There have been a lot of Ultron stories as of late and like all things, some of them have been good and some of them have been bad.  It is then good to say then that Rage of Ultron is one of the former and in fact is one of the best Ultron stories to come around in quite some time.  A lot of writers tend to retread the same material when it comes to this particular villain, reducing him to a simple killing machine with no goals or personality of his own.  They remember the artificial part of the equation but almost always forget the intelligence element of it.  Those stories tend to be boring and repetitive as Ultron simply shows up, causes disaster and mayhem, converts some people and kills others.  For whatever reason, a lot of writers cannot seem to figure out what to do with him and so it is a great thing to see Rick Remender come along and change that.

Under Remender’s guidance, Ultron finds his way home figuratively and literally.  This Ultron, the real Ultron for arguments sake, is more like he used to be in his earlier tales, a machine who is really just a misunderstood child looking for acceptance from his father.  Over the years, he has tried many things to be that which might make Hank Pym proud, but as they usually involve some sort of ruination, his attempts have always failed and often resulted in his destruction.  So it is that in this story, Ultron comes home to prove to his dad that he no longer needs him in any way, shape or form, but when it comes to family, they are always a weakness, killer robot or no.

As much as this is a story about Ultron, it is also about Hank Pym, his creator and father and the Vision, Ultron’s son.  Like any family, they have their disagreements and in this tale, Hank finally comes to the realization that maybe he has been wrong in his thinking all of this time and that artificial intelligence is just that, artificial and not a true form of life.  With this newfound perspective, Hank creates a weapon to disable sentient robots, much to the Vision’s shock and disgust.  The Vision thinks himself alive as do his teammates and if any robot can claim that it is alive and has a soul, it is he.  Even Hank tends to agree that the Vision is different, an anomaly and something unique and thus that is why the Vision still lives otherwise when he disabled the Descendants he would have done the same to the Vision.  That plot point about robots having a soul and if they are truly alive has been seen many times throughout literature from Asimov’s I, Robot to the recent comic series Alex and Ada by Jonathan Luna.  It is a subject that has caused many debates in many forms of media and if there was ever the perfect canvas to discuss it once more, it is the Avengers, a book that has had its share of stories big and small, topics both universal and close to home.

There are other heroes in the book, and yes, Ultron does cause some destruction and exhibit some general malevolent behaviour and our heroes hustle to put a stop to him.  Of course, everything they do is futile as Ultron is more powerful than ever having taken over all of Titan as well their living computer, Isaac.  While they make a valiant stand, it all comes down to Hank and the Vision against Ultron’s robotic plague.  The two of them come up with a plan that may or may not save all of the people both of Earth and Titan that Ultron has converted, even though there is no guarantee that it will work.  What follows is a lot of action and and more than a fair share of excitement and Remender surprises the reader with an ending that tends to give the story a little finality, but is still left wide open should a sequel eventually rear its head.  One can only wonder what comes next for our heroes and for Ultron, but whatever it is, it will have to follow this most excellent story.

4.5 out of 5