Wheeljack (ES)

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

Wheeljack is an Autobot from the EarthSpark continuity family.

She alwayst asks me the Worste Queries, and calleth me her "Lesser Dad."

Wheeljack is the Autobots' resident mechanic and scientist. His inventions are famously temperamental, and you'll often find Optimus or Elita-1 crossing their fingers and hoping it doesn't explode upon activation. Despite that, his scientific skills can't be disputed, and he can whip up a gadget to solve most problems he encounters.

One problem he wasn't prepared for was learning about his "daughter", Twitch. Having scanned one of his drones as her alt-mode, the young Terran considers him a second father, or Dad2, and looks up to him. While Wheeljack's specialty might be technology, he's managing to provide some meaningful guidance to the young bot, and teach her how to make the best use of all the gadgets built into her drone mode.

Fiction

EarthSpark cartoon

Voice actor: Michael T. Downey (English), Guillaume Lebon (French), Dan Frausto (Latin American Spanish), Marco Ribeiro (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Sorry, Twitch, but I need to go buy some milk."

When one of Optimus's drones failed to return from a recon scan, Elita merely assumed it had malfunctioned and exploded due to Wheeljack's buggy programming. Secret Legacy, Part 2

Wandering through the forest near Witwicky in search of an Arachnamech, Wheeljack recognized a drone of his own making and shot it down with an electromagnetic pulse before carrying it under his arm. After hearing his drone speak and seeing it transform, he learned that it was Twitch, who was hunting a Wakwak in an effort to learn one of Alex Malto's traditions. Wheeljack explained to the Terran that he was the inventor of the drone she based her alternate mode on, leading her to start calling him her "Dad2", much to his chagrin. Though he attempted to avoid her at first, Wheeljack eventually taught Twitch how to use some of her drone mode's built-in functions, having her practice drills in the forest to train. After the two worked together to fend off a unit of Arachnamechs, Wheeljack expressed pride in Twitch's progress and ingenuity, accepting her newfound admiration in him. He followed her back to the Malto house, where he met the rest of her family and reunited with his old friend Bumblebee. Traditions

Toys

EarthSpark

Red and green sharpies not included.

• Wheeljack (1-Step Flip Changer, 2022)

"1-Step Flip Changer" Wheeljack is a simple toy that converts from robot to vehicle and vice versa by being folded inside-out/outside-in, much like a switchblade. His vehicle mode can be arrived at much faster by letting him fall face up onto a solid surface. This releases a switch on his leg and lets him spring back into car mode instantly.

Unlike previous One Step Changers, Wheeljack lacks any robot mode articulation beyond waggling his free-moving arms side to side. He is also much smaller than previous equivalent toys.

Notes

• This incarnation of Wheeljack sports both a retractable faceplate from his Aligned counterpart and even a goatee that callbacks to both his Cyberverse and Animated incarnations when it comes to facial hair.
• As a departure from past depictions, Earthspark Wheeljack speaks with a Southern accent.

Foreign names

• Hungarian: Volánjack ("(Steering)Wheeljack")