Swindle (ES)
| The name or term "Swindle" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Swindle (disambiguation). |
- Swindle is a Decepticon from the EarthSpark continuity family.
The brains of the two-bot team he makes with his brother Hardtop, you can't trust Swindle. Every interaction is a performance, be it a sob story to make you drop your guard, or roping someone into some mischief to make them think he's just a fun-loving bot who likes to break the rules. But don't be fooled, Swindle is a liar and a thief at his core. He may care for his brother, but everyone else is a means to an end. Once they question his suggestions or try to back out of whatever criminal enterprise he's tricked them into being a part of, the jig is up. Swindle's grin and happy-go-lucky front drops, and what's left is the cold, ruthless criminal he really is, ready to gun down the same people he called friends just a minute before.
Hell of a surfboarder though.
Fiction
EarthSpark cartoon
- Voice actor: Nolan North (English), Julien Allouf (French), Carlo Vázquez Díaz (Latin American Spanish), Stefano Brusa (Italian)
Swindle and Hardtop traveled to a trainyard in Witwicky on a hot tip, eager to score some unguarded energon. However, the hot tip turned out to be a hot trap, set up by Elita-1, and the pair ended up facing both her and Optimus Prime. Elita alone proved to be more than a match for both Decepticons, boxing them both into an arena of fallen shipping containers, a perfect setup for Optimus to hurl one of the containers at them. Swindle was pushed out of the way by his brother who took the brunt, and a sudden attack by Arachnamechs gave the con-man an opening to escape.Secret Legacy, Part 1
Swindle continued to look for his brother, attacking G.H.O.S.T. trucks and installations to steal gear and info in the hopes of locating Hardtop. Spotting easy suckers in Thrash and Mo Malto, he was able to quickly convince them he was really a good guy just out looking for his missing brother... and while the latter half of that was true, the first part definitely wasn't. He used them to try and steal equipment from a G.H.O.S.T. truck, with Mo able to get through the Transformer-proof energon force field, though he had to drop the ruse and threaten their lives to get her to do so. The timely arrival of Dot and Bumblebee foiled his plans, and Swindle had to run off empty-handed. House Rules
Toys
EarthSpark
- Swindle (1-Step Flip Changer, 2022)
- "1-Step Flip Changer" Swindle is a simple toy that converts from robot to vehicle and vice versa in a single step. His vehicle mode can be arrived at much faster by letting him fall face up onto a solid surface. This releases a switch on his leg and lets him spring back into car mode instantly.
- Unlike previous One Step Changers, Swindle lacks any robot mode articulation beyond waggling his free-moving arms side to side.
Notes
- While Swindle overall draws from his Generation 1 counterpart in terms of personality and design, his relationship with Hardtop comes from Cybertron Swindle, where they were likewise brothers.
Foreign names
- Hungarian: Svindli ("Spoof")
