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Magnus, Robot Fighter (Valiant)
Magnus, Robot Fighter: Steel Nation
Comic book .
Trade paperback
First published October 1, 1994
32 people want to read
About the author
Jim Shooter
1,026 books85 followersJames Charles Shooter was an American writer, editor and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, and launched comics publishers Valiant, Defiant, and Broadway.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 3, 2022
There are definitely more promising characters to act as a foundation for your new comics universe than Magnus Robot Fighter, a 60s creation with several distinct disadvantages. He lives in the year 4000, he runs around in a tunic that even in the mid 60s must have looked like a miniskirt, and most of all his name suggests a slightly… limited focus, adventure wise.
There is indeed a lot of robot fighting in Magnus: Robot Fighter, and also (unlike Jim Shooters other Valiant books) a lot of exposition, as Magnus opens by asking his mentor to fill him in on the plot. There’s a robot revolution brewing as future humanity has become all too dependent on its metal chums and now some have achieved free will. Magnus, who privately agrees that humankind have grown decadent, must pick a side.
It’s a fairly thoughtful treatment of a creaky old SF plot. It’s made weaker by the fact that Jim Shooter has (as ever) things to say about the role of the Powerful Man in shaping events but hasn’t thought much about structural social issues while having to write a story that can’t avoid them. Things very rapidly stop being about a “nation” and become instead about three or four individuals kicking the shit out of each other. Judge Dredd’s Robot Wars - to pick an obvious comparison - is on the surface a lot more one dimensional than “Steel Nation” but is vastly more fun, because there’s the tang of actual class anger behind Pat Mills’ writing, a glee at seeing the Fleshy Ones get theirs which Shooter was never going to match. The humans of 4001 AD are a pitiful bunch but Magnus’ lone-wolf pursuit of “human potential” seems a grim alternative too.
There is indeed a lot of robot fighting in Magnus: Robot Fighter, and also (unlike Jim Shooters other Valiant books) a lot of exposition, as Magnus opens by asking his mentor to fill him in on the plot. There’s a robot revolution brewing as future humanity has become all too dependent on its metal chums and now some have achieved free will. Magnus, who privately agrees that humankind have grown decadent, must pick a side.
It’s a fairly thoughtful treatment of a creaky old SF plot. It’s made weaker by the fact that Jim Shooter has (as ever) things to say about the role of the Powerful Man in shaping events but hasn’t thought much about structural social issues while having to write a story that can’t avoid them. Things very rapidly stop being about a “nation” and become instead about three or four individuals kicking the shit out of each other. Judge Dredd’s Robot Wars - to pick an obvious comparison - is on the surface a lot more one dimensional than “Steel Nation” but is vastly more fun, because there’s the tang of actual class anger behind Pat Mills’ writing, a glee at seeing the Fleshy Ones get theirs which Shooter was never going to match. The humans of 4001 AD are a pitiful bunch but Magnus’ lone-wolf pursuit of “human potential” seems a grim alternative too.
August 8, 2020
Excellent! Really great 90’s comic book that does examine inner conflict on top of outer strife.
June 19, 2018
Delivered an old Gold Key hero, Jim Shooter could have taken the easy route and made his own Magnus comic about punching out robots in non-stop action sequence. Well, there actually is quite a bit of that. But, Shooter goes far beyond that premise and makes his Magnus about prejudice and believing in the humanity of other people and overcoming our own programming. This tiny little four-issue arc is a major character movement for Magnus that will set the direction of the entire series.
And, that doesn't even speak of Shooter's chutzpah in putting one of the young Valiant's comics 2000 years in the future. I mean, surely it had been done before: Jim Shooter was one of the major writers of DC's Legion of Super-Heroes, set a mere one thousand years forward. But, the VH-1 universe would go beyond the conception of the Legion and work to makes it future truly a part of its present, and that all starts here.
The only deficit of this first volume of Magnus is that it's a slow read. It's very wordy and there's so much packed into these scant four issues that it takes quite a while to unwind it all. Still, this is an intriguing read and an intriguing setup.
(Sadly, the series is largely uncollected and may remain so due to licensing issues. There was one more short collection published by Valiant back in the day, and then issues #15 and #16 appeared in the four-volume Unity collection, but that's it.)
And, that doesn't even speak of Shooter's chutzpah in putting one of the young Valiant's comics 2000 years in the future. I mean, surely it had been done before: Jim Shooter was one of the major writers of DC's Legion of Super-Heroes, set a mere one thousand years forward. But, the VH-1 universe would go beyond the conception of the Legion and work to makes it future truly a part of its present, and that all starts here.
The only deficit of this first volume of Magnus is that it's a slow read. It's very wordy and there's so much packed into these scant four issues that it takes quite a while to unwind it all. Still, this is an intriguing read and an intriguing setup.
(Sadly, the series is largely uncollected and may remain so due to licensing issues. There was one more short collection published by Valiant back in the day, and then issues #15 and #16 appeared in the four-volume Unity collection, but that's it.)
August 11, 2016
Written by Jim Shooter, the first Valiant Comics series, “Magnus Robot Fighter” is a revival of the Gold Key character and features a man trained from a young age to fight rogue robots in the future of 4001 AD.
The art is by Art Nichols and Bob Layton, and has a feel reminiscent of the earlier Gold Key “Magnus” issues. But the story was modernized for the 1990s – while the original Magnus fought “evil” robots, this version explains their motivations. These “freewill” robots have simply broken free from their programming. Magnus has to determine if fighting, and destroying them, means he’s eliminating a malfunctioning machine or destroying something that has a life of its own.
The art is by Art Nichols and Bob Layton, and has a feel reminiscent of the earlier Gold Key “Magnus” issues. But the story was modernized for the 1990s – while the original Magnus fought “evil” robots, this version explains their motivations. These “freewill” robots have simply broken free from their programming. Magnus has to determine if fighting, and destroying them, means he’s eliminating a malfunctioning machine or destroying something that has a life of its own.
March 3, 2016
Valiant has had an uneven history, but it's initial launch of its Magnus series deserves all the praise it gets.
Big sci-fi ideas, art reminiscent of the original Gold Key comic, while the writing digs a bit deeper into how this future society might work.
Big sci-fi ideas, art reminiscent of the original Gold Key comic, while the writing digs a bit deeper into how this future society might work.
September 1, 2022
Early 90s book that’s still firmly entrenched in 80s tropes, this is a sweet, pulpy futuristic sci-fi yarn that has aged like a fine wine. I’ve always been a fan of the 2012 Valiant relaunch but now that I know how good Magnus was, I can’t help but feel a pang of regret it wasn’t a part of it.
August 22, 2012
The fantastic rebirth of a classic Gold Key character launched Valiant Comics original 1990's superhero run.
May 31, 2024
As far as I am concerned, this is the definitive Magnus Robot Fighter story. You could get some enjoyment from the original 30 gold key issues, but these six comprise the golden story.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews