AllSpark Key

Originally just a security keycard, the AllSpark Key possessed by Sari Sumdac holds a great power. Given a sliver of the power of the AllSpark, the Key can be used to heal damaged Transformers, give life to machines, and control the machines. Such an object holds great power, and with great power, there must also come great responsibility.

Sari had a little trouble getting a handle on that last part.

Oh, who are we kidding? She initially had no sense of responsibility when it came to the Key.

Fortunately, the Key itself has a better idea of when it should be used. Sometimes it can even overpower its owner to accomplish its own goals, even if they are contrary to Sari's wishes.

Fiction

Animated cartoon

Huh...pretty sure this has never happened before.

After Sari Sumdac met the Autobots, she convinced Bumblebee to take her to their ship. Once there, her inability to stay quiet forced the yellow and black bot to drop her down a shaft. She was deposited into the cargo hold where the AllSpark was located. Scanning Sari's mind, it channeled some of its power into the key, turning it into the AllSpark Key. Optimus Prime discovered Sari, but was forced to rush to the med bay, where Prowl was dying. The Key began to glow, and she used it to heal his damaged circuits, saving his life. Several days later, Sari used the Key to restore Optimus Prime's spark after he was killed in the battle with Starscream. Transform and Roll Out

While trying to get into her father's lab, Sari discovered that she could use the Key to control other machines. She activated the lock on the door, entering the lab, though Sumdac quickly moved her out of the room. The leftover energy, however, transferred itself to the head of Megatron, restoring his higher functions. Sari then used her Key to short-circuit her Tutor Bot and get out of class early. (Don't pretend you wouldn't have.) Home Is Where the Spark Is

When Bumblebee and Ratchet were creating an electromagnetic pulse to counter the Dinobots, Sari used the Key to give Bumblebee's stingers a boost. The AllSpark energy was channeled into the Dinobots, granting them sparks. Blast from the Past

When Blackarachnia arrived on Earth, she tried to use the AllSpark Key to purge her techno-organic body and restore her original form. However, the Key began to drain the life from everything organic in Detroit, and it nearly killed Blackarachnia as well. Prime was forced to remove the Key to save everyone. Blackarachnia was noticeably displeased with this. Along Came a Spider

Megatron had been observing Sari for some time, including her free use of the Key. He built Soundwave as Isaac Sumdac's birthday gift for Sari. In fact, Megatron had designed Soundwave to evolve with each exposure to the Key, with the intention of using it as his new body. However, Megatron did not foresee that the Key would also grant Soundwave sentience. Sound and Fury

Sari used the Key to cheat at a game of street hockey with the Autobots. Later, the Key seemed to act as an early-warning system, projecting a beam of light whenever trouble for the Autobots appeared. When Blitzwing and Lugnut appeared on Earth, it projected a beam of light targeting them. Later on, it projected a similar beam of light at a series of missiles launched at the Autobots. Once the Autobots eluded those and Ratchet safely got Sari to their ship, the Key prevented her from sabotaging the vessel so her friends couldn't leave, and aided in repairing the weapon systems. It also not-so-subtly gave Sari a little jolt to remind her of the power she wielded through it, working with the AllSpark to project holograms of Megatron. This scared her into a reconciliation with Ratchet and indirectly led her to realize how she'd been abusing the Key. This time, it looked like the lesson might stick. Lost and Found

Unfortunately, Optimus Prime didn't learn the right lesson. Although Sari had been chosen as the guardian of the AllSpark Key, Prime was convinced by increasing Decepticon activity that it was no longer safe in Sari's care. He ordered Ratchet to confiscate it from her...and shortly thereafter, Ratchet was ambushed by Blitzwing and Lugnut, who stole the Key. They delivered it to Megatron, who used its power to rebuild himself, just as the foreboding vision had warned. Megatron Rising - Part 1

In Megatron's hands, the AllSpark Key proved capable of harming machines as well as healing, used by the Decepticon leader to offline his traitorous second in command Starscream. Megatron was also able to use the Key as a beacon to the AllSpark itself. However, upon acquiring the AllSpark, Megatron was stunned by Dr. Sumdac and dropped the Key. Sari seized this opportunity and tossed the tiny object to Optimus Prime, who used it to shatter the shell that kept the AllSpark's energies in check. Megatron Rising - Part 2

In the wake of the shattering of the AllSpark, the AllSpark Key proved effective in locating the scattered shards of the artifact. Unfortunately it also showed such endeavors to be a bit hazardous, as it could not be removed from a piece of equipment that had a shard lodged in its workings. Optimus Prime's axe was needed to destroy the machinery and free the Key. The Elite Guard

Sari's continued use of the Key grew to irritate Ratchet, who resented that his slower manual repair techniques might be viewed as obsolete. But Sari's reliance on the Key burned her one last time: after she discovered her true Cybertronian origin, she attempted to upgrade herself with the Key. It caused her to grow in size and apparent age, and also manifest many new combat features such as a helmet, wings, blades, and energy attacks; however, it also overloaded her systems and sent her on a destructive rampage. In the subsequent chaos, Sari badly injured Bumblebee, and when Ratchet attempted to use the Key to repair him, it was discovered that the Key had now been completely drained and was useless. TransWarped

Be the Hero books

While infiltrating HomeTech's main laboratory, Sari used her Key to try to unlock a door, only to set off an intruder alarm. It later allowed her to use a control sphere to control an army of Pixie-6 bots. Prime Suspect

It sometimes glowed when a Transformer was near. She also used it on an invisible force field, making it appear. Quest for the AllSpark

The Key proved useful in repowering the Autobot ship after it was disabled by Sparkseeker missiles. While caught in one of Blackarachnia's webs, Sari used it to zap the Decepticon, rendering her out cold. Web of Deception

TransTech

After a malfunction in Professor Sumdac's BUTT (and the Key having a 'strange reaction'), Sari, Optimus, and Bumblebee are sent to the city of Axiom Nexus on an alternate version of Cybertron ruled by the TransTechs. During the story, the Key was cited as a cosmic MacGuffin, against one of the many rules of the Axiom Nexus, and was coveted by a new friend: "Joe Convoy".

However, everyone agreed to never discuss the incident again.Bee in the City

The Cool comic

When Optimus Prime died in battle with Starscream, Sari used her key to bring him back to life. Observing the events from a closed circuit camera, Megatron became very interested in her key. How Sari got this key is anyone's guess. The Cool #2

Notes

• The AllSpark Key resembles the Key to Vector Sigma from Generation 1. Both artifacts grant access to the life giving power of their respective hosts, and both can have potentially disastrous results if misused.
• The Key also has cues taken from the Cyber Planet Keys, in that it can provide temporary boosts of power to Transformers and upgrade certain machines.
• In the show's pilot movie, the Key changed shape when needed, allowing it to fit into any mechanism and interact with it. In the series proper, however, this idea was replaced (perhaps as a result of miscommunication?) with the Key actually causing the mechanisms to change shape in order to accommodate the Key's unchanging form.
• When Transformers Animated's head writer Marty Isenberg wrote the Transformers: EarthSpark (cartoon) episode No Soldier Left Behind, the story needed some sort of Cybertronian relic aboard the ship and Marty requested a key as a nod to the AllSpark key. This would become the Spark Regenerator Key.
• Animated character designer and art director Derrick Wyatt has said that the ultimate role of the Key was to fuse with Sari, and with that accomplished and its power drained, it no longer appeared in the series after "TransWarped".^[1]

References