Is Hasbro afraid of using Dinobot?

Discussion in 'Transformers General Discussion' started by Kaijumaster, Aug 26, 2011.

  1. Tigertrack

    Tigertrack Back In The Game!

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2010
    Posts:
    7,046
    Trophy Points:
    176
    Likes:
    +18
    I would think dinosaurs in generally were more popular in the 80's than they are today. Perhaps that's why they were used in the Transformer world. Also, weren't they originally Diaclones as well and thus integrated into the TF world?
     
  2. NathanS

    NathanS Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2006
    Posts:
    519
    Trophy Points:
    147
    Likes:
    +16
    Yes, but these who grew up with BW have only just started to resurface as a nostalgia force. Until very recently ALL the nostalgia was for G1. Then ou have that those working in Hasbro are more likely to be nostalgic for G1 then BW. Finally BW is in an awkward postion.

    It breaks down like this, from RID onward the G1 names have been getting used, so the kids know these names, which means when they make a new sereis using Ratchet Ironhide and such is good business, and that series drill those names into another generation making using them for the next seres also a good idea. Basically BW has found itself cut out of the loop.

    Now throw in that the most profitable TF venture ever, the movies, had NO beast-formers and Hasbro has little movie to try and reintroduce the like of Rattrap and instead take a "if it's not broken, don't fix it approach" to the presence of beast-formers. or rather their lack of one.

    The final problem is a story reason for beast-modes, with huge mass shifting on the down and out beast formers would either have to be tiny (House cats and so on) or have beast modes that don't blend in very well inmost places. So the writers are not going to be pressuring Hasbro to being them back anytime son.(Elephants for example.)
     
  3. NathanS

    NathanS Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2006
    Posts:
    519
    Trophy Points:
    147
    Likes:
    +16
    Do you have any reason to believe this? I can't be certain about today, but Dino's have been popular with kids since before the eighties and were defiantly still popular in the nineties. Seems hard to believe it would just, drop all of a sudden.
     
  4. Auto Morph

    Auto Morph Gimmick Bot

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2010
    Posts:
    8,443
    Trophy Points:
    232
    Likes:
    +49
    Dinobot's story arc was completed in Beast Wars. He is my favourite TF character of all time and I wouldn't want that view to be tainted, however slightly, by any potential misuse in another series or segment of the franchise. More toys is always good, but leave his on-screen persona back where he belongs and is adored by many. Same goes for the vast majority of the BW cast.
     
  5. ABrown

    ABrown Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2010
    Posts:
    2,765
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +1,847
    That is an interesting point. I do think that Dinobot could possibly work if done again correctly. But Dinobot's story in Beast Wars made his character enjoyable on a higher level than if he were just a secondary character featured in Prime.
     
  6. soymonk

    soymonk Mathematical!

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2009
    Posts:
    4,566
    News Credits:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +1,074
    Nope. They just watched the shows back then. I talked one of them into buying Sidearm Sideswipe a month or two ago, but that was it.
     
  7. Pauly T

    Pauly T Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2006
    Posts:
    1,824
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +120
    This.

    Dinobot's BW story is so good because it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. BW itself almost ruined it by trying to bring him back TM2-style. Dinobot's arc, and well as Beast Wars in general, is very distinctive, and it's that distinction that makes it resonate so much more that any other piece of TF fiction.

    That said, the concepts of Maximals, Predacons, and transorganics are things I'd love to see more firmly integrated into the general TF mythos to be reintroduced time and again alongside Autobots and Decepticons. And while there are some BW characters that could survive and even thrive under a fresh coat of paint in a new TF universe, namely the more eccentric characters like Waspinator, Inferno, and Rattrap, I think the legend of Dinobot would be diminished if his sacrifice was retold ad infinitum. Dinobot's death still means something. Remember when Optimus Prime's did? No seriously, do you remember? Because I'm sure that number of fans gets smaller all the time...

    All that said, the redemptive villain/dark hero is a great trope. It's good drama, and I'd love to see it again in TF fiction. I liked it in Armada Starscream, and I wouldn't surprised or disappointed to see it again given what we've seen so far with Breakdown in Prime.
     
  8. Aernaroth

    Aernaroth <b><font color=blue>I voted for Super_Megatron and Veteran

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2004
    Posts:
    28,247
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    422
    Likes:
    +10,141
    That's pretty much the reason then. Never forget the primary purpose of the show is to help sell toys, sad as that may seem.
     
  9. Valkysas

    Valkysas Attack Buffalo

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2003
    Posts:
    21,641
    News Credits:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    412
    Likes:
    +2,689
    Pauly_T is right.

    Really, what would they do with him, anyways? make him an autobot? decepticon? another conflicted character? repeat what happened in beast wars with him with worse execution?

    They can't improve on it, the best they could do is just copy it, and I don't see the point in that.
     
  10. Matty

    Matty @StayingInTheBox Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2009
    Posts:
    16,586
    News Credits:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    347
    Likes:
    +5,067
    Twitter:
    Instagram:
    Dinobot is one of a kind and I think he should remain that way.
     
  11. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2006
    Posts:
    83,294
    News Credits:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    462
    Likes:
    +2,907
    If we ever got Dinobot homaged in another series he should be written like a wise old Decepticon mentor who believes in honor and nobility to his enemies.

    Also since Dinobot's name won't name won't cut it today why not something like Chopperface or something like Cruellock.

    Also if Scott can't voice then get Steven Blum to do it.
     
  12. Orbital

    Orbital Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2009
    Posts:
    859
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    237
    Likes:
    +101
    I was just thinking the other day since its been hinted/confirmed we might see the Dinobot's in the future in Prime, any chance of "Beast Wars" Dinobot appearing would mean having his name changed and Chopperface was his best nickname thanks to Rattrap.

    I don't want a direct copy or re-use of the character if they ever decide to re-use him in future media, but I would like to see a new interpretation of him, with a different storyline, different goals, etc but retaining his personality and honor. I would like to see what his journey would be if he was an Autobot in Prime and what vehicle or animal he'd have as his alt form.
     
  13. exclusacon

    exclusacon Expert with the Scopes!

    Joined:
    May 31, 2009
    Posts:
    7,689
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    176
    Likes:
    +4
    Well his Universe toy shelf warm forever on HTS....prollly didnt sell very well overall

    A MP Dinobot would be awesome.....
     
  14. Kickback

    Kickback @GeekWithChris Administrator News Staff

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2002
    Posts:
    40,472
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    447
    Location:
    Greenville, SC
    Likes:
    +607
    Ebay:
    Facebook:
    Twitter:
    Instagram:
    YouTube (Legacy):
    Tumblr:
    Here's the thing.

    Dinobot is a nostalgia nod to Grimlock. Beyond the "dinosaur to robot" conversion, the name itself should be a no-brainer. It's a rare feat that something done as a "nod" to a previous character has quite possibly become more popular than what it was intended to be nostalgic to.

    But a character named "Dinobot" would be akin to a character named "Predacon", "Maximal", "Autobot", or "Decepticon". The name usage has most recently been used as a semi-faction. "Hey! He's a Dinobot!" ... "No, he IS Dinobot!" ... "Huh?"

    The character may be so beloved and so unique that it may be impossible to do anything with him outside of Beast Wars. That would be like if "Optimus Primal" magically appeared in Transformers Prime ... not the Beast Wars one, but a NEW Optimus Primal ... it would be confusing, seem out of place, and be spoken of as a "cheap rip off" of the original.

    Hard to do.
     
  15. Bass X0

    Bass X0 Captain Commando

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2003
    Posts:
    16,403
    News Credits:
    44
    Trophy Points:
    387
    Location:
    England
    Likes:
    +17,106
    Thats right!

    Now where can I buy the Animated Constructicons from? The show sold me on them by making them the main focus of more than one episode!

    That would be like if "Blackarachnia" magically appeared in Transformers Animated... not the Beast Wars one, but a NEW Blackarachnia... it would be confusing, seem out of place, and be spoken of as a "cheap rip off" of the original.
     
  16. Maximo Prime

    Maximo Prime Bassist of Ill Repute

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2002
    Posts:
    5,194
    Trophy Points:
    292
    Likes:
    +42
    Ebay:
    Insecticon wasn't the only other example... and yeah it does count, it was a figure. There was also a BW Insecticon, Armada had a Predacon, Energon used the name "Constructicon Maximus" instead of Devastator. Hell there was a minicon called Firebot.

    I gotta agree with you, it doesn't feel like a name though. Dinobot, only cuz they used it so much in the show, eventually got around to feeling like a name.
     
  17. AnegefalosGR

    AnegefalosGR Elite Guard!

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2011
    Posts:
    1,169
    Trophy Points:
    212
    Likes:
    +247
    I still have the poor dino's tail back from when I was 7-8 or something :D . He misses his body.

    As for the subject at hand. Making a new Dinobot persona in a new show outside the animalistic world of Beast Wars is like walking on a minefield... So many things could go wrong.
     
  18. godotislate

    godotislate S-Secret Police?!

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2009
    Posts:
    4,543
    News Credits:
    11
    Trophy Points:
    257
    Likes:
    +11,876
    Derrick Wyatt did mention that it was on his wishlist to eventually add Sludge, Snarl 2, and Dinobot (with some "S" name) to the Animated Dinobots and round out the crew. Yes, the other one would be named Snarl too.