Name: Sentinel Prime
Allegiance: Double Agents
Function: Fallen Hero
Timeline: Movieverse (
First Transformers Live Action Movie Trilogy)
Without law, all is chaos.
Profile:
During the golden age of Cybertron, Sentinel Prime was one of the metallic world's most respected leaders. Holding the position of "first senator", Sentinel received the title of "Prime", and guided Cybertron with great wisdom and incredible zeal. Sentinel Prime's sole desire was to see Cybertron move from glory to glory, to nurture it into a bastion of high civilisation, standing as a shining example for all other sentient beings to aspire to. Sentinel Prime knew the task he set for himself was far too great for any being to accomplish alone, and so he sought out the most promising young Cybertronians of the day to mentor into the leaders of tomorrow. Greatest among his students were Sentinel's chosen successor, Optimus Prime, and Megatron, who Sentinel placed in command of Cybertron's planetary security forces. Sentinel Prime truly loved Optimus Prime and Megatron, considering them to be like his own sons. By all rights, Sentinel Prime should have been remembered as one of the greatest leaders in Cybertron's history, and a patriot who led his people to glory. Sadly, history would only remember Sentinel Prime for the failures of his later life, and his ultimate fall from grace. Sentinel Prime initially did not recognise Megatron's growing discontent and ambition; he dismissed the rumours of an underground "Decepticon" revolutionary army until it was too late. When Megatron's uprising plunged Cybertron into chaos and reduced everything Sentinel Prime had built to ruin, Sentinel Prime fell into depression and fled into seclusion. As the war intensified, Sentinel Prime increasingly wallowed in despair and self-hatred. He looked upon the charred, war-torn ruins of Cybertron with a spark full of sadness and bitterness. Cybertron had once been glorious, a jewel in the crown of galactic civilisation. Depression gave way to madness, as Sentinel Prime became more and more obsessed with what Cybertron had once been - what he'd once been. He was a god, once! Cybertron, Sentinel Prime resolved, must be restored - no matter the cost. And so, Sentinel Prime met with Megatron in secret with a proposal to restore their ruined world and end the war once and for all. They would journey to a far-off world - one spoken of in the most ancient of Cybertron's archives, where one of the ancient Primes had constructed a solar harvester. There, they would gather everything needed to restore Cybertron: resources, energy, and slaves. Megatron was shocked and pleasantly surprised by his old master's ruthlessness - Sentinel Prime had after all been the one to teach Optimus Prime that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings". But Sentinel Prime coldly responded to Megatron that Cybertron's survival was at stake and that nothing else mattered. He'd gladly sacrifice 10,000 worlds to save Cybertron, even if it meant he would also have to destroy the one other 'bot who he once loved like a son in the process.
Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck mode:
Author notes:
Sentinel Prime is possibly the best realised of the different villains in the Transformers Movie series. He strikes Optimus Prime in a far more personal way than The Fallen, because he was Optimus Prime's father figure and mentor - someone that Optimus Prime thought he could trust. That betrayal cuts deep. Not only that, but Sentinel is full-on deluded when he appears in Dark of the Moon, honestly believing that the Cybertronians were gods compared to the human race. I wanted to get more of the impact on Optimus Prime into the profile, actually, since Sentinel Prime's betrayal is a major turning point in Optimus Prime's character arc across the movies and a catalyst that leads to Optimus Prime becoming Nemesis Prime. I may revisit that theme in a future revision of this profile.
When I wrote Sentinel Prime's profile, I wanted to play into this divide in his personality - the kindly old master that Optimus Prime once knew, vs the ranting megalomaniac he becomes in the last act of Transformers Dark of the Moon. I wanted to establish how Sentinel Prime could be both of these things, and the key in my mind was Cybertron. I see Sentinel Prime as being perfectly nice and well-adjusted back when Cybertron was in its glory days, but when Cybertron fell, Sentinel would have done anything to restore the planet. This plays straight into the duality of the character and his betrayal in Transformers Dark of the Moon. I really wanted to press home just how deep Sentinel's overly prideful nature goes - the way I see it, he wouldn't have stopped at Earth, he'd have carried on wiping out other planets for their resources and whatever else they could obtain, too, if it meant saving Cybertron.
In doing this I've more or less established that Sentinel Prime was never as nice as Optimus Prime wants to remember. But there is another aspect to the change in his personality. At some point when Sentinel withdrew himself, I see him encountering Quintessa - and she'd have been the one to push Sentinel Prime into full on madness with one of her "hate slaps", much like how she slapped Optimus Prime to push him into becoming Nemesis. Sentinel Prime would have been another one of Quintessa's pawns in her scheme to destroy both Earth and Cybertron, and when she set him in motion her plan was to have him and Megatron release The Fallen - of course, by the time Sentinel was reactivated, that plan no longer worked, and Quintessa's plan B (destroy Earth and Cybertron) would have been in full effect. But that is a story for another day.
Toys of Transformers Movie Sentinel Prime
Transformers Dark of the Moon Sentinel Prime (Voyager class)
This is the Voyager class version of Sentinel Prime from the Dark of the Moon line, which I picked up for two reasons. First, I felt he scaled better to around 90% of my movie toys, and second, I really disliked the leader class toy. Yes, leader Sentinel was a lovely toy with lots of screen accuracy and some nice poseability, but it was one of the most frustrating toys to transform due to the panels not pegging in correctly. This Voyager class version is less impressive in the engineering stakes, but he is much easier to transform - and he is the only Sentinel Prime toy to actually have the character's signature rust cannon. So even though this toy is less accurate, I enjoy it as it is a toy I can pick up and play with. I can transform this one without worrying about lining up so many panels perfectly.
There's since been a Studio Series Sentinel Prime released, and it's a beautiful looking toy. I considered picking it up, but I missed him at retail, and the aftermarket prices are too high for my liking. Unless I find him at a reasonable price, it's likely the old Voyager class Dark of the Moon toy will remain the representation of Sentinel Prime in my collection.
More information on Transformers Dark of the Moon Sentinel Prime at TFW2005
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Transformers Dark of the Moon toys in my collection.
