Sparkplug Witwicky
| The name or term "Sparkplug" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Sparkplug (disambiguation). |
- Sparkplug Witwicky is a human from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Sparkplug Witwicky is many things, but first and foremost a father. He's gruff and no-nonsense in a working-class manner, but he loves his son(s) dearly—a sentiment very much reciprocated. His experiences with the Transformers aren't always smooth, but his down-to-earth approach serves him well. He is very mechanically inclined, which is an obvious asset when dealing with robots.
His several incarnations throughout the multiverse have a varying number of sons with names like "Spike", "Buster", and "Butch".
| “ | I'm a mechanic! I know what I'm doing! | ” |
—A mind-controlled Sparkplug states his credentials, The Ultimate Doom, Part 1 | ||
- Portugese name (Brazil comics): Bob Centelha
- French-Canadian name: Malabar
- Hungarian name: William "Gyertya" Witwicky
- Portuguese name (Portugal comics): Vela-de-Ignição Witwicky
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
In his younger days, "Sparkplug" Witwicky was a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. Later in life, he was a mechanic who owned his own service station.
A P.O.W. during the Korean War, Sparkplug was forced to repair the North Koreans' equipment. However, he secretly sabotaged that same equipment, leading to personnel and material losses for the North Koreans. After being kidnapped by the Decepticons, he was instructed by Megatron to develop a process that would convert Earthen gasoline into fuel they could consume. Sparkplug drew on his memories of his time as a mechanic in the Korean War, recalling an instance where he had sabotaged the enemy vehicles' fuel and brake lines, and did the same to the Decepticons, poisoning their fuel and allowing the Autobots to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. However, before this heroic act could come to light, many of the Autobots believed that Sparkplug had betrayed them, and an over-reactive Jazz let loose with his flamethrower. Although Sparkplug wasn't injured by the weapon itself, he did suffer a heart attack. He was much less friendly with the Autobots thereafter. The Last Stand
Much later, his service station was destroyed by Ratbat and the Predacons. It is never established whether or not he rebuilt the station.
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Chris Latta (English), Toshio Ishii (Japanese), Edgar Fruitier (Canadian French)
At some unspecified point in the past, Sparkplug Witwicky worked as a ruby crystal miner in Burma, of all things. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2
In 1984, he and his son Spike were working on an offshore oil rig. The day was like any other day, with Sparkplug asking his son to help him flush out a drill bit. Before they could carry out their task, giant robots descended from the sky and landed on the oil rig, and with no provocation, were almost immediately attacked by Sparkplug's coworkers. Regardless, their intentions became clear when Sparkplug himself was pinned against a wall by a small purple robot, who then threw Spike overboard when he tried to help his father. Freeing himself from the robot's clutches, Sparkplug dived into the water after his son. While the rig workers hid in the ocean, another group of giant robots arrived and fought with the group of robots who were stealing oil from the rig. The leader of the evil robots destroyed the rig and set fire to the oil tanks as a diversion while he escaped. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
The good robots, calling themselves the Autobots, saved the oil rig workers from a fate exactly the same as death. Grateful, Sparkplug and Spike happily latched on to the friendly alien robots, offering up their expertise and knowledge about planet Earth in exchange for joining the team. After the Autobots failed to stop the evil Decepticons at Sherman Dam, Sparkplug, Spike and Trailbreaker had a tea party in the woods, ostensibly so they could eavesdrop on the nearby Decepticon base. After finding out that the evil robots intended to attack the Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma, Sparkplug opined that he preferred being a spy to his old job at the oil rig, which was just as well, given the fact he was now unemployed. Later, Sparkplug's prior experience in the Burma mines came in handy when the Autobots needed to plant an explosive device inside the mine. As he left with Bumblebee, Sparkplug declared that their mission was for both the fortunes of Cybertron and Earth. Moments later, they were caught in the explosion and buried alive. Oops. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2
Fortunately, they were saved. Later, both father and son volunteered for the Autobot attack on the Decepticon space cruiser. After Optimus Prime failed to stop the cruiser, Sparkplug tried to reassure the Autobot leader that he'd done all that anybody could do. Subsequently, the Decepticons were apparently defeated when their ship crashed into the sea, so Sparkplug and Spike were to join the Autobots as they went home to Cybertron, with fuel from the grateful nations of Earth. More than Meets the Eye, Part 3
For some reason, this did not pan out, and neither the Autobots nor Sparkplug and his son went anywhere. As their livelihoods had been destroyed, the Witwickys seemed to move into the Ark and were almost constantly hanging out with the Autobots. After the Autobots failed to stop the Decepticons at the local solar power station, Sparkplug helped Ratchet repair the stubborn old Ironhide. Later, Sparkplug stopped the trigger-happy Ironhide from blowing up a shuttle full of Decepticon energon cubes, as he was the only one who bothered to remember the fact that Spike had been captured to pilot the shuttle through the space bridge. Transport to Oblivion
After Optimus Prime was mortally wounded in battle, Sparkplug watched Ratchet and Wheeljack attempt repairs, but couldn't lend much more than moral support. Though a team was sent to Cybertron to pick up a replacement Cosmotron provided some hope, Sparkplug cautioned Spike that sometimes things just don't turn out like you'd hope. Spike continued to hope and, despite his father's wishes, went to help the Autobot defend headquarters against a Decepticon attack. Sparkplug's earlier caution was proved unnecessary when Chip Chase and the Autobots returned with a new Cosmotron. Divide and Conquer
Spike and Sparkplug accompanied the Autobots to the Arctic, to investigate Decepticon activity there. They couldn't do much more than run for cover when the giant Decepticon Skyfire fired on them. After Sparkplug rescued his son from the water, the pair stranded on a chuck of ice, and captured by Skyfire. Megatron's treatment of the two humans, imprisoning them in an ice case, clued Skyfire in that the Decepticons weren't what they seemed. Spike and Sparkplug were soon rescued by the Autobots, and cheered on Skyfire as he dealt with Starscream. Fire in the Sky
Sparkplug helped out with the construction of the Dinobots, and was present for their unveiling and subsequent rampage. Fortunately neither him nor his son were injured, but he was concerned when Spike and Bumblebee went after Grimlock. S.O.S. Dinobots When Chip came up with two more Dinobots to build, Sparkplug professed his ignorance of the prehistoric beasts, but helped build them anyway. The Autobots lost contact with Optimus, who had gone to check on a potentially explosive meteorite, and Wheeljack informed the humans that the meteorite had been moved. The two new Dinobots were sent to investigate, and by the time Sparkplug and the others arrived, Grimlock and Optimus were making up after an earlier falling out. War of the Dinobots
Sparkplug was kidnapped by the Decepticons as a test subject for Doctor Arkeville and turned to their side by the doctor's hypno-chips. The Decepticons allowed the Autobots to free Sparkplug so he could sabotage Teletraan I, which gave them an easy means to attack the Autobot headquarters. Spike confronted his father over the apparent betrayal, and Sparkplug appealed to his son to join the Decepticons. When Spike refused, Sparkplug declared that the next time they met, it would be as enemies. Sparkplug and a number of other controlled humans were used as a shield by the Decepticons, while they set up a huge space bridge. During the battle, Spike was able to momentarily reach his father, before Arkeville increased the power of the hypno-chip, once again overriding Sparkplug's will. Sparkplug later activated one of the massive pylons, bringing Cybertron into Earth's orbit and imperiling both worlds. The Ultimate Doom, Part 1
In the aftermath, a celebratory Sparkplug left aboard Skywarp. When the Decepticons started using the slaves as human shields for their energon shipments, Sparkplug ended up on Cybertron. Spike mounted a rescue mission, eventually stumbling on the hypno-chip control center. There he encountered Sparkplug, who immediately trigged an alarm. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 On Shockwave's orders, Sparkplug prevented Spike from escaping, but with the arrival of more Autobots, Spike got away. Once Wheeljack had rigged up disruption device to disable the hypno-chips, they returned to Decepticon HQ and used it to free Sparkplug. The reunited family returned to Earth in Skyfire to help defeat Megatron and remove Cybertron from orbit. The Ultimate Doom, Part 3
Sparkplug listened in on a distress call from Bali about giant monster insects. While Spike and several of the Autobots went to investigate, Sparkplug contacted Optimus Prime and alerted him to the problem. A Plague of Insecticons After Megatron challenged Optimus to a one-on-one duel, Sparkplug, Spike, Chip and the Autobots all turned out to watch and cheer Optimus on. To their horror, Megatron bested Prime, meaning the Autobots would have to leave Earth. Fortunately, when they got back to Headquarters, they discovered that Megatron had cheated, rendering the result void. Heavy Metal War
In an effort to show his friend Wheeljack that the Autobot wasn't the only inventor in the Ark, Sparkplug once managed to take spare Autobot parts and put them together to make a functioning robot called Autobot X. Once activated, the mindless robot immediately bashed in everything and everyone in sight. After Spike was injured in a battle with the Decepticons, they formulated a plan to transfer Spike's mind into Autobot X while his human body was worked upon by surgeons. Sparkplug regretted this decision, as it drove Spike insane. Spike was on the verge of joining the Decepticons when his own actions sent his father plummeting from a clifftop. The threat to Sparkplug caused Spike to regain his senses, and he was later restored to his own body. Autobot Spike
City of Steel Attack of the Autobots
Sparkplug was pleased as punch when his son went out with Carly, because she was clearly out of Spike's league. The Immobilizer
Day of the Machines Enter the Nightbird Dinobot Island, Part 1 Dinobot Island, Part 2 Microbots Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1 Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2
Later, Sparkplug left on a mysterious trip that required him to wear a suit. Upon his arrival at the airport, he was greeted by Spike, Carly and Bumblebee. The suit was never seen again. His canny spy skills were called into use again when he ego-stroked the arrogant Dinobots into helping the Autobots secure their much-needed Cybertonium from the Decepticons. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1
Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2 Blaster Blues
As the Autobots expanded their operations, they installed a small urban base in New York City, concealed behind an auto-repair garage operated by Sparkplug. In the aftermath of the failed Decepticon plan to use stolen cars as robot drones, Sparkplug bemoaned the fact it would take weeks for himself, Hoist, Ratchet and Wheeljack to return the cars to normal functionality. Make Tracks When Megatron unleashed Kremzeek onto the Autobots, Sparkplug was the first to realize the electrically based creature scrambled Autobot circuits and would thus be repelled by an insulating compound sprayed on the remaining Autobots. While those few left for Japan to chase after the creature, the hapless Sparkplug was left with the unenviable task of reactivating the other Autobots left behind. Kremzeek!
The Girl Who Loved Powerglide The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2 Cosmic Rust
Find Your Fate Junior novels
Sparkplug discovered a critical weakness in the Decepticons' circuits that would allow the Autobots to destroy them once and for all. However, the Decepticons discovered this and came after Sparkplug, who fled to the hills to hide. This eventually led to an Alamo-like standoff with a small group of Autobots holding off the Decepticon army from the shelter of a cave for two days while they waited for relief to arrive, with Sparkplug performing the makeshift repair work to keep them running.
The paper on which Sparkplug had the specifics of the weakness was ruined in the battle. He could re-create the research, but the Decepticons would be able to change the design of their circuits while he did so. Still, at least it would keep them out of trouble for a while! Battle Drive
While tinkering in his lab, Sparkplug invented the Sun-Pak, a powerful solar battery that threatened to change the balance of power between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Insecticon spies forced them to flee the testing range through a series of caves, and Sparkplug later rescued Beachcomber from Kickback, using a gun that caused Kickback to short out and return to tiny size.
Sparkplug suffered memory damage and was unable to re-create the Sun-Pak after the prototype was destroyed. Attack of the Insecticons
Marvel coloring books
Dreamwave comics
Sparkplug, along with his sons Spike and Buster, befriended the Autobots shortly after the Transformers reawoke in 1984. After Operation: Liberation and the defeat of the Decepticons, Sparkplug was one of the humans chosen to accompany the Autobots back to Cybertron. Unfortunately, he and the rest of the Magnificent Seven was killed in 1999 when the Ark II exploded.
His death caused Spike and Buster to turn into jerks towards the Autobots. Prime Directive
IDW Generation 1 comics
Colonel Daniel "Sparkplug" Witwicky was grinning and bearing a cocktail party with his wife's environmentally-conscious associates, fantasizing about killing them with his toothpick, when an army helicopter suddenly landed on the lawn. At the president's request, Sparkplug was whisked to New York City to lead troops against a Decepticon onslaught. On the way, he repeatedly mouthed off at CIA Agent Grant and later had him assaulted by another soldier because the member of the CIA was big on secrecy. Once in New York, he gathered all the senior officers for a briefing, but when the Decepticons began targeting the city's bridges and tunnels, he just stood there open-mouthed and said, "Good God." All Hail Megatron #2
As the Decepticons overtook New York City, the now-General Witwicky had his troops pulled back into the residential areas, given that the last batch was annihilated by one robot, to better protect them from raids. He sat in his command tent powerless as he got updates on the death toll, the flooding of the tunnels, and how the Decepticons had begun invasions of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. He was then informed of how the Decepticons had completely wasted the US Navy, and that Air Force One had been destroyed. The president dead, Witwicky was left as speechless as the "snooty elite" he'd harped on earlier. All Hail Megatron #3
Witwicky would later send his son, Spike on a special mission to take out Megatron, but was disheartened when Spike's team was attacked by Ratbat and thought dead. All Hail Megatron #5
Later, when the Autobots returned to Earth and Omega Supreme battled Devastator, Witwicky was astounded but continued to lead an evacuation. Unfortunately one of his vehicles happened to be Dropshot, who transformed and started mowing down his men. The colonel was not amused. All Hail Megatron #11 Sparkplug fired a bazooka at Dropshot, but only slightly injured him. Luckily Kup showed up. Sparkplug and Kup later have a chat about outer space and Kup's "cigar" while sitting on the fallen body of Dropshot. All Hail Megatron #12
Sparkplug later replaced Agent Red as the head of Skywatch.
The Man of Steel
Notes
- Although the Sunbow cartoon production bible states that Sparkplug is a widower,[1] the cartoon itself never mentions him having a wife - or anything whatsoever about Spike's mom.
- Sparkplug is mentioned in the cast list for "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1". Whether this was in error or if he originally had a part in the episode is unknown.
References
- ↑ Sparkplug's bio in the G1 cartoon bible.
