Right here’s a deep-dive into each hidden message in Michael Scofield’s tattoos in Prison Break. Whereas there may be ambiguity as to whether Prison Break will be revived, the present garnered large reputation as a result of its promising unique plans and apparent inspirations from The Shawshank Redemption. Michael’s tattoos are a focus proper from the primary body of Season 1’s “Pilot”, because it options his preparations for the ultimate phases of his plan to infiltrate Fox River Penitentiary whereas ending touches are utilized to his tattoos. An amalgamation of 24 tattoo designs come collectively to create Michael’s signature physique artwork, which is actually a decoy for concealing an escape plan for his brother, Lincoln.
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Prison tattoos, generally, have a tendency to indicate an inmate’s reflection of jail life, frequent motifs being clock aspects, spider webs, gang symbols, or jail bars, which showcase a better dedication to their legal life. Michael turns this trope on its head, as his journey to jail is an elaborate fabrication to facilitate his brother’s freedom and the tattoos serve extra like a blueprint than an echo of his jail life. Because of the significance of the tattoos when it comes to Prison Break’s plot, the design for Michael’s elaborate ink would take 4 to 5 hours to use, whereby 24 particular person decals must be “match collectively like a puzzle.” Whereas his again is etched with the format of the jail, the tattoos on his torso reveal a map of underground escape passageways. This design helped bind episodic conclusions collectively and granted a tangible illustration of the complexity of the escape.
It’s revealed in “Brother’s Keeper”, Episode 16 of the primary season, that the concept of hiding an escape blueprint in plain sight got here from a tattoo-clad pizza supply man, who Michael had taken notice of. Being a gifted structural engineer who had designed the jail’s format himself, Michael disguises his plans by means of Gothic-styled tattoos that showcase a battle between angels and demons, together with literary and spiritual motifs. Here’s a breakdown of the important thing hidden messages in Michael Scofield’s tattoos in Prison Break.
Allen Schweitzer 11121147
Situated on his forearm, this tattoo served Michael as a reminder of the mannequin of a screw required to unscrew the cell’s bathroom, with a view to facilitate entry to Fox River’s inside format. The mannequin is an improvised Allen key, whereas Schweitzer is the make of the bathroom in Cell 40. The numbers 11121147 signify the bolt that Michael grinds into an Allen wrench to disclose the passageway. Other than this, the dot of the “i” in “Schweitzer” has a small hexagon, which serves the aim of checking whether or not the screw’s finish has been filed down correctly to suit the bolt.
Cute Poison
The phrases ‘Cute Poison’ are etched in block letters on Michael’s forearm, nestled inside what appears to be a cauldron, with potion spilling out of it. As potions are mythologically rooted in the creation of chemical mixtures, this phrase is a mnemonic for copper sulfate (CU SO) and phosphoric acid (PO). When blended collectively at 42.35 °C, these components react violently and the ensuing compound, phosphoric acid, is utilized by Michael to corrode the steel pipes that result in the infirmary. Nevertheless, this plan fails, because the sewage pipe is changed on the final minute.
English, Fitz, and Percy
In episode 5 of Jail Break, a random cell test happens, which finds Michael lacking. Because the police automobiles zoom away, Michael makes notice of the three selections of streets that may act as escape routes – English Avenue, Fitz Avenue, and Percy Avenue. This permits Michael to have an thought as to which streets he has to keep away from when making his precise escape.
The Face of a Satan
In “Riots, Drills and the Satan Half 1”, Michael copies the satan tattoo onto a chunk of paper and tasks it on a concrete wall, serving to him plot drilling holes in key factors, with the assistance of his cellmate, Fernando Sucre. Utilizing Hooke’s legislation of elasticity (F=-kx), Michael is ready to gauge the important thing stress factors within the wall, making it simpler to topple when wanted.
Enjoying Playing cards
The Enjoying Playing cards tattoo options the quantity sequence 1 312 909 3529, which is the cellphone variety of Nika Volek, a Czech Republic immigrant who married Michael a day earlier than he was arrested for financial institution theft. In trade for Nika’s assist in his escape plan, Michael guarantees to rearrange a inexperienced card for her, in order that she will be able to reunite together with her household in Kladno.
Coffin With A Cross
This tattoo was a reminder for Michael to dig out a small, black tablet embedded inside his pores and skin, which he pulls out with the assistance of a heated razor to slide inside a hollowed crucifix, together with the notice ‘EAT 8:10’. That is meant for Lincoln to swallow the tablet and fall sick so that he’s rushed to the infirmary as a result of meals poisoning.
Ripe Likelihood Woods
Tattooed on his wrist, this can be a reference to R.I.P E. Likelihood Woods, meant as a backup escape plan in case the unique plan to abscond fell by means of. In a cemetery in Oswego, Illinois, Michael had buried clothes, automobile keys, and a pretend passport contained in the tomb of E. Likelihood Woods. This was the primary tattoo to be deciphered by Agent Alexander Mahone in Season 2, Episode 1, “Manhunt.”
Barcode
Barcode 38 12 1037 has a number of hermeneutical layers: 38 refers back to the Illinois Route, 12 signifies the miles they should attain the bridge, and 1037 signifies the radio frequency 103.7, which is required to set off a bomb for faking the brothers’ dying on the bridge.
Christ in a Rose / 617
It is a pictogram-of-sorts to remind Michael about an escape boat moored in Panama, named after his mom, Christina Rose. 617 is the mixture lock for opening the boat, and the tattoo also features the Greek letter Omega, signifying it because the final step earlier than the escape.
Bolshoi Booze
The time period ‘Bolshoi Booze’ is a mirror picture, forming numbers which might be truly the coordinates 32°0′09″N, 104°57′09″W, situated alongside the Texas-Mexico border.
Flower (Apache Desert Ghost)
In trade for an escape to Mexico, Pedro Ramos (Coyote) asks for a field of nitroglycerin, which Michael has hidden within the botanical gardens on the Apache Desert Ghost exhibit. The flower is a reminder of the identical.
Other than these hidden messages, Michael’s sports activities new tattoos in Season 5, which assume centerpiece versus Seasons 3 and 4. Whereas the hooked up interpretations aren’t clear, it’s speculated that some tattoos are coded in Arabic, together with references to on-line message boards equivalent to hunterspycamporn.com, which contained photographs of Harlan Gaines’ murder. One may spot an encoded quote from Napoleon, which says: “By no means interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Maybe probably the most conspicuous tattoos are those which might be on Michael’s palms: the face of Jacob Anton Ness, chief of 21 Void. Whether or not we might be given the possibility to decrypt extra of Michael’s tattoos if Jail Break will get a brand new season, solely time can inform.
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