TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on THE ARK 

“This thing wasn’t built, it was POURED!” “Die cast construction! It’s a lost art.” -Rattrap and Optimus Primal on The Ark.

"Transformers: Fall of Cybertron" video game had the BEST depiction of The ARK imo. It was the size of a human city and actually felt like it could carry hundreds (if not a few thousand) Autobots inside. It even had a giant highway built ont the surface that you could drive on during one level of the game. Other depictions of the Ark are TOO SMALL. This ship is supposed to be the last hope of the Autobots and carry the survivors of a dying race away from Cybertron. It shouldn't feel like some space shuttle. It needs to be BIG.

At least the Ark wasn’t taken offline by a Cosmic Powered Starscream

The Ark has come to be known for several features such as, its crash landing on Earth, its immense size, being the exodus for the Autobots fleeing a dying Cybertron, the location of the super computer Teletraan-1, and for being the alt mode of some Autobot Titans, such as Omega Supreme and The Last Autobot (a.k.a. Autonomous Maximus), but one thing is clear, the Ark will go down as being the most prominent starship of the Transformers franchise.

I always loved how in Fall of Cybertron, the Titan Metroplex uses his very spark to give power to the Ark and allowing it to blast off without him. I don't know about you, but I sometimes get teary-eyed when I hear him say, "Til all are one"

Biggest takeaway from this is that the Transformers' origin might have been completely different if a volcano hadn't erupted in 1980 and Budiansky and Shooter instead took inspiration from somewhere else

I fell in love with the concept of The Ark being a transformer itself! It was always a surprise to me when something like that happens in cartoons! 😁

Animated's depiction of Orion/Ark as a stasis locked Omega Supreme was a great idea and I'm glad to see a version if it meld into the Ark proper. I'd like this idea to continue, maybe with the Decepticon ship Nemesis too. Maybe both sides had to rebuild their last titans, Omega and Trypticon, into ships to escape Cybertron as all other vessels were either dismantled or destroyed during the war.

Ah, the Ark: the ship that never needs landing gear.

In the Fall of Cybertron game, Megatron remarks that the Autobots' Ark is nothing more than a cargo shuttle. It might've been a cargo shuttle, but it was armed too

I just keep thinking on how titanically, massive this ship and the nemesis have to be if their flag ships for a race of robots the size of vehicles. Theres probably so many sci fi ships they casually dwarf when you wouldn’t expect them too!

Yes it’s finally here. Have to admit the ark from fall of cybertron has to be my favourite….it’s like a giant city even the first level of the game saw bumblebee travel through the massive exterior and no wonder they never told the story on how it crashed into earth…..it would probably just destroy the mountain itself

Someone forgot to mention that the Ark from Beast Wars was made from Die Cast construction. Its a lost art.

7:37 Yes it was, you just had to pay attention. Multiple times in the game they show shockwave getting readings of prehistoric earth through the space bridge portal (that’s also how he got the Dino ideas for the dinobots)

Might as well call the ship “Charles”, because crashing is the greatest plaaaaaaaan

Arcee also mentions the Ark briefly in Season 3 (i think) of TFP when Jack asks about other Autobots coming to their aid. His conversation with Arcee seems to imply that either the Ark crashed on earth & most Autobots left earth, or more likely that the Ark was destroyed while traveling to earth (I think they began traveling to earth at the end of the novel Retribution), & the Autobots scattered from there, some of them arriving (perhaps even crashing in debris or escape pods) on earth. Personally, i'm reminded of the Armada comic's Minicon Ark, which was forgotten here - it crashed into the moon, & half of it remained there while the other half crashed on earth.

I absolutely love the twist of the Ark assuming a robot mode in Kingdom. I call it a twist because the trilogy has a nasty habit of making figures for characters that never appear in the show itself, so when the Ark was released before the show, I just saw it as another figure who would never make it onscreen

As megatron once said “A glorified cargo carrier”

It would be cool if in the future they depict the ark in the same way as the fall of cybertron game as a really massive ship that could carry thousands of autobots and maybe make mainframe be the true form of teletraam 1 so he could go around and interact more with the other autobots.

I feel like the ark was always going to be the last autobot anyway, on the Netflix series. Instead of the dead universe plot

As soon as I saw the head of the Ark's robot mode, the first thing that came to mind was the Last Autobot from the Marvel comics (thank you Linkara and your retrospective on the original comic continuity).

I do like that in WfC: Kingdom, they did give it a robot mode, and that it did take out the Nemesis for good, its like payback for all the times it crashed because of the Nemesis and/or Decepticons.

If Ewan Mcgregor will voice one of the Ark's passengers in one of the future Transformers films, then I hope he will say "Another happy landing" after the Ark crash landed! 😂

I like lore in TF: United Unicron toy that took over The Ark and reformed it to become his new body. But yeah, WFC Kingdom Titan Class Autobot Ark is crown jewel on Ark toys with happy bonus of modern Mainframe toy that can take form of Teletraan 1 plus Voyager and Vok Golden Disks.

Very very cool, this remains my replacement for Saturday morning cartoons.

I really like the idea of there being multiple arks like and Omega Supreme being the ark is a nice contrast to Trypticon being the Nemisis, maybe calling them the Ark: Genisis and Ark: Nemisis respectively.

Wonder if they'll ever bring out a silver variant of the Ark but instead of giving it the face of the Last Autobot give it a variation of Auntie's face

Another amazing basics episode and maybe do a basics on the nemesis

I really wasn't expecting the Ark to transform in WFC,. But when it began its transformation, it was a sight to behold! Such a great moment when Wheeljack and Bumblebee get to a door and there's just a rotating wall blocking their path! Great video, man! Superb knowledge, and incredible delivery of it! Thank you!

Considering Transformers: Prime never showed the Ark (that I remember), it’s safe to assume the Ark never came to Earth in the Aligned continuity.

2:10 It's generally accepted nowadays that "AUNTY" was an unfortunate blunder. Jim Shooter simply put that into some of his notes as a possible name for the computer and for the ship i.e. it was the Autobots' home away from home, before settling for the name "ARK". He removed the references to Aunty from the later drafts of the script for the first two issues, but carelessly left one in the scene just after the Autobots had been revived. There is no other reference to Aunty anywhere in the US comic continuity at all, and just a few pages later, Optimus Prime explicitly addresses the computer as "Ark" instead. Sadly, no one at Marvel UK got that particular memo, and so poor old Simon Furman was left to assume that the computer really was meant to be called Aunty, and even did a huge story centered on it. I think we'd all agree that "TELETRAAN-ONE" is a much better name for a computer than either of the comic book names.

Megatron: Ark cannot transform! Ark: * transforms into 70 meters of robot mode * Megatron: Oh no..... I'm about to be scrapped metal by this moment!😂

The Ark and The Nemesis designs are so cool! Very true to their individual factions. The Ark being relatively smooth and non threatening. While the Nemesis is angular and aggressive looking!

Anyone noticed the G1 toy "trailer weapon systems" integrated into the Ark? Prime's trailer repair bay is repairing the deactivated bots, while outside, on the hull, Ironhide's "trailer" is opened-up and shooting at the cons.

"I... AM... OMEGA SUPREME" is still one of my most favorite scenes in any Transformers show.

Glad to see both the ark and teletran 1 get love in transforming toys

Animated:the ship is alive 😱 Kingdom:the ship is alive 😐

My top 5 favourite versions of the ark 5)marvel comics: it actually looks kinda cool 4) unicron trilogy: more like a wepon but still cool 3)wfc trilogy: a robot as a ship is cool….until you see its body 2)animated: iconic ship and iconic character…..I can’t argue with omega 1) fall of cybertron: if Iacon city were a ship…….it’s actually realy big and cool Any agreements or arguements

11:11: Even if it’s best known for crashing. Me: Lol

I think Chris should make an episode on Tarantulas for Spooktober. Mad scientist, spider, creepy voice, creepy personality. He fits the holiday perfectly!

You should do Mirage next. He’s the only famous g1 character that you haven’t done yet.

Another great one thanks Chris and crew I appreciate it and thank God I finally got my 50" smart tv hooked up a week ago today and got through both earthrise and kingdom series and like the idea of the ark finally being a transformer robot. Now need to save enough money to buy the toy. Take care

7:37 Well in my Robertverse headcannon, I just kept it classic (and maybe add a few bits of Dreamwave into it).

"In the comic, the ship was white in colour" I can see the huge Generations Selects box from here...

Well, that was a heckuva nostalgia blast. My brother had the Star Bird and it's base when I was little. He let me play with it all the time, even when he didn't know about it. I loved how it's engines would rev up or down depending on how the nose was pointed. I thought that was the coolest thing back in 1978.

In the G1 cartoon, you see other arks fleeing Cyberton during the early war.

The Arks robot mode is awesome!

Haha, the Ark being known for crashing? Well that's new and could be an accompaniment to Cliffjumper being known as the bot who dies a lot heh... On the other hand, this was a well informed a video and I enjoyed it! It was nice to know some of these cool facts, like how it was named after a special craft in one of the best stories in the Bible. I also like the idea of the Ark having its own alternate mode. That would be an epic addition to the list of characters and we already got our sick Omega Supreme! Can't wait to know more characters and other stuff in this franchise!

It's kind of a shame that, while the Titans Return Trypticon toy retconned his vehicle mode into a spaceship, they didn't do anything to make it look like either the G1 or Prime versions of the Nemesis. Also wish the the Ark toy was better armed. It has little gun turrets molded in, with a few on his arms in robot mode, but because they're not articulated they point the wrong way to be used offensively, making him the least armed Titan class toy.

I prefer the live-action toy concept of a playset with a pack-in Transformer, rather than having to make the Ark itself a Transformer. Something the size and look of the new Generations toy but as a playset would be the best of both worlds.

Primus: Make thee an Ark of gopher metal, with garages inside, three decks, and a ramp. Cover it inside and out with welding. And Optimus Prime did exactly as Primus has commanded him Genesis 6:13-22

Thank you for giving me something to watch at 5am!

Gotta say the netflix version is my favorite, I saw the toy first of course, but much like how Rodimus had a netflix toy despite not being in the show, I didn't actually expect the ark to transform

Always preferred the G1 cartoon version over the first comics’ one, design and story-wise. Interesting takeaway from the original comics, though: Cybertron didn’t have much of a protective atmosphere. As per usual, it suddenly got breathable oxygen when required, except in TF:Prime, which totally gets my kudos. Edit: as I write this, there are three downvotes. The Demons are now trolls, it appears.

i love the idea of the Ark being the last autobot to awaken. great call back

I love the new Ark and I grew up in the 80's.

Honestly, I hope we see The Ark as an actual transformer again, I mean, the shock factor is gone, but still

Fall of Cybertron had the best (modern) incarnation of the Ark for sure!

Making a mostly G1 Ark into a Transformer is nice and all. But I'm still waiting for a TFA Omega Supreme figure.

Although things haven't come to full fruition yet, IDW 2 seems to be building up for a similar origin of the Ark leaving to find more energy. We've even gotten a glimpse of the Ark, one of four similar ships that was in the possession of Straxus, but which he left behind fleeing Cybertron with the population of Darkmount due to it missing an engine.

Ok I have to have this toy too....damn you Chris....such a great video with so much detail on a ship best known for crashing on Earth!!

i have precommanded the ark for october and saw the war for cybertron trilogy. Althought his appearance was short, it was epic how he single handedly took down the nemesis ship and decided not to crush megatron in his palm

Great video! I even learned a new word, thanks to the G2 comic excerpt -- uliginous (growing in swamps or muddy places, marshy, waterlogged)!

I remember when Omega Supreme was the Ark in Transformers Animated. I miss that show.

"even it IS best known for crashing." Absolutely SAVAGE!

Please, let the next Basics be about "The Nemesis".!

"This is the so called Ark? The Autobots have placed their hopes on a glorified cargo hauler!"

Very thorough. Impressive video.

As a fan of the G1 cartoon with only a passing familiarity with the Marvel continuity, I kind of always assumed the Ark's designation as a "Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor" was just a bunch of random sci-fi words thrown together, but I must say it makes a heck of a lot more sense in the version of the story where the ship's original job was to shoot down space rocks.

I liked the yellow animated original best. It felt like a safe ship, not sinister like the pointed Decepticon one (did that ship ever have a name BTW??). I think The Ark looks better than the later ships we saw in Transformers: The Movie.

This video is perfectly timed as I just got my copy of the Kingdom Arc today!

Love the Ark bares the face of the Autobot symbol. So awesome!

Always love your videos, man. Thorough, interesting, and engrossing. Thank you very much!

Can we all agree. That the Ark is basically a City titan, but it can fly.

'Long have i waited'. For this video

Transformers: *Create a new timeline* The Ark: Ah shit, here we go again. *crashes*

Another incredible video Chris! Do the Nemesis next!

The Ark, now an autobot, has a singature move called "The Crash", where it's an uppercut that causes people to fall over as if they were crash landing.

In 1986 "Transformers The Movie" the autobot city had 3ish Ark-class vessels which were used to escape the Decepticon invasion, featuring the ability to split the ship in two parts, the front body, which is the same as the ark, and the thrusters, ability that was used to trick Galvatron he had destroyed the last autobots (ultra Magnus and his crew) and the matrix. Ultra Magnus released the thrusters of the ship to be destroyed by a swarm of missiles which allowed the to land in the scrap planet Junkion

Oof you know your obscure when your spaceship gets an episode before skids

Any one else want to know how the cybertronian scale time? What is the equivalent in years of "a cycle" on Cybertron? Because even without the stasis lock, they live really long.

10:47 That part just feels very satisfying to me.

My personal headcanon for how the ARK got its robot mode is this, like in Fall of Cybertron, Megatron used Trypticon to create the Nemesis and destroyed the original ARK but luckily the giant autobot Metroplex (who in FOC sacrificed his life to power up the ARK) had scanned the ARK beforehand allowing him to transform into a new ARK for the Autobots

My favourite Ark story is still Generation 1 cartoon episode 1, where Teletraan 1 awakens with both Decepticons and Autobots in a pile of heap after the Ark crash landed on Earth.

Die-cast construction, It's a lost art.

"Best known for crashing" just like Launchpad McQuack. Tell me I'm wrong 😁

I always thought the version from Animated being Omega Supreme was a great idea, and hoped it would be the de facto going forward. Now, I like Netflix version of the Ark better.

Since the Decepticon spaceship, Nemesis, now has a toy that can transform, I imagine there'll be Basics episode about it in the future.

I used to own one of those Star Bird toys. Damn, that's some nostalgia.

Great video

I just got the giant ark and he is very awsome, thanks for the story of the ark...

BW Megatron: What it is? Optimus Primal: A miracle.

And nice educational video about my most favorite space ship

Since in the G1 cartoon The Ark came to rest on an angle, yet inside everything was on a level floor and not slanted, then the ship's gravity generators must have been left on, and Wheeljack built modified generators to transition from one gravity zone to another

What actually blow my mind every time I think about it, is the fact that the Ark is huge in cybertronians terms, so from a human perspective it is massive!

Great video as you always do. I was always disappointed after more than meets the eye the ark never took off again like they said it was going to because all the nations of the earth gave the Autobots power.. was very happy with the Netflix show, it was actually flying let alone transform into a badass robot

The Titanium series Ark was actually based on the likeness of the 2 Autobot ships that the Autobots escape Earth in to save Cybertron from Unicron. In fact the front quarter of the ship actually seperates from the back as a nod to the fact the Autobots allowed the rear 3/4 of the ship to be destroyed. The front quarter also looks more like the Ark from the cartoon

“Even if it was best known for crashing”…. Lol, low blow, low blow! 🤣

I like the Michael bay version of the ark and fall of Cybertron version to.

Wish I could have gotten those "Kingdom" toys of the Arc and Nemesis. Hanging them both from the ceiling like they were locked in combat.