Wheeljack (ROTB)

Wheeljack is an Autobot from the Rise of the Beasts portion of the Movie continuity family.

Got any cheese?

Soft-spoken and insightful, Wheeljack may lack the bombastic attitude of his fellow Autobots, but he's no less invaluable to their team. An inventor, mechanic and scientist stationed in South America, Wheeljack is enamored with Earth and its natural world, and is committed to ending the war that threatens it. To get around the tight streets of Cusco, he turns into a 1970 Volkswagen Type 2 microbus.^[1]

Despite being stationed in Peru, he's somehow unknowingly picked up a Mexican accent. Don't assume he speaks Spanish because of it, though; he thinks it's a little racist.

Fiction

Rise of the Beasts film

Voice actor: Cristo Fernández (English), Shunsuke Takeuchi (Japanese), Benjamin Pascal (European French), Marc Winslow (Latin American Spanish), José Baudilio (Spain Spanish), Renato Novara (Italian), Karim El Kammouchi (German), Wendel Bezerra (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Now, last week, Wheeljack used his transformation machine to turn Noah into a car and drive him around the Monaco Grand Prix? Come on!"

Being locally stationed there, Wheeljack joined the Autobot forces upon their arrival in Peru to assist with their search for the other half of the Transwarp Key. After a brief chat with their new human ally Noah Díaz established that, while he may have a Spanish accent, he did not speak Spanish, he explained the lay of the land to the group, including the Festival which would prevent the Autobots easily accessing the city. During Noah and Elena Wallace's search and subsequent chase underground, he hid in the city with Arcee taking cover inside his vehicle mode. When the Terrorcons arrived in force to hunt down the humans, the pair tailed Battletrap up the mountain roads, Arcee exchanging fire while Wheeljack dodged missiles and wrecking balls thrown his way. Unfortunately, before they could get close to Battletrap, the Terrorcon attached his towline to Wheeljack's bumper, throwing him and Arcee off the cliff, which also triggered a rockslide that unwittingly broke up the battling Autobots and Terrorcons.

Recovering, he and Arcee immediately followed Mirage to assist their human allies from an unfamiliar robotic gorilla. Unfortunately for him, a massive robotic rhino bowled him over from behind. After Optimus Prime and Primal made a truce, Wheeljack accompanied the united Autobot and Maximal group to the human village which held Primal's half of the Transwarp Key. The next day, he took part in the final battle to prevent Unicron being summoned to Earth, fighting off the horde of Sweeps and Scorponoks as a distraction for his allies to shut the machine down.

During the course of the battle, he and Optimus came across Battletrap again, nearly getting shot multiple times, with Primal and Prime having to assist to defeat the Terrorcon. Later on, Wheeljack regrouped with Arcee in mowing down more Sweeps, eventually receiving a minor injury to his lower abdomen. He was also knocked down and briefly overwhelmed when Unicron's reinforcements arrived, but was able to recover when Bumblebee arrived to assist after his resurrection. When Optimus was forced to destroy the Transwarp bridge himself, Wheeljack was ordered to retreat to avoid the expected explosion, following Primal out of the area. Victorious and with Prime safe, he and the other Autobots and Maximals remained steadfast, ready to face Unicron's return. Rise of the Beasts

Toys

Buzzworthy Bumblebee

What's that? One of those 'Led Zeppelins' I've heard so much about?

• Cheetor / Nightbird / Wheeljack (Jungle Mission 3-pack, 2023)

• Accessories: Blaster

Released in a _target-exclusive Buzzworthy Bumblebee "Jungle Mission 3-pack", Wheeljack is a Deluxe Class figure based on his appearance in Rise of the Beasts. He transforms from a bespectacled robot into an unlicensed approximation of a Volkswagen Type 2 Minibus with "TV Pablo" livery on the sides. He includes a blaster that can be stored on his back or in two spots on the roof of his vehicle mode. Oddly, the rear storage port is slightly tilted to the left. He features light piping for his eyes, which are still visible through his glasses.

On some copies, Wheeljack's torso hinges are loose, causing him to flop apart when handling.

Wheeljack comes packaged with Cheetor and Nightbird. The CG renders on the packaging have paint applications on the shoulders, stomach, and hands. These are absent on the final toy, with only the tops of the hands being painted. The Autobot symbol on his chest/van front is shown as molded detail in the renders; it is a simple tampograph on the final toy.

Rise of the Beasts

Ehrm.. Ackshually..

• Wheeljack (Deluxe Class, 2023)

• TakaraTomy name: Deluxe Class Wheeljack
• TakaraTomy ID number: BD-05
• TakaraTomy release date: July 15, 2023
• Accessories: Blaster

Outside of the United States and Canada, the Wheeljack from the Buzzworthy Bumblebee Jungle Mission 3-pack was available individually at general retail under Rise of the Beasts packaging.

"Stop hitting my child in the head with a lead pipe!"

• Wheeljack & Rhinox (Beast Weaponizer, 2023)

• TakaraTomy name: Kakusei Change Set Wheeljack & Rhinox
• TakaraTomy ID number: BCS-03
• TakaraTomy release date: July 15, 2023
• Known designers: Shogo Hasui (TakaraTomy)

Part of the second wave of Beast Weaponizers, Wheeljack is a simplified toy that converts from a robot to an unlicensed approximation of a Volkswagen Type 2 in 11 steps. He comes with a redecoed Beast Battle Master Rhinox, who transforms into a minigun for Wheeljack to wield.

Studio Series

Did I do that?

• Wheeljack (Deluxe Class, 2024)

• Movie: Rise of the Beasts
• Hasbro ID number: 108
• TakaraTomy ID number: SS-133
• Accessories: Blaster, "Cliffside Chase" backdrop
• Known designers: Sam Smith (Hasbro), Koki Yamada (TakaraTomy)^[2]

Released in the first wave of Studio Series Deluxe Class figures for 2024, Wheeljack transforms from robot into a licensed Volkswagen Type 2 in 28 steps, borrowing transformation cues from the above Beast Weaponizer figure. Instead of the chunky arm-blasters he had in the film, he comes with a handheld blaster based on, of all things, the generic Autobot laser pistol from the original Transformers cartoon. The blaster is compatible with Fire Blast effects and stores using a slot on the vehicle's roof. Undocumented, that same slot can be used as robot mode storage. His backdrop depicts the Peru mountain chase.

Due to his transformation scheme, his door wings are oriented incorrectly. He lacks an Autobot insignia on his forehead and most of the text on the sides of his alternate mode aside from “TV Pablo”. Unlike the two toys above, this Wheeljack lacks any sign of the screen-accurate wheels on his hips.

The transformation for Wheeljack's shoulders can be frustrating due to very limited clearances in the chest area, potentially stressing and breaking the clear plastic hinges on the doors if they don’t simply pop off. There have also been reports of the clear windshield/roof piece breaking because of the locking tab for robot mode; that tab can be shaved down if it is a concern.

Oddly, the art on the front of Wheeljack's box features a render of his alternate mode, not his robot mode as per usual with non-beast-mode characters. Why this decision was made is unknown, but could be part of Volkswagen's licensing agreement. On the toy’s CG render, the ring around the Autobot insignia on his chest is missing and the roof lights are not painted over. He also has more silver paint on his glasses and chest, while the silver on his shins is more finely detailed.

Wheeljack, alongside the first wave of 2024 Studio Series products, was revealed at MCM London 2023. While the rest of the wave was made available early at Cybertron Fest 2023, Wheeljack and his Deluxe wavemates were strangely absent. He was later spotted at retail in Singapore in early February 2024.

Merchandise

Jada Toys

Hollywood Rides

It's a Frank, Frank. A Frank that shoots Franks.

• Volkswagen Bus Wheeljack (Scale 1/24 Die Cast Vehicle, 2023)

• Accessories: Autobot badge standee

Released by Jada Toys, this 1/24 scaled non-transforming die-cast licensed first generation Volkswagen Type 2 with rubber tires features opening front doors, one side door, and engine cover with detailed interiors. Similar to the Robot Powered Machines, the car features a sculpted robot mode underneath. As an authentic first generation Type 2, this model has some movie-inaccurate details, such as the T1's split windshield and differently shaped rear and indicator lights. (See Notes below.)

Presumably thanks to production lead time, Wheeljack features both the "TV Pablo" markings from the movie itself and the "Frank's TV" branding from footage that went unused in the film.^[3]

The 1/24 Wheeljack comes with a small chrome Autobot badge on a display stand.

• Volkswagen Bus Wheeljack (Scale 1/32 Die Cast Vehicle, 2023)

A smaller replica of Wheeljack much similar to the version above. The opening gimmick is limited to the front doors only. The sculpted robot mode underneath is unpainted.

Figural Bag Clip

• Wheeljack (2023)

Released by Monogram, this 2.5" 3D foam bag clip takes the form of a chibi Rise of the Beasts Wheeljack.

It was available only as part of a mystery blind bag collection.

Notes

• The promotional render of Wheeljack seen at the top of this page sports some differences from his character model as seen in the film; most notably, it lacks the Autobot badge (a modified Volkswagen logo) on his chest, leaving it blank.
• Rise of the Beasts Wheeljack was conceived as a distinct character from Dark of the Moon Que/Wheeljack. Rather than take the more Generation 1-inspired design of the Wheeljack seen in Bumblebee, either Hasbro or Paramount wanted to lean more into the idea of the character as a nerdy scientist, as they felt the "tough guy" seen in the previous movie was too similar to other characters among the Autobots.^[4]
• Wheeljack’s alternate mode is a mix of the first generation (T1) and second generation (T2) Volkswagen Type 2 (also called a "Minibus" or "Microbus" in the United States). The prop vehicle itself is a T2 Microbus, as evident by views of the interior from set photos and the T2’s single windshield compared to the T1’s split windshield design. However, the exterior of the Microbus is decorated to look like a T1, with its signature curved "V" shape on the front.^[5] All of Hasbro's toys of the character (whether licensed by Volkswagen or not) feature the hybrid design, while the Jada Toys Hollywood Rides toys are authentic T1 Volkswagen Type 2s with the movie-inaccurate split windshield.
• Wheeljack has some very cheaty elements to his transformation:
  • The text on his sliding doors somehow end up on his front doors in bot mode. In the film, the doors are visibly clean while he transforms, with the text simply appearing when the shot changes.
  • "¡llama", "hoy!", and the phone number on his legs are not present in alt mode.
  • Circular red lights appear out of nowhere on his shoulders. These lights resemble rear lights on some Microbus models, but Wheeljack's rear lights are pill shaped and end up on his butt. Concept art^[6] for Wheeljack, such as the promo image at the top of the page, instead have them be his turn signals (which are outer pair of lights on the final design), while presumably the lights on his bumper take their place as the outside pair. Which would still be cheaty, as the turn signals would be jumping from brown parts of the car to cream parts.
  • Similarly, the roof lights migrate onto brown panels on his chest, and are slightly larger than they should be. Some early concept sketches had these panels actually be cream-colored parts from the roof.^[6]
• The storybook "Mission at the Museum", as well as behind-the-scenes photos of Wheeljack's vehicle mode, suggest that he was originally intended to appear in the New York-set segments of the film, with his vehicle mode belonging to "Frank's TV" rather than "TV Pablo".^[3] This ended up influencing the Jada Toys die-cast vehicles of Wheeljack, both of which sport "Frank's TV" on their left side and "TV Pablo" on their right.
• Due to the "TV Pablo" branding on his vehicle mode, many fans took to jokingly calling this iteration 'Pablo', as both a shot at him daring not to look like the original, and an affectionate nickname. Even director Steven Caple Jr. and Cristo Fernández (his voice actor) support it! This even went so far as the Fanstream introducing his Studio Series toy using the 'Pablo' name before calling him Wheeljack.
• During the sequence where the Autobots and Maximals line up ready for battle, a pair of ear-like fins based on those of "Generation 1" Wheeljack pop out of the sides of his head; this was apparently a last-minute addition, as some promotional material (notably, the trailers released by Paramount Pictures UK) show the same footage without the fins.^[7][8] Either way, it's very easy to miss, as the fins have vanished by the next shot that Wheeljack appears in and never show up again!
  • Multiple concept designs for Wheeljack, including a near final one, actually had G1-inspired head fins.^[6]
• In the Latin American Spanish dub, Wheeljack speaks with a Peruvian accent instead of a Mexican one, using Peruvian slang such as causa, chevere, and oe.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Wheeljack (ホイルジャック Hoirujakku)
• Hungarian: Kormányos Jack ("Steersman Jack")^[9]
• Mandarin: Qiānjīndǐng (China, 千斤顶, "Wheeljack" or "Hoisting Jack")

References