Wheelie (ROTF)

Wheelie is a Decepticon and later an Autobot from the movie continuity family.

Whaddaya lookin' at, slobberpuss?!

Wheelie (aka Wheels) is a sneaky little salvage and scrap drone,^[1] always underfoot when you least expect it. As a reconnaissance specialist, he's equipped to the teeth with mid-range surveillance equipment. But his real asset is stealth, tooling along unseen and unsuspected while he accomplishes his mission. Unfortunately for his mission, he often bites off more than he can chew—and ends up being the one chewed on!

Although he does seem to have a bit of a "mouth" on him, Wheelie isn't really a bad sort: a loving home and a little strict discipline could whip him into shape. Allow disgruntlement with the Autobots to grow, however, and he may get mean...

Fiction

Movies

Revenge of the Fallen film

Voice actor: Tom Kenny (English), Kōji Ochiai (Japanese), Zhao Zhen (Chinese), Rainer Fritzsche (German), Luca Dal Fabbro (Italian), Sérgio Stern (Portuguese), Carlo Vázquez (Latin American-Spanish), Alberto Mieza (Castilian Spanish), Gérard Surugue (European French), Renaud Paradis (Canadian French), İlham Erdoğan (Turkish)

No one will suspect me of being anything other than a remote control car!

Disguised as a remote-controlled monster truck toy, Wheelie was spying on Sam Witwicky's home when an incident involving an AllSpark shard occurred. Scanning Mikaela Banes as she departed, Wheelie noticed that she possessed the fragment, and sent a transmission to inform Soundwave. On hearing this, Soundwave ordered Wheelie to steal the AllSpark fragment from Mikaela.

No disassemble!

Wheelie attempted to unlock the safe in her garage containing the fragment, but the noise he made in trying to avoid the various dangerous objects on the floor alerted her to his presence, so she picked him up with tongs and burnt out his left eye with a blowtorch. Mikaela then demanded to know what he was doing there, and Wheelie explained that he needed to bring the AllSpark shard to the Decepticons, or he'd be terminated, begging mercy of Mikaela, who he dubbed "Warrior Goddess". Despite his protests, Mikaela locked him inside a box, which she took to Princeton University when Sam told her he had been having visions and breakdowns induced by the fragment. Along the way, Wheelie tried and failed to draw attention at airport security and his box was thrown at Alice, sending it out a window when Alice dodged. Sam retrieved the box on Mikaela's orders. Although Starscream later bisected Mikaela's car, Wheelie's box was undamaged and she retrieved and stored it in Bumblebee's trunk.

I feel so humiliated!

Wheelie was let out of the box at Seymour Simmons's deli in New York City. Mikaela held him with a chain, but promised she would not hurt him if he promised to explain the Cyberglyphics Sam had been hallucinating about. Wheelie identified the symbols as the Language of the Primes, and said that he couldn't read it. When he noticed the pictures of suspected Transformers, he identified them as the Seekers, saying they could read the language and he could tell them where to find them. Wheelie did, and he accompanied Mikaela, Sam, Simmons, Leo Spitz, Bumblebee, Skids and Mudflap to find Jetfire at the Smithsonian.

This is the culmination of 25 years of Transformers fiction. You've come a long way, baby.

Upon locating the ancient Seeker, Wheelie told the humans that Jetfire was a living legend, like "chairman of the board" type, and instructed Sam to point the shard at the Blackbird. The surge of energon sent through Jetfire awoke the ancient Seeker, who was irritable and cantankerous, and Wheelie noted that Jetfire had not aged very well. As the larger Decepticon made his way outside, he inquired on the state of the civil war, and informed the group that he had defected years earlier. Wheelie was shocked by Jetfire's discussion of how he defected from the Decepticons to the Autobots, a thought which had never occurred to him, and decided he too would defect to Warrior Goddess, humping Mikaela's leg in joy. Sam objected, but Mikaela noted Wheelie was faithful, unlike her boyfriend. That did not stop Sam from punting Wheelie.

Wheelie was taken by Jetfire's space bridge to Jordan, and from there he travelled with the humans and Autobots to the Pyramids of Egypt. He was present when Bumblebee was stopped by the Egyptian checkpoint officers. They arrived in Cairo, where he presumably decided to stay safely while everyone else searched for the Tomb of the Primes. Revenge of the Fallen

Revenge of the Fallen novel adaptation

In Egypt, Wheelie stopped a police car by jumping onto its windscreen and smashing it, before Bumblebee and the Twins scared off the officers. After that he ripped off a wiper as a trophy, ran back to Mikaela and buried his face in her cleavage. Later, when the good guys had beaten the Decepticons, Wheelie spun around Sam and Mikaela happily in vehicle mode. Revenge of the Fallen

Dark of the Moon film

Voice actor: Tom Kenny (English), Kōji Ochiai (Japanese), Zhao Zhen (Chinese), Carlo Vázquez (Latin American Spanish), Alberto Mieza (Castilian Spanish), Sérgio Stern (Portuguese), Gérard Surugue (European French), Renaud Paradis (Canadian French), Rainer Fritzsche (German), Luca Dal Fabbro (Italian), İlham Erdoğan (Turkish)

Wheelie old buddy. I Haven't seen you in weeks. Where have you been hiding?

Wheelie, along with his new friend Brains, moved in with Sam and Carly Spencer, where they spent most of their time going through Carly's underwear or watching Star Trek reruns. Wheelie and Brains had a deep friendship, as shown by their constant companionship and their agreement on the last girl being mean. However neither were exactly happy with their living arrangements, living in a box outside of the apartment itself, and had a dog for a neighbor. Wheelie complained about his living conditions, and said he wasn't so sure about moving in with Carly permanently.

I told you already, I defected to the Autobots!

They went with their human housemates to the NEST base to reveal information to the Autobots; however their offer of help was turned down by Charlotte Mearing. Wheelie later noted that they were disrespected greatly, and decided they were safer with Bumblebee at Sam and Carly's. However, when the Autobots were forced to leave Earth by the human authorities, both Wheelie and Brains were captured and shoved into a small cage. They begged for help from Sam, warning him the whole thing was a Decepticon trap. The duo, along with the other Autobots, were presumed to be killed when Starscream destroyed the Xantium shortly after take-off.

Thankfully, Wheelie and Brains survived along with the rest of the Autobots by hiding in one of the booster rockets, and came to the aid of Sam, Epps, and the human race in Chicago. Wheelie told them that he and the other Autobots would always help humanity and they soon marched off to battle, riding Leadfoot into the city. Unfortunately, Wheelie and Brains were left behind by the Wreckers when they were done distracting Shockwave, having fallen off while they were firing.

Wheelie and Brains in The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel.

As they wandered through the streets hopelessly, mumbling about the lack of support, they happened upon a crashed Decepticon ship. They rode it up to one of the massive Decepticon "mother ships" hovering over Chicago that was controlling several smaller ships like the one they hijacked. Wheelie and Brains overrode the ship's controls, dropping several of the small fighters, as well as some of the Decepticon crew, onto the battlefield, causing a distraction for Soundwave just at the right second, preventing Bumblebee from being executed after Que. This also allowed the Autobots to gain an essential lead in the battle, proving the duo's worth in the end as the massive ship crashed into a large body of water below. Dark of the Moon

The Last Knight film

Voice actor: Tom Kenny (English, credited as "Wheels"), Kōji Ochiai (Japanese), Zhao Zhen (Chinese), Gérard Surugue (European French), Renaud Paradis (Canadian French), Sérgio Stern (Portuguese), Carlo Vázquez (Latin American-Spanish), Alberto Mieza (Castilian Spanish), Rainer Fritzsche (German), Oreste Baldini (Italian)

Well, it beats the leg-humping, at least.

Wheelie survived the events of the Chicago war and the subsequent years of Transformer hunting and joined the Autobots in hiding at Cade Yeager's scrapyard. His days were spent checking out "hot" vehicles online and arguing with Jimmy. When Cade returned to find Daytrader hanging around, Wheelie happily informed him that it was because Jimmy had let him in in exchange for an alien gun. The two began to argue and Jimmy seized the small bot but was stopped from doing anything further by Cade.

Later, he watched as Izabella attached a salvaged Decepticon arm to replace Sqweeks' missing one. When he commented on Sweeeks being an ugly little bot (talk about calling the kettle black), said bot then flicked him away. When the Decepticons and the TRF discovered their refuge, he evacuated to a nearby town with the humans and Autobots. He stayed close to Cade when he rigged traps for the Decepticons but became overcome with fear at seeing Megatron in person again and asked Cade if it was alright to "bail", though not before freaking out at seeing the knights talisman attach itself to Cade. The Last Knight

Titan movie comics

"Are you sure this'll take my weeeiiiggggh- *KRNCH*

During the Decepticon plot to frame Mudflap and Skids, Wheelie was parachuted onto their prison convoy by Starscream. Once there, he swiftly freed the twins and offered them a place in the Decepticons before he made good his escape.

Also, he totally murdered two people. Outlaw Blues

The answer was "on page 4".

A year and a half after defection, the Autobots still didn't trust Wheelie (Ironhide in particular making no secret of his contempt) and he knew it. When he volunteered to help hit a Decepticon command hub and was rebuffed, Wheelie tore into the Autobots for how they would never trust him and how they were still waiting for him to backstab them. Bitter and angry, Wheelie went off... to backstab them, warning Bludgeon of the Autobot/NEST strike team so they could be ambushed.

But Bludgeon was being backstabbed too, as Wheelie disabled the command hub's security features and summoned Megatron to Earth. Megatron welcomed him back into the fold Divided Loyalties and Wheelie knew that, with the true leader back, he could come back in from the cold. Yes, it had all gone well for Wheelie... until Dead End, half dead and crazed for "SPARE... PARTS!", came into the command hub. The Autobots would turn up later and find bits of Wheelie, sending them to Ratchet to see if there was anything he could do... A Short, Sharp Lesson!

Letters page

Ironhide really, really, really disliked Wheelie. Optimus Prime stopped him using the guy as a 'target marker' #15's Law and Disorder and he asked the Decepticons to come collect (and torture) him. #10's Law and Disorder

Coloring books

I want to tell you about the Transformers! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their fictional appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it.

Oh SNAP!

I Can Read! Books

Wheelie was out for a drive with Bumblebee, Sam and Mikaela one day when Starscream swooped down and began to attack them! Wheelie suggested to Bumblebee that they outwit the Decepticon to defeat him. Bumblebee disagreed, saying that they had to destroy Starscream's wings to defeat him. The two Autobots began to argue, becoming oblivious to Starscream attacking their human companions. Thankfully, Optimus Prime showed up to knock out Starscream. Optimus then chastised Wheelie and Bumblebee for allowing their feelings get in the way of protecting Sam and Mikaela. Wheelie realized he was in the wrong, but was still too worked up to make his apologies to Wheelie. Instead, yelled out that he would never apologize. His rant was interrupted when Starscream regained consciousness and resumed his attack. Optimus ordered Wheelie to work with Bumblebee to stop Starscream. The pair managed to do so by outwitting Starscream and destroying his wings, making the Decepticon crash into a nearby tunnel and crippling his flying abilities. With Starscream down, Wheelie and the rest of the group celebrated another victory over the Decepticons. Buddy Brawl

IDW movie comics

Wheelie was built north of the docks in Burthov on Cybertron. Rising Storm #2

Sam, Bumblebee and Wheelie took Brains to Sam's college, which the Decepticons promptly attacked. Rising Storm #2 In the battle that followed, Wheelie alerted Sam that Brains was missing. This eventually led them to rescue Brains from Space Case. Rising Storm #3 Wheelie then welcomed Brains to the Autobots, causing Brains to tear up. After the battle he and Brains moved to Washington, D.C. with Sam. Rising Storm #4

Kre-O online manga

Wheelie witnessed Superion's battle with three Decepticon combiners. (The Aerialbots were the winners!) Kre-O Micro-Changers Combiners comic

Games

Transformers: The Ride – 3D

As you continue your way through the NEST base, Wheelie will inform you of incoming Decepticons, including Megatron.

He intercepted a transmission from Megatron and reported it to General Morshower, though first he aired his complaints about his mattress in his room, and asked for a couple months of sick leave. Transformers: The Ride – 3D

Toys

Revenge of the Fallen

WHEEL•E

• Autobot Wheelie (Deluxe Class, 2009)

• Japanese ID number: RA-09
• Known designers: Alex Kubalsky (TakaraTomy)

Part of the second wave of Revenge of the Fallen Deluxes, Wheelie transforms from a compact "remote controlled" monster truck to one of the taller Deluxe-Class figures. His face becomes part of the truck bed in vehicle mode, with his eyes forming the tailgate and being visible from the inside of the bed, and with his mouth just laying there, yeah.

His main gimmick is a flip-around panel that shifts his allegiance from Decepticon to Autobot (and back) by twisting a translucent plunger on his waist. He features articulated fingers and his eyes are also on independent rotating swivels, giving him the ability to have somewhat different expressions. Each eye is sculpted differently as well, with his left eye having less detail than the right, a reference to when Mikaela blow-torched his eye.

• More information on Wheelie at TFU.info

Weasel versus coward.

• Autobot Wheelie vs. Decepticon Sideways (Deluxe Class two-pack, 2009)

An unchanged version of Wheelie was released in a two-pack, alongside an unchanged version of the dark silver variant of Sideways. This two-pack has been confirmed to have been released as a Toys"R"Us exclusive in the United Kingdom and Germany, and as a Target exclusive in Australia.

Now a toy that actually matches my size.

• Autobot Wheelie (Legends Class, 2009)

Part of the fifth wave of Legends Class figures, Wheelie transforms into a generic "remote controlled" monster truck. You can see his eyes in vehicle mode, right where his rear window should be.

• More information on Legends Wheelie at TFU.info

Studio Series

• Shockwave (Leader Class, 2019)

• Movie: Dark of the Moon
• Hasbro ID number: 56
• TakaraTomy ID number: SS-45

A very small (yes, smaller than his Legends Class counterpart) non-transforming figure of Wheelie is included with Studio Series Leader Class Shockwave, being included alongside his pal Brains to match with the brief scene where the pair runs away from the larger Decepticon foe. The figure has no articulation and is just over a centimeter tall making it one of the smallest figures ever released.

Notes

Sadly, you can't buy the big one in stores.

• The physical prop for Wheelie's vehicle mode used for the movie^[2] is a modified monster truck version of a Ford F-350 pick-up truck, specifically a customized Tamiya F-350 High Lift RC toy including a grille guard,^[3] with the body slightly shortened and mounted on an HPI Wheely King chassis.^[4] Other modifications include the use of Integy Alloy TVP chassis plates,^[5] HPI Spike Truck Wheels^[6] and (possibly scratch-built) fender add-ons for the truck body itself. A prop for one of Wheelie's feet, complete with an attached tire, was also made.^[2]
• Wheelie was a bit different in earlier drafts of the Revenge of the Fallen script. Originally, he was a much more primitive little creature, speaking in a broken, simplistic dialogue—source of the "Warrior Goddess" epithet that is pretty much completely out of place with the fast-talking Italian accent he ultimately wound up with in the finished film. This version of the character appeared in the film novelization and in the IDW comic adaptation, since they were both based on the script; furthermore, Simon Furman rather oddly kept using this portrayal of the character in Titan's UK comic several months after the film had come out before knocking it off about a year-and-a-half later.
• In their audio commentary on the Revenge of the Fallen DVD and Blu-ray release, screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman refer to Wheelie by his early working name, "Wheels". The credits for The Last Knight also identifies the character as "Wheels". Meanwhile, Michael Bay and the credits for both Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon calls him by his toys' name.
• Seeing Mikaela for the first time, Wheelie describes her as "hot" but "not too bright." Interesting that a sentient machine would find a human sexually attractive.
• Titan Comics and Hasbro UK seemed unaware of Wheelie's return in Dark of the Moon, since in their comics, Wheelie defected back to the Decepticons—in a way that left an Autobot dead - in one issue and then had him eaten in the next! The Autobots are unaware he betrayed them and talk like Ratchet can patch him up, but that seems a last-minute "oh whoops" patch-up.
• Despite changing sides in the Revenge of the Fallen, Wheelie still sports an embossed Decepticon symbol on his back in his subsequent appearances.
• The Dark of the Moon novelization has Wheelie joke about a theoretical Star Trek episode where the Enterprise was revealed as a Transformer. Pffft, as if that could ever happen...
• Footage was filmed of Wheelie in his altmode for The Last Knight, but ultimately went unused.^[7]
  • It seems that some slight alterations to Wheelie's altmode were made, such as different wheels.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Wheelie (ウィーリー Wīrī)
• German: Wheeler (Revenge of the Fallen dub)
• Mandarin: Zhuàn Lún (转轮, "Reel")

References

1. ↑ Hasbro's online Transformers glossary.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Various ROTF props and toys on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center, July/August 2009
3. ↑ Tamiya USA's page for the F-350 High Lift
4. ↑ HPI's page for the Wheely King
5. ↑ Team Integrity's page for the Alloy TVP chassis plates.
6. ↑ HPI page for the Spike Truck Wheels
7. ↑ Transformers 5: Possible Confirmation Of Another Returning Character – TFW2005