Magnitude was one of the most entertaining recurring characters in Community, but his true name wasn't unveiled in the series. Luke Youngblood played the self-described "one-man party" in Dan Harmon's comedy beginning in season 2. Known for his signature catchphrase, "pop, pop!," Magnitude was often present for campus events or house parties throughout the series. While some of his backstory was unveiled, some aspects of the character never made it into the final cut of Community.
Magnitude made his Community debut in "Early 21st Century Romanticism" when a Valentine's Day party was hosted at Jeff Winger's (Joel McHale) apartment. He would later be seen as a candidate for the student body election at Greendale Community College and as a player during the annual game of Paintball Assassin. For his time at Greendale, Magnitude was viewed as one of the more popular kids on campus. His catchphrase always amplified the excitement of his peers, becoming like a mascot at the school.
In Community season 4's "Heroic Origins," it was revealed Magnitude went to high school with Annie Edison (Allison Brie) and Troy Barnes (Donald Glover). In fact, Magnitude first used his "pop, pop!" catchphrase at the high school party, which featured Annie's infamous mental breakdown. Youngblood's name in the series wasn't always meant to be Magnitude, however. In 2011, Harmon and writer Adam Coutee revealed (via The Wrap) there were various name options for the character before Magnitude was picked. "Poochie" was a finalist, but there was a connection to the dog of the same name from The Simpsons, so that idea was scrapped. Harmon then decided Magnitude was perfect because it stood for "Magnetic Attitude," which fittingly emulated the character. Though, at one point, Magnitude was supposed to have a birth name unveiled in the series.
Community season 5's "Geothermal Escapism," which served as Troy's final episode, had a key Magnitude sequence cut. According to a script (via Reddit), Magnitude was supposed to get hit on the head by a chair midway through his catchphrase. After getting hit, he almost declared: "Oh my god. I remember everything now. My name is–". Before he could reveal his real name, Magnitude was hit on the head again, leading him to yell out the second part of the signature phrase. There was no reasoning for why the particular scene was cut. Magnitude was still shown to be participating in the campus-wide game of Hot Lava, but he was never on the brink of unveiling his true identity.
Interestingly enough, another compelling scene featuring Magnitude was cut from Community season 3. This sequence was filmed and still exists in the show's deleted scenes. The scene came during "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" when Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) filmed a documentary following the development of the new school commercial. Magnitude was used in the commercial to highlight the catchphrase before his involvement was expanded on through an interview as part of Abed's documentary. The student then revealed how miserable he truly was in trying to keep up with his popular persona. Magnitude claimed he invented "pop, pop!" so everybody would love him, but the plan ended up backfiring. These cut Community details would have added more layers to the memorable figure, but seeing as Magnitude was only a supporting character, it made sense why they weren't featured.
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