Grindor is a Decepticon from the Revenge of the Fallen portion of the movie continuity family.

I copied another character's alt-mode 'cause all the cool 'cons were doing it.

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one over on Grindor. A master strategist, and close combat specialist, Grindor can predict his opponents' next move before they know it themselves. It's reached the point where it's less planning and more instinct on his part. With every possible move planned out beforehand, Grindor confidently wades into the center of battle, ready for any and all comers. Well, ready for everyone except this guy, that is.

Grindor shares a striking similarity with Blackout, leading to some having confusion about who's who. He also works with Scorponok and Ravage on occasion.

Fiction

Revenge of the Fallen film

Voice actor: Frank Welker (English)

Ordered by the Fallen to capture Sam Witwicky for the information that the AllSpark had imprinted in his mind, Megatron led Starscream and Grindor to Earth, waiting for the human boy to be flushed out by one of their agents. Grindor captured the humans' escape vehicle and brought it to an abandoned industrial facility where Starscream and Megatron were waiting. While Grindor waited outside, Megatron and Scalpel interrogated the boy, preparing to extract the information by removing his brain, a process that was interrupted by the arrival of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Optimus briefly fought off Megatron and Starscream before escaping with Sam into the woods.

I predict a checkmate in 4 mo-*stab*.

Megatron followed but soon called in his minions for assistance. Grindor played little part in the opening attack, grabbing the Autobot leader and sawing into his face before being knocked away, but eventually gathered on the outnumbered and outgunned, but defiant Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader immediately unsheathed both battle blades and attacked the Decepticons, cutting off Grindor's right arm, slashing into his chest, sending some of Starscream's artillery his way and throwing his right battle blade into the Decepticon's leg. Badly hurt, Grindor required some downtime before he could rejoin the battle, during which Optimus stabbed Megatron and ripped off Starscream's arm.

No, wait, I miscal-SHEEAAAGH!!!

Grindor was just pulling out the de-energized blade Prime had swung into him when the Autobot unleashed his Energon Hooks and jabbed it into his optic, using the leverage to pull himself onto the Decepticon. Once on top, Prime then struck another hook into Grindor, then proceeded to tear his head apart, killing Grindor. As he pushed the lifeless and headless hulk to the ground, Optimus contemptuously commented on the material Grindor was made of. (Tin, to be specific) Revenge of the Fallen

Titan movie comics

He and Raoul were in the same engineering course.

Grindor was dispatched to Las Vegas by Soundwave, who refused to tell him what he was looking for and directed him to some old car. He was a bit fed up until he was told to cut open said car and remove its insides, fun fun fun! Once he'd secured the Cybertronian "memory tree", he came under attack by NEST forces intending to capture him. Using his rotors, he created a whirlwind that hurled cars at his enemies, but they easily managed to anchor him to the ground with an electrified cable before he could retreat.

Luckily two dumbasses turned up and shot the cable off, allowing Grindor to escape! Learning Curve

The scale here is so messed up.

Later, as part of Soundwave's plan, those two dumbasses were in the Decepticons, and poor Grindor had to put up with them jabbering in his ear. He pleaded with Soundwave to tell him that he didn't really trust them to bring in Ransack, and was relieved to find out they were just bait; when he asked what would happen if they survived, he was told he would make sure they didn't. Happy day!

To his annoyance, the twins succeeded by talking instead of shooting. He agreed with Sideways that this sort of thing was an abomination and must be stopped, and shot Ransack out the sky. Skids was able to keep him contained and occupied with suppressive fire, while Mudflap took down Sideways, but Grindor decided to just grab Ransack and bug out, leaving Sideways behind and threatening to get even with the twins another time. Turnabout

Back at base, he sat in on Soundwave's interrogation of Ransack, but it was interrupted by the Autobot twins. Grindor took fire and was not seen again after that, presumably fleeing later with Soundwave. Back-to-Back

Toy bios

The meticulous Grindor's careful scheming and power of flight put him at a great advantage during an encounter with the Autobot Ratchet. Only Ratchet doing something completely unpredictable could save him! Surface To Air Showdown bio

During a running battle with Bumblebee through a city's streets, the flying Grindor stayed out of the mute Autobot's range and rained down explosives with "chaotic glee". The rubber-burnin' Bumblebee planned to bring Grindor down to his level by making him quickly maneuver past buildings, hoping his rotor would catch, and signs pointed to Grindor soon making a costly mistake... Bombing Run Battle

Transformers Annual 2011

Grindor and Barricade were sent to Tokyo to act as a diversion. After Barricade was located by the Autobots, Grindor hovered in the air and shot missiles at Optimus. Optimus responded by scaling the side of a nearby office tower and punching him out of the air. After crash-landing on Barricade, Grindor picked his comrade up and, after taking a moment to gloat that the diversion had worked, departed. Sam in Danger

Unite for the Universe

The body of either Grindor or Blackout was among the Decepticon corpses waiting to be melted down at the N.E.S.T. N.B.E. Resource Redistribution Plant. Ambition Instigated

Games

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Game

Voice actor: Fred Tatasciore (English), Jarosław Boberek (Polish), Michel Vigné (French, primary), Martial Le Minoux (French, various voice lines), Marc Alfos (French, a few voice lines), Salvador Serrano (Castilian Spanish)

Xbox 360/Sony PS3/PC

Decepticon campaign

I have light blue parts! That's how you know.

Grindor served in a similar capacity amongst the Decepticons to that which Ironhide served for the Autobots - he was the Heavy Weapons Guy. Big, slow, durable, and seriously over-armed with a gatling gun and an energon wave cannon. Grindor could even drop off gun turrets for that extra added overkill.

During the Decepticons' missions in China, Grindor oversaw their supposedly secret mission in Shanghai, until his forces were detected and routed by NEST and the Autobots. Imprisoned in the docks, Sideways had to come and rescue his comrade.

On the United States West Coast, Grindor was assigned to hack into NEST's communication network in the downtown area. Fighting through its Autobot Protectobot defenders, Grindor managed to link up with each of the town's five communications arrays, furthering the Decepticon cause.

On the East Coast, Grindor was assigned to capture Ladiesman217, designation Samuel Witwicky. After destroying the human's dorm building, Grindor took Witwicky to the nearby foundry where he would be interrogated by Megatron. However, during this process, the Autobots sent waves of Protectobots against Grindor in an attempt to save the boy, but they failed. Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Autobot campaign

While Grindor secured their position by deploying Combaticon and Constructicon drones around the town, Bumblebee arrived to rescue Sam. Assisted by his drones, the Decepticon almost overwhelmed the plucky little Autobot, but in the end Bumblebee reduced Grindor and his unit into scrap metal. Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

PSP

Grindor was overwhelmed by the NEST forces, only to be saved by Sideways. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (PSP)

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots/Decepticons

Decepticons Campaign

Grindor was present in Brazil when he and Sideways met the new Decepticon recruit. He later called Starscream a waste of Decepticon after the former stated that reviving Megatron would be a waste of the AllSpark shard's power, and was the first Decepticon to mention The Fallen. He and Starscream later destroyed an oil rig and he later helped tell the recruit about The Fallen's history.

In Asia, he sent the recruit on a mission to destroy some forcefield generators in Tokyo. During the mission to revive Megatron, he dropped off the recruit at the base where the shard was being kept, and Starscream protected him from NEST jets while Megatron was being revived. When Soundwave learned about the energy signature in New York City, Grindor urged Megatron to send him there. Megatron, however, had other work for him, but promised that he would get this chance, but for one reason or another, he was never seen again. Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots/Decepticons

Autobots Campaign

Grindor leads an invasion in Rome, Italy, and came across the new Autobot recruit in the ruins. After a long, tiring fight, the recruit redirected an airstrike that killed the Blackout lookalike, but not before learning about The Fallen. Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots/Decepticons

Transformers: The Ride – 3D

Grindor flew into action when Megatron ordered the destruction of the Autobot Evac and the NEST recruits. He transformed and stomped through the streets, all the while swinging his rotor blades at the fleeing Autobot. He smashed himself partly through a tunnel that Evac had entered and reached out for him, when he realized too late that it was a train tunnel and that he was in the path of an oncoming train. The train sped by, bashing his upper body and face while severing his out-stretched arm and keeping him from catching Evac. His fate after the encounter is unknown. Transformers: The Ride – 3D

Transformers: Forged to Fight

Please note that he tends to get angry when reminded about the time when Optimus "probed" his optic sensor.

Grindor was one of the Decepticons pulled from his universe by the Quintessons and forced to fight. When Megatron betrayed the Quintessons and began to put his own plans in motion, he infused Grindor with Dark Energon and sent him to destroy the Commander and his team. When he failed, Megatron tore him apart in retribution. There are at least a few of him running around, though, one of whom may eventually join the Commander. Transformers: Forged to Fight

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it.

Toys

Revenge of the Fallen

Legends Class toys

No, I'm not Blackout! There is NO missing scene dammit! We're nothing alike. I would never let myself get shot in the balls.

• Grindor (Legends Class, 2009)

• Known designers: Alex Androski (deco artist)

Revenge of the Fallen Legends Grindor is a redeco of the first movie's Legends class Blackout toy in a light blue base color with digital camouflage. Legends Grindor is a small and highly simplified version of the character, featuring limited articulation and detail, with the helicopter mode not being a particularly faithful recreation of a Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low heavy-lift helicopter. (The placement of the fuel tanks, in particular, makes him look more like a CH-53 Sea Stallion.) Even though the robot mode sports an attempt to emulate the movie character's chest design, this does not involve the use of obvious fake elements of the helicopter mode's cockpit, unlike other Legends Class toys of movie characters. As with all wave three Legends figures, the photo on the back of the figure's packaging shows a mis-transformed robot mode, where his arms are not folded down.

This mold was also redecoed as Spinister for the Kmart-exclusive "War for the Skies" multi-pack.

• More information on Grindor at TFU.info

Voyager Class toys

Just you wait, someone will call him Leader-1.

• Grindor (Voyager Class, 2009)

• TakaraTomy ID number: RD-18
• Accessories: Scorponok mini-figure

Released in the fifth wave of Revenge of the Fallen Voyagers, Grindor is a straight redeco of Transformers Voyager Class Blackout figure in a more military-accurate grey colour scheme. The little Scorponok mini-figure has been redecoed to reflect the colour changes on the Revenge of the Fallen release of Deluxe class "Stalker Scorponok" (even though the two never appear together in the film). An aft "cage" compartment has a button-activated latch to release the small Scorponok. A plunger on the very end of his tail can be pressed in a geared action to rotate his rotor blades. By attaching the Deluxe-class Scorponok to his underside, the rotor gimmick also spins Scorponok's claws, though with the added gears, the momentum dies out instantly.

The entire rotor assembly on his back can be removed and converted into a gigantic fan weapon, to vaguely represent the hand-held rotor-blade weapon he wields in the film in the forest battle against Optimus Prime. Because of the size of his rotor assembly, Grindor is also much shorter than most Voyager-class figures despite his bulk, being barely taller than a Deluxe figure.

During transformation, Grindor's delicate Automorphing gimmick is activated when the user swings down his legs, which in turn flips the gray chest section his head is mounted upon up and into position, and lifts his back assembly and locks into place behind his head. Another, less impressive automorph is in his legs—if you pull his knees down, his shin armor pops out a bit.

It is very easy for the gears in the cockpit/chest to become misaligned during transformation, enough so that the chest/head section refuses to align with the cockpit halves. Getting the gears back into alignment is a veritable nightmare, as so many other parts shift and move as you attempt to manipulate the respective pieces. Swinging the legs down locks the back assembly into place for robot mode, but simply swinging the legs back does not unlock it, with the user being required to actively separate the parts by hand. Failing to do so will likely misalign your Grindor into oblivion.

Unfortunately, Grindor is plagued by the same design flaws that Blackout suffered- his shoulders do not have enough clearance for them to move past the cockpit assembly due to the tabs catching on the inner molded details. This means that the pieces have to be flexed past each other, which can often result in a myriad of damages to your figure if you're not careful.

Coincidentally, the two hard points located on Grindor's shoulders, intended to support his abominably large weapon, are actually the same size as the Mini-Con Powerlinx plugs on most Unicron Trilogy figures.

This version of Grindor is in perfect scale with Cyberverse Commander Optimus Prime.

The original Blackout release of this mold was retooled as Movie Evac and Revenge of the Fallen Whirl.

• More information on Grindor at TFU.info

Unbeknownest to all, Grindor actually takes his name from his love of coffee.

• Surface To Air Showdown (Voyager 2-pack, 2009)

• Accessories: Scorponok mini-figure

A Costco-exclusive two-pack featuring Grindor squaring off against Ratchet, strangely reminiscent of Ratchet's fight with Blackout in the Transformers: Autobots Nintendo DS game. Both toys remain unchanged from their individual retail release.

Fast Action Battlers

Hey, is that Leader-1?

• Missile Assault Grindor (Fast Action Battler, 2009)

• Accessories: Projectile
• Known designers: Alex Androski (deco artist)

Missile Assault Grindor is a redeco of the first movie's Gyro Blade Blackout in a more military-accurate grey colour scheme. He is a simplified version of Grindor/Blackout design, designed for smaller children. His rotor blade can be detached and inserted into his left hand to represent the hand-held rotor blade seen in the film, just like the Voyager class version. He also features a chest cannon which can be flipped up from his back. Oddly, you can only see one-fourth of Grindor's head from a 90-degree angle. Even less of it is visible when his chest cannon is flipped up. He features a firing missile.

• More information on Missile Assault Grindor at TFU.info

Transformers (2010)

Doesn't this remind you of something?

• Bombing Run Battle (Walmart exclusive multi-pack, 2010)

This Walmart exclusive multi-pack contains a tan and orange Sandstorm-themed redeco of Legends Class Grindor and a redeco of Deluxe Class Cannon Bumblebee.

• More information on Bombing Run Battle Grindor at TFU.info

EZ Collection Gum

• Grindor (EZ Collection Gum)

Released as part of the blindpacked EZ Collection Gum series, this Grindor is basically a re-release of the Hasbro Legends Class figure above, but with the digital camo being replaced with a slightly metallic sheen.

Studio Series

...0!

• Grindor & Ravage (Leader Class, 2021)

• Movie: Revenge of the Fallen
• Hasbro ID number: 73
• Accessories: Tail rotor, Ravage figure, "Forest Fight" backdrop (1st version)
• Known designers: Sam Smith (Hasbro)^[1]

Studio Series Grindor is a redeco and retool of "Decepticon Blackout" from the same line, with the original mold's partner Scorponok being replaced by Ravage (despite the two never being in the same scene). As such, Grindor transforms into an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter instead of his correct CH-53E Super Stallion, which can store Ravage on the underside of its tail. Non-spinning landing gear is attached to the back half of the compartment section and the nose, but they can't be folded away in vehicle mode due to lack of space. Grindor's tail rotor can be attached to either forearm to simulate his weapon, as opposed to using the bigger propeller from his back like in the movie.

Much like Blackout, Grindor is slightly mistransformed in packaging with his refueling probe being folded flat against his body and his digitigrade legs and leg details also flattened. His lower back/helicopter tail area panel is also left hanging down to keep him as flat as possible in package.

Grindor's retooled hands possess swiveling wrists and articulated fingers. He features numerous subtle but important deco changes to differentiate him from Blackout, including rusty details on his arms, crotch, and rotor, gold markings next to his rotor blades, yellow highlights on his cockpit side windows, a red marking on the end of his refueling probe, brighter silver paint, and darker grey plastic. His main propeller also spins more freely.

It should be noted that some copies of Grindor don't tab together in helicopter mode as well as Blackout.

Grindor comes with a cardboard backdrop depicting the forest battle from Revenge of the Fallen. Hilariously, the back of the packaging notes that fighting Optimus Prime proves to be a headache for Grindor. Priceless.

"Grindor & Ravage" were first found in June 2021 at Toyworld in Australia, and subsequently at Target stores in the United States, before any official reveal.^[2]

Merchandise

Prime 1 Studio

"Sign that contract", they said. "The real money is made on merchandise", they said.

• Optimus Prime (2021)

• Movie: Revenge of the Fallen
• ID number: MMTFM-28EXS

The exclusive version of the Prime 1 Studio Museum Masterline Optimus Prime statue based on his Revenge of the Fallen appearance comes with a replica of Grindor's head torn in half.

This version of Optimus Prime also comes with the decapitated head of Bonecrusher and is limited to 888 pieces.

Notes

Blackout vs. Grindor

• Revenge of the Fallen never explicitly establishes Grindor as a separate character from Blackout. Screenwriter Roberto Orci, when asked, was not sure whether they were supposed to be the same character or not.^[3] In the TFWiki.net Hasbro Q&A for July 2009, it was confirmed that Grindor, not Blackout, appears in the movie.
• In the novel, his name is never used, just the descriptor "huge Russian helicopter."
• Internal files for the Revenge of the Fallen video game identify this character as Blackout, indicating that the game had been developed with the understanding that they were the same character... but had dialogue re-recorded to refer to him as Grindor.
• On the cross-sell for "The Fury of Fearswoop" multipack, Grindor is mistakenly given the name Blackout.
• In Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe, Blackout is featured instead of Grindor. Guess the writer didn't get the memo in time.
• In the Revenge of the Fallen: The Junior Novel, Blackout is the character assisting Megatron and Starscream in the Forest against Optimus rather than Grindor.
• The 2-disc special edition of Revenge of the Fallen features some still poses of the Autobots and Decepticons, and names the helicopter as Blackout.
• While the two characters' CGI models were virtually indistinguishable from one another, Grindor's redecoes of Blackout's toys were given distinct (though not necessarily screen-accurate) color decos. However, Grindor's Studio Series figure has a more screen-accurate deco, with only subtle differences from Blackout.

Alternate mode

• Although his toys (and seemingly the CG model of his robot mode) are identical to Blackout's, and although the toys' packaging retains Pave Low licensing information, Grindor's alt mode in the movie is in fact a Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion—essentially a slightly upsized Pave Low operated by the US Marine Corps. The ROTF video games include licensing information for the Super Stallion instead of the Pave Low. The alt mode switch may be explained by the retirement of the USAF's Pave Lows in 2008.
• Grindor only has six main rotor blades on his back (and his arm-mounted weapon made from the same parts at the same time) while a normal CH-53E Super Stallion has seven main rotor blades.
• The CH-53E has a different nose from the Pave Low, with the large bulb replaced by two windows, another feature not incorporated in his robot mode.

Other

• Frank Welker is not credited for the voice of Grindor in the credits of the film itself, but his "Official Homepage" would later credit him for the role. While we're not entirely convinced that the page wasn't simply updated by someone who read it on Wikipedia, the "sheeeagh" that Grindor lets out as Optimus Prime rips his head apart is pretty unmistakably Welker.
• The master strategic skills and battle prowess his on-package bio goes on about come off a little less than impressive when you realize his tech specs give him a "Skill" level of... 4. That makes him one better at his job than these guys.
  • Those same skills also come off a little less than impressive when you realize that Grindor did virtually nothing during the forest battle, basically only managing to saw Prime's face before then getting his arm cut off and his chest slashed open, assaulted by Starscream's artillery, getting a blade thrown into his leg and then getting his face torn open by Prime's hooks. For a master strategician, Grindor comes off as quite dumb in battle.
• According to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe, Blackout's height is 33 feet tall. By extension, this would also be Grindor's height, as evidenced in the game. However, one can see that during the Forest Battle, Grindor is clearly much taller than Megatron (who is 35 feet tall) and about twice the size of Optimus (who is 28 feet tall). Therefore, Grindor should be about 55 feet tall.
• Blackout/Grindor's head design is re-used on some of the Decepticon Protoforms that appear in Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon, specifically the ones with large horns on their shoulders.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Grindor (グラインダー Guraindā)

References