Thus, Ultra Magnus wandered through relative obscurity for a decade and a half (give or take) until Dreamwave comics drafted a story that had him abandon his traditional power-armor and take on the appearance of a white Optimus Prime. Hasbro & Takara, always looking for easy solutions to fill shelf space, jumped on this idea and proceeded to crank out no less than a dozen Prime repaints with new white paint, supposedly sealing Ultra Magnus' fate. The only noticeable exception was one obscure Japanese series where the designers apparently missed the memo stating (UM=Prime[white]).
Now, Animated-always eager to take their own liberties with G1 source material- has given Ultra Magnus one more chance to shine anew!
The official classification for Ultra Magnus' Vehicle Mode is-and I quote- "Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck." Its a high-powered military vehicle designed for hauling (presumably) weapons. Its an excellent vehicle, very compact and detailed. It should be noted that the front section-which we presumed was pure white based on initial photos-is actually a very light shade of blue.
Ultra Magnus's Robot Mode is a visually impressive piece. He's much larger than most other Animated Autobots (with the possible exception of Bulkhead) and shows a fine balance of height and muscle.
Articulation is wonderful; he's got all kinds of movements supported by very solid ratchet joints. Magnus' trademark weapon in the Animated series is his almighty Ban-Hammer, a weapon seemingly "inspired" by Marvel Comics' legendary hero Thor. Since the ability to shoot lightning and summon storms does not translate well to toy form, Ultra Magnus compensates for this loss by having no fewer than a dozen hidden guns.
Like previous Leaders, Ultra Magnus has 3 distinctive voice clips-
"Ultra Magnus here!"
"We must return the Allspark to Cybertron!"
"Don't be a hero Optimus; It's not in your programming."
He is also compatible with the Headmaster unit, but that does not change the sounds.
Ultra Magnus is the third installment in the Leader-class for the Animated line, and he is without a doubt the best of the bunch. He's visually impressive without being simplistic and isn't bogged down with an unusual secondary gimmick. In short, Ultra Magnus is an absolutely GORGEOUS figure and deserves a spot in anyone's collection. In the span of three hours he's become my favorite Animated figure and is quite possibly within my Top Five purchases for all of 2008. A+!!!
