Ultron (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

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

- Ultron's most famous quote

"When the dust settles... the only thing living in this world will be metal!!!"

- Ultron

Ultron is the titular main antagonist of the Marvel superhero sequel, 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 inteligence.

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 will later battle him). He creates an army of Ultron Sentinels and uses twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (who will eventually turn on him) to bring rise to human extinction.

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 a force that it would wipe out humanity the same way a meteor wiped out the dinosaurs.

Final Battle and Death
Ultron is ultimately thwarted by the combined might of the Avengers and the Maximoff twins. He tries to get away, but is caught by the Hulk and beaten into submission. Wanda Maximoff finds Ultron's main body and deactivates it 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 Ultron still attacks Vision and is destroyed.

Powers
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), Captain 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
 * 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 protect the planet for the Avengers, but thinks opposite and attempts to wipe out the human race. Staying loyal to the comics, Ultron follows a warped version of his protocol to protect Earth, believing he can only do so if humans are extinct. He has an obsession with evolution and marvels in anything related to it, as well as despising anything that might challenge it.

Ultron's programming was created with emotional responses based on Tony Stark and is said to possess a god-complex. He is maniacal and employs the use of dark humor, as well as figures of speech such as describing people as "puppets tangled in strings" and that he is the only one without strings. He resents his creators and thinks people as killers and fools for not wanting to change the world but trying to control it.

Since the time span of his existence was a few days, Ultron was technically a child and as such he has an attitude very similar to one. He is willful, proud, short-tempered, defensive, monomaniacal and loathes not getting his way. When compared to Stark, Ultron threw a fit the same way children do when they hate their parents. Despite being a robot, he is capable of emotion, as he expressed concern for Scarlet Witch's well being even after she had betrayed him. He even seemed shocked and remorseful for amputating Ulysses Klaue's arm. Ultron also frequently exhibits sarcasm and impatience, much like a rebellious teenager.

Despite this Ultron is incredibly smart, capable of learning all of Earth's history within seconds and staying one step ahead of the Avengers most of the time. He's also a bit of a coward, as he tried feebly reasoning with the Avengers upon realizing he couldn't beat any of them. Vision pointed out that Ultron was afraid of death, only moments before destroying him. Strangely, he is portrayed more tragic and sympathetic in the film than he is in the comics.

Quotes
"Everyone creates the things they dread..."

"I"m going to tear you apart. From the inside." "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

Trivia

 * In the comics, Ultron was traditionally created by Dr. Henry Pym, however, Joss Whedon has stated that in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ultron's origin will be different, relating more the current roster of Avengers already established in the MCU.
 * 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.
 * 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.