Sentinel Prime (ROTF)

The name or term "Sentinel Prime" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Sentinel Prime (disambiguation).

This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.

Sentinel Prime is an Autobot from the live-action film continuity family.

What does Spock need with a starship?

Sentinel Prime hails from an older time, when Cybertron was the galaxy's crown jewel, and the Transformer race was full of promise and potential. The only known remaining Prime, he personified what a leader should be: wise, compassionate, and a more than worthy warrior. Revered by both Autobot and Decepticon, few would dare stand against his shield and Primax Blade.

But when Sentinel was presumably lost forever on board the Ark, Optimus Prime, his hand-picked successor, was left to fill his void. The loss of Sentinel signaled the end of Cybertron's golden age, and the planet spiraled deeper into war. Some who recall Sentinel's reign bitterly remember when Transformers were masters of their fate, rather than scattered to the stars and living as exiles. Above all, Sentinel Prime is a staunch nationalist. He loves his home planet with all of his Spark and will do anything —even go to extremes— to protect it.

“	You simply fail to understand that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.	”
—Sentinel Prime, Dark of the Moon. No, seriously.

Fiction

IDW live-action film comics

"That word is fart."

Sentinel Prime was a direct descendant of the first Cybertronian, Primus, and was believed to be the last of the Primes. He told tales to his much younger Cybertronian brethren of how the Dynasty of Primes had called upon a legendary artifact, the star-powered AllSpark, to give life to their world. But the AllSpark had been lost to history, and their world had tumbled through the cosmos without a star to orbit for eons. Sentinel Prime had plans to rectify this, and he gathered followers who believed in his path to a new age of life on Cybertron. With the help of Optimus, Megatron, and their legions, they searched the planet for the legendary artifact and a way to power it. However, there were the Thetacons, a tribe of separatist Transformers who disbelieved in Sentinel Prime's vision, and warred against him and his followers. This conflict ended when, with the help of Wheeljack, a sun to orbit was brought to Cybertron, and the AllSpark discovered and energized.

"Hey, a body! Buff, tanned... yeah, this is mine alright."

Though Sentinel Prime had finally returned the forgotten concept of "freedom" back to Cybertron, he felt he no longer had a part in its path to the future. He was old and tired, and spoke in confidence to Optimus, believing that young Autobot was also part of the Prime lineage and requesting that he take on the mantle of leadership. Though Optimus was too humble to accept, not believing Sentinel's claims about his heritage, Megatron overheard their conversation and became jealous of his "brother." Foundation #1 Sentinel formulated another plan for Cybertron's future: it would be governed by Optimus's Science Division and Megatron's Defense Force. By having Optimus investigate the remains of the Primes' civilization, it would encourage him to believe in his lineage. Foundation #2

Alas, after two generations of successful shared leadership, Megatron fell under the sway of The Fallen, and reshaped his Defense Force as the Decepticons, declaring war on Cybertron. Sentinel Prime was at the archaeological dig in Simfur when the first strike took place, and was quick to opt for a technique of self-preservation, rather than attempting to save the Science Division's work. Optimus soon arrived to fend the Decepticons off, and revealed that his studies had proven the truth of Sentinel's words: he was indeed a descendant of the Primes. He did not believe that this made him a born leader, but Sentinel impressed upon Optimus the necessity that he take up command of the Autobots, that Cybertron might be saved from Megatron's destructive ambitions.

"Jim... I am, and forever shall be, your friend."

As time passed, and the war rolled on with no signs of stopping, Sentinel Prime was forced to make a deal with Megatron to seek out another planet whose resources they can exploit to restore their homeworld. The chosen planet was the resting place of the Primes' Star Harvester. Sentinel recreated the Primes' lost space bridge technology, fashioning hundreds of pillars that would form a bridge large enough to teleport Cybertron itself across the cosmos Dark of the MoonDark of the Moon issue 3 Sentinel then invented a mysterious "torch" that he promised would end the war. Foundation #3 The torch had to be brought into contact with the AllSpark to be activated, so the Autobots launched an attack on the Simfur temple to carry out this action while Sentinel stood by with a spacecraft, the Ark, to await delivery of the active torch. Elita One soon returned with the torch, at which point Sentinel instructed Wheeljack to take the second Ark and collect the remaining Autobots from Tyger Pax, while he himself headed to Simfur to collect Optimus's forces. Upon arrival at Simfur, however, Sentinel's Ark was attacked by Starscream, and was consumed by a huge explosion, leaving all present to believe it, Sentinel, and all aboard had been destroyed. Foundation #4

In actuality, Sentinel's Ark had not been vaporized as believed: it had been teleported away by the space bridge technology it was outfitted with. With all hands knocked into stasis by the explosion, the ship automatically jinked through space and time on a series of random space bridge jumps, until at last, its sensors locked on to the energy of the AllSpark, which had since been ejected from Cybertron and had crash-landed on the planet Earth. On its penultimate jump, the Ark crossed paths with the Decepticon ship Nemesis, which had departed Cybertron just as the war was beginning, and was now also following the AllSpark's trail. The Ark materialized from its jump into the same physical space as the Nemesis, crippling both ships beyond repair; the Ark made one final bridge jump, reappearing in the immediate vicinity of Earth in 1962, where it crashed violently onto Earth's Moon. All the Autobots aboard perished save for Sentinel himself, who was in the crash vault and remained slumbering in stasis. Convergence chapter 1

Revenge of the Fallen film

When Sam Witwicky launched into a rambling lecture on the nature of space and time while in a trance brought on by the knowledge of the AllSpark entering his mind, he recalled Sentinel Prime's "expedition" to find Cybertron a new sun, commenting that it took "fourteen galactic convergences" to get an echo. Revenge of the Fallen

Titan Magazines Dark of the Moon prequels

Sentinel is a direct descendant of Primus, the first Cybertronian, and one of the last surviving Primes. With a firm but just hand, he ruled the Autobots before the war. During the war, he named Optimus his successor before departing on a mission into deep space, only for his ship to be shot down by enemy fire...

But his Ark merely crashed somewhere near Earth in 1962, a fragment of it landing in Fiesole, Italy. When a human discovered it in 2011, Starscream and Soundwave tried to prevent the Autobots from getting that fragment and finding their way to the lost Ark. The Autobots finding Sentinel was not an option for Starscream and the concept unnerved him, while an ominous narrator told us the fragment had the power to make martyrs of the good and bad alike... Fight for Fiesole

Dark of the Moon film

Voice actor: Leonard Nimoy (English), Nobuyuki Katsube (Japanese), Arturo Casanova (Latin American Spanish), Dario Penne (Italian)

“

So lost are you, Optimus. On Cybertron we were gods. And here... here they call us "machines."

”

Sentinel just can't get to sleep without his security pillar.

Long ago, during the war on Cybertron, a heated battle erupted around the Ark, a shuttle commandeered by Sentinel Prime and a small crew, which carried a special, secret cargo that Sentinel claimed would end the war. However, the shuttle was hit in battle, disappeared, and presumed lost forever. In 1961, the Ark hit Earth's moon, crashing there, and its impact was detected by NASA. This event inspired the United States of America's eventual first trip to the moon in 1969, which was secretly an attempt to inspect the crashed alien ship. However before Apollo 11 got there, approximately two hundred Decepticons and Orbital Assault Carriers raided the Ark, stole the ship's cargo and concealed themselves under the Moon's surface. A Space Bridge Technology called a Pillar. However they left five Pillars along with Sentinel in the crash vault. When Apollo reached the moon, the crew cut communication with every NASA worker apart from the highest command. They searched the ship and returned to Earth. Though NASA astronauts would make a handful of trips to the moon in the next few years, none would stumble upon the Ark's crash vault, which contained Sentinel Prime's comatose body and a small fraction of his secret cargo.

In 1972 the moon program was mysteriously shut down, thereby preventing the Soviets from landing on the Moon and discovering Sentinel and the Pillars.

The United States government had classified the moon missions' real purpose, even from the Autobots, but a human associate of Col. William Lennox told him about a detected alien signature. Optimus Prime and a NEST team travelled to the ruins of Chernobyl where Optimus located and identified a piece of technology from the missing Ark. After retrieving the Ark piece, he confronted the US government for hiding this information from him, and subsequently travelled to the moon with Ratchet to find and retrieve Sentinel Prime.

"You look ridiculous." ...Except for that glorious mustache...

With Sentinel Prime's comatose body returned successfully to NEST's headquarters, along with five "pillars," Optimus Prime used his Matrix of Leadership to return Sentinel Prime to operational status. Disoriented, Sentinel attacked Optimus, pushing him to the ground and shoving his Primax Blade near his face, and after some worried protests from Optimus, Sentinel finally realized his surroundings and disengaged. Although he had to admit that the war for Cybertron had been lost, Optimus tried to console his predecessor with news that they had also recovered the five pillars that were in the crash vault with him, but Sentinel grew further frustrated, as there should have been hundreds of them. Sentinel explained that the pillars were the anchors of a new space bridge technology that he had intended to use to bring resources back to Cybertron to replenish it. National Security Director Charlotte Mearing did not like this idea at all, and announced her intent to take possession of these pillars, as they could be used to bring an army to Earth to destroy it. Sentinel did not like being condescended to by the human. The technology was his, and the humans had no right to it.

"Sorry Optimus, I don't want it. Because when I kill someone, I want them to stay dead."

Optimus gave Sentinel a tour of Earth, culminating in a view of a sunset. Sentinel marvelled at the beauty and the liveliness of the planet as it reminded him of Cybertron in its prime. Optimus took this moment to offer Sentinel back the Matrix of Leadership, believing Sentinel to deserve it more. But Sentinel refused it, stating that he was only more experienced long ago on Cybertron, while this new world of Earth was unfamiliar to him.

The Autobots' young human ally, Sam Witwicky found evidence that led him to believe that the Decepticons possessed the missing pillars and would be coming after Sentinel Prime since they needed him to activate the technology. In an attempt to shield Sentinel from the Decepticons, several Autobots escorted Sentinel Prime back to NEST headquarters. Ironhide and the others successfully fended off a team of Decepticons, but once Sentinel reached their destination, he unveiled a terrible truth. He had been secretly (and reluctantly) working with Megatron for centuries, and the space bridge was technology Sentinel had created so that he and the Decepticons could bring Earth's resources back to Cybertron so that they could rebuild their dead homeworld. But as both Megatron and Sentinel Prime had ended up in stasis for centuries, this secret plan had gone waylaid... until now, after the Autobots came into control of the Matrix, which could re-activate dead Transformers, and so the Decepticons and their human allies had created a plan to lead Optimus Prime to the Moon where he could retrieve and revive his predecessor for them.

Sentinel punctuated this bombshell by shooting Ironhide repeatedly in the back with his Cosmic Rust weapon.

In the novelization and comic book adaptation, Sentinel kills Mudflap and Skids too. However this was not seen in the film as they were removed from the final cut.

As Ironhide crumbled away and died, Sentinel fired at Bumblebee as well, though the scout was able to dodge his blasts. Sentinel dove into NEST headquarters, tore the place apart, and retrieved the five pillars from the compound's vault. An angered Charlotte Mearing barged in and confronted Sentinel head on and demanded an explanation for his actions. Sentinel simply stated that he was a Prime and did not take orders from the humans.

Give me your face!

As Megatron arrived in truck mode from his exile in Africa, Sentinel Prime set up a small space bridge portal on the Reflecting Pool facing the Lincoln Memorial. As Decepticon troops hidden on the Moon began to burst through the portal and scan local vehicle forms, Optimus Prime interrupted Sentinel's work with an angry tackle, but Sentinel overpowered him. Optimus demanded an explanation for Sentinel's betrayal, and Sentinel responded that Optimus never had the resolve to make the tough choices, and that Earth must be sacrificed for Cybertron to be reborn. Sentinel left Optimus to stew in his anger, telling his former pupil that he was lucky Sentinel left him alive.

Speaking to the United Nations, Sentinel demanded that the "Autobot rebels" be expelled from Earth and that he and the Decepticons be able to take what resources from Earth they required. The humans wasted no time in agreeing, and the Xantium was launched with Earth's remaining eleven Autobots inside... though Starscream was waiting in orbit to blast the shuttle to bits.

Sentinel and his new hobo friend.

Decepticons around the world began positioning the pillars precisely according to Sentinel's instructions as the first brunt of the Decepticons' assault began in Chicago. Sentinel had chosen a tall, domed building in Chicago's downtown as the focal point of the space bridge. Megatron joined him on the roof of this building, and the Decepticon leader began to gloat about the success of their partnership. Sentinel, however, felt his partner was getting too chummy, and violently reminded Megatron of his place; Sentinel worked with Megatron, not for him.

Sentinel and the Decepticons succeeded in occupying Chicago, but the Autobots, who had managed to survive their apparent destruction through subterfuge, arrived in the city to take it back and destroy the space bridge technology. Sentinel activated the space bridge, and a large portal opened in space above Earth, through which the massive planet Cybertron began to materialize. After the Autobots defeated most of the Decepticon forces, Optimus Prime caught Sentinel Prime's attention by shooting down the Control Pillar, temporarily deactivating the space bridge. Enraged, Sentinel descended from his building perch to battle his former apprentice. When Optimus began to gain the upper hand in their duel, Sentinel called upon Decepticon fighter ships to fire at his former apprentice and attempted to escape in fire engine mode. However, Optimus and the NEST soldiers defeated the ships; Optimus then intercepted Sentinel and re-engaged him. After a prolonged fight, Sentinel got the upper hand and severed one of Optimus's arms, proving that Sentinel was the more powerful of the two.

Do you really want to hurt me? Do you really want to make me cry?

Before Sentinel could deliver the killing blow, however, he came under attack by Megatron, who had been goaded into action by Sam's girlfriend Carly Spencer. Megatron realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and had decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Sentinel was taken by surprise and amassed critical damage. At the same time, Ratchet and Bumblebee destroyed the reactivated control pillar, thus destroying the space bridge and presumably Cybertron with it. Though Megatron's attack on Sentinel saved Optimus's life, the Autobot leader refused Megatron's offer of a truce (knowing his true intentions) and killed his seemingly eternal foe, leaving Optimus and Sentinel alone once more. Seeing his plans in ruins, the injured and crippled Sentinel explained all he ever wanted was the survival of the Cybertronian race and begged Optimus to see why he had to betray him. However, Optimus refused and told Sentinel that he didn't betray Optimus, he betrayed himself. Optimus Prime then executed Sentinel Prime with Megatron's fusion shotgun.

In an earlier draft of the movie's script, Optimus would have turned the tables on Sentinel by killing him with his own Cosmic Rust cannon, as opposed to using Megatron's Fusion shotgun in the actual film.

Dark of the Moon

Mega-Mouth

A Megatron that hails from another universe claims that he attacked Sentinel. Mega-Mouth #1

Age of Extinction film

Somebody didn't get the memo about living long and prospering.

After the battle of Chicago, Sentinel's head was recovered by Joshua Joyce's KSI to be used to help manufacture their own Transformers. Brains personally worked on it along with the remains of other fallen Transformers. Age of Extinction

Games

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (mobile game)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (mobile game)

Cyberverse Battle Builder

Cyberverse Battle Builder

Toys

Dark of the Moon

Cyberverse

Prime 3:16!

• Sentinel Prime (Cyberverse Commander, 2011)
  • Series 1
  • Number: 002
  • Japanese ID number: CV05
  • Accessories: Primax blade, shield

Sentinel Prime was released as part of the first wave of Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Commander Class toys. He transforms from a Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck to robot and back. He comes with his sword and shield, both of which he can wield in either hand. The sword stores underneath his vehicle mode, whereas the shield folds in half and becomes part of the fire truck roof (including the boom arm). Because the boom arm has a grip at the middle that allows Sentinel to hold it in shield mode, the grip can be used as a C joint bar in vehicle mode.

Because of clearance issues, bringing and folding his arms to his back for vehicle mode can be rather difficult. The shoulders are more likely to pop off the plastic swivels they're on.

On some (early?) releases, the Rosenbauer logo on the right side of the truck is reversed.

• More information on Cyberverse Commander Sentinel Prime at TFU.info

Welcome to Sunnyside!

• Dark Sentinel Prime (Cyberverse Commander, 2011)
  • Series 1
  • Number: 010
  • Japanese ID number:
  • Accessories: Primax blade, shield

Dark Sentinel Prime is a redeco of the previous Cyberverse Sentinel Prime. He's... lighter, but has some evil-looking red eyes.

• More information on Dark Sentinel Prime at TFU.info

• Autobot Ark with Roller and Bonus Value Sentinel Prime (Cyberverse Playset, 2011)
  • Accessories: Primax blade, shield

This Target-exclusive release includes otherwise unchanged Ark and Roller toys, along with a free and equally unchanged figure of the first Cyberverse Sentinel Prime toy. Good luck getting him into the cockpit.

Voyager Class toys

There's no fire? There will be!

• Sentinel Prime (MechTech Voyager, 2011)
  • Japanese ID number: DA20
  • Accessories: MechTech Boom Lift/Fusion Cannon

Sentinel Prime is in the third wave of Dark of the Moon MechTech Voyagers. He converts from a Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck to robot and back. He features an itty-bitty flip out nozzle on his front. His rotating and extending MechTech Boom Lift (which looks like a giant cannon due to the peg at the tip) becomes a Fusion Cannon when a large button is pushed, but only if the button (which is rotatable) has its underside tabs aligned with its respective sockets on the weapon housing. The weapon can be locked in this mode if the button is rotated while pressed. The weapon itself features a MechTech port on each side panel, with the aforementioned peg at the tip of the Boom Lift.

While his firetruck roof kibble is intentionally used as wings/a cape, he's still a pretty significant shellformer, flopping nearly his entire firetruck side panels and front (along with his roof) onto his back, with only his wheels, leg panels, and feet being integrated in any way with his vehicle mode.

Like the Cyberverse Dark Sentinel Prime, this figure's Autobot symbols are deliberately scratched out. However, his box bio remains coy about his true nature.

• More information on Voyager Sentinel Prime at TFU.info

Leader Class toys

Live-action hyper goldfish!

• Sentinel Prime (MechTech Leader, 2011)
  • Japanese ID number: DA02
  • Accessories: Primax Blade, MechTech Shield/Bladed Blaster

MechTech Leader Class Sentinel Prime converts from a Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck to robot and back! In vehicle mode, he features a rotating, extending firefighting boom arm, a small flip-up nozzle on the front fender, and siren lights and sounds, activated by a small grey button on the roof of the cabin. There are two 5mm post hole MechTech ports in this mode; the one on the right hand side of the vehicle has a button inside, that when pushed in (by plugging in a MechTech weapon), activates a weapon deploying sound effect. Pressing the cabin roof button in this mode activates a weapon firing sound. Removing the MechTech weapon activates the transformation sound effect.

A Stealth Force-style attack vehicle mode can be formed by opening panels on the rearward sides of the vehicle to expose hidden weapons (that look like missiles) and two more MechTech ports, activating the MechTech Shield's Bladed Blaster mode (by pressing the large button on it marked by the Cyberglyphics) and attaching that to the vehicle MechTech ports, and clipping the Primax Blade's handle into the two tabs on top of the Shield/Bladed Blaster's turret. In a reversal of his Cyberverse toy, Sentinel's double-bladed Primax Blade folds in half and stores underneath the grey panels forming the roof of much of the vehicle, while the MechTech shield is stored under the truck.

In robot mode, when the button on Sentinel Prime's chest is pushed, his eyes light up, his chin moves and he says "I am Sentinel Prime!" Two more phrases, "Good to see you alive, Optimus." and "What has happened to the AllSpark?" are heard when a weapon is inserted into the MechTech port with the button inside of it and the chest button pushed. Unfortunately, the Canadian release only says "Sentinel Prime" because of language laws. The siren lights and sounds can still be activated by pressing the grey button back and to the left of Sentinel Prime's head.

In this mode, Sentinel has four more 5mm MechTech ports: one each on either shoulder and one each on either forearm. If that's still not enough, the screw holes under his wrists can accommodate 5mm weapons as well, for a total of eight weapons beyond those included with the figure. The Primax Blade and Shield can both be held via their respective handles in either of Sentinel's articulated hands; the shield can also be plugged into the MechTech port in Sentinel's forearms.

The red detailing on the shield as seen in the stock photography is not present on the final product.

The Japanese release comes packed with a character card and an accompanying transparent plastic card of his MechTech weapon for the MechTech Wars online game.

• More information on Leader Sentinel Prime at TFU.info

• Leader Class Sentinel Prime and Bonus Value Deluxe Class Nitro Bumblebee (Two-pack, 2012?)
  • Accessories: Primax Blade, MechTech Shield/Bladed Blaster

As the name implies, this Walmart-exclusive giftset would have contained a Dark of the Moon Leader Class Sentinel Prime figure and a Dark of the Moon Deluxe Class Nitro Bumblebee figure. They would have been unchanged from their individual releases. The existence of this unreleased set was revealed by an eBay auction after the DOTM toyline was effectively over.

Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Merchandise

Speed Stars

Mini Changers

"You were trying eat the last cheesy puff!"

• Stealth Force Bumblebee & Sentinel Prime (2011)

This non-transforming toy of Sentinel Prime is packed with a non-transforming Stealth Force Bumblebee.

Well, that's not how I remember it.

• Stealth Force Sideswipe & Sentinel Prime (2011)

This non-transforming toy of Sentinel Prime comes with a non-transforming Stealth Force Sideswipe.

Notes

Jim, you left me on Genesis. Why did you do that?

Sentinel Prime is great. He's great...I can't tell you anything else, other than he's great.Michael Bay

• In an early draft of Transformers, time stops as Sam Witwicky falls down the building Megatron smashed, and Sentinel appears to him via the AllSpark. Sentinel would've clarified the history of the war and the relationship between Optimus and Megatron (expanding on their history as siblings) and given him a clue to defeating Megatron with the Cube.
• An early working name for Sentinel Prime for Dark of the Moon was Ultra Magnus.
• In the debut trailer for the film Dark of the Moon, Sentinel Prime is seen in a gold and silver color scheme. This shot was redone for the movie proper, and he consistently appears red throughout the film.
• The Rosenbauer Panther fire truck cast as Sentinel Prime was entirely repainted specifically for the film, at a cost of thousands of dollars; real-world aircraft fire-fighting vehicles are required by FAA regulations to have a much lighter color scheme.
• In Dark of the Moon, Sentinel Prime says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Leonard Nimoy said the same line in the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as Spock, in one of several Star Trek references in the movie.
• Sentinel Prime was physically modelled after Sean Connery.

• Walmart had exclusive retailer rights to use Sentinel Prime in their signage and marketing as part of their "Power of the Primes" campaign.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Sentinel Prime (センチネル・プライム Senchineru Puraimu)
• Hungarian: Őrszem Fővezér ("Prime Leader Sentinel")