral weapon, channeling all of his remaining energy into it. He succeeded in destroying the virus, but was left in deep stasis lock as a result. Prime Directive #6

Several months later, Ratchet had successfully restored Wheeljack to operating status. He was one of the first Autobots Optimus Prime met back up with after escaping the Keepers' world and Las Vegas. While on patrol of the area, Wheeljack passed Soundwave travelling up the road towards the Autobots' location. He buzzed the Decepticon's position, and was surprised when Soundwave asked for a parlay. He claimed Megatron wanted a favor from Prime. Bemused, Wheeljack reported back to Optimus about the bizarre encounter, only to have his amusement turn to astonishment when Optimus Prime actually responded to Megatron's "summons". The two old enemies forged an alliance against the Keepers, and united their forces for battle in Las Vegas. During the fight, Wheeljack used his solid-fuel rockets to fly with the Decepticons Thundercracker and Laserbeak in the skies, acting as air support for the others. He returned to Prime's side in the final battle, when the Autobot leader used the power of the Matrix to divert the Keepers and the power of a nuclear explosion into another dimension. Annihilation

The Autobots were entrenched in combat against the Decepticons in Alaska, fighting over a crashed ship, when Shockwave and his squad of Triple-Changers ambushed them. Shockwave denounced all Earthbound Transformers as war criminals and demanded they surrender in the interest of peace. Shockwave killing Scourge, the passenger of the downed ship, did little to convince the Autobots about the sincerity of his claim; that Cybertron had been peacefully united during their absence. The Autobots retreated from the battlefield while the Decepticons were taken captive. Wheeljack and the other more wounded Autobots returned to the Ark to mend their wounds while a scouting party remained about to learn more about the new arrivals. New World Order Ultra Magnus next made his presence known as one of Shockwave's enforcers, come to arrest the Autobots under the pretense that leaving them be might ignite old passions and start Cybertron's Civil War anew. Wheeljack was one of the Autobots secretly left behind by Optimus Prime under Jazz's command, while he surrendered himself to Magnus. Brothers' Burden Jazz, Windcharger, and Brawn headed back out to the Alaskan battlefield afterwards to retrieve Scourge's remains, only to find that they had mysteriously vanished. Jazz called Wheeljack to ask if it was possible that Scourge had somehow survived his injuries, but Wheeljack denied such a possibility; Shockwave's blast had been decidedly fatal. Cold War

After the end of Shockwave's despotic rule over Cybertron, the Autobots on Cybertron made contact with Wheeljack's crew for an update and promised to send supplies. Generation 1 #0 Unfortunately, Starscream arrived on Earth first, backed up by a small cadre of soldiers. Wheeljack and company managed to stave off an initial attack from the Decepticons, only for Starscream to unleash his trump card on the battlefield: Bruticus. Like most of team, Wheeljack was beaten to the point of stasis lock by the combiner, and dumped into a lake. Night of the Combaticons Black Sunshine He was eventually fished out by Warpath and Bumper (who had arrived from Cybertron with Bumblebee with supplies), but they were waylaid by Earth Defense Command. The Omega Effect The humans then took Warpath, Bumper, Wheeljack, and the rest of the unconscious Autobots to a secret underground facility. Atonement There, the EDC began fixing the Autobots, though Wheeljack was among the last ones back on their feet. He was still being worked on when most of the other Autobots had been brought back online and accompanied Marissa Faireborn in a mission to San Desto. Infestation

Wheeljack was back in working order after the completion of the San Desto mission, and made sure to congratulate the EDC's "grease monkeys" on the bang-up job they did in restoring him. The Autobots then said their goodbyes to their human allies, Lost and Found and traveled to Alaska. There, Wheeljack expressed his concerns over their lack of a proper facility necessary for long-term operations on Earth. Ratchet assured him that steps had already been taken to deal with this issue before leading him to Prowl and the Autobots under his command, currently working on the foundation of Autobot City. The Route of All Evil

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

When the Ark crashed on Earth millions of years ago, Wheeljack and Bumblebee were sealed off from the other passengers, saving them from Cobra when they found the craft in 2003 and reprogrammed the dormant robots for their own needs. Cobra's break-in activated Teletran-One, who in turn brought back Wheeljack and Bumblebee. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4

Brooklyn Rage!

Disguising themselves as cars, the two Autobots worked for months to find and rescue the other Autobots from Cobra. After noting several attacks on energy plants, Wheeljack figured that the humans were gathering ingredients for energon, and had an idea on where their next attack would take place. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2 During Cobra's subsequent assault on the SPS Research Facility, the Autobots intervened directly, with Wheeljack ramming the brainwashed duo of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker (and apologizing). He then confronted Soundwave, but the reprogrammed Decepticon fled as soon as Cobra had stolen what they came for. Having revealed themselves to G.I. Joe during the battle, Wheeljack and Bumblebee offered an alliance with the humans, who in return showed the Autobots a mysterious image of Soundwave they had found. Wheeljack recognized the text in the picture as Cybertronian, and that it contained directions to Cobra Island as well as instructions on how to free the Transformers. It took him only a few seconds to hack into Cobra's computers and undo their primitive human reprogramming. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3

Wheeljack and Bumblebee then boarded a plane to participate in G.I. Joe's attack on Cobra Island, but the humans' higher-ups disagreed, planning to nuke the island and send the two Autobots to Area 51 to be disassembled and studied instead. Duke regretfully incapacitated the robots with a magnetic pulse, but Wheeljack stayed conscious enough to overhear their plans and warn Hawk that a nuclear impact on Cobra's energon stockpile would cause a chain reaction and send half the planet into a nuclear winter. With this revelation, Hawk broke orders and went with the original strategy, taking Wheeljack and Bumblebee with him to Cobra Island. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4

I've got the computer virus at last!

Upon arriving at the island, Wheeljack witnessed Megatron using the SPS Satellite to create more energon, and was enraged when Devastator killed Hound. After helping take down the giant, Wheeljack patched through a message to all Autobots that the United States had decided to nuke Cobra Island despite having their own troops located there. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5 Wheeljack quickly improvised a plan to avoid a nuclear holocaust; using the SPS Satellite's solar-powered energy beams to shoot down the nuclear warheads before they arrived. After menacing Doctor Mindbender into overriding the satellite controls, Wheeljack helped G.I. Joe fight off a bunch of Cobra troops led by Storm Shadow. The plan was ultimately a success, and with the Decepticons defeated in the process, the Autobots returned to Cybertron aboard a new Ark. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6

Two years later, Wheeljack was zapped by a malfunctioning Teletran 3 and transported into a random point in Earth's timeline. He was never seen again. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #1

Transformers/G.I. Joe

Wheeljack was among the Autobots that lay buried on the Fera Islands, only to be awoken in 1939 when G.I. Joe came to battle Cobra and the Decepticons. Along with Hound and several Joes, he rescued several chained Cobra slaves that had fallen into the ocean. Optimus Prime later reported that both Wheeljack and Hound had been killed in battle, but he was apparently mistaken, as the scientist was still around when Bruticus was unleashed. Upon examining the giant, Wheeljack noticed that it was some kind of hybrid of human and Cybertronian technology, and most likely wasn't really "alive". When the Matrix of Leadership was destroyed in order to kill Bruticus, Wheeljack and all other Transformers present were deactivated as well. The Iron Fist

Transformers Legends anthology

When a badly-damaged Starscream turned up on the Autobots' doorstep, Wheeljack argued strongly for allowing himself and Ratchet to take a look at the Decepticon's logic circuits, and possibly see if there was any way to make him a little less hostile. Prime eventually agreed, and when an amnesiac Starscream awoke and acted quite benign, Wheeljack seemed vindicated. Starscream even chose staying with the Autobots over returning to the Decepticons, however when his memories returned, he immediately fled back to his old comrades. Though Wheeljack was disappointed, Prime said it proved that the Decepticons were not beyond changing their ways. Redemption Center

When Ratchet began feeling lost and disillusioned while on Earth, he began going on more and more combat missions, increasingly leaving his medical duties in the hands of Wheeljack, Perceptor, and Sparkplug. This presumably stopped after he had a perception-changing experience in a chance meeting with a disabled war veteran. Healers, Fighters, and Transformers

The Beast Within

During an all-out Decepticon offensive against the Autobots, Wheeljack was one of the first victims to fall to The Beast, the Dinobots’ monstrous combined form. The Beast Within

Wheeljack’s wounded body lay unconscious within Jetfire’s passenger compartment, as the latter rescued the few remaining living Autobots from The Beast. The Beast Within Part 2, Consequences

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Hearts of Steel

Wheeljack was one of the Autobots active in 1888 when an Elder God awoke on Earth. Transforming into a steam-powered plow car, he brought Tobias Muldoon and Nikola Tesla to the Mare Rurek Glacier where Optimus Prime lay dormant. Infestation 2: The Transformers #1 He was the first Autobot to give up his energy for the generator Tesla needed to revive Prime, then was brought back in turn thanks to Prime's own energon reserves. When Prime led the Autobots to Port Cenotaph to defeat the Elder God and its Decepticon minions, Wheeljack cut Bonecrusher in half using his plow blades as swords. Infestation 2: The Transformers #2

Mars Attacks: The Transformers

Wheeljack invented some stasis cuffs, which the Autobots used on the Decepticons after a particularly intense battle. Mars Attacks: The Transformers

Robot Heroes

Wheeljack could be seen driving along in Autobot City before the Autobots departed Cybertron aboard the Ark. I Am Optimus Prime

United

Wheeljack was amongst the victims of a deadly nano-virus. Thankfully, a team of Autobots were successfully in retrieving a cure for the disease from the planet Nebulos. Fully recovered, Wheeljack attended the ceremony that commended the Autobots responsible for saving his life. The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos

Transformers: All Spark

Another Episode, Part 2 The Fated Rival, Once Again... To Earth Reunion and Parting Plans of the Emperor of Destruction Revenge (All Spark) The False Power Ray of Hope Great Aspirations Conclusion

Cloud

Wheeljack was one of the many Autobots who acted as an inter-dimensional police force with the help of the super-robotic entity SARA. He reported a small disturbance in the "33-HM Spacetime," which prompted his leader to dispatch Bumblebee to investigate it. Wheeljack was then tasked with re-establishing contact with Hot Rodimus, who was away on a mission of his own in the "24-BW Spacetime." Uprising

Transformers × Evangelion

Wheeljack was among the Autobots who traveled to Earth and arrived in a Tokyo-3 being menaced by Angels. Mode "Eva" chapter 1 He witnessed the ghost of Starscream possess one of the creatures, becoming the monstrous giant "Angel"-scream. Mode "Eva" chapter 2 During the battle between "Angel"-scream and the Evangelion-powered Optimus Prime, Wheeljack was contacted through radio by Misato Katsuragi who warned him NERV had no Evangelions left and was relying on Prime to defeat the Angel-Decepticon. After their victory, the Autobots joined forces with NERV and Wheeljack had a chat with their scientists. Mode "Eva" chapter 4

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

Together with Perceptor, Mirage, and Brawn, Wheeljack investigated Iacon after the abandoned city had been covered in growth caused by a G.I. Joe attack on Cybertron. Caught up in a Decepticon attack to capture the humans, the Autobots attempted to flee, but Wheeljack was instead attacked by some of the Joes and immobilized by their vines. Targetmasters As the Joes began dissecting him, assuming him to be just a machine, Wheeljack repeated snapped-up human radio transmissions in hopes of getting them to stop, finally succeeding through a quote from the President of the United States. Funeral for a Friend Once the misunderstandings were taken care of and an Autobot-Joe alliance had been agreed on, Wheeljack was up on his feet in time to participate in the impromptu dance party. Form Follows Function Though he wanted to be open-minded in regards to the alliance, he agreed with Perceptor he still had some doubts about it. Everybody Hates Metroplex

Q-Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Jun Fukushima (Japanese)

Ask Vector Prime

What happened to your missile launcher?

In Primax 085.0 Eta, Wheeljack was selected to be a member of a team which was to travel to an alternate universe, designated the 22nd Strata, to find and stop the source of a series of natural disasters which were threatening Cybertron.

Optimus Prime, Hoist, Jazz, Prowl, and Silverstreak comprised the rest of the team; they dubbed themselves Spy Changers because they aimed to achieve their goal with stealth and diplomacy. The Spy Changers modified their bodies to match the native cyborgs using data acquired from the Sky Spy and traveled to the 22nd Strata but were soon attacked by the local Guardians, who mistakenly presumed them to be Renegades. The Spy Changers were then rescued by the real Renegades, who presumed them to be potential allies and took them back to their flagship, the Rogue Star. Renegade leader Cy-Kill attempted to court the Spy Changers as allies, but Optimus saw through Cy-Kill's deception. Eventually, the Autobots formed a secret alliance with the Guardians, and Wheeljack discovered the cause of Cybertron's troubles: Renegade bases on Moebius were draining the planet's energy. The planet's geometry had turned it into a crude Dimensional Interfacer, and Moebius was tapping into Cybertron to sustain itself. Hoist was able to end the crisis by triggering the bases' remote detonation sequence. Cy-Kill was furious, but in the ensuing battle, the Autobot-Guardian alliance triumphed over the Renegades. Optimus Prime and Leader-1 shook hands as a symbol of the transdimensional friendship, and the Autobots returned to their home reality, secure in the knowledge that they had allies in places as distant as alternate realities.

The Cybertronians and GoBots had further encounters. In one instance, the Renegades tricked the Guardians into leaving Earth and then sealed the Guardians out with an Embargo Field. Stranded behind the field, Guardians Nick and Tri-Trak used the Reality Beacon to contact the 1st Strata for help. Wheeljack and Trailbreaker, who was also upgraded into a Spy Changer body, subsequently traveled to the other Earth to assist. With Trailbreaker's expertise in force fields, they discovered the source of the Embargo Field in the Eiffel Tower. Trailbreaker, Wheeljack, and Tri-Trak confronted Crain Brain and Dr. Go, defeating the villains and taking down the field. Renegades worldwide retreated as the Guardians returned en masse. Ask Vector Prime, 30/9/2015

Combiner Wars cartoon

Wheeljack was among the Autobot troops who bore witness to a pivotal duel between Optimus Prime and Megatron, one meant to end the war before the never-ending arms race between the two factions spiralled further out of control. Prelude to Transformers: Combiner Wars - Optimus Prime

Commercial appearances

• Wheeljack was among the Autobots gathered around Optimus Prime when Prime decided it would be a good idea to not transform anymore. Action Master commercial
• Wheeljack and Sprocket were driving on Cybertron, aboard the Turbo Racer and the Attack Cruiser respectively, when they came under fire from Gutcruncher's Stratotronic Jet. Action Master vehicles commercial
• Wheeljack also planned on attending BotCon 2009 alongside his fellow Autobots. BotCon 2009!

Games

Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons

When Optimus embarked on his mission to rescue the Autobots' Minicar troops from the Decepticons, Wheeljack could come to Optimus Prime's aid by repairing his flat tires. Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons packaging blurb and game

The Transformers (PS2)

Voice actor: Alex Easley

Construct-Bots Builder

The components necessary for building "Construct-Bot" Wheeljack were accessible within the Cybertron construction zone. Despite it being against protocol, you could mix his parts with those of Decepticons! (gasp!) Construct-Bots Builder

Transformers Legends

The Dinobots began behaving erratically, so Wheeljack used his magnetic inducer on Slug while Optimus Prime kept them distracted. Wheeljack took as scan of Slug, but the data was corrupted, so he had to use Teletraan I to repair it. Day of the Dinobots - Part 1 When the Constructicons attempted to infiltrate the base to strike at Teletraan, Wheeljack was part of Ironhide's team which tried unsuccessfully to halt their progress. Heavy Metal War - Part 1 Wheeljack joined a team led by Bumblebee to help track down the Predacons. Call of the Primitives

Optimus and Wheeljack returned to Autobot HQ after an absence to find Grimlock had taken leadership. Though they failed to resist him, he soon bored with leading the Autobots and let Optimus take command again. Me, Grimlock, King In an attempt to save Spike when the boy was injured during a battle, Wheeljack transferred Spike's mind into Autobot X. Things went horribly wrong, but Wheeljack later successfully transferred Spike's mind back into his healed body. Autobot X

At some point Wheeljack teamed up with Cyclonus and Misfire to combat Overlord and his allies. Fan Favorite

Bet this game is some kind of holodeck created by him.

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Wheeljack participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Common character that could be recruited for 14 units of Cybermetal. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers: Devastation

Voice actor: Christopher Swindle

Wheeljack assisted Optimus Prime in opposing Megatron's scheme and stopping the cyberforming of Earth. He upgraded the Autobots' weapons and built T.E.C.H. for them on the Ark, and also provided technical expertise in the field. While he preferred to leave the fighting to Grimlock and Sideswipe, he was more than capable of adjusting a Decepticon's attitude with a well-placed smack from his wrenches or some pinpoint blaster fire. Transformers: Devastation

Transformers Online (2016 video game)

“

Don't let your enemies dictate what you do.

”

Four million years ago, Wheeljack travelled with Optimus on the Ark away from an energy depleted Cybertron. Bluestreak once described Wheeljack as "a fellow who can make nuclear bombs out of scrap metal and rust buckets." Wheeljack became renowned as a "mad scientist" for creating gadgets for the Autobots that will optimize their performance in combat. Furthermore, his driving skills are superb enough to make any Hollywood hero envious.

In battle, Wheeljack wielded the laser powered "Stillson Wrench" and the bubble blasting "Fusion Ray Gun". His active skill was "Backup Firepower":

• Backup Firepower — Wheeljack calls forth 2 levitating turret drones to fight by his side. If Wheeljack dies in battle, the turrets will initiate a kamikaze protocol to kill Wheeljack's opponent(s), resulting in extensive damage. Transformers Online

Notes

• Wheeljack has the distinction of being the first Transformer to appear in the original The Transformers cartoon, and thus the first one to appear in any animated story.
• In Japanese continuity, Wheeljack is portrayed as being older than most Autobots; he talks like an old man and is even referred to as one by Ironhide, of all people, in the dub of "Heavy Metal War". According to the Japanese PlayStation 2 Transformers game, he is significantly older than Jazz, old enough to tell him to "respect your elders". Also, he is younger than Kup, but still enough of age to share old man stories with him.
• Storyboards for The Transformers: The Movie show Smokescreen lying dead next to Windcharger instead of Wheeljack. The establishing shot of the launcher near where Wheeljack's remains lie even show a Smokescreen-colored Wheeljack corpse. Older versions of the movie script in fact feature Wheeljack alive and well after the Battle of Autobot City, having merely been knocked unconscious. He and several other Autobots take part in a plotline that involved saving Earth from Unicron's siphoning hose that was draining the Earth's energy and would ultimately destroy it.
• In a continuity where most of the time, most Autobots can't fly under their own power, one of the few Autobot cars explicitly described as being capable of flight is Wheeljack—whose alternate mode and color scheme come from a racecar sponsored by a certain airline. Coincidence? (Maybe Wheeljack only gets to fly because his Diaclone had wings—but then, maybe the Diaclone had wings because of the "Alitalla" airline.)

Foreign names

• Japanese: Wheeljack (ホイルジャック Hoirujakku)
• French: Invento (Canada), Cric (Canada Action Master, "Jack")
• Hebrew: Jeck (ג'ק, "Jack")
• Hungarian: Kerék ("Wheel"), Kormányos Jack ("Steering-wheel Jack")
• Italian: Saetta ("Bolt")
• Mandarin: Luén Chéi (Taiwan, 輪傑, "Wheel Jay"), Qiānjīndǐng (China, 千斤頂, "Wheeljack" or "Hoisting Jack")
• Portuguese: Auto-Roda (Portuguese comic, "Auto-Motor"), Motriz (Brazilian comic, "Wheel")
• Russian: Gónshchik (Го́нщик, "Racer")
• Ukrainian: Kermanych (Керманич, "Steerer")