We have encountered a number of Autobots in the Transformers franchise who have proven to be a match for the Decepticons on all fronts. However, one Autobot carries a serious grudge against a Decepticon, and his war of vengeance results in the deaths of numerous civilians. The Transformers franchise’s Sideswipe is an underestimated Autobot who goes by the name of Sideswipe.
Both the animated TV series and the film series feature him, although his character is rarely given the attention he merits. Strong and equipped with retractable twin swords, Sideswipe is an Autobot who becomes evil when the boundary between right and wrong is crossed. What makes him so strong, and who is his sworn enemy? We will address all of your inquiries as we thoroughly examine Sideswipe in this video. So let us watch the video now without further ado.
Sideswipe Generation 1 Origins
The American animated television series The Transformers, also known as Transformers: Generation One, is where Sideswipe first appeared in the Transformers franchise. The show, which ran in syndication for the first time from 1984 to 1987, was created by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with the Japanese animation studio Toei Animation.
Michael Bell, who is also renowned for lending his voice to Duke in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, provides Sideswipe’s voice in the American versions of seasons 1 and 2. Additionally, Kiki Kataoka provides his voice in the Japanese version. On the planet of Cybertron, Sideswipe’s tale began with the other Autobots. Their sworn foes, the Decepticons, waged war with them for years, depleting the planet’s resources dramatically and making survival more challenging.
So, the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, decided to leave Cybertron with a crew in order to look for new sources of energy that would help the Autobots. But the Decepticons were not going to let them leave that easily. So, they decided to follow them in space in the Decepticon cruiser. Soon, when the Autobots were in space in the Autobot spaceship known as the Ark, they got attacked by the Decepticons.
As a result, the Ark and the Decepticon cruiser suffered severe damage, and both the space ships crashed on Earth. Sideswipe was also a part of the original crew that was on the Ark, which now lies half buried inside a mountain. Now, 4 million years have passed as Earth has evolved without any discovery of the Ark.
In the year 1984, due to volcanic activity in the mountain that housed the Ark, the internal mechanical systems of the Ark were restored, which awakened Teletraan one, the computer system on the Ark. The Teletraan one then reactivated the Autobots as well as the Decepticons, and the Transformers came back to life. Sideswipe was also revived along with his twin brother, who is known as Sunstreaker.
After awakening, both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker transformed into their alternate non-humanoid forms of Lamborghini sports cars. Sideswipe turned into a red Lamborghini Countach, and Sunstreaker transformed into a yellow Lamborghini Countach. Soon after, in the many battles between the Autobots and the Decepticons, Sideswipe often worked alongside Sunstreaker to defeat the Decepticons and stop them from destroying the Earth.
The Decepticons had managed to build a new star cruiser through which they were planning to flee from Earth with all the Energon they stole. Energon is the primary substance and fundamental component that is used by all Cybertronians for medicine, food, and their physiological and biological functioning. Sideswipe transformed into his robot form and surrounded the space cruiser of the Decepticons with other Autobots to fight them. However, the Decepticons still managed to lift off into the sky.
But Optimus Prime was not ready to give up just yet. Sideswipe had a back-mounted thruster system known as the rocket pack in his robot mode. So, Optimus Prime ordered Sideswipe to give up his rocket pack so that Optimus could pursue the Decepticons himself. However, even this attempt failed since the speed of the rocket pack was no match for the velocity of the space cruiser, and Optimus fell back to Earth.
Soon after, we find out that another Autobot known as Mirage has used his cloaking ability to sneak into the Decepticon space cruiser. When the Decepticons were fighting among themselves, Mirage found the right opportunity and blasted the controls of the spaceship. This led to the space cruiser crashing into the ocean. Later on, in the episode titled “Roll for it,” the Decepticons manage to power themselves using the antimatter Energon Cubes.
Then, they attack the headquarters of the Autobots, the Ark. The Autobots engage in a fierce battle with the Decepticons, and Sideswipe thrusts into the air along with his brother, Sunstreaker, in order to fight the incoming seeker jets. Sideswipe also displays the art of judoing jets, through which he jumps on top of another Transformer in the air using his alternate jet mode.
Sideswipe also played a significant role in preventing the malicious schemes of the Combaticons, who are a group of ruthless Decepticon soldiers. The Combaticons had planned to push the Earth towards the sun. As a result, Sideswipe, along with the other Autobots, decided to join forces with the Decepticons and fly to Cybertron to stop and destroy the Combaticons. Eventually, Sideswipe was able to undo the plans of the Combaticons and restore Earth to its original orbit, thereby rescuing the planet.
Michael Bay Movies Origin As Shown In The IDW Comics
In the IDW movie comics, Sideswipe makes his first appearance in the comic Transformers: Alliance issue number #4, but his origin story is explored in another comic book. We get to know more about Sideswipe’s character as he is spotlighted in a six-part comic series which is known as Transformers: Tales of the Fallen. In this series, the stories of six different transformers are explored who appeared in the Revenge of the Fallen arc. These transformers are Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Jetfire, The Fallen, Arcee, and Ravage. We witness Sideswipe’s story in Tales of the Fallen issue number #2.
During the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, a younger generation of transformers was created. Among them was Sideswipe, who was created with the sole purpose of killing and had all the knowledge of the battlefield in Cybertron. He was incredibly fast, sleek, and equipped with all kinds of deadly weapons, like blades, guns, and missile launchers. So, now that Sideswipe was a part of the Autobots, someone had to train him in order to turn him into an asset.
This responsibility was taken up by Ironhide, who is the weapons specialist and Optimus Prime’s second in command. He trained Sideswipe in the arts of war and how to fight, defend, and attack. Basically, he made Sideswipe into the warrior that he is today. Now, after Sideswipe completed his training, he went on to become the defender and protector of a colony of displaced Autobots.
But soon after, Sideswipe suffered the greatest tragedy of his life. His colony was found by a Decepticon known as Demolishor, who butchered all the Autobots in the colony except for Sideswipe. Sideswipe felt mortified, not just for failing to defend his colony but also for being the only one who survived, and now had to live with that guilt. After some time, Optimus Prime sent out a beacon to call the Autobots to Earth.
Sideswipe was one of the few Autobots who responded to the beacon and came to the planet via the Xantium, the Wreckers ship. But as it turns out, Sideswipe had not come to Earth to train in order to defend their new home. He was in pursuit of Demolishor, who was spotted in Montevideo, Uruguay. So, Sideswipe went rogue, and instead of going to the Diego Garcia Base like the other Autobots, he chased after Demolishor in order to take his revenge for destroying his colony.
He showed no concern for the lives of human beings or his surroundings and went on a path of destruction that caused a lot of damage. So, at the Diego Garcia Base, when Optimus Prime received word of this situation, he decided to deal with Sideswipe in his own way by going after him. He asked Major Lennox to gather his forces while Optimus assembled his own team of Autobots. Optimus knew that if Sideswipe refused to back down, he would have to take him out for good because Sideswipe was turning into a threat.
But soon, Ironhide intervened and asked Optimus to give him a chance to get through to Sideswipe and bring him back in line since Ironhide was the one who trained him. He still believed that Sideswipe could be an asset for the Autobots because no one knows Sideswipe better than him. Now, while following Demolishor, Sideswipe had arrived at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires. That is when Ironhide confronted him.
Sideswipe and Demolishor engage in a battle, and Ironhide orders Sideswipe to stop, but he completely disobeys him and calls him an old timer. Despite the disrespect, Ironhide tries to tell Sideswipe that waiting for reinforcements would be the best thing to do. But Sideswipe responds by saying, “Maybe in your playbook. You taught me well, Ironhide, and I am grateful, but you have become prudent and conventional. I have grown beyond you, left you behind.”
As Sideswipe continues to battle Demolishor, the nearby civilians are being harmed, but Sideswipe does not seem to care. He decides to make Demolishor mad so that it would lead to him being vulnerable, and Sideswipe would be able to launch a deadly blow. However, Demolishor heads toward the city of Buenos Aires because he wants to cause more destruction and provokes Sideswipe into following him.
Ironhide again tries to stop him by informing him that Demolishor is clearly trying to manipulate him, but Sideswipe is also ready to fight Ironhide if he does not get out of his way. Sideswipe does not stop even when Ironhide tells him that if he continues in his pursuit, he will become the enemy as well. Demolishor creates chaos and destruction in the city, and while the other Autobots try to draw him out of the city, Sideswipe wants to take him down anywhere, and anyhow.
Ironhide is left to damage control as Sideswipe attacks Demolishor in the middle of the city, surrounded by civilians. Sideswipe believes in his powers and thinks that he is faster, more agile, and more innovative than Demolishor, so he decides to go all out and launch a missile. Eventually, more Autobot reinforcements came, including Optimus Prime, and Demolishor realized that he was outnumbered. So, he chose to flee the scene and promised Sideswipe that their battle would continue another time.
When Sideswipe finally noticed the damage and wreckage he had caused, he understood that Ironhide was right and there were still lessons that he needed to learn. He had stepped over a line, as a result of which he had become the enemy in the eyes of human beings due to his violent actions.
What Makes Him a Powerful Autobot?
The most popular and powerful weapon that Sideswipe uses is his retractable arm mounted with twin Cybertanium swords. In the Transformers Cinematic Universe, it is also revealed that he is an expert in the field of martial art and is skilled in practically every style of martial arts on Cybertron. Sideswipe also has several in-built weapons that make him one of the most potent Autobots in Transformers.
He has access to double-barreled shotguns, and double-barreled hand rocket launchers, which are mounted on his hands when he is in the robot form. Sideswipe also has some very deadly machine guns. In the movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, we also see Sideswipe using missile launchers in a separate third mode, which is known as Stealth Force.
This mode allows Sideswipe to have access to his firearms and weapons when he is still in the vehicle form. It happens through a partial transformation as he is able to retain some of his robotic parts while also having complete access and control over his vehicle form. His weaponry and equipment are also more lethal in the Stealth Force mode. Some of his other weapons also include Bazooka Tubes and Battle Blades.
He is also seen using back guns in a battle with Sideways, a Decepticon. While in the Transformers animated TV series, the character of Sideswipe transforms into a red Lamborghini Countach, in the movies, his alternate non-humanoid forms are different. In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, he transforms into a Chevrolet corvette stingray concept, and for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, his alternate vehicle mode was changed to a Chevrolet centennial corvette convertible.
Sideswipe also has two feet that are wheels, and he is armed with pure Cybertanium blades. His concept art also changed from the red version in the animated TV series to silver in the films. This was primarily because the director, Michael Bay, believed that red did not actually photograph well on film.
Sideswipe is a fierce Autobot who always stays true to his inner emotions. When he had to take revenge against his enemy, he pursued it with all his might but forgot the lessons that he was taught. It is evident in his character that Sideswipe also has the capability to turn to the wrong side and become an enemy because he allows his vendetta to get the better of him. Despite that, as a fighter, warrior, and combat specialist, Sideswipe has the skills and dedication that make him one of the most potent Autobots in the Transformers franchise.
Well, guys, that is all for today; we hope you enjoyed watching this video as much as we enjoyed making it for you. Have a fantastic day ahead!