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Stripping out unused refnotes, and adding the bit about his gofundme because, well, we really should bring people's attention to it.
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'''[[John Warden|John William Warden]]''' is a former Senior Designer (later Design Director) and long-time creative lead for ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' collector product (read: toylines [[fandom|weird grownups]] care about) at [[Hasbro]] and a man with a long history with the brand.  
Gregarious would be a good word to describe '''[[Swerve (G1)|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, but this constant running commentary stems at least partially from Swerve's low self-esteem, a coping mechanism that helps to cover up some of his own insecurities. 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, making him a good [[Swerve's|bartender]].  


He began his career at Hasbro on the ''[[Star Wars]]'' and ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'' brands before cutting his teeth ''Transformers''-wise working on the ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (toyline)|Age of Extinction]]'' franchise and ''[[Thrilling 30]]''. In [[2014]] he was appointed the design lead on the ''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' mega-brand (inheriting the role from [[Joe Kyde]]) where he would dramatically expand its scope (and budget) in a reign stretching from  ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' imprint all the way up through ''[[War for Cybertron: Kingdom|Kingdom]]'' in [[2020]]. In addition to helming both the [[Prime Wars Trilogy|''Prime Wars'']] and [[War for Cybertron Trilogy (franchise)|''War for Cybertron'']] "trilogies" he was responsible for codifying the disparate [[live-action film series]] toylines under their own version of ''Generations'' in the evergreen ''[[Studio Series]]'' label as well several more whimsical projects such as the creation of the ''[[Transformers: BotBots (franchise)|BotBots]]'' franchise alongside Associate Designer [[Aaron Gray]] and the synergy-tastic ''[[Transformers Collaborative|Collaborative]]'' toyline. You're welcome, Bay heads.
He is, however, also a menace to everyone within range of a gun in his hand—including himself—given his legendarily bad aim, as well as to anyone driving nearby because he's ''so'' easily distracted by just about anything that catches his attention. Despite this, he's quite intelligent and skilled as a metallurgist, analysing the properties of a material with unique sensors in his hands. When he gets caught up in a problem, he becomes almost laser-like in focus and intensity, going on quest after quest, both major and [[Thumb Quest|minor]]. Unfortunately, this generally leaves him just as distracted from any other tasks at hand and just as accident-prone as ever. He's almost always in need of some repairs, major or minor, because of it.


After going out on a high note with the successful launch of [[Hasbro Pulse#HasLab|HasLab]] [[Unicron#Toys#War for Cybertron Trilogy|Unicron]], he announced in a tweet on [[July 17]], [[2020]] that he had been promoted to the Global Design Lead on the ''[[Power Rangers]]'' and ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' brands. On [[September 26]] of that year at [[Hasbro PulseCon 2020|the first Hasbro Pulsecon]], he passed his position on to [[Lenny Panzica]] in a formal ceremony. From [[April]] to October [[2024]] he returned to the world of the Transformers several rungs above his old job as the Director of Product Design for both ''Transformers'' and ''G.I. Joe'', where he oversaw guys like his current successor as ''Generations'' design lead [[Mark Maher]], developing a shared strategy for both brands. Due to the way toy production timelines work, this shakes out to the toys we actually see through 2025 and 2026. He appears to be available at the moment, so if you're a toy company executive reading this, hit him up fast!
Now if only [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Prime]] could get him to not get easily distracted when receiving his orders too...


Dude just really loves ''Transformers''.
{{bigquote|People ''don't'' like me—they just laugh at my jokes. There's a difference.|Swerve|"[[Cybertronian Homesick Blues]]"}}


While on assignment for {{w|MCM Comic Con London|MCM London}} in October 2024, John (and the fandom) were blindsided when he was caught in a round of layoffs of about 100 employees to "streamline the company" by slashing the design department. This abrupt booting off of health insurance has led the Wardens into financial peril, as his fiancée suffers from a {{w|Crohn's disease|severe form of a chronic condition}} for which any gap in an expensive medication can bring the disease out of remission and potentially lead to even more expensive surgery. Further information (and ways to help) can be found [https://www.gofundme.com/f/Support-Warden-Family  here]. We wish him all the best.
'''[[Swerve (G1)|Continued...]]'''
 
'''[[John Warden|Continued...]]'''


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Latest revision as of 03:37, 1 May 2026

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, but this constant running commentary stems at least partially from Swerve's low self-esteem, a coping mechanism that helps to cover up some of his own insecurities. 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, making him a good bartender.

He is, however, also a menace to everyone within range of a gun in his hand—including himself—given his legendarily bad aim, as well as to anyone driving nearby because he's so easily distracted by just about anything that catches his attention. Despite this, he's quite intelligent and skilled as a metallurgist, analysing the properties of a material with unique sensors in his hands. When he gets caught up in a problem, he becomes almost laser-like in focus and intensity, going on quest after quest, both major and minor. Unfortunately, this generally leaves him just as distracted from any other tasks at hand and just as accident-prone as ever. He's almost always in need of some repairs, major or minor, because of it.

Now if only Prime could get him to not get easily distracted when receiving his orders too...

People don't like me—they just laugh at my jokes. There's a difference.

—Swerve, "Cybertronian Homesick Blues"

Continued...


Future Featured Articles can be nominated here: Transformers Wiki:Featured Article Nominations.