Dr. K's Waiting Room

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In September 1963 the legendary duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby assembled Earth’s mightiest heroes, the Avengers, who became the premier team of Marvel Comics, formed the backbone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and become an unbelievably popular and successful franchise.

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The Background:
After DC Comics brought together their most popular and powerful superheroes to form the Justice League of America in 1960, Marvel Comics head honcho Martin Goodman tasked Stan Lee with creating a similar team following his success with the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Luckily, Lee and his most famous collaborators had already introduced numerous colourful characters and, thus, Anthony “Tony” Stark/Iron Man, Doctor Robert Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Doctor Donald Blake/Thor Odinson, and Doctor Hank Pym/Ant-Man and Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp became the first Avengers. Since the debut issue, the Avengers have been a consistent and influential presence in Marvel Comics and their roster has constantly shifted and changed, with the long-retired Captain Steve Rogers/Captain America joining their ranks in issue four. The Avengers splinter groups, been disassembled and reassembled, aided in massive cosmic events, and battled some of Marvel’s most powerful supervillains. Perhaps one of their greatest recurring enemies is the psychotic cyborg Ultron, who was first revealed under the guise of the Crimson Cowl in The Avengers #55. Created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, and built in-universe by Hank Pym, Ultron is a sentient android who developed a murderous obsession with destroying the Avengers and conquering the world. Capable of changing his form, improving and becoming more powerful over the years, Ultron inadvertently created one of the Avengers’ most powerful allies, the Vision, expanded his schemes to include both the galaxy and altering the timeline, and even merged with his creator at one point. Ultron has made regular appearances in videogames as a powerful, penultimate, or final boss, is often portrayed as a formidable villain in Marvel cartoons, and was masterfully brought to life by James Spader in Avengers: Age of Ultron (Whedon, 2015).

The Review:
The Avengers’ first encounter with the killer automaton Ultron began with T’Challa/The Black Panther testing Dr. Hank Pym/Goliath’s new defensive protocols at the Avengers Mansion. Satisfied that the booby traps are fully functional, Giant-Man alerts the Avengers’ butler, faithful Edwin Jarvis, who’s shocked at the subtle insinuation that he would ever betray his team’s secrets. However, Jarvis then slinks away to make a clandestine phone call and then slips out to visit his mother, only to venture to a secret base beneath a condemned building to meet the villainous Masters of Evil! Rather than being brainwashed or some elaborate decoy, Jarvis has truly betrayed the Avengers for a hefty cash sum and, while Chen Lu/Radioactive Man is suspicious of their enemy’s butler working with them, the team’s newest leader – the elusive and secretive Crimson Cowl – vouches for Jarvis. Still, Ulysses Klaw is anxious to have his revenge against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, specifically the Black Panther, and is tempted to kill Jarvis as a substitute. Thanks to Dane Whitman/The Black Knight and Bruno Horgan/The Melter, the enraged villains cool off enough to let Jarvis speak. However, after Jarvis delivers the floorplan for Pym’s new defences, the Crimson Cowl double-crosses him with a puff of knockout gas and sends the Masters of Evil on their way. While flying about on his winded horse, Aragorn, the Black Knight recalls how he joined the new Masters of Evil to betray them to the Avengers. However, the Crimson Cowl anticipates this and sends the others to intercept Whitman at the Avengers Mansion. Though overwhelmed, the Black Knight orders Aragorn away but, while Clint Barton/Hawkeye spots the horse, the abrasive Avenger is attacked by the Melter before he can alert the team.

Though he fires off a few arrows, Hawkeye’s downed when the Melter buries him under some debris. Simultaneously, David Cannon/Whirlwind attacks the Black Panther, sending him flying with a whirling cyclone, and the Wasp is accosted by Klaw. Despite showing no fear and her super shrinking ability, the Wasp is easily defeated when she flies head-first into a door! Similarly, Radioactive Man surprises Goliath and Doctor William “Bill” Foster in the Avenger’s lab, subduing Foster with a super adhesive and luring Goliath into a trap where he’s ensnared by his own devices! With all the Avengers captured, the gloating Masters of Evil introduce their master, who’s first revealed to be a distinctly Ultron-looking robot decoy and then unmasked to be Jarvis! The Masters of Evil load their prisoners into a futuristic craft and head back to their master, relishing their victory, though the villains are as unnerved by Jarvis’s turn as the Avengers, if not more since Jarvis demonstrates an uncanny ability to be fully aware of everything, no matter how trivial. Although Goliath escapes his restraints, Klaw’s saved by the Crimson Cowl, who admonishes his carelessness. When Klaw turns his incredible Sonic Claw on his master, he’s amazed when it has no effect and is left grovelling at the hooded figure’s feet, suitably humbled. The Crimson Cowl then reveals his plan to drop the Avengers into the ocean and blackmail New York City with a hydrogen bomb. However, the Crimson Cowl purposely drops the Avengers in a craft so they can slowly suffocate after learning that Jarvis was hypnotically duped into betraying them by none other than Ultron-5!

Though it seems like the Melter crushes Jarvis under some rubble during his desperate escape, the remorseful butler survives and wanders the streets, succumbing to exhaustion just as he’s found by the Black Knight. Thanks to Jarvis’s tipoff, the Black Knight intercepts Ultron-5’s craft and frees the Avengers. The team quickly avenge themselves against the Masters of Evil, causing Whirlwind to flee but apprehending the others and easily dismantling the hydrogen bomb. When the Avengers confront their regretful butler, Jarvis reveals he sold out to pay for his mother’s treatments, and they quickly forgive him and part with the Black Knight on good terms, though Ultron-5 is left vowing revenge. Some time later, aboard a Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) Helicarrier, a new version of the Avengers tests the durability of the mysterious Adamantium, a substance powerful enough to tank blows from Thor Odinson’s hammer and Iron Man’s Repulsor Rays. This proves that, as the team feared, the mineral has been altered by a “molecular rearranger” and presents a serious threat. As Goliath (now Barton garbed in a garish costume) tries to prove he can succeed where they failed, the strangely silent synthezoid, the Vision, is suddenly assaulted by an unseen force and compelled to brood over the grave of Simon Williams/Wonder Man, whose brain patterns formed his personality. Though he first suspects Simon’s spirit is calling him, the Vision suddenly has a revelation and flies off, leaving Pym (now known as Yellowjacket) to ponder his ally’s fate. While Iron Man tests himself in the mansion’s combat simulator, the Vision returns to the team’s Helicarrier, subdues a guard, and steals the Adamantium before lowering the ship’s air pressure to leave none alive. When the team finds out and find Janet attacked, they angrily confront the Vision, who coldly rejects his humanity, easily shrugs off their attacks, and heralds the rebirth of his creator, now in the jet-powered form of Ultron-6!

Now made of the indestructible Adamantium, the vengeful Ultron-6 attacks without mercy, easily defeating Thor and Goliath when the battle hungry Thor strikes the android’s body with his enchanted hammer, Mjölnir, and causes a massive shockwave. Though Yellowjacket gets the drop on his creation, Ultron-6 easily throws him off and then targets Pym over Iron Man and the Wasp, hell-bent on killing his “father”, though he proves too powerful for Iron Man to affix some electrodes to stop him. Bored of the conflict, Ultron-6 flees, unknowingly pursued by the repentant Vision, realising his creator programmed a failsafe to ensure his servitude. After regrouping, the Avengers set out to stop Ultron-6, who returns to his stronghold and prepares to launch a cache of nuclear weapons, determined to wipe out the human race! When confronted by his melancholic, wayward “son”, Ultron-6 flies into a rage, desperate to prove himself superior to his creation, though the Vision’s incredible matter-altering powers make him more than a match for his “father”. Ever the stubborn android, Ultron-6 escapes the Vision’s wrath by transforming into “sheer ionic force” and leaves the Vision to be attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers for stealing their Adamantium. When the Avengers arrive, they discover Ultron-6 is one lever pull away from causing nuclear destruction, though the murder machine is left incensed that lever is mysteriously inoperable. Regardless, Ultron-6 is still powerful enough to endure Yellowjacket’s electrical blasts and throw the team around like ragdolls with a burst of explosive ionic power. Yet, despite apparently being strong enough to kill the Avengers and then enact his diabolical plot, Ultron-6 simply vanishes and the team is left to witness the Vision’s theatrical sorrow for being controlled by his creator. Before collapsing from his efforts to defeat Ultron-6, the Vision also reveals that he caused Ultron-6’s plan to go awry by trashing his apparatus.

After convincing S.H.I.E.L.D. to relinquish custody of the Vision, the Avengers fail to rouse him with a concentrated dose of solar energy and thus turn to Yellowjacket’s “rudimentary mind-probe” to learn that the molecular rearranger is the key to stopping Ultron-6 since the only thing that can rearrange Adamantium. Although the device was also stolen alongside the Adamantium, Yellowjacket contacts the Black Panther while he’s fending off an invasion of Wakanda and requests a chunk of his nation’s Vibranium. Upon learning that the Avengers plan to publicly reveal his threat, Ultron-6 decides to enter their obvious trap and slaughter them, intent on kidnapping Adamantium expert Doctor Myron McLain and forcing him to build an army of Ultron duplicates so he can conquer the world. Despite being a capable and adaptable fighter, the Wasp is more concerned with dressing well for the team’s arrival at the United Nations building, where Dr. McLain is attacked by Ultron’s newest shell, a towering humanoid construct claiming to be the “ultimate” Ultron. Easily dispatching the nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Ultron calls out the Avengers and renews their battle, barely flinching when struck by Mjölnir and shrugging off the clumsy Goliath’s gigantic fist before briefly putting both Avengers down with lasers. Ultron then forces the Avengers to back off lest he murder Dr. McLain, leaving them powerless to stop him from affixing a “mind-draining device” to the doctor’s head to absorb his immense knowledge and secrets. However, Ultron’s forced to break the connection when he struggles to contain Dr. McLain’s vast intellect, leaving him on the brink of a complete meltdown. Thankfully, Thor averts this by containing Ultron within a special expanding chamber…thing…made of Vibranium, seemingly destroying Ultron in the process. In the aftermath, it’s revealed that “Dr. McLain” was really super genius Hank Pym in disguise and that he forced Ultron to absorb a phrase so alien to him that it led to his destruction: “Thou shalt not kill.”

The Summary:
While I’ve always been a fan of Ultron, his first encounters with the Avengers felt a bit lacking to me. The first two issues, especially, are a bit of a mess, overloaded with characters and painting Jarvis, of all people, as a deceiver and a villain! I understand the idea of behind bringing together a new Masters of Evil, especially as the villains nicely counter each hero’s abilities, but their victory felt forced here. Ultron-5 goes to the effort to brainwash Jarvis (despite him later admitting that he “sold out” for money for his sick mother) to acquire Pym’s floorplan, only for Whirlwind to just enter through a window and the Melter to…well, melt…a hole in the wall. There was barely a co-ordinated attack on the Avengers Mansion, the villains just caught them by surprise with such sophisticated tricks as fancy glue and slamming a door. I would’ve much preferred it if Ultron-5 had used Jarvis’s knowledge to reprogram or take control of Pym’s machinery, turning them against the Avengers as he turns training room against Iron Man and overwhelming them with a real show of power. Instead, the first two issues try to sell Jarvis as a traitor, with no one (not even Pym) recognising Ultron-5 until he reveals himself and the Masters of Evil happily following Jarvis’s commands. Ultron-5 is also depicted as a grandiose fool, more focused on gloating and humbling his enemies than finishing the job, and ends up undone by the Black Knight, of all people, and a comparatively weak incarnation of the Avengers. For me, this makes the “Crimson Cowl” part of Ultron’s history an odd and forgettable side note in the killer robot’s lineage, one perhaps only good for a pub quiz.

Ultron makes a better impression in the second story, even if Hawkeye is parading around in a gimp outfit as Goliath and Pym is making a fool of himself as Yellowjacket. One thing I’ve always loved about Ultron’s design is his permanently screaming face, with the flaming energy bursting from his mouth, which is surprisingly expressive and matches his chaotic mood swings. These three issues are also noteworthy for introducing Adamantium and depicting it as the strongest and perhaps most dangerous substance on Earth. Its nigh-indestructible properties make it the perfect target for Ultron-6, who compels his “son”, the Vision, to steal it and fortify his otherwise laughable half-torso, half-rocket jet form. This also seems to facilitate an evolution in Ultron’s physical self, allowing him to project and even transform into ionic energy, easily making him a physical match for Thor and making fools of Goliath and the Wasp. By this point, Ultron-6’s plan has changed from blackmail to worldwide destruction and there’s a real sense of tension as the team desperately pursues him, especially as Ultron-6 is depicted as psychotic in his desire to eradicate human life. Yet, Ultron-6 apparently cannot construct new bodies for himself or robotic minions, which leads to his undoing when he targets Dr. McLain and is easily fooled by Yellowjacket. Still, despite “ultimate” Ultron failing to impress, Ultron is depicted as a significant threat as he outmatches, outwits, and outpowers a far stronger team of Avengers and comes dangerously close to enacting his plan. While he meets his end in dubious fashion, seemingly destroyed by the thought Pym plants in his head and the laughable Vibranium bell-thing Thor encases him in, I enjoyed seeing Ultron throw the Avengers around and be publicly revealed as a very real threat to the world.

These three issues also largely focus onto the Vision, a melancholy, brooding figure who’s treated with some distrust by Barton, apprehension by Pym, and naturally seen as a tortured soul by the flakily Janet. Prone to breaking into gloomy soliloquies, the Vision is constantly questioning his purpose and humanity and is torn between his loyalties to his teammates and the programming forced upon him by Ultron-6. Having created the synthezoid some time ago, Ultron-6 compels his “son” to subdue any in his way using his bizarre powers, phase through walls, and betray his allies by stealing the Adamantium. Conveniently, Ultron-6’s control over the Vision isn’t permanent and he soon comes to his senses, only to be set upon by S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers and put his relationship with the Avengers in doubt. This, as well as the desire to stop his creator, drives the Vision to confront Ultron-6 in a battle to the death. Thanks to the Vision being effectively all-powerful, their fights are brutal and merciless, though Ultron-6 maintains the advantage with his ionic powers and the Vision is left seemingly comatose after exerting himself. I’m not a big fan of the Vision’s dramatic ways but it is fun seeing him go toe-to-toe with Ultron-6 and getting a sense of how powerful Ultron can be since he holds his own against powerhouses like the Vision and Thor. Still, the Avengers’ first counters with Ultron were surprisingly low-key, despite Ultron wishing to wipe the human race off the Earth. Ultron’s shown to be incapable of making good on this threat after the Vision wrecks his equipment, ironically needing the knowledge of a human to prove his mechanical superiority, and spends more time boasting and plotting than actually seeing things through. It definitely makes him a megalomaniacal villain and I really dig his creepy aesthetic, but I don’t think it did him any favours to go up against such mismatched Avengers teams, who handily defeated him despite not being as powerful as they could be.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to Ultron’s first encounters with the Avengers? Where does Ultron rank in your hierarchy of Marvel villains? Did you believe that Jarvis had turned traitor? Were you surprised when the Vision betrayed his team? Which incarnation of Ultron is your favourite or who would you like to see on the Avengers roster one day? What are some of your favourite Ultron stories or moments? How are you celebrating the debut of the Avengers today? Share your thoughts on Ultron, and the Avengers below and, if you’d like to see more Ultron reviews, go support me on Ko-Fi.