Why Sentinel Prime betrayed the Primes in Transformers One

Transformers One features Sentinel Prime as its main villain, raising questions about why he betrayed Cybertron’s former leaders, the Primes. The newest film in the franchise follows a slightly different path to Optimus Prime’s origin story. In Transformers OneOptimus is known as Orion Pax, a low-class Cybertronian who works his entire life as an Energon miner. This is linked to the history of Transformers One‘s Sentinel Prime, which states that there is an important reason why miners must work so hard.

However, at the time of Transformers OneIn the climactic ending, Sentinel Prime is discovered to be a traitor. It is revealed that Sentinel betrayed the former Primes, taking Orion Pax and his friend D-16 on a journey that will see them become the iconic figures of Optimus Prime and Megatron from Transformers tradition. A possible sequence of Transformers One would be based on this rivalry in typical Transformers fashion, but none of this would have been possible in this universe if Sentinel Prime hadn’t betrayed the Primes to begin Optimus and Megatron’s journeys.

Sentinel Prime was tired of serving the Primes instead of having his own power

Sentinel simply wanted power

In Transformers OneSentinel Prime’s reasoning for betraying the other Primes is relatively simple. It is explained that the Sentry was once a servant of the Primes, helping them maintain order on Cybertron. Sentry was not a Prime, however, and desired the power that those above him possessed. As such, he orchestrated a story that led to the destruction of the Primes, claiming the title for himself and ruling Cybertron as its new leader. Voiced by Jon Hamm in Transformers Onevoice cast, Sentinel reveals this to Orion Pax in the film.

In a speech in the film’s third act, Sentinel explains that he betrayed the Primes out of greed. After overseeing the death of the Primes, he began selling Energon to the Quintessons, a great enemy of the Cybertronians. By doing so, Sentinel secured his position as leader of the city of Iacon and falsely constructed a reason for the servitude of the majority of his subjects. Tthis allowed Sentinel Prime to live as a king with unlimited resources, power, and influence over the people of Iacon. Eventually, however, this backfired on him when D-16 became Megatron, subsequently killing Sentinel out of revenge.

Sentinel Prime’s betrayal in Transformers One was taken from franchise lore

Sentry tends to be an antagonist in Transformers

Transformers OneThe decision to portray Sentinel Prime as a villain is consistent with the franchise’s tradition. Although Sentinel was a hero in the original animated series, The Transformers, he has shown himself to be an antagonist in other iterations. For example, Sentinel Prime was the main villain of 2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moonthe third installment of the live action Transformers movie timeline. Sentinel Prime was initially depicted as the leader of the Primes as he was in the original show, although he harbored a dark secret.

It is revealed that Sentinel made a deal with Megatron to ensure the survival of the Cybertronians. With their planet now destroyed, Sentinel and Megatron form a plan to bring Cybertron to Earth, taking it from humans as their new home. This began a wave of Sentry being a villain in different iterations of the series, dating back to the IDW comics Transformers: more than meets the eye for Cartoon Network Transformers: Animated. Transformers One it simply follows that trend, having Sentinel as a previously benevolent character who betrayed his people in his quest for power.

How Sentinel Prime Kept His Betrayal Secret for So Long in Transformers One

Sentinel Prime constructed a false story to maintain his cover

One of the main questions after Transformers OneSentinel Prime’s revelation is how he kept his betrayal a secret for so long. The reason for this stems from the agreement that the Sentinel makes with the Quintessons, the main enemies of the Cybertronians in Transformers Onetimeline. The Sentinel’s treaty with the Quintessons states that they will allow Iacon City to have the Sentinel as its leader if he supplies them with Energon regularly. Sentinel provides this by taking the transformer gears from the miners of Iacon City and forcing them into a life of servitude.

The removal of the gears keeps the workers subservient, and the regular flow of Energon that is supplied to the Quintessons keeps the Sentinel in power. The Sentinel maintains this secrecy by not allowing anyone onto the surface of Cybertron; he claims that only he is allowed to go to the ground to search Transformers OneLeadership Matrix. The Matrix of Leadership is what used to keep Energon flowing throughout Iacon City, with Sentinel stating that it was lost when the Elder Primes were killed.

This keeps the workers of Iacon City underground and mining for Energon, as they believe it keeps them, and all other Cybertronians, alive. However, Sentinel is simply taking the Energon they mined and giving it to the Quintessons, all in exchange for their unshakable power over the city of Iacon. After discovering this, Orion Pax and D-16 expose Sentinel Prime’s lies and betrayal, leading to the resistance that sees Optimus Prime ascend as the new Cybertronian leader in Transformers Oneis ending.