Editing Swerve (G1)

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Swerve}}
:''Swerve is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]]. He is sometimes known as "Shut the Hell Up." ''

[[Image:Swerve.toy.boxart.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Someone's GOT to get this boy some defensive driving DVDs.]]

Gregarious would be a good word to describe '''Swerve.''' So would outgoing, enthusiastic, upbeat, joyfully irreverent, flippant, sarcastic, wise ass, troll, or "total pain in the aft." Depending on which side of his weapons-grade mouth you happen to fall on and how long you've been listening to him use it. Swerve has a sense of fun and even whimsy that stands out from your run of the mill Autobots fairly dramatically. The little fellow may get on their nerves... he'll ''probably'' get on their nerves... But it'll always be with a smile, a laugh, and an epic level quip.

He is also a menace to anyone driving nearby. He's easily distracted by just about anything that catches his attention. Despite this, he's quite intelligent and skilled as a metallurgist, analyzing the properties of a material with unique sensors in his hands. When he gets caught up in a scientific problem, he becomes almost laser-like in focus and intensity. Unfortunately, this generally leaves him just as distracted from any other tasks at hand and just as accident-prone a driver as ever. Swerve and "traffic accident" just go hand in hand. He's almost always in need of some repairs, major or minor, because of it.

Now if only [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Prime]] could get him to not get easily distracted when receiving his orders too...

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' N/A (English), [[Minoru Inaba]] (Japanese)

[[Image:FFOD Part5 Swerve.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Now we know why he refuses to play in the sand.]]
Swerve participated in the defense of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] in [[2006]], but was trod upon by [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}} Later, after the [[Quintesson]] scientist [[Inquirata]] attempted to change history by removing the Autobot resistance leader known as [[Alpha Trion (G1)|A3]] from the past, a race Swerve was participating in repeated itself in an endless loop due to the ripples in the timestream. {{storylink|Forever Is a Long Time Coming}}
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====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic ====
[[Image:4WheeldriveBrigade1.jpg|thumb|200px]]
Swerve appeared on Earth as a member of the [[4-Wheel-Drive Brigade]]. Led by [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], the Brigade confronted the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] out in the desert, only to be caught in an explosive mine trap and fall into a pit. Working together, Swerve and the others combined their Scramble Power and worked their way free of the pit. A concentrated Scrumbuster attack drove off the Decepticons, and the Autobots won the day. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #3}}
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===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' comics===
[[Image:BlackSunshine Autobot training failures.jpg|left|180px|thumb|]]
Swerve was on Cybertron observing the anti-Prime propaganda that [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] pumped through the data-net after retrieving the Ark's crew from [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} Later, after the Autobots toppled Shockwave and the Decepticons' rule, he was among the group of new recruits seen failing to take on the [[auto-combatant]] training drones on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] after Shockwave's rule was toppled. {{storylink|Black Sunshine}}
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===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}
{{quote|People ''don't'' like me—they just laugh at my jokes. There's a difference.|{{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}}}}
[[File:Swerve blurr cybertronian homesick blues.jpg|thumb|right|225px]]
For at least four million years, Swerve has wanted to swap his metallurgy career for bartending. Before the war, he was a huge fan of [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] and when he was getting an autograph, Blurr mentioned he wanted to run a bar too after retiring from racing; Swerve thought Blurr might want to run it with ''him'' and the only way the racer could escape was to give Swerve a fake phone number. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} Forever after, Swerve would tell people that he and Blurr had a plan to run a bar after the war. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} 

During the war, before Cybertron had to be abandoned, Swerve's metallurgical skills prompted [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] to contact him along with several other Transformer scientists with his discovery about Cybertron's dwindling energy reserves. Swerve, like the rest, disregarded Thunderwing's warnings. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 1|Stormbringer #1}} With a fondness for adventure, Swerve took part in at least ten quests over the course of the war, including a [[Moonbase One|Moon Quest]], a [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Titan Quest]], a [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix Quest]], a [[Prime (rank)|Prime Quest]] and the legendarily bad [[Thumb Quest]]. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}}

In more modern times, Swerve was stationed at the [[Kimia Facility]]. He was a fan of the ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' datalogs, although he thought [[Fisitron]] was a bit of a hagiographer. {{storylink|Bullets}} Swerve was present when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep]]s invaded Kimia. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} He survived the massacre and got away aboard an escape pod piloted by [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and [[Brainstorm]]. [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] soon came to rescue them. Everyone seemed to feel the need to remind him in particular not to say something tactless that might set her off. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} 

[[Image:Swerve Chaos Part4.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]
Aboard Arcee's shuttle, Swerve listened with the others to [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] and Arcee's explanation of the situation with [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]] and the [[D-Void]]. Swerve reiterated everything he had just heard to Hardhead, just to confirm he understood the complicated scenario (he got it all right, except for missing the hyphen in "D-Void"). He was quite naively optimistic at the prospect of putting a stop to Galvatron's plans and saving the universe. However, once they arrived in Cybertron's atmosphere and Arcee had ordered the shuttle to fly directly at the planet's surface, Swerve was among the first to bail out. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

[[Image:LiarsAtoD1-SwerveRedAlert.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Questquestquestquestquestquestquest.]]
Swerve was one of the Autobots who chose to accompany [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] on his quest to find the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] reluctantly allowed Swerve to board the ''[[Lost Light]]'' if he'd stop talking. Swerve doesn't know. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} He was in the medibay when [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] recovered consciousness, and got to be the one who broke the news about how long Tailgate had been trapped underground. He and Tailgate went out for some fresh air and, along with [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]], encountered [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and watched him fight the [[Legislator]]s. Skids wasn't keen on Swerve's suggestion they should team up. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}

[[Image:Swerves bar life after the big bang.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
During the incident with the [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]], Swerve and Skids stumbled on a [[Swerve's bar|bar]], reminding Swerve of his earlier plans to run such an establishment. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} Swerve opened the bar for a celebration of the Sparkeater's demise. As a subscriber to Fisitron's ''Wreckers: Declassified'', he received a strange new datalog and discussed it with [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], prompting the latter's trip to [[Delphi]]. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

[[Image:Swerve Interiors arrested.jpg|thumb|right|260px]]
Unfortunately [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] finally found out about the bar, stormed in, and led Swerve away in handcuffs. Swerve was soon on rivet duty with Rewind, clambering around on the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> hull and replacing rivets. The pair were pressed into service when [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] flipped and took [[Rung]] and [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] hostage, as the only way to get near the hostage situation was via an exterior window. While Rewind distracted Maximus with a recording of [[Garrus-9]], Swerve fired his rivet gun. Unfortunately his protests about his poor aim turned out to be true, and instead of wounding Maximus, he blew Rung's head off. {{storylink|Interiors}} Though Rung survived, Swerve was horrified to learn that his actions had left the psychiatrist in a coma. He visited Rung with Skids, and left one of Rung's model ships at his bedside. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement}}

[[Image:MtMtEAnn2012-contemplative Swerve.jpg|thumb|left|230px]]
Swerve intended to attend Tailgate's [[Act of Affiliation]] ceremony but got sidetracked when he discovered [[Ore]] had been recently revived. He was assigned by Rodimus to distract Ore from realizing what had happened to him which would cause the engine block he was stuck on to activate and [[quantum jump]] the whole ship. Swerve began a conversation with Ore, not telling Ore what had happened to him, under the false identity of [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] since the [[Duobot]] had been chatting with Pipes before the accident. Swerve used the conversation as an excuse to (surreptitiously) discuss the guilt he was experiencing after shooting Rung, his inability to disobey Rodimus for fear of losing his bar as well as the confusion he was undergoing about the difference between peace and happiness. Ore allowed Swerve to realize that his ability to regret his actions made him a decent person, and Swerve considered whether or not he really wanted the reputation he'd earned. Moments late, Swerve was contacted by Rodimus to tell Ore the truth about what happened, as his death or mental breakdown would jump them away from the recently aggressive [[Galactic Council]]. Swerve responded by saying he would rather save Ore than hurt him, orders or no, something Rodimus kept to himself when asked. Fortunately, a recently revived Metrotitan quantum-jumped the ship and Ore was teleported away as an extra convenience. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

A few days later, Swerve joined a few other Autobots for movie night in Rewind's hab-suite, watching "[[Proteus's Promise]]". {{storylink| Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}} Swerve and Rewind arranged a series of storytelling sessions in the bar to try and help Rung's mental recovery. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}} They made little progress and eventually had a third session with Chromedome, Drift, Ratchet, Whirl and others. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Swerve was unable to stop himself occasionally interjecting into the story. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} Unable to get into his own quarters to fetch refreshments, Swerve raided [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]'s stash of [[Nightmare Fuel]]. Following the story, the shipwide alarm sounded and Swerve speculated that someone had trodden dirt into Ultra Magnus's office. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

[[Image:Before&After Shoomer.jpg|thumb|right|170px|"Swerve’s fun to write because he shoots his mouth off" -- [[James Roberts]].]]
The alarm turned out to be a call to take part in a mission to [[Temptoria]] to find the [[Circle of Light]]. Swerve kept himself calm during the trip in the ''[[Leading Light]]'' by using Rungian re-experience therapy. He took part in the battle on Temptoria until his gun ran out, at which point he asked Whirl for another and was thrown the [[Shoomer]]. He struggled to lift the huge weapon and accidentally ended up shooting himself in the face with it and so his part in the fight ended. Despite the damage, he survived and was taken back to the ''Lost Light''. {{storylink|Before & After}}

[[Image:LL Rush Hour.jpg|thumb|left|180px|And the humans thought their rush hours were bad...]]
When Swerve and his crew went to [[Hedonia]]'s bars, he was tasked by Rodimus to bring Ultra Magnus along and help him relax. That led to Magnus falling unconscious after drinking [[nucleon]] and Swerve was left to look after him, and provide a shoulder for a maudlin drunk Magnus to cry on. He tried to buck the enforcer up, reassuring him that people did like him; when Magnus fell unconscious again, Swerve quietly admitted that people didn't like ''him'' but just tolerate him because of his jokes. After an intense effort, Swerve and the gang got Ultra Drunkus back to the ''Lost Light'' (Swerve decided this quest was now in his top three) and he used a prototype broadcast system to tell the whole thing to Blurr's personal number... refusing to admit that it was a fake. After that, sensing a new relationship with Magnus, Swerve asked him (next in a long line) if he'd like to share his room: Magnus, like everyone else, turned it down. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} 
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==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Swerve toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Elbows. I no has them!]]
*'''Swerve''' (Mini-Vehicle, 1986, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-58'''

:Swerve is a [[retool]] of the ''[[Micro Change|Microchange]]'' toy originally used to make [[Gears (G1)#Generation 1|Gears]], and therefore has a similar pickup truck vehicle mode, a 4WD Off-Road. He is largely maroon and white, with squarer legs and a more elaborate face than Gears.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Swerve/swerve.htm More information on Swerve at TFU.info]''
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===Alternators===
[[Image:Alternator Swerve Toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|A new head. We were so spoiled...]]
*'''Swerve''' (Alternator, 2004)
**''Alternator ID number:'' '''15'''
**''Accessories:'' Engine/blaster

:''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' Swerve is a retool of [[Tracks (G1)#Alternators|Tracks]], and transforms into a red [[Wikipedia:Chevrolet Corvette C5|Corvette Z06]] featuring opening doors and hood, as well as a realistic interior. Amusingly enough, his rocket launchers are stored next to the passenger and driver seats. Swerve is armed with his double-barreled engine gun formed from his engine, two pairs of double-barreled slide-out wrist blasters, and two shoulder-mounted rocket launchers, making him one of the most heavily armed ''Alternators'' toys.

:He came with a flame hood decal reminiscent of the flames on Tracks's original toy (which was originally available with Tracks's ''Binaltech'' release), thus making him resemble [[Road Rage (G1)|Road Rage]] in vehicle mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Autobot/AltSwerve/swerve.htm More information on Alternators Swerve at TFU.info]''

===Encore===
[[Image:Encore Swerve toy.jpg|300px|thumb|Weird—I crashed into a paint-sprayer, and for some reason, I can see better.]]
*'''Bumble & Minibots''' (Multi-pack, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''10'''

:In 2008, Swerve was reissued in the ''[[Transformers Encore|Encore]]'' line, bundled with [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Encore|Bumblebee]], [[Pipes (G1)#Encore|Pipes]], [[Tailgate (G1)#Encore|Tailgate]], and [[Outback (G1)#Encore|Outback]]. As with his pack-mates, his face paint was given more detailing to resemble his cartoon model better.
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===Generations===
[[Image:Generations_china_import_deluxe_swerve.jpg|He's scowling because he still doesn't have his own mold.|thumb|300px]]
*'''Swerve''' (Deluxe, 2012)
**''Accessories'': Blaster

:''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Swerve is a [[Retool#Gang-molded alternate parts|pretool]] and [[redeco]] of ''Generations'' [[Kup (G1)#Generations|Sergeant Kup]], using the planned-in alternate head for the mold.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-generations-classics-30-35/transformers-generations--movie-series-asia-exclusives-174569/ Transformers Generations & Movie Series Asia Exclusives]</ref> He transforms into a pseudo-retro-styled pickup truck of indeterminate, probably-made-up model. Swerve is covered in 3mm rungs that are compatible with [[C joint]] clip-on weapons. There are two rungs on his backpack, plus two rungs each on his forearm [[kibble]], and two on his lower back. The [[5mm post|hand-held]] blaster can either plug into the underside of the truck, forming a second exhaust pipe, or clip onto the roof of the truck via a C joint. Interestingly, due to his transformation, Swerve's truck mode features a working tailgate.

:Swerve was originally only to be released as part of a big block of toys developed [[exclusive]]ly for release in China and other Hasbro Asia markets. However, [[Toys"R"Us|ToysЯUs]] picked up Swerve as part of a ''massive'' group of ''Transformers'' exclusives for US market release, just in time for the 2012 holiday shopping season.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2012/Autobot/GDOSwerve/swerve.htm More information on ''Generations'' Swerve at TFU.info]''
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==Notes==
*Swerve and [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] are curiously absent from 1986's ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' profile book. The only other missing characters were the two [[Deluxe Vehicle]]s and the four [[Insecticon (G1)|Deluxe Insecticons]], whose absence might be explained by their toys' origins with companies in competition with [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]. Swerve and Hubcap's omissions, however, appear to be errors; all the other toys in their wave and subgroup were included. The extended, unused TFU entry [http://boltax.blogspot.com/2010/12/extended-bios.html ended up on ''Disciples of Boltax''].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Werve''' (ウェーブ ''Wēbu''; sometimes ウエーブ ''Uēbu'')
*''French:'' '''Embardo''' (Canada)
*''Chinese:'' '''Bèilí''' (背离, "Swerve")

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Alternators Autobots]]
[[Category:Bartenders]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generations]]
[[Category:Mini Vehicles]]
[[Category:Scientists]]