Magnus

Origin

By the year 4000, society has become entirely dependent on robots. Magnus is a warrior who was trained since birth to protect humans against rogue robots.

Creation

The original series was named Magnus Robot Fighter 4000 AD and was published by Gold Key. Russ Manning created this character in 1963.

In the 1990s, Magnus Robot Fighter was published by Valiant and Acclaim, and from 2010-2011 by Dark Horse Comics. In 2014, Dynamite Entertainment began releasing a new series starring Magnus.

Character Evolution

Over the years, Magnus has remained relatively the same character, but some aspects of the concept have varied with each publisher.

In the Valiant Universe, Magnus was part of a group called Freedom Force that led a revolt against an alien race of robots, called Malevolents, who attacked the earth. This would be known as the Malev War. Also, in Valiant he is the son of Torque and Kris Hathoway who are Harbingers.

Major Story Arcs

Powers & Abilities

• Superhuman strength
• Superhuman durability
• Extensive Martial Arts training
• A special implant allows Magnus to secretly receive and translate communications between robots

Original Appearances

• Gold Key / Whitman Comics (1963 – 1974)
• Valiant Comics (1991 – 1996)*
• Acclaim Comics (1996 – 2000)*
• iBooks (2005)
• Dark Horse Comics (2010 – 2011)
• Dynamite Entertainment (2014 – present)

Note: Valiant Comics was purchased by Acclaim in 1994, however, Acclaim continued to release all comics under the Valiant banner until a line-wide relaunch in 1996.

The rights to all Gold Key characters (Magnus, Solar, Turok, etc.) had always belonged to Western Publishing (later Golden Books Family Entertainment) until they were acquired by Classic Media in 2001. In 2012, Classic Media was then bought by DreamWorks Classics.