Great Dome
- The Great Dome is a structure from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Located in Iacon, the Great Dome is the city-state's center piece. It outlines Iacon Central, providing protection to the Golden Spires of Iacon. Unless there are no Spires, in which case the Great Dome functions as Autobot Headquarters. Because Iacon tends to be the place that the Autobots protect best, the Dome and the Spires are of symbolic importance to them and they often refer to them to signify amazement, surprise or exasperation.
Fiction
The Transformers cartoon
Iacon served as the headquarters of the Autobots under Optimus Prime's command. Access was only possible by an extendable bridge. Autobots needed to signal their approach before being allowed into Iacon. Iacon also contained a launch bay,
As the conflict dragged on, energy became scarce and much was invested in simply gathering what still was around. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1 The Search for Alpha Trion
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
When the Decepticons launched their assault on Iacon, the Great Dome protected the Spires and the Autobots within from the violence. The Council of Autobot Elders held a hearing inside the Celestial Temple on how to solve their predicament and Xaaron's wish to grant Optimus Prime full control of the Autobot army was agreed to. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime had sent out Bluestreak and Fusion to get shatter bombs from across Iacon. Fusion perished along the way, but Bluestreak made it back to the Great Dome safely with the bomb. Xaaron then informed Optimus Prime about his new authority, the latter glad he could now continue his plan to force the Decepticons into retreat with the approval of the Council. And There Shall Come...a Leader!
As the war continued and Cybertron was knocked out of its orbit, an asteroid belt threated to destroy the planet. Optimus Prime and several other Autobots board a ship to reach and destroy the asteroids, but the ship and its crew were lost. Despite losing their finest soldiers, the Council managed to organize the remaining Autobots in a force that could still withstand the Decepticons' attempt to take over Iacon. This situation remained for hundreds of thousands of years, until Decepticon leader Trannis decided that utterly destroying Iacon would do just fine too. Cybertron: The Middle Years!
As the only surviving Council member, Xaaron became one of the Autobot resistance's leaders and set up his base under the remains of the Celestial Temple, within the still somewhat protective cover of the Great Dome. Target: 2006
In the meantime:
"By Iacon's Great Dome" was Prowl's resonse to learning that there was a high density thermo-nuclear bomb inside Autobot Headquarters. The Wrath of Guardian!
This was followed up with a "By the Great Dome!" when the high density thermo-nuclear bomb-carrying Guardian was standing right on the other side of the door. The Wrath of Grimlock!
Trailbreaker reacted with a "By Iacon's Great Dome" when the military base in Black Rock Desert exploded. Dinobot Hunt!
Notes
- Iacon was introduced in the The Transformers cartoon episode "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" as nothing more than the dome-shaped base of the Autobots. Simon Furman made use of the episode to get some ideas for the Cybertronian landscape he wanted to feature in "And There Shall Come...a Leader!". For the UK Marvel Comics continuity, he redefined Iacon as the capital city-state of Cybertron and the dome-shaped Autobot base became the Great Dome, the centerpiece of Iacon. As the Marvel Comics timeline progressed, the Great Dome was the only recognizable part of Iacon that remained, if severely damaged, and it and its contents were implied to have become synonymous with Iacon. Whether this context should retroactively applied to the cartoon is a matter of personal canon, but it gets an entry here anyway for completeness's sake.
- The Great Dome, including the Autobots's tendency to swear by it, is one of the Marvel UK details that Simon Furman brought over to the US comics when he began writing those.
