Michael also famously orchestrates an escape from a in Season 2 to avoid being transferred back to Fox River while the manhunt is on. He creates a distraction with a cigarette and uses the wiring of the elevator to escape. While impressive, this is usually considered a "police evasion" rather than a full prison break.

The Company forces Michael to break out James Whistler, holding his lover, Sara Tancredi, and nephew, LJ, hostage as leverage. With zero blueprints, no tattoo guides, and limited resources, Michael has to rely on raw improvisation.

These are the primary escapes depicted throughout the show's run:

How Many Prisons Does Michael Scofield Break Out of? The Definitive Prison Break Count

Ogygia was surrounded by machine gun nests and landmines. Michael orchestrated a riot using a cell phone smuggled in a hollowed-out book, then timed the break to coincide with a sandstorm that blinded thermal cameras. The icing on the cake: he used a kite made of shredded prayer rug to deliver a coded message to Lincoln.

: The "OG" escape. Michael gets himself incarcerated to save his brother, Lincoln Burrows, using a full-body tattoo of the prison's blueprints as his guide. Penitenciaría Federal de Sona (Season 3, Panama)

The escape that started it all remains the most iconic blueprint in television history. Unlike future escapes where Michael was forced to improvise, Fox River was meticulously planned over several months.

The Michael exploited.

Throughout the five seasons and standalone film of Prison Break , Michael Scofield successfully orchestrates escapes from shown on screen, though the series implies he has broken out of at least nine in total. The 4 Major On-Screen Breaks

The final entry on our list is a unique one. After escaping Ogygia, Michael voluntarily gets himself arrested and sent back to the , the very same prison he broke out of over a decade ago. However, this time, his goal is not to escape but to be broken into .

Technically a television movie titled Prison Break: The Final Break (which aired between Seasons 4 and 5), this escape inverted the show's classic dynamic. This time, Michael was on the outside, and his newlywed wife, Sara, was on the inside, targeted by assassins hired by the villainous General Krantz.

2 (Michael & Lincoln)

Michael utilized new tattoos on his palms and arms, encoded with hidden messages, political maps, and facial recognition data. He also utilized a complex network of local lookouts and a hidden cell phone.

While not a traditional "escape for himself," Michael is responsible for breaking Sara Tancredi out of Miami-Dade in the Prison Break: The Final Break television movie. This is a crucial escape, demonstrating that his expertise applies to breaking others out as well. 5. The "Poseidon" Escapes (Season 5)

A lawless, inmate-run facility where Michael was forced to improvise an escape for himself and several others.