Autobot City is a location that has appeared in various iterations of Transformers Generation 1 continuity. It is a high-tech urban sprawl established on Earth by the Autobots as one of their main strongholds on the planet during their continuing war with the Decepticons. The city can be transformed into a fortress should it come under attack, with shield bulkheads enveloping major buildings to protect them from artillery and weapons turrets emerging to repel invaders. The city's transformation sequence is not as quick and streamlined as that of an actual Transformer; the sequence is initiated by manually activating a number of nodes within different parts of the city.
Autobot City is linked to Metroplex in some way, sometimes to the point where "Autobot City" and "Metroplex" are used interchangeably.
Fiction[]
The Transformers (G1 cartoon and movie)[]
Autobot City first appeared in The Transformers: The Movie. At some point prior to 2005, the Great War took a severe turn for the Autobots as the Decepticons succeeded in conquering Cybertron. As such, various Autobots that had remained on Cybertron or elsewhere throughout the war were called to reinforce Optimus Prime and his Earthbound team. To avoid unnecessarily endangering any human lives, the Autobots established a new stronghold in an uninhabited area of North America which they would dub "Autobot City". As the city was being established on Earth, Optimus Prime and several of his closest officers relocated to two of Cybertron's moons to coordinate efforts to reclaim the planet from Decepticon control.
In 2005, Optimus dispatched a shuttle from Moonbase 1 to make an energon run to Earth. However, the Decepticons ambushed and hijacked the shuttle, killing the Autobots aboard and using the vessel to bypass Autobot City's early-warning system. The siege was sudden and brutal, resulting in several Autobot fatalities. Although the city was transformed into its fortress mode, the Decepticon onslaught was relentless and, after many hours of heated combat, the city's defences were smashed. As Megatron and his forces made their way into the city proper, Optimus Prime arrived with reinforcements, dispatching the Dinobots to combat the combiner, Devastator. While the Dinobots kept the monstrous gestalt at bay, Optimus drove into the centre of the city where he faced Megatron in what would be their final showdown. The battle between Optimus and Megatron ended with both commanders falling and on the edge of death. With their leader crippled, the Decepticons retreated; the Autobots had turned the tide. Sadly, Optimus Prime was damaged beyond repair and perished, though not before passing on the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus.
Not long after Optimus' death, the still-smoldering city was attacked by a new group of Decepticons led by Galvatron. Ultra Magnus and several Autobots who survived the first assault boarded shuttles to escape into space, embarking on a mission to try and save Cybertron from the threat of Unicron.
In early 2006, Autobot City had been fully repaired and expanded, with the colossal Metroplex forming a large portion of the city. When the Decepticons allied with the Quintessons and carried out a new campaign against the Autobots, they sent the monstrous Trypticon to destroy the Autobots' original Earth base, the Ark. Following this, Autobot City became the Autobots' primary stronghold on Earth.
Japanese G1 cartoon continuity[]
Scramble City: Mobilization[]
At some undetermined point in time, Optimus Prime ordered the construction of a massive mobile fortress code-named Scramble City, believing that the Autobots would need a much larger base if they were to defeat the Decepticons. Housed in a gigantic underground facility, numerous Autobots and their human allies (Spike, Carly, and Chip among them) worked to complete the behemoth under the leadership of the newly arrived Ultra Magnus.
Unfortunately, Megatron caught wind of some sort of secret project and ordered Soundwave to investigate. While Blaster and his cassettes managed to drive off most of the Decepticon cassettes, Ratbat managed to sneak into the cavern and return with an intelligence report. After receiving the report, Megatron immediately ordered an attack to destroy Scramble City before it was complete.
The initial attack led by Starscream was repelled, so Megatron decided to dispatch a second wave of attackers: the Stunticons! The Stunticons put up a much better showing than the previous attackers, putting the Autobot defenders under heavy pressure and driving Superion to the brink of defeat. The Combaticons also arrived to reinforce the Decepticon attack and quickly forced Superion to flee.
Unfortunately for the Decepticons, the Autobots held them back long enough for Scramble City to become operational. Ultra Magnus dispatched the Protectobots, then transformed Scamble City to mobile station mode and brought it into battle. Transforming into the towering Metroplex, Scramble City then sent the Decepticons packing with a single shot.
Marvel Comics[]
NOTE: Autobot City only appeared in the UK portion of the Marvel continuity.
The plans for Autobot City: Earth were finalized in 2003. Both the Autobots and the governments of Earth had hands in its construction. It was completed and opened in 2004, likely on the same site that Galvatron had built a superweapon to destroy Unicron in 1986 (putting it in or near Oregon). Despite interference from Shockwave, the city opened on schedule, and relations between Autobots and humans were strengthened.
It was attacked by the Quintessons in 2008, leaving many Autobots severely wounded and the city in terrible shape. The Quintessons were only driven off when Hot Rod activated the Transformer that made up the city's sentient core, Metroplex (the city needed a Transformer within it to be able to transform itself). While successful, Metroplex's emergence only damaged the city further, and it was still in a state of disrepair the following year.
In the revised timeline following the Time Wars, the Autobots fled there in 2009 to escape a Decepticon-dominated Cybertron. They had long since reclaimed the planet by 2356; then, Autobot City was providing medical care for a decrepit Rodimus Prime, who was possessed by Unicron.