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I've just purchased a copy of the new Space Marine codex, which is all epic and what-not. Anyway, when I got to page 26 there was a double-page illustration of the Ultramarines 2nd Company, including the latest Primaris Marine squads.

Right, so far so good. Then, I glance at 'Cato' and realise his gear is significantly different to what I'm used to seeing him wear. The accompanying text goes on to casually mention the leader as a Captain Acheran who assumed command after their "former leader, Cato Sicarius, was declared lost".

Upto now I can't find any more on the subject. Does anyone have any more info on this ever so slightly seismic change to the background? Is the 'told fella to be quietly canned for some as yet unknown reason?

Answers on a postcard.

Lost in the warp on his way back from Terra.

Good riddance I say.

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Lost in the warp on his way back from Terra.

Good riddance I say.

Yeah, fair point. Come to think of it, I've got several novels that have Sicarius facing off against an enemy leader or champion in the midst of battle. He loses. In ALL of them. I can't help but think that whoever had written his scenes like that must have harboured some pretty unsavoury hatred of Sicarius.

If you read the Ultramarine Omnibus, he is portrayed as an insufferable d-bag. Even Calgar is mildly irritated by it. He's basically a rules laywery stick-up-the-bum donkey-cave.

It was certainly hard to like Sicarius in the Space Marine Battles novel Fall of Damnos. He acted like a total jerk before the Necrons put him down.

Meanwhile, current lore is in conflict. The Codex claims he is MIA; but Guy Haley's Dark Imperium has him serving directly with Guilliman at the present time of 40K, whatever year that may be. Since they don't know exactly any more...

One can live in hope.

He got Mary Sued during 5th ed and was forever onwards disliked. He's a here in the Ultramarines novels. Good riddance.
Also... (jump to 3:33)

Cato Sicarius is supremely contradictory character, and I have a feeling its down to Matt Ward. Not to kick the dead horse, but the way he was portrayed in C: SM in 5th Edition, and the way he's portrayed in novels, is entirely different.


In Ward's work, he's a supremely capable and intelligent commander, extremely efficient, takes Space Marine tactics for lightning shock assault to the next level, has many titles and is touted as next in line to succeed Calgar despite Agemman being Regent. He goes from strength to strength to strength very rapidly. He knows his troops intimately and uses them for their best purpose, which even translates to a rule in the game. He's supposed to be a bonafide badass but people hate him and name him Mary Sue.

In novels, he's an arrogant douchebag with a Codex up his arse and annoys everyone. He gets beaten regularly and is nothing like his Ward version. In total honest, it entirely contradicts his role because a stickler like him would never win the affection of his troops to be a good leader, and his consistant incompetance would never see him rise to Captain, never mind Captain of the Ultramarine's 2nd Company, the premier fighting force in the Astartes Ranks. They are literally the poster boys, both in and out of universe, of the Space Marines. He would never make it.


Now, whether this discrepancy is because the authors genuinely hate his Mary Sue-ness character, or whether its a rather poorly communicated attempt to neutralise and de-Mary Sue him, I'm not sure. But its clear than BL don't understand, or don't want to understand, his fluff clearly.