Fortress Maximus (G1)
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| 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 is an Autobot Headmaster and occasional city-bot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
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.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Fortress Maximus was an architect in his early career, designing and even constructing many works on Cybertron. When the war came, he reluctantly turned his talents to fighting. Transformers Universe profile
During the long absence of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and their respective troops from Cybertron, unit commander Fortress Maximus established a headquarters in the Manganese Mountains and continued the fight against Scorponok's Decepticon contingent.
One fine day on Cybertron, Fortress Maximus's troops staged an ambush on Scorponok's Decepticons, who had just leveled an Autobot city and were marching their prisoners toward the smelting pools. Maximus's troops cut a swath through the Decepticon ranks, quickly driving them into retreat.
| “ | Whether I am a hero or a coward is not the issue! I am weary! My joints creak from the corrosion of war without end! I... cannot break this ring of hate that surrounds us all -- but I can remove myself from it. No matter what you decide... I am leaving. | ” |
—Fortress Maximus announces his decision to quit the war, "Ring of Hate!" | ||
Though his troops were jubilant at their victory, the battle was the last straw for Fortress Maximus. He had become so sick of the war that he decided to leave it. He didn't care if it made him a coward or not, he simply believed that the war would go on regardless of whether or not he was in it. Maximus declared that no matter what the others decided, he was leaving for the planet of Nebulos, a world he had long studied and which seemed to be at peace. His stunned troops agreed, and together constructed a starship dubbed the Steelhaven to propel them across the void.
Fortress Maximus immediately sent Highbrow as an messenger to the Nebulan natives; however, an accident made it appear that the giant robots from outer space came with hostile intent. Some of the more reactionary elements among the Nebulan leadership conspired to make Fortress Maximus's envoy Blurr also appear to have hostile intent, and thus were able to incite their fellow Nebulans to arms.
Fortress Maximus and his troops thus found themselves under a full attack from the Nebulans. Max ordered his troops to not fight back, despite complaints from the likes of Kup, and covered them as they retreated into the woods.
Faced with a newly hostile enemy, Fortress Maximus resolved to wage peace, not war. Gathering ten of his followers, he marched up to the Nebulan capital of Koraja, begged to be heard out, and had his group discard their weapons. When that didn't work, he did the next logical thing and pulled his head off. Four other Autobots also resorted to this grotesque stunt before Galen, head of the Nebulan World Watchers, was convinced they weren't a threat. Ring of Hate!
The five Autobots' heads were stored in a warehouse, and Galen occasionally consulted with Fortress Maximus, keeping him up to date on outside events as anti-robot protests rocked the capital city.
Soon after, a horde of the Autobots' Decepticon foes appeared before the city gates. Max advised Galen that turning the Autobots over to Scorponok would not prevent him from attacking, and under the Autobot-Nebulan peace agreement, Galen could not simply restore the five Autobots to their bodies. But together with Arcana, the pair came up with another plan. Five volunteer Nebulans were bio-engineered to combine with special armor, and transform into likenesses of the Autobots heads, connecting with and controlling them through the Headmaster process. Galen himself became Fortress Maximus's new partner. Fortress Maximus led his newly enhanced troops against Scorponok, and soundly defeated his numerically superior squad. Broken Glass!
Fortress Maximus remained inert while Galen performed his various duties. He came back online to lead the Headmasters to the Grax Communications Facility, where a number of Nebulan leaders were apparently being held hostage by the Decepticons. It turned out to be a trap, however, as the Decepticons had also become Headmasters, with Galen's rival Zarak now bonded to Scorponok himself. Using several Nebulans as a distraction, Scorponok's troops overpowered Fortress Maximus and the others, taking them hostage. Love and Steel!
Max remained out of commission until Zarak, briefly overcoming Scorponok's influence on his mind, freed Galen and the other Autobot-allied Nebulans. Fortress Maximus and company smashed their way out of the holding facility, then ran straight into the newly formed Decepticon Targetmasters. Max briefly led his troops against the Decepticons, but opted to retreat rather than fight it out. To spare Koraja the carnage of a full-scale fight to the finish, he covered their retreat with the time-honored technique of smashing his enemies with Koraja's metal sculpture of the planet Nebulos. Brothers in Armor!!
Scorponok and Zarak challenged Fortress Maximus and Galen (here called "Kord") to a duel to settle their differences. Kord/Maximus won by cheating, but it didn't matter because the duel was a ruse to distract the Autobots while Slugslinger stole Autobot fuel converters. The Deceptions had bugged the Autobot base and learned of Earth. They needed the converters to travel there. The Decepticons left for Earth and the Autobots followed. The Final Conflict
Returning to the Autobot camp, Max/Galen decided to lead the troops away from Nebulos, knowing that Scorponok would follow. Brothers in Armor!!
During their voyage to Earth, Fortress Maximus underwent a radical reconstruction to alter his size considerably, increasing himself from a slightly tall dude to a very tall dude, about twice the height of the average Transformer. Of course, with his larger scale, Fortress Maximus needed a new head (Galen still being stuck at roughly human size). For this reason, another Autobot, Cerebros, was added to serve as a secondary stage between Galen and Maximus. As the head of Cerebros, Galen could transform Cerebros into the larger head of Fortress Maximus.
Arriving on Earth, Fortress Maximus led his fellow Headmasters to Mount St. Hilary, source of the Autobot distress call that had drawn them to Earth. After recovering the damaged Goldbug, the group encountered Spike, who had come in search of his missing younger brother Buster Witwicky. Spike asked for the Autobots' help in finding his brother, but Fortress Maximus was more interested in their primary mission of locating the Autobots of Earth, and he led his troops off to follow the fuel trail of the missing Ark.
Scorponok's crew soon followed Maximus to Earth, however, and to the same cave. When Spike replayed Goldbug's distress message, Fortress Maximus and company returned to the cave, apologizing to Spike for his failure to consider the danger he had brought to Earth's natives by leading the Decepticons there.
In the ensuing battle, Spike retreated further into the volcano's caves to seek shelter. Scorponok followed, seeking a hostage, and Fortress Maximus pursued him. As the caves narrowed down, Maximus was forced to send Cerebros onward, and eventually Galen himself had to leave Cerebros to cross a fragile rock bridge. Scorponok used the distraction to blast rocks down on Galen, killing him. As the Decepticon leader left, laughing, Galen passed on his control helmet to Spike, allowing the Earthling to assume control of Fortress Maximus and drive the Decepticons off. Trial by Fire!
Spike soon underwent the full binary bonding process and became the leader of the Steelhaven's crew of Autobots. With his new partner, Fortress Maximus led the Autobot Targetmasters in an effort to locate Buster, first visiting his father at a shady motel, then heading to a spot in the tropics where the Decepticons had set up an island base.
With Kup worried about the inexperience of Fortress Maximus's new partner, Max held back while the Targetmasters landed on the island. They were driven back by automated defenses, however, and the island revealed itself to be a rocket ship, launching into the atmosphere with Buster still aboard. Maximus resolved to take matters into his own hands, and took off after the rocket (who knew he could fly?) Unfortunately, once in space, the ship's defenses made shishkabob out of him, forcing Spike to resort to using Cerebros instead. Cerebros was likewise trashed by an attack from Shockwave, though Spike was able to use Maximus's guns to send Shockwave falling to his apparent demise. Maximus and his partners were subsequently rescued by the Targetmasters, and for his gusto, Spike was welcomed as the group's new leader. The Desert Island of Space!
As Fortress Maximus underwent repairs, his crew caught wind of a floppy disk in possession of one Ethan Zachary, which contained the memories and personality of Optimus Prime. With the aid of a computer-generated version of Prime, Fortress Maximus gathered a lot of data from Scorponok's Pretender experiments and gave that ability to some of his own crew. Pretender to the Throne!
With the disk in their possession, Fortress Maximus oversaw efforts to build a new body for Optimus Prime's mind. However, the Steelhaven's resources were depleted after creating the Pretenders, causing the effort to fail explosively. Thus when Hot Rod located the Ark nearby, Fortress Maximus was eager to contact its Autobots and forge an alliance.
Unfortunately, Grimlock developed an immediate dislike for Fortress Maximus, partially because he was a possible threat to Grimlock's leadership, partially because he was part human, and partially because he had a fugitive (Goldbug). He challenged "Fruitloop Multipuck" to a duel for leadership on the moon. Faced with the prospect of a divided Autobot force, Fortress Maximus agreed, though his unhealed injuries made victory an unlikely prospect. Luckily for Max, the imprisoned Blaster agreed to fill in for him.
Ratbat led a Decepticon assault on the Autobots during the duel. While fighting off the attackers, Fortress Maximus ordered Goldbug, Joyride, Getaway, and Slapdash to take the disk to Nebulos to restore Optimus Prime. Totaled!
With Optimus Prime restored, Maximus accepted a subordinate role in the Autobot ranks. He was among those Autobots present as Optimus Prime briefed the troops about the threat of the time-displaced Galvatron. When Optimus and five other Autobots spontaneously and explosively vanished into thin air, only to be replaced by six Transformers claiming to be Autobots from the future, Fortress Maximus immediately assumed command, freaked out, and ordered his troops to destroy the "imposters". (Apparently, his memory was a little rusty, since said "imposters" included his own present-day troops Kup and Blurr.) Maximus sparred with Rodimus Prime until the words of Goldbug, as well as a Matrix-linked Optimus Prime, convinced him that Rodimus was telling the truth when he claimed to be a future Autobot leader. Maximus participated in the subsequent battle against Megatron and Galvatron; he attacked Megatron alongside Grimlock and Swoop, but was quickly put down by the battle-crazed Decepticon. Time Wars
Fortress Maximus provided a floating search platform for Optimus and Blaster as they searched the ocean for the Decepticons' Club Con base. Spike expressed frustration that they still had not located his brother, though Optimus vowed to keep searching. Cold War!
Fortress Maximus was among the many Autobots who responded to an Autobot emergency signal in the Arctic... which turned out to be sent by none other than Buster Witwicky, who was dying of hypothermia. Maximus took his human sibling into a special thermal compartment, restoring his body temperature to normal.
When the Decepticons attacked soon after, Maximus came under attack from the Horrorcons, followed by Ratbat, who clung to him tenaciously and eventually caused Buster to spill out of the warming compartment. This turned out to be a lucky break, as Buster reminded Ratbat that the battle was nothing but a ruse engineered by Starscream. Ratbat and Maximus together called for all the combatants to lay down their arms.
After Starscream seized the power of the Underbase, Fortress Maximus and Soundwave led a team to Buenos Aires to try and stop him. As their troops fell en masse, Maximus attacked Starscream, only to receive a debilitating energy blast in return. His organic component, however, allowed him to survive the first attack. Omega Supreme intervened just then, preventing Maximus from being crushed by a monument hurled by Starscream. Starscream disposed of Omega, and was on the verge of finishing off Maximus, when he was lured away by a radio signal from Buster aboard the Ark. Dark Star
With Buster rescued and the threat of Starscream removed, Spike and Fortress Maximus's tumultuous relationship came to light. Feeling his work with the Autobots was done, Spike tried to go his own way and resume his life, going so far as to pitch his control helmet into a junkyard, but his binary bond could not be left behind so easily. Strange nightmares plagued him, visions of falling into a void. Nor would the Decepticons relent; while on a skiing expedition, he found himself hunted by Carnivac and Snarler. Turning inwards, he found his link to Fortress Maximus remained even without the control helmet and that he could summon the giant warrior from afar. Max left his storage space aboard the Ark and descended to Earth. Despite Carnivac's dirty fighting, Fortress Maximus easily disposed of the two attackers and their Pretender shells, once he and Spike physically recombined. With the battle over, Spike sent Fortress Maximus back to the Ark. The Man in the Machine!
Despite Spike's reconciliation, Fortress Maximus was subsequently out of action for many months or even years. He was still stored aboard the Ark just before the great battle with Unicron, when Grimlock and his Dinobots had returned from Hydrus Four. They had come looking for the rest of the Autobots, but the Ark's scanners were only picking up one Transformer. Weirder still, this Transformer was in two parts! The Void!
After Unicron was defeated, the Ark plummeted to Earth and crashed in the northern tundra of Canada. When Galvatron emerged from the wreckage to wreak havoc, it fell to Fortress Maximus to stop him. He called to Spike, who came. He and Spike went through some mental wrangling before Max convinced Spike to reunite with him once more. Anxious and desperate after so long out of the war, Maximus immediately suppressed his hesitating partner and took full control upon regaining his head. This proved not to be such a wise idea. Fortress Maximus alone wasn't quite ready to deal with the totally insane Galvatron, who started smashing and biting(!) him to pieces. Realizing the power of their combined strength, Spike and Fortress Maximus managed to unite in thought and deed, and defeated the crazed Decepticon. Fortress Maximus stood alone at the battle's end, the last Autobot, guardian of Earth. The Last Autobot?
Marvel Generation 2 comic
It was ultimately Megatron who would prove to be the undoing of this giant warrior. The reborn and reconditioned Decepticon leader stole the Ark from its crash site in Canada, and used it as his personal flagship. Realignments While establishing control over the ship, Megatron found and disabled Fortress Maximus's dormant form. Spike sneaked aboard the ship and rejoined with Maximus, but the damage inflicted by Megatron meant they had virtually no chance to win.
Brutally beaten in combat with an upgraded and super-charged Megatron, the pair dragged themselves to the heart of the ship and threw themselves into the anti-matter containment unit at the core of its power supply, killing them both and causing the Ark to explode. All or Nothing!
Though it kept the Ark out of Megatron's hands, and nearly derailed his plans entirely, their effort was ultimately not successful: Megatron escaped aboard a shuttle and lived to fight again, and even had time to take the convalescent Starscream with him. New Dawn Devices and Desires!
Classics
Decades later, in 2012 Fortress Maximus was stationed in South America. Due to the actions of an evil Ultra Magnus from another dimension, a rift of space time opened over Earth, causing catastrophes worldwide. Cerebros, merged with Spike, gathered civilians inside Fortress Maximus for safety. Invasion
Regeneration One
After the crash of the Ark in Canada, Fortress Maximus kept out unwanted visitors for at least two years. At some point Spike Witwicky wanted to live his life and intruders were able to get aboard the crashed ship and re-awaken Megatron. Loose Ends, Part 3 Despite Megatron's resurrection, and his army of lobotomized soldiers, Spike was not willing to bond with Fortress Maximus again, despite his brother Buster's pleas. It took the death of Buster and his wife Jesse to finally spur Spike into action and recombine with Maximus. Less Than Zero Circa 1994, Fortress Maximus battled Megatron and died, which crippled Spike's voluntary nervous system in the process. Spike was recovered by G.B. Blackrock, who rebuilt his body using tech from a former employee and returned him to life as "Circuit Smasher". Loose Ends, Part 3
However, this was not the end of Max's story (although he may have been better off if it had been). His old foe Scorponok, had been reawakened by an old ghost program left by Lord Zarak, which was set to deactivate Scorponok's original head if anyone ever tried to decrypt his database. Scorponok took control of the Nebulan's minds and had them build him a new body, using knowledge he had to perfect the previously incomplete process. Natural Selection, Part One
After Scorponok was disposed of Fortress Maximus was the only Autobot Headmaster who hadn't been reactivated and reeducated by Scorponok to serve in his army, and the newly freed Nebulans, with the help of the Autobots, began constructing a new body for him. However, unknown to anyone, a portion of Dark Matrix energy found Maximus's head being kept in stasis, and entered, making Maximus its new host. The War to End All Wars, Part 1 Unaware of the hitchhiker in Max's head, the Nebulans proceeded to reattach Max's head to his finished body. However, upon reconnection, Max began screaming in pain, not unlike the other Headmasters had during the Nebulan's first failed attempts, causing alarm among everyone watching. Maximus suddenly fell silent, the only sign of life in him a faint glimmer of darkness in his eye. The War to End All Wars, Part 2
Having fallen completely under the control of the Matrix, Maximus broke out of the laboratory he was being held in, and took a space bridge to Earth, where he proceeded to gun down, then beat, Optimus Prime before taking his old partner Spike, and taking his leave back through the space bridge, but not before declaring that through Spike: "One will become all" The War to End All Wars, Part 3 and took Spike to Zero Space for an audience with the Dark Matrix entity. The War to End All Wars, Part 4
He was then dispatched by the Matrix Entity to deal with any remaining Autobots. Maximus arrived on Nebulos in time to watch Ultra Magnus dispatch Galvatron. As Maximus prepared to kill Magnus, he was ambushed by the Wreckers and Linda Chang's forces. Together, the Autobots and humans were forced to kill Fortress Maximus, releasing him from the Dark Matrix's control, and giving him the peace he had always longed for throughout the war. The War to End All Wars, Part 5
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
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Ikuya Sawaki (Japanese), Simon Broad (English)
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
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
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
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. 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 #4 The War Within #5
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity
While imbued with the wisdom of the Matrix, Hawk had a vision of Fortress Maximus and Sgt. Savage fighting against Iron Klaw and Trypticon. The Art of War #5
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Fortress Maximus is referred to as 'warborn', presumably meaning he came online during the war. Much less pacifistic than in other universal streams, he's well-known among the rank-and-file for having killed a substantial amount of Decepticons at Simanzi. Interiors
Fortress Maximus became the hard-edged warden in charge of Garrus-9, an Autobot-run penitentiary where both Autobot and Decepticon prisoners were kept in containment. As the ultimate imprisonment, most inmates were reduced down to their spark and laser core alone, held inanimate in a storage center known as "The Rig" until such a time as Fortress Maximus deemed to rebuild and release them, if ever. Astoundingly, this method was deemed too "merciful" for at least one prisoner.
Fortress Maximus was one of many Autobots across the galaxy who watched a news report heralding the miraculous return of Blaster. Spotlight: Blaster
After Optimus Prime encountered the Monstructor gestalt on Omega Supreme's asteroid bunker, he sent them to Garrus-9 with Jetfire and the Technobots, hoping the science team could help the six recover from Jhiaxus's experimentations. Fortress Maximus was dubious of the possible results, but allowed Jetfire and his team to run their tests at Garrus-9. Things changed for the worse, however, once word of the gestalt technology got out, and agents of the Decepticon Secret Service came to claim the remarkable new tech for themselves. Faced with an incredible amount of orbital bombardment and ground warfare, Fortress Maximus and his defensive crew were at serious risk of being overrun.
In order to maintain control of his base, Max reactivated the only Autobot inmate classified as Threat Level-9: Arcee. Knowing Arcee had strong feelings about Jhiaxus and his work from personal experience, Fortress Maximus felt confident she would do anything to prevent the Decepticons from laying claim to the "Monstructor Six." In case he was wrong, though, Fortress Maximus made it clear to Arcee she was lowjacked with synchronized G-forces that would crush her spark if she stepped out of line. Despite Arcee's help, the Combaticons still managed to make off with the gestalt robots. Against his better judgment, Fortress Maximus allowed Jetfire to convince him that Arcee was the best available to track and intercept the Secret Service ships and retrieve or destroy the gestalt robots. Spotlight: Arcee
When Optimus Prime and Prowl met with Fortress Maximus and Jetfire on Garrus-9 to discuss the prisoners' breakout, also mentioned was that a surviving Decepticon had been tortured. Maximus and Jetfire exchanged guilty glances. Prime left Maximus in charge and returned with Prowl and Jetfire to the Ark-32. Spotlight: Cyclonus
With the death of Nightbeat, Nemesis Prime was forced to enter the living universe and confront Optimus Prime at Garrus-9. Fortress Maximus and the other Autobots were hunkered down in The Last Resort, the best-defended, highest-security section of the penitentiary, and he believed that not even a Cortynivian shadow worm could get in. He was wrong, as Nemesis effortlessly forced his way in, killed Manta Ray and Drench and shrugged off all Autobot weapons fire. Maximus called in reinforcements until Optimus convinced him that conventional tactics would not work with the undead Prime and went to deal with Nemesis Prime himself. Spotlight: Doubledealer
Fortress then assisted the Autobots on Earth, fighting against Straxus and Grindcore. Spotlight: Sideswipe
During Megatron's massive push against the Autobots, an annoyed Maximus led the defense of the prison against the Predator forces. However, when the sociopathic Overlord took control of the Decepticon forces, the prison was overrun and Fortress Maximus beaten down by the monster. And then, to keep the liberated prisoners on his side, Overlord tossed them their former warden to have some fun... so long as they kept him alive. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
The inmates apparently followed Overlord's instructions, as Fortress Maximus survived...only to be put through brutal torture by the Phase Sixer. During one particularly brutal session (in which he lost one leg and the rest of him was nailed to a table and Overlord threatened to torture and murder a guard for every moment of hesitation), Overlord interrogated him to gain access to the Aequitas chamber. Maximus said Overlord had no idea what Aequitas even was, only for the Decepticon to explain he had no interest in the 'judgement machine', and wanted what was Aequitas was built over. He then continued sawing the warden apart according to footage Rewind possessed.Interiors
Half of the Wreckers eventually came across Maximus's barely-alive body. Rendered comatose and with his optics and limbs removed, he had been plugged into the lock of the door to Aequitas's chamber, and put to use entering in code after code in a Decepticon attempt to break in. Perceptor removed Maximus's connection to the lock, then Topspin and Pyro pulled his body from the door to carry him. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3
When the Decepticons broke into the Aequitas chamber, Ironfist carried Fortress Maximus to safety. Eventually, the Wreckers succeeded in defeating Overlord and saving Garrus-9, and Maximus was placed on life support alongside Springer. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
He was later transferred to Delphi, where he was diagnosed with 'an eternal coma'. When Ratchet, Pharma, and Ambulon were cornered by Genericons, First Aid managed to revitalize Fortress Maximus to fight the Decepticons. Life After the Big Bang Fortress Maximus then brutally murdered them. After Pharma revealed himself be in league with the Decepticons, Maximus pursued him until he disappeared into a bolthole too small for Maximus to follow. Once Ratchet dealt with Pharma and the Red Rust, Fortress Maximus joined the crew of the Lost Light on their mission to find the Knights of Cybertron. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back Captain Rodimus was pleased to see Maximus, giving him a hug and telling him "'Til all are one". You, Me, and Other Revelations Not long afterwards, he attended a medal ceremony held by Rodimus to honor the heroes of a recent hull breach emergency. The Reluctant Specialist
On Ratchet's orders, Fortress Maximus was compelled to visit Rung, who questioned him about events on Garrus-9. Fortress Maximus denied remembering anything, despite his torture at Overlord's hands being clear in his mind. Afterwards, Maximus then headed to Swerve's bar, where he went on a shooting spree, blasting Pipes, Boss, Turbine, Dogfight and Doubletap, because they reminded him of Overlord. Fortress Maximus then locked himself within Rung's office, tying the psychoanalyst to his chair and impaling Rung's current patient, Whirl, to the ground with a pipe. Threatening to murder them, he repeatedly pistol-whipped Whirl, who constantly insulted him. At Rung's suggestion, Maximus contacted 'Hot Rod' to demand to be taken back to Cybertron so he could get an explanation from Prowl regarding why he was left on Garrus-9 for so long. Hanging up and crushing the communicator underfoot, he noticed Rung's right thumb contained a microphone and was broadcasting to the ship, and promptly ripped off said thumb. Whirl continued to taunt him, and at Maximus's prompting, told his life story. This turned out to be a delaying tactic, and once Maximus realized the ship hadn't changed course, he prepared to kill his hostages. He was distracted by images of his own torture at Overlord's hands, projected as a distraction by Rewind while Swerve lined up a shot. Swerve's shot instead accidentally hit Rung, much to Maximus' anguish, shortly before he himself was impaled by Whirl. He survived and was placed in the ship's brig. Interiors
Weeks later, a recovered Rung paid him a visit in the brig and accepted an unabashedly-sincere apology from Maximus. When Overlord broke free from the slow cell hidden in the Lost Light's basement, Fortress Maximus was released from confinement to combat the rampaging Phase-Sixer after he was temporarily incapacitated by Chromedome's use of Trepan's Trigger. He pummeled Overlord mercilessly and forced him back into the slow cell, which was then jettisoned from the Lost Light into space and destroyed by Chromedome. Under Cold Blue Stars Later, when Rodimus led a band of Autobots to the lost satellite Luna 1, he left Fortress Maximus in command of the Lost Light The Fecund Moon After the infiltration of the ship by Legislators, Fortress Maximus used his oft-mentioned leg guns to fend off the attackers House of Ambus, but was soon subdued. The Divided Self As a forged Autobot, Maximus was not affected when Chief Justice Tyrest activated the universal killswitch, but could only watch as it nearly killed Blaster and Mainframe. Arm the Lonely
Once the Legislators were defeated, Rodimus commended Fortress Maximus for his defense of the ship and offered him Ultra Magnus's previous title of Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord. As this position that would have him leave the Lost Light, Maximus feared he might have another breakdown if left unchecked and asked for advice from Rung, who reassured him of his mental health and convinced him to accept. Maximus subsequently departed the Lost Light, remaining on Luna 1 alongside Red Alert and the Circle of Light to guard a captive Tyrest. The Sound of Breaking Glass
As the new Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord, Maximus comprised a list of those who had violated it and began bringing them to justice. He tracked one of these targets, a Decepticon named Demus to Tebris VII and then briefly pursued him before blowing his brains out. Noticing Demus wasn't the only Decepticon present, he asked the group assembled there who was next. Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots
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
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
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
Transformers Legends comic
Brainstorm told 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 Part 1
Beast Wars: Uprising
Cerebros was turned into Fortress Maximus when the war spread to Nebulos, 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 humanity confined the Transformers and their war to Cybertron. 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.
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".
In some other realities, Fortress Maximus survived the Great War and went on to found the Maximals. Ask Vector Prime
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
Toys
Generation 1
- Fortress Maximus (Headmaster Base, 1987)
- Fortress Maximus is, by far, the largest Transformers toy produced in the original G1 line, and for over 25 years was the largest Transformers toy produced at all. In robot mode, he stands 22" (or 56 cm) tall, nearly 8" (20 cm) taller than his rival Scorponok. The original retail price was nearly $100USD. His size record would eventually be broken by the 24" tall Generations Metroplex.
- The toy has two alternate mode configurations, transforming into a relatively compact "city" mode and a "battle station" mode as described in the US instructions. The Japanese instructions rebrand the latter as a "starship" mode and it is the default mode for Fortress Maximus in the Headmasters animated series. Additionally, the 1987 Hasbro toy catalog features a mis-transformed Fortress Maximus in a mode referred to as an "impenetrable fortress," essentially consisting of his city mode with the legs splayed outwards.
- In all modes, Fortress Maximus has a wide array of (non-firing) guns and gimmicks. A prison cell is concealed in the left leg, as well a dual cannon/helipad. The right leg has a stepped storage compartment. His torso has a gear-activated spinner for the detachable radar array, a "control socket" for Cerebros' "communications room" mode, and a working elevator that can lift small figures up to be fired down the central ramp by another switch activated launcher. The crank for this elevator ends up in a very unfortunate position in robot mode. The back of either arm carries a long ramp with a sliding launcher.
- Fortress Maximus' head is formed by Cerebros and Spike, although Spike is optional. The Gasket and Grommet vehicles can combine together to form Cog. Furthermore, Gasket and Grommet can each be ridden by any large Headmaster Nebulan figure.
- The Japanese release of Fortress Maximus came with a pair of Master Swords; one for Fortress (Cerebros), a large one for Maximus. It is unknown if the swords were originally planned for the Hasbro version but dropped for price or safety concerns or if they were a Takara-initiated addition to their release of the toy, although the lack of alternate mode integration of such a large accessory (unlike the also very large handguns) points to the latter.
- Megahead Megatron's spider-head mode (sans spider legs) can fit into Fortress Maximus's head socket; though surely a coincidence, it was noted on the card bio.
- This mold was used to make Super-God Masterforce Grand Maximus, Car Robots Brave Maximus, and Robotmasters "Cybertron Base".
Transform Jr
- Fortress Maximus (1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-114
- Accessories: Fortress Headmaster unit, Photon Rifle
- Transform Jr Fortress Maximus is a smaller rendering of the character, scaled down to regular Transformer size, and with only one head. Fortress Maximus could only transform from his starship mode to his robot mode, as his legs lack the joints to fold into city mode. Much of his detail and accessories have been simplified into stickers, such as his shin cannons. He comes with only one weapon, his large blue photon rifle.
- This toy was also available in a leaders three-pack with Chromedome and Convoy
Encore
- Fortress Maximus (Headmaster Base, 2013)
- The first re-release of Fortress Maximus is in the Encore line. This release features paint apps for Fortress Maximus' eyes, although the original eye stickers are also included. Due to an unknown QC issue, initial product was opened, manually checked, and retaped. Other changes include packaging addition of the Encore logo, and omission of Hasbro on copyright stamp.
GT
- GT-R Maximus (9-28-2013)
- Japanese ID number: GT-04
- Accessories: Master Jack Sword, Hiiro race queen figure
- Transformers GT GT-R Maximus is a heavy retool of the Alternity Convoy toy, transforming into a 1:32 replica of the D'station Advan GT-R race car used by the KONDO Racing team in the Super GT racing championship series. He features die-cast metal parts, an opening hood, trunk and doors, as well as an interior, complete with his feet and thighs being sculpted to form the back seats. His armaments include flip-out non-firing blasters on his arms and the "Master Jack Sword", a sword based on the Master Sword but with hinges that allow it to double as a car jack. Like all GT toys, Maximus also comes with a GT Sister, a poseable human figure themed after a race queen, namely a lady named Hiiro.
- GT-R Maximus was originally slated to be released as GT-03, but was pushed back to GT-04 with GT-R Megatron becoming GT-03. This may have had to do with the fact his original promotional art featured the same head as GT-R Prime rather than the newly tooled head the figure comes with.
- This mold was also used, with different heads and accessories, to make the other Transformers GT toys: GT-R Prime, GT-R Megatron and GT-R Saber.
Merchandise
Transformers Gum
- Fortress Maximus (1987)
- Accessories: Head, Photon Rifle, Dual Laser Blaster
- Released in the seventh wave of Kabaya's Transformers Gum line of snap-together "candy toy" model kits, this version of Fortress stands at about four inches tall and is cast in grey, white and blue plastic. Unlike the Headmaster figures from the previous Transformers Gum wave, this version of Fortress Maximus does away with his Headmaster gimmick, and by sheer necessity of size, also lacks the guns in his forearms and fists and the prison cell in his left leg. He does include both of his hand-held weapons and swing-out waist cannons, however, and he can still transform into both starship and city modes. As a Transformers Gum kit, he featured no paint applications, but came with stickers for detail, and a piece of terrible gum.
- Command Base (2012)
- Launcher Base (2012)
- Sky Base (2012)
- Accessories: Head/Cerebros, Photon Rifle, Dual Laser Blaster, Master Sword
- Released in the revived Transformers Gum series, the three bases can be put together to form a completely transformable, roughly Voyager-sized Fortress Maximus complete with Master Sword. As he is now cast in white, gray, and blue plastic and includes stickers inspired by his cartoon deco, he comes much closer to replicating his G1 cartoon appearance than the previous version. Also, his bigger size allows for Cerebros to actually form his head. The Launcher Base comes with Cerebros and the Command Base and Sky Base come with tiny transformable versions of Windcharger and Powerglide, respectively. When fully assembled, Fort Max has two gimmicks: the central ramp can be raised via a lever to 'deploy' Windcharger and the right ramp has a spring-loaded launch mechanism to launch either Windcharger or Powerglide.
Parody Deformed
- Fortress Maximus (1990)
- Accessories: Master Sword
- A small, blue and white non-transforming super deformed model kit of Fortress Maximus was available as part of Kabaya's "Parody Deformed" line of candy toys. The twelfth figure in the series, he came with a "Transformers PD Type" comic about himself, "Bigger Than Life! Fortress Maximus!", and more of that alleged "gum".
Super Collection Figure/Heroes of Cybertron
- Fortress Maximus (2001)
- Fortress Maximus was the collectible "Build-A-Figure" from the third Headmasters-centric wave of Takara's line of Super Collection Figure PVC figurines. He was divided into six parts, each one packaged with one of the other six figurines in the line: His head and sword came with Raiden, his torso with Bumblebee and Spike, his left arm with Chromedome, his right arm with Soundwave, his left leg with Ironhide and his right leg with Sixshot.
- As the first collectible figure from the line, Fortress Maximus was much rarer than those that would come later, with his parts only coming in two out of every ten cases. Like all the other figures in the wave, his parts were available in two color schemes; of the two cases he was available in, one contained a full-color figure, while the other contained a colorless translucent version.
- Fortress (2002)
- A standard 3" PVC figurine of Fortress was available in the eighth and final SCF wave line. Like all the figures in the wave, it was available as both a standard full color figure and a metallic silver "pewter" version, one of each of which was available in a standard case of twelve blindpacked figures. Additionally, in eight out of every ten cases, the pewter version of Fortress came packaged with head and torso of the wave's collectible Scorponok figure.
- Fortress Maximus (2003)
- The Fortress Maximus PVC was later revisited by Hasbro for their domestic release of the Super Collection Figure series, Heroes of Cybertron. Like all the Heroes of Cybertron figures, this version of Fortress Maximus was cast entirely in clear-blue plastic and then painted over, save a small spot on his head to give him a "light-pipe" glowing-eyes effect. He remained available only as a collectible pack-in, one part in each of the six releases in the line's fourth wave. His head and sword came with Perceptor, his torso with Dirge, his left arm with Powermaster Gigatron, his right arm with Wheeljack, his left leg with Autobot Jazz and his right leg with the Autobot Espionage Team (Bumblebee and Spike).
Notes
- "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.
- 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.
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: Fútè Jùrén (China, 福特巨人, "Fort Giant"), Jùwúbà Fútè (China, 巨无霸福特, "Fort Maximus"), Furmon (Taiwan, 福蒙 Fú Méng), Fortry (Taiwan Omni Productions dub, 福崔 Fú Tsuēi)
- Ukrainian: Fortecya Maxima (Фортеця Максима, "Fortress Maxima")
- Russian: Krepysh Maximus (Крепыш Максимус, "Sturdy Fellow Maximus")
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