Spike Witwicky

Spike Witwicky

Spike Witwicky as an Autobot Headmaster partner in Dreamwave comics.
Information
Sub-group	Humans, Headmasters
Partner	Cerebros, Cog, Gasket, Fortress Maximus, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Backfire
Alternate modes	Head of Cerebros
Series	Transformers: Generation 1
English voice actor	Corey Burton
Japanese voice actor	Show Hayami (young), Masashi Ebara (adult)

Spike Witwicky is a regular character in the Transformers comics and television series.

Spike and the rest of the Witwicky family members are the closest human allies of the Autobots. Their motto is "No sacrifice, no victory". They appeared in the original television and comic book series and later in the live action films.

Contrary to popular belief, Witwicky is a real name, but a vanishingly rare one. The U.S. Social Security Death Index records the passing of only two people with that name in the United States in the last 50 years. However, the alternate spelling Witwicki is a relatively more common one, occurring 33 times in the Social Security Death Index. It is possible that the name originates from the Poland/Ukraine area of Eastern Europe, specifically the village of Witwica, and that the name itself means "the one from Witwica".

The role played by the young Spike in the animated series was filled in the Marvel comic book series by his younger brother, Buster, exclusive to that continuity. Indeed, Buster was fully intended to exist in place of Spike for the comic book series, until the release of the Fortress Maximus toy in 1987, which included Spike as a Headmaster partner, hence necessitating the hurried introduction of Spike into the comic book continuity.

Returning home from college to discover that his father's garage had been destroyed, Spike investigated the Autobots' deserted base at Mount Saint Hillary, learning that Buster had been captured by the Earth-based Decepticons. While there, he encountered a group of new Autobots, led by Fortress Maximus, who had just arrived from the planet Nebulos, and in a subsequent attack by Scorponok's group of Decepticons, Fortress Maximus' Nebulon partner, Galen Kord, was killed in a rockfall. Before dying, he gave his control helmet to Spike, allowing the boy to control Fortress Maximus in battle and force the Decepticons to retreat. In the aftermath of the battle, Spike accepted the Autobots' offer to be fully binary-bonded to Fortress Maximus as his new Headmaster partner in order to save Buster from the Decepticons.

As Fortress Maximus, Spike led the attack on the Decepticons' island base, defeating Shockwave in an outer space battle, but failing to rescue Buster, and turning to the other Earth-based Autobots for help. Acting commander Grimlock refused, disgusted at the thought of a human leading the Autobots, but relented when he saw the rationality of the act during a massive Decepticon attack on the Autobot forces. With the deceased Optimus Prime subsequently restored to life as a Powermaster, Spike rescued Buster from the Decepticons amidst the chaos caused by Starscream's attempt to gain the power of the Underbase.