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.

There’s a star. There’s another one. Star. Star. Star. Star. Star. Star. Getting bored of space.

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

As Cybertron is devastated by the worsening war, with Optimus Prime unwilling to take the decisive actions that will bring the conflict to an end, Sentinel Prime is forced to make a deal with Megatron to seek out another planet whose resources they can exploit to restore their homeworld. Dark of the Moon The chosen planet is the resting place of the Primes' Star Harvester. Sentinel recreates the Primes' lost space bridge technology, fashioning hundreds of pillars that will form a bridge large enough to teleport Cybertron itself across the cosmos, telling the Autobots it will be used to instantaneously teleport soldiers, supplies and refugees into and out of the battlefield, allowing them to defeat the Decepticons. The pillars are loaded onto a second Ark, while a strike team led by Optimus attacks Simfur in order to activate the control pillar for the space bridge by bringing it into contact with the AllSpark. Foundation #3 While most of the Autobots keep the Decepticons busy, Elita-One and her sisters Arcee and Chromia successfully reach the AllSpark and activate the pillar, which Elita then delivers to Sentinel Prime.

Curse you, Starscream!

Sentinel takes his Ark to ostensibly collect Optimus and the others from Simfur, but upon arrival, the ship is attacked by Starscream, who is unaware of the secret deal his leader has made with the Prime. Starscream's attack triggers a huge explosion which consumes the Ark, leaving the Autobots to believe Sentinel, the space bridge and all others aboard have been destroyed. Foundation #4Dark of the Moon Unbeknownst to any present, however, the Ark has not been destroyed: the space bridge tech aboard has in fact teleported it away through space and time, with all on board knocked into stasis by the blast. Convergence chapter 1

Out in space, the original Nemesis and Sentinel's Ark (still jinking through space and time) zero in on the energy signature of the AllSpark, and are both crippled when the Ark blindly teleports directly into the same physical space as the Nemesis. The Ark makes one final jump, leaving a lingering space bridge portal in its wake; after setting the ruined Nemesis down on the dead moon of a nearby gas giant, the Decepticons board the smaller ship Longshot and follow the Ark through the portal at The Fallen's urging, leaving his sarcophagus behind. Both ships are hurled into the future. Sentinel Prime's Ark and the Longshot emerge from the space bridge in the vicinity of Earth in early 1961. The Ark violently crash-lands on Earth's Moon, killing all on board save for Sentinel, who is safely sealed in the ship's crash vault. After examining the wreckage, Soundwave determines to keep the vessel out of the hands of the humans on the planet belowConvergence chapter 1

The crash of the Ark is detected by both the United States and the Soviet Union, and a "space race" begins to be the first to reach the Moon and plunder this alien treasure. On July 16, 1969, NASA carries out the Apollo 11 mission, successfully sending astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon. where they descover the ark Dark of the MoonConvergence chapter 4

From 1970 to 1972, the United States stages three further manned missions to the moon to continue plundering the Ark. Incensed over his failure to stop the Apollo 11 mission, Soundwave has Ravage scout for viable agents within the American space program, and makes contact with a NASA accountant named Gould. By tapping the stock market to provide Gould with all the money he desires, Soundwave procures his services to manipulate the NASA budget and make further moon missions financially unfeasible. Dark of the Moon Convergence chapter 4 Consequently, the sixth and final mission, launched in December 1972, is deemed the last, and the astronauts trigger explosives to hide the wreck of the Ark beneath lunar dust. Dark of the Moon #1

Similarly, also in 1972, Soundwave employs his Soviet agents to ensure that the first Russian manned mission is cancelled. Soundwave spends the remainder of the decade manipulating his pawns, and "recruiting" more and more human agents in various areas of the American and Soviet government to ensure the Ark is never re-discovered. Dark of the Moon

Dark of the Moon film

"We don't even bother putting landing gear on these bastards anymore."

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 1963. 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.

Later on, Sentinel revealed the Ark's true mission: to take the pillars to Earth and summon Cybertron, enslaving humanity and putting them to work on rebuilding the war-torn planet. 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: Autobot Roller figure, 2 missiles, 2 guns

The Ark is a playset which transforms from a starship to a space station, scaled to work with Cyberverse Legion-class figures (and notionally Commander classic figures too, though they don't fit to well inside it). It comes packaged with Autobot Roller, features several electronic lights and sounds, and includes all the generic "playset" special features that you'd expect: an elevating "repair bay", a "prison cell" for Decepticon figures with spring-shut doors, a tilting ramp at the front for vehicles to roll down, and a rotating light-up turret in the center. For more Transformers-specific fun, the left bay of the base mode features five flip-up space bridge pillars, and the ship comes with six removable weapons, all outfitted with MechTech 5mm posts: two swivelling guns mounted on its rear, two forward-mounted missile racks, and two prominent guns that sit beside them. Both of these two larger guns hold a transparent missile, but only the one left of the prow features a spring-loaded firing mechanism.

In ship mode, placing Roller or any suitably-sized Cyberverse figure in the opening cockpit depresses a hinged panel on the cockpit floor, which triggers engine and flight noises, and a pulsing light within the ship. Pressing the golden button just beside the cockpit lights up the twin guns beneath it, and triggers electronic laser firing noises. Pulling on either side of the ship initiates a partial automatic transformation, as the central tower raises and the classic transformation noise plays. In this mode, pressing a button on the base floor sets off blasting sounds and lights up the central turret. Placing a vehicle-mode Cyberverse figure on the central ramp depresses a button hidden beneath it, which causes a power-up noise to build, accompanied by steadily-brightening lights in the forward cannons, until the switch beside the ramp is tilted to send the figure rolling off with a whooshing noise.

The ship is decorated with numerous 5mm and 3mm ports and C joint bars all over its hull to hold a veritable arsenal MechTech and Cyberverse weapons; in base mode, in particular, there are c joint bars on the left side and clips on the right, allowing other Cyberverse playsets to connect up to the Ark, a la Metroplex or the Micromaster Stations, to create a sprawling micro-world.

A later Target-exclusive release includes a free Sentinel Prime figure. Good luck getting him into the cockpit.