In numerous Transformers continuities, the Ark is a Cybertronian starship originally used by the Autobots to carry them across space in order to find new energon sources. Its exact purpose has differed somewhat in each continuity, but in many it becomes the Autobots' base of operations when they arrive on Earth.
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.
History[]
Marvel Comics[]
The Ark was "the last of the great arks," suggesting that 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 planetfall, 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.
The Ark constructed five new Transformer bodies. Wheeljack installed within them the minds of five Autobot warriors, which were encoded in crystals before the Autobots left Cybertron.
During Grimlock's first term as Autobot leader, he had the ship repaired and returned to space. The Ark served as a base of operations of sorts for the various search parties during the Matrix quest. The Creation Matrix was eventually found by Thunderwing, but it had been corrupted by evil and began controlling Thunderwing's actions. Thunderwing was granted access to the Ark while aboard a shuttle stolen from Grimlock's search party. Once aboard, the corrupted Creation Matrix fought the Autobots through his vessel, Thunderwing, who was beating everyone up until Nightbeat harpooned him with the shuttle and opened the cargo bay doors. The shuttle, Thunderwing, and the Creation Matrix were ejected into 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.
Generation 2[]
The Ark was recovered and repaired by Megatron, who attempted to take it back to Cybertron and conquer that planet with it. This plan was foiled by Fortress Maximus and Spike Witwicky, who sacrificed their lives to cause an anti-matter explosion that finally destroyed the great ship.
G1 Cartoon[]
As the war for Cybertron dragged out, energy resources across the planet were depleted, leaving both the Autobots and Decepticons locked in a stalemate. The Autobots pooled what resources they had and launched an expedition into deep space aboard the Ark. Their mission was to find new sources of fuel that would allow them to finally best the Decepticons and eventually rebuild their ravaged planet.
However, Megatron had the same idea and the Decepticons launched their own starship, the Nemesis, to intercept the Ark and destroy it. As the Ark's mission got underway, the ship ran afoul of two colliding asteroids and was damaged by the resulting debris shower. With the damage the Ark sustained, the Autobots were left defenceless as the Nemesis closed in and the Decepticons boarded. As the Autobots and Decepticons fought on the bridge of the Ark, their ships were caught in the gravitational pull of a nearby planet: Earth. The Ark, with both factions aboard, crash-landed and became embedded in the side of an active volcano. All Transformers aboard were critically damaged in the crash and went into stasis lock and would not awaken until millions of years later.
In the year 1984, four million years after the crash, the volcano would erupt and reactivate Teletraan-1, the Ark's main computer. With the ship's systems partially restored, Teletraan-1 deployed a probe that scanned several vehicles across the North American continent. The computer used the accumilated data to revive both Decepticons and Autobots, giving them new vehicular modes that they could use to disguise themselves and blend in with Earth's inhabitants.
The Decepticons immediately departed the Ark after reviving while the Autobots remained and fortified their position. The ship had suffered tremendous damage and would never fly again, but served as a base of operations whilst the Autobots were stranded on Earth. The location proved to be less than ideal since the Decepticons were aware of its location and regularly launched spy missions and all-out attacks against the base, but the Ark remained the Autobots' home-away-from-home for over twenty years, though they did establish other facilities across Earth during that time, such as Autobot City.
In 2005, following the battle with Unicron, the Ark base was destroyed when it was attacked by the Decepticon city-bot Trypticon. The majority of its personnel were able to escape the base before its destruction.
Beast Wars[]
The Beast Wars took place on prehistoric Earth during the period in which the Ark and its occupants lay dormant. Megatron's original mission was thought to have been to acquire massive energon deposits that he could use to fuel the Predacon Alliance's war with the Maximal Imperium, but in truth the Predacon renegade had intended to alter the destiny of Cybertron by changing history. Following instructions left by the original Megatron on a golden disk he had stolen, Megatron II had assembled a crew and set out on a mission to travel back through time, locate the Ark and destroy the Autobots long before they emerged from stasis, thereby ensuring that the Decepticons would win the Great War.
As the Beast Wars drew to a close with the Maximals on the cusp of victory, Megatron made a startling discovery after examining the remains of the lair of his treacherous lieutenant Tarantulas. The underhanded spider had discovered the location of the long-lost Decepticon warship Nemesis which had fallen to Earth along with the Ark. Restoring power to the mighty dreadnought, Megatron attempted to use it to destroy the Ark and the Maximals along with it. 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.