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"Goku... Once I've taken control of your body, I'll finally discard this ugly, metal shell. Then, I will fulfill my destiny, and become the greatest scientist the world has ever known!"
— Dr. Wheelo in Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest


Dr. Wheelo (Dr.ドクターウイロー Dokutā Uirō), alternatively known as Dr. W (Dr.ドクターダブリュー Dokutā Daburyū) or Dr. Willow[1], is a scientist who performs experiments in biotechnology. He is the main antagonist of Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest. He later appears as a secondary antagonist in Super Dragon Ball Heroes.

Concept and Creation[]

Wheelo(Daiz6)

Dr. Wheelo concept art, drawn by Akira Toriyama (Daizenshuu 6)

Dr. Wheelo was originally supposed to have organs besides his brain in the cockpit, but it was eventually decided to just make his brain larger. His brain being twice the size of a human head caused the Daizenshuu 6 authors to speculate that Wheelo's brain "evolved".

Appearance[]

He has a large metal scorpion-like body that holds his brain inside of a glass container. His brain is enormous, roughly twice the size of a human head. He has a mouth with a single red eye above it, two claws, feet with two toes and a giant tail.

DR W SDBH

Dr. Wheelo's human appearance in his compact mechanical body

Super Wheelo1

Dr. Wheelo's true form in his compact mechanical body

As Dr. W, he is an elderly man with white mid length hair, a white goatee, a white mustache and a purple left eye. On his right eye he wears a device with a red lens. He wears a white lab coat over a buttoned purple vest. Underneath his vest, he wears a lighter purple shirt wing tip collared over a yellow necktie. He also wears brown pants along with some white and black dress shoes. Attached to his right wrist, he wields a large double blade, reminiscent of his mech form's claws, which he appears to have a mechanical hand inside. It is likely that "Dr. W" is what Dr. Wheelo's true physical form looked like before it succumbed to frostbite. Underneath his human disguise is his true form, which appears to be his original mechanical appearance but slimmed down to nearly normal human size.

Personality[]

Dr. Wheelo is an intimidating and arrogant being who was once seen as an arrogant lunatic. Due to how the people viewed him in the past, Dr. Wheelo has a strong desire to get revenge. He can also become violent when things don't go according to his plans such as when he was beginning to lose the fight with the Z Fighters, Dr. Wheelo decided to blow up the Earth and find a new planet. Despite his arrogance, he can be cautious, noted when Wheelo warned Dr. Kochin not to underestimate Gohan, indicating he can sense ki energy when his body isn't even engaged. Also noting his respect of Master Roshi as a great martial arts master, Dr. Wheelo is arrogant as far as his intellect goes, but he does acknowledge the strength and skills of his adversaries. Also, a man of science, he treats all his encounters as a means of testing and analysis. At the same time, he is not void of emotion. After completing his test on Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta's Super Saiyan 4 might, Dr. W gleefully laughed at being able to begin his next stage.

Biography[]

Background[]

Kochin&Wheelo2

Dr. Kochin saves Dr. Wheelo's brain

Dr. Wheelo's goal is to rule the world using a modified human army via his science. However, he, Dr. Kochin (his assistant), and his entire laboratory become encased by ice, as if his inhumane experiments are being shunned by the heavens. His physical body dies of frostbite, but Kochin is able to save his brain and encase him in a robotic shell.

Their scheming underneath the ice eventually leads to the events of The World's Strongest.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes[]

Universe Creation Saga[]

Main article: Universe Creation Saga In the game, using the pseudonym "Dr. W", Wheelo allies with Fu, aiding his plan to create a new universe so that he can gain the acknowledgement of the Earthlings in that universe and rule over them.

DrWheeloHuman

Dr. W in Hell

In the anime, in Hell, Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta come across the mysterious Dr. W, who claims to have been waiting for them. The Saiyans ask where he came from and what he is planning, but rather than answer, Dr. W gets ready to confront them after displaying a large blade attached to his wrist. After declaring the start of his analysis and confounding the duo with his tricky energy slashes, the Saiyan pair transform into Super Saiyan 3 but soon cancels out their attacks and proceeds to give them trouble.

Dr. W watches as Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta transform into Super Saiyan 4s. When Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta fire a Kamehameha and Galick Gun at Dr. W, he uses his special device to absorb the energy from the attacks and laughs over the completion of his analysis before disappearing into a spatial rift.

Later, Dr. W is seen flying through Hell, approaching a run-down Soul Cleansing Machine and claiming that Janemba now possess the battle data he has gathered from Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta. He travels to a different area within Hell where he watches the reborn Janemba battle Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta, claiming that they should not be able to defeat him due to Janemba possessing all of their abilities. However, he becomes annoyed when Putine and Salsa show up and interfere and shortly after leaves upon seeing Janemba be destroyed by Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta in their Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker state.

In the game, Dr. W accompanies the new Janemba as he attacks Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta and explains his actions to the pair. Dr. W watches the fight unfold, commenting when the redirected Xeno Trunks transforms into Super Saiyan God that Towa had informed him that the Time Patrol wield the power of the gods, but remains confident in his new Janemba. He is shocked when Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta, having attained Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker, destroy Janemba with a Limit Breaker Double Ultimate Dragon Fist and quickly escapes back to the Universe Tree.

Dr. W is later swallowed up by the light of the Universe Tree, sending him to the Pseudo Universe.

New Space-Time War Saga[]

Main article: New Space-Time War Saga

Super Wheelo2

Wheelo faces Gohan

In the anime, Dr. W appears alongside Bojack and Super 17, revealing his true identity as Dr. Wheelo and attacking the gathered warriors to prevent them from fighting Black. He battles Super Saiyan Gohan and is knocked down by him.

In the game, dismayed that the hollow state of the universe renders his ambition meaningless, Dr. Wheelo takes Bojack and Super 17 to search for the Dragon Team. He tracks them down and confronts them, revealing his true identity and motivation to Krillin and Hearts and shedding his organic appearance. He attacks them, but Krillin is able to reason with him by pointing out that the Crimson-Masked Saiyan's Project Zero Mortals is a greater threat to his ambitions, and Dr. Wheelo withdraws.

In the manga, Dr. W reveals himself as Dr. Wheelo and engages in battle with Krillin, who is unable to keep up with the doctor. However, Hearts arrives to support Krillin, and the two eventually bring Wheelo down with a Gravity Cage-augmented blow.

Supreme Kai of Time Saga[]

Main article: Supreme Kai of Time Saga Dr. Wheelo later appears as one of the many contestants participating in the Super Space-Time Tournament where he is a part of Team 5. In the second round he is teleported to Planet Glass and gets surrounded by Glass Soldiers summoned by Vidro.

In the manga, he pits himself against Super Saiyan 4 Xeno Vegeta in the Planet Namek area, but is quickly outmatched. Furious that the Saiyan's power surpasses his data readings, he is sent plummeting into the ground, while Xeno Vegeta reminds him that Saiyans can grow in strength every day.

Film Appearances[]

The World's Strongest[]

Main article: Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest

WheeloFortress

Wheelo arises next to Kame House

Dr. Kochin comes through for his colleague a second time fifty years later when he gathers the Dragon Balls and wishes for Shenron to thaw him and the fortress. Wheelo tests his Planet Geyser on a vast forested area near South City - turning it into a wasteland. Freed from the ice, Dr. Wheelo becomes obsessed with finding the world's strongest man so that his own brain might be transplanted into it. He heads out with Kochin and the Bio-Men to find this man, and at first, they think it is Master Roshi and take him from Kame House along with Bulma back to their fortress, but when the Brutal Warriors Kishime, Misokatsun, and Ebifurya defeat Roshi, Dr. Wheelo starts to doubt they had the right person.

Wheelo1

Dr. Wheelo attached to his fortress

He then goes after Goku's body, after he arrives to save Roshi and Bulma. When his further attempts to subdue Goku meet with failure (such as using a special device to make Piccolo fight Goku and Gohan), the enraged scientist decides to emerge with his own body and fight him on his own and Dr. Kochin accidentally dies in the resulting reveal. Dr. Wheelo easily takes down Piccolo and then shrugs off a combined Kamehameha from Goku, Gohan, Krillin and Master Roshi before taking down the latter three. He battles Goku one on one and even overpowers him while using the Kaio-Ken x3 but is then overpowered himself when Goku pushes himself to using times four.

Dr

Wheelo activates his mechanical body

Dr. Wheelo decides to just concentrate the energy contained within his laboratory's power core to fire a gigantic wave and destroy the entire planet Earth along with Goku. Gohan, Piccolo and Krillin are able to buy enough time for Goku to be able to form a Spirit Bomb, and he uses it to overpower Dr. Wheelo's attack and destroy the robotic scientist, although not before the latter spitefully curses at Goku.

Other Dragon Ball stories[]

Dragon Ball Heroes[]

Main article: Dragon Ball Heroes

Dr. Wheelo Saga

Dr. Wheelo forms an alliance with the time-travelling scientists Dr. Gero, Dr. Myuu and Dr. Lychee. The change to history this causes is significant enough that Xeno Trunks arrives to intervene.

Power[]

Manga

Dr. W is no match for Xeno Vegeta in his Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 forms, but he is fast enough to dodge most of his attacks. When attacked by Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta - both as Super Saiyan 4 - Dr. W is able to dodge all of their attacks.

Dr. W considers Krillin to be too weak to be his opponent. Using his full power, he is able to move so fast that he cannot change his own direction and is able to attack Krillin at such speed that the Z Fighter cannot react at all. He is however unable to break free from the exhausted Hearts' Gravity Cages and is defeated when Krillin hits him in the brain with a punch containing force several hundred times greater than normal, courtesy of a Gravity Cage.

Anime

While unclear what his capacities are in direct combat, Dr. W has shown himself to be very formidable. Against Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta, he repeatedly caught them off-guard with his surprise attacks. Facing Super Saiyan 3 from both Time Patrollers did not faze him and he was able to easily dodge and repel all their attacks. Upon facing their combined Super Saiyan 4 power, Dr. W became quite excited, still able to fight on par with his foes. In his true form Dr. Wheelo can fight against Super Saiyan Gohan but ends up losing to him.

Film
Dr

Dr. Wheelo is unleashed

Dr. Wheelo's cyborg body is shown to be far more powerful than most armored robots in the series. It is able to withstand Goku, Gohan, Krillin and Master Roshi's combined Kamehameha without receiving a single scratch. He can overpower Goku using Kaio-ken Kamehameha (x3) but is unable to compete against Goku's Kaio-ken Kamehameha (x4) though his power was said to have risen since then. He was confident in his ability to destroy the Earth but was killed by the Spirit Bomb first.

Statements by authors and guidebooks

It is stated in Daizenshuu 7 that Dr. Wheelo's armor is powerful enough to withstand a Kaio-ken x4, and at maximum power, he is capable of destroying the Earth.

It was stated by Takao Koyama, that when making Dragon Ball movies that the next movie villain that Goku fought would always have to be at least stronger than the previous villain Goku fought. Thus, Dr. Wheelo was stronger than Garlic Jr. (before the Garlic Jr. Saga) but weaker than Turles.

According to the movie pamphlet for Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might, Dr. Wheelo's power level is 39,000.

Abilities[]

  • Ki Sense - Dr. Wheelo is capable of sensing the ki of others, as he was able to sense a powerful ki that coming from Goku. He was also able to sense the hidden potential that was coming directly from the enraged Gohan.
Claw Wave 4

Dr. Wheelo's blast fired at Piccolo

  • Flight – Like many other androids, Dr. Wheelo can fly without the use of ki.
  • Kiai – He uses something similar to this to stop Piccolo in mid-air.
  • Blaster – Dr. Wheelo can emit powerful energy blasts from his claws
  • Madness Cannon – Dr. Wheelo unleashes yellow waves of energy at his opponent, causing a massive accumulation of damage.
    • Satellite Laser (サテライトレーザー) - A more powerful version of the Madness Cannon that appears as the Super Attack of Wheelo in the true form of his compact mechanical body in Dragon Ball Heroes.
  • Gigantic Bomber – Dr. Wheelo rams at the opponent with a fiery-red aura surrounding him, and headbutts the opponent. He uses this against Piccolo in the film, and it is one of his Blast 2 in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
  • Planet Geyser – Dr. Wheelo's Ultimate Blast. Dr. Wheelo surrounds himself in a yellow aura and releases a massive red beam of energy capable of destroying a planet; reducing it to a barren lifeless desert.
  • Data Input - With his compact mechanical body, he can analyze his opponent to upload all their combat data, allowing him to dodge the opponent's melee attacks.
  • Energy Absorption - With his compact mechanical body, he can absorb their energy attacks after analyzing them.
  • Teleporting Ki Wave - Dr. W fires a wave of ki which disappears and then re-appears at a different position to strike his foe.
  • Portal Opening - Used by Dr. W to move to different locations.
  • Liquefaction - In his human-sized mechanical body, Wheelo is able to liquefy the organic looking parts so that they melt off and he can unleash his true power.
  • Barrier – Dr. Wheelo has his own fiery-red energy shield which is generated by his robotic body. It is one of his Blast 1 in Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
  • Full Power – One of Dr. Wheelo's Blast 1 in Budokai Tenkaichi 3.

Giant Mechanical Body

Main article: Android

Doctorwheelololo

Dr. Wheelo's Giant Mechanical Body

Wheelo's brain was transferred to a large and powerful mechanical body to keep him alive. Unlike many other androids Dr. Wheelo's power level is detectable through ki sense. He is known as Dr. Wheelo in this form in Dragon Ball Heroes.

Compact Mechanical Body

Main article: Android

Human appearance
Dr w

Dr. Wheelo's human appearance in his Compact Mechanical Body

A smaller cyborg form which appears to be more organic than mechanical - though in reality the seemingly organic parts are liquid metal, in this form Wheelo refers to himself as Dr. W (Dr.ドクターダブリュー Dokutā Daburyū).

True Form
Super Wheelo1

Dr. Wheelo's True Form in his Compact Mechanical Body

In his second mechanical body, Dr. Wheelo resembles a more compact version of his original mechanical body. Possessing a dark aura, Wheelo proves far more powerful than he did with his prior giant mechanical body. He is known simply as Wheelo in this form in Dragon Ball Heroes.

  • Fortress - Wheelo normally keeps his mechanical body attached to his fortress, while embedded into the fortress Wheelo is able to control its functions and see through the red cameras located on it.
  • Bio-Warrior Jar - As Dr. W, Wheelo keeps a jar containing a Bio-Warrior which itself had the 6-Star Dragon Ball inside it.

Video Game Appearances[]

Dr. Wheelo appears in Dragon Ball Heroes, where he was added in Jaaku Mission 6 as a boss in the Dr. Wheelo Saga. Dr. Kochin's HJ6-27 card has the ability Madness Cannon S, that summons Dr. Wheelo from subspace to attack the enemy with his Madness Cannon Super Attack. Dr. Wheelo later became a playable character in Universe Mission 5. His Dr. W identity was added in Big Bang Mission 2, and his true form was added as a boss in Big Bang Mission 9 before receiving a playable card in the following mission.

Voice Actors[]

Battles[]

Film
Super Dragon Ball Heroes
Anime
  • Dr. Wheelo (Dr. W) vs. Xeno Goku (Base/Super Saiyan 3/Super Saiyan 4) and Xeno Vegeta (Base/Super Saiyan 3/Super Saiyan 4)
  • Dr. Wheelo (True form) vs. Gohan (Base/Super Saiyan)
Manga
  • Dr. Wheelo (Dr. W) vs. Xeno Vegeta (Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan 2/Super Saiyan 4)
  • Dr. Wheelo (Dr. W) vs. Xeno Vegeta (Super Saiyan 4) and Xeno Goku (Super Saiyan 4)
  • Dr. Wheelo (Dr. W/True Form) and Bio-Warrior vs. Krillin and Hearts
  • Dr. Wheelo (True Form) vs. Xeno Goku (Super Saiyan 4) and Xeno Vegeta (Super Saiyan 4/Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker)
Game
  • Dr. Wheelo vs. Xeno Trunks
  • Dr. Wheelo (Dr. W) vs. Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta
  • Dr. Wheelo (True form) vs. Krillin and Hearts
  • Dr. Wheelo, Krillin, Gohan (Potential Unleashed), Shroom, and Broly (Legendary Super Saiyan/Super Full Power Saiyan 4 Limit Breaker) vs. Garlic Jr. (Super; King of Destruction), Lord Slug (King of Destruction), Android 13 (Super; King of Destruction), Baby (Baby Janemba/King of Destruction), Broly (Legendary Super Saiyan; King of Destruction), Bojack (King of Destruction), Janemba (Super; King of Destruction), Turles (King of Destruction) and Hatchiyack (Powered Up; King of Destruction)

List of Characters Killed by Dr. Wheelo[]

  • Dr. Kochin - Killed by Dr. Wheelo accidentally kicking him off the edge.

Trivia[]

  • His name is a pun on "uirō", a type of Japanese cake and Nagoya specialty.[2] However the katakana for his name translates to "willow"[1] - a type of tree - in English. The English dub's name for him bears a resemblance to "Wheel".
  • Dr. Wheelo is similar to Dr. Gero as both are brilliant yet evil mad scientists who have had their brains placed into Android bodies by an Android assistant (Dr. Kochin and Android 19) and are skilled in the field of bioengineering.
  • Dr. Wheelo is the first movie villain to be voiced by Ward Perry in the Ocean dub, the second was Turles.
  • Dr. Wheelo is the first villain to seek to take over Goku's powerful body as his own, the second being Captain Ginyu and the third being Zamasu. Of them, however, he is the only one who does not succeed in any way in this goal.
  • Dr. Wheelo is the first villain ever killed by the Spirit Bomb. Goku defeats the main enemy of a movie with the Spirit Bomb three times in a row: Wheelo is the first, with the other two being Turles and Lord Slug.
  • In the Funimation dub and Ocean Group dubs of the movie, Dr. Wheelo says two minor swear words. When Goku is gathering energy for a Spirit Bomb, he says "What the hell is he trying to do?" and right when Goku strikes the death blow with his Spirit Bomb, Wheelo says "Damn you Goku!" 'Hell' is often used in Dragon Ball Z due to HFIL also going by that name, but 'damn' is rarely used. Also, in the Ocean dub of the movie, Dr. Wheelo curses more often.
  • Wheelo has a single red eye resembling Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey. At one point, there is a close-up of Wheelo's eye in the same way as Hal.
  • Frieza's final words in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ and Golden Frieza Saga are the same as Dr. Wheelo's. Coincidentally, both were taken down in a similar manner, and both even make a reference to Hell in their penultimate words beforehand (In Frieza's case, telling Vegeta and everyone else to go there without him in reference to his attempt to blow up Earth before Goku intervened).
  • The Trendy Suit from the Xenoverse series resembles Dr. W's Clothing.

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References[]

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