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| “ | For all the power of Cybertron. | „ |
| ~ Sentinel's reason for betraying the Thirteen Primes. |
| “ | The truth is what I make it! | „ |
| ~ Sentinel's infamous quote of maintaining his power through his lies and treachery. |
Sentinel, falsely known as Sentinel Prime, is the main antagonist of the 2024 animated science fiction action film Transformers One. He was the former chief advisor to the Thirteen Primes, only to later double cross them by taking the leadership of Cybertron as part of a bargain with the Quintessons. In turn, this led to him taking the title of Prime from his former masters for himself.
He served as the false ruler of Iacon City for 50 cycles, deceiving everyone who viewed him as a great leader. As a result of his actions, he serves as the key reason for D-16's descent into becoming the ruthless Decepticon leader known as Megatron.
He was voiced by Jon Hamm, who also voiced Herb Overkill in Minions and Don Grouper in SpongeBob SquarePants, and portrayed Matthew Trent in Black Mirror, Reverend Richard Wayne in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Buddy in Baby Driver.
Appearance[]
Sentinel's body is primarily royal blue, with gold featured prominently as a secondary color. Along with numerous silver highlights, his profile is slender with a majestic edge, while his eyes are a bright shade of blue. He also has a golden set of wings mounted on his back, indicating his aerial alternate mode. After his true colors are revealed, Sentinel assumed a more combat-oriented battle form, or super mode, where his feet became thrusters, his wings rearranged to reveal missile launchers, and his arms permanently became blasters while his head has a permanent battle mask.
Personality[]
| “ | What truth? That I plucked your cogs from your newborn chests?! Forced you to mine so that I can pay off the Quintessons and live like a king?! None of that matters, because THE TRUTH... IS... WHAT... I... MAKE IT!!! | „ |
| ~ Sentinel’s villainous breakdown as Orion Pax confronts him, also the same speech that exposed his true nature to everyone in Iacon. |
Initially, Sentinel was shown to be a humble and well-loved leader who was the living manifestation of peace and prosperity. He was also shown to be a courageous and encouraging leader, always praising the hard work of the miners who collected Energon. He was also respectful towards both Orion and D-16, after the two impressed him during the Iacon 5000 race event, and even personally thanked the two for inspiring the miners and invited them to his personal quarters so they can be patched up.
However, it would all turn out to be a farce, as in reality, he is a self-serving, tyrannical overlord who willingly sold out his own race to the Quintessons to claim power for himself. He was even willing to have the miners work triple shift to collect energon, despite the high risk they could potentially die. He also is aware of how much of a power-hungry monster he truly is, as he brags about wanting to be a king and have power over others. He had also show many signs of his sadism, as he personally killed each Prime in cold blood and brutally carving Megatronus' insignia into D-16's chest, simply to mock him and the memory of his idol hero.
In addition to lacking any sort of empathy towards other Cybertronians, Sentinel was a full-blown coward and would rather hide behind his troops than fight someone head-on, even when he was fully capable of holding his own in a fight. Ultimately, Sentinel ends up outing himself as a despotic sadist who cares for no one but himself, and his hubris ultimately ends up costing him his life at the hands of D-16, now known as Megatron.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
| “ | For thousands of cycles, the war with the Quintessons had been a brutal conflict. Until Sentinel, the principal aide to the Primes, intercepted an enemy transmission. There was going to be a secret gathering of Quintesson commanders. Their elimination could end the war. It was a mission so important, we Primes took it on ourselves. We agreed to meet Sentinel for his sensitive intel in secret. Here, in this cave. But we were not alone. [...] We were outnumbered but stood as one. Our victory was near. Until we were betrayed. [...] But Sentinel never understood the true power of what he desired. The Matrix of Leadership can only be wielded by one that Primus himself deems worthy. And Sentinel most certainly was not. | „ |
| ~ Alpha Trion revealing Sentinel's true nature and intentions and how he killed his fellow Thirteen Primes. |
One of the first ever Cybertronians to ever come into existence, Sentinel was the chief advisor for the original Primes. Despite this position granting him respect from every other member of his race, Sentinel would grow to hunger for more power than what he already had, as well as becoming envious of the Primes, as he told about a secret meeting with Quintesson Commanders, which made the Primes meet Sentinel for his intel. However, it was a planned ambush by the Quintessons and Sentinel helped slaying the Primes in the process. Before he can claim the Matrix of Leadership, Primus deemed him unworthy of the Matrix for his power hungry nature. Following this, he would claim the transformation cog of Megatronus for himself, augmenting his power to the level of the Primes. Only Alpha Trion would survive his greed, and the High Guard, the personal army working under the Primes, would reject him and his attempts to claim power.
With his first attempt at claiming power a failure, Sentinel would move Cybertronian society underground and establish a new regime with him at the top of the chain, falsely claiming the title of Prime for himself. Converting all current Cybertronians to his followers (with the exception of the High Guard, who would regularly oppose him from the shadows), Sentinel would remove the transformation cogs of all future Cybertronians before they could come online, robbing them of their species' natural ability to transform and ensuring that the only thing they could do was mine for Energon to sate the Quintessons. To cover up his tracks, Sentinel would only allow loyal followers to the surface to search for the Matrix to cement his rule as Prime, and any miners who disobeyed or acted out of line would be strictly punished to discourage any rebellion. Also, Sentinel used his trips to the surface to look for the High Guard and take them prisoner.
Transformers One[]
After another secret meeting with the Quintessons and failing to find the Matrix once more, Sentinel returned to Iacon to announce his failure before announcing the upcoming Iacon 5000, where bots who would transform would race to show their stuff and gave all working cogless bots the day off to see it. During the race, Sentinel noticed two miners named Orion Pax and D-16 using jetpacks to compete as racers. The two lose the race and are taken to Sentinel to face repercussions for their recklessness, only for Sentinel to falsely congratulate them for their efforts, offering them higher positions in return. However, he soon leaves to go out and find the Matrix once more and the pair were eventually assigned to waste management by one of Sentinel's enforcers, Darkwing.
Unbeknownst to Sentinel, Orion, D-16, and two other cogless bots, fellow waste worker B-127 and Elita-1, who was originally the foreman of the mines before Orion inadvertently gets her fired and reassigned to working on a train that takes the Energon to the surface, would find a distress beacon from Alpha Trion, and eventually make their way to the surface to locate him via coordinates on the beacon and they soon end up learning the truth about him after locating Alpha and seeing him giving some Energon to the Quintessons, who came to the planet to collect them as part of their arrangement with Sentinel. When the Energon presented proves to be inadequate, the Quintesson leader nearly tears apart Sentinel, who talks him out of it by promising to get more Energon by extending the miner's work hours to meet their demand. However, Sentinel's second-in-command, Airachnid, ends up sensing the main quartet of bots and warns Sentinel of their presence.
Soon, Sentinel and his forces locate them in Alpha Trion's cave, but the four bots (who were given cogs to transform by Trion) manage to escape while Alpha stays behind to hold off their forces to buy them some time. Trion is taken back to Sentinel at Iacon and starts to intimidate him to sell out the protagonists, but Alpha Trion rebukes him every step of the way, warning Sentinel that he will end up failing. Exhausted from this, Sentinel kills Alpha Trion and orders his followers to locate the four bots, which they eventually do when they find them in a hidden area on the surface where the High Guard has been hiding and manage to capture all of them, with the exception of Orion, Elita and at least half of the High Guard and the chip containing evidence of his corruption being destroyed.
When Sentinel's forces bring back the good guys, Sentinel mocks them for their fruitless attempt to stop and expose him. When D-16, who has been feeling embittered from Sentinel's corruption ever since he learned of it, stands his ground against the evil Transformer, an unmoved Sentinel retaliates by burning the symbol of D-16's favorite Prime, Megatronous, onto his chest and reveals that he stole Megatronus's cog for himself. Soon, Orion, Elita and the rest of the High Guard invade Iacon in hopes to use Airachnid's memory banks as substitute evidence. Despite Sentinel putting up a fight to stop them, even coming close to killing D-16, the truth soon gets exposed to all of Iacon, and all of the bots who used to look up to Sentinel turn on him for his deception and all Sentinel could do is watch in shocked and defeated silence as the respect he has wormed his way into getting is now all gone as the citizens of Iacon take out their anger towards Sentinel, calling him a liar and a traitor.
Unfortunately, this would not be the end of Sentinel's problems as D-16, still burning with anger over Sentinel's betrayal, tackles him, which causes Sentinel to activate his flying abilities to escape, but D-16 manages to guide him onto a building where he uses an arm cannon to cripple Sentinel, stopping him from escaping. Seeing no way out, Sentinel pathetically and cowardly begs D-16 to spare his life, offering him a chance to rule Cybertron alongside him, but D-16 is anything but willing to listen. Before D-16 can kill Sentinel with his arm cannons, Orion intervenes, telling the vengeful D-16 that killing him won't make anything better, but D-16 doesn't listen and tries to kill Sentinel regardless, but Orion gets in the way of the gun and becomes heavily damaged as he is about to fall off the building, losing his left arm in the process. D-16 becomes horrified at first and rushes to save him, before his entire suppressed rage comes out and decides to let Orion fall into the planet's center to die. D-16, now rechristening himself as Megatron after the fallen Megatronus, kills Sentinel by tearing his body in half, swiping the pilfered cog of Megatronus for himself to enhance his body to divine levels and has the High Guard destroy everything Sentinel built, causing mass chaos and destruction in his wake without care to who gets hurt. However, Orion's death would not be in vain as Orion was given the Matrix of Leadership by the spirit of the very founder of Cybertron, Primus, which repairs and enhances Orion, who is renamed Optimus Prime, and manages to stop Megatron before exiling him and the High Guard from Iacon for their war crimes.
Sentinel's reputation and name would forever be soured in Cybertronian history, and upon his demise, Orion Pax, now Optimus Prime, would abolish his former policies and rebuild Cybertronian society, rebranding all the miners as Autobots in honor of their newly earned autonomy. However, Sentinel's machinations and greed would eventually turn Megatron for the worst, with the former miner permanently denouncing all Primes, legitimate or false, and rebranding the former High Guard as members of his new army known as the Decepticons. As such, Sentinel's greed has robbed the Cybertronian race of permanent peace, as it would lead to Cybertron's historic perpetual Great War between the Autobots and the Decepticons.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Cybertronian Physiology: As a Cybertronian, Sentinel possesses numerous enhanced abilities due to his mechanical nature.
- Superhuman Strength: Sentinel’s physical strength far exceeds that of ordinary Cybertronians, allowing him to overpower most opponents with ease.
- Superhuman Durability: His body is highly resistant to damage, making him capable of withstanding heavy attacks and harsh environments without sustaining significant injury.
- Superhuman Speed: Sentinel moves with exceptional speed, outpacing most Cybertronians and performing swift maneuvers in battle.
- Superhuman Agility: Despite his size, Sentinel exhibits remarkable agility, allowing him to perform complex movements and dodge attacks with precision.
- Superhuman Stamina: He can operate for extended periods without tiring, making him highly effective in prolonged combat scenarios.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Sentinel’s advanced reflexes enable him to react to threats in a fraction of a second, giving him an edge in fast-paced battles.
- Longevity: Like all Cybertronians, Sentinel can live for millions of years, making him nearly ageless and able to withstand the passage of time without physical degradation.
- Super Mode: Similar to his anime (and lesser extent, IDW) counterparts, Sentinel can access a super mode, which grants him extra firepower, agility, and durability
Abilities[]
- Master Combatant: Sentinel is a highly skilled fighter, proficient in various forms of combat, from hand-to-hand to advanced weaponry. His experience and battle-hardened nature make him a formidable opponent in any fight.
- Master Swordsman: His proficiency with swords is unmatched, allowing him to wield his blade with precision, speed, and lethal effectiveness.
- Master Leader: Despite his tyrannical nature, Sentinel is a master strategist and leader, able to manipulate, command, and inspire others to follow him—whether through respect or fear. His cunning leadership was instrumental in his rise to power.
Quotes[]
| “ | I know what I promised you! But our mines, they’re running out! There’s barely enough Energon for us! I’m working my miners as harder as I can, I swear I'll get you the rest! | „ |
| ~ Sentinel being tortured by the Quintesson High Commander. |
| “ | Triple time every mining shift! No miner gets a break until I get my Energon! All of it! Let's go! | „ |
| ~ Sentinel orders to tripled the miners' workload without giving them breaks unless he could get more Energon he could used to bargained with the Quintessons. |
| “ | Urgh, didn't I just say no speeches? You heard me, right? This is what I am talking about, UNBELIEVABLE. All of them are like that! So disrespectful. | „ |
| ~ Sentinel after coldly killing Alpha Trion. |
| “ | Sentinel Prime: Oh, you captured Starscream! Airachnid: It was too easy. Starscream: I'M GONNA RIP YOU APART, PIECE BY PIECE, SO THAT YOUR DEATH IS PAINFUL!!! And you'll regret the day you went... Sentinel Prime: (laughs) You sound ridiculous! It's weird. Oh, D-16, what a tragic story you'll be: atop the leaderboard in your sector, and secretly a traitor. D-16: I'm not the traitor! You're the traitor!! Sentinel Prime: Nuh-uh! You, all of you, are traitors!! You've been working with the Quintessons to sabotage my expeditions! You're the reason why I haven't found the Matrix of Leadership yet! B-127: None of that is true!! Sentinel Prime: Oh, trust me, it'll be very true when I'm executing you in front of all of Iacon. Because down here.... the truth is what I make it!! |
„ |
| ~ Sentinel planning to execute D-16, B-127, Starscream, and the High Guard after capturing them. |
| “ | Sentinel Prime: Oh, Megatronus Prime. Of course you’re a fan, Megatronus was the coolest Prime! The biggest, the baddest, the toughest!! That's why after I killed him, I took his cog for myself. D-16: He was GREATER THAN YOU'LL EVER BE!!! Sentinel Prime: I don't know, I'm pretty great. But I can understand why you'd want to wear his face over mine. Here, let's make sure it doesn't come off. |
„ |
| ~ Sentinel sadistically confessing that he took Megatronus' T-Cog after murdering him to D-16 before carving Megatronus' face on D-16's chest.. |
| “ | D-16... we can lead Cybertron together! DON'T DO THIS!!! | „ |
| ~ Sentinel's last words as he cowardly begs D-16/Megatron for mercy before the latter rips him apart. |
Trivia[]
- Sentinel's colors are based on his traditionally animated counterpart, with whom he shares his Japanese voice actor Junichi Suwabe. Coincidentally, the cancelled fourth season of Transformers Animated would've had its version of Sentinel become a primary villain.
- His body structure and weaponry were inspired by his Bayverse version.
- Him being a puppet to the Quintessons is also a trait he shares with his Aligned version.
- He is the third version of Sentinel Prime to be adapted to a villain, the first being his IDW Comics version and the second being Bayverse version.
- Despite being fully able to do so, Sentinel never transforms into his jet mode at any point in the film. This is another polar opposite to the miners' situation, as instead of remaining in robot mode because they lack the ability to transform, Sentinel only remains in robot mode solely due to his overwhelming vanity.
External Links[]
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 Villains
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Sentinel Prime's Empire Quintessons Decepticons | ||