Wheeljack (Prime)

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 and Wrecker from the Aligned continuity family.

"I'm here to build gizmos and be a badass loner, and I'm all out of knowing how to build gizmos!"

Wheeljack is one of the roughest Autobots around. As one of the last surviving Wreckers, he's seen plenty of action, and he's got the snarky one-liners to prove it. If there's anything he likes more than slicing up Decepticons with his swords or inventing new gadgets to blow up Decepticons in different ways, it's hanging with his old buddy, Bulkhead (who calls him Jackie).

Wheeljack doubts Optimus Prime's leadership capabilities, believing he's more of a stuffy old figurehead than a warrior. Wheeljack also chafes under too much supervision, which immediately puts him and the authoritarian Ultra Magnus at odds. That's why he usually takes off shortly after he's arrived. He'd rather be on his own.

“	If you're trying to ruin my day, you're gonna have to try harder.	”
—Wheeljack, "Con Job"

Fiction

Aligned novels

Wheeljack was a member of the Wreckers black ops. After the Great Exodus, the Autobots remaining on Cybertron encountered the inventor and engineer wandering outside Crystal City. They took him in, with Alpha Trion theorizing that he had escaped from Shockwave's facilities there. Wheeljack proceeded to equip the resistance with new gadgets and weaponry, but his true loyalty remained to science, rather than the Autobots.

Eventually, Wheeljack, along with Ultra Magnus and Springer approached Alpha Trion to propose re-creating space bridge technology on a personal scale, and using the energies from the space bridge explosion to trace the locations of the vanished Ark and Nemesis. The project proceeded, and the inventor was able to find a way of opening a brief passageway through space-time, utilising the remaining energies of the Well of All Sparks and the damaged consciousness of Vector Sigma. Wheeljack suggested they send a message of some sort through the gateway to Optimus Prime, but Alpha Trion advocated sending an actual bot. Eventually, the Autobot called Chaindrive was sent, equipped with a device to track the Matrix of Leadership, a piece of the Blades of Time, and a warning for Optimus regarding the Requiem Blaster. Exiles

Prime cartoon

Voice actor: James Horan (English), Yūki Tai (Japanese), Dennis Schmidt-Foß (German), Lorenzo Scattorin (Italian), Ja-hyeong Gu (Korean), Raúl Anaya (Latin American Spanish), Ricardo Sawaya (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Steve! I built a machine that builds guns that shoot Vehicons. Come see!"

Wheeljack was a member of the Wreckers alongside Bulkhead, Con Job Impactor, Roadbuster, Rotorstorm, Seaspray and Pyro. Loose Cannons He took part in an unnamed battle where he and Bulkhead became surrounded by Decepticons and low on Energon. However, Wheeljack threw a grenade into a smelter, causing it to explode and take out the attackers.Con Job Him and Bulkhead also had an altercation on Sandokan.Loose Cannons. However, early on in the war, Bulkhead left the Wreckers to join Team Prime while Wheeljack continued to serve in the Wreckers. Wheeljack took part in the Battle of Darkmount Pass, where he took out a group of Decepticons to get the Wreckers across a smelting pit. Con Job Wheeljack left the Wreckers when Ultra Magnus was assigned as its leader. Chain of Command

Unreliable Narratives

When Cybertron went dark, he began traveling the stars alone in the Jackhammer. Con Job Eventually he reached Earth's Solar System and was hailed by the Autobots stationed there, including Bulkhead. As he was coming in to land at the coordinates provided by Optimus Prime, his ship was attacked and shot down by Vehicons. Wheeljack emerged from the Jackhammer and proceeded to trash the Decepticons, but was eventually overwhelmed and taken back to the Nemesis where he was imprisoned. He was amused to find that Starscream was in command of the Decepticons, and almost goaded Starscream into killing him.

Wheeljack: determined to make Drift redundant.

An opportunity allowed him to kill his guard and break free from his bonds. He scaled to the top of the ship, where Starscream was waiting for Makeshift, who'd taken on Wheeljack's appearance, to open the Autobot GroundBridge. Wheeljack smashed a bunch of Vehicons and assaulted Starscream before escaping through the GroundBridge to the Autobot base. There he confronted Makeshift and the pair dueled with swords until Wheeljack was victorious. Bulkhead tossed Makeshift back through the GroundBridge along with a "present" for the 'cons.

Though the Autobots welcomed Wheeljack, he revealed that he intended to return to space. He invited Bulkhead along, but Bulkhead was too attached to his friends on Earth to leave. Con Job

When Miko was trying to stir Bulkhead's memory after he absorbed the data from the Cybertronian data cylinder she mentioned Wheeljack, and showed Bulkhead the picture she took of them together before he left. Sadly, this did not jog Bulkhead's memory. T.M.I.

Who shoots first?

During his travels, Wheeljack made contact with fellow Wrecker Seaspray only for Dreadwing to destroy Seaspray's ship. Wheeljack chased Dreadwing to Earth where they battled near a gas station, which was destroyed in the conflict as Optimus Prime's team arrived. Filling the other Autobots in, Wheeljack found himself chafing over the need for secrecy. When Dreadwing called him to arrange a meeting, Wheeljack took Bulkhead to try and trap the Decepticon. The encounter instead left Wheeljack buried.

After Arkham City, Wheeljack Ryder gets fixed by a Doctor.

Once Optimus dug him out, he accompanied the Autobot leader to the port where Bulkhead had been taken by Dreadwing and attempted to remove the bomb the Decepticon had placed on his comrade. Eventually he was forced to concede only Dreadwing could remove the bomb, and he and Optimus played a gambit that forced Dreadwing's hand. Convinced to stay on Earth by the other Autobots, Wheeljack adopted a new alternate mode and drove off to explore the planet. Loose Cannons He also used the time to become quite familar with the location of key Decepticon Energon mines. Hurt

As the Autobots split up to retrieve the four new Iacon relics, Optimus told Ratchet that he'd need Wheeljack's help for the mission ahead. Remembering his past experiences with the Wrecker, Ratchet was naturally reluctant to go through with the idea, but Optimus reminded the medic that he would need a capable warrior like Wheeljack to watch his back. Triangulation

After this, you wanna go build a Dinobot?

Ratchet rendezvoused with Wheeljack by the Jackhammer, and they headed out in the ship to find the relic. Wheeljack quickly got on Ratchet's nerve by calling him "doc" and "sunshine" but soon encountered Soundwave. The Wrecker engaged Soundwave in a dog fight using some fancy aerial flight moves, but against the advice of Ratchet, Wheeljack let Soundwave go and attacked Laserbeak. After a lengthy dog fight, Wheeljack shot the Mini-Con down, but the Jackhammer was also disabled. On the ground Wheeljack found Laserbeak and suggested planting a grenade inside of the Mini-Con to kill Soundwave, but Ratchet had a better idea: A virus which would download the entire Iacon data base into their systems.

While Ratchet set about implanting the virus into Laserbeak, Wheeljack went after Soundwave, soon locating and attacking the Decepticon. Though he almost got the upper hand, Soundwave hit him with the Resonance Blaster, and Wheeljack barely had time to warn Ratchet before falling unconscious. Despite the damage, Wheeljack refused to return to base for treatment and instead set about fixing his ship. But before Ratchet left, Wheeljack finally acknowledged the doctor by name. Triage

Wheeljack learns the hard way that giving Hardshell some 5-Hour Energy wasn't a very good idea.

Wheeljack was called in to the base when Bulkhead turned up critically injured. While he had full confidence in Ratchet's abilities, he decided to go find the responsible parties. Joined by Miko, he attacked an energon mine to draw out Hardshell. This succeeded, and Wheeljack left Miko in the ship while he faced the Insecticons. Unfortunately Hardshell was too much for him to handle, but as he was about to be killed, Miko interceded in the fight, blasting Hardshell with the Jackhammer's missiles. After losing the rest of the Insecticon swarm by throwing a box of grenades at them, Wheeljack welcomed Miko to the ranks of the Wreckers. The pair returned to base, though Wheeljack didn't want to see his friend lying comatose and left. Hurt Ratchet held a grudge over Wheeljack's revenge stunt, and when Arcee suggested calling the Wrecker in to cover for Bulkhead, Ratchet objected. When new arrival Smokescreen was integrated into the team, Bulkhead was hurt and said that they should have asked Wheeljack to replace him. New Recruit

Goddamn Dracula

After picking up the Omega Lock's immense energy surge, Wheeljack returned to the Autobot base to find it under attack by Decepticon forces. He joined Fowler in attempting to hold the Decepticons off, until his ship was eventually shot down by Starscream. Darkest Hour Pulled from the wreckage of the Jackhammer, Wheeljack was taken into the Decepticon citadel and interrogated by Starscream. Darkmount, NV When even a cortical psychic patch failed to yield any information, Starscream planted a tracking device on Wheeljack and ordered his execution. Wheeljack, of course, promptly escaped during the execution and salvaged as much as he could from the wreck of his ship. After joining Bulkhead and Miko, he used the tracking device he'd found to trap a number of Decepticons. Scattered He, Miko and Bulkhead were preparing to destroy an energon mine when they were attacked by a giant metal dragon. Even Wheeljack luring it into the mine before detonating didn't slow it down. Fortunately, the three Wreckers were rescued by Ultra Magnus and soon reunited with most of the rest of the team. Prey

Bulkhead and Wheeljack provided a diversion at the base of Darkmount, lobbing grenades and destroying Decepticons while the other Autobots attacked by other means. The pair were eventually captured by Shockwave, but when Optimus Prime returned and joined the assault, they renewed their attack on the Decepticons. Following the destruction of Darkmount, the Autobots assembled at a human military base. Rebellion

Maybe if I pretend he's not there, he'll go away... is he still there?

Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus returned to the Autobots' old base to scavenge what they could from the wreckage. He was excited to find the Wreckers' old lobbing ball, but when he lobbed it at Bulkhead without warning, it nearly crushed Miko. After a stern talking to from Ultra Magnus and an intense stare down between the two of them, Wheeljack stormed off. He was later teamed with Bulkhead and Magnus to respond to a Decepticon sighting in Scotland. Project Predacon Wheeljack took Miko along, concealed in his chest. That fact, and his continued refusal to follow protocol, continued to rub Ultra Magnus up the wrong way as they infiltrated the Decepticon mine. Finding themselves up against the Predacon once again, Wheeljack attempted to throw a grenade into its mouth, but this backfired and instead brought the cavern down on them. The failure of the mission brought even more tension but Magnus , upon seeing Miko using the Apex Armor to beat the scrap out of the Decepticons, admitted that Wheeljack may have been right to bring her along. At this, Wheeljack opted to leave the team, saying that he wanted to remember the Wreckers as they were at that moment, before "the rust set in." Chain of Command

Does anyone actually still think these guys are threats?

However, Wheeljack returned to Hangar E, where he was immediately requested to retrieve another Predacon bone with Arcee. Wheeljack grudgingly agreed. When they reached the location of the bone, they were ambushed by Vehicon troopers, but easily dispatched them. While they were searching the area, Arcee took the opportunity to grill Wheeljack on why he liked to act like a loner, citing the fact that if he truly liked being alone, he would not have groundbridged back to base, but would have simply hit the road. Wheeljack admitted that he didn't leave the Wreckers just because of Ultra Magnus, but also because he could not bare to see Bulkhead go soft on him. Arcee convinced him not to push Bulkhead away, because if something were to happen to him, Wheeljack would never forgive himself. After retrieving the Predacon remains, Arcee received a call from Jack, who was afraid that his mother had gotten into trouble while retrieving a Predacon bone. Sure enough, Arcee and Wheeljack found June and Agent Fowler in the clutches of the Decepticon Knock Out. After dealing with some Insecticons sent to aid Knock Out, Wheeljack managed to save June and Fowler. Upon returning to base, Wheeljack went to talk to Bulkhead. Plus One

Charge of the Light Brigade

Perhaps hoping to win over Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack recalibrated the engines on Magnus's ship. When the team went on a mission to secure some energon, Wheeljack and Magnus discovered Shockwave's cloning operation in an abandoned mine. They blew it up, only to discover that the sole existing Predacon had become intelligent and was now after them. The pair fought Predaking at length, but lost despite their efforts. They were only saved by the intervention of Optimus, who took them back to base for repairs. Evolution

When the Decepticons started stealing technology, Wheeljack was part of a team which was called out to a location but arrived too late to prevent the Vehicons escaping with the tech. They were able to capture Soundwave though. Wheeljack persuaded Ratchet to let Ultra Magnus come along on their next mission to the Solaris particle collider. The team entered the Antarctic base to encounter heavy resistance from a group of Vehicons. Minus One With the aid of one of Wheeljack's grenades, they caught up with Shockwave, only for the Decepticon to be whisked away by Predaking. Returning to base, the Autobots found that Ratchet had been abducted by Soundwave, however Wheeljack and Raf used a piece of Laserbeak to construct a small aerial drone which they hoped would lead them to the Decepticon warship. Persuasion

See you 'round, tiny.

They launched the probe and monitored it and Optimus's progress from the base. Though the probe was destroyed, Ratchet was able to send them the coordinates to the Decepticon warship, and Wheeljack and the others geared up in preparation to assault the Nemesis. Synthesis The three Wreckers were ordered to take the bridge, however no sooner did they reach their target than Soundwave bridged them to another part of the ship. By the time they reached the bridge again, it had already been captured by Jack and Miko. With the warship until their control, the Autobots flew it to Cybertron and used the Omega Lock to restore their home world. After Optimus's obligatory speech, Wheeljack and the others shared a mutual salute with Fowler before returning home. Deadlock

Following a ceremony to promote Bumblebee to warrior, Wheeljack accompanied Optimus Prime as a pilot in a search for the AllSpark. They tracked it down to Theta Scorpii where Optimus was able to retrieve it, and Wheeljack set course back to Cybertron. They arrived to find Unicron had returned and was attempting to use an army of undead Predacons to destroy Cybertron's core. The ship was shot down, though Wheeljack survived and was helped from the wreck by Bulkhead. Following Unicron's defeat, he was present as Optimus sacrificed himself to restore the AllSpark to Cybertron. Predacons Rising

Tales of the Beast Hunters

Wheeljack was contacted by Bumblebee, who had located a potential cache of weapons in the asteroid belt. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 1 The pair soon blasted off in the Jackhammer Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 2 and despite Wheeeljack's skepticism, found the derelict starship in question. As they were about to start loading up with weapon crates, they were soon faced with Megatron and Predaking. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 4 Wheeljack was able to get a distress call off, resulting in Optimus Prime coming to their aid via GroundBridge. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 5 Prime was able to hold the enemy off long enough for Wheeljack and Bumblebee to make off with a number of crates. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 6

Games

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Never bump foreheads with this guy.

Wheeljack does not appear in the campaign of Fall of Cybertron. However, he does make an appearance in one of the Escalation maps and he is in multiplayer if the Havoc DLC pack is downloaded. Wheeljack makes an appearance as a playable character in the Escalation map, 'Ancients'. He fights alongside Cliffjumper, Perceptor, and Jazz. He is able to build sentries that hover in the air and fire at enemies.

Fall of Cybertron

Toys

Cyberverse

He gets all the ladies with this thing.

• Star Hammer with Wheeljack (Cyberverse Vehicle, 2012)
  • Series/number: 2 / 001
  • Japanese release date: 5-28-2012
  • Japanese ID number: EZ-10
  • Accessories: 2 swords

Part of the first wave of Series 2 Cyberverse Vehicles, this smaller, simplified version of Wheeljack comes with two translucent blue swords, which he can hold using 3mm ports in his hands. These swords are also capable of storing on his vehicle mode's roof, although the downward-curving orientation shown in the stock photo at right is not actually possible due to a change as to where the pegs are located.

This version of Wheeljack was only available with the Star Hammer, in which he can be seated in the opening cockpit. In the Star Hammer's battle platform mode, Wheeljack can man one of three battle stations using flip-down handlebars (which also allow other Cyberverse figures to man them).

In Japan, the set was released under the name "Spaceship Star Hammer", but there are no notable physical differences from the Hasbro release.

• More information on Cyberverse Legion Wheeljack at TFU.info

• Wheeljack & Star Hammer at Alfes's Toy Blog

File:Primetoy-HyperspeedWheeljack.jpg

That's what ya get!

• Hyperspeed Wheeljack (Cyberverse Legion, 2012)
  • Series/number: 2 / 010
  • Accessories: "Gravimetric blaster"

Part of the third wave of Cyberverse Legion Class toys, this version of Wheeljack is a single-carded release of the figure previously available with the Star Hammer vehicle, redecoed as an homage to the "Marlboor" Diaclone pre-Transformers retool of the Generation 1 Wheeljack sculpt. He comes with a "gravimetric blaster" which, in varying colors, was also used by Cyberverse Bumblebee, Arcee, Evac, Autobot Tailgate and the redeco of Bumblebee that comes with the Bumblebee Battle Suit.

• More information on Hyperspeed Wheeljack at TFU.info

File:PrimeEZCollectionAutobotSet.jpg

• Autobot Set (EZ Collection 6-pack, 11-24-2012)
  • ID number: EZ-SP1
  • Accessories: 2 swords

This version of Wheeljack was only available in a TakaraTomy EZ Collection six-pack with Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Optimus Prime, Arcee, and Ratchet.

Prime

Let's see how many different Deluxe Wheeljacks we can find on pegs in 2012.

Just when you thought you were going to escape this page without a reference to Samurai Jack...

• Wheeljack (Deluxe, 2012)
  • Series/number: 1 / 003
  • Japanese release date: 10-27-2012
  • Japanese ID number: AM-23
  • Accessories: 2 swords, Arms Micron "Wuji" (TakaraTomy only)

Part of the first wave of Prime: Robots in Disguise Deluxe Class toys, Wheeljack transforms into a modified 2011 Lancia New Stratos Concept. He comes with two swords which can stow underneath the vehicle or attach under the front bumper to create an attack mode. In robot mode, Wheeljack can either hold the swords, stow them on his shoulders (both via 5mm post), or they can be inserted into slots near his wings. Surprisingly, there are no Autobot insignias on Wheeljack whatsoever.

In wave six of the Prime toyline, Wheeljack was put into new packaging, which came with a DVD featuring the Prime episode, "Loose Cannons".

The TakaraTomy version of Wheeljack, part of the seventh wave of the Japanese Prime toyline, has some significant differences from the Hasbro release. He features a warmer shade of white plastic, his warm light-gray plastics are darker and cooler, his cool-gray plastics are lighter and warmer, his wings, knee spikes, and swords are cast in a much softer plastic, and many of his paint operations have been dropped in favor of customer-applied foil stickers from a separate sheet. (This also gives him some Autobot insignias in the process.) As part of the Arms Micron gimmick, he has also been retooled with extra 5mm posts and holes on his spoiler and hood/legs, respectively. Unlike other Arms Micron releases, Wheeljack retains his original twin sword accessories, albeit unpainted and cast in a cooler shade of gray, and he additionally comes with his Arms Micron partner, Wuji, who transforms from a humanoid robot into... a rather bulky weapon that vaguely sort-of resembles his normal sword, if you squint.

This mold was redecoed and retooled into Dead End, Wildrider, and Chromedome.

• More information on Robots in Disguise Wheeljack at TFU.info

He's here to slice and dice.

• Wheeljack (Dark Energon Series Deluxe, 2012)
  • Number: 002
  • Accessories: Two battle swords

Prime: Dark Energon Wheeljack is a BigBadToyStore-exclusive redeco of Deluxe Class Wheeljack, and is cast in translucent-blue, gray, and black plastics with copper and red accents, as an homage to Slicer.

Though he was packaged on an individual card, he was initially sold as part of a set with the Dark Energon versions of Bumblebee, Starscream, and Knock Out. He was eventually made available on his own, and the Dark Energon Series toys were eventually made available in Singapore as mass-retail releases.

• More information on Dark Energon Wheeljack at TFU.info

Beast Hunters

Mmm, prestige classes...

• Wheeljack (Deluxe, 2013)
  • Series / Number: 2 / 004
  • Accessories: Falcon Spear, disc

Part of the first wave of Prime: Beast Hunters Deluxe Class toys, Wheeljack is a redeco and an extensive retool of "Robots in Disguise" Wheeljack, transforming from a spiky, heavily modified 2011 Lancia New Stratos. He features a scaly, spiky dragon "spine" on his vehicle rear/robot back, and his wings are now larger and more elaborate. The two peg-holes on his rear sides have been removed, and he gains a peg-hole on his roof. The special tabs at the front of the vehicle, used to mount the swords he no longer has, are still present and functional.

He now comes with the "Falcon Spear", a large pole-arm he can wield with both hands. The spearhead is sculpted to resemble a dragon's head, and can launch a disc via pressure launch when in spear mode. The spear can fold up and store on his back/roof, and the disc can be pulled open for some reason.

His instructions include the fourth chapter of the Tales of the Beast Hunters series.

• More information on Beast Hunters Wheeljack at TFU.info

Go!

• Hunter Wheeljack (Deluxe, 04–27–13)
  • Japanese ID number: G16
  • Accessories: "Capture Ring" spear, disc

Part of the first (huge) wave of TakaraTomy's Transformers Go! toyline, "Hunter Wheeljack" is a redeco of the "Beast Hunters" Deluxe Class Wheeljack toy, hewing closely to the non-armored Wheeljack color scheme. The red on his spear and wings is now gold, the spear-shaft is now black, and his plastic lacks the swirly, mixed-color "marbled" effect of the Hasbro release.

Notes

• At BotCon 2011, it was stated Wheeljack is meant to be a mechanic as with other incarnations, but it has yet to be explicitly mentioned in-series. On the other hand, he seems to do his own repair work on both the Jackhammer and himself, and he's gotta get those explosives somewhere....
  • If one does the math, after Ratchet returned to base in "Triage", Bulkhead came through a few seconds later. When Arcee, Bumblebee, and the kids return from New York, Ratchet is just reviving him. A short while after Optimus returns, Arcee has contacted Wheeljack and Agent Fowler has yet to leave. Wheeljack arrives shortly after Fowler and Miko leave. So it's a possibility that Wheeljack repaired the Jackhammer in a timeframe anywhere between 3 hours and 20 minutes. How's that for a mechanic?
• Wheeljack's "one grenade, one shot" strategy is hinted at by the fact that he does carry a single grenade on his hip.
• The Japanese dub of Prime gives Wheeljack a traditional samurai speech pattern to go with his swords.