Whirl (RBA)
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| The name or term "Whirl" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Whirl (disambiguation). |
- Whirl the Flight-Bot is an Autobot from the Rescue Bots Academy portion of the Aligned continuity family.
Whirl aspires to be a Rescue Bot police officer like Chase, though while her senior has a no-nonsense approach, Whirl is all optimism and heavily into Earth culture like fellow copter-bot Blades. Her enthusiasm for the work can be overwhelming, and her sense of judgement may lead to some simply ridiculous theories and quotes, giving her fellow recruits pause; more often than not she's proven right, though it may take some time for her friends to follow her advice.
Fiction
Rescue Bots Academy cartoon
- Voice actor: Courtney Shaw (English), Martina Tamburello (Italian), Marie Braam (French)
Whirl was among those selected to be a recruit at the Rescue Bot Training Center on Earth. She was first to enthusiastically greet Hot Shot when he arrived. She and the rest of the team subsequently took part in a rescue drill overseen by Heatwave but were unsuccessful in putting out a house fire thanks to the newcomer. Recruits Part I Whirl and Hoist tried unsuccessfully to find Hot Shot when it looked like he'd given up, but he later returned with two new alternate modes. The team went on to successfully carry out a cave rescue exercise. Recruits Part II When Blades was summoned to the academy to help Hot Shot perfect his flying, Whirl enthusiastically volunteered to take part as well, and later took part in a rescue in Griffin Rock during which Hot Shot put the lessons into practice. The Secret of Flight
Following a rescue in Griffin Rock, the recruits persuaded Hoist to make new rescue tools for them all. Whirl got new rotors on her arms, and though the initial test went horribly wrong, she and the other recruits enlisted the help of Boulder, and Hoist eventually perfected the tools. If at First... After Hot Shot badly damaged Tough Luck Chuck and was assigned the task of looking after the robot, he tried to foist the duty onto Whirl, who was trying to do some rescue research, only for Chuck to slip past them. They attempted to hunt him down, and eventually pursued him to Milford. Tough Luck Chuck Whirl enthusiastically memorised all of the police codes Chase was teaching the recruits, and as a result, when the other recruits persuaded Chase to let them try a rescue and instead got stuck in the snow, Whirl was able to rescue them. Whirl'd View When the recruits didn't understand why Boulder was having them plant flowers, the Rescue Bot set them a task which taught them that all parts of nature are important. Plan Bee
Whirl and the other recruits were bugged when Wedge borrowed the trigger for the rescue alarm and had them constantly running drills to get their response time down. The Bot Who Cried Rescue The recruits had to contend with a runaway rock sculpture of Hot Shot's head when he decided to carve it into a mountain alongside the likenesses of the Rescue Bots. Mount Botmore When Hoist was put in charge of a rescue exercise, Whirl was the only one who actually followed any of his orders, and ended up dangling over a chasm with Hot Shot, Wedge and Medix dangling from her until Hoist successfully rescued them. Mission Inaudible After completing a simulated rescue, despite a glitch occurring, the recruits took part in a real rescue in Griffin Rock which was only successful because the glitch gave Medix an idea to complete it safely. Glitch
After a ride on the Sigma, the recruits assumed the four command chairs meant one of their number wouldn't graduate. The team went on to botch a volcano rescue drill after staying up all night worrying, until Heatwave told them they'd assumed wrong. Five into Four Whirl took over filming a recruitment video for the training center, but all the footage she got was terrible and it wasn't until she told the other recruits that they were able to pitch in and help her make a workable video. Rescue Promo After a botched rescue had the recruits blaming each other, Heatwave assigned them to cleaning duties. Hot Shot sneaked out to do a rescue, and as a result, the rest of the recruits had to go help him when he hit trouble. Blame Game Whirl and the other recruits set up a surprise rescue mission for Medix, who didn't get the appeal of surprises. Unfortunately the mission did not go well, and the other recruits promised to stop with the surprises. Medix Surprise
The recruits got to try out some TX3000s on loan to the rescue center, and even used them during an actual rescue. The TX3000 They had to round up a lost flock of sheep, but were hampered by Hoist malfunctioning. Little Bot Peep When Teen Pioneer Wes visited the base and Wedge was reluctant to spend time with the boy due to low self-confidence, Whirl pointed out that Wedge was Wes's favorite Rescue Bot. Driving a Wedge Boulder accompanied the recruits to the planet Parvus where they rescued the last surviving Galax. The Big, Small Rescue
When Hot Shot and Wedge decided to compete over who was qualified to get into the Heroes of Cybertron card game, Medix and Whirl acted as commentators for the building and Cube challenges they undertook. Battle of the Bots While trying to round up a small rock alien that had gotten loose in the academy, Whirl temporarily got trapped in her locker. About a Rock The recruits tried to keep secret the fact a dog had followed them home after the last rescue, only to discover that the dog was actually trying to alert them to the fact they'd missed someone who needed rescuing. Dog Stray Afternoon Whirl took part in rescuing Dr. Hart from a runaway iceberg. Lucky Ducky
Inspired by Blades, Whirl took it upon herself to get into cheerleading. Though the other recruits weren't as enthused, they soon discovered that the skills they were learning were helpful during rescues, and began practicing in earnest. Go Team, Go! When Boulder assigned the recruits smartphones so they could familiarize themselves with the devices, they began neglecting their lessons and chores, until they realized it was causing problems with their rescues. Screen Time During a trip to a museum in Milford, Whirl naturally assumed they'd encounter a heist in progress, and turned out to be right. Her policing skills resulted in her catching a thief in the act, and she was able to ferry him to the Griffin Rock jail. Fright at the Museum
When their teachers went missing on a space mission, the recruits worked together to pilot the Sigma and mount a rescue. Space Case Boulder had the recruits cleaning up a park, though as Whirl spent the whole time chasing a rogue plastic bag, she didn't get much trash. The same thing happened during the follow up mission at the bottom of the sea, though Whirl did accidentally make herself look like a mermaid using seaweed. She and the other recruits later had to rescue Medix from a shark. All at Sea With the teachers on another off-planet mission, the recruits were left to tidy up the Academy, and had to deal with Hoist's Scrub-A-Dubber when it went rogue. All Washed Up
Heatwave suggested that the bored students try their hands at being teachers for the day. None of the recruits seemed to do well, with Whirl's lecture on transforming boring Heatwave and Cody, but their teachers later put what they'd learned to use during a real rescue. Who's Teaching Who? An attempt to rescue a balloon from a tree turned into a major disaster when the recruits went in without a plan. Balloon Up A Tree A fantasy simulation saw the recruits trying to corral a dragon, until they worked out that the dragon was actually trying to help, The Mystery of Dragon Mountain and yet another sim turned into chaos thanks to Hot Shot combining it with his game, forcing the recruits to deal with giant hedgehogs. Hack Attack
Whirl and the other recruits found their rescues complicated by Medix's attempts to loosen up after they suggested he was a stick in the mud. Life of the Party Whirl learned that the recruits were getting a new teacher, but was too excited to find out who. It turned out to be Grimlock! Tyrannosaurus Wrecked Grimlock took Whirl and the others on a field trip to Dino Island. After the GroundBridge was damaged, Whirl had to tow Grimlock back to the mainland. Dino Hard Assigned a stealth mission by Chase, Whirl and Hoist managed to find Tough Luck Chuck hiding in a barn, but were caught by Chase after Whirl accidentally demolished the structure. Buddy Cop
The recruits had to rescue some penguins from an island, and Whirl came up with the idea of building a raft after their ability to transform was disabled by an electrical storm. Escape from Penguin Island Whirl was surprised to learn Hoist had cheated during a search and rescue test that led to the recruits taking part in an Old West simulation. All that Glitters A hunt for a downed satellite resulted in the recruits hiding out backstage at Dig Fest while trying to signal Wedge. Dig Fest The recruits took part in Halloween festivities and ended up having to deal with a house fire. Trick or Treat
Medix's confusion over a television commercial meant that the recruits had to mount a hasty coverup so he wouldn't blow their secret to all of Milford Monster Savings Whirl and the others got a tune stuck in their heads, impairing their performance on a training exercise. They managed to forget the tune, but this caused problems on a mission to the planet Herboo, as it was the code needed for the Virtual Sonic Fence Hoist needed to use to stop the karknoid beetle. Tune Out A trip to survey a geyser field saw the recruits having to deal with a swarm of Scraplets. Metal Munchers
Whirl and the other recruits took part in essential maintenance as directed by Bumblebee, unlike Wedge who spent the whole time trying to impress his hero, and they were therefore fully functional for the following rescue drill. Bee Prepared After Whirl failed to master a tricky maneuver, Blades told her about a Rescue Bot guru who had once helped him. Whirl set out to find the guru, unaware that Blades had made the story up, and along the way made a series of rescues. The rescues gave her the skills to master the maneuver, which she was later able to use to rescue her fellow recruits. Whirl's Wise-Bot Quest
Hot Shot's careless actions in ejecting his junk into space had Whirl and the others following his lead, resulting an a huge junk meteor that threatened the satellite they were trying to repair. Flying Hunk-A-Junk A mission deep undersea forced the recruits to rely on each other as they rescued an automated drone from deep sea wildlife. Into the Depths Whirl joined the hunt for some dogs when Hoist's new comms system turned out to annoy animals. Milford Goes To The Dogs The recruits struggled to complete a rescue sim until Hot Shot realized they'd been trying to stop the disaster instead of saving the people. The Ice Wave
As graduation drew closer, the recruits successful competed against their teachers in a relay race carrying a pretend rescue victim. Whirl and the others were surprised and saddened when Hot Shot opted to abandon his Rescue Bot training and return to Cybertron to compete in the Cube finals. Best Bots Forever Part 1 The remaining recruits decided to tune in to the final using the space bridge to boost the holo-emitter screen. Unfortunately this led to the creation of a slowly growing energon bubble which engulfed the academy. It was only when Hot Shot returned that the recruits were able to burst the bubble. The recruits were able to graduate from year one of their learning. Best Bots Forever Part 2
After the recruits returned to the Academy for year two, they were given personal areas—in Whirl's case a wind tunnel—and the news they'd be paired with mentors. Whirl was worried that Ratchet's Aptitude Analyzer wouldn't find her worthy of a mentor, but it ended up pairing her with Chase. Back to School She and the other recruits got some new training simulations courtesy of Ratchet. Mission Dinobot Whirl got to work the Chase ticketing jaywalkers. She and the other recruits later rescues some foxes from a tree in a forest fire. In Training The recruits went on a trip to Cybertron to visit Ratchet's lab, which ended up being disrupted by Medix's bat Mister Flappy. Medix Steps Up To The Bat
When the recruits thought Cody was unhappy because he wasn't a giant robot like them, they built him a robotic suit which caused chaos during their mission to rescue a rogue bull. Cody later clarified that he was just missing hanging out with the recruits. Robo-Cody Heatwave tasked the recruits with acting in the play Jack and the Beanstalk. Whirl was assigned the role of Jack. Unfortunately the play ended when the stage almost collapsed, but Whirl stayed in character throughout. Acting Out Whirl and the others found Wedge's boredom was interfering with their study time. Wedge later surprised them by being enthusiastic about studying. Need to Know
After Hot Shot and Hoist turned Grimlock's Cube into an unstoppable escaping machine, the other three recruits attempted to help them recapture it but eventually had to call on Grimlock's help. Trouble Cubed When Heatwave let the recruits pick their favorite rescue to do, Whirl's was a rain of meteors in a desert, from which they would need to rescue a bunch of animals. The disagreement over which simulation to run resulted in the recruits accidentally breaking the control unit and plunging the sim into chaos until they worked together to fix the unit. My Favorite Rescue
After Ratchet got trapped in an ancient sim, the five recruits entered the sim as well. They successfully negotiated their way through a tower full of traps and rescued their teacher, completing the sim and opening the vault to find four Mul-T-Cogs and an ancient artifact. The Vault Of The Primes Chase assigned Whirl the task of investigating the Lady of Griffin Rock, so she enlisted Medix as a sidekick. They ended up locating Wayne's run-down mansion, but all they found inside was a family of opossums which they were able to rescue before the mansion collapsed. Wild Ghost Chase Following a soil-sampling mission on some dwarf planets, Whirl and the others found Medix had replanted the Galax in the academy garden, which it had promptly taken over, forcing them to relocate it to a more suitable home. Little Plot of Horrors
Whirl and Chase were setting up security measures at the Museum of Future Tech Art when the prize sculpture Mano e Nano went missing. Though Chase suspected former criminals Evan and Myles, Whirl consulted Doc Greene, who determined that the nanotech statue had simply reverted to a shapeless form. Museum Mystery Whirl and Chase also took part in the rescue of Doc Greene and Frankie when a force field dome trapped the two humans in the lab. Partners
Medix's overly-harsh criticism of the other recruits made them upset at him, however his overcompensation then led them to believe they had mastered a rescue technique when they had not. Critical Condition During a visit to Mechapark, Whirl and Medix discovered that everything was malfunctioning, resulting in Whirl having to rescue the other recruits from the rides. Fun Droids The Sparksayer gifted Whirl with a polyvisor which she put to good use during a volcano rescue. Power Up And Energize Cody had the five recruits learn some ballet to improve their poise and balance during rescues. Shall We Dance?
Whirl and the others helped Hot Shot overcome his one-alternate-mode-per-day limitation by tricking him into thinking a sim rescue was real. Mul-T-Change of Pace Whirl's final exam on deductive reasoning was to take place during a camping trip on Natura Island, and when her fellow recruits started disappearing, she correctly worked out the island's tech defense system was still active and transporting people to a junk yard. She and Chase successfully rescued everyone, only to discover that the actual test Heatwave had devised was to find him in his tree disguise. Five Little Rescue Bots After Hot Shot accidentally messed up Hoist's museum, Medix persuaded Whirl to help clean up. A diagnostic tool interfered with Whirl's wind tunnel and caused it to go crazy, which she actually extremely enjoyed. Good Advice
After a campout, the recruits noticed Hot Shot was acting oddly and eventually worked out his comm transmitter had fallen out, resulting in them having to go back for it and rescuing a bear cub in the process. Campfire Fright Hot Shot persuaded the other recruits to test out the new Mul-T-Cogs from the vault, only for them to discover that the cogs weren't charged enough and they could no longer transform. Hot Shot successfully fully activated them at the cost of his own ability to transform, at least until Whirl and the others found they could return the favor and use their cogs to reactivate his. Small Cogs Whirl quickly selected a police car as her new alternate mode, and was particularly pleased with the cupholders. Big Wheels
Toys
Rescue Bots Academy
- Whirl the Flight-Bot (2019)
- Whirl's first toy is sized similarly to the previous Megabots line, at about 11 inches tall, transforming into a helicopter in a couple of "Easy 2 Do Conversion" steps. In either bot or vehicle mode, pressing a button on her rotor causes it to spin. She comes packaged in robot mode, and helpfully, a cutout in the package allows this gimmick to be tried in-store without removing her from the package. Her engineering and transformation pattern are based on the Rescan helicopter version of Blades.
- Whirl the Flight-Bot (2019)
- Revealed at Toy Fair 2019,[1] this Whirl is a redeco of the race-car version of Heatwave - itself derived from the Blurr/MorBot mold - with a new head and some subtle retooling, mostly located in the chest and legs. She is curiously still identified as a "Flight-Bot" despite her new land-based alt-mode.
- Academy Rescue Team (2019)
- First previewed at Toy Fair 2019,[1] this version of Whirl is a new-head redeco of the VTOL jet version of Blades (itself a retool of VTOL Bumblebee). She comes in a set of four, similar to the previous "Griffin Rock Rescue Team", with Hot Shot (retool of Rock Rescue Team Bumblebee), Wedge (retool of cement mixer Salvage) and Hoist (retool of Rescan Hoist). This version of Whirl was later released singly.
- Whirl the Flight-Bot Flip Racers (2018)
- Released (apparently) as the only new toy in the fifth and final wave of Flip Racers Single Packs.
- Whirl the Flight-Bot (2020)
- The VTOL version of Whirl from the Academy Rescue Team boxset was released singly in 2020's Wave 5, with no notable changes.
Notes
- Rescue Bots Academy Whirl is the first incarnation of the character to be portrayed as a female (IDW Whirl's holomatter avatar notwithstanding).
- Whirl's animation model was slightly modified from her initial promotional image (at right) by shifting the silver patch to the center of her head while recoloring the yellow chest harness sky blue.
- Early show concept art by character designer Francesco Giglio features a very different Whirl design much more closely based on that of her Generation 1 counterpart.[2]
