Wheelie (Transformers)

Wheelie is the name of a character in the Transformers toy line and fictional storyline.

Transformers: The Movie
In the fictional universe of the Transformers series, Wheelie is an Autobot. The character was introduced in Transformers: The Movie and later appeared in the Transformers: Generation One television show.

Wheelie is generally considered among fans to be the most annoying character in the Transformers' vast universe, comparable to the unpopularity of the Wesley Crusher character among Star Trek fans, or Jar Jar Binks among Star Wars fans.

Wheelie is introduced roughly half-way through the movie as an unknown Autobot youth watching from the shadows as Hot Rod and Kup are dragged away to the court of the Quintessons. He meets up with the Dinobots and leads them to the courtroom just in time to save the two Autobots from becoming Sharkticon lunches. After the Sharkticons start chasing the Quintessons, Wheelie points the Autobots toward a ship in exchange for them taking him with them when they leave Quintessa.

A young Autobot, Wheelie's function is listed as "survivalist" (pretty much a given, considering he's spent who knows how many years trapped on Quintessa). He despises the Quintessons and their Sharkticon minions, but only fights when he has no alternative (no doubt a survivalist trait).

Transformers TV Show
During the third season, Wheelie's role in the series changed from survivalist to the Autobots' "little brother", a cute little kid providing comic relief and acting as Daniel Witwicky's best friend. This was an obviously similar setting to Spike Witwicky (Daniel's father) and Bumblebee in the pre-movie series.

Wheelie and Daniel, along with the Dinobot Grimlock (whose character changed dramatically in the third season from hugely powerful brute-warrior to a silly, cuddly oaf who actually wears a giant apron at one point) were written as main characters in several episodes in which they got themselves into various predicaments.

Wheelie was one of the few characters to appear regularly in the Japanesse Transformer series "Headmasters". Often sided with Daniel, and Arcee on the battle ship Fortress Maximus.

Wheelie also had a cameo appearance in Transformers Armada along with Fortress Maximus in the episodes "Past" parts I & II.

Comics
Although Wheelie never appeared in the Marvel Transformers comics, he had a reasonably prominent role in Dreamwave's War and Peace mini-series. In the comics, he was true to his characterisation of a survivalist, as he was member of a small Autobot resistance group fighting against Shockwave's oppressive control of Cybertron. He had also befriended the Decepticon Sharkticon Gnaw, who needed someone to make others see he was not the vicious monster his appearance led to believe.

Appearance
Wheelie's transformation is a futuristic, one-person car in yellow, white and orange.

Origin
The official theory as to his origin is that he was the sole survivor of an Autobot colonisation ship which crashed on Quintessa, but a more complex theory occasionally surfaces that suggests he was an Autobot exile who landed on Quintessa by mistake.

Wheelie, like many Transfomers in the various cartoon series, suffers from a speech defect. Wheelie occasionally speaks in third-person, but more noticeable is that he has a high-pitched voice and always speaks in rhyme.This speech defect is absent in Japan and in Italy dub.

Quotes:
 * "Friends find, look behind."
 * "You look wrong way, you fool I say."
 * "Picture you got, now fool you not!"
 * "You get ship if I get trip."
 * "Skip stare over there!"
 * "What Wheelie wanna know, why we not think this up long ago?"

Wheelie's motto is "Only the fierce shall live."

Repaint
In Japan, a toy was released by E-Hobby in 2005. they repainted Wheelie in yellow, white and blue and renamed it Dion. they also changed out the grey plastic windshield for a see through blue plastic windshield and packaged the figure with a repainted Targetmaster Kup as Orion Pax