History Literature / Ultramarines

** ''Warriors of Ultramar'': Being the DirtyCoward he is, Simon van Gelder [[spoiler: shuts down Erebus City's air defences so his starship can take off without being shot down. During take off, his ship narrowly avoids a crash with an Ultramarines Thunderhawk... and the swarm of Tyranid gargoyles that were pursuing the Space Marine aircraft attack the new target that just appeared in their way. Without the air defence guns to bring the aliens down, van Gelder's ship is overwhelmed and he is torn apart when the Tyranids break into the cockpit]].

* ArmedWithCanon: There seems to be an ongoing war between Creator/GrahamMcNeill and Matt Ward. The former has repeatedly tried to lessen the Ultramarines recent depiction as [[GodModeSue God Mode Sues]] [[SpotlightStealingSquad who everyone wants to be]] in his novels. The latter has made repeated efforts to Retcon [=McNeill=]'s novels out of existence.
** Averted as of Ward's latest book, as it still has M'kar's attack on Ultramar only now adding Eldar to the mix.
** Also with the latest Codex, writer Robin Cruddace more or less took Ward's side.
*** Probably because God Mode Sues are GW's depiction taken on by more or less every codex writer since 2e's Codex: Ultramarines declared them the "Greatest of All Space Marines" on its back cover.

* BittersweetEnding: All six books:

* BloodMagic: The Mortificators' shamanic rituals involve drinking each other's blood, giving them visions that have a surprising, but not perfect accuracy.

* CoolGate: Guilliman's Gate on Calth, which is a mile-high gate leading into the underground of Calth, is studded with decorations and defenses. Like much of Macragge's architecture, it's a monolithic work designed around both beauty ''and'' functionality.

* BadDreams: Uriel gets these both in ''Nightbringer'' and ''The Chapter's Due'': in the case of the former, [[spoiler: as a result of being exposed to the Nightbringer's presence]] and [[spoiler: due to the telepathic link between Uriel and the Newborn]] in the latter.

The ''Ultramarines'' series by Creator/GrahamMcNeill delineates the adventures of one member of the titular Ultramarines, Captain Uriel Ventris: ''Nightbringer''; ''Warriors of Ultramar''; and ''Dead Sky, Black Sun'' (in the omnibus ''Ultramarines''); ''The Killing Ground'', ''Courage And Honour'', and ''The Chapter's Due'' (In the second ''Ultramarines'' omnibus).

->''We are the Ultramarines, the Sons of Guilliman. Whilst we draw breath, we stand. Whilst we stand, we fight. Whilst we fight, we prevail. Nothing shall stay our wrath.''\\
-->-- '''Marneus Calgar''', Chapter Master of the Ultramarines

->''Agitatis Ultramarini!''\\
''Dominitis Ultramarini!''\\
''Non praestatis Ultramarini!''\\
''Nobilitis Ultramarini!''\\
-->-- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt1M8iZNHpQ Ultramarines' Chant]], ''Chaos Gate''

-- '''Marneus Calgar''', Chapter Master of the Ultramarines

-->''Agitatis Ultramarini!''\\

-- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt1M8iZNHpQ Ultramarines' Chant]], ''Chaos Gate''

* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: In ''Courage and Honor'' when the Tau blow up the Administratum Tax Bureau.
--> ''Perversely, its destruction gave rise to a huge cheer from the ranks of the defenders, proving that even faced with alien invasion, there were few more hated individuals than those who levied taxes.''

* ArmedWithCanon: There seems to be an ongoing war between Creator/GrahamMcNeill and [[PromotedFanboy Matt Ward]]. The former has repeatedly tried to lessen the Ultramarines recent depiction as [[GodModeSue God Mode Sues]] [[SpotlightStealingSquad who everyone wants to be]] in his novels. The latter has made repeated efforts to Retcon [=McNeill=]'s novels out of existence.

** Also with the lastest Codex, writer Robin Cruddace more or less took Ward's side.
*** Probably because [[GodModeSue God Mode Sues]] are GW's depiction taken on by more or less every codex writer since 2e's Codex: Ultramarines declared them the "Greatest of All Space Marines" on its back cover.

%%* GoOutWithASmile

[[folder:The Fall of Damnos]]
While not part of the same Ultramarines series. The Fall of Damnos is part of the "Space Marine battles" series dealing with the Ultramarine 2nd Company trying to save the mining world form Necrons.

The book was also the first glimpse of the then upcoming new Necron personality for both the Imperuim and the readers.

!!The novel, contain examples of:

%%* ActionSurvivor: Everyone from Damnos by the time the Ultramarines show up.
* AntiVillain: The Flayed Lord, realized how messed up he has become but can't really stopped himself.
* BigDamnHeroes: Agrippan saving Sicarius and killing the Voidbringer.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: of the Necrons in there ResistanceIsFutile line.
--> ''We are the Necrontyr. We are Legion. We Claim Dominion of this World... Surrender and Die.''
%%* ForegoneConclusion: Its in the title.
%%* HopeBringer: The Ultramarines, Inverted for The Harbinger of Despair.
%%* LaughingMad: The Voidbringer while fighting Sicarius.
%%* MouthOfSauron: The Harbinger
* PyrrhicVictory: The book ends on one, the Ultramarines save Kellenport, but half of 2nd Company is killed or wounded including Captain Sicarius, most of Damnos' defensives are gone and the Necrons haven't even begum to fight.
[[/folder]]

** Techmarine Harkus makes a few to StarTrek in ''Warriors of Ultramar''

* PunnyName overlapping with MeaningfulName: They are [[CaptainObvious Marines]], wearing lapis-blue (i.e. ultramarine) armour, who are the ultimate examples of the standard Space Marine doctrine, and are based in the territory of Ultramar. Said name is the Spanish version of ''Outremer'', the collective name for the medieval Crusader states founded by knightly orders (a rather good analogy for their sub-empire), and also (in its more general meaning of "overseas") the root of the pigment's name.

* ItHasBeenAnHonor: Uriel gets at least one of these per book, usually just before the final battle.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Everything Kasimir de Valtos does [[spoiler: (from hiring Dark Eldar pirates to recover Necrontyr artefacts and raid Imperial settlements, to buying off high ranking members of the Pavonis cartel system, then murdering them once they were no longer of any use to him, to setting off a planet wide civil war to ensure those loyal to the Imperium couldn't interfere with his schemes) was all in the name of cheating his inevitable death by freeing the Nightbringer and gaining immortality as a reward. Unfortunately for him, it was all for nothing]].

* NeverHurtAnInnocent: The Ultramarines are one of the few chapters which actually have some understanding of the phrase "civilians", and are one of the few to try and minimize civilian casualties. Pasanius is so enraged that Inquisitor Kryptman went behind the Ultramarines back to subject a planet to ''exterminatus'' that he nearly ''strangled'' Kryptman right in front of a Deathwatch kill team.

* TheNoseKnows: Brother Henghast, a member of Kryptman's assigned Deathwatch Kill-Team originally from the Space Wolves Chapter in ''Warriors of Ultramar'', evokes this trope when he removes his helm [[spoiler: to smell the correct way to go aboard the Tyranid Hive Ship. Justified as a Space Wolf's senses are even sharper than a normal Space Marine's (which are far removed from a human).]]

* PowderKegCrowd: Several examples of this in ''Nightbringer'', where heavy handed policing by the Adeptus Arbites results in bloody and violent rioting.

* PragmaticHero: Governor Leto Barbaden in ''The Killing Ground'' considers himself one, mixed with the DarkShepherd. He [[spoiler: argues that his decision to bomb the city of Khaturian-which the local resistance had been using as a safe haven for their families-to the ground in order to goad the rebels into a foolhardy attack against the Achamen Falcatas was the best choice, as it allowed him to root out the rebel leaders and end the insurrection in a single stroke. He is later lambasted by Uriel and several of his own advisors that this was more a case of StupidEvil, as his actions turned what had been a small scale insurrection into a planet-wide state of hostility towards him and his men, to the point where his guardsmen cannot leave the safety of their barracks without being subjected to ambushes, bombings and guerilla attacks]].

* RoaringRampageofRevenge: [[spoiler: Sylvanus Thayer in ''The Killing Ground''. Having seen his family die in the bombing of Khaturian and being left a quadriplegic cripple with 90% third degree burns to his body in his futile attempt to avenge them causes latent psychic abilities to awaken in Thayer, which he uses to enslave the ghosts of Khaturian and the recently arrived Unfleshed to his will to serve as pawns to allow him to exact his revenge on all those responsible. He is also uncaring of the fact that his vengeance-fuelled powers run the risk of opening a warp rift on Salinas that will necessitate the planet's destruction by the Inquisition unless he is stopped]].

** Mykola Shonai in ''Courage and Honour''. [[spoiler: She invitied a Tau delegate to talk with the intention of having the Tau establish trading links with the hopes of bringing Pavonis out of its economic depression, but when the Tau (as Uriel warned) resorted to violence when their overtures were rebuffed, she is arrested, tortured and brutally interrogated to learn what other information she might have given the xenos, the savagery of which ultimately kills her]].

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: [[spoiler: Barbaden invokes this in ''The Killing Ground'' after his imprisonment for Khaturian, dismissive of the comments of his detractors that his actions will see him put in front of a firing squad, confident that he can easily petition the Sector Governor to force his release. Unfortunately, the ghosts of those he murdered at Khaturian have other ideas...]]
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Uriel and Pasanius get one in "The Killing Ground"; [[spoiler:their final test to prove their purity after returning from the Eye of Terror is an unarmed duel with Brother Leodegarius of the Grey Knights. They are [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown utterly thrashed]], only to discover they weren't supposed to win; only those who were empowered by Chaos could have won, so by losing, Uriel and Pasanius proved they were untainted]].

** In the fourth book, several characters seem to share first names with members of Music/SystemOfADown

-->'''Aun'rai''': You are a doomed culture...You thirst for gain and personal glorification while your Imperium rots from within. Such a society cannot, ultimately, survive.

* TakeMyHand: [[spoiler: Uriel does this to Captain Bannon in ''Warriors of Ultramar'' while trying to pull him aboard a departing Thunderhawk as he dangles from a rapelling cable. Bannon, already locked in combat with what is either a winged Tyrant Warrior or possibly a Hive Tyrant (the in-text description isn't clear), instead cuts his line, falling to his death blow to allow the Thunderhawk to escape and preventing the creature from getting aboard]].

%%* {{Tearjerker}} (''Warriors of Ultramar'' in particular.)

* "TheReasonYouSuck"Speech: Aun'rai delivers one regarding the Imperium in ''Courage and Honour'', stating in his view why the Imperium of Man is ultimately doomed to be replaced by the Tau Empire:

* VictoryIsBoring: At the start of ''Courage and Honour'', Uriel Ventris is disappointed at how easy a skirmish against Tau [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Pathfinders]] with the power of his 4th Company at his back, since he's been used to fighting against overwhelming odds, with lapsed training, sometimes no PowerArmour and only [[HeterosexualLifePartner Pasanius]] always with him.
* VillainousBreakdown: Kasimir de Valtos, the main antagonist of ''Nightbringer'' suffers one at the end. [[spoiler: Having caused the deaths of thousands of people (either murdered by his own hand, or killed in pirate attacks carried out by Dark Eldar mercenaries working with him, or in a civil war he had instigated to seize control of Pavonis) all in the name of freeing the Nightbringer in the belief it would make him immortal as a reward, when his plan finally comes to fruition, he is briefly connected to the Nightbringer's mind through an empathic link as it awakens, at which point his mind breaks at the realisation the Nightbringer is as far removed from him as he is from an ant, and the C'Tan has no reason to even acknowledge his existence, let alone reward him. Kasimir is reduced to tearfully begging the Nightbringer to make him immortal, which only results in the creature deigning to notice him for long enough to kill him]].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The Nightbringer does not enjoy the thought of sharing power.
** Kasimir de Valtos invokes this trope a lot with allies of his. Having bribed and manipulated [[spoiler: Taryn Honan and Solana Vergen into supporting his political bid to undermine Mykola Shonai's Governorship of Pavonis, when he no longer has need of them, he doesn't hesistate to dispose of them; Vergen is tortured to death by de Valtos as a form of cathartic release from his own pain, while Honan is handed over to "enjoy" the attentions of a Dark Eldar Haemonculus]].

* AMillionIsAStatistic: In ''Warriors of Ultramar'' itself, the huge amount of deaths caused by the Tyranid invasion is oddly understated, while the some 140, 150 Astartes who died remain to be the focus.
* ArmedWithCanon: There seems to be an ongoing war between Creator/GrahamMcNeill and [[PromotedFanboy Matt Ward]]. The former has repeatedly tried to lessen the Ultramarines recent depiction as [[GodModeSue God Mode Sues]] [[SpotlightStealingSquad who everyone wants to be]] in his novels. The latter has made repeated efforts to Retcon [=McNeill=]'s novels out of existance.
** However averted as of Ward's latest book still has M'kar's attack on Ultramar only now adds Eldar to the mix.
** Also with the lastest Codex, writer Robin Cruddace more or less look Ward's side.

* {{Arcadia}}: ''Ultramar'', of all places, where life is simple and built around discipline, self-sacrifice, and giving one's all. Life in Ultramar is of a much higher quality than most places in the Imperium.
** Macragge particularly comes to mind, with its verdant country and beautiful, yet functional architecture. As it has the chapter monastery where most Ultras call home, it's the place most Ultramarines miss the most when abroad.
* TheAtoner:
* In ''Dead Sky, Black Sun'' Uriel and Passanius are exiled from the chapter and sent out on a [[SuicideMission death oath]] in penance.

** Pasanius was sent for [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous not telling anybody about his prosthetic arm being self-repairing]] out of shame. In context, it meant that hr failed to swallow his pride and inform anybody that his arm wasn't of human make, which meant that he courted corruption by an alien artifact, or worse, a ''Chaotic'' one.
** For both of them, this meant breaking not only with Chapter tradition and Chapter laws, but a possible violation of what separates a Loyalist Marine from the Traitors.

** There is also their other motto, "Courage and honor."

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: The Omphalos Daemonium is a Chaos...creature, but apparently it doesn't always operate on pure self-interest.

** In the first scene they did this, their chaplain drank the Chapter Master's blood to get a vision to decide if the chapter will aid Tarsis Ultra. The [[PowerOfBlood power of that blood]] proves to be too much for him in the trance, and he regurgitates it. The still-fresh blood is offered to Uriel to seal the pact, and he manages to choke it down. While he did find that it ''was'' empowering, he had pretty much the [[{{Squick}} same reaction]] you just did.

* BuyThemOff: In ''Nightbringer'', most of the government officials are in the pockets of Vendare Taloun and Kasimir de Valtos, in preperation for their bid to seize power.

* ColdBloodedTorture: The Dark Eldar enjoy torturing people in ''Nightbringer''.

* CoolGate: Guilliman's Gate on Calth, which is a mile-high gate leading into the underground of Calth, is studded with decorations and defenses. Like much of Macragge's architecture, it's a monolithic work designed around both beauty ''and'' funtionality.
** On the opposite end of the spectrum, M'kar's daemon forces coporate en masse through a gate formed from a static bolt of lightning, which spread out to form an arch between the Warp and realspace. It's as [[NightmareFuel terrifying as it sounds]].

* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: In ''Nightbringer'', [[spoiler:Uriel gets the attention of the Nightbringer by holding a melta-bomb up to its face and threatening to detonate it, explaining that if he does so, it will ignite the flammable gases filling the cavern they're in and bury them all beneath ten kilometres worth of rock, something which even the Nightbringer (still weak from sixty five million years of hibernation) can't survive. Reading Uriel's mind through an empathic link with the beings around it, the Nightbringer realises Uriel isn't bluffing and reluctantly retreats]].
* DirtyBusiness: In ''Dead Sky, Black Sun'', Uriel gets stuck between a rock and a hard place more than once. He doesn't like it.

* [[EarnYourHappyEnding Earn Your Bittersweet Ending]]: ''The Chapter's Due'', see BittersweetEnding above.
* {{Egopolis}}: The city of Barbadus on Salinas. Following [[spoiler: Barbaden's death]], Uriel suspects the capital will be [[spoiler: renamed in hours.]]
* EldritchLocation: Medrengard, which would be a pretty good depiction of an industrialized version of Hell, is steeped in hatred that can be felt in the air, physics is rather dodgy (e.g. taking a stairway up to a starship), and everything in the environment, yes ''everything'', is trying to kill you.

* GetItOverWith: Essentially what Uriel tells [[spoiler: Leodegarius after being beaten in a duel and thinking he's about to be executed for being tainted by Chaos]]

* HappyEndingOverride: The short story ''The Heraclitus Affect'' ends with [[spoiler:the annihilation of Tarsis Ultra]], the same planet whose citizens the Ultramarines spent quite a few lives saving.

** ''Warriors of Ultramar'': Being the DirtyCoward he is, Simon van Gelder [[spoiler: shuts down Erebus City's air defences so his starship can take off without being shot down. During take off, his ship narrowly avoids a crash with an Ultramarines Thunderhawk...and the swarm of Tyranid gargoyles that were pursuing the Space Marine aircraft attack the new target. Without the air defence guns to bring the aliens down, van Gelder's ship is overwhelmed and he is torn apart when the Tyranids break into the cockpit]].

* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Uriel and Pasanius. They even get tested on this trait.
* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: From ''Nightbringer'', the scene between the wych and the ''kyerzak'', or the Honored, [[spoiler: or de Valtos]], were explicitly engaged in foreplay before the Honored was [[MeatgrinderSurgery surgically disassembled and reassembled]]. Also, they had sex afterwards, if not something...worse.
* InTheBack: [[spoiler: The dying Tyranid Norn Queen shoots Uriel in the back with a poisoned spine. He only survives due to a Deathwatch Apothecary and Pasanius performing blood transfusions to stabilise Uriel long enough to get him back to Tarsis Ultra for more extensive medical treatment]].

%%* FiveBadBand: The Bloodborn leadership in ''The Chapter's Due''. Some roles are shared:
%%** BigBad: Honsou and M'kar. And neither is happy about sharing it.
%%** TheDragon: Cadaras Grendel.
%%** TheEvilGenius: Adept Cycerin.
%%** TheBrute: Xiomagra and Votheer Tark.
%%** TheDarkChick: Kaarja Salombar.
%%** SixthRangerTraitor: The Newborn and [[spoiler: Ardaric Vaanes]].

* VillainousBreakdown: Kasimir de Valtos, the main antagonist of ''Nightbringer'' suffers one at the end. [[spoiler: Having caused the deaths of thousands of people (either murdered by his own hand, or killed in pirate attacks carried out by Dark Eldar mercenaries working with him, or in a civil war he had instigated to seize control of Pavonis) all in the name of freeing the Nightbringer in the belief it would make him immortal as a reward. When his plan finally comes to fruition, he is briefly connected to the Nightbringer's mind through an empathic link as it awakens, at which point his mind breaks at the realisation the Nightbringer is as far removed from him as he is from an ant, and the C'Tan has no reason to even acknowledge his existence, let alone reward him. Kasimir is reduced to tearfully begging the Nightbringer to make him immortal, which only results in the creature deigning to notice him for long enough to kill him]].

* TheAtoner: Starting in ''Dead Sky, Black Sun'', Uriel and Passanius are exiled from the chapter and sent out on a [[SuicideMission death oath]] in penance of...[[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous breaking with the Codex Astartes]].[[note]]In context, this meant breaking not only with Chapter tradition, but Chapter laws and a possible violation of, in the Ultramarines' eyes, what separates what a marine should be from those that had turned away from the Emperor.[[/note]]

* BigBookOfWar: The ''Codex Astartes'', which Roboute Guilliman wrote after the Literature/HorusHeresy suggesting organization and tactics for virtually any scenario that Guilliman could have thought of at the time. However, by the 41st millennium there are new threats which Guilliman never foresaw. One of the underlying themes of [=McNeill=]'s series is the Ultramarines learning when and when not to follow it.
** 6th edition more or less confirms that the Codex has been edited and added to over the years to make up for this, the ''Warzone Damnos'' book states Calgar adding a large amount of Necron information in it.
*** This has always been the case. Where the confusion comes from is probably the huge deal made over the Tyrannic War Veterans. But that was because they were suggesting altering the structure of their chapter, not adding in some new tactics or strategies.
** There's actually a quote from Guilliman himself which makes perfectly clear that he was fully aware he couldn't foresee every possible scenario and that the Codex was intended more as guidelines than the be-all and end-all:
->'''Gulliman''': No one, not even one such as I, can anticipate every possible outcome of battle. My words are not some holy writ that must be obeyed. There must always be room for personal initiative on the battlefield.

* In ''Warriors of Ultramar'' itself, the huge amount of deaths caused by the Tyranid invasion is oddly understated, while the some 140, 150 Astartes who died remain to be the focus.

The ''Ultramarines'' series by Creator/GrahamMcNeill delineates the adventures of one member of the titular Ultramarines, Captain Uriel Ventris: ''Nightbringer''; ''Warriors of Ultramar''; and ''Dead Sky, Black Sun'' (in the omnibus ''Ultramarines''); ''The Killing Ground'', ''Courage And Honour'', and ''The Chapter's Due''.

Should not be confused with the DCComics superhero team of the same name. Also should not be confused with the pigment, although the Ultramarines ''do'' wear [[ColourCodedArmies ultramarine-coloured armor]]. And Games Workshop has a paint color entitled Ultramarine Blue, which is ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin you guessed it]]) ultramarine, and intended to be used to paint Ultramarines.

* WhatTheHellHero: In ''Courage and Honour", when Uriel tells the Tau trying to occupy Pavonis (the world he went to such effort to save back in ''Nightbringer'') that he will destroy the planet to keep it out of their hands if they don't call off their invasion:

-->"In a heartbeat" said Uriel, surprised to find he actually meant it.

-->'''Taryn Honan''': Come Kasimir, surely there's no need to say such things? We are friends, after all? Aren't we?
--->Kasimir de Valtos''': Friends? No Taryn, we are not friends. You are just a pathetic piece of filth I stepped on on my route to immortality. And now it's time I discarded you.

** Kasimir de Valtos invokes this trope a lot with allies of his. Having bribed and manipulated [[spoiler: Taryn Honan and Solana Vergen into supporting his political bid to undermine Mykola Shonai's Governorship of Pavonis, when he no longer has need of them, he doesn't hesistate to dispose of them; Vergen is tortured to death by de Valtos as a form of cathartic release from his own pain, while Honan is handed over to "enjoy" the attentions of a Dark Eldar Haemonculus.

--->Kasimir de Valtos''': Friends? No Taryn, we are not friends. You are just a pathetic piece of filth I stepped on on my route to immortality. And now it's time I discarded you.]]

--> "[[MyNameIsInigoMontoya My name is Petronius Nero]]. You tried to kill my captain. PreparetoDie."

* SourSupporter: Sergeant Learchus to an extent, particulalry as Uriel's plans start diverging more and more from the Codex Astartes.