Dinobot is a fictional character from ''
Beast Wars'' in the ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
'' franchise. His character is one enthralled by the sensation of combat while driven by a code of honor reminiscent of that of
samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
bushido
is a Samurai moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. Its origins date back to the Kamakura period, but it was formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868). There are multiple types of bushido which evolved significantl ...
. He debuted in the series premiere as a subordinate of
Megatron, leader of the villainous
Predacon Predacon may refer to the following character factions in the Transformers franchise:
* Predacons, a Decepticon faction in the ''Transformers'' TV series
* Predacons, a faction in the ''Beast Wars'' franchise
{{Disambiguation ...
s. While he initially joins Megatron, Dinobot eventually joins the ranks of the
Maximals. And would ultimately sacrifice himself to prevent Megatron from achieving his mission of conquest. Outside of the television series, the character has appeared in other forms of media of the franchise, and has received various forms of merchandise. Dinobot is a popular character among fans, becoming an inductee, and winning choice of many Transformers oriented
listicles and honorary celebrations.
Series Biography
Beast Wars show
In the first season, Dinobot originally arrives on prehistoric
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
with Megatron and the rest of the Predacons.
Dinobot takes on the form of a
v''elociraptor'', modeled after the
depiction of the species in Jurassic Park. After their arrival, Dinobot believes that Megatron has led the predacons to the wrong planet as Megatron had planned to arrive on Earth, he attempts to usurp him in a duel.
Only for him to be cast out of the Predacons.
Later on, he confronts the Maximals outside their base, and challenges Optimus Primal’s leadership in a duel.
The engagement is interrupted by a surprise attack from the Predacons. Optimus saves Dinobot's life during the attack, prompting the two to come to terms and ally.
From then on, Dinobot serves alongside the Maximals during the Beast Wars, and proves to be a valuable ally in both strength and cunning, as well as in his knowledge of his former Predacon comrades. However, Dinobot frequently clashes with the Maximals' morals, but grows to respect the Maximals, and forges strong friendships with them. Later on he realizes Megatron did in fact arrive on Earth, and was all along planning to alter history in order to ensure himself power. So to derail Megatron's tyrannical ambitions he sabotages the Predacons in their onslaught against a group of
proto-humans that would lead to the human race. Before ultimately sacrificing himself by using what is left of his strength to destroy one of the golden disks, an alien artifact that aided Megatron’s plans.
Megatron eventually created a clone of Dinobot with the show's
transmetal technology, who was loyal to him before rebelling against him once more when the clone gains awareness of his former self. In the series finale the clone sacrifices himself in the same vein as the original Dinobot to aid the Maximals in defeating Megatron.
War for Cybertron Trilogy
In the universe of the
Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy animated series, Dinobot never joins the Maximals, and remains with the Predacons. He, however, still has reservations towards Megatron using the Golden Disk to alter history. When the
Decepticons travel back in time and meet the Predacons, looking for the Allspark, Dinobot decides that neither Megatron should have it after failing to make an alliance with
Starscream and Blackarachnia. This leads him to face both Megatrons and, despite being fatally wounded, he manages to recover the
Autobot Matrix of Leadership, giving it back to
Optimus Prime. After his death, his spirit guides Optimus Primal to rejoin Optimus Prime, defeat Megatron, and find the Allspark.
In comic books
* Dinobot's earliest depiction in comics was in a two part short story told in
Dreamwave's ''Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye'' series.
* The now defunct
Fun Publications expanded on Dinobot's story in ''Dawn of Futures Past,'' a part of the grander story of their Transformers Timelines issues.
* Dinobot appears along the rest of the Maximals in the
IDW Productions series ''Beast Wars: The Gathering'', which takes place during season 3 of the animated ''Beast Wars'' series.
Reception
Dinobot was named the 3rd best upgrade in Beast Wars history in a 2013 publication by
Topless Robot.
The WTF@TFW podcast for February 26, 2009 selected the ''Henkei'' Dinobot toy as one of the New Picture Picks.
At
BotCon 2010, Hasbro named Dinobot as one of the first five robot inductees in the
Transformers Hall of Fame. He was also the first "fan's choice" inductee, as fans around the world submitted nominees for the spot. After the nominees were narrowed down to the top five, Dinobot beat the other candidates with 31,000 votes.
References
{{Transformers
Transformers characters
Fictional robotic dinosaurs
Fictional samurai
Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities
Fictional characters with superhuman strength
Fictional swordfighters
Fictional swordfighters in television
Fictional clones