Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Crosswise (X-Car in Japan) was the name of one of the Autobot

Autobot

Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...

 Spy Changers

Spy Changers

Spy Changers are a sub-line of toys/characters which first appeared in the 2000-2001 Transformers Robots in Disguise toy line. All 6 molds were originally produced as the Transformers: Generation 2 line's Go-Bots in 1995...

. He is the science officer of the Spy Changers.

Crosswise is a quiet and mysterious Spy Changer. He's completely dedicated to the Autobot causes of peace and protection of all life. He keeps very much to himself and so not much is known about him. He is very technologically inclined. He carries a Crossblaster pistol.

The Spy Changers' science officer, X-Car is well-versed in space engineering and also helps out in the development of new machinery and maintenance of his teammates. He is equipped with a gravity beam gun with which he can control antigravity, causing all manner of objects to rise up into the air.

Animated series

In the television series, the Spy Changers received little characterization - usually acting in a group to attack or perform whatever mission they had been assigned.

Crosswise first appeared in episode #4 "Spy Changers to the Rescue".

Toys

• Car Robots X-Car (2000)

X-Car is based on the mold first used for Generation 2 Highbeam. Like all Spy Changer toys, Crosswise is 1/64 scale.

Crosswise and his Japanese counterpart X-Car were released in a number of color variants.

• Robots in Disguise Crosswise (2001)

He was packaged with fellow Spy Changer W.A.R.S. or by himself in a Tiny Tin.

• Robots in Disguise Clear Crosswise (2002)

• Car Robots Super Crosswise (2003)

• Car Robots Clear Super Crosswise (2003)

Transformers: Armada

In Armada, Crosswise is the name of Decepticon head of the herald Сайдуэйза. After he double crossed Hot Shot, Sideways shed his black helmet in favor of the silver helmet created by Crosswise.

Toys

• Armada Sideways with Crosswise and Rook (2002)

When Armada’s Sideways was produced, two production variants existed, based on Sideways's Mini-Cons. The earliest variant has Crosswise wearing orange-red paint on his shins. When transformed into Sideways's head, an Autobot emblem appears in Sideways's windshield. (Rook produced the Decepticon symbol.) In the later version, Crosswise had violet paint on his shins and produced the Decepticon symbol on Sideways when attached. (Rook -- consistently wearing red on his shins -- now reveals the show-accurate Autobot symbol.)

Transformers: Cybertron

Crosswise is an ancient bounty hunter tricked centuries ago into following a target to Earth, where he was captured and sealed into the side of a glacier in the Alaskan wilderness. Gruff, sarcastic, and always spoiling for a fight, he isn't above resorting to dirty tricks to take down an enemy. Though he rarely works without getting paid, he also has a strong sense of right and wrong, and when he hears about the danger to Cybertron, he is only too glad to sign on with Optimus Prime and the Autobots.

Cyber Key Power - (Force Missiles) Two missile launchers deploy on his back and fire.

Crosswise loves this kind of job - going up against an airborne foe more maneuverable and well armed than him is just the thing to get his oil pump going. After all, he's made a career out of tracking and capturing criminal wingnuts just like Thundercracker. He's known for improvisation, often constructing traps unheard of on Cybertron out of objects in the local environment. He'll go to ground for months, taking his time, learning every aspect of his surroundings, so when it comes time to spring his trap, he can be sure there'll be no escape.

Originally, this character was intended to be called Smokescreen

Smokescreen (Transformers)

Smokescreen is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Smokescreen is one of the second year Autobot Cars in the Transformers series. His toy was remolded from Prowl and Bluestreak, itself originating from an earlier Japanese line...

 in the U.S. version, as an upgrade to the upbeat Armada character of the same name. Because of obvious continuity concerns, his name was changed. This led to a production mistake where he was initially called this in the first airing of the episodes he was in on Kid's WB. However, by the time his first episode, Trap, aired on Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

, the dialogue was edited to change all references of Smokescreen to Crosswise. Slated for a fall release is a repaint of Crosswise named Smokescreen, sharing the Generation 1 character's deco.

Like the noble and vampire vanquishing VanHelsing, Crosswise is a Decepticon monster hunter. A true Autobot through and through, Crosswise was one of the original Autobots sent to Earth on the starship Atlantis along with Evac to protect the Earth Cyber Planet Key. When the rogue Decepticons began to make their appearances all over the Earth, his bounty hunters background kicked in and he went into full-on monster hunter mode. After sealing the Decepticons in statis pods, he was somehow frozen, but freed himself by scanning a car from an excavation site. He went back to the monster prison to check if no maniac had released them. He was then ambushed by Starscream and Sideways. When Starscream released all the monsters, he goes to seek out Evac. Later, he and Evac join the Autobots.

Takara Tech Spec (Courtesy of Soundwavesoblivion.com): Since many years ago, Autovolt has continued to protect the Earth from the Destron threat. Usually mistaken for an Earthen car while patrolling the city, and once he spots an enemy, his engine burns with turbo speed and races immediately to deal with the enemy at high speed.

Autovolt is not a new name for a Transformer in Japan. It was the Japanese name for the Generation 2 Laser Rod known simply as Volt in the U.S.

Animated series

Crosswise (Autovolt in Japan) : A monster hunter who sealed away the ancient Earth Decepticons long ago. After he was freed from the glacier he perished in, Crosswise scanned an FBI car and took its alt mode, before speeding off to find Evac. He attempted to keep the ancient "monsters" sealed away, but Starscream freed them, leading to his joining the Autobots.

In "Family" Crosswise begins to live among the Autobot civilians.

In the episode "Unfinished", when the Autobots attempted to use a gigantic rocket to move the Animatros back into its orbit, Galvatron attacked and damaged the rocket. The jungle planet threatened to crash into Cybertron. Scourge

Scourge (Transformers)

Scourge is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. He first appeared as one of the central villains in the 1986 film The Transformers, voiced by Stan Jones. He also regularly appeared in the animated Transformers series and Transformers comic books. Since then other...

, the Autobots, the former Decepticons, and their allies from the various planets were able to combine their strength and move the rocket back into place. He latter become official protector of Earth.

Toys

• Cybertron Crosswise

Crosswise transforms into a black FBI cruiser, greatly inspired by the extremely expensive Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...

. The toy of Crosswise is 13 cm long in vehicle mode, whereas a real Bugatti Veyron is 447 cm long, so the toy is at a scale of about 1:34. The toy stands about 14 cm tall, which means Crosswise would stand about 481 cm or 15 feet 10 inches tall.

Like most toys sold in the Galaxy Force toy line by Takara, then later in the Cybertron toy line by Hasbro, there are small paint differences between the two versions of the toy. The Hasbro version has a code number on the back of his Cyber Key, while the Takara version has no number on his Force Chip.

According to Hasbro panelists at BotCon

BotCon

BotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" , is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994...

 2006 the head design for Crosswise was inspired by the Generation 1 Autobot Rad

Rad (Transformers)

-Transformers: Generation 1:Rad is an Autobot Action Master. He has a Targetmaster partner named Lionizer.With more moves than an all-pro halfback, this clever, cool-headed daredevil is equally adept at combating Decepticons or calculating the coefficient of friction for a rocket booster...

.

In 2006 a Target store exclusive 2 pack called the Ground To Air Blast Pack included Cybertron Crosswise and Thundercracker

Thundercracker

Thundercracker is the name given to multiple fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Thundercracker is almost always depicted as a blue color Decepticon who turns into a jet fighter.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

. The toys were identical to their original ones, and the front included a brief mention of how the Autobot Bounty Hunter was hunting the Decepticon criminal Thundercracker.