Ultra Magnus (TFA)


 * Ultra Magnus is an Autobot in the Transformers Animated continuity family.

Ultra Magnus is Optimus Prime's superior officer. He is also the Supreme Commander of the Autobots and the leader of the Cybertron Elite Guard. Ultra Magnus is everything you could hope for in a leader; fair, decisive, powerful and not afraid to get his hands dirty. While he is not slow in delivering criticism, he's as willing to dole out praise where it's deserved. Originally, he seems to have had a low opinion of Optimus Prime, but after seeing the young leader in action, he recognizes accomplishment when he sees it.

His earth altmode is an 8-wheeled Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck.

He has a hammer the size of a lamp post. A handy weapon, you say? It can also call stormclouds and shoot lightning. Small wonder they call him "Ultra."

Like Ratchet, he is a veteran of the Great War.

Animated

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

During the Great War, an Autobot intelligence agent was in danger of falling into Decepticon hands. Ultra Magnus sent Ratchet to recover her so the access codes she held in her databanks couldn't be used to deal a devastating blow to the Autobots.

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

This, of course, would all go out the window once it was discovered that the Decepticons in pursuit were in Megatron's flagship, at which point he decided to deal with it.

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

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

Animated

 * Ultra Magnus (Leader, 2008)
 * Having broken free of his forefathers' reliance on repaints, Ultra Magnus transforms into a heavily-armed missile truck, and if those eight guns aren't quite enough, he wields a giant light-up hammer, with which to hammer things. It is quite possibly the best toy ever.

And to make it even better, it is compatible to the Headmaster

Trivia

 * He can summon lightning with his Hammer. Now that sounds real original.
 * In voicing Magnus, Jeff Glen Bennett seems to be channeling Robert Stack, who voiced the original Ultra Magnus in The Transformers: The Movie.