Wedge (RBA)

Wedge the Construction-Bot is an Autobot and former Decepticon from the Rescue Bots Academy portion of the Aligned continuity family.

"Cut the chatter, Red Two!"

Wedge is pretty sure he's the best of the new Rescue Bot recruits and will jump at the chance to prove it. This has resulted in something of a rivalry stewing between him and Hot Shot, and if there's any criticism to be made of his fellow recruits, Wedge will be the one to make it, though he'll usually regret it soon after. Despite being an arrogant member of his class, Wedge shares Blades' fanboy attitude towards Autobot legend Bumblebee, and perhaps in a few attempts to follow in the former scout's footsteps, he shares Bee's sense of responsibility, such as properly recycling trash instead of careless disposal.

Fiction

Rescue Bots Academy cartoon

Voice actor: Mason Hensley (English), Jacopo Calatroni (Italian), David Manet (French), Juan Carlos Rodríguez Chávez (Latin-American Spanish), Alexander Kovriznyh (Russian)

"Look at the size of that thing!"

Wedge was originally created as a Decepticon, but Optimus Prime found him, and believed that he had so much potential as an Autobot. His kindness is what inspired Wedge to switch sides. More Than Meets The Eye

Wedge won a rescue competition to earn himself a spot studying at the Rescue Bot Training Center on Earth. He started an instant rivalry with Hot Shot when the latter was assigned to the team of new recruits by Optimus Prime. Once Hot Shot screwed up the first rescue drill, Wedge challenged him to a simple stacking contest and easily won. Recruits Part I Hot Shot went on to win an obstacle course race against Wedge and revealed that Optimus had given him the ability to use three alternate modes, though Wedge was still unimpressed, beliving it was the bot and not their abilities that made for a good rescuer. Nonetheless when Hot Shot later realized that the jet mode he was stuck with for the day was useless for the cave rescue exercise they'd been assigned, Wedge joined the others in encouraging him not to give up. Recruits Part II Wedge and the other recruits got to meet Blades when the copter-bot was brought in to help tutor Hot Shot in the art of flying, and later took part in a forest fire rescue. The Secret of Flight

Following a particularly tricky rescue, Hoist constructed new tools for everyone, including power drivers for Wedge. The first test didn't go well, but Wedge and the others enlisted Boulder to give Hoist some encouragement and help perfect the tools. If at First... After Hot Shot was assigned to look after Tough Luck Chuck when the test robot was damaged, Wedge and Hoist found Chuck roaming the training center. He slipped through their fingers as well and got through the GroundBridge, forcing the recruits to search for him in Milford. Tough Luck Chuck Bored by Chase's class on police codes, Wedge and the other recruits persuaded Chase to let them try to do a practice rescue, and ended up being rescued themselves by Whirl when they got stuck in the snow. Whirl'd View When the recruits didn't understand why Boulder was having them plant flowers, the Rescue Bot set them a task which taught them that all parts of nature are important. Plan Bee

"That's it! No more droids! I'm flying solo!"

Aiming to get the response time of the group down, Wedge borrowed the trigger for the rescue alarm and ran a series of drills, annoying his fellow recruits and eventually resulting in him ending up trapped in one of the launch tubes. He returned the alarm to Heatwave. The Bot Who Cried Rescue The recruits had to contend with a runaway rock sculpture of Hot Shot's head when he decided to carve it into a mountain alongside the likenesses of the Rescue Bots. Mount Botmore Hot Shot and Wedge ended up disregarding Hoist when their fellow recruit was put in charge of a rescue mission, and as a result, their own efforts almost ended up in disaster. Mission Inaudible After completing a simulated rescue, despite a glitch occurring, the recruits took part in a real rescue in Griffin Rock which was only successful because the glitch gave Medix an idea to complete it safely. Glitch

During a ride on the Sigma, Wedge realized there were only four command chairs and told the others that meant that one of the five recruits wouldn't graduate. The team went on to botch a volcano rescue drill after staying up all night worrying, until Heatwave told them they'd assumed wrong. Five into Four When Whirl was filming footage for a recruitment video, Wedge attempted to give a demonstration of Hero Hall, only to be swamped by a tidal wave. He and the others later helped whip the footage into a usable state. Rescue Promo After a botched rescue had the recruits blaming each other, Heatwave assigned them to cleaning duties. Hot Shot sneaked out to do a rescue, and as a result, the rest of the recruits had to go help him when he hit trouble. Blame Game Wedge and the other recruits set up a surprise rescue mission for Medix, who didn't get the appeal of surprises. Unfortunately the mission did not go well, and the other recruits promised to stop with the surprises. Medix Surprise

The recruits got to try out some TX3000s on loan to the rescue center, and even used them during an actual rescue. The TX3000 They had to round up a lost flock of sheep, but were hampered by Hoist malfunctioning. Little Bot Peep When there was a rumour there would be a guest at the academy, Wedge assumed it would be Bumblebee, however it turned out to be Wes, a Teen Pioneer. Wedge avoided spending time with Wes, believing he didn't have much to offer as a rescuer, until he discovered he was Wes's favorite Rescue Bot. Driving a Wedge Boulder accompanied the recruits to the planet Parvus where they rescued the last surviving Galax. The Big, Small Rescue

“That’s the sun, Wedge. It’s after dawn.”
“Well, it offends me. Turn it off.”

Wedge challenged Hot Shot to a competition, putting his Heroes of Cybertron cards on the line as a prize. When Hot Shot won the construction challenge, Wedge was demoralized, believing there was no way he'd win the Cube challenge, however his friends encouraged him to try, and he indeed won. The two bots decided to keep it as a tie, and Hoist presented them with custom cards. Battle of the Bots When an alien rock went missing, Wedge cast suspicion on Hot Shot, but the rock turned out to be a small alien, which the recruits then had to round up so it could be sent home. About a Rock The recruits tried to keep secret the fact a dog had followed them home after the last rescue, only to discover that the dog was actually trying to alert them to the fact they'd missed someone who needed rescuing. Dog Stray Afternoon Wedge took part in the rescue of Dr. Hart from a rogue iceberg. After Hot Shot realized that he didn't need the Rubber Duck Cody had loaned him, Wedge still thought it prudent to bring the duck with them on the next rescue. Lucky Ducky

Whirl tried to get Wedge and the other recruits into cheerleading, but it wasn't until they employed the skills they'd learned during a rescue that they were enthusiastic about it. Go Team, Go! When Boulder assigned the recruits the task of familiarizing themselves with smartphones, they became addicted to the devices and began neglecting their chores and rescue work. Screen Time During a field trip to the museum in Milford, Wedge and the other bots helped Whirl apprehend a thief who'd turned up to burgle the place. Fright at the Museum

When your teammates are being ridiculous.

When the Sigma returned to base without the teachers, the recruits had to take the ship and go to their rescue, though not without Hot Shot and Wedge fighting over who was temporary captain. Space Case Wedge excelled at collecting trash, resulting in Boulder placing him in charge for an undersea trash collection mission, during which the recruits had to rescue Medix from a shark. All at Sea Wedge and the other recruits had to deal with an out-of-control Scrub-A-Dubber after inserting too many power cells into it. All Washed Up When Heatwave suggested the recruits try their hands at teaching, Wedge attempted to demonstrate first aid on Chuck, only for Chuck to run off. Who's Teaching Who?

An attempt to rescue a balloon from a tree turned into a major disaster when the recruits went in without a plan. Balloon Up A Tree A fantasy simulation saw the recruits trying to corral a dragon, until they worked out that the dragon was actually trying to help. The Mystery of Dragon Mountain Yet another sim turned into chaos thanks to Hot Shot combining it with his game, forcing the recruits to deal with giant hedgehogs. Hack Attack Wedge and the other recruits found their rescues complicated by Medix's attempts to loosen up after they suggested he was a stick in the mud. Life of the Party

The recruits were keen to be taught by new teacher Grimlock but discovered Hoist was afraid of Dinobots. Tyrannosaurus Wrecked A trip to Dino Island hit a snag when a dinosaur escaped back through the GroundBridge, disabling it in the process so Grimlock and the recruits had to make their own way back to the academy. Dino Hard Chase assigned the recruits a stealth mission and Wedge and Medix paired up to hunt through Griffin Rock for Chuck. Unfortunately before they could find him, they were caught by Chase. Buddy Cop Another mission saw the recruits having to rescue penguins from an island the hard way after an electrical storm knocked out their tools and even their ability to transform. Escape from Penguin Island

"You knew, when I said we needed four sets of women's clothing, that we were going to end up in them. You knew. So any hopes you had to the contrary were just self-delusion."

During a series of search and rescue missions, Wedge and the others were surprised to learn Hoist had cheated on one of the tests. All that Glitters During a mission to retrieve a downed satellite, Wedge had to interfere with Dig Fest to stop an out of control vehicle. Though the other recruits thought he'd succumbed to lure of fame when he agreed to take part in the show, in reality he'd spotted the satellite in the middle of the arena and used the show as a way to get close enough to grab it. Dig Fest Wedge's attempts to duplicate Bumblebee's heroic rescue feats in the simulator were less than successful. When Cody introduced the recruits to the concept of Halloween, Wedge donned a Bumblebee costume to go trick or treating, however after realizing that he couldn't do things the same way Bumblebee did, he took part in a rescue using his own skills. Trick or Treat

Medix's confusion over a television commercial meant that the recruits had to mount a hasty coverup so he wouldn't blow their secret to all of Milford. Monster Savings Wedge and the others got a tune stuck in their heads, impairing their performance on a training exercise. They managed to forget the tune, but this caused problems on a mission to the planet Herboo, as it was the code needed for the Virtual Sonic Fence Hoist needed to use to stop the karknoid beetle. Tune Out A trip to survey a geyser field saw the recruits having to deal with a swarm of Scraplets. Metal Munchers

"What you're saying is, unless a transport is leaving a thin stream of pieces behind, like a trail of bread crumbs, during atmospheric entry, it doesn't match up to the Millennium Falcon standard."

Wedge was equal parts thrilled and flustered when Bumblebee visited the academy for a teaching session. Determined to impress his hero, Wedge skipped out on the maintenance work Bumblebee was having them do and followed Bumblebee to Griffin Rock where he completely failed to achieve anything heroic. What's worse, without maintenance he suffered major failures during a later sim exercise and had to do the maintenance anyway. Bee Prepared When Whirl's failed attempts to do a maneuver led her to try to seek out the Wise One, the other recruits went after her and became trapped in a ravine, requiring her to rescue them using the maneuver she had been trying to perfect. Whirl's Wise-Bot Quest Wedge's conscientious recycling efforts were not duplicated by the other recruits, who simply threw all their recycling out. This resulted in a giant ball of junk threatening the satellite they were trying to fix and Wedge had to alter its course. He later enthusiastically joined his fellow recruits in sorting the trash. Flying Hunk-A-Junk

Wedge and Medix were unsuccessful in directing a blindfolded Hot Shot through an obstacle course. A subsequent mission deep undersea forced the recruits to rely on each other as they rescued an automated drone from deep sea wildlife. Into the Depths Wedge was repairing roads with Hot Shot when the latter was distracted by dogs at a nearby farm. The pair were forced to mount a search when the dogs ran off as a result of Hoist's new comm system. Milford Goes To The Dogs The recruits struggled to complete a rescue sim until Hot Shot realized they'd been trying to stop the disaster instead of saving the people. The Ice Wave

As graduation drew closer, the recruits successful competed against their teachers in a relay race carrying a pretend rescue victim. When Hot Shot opted to abandon his Rescue Bot training and return to Cybertron to compete in the Cube finals, Wedge slipped a group picture of the recruits into his luggage. Best Bots Forever Part 1 The remaining recruits decided to tune in to the final using the space bridge to boost the holo-emitter screen. Unfortunately this led to the creation of a slowly growing energon bubble which engulfed the academy. It was only when Hot Shot returned that the recruits were able to burst the bubble. Best Bots Forever Part 2

"But what's my motivation?" "It's a beautiful day in Griffin Rock and you are a horrible goose." "Oh, right."

At the start of year two, the recruits returned to the Academy to find they'd been given personal spaces—Wedge got the outdoors gym—and were to be put through a series of tests so Ratchet's Aptitude Analyzer could assign them an appropriate mentor. Wedge got his hoped-for mentor when he was assigned Bumblebee. Back to School He and the other recruits got some new training simulations courtesy of Ratchet. Mission Dinobot Wedge enjoyed his time adventure training with Bumblebee very much. He and the other recruits later rescued some foxes from a tree in a forest fire. In Training The recruits went on a trip to Cybertron to visit Ratchet's lab, which ended up being disrupted by Medix's bat Mister Flappy. Medix Steps Up To The Bat When the recruits thought Cody was unhappy because he wasn't a giant robot like them, they built him a robotic suit which caused chaos during their mission to rescue a rogue bull. Cody later clarified that he was just missing hanging out with the recruits. Robo-Cody

When Heatwave tasked the recruits with acting in the play Jack and the Beanstalk, Wedge was less than enthusiastic, especially when he was assigned the role of the goose. After being mocked by a squirrel and missing out out on a Cube match thanks to the play, Wedge faked an injury to get out of it, but later realized the squirrel had actually been trying to warn him about the unstable stage. He was thus able to warn the others about the stage's imminent collapse in time. Acting Out Wedge was bored with studying math and science, and so was glad for the opportunity to go on a space mission with Bumblebee to rescue some rock creatures from a meteor storm. After discovering that they needed Perceptor's help with mathematics to shift the ice chunks that the creatures were living on, Wedge had a newfound enthusiasm for studying. Need to Know

After Hot Shot and Hoist turned Grimlock's Cube into an unstoppable escaping machine, the other three recruits attempted to help them recapture it but eventually had to call on Grimlock's help. Trouble Cubed When Heatwave let the recruits pick their favorite rescue to do, Wedge favored a mission on Parvus with a crashed flying saucer he could dig out. The disagreement over which simulation to run resulted in the recruits accidentally breaking the control unit and plunging the sim into chaos until they worked together to fix the unit. My Favorite Rescue

After Ratchet got trapped in an ancient sim, the five recruits entered the sim as well. They successfully negotiated their way through a tower full of traps and rescued their teacher, completing the sim and opening the vault to find four Mul-T-Cogs and an ancient artifact. The Vault Of The Primes Following a soil-sampling mission on some dwarf planets, Wedge and the others found Medix had replanted the Galax in the academy garden, which it had promptly taken over, forcing them to relocate it to a more suitable home. Little Plot of Horrors Wedge attended the opening of the Museum of Future Tech Art. Museum Mystery

Wedge and Bumblebee took part in the rescue of Doc Greene and Frankie when a force field dome trapped the two humans in the lab, though Wedge's brute force approach was unsuccessful. Partners Medix's overly-harsh criticism of the other recruits made them upset at him, however his overcompensation then led them to believe they had mastered a rescue technique when they had not. Critical Condition During a visit to Mechapark, Wedge got stuck on a malfunctioning drop tower and had to be rescued by Whirl. Fun Droids

Though Wedge was given an auger by the Sparksayer, he agreed to swap it for Hot Shot's combicannon, only for the pair to discover that the tools would only activate for their original users. Power Up And Energize Cody had the five recruits learn some ballet to improve their poise and balance during rescues. Shall We Dance? Wedge and the others helped Hot Shot overcome his one-alternate-mode-per-day limitation by tricking him into thinking a sim rescue was real. Mul-T-Change of Pace During a camping trip on Natura Island, Wedge and the others were transported to a junkyard by the island's security system, necessitating a rescue by Whirl and Chase. Five Little Rescue Bots

Wedge's attempt to short cut his cleanup of the living quarters resulted in him getting advice from Medix. He later fell afoul of the malfunctioning launch tubes when a diagnostic tool unleashed by Medix tampered with them. Good Advice After a campout, the recruits noticed Hot Shot was acting oddly and eventually worked out his comm transmitter had fallen out, resulting in them having to go back for it and rescuing a bear cub in the process. Campfire Fright Hot Shot persuaded the other recruits to test out the new Mul-T-Cogs from the vault, only for them to discover that the cogs weren't charged enough and they could no longer transform. Hot Shot successfully fully activated them at the cost of his own ability to transform, at least until Wedge and the others found they could return the favor and use their cogs to reactivate his. Small Cogs Reasoning that the one thing he lacked was speed, Wedge scanned a sports car for his new alternate mode. Big Wheels

The recruits' first solo off-world mission took them to a deserted city, where they rescued Scorch and his Cube team from an arena and discovered the whole place was a long-lost Titan, Citadel Secundus. The Empty City Wedge and Bumblebee performed a mountain-climbing rescue for Mentor Training Day, after which Wedge was faced with either helping Wes with his senior first responder exam, or joining Bumblebee for a "rescue-athon". Wedge picked the latter despite his promise to Wes, but then realized his mistake and instead helped Wes with the exam. The pair broke the course record, and Wedge invited Wes to be Bumblebee's partner for the rescue-athon. First Responder

Boulder assigned the recruits the task of training Scraplets, which they attempted unsuccessfully for a while before giving up. During a subsequent mission to prevent a power plant from exploding down, it turned out Medix had managed to train the Scraplets after all, saving the day. How To Train Your Scraplet Wedge took part in a window washing rescue sim, and helped extinguish fires in Crook's Canyon. Helicopter Heroes He and the other recruits were dispatched to Australia to help Brushfire with some kangaroos, and ended up fighting fires. Brushfire He was present when Whirl arrived back at base with the stasis locked Scorch. The Ties That Bind

Wedge took part in a bus rescue exercise, and later helped save a tree on Dino Island from a falling butte. Bot Blog He found himself using excuses to use his new sports car mode, however after he and Bumblebee saved a train carrying blocks of ice for a contest, he found transporting the ice back to town using his car mode was less than practical. The Icebot Cometh During a space mission, the recruits recovered what turned out to be the Decepticon Laserbeak. Wedge was disturbed by Hot Shot's dismissal of the group as inherently evil, and when Laserbeak fled the Academy, Wedge revealed to the other recruits that he had been created as a Decepticon. He left to recover the injured Con on his own, but moved by his words, the other recruits turned up to help him. More Than Meets The Eye Wedge took part in a volcano rescue sim. Things That Go Bot In The Night

During some lessons by Perceptor, Wedge was given the opportunity to save a dog on a runaway skateboard by using his knowledge of physics. He and the other recruits later had to rescue Medix when their fellow recruit ran into trouble trying to impress the teacher. Medix Gets Schooled He and the other recruits experienced jealousy when a group of teens began carrying out rescues in Milford and getting press. Rescue Teens

Perceptor sent the recruits to Sifrolicous-5 to discover why the planet changed color, and they found mudlubbers, who turned out to be exactly suited to the environment. Enter The Flood Wedge took part in a cow rescue, during which Whirl was injured and had to spend time recovering in a stasis pod. Wizard Of Botz Heatwave assigned the recruits the task of doing maintenance on the academy. Wedge and the others later had to cover up a holographic dragon when Hot Shot and Hoist let it escape Hero Hall and menace Milford. One Of Our Dragons Is Missing

Wedge and the other recruits were taken on a field trip by Perceptor to a tropical island to study volcanoes. Dino-mite Duo Wedge was frustrated that the other recruits wouldn't leave him in peace so he could work on his scale model of the academy, so when he has the opportunity for some alone time, he jumped at the chance. However it turned out the alone time was actually keeping Citadel Secundus company as the Titan searched for his kin. After helping Secundus, Wedge let the other recruits help with his model. The Lonely Titan

The recruits teamed up with Finn O'Reilly to follow the clues on a Holokey. They expected treasure, but instead found a hidden cache of Tox-En. X Marks The Bot Wedge was having trouble getting used to traveling at speed in his new vehicle mode, so Hot Shot tried ineptly to tutor him. They had little success until Bumblebee helped Hot Shot straighten out his teaching style. Making Tracks When Grimlock tried to get the recruits to be louder, Wedge acted on Hot Shot's idea and build himself a new siren. During a mission to the planet Krimol, the recruits found that their loud noise was aggravating the local wildlife. Don't Be Alarmed Heatwave had Wedge and the other recruits retrieve toxic barrels from the seabed and rescue Jerry in order to teach them to exercise more restraint in using their power up tools. Powerless

After discovering that Medix was into DJ Mechmaster's electronic music, the recruits joined him in rescuing the DJ during a charity concert in Griffin Rock, and even took part in the show masquerading as stage props. Griffin Rock Rocks! Wedge and the other recruits watched from the Academy as Chuck and Hot Shot entered the Bot Battle event at Dig Fest. Bot Battle Following the recruits' final test, they were thrown a party aboard Citadel Secundus. Wedge tried unsuccessfully to convince Laserbeak to attend, and during the party was trying to think of a way to change the Decepticon's mind when he spotted an asteroid about to hit the Titan. He was able to grab a shield emitter and as a result was the only one left online when an anti-energon wave swept the ship. Space Party He sent a distress call to Earth before scrounging up two more emitters which he used to revive Medix and Hoist. The trio were able to switch Secundus into receive mode, so the Titan could safely be landed on Earth. Following the recruits' graduation ceremony, the teachers revealed that Secundus was now part of the Academy, matching Wedge's design for an expansion. Crash Of The Titan

Toys

Rescue Bots Academy

Unsuited for Hoth

• Wedge the Construction-Bot (2018)

The first toy of Wedge is a redeco and slight retool of Arctic Rescue Boulder with a new head. He also omits the Graham Burns and Windchill accessories.

But can he and Grimlock still form Landfill?

• Wedge the Construction-Bot (2019)

Previewed at Toy Fair 2019^[1], Wedge is sized similarly to the previous Megabots line, and at about 11 inches tall is in scale with the previously released helicopter-mode Whirl and car-mode Medix, transforming into a payloader in a couple of "Easy 2 Do Conversion" steps. He features a "punching" gimmick in his left arm.

Like the other 11-inch Academy toys, Wedge's transformation pattern appears to be functionally an up-sized version of a previous figure: in this case, Boulder's bulldozer-mode toys.

Rogue Squadron

• Academy Rescue Team (2019)

First revealed at Toy Fair 2019^[1], "Academy Rescue Team" Wedge is a redeco of the cement mixer version of Salvage, sporting a new head. He comes in a set of four, similar to the previous "Griffin Rock Rescue Team", with Whirl (retool of VTOL jet version of Blades), Hot Shot (retool of Rock Rescue Team Bumblebee) and Hoist (retool of Rescan Hoist). This version of Wedge is capable of towing the trailer of his Command Center toy listed below.

Optimus not only inspired Wedge to become an Autobot, but also to get a disappearing trailer as well.

• Command Center Wedge (2019)
  • Accessories: Command Center/ trailer

First revealed via online listings, this version of Wedge comes with a tow-along trailer that turns into a training center with a light-up robotic drilling arm and a holographic target practice system and "hologram" mountain, complete with monitor. Wedge himself is rescan sized and turns into a payloader, which is functionally a downsized version of his 11-inch toy listed above.

Notes

• Rescue Bots Academy Wedge is based on 2001 Robots in Disguise Wedge.
• Wedge's prototype model had headlights on the cab and no Rescue Bot insignia.
• If the recruits were to have an official age order, Pete Slattery would write Wedge as the oldest.^[2]

Foreign names

• Cantonese: Teoi¹ tou² gei¹ (推土機, "Bulldozer")
• Hungarian: Hasító
• Russian: Wedge (Уэдж Uedzh)
• Mandarin: Xiēzi (楔子, Wedge)

References