History Characters / HorusHeresyLoyalistLegions

** To Horus. Horus and Sanguinius are the two most well-liked and charismatic primarchs. Both are renowned for their heroism, even among their brothers. Both get visions of a dark future. Both have certain insecurities (Horus about his fitness to be warmaster, Sanguinius about the mutation that caused his wings). The difference is that Sanguinius is aware of his insecurities and decides to face his fears and doubts head-on, regardless. Horus on the other hand allows a vision and his flaws to drag him into hell and become a puppet of the Chaos Gods.
** To Angron. He is Angron in reverse. Angron was an empathethic soul who was turned into a bloodthirsty monster due to the Butcher's nails. He took a noble legion and turned them into monsters. He is probably the most unpopular primarch. Sanguinius is a naturally bloodthirsty monster who strives to be noble. He took a legion of derelicts and turned them into some of the most noble heroes of the Imperium. As a result, he was among the most popular primarchs in life and the most beloved in death.

* {{Berserker}}: Give off this impression when in combat. They're noted as one of the most savage close-quarters combatants out there.

* BloodKnight: They indulge in war and enjoy every moment of it.

* TheBlacksmith: Alongside Salamanders, they're one of the two Legions that craft their own weaponry, although they go for practicality rather than bling.

* TheSocialExpert: Prior to the Imperium's arrival, he was the politician to the Lion's visionary, making deals and negotiating on behalf of the Order.

* AllForNothing: His efforts to reach Terra in time to aid the Loyalists ultimately prove for naught - besides it being a ForegoneConclusion that Sanguinus and the Emperor would board the ''Vengeful Spirit'' and be killed/mortally wounded by Horus, , ''Echoes of Eternity'' reveals that the Traitors managed to breach the inner palace a week before he would've arrived, meaning there's a good chance that even if the Loyalists had dug in, Horus would have won by the time the Ultramarines, Dark Angels, and Space Wolves arrived. Making it worse is that, as revealed in ''The End and the Death'',Guiliman's forces were just ''hours'' away from Terra when Emperor boarded the ''Vengeful Spirit'', and might've arrived in time if the Astronomican was still online.

* InformedAbility: Many times in early Horus Heresy books we are told that Ferrus was a great military mind. Horus himself says in ''Vengeful Spirit'' that Ferrus is the one primarch who understands, eats and breathes war like he does. We end up seeing nothing of this and his most well-known battle is, off course, his reckless assault at Istvan V, which partially lead to the Dropsite Massacre. Many of the tactician and strategist aspects he was known for ended up going to Lion El'Jonson in later stories. He apparently was enough of a strategist to be placed in command of one of the three main thrusts of the Great Crusade (Horus and the Emperor commanded the other two) but that may have simply been a result of him being the fourth Primarch to be found again, behind Horus, Leman Russ, and [[UnPerson the Second Primarch]].

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Genetically and surgically enhanced {{Super Soldier}}s with thirst for blood and penchant for PaintTheTownRed, led by a WingedHumanoid.

* HurtingHero: The universe seems hell-bent on making his life miserable and he has a lot to angst about, whether justified or not.

* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: When adjusted for [[RatedMForManly the universe]], he's the Sensitive Guy to Lion's Manly Man in ''Unremembered Empire''. It ends up being a plot point.

** In addition, their SocialDarwinism. Ferrus Manus had the various Iron Hands' competing against each other to earn his approval, and priority access to top-tier equipment and materials. Ferrus Manus did this to keep them sharp and constantly self-improving. However, this also meant they had a severe lack of esprit de corps. The only thing keeping them together was their loyalty to Ferrus Manus. When he passed away, the primary glue keeping them together broke them apart.

* TheSocialDarwinist: ''Massacre'' and other depictions of Medua very much paint him this way. He maintains the harsh way of life endemic to the world, reasoning that it is necessary to produce such fearsome warriors as his Legion needs.

Another key aspect of the Iron Hands was their tendency towards a SocialDarwinism. An ardent perfectionist, Ferrus Manus wanted himself and his marines to be constantly improving themselves. As such, he had the various companies of the legion constantly competing for his approval. Those companies that earned his approval were given the best equipment first. However, such approval had to be constantly earned. This created an air of fierce competition, and a lack of a unifying esprit de corps. To outsiders, it often seemed that the only thing keeping the legion together was Ferrus Manus himself.\\\

* InformedAbility: Many times in early Horus Heresy books we are told that Ferrus was a great military mind. Horus himself says in ''Vengeful Spirit'' that Ferrus is the one primarch who understands, eats and breathes war like he does. We end up seeing nothing of this and his most well-known battle is, off course, his reckless assault at Istvan V, which partially lead to the Dropsite Massacre. Many of the tactician and strategist aspects he was known for ended up going to Lion El'Jonson in later stories. He apparently was enough of a strategist to be placed in command of one of the three main thrusts of the Great Crusade (Horus and the Emperor commanded the other two) but that may have simply been a result of him being the fourth Primarch to be found again.

In many ways, the Iron Hands are like their frozen-over, yet volcanic, homeworld of Medusa - seemingly cold, yet with fire boiling underneath. The Iron Hands are known for liberally using cybernetics, voluntarily replacing their limbs and organs with artificial replacements because they believe that "flesh is weak". This results in the Tenth Legion having close ties to the Mechanicum and having access to exclusive bits of technology. Ironically, Ferrus Manus privately disapproved of his sons putting bionics on themselves in such a gratuitous manner. Despite acting calm, the Iron Hands are known for frequent outbursts of anger. In battle, the Iron Hands form an inexorable, unstoppable force of tougher-than-average Astartes. Believing in pure strength, the Iron Hand use straightforward tactics combined with numbers and firepower to destroy the enemy. The Iron Hands wear black armor.

* BladeOnAStick: Lots of Scars favour glaives over swords

* BladeonaStick: Wields a glaive in combat.

* BladeOnAStick: Uses a glaive.

* BladeOnAStick: The Spear of Russ, a gift from his father. It is a Power Spear the Emperor himself forged and poured a portion of his power into. Its main ability is to reveal the truth beneath anything it pierces. Amusingly enough, he hates it and keeps on "losing" it everywhere, to the woe of his huscarls. Nonetheless, it always finds a way to return to its proprietor. He finally uses it in ''Wolfsbane'' against Horus. [[spoiler:Said novel reveals the Spear's actual name is the Dionysian Spear, which was forged by The Emperor, and it has the ability to show the true form of whatever it hits. The blow it inflicts on Horus cleanses him of Chaos corruption and outright ''cuts out a chunk of his soul''. Russ ends up becoming more fond of the spear after learning its true nature.]]

* BladeOnAStick: Alongside his {{BFS}}, his weapon is the Spear of Telesto, supposedly a gift from his father. The Spear of Telesto is recognizable by its distinctive shape: the tip is tear-shaped and hollow, symbolizing the one drop of blood Sanguinius shed when he swore fealty to the Emperor. Apart from that, it was an exceptional weapon, able to pierce through the most durable foes and able to emit deadly energy beams from its tip.

* ''I do not die this day.''

* WhipItGood: He uses an electrified whip as his middle-range weapon. In ''Raven's Flight'', he muses that he's chosen it because the irony of a weapon of oppression being used by a warrior of liberty is just too delicious to let pass.