Allegiance: Autobots
Timeline: Transformers Animated
Profile:
On quiet nights, the residents of 22nd century New Detroit can hear a fearsome roar coming from North Sister Island. They are hearing the island's inhabitants - the Dinobots! A technological blast from the past, the fearsome trio were originally animatronic dinosaurs at New Detroit's Dino Drive amusement park until the disembodied Megatron got his (metaphorical) claws into them and rebuilt them as anti-Autobot combat weapons. While the Autobots handily defeated the proto-Dinobots in that early encounter, the way they were defeated exposed the Dinobots to Allspark energy which granted them life! Much like the dinosaurs they were designed to imitate, the Dinobots have incredible strength but primitive brains. They are a formidable combat force, but mostly they choose to stay on their island, dubbed "Dinobot Island", keeping out of the wider conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons. They don't take kindly to strangers visiting their island - visitors may find themselves getting roasted by the Dinobots' flame breath. The Dinobots often fight among themselves, too, as they challenge each other's strength. Unfortunately the low intelligence of the Dinobots means they can be easily manipulated by the likes of Megatron, Blackarachnia and Prometheus Black. Those manipulating the Dinobots need to tread carefully, though - because when the Dinobots learn they've been manipulated they'll quickly turn their prehistoric fury against their would-be manipulators.Abilities:
In total there are three Dinobots, each of whom was brought to life by a burst of energy from Sari's Allspark key. They are: |
Grimlock |
 |
Snarl |
 |
Swoop |
The Dinobots in their robot modes:
Author notes:
The inclusion of the Dinobots in Transformers Animated was a very welcome return for the team - we've seen a lot more of the Dinobots since, but Transformers Animated was the first time since the 1980s we'd seen a team of Dinobots on screen. They are a great group of characters, who are a lot of fun and work as a third faction in most of their appearances. All three toys are loaded with personality and are some of my favourite releases from the line, not to mention being some of my favourite versions of the characters. Check out the individual entries for each character for more detailed thoughts in on each individual character, as well as their bios and abilities.See more Transformers Animated toys in my collection.
