Grimlock and the Happy Camper

I've mentioned Optimus Prime before, but while he may have wanted to change his name to Optimus before, his real favorite Transformer is the character of Grimlock. I know he's used Grimlock in one form or another for passwords, he's got mini versions, and talks about how cool the new version in the animated series is. He's gone on about the history and the different versions of Grimlock before as well, so he's well versed in Grimlock history (well, he's well versed in all the Transformers' stories), and even relates to the brute in his own way.

In a nutshell, Grimlock is the leader of the Dinobots and transforms into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The original animated series had Grimlock, along with two other dinobots, created by the human, Spike, along with the Autobot Medic/Mechanics, Wheeljack and Ratchet, giving them simple personalities but remarkably strong contructions to where they were stronger in their dinosaur form than their robot form. Another timeline places the dinobots having landed on Earth chasing a Deception leader, Shockwave. Since dinosaurs are the indigenous life form when they arrive, they take on those forms. They defeat Shockwave, but end up in a tarpit until the modern Autobots find them.

The new animated series of Transformers produced a new line of toys, and Optimus comments once about how much he liked the new design of Grimlock, since the creators redesigned the majority of the Transformers for the new series. I guess the Walther P-38 was no longer an acceptable toy for Megatron.



Can't think why this would be a problem.

Anyway, last night while we were doing our grocery shopping at Walmart, we ran across the new animated series toy version of Grimlock. I tried to call him, but got no answer. I figured if there ever was a character I could proactively grab for him, it would be this Grimlock. I snapped a couple of pics and then tossed him in the basket. I figured I've show him the pictures (lovingly referred to as "toy porn"), and gauge whether he had him or not.



So this morning, I showed him the pics, and it took him a moment to figure out what I was showing him. Finally, he gasped and said, "which Wal-Mart was this at?" I said, "the one behind my PC, and for $15 it can be yours." I scooted back and tossed him the bag containing the Grimlock. His mouth dropped as he held the wrapped box. Slowly, he peeled the bags away and viewed the toy right there in his hands. His mouth remained open as he gazed at his beloved favorite character. Finally, he managed to get out, "oh yeah, that's totally worth it."

I've seen him in a good mood before, but never be as happily enraptured as I saw him today. I don't even think he looked that way after he got his house. But one thing is certain: my instincts were right on this time. I did a good thing.