Features Film

Ultron the Antagonist

Like most people, I’m excited by what I’m seeing with the forthcoming Avengers: The Age of Ultron. Finally, we get to see The Avengers face, in my mind, their greatest foe: Ultron.

Admittedly, delays with Ant-Man have robbed us of the mythology of Dr Hank Pym creating Ultron, but then Marvel readers will know that Hank Pym is a controversial character due to his abuse and attempted murder of his wife Janet aka The Wasp (and eating Black Panther limb by limb in “Marvel Zombies”!) It’s a shame that Ant-Man wasn’t included earlier as he was a favourite of mine when he became Yellow Jacket (ok, it was a cool costume, maybe that’s why I liked him).

Ultron is a classic example that the stronger the antagonist, the more danger our protagonist(s) face and, in Ultron, the Avengers will face their greatest challenge to date (no disrespect to Loki). Rumours suggest that this will be the final incarnation of the current Avengers line-up, with the possibility of an Avenger dying (remember those classic covers that shouted: “In this issue, an Avenger/X-Man/insert team name here will die!”). Will it be Hawkeye, Quicksilver, The Scarlet Witch or a temporary member? Personally I’d kill off Black Widow, but that’s unlikely and unpopular as she’s the only female general audiences know.

By pitting the Avengers against Ultron, we’ll see the heroes in real jeopardy. The fan made posters of the seated Ultron with the broken shield of Cap, Iron Man’s helmet, Thor’s hammer etc. hark back to the comics and reveal what a deadly foe Ultron is.

Avengers-age-of-ultron-fan-made-poster

Ultron takes us back to the mad or dangerous robots and machines of cinema: The Machine Woman of Metropolis, The Colossus of New York, Alpha-60 from Alphaville, Colossus from The Forbin Project, the robot Devil Dolls of Barbarella, Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gunslinging Cowboy Robot Model 406 from Westworld, Box from Logan’s Run. Machines created by the arrogant human scientists who, like Victor Frankenstein, thought that they were more powerful than God, only to discover the error of their ways. If rumours are to be believed, it will be Tony Stark that creates Ultron, and scientists don’t get any more arrogant than Tony!

Whatever happens, it’s certain that Avengers: Age of Ultron will see our heroes facing defeat and death, after which our favourite team will never be the same again. These are increasingly interesting times in the Marvel franchise.

What do you think of Ultron coming to the MCU? Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!

About the author

Dave Mitchell

Dave Mitchell is a filmmaker and screenwriter.
cool! He also plays Dungeons and Dragons and avoids London!

www.davemitchellfilms.com