Swoop (G1)


 * Swoop is a Dinobot and Autobot in Generation 1 continuity. He used to go by the name Divebomb.



Swoop is the friendliest and most outgoing of the Dinobots. He's surprisingly good natured, kind, and upbeat. Few of his comrades realize this however, as his team's reputation and his alt-form, considered (for some reason) particularly "horrifying" to Transformer aesthetics, makes others wary of getting close enought to learn about the bot himself. Swoop is an excellent aerial combatant and bombardier, and has become skilled at using the fear his alt-mode creates in battle. He considers it his greatest weapon. Like all the Dinobots, Swoop tends to be arrogant, disobedient, and generally disagree with Optimus Prime's leadership style. He's also a bit of a show-off.

''Italian name: Reptilo

Generation 1

 * (Note: Events from UK-only stories are in italics.)

''On Cybertron Swoop was once named Divebomb. After disobeying orders from Optimus Prime he came into battle with the Predacon now called Divebomb, who defeated him and stole his name. This began a continuing rivalry between the two. Millions of years later on Earth they clashed again intending to finish things between them once and for all, but their respective team mates interfered and the battle went unresolved. ''

Swoop was one of the original crew of the Ark. After it crashed, Shockwave came to Earth in pursuit and landed in the Savage Land. The Ark rebuilt Swoop along with Grimlock, Slag, Sludge and Snarl into the Dinobots and sent them to the Savage Land to defeat Shockwave. The battle ended with the Dinobots submerged in a tar pit where they remained until they were dug out by Ratchet millions of years later. Swoop along with the other Dinobots then helped Ratchet defeat Megatron and reclaim the Ark and free the deactivated Autobots within. ''Upon their return to the Ark however Swoop was badly damaged and thought destroyed when he attempted to fly the booby trapped battle droid Guardian away from the Ark to prevent the explosion from destroying Mount St. Hilary. ''

''In reality he was blown clear and crashed into a nearby lake where he was later found by Professor Morris. The professor had developed a machine capable of transferring his consciousness to a robot allowing him to take control of it. He recovered Swoop’s body and used the machine to take control of him. He used Swoop to attack the Autobots who he had mistakenly assumed were under the control of his company’s competitor G.B. Blackrock. Swoop’s personality eventually broke free of the professor’s control however. ''

''Not long after this he went mad due to the burning out of his cybodendrons after being submerged in the tar pit for millions of years. He was subdued and went into a coma like state. This alerted the Autobots the danger that the other Dinobots were in and they set out to find them. ''

''Swoop later recovered from his coma along with the other Dinobots. He and the other Dinobots left the Ark shortly afterwards to help Sludge save his friend Joy Meadows from both the Decepticons and Swoop’s former tormentor Professor Morris and his new robot Centurion, funded by Triple-I. ''

''Swoop would later battle the future Decepticon Galvatron, being severely beaten in the process. '' After the death of Optimus Prime, Swoop helped to battle Trypticon who had been sent from Cybertron by Ratbat to attack the Ark. Having driven Trypticon away Swoop and the Dinobots returned to the Ark where Grimlock was declared Autobot leader.

Following the return of Optimus Prime as Autobot leader, Swoop and the other Dinobots were critically damaged by the Underbase-powered Starscream. After being repaired by Ratchet using Pretender technology, Grimlock took Swoop and the Dinobots to Hydrus Four and restored them using Nucleon. This ultimately caused Grimlock to lose the ability to transform but it is not know if Swoop suffered any similar side effects.

At some point Swoop was sent to Earth to become part of the Earthforce team under the command of Grimlock. He later returned to Cybertron and took part in the battle against Unicron which he survived.

Generation 2
Swoop took part in the war against Jhiaxus and his Cybertronian Empire.

Animated continuity

 * Voice actor: Michael Bell (US), Yoku Shioya (Japan)

While guarding a mysterious meteorite, the original Dinobots, Grimlock, Slag and Sludge, were fooled by Megatron into joining the side of the Decepticons. To counter the threat of their former comrades, the Autobots constructed two new Dinobots; Snarl and Swoop. Snarl and Swoop did battle with the original Dinobots but were only strong enough to force them into a stalemate. The original Dinobots chose to return to the Autobots after their leader, Grimlock, was saved from the exploding meteorite through a selfless act of heroism from Optimus Prime.

Swoop was rarely seen apart from the other Dinobots. Together, they fought the likes of Devastator and moved to a bizarre island (later dubbed Dinobot Island) to hone their skills.

Some time after that, the Dinobots chose to desert the Autobots during their time of need (the Autobots were dying from lack of Cybertonium) and go to Cybertron. All the Dinobots were cought by Shockwave, reprogrammed and forced to work in the cybertonium mines at the planet's organic core. All, that is, except for Swoop. Swoop soon encountered Spike and Carly, the Autobots' human allies, deep within the bowels of the planet. The three teamed up and, after learning a brief history of the Transformer race, freed the Dinobots and returned to Earth with a shipment of Cybertonium.

In 2005, Swoop and the other Dinobots fought Devastator during the battle of Autobot City. They didn't fair too well. They later evacuated the city (reluctantly) when Galvatron attacked. Swoop and the Dinobots became briefly stranded on Quintessa along with Hot Rod and Kup when their ship was shot down. With help from Wheelie, the Dinobots and their friends escaped Quintessa and rescued the remaining Autobots on the Planet of Junk from a horde of confused Junkions. They later engaged Unicron in combat when the Chaos-Bringer attacked Cybertron.

In the year 2006, Swoop and the other Dinobots spent much of their time on Cybertron fishing for robot fish. Swoop and the others briefly ostracized Grimlock when he attained super intelligence. Grimlock eventually returned to normal and was welcomed back among their ranks. Swoop and the Dinobots were also summoned by Primacron's Assistant to do battle with Tornadron, a creation of the villainous Primacron. Swoop failed to defeat the enrgy monster, but Grimlock managed to save the day just in the nick of time.

Generation 1

 * Swoop (1985)
 * Japanese ID number: 30
 * Swoop's Generation 1 toy had a few changes from the Diaclone version, as the beak and tail were rounded for safety reasons. However, the remolding of the tail kept the tail sticker from fitting correctly.

Generation 2

 * The original Swoop mold was considered to be repainted in a blue and green color scheme, and art was even made for it. However, it was never anywhere close to release.

Universe

 * The Swoop toy released in Energon was originally created by Hasbro for release as a special new-mold addition for the Universe toyline and was intended to represent Generation 1 Swoop. However, it wasn't and it didn't.

Trivia
Thanks to the Robo-Capers strip in the UK Comic, Swoop became the first and possibly only Transformer to defecate in a licensed and approved presentation.

Whoever made Swoop's animation model used the Diaclone toy as a reference, as the Dinobot sports the pre-Transformer's blue chest, and gold crest, lower beak, missiles, and dino feet.