Swoop (Animated)

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 from the Transformers Animated continuity family.

Gatchaman!

Swoop is a Pteranodon Dinobot. He prefers his nice, quiet island to the mainland, but doesn't say no to crossing over for the odd battle. Not only is it fun to see humans scatter at the sight of him, bashing Decepticons with his flaming flail is more fun than bashing trees.

Fiction

Animated cartoon

Swoop made his appearance along with the other Dinobots, but neither he nor Snarl spoke. He battled the Autobots but like the others ended up trapped in tar, before being relocated to Dinobot Island by Prowl and Bulkhead. He also did not transform, as he didn't know it was possible until Grimlock discovered he could. Blast from the Past

"Me Swoop give you head start..."

He was later forced by the villain Meltdown to kidnap Sari Sumdac and attack her would-be rescuers, Prowl and Bulkhead. Once Meltdown was trapped and unable to hurt him, he demonstrated he'd learned to transform and joined his fellow Dinobots in threatening the acid-thrower. However, before Meltdown could be hurt, Swoop's attention was diverted to Colossus Rhodes and two of Meltdown's mutants, and he and the other Dinobots beat up on them instead. Survival of the Fittest

He would later be found along with his fellow Dinobots by Optimus Prime, Prowl and Bulkhead to see if they would help fight against the Decepticons. However, Grimlock refused to fight with the Autobots, saying that they would destroy robots. Optimus then replied to Grimlock that the Dinobots were robots themselves. Swoop promptly began following to the letter Grimlock's order to destroy all robots, starting with Grimlock. Megatron Rising - Part 1

When Optimus, Autobot Commander Ultra Magnus, and Planetary Bitch Sentinel Prime went to find the Ark, they intruded on Swoop's territory and gave him a big ass-kicking which a slightly big jerk like him deserves. However, he was scared off by Ultra Magnus and his electrical powers. The Elite Guard

When his friend Grimlock had a large spike in his toe, he went on a rampage, which he tried to prevent, but to no avail. Prowl managed to reluctantly use Ratchet's EMP Blaster (which he was borrowing) before anything was damaged. When Prowl told him he would be okay and Bulkhead took the spike out of his toes, he was very relieved. A Fistful of Energon

"Me Swoop thought boxed chocolates too cliché, but contents still have gooey centre."

He returned once again with his fellow Dinobots, working for Blackarachnia. He, Grimlock and Snarl were ordered to fetch Meltdown from prison for her, so that she could be rid of her organic half. It was revealed that the Dinobots worked for her due to her feminine ways. Grimlock fought and beat both Swoop and Snarl to prove that he loved Blackarachnia most. Blackarachnia then used her mimic ability to steal Grimlock's fire-breathing power and proceeded to incinerate Swoop and Snarl. Despite this, they still worked for her later, as they helped both Optimus and Grimlock by defeating Meltdown's mutants once again. Unlike Grimlock, Swoop seemed indifferent to the fact that Blackarachnia then left them all. Black Friday

Swoop later found the female spider, who asked him to deliver the fugitive Wasp for her. He agreed and took the fugitive to the island, with the Elite Guard soldiers Jetfire, Jetstorm, and Sentinel Prime still on his tail. However, he managed to evade their pursuit and brought Wasp back to Meltdown's lab. Later, he and the others were guarding the way to the lab when they encountered the Jet twins. Swoop faced them, but was ultimately defeated. Predacons Rising

Swoop and Grimlock later kicked out Snarl when he decided to be the pet of a Constructicon castaway that arrived on the island. Human Error, Part II

Titan Magazines

Swoop can talk! Dino-MIGHT!

He's not speaking to you either.

Later on, a Rage virus infection stopped him from showing this power of speech. He instead turned violent and attacked Grimlock, hovered around for Afterburn to stand on, and threw Bumblebee into mud. Not that big a rage then. Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?

Later still, a huge row between him and Grimlock over a TV program saw Swoop booted out of the Dinobots. On his way to join the Autobots, he buzzed past a USAF plane and so got a bollocking from Prime when he landed, causing him to leave in a huff. However, soon the Autobots needed aerial assistance to stop a rogue stealth bomber, and Bumblebee convinced Swoop to help by reminding him that he owed them for the Rage virus thing appealing to his sense of team spirit ego. He successfully stopped the bomber, saving Detroit and proving to the Autobots that he was awesome.

And all that while only talking once (and off-panel at that) due to being in a huff!Divebomb

Toys

Animated

File:Deluxeanimatedswoop.jpg

Swoop looms, like a vast predatory bird...

• Swoop (Deluxe, 2008)
  • Japanese ID number: TA-19
  • Accessories: Flail

Part of the fourth wave of Animated Deluxes, Swoop transforms into a robotic pteranodon. His relatively simple transformation results in a startlingly show-accurate robot mode (albeit with longer legs in pteranodon mode). He comes with a flail weapon which can be stored under his foot in beast mode. The weapon seems to have an abandoned gimmick where pushing in the bottom of the ball would activate pop-out flames. Apparently, it was abandoned after the realization that if a child swallowed the weapon, the flames popping out would make the kid's esophagus worse for wear. However, this gimmick can somewhat be reactivated with a small modification [1], allowing the flames to be partially revealed. A slightly more complex modification can be done to allow the flames to raise to full height when they pop out[2], resulting in the inner curve of the flames matching the curve of the ball[3]—a look which indicates this is much closer to the original intention.

Swoop's eyes are engineered for piping, but are painted blue.

Notes

• According to The AllSpark Almanac, Swoop was named by Blackarachnia.
• Snarl and Swoop both speak in the Japanese dub...but all they say is their names.
• Swoop and Snarl did not have any lines in the cartoon. Reportedly, this is due to limitations on the number of voice actors that can be used in an episode, and the number of characters they can voice in one as well. Derrick J. Wyatt remarked in a Q&A session that his ideal voice for Swoop would be comedian Gilbert Gottfried. Their lack of dialogue would be used for a gag in comic story Divebomb. Both Dinobots speak in the Japanese dub, but thus far have only managed their names.

External links

• Swoop at TFU.info