The following text is an excerpt from the official Beast Wars Story Bible, written by Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio. It's from a draft of Dec. 1995, before the first show aired...

MAXIMAL CHARACTER PROFILE

Name: DINOBOT, Front line Combat Expert
Beast Form: Velociraptor.
Robotic Form: Black and Red Humanoid

Weaponry: Cybertronic Beam (eyes), Rotary Blade (hand-held), hidden electron sword (hand held)

Skills: Melee Combat, Stealth, Cunning, Environmental Survival

Interests/Hobbies: DinoBot's only interests are combat and power.

Attitude: Like the ferocious prehistoric beast from which his outer form was replicated, DinoBot lives for a fight. He is never happier than when toe to toe with an enemy. His strength, cunning and sheer savagery make him one of the most feared of the Maximals. DinoBot was a Predacon creation, but after their first contact with the Maximals he decided life would be better on the other side. Tired of being commanded by Megatron, he snuck away from the Predacon position and offered to ally himself with the Maximals. This was not done out of the goodness of his heart, but rather because DinoBot respects strength and power and feels the Maximals will win the Beast Wars in the end. If they don't, he's very likely to switch back.

Of course things are not all rosy for the toothsome Transformer at first. Outside of Optimus Prime, none of the Maximals really trust him. Despite this he is constantly trying to usurp leadership from Optimus, based on the fact that he is stronger (he thinks) than Optimus. Then there is the discipline problem. DinoBot is a berserker in battle, trained to demolish foes utterly and show no mercy. This goes against the philosophy of Optimus and the other Maximals and they are constantly trying to rein in DinoBot and convince him that victory need not be won by savagery. All in all, DinoBot is a constant bone of contention in the Maximal camp.

However, as our story progresses, DinoBot will eventually be won over by the compassion of Optimus and the desire to be part of the team. It will not be easy but it will happen.

DinoBot is definitely no shrinking violet, he speaks his mind, usually loudly. However he is not just an empty barrel. He knows the Predacons well and he is a lot smarter than he looks. He is also stealthy, second only to Rattrap.

At times, DinoBot's ferocious persona will provide humor for the other Maximals, which never fails to irritate him even more.

He hates his former comrades, particularly Megatron and Terrorsaur and will take any chance to get at them in battle.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Optimus is the only Maximal who sees himself as DinoBot's "friend", a fact DinoBot sees as a weakness at first. He will try to exploit this at every opportunity, until he comes to realize what friendship really means.

Rattrap is the Maximal DinoBot hates the most and the feeling is mutual. Much humor can come out of their dealings together.

Cheetor tries to like DinoBot for Optimus' sake but it's not easy. DinoBot has nothing but contempt for Cheetor and rebuffs all his attempts at getting along.

Rhinox has no particular enmity for DinoBot but dislikes the constant bickering between him and Rattrap. Dinobot thinks Rhinox is a fool but respects his physical power.

From package Tech Specs:
As if torn from from the pages of Earth's prehistoric past, a vicious velociraptor breaths again! But Dinobot is no ordinary 'raptor, he's a robot in disguise battling beside his heroic team- mates, the Maximals! Armed with a spinning cyber-slash tail weapon and always hungry for battle, Optimus Primal considers him a natural combat expert who has clawed his way to the top one victory after another!

Strength: 8.0
Intelligence: 8.0
Speed: 7.0
Endurance: 5.0
Rank: 5.0
Courage: 10.0
Firepower: 6.0
Skill: 9.0

Editor's note: In my opinion, there was no more pivotal character in all of Beast Wars or all of Transformers, except for Generation 1 Optimus Prime. To the extent that the death of Optimus Prime in the original animated Transformers movie galvanized the Transformers fans of the time, so too did Dinobot's ultimate sacrifice unite a the next generation of Transformers fans. In events portrayed in "Code of Hero" and actions taken 'offscreen' in the unproduced episode "Dark Glass", Dinobot not only saved the human race by preventing the eradication of its ancestors, but also ensured victory over Megatron in the beast wars, by downloading his accumulated knowledge and "core conscienceness" which would later lead to the vindication of the Transmetal 2 clone Dinobot...

Bibliography of significant appearances:

episode 1, Beast Wars, part 1: Having lost faith in the command of Megatron, the predacon Dinobot challenges him for leadership. Then makes a decision to leave this group of Predacons.

episode 2, Beast Wars part 2: Having left the Predacon ranks, Dinobot seeks asilum with the Maximals, challenging Optimus Primal to a duel, attempting to take the command of the Maximal forces.

episode 5, Chain of Command: Following the alien abduction of Optimus Primal, the rivalry between Dinobot and Rattrap begins as the two compete for leadership of the Maximals, the victory determined by secret ballot.

episode 9, The Probe: Dinobot's loyalty is again called into question as he does show no enthusiasm to the idea of Maximal Victory and safe return to Cybertron

episode 11, A Better Mousetrap: Bickering with Rattrap, Dinobot causes a massive malfunction of the Maximal's new security system, Sentiniel.

episode 14, Double Dinobot: The predacons imprison Dinobot in a rock cave and unleash a beast-only Dinobot clone controlled by Megatron which infiltrates the Axalon.

episode 20, Cheetor, Rhinox, Dinobot and Rattrap are left blinded as they must navigate themselves back to their base.

episodes 28-29, Coming of the Fuzors parts 1-2, Dinobot Infiltrates the Predacon base and using Waspinator to penetrate Megatron's defensive grid, steals the both Golden Disks. As he hides the disks, his 'monologue on the mountain' give us the first glimpse into Dinobot's moral struggle and sense that he knows much more about what is at stake in the Beast Wars than anyone else.

episode 31, Maximal No More: Having analyzed the data contained in the Golden Disks, Dinobot struggles with the decision to leave the Maximals and seeks to rejoin the Predacons. Ultimately, he decides to remain with the Maximals, but not before getting Rattrap scrapped and returning the Voyager Golden Disk to Megatron.

episode 35 Code of Hero. This episode, the single greatest television show in all of Transformers provides Dinobot his ultimate test as he explores theological principles of destiny versus free will, and single-handedly prevents the complete Predacon annhilation of early human ancestors...