History ComicBook / MagnusRobotFighter

A third side in the conflict is the "gophs", contracted from "gopher", the humans who live in the squalid slums beneath the "milespires" where the upper classes of humanity live. The human/robot conflict is literally over their heads for the most part, but they will obviously suffer along with everyone else if a robot war comes.

A third side in the conflict is the "gophs," the humans who live in the squalid slums beneath the "milespires" where the upper classes of humanity live. The human/robot conflict is literally over their heads for the most part, but they will obviously suffer along with everyone else if a robot war comes.

* FantasticFightingStyle
* FantasticRacism

* TheFuture
* HeroesFightBareHanded

* NiceHat: The robot mayor of Synchron wears a silly-looking top hat, thinking it makes him look sophisticated.

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] had taken over the book) [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters (Before her death in the war, Magnus had had UnstableRomanticTension with Tekla, for pity's sake!). One could argue that it's not necessarily implausible behavior for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point,]] [[WarIsHell the war having taken a ghastly toll on him]], but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]

A third side in the conflict is the "gophs," the humans who live in the squalid slums beneath the "milespires" where the upper classes of humanity live. The human/robot conflict is literally over their heads for the most part, but they will obviously suffer along with everyone else if a RobotWar comes.

We also get to see some of the world beyond [=NorthAm=], most notably Japan, home to the hero Rai who then gets his own spin-off comic. Magnus's world is also fully incorporated in the the Valiant [[TheVerse universe,]] crossing over with its other titles either by time travel or by the presence of long-lived characters like [[ComicBook/EternalWarrior Gilad the Eternal Warrior]].

So it goes for a while, and then [[BizarroEpisode aliens invade.]] Specifically, alien ''robots'' called the Malevs who had appeared in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} series, but had been a minor plot element there. Here, they arrive, co-opt most of the existing robot population, and conquer the Earth. All of the original plot arcs are overwhelmed by the fight against the alien invaders. While the Malev War certainly has strong fans among the Valiant Comics fanbase, it can also be argued that it drastically derailed the basic premise of the comic. Here we get a RobotWar, but ironically, it's one that has little to do with the original human/robot conflict. The war does end, eventually; [[spoiler: but not well for Earth's robots.]]

There was a short-lived reboot series by Louise Simonson when Valiant changed over to Acclaim Comics. Over a decade later, there was another short-lived reboot series from Creator/DarkHorseComics, written by Jim Shooter again, which went for a more modern, cyberpunk aesthetic than the previous RaygunGothic look. This was followed by a reboot from Creator/DynamiteComics, and then by ''another'' reboot from Dynamite focusing on a ''[[DistaffCounterpart female]]'' Magnus who works as a diplomat/[[Literature/IRobot robopsychologist]] and deals with AI's mainly in [[InsideAComputerSystem cyberspace.]] Meanwhile, Magnus' spin-off character Rai received a reboot in the revived Valiant Comics in 2012, omitting all references to Magnus himself for licensing reasons.

The 90's Valiant series picks up where the original series left off, initially making a great effort to be faithful to the old setting, characters, and art style. The two main differences are a much greater focus on the class conflict between the gophs and the "cloud cloddies" who live on the milespires; and [[StrawmanHasAPoint Magnus' grudging realization that the robots who are chafing under slavery have a perfectly legitimate point.]] So Magnus now has to try and balance the situation to prevent both a race war between man and robot, and also a class war between the upper classes and the gophs.

* Creator/ValiantComics

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] [[CompletelyMissingThePoint had taken over the book)]] [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters (Before her death in the war, Magnus had had UnstableRomanticTension with Tekla, for pity's sake!). One could argue that it's not necessarily implausible behavior for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point,]] [[WarIsHell the war having taken a ghastly toll on him]], but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]

* BadassNormal: Magnus, originally—but during Valiant's company-wide [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] "Unity," this was [[RetCon retconned]] so Magnus' dad had superhuman strength which Magnus inherited.

* BadassNormal: Magnus, originally—but during Valiant's company-wide [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] "Unity," this was [[RetCon retconned]] so Magnus's dad had superhuman strength which Magnus inherited.

There was a short-lived reboot series by Louise Simonson when Valiant changed over to Acclaim Comics. Over a decade later, there was another short-lived reboot series from Creator/DarkHorseComics, written by Jim Shooter again, which went for a more modern, cyberpunk aesthetic than the previous RaygunGothic look. This was followed by a reboot from Creator/DynamiteComics, and then by ''another'' reboot from Dynamite focusing on a ''[[DistaffCounterpart female]]'' Magnus who works as a diplomat/[[Literature/IRobot robopsychologist]] and deals with AI's mainly in [[InsideAComputerSystem cyberspace.]] Meanwhile, Magnus's spin-off character Rai received a reboot in the revived Valiant Comics in 2012, omitting all references to Magnus himself for licensing reasons.

The 90's Valiant series picks up where the original series left off, initially making a great effort to be faithful to the old setting, characters, and art style. The two main differences are a much greater focus on the class conflict between the gophs and the "cloud cloddies" who live on the milespires; and [[StrawmanHasAPoint Magnus's grudging realization that the robots who are chafing under slavery have a perfectly legitimate point.]] So Magnus now has to try and balance the situation to prevent both a race war between man and robot, and also a class war between the upper classes and the gophs.

A [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] [[{{Comics}} comic book]] hero, originally published by Creator/GoldKeyComics in the 1960s. He was revived by Creator/ValiantComics in the 1990s, and has appeared sporadically under other publishers' banners since then.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/magnus_robot_fighter.jpg]]

* ShoutOut: Magnus was designed to resemble {{Tarzan}} in many ways, to play up the primitive vs. technology angle.

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] [[CompletelyMissingThePoint had taken over the book)]] [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters (Magnus had had UnstableRomanticTension with Tekla, for pity's sake! She was already dead by this point.). One could argue that it's not necessarily implausible behavior for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point,]] [[WarIsHell the war having taken a ghastly toll on him]], but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Leeja's dad Senator Clane in the Creator/GoldKeyComics. He becomes a little more ambiguous in the 90's version for being narrow-minded, but he's still a mostly sympathetic character.

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] [[CompletelyMissingThePoint had taken over the book)]] [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters (Magnus had had UnstableRomanticTension with Tekla, for pity's sake!). One could argue that it's not necessarily implausible behavior for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point,]] [[WarIsHell the war having taken a ghastly toll on him]] (and poor Tekla was already dead), but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] [[CompletelyMissingThePoint had taken over the book)]] [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters (Magnus had had UnstableRomanticTension with Tekla, for pity's sake!). One could argue that it's not necessarily implausible behavior for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point,]] [[WarIsHell the war having taken a ghastly toll on him,]] but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] [[CompletelyMissingThePoint had taken over the book)]] [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters. One could argue that it's not necessarily implausible behavior for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point,]] [[WarIsHell the war having taken a ghastly toll on him,]] but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] [[CompletelyMissingThePoint had taken over the book)]] [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters. One could argue that it's not necessarily out of character for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point,]] [[WarIsHell the war having taken a ghastly toll on him,]] but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]

There was a short-lived reboot series by Louise Simonson when Valiant changed over to Acclaim Comics. Years later, there was another short-lived reboot series from Creator/DarkHorseComics, written by Jim Shooter again, which went for a more modern, cyberpunk aesthetic than the previous RaygunGothic look. This was followed by a reboot from Creator/DynamiteComics, and then by ''another'' reboot from Dynamite focusing on a ''[[DistaffCounterpart female]]'' Magnus who works as a diplomat/[[Literature/IRobot robopsychologist]] and deals with AI's mainly in [[InsideAComputerSystem cyberspace.]] Meanwhile, Magnus's spin-off character Rai received a reboot in the revived Valiant Comics in 2012, omitting all references to Magnus himself for licensing reasons.

There was a short-lived reboot series by Louise Simonson when Valiant changed over to Acclaim Comics. Years later, there was another short-lived reboot series from Creator/DarkHorseComics, written by Jim Shooter again, which went for a more modern, cyberpunk aesthetic than the previous RaygunGothic look. This was followed by a reboot from Creator/DynamiteComics, and then by ''another'' reboot from Dynamite focusing on a ''[[DistaffCounterpart female]]'' Magnus who works as a diplomat/[[Literature/IRobot robopsychologist]] and deals with AI's mainly in [[InsideAComputerSystem cyberspace.]]

Currently, Creator/DynamiteComics has started four new series for Gold Key alumni Magnus, ComicBook/{{Turok}}, ComicBook/DoctorSolar, and Doctor Spektor.

There was a short-lived reboot series by Louise Simonson when Valiant changed over to Acclaim Comics. Years later, there was another short-lived reboot series from Creator/DarkHorseComics, written by Jim Shooter again, which went for a more modern, cyberpunk aesthetic than the previous RaygunGothic look. This was followed by a reboot from Creator/DynamiteEntertainment, and then by ''another'' reboot from Dynamite focusing on a ''[[DistaffCounterpart female]]'' Magnus who works as a diplomat/[[Literature/IRobot robopsychologist]] and deals with AI's mainly in [[InsideAComputerSystem cyberspace.]]

A few years ago there was a short-lived reboot series from Creator/DarkHorseComics, written by Jim Shooter.

* MoralDissonance: Magnus's eventual decision (after [[DependingOnTheWriter a new creative team]] [[CompletelyMissingThePoint had taken over the book)]] [[spoiler: to destroy all robots, after the horrors of the Malev War have eroded all his sympathy on the matter. The resultant society is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans actually pretty good, for humans at least,]] but it's cringe-inducing for fans who remember the sympathetic robot characters. One could argue that it's not necessarily out of character for Magnus [[ShellShockedVeteran by that point]] [[WarIsHell (the war took its toll on him),]] but the creepy thing is that [[WhatTheHellHero none of the other human characters call him out on it.]] Scratch that, no -- the ''truly'' creepy thing is that the ''authors'' don't call him out on it. Needless to say, Jim Shooter was long gone and the book was under [[DependingOnTheWriter different management]] by this point. Perhaps they were aiming for [[{{Irony}} irony,]] but if so, it's so understated that you really can't tell.]]