Let's see what you can see... This article is in need of images. Specifics: Sideways's Autobot/Decepticon faction symbol from Armada or Cybertron package.

Sideways is an agent of Unicron from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Goofy ominous nutball hardass.

Sideways is a con-artist, but not in the traditional sense. He doesn’t doublecross others for monetary gain or anything of the sort; he strictly misleads others because he lives to see their reaction to his betrayal, and because it furthers Unicron, his master’s, goals. He serves the planet-eater loyally, and works tirelessly toward putting him into a place of ultimate power. For the most part, Sideways is hands off in his deceit–he plants seeds in the minds of his marks, typically the Autobots and Decepticons, and lets them do his work for him, unaware of the fact that they are being manipulated. He doesn’t really fear the consequences of his trickery coming to light, either. For him, the war between the two factions is childish, only a means to an end, and he considers himself above it.

Sideways maintains his cover by keeping his cards close to his chest, and only making a move when absolutely necessary. He allies himself with whoever is most likely to bring his goals to fruition, which is made possible thanks to his ability to switch faction insignias on a whim. He’s quick to fabricate stories for his change in allegiance, too, whenever he does switch sides; they don’t need to be particularly believable, so long as they keep him online long enough to serve his master. Besides, if anyone gets too suspicious, it’s nothing some more lies, or, if need be, outright violence, can’t fix.

When Sideways is forced into a fight, he can certainly hold his own, wielding either arm-mounted cannons or blades depending on his current form. Not only is he physically capable in combat, but he can also escape a battle if needed using his reality-defying trans-phase mode. In this configuration, Sideways becomes intangible, and can repair even the most grievous damage.

Sideways has two Mini-Con partners: Rook and Crosswise.

Fiction

Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

Voice actor: Paul Dobson, Mark Acheson (as Unicron) (English); Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Ekkehardt Belle (German), Jhonny Torres (Latin-American Spanish), Francisco Andrés Valdivia (Castilian Spanish), Raine Heiskanen (Finnish), Johan Hedenberg (Swedish), Anders Öjebo (Swedish, "Credulous", "Conspiracy" and "Trust"), Olivier Destrez (French), Gerolamo Alchieri (Italian)

Hey kids, want some candy?

Sideways appeared as a beam of light from the sky striking a large Earth city near the Autobot base. An enigmatic warrior, he appeared to side with the Autobots, helping Hot Shot by watching his back during a confrontation with Scavenger. When asked to reveal himself, he transformed, his rider quickly splitting and becoming a helmet that covered his entire head. He claimed to be a drifter who just wandered into the conflict. While he gave the human kids Billy and Fred rides in cycle mode to keep them entertained, Hot Shot, Red Alert, Rad and Alexis were all suspicious of the motorcycle's motives, especially his close attention to the Mini-Cons. Gale

Surprise, the mysterious ninja is evil!

In the following battle, Megatron faced Sideways and Hot Shot alone, and managed to force the Mini-Con panel Sideways had (apparently) found out of his grasp. As the Decepticon leader began to warp away, both Autobots grabbed onto Megatron and all three were teleported to the Moon. To Hot Shot and Megatron's surprise, the Mini-Con panel was a fake, made to convince Megatron to retreat so that Hot Shot, spurred on by Sideways's encouragement, could defeat the Decepticons once and for all. Though both robots fought well alongside each other, with Sideways expressing concern over Hot Shot's well-being, he eventually betrayed the young Autobot, by striking a deal with Megatron. He would pretend to be Megatron's hostage and in exchange, no matter what, Hot Shot would turn over the Star Saber. At first, Hot Shot did follow through, but reneged at the last moment by calling the Mini-Cons back to him. Sideways suddenly attacked Hot Shot, knocking the Star Saber out of his hands and kicking it to Starscream. He switched Mini-Con heads, revealing his allegiance to the Decepticons. Hot Shot was savagely beaten by the Decepticons. They stopped short of destroying him on the advice of Scavenger, who teleported the young 'bot back to the Autobot base. Credulous Sideways watched with indifference as the Decepticons became divided over Starscream's possession of the Star Saber. Even when Demolishor turned to him specifically for support, Sideways claimed he wasn't one for "taking sides." On their next Mini-Con hunt, Sideways crossed paths with Hot Shot, though he avoided fighting him. Instead, he took to taunting him as the Autobot gave him chase. Hot Shot managed to knock Sideways off his wheels on their second of such races, which allowed the Autobot to regain some confidence in himself. Conspiracy

My Autobot counterpart is nearby...

When Starscream voiced his concerns that Scavenger might have went and joined the Autobots after deserting the Decepticons, Sideways stood in agreement with him. He put on a front of being especially spiteful towards Scavenger, stating that no one should get away with betraying the Decepticons. Starscream was right, and thanks to Scavengers' superior tactics, Megatron was gravely injured and tossed down a crevasse on the Decepticons' next mission. Sideways hauled him out, but with the Decepticon leader too damaged to continue fighting, the Decepticons were forced to retreat. Trust

Megatron decided to take his frustration out on his troops, and had them participate in a "training exercise," where he chased them around with the Star Saber. Sideways tried to sit the whole thing out, only for Megatron to find his hiding place and dedicate all of his efforts on chasing Sideways specifically. Vacation

With Sideways's help, the Decepticon nearly secured the Mini-Con Incinerator (losing him to the Autobots at the last moment due to Blurr's arrival) and then went after the last member of the Skyboom Shield trio, Downshift. This Mini-Con had somehow activated on his own, and fled from anyone who approached him. As one of the speedier Decepticons, Sideways gave chase to Downshift, only to be blasted by Smokescreen and taken out of the race. Reinforcement

When Megatron announced that he planned to challenge the Autobots to a decisive battle, Sideways worried that the Decepticons might bring the Cybertronians' war to a premature end. He found himself unable to dissuade Megatron of this course of action, so he opted to sabotage his own team's victory instead. Sideways first feigned defeat after charging Red Alert, then covertly shot down Cyclonus. This allowed Autobot reinforcements to reach Optimus, who in turn wrestled the Skyboom Shield away from Megatron. Decisive Battle Despite this setback, Megatron was quick to start planning another confrontation against Optimus Prime. While the Decepticon leader practiced tactics with the Mini-Cons under his command, Sideways shot at him under the pretense that it added legitimacy to his battle exercise. Sideways was later left on standby while Megatron implements his scheme to divide the Autobots around the globe, forcing Optimus to fight him and his Mini-Cons alone. Demolishor barked orders at Sideways and Starscream all the while, though the pair showed little enthusiasm in return. Vow

Sideways began to double his efforts towards manipulating the Decepticons and playing them against each other to suit his mysterious goals. One of these goals was the replacement of Megatron as Decepticon leader. Sideways sowed the seeds of rebellion within the Decepticon ranks, subtly turning Starscream against Megatron and convincing Megatron of Starscream's imminent treachery. The situation came to a head when the two Decepticons fought outside their base, but Sideways then realized Megatron would never execute Starscream for his insubordination, exposing an ever-constant weakness within the Decepticon command structure. After the battle, Sideways mused that this weakness would come back to haunt Megatron one day, and would be his ruin. Fortunately though, this incident somehow served to solidify the Decepticons as a unit, giving them much greater morale and cohesiveness, and achieving Sideways's aims of giving neither faction in the conflict a clear advantage. Rebellion

You don't want to taste Sideways's rainbow.

Shortly thereafter, Sideways tried to hack the Autobot base computer, only to encounter the children attempting to destroy the equipment to stop Sideways. He transported them to a digital universe, where they saw the coming of two new combatants. He tried to threaten them into handing over the Street Action Mini-Con Team, before the kids realized that as the realm they were in wasn't real, Sideways could not harm them. Sideways then apologized to an unseen master, shortly before the children escaped the digital universe, chased by an unknown entity. Chase

Sideways settled for continuing to aid Megatron's unit in a more conventional manner on the battlefield, despite it only leading to losses for their side. However, the tactician Thrust joined their team, providing them with much more effective and coordinated battle plans. Despite his first plan failing due to the arrival of Jetfire, Tactician the Decepticons retained faith in their new recruit. Thrust organized their flying units into ambushing Jetfire over the ocean, where the other Autobots wouldn't be able to come to his aid. Demolishor, Sideways, and Megatron laid in wait on a nearby island, the only place from which the earthbound Autobots could provide Jetfire with support. Once their enemies warped in, the Decepticons executed a secondary ambush, forcing Blurr, Hot Shot, and Smokescreen to remain on the defensive. But Thrust hadn't taken into account one detail: Optimus and Jetfire could combine! Once they did, they regained control of the battlefield, Sideways scampered away. Linkup

Sideways grew worried over Thrust joining Megatron's squad, and with good reason: Sideways was speedily caught by Thrust and the others while communicating with his unseen master. Sideways panicked and attempted to escape. He was caught by Megatron, who sliced him in half with the Star Saber. Sideways simply reformed, reconnecting his parts and absorbing laser blasts from the other Decepticons. Megatron, in fury and disgust, hacked Sideways to pieces and he was seemingly destroyed... or so the Decepticons thought. Sideways had entered trans-phase mode and his rider rose in the form of a twisted nanite creature before the Decepticons' eyes, declaring that the Star Saber and Skyboom shield were merely toys to him, as he was near-invincible. His rider said there were millions of Mini-Cons left to be found, and challenged Megatron to see who would find them first, before flying off to parts unknown. Detection

Sideways may be dead, but he lives on in reruns.

While most of the Autobots were on Earth fighting the monstrous new Decepticon recruit, Tidal Wave, Sideways made an appearance inside the Autobots' base... on a monitor! He told Red Alert and Alexis about the Requiem Blaster, and how the Autobots had to find the three Mini-Cons that formed it before the Decepticons did. Neither of them trusted Sideways, but they knew he was right; if the Decepticons found the Requiem Blaster first, it would spell doom for the Autobots and the galaxy. Awakening Once the Autobots had acquired the Requiem Blaster, Sideways appeared once again on the Autobots' monitors, laughing. He showed them that he'd disabled their defenses. Sure enough, the Decepticons infiltrated the Autobot base, took the Requiem Blaster, and nearly killed Smokescreen in the process. Sacrifice

Later, Sideways appeared to the Decepticon tactician, Thrust, and told him that the Requiem Blaster would be even more powerful if used in conjunction with the other two Mini-Con weapons, the sword and the shield. Mars Thrust talked with Sideways again in a secret, ominous meeting. They planned to get the Mini-Con weapons away from the Autobots. Crack Thanks to Starscream's confusion on where his loyalties lay, he was able to steal the other two weapons from the Autobots, giving the Decepticons all three weapons. Thrust was hard at work on a secret project for Megatron, one that would harness the energy of all three weapons, and Sideways congratulated the tactician on his growing duplicity. When the three weapons were combined to power the starship Hydra Cannon, Megatron used it to blow up a nearby comet while Sideways laughed from afar, on Earth's moon. Threaten

Both the Autobots and Decepticons were en route to Cybertron when a few of each faction were warped to a strange planet where they fought a dark copy of Optimus Prime called Nemesis Prime. When Optimus Prime and Megatron combined their firepower against it, Nemesis Prime was destroyed, and as the copy dissipated, Sideways appeared momentarily. Nemesis Prime had merely been Sideways's puppet. Puppet

He controls the horizontal, but not the vertical. The vertical is for saps.

When both sides had arrived on Cybertron, a black hole opened up over the planet. It started becoming apparent to some that Unicron was drawing near. An apparition of Sideways appeared over the Autobots, and the Mini-Cons attacked it. After telling the Mini-Cons to get lost, Sideways again disappeared. Sideways returned to swear vengeance against the Mini-Cons when they tried to stop the black hole's effects. Uprising Eventually, Thrust became suspicious that his partnership with Sideways and Unicron might be found out, so he panicked and stole the Requiem Blaster and Skyboom Shield. Thrust ran deep underground where he met up with Sideways, but he was tailed by Starscream. Starscream declined Sideways's obligatory offer to join Unicron, and the two fought.

Armada basically lines up the cast one by one so Sideways can call them an idiot.

Sideways assaulted Starscream with strange tendrils and amoeba-like organisms, and he and Thrust were able to leave with the two weapons. Now inside the moon in Cybertron's orbit, Sideways placed the Mini-Con weapons into its core, revealing that the moon was Unicron lying dormant all along. Portent The last of the three Mini-Con weapons was dropped by Starscream when he sacrificed himself to Unicron to prove to Galvatron (a transformed Megatron) that Autobot and Decepticon must join forces to destroy Unicron. Sideways formed over what was left of Starscream and grabbed the sword, making an easy getaway. Cramp

With all three weapons in place within Unicron's core, Sideways's master was able to shed the rest of his moon disguise and show his real form. Sideways and his patsy Thrust celebrated their inevitable victory over time and space. Alliance Thrust was told by Sideways to leave, as his work for now Unicron was now done. Thrust was confused, thinking he would be Unicron's right-hand man, but Sideways got angry, and ordered him to leave immediately. Thrust, dejected, left for the surface, where he later was crushed to death within Unicron's creases during the battle. Union

"I'm going to start elongating all my 's' sounds, Optimusssss."

Optimus and Galvatron managed to reach the glowing core deep within Unicron's body. Before their eyes, the core budded, recreating the body of Sideways. Unicron spoke through this Sideways body, announcing that Sideways had always been an extension of Unicron himself, and that Sideways had intentionally stoked the flames of the Autobot/Decepticon war so that Unicron could be fueled by their mutual hatred. He took special delight in mocking Optimus Prime for claiming to fight a war for peace, a seeming contradiction. The truth, according to Unicron/Sideways, was that Optimus Prime loved to battle; Prime refused to admit this. Unicron/Sideways wrapped Prime and Galvatron in tendrils, drained Galvatron of his energy, and offered Prime the opportunity to merge with him.

Ouchies.

Then the children and their Mini-Cons arrived, and they pleaded with him to stop, but Unicron/Sideways was able to claim them as their own; the Mini-Cons were Unicron's creation, after all. But inside a dreamworld created by Unicron, the children were able to call out to the Mini-Cons. They reactivated and told Unicron/Sideways that they believed in peace, and would fight for it if necessary. Their combined might was able to help Prime break free of his tendrils, and he fired a shot right through Sideways using the Requiem Blaster. As what was left of Sideways faded, he claimed he'd have his revenge... Origin

Linkage

After informing the Autobots of the Requiem Blaster, Sideways journeyed to the Antarctic to deliver Ravenus and the Doomstone to a group of evil Mini-Cons who were hunting down a group of refugee Mini-Cons for their master. Linkage Part 8 When they failed to eliminate or claim Redline and his friends, the evil Mini-Cons used trans-phase mode to connect with Sideways via a dimensional portal, and fled from Earth. Linkage Part 12

Cybertron comic

Sideways and Soundwave agreed to serve Unicron in exchange for the assured death of Gigantion. Soundwave's bio Thanks to this deal, Sideways was preserved by Unicron's dark power after his defeat by the Requiem Blaster. Ask Vector Prime

Cybertron cartoon

Voice actor: Ted Cole (English), Susumu Chiba (Japanese), Jhonny Torres (Latin-American Spanish), Joonas Suominen (Finnish), Roman Kretschmer (German), Diego Reggente (Italian), Anders Öjebo (Swedish), Emilio García (Castilian Spanish), Benjie Dorango (Tagalog, HERO TV dub)

Sideways and Soundwave were the last two survivors of the tyrannical Planet X which was destroyed as the result of a battle between it and Gigantion long ago. Even though X started the war and was destroyed by its own weapon of mass destruction, the survivors were still determined to destroy Gigantion as revenge! Challenge

Sideways entered the Transformers war during their desperate search for the Cyber Planet Keys. After the disappearance of Atlantis, he observed from the top of a rocky cliff and wondered how he could best manipulate both factions to his own advantage. It wouldn't be long until they were all his puppets! Deep He offered his services to the Autobots, but as soon as he'd helped them corner Starscream, Sideways switched to a Decepticon symbol, fired on the Autobots, and promptly left. Starscream and the others were left wondering exactly what that was all about. Ship

Honestly, guys, I'm an Autobot! You don't remember me at all!

Later, Sideways sent transmissions to both the Autobots and Decepticons, beckoning them to the Jungle Planet. He appeared with the other Decepticons as they confronted the Autobots, chuckling evilly as they argued over who sent the messages leading to their meeting. When a fight broke out, he battled Vector Prime until Megatron was beaten by Optimus' new Savage Claw Mode. Savage Sideways stood back and observed as Megatron fumed after his defeat. Noting that the locals were itching for another fight with Prime, Sideways sought out Leobreaker in the woods, pleading for help to save a friend buried under a rockslide. Leobreaker rallied the other Autobots on Jungle Planet and marched them into a canyon to save this imaginary friend, while Sideways sent a fake message from Optimus Prime to Scourge, luring the Decepticons to the same location. The two factions met in battle as Sideways planned, while he mused from above that no matter who lost, he would win! But he was spotted, and Leobreaker angrily threw him to the ground for lying to him. Sideways desperately explained that he was a "secret agent" for the Autobots, digging for "inside information". Optimus Prime wasn't convinced, but when their interrogation was interrupted by a communication from Landmine, Sideways transformed and escaped. Sand

Sideways traveled with Megatron and the other Decepticons to Velocitron to apprehend the Speed Planet Cyber Planet Key. Here, Leobreaker and Sideways clashed again. When Megatron lost the Cyber Planet Key to Override, he, Sideways, and the other Decepticons fled. Champion Meanwhile, as Optimus Prime prepared to battle Scourge for the Jungle Planet Cyber Planet Key, Sideways and Starscream plotted. Honor As Scourge trained for the coming battle, Sideways and Starscream bet on the winner. At Sideways's suggestion, Starscream interfered with the Autobots's ability to get to the battle, thus causing Scourge's faith in Prime as an honorable opponent to waver. Primal

When the Autobots finally defeated Scourge and acquired the Cyber Planet Key, Sideways was deployed with the rest of Megatron's troops to track down the Key after the Autobots split up with several decoy boxes. He personally pursued Vector Prime, revealing the ability to warp as he battled the ancient warrior for the box he held. When Vector Prime sent out Safeguard to attack, Sideways used his faction-swapping shield to trick the Mini-Con into leaving before snatching the box from Vector Prime. When he found nothing but a rock inside, Sideways beat a hasty retreat. He was later seen goofing off as Megatron and Starscream went after the real holders of the Cyber Planet Key, and returned to Megatron's personal dimension when the rest of the Autobots arrived to secure the Key. Trust

That's right, the undercarriage of Sideways's altmode shows you the inside of his split-open ass.

Starscream was growing tired of Megatron's attitude towards him, and Sideways wondered if Starscream was going to doublecross his leader. When Megatron and his troops headed out from his dimension to find another Cyber Planet Key, Starscream instead chose to head to Earth. Intrigued, Sideways followed Starscream there, where they witnessed a burst of Cyber Key-related energy. He joined Starscream on his trip to the Arctic, where the wayward Decepticon demanded the Autobot Crosswise give him Earth's Cyber Planet Key. When Sideways realized that Starscream had sent Megatron the wrong direction and intended to take Earth's Key for himself, he decided to stay back and watch Starscream's fight with Crosswise, out of harm's way. ...at least, until Crosswise looked like he was going to lose, when Sideways happily leapt into action to kick him while he was down. Crosswise drove away, and Sideways shadowed him while Starscream investigated the cave he was guarding. Trap Sideways followed Crosswise all the way to his hidden hideout, where his leader, Evac, was waiting. When Sideways was discovered, he once again fled. Invasion

Starscream, meanwhile, had recruited countless imprisoned Decepticons he had freed in the Arctic, and so Sideways stood at his side while Starscream marched his army across the face of the Earth. They converged on the location of the Autobot base, where they found the Autobots retreating via a space bridge. Starscream and Sideways engaged them in battle, but Sideways was quickly knocked away by the Autobots' firepower. Retreat After Starscream succeeded in grabbing the Autobots' collected Cyber Planet Keys and the Omega Lock, Sideways joined him at his underground volcanic lair. Revelation Later, he continued to remain by Starscream's side alongside Thunderblast. Critical The Autobots weren't far behind, and a clash between them and Starscream's army was inevitable. Sideways called them forth, ordering them to rise up and destroy their enemies, while he and Starscream watched the battlefield through a portal; Starscream was slowly absorbing the power of his stolen goods, and wasn't quite ready yet. The Autobots and Megatron managed to break into the volcano base, but Sideways had prepared a series of explosive boobytraps. Assault

Hey, Sideways, your shield has huge gaps in it.

Despite this, the Autobots were able to get through them, where they came face to face with Sideways. Asked as to what side he was on today, Sideways replied that he was on his own, but today he was betting on Starscream. The Autobots fought him, but he was able to warp around them at will, and none were able to land a punch. Ultimately, Vector Prime placed his Mini-Con, Safeguard on Sideways's back, and Optimus Prime was able to use that to detect where Sideways would appear next. After several blasts, Sideways was once again able to flee, this time because of the arrival of Scourge. He returned to Starscream's side, where the wayward Decepticon was nearly finished absorbing the Omega Lock's power. When Starscream said he wouldn't run to face Megatron, but wait for Megatron to come and be picked off at his leisure, Sideways realized there was nothing more he could do there and left, teleporting away. Starscream Once the tremendous battle was over, and Starscream (despite having grown to a large size) had fallen over defeated, Sideways reappeared. Noting that Starscream could still be useful to him, he warped Starscream's humongous body away. United Starscream woke up inside the Atlantis, with Sideways standing over him. Sideways explained that during the time Starscream had been out, Megatron had been defeated and Primus had awoken. The two traveled to Cybertron and found it transformed into Primus, but lying dormant; Sideways snarked that some clever guy had stolen all his power. He and Starscream tried to fight their way through the Autobots to the Omega Lock, but failed. Later, Sideways warped behind the Autobots' human friends, nabbed their three Mini-Con pals, and warped away. Angry, the children jumped into the portal window he left behind. Balance Vector Prime, being informed by Safeguard that the Mini-Cons and children were missing, reviewed security footage showing Sideways kidnapping the former. Darkness

WOULD YOU LIKE TO? WOULD YOU LIKE TO?

Sideways attached Jolt to some equipment in order to search his memories for data pertaining to location of Gigantion, where the last Cyber Planet Key would be found. But all Sideways could extract was useless data that would take forever to examine, so he tried to watch some television to pass the time. No luck—they were jamming their own communications, so he couldn't watch Galactic Guardians or anything, so he turned on his stereo and began moving to the music. Starscream yelled at him for goofing off. Embarrassed, Sideways ran off to do repairs. Indeed, the memory download was taking too long, so Sideways decided it would be much quicker if they just hacked open Jolt's head, took what they wanted, and deleted the rest. The operation was interrupted by the children, and so Sideways left to deal with them. After a few slapstick adventures, including a faked hologram of Megatron telling Sideways to jump on one foot and call himself a "pretty lady", the children were able to escape with Sideways's key to the cell he was keeping the other two Mini-Cons in. Though those two were rescued, Sideways finally caught up with them, laughing maniacally and with evil intent. Memory Jolt, whose rotors were now untied, was able to open a warpgate for himself and the others to escape through. Angered, Sideways warped away himself, and appeared again in front of the children and the Mini-Cons, telling him that he had put an energy field around the ship to prevent Jolt from pulling that trick again. The children and the Mini-Cons ran, but he threw one of his wing blades into the path ahead of them, blocking their escape. As Sideways mocked their attempts to distract him so they could make their getaway, Coby was able to communicate with the ship and spray fire-retardant foam over Sideways's head. They fled.

"A mouth?! This is libel!"

Later, when the children and the Mini-Cons had located the chamber in which Sideways was guarding, the one that was blocking communications from being sent out of Atlantis, they remotely caused a malfunction in one of the engine rooms. Sideways ran out of the chamber and into the engine room, where he found a crude drawing of him on the wall. "Now that's just mean!" Next they dumped him down one of the garbage chutes, which Sideways laughed at. He'd just warp out of there! But he forgot that he'd disabled warping, so he was cast out of the ship into space. A piece of trash that followed him conked him on his head, knocking him out. Atlantis was soon found by the Autobots and Decepticons, and so Starscream set the ship to warp away. Just in time, the children and the Mini-Cons shot themselves out of the ship in two escape pods, but Sideways's floating body blocked the second pod from leaving the warp perimeter of the ship. Sideways and the second pod disappeared along with Atlantis. Escape

Sideways returned to the helm of Atlantis with Starscream, as the distance between them and the planet Gigantion, home to the final Cyber Planet Key, quickly narrowed. But due to the work of Bud, Jolt, and Reverb, Jetfire, Wing Saber, and the Decepticons were able to follow a trail to the ship, and so Sideways activated the ship's defenses while he navigated a warp jump away. But after they had jumped, Starscream felt the power of Primus, and so the Atlantis returned to Cybertron. After a battle between Starscream and Primus, Starscream was brutally defeated, so Sideways warped the ship away again with Starscream's body in tow. Titans Starscream was no worse for wear by the time Sideways had begun piloting Atlantis through a warp gate to another dimension where Gigantion was located, but the Autobots' ship, the Ogygia, wasn't far behind. Atlantis started lagging behind the Autobots when Bud and the Mini-Cons aboard began sabotaging its engines, much to the fury of Sideways and Starscream. Warp

Sideways managed to get Atlantis to Gigantion, but only after a crash-landing. Before too long, the ship was under attack from the Autobots. Starscream was still too drained from his fight with Primus, so Sideways was told to fight them himself, an order he grumbled loudly about once he was out of Starscream's range. He confronted Optimus Prime, merged with Wing Saber, and bemoaned their sneaky tactics. He was the one supposed to be pulling the strings! As Sideways was targeted by a volley of missiles, Optimus Prime told Sideways that he'd had enough of his tricks. After a prolonged fight, Sideways could do nothing better than to utter a pathetic "mother!" as Prime's final, most powerful attack was bearing in on him. Thankfully for Sideways, he was saved by Soundwave, who pushed him out of the way at the last second. Once they were safe, Sideways thanked Soundwave for the rescue. Soundwave reminded Sideways that "that's how we roll," and not to forget their ultimate purpose. City

Don't go towards the light, Sideways!

While the both of them were searching for the last Cyber Planet Key, they were discovered by the Cybertron Defense Team. Soundwave explained their backstory as survivors of Planet X and their vendetta against Gigantion. When the Autobots noted it was their own fault their planet was destroyed, Soundwave shrouded them in a thick black cloud while Sideways created virtual duplicates of himself. He managed to mess with Red Alert's head, but was tricked into revealing himself by Scattorshot after the clever technician dealt with the smog. In the end, the two Planet X natives were crushed under a falling tower. Challenge

Sideways and Soundwave didn't resurface until the Autobots were ready to leave Gigantion to their home dimension to repair the black hole. They challenged the Autobots, blocking their path out of the planet, for they wanted to ensure the black hole destroyed the galaxy. After fighting Optimus Prime to a standstill, they were interrupted by Starscream and Megatron, who were fighting several layers above them, glowing and pulsating with energy levels no one present had ever seen. Soundwave and Sideways wanted to escape, fearing their own destruction, but they lamented that if they didn't grab the Omega Lock then, they'd have failed at their mission. Both warped closer to the battle between Megatron and Starscream, and, reaching towards the tremendous energy that had built up during the Decepticons' battle, Sideways begged Soundwave to leave and save himself. Soundwave rejected this, because they were in this together. As Megatron and Starscream punched each other simultaneously, a wave of energy seemed to destroy both Planet X natives.

We're not dead! Neither is our planet! Weird.

Vector Prime noted that neither were likely destroyed in the conventional sense, but were blasted into another dimension. Showdown His analysis seemed to be correct; a little later, when Megatron witnessed a vision of Starscream—apparently reaching out through the fire dimension to mock him one final time—Sideways and Soundwave were both standing by the traitor's side. Unfinished

Sideways, Soundwave, and Laserbeak later cheered as they stood before an undestroyed Planet X, apparently having found an intact, parallel version of their homeworld in the dimension they had been transported to. Beginning

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime stated that the Planet X which attacked the Gigantion of Aurex 802.23 Alpha was the headquarters of the remnants of the Cybertronian Empire from Primax 994.0 Gamma. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/05 The dimension that this Sideways, along with Soundwave and Laserbeak, landed in was Aurex 906.29 Alpha. Vector Prime hoped that the trio found some measure of peace. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/03

Dreamwave Armada comic

I'm such a secret shill for Unicron that you only ever see me once! Well, twice.

Always evasive about where his true loyalties lie, Sideways has been seen on battlefields the galaxy over, but not always on the same side. He has manipulated both factions like a game of cosmic chess, and chooses his words carefully. Neither Autobot nor Decepticon, he has always served just one master: Unicron. To these purposes, he assigned his Mini-Con companion, Crosswise to infiltrate the Mini-Cons' Moonbase operations and send things awry. Crosswise was more of a wildcard than a full-on partner, unlike Sideways's other Mini-Con, Rook. Rook was assigned to sow the real seeds of discontent amongst the Mini-Cons on the moon. More than Meets the Eye

Sideways himself was first seen working on a secret desert rocket site, guarded by Skywarp and Wheeljack, which was designed to launch Megatron's Solar Scalpel laser system in orbit. Fire & Ice After the rocket was launched, he returned to Cybertron, and was present for the battle against Unicron... though what exact role he played in it is unknown. The End

Kre-O online comic

Sideways witnessed Megatron's humiliating temper-tantrum over his lack of "See-Through Power". Wheeljack's Bizarre Invention! Optimus Power Up!?

Later, Sideways was part of a massive Decepticon invasion force intended to attack the Autobot base while the Autobots were at a picnic. However, Optimus Prime plowed through them with his truck and left them scattered... and then left. Returning to the scene after... ahem, taking care of some pressing business, Optimus gathered up the still-wiped-out Kreons, bound them up on a flatbed trailer, and took them to the picnic. Emergency! Hurry to the Base, Optimus!

Sideways was around when Bludgeon uncovered the Red Bucket. Treasure Competition! Defeat with Block Power! He was among the Decepticons who aided Megatron in attacking Metroplex, excited that he finally had a chance to show up in full. Then Metroplex collapsed on him, burying the poor guy in blocks. Two Giant Bases! Everybody Getting Along, Come On, Fight!

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime entered Fornax 813.0 Gamma to keep an eye on the Sideways of this universe. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/17

Sideways would later travel to Tyran 207.28 Gamma, becoming the Sideways of that universe. He would subsequently travel to a Primax universe to trouble the Autobots there. Ask Vector Prime, The Complete AllSpark Almanac

TransTech

Main article: Sideways (AVP)

One incarnation of Sideways was a dimension-hopping serial liar, who possibly originated in a Viron universe before traveling through Aurex and a number of other universal clusters. At one point, he infiltrated Axiom Nexus and kidnapped Vector Prime, hijacking his column with Axiom Nexus News to make fun of you for being obsessed with minor trivia. He was eventually located by the TransTech, but managed to escape by Headmaster-linking with Rook and using his Dimensional Interfacer to flee.

Toys

Armada

My hats are the grandest of all... except that they're putting me on the wrong sides! (First-run Hasbro version pictured)

(Takara version pictured)

• Sideways with Crosswise and Rook (Super-Con, 2002)

• Takara name: Double Face
• Takara ID number: MX-01
• Takara release date: April 24, 2003
• Accessories: 2 tailpipe-missiles
• Known designers: Aaron Archer (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (Takara)

First released in the second wave of Hasbro's Armada "Super-Con" (aka "Deluxe) class toys, Sideways transforms into a racing motorcycle of made-up model. As with most Armada toys, virtually all of his gimmicks are directly tied to Mini-Cons, and Sideways came with two of them: Rook and Crosswise. Rook and Crosswise can both ride on Sideways's cycle mode at the same time, held in place on his seat by small tab-slot connections, as can their combined form, which was designed to "grip" Sideways's handlebars. His tailpipes become arm-mounted Powerlinx-activated pressure-launch missile launchers.

In robot mode, Sideways's head can be pushed back into his torso and replaced with Rook or Crosswise in their alternate head configurations. By sliding the Mini-Cons' arms down into Sideways's torso, each one pushes down plates behind Sideways's windshield-chest to reveal either an Autobot or Decepticon symbol. (You don't have to have the arms push into the torso if you don't want to, as the Mini-Cons attach in head mode just fine by having the arms positioned towards Sideways's back; arguably they fit better without the chestplates' springs pushing back up against the arms. However, the arms are what actually makes the toy do the symbol-thing.) The initial run of Sideways toys had Rook reveal the Decepticon symbol and Crosswise reveal the Autobot brand. Later runs corrected this to match the faction-reveal gimmick as portrayed in the cartoon, with Rook forming the "Autobot" head and Crosswise the "Decepticon" head. (Crosswise was also altered to replace his red paint accents with a more Decepticon-y purple, making it easy to tell in-package which version of Sideways it was.)

For his later Takara Legends of the Microns release, "Double Face" got a significant paint change, swapping the yellow and purple on his chest. This matches the cartoon model, which was based on the pre-release Hasbro deco (as seen on the Hasbro packaging). This version also -of course- retains the show-like Rook/Autobot-Crosswise/Decepticon symbol-reveal configuration.

This mold was also used to make Energon Rapid Run (likely conceived as a Powerlinx redeco).

• More information on Armada Sideways at TFU.info

• Sideways with Crosswise and Rook (Super-Con, 2003)

• Accessories: 2 tailpipe-missiles

In November of 2003, US Toys"R"Us stores had special bonus pack Max-Con toys, which came with a single bonus Mini-Con attached to the card over their sticker, for less than the price as a normal Max-Con, during Toys"R"Us's post-Thanksgiving-day sale. Sideways could come with one of the Destruction Mini-Con Team members: Buzzsaw, Drill Bit, or Dualor.

• Bonus Pack (2003)

• Accessories: 2 tailpipe-missiles

Kmart stores offered "Bonus Packs" later in the Armada line's run, which were basically just a normal-release Super-Con and Mini-Con Team pack clamshelled together for slightly less than the cost of the two individually.

Sideways has been found packed with the Destruction Mini-Con Team and the Street Action Mini-Con Team.

Cybertron

On second thought, screw the whole motorcycle thing.

• Sideways (Deluxe-Class, 2005)

• Accessories: Left & right wing-blades, Planet X Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: dj51
• Known designers: Takio Ejima (Takara)

One of the very few "Planet X"-themed toys in Cybertron, this version of Sideways transforms into a black and orange alien spacefighter. The center-back of his jet mode can rise up like a gun turret; plugging a Cyber Key into the back end of the assembly deploys two pairs of spring-loaded blade, plus covers the Autobot symbol in the top with a Decepticon badge. This assembly becomes a non-removable left-arm-mounted "shield" in robot mode. His wings can also detach from his ankles and be used as blades, with both pegging into his 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.

This toy was first released in Takara's Galaxy Force line as the different character Noisemaze, featuring silver-chromed details on the wings. The Later Hasbro Cybertron "Sideways" replaced the chrome with silver paint, dropped some of the silver details on his key jack, and dropped some of the bronze paint on his "collar". The Hasbro version has also been slightly retooled, rounding off his robot-mode head-horns, presumably for safety reasons. And of course, Sideways's Cyber Key has a Cyber Key Code stamped on the back the Takara version lacks.

This mold was also used to make the Japanese DVD-exclusive Noisemaze Mass Production Type Version and Universe Ratbat. It was retooled to make BotCon 2009's Timelines Scourge and Sweeps Two, Six, and Seven (the Sweeps were later repurposed as Shattered Glass Scourge).

• More information on Cybertron Sideways at TFU.info

Look, Grandma's is down this path! It's critical I take it!

• Critical Path Pack! Sideways vs. Red Alert (Multi-pack, 2005)

• Accessories: Left & right wing-blades, Planet X Cyber Key

This two-pack of the Deluxe-size Cybertron Red Alert and Sideways toys was made available only at Target stores, retailing for $16.99. The toys are identical to their individual releases.

Merchandise

Super Collection Figure

STRIKE POSE!

• Double Face (2003)
  • Act: 10
  • Accessories: Decepticon head, stand

Available in "Act 10" of Takara's Super Collection Figure line, Double Face is a PVC figurine of his animation model. He was available in both full-color and pewter versions, with one of each packed in every case of twelve blindpacked boxes. He came with an extra head so that his appearance could be switched between his "normal" head and the "Decepticon" head. His appearance could not be switched out of its weird-looking ninja(?) pose, however, which makes him the tallest non-build-a-figure in the entire series.

Act 10 is notable for using much softer plastic than the preceding nine Acts, which can lead to balance and peg-tearing issues. There is also a potential peg problem with the pewter versions, as the pegs may have been painted before being pushed into place. And with the softer plastic of Act 10, this makes a stuck peg even easier to tear off. Lightly shaving of the socket walls with a thin hobby knife should solve the issue... though with Double Face's minimal "posability" thanks to his odd stance, it's not very likely you'll be trying to move anything on him.

Notes

He's back. From outer space.

• Sideways was designed to be a "ninja" Transformer, with a yellow and purple color scheme based on a Takara employee's racing motorcycle.^[1]
• A 2001 Armada IP bible includes a bio of Sideways that notes he is comic relief after his Mini-Con is damaged and split in two, now acting as his "angel" and "devil" consciences who also bicker between themselves. Before the accident, Sideways was an aloof and mysterious ninja who turns into a police cycle. Obviously, this characterization didn't exactly pan out.
• While the positioning of Armada Sideways's head-handlebars in toy form is up to the owner, the cartoon consistently portrayed them as angled downwards. Similarly, his alternate heads/helmets have their horns angled down at the first joint, and then upwards at the second joint.
• In Armada, outside of the stock footage sequences showing Sideways putting his Mini-Con helmets on, his "bare" head was often colored in shades of gray similar to the Crosswise head, rather than the appropriate purple and yellow.
• In at least one of Unicron's character model sheets showing off the larger-scale techy greebles, Sideways—or in this case—"Double Face" is used as a scale reference, with an abbreviation of "W.F.". To most English speakers, this wouldn't make much sense, but the letter "W" is often used in Japanese media in place of the word "double", as the letter "W" (double-u) is pronounced the same as "double" in Japanese (daburu), making them interchangeable with one another. This had previously been used for the Japanese Micromaster Combiners (aka "W Teams"), and the W Cassettebots.
• In "Memory", Sideways seemed to be a fan of the Galactic Guardians, a superhero team who star in their own cartoon show. He also seemed to be a fan of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", as he sang the first few lyrics to himself before being interrupted by Starscream.
• Cybertron Sideways has a bat-like vehicle mode because the then-upcoming 2005 release of Batman Begins meant that Batman was very much in the zeitgeist, and the designers at Hasbro wanted to capitalise on that. Cybertron Megatron's Batmobile-esque vehicle mode was another example of this.^[2]
• For most of his Kre-O appearances, Sideways appeared only as a singular leg, making it a bit hard to tell if he was meant to be a Kreon version of the Armada Sideways. His identity wasn't confirmed until he finally showed up in full in his fifth appearance… only for the gag to continue when he ends up buried with only his leg showing.
• Like most non-toy robot Kreons in the Kre-O comics, Sideways is made from existing Kreon parts. He makes use of the Hound helmet, Starscream clip-on arm weapons, and what appears to be two additional Kreon arms attached to a backpack.

Foreign names

Armada

• Japanese: Double Face (ダブルフェイス Daburu Feisu)
• Armenian: Koghmnapah (Կողմնապահ, "Sideways")
• Hungarian: Kanyargó ("Swerver")
• Korean: Double Face (더블페이스 Deobeul Paiseu)
• Polish: Krętacz ("Dodger")
• Russian: Otshel'nik (Отшельник, "Hermit")

Cybertron

• Japanese: Noisemaze (ノイズメイズ Noizumeizu)
• Hungarian: Mellékút ("Bypass")
• Korean: Side Way (사이드웨이 Saideu Wei)

References