TRANSFORMERS: Revisiting The Characters Of Generation 1 - GRIMLOCK

 TRANSFORMERS:  Revisiting the Characters of Generation 1

"Among the winners, there is no room for the weak." - Grimlock, 1985.

AUTOBOT

Name - GRIMLOCK

Function - Dinobot Commander

Series Debut - 1985 / Wave 2

Sub-Group - Dinobot (1985), Pretender (1989), Action Master (1990)

"Me Grimlock not "nice dino", me bash brains!"

BACKGROUND...

    Upon discovering the remains of dinosaurs, the Autobots decided to construct dinosaurs of their own.  With a project spearheaded by Wheeljack and Ratchet, the Autobots created a small army of robot dinosaurs called the Dinobots.  Grimlock, who seemed to be the most powerful of the group, became the leader.

    Grimlock was given the alt-mode of the deadliest of dinosaurs - the Tyrannosaurus Rex.  In this fearsome form he was nearly unstoppable - he could breathe fire, smash enemies with his tail, or crush practically anything in his jaws.  As a robot, he was equally as powerful, carrying an energo sword, and either a Galaxial rocket launcher or a double-barreled laser pistol.

    As a whole, the Dinobots lacked the experience and developed intelligence the other Autobots had.  As a result, they were often naïve, foolish, and eager to jump into a fight... with anyone!  Though the Dinobots possessed a rebellious spirit, they always listened to their leader, Grimlock, no matter what.

    Grimlock is a powerful soldier, and he knows it.  At one point, his arrogance caused him to get suckered by Megatron into attacking Optimus Prime and challenging him for command of the Autobots.  It was only when Optimus Prime saved his life that Grimlock understood there is a lot more to strength and leadership than a closed fist.  The Dinobots retained their rebellious mindset for many years, but they eventually accepted their place among the Autobots.  

    When the Earth Autobots reconnected with several Cybertronian Autobots, Grimlock found himself fascinated with the veteran soldier - Kup.  Having seen countless battles in distant territories, Kup was filled with stories that Grimlock loved to hear.

    In 2005, Grimlock was stationed on one of the secret Moon Bases orbiting Cybertron.  The Decepticons had taken control of the planet and the Autobots were preparing to push them off.  Unfortunately, a surprise attack back on Earth forced Optimus Prime to return with reinforcements.  Optimus brought some brute force with him as he sent the Dinobots to crush the giant Decepticon - Devastator.  The overall battle was a loss for both sides, but Grimlock took little injury.

    Following the Battle of Autobot City, Grimlock was part of the team racing back towards Cybertron to stop the mysterious planet-eating monster - Unicron, that just devoured both orbiting moons.  After slight detours to the planets Quintesson and Junk, the Autobots finally made it to their home planet.  Grimlock bravely led his Dinobots to attack the giant menace.  Unicron was ultimately destroyed by Rodimus Prime and the Matrix of Leadership and the Autobots finally reclaimed Cybertron.

    At this time he was stationed on Cybertron, where he would often enjoy some leisure time "fishing" with his fellow Dinobots.  He was attempting to help debut a new power source for the planet when it was sabotaged by some of Galvatron's toadies causing the Autobots to malfunction.  Grimlock managed to save the day by cutting the tainted power off with his jaws which sent a powerful energy surge to his head.  The result ended with him having super-intelligence.  Soon after, he used his brilliance to build the Technobots.  He transferred his powerful wisdom to them and returned to his old self!

    Grimlock eventually became a "Pretender".  He was given a humanoid-looking synthetic shell, that could cover his robot form.  He could separate from the shell and battle in either his robot or dinosaur form, while at the same time controlling his shell for added firepower.  The shell was armed with an "atom smashing" machine gun and could also fly with the aid of a jetpack.  Grimlock's mood could easily go sour when he was reminded that his outer shell makes him look human.

    Somewhere along the line, Grimlock was exposed to Nucleon.  This mysterious chemical empowered him with even more strength than before, yet it cancelled his ability to transform.  Even without the use of his dinosaur mode he remained relentless and unstoppable on the battlefield!

    It is unknown if Grimlock ever purged the Nucleon from his system and regained his ability to transform.  It is interesting to note, however, that Grimlock's journey began with him being an angry, rebellious soldier to him becoming one of Optimus Prime's most loyal battle commanders!

"Me Grimlock no bozo.  Me king!"

MY THOUGHTS...

    Man, how could you NOT like the Dinobots???  Released in Series 2 of the toyline, they made an early debut in the first cartoon series.  Everyone seemed to love them and were always talking about them in school.  These powerhouse dinos always took centerstage every time the Autobots would call on them.

    I had all five Dinobots, but at a higher price point, it took a long time to get them all.  I got Grimlock for Christmas the year after he was released, and I believe he was the last one I needed to get.

    The figure for Grimlock was so cool it commanded attention on your toy shelf!  The dinosaur mode looked great and had that vicious mouth to bite Decepticons with.  The color scheme was great and the gold and silver chrome was such an eye-catcher.  Grimlock just looked powerful and it appeared he could easily go toe to toe with Megatron being they were about the same size.  Finally, he had cool accessories with the sword and double blaster!

    Standing in for the original Grimlock here is the 2006 Robots In Disguise Grimlock and the 2003 Heroes Of Cybertron PVC figure.

Dinobots from the G1 Series 2 catalog!

    (Information on the character's lore was taken from the Sunbow Transformers cartoon series, including the Movie and the figure's original Tech-Spec.)