Transformers Universe Autobot

Ultra Magnus

Allegiance: Autobot

Function: City Commander

First Comic Appearance: Transformers: The Movie #1

"Consistency is victory."

Profile: Ultra Magnus is all soldier. He is most comfortable when he is carrying out Optimus Prime's orders- giving it all of his magnificent fighting skills, courage and gift for battlefield improvisation. And he is uncomfortable when the mantle of leadership is placed over his broad shoulders. He sees himself as a follower, not a commander, and is reluctant to assume authority until it is clear that he has no choice but to lead. And when he does finally lead, he is resolute, fair and courageous beyond reproach. He is ever-ready to sacrifice himself for the good of his companions and mission, and unstinting in his preparedness so that his "people" will be as protected as possible.

Abilities: Ultra Magnus carries missile launchers capable of hitting a target 30 miles away.


Ultra Magnus was the commander of Autobot City around the year 2005. He could transform from a robot into a car carrier. Although generally considered Optimus Prime's second in command, Ultra Magnus felt uncomfortable with the burdens and responsibilities of command. Despite this, Ultra Magnus was a fair, courgeous and efficient commander. He was most comfortable when following orders. In the cartoon continuities, he was Autobot leader for a short time following Optimus Prime's death.

Cartoon Bio (US):

In 2005, Ultra Magnus was Autobot City's commander. When Optimus Prime died, Ultra Magnus was given command of the Autobots and took possession of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership for a brief time, but was unable to release its powers. Eventually, Rodimus Prime took the leadership of the Autobots.

Cartoon Bio (Japan):

Sometime before the arrival of Unicron, Ultra Magnus was in charge of a secret Cybertron base hidden in a mountain, where a large group of Cybertrons, along with their human friends (Spike, Sparkplug, Carly, Chip etc.) were building their new weapon, Metroplex.

When the Destrons learned of something happening there, they sent the Seekers, Constructicons, Stunticons, and Combaticons to attack. They were met there by Convoy, the Aerialbots and several other Cybertrons. Unfortunately, they were unable to hold them off, even with the added help of the Protectobots. However, Ultra Magnus came through and finished Metroplex in time to let him loose on the Destrons, scaring them off.

Even after Rodimus Convoy became the new leader, Ultra Magnus continued to fight with the Cybertrons, keeping an fixed roll on Earth, and to be more specific inside Metroplex. Ultra Magnus in his battles soon became enemies with the Destrons' new warrior, Sixshot.

In an attack on a Cybertron base, Sixshot went up against Ultra Magnus in some kind of duel. During the fight, Sixshot used his alternate modes and his ability to make "solid" holograms to hit Ultra Magnus with a series of hard shots Metroplex tried to help Ultra Magus, but was taken by surprise by Dinosaurer. Sixshot continued his attack on Ultra Magus, knocking him down. The Trainbots offered their aid to Ultra Magnus, who refused and told them to leave.

Ultra Magus continued to be hit by Sixshot's attacks, until Sixshot transformed into a seventh form: a winged wolf! An amalgamation of his six forms in one, this mode blasted Ultra Magnus, finishing him off. Ultra Magnus fell to the ground, and Sixshot left. Fortress soon arrived with the other Cybertrons, and Ultra Magnus uttered his last words.

The Cybertrons held a funeral service for Ultra Magnus before dumping his body in a nearby lake.

References

Article submitted by: Nick Peron.

Comic Bio (UK):

[Ed: Until I have time to either compare or combine Ultra Magnus's articles, there will be two articles. Please inform me of any discrepancies in the bios.]

Article 1

For a Transformer with so many personality flaws, such as self-doubt, hesitation and sometimes fear, it is ironic that the Autobot known as Ultra Magnus was considered to be one of the greatest warriors in the Autobot resistance army on Cybertron. During an operation codenamed "Volcano", Impactor, leader of the Wreckers, was killed: an event which Magnus felt he could have prevented if he had been there for his friend. Following Impactor's death, Magnus took command of the Wreckers. It was under his leadership that Optimus Prime, who had been transported from Earth, was nearly executed for being a Decepticon spy. Fortunately for Prime, he was rescued by an Autobot named Outback. The two escaped the Wreckers, but Outback was damaged by a savage beast in one of Cybertron's badlands. When Magnus and the Wreckers found Prime with Outback in his arms, Magnus was finally convinced that it was Optimus Prime and welcomed him home. Prime and Magnus led the Autobots on a series of daring attacks on Decepticon bases, which were great successes. Attacking the Decepticon stronghold itself, Ultra Magnus helped Optimus Prime fight Megatron/Straxus. All three were transported to Earth when Megatron activated the Space Bridge. Magnus' absence was eventually filled by Springer, Sandstorm and Broadside.

As a robot who had only known unending war and destruction, Ultra Magnus quickly grew to love the planet Earth, enjoying its unspoilt scenery and relative peacefulness, and befriended some human females, one of whom was named Cindy. Unfortunately, war found Magnus once again, when the future Decepticon, Galvatron, attacked the Autobot whom he identified as Rodimus Prime's second-in-command. Ultra Magnus had no idea what the crazed Decepticon was talking about, retorting, "Rodimus Prime? I serve Optimus Prime!" Magnus eventually gave into his inner rage, fueled by fears that Cindy might have been injured, and quickly downed Galvatron. However, the Autobot warrior was shot in the back when he mistakingly believed that Galvatron had been defeated.

The word "volcano" returned to haunt Magnus' mind. Galvatron took the unconscious Autobot to a nearby volcano, whose molten energy he planned to tap to destroy Unicron and regain his power. Luckily, Rodimus Prime, Blurr and Kup had pursued Galvatron from the future and temporarily saved Magnus but were eventually defeated. Ultra Magnus, who had lost the will to fight, was urged on by Cindy to battle Galvatron again. The conflict finally ended when the two Transformers were trapped in the volcano's lava.

Magnus eventually escaped his molten prison with the help of the Autobots Sizzle, Fizzle and Guzzle. Deeply traumatised by his months of confinement, Magnus was terrified when Galvatron soon reappeared and defeated the three other Autobots. Magnus regained his composure and beat the Decepticon who escaped. These four Autobots eventually left Earth and continued their adventures in outer space.

Article submitted by Joel King

Article 2

Ultra Magnus's origins are unknown. As a soldier, he rose within the Iaacon resistance movement, and was intended to be a fundamental part of Operation: Volcano, which was to be the Autobots' attempt to slay ten of the Decepticons' deadliest warriors: Dirge, Thrust, Ramjet, Astrotrain, Octane, Blitzwing, Shrapnel, Kickback, Bombshell and Macabre, thus giving an new impetus to the resistance movement. However, the Matrix flame died, indicating that Optimus Prime was dead. In order to discover the true fate of Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus was sent to Earth by Emirate Xaaron. There, he learnt that Optimus Prime, along with Prowl and Ratchet, had been sent to Limbo in order to allow the three future Decepticons Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge to exist in 1986. Ultra Magnus fought Galvatron and was defeated, but bought enough time for the future Autobots Kup, Hot Rod and Blurr to destroy Galvatron's weapon and trick him into believing he had killed Starscream (actually a deactivated and repainted Skywarp) and that he had created an alternate past where nothing he did would affect his own time. Galvatron returned to his own time. Ultra Magnus returned to Cybertron, but too late to participate in Operation: Volcano. Because Megatron summoned the Insecticons to Earth, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, Astrotrain, Octane and Blitzwing returned to base. However, Macabre was determined to kill Xaaron and so continued, where he killed the Wreckers' leader Impactor. Ultra Magnus blamed himself for Impactor's death.

Some months later, Optimus Prime and Megatron returned to Cybertron. As a result of Megatron's disinformation, Ultra Magnus nearly had Optimus Prime executed as a Decepticon spy, but the intervention of Outback led him to realise the truth. Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus led attacks on the Decepticons, turning the tide in the war on Cybertron. During a confrontation between Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Megatron in Polyhex, a mentally unstable Megatron unleashed his anti-matter powers. Realising the threat, Ratbat used the space bridge to transport all three to Earth.

Ultra Magnus did not join the Earthbound Autobots, but instead clashed with Galvatron, returned from the future. Together with the future Autobot leader, Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus succeeded in stopping Galvatron's attempts to tap the energy of Mt. Verona and turn himself into a god. Both Ultra Magnus and Galvatron were buried in the volcano when it erupted.

Several months later, Ultra Magnus was dug free by the Sparkler Mini-Bots. After gaining courage by defeating Galvatron, they returned to Cybertron. In the province of Kalis, they discovered that the mad ex Autobot scientist Flame was planning to turn Cybertron into a battle cruiser. Together with the Wreckers, the Decepticons Flywheels and Trypticon and a resurrected Impactor, they defeated Flame.

Ultra Magnus then defeated Zabra, an alien who was running barbaric gladiatorial games on Cybertron. Because he was away from Autobase at this time, he was unable to return to Earth as part of a strike force to deal with Galvatron.

From this point onwards, Ultra Magnus' history is uncertain. In one timeline he became the first commander of Autobot City Earth in 2004. In the year 2006, he briefly succeeded Optimus Prime as Autobot leader, before Rodimus Prime emerged. Ultra Magnus remained a loyal soldier, acting as commander of the Autobots on Cybertron whilst Rodimus Prime went to Junkion to deal with the return of Unicron and when he went to Autobot City: Earth to deal with the Quintesson attack.

In this timeline, Ultra Magnus survived until at least 2510, when the last Decepticons were killed. Rodimus Prime announced he planned to stand down as Autobot leader, and he wanted Springer to succeed him. Despite Ultra Magnus' protests, a Deception double agent called Triton suggested Ultra Magnus as a better choice, and the Technobots agreed. War broke out again between the Wreckers and Technobots. However, Ultra Magnus was one of the five Autobots who accompanied Rodimus Prime when he travelled back in time to 1989 to deal with the time rift created by Cyclonus and Scourge's bypassing of the Limbo displacement system and accelerated by Cyclonus' death. Ultra Magnus was again defeated by Galvatron in their final battle. He returned to 2009, only to find an alternate timeline where Galvatron had remained in his own time and held on to Cybertron. Ultra Magnus was not seen again in this timeline.