In The Black Hole, the explorer craft U.S.S. Palomino is returning to earth after a fruitless 18-month search for extraterrestrial life when the crew comes upon a supposedly lost ship, the magnificent U.S.S. Cygnus, hovering near a Black Hole. The crew's admiration for Cygnus commander Dr. Hans Reinhardt turns to horror when they discover he and his monstrous robot companion, Maximillian, plan to turn his crew into robots and fly through the Hole. As they try to escape, a meteorite shower damages the ship, and the survivors hang on as they are plunged into the most powerful force in the universe, heading toward whatever eternity awaits them.