This past Sunday, the Avengers faced one of their greatest threats yet as Ultron rebelled against his masters and struck out at the team in "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!"
Now, before our heroes face the robotic villain once again this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. ET on Disney XD, we've got the maniacal mech Ultron's full comic book history! Catch a quick debrief before you witness the Avengers final battle with Ultron this weekend!
Creation and First Upgrade
An artificial intelligence created by Doctor Henry Pym, aka Ant-Man, Ultron’s warped programming led to his status as one of the most dangerous and cunning foes the Avengers have ever faced. The wily robot first attempted to thrash the heroes using the Masters of Evil as a cudgel, then created the synthezoid Vision to infiltrate the team. Thankfully, the Vision rebelled against his creator and, with the help of the Avengers, defeated the first version of Ultron.
Since then, the robot has upgraded himself many times. His first upgrade came when he covered himself in adamantium, but despite the metal’s seemingly-indestructible nature, the Avengers still found a way to bring Ultron down.
Ultron set the Masters of Evil against Earth's Mightiest Heroes in AVENGERS Vol. 1 #54-55 and the team fought Ultron and the Vision in AVENGERS Vol. 1 #57-58, collected in both MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE AVENGERS VOL. 6 and ESSENTIAL AVENGERS VOL. 3.
Artificial Evil
Time and again, Ultron squared off against the Avengers, ever improving himself and finding new ways to cause epic trouble for the heroes. One of his schemes led to the creation of a female counterpart, Jocasta, whom Ultron intended to take as a bride. After more defeats, the malicious mechanical monster came back to artificial life at the hands of the all-powerful Beyonder, but even that proved a short story and he once again fell into disrepair.
One of the most incredible chapters in the Ultron story came when the robot attempted to reconcile himself with his “father,” Hank Pym, and even joined Pym in battle against another version of Ultron.
You’ll want to look into AVENGERS #161-162, SECRET WARS #1-12, and WEST COAST AVENGERS #6-7 to view these tales!
Ultron Forever
One of the most fascinating aspects of Ultron’s programming is his ability to eternally rebuild himself after defeat, even going so far as to engage others in this evil aim. The robot created a second bride name Alkhema, who, like Jocasta and the Vision, held programming that insured her master’s rebirth.
Recently, Ultron faced off against the Mighty Avengers after subverting Tony Stark and his Iron Man armor into the form of Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym’s on-again-off-again wife. Later, he enters into a return bout with the team while trying to take over Pym’s “Infinite Avengers Mansion” and bedevils the main Avengers group in a frightening foray into the future.
Look no further than MIGHTY AVENGERS #1-6, collected in MIGHTY AVENGERS VOL. 1: THE ULTRON IMPERATIVE, MIGHTY AVENGERS #35-36, found in SIEGE: MIGHTY AVENGERS, and AVENGERS Vol. 4 #1-6, collected in AVENGERS BY BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS VOL. 1 for these incredible stories!
Don't forget you can download all the episodes aired so far right now on iTunes.
Check out the episode guide, tons of videos and more on "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" hub page.
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NICE!
Great read!!!