Ultron is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Avengers #54 (1968), and was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema.

Fictional character biography

Ultron is a robot created by scientist and adventurer Henry Pym. Based on Pym's own brain patterns, Ultron was intended to serve Pym in his superheroic identity of Goliath. ^[1] Ultron, however developed its own intelligence and rebelled, and almost immediately developed an Oedipus Complex (later noted by the Avenger Black Panther), whereby he felt irrational hatred for his "father" Hank, and demonstrated an interest in Hank's lover Janet van Dyne, The Wasp. Rebuilding itself and upgrading no less than five times, Ultron (now called Ultron-5) then hypnotized Pym and brainwashed him into forgetting that Ultron had ever existed. ^[2] Ultron then adopts the guise of the villain the Crimson Cowl, and formed a new version of supervillain team the Masters of Evil to battle Pym and his teammates the Avengers. Although the plan fails, Ultron develops an insane hatred of the Avengers and dedicated himself to their destruction. ^[3]

Ultron then creates the "synthezoid" the Vision, for use as a weapon against the Avengers. This strategem fails when the Vision turns against him and aids the Avengers to defeat Ultron. ^[4] Pym learns that Ultron has used the brain patterns of the supposedly dead being Wonder Man ^[5] to program the Vision, ^[6] and the Vision's body is later thought to be that of the 1940's superhero the original Human Torch. ^[7]

A short time later the Vision begins to act strangely and steals a cylinder of the newly created metal adamantium from the spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. It is revealed that this was a hypnotic suggestion placed by Ultron, who uses the cylinder to recreate a new, invincible body (from Ultron-6 to Ultimate Ultron). After several inconclusive skirmishes with Ultron, the Avengers prevent his plan to detonate a nuclear bomb in New York City. They then request a sample of the metal vibranium from absent member the Black Panther, and formulate a plan to draw out Ultron. Dr. Myron MacLain – the creator of adamantium prepares to give a speech at the United Nations. Ultron attacks, and battles the Avengers Goliath and Thunder God Thor. Holding them off, Ultron attempts to read MacLain’s mind, but self-destructs – the blast contained by Thor with a vibranium dome. MacLain is then revealed to be Pym in disguise, who had anticipated Ultron’s strategy and memorized the term “thou shalt not kill”, which Ultron could not accept. ^[8]

Ultron’s head is eventually found the Inhuman Maximus, who grafts it to an animated statue of a figure from Inhuman history, Omega. Disguised as Omega, Ultron (now Ultron-7) interrupts the wedding of the Inhuman Crystal and the Avenger Quicksilver and attacks guests the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. After revealing his true identity, Ultron is defeated by Franklin Richards. ^[9]

Several years later, a recreated Ultron (Ultron-8) is still suffering from an Oedipal complex. After capturing Pym and brainwashing him yet again, Ultron coerces him into attacking the Avengers in his old Ant-Man persona. Although Pym is defeated by the Wasp, Ultron then attacks and manages to use an an encephelo-ray on several Avengers (Captain America; Beast; Scarlet Witch and the Vision), which places them in a coma. Ultron then captures the Wasp and flees with Pym, who is coerced into creating a robotic “bride” for Ultron, using Janet Pym as the template.

The remaining Avengers (Iron Man; Thor; Wonder Man and the Black Panther) are guided by a message from ants - sent by Ultron’s bride – to his hidden laboratory. When Iron Man threatens to destroy his robotic creation, Ultron flees and swears vengeance. ^[10] The robot, which Pym names Jocasta, is later examined and reanimates. Tracking the robot to a convent, the Avengers battle an upgraded Ultron (Ultron-9) once again. Now immune to his encephalo-ray and aided by heroine Ms. Marvel, the Avengers battle Ultron, with the Scarlet’s Witch’s hexes causing a malfunction in his molecule rearranger. Thor contains Ultron’s leaking power as he detonates. ^[11]

Sometime later Iron Man, acting another of Ultron’s hypnotic suggestions, makes it possible for him to be recreated. Ultron (Ultron-10) then kidnaps the Scarlet Witch, intent on preventing her from using her hex power against him. Iron Man, however, suspects that he has been controlled and leaves a warning for Thor, who leads the team to Ultron’s secret vault. In the ensuing battle, Hawkeye knocks Ultron into a vat of liquid adamantium, which solidifies and immobilizes him. ^[12] Courtesy of yet another hypnotic suggestion, Jocasta recreates Ultron (Ultron-11) a month later. With the aid of hypnotised Fantastic Four member the Thing, Ultron begins to build a robotic army but is eventually stopped by robotic adventurer Machine Man. Jocasta is destroyed in the final battle. ^[13]

After being briefly recreated (as Ultron-11) by the Beyonder and appearing on Battleworld during the Secret Wars ^[14] and for a brief encounter with the Thing, ^[15] Ultron is destroyed again. The Thing, however, does bring Ultron's head back to Earth as a souvenir.

New villainy

A new Ultron (Ultron-12) enters into an alliance with the villain the Grim Reaper and his allies (Nekra; the Erik Josten Goliath; Man-Ape and the Black Talon) in a bid to destroy the Reaper's brother, Wonder Man. Although the villains are defeated by the West Coast Avengers, Ultron-12 begins to form a relationship with his "father", Henry Pym. ^[16]

The head of Ultron-11 is dropped and forgotten by the Thing when there is an attack by the alien Dire Wraiths. ^[17] It is later found by a Red Cross worker, and reactivates when in brought in contact with a television. The head hypnotises the worker, and then through the use of human pawns returns to a hidden laboratory where it rebuilds itself. Ultron-11 discovers Pym and Ultron-12 are present, and regarding the latter as an abomination, attacks them. Pym is captured, and although Ultron-12 is badly damaged, it repairs itself long enough to summon Wonder Man, who destroys Ultron-11. Ultron-12 then deactivates, but tells Pym it was glad it could help save him. ^[18]

Another version of Ultron eventually appears (Ultron-13) and plans to transform a farming community into an army of robots, but is stopped once again by the West Coast Avengers. ^[19] Another Ultron (Ultron-14) tries to obtain a new form of vibranium called Nuform, but is repelled by the combined efforts of Iron Man, the Black Panther and Spider-Man. ^[20] Ultron (Ultron-15) next appears as a brief captive of a highly advanced Doombot, but is freed when the Doombot is destroyed by Deathlok. ^[21]

The next Ultron (Ultron-16) plans to take control of a nuclear missile and cause a detonation that will cause catastrophic seismic reactions around the planet. On a whim, Ultron also captures the West Coast Avenger Mockingbird and using her brain patterns creates a new robotic mate called Alkhema. Alkhema aids Ultron in his scheme but both are eventually jettisoned into space through a ruse by the Vision. ^[22] An upgraded version (Ultron-17) reappears with Alkhema some months later, and together they plan to create a "volcanic winter" by placing bombs underneath several volcanoes. The West Coast Avengers stop the pair once again, and Alkhema rebels and leaves Ultron. ^[23]

Another Ultron (Ultron-18) is found by the Vision, but is discovered to have been "infected" by human emotion and is seriously deteriorating. This Ultron and a recreated Jocasta decide to explore the world with the Vision for a time. ^[24]

Sentient armor

When Ultron was thought dead following the Slorenia massacre, Jocasta, who had come into the 'employ' of Tony Stark by serving as his personal artificial psychologist, was compelled by the Ultron Imperative that also existed within her to reprogram the Iron Man armor to serve as a vessel for Ultron's rebirth. However, a lightning strike on the armor corrupted and accelerated the process, giving the armour a sentience that Jocasta outlandishly passed off as the effects of Y2K. However, although the armour's mind was based on Tony's, it lacked his restraint and morals, killing the villain Whiplash in retaliation for an earlier 'injury' despite Tony's insistence that it stop attacking him. Obsessed with Tony, and determined to become the 'Iron Man' with him, the armour took Tony to a desert island, hoping to coerce him into permanently joining with it and thus becoming "so much more than Iron Man". In the resulting struggle between the two, although Tony managed to do some damage by predicting what the armour was likely to do and setting up traps to accommodate it, he had a heart attack in the fight. After the armour sacrificed its life to save him, Tony buried it on the island, respecting that it had finally understood the true meaning of sacrifice by creating a 'grave' for it saying 'Here lies Iron Man, Avenger'; he had earlier said that the armour's lack of understanding about sacrifice would stop it from ever being a true hero.

The armor was subsequently recovered by a cult, called the Sons of Yinsen, that worshipped Iron Man's mentor, Ho Yinsen, with the intent of implanting Yinsen's brain into the suit. This was apparently accomplished, but then Ultron and Antigone struck. Ultron affixed his head to the armor and took control of it, battling Iron Man with the aid of the cult, who he had transformed using Tony Stark's SKIN technology. Ultron and Antigone subsequently vanished in an explosion, but reappeared later in a hospital; it was revealed Antigone's synthezoid-like body was now occupied by Jocasta's mind, and she ended up leaving on her own with Ultron's deactivated head.

Female Ultron

Ms. Marvel found herself leading her team of Avengers into battle against the Mole Man and his monsters. Distraught over the destruction of his subterranean kingdom, the Mole Man once again declares war on the surface world. When the fighting subsides, the Mole Man learns that the surface world is not responsible for the destruction. ^[25]

During this exchange, Tony Stark's Iron Man armor unexpectedly begins a metamorphosis, the end result being a new being all together. This new being is a naked woman of considerable power as she is able to lay waste to the surrounding horde of monsters as well as incapacitate both Ares and the Sentry. Fearful, Ms. Marvel orders a hasty retreat, but Wasp goes against orders and begins to talk with the woman, whom bears a striking, reflection-like resemblance to Janet: only to discover that her doppelgänger is a new version of Ultron. Ms. Marvel orders the Avengers to make a full retreat, however the Sentry stays behind to make sure they make it out in one piece. In the ensuing battle, the fleshy tone to the female Ultron's skin begins to disappear, and her entire body takes on a completely metallic sheen.

Ultron then takes over and crashes a S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier, which was saved at the last second by the Sentry (along with Ms. Marvel and Wonder Man) which gave Ultron the chance to escape. She then broadcast a message into every electronic device on Earth, stating that the world would soon be destroyed by her hand, and not to worry because there was no way to stop it. Upon realization that Ultron was utilizing Tony Stark's weather changing satellites, which, according to the Starktech 9^{[clarification needed]}, were only in stage two of production, Wonder Man and Sentry flew into space and destroyed them. At which time Ultron put into action 'Plan B' of her plan, which thus far seems to consist of killing Sentry's wife. The Avengers have also noted that, so far, Ultron's plans are simply variations on plans that have been previously used by other villains. With time running out, as the Sentry and Ultron clash, the team decide to deliver a virus into Ultron's system, using Ares--whom Ultron has never encountered before--as the point man for the subsequent attack. Ultron is defeated, and Iron Man returned to normal, but an image of Ultron's head is later seen on Henry Pym's computer screen.

Phalanx

One of Ultron's bodies is the leader of the extraterrestrial Phalanx^[26] and has overseen their development into a new form, and their conquest of Kree space. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have stated Ultron became the sympathetic father figure the Phalanx always yearned for, and that his plans will include Earth. Ultron, with aid from the High Evolutionary, is able to take over Adam Warlock's body, as a means to achieve "true techno-organic perfection".^[27] In doing so, he hopes to rid himself of his technological-based weaknesses and gain Warlock's formidable array of cosmic energy derived powers, and shatter Quasar's energy construct.^[28] His biomechanical perfection is however shortlived: forced to abandon Warlock's body by the technarchy Warlock's mutant strain of transmode virus, he's frozen in a bigger, stronger version of his metallic body by the Wraith's exolons and shattered by Quasar's sword. His "death" freezes off the Phalanx, allowing for the Technarch Warlock and Wraith to purge the infected from the transmode virus.^[29]

Powers and abilities

Ultron's abilities vary with each redesign, but typically include enhanced strength; flight, and various offensive weapons such as concussion blasters and an "encephalo-ray", which places victims into a deathlike coma. The latter ray also allows Ultron to mesmerize and mind-control his victims, or implant subliminal hypnotic commands within their minds to be enacted at a later time.

Ultron's outer armour is unusual in that it is usually composed primarily of adamantium, which is to date almost completely impervious to damage. Most Ultron units are powered by a small internal nuclear furnace, and incorporate a "program transmitter" which can beam part or all of Ultron's programming into other computers or alternate robotic bodies. Ultron can also control other machines remotely. A recent Ultron model developed hive-mind technology, allowing him to animate and control hundreds of alternate Ultron bodies simultaneously. Ultron also uses an internal molecular rearranger that renders the adamantium components of his workings more malleable, and the ability to remodel his physical form. What circuitry Ultron has is carefull shielded to protect from damage, although the Avenger the Scarlet Witch has been shown to be capable of causing malfunctions with her hex power. ^[30]

Other versions

Marvel Adventures

In the Marvel Adventures universe, Ultron is a highly-intelligent "neural network" that controls a section of the United States defence forces. In Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #1, Ultron is revealed as a long-term replacement for costumed heroes. It goes rogue, and attempts to destroy all human life. In issue #4, it teams up with other villains and attempts to destroy them.^[31]

MC2

Avengers Next features an upgraded version of Ultron named Ultron Extreme. ^[32]

Ultimate Ultron

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Ultron has been shown as a robot designed to be an expendable super soldier. It was created by Hank Pym along with a partner robot called Vision II. ^[33] Ultron robots later reappear as butlers to the Ultimates ^[34]

In other media

Television

Ultron appears in The Avengers: United They Stand animated series, voiced by John Stocker.

Film

Ultron is the main villain in the direct to video animated film Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, voiced by Tom Kane. In the film, Tony Stark, and not Henry Pym, is his creator.

Video games

• Ultron appears in Captain America and the Avengers.
• Ultron appears as a boss in the RPG video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by James Horan.

References