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.
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...perhaps a little too much. Many of Whirl's comrades remain unsure if his wild behavior is truly an affectation, or if his increasingly-fleeting displays of rationality are actually the facade hiding a troubled psyche.
Whirl is (or was) a member of the elite Wreckers unit.
Sometimes he is known as Jetstream.
| “ | You wanna know a secret, hornhead? Life's messed up. I'm messed up. I've done bad things and I continue to do bad things, because the voice telling me not to...? He's not said much for a while. And y'know what keeps me going? ANGER. Anger's an insulator. Stops life getting too close. If I got myself "fixed," maybe the anger would leave me—and then I really would be screwed. | ” |
—Whirl, psychotic and unapologetic, "The Divided Self" | ||
Fiction
Marvel The Transformers comics
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.
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.
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
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
Regeneration One
Along with the other Wreckers Whirl voted to follow Kup's plan to leave Cybertron to visit the other planets touched by the Great War and so they hitched a ride with Berko's Cosmic Carnival to Earth. Whirl looked on in horror as their surveillance drones showed a devastated planet, and worse still—Megatron! Before any of the Wreckers could react, the Decepticon promptly launched nuclear warheads at their shuttle, apparently destroying it. Loose Ends, Part 1
The Wreckers managed to make it to Earth's surface in escape pods, and Whirl was sent to survey the ruined planet. He spied an incoming horde of reanimated Decepticons sent by Megatron and reported back to the others. The Wreckers' priority then became to get a message back to Cybertron about the situation on Earth. They eventually found the Deep Space Network located in Goldstone, and put a plan into action to utilize its radio transmitter to send a distress call. Whirl joined Kup and Springer in making a break for the facility while the other Wreckers distracted Megatron's forces. They succeeded in sending their message to Cybertron, but Kup was captured in the process. Loose Ends, Part 2
The Wreckers soon encountered Circuit Smasher—formerly Spike Witwicky, one of the last vestiges of resistance on Megatron's conquered Earth. Despite some initial hostility on his part, the Wreckers were soon invited to Argus Base, the human resistance's headquarters. On the way there, Whirl asked Spike how things had gotten so bad on Earth. Spike filled them in on the tale of Megatron's rise and humanity's fall. After arriving at Argus Base and convening with the leader of the resistance, G.B. Blackrock, the Wreckers agreed to aid them in destroying Megatron's chief power base—the Ark. Loose Ends, Part 3
Whirl embarked on a rescue mission with Springer and Sandstorm to retrieve Kup and also to divert Megatron's forces from the assault on the Ark. While Sandstorm considered the plan to be "reckless suicide", Whirl cheerfully voiced his approval of it. They soon encountered Megatron's air defenders, and experienced trouble fighting them, as the undead Decepticons apparently no longer felt any pain. While Whirl managed to fly circles around Blitzwing for a bit, he was eventually shot down. Loose Ends, Part 4
After returning to Cybertron, Whirl was present with the other Wreckers as they attempted to defuse a tense situation between civilians on a main highway road. They failed and it erupted into a brawl. Destiny, Part Two He later participated in an attack on Fort Scyk to root out Soundwave's cell of Decepticon insurgents, but was flung through the air when the whole place exploded. Destiny, Part Three
Whirl was with the Wreckers when the entire Autobot fleet attacked the Hub Network. The War to End All Wars, Part 3 While the rest of the fleet was shot down or captured, the Wreckers covertly infiltrated the Hub's slam rail tube system and began wreaking havoc from within. The Wreckers traveled from point to point, seeking to destabilize the Hub by severing its planetary links with targeted nuclear explosions. Whirl and the others engaged the troops of Jhiaxus in a crowded slam tube and managed to blow them out into space. Eventually, the surviving Autobots managed to escape as the Hub suffered catastrophic damage. The War to End All Wars, Part 4 What became of Whirl after this point is unknown, but if he managed to return to Cybertron and survive the battle with the Dark Matrix creature, he likely died of old age after Rodimus Prime severed their reality's link to the multiverse. The War to End All Wars, Part 5
Milton Bradley mini-comic
Whirl was among the Autobots under Jetfire's command who launched in the Ark to clear a path through an asteroid belt. When the Decepticons attacked the ship, Jetfire sent it crashing into Earth, knocking everyone aboard offline. Four million years later, they were repaired when the ship's systems were reactivated by a volcanic eruption. In the Transformers
Dreamwave Generation One 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 Generation 1 continuity
In the pre-war era, under the reign of Nominus Prime, Whirl of Polyhex Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations 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 that the Functionist Council, angry that a moderate functionary had given him permission to switch jobs, decided to teach him a lesson. They had the local criminal elements demand a cut of his profits so that when he refused, the Heavies would be sent to destroy his business and leave the Council's hands 'clean'. Whirl was left destitute and roamed 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's agents, who press-ganged a reluctant Whirl into their service. Whirl was made to do despicable things in the Senate's employ. When he tried to resist, he was put through the barbaric empurata ritual, costing him his original hands and effectively neutering his watchmaking skills. The Senate had, in fact, been arranged to hire him for all this by the vindictive Functionist Council. Interiors Patternism Stet
Whirl was eventually granted a position in the Rodion police force. 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 #1 Interiors 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 #2
Due to Orion Pax's public display of Whirl's crime, the Senate had no choice but to send him to Garrus-1. After Whirl's mistreatment of Megatron in Rodion was exposed, he found himself suffering constant attacks and beatings in prison by Decepticon sympathizers. Whirl saved his one communicube call for an appropriate occasion, and found it when his former handler Kroma briefly became his cellmate. Whirl was told of an impending Senate plot involving assassination and a city-destroying bomb. He consequently used his one call to bring Orion Pax to Garrus-1, where he informed his former captain of all he had heard. While Orion initially assumed Whirl was acting out of compassion, Whirl immediately corrected him, explaining that he just wanted revenge against the Senate for mutilating, using, and abandoning him. After Orion left, Whirl was introduced to his new cellmate—Impactor, who promptly beat him into critical condition. Patternism
Whirl eventually wound up in 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 #2 Orion Pax—now Optimus Prime—personally invited Whirl to join the Autobots before the Decepticons reached him: "forgiveness as a weapon of war", as Whirl put it. After "bouncing around a bit", he changed his name to "Jetstream" and became a flight instructor at the Iaconian Aerial Academy. 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
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 #4 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
At some point during the war, Whirl established a rivalry with the wand-wielding Decepticon known as Killmaster. The rivalry ended when Whirl broke into a medical center where Killmaster was recharging, crushed the Decepticon's brain as he slept, and shoved his wand up his—AHEM! Cybertronian Homesick Blues
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, when putting together a squad to liberate Garrus-9 from the clutches of the deranged Decepticon Overlord, Springer ruled Whirl out of the mission on account of his recently becoming something of a liability. Bullets The mission to Garrus-9 left Springer in a comatose state, and Whirl and Roadbuster were assigned the task of watching over him and tending to his needs until he awoke. Convinced that this was never going to happen, Whirl attempted to euthanize his leader with Roadbuster's Sparkeater weapon, but was caught in the act by Roadbuster and ejected from the Wreckers by the power of "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
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
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 respond 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. By the time he had changed his mind, Rodimus had locked all hab-suite doors, resulting in Animus being killed by the Sparkeater. Whirl blew open his door and 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, irritating Whirl. The Chaos of Warm Things
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 Whirl later attempted to cheer up and advise a despondent Trailbreaker on changing his image. His advice consisted of telling Trailbreaker to change his name, always talk big of himself, and then suggested he get Brainstorm to build him a new weapon. After one of Brainstorm's inventions malfunctioned the entire crew of the Lost Light, save the newly rechristened Trailcutter, were temporarily frozen in place when a group of Decepticons inconveniently boarded the ship. Whirl was in the middle of watching a furious Rodimus chew Rewind out on the bridge when he was frozen, and Trailcutter was forced to use his inert body as a shield against gunfire, stealing the guns mounted on Whirl's chest to return fire. The Reluctant Specialist
Hostage situation: -2.
Not long thereafter, Whirl 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. Whirl used the distraction to tear the pipe out of his gut, unpinning himself from the floor. When a shot intended to take Maximus out went wild and hit Rung in the head instead, Whirl took the opportunity to stab the distraught Max with the pipe, ending the hostage situation after three-plus hours. Interiors
Whirl joined Rodimus, Skids, and First Aid in being shrunk down and sent to deal with a swarm of Nanocons that had been revived within Ultra Magnus's body, where he showed some difficulty with his "no guns" orders. After Magnus smiled them to death, Whirl managed to leave some graffiti inside Ultra Magnus, a fact that he would proudly inform First Aid of during Tailgate's Act of Affiliation ceremony.
Later, Whirl was among the Autobots that were teleported to the surface of Theophany by representatives of the Galactic Council. After the group found Crystal City in ruins, Whirl openly mocked Drift's despair at seeing the desolation and was decked by the former Decepticon for his irreverence. The group ventured into the ruins and soon discovered an inert Metrotitan, which had once been used to power the city. An abortive attempt by Chromedome to hack into the giant's brain module accidentally woke the Metrotitan, causing it to fire an eye-blast that hit the Council's ship, The Benign Intervention. Whirl was ordered to take a team to hold off the troops sent to take revenge on the Cybertronians, with Rodimus stressing to the trigger-happy bot that there should be no fatalities. Whirl and the others successfully fended off their attackers until the Autobots were all teleported back to the Lost Light by the freed Metrotitan, before the ship quantum-jumped to safety. Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations
Whirl declined to attend Rewind's movie night when he learned the subject matter of the film. Who's Afraid of the DJD? He did, however, agree to aid in Rewind's attempt to expedite Rung's mental recovery. Post Hoc Rewind brought together a group who each took turns telling their parts in a story of past events from before the war. When Whirl's turn began, he became quite agitated when Ratchet brought up the tender subject of Whirl's encounter with Megatron in Rodion. He settled down and told the others of Orion Pax's visit to Garrus-1 and what they had discussed. When Whirl mentioned that Impactor was his cellmate for a while, Rewind became excited and posited that Impactor had earmarked Whirl then and there for the Wreckers. Whirl shot down that suggestion and admitted that he just got badly beaten-up and he and Impactor met again years later under different circumstances. Patternism Everyone took a break from storytelling, giving Swerve an opportunity to leave and bring back some booze. Whirl wouldn't let him back into the room without uttering the password - "Whirl is a million billion times tougher than Cyclonus". He later had fun positioning Rung's eyebrows to make the still-unresponsive psychiatrist look cross. An Intimate Beheading
When Rodimus led a mission to Temptoria to fight Decepticons, Whirl was only too happy to volunteer. Aboard the Leading Light, he had Rewind record him limbering up, and joined in with some impromptu battle chants with the other Autobots. As they fought Decepticons, his attempt to bond with Cyclonus was rebuffed rather bluntly. He subsequently faked a door malfunction, trapping Cyclonus and Rewind with an exploding bomb. He apparently at least had the courtesy to take Rewind back to the Leading Light, and when it turned out he had a compatible spark, allowed First Aid to use him to jumpstart Rewind, earning him Chromedome's gratitude. Before & After
Whirl tagged along with Swerve's group when the crew of the Lost Light was granted leave on the planet Hedonia. He was granted a new human-based holomatter avatar, which he seemed to approve of based solely on the fact that it carried weapons. When the group found a Transformer-friendly bar, Whirl got Ultra Magnus black-out drunk after slipping him a drink containing weapons-grade Nucleon, much to everyone's chagrin. While waiting for Magnus to regain consciousness, the group played "the nemesis game", each sharing their own personal arch-enemies. Whirl named the deceased Killmaster as his, and proceeded to describe the graphic nature of how he ended their rivalry before being cut off by Rung. When Magnus began to stir, the group left Swerve to deal with him and took a trip to a nearby gift shop. Whirl opted to remain outside and continually bang his head against a display case - something he felt relieved pressure on his brain. Cybertronian Homesick BluesSignal to Noise
Sometime later, the group encountered a group of Ammonites - a mechanical race similar to Transformers who were entangled in a long and bitter war with their hated foes, the Terradores. Whirl and Skids engaged in a bit of a "my war is bigger than yours" contest with them, with the Ammonites outclassing them in most categories. When Imperius Drax, the leader of the Terradores unexpectedly entered the same bar as them, Whirl took it upon himself to show the Ammonites a thing or two about war. He walked up to chat with Drax, things escalated, and then Whirl simply killed the guy, which resulted in the war escalating again. Little Victories
Ultra Magnus was still out cold when they returned to check on him, so Whirl hatched a plan to get him back in time for pick-up. He ferried the others to the shuttle, then they projected their holomatter avatars back to the bar to drive Magnus's vehicle mode through an organics-only section. While forcing Magnus into vehicle mode proved difficult, they eventually managed it and drove him home. Whirl admitted to the others that, difficulties aside, he had a fun time. Cybertronian Homesick Blues
Whirl was among those interviewed for Rewind's documentary, "Little Victories". A "Person You'd Like To Punch" theme night at Swerve's had an overwhelming majority of people who attended pick Whirl. Little Victories
Blaster allowed Whirl to vent some frustration and blow up a few asteroids in the Lost Light's path. They were interrupted by Pipes, who wanted to record a message to send back to Cybertron whenever Blaster managed to repair the subspace communications channel. Whirl and Blaster would be the last Autobots to see Pipes alive, as the hapless Minibot was murdered by Overlord minutes later. Having escaped from his cell underneath the Lost Light, Overlord was quickly discovered and dozens of Autobots threw themselves into battle with him. For Whirl's part, he only managed to be used as a club and smashed into Inferno during the fight. Under Cold Blue Stars In the aftermath, Whirl attended the funeral of those who lost their lives fighting Overlord and engaged in some speculation with Swerve and Skids over what was in Brainstorm's ever-present briefcase. The Gloaming
When a search for the abducted Ultra Magnus led the Lost Light to discover the long-missing Luna 1, Rodimus asked Whirl to be part of an advance landing party. Finding the "miracle moon" to be a hot spot seething with newborn sparks, Tailgate asked the others to define for him the difference between being "forged" and being "constructed cold". When Chromedome identified himself as someone who had been constructed cold, Whirl couldn't help but point out that he himself had been forged and "perfected" in a hot spot just like the one they were standing in. Shortly thereafter, the group was attacked by Lockdown's Titan Hunters, forcing Whirl and the others to flee from superior numbers. The Fecund Moon Retreating didn't sit well with Whirl, and he invited Cyclonus to join him in a counterattack on their pursuers. House of Ambus
Their attack was successful only in that they didn't get captured along with the others. Whirl couldn't help himself in claiming that he had killed more Decepticons than Cyclonus during the battle. On smelling the enriched Nucleon of a nearby armory close to a jail suspended over a smelting pool, Whirl was eager to organise a jailbreak to free Rodimus and the others.
In company with a far more cautious Cyclonus, Whirl found that he couldn't open the armory door due to his unwieldy claws and needed Cyclonus to help him. Occupied with the door mechanism, Cyclonus inquired of Whirl why he never had his empurata features "fixed". Whirl replied that he was messed up, that he had done and would continue to do bad things. While he remained angry about his mutilations, he was insulated against the voice of his conscience. If fixed he "really would be screwed". In the spirit of quid pro quo Whirl tried to ask Cyclonus about the gashes on his face, but the reply was lost when a stealthy Legislator stabbed Cyclonus through the midriff with his sword.
"Whirl, I'm going to make you pay for this."
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Whirl, he fought Cyclonus's attacker off so that Cyclonus could remove the blade without too much injury. The pair then teamed up with other rescued prisoners, Dai Atlas and the remaining survivors of the ill fated Circle of Light, just as an army of Legislators attacked en masse. Whirl asked Cyclonus to call off his previous death threats if they made it out of the fight alive as they rushed into battle wielding Great Swords procured from the armory. The Divided Self
In the middle of the battle Whirl noticed something very unusual about Cyclonus's Great Sword, it was, in Whirl's words, "frikkin nuclear-powered", glowing with light and cutting a swathe through the attacking Legislator army. Cyclonus had a surprisingly deep connection with his sword for a novice, as only Dai Atlas could manage a similar feat with his own sword. Dai Atlas suggested to Whirl that "your friend is clearly devout". Whirl was more surprised by the use of the word "friend" than the rest of Atlas's explanation.
However much headway they were making, it wasn't fast enough for Cyclonus. Cyclonus's rather obtuse comment of being "needed elsewhere" made Whirl respond cattily that he was dragging their battle out for fun, that he would just finish up himself. Dai Atlas asked Cyclonus if Whirl was being sarcastic, and Cyclonus replied that he didn't believe that even Whirl knew. Arm the Lonely
Whirl and the surviving members of the Circle of Light continued to fight the Legislators, but they were eventually overwhelmed. Moments from being killed, Whirl was saved when Chief Justice Tyrest called all remaining Legislators to his position. In the battle's aftermath, Whirl and Cyclonus conferred on the edge of the smelting pool. A heavily-damaged and unable-to-fly Whirl asked Cyclonus if he was still willing to let bygones be bygones in regards to their mutual death threats against one another. Despite briefly entertaining a fantasy of shoving Whirl into the smelting pool, a preoccupied Cyclonus agreed and departed.
Later aboard the Lost Light, Whirl would reveal that Dai Atlas had commented on the unnatural strength of Cyclonus's spark - demonstrated while Cyclonus was wielding a Great Sword. Atlas had wondered if Cyclonus had the spark of a newborn with the intense energy he was producing. Relaying this information to Cyclonus, Whirl indirectly helped save Tailgate's life, as Cyclonus consequently used his excess spark energy to revitalize his dying roommate. This Calamitous Life
The Lost Light received a distress call from Orion Pax and headed to Gorlam Prime. They rescued the Skyroller from the collapsing planet's gravity well and welcomed Orion and his crew aboard. Whirl derived amusement from Hardhead's outright hostility toward Cyclonus. Dark Dawn Later, when Orion and Rodimus were looking for volunteers to journey into the Dead Universe, Hardhead took another verbal potshot at Cyclonus. Whirl was gleeful at first, but then disappointed when they didn't come to blows. Black Metal
After the Lost Light was by guided by to an unknown planet, the Autobots found themselves underwater and attacked by thousands of Ammonites. Whirl was among those who boarded the Rodpod to launch a counterattack. Eventually, the Autobots found the inert Metroplex hiding on the ocean floor. Into the Abyss
The Rodpod entered Metroplex's empty eye socket and made its way to the brain, where the group discovered it missing. The Autobots disembarked and after journeying around in Metroplex's head for a brief time, they ended up right back where they started at the Rodpod. Whirl took his frustration out on the garish vehicle, but it was soon discovered to be booby-trapped by an Ammonite. No Exit The Rodpod exploded, but the Autobots were shielded from the blast by a wall that had suddenly sprung up within the chamber. Ratchet worryingly noticed that Whirl had gone missing in the chaos. Whirl quickly returned, however, having captured the Ammonite that blew up the Rodpod. After some strong-arming, the Ammonite revealed that they had been ordered by Shockwave to sabotage the Lost Light's efforts to return to Cybertron. Before the Autobots could discuss these revelations further, they were confronted by Nautica and Chromia. The Dead Are Not Enough
After a brief introduction, the two female Autobots offered to lead the others to Metroplex's brain. Another horde of Ammonites appeared, and Ultra Magnus ordered the others to follow Nautica and Chromia. Whirl opted to stay behind and fight the Ammonites with a few others, noting that he was in his element in battle. Eventually, the Autobots were able to connect Metroplex to the Lost Light, which he used as a makeshift life support system. He quantum-jumped back to Cybertron, bringing the Lost Light with him. Burning Bright Unfortunately, this didn't solve the problem of the Ammonite infestation, and Whirl's group was still fighting for their lives within Metroplex as the giant Autobot squared off with the Necrotitan. The Ammonites kept combining into larger and larger forms, prompting Whirl to admit that even he was tired of fighting with them. Thankfully, through the efforts of Bumblebee and Megatron, Metroplex was given a sudden boost of power, which reactivated his internal defenses. This immediately eliminated any Ammonite invaders, with Whirl charmingly referring to them as being "deader than a Duobot". Finis Temporis
After the Necrotitan was felled, Whirl, putting aside past enmities he may have for the Decepticons, sang along to a tune alongside several of them in Swerve's bar, including Blitzwing, Astrotrain, and Frenzy. The Becoming The moment of levity was cut short, however, by the arrival of a 70 billion-strong Ammonite army. Whirl was once again thrust into Ammonite-murdering duty. Black Planet Whirl joked around with Arcee about accidentally causing the re-escalation amongst the Ammonites' war, and made a little remark about his role in the start of their own war. When the Ammonites all spontaneously exploded, Whirl called foul on the whole thing for ruining his fun. ...And the Damage Done
Six months after that, Whirl was still on board the Lost Light, only this time due to a series of events, the captain (or rather, co-captain) of the ship was, in fact, Megatron. Whirl was apparently upset by this turn of events, first messing up Megatron's door with graffiti and attacking him with a crossbow. Whirl then physically assaulted Megatron, the brawl taking both of them to the fuel furnaces. Whirl claimed that he was tired of waiting for Megatron to make his first move, and had instead taken the initiative. However, the fight offered a shocking revelation from Megatron: the only reason Whirl had survived for so long is because Megatron had ensured it by giving an order for the Decepticons never to kill Whirl as a kind of 'gratitute' for teaching him that words were not enough - informing the ex-Wrecker that he was not as good a fighter as he, or other Autobots, believed. He used this information as leverage to get the humiliated Whirl to clean up the graffiti and left him in the engine rooms. Whirl then reported to someone with a communicator that his attempt to bait Megatron into attacking him had failed. Towards Peace
Later on, suspected to be behind the theft of Ultra Magnus's desk tidy (which was more likely caused by the ship disappearing piece by piece), Whirl was confined to his quarters. As 'protest' for this, Whirl watched off-world cinema at Swerve's using his holomatter avatar. While braiding his hair, Whirl revealed that he was a fan of Jean-Luc Godard's works. During the subsequent alarm as portions of the Lost Light began to disappear, Whirl's holomatter disappeared. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide Whether he made it to a lifepod or not, Whirl presumably disappeared along with the rest of the original crew of the Lost Light. Twenty Plus One
Eventually, the remaining crew found the ruins of a quantum duplicate Lost Light, which had been attacked by the Decepticon Justice Division. The on-course Lost Light's Whirl had his arms torn off before having his head blown off by Kaon. slaughterhouse
Later on, Cyclonus went to Whirl's room to ask for advice on Tailgate and Getaway. Whirl was astonished and amused that Cyclonus would ever ask him for advice on such a personal matter, and pointed out that saving Tailgate's life and caring about him did not make him Cyclonus' property. He also pointed out that Cyclonus hadn't really shown Tailgate he cared, while Getaway did so. Just as Cyclonus was about to leave, Whirl asked why he came to him. Cyclonus replied that he believed Whirl would tell him the truth, because Whirl didn't care about what he (or anybody) thought. Troubled, Whirl summoned Getaway and Atomizer, with whom he was working to bring belated justice to Megatron. Whirl was having second thoughts about their plan to bring about Megatron's downfall if it resulted in Tailgate's murder. Getaway shot him in the head with a nudge gun, wiping Whirl's memories of the plan. Just before he passed out, Whirl projected his avatar outside Cyclonus' staring-window. Cyclonus rushed to Whirl's room to find out what was going on, only to find Whirl possessed no memory of their earlier conversation, and all of his digital clocks had been set to 1:13 - Megatron's room number. The Lopsided Triangle
Later, Brainstorm's contrivance engine was due to be activated, and despite only having 15 minutes to get to their B.E.Ds, Whirl, Swerve and Nautica loitered to get drunk off sub-space filtered engex. They then heard a knock at the bar door. Whirl answered and found a new sparkling in an engex box. Since they couldn't afford to risk the extra spark being detected by Maulers, the group decided to send it back to Luna 1. After various escapades, Whirl was left 'holding the baby'. Worse, when he decided the only remaining option to protect the crew was to flush it out the airlock, he discovered it had imprinted on him, adopting claws and a singular optic. Whirl gave in to his remaining threads of compassion and soft-terminated his own spark to hide the sparkling with him in his B.E.D. He later woke up in the med-bay, with Velocity telling him he was lucky to be alive. Oh, and that it wasn't a sparkling he was incubating - it was an infestation of Scraplets, manipulating him so that they could survive to kill again. But Whirl wasn't upset... he was proud of the little pests. Silent Light
Three weeks after the mutiny, a broadcast went through space of the abandoned crewmembers, guns to their heads, recording how they wanted their corpses to be disposed of. Whirl wanted no funeral. How Bright Their Frail Deeds
Kre-O comic
After being asked to by Megatron, the Autobots attacked the Decepticon Base and chased away Vortex, who wasn't letting anyone in the base, not even Megatron. In thanks, Megatron hosted a party in the base, which Whirl attended. A Reliable Warrior!? Vortex the Lookout from Hell
Cloud
Transformers Legends comic
Whirl and Roadbuster were built in the Legends Universe by Tankor, inspired by designs from a certain '80s giant robot anime, to aid him in his plans to return the world to how it was in the '80s. In spite of Tankor's design intentions, however, Waspinator recognized them as Autobots from a British Transformers comic, an origin story that confused the pair. Setting out to take humans hostage to further their cause, Whirl then encountered an innocent little girl and had a change of heart about his role in life. Placing the girl in his chest canopy, he decided to fight for her sake as a hero of justice and turned on Roadbuster, only to later get admonished by the girl for being too violent. Bonus Edition Vol. 4 Entrusted with Tankor's '80s Transformation Beam, Roadbuster then started turning everyone present into various '80s forms, though the weapon didn't affect Whirl since he was already from the 80s. When Tankor resolve was broken by a speech from Rattrap, Whirl took the chance to air-drop the rat onto the villains like a bomb, defeating Roadbuster. Bonus Edition Vol. 5
Waspinator later taught Megatron about Whirl and Roadbuster during his Transformers lesson, again explaining that they first appeared in a British comic. The concept of British Transformers had Megatron thinking of the pair as English stereotypes, imagining Whirl as a gentleman in a top hat and monocle, and he confused himself thinking about how Whirl could enjoy a cup of tea without a mouth. Whirl and Roadbuster Now on Sale, Buzz On Christmas, Whirl and his little girl friend watched charitable Roadbuster and Tankor give away 80s toys. Merry X'mas!!
Running into Roadbuster again while spending time with the girl, Whirl took his new friend hostage to prevent Roadbuster from attacking, shocking his former partner with the decidedly un-heroic act. The girl was upset and took control of Whirl from the inside, forcing him to heroically pick up garbage instead. Whirl Versus Roadbuster! For some undisclosed reason, Whirl eventually returned to Tankor and Roadbuster's side and the three went back to terrorizing the population, but it all came to an end when a dimensionally-displaced Jetfire defeated Tankor for good. Whirl and Roadbuster were left lost and confused about what to without their leader, so Jetfire invited them back to his home dimension, reasoning they would fit in better there. The pair accepted his offer and traveled through a solitarium portal to his universe, where they joined the Autobots and became founding members of a new unit: the Wreckers. Bonus Edition Vol. 7
As Wreckers, Whirl and Roadbuster fought under Springer for many years. In 2030, they noticed their leader was starting to get fat, and Whirl accidentally hurt him by bluntly commenting that his neglect for his appearance was the reason his relationship with Arcee had failed. Sprung Prologue Part 1 Springer then sought to become his old macho self again, so Whirl and Roadbuster suggested he go to the Legends Universe and have their creator, Tankor (now Rhinox), build him a cool new body. They two came with him for a chance to revisit their old home, where Whirl was reunited with his friend and let her sit inside him again. Sprung Prologue Part 2
Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe
Pursuing the AllSpark after it had been launched into space, Whirl was one of the many Autobots that found their way to Earth. There, he participated in a great battle within a human settlement against the Decepticons. The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe
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
Transformers Legends
Whirl was involved in a chaotic kerfuffle. What outcome the battle yielded is unclear. By Land, Sea, or Air
Transformers: Battle Tactics
Whirl participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Rare character who could be recruited by collecting 100 units of Cybermetal, 50 units of Transmetal, and 30 exclusive cores. Transformers: Battle Tactics
Toys
Generation 1
- 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". 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. 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 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.
Classics
- 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.
Generations
- Autobot Whirl (Voyager, 2014)
- Series / Number: 02 / 006
- Accessories: Null-Ray Module, Paralyzo box, Shell Cannon, Photon Beam Rifle
- Whirl is heavily styled after his Generation 1 toy, but sports a more curved head and reverse knee "chicken legs" which evoke (but do not match) his appearance in IDW Publishing's More than Meets the Eye. He also has a third, Gerwalk-esque mode known as a "Heloped". Just as with his original toy, he has a pair of mechanical pincers which a weapon similar to his "Null-Ray Module" cannon can be fitted over. All four of his weapons can attach via c-clips to various sculpted rods.
- Unmentioned in the instruction sheet is that his shoulder-struts can collapse into his torso for a more pleasing robot mode. Also, in robot mode, you can rotate the shoulder-struts so that the thin tabs on top face down to allow for greater shoulder poseability. It's also likely that the knee transformations are swapped between robot and heloped mode in the instructions, so that the robot mode has the digitigrade legs and the heloped mode has the "gerwalk"-style backwards knees, and this hypothesis is supported by the packaging art. A smaller detail of note is that Whirl's neck is on an extra hinged panel that allows the head to be raised up a few millimeters from where it normally sits.
- Whirl comes with a sticker sheet, with one sticker referencing CW-4 William S. Hardy.
Legends
- Whirl (Voyager, 11-29-2014)
- ID number: LG05
- Accessories: Null-Ray Module, Paralyzo box, Shell Cannon, Photon Beam Rifle
- Legends Whirl is a redeco of Generations Whirl featuring a lighter blue closer to his original toy and additional paint detail on his canopy and shoulders but dropping the black off his nape and the red stripe pattern on his rotor blades. Some of his black plastic (on his toes and head) is replaced with blue. The antenna mounted on his head is angled 45 degrees lower towards the front as opposed to the 90 degrees in the Generations version. He doesn't have a sticker sheet, though two of his Autobot symbols and a single canopy detailing are now tampographed. He now comes with a leaflet featuring a character profile, tech specs and volume 5 of the Transformers Legends Comic: Bonus Edition mini-comic.
Merchandise
3D Battle-Card Game
- 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
- 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.
- Like all non-toy robot Kreons in the Kre-O comics, Whirl is made from existing Kre-O parts. He uses Knock Out's helmet (in order to better emulate his appearance in the IDW More Than Meets the Eye comics) and the Vortex rotor/harness assembly... and a yellow brick on the front of the harness, likely a sloped 1x1 brick to be the "cockpit".
Foreign names
- Japanese: Whirl (ホワール Howāru)
- French: Tourbillon (Canada, "Whirlwind")
- Mandarin: Xuán Rèn (China, 旋刃, "Turning Blades")
