Armada Sideways

with Crosswise & Rook

Series: Armada
Allegiance: Other Villain
Categories: Supercon Headmaster
Year: 2002

Efficiency through self-sufficiency.
Sideways is a conscientious, ninja-like warrior who races into battle. Disguised as a sports bike he exceeds speeds of 250 mph. Mysterious and silent, he reveals little about himself except a fierce drive to confront the enemy and quickly return to Cybertron. On Earth he undergoes a personality change that gives him both a good and a bad side based on Minicon influence. This split makes him highly unpredictable. It's hard to predict which half of his split personality will win in the end - the good side or the evil side!

Robot Mode: In robot mode Sideways looks strange and mysterious, his spindly legs, thick arms and batons, and antenna'd head giving him an air of silent menace. His look changes depending on whether he uses his own small head or uses Rook or Crosswise in head mode. Rook causes an Autobot symbol to appear on his chest, Crosswise causes a Decepticon symbol (though according to their Dreamwave profile it should be the other way around). In my own personal opinion he looks best with Crosswise (the grey head).

Alternate Mode: Sideways transforms into a motorcycle with the batons on his arms becoming the boosters on each side. Either of the Minicons (or both in combined mode) can function as rider. The cycle looks like what is supposed to, so no complaints here.

Add-Ons / Partners: Sideways comes with two Minicons, Rook and Crosswise. Both can function as head for Sideways, each causing a different faction symbol to appear on his chest. The two can also combine into a single larger robot. Both in their single and their combined modes the two are very posable and look cool, if slightly misproportioned in their individual modes.

Remarks: Sideways is one of the most pivotal characters of the cartoon series, fighting both for the Autobots and the Decepticons, but holding no allegiance to either side. In truth he turned out to be a minion of Unicron or, to be more precise, a kind of avatar for Unicron himself.

The toy reflects Sideways' cartoon character well. The Minicon-heads might be debatable (what with the legs sticking out on the sides), but all in all I like the idea of the toy changing allegiances depending on which head is on. The two Minicons also look good, especially in combined mode, making for an all-over good toy.

Rating: B-