The monster underneath. IDW really knows how to make kick-ass covers. This is perfect
Now that I have shattered everyone's heart and makes everyone doubt their own existence with getting Optimus Prime approved as Pure Evil, I have another candidate to discuss. While Optimus is initially the top dog of the work, he doesn't actually do much in the present. He is actually a Big Bad Wannabe at the story's end, the actual Big Bad is who I will discuss now. Let the trial commence.
What is the Work?[]
Transformers: Shattered Glass is a 2021 comic book series by IDW Comics, taking up 2 miniseries each of 5 issues. A reboot of the original Fun Publication comics, the concept of Shattered Glass is on this universe, nothing is the same as we usually know of the Transformers brand, as while in most stories, the Decepticons are vicious tyrants while the Autobots are freedom fighters, in this universe, the Autobots become drunk on their own pride and self-righteousness while the Decepticons still clung to their moral compasses. And because the Autobots were more competent... horrifying fates have all befell both Cybertron and Earth. To finally take what all was stollen by the Autobots and end their oppression, what all pocket of Decepticon resistance must band together to stop nefarious plans using the uncovered body of the titan, Metroplex, praying he does not heed the call of the last Prime (come now, I can't not reference my favourite TF work, can I?).
And weirdly but thankfully, the characterizations of famous Transformers are not a complete, uninteresting 180 from their usual portrayals. Jetfire is still bit of a Noble Demon, Slicer/Wheeljack is capable of introspection and reflection on his actions, Ratchet is still basically "I am a war vet, I have super duper PTSD", Soundwave is undyingly loyal to Megatron, Megatron while still heroic is a clear cynic. Now fun fact: did you know in Dark of the Moon, Sentinel Prime's role was supposed to be taken by Ultra Magnus, the usually loyal buddy to Optimus and his acting successor in the G1 cartoon? Well, in Shattered Glass, such idea will be realized. In this universe, Ultra Magnus is the Starscream to Optimus, an insecure but still dangerous egomaniac who actually performed a coup on Optimus and be the actual Big Bad of the work, showing himself to be even more dangerous.
Who is Ultra Magnus? What Has he done?[]
- Note: We know why this notice is here.
Ultra Magnus was originally a shy bureaucrat in Cybertron, knowledgeable on Cybertron's laws. This has allowed him to be the unofficial advisor to Orion Pax (the bot who will become Optimus Prime) to keep his attempts to rule over Cybertron legal. This will strain his friendship with Senator Shockwave, as they both know Orion doesn't care for the law and wants to abuse it the moment the time is write. That time comes when Orion has Magnus become the leader of his secret police force, to which Optimus bluntly calls out his secret lust for powers and take the job. When Shockwave confronts this, while Magnus tried to keep the peace, one of his men, Impactor, gets angered by Shockwave's barbs, to which another, Kup, snarks on how Magnus doesn't have a law to resolve the situation to which Magnus hurls Kup onto Impactor, dazing the former and heavily damaging the latter. Shockwave then asks if Magnus truly didn't know how to defuse the situation or really didn't want to until his ego was bruised, calling him as a coward.
This jab at Ultra Magnus' ego snaps him and he fully embraces his role as the ruthless leader of the Wreckers. Leaving Impactor's severely damaged body behind and dismissing him from the Wreckers, Ultra Magnus enforces Orion Pax's oppressive reign over Cybertron, culminating in him gleefully leading the Wreckers to massacre the entire Cybertronian Senate. Ultra Magnus personally ripped apart many of the Senators. At the end, he had Shockwave kidnapped under Orion's orders, gleeful in subjecting him to the barbaric Empurata torture, painfully removing his head and arms which are repalced with a fingerless and faceless arms and face to revoke his empathy, all to get back at Shockwave for his comment.
Thanks to Ultra Magnus, Orion Pax, who is now Optimus Prime, was able to secure his rise to power and enforced the Great War which will turn to Cybertron and Earth into desolate wastelands with only sparse pockets of civilization remaining, in which Magnus would secretly take out all threats to the Autobot supremacy. Long after the war is at the end and the Autobots had fractured into 3 factions that follow the 3 warlords, Optimus, Prowl and Goldbug (the new identity of Bumblebee). To keep tabs on what all is happening, Ultra Magnus has placed moles on each factions. Slicer was Ultra Magnus' appointed mole on Goldbug's team, keeping him up to speed on the unearthing of the titan, Metroplex. Once Goldbug's city, the Golden City, has fallen to the hands of Megatron and the Decepticon resistance, Ultra Magnus is not concerned about that, but on what would happen should Goldbug makes away with Starscream's immortal spark to awaken Metroplex.
Ultra Magnus then heads to Pax to discuss recent events, and when interrupted by Whirl and Sunstreaker who recites Cybertronian laws to bar him from entering to which Magnus intimidates them to let them into Optimus' room. Voicing his concerns on both the Decepticons claiming the Golden City and Goldbug being on his way to awaken Metroplex, Optimus is not interested, coming up with his own plan to instead use the Wreckers to simultaneously charge against Prowl, the Decepticons and Goldbug's Titan. Ultra Magnus is unimpressed, calling Optimus out on how he owes all of his successes to him. Performing a coup on Optimus, Ultra Magnus succeeds.
Still insecure over leading the Autobots as himself, Ultra Magnus has his and Optimus' bodies switched, to which while Ultra Magnus triumphs in Optimus Prime, Optimus can be left in a mutilated shell of Magnus' old body, his voice box disabled so he can't even scream in pain. Trying to awaken Metroplex, Ultra Magnus seeks to use the Titan to rampage all across Cybertron, hoping he could wipe out all Decepticons in the calamity that shall ensue. However, Slicer turns on Magnus as he sees Magnus for the madman he is, helping Soundwave face him off to which Magnus gets knocked out. By the time he reawakens, Jetfire removed Starscream's spark from Metroplex, sending him to crash down to the surface. Furious, Magnus tries to kill Soundwave however Slicer shoots him dead in disgust of how far he had fallen, sending his corpse to tumble out of Metroplex.
Mitigating Factors[]
Okay when it comes to everything, nope. Ultra Magnus did start out as a socially awkward, by-the-books nerd of a lawmaker, the dude becomes a complete budding psychopath when Shockwave criticizes him as a coward and literally ahs him tortured and mutilated for that, especially when that is not unfounded when Ultra Magnus is knowingly working with a guy he knows does not give a shit about the law. Now what all concern he has is only for himself, damn any Decepticons or even Autobots. Not even his own Wreckers. Like the only reason he tried to save Jazz when he barbs at "Ultra Magnus is why you succeeded" is not because of concern for Jazz, just only because he doesn't Prime to be pissed off and take out his anger on all of them, which is why he scolds Jazz for this later, and it's further shown when he had gravely injures Impactor and he just shrugs him off and tells the others to leave him behind. Heck, Slicer's reason for turning on the Wreckers is because he slowly realizes none of the Wreckers give a shit about each other
While it's rather clear he really is insecure about his own position and power which is why he replaces his own body with Optimus' former shell, and why he even covers his skull face with a hologram, but it is not even close to preventing because it is never presented to make Ultra Magnus sympathetic, but to show how much of a vain egomaniac he is who would gleefully do evil acts just to live up to an ego he knows he inflated. (And let's be real, Ultra Magnus' skull face is much more imposing than Optimus' body. What was he smoking on thinking switching with Optimus was better.)
Heinous Standard[]
Alongside Optimus as the worst in the universe. The story makes it clear the only reason Optimus was able to take over Cybertron and all the horror that will happen, from countless casualties as Cybertron and Earth become desolate wasteland, the countless warcrimes, were only possible because Magnus has been giving his services to Optimus as the leaders of the Wreckers and then massacring the Cybertronian Senate, with Magnus himself boasting to Optimus on how Optimus can only go so far because he was his ally. And of course he inflicted the horrific Empurata torture on Shockwave just to get back at him calling him a coward. And then upon usurping Optimus, he tries to use Metroplex to rampage across Cybertron for a genocidal crackdown on the Decepticons and anyone not loyal to him, damn all who could be collateral damage, a notion that slowly horrifies his fellow Wrecker, Slicer to turn against him.
Final Verdict[]
Should be another easy keep.
Strangely not as bad as his OG SG version, who was a full-on omnicidal maniac.