Dinobot

Dreamwave Generation One continuity(thumbnail) Little did we know that there was a giant shovel on the other arm.During the theft of the Golden Disk, He Who Would Be Megatron also scanned the historical datatrax of the Autobots and Decepticons. He failed to notice the approaching guard until Dinobot dispatched him with his sword and insisted they speed up the operation. More Than Meets The Eye #8This two-page story is contradicted by many other versions of the story—specifically Megatron's spontaneous renaming of himself—possibly placing it in a version of the Beast Wars that occurs only in Dreamwave's Generation 1 continuity. Of course, Dreamwave chose that time to fold before this could be explained. Theft of the Golden Disk(thumbnail) "Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them."After meeting with Cryotek, "Dinobot", Megatron, and Dirge broke into the Cybertropolis Maximal Data Archive to steal a Data-Con which would provide all sorts of information about the Golden Disk. As they were making their getaway, Dinobot threw the Data-Con to Dirge (who was unaware of a switch on Megatron's part) before battling a squadron of Maximal Security Troopers, ending with a close combat duel with 9K using his then energy-based sword. Dinobot evidently emerged victorious, as he was later seen with Megatron and "Clamps". Theft of the Golden DiskDawn of Future's PastMegatron and Dinobot joined Scorponok in escaping the archives with the Golden Disk, avoiding patrolmen Unit 1 and Unit 2. As Dinobot disabled the former, he protested Megatron's apparent cowardice and dishonorable tactics. Megatron responded by clamping his fist around Dinobot's neck, rebuking him for using the "h" word in his presence. After Dinobot had regained his composure, they made their way to the rendezvous point with the Darksyde and launched into space, where they activated their transwarp drive.The Axalon and the Chromia 10 gave chase, though the latter was destroyed by unknown assailants. When the Axalon caught up with the Predacons, Dinobot balked at the idea of fleeing again and managed to fire a few shots at the Axalon. After Megatron taunted the pilot of the Axalon via videoscreen, Dinobot and the other rogue Predacons on board the Darksyde disappeared through a transwarp portal, with the Axalon close behind. Dawn of Future's Past Beast Wars cartoonVoice actor: Scott McNeil (English), Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese), more»(thumbnail) "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair... wherever the hell we are."Dinobot was one of a group of rogue Predacons and was party to their theft of the Maximal relic, the Golden Disk. They stole a ship and traveled through a transwarp portal, with the Maximal ship Axalon not far behind. After a heated space battle over a mysterious planet, both ships were damaged, and they fell blazing towards the ground below.The entire planet was saturated with energon, so much so that Dinobot and the other Predacons required protection. To this end, organic forms were scanned. In Dinobot's case, Velociraptor remains buried deep within the volcanic soil of their crash site became the basis for his new form. But the levels of energon were just one problem—this planet looked nothing like Earth, their target destination! As Dinobot ventured outside the base, he blamed Megatron for this error and announced his intention to take over the Predacons himself. Megatron laughed and had Scorponok shoot him over the horizon.Dinobot, cheated and humbled, took his efforts elsewhere. As the Maximals returned to their crashed ship from an outing, Dinobot was there, blocking the rocky bridge that crossed the waterfall surrounding their new base. This time, he challenged Optimus Primal, and for the leadership of the Maximals. Beast Wars (Part 1)(thumbnail) "Ill met by moonlight—er, sunlight, proud Optimus."He and Optimus Primal began their fight. It almost ended badly for Primal when the Maximal commander's foot slipped on the edge of the bridge, but Dinobot saved him, as the Predacon believed that a dishonorable death would mean a dishonorable victory on his own part. They continued, but their battle was interrupted by a Predacon attack. After that clash subsided, Dinobot helped the Maximals, leading them to a victory against Megatron when he tried to obtain the bounty of a mountain-sized cache of natural energon. Optimus accepted him into the fold—not as a leader, of course, but still as a valued team member. This didn't sit well with the other Maximals, particularly Rattrap. Beast Wars (Part 2)Dinobot provided not only brute force but an understanding of the enemy. A short time afterward, Dinobot was standing with Primal and Rhinox on the bridge of the Axalon around a holo-map of the Predacon base when Primal suggested that Rattrap go on a scouting mission. The Web(thumbnail) "Come not within the measure of my wrath."However, though he was an asset against the Predacons, Dinobot sowed discontent amongst the Maximals' own ranks. Early on, Cheetor was ordered to his quarters for fumbling the test of an energon monitoring device, and Dinobot suggested to the young Maximal that he secretly test the device himself. This ended in potential disaster when Cheetor unwittingly created an instant-transport stream between the two bases. When Terrorsaur used this to infiltrate the Maximal base, Dinobot feigned a desire to team up with him and overthrow Megatron. Lulling him into a false sense of security, Dinobot eventually took care of him with the trash disposal unit—all without firing a shot, and the other Maximals never even knew. Equal Measures(thumbnail) "The course of true love never did run smooth."Dinobot and Optimus Primal investigated an energy signature detected within the Standing Stones, an enigmatic monument of alien origin. After a clash with Megatron and Waspinator, the monument came to life and Optimus Primal disappeared before their eyes. When Dinobot woke up, he was in the Maximal CR chamber, as he'd been found stripped down and abandoned outside the base by unknown hands. But that wasn't important-Optimus Primal was gone, perhaps dead! The Maximals quickly tried to select a new leader by secret ballot, and Dinobot laughed at them when their vote ended in a tie. No, he would be the new leader-by force, if necessary! However, they were all interrupted by a message from Optimus Primal, who was inside the alien monument. Primal put Rattrap in charge, and the remaining Maximals mounted a plan to extract Primal from the alien construct. After another battle with the Predacons at the Standing Stones, the aliens returned Primal to them, with no explanations. Chain of CommandWhen an incoming stasis pod carrying a potential new Maximal team member was detected, Dinobot refused to let Primal leave without scouting the area outside the Axalon first himself. Dinobot was convinced the Predacons would try to remove Primal from the equation, as he was their faction's only flying member, and he was right—the Predacons managed to damage Primal enough to keep him out of the race for the pod. Dinobot stayed behind with Primal while the others made a play for the pod on foot. When Dinobot received a transmission indicating the Maximals were having difficulties, he awoke Primal's core consciousness to consult him. As a result, the two were able to bounce a signal off one of the planet's moons to the dormant stasis pod, beating the Predacons to the punch. Tigatron joined the team. Fallen Comrades(thumbnail) "Today is a good day for violence!"Soon after, Dinobot and Primal were investigating a second stasis pod when they were suddenly ambushed by Predacons. The Predacons defeated the two and secured the pod for themselves, bringing Blackarachnia online. As this was one in a long string of clever coups, this forced Optimus Primal to consider that their team was suffering from an information leak. Primal scapegoated Rattrap, an accusation in which Dinobot took pleasure. Dinobot was all too happy to destroy the alleged turncoat despite the potential hypocrisy of that act. Rattrap subsequently defected, and in the ensuing battle, was ordered by Megatron to shoot Dinobot, his frequent rival. After some hesitation, Rattrap shot Terrorsaur instead and revealed that the entire situation was a ruse by Optimus Primal to detect the real source of the information leak: stolen Maximal codes. Double JeopardyChildish infighting between Rattrap and Dinobot inadvertently triggered Rhinox's new security program, Sentinel, before it could be completed. Dinobot and the other Maximals fled the Axalon, while Rattrap stayed inside to combat Sentinel himself. Later, when Sentinel appeared to have shut down, Rattrap was assumed dead. Each Maximal gave a touching eulogy for Rattrap except for Dinobot, who refused to taint Rattrap's memory with lies. It was soon revealed that Rattrap had not perished, but had instead managed to shut off Sentinel.A Better Mousetrap(thumbnail) "I will speak daggers to it, but use none."Dinobot joined Optimus Primal on a mission once again, but this time to explore the planet's native organisms. Dinobot considered this work as being beneath him, and in the process found himself assaulted by one of the planet's flora. As Primal considered this a lesson in respect learned, he found himself attacked by one of Scorponok's cyberbees. It injected him with a virus that was intended to make him a coward, but instead removed all his inhibitions. Upon returning Primal to the Axalon, Dinobot oddly found himself agreeing that this new bloodthirsty Primal was not a beneficial change. After he failed to solve the problem with the Predacons diplomatically, as Primal would have wanted, it was decided to let the new violent Primal be the new violent Primal. Ultimately, Primal acquired the antidote and woke up with Dinobot standing watch over him. Dinobot assured him that it was merely his shift, and not indicative of his feelings towards Primal—despite having placed a beautiful plant in Primal's quarters. Gorilla WarfareWhen a Cybertronian probe was detected, Dinobot helped his teammates attempt to contact it, despite the fact he dreaded a return home. After all, he was a criminal even in Predacon terms, and he had no hope for a warm Maximal reception. Somewhat fortunately for Dinobot's potential fate, their attempts to catch the attention of the probe failed when Tarantulas invented the transformation lock lens. The Probe The issue was raised again when the Maximals thought that the Predacons had been destroyed. Dinobot elected to remain on the planet while the Maximals repaired their ship and launched it. However, just as Dinobot wandered off to explore the world that had become his, he stumbled across the not-so-dead Predacons, who attacked the Axalon and grounded the Maximals once again. Victory(thumbnail) "A little more than kin, and less than kind."After Dinobot and the other Maximals were saved from a Predacon attack by Rhinox's ingenuity, Rhinox was abducted by the Predacons and reprogrammed into one of them. Optimus Primal waited for this to backfire on them, and when their plot began to unravel, Dinobot joined the Maximals in infiltrating the Predacon base and retrieving their kidnapped comrade. Dark Designs Megatron soon set his sights on Dinobot as well. After Terrorsaur buried Dinobot in a cave, Megatron unleashed a clone of Dinobot on the unsuspecting Maximals. Ultimately, Dinobot broke free and returned to the Axalon, where he confronted his clone and ate him. Yes. He ate him. Double DinobotNot long afterward, Tigatron went missing during a routine scouting report. When Optimus Primal noted that Tigatron was the victim of an aerial attack, Dinobot identified the culprits as Waspinator and Terrorsaur. The Trigger, Part 1 Dinobot remained at base with Rhinox while the others searched for Tigatron on a mysterious flying island. The Trigger, Part 2 Dinobot suffered along with his teammates when the energon dampener was stolen from the Axalon, requiring him and the others to stay in beast mode to avoid energon surges. Between that and sleep deprivation from persistent Predacon attacks, their innate beast instincts began to take over, and the Maximals went feral. It was only through the instruction of Tigatron that they were able to defeat the Predacons and retrieve the dampener. Call of the WildDinobot was tested again when he, Cheetor, Rhinox, and Rattrap were blinded by a Predacon attack. They were far from base and completely helpless, so Dinobot immediately began to panic. Rhinox was able to calm him and the others and slowly lead them back to base, using their other senses. They were rescued by Optimus Primal and Tigatron at the foot of the base just as they began to slip into stasis lock. Dark Voyage The Maximals were also visited by the wandering spark of Starscream, who possessed the body of Waspinator and led a successful attack on the Maximal base, resulting in Dinobot receiving critical damage. Forced out of their base, Optimus Primal surrendered the Maximals to Starscream, under the condition that Dinobot be repaired. In exchange, Starscream ordered the Maximals to attack Megatron. Despite his treachery, Starscream himself was deceived, as Dinobot was not as damaged as advertised. He and Primal were able to eject Starscream from Waspinator's body and retake the Axalon. Possession(thumbnail) "Frailty, thy name is Tarantulas!"Once again, the feud between Rattrap and Dinobot led to disaster. Their carelessness indirectly caused Rhinox to be infected with a virus that caused him to eject energy involuntarily, via hiccups or sneezes or...other means. Optimus Primal ordered the bickering pair to hunt down Tarantulas in his lair and obtain the antidote, figuring they'd either learn to work together or everyone would be destroyed. Unfortunately, the latter wasn't so unlikely an option, as Dinobot and Rattrap's out-of-control behavior toward each other repeatedly sabotaged their efforts to capture Tarantulas. Dinobot was able to grab him just as Megatron arrived, and claimed the spider as a hostage. Megatron did not care and shot them both. Ultimately, the day was saved when Rhinox used his virus against the Predacons, unleashing a mighty explosion from his rear end. The Low RoadDespite his increasing loyalty to the team, Dinobot's violent heart occasionally created rifts. Most notable was his reaction to Tigatron's pacifism: When the tiger tried to leave the Maximals in grief over the accidental death of his best friend, Dinobot argued vociferously with the "coward". He simply could not comprehend what Tigatron was saying, that in order to stop the fighting, someone had to lay down his weapon. The confrontation with Tigatron revealed more than just Dinobot's warrior ethic. He explained to Tigatron a bit of his motives for turning against Megatron: He feared that if Megatron used Earth's energon supply to wage a new war, Cybertron would burn as a result. Dinobot could only see desertion, and for that he nearly killed Tigatron, who refused to fight back. But Primal interrupted before any damage was done, and Tigatron later came back to battle to save Dinobot from a Predacon attack, making the whole point moot. Law of the JungleThe alien mystery that surrounded the planet soon came to a head. When it became apparent that the aliens themselves would visit them imminently, the Predacons surprisingly called for a truce. Tigatron was called to sneak into the Predacon base and find out what had captured Megatron's attention, and Dinobot and the other Maximals staged a non-lethal battle to cover Tigatron's exit, upholding their end of the truce. Dinobot loosened a large boulder out of place, allowing it to crush both Tarantulas and Blackarachnia. Before the Storm As expected, the aliens arrived. A wormhole opened up over the planet, and a beam shot down to the surface, where another alien device was activated. Rhinox and Dinobot stayed behind at the Axalon while the others investigated, but were too engaged by the planet's second moon shifting its shape into a horrible Planet Buster weapon to notice their base had been compromised. Both Rhinox and Dinobot were removed from the equation by Blackarachnia and Tarantulas. Other Voices, Part 1 The Maximals returned to find them both welded to the ceiling by cyberwebs. Dinobot and Rhinox were placed inside CR chambers as Rattrap and Airazor went to find their unwelcome visitors. Other Voices, Part 2(thumbnail) "Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."When Dinobot awoke, Optimus Primal was dead, having sacrificed himself to destroy the Planet Buster with a transwarp explosion, and Cheetor and Rattrap had been altered into Transmetal forms by the resulting quantum surge. After reluctantly admitting Rattrap's new form was an improvement, he immediately declared himself the new Maximal leader. However, with Primal dead, Rhinox was not in any mood to tolerate Dinobot's outburst and shut him up forcefully. While Rattrap and Cheetor were sent outside to deal with Waspinator and a newly Transmetalled Megatron, Rhinox and Dinobot were stuck with the task of restoring their security systems. They did not account for Inferno, who had also infiltrated the Axalon. Thankfully, Rhinox was able to defeat the Predacon and eject him from the ship. AftermathWith the destruction of the planet's second moon and the stabilization of the planet's natural energon reserves, it became apparent to Dinobot that Megatron was right all along; this was indeed Earth, though in the distant past. Dinobot broke into the Predacon base and stole Megatron's golden disks. He knew that they contained information about the future, and this cut to the core of his being: "If the future is indeed immutably foretold, then my demise is but moments from that confirmation, for I could not live if not the master of my fate." Dinobot hid the disks in a remote location and returned to the Axalon, where Rattrap was having a minor meltdown. Rhinox had hooked himself to a machine with little explanation, and with Tigatron and Airazor on a long-term exploration trip, it fell to Rattrap, Dinobot, and Cheetor to hold off the combined force of the Predacons. Worse yet, Megatron had introduced two new Fuzors to his team, Silverbolt and Quickstrike. Dinobot grabbed what weaponry he could, and with the other two Maximals engaged the Predacons far from the ship, in hopes that they could keep the Predacons away from whatever Rhinox was trying to accomplish. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)(thumbnail) "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"Their efforts, though seemingly doomed, were not for naught. Though Dinobot, Rattrap, and Cheetor fought to near-death, they held off the enemy long enough for Rhinox's gamble to work. He had travelled into the Matrix and retrieved Optimus Primal's spark. Optimus Primal, restored as a Transmetal from a blank protoform, dramatically turned the tide, saving Dinobot and the others from what would at least have been honorable deaths. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)(thumbnail) "Is this a dagger which I see before me, Dinobot, the handle toward my hand?"His desire to discover whether the future could be changed kept Dinobot focused on Megatron's actions. When Predacon installations were placed in a Voyager-disk-like pattern, Dinobot remarked that Megatron's plan proceeded even without the disk's information. Thus, he resubmitted himself to Megatron's command, but the Maximals' influence still showed itself. When he was pitted in a death match against Quickstrike in a bizarre test of loyalty, Dinobot subdued his foe but refused to kill him, offering to train him instead. But Megatron accepted the prodigal son anyway, as long as he returned the original Golden Disk. (He had already given the alien disk to Rhinox.) Dinobot complied. He admitted to himself that by helping Megatron he might be sacrificing his own race, but he had to discover whether his actions were his own or predestined. After the artifact was back in Megatron's hands, Rattrap attacked and was quickly immobilized. As a final test of allegiance, Dinobot was ordered to kill his former teammate. This task proved too much for him, and he turned once again on the Predacon leader. Megatron retreated with the disk in his possession, and Primal was left with the decision on whether to allow Dinobot back into their ranks. Dinobot explained that either way, he would fight Megatron, prompting Primal to forgive Dinobot his treacherous actions. Once welcomed back, Dinobot told Primal of Megatron's ultimate designs for the disks' information. Maximal, No More(thumbnail) "To Bay or not to Bay; that is the question, and here is the sunset."As Rhinox and Dinobot scanned known alien sites, they suddenly realized that Tigatron and Airazor were journeying into one. But before they could send a warning, the traveling pair triggered the alien site and were shot into space. Dinobot and the other Maximals were rallied by Optimus Primal to this site, where they confronted the Predacons. Before the fight could begin, the alien site activated again, creating a massive Metal Hunter, and blasted everyone in the area. Other Visits (Part 1) The Transformers who had not been altered by the quantum surge lay deactivated, but the Transmetals and Fuzors were unaffected by the Metal Hunter's blast. Silverbolt and Cheetor were instructed to carry Dinobot and Rhinox back to the base for repairs. Megatron used the alien disk to activate the Metal Hunter, and the Maximals gained an unlikely ally: Tarantulas. Dinobot, like his fellow Maximals, greeted the Predacon turncoat with bared weapons and only reluctantly allowed Tarantulas to aid them. Subsequently, Dinobot joined an assault on the Metal Hunter itself, a cover for Tarantulas's entry. The Metal Hunter was destroyed. Other Visits (Part 2)When Silverbolt went missing during an energon storm while he, Cheetor, and Optimus Primal were investigating Protoform X, Dinobot suggested they forget the Fuzor and concentrate on the Predacons. The enemy was, after all, minus both Tarantulas and Blackarachnia, while they were only down one member. Primal rejected Dinobot's lack of sympathy. As Primal and Cheetor left to find Silverbolt, Dinobot turned to one of the Axalon's consoles and began downloading into its database. Bad SparkUnlike Primal, Rattrap was not so forgiving of Dinobot's earlier betrayal. After contemplating suicide and enduring Rattrap's continuing recriminations, Dinobot decided to set things right. He tracked Megatron down and found him testing the original disk which Dinobot had returned. Megatron had discovered a mountain whose image was recorded on the disk, and he had Rampage destroy the peak. From a distance, Dinobot saw his greatest hope and worst fear form simultaneously: The disk's image changed. Dinobot's future was his own...but Megatron had virtually limitless power to change it.(thumbnail) "Out, out, brief spark! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor mech that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more."When the Predacons launched an attack on a tribe of protohumans, attempting to destroy the future human race and alter the course of the Autobot/Decepticon war, Dinobot singlehandedly took on all of them. Having already been blindsided by Tarantulas (and having squashed him under a rock in retaliation), he ambushed Inferno, burying his sword in the latter's chest. Blackarachnia banged him up with her machine guns until Dinobot used Inferno himself as a shield, after which he blew away both Predacons with the ant-bot's own gun.Dinobot proceeded to bombard Rampage from above until Waspinator shot him down (and caused him to land on top of the luckless flier); when Rampage tried to retaliate in tank mode, Dinobot shoved the downed Waspinator into the mad experiment's cannon, causing Rampage to blow himself apart. The backfire sent the warrior flying with severe damage, and Quickstrike was eager to add to his pain. Despite his optic weaponry shorting out, Dinobot still managed to beat the Fuzor, pummeling him with his bare hands before slamming him head-first into a rock.At this point, his internal computer attempted to engage stasis lock to save his remaining energy, but Dinobot overrode it and turned to face his final opponent: Megatron himself. Mocking the weakened Dinobot, Megatron tallied the score firmly in his own favor: He had unimaginable power via the Golden Disk, he held a lone protohuman hostage, and the severely damaged Dinobot was the only obstacle in his reality-warping plan. Mostly depowered, severely outmatched, and refusing to quit, Dinobot jammed a rock through a stick and attacked with the makeshift hammer. As the protohuman's bonds dissolved, Megatron dropped the disk, allowing Dinobot to shatter it with his last bit of energy.The rest of the Maximals arrived to drive Megatron off, but it was too late for their comrade. After a final conversation with his allies (including a last insult to Rattrap and a request to have his story told truly and without embellishment), Dinobot's spark left his frame. He was given a hero's funeral, with his body cremated as the Maximal fliers executed a Missing man formation. His legacy remained even with the anthropoids, who found his hammer and used it as a weapon. Code of HeroMegatron, because that's the sort of prick he is, created a zombie-esque Transmetal 2 clone of Dinobot. Feral Scream Part 1Later, to convince Rattrap to let him search for ex-Predacon Blackarachnia, Silverbolt reminded him he'd trusted the original Dinobot. Rattrap grumped that he'd "regretted it" a few times, but still let his comrade out. Proving Grounds(thumbnail) Behold, the enemy within!Thanks to the destruction of Rampage, the Dinobot clone's spark-brother, Dinobot's consciousness was able to take hold of the clone and make him regain a sense of honour. Transformers Hall of Fame Nemesis Part 2It was not entirely spelt out during "Nemesis" why Dinobot II was regaining Dinobot's memories. The 2010 Transformers Hall of Fame profile for Dinobot stated that it the original's spirit had somehow returned from beyond to influence his clone. There was also an unproduced episode of Beast Wars, "Dark Glass", where Rattrap would have discovered and downloaded a back-up of Dinobot's memories into Dinobot II; while the script never made it past a first draft, "Bad Spark" had Dinobot backing himself up onto the Axalon.