| “ | This is Prince Sprocket, heir apparent and his father’s eager student. They will stop at nothing until they conquer the entire universe! | „ |
| ~ Zordon describing Prince Sprocket. |
Prince Sprocket is a major antagonist in Power Rangers Zeo and a minor antagonist in Power Rangers In Space. He is the youngest Prince of the Machine Empire and the youngest son of King Mondo and Queen Machina.
He is voiced by Barbara Goodson who previously voiced Rita Repulsa and Mantis in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Orbus and later voiced Somnibot both also in Zeo, Icy Angel in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Notacon in Power Rangers Time Force and was the female voice of Mandilok in Power Rangers Wild Force. Outside of Power Rangers, she is best known as Mother Talzin in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Petra Fina in Flint the Time Detective, Enya Geil in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Madame X in Lupin III: Part II, Alcyone in Magic Knight Rayearth, Chirin in Ringing Bell, Zirconia in the Viz dub of Sailor Moon SuperS and Griffith in the Berserk franchise.
Biography
Past
Prince Sprocket was built as the second, younger son of King Mondo and Queen Machina sometime after they built Prince Gasket. Although Sprocket initially had no claim to the throne, "several centuries ago," Gasket fell in love with Archerina; the daughter of Mondo's nemesis King Aradon. Evidently, this led to a large falling out between him and his family over the forbidden relationship so Gasket abandoned the Empire and he and Archerina went into hiding. King Mondo was so angry that he completely disowned his son and named Sprocket as his heir instead out of spite much to the younger prince's joy. Due to Gasket’s betrayal, Mondo and Machina doted on Sprocket and gave him anything he wanted which led to him becoming a completely spoiled brat. At some point prior to the series, Mondo and Machina granted Sprocket a nuclear reactor when he asked for one to play with but he only played with the bot which they would remember and hold against him even though Sprocket considered it “a dumb toy.”
Zeo
Immediately after the death of the Hydro Hog, the Machine Empire storms the Moon and drive out Rita and Lord Zedd using thier Quadrafighters. Mondo and Machina believe that Earth will be an easy conquest but is surprised when the Zeo Power Rangers defeat a squad of his Cogs. However, King Mondo and Queen Machina are intrigued by this more than they are angered since all of thier previous conquests have been boring and too easy and the Zeo Rangers actually prove formidable.
Although he is only initially seen in the Machine Skybase, Prince Sprocket first goes to Earth after Tanya discovers a new-found talent for baseball pitching enrages King Mondo as they failed to take advantage of the plan. As a result, Machina orders Prince Sprocket as well as Klank and Orbus to come up with their own plans but the latter two are ignored in favour of Sprocket. Taking inspiration from the Rangers' "children's games," and deciding on his plan after hearing that Rocky and Adam are planning to practice baseball the next morning, Sprocket decides to use the People Pitcher to capture the Zeo Rangers and render the Earth defenceless. Later, Sprocket accompanies the People Pitcher, Klank, Orbus and a platoon of Cogs to the Angel Grove Adventure Landing where they cause chaos to lure out the Zeo Rangers. Although Sprocket has Rocky’s Zeonizer, Adam is able to retrieve it so Sprocket retreats and leaves his minions to fight instead.
Inspired by the B-movie “Invasion of Blueface” which three of the Rangers are extras in, Prince Sprocket decides to shoot his own movie with Klank and Orbus acting as producers but use it to destroy the Zeo Rangers and render the Earth defenseless Instead of using pre-built monsters of the Machine Empire though, since Sprocket thinks that using any other monsters will make his movie less impressive, he decides to steal the monster suits from the movie set. The Cogs succeed, taking the Leaky Faucet suit along with three others and luring the Zeo Rangers into a massive Cog battle where they are captured by the Video Vulture. Whilst the Rangers are trapped in a forcefield, the suits are animated as sentient monsters for use in the Prince's film whilst Sprocket starts the movie by sending Tommy and Tanya to fight the Leaky Faucet. However, they break free from the movie by saving people from a bus they were supposed to die in which angers Sprocket until Klank proposes an ending where his four monsters kill them. As Sprocket and Klank watch from high ground, the monsters easily overwhelm the heroes by blasting them and then merge to form Bucket of Bolts when they prove mostly ineffective who Klank and Orbus then enlarges. However, although the monster is formidable, Bucket of Bolts is swiftly destroyed by the Zeo Megazord and marks the end of Sprocket’s movie making career.
After hearing of the Come as Your Favorite Decade dance which is designed to give less fortunate children free toys, Prince Sprocket demands his own fun toy. Mondo and Machina are initially reluctant to do as he has destroyed half of the Cog army and once took a nuclear reactor only to ignore it but his whining annoys Mondo enough that he grants him the use of Googleheimer the Toy Robot to have fun by causing chaos and destruction. Knowing how destructive they will be though; he sends both to terrorize Earth so Sprocket and Googleheimer arrive at the Mojave Desert on the outskirts of Angel Grove where Googleheimer destroys a payphone. Right after, they spot Billy playing with his car so Sprocket sends Cogs to attack him and they enjoy the resulting chaos until Billy retrieves his communicator and has Alpha rescue him.
Bored, Sprocket and Googleheimer move into Angel Grove itself and cause more chaos until the Zeo Rangers confront him. Right after, they spot Billy playing with his remote-control car so Sprocket sends Cogs to attack him and they enjoy the resulting chaos. Quickly though, Billy puts a magnet in his car and uses it to drag around Sprocket, the Cogs and Googleheimer until he retrieves his communicator and has Alpha teleport him out. Bored, Sprocket and Googleheimer move into Angel Grove itself where they confront Rocky, Kat and Tommy distributing flyers for the dance. Sprocket watches the ensuing fight and, after the Zeo Cannon defeats Googleheimer, Sprocket has Klank and Orbus enlarge him only for the monster to be quickly destroyed.
On Sprocket's birthday, Mondo and Machina plan to throw a party before revealing a surprise gift but the plan is scrapped after the Cogs that Machina sends fail to steal party supplies from the Youth Center due to the Zeo Rangers pelting them with pies. Instead, Mondo just gives Sprocket his surprise; the monster Wrecking Ball; a newly built monster and remote-controlled so Sprocket can use him to destroy the Zeo Rangers so he can become an adult. However, the Prince has initial trouble controlling Wrecking Ball due to his cup-and-ball based abilities so it takes him until just before Tanya's performance to master it and send the monster to Earth. Going on a rampage, Wrecking Ball Wrecking Ball attacks the Angel Grove Warehouse District and even overwhelms the Red Battlezord but is swiftly destroyed by the Zord; upsetting Sprocket but it impresses his parents enough to decide that he was now a man.
The same day that Kat and Tommy are assigned an eco-systems school project with Raymond, Sprocket has invented a device supposedly capable of enlarging monsters even larger than Klank and Orbus. When he shows off to them though, it instead shrinks a rock which disappoints Sprocket but Mondo later points out to him that they can shrink the Rangers to easily crush them. When Kat, Tommy and Raymond come to look for small creatures in the Mojave Desert to put in their terrarium, Sprocket and Mondo watch from on high and then have the Cogs ambush them after they lose track of a lizard. Although they morph, Tommy and Kat are quickly overwhelmed and dragged before Sprocket who makes them tiny before putting them in their own terrarium whilst he tries to find and shrink the other Rangers to adopt them as pets as well.
After more begging from Kat and Tommy to let them go, Sprocket instead leaves and catches a tarantula he names Harry to eat them. After they cause a landslide though, he overhears Bulk and Skull searching Old Man Murphy’s Mine for the lost gold so confronts them just as they find the gold cache; initially being ignored until they recognize him as a monster. In doing so however, Sprocket’s absence from the terrarium inadvertently allows the Gold Ranger to rescue Tommy and Kat. Although Sprocket soon returns and summons the Cogs, Gold and the other Rangers swiftly defeat them and force Sprocket to retreat when Rocky threatens to attack him next. Devastated by his failure, an angry Prince Sprocket complains to his father but Mondo manages to calm him down by having Klank present the Tarantabot (based on Harry) to destroy the Rangers which excites Sprocket but the monster is soon destroyed.
Around Christmas time in Angel Grove, after witnessing the diversity and tolerance of other religions enjoyed by the Rangers and their friends, Mondo and Machina sneer in disgust at the love and tolerance. Realizing that their beliefs make them celebrate in various ways, they become determined to ruin the atmosphere by inciting hatred between the various religions represented in the Youth Centre which would divide the Rangers and make the Earth an easy target. After Klank constructs the Bias Blaster, Mondo sends Sprocket and the Cogs to shoot the Rangers with it; appearing in the centre of the Youth Centre and making bad Christmas puns before blasting the Rangers and Raymond and then retreating. Despite this, the Blaster’s effects are later undone by a girl singing; ruining yet another plot.
Sprocket is distraught when the Super Zeo Megazord destroys King Mondo but Machina reassures him that this has happened before and he will be rebuilt in time. After Louie Kaboom arrives and is continually rejected by Machina, he has her and Sprocket imprisoned as he becomes ruler of the Machine Empire. Soon after though, Machina and Sprocket are later rescued by Prince Gasket and Archerina much to her relief and Sprocket's aggravation. With Gasket assuming command of the Machine Empire, Prince Sprocket takes on a severely reduced role and is constantly negatively compared to his elder brother. Sprocket regains his position when King Mondo returns shortly after the death of the Mechaterpillar but Gasket soon returns anyway. However, Sprocket sees his chance to become the sole heir to the throne and tricks Gasket into growing giant to fight the Power Rangers. Although they are defeated by the Zeo Ultrazord though, Gasket and Archerina survive and try to kill Sprocket for his trick but are forced to flee by Mondo's arrival. It isn't long after this that and the Royal House of Gadgetry meet with Zedd and Rita who pretend to surrender but use a bomb to blow up the Machine Empire leadership.
In Space
By 1998, Prince Sprocket has been rebuilt by the United Alliance of Evil but he does not attend the Cimmerian Planet conference due to his age and stays in the Machine Skybase.
Later that year, Dark Specter gives the order for an invasion of the entire universe and Prince Sprocket helps with the preparations. However, due to his age, he does not participate in the actual attack on K0-35 and stays in the Skybase with Klank and Orbus. As a result, he is not seen when Zordon's Energy Wave hits so his fate is unknown though he never appeared again in the series, even when the Machine Empire remnants appear four years later.
Beast Morphers
Prince Sprocket does not appear physically but is recalled after Scrozzle proposes resurrecting Lord Zedd for Evox's plans. The villains appear to agree to these plans until Roxy reminds everyone of what Zedd and Rita did to the Royal House of Gadgetry so they decide not to resurrect him for fear of betrayal.
Personality
| “ | Father, it was his fault. It was his fault. He let them get away. I was perfect. | „ |
| ~ Prince Sprocket refusing to accept responsibility for the Quadrafighters missing Rita and Zedd by blaming Klank. |
Prince Sprocket is whiny, obnoxious, and very demanding; longing to impress King Mondo and inherit the Machine Empire's throne. As a spoiled brat, Sprocket is usually heard complaining about Klank and Orbus “ruining his schemes,” whining until he gets what he wants like when he demands a “good toy” until Mondo giving him Googleheimer the Toy Robot and being extremely vain of any gifts such as Wrecking Ball. Sprocket is often made a fool of by the Zeo Rangers and he shares his parents' hate for the Zeo Rangers but his attempts to defeat them are usually foiled because of his naivete. Being a child, Sprocket whines whenever he starts losing and blames everyone else for the failure except himself. As seen after Punch-A-Bunch is destroyed, he also keeps his word as he gives Adam back to the Rangers like he agreed even though he had no reason to.
On top of just causing chaos and destruction though, Sprocket is also a cold sociopath; agreeing with Googleheimer the Toy Robot’s plan to find and burn "moving targets" meaning humans. In spite of being rude and bratty though, Sprocket still showed respect for Admiral Abominator by referring to him as “the Admiral” out of respect for his skilled command. Due to his age, Sprocket frames many of his plans like big games; making a murderous movie for fun, playing destructive games with Googleheimer and plotting to pilot armadas with Admiral Abominator.
| “ | Sprocket: My plan is working. Huh huh huh huh huh huh. Klank: Your plan?! Orbus: He couldn’t plan to take a nap. Sprocket: Quiet you broken down trash compactor. Orbus: Rusty oil drum. Sprocket: Bumbling bulb head. |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket arguing with Klank and Orbus over responsibility for the plan involving Boohoo the Clown. |
For most of Zeo, Prince Sprocket has an ongoing feud with Klank and Orbus; Sprocket because he thinks that they are useless punching bags and Klank and Orbus because they consider him a thin-skinned whiny brat that refuses to take any responsibility for his own failures and often takes credit for their ideas. However, he occasionally compliments them such as after Orbus enlarges Punch-A-Bunch in “Challenges” and, by the end of Zeo, they are more amicable and work together to undermine Prince Gasket; having apparently put aside their differences.
Powers and Abilities
- Strength: Prince Sprocket knocked down Cogs with single punches to the face and an upper-cut during his boxing match.
- Durability: Prince Sprocket was unfazed by being very close to boiling hot lava and being blown back to the Moon by Auric.
- Non-Ageing: Due to being a robot, Sprocket was known to have been centuries old by the time of his death but remained a child.
- Teleportation: Sprocket can teleport to any location at will by vanishing, making a blue outline appear where he wanted to go and then materializing there. He could also retreat into his bowtie and teleport away, as seen when he fled in the episode "A Small Problem."
- Good Aim: Sprocket is a good shot with the Photon Blaster used on Billy’s ship in the episode “Mr. Billy’s Wild Ride”; hitting the small ship from thousands of miles away on the Moon.
- Boxing: In the episode “Challenges,” Sprocket was shown to be a skilled boxer.
- Shrink Beams: In the episode “Challenges,” Sprocket was able to shrink Adam down and use him like a trophy by engulfing him in green energy.
- De-transformation: Sprocket can also transform beings back as seen after Punch-A-Bunch’s destruction when Rocky intimidated him.
- Object Generation: Sprocket can fire green energy from his right hand capable of generating objects like Adam and the boxing ring he was trapped in during “Challenges.”
- Portal Transportation: Sprocket can summon purple-black cog portals to allow him to any location at will. These are the same type used by the Cogs although he only used this in the episode “Challenges” after Punch-A-Bunch’s destruction.
- Radiation Immunity: In the episode “Bulk Fiction”, Machina mentioned Sprocket once played with a nuclear reactor but he evidently suffered no effects from radiation.
- Cog Summoning: Sprocket can summon the Cogs to fight for him in battle by calling out for them, as seen in the episode “A Small Problem” after Trey rescued Tommy and Kat.
- Cog Laser: Sprocket can also summon Cogs by shooting blue lightning from his right index finger, generating a portal overhead which Cogs which flip out of. This was shown in the episode “Bulk Fiction” when he summoned Cogs to “play” with Billy.
- Robot Piloting: Sprocket was able to expertly pilot Wrecking Ball via remote control in the episode “Song Sung Yellow.”
- Cup-and-Ball Mastery: By controlling Wrecking Ball, Sprocket still became very skilled at a cup-and-ball game.
- Weapons Creation: In the episode “A Small Problem” Sprocket designed a growth device that instead turned out to be a perfectly functional shrink ray.
Weaknesses
- Weak: Being a child, Prince Sprocket is not a fighter or tough character; usually folding and cowering before retreating whenever he is confronted with any danger.
- Cowardice: When faced with any kind of physical threat, Sprocket will always get scared and retreat.
- Magnets: Despite not being made of a material found on Earth, Sprocket is still metal and thus susceptible to magnets as seen when Billy used it to pull him, Googleheimer and the Cogs away.
- Short Attention Span: Due to his age and petulance, Sprocket is easily distracted and lured away as seen when he went after Bulk and Skull in the episode “A Small Problem.” Doing so allowed Trey to save Kat and Tommy and thus foil Sprocket’s plan.
- Rusting: Mondo mentions that the Machine Empire’s members can rust when exposed to water in the episode “Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise” which leads to their plan for the Leaky Faucet.
Arsenal
- Fists: Prince Sprocket has no weapons of his own but had hands that he could use to great effect.
- Electrified Boxing Ring: Sprocket uses an electrified boxing ring in the episode “Challenges” to try and help Punch-A-Bunch destroy the Red Battlezord.
- Shrink Ray: Before the episode “A Small Problem,” Sprocket manufactured a device intended to make monsters larger than Klank and Orbus could. Although it did not work as intended, it proved to be a perfectly functioning shrink ray that he used to shrink Tommy and Kat.
Monsters
- People Pitcher
- Video Vulture
- Leaky Faucet
- Pumpkin Sorcerer
- Steambot
- Traffic Kitty
- Punch-A-Bunch
- Googleheimer the Toy Robot
- Wrecking Ball
- Wolfbane
- Tarantabot
Quotes
| “ | Whoa, oh boy. We’ve got 'em by the gears, huh dad? | „ |
| ~ Prince Sprocket's first words as King Mondo announced thier superiority over Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. |
| “ | Oh boy, oh boy. You can count on me, daddy. | „ |
| ~ Sprocket after Mondo gave him the chance to make his own scheme. |
| “ | Mom, Dad guess what. I got a plan, I got a plan, I’ve got a plan! I’ll send my own pitching machine to their practice tomorrow. Whatta ya think? Hmmmm. You hit a ball from my pitching machine, the machine sucks you inside, then we’ll catch those three and use ‘em as bait to catch the others. Aaaand, with the Rangers out of the way, you’ll be free to rule the world. Waddya think, Daddy? It’s just brilliant. | „ |
| ~ Sprocket’s plan for the People Pitcher. |
| “ | If you’re looking for your friend, he’s safe inside the belly of the People Pitcher. And soon, all of you Rangers will be joining him in there. Don’t kid yourselves, Rangers. You’ll never get him without his Zeonizer and we have it. | „ |
| ~ Sprocket when meeting the Zeo Rangers for the first time. |
| “ | Klank: Talk about your rank amateurs. Your first film will be bigger and better than they could dream of! Sprocket: Really? I mean of course. Let me see. Wow, they used some really cool monsters. My movie won’t be any good without good monsters. Klank, I want those monsterrrrrrrs. Klank: Sire, the monsters? Sprocket: You heard me, get ‘em. Klank: But what about the Power Rangers? Sprocket: Video Vulture will capture them and they’ll be the stars of my new movie; Invasion of the Ranger Snatchers. We’ll make this the Power Rangers’ final performance. |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket's plan to make a movie. |
| “ | Sprocket: A happy ending? That wasn’t my directorial vision. That bus was about to go off the cliff with the Power Rangers in it. Klank: Excuse me, sire. I know how disappointed you must be. I’ve taken up the liberty of working up some new storyboards of my own. I have a feeling this ending is more what you had in mind. Sprocket: Klank, that’s a brilliant solution. That’s exactly what I wanted. I’m so glad I thought of it. |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket when the Power Rangers escaped his movie. |
| “ | Mondo: Hm, I see the boy’s found himself a new sport. Sprocket: You know it, pop. Mondo: And the winner is Prince Sprocket! You definitely have the makings of a champion, son. Sprocket: Well, it’s all in the flywheels big daddy. Machina: Wouldn’t it be nice if we could knock out those Rangers so easily? Sprocket: Mom, Dad. I have a creature that will send the Rangers reeling! Machina: A lovely idea! Mondo: Indeed. |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket's plan for Punch-A-Bunch. |
| “ | Sprocket:' I really hate those lousy Power Rangers! Look at what they've done this time, Mommy! They've ruined my favorite creation! ’Machina: There, there my dear. Don't blame yourself. You mustn't take it personally. They have ruined all our creations. |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket and Machina after Punch-A-Bunch destroyed his glove. |
| “ | Sprocket: Did you guys hear that? Those lowly Earthling brats are getting new toys. Mondo: What's this? Sprocket: I want a new toy too. Gimme, gimme, gimme. Mondo: You've already broken half the Cogs in the army, Sprocket. Machina: Yes, and when we gave you that lovely nuclear reactor, you only played with the bot. Sprocket: That was a dumb toy. I want a good toy and I want it now! Mondo: Alright, your whining is stripping my gears. If you promise to be very bad for the rest of the millennium, I will get you a new toy. |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket’s plan for Googleheimer the Toy Robot. |
| “ | Hey, no fair! You broke my toy! Klank, Orbus. Fix it! Make it better than new. | „ |
| ~ Sprocket after Googleheimer the Toy Robot was defeated. |
| “ | Mondo: I can't rely on those silly Cogs for anything! Machina: Maybe they need a tune-up. Mondo: No matter, dear. Nothing will spoil our son's surprise. Sprocket: Well, give it to me then. I'm not getting any younger. Mondo: Very well! Behold, Wrecking Ball. Sprocket: Wow, my very own monster. Can I try it out now? Mondo: Yes, but you must practice controlling it before you take it for a spin. Sprocket: No problemo, huh huh. Gimme the remote. No, to the right. To the right! Oh, I can't make it do what I want Dad! It's too haaaard! Mondo: Keep practicing, my son. Once you get a hang of it, you will prove yourself in battle against the Power Rangers. Then, you'll be a man. Sprocket: Wow, I get to destroy the Power Rangers too? This is definitely the best birthday I've ever had. |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket’s plan for Wrecking Ball. |
| “ | Sprocket: The spider was about to eat ‘em when the Gold Guy got in the way! Mondo: Don’t worry, we have a little surprise for you. Klank. Klank: Yes indeed. Prince Sprocket, allow me to introduce you to your very own Tarantabot. Sprocket: Cool, my very own Tarantula Terminator. Just wait ‘til those Power Dweebs see him. Hu ha! |
„ |
| ~ Sprocket’s plan for Tarantabot. |
| “ | Yippee! | „ |
| ~ Prince Sprocket after Klank relayed Dark Specter order to attack and his last on-screen words. |
Trivia
- Prince Sprocket's Super Sentai counterpart was actually the same one as Gasket since Gasket was originally an older version of Sprocket.
- Because the Power Rangers crew cut out Louie Kaboom killing Sprocket due to its violence, and because Buldont became Kaiser Buldont by Emperor Bacchus Wrath/King Mondo sacrificing his life to upgrade his son but Mondo survived longer, they had to be turned into two different characters.
See Also
 Villains
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Machine Empire Evil Space Aliens Varox Bounty Hunters Other | ||
 Villains
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United Alliance of Evil Divatox's Crew | ||