Nah, the sorcerer prayed on the doubts and fears of the marines, those first 2 feared failing while neophytes and so that's what killed them, metaurus feared Titus would fall to corruption, as do most Ultramarines, and so that's what got him. Titus had no fear and no doubts, and like usual was simply incorruptible
@@peterclarke7006yea well the space nazi’s are cool cause they both represent the horror and fear that come with the imperium being a totalitarian fascist regime and the humanity if the imperium and the dichotomy therein. Its the most interesting aspect of the setting without doubt, without the repressive and regressive imperium of man being hyper fascistic and yet being the only hope of humanity then 40k is just startrek but darker
Chainsword?? I thought that Titus as a child was dragging an Astartes Combat Knife. I thought it was some sort of theme as the combat knife was used extensively thought the episode and was used to slay the Sorcerer.
@@jikjikrodriguez it's the combat knife. There're layers to this. In the first Space Marine game, the very first weapons Titus uses are the Combat Knife and Bolt Pistol. In 40k, the Combat Knife was used as an example of how finding any intact STC blueprint was enough to set up their finders for life.
@@balvarine8709 Yes it was a knife the same knife he has and killed the demon sorcerer with. I don't know why everybody is saying it is Chainsword maybe they saw the episode on PC monitor where the image is just so dark and blurred I watched it on a couple of different devices and only on a high-end screen I saw the details than I did go back to the monitor and uses a filter in VLC player changed the contrasts saturation and brightness so finally have better details on a PC monitor.
But this makes it even weirder with them having the same amount of service if the sergeant recruited Titus. I think the sergeant could have had one more stud just to show that but since they can mean centuries it could still work.
@@karlnygren Or maybe that Metaurus was a young Space Marine recruit who hasn't passed his first demi-century of service yet. That's why they have the same 400 year service studs.
@@karlnygren It Doesnt take a century to make a space marine, Metaurus could have chosen Titus, say 50 years into his service, a couple of years later Titus is a space marine. as you said, it can work. especially considering that for example Dante would have 10 service studs lol. any more than four and you start running out of forehead. xD
@@karlnygren I think this is a rare case of Ian actually getting the lore wrong in his video, perhaps because he's barely started the game. Titus's studs are silver while the Bladeguard Sargeant's studs are gold. That puts Titus at roughly 200 years of service(which is explicitly mentioned early in the game) while the Sgt. should be around 400.
I find it hilarious how much of 40k lore I take for granted after 25 years. This hit me when you explain Tzaangors as "part human, part bird and part goat" haha
Syama, creator of the Astartes fanimation, worked on this too. Given the massive impact the Astartes series has had on UA-cam, a mainstream platform putting some of this visual quality out will most definitely draw people in.
The capacity in which Syama worked in this was relatively limited at least according to the credits, sadly we don't really have any details to know what exactly he contributed. It's important to remember that this animation was not done by Games Workshop, it was made by Blur Studio and directed by Dave Wilson, from the Love, Death & Robots side. Still, I think we can see a few winks at Astartes, and it makes sense, as the format of it fits the Secret level well
And Syama will get a fixed pittance paycheck meanwhile GW rakes in the big bucks. Who gives a shit how many people are drawn in, GW genocided the means for independant art creators to make what they love. Fans will always understand Warhammer better than the owners and that's been indicated time and time again.
I believe the 'Old man' part is just in reference to the flashback we see at the beginning in which Titus as a child can be heard saying "out of my way old man" from my interpretation this is due to Metaurus being the one to find and then select Titus to become a marine, meaning he is likely a bit older than him as he would have been a full fledged marine at that point, as Titus was a child its not impossible to believe he saw Metaurus as an Old man, this also demonstrates his lack of fear speaking to a marine in such a way as a small child. When the Sorcerer attacks the marines for the first one I believe he is playing on his fear of being weak without his power armour rather than holding a neophyte, we see him pull his chest plate apart and then pull his flesh body out from within before his suit of power armour crushes his head, you can see a vague humanoid shape rent in the armour and tubing going from the body it holds back into the suit. I also don't think that Titus is seeing himself as a child when the sorcerer attempts to kill him, instead this is him inside whatever warp memory palace is depicted, the sorcerer is behind him, seemingly observing when Titus turns and advances upon him, growing larger and stronger before shattering his staff and breaking the spell. Even though the sorcerer has no face to make expression he does seem to be surprised by this moment, as if he thought Titus was unable to see him and so I do believe the child is the POV Titus has in that warp memory. I did enjoy the episode, I agree its not likely the best introduction to the series but that being said, I don't think there's a great deal of required knowledge for the episode or too much you can't infer from what's depicted. For instance with the marines, without explicitly being told what they are capable of we see that they can take on vastly higher numbers of normal humans without issue and even the Tzangors (which a casual audience would not recognise as such but would still see as larger more dangerous monsters than a person) are also little match. Which also goes on to show how dangerous the warp/magic is when we see the Sorcerer put very little effort into taking out the majority of the team. I felt it showed certain things like that well which gave you a sense of how things worked without necessarily going into too much detail. I think that works nicely for capturing interest to then go and delve further into the interesting lore which is not necessarily required for the episode to be enjoyable.
Small thing Ian. Child Titus at the start is carrying the knife you see him using at the end, not a chainsword. Awesome video as always though! Sorry for being that guy
@@Hardlywerkinyeah, an Astartes chainsword would have been bigger than him. I can kind of understand the confusion though, as it's serrated on one side and they kind of look like chainsword teeth.
One thing missed by the video: The upwards flowing goo indicates magic altering gravity. when the marine jump down, they end up sliding forwards. This shows the power of chaos magic. It has overwritten gravity to make it perpendicular within the dark crevass.
I thought that part was really cool, when they're all sliding "down" that steep slope, and then at the "bottom" they simply stand up and start walking forward as normal. Really easy little bit to miss if you aren't watching too closely.
It's all but stated outright that Metaurus was the one who originally picked Titus to be a space marine. The "old man" thing is propably because Metaurus was a kind of mentor figure to him, even if they don't have more than a 50 year difference in service time
Yeah, I was really surprised how Ian missed this. This was kind of the whole point of the episode: how your mentor may fear you and/or be proud of you.
I'm absorbing all info for secret level, great vid, but a couple of corrections in good faith. :D *****SPOILERS FOR SM2******** Secret Level EP5 is a sequal to Space Marine 2, Sm2 Gives context and some backstory for Titus & How he got sent on this mission. 1: Its a combat knife, not a chainsword. Small boy is small, knife is big. lol 2: Titus is Special, Seemingly completely uncorruptable by chaos. & has possibly even had the Emperor Speak to him. 3: Metaurus chose Titus for induction into the ultramarines, and has served for all of the 400 years of service studs, crossing the rubicon when the Primaris came about. Titus spent 100 years in stasis with the inquisition being woken up, "tested" for heresy, then put back in stasis until Inquisitor Thraxx was executed for heresy (lol) and titus released and served in the deathwatch. In Space marine 2 Titus's time with the Inquisition and being a blackshield in the deathwatch is scrubbed from his record, but earned the service studs for "Time served". This is why Titus looks younger than Metaurus but has the same number of Studs.Hence the "Old man" Comments from Young Titus & SM Titus-
thanks for this! (specifically point 3). as a newcomer to the 40k world (entering via books and now shows), my brain was seizing trying to figure out how Metaurus is Titus’ mentor from childhood and yet they had the same amount of service studs 😂.
You can definitely tell the impact that “Astartes” had on this just by the way space marines walk with the rhythm and sound effects its unbelievably badass and more than any other piece of media I think this properly conveys what people mean when they say a space marine walking tank
The studs are not the same material. Titus uses silver, Metaurus uses gold. Titus' indicate he's atleast 200 (silver = 50 years) and Metterus indicates 400 (gold =100 years) the implication in this episode is that Metterus is the one who recruited the child without fear who grew up to be Titus.
That osnt clear from the episode. They definitely both *look* like 4 gold studs to me. It is entirely possible they are *meant* to be silver, and it is a trick of the light making them appear gold, but there certainly isn't a clear difference between them.
For me the Bladeguard and Indomitus release in general is when they really nailed the Primaris Aesthetic. So cool to see this stuff realised in games and media.
There's so much to love about this episode. From the synchronised efficiency and power of the marines, lazily massacring cultists like it's another tuesday, to the grimdark, dusty atmosphere. But the thing I loved more than anything was the portrayal of a deceptively terrifying daemon of Tzeentch. Weak on the surface, but able to stop time and psychologically turn even gritty veteran astartes inside out like they're nothing.
Chain swords are ridiculous? Objectively, sure. But that does contradict the stereotypical conversation about the game. Observer: so you're playing a table top game with toy soldiers in some kind of armor? Player: yes. But these guys are wielding chainsaw swords Observer: this is the coolest game ever.
My 2 cents on de episode and video, but, I think you dropped the ball on this one my dude, but still a great video. Some corrections: At the start of the episode, young Titus is carrying a Combat Knife, not a Chainsword, the same Knife he use one handed during the combat. This shows the Marines size diference from a regular human In the sorceress mind attack, the first Marine rip HIMSELF out of his own armour and crush his own skull. Problably showing the Marine fear of not being a marine anymore. Titus called the Sarge "Old Man" because he is the Marine that found Titus at the start of the episode, he even say " out of my away, Old Man" I have to disagree about your opinion of "Dumb Marinês Fun" of the episode, all the little of narration we have talk about fear, the Sergeant fear of choosing Titus, the Know no Fear of the Marines, and ALL of it, the Sorceress exploiting each of the Marines fears, and as Titus is resistent to the Warp, he literaly cant fear the sorceress.
Yeah, there was quite a lot to read between the lines here. All in all, I was impressed by how effectively these deeper elements were told in such a short animation. Ian's contempt for bolter porn was so strong, that he missed that there was more to this animation.
He calls him old man because 1 he was the one who inducted titus and 2 while they have the same number of studs titus was under cryogenic sleep for 200 years so is physically younger.
Honestly my favourite detail of the whole episode was the secondary hands and arms of the daemon sorcerer. It first has the wing like protrusions, then they collaps into its spine to reform as arms. Pretty awesome.
Young Titus is carrying a combat knife in the opening. The same combat knife he's wielding as a full marine for the rest of the episode. Young Titus is found by Metaurus and subsequently inducted into the Ultramarines. As the opening scene fades to black you can hear young Titus refer to Metaurus as "Old Man." "Get out of my way, Old Man." Which is how Titus refers to Metaurus throughout the episode. Agree with you broadly that the same number of service studs on both Titus and Metaurus seems odd considering their apparent age discrepancy. However of we consider thst Metaurus was just under fifty years old when he found young Titus; who would've been under ten years old in the opening scene; both of them could have served for over two-hundred years at the time of Episode 5, meaning they could have the same number of studs. This gets easier to hand-wave when ypu consider the time bending effects frequent warp-travel would have on both men. Just.my two cents. Love your videos; you're my goto guy when I'm introducing new folk to 40K!
I enjoyed the subtle story we received between Metaurus and Titus, but I'm bummed i haven't seen anyone else bring it up, so 'I'm just going to post it here. Titus is the child in the beginning, but what's important is the dialogue that is played over the footage (by the way, Titus is dragging a combat knife, and the figure that is illuminated by the lightning is Metaurus, whos is also narrating). Metaurus specifically says "...centuries ago, i chose a child filled with pain and rage. A child who had never known fear. What could a soul like that be capable of?" This is a huge chunk of background because it means that Metaurus conscripted Titus to the Ultramarines, and they likely have some deeper connection than just 'battle brother'. It also foreshadows Titus having no fear, which is what ultimately gives him the ability to conquer the demon at the end. Titus and Metaurus' deeper bond is also implied when we see from Metaurus's perspective that he focuses on Titus's name when it comes up on the monitor. He honestly looks dejected when he see's Titus's name, and it is immediately followed by "Projected Mortality: Absolute". Metaurus also glances at Titus on the elevator in the battle barge as if he wanted to say something, and I imagine if Titus had glanced back, they may have had a moment. with the information provided so far at this point in the short, its easy to see that Metaurus was somewhat of an older brother figure or close friend to Titus, and this may be his first time seeing him after his return to the chapter. The following fight scene is dope enough. But we do get more big brother energy when Titus leaps from behind cover to take out the Leman Russ Tank. Specifically in the aftermath when Metaurus brings the coffin (which was Titus's responsibility to carry), and gives the chain back to him. We even get inside of their helmet views implying that there is more here than "hey, you forgot this". I would go so far as to say that Metaurus is well acquainted with Titus's signature 'get it done in a creative way' style of doing this. I feel like this chain hand off was more of a "you haven't changed a bit". The story comes to a peak in the fight with the demon. The demon manipulates their minds and has them killed from within by their worst fears. I believe the first marine's fear was that he was powerless without his armor. So in his vision, his armor literally tears him out of itself and crushes him. We do not see the second marines vision, but he obviously was scared of something. The third Marine's vision (Metaurus) is of him conscripting Titus to the Ultramarines, and his greatest fear was that Titus would become a traitor, so this traitor vision Titus stabbed him. The last marine's vision (Titus) is himself as a child, fearless, just like he was described by Metaurus. If you look at the demons body language, he actually shrinks back when seeing Titus's vision, like it's unfamiliar with what's happening, or maybe even scared. At which point, Titus regains himself, and kills the demon. It's also worth pointing out that this is the recurring story for Titus, he is doubted, and then he proves that he is faithful. After the fight with the demon, Titus drags Metaurus out of the temple and they have their moment. M: "Titus, our duty is done. It's time to go." T: "Not yet old man." Its worth noting that Titus and Metaurus on a first name bases. He specifically said Titus with familiarity, instead of 'brother' or 'Lieutenant'. Also, while they may have the same studs, Metaurus was already a Bladeguard when Titus was a child. so this "old man" banter almost certainly harkens back to their brotherly relationship from when Titus was a young Ultramarine. The scene continues to have Titus walk way, to look over his should back at Metaurus, and then Metaurus see's the younger Titus that he conscripted, probably realizing his earlier fear of Titus becoming a heretic was foolish. I don't know much additional lore, outside of the short, and the Space Marine games. So maybe this is all some common stuff that everyone knew. but I really enjoyed the subtle story underneath the 40k grim darkness. I hope more people realize it's there.
Even if Titus and Metarus have the same age, him using the term "Old Man" can be seen as a term of affection, if Metarus helped him early on, or was his mentor, that bond transcends their years. In the novel the Will of Eternity the Captain has a bond like that with one of his veteran sergeant, and you get to see an almost paternal relationship between the two of them, with the Sergeant scolding his "boy captain" several times during the book.
Not only that, but being called “old man” in a setting like warhammer is a really big complement. It’s such a big deal to be old that they put bolts in their head to show their age.
The scene with the sorcereress does play a bit on the ongoing narrative surrounding Titus from the games. In the games there's a lot to do with Tidus's apparent innate resistance to warp corruption, as well as possible targeting from Chaos factions. In the first game he is arrested by the inquisition at the end due to alleged heresy as a result of this resistance to corruption, and in Space Marine 2 there are a lot of scenes that imply Tidus may have some kind of sensitivity to the presence of Chaos that the other Marines don't. Which has led to a lot of distrust between him and a few other characters over whether he can be trusted. So the worry in this episode about him falling to Chaos and the simultaneous fear and awe felt at his ability to withstand it is definitely calling back to this particular narrative thread
The thing about the service studs is that assuming they're for 100 years each, Metaurus could still be many decades older than Titus and still have the same number of service studs. If Titus is 400 years old, Metaurus could be up to 499 potentially.
this is just speculation, but I think it's pretty clear that the thing the sorceress exploits is either fear or doubt. the first marine fears or doubts something personal, either himself or his own abilities, that's why he rips himself out of his armor and crushes his head. metaurus either fears titus falling to chaos or harbours doubts about him(a reference to the games), hence why he sees titus transforming into a chaos marine that stabs him. titus doesn't harbour doubt and knows no fear(TM), so he can break out of the spell.
Well mostly corect till the battle with the sorcerer. The sorcerer got into their heads and made them die from the things that they fear the most. First spacemarine died from the fear of his armor betraying/failing him. Since it was depicted as his power armor break open its own chest and drag him out while he looks very frail, weak and skiny (but still full fledged men), then blow up his head. Fear of the second soldier is unknown. Metaurus fears that the Titus would become corrupt by chaos and betray him. It was depicted as young Titus grown into space marine than grown out spikes on the armor(symbols of chaos marines of chaos undevided) and stab Metaurus. And Finally Titus himself didn't have any fears so he only saw young himself and his enemy than broke the sorcerer staff (which possibly was the fear of sorcerer himself?). Time was stopped due to the power of staff so time also resume . But still good job explaining everything else.
Titus as a child is not carrying a chainsword, it's an Astartes combat knife. This could be the same knife he uses to kill the Chaos sorcerer later on (he may have earned it during his trials to become a Space Marine.). 13:10 It's not weird if you listen to what's said in the beginning. Child Titus says to Metaurus, "Move out of my way, old man" in their first ever encounter. "Old man" is just an endearing nickname Titus gave to his original Marine mentor because of what he called him the first time they met.
It wasn't about Titus being angry, it was about him truly having no fear. Though all Astartes are thought to be immune to fear, that's part of their psycho-indoctrination and doesn't come naturally. However, for Titus this is portrayed as being a natural state for him. For some reason he's incapable of being afraid by sheer will, possibly from a blessing of some kind, and that gives him tremendous power, especially against anything from the Warp.
@@BlackWolf1589 Dude...that isn't Chairon. Did you even watch the episode? Did you even take a proper look? Or did you assume because he was black? Are you even replying to the right comment? Lmfao
For context titus doesnt beat the chaos sorcerer by being super angry its because he’s directly stated to have a massively abnormal resistance to the warp and warp corruption which is the basis for leandros talking about how titus must be corrupted because nobody could withstand what he has. The most likely explanation is that he isnt a full omega null but that he is probably in the range of upsilon to chi in terms of warp resistance
I really enjoyed the Secret Level episode, but I definitely agree that it didn't go deep at all. Hopefully amazon is brave enough to adapt a Peter Fehervari book next
I thought i heard somewhere that gold studs represented 100 years each which what Metarus has. And that silver studs are 50 years each, which is what Titus has
It differs depending on the chapter though. In some, the silver studs only represent 10 years. I don't know if the traditions specific to the Ultramarines surrounding service studs are known.
In both space marine 1 and 2 it is shown Titus has a unique ability to resist the warp and its effects. So this is likely why the sorcerer couldn't kill him rather than Titus just being mad.
I think the point is that Metarus played some role in recruiting and mentoring Titus, it’s why we get him narrating over young Titus and seeing him in the distance when they land, and why he sees angry Titus falling to chaos; it’s the chaos sorcerer trying to goad him into succumbing to his fears. It would also make it make sense that Titus calls Metarus “old man” despite having the same number of service studs (and goes to some lengths to save him), as at heart Metarus and Titus still perceive their relationship through the lens of that angry little boy
At the start, the kid is Titus, and Titus was carrying an Astartes combat knife. When the Sorcerer of Tzeentch went to kill Metarus, it shown him Titus stabbing him with the same knife.
The reason titus resists the psyker has nothing to do with "blind rage", its literally in the title and in the last words of the episode. A soul that shall know no fear, possible a blank gen too.
Ok seriously, am I the only one that knows Titus calling Metaurus "Old man" is to imply Titus still remembers him when he was chosen. Even at the start you hear kid Titus tell Metaurus "Get out of the way, Old man"
It's implied that Metaurus was the one who actually found Titus and was his mentor while Titus became a Space Marine, hence "old man" (as Metaurus would be the closest thing to a father figure for Titus, apart from Guilliman obviously) and why Metaurus sees Titus in the sorceress mental attack on him. Titus has always been suspected for his warp resistance and after all the heresy accusations his mentor would have fears about Titus turning to Chaos.
8:01 surprisingly purity seals are not used for any holy protection but just affirmations that just might only say “you’ll get 20 kills” or “you might be a bit hungry on the battlefield” it’s more good luck than divine intervention.
I could be wrong but I think he calls him old man because its implied that he found titus as a boy and recruited him into the Ultramarines. Titus seems to have also called him old man back then as well.
My introduction into Warhammer was Astartes. I had no clue what happened as none of the characters were important to the lore but that's fine. It showed me themes and pieces of the world that can help me decide if I am interested and learning about warhammer or not. I think Secret Level does a good job showing the violence, themes, and aesthetics of warhammer so if you wanna learn more, you can
@@ArbitorIan Sorry but why did you have to have that air of arrogance about the episode and the game Ian? If people new to Warhammer see this as their first video, it's a bit of a let down to have someone look down on what you just watched or played. I usually really like your insights into 40K but this video was a bit strange.
I very much agree. It's a very cool short and it gets the atmosphere right but as you say... it really isn't a good way to draw people into the lore. I'm sure some will go "Wow this looks insane! Let's look it up!" But if you want people to get into the setting you need to do more world building. I've asked friends who have no knowledge of warhammer and some that have an inkling of knowledge to look and most of them understood nothing, thought it was cool action and that's it. If they wanted to create a short that draws people into the franchise and not just SM2 game then they should 100% gone with a POV of a Guardsman in combat fighting Xenos/Chaos forces while his squad dies one by one and only in the last minute or so do we see space marines drop pod into action and we get to see how humans compare to the posthumans that are the Space Marines. It could have given more dialogue for people to latch onto, slight character development, give people someone to relate to (regular human), give a good glimpse of what terrifying stuff xenos/chaos can do and then end with showing the "salvation" that the angels of death offer the regular soldier.
I understood why the episode was a tie in to the Space Marine 2 game, but outside of the initial cultist killing, it was "meh" IMO. I would have been giddy for 15 minutes of that fight expanded. Cheers All!
Its the sorceress trying to focus its power because its about to lose the mind fight. So it focuses all its energy on Titus and makes all the weapons fired to travel to the intended target
Great video! I’m sure others have probably mentioned this but when they first met, the young Titus, faced by the towering stranger who was Metrious, said “move old man” and so referred to him again in this way acknowledge the bond that they share here at their end (I hope not!!).
I’m ngl I think this video kinda missed and I think its gonna be worth reading the comments and probably redoing some parts of it. I just think that you missed a lot of really key info both in the episode and titus specific lore and thus missed a lot of the subtext in the episode I thinks a lot more complex than you are giving it credit for
Might be wrong, but thought there were references to silver/adamantium studs being 50 years and gold studs being 100 years - which puts Titus as ~200yrs (confirmed) and Metirus at ~400yrs, which makes more sense
1:46 thats a Marine combat knife, not a chainsword. Its got a serrated back but by no means is it a chainsword. The point too is to ahow the scale of a child essentially dragging a basic space marine knife like a sword. Why do these channels keep messing this up????
Did you... miss all the subtle storytelling in the episode? Like Metaurus being Titus' mentor and the space marine who originally found him? The story wasn't just about dumb action. Underneath it, there was a narrative about how Titus' mentor fears him, yet is proud of him. That's what the "old man" comments were about. I'm really curious if you missed this or if you just chose not to talk about it? The storytelling was subtle but I felt it was accomplished in a fairly clear manner. I actually think that that's a pretty good way to tell an action-packed Space Marine story in such a short format. It also highlights how 40K narratives often have layers of humanity in them even when they appear incredibly grim and violent on the surface.
In the white dwarf background on Titus between space marine 1 & 2 it says he was held in stasis for a long time so that might explain the old man line, same service time but one is older due to less stasis
I think that shot in the dark I know this sorcerer showed what could happen to Titus he has been suspected of heresy before and leandros (the chaplain in SM2 and Titus’ squad mate in SM1) still suspects something
I loved all of it... I do wonder why the Blade Guard brothers abandoned their shields though after the first volley of fire from the enemy. The improvised shield used to protect the sergeant from the punisher gatling cannon mounted on the tank appears to be a bit of armour from the fallen Warlord Titan seen earlier before the initial fight.
Probably because those shields are quite boring for animations purposes and cover too much. The one they use to hide behind during the gattling onslaught was big enough for a dramatic pose. Having the gun hands and arms covered by the shields would make it very hard to read for the audience in many camera angles.
Wow, interesting choice to pick a Second Life item chainsword for the example image at 1:49. I mean that's definitely what it is but peculiar that of all the possible images, that's the source Ian went with
He's not carrying a chainsword as a kid, it's the same KNIFE that he uses at the end of the cinematic. A chainsword for an Astartes would be way too heavy and large for a little kid to move.
It’s worth noting that one of the overarching themes of the SM video games is how and why Titus is so good at resisting Chaos. Some suspect he’s corrupted in some way. I think this explains why Metterus’ vision is of Titus going all spikey; maybe he’ll go rogue one day. Probably not.
Idk I think America might just be ready for a show that's just 4 giga-chads stoically and/or angrily punching and/or shooting aliens and/or each other and that's just the whole show.
I'd suggest either finishing the game or watching the cut scenes, there's things at the end with change some of the implications about Titus being there. Namely, was this the mission he was hand picked for at the end? Also explains the laurels he's wearing.
So my interpretation was that the sorceress/ tzeentch shenanigans were in fact exploitation of fears within their mind... The first guy was afraid of what he was without his armor so his armor killed him Metorus (sp?) is afraid, like most other ultramarines, of what Titus could become (ie chaos) or that Titus could betray the Imperium... So in the dream sequence he is stabbed by Titus Titus however, knows no fear (as the title suggests) and if you notice for a brief second, The sorceress becomes afraid of titus. So Titus is able to break free and slay the sorceress
I have a question. It was my understanding that they were shelling from orbit knowing that the spacemarines were getting caught in it. They even say die well brothers. Is Titus about to get blown up?
today's lesson: normal folk realize just how warhammer 40k is filled to the brim it is with recycled nightmare fuel another thing: neato that the story of Titus gets explained upon, even if it's slight, but also kinda wish is was more about Meterus's journey than Titus's circumstance, but hey GW will GW
I thought Metaurus was saved by Titus. Metaurus didnt die the others did. It seemed like he was going to die like the others but titus stabbed him to take him out of the grip of the evil mind corruptor
Nah, the sorcerer prayed on the doubts and fears of the marines, those first 2 feared failing while neophytes and so that's what killed them, metaurus feared Titus would fall to corruption, as do most Ultramarines, and so that's what got him. Titus had no fear and no doubts, and like usual was simply incorruptible
axactly what i want to say 😂
Nice!
What do you mean by ‘most ultramarines fall to corruption’?
@@macalveyggg6552he means that Ultramarines (rightly) are cognizant that they are still susceptible to Chaps corruption. Not that most fall
@@iamfilam2513 ah I see, just got off a 10h shift at work so brain is a little fried.
As a life long warhammer nerd, I’ve got to say I was enthralled by this short episode.
If only we had more of this style of animation to consume.
@@peterclarke7006yea well the space nazi’s are cool cause they both represent the horror and fear that come with the imperium being a totalitarian fascist regime and the humanity if the imperium and the dichotomy therein. Its the most interesting aspect of the setting without doubt, without the repressive and regressive imperium of man being hyper fascistic and yet being the only hope of humanity then 40k is just startrek but darker
Hammer and Bolter lmfao
Chainsword?? I thought that Titus as a child was dragging an Astartes Combat Knife. I thought it was some sort of theme as the combat knife was used extensively thought the episode and was used to slay the Sorcerer.
@@jikjikrodriguez it's the combat knife. There're layers to this.
In the first Space Marine game, the very first weapons Titus uses are the Combat Knife and Bolt Pistol.
In 40k, the Combat Knife was used as an example of how finding any intact STC blueprint was enough to set up their finders for life.
@@balvarine8709 Yes it was a knife the same knife he has and killed the demon sorcerer with. I don't know why everybody is saying it is Chainsword maybe they saw the episode on PC monitor where the image is just so dark and blurred I watched it on a couple of different devices and only on a high-end screen I saw the details than I did go back to the monitor and uses a filter in VLC player changed the contrasts saturation and brightness so finally have better details on a PC monitor.
It's a knife, you're right. A chainsword for a space marine way be way too big for a little kid move.
I love how big a combat knife is to a normal person ;p
No, you are wrong, watch it again, and then again and again.
I think Titus spent some time in stasis while being held captive by Inquisitor Thrax, which is why he appears younger than the other Marines
But this makes it even weirder with them having the same amount of service if the sergeant recruited Titus. I think the sergeant could have had one more stud just to show that but since they can mean centuries it could still work.
@@karlnygren Or maybe that Metaurus was a young Space Marine recruit who hasn't passed his first demi-century of service yet. That's why they have the same 400 year service studs.
@@karlnygren It Doesnt take a century to make a space marine, Metaurus could have chosen Titus, say 50 years into his service, a couple of years later Titus is a space marine. as you said, it can work. especially considering that for example Dante would have 10 service studs lol. any more than four and you start running out of forehead. xD
@@karlnygren I think this is a rare case of Ian actually getting the lore wrong in his video, perhaps because he's barely started the game. Titus's studs are silver while the Bladeguard Sargeant's studs are gold.
That puts Titus at roughly 200 years of service(which is explicitly mentioned early in the game) while the Sgt. should be around 400.
@@Darwinist Really? Hmmm Just watched the reveal trailer for sm2 and Titus studs are gold. Imma boot the game and check.EDIT: They're gold.
I find it hilarious how much of 40k lore I take for granted after 25 years. This hit me when you explain Tzaangors as "part human, part bird and part goat" haha
Syama, creator of the Astartes fanimation, worked on this too. Given the massive impact the Astartes series has had on UA-cam, a mainstream platform putting some of this visual quality out will most definitely draw people in.
The capacity in which Syama worked in this was relatively limited at least according to the credits, sadly we don't really have any details to know what exactly he contributed. It's important to remember that this animation was not done by Games Workshop, it was made by Blur Studio and directed by Dave Wilson, from the Love, Death & Robots side. Still, I think we can see a few winks at Astartes, and it makes sense, as the format of it fits the Secret level well
And it's pretty distinguishable! First thing i thought when i saw the video, was how familiar the dynamic of it was.
You know it his work, there is an easter eeg of a marine stabbing a cultist comming from behind, both astartes and this short have this. Its his move.
And Syama will get a fixed pittance paycheck meanwhile GW rakes in the big bucks. Who gives a shit how many people are drawn in, GW genocided the means for independant art creators to make what they love. Fans will always understand Warhammer better than the owners and that's been indicated time and time again.
Makes sense. It seemed to have the same brand of heady weirdness.
I believe the 'Old man' part is just in reference to the flashback we see at the beginning in which Titus as a child can be heard saying "out of my way old man" from my interpretation this is due to Metaurus being the one to find and then select Titus to become a marine, meaning he is likely a bit older than him as he would have been a full fledged marine at that point, as Titus was a child its not impossible to believe he saw Metaurus as an Old man, this also demonstrates his lack of fear speaking to a marine in such a way as a small child.
When the Sorcerer attacks the marines for the first one I believe he is playing on his fear of being weak without his power armour rather than holding a neophyte, we see him pull his chest plate apart and then pull his flesh body out from within before his suit of power armour crushes his head, you can see a vague humanoid shape rent in the armour and tubing going from the body it holds back into the suit.
I also don't think that Titus is seeing himself as a child when the sorcerer attempts to kill him, instead this is him inside whatever warp memory palace is depicted, the sorcerer is behind him, seemingly observing when Titus turns and advances upon him, growing larger and stronger before shattering his staff and breaking the spell. Even though the sorcerer has no face to make expression he does seem to be surprised by this moment, as if he thought Titus was unable to see him and so I do believe the child is the POV Titus has in that warp memory.
I did enjoy the episode, I agree its not likely the best introduction to the series but that being said, I don't think there's a great deal of required knowledge for the episode or too much you can't infer from what's depicted. For instance with the marines, without explicitly being told what they are capable of we see that they can take on vastly higher numbers of normal humans without issue and even the Tzangors (which a casual audience would not recognise as such but would still see as larger more dangerous monsters than a person) are also little match. Which also goes on to show how dangerous the warp/magic is when we see the Sorcerer put very little effort into taking out the majority of the team. I felt it showed certain things like that well which gave you a sense of how things worked without necessarily going into too much detail. I think that works nicely for capturing interest to then go and delve further into the interesting lore which is not necessarily required for the episode to be enjoyable.
Small thing Ian. Child Titus at the start is carrying the knife you see him using at the end, not a chainsword.
Awesome video as always though! Sorry for being that guy
It's an important distinction. There's no way a kid would be able to drag around a space marine sized chainsword
@@Hardlywerkinyeah, an Astartes chainsword would have been bigger than him.
I can kind of understand the confusion though, as it's serrated on one side and they kind of look like chainsword teeth.
Even more technical, I think its an Astartes gladius XD
1:49 with respect arbitrator that was a knife a human child would be outright incapable of carrying a astartes chainsword
One thing missed by the video: The upwards flowing goo indicates magic altering gravity. when the marine jump down, they end up sliding forwards. This shows the power of chaos magic. It has overwritten gravity to make it perpendicular within the dark crevass.
I just thought that was a weird camera animation choice!!
I thought that part was really cool, when they're all sliding "down" that steep slope, and then at the "bottom" they simply stand up and start walking forward as normal. Really easy little bit to miss if you aren't watching too closely.
It's all but stated outright that Metaurus was the one who originally picked Titus to be a space marine. The "old man" thing is propably because Metaurus was a kind of mentor figure to him, even if they don't have more than a 50 year difference in service time
Yeah, I was really surprised how Ian missed this. This was kind of the whole point of the episode: how your mentor may fear you and/or be proud of you.
I'm absorbing all info for secret level, great vid, but a couple of corrections in good faith. :D
*****SPOILERS FOR SM2********
Secret Level EP5 is a sequal to Space Marine 2, Sm2 Gives context and some backstory for Titus & How he got sent on this mission.
1: Its a combat knife, not a chainsword. Small boy is small, knife is big. lol
2: Titus is Special, Seemingly completely uncorruptable by chaos. & has possibly even had the Emperor Speak to him.
3: Metaurus chose Titus for induction into the ultramarines, and has served for all of the 400 years of service studs, crossing the rubicon when the Primaris came about. Titus spent 100 years in stasis with the inquisition being woken up, "tested" for heresy, then put back in stasis until Inquisitor Thraxx was executed for heresy (lol) and titus released and served in the deathwatch. In Space marine 2 Titus's time with the Inquisition and being a blackshield in the deathwatch is scrubbed from his record, but earned the service studs for "Time served". This is why Titus looks younger than Metaurus but has the same number of Studs.Hence the "Old man" Comments from Young Titus & SM Titus-
Nice, just the clear explanation I wanted.
thanks for this! (specifically point 3).
as a newcomer to the 40k world (entering via books and now shows), my brain was seizing trying to figure out how Metaurus is Titus’ mentor from childhood and yet they had the same amount of service studs 😂.
You can definitely tell the impact that “Astartes” had on this just by the way space marines walk with the rhythm and sound effects its unbelievably badass and more than any other piece of media I think this properly conveys what people mean when they say a space marine walking tank
The Daemon was playing on their fears, and the Sergeant was Titus' mentor when he was before elevated into a Space Marine.
The scary part is that it wasn’t even a daemon, it was just a sorcerer, that’s the level of power chaos can give you, and is usually why people turn
The studs are not the same material. Titus uses silver, Metaurus uses gold. Titus' indicate he's atleast 200 (silver = 50 years) and Metterus indicates 400 (gold =100 years) the implication in this episode is that Metterus is the one who recruited the child without fear who grew up to be Titus.
That osnt clear from the episode. They definitely both *look* like 4 gold studs to me. It is entirely possible they are *meant* to be silver, and it is a trick of the light making them appear gold, but there certainly isn't a clear difference between them.
For me the Bladeguard and Indomitus release in general is when they really nailed the Primaris Aesthetic. So cool to see this stuff realised in games and media.
There's so much to love about this episode. From the synchronised efficiency and power of the marines, lazily massacring cultists like it's another tuesday, to the grimdark, dusty atmosphere. But the thing I loved more than anything was the portrayal of a deceptively terrifying daemon of Tzeentch. Weak on the surface, but able to stop time and psychologically turn even gritty veteran astartes inside out like they're nothing.
Chain swords are ridiculous? Objectively, sure. But that does contradict the stereotypical conversation about the game.
Observer: so you're playing a table top game with toy soldiers in some kind of armor?
Player: yes. But these guys are wielding chainsaw swords
Observer: this is the coolest game ever.
My 2 cents on de episode and video, but, I think you dropped the ball on this one my dude, but still a great video. Some corrections:
At the start of the episode, young Titus is carrying a Combat Knife, not a Chainsword, the same Knife he use one handed during the combat. This shows the Marines size diference from a regular human
In the sorceress mind attack, the first Marine rip HIMSELF out of his own armour and crush his own skull. Problably showing the Marine fear of not being a marine anymore.
Titus called the Sarge "Old Man" because he is the Marine that found Titus at the start of the episode, he even say " out of my away, Old Man"
I have to disagree about your opinion of "Dumb Marinês Fun" of the episode, all the little of narration we have talk about fear, the Sergeant fear of choosing Titus, the Know no Fear of the Marines, and ALL of it, the Sorceress exploiting each of the Marines fears, and as Titus is resistent to the Warp, he literaly cant fear the sorceress.
Yeah, there was quite a lot to read between the lines here. All in all, I was impressed by how effectively these deeper elements were told in such a short animation. Ian's contempt for bolter porn was so strong, that he missed that there was more to this animation.
He calls him old man because 1 he was the one who inducted titus and 2 while they have the same number of studs titus was under cryogenic sleep for 200 years so is physically younger.
Sorceror entering Titus' mind
Titus: I'm not locked inside with you! You're locked inside with me!!
Honestly my favourite detail of the whole episode was the secondary hands and arms of the daemon sorcerer. It first has the wing like protrusions, then they collaps into its spine to reform as arms. Pretty awesome.
Young Titus is carrying a combat knife in the opening. The same combat knife he's wielding as a full marine for the rest of the episode.
Young Titus is found by Metaurus and subsequently inducted into the Ultramarines. As the opening scene fades to black you can hear young Titus refer to Metaurus as "Old Man."
"Get out of my way, Old Man."
Which is how Titus refers to Metaurus throughout the episode.
Agree with you broadly that the same number of service studs on both Titus and Metaurus seems odd considering their apparent age discrepancy. However of we consider thst Metaurus was just under fifty years old when he found young Titus; who would've been under ten years old in the opening scene; both of them could have served for over two-hundred years at the time of Episode 5, meaning they could have the same number of studs. This gets easier to hand-wave when ypu consider the time bending effects frequent warp-travel would have on both men.
Just.my two cents.
Love your videos; you're my goto guy when I'm introducing new folk to 40K!
I enjoyed the subtle story we received between Metaurus and Titus, but I'm bummed i haven't seen anyone else bring it up, so 'I'm just going to post it here.
Titus is the child in the beginning, but what's important is the dialogue that is played over the footage (by the way, Titus is dragging a combat knife, and the figure that is illuminated by the lightning is Metaurus, whos is also narrating). Metaurus specifically says "...centuries ago, i chose a child filled with pain and rage. A child who had never known fear. What could a soul like that be capable of?" This is a huge chunk of background because it means that Metaurus conscripted Titus to the Ultramarines, and they likely have some deeper connection than just 'battle brother'. It also foreshadows Titus having no fear, which is what ultimately gives him the ability to conquer the demon at the end.
Titus and Metaurus' deeper bond is also implied when we see from Metaurus's perspective that he focuses on Titus's name when it comes up on the monitor. He honestly looks dejected when he see's Titus's name, and it is immediately followed by "Projected Mortality: Absolute". Metaurus also glances at Titus on the elevator in the battle barge as if he wanted to say something, and I imagine if Titus had glanced back, they may have had a moment. with the information provided so far at this point in the short, its easy to see that Metaurus was somewhat of an older brother figure or close friend to Titus, and this may be his first time seeing him after his return to the chapter.
The following fight scene is dope enough. But we do get more big brother energy when Titus leaps from behind cover to take out the Leman Russ Tank. Specifically in the aftermath when Metaurus brings the coffin (which was Titus's responsibility to carry), and gives the chain back to him. We even get inside of their helmet views implying that there is more here than "hey, you forgot this". I would go so far as to say that Metaurus is well acquainted with Titus's signature 'get it done in a creative way' style of doing this. I feel like this chain hand off was more of a "you haven't changed a bit".
The story comes to a peak in the fight with the demon. The demon manipulates their minds and has them killed from within by their worst fears. I believe the first marine's fear was that he was powerless without his armor. So in his vision, his armor literally tears him out of itself and crushes him. We do not see the second marines vision, but he obviously was scared of something. The third Marine's vision (Metaurus) is of him conscripting Titus to the Ultramarines, and his greatest fear was that Titus would become a traitor, so this traitor vision Titus stabbed him. The last marine's vision (Titus) is himself as a child, fearless, just like he was described by Metaurus. If you look at the demons body language, he actually shrinks back when seeing Titus's vision, like it's unfamiliar with what's happening, or maybe even scared. At which point, Titus regains himself, and kills the demon. It's also worth pointing out that this is the recurring story for Titus, he is doubted, and then he proves that he is faithful.
After the fight with the demon, Titus drags Metaurus out of the temple and they have their moment.
M: "Titus, our duty is done. It's time to go."
T: "Not yet old man."
Its worth noting that Titus and Metaurus on a first name bases. He specifically said Titus with familiarity, instead of 'brother' or 'Lieutenant'. Also, while they may have the same studs, Metaurus was already a Bladeguard when Titus was a child. so this "old man" banter almost certainly harkens back to their brotherly relationship from when Titus was a young Ultramarine. The scene continues to have Titus walk way, to look over his should back at Metaurus, and then Metaurus see's the younger Titus that he conscripted, probably realizing his earlier fear of Titus becoming a heretic was foolish.
I don't know much additional lore, outside of the short, and the Space Marine games. So maybe this is all some common stuff that everyone knew. but I really enjoyed the subtle story underneath the 40k grim darkness. I hope more people realize it's there.
Even if Titus and Metarus have the same age, him using the term "Old Man" can be seen as a term of affection, if Metarus helped him early on, or was his mentor, that bond transcends their years.
In the novel the Will of Eternity the Captain has a bond like that with one of his veteran sergeant, and you get to see an almost paternal relationship between the two of them, with the Sergeant scolding his "boy captain" several times during the book.
Not only that, but being called “old man” in a setting like warhammer is a really big complement. It’s such a big deal to be old that they put bolts in their head to show their age.
The scene with the sorcereress does play a bit on the ongoing narrative surrounding Titus from the games. In the games there's a lot to do with Tidus's apparent innate resistance to warp corruption, as well as possible targeting from Chaos factions. In the first game he is arrested by the inquisition at the end due to alleged heresy as a result of this resistance to corruption, and in Space Marine 2 there are a lot of scenes that imply Tidus may have some kind of sensitivity to the presence of Chaos that the other Marines don't. Which has led to a lot of distrust between him and a few other characters over whether he can be trusted. So the worry in this episode about him falling to Chaos and the simultaneous fear and awe felt at his ability to withstand it is definitely calling back to this particular narrative thread
The thing about the service studs is that assuming they're for 100 years each, Metaurus could still be many decades older than Titus and still have the same number of service studs.
If Titus is 400 years old, Metaurus could be up to 499 potentially.
this is just speculation, but I think it's pretty clear that the thing the sorceress exploits is either fear or doubt. the first marine fears or doubts something personal, either himself or his own abilities, that's why he rips himself out of his armor and crushes his head. metaurus either fears titus falling to chaos or harbours doubts about him(a reference to the games), hence why he sees titus transforming into a chaos marine that stabs him. titus doesn't harbour doubt and knows no fear(TM), so he can break out of the spell.
Love the (TM) you put on "Know no fear" 😂
By the way, you have 2 overlapping audio tracks at around 16:05
It's because of wibbly wobbly warp shenanigans, curse you Tzeentch!
@@11fladjams Thank goodness, I thought I was hearing voices again.
@@11fladjams Well, guess i gotta put a new batch of sanctified seals on these speakers now.
Definitely this.
@@ArbitorIan Yeah... he really rushed this vid out :/ Definitely needed a editing check and lore check.
Well mostly corect till the battle with the sorcerer. The sorcerer got into their heads and made them die from the things that they fear the most. First spacemarine died from the fear of his armor betraying/failing him. Since it was depicted as his power armor break open its own chest and drag him out while he looks very frail, weak and skiny (but still full fledged men), then blow up his head. Fear of the second soldier is unknown. Metaurus fears that the Titus would become corrupt by chaos and betray him. It was depicted as young Titus grown into space marine than grown out spikes on the armor(symbols of chaos marines of chaos undevided) and stab Metaurus. And Finally Titus himself didn't have any fears so he only saw young himself and his enemy than broke the sorcerer staff (which possibly was the fear of sorcerer himself?). Time was stopped due to the power of staff so time also resume . But still good job explaining everything else.
Titus as a child is not carrying a chainsword, it's an Astartes combat knife. This could be the same knife he uses to kill the Chaos sorcerer later on (he may have earned it during his trials to become a Space Marine.).
13:10 It's not weird if you listen to what's said in the beginning. Child Titus says to Metaurus, "Move out of my way, old man" in their first ever encounter. "Old man" is just an endearing nickname Titus gave to his original Marine mentor because of what he called him the first time they met.
It wasn't about Titus being angry, it was about him truly having no fear. Though all Astartes are thought to be immune to fear, that's part of their psycho-indoctrination and doesn't come naturally.
However, for Titus this is portrayed as being a natural state for him. For some reason he's incapable of being afraid by sheer will, possibly from a blessing of some kind, and that gives him tremendous power, especially against anything from the Warp.
13:38 its referencing the beginning of the episode. Right at the start kid Titus says "Out of my way, Old Man" (Timestamp for the episode 2:05)
He's also first batch of primaris. That was recruited/made during-after horus heresy and was put in fridge for 10k years
@@BlackWolf1589 Dude...that isn't Chairon. Did you even watch the episode? Did you even take a proper look? Or did you assume because he was black? Are you even replying to the right comment? Lmfao
For context titus doesnt beat the chaos sorcerer by being super angry its because he’s directly stated to have a massively abnormal resistance to the warp and warp corruption which is the basis for leandros talking about how titus must be corrupted because nobody could withstand what he has. The most likely explanation is that he isnt a full omega null but that he is probably in the range of upsilon to chi in terms of warp resistance
I really enjoyed the Secret Level episode, but I definitely agree that it didn't go deep at all. Hopefully amazon is brave enough to adapt a Peter Fehervari book next
It isn't a chainsword. It is Titus as a child carrying an Astartes combat knife.
I thought i heard somewhere that gold studs represented 100 years each which what Metarus has. And that silver studs are 50 years each, which is what Titus has
Yes, that is in fact how it works.
@LinkiePup the loretuber's confusion started confusing me.
It differs depending on the chapter though. In some, the silver studs only represent 10 years. I don't know if the traditions specific to the Ultramarines surrounding service studs are known.
Judging from the merch plug at the end, Ian has himself been corrupted by Tzeentch and has grown an extra mouth 😋
In both space marine 1 and 2 it is shown Titus has a unique ability to resist the warp and its effects. So this is likely why the sorcerer couldn't kill him rather than Titus just being mad.
I have a sharp feeling that Titus is going to be one of the main characters in Cavill's 40K show.
I think the point is that Metarus played some role in recruiting and mentoring Titus, it’s why we get him narrating over young Titus and seeing him in the distance when they land, and why he sees angry Titus falling to chaos; it’s the chaos sorcerer trying to goad him into succumbing to his fears. It would also make it make sense that Titus calls Metarus “old man” despite having the same number of service studs (and goes to some lengths to save him), as at heart Metarus and Titus still perceive their relationship through the lens of that angry little boy
At the start, the kid is Titus, and Titus was carrying an Astartes combat knife. When the Sorcerer of Tzeentch went to kill Metarus, it shown him Titus stabbing him with the same knife.
The reason titus resists the psyker has nothing to do with "blind rage", its literally in the title and in the last words of the episode. A soul that shall know no fear, possible a blank gen too.
I did think that the kid had the combat dagger, not a sword at the beginning though. Gotta rewatch it now. Great video! Really enjoyed all of it.
Ok seriously, am I the only one that knows Titus calling Metaurus "Old man" is to imply Titus still remembers him when he was chosen.
Even at the start you hear kid Titus tell Metaurus "Get out of the way, Old man"
It's implied that Metaurus was the one who actually found Titus and was his mentor while Titus became a Space Marine, hence "old man" (as Metaurus would be the closest thing to a father figure for Titus, apart from Guilliman obviously) and why Metaurus sees Titus in the sorceress mental attack on him. Titus has always been suspected for his warp resistance and after all the heresy accusations his mentor would have fears about Titus turning to Chaos.
8:01 surprisingly purity seals are not used for any holy protection but just affirmations that just might only say “you’ll get 20 kills” or “you might be a bit hungry on the battlefield” it’s more good luck than divine intervention.
I could be wrong but I think he calls him old man because its implied that he found titus as a boy and recruited him into the Ultramarines. Titus seems to have also called him old man back then as well.
I’m getting a little too much Titus in my 40k…there are other chapters, other stories, other factions.
Seems the way to always beat tzeentch is "I'm too stupid and angry for you to trick me, die die die!".
This was the first time in all my years of enjoying 40k lore, etc that chaos felt somewhat scary. Great recap!
100% Titus is joinging the black legion
My introduction into Warhammer was Astartes. I had no clue what happened as none of the characters were important to the lore but that's fine. It showed me themes and pieces of the world that can help me decide if I am interested and learning about warhammer or not. I think Secret Level does a good job showing the violence, themes, and aesthetics of warhammer so if you wanna learn more, you can
This is PERFECT, Ian! I was hoping to see a loremaster make this video; yours is the first I'm seeing. Thank you for this.
I think everyone else has gone into a lot more detail, but hopefully the people who have never heard of a Space Marine will appreciate it! 😬💀
@@ArbitorIan Sorry but why did you have to have that air of arrogance about the episode and the game Ian? If people new to Warhammer see this as their first video, it's a bit of a let down to have someone look down on what you just watched or played. I usually really like your insights into 40K but this video was a bit strange.
“Hi gang…”
I very much agree. It's a very cool short and it gets the atmosphere right but as you say... it really isn't a good way to draw people into the lore. I'm sure some will go "Wow this looks insane! Let's look it up!" But if you want people to get into the setting you need to do more world building. I've asked friends who have no knowledge of warhammer and some that have an inkling of knowledge to look and most of them understood nothing, thought it was cool action and that's it. If they wanted to create a short that draws people into the franchise and not just SM2 game then they should 100% gone with a POV of a Guardsman in combat fighting Xenos/Chaos forces while his squad dies one by one and only in the last minute or so do we see space marines drop pod into action and we get to see how humans compare to the posthumans that are the Space Marines.
It could have given more dialogue for people to latch onto, slight character development, give people someone to relate to (regular human), give a good glimpse of what terrifying stuff xenos/chaos can do and then end with showing the "salvation" that the angels of death offer the regular soldier.
Titus looks weird on this one.
My man! This has the Astartes creator all over it, and I'm all for it
That's because he did work on it. Syama Pedersen is in the credits.
I understood why the episode was a tie in to the Space Marine 2 game, but outside of the initial cultist killing, it was "meh" IMO. I would have been giddy for 15 minutes of that fight expanded. Cheers All!
Its the sorceress trying to focus its power because its about to lose the mind fight. So it focuses all its energy on Titus and makes all the weapons fired to travel to the intended target
Titus is inmune to corruption. This is huge in W40k lore.
This was the best depiction of veteran marines absolutely destroying their enemies in economic fashion. Loved it.
Great video! I’m sure others have probably mentioned this but when they first met, the young Titus, faced by the towering stranger who was Metrious, said “move old man” and so referred to him again in this way acknowledge the bond that they share here at their end (I hope not!!).
I’m ngl I think this video kinda missed and I think its gonna be worth reading the comments and probably redoing some parts of it. I just think that you missed a lot of really key info both in the episode and titus specific lore and thus missed a lot of the subtext in the episode I thinks a lot more complex than you are giving it credit for
Might be wrong, but thought there were references to silver/adamantium studs being 50 years and gold studs being 100 years - which puts Titus as ~200yrs (confirmed) and Metirus at ~400yrs, which makes more sense
That is the show we want. That is what we deserve, that is what we crave.
No bullshit, and absolutely epic.
"Space marines are capable of two emotions; serious... and angry" 😂
Well Orks are usually smiling and happy if they can get into a scrap
1:46 thats a Marine combat knife, not a chainsword. Its got a serrated back but by no means is it a chainsword. The point too is to ahow the scale of a child essentially dragging a basic space marine knife like a sword. Why do these channels keep messing this up????
Metaurus is the one who picks up Titus as a kid and is narrating. Hence the old man.
12:54 I figured the beacon of energy was releasing the chaos energy in the statue which allowed the signal to stop being blocked :P
Space Marine 2 - Astartes Boogaloo.
Did you... miss all the subtle storytelling in the episode? Like Metaurus being Titus' mentor and the space marine who originally found him? The story wasn't just about dumb action. Underneath it, there was a narrative about how Titus' mentor fears him, yet is proud of him. That's what the "old man" comments were about. I'm really curious if you missed this or if you just chose not to talk about it? The storytelling was subtle but I felt it was accomplished in a fairly clear manner. I actually think that that's a pretty good way to tell an action-packed Space Marine story in such a short format. It also highlights how 40K narratives often have layers of humanity in them even when they appear incredibly grim and violent on the surface.
In the white dwarf background on Titus between space marine 1 & 2 it says he was held in stasis for a long time so that might explain the old man line, same service time but one is older due to less stasis
Somehow Secret Level made Titus the most grimdark. He was cracking jokes in SM1
I think that shot in the dark I know this sorcerer showed what could happen to Titus he has been suspected of heresy before and leandros (the chaplain in SM2 and Titus’ squad mate in SM1) still suspects something
I loved all of it... I do wonder why the Blade Guard brothers abandoned their shields though after the first volley of fire from the enemy. The improvised shield used to protect the sergeant from the punisher gatling cannon mounted on the tank appears to be a bit of armour from the fallen Warlord Titan seen earlier before the initial fight.
@@Deadjim17 Probably because on the Tabletop the Leman Russ Punisher is specialized anti-infantry that not even a Storm Shield can cover for long.
@ they’d dumped em long before then
Probably because those shields are quite boring for animations purposes and cover too much. The one they use to hide behind during the gattling onslaught was big enough for a dramatic pose. Having the gun hands and arms covered by the shields would make it very hard to read for the audience in many camera angles.
Since it doesn't appear anyone else has pedantically noted that a boltgun is a longarm, not a sidearm, I will undertake that task. :)
This is the sort of comment this 40k comment section is missing! 🤩
The old man refers to Titus being the kid Meterus recruited. I took it as he was just a bit older than Titus.
Chief librarian Tigirus sat on the battle barge going... 'hmmmm probably should have gone down there'
Nah, I'll just send an Astropath in a box. that should be enough!
a 16 minute explainer for a 15 minute episodes of 40K. Yup sounds right on brand.
Wow, interesting choice to pick a Second Life item chainsword for the example image at 1:49. I mean that's definitely what it is but peculiar that of all the possible images, that's the source Ian went with
Aww yeah, Arbitor Ian break down of this awesome episode, noice.
Thanks so much for the explanation. You are doing the Emperor's work
He's not carrying a chainsword as a kid, it's the same KNIFE that he uses at the end of the cinematic. A chainsword for an Astartes would be way too heavy and large for a little kid to move.
Kid Titus called Matareus an old man, so it’s a callback to that
It’s worth noting that one of the overarching themes of the SM video games is how and why Titus is so good at resisting Chaos. Some suspect he’s corrupted in some way.
I think this explains why Metterus’ vision is of Titus going all spikey; maybe he’ll go rogue one day. Probably not.
best merch' advertising ever :p
Idk I think America might just be ready for a show that's just 4 giga-chads stoically and/or angrily punching and/or shooting aliens and/or each other and that's just the whole show.
I know it's older and more vague but I'd love to see your take on "Astartes." Looks like this pulled a lot from that.
I'd suggest either finishing the game or watching the cut scenes, there's things at the end with change some of the implications about Titus being there. Namely, was this the mission he was hand picked for at the end? Also explains the laurels he's wearing.
So my interpretation was that the sorceress/ tzeentch shenanigans were in fact exploitation of fears within their mind...
The first guy was afraid of what he was without his armor so his armor killed him
Metorus (sp?) is afraid, like most other ultramarines, of what Titus could become (ie chaos) or that Titus could betray the Imperium... So in the dream sequence he is stabbed by Titus
Titus however, knows no fear (as the title suggests) and if you notice for a brief second, The sorceress becomes afraid of titus. So Titus is able to break free and slay the sorceress
I have a question. It was my understanding that they were shelling from orbit knowing that the spacemarines were getting caught in it. They even say die well brothers. Is Titus about to get blown up?
it seems to take place before the 2nd game
@@GunRunner106 After. The victory laurels on Titus' helmet indicates this is post-SM2.
@@balvarine8709 ah right, so he was in fact primaris in the vid already, cuz with him having 4 studs was think he had to be one at that point.
@@GunRunner106 Apart from the laurels, he's also wearing Mk X armour, which only Primaris Astartes can use.
today's lesson: normal folk realize just how warhammer 40k is filled to the brim it is with recycled nightmare fuel
another thing: neato that the story of Titus gets explained upon, even if it's slight, but also kinda wish is was more about Meterus's journey than Titus's circumstance, but hey GW will GW
Admittedly, they also made a short about D&D, which is pretty similar to WH in its relationship with videogames
40k has like 100 videogames LOL. It deserves its place on the series as any other franchise.
1:45 it wasn't a chain sword. It was a knife the space Marines use.
Imagine how destructive it could be if they made something like this with Custodes....
I thought Metaurus was saved by Titus. Metaurus didnt die the others did. It seemed like he was going to die like the others but titus stabbed him to take him out of the grip of the evil mind corruptor
It's a Chimera. I'd have thought that was obvious from the rear. Infact more like a Salamander even.