Sideways (Transformers)

Sideways is a fictional character from various Transformers universes. He is also reminiscent of a transformers powermasters character and toy, Doubledealer, in that he is able to switch between autobot and decepticon allegiance, enabled by one of his two partners.

Sideways is a gleeful troublemaker, for whom chaos is its own reward. His every action misleads and deceives, be it for his own twisted amusement, or for whatever deeper agenda he may be working towards. In truth, this cunning and deadly warrior is an agent of the chaos-bringer, Unicron, and is charged with the task of appearing as both Autobot and Decepticon in order to cause confusion amongst both factions and prevent them from allying together against his planet-eating master.

Transformers: Armada
Sideways (known as Doubleface in Japan) made his enigmatic debut when he arrived on Earth near the Autobots' base, taking the form of an Earthly motorcycle. Aiding the Autobots in battle against the Decepticons and allowing them to acquire a recently-discovered Mini-Con, Sideways joined their side, offering no information on himself other than being a "drifter." It seemed that his true colors were revealed, however, when he lured the youthful Autobot Hot Shot to the Decepticons' moonbase and betrayed him, allowing the powerful Mini-Con weapon, the Star Saber, to be claimed by the villains. Switching heads, Sideways adopted the Decepticon insignia, professing to have been on their side all along.

The mystery of Sideways began to grow when he duped Starscream into fighting Megatron, and started to interfere in battles from a distance. His goal was always to confuse, and his actions saw the balance of power in the war constantly shift back and forth as he caused the Mini-Con weapons to change hands over and over. When he tried to infiltrate the Autobot base by moving through cyberspace, interference from the Autobots' human allies stopped him, but also saw their minds pulled into cyberspace along with him. Failing to capture the kids' partner Mini-Cons, Sideways suddenly froze with horror when he realised that his master was coming, and pleaded with the children not to tell him that he had failed. The kids returned to their bodies, but not before catching a glimpse of Sideways' mysterious master - the planet-sized Transformer, Unicron.

Eventually, his manipulations were uncovered by the Decepticons, who tracked him to a cave on the moon where he was caught reporting in to Unicron. Attacked by Megatron wielding the Star Saber, Sideways revealed the true extent of his Unicron-given power as his body was slashed to pieces and reformed before the Decepticons' very eyes before departing to carrying out his work by other means. But, even with his true allegiance exposed, his methods remained much the same, as he contacted the Autobots and made them aware of the existence of the third and final Mini-Con weapon, the Requiem Blaster.

Convincing the disgruntled Decepticon tactician Thrust to side with him, Sideways orchestrated the betrayal of Starscream, who joined the Autobots out of sheer hatred for Megatron, but was then convinced to return, bringing with him all the Mini-Con weapons, which were now united in Decepticon hands. Brought to Cybertron, they were then stolen by Thrust, who brought them to Sideways. Sideways took the weapons to Cybertron's moon - in reality, a disguised, deactivated Unicron - where they reactiated the chaos-bringer. As Unicron attacked Cybertron and the armada of Transformers assembled against him, Sideways served as an avatar for the dark god, allowing him to communicate directly with Optimus Prime, within his body. Once again, however, with the aid of the human allies, the Mini-Cons broke free of Unicron's control, deactivating him, and Optimus Prime destroyed Sideways with the Requiem Blaster.

Transformers: Cybertron
This, however, was not to be the end for Sideways. Sustained by the dark powers of Unicron, the master manipulator returned ten years later, by which time Unicron had been destroyed, his collapse creating a gigantic black hole that threatened the existence of Cybertron and the entire multiverse. With the memories of Transformers who knew him erased thanks to the reality-warping effects of the black hole, Sideways (Noisemaze in Japan) returned to his faction-swapping, confusion-sewing ways, performing many baffling actions that served only to cause trouble for both Autobots and Decepticons. Eventually, he chose to back Starscream in his attempt to overthrow Megatron, piloting the starship Atlantis for him as they headed for Gigantion, the Giant Planet, location of the final Cyber Planet Key needed to close the black hole and save the universe. It was there, at last, that Sideways's true story was finally revealed.

Sideways was an inhabitant of the mysterious world known as Planet X, a planet of warmongering conquerors who crushed all worlds that stood in their way. Their reign of terror in the galaxy came to an end eons ago when they crossed paths with the people of Gigantion, whose Cyber Planet Key powers made their world a formidable opponent by enlarging the planet and it;s inhabitants to giant size, therefore being able to fend off the massive Planet X armies. The inhabitants of Planet X saw no option but to unleash their most powerful weapon, but in do so, they destroyed their own world, as well. The survivors were scattered across the galaxy, until the time came that only Sideways and one other, Soundwave, were the only known survivors of the race. Seeking revenge against Gigantion for its role in the destruction of their home, Sideways and Soundwave had allied themselves with Unicron - hence, Sideways's role in the war over the Mini-Cons. Now, with Unicron destroyed, Sideways had turned his attention to enacting revenge once more, and sought the power of the Cyber Planet Keys to accomplish it.

Soundwave, meanwhile, had been seeing to the resurrection of Unicron (as chronicled in the comic strip available exclusively through the Official Transformers Collectors Club), and with that goal accomplished, joined with Sideways on Gigantion. When Starscream and Megatron - now Galvatron - engaged in their final duel for control of the Omega Lock and Cyber Planet Keys, Sideways and Soundwave attempted to intervene, but the resultant energies released sundered reality and blasted them both, along with Starscream, into another dimension.

In the closing credits of the final episode of the series, a montage sequence shows Sideways and Soundwave on Planet X once more. Presumably, in the dimension they had been sent to, they were able to find that universe's version of Planet X and install themselves there.

Note: In the Japanese versions of Micron Legend (Armada) and Galaxy Force (Cybertron), Doubleface and Noisemaze share no connection, as the two shows are not considered part of the same universe.

Dreamwave Productions
Sideways's role in Dreamwave Productions Transformers: Armada series was distinctly minor, consisting as it did of two minor appearances working on a rocket site on Earth and on Cybertron when Unicron arrived to consume it. When Dreamwave published its More Than Meets the Eye profile book series, however, Sideways's entry cannibalized his role from the animated series and recast him as an agent of Unicron once again. Although the comics had not shown him to be affiliated with the Mini-Cons Rook and Crosswise, the profiles presented them to be his partners; the comics had shown them to be active on the Mini-Cons' moonbase, where, their profiles noted, they had been specifically stationed to sow unrest.

Toys

 * Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2002)




 * The first toy bearing the Sideways name is a yellow and black redeco of the Generation 2 figure Road Rocket, and transforms into a Yamaha racing motorcycle. As Road Rocket was originally part of the "Laser Cycle" subgroup, this figure includes a rear-wheel suspension/buzzsaw weapon that lights up with a red LED. It was available only in a two-pack with Axer (a redeco of Road Rocket's fellow Laser Cycle, Road Pig).


 * Given that he is a character that explicitly exists in a different universe from the "Unicron Trilogy" dimension that incorporates Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Cybertron, it is not immediately apparent that these two Sideways are the same character (since different characters with the same name are not uncommon in Transformers fiction). Both characters' profiles, however, describe them as "conscientious, ninja-like warriors" who are "mysterious and silent," and years later, materials for Transformers: Robot Masters proved that the Sideways characters from that line - intended to be the same as the Armada and Cybertron character - was the same as the Robots in Disguise Sideways.


 * Transformers: Armada (2002)


 * Sideways transforms into a motorcycle, and is partnered with the two Mini-Cons, Crosswise and Rook. Crosswise and Rook can ride Sideways in motorcycle mode individually, or can be combined together to form a larger robot that can do the same. In Sideways's robot mode, each of the two could transform into a head, which, when plugged into his shoulders over the top of his own head, would reveal an Autobot or Decepticon faction symbol on his chest. The two can also plug into his arms, launching his motorcycle tailpipes as pressure-activated missiles.


 * As originally released, crowise revealed the Autobot symbol, and rook the Decepticon one. A production error in the animated series, however, caused these two to be swapped around, leading to a running change for the toy that saw later releases of the figure adjusted to match the cartoon. (While both versions of Rook look the same -- with red-painted shins, the two versions of Crosswise can be determined by looking at the paint on Crosswise's shins. "Autobot Crosswise" has orange-red shins while "Decepticon Crosswise" has violet ones.)


 * The figure was later redecoed in yellow and black stripes as Rapid Run for the Transformers: Energon toyline, apparently as a reference to the Beast Wars character Waspinator, who had been turned into the purple motorcycle Thrust in Beast Machines.


 * Doubleface (2004)




 * Released as part of the Japanese Transformers: Robot Masters toyline, this figure is a redeco of the aforementioned Road Pig, in the colors of the Armada Sideways toy. It transforms into a Harley Davidson motorcycle with a light-up tail-pipe/weapon. Production materials gave the character a communications system named "Shadow and Bright," those being the Japanese names of Crosswise and Rook.


 * Transformers: Cybertron (2005)


 * The Transformers: Cybertron incarnation of Sideways is an orange and black spacecraft. When inserted into the shield on his arm, his Cyber Key causes his Autobot symbol to switch to a Decepticon one, and triggers the release of four translucent blades. His vehicle mode wings can store on his legs, or can be removed and wielded in his hands, either as a single or double-bladed weapon. The figure was later packaged with a DVD of the episode Hidden when first released, and in a two-figure "Critical Path" pack with Red Alert as a Target Exclusive.


 * Besides a set of similar horns, the lack of resemblance to Sideways's Armada incarnation is not unintentional - Cybertron's Japanese counterpart, Transformers: Galaxy Force, is not a continuation of the Armada and Energon universe. The original intention for the series was for it to co-exist with its two predecessors, but the Japanese production staff opted not to follow this path, hence this Sideways (there called "Noisemaze"), is not the same individual as the Armada character. In Japan, the original Sideways was simply an aspect of Unicron, but the character's continued existence into the Cybertron series has seen the American production use comic books, bios, tech specs and other media to fill in the gaps and plot holes that result, crafting a story the story related in the main body of this article to tie together the two incarnations of the character.


 * Supersound Bat (2007)
 * An unofficial Chinese remake of Cybertron Sideways produced by MYM. This figure is redecoed in brown and orange.