AllSpark (Movie)
| The name or term "Allspark" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Allspark (disambiguation). |
- The AllSpark is an object from the live-action continuity family.
The AllSpark is a physical object of mysterious origin. A large, metallic cube, it is inscribed with ornate runes and is responsible for creating energon, a race of dimension-hoppers, the Transformer race and the planet of Cybertron itself. Sources say it was created by a nameless power for a reason, but that reason is as yet unknown... [1]
| “ | Before time began, there was... the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. | ” |
—Optimus Prime on the origins of his race, Transformers | ||
- Hungarian name: Örök Szikra (translates roughly to "Ever-spark")
- Polish name: Wszechiskra (Allspark)
- Russian name: Iskra ("The Spark")
Fiction
IDW Transformers movie comics
The AllSpark's origins are unknown. What is known is it was responsible for creating Cybertron and a race of powerful entities, the Thirteen Primes. The Primes soon discovered the All Spark's vast power was finite, and they were at a loss on how to restore it. Fate intervened when a nearby star went nova, repowering the AllSpark. The Primes could travel dimensions, but they needed help harvesting and locating stars. The All Spark responded when it created a new race of helpers, the Transformers, robots who could change their forms. Transformers called Seekers had the ability to travel into interstellar space and sought out suitable suns. Other Transformers constructed harvesters which enabled the collection of such energy, and this energy would in turn repower the All Spark. The Dynasty of Primes, as the entities and their descendants were known, lead the Transformers and searched the galaxy for stars to harvest.
Knowing the destructive capabilities of the harvesters, the Dynasty of Primes tempered their search with the rule to never destroy a star with a life bearing world. The AllSpark then formed a key to activate the Harvesters, the Matrix of Leadership, which the Dynasty protected. One day, the Dynasty and their attendants were building a star harvester on a world when they discovered that it was inhabited by primitive but sentient creatures. Twelve of the Primes upheld their rule of sparing life, but one of the Primes despised the creatures as insects and had been thinking dark thoughts of seizing the All Spark for himself. The Prime betrayed his brothers and was forever known as The Fallen. In the battle that followed, Transformer fought Transformer for the first time. Eleven of the Thirteen were killed, but the sole survivor stole the Matrix and hid it in a tomb made of the bodies of the dead Primes, giving his life to seal the Tomb. Returning to Cybertron, The Fallen massacred the rest of the Dynasty and destroyed the sarcophagi of his brothers to prevent their return, but the traitorous Prime was in turn sealed in his own sarcophagus by the spirits of his brothers. A single orphan was hidden away from The Fallen, unaware of his lineage. With the Dynasty of Primes destroyed, the Transformers became the sole inhabitants of Cybertron. Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation issue 3 Defiance issue 4
The Transformers were unaware of their predecessors or the AllSpark's origin, but to them the AllSpark was the source of life, and that was all that mattered. In return for this act of creation and the continued sustaining of Cybertron, the Transformers tended to the All Spark and kept it safe. Under the reign of Science Division leader Optimus and Defense Force leader Protector Megatron, the Transformers flourished. Prime Directive issue 1 The peace ended when the Fallen's sarcophagus was dug up, causing the AllSpark to give off pulses, attracting the attention of a hostile alien species who attacked Cybertron. This led to an increasingly darker Megatron Defiance issue 1 to be tempted by the Fallen into trying to seize the power of the AllSpark. At the same time, Optimus and his science division discovered that Optimus was somehow connected to the Dynasty of Primes.
Now Lord of Cybertron, Megatron went rogue with his own army, the Decepticons, branding those who followed Optimus traitors. Defiance issue 3 Optimus, now dubbed Optimus Prime formed his own army, the Autobots, to counter Megatron. In the war that followed, Cybertron was decimated, and eventually Optimus was forced to capture the AllSpark to keep it out of enemy hands. Defiance issue 4 The Autobots fought valiantly, but the Decepticons quickly gained ground.
Eventually, Prime made the decision to launch the AllSpark blindly into space. At Optimus Prime's orders, Bumblebee and a group of Autobots served as decoys, drawing the Decepticons—who thought they had the All Spark—to Tyger Pax, far enough away from the artifact's true location to buy Prime the time needed to prepare the launch. Megatron himself took a personal hand in the torture of Bumblebee, attempting to force him to reveal the All Spark's location, but his efforts went in vain, and the All Spark was blasted into space to put it beyond Megatron's reach. In response, Megatron crushed Bumblebee's voice box and began to follow the AllSpark into deep space. Prime Directive issue 1
Once launched into space, the AllSpark would seek out on its own the location of a harvester. Defiance issue 4
Titan Magazines Transformers comics
The AllSpark was not merely launched blindly into space, however—its trajectory was leading it directly towards the Alkaris Anomaly, a wormhole that could potentially transport the cube to an infinite number of locations in the universe. Briefly delayed by an Autobot tractor beam, Megatron could not stop the cube from entering the wormhole, and instead chose to follow it into the anomaly. While the AllSpark was disgorged somewhere in the vicinity of the Sol system, to eventually crash on Earth, Megatron was deposited by the wormhole in some other, far off star system, leaving him to hunt for the Cube through the endless reaches of space. Prelude: Megatron
Later on, a space-travelling Ironhide would be captured by an alien craft—its inhabitants appeared to be immense entities that claimed the AllSpark had been stolen from them, and did a psychic probe of Ironhide. They turned out to be "electrical ghosts", a digital imprint from another time kept alive by the photon-rich atmosphere; the ship was a derelict, salvaged by another (rather feeble) alien race that had been using these ghosts as a front. The ship contained a device attuned to AllSpark energy though, making it clear the original inhabitants did have some connection to the AllSpark... Lost In Space 3: Ironhide
When it turns human non-sentient mechanical devices into Transformers, the AllSpark energy within them forms into small, red AllSpark cubes; these can be removed and placed into other things. Starscream used this to make zombie Decepticons. Starscream's Militia It can also cyberform planets. Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1
When Megatron claimed the AllSpark, he both used it to transform Earth into a new Cybertron Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5 and personally bonded with it, being able to channel its power. Ratchet was forced to destroy it to stop it. Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5 However, a fragment survived: due to the nature of the Cube, it could end up possessing the same power as the original AllSpark. However, there was a risk that Megatron's link to it has corrupted the Cube. Ratchet was assigned to guard it Aftermath Part 1 but eventually weakened and decided to use the fragment to revive Jazz—who was reborn as an amoral villain, proving the fragment had been indeed corrupted. Dark Spark
On the dying Cybertron, Stockade and his small band of Decepticons sent out a signal into deep space in the hope of contacting any entity related to the AllSpark, and drawing it to Cybertron so it could revive the planet. They succeeded; unfortunately, the entity was not a nice one at all Return to Cybertron: Part 2 and possessed the entire planet before it was finally stopped.
Transformers (2007) movie
The AllSpark was found in 1913, 16 years after the N.B.E.-01 "Iceman" was found, though carbon dating tests indicated that Cube landed on Earth some twelve thousand years earlier. The glyphs on the Cube were similar to the ones on the Iceman, indicating a link between the two. In order to hide the cube's energy signature from other humans and, potentially, from other N.B.E.s, the President had the Hoover Dam built around it. The Iceman was also moved to the dam for further study. It was eventually determined that the Cube emitted a radiation which could bring mechanical devices to life.
Years later, when Megatron eventually came back online due to the intervention of his soldiers, Sam Witwicky convinced Sector Seven (with the help of Captain William Lennox's men) to release Bumblebee, explaining he could help. Bumblebee interacted with the cube and prompted it to collapse from an enormous monolith into a object less than half a meter across, and accordingly lesser in mass as well as volume. Bumblebee and a military escort, soon joined by the Autobots, took the Cube to Mission City, where Sam ran through the city avoiding the Decepticons. Along the way, Sam stumbled, and the AllSpark released a wave of energon radiation which animated several nearby machines into living robots. During the battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron, the Autobot leader told Sam to merge the Cube with his spark.
However, Sam instead merged it with Megatron's spark, destroying both Megatron and the All Spark. Gazing at his dead brother for one last time, Optimus fished a fragment of the All Spark out of Megatron's chest.
Without a means to restore their homeworld, the Autobots elected to remain on Earth, and Prime sent a message to inform the surviving Autobots of their new found home. Transformers
IDW Transformers movie comics
A month after the events in Mission City, the Autobots went to a secret Sector Seven facility located in the Nevada desert to escort the remains of the deactivated Decepticons. When the AllSpark shard pulsed with energy near Megatron's corpse, Optimus Prime feared the worst and handed it to Professor Vine for safekeeping. After the Autobots left, Agent Simmons convinced Vine to take the shard into their underground facility, since to keep it in the open would only attract Decepticons, though Vine had misgivings considering the stasis-locked Wreckage was also in the same facility. Optimus Prime, feeling something was wrong, ordered Ironhide and Bumblebee to go back to the Nevada facility to retrieve the AllSpark fragment. As Simmons and Vine are moving the relic into secure storage, it suddenly flies out of their hands and onto Wreckage's chest, reactivating the very angry Decepticon and Sector Seven's own L.M.-1 units. During Wreckage's rampage, Vine was convinced that they had to find the shard before it caused more havoc, but he was caught in the blast of Starscream's attack on his fellow Decepticon and killed. Alliance issue 2
In the aftermath of the attack, Simmons was more interested in finding the fragment of the AllSpark than mourning the death of Vine. Salani retrieved the All Spark ahard from the rubble and returned it to Optimus Prime. Eventually, the Autobots and the American military entered into a formal alliance to defend Earth. The AllSpark fragment was stored in a bunker under their base on the island of Diego Garcia. Alliance issue 3
Revenge of the Fallen movie
According to The Fallen, the Cube so venerated by the Transformers was merely a vessel. When Sam Witwicky destroyed the Cube to kill Megatron, he unknowingly absorbed the knowledge of the AllSpark, lying dormant within his mind.
After listening to a conversation between NEST and General Morshower, Soundwave sent Ravage and Reedman to retrieve the All Spark fragment from Diego Garcia. Scalpel used it on Megatron when he dived to the Laurentian Abyss to resurrect him.
However, the shard in NEST's custody was not the only surviving piece of the All Spark. When Sam Witwicky began packing for Princeton University, a sliver of the AllSpark fell out of the hoodie he wore during the battle of Mission City. Not only did it create the Appliancebots, but it also began to flood Cyberglyphics into Sam's mind and awaken the knowledge stored within him. Sam only realized this after his disastrous first day of class, and asked Mikaela to bring the fragment to him. Sam and Mikaela later used the fragment to revive Jetfire, who was slumbering in the Smithsonian. Revenge of the Fallen (film)
Revenge of the Fallen movie adaptations
Sam became a new vessel for the AllSpark, transferring its knowledge from the Cube's remains to him. It lay dormant in his mind for two years, inadvertently increasing his intelligence and getting him a scholarship to Princeton, and was only activated when he discovered the Cube shard from his shirt. When Megatron killed Sam, the information was transferred to the Matrix of Leadership, which was created by the AllSpark, effectively replacing the Cube as its physical form. After the death of the Fallen, Optimus Prime recovered the Matrix, reclaiming the history of the Transformers. Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation issue 3 Revenge of the Fallen (novel)
Games
Transformers: Autobots/Decepticons
Throughout both games, the Autobots and Decepticons are racing to Hoover Dam to recover the AllSpark and Megatron's frozen body from Sector 7 control. As the Cube is approached, it creates drones from nearby equipment to defend itself, finally explaining the aggressive tendencies of the robots created on Earth.
In the Autobots ending, Create-a-Bot smashes Megatron in the chest with the cube, finally ending his god-mode and opening him up for attack, but in the process sacrifices himself so that Optimus Prime can finish the Decepticon leader once and for all.
Basically, the Decepticons version ends the same, but with the evil Blum-bot attacking Starscream so that Megatron can destroy the traitor. Unlike the Autobots version, however, Starscream seems largely unharmed, if not empowered. This doesn't end well for Create-A-Bot OR Starscream, though, as Megatron still destroys his former second-in-command, then kills the newbie for being "weak." Transformers Autobots/Decepticons
Toys
Transformers (2007)
- Various AllSpark Power toys
- A small version of the All Spark was available with Japanese versions of the AllSpark Power toys.
Merchandise
- All Spark Cube with candy (2007)
- A small transparent cube filled with yummy life-giving candy pieces.
- Allsparks cubes (2007)
- 4 sticker-labeled plastic folding party favor/puzzle Allsparks [sic] cubes that can be opened and stacked in different configurations to complete images of the Movie Transformers. Created by DesignWare, a subsidiary of the American Greetings greeting card company. (Says it all, doesn't it?)
Transformers (2007)
- All Spark Cube (2007)
- Released by Popbox Collectibles, this 1:4 scaled, 7cm paperweight replica of the All Spark is made from die-cast metal. It also comes with a small 3x3x2cm square perspex base.
Revenge of the Fallen
- Rubik's Cube Allspark Edition (2009)
- Originally slated to be released in 2008, this item was held back and was instead released in new packaging as part of the Milton Bradley's Revenge of the Fallen merchandise line. While it comes in the standard Rubik's Cube colors, the cube itself is cast in light grey plastic and the patterns seen on the movie All Spark are printed on the colored facets, as well as an Autobot and Decepticon sigil on the white and yellow faces, respectively. This actually makes this version harder than the original Rubik's Cube, as the center faces must be properly aligned so that the patterns match up correctly. It comes with a grey stand with vacuum metallization on one of the three embossed Rubik's logos.
Trivia
- The movie's AllSpark was derived from hybridizing the concepts of Vector Sigma and the Matrix of Leadership, but the term "Matrix" was off limits because of the movie of the same name. Optimus Prime's description in the movie intro would suggest it also bears similarities to a Cyber Planet Key from Transformers Cybertron. Being the object that brought robotic life to Cybertron would also make it comparable to the Key to Vector Sigma of Generation One.
- It was designed as a big cube because, in the original screenplay, it was going to be called the "Energon Cube" instead. Lip service to the original name was paid in the sequel by identifying it as Cybertron's main source of energon.
- The AllSpark also bears no small resemblance in form and function to the Underbase, in that it's a giant cube-shaped object with remarkable powers that was launched from Cybertron in order to keep it out of Megatron's hands, and then flew aimlessly through space for millions of years.
- By stating Cybertron and the Transformers were created by the All Spark, the movie retcons the retcon that Primus is Cybertron & the source of Transformer life across all continuities. Unless, that is, the AllSpark is Primus' proxy or means through which he acts.
- In July 2007, several items from the 2007 movie were auctioned off on e-bay including the 'Hero' AllSpark prop used for closeups, with the money benefiting the Fisher House Foundation, a living facility attached to many US Military Hospitals. The auction collected 99 bids and the prop was sold for US $20,100.
- Before Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers The Game identified energon as being the power produced by the Cube.
