Sideways (ROTF)

This article is about the live-action Decepticon. For the Unicron-serving backstabber from every other continuity, see Sideways (RID).

Sideways is a Decepticon from the Revenge of the Fallen franchise in the live-action film continuity family.

Guess what? I'm not Barricade! Had you all fooled, Didn't I?

Before the war, Sideways was a simple courier, not exactly a career demanding massive levels of courage. This means that in the battle against the Autobots, Sideways prefers to team up with larger Decepticons. This way, his target-friendly companion takes all the heat! In fact, he generally shuns combat entirely. He's not a courageous fellow. But when he absolutely must face the enemy, he eagerly deploys the spinning saw blades on his arms.

Since he's arrived on Earth, Sideways has started hanging out with the mountainous Demolishor. There's few larger Decepticons to lurk in the shadow of!

“	I'm on it. No one outruns me.	”
—Sideways to Starscream, Revenge of the Fallen

Fiction

Revenge of the Fallen film

Sideways desperately tries to flee from a rabid fangirl.

Sideways was hiding out in Shanghai when NEST came to investigate a possible Decepticon insurgence. While the soldiers and their Autobot allies were busy fighting off Demolishor, Sideways attempted to make his getaway. He was not entirely undetected, however, as Major Lennox sent out Arcee and the twins in pursuit. The twins quickly fell out of the chase and Sideways was also able to fight off Arcee after crashing directly through a building. Sideways didn't get far, and eventually met his end when Sideswipe engaged in pursuit, transformed, and bisected Sideways as he attempted to flee. Revenge of the Fallen

Games

Revenge of the Fallen - The Game

Voice actor: John DiMaggio

Revenge of the Fallen- The Game (Xbox 360/Sony PS3/PC)

Decepticon campaign

Bite my shiny metal ass!

Sideways operated as a high-speed reconnaissance operative with the ability to snipe at Autobot opponents from afar with his plasma sniper rifle, and slow enemies to a crawl with his graviton mine when he needed to get away.

Sideways was deployed to Shanghai after the Autobots and their NEST allies were detected interfering with an important operation in the area. Upon arrival, various Protectobot drones were sent to stop him, but failed. Later, Sideways is sent to the Shanghai waterfront to retrieve Grindor, who had been damaged and captured by the Autobots. The nimble Decepticon sports car used a combination of speed and guile to fight his way through the numerically superior Autobot forces, freed Grindor and escorted his Decepticon brother back to the extraction point. He was sent back to the waterfront again find a cloaked Autobot probe that threatened the Decepticon operations in China. Following the probe's wake, Sideways raced through the waterfront past startled human dockworkers and the Protectobot units assigned to the area, destroying the probe as it revealed itself. Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Autobot campaign

The Autobots were deployed to China when NEST forces detected the presence of Decepticons in Shanghai. Sideways secreted himself within the urban jungle and sent waves of Stunticon drones against Ironhide. After the last batch of Stunticons had been defeated, Sideways revealed himself, taking pot shots at the powerful Autobot with his slag repeater, after which he would cheese it flee through the narrow alleyways where Ironhide had difficulty following. While the Autobot struggled to pass the cramped causeways, Sideways set himself up on the roof of the tallest residential block and fired his plasma sniper rifle. Ironhide shrugged off the blasts, clambered up the building, and with a mighty punch, sent Sideways plummeting to the ground, reducing him to scrap. Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Toys

Revenge of the Fallen

Legends Class toys

• Sideways (Legends, 2009)
  • Japanese ID number:

Deluxe Class toys

Seriously, how could you mistake me for Barricade?

• Sideways (Deluxe, 2009)
  • Japanese ID number: RD-05

Deluxe-Class Sideways features Automorph action during the conversion from car to robot mode. When the front bumper is pressed, his front pair of wheels automatically flip underneath the hood. There is also some Mech Alive: you can see internal gears moving in his fore-arms when moving his arms, as well as a turning disk on each of his elbow. On his right arm is a spinning "saw" blade. He is probably the least film-accurate toy to date (that doesn't fall in a lesser size-class or different toy-line), but that doesn't make him any less awesome.

Unlike the other on-screen characters in Revenge of the Fallen who turn into consumer vehicles, Sideways' vehicle mode is merely an approximation of an Audi R8 and is not an accurate replica. This is because the toy vehicle, lacking Audi signage, is unlicensed. This doesn't explain why all versions of Deluxe class Sideways (hand-painted prototypes, test shots and production toys) are missing the black front lid, roof and rear hood seen on Sideways toys of other price points, and the real car. However, all of the toys are missing the unique silver stripes on top of the black areas seen on the APR-tuned Audi R8, which was the car used in the movie.

Yet another victim of late mold changes rampant among the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Sideways appears to have had a hinged thumb on his left hand in Hasbro stock photos whereas this is a solid section molded on to the arm on the final toy. Also, Sideways' windshield underside has two notches added that are not in any early photos nor the instructions. These notches are there to more securely connect to Sideways' hood, but can only be used when the two triangular panels at Sideways's shoulders are folded up. Fortunately, doing so makes Sideways much more film-accurate. Also it seems as if the spinning saw blade was originally powered by gears, the gearbox and shaft for the lever can still be seen on his right forearm but are molded just like his thumb onto the arm.

This mold was retooled into the Deluxe class version of Revenge of the Fallen Dead End.

• More information on Sideways at TFU.info

Fast Action Battlers

"Do your arms hang low...?"

• Magna Missile Sideways (Fast Action Battlers, 2009)
  • Accessories:

Magna Missile Sideways' robot mode has the entire sides of the car becoming his arms, making this toy even more similar to Barricade than Sideways' movie CG and Deluxe class toy robot design. Like most of the Sideways toys and merchandise (bar the Deluxe class figure), he features screen-accurate black paint on his vehicle front lid, roof and rear hood.

Merchandise

R.P.M.s - Robot Powered Machines

Speed Series

Sideways? More like UNDERside! OH!

• Sideways (R.P.M. Mini-Vehicle, 2009)
  • Number: 01 of 04

Number one in a series of four Robot Powered Machines Mini-Vehicle single packs, Sideways is an untransformable Hot Wheels-like car, unless you count his robot mode being sculpted and painted onto the underside of him.

Robot Heroes

My shiny metal saw will bite you!

• Sideswipe and Sideways (2009)

Sideways is part of the first wave of Revenge of the Fallen Robot Heroes figures and is packaged versus Sideswipe. He has rotational articulation at both shoulders and extremely limited neck articulation. Curiously, he holds a chainsaw-like blade in his hand, rather than it being integrated into wheel-kibble on his wrist. However, this is pretty close to how his weapon actually works in the official video game; when Sideways fights in melee, his wheel-blades spread out to form razor-edged ovals, presumably for added reach.

The Twins aren't the only vehicle that splits in two in this scene.

• Shanghai Shootout (Multi-pack, 2009)

Shanghai Shootout replicates the opening action scene from Revenge of the Fallen, featuring figurines of Mudflap/Skids (ice cream truck), Sideways (vehicle mode), Optimus Prime, Demolishor, and Sideswipe (vehicle mode). Demolishor is a slightly-oversized figure and the centerpiece of the box set.

Notes

• When Audi was looking to win screen time for one of its cars in the summer films during 2009, Ruben Igielko-Herrlich, a marketing consultant from Propaganda Global Entertainment Marketing, helped the company to find an opportunity in the film Revenge of the Fallen. Ruben talked the staff from the film into finding a role for the Audi R8. Ultimately, an Audi R8 appears in the film as Sideways. Thus, Sideways became the only car Transformer in the movie whose alternate mode is not manufactured by General Motors.
• Sideways's toys and merchandise are not licensed by Audi, and are thus merely approximations of the R8. However, Sideways' appearance in the Revenge of the Fallen video games is fully licensed, so he is accurate to the car used in the film and has Audi's logos and signage.