Warhammer 40K: Who are the Ultramarines?

In Warhammer 40,000, the Ultramarines are synonymous with the Space Marines. The blue-clad warriors are practically the poster children for the faction, often appearing as the defacto Legion whenever Space Marines are featured in video games or other visual media. But the Ultramarines are more than just generic Space Marine fodder. The Legion has a rich history with a Greco-Roman flair and even has a still-living Primarch.

Space Marines, or Adeptus Astartes, are the genetically and surgically enhanced super soldiers of the Imperium of Man. Space Marines were originally categorized and separated by Legion, with each of the original 20 Legions led by a Primarch. Primarchs are “sons” of the Emperor of Mankind, genetically engineered to embody a specific aspect of the Emperor. Eventually, during the 31st millennium, a schism emerged amongst the Primarchs, leading to a civil war between Legions known as the Horus Heresy. In the aftermath of the conflict, a doctrine called the Codex Astartes was created, serving in some ways to police the Space Marine Legions and split them into smaller Chapters.

Ideology of Ultramarines

Ultramarines have a reputation for being strict adherents to rules and honor, with the Codex Astartes serving as their guiding light. The Ultramarine Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, authored the doctrine himself, and its direction on organization and tactics helped all loyal Space Marine Legions navigate the chaotic period following the Horus Heresy. Though the Ultramarines have many successor Chapters, most still recognize and follow the Legion’s ideologies. However, the Legion isn’t just a collection of compassionless soldier-bureaucrats. Unlike many other still-loyal Space Marine Legions, Ultramarines regularly work and live alongside ordinary humans.

Guilliman was raised to respect and care for all of those around him, and that trait has largely extended throughout the rest of the Legion. Ultramarines regularly seek insight and collaboration with their lesser counterparts, whether supporting a battle-locked group of Imperial Guard, sprinting back into the fray to save civilians, or even advancing out of service to become an Ultramar senator alongside human politicians.

While it’s easy to imagine every Ultramarine as the same, that’s not quite the case. After 10,000 years since Legions were first forced to splinter into Chapters, there are some notable differences between Ultramarine organizations and their interpretation of the Codex Astartes. Some of these Chapters even veer to the extreme. Take, for example, the Novamarines Chapter. Believing Guilliman’s text in the Codex Astartes to be sacred, they have been known to become violent if they witness other Space Marines stray too far from its teachings.

On the other hand, there are Chapters like the Iron Snakes, whose interpretation of justice and adherence to rules see prisoners tied to large rocks in the oceans of their planet, Ithaka. There, giant sea serpents called Wyrms deal out sentencing. If the Wyrms don’t claim the accused after six hours, they’re an unworthy snack for the beasts and guilty of their crimes.

Protectors of Ultramar

The homeworld of the Ultramarines is Macragge, but that’s just the crown jewel in the swathe of space they oversee, known as the 500 Worlds of Ultramar. Where other Space Marine Legions are content with their space-bound fortresses or isolated homeworlds, the Ultramarines want to build civilizations. Other than the realm of Ultramar, only Sol (Earth) via the Imperium and Mars via the Adeptus Mechanicus are allowed to colonize worlds in the name of humanity, making the 500 Worlds something of an exception.

Not only are the Ultramarines and the 500 Worlds of Ultramar a beacon for humanity, but they’re also involved in some of the most notable events in the Warhammer 40,000 timeline. During the Horus Heresy, when the 500 Words were cut off from the rest of the Imperium by massive Warp storms, Guilliman founded Imperium Secundus, an acting form of governmental cohesion for Ultramar centered on Macgragge. Guilliman’s idea in establishing Imperium Secundus was that the 500 Worlds and other loyal planets cut off from the Imperium still needed law and order, and he’d provide that until the Warp storms subsided. More recently, Ultramar was host to iconic conflicts and events like Abaddon’s 13th Black Crusade and the Plague Wars.

Outside of just Macragge itself, most of Ultramar’s planets are self-sufficient, featuring sprawling cities, industrial zones, farm regions, and bodies of water. Many Ultramar worlds are modeled after Greco-Roman civilizations featuring senate halls and amphitheaters woven into the fabric of society. This is a far cry from what’s seen with typical words within the Imerpium, often suffering from uncontrolled overpopulation or rampant environmental hazards, sometimes even to the knowledge or design of the ruler. For most other Space Marine Legions specifically, many prefer relative solitude or the stoic company that only their brother Space Marines can provide. 

Tactical generalists

While many Space Marine Legions are known for their specific quirk, like how the Space Wolves are essentially Space Marine werewolves, the Ultramarines don’t really have one. These quirks are usually represented in how a Legion conducts itself in battle, with the aforementioned Space Wolves mounting giant wolves and fielding their Wulfen (werewolf) warriors. If anything, Ultramarines’ quirk is that they’re rule-abiding and love politics. As such, aside from doing things by the book, the Legion doesn’t really have a flashy combat identity. Ultramarines are often depicted as generalists, not specializing in one particular field but possessing the flexibility to adapt to any circumstance.

Though being a generalist isn’t as flashy as being a sci-fi werewolf or a master of subterfuge, it does have its advantages. Ultramarines reevaluate situations as they develop, allowing the Legion to fall back, flank, or hunker down as needed. Interestingly Ultramarines have the record to back this strategy up, bolstering some of the highest assignment success rates among Legions.

Ultramarines are typically equipped with a bolt gun, as with many Space Marine legions, but they usually forgo the iconic chainsword for a short sword called a gladius. The gladius is a power weapon, trading the chainsaw teeth of a chainsword for a destructive energy field encasing the blade. Ultramarines can also use almost any other type of standard Space Marine gear, including plasma weaponry, jump packs, Dreadnoughts, and more.

Regardless of the perils involved, humanity can be sure that the Ultramarines will be on the front line of its defense. The Legion may appear just to be blue Space Marines, but they’re among the most loyal and skilled warriors in the Imperium.