Ark (G1)
| The name or term "Ark" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Ark (disambiguation). |
| The name or term "Autobot Headquarters" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Autobot Headquarters (disambiguation). |
The Ark is the name given to the Autobot spaceship that, in many universes, originally carried the Autobot and Decepticon armies to Earth.
The Ark is a Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor. It has five decks and houses a full crew complement of 300 Transformers (although it can be flown by only a handful if necessary). Its environment is fully automated and self-sufficient. For engines, it features 4 Hyperfuel Intake Accelerators.
It is armed with 16 particle-combustion cannons (port), 16 laser emitters (starboard), a primary starfield missile launcher, and an Overshock sonic battery.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
The Ark was "the last of the great arks." Raiders of the Last Ark It is also referred to as the most powerful starship in Cybertron's history, and control of it was considered a huge tactical advantage.
It was launched to clear a path for the wandering planet Cybertron through an asteroid field. When this was done and her reserves depleted, the Decepticons attacked and boarded her. Hoping to end the threat of Megatron forever, Optimus Prime purposely crashed the ship into the passing planet Earth. The Ark crashed into Mount St. Hilary, a volcano located a small distance outside of what would one day become Portland, Oregon. The Transformers
After the crash, some of the Ark's systems still functioned, and when they detected the Decepticon Shockwave making planetfall, the ship revived five of her Autobot crew and rebuilt them into the Dinobots. Upon the disappearance of these warriors in their attempt to destroy Shockwave, the Ark shut itself down. Repeat Performance!
Four million years later, Mount St. Hilary erupted, jarring the ship back to life. It revived and, unable to distinguish Autobot from Decepticon or to detect organic life (clearly it had suffered additional malfunctions since creating the Dinobots), it revived both sides to transform into the machines it perceived as the planet's dominant lifeforms.
The Ark became the Autobots' main base of operations on Earth. The Transformers
The Ark constructed five new Transformer bodies. Wheeljack installed within them the minds of five Autobot warriors, which were encoded in crystals before the Autobots left Cybertron. Rock and Roll-Out!
During Grimlock's first term as Autobot leader, he had the ship repaired Used Autobots and returned to space. Child's Play The Ark served as a base of operations of sorts for the various search parties during the Matrix quest. Matrix Quest The Creation Matrix was eventually found by Thunderwing, but it had been corrupted by evil and began controlling Thunderwing's actions. Thunderwing was granted access to the Ark while aboard a shuttle stolen from Grimlock's search party. Once aboard, the corrupted Creation Matrix fought the Autobots through his vessel, Thunderwing, who was beating everyone up until Nightbeat harpooned him with the shuttle and opened the cargo bay doors. The shuttle, Thunderwing, and the Creation Matrix were ejected into space. All Fall Down
The Ark hung around near Earth for a time, until it was abandoned in orbit when Primus teleported all nearby Transformers back to Cybertron to face Unicron. Out of Time! It was recovered by the Dinobots and flown to Cybertron to engage Unicron. The Void! Grimlock, being the master of tactics that he is, physically rammed Unicron with the powerfully armed starship, which was then abandoned and crashed on Cybertron. On the Edge of Extinction! It was recovered this time by Shockwave and Starscream, who repaired it and took it to Earth to conquer that planet with it. Still Life! This plan was foiled by Galvatron, Megatron and Ratchet crashing the party. Their battle caused the ship to crash to Earth again, this time into the Canadian wilderness. A Savage Circle
- Crew of the Ark
The Ark's original crew in the comics included all of the 1984 Autobots, the Dinobots, Red Alert (in the UK), the recorded mental engrams of most of the other 1985 Autobot cars, and Toaster.
The crew of the Ark consisted of:
Generation 2
The Ark was recovered and repaired by Megatron, Realignments who attempted to take it back to Cybertron and conquer that planet with it. This was foiled by Fortress Maximus and Spike Witwicky, who sacrificed their lives to cause an anti-matter explosion that finally destroyed the great ship. All or Nothing!
Classics
Megatron took command of the Ark, but apparently kept it (with Ratchet on ice, and Shockwave's head in a jar) as his new headquarters on Earth. The ship played host to the visiting Decepticons led by Bug Bite, and a subsequent battle between the Decepticons as well as a party of invading Autobots, who destroyed its computers. Games of Deception
Regeneration One
In the realm of Zero Space, someone witnessed the Ark crashing on Earth in the planet's prehistoric era and its second crash in the planet's twentieth century. Counterpoint During the second crash, Galvatron was thrown from the ship and wound up buried in the ice of Yukon in stasis lock after a battle with Fortress Maximus. Loose Ends, Part 5 To save his spark following the crash, Shockwave willingly wired himself into the Ark. Natural Selection, Part Two
For two years after the crash, Spike and Fortress Maximus kept the Ark isolated until Spike called it quits in 1994 so as to live a normal life. Soon after, someone either very greedy or very bored or both managed to enter the Ark. Subsequent events are unclear but they managed to reactivate Megatron. Loose Ends, Part 3 Using the Ark as his main base in an attempt to get Optimus Prime's attention, Loose Ends, Part 2 Megatron exploited his mental connection with Ratchet to reactivate the Ark, reprogramming Aunty and reviving the Underbase casualties as lobotomized zombies to serve him. Using the Ark, Megatron devastated Earth turning the planet into a wasteland. Loose Ends, Part 3
Kup considered the Ark being left on Earth one of the many loose ends leftover from the Great War and took a squad of Wreckers to Earth to tie it up. When they arrived over the devastated Earth, Megatron took advantage of their shock to shoot them down. Loose Ends, Part 1
When the Wreckers met up with Spike, now Circuit Smasher, the human informed them of how the Autobots abandoning the Ark had allowed Megatron to unleash hell on Earth. Leadfoot called foul on the story as despite Megatron's tactical skills, the Decepticon leader lacked the engineering and medical knowledge necessary to reboot and reprogram the Ark as well as to reanimate the corpses. Blackrock pegged the Ark as the reason Megatron kept his hold on Earth with its onboard systems being able to resist any human incursion. When Megatron baited the Wreckers to Washington, D.C., Springer thought the Ark would be relatively unguarded and thus open to assault. Loose Ends, Part 3
Under the command of Roadbuster, a human/Wrecker force made ready to attack the Ark, though Circuit Smasher insisted that the Ark was to be destroyed not hijacked by the Autobots as a ticket back to Cybertron. As the warriors made their way to the entrance, the Ark ejected Guardian units. Loose Ends, Part 4 The Guardians did not register Circuit Smasher as a threat, however, and he was able to enter the ship, managing to overload Aunty and stop her from carrying out Megatron's order of nuking the Earth into nothing. Loose Ends, Part 5
Despite being lobotomized, Starscream managed to regain control of his body seconds before an orbital bombardment destroyed his fellows and made for the Ark. Sunstreaker and Roadbuster did a perimeter sweep but lamented that their lack of manpower made it possible for someone to sneak in. Starscream did just that and was glimpsed by a revived Galvatron. Natural Selection, Part One Galvatron threw his former lieutenant against the wall and demanded to know what made him return to the Ark. Unable to speak, Starscream lead the time-lost Decepticon to Shockwave. Natural Selection, Part Two Realizing the Ark was still air-worthy, Galvatron began its launching sequence. Natural Selection, Part Three All this was revealed to be an elaborate scheme by Shockwave himself who had removed some of Starscream's neural inhibitors so that the Seeker would come to him and be the pilot for the Ark. So intertwined was Shockwave with the warship that he now identified himself as being the Ark with the Ark being him. Natural Selection, Part Five Having decided to stay on Earth, Natural Selection, Part Two Optimus Prime made his way to the Ark to destroy it and arrived just in time to see it take off glimpsing Galvatron on the bridge and mistaking him for Megatron. Natural Selection, Part Five
Optimus contacted Ultra Magnus to warn him about the Ark's approach to Cybertron. En route, Galvatron reflected that in this timeline, he would rule Cybertron. Destiny, Part One As the Ark came within orbit of Cybertron, Starscream and Shockwave staged a mutiny to get Galvatron off the ship and tried to kill him using the asteroid cutters that had saved Cybertron so long ago but were forced to abort when the Ark risked being detected by Cybertron's orbital defences. Destiny, Part Three The two Decepticons soon became infected with a conscience and returned to Cybertron to attack Bludgeon's Warworld, providing the killing blow. Destiny, Part Five
The two took the Ark to a nearby asteroid belt to recover their strength but Shockwave insisted that Starscream take the ship elsewhere lest they be detected by the Autobots. Before Starscream could take any action, the remnant of the Underbase within him surged to life when it detected Jhiaxus. The War to End All Wars, Part 1 The Underbase then possessed Starscream and took full control of the Ark to confront Jhiaxus as it provided exposition to Shockwave. The War to End All Wars, Part 2
The Underbase piloted the Ark directly into Jhiaxus' fleet by simply turning the minds of his soldiers elsewhere before it landed the craft and separated Shockwave from it. The War to End All Wars, Part 3 The Underbase and Shockwave left the Ark to attack the Hub Network. Despite being separated from the ship, Shockwave was able to exert remote control over it and used it to sever several connections between planets. After it had absorbed Jhiaxus, the Underbase left Starscream to die in the Hub's collapse (dick) before Shockwave rescued him, surprising himself with the emotional act, and brought him back to the Ark. The War to End All Wars, Part 4
The two set course back for Cybertron but found the planet had been taken over by the Dark Matrix entity with the population being converted into shadow-leeches. Detecting Ravage, Shockwave used the Ark's lights to distract the leeches while Starscream rescued their comrade. King of Shadows
Ask Vector Prime
The Steelhaven was disassembled so its parts could be used to repair the Ark. Whatever remained was destroyed to keep it out of human hands. Ask Vector Prime
Transformers '84
Though supposedly built to clear a path through a nearby asteroid belt, Project: Ark was, at its core, an elaborate trap by Optimus Prime to try and remove Megatron from Cybertron. It was Prime's hope that with so many of the finest Autobots aboard the Ark, that Decepticon High Command would personally attack, whereupon Optimus would crash the warship on some alien world, and by removing Megatron from the equation it would leave the Autobots on Cybertron with a fighting chance against whatever remained of the Decepticon army. Before Prime departed for the Ark, he ordered Punch to ensure that their ship never be found, no matter what. '84 #0
The Ark included a mind bank, which stored the copied engrams of several other Autobots: Grapple, Skids, Hoist, Smokescreen, Skids, and a spark containment module which kept their life forces in magnetic containment. Just before the vessel's launch, Ratchet had the minds of the five Dynobots downloaded into the bank and their sparks added to the containment system. When Megatron's forces attacked the Ark, Optimus put his suicide maneuver into play and sent both the Autobots and their Decepticon attackers crashing into Earth, which knocked them all offline. Secrets & Lies #2
The crash left the Ark's AUNTIE supercomputer online but badly damaged; Secrets & Lies #3 shortly after the Ark's crash, the network detected Shockwave's arrival and reactivated the five Dinobots with dinosaur alternate modes to take him on. Secrets & Lies #2 However, AUNTIE proved unable to distinguish friend from foe, and when a berserk Grimlock returned to the Ark, AUNTIE retaliated by downloading five copied engrams into sparkless bodies to create emotionless warriors, who subsequently engaged the Decepticon Coneheads. When Grimlock proved able to take down the ship's arsenal of Guardian droids, AUNTIE retaliated by bringing Megatron online. Secrets & Lies #3
Seeing that their leader was under another's control and channeling antimatter, the Coneheads fled the area while Grimlock managed to stumble back inside the Ark and disabled AUNTIE. Returning to the Nemesis, the Coneheads called Straxus for rescue, a request he agreed to grant if they forgot the Ark's location and backed him as Decepticon leader, an offer they readily agreed to. Secrets & Lies #4
Some four million years later, in 1017, the Autobot scout ship Mantlo picked up a lead on the Ark. After passing through six other star systems, the Mantlo arrived on Earth. Its crew, the brothers Fastlane and Cloudraker were unaware, however, that they had been followed by Wingspan's Decepticons. When the Decepticon ship picked up the Ark, Counterpunch swiftly executed Wingspan, sending the Decepticons after his fellow Autobots with a vengeful fury. The resulting battle ended in an Autobot victory but left Cloudraker critically wounded, prompting Fastlane to return his brother to the Mantlo for medical attention. Obeying his Prime's last command, Counterpunch reluctantly fired at the ship's cockpit, crashing it and preventing the brothers from finding the Ark. '84 #0
The Transformers cartoon
Other Vanguard-class ships, pretty much identical to the Ark, are seen taking refugees from Cybertron on a history tape. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2 It is suspected that the settlers of known Autobot colonies such as Paradron were among these.
The Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime to search for fuel, but ran afoul of two colliding asteroids. Then the Decepticon ship attacked, and the Decepticons under Megatron boarded it. Out of control, the Ark crashed to Earth, smashing into a volcano in what would eventually become a desert. The exact location is unknown, but closely resembled the American southwest. There it rested until a volcanic eruption four million years later reactivated it and its inhabitants. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
- Crew of the Ark
The Ark's crew consisted of all the 1984 Autobots. A vehicle resembling Grapple's alt mode and called "Hauler" is also seen shortly after the Autobots revived on Earth and may represent another crew member. Some or all of the 1985 Autobots may also have been crewmembers.
The original crew of the Ark consisted of:
Autobot Headquarters
After coming back online, the Decepticons immediately departed. However, the Autobots remained in their crashed ship, which served as their base of operations: Autobot Headquarters.
The ship was severely damaged by the crash and its subsequent entombment; massive rocks were visible inside the ship (whether they penetrated the hull on impact or were formed there later is unclear), and broken and damaged consoles are frequently seen in the background. The ship never flew again. The Autobots seemed to be preparing to re-launch it after the crash of the Decepticon space cruiser, More than Meets the Eye, Part 3 but months later, both the Autobots and the ship remained on Earth. Transport to Oblivion
Over time, the Autobots modified and expanded their base. An elevator provided passage to upper levels within the volcano, Enter the Nightbird and a retractable door sealed off the volcano's crater. Dinobot Island, Part 2 Early on, a small module serving as Ratchet's medical center sat near the main entrance, More than Meets the Eye, Part 1 but was later removed. Explorations by Sideswipe and Brawn revealed a system of caves beyond the ship's walls. The caves revealed a treasure trove of dinosaur bones, which became the inspiration for the Dinobots. S.O.S. Dinobots The base's nerve center was the supercomputer Teletraan I.
The base's geographic location proved a liability on at least two occasions, when Decepticon-induced calamities caused the volcano to become active again. During the first of these eruptions, several Autobots were blasted out of the cone and into the troposphere, requiring Skyfire to come to their rescue. Ironhide managed to bring the eruption to a halt by shooting down some rocks. No, really. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 The system of caves beneath the base also allowed the Constructicons to enter the base from below, in an attempt to destroy Teletraan I. Heavy Metal War Laserbeak was known to use the volcano's crater as an entry/exit point when on spying missions. Divide and Conquer
Autobot Headquarters remained in use in 2005, though it appears to have been supplanted by Autobot City as the Autobots' primary operations center. During Megatron's massive assault on Autobot City in 2005, Autobot Headquarters fell under assault by Menasor and Bruticus. Transformers: The Animated Movie
By 2006, the base had been equipped with a large number of retractable cannons built into the mountainside. They were not enough to save it from destruction at the hands of the giant Decepticon Trypticon, however. A squad of Autobots led by Warpath made a stand against the oncoming Titan, but were brushed aside. Warpath ordered Teletraan I to activate the automated defenses, but the barrage of cannonfire gave Trypticon only momentary pause. He smashed the guns, then blasted the entire mountain to rubble. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
Beast Wars cartoon continuity
Beast Wars cartoon
According to Optimus Primal, the Ark was built using "die-cast" construction, a lost art by the Beast Wars era.
According to Blackarachnia, the Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime, carrying a group of the Autobots' "finest heroes". One of the two known copies of the Covenant of Primus was carried aboard. During the voyage, the Ark came under attack by the Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticon fleet. Decepticon Leader Megatron led a boarding party which attacked the Ark crew. However, both ships were damaged and fell into the gravity well of the nearby planet Earth. The Ark crashed into a semi-active volcano, and the Transformers aboard were sent into emergency stasis lock.
Though Megatron had ostensibly come to prehistoric Earth to look for a massive cache of energon to fuel his war against the Maximal Imperium, he was in reality following instructions recorded by the original Megatron on the Golden Disk from the Voyager space probe. Once on Earth, he apparently found the crash site of the Ark, but buried the entrance to the interior of the volcano. At that point, he had deemed the plan to destroy the deactivated Autobots aboard her and change the outcome of the Great War as a last-chance gamble should he ever be backed into a corner with little hope of escape. Such a situation came to pass while he was a prisoner aboard Ravage's transwarp cruiser, and he convinced the former Decepticon to free him by revealing his plan. The Agenda (Part 2)
After failing to destroy the Maximal base, he traveled to the crash site, where he forced Blackarachnia to deactivate the security systems of Teletraan I and allow him access to the Ark's bridge. Observing that he was walking in the hallowed halls of the past as somebody who was soon to change the very course of history, he flew to the prone form of Optimus Prime and unleashed a torrent of pent-up rage over what he felt was Maximal injustice toward the conquered Predacons. He then fired at Optimus Prime's head, which created a time storm. The Agenda (Part III) Fortunately, the Maximals were able to repair the damage to Optimus, saving his spark and thus preserving the future. Optimal Situation
Megatron would later reenter the Ark with a new mission: take the spark of Megatron and merge it with his own. However, Tarantulas betrayed him and set the Ark to self-destruct. Fortunately, Blackarachnia was able to deactivate the overload. Master Blaster
After securing the Nemesis, Megatron attempted to destroy the Ark (along with all the Decepticons inside, which might have destroyed him as well). The Maximals tried to bring the Ark online and use it to fight against the Nemesis, but the engines had been idle for too long. However, using a shuttle housed in the Ark, Rhinox was able to damage the Nemesis and capture Megatron. After sufficient modifications, the shuttle was later used to transport the Maximals home, while the Ark and its sleeping passengers remained in the volcano to begin the Great War eventually. Nemesis Part 2
2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity
"Little?"
Razorbeast and his small, temporally displaced group traveled to the Maximal encampment in the volcano in order to obtain tools to repair the transwarp signal booster which they hoped to find in the wreckage of Ravage's transwarp cruiser. Not willing to risk taking something that might be noticed missing from the Axalon's shell, they instead took what they need from the Ark. The Gathering issue 3
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
The Ark was Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor. Transformers: The Ultimate Guide Originally commissioned by Optimus Prime, when he planed for the Autobots to leave Cybertron, its construction continued after this plan was abandoned. Despite the escalation of war, Prime insisted that only the finest material and equipment be used. Prime planed for the ship to be used in locating Energon on other planets and aiding worlds threatened by the Decepticons. On its maiden voyage it was boarded by the crew of the Nemesis, causing it to crash on Earth, were both groups would remain dormant for more than four million years. Following their reactivation, the crashed ship became the Autobots base.More Than Meets The Eye It was destroyed in 2004 while Ratchet and Brawn countered a Decepticon attack headed by Starscream and Bruticus. Night of the Combaticons
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
The Ark crashed on Earth at some point in the past, leaving the Autobots and Decepticons inside it deactivated. Eventually, the craft was found by the arms trafficker Destro, who passed the information on to the terrorist organization Cobra. Cobra then broke into the Ark, hauled away its dormant passengers, and covered up their tracks so nobody else would discover the ship. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1 Unbeknownst to the humans, their break-in caused the Ark's computer, Teletran-One, to be reactivated. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4 Unfortunately for Cobra, one of their own defected to G.I. Joe and told them all about their findings. The United States government subsequently dug up the Ark, dismantled it, and brought the pieces to Roswell for study. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2
Following the defeat of Cobra and the Decepticons, the government helped the Autobots construct a new Ark with which to return to Cybertron. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6
2005 IDW continuity
6.2 million meta-cycles ago, the first legendary vessel to be designated as the Ark was launched from Cybertron under the command of Nova Prime. Its stated mission was to plot a safe passage from the Cybertronian Quadrant of the galaxy through the Benzuli Expanse, though its true mission was Expansion. Spotlight: Optimus Prime Spotlight: Galvatron The first ship and namesake of its class, the Ark was designed by the cruelest engineers of Nova Prime's C.A.D.R.E., being the most powerful class of warship that they'd ever built. The Nothing Man
Known passengers on this first Ark include:
Dai Atlas was meant to be part of the crew, but lost his place after defying Nova Prime. Primus: All Good Things Tailgate was supposed to rinse out the Ark's coolant chutes before it took off, but fell down a hole and wasn't missed. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It Cybertronian Homesick Blues Rung was also meant to be on board, but the Senate recalled him just before take-off. Speak, Memory: Part 1
Twenty-thousand astro-cycles out, the Ark disappeared when Galvatron intentionally piloted it directly into the anomaly within the Benzuli Expanse under the orders of Nova Prime. The anomaly turned out to be a gateway to a region known as the Dead Universe, which instantly killed most of the crew as they crossed through. Spotlight: Galvatron Dark Dawn
The Cybertronians back home, not knowing the truth of the Ark's purpose nor fate, honored it by naming numerous ships after it, each distinguished by a number following the title. Among them were the Ark-7, Ark-12, Ark-17, Ark-19, Ark-27, and Ark-32. The original Ark, retroactively given the designation Ark-1, and its crew were granted a memorial in the form of the Ark-1 Memorial Grounds. Chaos Theory Part 2 The Autobot Rung had a model of the Ark-1 on his desk. Bullets
Over the eras following its loss, rumor, myth, and legend sprang up around the ship, obscuring the few existing facts surrounding its fate. In the present day, the fate of the first Ark was one of the "big three" mysteries that Nightbeat liked to dig into in his free time. He eventually got a lead on possible remains of the ship, but it turned out to be a trap specifically set to draw him in. On Gorlam Prime he found wreckage of the correct type and age to come from the ship, and far beneath the surface, he discovered a vast inter-dimensional portal. Before he could dig into the mystery even more, he was overtaken by a strange group of Transformers who captured him and messed with his head, eventually erasing his memory of being there at all. Spotlight: Nightbeat
While Nova Prime's plans for the Expansion failed, the Ark-1 remained in the Dead Universe alongside the wreckage of starships from other universes. Galvatron floated past it when he returned to the strange dimension and met D-Void. Heart of Darkness #2
Ask Vector Prime
In Primax 085.0 Eta, the Autobots defeated the Decepticons not long after reawakening on Earth and returned to Cybertron aboard a refueled and repaired Ark to regain control of their homeworld. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
Millions of years ago, the Ark crash-landed on an island near Scotland. Humans began to venerate the cavernous ship and its frozen inhabitants as a holy place, and by medieval times a group of Cobra druid-priests worked to protect the "island of the gods" from outsiders. Laird Mac Cullen travelled to the Ark's resting place—the "cave of the old gods"—accompanied by his friends and mute brother to consult the druids for news of Viking raids.
The Scotsmen travelled into the sacred grotto, warned not to disturb the resting gods within. The young brother discovered an Energon cube and used it to reactivate a Sky Spy probe. The probe, unable to find machinery, scanned the young boy and exchanged information with him, allowing it to reactivate and partially reconfigure a small Decepticon. The Scotsmen killed the Decepticon and took its parts, fleeing the island after the local druids realized they had desecrated the holy place. After learning the secrets of firearms from the probe, the youngest Mac Cullen returned to the island, drove off the druids, and built Castle Destro over the ruins of the Ark, occasionally consulting the ship's old databanks for information. Stick To Your Guns
Beast Wars: Uprising
Some time after the reactivation of the Ark on Earth in 1984, the Transformers' reactivation date became the basis of a new calendar year system, Stellar Cycle of the Ark (SCA). Micro-Aggressions
Of Masters and Mayhem
The Ark Project was undertaken in absolute secrecy, being a representation of the Autobots' hope that the Great War might one day end and Cybertron be able to recover.
Using Spin-Out's head and its still active transponder, Toxitron managed to breach the factory where the Ark's engine array was being built only for a mighty punch from Jetfire to send him into one of the incomplete engines, the toxic Decepticon's sludge devouring it. Seeing that the battle could not be won, Jetfire ordered the facility scuttled. The Toxic Transformer
Star Trek vs. Transformers
The Ark left Cybertron four million years ago to shoot down asteroids, and subsequently crashed on Earth after it was pursued and boarded by the Decepticons. What happened to the Ark in the interim is unknown, but when the Autobots later departed Earth to flee World War III, they did so aboard Fortress Maximus.
While mind-melded with Optimus Prime, Spock glimpsed his memories of the Ark. Prime's Directive, Part Two
Transformers/Ghostbusters
Fleeing overwhelming Decepticon odds, Optimus Prime's Autobots took the life-giving AllSpark aboard the Ark during their exodus; Ghosts of Cybertron Part 4 their timing proved fortuitous, as the world-destroyer Gozer arrived on Cybertron shortly after their departure and swiftly destroyed the planet. With nowhere else to go, the Autobots spent a thousand years aimlessly drifting through space before the scientist Ectronymous Diamatron, picked up a Cybertronian signal on Earth Ghosts of Cybertron Part 1 and took a shuttle to investigate. Ghosts of Cybertron Part 5
In the meantime, the Ark hid itself behind the dark side of Earth's moon until Ectronymous—now calling himself "Ectotron"—called to request Optimus Prime's assistance. Ghosts of Cybertron Part 3 After capturing Megatron's ghostly Decepticons, Prime returned to the Ark in the hopes that he could one day rehabilitate his foes, while Ectotron struck out on his own in search of other Cybertronian ghosts. Ghosts of Cybertron Part 5
Transformers vs. The Terminator
The ship that brought the Cybertronians to Earth, the Ark crashed into Mount St. Hilary millions of years prior to the rise of humanity. In 1984, the volcano's eruption rebooted the Ark. Enemy of My Enemy Part One Reactivated first, the Decepticons executed the prone Autobots and waged a devastating war on Earth, wiping out humanity. Enemy of My Enemy Part Two To avert this chain of events, the AI Skynet sent a lone T-800 unit back to the 20th century so it could avert the threat. While the T-800 arrived too late to stop the Ark's reactivation, it managed to breach the starship and prepared to terminate the reactivated Decepticons. Enemy of My Enemy Part One
Though the single unit lacked the destructive capability to destroy all the Decepticons, its interference, along with that of its companion Sarah Connor, led to the Autobots surviving in the new timeline. Faced with their foes' reanimation, the Decepticons took their leave from the ship and scouted the area, finding the Ark to be their only obstacle to conquering the planet. Enemy of My Enemy Part Two
Once the T-800 had reluctantly agreed to an alliance with the Autobots, Optimus, Bumblebee and Sarah brought Arcee, Velocity, Wheeljack and Ratchet back online. While the latter two went to work repairing the ship and its stasis-locked crew, the others conducted scouting operations. After Arcee had shown the T-800 around the warship's armory, the unit helped itself to some explosives, surreptitiously scattering them around the Ark, later remotely detonating them, causing a violent explosion to consume the ship. Enemy of My Enemy Part Three
After Megatron, Soundwave and Kickback had been killed, and Starscream had fled, the Autobots took custody of the four remaining active Decepticons and returned to the Ark only to find it buried beneath the mountain. Unable to return home without the Ark, the eight Transformers formed a truce until they found a new way home. Enemy of My Enemy Part Four
War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon
As the Great War turned against the Autobots, they constructed the Ark to escape their dying world, hiding it beneath cloaks and holograms, Siege episode 5 not far from Sector Seven. Siege episode 6
The ship's power requirements however meant that it remained grounded, serving as the Autobots' main base. Siege episode 1
When the Decepticons unleashed a virus to destroy the Alpha Trion Protocols, the protocol's similarity to basic Autobot code caused it to deactivate the Ark's systems, including its cloak. Siege episode 5
With the vessel exposed, the Decepticon army unleashed its full might against it, the ship only being saved when Bumblebee's group brought pilfered ingots of raw energon. Refuelled, the Ark flew to the space bridge in Sector Seven in time to witness Optimus Prime launch the Allspark from Cybertron. After a few straggling Autobots had boarded, the Ark flew after the Allspark, only for the shock of transit to disable the ship. Inert once again, the Ark drifted aimlessly through space, its crew inactive, until Teletraan I reactivated when it detected an unknown starship on an intercept course with the Ark. Siege episode 6
The Fool's Fortune docked with the Ark as its Mercenary crew boarded the Autobot ship. Earthrise episode 1 Seizing control of the ship and imprisoning the crew, the Mercenaries piloted the Ark to Chaar to deliver the Autobots to the Quintesson Judge Deseeus. The Mercenary leader Doubledealer eventually had a change of spark and allowed the Autobots to return to their ship. As the Ark flew off after the Allspark, they were unaware that the Fool's Fortune continued to follow them, now working for Megatron. Earthrise episode 2
The Ark's sensors eventually located the Allspark but the artifact was so far away that the Ark lacked the fuel to reach it. Detecting an active space bridge in the Nebulon system, the Ark set course for it only to find the Nebulon Station stuck in the portal. As the crew disembarked to dislodge the obstruction, the Nemesis arrived. Earthrise episode 3
After a battle with the Decepticons and the Scorponok had caused the station to collapse, the Autobots retreated to the Ark. Just as its warp drive was primed, the Nemesis struck the ship, Earthrise episode 4 the exotic mix of energies transporting the Ark to the Dead Universe. Meeting the exiled Sky Lynx, who asked for a spot on the ship, Optimus Prime was able to use the power of the Matrix of Leadership to open a path back to normal space for the Autobots. As the Ark prepared to pass through, Megatron attacked, Sky Lynx sacrificially taking the shot to ensure its survival. Emerging back in the normal universe above an organic planet, the Ark lost all power. Earthrise episode 5
Having received a large data spike when it left the Dead Universe, the Ark dedicated all of its power to processing this, leaving it vulnerable to the Nemesis's tractor beam. As the Decepticons boarded the weakened ship, the Fool's Fortune, now under Deseeus' command arrived to attack both Cybertronian ships. After Megatron had managed to steal the Matrix of Leadership, he ordered the Nemesis away from the Ark just as the Fool's Fortune began overloading. With no shields, the Ark was caught in the blast of the Mercenary craft's destruction, sending it down to the planet for a crash landing, its landing site found by a Velociraptor. Earthrise episode 6
My Little Pony/Transformers
After a mishap of magic and science had caused several Autobots and Decepticons to be sent to realm of Equestria, Grimlock, left on Cybertron, befriended an Equestrian native Spike and brought him back to the Ark. As he showed the young dragon around the ship, the Constructicons attacked. Though Grimlock could fight them individually, he was outmatched by Devastator. Having a brainwave, Spike skimmed a manual on how to operate Teletraan I, before activating the engines for a moment, the force of the exhaust toppling the combiner. Inspiring
Transformers/Back to the Future
In the original timeline, the Autobots used the Ark as their base, Optimus monitoring Bumblebee's scouting of Hill Valley from the ship. Transformers/Back to the Future #1
After having seized the DeLorean time machine, Rumble used it to travel back to 1974 to build up a bounty of energon cubes before breaching the Ark in 1984. Hacking into Teletraan I, Rumble used the ship's systems to revive the Decepticons, and only the Decepticons, before Megatron decided that the time traveller had outlived his usefulness and executed him. Transformers/Back to the Future #2
2019 IDW continuity
During Cybertron's Age of Expansion, Ark-class vessels were used to transport colonists to the newly founded Cybertronian colonies. When the passing of the Nominus Edict ended Cybertron's era of colonization, four ships of the class that remained on Cybertron were mothballed, being stripped down to their engines before being placed at Darkmount. Escape Part One
Fearing the increased geological instability that was plaguing Cybertron, Straxxus hauled an Ark out of storage and ordered it brought back online as an escape ship. Escape Part Two When the Decepticons came to power and targeted the Xeno-Quarter, Wheeljack and Hoist turned to the idea of reactivating the Ark-class as a means of evacuating the alien immigrants in the absence of the Titans. Escape Part One Highbrow later called Straxxus to request usage of the ships which the Senator, after a geological discussion, generously gave him. Escape Part Two
Games
Transformers G1: Awakening
The Ark was the Autobot flagship. Following a titanic battle, they used it to leave Cybertron and head out into the cosmos, only for the ship to be attacked by Megatron's forces. The Decepticons invaded the bridge, and the resulting struggle caused the Ark to crash, embedding itself into the side of a volcano on Earth, where it remained for four million years. A volcanic eruption later caused both factions to revive. The Autobots had their work cut out for them battling the Decepticons, and at one point had to face a massive assault on the Ark, which they managed to repel. Transformers G1: Awakening
Transformers: Devastation
The Ark acted as a hub for the Autobots, with the group returning there after each completed mission to recharge and to upgrade their T.E.C.H. and weapons. Following the destruction of the Ferrotaxis, Optimus and Wheeljack returned to the ship to discuss plans for the Optimus Maximus project. Transformers: Devastation
Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive
Many Autobots drove out of the Ark as they went off on missions to defeat Decepticons and destroy their bases. Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive
Toys
Transformers (2014)
- Dinobots Generation One 4-pack (Voyager, 2014)
- The inside box of the Hasbro Toy Shop exclusive "Dinobots Generation One 4-pack" that was first made available at San Diego Comic-Con 2014 can be unfolded to reveal a Pop-Up diorama of Ark crashed in Mount St. Hilary. The back of the diorama shows Teletraan I, referred to as the "command center" in the packaging bio. The outside packaging credits Matthew Reinhart as the designer of the diorama.
Generations
War for Cybertron: Kingdom
- Autobot Ark (Titan Class, 2021)
- Accessories: Sky Spy, Optimus Prime microfigure, Teletraan I
- The long-awaited Titan Class figure for Kingdom, Autobot Ark is a giant spaceship which converts into a 19-inch tall robot, partly based on the likeness of the Last Autobot.
- Due to their tremendous size, Autobot Ark scales nicely with the Kingdom Core Class lineup. They also possess a cargo ramp located under the spaceship's thrusters, which can fit small figures inside.
- Autobot Ark's chest can be removed to form Teletraan I, who is also given an original robot mode for the Kingdom toyline. The additional accessories of the Sky Spy satellite and an Optimus Prime minifigure are also included, which can be stored in the cargo ramp.
Merchandise
Titanium Series
- Autobot Shuttle Ark (3-inch Robot Masters, 2006)
- The first tangible representation of the Ark was a die-cast Titanium figurine at the 3-inch scale. The forward section was based on the Ark's appearance in the original cartoon, but attached to it is an approximation of the back 2/3s of another Hasbro space ship, the Electronic StarBird created and sold by Milton Bradley in 1978. [1] Odder yet, the technical information on the back refers to the Marvel Comics Ark's destruction at the hands of Fortress Maximus, and that Ark, as seen above, does not resemble either the cartoon Ark or this toy at all.
- The forward portion of the Titanium is removable, allowing for a more accurate toy. (The most iconic portion of the Ark, the rear engines which were often seen protruding from its rocky resting point on Earth, are not present due to placement of the attachment point.)
Diamond Select
- Autobot Snow Globe (2007)
- The Ark appears as part of the base of this snow globe, mostly embedded in a mountain like in the cartoon. The globe was sculpted by Art Asylum and sold by Diamond Select Toys.
Notes
- The Ark was clearly named after the real-world biblical story of Noah's Ark, a seagoing vessel that carried representatives of every animal species on Earth through the Great Flood. With the Beast Wars cartoon adding the Covenant of Primus to the ship's cargo, it could be said to parallel the other biblical Ark as well.
- Some Autobot shuttles featured in the Marvel UK stories used the cartoon series' design for the Ark.
- A working name for the Ark was "Aunty". This was confirmed by Bob Budiansky at his panel at BotCon 2010.[1]
- Also confirmed by Bob Budiansky was that the ship was originally planned to crash into Mount St. Helens rather than Mount St. Hilary.
- The ship's Japanese name in supplemental media, "Iacon Bridge", was derived from the translation of the English line "We're nearing the bridge to Iacon. One mega-mile to go.", in which "Bridge" was rendered as the English word and not as a Japanese word. From that line, the Japanese assumed that "Iacon Bridge" referred to the ship. A later reference book uses the term to refer to Iacon itself. Consider it the Japanese equivalent of the whole Darksyde misunderstanding, if you will.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Iacon Bridge (アイアコーンブリッジ Aiakōn Burijji), Ark (アーク Āku)
- Mandarin: Fāng Zhōu (方舟, "Ark")
Footnotes
- Upcoming toy releases
- Autobot bases on Earth
- Beast Wars: Uprising starships
- Beast Wars locations
- Beast Wars starships
- Decepticon bases on Earth
- Dreamwave Generation 1 starships
- Generation 1 Autobot starships
- Generation 1 locations
- Generation 2 starships
- IDW (2005) starships
- Marvel Generation 1 starships
- Pacific Northwest
- Titanium Series
- War for Cybertron: Kingdom Autobots
- Wings Universe starships
