Ultra Magnus (Animated)

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

Ultra Magnus is an Autobot from the Transformers Animated continuity family.

He can deal with you. He'd just rather not.

Wise, powerful, and utterly committed to keeping the peace of Cybertron at any cost, Ultra Magnus is the Supreme Commander of the Autobots and the leader of the Cybertron Elite Guard. A veteran of the Great War, Magnus is exceptionally straightforward in his dealings on every level. He makes no bones about some of the questionable projects he's enacted in order to counter the threat of the more heavily-armed Decepticons, and doles out both praise and admonishments to his subordinates without hesitation. Magnus may not be the most likable bot around, but he is completely honest at every level.

Magnus is no slouch when it comes to combat, either. When he needs to enter the fray, his colossal "Magnus Hammer" Stormbringer can call down devastating lightning from the sky.

Whoa... now I get why they call you "Ultra" Magnus.Bumblebee is impressed, "The Elite Guard"

Fiction

Animated cartoon

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

Voice actor: Jeff Glen Bennett (English), Gerald Paradies (German)

During the Great War, an Autobot intelligence agent named Arcee was in danger of falling into Decepticon hands. Ultra Magnus sent Ratchet to recover her so the access codes she held in her data banks couldn't be used to deal a devastating blow to the Autobots. He specifically ordered Ratchet to bring Arcee back in one piece, but due to a run-in with Lockdown, her memory was erased by Ratchet's EMP generator. The Thrill of the Hunt

Desperate for the access codes she'd been carrying, Magnus had Ratchet perform open-processor surgery on her. When Ratchet's proximity triggered a failsafe data transfer, Magnus assigned the medic to take her place as the activator/mentor to the Autobots' ultimate weapon: Project Omega. TransWarped

Long after the end of the war, an Autobot Academy washout named Optimus Prime attempted to contact Magnus to report that 1) he and his maintenance ship crew had discovered the legendary AllSpark, and 2) they were now being pursued by Decepticons. Though nearly denied by Sentinel Prime, Optimus Prime got patched through to Ultra Magnus to report on the discovery. Magnus still didn't believe the Decepticons would pose much of a threat, but agreed to dispatch some ships to escort Optimus' ship. He warned Prime not to pull any heroics, as it wasn't in Prime's programming.

This, of course, would all go out the window once it was discovered that the Decepticons in pursuit were in Megatron's flagship, at which point the Autobots decided that they should book it. Transform and Roll Out!

Airport management, the FAA and the airlines—they're all cheats and liars. All right, let's get outta here.

Eventually, Ultra Magnus located Earth with Sentinel Prime and Jazz. Upon landing on Earth, Magnus seemed to trust Sentinel's judgment regarding the planet. This might well have been because the big blue lug wouldn't let anyone else get a word in edgewise. Hearing that the AllSpark had been supposedly destroyed, Magnus announced that he intended to take these charges very seriously and investigate. Adopting the vehicle mode suggested by his subordinate, the Autobot Supreme Commander proceeded to drive around downtown Detroit as a massive military vehicle. Smooth.

Not just heavy duty. Ultra heavy duty.

However, once he was led to Dinobot Island, he had to bail out that same subordinate, who had angered the Dinobots. After a distress call from Sumdac Systems was answered, he turned the tide in a battle against malfunctioning police drones. As Optimus Prime acted bravely, loyally, and with sound tactical judgment during that incident, he commended the wayward Academy bot, simultaneously putting Sentinel in his place, much to Sentinel's chagrin. Seeing evidence that the AllSpark indeed still existed scattered about the city, he settled in for the long haul. The Elite Guard

Ultra Magnus was unable to come to the press meeting, so Sentinel Prime went in his place. Supreme Commander Magnus wanted a report about the reported Decepticon activity, and about Sentinel "losing [his] head". Optimus covered for Sentinel, stretching the truth in front of him. Magnus left to report to Cybertron Command on "a matter of great importance". The Return of the Headmaster

Upon his return, Magnus received a report from Ironhide that there was an increased amount of Decepticon activity at the galaxy's rim, particularly targeting space bridges. Ironhide was unable to report further, as the Decepticon attack destroyed the transmitter. Since Magnus had still not seen any evidence of Decepticon activity on Earth, he reasoned that resources were better dedicated to the defense of Cybertron and its colonies, and thus ordered Optimus and his crew to prepare for departure.

Taking Optimus Prime aside, he expressed concern that should the general population come to believe that Megatron was still alive, it would incite a panic and embolden the Decepticons. Optimus objected, but Magnus felt that easing the concerns of the civilians was their duty to Cybertron. Optimus continued to drag his heels until Magnus was alerted to AllSpark activity on a commuter train. Ordering Sentinel to remain behind to keep an eye on Optimus, he left with Jazz to investigate.

After his hammer proved insufficient to dislodge the AllSpark shard, he was ultimately saved by the insubordinate Optimus and his crew, particularly the intervention of the little organic with the Key. Optimus insisted that the whole event was a Decepticon trap, just as Sentinel Prime arrived with charges of assaulting a fellow officer. Finally having enough of the insubordinate repairbot, Magnus was about to give Optimus Prime a serious reprimand—right when evidence of Decepticon activity quite literally fell into his lap as Starscream was knocked from the sky. As Starscream rebooted, Magnus ordered his subordinates to stay back while he dealt with Starscream, only to be blasted away by the flying traitor. Magnus was repaired by Ratchet and Sari while the remainder of the Autobots brought Starscream into custody. Once all was said and done, Magnus apologized for doubting Optimus Prime's claims of Decepticon activity, and again praised Optimus's decision-making skills and scolded Sentinel for insisting that things be "by the book". He also decided that while he was needed to direct the war effort on Cybertron, the Decepticons on Earth had to be dealt with as well. Therefore, Ultra Magnus and the Elite Guard left for Cybertron, while Optimus Prime's crew remained on Earth to locate the AllSpark shards and capture the Decepticons. Mission Accomplished

Ultra Magnus later witnessed Starscream's escape from his ship and contacted Optimus Prime to inform him of the breakout. A Fistful of Energon

Ultra Magnus contacted the Earth Autobots to inform them that a convicted traitor named Wasp had escaped from prison. After finding out Bumblebee had some history with him, Magnus requested he keep an optic out, on the off chance the traitor showed up on Earth. Autoboot Camp

In the wake of Megatron's return, Magnus found himself faced with ever-mounting attacks by Decepticons on space bridge outposts all over the galactic rim. As a security measure, he ordered the entire space bridge nexus on Cybertron shut down, much to the consternation of Intel Chief Longarm Prime. He then convened a meeting of the Autobot High Council, at which he announced that the level of coordination in the Decepticon uprisings indicated an inside source, a Decepticon double agent on Cyberton. Longarm Prime was quick to assert that the agent in question was Wasp, as the Decepticon activity had occurred following the fugitive's escape. Magnus assigned Sentinel Prime and Jazz to assemble an Elite Guard unit to track down Wasp, then ordered that they contact Optimus Prime, as the Earth Autobots had been out of touch for decacycles. He was a bit nonplussed at Longarm Prime's insistence that all communications with Earth be filtered through Longarm himself first—for security reasons. TransWarped

Despite Longarm's request, Magnus ordered Jazz and Sentinel Prime to pursue Wasp to Earth without letting Longarm know, lest word of the pursuit somehow reach Wasp and give him warning. Unfortunately, Magnus was preparing against the wrong traitor. Caught off-guard by a desperate Shockwave, Magnus was left heavily damaged and bereft of his hammer, barely able to tell Ironhide who was responsible. Where Is Thy Sting?

Toys

Transformers Animated

Too... awesome... should've sent... a poet...

• Ultra Magnus (Leader, 2008)
  • Accessories: Hammer

Having broken free of his forefathers' reliance on redecos, Ultra Magnus transforms into an 8-wheeled Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, and if his twelve guns aren't quite enough, he wields a giant hammer with which to... hammer things. He can simply grip it in his hand or one can attach it by inserting the tab on the handle into the slot in his palm. Pressing the red switch on the side of the vehicle mode activates laser sound effects and causes his guns to light up yellow. Rotating his shoulders down or up activates transformation noises. In robot mode, pressing his Autobot symbol will make his mouth move, and he will say one of three phrases: "Don't be a hero, Optimus. It's not in your programming," "Ultra Magnus here," and "We must return the Allspark to Cybertron." Unlike his fellow speaking Animated toys, however, he is not voiced by Magnus's in-show actor Jeff Glen Bennett—although somewhat ironically, whoever is providing the toy's voice actually does a better Robert Stack impression than Bennett does. His guns can be hidden in both modes for show-accuracy, or deployed for Blowing-Everything-Up-accuracy. And to make it even better, he's compatible with the Headmaster accessory!

Unfortunately, there are reports of problems with the sounds on several units. Some have partial sounds or no sounds at all, while others have overly sensitive sensors for the shoulder joints, leading to transformation sounds every time you move the arms. Also, an inordinate number of units suffer from notably poor quality control of the face's paint applications. (At least this can be checked before you buy, since the toy is packaged in robot mode.)

This version has yet to be released in the UK, seemingly passed over in favour of the Roadbuster variant below with no explanation from Hasbro.

• More information on Ultra Magnus at TFU.info

Finish the fight.

• Roadbuster Ultra Magnus (Leader)
  • Accessories: Hammer

Part of the fourth wave of Animated Ultras, Magnus gains a new coloration based on the Generation 1 character Roadbuster (hence the name). He retains all of his previous gimmickry and sound effects from the original release.

Trivia

• In voicing Magnus, Jeff Glen Bennett seems to be channeling Robert Stack, who voiced the original Ultra Magnus in The Transformers: The Movie.

• He actually isn't the first full-sized Ultra Magnus not to be an Optimus Prime redeco, though he's the first one in about 7 years.

• In Animated continuity, "Magnus" is a rank. It is unknown what Ultra Magnus's name was before he reached said rank. The ranking schema established in "Autoboot Camp" suggests that Ultra Magnus may at one point have been "Ultra Prime", "Ultra Minor", and before those, simply "Ultra". Since we know little of his past, we cannot yet say which of these levels he may have actually achieved. However, in "The Elite Guard", Bumblebee suggests that, until a certain point, he was unsure why "Ultra" had been part of Ultra Magnus's name, only understanding it after witnessing a display of heavy firepower. This is in keeping with Autobots receiving their names in boot camp.