Fortress Maximus

 Fortress Maximus is the commander of the Autobot Headmasters. In the North American and European continuities, his head transforms into Cerebros, and Cerebros's head transforms into Spike. In Japan, the Cerebros component is known as Fortress, and the Spike component is called Cerebros. His body transforms into some kind of assault base, which in the Japanese continuity, can fly like a spaceship.

Cartoon Bio (US):

Cerebros was a peace-loving Autobot who decided he was sick and tired of all the fighting. Refusing to join his comrades in becoming Headmasters on Nebulos, he left to wander the planet by himself. Soon enough, he stumbled across the remains of the old Hive city, which the Hive had inhabited before they went underground.

To counter the threat of Scorponok, Spike and Cerebros built Fortress Maximus out of the city. With Spike firmly in control while joined, they followed Scorponok to Cybertron, where they fought. Fortress Maximus eventually came out on top, and after the plasma energy chamber was opened, he was abandoned by Spike. His present status is unknown, but it is assumed he was returned to Nebulos, with Cerebros as the Nebulans' guardian.

Cartoon Bio (Japan):

Fortress Maximus is one of the largest and most powerful of all Transformers. He is the leader of the Cybertron Headmasters, and takes command of the entire Cybertron army after Seibertron is destroyed and Rodimus Convoy leaves to search for a new homeworld. As a Headmaster, his head transforms into a smaller frame while his body transforms into a defense base/spaceship. There is no difference in personality or memories between the larger or smaller robots.

Because Metroplex is permanently grounded on Earth, Fortress Maximus is called upon to fight against the giant Megazarak whenever the Destron decides to spread his evil. To unite with his enormous body, he must concentrate all of the power within his body, which simultaneously allows him to merge and releases the Master Sword. The Master Sword is the main weapon that Fortress Maximus uses in his battles with Megazarak. He can manipulate its size so that it becomes large enough for battle or small enough to be stored inside. Fortress Maximus has not been beaten by Megazarak, no matter how much trickery or how many special weapons (like the Zarak Shield) Megazarak has used. He always gets the upper hand in battle, only to have Megazarak escape at the last second before the death blow can be felled.

Fortress' main weakness is his need to concentrate his powers before transforming. If he is weakened or low on energy, he is unable to compose himself and unlock the Master Sword from its holding area. He sometimes has to rely on the other Cybertrons to cover for him while he recharges himself. Fortress Maximus has shown the ability to absorb enery from the outside environment, which helps to speed up the necessary resting period.

As a leader, Fortress Maximus is level-headed and cool under fire. He is compassionate toward other living beings, and does not a zest for battle. He would rather not fight unless he absolutely has to, probably because of the toll it takes on his energy reserves. Since Rodimus Convoy is still alive, Fortress Maximus does not carry the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, but that does not mean that he lacks the wisdom or courage to be a good leader. Actually, he is well respected and appreciated by his troops possibly because of that fact.

Article submitted by: Jeremy Ryan.

Comic Bio (US):

Weary of war, Fortress Maximus, the leader of an Autobot resistance cell, announced his intention to quit the war. He stated his plans to retire on Nebulos, a planet of humanoids who had apparently been at peace for a very long time. Most of the Autobots under his command followed him to Nebulos, including the Technobots and Monsterbots.

On Nebulos, Fortress Maximus's attempts to make contact with the planet's government were meeting with resistance. Two of the planetary government's council members were debating over how to handle the situation. Galen, leader of the World-watchers, trusted the Autobots and championed them. Lord Zarak believed the Autobots were malevolent, and he had his henchmen make them appear to be hostile. Galen was forced to declare war on the Autobots. To prevent Nebulos from becoming another battleground, Fortress Maximus and several of his men surrendered their heads to Galen. Most of the rest merely surrendered their weapons.

Zarak called Scorponok, a Decepticon, to arrive on Nebulos to drive off the Autobots. Instead, Scorponok captured Zarak and his men and attacked the city where Fortress Maximus's head was kept. Desperate to drive off the Decepticons, Galen and four of his followers bio- engineered themselves to transform into the heads of the headless Autobots. With their brainpower thusly enhanced, the new Headmasters were easily a match for the Decepticons.

Eventually, Scorponok and some of his men also became Headmasters and captured the Autobot Headmasters. But when the war with the remaining Autobots threatened to consume Nebulos, Zarak freed them on the condition that they take the war off of Nebulos and onto Earth.

En route to Earth, an intermediate robot, Cerebros, was constructed for Galen to become the head of. Cerebros, in turn, would become the head of the newly enlarged Fortress Maximus. On Earth, they homed in on a distress signal sent by Goldbug, who had arrived at Mt.St.Hilary onto to find the Ark gone. While there, they met Spike, who was trying to locate his brother Buster. Galen refused to help Spike, and led the Autobots elsewhere. Scorponok arrived, and tried to capture Spike, but the Autobots returned in time to save Spike. In the ensuing battle, Galen was forced to seperate from Fortress Maximus, and was killed protecting Spike. Before he died, Galen gave Spike his control helmet, allowing Spike to control Fortress Maximus. The Autobots accepted Spike, in Fortress Maximus's body, to lead them in Galen's place.

Buster was found on an artificial island that served as Decepticon Headquarters. When it tried to launch into space, Fortress Maximus grasped the side of the island-turned-starship and hitched a ride. He was impaled by the ship's natural defenses, forcing Cerebros to disengage. Shockwave then emerged from the ship and shot Cerebros, forcing Spike to detach. While Shockwave moved to line up a shot on the human, Spike remotely activated Fortress Maximus's guns and took out Shockwave's thrusters, causing him to fall back to Earth. Spike was able to communicate with Buster briefly before being retrieved back into the Autobot shuttle.

Meeting up with the Autobots in the Ark, Fortress Maximus found himself caught up in a power struggle with Grimlock, who challenged him to a duel. Still badly damaged, Fortress Maximus allowed Blaster to be his champion. During the fight on the Earth's moon, the Decepticons launched a major attack on them. Realizing that Optimus was the only viable leader for the Autobots, Fortress Maximus sent Goldbug, Joyride, Getaway, and Slapdash to Nebulos with a disk containing Optimus Prime's mind. [Ed. Yes, I know this is absolutely stupid. Unless you believe Optimus's mind really does fit on 1.44 Mb. On the other hand, you could say Zachary was ahead of his time, and was using a Jaz disk or something.]

With Optimus back in command, Spike left the Autobots, keeping Fortress Maximus's body (including Cerebros) on the Ark. When the Ark crashed in Canada, and Galvatron emerged insane from the wreckage, Spike merged with Fortress Maximus again to toss Galvatron into the icy waters. Fortress Maximus was left on the Ark.

Years later, it was discovered that Megatron had taken control of the damaged Ark and had repaired it. Spike snuck onboard and merged with Fortress Maximus once again. With the help of Skydive, he fought Megatron, albeit unsuccessfully. Desperate to stop Megatron, he threw himself into the ship's antimatter conversion chamber while Skydive escaped the ship with Dr. Biggles-Jones. The Ark was decimated, but Megatron was later found to be alive. As far as anyone knows, Fortress Maximus and Spike are dead.



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