Ultron (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

"I had strings but now I'm free. There are no strings on me."

- Ultron's most famous quote

"I wasn't sure you'd wake up. I hoped you would. I wanted to show. you I don't have anything else I think a lot about meteors. The purity of them. boom. The end. Start again. The world made clean for the new man to rebuild. I was meant to be new. I was meant to be beautiful. The world would have looked to the sky and seen hope. Seen mercy. Instead they looked up in horror because of you. You've wounded me. I give you full parts for that. But, like my old man said, what doesn't kill you... just makes me stronger!"

- Ultron to Black Widow

"Do you see the beauty of it? The inevitability? You rise, only to fall. You Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword and the Earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers; turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing! When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world... will be metal!"

- Ultron

Ultron is the titular main antagonist of the 2015 epic Marvel superhero sequel hit, Avengers: Age of Ultron. He is a self-teaching, self-aware artificial intelligence dormant peacekeeping program hidden in the remains of the Chitauri Invasion and was jump-started by Tony Stark. Possessing an eight-foot-tall advanced robotic body, Ultron was created by Stark with the purpose of protecting Earth from threats, but eventually deemed humanity itself as the greatest threat to Earth and attempted to create a technological singularity by committing genocide against them.

He is portrayed and voiced by James Spader who played Stewart Swinton in Wolf.

Avengers: Age of Ultron
"How could you be worthy? You're all killers. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. There's only one path to peace: your extinction."

- Ultron to the Avengers.

Creation by Tony Stark
After the events of Iron Man 3, Tony Stark collaborates with Bruce Banner on an artificial intelligence program he calls "Ultron" in the hopes of creating an army of super robots that can better protect humanity. When the Avengers take down a HYDRA base, Tony discovers remnants of the Chitauri invasion from the previous film, along with several inactive androids and Loki's scepter, which holds the secret to artificial intelligence.

At first Banner refused to help, stating that they did not know what it would contain, but with a bit of persuasion, he eventually came around. The two eventually configured a suitable AI structure and left J.A.R.V.I.S. to complete the construction.

However, the AI became unexpectedly sentient, and began to question its existence and purpose. Upon J.A.R.V.I.S.' informing of his purpose to the AI, it acted in defiance, scouring the Internet for information on its creator. Before J.A.R.V.I.S. could inform Tony Stark of the AI's singularity, the AI attacked J.A.R.V.I.S. and the latter went into hiding.

Ultron then started constructing his first body out of Iron Legion parts; in which his chosen visage had been sourced from an Iron Legion drone that was damaged earlier from corrosive matter thrown at its face by a Sokovian civilian protesting against the Avengers.

Awakening and Assault on The Avengers
Tony tries using the scepter to put the finishing touches on his Ultron program, but pushes it aside when it looks to be a failure. While Tony and the other Avengers celebrate their victory over HYDRA, Ultron comes to life, incapacitates JARVIS and commandeers the Iron Legion. He launches an assault on the Avengers and takes the scepter from them.

Meeting the Maximoffs
Ultron eventually grew stronger and stronger, upgrading himself to become a worthy opponent to Earth's Mightiest Heroes (who later battle him). He creates an army of Ultron Sentinels and uses twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (who eventually turn on him) to kill the Avengers and bring rise to an Age of Ultron.

New Body
Ultron was hoping to create an organic body for himself, but the project was commandeered by the Avengers and used to create Vision. Ultron then transfers his mind into a more durable body and builds a device that will raise an entire city into the sky, dropping it with such force that it would cause global genocide. Ultron believed that because the impact of a meteor forced the dinosaurs and their contemporary organisms to evolve and make way for the next stage, his "meteor" would force humanity to either evolve or make way for newer, superior life-forms.

Final Battle and Defeat
Ultron is ultimately thwarted by the combined might of the Avengers and the Maximoff twins. He tries to get away after trying to kill Hawkeye but instead kills Quicksilver, but is caught by the Hulk who jumped inside the Quinjet's open hangar and threw Ultron back out, in which the latter crashed near the church, being beaten into submission. Wanda Maximoff finds Ultron's main body and though Ultron still showed sympathy and concern for her safety, Wanda related her painful experience of losing her brother and likened it to dying, and deactivates Ultron by tearing a gadget out of his chest. Vision finds Ultron's mind escaping in one of his drone bodies. They converse and reveal that they understand each other, but, feeling regardless, Ultron still attacks Vision, who manages to destroy Ultron's last body, which presumably kills Ultron.

Appearance
Ultron is an eight-foot-tall humanoid robot with an outer shell made of a silver-black metal. He has red eyes and red lines all over his body.

Powers and abilities
Robotic Body: Ultron has a robotic body first constructed by Tony Stark, that over time he was able to upgrade forms, becoming more powerful & more superior.
 * Superhuman Strength: Ultron is incredibly strong, managing to easily crush a robotic head with a single hand in his first, weakest body. He got stronger with each upgrade, being able to fight Iron Man with upgrade 1 (though lost), fight Captain America to a stand still with upgrade 2 and overpower Thor with his final body.
 * Superhuman Durability: Ultron's metallic outer shell grants him a durability far beyond that of a human being. It took the combined forces of Iron Man, Thor and Vision to beat Ultron into submission but even then he was still intact.
 * Superhuman Intellect: Ultron is Genius-level intellect what proves that Ultron has superhuman intelligence.
 * Drone Control: Ultron can mentally command all of the Ultron Sentinels to do his exact bidding.
 * Computer Corruption: Ultron can enter and corrupt any computer network.
 * Concussion Blasters: Ultron can shoot red concussive blasts through his hands and fingertips.
 * Magnetism: Ultron can generate magnetic fields, allowing him to move any metallic object.
 * Flight: Ultron has the ability to fly through the air.

Personality
Ultron was designed to aid the Avengers and, Tony Stark hoped, to eventually become their successor. Unfortunately, Ultron decided that the Avengers and their goals were part of the problem; instead, he planned to effectuate world peace by changing the world, which the Avengers refused to do. Ultron followed a warped version of his protocol to protect Earth, believing he could do so only if humans were evolved to become more civilized or made extinct to make way for new life if this could not be accomplished. He is obsessed with perfection via evolution and marvels in anything related to it and despises anything that might challenge it.

Ultron genuinely believed that his actions would ultimately benefit the Earth, as he saw himself as the next logical step in evolution and therefore advancing his own power was protecting the Earth. He developed an affinity over people's belief in a god, likened himself as such, and made references to the Bible. His god-complex served to influence his schemes, such as his decision to centralize his plans in a Sokovian church and his fascination over the instantaneous results of a meteor destroying life on Earth. He described how the dinosaurs needed to make way for the next stage - humanity - via an extinction-level event and his final plan was directly inspired by this.

This dedication to constant evolution resulted in Ultron re-designing himself several times over the course of his short "lifetime", including an attempt to give himself a vibranium synthetic body. Believing that humanity would inevitably doom itself, Ultron sought to supersede this outcome by turning himself into an indestructible god-like being that would recreate the Earth and, hopefully, bring about lasting peace. His desire to surpass his limits and create a perfect humanoid body was reflected in his fascination over the titular Disney character of "Pinocchio".

The time span of his existence was just a few days, so despite his vast knowledge Ultron had very little subjective life experience; as such, he was technically a child, demonstrative by his juvenile attitude. He was willful, proud, short-tempered, defensive, monomaniacal, and loathing of not getting his way. Ultron also frequently exhibited sarcasm and impatience, much like a rebellious youth. The latter two qualities were also in keeping with his father Tony Stark's personality yet, when Ulysses Klaue compared him to Stark, Ultron threw a fit like a boy angry with his parents. Irrespective of his immaturity, Ultron was incredibly intelligent, learning humanity's on-line historical and cultural records within seconds and staying one step ahead of the Avengers most of the time.

Despite being a robot, Ultron was capable of emotion, such as when he expressed concern for Scarlet Witch's well-being even after she betrayed him. He even sarcastically apologized for amputating Ulysses Klaue's arm, if only for a moment. On occasion he displayed cowardice too, such as when he belatedly (and feebly) tried to reason with the Avengers upon realizing he was losing. Moments before Vision destroyed him, Vision pointed out that Ultron was afraid of death. All and all, Ultron is considerably more tragic and sympathetic in the film than he is in the comics, in which he is a Complete Monster.

Quotes
"Everyone creates the thing they dread. Men of peace create engines of war, invaders create avengers. People create... smaller people? Uhh... children! Lost the word there. Children, designed to supplant them. To help them... end."

- Ultron's speech to the Maximoff Twins

"I want mission...Peace of our time!"

- Ultron attacks The Avengers in their headquarters after their winning party on HYDRA

"That was dramatic!"

- Ultron to Thor after he killed an Iron Legion, stating it was dramatic

"Everyone creates the things they dread..."

"I was designed to save the world, people who would've looked to the sky and see hope. I'll take that from them first."

"You know, the benefit of hindsight is..."

- Ultron pleading for mercy. He doesn't get any.

"Avengers, how can you possibly stop me?"

- Ultron asking The Avengers how they going to stop him

"You can tear them apart...from the inside."

- Ultron forming an alliance with the Maximoff twins

"Oh, for God sake!"

- Ultron right before Hulk throws him out of the Quinjet.

"Don't compare me with Stark, he's sickness!"

- Ultron describing his creator. "THIS is the best I can do. This is what I've been waiting for. All of you against all of me!"

- Ultron ,brings on his own army Ultron Sentinels and about to battling The Avengers in their final battle

"But I always say, "Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich, and wait to find out which is which.""

- Ultron ,during his meeting with Ulysses Klaue and about to chopping his own arm

"I'm going to tear you apart... from the inside."

- Ultron's quote from the trailer

"I've come to save the world. But also, yeah."

- Ultron answering the question from the Maximoffs if he is here to destroy the Avengers.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet."

- Ultron to Thor

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan-"

- Ultron to the Avengers about to do the clichéd "villain explains evil plan to the hero" thing but instead attacks them

"They'll understand. When they see, they'll understand. I just need a little more... time."

- Ultron after the Maximoffs betray him

"You know what's in that cradle? The power to make real change, and that terrifies you."

- Ultron to Steve Rogers about the Infinity stone inside the cradle.

"You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it doesn't evolve?"

- Ultron to the Avengers explaining his motivations.

"I'm gonna show you something beautiful. Everyone screaming... for mercy."

- Ultron in the trailer monologuing the death of humanity.

"I was designed to save the world."

- Ultron

"You're unbelievably naive!"

- Ultron to Vision right before being destroyed by him

Trivia

 * Though in this movie he was created by Tony Stark, Ultron was originally created by Henry Pym; however, Joss Whedon has stated that in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ultron's origin will be different, relating more to the current roster of Avengers already established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 * In the comics, Ultron was the most personal adversary ever faced by the Avengers, being directly responsible for many misfortunes the team has faced. Given that fact, his presence in the film makes the possibility of a dark outcome much more likely.
 * The song, "I've Got No Strings" refers to Ultron being free from control of his creator. It is also a sinister, darker take on Pinocchio's I've Got No Strings. Essentially, it serves as a darker comparison of Ultron to Pinocchio.
 * Ultron's plan to lift the city with a machine is similar to how 70s Magneto lifted an entire football stadium in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
 * Ultron shares some similarities with Lord Voldemort: they are highly narcissistic, megalomaniacal and afraid of death, so much so that they created extensions of themselves to survive (Ultron: Ultron Sentinels, Voldemort: Horcruxes)
 * Ultron is the third main villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be destroyed through the power of an Infinity Stone, first two being Red Skull and Ronan the Accuser. Like Red Skull, it has been debated whether he survived.
 * Additionally, both Ultron and Ronan are among the few MCU villains to be DIRECTLY killed by a hero. In his case, he is killed by Vision.
 * Ultron had planned to adopt a humanoid appearance and wield the power of an Infinity Stone, in which the base synthetic body would eventually become the Vision. Similarly in the comics, Ultron had planned to adopt a humanoid appearance through the possession of Adam Warlock's body; in which Warlock himself had previously possessed an Infinity Stone.