Sideswipe (Animated)

Sideswipe is an Autobot from the Animated continuity family.

In Animated, G2 came early.

Sideswipe is a senior investigator for Cybertron Police Defense Command in Iacon Central. He's been on the force for 30,000 stellar cycles and has all the accumulated experience that implies. Though he's a rough, jaded old-timer who's seen it all, somewhere deep inside his spark are the remnants of the idealistic, impulsive, loose-cannon youth he was long, long ago. He's hardest on those who share these lost qualities, but only because they remind him of himself.

For some reason, he's really, really hard on Cheetor.

Fiction

Animated cartoon continuity

Voice actor: Neil Ross (BotCon 2011), John Moschitta (BotCon 2015)

Sideswipe spotted an enemy ship during the Great War. Good job! The AllSpark Almanac II Then Natasha Pyraniac did some time-travel stuff and changed the timeline, somehow changing Sideswipe's history. In the revised timeline, Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/28 he got captured during the Great War. The Complete AllSpark Almanac

Despite the planet-wide jubilations over the capture of Megatron, Sideswipe was unmoved both by the Decepticons' defeat and the return of the AllSpark to Cybertron. To him, it was all another day at the office. He simply looked forward to closing his last case before he could retire to a nice, quiet life on an energon farm.

Sideswipe and his partner Cheetor were investigating how the low-life Rattletrap had obtained a replica of Optimus Prime's energy-axe, and after aggressively confronting the peddler, learned that he had "borrowed" it from The Motor Master's stunt convoy. The pair sat in on the Stunti-Cons' rehearsal, returning the axe to Toxitron when the moment called for it. Sideswipe and Cheetor then took advantage of the situation to check backstage for any illegal modifications the group was rumored to be hiding, but only found harmless stage effects and props. Sentinel Magnus was less than pleased about the two cops searching the premises without a warrant, and had the pair expelled. Sideswipe's suspicions had nonetheless been piqued by the encounter, and he decided to run a background check on the "Autobot actors" in the convoy, only to find that there were no records on the group whatsoever. His investigation was interrupted when he and Cheetor learned that there had been a break-in at Ironfist's workshop. The two cops were dispatched to look into it.

Cheetor caught Toxitron attempting to sneak away from the scene, and apprehended the perp, though Sideswipe reprimanded him for his rash and dangerous methods. Sideswipe then attempted to interrogate Toxitron, but Toxitron's backwards-talk only left Sideswipe confused about the whole matter. Unable to make criminal charges stick, Sideswipe was forced to release Toxitron from custody. While filling out the paperwork over the incident, Sideswipe figured out that the Stunti-Cons were planning on breaking Megatron out of the nearby Trypticon Prison, killing their captive audience in the process. Sideswipe and Cheetor charged in as the show was already underway, but found themselves being overpowered when everyone believe it all to be part of the show. Optimus thankfully came to their rescue, having divined on his own the Stunti-cons' plans. The Motor Master managed to take Sideswipe hostage in the confusion, and threatened to off both the copper-bot and the audience if his demands were not met. Sideswipe was able to turn the tables on the Motor Master using Optimus's axe and saved the day, announcing to his baffled partner that no one would be getting in between him and his retirement. The Stunti-Con Job

At some point, Sideswipe and Cheetor were walking through the streets of Iacon when Sari, Arcee, and Blurr sped past them at super-sonic speeds. The Return of Blurr

A while later, Sideswipe was laying back and enjoying his retirement, when he noticed what seemed at first to be a meteor shower... but turned out to be more Decepticons heading planet-side! The Stunti-Con Job

I want to tell you about the Transformers! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their fictional appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. "The Stunti-Con Job" script reading

Toys

Timelines

Considering their ages, Rodimus is biting Sideswipe's style, not vice versa!

• Sideswipe and Toxitron (Souvenir set, 2011)

• Accessories: Crossbow/missile launcher, 2 missiles

Animated Sideswipe is a redeco of Breakdown (itself a redeco and new-head retooling of Deluxe Class Animated Rodimus Minor), transforming into a futuristic sports car. Sideswipe's colors are an homage to the Generation 2 version of Generation 1 Sideswipe: the design on his doors is even "SS" in Cybertronix, with the second "S" flipped around to make it more visually appealing. A panel on the car's hood, which is also the figure's chest, can be flipped to either show an engine block or the figure's Autobot insignia. The figure comes with a spring-loaded missile-launching double crossbow. His bow can be tabbed to the roof of his car mode or snapped on his hand. The tabs that secure his bow in vehicle mode are 5mm wide, making it usable by other figures as well.

Sideswipe was available only at BotCon 2011, sold in an at-show "souvenir set" with Toxitron, limited to 1500 pieces.

The original version of the mold was redecoed into Black Rodimus.

• More information on Sideswipe at TFU.info

Notes

Puberty is an awkward time for many youngsters.

• Sideswipe is seen in the "The Great War" boardgame in the Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II. If an Autobot player lands on his spot, they get 1000 Victory Points.
• Like a lot of the random incidentals in The AllSpark Almanac II, Sideswipe's first head was designed by Bill Forster.
• The bag Souvenir Set #1 comes in (though not the instructions nor Tech Specs) refer to the figure as Sideswiper.
• Afterburn was originally advertised as the Animated version of Sideswipe. But by the time the Titan Books comic featuring the character came out, the name had been changed. The reason for this has never been officially stated, but aside from the overwhelmingly negative fan reaction, it's very likely Hasbro intervened; after all, they wouldn't allow Cliffjumper even to be framed as a traitor.^[1]
• This is the second year in a row that a BotCon-exclusive Sideswipe has shared a mold with a Breakdown from the year's box set.
• Initial proposals for BotCon 2011 had Animated Sideswipe having a Shattered Glass Sideswipe-inspired deco instead of a Generation 2 Sideswipe-inspired deco.^[2][3]
• The AllSpark Almanac Addendum revealed that Sideswipe did indeed once have a colour scheme more akin to Generation 1 Sideswipe's original deco; he simply changed his paint job later in life.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Sideswipe (サイドスワイプ Saidosuwaipu)

References

1. ↑ TFW2005.com interview with Marty Isenberg
2. ↑ BotCon 2014 attendee report by griffin
3. ↑ "Thousands of toys for sale, Artists, Rare items, Cosplay,Panels, Kid themed activities,Raffles & more! Check out this sneak peek! https://t.co/qgaEFjmVJI"—Pete's Robo Con, Twitter, 2017/05/30