Technodrome

The Technodrome is a fictional semi-spherical-tank-like mobile fortress of Krang and Shredder, the main villains on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series and the Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics. It does not exist in any other version of the TMNT franchise.

History
The Technodrome was designed and built by Krang and his main enginer, 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 seperated from his body and banished to Earth himself along with the Technodrome. He meets Shredder and they begin their partnership.

Although menacing at first glance through the course of the series the Technodrome is almost always stuck somewhere, whether that be in lava, ice, under the ocean or in Dimension X, making its full capabilities never realized. The closest the Technodrome came to show its full capabilities was in the finale of season three ("The Big Blow Out"). In that episode the Technodrome produced cutting equipment from hatches, raised up on hydraulic legs, and expanded the dimensional portal outwards. With enough power, the Technodrome is also capable of producing a powerful force field around itself that can withstand any weapons fire.

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.

In the last episode of the eighth season, "Turtle Trek", the Turtles destroy the Technodrome's engines and trap Krang and Shredder in Dimension X. The Technodrome gets trapped in Dimension X for good. The Technodrome is seen in the last episode of the series, when Donatello gets Krang's exosuit from it. The Technodrome has been long deserted and abandoned at that point.

Mini Technodrome


At one point during the series Shredder and Krang built a Mini Technodrome while the original was trapped at the earth's core.

This version only stood about three or four stories tall, was yellow in color, and had a large canon attatched to the eye on the top. Shredder and Krang operated the Mini Technodrome from a operations room in one of the upper levels.

It is unknown exactly what the capabilities of this smaller Technodrome were. It had large laser guns, tank treads, and a great deal of computer equipment. There was a large forward entry hatch big enough for a 15 foot robot to enter. The primary control room was located about three stories up, had two command chairs, and a large viewing window to see out. It was situated just above the forward canon.

The Mini Technodrome was built during a time that the Turtles were not on earth, visiting the Turtleoid planet. It was built by the foot soldiers, and the construction was coordinated by the robot Chrome Dome. They used the cities resources to construct the small battle fortress.

The Mini Technodrome was completed just as the Turtles returned to Earth. Shredder and Krang started the engines and prepared to crush April O'Neil under it's wheels as they headed into the city.

The armor protecting this smaller version was rather weak and the Mini Technodrome was easily destroyed by a ship from the turtleoid planet.

1987 TMNT cartoon

 * The Technodrome is first encountered under New York City. 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, "Shredder & Splintered," Donatello reverses the Technodrome's dimensional portal, and causes the Technodrome to be sucked into Dimension X.


 * Season 1 (1987)




 * The Technodrome spends most of the season in Dimension X. In the last episode of the season, "Return of the Technodrome," the Technodrome is powered up by diverting power from the power plant at Niagara Falls, and returns to Earth. Krang then burrows underground, under New York City, and uses an earthquake generator to threaten the residents of the city into surrendering. But Donatello reverses the generator, and when Krang activates it again, the Technodrome burrow itself further underground, and goes all the way down to the core of the Earth.


 * Season 2 (1988)




 * Season 3 (1989)
 * For most of the season, the Technodrome is powerless near the Earth's core. 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, fully powered up. In the final episode of the season, "The Big Blow Out," the Technodrome is on the surface and powered up, and has opened a giant portal to Dimension X in the sky over it. The Turtles manage to trick Krang into positioning the Technodrome over a sewer, where they had setup a missile they borrowed from the US Army. They launch the missile straight up; it picks up the Technodrome and carries it through the sky portal and into Dimension X.


 * Season 4 (1990)
 * In the first episode of the season, "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.
 * The Technodrome begins the season in Dimension X. Early in the season, in the episode "My Brother, the Bad Guy," Krang and Shredder finally come up with a plan to get it back 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.


 * Season 5 (1991)




 * In the 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 two seasons.


 * Season 6 (1992)


 * The Technodrome remains trapped at the bottom of the ocean until the final episode of the season, "Shredder Triumphant." Then, Krang steals some Regenerative Power Cells and uses them to re-power the Technodrome, and move it to New York City. But the Turtles get into the Technodrome, and after defeating Shredder, they reprogram the Technodrome's dimensional portal and send the Technodrome to Dimension X.


 * Season 7 (1993)




 * After falling into Dimension X, the Technodrome fell into a black hole. The intense gravity kept the Technodrome trapped there, and all the Rock Soldiers and Foot Soldiers locked inside it. The black hole also caused the Technodrome's dimensional portal to have difficulty opening where they wanted it to. Due to this Shredder and Krang choose to remain on Earth, working out of an old science building.


 * Season 8 (1994)

Working around the clock the Rock Warriors eventually manage to free the Technodrome and repair it. Shredder and Krang finally make their way back to the Technodrome in the final episode of the season, "Turtle Trek." The Turtles follow them to Dimension X, where they learn that the Technodrome is on the planet Balaraphon. They go to the planet, defeat Shredder and blow up the Technodrome's main engines, finally disabling it for good. A giant plant pulls the disabled Technodrome into a large hole where it lands on it's top, causing severe structural damage.


 * The Technodrome is not seen in this season.


 * Season 9 (1995)




 * The Turtles travel to the Technodrome once, in the series' finale "Divide and Conquer", in order to retrieve Krang's android body to fight Dregg Donatello and Michelangelo go to Dimension X and find the Technodrome, abandoned and ruined on the planet Balaraphon, following the events of Turtle Trek. There is no sign of Shredder, Krang, or any of their soldiers, only a few robots remain. They found Krang's old body and used the Technodrome's dimensional portal to return home. After fighting Dregg, Donatello activates the Technodrome's portal remotely and sends Dregg and the android body threw it, trapping them in Dimension X for good.


 * Season 10 (1996)

The European Vacation episodes, which aired from 1992 to 1993, actually take place during season 4, with the Technodrome in Dimension X.

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 spaceship. When Krang was defeated and sent to Morbus, the Technodrome was never seen again in this version.

Equipment

 * A trans-dimensional portal
 * Eyeball missile launchers
 * 4 trident-shaped laser cannons
 * A mounted surveillance eye on the top
 * A mouser factory
 * Training facilities for Shredder's henchmen, Bebop and Rocksteady
 * Three-foot-thick titanium armor
 * Huge tank treads
 * Robot walker legs that can be used instead of tank treads (scene at the end of Season 3)
 * Large holding cells
 * Earthquake machine (used during Season 2)
 * Various drilling mechanisms

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 the Earths core during most of season 3, the first of the more famous type of transport moduels 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.
 * With the Technodrome trapped at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and later the New York Harbour, Transport Modules are used to travel to the city.

Season 7 (1993)
 * Season 6 (1992)


 * Krang and Shredder use Amphibious Modules, retooled underwater versions of the original modules used to get to the city faster than before.

Turtles Forever
As the primary base of operations for Krang and Shredder, the Technodrome makes an appearance in the 2009 animated film Turtles Forever. However, after freeing Ch'rell from his icy prison, he not only overtakes control of the Technodrome from them, but also converts it into a flying fortress, using Utrom Technology.

Technodrome in videogames
In most of the TMNT video games, the Technodrome is the final level of the game and that the Turtles must fight their way through the various section of the Technodrome to get to the final boss, alternatively either Shredder or Krang depending on the game.

In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989 video game), the Technodrome itself was a boss character for the next to last level of the game. In order to move to the last level (set inside of the Technodrome), the Turtles must beat the Technodrome, which is portrayed as a huge screen filling boss. Defeating the Technodrome requires the player to destroy the base's outer gun turrets and the giant eye periscope at the top of the Technodrome.

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 and looked like a war zone. It also included some of the bosses of the earlier levels, who did not belong in the Technodrome. However, in later games the interior of the Technodrome began to match the Technodrome depicted in the cartoon series. It started including the mouser factory, security drones, and more fitting inhabitants. The first part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist Technodrome level is actually based on the Starbase level from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.

The Technodrome also appears in the background of the Underground stage in the new 2009 fighting game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up, firing off lasers that causes partial cave-ins on the battlefield.

Toys
1988- Playmates Toys

The Technodrome toy was the mecca of Turtles Toys and sits proudly alongside the Sewer Playset and the Pizza Thrower as one of the most beloved toys in the original release. Originally priced at $50, the toy is very accurate to its show appearance, complete with a giant eye that can detach from the top and bowl over its enemies.

Splitting open on either side, the inner playset was massive and included a jailing area, trap door, experiment table, Krang's room, and an armory that can hold massive amounts of foot weaponry.

Along the outside, the Technodrome has a number of detailing that can allow the Turtles to cling onto the side. On either side massive laser gun turrets point out and pivot on a hinge. Although it looks like the platform below these laser suggest a figure can sit and operate the turret, the placement of both objects make it nearly impossible for any evil character figure to do so.

Mini Technodrome


A toy of the Mini Technodrome was created to compliment the original. This version was refered to as the Technodrome Scout Vehicle, and was blue in color. Much smaller that the original, it could only hold a single toy figure.

Additional Technodrome Pictures
File:PICT0023.JPG|Technodrome digging into Earth's core File:Technodrome (4).JPG|Technodrome underground File:Technodrome_(5).JPG|Technodrome in Dimension X File:Technodrome_(15).JPG|Back of Technodrome File:Technodrome_(11).JPG|Technodorme heading into Dimension X File:Technodrome_(10).JPG|Technodrome in a black hole File:Technodrome_(8).JPG|Technodrome being sucked into itself File:Technodrome_(9).JPG|Technodrome being sucked into itself File:PICT0020.JPG|Plant monster and the Technodrome File:Technodrome (20).JPG|Plant monster and the Technodrome File:Technodrome (27).JPG|Technodrome surfacing