Mount St. Hilary
From Transformers Wiki
Mount St. Hilaryis famous for being the place where theArkcrashed onEarth... sometimes.
Contents
|
Fiction
Generation 1 continuity family
Marvel Comics continuity
MarvelThe Transformerscomics
Mount St. Hilary was situated in the Cascades range of mountains, which ranged from NorthernOregonthrough toWashington,parallel toAmerica's West Coast.[1]
Roughly four million years ago, the Transformers space cruiser, theArk,crashed into the side of the dormant volcano in Oregon not far fromPortland.It lay undisturbed until the volcano erupted again in 1984,The Transformerswhich was stop press news on theDaily Buglefront page onFebruary 7.[2]The explosion reactivated the systems aboard theArk,which promptly set about restoring the Autobots and Decepticons on board.The Transformers
Mount St. Hilary would serve as the headquarters of the Autobots for the next few years. At one point,Wheeljackinstalled a number of automated gun emplacements around the volcano. These were hidden inside the rock face, emerging through sliding panels as they were needed.
Under the leadership ofGrimlock,the Autobots completed repairs on theArk,Used Autobotsand successfully relaunched it into space.Child's PlayThe hole left behind still contained a variety of discarded machinery and communications systems. These were later used by the AutobotGoldbugto send a distress callToy Soldiers!that was eventually received by the AutobotHeadmastersonNebulos.
They answered the distress call and made their way to Earth followed by the Decepticons. Tracking the source of the signal, they arrived at Mount St. Hilary to findSpike Witwickylooking for his missing brother,Buster.
Not long after, the Decepticon Headmasters attacked and trapped Spike in the volcano. Scorponok caused molten lava to erupt from the cavern floor.Fortress Maximus’s Headmaster,Galen,attempted to save Spike by pushing him out of the path of a rock fall and died himself in the attempt.Trial by Fire!
Later aFirebuglanded on Earth on one side of the volcano and an Autobot shuttlecraft landed on the other side the next morning.Firebug!
Transformers '84
Four million years ago,Optimus Primecrashed theArkinto Mount St. Hilary as part of a deliberate gambit, a suicide play that would remove the most influential players in the Great War from Cybertron.Transformers '84 issue 0Shortly after the crash, the DecepticonsDirge,Ramjet,andThrust,who had not been aboard theArkat the moment of its crash, discovered the starship buried in the side of a mountain, and battledAUNTIE's facsimile Autobots on its slopes until Grimlock arrived.Secrets & Lies #3
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformerscartoon
TheArkcrashed to Earth, smashing into a volcano. There it rested until a volcanic eruption four million years later reactivated it and its inhabitants.More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
Tremors led the Autobots to uncover a cavern within the volcano containing fossilized dinosaur bones, leading to the creation of theDinobots.S.O.S. DinobotsHowever, the volcano didn't erupt again untilMegatronbroughtCybertroninto Earth's orbit, causing geological chaos. The activity in the volcano ceased whenIronhidebravely drove in and blasted rock debris from the crater rim, plugging the shaft.The Ultimate Doom, Part 2At some point the Autobots installed an elevator up the interior of the volcano's main vent.Enter the Nightbird
This location served as the Autobots' headquarters until the construction ofAutobot City.A short time after the defeat ofUnicron,the volcano was smashed into a pile of loose shale byTrypticon.Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformersmanga
Autobot Headquarters was located in Arizona.Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2
Micromaster
After a battle with the Decepticons, the AutobotMicromastersdiscovered ruins of Cybertronian origin at Mount St. Hilary, including a piece of metal with a Predaconfaction symbolon it (though none of the Micromasters knew the symbol's significance).Sixtrain! Activate Red Mode!!The Autobots set up a headquarters at the base of the volcano. While excavating the ruins, they uncovered astasis podwhich emitted a strange radiation that brought forth acombinerteamfrom an alternate dimension.The Menace of Landcross's Combining Formation!
The Battle for Planet Earth
Mount St. Hilary was part of the Arvins mountains range.Bumblebee to the RescueDespite theArkhaving been stuck into the side of it, the Autobots had no idea what a volcano looked like.Terror of Mount Sheelah
Beast Warscartoon
"Camelot!"
"It's only a model."
"Sssh!"
The volcano's location was burned into theGolden DiskbyMegatron.When hisPredaconnamesakearrived on prehistoric Earth, he discovered the mountain and blasted his way in. Though Megatron fully intended to complete his ancestor's instructions and slay thestasis lockedOptimus Prime,he found himself unable to go through with the act, sealing up the cavern once again.The Agenda (Part 2)
A year later, as part of a contingency plan, Megatron baitedBlackarachniawith information on the volcano, resulting in her andSilverboltdigging into Megatron's old tunnel and theArk.Forced into a tactical corner, Megatron met Blackarachnia at theArkand forced her to grant him entry into the ship where he fired on Optimus Prime, unleashing atimestormcentered on the volcano.The Agenda (Part III)After stabilising the Autobot leader, theMaximalsinstalled the remains of theirshipin the cavern, using it as their base.Optimal Situation
Megatron later tried to use adisruptor cannonto destroy the volcano only for his plan to quite literally blow up in his face.Go with the Flow
After Megatron located and reactivated theNemesis,he used the warship'stractor beamsto pull off chunks of the volcano, exposing theArk's rear section.Nemesis Part 2
Transformers vs. The Terminator
The resting place of theArk,Mount St. Hilary erupted in 1813 but had otherwise remained quiet until 1984, an event which saw not only the surrounding area evacuated but the passengers of theArkreactivated. The first to be healed,Skywarpdragged his fellow Decepticons into the path ofTeletraan-I's repair beams before they executed most of the stasis locked Autobots. Let loose on Earth, the Decepticons conquered it and brought about humanity's extinction by2029.Enemy of My Enemy Part Two
To avoid this,Skynetsent back a singleT-800unit back to 1984 with the primary objective of preventing the volcano's eruption before destroying it. Thetime displacement devicehadn't sent the unit back far enough, arriving too late to stop the eruption. Breaching theArk,the T-800 prepared to enact its secondary objective, the destruction of the Cybertronians.Enemy of My Enemy Part One
Boldly throwing itself at the Decepticons, the T-800 failed to terminate any of them but its interference led to the Autobots surviving.Enemy of My Enemy Part TwoStill committed to its mission but hopelessly outgunned, the T-800 agreed to work with the Autobots for access to their armory, placing Cybertronian explosives in and around the mountain. In a battle atCyberdyne Systems,the unit detonated its pilfered bombs, destroying the mountain.Enemy of My Enemy Part Three
After defeating the Decepticons, the four surviving Autobots, and their four Decepticons prisoners, returned to Mount St. Hilary only to find it now a pool of magma. With no means of returning to Cybertron, the eight agreed to a truce, thoughBombshellnoted that some Autobots may have survived, being willing to burrow for survivors once the magma had cooled.Enemy of My Enemy Part Four
Knights of Unicron
TheMt. St. Hilary Amphitheaterwas the first venue for theKnights of Unicronon their 2014 "Till All Are One" tour.Knights of Unicron
2015Robots in Disguisecartoon
Mount St. Hilary was the site of the Autobots' first base on Earth. Much later,StrongarmandFixitvisited to check for any abandoned artifacts, and stopped the volcano from erupting due to an ill-advised scavenger hunt bya Decepticonandher Mini-Con partner.Strongarm's Big Score
Cyberversecartoon
During the era ofPangaea,theArkcrash landed on Earth in what would become Mount St. Hilary. When humanity evolved, they classified the volcano as part ofRing of Fire.Bumblebee's group eventually deduced that theArkwas within the volcano, breaching it and finding the inert vessel, unaware that one ofShockwave's droneshad followed them in.Awaken Sleeping GiantsIn an attempt to destroy theArk,Shockwaveactivated amagnetic disruptorabove the volcano, reigniting it. Before it erupted,Teletraan-Xmanaged to activate theArk's shields, sparing it. Following this, he repositioned the ship slightly, causing it jut out slightly from the volcano, before theDecepticon fleetarrived, bearing down on the mountain.Eruption
One of Earth'sGroundBridgeswas located in one of Mount St. Hilary's caverns, very close to theArk.The VisitorSpotted
Once the Autobots had seized theAllSpark,Hot Rodgave the order to leave Earth, theArk's rapid launch causing Mount St. Hilary to erupt.Escape From Earth
Games
Transformers Roleplaying Game
Bumblebee couldn't remember if their spaceship crashed into Mount St. Hilary or Mount St. Helens.Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
Toys
Transformers (2014)
- Dinobots Generation One 4-pack(Voyager, 2014)
- The inside box of theHasbro Toy Shopexclusive"Dinobots Generation One 4-pack" that was first made available atSan Diego Comic-Con2014can be unfolded to reveal a Pop-Up diorama of theArkcrashed in Mount St. Hilary. The back of the diorama shows Teletraan I, referred to as the "command center" in the packaging bio. The outside packaging creditsMatthew Reinhartas the designer of the diorama.
Merchandise
- In 1984Presto Magixreleased a transfer set called Trouble on Mount St. Hilary.
- In 1985 Mount St. Hilary appeared on theAction Cardstrading cards fromMilton Bradley.
Notes
- Mount St. Hilary seems clearly inspired by the real-world eruption of Washington'sMount St. Helensjust a few years earlier and in the original treatment, itwasgoing to be St. Helens theArkwas in.[3]
- The volcano is referred to as "Mount St. Helens" in theG1Super-Size Coloring Activity Book.
- In the guidebookBeast Wars Universe,the volcano is referred as "Mount St. Helens".
- The location of the volcano is stated to beOregonin most continuities. The Generation 1 cartoon does not give an explicit location.
- Eruptions and name aside, the Marvel Comics version is a much closer analogue to the dormant MountHood,which is in the state of Oregon, is only 50 miles from Portland (less than half the distance to St. Helens), and is a popular skiing destination, matching what's shown in issue #8. In issue #7, Ratchet has left theArkon foot and wandered into Mount Hood National Forest while looking for a road, meaning Hood and St. Hilary must be in close proximity. Mount Hood even straddles the edge of Oregon's rain shadow, putting lush forests and dry deserts in close proximity, matching the terrain frequently shown in both comic and cartoon.
- In early scripts for the Generation 1 cartoon, the volcano was namedCrater Mountain.
- Regardless of why "Hilary" was chosen as a stand-in for "Helens", thereisa real-lifeSt. Hilary.
Foreign names
- Mandarin:Shèng Hilary Shān(Taiwan, thánh hi lạp nhụy sơnShèng Hsī-lā-juě Shān,"Mount St. Hilary" ),Shèng Hilary Shān(China, thánh hi lạp lí sơnShèng Xīlālǐ Shān,"Mount St. Hilary" )
