Ark (DOTM)

The name or term "Ark" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Ark (disambiguation).

The Ark is an Autobot starship from the Dark of the Moon portion of the live-action continuity family.

"We don't even bother putting landing gear on these bastards anymore."

The Ark was designed by the Autobots to be able to transport them away from Cybertron in order to find a new place to call home. Piloted by Roller, the Ark is able to convert into a powerful space station. It is able to launch protoforms to nearby planets and features sophisticated sensor equipment which was used to track down the AllSpark's energy signal.

Once the flagship of the Autobot fleet, the Ark and its captain, Sentinel Prime, was lost in space centuries ago. (It lies wrecked on the Moon.)

Fiction

IDW Transformers prequel comics

Foundation issue 4

Dark of the Moon film

The Ark left Cybertron with its space bridge pillars but was waylaid by Decepticons. The ship floated in space until it finally landed on Earth's moon in 1961. NASA detected the crash, and US President John F. Kennedy initiated a plan to land on the moon and explore the wreck. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon and scouted the Ark in 1969.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union's space program photographed Decepticons removing thousands of pillars in 1963. Eventually unmanned probes retrieved a fuel cell from the ship, which was transported to Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant for study, leading to 1986's meltdown. Optimus Prime obtained the fuel cell in 2012, alerting him to the Ark's presence on the moon. Optimus and Ratchet journeyed to the moon on the Xantium, retrieving Sentinel's body from the crash vault and the control pillar. Dark of the Moon

Toys

Dark of the Moon

So much space! Need to see it all!

• Autobot Ark (Cyberverse playset, 2011)
  • Japanese ID number: CV01
  • Accessories: Autobot Roller figure, 2 missiles, 2 guns

The Ark is a playset which transforms from a starship to a space station, scaled to work with Cyberverse Legion-class figures (and notionally Commander classic figures too, though they don't fit to well inside it). It comes packaged with Autobot Roller, features several electronic lights and sounds, and includes all the generic "playset" special features that you'd expect: an elevating "repair bay", a "prison cell" for Decepticon figures with spring-shut doors, a tilting ramp at the front for vehicles to roll down, and a rotating light-up turret in the center. For more Transformers-specific fun, the left bay of the base mode features five flip-up space bridge pillars, and the ship comes with six removable weapons, all outfitted with MechTech 5mm posts: two swivelling guns mounted on its rear, two forward-mounted missile racks, and two prominent guns that sit beside them. Both of these two larger guns hold a transparent missile, but only the one left of the prow features a spring-loaded firing mechanism.

In ship mode, placing Roller or any suitably-sized Cyberverse figure in the opening cockpit depresses a hinged panel on the cockpit floor, which triggers engine and flight noises, and a pulsing light within the ship. Pressing the golden button just beside the cockpit lights up the twin guns beneath it, and triggers electronic laser firing noises. Pulling on either side of the ship initiates a partial automatic transformation, as the central tower raises and the classic transformation noise plays. In this mode, pressing a button on the base floor sets off blasting sounds and lights up the central turret. Placing a vehicle-mode Cyberverse figure on the central ramp depresses a button hidden beneath it, which causes a power-up noise to build, accompanied by steadily-brightening lights in the forward cannons, until the switch beside the ramp is tilted to send the figure rolling off with a whooshing noise.

The ship is decorated with numerous 5mm and 3mm ports and C joint bars all over its hull to hold a veritable arsenal MechTech and Cyberverse weapons; in base mode, in particular, there are c joint bars on the left side and clips on the right, allowing other Cyberverse playsets to connect up to the Ark, a la Metroplex or the Micromaster Stations, to create a sprawling micro-world.