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

Plot details for Dark of the Moon (film) follow. Spoilers have expired, you may remove this tag

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 1964. 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 2011, 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: 1 missile

The Ark is a playset which transforms from a starship to a space station. It features electronic lights and sounds and includes an Autobot Roller figure. Among its features are molded in pillars which can be raised or lowered, and a repair bay. The Ark also features a capture cage for any Cyberverse Decepticon. Unfortunately, the playset is meant for legion class figures, and does not work well with Cyberverse Commanders, but you can fit Cyberverse Commander Optimus Prime in the cockpit if you shorten his legs.

The large guns on the front of the ship are removable, and can be used by any compatible figure with MechTech weapon ports. There are also multiple MechTech ports on the outside of the ship, as well as one each on top of the removable 8-gun racks. Both of the inner guns can hold the included missiles, but only the left one is spring loaded. All weapons other than the spring-loaded launcher are non-firing.

There are also several C-Joint clips, with one each on the ship's rear-facing guns and one on the top of the ship. There are also bars on the left side, and clips on the right, of the set in base mode. This is to allow other Cyberverse playsets to connect to the ship, a la Metroplex. There is an additional MechTech port in between the two C-Joints on each side.