Grimlock (SG)
| This article is about the evil Autobot Dinobot. For his less-evil counterpart, see Grimlock (G1). For a list of other meanings, see Grimlock (disambiguation). |
- Grimlock is an evil Autobot Dinobot from the "Shattered Glass" continuity family.
Grimlock was born in a Decepticon lab as a warrior who would run on artificial intelligence instead of an ember, but Megatron ordered his deactivation after his violent tendencies emerged and overrode his logic subroutines. He was put into storage with every intention of never using him again. However, when Optimus Prime heard of his creation, he stole and reactivated Grimlock. Given the chance to engage in the violence for which he yearned so much, Grimlock eagerly became Prime's most powerful warrior, not stopping for anything except deactivation, having not a single shred of mercy or self control. "I wish I had a thousand more like him!" said Optimus Prime on multiple occasions. Thank Primus he doesn't.
Following an encounter with the Omega Terminus, Grimlock was granted an ember, a true cybernetic personality, and the ability to transform into a robot mode. In this new form, he is gifted with remarkable intelligence, a wicked scheming streak, and a delightfully wry sense of humor, wot? However, the mindless violence that once governed his thought processes has not been entirely excised; should robot-mode Grimlock lose his temper, he will involuntarily transform back into his dinosaur form, and his mind will be overwhelmed with the uncontrollable ferocity for which he is so well known.
Fiction
Shattered Expectations
Grimlock proved himself to be the smartest (and most humble) of the Autobots raiding the secret Pretender lab. Insulted by Goldbug relegating him to the position of mere attack dog, he nonetheless fell for a Predacon ruse and was ambushed by the Mayhem Suppression Squad. Shattered Expectations
Shattered Glass
Grimlock was with the Autobots when the Decepticons attacked the Ark's launching platform. Optimus sicced him on the Decepticons, and he very quickly ended up in a tussle with the Predacons. Shattered Glass
When the deranged Autobot scientist Wheeljack succeeded in modifying and duplicating Grimlock's artificial intelligence matrix, he was able to give life to an entire herd of Dinobots. With Grimlock at the head of the pack, Wheeljack unleashed his creations into the middle of a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, only for the mindless monsters to wind up fighting amongst themselves. As the out-of-control Dinobots proceeded to run wild across Cybertron, Grimlock began to hear a mysterious disembodied voice that gave him directions to follow, and he obeyed it without argument, pausing on his way only long enough for a minor altercation with Huffer. Trekking deep into the Rad Zone, Grimlock ventured into a series of tunnels that led him to the chamber of the life-giving mega-computer, Omega Terminus, the owner of the voice that had lured him into its presence.
Grimlock was hidden beneath a pile of scrap at the feet of the Omega Terminus when Cliffjumper, Sideswipe, Blurr and Rodimus eventually succeeded in tracking him to the chamber sometime later. When Rodimus proposed an alliance between the four to take control of Omega Terminus, and Cybertron by extension, Grimlock rose from his hiding place to oppose the idea, and was promptly struck by a bolt of energy from the Terminus. Bestowed with true life by the mega-computer, Grimlock shocked all present by transforming into a robot mode he was never meant to have, and displaying remarkable intelligence. With a quartet of corpses reanimated by the Terminus's power backing him up, Grimlock engaged his opponents in battle, so enraged by Rodimus's interruption of his monologue that he inadvertently transformed back into his dinosaur mode. Although the unlikely team was able to take down their zombie opponents, Grimlock succeeded in knocking them all off the edge of the narrow dais upon which the Terminus rested, then shifted back to robot mode to gloat as they all clung to the edge of the platform. When Blurr began deliberately goading him, Grimlock assumed he was trying to make him angry and force a change back to his dinosaur mode. In actuality, Blurr was distracting Grimlock long enough for Cliffjumper to haul himself up to safety. The small Autobot shoulder-charged Grimlock, who toppled into the bottomless chasm above which the platform hung.
Blurr and Rodimus returned to the Autobot base to inform Optimus Prime of Grimlock's destruction... only to have the lie put into their words mere moments later, when a fully functional Grimlock came strolling into the Autobot base none the worse for wear. Prime was enraged to discover that his greatest weapon had become free-willed, but when Grimlock displayed his new robot mode and intelligence by quickly identifying a potential error in the fuel system of Prime's Ark blueprints, the Autobot leader was convinced to let him remain in one piece.
Some time later, Grimlock snuck into the corral the Decepticons had established to hold the Dinobots they had gathered up, promising to take all the Dinobots to the Omega Terminus... Dungeons & Dinobots
When the Ark ended up launching without Optimus Prime aboard, Grimlock was one of the Autobots that Rodimus threw off the ship for being too loyal to Prime. Do Over
Afterwards, he got to happily eat Blurr, as Blurr's punishment for failing to stop Rodimus' mutiny. Reunification: Part 3
Toys
Timelines
- Shattered Glass (BotCon box set, 2008)
- Accessories: Bayonet blaster, Tail sword/whip
- Part of BotCon 2008's exclusive box set of five figures, Grimlock is a redeco of Classics Grimlock with a new dark gray, turquoise, purple and orange color scheme, as an homage to Trypticon. He transforms into a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. His spring-loaded bayonet missile launcher can be hand-held in robot mode or mounted on his dino mode's back.
- Grimlock is only available as part of a set of six toys, along with Optimus Prime, Autobot Jazz, Goldbug, Razorclaw and Starscream.
- This mold was also used as the basis for BotCon 2007's customizing-class figure, Overkill, and Universe Special Edition Overkill.
Notes
- The "super-intelligent, well-spoken criminal genius" Grimlock was originally created for the April Fool's "Shattered Expectations" comic, as a direct inversion of Grimlock's normally dim, caveman-esque portrayal. He proved so overwhelmingly popular that the "real" Shattered Glass version of the character—nothing more than a slavering monster—later underwent a personality upgrade to become just like him.
- The erudite Shattered Glass Grimlock is now the star of the Fun Publications Official Transformers Collectors' Club website's "I, Grimlock" feature, in which a single "Shattered Glass" Grimlock toy is sent across the nation (nay, world!) for fans to take photos of in various locations. He forcibly took the role from the original Grimlock on July 23rd, 2008.
- Grimlock forcefully transforming into Beast Mode and being overcome by his tendencies if he loses his temper is most likely a reference to Megatron in Beast Machines.
- Optimus Prime's wish to "have a thousand more like Grimlock" mirrors Megatron's wish to have a thousand more like Bruticus.
- Coincidentally, Grimlock's tendency to transform into Beast Mode when losing said temper is also similar to Grimlock's ability to turn into Dino Form when his rage is full in Fall of Cybertron.
