Well for a veteran i think from first company to have fear from such a small thing its not very common they should be able resist this tipe of stuff, if it was a regular battle brother alright but in this case kinda strange.
I thought it was doubt. He was born as a man, then turned into a weapon. Killing and war is all he knows, almost as if the armor is his identity and the idea of a perfect soldier that then proceeds to rip out the human weakness to cull it from hindering the warring.
What a lot of reviewers are missing in my opinion, is that the sorceress looks very surprised seeing Titus and tries to get away fearfully. I also think that we will see much more of Titus, since he also got a datasheet in 40k.
@@Lohanujuan yes it was explained by Dan Abnett that Contempt is a strong shield against the warp influence. The warp is fueled by emotion and if you believe it is just weakness to dabble in it. You somehow shield yourself.
@@Lohanujuan Chaos claims the unwary or the incomplete. A true man may flinch away from its embrace, if he is stalwart, and he girds his soul with the armour of contempt"
Wow dude. As a 40k vet of decades, thank you for this vid. It's very easy to understand, and you cover a lot of complex subject swiftly and effortlessly. You should be proud of this production.
exactly. Thanks for this. Its my favorite Secret Level episode and I keep coming back to it over and over because I think its so brilliantly done. but I know nothing about Warhammer and it was driving me nuts not understanding what was going on until I found this video. Amazing breakdown.
3:18 worth noting that they aren't always completely brainwashed, just heavily conditioned and mentally trained. A few chapters, namely the Salamanders, allow their marines to live with their original families and communities while on their home world of Nocturne. Same deal with their emotions, their are lots of chapters (such as the Space Wolves) who are quite jovial, or at least not always super angry.
@@cegesh1459 that depends on the definition of "brainwashing". If it's complete brainwashing, ie. removing their whole personality and memories, then staying with the family is obsolete, they don't remember them. If it's partial brainwashing, ie removing the personality but retaining the memories, then going back to the family is inneffective, i agree. Finally there's phsyco-conditioning, the main thing used for Astartes. This leaves the memories and (to some extent) personality intact, whilst hardenning the marine to combat stress and trauma, and implanting them with the knowledge they need. In this case, returning to their family is easier for the marine, as they are mentally the same (or at least similar) to their pre-augmented state.
Numerous times Titus has been described as someone "without fear", think the sorcerer was showing them thier biggest fears, scared of them, they attacked, which was what the Sorcerer wanted, for them to attack themselves. Old Man didn't attack his fear because it was Titus in the image, so he was just wounded not killed, titus, having no fear, was nothing for the sorcerer to use against him, so titus could attack the sorcerer in his mind, and not his fear, which broke the concentration of the sorcerer and allowed time to continue.
When i was in the US Marines, Anyone who didn't join at 18-19 was considered an "old man". And if they could keep up, it was a term of endearment for sure.
Depends silver dots are worth 50 years. Metatarsus probably has gold dots which each is worth 100 years. So metatarsus is twice tidus' age.@@overbuiltlimited
This is what Syama Pedersen has been working on since he was taken on by GW. I checked this within the first few minutes as I saw similar shots and the overall feel reminded me of Astartes.
I wondered if he was involved. That valley the marine drop into looked similar to the valley at the end of Astartes. I’m glad to see his new work finally get a public release.
If you rewatch the opening of this episode, with Metaurus walking down the hallway to the drop pod, it has almost the exact same music/audio as that moment in Astartes. It seemed like a very intentional homage.
I'm listening to two podcasts currently that offer an introduction to 40K, and this guy explains what 15 episodes could not, with clarity.. in under 20 minutes!
Mandatory re-watched because Ian has the best lore channel in the whole site. I really liked the animation's visual story telling and it felt that it had a whole lot of subtle lore nods for the nerd nerds. I assumed that Metarus was in charge of the inductee group that Titus was part of, and therefore why he recognises his name on the briefing as the "really angry badass child" that would on to become a captain, then a deathwatch veteran, and so on. Also the sorcery shenanigans reminded me of some books and how they describe the mind fortifications that marines put to battle against psychers. The first Marine envisions himself straight off the bat as his current self. Then he rips himself out of his armour and unalives Metarus being older and suspicious about Titus gets attacked by seeing him grow up from an inductee, Neophyte, Marine and then CHAOS. AND TITUS being the angry angry main character dude that he is has a speedrun of his career as a marine and breaks through the sorcerers bullshitery. Thank you for coming to my Rant
I don’t believe Calgar would’ve tried to have Titus killed after explaining his rage over his incarceration and honoring him at the end of SM2. He sent him along because he knew he’d get the job done and probably survive. Hope to see more Titus, Metaurus, and hopefully Calgar in the next piece of media whether it’s game or tv.
13:00 the marine is first shown ripping open his own armour, so I think it's pretty clear the neophyte he kills is himself. and since he crushes the neophytes skull, and starts bleeding profusely through his helmet after, that pretty much cements it.
But how is it related to the fear-theme? Titus’s mentor had the fear that Titus would turn to chaos, and thus got “stabbed”. The “neophyte” getting ripped out of his own armor could be the fear of being weak and vulnerable without the armor… or something like that.
@@Szminsky I think so because after he collapses from crushing his own head, it shows the text on his pauldron's trim which says "the lie", probably changed into that thanks to some Tzeenthcian shenanigans that rewrote reality or something, so maybe he feared that his strength is a lie or something.
@@Szminsky could be anything. he's a veteran and has served several life times. could also be before, or during, his ascension into becoming an astarte.
@@Catolicodeguerralmao everything ppl dont like isnt automatically woke ppl use that word for everything now it's annoying as hell I'll never forget when kids were saying doom eternal was woke 🤣 y'all are turning into bigger snowflakes than the sjws
Trivia: Metaurus is a Veteran Sergeant. Althougt it is not specified in the mission parameters, he wears a red helmet (sergeant) with a white vertical stripe showing his veteran status.
It could be that Metaurus stopped adding studs at 400 years. Imagine Dante having studs for every century of service. Or it could be 400 years of service as a sergeant.
Service studs aren't awarded by any Adeptus or official organization within the Imperium. They're riveted in by the recipient's squad mates and have no standardized meaning. They can represent 10, 50 or 100 years of service, in total, in a specific squad or in a certain role.
What I particularly like about this channel is how you actually do a solid job of introducing/explaining 40K. Other channels are really good and entertaining, as is yours, but you focus on actually educating people in a way to actually get them interested with enough knowledge that they can actually start to follow along. This reminds me of a channel that broke down the Astartes animated fan film for new people. Overall good job and look forward to more videos! Looking forward to the Astral Claws, Star Phantoms and Nova Marines Chapters in your Badab War series.
My opinion on if it is a good intro into 40k, One of the things I agreed with some other youtubers out there, when trying to get someone into a fanbase, you don't drop them into the ocean. You give them a drop, something to grab their attention,. Just enough so they could piece some things together while also want them to ask and see more. Sooner or later that drop will accompany another until it turns into branching streams that lead into that vast ocean. I think the Secret Level gives a lot of interesting stuff that makes people want to find more. So just my opinion, it could be considered a good intro for 40k.
I love how every time some 40k film or short is releasing there are a string of break down and lore videos for all the new fans that it inevitably brings in
As someone who knew nothing about 40K going in to this episode of secret level. It was a fantastic introduction. Seeing how powerful the marines are and what they do was awesome and the questions you have by the time the episode is over leaves you wanting much more. It's dragged me into the rabbit hole and I'm now officially a fan of the lore
Honestly, I think Titus got some moves from his Black Shield brothers, one of them must have been from the Exorcist Chapter and taught him how to shunt a daemon out.
Wow so I know the very basics of Warhammer, like settings, factions, different chapters and all of that, but I actually really like how you explained it for people who know absolutely nothing, this was really good work
Thank you Ian for updating the video. It seems to be a much better explanation of the setting and the Secret Level episode now. The tone and info is also on point now and serves as a good introduction to mewcomers.
I think Eisenhorn is the perfect introduction to 40k and I hope they start there for the amazon series. It drops you right into the 40k universe without being overwhelming. It touches on enough lore to get you familiar with the world of 40k, while still leaving enough unexplained to encourage people to dive down rabbit holes. For anyone new to 40k here and looking for something other than youtube lore videos, I cannot recommend that book/audiobook series enough. Also this cahnnel is a fantastic reference if you want anything in them explaines Plus, Henry Cavil looks almost exactly like a young Gregor Eisenhorn.
Thank you for explaining so simply to someone who is very new to Warhammer. Other UA-camrs do not explain well at all like you do. In fact they lash out at you for asking questions. You make newcomers welcomed. Thank You.🙏
I was never a big Space Marine guy but after watching Secret Level ep 5 I'm SOLD! This blew my MIND and was by far one of the best animations I've ever seen! I want more and I'd really LOVE a "Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine" SERIES from the same creators/animators. This one episode converted me to a Space Marine fan!
Astartes is a fan film divided into short clips by a guy who ended up being scouted by Games Workshop to line the shots for this episode of Secret Level. It gives you an idea of other chapters working together against one of the many other enemies humanity has in the 40k universe: The Necrons.
The only thing I didn't like was running through a vehicle. They were definitely going for "rule of cool," but Space Marines are still affected by regular physics. Even if the armor is indestructible, it's being acted upon by an outside force. Space marines inside such armor still turn into goop if they're hit by a large enough object going at a high enough speed. Like they have to use a drop pod for a reason. You can't just jump out of an airplane in a really big tank and expect to survive. The melee combat sequence was fucking rad, though. Really good job of showing how Marines can take on multiple enemies at once.
@@nekrataaliastartes can run faster than the vehicle Titus ran through, they’re not invincible but they’re still still wearing armor that’s stronger than any enemy vehicle
@@askmewhosjoe6682 If you fly an A-10 Warthog at 350 mph into a Boeing 787 Dreamliner going 561 mph, it doesn't take a aerodynamicist to understand anyone aboard either aircraft is about to be turned into goo.
7:28 - When they're scanning the area for threats and their suits pick up the gibbets hanging from the structure, I assumed it was some sort of bridge. It's not. It's the corpse of a titan that's fallen and become a wedged in the canyon.
Titus overcame not just by blind rage and anger...but solely by a lack of fear. That's what made him different his leader metarus alluded to this. He lacked fear down to a subatomic level😂😂😂😂 Titus is him..!!!!
Inquisitor Thrax keeps Titus in stasis during his interrogations after the events on Graius. It's heavily implied that Titus is kept out of the picture for the entire duration of the Badab War as Thrax is busy with that. This could easily add a century or more to Titus' timeline during which he is out of contact with other Astartes and presumably not earning them studs. This makes Metaurus having the same number of studs even weirder.
Yeah, I was assuming this mission was from when Titus was still a young lieutenant proving himself, before he ascends to Captain and then goes to Graia. He has less balding, compared to the games. I assume the studs are just a mistake, or are meant to draw a visual connection between Titus and Metarus to represent their bond.
I saw it as Titus literally having no fear in him at all. So the Chaos sorcerer has nothing to draw power from in him. And that's why she became afraid. The only thing a creature that uses fear as a weapon is afraid of is people completely without fear.
I love the pupils details they laid out. Everyone shows fear in their eyes except titus. Even the sorceress when first entering Titus' mind her eyes focused on him. But she had no power and could not move nor act first... by the time Titus' smashed her staff her eyes fully dilated and her jaw dropped. The uno reverse is legendary.
WRT the service studs, there is also the possibility that warp time shenanigans means Metaurus was much older than Titus at the start of Titus's career, but he caught up.
There's something along those lines that happened in the Horus Heresy book Flight of the Eisenstein where Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard is talking to Maloghurst of the Sons of Horus after their escape from Isstvan III. Garro ponders the fact that he was one of the original members of the Death Guard recruited from Terra before any of the Primarchs were found, while Maloghurst was recruited from Cthonia after Horus was recovered. But Maloghurst is noticably older than Garro and has quite a bit more combat experience than Garro. They attribute this to how the warp fucks up time for different people.
The first fear seems to be the fear of being a mortal human outside of his armor. Second one is obviously the guy worrying Titus would turn to chaos. The demon getting stuck inside its own simulation with Titus goes so hard.
The last video you did on this was good, but I appreciate you going Emperor’s Children on us with this one. This is perfection my friend. You are doing the Emperor’s work.
This is the video we expected! focused for an audience, flowed from start to finish, and didn't overload misc information. Very informative and i'm so happy he listened to the comments. This one feels like it wasn't rushed. I really liked how this episode exposed how ironic "you shall know no fear" is. Even veteren space marines know fear. The only true space marine is titus, because he actually knows no fear.
Good job filling in the story. I've been painting Warhammer 40k with my two young adult grandsons for the past couple of years. Sci-Fi isn't my thing, but they asked me to teach them to paint and this is what they want to paint. So we've been doing it every Tuesday night, but I really don't know anything about the story. When they first asked me, I said okay, but I'm not painting robots or anything with green skin. I settled on Battle Sisters because of the clerical look of their garb and the ecclesiastical nature of their mission, not to mention they have actual real faces to paint. I watched the Secret Level series the other night and was pleased to see a WH episode, but I have to say, none of it made any sense. So thanks again for filling me in.
The only takeaway from watching this episode is that now I'm gonna have to get me some Bladeguard Vets....Damn you GW!!! Btw, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that the guy who did Asartes also did this.....it clearly shows; even before knowing that fact, this episode is quite similar in some ways to Asartes.
I’ve watched it 3 times already, loved it. With this being so well received let’s hope they see the opportunity and release films of a similar style based on various chapters and story lines. Fingers crossed
As someone who does know a good amount about 40k, I think this video does a VERY good job of giving out baseline knowledge in a short amount of time, well done
haha, hearing someone discribe some of the 40k stuff out loud is hilarious, the Tzaangors explanation is my favourite! Oh yeah, you know a mix of "Man, bird and goat" 😂
Your describing, even to laymen, is impeccable. I came into 40k around 1998, my best friend got me into it and since he had blood angels and imperial guard I went with chaos. I had abbadon the despoiler, kharne the betrayer, and the pewter great unclean one heroes. By then my bf had a sister's of battle and ultramarine faction building. But it was fun, kept me out of alot of trouble despite still getting into trouble, and to this day 40k, D&D, and even Top Gear Rally on N64 is my secret levels to my heart 😅
Time wiggling can fairly easily explain the studs challenge - fairly easy for Metaurus to have had a trip where it took a year for him but 30+ years passed in the “real” world (which doesn’t seem that rare in 40K) and it could stack up that he recruited Titus and yet they have the same number of studs
I dont think the Mortality Rate: Absolute is supposed to imply that Titus was intended to die in Bird Hell, but that 1. Every mission Space Marines go on is of the highest possible threat level, since they are specifically designed to take on the Imperium's most dangerous threats and/or 2. Titus was chosen specifically for his inexplicable resistance to the warp, and they were expecting a 100% chance of Warp Fuckery with scattered showers
Unlike other veterans, Titus's don't even shiver as he stares right back at the demon. Immediately after he enter the mental state, he ran, snapped the staff and leap to split demon into two.
Dude, this was soooo good. I am just an "amateur" fan, watching from time to time a video but thats it and this was so helpful, even though I knew about Titus and his whole lore this perfectly filled every question I had. I beg you to continue this sort of format if we get an actual series. I bet there are loads of people like me who know the basics but dont want to dig deep just to understand each episode and all the hints. Massive w video, I appreciate it a lot 😁
Dude, you did an excellent job explaining this. I know VERY little about the 40k universe... anything I do know came from the MMO. This made me appreciate this episode even more, so thank you!
What a fantastic breakdown of the content of the episode. :) I'm sure that someone involved with the production of this episode of Secret Level enjoys themselves some 2000 A.D. The way that Titus dealt with the Chaos Sorcerer reminded me of Judge Dredd's first encounter with Judge Fear, and possibly my favourite panel in all of comic book history: "Gaze into the fist of Dredd!".
No copyright - I think avoiding using the audio or any video that isn't from the trailer helped there! But there were audio issues and people pointed out some stuff I'd missed so i UPDATED IT!
I interpret the final battle scene of Titus the other way around. It is not Titus who's sees the fearless child, but the sorcerer. When the other marines died, they were in there form, whle the sorcerer was taking shape of thier greatest fear. With Titus is the other way around, the sorcerer does not change, but sees Titus as the fearless child, it's greatest fear.
One thing I noticed while watching the sorcerer scene is that when it goes up to the space marines, those that it can “control” their pupils become super dilated vs Titus who’s eyes do not become dilated and over powers the sorcerer
It's the greatest introduction of 40K taking into account that it is an animation of 15 minutes!! And in those 15 minutes manages to tell A LOT About that world
The attention to w40k lore in this episode its really Good and there are even more small details, for example: when metaurus gets stabbed he starts bleeding, which should not happen to a space marine, but later you see on his display "larraman organ failure" which explains that and "sus an membrane primed" which could also explain his slow and soft movements and talk. Really cool details if you are into w40k
Titus was Metaurus' aspirant in the trials. It's almost an Obi-Wan/Anakin thing. Metaurus knows how powerful and how much potential Titus has, and is afraid of what he could be capable of should he fall to the dark side. No offense, but I thought that was pretty obvious with the "I chose a child..." lines. The first Space Marine we see get crushed (Levantus?) is seeing his greatest (and as a Space Marine should really be his only, as fear is bred out of them; it's a key part of the lore) fear being that he is or could become too weak to actually be a Space Marine, hence the shriveled and emaciated body that gets crushed by the presumably empty armor.
I have been drawn into Warhammer for a while now, but found it too complicated, initially. Only recently did I start to get it, so I guess I'm pretty much still a neofite to it. Your video is great at explaining this small, tiny part, of what is Warhammer, so thanks for that
That was me for like 2 decades, Space Marine 2 was what finally allowed me to dip my toes into Warhammer 40K without buying a bunch of miniatures and books. Having a blast, currently my favorite fictional universe.
My knowledge of Warhammer 40k is pretty much limited to Astartes and a couple of videos that did a great deep dive on that and the factions/aliens of the galaxy. It was so limited, that in the Secret Level episode, the holy parchments burning up surprised me with "wait, there is legit magic in this?". Also had no idea that Titus was an established character or the impact that fear had on being corrupted. Great summary by the way. Added much more understanding to the lore. Especially like the explanation on why religion is important and that the glowing blood creatures were warp corrupted humans.
"Hey do we have any of those psychic proof anti-demon guys around?" "Uh....no, but what about a named videogame protagonist who's also an Ultramatine, and ALSO rarely ever wears a helmet?" Oh, shit I didn't know we had one of those, yeah send him.
the marine death sequence hits harder when you realize there’s no reason why they should bleed out and fall to the ground in a time warp unless the sorcerer allowed it to happen to enhance their fear, but it backfired and primed Titus to explode at the end
Check out some videos on the different space marine legions, and their primarchs (god-like leaders). Also check out some videos on the 4 chaos gods, and maybe the tyranids!
I really wish you touched on the look Metarus gave Titus after he let go of the coffin. Its obviously something that should have never been unprotected, but yet he still left it unprotected despite 3 other soldiers surrounding it.
She stopped the time first, then she saw that phyker's shield allowed marines to move and act within its area, so she knew she had to kill the psyker first, to time freeze the marines and be able to deal with them one by one.
Such a cool episode. But I like how nothing had to be explained. Like the scene where Titus leaves behind his duty to take out the tank.... gets reminded to hold onto the coffin thing.
The low equipped and barbaric nature of those of the warp is also a easy show to newbies that those that worship chaos = bad, worship emperor = good. I think the episode was great for both newbies and vets of 40k
I feel like the first marine to die was scared that without his armor he was weak.
He wanted to go out wearing his garb
I thought so too, maybe that deep inside he was just a man or that he lost his humanity, I don't know 😂
No he was scared of the group leader
Well for a veteran i think from first company to have fear from such a small thing its not very common they should be able resist this tipe of stuff, if it was a regular battle brother alright but in this case kinda strange.
I thought it was doubt. He was born as a man, then turned into a weapon. Killing and war is all he knows, almost as if the armor is his identity and the idea of a perfect soldier that then proceeds to rip out the human weakness to cull it from hindering the warring.
What a lot of reviewers are missing in my opinion, is that the sorceress looks very surprised seeing Titus and tries to get away fearfully. I also think that we will see much more of Titus, since he also got a datasheet in 40k.
The armour of contempt is strong against chaos. Ibrahim Gaunt. Seem like Titus has the same quality.
good point; this is significant imo
@@jacobbucht992is that a Guant’s Ghosts reference?
I read that probably 15 years ago, I loved what I got into tho
@@Lohanujuan yes it was explained by Dan Abnett that Contempt is a strong shield against the warp influence. The warp is fueled by emotion and if you believe it is just weakness to dabble in it. You somehow shield yourself.
@@Lohanujuan Chaos claims the unwary or the incomplete. A true man may flinch away from its embrace, if he is stalwart, and he girds his soul with the armour of contempt"
Wow dude. As a 40k vet of decades, thank you for this vid. It's very easy to understand, and you cover a lot of complex subject swiftly and effortlessly. You should be proud of this production.
Much appreciated!
From the perspective of someone who knows practically nothing about Warhammer 40K, this was a perfect breakdown video. Good job.
Same: thanks mate!
exactly. Thanks for this. Its my favorite Secret Level episode and I keep coming back to it over and over because I think its so brilliantly done.
but I know nothing about Warhammer and it was driving me nuts not understanding what was going on until I found this video. Amazing breakdown.
3:18 worth noting that they aren't always completely brainwashed, just heavily conditioned and mentally trained. A few chapters, namely the Salamanders, allow their marines to live with their original families and communities while on their home world of Nocturne. Same deal with their emotions, their are lots of chapters (such as the Space Wolves) who are quite jovial, or at least not always super angry.
He's obviously generalizing for people that are unfamiliar.
Living with your family etc.does really not contradict brain washing, in fact every single SM is brain washed.
@@TheAndsometimeschris yeah I get thay, it's just a little bit extra info for anyone interested
@@cegesh1459 that depends on the definition of "brainwashing". If it's complete brainwashing, ie. removing their whole personality and memories, then staying with the family is obsolete, they don't remember them.
If it's partial brainwashing, ie removing the personality but retaining the memories, then going back to the family is inneffective, i agree.
Finally there's phsyco-conditioning, the main thing used for Astartes. This leaves the memories and (to some extent) personality intact, whilst hardenning the marine to combat stress and trauma, and implanting them with the knowledge they need. In this case, returning to their family is easier for the marine, as they are mentally the same (or at least similar) to their pre-augmented state.
Imagine how surprised she was; looking in his mind and finding nothing to fear but himself
Numerous times Titus has been described as someone "without fear", think the sorcerer was showing them thier biggest fears, scared of them, they attacked, which was what the Sorcerer wanted, for them to attack themselves. Old Man didn't attack his fear because it was Titus in the image, so he was just wounded not killed, titus, having no fear, was nothing for the sorcerer to use against him, so titus could attack the sorcerer in his mind, and not his fear, which broke the concentration of the sorcerer and allowed time to continue.
Pretty sure the breaking of the sorcerer's staff is what ended the spell.
maybe kinda a way to bring all forms of fear into reality?
Titus calls him "Old Man" as a child. So it seems more like affective moniker than a huge difference in age
That's how I took it as well, a term of endearment from when Titus was a child
Also they could both have four service dots and still be as much as 99 years apart in age (assuming they each represent 100 years).
@@overbuiltlimited Plus warp shenanigans while travelling through it. There are lots of time dilations
When i was in the US Marines, Anyone who didn't join at 18-19 was considered an "old man". And if they could keep up, it was a term of endearment for sure.
Depends silver dots are worth 50 years. Metatarsus probably has gold dots which each is worth 100 years. So metatarsus is twice tidus' age.@@overbuiltlimited
This is what Syama Pedersen has been working on since he was taken on by GW. I checked this within the first few minutes as I saw similar shots and the overall feel reminded me of Astartes.
I wondered if he was involved. That valley the marine drop into looked similar to the valley at the end of Astartes. I’m glad to see his new work finally get a public release.
Syama Pederson is the mastermind behind Astartes is what I'm reading?
@@TyphonCH correct!
If you rewatch the opening of this episode, with Metaurus walking down the hallway to the drop pod, it has almost the exact same music/audio as that moment in Astartes. It seemed like a very intentional homage.
He's in the credits as a layout artist. @@craigjones7343
I'm listening to two podcasts currently that offer an introduction to 40K, and this guy explains what 15 episodes could not, with clarity.. in under 20 minutes!
“ no idea why, that’s just a thing that is happening.”
Welcome to Warhammer 40,000.
Mandatory re-watched because Ian has the best lore channel in the whole site. I really liked the animation's visual story telling and it felt that it had a whole lot of subtle lore nods for the nerd nerds.
I assumed that Metarus was in charge of the inductee group that Titus was part of, and therefore why he recognises his name on the briefing as the "really angry badass child" that would on to become a captain, then a deathwatch veteran, and so on.
Also the sorcery shenanigans reminded me of some books and how they describe the mind fortifications that marines put to battle against psychers.
The first Marine envisions himself straight off the bat as his current self. Then he rips himself out of his armour and unalives
Metarus being older and suspicious about Titus gets attacked by seeing him grow up from an inductee, Neophyte, Marine and then CHAOS.
AND TITUS being the angry angry main character dude that he is has a speedrun of his career as a marine and breaks through the sorcerers bullshitery.
Thank you for coming to my Rant
I don’t believe Calgar would’ve tried to have Titus killed after explaining his rage over his incarceration and honoring him at the end of SM2. He sent him along because he knew he’d get the job done and probably survive. Hope to see more Titus, Metaurus, and hopefully Calgar in the next piece of media whether it’s game or tv.
13:00 the marine is first shown ripping open his own armour, so I think it's pretty clear the neophyte he kills is himself. and since he crushes the neophytes skull, and starts bleeding profusely through his helmet after, that pretty much cements it.
But how is it related to the fear-theme? Titus’s mentor had the fear that Titus would turn to chaos, and thus got “stabbed”. The “neophyte” getting ripped out of his own armor could be the fear of being weak and vulnerable without the armor… or something like that.
@@Szminsky I think so because after he collapses from crushing his own head, it shows the text on his pauldron's trim which says "the lie", probably changed into that thanks to some Tzeenthcian shenanigans that rewrote reality or something, so maybe he feared that his strength is a lie or something.
@@Szminsky could be anything. he's a veteran and has served several life times. could also be before, or during, his ascension into becoming an astarte.
I think he's afraid he will fall and need to end himself and he does.
@@Iamawesomenorlyits simple. His fear is that he feels like he isn't worthy of the armor he's wearing.
Don't listen to this guy, the 40k 'verse is a happy place... for Orks.
I guess I “have to” watch it again 😜
Does it have any wokeness ? I heard they cut down on that big time ?
@@Catolicodeguerra Can't cut what was never there!
@@timhough oh you poor boy
@@Catolicodeguerralmao everything ppl dont like isnt automatically woke ppl use that word for everything now it's annoying as hell I'll never forget when kids were saying doom eternal was woke 🤣 y'all are turning into bigger snowflakes than the sjws
@@Catolicodeguerra yikes
Trivia: Metaurus is a Veteran Sergeant. Althougt it is not specified in the mission parameters, he wears a red helmet (sergeant) with a white vertical stripe showing his veteran status.
I think the fact he leads a Bladeguard VETERAN squad gave away him being a vet sergent
OG is right, the second comment is also right 😂
It could be that Metaurus stopped adding studs at 400 years. Imagine Dante having studs for every century of service.
Or it could be 400 years of service as a sergeant.
If Dante added studs for every century his forehead would be giant stud I reckon :D
Ten gold studs. Bling bling.
@@jimmysmith2249 wouldn't it be 15?
Service studs aren't awarded by any Adeptus or official organization within the Imperium. They're riveted in by the recipient's squad mates and have no standardized meaning. They can represent 10, 50 or 100 years of service, in total, in a specific squad or in a certain role.
As per the dialogue in space marine 2, the four service studs account for 200 years of service, so 50 years each.
What I particularly like about this channel is how you actually do a solid job of introducing/explaining 40K. Other channels are really good and entertaining, as is yours, but you focus on actually educating people in a way to actually get them interested with enough knowledge that they can actually start to follow along. This reminds me of a channel that broke down the Astartes animated fan film for new people.
Overall good job and look forward to more videos! Looking forward to the Astral Claws, Star Phantoms and Nova Marines Chapters in your Badab War series.
My opinion on if it is a good intro into 40k, One of the things I agreed with some other youtubers out there, when trying to get someone into a fanbase, you don't drop them into the ocean. You give them a drop, something to grab their attention,. Just enough so they could piece some things together while also want them to ask and see more. Sooner or later that drop will accompany another until it turns into branching streams that lead into that vast ocean.
I think the Secret Level gives a lot of interesting stuff that makes people want to find more. So just my opinion, it could be considered a good intro for 40k.
worked for me
I love how every time some 40k film or short is releasing there are a string of break down and lore videos for all the new fans that it inevitably brings in
As someone who knew nothing about 40K going in to this episode of secret level. It was a fantastic introduction. Seeing how powerful the marines are and what they do was awesome and the questions you have by the time the episode is over leaves you wanting much more. It's dragged me into the rabbit hole and I'm now officially a fan of the lore
Honestly, I think Titus got some moves from his Black Shield brothers, one of them must have been from the Exorcist Chapter and taught him how to shunt a daemon out.
Wow so I know the very basics of Warhammer, like settings, factions, different chapters and all of that, but I actually really like how you explained it for people who know absolutely nothing, this was really good work
Thank you Ian for updating the video. It seems to be a much better explanation of the setting and the Secret Level episode now. The tone and info is also on point now and serves as a good introduction to mewcomers.
I think Eisenhorn is the perfect introduction to 40k and I hope they start there for the amazon series. It drops you right into the 40k universe without being overwhelming. It touches on enough lore to get you familiar with the world of 40k, while still leaving enough unexplained to encourage people to dive down rabbit holes.
For anyone new to 40k here and looking for something other than youtube lore videos, I cannot recommend that book/audiobook series enough. Also this cahnnel is a fantastic reference if you want anything in them explaines
Plus, Henry Cavil looks almost exactly like a young Gregor Eisenhorn.
I've just started reading this and bloody loving it 💪🏻
Thank you for explaining so simply to someone who is very new to Warhammer. Other UA-camrs do not explain well at all like you do. In fact they lash out at you for asking questions. You make newcomers welcomed. Thank You.🙏
I interpreted it as they train kids to have no fears but Titus was found with no fear
I was never a big Space Marine guy but after watching Secret Level ep 5 I'm SOLD! This blew my MIND and was by far one of the best animations I've ever seen! I want more and I'd really LOVE a "Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine" SERIES from the same creators/animators. This one episode converted me to a Space Marine fan!
Have you seen astrades already? It’s insane
@@spacedoritos whats that? Enlighten me please
@@spacedoritos What's that?
Astartes is a fan film divided into short clips by a guy who ended up being scouted by Games Workshop to line the shots for this episode of Secret Level. It gives you an idea of other chapters working together against one of the many other enemies humanity has in the 40k universe: The Necrons.
They did a good job of showing how strong a Space Marine is supposed to be in the lore.
The Hulk sprinting was great.
The only thing I didn't like was running through a vehicle. They were definitely going for "rule of cool," but Space Marines are still affected by regular physics. Even if the armor is indestructible, it's being acted upon by an outside force. Space marines inside such armor still turn into goop if they're hit by a large enough object going at a high enough speed. Like they have to use a drop pod for a reason. You can't just jump out of an airplane in a really big tank and expect to survive.
The melee combat sequence was fucking rad, though. Really good job of showing how Marines can take on multiple enemies at once.
@@nekrataaliastartes can run faster than the vehicle Titus ran through, they’re not invincible but they’re still still wearing armor that’s stronger than any enemy vehicle
@@askmewhosjoe6682 If you fly an A-10 Warthog at 350 mph into a Boeing 787 Dreamliner going 561 mph, it doesn't take a aerodynamicist to understand anyone aboard either aircraft is about to be turned into goo.
@@nekrataaliexcept space marines are not normal people they themselves are much more durable
7:28 - When they're scanning the area for threats and their suits pick up the gibbets hanging from the structure, I assumed it was some sort of bridge. It's not. It's the corpse of a titan that's fallen and become a wedged in the canyon.
Titus overcame not just by blind rage and anger...but solely by a lack of fear. That's what made him different his leader metarus alluded to this. He lacked fear down to a subatomic level😂😂😂😂 Titus is him..!!!!
Inquisitor Thrax keeps Titus in stasis during his interrogations after the events on Graius. It's heavily implied that Titus is kept out of the picture for the entire duration of the Badab War as Thrax is busy with that. This could easily add a century or more to Titus' timeline during which he is out of contact with other Astartes and presumably not earning them studs.
This makes Metaurus having the same number of studs even weirder.
Yeah, I was assuming this mission was from when Titus was still a young lieutenant proving himself, before he ascends to Captain and then goes to Graia. He has less balding, compared to the games. I assume the studs are just a mistake, or are meant to draw a visual connection between Titus and Metarus to represent their bond.
it’s plausible that the deathwatch considered Titus’ time under Thrax’s lock and key as part of his service tbf
@@caad5258 The mission must take place after Space Marine 2, he's Primaris.
Maybe service studs cap out at four. Or, "It's all I can spare."
Metarus has 4 gold studs while Titus has 4 sliver. Gold is a century per stud while sliver a half a century
@@scotsmen2325 they look like gold...
for the servis studs, could be that the age gap between the veteran sgt and Titus is a mere 40 years or so
I think its because between Space Marine 1 and 2 Titus was kept in stasis by the Inquisitor who arrested him.
@@JKR9488 He was in the Deathwatch for much of 100 years.
Silver studs are 50 years. Gold are 100. Titus has 200 years service, Metarus has 400 years of service
I saw it as Titus literally having no fear in him at all. So the Chaos sorcerer has nothing to draw power from in him. And that's why she became afraid. The only thing a creature that uses fear as a weapon is afraid of is people completely without fear.
I love the pupils details they laid out. Everyone shows fear in their eyes except titus. Even the sorceress when first entering Titus' mind her eyes focused on him. But she had no power and could not move nor act first... by the time Titus' smashed her staff her eyes fully dilated and her jaw dropped. The uno reverse is legendary.
WRT the service studs, there is also the possibility that warp time shenanigans means Metaurus was much older than Titus at the start of Titus's career, but he caught up.
Also, Titus Studs are on the left and Metaurus' are on the right. Maybe where they are located changes?
Warp spaghetti does screw with time in very strange ways. I would buy that for a dollar.
There's something along those lines that happened in the Horus Heresy book Flight of the Eisenstein where Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard is talking to Maloghurst of the Sons of Horus after their escape from Isstvan III. Garro ponders the fact that he was one of the original members of the Death Guard recruited from Terra before any of the Primarchs were found, while Maloghurst was recruited from Cthonia after Horus was recovered. But Maloghurst is noticably older than Garro and has quite a bit more combat experience than Garro. They attribute this to how the warp fucks up time for different people.
The first fear seems to be the fear of being a mortal human outside of his armor. Second one is obviously the guy worrying Titus would turn to chaos.
The demon getting stuck inside its own simulation with Titus goes so hard.
I’m totally new to 40k. Always heard about it but never got into the board. This episode has me very excited about learning more
The last video you did on this was good, but I appreciate you going Emperor’s Children on us with this one. This is perfection my friend. You are doing the Emperor’s work.
This is the video we expected! focused for an audience, flowed from start to finish, and didn't overload misc information. Very informative and i'm so happy he listened to the comments. This one feels like it wasn't rushed.
I really liked how this episode exposed how ironic "you shall know no fear" is. Even veteren space marines know fear. The only true space marine is titus, because he actually knows no fear.
Good job filling in the story. I've been painting Warhammer 40k with my two young adult grandsons for the past couple of years. Sci-Fi isn't my thing, but they asked me to teach them to paint and this is what they want to paint. So we've been doing it every Tuesday night, but I really don't know anything about the story. When they first asked me, I said okay, but I'm not painting robots or anything with green skin. I settled on Battle Sisters because of the clerical look of their garb and the ecclesiastical nature of their mission, not to mention they have actual real faces to paint.
I watched the Secret Level series the other night and was pleased to see a WH episode, but I have to say, none of it made any sense. So thanks again for filling me in.
This comment made me smile. :) I wish all the best for you and your family.
The only takeaway from watching this episode is that now I'm gonna have to get me some Bladeguard Vets....Damn you GW!!!
Btw, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that the guy who did Asartes also did this.....it clearly shows; even before knowing that fact, this episode is quite similar in some ways to Asartes.
Yeah he was involved and is listed in the credits
I’ve watched it 3 times already, loved it. With this being so well received let’s hope they see the opportunity and release films of a similar style based on various chapters and story lines. Fingers crossed
Appreciate the breakdown on this episode! I became a fan after this episode of secret levels and needed an explanation as a newbie❤
This was my favorite episode. Absolutely amazing. Please make a movie.
THIS WAS FANTASTIC. i have been wanting to get into Warhammer 40k and the amount of lore seemed daunting. This simplified things and was very helpful
Absolutely fantastic video. Your explanations of the finer details were precise, to the point, and very easy to understand.
Brand new to 40k, playing catch up big time, loving this world, thanks for this👍
As someone who does know a good amount about 40k, I think this video does a VERY good job of giving out baseline knowledge in a short amount of time, well done
haha, hearing someone discribe some of the 40k stuff out loud is hilarious, the Tzaangors explanation is my favourite! Oh yeah, you know a mix of "Man, bird and goat" 😂
Great breakdown brother. Watched it twice and wanted those little detail explained.
Your describing, even to laymen, is impeccable. I came into 40k around 1998, my best friend got me into it and since he had blood angels and imperial guard I went with chaos. I had abbadon the despoiler, kharne the betrayer, and the pewter great unclean one heroes. By then my bf had a sister's of battle and ultramarine faction building. But it was fun, kept me out of alot of trouble despite still getting into trouble, and to this day 40k, D&D, and even Top Gear Rally on N64 is my secret levels to my heart 😅
Dont forget, you can tell it is titus because of his laurels on his helmet!
Time wiggling can fairly easily explain the studs challenge - fairly easy for Metaurus to have had a trip where it took a year for him but 30+ years passed in the “real” world (which doesn’t seem that rare in 40K) and it could stack up that he recruited Titus and yet they have the same number of studs
I dont think the Mortality Rate: Absolute is supposed to imply that Titus was intended to die in Bird Hell, but that
1. Every mission Space Marines go on is of the highest possible threat level, since they are specifically designed to take on the Imperium's most dangerous threats and/or
2. Titus was chosen specifically for his inexplicable resistance to the warp, and they were expecting a 100% chance of Warp Fuckery with scattered showers
Followed by what appears to be some sort of large bomb, maybe for exterminatus, and someone on vox 'Die well Brothers"
I think you are correct
Unlike other veterans, Titus's don't even shiver as he stares right back at the demon. Immediately after he enter the mental state, he ran, snapped the staff and leap to split demon into two.
This is such a great video. This episode was one of my favorites in Secret Level. It made me so curious about the Space Marines and 40K lore.
I'm a 40k noob but I really enjoyed this episode. You've given me a taste of the lore. Cheers.
Dude, this was soooo good.
I am just an "amateur" fan, watching from time to time a video but thats it and this was so helpful, even though I knew about Titus and his whole lore this perfectly filled every question I had.
I beg you to continue this sort of format if we get an actual series.
I bet there are loads of people like me who know the basics but dont want to dig deep just to understand each episode and all the hints.
Massive w video, I appreciate it a lot 😁
Glad it helped!
When they slide down the hill, they start walking again on the same surface suggesting gravity is messed up in that area.
I still can’t get over the design of that sorceress. So so good
Dude, you did an excellent job explaining this. I know VERY little about the 40k universe... anything I do know came from the MMO. This made me appreciate this episode even more, so thank you!
Your explanation on this episode and warhammer in general is on point!
Found your channel after looking at videos related to Space Marine 2. Your videos are dope. Subscribed.
I'm glad you updated with the details missed last time, good on ya!
2 minutes in and Ian gets everything right
YEAH! Thats what i love about you my guy
Great explanation! Always been warhammer curious but really don’t know much about it. Amazing secret level episode. Would love to see more!
What a fantastic breakdown of the content of the episode. :)
I'm sure that someone involved with the production of this episode of Secret Level enjoys themselves some 2000 A.D. The way that Titus dealt with the Chaos Sorcerer reminded me of Judge Dredd's first encounter with Judge Fear, and possibly my favourite panel in all of comic book history: "Gaze into the fist of Dredd!".
Always quality from you mate, you didn't need to reupload but we appreciate it.
Thanks for the update. Definitely addressed more this time around.
I love how that Space Marine just runs through that vehicle. I keep thinking.. Vehicle meet Mountain!
I watch it before I go to sleep. Very relaxing.
Really interesting to watch this and the first version, and see how much power Editor-Ian has to change up what Writer-Ian and Presenter-Ian created.
A video so nice our Arbitor made it Twice lol. JK sorry if the copyright Deamon came out of the Warp
No copyright - I think avoiding using the audio or any video that isn't from the trailer helped there!
But there were audio issues and people pointed out some stuff I'd missed so i UPDATED IT!
@@ArbitorIan For those who pursue perfection, there can be no rest
I interpret the final battle scene of Titus the other way around. It is not Titus who's sees the fearless child, but the sorcerer. When the other marines died, they were in there form, whle the sorcerer was taking shape of thier greatest fear. With Titus is the other way around, the sorcerer does not change, but sees Titus as the fearless child, it's greatest fear.
One thing I noticed while watching the sorcerer scene is that when it goes up to the space marines, those that it can “control” their pupils become super dilated vs Titus who’s eyes do not become dilated and over powers the sorcerer
It's the greatest introduction of 40K taking into account that it is an animation of 15 minutes!! And in those 15 minutes manages to tell A LOT About that world
The attention to w40k lore in this episode its really Good and there are even more small details, for example: when metaurus gets stabbed he starts bleeding, which should not happen to a space marine, but later you see on his display "larraman organ failure" which explains that and "sus an membrane primed" which could also explain his slow and soft movements and talk. Really cool details if you are into w40k
Titus was Metaurus' aspirant in the trials. It's almost an Obi-Wan/Anakin thing. Metaurus knows how powerful and how much potential Titus has, and is afraid of what he could be capable of should he fall to the dark side. No offense, but I thought that was pretty obvious with the "I chose a child..." lines.
The first Space Marine we see get crushed (Levantus?) is seeing his greatest (and as a Space Marine should really be his only, as fear is bred out of them; it's a key part of the lore) fear being that he is or could become too weak to actually be a Space Marine, hence the shriveled and emaciated body that gets crushed by the presumably empty armor.
This episode made me buy space marine 2 and play the whole campaign and wow this game is just amazing we crispy cream glazin
I have been drawn into Warhammer for a while now, but found it too complicated, initially. Only recently did I start to get it, so I guess I'm pretty much still a neofite to it. Your video is great at explaining this small, tiny part, of what is Warhammer, so thanks for that
Glad I could help!
That was me for like 2 decades, Space Marine 2 was what finally allowed me to dip my toes into Warhammer 40K without buying a bunch of miniatures and books. Having a blast, currently my favorite fictional universe.
Unbelievably good animation. So well done. AS IF GW HAVEN’T DONE SEVERAL “TV” SERIES AND MOVIES BY NOW!? Crazy. So much money to be made.
My knowledge of Warhammer 40k is pretty much limited to Astartes and a couple of videos that did a great deep dive on that and the factions/aliens of the galaxy. It was so limited, that in the Secret Level episode, the holy parchments burning up surprised me with "wait, there is legit magic in this?". Also had no idea that Titus was an established character or the impact that fear had on being corrupted.
Great summary by the way. Added much more understanding to the lore. Especially like the explanation on why religion is important and that the glowing blood creatures were warp corrupted humans.
Man i just love the way you explain and talk about warhammer 40k in your videos keep up mate.
These are really extended trailers for the games e.g. Titus just happens to be the playable character from 40K Space Marines 2.
Probably a job for a Grey Knight squad. But, you have who you have in the area.
"Hey do we have any of those psychic proof anti-demon guys around?"
"Uh....no, but what about a named videogame protagonist who's also an Ultramatine, and ALSO rarely ever wears a helmet?"
Oh, shit I didn't know we had one of those, yeah send him.
@IloveGorgeousGeorge
Kaldor Draigo would work, too. But I don't think he's available.
found your channel through sandman of terra, very well done video and explanation. Need more CC's like you and Sandman!
great stuff, was fun learning (even if briefly) about warhammer 40k. Thanks man
Well done Ian, not an easy task to introduce anyone into the massive lore of 30/40k but you did a really admirable job! 🤘
the marine death sequence hits harder when you realize there’s no reason why they should bleed out and fall to the ground in a time warp unless the sorcerer allowed it to happen to enhance their fear, but it backfired and primed Titus to explode at the end
Came here after the episode as a newcomer to Warhammer. This was such a badass episode!
Check out some videos on the different space marine legions, and their primarchs (god-like leaders). Also check out some videos on the 4 chaos gods, and maybe the tyranids!
@ 👍🏻 Thx. Will do.
The sound design on this was absolutely fantastic. I loved the whole thing but the sound really was phenomenal.
4 gold studs 400 years
4 silver studs 200 years
First marine feared his humanity
Third was scared of Titus falling to chaos
Titus has no fear
I really wish you touched on the look Metarus gave Titus after he let go of the coffin. Its obviously something that should have never been unprotected, but yet he still left it unprotected despite 3 other soldiers surrounding it.
She stopped the time first, then she saw that phyker's shield allowed marines to move and act within its area, so she knew she had to kill the psyker first, to time freeze the marines and be able to deal with them one by one.
Dont forget that Titus was put in stasis for 200 hundred years when he was in the Inquisition custody.
Very informative video. Keep up the good work.
Such a cool episode. But I like how nothing had to be explained. Like the scene where Titus leaves behind his duty to take out the tank.... gets reminded to hold onto the coffin thing.
The low equipped and barbaric nature of those of the warp is also a easy show to newbies that those that worship chaos = bad, worship emperor = good. I think the episode was great for both newbies and vets of 40k