Witwicky, Spike


Before movie(Oil Driller)          After Movie(Diplomat)

Cartoon Bio (US):

Spike is the only known son of "Sparkplug" Witwicky, previously a worker on an oil rig. After the Autobots saved the workers from a Decepticon attack, the Witwickys volunteered to help them in their fight. Spike, though no mechanical genius like his father, was good enough to be able to make minor repairs to Autobots. Usually, he hung around with Bumblebee or showed the Autobots various aspects of Earth culture and history.

He met Carly a year later, and began going out with her. She was strong-willed, intelligent, and courageous, and took part in a number of adventures with him. He eventually married her.

In 2005, Spike was swallowed, along with the rest of Moonbase One, by Unicron. Moments before he was to be devoured in an acid container, his son Daniel was able to close the container, thus saving his life. Spike pioneered the use of the Autobot-invented exo-suit, which in turn probably led to the technology with which they were able to help paralyzed people walk.

After retaking Cybertron, Spike became mostly an ambassador, although he still participated in battle if necessary.

Comic Bio (US):

Being in college at the time, Spike was unaware of the events surrounding his family after the Ark reawakened the Transformers. Upon returning, he discovered that his younger brother Buster had disappeared. Hearing the story of the Autobots from his father, Spike went to the Ark to investigate. However, by this time, the Ark was no longer on Earth, and only some computer equipment remained. Fortress Maximus then arrived, tracking a signal from Goldbug, and met Spike, who asked for his help in finding his brother. Fortress Maximus, influenced by Galen's bitterness over the whole Headmaster affair, refused.

Scorponok then attacked, and in the ensuing battle, Spike left to find cover. Pursuing Spike in order to get a hostage, Scorponok drew the attention of Fortress Maximus. Too large to pursue the two into Mount Saint Hilary, Cerebros detached and followed them. Eventually, the caverns narrowed to the point where both Zarak and Galen had to detach in order to continue after Spike. Zarak ordered Scorponok to fire on the ceiling in order to crush Spike, but Galen knocked the human out of the way, sacraficing his own life. Dying, and realizing how unfeeling he had become, Galen asked Spike to take his place. Spike agreed and used Galen's helmet to control Fortress Maximus. The other Headmasters agreed to this arrangement and also to help him locate Buster.

Eventually, Buster was found when Spike used his abilities to trace a call from him. A direct assault proved unsuccessful, but Fortess Maximus managed to force Shockwave into an uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry. Eventually, Buster was recovered when Starscream released him. Spike, and thus Fortress Maximus, then quit from the Autobots to live with his family. Scorponok, wanting to guarantee his elimination, sent troops after him, but Spike discovered he was still able to call on Fortress Maximus for help. Despite this, Spike never returned to active duty.

Spike bonded to Fortress Maximus only twice more. The first time was when the Ark, out of control, crashed in northern Canada. Galvatron, violently deranged from damage suffered in the crash, was sent plummeting into the frigid waters. The second bonding occurred when Megatron managed to reactivate the Ark and was trying to escape Earth with it. Spike snuck on board and diverted Megatron's attention while Skydive rescued a human on board. Realizing they had no chance of actually defeating Megatron, Spike and Fortress Maximus agreed to throw themselves into the reactor core of the Ark, resulting in a ship-wide detonation and Spike's death.

Note: Spike does not appear as Sparkplug's son in numerous Transformers books, especially those made for younger children.