Dinobots
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dinobots are a team of characters in the fictional Transformers Universe. The group is made up of five robots, who each transform into likenesses of well-known dinosaurs.
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[edit] Transformers: Generation One
The Dinobots are a group of five Transformers, part of the Autobot faction. Their exact origins and abilities vary from one version of Transformers to the next, but they are always exceptionally powerful Autobots, able to sustain heavy abuse and wield heavy firepower against their foes. In all media, they are depicted as being fiercely independent and liable to break away from the main group of Autobots when the mood takes them.
- Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus rex (Team Leader)
- Slag - Triceratops
- Sludge - Brontosaurus
- Snarl - Stegosaurus
- Swoop - Pteradactyl
Due to their unique alternative modes, their memorable personalities and their fighting prowess, they are firm fan favourites in their cartoon, comic book and toy incarnations.
[edit] Animated Series
The creation of the Dinobots was almost happenstance. One particular day at Autobot Headquarters, the Autobots detected unusual seismic activity from within the walls of the cave. Ironhide investigated the disturbance and found that, while inconsequential, he detected very large forms within a hidden cavern. They turned out to be the fossilized bones of dinosaurs. After performing various studies and researches on Dinosaurs, Wheeljack made the suggestion that, because of their brute force and power, dinosaurs working for the Autobots would shake up the Decepticons. Ratchet agreed, suggesting robotic forms and Optimus Prime authorized the project.
Shortly after, the Dinobots were created and unveiled, but during the presentation, the Dinobots went awry, due to their lack of intelligence. They began to ransack Autobot Headquarters, inflicting major damage to Teletraan I. Wheeljack managed to subdue the Dinobots with his shoulder-mounted magnetic inducer. The Dinobots were deactivated and stored in the cavern where they were constructed. Shortly after, when many of the Autobots were in peril, the Dinobots were given cerebral upgrades, increasing their intelligence to where they possessed broken language. The upgrade was sufficient to give them instructions and send them into combat.
The Dinobots performed admirably in combat, saving the Autobots, forcing the Decepticons into retreat, and earning a permanent place in the Autobot ranks. They proved very useful when Megatron brought Cybertron into Earth's orbit through the Decepticon Space Bridge. Dismayed by his losses to the Dinobots, Megatron discovered and briefly exploited weaknesses that turned the Dinobots against the Autobots. To counter this, two new Dinobots were created - Snarl and Swoop. Grimlock reconsidered his decision after being saved by Optimus Prime from an exploding meteorite. The Dinobots were among the very few to have survived the Last Great War and see the Second Golden Age of Cybertron.
They are often brought in to face the largest threats. They have tangled with Devastator numerous times, defeated or stalemated Megatron and Shockwave, and even survived a head-on assault against Unicron.
[edit] Marvel Comics
In the comic version, the Dinobots are quite different from their cartoon equivalents. They were not created on Earth, but are in fact Cybertronian Autobots. The Dinobots are something like an Autobot elite special ops team, under Grimlock’s direct command. It is made quite clear that the Dinobots’ first loyalty is to each other over their fellow Autobots. This is demonstrated in several instances. When Grimlock leaves the Autobots in protest over Optimus Prime’s leadership style, the Dinobot team follows their leader and leave the Autobots behind. Unlike their comic relief equivalents of the cartoon, the comics’ Dinobots are more intelligent and cunning. Grimlock is a high-ranking member of the Autobot army, sometimes depicted as Optimus Prime’s second-in-command, and he took leadership of the Autobots after both of Optimus Prime’s deaths. Another difference was that while all the cartoon Dinobots spoke in the third person (i.e "Me, Grimlock!"), in the Marvel version only Grimlock spoke like this.
During the series, not much is said about the Dinobots’ time on Cybertron. Most of what is learned comes as hints or references in dialogues. We learn Swoop has a grudge against the Decepticon Divebomb, caused by a number of defeats the Dinobot suffered to the Decepticon in fights over the name 'Divebomb', Swoop's original moniker. We also learn Grimlock and the Dinobots were as powerful and rebellious on Cybertron as they are on Earth, going so far as launching successful raids against the Decepticon forces without the knowledge of the Autobot leaders. In one such raid, the Dinobots stole a number of Decepticon spaceships, and hid them away so well they were still intact when the Autobots returned to Cybertron 5 million years later.
The Dinobots were aboard the Ark with the other Autobots when they originally crashed on Earth. However, soon after the crash, Shockwave landed on Earth in search of the Ark, and the ship’s computer (A.U.N.T.I.E.) reactivated the Dinobots to fight him. Shockwave landed in the Savage Land, Marvel Comics’ fictional dinosaur island. Consequently, the ship picked dinosaur shapes for the Dinobots, to blend in with the native life-forms of that region. Shockwave outmanuevered and defeated them, but a last strike saw all the combatants buried in a tar pit. Much later, they were reactivated by Ratchet, who had struck a deal with Megatron to overthrow him. Knowing Megatron was sure to betray him, Ratchet set the Dinobots on Megatron instead - and watched helplessly as he defeated them in seconds. Ratchet managed to send Megatron plummeting off a cliff. Ratchet led the Dinobots back to the Ark, but they quickly left in protest over Prime's "soft" leadership style.
This would be all the US comics would see of the Dinobots for some time, but across the Atlantic the Marvel UK creative team and writer Simon Furman would use them heavily to fill the gaps between monthly US comics as opposed to their own weekly schedule. Here, Ratchet led the Dinobots back to the Ark, only to encounter a deranged Guardian robot. Working together, they beat him, only to lose Swoop in the process, prompting the Dinobots to walk out. Swoop soon returned, being mind-controlled by Professor Morris an employee of a company opposed to the Autobots. It was discovered that Prime had been Swoop's commanding officer on Cybertron, and his hatred of Prime's orders allowed him to break free of the control. By this point the other Dinobots had gone feral, forcing the other Autobots to hunt them down - unaware that they were being taken advantage of by Soundwave, who used it as a distraction to gather Energon without interference. It was at this point that the Dinobots walked out in the US strips, and they had a number of solo adventures, with Sludge becoming infatuated with a female reporter. They attempted to discover the truth behind the Robot Master scam - only to run into Megatron, Soundwave and the Constructicons, who wanted it kept a secret. They were saved by the arrival of Centurion (in reality a robot controlled by Swoop's old foe Professor Morris), although the evidence implicating the Dcepticons was still destroyed. Centurion then linked up with the Dinobots - only to be destroyed in short order by the newly arrived time traveller Galvatron. The Dinobots attacked him in revenge, but were overpowered and would have been destroyed if not for the intervention of Shockwave's Decepticons, who viewed Galvatron as just as great a threat.
At this point in the US comics Optimus Prime had recently been killed, and Grimlock returned to the Ark to take command. He was rejected, and elected to take the other Dinobots to forcibly assume command. However, the Autobots were attacked by Trypticon, who decimated them with ease. During this, Grimlock encountered a human who wasn't scared of him - a rarity, as he had thought they were all cowards - and when that human was threatened by Trypticon, he attacked the giant to save her life. The other Dinobots attacked as well, and Trypticon was called back to Cybertron by Ratbat. Grimlock was accepted as leader after this, with the other Dinobots acting as his enforcers. Grimlock became increasingly tyrannical after this, and this culminated in a duel between him and Blaster. After Prime's return as a Powermaster, the Dinobots once again served under him - only to all be deactivated by the Underbase powered Starscream.
Grimlock was later resurrected as a Classic Pretender, and became increasingly obsessed with bringing his fellow Dinobots back to life. He walked out on Prime (again) and went on a quest that ended with his discovering Nucleon. He used it to resurrect his companions and many other Autobots, and fought against the coming of Unicron. However, the Nucleon had side-effects, as Grimlock discovered when he found he was no longer able to transform. When the Decepticons marooned them on Cybertron, the Dinobots revealed that they had a number of stolen Decepticon cruisers to take them off planet. However, in pursuit of the Decepticons, Grimlock's lack of tactical planning led the Autobots right into an ambush, and Sludge, Snarl and Swoop were killed along with most of the other Autobots. However, just as they were about to be wiped out by Bludgeon, a resurrected Optimus Prime arrived with the Last Autobot, who resurrected all the Autobot casualties, including the Dinobots.
[edit] Generation 2
Grimlock and the Dinobots were soon in the thick of it again, leading missions against the Decepticons mechaforming efforts (thinking it was Bludgeon's forces, when in reality it was Jhiaxus' second-generation Decepticons). Discovering the scale of their efforts, Grimlock called in Prime - only to be captured by Jhiaxus. The Autobots and Dinobots escaped, and Grimlock again struck out on his own with the Dinobots and a force of volunteers to strike a blow against Jhiaxus - only to be again captured. Prime would rescue them, however, teaching Grimlock some much needed leadership lessons in the process.
The Dinobots later came with Optimus Prime and the Autobots back to Earth in response to a special emergency beacon activated by G.I.Joe in response to a major attack by first Bludgeon, then Megatron. Optimus Prime went to peacefully negotiate with Megatron. Taking advantage of Optimus Prime's peaceful intentions, the Decepticon commander mercilessly assaulted Optimus Prime with everything he had. Although Optimus Prime had given Grimlock strict orders not to rescue him, he secretly thought to himself, "please don't let this be the first time he actually obeys orders!" - and sure enough, Grimlock defied Prime's order and came to his rescue. While Grimlock protested the deal with Megatron to combine forces, he again fought loyally under Prime angainst Jhiaxus' forces. As the Swarm approached Earth, Grimlock and Soundwave led a combined Autobot-Decepticon force to make a final stand. During the Swarm's attack, many Transformers were consumed and destroyed including Slag (who died alongside the Aerialbot Slingshot). Grimlock was saved by Megatron who gave him canisters of Rheanimum gas to distribute amongst the surviving Transformers in order to shield themselves from the Swarm.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
The Dinobots appeared in Dreamwave's reimagining of the Generation One Universe, this time with an expanded origin. Shortly before the second story arc of the War Within, The Dark Ages, Grimlock created a specialized attack group called the Lightning Strike Coalition. Five members of this group would go on to become the Dinobots on Earth, by the time of the "Age of Wrath" they were openly acting as Grimlock's bodyguards, with Grimlock even referring to them as "Dynobots". At this stage the group did not yet have the absolute loyalty that the Dinobots would later be known for. In this story arc, Swoop openly questions Grimlock’s orders. When faced with a dilemma, the other four members of the Coalition choose to go help the Autobots and leave their leader to fight elsewhere on his own, something the later Dinobots would never do.
The Dinobots later made their first appearance in the Generation One Series. The backstory had it that the Dynobots were dispatched to Earth to discover what had happened to the missing Ark. They encountered the Decepticons who would becomne the Insecticons, with both sides blasting each other into stasis lock. Although Grimlock would appear first independently of the Dinobots, they would later appear in the second volume revived by Grimlock, before crashing on Cybertron. Killing Octane and stealing his ship; however, they ran into trouble when the local Autobot forces believed them to be traitors and fired on them, with Ultra Magnus gunning down Grimlock, before battling giant Sentinel robots dispatched by Shockwave. Repaired by the Autobots (now convinced of their intentions), they then participated in the final assault on Shockwave, where Grimlock rescued Magnus and Optimus Prime. Dreamwave's closure prevented any further stories being told, but it is known that the Dinobots would have returned in volume 3 #11 of the Gen 1 comic.
[edit] Devil's Due Publishing
The Dinobots also appeared in the second G.I Joe vs the Transformers series from Devil's Due Publishing, with yet another different origin. In 2004 the Dinobots were among the Autobots under the leadership of Optimus Prime who attempted to take back the planet Cybertron from the Decepticon tyrant Shockwave. After an accident with the teleportational systems of the supercomputer Teletran-3, the Dinobots found themselves sent back in time and landed on the planet Earth. They were reformatted in the forms of Earth dinosaurs. A group of humans were able to bring the new Dinobots back to Cybertron and they helped overcome Shockwave.
Grimlock also had a prominent role in the third series as one of the Autobots sent to Earth to deactivate Cybertronian technology, only to end up battling the human created cyborg Serpentor. Snarl also appeared briefly as part of the combined Autobot/G.I Joe force attempting to rescue Optimus Prime, fighting alongside Storm Shadow.
[edit] IDW Publishing
The Dinobots would make their first IDW Publishing appearance in The Transformers: Spotlight issue on Shockwave. In this stand-alone tale the Dinobots (here, as in the War Within, referring to themselves as Dynobots) sought revenge on Shockwave for a past incident involving Shockwave's destruction of an energon cache that they had stolen - and nearly them with it. Being denied a chance for revenge by Optimus Prime, the Dynobots went rogue and tracked Shockwave to prehistoric Earth, where he was ensuring that seams of rich energon that he had seeded took root. Unable to survive in the energon levels on the planet (reminiscent of the problem facing the Maximals and Predacons in Beast Wars). Adopting technorganic dinosaur modes the Dynobots teleported down to Earth and engaged Shockwave. Despite their determination and ferocity their own impulsive nature would prove their undoing; the concept that the Dynobots could have followed him for simple revenge Shockwave shut down his higher logic functions, allowing him to single-handedly devastate the Dynobots. He would not enjoy his victory for long - Grimlock had set the weapons on their ship to fire on their location, exploding a volcano and burying all combatants in lava.
It is interesting to note that unlike most other versions of the character, their alternate modes, while still dinosaurs, are techno-organic - a sheath of synthetic flesh over robotic alternate modes. However, near the end of the story, their flesh is blown off by Shockwave's cannon blast, suggesting that if they return it will be in their familiar metallic dinosaur forms. Amusingly, a reason is also given for their choosing of dinosaur modes - they reject mammalian forms as not having enough "bite".
The eventual fate of the Dynobots would be revealed in The Transformers: Escalation where it was shown that the bodies of the Dynobots and Shockwave were being dug up by the mysterious defense organization called Skywatch. How this will impact fututre stories is unknown.
[edit] Generation 2
The Generation 2 toy line had releases of Grimlock, Slag and Snarl in a variety of recolors, and missing their missile launchers. There were plans to release Swoop in Generation 2's toy line but this never came to pass.
[edit] Beast Wars
Grimlock was the only original Dinobot who was reformatted and rebuilt as a Maximal some three centuries after the end of the Great War. The Maximals and Predacons travelled back in time into Earth's pre-historic past where they assumed the forms of beasts, in the case of Grimlock, the form of a velociraptor. The Beast Wars Grimlock toy is the same mould as the Maximal Dinobot, who appeared in the Beast Wars cartoon (although Grimlock did not).
Grimlock in his reimagined raptor form has appeared in IDW Publishing's mini-series Beast Wars: The Gathering. He battled Magmatron, but lost, later joining Razorbeast's Maximals on Earth.
[edit] Beast Machines
When Megatron unleashed the technorganic virus on Cybertron during Beast Machines, many Maximals and Predacons were wiped out. In a desperate attempt to combat the virus, the Oracle supercomputer reformatted a group of surviving Transformers using DNA schematics derived from the former Maximal warrior Dinobot. Thus were born the Beast Machines Dinobots:
- Airraptor - Archaeopteryx
- Dinotron - Pachycephalosaurus
- Magmatron - Giganotosaurus / Elasmosaurus / Quetzalcoatlus
- Rapticon - TransMetal II Velociraptor
- Striker - Stegosaurus
- Terranotron - Transmetal Pteradactyl
- Triceradon - Triceratops
- T-Wrecks - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Team Leader)
[edit] Transformers: Dinobots
In 2003 a set of Walmart exclusive toys sold simply as Transformers: Dinobots featured repaints of Beast Wars molds as 6 Dinobots. One of the Dinobots sets included Grimlock (a repaint of Beast Wars Dinobot) and Swoop (a repaint of Beast Wars Terrorsaur). Some versions of Swoop were named Terranotron on the box because of trademark issues with the name Swoop.
How the Transformers: Dinobots toy line fits in with the other Transformers lines is still a bit of a mystery. The previous Robots in Disguise and Armada lines contained many non-show repaint toys, but the toys don't mention either line on the boxes. The Dinobots toys came out just before the Transformers: Universe series, which was almost entirely repaints of old toys - so some fans consider it a precursor to that series.
[edit] Transformers: Energon
There were two Dinobot figures released as part of the Transformers Energon toyline: Grimlock and Swoop, who can merge to form the giant robot Mega-Dinobot. They did not appear in the cartoon.
[edit] Transformers: Classics
In November 2006 a Deluxe-sixed Grimlock will be released, and three dinobot minicons will be sold in a 3-pack; only one of which carries an original Dinobot name: Swoop.
