Spike Taylor

Dr. Spike Taylor (古代剣竜博士 Kenryu Kodai) is Max's father and is a paleontologist. He is a very good friend of Dr. Owen. In the DS Game and Arcade, he occasionally goes by the alter ego of DinoMan.

He is voiced by Naoya Uchida (Japanese) and David Wills (English).

Character Design

Dr. Taylor has spiky brown hair and purple eyes (much like his son Max). He wears a gold shirt with rolled-up cuffs, with a brown vest over it as well as blue jeans. He also has a cowboy hat. Dr. Taylor is also rather muscular.

Name

Much like his son, Dr. Taylor's Japanese name has the word "Ryu" in it which means "Dragon". His name is most likely based on the Street Fighter protagonists, Ken and Ryu and both names were merged together thus ending up with "Kenryu" which means "Healthy Strong Dragon".

Dr. Taylor's english name Spike is basically an allusive pun to the word "Spiketail" a common term used to infer any dinosaurs that have a spikey tail, namely the Stegosaurs. This name is highly a coincidence to the meaning of his Japanese name which means "Ancient Stegosaur Doctor".

Personality

Dr. Taylor is very energetic and often embarrasses Max (to be honest, Max gets embarrassed by both his parents), although his wife, Aki, doesn't seem to mind. He often gets a bad case of dramatization, and his feelings often embarrass the D-Team whenever he is around them. He's very good at playing the harmonica, as seen in the 27th episode. He likes to lasso, but when he throws, it never hits the intended target; once, he even lassoed Zoe.

Anime

In the first episode, after Max obtains Chomp, Spike tells him to keep this a secret from his mom. This leads Aki to believe that Chomp is a strange-looking dog for the majority of the first season.

DS Game

In the DS Game, Dr. Taylor disguises himself as DinoMan. He tells Max and his friends that he's a mysterious fossil hunter that goes around the world digging up dinosaur fossils, but the kids already know that it's Spike due to his voice and clothing. Even though they know it's him, he denies the fact of even knowing the D-Team in anyway, so the kids go along with it, even though Max is embarrassed of seeing his dad as a dinosaur super hero.

Dinosaurs

In the anime, Spike never owned a dinosaur, thus, always wanted one. At first, he almost obtained Tank's card, but Terry got in his way; he wouldn't have been able to use it, either, since the Alpha Gang had the Earth stone. Through the most of it he made several attempts to go with the D-Team in order to get his own dinosaur (e.g. trying to lasso an Ankylosaurus). Later, when Seth unleashed his Black Tyrannosaurus, Spike was able to obtain Dr. Z's Alpha Scanner and aided the others with Saurophaganax and Terry.

In the arcade game he disguises himself as DinoMan and tests the player's skills. He battles the player with a Parasaurolophus, Carnotaurus, Tyrannosaurus and Saichania. After the player defeat these dinosaurs, he claims that he had underestimated the player's strength and decides to stop holding back, summoning a Pachycephalosaurus. Once the player wins, he or she receives the Silver Mark of DinoMan. It appears that Dr. Taylor would have been associated with the Fire and Earth elements since their were several hints implying that in the anime and even in the arcade game itself (e.g. most of the earth and fire dinosaur/move cards)

Statistics

TCG Lores

(DKAA) Until the start of your next turn, your opponent's Character loses all abilities. Search your deck for a Super Move and put it into your hand. (Shuffle your deck after you search it.)

(DKBD) During the next battle this turn, both battling Dinosaurs have 1 less life. Search your deck for a Move card and put it into your hand. (Shuffle your deck after you search it.)

Trivia

In the first episode, Dr. Taylor says he knew everything about dinosaurs until Chomp came to the scene.
Dr. Taylor exhibits highly unusual behavior, as he ate Chomp's dog food and simply remarked that "it could use a little salt" plus eating a bag of Num Tum Leaves (by accident).
In the Japanese version of Prehistory in the Making, Dr.Taylor actually calls Ursula an Old Lady.
Dr. Taylor's DinoMan outfit differs in from the Arcade Game, as he is missing a torn red scarf.
In the Japanese version, Dr. Taylor's name means "Ancient Stegosaur Doctor". His name is also a reference to the two Street Fighter characters Ken & Ryu, which if combined means "Healthy Strong Dragon".
- His English name "Spike Taylor" also has some affiliation with his namesake, being a pun on the "spike tails" of the stegosaur family of dinosaurs.
Even though he has a wife, Dr. Taylor tries to flirt with other girls, invoking the wrath of his wife.
- It is hinted that Dr. Taylor fears Aki.
Dr. Taylor is the loudest snorer.
He ranked 54 in the Dinosaur King Ranker.
Even though he practices, Dr. Taylor still can't get a good target. He stated in "Rhino or Dino?" that he had big feet cause he lassoed himself.
It appears that during the arcade game dinosaur battles, Dr. Taylor is a skilled opponent, as the characters (like Rex) say that he is quite powerful.
There are many characters from other media that resemble Dr. Taylor, including One-Eyed Jack (Monsuno).
- Dr. Taylor also resembles Indiana Jones; three things they have in common are their outfits, the lasso, and the theme song. It is possible that he is strongely based on him.

Gallery

References

p · e · t	Main Characters
D-Team:	Max Taylor · Rex Owen · Zoe Drake · Spike Taylor · Reese Drake
Alpha Gang:	Dr. Z · Ursula · Zander · Ed · Rod · Laura · Seth (former) · Helga
Spectral Space Pirates:	Spectre · Gabbro · Foolscap · Shear · Seth (former) · Goma