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#7

Generation 1 Fortress Maximus (1987) – To the Maximus!
Voting Percentage: 22%
Average Ranking: 6.09

Is anybody really surprised that the big guy made it into the top 10 of our countdown? He is Fortress Maximus, people, and he’s the biggest (and until very recently the tallest) Transformer of all time. In robot mode he carries a virtual arsenal of guns that can blow away entire regiments of Decepticons. He’s got the best city mode of any Transformer ever, which includes numerous gimmicks such as an elevator, a prison cell, moving ramps, and whatnot. Even his third mode isn’t that bad. Plus, he’s a double Headmaster, as his head detaches and transforms into the robot Cerebros, whose head can also detach to transform into Spike.

Fortress Maximus holds a special place in my heart. As a young boy I was in Vienna visiting my grandparents and in a little side street there was a small toy shop and all the way in the back on top of a shelf he stood, covered in dust: Fortress Maximus. I don’t think I ever begged that hard before or after to convince my grandma to buy him for me and getting him back to Germany was a chore, too (he used up most of my luggage for the plane). But it was well worth it and Max has remained with me ever since, even during that darkest of ages called puberty where I ditched 95 percent of my Transformers in order to grow up and stuff. He survived and will remain the centerpiece of my collection, even though he has yellowed quite a bit with age. And thanks to the Encore line, a new generation of fans now gets to know him, plus older fans can finally afford him.

Fortress Maximus scoots into the top 10 due to the highest average ranking in the entire Top 30 Countdown. Pretty much everyone who voted for him had him at or near the top of their list. And rightfully so. Generations Metroplex may have taken his spot as tallest TF of all time, but Fortress Maximus was, is, and always will be the Big Guy of Transformers.

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