Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel to the biggest Superhero team-up, Avengers (2012) has finally made its world-wide release today. With fans across Asia and Europe being lucky enough to witness ‘The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ a week prior to the US markets, the tent-pole has already raked in a $201.2 million across 44 international markets and analysts believe Age of Ultron could venture into the James Cameron’s territory, toppling Avatar(2012) as the highest grossing movie of all times.
Flaunting our upper hand here, we at AnimationXpress.com have reviewed the Age of Ultron and our verdict stands firm for the sequel that keeps you engrossingly hooked. Trickling similar ingredients from the first, Avengers: Age of Ultron gives you the complete package of all that you’ve been wanting for. From Tony Stark’s flamboyance to Captain America’s super fights to the Hulk smashing around, it’s all in there. However amidst all the hype and fever, comic fans could be left a little disappointed for Marvel didn’t quite stand true to the comics and close all of the loose-ends here. Also fans and comic buffs alike would have enjoyed a little bit more of some of the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that only appeared in a blink and miss sequence.
So here’s where we’ve listed 10 things that will leave you asking for more from Avengers: Age of Ultron. Hopefully the folks at Marvel and Disney do catch up on these and fill our quota of the superhero bonanza in their upcoming super-releases. (Spoilers Alert!)
Ultron: After Loki’s failed attempt to rule the folks of Earth turned sour in Avengers (2012), the sequel deals with the in-house created evil – Ultron. Loki’s alien invaders created the Avengers, teaming up Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawk Eye, Black Widow and the Hulk. The sequel picks up a few years from the initial Assemble and in the bid to create a suit of armour around the world, global peace-keeper Tony Stark messes up with alien technology and coupling it with his grey cells, creates an artificial intelligence program – Ultron. Things go south and James Spader’s Ultron focuses now only on the extinction of the human race. Time for Avengers Assemble!
Joss Whedon managed a credible job depicting the cinematic version of the Ultron while staying true to the comic strips. Ultron upgrades himself with a Vibranium based robotic body and portrays redesigning capacities along with energy projection, a perfect match for Iron Man’s weaponry suit of armour. However it is the origin story of Ultron that has been twisted on the screen. As per comic strips Ultron was first seen in 1968’s Avengers #55 and was created by the scientist Hank Pym aka Ant Man, the Avenger that has been delayed on the silver screen. Ant Man releases on 16 July, 2015 starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant Man and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.
The Maximoff Twins: Wanda and Pietro Maximoff popularly known as Scarlet Witch and Quick Silver made their on-screen Marvel debut in the end credit scene of Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014). Joss’s Age of Ultron gives the duo a fair share of screen time to display their enhanced abilities. However what we did miss here was a bit more of a background story. A little insight more than merely their vengeful motives against Tony Stark whose weapons made the two orphans early in their teens would have been more than welcome.
Comic fans would know better now, that Scarlet Witch and Quick Silver are fellow mutants from Marvel’s X-Men’s universe and are baddie Magneto’s kin (Not exactly orphans). Although we know that X-Men (owned by 20th Century Fox) and Avengers (Owned by Marvel Studios) cannot have cross-overs in the cinema space but Kevin Feige’s idea of bringing the mutants as enhanced and magical creatures into the Avengers’ space couldn’t do justice to the characters especially as one of them perishes in the finale battle.
The Vision: After voicing Iron Man’s co-pilot, JARVIS for the last seven years and in four mega films, we finally see Paul Bettany in flesh and blood as The Vision. True to the comics this time, the Vision is rightfully the brainchild of Ultron but the comics’ parallel stops there. Paul’s incarnation of the scarlet android, Vision is seeded by Ultron and the infinity stone but it is Dr. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark that finish the job here of course with a little electrifying help from Thor. The result is now the Vision being a good worthy Avenger who proves his worthiness by swinging Thor’s hammer around like it was his own.
Comics have a different story altogether where Ultron created the android Vision to trap the Avengers and synthesised him using the brain patterns of Wonder Man. However Vision is later convinced by the Avengers that the time lord Immortus used the power of the Forever Crystal to split the original Human Torch into two entities – one body remained the original Torch while Ultron rebuilt the other as the Vision. This was part of Ultron’s plan to nurture a relationship for the Scarlet Witch that would prevent her from having any children, as her power level meant that any offspring she might have could threaten the cosmic beings of the Marvel Universe.
(We do see Paul’s Vision save Wanda in the cinematic battle in Age of Ultron, but don’t get any thoughts just yet).
Ulysses Klaw: The Master of CGI Andy Serkis (Gollum, Ceaser, King Kong) makes a debut in the MCU as Black Panther’s arch enemy and a Vibranium smuggler Ulysses Klaw, an Easter Egg for the upcoming Marvel’s Black Panther starring Chadwick Boseman as the ruler of Wakanda. The initial Age of Ultron trailer did bring great curiosity to the table for Andy’s presence was highly anticipated as the next big antagonist in the MCU, but sadly we were left with a mere cameo that disappears in the action plot.
The comics reveal Klaw as a human physicist who has been transformed into solid sound, and who wears a sonic emitter on his right wrist as a prosthetic device (In Age of Ultron we do see Ultron slicing off the Vibranium dealer’s arm). As per Marvel Comics, Vibranium is the metal Captain’s Shield is made up of and is found in the fictional African city of Wakanda, the home town of Black Panther. With no mention of the new avenger here, Age of Ultron only deals with Ultron juicing up his robotic body with Vibranium and creating the Vision while proudly boasting his intelligence over the Avengers who could only create a Frisbee from the same metal for Cap!
Thanos and the Infinity Gems: Josh Brolin’s Thanos as Marvel’s cosmic super-villain has been garnering screen presence and curiosity as MCU has been progressing from Avengers (2012) to Guardians of The Galaxy (2014) and now the mid-credit scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron. The sequel does throw flashes into Thor’s vision on the power of the six Infinity Gems but what it fails to truly throw light upon is Thanos’s role in the big picture. Of the six Infinity Gems, MCU has shown us four as Blue (Avengers), Red (Thor 2), Purple (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Yellow (Age of Ultron). Each of the Infinity Gems holds certain powers as per the comics and the beholder of all possesses Infinite Power, by which we mean even destroying a Star in the cosmos (Guess we know where the upcoming Avengers – Infinite Wars are heading now!).
Thor’s mysterious Water of Sight: One of the unsolved questions Age of Ultron leaves us with is what exactly was the Water of Sight, the Australian heartthrob, Chris Hemsworth as Thor got immersed into?
One of the theories is that the Water of Sight could be inspired from the Well of Wyrd that has appeared a few times in Thor’s comics. The Well of Wyrd is a pool on Asgard whose waters have various magical properties, allowing the ability to see events from throughout space & time. The magical pool was first introduced in Thor Annual #11, the pool has been mentioned numerous times throughout the comic’s run, again as the “Well of Wyrd” in Thor #347, then later called the “Well of Life” in Thor #374. In Age of Ultron, as Thor dips himself into the magical waters we do see flashes of his vision including Thonos’ evil grin and a glimpse of the Infinite Gems, perhaps a story the next Thor: Ragnarok would throw light upon.
Falcon: Anthony Mackie as Captain America’s sidekick Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014) was applauded but sadly Age of Ultron doesn’t allow Mackie’s Falcon to spread his wings in the Avenger’s save-the-world business. While Comics have Falcon working with the Watchdog organisation S.H.I.E.L.D, also helping Captain America in his heroics, Age of Ultron could have used the Falcon’s help especially when Nick Fury’s flying fortress comes to the rescue in the finale.
However post the cinematic epic battle; we do see the Falcon joining the bandwagon of the New Avengers and hope for a meatier role for the bird in Captain America’s next Civil War that hits the theatres on 6 May 2016.
Nick Fury: Binding the Marvel Cinematic Universe together and literally teaming up the Avengers, Age of Ultron would have been incomplete without Samuel L. Jackson’s one-eyed Nick Fury showing up. From sharp punch-lines to stealthy action, Samuel’s Nick Fury has been a great contributor to the Avengers franchise. This time too, the spy sets the wheel in motion for the Avengers at the time when our heroes are left with nothing but their wits and will to defeat Ultron. While Nick Fury does pop up more than once in Age of Ultron, the tent-pole failed to throw in a bit of more details about Fury’s whereabouts and actions especially post S.H.I.E.L.D dissolving in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). A little more light onto more of his spy stuff could have lubricated the Avengers-Age of Ultron better in wheeling out the upcoming off-springs of Marvel’s Phase III.
Budding Romance between Hulk and Black Widow: One of the exciting angles Age of Ultron brought forth was the budding romance between Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Scarlet Johannson’s Black Widow. Ditching all the hunks around, the Russian spy, Widow settles in for a drink with the mildly-looking Bruce Banner and this drops a hint at where the two are heading. Sadly once again, Age of Ultron left us long faced with that arc not being converted amidst all the actions and distractions. Where in Avengers (2012), the Hulk’s rage couldn’t be subdued; the sequel has got the Avengers a solution – Black Widow’s lullaby apart from Tony Stark’s Veronica off course (Hulk vs Hulkbuster). With the Hulk dismissed into the waters of nowhere, the heartless S.H.I.E.L.D leaves Natasha Romanoff alone once again and leaves us only wondering how and when the two would unite.
Captain America and Iron Man: The upcoming Captain America: The Civil War has been in the news lately especially as the storyline picks up from Iron Man going against the Captain in an altogether Public fashion over a Superhero Registration Act. The brewing conflict has been keeping Marvel fans overly excited as even a little conflict between the two titans hints us towards the initiation of Civil War. But there again, Age of Ultron strictly focuses on the plot in hand and drops no clues for Civil War. However we do see the duo not confining to each other’s opinions more than once in the tent-pole. What’s still to be seen is to which side the other Avengers would take to, once the Civil War storyline kicks in and how Marvel would deliver us that exciting bonanza!
Having voiced all of this, Avengers: Age of Ultron created by the best of minds coupled with spectacular visual effects and meaty-action sequences lives up (if not exceeds) to the expectations of fans and critics alike. A must watch!