The Energon Pub

It's been bugging me for a bit. I saw comments on deviantart.com that said he died. I looked it up on Wiki and it showed him pictured "dead" in the movie. It also said he was an animation error and that Smokescreen was to be depicted. I rewatched my 20th anniversary edition and sure enough, he's pictured there all beaten up with the other autobots, but...is he REALLY dead? I LOVE Wheeljack and I want to know ;.;

Yep. He's dead. Well, only in the sense that his shot-up body was shown, and that he never appeared in the series again. So, yeah, he's dead.

Yes Wheeljack dies in the 86 film and Smokescreen was originally intended on dieing in that scene but I wouldnt call it an animation error that Wheeljack was shown instead od Smokescreen.

All of the of the season 1 and most of the season 2 Autobots were originally slated to be killed off early in the film.

Some characters were originally going to die in different scenes and some death were edited out of the script because their death were considered to graphic for a kids movie.

They changed their minds about some of the characters they were going to kill and others they changed around to better fit the importance of the characters dieing.

So they placed Wheeljack into the scene insread of Smokescrean because he was an older character and they werent going to be selling anymore of that figure.

This website has a lot of story boards from the 86 movie.

You can see a good number of characters and their deaths as it was originally writtin but almost none of it ever got animated.The script was changed by that point.

http://www.wombatking.com/coppermine/th ... hp?album=4

Wheeljack is dead in the US, but he apparently survived in Japan, since they didn't get the movie until later. IRL, Hasbro killed off most of the characters whose toys weren't being produced anymore. In the story, Megatron had to kill Wheeljack (as well as Ratchet) so they wouldn't have a chance of repairing Optimus.


Wheeljack has been in some of the newer series with a different p[ersonality, and may survive in some alternate universes (like the comics).

Dragonoth wrote:Wheeljack is dead in the US, but he apparently survived in Japan, since they didn't get the movie until later. IRL, Hasbro killed off most of the characters whose toys weren't being produced anymore. In the story, Megatron had to kill Wheeljack (as well as Ratchet) so they wouldn't have a chance of repairing Optimus.


Wheeljack has been in some of the newer series with a different p[ersonality, and may survive in some alternate universes (like the comics).

He appeared in Transformers: Victory.

Thyunda wrote:

Dragonoth wrote:Wheeljack is dead in the US, but he apparently survived in Japan, since they didn't get the movie until later. IRL, Hasbro killed off most of the characters whose toys weren't being produced anymore. In the story, Megatron had to kill Wheeljack (as well as Ratchet) so they wouldn't have a chance of repairing Optimus.


Wheeljack has been in some of the newer series with a different p[ersonality, and may survive in some alternate universes (like the comics).

He appeared in Transformers: Victory.

hence the "apparently survived in Japan" part.

A possible explanation for fanfiction is that he used a decoy (like the rubber mini-figs produced in 1985). Then he hid in Japan with a few other characters who survived the attack, waiting for a time to reappear.

I was reinforcing your point. The Transformers Wikia has the caption "Um, that was my brother, Jackwheel."
The reason he 'survived' is 'cause Victory aired in Japan before the movie did.

Thyunda wrote: He appeared in Transformers: Victory.

Did he???????????

Sorry to tell you but I doubt that was G1 Wheeljack in TF Victory.

In the G1 Japanese cartoon "Fight! Super Robot Life" better known as Seasons 1 & 2 of the G1 toon the character we know as "Wheeljack" was also called "Wheeljack"..... unlike some of the other G1 characters like Optimus Prime and Jazz [not to mention others] "Wheeljack" did not have a japanese name.

But the character that looked like "G1 Wheeljack" in the Transformers Victory cartoon was names "Lancia Stratos" in the original script.

So as far as we know he was a different character..... much like Ginrai looked like Optimus Prime but was a different character.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Thyunda wrote: He appeared in Transformers: Victory.

Did he???????????

Sorry to tell you but I doubt that was G1 Wheeljack in TF Victory.

In the G1 Japanese cartoon "Fight! Super Robot Life" better known as Seasons 1 & 2 of the G1 toon the character we know as "Wheeljack" was also called "Wheeljack"..... unlike some of the other G1 characters like Optimus Prime and Jazz [not to mention others] "Wheeljack" did not have a japanese name.

But the character that looked like "G1 Wheeljack" in the Transformers Victory cartoon was names "Lancia Stratos" in the original script.

So as far as we know he was a different character..... much like Ginrai looked like Optimus Prime but was a different character.

God Ginrai looked similar to Optimus, but not the same. He had some cylinders above his waist. And this guy was identical to Wheeljack.

Thyunda wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Thyunda wrote: He appeared in Transformers: Victory.

Did he???????????

Sorry to tell you but I doubt that was G1 Wheeljack in TF Victory.

In the G1 Japanese cartoon "Fight! Super Robot Life" better known as Seasons 1 & 2 of the G1 toon the character we know as "Wheeljack" was also called "Wheeljack"..... unlike some of the other G1 characters like Optimus Prime and Jazz [not to mention others] "Wheeljack" did not have a japanese name.

But the character that looked like "G1 Wheeljack" in the Transformers Victory cartoon was names "Lancia Stratos" in the original script.

So as far as we know he was a different character..... much like Ginrai looked like Optimus Prime but was a different character.

God Ginrai looked similar to Optimus, but not the same. He had some cylinders above his waist. And this guy was identical to Wheeljack.

Which means what?????

We are talking about robots arent we????

The way I see it his apearance doesnt really mean anything.

I've seen the sub-titled episodes of Victory that he was in and he's only referred to as doctor and he was never a doctor in the G1 toon......not once to you hear the name "Wheeljack" spoken.....the script has him listed by an other name.

All that leeds me to believe that the character we see in Victory that looks like G1 Wheeljack was intended to be a different character.

And there are more examples of this in the same episodes......other then Wheeljack there were characters that looked like "Masterforce Minerva" and "G1 Perceptor" but were also called by different names in the script.

G1 Perceptor was an other TF in the original G1 toon that did not get a japanese name but the guy that looked like him in Victory was called "Microscope" in the TF Victory scripts.

The character that looked like "Masterforce Minerva" also had a different name in Victory....it was "Porsche Ambulance" in the Victory scripts.

And if that wasnt all none of these characters are called by name in any of the episodes [although the new names are in the scripts] and all 3 feature different voice actors from their original Japanese versions even thou some of the original voice actors were still working for the series.

To me this all points to the fact that they were intended to be different characters by the writters.

One one side of the argument you have.......

they looked 100% alike

And on the other side of the argument you have.....

Different names in the script, different personalities, different jobs [all 3 characters being referred to as a medical team] and different voice actors.

In the loge run you can believe what you want.......I'm not trying to change your mind......but theres plenty to tip the scale in my favor.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:Which means what?????

We are talking about robots arent we????

The way I see it his apearance doesnt really mean anything.

They do in a series where character design is directly linked to identity.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:I've seen the sub-titled episodes of Victory that he was in and he's only referred to as doctor and he was never a doctor in the G1 toon......not once to you hear the name "Wheeljack" spoken.....the script has him listed by an other name.

Like Venom.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:All that leeds me to believe that the character we see in Victory that looks like G1 Wheeljack was intended to be a different character.

A character who was never given a name, but looks and functions exactly like Wheeljack?

To say that isn't Wheeljack is splitting hairs.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:And there are more examples of this in the same episodes......other then Wheeljack there were characters that looked like "Masterforce Minerva" and "G1 Perceptor" but were also called by different names in the script.

Like in RID, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:G1 Perceptor was an other TF in the original G1 toon that did not get a japanese name but the guy that looked like him in Victory was called "Microscope" in the TF Victory scripts.

Like in RID, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron.

Shadowman wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:Which means what?????

We are talking about robots arent we????

The way I see it his apearance doesnt really mean anything.

They do in a series where character design is directly linked to identity.

And are you suggesting that a characters appearance is linked to its identity in a Transformers serries???

Threw out the many other TF serries there have been cameo appearances of G1 characters but were not considered to be the same character

In the TF Victory as said before there's Ginra who looks like a new Optimus Prime.Can you think of any apperance in all of TF history that is more recognizable then that of Optimus Prime......and even here the apperance proves nothing since Ginra is a different character.

Shadowman wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:I've seen the sub-titled episodes of Victory that he was in and he's only referred to as doctor and he was never a doctor in the G1 toon......not once to you hear the name "Wheeljack" spoken.....the script has him listed by an other name.

Like Venom.

What do you mean????

Shadowman wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:All that leeds me to believe that the character we see in Victory that looks like G1 Wheeljack was intended to be a different character.

A character who was never given a name, but looks and functions exactly like Wheeljack?

To say that isn't Wheeljack is splitting hairs.

He was givvin a name in the scripts and it wasnt Wheeljack.....And how does he function as G1 Wheeljack????

Wheeljack in the G1 serries was much more of a "Mad Scientist" then he was a Medic and being a subordinate to Preceptor is also far from the post he held in G1.

And again in the TF Victory serries Ginra was ,as you said, "A character who looks and functions exactly like" Optimus Prime......and we know they were two different characters.

Shadowman wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:And there are more examples of this in the same episodes......other then Wheeljack there were characters that looked like "Masterforce Minerva" and "G1 Perceptor" but were also called by different names in the script.

Like in RID, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron.

What are you trying to comment on????The fact that they mixed up names in the voice overs or in the translated version of that they had simular issues with these 3 shows in Japan????

Shadowman wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:G1 Perceptor was an other TF in the original G1 toon that did not get a japanese name but the guy that looked like him in Victory was called "Microscope" in the TF Victory scripts.

Like in RID, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron.

What???

All of these script names seem to be their alternate modes. MEANING they didn't want to use his name because of trademark issues or anything along those lines.

Thyunda wrote:All of these script names seem to be their alternate modes. MEANING they didn't want to use his name because of trademark issues or anything along those lines.

I cant imagine what kind of trademark issues they could have had at that point in time that would have effected the use of all 3 character names.

And your senerio is even less likely when you consider the fact that "Masterforce Minerva"'s name must have still been useable under the original tradmark.

I wont profess to say that I have a full understanding of the "U.S. trademark laws" and I'm sure I understand those of Japan even less but one thing that must be similar is that "Trademarks" on names have a time limit....and that time limit must be more then 1 year.

And between the last episode of "Masterforce" and the episode of "Victory" that "Minerva" was in less then a year had passed.

"Minerva" should still have fallen under its original trademark. Futher more I dont see how any trademark issues would have effected the script.Yeah I could see problems in the animation prossus but why would it have been any issues with useing the right names in the script.

I cant see the likely hood that the name changes in the script were the result of trademark issues.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Thyunda wrote:All of these script names seem to be their alternate modes. MEANING they didn't want to use his name because of trademark issues or anything along those lines.

I cant imagine what kind of trademark issues they could have had at that point in time that would have effected the use of all 3 character names.

And your senerio is even less likely when you consider the fact that "Masterforce Minerva"'s name must have still been useable under the original tradmark.

I wont profess to say that I have a full understanding of the "U.S. trademark laws" and I'm sure I understand those of Japan even less but one thing that must be similar is that "Trademarks" on names have a time limit....and that time limit must be more then 1 year.

And between the last episode of "Masterforce" and the episode of "Victory" that "Minerva" was in less then a year had passed.

"Minerva" should still have fallen under its original trademark. Futher more I dont see how any trademark issues would have effected the script.Yeah I could see problems in the animation prossus but why would it have been any issues with useing the right names in the script.

I see the likely hood that the name changes in the script were the result of trademark issues.

"Or anything along those lines."

Thyunda wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Thyunda wrote:All of these script names seem to be their alternate modes. MEANING they didn't want to use his name because of trademark issues or anything along those lines.

I cant imagine what kind of trademark issues they could have had at that point in time that would have effected the use of all 3 character names.

And your senerio is even less likely when you consider the fact that "Masterforce Minerva"'s name must have still been useable under the original tradmark.

I wont profess to say that I have a full understanding of the "U.S. trademark laws" and I'm sure I understand those of Japan even less but one thing that must be similar is that "Trademarks" on names have a time limit....and that time limit must be more then 1 year.

And between the last episode of "Masterforce" and the episode of "Victory" that "Minerva" was in less then a year had passed.

"Minerva" should still have fallen under its original trademark. Futher more I dont see how any trademark issues would have effected the script.Yeah I could see problems in the animation prossus but why would it have been any issues with useing the right names in the script.

I see the likely hood that the name changes in the script were the result of trademark issues.

"Or anything along those lines."

I made a mistake in my last post...........I wanted to say:

"I cant see the likely hood that the name changes in the script were the result of trademark issues."

What I think was the reason for the name change in the script was....since they had no intention to re-release the toys of Wheeljack and the others they decided to name them differently so as to not give false hope to fans wanting the toys.

So it WAS those characters.

Listen, the story is fiction, not reality. People wrote it and **** up! It's simple! Wheeljack died and not everyone in the world was paying attention to TF:TM in 1985 so they animated him in again. woops!

And perceptor never died so it's not a bid deal.

Starscream wrote:Listen, the story is fiction, not reality. People wrote it and **** up! It's simple! Wheeljack died and not everyone in the world was paying attention to TF:TM in 1985 so they animated him in again. woops!

And perceptor never died so it's not a bid deal.

I would have thought that the creators of a Transformers series IN THE SAME CONTINUITY would have at least payed attention to the movie.

Thyunda wrote:So it WAS those characters.

Like I said before there's no way to really prove it was or wasnt the same characters.

There's plenty of reason to say they werent the same characters while theres really only one reason to think they were the same characters.

Basicly it up to your own interpertation.

Thyunda wrote:

Starscream wrote:Listen, the story is fiction, not reality. People wrote it and **** up! It's simple! Wheeljack died and not everyone in the world was paying attention to TF:TM in 1985 so they animated him in again. woops!

And perceptor never died so it's not a bid deal.

I would have thought that the creators of a Transformers series IN THE SAME CONTINUITY would have at least payed attention to the movie.

Well to be fair the creator's of the TF serries in Japan never got a chance to view the 86 movie so even if they wanted to stay in continuity it may not have been possible.

And besides the creators of the U.S. toon hardly payed attention to continuity.

And an other fact that has been in question [at least for some] is wether "Masterforce" and "Victory" were originally intended to be part of the G1 continuity.

Looking at the original scripts theres enough reason to think if it was originally planed to be a different continuity but later changed to be included.

Wasn't TF TM a 1986 film....?

Thyunda wrote:Wasn't TF TM a 1986 film....?

Yes it was but the Japanese [and the rest of Takara's market] did not get the film till the early 90's.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Thyunda wrote:Wasn't TF TM a 1986 film....?

Yes it was but the Japanese [and the rest of Takara's market] did not get the film till the early 90's.

Interesting....even though Wheeljack died in the film, it was still meant to be Smokescreen, right? So you saw Smokescreen in a Wheeljack costume die! That's the logical answer!

Thyunda wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Thyunda wrote:Wasn't TF TM a 1986 film....?

Yes it was but the Japanese [and the rest of Takara's market] did not get the film till the early 90's.

Interesting....even though Wheeljack died in the film, it was still meant to be Smokescreen, right? So you saw Smokescreen in a Wheeljack costume die! That's the logical answer!

Was that a joke????

I dont deny that Wheeljack dies.....and I dont deny that he was ment or going to die.

I just know from the story boards that the scene that he died in was originally ment to be for someone else.

What I've been questioning is wether the character we see in "Victory" was really Wheeljack.

Well, why NOT make it Wheeljack?