Name: Wheelie
Allegiance: Double Agents
Function: Resources reclamation (scrap salvage)
Timeline: Movieverse (
First Transformers Live Action Movie Trilogy)
I'm not a bad bot - honest! I just fell in with a bad crowd...
Profile:
Wheelie was never an easy fit among the Decepticon ranks. Sure, he's sleazy and self-interested, but he claims it's because he fell in with a bad crowd. Wheelie would love for his only allegiance to be to himself, but he's so easily intimidated by anyone bigger and stronger than he is. That's Wheelie's life story - a long parade of getting pushed around and shouted at by those bigger than him - and everyone is bigger than Wheelie. He was bullied into joining the Decepticons by a pair of Starscream's elite air warriors, and he was too scared of the Decepticons - especially the big, mean, loud ones like Megatron - to even think of running away. Because he was so tiny compared to other Cybertronians, Wheelie was put to work harvesting useful parts from the broken bodies of scrapped Autobots and Deceptions in the aftermath of battles - the sight of destroyed Cybertronians an ongoing reminder to Wheelie of what would happen to him if he dared disobey the Decepticons. With Cybertron left lifeless, Soundwave decided the best use for Wheelie was as a spy rather than a scrap salvage drone, and put him to work spying on the humans, Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes. That mission ended with Wheelie in Autobot custody. Optimus Prime hopes that now Wheelie is under Autobot protection he'll be able to stand up for himself and grow as an individual, making his own decisions and be less prone to manipulation. Wheelie agrees with Optimus and says yes, of course he'll be better off with the Autobots - but then, he would. Optimus is much bigger than he is.
Remote control truck mode:
Toys of Transformers Movie Wheelie
It really amazes me, with Wheelie turning into an actual RC truck, that Hasbro didn't make an actual transforming RC truck for Wheelie. I don't know, it feels like that should have been a complete no-brainer for merchandising.
But on to the toys that actually exist!
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Wheelie (Legends Class)
The Legends class Wheelie (featured in the main profile up above) is a cute little toy. His articulation is limited, but in both design and scale he's spot on to the movies. Okay, maybe not scale - he's a bit big for that - but it's a compromise to have him transform into the RC truck mode. The transformation is nice and straightforward, but effective. The only downside is that the robot face is visible from the back of the truck - which isn't ideal, but it's a compromise when the toy is as small as this. Overall, the legends class Wheelie isn't perfect, but it's nice. Cute, and a great little piece to stand alongside the rest of the cast.
More information on Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Wheelie at TFW2005
Transformers Revenge of Fallen Wheelie (Deluxe class)
The Deluxe class Wheelie from Revenge of the Fallen is a more detailed and more involved version of Wheelie's design. He's a nice chunky little toy, although very much not in scale with the other toys which might be a negative for some. Wheelie's gimmick is the revolving Autobot / Decepticon logos in his chest to represent his shifting allegiances. Once thing I really like is his expressive face! I like how the eyes can angle to emote whether he's happy or evil. The poseability is a bit limited, though, and the transformation feels a little too complicated - there's a lot of panels to fold into place, and the shoulders don't actually clip in anywhere. When I picked up Wheelie for these photos I honestly thought I'd missed a step there. The transformation does result in a more complete version of the RC truck, but the limited poseability and the scaling means I actually prefer the Legends version of Wheelie - plus, I feel like Legends has the more accurate looking face.
More information on Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Wheelie at TFW2005
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Transformers Revenge of the Fallen toys in my collection.
