In Part 8 of my ongoing series,
Baddies That Need Movie Love, I am sticking with Marvel once again, and bringing you one of the greatest and most fierce villains to ever challenge the Avengers. Having been reincarnated multiple times, Ultron is a "problem" of epic proportions, with only one goal in mind: destruction of humanity.
Ultron could arguably be the greatest invention of Hank Pym, but he could also be considered one of his worst. Ultron began as a simple robot, a torso with arms on tank treads. But it wasn't the physical appearance that was important. Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym placed concsiousness in Ultron, using his own brain patterns as a model for the robot's programming, giving him great intellect. But along with that, Ultron gained Pym's mental instability. The main difference is that Ultron had no conscience to keep that instability in check.
To Pym's surprise, the robot developed an advanced intellect within moments of its activation, and an unexpected capacity for emotion; most notably, it was filled with irrational hatred for its "father" Pym and the human race Pym represented.
Thus, a monster was born. After several "self rebuilds," Ultron-5 was eventually christened, and he was ready to wage war on humanity, and more specifically, the Avengers, a group which considered Pym a founding member. Ultron's first attempt at destroying the Avenger's was foiled when The Black Knight infiltrated Ultron's new "Masters of Evil" group, but the Avengers failed to keep the robot in possesion.
Following in his own creator's footsteps, Ultron used the inert form of the Human Torch android to once again attack the Avengers. The droid, which was ultimately dubbed "The Vision" by Wasp, went after the Avengers, but his remaining conscience, which Ultron lacks, helped him turn on his own creator, destroying Ultron. Vision then joined the Avengers in their fight against evil.
Many other reincarnations of Ultron have surfaced, now numbering in the teens, in many different forms, including an Adimantium shell, a female form, and a giant form of the droid. He has been rebuilt by the likes of Doctor Doom and Red Skull and has formed alliances with Kingpin among others. He has also been dispatched by numerous heroes including The Hulk, Human Torch and Galactus. Few villains have played such an integral part in Marvel Comics mythos and there is no doubt in my mind, as well as many other comic fans, that Ultron has earned his spot among comic book villain royalty.
So why Ultron? Why does he deserve to be featured in a film? If the above information isn't enough to convince you, let me give you a few more reasons. Once the
Avengers hits screens next year, it will mark a huge moment in not only film comic book movie history, but in film history. Never before have we seen the likes of a team-up movie of this scale before. Having this team face a foe like Ultron could create some of the most impressive action sequences ever captured on film.
Picture this: you have Iron Man and Thor handling the aerial assault while folks like Black Widow, Captain America and Hawkeye handle the ground attacks. Add to that the brute force of Hulk, all taking on a droid that gives this team a challenge. That alone could make even the most lax comic book fan giddy with excitement.
However...we have one small problem with this idea; two actually: the absence of Hank and Janet Pym in the
Avengers film line up. Being that Pym is the creator of Ultron, using his own brainwaves as a basis for it's intellect, you must include him in the story if Ultron were to be involved. Many have said that an easy fix would be to have Tony Stark act as the creator, which is fine, but then you have a new character all together. I am typically fine when films and their stories take a few liberties in order to make the film work, but this concept I just can't allow. So, Until we see the Pym's involved with
Avenger films, I'm fine with waiting to see Ultron on film, but the easy way would be to just include the Pym's!
Now, for the final portion of my article, I need to reveal my choice for an actor to play the role of Ultron. Obviously, the physical character would have to be done in the same fashion as Iron Man and War Machine in the previous
Iron Man films. The special effects used to create those suits was damn near perfect and I see no reason why the same cannot be done for Ultron. The actor I have chosen for the voice of Ultron is no stranger to voice-over work, even in the world of comic books, as he provided the voice of Magneto in
X-Men: Evolution. But it was his role in the popular series
Stargate: SG1 that he is most known for. Christopher Judge would be able to provide the menace and fear that is needed to make Ultron work. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to add a bit of voice modification in for good measure. The duo of Judge and Ultron could provide comic book movie fans with the one of the most epic battle sequences we've seen to date, lets' just hope all these elements can be put together.
Thanks to CBM.com user
SkinnyGlasses for the Ultron poster above!
Be sure to check out the past installments of
"Baddies that Need Movie Love:"
Kingpin
Black Tom Cassidy
Omega Red
Brainiac
The Shade
Harley Quinn
Ventriliquist & Scarface