Darkmount (Cybertron)
| The name or term "Darkmount" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Darkmount (disambiguation). |
Darkmount is an ancient fortress on Cybertron, the capitol of Decepticon-controlled Polyhex. It was built long ago around the caldera of a great magma plume welling up from the center of Cybertron. For a period of time during the Great War it was the seat of power for Lord Straxus, who fed dissenters to the smelting pool, a cauldron of magma which sat menacingly in Darkmount's shadow.[1] The smelting pool empties through ducts into a canyon which Darkmount overlooks.[2]
Fiction
Generation 1 continuity family
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Wishing to prove himself to his Autobot comrades, Scrounge infiltrated Darkmount. He was able to intercept a transmission from Earth, but he was caught. Blaster tried to rescue him, but Scrounge met his end in the smelting pool.
Meanwhile, the space bridge was being constructed under Straxus's supervision in a massive chamber located nearby. The Smelting Pool!
To keep the Decepticons from using the new Space Bridge, Blaster's group of resistance fighters, led by Perceptor, orchestrated a siege on Darkmount. The digging efforts of Borebit and Corkscrew loosened Darkmount's foundation, causing it to crumble, while Blaster defeated Lord Straxus on the space bridge. The Bridge to Nowhere!
The head of Lord Straxus survived, but with the destruction of Darkmount, he relocated to another stronghold in Polyhex. ...The Harder They Die!
Transformers '84
On Shockwave's orders, Counterpunch promoted Straxus to Regional Liege and gave him Darkmount as his seat of power, its ready to use smelting pool being of particular interest to the warlord. Secrets & Lies #2 After Shockwave himself had disappeared, Straxus consolidated his power from Darkmount. Secrets & Lies #3
3H comics
Darkmount was turned into a mostly rocky terrain after the Great Transformation. A force of Predacons led by Galvatron began work on a fortress there, intending to make it the new Predacon capital.
The Quintesson In-Saba Nur tried to take Darkmount by crawling up through the canyon ducts. As he died horrifically in magma, he realized the canyon was unguarded for a reason. Wreckers: Finale Part II
Wings Universe
Darkmount presumably inspired the name of the Darkmount Stratagem. Knight Flareup profile card Apelinq's personal logs, 2015/01/07
Precursor World
After Primacron had disappeared, the Straxuses managed to kidnap Primus and imprisoned him at Darkmount, unaware that Soundwave was observing them and had alerted the Primus Vanguard to their location. Finale 2
Darkmount was the site of Straxus' experiments on introducing organic traits into Cybertronians, where he produced and trained Convobat and Megalligator. It was staffed with a number of guards, including Air Hunter, Wrecker Hook, Hailstorm and Terradive. Cybertron Convobat prequel comicIt was later assaulted by Magna Convoy seeking revenge for the Primus Vanguard, where it was defended by Air Hunter, Wingstun, (a) Straxus and a member of the Rollermaster Corps, before Magna Convoy was spirited away by a mysterious spaceship. Cybertron Magna Convoy prequel comic
War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material
Darkmount (a completely separate polity from Polyhex), was positioned south-east of the Sea of Rust[3] and was often used as a base of operations for the Decepticon Phantomstrike Squadron when they weren't launching quickstrike suprise attacks on key Autobot positions. Final Strike Figure Series marketing material[4]
While stationed on the outer edge of the Sea of Rust in an underground base, the Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce analyzed the attack patterns of the Phantomstrike Squadron to anticipate their next strike. Greenlight—who had been tracking the Phantomstrike Squadron from her drop point in a nearby deserted Decepticon zone—attempted to transmit the all clear for the Alphastrike's counterattack to commence, but her transmission was discovered by the Phantomstrike Squadron who corrupted its signal. Teletraan-1 attempted to retrieve the full transmission from the Decepticons to gather the location data needed to assess the threat. Siege Teletraan1 Data Files
2019 IDW continuity
Ruled by Senator Straxxus, Darkmount kept itself independent from wider Cybertronian politics. Escape Part Two The last four Ark-class spacecraft were mothballed at Darkmount, Escape Part One with Straxxus restoring one of them to evacuate the city-state's populace in the face of mounting danger posed by geological instability. He had the other three turned over to Highbrow so that the Xeno-Quarter could also be evacuated. Escape Part Two
When Wheeljack and Hoist marched a convoy of refugees to Darkmount, Straxxus barred them all from entering, citing a need to protect his citizens. Escape Part Three
As a makeshift refugee camp was set up beyond the city, Straxxus invited Highbrow, Nautica and Wheeljack into Darkmount where he revealed he would be using three of the Arks to evacuate his citizens. After Highbrow left for Crystal City, a swarm of Insecticon clones descended onto the area. Escape Part Four
Witnessing this, Straxxus sealed the city gates and ordered Darkmount evacuated. When two of the Arks managed to launch, their rich bounty of resources and energon made them the new targets for the clones, the one carrying the colonization supplies detonating when the Insecticons chewed through enough of it. With most of the attackers perishing in the explosion, what few remained fled Darkmount. With Straxxus gone, the Autobots claimed Darkmount and used the third Ark to evacuate the organics, under the protection of Dai Atlas. Escape Part Five
By the time that Ultra Magnus had returned to Cybertron, Darkmount was considered a haven for neutral Cybertronians and aliens. Test Flight I
Shattered Glass
Cliffjumper was last seen alive in the vicinity of Darkmount.
During a battle for the Arch-Ayr fuel dump, Soundwave summoned the Mayhem Suppression Squad from Darkmount for assistance. Later, more Decepticon reinforcements arrived from Darkmount to transport the acquired fuel supplies. Dungeons & Dinobots
Aligned continuity family
Aligned novels
Darkmount was built in ancient times around the natural smelter known as the Upper Pool, to defend it from primitive creatures spun-off from the Transformers' own creations. Below it lay the Lower Pool.
In the last days before the great war, Darkmount was basically a large inhabited ruin. The settlement of Polyhex spread out from its flank, separating the Upper Pool of magma from a series of high class upper-caste homes on the opposite cliff face. Below, a community of artisans made their homes around the edges of the Lower Pool. Exodus
Prime cartoon
During the Great War, the Wreckers fought the Battle of Darkmount Pass, being caught between a Decepticon patrol and the smelting pit. Wheeljack cleared them a path and used the bodies of dead Decepticons as stepping stones to escape via the smelting pool. Con Job
When the Omega Lock created a huge fortress on Earth, Megatron dubbed it "Darkmount" in honor of the one on Cybertron. Darkmount, NV
Bumblebee's team visited Darkmount so they could look for clues as to Shockwave's whereabouts. Unfortunately it was also the first place Unicron went when he arrived on Cybertron, and during the ensuing fight, the Autobots were almost knocked into a smelting pit. Starscream later returned there, believing he could take his place as Decepticon leader, but instead he encountered Predaking out for revenge. Predacons Rising
2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon
Starscream survived by using his cunning and intellect dumb luck accidentally triggering the fortress' intruder defence system which killed Darksteel and Skylynx. He later found the laboratory where the Weaponizer Mini-Cons were kept before he decided to use them for his own benefit. Mini-Con Madness
Notes
- While it is never specified, the battle as depicted in the War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material and the box art for the Amazon exclusive Final Strike Figure Series multi-packs, likely takes place in Darkmount.
