Autobot Earth Base

When you're light years from your planet and your ship is in an inaccessible place, you still need a place to call home. That's why Optimus Prime's crew have made an Autobot Earth Base out of an old abandoned factory. It has everything a giant transforming robot could need: a production line, a communications center, and a big-screen television. There are plenty of extra rooms for the Autobots to occupy in their down-time too, and even one for Ratchet to use as a med bay. About the only thing it doesn't have is peace and quiet so Prowl can complete his Cyber-Ninja training, and it's not really a great place for a small human to live, but, hey, no place is perfect.

Animated cartoon
What would become the Autobots' base started out as an auto manufacturing plant. Isaac Sumdac acquired it in a merger and, Sari suspected, didn't even remember he owned it. When Sari befriended Optimus Prime's crew of space bridge repairbots, she thought the place would be the perfect secret hideout and took them there to check it out. They barely had time to step inside before they were alerted to a building fire and had to race off. They were soon settling in, installing a big-screen TV, makeshift furniture, and even street signs on the wall. Though Optimus offered Prowl a different room, Prowl preferred the one with the huge tree growing through it. Sari decided they'd have a slumber party in the factory, but the party was crashed by Megatron, or rather a pocketbot controlled by the Decepticon. Through it, Megatron took control of the factory's derelict equipment and turned it on the Autobots. It was only through Prowl's Cyber-Ninja techniques that they shut everything down.

The Autobots decided to use television to learn more about human society. Instead they got to see Bumblebee fighting Colossus Rhodes. ''After Bumblebee unwittingly unmasked the Wraith, the other Autobots watched Bumblebee's appearance at a University of Michigan game on the TV, and were surprised when he started attacking humans. '' After a nasty incident at Dino Drive, Prowl utilized the main part of the base in an attempt to train Bulkhead to be more graceful. This didn't go particularly well and the floor gained a new pothole with Prowl in it. Following another of Bumblebee's escapades, Optimus told him off, but then Sari turned up at base with some turbo boosters her dad had invented, which only encouraged Bumblebee. After he was outraced by Nanosec, Bumblebee did laps around the lot in front of the building while Sari timed him, but was unable to increase his speed. She subsequently used her AllSpark Key to install the boosters before they left to catch Nanosec.

On Halloween, Bumblebee and Bulkhead got dressed up in costumes, and Sari used one of the robot arms to dangle a spider in front of Optimus. He didn't like that for some reason. While Sari, Bumblebee and Bulkhead went trick-or-treating, Optimus stayed at base and monitored their coms chatter, until Bumblebee thought he saw a giant spider. Bulkhead was chilling at the Autobot base with a xylophone when Sari called him. Unfortunately Soundwave tampered with the call, placing their friendship in jeopardy.

Sari, Bumblebee, Prowl and Bulkhead played hockey in front of the base, though they interrupted Ratchet's stasis nap. When they saw the arrival of Lugnut and Blitzwing on Earth in a news report, the Autobots went out to fight them. A short time later, they arrived back in need of repairs, and realized they were going to have to leave the planet, or risk humans getting hurt. It was going to take a while to get their ship operational again though, so the base would continue to be occupied. ''After successfully apprehending Stiletto, the Autobots retired to their base for some much-needed repairs. '' Prowl tried to educate Sari in self defense, though teaching her ninja moves turned out to be harder than expected. The Autobots had to roll out later that night when Sari went missing.

When Bulkhead started trying to explore his sensitive side through painting, the base's main area became his studio. It was soon littered with paintings and blowtorch accidents. After Headmaster stole his body, Bulkhead tried to continue his work with Bumblebee's help, at which point they discovered the base had fire alarms and no fire extinguishers, other than the ones Optimus possessed. When Bulkhead started acting strange, they turned on the TV to find the Headmaster was using Bulkhead's body to attack the Detroit Solar Fusion Power Plant. The base's security sensors picked up Decepticon activity, sounding alarms. The on-edge Ratchet consequently destroyed one of the radio-controlled aircraft Sari and Bumblebee were flying around the plant.

As Porter C. Powell took over Sumdac Tower in the wake of Professor Sumdac's disappearance, Sari found herself homeless. Bumblebee and Bulkhead fixed up a spare room in the base for her, in their own misguided way. Their attempts to feed and educate her didn't go much better. The arrival of the Elite Guard meant that the Autobots would soon have to leave Earth. After Sentinel Prime paid the base a visit, the Autobots set about finding Sari alternate accommodation. As it turned out, new proof of Decepticons on Earth meant that Ultra Magnus assigned Optimus's crew to stay on Earth. ''After one of Powell Motorworks's Bulkhead assault vehicles crashed, Bulkhead took some of the wreckage back to base to analyse. The results resulted in Bulkhead extracting some payback from Powell. ''

Sari wired the base up with a pay TV tap, leading to Bulkhead getting hooked on Street Demon and Bumblebee taking part in street races. Afterwards, Bumblebee cut off the illegal satellite signal. Ultra Magnus contacted the base to let Optimus's team know that Starscream had escaped en route to Cybertron. Optimus and Ratchet ended up tracking Prowl as he went on a one-Autobot mission to find the Decepticon. Professor Sumdac, a prisoner of the Decepticons, managed to relay a transmission between Megatron and an agent on Cybertron to the Autobot base, alerting Bumblebee who was on monitor duty. The Autobot rushed off to try and trace the signal with Bulkhead. Head of Cybertron Intelligence, Longarm Prime later contacted the Earthbound Autobots and was told about the unknown traitor.

After Meltdown was broken out of Blackwater Prison, Prowl used the big screen TV to enhance the resolution on an image, showing it was the Dinobots who had broken Meltdown out. Bulkhead found the base wasn't a great place to paint, because the other Autobots kept giving him unhelpful advice. After encountering Blurr, Bumblebee brought the intelligence officer back to base, and he filled the Autobots in on Megatron's activities before taking them all to attack the Decepticon mine base.

Following the revelation that Sari was some sort of robot, she decided she'd rather stay at the Autobot base than live under the same roof as Professor Sumdac. Ratchet checked her over, though she drew the line at an exploratory probe. Following a transwarp incident with Bumblebee, Bulkhead used a retrieval beacon generator to bring the small Autobot back. Bumblebee reappeared in the lot in front of the factory, though he happened to be inside a Rock Lord at the time. While the Autobots chased it, Sari used her key to upgrade herself. Later on, Optimus invited Professor Sumdac to the base to be with his daughter. While the Autobots gathered in the lot outside, Omega Supreme, now controlled by Megatron, suddenly transwarped in overhead and the Autobots had to lead him away from the city. Bumblebee often slacked off playing computer games when he was meant to be on monitor duty. On one occasion, Wasp got into the base and switched paint jobs with him. After a chase around Detroit, the Autobots returned Bumblebee to base, and determined that the best way to work out who was the real Bumblebee was to have them play Ninja Gladiator. At that point Wasp cut his losses and split.

Soundwave set up a laboratory in a sub-basement of the factory, unknown to any of the building's inhabitants. On Christmas, he managed to render the Autobots unconscious and wire them up to a virtual world in the laboratory. Sari came looking for them, and was chased off by Laserbeak, so there they remained while Soundwave tried to reprogram them into Decepticons. The reprogramming of the Autobots appeared to work, so Soundwave took them from the base to pit them against Sari's Substitute Autobots (it didn't end well for Soundwave). The base proved an unsuitable place for Prowl to hone his Cyber-Ninja skills, so he and Jazz went elsewhere. With a Decepticon attack impending, Optimus had Ratchet, Sari and Professor Sumdac build him a flight-capable upgrade. After one not-so-successful test, they added stabilizers, and persuaded Optimus to use the Magnus Hammer, which turned out to be just as well, as they had to leave the base to face three Lugnut Supremes.

Prime Suspect
After Optimus Prime saved you from an out-of-control truck, he took you back to the Autobot base so Ratchet could check you over. There you met Sari Sumdac, who immediately persuaded you to break into police headquarters so you could help clear Optimus Prime's name.

Quest for the AllSpark
Megatron took control of all of the machinery at the base, turning it against the Autobots. Ratchet devised a plan to keep the AllSpark safe by creating duplicate containers, and the Autobots spread far and wide to hide them.

Transformers Animated: The Game
Feeling that the Autobots needed more training, Optimus had Prowl turn headquarters into an obstacle course, complete with Copterdrones supplied by Professor Sumdac. Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead made their way through the course using teamwork. The base's sensors detected a Decepticon signal moving along the I-94. Prowl retrieved the source of the signal, a transmitter drone, which Ratchet modified to return "home". Unfortunately it escaped from the base before they could start tracking it.

Following their defeat of Megatron, Optimus opted to stay on Earth, and Bumblebee and Sari opted to play Sari's copy of Mage Master Maze Knight.