FORTRESS MAXIMUS

Allegiance: Autobot
Sub-Group: Headmaster
Human Component: Spike Witwicky
Function: Headmaster Commander

First Cartoon Appearance:
The Rebirth, part 3 (as Fortress Maximus)
The Rebirth, Part 1 (Cerebros)
More Than Meets the Eye (G1, episode1) Spike Witwicky
First Comics Appearance:
Headmasters #1

"Prepare for war, but strive for peace."

Other PIX:
Fort Max in robot mode, BIG
Fort Max, robot mode, ready for battle

Profile: Valiant, courageous, powerful beyond measure, Fortress Maximus is a warrior without compare, but one whose most feverent wish is to never have to fight agtain.  All his early life, Fortress Maximus trained as as an architect, become the creator of many of Cybertron's proudest monuments.  With his ability to transform into vast construction bases, many of his creations were crafted by his own hand.  So Fortress Maximus learned to build, not destroy.  When war came, he did not hesitate to turn his gifts to the ways of combat, adapting one construction base into a repair bay, the other into a battle station.  But as the war spread and he saw his constructions tumble and fall with countless lives lost in the process, he began to see how pointless and counter-productive battle was.  He began to fight with only one aim in mind -to bring an end to the senseless conflict.  He would fight with only one aim in mind, to bring an end to the senseless conflict.  He would fight, but only out of necessity, only to save other lives.  Drawing inspiration from Optimus Prime, Fortress Maximus carried on his noble work after Optimus disappeared, assuming Prime's mantle of Autobot leader.  But as the war dragged on, so Fortress Maximus's ideals dulled, his purpose lost in one battle after another.  Realizing he was losing his very self, Fortress Maximus and a group of Autobots left Cybertron, bound for the planet Nebulous, a world where they could live in peace.  But the Decepticons followed, bringing the war with them.  <In the comics...> To better combat the Decepticons and convince the Nebulans of their honest intent, Fortress Maximus removed his head, letting the Nebulan leader Galen repace it.  Galen's body was bio-engineered to combine with an intermediary form, Cerebros and transform into a facsimile of Fortress Maximus proud visage.  Through his mind link with Galen/Spike, Fortress Maximus rediscovered his p[urpose.  The battle would not be won by turning his back on it.  So he returned to the war, fighting once more, every battle a small step towards his ultimate goal... the end of all hostilities.  When Gallen was killed, (comics storyline only) the human Spike Witwicky took over as Fortress Maximus's binary-bonded partner.  Spike a college student, had no long term plans to continue in this role and eventually quit.  But as he has continued to find out  the binary bonding goes deep indeed an his own courage and comittment will be tested to the fullest; that is in the G1 comics storyline by Marvel! 

In the the shows, Fortress Maximus is the rebuilt city of the "Hive."  Cerebros has Autobot with strongly pacifist morals, and after some convincing agrees to assist Spike in the endeavor to create a robot capable of defending Cybertron against Lord Zarak and the sting of Scorponok.

Abilities: In both robot and battle station mode, Fortress Maximus is a walking armory. Retractable pulse cannons (emitting a strong ion beam capable of disrupting and incapacitating internal circuits), twin automatic machine gun batteries (wrist mounted in robot mode), twin laser guided mortars (in lower legs), dual laser blasters (with a heat-seeking target lock system) and a fusion powered photon rifle make his firepower second to none.  His battle station is fully equipped with communication, detection and radar equipment.  While his repair bay has extensive re-fit facilities for almost any Transformer and a wide range of spare parts.  From either repir bay or battle station Fortress Maximus can operate t\wo remote controlled vehicles, Gaasket and Grommet; using them to supply instant battleground first aid/repairs or as offensive/defensive combat units.  Whnen in robot mod, Gasket and Grommet combine to form the radio controlled warrior/mechanic, Cog.  Fortress Maximus head transforms into a robto form called Cerebros.  In the comics, cerebros is controlled entirely by Spike/Galen.  In the television series, Cerebros had his own very distinct personality (with spark) and together with Spke would controll Fortress Maximus.  In the comic series it was Fort Max who had a spark and w/ Spike could control the other components (Cog and Cerebros.)  

Despite his size, Fortress Maximus is both very strong and very fast.  Though seemingly awkward, his bulky configuration moves with well oiled ease.  His greatest asset though, is his vast intellect and capacity for crafting instant tactical decisions.  To him, crafting an attack is like blueprinting a structure and it's almost second nature.

Other awesome pix of Fort Maximus in City Mode:

The throttle bots coming out of the working elevator and Nebulans in emerging from the "conference room!"

In his other "right leg tower" there is a room w/ door and what looks to be another elevator door or could be used as a jail cell for captured Decepticon Nebulans.
PIC #1 and PIC #2

Smaller pic of FM in city mode, w/o lots of other toys in the "city limits!"

Weaknesses: The many parts of Fortress Maximus, each requiring a portion of his concentration sometimes leave the whole vulnerable to attack.  When guiding Gasket and Grommet through a battlefield, he relies almost totally on automated defense systems to safe guard him from attack.  If incapacitated in robot mode, Fortress Maximus has no choice but to utilize his second robot form, the much smaller and infinitely more vulnerable Cog.  Beyond these slight problems, Fortress Maximus has no known weaknesses.

Other Appearances: The personality known as Fortress Maximus has not appeared again in any other generation of the Transformers Universe besides the forth short TV season and the G1 comics. However there was (in my way  of looking at it) an anther "Fortress Maximus" built in the separate time line that the Transformers characters of R.I.D. existence. (Whether you think of RID as a "parallel universe" or a different time in the TF universe w/ a multitude of TF characters having the same names as G1 personalities.)

MORE PIX!
City mode, arrival on Cybertron (cartoon)
Battle Station mode, at night! (cartoon)
Battle Station, blasting away! (cartoon)
Cerebros, on Nebulos (cartoon)
Cerebros, on Cybertron observing the 
beginning of the next golden age! (cartoon)
Battle Station Mode (toy)

Fortress Maximus came in the most breath taking and (re-packagable) box.  Here are some pix of him, in package.

Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3

Picture 4, Picture 5, Picture 6