Ultron Retrospective Part 3: Armageddon
by Robert Clough
Up until this point, Ultron hadn't really proved himself
as the sort of
all-powerful menace that could take on the world by
himself. He seemed
to have more of a taste for behind-the-scenes manipulation,
deathtraps,
and the use of robot flunkies than actually taking on the heroes
directly. And this seemed to be with good reason: after all
he was
defeated by one mere explosion in his first appearance.
This was all
about to change forever...
Avengers #66 (1969)
"Betrayal"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Barry Smith
Inker: Syd Shores
Letterer: Artie Simek
Editor: Stan Lee
The issue opens with the Avengers in a lab on the SHIELD
heli-carrier,
each taking a crack at a new super-metal called Adamantium that
had just been
created. Thor is barely able to dent it, Iron Man's
repulsors didn't leave a
scratch, and Goliath almost breaks his hand when he hits
it. Its creator,
Dr. Myron MacLain, had invited the Avengers (including the
now-reservist
Thor and Iron Man) to test just how strong the metal was.
While he was
pleased at well it withstood the power of the Avengers, he and
everyone
else was nervous at the thought of the alloy falling into the
wrong
hands, since, as Iron Man put it, "Any nation possessing
this new metal
will be--unbeatable!" The metal could not be altered
in any way except
with the use of the Molecular Rearranger; its current form was in
a
harmless cylinder.
Meanwhile, the Vision had been acting a bit
strangely. He was quiet
during the entire testing period, and then mysteriously left the
heli-carrier. The Vizh had felt as though he was being
attacked by
someone else's will, and he drifted back to earth, to the grave
of Simon
Williams. After some confusion, he suddenly declared that
he knew what
he had to do.
Back at the Mansion, Hank Pym was brooding over the
Vision's
disappearance, wondering if the team had acted too quickly in
admitting
him as an Avenger. At the same time, Iron Man is nearly
killed in a
training sequence gone awry--it seems someone had tampered with
the
training computer.
The Vision made his way back to the heli-carrier,
performing his
solidifying-in-someone trick to knock out a guard. Vizh
then declares
that he was going to steal the cylinder of adamantium, and
proceeds to
open the airlock to (presumably) kill the guard.
Hank Pym lets the rest of the team know about his
reservations about
Vizh, notifying them that someone who looked like the Vision had
stolen
the adamantium! Iron Man hears a muffled scream from
upstairs, and the
team rushes up to find the Wasp stunned after the Vision had
attacked
her. Vizh suddenly appears and battles the team, keeping
them
off-balance. Thor suddenly realizes that Vizh is making no
move to
escape, but rather seems to be delaying them for something.
The Vision
admits as much, saying that he was delaying them while the
Avengers'
computers finished their job. And the result of that job
came crashing
through the floor, the now-indestructible Ultron-6!
Comments: In a word: wow. Smith's design sense was
remarkable. In
particular, he seemed to really dig it when Vizh used his
solidifying
inside of others power, depicting it as extremely ghostly and
terrifying. Much of the art was very trippy, and his
influence from
Steranko was unmistakable. The writing was crisp, with
Thomas doing a
better-than-usual job at dialogue. I have a problem with
one aspect of
the story, but I'll get to that later.
Avengers #67 (1969)
"We Stand At...Armageddon!"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Barry Smith
Inker: George Klein
Letterer: Artie Simek
Editor: Stan Lee
Ultron, in his new body constructed of Adamantium, starts
kicking
Avengers butt all over their mansion. Instead of legs, he
now has "some
kinda jet-propelled gizmo", to quote Goliath. Thor
whacks him with
Mjolnir, but the resultant shockwave knocks him and Goliath out
cold.
Meanwhile, the Vision wandered off in a daze, trying to
figure out why
he had revived Ultron. He suddenly realized that Ultron
must have
hypnotized him when he was created, to revive him if he was ever
destroyed, when the time was right. He now wants to help
destroy Ultron,
but isn't sure how.
Yellowjacket suddenly jumps on Ultron, trying to
disconnect the
electrodes on his skull, but the attempt fails. Ultron then
divebombs
him, Iron Man and the Wasp, and they barely get out of the
way. Iron Man
grapples with him, but with his armor damaged, he barely lasts a
second.
Ultron then decides that he's bored fighting the Avengers,
wanting to go
on to his real mission, and so he leaves. The Vision,
unseen by anyone,
follows. The Avengers gather themselves up and try to
decide what to do
next. They suspect that the Vision wasn't quite himself
when he helped Ultron.
The Vision tracks down Ultron at his original lair, as
SHIELD moves in
as well, tracking the Adamantium. However, only the
Avengers know that
Ultron has been reborn. The Vision spies on Ultron in his
lab, learning
that Ultron was going to destroy New York in a nuclear explosion
by
activating all of his nuclear devices. Ultron knew that in
his new body,
he'd survive. Vizh decides to confront Ultron as the
Avengers enter the
lab. He holds his own for awhile, striking at
diamond-hardness and
dematerializing inbetween. Ultron pulls out his trump-card:
his new
ability to tranform himself into "sheer ionic force"
for an instant,
which knocks the Vision out. Ultron zips away to complete
his plan.
The SHIELD agents storm in, and zap the Vision before he
has a chance
to explain the danger at hand. Yellowjacket suddenly
understands what's
happening, and informs the team that Ultron is one step away from
destroying the city!
Comments: The art in this issue isn't quite as interesting
as in #66,
but Smith does a great job detailing the fight scenes, and
depicting how
powerful Ultron had become. Roy does a great job in
heightening the
tension and depicting the power-madness of Ultron. The
highlight in this
issue and the next is the characterization of Henry Pym,
Yellowjacket.
For the first time in his career, he really takes over the
leadership of
the team, bravely attacks Ultron with a well-conceived plan, and
figures
out Ultron's own plan. Perhaps he was driven by the guilt
that Ultron
was his own creation, but Hank was no bit-player in these issues.
Avengers #68 (1969)
"...And We Battle For The Earth!"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema
Inker: Sam Grainger
Leterer: Sam Rosen
Editor: Stan Lee
Ultron pulls the switch that would destroy New York in a
nuclear
firestorm, but...nothing happens! Ultron is seriously
annoyed and holds
the Avengers responsible for spoiling his fun. Suddenly,
the Avengers
burst in and attack. Ultron is unaffected, and pulls his
"sheer ionic
force" trick again, stunning the team. He then leaves.
The Vision pops up, explaining that he had wrecked
Ultron's machines
that would have destroyed the city, and promptly collapses.
SHIELD
allows the Avengers to keep him in custody, and the team promptly
zips
back to the Mansion in an effort to revive Vizh.
The Avengers ask him if Ultron has any weakness, and while
he's too
weak to answer, YJ uses a machine to probe his mind,
revealing...the
Molecular Rearranger! The team immediately contacts Dr.
MacLain, who
informs them that the MR had been stolen along with the
Adamantium;
obviously, Ultron had used it in the construction of his
body. YJ then
has a new plan. He calls up the Black Panther (who was away
in Africa)
and asks for a hunk of Vibranium. YJ then calls Dr. MacLain
for the
second part of his plan...
Ultron is in his lab, where he hears that MacLain will be
speaking at
the UN to discuss some new menace. Ultron realizes that
it's a trap, but
decides to go anyway, figuring that there was no way he could be
harmed.
Furthermore, he decides to kidnap Dr. MacLain and force him to
help him
build an army of robots.
MacLain starts speaking as the Avengers and SHIELD show up
to guard him.
Ultron tunnels up through the floor, this time in yet another
body. He
declares his evolution to be beyond any mere number, declaring
himself to
be the Ultimate Ultron. He blows away some SHIELD agents,
and shrugs off
Mjolnir. Goliath attempts to slam him into the floor, but
Ultron gets up
and knocks him through a wall. He grabs MacLain and tells
the Avengers
to back off or else. He then uses a mind drain device to
rob MacLain of
his knowledge of Adamantium. Just as it seems that Ultron
is about to
achieve victory, something in MacLain's thoughts that he's
absorbed
starts to drive him crazy, to the point where his body starts
warping out
of shape. Realizing that he was about to die, Ultron plans
to release
all of his energy, which would destroy the city. Thor uses
the
Vibranium, crafted into a dome, to cover him up, and the metal
absorbs
the blast.
The Wasp rushes over to MacLain, and pulls off his
face! It in fact
was a mask, and reveals the face of Hank Pym! Pym's plan
involved
pretending to be MacLain, and having the Wasp hypnotize him into
think he
was, but with one message filling his subconscious, a phrase that
Hank
had figured would drive Ultron insane. The phrase?
"Thou shalt not
kill."
Comments: Sal Buscema is no Barry Smith, but he did an incredible
job on
this issue, one of the best of his career. The script was
once again
very good, and the suspense in this issue was palpable.
Ultron had
become so powerful and full of himself, that he started rushing
into
situations, and his overconfidence gave the Avengers a shot at
defeating
him. Again, it was all Hank Pym, all the time: he came up
with the plan
for defeating Ultron, and took the risky choice of impersonating
MacLain,
knowing that Ultron could kill him at any time. Thor is
also at his best
here, taking charge of every battle, and managing to contain
Ultron's
energy at the end. It would be a long time before Ultron
would trouble
the Avengers again, but I'll leave that for part 4.
--Rob Clough
"It is amazing--incredible!"
"Don't make such a fuss fellas--it's just something I threw
on!"
--A UN diplomat upon seeing the Avengers enter, and the Wasp's
reply.