Fortress Maximus (G1)

This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.

The name or term "Fortress Maximus" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Fortress Maximus (disambiguation).

Fortress Maximus (G1)/suite

Fortress Maximus is an Autobot Headmaster and occasional cityformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Link called. He wants the Master Sword back.

Despite his great power, size, and rank, Fortress Maximus is a weary and reluctant warrior. Fighting is against his pacifist nature, even for the most noble of causes. Over time, the endless conflict on Cybertron has worn him down, to the point that he's willing to walk away from the war entirely to preserve himself and his ideals.

Fortress Maximus is big. How big generally depends on the universe, but often as not he's binary-bonded to a smaller robot named Cerebros who forms his head; Cerebros's own head is formed by Spike, or in some universes: Emissary. Sometimes he is known as Fortress Tiberious.

Fortress Maximus is one of those fun characters whose incarnations are very different. See individual fiction entries below for continuity specific profiles.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Stephen Keener (English), Kunihiko Yasui (Japanese)

When a battle for possession of the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber led a group of Autobots and Decepticons to be stranded on the planet Nebulos, partnership between the Transformers and the native Nebulans led to the development of Headmaster and Targetmaster technology. The planet's evil ruling council, the Hive, took the technology to its most powerful extreme when its leader Zarak created the massive city-sized Scorponok to serve as his Headmaster partner and used his power to steal back the chamber key. The Decepticons departed for Cybertron, and the Autobots were poised to give chase when Spike Witwicky announced that he and the pacifistic Cerebros would be staying behind. While the other Autobots left in pursuit, Spike had Cerebros lead him to the ruins of the Hive's original city, which they had lived in before moving underground. Taking control of the various abandoned machines there, Spike rebuilt the city, Cerebros and even himself into a Headmaster robot that could stand up to Scorponok's power: Fortress Maximus!

The completed Fortress Maximus quickly flew to Cybertron and made a dramatic entrance, setting down in city mode and then transforming to battle station mode to bombard Scorponok and the Decepticons with a hail of weaponsfire. When Zarak transformed Scorponok to robot mode, Spike did likewise with Fortress Maximus, and the two titans battled, with Maximus on the losing end until Zarak threatened the life of Spike's son, Daniel. With a burst of strength, Fortress Maximus took Scorponok down, causing him to collapse with such force that he transformed back to city mode. Spike and Cerebros then disconnected from Maximus and headed inside Scorponok to recover the captive Daniel and Arcee, leaving Maximus to keep the other Decepticons at bay with his many weapons. The Decepticons were able to get through Maximus's firestorm and got Scorponok airborne, but not before Spike succeeded in his rescue.

Subsequently, with the Plasma Energy Chamber back under Autobot control, Fortress Maximus flew the Autobot Headmasters and Targetmasters back to Nebulos. There, Optimus Prime announced that after they had eradicated the Hive's evil from the planet, Cerebros would live on the planet as its guardian, presumably meaning that Fortress Maximus would be staying there too. The Rebirth, Part 3

It is unclear if Fortress Maximus had any sentience of his own; he did speak once in his own voice, but for the most part, even Cerebros's will seemed to be pushed aside so Spike could run the whole thing himself.

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

In Japan, Fortress Maximus's mental functions are housed in a small robot who transforms into a head and connects to a larger, lifeless transtector body. This larger body in turn becomes the head of a giant transtector, forming the robot known as Fortress Maximus. The Headmasters toyline referred to the smallest robot as Cerebros, who formed the head of the intermediate robot Fortress, but this distinction was never actually made in fiction, and the character was always referred to as "Fortress" regardless of whether he was in small or intermediate form.

The Headmasters cartoon

Voice actor: Ikuya Sawaki (Japanese), Simon Broad (English), Liu Xirui (Chinese)

Drang nach Master!

Four million years ago, Fortress was a diminutive Cybertronian who had not yet mastered the art of transformation, and was a friend of Kup's. He was among the many Transformers that fled Cybertron in an attempt to escape the corrosion of war without end, and led a group of his fellow small Cybertronians in search of a new peaceful world they could call home. The Mystery of Planet Master Alas, engine trouble caused their ship to crash on the inhospitable world of planet Master, whose hazardous environmental conditions began threatening the lives of Fortress and his men almost as soon as they departed the wreckage of their ship and began trekking through a desert of shifting sands. The need for survival fostered many technological and mental advancements, however, and Fortress and his people endured.

Fortress was responsible for many of the technological quantum leaps, the most significant of which was the invention of "transtectors": larger, lifeless Transformer bodies to which the small Cybertronians could connect as heads. After a rigorous physical and mental training program that allowed them to finally master transformation and even instilled powerful telepathic and telekinetic powers in them, Fortress and nine other warriors bonded with these transtectors to become "Headmasters". The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery Fortress even took the process one step further, and with the aid of other Master scientists like Jack, created a huge transtector that could transform into the battleship, Maximus. Fortress's own transtector was engineered to also transform into a head, which could control the many functions of the Maximus from a special docking bay on the battleship's bridge, Rebellion on Planet Beast and which could form the head for the battleship's own colossal robot mode, known as "Fortress Maximus". Fortress also created the powerful Master Sword for himself, and tied the Maximus's transformation into it; in order to convert the battleship to robot mode, Fortress had to draw a small version of the blade from a sheath beneath his command console, but this feat could only be accomplished when his physical and mental energies were in perfect synchronization. Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger

Unfortunately, half of the Headmasters eventually rebelled against Fortress's leadership, siding with a traitor named Scorponok against him. The traitors were defeated by Fortress and his comrades and exiled from Master, but eventually, they came to ally themselves with the Decepticons under the command of Galvatron. The Mystery of Planet Master

In the year 2011, when Galvatron launched his latest attack on Cybertron with the added power of his new Decepticon Headmasters, Fortress Maximus brought the Autobot Headmasters back to their homeworld aboard the Maximus. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky Even the mightiest of the Decepticons' combiners could not stand against Battleship Maximus's firepower, and the evil robots were forced into retreat. This task complete, Fortress set the Maximus down at the Autobots' secondary headquarters on the planet Athenia, where he introduced himself and his comrades and explained their origins, and was reunited with Kup. After being filled in by the Autobots on the current crisis—Vector Sigma had become destabilized, putting the planet at risk—Fortress deduced that the Matrix of Leadership was necessary to bring the computer back under control. The Mystery of Planet Master Unfortunately, Optimus Prime had already ventured into the depths of Cybertron without the Matrix, willing to sacrifice his own life to stabilize Vector Sigma, so Fortress headed into the planet's catacombs after him while the other Headmasters helped Hot Rod search for the Matrix, hidden somewhere on Earth. Though Fortress was not able to catch up to Prime before he reached Vector Sigma's chamber, he was able to use his telepathic powers to contact Prime's companion, the spirit of Alpha Trion, helping to guide him safely through the maze of tunnels. It turned out that Cyclonus and Scourge had made it to the chamber ahead of Prime, however, and Fortress raced through the remainder of the tunnels to aid Prime against the two Decepticons. Hot Rod soon arrived with the Matrix, which he used to become Rodimus Prime again, but before he could use it to bring Vector Sigma back under control, Optimus Prime merged with the computer to stabilize it, giving up his life in the process. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime Prime was not the only casualty of the crisis: Blaster also lost his life in the search for the Matrix. Luckily, Fortress was able to use the advanced technology of Master to rebuild and resurrect him, as Twincast. The Great Cassette Operation

While patrolling space for Decepticon activity aboard the Maximus, the Autobot Headmasters discovered Daniel Witwicky and Wheelie stowed away on board. After explaining the function of his Head Mode to the shocked youngsters, Fortress agreed to let the pair join them on the patrol. Soon after, the Autobots came upon two stranded Beastformers from the planet Beast, and learned that the Decepticons had invaded their planet; the infuriated Fortress made for the planet with all due speed, after sending a report to Rodimus Prime on Athenia. The Autobot Headmasters helped the native Beastformers liberate their planet from Decepticon control, but Fortress was concerned with a blueprint recovered from an underground factory that indicated the Decepticons were building something. Rebellion on Planet Beast

:D

When the Decepticons launched a metal-warping meteor at Athenia, Fortress and his battleship were powerless to do anything, for fear of being destroyed by the meteor's gravity sensors. It fell to Daniel Witwicky to destroy the meteor, so Fortress transported him as close to it as he was able. Daniel lost his nerve at the last minute, so Fortress calmed him down by making some silly faces. Dignified! Approach of the Demon Meteorite Later, a phoney distress call lured Fortress and the Autobot Headmasters into a trap on the planet Praum set by their old foe, Scorponok. Despite being trapped in a subterranean chamber with the endless desert sands pouring in on top of him, Fortress kept his head and reminded his young allies of the similar hardships they had suffered on Master and the training they had undergone to overcome them. With the skills they had learned back then, they were able to escape. The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery

"Take my job, New Toy! I don't want it!"

When Galvatron launched an attack on Cybertron in an attempt to steal a new alloy developed by Vector Sigma named cybertonuron, Fortress advised Rodimus Prime against striking back in full force, preferring to find another way to stop the Decepticons than putting all their warriors in danger. Rodimus refused, and Fortress quietly acquiesced to his commander's wishes, ferrying him to Cybertron on Battleship Maximus. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1 The battle ended catastrophically, however, when treachery on the part of Scorponok led to the detonation of a collection of bombs in Vector Sigma's chamber, devastating Cybertron and rendering it uninhabitable, and apparently killing Galvatron in the process. Realizing with deep regret that Fortress's caution had been warranted, Rodimus Prime decided that the era of his generation of Transformers was over, and vowed to search the universe for a new planet the Transformers could call home. He passed the title of Supreme Commander of the Autobots (though not the Matrix of Leadership) to Fortress, who was visibly uncomfortable with the appointment, but accepted it graciously, telling himself not to contest it because it was his destiny. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2

"...But it's the pelvic thruuuuuust / that really drives you in-sa-a-a-ane..."

Fortress's tenure as leader got off to a strong start with the successful completion of the Sol 1 satellite, a joint venture between the Autobots and humanity to gather solar energy. Unfortunately, the satellite was stolen by the Decepticons, forcing the Autobot Headmasters to destroy it to keep it out of their hands. Before being destroyed, however, the satellite's energy was beamed by the villains to the planet Zarak. The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok Fortress attempted to study Zarak from afar in hopes of deducing what the Decepticons were up to, but the planet's gaseous shroud prevented remote observation of its surface, and the Decepticons began staging concentrated attacks on Earth to keep the Autobots' attentions divided. The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts One such attack saw the Decepticons unleash a carnivorous, ambulatory plant upon San Francisco, which Fortress identified as a buridanka from the planet Darhos. When the Autobot Headmasters responded, Battleship Maximus was caught in the plant-monster's vines, and Fortress's lack of focus left him unable to draw the Master Sword and transform. Galvanized by the cries of the other Headmasters, however, his energies soon came into alignment, and for what was apparently the first time (given everyone else's surprise when it happened) Fortress transformed the Maximus and combined with it to form Fortress Maximus. With the power of the Master Sword, he easily dispatched the giant plant. Head On!! Fortress Maximus

Weakened by the great energy demands of his transformation, Fortress sent the Autobot Headmasters to Mars without him when news of Decepticon movement on the planet reached the Autobots. When the Headmasters discovered that the Decepticons were planning to blow up Mars, however, Fortress went into action, only to be struck with a plasma energy bomb by the Decepticons Headmasters just as he was in the middle of transforming into Fortress Maximus. Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger Although Fortress survived the blast, his energies were severely drained, and the powerless Maximus was unable to depart Mars as the countdown to the Decepticons' planet-destroying explosion continued. Even worse, into the middle of this crisis stepped Scorponok, now outfitted with a gigantic transtector of his own: the end result of the mysterious construction operations on planets Beast and Zarak. Scorponok pummelled the paralyzed Maximus, then pulled out just before the chain of explosion began. Fortress told the Headmasters to leave him and the Maximus to their fate, but luckily, at the last minute, the battleship began absorbing the energy released by the early stages of the explosion. Fortress was able to use this energy to transform into Fortress Maximus, and escaped the destruction of Mars, slashing Scorponok with the Master Sword as he came bursting from the conflagration. Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears

That's how the scorpions breed!

While Fortress and the Headmasters were patrolling the edges of Decepticon space to keep an eye on their enemies' activities, Scorponok attacked the Maximus, only for the fight to be broken up by a strange UFO. Back on Athenia, Fortress met with the Autobots' deep cover spy, Punch, and learned that Scorponok was holding a coronation ceremony for himself on Earth's moon. The Autobots attacked the ceremony, during which Fortress again pitted his battleship against Scorponok, but the fighting was brought to an end when the UFO returned, and was revealed to belong to Galvatron, who had survived Cybertron's destruction. Return of the Immortal Emperor Fortress fought Scorponok again soon after, when the Autobots tried to provide energy relief to the other-dimensional planet Sandra. SOS from Planet Sandra

When the Decepticons embarked on an interplanetary energy quest, the Autobots determined to follow them aboard Fortress's battleship; Fortress had to be convinced to allow Daniel to come with them. Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!! Their first port of call was the planet Hive, but before the Maximus could set down, they were attacked by the planet's force. Fortress was intent on a show of non-resistance and would not fire back, while Chromedome went down to the planet's surface and proved the Autobots' good intentions to Hive's Queen Bee. The Autobots joined forces with the natives to fend off the Decepticons; Fortress disconnected the Maximus's "Master Shot" cannon so the Headmasters could wield it, then transformed into Fortress Maximus to send Scorponok packing with the Master Sword. Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!! Fortress then used the Maximus to fly the Autobots to Twin Star, where he dealt with Scorponok by hauling him into the air and dropping him, Battle for Defense of the False Planet and Daros, where he used the Maximus's internal defense systems to stop a gang of prisoners from taking control of the battleship. Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!! The battleship needed some repairs before it could take the Autobots to Paradise, which Fortress had Chromedome and Hardhead perform. Head Formation of Friendship Fortress again transformed to Fortress Maximus on the final planet of their journey, Pirate Planet, taking Scorponok out with a Master Sword-slash to the chest. Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship

After returning to Athenia, Fortress and the Headmasters received news of a Decepticon attack on Earth and headed there with all due haste, but they were not in time to stop Sixshot from mortally wounding Ultra Magnus. Fortress held Magnus as he died, then carried his body aboard the Maximus for burial along an Earth coastline. Ultra Magnus Dies!! Soon after, with Decepticon attacks intensifying, Fortress had to talk Metroplex out of risking his own life in the pursuit of revenge against Sixshot. When word came through from Punch that Galvatron intended to use the gathered energy to fuse himself with the Earth itself, Fortress and the Headmasters immediately departed to confront the Decepticon leader in Alaska. The Headmasters were able to use Punch's information to finally end the threat of Galvatron with their Head Formation, burying him in the Arctic ice. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg

From USSR with "love"!

Galvatron's demise left a power vacuum that Scorponok immediately filled, and once appointed leader again, he immediately put into motion a plan to destroy the Earth by simultaneously erupting every volcano on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Spike Witwicky deduced his plan, but a Decepticon attack on Autobot City left Spike fatally wounded, with a chunk of shrapnel embedded in one of his arteries. Medical science could do nothing for Spike, so Fortress used his telekinetic powers to dissolve the shrapnel, saving Spike, but draining all of Fortress's energy. Even in his weakened state, unable to transform, Fortress still attempted to stop Scorponok from initiating his plan on the Kamchatka Peninsula, but Scorponok simply hurled the Maximus into a volcano. As it turned out, this allowed Fortress to absorb the geothermal energy of the volcano's magma, restoring his power and ability to transform. Following information decoded by Chromedome, Fortress Maximus was able to puncture Scorponok's weak spot, the Decepticon symbol on his chest, forcing the villain and his followers to flee the planet. I Risk My Life for Earth

With Earth finally free of the Decepticons, the Autobots set about removing every trace of their evil from the planet. Fortress co-ordinated the effort, but just as he was meeting with three new Autobot arrivals—Pointblank, Crosshairs and Sureshot—a report came through from Chromedome that one of the plasma energy bombs he had been tasked with gathering up had become active. Fortress quickly picked up the bombs in Battleship Maximus, intending to transport them into space so they could detonate harmlessly, but as the ship departed the atmosphere, it crossed paths with another vessel containing refugees from Master. While the Autobots held off the Decepticons pursuing the Master vessel, Fortress and Twincast welcomed the refugees on board, and learned from them that Scorponok's Decepticons had attacked Master. The refugees then helped get the plasma bombs off Battleship Maximus, but they proceeded to detonate before everyone could get clear, and the explosion fused the refugees to the arms of the Autobots and Decepticons. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1) Fortress used his scientific know-how to remove the refugees from the Autobots' arms, but a strange link remained between the warriors. With these "Targetmasters" added to their ranks, Fortress piloted Battleship Maximus to Master to stop Scorponok's evildoings there. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)

Insert 80s computer joke here.

Seeking to forge a weapon to counter Fortress's Master Sword, Scorponok arranged for the kidnap of Wheelie so that he could be ransom for information on the sword. Fortress agonized over what to do, but the decision was made for him when Chromedome and Daniel snuck away to rescue Wheelie themselves. Learning of their insubordination, Fortress played along, keeping the Decepticons' attentions on his battleship and preparing a data disk to "hand over". Unfortunately, when the Decepticons learned that Wheelie had been rescued, a fight broke out over the disk and it was snatched from Fortress's grasp. The Master Sword Is in Danger!! The Decepticons retreated underground, but Fortress was able to track them down by equipping the Master Sword with sensors that would allow the Maximus to track any surges of the energy needed to create it, which Scorponok was sure to require to forge his own weapon. Unfortunately, Weirdwolf was able to sneak aboard the Maximus, and although Fortress repelled him, he had secretly planted bombs on the battleship that covered the Decepticons' escape when they went off. The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide

As Battleship Maximus was repaired, Fortress debated strategy with the Autobots, eventually agreeing with the Targetmasters' plan to lure the Decepticons into space to avoid collateral damage to Master. Unfortunately, the hot-headed Chromedome disagreed, and staged his own attack on the Decepticons with the aid of the young warriors of Master. Chromedome's strategy went sour, forcing Fortress Maximus to go into action, but when the Master Sword clashed with Scorponok's newly forged "Zarak Shield", it was the Zarak Shield that emerged triumphant! Defeated, Fortress Maximus could only watch as Scorponok departed for Earth, intending to destroy it once and for all. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons

The Autobots gave chase in the Maximus, but during the space battle that resulted, Daniel was set adrift when the Maximus's Laser Block unit was damaged and jettisoned. Fortress was forced to divert to rescue the boy, allowing the Decepticons a substantial lead in the race back to Earth. My Friend Sixshot! Their lead was lost when they were forced to set down on the asteroid Pallas for repairs, and the Maximus set down on Ceres in order to attack. During the fight, Sixshot challenged Chromedome to a one-on-one duel, and Fortress's pleas that he not accept the challenge fell on deaf ears. Even as Scorponok took off for Earth again, Fortress concluded that he and the other Autobots would have to leave Chromedome to his duel and carry on the chase. As it happened, the duel was interrupted by an explosion courtesy of bombs Scorponok had planted on the battlefield, so Chromedome was able to rejoin Maximus not long after. Duel on the Asteroid

By the power of Grayskull!

As the Maximus entered the final stretch back to Earth, reports began coming in from the Autobots down on the planet of Decepticon attacks, accompanied by the emergence of strange towers at specific points around the globe. Once back on Earth, Fortress met with Punch, who unfortunately had to report that Scorponok had disappeared into the Mediterranean Ocean. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1) The Autobots soon realized that the "Death Towers" were composed of energy-amplifying crysmagnetal, and were creating a field of energy that was surrounding the Earth. Following Punch's lead, Fortress led the Autobots to Egypt, where Scorponok was outfitting a Death Tower with an induction booster to magnify the amount of energy it was projecting. The Master Sword played the unfortunate role of lightning rod in the presence of the Death Tower, attracting bolts of the tower's energy and stunning Fortress, preventing him from stopping Scorponok. As Scorponok fled, he told Fortress to meet him at the North Pole, where even he would have a role to play in his scheme.

With no other choices, Fortress followed his enemy's instructions, and the entire Autobot and Decepticon armies clashed in battle in the frozen north. There, Scorponok lured Fortress Maximus onto a crysmagnetal dais, at which point, an orbiting Decepticon satellite that had been gathering the energies projected by the Death Towers activated, beaming the collected energy down to the dais. Scorponok disconnected from his transtector, and left the paralyzed Fortress Maximus trapped in the satellite's beam, part of a deadly circuit of energy that threatened to tear the Earth apart. The four Headmasters joined in Head Formation and tried to channel their energy into Fortress Maximus in hopes of giving him the strength to break free, but their own power was not enough. At Daniel's suggestion, all the other Autobots linked up as part of the chain, and together combined in "Final Formation", they infused Maximus with enough energy to deflect the satellite's beam with the Master Sword, destroying it. With one mighty slash, Fortress Maximus bisected Scorponok's transtector, finally ending the Decepticon threat.

The Decepticons subsequently fled Earth, and the Autobots gathered to pursue them. Fortress told the tearful Daniel that it was necessary in order to continue defend peace throughout the universe, but promised the boy that they would meet again. Together, the Autobots all boarded Fortress's battleship, and took off into the setting sun. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)

Kiss Players/15 Go! Go!

Slumped miserably on the barren surface of Master in their smallest robot forms, Fortress, Chromedome and Highbrow's attention was caught when a time-travelling spaceship materialized over their heads and crashed nearby. Sparkbots Volume 1 By studying and reverse-engineering the technology found in this spaceship, Fortress and the scientists of Master invented transtectors and the Headmaster process. Kiss Players radio drama #48 Sparkbots Volume 3

The Great Transformer War

In the year 2010, while significant Transformer battles were being waged throughout space and on Earth, Fortress was active on the planet Master. After the younger Headmaster warriors under his command were defeated in battle by Sixshot and the Decepticon Headmasters, Fortress quickly roused his fallen comrades and ordered them to board his battleship, the Maximus, so that they could pursue the villains. Their destination: Cybertron! The Great Transformer War #3

The Headmasters manga

Soon after Optimus Prime died stabilizing Vector Sigma, the Decepticons staged an attack on Athenia, and Fortress and the Autobot Headmasters quickly took off in Battleship Maximus to intercept them as they approached the planet. Daniel opined that the Decepticons were "a lot like parasites", to which Fortress murmured an agreement. At that point, the Decepticons appeared in front of them, and the Autobots realized that they had played into the villains' hands: they intended to destroy Fortress's battleship with a bomb. Luckily, Chromedome moved quickly enough to snatch the bomb away and save the Maximus. The Headmasters #1

Responding to an SOS from their Beastformer comrades, Fortress escorted the Autobot Headmasters to planet Beast to investigate. No sooner had the young warriors left Battleship Maximus to search, Rodimus Prime radioed Fortress for an update. Fortress didn't have anything to tell him, but assured Rodimus that the Headmasters would get to the bottom of the mystery. Great Decisive Battle of Planet Beast! Later, once they were back on Earth, Fortress sent the Headmasters on their next mission, to respond to a Decepticon attack on an Alaskan energy plant. The Headmasters #2

When a fire tore through Shinjuku, Chromedome, Ricochet, and Artfire responded, but their rescue effort was impeded by the Decepticon Targetmaters. Luckily, Fortress soon arrived to extinguish the fire by dumping a massive amount of water on it from above using Battleship Maximus, freeing up the others to deal with the Decepticons. The Headmasters #7

Super-God Masterforce Master File

Following the expulsion of the Decepticons from Earth after the battle at the North Pole, the Transformers' war shifted into a series of space-based exchanges between Athenia and Chaar known as the Master Wars. With the space bridge destroyed, interstellar transportation was severely limited, and it fell to Fortress and the Maximus to patrol space for the Decepticons. While on one such patrol, Fortress received a transmission from Sixshot alerting him to the existence of a new shadowy puppet master who had taken control of the Decepticons. This news came at the same time as a report from the Trainbots which indicated that Scorponok had constructed a new transtector for himself, and so Fortress had no choice but to focus on dealing with this mystery. With access to the ever-important Earth now greatly reduced and his attentions now focused elsewhere, Fortress left guardianship of the planet in the hands of Metalhawk and his Pretenders. Master File No, 1

Ask Vector Prime

Fortress dispatched a team of Pretenders led by Marduk to retrieve the Ultra Matrix from Beast. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30

Super-God Masterforce cartoon continuity

Super-God Masterforce cartoon

Archive footage of Fortress Maximus destroying the MegaZarak transtector was used to educate the future Headmaster Juniors about the Master Wars. Birth! Headmaster Jrs

Fortress's younger brother, Grand, travelled to Earth to aid the Autobots there against the approaching threat of BlackZarak. Grand was physically identical to his big bro, save for his coloration, and even piloted a smaller Maximus-style battleship of his own. Life? Death? The Desperate Lightfoot

Legends comic

The battle between Fortress and Scorponok began on Master when Fortress discovered and put an end to his kidnapping and experimenting on citizens. Mutant Targetmaster Birth Chapter Years later, Brainstorm told a visiting Legends Rattrap the story about how he and other diminutive Autobots, including Fortress, left Cybertron and settled on Master. Bonus Edition Vol. 9 Fortress later showed up when Chromedome was complaining about Brainstorm's recent upgrade and Highbrow was getting angry at Rattrap for not caring about The Headmasters, and commented that everyone was getting worked up as usual. Brainstorm Chapter

Springer harbored regrets over the fact that Arcee had parted ways with him and moved onto spending her time with Fortress. Bonus Edition Vol. 19

During development of technology that would let Headmaster Juniors wield Masterforce, Fortress created a Headmaster exosuit for human use and let Spike Witwicky test pilot it on his own transtector. Bonus Edition Vol. 54

By 2021, Scorponok had returned and Fortress continued to fight him in space, culminating in a battle to stop the Decepticon from detonating a black hole. The Autobots failed and were infected with miniature black holes that shrunk their bodies, threatening to eventually make them disappear entirely. After having all non-Headmasters on his crew converted into Headmasters to save their lives, Fortress told his forces they could find new transtectors in the Legends World, then set a course there before the battleship Maximus itself could disappear. Headmaster Chapter Prologue Targetmaster Chapter Prologue On arrival, Fortress requested help from the local Axalon Trading Company, but was told by Optimus Primal that they didn't work for free. In lieu of money, Fortress offered them access to Headmaster technology and negotiated a partnership between the Autobots and Axalon, leading to him and his soldiers becoming office workers. Bonus Edition Vol. 21

Fortress was later called up by Grand, who asked him to open a portal and receive some humans he was sending to the Legends World. He was resistant to taking them in, being busy with managerial duties, but backed down when an angry Grand told him people's lives were at stake and accused him of getting too cozy in the peaceful dimension. LG24 Shockwave & Cancer Prologue When the Autobot Axalon Trading Company finished building a new battleship Maximus, Chromedome urged Fortress to use it to crush the Decepticons, only for Fortress to collapse while trying to argue for a peaceful solution. In sickbed, he let Chromedome in on a big secret: the process of controlling Maximus had been eating away at his life force all along, weakening him every time he combined. He then broke into tears, despairing that he was nothing but a coward who avoided having to use the transtector for his own safety, but Chromedome reassured him that he was a great commander who had only kept this secret from his troops to keep morale up. Despite his condition, Fortress didn't hesitate to become Fortress Maximus once more to defend his friends from Metroplex, who was being mind-controlled by Tarantulas into attacking the Maximus. After defeating Tarantulas by piercing his control device with the Master Sword, he told his comrades he was happy as long as he could keep defending the world. Bonus Edition Vol. 31

Highbrow began researching a cure to Fortress's condition and eventually found that it could be reversed by feeding him Zodiac energy, which was related to the Headmasters' telepathic energy. Bonus Edition Vol. 33 When the Decepticon Headmasters stole Metroplex's transformation cog to rebuild Trypticon, Megatron contacted Fortress as he was the only other Transformer large enough to stop Trypticon. Decepticon Civil War However, Trypticon's new ability to fly caught Fortress by surprise before he could transform the Maximus, and the battleship was damaged and crashed. Fortress removed its transformation cog and had it delivered to Metroplex, then ended up among the victims devoured by Trypticon before he could be defeated. Bonus Edition Vol. 43 The Maximus base was subsequently integrated into the city when it was rebuilt. Targetmaster Chapter Prologue Bonus Edition Vol. EX

Goldbug and Spike later arrived at Axalon and informed Fortress that the Spike acting as a chairman of the Galactic Peace Alliance was an impostor. Noting that Spike had kept the exosuit, Fortress lent him his transtector so he could fight off the fake, then promised he would lend a hand when the time came to defeat him for good. Bonus Edition Vol. 54 The Maximus was drowned when Tigerburn flooded the city Bonus Edition Vol. 64 and damaged when Windblade attacked, but got repaired by Topspin using the Zodiac. Bonus Edition Vol. 66 When Grand came to the Legends World to battle Devil Z and BlackZarak using his own gigantic transtector, Fortress tried to stop him as didn't have the training required to control it, but Grand insisted on showing his worth and defeated Devil Z before collapsing. Fortress rushed to his fallen brother, who praised him for his ability to control such a huge body and joked that they would both be needing the Zodiac treatment now. Bonus Edition Vol. EX

Super-God Masterforce manga

When a new and powerful Autobot warrior named Ginrai rose to prominence on Earth, he distinguished himself to the point that Fortress decided to step down as Supreme Commander and appoint Ginrai in his place. The Trainbots brought Ginrai and his Headmaster Junior allies to Athenia, where Fortress formally handed over leadership, then departed to take care of some business on Master. In his absence, the united forces of the Earth- and space-based Decepticons attacked Athenia, but Ginrai was able to repel them. Fortress arrived back just as the Decepticons were pulling out, and announced that the Autobots must pool their resources as their enemies had, uniting their forces on Earth and space to commence the Bomber Project. The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops

Later talking to Metalhawk, Fortress would check on the progress of the project after Chromedome arrived at Earth to assist with it. Headmasters VS Masterforce

Transformers in 3-D

Fortress Maximus served as transport when Ultra Magnus lead a mission to a small asteroid in search of a new source of Energon. The Autobots discovered a small alien, and Lightspeed utilized Maximus's laboratory to determine that the creature turned its food into Energon. A later fracas with the Decepticons resulted in Fortress Maximus getting involved, leading to a fight with Scorponok. The Test

Transformers PD Type

While casually minding his own business one day, Fortress Maximus was suddenly shocked to see a wave of Decepticons led by Galvatron bearing down on him. He immediately transformed into robot mode... but he had completely forgotten that he had been in city mode, leaving all the poor Autobots who had been inside him squished and thinking there had been an earthquake. Bigger Than Life! Fortress Maximus!

Fortress Maximus later met Scorponok in battle, vowing to never surrender. All the other Transformers would probably have preferred that he did surrender, though, since the battle put them all in danger when the two towering titans toppled over, threatening to accidentally crush them all! Watch Out! MegaZarak!

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

A normal-sized Fortress Maximus was a co-leader of the Autobot forces on Cybertron, along with Ultra Magnus. As Cybertron's resources ran low, they struggled to hold the Autobot army together; several of the newly created Micromasters grew increasingly dissatisfied with their lot in life within the Autobot army, and came to question if their larger counterparts were leading them in the right direction. Destined for Nothing The war continued despite their best efforts, and after a fruitless and disastrous skirmish with the Micromaster Skystalker and the Decepticons, Fortress Maximus gave up on the war. He left the Autobot army in order to seek a new path. Victims of the Revolution

A gargantuan Fortress Maximus was also seen in a Matrix-induced vision of future Nebulos by Optimus Prime and Megatron. The War Within #5

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

While imbued with the wisdom of the Matrix, General Hawk had a vision of Fortress Maximus and Sgt. Savage fighting against Iron Klaw and Trypticon. The Art of War #5

TransTech

Binary bonded to Brave and Sgt. Savage as Headmasters, Fortress Maximus was part of the alliance between the Autobots and G.I. Joe Screaming Eagles against the Decepticons and S.K.A.R. A clash between Maximus and Trypticon nearly destroyed Earth's magnetosphere, but ultimately, the Autobots and their human allies won the day. Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/05/01

IDW Generation 1 continuity

United

When the Autobots fell down with a nano-virus, Fortress Maximus was in city mode as part of Autobot City. The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos

Transformers GT: Mission GT-R

What's worse? This pose? Or the fact that it's called the "master Jack Sword"?

In a world where the Transformers' war settled into a series of friendly competitive races known as the Transformers GT, Fortress Maximus took on a race car form and became the GT Transformer known as GT-R Maximus. He was a fair and sportsmanlike racer who boasted the highest strength of all GT Transformers, and though normally averse to combat, he was willing to punish cheaters with his Master Jack Sword. Like other contestants, GT-R Maximus put a limit on his own strength by separating his Matrix into a GT Sister, creating his partner Hiiro.

Comic

GT-R Maximus was racing against GT-R Prime and GT-R Saber, cheered on by Hiiro on the sidelines, when the race was interrupted by the arrival of GT-R Megatron. The intruder announced his intent to crush all racers inferior to him, causing a scuffle, but GT-R Prime talked him down and convinced him to join the race instead. Transformers GT: Mission GT-R

Story pages

Like other racers, GT-R Maximus attended photo shoots alongside Hiiro in order to promote coexistence between humans and Transformers. The Work of the GT Sister Race Queens? When a reincarnated Unicron attacked the Transformers GT finals and absorbed the huge energon pool saved up for the final prize, Maximus threw aside his usual dislike for battle and attacked the villain with his mighty sword. Bringing Down the Sword But Maximus alone wasn't enough to defeat Unicron, so he used the "Matrix In" process to recombine with Hiiro and restore his true strength. Together with the other powered up racers and their GT Sisters, he fought and defeated Unicron, saving Earth. The True TFGT

Story of Transformers GT

GT-R Maximus raced in the 19th Transformers GT in his usual pacifistic manner, refusing Hiiro's requests to prepare the Master Jack Sword and instead relying on his fists when he was forced into combat. His resolve was tested when he heard that GT-R Megatron was using unnecessarily violent methods to get ahead, however, and he ultimately relented and had Hiiro transfer the sword to him so he could teach the brute a lesson. A Biggest Sword! –The Last Resort–

Knights of Unicron

The Ft. Max Forum, located on Earth, was the third venue for the Knights of Unicron on their 2014 "Till All Are One" tour. Knights of Unicron

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

Blackarachnia's corruption of his brain reduced Fortress Maximus to a mindless, energy-starved zombie who wandered Cybertron in a daze. Everybody Hates Metroplex When U.S.7 and the Oktober Guard passed by on a ship, Maximus grabbed it out of the sky and swallowed the occupants whole. Form Follows Function A group of Joes and Autobots infiltrated the giant on a mission to save U.S.7, leading to their discovery and defeat of Blackarachnia and the restoration of Maximus's mind. He subsequently joined the battle against the Decepticons and Cobra, going up against Trypticon who bit his head off only to for the head to transform into Cerebros in his mouth. In spite of the surprise attack this allowed for, the Autobots were defeated and the decapitated body of Fortress Maximus was left where it lay. Everybody Hates Metroplex

Through circumstances unknown, Snake-Eyes bonded with Fortress Maximus through the Master Sword, replacing his original head partner, Galen. He teamed up with Scorponok, in turn controlled by Snake-Eyes's compatriot Scarlett, and together they coerced Metroplex to fight again before marching on the Decepticon position as part of a joint Autobot-Joe army. Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12 During the battle, even Maximus and Scorponok were dwarfed by Megatron's "Mega-Megatron" form, but fortunately they didn't have to fight the giant long before he was broken apart by Shipwreck. The War Never Ends

Kre-O online manga

Fortress was at the newly constructed Autobot base, Metroplex. Two Giant Bases! Everybody Getting Along, Come On, Fight!

Beast Wars: Uprising

Cerebros and Spike Witwicky were turned into Fortress Maximus when the war spread to Nebulos to counter the rise of MegaZarak. But the destructive power of the city-bot brought only more devastation to the planet, and the existence of Maximus and weapons like him was a major reason why the Human Confederacy confined the Transformers and their war to the Allowed Zone. Head Games

When Galvatron threatened the planet Rebirth, Fortress Maximus—now bonded to Daniel Witwicky—returned to duty after the Decepticons deployed the newest incarnation of MegaZarak. When the two clashed for the second time, it was Fortress Maximus who fell. A Brush With Infamy–Prologue

As energy became scarce, Fortress Maximus could no longer move and ground to a halt in robot mode in Tarn, where his frozen, towering form was repurposed as a prison by the Builders of Cybertron. Cerebros himself died at some point, but his consciousness remained active within Maximus through three Cyberdroids, Gran, Kord, and Plasma.

When Cerebros learned of the Terran singularity, bringing back all humans who ever lived and died, he petitioned the Terrans to bring back his Witwicky partners as well. They refused, but instead gave Cerebros the Energon Matrix technology to create a new proto-race of Cybertronians. One of the earliest protoformers birthed was Maxima, known as the first daughter of Fortress Maximus and She Who Sang. Her principles led to the development of a proto-race faction called the Maximals, derived from Autobot teachings and named in part for Fortress Maximus. Head Games The Predacon Manifesto

Lio Convoy's Resistance against the Builders sought to infiltrate Fortress Maximus and free the prisoners within, but their initial attempts were foiled by Cerebros's ability to get into the heads of the intruders and turn them against each other. The third strike team was able to turn the tide by willingly sacrificing Buzzclaw to Cerebros's control and using the mental link to paralyze him, allowing them to kill Kord and Plasma and kidnap Gran, effectively shutting down Maximus. Head Games

Ask Vector Prime

In Primax 1086.0 Kappa, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok were killed by the Nebulans during the Transformers' battle on Nebulos, and their remains were fused together by Mortilus Zarak into a giant robot body. After he binary bonded with the body, however, the faint traces of Maximus's and Scorponok's sparks began affecting his mind and eventually drove him mad, turning him into "Zarak Maximus". Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/11

In some other realities, Fortress Maximus survived the Great War and went on to found the Maximals. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/08

TransTech

During the destructive conflict between the Screaming Eagles and S.K.A.R. in Primax 806.30 Gamma, both sides found themselves binary-bonded to Cybertronian partners. Fortress Maximus formed a partnership with Sgt. Savage through Brave. After a globe-spanning confrontation which almost destroyed Earth, the Autobots and G.I. Joes emerged victorious. Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/05/01

IDW Beast Wars comics

Fortress Maximus was one of the many casualties of the Great War before the signing of the Pax Cybertronia. Dawn of the Predacus

Titans Return marketing material

This is highly unusual.

One of the last Titans in the universe, Titans Return Fortress Maximus online bio the legendary Fortress Maximus had slumbered underneath Cybertron, until the battle for the Titan Masters roused him from his slumber. He awoke just in time to witness Soundwave's attack on Cybertron, frightening the Decepticon communications officer something fierce. Titans Return: The Power of the Titan Masters With a city alt-mode, Fortress Maximus served as the ultimate Autobot weapon and base. Titans Return Fortress Maximus online bio

Prime Wars Trilogy cartoons

Voice actor: Michael Dorn (English), Nolan North (English, screams and grunts)

"I was woken up at 3 in the morning, told I had to put on make-up and come to this town. What the hell is going on?"

The sky is blue and all the leaves are green
The sun's as warm as a baked potato
I think I know precisely what I mean
When I say it's a shpadoinkle day

Fortress Maximus was a Titan constructed during the Great War, and was aided by his Titan Master, Emissary. Once the conflict ceased, he was decommissioned and left dormant. Our Heroes Respond After the conclusion of the Combiner Wars, Windblade experienced a vision of Fortress Maximus, indicating that the Titans had indeed returned. Destruction's Dawn

When Trypticon was reawakened, Perceptor proposed seeking out Fortress Maximus to combat the rogue Titan. At Perceptor's suggestion, the Mistress of Flame sent Computron, Victorion, Devastator, and Menasor to locate and awaken Maximus. Our Heroes Respond The inert Titan was eventually located in a frozen wasteland by the four combiners, and Menasor accidentally fired a missile from one of Maximus's cannons that launched Emissary towards Metroplex. The Fight Begins Computron determined that Fortress Maximus's transformation cog was damaged, rendering him unable to directly join the battle. However, Victorion saw fit to target Maximus' functioning missiles at the saurian giant–with Metroplex expected to be killed in the process as an acceptable casualty of friendly fire–thereby fulfilling her own personal vision of the Combiners saving the galaxy. Overlord and Emissary

The barrage ultimately failed, At the Last Second and the Combiners were distracted by Megatron's arrival, leading to a confrontation that was eventually halted by Windblade and Emissary. After the others had departed, Emissary attempted to link to Fortress Maximus's mind, but was unable to access it. Instead, he initiated a procedure to link Windblade and Maximus via her Cityspeaker abilities. However, the process proved volatile and soon spiraled out of control. Desperate Actions

Windblade communed with Fortress Maximus, begging for his help, though he at first rejected her, having sworn a life of peace. She ultimately managed to convince Maximus, however, and he transformed himself back to robot mode, following Windblade back towards Metroplex City. Run for Our Lives Witnessing Trypticon's fight with Victorion from afar, Fortress Maximus admitted he was unsure he could win, but swore to try anyway for Cybertron's sake. He arrived in Metroplex City just in time to catch Optimus Prime before he could fall into some sharp rubble. In Good Hands He engaged in battle with Trypticon, refusing help from Emissary, and managed to get the upper hand until Trypticon swallowed Victorion and the Enigma of Combination, powering himself up. Between attacks from the powered-up Trypticon and the now mind-controlled Combiners, Maximus found himself at a disadvantage. When Trypticon swallowed Perceptor and the Matrix of Leadership, even he was knocked away by the sudden surge of power it triggered. Consumed

Ultimately, however, the Matrix's power couldn't be controlled by Trypticon, and he released all those he had swallowed, along with Starscream's ghost. Catching Trypticon's deactivated body, Maximus lamented the loss of another Titan, but was interrupted by the return of Megatronus. He and Optimus attempted a sneak attack, but Megatronus effortlessly caught Maximus's Master Sword and tossed him away before killing Optimus. No longer able to bring himself to try attacking again, Maximus could only watch as Megatronus escaped with the Enigma and Matrix in hand. All Things Must Pass He was later severely weakened by the spark-draining power of Megatronus's doomsday weapon. Collision Course Thankfully, he survived and began working under Windblade, who became the Magistrate of Cityspeakers and aided those who communicated with the Titans. Saga's End

Star Trek vs. Transformers

As World War III swept Earth, the Autobots abandoned Earth aboard the Titan Fortress Maximus, using his starship configuration to roam the cosmos in search of energon. Decades passed, and as Maximus passed by Cygnus Seven the Autobots were ambushed by the Decepticons aboard their own Titan, Trypticon; in the ensuing battle, the badly damaged Fortress Maximus crash-landed on the planet's surface, sending everyone aboard—Autobot and Decepticon alike—into stasis. Centuries later, the Federation set up a dilithium mine on the planet, and while surveying a potential mineshaft Federation miners accidentally stumbled on the Titan's inert form, and inadvertently reactivated Fortress Maximus's repair systems in the process.

Unable to distinguish between Autobot and Decepticon, Maximus's autonomous subsystems brought the Decepticons back online, who proceeded to attack the mining colony before the ship could reawaken Prime and the other Autobots. Prime's Directive, Part Two When Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise investigated the distress signal, they discovered Fortress Maximus's resting spot, only to be ambushed by the rest of the Autobots Prime's Directive, Part One before Kirk could convince them of his good intentions. The Decepticons soon got the upper hand by sealing the Autobots in the mine with their new allies, and so Ratchet hatched a risky plan to bring Fortress Maximus back online. Prime's Directive, Part Two

So do Gasket and Grommet turn into Enterprise shuttles now, or...?

To bring the Titan back online, Ratchet rigged up a device that would access Kirk's memories through Fortress Maximus. Using scans of the Enterprise, plucked from Kirk's brain, Ratchet was able to bring their living ship back to full functionality by rebuilding Fortress Maximus into a copy of the Enterprise. Shortly after coming back online, Fortress Maximus burst from the ground to take on the Decepticons and their new Klingon allies; now fully under Kirk's mental control, the Starfleet captain was able to blast Trypticon with the ship's inbuilt phasers before beaming Arcee and Kuri's Federation prisoners to safety. To take on the gigantic Decepticon, Kirk was able to transform the Titan into his new robot mode, their shared mind declaring themselves "Fortress Tiberious." Prime's Directive, Part Three

Commercial appearances

• Fortress Maximus grappled with Scorponok on Nebulon while other Headmasters and Targetmasters scuffled at their feet. With a show of prodigious strength, Fortress Maximus picked up Scorponok by his tail and tossed his opponent about like a ragdoll. Headmaster comic book commercial
• When the Terrorcons threatened to attack Fortress Maximus, the Technobots sprung up to oppose them. Technobots and Terrorcons commercial
• The Terrorcons attacked Fortress Maximus once more; this time, the massive Autobot warded off their attack on his own by blasting them with his battle station mode. The Terrorcons regrouped and combined into Abominus to tare away at Fortress Maximus's armament. Little did they know that Fortress Maximus could still transform into a robot that dwarfed even the mighty combiner! Fortress Maximus commercial

Games

Transformers: The Headmasters

When the Decepticons struck out at four planets, including Cybertron and Earth, Fortress Maximus was joined by Rodimus Prime and the Headmasters of Justice to save the final planet from Scorponok. Transformers: The Headmasters

Transformers Legends

Although Fortress Maximus was not included in a storyline for the Transformers Legends game, he was featured as a playable character.

Signature Series

Notes

DAAAAAAAAAAAANG, that boy must eat his veggies.

File:FortMaxsize2.jpg

• "Fortress Maximus" was an early name for the characters that eventually became Omega Supreme and Metroplex. The Marvel comic adaptation of the 1986 movie even refers to Autobot City as "Fortress Maximus" in a caption.
• Fortress Maximus was the first toy to be released with a bona-fide Earthling figure. All of the other Headmasters' companions were from Nebulos. (Although Maximus's on-package bio refers to "the Nebulan leader, Spike", the general consensus is that it was supposed to be the popular figure from TV and other media, who is almost certainly an Earthling.)
• Both Scorponok and Fortress Maximus suffer from the writers struggling to reconcile the characters' high rank with their size. In their comic appearances, they are portrayed as commanders in some capacity but are shrunk down to interact with other Transformers, and their city modes pretty much don't exist. Conversely, the cartoons have opted to portray them as giant city Transformers, though they seem to be merely extensions of the smaller beings that bond with them, with no real life or will of their own.
  • According to Japanese media, Fortress Maximus is much larger than Metroplex. According to the Headmaster scale infographic to the right and assuming the standard 16 meter (~53') height of combiners in the animated continuities, Metroplex would stand about 50 meters (~164') compared to Fortress Maximus standing roughly 150 meters (~492') tall. According to the 1997 issue of "The Super Robots Chronicles" Fortress Maximus is a gigantic 3 kilometers or 3,000 meters (~9,843') tall, compared with the 800 meter (~2,625') height of Metroplex according to Comic Bom Bom and Hobby Japan.

Once you rip it off, it can never stay on again.

• Fortress Maximus appeared in an unusual red-accented color scheme on the cover of Marvel's Headmasters #1. This color scheme was repeated in the corner box for Headmasters #3 and on the cover of The Transformers #51. Its origin is unknown, though it may be related to the tan with red accents hard copy Takara possessed.
• The Battleship Maximus bears a slight resemblance to the White Base, a battleship from the Gundam franchise.
• When Spike transforms to join Fortress Maximus for the last time in the Generation 2 book, Cerebros is not shown, and Spike transforms directly into Fortress Maximus's head. Maximus is shown to be no larger than Megatron. In real-life terms, it's an obvious series of art errors; in the context of the story, one might wonder if Maximus was reduced back to his original, smaller, size. It seems improbable, considering that Spike had been retired for years by that point.
• Fortress Maximus has the distinction of having one of the most well known Transformers knockoffs in existence. While Cerebros has been omitted, the Spike figure is the same, and the body has been scaled down to match, effectively making the body compatible with any other Headmaster head. It also fetches absurd prices for a knockoff.
• Like most comic-only Kreons, Fortress is made up of existing Kre-O parts, namely the Hound helmet and the sword first used by Torox and Headlock (in reference to the Master Sword used by the original Fortress).
• An early prototype for Fortress Maximus's toy featured, among other things, waist-guns that pushed straight out on levers instead of swinging out on an axis. This appears to have formed the basis for his character model's waist-guns, which feature red circles rather than hinges.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Cerebros (セレブロス Sereburosu), Fortress (フォートレス Fōtoresu), Fortress Maximus (フォートレスマキシマス Fōtoresu Makishimasu)
• English: Spaceship Bruce (spaceship mode, Omni Productions dub), Cerebros (Fortress, Shout! Factory sub)
• French: Forteresse Maximus (Canada)
• Mandarin: Fút^hè Chǜ-jén (Taiwan, 福特巨人, "Fort Giant"), Jùwúbà Fútè (China, 巨无霸福特, "Extremely Gigantic Fort"), Furmon (Taiwan, 福蒙 Fú Móng), Fortry (Taiwan Omni Productions dub, 福崔 Fú Tsuēi)
• Russian: Krepysh Maximus (Крепыш Максимус Krepysh Maksimus, "Sturdy Fellow Maximus")
• Ukrainian: Fortetsya Maxima (Фортеця Максима Fortetsya Maksyma, "Fortress Maxima")