Devin picked Fortress Maximus for this week's episode in memory of actor Jason David Frank - Tommy Oliver on "Power Rangers" - who provided the voice of Emissary in "Titans Return," and who sadly passed away last year.
I didn't know a legendary Power Ranger voiced a transformer. That is so cool and saddening, knowing we will not get another chance to hear him as one again.
Been on this channel for years now , And I've seen every since obscure character video , I even are burritos while watching one , made them taste better somehow. But do you got more obscure characters left? You Dermot have tackled most of the a , b , And c list characters so far.
Fortress Maximus was actually a name that Hasbro had wanted to use since 1985; both Omega Supreme and Metroplex had that as early working names during development. In fact, the Marvel comic adaptation of the 1986 Movie called Autobot City "Fortress Maximus" in a caption box. The Marvel UK letters page eventually explained this by saying that the Autobot City was named Fortress Maximus in honor of the bot of the same name.
@@ChrisMcFeely so I picked the daikon colors from ultra Magnus and I took off the armor, and now I’m just blue and black Optimus prime Little slept with gold on So, if you know how to get in contact with Hasbro, could you ask him if I could be blue, black and gold Optimus prime? except I want to be an octopus prime, though I’d be the son of Optimus prime
That IDW Fort max was made into a 3rd party figure from fansproject called Warden. It can turn into a cybertronian tank but more importantly also into a head mode that can connect to G1 Fort max. His treads can clip onto his backpack. Very cool toy
Mastermind Creations tried their hand at IDW Fort Max with R-50 Supermax via crowdfunding. Unfortunately, that project came to nothing since they couldn't raise enough money to support it.
I prefer Maximus as a giant. It really helps show that there is often times someone or something else bigger, in this case Fortress Maximus. Thank you so much Chris for finally doing this video on Fortress Maximus. I can't wait to see the Basics video on Metroplex to round out the basics for the more popular Titans. We've had videos on Trypticon, Scorponok, Fortress Maximus, now all we need is Metroplex to complete it.
I also prefer Maximus as a Titan, specifically a much younger Titan (well, comparatively speaking 😅) in contrast to the more ancient Titans like Metroplex or the ones from the other colony planets like Caminus.
Of course, the reason regular-size versions were made was so he could actually be a *character,* able to properly interact with others, instead of being a giant, impassive plot device. Even in the Japanese cartoons, Fortress was his default form, the same size as other robots, able to be a character and play a role in stories, only sizing up to Maximus form for episode-ending fights, Megazord-style. It really wasn't until IDW that anyone cracked the formula for making Titans like Metroplex and Trypricon both giants AND working characters.
@@ChrisMcFeely yeah good synopsis. I’ve not read the comics with him in. To me it Makes most sense to have a headmaster and the head is the consciousness and the larger body is an avatar, an extension of the smaller robot
Being from Northern Ireland could not get Fortress Maximus when he came out in the 80s. He was apart of the group Hasbro did not think would "sell" in the UK. However a toy shop in Ballymena brought one from the US and give it away in a competition. At the time I was an adult so could not enter it. They had it on show and you could image how much I'd wanted to be a kid again.
14:39 I did like how IDW's Titans Return Arc depicted his giant form like an exo-suit. That's also how I like to interpret members of the House of Maximus from the Aligned continuity. (In addition to being members of the Elite Guard and being equipped with Nucleon Shock Canons, something that Knock Out knows about).
Personally I prefer the Japanese version of the Headmasters Concept and I especially prefer Fort Max being a full sized Titan over a "standard" sized Transformer. Brave Maximus was a gift from my late uncle for my 10th Birthday, right before Robots in Disguise started airing in the US, and is still probably my favorite color scheme for that mold. I love my Titans Return Fort Max and I even recently got my hands on Legends Grand Maximus but them making him a Retool of Metroplex really held the figure back: he's missing most of his weapons, Cerebros doesn't have a hiding area in City/Ship mode, the tower basically requires Cerebros to look complete, the tower lacks a control Room for Emissary, the legs don't fold up in city mode, and most of his weapons (all the arm and waist mounted guns) are just missing entirely.
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 It makes more sense for them to become their heads, so they could simply use those as their bodies and endure the weather of Master, rather than having to essentially pilot mechs in order to go outside.
Yeah, the toy needed a bigger budget, some ports are compatible with the pretenders toys (prime masters) from power of the primes, so you could give him his ab cannons in robot mode with a couple of them. The toy really suffers from the lack of weapons, but looks great next to Earthrise Scorponok.
Personally I prefer the smaller Fort Max because he can interact better with the rest of the characters. Also if you look at the Titans Return Fort Max (who keeps falling over because of a lack of ankle articulation) in alt mode he's not the size of a city, more like a mobile base or battle station, but Metroplex on the other hand can be as big as you like! That said I always had a mental picture of Fort Max and Godzilla just hanging out having a few beers!
@@scottdoesntmatter4409imo the best way to properly integrate Fortress Maximus in modern media is to have him be a sentient Titan like Metroplex, both being different Autobot cities/headquarters In my own headcannon WFC style movie adaptation I long for, Fort Max is the city where Sentinel Prime and his Autobots hold their last stand against the Decepticons, while Optimus Prime and his Autobots are stationed at Metroplex city. Or have either Titans be near Iacon and have whichever team at Iacon.
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 Yeah, if we were starting from scratch it would make more sense for Cerebros to be the character, however that's not how it happened in the old school comics, Fort Max and Scorponok were the size of Powermaster Optimus Prime and those are the toys I'd like. Also my Titans Return Fort Max stands fine when he's standing straight but the moment I get him into any kind of pose at all he topples over, and he's so big he brings every other figure on the shelf down with him!
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 I thought so at first but I compared mine to the ones in the video reviews like Optobotimus and the pictures but it looks legit, the problem is obvious, it's because he has no ankle articulation. You must be standing him with his legs quite close together, if you're spreading his legs (!) and he still stands you should come to my house and show me how it's done! XO
Fortress Maximus is awesome! The biggest of the Autobots and being so peaceful, he's the definition of a gentle giant among Transformers. Another change in 2001 RID is that Cerebros was more or less a drone controlled by the small Emissary robot and Brave/Fortress Maximus had very limited intelligence. The Earthrise Scorponok toy ended up standing up to the same height as Fort Max's Titans Return toy, but I think it's strangely fitting that both would be outgrown by a transforming planet.
@@dankerbell It was supposed to be "A Titan like Fortress Maximus or Trypticon should be the plot point of a Transformers film instead of another Unicron-focused story" but I forgot to add the rest🗿
Hmm, I think I lean more for good old Titan Fort Max while old TF IDW's Fort Max (regular bot; just taller then others, amusingly retaining little features like having little compartments on his body) comes close second. Honestly though, latter version of Fort Max would be interesting to get Legacy release.
Heres to Fort Max! Largest Transformer for years and awesome foil to Scorpinok!!! Also gotta give love to Spike for becoming one of the greatest Head Link modes in the entire Franchise !😮
I would like to adopt the idea 💡 of the mini-cons finally leaving Cybertron due to the latest war with Optimus and Megatron. Hence the reason Cybertron became soo rundown quickly.
i had both versions of him as a kid. my mom was in doll business and when she went to japan, she would always bring back a bunch of stuff for us kids. those were fun times.
Fortress maximus is now also considered a triple changer because he has more than just one mode so he is not just the biggest headmaster but also the biggest triple changing transformer.
My brother got him for $100, at the time. He wanted him so badly, because he had Skorponok about a year earlier. Nice thing too, as the toystore he bought Fort Max from went out of businesses I think some months later.
That was my first version of Max; he wasn't available in the UK when I was a kid, but when RiD came out, I was able to grab the Korean Car Robots version from BBTS... and frankly I wondered how a 10-year-old me would have ever transformed him..! 🤣
Fortress Maximus, is probably my second favorite titan transformer. Plus you have to give him props for becoming the new autobot leader after Rodimus prime.
Like the original, the Siege version of Cog could split into pieces, but in a different way. He was a Weaponizer which allowed him to separate into weapon pieces of different varieties for other Transformers to wear, which netted Cog an appearance in the tie-in Netflix animated series. The same could be said for Metroplex's tiny partners Six-Gun and Slammer, Scorponok's little pal Fasttrack, and Trypticon's tank partner Brunt.
In addition to the late Jason David Frank voicing the Emissary, Fortress Maximus in Titans Return was voiced by Michael Dorn aka Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Cool thing about RID Fortress/Brave Maximus is his size. Both Fortress and Grand’s smallest headmaster partners are human size that attach to the transformer size Cerebros components that themselves connect to the giant Fortress Maximus. For RID Fortress/Brave, the smallest component, Cerebros, is transformer size, who connects to the larger Emissary, who connects to the even larger Fortress, meaning that RID/Fortress/Brave Maximus is significantly larger than the already giant original Fortress and Grand Maximus.
It’s funny how we got so many toys out of crossover bots like Gigawatt, X-Spanse, JP93 & Tyrannocon Rex, a Ghostbusters repaint of MP-10 and Ectotron, yet we never got a Fortress Tiberius toy from the Star Trek Crossover.
Max and Spike having to finally work as one to beat Galvatron is still one of the best TF moments, finally becoming perfect symbiotes. I liked in Uprising, the small detail that he was bonded to three Witwicky generations. The next iteration should truly make him three individuals, working as one.
I never even realized that Grand Maximus was a separate character, and his little brother. When I watched Masterforce, I just thought Fortress upgraded himself into a Pretender.
In addition, in the JP Universe, "Brave Maximus" too was also part of 2005 Autobot City owing to the Robotmasters storyline where after sending the Destrongers of Car Robots into prison was sent back to Earth to aid the Cybertrons in their never ending struggles against the Destrons. It is from here where he remain inert until 2010-11 when his adventures with the KissPlayers sent him further into the past wherehe crashed on Master and served as a "divine" source of all sorts of "master" technology ( which Convoy of 2001 never used) like headmaster, targetmasters (that part in the JP show was a bit hokey), Pretendahs and the brainmaster tech.
Brave Maximus (of Car Robot) is the biggest of his kind. Kind of like the "head" module that attaches to the transtector is the size of a Convoy putting his fully combined height to that of a combiner/gestalt.
There is a little known fact about Fortress Maximus' battleship mode, in that it resembles the White Base from the Mobile Suit Gundam series. This little fact is stated on the TFWiki page for Fortress Maximus. While it was not mentioned in the episode, I thought it would be nice to mention it here in the comments. 💙
fort max was also seen in transformers armada under the name peritus maximus in a flash back scene of wheel jacks origin. he appeared as a regular sized bot in quick switch's colors and was overseeing a platoon with hotshot and wheeljack
I'd sell my soul for a masterpiece quality, titan scale toy of "Fortress Enterprise". 😅 Then all I'd need is some kind of Transformers/WH40k mashup and I could have a Transformer for each of my favourite Geekdoms. ☺️
I could have sworn you've already did an episode on Fortress Maximus before. Then again that might be because he was mentioned in so many of your other videos. He really left his footprint on so many aspects of the franchise.
I like to thing that I know a lot about Transformers, but this channel doesn't stop surprising me with info I never imagined. For example, I never knew Fort Max has so many origin stories!
Same, when I was introduced to the MTMTE version I hadn't yet watched Headmasters entirely...and once I had, it was hard to top his MTMTE arc of torture survivor, hostage-taking, and eventual redemption vs Overlord AND by becoming a law enforcer again.
Machinima really made the whole titan fight underwhelming and I don't think knees are supposed to bend that way 5:41 I think he's in extreme pain right now
I really like fortress Maximus and also I read about Fortress Maximus he is a member of a titan and headmaster and also a city base and also a new member of elite guard as defensive and I will enjoy 😉 your videos of transformers history and I put lots more likes 👍 on your TH-cam videos channel ❤
Im so happy this video was finally made, Fortress Maximus is my favorite autobot leader, just such a fun era when 2 titans commanded the forces of good and evil. I hope we can get a video about Ginrai soon
As a kid I bought my OG Fort Max at a garage sale for 5 bucks (and a weeks worth of dishes) best investment ever though the weeks worth of dishes suuucked
I like Fort Max personality and design in IDW. However, I enjoy his Titan size as well. Because it brings out an entire new scale to the Cybertronians.
IDW Fort Max had some mystery added to him in James Roberts Lost Light saga, Sentinel Prime/Infinitus called him Pious Maximus, identifying him as a historical transformer who looked identical to Fortress, Pious was 'last' seen at a spark relinquishment clinic which Rewind attended for information and Fortress had some shade on his origins in that he was called a made to order constructed cold warrior, but he was unaffected by Tyrest's killswitch meaning he was forged.
It could've been any number of things: small parts, pieces that break off when you drop him, places where a kid could catch his finger, etc. My guess is that the safety standards excuse wasn't entirely true. Hasbro is notoriously cheap, so producing a giant figure like that at a time when their brand was suffering was a risk they weren't ready to take. Keep in mind that the last giant figure, Cheetor, was a flop. It was also close to 9/11, so releasing a building that's meant to be attacked might have been seen as tasteless. Robots in disguise aired its first episode 3 days before 9/11!!! Keep in mind that we didn't get another "giant" until Unicron, who was released during one of the three peak times for the brand. Unicron was such a a hit that we get one or two giant figures a year, but prior to that, it was a rarity.
Chris I know you can hear me Do these basics: Tailgate G1 appearance - games - comics - tf prime Gears G1 - games etc. Tracks G1 - rid 2015 blacklist appearance Sunstreaker G1 - comics ??? Evac 2005 tf cybertron - Transformers wild ride ROTF Jolt G2 - G2 comics - Armada - Tf Revenge of the Fallen - Tf Dotm (comics)
I honestly really like when Fort Max is normal-sized but keeps the moniker (or at least a bit of it). It’s a ‘clothes don’t make the person’ kinda thing in the model of other Marvel stories, where if it took power or a weapon or a suit to make you great then you were never great at all. The reason he’s such a powerhouse when he IS giant is the strength of character required to use amazing power for justice. ‘Fortress’ just makes him seem so resilient and inspirational in spirit that he might as WELL be a giant. The whole headmaster thing is about unity and throwing bits of yourself to the wind for even one shot at contributing to a better whole, so he might as well embody that even when he’s not binary-bonded to a squishy pal by being a total champ.
Some additional information on the molds that got reused. There's a small spike headmaster figure that was included with the Takara Legends Bumblebee, a version of the head was used to make a Gaasuu Kurobikari Science Laboratory themed figur, the TFwiki reading: This set was a special mail-away offer available with purchase of the 2017 DVD/Blu-Ray of the Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 2016 "24 Hours No Laughing Doctor of Science" special, which the set's deco is based on. Orders had to be sent in by January 31, 2018, and the set was mailed out in July that year. It had a Yamada and Matsumoto Robohead which fit into a Giant Fujiwara head.
I knew about this (retconned) g1 continuity connection about the brave maximus of car robots. Ultimately not only do the colors recall the diaclone series in particular the great robot base, but thanks to this invention brave maximus is precisely the forerunner, the pre-tf, of fortress maximus.
My favorite version of Fortress Maximus is the Marvel comics one, especially when bonded with Galen. Spike was always concerned with locating Buster or going back to college, while Galen gave up everyone he loved to lead the Autobots on the Steelhaven to Earth.
Agree, they wrote Spike very bad in the comics, he abandoned his Autobot allies after becoming one of the strongest and was practically forced to rejoin their fight, his cartoon self would have never done that.
The only other bot that could top ft max would have to be Unicron since he is a planet himself. Now if they would do a Primus that transformed into cybertron that would be awesome!
Yes, they took a lot of inspiration from Gundam and other japanese series, in Super God Master Force Ginrai got a flying upgrade and Rocket Punchs like Mazinger Z and Star Saber was designed by the same guy who designed the original Gundam, sharing a lot of features with it.
Fortress Maximus is my favorite Transformers character. He just exudes pure awesomeness with his sheer size, firepower, and Headmaster gimmick. I plan on buying the Legends figure sometime in the near future.
Great suggestion by Devin. Great synopsis as always. Only one teeny tiny thing could have been added: "Master Sword! Big Mode...Transform!" Yes, it was a stock footage piece every time Fortress transformed, but it was what made the G1J character so unique, at least in my mind. It definitely tainted my view of the Spike version and the Galan version (thank goodness he was a Headmaster and not a Powermaster and spend half the issue just eating everything in sight!). To this day I curse the fact that I could only get a hold of the NA release of the Titans Returns version. Just not the same without the Master Sword. I know it has been 3-4 years since you did a video on the G1J series and one on Scorponok, but have you though on doing one on Devil Z/Zarak/Black Zarak? The "Legends" comic had a great origin story for him.
This was a great episode. And considering how amazing this channel is normally, I mean it has high praise!! Fort Maxx is a personal favorite...so thank you!!
I own the figure of Fortress Maximus, specifically the Takara -Tomy Encore reissue from some years back. Until that reissue i never thought i would own it as the prices for the g1 original on the secondary market put it out of my financial reach , The Encore release wasn't exactly cheap but it was something i could afford. Also i'd like to point out that the Modern version of Fort Max from Titans return remains the tallest Transformers figure sold through normal retail sale as they 27 inch Unicron was a mail order only product from haslab.
There was a scene in the Tom Hanks film "Big" where he was in a meeting for a toy pitch where a building transformed into a robot. Hank's character said, "what kid would play with a building?" And here we see Fortress Maximus.
My Favorite take on him is the Japanese Concept. That Colossal Titan that dwarfed Metroplex. I don´t like the cartoon Headmasters much, but the concept of the Trasnsectors is much cooler in my opinion!
During the Plague I rescued a Titans Return Maximus off ebay [for ~50 counting shipping]. It was missing his head, some weapons and decals. I am still in the process of converting it into a warhammer 40k Imperator Class Titan, basically a walking castle. Once I figure out the knees, it will be able to still partially transform into a fortress, by sitting down. With the landing pad on top [large enough to support 2-3 deluxe-class flyers like Windblade or Springer] and at full height it stands nearly 4' tall. What used to be Maximus' Feet/Ankles are now the Titan's knees, with a pair of 40k Bastions [each almost as tall as the original legs] as his feet/shins, and the original knees being what I need to add an additional point of rotation to to allow it to sit down.Ine arm is extended with a cannon almost the size of G1 Megatron and the other with a drop pod acting as a power fist, itself around the size of a 1-liter soda bottle.
Devin picked Fortress Maximus for this week's episode in memory of actor Jason David Frank - Tommy Oliver on "Power Rangers" - who provided the voice of Emissary in "Titans Return," and who sadly passed away last year.
Oh my
I didn't know a legendary Power Ranger voiced a transformer.
That is so cool and saddening, knowing we will not get another chance to hear him as one again.
The captions on this video are messed up. The text for the entire video pops up all at once at the beginning, and then goes away.
Been on this channel for years now , And I've seen every since obscure character video , I even are burritos while watching one , made them taste better somehow. But do you got more obscure characters left? You Dermot have tackled most of the a , b , And c list characters so far.
@@natishafrancis1215R.I.P.
Fortress Maximus was actually a name that Hasbro had wanted to use since 1985; both Omega Supreme and Metroplex had that as early working names during development.
In fact, the Marvel comic adaptation of the 1986 Movie called Autobot City "Fortress Maximus" in a caption box. The Marvel UK letters page eventually explained this by saying that the Autobot City was named Fortress Maximus in honor of the bot of the same name.
Less "Hasbro," more "Budiansky," I think! Had this factoid in an early very of the script for this video, but had to drop it cos this got so long!
@@ChrisMcFeelyEmissary was Voiced by Jason David Frank who passed away in November 2022, RIP Jason David Frank
@@ChrisMcFeely A big video for a big character!
@@ChrisMcFeely so I picked the daikon colors from ultra Magnus and I took off the armor, and now I’m just blue and black Optimus prime Little slept with gold on So, if you know how to get in contact with Hasbro, could you ask him if I could be blue, black and gold Optimus prime? except I want to be an octopus prime, though I’d be the son of Optimus prime
@@ChrisMcFeely Primus that’s that’s I didn’t know Transformers what is gory? well, that’s just prime
That IDW Fort max was made into a 3rd party figure from fansproject called Warden. It can turn into a cybertronian tank but more importantly also into a head mode that can connect to G1 Fort max. His treads can clip onto his backpack. Very cool toy
Mastermind Creations tried their hand at IDW Fort Max with R-50 Supermax via crowdfunding. Unfortunately, that project came to nothing since they couldn't raise enough money to support it.
Perfect Effect made Warden.
@@twistedgaming9185 I already know that.
Ikr
@twistedgaming9185 and its awesome. One of the best figures out there.
I prefer Maximus as a giant. It really helps show that there is often times someone or something else bigger, in this case Fortress Maximus. Thank you so much Chris for finally doing this video on Fortress Maximus. I can't wait to see the Basics video on Metroplex to round out the basics for the more popular Titans. We've had videos on Trypticon, Scorponok, Fortress Maximus, now all we need is Metroplex to complete it.
I also prefer Maximus as a Titan, specifically a much younger Titan (well, comparatively speaking 😅) in contrast to the more ancient Titans like Metroplex or the ones from the other colony planets like Caminus.
I did love how they worked in the cartoon's Witwicky to work as a comic character alongside Buster.
Amazing summary Chris. Its so weird they made regular sized versions of Fortress. His size was kind of his standout characteristic.
The point of of the titans is that they are large city sised robits,there's no reason for making smaller versions of them.
Of course, the reason regular-size versions were made was so he could actually be a *character,* able to properly interact with others, instead of being a giant, impassive plot device. Even in the Japanese cartoons, Fortress was his default form, the same size as other robots, able to be a character and play a role in stories, only sizing up to Maximus form for episode-ending fights, Megazord-style. It really wasn't until IDW that anyone cracked the formula for making Titans like Metroplex and Trypricon both giants AND working characters.
@@ChrisMcFeely yeah good synopsis. I’ve not read the comics with him in. To me it
Makes most sense to have a headmaster and the head is the consciousness and the larger body is an avatar, an extension of the smaller robot
Now I'm imagining the titans have a Enegon grog session the chaos if the stumble 😅
On 2nd thought who would supply that much for them Mc Adams??
agreed, especially with a name like fortress maximus
Being from Northern Ireland could not get Fortress Maximus when he came out in the 80s. He was apart of the group Hasbro did not think would "sell" in the UK. However a toy shop in Ballymena brought one from the US and give it away in a competition. At the time I was an adult so could not enter it. They had it on show and you could image how much I'd wanted to be a kid again.
14:39 I did like how IDW's Titans Return Arc depicted his giant form like an exo-suit.
That's also how I like to interpret members of the House of Maximus from the Aligned continuity.
(In addition to being members of the Elite Guard and being equipped with Nucleon Shock Canons, something that Knock Out knows about).
I've never heard of the House of Maximus? What is it about?
@@muhammadHassan-kj1jy It's based on/inspired by the House group from IDW's comics.
For me this is one of the most epic episodes ever! Thanks Chris, really appreciate all the effort and love you put in creating these documentaries.
Personally I prefer the Japanese version of the Headmasters Concept and I especially prefer Fort Max being a full sized Titan over a "standard" sized Transformer.
Brave Maximus was a gift from my late uncle for my 10th Birthday, right before Robots in Disguise started airing in the US, and is still probably my favorite color scheme for that mold. I love my Titans Return Fort Max and I even recently got my hands on Legends Grand Maximus but them making him a Retool of Metroplex really held the figure back: he's missing most of his weapons, Cerebros doesn't have a hiding area in City/Ship mode, the tower basically requires Cerebros to look complete, the tower lacks a control Room for Emissary, the legs don't fold up in city mode, and most of his weapons (all the arm and waist mounted guns) are just missing entirely.
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 It makes more sense for them to become their heads, so they could simply use those as their bodies and endure the weather of Master, rather than having to essentially pilot mechs in order to go outside.
Yeah, the toy needed a bigger budget, some ports are compatible with the pretenders toys (prime masters) from power of the primes, so you could give him his ab cannons in robot mode with a couple of them. The toy really suffers from the lack of weapons, but looks great next to Earthrise Scorponok.
I would love a basics on tracks anyone else agree?
Right here!
Agreed. I first had Beachcomber, Brawn, Powerglide, Warpath & Cosmos.
Tracks was my first 'larger' sized Transformer. Good times
@@superunknown8775 Warpath has been covered, I believe.
Definitely. My favourite design from the first wave Autobots. I'd love videos on Road Rage and Loudpedal too.
Same here. If they give more attention to the character, I would love to see him cover Needlenose.
Personally I prefer the smaller Fort Max because he can interact better with the rest of the characters. Also if you look at the Titans Return Fort Max (who keeps falling over because of a lack of ankle articulation) in alt mode he's not the size of a city, more like a mobile base or battle station, but Metroplex on the other hand can be as big as you like! That said I always had a mental picture of Fort Max and Godzilla just hanging out having a few beers!
@@scottdoesntmatter4409imo the best way to properly integrate Fortress Maximus in modern media is to have him be a sentient Titan like Metroplex, both being different Autobot cities/headquarters
In my own headcannon WFC style movie adaptation I long for, Fort Max is the city where Sentinel Prime and his Autobots hold their last stand against the Decepticons, while Optimus Prime and his Autobots are stationed at Metroplex city. Or have either Titans be near Iacon and have whichever team at Iacon.
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 Yeah, if we were starting from scratch it would make more sense for Cerebros to be the character, however that's not how it happened in the old school comics, Fort Max and Scorponok were the size of Powermaster Optimus Prime and those are the toys I'd like.
Also my Titans Return Fort Max stands fine when he's standing straight but the moment I get him into any kind of pose at all he topples over, and he's so big he brings every other figure on the shelf down with him!
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 I thought so at first but I compared mine to the ones in the video reviews like Optobotimus and the pictures but it looks legit, the problem is obvious, it's because he has no ankle articulation. You must be standing him with his legs quite close together, if you're spreading his legs (!) and he still stands you should come to my house and show me how it's done! XO
11:09, "Fortress Tiberius"
Lol!
That's perfect as that is James Kirk's middle name.
Wish there was a toy.
Fortress Maximus, the Titan who has stomped our wallets flat with his massive and expensive action figures!
I like how the rid 2001 version of him looks exactly like his g1 self.
*Unicron melody intensifies*
I will own him one day.... WHEN I AM RICH
I remember him in Toys R Us, on a shelf endcap... He was $99.99.
It would be a decade and a half before I had one.
Expensive? I bought Fortress, Grand AND Brave, just to harvest their parts to make a cool, darker version. X D
Fortress Maximus is awesome! The biggest of the Autobots and being so peaceful, he's the definition of a gentle giant among Transformers. Another change in 2001 RID is that Cerebros was more or less a drone controlled by the small Emissary robot and Brave/Fortress Maximus had very limited intelligence. The Earthrise Scorponok toy ended up standing up to the same height as Fort Max's Titans Return toy, but I think it's strangely fitting that both would be outgrown by a transforming planet.
Another one of my favorites. Still remember getting the orig. G1 that Christmas 87 and still have him to this day
Hot take: A Titan like Fortress Maximus or Trypticon should be the plot point of a Transformers film
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 Imagine a 2v2 with Metroplex and Fort Max vs Trypticon and Scorponok...in live action!
@@ltb1345 Earth ain't got no room for this. It would be a huge ass exoplanet with enough room for a tag team match.
huh why is that a hot take
@@dankerbell It was supposed to be "A Titan like Fortress Maximus or Trypticon should be the plot point of a Transformers film instead of another Unicron-focused story" but I forgot to add the rest🗿
That is a lukewarm take
Technically if you think about it he's still the tallest Titan because Unicron isn't Titan he's a planet eater
@@scottdoesntmatter4409 oh yea
Hmm, I think I lean more for good old Titan Fort Max while old TF IDW's Fort Max (regular bot; just taller then others, amusingly retaining little features like having little compartments on his body) comes close second.
Honestly though, latter version of Fort Max would be interesting to get Legacy release.
I've been waiting all week for your latest episode Chris, it's always a thrill to watch your work.
iv been waiting a year or two for this
Never forget how i saw his 3p toy and was confused how hes a headmaster that turns into a head
The Enterprise version nearly made me spit out my drink. I had no idea that was a thing.
Heres to Fort Max! Largest Transformer for years and awesome foil to Scorpinok!!! Also gotta give love to Spike for becoming one of the greatest Head Link modes in the entire Franchise !😮
I would love it if Hasbro made a Marvel inspired Leader or commander class Fort Max as well as a Scorponok.
Scorponok recently got a titan class. In 2020 i think.
If I understood your comment correctly you'd like a smaller Fort Max comparable to Prime, if so I agree, I'd also like a scaled down Scorponok.
People say that can be done from armada megatron
@@HappyBirthdayRoboto Agreed.
I would love that, since the Marvel versions of both of them are easily my favorite versions.
Thanks for this. I was always confused by his regular size in the early comics. ✨✅✨
“Fortress Maximus has come himself”
I guess this is where I admit I have a lot of love for The Rebirth, and Fort Max's entrance in ep3 rules.
I would like to adopt the idea 💡 of the mini-cons finally leaving Cybertron due to the latest war with Optimus and Megatron.
Hence the reason Cybertron became soo rundown quickly.
By Far, my most Favourite Transformer since his Debut.
I love the color scheme for the G1 toy at 7:51 - repainted as Brave Maximus.
i had both versions of him as a kid. my mom was in doll business and when she went to japan, she would always bring back a bunch of stuff for us kids. those were fun times.
Oh lucky you. I would have loved that.
I can easily see the live-action version of Fort Max.
Cerebros: "I can't fight"
Sam: "JUST DO IT!!"
One of the Best Characters/Titans of the Entire Transformers Franchise my friends. Thanks.
Fortress maximus is now also considered a triple changer because he has more than just one mode so he is not just the biggest headmaster but also the biggest triple changing transformer.
My first introduction to Fortress Maximus was in RID 2001. I remember as a kid watching it & being awestruck when I saw how massive he was
My brother got him for $100, at the time. He wanted him so badly, because he had Skorponok about a year earlier. Nice thing too, as the toystore he bought Fort Max from went out of businesses I think some months later.
RID Fortress Maximus/Brave Maximus is one of my Transformers holy grails
That was my first version of Max; he wasn't available in the UK when I was a kid, but when RiD came out, I was able to grab the Korean Car Robots version from BBTS... and frankly I wondered how a 10-year-old me would have ever transformed him..! 🤣
Metroplex: gets a bigger toy
Fortress Maximus: "And I took the personally"
Fortress Maximus, is probably my second favorite titan transformer. Plus you have to give him props for becoming the new autobot leader after Rodimus prime.
I rem seeing that Fortess Maximus in the Transformers catalogue and was never found a kid on the block that had this. It was a legend.
Like the original, the Siege version of Cog could split into pieces, but in a different way. He was a Weaponizer which allowed him to separate into weapon pieces of different varieties for other Transformers to wear, which netted Cog an appearance in the tie-in Netflix animated series. The same could be said for Metroplex's tiny partners Six-Gun and Slammer, Scorponok's little pal Fasttrack, and Trypticon's tank partner Brunt.
In addition to the late Jason David Frank voicing the Emissary, Fortress Maximus in Titans Return was voiced by Michael Dorn aka Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Cool thing about RID Fortress/Brave Maximus is his size. Both Fortress and Grand’s smallest headmaster partners are human size that attach to the transformer size Cerebros components that themselves connect to the giant Fortress Maximus. For RID Fortress/Brave, the smallest component, Cerebros, is transformer size, who connects to the larger Emissary, who connects to the even larger Fortress, meaning that RID/Fortress/Brave Maximus is significantly larger than the already giant original Fortress and Grand Maximus.
It’s funny how we got so many toys out of crossover bots like Gigawatt, X-Spanse, JP93 & Tyrannocon Rex, a Ghostbusters repaint of MP-10 and Ectotron, yet we never got a Fortress Tiberius toy from the Star Trek Crossover.
Max and Spike having to finally work as one to beat Galvatron is still one of the best TF moments, finally becoming perfect symbiotes.
I liked in Uprising, the small detail that he was bonded to three Witwicky generations.
The next iteration should truly make him three individuals, working as one.
This was the basics episode i've been waiting for for years at this point. I never cared much for Fort. Max until his appearence in IDW.
I never even realized that Grand Maximus was a separate character, and his little brother. When I watched Masterforce, I just thought Fortress upgraded himself into a Pretender.
In some dubs they named him Fortress Maximus, they also named Ginrai as Optimus Prime.
In addition, in the JP Universe, "Brave Maximus" too was also part of 2005 Autobot City owing to the Robotmasters storyline where after sending the Destrongers of Car Robots into prison was sent back to Earth to aid the Cybertrons in their never ending struggles against the Destrons. It is from here where he remain inert until 2010-11 when his adventures with the KissPlayers sent him further into the past wherehe crashed on Master and served as a "divine" source of all sorts of "master" technology ( which Convoy of 2001 never used) like headmaster, targetmasters (that part in the JP show was a bit hokey), Pretendahs and the brainmaster tech.
Brave Maximus (of Car Robot) is the biggest of his kind. Kind of like the "head" module that attaches to the transtector is the size of a Convoy putting his fully combined height to that of a combiner/gestalt.
I love you videos I have been waching your channel for 3 years and your videos make me understand a lot more about transformers history.
There is a little known fact about Fortress Maximus' battleship mode, in that it resembles the White Base from the Mobile Suit Gundam series.
This little fact is stated on the TFWiki page for Fortress Maximus.
While it was not mentioned in the episode, I thought it would be nice to mention it here in the comments. 💙
fort max was also seen in transformers armada under the name peritus maximus in a flash back scene of wheel jacks origin. he appeared as a regular sized bot in quick switch's colors and was overseeing a platoon with hotshot and wheeljack
I'd sell my soul for a masterpiece quality, titan scale toy of "Fortress Enterprise". 😅 Then all I'd need is some kind of Transformers/WH40k mashup and I could have a Transformer for each of my favourite Geekdoms. ☺️
Super excited for fort max but I always look forward to your basics!
Frootloop Multipuck as Grimlock called him in the comic.
I could have sworn you've already did an episode on Fortress Maximus before. Then again that might be because he was mentioned in so many of your other videos. He really left his footprint on so many aspects of the franchise.
I thought so too but only "THE BASICS on TITANS" and "THE BASICS on HEADMASTERS" seemed close
14:30, it's appropriate that Unicron be taller than Maximus.
I mean, he's a PLANET after all.
I like to thing that I know a lot about Transformers, but this channel doesn't stop surprising me with info I never imagined. For example, I never knew Fort Max has so many origin stories!
The G1 toy was the toy I dreamed of having most
The More Than Meets the Eye version is my fav!
Same, when I was introduced to the MTMTE version I hadn't yet watched Headmasters entirely...and once I had, it was hard to top his MTMTE arc of torture survivor, hostage-taking, and eventual redemption vs Overlord AND by becoming a law enforcer again.
Machinima really made the whole titan fight underwhelming and I don't think knees are supposed to bend that way 5:41 I think he's in extreme pain right now
It's okay; his knees go both ways... 😜
My favourite is the Marvel version aka Fullstrength Motleypuss.
I really like fortress Maximus and also I read about Fortress Maximus he is a member of a titan and headmaster and also a city base and also a new member of elite guard as defensive and I will enjoy 😉 your videos of transformers history and I put lots more likes 👍 on your TH-cam videos channel ❤
Im so happy this video was finally made, Fortress Maximus is my favorite autobot leader, just such a fun era when 2 titans commanded the forces of good and evil.
I hope we can get a video about Ginrai soon
Fortress maximus, prepare for your death today, your gonna die -
Scorponok
Fortress Maximus is unable to enlarge - the narrator
Scorponok: Fortress Maximus has come himself
A basics on Brainstorm would be awesome, such a great character.
As a kid I bought my OG Fort Max at a garage sale for 5 bucks (and a weeks worth of dishes) best investment ever though the weeks worth of dishes suuucked
Fortress Maximus is one of my favorite Transformers. Go Big or Go Home 😃
I like Fort Max personality and design in IDW.
However, I enjoy his Titan size as well. Because it brings out an entire new scale to the Cybertronians.
Fun fact: In the Titans Return Web Series, Emissary was voiced by the late Power Rangers Alumni Jason David Frank.
IDW Fort Max had some mystery added to him in James Roberts Lost Light saga, Sentinel Prime/Infinitus called him Pious Maximus, identifying him as a historical transformer who looked identical to Fortress, Pious was 'last' seen at a spark relinquishment clinic which Rewind attended for information and Fortress had some shade on his origins in that he was called a made to order constructed cold warrior, but he was unaffected by Tyrest's killswitch meaning he was forged.
Why didn't Maximus pass Hasbro safety standards?
It could've been any number of things: small parts, pieces that break off when you drop him, places where a kid could catch his finger, etc.
My guess is that the safety standards excuse wasn't entirely true. Hasbro is notoriously cheap, so producing a giant figure like that at a time when their brand was suffering was a risk they weren't ready to take. Keep in mind that the last giant figure, Cheetor, was a flop. It was also close to 9/11, so releasing a building that's meant to be attacked might have been seen as tasteless. Robots in disguise aired its first episode 3 days before 9/11!!!
Keep in mind that we didn't get another "giant" until Unicron, who was released during one of the three peak times for the brand. Unicron was such a a hit that we get one or two giant figures a year, but prior to that, it was a rarity.
Nice! This is exactly what I needed this morning!
Chris I know you can hear me
Do these basics:
Tailgate
G1 appearance - games - comics - tf prime
Gears
G1 - games etc.
Tracks
G1 - rid 2015 blacklist appearance
Sunstreaker
G1 - comics ???
Evac
2005 tf cybertron -
Transformers wild ride ROTF
Jolt
G2 - G2 comics - Armada -
Tf Revenge of the Fallen -
Tf Dotm (comics)
This was the last transformer I bought when I was a kid. Started to outgrow toys by then. My kids loved them also.
I honestly really like when Fort Max is normal-sized but keeps the moniker (or at least a bit of it). It’s a ‘clothes don’t make the person’ kinda thing in the model of other Marvel stories, where if it took power or a weapon or a suit to make you great then you were never great at all. The reason he’s such a powerhouse when he IS giant is the strength of character required to use amazing power for justice. ‘Fortress’ just makes him seem so resilient and inspirational in spirit that he might as WELL be a giant. The whole headmaster thing is about unity and throwing bits of yourself to the wind for even one shot at contributing to a better whole, so he might as well embody that even when he’s not binary-bonded to a squishy pal by being a total champ.
I proudly own a g1 Fort Max, but it is currently missing from where it was supposed to be and it's driving me nuts that I can't find it.
Great vid mate. And the original G1 Fort Max is my toy 'grail' so love seeing any stuff on him.
Fanstoys is making a Fort Max figure that is going to be about 1.2 meters tall. It's insane.
There's also a Metroplex in the works thats the size of a man.
(THAT big)
Would love to see a basics video on the decepticon infernocus
Honestly, I think that'd be a _really short_ video...
His only appetance is in the last knight and he's only known for getting sliced by optimus.
@@justinarzola4584 He _did_ get a toy. That adds about fifteen seconds to the video.
Some additional information on the molds that got reused. There's a small spike headmaster figure that was included with the Takara Legends Bumblebee, a version of the head was used to make a Gaasuu Kurobikari Science Laboratory themed figur, the TFwiki reading: This set was a special mail-away offer available with purchase of the 2017 DVD/Blu-Ray of the Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 2016 "24 Hours No Laughing Doctor of Science" special, which the set's deco is based on. Orders had to be sent in by January 31, 2018, and the set was mailed out in July that year. It had a Yamada and Matsumoto Robohead which fit into a Giant Fujiwara head.
I hope one day we can get that Star Trek Crossover as a figure. Another Great episode, Chris!
GROMIT, WE NEED TO DEFEAT THE DECEPTICONS GROMIT 1:30
I knew about this (retconned) g1 continuity connection about the brave maximus of car robots. Ultimately not only do the colors recall the diaclone series in particular the great robot base, but thanks to this invention brave maximus is precisely the forerunner, the pre-tf, of fortress maximus.
My favorite version of Fortress Maximus is the Marvel comics one, especially when bonded with Galen. Spike was always concerned with locating Buster or going back to college, while Galen gave up everyone he loved to lead the Autobots on the Steelhaven to Earth.
Agree, they wrote Spike very bad in the comics, he abandoned his Autobot allies after becoming one of the strongest and was practically forced to rejoin their fight, his cartoon self would have never done that.
The only other bot that could top ft max would have to be Unicron since he is a planet himself. Now if they would do a Primus that transformed into cybertron that would be awesome!
Has anyone else noticed that Fort Max's starship mode in G1 was clearly inspired by White Base from OG Gundam.
Yes, they took a lot of inspiration from Gundam and other japanese series, in Super God Master Force Ginrai got a flying upgrade and Rocket Punchs like Mazinger Z and Star Saber was designed by the same guy who designed the original Gundam, sharing a lot of features with it.
Finally, one of my favourite characters! Amazing video as always!
Rid Fortress Maximus's lore is so underrated
Fortress Maximus is my favorite Transformers character. He just exudes pure awesomeness with his sheer size, firepower, and Headmaster gimmick. I plan on buying the Legends figure sometime in the near future.
Great suggestion by Devin. Great synopsis as always. Only one teeny tiny thing could have been added:
"Master Sword! Big Mode...Transform!"
Yes, it was a stock footage piece every time Fortress transformed, but it was what made the G1J character so unique, at least in my mind. It definitely tainted my view of the Spike version and the Galan version (thank goodness he was a Headmaster and not a Powermaster and spend half the issue just eating everything in sight!). To this day I curse the fact that I could only get a hold of the NA release of the Titans Returns version. Just not the same without the Master Sword.
I know it has been 3-4 years since you did a video on the G1J series and one on Scorponok, but have you though on doing one on Devil Z/Zarak/Black Zarak? The "Legends" comic had a great origin story for him.
Fortress Maximus' combat alternative mode looks like the White Base from Mobile Suit Gundam.
This was a great episode. And considering how amazing this channel is normally, I mean it has high praise!! Fort Maxx is a personal favorite...so thank you!!
I own the figure of Fortress Maximus, specifically the Takara -Tomy Encore reissue from some years back. Until that reissue i never thought i would own it as the prices for the g1 original on the secondary market put it out of my financial reach , The Encore release wasn't exactly cheap but it was something i could afford. Also i'd like to point out that the Modern version of Fort Max from Titans return remains the tallest Transformers figure sold through normal retail sale as they 27 inch Unicron was a mail order only product from haslab.
There was a scene in the Tom Hanks film "Big" where he was in a meeting for a toy pitch where a building transformed into a robot. Hank's character said, "what kid would play with a building?"
And here we see Fortress Maximus.
My Favorite take on him is the Japanese Concept. That Colossal Titan that dwarfed Metroplex. I don´t like the cartoon Headmasters much, but the concept of the Trasnsectors is much cooler in my opinion!
My second Patreon sponsored episode. This time to honor Jason David Frank.
During the Plague I rescued a Titans Return Maximus off ebay [for ~50 counting shipping]. It was missing his head, some weapons and decals. I am still in the process of converting it into a warhammer 40k Imperator Class Titan, basically a walking castle. Once I figure out the knees, it will be able to still partially transform into a fortress, by sitting down. With the landing pad on top [large enough to support 2-3 deluxe-class flyers like Windblade or Springer] and at full height it stands nearly 4' tall. What used to be Maximus' Feet/Ankles are now the Titan's knees, with a pair of 40k Bastions [each almost as tall as the original legs] as his feet/shins, and the original knees being what I need to add an additional point of rotation to to allow it to sit down.Ine arm is extended with a cannon almost the size of G1 Megatron and the other with a drop pod acting as a power fist, itself around the size of a 1-liter soda bottle.
Hell Yeah! its always a good weekend when Chris Uploads
One of my favorites! Thank you.
Finally, i hope Metroplex also comes before the end of the year
7:52 does galvatron's transform into hand and plug in the fortress maximus?