Ark (G1)

The Ark is a Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor. It has five decks and houses a full crew complement of 300 Transformers (although it can be flown by only a handful if necessary). Its environment is fully automated and self-sufficient. For engines, it features 4 Hyperfuel Intake Accelerators.

It is armed with 16 particle-combustion cannons (port), 16 laser emitters (starboard), a primary starfield missile launcher, and an Overshock sonic battery.

Fiction[]

Marvel Comics continuity[]

Marvel The Transformers comics[]

In the comic, the Ark was referred to as "the last of the Great Arks," suggesting that, as in the cartoon, there had been previous Vanguard-class ships. It is also referred to as the most powerful starship in Cybertron's history, and control of it was considered a huge tactical advantage.

It was launched to clear a path for the wandering planet Cybertron through an asteroid field. When this was done and her reserves depleted, the Decepticons attacked and boarded her. Hoping to end the threat of Megatron forever, Optimus Prime purposely crashed the ship into the passing planet Earth. The Ark crashed into Mount St. Hilary, a volcano located a small distance outside of what would one day become Portland, Oregon.

After the crash, some of the Ark's systems still functioned, and when they detected the Decepticon Shockwave making planet fall, the ship revived five of her Autobot crew and rebuilt them into the Dinobots. Upon the disappearance of these warriors in their attempt to destroy Shockwave, the Ark shut itself down.

Four million years later, Mount St. Hilary erupted, jarring the ship back to life. It revived and, unable to distinguish Autobot from Decepticon or to detect organic life (clearly it had suffered additional malfunctions since creating the Dinobots), it revived both sides to transform into the machines it perceived as the planet's dominant lifeforms.

The Ark became the Autobots' main base of operations on Earth until, during Grimlock's first term as Autobot leader, he had the ship repaired and returned to space. The Ark hung around near Earth for a time, until it was abandoned in orbit when Primus teleported all nearby Transformers back to Cybertron to face Unicron. It was recovered by the Dinobots and flown to Cybertron to engage Unicron. Grimlock, being the master of tactics that he is, physically rammed Unicron with the powerfully armed starship, which was then abandoned and crashed on Cybertron. It was recovered this time by Shockwave and Starscream, who repaired it and took it to Earth to conquer that planet with it. This plan was foiled by Galvatron, Megatron and Ratchet crashing the party. Their battle caused the ship to crash to Earth again, this time into the Canadian wilderness.

The Ark's original crew in the comics included all of the 1984 Autobots, the Dinobots, Red Alert (in the UK), the recorded mental engrams of most of the other 1985 Autobot cars, and Toaster.

Crew of the Ark

The crew of the Ark consisted of:

Optimus Prime
- Autobot Cars
- Bluestreak
- Hound
- Ironhide
- Jazz
- Mirage
- Prowl
- Ratchet
- Sideswipe
- Sunstreaker
- Trailbreaker
- Wheeljack
Autobot Mini Vehicles
- Brawn
- Bumblebee
- Cliffjumper
- Gears
- Huffer
- Windcharger
Dinobots
- Grimlock
- Slag
- Sludge
- Snarl
- Swoop

Marvel Generation 2 comics[]

The Ark was recovered and repaired by Megatron, who attempted to take it back to Cybertron and conquer that planet with it. This was foiled by Fortress Maximus and Spike Witwicky, who sacrificed their lives to cause an anti-matter explosion that finally destroyed the great ship.

Classics comics[]

Megatron takes command of the Ark, but apparently keeps it (with Ratchet on ice) as his new headquarters on Earth.

The Transformers cartoon[]

Other Vanguard-class ships, pretty much identical to the Ark, are seen taking refugees from Cybertron on a history tape. It is suspected that the settlers of known Autobot colonies such as Junkion were among these.

The Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime to search for fuel, but ran afoul of two colliding asteroids. Then the Decepticon ship attacked, and the Decepticons under Megatron boarded it. Out of control, the Ark crashed to Earth, smashing into a volcano in what would eventually become a desert. The exact location is unknown, but closely resembled the American Southwest. There it rested until a volcanic eruption four million years later reactivated it and its inhabitants.

The Ark's crew consisted of all the 1984 Autobots. A vehicle resembling Grapple's alt-mode and called Hauler is also seen shortly after the Autobots revived on Earth and may represent another crew member. The 1985 Autobots may also have been crewmembers.

Crew of the Ark

The original 18-strong crew of the ark consisted of:

Optimus Prime
Autobot Cars
- Bluestreak
- Hound
- Ironhide
- Jazz
- Mirage
- Prowl
- Ratchet
- Sideswipe
- Sunstreaker
- Trailbreaker
- Wheeljack
- Hauler
Autobot Mini Vehicles
- Brawn
- Bumblebee
- Cliffjumper
- Gears
- Huffer
- Windcharger

The stowaways consisted of:

- Megatron
- Starscream
- Skywarp
- Thundercracker
- Reflector
- Soundwave
- Ravage
- Laserbeak
- Rumble

Autobot Headquarters[]

After coming back online, the Decepticons immediately departed. However, the Autobots remained in their crashed ship, which served as their base of operations: Autobot Headquarters.

The ship was severely damaged by the crash and its subsequent entombment; massive rocks were visible inside the ship (whether they penetrated the hull on impact or were formed there later is unclear), and broken and damaged consoles are frequently seen in the background. The ship never flew again. The Autobots seemed to be preparing to re-launch it after the crash of the Decepticon space cruiser, but months later, both the Autobots and the ship remained on Earth.

Over time, the Autobots modified and expanded their base. An elevator provided passage to upper levels within the volcano, and a retractable door sealed off the volcano's crater. Early on, a small module serving as Ratchet's medical center sat near the main entrance, but was later removed. Explorations by Sideswipe and Brawn revealed a system of caves beyond the ship's walls. The caves revealed a treasure trove of dinosaur bones, which became the inspiration for the Dinobots. The base's nerve center was the supercomputer Teletraan I.

The base's geographic location proved a liability on at least two occasions, when Decepticon-induced calamities caused the volcano to become active again. During the first of these eruptions, several Autobots were blasted out of the cone and into the troposphere, requiring Skyfire to come to their rescue. Ironhide managed to bring the eruption to a halt by shooting down some rocks. No, really. The system of caves beneath the base also allowed the Constructicons to enter the base from below, in an attempt to destroy Teletraan I. Laserbeak was known to use the volcano's crater as an entry/exit point when on spying missions.

Autobot Headquarters remained in use in 2005, though it appears to have been supplanted by Autobot City as the Autobots' primary operations center. By 2006, the base had been equipped with a large number of retractable cannons built into the mountainside. They were not enough to save it from destruction at the hands of the giant Decepticon Trypticon, however. A squad of Autobots led by Warpath made a stand against the oncoming city-bot, but were brushed aside. Warpath ordered Teletraan I to activate the automated defenses, but the barrage of cannonfire gave Trypticon only momentary pause. He smashed the guns, then blasted the entire mountain to rubble.

Beast Wars continuity[]

Beast Wars cartoon[]

According to Optimus Primal, the Ark was built using "die-cast" construction, a lost art by the Beast Wars era.

According to Blackarachnia, the Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime, carrying a group of the Autobots' "finest heroes". One of the two copies of the Covenant of Primus was carried aboard. During the voyage, the Ark came under attack by the Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticon fleet. Decepticon Leader Megatron led a boarding party which attacked the Ark crew. However, both ships were damaged and fell into the gravity well of the nearby planet Earth. The Ark crashed into a semi-active volcano, and the Transformers aboard were sent into emergency stasis lock.

Though Megatron had ostensibly come to prehistoric Earth to look for a massive cache of energon to fuel his war against the Maximal Imperium, he was in reality following instructions recorded by the original Megatron on the Golden Disk from the Voyager space probe. Once on Earth, he apparently found the crash site of the Ark, but buried the entrance to the interior of the volcano. At that point, he had deemed the plan to destroy the deactivated Autobots aboard her and change the outcome of the Great War as a last-chance gamble should he ever be backed into a corner with little hope of escape. Such a situation came to pass while he was a prisoner aboard Ravage's Transwarp Cruiser, and he convinced the former Decepticon to free him by revealing his plan.

After failing to destroy the Maximal base, he traveled to the crash site, where he forced Blackarachnia to deactivate the security systems of Teletraan I and allow him access to the Ark's bridge. Observing that he was walking in the hallowed halls of the past as somebody who was soon to change the very course of history, he flew to the prone form of Optimus Prime and unleashed a torrent of pent-up rage over what he felt was Maximal injustice toward the conquered Predacons. He then fired at Optimus Prime's head, which created a time storm. Fortunately, the Maximals fixed everything.

Megatron would later reenter the Ark with a new mission: take the spark of Megatron and merge it with his own. However, Tarantulas betrayed him and set the Ark to self-destruct. Fortunately, Blackarachnia was able to deactivate the overload.

After securing the Nemesis, Megatron attempted to destroy the Ark (along with all the Decepticons inside, which might have destroyed him as well). The Maximals tried to bring the Ark online and use it to fight against the Nemesis, but the engines had been idle for too long. However, using a shuttle housed in the Ark, Rhinox was able to damage the Nemesis and capture Megatron. After sufficient modifications, the shuttle was later used to transport the Maximals home, while the Ark and its sleeping passengers remained in the volcano to begin the Great War eventually.

War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon[]

As the Great War turned against the Autobots, they constructed the Ark to escape their dying world, hiding it beneath cloaks and holograms, Template:Storylink not far from Sector Seven. Template:Storylink

The ship's power requirements, however, meant that it remained grounded, serving as the Autobots' main base. Template:Storylink

When the Decepticons unleashed a virus to destroy the Alpha Trion Protocols, the protocol's similarity to basic Autobot code caused it to deactivate the Ark's systems, including its cloak. Template:Storylink

With the vessel exposed, the Decepticon army unleashed its full might against it, the ship only being saved when Bumblebee's group brought pilfered ingots of raw energon. Refuelled, the Ark flew to the space bridge in Sector Seven in time to witness Optimus Prime launch the Allspark from Cybertron. After a few straggling Autobots had boarded, the Ark flew after the Allspark, only for the shock of transit to disable the ship. Inert once again, the Ark drifted aimlessly through space, its crew inactive, until Teletraan I reactivated when it detected an unknown starship on an intercept course with the Ark. Template:Storylink

The Fool's Fortune docked with the Ark as its Mercenary crew boarded the Autobot ship. Template:Storylink Seizing control of the ship and imprisoning the crew, the Mercenaries piloted the Ark to Chaar to deliver the Autobots to the Quintesson Judge Deseeus. The Mercenary leader Doubledealer eventually had a change of spark and allowed the Autobots to return to their ship. As the Ark flew off after the Allspark, they were unaware that the Fool's Fortune continued to follow them, now working for Megatron. Template:Storylink

The Ark's sensors eventually located the Allspark but the artifact was so far away that the Ark lacked the fuel to reach it. Detecting an active space bridge in the Nebulon system, the Ark set course for it only to find the Nebulon Station stuck in the portal. As the crew disembarked to dislodge the obstruction, the Nemesis arrived. Template:Storylink

After a battle with the Decepticons and the Scorponok had caused the station to collapse, the Autobots retreated to the Ark. Just as its warp drive was primed, the Nemesis struck the ship, Template:Storylink the exotic mix of energies transporting the Ark to the Dead Universe. Meeting the exiled Sky Lynx, who asked for a spot on the ship, Optimus Prime was able to use the power of the Matrix of Leadership to open a path back to normal space for the Autobots. As the Ark prepared to pass through, Megatron attacked, Sky Lynx sacrificially taking the shot to ensure its survival. Emerging back in the normal universe above an organic planet, the Ark lost all power. Template:Storylink

Having received a large data spike when it left the Dead Universe, the Ark dedicated all of its power to processing this, leaving it vulnerable to the Nemesis's tractor beam. As the Decepticons boarded the weakened ship, the Fool's Fortune, now under Deseeus' command arrived to attack both Cybertronian ships. After Megatron had managed to steal the Matrix of Leadership, he ordered the Nemesis away from the Ark just as the Fool's Fortune began overloading. With no shields, the Ark was caught in the blast of the Mercenary craft's destruction, sending it down to the planet for a crash landing, its landing site found by a Velociraptor. Template:Storylink

Coming to rest atop an active volcano, the Ark was boarded by a crew of Maximals, time stranded descendants of the Autobots who had hoped to loot the craft for parts and energon. Finding a disappointing supply of both, the Maximals instead allied with the Autobots to save Airazor from the Decepticon/Predacon alliance. Template:Storylink Ratchet, Wheeljack and Rhinox were left behind to try and repair the Ark, the latter's future knowledge speeding up the process. Template:Storylink

Nonetheless, the ship was not ready to fly by the time that the Allspark had been recovered. As the crews worked to repair the ship, Starscream came to the Ark to meet Bumblebee, presenting the Autobot with the Golden Disk and trusting him to save the future. No sooner had Bumblebee boldly shattered the Disk did the Nemesis arrive, opening fire on the Ark. After the Ark raised its force field, the Maximals boarded the Nemesis, disabling its weapons. This prompted Megatron to fire on the Ark directly only to be met by Starscream who begged him to cease hostilities. This bought enough time for Teletraan I to transform the Ark into a titanic robot mode, based off information gleamed from the multiple futures seen via the Dead Universe. With this new power, Teletraan managed to bring down the Nemesis. Save Blackarachnia, all the Decepticons and Predacons were detained in the Ark as it resumed its starship mode. Template:Storylink

Passing through the space bridge network, the Ark wound up stranded in the Dead Universe only to be brought to Cybertron by Galvatron and Nemesis Prime. After Optimus Prime and Bumblebee set out to restore the Allspark, Galvatron freed Megatron and tried to have his past self ally with them. Detecting the breach, the Autobots and Maximals freed the Decepticons and Predacons, convincing them to ally with them to save Cybertron, and set out to the Temple of the Allspark. Template:Storylink

2019 IDW continuity[]

During Cybertron's Age of Expansion, Ark-class vessels were used to transport colonists to the newly founded Cybertronian colonies. When the passing of the Nominus Edict ended Cybertron's era of colonization, four ships of the class that remained on Cybertron were mothballed, being stripped down to their engines before being placed at Darkmount. Template:Storylink

Fearing the increased geological instability that was plaguing Cybertron, Straxxus hauled an Ark out of storage and ordered it brought back online as an escape ship. Template:Storylink When the Decepticons came to power and targeted the Xeno-Quarter, Wheeljack and Hoist turned to the idea of reactivating the Ark-class as a means of evacuating the alien immigrants in the absence of the Titans. Template:Storylink Highbrow later called Straxxus to request usage of the ships which the Senator, after a geological discussion, generously gave him. Template:Storylink

Transformers: Universe reboot cartoon[]

The Ark makes its 3D CGI appearance in Transformers: Universe. It has at least one shuttle that can be used to deploy small teams without landing the larger vessel.

When it was discovered that Megatron sought to use Vector Sigma to reprogram the AllSpark, the Autobots launched the sacred relic through a space bridge to parts unknown. However, with the Allspark gone, Cybertron's condition began to decline, prompting Optimus Prime to commission the Ark, a Vanguard-class deep space interceptor, to locate and retrieve the missing artifact. The Ark's crew included some of Optimus's most trusted comrades, such as Bumblebee and Grimlock, the former exchanging a heartfelt goodbye with his friend Windblade when the time for launch came.

The Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime to search for fuel and the AllSpark to restore Cybertron with the Decepticons pursed. As the Ark sailed through space, its energon reserves ran increasingly low. Though the crew soon found ample energon on an icy moon, the moon turned out to be home to an insectoid race that had become dependent on the energon for life. Unwilling to endanger the future of an innocent race, Optimus ordered Megatron and the Decepticons that the creatures be left alone and that, to save fuel and discovered an asteroid with ample energon. Refuelled, the Ark flew from an asteroid until the ship's systems detected the Allspark and changed course.

The Ark entered the Earth's Solar System, but ran afoul of two colliding asteroids. Then the Decepticon ship Nemesis attacked, and the Decepticons under Megatron boarded it. The Autobots fought the Decepticons off the ship. To preserve the Ark's data and assist any of the crew who would survive the crash, Teletraan-1 ejected Teletraan-X from the ship before impact. Out of control, the Ark crashed to Earth, smashing into Mount St. Hilary. There it rested until a volcanic eruption one million years later reactivated it and its inhabitants.

After coming back online, the Autobots remained in their crashed ship, which served as their base of operations: Autobot Headquarters.

The Autobots seemed to be preparing to re-launch it after the crash of the Decepticon space cruiser Victory, but months later, both the Autobots and the ship remained on Earth.

Over time, the Autobots modified and expanded their base. An elevator provided passage to upper levels within the volcano, and a retractable door sealed off the volcano's crater. Early on, a small module serving as Ratchet's medical center sat near the main entrance, but was later removed. Explorations by Sideswipe and Brawn revealed a system of caves beyond the ship's walls. The caves revealed a treasure trove of dinosaur bones, which became the inspiration for the Dinobots. The base's nerve center was the supercomputer Teletraan I.

The base's geographic location proved a liability on at least two occasions, when Decepticon-induced calamities caused the volcano to become active again. During the first of these eruptions, several Autobots were blasted out of the cone and into the troposphere, requiring Skyfire to come to their rescue. Ironhide managed to bring the eruption to a halt by shooting down some rocks. No, really. The system of caves beneath the base also allowed the Constructicons to enter the base from below, in an attempt to destroy Teletraan I. Laserbeak was known to use the volcano's crater as an entry/exit point when on spying missions.

Megatron attempted to use the newly-repaired Nemesis to destroy the Ark. The Autobots tried to bring the Ark online and use it to fight against the Nemesis, but the engines had been idle for too long. However, using a shuttle housed in the Ark, Ironhide was able to damage the Nemesis and defeat the Decepticons.

The Autobots and Human governments constructed a new ship called the Ark II after the original Ark.

Autobot Headquarters remained in use until in 2005, though it appears to have been supplanted by Autobot City as the Autobots' primary operations center. By 2006, the base had been equipped with a large number of retractable cannons built into the mountainside. They were not enough to save it from destruction at the hands of the giant Decepticon Trypticon, however. A squad of Autobots led by Warpath made a stand against the oncoming city-bot, but were brushed aside. Warpath ordered Teletraan I to activate the automated defenses, but the barrage of cannonfire gave Trypticon only momentary pause. He smashed the guns, then blasted part of the mountain to rubble and crushed the ship under his feet.

Games[]

Transformers G1: Awakening[]

The Ark was the Autobot flagship. Following a titanic battle, they used it to leave Cybertron and head out into the cosmos, only for the ship to be attacked by Megatron's forces. The Decepticons invaded the bridge, and the resulting struggle caused the Ark to crash, embedding itself into the side of a volcano on Earth, where it remained for four million years. A volcanic eruption later caused both factions to revive. The Autobots had their work cut out for them battling the Decepticons, and at one point had to face a massive assault on the Ark, which they managed to repel. Template:Storylink

Transformers: Devastation[]

The Ark acted as a hub for the Autobots, with the group returning there after each completed mission to recharge and to upgrade their T.E.C.H. and weapons. Following the destruction of the Ferrotaxis, Optimus and Wheeljack returned to the ship to discuss plans for the Optimus Maximus project. Template:Storylink

Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive[]

Many Autobots drove out of the Ark as they went off on missions to defeat Decepticons and destroy their bases. Template:Storylink

Notes[]

The Ark was clearly named after the real-world biblical story of Noah's Ark, a seagoing vessel that carried representatives of every animal species on Earth through the {Great Flood. With the Beast Wars cartoon adding the Covenant of Primus to the ship's cargo, it could be said to parallel the other biblical Ark as well.
A working name for the Ark was "Aunty". This was confirmed by Bob Budiansky at his panel at BotCon 2010.
Also confirmed by Bob Budiansky was that the ship was originally planned to crash into Mount St. Helens rather than Mount St. Hilary.
A deleted scene in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" had the Autobot spaceship deploy "the Viewtrex" from its side, a spinning metallic sensor rod topped by a pulsating light. The device, intended to detect other ships, would have been thwarted by the Decepticons engaging camouflage that blended their own craft into the surrounding field of space. Amusingly, a follow-up line - with Prowl declaring the Viewtrex had detected the Decepticon ship now behind them - was left in the finalized episode, bereft of its original context.
Some Autobot shuttles featured in the Marvel UK stories used the cartoon series' design for the Ark.
The ship's Japanese name in supplemental media, "Iacon Bridge", was derived from the translation of the English line "We're nearing the bridge to Iacon. One megamile to go.", in which "Bridge" was rendered as the English word and not as a Japanese word. From that line, the Japanese assumed that "Iacon Bridge" referred to the ship. A later reference book uses the term to refer to Iacon itself. Consider it the Japanese equivalent of the whole Darksyde misunderstanding, if you will.