Dinobot (Animated)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "Dinobot" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Dinobot (disambiguation). |
- The Dinobots are an Autobot subgroup from the Animated continuity family.
The violent and primitive Dinobots began their existence as animatronic theme park exhibits, until an AllSpark Key upgrade granted them sparks. Imbued with a range of combat abilities by Megatron, they bear the Autobot insignia, but they have no interest in taking part in the Earth conflict. All they want is to live on their island, with the occasional trip to the mainland to beat the tar out of someone.
The Dinobots are:
Grimlock speaks for the group, figuratively and literally—Swoop and Snarl are silent, possibly mute.
| “ | Dinobots RULE! | ” |
| —Grimlock tells it like it is, "Black Friday" | ||
Contents |
Fiction
Animated cartoon
Grimlock and the Dinobots were originally animatronic dinosaur models at the Dino Drive theme park that were badly damaged by the clumsy Autobot Bulkhead. The remains were brought to Isaac Sumdac's lab for repair, where the disembodied Megatron took an interest in them and attempted to turn them into robotic attack drones as practice for re-creating his own body. Thusly rebuilt, the Dinobots went on a rampage at Dino Drive, but were restrained by the Autobots when Ratchet and Bumblebee captured them in an electromagnetic field. When the AllSpark Key reacted by tugging her toward her Autobot friends, she plugged it into Bumblebee's weapons systems to boost their powers, but this only resulted in the Dinobots being blasted with AllSpark energy. The three robots were apparently left deactivated by the blast and were returned to Sumdac's lab once more. It was there, however, that the full extent of their exposure to the AllSpark's energy was revealed, as the three Dinobots suddenly came to life!
The Tyrannosaurus dubbed itself Grimlock and declared itself to be leader of the group, despite Megatron's attempts to give the trio orders. In contrast, the lab's other occupant, the Tutor Bot, happily responded to Megatron's cries for obedience and began a lesson on dinosaurs, their connection to fossil fuels, and the use of fossil fuels in cars. The simple-minded Grimlock took this to mean that cars "ate" dinosaurs, and Megatron convinced the trio to destroy these "fossil feeders", including the only thing worse than cars...cars and trucks that turn into robots. Equipped with deadly fire-breath thanks to Megatron's enhancements, the Dinobots set about their task immediately, inevitably drawing the attention of the Autobots. At Bulkhead's suggestion, the Autobots drew them to a deserted parking lot, where the Dinobots wound up defeating themselves by melting down the lot's maccadam surface into tar and getting stuck in it.
Sumdac intended to destroy the Dinobots, writing them off as mindless machines, and Optimus Prime agreed with his decision, but Prowl could sense the spark of life within them. With Bulkhead's help, he relocated them to a deserted island where they could live peacefully and undisturbed. Grimlock took an almost immediate dislike to some birds that defecated on him, but his anger had an unforeseen effect: It triggered another of Megatron's enhancements and caused him to transform into robot mode! Snarl and Swoop were quite shocked, but Grimlock was rather pleased with the results. Blast from the Past
Some time after the Dinobots were deposited on the island, Meltdown arrived to use the island as a hideout to create transformable humans. With his acid touch, he forcibly made the Dinobots his servants under threat of pain. In addition to having them serve as guards, Meltdown sent Swoop to kidnap Sari Sumdac. When Prowl and Bulkhead arrived to investigate, the Dinobots attacked them. After being dropped into Meltdown's base, Captain Fanzone, who had followed the Autobots, grabbed one of Meltdown's protective suits, which he used to trap the villain. Now free of Meltdown's control, the Dinobots transformed into robot mode and prepared to take their revenge on him. This wasn't totally unexpected; Prowl even offered Meltdown a choice: prison or the Dinobots. Then Colossus Rhodes and two of Meltdown's early transforming-humans experiments walked out, and the Dinobots turned their attention toward them, terrifying the trio of mutants right before pulverizing them. Captain Fanzone decided that as long as the Dinobots stayed out of Detroit, he didn't have a problem with them being on the island, but Bulkhead and Prowl remained unsure whether or not they should inform Prime of what happened. Survival of the Fittest
It turned out that they decided to tell Prime nothing, but they were forced to reveal the truth when the Decepticons began preparations for a strike. Optimus was taken to Dinobot Island and tried to convince the Dinobots to help. Grimlock pretty much told Prime to slag off, saying that they destroyed robots. When Prime pointed out that the Dinobots were robots as well, they began fighting. Megatron Rising - Part 1 Later, Teletran-1 crashed on Dinobot Island, and the Autobots and Decepticons held their battle there. No sign of the Dinobots.
After the Cybertron Elite Guard arrived on Earth, Optimus took Supreme Commander Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime to investigate Optimus Prime's claims that the AllSpark was dispersed. En route to the ship, the Dinobots jumped the Autobots. Sentinel Prime was unimpressed, telling them to "shoo". Grimlock's transformation was a little more impressive, as was his sword. Ultra Magnus summoned lightning with his hammer, and the Dinobots sneaked away into the wilderness. The Elite Guard
It was later learned that Blackarachnia had washed ashore after falling off Teletran-1, and the Dinobots took her in. Grimlock, an Alpha Male in the worst sense of the word, immediately claimed "Spider-Lady" as his, and he was not above using force to remind Swoop and Snarl. While she recuperated, Blackarachnia explored Meltdown's lair and discovered his genetic research. Realizing that he could remove her organic half and make fully robotic, Blackarachnia had the Dinobots liberate Meltdown from prison. After learning of their involvement, Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Bumblebee arrived, but Blackarachnia infected Bumblebee and Prowl with her venom, demanding that Optimus help Grimlock retrieve a genetic modifier from Meltdown's lab. However, once he had the modifier, Meltdown decided to remove the robotic half from Blackarachnia, intending to gain an organic Transformer, and sicced his two mutants on Prime and Grimlock. Fortunately, Swoop and Snarl arrived to help Grimlock, and Optimus removed the modifier before it changed Blackarachnia. Meltdown attempted to retrieve the device, but touching it caused him to break apart at a molecular level. Blackarachnia used Grimlock's jealousy to her advantage by getting close to Optimus, compelling Grimlock to attack the Autobot. Seeing that she had fled, Grimlock begged Blackarachnia to come back, saying that he loved her, but to no avail. Grimlock ran off practically in tears. Swoop and Snarl seemed okay. Black Friday
The Dinobots later watched as an oil container with the Constructicons riding on top of it appeared off the coast of their island and exploded. Three's a Crowd
As part of the Dinobots' continued assistance of Blackarachnia in her technorganic experimentation (despite her apparent earlier desertion), Swoop kidnapped Wasp, then stood guard with the other Dinobots as Blackarachnia convinced Wasp to undergo experimentation, turning him into Waspinator. Jetfire and Jetstorm beat the Dinobots up while Sentinel Prime snuck by them. The Dinobots were nearby and incapacitated when Waspinator went critical, taking out most of Dinobot Island. Predacons Rising
Despite the massive destruction of the island, the Dinobots survived, though Grimlock and Swoop would kick out Snarl when he decided to become the pet of Scrapper, who had become a castaway on the island. Human Error, Part II
Titan Animated comic
After Starscream and his clones attempted to steal the Autobots' base, Sari (somehow) escaped to Dinobot Island, hoping to convince Grimlock and Co. to come to the mainland and deal with the Starscreams. Things seemed to take a turn for the worse as she stumbled upon a furious Grimlock during some heavy rain. Things worked out however, as it wasn't long before the Dinobots burst into the factory and summarily trounced the clones. Starscream thought better about fighting back, and when the Autobots were freed made his escape. Bumblebee was amazed the Dinobots had agreed to help...until Sari revealed they hated the rain and she'd told them they could stay at the base until the rain stopped. As Grimlock made himself comfortable, Ratchet relayed some sorry news: the weather forecast for the future was heavy rain, with chance of fire breathing squatters. Dino-MIGHT!
Snarl and Swoop were later infected by a Rage virus, turning them homicidally violent; they turned on Grimlock and then on the Autobot rescue team that arrived to help, badly injuring both their leader and Ratchet before Afterburn could cure them. Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?
Later, Grimlock and Swoop got into a huge fight over a TV show, and Grimlock kicked Swoop out of the Dinobots. The flier went on to join the main Autobots, while Grimlock kept a suffering Snarl from talking. Divebomb
The Cool comic
When Soundwave and Lugnut attacked Dinobot Island, the Dinobots responded immediately to the threat, driving the Decepticons off. Optimus Prime attempted to greet the Dinobots and thank them for their aid, but Grimlock responded simply by attacking Prime and demanding he leave as well. After a while, the two resolved their differences, the Dinobots promising to help the Autobots in time of battle, and parted as friends. The Cool Episode 3
Toys
- Grimlock (Voyager, 2008)
- Swoop (Deluxe, 2008)
- Snarl (Deluxe, 2008)
- The "main line" Dinobot toys transform into mechanical prehistoric creatures of various stripes. They share a common color scheme dominated by medium gray, with gold, red, and blue accents and highlights. Each is equipped with a fire-themed melee weapon in robot mode, though production changes have made that motif harder to discern for Swoop.
- Grimlock (Activator, 2008)
- A reduced-scale, auto-transforming version of his Voyager design.
Notes
- As the Dinobots never officially joined the Autobots, it is never explained where their faction symbols came from.
- The original, unused Dinobot designs were done by Sean Galloway; they look wildly different and include a version of Sludge.
