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. Sometimes, a little TOO much...

Whirl is a member of the elite Wreckers unit.

Fiction

Marvel Generation 1 comics

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

Whirl was a member of the elite Wreckers unit under the command of Impactor. Alongside Roadbuster, he accompanied his commander as Impactor argued with Xaaron over Ultra Magnus' trip to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime.

This is one choppah you cannot get to.

Later, the Wreckers continued preparing for Operation: Volcano, an attempt to eliminate some of the Decepticons' deadliest killers. During the simulation, Whirl demonstrated his trademark aerial combat style to draw fire away from his teammates. As the simulation concluded, Impactor decided that without Ultra Magnus' support, the operation would basically become a suicide mission for the Wreckers. Whirl and the others agreed with him and Impactor left to tell Xaaron that the Wreckers were bowing out of Volcano. Taking some downtime, Whirl, Roadbuster, and Twin Twist went to Maccadam's Old Oil House to unwind. While Roadbuster and Twin Twist were having uneasy feelings about the decision to ditch Volcano, Whirl seemed fine with it, pointing out that it was only logical and no one would say that they were in the wrong. Their discussion was interrupted when they noticed Fang, a Decepticon who began bullying a smaller Transformer in the place. Twin Twist violently intervened, realizing that as Autobots, it was their duty to always do their best to stop the Decepticons. His sudden revelation seemed to energize Whirl and Roadbuster, and after Impactor was convinced by Xaaron to go through with Operation: Volcano, the rest of the Wreckers eagerly volunteered.

My face is up here, Whirl...I think.

Unfortunately, Operation: Volcano failed when most of the targeted Decepticons were unknowingly ordered clear of the ambush by Megatron. Only Macabre went ahead and attempted to assassinate Xaaron, shooting and mortally-wounding Impactor instead. Whirl and the rest of the Wreckers immediately gunned Macabre down in retaliation. Target: 2006

Later, Whirl was seen alongside Ultra Magnus and his fellow Wreckers on a hunt for a Decepticon spy posing as 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!

Marvel UK future timelines

Hands, glorious hands!

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 Generation 1 comics

"RAGH, WHIRL NOT IN CARTOON!! MENASOR REMOVE FROM STORY!"

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 Generation 1 comics

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

Twice voted "Autobot most likely to defect".Meet The Crew

Spoiler warning: Plot details for Interiors follow. Spoilers expire in 56 days

In the pre-war era, under the reign of Nominus Prime, Whirl was a member of the Aerial Corps. Dissatisfied with his lot, Whirl managed to accomplish what was thought impossible, defying the function he was created with and actually changing professions to become a watchmaker. And Whirl was good at what he did—so good, unfortunately, that local criminal elements demanded a cut of his profits. When he refused, their enforcers the Heavies were sent to destroy his business, leaving Whirl destitute and roaming the Dead End, where he hung out with a bad crowd and started getting into fights. His combat prowess caught the attention of the Senate, whose agent Empurata press-ganged a reluctant Whirl into their service, granting him a position in the Rodion police force. Interiors

When a rabble-rousing miner named Megatron was brought in for brawling with other law enforcement officers, the Senate ordered Whirl to kill him, presumably to silence his increasingly loud voice of dissension. Chaos Theory Part 1Interiors Failing to finish the job, Whirl was arrested by his captain Orion Pax, so the Senate sent more men to free him, fearing his actions would be exposed. Their men attacked the Rodion police station and freed Whirl, 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

Whirl wound up being transferred to the Kaon Security Service, where he witnessed the full extent of what his actions had wrought, as Megatron, now convinced that violence was the only way forward, assaulted the city and slew Sentinel Prime, beginning the Great War. Megatron Origin issue 2 Orion Pax—now Optimus Prime—personally invited Whirl to join the Autobots as an act of forgiveness. After "bouncing around a bit", he changed his name a few times and became a flight instructor. Interiors One of his most promising cadets at the academy was Rotorstorm, but he insisted on berating him in private, his verbal abuse eventually evolving into regular unprovoked beatings. After one particularly savage beating, "Jetstream" shoved Rotorstorm into the academy's newly-installed CR Chamber, and by the time Rotorstorm recovered, his instructor had moved to a training facility in another province. Whirl later returned to using his original name, and attended the ceremony when Rotorstorm received the Novic Medal for Outstanding Valor, applauding and cheering from the front row. Bullets

Category: Things That Do Not Exist.

Whirl eventually joined the Autobot special operations taskforce, the Wreckers. He was with the team when they triumphed in final battle over their longtime rivals Squadron X on the planet Pova, only to discover they had no jurisdiction on the planet and would be required to let the Squadron go. Refusing to accept this, Wrecker leader Impactor murdered the entire squadron while Whirl looked away in apparent shame, but took no action. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 The incident was covered up by Autobot high command, and to avoid being implicated in the crime alongside their leader, Whirl and the other Wreckers lied and told Springer that they had no idea what Impactor was planning on doing. Springer believed them and defended their inaction at Impactor's trial, also agreeing to become the new leader of the Wreckers at Whirl and the others' request. Zero Point

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 there, which had just activated Siege Mode. Partway into the battle, they were forced to pull out and return to Cybertron when news came through of the possible resurgence of Thunderwing. Stormbringer #2 Arriving at their homeworld, the team saved the Technobots Nosecone and Afterburner from a patrol of Centurion droids, then joined Optimus Prime in attacking Bludgeon's secret base. Whirl and Roadbuster helped Jetfire from his imprisonment, but they were too late: Bludgeon had indeed recalled Thunderwing home. Stormbringer #3 Whirl joined Springer and Sandstorm in attacking the mindless Pretender, but their weapons were disabled when he ionized the air around them, forcing them 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

The Wreckers got a rematch with Thunderwing some time later when the denizens of the Dead Universe took control of him and stationed him on Corata-Vaz to guard one of the Nega-Cores required for their 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 Surge, when the Decepticons launched a devastating simultaneous 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 saved thanks to the efforts the former Decepticon Drift. Spotlight: Drift

Around three years later, Springer had begun to consider Whirl something of a liability, and chose to replace him on the Wreckers. Bullets Unfortunately, Springer never got the chance—after taking a squad of rookie Wreckers to liberate Garrus-9, he was grievously wounded by the deranged Decepticon Overlord, and left in a comatose state. Whirl and Roadbuster were assigned the task of watching over him and tending to his needs until he awoke, but Whirl was convinced that this was never going to happen, and attempted to euthanize his leader with Roadbuster's Sparkeater weapon. Caught in the act by Roadbuster, Whirl was subject to "the veto"—the ability of a Wrecker to have another member of the unit removed at any time. Interiors He wound up in prison for his actions, but was released and given a "final warning" by Ultra Magnus to stay out of trouble. Hangers On

After the war was ended and Cybertron was returned to a primordial state, Whirl and Sideswipe were tasked with policing a mob of neutral Transformers that had recently returned to Cybertron. They came upon Optimus Prime being harassed by one of the mob, and promptly began bullying the smaller neutral. Optimus Prime had to pointedly lower Whirl's gun and asked to be filled in on current events. Later, the mob revolted and dragged Whirl to the ground during the ensuing riot. The Death of Optimus Prime

Dear God...they're no longer mint in box!

Frustrated with the NAILs and having been kicked out of the Wreckers, Whirl acquired a disturbing method of stress relief: gathering up several leftover Sweep carcasses, pinning them to a wall inside a shabby structure out in Cybertron's wastelands, and apparently mutilating them. Eventually deciding that he'd had his fun, Whirl doused the ruins with fuel and bid a very creepy thank you and farewell to the remains, planning to burn it all—quite possibly, himself included. Interrupted by Cyclonus, who had misidentified the Sweeps' energy readings as those of Scourge, Whirl immediately attacked him and set the place ablaze to cover his tracks. Their battle carried them to the Mitteous Plateau, where they were discovered by Ratchet, Chromedome, and Rewind, prompting Whirl to try and pin all the blame on Cyclonus before killing him so he couldn't contradict his story. Before he could, however, a huge subterranean explosion triggered by Tailgate erupted beneath Whirl, heavily damaging him and knocking him offline. Figuring that Whirl was too dangerous to leave lying around, Ratchet had him brought along with Tailgate aboard the Lost Light as it left Cybertron. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

Expressions, glorious expressions!

Whirl awoke in the medibay of the Lost Light, his first instinct being to reach out and throttle the nearest person to him, which turned out to be Rung. Brought to his senses with the warning that he'd go back to prison if he didn't behave, Whirl left to skulk around the hallways, where he was found by Ultra Magnus and brought him into a meeting between Rodimus and Cyclonus. Advised to make his peace with Cyclonus, Whirl continued to dodge all responsibility for starting the fight but nonetheless offered him a hand of "forgiveness", only to have Cyclonus responded by drawing him into a hug... followed by a whispered threat that he would kill him at some point and the Autobot would never see it coming.

Later, Rodimus addressed the crew to update them on the situation. When he asked if there were any important questions, Whirl made a point to speak up and state that he was embarrassed to be among this group and that they at least needed a decent name. Hangers On

When a Sparkeater was reported to be loose on board the Lost Light, the crew were ordered to pair off and lock themselves into habitation suites until the creature was dealt with. Being a jerk, Whirl locked himself in without waiting for his temporary roommate Animus and ignored the other Autobot's pleas to enter, resulting in his being killed by the Sparkeater. Whirl attacked the creature, but his missiles were intercepted by Trailbreaker's force field to prevent the catastrophic detonation of the sparks the monster was digesting inside it. Whirl was nonplussed. The Chaos of Warm Things

Days later, during a therapy session with Rung, Red Alert's extra-sensitive ears overheard Whirl having a "blazing row" with...himself. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back Not long thereafter, Whirl himself was having a session with Rung when recent crew addition Fortress Maximus had an acute psychotic episode and went on a rampage through the ship, holing up in Rung's office and immobilizing Whirl by stabbing him to the floor with a pipe. Unfazed, Whirl taunted Maximus, trying to bait him into killing him, but Maximus only grew more curious about Whirl's mental state and reputation, and threatened Rung in order to force Whirl into telling his life story. The story provided Rewind and Swerve enough time to position themselves outside Rung's office and distract Maximus with a projection of his tormentor, Overlord, but when the shot intended to take Maximus out went wild and killed Rung instead, Whirl responded by ripping the pipe out of his guts and stabbing Max with it. Interiors

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.

In terms of articulation, he has ball-jointed hips and knees and can rotate his arms, although the arms can otherwise barely move beyond pointing straight down due to his ball-jointed shoulders being blocked by plastic.

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 Generation 1 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")