Takara Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus

Takara Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus, here to light your darkest hour

Presenting the Takara version of the Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus - LG14.

This will be the third - and hopefully last - time that we will feature a Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus. We originally reviewed the Hasbro version of Ultra Magnus, then later featured that Hasbro version all dressed up in Reprolabels.

What Takara decided to do was take it a step further and release a version of Ultra Magnus that was accurate to his appearance in the IDW comic book which basically gives Ultra Magnus a red pair of pants.

The Takara Version of the Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus also has a white pair of weapons - and replaces the diminutive Minimus Ambus with a redecoed version of himself: Alpha Trion - which in itself is an interesting story.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

Ultra Magnus Reprolabels - Combiner Wars

Presenting the Transformers Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus with Reprolabels applied. We're quite fond of the Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus and we said that he was worthy of how he looks in the IDW comic books and has a mold that fits nicely in his other versions including when he appeared as the Autobot City Commander in The Transformers Movie.

So we have to tip our hat to Reprolabels for creating a need and making us realize that there was "room for improvement."

The Reprolabels are based upon Magnus' original G1 toy design and his portrayal by IDW in the Dark Cybertron series, both of which depict Ultra Magnus with a solid red lower torso and upper thighs.

We honestly appreciate though that Reprolabels did not go overboard with turning those body parts red as Ultra Magnus' cartoon version is primarily white and blue - probably an attempt to make him as distinct from Optimus Prime as possible. We think that this is a fine compromise between the two. 

Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus

Presenting the Transformers Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus!

This is the IDW/G1 continuity Ultra Magnus and not the Ultra Magnus who was robbed of the leadership of the Autobots by Hotrod (Rodimus Prime).

Which means that the Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus is the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord, and upholder of the Code of Interplanetary Conflict - or so he keeps saying.

He also hides a terrible secret: The real Ultra Magnus was a law-enforcer. He's dead. After he died Chief Justice Tyrest believed that the legendary law-enforcer had to continue on given what he symbolized. So he created and released an Ultra Magnus armor that was run by "loadbearers" - a small amount of tiny Autobots who had sparks strong enough to animate the armor.

Each time the Ultra Magnus pilot would receive fatal injuries, the armor would return to Tyrest and a new loadbearer would animate the armor. Because of this Ultra Magnus gained the reputation of being "unkillable" as he seemed to have the ability to bounce back from critical injuries.

Little did anybody know that four loadbearers had already died in the service of Tyrest. The current pilot of the Ultra Magnus armor is Minimus Ambus - a tiny Autobot who always dreamed of holding the line against the Decepticons in the Great War.

Transformers Prime Ultra Magnus - Commander Class

Presenting the Transformers Prime Commander Class Ultra Magnus.

I love Ultra Magnus though I've always felt a bit sorry for him. Not only does Ultra Magnus bear baby-blue, he'll always be second-fiddle to Optimus Prime. He never seems to match up.

I mean he gets the Matrix of Leadership from Prime in the Transformers Movie and what happens? He gets blown up.

He leads a charge against Megatron in Transformers Prime, gets his ass kicked, and gets rescued by Optimus Prime.

Ultra Magnus leads another battle against Predaking, gets his ass handed to him again, rescued by Optimus Prime AGAIN, and this time loses not just his hammer, but his right hand as well.

Face it, Ultra Magnus has future villain written all over him.

Maybe that's why he wields a hammer to begin with and leads a team called the "Wreckers." He has a lot of pent up issues.

Beast Hunters Ultra Magnus

Presenting the Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Ultra Magnus.

He is not to be confused with the Transformers Prime Ultra Magnus which we reviewed back in October of last year - seems just like yesterday, oh how time flies.

Ultra Magnus: The hammer wielding leader of the Wreckers is back this time literally with a Hammer and his trademark huge shoulder pauldrons (Pads :) ).  Alpha Trion in the Ultra Magnus wiki describes him as: "Daring, strategically ingenious, and courageous to the point of recklessness, Ultra Magnus hammers back the Decepticon forces — literally"

In Transformers Prime, Ultra Magnus both commands and demands respect (the Autobots have to call him "Sir") and he is the second-in-command of Optimus Prime. He takes over leadership of the Autobots when Prime is "killed" following the destruction of the Omega Lock - which we talked about when we blogged about Dr. Wu's Sky Breaker / Star Saber. He leads the Autobots in a charge on Darkmount and nearly gets all of them killed as his ass is handed to him by Megatron. The timely revival and reconstruction of Optimus Prime through the efforts of Smokescreen saves them all.

After that, Ultra Magnus returns command of the Autobots to Optimus Prime and decides to takes the now defunct Forge of Solus Prime Hammer as his primary weapon declaring that the hammer should be put to "practical use".  Though even with the mighty Hammer, Ultra Magnus fails to take down Predaking.

Transformers Fall of Cybertron Ultra Magnus

Presenting Ultra Magnus from the Transformers Fall of Cybertron line.

On to the obvious! Yes, he's a repaint of the FOC Optimus Prime with a cooler weapons and a new head. That's one way of looking at it. The other way is to think that he's actually the original and the FOC Optimus Prime is the repaint.

Another pretty obvious item worth mentioning  is that this particular incarnation of Ultra Magnus DOES NOT appear in the Transformers Fall of Cybertron Game. The Ultra Magnus that appears in the FOC game  as an exclusive to Nintendo has a design more akin to the Transformers Animated Series Ultra Magnus and bears a hammer, not the sword - which by the way bears a striking semblance to the one used by FOC Optimus Prime.

Transformers Prime Ultra Magnus

Presenting the Mighty Ultra Magnus from the Transformers Prime toyline also known as the Powerizers Ultra Magnus.

Ultra Magnus has yet to make his appearance in the Transformers Prime cartoon, but rumor has it that he will be the Hammer Swinging Leader of the notorious Wreckers - a group of Autobots that take things to the extreme i.e. they take the battle to the Decepticons versus Optimus Prime's less aggressive "Circle the Wagons" philosophy.

The Wreckers also believe that the only good Decepticons are the dead ones.

Members of this notorious band of cannon fodder include such well loved Autobots like Bulkhead and Wheeljack.

But seriously, who wouldn't want to follow a hammer wielding giant?