Spider-Man's villains are some of the most popular and recognizable in Marvel Comics and comic books in general. Their ranks include the likes of Green Goblin, Venom, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio and the Lizard, who have all appeared in several cartoons, movies, video games and of course, comic books. Their popularity has been fueled by cool powers, iconic and interesting backstories. On the other hand, Spider-Man has also faced several villains of much less than dubious quality.
One of these is Big Wheel, who, as his name would suggest, uses a gigantic mechanical wheel to commit crimes. An inarguably lame villain, he never made much of a splash in the game of facing off against Spider-Man. Perhaps because of his laughable nature, Big Wheel eventually ditched villainy before finally making it into the world of animation. Here's the full circle story behind one of the Bronze Age's weirdest Spider-Man villains.
Big Wheel Keep on Turnin'
Big Wheel debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #182, and was created by Marv Wolfman, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. An embezzling businessman, Jackson Weele hires the hi-tech thief Rocket Racer to steal the evidence that might incriminate his crimes. Unfortunately for him, Racer intends to use the info to blackmail Weele. Aiming to get his revenge against the Rocket Racer, Weele has the Tinkerer build him a gigantic mechanical wheel with all manner of gadgets. Dubbing himself Big Wheel, he rampages throughout New York City in search of his rival.
This draws the attention of Spider-Man, who was also looking for Rocket Racer. Inexperienced in operating the bulky vehicle, however, Weele soon finds himself sinking into the Hudson River after rolling off of a building. Believed dead, the character wouldn't appear in comics for years. He finally did in Spider-Man Unlimited #12, where he helped Spider-Man fight Stilt-Man. Having reformed after joining a supervillain version of Alcoholics Anonymous, the luckless character is allowed by Spider-Man to tag along when he faces the Shocker.
Afterwards, the character's appearances were again few and far between. One exception was in the Civil War event, which suggested that the character retained his new heroic status. Jackson Weele would be seemingly replaced, however, in an issue of Spider-Man released for Free Comic Book Day. This unnamed occupant was an outright villain taking the wheel out for a joyride before being stopped by Spider-Man.
Get Your Roll On
Big Wheel would make his first, and so far biggest appearance outside of the comics in the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He appeared in the fifth episode of the show's third season. Titled "Rocket Racer," the episode loosely adapted the comic book debuts of both its eponymous anti-hero and Big Wheel. Here, Jackson Weele is an aeronautics expert turned criminal mastermind, having both his trademark wheel vehicle and a hi-tech gang at his disposal. Some of their equipment is stolen by Robert Farrell, who uses it to become the thief Rocket Racer in order to help take care of his mother.
It's revealed through the news who Rocket Racer really is, forcing Big Wheel and his gang to track him down to make sure that he doesn't tell the police where he stole his equipment from. Thankfully, Rocket Racer teams up with Spider-Man in time to take down Weele and his gang. Beyond this, however, the character's role in cartoons and even video games has been minute at best. This hasn't engendered the character much in the way of fandom, but chances are that he could finally roll onto the big screen in an upcoming Marvel Studios or Sony production any day now.
January 07, 2021 at 02:51PM
https://www.cbr.com/spider-man-big-wheel-villain/
Big Wheel: How Spider-Man's Most Well-Rounded Villain Kept on Rolling - CBR - Comic Book Resources
https://news.google.com/search?q=Wheel&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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