Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity

Guess which one of these three characters had a toy on the shelves.

Ultra Magnus. Leader of the Autobots who are not led by Optimus Prime.

Marvel The Transformers comics

And this time...it's introductory!

The remaining Autobot elders spent years designing Ultra Magnus, an inspiring figurehead leader to lift the resistance out of a deep darkness. He was finally given life in or shortly before 1986^[1] for Operation: Volcano. His role was to act as the crucial back-up needed for the Wreckers to successfully destroy their Decepticon targets and then escape in one piece. A serious complication arose when the Matrix Flame, the sacred and eternal blaze linked directly to the Creation Matrix itself, suddenly extinguished. Fearing that something catastrophic had occurred on Earth to the Matrix and its bearer, Optimus Prime, Emirate Xaaron made the decision to send Ultra Magnus to that planet to investigate, even though Operation: Volcano was unstoppably set to begin in ten cycles.

Magnus traveled to Earth by way of space bridge, and found the Ark's crew engaged in a deadly conflict with three new, yet unspeakably powerful, Decepticon warriors just as their leaders Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet vanished before their optic sensors. Initially concerned only with his investigation of Prime's sudden disappearance, Ultra Magnus ignored the plight of his fellow Autobots until he learned the two situations were linked; Galvatron and his lieutenants were time travelers from 2006, having employed a mass substitution mechanism that sent the three Autobots into Limbo in order to accommodate their presence at this point in the timeline. This connection was revealed to him by three Autobots from 2006, who had traveled back in time themselves in order to stop Galvatron. They had a plan; they had the means; all they needed was for Ultra Magnus to keep him busy for, oh... an hour or two.

Easier said than done.

Gatorade. Is it in you?

Magnus' battle with Galvatron carried them out of the isolated wilderness and onto a human freeway system. It ended when Ultra Magnus threw a tanker truck full of fuel into the path of Galvatron's particle cannon. Galvatron walked away from the blast — Magnus didn't. Still, the future Autobots succeeded in tricking Galvatron into returning to the future with his plan incomplete, and the timeline more-or-less preserved. Unfortunately, Magnus was out of time as Operation: Volcano proceeded without him, with disastrous results. Only one Decepticon was taken out, and the Wreckers' leader Impactor was killed protecting Xaaron. Target: 2006

Ultra Magnus would not meet his counterpart, Optimus Prime, until Prime was inadvertently transported back to Cybertron in battle with Megatron. Hooking up with Lord Straxus at Polyhex, Megatron quickly disseminated false information about a new Decepticon spy made over to look exactly like Optimus Prime, planning to infiltrate the Autobot forces. Having temporarily assumed control of the Wreckers until their new leader, Springer, was ready for command, Ultra Magnus led them in hunting down the "impostor." ...The Harder They Die! They were about to execute this Prime when the Autobot Outback intervened, insisting that Ultra Magnus was being blinded by his guilt over his failure to prevent Impactor's death to see the truth; that before him, was the real Optimus Prime. Ultra Magnus denied such claims, and ordered Outback away. Instead of obeying orders, the little guy disabled Prime's energy restraints and set off a gas particle bomb to distract the Wreckers, allowing both himself and the captive to slip away. Magnus went after the escapees himself, bringing along a trio of Guardian units in pursuit, though the drones only succeeded in wounding Outback. Under Fire! While Prime protected Outback, this behaviour led Magnus to be suspicious of his information and, after summoning Emirate Xaaron, confirmed his suspicions and welcomed the true Optimus Prime back to Cybertron. Distant Thunder!

Prime wasted no time leading Magnus and the others on a series of successful raids and strike missions against Decepticon-controlled territory. When Optimus decided to return home to Earth, he allowed Magnus to accompany him during his attack on the Decepticon Stronghold in Polyhex, so that they could both take on Megatron before his departure. Ultra Magnus Got a few therapeutic punches in, before he, Optimus, and Megatron were all caught up in the energy discharge of a space bridge. He arrived on Earth, but some considerable distance away from where Prime materialized. Having been frustrated ever since Impactor's death, Magnus welcomed the "vacation" this trip to Earth would provide him, and he took his time trying to track down the Ark's location. Resurrection!

Holy hell.

For months, Ultra Magnus enjoyed a peaceful life in the American forests and wilderness, alone with his thoughts. A sudden seismic disturbance brought him back to reality, though, and into contact with three human females whose vehicle had been overturned by the tremor. One in particular, Cindy, took quite a liking to Magnus. As they traveled together to explore a nearby volcano and its connection to the tremors, Magnus was forced back into combat thanks to the arrival of his old sparring partner, the future Decepticon known as Galvatron. Though concern for Cindy's life fueled Ultra Magnus in his attempt to beat down Galvatron, the Decepticon ultimately proved too powerful. After overpowering Ultra Magnus, Galvatron dragged him up the volcano's slope, and showed him the cause of the recent disturbances: a massive power siphon he had built atop the volcano's peak. Burning Sky! With it, Galvatron explained to Magnus, he planned to convert the raw power of a volcanic eruption into enough energy to transform him into a god. Another effort on Magnus's part to stop Galvatron ended in failure, and he was knocked unconscious. He was only spared from being tossed into the volcano's caldera thanks to the timely arrival of Rodimus Prime, Kup, and Blurr, who had followed Galvatron from the future. Galvatron threw Ultra Magnus's limp form down to knock out the latter two of the trio, and squared off against Prime. The arrival of another time-traveler, Death's Head, bought Ultra Magnus the time he needed to recover, and he blasted Galvatron's power siphon. Hunters Galvatron suitably distracted by Magnus's sabotage, the Autobots regrouped. Once again, Magnus was used as a "distraction" (read: living punching bag) while the future Autobots set up their plan to override Galvatron's time-jump mechanism and send them all back where they came from. Despite Ultra Magnus successfully getting the slag beat out of him, the override proved unsuccessful, sending only the Autobots back to 2007 and leaving Magnus virtually alone to deal with the fighting-mad Galvatron. Fire on High! Believing himself incapable of beating Galvatron, Ultra Magnus bowed out of the fight, leaving Goldbug to fight alone, but naturally, he soon returned to aid his friend in the impossible combat. Ultra Magnus threw himself into combat with Galvatron one more time, keeping him busy until the volcano exploded, destroying the power siphon and encasing both warriors in molten lava. Vicious Circle! These events were observed—and possibly interfered with—by the time traveling Dicet Alpha-zero. The Quest!

Kick the baby!

Several months later, Cindy Newell teamed up with Susan Hoffman and Joy Meadows in an attempt to free Magnus from the lava, but they were thwarted by Soundwave and the Combaticons. Ladies' Night Ultra Magnus was eventually dug out of the volcano by the Sparkler Mini-Bots. They had been sent to Earth by Springer to monitor the volcano in case Galvatron ever got free. When Galvatron DID free himself several days earlier, though, they found themselves hopelessly outmatched, and hoped Magnus would have better luck. Sadly, the severe beatings Galvatron had routinely handed out to Ultra Magnus, combined with the final excruciating submergence in molten lava, had nearly unhinged the Autobot's mind, leaving him with a pathological fear of his tormentor. Confronted with Galvatron, Magnus would probably have gone fetal if that pose had any meaning for his people. As the Sparklers heroically tried to stand up to Galvatron anyway, Ultra Magnus saw his rescuers in grave danger and finally managed to push his fear aside and reclaim enough confidence to batter the Decepticon into a temporary retreat. Salvage!

Having renewed his fighting spirit, Ultra Magnus arranged to return to Cybertron with his companions in order to report on Galvatron's activities and hopefully gather the Wreckers for a counter-offensive. Instead, they found the Autobot base in Kalis full of battle signs, and the entire surrounding city-state a virtual "ghost-town".

Upon reaching Kalis's borders, they found the remains of a barrier enclosing the city-state, and a handful of Decepticons trying to keep them from leaving it. The Duocons Flywheels and Battletrap managed to knock out the Sparkabots with a few blasts, but Ultra Magnus struck back, brandishing a steel beam that sent Flywheels hurtling towards the ground and Battletrap fleeing. Taking the former in for questioning, the Autobots learned what had befallen Kalis: an army of the dead! No sooner had the Decepticons informed Magnus and his companions of this did legions of zombies spring up from the ground and attack.

Flywheels begged to have his weapon returned, but Magnus couldn't bring himself to trust an armed Decepticon. Flywheels had to make due in assuming his tank mode, revealing he still had some firepower despite being deprived of his blaster. Realizing they were fighting their former Autobot brethren, Ultra Magnus ordered a cease-fire. Flywheels launched a final shot to save Magnus from a zombie sneaking up on him. Irritated at the insubordination, but nonetheless grateful, Magnus had Flywheels follow him and his team back indoors so they could plan strategies in peace. They eventually concluded that the dead hadn't been raised by supernatural forces, but rather had their motor-functions controlled by a powerful radio-signal. Ultra Magnus headed to Baird Beaming Transmitter to jam the signal while the Sparkabots led the zombies away, and Flywheels watched his back. Magnus finally buckling to the Decepticon's request in giving him back his weapon paid off, as Flywheels once more saved his life by destroying another zombie sneaking up on him, just as he finished his work. With all of the dead once more immobile, Magnus revealed to his companions that he had traced the origin of the reanimating signal to deep within Cybertron's underground. City of Fear!

With a momentary lull in the fighting, Ultra Magnus reluctantly trusted Flywheels to fly off to nearly Decepticon territory and return with reinforcements. The Sparklers were not happy with this decision. Legion of the Lost!

Magnus's group eventually bumped into Springer, who had recently escaped from a crazed scientist named Flame. Through him, Ultra Magnus learned that Flame was responsible for the incident in Kalis, the whole thing being an elaborate distraction from his attempts to re-engineer the entire planet as a giant spacecraft. But the antiquated engines Flame had fired up risked setting off a chain reaction beneath the surface, which would literally tear Cybertron apart. Springer led the others to Flame's underground headquarters, where more zombies were running rampant. But the rest of the Wreckers had also escaped from Flame after Springer's departure, and had made short work of most of the zombies. The two Autobot groups merged, only to find their path blocked by a massive blast door. Thankfully, Flywheels came through for them, coming back with Trypticon in tow to smash the door down. Within Flame's inner sanctum, they found the scientist ranting off to Xaaron. Magnus tossed the villain aside, only to learn he had arrived too late! Flame's machines were already destabilized, and could only be shut down by entering a control room bathed in deadly radiation. Though both Magnus and Springer volunteered to shut down the machine at the cost of their own lives, Xaaron insisted that doing so was his destiny. Ultra Magnus and his allies ripped through the remains of Flame's zombie army on their way out, only for Xaaron to rejoin them on the surface. At the last moment, an undead Impactor had stepped up to shut down the planetary engines, sacrificing himself once more to save his world. Ultra Magnus and the Autobots stood in solemn contemplation afterwards, paying honor to their fallen comrade. Meltdown!

Ultra Magnus and the Wreckers then began preparations to return to Earth and confront the threat of Galvatron, finally, once and for all, but then the corpse of Chameleon was brought in to Autobase, missing an arm. Magnus and the Sparkler Mini-Bots went against Xaaron's orders and traveled to Tyrest to investigate, uncovering a plot between the Firecons and the alien Zabra to revive the old State Games at the Jekka Amphitheatre. The four of them were captured, and Ultra Magnus was forced to participate in the games while the rest of his team were being held hostage. Thrown into the arena, Magnus was pitted against the monstrous mechanoid Hooligan. Though at first he tried to appeal to his opponent's better nature, he found that hooligan was just as monstrous and bloodthirsty as those who had revived the games in the first place. Now knowing that Hooligan was a true villain, he stopped holding back his full strength, and thoroughly trounced his opponent, though he stopped short of executing him. Instead, Magnus leaped up to Zabra's box-seat and beat him down as well. The Sparklers, who had escaped their cage during the match, helped keep any enemy reinforcements at bay meanwhile. Magnus then gave the crowd an impassioned speech about why violence was wrong, but it was ultimately lost on most of them. Deadly Games!

Ultra Magnus also apologized for having to address you while in the middle of a battle, but felt the need to talk about the Transformers' origins and their plight against the Decepticon menace. He spoke about another set of Transformers, still fighting their war decades in the future, and how only a miracle could save them against the threat of Galvatron. Deadly Games! back-up strip

Marvel UK future timelines

At some point, earlier in their careers, Ultra Magnus and Springer managed to evade Megatron's forces by triggering a domino-effect within an asteroid field near the planet Beta Four. They caused the space rocks to collide into one another until the debris made it impossible for the Decepticons to track them. Judgment Day!

In 2003, Ultra Magnus began plans for the construction of Autobot City on Earth, a transforming fortress that would better defend the Autobot secrets than the old Ark. In order to accomplish the construction, Magnus made agreements with the various Earth governments to acquire materials for the building and fortification of the city. To collect these materials, he assembled a massive convoy of Autobots to ride out to all corners of the world and acquire the necessary parts. In order to secure the secrecy of the city's plans, he had Blurr secretly transmit the necessary data to the Earth governments on a hyper-speeded signal, while Kup carried a dummy disk on a decoy mission. The Stunticons attacked Kup and stole the disk, thereby fooling the Decepticons into thinking they had access to the true specifications. Ark Duty A year later, Autobot City opened its doors and invited a delegation of human visitors to the ceremony. The opening got off to a rocky start however, as Hot Rod had forgotten to activate the base's Advance Attack Warning System, allowing Shockwave and the Decepticons to get the drop on the Autobots. Not having the time to berate Hot Rod for his neglect, Ultra Magnus helped his compatriots in shielding human diplomats. Hot Rod ultimately saved the day by recklessly tackling Shockwave himself. Ultra Magnus gave the young Autobot a knowing look as he was hailed a hero, and the opening went rather smoothly afterwards. Autobot City became the new base of operations on Earth. Aspects of Evil!

Oh, Prime, you shouldn't have. No, really.

In 2006, Ultra Magnus served as commander of Autobot City and directed the Autobots’ counter-offensive when the city came under attack from Megatron and the Decepticons. He directed Springer and Arcee to transform the city into battle station mode, and after a strenuous battle, Optimus Prime was mortally wounded. On his deathbed, Optimus passed the Autobot Leadership Matrix on to Ultra Magnus. Despite his own misgivings, Magnus took possession of Matrix and became the new leader of the Autobots. The Planet-Eater!

The Decepticons confuse Magnus for Stretch Armstrong.

Magnus’s leadership did not get off to an easy start, when reports came in from the Autobots stationed on Cybertron’s moons of Unicron, a monster planet that was in the process of consuming them. Magnus quickly arranged for the Autobots to head to Cybertron aboard two shuttles, but en route to Cybertron, they were attacked by Decepticon forces led by Galvatron, the upgraded form of Megatron. In a last-ditch effort to lose the Decepticons, Magnus ordered an emergency separation of the shuttle. After Galvatron destroyed the jettisoned portion of the vessel (and declared the Matrix destroyed), Magnus and his crew landed their craft on the Planet of Junk for repairs. Judgment Day! But before the Autobots got a chance to get any work done on their ship, the Decepticons tracked them down once more. Facing Galvatron solo, Magnus attempted to open the Matrix, but the talisman did not respond, and Magnus was torn to pieces by the Sweeps. Thankfully, Ultra Magnus was soon repaired by the native Junkions after they befriended the Autobots. Magnus joined the other Autobots in the battle with Unicron on Cybertron, which resulted in the young Autobot Hot Rod opening the Matrix to destroy Unicron, becoming Rodimus Prime. The Final Battle!

Movie survivors, assemble!

After the destruction of Unicron, Ultra Magnus became a top adviser to the Autobots' new commander, Rodimus Prime. As the war for territory on Cybertron continued, Magnus was seen leading Jazz, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper as a fighting unit during a Decepticon air strike. Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive! Following this mission, Rodimus learned that Galvatron had fled into the past. Though Magnus tried to dissuade him, fearing that in their commander's absence the Autobots would fall to the Decepticon army, Rodimus also made the time-jump to face his foe before he wrought too much damage to the time-stream. Burning Sky! Hunters

One look at Magnus is all Soundwave needs to prolong the Civil War for another 4 million years.

In 2008, he fought alongside the Autobots when a major Decepticon counter-offensive was initiated by Scourge and Cyclonus in the name of their master, Unicron. He and Kup continued to spearhead the Autobot battle effort on Cybertron when Rodimus Prime traveled to the Planet of Junk to confront Unicron, and the Decepticons were ultimately driven off. The Legacy of Unicron! Sometime later, Eject relayed a distress signal to Ultra Magnus at Autobase, requesting aid at certain coordinates against an alien attack. With Autobot City: Earth off-line and Rodimus out with a sizable portion of their troops to check on it, Magnus was reluctant to jump into such a potential trap. Still, his better nature ultimately won out, and Ultra Magnus led an Autobot troop assortment out to answer the call. Surprisingly, he found Soundwave and the Decepticons under heavy fire from the Quintessons, and ended up fighting side by side with his arch-rival for the good of the entire planet. Despite some signs of wavering by Soundwave, the peace ultimately didn't last, though, and the war would continue. Space Pirates!

"Finally, I can get my closure with Galvatro—okay, what the hell is this?"

In 2009, the long running loose-end of Galvatron being active in the past came back to haunt the Autobots, as a timestorm began raging at both 1989 and 2009, threatening all of existence. To deal with the problem, Ultra Magnus accompanied Rodimus Prime and several other Autobots back to 1989 to retrieve Galvatron...one way or another. Their mass-displacement caused confusion upon arrival, though, and led to a brief battle with their own 1989 Autobot counterparts. Ultra Magnus managed to fight off both Slag and Sludge of the Dinobots before he found someone willing to listen—1989's Goldbug, who had seen the mass-displacement effect before. Some late-coming Decepticons attempted to silence Goldbug before he could bring peace to the Autobot factions, but in the end the sight of Ultra Magnus carrying Goldbug's wounded body made an even MORE poignant appeal for peace. This ultimately led to an alliance between all four factions involved: the 1989 and 2009 Autobot and Decepticon factions. They were going to need it, as Galvatron had joined forces with his own "past self", Megatron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus traded fire with both Megatron and Galvatron, but Galvatron then used the oh-so-tenuous alliance against Magnus by tricking him into firing on Scorponok, leader of the 1989 Decepticons. Scorponok's henchmen (Mindwipe, Snapdragon and Triggerhappy) quickly forgot the alliance after seeing that, and tore into Ultra Magnus without any regards for the more serious consequences at stake. The damage Magnus suffered from their attack was severe and, after the battle was over and the timestorm abated, his deactivated body was carried by his future Autobot comrades. Time Wars

In an alternate future of 2510, the Decepticons were at last defeated, and Rodimus Prime planned to step down as Autobot leader. He announced Springer as his replacement, but an Autobot named Triton jumped in to contradict the decision, saying that Ultra Magnus was a much better choice to lead the Autobots in times of peace, not to mention the fact that he had already been chosen to carry the Matrix once before. Springer's combat unit, the Wreckers, didn't take kindly to Triton's comments, but then the Technobots jumped to the defense of Ultra Magnus and, as one thing led to another, shots were fired and fighting broke out among the Autobots. As the first bodies hit the floor, it became clear that a new war was beginning, and none of the Autobots were the wiser that Triton (the instigator of it all and one of the first casualties) had actually been a Decepticon deep-cover agent in disguise. Peace

The Big Broadcast of 2006

In an alternate 2006, Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime received word from Sky Lynx that strange goings-on were happening around the planet Junkion. Rodimus decided to send the Aerialbots to investigate, and Ultra Magnus was at his side, ready to tell him that was a good idea when he did.

When Superion returned to Cybertron badly damaged, Ultra Magnus, Rodimus, and Blaster traveled in Omega Supreme to see for themselves what the trouble was. Once on-site, the Autobots discovered a chaotic scene where aliens from many worlds, including the Decepticons, were all engaged in a deadly battle with one another. Blaster discovered a signal that was the source of the problem, as it made everyone act aggressively towards different species. Ultra Magnus and Blaster hatched a plan which involved Blaster playing soothing music, while Omega Supreme carried him into the air. The music calmed the combatants and cleared Galvatron's mind long enough for him to blast the Junkions' television, which he recognized had influenced his mind. This broke the spell on everybody. The Junkions turned on the Decepticons, which caused them to retreat.

Afterwards, Ultra Magnus expressed curiosity as to the source of the hypnotic messages, but Rodimus didn't care as long as they had ended it for good. They never discovered that it was the work of the Quintessons. The Big Broadcast of 2006

Classics

God, you can't get away from the perverts anywhere can you?

After the Autobots' victory on Klo, Ultra Magnus became First Officer of the Graviton and spent over a decade patrolling the outer reaches of the cosmos, hunting down Decepticons wherever they raised their ugly heads. When the ship's captain, Grimlock, left to help Optimus Prime fight a resurfaced Megatron, Ultra Magnus was put in charge of its crew. Grimlock's profile in Club magazine #13

Ultra Magnus later brought the Graviton to Earth on the hunt for Bug Bite, one of Bludgeon's soldiers. Tracking the treacherous mechanoid, they assaulted the Ark, which Megatron was using as a base, and basically did nothing but show up in time to see Megatron take care of their quarry for them. The crew then left for space again, this time with Grimlock back along for the ride. Games of Deception

"I don't know about you guys, but we are the strangest herd I have ever seen."

While answering a distress call from the Earth-based Autobots, Ultra Mammoth's profile in Club magazine #52 the Graviton was pulled into the Primax -408.24 Epsilon universe along with the Talon and ended up near that universe's native Earth during prehistoric times. While Magnus struggled to keep his crew focused, the ship was shot down. The Autobots soon found that the area was awash with energon radiation, and they were forced to take on beast modes. Magnus took on the form of a mammoth. Shattered Time While on the hunt for three missing stasis pods, the Autobots' Sky-sled was shot down, forcing them to continue on foot They soon discovered Megatron had beaten them to activating the three pods. Though Magnus thought the newly activated Transformers would be Autobots, they promptly blasted him. He recovered as Depth Charge arrived to lend a hand, and devastated the Decepticon forces with his Blue Bolts cannon, so the Autobots could retreat to safety. Shattered Expectations

With the Decepticons in hot pursuit, Magnus was prepared to try and delay them so the others could get away. As it happened, they'd reached a chasm with a thin rock bridge across it, and Magnus used the choke point as an opportunity to face Megatron in battle. Once the others were safely on the other side, he destroyed the bridge, blasted Megatron and used his new rocket thrusters to fly to safety. Back at the Graviton, Depth Charge gave the "Maximals" more of an explanation regarding his presence. Shattered Paths

Utilizing Depth Charge's probes, the Maximals located the ship's energy purifier, only to be soundly trounced by the Predacons, who made off with the device. Shattered Hope After discovering that food made for an excellent alternate energy source, the Maximals joined Depth Charge, who had found the Origin Matrix but was struggling with the security system protecting it. While the other Maximals fought off the security system, Magnus retrieved the Matrix. Moments later they were confronted by Megatron piloting a huge mech. Shattered Balance

Faced with Megatron's Gigastorm Armor, Magnus combined the Origin Matrix with his gun, enabling him to blast open a fissure in time and space, sucking Predacons and Maximals alike through. He invited Depth Charge to accompany them, but Depth Charge had other problems to deal with, and farewelled "Ultra Mammoth" as the Maximal leader departed through the rift. Shattered Destiny Timeless His Maximals ended up in the future, where he encountered Aquarius, who needed the Origin Matrix to complete the Star Saber. Transformers I.Q. trivia bonus #12

Now, now. Perfectly symmetrical violence never solved anything.

Nevertheless, Ultra Mammoth firmly believed the Origin Matrix was in his charge alone, and he would only relinquish it to Nexus Prime himself. Meanwhile, Mammoth's team agreed to return to their own Earth (orbiting near this Cybertron) in order to confront Ultra Mammoth's insane doppelganger, the instigator of their universal collapse. Falling into Place While most of the other Autobots reformatted themselves back into vehicle modes, Ultra Mammoth decided to keep his new alternate mode for the time being. The group traveled by stellar spanner back to Earth and joined the battle. Ultra Mammoth was disgusted with Ultra Magnus and his selfish insanity. He couldn't bring himself to deliver the killing blow, however, which Magnus took advantage of. The Origin Matrix in Mammoth's chest came into contact with the Terminus Blade, causing a massive release of energy. Distant Fissures The Blade was unfortunately fully recharged by this contact between relics, but Nexus Prime arrived in time to reassemble the Star Saber and reclaim the Terminus Blade, banishing Ultra Magnus to another dimension. Restoration

As the war of the worlds (literally) began, Ultra Mammoth gathered the heroic Autobots and heroic Decepticons at the Ironworks. They were picked up by Grimlock in a shuttle, fleeing the destruction that followed. As the war ended, Ultra Mammoth seemingly became a member of the governing council overseeing the population of New Cybertron. The Future Buried...

He and Galvatron were overheard making a petition to Unicron through his Acolytes. Coalescence

Regeneration One

As the Autobots caught wind of dissident activity among the Decepticons, Kup accompanied Ultra Magnus to Nova Point, where Optimus Prime had sequestered himself to mentor Hot Rod, and asked for Prime's permission to mobilize the Wreckers in a preventative action. Optimus dismissed them, however, believing that to attack now would only further incite rebellion. Soundwave would prove Prime wrong, by hijacking one of Cybertron's orbital defense satellites to destroy the Last Autobot, which had stood guard over Iacon. Counterpoint

After learning that the Skyscorchers had holed up in a weapons decommissioning depot in Kalis, Kup prepared to mobilize the Wreckers, but Magnus reminded him that Prime's refusal to permit hostile action remained in effect. Windrazor contacted Magnus to offer their surrender, while planning to create a small explosion with a warhead detonation cap to cover their escape. Before terms could be arranged, however, the Insecticons Ransack, Chop Shop, and Venom infiltrated the facility under orders from Soundwave with the intention of blowing up a warhead, turning the Skyscorchers into martyrs. Before they could complete their mission, though, the Wreckers busted in, captured the Insecticons, and prevented the detonation of the warhead.

Ultra Magnus and Kup paid another visit to Optimus Prime, who grudgingly admitted the Wreckers' actions saved countless lives this day, and refrained from issuing any punishment. Magnus pressed the issue, citing that the Wreckers' war-hero reputation was influencing his cadets, but Prime, consumed by a vision of Unicron, did not hear him. Kup, meanwhile, came to the conclusion that the Autobots needed to take a more proactive approach, following Grimlock's example in his quest for a cure for Nucleon. Kup gathered the Wreckers and they departed Cybertron, with their first stop being Earth. Loose Ends, Part 1

Ultra Magnus was notified of the Wreckers' departure by Trailbreaker, who informed Magnus that they stole a shuttle. Magnus ordered him to investigate the theft, and find out who aided them. After Trailbreaker left, Magnus punched out a monitor screen in frustration, lamenting that he wanted to join Kup and the others, but had to play by the rules of the new society in order for it to work. Loose Ends, Part 2

Upon discovering evidence that Kup and the Wreckers had gone to Earth, Ultra Magnus returned to Nova Point with Trailbreaker to inform Optimus. They revealed two transmissions originating from the planet: a distress call sent by Springer, and a message that had been repeating for years, from Megatron, calling for Prime to come and see what he'd done to Earth. Prime, no longer hesitant, ordered the Autobots to Earth. Magnus and Prime were the last to board the ship, as Prime ordered Hot Rod to remain behind. Loose Ends, Part 3

Ultra Magnus arrived in the remains of Washington, D.C. alongside Optimus Prime, where Springer had been leading some of the Wreckers in an attempt to rescue a Scraplet-infected Kup. As Megatron was distracted by their arrival, Starscream, summoning up what little amount of free will Megatron had left him with, let Kup know that he must "kill Ratchet", as the Autobot medic, reduced to a head mounted on Megatron's battle sled, was still linked to the insane Decepticon. Loose Ends, Part 4 Megatron greeted his old nemesis by executing the captive Springer, enraging the Autobot leader into a one-on-one battle with the insane Decepticon. Magnus was left to coordinate the other Autobot's efforts against Megatron's army of zombie ex-Cons. Only Kup's mercy execution of Ratchet allowed Optimus the opening he needed to destroy Megatron once and for all, while Roadbuster's team of Wreckers and humans in the Yukon shut down the Ark's computer, Auntie, stopping Megatron's final gambit—the launch of all of Earth's remaining nuclear weapons—and simultaneously deacivating Megatron's zombie army. Loose Ends, Part 5

Ultra Magnus returned to the orbiting Valiant while Optimus supervised the cleanup of the deactivated zombies. The surviving humans, led by Circuit-Smasher and G.B. Blackrock, informed Prime that they had unanimously voted for the Autobots to leave Earth immediately. As Prime prepared his troops to depart, Wheeljack radioed Magnus to vaporize the collected bodies from orbit. Starscream, however, was still alive, and managed to escape the beam before it hit. Natural Selection, Part One

Optimus informed Ultra Magnus of his intentions to remain on Earth, despite the humans' wishes to the contrary, believing that his time had passed, and that it was now Hot Rod's turn to assume the mantle of leadership. Natural Selection, Part Two

As the Valiant returned to Cybertronian space, Ultra Magnus made contact with the Iacon Civil Defense Hub, requesting a landing flight plan. Unknown to anyone aboard the Valiant, however, Scorponok had infiltrated Cybertron with the help of Grimlock, and the Hub was being manned by the Decepticons Pounce and Wingspan. Scorponok ordered them to provide that landing plan, and then to use Cybertron's planetary defenses to blow the ship out of the sky! Natural Selection, Part Four

Fortunately for Ultra Magnus and everybody aboard the Valiant, Grimlock never intended to allow Scorponok to complete his plan to rewrite the CNA of every Autobot on the planet, and teaming up with Grapple's free Autobots, helped retake the Hub. The missile launch against the Valiant had commenced, but Crosshairs convinced Pounce to provide the computer lockout code by shooting Wingspan dead, allowing Blurr to activate the missiles' self-destruct. Before the Valiant could land, however, Grimlock had already left for the Sonic Canyons to put an end to Scorponok once and for all. Natural Selection, Part Five

With the effects of the Gene Key undone, Ultra Magnus set about attempting to rally the depleted ranks of the Civil Defense Force, urging them on to do their best to protect the peace, but his reception was less than lukewarm. As Magnus dismissed the troops, Trailbreaker informed him of a communication from Optimus Prime on Earth. Magnus informed Prime that the Rescue Patrol had been sent to Nebulos to undo the damage Scorponok had done, but Prime was more concerned about the mysterious wildcard Galvatron, who had just left Earth aboard the Ark, and whom Prime was convinced was somehow Megatron reborn.

After a disastrous attempt at a rousing speech of his own, Hot Rod was convinced by Kup to step down and hand over the reins of command to Ultra Magnus. Before he could contact Magnus, though, the four remaining Dinobots arrived and asked to join Hot Rod on his search for Primus, as they believed they would find Grimlock as well, having faith that their commander survived the fall into the Sonic Canyons. Contacting Magnus by viewscreen, Hot Rod ordered him to have Iacon rebuilt and secure by the time he returns from his mission with the Dinobots. Destiny, Part One

Ultra Magnus coordinated the Wreckers in an attack on Fort Scyk in an effort to root out Soundwave's Neo-Decepticons after their recent open acts of hostility. Despite detecting multiple life-signs, the team found the facility empty and booby-trapped, and they barely escaped the ensuing explosion without any casualties. Kup reported in, and Magnus concluded that Soundwave's plans had moved into a new phase. Magnus contacted Prowl, who was in the middle of apprehending Runamuck, and the strategist confirmed that all key Decepticons had gone off-radar, leaving only low-level grunts like the Battlecharger visibly active. Magnus decided to recall the Aerialbots to base at that point, just before they would have run into Soundwave.

With the Autobots' early warning system still down, Magnus had Cosmos patrol the skies on watch, but just as Cosmos radioed back to Magnus his doubts about being able to find anything he was met by Bludgeon's Warworld, which then shot him down. Before Magnus could raise the alarm, however, he came under fire from Galvatron, who was descending to Cybertron after having been ejected from the Ark by Starscream! Destiny, Part Three

Finally I've defeated Galvatron! I'll just leave him here, I'm sure he won't wander off or anything.

Magnus was tackled by the incoming time-displaced Decepticon and the two of them crashed through a building before plummeting into a traffic lane. As Galvatron attacked, he boasted of having destroyed Ultra Magnus before; unaware that Galvatron came from an alternate timeline, Magnus suspected that his opponent was insane, but nevertheless his strength and rage meant that Magnus's reputation as "Cybertron's greatest warrior" was about to face a difficult test.

Magnus finally got Galvatron off of him by firing one of his shoulder-rockets at point blank range, sending the Decepticon off the overpass they were fighting on. Blades then arrived on the scene, having been dispatched to locate Magnus when he didn't respond to the call-to-arms against the looming Warworld. Magnus transformed and rolled out to join the fight against the swarming Blitz Engines, but was again beset upon by Galvatron, who had broken out of the rubble and landed on top of Magnus's vehicle mode. As Magnus barreled down the A-19-61 thruway, he told Galvatron that he had no time to deal with him, what with the invasion, leading Galvatron to respond that he would simply destroy the invading Decepticons himself once he was done with Magnus. Having had enough, Magnus blasted the bridge ahead of him and came to a hard stop at its broken edge, sending Galvatron falling. Galvatron, however, was able to grab Magnus's front bumper and drag him down as well.

Aboard the Warworld, Bludgeon expressed his reluctance to use the ship's weapons to obliterate the planet he wanted to rule but he was convinced by his lieutenant, Krok, to fire a symbolic shot to demonstrate the vessel's power. Bludgeon chose the location where Ultra Magnus and Galvatron had fallen. The blast leveled several city blocks over a radius of several miles and it seemed nothing could have survived, but Ultra Magnus emerged from the conflagration, having resolved that it was time to start living up to his own hype! Destiny, Part Four

Magnus is quite fluent in Furmanese.

On his journey through Zero Space, Hot Rod found himself on the Planet of Junk in some kind of alternate future where Galvatron had already killed Ultra Magnus. Less Than Zero Meanwhile, back on Cybertron, Magnus had mustered the Autobots to try and hold central Iacon against the Blitz Engines and though it was a losing battle, he refused to give in, even when Bludgeon's Decepticon warriors descended from the Warworld to join the fight. However, thanks to the efforts of the Wreckers, the newly returned Hot Rod—now Rodimus Prime—and the unlikely assistance of Starscream, at Shockwave's urging, Bludgeon and the Warworld were defeated, leaving the Blitz Engines cut off from their source of Matrix energy and therefore vulnerable. Emboldened by the arrival of Grimlock and his army of Demons, Magnus urged his troops on with some stirring words and led them to victory. Destiny, Part Five

In the aftermath of the battle Rodimus realised that Galvatron, one of the "rogue elements" he had seen in Zero Space, was still missing and so ordered Magnus to lead a party out into the ingot processing district of Kalis to find him. Though the renegade Decepticon was easy enough to locate, he put up a fight, taking out Skram before Gunrunner's heavy fire brought down the structure on which he had been climbing. Magnus and the Autobots were then ambushed by Acolytes of Unicron, who shot Gunrunner and spirited Galvatron away underground. Before any further action could be taken another of Rodimus's rogue elements—the missing senator Jhiaxus—arrived in the skies above Cybertron. The War to End All Wars, Part 1

While Rodimus met with Jhiaxus at Nova Point, the former senator's "Primum Fugae" made their way to resettlement camp "Zero" where they gleefully set about attacking the Demons and, latterly, the Dinobots as well. Ultra Magnus led a squad of Autobots to the rescue, only for Jhiaxus to call his troops away. As they retreated, Magnus ordered Skids and Sideswipe to prepare the Dinobots for medevac. The War to End All Wars, Part 2

Having witnessed the threat of Jhiaxus and the Cybertronian Empire first hand, Rodimus Prime decided to launch a pre-emptive "surgical strike" against them in an attempt to destroy the Hub Network. Working off information provided by Nightbeat and Bumblebee's Zero Unit, Ultra Magnus led a beachhead squad onto one of the Hub's planets to analyse the local frequency harmonics, which they uploaded into the warheads of inter-stellar torpedoes carried by the ships Lancer One and Lancer Two. When fired into one of the Hub's filaments, they should have set off a vibrational chain reaction that destroyed the Hub; instead Jhiaxus had anticipated this strategy and responded with a massed assault. Magnus's team were forced to run for the Hub's slam rail network in an attempt to lose their pursuers but found themselves cut off. Ultimately Rodimus had no choice but to offer Jhiaxus the Autobots' surrender. The War to End All Wars, Part 3

MISB

Magnus and the other Autobots were locked up in The Corral on the Hub's Throneworld but the Wreckers were still loose in the slam rail system. Despite Jhiaxus summarily executing Joyride, Sky High, Crosshairs, and Brainstorm to force his point, Rodimus was still unable to call them off. Subsequently, Shockwave and the Underbase-powered Starscream joined in the fight, defeating Jhiaxus and his troops utterly. The Autobots broke out of the Corral and Ultra Magnus organised their extraction via the space dock. The War to End All Wars, Part 4

On their return to Cybertron, Magnus and the Autobots found that the whole planet had seemingly been taken over by deadly shadow-leeches. Thanks to the arrival of Grimlock and the Dinobots, they were able to fight their way to the Star Chamber where they split into two teams — one to go to Earth, and one led by Ultra Magnus to go to Nebulos. There, they cornered Galvatron and after incapacitating him with heavy weapons fire, Magnus moved in and finally killed the rogue Decepticon with his bare hands, unaware that Fortress Maximus—similarly corrupted by the Dark Matrix creature—was behind him. He was saved at the last second by the arrival of Prowl's team from Earth, allied with Linda Chang's human forces. Following Rodimus Prime's victory over the Dark Matrix creature in Zero Space the crisis was finally over, though it had left Cybertron corrupted and the Transformers cut off from Primus and the wider multiverse. Now decidedly mortal, Ultra Magnus and the other survivors left their home planet and spread out amongst the galaxy to disseminate a message of peaceful coexistence. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Transformers '84

"Cybertron's Greatest Warrior," Ultra Magnus came to inspect the finished Ark and voice his approval for Optimus Prime's emotion concealing mouthplate. When Optimus asked Magnus to lead the Autobots should he not return, Magnus commented on the Prime's unusually fatalistic tone, noting that it seemed as though he was planning on not returning, something Optimus declined to respond to. '84 #0

After the Ark had launched on its mission to destroy an oncoming asteroid belt, Magnus was called to Perceptor's laboratory where the scientists briefed him on their discovery that the "exploded" planetary turbine had been deliberately fired at the Stellae Cimeterium. Before this data could be acted on, Straxus' forces attacked Iacon, Magnus rallying a defence. Secrets & Lies #2

After Optimus and the elite who crewed the Ark had been lost in space, Magnus properly took command of the Autobot army from Autobase. His tenure got off to a rather poor start when Punch reported that Straxus sought to restart Project Dreadnought with the spy needing a dedicated wrecking crew, a request that Magnus could not grant. After Fortress Maximus had called to report the Autobots losing more ground, Magnus despaired about his leadership skills whereupon Impactor and Roadbuster entered to give him a pep talk. Inspired, Ultra Magnus later recalled Star Saber to Autobase. Secrets & Lies #3

Inspired by the Wreckers' explosive victory over Project Dreadnought, Ultra Magnus decided to share command of the Autobots with Star Saber and Fortress Maximus, opting for a decentralized response to the now fragmented war, augmented by a few autonomous units like the Wreckers. Secrets & Lies #4

References