Ultron Retrospective part 9: Things ARE what they seem
by Robert Clough

  This will be a brief review, because Ultron's appearance in these
issues is something of a side issue.  But here goes:

The Thing #21 (March 1985)
"Revelations!"
Scripter: John Byrne
Penciler: Ron Wilson
Inker: Joe Sinnott
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Mike Carlin
EIC: Jim Shooter

  Ben Grimm decided to stick around on "Battleworld", where the Secret
Wars took place.  (One sentence synopsis: mysterious creature from
"Beyond" kidnaps earth heroes and villains and makes them slug it in
order to fulfill their desires.)  He stays because he finds that he can
change back and forth from the Thing to Ben Grimm.  One curious feature
of the planet was that it had a sort of "wish energy" embued in it, so
that the world would change according to subconscious desires. So Ben
wanders around, has adventures, picks up a girlfriend, etc.  He meets a
shadowy feature who appears to be himself who is manipulating a lot of
unpleasantness going on.  All well and good, but what does this have to
do with Ultron?
  Earlier in the series, Ben agrees to help this small green woman (named
Llrrllllnnllyyrrl...really!) find her dowry, which had been captured by
these sort of sky-raiders.  He defeats them and makes them promise to give
her her dowry.  Issue after issue, they can't find it, until finally they do
....and it's the head of Ultron!  (The big U was one of the villains brought
to Battleworld) So in this issue, she takes his head, forces a group of
villagers to rebuild his body, and places his head upon it.  Ultron lives
again!  He faces his slave, who he reveals he reached out to mentally and
bent her to his will.  She asks for her reward, and he lets her have it:
instant disintegration!  He then starts babbling about conquest...

The Thing #22 (April 1985)
"To All Things An Ending"
Script: John Byrne
Breakdowns: Ron Wilson
Embellishing: Joe Sinnott
Lettering: John Morelli
Coloring: Bob Sharen
Editing: Mike Carlin
EIC: Jim Shooter

  The Thing is confronting some kind of other-self in the form of Ben
Grimm.  This other, evil self is apparently the side of the Thing who is
afraid to be Ben Grimm because he fears losing the love of Alicia
Masters. This other-Ben was created by Battleworld when Ben first decided
to stay, and has been trying to think of ways to kill him.  He found
Ultron's head, and put into motion the plans to re-create him.
  While this other-Ben and the Thing fought, Ultron was creating a huge
army of robots, tanks, etc, threatening to wipe out the planet and take
his act on the road: earth.  (Particularly amusing was him waving around
a flag with a picture of himself on it!  Oedipal complex, narcissism...
Freud would have had a field day!)
  Eventually, the Thing's girlfriend Tarianna kills the other-Ben.  Of
course when that happens, everything that other-Ben had thought of
(including Ultron) disappears.  Surveying the planet, Ben notices that
everything on it has disappeared...with the exception of Ultron's head. 
He grabs that teleports back to earth.
  This occurs in Fantastic Four #277.  He has the head tucked under his
arm when he visits Alicia Masters (who has now shacked up with Johnny
Storm... or at least a Skrull has [shudder])  There's an explosion, and
Ben drops the head, and it's seen again in this issue....


Comments:

Frankly, these issues have very little to do with Ultron or the
Avengers, but it was a necessary evil to deal with this stuff.  Ultron
next appears in the pages of West Coast Avengers #1.........

--Rob, undying