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The Predator (Animorphs)
Encyclopedia
The Predator, published in 1996 and written by K.A. Applegate, is the fifth book in the Animorphs
series. It is narrated by Marco
.
wishes to return to the Andalite
home world, and to do so, he needs a ship. Jake suggests to steal a Yeerk ship so Ax intends to build a communicator to broadcast a Yeerk
distress signal and lure in a Yeerk ship which he can then hijack
. Jake
and Marco
take him to RadioShack
at the mall to buy the electrical equipment necessary to build a communicator. While Jake makes the purchase, Ax walks off to the food court and, upon discovering taste in his human morph, runs wild sampling food left over on tables. He is chased by security guards and, frightened, demorphs in the middle of the mall in front of many people, some of them Controllers. He, Jake, and Marco run out of the mall and into a nearby grocery store where they are chased by Controllers. Marco spots the live lobster
tank, and they morph into lobsters to hide and later escape without being seen.
Ax builds his device, but needs one more thing to make it complete: a Zero-space (Z-space) transponder
. The Animorphs know that Mr. Chapman regularly communicates with Visser Three
from his basement, and Cassie
suggests that they morph into ants to retrieve the Z-space transponder that he uses. They morph into ants, but are greatly disturbed by the ants' hive mind
mentality and almost lose their humanity when the ants' instincts overpower them. Nonetheless, they are able to retrieve the transponder. As they are returning from Chapman's house, they are almost killed when they are attacked by ants from another colony. They are able to demorph in time, but they—especially Marco—are agitated by the experience and Marco swears never to morph an ant again.
Meanwhile, the two year anniversary of Marco's mother's death is approaching, and Marco has recently been worried about what will happen to his father if he dies himself. He tells Jake that he intends to quit the Animorphs once they help Ax leave Earth.
Ax completes his device, and broadcasts the signal, but unfortunately, the Yeerks have changed their distress frequencies, and, sensing a trap, they set one of their own. The Animorphs are captured (in animal morph) and taken aboard the Yeerk mother ship, where Visser One is visiting. Marco receives a nasty shock when Visser One confronts them: her host body is his mother, who is apparently alive after all. The Animorphs are put in a cell, and are discussing their options when they are suddenly freed by one of Visser One's Hork-Bajir
; Visser One and Visser Three are rivals, and Visser One wanted to disgrace Visser Three. The Animorphs reach an escape pod and safely return to Earth.
Marco and his father visit his mother's grave on the anniversary of her death. His father tells him that he is ashamed of the way he has been behaving since Eva died, and he intends to pull himself out of depression and return to work. Marco decides to stay in the war in hopes of rescuing his mother. He also asks Jake—the only one who had previously met Marco's mom—not to tell any of the others.
. The TV episodes did not follow the books faithfully, altering many aspects of the characters' roles within the Animorphs, the events in the war against the Yeerks, and added plot lines that were not present in the books.
.
Animorphs
Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
series. It is narrated by Marco
Marco (Animorphs)
Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...
.
Plot summary
AxAximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...
wishes to return to the Andalite
Andalite
The Andalites are a fictional alien race of grazers in the Scholastic book series Animorphs.-Biology:The Andalites are fictional aliens from the book series and TV series Animorphs....
home world, and to do so, he needs a ship. Jake suggests to steal a Yeerk ship so Ax intends to build a communicator to broadcast a Yeerk
Yeerk
Yeerks are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the book and television series "Animorphs" written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic.-Biology:...
distress signal and lure in a Yeerk ship which he can then hijack
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
. Jake
Jake Berenson
Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...
and Marco
Marco (Animorphs)
Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...
take him to RadioShack
RadioShack
RadioShack Corporation is an American franchise of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of Europe, South America and Africa. As of 2008, RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. The headquarters of RadioShack is located in Downtown...
at the mall to buy the electrical equipment necessary to build a communicator. While Jake makes the purchase, Ax walks off to the food court and, upon discovering taste in his human morph, runs wild sampling food left over on tables. He is chased by security guards and, frightened, demorphs in the middle of the mall in front of many people, some of them Controllers. He, Jake, and Marco run out of the mall and into a nearby grocery store where they are chased by Controllers. Marco spots the live lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
tank, and they morph into lobsters to hide and later escape without being seen.
Ax builds his device, but needs one more thing to make it complete: a Zero-space (Z-space) transponder
Andalite terminology
A compilation of Andalite terminology used throughout the Animorphs series.*Andalite Homeworld: The name of the native planet of the Andalites is not given in the series, and is simply referred to as the Andalite homeworld. It possesses more than one sun, which gives its sky a red-gold hue, and the...
. The Animorphs know that Mr. Chapman regularly communicates with Visser Three
Visser Three
Visser Three, born as Esplin 9466 Primary and later known as Visser One, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K.A. Applegate. He is the leader of the Yeerk forces on Earth, having inherited the planet from Edriss 562, who was Visser One at...
from his basement, and Cassie
Cassie (Animorphs)
Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...
suggests that they morph into ants to retrieve the Z-space transponder that he uses. They morph into ants, but are greatly disturbed by the ants' hive mind
Eusociality
Eusociality is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification....
mentality and almost lose their humanity when the ants' instincts overpower them. Nonetheless, they are able to retrieve the transponder. As they are returning from Chapman's house, they are almost killed when they are attacked by ants from another colony. They are able to demorph in time, but they—especially Marco—are agitated by the experience and Marco swears never to morph an ant again.
Meanwhile, the two year anniversary of Marco's mother's death is approaching, and Marco has recently been worried about what will happen to his father if he dies himself. He tells Jake that he intends to quit the Animorphs once they help Ax leave Earth.
Ax completes his device, and broadcasts the signal, but unfortunately, the Yeerks have changed their distress frequencies, and, sensing a trap, they set one of their own. The Animorphs are captured (in animal morph) and taken aboard the Yeerk mother ship, where Visser One is visiting. Marco receives a nasty shock when Visser One confronts them: her host body is his mother, who is apparently alive after all. The Animorphs are put in a cell, and are discussing their options when they are suddenly freed by one of Visser One's Hork-Bajir
Hork-Bajir
The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...
; Visser One and Visser Three are rivals, and Visser One wanted to disgrace Visser Three. The Animorphs reach an escape pod and safely return to Earth.
Marco and his father visit his mother's grave on the anniversary of her death. His father tells him that he is ashamed of the way he has been behaving since Eva died, and he intends to pull himself out of depression and return to work. Marco decides to stay in the war in hopes of rescuing his mother. He also asks Jake—the only one who had previously met Marco's mom—not to tell any of the others.
Contributions to the Series' Story Arc
- It is revealed that Marco's mother has been taken over by Visser One.
Morphs
| Morpher | Morphs acquired | Morphs used |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Jake Berenson Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake... |
Lobster Lobster Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most... , Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... |
Lobster Lobster Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most... , Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... , Peregrine Falcon Peregrine Falcon The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"... , Siberian Tiger |
| Rachel Rachel (Animorphs) Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the... |
Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... |
Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... , Bald Eagle Bald Eagle The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle... , African Elephant |
| Cassie Cassie (Animorphs) Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:... |
Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... |
Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... , Osprey Osprey The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings... , Wolf |
| Marco Marco (Animorphs) Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:... |
Lobster Lobster Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most... , Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... |
Gorilla Gorilla Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies... , Lobster Lobster Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most... , Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... , Osprey Osprey The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings... |
| Ax Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters... |
Lobster Lobster Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most... , Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... , Northern Harrier |
Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus... , Lobster Lobster Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most... , Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than... , Northern Harrier |
TV Adaptation
The Predator was adapted as part of the Animorphs TV series, which aired on Nickelodeon and YTV between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 2000. The fifth book was covered by the fourteenth and fifteenth episodes, "The Leader" (Parts 1 and 2), along with plot lines from The StrangerThe Stranger (Animorphs)
The Stranger is the seventh book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel.-Plot summary:Rachel's father asks her to move with him to another state. After some reconnaissance work, Marco and Tobias find an entrance to the underground Yeerk Pool, in one of the...
. The TV episodes did not follow the books faithfully, altering many aspects of the characters' roles within the Animorphs, the events in the war against the Yeerks, and added plot lines that were not present in the books.
- Only Marco and Jake are taken aboard the Yeerk Pool Ship, captured while attempting to infiltrate the EGS tower and destroy the Kandrona, leaving Cassie and Rachel behind to complete the task; in the book, Visser Three captures all of the morphed Animorphs, and presents them to Visser One, who subsequently releases them. The destruction of the Kandrona occurs in The StrangerThe Stranger (Animorphs)The Stranger is the seventh book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel.-Plot summary:Rachel's father asks her to move with him to another state. After some reconnaissance work, Marco and Tobias find an entrance to the underground Yeerk Pool, in one of the...
. - Visser Three would not be in human morph while on the Pool Ship; it is clear from the books that the Visser greatly prefers his Andalite host body to "weak" and "puny" human bodies.
- In the book, Visser One's personal guard leads the Animorphs to an escape pod that returns them to Earth; in the TV episode, Marco and Jake commandeer a Blade Ship in order to escape the Pool Ship, which is not of the "jellyfishJellyfishJellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
" design frequently described in the books.
Re-release
Scholastic will be re-releasing The Predator with a new lenticular cover in December 2011December 2011
December 2011 is the twelfth month of the current year. It began on a Thursday and will end after 31 days on a Saturday. It is also the current month....
.
External links
- Official page at Scholastic.com