Did Somebody Say Ultron?

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Age of Ultron, Avengers, Bride of Ultron, Ultron

Ultron. Rockin’ Hard Since 1969. Barry Windsor-Smith and Syd Shores artwork from Avengers #66.

Thank you, Paul, for reminding us about Age of Ultron. Ultron has been a favorite character of ours for about as long as we’ve been able to read. We got lucky and cut our teeth on what may be the all-time Ultron classics of the late 60s and 70s, and our minds have been warped ever since. Here is a handy guide to the Ultron stories in our archives that blew our minds as kids and have stood the test of time.

Avengers #66 (1969, first appearance of Ultron & adamantium, part 1 of 3)
Avengers #135 (1975, origin of Vision)
Avengers #161 (1977, Bride of Ultron Part 1)
Avengers #162 (1977, Bride of Ultron, Part 2)

Longbox Graveyard dicusses 1977’s Bride of Ultron from Avengers #161-162 at Stash My Comics.

Avengers 162: Bride of Ultron!

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Avengers, Bride of Ultron, George Perez, Jim Shooter, Jocasta, Ultron

George Perez and author Jim Shooter wrap up the “Bride of Ultron” two-part Avengers story in style. You’ll witness the first appearance of Jocasta here. Jocasta played a role as a minor supporting character for a time, without being inducted into the Avengers. She starred more recently in The Initiative and Mighty Avengers, and the Heroic Age.

Collector’s Guide: From Avengers #162. Story begins in Avengers #161. Reprinted in Avengers Visionaries: George Perez

Avengers 161: Beware the Ant Man!

Tags

Ant Man, Avengers, Bride of Ultron, George Perez, Jim Shooter, Ultron

Jim Shooter’s writing and the art of George Perez brought us one of the coolest Avengers stories of the 1970s: the two-part “Bride of Ultron” that begins here in Avengers #161. A lot of butt gets kicked in this dynamic tale. Ant Man hands out a beatdown to the whole team. The Scarlet Witch shows us why we should be very, very afraid of her. And, the Wasp puts on what may be her sexiest outfit of all time.

Collector’s Guide: From Avengers #161. Concluded in Avengers #162. Reprinted in Avengers Visionaries: George Perez

Avengers 66: The First Appearance of Adamantium!

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adamantium, adamantium skeleton, Avengers, Barry Smith, Barry Windsor Smith, Roy Thomas, Ultron, Ultron-6, Vision

Roy Thomas created the metal Adamantium in 1969 in Avengers #66, the first of a trilogy starring the world’s most evil robot: Ultron! Barry Windsor Smith lays down visually stunning artwork inspired by his predecessors Jack Kirby and John Buscema. Smith returned to adamantium in Wolverine stories Wounded Wolf and Weapon X.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Avengers #66
– Reprinted in Marvel Super Action #27
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers #7
– Reprinted in Essential Avengers TPB #3

This three-parter may well be our favorite classic Avengers story. Once upon a time, we had only read the conclusion in the reprint Marvel Super Action #29. A big Thank You to @GInvestor888 and @Horace_Austin for opening the doors of our memory, and for reminding us on Twitter this first part of the trilogy introduced adamantium to the Marvel Universe!

I Hope We Didn’t Damage This Crude Robot I’ve Been Working On!

Tags

Avengers, moondragon, origin, origin of the vision, origin of ultron, Steve Englehart, The Torch is Passed, Ultron, Ultron-5, Vision

Writer Steve Englehart delves into the twisted origin of The Vision in Avengers #135. Along the way, we get the origin of Hank Pym’s problematic robot creation, Ultron-5! We see how evil Ultron used the android body of the original Human Torch to build the Vision. And, we see what a suck-tastic design Ultron originally had!

In fact, Steve gets so jazzed about telling origins of Avengers that he even throws in a three-page origin of Moondragon. What glorious Origin Overkill! With a splash page of Thanos, Moondragon’s origin comes from Jim Starlin’s Captain Marvel. Jim Starlin contributed the cover for this issue, too!

Collector’s Guide: From Avengers #135; Marvel, 1975. Reprinted in Essential Avengers TPB #6.