Swindle (ES)

This article is about . For other uses of "Swindle", see Swindle (disambiguation)|The name or term "Swindle" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Swindle (disambiguation).}}
Swindle is a Decepticon from the EarthSpark continuity family.
Half cool story, bro.

The brains of the two-bot team he makes with his brother Hardtop, you can't trust Swindle. Every interaction is a performance, be it a sob story to make you drop your guard, or roping someone into some mischief to make them think he's just a fun-loving bot who likes to break the rules. But don't be fooled, Swindle is a liar and a thief at his core. He may care for his brother, but everyone else is a means to an end. Once they question his suggestions or try to back out of whatever criminal enterprise he's tricked them into being a part of, the jig is up. Swindle's grin and happy-go-lucky front drops, and what's left is the cold, ruthless criminal he really is, ready to gun down the same people he called friends just a minute before.

Hell of a surfboarder though.

Fiction

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EarthSpark cartoon

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Voice actor: Nolan North (English), Kensō Katō (Japanese){{#if: Julien Allouf (French), Carlo Vázquez Díaz (Latin American Spanish), Jesús Pinillos (Castilian Spanish), Hardianto (Indonesian), Stefano Brusa (Italian), Zoltán Renácz (Hungarian), Péter Szokol (Hungarian, Prime Time only), Paulo Vignolo (Brazilian Portuguese, first voice) Felipe Okami (Brazilian Portuguese, second voice), Krzysztof Rogucki (Polish)|, Julien Allouf (French), Carlo Vázquez Díaz (Latin American Spanish), Jesús Pinillos (Castilian Spanish), Hardianto (Indonesian), Stefano Brusa (Italian), Zoltán Renácz (Hungarian), Péter Szokol (Hungarian, Prime Time only), Paulo Vignolo (Brazilian Portuguese, first voice) Felipe Okami (Brazilian Portuguese, second voice), Krzysztof Rogucki (Polish)}}
""Now I know!" "And knowing is half the battle."

Swindle fought Bumblebee in the Battle of the Bay. House Rules Years later, Swindle and Hardtop traveled to a trainyard in Witwicky on a hot tip, eager to score some unguarded energon. However, the hot tip turned out to be a hot trap, set up by Elita-1, and the pair ended up facing both her and Optimus Prime. Elita alone proved to be more than a match for both Decepticons, boxing them both into an arena of fallen shipping containers, a perfect setup for Optimus to hurl one of the containers at them. Swindle was pushed out of the way by his brother who took the brunt, and a sudden attack by Arachnamechs gave the con-man an opening to escape.Secret Legacy, Part 1

Swindle continued to look for his brother, attacking G.H.O.S.T. trucks and installations to steal gear and info in the hopes of locating Hardtop. Spotting easy suckers in Thrash and Mo Malto, he was able to quickly convince them he was really a good guy just out looking for his missing brother... and while the latter half of that was true, the first part definitely wasn't. He used them to try and steal equipment from a G.H.O.S.T. truck, with Mo able to get through the Transformer-proof energon force field, though he had to drop the ruse and threaten their lives to get her to do so. The timely arrival of Dot and Bumblebee foiled his plans, and Swindle had to run off empty-handed. House Rules

In another attempt to break his brother out of G.H.O.S.T. custody, Swindle traveled through the tunnels below the G.H.O.S.T. base, only to end up at Dot's ranger station, where she,Robby Malto, and Optimus Prime happened to be. A chase ensued, in which Swindle shot at the Malto's ranger truck, causing it to crash, but the blast was Deflected by Robby's newly discovered cyber sleeve ability. He tried to get the jump on Optimus while he was distracted by the Maltos, but was easily taken out by a stealthily placed restraining bolt getting locked in his alt mode. While Optimus and the Maltos were talking about Robby's newly discovered ability, Swindle honked his horn and reminded them he was still there. Disarmed

Being then placed in G.H.O.S.T. custody, He tried to escape along with Starscream, Skywarp, Nova Storm and Soundwave, saying they should have stuck with the original plan. He and Soundwave where stopped in their attempt by a force field barrier, expressing his annoyance with Starscream for leaving them behind. What Dwells Within He was freed from prison by the remaining TerransThe Last Hope, Part 1 and later assisted in their fight against Mandroid, he and Soundwave riding into battle atop Hardtop to battle the Sharkticons. He and the other bots present were deactivated when Mandroid activated a superweapon that drained their energon, only for them to be revived a few minutes later when Robby and Mo reversed the effects. The Last Hope, Part 2

A year later, Swindle chased Optimus Prime and the Maltos down a highway as part of a Decepticon attempt to acquire an Embershard.Aftermath He went to the fairgrounds of Fairmaestro to attempt an arms trade, attempting to pinch a Scatterblaster by trading a counterfit flamethrower. As the trade was underway, he noticed the human had an Embershard, and attempted to trade for it, to no avail, before being shut out and driven away by an electrified tent.The Butterfly Effect When Aftermath brought a body-swapped Twitch back to Decepticon Base, Swindle could be seen being bench-pressed by his brother.The Imposters When Aftermath stole Optimus Prime's trailer, the two brothers stole it from him, taking it to the quarry to open it. The two tried shooting it, to no avail, before then putting it on a mobile conveyor belt to break it open on the rocks at the bottom of the quarry. As they were doing that, Hashtag and Robby Malto attacked them to get it back, before both parties lost it to Skywarp and Nova Storm. Later, all five thieves attempted to take the trailer one more time, before getting quickly repelled by the trailer's array of firepower. Dude, Where's My Trailer?

Swindle was present when Starscream made a grand speech to the Decepticons about his plans to make Earth into "New Cybertron" with the Emberstone , when the Autobots and Terrans attacked, taking part in the ensuing battle. When Starscream used the Emberstone to raise Terratronus, he and Hardtop debated whose side their commander was really on, Swindle sure he was still on theirs. He was proven wrong when a mindless blow from the massive titan destroyed the cliff the Decepticons were observing the battle from. He then followed Shockwave's attempt to flee, before being stopped cold by the force shield the Terrans and Maltos created to contain the rampaging titan.Witwicky, Part 2

When an Autobot spacecraft landed in the dome, Swindle and the other cons sought to seize it. They hoped to use it to return to Cybertron. Their initial attack was repelled by the autocannons, but after the ship ran out of power, they made another play for it. During the fight, Swindle was incensed that someone other than him had beat up Hardtop. Eventually, Optimus and Prowl were overpowered, and all the Decepticons blasted off into space.No Soldier Left Behind

Toys

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EarthSpark

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(Hasbro Version Pictured)
(TakaraTomy Version Pictured)
  • Swindle (1-Step Flip Changer, 2023)
  • TakaraTomy Name: Supatto Change Swindle
  • TakaraTomy ID Number: ESS-05
Part of the second wave of EarthSpark "1-Step Flip Changers", Swindle is a simple toy that converts from robot to offroader car and vice versa in a single step. His vehicle mode can be arrived at much faster by letting him fall face-up onto a solid surface. This releases a switch on his leg and allows him to spring back into car mode instantly.
The TakaraTomy release features an additional/altered deco to closely resemble his on-screen appearances.

Notes

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Foreign names

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  • Japanese: Swindle (スインドル Suindoru)
  • Hungarian: Svindli ("Spoof")
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