Dinobot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dinobot is a Transformer from the fictional Beast Wars Transformers universe. He should not be confused with the original Autobot Team the Dinobots, with the Beast Machines Dinobots sub line, or with any other Dinobot line.
Contents |
[edit] Beast Wars
| Transformers character | |
 Dinobot Box Art |
|
| Dinobot | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Maximal, Former Predacon |
| Sub-Group | Deluxe Beasts Deluxe Vehicles Transmetals |
| Function | Front-Line Combat |
| Motto | "Honor does not need to be won, but it must never be lost." |
| Alternate Modes | Backhoe (Timelines), Velociraptor (Beast Wars) |
| Series | Beast Wars Transtech Transformers Timelines |
| Voiced by | Scott McNeil (English) Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese) |
Although he joined the Maximals, Dinobot was created as a Predacon, and joined Optimus Primal's Maximals after leaving Megatron. Originally a Predacon under Megatron in the story, Dinobot defects, believing that Megatron led them to the wrong planet and that he had mishandled the Maximal situation, and eventually joins the Maximals under the command of Optimus Primal. He is proficient in physical combat, and a true warrior. His arsenal includes a sword with serrated blades that spin, a spinning rotary shield, and optical cannons.
Dinobot has a high sense of honor and duty -- one that often blinds him to concepts like compromise or forethought. Dinobot is impatient and naturally suspicious; the Maximals lingering distrust of him (particularly Rattrap) for being a turncoat only heightened this. Dinobot was short-tempered and ever-ready to sharply criticize those he disagreed with -- even Optimus Primal, whom he secretly harbored deep respect for. Despite a seemingly insufferable persona, Dinobot was fiercely loyal to the Maximal cause (or perhaps merely channeling his hatred of Megatron), displayed surprising integrity, and was even (rarely) empathetic. He also displayed a surprising knowledge of Hamlet on at least two occasions. He sacrificed his life to stop Megatron from killing the primitive humans and changing history in the episode "Code of Hero". His death is often considered the most powerful moment in Beast Wars, perhaps even as one of the most powerful moments of the entire Transformer's franchise. A Predacon clone of him was subsequently created by Megatron, who presumably retained a respect for Dinobot's skills as a warrior, but the clone was apparently possessed by the spirit of the original and again died for the future.
His beast form was a velociraptor, although a few say his size suggest he was really a deinonychus. Given that, the beast form of Dinobot lacks the 'thumb-claw' of that species. The size of the form hearkens more to the large species of raptor discovered in Utah just prior to production of the movie Jurassic Park. It was named 'Utahraptor' by the discoverer on the suggestion of paleontologist and novelist Robert T. Bakker who wrote the book "Raptor Red" based solely on the finding of the extraordinary fossils. Later on as a Transmetal II, Dinobot gained the tell-tale "thumb-claw" to mark him as a velociraptor. So it is indeed certain that he is indeed a velociraptor in his original form, just of a larger size due to his height in robot mode, similar to Rattrap, Waspinator and others being incredibly large versions of their beast mode, and that the larger thumb claws on his Transmetal II form were probably just added weapons similar to Cheetor's jet engine. Lastly Dinobot's tech spcs identify him as a velociraptor.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Dinobot's earliest fictional depiction in comics was in a two part short story told in Dreamwave's Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye series. In this tale Dinobot and Megatron enter an ancient Autobot library housing a node of the super computer Vector Sigma where Megatron views the datatracks concerning the Autobots and Decepticons of The Great War. As Dinobot dispatches a Maximal security agent his leader obtains the Golden Disk artifact and announces he wishes to be addressed as Megatron from now on.
[edit] Transformers: Timelines
Dinobot's early story would continue in the Timelines tale Dawn of Futures Past, where he was seen escaping with the disc alongside Megatron and Scorponok, outraged because he was not able to battle the Maximals honorably, having to be cowed into fleeing by Megatron. Dinobot was further outraged when Megatron planned to flee into Transwarp, but was delighted when Megatron opened fire on the Axalon while doing so. In this story, Dinobot was never named.
[edit] Season One
Dinobot was one of the original members of Megatron's Darkside crew who stole the Golden Disk artifact from the Cybertron Archives. Believing that Megatron led him and the other Predacons to the wrong planet, Dinobot attempted to challenge Megatron to a duel for leadership of the Predacons, only to be blasted away by Scorponok on Megatron's orders. Determined to pay Megatron back for the dishonorable action, Dinobot decided to join the Maximals he knew were also somewhere on the planet - as their leader. After changing his activation code to the Maximal "Maximize", Dinobot challenged Optimus Primal to a duel on a narrow stone bridge, for the right to lead. Unlike Megatron, Optimus chose to accept his terms. The two battled, with Dinobot refusing to strike a fallen Primal at one point, saying it would be dishonorable. In the midst of the perilous duel, the Predacons attacked them both, and Optimus saved Dinobot from falling into a deep chasm. Feeling indebted to Optimus, whom he had already begun to respect, he joined the Maximals.
Despite his alliance with the Maximals, Dinobot was often at odds with the group, particularly Rattrap. Because Dinobot was once a Predacon, Rattrap simply did not trust him, and made his feelings fully known. The hostility that was held between Rattrap and Dinobot persisted throughout the series, usually in the form of verbal insults being tossed back and forth. But as the Beast Wars progressed, they both learned to respect and trust each other. However, they would never admit to it and still fought. Dinobot was also ever-quick to offer himself as a commander in the event of Optimus Primal's incapacitation (such as in "Chain of Command" and "Fallen Comrades"). This caused yet more antagonism between him and Rattrap and Rhinox, as the rhino was Primal's designated second-in-command and Rattrap was once appointed leader by Optimus when Optimus was captured by an alien probe (Interesting enough, during asecret ballot to determine whether Rattrap or Dinobot would take charge, both Dinobot and Rattrap received two votes; which of the other two Maximals voted for him in the secret ballot is unknown, but given Rhinox's friendship with Rattrap, Cheetor would be the logical guess).
Dinobot, however, was worried about what would happen if the Maximals ever won the Beast Wars, believing that the other Maximals on Cybertron would never accept him. After the Predacons were apparently destroyed in an Energon explosion, Dinobot stayed behind on Earth as the Axalon blasted into space - only to discover the Predacons' destruction was a ruse. He managed to warn Primal, although the Axalon was shot down once again. Later, Megatron created a "clone" of Dinobot - a living clone of Dinobot with a sparkless artificial intelligence mind. With a personality similar to Dinobot's (but without a sense of honor), it was unable to transform into a robot mode, but in beast mode it looked and sounded just like the real Dinobot. Dinobot faced it in combat, staying in beast mode out of his sense of honor; the real Dinobot defeated and ate his double. That prompted Optimus to remark that Dinobot was 'disgusting'.
[edit] Season Two
When the Earth was hit by the quantum wave from the destruction of the Vok planet killer it transfigured several Cybertronians into transmetal forms, but Dinobot, Rhinox, and Waspinator were unaltered. It is theorized by fans that because they were inside cyro regeneration chambers as the wave passed, it protected them from its effect. Realizing Primal had been destroyed by the explosion, Dinobot quickly offered himself as a leadership candidate - only to be quickly silenced by an irritated Rhinox.
After the destruction of the artificial moon, both Waspinator and Dinobot realized that the planet they were on was ancient Earth, the original destination of the Darkside. They both attempted to steal the Golden Disks from Megatron, and Dinobot was successful, while Waspinator ended up getting nearly scrapped by the security systems. Dinobot wondered if the disk's record of the future was immutable or if the future could be changed. He hid the Golden disk under a rock, and the alien disk in the Axalon. However, he still joined with Rattrap and Cheetor to defend their base from the now overwhelming Predacon force. After fighting bravely, even with the addition of Rhinox, they were overwhelmed (with Dinobot observing they could at least die with honor), only to be saved by Optimus Primal, who had been resurrected as a transmetal.
When it appeared that Megatron was going to triumph, Dinobot, his desire for glory getting the better of him, briefly changed sides. He proved himself in combat with the Predacons by defeating Quickstrike. He gave Megatron the Golden Disk, but was unwilling to kill Rattrap when he was presented with the opportunity. He re-dedicated himself to helping the Maximals win, although the Maximals never fully trusted him again after this. Possibly fearing the worst in the future, Dinobot uploaded a copy of his datatracks to the Axalon's computer.
Torn over his betrayal of his allies and guilt-ridden over allowing Megatron to obtain the Disc, Dinobot finally discovered the answer to his question when, after an argument with Rattrap over his betrayal, he witnessed Megatron and Rampage using one of the golden disks to show that the future was indeed mutable; by destroying a mountain on one of the disks, the image saved on the discs changed as wel. Armed with this knowledge, Megatron led an all-out attack on the primitive ancestors of Humankind, attempting to wipe them out and deny the Autobots an important ally in the war against the Decepticons. With no time to wait for reinforcements, Dinobot single-handedly fought off the entire Predacon force and destroyed the disk, even managing to incapacitate Megatron by attaching a sharpened stone to a stick after he lost his weapons and his optical lasers lacked any power. However the damage to his systems was too severe, and Dinobot died surrounded by his friends, redeemed at last as he was assured that his actions had saved the future. This in turn, taught the primitive humans how to create weapons and defend themselves which would prove useful when under threat from Megatron's cyber-Raptors, and from Quickstrike and Inferno in the series finale.
“Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly; the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest... is silence.” - Dinobot's last words.
[edit] Season Three
| Transformers character | |
 Dinobot Clone |
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| Dinobot | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Predacon  |
| Sub-Group | Deluxe Beasts Transmetals II |
| Function | Special Operations Combatant |
| Alternate Modes | Transmetal II Velociraptor |
| Series | Beast Wars Transtech |
| Voiced by | Scott McNeil (English) Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese) |
Megatron again played with the idea of cloning Dinobot. In his first attempt he created several animal-like cybernetic raptors with transmetal enhancements to hunt down the scattered humans. Eventually the weapon-using humans were able to destroy the raptors by learning they had a weak spot in the form of the 'control packs' on their backs, thus enabling the Maximals to defeat these new enemies as well.
Megatron's obsession over Dinobot's betrayal led him to make one more clone of Dinobot. This clone was created with a blank Protoform, Dinobot's DNA template, half of Rampage's spark and the Transmetal Driver, transforming the clone into the first Transmetal II. With all of Dinobot's ruthlessness and none of his honor, this Dinobot was a formidable foe, as well as a calculating and cunning strategist. He possessed Dinobot's warrior skills, as well as transmetal claws, an optical cannon, paralysis beam and Rampage's quick healing. He also had something of a rivalry with Rampage, who he would often keep in line by squeezing their shared spark, causing the Predacon warrior great pain. However, a confrontation with Blackarachnia revealed that at least some of Dinobot's ambition survived, as Blackarachnia was able to convince him to spare her so she could help him take over the Predacons (at least for a few moments).
This Dinobot served as a devoted Predacon, until Rampage's death restored the personality of the original Dinobot (rumored to have been made possible via a copy of the original Dinobot's personality anagrams downloaded into the clone, thanks to Rattrap in the 'missing' episode Dark Glass), and thus refused to attack his former comrades.
While in control of the ancient Decepticon ship Nemesis, Megatron ordered Dinobot to open fire on the helpless Maximals inside the Autobot Ark . Dinobot's sense of honor started to return when his spark was made whole after the death of Rampage. Not only did Dinobot refuse to fire on his template's comrades, he was also able to access Teletraan I and tip-off the Maximals to a shuttle located within the Ark. When Rhinox piloted the Autobot shuttle to smash through the cockpit of the Nemesis causing it to crash, Dinobot chose not to leave the doomed ship, and saluted Optimus Primal as a final farewell. It is presumed that Dinobot perished in the crash, although there is the chance he might have survived because his half-possession of Rampage's semi-indestructible spark.
"In the spark of an enemy, there will be salvation, and in the darkest hour there will be a light." - Optimus, in reference to the cloned Dinobot defeating Megatron.
It has been hinted at BotCon, however, that due to Rampage's indestructibility, he may have survived and lived of the rest of his days on pre-historic Earth, maybe even finding a way back to Cybertron eventually. This is plausible, due to the fact he was a reported character in Transtech, the un-produced follow-up to Beast Machines.
[edit] Transtech
After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic. Hasbro commissioned sets of designs from Draxhall Jump. The series was supposedly to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars along with some characters from the original 80s cartoon show, all in new, techno-organic bodies, though with vehicle alternate modes instead of the animals used in Beast Machines. Many concept sketches and even a few toy prototypes were made, but Hasbro scrapped the idea in favor of bringing Car Robots to their markets as Transformers: Robots in Disguise .
Concept sketches or prototype toys have been seen for Blackarachnia, Cheetor, Depth Charge, Megatron, Nightscream, Optimus Prime, Scavenger, Shockwave, Silverbolt, Soundwave, Starscream and a new character called Immorticon. There were also rumors of a Transtech Dinobot.
[edit] Toys
- Beast Wars Dinobot (1996)
- The Dinobot toy came with a mutant mask that was not utilized in the animated series, although it was seen on early prototypes of the animation. Because the toy was made before the show, it was not an exact match for the colors.
- This toy was later recolored as Beast Wars Grimlock and as Dinobots Grimlock.
- Dinotron was a remold of the original Dinobot.
- Takara Dinobot (1997)
- When the toy was sold in Japan it was repainted with lighter stripes and a gold head to match the television model. In Japan Dinobot was sold alone and packaged with Tarantulas. The Japanese version of this toy had the head painted with metallic colors to more closely match the animated appearance of Dinobot.
- McDonalds Dinobot (1998)
- A premium toy included with Happy Meals, this Dinobot is a transmetal, although he didn't become a transmetal in the animated series.
- Fox Kids Dinobot (1999)
- A redeco of Dinobot done in browns with red stripes across the back.
- Transmetal II Dinobot (1999)
- The Transmetal II toy of Dinobot came in three variants. The first was released as a post-Christmas edition in late 1998 (for the 1999 release year) in show-accurate colors (this version being the model for the series), identifiable due to all pre-1999 Transmetal 2s having a "Transmetal II" logo. The second version makes use of navy blue and metallic maroon detailing on an ivory-colored body, as opposed to brown and maroon. The "II" logos are replaced with a "Transmetal 2" logo. The third and final Transmetal II Dinobot was nearly as commonplace as the second, with the ivory tooling replace with a whiter colored plastic. The remaining parts were decorated in a brighter blue and vacuum-metallized red. (The white, red and blue Dinobot is said to have been exclusive to Wal-Mart, but K-Mart stores in 2002 were shown to also have them in stock.)
- The transmetal II Dinobot was repainted into the Dinobot Rapticon.
- Hasbro 10th Anniversary Dinobot (2006)
- In 2006 the original Dinobot toy was one of the toys selected for the Beast Wars 10th Anniversary toyline. He was repainted in more show-accurate coloring. He came packaged with one of the six pieces used to make the Transmutate toy plus a DVD of his most famous episode "Code of Hero".
- Darksyde Dinobot (2006)
- One of the BotCon 2006 exclusive figure is a remold of Armada Hoist which is a homage to Beast Wars Dinobot. This figure is supposed to represent Dinobot before he was reformatted into an animal form. He turns into a backhoe. In an earlier Botcon music video (done to the song Du Hast by Rammstein), it's revealed that Dinobot's pre-Beast Wars name was Dynamo, although his pre-Beast Wars rendering in the video did not look like the Botcon 2006 figure. This is a contradiction to the Dreamwave comics story where he was called while on Cybertron.
- Takara 10th Anniversary Dinobot (2007)
- In 2007, Takara Tomy is releasing their version of the 10th Anniversary of Beast Wars toys. Selected molds have included Dinobot who will be painted show accurate along with something Hasbro's version didn't have: teeth are painted to give him more of a look like the show.
