[SPOILER ALERT] Marneus Calgar is...

[Sandlemad]

It's not a big deal by any means and has almost zero background implications for anything outside of Calgar's own character but it was done well.

 

I quite liked how when adult Marneus has returned to the Calgar estate he strolls past multiple grey statues of famous Calgars (commissars, governors, a few Ultramarines), including one of him in classic seated pose, to eventually reach a gold-plated statue of the 'real' Calgar as a child, noting that he died at the age of 12 in the service of the Emperor. It's a dusty statue in a wing of a Macraggian noble family's mansion but he's remembered.

 

The death of the 'real' Calgar and the adoption of his name isn't a secret or a conspiracy or even a Mad Men-style twist, it's just something that happened some 300-400 years ago as far as the current Macraggians know. A bit of historic trivia.

 

It's a nice touch and interesting from the perspective of GW/Marvel but the article overstates its importance.

 

EDIT: Also it occurs to me that Erebus had a similar thing in a short story by Chris Wraight, as well as Archamus.

Edited November 12, 2020 by Sandlemad

[clumsy_explorer]

Well, plot twists are common and an effective technique in script writing, hence this discussion. Good for the story makers and fans who enjoy these stories.

 

Better than expected, check it out if missed   

[Captain Coolpants]

Sooo cliche. Typical King's heir isn't the real hair type deal. Also changed nothing really. Because he was replaced as a child, still means all his deeds are the same. A great transhuman did great transhuman things.

[Marshal Loss]

Reminds me of Archamus from Praetorian of Dorn. Bit of a trope - and, as others have said, doesn't really change anything.

[Prot]

=][= Folks this isn't really news/announcement related. After some discussion we are moving this to the Ultra forum as it deals specifically with Calgar. (Again I won't read the Spoiler so there is some assumption on my part. =][=

 

 

[Sete]

Eh.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

This means he doesn’t has any bionics really .

[Son of Carnelian]

You know who this twist would work for though? Cato Sicarius. Think about it: Cato's entire deal is that he's this noble son from a storied house, both a captain of the Ultramarines and sovereign ruler of his native world (in title if not in practice). If it turned out that he was a servant masquerading as the Duke of Talassar, that might actually work as a twist that could create conflict. Maybe the psycho-conditioning of the Space Marines caused him to forget this fact and his own psyche takes a blow as he grapples with the fact that his identity is a lie.

[Prot]

Gees, I gotta stop reading this thread. lol

 

I was going to wait  until the Calgar series was released as a collection, but you guys have me chomping at the bit.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The first book is nothing special in terms of story.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Edited November 13, 2020 by Black Blow Fly

[Haywire]

As soon as I read that spoiler, all I could think was...

 

Cato Sicarius has voted.
Ortan Cassius has voted.

Varro Tigurius has voted.
Torias Telion has voted.

Sevastus Acheran has voted.

Roboute Guilliman has voted.

 

Proceeding.....

 

Marneus Calgar was ejected.

 

Marneus Calgar was the Imposter.

 

But ultimately, I can agree that it feels largely inconsequential and, perhaps, needlessly gimmicky. If the spoiler happened a lot later in the timeline, then sure. That would raise all sorts of extra and more interesting plot points. As it is, it's just a big shrug and a 'meh' from me, at least.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Darvell

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Is total garbage storyline not that I expect much else from MCU. They ruin everything they touch imo .

[Charybdis]

Read both issues and whilst not top tier writing, they're nowhere near as bad as I thought they would be. 

 

Can't help wishing Garth Ennis was writing this series. 

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Is really bad and in poor taste imo.

[Tymell]

Is total garbage storyline not that I expect much else from MCU. They ruin everything they touch imo .

 

Marvel, not MCU. Unless that's the Marneus Calgar Universe 

[Doctor Perils]

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

[Blindhamster]

Is really bad and in poor taste imo.

why? How does it negatively impact the character? If anything, it makes the actual character seem even more heroic, he really WORKED for it, and didn't do it for himself. That makes him selfless and awesome tbh.

[Sete]

 

Is really bad and in poor taste imo.

why? How does it negatively impact the character? If anything, it makes the actual character seem even more heroic, he really WORKED for it, and didn't do it for himself. That makes him selfless and awesome tbh.

 

Yep just what Calgar needs. xD

Next book he will be carrying Pedro Kantor while he Carries the mother and the baby , after singlehandedly destroy a ork waaaagh with a stick he carefully left under a rock 25 years before.

Hyperbole aside, its a bit of background for a well known char within 40k. It does not change anything. Now if he was actually Omegon, now that would be a twist!

Edited November 13, 2020 by Sete

[Prot]

Well thanks to the thread I couldn't wait any longer and read the first 2 issues. 

 

The official review just contains one line I would disagree with:

 

The only witness to his death was his serf and servant, a young boy named Tacitus, who took his name. It’s a poke in the eye to the squeaky-clean image of the Ultramarines, and injects a bit of class warfare into the largely feudalistic futuristic dark age. In my opinion, it’s one of the most exciting things to happen in the 40K universe in years."

 

I got something very different from the scene:

 

- Tacitus doesn't inherent the name of Calgar for nefarious reasons. Tacitus was never going to be 'hero' here. Calgar pushed him, made him stronger, made him a survivor and gave him the opportunity to be more than a boy who would never make it as a marine. 

 This act isn't a 'poke in the eye', it is to pay homage to his dead friend. It is a way in which he evolves into a warrior and turns the page on his life as a serf.

 

Also as far as the 'boring' character issues of Marneus, and being squeaky clean, there is actually a well documented passage in a recent novel.... In it Marneus has a very interesting internal 'break down' as he sees himself as sort of substandard with the invention of the Primaris Marines.

 

It's really interesting to watch him act one way on the surface yet feel insignificant. (This is before Vigilus) It's interesting to see Marneus as a character once his title of Lord of Macragge is taken away for "Defender of Great Ultramar", and to see a flood of new marines threaten his personal beliefs. 

 

Back to the comic... I didn't mind it. It was entertaining, and it's written for a slightly different audience. And I enjoyed the plot twist.

[SvenIronhand]

I am pretty sure the two shadowy figures will turn out to be the two other boys from his youth, all grown up and turned into Chaos marines. 

In my opinion, the comic being good or not depends on whether or not these two are an Abbadon-level threat to him personally. They are veterans of the Long War, with easily as much experience as he has, but that hasn't stopped writers from having Astartes curb-stomp the heretics before.

Edited November 13, 2020 by SvenIronhand

[RWJP]

How does this change anything? Post becoming a marine is what defines the character.

 

I don't see the big deal.

Exactly this. 

 

I mean, fundamentally, this doesn't actually change anything. It's a very clever way of adding some interest to the story without actually having any impact on the overall narrative.

 

The Marneus Calgar we have today who crossed the Rubicon Primaris is the same Calgar who fought on Ichar IV, who is the same Calgar who fought during the Battle for Macragge etc etc The actual person who has been leading the Ultramarines for however many hundreds of years is the same. His capabilities as a warrior and leader are the same as they always have been.

[Prot]

 

How does this change anything? Post becoming a marine is what defines the character.

 

I don't see the big deal.

Exactly this. 

 

I mean, fundamentally, this doesn't actually change anything. It's a very clever way of adding some interest to the story without actually having any impact on the overall narrative.

 

 

 

 

Exactly. 

 

Marneus Calgar is a fully developed 'current' character that we know a lot about. This shows us a bit about how he got there.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Is still so silly .

[Irbis]

This honestly gives Calgar a reason to still exist.

 

A hero with imposter syndrome

 

So, what you're saying is that this is now canon?