From here
Quote Originally Posted by Lint View Post
My statement was poking fun at the reality that they are probably the two most trash-talked characters in G1. Despite this, Hot Rod is definitely a popular character (proven by how many toys/homages he gets) and an MP two pack with Wheelie would sell, just like any MP would these days.
Rodimus Prime wasn't nearly as bad as Wheelie in the G1 cartoon. He would've been a better leader if he didn't compare himself with Optimus Prime so much, where he was often seen doubting himself and not feeling worthy to be Optimus' successor. Guh. Bumblebee does the same thing in the current Robots In Disguise series, which was also highly annoying, but I did like how <RiD2015 spoiler> even after Optimus Prime returned from the dead, he refused to usurp Bumblebee, insisting that Bumblebee retain his position as Autobot commander. </spoiler> It's a significant improvement over the G1 cartoon, where the complete opposite happened. But honestly, aside from the occasional moments of self-doubt, Rodimus Prime really was actually an alright Autobot leader.

Wheelie and Daniel on the other hand is a whole 'nuther story. As I've often said on other threads, they're basically the G1 cartoon's equivalent to Jar Jar Binks. They are characters who takes up a lot of screen time (Wheelie appears more frequently than any of the other 1986 Autobot Mini-Cars, especially poor Hubcap who never even appeared at all!), but yet they contributes so little to the actual story. So Ultra Magnus doesn't get a birthday (that's not even his actual creation date)... big freakin' whoop. Daniel, Wheelie and Jar Jar are characters where you could omit almost all of their screen appearances and it would make very little (if any) difference to the story. They are just wasting screen time. The tap-dancing monkey from TF Prime actually has greater significance in its screen appearance than Wheelie or Daniel! I'm serious! Wheelie was slightly less annoying in The Headmasters (although that's not hard); at least the Japanese version doesn't make him constantly speak in lame rhymes... uh... otherwise he's still pretty stupid.

Many of you will remember Rob Jung's "Trannies" awards that ran through the 90s and 00s where Daniel and Wheelie were consistently voted by fans as the most hated characters in all Transfandom. And who could forget the BotCon 2001 comic which brutally killed off Daniel and Wheelie - and it's official canon! I remember laughing my head off when I first found out, and laughing and high-fiving other fans over it. (I later experienced a similar reaction when I saw Robot Chicken's "Jar Jar Returns" skit (although alas that's not canon ).

This isn't to say that Wheelie is an inherently bad character, per se. His original tech specs bio actually portrays him as something better, which the G1 cartoon failed to capitalise on. He was originally described as something akin to Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. The wild boy, the survivor (his function is Survivalist after all). The Big Looker Books and IDW comics have been more accurate to Wheelie's original character.