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The Technodrome is the semi-spherical tank-like metallic mobile fortress of Krang and the Shredder of the Foot Clan, the 2 main villains in the 1987-1996 animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics from Archie Comics, as well as the UK Hero Turtles comic book series, and most TMNT videogame adaptations. The Technodrome was also central to the plot of the 2009 Turtles Forever movie. It also appears in the 2012-2017 animated series and the IDW comics.
History
The Technodrome was designed and built by Krang and his main engineer, Drakus, in Dimension X, Krang's home. At some point before the series, Krang took the completed Technodrome and banished Drakus to Earth. Krang is later separated from his body and banished to Earth himself along with the Technodrome. He meets Shredder and they soon formed their partnership.
Although menacing at first glance, throughout the course of the series, the Technodrome is almost always powerless and stuck at some remote location (be it encased in ice, sunken under the ocean, embedded in the Earth's core, or trapped in Dimension X), making its full capabilities never realized. The closest the Technodrome came to show its full capabilities was in the season 3 finale of ("Big Blow Out"), and to a lesser extent the season 7 finale "Shredder Triumphant!". In the former episode, the Technodrome produced cutting equipment from hatches, raised up on hydraulic legs and expanded the dimensional portal outwards. Though the Technodrome often manages to acquire enough power to operate, it is always deactivated by the Turtles before any real havoc can ensue.
The Technodrome is capable of surface, subterranean, or underwater travel. If equipped with an engine powerful enough, it can also journey into outer space. The Technodrome is also equipped with a super portal that can transport the structure through dimensions. Krang utilized this to bring the Technodrome back to Earth, but the Turtles later used this to banish the Technodrome permanently to Dimension X. The Technodrome is one of the toughest war machines ever created, surviving in some of the harshest environments on Earth and in Dimension X.
In the season 8's final episode "Turtle Trek", the Turtles destroys the Technodrome's engines and trap both Krang and Shredder in Dimension X. The Technodrome becomes entrapped in Dimension X for good, and it is pulled into the pit of a ferocious tentacled alien animal whose size rivals the Technodrome itself. This finally renders it inoperable, and it was never seen again for the remainder of the series until the final episode, in which Donatello and Michaelangelo enter it to retrieve Krang's android body; by that point, the Technodrome has been irreparably damaged and long abandoned.
In the 2-part episode "Planet of the Turtleoids", the Shredder and Krang build a smaller version of the technodrome called the Mini Technodrome. It varies only in slight ways, the only major difference is the size and color (from white to gold). This Technodrome is destroyed by the Turtles when they returned in a spacecraft equipped with a pulverizer ray, leaving Shredder to retreat back to the original Technodrome.
Location
1987-1996 series
The Technodrome is first encountered under New York City, New York. Although it was already known to be there in the pilot episode "Turtle Tracks", it was only actually seen later, in "Enter the Shredder". In the last episode of the season, "The Shredder is Splintered", Donatello reverses the Technodrome's dimensional portal, causing the war machine to be sucked into Dimension X just before Krang's forces could gain a foothold on Earth. The Technodrome spends most of the season in Dimension X. In the last episode of season 2, "Return of the Technodrome", Krang decides to bring himself and The Technodrome back to Earth and attempt to commence the invasion. The Shredder diverts energy from the power plant situated at Niagara Falls, allowing Krang to open a portal big enough to enable the Technodrome to return to Earth, but the task drains the machine of much of its energy. Krang then burrows beneath New York City, and uses an earthquake generator to threaten the residents of the city into surrendering. The Turtles break into the Technodrome and Donatello tampers with the generator. When Krang activates it again, the Technodrome burrows itself further underground, and goes all the way down to the core of the Earth. For most of season 3, the Technodrome lies powerless near the Earth's core. The one exception was in the episode "Shredderville", where the Turtles dream of a world ruled by the Shredder himself, the Technodrome is above the surface in a very run down New York City. In the third-to-last episode of the season, "The Big Rip-Off", Krang and Shredder manage to steal power cells and recharge the Technodrome. Then, in the following episode "The Big Break-In", the Technodrome returns to the surface and attempts to shrink Earth's military defenses with a minimizing ray, but the Turtles turn the device on the machine. In the final episode of the season, "The Big Blow Out", the Shredder and Krang bring the Technodrome to New York City and open up a giant portal to Dimension X in the sky over it, with Krang's armada waiting to attack it on the other end. The Turtles manage to trick Shredder into positioning the Technodrome over a sewer, where they had set up a missile they had borrowed from the U.S. Army. They launch the missile straight up; it picks up the Technodrome and carries it through the sky portal and into Dimension X. Krang's forces mistake the Technodrome for Earth and attack it, severely damaging the machine.
In the first episode of season 4, "Plan 6 from Outer Space", it is learned that the Technodrome landed on an asteroid in Dimension X. In the episode "The Dimension X Story", Krang finds out that the asteroid has a volcano. He comes up with a plan to make the volcano erupt, and harness the energy to return to Earth. But due to the Turtles' interference, the eruption instead causes a flow of lava, which quickly solidifies, causing the Technodrome to become half-buried in solid rock.
Early in season 5, in the episode "My Brother, the Bad Guy", Krang and the Shredder finally come up with a plan to return to Earth. However, the Turtles intervene, and although they do get to Earth, they end up trapped in the North Pole. It would remain there, trapped in ice, for the rest of the season.
In season 6's first episode of the season "Rock Around the Block", Krang sets up a super-laser to free the Technodrome from its icy prison. This time, the Turtles are powerless to stop him. However, Bebop and Rocksteady's own incompetence causes the plan to fail, as they accidentally hit the super-laser's controls and direct it to melt the ice directly under the Technodrome. As a result, the Technodrome sinks to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, where it will remain for 2 seasons.
In season 7's first 13 episodes (the "Vacation in Europe" sideseason, which takes place during season 4), the Technodrome has resurfaced in Dimension X, but once the up-to-date episodes begin, the Technodrome is beneath the ocean, where it has remained since the 6th season. The Technodrome remains trapped until the season finale "Shredder Triumphant". Then, Krang steals some Regenerative Power Cells and uses them to reactivate the Technodrome, and move it to New York City. Donatello re-programs the Technodrome's dimensional portal and sends the Technodrome to Dimension X via remote control, but without Krang, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady.
In season 8's second "Wrath of the Rat King", Krang finds out that the Technodrome fell into a black hole within Dimension X. The intense gravity kept the Technodrome trapped there, and all the Rock Soldiers inside it. The black hole also caused the Technodrome's dimensional portal to have difficulty opening where they wanted it to. Due to this, the Shredder and Krang choose to remain on Earth, working out of an old science building. It is implied Krang's Rock Soldiers somehow free the Technodrome and transport it to the planet Balaraphon off-screen prior to the events of the final episode "Turtle Trek". In that episode, Krang and Shredder finally make their way back to the Technodrome. The Turtles follow them to Dimension X, where they learn that Shredder and Krang are on Balaraphon. They go to the planet, defeat Shredder and blow up the Technodrome's main engines, finally disabling it for good. The Technodrome is motionless as it is dragged into the pit of a tentacled beast. According to Master Splinter in season 10, the Technodrome is considered to be destroyed.
Season 9 (1995)The Technodrome is not seen in the series' 9th season.
In the series' 10th season finale "Divide and Conquer", the Turtles, specifically Donatello and Michelangelo, travel to the Technodrome once to retrieve Krang's android body. The Technodrome is abandoned and ruined on the planet Balaraphon, following the events of "Turtle Trek". Donatello and Michelangelo find the Technodrome upright and sitting on a small hill. Since it was last seen upside down in a deep hole, Krang and the Shredder must have attempted to repair the massive fortress before declaring it a lost cause.
Turtles Forever
The appearance of the Technodrome in the world of the 2003 TV series is a major plot point in the 2009 made-for-TV film Turtles Forever. After it arrives in the 2003 cartoon universe following damage sustained to its dimensional portal, the 1987 Shredder uses its technology to find and recover the Utrom Shredder (Ch'rell), Ch'rell and his Foot Ninja henchmen subsequently augmenting the Technodrome with Utrom technology, Ch'rell noting that the Utrom and Dimension X technology work well together despite the 'childish' nature of Dimension X's technology by comparison. The Technodrome gains no new abilities from this change, but is greatly altered in appearance and function. The tank wheels were removed, making it hover constantly, the eye on top was removed, and the laser weapons were altered in appearance. Ch'rell then planned to use the Technodrome and its Trans-Dimensional Portal to conquer the multiverse.
At the end of the movie, Ch'rell is destroyed when the Turtles threw him into the main laser beam of the Technodrome.
After his defeat, Krang and 80's Shredder and Turtles use the still upgraded Technodrome to go back into their own universe where they belong.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
Because the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics follow the 1987 TMNT cartoon in the beginning, the Technodrome is located first under New York City, then in Dimension X. Later in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics, Krang re-builds it into a spacecraft called Skullbuzzer. When Krang was defeated and sent to Morbus, the Technodrome was never seen again in this version.
Fleetway Comics
The Technodrome also appears in the British Fleetway Comics from the early 1990s. It is similair to its Fred Wolf Cartoon and Archie Comics counterparts, but is usually seen moving around more often.
Design
972 rooms (mentioned in the episode "The Missing Map"). Transdimensional portal. Eyeball missile launchers. 5 trident-shaped laser cannons: two located at the top of the Technodrome at each side of the eye, two on its sides, and one on its front (occasionally, due to animation errors, they aree depicted on other places, usually the rear, or more than 5 are seen). 2 large laser cannons that can be deployed with multiple eyeball missile racks (seen in The Big Blow Out). A mounted surveillance eye on the top A mouser factory (seen in A Thing About Rats). Training facilities for Shredder's henchmen, Bebop and Rocksteady Three-foot-thick titanium armour Huge tank treads, used to move the Technodrome across land or underground from each location. Robot-walker legs that can be used instead of tank treads (seen in The Big Blow Out) Gigantic saw blades and cutting devices (used in The Big Blow Out to get an energy antenna) Pedal-power Generator (used in The Big Rip-Off to generate a small amount of power when Technodrome was completely out of power) Large holding cells Earthquake machine (used in Return of the Technodrome) Various drilling mechanisms Tea- and coffee-making facilities (Season 4) Motor pool area that houses foot bikes and technorovers. (Season 1) Trap Door in the center of the main control room as used in Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X Starfighter deck housing technowings. Classical Japanese dojo rooms. Balance control (during and near the end of Season 3). Anti-gravitation generators making the technodrome able to hover slightly above the ground (used in "Return of the Technodrome"). Disintegrator Unit (season 2 episode "Enter the Fly") Escape pods ("The Foot Soldiers Are Revolting") Relay Room Street Fighter II arcade machine Engine Room Laundry room ("Dimension X Story") A turtle farm where hatchlings are bred for 126 hours before being lightly boiled in a basil and fey broth to form part of Shredder's weekly diet. Two stainless steel clad toilets at either end of the structure with industrial-strength rhino dung collector contraptions. Bonsai Garden. Indoor Pool & Sauna a "war room" with various robotic sentries (season 1)
Transport modules
The transport modules are the vehicles used by Krang, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady to move from the Technodrome to New York when the Technodrome is located on the Earth. Although they are best known in their underground drill form, their physical make-up actually changed as the Technodrome moved.
Season 1 (1987)
With the Technodrome located under New York City during season 1, there is no need for independent transport modules. In the episode A Thing About Rats, the Shredder uses a kind of transport elevator which extends, but remains connected to, the Technodrome. This type is also used in the arcade game and the Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics.
Season 3 (1989)
With the Technodrome located in Earth's core during most of season 3, the first of the more famous type of transport modules are used. It looks similar to a space shuttle without wings and with a drill in the front. Even Bebop and Rocksteady are able to pilot these transport modules.
Season 5 (1991)
With the Technodrome located in the North Pole during most of season 5, the transport modules from season 3 are used once again, this time to drill under the North American continent and towards New York City.
Season 6 and 7 (1992–1993)
With the Technodrome located under the Arctic Ocean during season 6 and season 7, underwater types of transport modules are used.
Trans-Dimensional Portal
The Technodrome contained its own "Trans-Dimensional Portal" in the Main Control Room where most of the scenes of the Technodrome can be seen. The portal allowed Shredder, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady to travel between Dimension X and Earth during the seasons where the Technodrome is located in Dimension X and allowed Krang to bring his army of Rock Soldiers to Earth when the Technodrome is located on Earth. The portal could be opened at any location on Earth when the Technodrome was in Dimension X and vice versa when the Technodrome was located in Earth, however as Shredder and his gang did not know the location of the Turtles Lair they were unable to travel there. The portal screen could be opened and closed at any time by Shredder or Krang and also doubled as a large video screen. The video screen was often used to allow Shredder and Krang to watch the Channel 6 news presented by April O'Neil even when the Technodrome was located in Dimension X. The video screen was also used to monitor the actions of Bebop and Rocksteady or Shredder when they were on one of their missions.
From season 3, Donatello also had his own portal that the Turtles could use to travel to Dimension X.
IDW
The Technodrome also appears in the IDW comics, and is used by Krang.
2012–2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series
By the season 1 finale, the Technodrome is broulght to Earth from Dimension X. This Technodrome is a large spherical spacecraft possessing large weapons all over it, capable of dispatching smaller spherical escape pods as a means of collecting samples from Earth (presumably for further mutation-related experiments). Despite the Technodrome's power, the Turtles manage to infiltrate it and cause enough damage that it crash-lands into the sea, although the last scene shows the Technodrome powering backup. In this series, the Kraang have several Technodromes, many of them in Dimension X.
The Technodrome from the 1987—1996 series later reappears in the crossovers.
Out of the Shadows
The Technodrome also appears in the 2016 TMNT film Out of the Shadows. It is used by Krang, who brings it to Earth.
Videogame appearance
In many of the older TMNT video games, the Technodrome is the final level of the game and that the Turtles must fight their way through the various sections of the Technodrome to get to the final boss, alternatively either Shredder or Krang (or both in succession) depending on the game.
The original NES game features the Technodrome as the boss of the 5th level where it went by the name "Technodrome Guardian". Defeating the Technodrome is a multi-step process, requiring the player to first destroy the cannons, and then dispatch the giant "eye" on the top before infiltrating the Technodrome and entering a final battle with the Shredder himself.
The interior of the Technodrome changes from game to game: in the first Turtles NES game, the inside of the Technodrome was yellow and blue. However, in later games, the interior of the Technodrome began to match the Technodrome depicted in the cartoon series. It began to include more elements from the series, (i.e. the Mouser factory and security drones). The first part of the Hyperstone Heist Technodrome level is actually based on the Starbase level from Turtles in Time.
In the Wii and Playstation 2 fighting videogame TMNT: Smash Up, the Technodrome appears as part of the "Underground" stage.
Gallery
Trivia
- The Technodrome is based on the Death Star from Star Wars, a similarity also shared by the Death Egg from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. While the Death Star predates the Technodrome production-wise, the Technodrome in turn predates the Death Egg.