Wheeljack (Primax)


 * Wheeljack is an Autobot in the Generation 1 continuity family.



Wheeljack is his own worst enemy. Somewhat of a crackpot inventor, a good half of his creations blow up in his face. He's simultaneously one of the Autobots' greatest assets and problems; for every successful gadget he builds, there's one which requires Ratchet to put him (and his lab) back together. But once in a while he strikes gold, which has won him respect from even the Decepticons.

Keeping him from being a complete nerd, Wheeljack is amazing on the road. There's few stunts he can't pull off. He enjoys showing off both on the design table and on the streets.

Italian name: Saetta

Animated continuity
Voice actor: Chris Latta (US), Osamu Saka (Japan) Katsumi Suzuki (Attack of the Autobots and Day of the Machines only) Shinobu Satouchi (Victory)

Wheeljack was one of the original crew of Autobots aboard the Ark when it crashed into the Earth four million years ago. Originally a boxy-shaped transport affixed with retractable bumper-mounted cutting blades, Wheeljack was reformatted in 1984 to be a speedy and rare Lancia Stratos Turbo custom racing car.

Wheeljack was part of the battle unit organized by Jazz to first challenge the re-awakened Decepticons on Earth. He was involved in the battle at an off-shore oil rig, where the Autobots would meet the Witwickys, human workers that would befriend the Autobots. Wheeljack developed an especially close friendship with Sparkplug Witwicky, as the two were gifted mechanics. Wheeljack was next part of the team that attempted to stop the Decepticon plot to overload Sherman Dam.

A restless engineer, Wheeljack has developed all manner of contraptions and equipment for his personal use and for use by his fellow Autobots, often with catastrophic results. He designed the compact yet extremely powerful explosive that nearly trapped the Decepticons in the ruby crystal mines of Burma. Concealed in Wheeljack's left wrist is a fire suppression system, which no doubt came in handy when one of this devices would blow up in his face.

Wheeljack has the distinction of being the first Transformer to appear in an episode of the animated series.

Victory


Wheeljack, Perceptor and Minerva were summoned by Star Saber to save the life of the fallen Ginrai. They succeeded, transforming the former transtector into the mighty Victory Leo.

(Note: Wheeljack's not-being-deadness is never addressed. Though to Japanese viewers during the original airings, this was not a noticable discrepancy, as the movie where he died had not been shown in Japan until after Victory had aired. However, the original Movie storyboards show Smokescreen as the dead Autobot next to Windcharger.)

Binaltech
When the Dinobots were injured in a Decepticon attack in the year 2005, Wheeljack headed to Earth to arrange the transplantation of Grimlock's mind into a new Binaltech body. On his return journey to the Autobot's moonbase, however, his shuttle was hijacked by time-tossed Decepticon Ravage, who had begun a plan to alter the course of history. Wheeljack was shown a brief glimpse of the near future - including the deaths of himself and many of his comrades - but managed to escape Ravage's clutches; Ravage himself promptly returned to Cybertron and exhumed the Kronosphere, using it to tip the balance of the decisive battle occurring at that time. Whereas the outcome would have originally favored the Decepticons, leading to their total conquest of Cybertron, Ravage ensured an Autobot victory, altering history and leaving the heroes to face the looming threat of Unicron alone.

Aware that history had been altered, Wheeljack was faced with a dilemma - should he stop Ravage's plan and restore the timestream, even though it would mean the death of many Autobots, including himself? His salvation, he hoped, lay in the GT System, a device that allowed a singular spark to simultaneously control many duplicate bodies. Dubbing his original body the "Alpha Unit," he constructed the "Beta Unit" based on Grimlock's Ford Mustang body, as well as the ominous third "Omega Unit," a mysterious body about which nothing is known.

The subsequent arrival of Unicron prompted the Autobots to initiate "Operation: Distant Thunder," which saw Skids use the chronal warp on Dinobot Island to send Wheeljack's memory data back in time, in hopes of alerting the Autobots in the past and preventing alteration to the timestream. Whether or not this mission succeeded is unknown.

IDW comics continuity
Wheeljack is part of a detachment of Autobots that has operated covertly on Earth for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency. He appears to be continuing in his role of technical scientist and gadgeteer for the Autobot detachment; he builds a device that can interface the SM-40 palmtop computer with the systems aboard the Autobots' Ark-17 spacecraft.

Generation 1

 * Wheeljack (1984)
 * The original Wheeljack toy, released as part of the 1984 series of Autobots, was based on a Diaclone Lancia Stratos Turbo. A rare pre-Transformers variant includes the Marlboro-type Lancia, which has a differently tooled head and Marlboro logos.
 * Japanese ID number: 03


 * Action Master Wheeljack

Alternators

 * Wheeljack
 * Japanese ID number: BT-14