Swoop (G1)

The name or term "Swoop" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Swoop (disambiguation).

Swoop is an Autobot Dinobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

"Him Swoop have legs that go for miiiles." <-- Now his official motto because of The Loyal Subjects.

Swoop is the friendliest and most outgoing of the Dinobots. He's surprisingly good natured, kind, and upbeat. Few of his comrades realize this however, as his team's reputation and his alt-form, considered (for some reason) particularly "horrifying" to Transformer aesthetics, makes others wary of getting close enough to learn about the bot himself. Swoop is an excellent aerial combatant and bombardier, and has become skilled at using the fear his alt mode creates in battle. He considers it his greatest weapon. Like all the Dinobots, Swoop tends to be arrogant, disobedient, and generally disagree with Optimus Prime's leadership style. He's also a bit of a show-off.

Sometimes he is known as Strafe or Ptero.

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Michael Bell (English), Yoku Shioya (Japanese), Roberto Alexander (Latin American), Thomas Rau (German, Call of the Primitives), Ulrich Frank (German, The Movie TV Dub), Gerd Wiedenhofen (German, Generation 2 Dub of Dinobot Island, Part 1), Claus Brockmeyer (German, Generation 2 Dub of Dinobot Island, Part 2 & War of the Dinobots)

Maybe next time Wheeljack start with Swoop's brain first instead of feet!

Pleased with the overall success of the original three Dinobots, Optimus Prime commissioned the construction of two additional members: Snarl and Swoop. The new duo made their combat debut against Ironhide, Bluestreak, Sideswipe, and Prowl in a field test which the robotic dinosaurs passed with flying colors. Snarl and Swoop did battle with the original Dinobots (who were fooled by Megatron to go rogue), but were only strong enough to force them into a stalemate. The original Dinobots chose to return to the Autobots after their leader, Grimlock, was saved from the exploding meteorite through a selfless act of heroism from Optimus Prime. War of the Dinobots

Swoop later assisted his fellow Dinobots in limiting the amount of damage done by an incoming tidal wave by transporting logs to Snarl, who planted them into the ground to serve as an additional barrier against the raging wave. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2

Swoop was rarely seen apart from the other Dinobots. Together, they fought the likes of Devastator, Heavy Metal War the Sub-Atlantican King Nergill, Atlantis, Arise! and moved to a bizarre island to hone their skills. Dinobot Island, Part 1 Dinobot Island, Part 2

Me Swoop too close to ceiling! Me not care anyway!

Some time after that, the Dinobots chose to desert the Autobots during their time of need (the Autobots were dying from lack of Cybertonium) and go to Cybertron. Sparkplug, Spike, and Carly sought out the Dinobots to convince them to help, but Grimlock, angered that they had been followed, decided to crush them. Swoop, however, saved them, wanting to hear the "brilliant part" from the humans. Grimlock was convinced to go, but instead led the Dinobots to Cybertron itself. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1

One can only imagine how embarrassed Spike and Carly were to have Swoop chaperone them at the school dance.

All the Dinobots were captured by Shockwave, reprogrammed and forced to work in the cybertonium mines at the planet's organic core. All, that is, except for Swoop. Swoop soon encountered Spike and Carly, the Autobots' human allies, deep within the bowels of the planet. The three teamed up and, after learning a brief history of the Transformer race, freed the Dinobots and returned to Earth with a shipment of Cybertonium. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2

In 2005, Swoop and the other Dinobots fought Devastator during the battle of Autobot City. They didn't fare too well. They later evacuated the city (reluctantly) when Galvatron attacked. Swoop and the Dinobots became briefly stranded on Quintessa along with Hot Rod and Kup when their ship was shot down. With help from Wheelie, the Dinobots found their friends, with Swoop using Sharkticons as bombs. The Autobots escaped Quintessa and rescued the remaining Autobots on the Planet of Junk from a horde of confused Junkions. Later, Swoop did one of his greatest life accomplishments when he bombed the butt of a god. The Transformers: The Movie

Swoop’s involvement in these events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the comic mini-series “Transformers: The Animated Movie” and the storybook “Transformers the Movie."

In the year 2006, Swoop and other Autobots with "dinosaur transform static" were brought before a jury consisting of Slammer, Six-Gun, Scamper and Metroplex, who tried to determine if any of them were involved in a recent rash of monument thefts. It turned out they were innocent. Thief in the Night Swoop and the Dinobots were also summoned by Primacron's Assistant to do battle with Tornedron, a creation of the villainous Primacron. Swoop failed to defeat the energy monster, but Grimlock managed to save the day just in the nick of time. Call of the Primitives

Japanese cartoon continuity

The Headmasters cartoon

Alongside Grimlock and Snarl, Swoop was sent out to defend Cybertron from a major Decepticon assault. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky

Rodimus vs. Cyclonus

After blasting off of Quintessa aboard one of its ships, Swoop and the other Dinobots huddled around Kup near the vessel's control panel. Rodimus vs. Cyclonus

Wings Universe

Wings Universe is based on the Generation 1 cartoon, but deviates from it in cosmetic ways and continuity points.

Together with Hot Rod and Kup, the Dinobots were on board a shuttle fleeing from Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps, though they were more concerned about hearing one of Kup's war stories than being under attack. When they found temporary safety inside a nebula, Kup relented and told them about the time he was in the Elite Guard and fought on Beta-Nine. Eventually the Decepticons found them, but Swoop and the other Dinobots were so angry about the interruption that they made short work of the attackers. Wings of Honor

Ask Vector Prime

In a universe where the Transformers and GoBots co-existed, Swoop and the Dinobots fled Guardian City aboard a Command Center after Galvatron and his Renegade/Decepticon alliance attacked. Kup entertained the Dinobots with a few tall tales as they headed to Cybertron, but Galvatron attacked their ship, stranding them on Antares III.

Grimlock dispatched Swoop to scout out the region, but the Dinobot was unable to find Kup and Hot Rod. Shortly afterwards, the Dinobots encountered the RoGuns, who had also been stranded on Antares III. After a misunderstanding, they formed an alliance and barged into the court of the Master Renegade, just in time to save Kup and Hot Rod from execution. After stealing the Master Renegade's ship and dubbing it "Grungy", the group headed to Quartex. Kup met up with Boulder and his heroic Rock Lords, and together the alliance rescued Major Mo's group of Autobots and Guardians from Magmar's evil Rock Lords.

The Autobots, Guardians, Rock Lords, and RoGuns returned to Cybertron aboard the Grungy and a Rock Lord vessel, where they battled Unicron. Before they were finished their fight, Vector Prime managed to disentangle the two universes, setting history back on its proper course. Echoes and Fragments

Deviations

In a timeline where Optimus Prime killed Megatron during their Autobot City duel, Swoop was on Optimus Prime's shuttle when the Autobots set off to reclaim Cybertron from the leaderless Decepticons. They were attacked en route by "Megascream": a reformatted Starscream now in the thrall of Unicron. They managed to escape after Megascream and his troops retreated, touching down on Quintessa to repair the damage.

On the watery surface of the planet, the Autobots encountered a group of Sharkticons. Kup's universal greeting ended poorly, so Optimus dispatched the Dinobots to take care of the threat. Optimus, Kup, and the Dinobots stormed into a Quintesson courtroom, where they rescued Kranix and learned more about the threat of Unicron. When repairs on the ship had completed, the team picked up Hot Rod from Junkion and returned to Cybertron, where Optimus announced his intent to confront Unicron head-on. Deviations

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

Hate to break it to you, Swoop, but there's like 30 other people also called Divebomb that you're also gonna have to defeat.

On Cybertron, Swoop was once a member of the Autobots' Elite Flying Corps and named Divebomb. The Icarus Theory After disobeying orders from Optimus Prime he came into battle with a Predacon, who defeated him and stole his name. The Autobot formerly called Divebomb set out to find the Predacon and steal his name back, but he was once again defeated. Only the intervention of Optimus Prime saved Swoop's life, a fact that Swoop hid from his peers in shame. What's in a Name?

Swoop, you're not allowed to have a differing robot mode design that matches your Cybertronian vehicle mode until War Within!

This began a continuing rivalry between the two. Grudge Match! Swoop and the other Autobots who would later become the Dinobots formed a rogue group of warriors. None of them felt Optimus Prime was strong enough to be their leader, so in their spare time they made plans in the event that they wanted to leave Cybertron. Swoop and the others snuck into a Decepticon spaceport, stole three of their battlecruisers, and parked them in the Rad Zone. A Savage Circle

Swoop was among the crew of the Ark when it crash-landed on Earth 4 million years ago. After it crashed, Shockwave came to Earth in pursuit and landed in the Savage Land. Sensing Shockwave's presence, the Ark's computer awoke long enough to rebuild Swoop, along with Grimlock, Slag, Sludge and Snarl into the Dinobots. Repeat Performance! (This is when Swoop was awarded his new name.) Grim Grams #132 The Dinobots traveled via shuttle to the Savage Land to combat Shockwave, but their recklessness doomed them and the battle ended with the Dinobots and Shockwave submerged in a tar pit where they remained for four million years. Repeat Performance!

In 1984, after the other Autobots were awoken and the Transformers' war continued on Earth, Ratchet discovered the fate of the Dinobots, but was at first prevented from doing anything about it because of larger events. The Last Stand Shockwave had broken himself free of the tarpits, destroyed all of the Autobots except Ratchet, and had taken over the Ark, deposing Megatron as leader of the Decepticons. Ratchet attempted to cut Megatron a deal: if the medic could revive the Dinobots and use them to defeat Shockwave, Ratchet would have the Ark returned to the Autobots. Warrior School! Megatron agreed, and Ratchet traveled to the Savage Land to dig up Swoop and the others. However, Ratchet suspected Megatron would doublecross him, so he recycled footage of Shockwave's original battle with the Dinobots, convinced Megatron the deed had been done, and met Megatron on a ski slope where he had hidden the Dinobots under the snow for an ambush. Unfortunately, Megatron was able to overpower them, and it was left to Ratchet alone to defeat the former Decepticon leader. Repeat Performance!

Swoop intends to be the first to get his hands on a PlayStation 3!

As Ratchet and the Dinobots walked back victoriously to the Ark, Ratchet told them about a battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons that occurred at Sherman Dam before the Dinobots were revived. Upon their return to the Ark, however, they learned that the entrance was blocked by the Guardian battle droid. Guardian defeated Swoop before engaging the rest of the approaching Autobots. Decepticon Dam-Busters! Though the hostile droid was driven off into the Ark, Ratchet held off on repairing Swoop; he had an entire ship full of Autobots in need of repairs, and Swoop's brawn was low on the list of what the Autobots needed to solve their current predicament. The Wrath of Guardian! Ratchet eventually worked his way to restoring Swoop after fixing a handful of the other deactivated Autobots (Grimlock "breathing down his neck" helped him in selecting Swoop earlier than he would have otherwise). When Swoop awoke, the Guardian was seconds from detonating the numerous explosives within his body. To save everyone, Swoop grabbed the Guardian, flew up into the sky, and let go of the Guardian two seconds from detonation. Mount St. Hilary and the Ark were unharmed, but Swoop's body was never recovered. The Autobots put a marking beacon in the place where he was last spotted, and eulogies were given. The Wrath of Grimlock!

In reality he was blown clear and crashed into a nearby lake where he was later found by Professor Morris. The professor had developed a machine capable of transferring his consciousness to a robot allowing him to take control of it. He recovered Swoop's body and used the machine to take control of him. Morris then used Swoop to attack the Autobots, who he had mistakenly assumed were under the control of his company's competitor: Blackrock Industries. Swoop's personality eventually broke free of the professor’s control, however, when Optimus Prime delivered an order to him; Swoop's need to reject Optimus's authority overrode Morris's control. Enraged at what had been done to him, Swoop returned to Morris's lab, and threatened to murder the scientist. However, Swoop stayed his hand when he learned that Morris had accidentally used his body to kill another man, and was so guilt-racked over the act that he began begging for death. Frustrated over being denied even a meaningful revenge, Swoop turned Morris over to Optimus Prime for judgement and began storming off... only to suddenly go berserk.

Swoop's cybo-dendrons had eroded after being submerged in the tar pit for millions of years, causing him to revert to his most primal instincts. Using Morris and his machine, the Autobots were able to subdue him and analyze the source of his malfunction. The Icarus Theory He was subdued and went into a coma like state. This alerted the Autobots to the danger that the other Dinobots were in and they set out to find them. Dinobot Hunt! After recovering them, the Dinobots were took in by Ratchet, who attempted to recover them from their coma-like stasis. While Swoop was offline, he dreamed of fighting Soundwave back on Cybertron, who self-detonated while the former carried the latter through the air, destroying them both. Victory!

Swoop later recovered from his coma along with the other Dinobots, Second Generation! but the group were largely uncomfortable under Optimus Prime's command. When Prime organized a battle unit to assault the Decepticon base, not to demolish their enemy but to record some vital data, the Dinobots balked at the idea. Going into battle without intending to win was an anathema to them. Grimlock, Swoop and the other Dinobots chose to abandon the Autobot cause instead of putting up with Optimus Prime's "cowardly" ways any longer. Command Performances!

On a whim, Swoop joined the Dinobots in helping Sludge track down a human "friend." Joy Meadows, the aforementioned human, was a reporter who drew some serious heat after she started questioning the Robot-Master cover story being pumped over the air waves. This drew the attention of both the Decepticons and the US government to her, as they each had a stake in making sure the public believed all the Transformers were under the control of a so-called "terrorist." The Dinobots happened upon her under attack, and Swoop rescued Meadows from Triple-I's agents, much to Sludge's relief. The Dinobots afterwards agreed to be interviewed by Meadows and set the story straight. Swoop was tasked with fetching Joyce's camera crew so that the interview could be properly televised. Once more, Swoop wound up finding his quarry in peril: this time it was Megatron threatening the camera crew. Though he intervened, Swoop was thrashed by the Decepticon leader, and only spared from death due to the surprise appearance of the robot Centurion, acting on behalf of Triple-I. He carried off the two humans but, unbeknownst to him, Swoop had been tagged with a tracking device. The device was found and destroyed upon Swoop rejoining his team, but by this time it was too late: the Decepticons arrived in full force at their location. The 'Cons ultimately won the ensuing skirmish — Soundwave wiped Meadows' tapes and the Constructicons personally laid the beatdown on Swoop and the others. Despite some grumbling afterwards, Swoop and the Dinobots mostly decided to give up on the idea of "telling their story" to the humans. In the National Interest Optimus and Prowl soon afterwards approached the Dinobots, demanding an explanation for what had just transpired. Swoop and his teammates stormed off instead of divulging what took place during their latest adventure, leaving Optimus once more frustrated with the impetuous Dinobots. Target: 2006

Awww, he learned to share.

When the future Decepticon named Galvatron returned to the 1980s, his first act was to destroy Centurion. Seeking revenge, the Dinobots came after Galvatron in a pitched battle alongside several other Autobots. Swoop found that any attack he performed against Galvatron barely yielded any results, and was blasted point-blank by the lunatic, who had mistaken him for "Prime" in the heat of battle. As he lay beaten on the ground, Swoop was telepathically contacted by Peter Anthony Morris, who revealed to him that he had been the one controlling Centurion. Swoop allowed the human to once more seize control of his motor functions to launch a last ditch effort against Galvatron. Together, they distracted him long enough for Shockwave's forces to join the fray. As Galvatron was unwilling to destroy his own future-troops, he then retreated. Fallen Angel The Dinobots were still on their own, stealing fuel from the humans, when they learned of Optimus Prime's death. After Grimlock attempted to claim leadership of the Autobots for himself and failed, Swoop and the Dinobots helped to battle Trypticon who had been sent from Cybertron by Ratbat to attack the Ark. Their attack and Grimlock's leadership convinced the Autobots that Grimlock should be leader after all. King of the Hill!

While hanging out at the Ark, Sludge showed Swoop a TV news report about five recently arrived Decepticons who had been terrorising a human circus. Recognising one of them as his old enemy Divebomb but unwilling to reveal their history, Swoop stormed out. What's in a Name? He soon tracked down his rival and almost bested him in single combat when they were surprised by the rest of the Predacons, who had come to look after their own. They took it in turns to beat up Swoop until they themselves were surprised by the arrival of the Dinobots, who had come to look after their own. During the battle, Divebomb taunted Swoop, threatening to reveal what happened the last time they fought to the rest of the Dinobots, so Swoop deliberately lured him close to Grimlock, who quickly grounded the aerial Predacon. Divebomb spilled the beans, but Grimlock revealed he'd known all along and prepared to kill him to keep Swoop's secret safe. At the last second Swoop realised that he had to stop letting other people fight his battles for him and convinced Grimlock to let the Predacons go. Grudge Match!

Phew, if he'd stood any further back, he woulda been entirely cyan.

Grimlock's leadership of the Autobots was not well-liked, causing Blaster and Bumblebee to mutiny. Swoop was complicit in Grimlock's kidnapping four human children the mutinous pair had befriended and ransoming their lives for their surrender. When Sky Lynx was recruited by Wheeljack to aid the children, Grimlock led the Dinobots in a chase after the newcomer through an asteroid belt. Swoop and the others cornered Sky Lynx, forcing Blaster's surrender. Spacehikers! Another challenge to Grimlock's leadership occurred when Fortress Maximus arrived on Earth from Nebulos with his own army of Autobots. Fortress Maximus' group wished to meet with Grimlock's in order to join forces in rebuilding Optimus Prime, and Swoop introduced them once they boarded the Ark. Unwilling to forfeit his position, Grimlock challenge Maximus to a duel for supreme leadership of their troops, though Blaster wound up fighting in Maximus's stead. The pair dueled on Earth's moon, and Swoop joined all the other Earth-bound Autobots in watching the fight. The proceedings were interrupted by a surprise Decepticon attack, and Grimlock and Blaster wound up momentarily putting their differences aside to lead the Autobots into fighting back. In the battle's aftermath, Goldbug and a choice other Autobots wound up traveling to Nebulos to restore Optimus Prime. Totaled!

Upon Prime's return he confronted Grimlock, Swoop and the other Dinobots, who were none too happy about having to cede control of the Autobots back to him. However, Prime proved to be his usual persuasive self and managed to sweet-talk them into following his orders again. These events were witnessed by the time travelling Dicet Alpha-zero. The Quest! Swoop then travelled to Earth in an Ark shuttlecraft to confront the time travelling Decepticon Galvatron alongside Optimus Prime and Fortress Maximus. However, when Prime and his companions were transported to Limbo by the arrival of Rodimus Prime and his future Autobots via time-jump, Max and Swoop jumped to the wrong conclusion and attacked the newcomers. With the help of the other Dinobots, he helped beat down on Arcee during the confusion. Eventually the misunderstanding was explained and the present and future Autobots united with their Decepticon counterparts to end the threat posed by the time rift. Time Wars

Following the return of Optimus Prime as leader, the Autobots focused their efforts on recovering Buster Witwicky, who was held captive by the Decepticons. They were alerted to his location in the Arctic by an Autobot Code One Alert signal, but this was a trap laid by Starscream. The Decepticons were nearby and the two factions battled. Swoop joined the Aerialbots in the skies, where he faced Buzzsaw. This orchestrated battle was intended to distract from Starscream's designs on the Underbase, and once this was discovered, Autobots and Decepticons teamed up and scattered their forces across various cities where they expected Starscream to strike. Swoop and the Dinobots were assigned with others to Tokyo, where they were momentarily mistook for monster movie props. Ultimately, all of the Dinobots were destroyed by the Underbase-powered Starscream. Dark Star

Grimlock was restored by Ratchet using Pretender technology, but Grimlock resented that his fellow Dinobots weren't also repaired. He stole the bodies of Swoop and the other Dinobots and absconded against Optimus Prime's orders Eye of the Storm to Hydrus Four, where he restored them using Nucleon, despite warnings by the natives about side-effects. The Pri¢e of Life! Swoop helped Grimlock load up enough Nucleon to revive their fallen Autobot comrades, ...All This and Civil War 2 and the Dinobots returned to the Ark, where they found it and Earth devoid of active Transformers. They steered the Ark towards Cybertron, where they suspected everyone had gone for a battle with Unicron. The Void! Indeed, when the Dinobots arrived, the Transformers were already engaged in battle with the Chaos Bringer. After Grimlock rammed Unicron across the face with the Ark itself, Swoop and a legion of Nucleon-revived Autobots jumped ship to join the rest of their race in battle. On the Edge of Extinction!

Let's face the facts about me and you, a love unspecified...

Unicron's defeat also resulted in Optimus Prime's death, and his dying words placed Grimlock back in command. Immediately Grimlock got into an argument about priorities with Prowl, and Grimlock left the Autobots with his Dinobots to hunt down the Ark and the remaining deactivated Autobots inside. Swoop admitted that Prowl was indeed a jerk, but that he might have had a point, and Grimlock could have instead focused on keeping the uneasy Autobot/Decepticon alliance cohesive. Grimlock's response was cut short when suddenly his body seized up. Inconveniently enough, this perplexing problem was followed by Hi-Q's arrival, and the Nebulan was on the run from demons from below Cybertron's surface! Grimlock begged for Swoop and the others to abandon him, but Swoop refused. The Dinobots were a team, and would die a team, if necessary. (Grimlock silently wondered if Swoop would keep that sentiment if he learned that the Nucleon he'd revived him with was what caused Grimlock these problems to begin with.) Ultimately, Grimlock's frozen state was the beginning stage of his transformation into an Action Master, and his new powerful form was able to fend off the demons, saving the lives of Swoop and the others. Still Life!

Grimlock's misgivings about the Autobot/Decepticon alliance were quickly proven correct, and the Decepticons abandoned Swoop and the other Autobots on Cybertron as it began to implode due to damage caused by Unicron's attack. However, the Dinobots remembered the Decepticon ships they stole long ago and retrieved them, granting the Autobots a way off their self-destructing planet. A Savage Circle The Autobots planned to travel to Klo and attack the Decepticons there, catching them unawares. Swoop and the other Dinobots jumped directly out of their ship into the planet below, but the Decepticons were already waiting for them. In the slaughter that followed, Swoop was among the first casualties. He was presumably revived after Optimus Prime arrived with his newest ally, the Last Autobot, to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat and end the war. End of the Road!

Robo-Capers

While flying in his beast mode, Swoop boasted that the fear he instilled could reach farther than any bullet. Megatron asked how the Dinobot could possibly hope to instill fear in him. Swoop responded by pooping on him. Robo-Capers issue 87

Marvel UK future timelines

The movie adaptation, originally published by Marvel US, is in italics

Following a major Decepticon offensive on Autobot City, the outpost's occupants learned that a "monster planet," Unicron, was approaching Cybertron, and devouring the planet's moons! The Autobots quickly prepared to head to Cybertron aboard two shuttles, only to be attacked by Decepticon forces led by an upgraded Megatron, now going by the name "Galvatron." Swoop's group managed to lose their pursuers, and the Dinobots watched as Hot Rod trained with an Auto-combatant once they believed themselves out of harm's way. But the Decepticons found them once more, shot up their ship, and forced them in proximity of planet Quintesson. A planetary defense system then brought the shuttle into a crash-landing. Swoop, Slag, and Sludge were separated from the rest of the crew. By the time they found them again, Kup, Hot Rod, and Grimlock were being escorted by a gang of Sharkticons, and so the Dinobots opted to stay out of sight and follow them. En route, they met the young Autobot Wheelie, who joined their rescue effort. When Grimlock and the others began fighting back against their captors, Swoop's group joined in the scuffle, successfully beating back the hordes of Sharkticons. After their show of force, the Autobots convinced the Sharkticons to turn on their cruel Quintesson masters. They then went off to find a means to get off-world, Judgment Day! and eventually succeeded in ending Unicron's threat.

In 2008, Swoop and the Dinobots were one of several special units unleashed on the Decepticon attack force when Scourge and Cyclonus led the 'Cons on a siege of the Autobots' main base on Cybertron. Autobot High Command soon learned this assault was only a distraction, however, engineered by Unicron himself who was reconstructing himself on the planet of Junk. When Smokescreen returned from Junk with this news, Rodimus Prime gathered Scattershot, Grimlock, and the rest of the Dinobots with him to make an assault on Junk. Much to Rodimus's dismay, Swoop and the Dinobots didn't hold back at all when attacking the Junkions Unicron had mind-controlled into doing his bidding, and tore through them as if they were any other enemy. The Legacy of Unicron!

Earthforce

These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel continuity. See Earthforce for details.

ROBOT HOOUUUSE!

Swoop and his fellow Dinobots were brought back after the Underbase Saga by Grimlock, who found a mysterious off-world method of restoring them to life. Shockwave and his auxiliary army of Decepticons wanted the secret, and so a fight broke out with the Dinobots. Swoop played with Runamuck for too long in the battle, and got shot in the wing as a result. Grimlock had to bail him out before the Battlecharger caused any further damage. Two Steps Back! Optimus Prime started to berate the Dinobots after the battle, for the brutality of their fighting style, and so an angry Grimlock threatened to take his Dinobots and leave the army entirely. Things became even more intense, and Prime and Grimlock actually started trading blows to see who had the biggest chrome bearings. After a few minutes of sustaining combat, however, Swoop and Prime's lieutenant Getaway declared it a draw as the combatants dropped to the floor, too tired to beat on one another anymore. Exhausted, Optimus Prime decided Grimlock could be put to better use than as a punching bag and declared him Autobot Commander: Earth while Prime took the Ark and its crew into space to deal with Unicron. Swoop and the Dinobots joined several other long-time Autobots in forming Earthforce. Break-Away! Although Grimlock had promised Optimus Prime that he would show restraint on Earth, Swoop was present at the first meeting of the Earthforce where their leader literally threw the rule book out of the window. Once upon a Time...

On April Fools' Day, the Dinobots played a prank on Grimlock, sending him out into a Canadian snowstorm to face Shockwave in single combat, only to find a snowman replica of the Decepticon leader and an autographed sign saying "April Fools!" When Grimlock took longer than expected to return, Swoop and the others began to worry that their leader hadn't seen the funny side of the joke... unaware that Grimlock was sneaking up on them, carrying the biggest snowball he could make. Snow Fun!

Sludge was present with the entire Earthforce team outside Autobot Earthbase shortly after its completion, in order to witness Wheeljack make a demonstration of its systems. Embarrassingly, Wheeljack managed to lock the Earthforce out of the base, forcing Prowl to run the gauntlet of its defenses to deactivate them. The House that Wheeljack Built! When the Decepticons discovered its location they staged a major offensive on the Autobot position. Grimlock took his Dinobots out on the front lines to defend their territory and Swoop was seen making a bombing run on Breakdown and Long Haul. Divide and Conquer!

Every four million years (give or take), Slag's lack of emotional dampers played up for a while, turning him from moderately savage to mindlessly savage. It was a secret the Dinobots had kept since they first formed, but unfortunately, this attack occurred when Optimus Prime came back to Earth to inspect the new base. While Grimlock kept Prime occupied, Swoop and the other Dinobots had the unenviable task of keeping the berserker in check so Prime wouldn't find out. Swoop tried to take the Triceratops by the horns, but was rammed through a wall instead. The Dinobots managed to wrangle Slag long enough for him to burn himself out, and their secret was safe for another four million years. The 4,000,000 Year Itch!

In order to secure a compatible systems boost for Snarl (who was dying of Corrodia Gravis), Swoop and Earthforce had to seek out Starscream, Snarl's systems match, from the Louisiana Decepticon headquarters. Of course, the Mayhem Attack Squad were right in the middle of an assassination attempt on Starscream's life, forcing the Autobots to reluctantly come to his aid. External Forces! Grimlock sent Swoop and Sludge to defend Starscream from his attackers. With Swoop acting as a distraction, Starscream was able to belt Bludgeon with a loose I-beam. With the help of the Dinobots, Starscream fended off his assailants and agreed to help Snarl, in exchange for a promise of aid in case the assassins ever came after him again. The Lesser Evil!

Snarl's health problems did not end there, however, and the Corrodia Gravis infection eventually returned. And this time, Snarl was too far gone to be repaired in his present body. The Dinobots attempted to locate the control crystal from the shuttle that originally brought them down to Earth, in the Savage Land, hoping to store Snarl's mind in the crystal until a new body could be manufactured for him. Unfortunately, when they got there they found the crystal had been co-opted by a human scientist named Embrey, who was using it as a power source to prevent a disease from spreading throughout the dinosaurs, killing them. Unable to remove the crystal and thereby condemn the beasts to death, Swoop came up with an alternate plan. With the control crystal as a conduit, Snarl's mind was transferred into that of a normal Stegosaurus, leaving him to wait in the Savage Land until his mind could be retrieved and placed in a new body. Destiny of the Dinobots!

Another Time & Place

Several months after the golden age of Cybertron was reintroduced, Swoop and most of his fellow Dinobots had succumbed to the transfiguring effects of Nucleon and lost their ability to transform. When Grimlock received information that the Hydrus Four facilities had reopened, and discovered a means of reversing Nucleonic changes, the Dinobots jumped at the idea. Despite Prime's half-hearted warnings, Swoop and his teammates followed Grimlock back to Hydrus Four in the hopes of becoming Transformers once again. They were followed by the "exiled" Decepticons, however, and a battle with a huge native creature delayed the Dinobots long enough for Bludgeon's crew to get ahead of them and take over the Nucleon facility. The Dinobots were laid low by a Holocaust Trigger, overloading their sensory circuits so that they were helpless before the Decepticons. Cruelly tortured, the Dinobots were still left alive so that they could witness the rebirth of Megatron, thanks to the Nucleon infusions Bludgeon was feeding him. For some reason, Swoop clearly got the worst of the treatment, with metal shredders taken to his wings, hooks gouged through his skin, and his leg torn almost completely out of joint.

Luckily, the Autobots had long since learned to become worried whenever the Dinobots were out of sight for too long, and had followed them to Hydrus Four. Roadhandler, Tote and several Micromasters managed to free the injured Dinobots, and an Autobot strike force brought down their Decepticon captors. Swoop managed to personally crawl over to the control console for some medical equipment, dropping a giant spidery set of waldoes on Bludgeon. In a matter of seconds, the machine tore apart the Decepticon leader, leaving nothing more than a few decentralized components. The Nucleon reversion process was a success, and Swoop and his comrades were restored to fully operational Transformers. Another Time & Place

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Before the Autobot army scattered across the galaxy, Swoop was part of a unit under Optimus Prime and Grimlock who confronted Bludgeon's forces on an abandoned world. They fought over ancient technology and weapons, but were eventually driven off by the guardian of those weapons. Ghosts

Swoop and the Dinobots were fighting alongside Grimlock and a small group of Autobot Firestormers when they uncovered the Cybertronians and their terraforming measures. After calling in Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots to discuss the matter, they were captured by Jhiaxus, leader of this new enemy force. The seeming insignificance of their previous conflicts weighed heavily on Optimus, but once Grimlock convinced him of the need to fight on, the Autobots burst free from their cell. Swoop and the others became part of a major offensive against not only Jhiaxus and his ilk, but everything they represented. War Without End! Their initial escape from the Empire was deterred by passage through the K'tord Nebula, where both sides were swept up in the effects of aggressive psychic parasites. Primal Fear!

Despite Prime serving as overall commander, however, Swoop and his buddies were still Dinobots first and foremost. So when Grimlock wanted to take first strike action against Prime's orders, there was no question who they'd follow. Using a stolen enemy shuttle, they attempted to sneak upon the Cybertronian ship, the Twilight, with a Chaosmaster Bomb to obliterate it... But Swoop and the others were captured almost immediately, as Jhiaxus had increased his security. They only escaped thanks to the timely intervention of Optimus Prime and his more loyal group of soldiers. Devices and Desires! Grimlock mellowed a bit after that exchange, and so Swoop and the Dinobots were relegated to training exercises with the other newly arriving Autobots from other regions of space until a new plan of attack against the Cybertronian Empire could be made. The Power and the Glory

When Grimlock learned that Optimus had left to confront Megatron alone on Earth, hoping to negotiate a treaty and join forces against Jhiaxus's army, the Dinobot immediately recognized the foolishness in this decision. He gathered up Swoop among others to come to their commander's rescue, their arrival interrupting Megatron before he could deliver a killing blow. The Gathering Darkness Swoop continued to fight alongside the Autobots with his Dinobot comrades on Ethos. Escalation! In the epic final conflict with the Swarm, Swoop was seen manning one of the shield generators the united Autobot/Decepticon alliance was using to defend themselves. A Rage in Heaven!

Classics

Classics continues from the Marvel US series, and does not include the UK stories or any subsequently published stories.

He only looks big because the Ark is so far away... or is it scale?

After the defeat of Bludgeon's forces, the already nucleon-infused Swoop was caught in a titanic explosion at a nucleon-processing plant and was drastically mutated. The quick reaction of the Autobot Mini-Cons saved him and boom; Mini-Con Swoop was born. One would think a Dinobot would dislike being given such a small form, but Swoop is just as powerful as he ever was (if not more) and is now much faster and more precise. These augmented abilities are enough to make him quite satisfied with this state of affairs. Swoop's profile in Club magazine #18

Swoop joined Grimlock's crew on the Graviton. When his team followed Bug Bite's small group of Decepticons to Earth, Swoop was sent ahead to scout the crashed remains of the Decepticon-controlled Ark. Games of Deception

Regeneration One

Sixteen years after the final battle on Klo, Swoop and the other Dinobots confronted Grimlock in the Nursery on Cybertron over the effects of Nucleon on Slag's mental health. Natural Selection, Part One

When Scorponok used his gene key to reprogram the Autobots of Cybertron, the Dinobots managed to evade capture even as the whole planet turned against them. While evading Scorponok's troops, Swoop and the other Dinobots agreed that they would have to find Grimlock, and put their house in order by confronting him for working with Scorponok. They invaded the Nursery, knowing that Grimlock would recognize it as a summons from them when they tripped its security system. When Grimlock arrived, they began to attack him, ignoring his protests and explanations, and telling him that all they could do for him now was give him an honorable death. As Grimlock began fighting back, Scorponok's forces invaded the Nursery, having tracked Grimlock through a tracking device implanted in his new body. Grimlock saved the Dinobots by releasing Inferno from his containment cell, who unleashed a torrent of flames thanks to the Nucleon in him, destroying the attacking Decepticons. Afterwards, Grimlock helped Swoop and the Dinobots out of the Nursery. Natural Selection, Part Four The group moved on to attack Scorponok's forces at the Sonic Canyons, where they found the Decepticon's plot to convert all of Cybertron at once with a massive gene key already being foiled by Perceptor. Grimlock and Scorponok wound up locked in combat on a bridge over the canyon. Hoping to send the Decepticon plumeting, Swoop destroyed some of the structure's support struts while Snarl flew to Grimlock with a Sky-Sled to prevent his fall. But Grimlock refused Snarl's hand, and the two combatants fell into the Sonic Canyons together as Swoop and the Dinobots watched in horror. Natural Selection, Part Five

Once Slag was restored by the Nebulan process, Swoop and the other Dinobots came to the new Autobot leader, Hot Rod. They all had a feeling that Grimlock wasn't really dead, and wanted to join Hot Rod on his expedition into Cybertron's core. Destiny, Part One Their search led them deep into Cybertron's under-structure, following a "map" imprinted on Hot Rod's mind by the Covenant of Primus. Destiny, Part Two In the Primus chamber, the group was confronted by Primordial Cybertronians, who only retreated after the arrival of Grimlock, aglow and inhabited by the power of Primus. Destiny, Part Three Swoop and the other Dinobots entered a form of mind-lock while Primus and Hot Rod conversed. After Primus dispatched Hot Rod on a quest through Zero Space, the Dinobots awoke to find a very confused Grimlock. Destiny, Part Four As they made their way back towards the surface, the Dinobots realized the primitives were passively following them as well. Emerging from the ground in the middle of a Decepticon invasion, the Dinobots took up arms against the 'Cons and their Blitz Engines, and led the primitives into battle as much needed reinforcements for the Autobot cause. Destiny, Part Five

After the invasion, however, the Autobots were unsettled by the presence of the Dinobots' new "friends". Even the newly risen Rodimus Prime, who first began the quest to reconnect with these ancestors, didn't want to know them. The War to End All Wars, Part 1 Swoop and the other Dinobots were unsettled by the ghetto constructed on the surface by the Autobots to house the primitives, and were suspicious of how passive the primitives had quickly become. When Jhiaxus's highly advanced Primum Fugae arrived on Cybertron, they quickly judged the primitives to be an evolutionary insult and began exterminating them. Swoop and the others stepped up to defend the creatures, but the Primum Fugae proved incredibly powerful. They only retreated after a larger Autobot force arrived. The War to End All Wars, Part 2

Damaged in the struggle, Swoop and the Dinobots remained behind on Cybertron when Rodimus Prime led a counter-attack against Jhiaxus's Hub worlds. The primitives' behavior continued to be unsettling as they spontaneously began growing "hibernation capsules" around themselves in the ghetto, apparently instinctively hiding out from some upcoming menace. The War to End All Wars, Part 4

Sure enough, the Anti-Matrix entity took advantage of the Autobots' absence and unleashing a corrupting wave over Cybertron, draining life and stability from nearly all the inhabitants. Swoop and the Dinobots only survived due to their proximity to Grimlock. It seemed it was the Anti-Matrix and not really Primus who inhabited Grimlock earlier, and that brief contact created an immunity for him. However, the Dinobots still had to deal with the shadow-demons all other Transformers on Cybertron had devolved into thanks to the entity. They survived long enough to regroup with Rodimus Prime's fleet when they returned from the Hub. Swoop helped the Autobots deal with some of the Anti-Matrix's pawns on Nebulos, retaking control of the space bridge network. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Ask Vector Prime

In universal stream Primax 994.0 Gamma, the Veteran and his forces never stopped hunting the remnants of the Cybertronian Empire which had retreated to Planet X, prompting Planet X's residents to flee to another dimension entirely. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/05

Kid Stuff Talking Story Books

Swoop and the other Dinobots live in an underground jungle environment, hidden beneath the Antarctic ice cap. Swoop was travelling to the Autobots’ headquarter when he and the Dinobots were attacked by Starscream and the Decepticon superjets. The Dinobots managed to fend off the Decepticons, and continued to Autobot headquarters. Back at the Dinobots’ base, another Swoop, immersed in his tar cocoon, awaited activation to join the Autobot ranks. When the Crusher, a Decepticon juggernaut, forced its way into the Dinobots’ headquarters, the vibrations it produced inadvertently freed the cocooned Dinobots, who charged at Megatron and Soundwave to fend them off. Jaws of Terror

Optimus had requested Swoop and the rest of the Dinobots’ assistance when he and Prowl investigated Decepticon activity on the island of Buru. Upon their arrival, the Dinobots quickly began overpowering the Insecticons on the island. Slaves of the Insecticons

Marvel Storybooks continuity

When the Autobots were confronted with the Decepticons' newest super-warrior, The Devastator, Swoop and the rest of the Dinobots arrived on-scene to counteract the new menace. Though the Decepticons mocked the Dinobots' slow pace at first, their laughter was cut short by Soop flying down and bombarding The Devastator at close range, killing both Hook and Scrapper while they were still combined. Swoop then transformed and used his sword to slice through both of The Devastator's legs, in turn killing Mixmaster and Scavenger. With most of the Constructicons slaughtered, The Dinobots pounced on their carcasses, ripping them into pieces of scrap metal for good measure. Battle for Earth

Swoop was present when Blaster conveyed a message from Megatron to Autobot headquarters, informing them that not only had they captured Sunstreaker with the mighty gestalt Devastator, but that a rescue party of Autobots that had attempted to rescue the prisoner was now also being held hostage. As the rescue party had included fellow Dinobots Slag and Sludge, Swoop was perticularly shaken by this development, and was ready to surrender to the Decepticons. Thankfully, Optimus returned morale to the Autobot ranks by devising of a clever plan to trick the Decepticons. Swoop was amongst several Autobots that hid themselves within a statue of Devastator, which was wheeled before Decepticon headquarters, and left as a peace offering. When the Decepticons let down their guard, Swoop and the others burst forth from within the statue, and ambushed their enemies. Swoop played a prominent role in the battle that followed, blasting away at the earth-bound Decepticons as they impotently attempted to shoot him down. Eventually, the Autobots emerged victorious from the battle, with Swoop being one of the few robots emerging unscathed from the conflict. The Autobots' Secret Weapon

Marvel coloring books

When Optimus learned from Cosmos that the Decepticons were razing a human village to build a fuel plant in its place, he had the Dinobots hide within his trailer and inside his other troops' vehicle modes, in order to sneak up on the enemy. Once they were in close enough proximity to Shockwave and his minions, the Dinobots were released and the other Autobots transformed to battle the Decepticons. Swoop went after Laserbeak, frightening the cowardly bird away from the town. The Autobot Spy in the Sky

Swoop and the rest of the Dinobots gathered around Grimlock as Hot Rod explained to them that he was being chased by a squad of Decepticons. Hot Rod then took off towards Autobot City to warn Ultra Magnus while the Dinobots headed to confront the Decepticons. Swoop was taken by surprise by Dirge and took the first hit of the battle, but shrugged it off and retaliated in kind. He managed to take a few more hits, until finally being taken out of the fight when Galvatron injured his wing. The Autobots nevertheless managed to defeat the Decepticons, and they were cheered on by nearby humans as they headed back to Autobot City. Battle at Oil Valley

Swoop took part in a battle over energon cubes at Mount St. Hilary which ended when Starscream scarfed all the energon. The Lost Treasure of Cybertron

Big Looker storybooks

Like some vast predatory...um...cardinal?

During an incomprehensibly heavy-handed Decepticon plot to steal a single fuel tanker, the Autobots - also oddly determined to protect this single tanker - found themselves outnumbered and outgunned. Swoop, still recovering from a previous battle, arrived to assist, and was fired on by Megatron. This so enraged the mild-mannered Autobot that he dropped an air-to-air missile launcher (?) with the power of 5000 pounds of TNT. Swoop comes across as uncharacteristically modest, and grateful just to be able to help Prime and pals. Also, Swoop has hair. Decepticon Hijack

Swoop and the rest of the Dinobots accompanied Hot Rod, Kup and Arcee on a space-faring mission. Swoop helped load the ship’s cargo. The ship wound up malfunctioning, and they crash-landed on the planet Quintesson. There, they encountered Wheelie, who warned them about the planet’s evil inhabitants.They soon encountered a few Quintessons leading their Sharkticon soldiers to apprehend them. Swoop fired a couple of missiles to fend off the enemy robots. After the Quintessons had been defeated, the Autobots left the planet in the ship that had once been piloted by Wheelie’s parents. The Story of Wheelie, the Wild Boy of Quintesson

Dinobot War

The following summarizes one or more multipath adventures. Details vary depending on the paths taken in-story. See the book's page for information on alternate paths.

Swoop, along with the rest of the Dinobots, were present during Earth's distant past, when you, Ravage and Laserbeak travelled through time. The Dinobots quickly learned about the Decepticons' plan to attack the Autobots still slumbering in stasis aboard the crashed Ark, and set out to oppose them. Whether or not they succeeded was up to you!Dinobot War

Find Your Fate Junior

The following summarizes one or more multipath adventures. Details vary depending on the paths taken in-story. See the book's page for information on alternate paths.

Dinobots Strike Back

As the Dinobots slacked off from lookout duty in Hidden Valley, only Swoop saw an incoming mortar in time to dodge, escaping with an injured wing while the other four were knocked out. He watched in horror as Bombshell planted cerebro-shells on his teammates, unsure if he should fight the Insecticon or return to the Ark for help.

The preceding actions come before the first choice, and therefore hold true for every path in the book

If he confronted Bombshell, the beetle responded by hovering over the other Dinobots, forcing Swoop to move higher or lower for a clean shot. If he flew in lower and fired a missile, he hit Bombshell, then threatened him until he removed his shells in two different paths; the only difference was that if he fired from above Sludge, then Grimlock accidentally conked him on the head, leaving Swoop with no memory of Bombshell, and you being the only one who knows what happened. If he fired from above Slag, he remembered enough to tell his buddies that they felt odd because they had a bug in their circuits.

If Swoop tried to lure Bombshell higher, the Insecticon instead just ordered the Dinobots to go attack the Ark. Their stampede raised a dust cloud that gave Bombshell the cover he needed to sneak up and inject Swoop with a poison that shrank to the size of a hummingbird. After evading a lizard, Swoop tailed his teammates until the poison wore off and he grew back to normal size.

From here, Swoop goes down the same storypath as if he'd just gone back to the Ark back at the first choice.

When Swoop told Optimus Prime what happened, there were several options for a plan of attack. If Optimus chose an immediate assault, the Autobots made no progress until Swoop missiled the ground near Slag, knocking him over hard enough to dislodge his cerebro-shell. This gave Prime the strategy he needed to free the other Dinobots.

An alternate path led to the four Dinobots pretending to still be under the shells' control to infiltrate the Decepticons' Mount Lomas base, a plan Swoop had to first relay to Sludge in Dolphin's Bay. Swoop later flew a loop over their mountaintop victory party, signalling the others to break cover and attack, then shot down the fleeing Thrust for good measure. Dinobots Strike Back

Battle Drive

When Bumblebee failed to report back from his scouting mission in a timely fashion, Optimus became worried about the little Autobot and sent out Swoop along with Prowl and Hound to check up on him. After Bumblebee informed the group that the Decepticons were planning to detroy farmland in order to starve humanity into submission, the group had to make a decision on their next course of action. If they decided to try and head back to Autobot headquarters immediately, they would get caught in a sudden storm. The flooded roads stopped the earthbound Autobots from progressing, while the violent winds prevented Swoop from heading back to base as well.

If they decided to take on the Decepticons by themselves, the group encountered Buster Witwicky on the road. Informing the Autobots that Sparkplug was on the run from the Decepticons after having discovered a fatal flaw in their circuitry, the group were faced with another decision to make.

If the Autobots decided to continue on with their mission of stopping the Decepticons from destroying farmland, Swoop and the rest of the group are ambushed by the Decepticons and promptly destroyed.

If however, the Autobots decide to go after Buster's father, Swoop elects to carry Buster in his beast mode, and the group head into the hills, where Sparkplug was headed to hide. From this vantage point, Buster is the first to spot the Decepticons surrounding a cave wherein Sparkplug is holed up. Swoop dives down and lets Buster off his back before being ordered by Prowl to fly ahead and distract the Decepticons while the slower Autobots move in to secure Sparkplug. Swoop flew towards Megatron, Laserbeak, Blitzwing, Starscream, Bombshell and at least half-a-dozen other Decepticons. Focused on the cave's opening, the Decepticons did not notice Swoop approaching. Using the element of surprise, Swoop took out Starscream first with his air-to-air missiles. The Decepticons retaliate, and Swoop is faced with a new decision.

If Swoop elected to stay and fight the Decepticons, he manages to take out Megatron with a lucky shot into the tyrant's fusion cannon, causing it to backfire and obliterate the Decepticon leader. Without their leader, the Decepticons fell into disarray and were easily picked off by the Autobot reinforcements that arrived soon afterwards.

If Swoop decided to fly off to the Autobots' headquarters, a substantial amount of Decepticons tail him, leading to Swoop needing a few days to return with reinforcements. Battle Drive

Autobot Alert!

Swoop was in Metroplex city when an Autobot Alert sounded.

In one possible scenario, Swoop was selected alongside Mirage, Jazz, Powerglide and Prowl, to join Ultra Magnus on an orbital mission to both rescue Cosmos and halt a Decepticon plot to take over Earth’s broadcast satellites. After donning special space gear for solar protection, the team took off and headed towards Cosmos’s last coordinates.Though they soon found Cosmos, so did they spot Galvatron’s ship, Cyclonus, looming nearby. After they had retrieved Cosmos, Ultra Magnus called out to his troops to return to the shuttle’s control deck. Ultra Magnus ordered his troops to train all of their weapons on Cyclonus for a full-frontal assault. Swoop was pulled aside by Powerglide who questioned to wisdom of Ultra Magnus’s plan, and suggested that he and Swoop instead attempt a sneak attack on the Decepticons.

If the Autobots went along with Ultra Magnus’s plan, Swoop and the rest of the Autobots were horrorstruck when Galvatron himself emerged from Cyclonus, followed by an army of multiwing jet fighters. Swoop and the others were left drifting helplessly into space as the Decepticons tore their shuttle apart.

If Swoop and Powerglide went ahead with their own plan, Swoop is put in charge of using his superior fire power to disable Cyclonus while Powerglide distracts him. Sneaking up on Cyclonus, Swoop successfully destroyed the Decepticons’ transmit ion apparatus, foiling the Decepticons’ plans. Autobot Alert!

3H comics

Check out that winged silhouette in the middle.

In a distant future of the Beast Era, the dark warlord known as Shokaract had conquered Cybertron and much of the galaxy. Only a handful of Maximals and Predacons survived to oppose him, under the command of the Predacon Sandstorm. Among them was an ancient warrior known simply as the Veteran. Reflecting on his long history and all his many departed comrades, the Veteran began to wonder if he had survived so long as to become a figurative dinosaur.

The Veteran's finely honed skills and instincts allowed him to survive an assassination attempt by the Cub, one of Shokaract's servants. Returning in defeat, the Cub was severely wounded as punishment for his failure and left to die in the wilds of Cybertron. Before he could perish, however, Sandstorm's band of rebels recovered him. In an attempt to learn more about Shokaract's plans, the Veteran merged his Spark with that of the Cub, and thus was born the dual-sparked Windrazor. Schism

Though Windrazor was essentially a new being, within him the Sparks of the Veteran and the Cub continued to grapple for control and dominance of their joined form. Paradox

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Swoop was an Autobot once named Divebomb, though the circumstances surrounding his name change are unspecified. When Optimus Prime and Megatron disappeared into an unstable space bridge prototype, Swoop joined Grimlock's Lightning Strike Coalition. Together, they were able to thwart Starscream's Predacons from keeping a stolen cargo of Energon and made a quick retreat with the goods. Fragmentation When Grimlock took the Dynobots to execute Jetfire and Shockwave, Swoop argued that they should instead focus on the new battle base the Decepticons had built. Grimlock insisted on pursuing their initial mission, but eventually relented, and allowed Swoop and the others aid Prowl and his troops fight Trypticon while he pressed forward. The battle against Trypticon wound up ending prematurely as the base was called away to rescue Shockwave. Swoop told Trypticon to come back and fight, and called it a coward (once the base was already leaving). Revelation Heading to the Neutral Territories, they found no sign of Grimlock, Shockwave, or Jetfire, though there was evidence that a battle had taken place in the area. Swoop contacted Prowl factions to inform them of these strange happenings, and the Autobots agreed to investigate the matter further. Confrontation Tracking Shockwave down, Swoop convinced the Decepticon to form a temporary alliance to deal with the bigger threat they now faced; The Fallen, attempting to loose a greater chaotic force onto their world. Together, the joint army managed to defeat the Chaos Trinity, three acolytes working for The Fallen. Ultimately though, it was Jetfire who managed to put an end to The Fallen's diabolical scheming. Afterwards, each of the six Cybertronian factions agreed to seal the chamber used by The Fallen to prevent anyone from abusing the power contained within it. Conflagration

Afterwards, Ultra Magnus managed to unite the Autobots once more, and under his leadership gained a significant hold over Cybertron's resources and territories. This eventually forced the Ultracons and Shockwave's Decepticons to sign a peace treaty with the Autobots. Swoop was posted as perimeter guard during the signing, in anticipation for any attacks that might come their way. Sure enough, Starscream and his Predacons struck by sending in a pair of shuttles filled with neutronium plasma to crash into Tyger Pax, where the treaty was being signed. Swoop and the other Dynobots were unable to halt the shuttles, ending any hope of an easy truce. The dramatic return of Megatron with his cloned Aerospace Extermination Squadron ended any ideas of truce at all. The Age of Wrath

As with the other Dynobots, they departed for Earth after the Insecticons, most likely because they were running out of things to smash back home. Extermination They somehow ended up under Megatron's control and were used to blackmail Grimlock into serving the Decepticons again. Prime Directive #3 Grimlock was able to eventually free them when both Megatron and Optimus Prime became Shockwave's prisoners. Brothers' Burden Thereafter, the Dinobots decided that all the fun was really back home. Using a stolen Decepticon shuttle, Swoop piloted the Dinobots back to Cybertron, and after a crash-landing, began sowing their own brand of chaos, bringing discord to Shockwave's totalitarian regime. Cold War Their rampage was so destructive that it required the intervention of the Omega Sentinels to halt. Passive Aggression Though all of the Dinobots wound up rather dinged up after this battle, but they were retrieved by Ultra Magnus. Magnus brought them all to Perceptor for repairs so that they could join the insurrection against Shockwave's regime anew. Countdown to Extinction Later, once Shockwave's government had been overthrown, Swoop was among the Autobots assembled by Ultra Magnus to help fortify Cybertron's planetary defenses. The Dinobots were to help Kup bolster the new Autobot bases on Cybertron's moons. The Route of All Evil

Dreamwave filed for bankruptcy and stopped producing Transformers at this point. A few details of Generation One #11 are known because Don Figueroa published the line-art of the comic up to page 9 on his DeviantArt account.

After an amusing conversation took place between Kup and Sludge, the two of them, along with Arcee, Snarl, and Slag, joined Springer, Grimlock, and Swoop on their shuttle's bridge. Together, they all saw an approaching Quintesson ship. Generation 1 #11

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

Swoop and his team members were sent into Earth's past and reformatted into dinosaurs by a malfunctioning Teletran 3. After some problems with Shockwave blocking their way back, a team consisting of Gung-Ho, Dusty, Shipwreck, and a Cobra Viper managed to retrieve the Dinobots, who immediately wrecked Shockwave's party. Swoop took care of flying Decepticons by simply cutting right through them with his wings. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #4

The Beast Within

Four million years ago, Swoop combined with his fellow Dinobots to form The Beast, a savage abomination of a gestalt that knew no mercy. The Beast Within Part 2, Consequences

In the current day, Swoop was called upon by Grimlock to combine once more into their gestalt form. The merge complete, the Dinobots then rampaged once more as The Beast. The Beast Within

IDW Generation 1 continuity

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

During Nominus Prime's rule, Swoop and the other Dynobots made up the Primal Vanguard Covert Strike Force, a team of demolitions and heavy weapons experts with a perfect track record. This all changed one day when they ran into powerful subterranean monsters during a mission to the Toraxxis Plains, forcing Swoop and his mates to use a revolutionary method of instantaneous altmode adaption to take on traits of their foes to survive. Already grieving over the death of their medic, Skar, the Dynobots were outraged to find that their superiors' response was to put them in quarantine and study their new altmodes, causing them to break out and abandon the Vanguard. Underworld

The Dynobots dropped off the radar until the day Optimus Prime rallied an army to fight the tyranny of the Decepticons. Broadcast Swoop and his team responded to the rallying call and joined the Autobots at Iacon where they took out a lot of tanks. Endgame However, at this time they realized they were becoming increasingly aggressive, a side effect of their monstrous altmodes. Fearing that they might actually become monsters and endanger the people of Cybertron, the team turned to a life of crime in an attempt to gather enough money to leave the planet. Derelicts

Having caught a lead on a client wanting an energon refinery heist done, Swoop suggested that they rob the Toraxxis mega-refinery, a plan the others agreed with. His main role in the heist was to air-drop Sludge onto the facility, smashing into it by using his thick comrade as a wrecking ball. Wreckage When tensions grew between Grimlock and Slag during the theft, Swoop stepped in to calm them down but couldn't keep Slag from storming off. Thankfully he returned to help them out when Scorponok showed up with a bunch of Decepticons to steal the Dynobots' score. Faces of Darkness Grimlock fought Scorponok one-on-one but grew increasingly vicious until he started transforming into his altmode, forcing Swoop and Slag to try to calm him down before he lost control completely. Rage After the incident led to the destruction of the refinery, the Dynobots gave up on acting alone and accepted the Autobots' offer to help. Prey

Brought along by Kup to Starsreach Spaceport, Swoop and his comrades were caught in a Decepticon airstrike, causing Grimlock to lose control and go berserk. Massacre Their leader's rampage caused the Dynobots to lose their newfound hope in ever finding salvation, and they chose to leave Cybertron. Unleashed Fortunately they changed their minds on learning that Trypticon was unleashed upon Cybertron, and returned to fight off the monster's minions—the very same creatures they'd met underground long ago. Annihilation Once Trypticon was defeated, Swoop and the other Dynobots joined Optimus Prime for good in hopes that Autobot scientists could cure them of their cursed altmodes. Belly of the Beast

Later during the war, Swoop fought in the Battle for Hell's Point. The Gloaming

GIVE ME YOUR EYEBALL.

Swoop and the other Dynobots followed Grimlock to revenge themselves against Shockwave, who blew up a cache of energon they had stolen. When Shockwave traveled to Earth, the Dynobots pursued him and reformatted themselves to transform into robotic dinosaurs with a synthetic skin as a defense against energon overload. Sadly, it did not protect the Dynobots from Shockwave's energy blasts, which melted the artificial skin and caused the Dynobots to go into stasis lock due to excessive energon radiation. Due to a deadman's switch, the Dynobots' ship blasted a volcano that buried everyone in molten lava. Spotlight: Shockwave

Thousands of years later, the Dynobots were eventually excavated by Skywatch. As Swoop's wings had been mostly disintegrated by Shockwave, leaving only the "fingers," Skywatch scientists constructed new ones for him. Though Grimlock was the first to be brought back online, he was freed from Skywatch's control through a virus implanted by a Machination spy (under orders from Scorponok). Scorponok wanted Grimlock to join him, but Grimlock refused, fought Scorponok and escaped, vowing to find and rescue Swoop and the other Dynobots. Scorponok, however, planned to take control of the Dynobots himself and use them to assassinate Grimlock. Spotlight: Grimlock

Skywatch activated Swoop, and in a test run, had him destroy a plane. When Grimlock showed up in Fallon, he and the other Dynobots were sent to intercept him. Maximum Dinobots #1 He got to slash at Grimlock with his talons before his reprogramming was removed, allowing him to discover Grimlock had set up a dead man's switch that buried them without informing the rest of the team. However, Grimlock's spirited defence of his actions seemed to convince Swoop... Maximum Dinobots #2

Oh no, dad and mum are splitting up!

Or not. Despite Grimlock’s best efforts to justify his actions, Swoop was quite disillusioned by the perceived betrayal of trust and decided to fly off on his own. The others also left Grimlock, who was thereafter almost immediately attacked by Scorponok’s Headmaster army. Despite their shaken faith in Grimlock, the other Dynobots were quick to turn back and aid him in battle, unwilling to watch a comrade fight alone. Swoop also flew back, admitting he had nowhere else to go. The five Dynobots continued to fight even as the Sunstreaker clones threatened to overwhelm them. Swoop told Grimlock it was probably better to die like this alongside his warrior brothers than be on his own. Just as the Machination grunts began to dogpile the Dynobots, the Monsterbots arrived, having been summoned earlier by Grimlock. With their help, the Dynobots easily forced the remaining Headmasters into a retreat. Maximum Dinobots #3

Bombardment! Bombardment!

Later, aboard the Monsterbots’ ship en route to Machination HQ, Swoop and the others discussed their current situation. Swoop in particular was quite disgusted at being allied, even temporarily, with the Monsterbots. When Grimlock came to them with the terms of the alliance, the rest of the Dynobots just gave him an annoyed look. Having arrived at Machination HQ, Grimlock told his team that he was going to see this through to the end, with or without them. Deciding things couldn’t get worse, Swoop and the rest followed Grimlock as they leapt from the ship and attacked. They set upon the task (again) of trashing Sunstreaker clones, until Hunter O'Nion managed to disconnect the clones’ link to the original Sunstreaker’s head. Assuming the threat was ended, Sludge began to celebrate…only to be struck down by the vengeful Scorponok. Maximum Dinobots #4

You smelt it, you dealt it, Swoop.

Before the Dynobots could do anything about the Decepticon Headmaster, Shockwave arrived on the scene. Claiming to want the Dynobots for himself, Shockwave entered into combat with Scorponok, leaving an opportunity for the Dynobots to escape. The price of his arrogance and unyielding attitude striking him, Grimlock decided to stay behind with Sludge’s stasis-locked body, as Swoop, Snarl, and Slag retreated. They were going to pull out of the area with the Monsterbots, but ultimately decided against it. Returning to the scene of the battle, they found Grimlock fighting Shockwave, and Sludge having just come back online. Swoop and the others briefly aided Grimlock, but were ordered by the Dynobot commander to go find Scorponok before he escaped. They infiltrated Machination HQ, and found the chamber where Scorponok’s original head was being stored. With some direction from the damaged Hot Rod, Swoop severed the connections keeping Scorponok’s head functional with his wings, rendering the giant Decepticon inert. Snarl was about to execute Scorponok when Ultra Magnus arrived on the scene. He suggested that they quickly scrub the site of evidence of any Cybertronian, and take Scorponok and the now-defeated Shockwave into custody. Swoop and the others were totally cool with this. In the end, Grimlock surrendered himself to Ultra Magnus for his rogue actions and the rest of the Dynobots were let off the hook. Swoop was seen helping the others rebuild the Skyfire. Maximum Dinobots #5

After traveling space for a few years, Swoop and the newly dubbed "Dinobots" returned to a reborn Cybertron and joined Ironhide for a mission to find the Aerialbots who had gone missing in the wilderness. After a run-in with a ferocious turbofox, which the Dinobots dealt with in their usual fashion, they discovered signs of Transformer weaponry which made Ironhide suspicious that Megatron was still around after the Decepticon leader had disappeared during the Autobot's last battle which ended the war. The night they set up camp, a battle suddenly broke out and ended with Slag and Swoop impaling Ironhide. Dinobot Hunt However, this didn't kill Ironhide and the Dinobots continued to fight each other. Eventually, they somehow stopped clashing among themselves and began to pursue Ironhide, who was saved thanks to the timely arrival of the combined form of the Aerialbots, "The Superion". Night and the City

As it later turned out, the Dinobots' rage had been brought about by Megatron, who had unsuccessfully been using them as test subjects for a mysterious type of energy capable of forcing Transformers to combine. Superion's appearance caused them to recover from his tampering with their minds, and they returned to Iacon with Ironhide and Superion just as the city was being conquered by Decepticons. Before the Dawn During the battle, Swoop took to the skies and fought with Laserbeak and Buzzsaw Plan for Everything as well as Slugslinger. While the Autobots were victorious in the end, they found themselves exiled into the wilderness when Starscream took command and banished all non-neutrals. Heavy Is the Head Out in the wilderness, the Dinobots defended the Autobot convoy from the approaching Constructicons, at least until the Decepticon team expressed their desire to join forces with the Autobots because they appreciated what a lying, murdering prick Prowl was. Bumblebee was horrified by the revelation, which Swoop found hilarious. Second Exodus

When a mysterious light lit up Cybertron, the Dinobots ignored Bumblebee's urges for caution and instead prepared to roll out and smash things. Then out of the light stepped the decidedly difficult-to-smash Necrotitan. Dark Dawn As the Autobots scrambled to deal with the situation, Swoop performed aerial reconnaissance on the giant and found it silent and unmoving. Black Metal They were interrupted by an attack from the similarly exiled Decepticon forces, but the battle didn't last long before both factions were caught in a destructive energy wave emanated from the Titan. Winners & Losers Realizing they were both up against something greater, the Autobots and Decepticons teamed up to put a stop to Shockwave, responsible for summoning the Titan. Into the Abyss

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

Swoop was present when Brawn presented the offworlders Clutch, Breaker, Cover Girl, and Jinx as P.O.W.s to King Grimlock. Grimlock had no mercy for his captives, and promptly dropped them in a pool of Sharkticons. Funeral for a Friend

The Joes survived their trial, however, impressing Grimlock. The humans were escorted back to their allies on Cybertron, where Grimlock announced a truce between the Autobots and the Joes. Swoop joined in the festivities that ensued to celebrate the newly forged alliance. Form Follows Function Soon thereafter, the mobile city of Metroplex came under siege from both Trypticon and a mind-controlled Fortress Maximus. Swoop flew into battle to drive back the enemy forces of Decepticobra, allowing Snow Job and Rock 'n Roll to ride atop of him. Everybody Hates Metroplex

Ask Vector Prime

In Primax 096.0 Beta, Grimlock, Sludge, and Swoop appeared at the last minute to save the day for the Autobots at the Battle for Sherman Dam. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/06

Swoop's coloration in this universe is based on his unreleased Generation 2 toy. See #Notes for further details.

IDW Beast Wars comics

Swoop was one of the many casualties of the Great War before the signing of the Pax Cybertronia. Dawn of the Predacus

Commercial appearances

Swoop and the Dinobots were beating up Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp when the Predacons intervened. The new arrivals then combined into Predaking and attacked the Dinobots from the skies. Predacons commercial

Games

The Transformers (PS2)

Swoop is a non-playable character. He appears among the legion of Autobot duplicates in the Decepticon campaign.

The Transformers

Transformers Legends

When Grimlock went missing, Swoop and Sludge paid a visit to the planet Junk, but were unable to find him there. Wreckage They and the rest of the Lightning Strike Coalition tracked down Grimlock to the Sea of Rust, where they were captured by Shockwave who experimented on them and gave them dinosaur alternate modes. They repaid him by trashing his lab. Rescue the King

Grimlock and Swoop went missing, causing the other three Dinobots to act erratically, until the Autobots got the trio under control and locked them up. Day of the Dinobots - Part 1 The missing pair resurfaced, staging a raid and freeing their fellow Dinobots in the middle of the night. The five Dinobots marched on the Decepticon base, but were defeated by Shockwave, Ramjet, and Ratbat. Day of the Dinobots - Part 2

The Dinobots supported Grimlock when their leader decided to take control of the Autobot army, and took part in an attack on the Decepticons, capturing Megatron and Shockwave. Me, Grimlock, King

When Optimus fell in battle during a massive Decepticon attack on Autobot City and Grimlock took command, Swoop and the other Dinobots joined him in crushing the Decepticon forces. S.O.S. Dinobots Swoop aided Grimlock in rescuing Rodimus and Kup when the pair were put on trial by the Quintessons. Mockery of Justice

Transformers Rising

In this game Swoop is referred to as "Strafe".

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Swoop participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Super Rare character who was available as a reward in the "Dinobots Destruction" event. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

Generation 1

• Swoop (Dinobot, 1985/1986/1991/1992)
  • Japanese ID number: 30
  • Accessories: "Thermal Sword", 2 missile launchers, 3 missiles

Unlike others, who have energo-swords, Me Swoop have thermal sword.

Swoop's toy transforms into a robotic Pteranodon. Swoop can stand on his beast feet or lie on his stomach in this mode, but additionally has fold-out wheels located in his feet and chest (though one has to split his chest open to access the latter wheel). His beak and tail were rounded for safety reasons compared to the original Diaclone release. However, the remolding of the tail kept the tail sticker from fitting correctly. Interestingly, despite being a former Diaclone toy, Swoop is the only Dinobot not to have an obvious cockpit for a Diaclone driver figure.

Swoop's die-cast metal chest is painted red, which is his Transformers color, as opposed to his cartoon color scheme which was based on the Diaclone toy. Along with his sword, he also comes with two spring-loaded missile launchers, the only Dinobot to have two projectile-launchers (and no non-firing gun to boot.)

Swoop is notable for being one of the most fragile Generation 1 toys, and as such commands a respectable amount of money on the secondary market due to the difficulty in finding one intact.

In Japan, Swoop and the other Dinobots were offered as mail-away items during Operation Combination. Swoop cost 1800 yen (his original retail price, less than the other four) and two Robot Points.

• More information on Swoop at TFU.info

Beast Wars

• Swoop (1997)

Men in Black, who had previously created the Onyx Primal exclusive for BotCon 1996, wanted to make two exclusives for their non-licensed Transcon2 convention in 1997. Albitron and Swoop, redecoes of the original Beast Wars Megatron and Terrorsaur respectively, would have been available singly as well as in a two-pack.

However, Men in Black solicited the toys before they had gotten approval for them from Hasbro, which reportedly led Hasbro to turn down the proposal. Nonetheless, the basic Terrorsaur mold was to eventually be recolored in "Dinobot" colors as Terranotron (and Swoop!) several years later.

Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Classics

File:Classics Swoop toy.JPG

Level 1 conversion difficulty. And the photographer still did it wrong.

• Dinobots (Mini-Con Team, 2006)

Swoop transforms into a robotic Pteranodon. His jointing allows him to stand on his hind-feet as well as assume a normal "flying" position. He was only available in the Dinobot Mini-Con Team set with Knockdown and Terrorsaur.

Swoop's beast mode feet are misassembled; they are flipped upside-down. This was corrected on Windrazor.

This mold was also used to make Reptix, Universe Windrazor, Dark of the Moon Rav, and Age of Extinction Paulie.

There are numerous paint operation differences between the hand-painted prototype of Swoop depicted in the stock photos on the back of the Dinobot Team's packaging and the final product. One possibility is that since the Classics Mini-Cons were originally intended to be released in two-packs (as part of the Cybertron line) rather than three-packs, the number of available paint operations (which are carefully monitored) per piece was larger in the two-pack arrangement, necessitating some omissions for the three-pack release.

• More information on Classics Swoop at TFU.info

Classics mold: Swoop
Hasbro: Classics Swoop Universe (2008) Windrazor Dark of the Moon Rav Age of Extinction Strafe (Swoop) TakaraTomy: Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 6 Reptix (Micron Booster) Transformers (campaign item) Paulie

Age of Extinction

It's Classic Strafe! Probably. Maybe. *cries in corner*

• Strafe (Evolution 2-Pack, 2014)
  • 26 OF 30

Available only at ToysЯUs stores in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, this Age of Extinction two-pack features the Generations Deluxe Strafe toy, with no known differences from the normal retail release, packed with a maybe slightly redecoed iteration of Dark of the Moon Mini-Con Rav with possibly darker blue or other negligible changes.

The packaging for this two-pack mistakenly uses Technobot Strafe's original Generation 1 package art instead of Swoop's G1 art on the side of the card bubble and lists him as a "stealth fighter" (what our wiki describes 2010 Transformers Strafe as).

• More information on Rav/Age of Extinction Strafe at TFU.info

Classics mold: Swoop
Hasbro: Classics Swoop Universe (2008) Windrazor Dark of the Moon Rav Age of Extinction Strafe (Swoop) TakaraTomy: Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 6 Reptix (Micron Booster) Transformers (campaign item) Paulie

Transformers (2014)

• Dinobots Generation One 4-pack (Deluxe, 2014)
  • Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords

Available only as part of the Hasbro Toy Shop exclusive "Dinobots Generation One 4-pack" that was first made available at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, Strafe transforms into a twin-headed Pteranodon monster, and features heavy use of vacuum metalization, transparent plastic and paint applications to recreate the look of the Generation 1 Swoop toy. Twin swords peg onto his wings, and the swords can also be hand-held in robot mode. He also comes with a pressure-launch missile-firing "crossbow". Pegs on the crossbow allow the swords to attach and create a larger weapon. Strafe is packaged with Grimlock, Snarl, and Slug, and their box unfolds into a diorama of the crashed Ark in Mount St. Hilary.

• More information on SDCC Strafe at TFU.info

• Strafe (Legion, 2014)

Part of the Generation 1-inspired 2014 Legion Class assortment, Strafe is a redeco of Cyberverse Beast Hunters Windrazor, and transforms into a vaguely avian dragon, although his package art is recolored from the RIA cover of Rage of the Dinobots #2 and depicts a mechanical pterodactyl.

In the United States, Strafe has thus far been found at Big Lots, Dollar General, and Family Dollar stores. In Australia and Europe, he is available at general retail again, just like the previous wave of Legion Class figures.

The stock photo on the back of the packaging depicts him with Windrazor's crossbow weapon, which is also listed as an accessory in the Hasbro website product listing for this toy. The actual toy doesn't include a weapon. Furthermore, the instructions printed on the back of the packaging are completely inaccurate, as they are for an entirely different "Strafe" toy! Even if the instructions had been accurate, they probably wouldn't have mentioned that Strafe can also form the arm of Abominus (or a combiner of his redecoes). This sculpt was also redecoed into Beast Hunters Divebomb and Go! Barara.

• More information on Legends Strafe at TFU.info

Hero Mashers

File:HeroMashers Strafe.jpg

• Bumblebee & Strafe Team Pack (Team Pack, 2014)
  • Pieces: ?

Strafe is a non-transforming pterosaur robot. He was released with an unchanged basic Bumblebee, that lacks the blaster from his individual release, but can be equipped with any of the pack's various accessories, including a wing-pack and a "dino claw missile" launcher.

Generations

• Dinobots Set (Platinum Edition 5-pack, 2015)
  • Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords

Part of the Platinum Edition Dinobots Set, Strafe is a G1-inspired redeco/new-head retool of Age of Extinction Deluxe Class Strafe.

Strafe was bundled with Grimlock, Slog, Snarl, and Slug.

The set was initially released as a Toys R Us exclusive set in Canada in October 2015 and in Singapore in November 2015. The 5-pack never receive any release for the brick & mortar retail in the US, but was instead available online.

• Autobot Ptero (Titan Master, 2017)
  • Accessories: Gun/Pteranodon/Jet

Part of the third wave of individually-packed Generations Titans Return Titan Masters, Ptero transforms from robot to a head based on Swoop's animation model. In this mode, Ptero can serve as the head of any Titans Return Deluxe, Voyager, or Leader Class figure. He also features ports in his feet that allow him to peg onto a wide variety of Titans Return figures. Ptero is packaged with a Pteranodon accessory which transforms into a 5mm gun for other figures to wield, or combine with Ptero to form a jet.

Merchandise

Decoy

• Cybertron Hero Collection 22 (multi-pack, 1986)

Note that the number on his back is a sum total of the 8 tech spec values (Strength, Speed, etc.) from his original file card.

• Swoop (1987)
  • Decoy number: 3

The figurine was later brought over to Hasbro markets as part of the Decoy promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots and Technobots.

• More information on Decoy Swoop at TFU.info

The Loyal Subjects

Me Swoop can't see with blast shield down!

The Loyal Subjects Swoop is a Wave 3 figure with standard articulation. He is based on his original toy, as illustrated by his red chest and visor. For every 16 figures, there is 1 Swoop.

Like most of his wave, Swoop's bio card plagiarizes this wiki article's opening paragraphs, and even uses the ridiculous opening caption as his new motto, even though it makes no sense out of context.

Notes

"The UK sucks, even if they did get ROTF before the rest of us!"

Smartest among idiots.

• Swoop had the preliminary names of Divebomb and Wing.
• Swoop was originally a Diaclone Dinosaur Robo Pteranodon type piloted mech. Whoever made Swoop's animation model used this Diaclone toy as a reference, as the Dinobot sports the pre-Transformer's blue chest, and gold lower beak, missiles, and dino feet. Swoop's box art has the Transformer toy's red chest, but keeps the gold parts from the Diaclone toy.
• Swoop is the only original Dinobot who is not technically a dinosaur. Following in his foot-steps are Beast Machines Terranotron, Dinobots Sludge, Dinobots Terranotron, Paddles, Magmatron's Skysaur and Seasaur components, and Age of Extinction Strafe.
• Thanks to the Robo-Capers strip in issue #87 of the UK Comic, Swoop became the first and possibly only Transformer to defecate in a licensed and approved presentation.
• Swoop was never released in the UK, resulting in several letters (that were published) asking about his whereabouts, in the UK comic.
• A 1986 Panini stickerbook sold in Belgium and the Netherlands gave Swoop the alternate French language name "Swarp". Whether this name was used in any other media made for French-speaking regions is unknown.
• The overall design and transformation sequence of the original Swoop toy served as the basis for Ptera Geist, one of four recurring villainous henchmen on the Takara/Sunrise co-production Brave Exkaiser; Ptera Geist was the smartest of the group, and something of an inventor. In what might be called a vision of things to come, the four "Geisters" were once briefly fused into a single robot called "Mad Geister" (マッドガイスター Maddogaisutā). However, because each Geister controlled a portion of the combined body—and, aside from Ptera Geist, they had the accumulated brain power of a Froot Loop—this ended rather badly. In a more successful (if not also prescient) later development, the Geisters learned to merge in groups of two, with Ptera Geist forming the upper body of "Pteder" (プテダー Putedā).

New "Wildberry" Swoop is two, two, two flavors in one!

• Swoop and Sludge's absence from Generation 2 has never been fully explained, though rumors of what might have been persist. Recently, packaging art of both in new colors was unearthed, indicating what he might have looked like in the line. This art surfaced alongside a screaming yellow and turquoise Grimlock, so it is possible that the three were at one time planned for a second wave of Dinobots.
• Though never named specifically in the 3H comics, it is strongly implied that the Veteran is Swoop. The Veteran also appears in Simon Furman's pseudo-canonical story "The Last Days of Optimus Prime" and is outright referred to as being Swoop; he's said to have changed his name and appearance many times to adapt to Cybertron.
• The Diaclone incarnation of Swoop was also used as the model for the "restored" version of the Autobot Ravenus in the Micron Legend "Linkage" mini-comics.
• The Energon Swoop toy was originally intended to be the original Generation 1 character, and was to be released in Universe. However, it was ultimately shunted into Energon, reportedly for a combination of budgetary concerns and keeping the combination gimmick (since he combines with the packed-in Grimlock to form a super robot) only in the main-line, which had combination as a central theme.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Swoop (スワープ Suwāpu)
• French: Assailo (Canada)
• Hungarian: Roham ("Charge")
• Italian: Reptilo
• Portuguese: Pairador (Brazil comic)
• Chinese: Fēibiāo (飞镖, "dart")

External links

• Diaclone Swoop at DIACLONE.net (Japanese-language site)
• Proofs of the Albitron & Swoop box on Toyarchive.com
• Transformers #132 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk