Whirl (G1)

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

Whirl is an Autobot Deluxe Vehicle from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Whirl enjoys making hand puppets in his own image.

Vorns before Optimus Primal coined the phrase "Sometimes crazy works," Whirl was living it in action. Whirl believes that, logically speaking, insanity makes an extremely effective weapon. Enemies flee in terror before the absolutely insane maneuvers he pulls on the battlefield. His extreme maneuverability in helicopter mode lets him spin, bob, weave, dive, and bank like someone totally out of control. Or totally out of his mind. Needless to say, Whirl is a rather reckless fighter and can take damage because of it. He's okay with that, because he absolutely LOVES his job.

Whirl is a member of the elite Wreckers unit.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

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

As a member of the elite Wreckers unit on Cybertron, Whirl took part in the assassination of the warlord Trannis before taking part in the botched Operation: Volcano. Later, Whirl was briefly seen alongside Ultra Magnus and his fellow Wreckers on a hunt for a Decepticon spy posing as the great Optimus Prime. This was revealed, thanks to the efforts of Outback, to be a product of Decepticon misinformation and Prime was welcomed back into the fold. Distant Thunder! He disappeared from the Wreckers' roster afterwards, without explanation.

Marvel UK future timelines

In an alternate version of 2510, Whirl and the Wreckers led the final Autobot offensive against Decepticon held territory, bringing the war to a close. At the ceremony where he officially announced the end of the war, Rodimus Prime chose to make Springer, leader of the Wreckers, his successor as Autobot leader and carrier of the Creation Matrix. One Autobot named Triton objected to the idea, though: he said Springer was a fighter, not a tactician, and Ultra Magnus would be a better leader for a world at peace. Whirl took offense to Triton putting down his commanding officer, and shoved the little guy in the back, asking where was his "precious Ultra Magnus" when the Wreckers were winning the war? Triton struck back, and the situation turned from bad to worse as the Technobots sided with Ultra Magnus against the Wreckers. Shots were fired, battle lines were drawn, and a new war picked up where the old one left off. Tragically, it seems no one took the time to examine Triton's fallen body, and the hidden Decepticon insignia on his chest. The last act of the last Decepticon was to see that there would never truly be peace on Cybertron. Peace

Dreamwave comics continuity

When the Autobots split into multiple factions after the disappearance of their leaders, Whirl joined Springer's group, known as the Wreckers. During the Dark Ages of Cybertron, he participated in an attack against Devastator. War Within: The Dark Ages

Much later, during Shockwave's rule of Cybertron, Whirl continued with the Wreckers, now a small unit of Autobots dedicated to keeping the peace wherever (and however) necessary. When Starscream released the Stunticons from their imprisonment in Cybertron's Detention Banks, the Wreckers were sent in to deal with the escapees. Unfortunately, both Whirl and Roadbuster were crushed before Ultra Magnus brought down the Stunticons' combined form, Menasor. War and Peace

IDW comics continuity

I'M THE HERO I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!

In the pre-war era, under the reign of Nominus Prime, Whirl served in the Rodion Police. When some friends of his in the forces were beaten up by some working class scum, Whirl took over interrogation of a prisoner and taught him a lesson about how worthless, unwanted mining scum like him shouldn't mess with his betters and how no one will care when the prisoner "escapes" and "has" to be killed. (You saw nothing, Springarm, alright?!) After that Megatron guy was released, Chaos Theory Part 1 police captain Orion Pax learned of Whirl's actions and had him detained as punishment. Some of Whirl's other pals took this badly, since he was a popular guy with friends in the Senate who might be embarrassed if an acquaintance of theirs was arrested. They attacked the Rodion police station and freed him, but Orion Pax wouldn't stand for it and defeated them, shooting Whirl's leg off in the process. Whirl warned his captain that the Senate would not be happy if any further harm came to him, but Orion merely picked him up, went to the Grand Imperium in person and confronted the entire Senate with his actions. Chaos Theory Part 2

A short while later, Whirl would be transferred to the Kaon Security Service. With his mate Roadbuster, he was there to witness the rise of... er, Megatron, now full of psychotic rage, and the fall of Kaon and the slaughter of Sentinel Prime at Megatron's hands. Presumably, Whirl leaves all this off his resume. Megatron Origin issue 2

Category: Things That Do Not Exist.

Whirl and Roadbuster would both sign up the Wreckers. According to official paperwork (trust your government), Whirl was with them when they had their final battle on Pova against their longtime rivals, the Decepticon attack squad known as Squadron X. During the course of the battle, the flightless Wreckers were pinned down in the trenches while Whirl and the other Wreckers fliers fought in the air, but a desperate gambit by leader Impactor and his second-in-command Springer turned the tide. However, after Squadron X was rounded up and put in inhibitor harnesses, it turned out the Wreckers had no jurisdiction on Pova and, for the wider war effort, had to let the prisoners go. Instead, Impactor murdered them while Whirl looked away in apparent shame, but took no action. The atrocity was covered up, Impactor was quietly sent to Garrus-9, and the Autobots were told "Squadron X escaped and died in battle". Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 Last Stand of the Wreckers #5

File:IDWStormbringer Whirl.jpg

Is "Obsidianesque" a word?

Years later, Whirl was deployed with the other Wreckers to Varas Centralus to help Bluestreak's counter-insurgency team deal with the Decepticon infiltration team, which had just activated Siege Mode. He, Sandstorm and Broadside assaulted the Decepticon siege emplacement from the sky while the others hit it from the ground. However, they were eventually forced to pull out and return to Cybertron due to the possible resurgence of Thunderwing. Stormbringer #2 Arriving at their homeworld, Whirl, Roadbuster and Topspin saved the Technobots Nosecone and Afterburner from a patrol Centurion droids. The Wreckers, with Optimus Prime broke into Bludgeon's secret base and decimated his forces. Whirl and Roadbuster helped Jetfire from his imprisonment, but they were too late: Bludgeon had recalled Thunderwing home. Stormbringer #3

Whirl joined Springer and Sandstorm in attacking Thunderwing when the mindless Pretender returned to Cybertron's surface. But when Thunderwing ionized the air around the three airborne Wreckers, their weapons were disabled and they were forced to back off. Fortunately, a team of Decepticons led by Divebomb arrived to supplement the Autobot forces and the day was soon won. Stormbringer #4

Later, the Wreckers were called in to fight Thunderwing AGAIN when the denizens of the Dead Universe launched their grand scheme to bring forth the Expansion. On Corata-Vaz, Thunderwing was found guarding a Nega-Core, a device essential to the Expansion. Spotlight: Hardhead Whirl fought hard alongside his teammates Spotlight: Doubledealer and eventually the Wreckers were able to disable the Nega-Core when Jhiaxus lost control of Thunderwing. Spotlight: Sideswipe

During the Decepticons' devastating attack against the Autobots across the galaxy, Whirl and several other Wreckers were captured by Decepticons under the command of Turmoil. Kup led an extraction team to rescue the Autobots from a Decepticon cruiser, and they were ultimately rescued thanks to the efforts of Deadlock, the former Decepticon turned factionless ninja elite swordsman now known as (say it softly)... Drift. Spotlight: Drift

For unknown reasons, Springer began to consider Whirl something of a liability, and chose to replace him on the Wreckers after the Surge. Bullets

After the war was ended, Whirl was still a psychotic jerk and Optimus had to intervene to stop him from beating up a neutral Cybertronian who was angrily accusing Prime of being responsible for the state Cybertron was in after the war

Games

3D Battle-Card Game

Whirl was one of Optimus Primal's many Autobot allies in a fight against Megatron's Decepticon forces, in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. Energon Wars Expansion Set

Toys

Generation 1

Shockwave's younger brother? Only in the wild world of fanfics.

• Whirl (Deluxe Vehicle, 1985)
  • Accessories: "Null-Ray Module", "Paralyzo box", "Photon Beam Rifle", "Shell Cannon"

Whirl transforms into a light blue Cybertronian attack helicopter, similar to a Bell AH-1 Cobra. In this mode, he has two wing-mounted weapons installed: a Gatling-like "Shell Cannon" and a four-tube "Photon Beam Rifle".

In robot mode, Whirl is unusual in that he appears quite different from the other Transformers in the line at the time. He has no humanoid hands; instead, his arms end in a pair of mechanical pincers. A "Null-Ray Module" cannon can be fitted over either pincer, while his "Paralyzo-Box" weapon slides onto the fin on his right leg.

There is a variation in the construction of his canopy; while most are smooth and featureless, some have raised "cage" outlines on the edges.

• More information on Whirl at TFU.info

Classics

Am I blue? Am I blue? Ain't these tears in my eye tellin' you?

• Autobot Whirl (Legends, 2007)
  • Accessories: Rotor blade

A redeco of Legends of Cybertron Evac, Whirl transforms into a blue Eurocopter Dauphin rescue helicopter. A heavily simplified version of the Voyager-class Evac toy, his vehicle mode has a back mounted (non-firing) twin missile launcher which is carried onto his robot mode, and he is also armed with a rotor blade on his left arm which can rotate, but does not spin freely.

Limited in articulation, he can only move his arms up and down at the shoulder, though he does have ball-jointed hips and knees.

This mold was also used to make Universe Blades.

• More information on Classics Whirl at TFU.info

Merchandise

3D Battle-Card Game

Soi soi soi soi

• Whirl (2007)

A 30-point "rare" character in the 3D Battle-Card Game's "Energon Wars" expansion, Whirl "transforms" into a blue helicopter. He uses the same parts layout as Blackout, Evac, and Vortex.

Notes

• Both Deluxe Vehicles were licensed from Takatoku Toys by Hasbro for inclusion in the 1985 line, and hence were not included in the Japanese line, the cartoon, or the US Marvel comics. Whirl was originally the "Oberon Gazette" from the Armored Trooper Dorvack toyline, although the toy's dark and light blues were inverted for the Transformers release.
• In recent years, toys sporting the name "Whirl" require an additional "Autobot" prefix for trademark reasons, hence making the official name "Autobot Whirl".
• Poor Whirl never got a printed Transformers Universe bio. One was written though, and finally revealed to the fans on Disciples of Boltax in 2011.
• Whirl is possibly the most influential character in the entire IDW G1 continuity, as Megatron explicitly points to him as the one who "taught" him how to hate and use violence instead of peaceful means; without that, no Great War. Thanks, buddy.

Foreign names

• French: Tourbillon (Canada, "Whirlwind")