Age: 19
Hair Color: N/A
Fur Color: White
Eye Color: Red
Bike: Cherry-red Kawasaki-style racing bike
Mother: Glib
Father: Howitzer VanWham (deceased)
Siblings: None
Other Family: None
Likes: himself, motorcycles (duh), impossible speeds, root beer, danger, hot dogs, more danger, impossible odds, more danger, rock n’ roll, Detroit, scantily-clad women, scantily-clad women in leather, more danger, long drag races on the beach, explosives, more danger
Dislikes: Plutarkians, rats, threats to his ego, boredom, not doing anything, cheese, cats
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much to like about Vincent “Vinnie” VanWham. He’s vain, a loudmouth, a male chauvanist pig (mouse?), tempremental, impatient, and quick to shoot his mouth off.
But you gotta admit, at least he’s enjoying himself.
The white-furred wild-child of the Biker Mice from Mars, Vinnie is the most adolescent of all the mice (despite the fact that Bingo is younger than he is) and is certainly posessed of what the French call joie de vivre (literally, “escargot”). If Vinnie were human, he’d be on Ritalin by now. He’s everyone’s irresponsible cousin who lives with his mother even though he’s graduated and gets moeny from her even though he does nothing--you probably shouldn’t like him, but in truth, you get the biggest kick out of him.
If you look at the Biker Mice as a spectrum, with Modo on one end, then Vinnie is on the opposite, representing wild, crazy, impulsive, reckless behavior. Danger is Vinnie’s constant companion, dearest friend, and lover (there’s a metaphor for you). And he loves it. If it isn’t dangerous, he doesn’t want any part of it.
In fact, the only thing Vinnie loves more than danger is himself. Vinnie is amazingly egotistical. And not without good reason--like his bros, he’s extremely well-built, strong, fast, skillfull, a great biker, and handsome. The only problem is, he knows it. He’s well-aware of it. And he wants to make sure you’re aware of it, too. Vinnie constantly reminds everyone of his slightly narcissistic world view. Once, he remarked, “A day without me must be like a day without sunshine!” (“Law of the Pits”).
As if to punish him for his egotism, Life has slapped Vinnie with a constant reminder of his true imperfection--the metal mask that covers the right half of his face. The mask itself isn’t the problem--he could remove it any time he pleased (it’s made of Flex-Plate shielding, a liquid metal commonly used in motorcycle repair that appears solid but is flexible enough that it doesn’t impair Vinnie’s natural facial movements).
But beneath the mask is a huge mass of scars. During the attack on the Plutarkian Tug Transformer in the middle of the Plutarkian War, a missile blew most of the flesh off that side of Vinnie’s face, despite his helmet’s strong face-shield. There was nothing that could be done to repair the damange--even if plastic surgery had been an option, Vinnie’s face was beyond help. It was a tremendous blow to his pride. That face which Vinnie had been so proud of, which gave him so much confidence, was not only flawed, but essentially blown all to Hell. He was ashamed to let the Freedom Fighter mechanic Harley, who he had a major crush on, see his face. Vinnie was actually so ashamed of his new appearance that he knocked one of the mirrors off his bike (“Once Upon a Time On Mars Part Three”).
Of course, Vinnie’s pride is not impenetrable. When he lets someone see through the nigh-invulnerable wall of his ego, they can see the decent, caring guy underneath. At his core, Vinnie can be sensitive to the feelings of others, and can even recognize the strengths of others. During “Virtual Unreality,” Vinnie reluctantly tells his rival “Asphalt” Jack McCyber that he’s a pretty decent biker himself. And towards the end of “Caveat Mentor”, when Stoker finally admits that Vinnie is, “one bad motor-jammer,” Vinnie, obviously saying “thanks” in his own strange, twisted way, credits Stoker with being the one who helped make him who he is today.
Additionally, Vinnie cares very deeply about his bros and their human consort, Charley. Almost every time he does something idiotically risky or dangerous, it’s because someone he cares about is in danger (he and Modo following Throttle into the desert to make sure that he’s okay in “Once Upon A Time On Mars Part One”; venturing alone into The Pits to find his bros in the episode of the same name).
And when Vinnie does let down his barriers, he’s almost always rewarded. When he finally allowed Harley to see his face, the mechanic created Vinnie’s mask and the two became very close (for all the good it did--Harley was kidnapped by Mace approximately an hour later). At the end of “Once Upon A Time On Mars Part Three”, when Vinnie accidentally calls his present flame Charley, “Harley” (something viewers had to have seen coming from miles away), he apologizes sadly and gets a kiss for his trouble, revealing that Vinnie’s feelings for Charley are reciprocated.
Vinnie’s past should have created a much different mouse. He was an accident, the product of a one-night stand between the gifted young lawyer Glib and the wild, unpredictable Biker Mouse Howitzer VanWham. They were forced into marriage for
Vinnie’s sake, one that would ultimately end in divorce before Vinnie was three years old.Because Glib didn’t want the burden of motherhood (her career had always come first, and it always would), Vinnie was raised by Howitzer. The usually outrageous Howitzer, already in his mid-40’s (which is actually young for Martian Mice, who live, on average, to be 150 years old), was suprisingly gentle with his young son. Whenever possible, he participated in ultra-violent Rock N’ Roll racing (a sport in which his son would carve out a name for himself as well), but his primary concern in life was raising Vinnie, which he did with amazing skill. Howitzer was Vinnie’s hero, and the little mouse (who looked remarkably like his father) wanted to be just like him when he grew up. When Vinnie started to show an interest in motorcycles, Howitzer encouraged it by taking him to his own races and letting him ride with him during the slighlty less dangerous ones (the bike later became Vinnie's, and is the one he rides presently). Perhaps Howitzer was insane, as his psychological profiles said, but he was also insanely attatched to his little boy.
Kinda gets ya right here, doesn't it?
Tragically, Howitzer died under “unusual” circumstances one night when Vinnie was just seven years old. With no other blood relatives or a guardian named, he was forced to return to his mother’s care in Hellfire.
Not a good thing. Glib didn’t want to be a mother when Vinnie was born, and, with her career finally starting to take off, she didn’t want to start now. She had enjoyed her arrangement with Howitzer and rarely visited her son during the four years they were seperated. Now, the son she didn't want was forced upon her 24/7. Having to care for Vinnie irked Glib to no end.And Glib, like her son, was cursed with a remarkably short fuse. Vinnie reminded her too much of Howitzer, and whenever he would act out or disobey his mother, he was punished and punished severely in ways that would make a social worker in the worst part of the Bronx cringe. If there was a Frequent Flier program at Hellfire General Hospital....well, you get the idea.
If they had been together constantly, Vinnie might very well have died before he reached puberty. But fortunately, Glib was more than happy to let Vinnie hang out with his bros--most times, which kept him out of the range of her fists, and helped keep him from spiralling into an abysmal depression (not to mention keeping his self-esteem high, another problem which could’ve resulted from the abuse. Then again, given Vinnie's ego, it looks as if this may have been overkill). Also, Throttle’s mother, Jewel, offered to babysit even when Glib was home, which helped to keep him out of harm’s way.
After joining the Freedom Fighters, Vinnie met his second love (discounting himself)--Harley, the Freedom Fighter’s ace mechanic and often-times medic. The sweet-potato pudding-haired mouse won Vinnie’s heart the second he saw her.
The only problem was the fact that her heart had be won by Stoker, leader of the Freedom Fighters and Vinnie’s rival in just about everything (ego, romance, etc.). It was only after the destruction of the Plutarkian Tug Transformer that she realized the depths of her feelings for him and vice-versa (and Stoker realized that Harley and Vinnie were better suited than himself and Harley). Unfortunately, as mentioned about a billion times so far in these bios, Harley was kidnapped by Mace just after they (Harley and Vinnie) walked off together arm-in-arm. This event could have set the stage for a three-part arc next season--Vinnie’s ongoing quest to find Harley and/or kill Mace, and what would happen between himself and Charley when she was found--if there had been a next season. More tragic than anything that actually happened in the series, the show was canceled (Damn you Power Rangers to Hell! You die! You go to Hell and you die!).
Vinnie has a curious habit of falling for spunky, independent girls who are mechanics and have the word, “harley” in their name. His first major crush was on the pumpkin-furred Martian mechanic Harley, as mentioned above.
And of course, he is obviously attracted to Charley Davidson, the human mechanic the Biker Mice met in Chicago, although he seems somewhat less than romantic. What will result of this infatuation is presently unknown (although Tom Tataranowicz, the show's producer, hinted that they would be doing the wild thing sometime in the next season, so I guess we can assume the relationship would progress).On the topic of relationships: like most men, Vinnie becomes almost insanely jealous when anyone makes a move toward a girl he has clearly staked out as “his.” Whether it’s a smitten gigantic Greasepit, Charley’s ex-boyfriend and longtime pal “Asphalt” Jack McCyber, or Vinnie's longtime rival, Stoker, everyone's favorite white-furred badboy can get downright nasty when he perceives a threat to his present love.
Speaking of Stoker, that brings up an interesting fact--the aging former leader of the Freedom Fighters and Vinnie are practically identical in terms of their personalities.
Both are loud, boisterous show-offs with huge egos. They both chase the same girls (again, girls with "harley" in their names). They both “AOOOOW!”, even. Stoker’s just older and has better hair (and a little wiser). It causes no small amount of friction between the two mice--in “Caveat Mentor”, Vinnie can barely stand the older mouse’s
presence, especially since Stoker still considers Vinnie a kid and seems to be puttin' the moves on Charley. Quite simply, they’re too alike. It's like opposite magnetic poles. But although Vinnie would never admit it, he secretly idolizes Stoker. He's not unlike Howitzer in most aspects, and, in his day, Stoker was the greatest Biker Mouse who every lived.Vinnie’s signature weaopns are a set of small flares he wears on his bandlleroes. Originally created by Harley, they expand several inches when needed (and there’s absolutely nothing Fruedian about that!), igniting into flames hot enough to melt a gun from the inside (“Once Upon a Time On Mars Part One”, "Biker Knights of the Round Table Part One").
Heroes: Howitzer VanWham, Stoker (though he won’t admit it), Jimmy (Jamespolychronopolus), Craig Kilbourne, Ian Ziering
Advice: “Worship me.”
Quotes: “Impending catastrophe. That’s why I love it!”
Animation Voice: 90210’s Ian Ziering, whose character, Steve Something-Or-Other, is as egotistical as Vinnie but without the warmth.
