Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity

Me Grimlock play a big, major, and important role in Marvel Comics!

Contents 1 Marvel The Transformers comics 1.1 Robo-Capers 1.2 Marvel UK future timelines 1.3 Earthforce 1.4 Another Time & Place 1.5 Cybertron comic 2 Transformers Comic-Magazin 3 Marvel Generation 2 comic 4 Fleetway Generation 2 comics 5 Classics 6 Regeneration One 7 Transformers '84 8 Royal Mail stamp bios 9 Notes 10 References

Marvel The Transformers comics

Millions of years ago on Cybertron, Grimlock and four other warriors who would later become the Dinobots snuck into a Decepticon spaceport and stole a number of ships and hid them in the Rad Zone, suspecting that one day they might become fed up with Optimus Prime's leadership and strike out on their own. A Savage Circle

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 their battle reached a stalemate when all combatants became trapped in a tar pit and buried under a collapsing cliff side. Repeat Performance!

Information on this battle were stored on the Ark's memory banks and were discovered four million years later by Ratchet, The Last Stand and Ratchet, at the moment the last Autobot on Earth that remained functional, tempted Megatron with details of Shockwave's alleged defeat as currency for a deal with him. Promising Megatron that he would find the Dinobots and use them to defeat Shockwave on Megatron's behalf, Warrior School! Ratchet traveled to the Savage Land and retrieved the bodies of the Dinobots. Ratchet faked this defeat using video of Slag's memories and when Megatron doublecrossed him, he ambushed Megatron with the Dinobots. However, Grimlock and the others were no match for Megatron, and they were knocked aside. Ratchet managed a victory regardless, and he and the Dinobots returned to the Ark. Repeat Performance!

On the way back to the Ark, Grimlock had his first encounter with a human, which ended with the organic fleeing in terror. Ratchet sought to explain why humans feared them with a story about the Autobots' battle with the Decepticons at Sherman Dam. At story's end, they reached the Ark, but it was guarded mercilessly by Guardian! After Guardian disposed of Swoop, Decepticon Dam-Busters! the Dinobots attacked Guardian together, but they were defeated and were forced to regroup. Grimlock was furious when Ratchet said Swoop's injuries were not top priority, as he had an Ark full of Autobots in need of care. While Ratchet was tending to Prowl, Wheeljack, and Jazz, Grimlock led the remaining Dinobots on a second attack against Guardian. This time they were successful, though they didn't realize that Guardian was hardwired with a bomb that threatened them all. The Wrath of Guardian! Thankfully, Wheeljack was able to control Optimus Prime's headless body by remote and seize Grimlock's arm before he could deliver the blow that would destroy them all. Grimlock lost his hand as Guardian struck back and fled, forcing the Dinobots to reconvene with Ratchet, who fixed up Grimlock. Still frustrated over Ratchet's earlier disregard for Swoop, Grimlock delivered a blow to Ratchet's face to "test out" his repaired hand. He then "supervised" the medic as he came around to fix Swoop. Guardian burst into the medical bay with intent to detonate the bomb within his body himself, and though Grimlock proved more effective than ever against the drone, he was not able to beat him down fast enough as the bomb's countdown neared zero. Ultimately, their lives were saved by Swoop, who carried Guardian up into the sky as the bomb detonated. With Swoop believed dead, Grimlock took his Dinobots elsewhere. The Wrath of Grimlock!

After Swoop returned in a berserker rage, it became apparent that the Dinobots had reverted to their base instincts due to their primary cybo-dendrons having burnt out from millions of years stuck in tar, so the Autobots plotted to round them up. The Icarus Theory Grimlock and Sludge were the final targets, and as the two tore through a snowy part of Canada, Optimus Prime vowed to stop them even if it cost him his life. Bumblebee discovered that the source of the rage was coming from a Decepticon-crafted signal, but when the signal was destroyed, the Dinobots entered a deep hibernation stat from which there may not have been any return. Dinobot Hunt! While Grimlock sat comatose, he dreamed that Prime had been taken out of action by a fission bomb, allowing him the opporunity to slay Megatron, though he subsequently died at the hands of Starscream. Victory! Grimlock and the other Dinobots eventually recovered fully from their ordeal, although they were still none too happy to see Ratchet upon awakening. Second Generation! They then attended the unveiling of the Autobots' last line of defense, Omega Supreme. Jointly, Optimus Prime detailed a plan to attack the Decepticon base and immediately retreat after stealing data from Devastator. Grimlock was displeased at this, and refused to fight a war in which he was unable to fight. He seceded his Dinobots from the Autobots, and they struck out on their own. Command Performances!

Grimlock and the other Dinobots met up with Sludge's human friend, Joy Meadows, and agreed to help her expose the truth about the Robot Master cover-up. (Grimlock was bemused about Sludge's obvious crush on Joy) That was fine when they were fighting the Intelligence and Information Institute but then the Decepticons got involved, and despite the Dinobots' best efforts Joy was blackmailed by Soundwave into dropping the investigation. In the National Interest When Optimus Prime caught up with them and demanded to know what was going on, Grimlock walked off. Target: 2006 Along the way, the Dinobots had picked up an ally: Centurion, an archaic mechanoid who'd helped them against the Decepticons.

While wandering the countryside, Grimlock and the other Dinobots found that Centurion, who'd gone on ahead, had been ripped to bits by the time traveling Galvatron. Pissed off, Grimlock went after him and the Dinobots found Galvatron as he was beating up on a small group of Autobots who had recently arrived from Cybertron. Fallen Angel The Decepticon bested Grimlock in hand-to-hand combat, and Grimlock was about to receive a deadly blow from his own sword when he was rescued by Blaster. The combatants were scattered when Shockwave's Decepticons fired upon Galvatron and allowed the time traveller to leave. Resurrection!

Paleontology student Rachel Becker found Grimlock's footprints in the Cascade Mountain Range, so she, her professor, and his assistant pitched tents to observe the area overnight. The Dinobots were indeed hiding nearby, and when Swoop brought Grimlock news of Optimus Prime's death, Grimlock prepared to take leadership of the Autobots for himself. The Dinobot Commander interrupted a committee of high-ranking Autobots attempting to nominate a replacement, and he rudely nominated himself. Unsurprisingly, the Autobots were not impressed, and Grimlock was turned away. Grimlock got a chance to prove himself when Trypticon attacked the Ark. At first his plan was to hide in the forest, let Trypticon "soften up" the Autobots, remove the Decepticon, and impose leadership over the weakened faction, but Grimlock's doubts increased as the Autobots were pummeled. Additionally, he was surprised when Rachel Becker approached Grimlock with no fear, since he was certain that all humans were cowards. When Rachel's life was threatened by Trypticon, Grimlock attacked Trypticon himself, which signaled the other Dinobots to follow his lead. In the aftermath of his victory against the Decepticon intruder, the high-ranking Autobots decided that Grimlock had displayed all the desired traits of a great Autobot leader—wisdom, compassion, courage, charisma, and military skill. King of the Hill!

Unfortunately for the Autobots, Grimlock set about immediately picking out a crown for himself and affecting an unintelligent way of speaking. His first point of order was to steal back the assorted equipment and tools that the Mechanic had stolen from them shortly before his assumption of command. To his dismay, Goldbug and Blaster refused to harm humans if necessary to complete the mission, and the two Autobots deserted after failing to complete their mission. Mechanical Difficulties! Crater Critters Grimlock declared them traitors and sent Autobots out to look for them; the rest of his army were tied up with pointless tasks and Wheeljack was ordered to repair Centurion above all others. In pursuit of the deserters, Grimlock and Centurion went to join Blades in London, but the Transformers that Blades had found was actually Megatron!('s clone) Grimlock took a beating but got back up, and was quite impressed to see the human Action Force soldiers were trying to fight Megatron as well: it challenged his assumptions about weak stubbies. He almost died against Megatron, saved only by Centurion, who himself perished holding Megatron in place for an airstrike. Ancient Relics!

Grimlock spotted Swoop storming out of their headquarters, and learned from Sludge that one of bombardier's old adversaries, Divebomb, had recently come to Earth What's in a Name? along with the rest of the Predacons. This group began terrorizing Swoop after the Dinobot attempted to retake the name "Divebomb," which had been stolen from him millions of years ago following a dishonorable defeat. The other Dinobots fought the Predacons in defence of their mate. Swoop was afraid to admit to the full story behind the loss of his former name. When Divebomb revealed this to Grimlock, the Dinobot commander admitted that he had known about it ever since he had taken command of the Autobots and had access to Optimus Prime's files... and didn't care! Grimlock then tried to murder Divebomb in order to cover up Swoop's secret shame, stopped only by Swoop calling an end to the fight. Grudge Match!

With Blaster and Goldbug still out there, Grimlock ordered the Protectobots to bring them in. Grimlock had in the meantime completed repairs on the Ark itself, and with Wheeljack's new Geothermal Generator, they were no longer dependent on humans for fuel. Used Autobots Expecting Blaster and Goldbug's forced return, Grimlock had a variable voltage harness constructed to serve as their punishment. Then, as soon as enough Energon was harvested to power up the vessel, Grimlock ordered the Ark to launch into Earth orbit. Child's Play Immediately the Ark overtook the Decepticon Blast Off, who was being taken for a ride by Blaster and four children he had befirended in his absence. Fearing Grimlock's growing megalomania, Wheeljack had called his old friend Sky Lynx for help. Before Grimlock could capture Blast Off, the children threw Blaster from the airlock into space. Grimlock used the children as bait, threatening to end their lives if Blaster did not show up. Blaster returned himself to the Ark to the welcome arms of the other Autobots, who had grown tired of Grimlock's tyranny. Despite Sky Lynx's intervention outside the Ark, he was surrounded by the Dinobots, and Blaster was forced to give himself up to protect the safety of the children. Spacehikers!

Blaster was placed in the variable voltage harness for his treason. Some time thereafter, Grimlock's Autobots stationed on the Ark met up with Autobots from Nebulos stationed on the Steelhaven. Grimlock was furious that the Steelhaven's Autobots were led by a human, Spike Witwicky, and he challenged Spike's binary bonded partner, Fruitloop Multipuck, to a duel for ultimate Autobot supremacy. Forktongue Maxiface was in no condition to fight, as he had suffered terrible damage recently at the hands of Shockwave, so Grimlock offered Blaster to fight in his stead. Both ships' crews unloaded onto Earth's moon to watch the fight, but Blaster and Grimlock's grudge match quickly rumbled past the horizon line. After exchanging blows, Grimlock and Blaster noticed explosions back at the ships' landing site, and agreed to a short truce to investigate. Indeed, Ratbat's Decepticons had ambushed the Autobots in their absence, but with the introduction of Blaster and Grimlock to what had been up to that point a massacre, the tide quickly turned. Grimlock's sword pierced the forcefield of the Decepticons' flying island base, and the Decepticons retreated. In the wake, Fortress Maximus admitted that he had sent Goldbug and the Steelhaven's skeleton crew to Nebulos to rebuild Optimus Prime, their true leader. Totaled!

Optimus Prime returned from Nebulos as a Power Master and took back the reins of command, easily sweet-talking Grimlock into going along with it, The Quest! though both Grimlock and Fortress Maximus kept high-profile positions in the ranks. The trio watched a commercial for Club Con, a tropical resort suspiciously helmed by Decepticons. Grimlock wanted to bust some heads, but Optimus thought a more subtle approach was needed. Club Con! Meanwhile, Earth was coming apart at the seams due to a timestorm caused by the displacement of Galvatron, Scourge, and Cyclonus from Earth's future. Optimus, Grimlock, and Fortress Maximus held court, and decided an attack on the future Decepticon's underground base was due. During the battle, shockingly, Optimus and others were displaced to limbo by Rodimus Prime and other Autobots from the future. Believing these future Autobots were imposters, responsible for the apparent deaths of Optimus Prime and the other displaced Autobots, Fortress Maximus and Grimlock led a vengeful charge. By the time the truth was learned, the stakes had shifted, and the future and present Autobots, including Grimlock, teamed up to face the combined might of Galvatron and a clone of Megatron. Time Wars

Answering a distress call in the Arctic, Grimlock and the Autobots found Buster Witwicky... and a Decepticon ambush! After a number of casualties, a brittle truce was forged when it was discovered that this was all a setup by Starscream to divert attention away from his grab at the Underbase. Both factions found Starscream about to meet the Underbase in space, but Starscream was able to absorb enough Underbase energy to throw his ship into theirs. Starscream departed for Earth, to conquer the cities of New York, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires, and Optimus had thoughtfully kept the Ark nearby to help ship everyone back to Earth. Grimlock and Scorponok led a team sent ahead to Tokyo to await Starscream. After the Underbase-powered Decepticon destroyed the Dinobots, Grimlock was quick to fire upon Starscream and scored one of the few consequential hits on the fearsome traitor. Grimlock hunted him down and bit at Starscream's leg, but Starscream was able to grab the Dinobot commander and place him between himself and "friendly" fire from the Decepticon Pretenders. Dark Star Grimlock perished, and was next seen undergoing futile repairs on board the Ark. Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?

Ratchet was tormented by his inability to repair all of the Autobots under his care, to the extent that the medic started to have nightmares about Grimlock and various other deactivated Autobots reviving as zombies to kill him for his failures. Ratchet's nightmares came true for a short while, when the Decepticon Sports Car Patrol managed to infiltrate the Ark and took control of the damaged Autobots' bodies to torment him. When this failed to make Ratchet snap completely, the Decepticons' plan was abandoned and Grimlock was shut down once more. The Micromasters switched to their "plan B," tricking Ratchet into thinking they were fellow Autobots and inviting him on their return trip to Cybertron. Ratchet brought along Grimlock's body, hoping to repair it with his homeworld's superior tools. Back from the Dead Ratchet was soon privy to the Micromasters' real allegiance, and was horrified to learn that they were working under the leadership of Megatron! The Decepticon leader forced Ratchet to activate a new, Pretender version of Starscream. Spotting three discarded prototype Pretender shells, Ratchet resolved himself to also reactivate Grimlock and the other Autobots he had brought along, The Resurrection Gambit! successfully doing so in secret. When Megatron predictably betrayed Ratchet despite the medic's cooperation, Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee were loosed on the Decepticons. All the Familiar Faces!

Grimlock had been shaken by his time offline, the experience making him all-too-aware of his own mortality; to cover up his fear, he struck with blind fury towards Megatron. But despite his upgraded form, the Dinobot was still no match for Megatron in terms of brute strength. He was thrown out of Megatron's base, the tyrant's subordinates following outside to deal with him. Grimlock had better luck against the Sports Car Patrol, and had just defeated them with Jazz and Bumblebee's help when Megatron's base exploded. Unfortunately, Ratchet was still inside, and had apparently perished. Skin Deep Grimlock was present at the Transformers' 1989 Christmas party where he seemed annoyed by the presence of Dreadwind and Darkwing. The Transformers #250 cover Afterward, Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee briefly joined the Autobot resistance movement on Cybertron, one of their missions tasking them with investigating a brutal group-killing. Their inquiries were interrupted by Ruckus, Windsweeper, Sparkstalker, and Cindersaur, out for revenge on behalf of the Decepticons offed in said killing. Demons! Grimlock took on Cindersaur and Sparkstalker until Bumblebee drew everyone's attention to a trio of Demons encroaching on their battlefield; the monstrous colossi were the real culprits behind the murders! Unperturbed by this new enemy, Grimlock charged the Demons and chomped down on one of their fingers. He was easily shaken off, forcing him to join his comrades in blasting the Demons with laser-fire. This proved even less effective, as the Demons absorbed all of the energy thrown their way. The day was saved when Emirate Xaaron, having consulted the only survivor of the Demons' previous attack, brought to the battlefield a reserve of pure energon, pumping the fiends full of the stuff and causing them to overload explosively. Dawn of Darkness

Grimlock assisted the Autobot resistance in eight successful raids on Decepticon-held facilities.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 its trans-dimensional portal as Grimlock, Bumblebee, and Jazz were readying to return to Earth through it. The resulting malfunction teleported 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. Yesterday's Heroes!

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 Octopunch'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. The Primal Scream Bird of Prey!

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 appeared. Grimlock's first reaction was to attack, but not even all three of them could defeat the Decepticon leader. Instead, they were "saved" by the hostile Matrixspawn, 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, Dark Creation allowing Thunderwing to overtake them, defeat the three weakened Autobots and claim the Matrix for his own. All Fall Down

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 too 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 found a filed-away report detailing the discovery of a miraculous substance on Hydrus Four, Nucleon, which he surmised might be up to the task. He petitioned Optimus for permission to investigate, but the Autobot leader turned him down; Nucleon had too many risky side-effects to be used in good conscience. Grimlock thrashed his room in anger afterwards. He was approached by Waverider, who tried to talk him out of his rage, and after nearly skewering the well-intentioned 'bot, Grimlock made his way to the medical bay. There, Kup caught him in the act of taking the Dinobots' bodies off-ship. Reasoning with the old timer failed, and so Grimlock knocked him out, stole a shuttle, and muscled his way out of the Ark with his cargo. Eye of the Storm

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." The Pri¢e of Life!

With the Dinobots revived, Grimlock began loading up as much Nucleon as he could, though his leg becoming temporarily paralyzed during the effort gave him pause, the Hydrusian's final words to him still echoing in the back of his mind. He nonetheless completed the task and returned to the Ark. ...All This and Civil War 2 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 had departed before Ratchet's rescue. The Void!

Grimlock was the first Transformer to begin feeling the Nucleon's effects. Before he even left Hydrus Four, he began suffering erratic joint locks. He tried to hide the symptoms as long as he could, and led the newly revived Autobots into battle against Unicron... by ramming the Ark into the Chaos-Bringer's face. The attack left the ship plummeting down towards Cybertron, forcing all those aboard to leap out before it crashed. On the Edge of Extinction! After Unicron's defeat, Optimus Prime died from injuries, but not before naming Grimlock his chosen successor (although Grimlock still had to put up with Dumb Prowl as his self-appointed advisor and conscience). While Prowl began naive negotiations with the Decepticons for continued peace, Grimlock had his Dinobots arrange precautionary measures against any treachery. He also opted to seek out the Ark and all the still-inoperative Autobots within it, taking only his Dinobots for this task. Grimlock's symptoms began to worsen, and his entire body seized up during a battle against several Demons. 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. Still, thanks to his new form, he easily bested the demons and sent them fleeing. Still Life!

Unfortunately, more troubles were forthcoming; chief among them was Cybertron tearing itself apart! With Primus's consciousness sundered during the battle against Unicron, the planet no longer had the cohesion necessary to remain whole. Grimlock nonetheless found himself bored during meetings on the matter, throwing cans of oil at the Decepticon heckler, Fangry. With no confidence in the Autobot/Decepticon alliance, Grimlock eschewed any attempt at maintaining the coalition, driving Prowl up the wall in the process. The final straw came when Grimlock got into a petty brawl with Fangry, prompting the Decepticon leader, Bludgeon, to demand assurances out of Prowl. Prowl was forced to comply, and allowed the Decepticons to leave the planet ahead of the Autobots. As Grimlock had predicted, Bludgeon sabotaged the Autobot ships on Cybertron and took off to loot and plunder with his army. Exodus! Thanks to Grimlock, though, the Autobots not only had a set of ships held in reserve, but the Dinobots had also placed tracking devices on the Decepticon shuttles, leading the Autobot pursuit force right to the planet Klo. A Savage Circle Grimlock showed impressive restraint as, en route, Prowl badgered him for not having secured a faster ship! Grimlock told his antsy subordinated to calm down, confident that the Decepticons couldn't possibly have done too much damage to Klo after such a short head-start. The Last Autobot?

Unfortunately, Grimlock's knack for forward-thinking ran a little short here, and he led his Dinobots into a trap as soon as the troops arrived on Klo. It seemed the Decepticons had discovered Grimlock's tracking device and anticipated their arrival. One massacre later and the only Autobots left alive were Grimlock, Prowl, Slag, Kup and Blaster. Despite their misfortunes, they managed to overcome the Decepticon hunting party sent after them, and carried the battle back to Bludgeon and his men. Luckily, a miracle arrived in the form of a resurrected Optimus Prime and his new friend, the awesomely powerful Last Autobot, who began spontaneously reviving all the Autobots who fell in battle with the Decepticons. Facing an ever growing number of fully recharged Autobots, Bludgeon fled with his remaining Decepticons, and Grimlock and the Autobots stood victorious. End of the Road!

Robo-Capers

Having decided that Soundwave had answered the letters page for too long, Grimlock travelled to the UK Marvel Comics offices to forcibly eject him from the position. However, while Grimlock was talking to the receptionist, Soundwave had already left the building with a blond boy bound for America, leaving the Dinobot to be swamped by unopened mail. Robo-Capers issue 74

After Grimlock became Autobot leader, Jazz had devised a plan to defeat the Decepticons once and for all but Grimlock told him it would have to wait as he was too busy living a celebrity lifestyle—opening a supermarket, playing in a charity football match, being interviewed on Wogan, going to his squash club and attending a royal garden party—after appearing in Transformers: The Movie went to his head. Robo-Capers issue 91 Grimlock would also take time out of his busy schedule to introduce the four failed Transformers Handlebars, Balloon, Fireplace and Ticker. Robo-Capers issue 114

Eventually even Grimlock's tenure as letters page answerer had to come to an end and the Decepticon Powermaster Dreadwind arrived to oust him but Grimlock was not in the mood for a fight, so he knocked a pile of suitcases on top of Dreadwind with his tail before commanding a Stubbie to bring the ones containing fuel. The Wind of Change!

Marvel UK future timelines

When Optimus Prime learned that the Decepticons were besieging Autobot City in the year 2005, he enlisted the aid of the Dinobots to repel Megatron's forces. Eager for a challenge, Grimlock leaped into the fray, he and his teammates taking on Devastator as the combiner attempted to breach Autobot City's defenses. Though this task wound up being more troublesome than Grimlock initially thought it would be, the Autobots nonetheless managed to repel the Decepticons. The victory came at a steep price, however; Optimus was mortally wounded in battle. The Planet-Eater!

The Autobots were only given a brief respite before more bad news reached them: a "monster planet," Unicron, was approaching Cybertron, and devouring the planet's moons! The Autobots quickly prepared to head to Cybertron aboard two shuttles, only to be attacked by Decepticon forces led by Galvatron, the upgraded form of Megatron. Grimlock's group managed to lose their pursuers, and the Dinobots watched as Hot Rod trained with an auto-combatant once they believed themselves out of harm's way. But the Decepticons found them once more, shot up their ship, and forced them in proximity of planet Quintesson. A planetary defense system then brought the shuttle into a crash-landing. Grimlock, Kup, and Hot Rod were separated from the rest of the crew and were accosted by a band of Sharkticons. Brought before a kangaroo court, the three Autobots were sentenced to death by the Quintessons and sent plummeting into a Sharkticon pit. But the trio held their own until their companions (now accompanied by the young Wheelie) found them once more. Together, they pummeled the Sharkticons until Grimlock intimidated them into turning on their masters. Judgment Day!

Grimlock's group then tracked down several of their friends to the planet of Junk, at the time being accosted by the world's hostile natives. Grimlock suggested that he try and establish himself as the Junkions' king, but Kup and Hot Rod had a more sensible solution; by speaking the Universal greeting and making a peace-offering of Energon sticks, they befriended the Junkions. With these new allies, the Autobots headed back on course towards Cybertron, finding Unicron already ravaging the planet. Unicron was defeated when Hot Rod managed to open the Autobots' Matrix of Leadership (which upgraded him into Rodimus Prime in the process) and the Autobots once more gained a foothold on Cybertron in the aftermath. The Final Battle!

Grimlock and the Dinobots were stationed on Cybertron during the subsequent Autobot war effort to consolidate control over the planet. In 2008, the Decepticons staged a brazen and unprovoked attack on the Autobot location, prompting an incredible battle. Grimlock led the charge of his Dinobots, and literally began to "munch metal". When Smokescreen returned to Cybertron from the planet Junk with information, Grimlock exited the battle to attend a war room meeting with Rodimus Prime, Kup and Ultra Magnus. They learned from Smokescreen that Unicron had survived their last encounter, and his head had been drawn to Junk, where he then took over the minds of the Junkions and began forcing them to rebuild his lost body out of their planet. Realizing that the Decepticons were just pawns being used by Unicron to distract them, the Autobots realized the true battle awaited them on Junk. Rodimus Prime questioned whether he could pull enough troops away from the battle at hand to be of any use on Junk, but Grimlock reminded Roddy who he was talking to, and assured that his Dinobots would be more than enough firepower. Rodimus agreed, and brought Grimlock, Scattershot, Smokescreen and the rest of the Dinobots with him to confront Unicron. While Scattershot and Smokescreen distracted Unicron in the shuttle, Grimlock brought the Dinobots down to the planet and stopped the mind-warped Junkions from making any further repairs on Unicron's body by slaughtering them wholesale. The Legacy of Unicron!

Later, Grimlock was part of Rodimus Prime's crew who came to Earth to free Autobot City from Quintesson occupation. Space Pirates!

Earthforce

In one alternate timeline, Grimlock found a way to revive his fellow Dinobots after their destruction in the Underbase Saga. This method may or may not have involved Nucleon, as it did in the main timeline, and Grimlock apparently did not or could not bring back the means for restoring all the Autobots in the Ark's life pods. With the Dinobots back together they came on strong, battling a new splinter group of Decepticons that had sprung up on Earth under Shockwave's command. Grimlock personally brought down both Shockwave and the Battlechargers himself. Despite their victory, Optimus Prime harangued Grimlock and his team for their brutal tactics, flying in the face of the "Autobot Code". Two Steps Back! This led to a shouting match between the two Autobots where Grimlock threatened to take his Dinobots and quit the Autobot army altogether. The situation deteriorated further into a physical brawl, but ultimately Prime and Grimlock knocked some sense into each other. With Unicron inching ever closer to Cybertron, Optimus Prime decided that the Autobots aboard the Ark were needed elsewhere, yet Earth still needed defenders. Therefore, he promoted Grimlock to Autobot Commander: Earth. Grimlock was given his Dinobots, his fellow (former) Classic Pretenders, and the five Autobots recently reawakened by Galvatron as troops. In return for their autonomy, all Optimus Prime asked for was to show some restraint.

He was probably kidding. Or concussed. Whatever. Break-Away!

From the beginning, Grimlock made it clear to his troops that they would not be fighting the war Prime's way. To get things done right, they'd have to toss the Autobot Code out the window. To demonstrate what he meant by this, Grimlock picked up a copy of the Autobot Code and tossed it out the window. Grimlock isn't big on metaphors. Once upon a Time...

Shortly after Earthforce started up, Grimlock received a transmission from Shockwave, challenging him to a duel leader-to-leader. Grimlock vigorously accepted, and traveled 300 miles away to the coordinates Shockwave transmitted, deep in the Canadian wilderness during a snowstorm. Only problem was... he couldn't find Shockwave. Grimlock wandered around in the snow and ice for a while until he found him, or rather, he found a snowman shaped like Shockwave with a sign out front saying "April Fools! — Slag, Snarl, Sludge, Swoop". Two Predacons patrolling the area had the misfortune of coming across Grimlock right at that moment. What happened next was censored by the Comic Code Authority, Mothers Against Violence, and viewers like you. He later headed back to the base with the biggest snowball he could carry. (Wonder what he was going to do with it?) Snow Fun!

Later, Grimlock made a deal with the Survivors, lending them aid to rescue their Decepticon comrade Carnivac in exchange for them joining Earthforce under his command. Where Wolf? Acting on an anonymous tip-off, Grimlock and the Earthforce travelled to Memphis Airport to defeat the duelling Megatron and Shockwave. Internal Affairs!

After Wheeljack finished the construction of Autobot Earthbase, Grimlock gave him a hearty slap on the back as congratulations on a job well done. After they learned Wheeljack had effectively locked them out of the base with the defense grid fully active and hunting for targets, Grimlock hung Wheeljack upside-down by his ankle and smothered his face in the snow. (Centuries later, the good guys are apparently still this dumb.) The House that Wheeljack Built! As if that weren't enough, Soundwave staged a full-scale Decepticon assault before the grid could be repaired, putting Earthforce on the defensive. Grimlock took his Dinobots out to kick butt, and threw his energo-sword right through Octane's wing. They soon drove off the Decepticons. Divide and Conquer!

It was just one annoyance after another for Grimlock when Optimus Prime came to inspect the newly finished Earthbase. He and the Dinobots had to hide the fact that Slag was an unbridled killing machine unfit to wear the Autobot symbol, as the latter was going through an routing berserker rage at the time. By keeping Optimus busy with a guided tour, he managed to steer him clear of the other Dinobots long enough for them to wrangle their comrade and burn him out. The 4,000,000 Year Itch! Then Dumb Prime wanted to use Wheeljack's Bodyshop to revive one of the most obnoxious Autobots on Grimlock's hit list—the vanity-obsessed Tracks. Grimlock tried to sabotage the revival process several times, but eventually Tracks was brought on-line anyway, while Grimlock got forcibly and painfully dragged through the auto-restoration machine. To make things worse, Prime assigned Tracks to Earthforce, meaning Grimlock had to put up with him permanently. Makin' Tracks! He was also less than impressed when the Mayhem Attack Squad escaped from the Earthbase's cells under Inferno's watch. Shut Up!

When Snarl was diagnosed with the fatal disease Corrodia Gravis, Grimlock and Earthforce had to seek out Starscream, the only Transformer capable of giving his Dinobot comrade a compatible systems boost. Assassins To make things even more complicated, they found the Decepticons at war with each other at their Louisiana headquarters, with Megatron, Shockwave and their Mayhem assassins trying to take out Starscream and Soundwave. Grimlock briefly forgot that they needed Starscream alive, and was ready to allow the Decepticons eliminate one another before Prowl reminded him that wasn't an option. External Forces! Forced to choose sides, Grimlock sent Sludge and Swoop to protect Starscream from the assassins while he and the others dealt with the two former Decepticon leaders. After Slag charbroiled Megatron and Grimlock plunged his energo-sword through Shockwave's chest, they gave up the fight and took off. Starscream then agreed to the systems boost in exchange for Grimlock's promise to help if Megatron tried to assassinate him again. The Lesser Evil!

After Superion went crazy due to a cerebro-shell, Grimlock and the Autobots were forced to give an interview and a guided tour of their base to the reporter Irwin Spoon in exchange for his help removing the shell from their friend. Inside Story! Grimlock was less than thrilled. He tried to hurry the tour as much as possible, but Prowl insisted they give the human as much details as they could; the Autobots would finally be able to set the record straight with humanity, and establish a better working relationship with them. After visiting the Autobots' Combat Room, and heading outside for some quiet, Grimlock prepared to give his interview proper, only to be shot in the chest by the Stunticons. The Decepticons then abducted Spoon, intent on brainwashing him to slander the Autobots. Front Line!

In 1992 Snarl once again fell victim to Corrodia Gravis so Grimlock and the Dinobots returned him to the Savage Land to retrieve the control crystal from their old shuttle in an attempt to save his life. Finding that a human named Professor Embrey had used the crystal to save some of the area's dinosaurs from a disease that was killing them, they were unwilling to trade Snarl's life for the dinosaurs'. Instead, the Dinobots transferred his mind into a Stegosaurus until they could find another way to save him. Destiny of the Dinobots!

Another Time & Place

In the months that followed the war on Klo, as more and more Autobots began to succumb to the Nucleon's effects and lose their ability to transform, Grimlock's guilt over his actions grew. When he heard the medical facilities on Hydrus-Four had reopened and discovered a means of reversing Nucleon's effect, he jumped at the chance. Taking his fellow Dinobots back there, Grimlock and his comrades ran smack into a Decepticon trap. Bludgeon and his crew had followed the Dinobots to Hydrus-Four and cut in ahead of them while they had gotten forestalled by some of the local fauna. The Decepticons had then taken control of the med-facility and installed a Holocaust Trigger device, which totally overwhelmed the Dinobots' equilibrium as they entered, knocking them out.

Grimlock awoke hours later to find Bludgeon's sickly-skullhead grinning at him, as the Master of Metallikato planned to use the Nucleon to revitalize his warriors and bring the Great Megatron himself back to life. Grimlock's team was only being kept alive to witness the dawn of a new Decepticon empire! Luckily, Optimus Prime and Prowl arrived with a rescue party in time to stop the macabre resurrection ceremony from being completed. While the battle was underway, Grimlock managed to find the cure he had initially sought, and replaced the Nucleon coursing through his frame with a refined version of the substance. He retained the power boost Nucleon provided, and could become a mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex once more! The process complete in a few minutes, Grimlock transformed to his dino mode and rescued Prime as Bludgeon was about to get the drop on him. Bludgeon was destroyed, and Prime and Grimlock personally ripped apart the half-reanimated Megatron. Normally, it never ends, but this time it truly did. Another Time & Place

Cybertron comic

Vector Prime witnessed Grimlock's presence at Octopunch's accidental awakening of Primus The Primal Scream and considered it a highlight of his career as the guardian of space and time. Vector Prime: In the Beginning

Transformers Comic-Magazin

The Autobot Classic Pretenders were part of Crossblades's squad of Pretenders who helped to rescue an oil tanker captured by the Decepticons. A Big Day for Powermaster Optimus Prime

When the Decepticons stole three nuclear missiles from the United State Federation to hold the world to ransom, Optimus Prime ordered that Bumblebee, Jazz and Grimlock be given the power and abilities of Pretenders and sent to defeat the Decepticons. They arrived outside the Decepticon base, but were attacked by Pretender Starscream! Starscream wasn't a match for Grimlock, who ate one of his wings and knocked him out in three hits. The Classic Pretenders then chased off the Firecons, before Grimlock took on all the Decepticon Pretenders in their base. Megatron's Ultimatum

Marvel Generation 2 comic

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 contacted Optimus Prime. After comparing notes in an abandoned base, the base was attacked by the flagship Twilight and captured by Jhiaxus. Jhiaxus told Optimus and Grimlock in no uncertain terms that the war had been practically over for millions of years; the Autobot/Decepticon war was just a sideshow while Jhiaxus's Decepticons had conquered the greater galaxy. While Optimus took Jhiaxus's description of their insignificance to heart, Grimlock refused to give up, bolstering the Autobot leader's spirits. Grimlock and Optimus subsequently burst free from their cell and led an escape from the Twilight. War Without End!

Grimlock was part of a group of Autobots led by Optimus Prime when they clashed with the Decepticons on an alien world. There was word of a weapon of great power on this planet, and both sides struggled for supremacy over it. Autobot and Decepticon alike eventually fled the planet when the weapon's titanic guardian awoke. Ghosts

Grimlock clashed with Jhiaxus's Decepticons once again when the Autobots met them in battle in a planet amidst the K'tord Nebula. The fighting reached a fever pitch when it was discovered that their warrior natures were being manipulated by the parasitic organisms that lived on the planet. Though both sides carefully lowered their weapons, Grimlock did so with more reluctance. Primal Fear!

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 with a Chaosmaster Bomb by sneaking on board via a stolen shuttle under cover of resupplying. Unfortunately, the Dinobot failed to anticipate 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. Devices and Desires!

While Optimus Prime communed with the Matrix to learn more about Jhiaxus's origins, Grimlock, his Dinobots, and some other Autobots played war games on an Autobot base situated on a remote asteroid. The Dinobots' team won against the Aerialbots' team. The Power and the Glory

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 Prime only lived because Grimlock disobeyed orders and led an Autobot brigade to Earth. The Gathering Darkness While Optimus Prime recovered from his injuries, he reminisced on all the times he and his troops had faced Megatron. His recollections included Grimlock headbutting the Decepticon leader. Tales of Earth Part Four After Megatron was beaten and humiliated by Jhiaxus, what was left of the Decepticon leader returned to Earth to reconsider Prime's alliance offer. Grimlock, seeing the Decepticon leader in their base, immediately attacked him, though Megatron was able to easily repel the Dinobot even in his sad condition. As Megatron asked Prime whether the Autobots had a muzzle for Grimlock, Prowl was forced to restrain Grimlock from further attacks. Tales of Earth Part Five

Grimlock joined Optimus Prime and the Autobots again on the planet Ethos, where Jhiaxus's Cybertronians had recently enacted genocide on the local population. Grimlock coordinated their search and rescue efforts with a headset. The Cybertronians were quickly upon them, and the Autobots found themselves greatly outclassed. Only the arrival of the Decepticons, much to the Autobots' embarrassment, helped turn the tide. Escalation!

Grimlock accompanied the Autobot/Decepticon alliance to the moon J'asik, where they found another ravaged world. This time, the Cybertronians' involvement was in doubt; the late inhabitants had been destabilized at a molecular level. Swarm

Eventually, the Cybertronians attacked Autobase on Earth, with Grimlock gunning down scores of its troops. As Optimus Prime and Megatron prepared to investigate elsewhere, Optimus put Grimlock in charge during his absence. Total War! The alliance between Autobots and Decepticons gave Grimlock a chance to work alongside two new Rotor Force members, Leadfoot and Manta Ray, both of whom were impressed with Grimlock's style. Tales of Earth Part Seven

As the battle continued, Grimlock, Manta Ray, and Razorclaw stopped for a moment to witness a mushroom cloud from a great distance as the Twilight nuked San Francisco. Tales of Earth Part Eight

But the Cybertronians were the least of Grimlock's worries. Soon the Swarm was upon them, a living bi-product of the Cybertronians' dark origins, and with both Optimus and Megatron out of contact, it fell to Grimlock and the Predacon Razorclaw to organise the Transformers in a desperate defensive action. They utilized a combination of shield generators, sky snipers, thermal mines, but nothing stopped the Swarm. However, their plans allowed the Autobots to hold out just long enough —barring a few casualties — for Megatron to arrive with the Rheanimum that ensured their survival.

During this operation, Manta Ray deliberately ignored Razorclaw's orders in favor of Grimlock's and, when the Predacon attempted to execute him for treason, Leadfoot cut Razorclaw in two, securing them as new recruits for the Autobots. In the end, Optimus Prime united with the Swarm and cleansed it of its dark impulses. The Swarm was dispersed, and Grimlock celebrated a victory with Prime's united forces. A Rage in Heaven!

Fleetway Generation 2 comics

When Bludgeon and his Decepticon soldiers returned to Earth in force, Grimlock alerted Optimus Prime and the space-bound Autobots to the threat. Before he could rendez-vous with the reinforcements, however, Grimlock was ambushed by Megatron, who sought to reclaim his seat of power. War Without End

Recovering, Grimlock alerted Slag and Snarl to the problem, and they gathered at Prime's location to help fight off Megatron and the other Decepticons, with Grimlock tackling the Decepticon leader himself. After the battle, Grimlock informed Optimus that a greater threat from Jhiaxus's new generation of Decepticons awaited them. War Zone

Classics

After the Autobots' victory on Klo, Grimlock wasn't interested in "reconstruction" or a new "Golden Age of Cybertron". He knew from bitter experience that any Decepticon talking "peace" or "exile" was just biding their time to strike. So he gathered a like-minded crew and set off aboard the Graviton to make sure Bludgeon and his ilk never darkened Cybertron with their presence again. Naturally, the Dinobots came along with him, but so did many other Autobot warriors such as Nightbeat, Siren, Huffer, Springer, Elita One, Strongarm, and Ultra Magnus.

The crew of the Graviton spent over a decade patrolling the outer reaches of the cosmos, hunting down Decepticons wherever they raised their ugly heads. Although Optimus Prime openly disagreed with Grimlock's mission, he never raised a servo to stop him. Then, one day, a transport signal reached the Graviton near the planet Vaine. Megatron had resurfaced on the planet Earth. Optimus Prime ordered Grimlock to join him on Earth opposing Megatron, and that was one order Grimlock would eagerly follow. Leaving the Graviton under Ultra Magnus's command, Grimlock made his way to Earth with all due speed. Grimlock's profile in Club magazine #13

Grimlock, Prime, Jetfire, and Mirage encountered Megatron just as he was smashing his way through the human RUNTs and a mysterious extradimensional arrival named Skyfall. Crossing Over #1 Working off of some information from their new arrival, the Autobots tracked Megatron and his small band of Decepticons to a newly discovered power source in the Southern Hemisphere. Facing off against their foes, Grimlock eagerly leapt into battle with the newly reconstructed Devastator. Crossing Over #3

He beat the combiner back into his individual pieces and then rumbled with the Constructicons until they desperately scattered to seek a better tactical position. Like, far away from Grimlock. Always eager to help, Grimlock grabbed the fleeing Scrapper and gave him a flying toss into the distance, where he landed atop of Soundwave. The remaining Constructicons did their best to dogpile Grimlock into submission, but if even Devastator could not stop him, what chance did they have? None—Grimlock broke free and made another Constructicon shotput toss, sending Bonecrusher careening into Megatron. Crossing Over #5

Scavenger and Hightower finally managed to score a decent blow against Grimlock, but it didn't last. As the battle ended and the Decepticons departed, Grimlock was seen back on his feet, carrying Hightower's severed crane arm in his grasp. Crossing Over #6

Shortly afterwards, Grimlock and the Graviton crossed paths again, as Magnus and the crew had tracked some of Bludgeon's Decepticons to Earth, led by his lieutenant Bug Bite. Grimlock's sudden departure from Autobase Prima for a rendezvous didn't go unnoticed, and Mirage followed him to where Magnus was surveying a meeting between the two factions of Decepticons. Unfortunately, Mirage got noticed by Weirdwolf's nose, and the surveillance became a rescue op. Swoop tracked the Decepticons to the Ark's latest crash site in the Yukon. Grimlock and his hunters rescued Mirage and eliminated several of the Decepticon targets in the process. He then rejoined the crew of the Graviton full-time, and took off in pursuit of Bludgeon once more. Games of Deception

Grimlock returned to Azure when he learned that Slag and Sludge had been approached by Silverbolt, Ironhide, and Prowl in an attempt to reach him. Though at first angered that Prowl had come to draft him back into the Autobot forces, Grimlock agreed to put old grudges aside when the group received a distress call from Earth. Grimlock boarded the Graviton with Prowl and the others to respond to the S.O.S., though he was sure to instruct Slag and Sludge to gather all Autobots on Azure and bring them to Earth before he left. Grimlock's profile in Club magazine #50

Grimlock was still aboard the Graviton when it was pulled into the Primax -408.24 Epsilon universe and deposited near that universe's prehistoric Earth. After being shot down by the Talon, Grimlock was keen to get outside—so keen that he didn't stop to let Prowl explain about the ambient Energon radiation, and had to spend some time in a CR chamber recovering. Prowl came up with the solution of using organic alternate modes to shield themselves, and Grimlock took the form of a raptor. Shattered Time On discovering that stasis pods were missing from the ship, the Autobots set out to find them, only to be beaten there by Megatron. The newly activated Decepticons blasted Ultra Magnus, and when Grimlock tried to attack them, Autolauncher shot him too. The Autobots were only saved by the arrival of Depth Charge and Ultra Magnus's recovery. Shattered Expectations

The Autobots retreated across a rock bridge, and watched as Mammoth faced off against Megatron, dealing their foe a temporary defeat. Back at the Graviton, Depth Charge gave the "Maximals" more of an explanation regarding his presence. Shattered Paths When the ship's sensors located the missing energy purifier, the Maximals went out to fetch it, only to be soundly trounced by the Predacons, who made off with the device. Shattered Hope Returning to the ship, the Maximals fueled up before joining Depth Charge, who had located the Matrix he was seeking. The Maximals kept a security system occupied long enough for Magnus to retrieve the Matrix in question, however a short time later they were confronted by Megatron piloting a giant mech. Shattered Balance During the ensuing battle, the Maximals were soundly defeated by Megatron's Gigastorm Armor. They were moments later pulled into a dimensional rift created by Ultra Mammoth. Shattered Destiny

Grimlock and the Maximals arrived in the present day on negative-Cybertron. Grimlock emerged from the portal with claws and teeth flailing, landing atop Blaster. When Ironhide pulled him off and pointed out that was the Blaster from THEIR universe, Grimlock remarked, "Me KNOW". Falling into Place

After catching up, Grimlock joined the heroic Decepticons aboard the Annex when they journeyed to their Earth in defense of Decepticon City from the evil Autobots. Distant Fissures Arriving at the city, the impetuous Grimlock leapt from the shuttle to battle the "little" Superion, but found the free-combining Autobot surprisingly tough. He begrudgingly allowed the Predacons to take over the fight. Memory's Splinter Grimlock was indulging in one of his greatest fantasies by beating the evil Prowl to scrap when Optimus Prime fell before Galvatron. This led to a general retreat of the Autobots aboard Sky Lynx. Restoration

The Decepticon shuttles returned to the dual worlds of negative-Cybertron and positive-Earth to find catastrophe. The dreaded Order-Bringer Primus had emerged from his slumber to destroy the neighboring Earth. Grimlock flew his shuttle to Ironworks and recovered the heroic Autobots and Decepticons threatened by the attack. Miraculously, the Rarified Energon of Grimlock's Earth turned out to be the lifeblood of a planetary entity called Gaea, who destroyed Primus in battle. Now a technological world herself, Gaea became the new Cybertron for the displaced Autobots and Decepticons to inhabit. Grimlock was seen with the bi-faction governance council as a new age of peace dawned. The Future Buried...

Regeneration One

The final Hydrusian guardian's warnings bore bitter fruit for Slag and several other Autobots, as the Nucleon had devastating side effects on them, forcing Grimlock to have them placed in stasis. Natural Selection, Part One He left Cybertron without orders, determined to find a cure for Nucleon. Kup used Grimlock's actions as justification for taking a more proactive approach to matters—namely, taking the Wreckers to Earth. Loose Ends, Part 1

Grimlock decided to try his luck on Nebulos, even though Optimus Prime had declared the planet off-limits. As he approached the planet, Grimlock reviewed a science log on "Project Lazarus", recorded by the Nebulan scientist Borx, which documented their attempts to reconnect the Autobot Headmasters' original heads (left behind when the Transformers first left Nebulos). Brothers in Armor!! After initial failures, reports had shown promising progress in this area, and Grimlock hoped that the Nebulans would be able to construct new bodies for himself and his Dinobots in order to free them from the effects of Nucleon.

Unfortunately for Grimlock, when he arrived at the spaceport at Koraja, he found the city deserted... until he was attacked by Nebulan jet fighters. The Nebulan pilots appeared mesmerized; however, despite their hostile actions, Grimlock couldn't bring himself to fire on them, and was defeated and knocked out. Something with green, spindly legs prepared to take him away. Loose Ends, Part 2 Grimlock awoke to find himself suspended in the air by chains on his arms, and that his captor was none other than the original Scorponok, having gained a duplicate of his original body. Scorponok decided to make Grimlock an offer—join him, and he would restore the Dinobots, and provide Grimlock with a new copy of his original, transforming body (which Scorponok had conveniently prepared). Loose Ends, Part 5

Left unattended, Grimlock broke out of his chains and attempted to escape the facility, but was stopped by other Dinobots. Declaring he was no longer one of them and better off dead, Sludge crushed Grimlock beneath his feet, but this was just a mental hallucination courtesy of Scorponok. Shaken by the experience, Grimlock agreed to serve Scorponok in exchange for new bodies for his Dinobots. In exchange, Scorponok revealed that he had used the genetically mutative abilities of Nucleon, cloned from Grimlock's system, to develop the Gene Key, a program that could manipulate Transformer genetics, including the "warrior gene", the strand of CNA that distinguished Autobot from Decepticon. Using it, he intended to transform all of Cybertron's population into Decepticons! Natural Selection, Part One

Grimlock received his new body from Scorponok, and found it quite capable. He returned to Cybertron and was arrested for previously leaving without permission, but while in being questioned at the bastion-five lock-up, Grimlock seemingly infected Perceptor with the Gene Key. Natural Selection, Part Two In truth, Grimlock only pretended to turn Perceptor, and had him play along as a "bad guy" so that he and Grimlock could eventually undo all the harm Scorponok was in the process of dealing. Natural Selection, Part Five

Grimlock searched for his fellow Dinobots, but was ordered by Brainstorm to the Civil Defense Hub on Scorponok's orders. There, Scorponok chided him for disobedience. Grimlock balked, demanding that Scorponok honor the rest of their deal and provide new, Nucleon-free bodies for the rest of the Dinobots immediately, so Scorponok arranged a test of loyalty: Punch, immune to the Gene Key's effects, was brought before Grimlock, and the Dinobot leader was ordered to execute him or Scorponok would order the other Dinobots destroyed. Grimlock turned his gun on Scorponok himself, but the former Headmaster had anticipated this and protected himself with a force field. Scorponok produced a crystal that gave him control over the new body he created for Grimlock and used it to subdue the Dinobot. Natural Selection, Part Three

Scorponok then left to see through his plan's fruition. At the Civil Defense Hub, Grimlock recognized an attack at the Nursery as a summons from his Dinobots, and he took out Treadshot before he could report it. Grimlock arrived at the Nursery and called out for the Dinobots, explaining that he had found a cure for Nucleon. The Dinobots emerged and attacked him, accusing him of going too far, and Grimlock was reluctant to fight back, having risked so much to save them. Faced with the end at their hands, however, he refused to lie down and die and transformed to fight back...at which point a detachment of Scorponok's troops arrived, having followed Grimlock via a homing device Scorponok had placed in his new body. Rather than them fight directly, Grimlock ordered the Dinobots to take cover and shot open the containment capsule holding Inferno, whose uncontrollable Nucleon-induced internal combustion ability caused a massive fiery explosion that took Scorponok's men out. As another group of uninfected Autobots arrived on the scene, Crosshairs and Grimlock agreed to coordinate an attack to take Scorponok down and reverse the Gene Key's effects. Natural Selection, Part Four

Grimlock's team stormed the Civil Defense Hub and he personally stomped the guards Roadblock and Guzzle. Then, Grimlock took the Dinobots to confront Scorponok at the Sonic Canyons. Scorponok's plan was already in the process of being foiled by Perceptor, who had set the Gene Key to undo the reprogramming already dealt out by its smaller counterpart. After the scientist revealed the ruse that he and Grimlock had conceived to spoil Scorponok's machinations, the enraged Decepticon made a go at killing him. Grimlock spoiled Scorponok's shot, and managed to knock his failsafe crystal out of his claw before getting completely paralyzed by its effect. Grimlock then called for the other Dinobots, in hiding nearby, to strike. As they battled, Swoop blasted out a support strut, and the structure both Grimlock and Scorponok were atop of began to collapse. Snarl flew in on a sky-sled and offered Grimlock his hand, but the Dinobot leader refused; he believed he had most recently gone too far over the line, and had no hope of redeeming himself. Both Scorponok and Grimlock tumbled into the bottomless darkness of the canyons as the other Dinobots looked on in horror. Natural Selection, Part Five

The other Dinobots weren't convinced that Grimlock perished, however. They approached Hot Rod and asked to join him on his mission to seek out the Demons underground, believing that they would be able to find their leader. Destiny, Part One They were correct. In the shadow of Primus's façade, they encountered Grimlock, still alive and glowing with an inner light. Destiny, Part Three Grimlock had apparently been saved and possessed by the power of Primus himself. He froze the Dinobots in time while conversing with Hot Rod about the threats to come he needed to prepare for. The entity within Grimlock then dispatched Hot Rod on a "vision quest" while leaving Grimlock's body behind. Destiny, Part Four Less Than Zero

Shaky in the aftermath of the possession, Grimlock reunited with the Dinobots and found the Demons that had pursued Hot Rod and the Dinobots earlier were now meek and submissive. As the Dinobots returned to the surface, the Demons followed them and soon joined them in battle against the Decepticons invading from Warworld. The arrival of Grimlock and the Demons helped turn the tide against Bludgeon's army of Blitz Engines. Destiny, Part Five

Afterwards, the Autobots were hesitant to be accepting of the Dinobots' new "friends". The War to End All Wars, Part 1 Grimlock was less than impressed by the shanty ghetto built for the Demons to reside in on Cybertron's surface. The Dinobots were forced to defend the now-pacified creatures when the elite Primum Fugae of Jhiaxus's Cybertronian cousins attacked the ghetto, intending to purge the "impure" strain of Cybertronians from history. Despite their savage battle tactics, Grimlock and the Dinobots were ill-equipped to defeat the technologically advanced Fugae, and were nearly destroyed before Ultra Magnus chased them off with a cadre of reinforcements. The War to End All Wars, Part 2

Rodimus Prime led a counter-attack against Jhiaxus and his Hub Network, but the Dinobots were too badly injured to join. Instead, they remained behind on Cybertron and were treated to the unsettling sight of the Demons going into some form of instinctive and protective hibernation, as if in anticipation of some imminent threat. The War to End All Wars, Part 4 Sure enough, the entire planet was soon consumed by the devastating effects of the Dark Matrix, converting the entire planet into a decaying Necropolis, and the Cybertronians present into corrupting shadow-demons. It turned out the Dark Matrix had replaced Primus in Zero Space after the Unicron War, and had been manipulating events behind-the-scenes ever since. It was the Dark Matrix who possessed Grimlock and diverted Hot Rod on a wild goose chase with his visions. As luck would have it, though, Grimlock's possession gave him an immunity to the corruption effect. His presence protected the Dinobots from the initial wave, and his energo-sword was one of the few things that could hold back the shadow-demons. The Dinobots reconnected with Rodimus Prime's armada when they returned from the Hub. Recognizing the threat had extended to Earth and Nebulos, the Autobots raced to the Star Chamber, and Grimlock held the line outside until the threat was contained. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Transformers '84

Leader of the demolition commando squad the Dynobots, Grimlock led his team to back up Perceptor when the scientist examined the shattered ruins of a Project Dreadnought turbine unwittingly triggering one of the silent alarms in the process which brought Skyfire down upon them. With his team acting as a distraction, Grimlock leapt up and sliced off the Decepticon's wing, sending him down to a fiery crash landing. As the Dynobots patted themselves on the back they were caught off-guard by Shockwave who rendered them all comatose with a single blast. Secrets & Lies #1

The Dynobots' bodies were recovered by the Autobots and taken aboard the Ark where Ratchet stored their sparks in magnetic field stasis and their memory engrams in the mind bank. When the ship later crashed on prehistoric Earth, AUNTIE detected Shockwave's arrival on the planet and repaired the Dynobots with new alternate modes based on dinosaurs to deal with the Decepticon. Thirsty for revenge, Grimlock led the redubbed Dinobots into battle only to again find themselves outmatched by the scientist. When all four of his troops fell, a desperate Grimlock injected a capsule of raw energon into himself, supercharging his system and allowing him to punch Shockwave into a mountain, bringing it crumbling down atop the Decepticon. Secrets & Lies #2

Disoriented from the fuel, Grimlock stumbled back to the Ark, observed by Counterpunch via one of Shockwave's spare auto-assembly drones. With AUNTIE damaged by the crash, she sent a trio of Guardians after the Dinobot. Grimlock made short work of the drones, the exertion burning off his power high. As his faculties returned, Grimlock prepared to return for the Dinobots before AUNTIE reactivated Megatron. Secrets & Lies #3

Though initially caught off-guard by the remote controlled Decepticon leader, Grimlock quickly ran his foe through with his energo-sword, breaching Megatron's armor and unleashing the antimatter he was channeling. As the Coneheads flew off, Dirge shouted to Grimlock that he should either run or shut down whomever was controlling Megatron. Taking the Seeker's advice, Grimlock forced his way into the Ark and past all of its defences, ramming his fist directly into AUNTIE's central processor and ending the danger. When he finally returned to the tar pit, Grimlock found no sign of Shockwave or his team. Tired of the fighting, Grimlock voluntarily shut himself down, hoping to finally end the story. Secrets & Lies #4

Royal Mail stamp bios

Grimlock was so hostile and belligerent that some believed he was once a Decepticon. In fact, after being locked up for insubordination against the Autobots when the war broke out, he briefly considered defecting to the other side. He later saw this as a reflection of poor judgement on his part, which fuels his hatred of Decepticons even more than before. Optimus Prime is relieved that Grimlock prefers to use his brute force against their enemies—instead of against him!

Notes

• Both Grimlock's personality and his speech pattern underwent several changes as the series progressed. Generally, the comic Dinobots had average, functional intellects, unlike their cartoon counterparts, and aside from Grimlock, the others all consistently spoke normally in both the US comics and the UK-exclusive stories.

• In their very first appearance in issue #8, Snarl claimed the Dinobots were not "much for talkin'", but they all still spoke normally nevertheless, including Grimlock. Also, while they were a little more aggressive than the average Autobot, Grimlock was impressed when Ratchet ultimately managed to defeat Megatron by himself.
• As a consequence, the UK-exclusive stories gave Grimlock a normal speech pattern that would persist for the rest of the series.
• In their next US appearance in issue #19, Bob Budiansky gave Grimlock a slightly more primitive speech pattern with simplified grammar, and his personality was more in line with his toy bio, resenting Optimus Prime for being "weak", and ordering the Dinobots to abandon the Autobots. The UK reprint of that story rewrote Grimlock's dialogue to acknowledge the events of the UK-only stories, and in the process made Grimlock considerably more eloquent.
• In the Dinobots' third US appearance in issue #27, Grimlock spoke normally again, both among the Dinobots and in his interactions with the other Autobots. By the end of that issue, Grimlock acted very heroically, deliberately saving not only the Autobots but also a human from Trypticon. As a result, the Autobots made him their new leader.
• By the next issue, US #28, Grimlock was given a major personality overhaul, acting much more irrationally, throwing temper tantrums and dicking his subordinates around. His speech pattern had also become much more primitive and "caveman"-like, most likely inspired by his portrayal in the cartoon. While initially, he was still able to use the pronoun "I", he would eventually devolve into the cartoon's "Me Grimlock" as time went on. According to Bob Budiansky, he had made Grimlock the Autobot Commander mainly because he would contrast with Prime's leadership: Grimlock had no empathy for humans (despite what happened in issue #27), he just wanted to fight Decepticons and was ruthless at it. "I thought his different approach would shake up the direction of the book in an exciting way and confound readers’ expectations."^[1] In practice, Grimlock didn't fight the Decepticons during his leadership (apart from the UK's "Ancient Relics!" and "Grudge Match!", neither written by Budiansky) until the end of it and instead focused his ruthlessness on rogue Autobots.
• Once Simon Furman took over writing duties for the US title and brought Grimlock back as a Pretender, he alternated between "I" and "Me Grimlock". In issue #60, Bumblebee even suggested that there might be a malfunction with Grimlock's "speech circuits". On the upside, he became more of a team player again under Furman's pen.
• The 12-page booklet "Transformers: The Facts" (included with issue #200 of the UK series) tried to explain away the discrepancy in Grimlock's portrayal by claiming that "Grimlock possesses a brilliant mind but considers intellectuals weak. He chooses to talk dumb rather than be thought of as weak." This does not explain why he would also talk that way when he was all by himself, though.

• According to Marvel UK #107's letters page, Grimlock considers August 23, 1986, his birthday. It's the date he took over the Transformers letters page. On August 23, 2015, the official Transformers Facebook page celebrated it.^[2]
• Grimlock had the words Big Grim scrawled on his right shoulder in "Dark Shadows!".

References