Ultra Mammoth (Beast Wars Transformers)

We can do this one of two ways: my way, or the hard way.

Name: Ultra Mammoth
Allegiance: Maximals
Function: Sheriff
Timeline: Generation 1 (Beast Era)

Toyline: Convention Exclusive Transformers

Profile:

While the galaxy following the Pax Cybertronia was a considerably more peaceful place than it had been during the Great Wars, there were still those who sought to disturb the peace. Inspired by tales of the immortal Autobot lawman, Ultra Magnus, one young Maximal took his name and set out on a one-robot crusade to bring law to the wild and lawless fringes of the universe. His name is Ultra Mammoth.

Much like the Autobot he named himself after, Ultra Mammoth possesses a strong sense of justice. And also like Ultra Magnus, Ultra Mammoth possesses a good deal of humility - just as Ultra Magnus never viewed himself as anything more than a soldier, Ultra Mammoth doesn't have any illusion that he is anything other than an enforcer of intergalactic law. When it comes to the enforcement of the law, Ultra Mammoth is tenacious and unrelenting - he will track down wrongdoers wherever they lurk and issue them a simple ultimatum "surrender, or we do this the hard way". As Ultra Mammoth's reputation for defeating even the toughest criminals spread throughout the galaxy, many would-be outlaws confronted by the lawman choose what Mammoth calls "the sensible option" and turn themselves in. Indeed, legend speaks of how Ultra Mammoth simply arriving in a settlement is enough to make criminals turn themselves in. This gives the impression that Ultra Mammoth is a 'bot who takes an extreme hard line on crime; where as actually, Ultra Mammoth does have a softer side. He takes pity on those whose only crime is to steal food when they are in poverty, or whose abandonment by society has pushed them into a walk of life they'd never asked for. These individuals receive little more than a stern telling-off by Ultra Mammoth or possibly his help in finding a better way to live their lives. However, others - particularly those dealing in the enslavement of others or in black-market arms dealing - receive no quarter from Ultra Mammoth. So great is Ultra Mammoth's reputation as a lawman that he is accepted by a host of different alien races across the galaxy, able to move through many alien territories with a freedom most Cybertronians can only dream of.

After a long career of bringing law and order to the cosmos, Ultra Mammoth disappeared. Some say it was because his work was done, others that he'd fallen in the line of duty. But there are a few who speculate that the mighty Ultra Mammoth had been recruited by a higher power to bring his unique approach to law and order to other realities. Whatever the truth is, many could agree that through his singular efforts the galaxy was is a more peaceful and lawful place than it was when he found it.

Abilities:

The only thing stronger than Ultra Mammoth's sense of justice is his array of weapons. From calf-mounted guided missiles to shoulder cluster missile pods, Ultra Mammoth is a walking arsenal. His firepower is almost unparalleled among the Maximals. Ultra Mammoth's signature weapon is his "Quaternary Eliminator", a gigantic bazooka that can produce blasts of absolute zero cold to freeze opponents solid in a glacier.

Ultra Mammoth is an incredibly strong and tenacious combatant. A series of upgrades and a dedicated training regime has pushed his physical strength and endurance to the peak of what is achievable for a Maximal. Ultra Mammoth has mastered multiple forms of hand-to-hand combat, including Diffusion and Tekkaido. His preferred weapons for close combat are a pair of tonfas built into his forearms which are forged from the armour of the original Ultra Magnus. Other than their unique heritage, the tonfas possess no special properties.

Weaknesses:

Ultra Mammoth doesn't work well with others, viewing them as an impediment to justice being done. This can leave him in tough spots without any sort of backup. His beast mode can be slow and ponderous.

Wooly mammoth mode:

Additional images of Ultra Mammoth:

More information on Ultra Mammoth at TFW2005

Author notes:

When I approach writing any Transformer for this little character bio project of mine, I always start by looking at their established bios to draw out some ideas. The original bio by Fun Publications for Ultra Mammoth had him as a Generation 1 Ultra Magnus who'd ended up in the Beast Wars era due to a time-travel mishap. I didn't like this idea - in my mind, the Beast Wars should be its own separate era of history and there shouldn't be too many of the G1 guys around. Let them enjoy their retirement - their war is over.

So for Ultra Mammoth I decided that he'd be a legacy character - someone with an incredibly strong sense of justice who'd been inspired by the histories of the Autobots. In that way he's sort of a heroic version of Beast Wars Megatron in that both were inspired by their respective forebears. A side-effect I only realised after I'd started writing was that Ultra Mammoth would be carrying on the idea of the "immortal lawman" Ultra Magnus that was introduced as a concept in the IDW More than Meets the Eye comic series. That wasn't my intention going in, but I absolutely embraced it when it happened because it works with the established lore around Ultra Magnus. You can also see a few other aspects of the IDW Ultra Magnus, particular how he was portrayed in his first appearance in Spotlight: Ultra Magnus. I very much had that incarnation of the character in mind when I was writing.

One aspect that I never managed to work into the bio because it didn't fit the flow of the narrative is that in my mind, Ultra Mammoth has a rival, a "Moriarty" to his "Sherlock Holmes" or a "Penguin" to his "Batman". That rival is the Beast Era gangster and crimelord, Cryotek. I see the pair of them having a long-running, bitter rivalry. Who else would be in Ultra Mammoth's rogues gallery? There's potentially an entire series of stories right there. Who knows, maybe in the era after the Beast Era Ultra Mammoth and his adventures have become the stuff of comic books and pulp novels?

All-in, I have to say that writing this bio has made me a lot more enthusiastic for the Ultra Mammoth toy. When I got it, I wasn't that excited for it - it was a weird recolour of Big Convoy that at the time I didn't see the need for and only got because I'd subscribed to the figure subscription series that he was a part of. But going back, I appreciate the character far more now. It's a cool deco that works for the toy. Giving him a proper backstory that in my eyes fits into the Beast Wars setting has even helped me rehabilitate Ultra Mammoth as a part of my collection.

Welcome to my multiverse, Ultra Mammoth.