ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON

SUB-GROUP: COMBATICON
FUNCTION: MUNITIONS EXPERT
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 24

“Make deals, not war.”

Profile: Don’t let Swindle’s easy-going, good-natured personality fool
you; within him beats the fuel pump of the most greed-driven street hustler.
Without blinking an optical sensor, he’d trade Decepticon leader Megatron’s
right arm for a toaster if he needed the toaster badly enough (and if he could
get the arm off of Megatron!). He is an opportunist without peer. He thrives
on wheeling and dealing and seemingly is capable of procuring anything to fulfill
the design and equipment needs of his armaments work. Although the weapons he
builds are much appreciated, his fellow Combaticons know that Swindle’s efforts
on behalf of the Decepticons are a mere sideline to his actual purpose: He is
solely concerned with himself, and most of his entrepreneurial activities are
for his own personal material advancement. If he thought it were in his interest
to trade with the enemy, the Autobots, he probably would. He is truly a one-robot
“black market.”

Abilities: Perhaps Swindle’s greatest talent is his gift of gab. He
could probably sell oil to an Arab sheik, if given the chance. In both jeep
and robot modes, he uses two weapons: a scatter blaster that shoots bursts of
explosive buckshot-type pellets over a wide area, and a gyro-gun that disturbs
the balance centers of Transformers, severely hampering their driving, flying,
and/or walking. With his fellow Combaticons, Swindle combines to form the giant
robot Bruticus.

Weaknesses: In jeep mode, Swindle can’t handle sharp turns at high speeds
very well and is prone to overturning. Although his exterior is fairly well
armored, a direct hit on his unprotected and open dashboard can easily disable
him.