Grimlock (G1)


 * Me Grimlock Autobot in Generation 1 and Maximal in Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.



Some Autobots wonder why Grimlock is even on their side. His disposition is much more suited to the Decepticons. After all, he values power and strength over wisdom and compassion, and furthermore, he doesn't really get along with most Autobots. When faced with a problem, his usual responses are to slice it with his energo-sword, tear it to pieces with his bare hands, or outright eat it. He is more willing to accept casualties than most of the Autobot leadership, and doesn't seem particularly concerned about the fleshies either. These things, coupled with his dislike of Optimus Prime, have led to a defection or two on Grimlock's part. He'd have no problem offing the Autobot leader if he thought he could get away with it, though. However, despite their disagreements, Grimlock holds a respect for Prime's strength and leadership.

Grimlock is the leader of the Dinobots, a small but powerful strike squad. Grimlock himself is extremely strong and durable, and is one of the few Transformers who can not only stand toe-to-toe with Optimus Prime and Megatron, but actually give them a run for their money.

"Me Grimlock not nice dino. Me bash brains!"

- Grimlock on himself


 * (Note: Grimlock's intelligence-level differed greatly between the comic and cartoon, leading to vastly different portrayals. See the entries below for details.)


 * French-Canadian name: La Menace
 * Italian name: Tiran
 * Preliminary name: Tyrex
 * Hungarian name: Mogorva -- Grimlock in one of The Movie dubs.

Generation 1

 * ''(Note: The comic Dinobots had average, functional intellects. Grimlock affected a caveman-esque speech pattern to mask his intelligence, leaving his fellow Autobots to think he has a glitch in his speech processor.  The other Dinobots speak normally. )


 * Events from UK-only stories are italicized.

While the Autobots remained dormant inside Mount St. Hilary, the Ark detected Cybertronian life. Dispatching a probe, the Ark learned that Shockwave had come to Earth and was wandering the Savage Land. The Ark used data gathered from the Savage Land to convert five of the dormant Autobots into the Dinobots. They traveled to fight Shockwave, but all combatants became trapped in a tar pit. The Dinobots were later freed by Ratchet, and joined the Autobots from time to time, but they were usually seen wandering on their own under Grimlock's orders.

Grimlock was a powerful and arrogant warrior who believed he knew best. He ascended to the post of overall Autobot leader on several occasions, growing in the process and eventually, despite their original conflict, becoming Optimus's hand-picked lieutenant and likely successor. Early on, Blaster was a major thorn in his side, deserting his command. Later, he tended to fight with the straight-laced, logical Prowl. One of the many casualties in an Underbase-powered Starscream's rampage, Grimlock was brought back on-line by Ratchet, using Pretender technology stolen from Megatron. While Grimlock, along with Jazz and Bumblebee, handily defeated Megatron's minions, he was unable to save Ratchet when Megatron's base exploded.

Afterward, Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee briefly joined the Autobot resistance movement on Cybertron before attempting to return to Earth via trans-time dimensional portal. However, Thunderwing, seeking to crush the resistance's momentum, sent the latest incarnation of the Mayhem Attack Squad to destroy the three Autobot Pretenders. Infiltrating Autobase, the three Decepticons sabotaged the portal, teleporting all six Transformers (and the Micromaster Rescue Patrol) deep into the heart of Cybertron, where the Autobots discovered the resting place of their god, Primus.

Grimlock at first thought it was all a Decepticon trick, and was skeptical that the Transformers even had a god. When the Keeper appeared, Grimlock demanded the ancient Transformer "prove it" by telling them the story of the Transformers' origin. The Keeper's story (complete with holographic slide-show) was suitably convincing, but unfortunately gave the Mayhem Attack Squad time to sneak up on the Autobots, and another battle ensued. The outnumbered Decepticons were no match for Grimlock and company, but Bludgeon's last-ditch shot ricocheted off the Dinobot's back, waking Primus. A few seconds too late, the Autobots in Autobase repaired the portal, sending the lost Transformers to Earth. Grimlock immediately demanded they find the Earth-based Autobots to warn them of Unicron.

After rejoining Optimus Prime's forces, Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee formed a team in the search for the lost Creation Matrix. Traveling to VsQs, where Optimus Prime's funeral barge had crashed, the three began to search an abandoned science station for any clue as to the Matrix's whereabouts. While Bumblebee searched the computer logs, Grimlock went looking for the science team - only to discover they had all been killed. Before the Autobots could formulate a plan, Thunderwing attacked. Grimlock's first reaction was to attack, but all three could not defeat the Decepticon leader. Instead, they were "saved" by the Matrix Spawn, which became Thunderwing's new target. The three Autobots searched the wrecked station independently and recovered the Matrix. Low on Energon, the three attempted to return to their shuttle, but the moon's heavy gravity slowed them down, allowing Thunderwing to overtake them, defeating the three weakened Autobots and claiming the Matrix for his own.

After Thunderwing's defeat, the Autobots sent a shuttle to VsQs to rescue Grimlock and the others, who were low on Energon and on the verge of stasis lock. Grimlock was none to grateful for his rescue, instead berating himself for failing to destroy Thunderwing and guilty that he was alive while the other Dinobots were still deactivated. However, without Ratchet or the Matrix, the Autobots knew of no way to bring back their fallen. Grimlock sought Optimus' permission to travel to Hydrus Four and investigate the rumors of the substance Nucleon. When Optimus refused, Grimlock stole a shuttle and the bodies of the Dinobots and went anyway, which everyone really should have seen coming.

Once on Hydrus Four, Grimlock sought out the medi-center on the island of Farooth, where the well of Nucleon was kept. Along the way, he encountered the substance's three guardians, zombie-like mechanoids who attempted to bar visitors from tapping the Nucleon. Two engaged him in combat, but Grimlock dispatched them easily. Unlike destroying Decepticons, he could take no pleasure in his victories, which seemed pointless. He began to question his motives - was he really trying to save the Dinobots, or just prove himself a better leader than Prime? By the time he reached the island of Farooth, Grimlock simply wanted the grim business done with.

At the well, Grimlock encountered the final guardian. The Hydrusian didn't want to fight, but instead warned him that Nucleon always came with unexpected side effects. To quell the doubts that had plagued him since his arrival, Grimlock decided to test the Nucleon on himself, plunging a hand into the well. Feeling a surge of power and no immediate side effects, Grimlock decided it had to be safe, and went to work reviving the other Dinobots, ignoring the Hydrusian's parting words, "Time will tell".

With the Dinobots revived, Grimlock loaded up as much Nucleon as he could and returned to the Ark. The Dinobots found it empty (as Primus had teleported the Earth-bound Transformers back to Cybertron). Electing not to waste time looking for the others, Grimlock ordered Swoop to set course for Cybertron while Sludge and Slag pumped the Nucleon into the Ark's life-support pods. The Dinobots were unaware that the life-support pods also held Megatron, as Grimlock departed before Ratchet's rescue.

Grimlock was the first Transformer to begin feeling the Nucleon's effect. Before he even left Hydrus Four, he began suffering erratic joint locks. He tried to hide the symptoms as long as he could, but after Unicron's defeat they began to worsen, until his entire body seized up during a battle. Hi-Q came to his rescue, recognizing that the Nucleon was still transforming Grimlock's body. Hi-Q accelerated the process, as the Nucleon granted Grimlock a new, more powerful body, but at the cost of his ability to transform.

(Note: The following three sections all split off from the end of the Generation 1 comic, but in three different, irreconcilable directions.)

Generation 2
After the coming of the Last Autobot, much of the Autobot army scattered. Grimlock took command of a small commando team, leading strikes against Decepticon outposts across the galaxy. After encountering seventeen conquered worlds, cyberformed into "little Cybertrons", Grimlock realized the problem was greater than he had originally imagined, and contacts Optimus Prime. After comparing notes in an abandoned base, the Autobots were captured by Jhiaxus. While Optimus begins to despair after learning Jhiaxus' origins, Grimlock refuses to give up, bolstering the Autobot leader's spirits as they lead an escape from Jhiaxus' flagship.

Despite his loyalty to Autobot ways, Grimlock still chafed under Optimus' leadership. Disobeying his orders (which somehow still surprised Optimus), Grimlock led a raiding party against Jhiaxus, seeking to destroy the Twilight. Unfortunately, the Dinobot failed to anticipated Jhiaxus' increased security measures, and the mission cost Red Alert and Mirage their lives. Their deaths forced Grimlock to question his methods and his attitude toward Optimus Prime. He admitted that he envied Prime for the loyalty he inspired in the Autobots, and that this, not the leadership of the Autobots, was what he'd truly desired. Thus, no one was more surprised than Grimlock when Optimus Prime placed the Dinobot in command while he traveled back to Cybertron.

Grimlock's command status proved invaluable when Optimus met Megatron on Earth alone, intending to form an alliance against Jhiaxus. Megatron beat Optimus half to death and he only lived because Grimlock disobeyed orders and lead an Autobot brigade to Earth. When Megatron finally agreed to the alliance, Grimlock showed a great dislike for having to work with him, as well as the insults Megatron threw his way.

Eventually both the Empire attacked Autobase on Earth, with Grimlock gunning down scores of them. With the Empire came the Swarm, and with both Optimus and Megatron out of contact, it fell to Grimlock to organise the Transformers in a desperate defensive action. His plans caused the Autobots to hold out just long enough - bar a few casualties like his comrade Slag - for Megatron to arrive with the Rheanimanium that ensured their survival.

(In the convention story Alignment, which ties up plot threads from Generation 2, Grimlock sacrifices himself in the final battle against the Liege Maximo. (Despite being written by Simon Furman, this story was not approved by Hasbro and produced for an unofficial convention so the canonicity of this all is debatable.)

Fun Publications Classics comics


He liked to call Ultra Magnus "Little Prime".

BWWWHHHAHAHAHAHAHA

Animated continuity

 * Voice Actor: Gregg Berger (US), Takurō Kitagawa (Japan)

(Note: In the animated series, Grimlock was more dimwitted than in most other continuities. As the series progressed, he was portrayed increasingly as a comic relief character.)



Cartoon Grimlock, like all the cartoon Dinobots, has a stereotypical "caveman" type personality and intellect level. They originally decide to help the Autobots, for instance, because "them have face like this on chest..." Pre-movie this lack of intelligence is usually coupled together with their great power to make them dangerous wild cards; Post-movie, however, Grimlock and the Dinobots are generally played as just plain dumb for comic relief.

When mysterious tremors shook the Autobot base, Wheeljack's investigation revealed strange objects behind a rock wall. After removing the wall, the Autobots found a cave full of dinosaur bones. The Autobots decided the idea of dinosaurs was interesting and researched the prehistoric beasts. Wheeljack and Ratchet asked Optimus Prime if they could build robot dinosaurs, and Prime agreed this was a good idea. Grimlock, Slag, and Sludge were built and unveiled to the Autobots, but the Dinobots were dimwitted and violent, and they attacked their makers. Grimlock blasted Teletraan I with his fire-breath, damaging it. Optimus Prime decreed that the Dinobots must be destroyed. However, Wheeljack convinced him instead to lock them away, and the trio were herded back into the cave and buried alive.

Later, the Decepticons took over a hydroelectric plant, but when the Autobots arrived to stop them, the Autobots were defeated and captured. Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Bumblebee, left behind at Autobot base to finish repairing Teletraan-I, decided to go against Optimus' orders and release the Dinobots, but not before upgrading their brains to be smarter and more obedient. After the Dinobots are reactivated, Wheeljack asks them to save their friends. Grimlock says he will obey... this time. They successfully attack the Decepticons and free the imprisoned Autobots. Optimus forgives Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Bumblebee for disobeying his orders and welcomes the victorious Dinobots back to the Autobots.

After a meteor surging with unknown energies struck the Earth, Optimus ordered the three Dinobots to guard it. He was so pleased with the Dinobots he asked Ratchet and Wheeljack to build two more. Meanwhile, Megatron was frustrated at the Dinobots' success, and sent Soundwave to probe them for potential weaknesses. Reading the Dinobots' minds, he discovered that Grimlock was arrogant and believed he would make a better leader than the weak Optimus Prime. Megatron decided to use this to his advantage, and approached them himself. He played to Grimlock's jealousy and agreed with him that the strongest should be leader. The Dinobots declared Optimus Prime their enemy.



Realizing the meteorite was due to explode, Optimus left to warn the Dinobots, but they attacked him. Instead of destroying him completely, however, Grimlock carried him to the Decepticons, who had stolen the meteorite during the battle. Megatron was angry that Optimus Prime was not destroyed, and Starscream suggested that despite Grimlock's arrogance, inside he was still compassionate(or as compassionate as Grimlock can get). Grimlock didn't take this well, and blasted Starscream right in the chest. They were interrupted by the two new Dinobots, Snarl and Swoop, whom Megatron ordered the original three Dinobots to attack. At the climax of the battle, the meteorite exploded, but Optimus Prime pushed Grimlock out of the way, saving him. Grimlock realized the error of his ways and the Dinobots forced the Decepticons into retreat. Grimlock apologized for his jealousy.

The Decepticons joined forces with Sub-Atlantica and staged a full-scale attack on Washington, D.C.. The Autobots were overwhelmed, forcing Wheeljack to call for the Dinobots' assistance. Grimlock expressed his frustration at being called whenever the Autobots were in over their heads. With their help, the Autobots were able to overturn the Decepticons' advance and plunge the city of Sub-Atlantica, burning, into the sea. This pattern of the Autobots' dependence on the Dinobots repeated when the artificial intelligence TORQ III turned machines against mankind. With every piece of help he and his troops gave, Grimlock was never slow to add a scathing remark about the inabilities of the Autobots. That said, he was not unwilling to admit the failings of his own troops, either, and willingly took them to the time-displaced "Dinobot Island," where they trained in the wilderness and helped stop a Decepticon raid on the prehistoric paradise, with Grimlock inspiring the native Dinosaurs to help them fight the Decepticons.



The final straw for Grimlock came when he and the Dinobots were injured in a Decepticon trap at an airfield. Enraged, Grimlock refused to take orders from Optimus Prime any more, and led the Dinobots away from the Ark. When the Autobots began to suffer from Cybertonium deficiency, Spike Witwicky and his girlfriend Carly attempted to persuade the Dinobots - who continued to function perfectly, as they had been built on Earth without Cybertonium - to steal some of the mineral from a Decepticon shipment coming in from Cybertron. Although Grimlock was willing to let the Autobots die and decided to crush the humans, he recognized the Cybertron connection to the Cybertonium. Instead of securing the element, Grimlock opted to lead the Dinobots to Cybertron itself, where they were captured by Shockwave. . He altered the Dinobots memory circuits and put to work in the Cybertonium mines, until Spike and Carly rescued them. Brought back to Earth, the Dinobots agreed to follow Prime's order again -- until such time as Grimlock didn't feel like it.



After fleeing Galvatron's attack on Autobot City, the Dinobots, along with Kup and Hot Rod, crashed on Quintessa, and were separated from the two Autobots. During their search, the Dinobots met Wheelie. Grimlock initially didn't like the rhyming little robot, but eventually grew quite fond of him, letting him ride his back. Eventually, the Dinobots managed to locate where Kup and Hot Rod were being held. The Dinobots entered the execution room with all the grace they could muster, and Grimlock immediately declared his desire to munch metal. After saving Hot Rod and Kup from the Sharkticons, a Quintesson judge ordered the Sharkticons to execute the Dinobots. Grimlock stompped his foot on the ground, and ordered the Sharkticons to execute the Quintessons. They complied with the Dinobot's order. Heading for the planet of Junk, Grimlock watched the Autobots and the Junkions celebrate their new friendship. The party was ended when a Junkion kissed Grimlock, causing him to reassert his status as "king". Later, Grimlock did one of his greatest life-accomplishment by literally kicking the butt of a deity.



By the Earth year 2005, it seemed apparent that Grimlock had undergone some degree of a personality change, becoming more childish and petulant, rather than brutish and stubborn. Throughout 2006, he regularly participated in missions with his fellow Autobots rather than the other Dinobots, battling on the planets of Chaar, Goo, Dredd and Eurhythma. He and Daniel Witwicky were transported to the sorcerous other-dimensional realm of Menonia, where Grimlock was duped into fighting on the side of the tyrannical Quintesson Mara-Al-Utha, and later, he helped to sniff out the "dinosaur transform static" that implicated Trypticon in the theft of world monuments. Later in the year, when Decepticon leader Galvatron had Cybertron infused with function-inverting anti-electrons, a dose of the particles gave Grimlock super-intelligence. During a mission to Unicron's disembodied head, where the Autobots were outmatched by the new Decepticon Terrorcons, Grimlock used components of Unicron's head to construct the Technobots to battle them. Combined as Computron, the Technobots felt they could not match the Terrorcons, until Grimlock transferred his super-intelligence into Computron, reverting to his old self and allowing the Technobots to claim victory.

Grimlock's greatest victory came when he and a large number of other Transformers with animal transformations were summoned to a world at the centre of the galaxy by the ex-assistant of the ancient genius, Primacron, creator of Unicron. The assistant had assembled these "Primitive" Transformers in the hope that their simple instincts could defeat Primacron's newest creation, Tornedron, but one by one they fell to him, with Grimlock apparently crushed under Trypticon. Grimlock survived, however, and followed Tornedron back to Primacron's lab. When Tornedron turned on his master, like his predecessor, Primacron's complicated plans and equations could not find a way to stop him; Grimlock, on the other hand, randomly flicked a switch which reversed Tornedron's energy polarity, undoing the damage he had done and dissipating. Dancing around over his successful saving of the universe, Grimlock decimated Primacron's lab, dubbing it the smartest thing he'd ever done.

Season 5
Grimlock piloted the shuttle bringing Optimus Prime to an important meeting, and took a wrong turn, making Prime very late. Prime subsequently took him to have his brain circuits upgraded.

The Headmasters
In the year 2011, the Decepticons invaded Cybertron in full force. Grimlock was deployed by Wreck-Gar to fend off the invaders. He was seen fighting alongside his fellow Dinobots as well as the Throttlebots against the invading Decepticons, however, they didn't fare too well against the Decepticon Headmasters, as they were all quickly put to sleep by Mindwipe's hypnosis attack.

Transformers PD-Type
Star Saber recruited Grimlock as backup for a duel with Deathsaurus. Grimlock became bored watching the two of them fight in the sky, but when Star Saber finally succeeded in knocking Deathsaurus to the ground, Grimlock ate his head while Star Saber looked on, pleased at the outcome of his clever plan.

Binaltech
After the Dinobots were defeated and deactivated on Earth by a strange alien virus, Grimlock was rebuilt using Binaltech technology to save his life. He hates his new Ford Mustang form. No teeth to munch metal, ya see.

Dreamwave comics continuity
"Me Grimlock--badass!!"

- Grimlock on himself



Grimlock, years ago, before the war, was part of a cage-fighting arena. He and Starscream fought beside and against each other on numerous occasions. Starscream believed Grimlock was a natural born killer, but Grimlock really just carried alot of rage and anger and needed an outlet.

When the war began, Grimlock sided with the Decepticons. Then, after a while, he switched sides and went to the Autobots. Nobody is quite sure why or what happened. He eventually became leader of a squad including Ironhide, Kup, and Wheeljack.

By the time Sentinel Prime is killed and a new Prime must be chosen, Grimlock calls a secret meeting: If new Prime isn't up to doing what has to be done, then they'll do it for him - and take the Prime out in the process.

Optimus Prime, having defeated a team of Decepticons by himself, still didn't settle Grimlock's nerves. Prime's decision to evacuate Cybertron did it; Grimlock had enough. He left and went to brood by himself.

Starscream and his Seekers dropped by while Grimlock was alone. Starscream baited Grimlock, telling him he was a Decepticon inside and just was in denial. He gave him a choice: go to Sector Zero-Six and help the Seekers take out the Autobot command post, or warn them about their arrival.

Grimlock, out of spite, instead evacuated the Autobots from the base and planted a bomb, and a message: "Me not like Optimus Prime or Autobots that much...but me like you and yours even less!"

While he was on his way back to Iacon to help with the defense, Prowl ordered him away, instead telling him to go find Optimus Prime. Grimlock decided that it was a good opportunity to give the new Prime a piece of his mind.

While he and the team went deep in Cybertron's core to find Prime, they found out about Megatron's plan; to win the war, and turn Cybertron into a mobile battlestation with which to conquer the universe. He split up the team - he would go find Optimus Prime, the rest of the team would shut down the transformation system for Cybertron.

To his surprise, Prime abruptly was standing next to him. Prime ordered Grimlock to help him find Megatron. Grimlock shoved his energo-sword into Prime's hands and gave clear instructions: if Megatron is the problem, then fix it.

When the crisis was over, Grimlock no longer questioned Optimus Prime. He knew that Prime had figured things out, and though he didn't execute Megatron, he wasn't going to spend his time in the war running away.

During the Dark Ages, Optimus Prime and Megatron were seemingly destroyed in a space bridge explosion, Grimlock broke off from the Autobots lead by Prowl and formed the Lightning Strike Coalition. Grimlock was targeted, along with Jetfire, Blitzwing and Hot Spot by the Fallen, who wished to use their apparently unique Sparks to help in his revival of Primus, which would allow Unicron to locate him. Sending Bludgeon, Mindwipe and Bugly to capture Grimlock, who conveniently was attacking Jetfire at the time, the Fallen had to watch his followers take a sound beating. Grimlock wanted to continue his fight with Jetfire and was annoyed by the interruption. Which only got worse when the Fallen himself arrived. Grimlock being Grimlock, he launched himself at the Fallen, but was completely overwhelmed. He woke up later strapped to a table and had to listen to Jetfire trying to convince him to help them both escape. Grimlock broke free with ease, and was part of the multi faction army that attempted to halt the Fallen's plans.

Later, Grimlock served both as leader of the Dynobots and the right hand bot to Ultra Magnus, who had taken control in Optimus' absence and had managed to secure a truce with Shockwave. Grimlock was less then happy about this, partly because he didn't trust the Decepticons, and partly because he had no idea what to with himself in peace time. He never got to find out, as the truce was betrayed and Grimlock was apparently killed when he dove in front of a blast meant for Magnus.

''Due to Dreamwave's the closure, the War Within series, and Grimlock's subsequent return never seen. It's safe to assume however it was intended that Grimlock would be restored to his former glory in the second half of the mini-series. Plus, did you actually think Furman would kill off Grimlock?''

Millenia later, on Earth, Megatron captured the other four Dinobots, a fact which he used as leverage to get Grimlock to turn traitor and join the Decepticons after they were reactivated by Lazarus. It didn't last very long, though, as Shockwave soon showed up with his Triple Changers. Grimlock's true loyalty became obvious when he stopped Blitzwing from blowing off Optimus' head by grabbing his tank turret and bending it into a pretzel with one hand. After that, Shockwave Megatron off to Cybertron, prompting Grimlock to rejoin the Autobots in the Ark. When Optimus' group surrendered to Ultra Magnus, some of the autobots remained on Earth, Grimlock among them. He headed for the frozen north, and then freed the other Dinobots from Megatron's holding tank. Stealing a decepticon shuttle, the Dinobot's then headed for Cybertron, meaning to free Prime and his group. After a rough landing, they acquired some transportation from Octane and hurried to Iacon. There, Grimlock did his part by leading a massive Dinobot assault on Shockwave's complex, before breaking off to take care of the Decepticon leader himself. Blitzwing again got in his way however, and Grimlock was forced to battle both, a battle that was going his way until Ultra Magnus shot him in the face. Preceptor repaired him and Grimlock did his part for the rebellion by giving Hot Rod some back up. For a third and final time he fought Blitzwing, this time taking the Decepticon out with ease, grabbing him by the tank turret and throwing him into a Guardian. Leaving the main conflict, Grimlock followed Shockwave, Optimus and Ultra Magnus and ended up saving the Autobot pair, stating he'd hate the lose the chance to pay back the "stuffy traitor". As Prime thanked Primus, Grimlock said he should be thanking him.

While the main group of Earth Autobots returned, the Dinobots remained on Cybertron to give Ultra Magnus some needed muscle.

The Beast Within
In a devastating battle with the Decepticons, Grimlock makes the decision to combine with the other Dinobots to form the "Beast".

IDW Beast Wars comics


Grimlock was among the Axalon's protoforms when the ship crashed on Earth. When Razorbeast and Optimus Minor were attempting to "rescue" Megatron from Magmatron, the Predacons detected a spark signature that was apparently off the scale, big and mad. Grimlock showed up and acted as the perfect distraction, making very short work of the Predacons (apparently he was in a very bad mood after waking up and took it out on the Preds). Magmatron offered Grimlock the chance to withdraw, and when the incredulous Grimlock refused, the Predacon general attacked. Magmatron narrowly arose as the victor by use of his triple beast modes. Grimlock was knocked out, but later helped to construct the Maximal's new base.

Later, when Prowl remarked they had work to do on Earth, with Ravage's Predacon militia still a threat, Wolfang reminded him that they had Grimlock on their side. . The bot in question was patrolling the jungle around the base at the time, and bumped into the three mech team of Manterror, Retrax and Snapper. He only noticed Manterror and Retrax however, as Snapper was being crushed under his right foot at the time. While Retrax rolled for his life, Manterror had to face Grimlock on his own, and lost his wings for his trouble. This little group turned out to be a distraction however, with the intent of luring the Maximals big gun away while Ravage led an all out strike on the base.

The former Dinobot wasn't about to beleft out in the cold however, and he returned to base, ready for the main course which consisted of crushing Spittor under his foot, and tearing Iguanus and half a dozen other predacons apart. Still, even with him and Torca working overtime, things might have gone poorly without Lio Convoy's arrival.

IDW comics continuity
Grimlock and the rest of the Dynobots were a close-knit group of hunters, suffering from neither low intelligence nor Grimlock's traditional speech impairment.

At the start of Megatron's rise to power the Dynobots turned out to an open casting call for Megatron's underground Gladatorial games. It turned out to be a recruitment drive for the Decepticon army. What they thought of that is unknown as Autobot security forces raided the party soon after.

After Shockwave destroyed a cache of Energon the Dynobots had been hoarding, causing them severe Energon burns and equally severe humiliation, they swore revenge. So, against orders from Optimus Prime, they followed Shockwave when he left Cybertron to stabilize "Ultra-Energon" deposits he had sent to other worlds as a precaution against the depletion of Cybertron's own Energon reserves.

When Shockwave reached his first destination - Earth, at the end of the last Ice Age - the Dynobots destroyed his ship, but Slag revealed that the high energon levels of the planet would put them in stasis lock, since they hadn't come prepared like Shockwave. Slag then came up with the idea that they should scan the local life forms and create alt-modes based on those animals, but with synthetic flesh coatings to protect against the high levels of energon radiation. Grimlock was completely against the idea, but since Slag couldn't come up with something better, he relented. However, he refused to take on the form of the weak mammalians that dominated the planet, demanding "Something with some...bite." Scanning fossil deposits, Slag found the remains of some extinct reptilian animals and brought up a holographic representation of one to see if Grimlock approved. What popped up was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which Grimlock seemed to fall in love with the moment he saw it. The choice made, Grimlock took the Tyrannosaur as his altmode and had Slag find more dinosaurs as templates for the rest of the Dynobots.

On transporting down to the planet's surface to confront Shockwave, they gained an initial advantage, as Shockwave's logic was unable to comprehend the effort and risks they had taken for their revenge. However, when Shockwave recognized this weakness, shut down his logic processors and operated a "rage" program to enable him to operate on pure instinct, he shrugged off their attacks and beat them severely, ending the assault by burning off their organic coatings. Unable to accept another defeat, Grimlock transformed to robot mode and fought against his imminent stasis lock to no avail.

However, before leaving the Dynobots' ship, he had enabled a "dead man's switch" designed to take Shockwave with them if they were defeated. When he entered stasis lock, this failsafe activated, firing on a nearby dormant volcano and causing an eruption which buried Shockwave and the Dynobots under ash and lava.

However, in 2006, Shockwave was discovered by a team of human archeologists. Whether he, Grimlock or the rest of the Dynobots can/will be reactivated remains to be seen.

Generation 1

 * Grimlock (Dinobot, 1985/1986/1991/1992)
 * Japanese ID number: C-26




 * Grimlock's toy was originally part of Takara's Diaclone Dinosaur Robo series. When Hasbro imported the toy in 1985 for the Transformers line, the blue crotch was changed to red and the Diaclone driver mini-figure was dropped.


 * The original Grimlock changes from a robot into a robotic T-Rex and comes with a red energo-sword, a black double-barreled rifle, and a rocket launcher with three silver rockets.


 * Grimlock was later reissued in the European/Australian-exclusive "Classics" series. In Japan, he and the other four Dinobots were offered as mail-away items during Operation Combination; Grimlock cost 2300 yen (his original retail price) and 2 robot points.


 * Grimlock (Classic Pretender, 1989)


 * A simplified and slightly-modified version of Grimlock, he transforms into a robotic T-Rex whose tail becomes a handgun. He came with a large human Pretender shell with a rather knight-like armor theme, with a helmet and large cannon.


 * His human shell looks a lot like Ed Asner.
 * (Note: Pretender Classic Grimlock's fuction was Lieutenant Commander instead of Dinobot Commander.)


 * Grimlock (Legends, 1989)


 * A K-Mart exclusive in its Hasbro release, this version of Grimlock is simply the inner robot of his Classic Pretender form without the shell or its accessories, leaving him only his tail/gun. In Japan, he was only available in a boxed "Hero Set" with the other three Legends toys, but with a silver face rather than the Hasbro version's orange.


 * Grimlock (Action Master, 1990)




 * Part of the initial assortment of non-transforming Action Master figures, Grimlock's design combines his cartoon model with extra toy-based detailing. He came with the Anti-tank cannon "partner" machine which Grimlock could ride, or be unfolded to form a really big "long range mortar launcher."

Generation 2

 * Grimlock (Dinobot, 1992)


 * Grimlock's original toy was redecoed for release in Generation 2, this time lacking the missile launcher accessory. He was available in three different colors; the first --and rarest-- in his original silver (the easiest way to spot if this is a G2 or original is by the "Autobot" tampograph on his leg), then in a medium turquoise-blue, and finally (and most commonly) in a dark blue.


 * (Note: Grimlock outranked Optimus Prime in the G2 toyline! (Prime had a rank of 9.)

Beast Wars

 * Grimlock (Deluxe, 1997)




 * Beast Wars Grimlock is a redeco of Dinobot in gray and gold with black spots, transforming into a "raptor" of some variety. His tail becomes a sword and a rotate-blade. He was slightly retooled to have space for an "energon chip" rubsign. Unfortunately, Grimlock suffers from Gold Plastic Syndrome.


 * This mold is also used by Dinobots Grimlock, and was retooled to make Dinotron, Hardhead and Thrustor.

Beast Machines

 * T-Wrecks may have been intended to be a new form for Grimlock, based on the references in his tech spec bio to his Beast Wars "Attack Specialist" function and other hints. However, T-Wrecks' appearances in the Universe: The Wreckers comics suggests he is a new, unrelated character.

Alternators

 * Grimlock (2005)
 * Alternator ID number: 9
 * Japanese ID number: BT-10




 * Alternators Grimlock transforms into a silver 1:24 scale Ford Mustang with opening doors, hood, and trunk. His engine transforms into a double-barreled gun, and he also carries an orange sword which can attach to the underside of his vehicle mode.  The toy is one of the most-complained-about Alternators toys, due to its notoriously finicky transformation (with many small steps that must be performed in exactly the right order) and to several pieces which have a tendency to pop off with relatively small amounts of force.


 * This mold was remolded into Alternators Wheeljack.

Universe

 * The Grimlock toy released in Energon was originally created by Hasbro for release as a special new-mold addition for the Universe toyline and was intended to represent Generation 1 Grimlock. However, it wasn't and it didn't.

Classics

 * Grimlock (Deluxe, 2006)


 * Classics Grimlock, a gray and gold Tyrannosaurus rex, is a reimagined form of his original toy. His dinosaur mode's sculpt is based heavily upon TakaraTomy's Zoids Genosaurer toy, although for Grimlock the Zoids Tyrannosaurus toy Berserk Führer might have been more apropos. It features articulated jaws, some neck and arm movement, posable legs, a segmented, articulated tail, and is notably designed to run rather than drag (theories on the T-Rex having changed from "caveman adversary" to "Carl Lewis in Lizard Skin" since the G1 incarnation).


 * In robot mode, his tail detaches to become a sword/whip, similar to his Pretender Classic toy. Also, his bayonet blaster bears a similarity to his Pretender toy's. His bayonet blaster can be deployed in either mode, and fires a clear red projectile. Both weapons can be stored on his back when not used. As with most Classics toys, Grimlock features a heat-sensitive rubsign, placed on the left side of the tyrannosaurus torso/his left leg.


 * A common complaint about the figure is the size of the peg being too small in relation to the peg-hole, making it impossible to lock the arms into place. In addition, the bayonet blaster has a hair-trigger.


 * An unpainted Classics Grimlock was used at the BotCon 2007 customization classes to create Timelines Overkill.

Titanium Series

 * Grimlock (3" Robot Masters, 2006)


 * Titanium Grimlock is a non-transforming, three inch die-cast metal figurine based on his toy and comic/cartoon model. He has very limited articulation, in his neck, waist and shoulders. Grimlock is posed squatting and/or dancing.


 * Grimlock (6" Cybertron Heroes, 200?)

Attacktix

 * Grimlock (Booster, 2007)


 * Attacktix Grimlock is depicted in his Tyrannosarus mode, and has a sculpt based heavily upon his original G1 toy. Pressing down on his back will cause his head to extend and presumably hit whatever he's facing.

Robot Heroes

 * Grimlock Vs Shockwave (Two Pack, 2007)

Packed with Shockwave Grimlock is a detailed two-inch tall figurine with exaggerated, cartoony proportions. He is sculpted holding his sword in his left hand. He brings cuddly wuddly death.

Trivia

 * In the original Diaclone commercial for Grimlock, it showed him spewing fire from his mouth. Guess why that was removed, huh?
 * There is a Grimlock's toy placed in the showcase in the Dinosaur Section from Natural History Museum, London, United Kindom.
 * Grimlock is generally regarded as Simon Furman's signature character.
 * Grimlock's fuction is Lieutenant Commander instead of Dinobot Commander on his Pretender Classic and Alternator toys. Lieutenant Commander is Sky Lynx's rank. Deal with it, egobot.
 * The Energon Grimlock toy was originally intended to be the original Generation 1 character, and was to be released in Universe. However, it was ultimately shunted into Energon, reportedly for a combination of budgetary concerns and keeping the combination gimmick (since he combines with the packed-in Swoop to form a super robot) only in the main-line, which had combination as a central theme.
 * A working name for the Alternators Ford Mustang mold which ultimately ended up as Grimlock was "Freeway", according to various early store listings.
 * Grimlock's beast mode in The Gathering does not actually match any dromeaosaur on record, seeming to combine elements of both the dromeaosaur body type with that of a carnosaur or tyrannosaurid. Why, because Grimlock only does massive dues ex machina powerhouse, not speed merchent, like some people.
 * Simon Furman announced on the IDW forums that Grimlock will be receiving a Spotlight in 2008.