Side Swipe (Armada)

Side Swipe is an Autobot from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Dork.

Side Swipe is a young, immature Autobot soldier with plenty of learning to do. He quickly grows emotionally attached to his commanders, and doesn't think before he leaps. His comrades understandably see him as a liability, and don't particularly look forward to having to work with him, but Optimus Prime sees potential in the fledgling warrior. To this end, he's supported Side Swipe's partnership with Hot Shot, thinking that by having the two work together, their respective flaws can be tempered. He understands that it will take some time, but his hope is that the young bot's raw potential can eventually lead to him becoming a great Autobot.

Despite being a youngster, Side Swipe is a talented code breaker who has deciphered many Decepticon transmissions. On top of this, he has a respectable amount of speed and endurance, but only possesses average strength.

His Mini-Con partner is Nightbeat, who encourages Side Swipe's impulsivity and rashness.

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

Voice actor: Sam Vincent (English), Nobuyuki Kobushi (Japanese), Andreas Borcherding (German), Kustaa Kantelinen (Finnish), Jorge Saudinós (Castilian Spanish), Héctor Indriago (Latin-American Spanish), Leonardo Martins (Brazilian Portuguese), Tae-guk Um (Korean)

One of Optimus Prime's elite!

Having once been saved from a hanging rope trap by Blurr's marksmanship on Cybertron, he got himself transferred to Earth to join him upon finding out where he had gone. Blurr managed to pawn him off on Hot Shot, and the two went out for a little training.

My butt is on fire!

Unfortunately, at the same time, Hot Shot's protege Wheeljack arrived on Earth, intent on doing horrible things to Hot Shot. Side Swipe crossed paths with Wheeljack, immediately leapt to his new awesome commander's defense, and failed. Past He later tried this again, only this time Wheeljack captured him and chained him up somewhere in an abandoned oil refinery. The battle between Hot Shot and Wheeljack set the place ablaze, re-setting the scene where Wheeljack thought Hot Shot left him to die back on Cybertron centuries ago. Side Swipe blubbered a lot, thinking he was gonna die, but Hot Shot saved him. Back at the base, Side Swipe tried to give his commander a great big hug for saving his life. From then on, he called Hot Shot "Bro". Past II

Side Swipe was among the Autobots deployed to fight Starscream and Tidal Wave when they attacked a rain forest. However, they learned too late that Megatron had shifted strategies halfway through the battle, and had taken advantage of the Autobots' absence to infiltrate their base. The Autobots warped back, finding the place completely trashed and the children tucked away in an air vent. Side Swipe was tasked with guarding the kids while the rest of the group rushed to Smokescreen, who had been left behind to guard the Mini-Cons. They were too late to come to his aid, and Smokescreen was seemingly killed while Megatron retreated, Requiem Blaster in hand. Side Swipe was amongst those who saluted their fallen friend after he collapsed in Prime's arms. Sacrifice But Smokescreen clung on to life, if just barely. Red Alert took him to the Autobots' repair bay, and begun repairs. Hot Shot quickly grew restless, and had Side Swipe come with him to spar instead of standing around, watching Red Alert at his task. When a proximity alarm sounded, Hot Shot had Side Swipe come along with him to deal with the Decepticons, without waiting for the other Autobots. They came across Starscream, who had just defected, being chased down by Tidal Wave. Eager to avenge Smokescreen, Hot Shot took on the bigger of the two Decepticons while Side Swipe was tasked with tackling Starscream. They were in over their heads until Jet Optimus joined in and received the Star Saber, handed over willingly by Starscream. Starscream was taken back to Autobot headquarters, and the Autobots agreed to take him into their ranks. Smokescreen then returned to active duty, having been rebuilt into a new body. The Autobots used data provided by Starscream, and decoded by Side Swipe, to opened a warp gate to the Moon Regeneration and stormed the Decepticon camp. The attack on the Decepticon moonbase begun with the Autobots besieging Megatron's throne room. Side Swipe, eager to prove his mettle, rushed Tidal Wave. When his attacks proved completely ineffective against the titan, Scavenger suggested Side Swipe pick on someone more his size. The battle then spread throughout the Decepticons' base, until the Decepticon-held Mini-Cons were located. Side Swipe was tasked with overlooking the Mini-Cons' evacuation back to the Autobots' headquarters, so they would warp there in an orderly fashion. He and the rest of the Autobots followed them shortly afterwards. Rescue

A new Mini-Con was detected on Mars, and since Starscream and Jetfire were the only two flight-capable Autobots, Side Swipe and the rest of the team stayed behind while the pair traveled off-world. Jetfire and Starscream did not get along, however, and before they could find the object of their quest, Jetfire decided to cuff Starscream and bring him back to base for insubordination. Though Side Swipe disagreed with Jetfire's decision, thinking finding the Mini-Con was more important, Optimus backed up his second-in-command. Mars

Side Swipe helped the Autobots in the construction of a spaceship. The ship was in the final stages of construction when Billy and Fred reported that they had seen Starscream "chase off" Thrust after the Decepticon had asked him to steal the Skyboom Shield. As it turns out, Dirt Boss, Downshift, and Mirage were nowhere to be found just then. Accusations that Starscream had complied with Thrust's request were thrown around, but the conversation was cut short when the Decepticons attacked. Side Swipe drove out to meet them, but while he fought, Starscream snatched away the Skyboom Shield (having been found during the battle) and the Star Saber, and returned to the Decepticons' side. Crack

The Autobots were thrown in emotional turmoil over Starscream's betrayal. Eager to go back on the offensive, both Jetfire and Hot Shot enlisted Side Swipe's help. Jetfire had Side Swipe try and hack the Decepticons' warp gate, but the Decepticons had secured their teleportation system since the Autobots' last attack. Hot Shot had Side Swipe work tirelessly alongside him towards completing the Autobots' ship. But before it was space-worthy, the Decepticons displayed the awesome might of their newly completed Hydra Cannon. Side Swipe and the others could do little more than stare as the super-weapon destroyed a nearby comet... and then turned its sights towards the Earth! Threaten As the Autobots scrambled to come up with a plan to deal with the situation at hand, Side Swipe professed that despite his short time on the planet, he had already grown to love the Earth dearly. Afterwards, Side Swipe was only able to watch from afar as Optimus gave up his life to block the Hydra Cannon's destructive power from reaching the Earth. Crisis Hot Shot took this particularly hard, and his outbursts threatened to tear apart the already strained Autobot team. Scavenger took it upon himself to knock some sense into him through some aggressive therapy while the others watched from afar. Hot Shot fled, but was intercepted by Side Swipe, who gave him a long pep talk. Though it took the Mini-Cons stepping in, Hot Shot was eventually made to come to terms with the reality of the Autobots' situation, and took on command of the team. With their morale renewed, the Autobots redoubled their efforts to finish the Axalon. Remorse Side Swipe watched confusedly as the Mini-Cons protested Hot Shot's decision to leave the children behind while the Autobots pursued the Decepticons. Hot Shot eventually relented, and the Autobots, Mini-Cons, and children all boarded the newly completed Axalon and begun their journey to Cybertron. Depart

Side Swipe manned the radar on the Autobots' ship, and noticed several bogies headed towards the Axalon. Turns out it was more Mini-Cons, come to join the fight against the Decepticons. As the Autobots and their new companions passed through an asteroid field, the Decepticons, having turned their own ship around, attacked them. In the battle that followed, Side Swipe rescued Scavenger from Megatron, only to be blown away by a shot of the Requiem Blaster. Megatron was in turn repelled by Optimus, recently revived out of the Matrix by the Mini-Cons. Miracle No sooner had the Autobots welcomed their leader back than their ship was caught by the pull of a worm hole. Side Swipe tried to intervene when Hot Shot and Red Alert were sucked into it, though Optimus stopped him, for fear that Side Swipe might be lost into the space anomaly as well. The Autobots followed Red Alert's signal to a dead planet, where they were menaced by a twisted clone of Optimus named Nemesis Prime. While Side Swipe stayed on the Axalon with most of the Autobots, Prime ended his dark doppelgänger's threat. Puppet

Both factions returned to Cybertron, and during the first battle back on their homeworld, Red Alert and Side Swipe remained aboard the Axalon to protect the kids and Mini-Cons. Side Swipe launched the Overload weapons system to Optimus at his leader's request to aid him in battling Galvatron (formerly Megatron). Uprising

Side Swipe and the rest of Optimus's crew were forced to remain in orbit on the Axalon while Jetfire scouted Cybertron's surface for a safe landing zone. Side Swipe complained about the lull before battle, feeling restless without something physical to do. The Axalon then received a transmission from Jetfire, pointing them towards a region where they could set themselves down. Thanks to the Mini-Cons providing them cover with illusory copies of their ship, the Autobots managed to bypass the Decepticons' defenses and make planetfall. Optimus then ordered Jetfire and Side Swipe to head an Autobot evacuation of Cybertron in preparation for Unicron's assault. Dash The evacuation was slow-going, unfortunately. Though Side Swipe reported on the difficulties he was having at convincing long-entrenched troops to forfeit their positions, Optimus told him to keep at it. Drift

The Autobots put in action a plan to force Galvatron into a situation where Optimus would have the opportunity to reason with him. Side Swipe and the other Autobots forestalled the Decepticons while Optimus drew their leader away from the battleground. The Autobots' and Decepticons' firefight was interrupted by an energy discharge from Unicron, and soon thereafter Galvatron was swayed by Starscream's death to unite his forces with Optimus's. Cramp After a formal alliance between Autobots and Decepticons was formed, Side Swipe was part of a unified team sent to Unicron's surface. However, once the team arrived, the Decepticons abandoned Side Swipe and the other Autobots. Later, Demolishor made up for this by begrudgingly catching Side Swipe before could fall to his doom. Their mission was nonetheless botched, and the scouting party had to be rescued by Jet Prime and Galvatron. Alliance Determining their best plan of attack laid in attacking Unicron from within, Galvatron had Side Swipe contact the Decepticon armada, and ordered them to follow Hot Shot's command while the two factions' leaders infiltrated Unicron's body. Under Hot Shot's command, Side Swipe also moved the Axalon between Unicron and Cybertron, and used its force-field to block one of the dark god's plasma beams before bailing out. He and the rest of the troops then kept Unicron occupied with their ships, in the hopes of further forestalling Cybertron's annihilation. Union Side Swipe was part of a squad that managed to blast through Unicron's throat, bombing the titan as they made their way back out through his mouth. Unfortunately, their effort proved fruitless, as Unicron was able to regenerate his wounds near-instantly. Origin

Thankfully, the team inside of Unicron succeeded in retrieving the Mini-Con weapons, de-powering the Chaos Bringer. The Transformers then scrambled to eliminate Unicron before he recovered, but this proved unnecessary; once Galvatron sacrificed himself, there was no longer enough hatred in the universe to sustain Unicron, and he vanished from existence. The Transformers' war now at an end, Side Swipe and his fellow Cybertronians stood united as a race, and begun rebuilding their war-torn planet. Mortal Combat

Cloud

While looking through the South American jungle for a Mini-Con, Side Swipe, Hot Shot, and Scavenger came across Starscream, who was soon joined by Cyclonus and Demolishor. Return

Transformers Legends anthology

As the Decepticons unleashed the might of the Hydra Cannon towards the Earth, Side Swipe and Jetfire left their posts to watch on in horror as the blast approached via the Autobot base's view screen. Thankfully, Optimus had already left to thwart the energies of the weapon with those of his Matrix. Prime Spark

Dreamwave Armada comic

Sideswipe was part of Jetfire's Autobot unit, stationed at the Autobase on Cybertron. While Optimus's team dealt with Megatron on Earth, Side Swipe and the others still on Cybertron continued to fight back against the Decepticon presence there, though even at the best of times they didn't fare too well. Armada #10

Side Swipe was present when Hot Shot contacted Jetfire to ask for assistance in locating the missing Optimus Prime. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4 Seeking to discover the cause of the multiple space bridge events opening at the Decepticon Command HQ, Jetfire led a team that included Side Swipe, Blurr, Rhinox, Overload, and Dropshot into the heart of the enemy stronghold, only to find dead bodies and a ruined base. They soon discovered the perpetrator when a mysterious, sword-wielding creature attacked them. Sideswipe was almost cut down when he sought cover amongst the dead Decepticon bodies, but survived to participate in Jetfire's plan to blind the creature and destroy its outer shell. Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4 As more enemies arrived, Jetfire ordered his troops to retreat while he stayed behind to activate the base's self-destruct sequence. Side Swipe refused at first, but eventually followed orders and made himself scarce. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4

Side Swipe was present when Unicron attacked Cybertron, and despite being in pain only from hearing the Chaos Bringer speak, he followed Optimus Prime's order to launch the planetary defenses. He survived the battle, and was seen among the crowds that cheered after Unicron's defeat. The End

Games

3D Battle-Card Game

Sideswipe was one of Optimus Primal's many allies in a fight against Megatron's own army, in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. Energon Wars Expansion Set

Transformers: Battle Tactics

My pistol and dagger is now a blaster and sword!

Side Swipe Armada participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Epic character who was available as a reward to 50 leagues in the "Armada Episode V: Requiem" event Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

Armada

I come back every year with a different name and a different shade of blue. The fandom hates me and I hate 'em right back! (Hasbro version pictured)

(Takara version pictured)

• Side Swipe (Super-Con, 2003)

• Takara name: Stepper
• Takara ID number: MC-10
• Takara release date: August 14, 2003
• Accessories: Pistol, bayonet

Part fo the fourth wave of Armada Super-Cons, Side Swipe transforms into a mix between a Nissan Skyline R32 Sedan and a Nissan Silvia S13. He is packaged with Mini-Con motorcycle Nightbeat, who can store in a flip-out section of the back end of Side Swipe's vehicle mode. This flip-out portion is part of Sideswipe's "third" mode, a kind of dragster or "pursuit" mode; Nightbeat acts as a rocket booster, while pressing the Autobot symbol on Side Swipe's hood causes the whole front of his car form to split in two and spring forward, extending the length of his vehicle mode. His instructions aren't very clear on how to activate this; they suggest you remove Nightbeat, and... just press him down on the symbol, though there's no Mini-Con port there and one isn't necessary to trigger the gimmick.

In robot mode, the two halves of Side Swipe's hood become his arms. Hasbro stock photography and the figure's instructions show the spring-loaded hood-halves deployed in robot mode, when they should be folded up; you can sort of use them as a spring-loaded "power punch" action, but the tabs that activate them are tiny, not designed to be gripped, and the gimmick doesn't appear intended to be used in that manner. Attaching Nightbeat (or any other Mini-Con mold) to the Powerlinx plug on his back and pulling down activates an actual "punching" action gimmick in Sideswipe's right arm, swinging it up at the shoulder. Sideswipe is armed with a small gun and bayonet, each of which he can hold separately via their 5 mm post handles, or which can be combined together via 4 mm pegs and posts on the side of the weapons. These two weapons store inside his doors in vehicle mode using the 4 mm posts.

The Takara Legend of the Microns release of "Stepper" has a few subtle deco differences: much more of his helmet is painted black, he has a much lighter blue visor, and silver painted headlights instead of yellow.

Early releases of Side Swipe spelled his name as "Sideswipe" on the packaging and instructions; this was changed to "Side Swipe" for the Unicron Battles subline imprint packaging variant.

A slightly retooled version of this mold was used to make Universe Oil Slick and Treadshot, and a more heavily retooled version was used for Cybertron Runamuck.

• More information on Side Swipe at TFU.info

Merchandise

3D Battle-Card Game

• Side Swipe (2007)

A 24-point "common" character in the 3D Battle-Card Game's "Energon Wars" expansion, Side Swipe "transforms" into a blue sports car of indeterminate make. He uses the same parts layout as "Classic" Bumblebee and Blackjack.

Notes

• Aaron Archer, posting as "Orson", once gave signs that "Nightbeat" was actually meant to be Side Swipe's name and somehow had gotten swapped to his Mini-Con. He mentioned trying to get this corrected, but it never surfaced.

As if anyone wants another one of these.

• Even though the toy's name was originally spelled "Sideswipe" on the packaging and in the instructions, Hasbro had been using the name "Side Swipe" on toys from previous lines after they had successfully reclaimed it from another company that had been holding the trademark in the "toys" field during the 1990s. Curiously, while the Armada toy's name was initially rendered "Sideswipe" on the packaging name insert, the tech spec card, the back of the packaging and the instructions,^[1] the redesigned "Unicron Battles"-style packaging had it spelled "Side Swipe" both on the back of the packaging and on the name insert (but still as "Sideswipe" on the tech spec card).^[2]
• Pre-release samples of Side Swipe had a lightning deco on the sides of the vehicle mode which was not included on the final version sold in stores.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Stepper (ステッパー Suteppā)^[3]
• Hungarian: Sűrű ("Dense")
• Korean: Smash (스매쉬 Seumaeswi)
• Russian: Uppercut (STS dub, Апперкот Apperkot)

References