Ultra Magnus (SG)

Ultra Magnus is an evil Autobot from the Shattered Glass continuity family.

Ever since it was a young dimension, the Classicsverse has been hated by skeletons.

To say Ultra Magnus is two-faced would be an understatement. Despite his bloodlust and ferocity on the battlefield, he grows quickly bored with the tedium of war. He is a master at understanding and applying the law, yet he doesn't have a single ethical circuit in his own body. He may try to hide these qualities behind weak protestations or friendly banter, but he can't keep it up for long. Eventually, these traits always alienate the few friends he has made, and Magnus takes those rejections very personally, showing them the full extent of his cruelty. However, he is a competent leader, whether leading his own personal strike team, the Wreckers, or gathering supporters among the larger Autobot ranks.

His sadistic nature and short fuse inevitably lead him to conflict with his supposed master, Optimus Prime. Despite their at times brotherly relationship, Magnus chafes under Prime's command. He's grown tired of his commander's complacent leadership, throwing soldiers at problems with no greater goals or strategy. If Optimus can't provide Ultra Magnus the kind of creative war that he seeks, he'll just have to replace him, and create it himself. No matter how he may try and mask it, his horrifying skull-like visage perfectly reflects the monstrous spark within.

Fiction

Mini Mayhem!

Rodimus and Ultra Magnus teamed up against Eric Siebenaler to "teach him a lesson." Mini Mayhem!

Fun Publications Shattered Glass continuity

There's no panel borders! This isn't a battle in a box at all!

Ultra Magnus was the brother of Optimus Prime. Invasion At one point, Ultra Magnus led an attempted coup against Optimus, with Hound and Blurr as his only known supporters, though Hound was reportedly a link between Magnus and Alpha Trion. SG Hound's magazine profile However, during the battle between Optimus and Ultra Magnus, the former cheated. Eye in the Sky When the coup failed, Prime had Magnus exiled to Paradron as punishment. SG Cyclonus's magazine profile

While trapped with Sideswipe in the maze leading to the Omega Terminus chamber, Blurr referred to Cliffjumper as a "traitorous lunatic". Sideswipe countered by saying that Blurr was one to talk, and asked how Ultra Magnus was doing. Blurr said Magnus was doing "better than Drench", at least. Dungeons & Dinobots

By destroying a Marvel universe, SG Magnus will finally prove FIRRIB.

With the help of Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus was sprung from prison on Paradron, along with Wreck-Gar and his Junkions. After augmenting his body to match Optimus Prime's recent upgrade, gathering an army, and acquiring the legendary Terminus Blade, Magnus had the means to both humiliate his brother and make his mark on the multiverse. Before jumping through a portal into another universe via Wheeljack's Stellar Spanner, Magnus boasted of his imminent victory before his brother via video feed. This would prove to be Magnus's only mistake, as Optimus Prime forwarded Ultra Magnus's whereabouts to his obsessive nemesis, Treadshot.

Ultra Magnus and his army appeared in the sky over the Ironworks base on Primax 207.0 Epsilon's Earth. After most of the heroic Autobot opposition outside were corrupted and integrated into Magnus's army as Junkions, Ultra Magnus led them inside Ironworks, where he made quick work of a second wave. Complete victory was interrupted only by the arrival of Treadshot's heroic Decepticons through a portal. Though initially aggravated, Magnus quickly became elated when he saw Treadshot had come for him. However, Magnus's primary objective remained, so he used the Terminus Blade to send himself and his officers elsewhere.

You two shall pay dearly for ruining my special day.

Below, Wheeljack had erected machinery that would direct the Rarified Energon that Ironworks guarded to the surface, where it would interact with a space bridge projector that, with the introduction of the Terminus Blade, would open up a rift in space time which would help Magnus destroy... a lot. As Magnus battled Treadshot above ground, the machinery below was guarded by force field. Sir Soundwave and Octopunch managed to expand the perimeter of the force field to be large enough to protect the entire Earth, which they thought would save the day. However, Ultra Magnus had been thinking bigger, as he had planned to destroy the entire universe. Ultimately, Earth was protected as it was brought into orbit over his own universe's Cybertron as the entire rest of the Earth's universe was catastrophically destroyed by the chain reaction of Rarified Energon. Content in his largely unimpeded victory, Magnus and his army fled, while Treadshot threatened lovingly graphic revenge. Invasion Prologue Invasion

Unknown to Ultra Magnus at the time, his positive universe counterpart survived the destruction and made his way into the negative polarity universe as well. Shattered Time

First his face, then his arm... where will it all end?

Ultra Magnus and his followers continued their efforts to harness the power of the Terminus Blade. Wheeljack's efforts with forestonite proved unsatisfying, so they constructed a Collector on positive-Earth designed to feed off of the destruction of entire universes. Magnus confronted his heroic doppelgänger, now called Ultra Mammoth, who was in possession of his own artifact of the Thirteen, the Origin Matrix. Mammoth initially bested Magnus, but his hesitation to kill left him open to a counterstrike by Ultra Magnus. He cut open Mammoth's chest and caused the Matrix and Blade to make contact. Distant Fissures

The Terminus Blade was fully recharged by the opposing relic, granting Ultra Magnus tremendous power and dimension-carving abilities. He gloried in his power for only a short time, however, before the arrival of Nexus Prime. One of the Thirteen original Primes, Nexus bound the Origin Matrix to the other pieces of the shattered Star Saber, reassembling Prima's great weapon. He literally disarmed Ultra Magnus to retrieve the Terminus Blade, claiming both Blade and Saber for himself. Ultra Magnus tried to flee from his opponent, but Nexus Prime cast open a dimensional warp, banishing Magnus to a dimension suitable for his imprisonment. Restoration Out of the One, Many

IDW Shattered Glass comic

Before the Great War, Ultra Magnus was a socially ungifted bureaucrat, hiding his twisted skull-like visage behind a hologram cloak, one that collapsed in bouts of great emotion. Extremely knowledge about Cybertronian law, Magnus became an unofficial legal advisor to Orion Pax, allowing the ambitious Senator to know the limits of his power plays. This situation caused his strained friend, Senator Shockwave, to visit Magnus and attempt to make him see sense before Bumblebee barged into to ask about police procedures on behalf of Pax. Some time later, Ultra Magnus assisted Pax in the formation of a special squad that would be "capable of bringing true order to Cybertron", and found himself being forcibly promoted to its leader. Though Magnus offered some token protestations, Pax bluntly called out his secret love for power and told him to pick out a name for his new squad.

Magnus later crossed paths with Shockwave again, after Magnus' squad had chased away reports hounding the Senator. Though Magnus attempted to keep the peace between his old friend and subordinates, Shockwave's barbs caused Impactor to lose his temper and threaten to fight Shockwave himself. Magnus continued his attempts at peace brokering but one final quip from Kup about not being able to find a law for the situation fully sent him over the edge. His hologram glitching and breaking, Magnus grabbed Kup by the shoulder and brutally hurled him into Impactor, dazing the former and causing massive damage to the latter. Reeling from his outburst, Ultra Magnus was given one last barb from Shockwave as he left, whether or not Magnus was actually unable to calm the situation or just unwilling to admit he secretly didn't want to. This seemed to strike a chord within Magnus, as he told Wheeljack to leave the damaged Impactor, and that there would be some changes.

After removing Impactor from the squad, Ultra Magnus named the group as the "Wreckers", defending his organizational changes to Pax by all the legal paperwork noting that he, not Pax, was the official team leader. Impressed by this assertiveness, Pax ordered the Wreckers to launch a terrorist attack on the Senate. When the Wreckers reached the Senate floor, Magnus personally ripped Ratbat in two, calling out a challenge to Shockwave as he did so. As Shockwave emerged, the lawman taunted the Senator with his refusal to be logical and just save himself, with Shockwave for his part attempting to appeal to Magnus's inner goodness in a futile attempt to get him to stand down. Magnus simply told Shockwave not to be so honest about how much he was being hurt, remarking that was how Pax got inside his own head in the first place, and proceeded to beat his former friend into stasis. At Pax's order, Ultra Magnus carried the prone Shockwave off to undergo empurata, claiming he was somewhat jealous of Shockwave's impending personality shift. Shattered Glass II #1

After the war that followed ended with the defeat of the Decepticons and the fracturing of the Autobot forces, Magnus placed several agents across Cybertron to keep his abreast of any new developments. Shattered Glass #5 Shattered Glass II #2 Not long before the fall of Gold City, Ultra Magnus and his Wreckers were amongst the bodyscrappers who faced off against Blurr for the bounty on the head of Sixshot. Shattered Glass #1 Once Gold City had fallen, Slicer (formerly Wheeljack) reported on the fall of the city to Megatron and his Decepticons, as well as Goldbug making off with Starscream's spark. Though unconcerned about the Decepticon taking back the city, he worried about the paradigm shift that could occur if Goldbug managed to reactivate the Titan Metroplex. Shattered Glass #5

OPTIMUS HAS FALLEN! I, ULTRA MAGNUS, AM THE NEW LEADER OF THE AUTOBOTS!!!!!

Ultra Magnus would soon rendezvous with Slicer and the other Wreckers and journey to Pax for a meeting with Optimus Prime regarding recent events. They were stopped by Sunstreaker and Whirl, who attempted to cite the relevant laws before being intimidated by Magnus. Sunstreaker soon reported that Ultra Magnus would be taken directly to Optimus, though he was only allowed a single member of his team to accompany him. The other Wreckers bristled at this news, but were stopped by Magnus, who accepted the terms and told Jazz to accompany him and suggested the others use Whirl as a guide to what the city had to offer.

Once in the throne room, Ultra Magnus attempted to convince a bored Prime of the danger now posed by both the Decepticons' new foothold in Gold City as well as Goldbug being off the grid with an awakened Titan under his control. Optimus, however, simply dismissed these concerns as unimportant, a response that prompted Jazz to claim that the only reason Optimus got this far was because of Ultra Magnus. Magnus then had to play damage control after Optimus struck Jazz, telling the warlord his men simply got restless from time to time.

Once dismissed from their audience, Ultra Magnus chastised Jazz over his outburst, telling him he needed patience. He went over Optimus's orders, which were simply for the Wreckers and his soldiers to simultaneously face off against Prowl, the Decepticons, and Goldbug's Titan. Unimpressed by this plan, Ultra Magnus surmised decisive action would be needed, and gave his Wreckers the signal. Turning his forces against the palace guards, Magnus went to confront the Prime himself, shedding his hologram and derisively calling the warlord Orion once more. Though the Prime held the early advantage, Magnus managed to damage his right arm, allowing him to turn the tide, charging at the Prime in alternate mode and furiously declaring that Optimus owed all his successes to Magnus. When Optimus Prime managed to remain online, Magnus slammed his foot down on his former master's chest, disabling him, as the Wreckers made it to the throne room. Shattered Glass II #1

Still plagued by self-confidence issues however, Ultra Magnus did not believe he could lead the Autobots as himself, instead conspiring to steal Optimus's body. Shattered Glass II #5 After being repaired, Optimus was brought to Metroplex, Shattered Glass II #4 where his spark was extracted and Magnus's placed within the Prime's body. As he adjusted to his new body, Magnus was confronted by Soundwave and Slicer, ordering the latter to dispose of the former before Metroplex stumbled, Magnus being buried under debris. By the time Magnus recovered, Jetfire had removed Starscream's spark from Metroplex's power core, sending the Titan falling. With a furious vengeance, Magnus confronted Soundwave only to be shot through the chest by Slicer before he could deliver the killing blow, sending him tumbling out of the Titan's shattered optic. Shattered Glass II #5

Toys

Universe (2003)

Hey, remember me? Well, I'm me.

• Ultra Magnus with Over-Run vs. Treadshot with Nightbeat (Battle in a Box, 2004)

Universe Ultra Magnus is a redeco of the Super-Con (aka Deluxe) version of Armada Optimus Prime, transforming into a long-nosed tractor-trailer cab of made-up model. Attaching a Mini-Con to the Powerlinx plug on his back activates a double-fisted "punching" gimmick. His smokestacks can be removed from his forearms, but don't really do anything if you do so, so why bother?

Magnus was available only in a Universe "Battle in a Box" set with his Mini-Con partner Over-Run, and the Decepticon-allied pairing of Treadshot and his Mini-Con partner Nightbeat. The set was available only at "market six" stores like Kohl's, at the same time as the Smokescreen/Ransack set.

• More information on Ultra Magnus at TFU.info

Timelines

He puts the "foe" in FoeYay.

• Invasion (Multi-pack, 2012)

• Accessories: "Terminus Blade"

Timelines Ultra Magnus is a redeco of Reveal the Shield Deluxe Class Optimus Prime, in the colors of Diaclone Powered Convoy (who was later redecoed into Generation 1 Ultra Magnus). He transforms into a racing truck, and features what appears to be the mold's second head, with a translucent skull-like face and blue eyes, seen previously only in the instructions. Like Prime, Magnus features a rub sign on his roof, and has a (non-detachable) matrix gimmick in robot mode formed by a relief pattern on the inside of the cab's side windows, which is visible through the windshield/chest in robot mode. He comes with a sword that he can wield with both hands, and the sword forms the hitch of the truck in vehicle mode.

Ultra Magnus was only available in a BotCon 2012 exclusive box set with Soundwave, Tracks, Treadshot, Gigatron, and Metalhawk.

The original version of this mold was also redecoed into Shattered Glass Optimus Prime and Timelines Scourge.

• More information on BotCon Ultra Magnus at TFU.info

Shattered Glass Collection

Pair me with Tenseg Prime to make me Italian!

• Ultra Magnus (Leader Class, 2022)

• Accessories: blaster, 2 missile launchers, 7 armor/car carrier pieces, Energon sword, Energon axe (combines to form Terminus Blade^[1]), Matrix of Leadership, alternate head
• Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro, original tooling), Mark Maher (Hasbro, deco and retooling)

The first release in the second assortment of the Shattered Glass Collection, Ultra Magnus is a new-head redeco of Kingdom Ultra Magnus, itself a retool of Siege Ultra Magnus. He transforms into a Cybertronic truck in 28 steps. Magnus is a Voyager-sized figure who makes up the cab, with the trailer becoming Super Mode armor, like the original Ultra Magnus toy. Magnus uses an alternative skull-head sculpt based on the original Shattered Glass character's design, planted in the Kingdom Ultra Magnus mold set designed by John Warden. He also features several 3 mm posts (for blast effects) and 5 mm ports as part of the C.O.M.B.A.T. System. Ultra Magnus comes with the missile launchers and blaster from the original Kingdom release, as well as Legacy Laser Optimus Prime's Energon sword, Energon axe, and Matrix of Leadership, now mostly cast in translucent red plastic. Though he includes a Matrix, he has neither a chest chamber nor articulated hands. The Matrix can be plugged into the pommel of the Terminus Blade. As SG Magnus' light-piping eyes are molded in the same translucent red, they're ultimately neutered by comic-accurate blue paint. The Energon Sword cannot be wielded by Magnus, due to the protruding tab meant for the Laser Optimus Prime mold ... then again, there is no storage port for Magnus himself, you can shave it off if desired.

As with the original mold, this Ultra Magnus is not designed to transport Deluxe/Legends Class cars. The shoulder missile launchers should not be fully inserted before attaching the shoulder to the inner robot, as these can prevent the pieces from being fully inserted.

Ultra Magnus also includes a redeco of the original Kingdom toy's head, giving you the option of re-purposing the figure as "Diaclone Delta Magnus", as noted by the toy's designer Mark Maher when promoting the toy for a Fan First Friday Tuesday. Maher also described the inner robot as decoed after Magna Convoy.^[2] That said, only Ultra Magnus's name is on the box, and the toy's head swap gimmick is worked into the plot of the included comic. While the Shattered Glass skull-head can be popped on and off with some ease, it goes unmentioned in the instructions that the Delta head requires unscrewing to actually complete the swap.

Like the rest of the Shattered Glass Collection line, Ultra Magnus is exclusive to Hasbro Pulse in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. If purchased through Hasbro Pulse, the toy is shipped with the first issue of Shattered Glass II,^[3] with an exclusive cover featuring spot UV.

Merchandise

Magic: The Gathering

• Ultra Magnus, Tactician / Ultra Magnus, Armored Carrier (2022)
  • ID number: 029
  • Set code: BOT
  • Color identity: Red/Green/White
  • Casting cost: {4}{R}{G}{W} (front), {3}{R}{G}{W} (back)

"Ultra Magnus, Tactician" is part of the 2022 Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Transformers card set, found in Collector Booster packs of Magic's The Brothers' War set. It can be reversed to become "Ultra Magnus, Armored Carrier", representing Ultra Magnus in vehicle mode.

A variant of this card was available in both Set Booster and Collector Booster packs, depicting "Generation 1" Ultra Magnus.

Notes

Okay, but where's the translucent skull?

• Ultra Magnus's appearance in 2008's Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club #22 (within a "Mini Mayhem!"-style comic featuring a version of Shattered Magnus appeared in "From the Editor's Desk..." along with Rodimus and Eric Siebenaler) looks remarkably different from his later appearances. The inclusion of Ultra Magnus (with Powered Convoy colors) in this comic continuity was in repayment of a favor from the author to Randy Para, who is often known online as "Powered Convoy".
• Years later when he got to receive a toy at BotCon 2012, his colors were originally those of his counterpart's e-HOBBY Generation 2 toy, but concerns with having the same exclusive idea as someone else got to feature Powered Convoy's color back instead. ^[4]
  • While his head was initially conceived for an unrealized Nemesis Prime toy, the team doing Ultra Magnus choose to incorporate it in the resulting toy.^[5]
• In Fun Publications' Shattered Glass stories, Ultra Magnus used to look like "Battle in a Box" Ultra Magnus. When the "Invasion" comic's creative team was asked if they were actually the same guy versus being a repurposing, the simultaneous answer was "Sure", "Yes", and "No". Somebody's a spoilsport. The Facebook edition of Ask Vector Prime would later clarify the "Battle in a Box" Ultra Magnus toy as primarily a version of Unicron Trilogy Ultra Magnus.
• In IDW Publishing's Shattered Glass #5, Ultra Magnus is drawn as a straight recoloring of Siege Leader Class Ultra Magnus. Evidently, plans for the Kingdom-styled Ultra Magnus toy in Shattered Glass Collection had not been finalized at the time of writing.

References

See also

You look familiar...

---

Versions of Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus have appeared in other continuity families, including:

• Ultra Magnus, the evil counterpart to Animated Ultra Magnus.

For more information, see Ultra Magnus (disambiguation).