Sweep (G1)

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

Sweeps are Decepticons from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Noticeably not involved in a heart-warming musical number with Dick van Dyke and Julie Andrews.

Sweeps are the minions of Scourge created by Unicron. Sweeps are visually indistinguishable from Scourge himself, although Sweeps do not necessarily have identical voices. While only a few are seen initially during Unicron's threat, there appears to be an inexhaustible supply of them later on. That's actually a good thing, as Galvatron tends to shoot them.

Like, all the time.

Sweeps with known defined personalities and identifiers are:

• Sweep Two
• Sweep Three
• Sweep Four
• Sweep Five
• Sweep Six
• Sweep Seven.

Dumb Sweep.Sludge calling the kettle black, "Webworld"

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Neil Ross ("Five Faces of Darkness" and "The Dweller in the Depths"), Corey Burton, Frank Welker, Ed Gilbert ("Five Faces of Darkness") Jerry Houser, Beau Weaver, Paul Eiding ("Starscream's Ghost"), Chris Latta ("Ghost in the Machine"), Aron Kincaid, Dick Gautier ("Webworld"), Jack Angel ("Webworld", "The Dweller in the Depths" and "Call of the Primitives") and multiple others, see Notes (English), Yoku Shioya (Japanese), Holger Schwiers, Reinhard Brock, Imo Heite, Hans-Rainer Müller, Ulrich Bernsdorff, Gerhard Acktun, Bernd Simon, Gernot Duda, Thomas Rau, Gerd Wiedenhofen (German), Albert Augier, Serge Bourrier, Henry Djanik, Francis Lax, Bruno Magne, Frédéric Cerdal, (European French), João Francisco Turelli (Portuguese, "The Movie" VHS dub), Older Cazarré (Portuguese, most of season 3), André Belizar (Portuguese, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2"), Nilton Valério (Portuguese, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3"), Paulo Flores (Portuguese, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 - 5"), Isaac Schneider (Portuguese, "Ghost in the Machine")

Two Sweeps were created by Unicron from the fallen Decepticons Shrapnel and Kickback, though seconds later there were suddenly more of them. They soon followed Galvatron to Autobot City, where one Sweep was destroyed by the Dinobots' fire-breath. The Autobots fled the city, but Galvatron's troops followed suit, and the Sweeps killed Ultra Magnus on the planet of Junk. The Transformers: The Movie

The Sweeps' involvement in these events, or events mostly similar, was also chronicled in the comic mini-series Transformers: The Animated Movie and the Special Edition The Transformers: The Movie extra page of "Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe".

A rare moment of not being shot by Galvatron.

After Galvatron's defeat at the hands of Rodimus Prime, the Sweeps followed Scourge and Cyclonus in their search for him. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1 They eventually discovered him on the planet of Thrull, only to be attacked by their crazed leader. Galvatron sent every single Sweep crashing into the planet's plasma pits, and the only one that fought back did no damage whatsoever to his leader. They all survived, though, and followed Galvatron's commands after he regained his senses (kind of). Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2

One of them got shot in the face by Wheelie, and promptly crashed into a storm on the surface of Jupiter, screaming all the way down. As this Sweep died an agonizing death, the last thing he likely heard was his own commander calling him a big baby. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3 Next, Galvatron led the Sweeps to the planet Goo and ordered them to fire on all Decepticons who were following the Quintessons instead of him. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 After Galvatron joined forces with the Quintessons, the Sweeps participated in an all-out attack on Cybertron. Slingshot sent one of them spinning out of control, causing a bunch of them to crash into each other (and Cyclonus). Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5

"They're mongrels. No spots! No spots at all!"

Some Sweeps were part of the Decepticon armada that pursued an Autobot ship. They pursued the ship to an Autobot Mausoleum, where they were fought off by the resurrected Optimus Prime. Dark Awakening Much later, three Sweeps hunted the Decepticon exile Octane alongside Scourge and Cyclonus, and cornered him in a crypt on Cybertron. When Scourge ordered the Sweeps to enter the crypt, all three cowards refused to be the first one in, until Cyclonus got fed up with it and offered to fight whoever was the last one in. The Sweeps were suddenly very quick on their feet after that. Starscream's Ghost

Cyclonus and Scourge were accompanied by some Sweeps when they followed Daniel Witwicky and Wheelie to a storage asteroid. Ultra Magnus turned up to rescue Daniel, and made short work of the Sweeps. Surprise Party Scourge was later possessed by the ghost of Starscream, and the Sweeps briefly fell under the command of Cyclonus. Ghost in the Machine

Don't be fooled by the dynamic camera shot, they get beaten up shortly.

More Sweeps were unfortunately enough to be with Galvatron during a battle over isidrite, and were bashed around by their leader nearly as much as by the Autobots. Webworld Cyclonus was accompanied by a number of Sweeps as he investigated strange activity on Junk. Once the Junkions had been fried from the influence of the Quintessons, they sent Cyclonus and his men packing. The Big Broadcast of 2006 They later helped Galvatron temporarily take possession of a Quintesson Journal, at least until the Quintessons themselves arrived and took it back. The Quintesson Journal

A Sweep in its default state: cowering in fear of Galvatron.

A number of Sweeps followed Galvatron when he was tricked by the Quintessons into releasing the dangerous Trans-Organics sealed beneath Cybertron's surface. They didn't fare too well against the monsters, and even worse against the one known as the "Dweller". As Galvatron fled from the beast, he threw the remaining Sweeps at its horde of energy vampires in order to slow them down. The Sweeps all became energy vampires themselves, but were later cured by a massive power surge. The Dweller in the Depths

During a battle with the Autobots on the Moon, Sweeps Six and Seven made an attack run on the enemy position. Call of the Primitives The Sweeps took part in a couple of attacks on Japan, but were beaten back by the Autobots both times. The Burden Hardest to Bear When the madness-inducing Hate Plague spread throughout the universe, the Sweeps were among its numerous victims. At least one of them was shot down by Galvatron as they chased him across Chaar. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

Japanese cartoon continuity

The Headmasters cartoon

The one on the right is actually Scourge.

Peeking their heads out to see if Galvatron was still kill-crazy, two Sweeps joined Scourge in sabotaging Autobot rescue operations after Metamorphose twisted the Aerialbots into a mess. Approach of the Demon Meteorite Several Sweeps were also seen on the moon during Scorponok's grand declaration of leadership. Return of the Immortal Emperor

The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers

Scourge and his Sweeps were part of the Decepticon forces that attempted to steal away the Prime Energy Tower on Feminia. The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #5

Legends comic

The Sweeps were caught up in Scorponok's black hole explosion that caused their bodies to shrink, forcing them to become Headmasters. The affected Decepticons travelled to the Legends World, where they teamed up with Tera-Kura Co. Headmaster Chapter Prologue The Sweeps became part of the company's official hierarchy, working under Scourge, Bonus Edition Vol. 22 where Scourge with the Sweeps 2 and 3, and 5, 6, and 7 participated in an introductory lineup for Galvatron, prompting the leader to ask about the whereabouts of Sweep #4, which he would get an answer moments later. LG-26 Scourge Prologue

Relegated to janitors, the annoyed Sweeps struck a deal with Terrorsaur to receive transtector bodies in exchange for kidnapping Alpha Trion. When Scourge powered himself up using Trion, the Sweeps grew jealous and swarmed his transtector in an attempt to get a piece of the cake. Their takeover backfired when the transtector overloaded and exploded, and they returned to being janitors, now supervised by a freed Trion. Bonus Edition Vol. 26 The Sweeps were later hypnotized by Mindwipe into overthrowing Megatron. Bonus Edition Vol. 34 As part of Weirdwolf's Scorponok-loyalists, they rebelled against Tera-Kura Co. and helped build Trypticon. During their attack on Metroplex for his transformation cog, the Sweeps tried to attack using their numbers but got tied up by Nightbird clones. Decepticon Civil War

While searching for a Zodiac on Scourge's orders, the Sweeps uncovered the Targetmaster Blowpipe. Targetmaster Chapter Prologue They used him to clone Sharkticons as part of a world domination scheme, but were stopped by Hot Rod, Shaoshao Li, and a Grimlock-controlled Trypticon. While Scourge escaped, the defeated Sweeps were turned over to the police. Bonus Edition Vol. 44 Scourge and the Sweeps later stole Blowpipe back and used him to clone Sweep Seven, creating an army they used to scour the city for White Lune. They eventually cornered her only to be defeated by Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr and their Targetmaster partners, after which they were punished by having to dress up as Santa Claus and hand out presents. Late Xmas Present Chapter

Wings Universe

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

The Sweeps possessed a limited form of the Insecticon cloning ability, thus accounting for the seemingly limitless number observed. Menagerie #3

Cyclonus, Scourge, and his Sweeps surrounded an Autobot shuttle during a surprise attack. They temporarily lost track of the shuttle when it disappeared into a nebula, but eventually found it again and blasted their way into it. Unfortunately, what they found inside was five very angry Dinobots, who promptly tore the Sweeps apart. Wings of Honor

Serpentor was created from the discarded body of a Sweep. Serpent O.R.'s Wings Universe profile

Ask Vector Prime

In an unstable Iocus reality engineered by the machinations of Sideways and Gong wherein the Unicron War played out with GoBots involved, the Sweeps were built off of Deadlift's template instead, transforming into green forklifts. Echoes and Fragments

Marvel Comics continuity

Following the Decepticons' unsuccessful attempt at invading Autobot City in the year 2005, several Decepticon troopers were discarded and left adrift in space. The Sweeps were created by Unicron from these Decepticons' bodes to be a pack of hunters for the sole purpose of hunting Autobots and their human allies. Their leader was Scourge. Scourge's Universe profile The Planet-Eater! On their first mission, the Sweeps followed Galvatron to Cybertron, and watched on as their leader killed Starscream. Judgment Day! The Sweeps next joined Galvatron when he attacked the planet of Junk to snatch away the Matrix of Leadership from Ultra Magnus. Four of their members ensnared Ultra Magnus in some energy lassos and drew the Autobot leader to quarters before taking off. The Final Battle!

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Izzy wizzy, let's get busy!

Created by Unicron before he entered a period of hibernation and released into space to seek out information, the "first wave" split up and headed in different directions to cover as much of the galaxy as possible. The "alpha drone" (a.k.a. Scourge, or the "first herald") discovered Cybertron in the middle of the Great Shutdown and awoke Shockwave for study, only for this act to lead to his own capture. Later, Unicron began work on a second, improved wave of drones, this time resembling (and presumably including) Cyclonus. Generation 1 #0

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

In a dystopian future where the Decepticons had conquered Earth, Sweeps patrolled the ruins of New York City. They discovered a group of time-displaced G.I. Joes and Cobra members, but were taken out by the Dreadnoks. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #3 Some time after that timeline was averted via time travel, the Sweeps were seen among Serpent O.R.'s forces on Cybertron, fighting back against a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe strike force. The Art of War #5

2005 IDW continuity

On Gorlam Prime, Galvatron tossed the dying Scourge into a solar pool and using the power of the Heart of Darkness, brought him back to full strength. The pool, which also contained the remains of denizens from the Dead Universe, reformatted the bodies into clones of Scourge, who would be their master. Galvatron was incensed that the Sweeps were not created in his image. Scourge, his Sweeps, and Cyclonus then began to aid Galvatron on his new quest. Rebirth Their first mission was to scour Gorlam Prime for its inhabitants, who had disappeared without a trace. While Galvatron, Scourge, and Cyclonus went underground and found Jhiaxus, the Sweeps were apparently all busy searching other parts of the planet. Heart of Darkness #1

The Sweeps accompanied Galvatron as he traveled the galaxy raising the dead to form an army with which to oppose D-Void. Among the many planets they visited was Spindrift. Heart of Darkness #3 They were present when Galvatron fought Nemesis Prime on the planet Dykayra, and several of them were killed when Scourge ordered them to attack D-Void-powered menace. Heart of Darkness #4 Over time, members of Galvatron's undead army were gradually turned into additional Sweeps until the army consisted of nothing but identical soldiers, a change likely brought about by the Heart of Darkness. A Better Tomorrow

In a universe where a zombie virus collectively called Undermind was attempting to spread to other universes, four portals opened that depicted scenes from four separate universes. In one of these portals, an infected Sweep or two was seen amongst zombified robots and humans. Infestation #1 The infection had occurred when Galvatron's ship encountered a space-time anomaly on its way to Earth. He ordered three Sweeps to retrieve a frozen chunk of wreckage that had been flung from the anomaly, but when it was brought on board, zombie humans and robots erupted from it, infecting the three Sweeps. Eventually, the ship crash-landed on Earth, where the infected Sweeps scattered through Las Vegas. The Transformers: Infestation #1

After the zombie threat had been dealt with, Galvatron took his army with him to Cybertron, their first line of defense against D-Void. As the Sweeps were sent out to scout the planet, one of them discovered Rodimus and Wheelie. Noting that they were armed, he broke Galvatron's orders by engaging the Autobots, and was subsequently shot down by Wheelie. Galvatron used the Darkness to heal the Sweep's injuries and scolded him, telling him that all Transformers needed to work together. The other Sweeps then tried and failed to stop Rodimus's starship from leaving Cybertron. Heart of Darkness #4 Out of the Silent Planet

Under the command of Cyclonus, a large number of Sweeps invaded Kimia Facility in order to take control of it for Galvatron's use. Their numbers easily overwhelmed the Autobot defenders, and some of them were even seen eating their enemies. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime arrived on Cybertron but refused to join Galvatron's army, and several Sweeps were sent to destroy him and his landing party. They were all killed, and Ironhide used one of the corpses to clobber Galvatron. Lamentations While a number of Sweeps defended Kimia from aerial Autobot forces, most stayed behind with Galvatron until Wheelie tried to snipe him only to kill a Sweep instead. An enraged Galvatron sent his entire Sweep army at him and Cliffjumper, who in turn called for reinforcements, leading to a large-scale battle between the Sweeps and Optimus Prime's troops. Wheelie and Cliffjumper were almost overrun, but were suddenly saved by Megatron. Numbers

Megatron, heavily upgraded and very unhappy, took on hundreds and hundreds of Sweeps on his own with little trouble. Together with Megatron's Decepticon forces, the entire Sweep army then came under the influence of D-Void, causing them to combine into an enormous monster. Kings Megatron challenged this "Deceptigod", blowing huge chunks of Sweeps off its body with his blasts and ultimately defeating it. When Galvatron gave up the Heart of Darkness and D-Void began to enter the universe, the Sweeps began disintegrating and returned to being dead. Genesis

After Galvatron was defeated and Cybertron was "reset" into a primordial state, Sweep corpses could be found littering the planet. The Death of Optimus Prime The less-than-balanced Whirl used some of them as stress relief, mutilating the dead bodies and stringing them up on walls. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It Later, Sky-Byte found some of them and was reminded of someone he once knew. A Better Tomorrow Megatron was carrying several Sweep heads when he reemerged months after his battle with them. City on Fire

A number of Sweeps survived the destruction of the Heart of Darkness by being sent to the Dead Universe alongside the defeated Galvatron. Falling under the command of Galvatron's superior, Nova Prime, they acted as guards for his citadel. The Dead Are Not Enough Orion Pax, Rodimus, Cyclonus, and Nightbeat fought their way through them in their bid to rescue Kup from Nova's clutches. Burning Bright The others held the Sweeps at bay while Orion dueled and ultimately killed the Prime. Finis Temporis

A number of the deceased Sweeps on Cybertron were reanimated by Bludgeon using a combination of newborn sparks and Trypticon's corrupted energon. Bludgeon had them attack Barricade's delivery of Camien sparks to Alyon, but they were fought off and destroyed by the escorting Dinobots. Redemption Bludgeon continued to reanimate Sweeps, mutating their sparks until they could be used to activate Trypticon's brain module. Salvation

Beast Wars: Uprising

During the time of the Builders, they commonly used Sweeps as transports. One discarded Sweep was found in a boneyard by the Ex-Bots, and when its mind turned out to be impossible to recover, they lobotomized it and remodeled it into the Ex-Jet. Derailment

Commercial appearances

A Sweep could be seen battling the Autobots alongside Galvatron and Scourge while Transformers of both factions left Cybertron to expand their war to the planet Nebulos. Headmaster comic book commercial

Games

Transformers: Legends

The Sweeps were loyal troops under Megatron. After their leader's demise, they opposed Starscream's bid to grab leadership. The Coronation of Starscream

One of the Sweeps (or possibly Scourge himself) fell victim to a bear-like Trans-Organic when Galvatron was tricked into attacking the resting grounds of the Dweller. Dweller in the Depths

Toys

While pretty much any Scourge toy can be used as a Sweep if you like, this section will only list toys that are explicitly sold as Sweeps.

Timelines

Why are all the armybuilding versions of this mold rare exclusives?

• Sweeps (Multipack, 2009)
  • Accessories: Six wings/blades (left and right), three yellow Planet X-style Cyber Keys

Sweeps Two, Six and Seven came in an exclusive three-pack at BotCon 2009, all three being identical redecos of the Timelines Scourge toy available at the same convention. The mold is a retool of Cybertron Sideways with a new head, transforming into a teal and white alien spacefighter with yellow detailing. The Sweeps are armed with "battle shields" with Cyber Key-activated pop-out blades. Their wings can also detach from their ankles and also be used as blades, with both pegging into their hands, either with one blade in each hand, or with both blades pegging into the top and bottom of a single hand, forming a double-bladed weapon. They come with three yellow Planet X-style Cyber Keys with teal deco.

The Sweeps were later repurposed as Shattered Glass Scourge. The original version of this mold was also used for the Japanese DVD-exclusive Noisemaze Mass Production Type Version and Universe Ratbat.

• More information on Sweeps at TFU.info

Generations

Mustache not included.

• Armada of Cyclonus (Platinum Edition 3-pack, 2016)
  • Accessories: Rifle

Part of Hasbro's Platinum Edition offerings for 2016 intended to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie, "Decepticon Sweeps" is a retool of Generations Scourge (a redeco of whom is also included in the set) with a pre-tooled alternate head based on Devcon. Notably, this version only replaces the front half of Scourge's head, while the rest remains unchanged. Fun Publications was unaware of and did not have access to this head when making the BotCon 2014 Devcon figure. The figure also features transparent plastic on several parts to evoke his reformation in the movie.

Sweeps was released as part of 3-pack with Cyclonus and Scourge, named "Armada of Cyclonus". Despite officially being touted as "available online" by Hasbro at BotCon 2016, thereby implying a "shared exclusive" between multiple online retailers for the United States market (which would usually include the likes of Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, and Hasbro Toy Shop), it was ultimately only ever listed and stocked by two US-based online stores, namely TFSource and Scramble Core, both of whom obtain their stock through Asian vendors. The set did see a somewhat more widespread release in Hasbro's Asian markets (most notably Singapore) and, more surprisingly, was even officially released in Canada (where it was sold at Toys"R"Us stores and also made available via Walmart's Canadian website, though never sold in stores) and the United Kingdom (where it was available via the UK Toys"R"Us website). It was also listed very early on by Amazon's Spanish subsidiary, but was ultimately never stocked by them.

For unknown reasons, the mold was retooled to remove the head's ability to raise and lower, with the old internal mechanism replaced with solid blocks that keep it fixed at robot mode height. Furthermore, the included instructions picture Generations Ratbat rather than either Scourge or the Sweep.

Generations mold: Scourge
Hasbro: Generations Scourge Ratbat (canceled) Platinum Edition Scourge Decepticon Sweeps Fun Publications: Timelines Knight Devcon Serpent O.R. TakaraTomy: United UN-21 Decepticon Scourge Generations TG-20 Ratbat e-HOBBY United Decepticon Scourge Blue Purple Clear Ver.

Legends

File:TF-LG-44-Sweep.jpg

Me body's at the cleaners!

• Sharktron & Sweeps (Sharkticon) (September 30, 2017)
  • Japanese ID Number: LG44

Legends "Sweeps" is a redeco/retool of Titans Return Titan Master Fracas, with a new up-swept mustache face. As a Headmaster, the Sweep can transform into a head compatible with Scourge or any other Deluxe-or-larger Titans Return-style figure, though it is intended for use with LG26 Scourge's transtector, to which it is color-matched.

The Sweep was bundled with Sharktron, a redeco of Titans Return Gnaw.

Titans Return mold: Fracas
Hasbro: Titans Return Fracas Xort Scorchfire TakaraTomy: Legends LG26 Scourge LG33 Gorter (Highbrow) LG44 Sweeps LG62 Targetmaster Windblade

Studio Series

Placing him near Galvatron may get him blown off your shelf.

• Decepticon Sweep (Voyager Class, 2021)
  • Hasbro ID number: 86-10
  • Accessories: Fire Blast effect, blaster, "Heralds of Unicron" backdrop

Released to commemorate the 35th anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie, Studio Series "Decepticon Sweep" is a redeco and minor retool of Scourge. The Sweep has multiple 5 mm ports on their body and 3 mm posts at the barrel of their blasters to facilitate the C.O.M.B.A.T. System. Their helmet in robot mode also has a 3 mm post on the front.

The Sweep's main molding difference from Scourge is that the open left hand sculpted on Scourge is switched to Sweep's right hand, which shows off their gaudy pink fingernails. Additionally, the Sweep comes with a different fire blast effect compared to Studio Series Scourge. They include the same blaster accessory as Scourge, which can still be attached to the side of their vehicle mode. The range of movement in the Sweep's hips is limited by the sculpting of the sides of their pelvis, which can also scrape the paint that completely coats their thighs if not handled carefully.

The Sweep also features a second vehicle mode configuration in their instructions to replicate the occassional moments in animation and artwork where their heads would be visible in vehicle mode. To achieve this, their whole vehicle mode shell needs to be opened; the armature that their head assembly is on needs to be extended up, and as you bring the shell halves back together, the back panel attached to the head assembly tabs into both of their "engines." As an additional feature, one can also fold the faux engine piece on the back of their head down to give them neck articulation.

According to the August 13 Fan First Friday, the Sweep's color scheme is closer to Scourge's original toy deco, while the Studio Series Scourge figure has a more cartoon accurate deco.

Notes

• One of the great continuity problems within the G1 animated series concerns the minions of Unicron. Namely, Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps. The issue stems from the original script never specifying which Decepticons were thrown off Astrotrain and remade into Galvatron's followers, essentially rendering them generics. As the third-season episodes were most likely made using the script and not the as-yet-unfinished film, the Insecticons regularly reappeared in later episodes as well as later on in the movie itself. Much scuttlebutt has been made about who has been turned into whom, but ultimately, it falls on the viewer to decide who were the genuine article and who were Decepticons that simply looked like these characters.
• As generic characters, the Sweeps had no regular actors in the Generation 1 cartoon, and were voiced by whatever actors happened to already be performing set roles in any given episode. Those listed above are the ones that get clearly identifiable speaking lines; other times, the Sweeps' lines were delivered by actors speaking as a group or as walla, some only choked out one or two words, and some just screamed. By and large, most Sweep performances tended towards a rasping, whispery voice.
• In the Chinese dub, due to incorrect translation, some of the Sweeps were given their own names: “滑板” ("Skateboard") in "Fight or Flee", “扫雷器” ("Minesweeper") in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2", “碎壳” ("Broken Shell") in "Secret Files of Teletraan II". This is not the first time.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Sweeps (スウィープス Suwīpusu)
• Italian: Incrociatori
• Mandarin: Sǎodàng Duì (China, 扫荡队, "Sweep Team")