Magnus Armor
From Transformers Wiki
Following the death of the admiredAutobotwarriorUltra Magnusin the early days of thewar,Chief JusticeTyrestdesigned theMagnus Armorto keep his legend alive. It is an integrated suit of armor worn by a series ofAutobots,eachload bearerswithsparksthat allow their bodies to handle extensive physical augmentation, secretly chosen by Tyrest to take on the role of Ultra Magnus and serve as the Duly Appointed Enforcer of theTyrest Accord.
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Fiction
2005 IDW continuity
It is unknown exactly when and how the original Ultra Magnus died, but Tyrest instituted the Magnus Armor program very shortly after the passing of the original. The armor was equipped with a "recall switch"; when one Ultra Magnus died, the suit would detect the passing of its wearer and autonomously pilot itself back to Tyrest, who would then begin the process of finding a new Point One Percenter worthy of donning the armor.The Divided SelfThis initiative was top secret—only a handful of Autobots withinOptimus Prime's inner circle were aware of the specifics.Shining Armor #5The Sound of Breaking Glass
To the rank-and-file, however, it seemed as though Ultra Magnus was capable of shrugging off even the most life-threatening wounds and returning to duty unscathed, giving rise to his reputation as "the immortal lawman."The Divided SelfAt some point, a conspiracy theory that Ultra Magnus was "just a little guy in armor" arose, but it wasn't widely believed.Winners & Losers
Some two hundred years ago, the armor had been passed to the hotheaded AutobotConvoyafter its previous ownerMinimus Ambushad been wounded in the line of duty.Shining Armor #5While battling theDire WraithVekktralonXetaxxis,Magnus was possessed by the villainous alien, and the Magnus Armor was transformed into a horrific bio-mechanical monstrosity.Shining Armor #4Vekkral had failed to account forConvoy,however, and the little Autobot was able to defeat the alien by forcing the armor's chest compartment open, allowingRomto kill Convoy and end the threat. Subsequently,Bumblebeeused the Magnus Armor's recall function to return to theAutobot fleet.
Minimus Ambus returned to active duty as Ultra Magnus and remained the sole bearer of the armor for the remainder of the war.Shining Armor #5At some point, the armor was infected by a swarm of dormantNanocons,which activated after Magnus had joined the crew of theLost Light.You, Me, and Other Revelations
An increasingly unhinged Tyrest, disappointed with Minimus Ambus's inability to cope with peacetime and intending to retire the role in favor of the fanaticalStar Saber,eventually stripped him of the armor.The Divided SelfFollowing Tyrest's defeat, Minimus retrieved the armor and back aboard theLost Light,Ratchethelped him put it back on.The Sound of Breaking Glass
On a quantum duplicate of theLost Light,its version of Minimus Ambus was torn from the Magnus Armor by theDecepticon Justice Divisionafter the recall trigger had been severed, withRewindlater hiding within the armor's remains by the crew of the "other"Lost Light.slaughterhouseUpon learning the truth about Ultra Magnus,Megatronbegan pushing for Minimus to do away with the armor entirely and live as his own bot.How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2
Brainstormlater defeated Ultra Magnus by usinga weapon designed to separate the Magnus Armor from Ambus's body.The Custom-Made NowThough initially humiliated by the crew learning of his secret, Minimus slowly became more and more comfortable with spending time outside of the armor, splitting his time between Ultra Magnus and Minimus Ambus.Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
Aprotoformmade ofScrapletsbriefly took over the armor when it was set loose inside Magnus' quarters, resulting in 'Magnus' trying to giveMegatrona big, warm hug, among other things. The protoform was soon extricated and the armor returned to its original wearer.Silent LightMinimus then spent some time fumigating it.No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases
The Magnus Armor was damaged in an explosion after the crew of theLost Lightstaged a mutiny against Rodimus and his supporters and abandoned them on theNecroworld.How Bright Their Frail DeedsIt was eventually superseded by Brainstorm's "Maximus Ambus"armor, a massively upscaled version of the original suit designed to push Minimus's load-bearing capabilities to the limit.At Close of DayThe original armor was recovered at some point afterwards and continued to be used by Minimus.Some Other CybertronAfter returning from theFunctionist Universe,Minimus's confusion regardingMegatron's morality caused the armor's neural interface to lock him out untilRodimusused reverse-psychology to get him back to normal, returning the armor to full functionality.After Megatron
When the crew undertook a mission to destroy theFunctionist Councilvia overloadingVector Sigmavia twelveMatrices of Leadership,Magnus was caught unawares in the back by aFunctionarywith a rocket launcher. The missile blew the armor to pieces, and Minimus was forcibly ejected out of both his layers of armor and fell unconscious.A Spark Among Embers
When escorting Megatron back to the sentencing chamber to have his fate decided, Magnus briefly took his friend aside and revealed that he would be destroying the armor, much to the approval of the former Decepticon.How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Magnus Armor was worn byPrimal VanguardmemberDelta Magnus.After Delta fell in battle, Autobot leaders assigned other warriors to wear the armor to continue the illusion that he was still alive. After the sixth wearer of the armor died and the original armor was lost, Delta Magnus's buggy drone partnerPowerdrivewas selected as the seventh and built into what remained of it as a single, integrated robot.MasterpieceDelta Magnus bio
Toys
- Ultra Magnus(Leader Class, 2015)
- Accessories:Two guns,Minimus Ambusfigure
- Combiner WarsUltra Magnus is a Leader Class mold with a robot mode based offNick Roche's design for the character inIDW Publishing'sMore than Meets the Eye.He includes a smallMinimus Ambusfigure designed to fit inside a chest-mounted cockpit. ArtistAndrew Griffithalso worked with Hasbro on Minimus's toy design and "cockpit" within the Magnus Amor.[1]
- The mold was also heavily retooled intoTitans ReturnPowermaster Optimus Prime.
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Notes
- The Magnus Armor is a nod to the originalUltra Magnus toywhere itstrailercombined with the white Optimus-like cab to form a "super robot".
- Ultra Magnus's outer form was also shown to be a suit of armor inDreamwave's "Revelation",though there, the inner robot resembled his original toy and represented the same character.
- InMegatron Origin#3a similar white robot was seen alongside anOrion Pax-like bot atBumperandFastback's funeral, suggesting that something like the Magnus Armor may have existed in the2005 IDW continuitybefore the original Ultra Magnus's death; the same series also sawSentinel Primepower himself up with theApex Armor.
Foreign names
- Japanese:Magnus Armor(マグナスアーマーMagunasu Āmā)
References
- ↑"Awesome that they finally showed the Leader Ultra Magnus. Have they shown Ambus' cockpit yet? That's the part I got to work on." —Andrew Griffith, Twitter, 2015/04/14
"Oh yeah I forgot I worked on the design of Minimus too lol. (In plastic form.)" —Andrew Griffith, Twitter, 2015/04/14
