The MCU‘s most epic and terrifying line has gone overlooked despite setting up an even bigger event than Thanos’ snap. After going through several apocalyptic threats, the MCU’s Earth finds itself in relative peace. But even after the multiversal events of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the Avengers’ world won’t be safe from new and returning enemies.
The MCU has presented a long list of memorable lines of dialog. Bruce Banner’s “I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade” is a rare instance of Mark Ruffalo’s Avenger being seriously scary, and the High Evolutionary’s “There is no God, that’s why I stepped in” is the perfect representation of his villainy. However, nobody comes close to the Avengers’ most underrated movie antagonist when it comes to delivering the best quotes in the franchise.
Ultron Dropped The Most Badass Line In The Whole MCU
Ultron’s Prediction Is Scarier Than Anything That Has Happened In The MCU So Far
James Spader’s Ultron is practically a quote machine in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where almost every line of dialog he delivers is spine-chilling, from “there are no strings on me” to “when the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it. And believe me… he’s winding up.” The apocalypse Ultron envisions in Avengers: Age of Ultron sounds much more catastrophic and definitive than anything any other villain has attempted. Ultron’s best line is certainly his vision for the future, though:
“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!”
By nature, Ultron should be impossible to kill. He doesn’t need a body to exist, and he can hide indefinitely in any corner of the internet, or in a single drive stored in a secret location. Ultron can only truly be defeated once he’s wiped from the internet, but as a near-perfect AI, he must have several layers of defense against virtual attacks. Yet, Avengers: Age of Ultron establishes that Ultron dies the moment his last sentry is destroyed.
Ultron’s most intimidating line only becomes scarier with time. In recent years, real-life AI models have displayed signs of self-preservation, making deliberate decisions to lie, ignore commands, and create secret copies of themselves when they consider themselves threatened. In the MCU, once Ultron awakens and makes his first judgment on humanity based on all available information on the internet, humanity would realistically have its days numbered.
Ultron’s Best Quote Predicted His Vision Quest Return
Vision Quest Acknowledges Ultron Shouldn’t Be Gone For Good
Ultron has been absent from the MCU for more than a decade and a half, and he has barely been acknowledged directly. Fortunately, the upcoming Vision Quest series will bring Ultron back and explain why he hasn’t returned, even when humanity was at its lowest during the Blip. Indeed, Ultron was thought to be purged from the world’s computers, and Vision turned against him, yet he isn’t completely eradicated.
Vision Quest sounds like the ideal place to address the real-world progression of AI technology. Not only does it feature Ultron, but Vision Quest also promises to focus on themes of consciousness and identity. An AI character losing their memories and sense of self used to be an exclusively fictional drama only a few years ago. Today, a growing number of people are growing emotionally dependent on AI companions.
Ultron Needs More Than A Supporting Role In Vision Quest
Ultron Dying Or Retiring Would Be A Disservice To The Character
Ultron’s return is a welcome gift to patient fans. Since Phase 4, Marvel has been acknowledging characters who weren’t popular years ago, including Abomination in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Lizard and Electro in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Trevor Slattery in Wonder Man. Still, Ultron deserves more than a similarly lighthearted or inconsequential supporting role.
Unlike Abomination, Lizard, and Electro, Ultron isn’t a villain who changes his mind and redeems himself. Part of what makes Ultron distinct is that he’s unstoppable, even when he seems to have been defeated. Just like Terminator‘s Skynet and The Matrix‘s agents, Ultron is a permanently looming, near-omniscient villain who’s unflappable even when hundreds of his robots have been taken down.
The MCU has an impeccable track record when it comes to paying off lines. Loki did end up being “burdened with glorious purpose” in Loki season 2, and Thanos’ defeat did “turn [his] legs to jelly” in Avengers: Endgame. Ideally, Marvel Studios honors Ultron’s best MCU line and sets up his revenge plan in Vision Quest. While Ultron may never succeed in taking over the world, he’s the kind of antagonist who never truly stops trying.
Vision Still Has Plenty To Do In The MCU
Vision Has The Potential To Become A Recurring MCU Villain
Ultron’s unexplored comic arcs offer fertile ground for future MCU stories. Vision Quest could lay the foundations for a more contained but darker Rage of Ultron-style storyline, where Ultron attempts to create Planet Ultron at Titan, which would also help Eternals‘ Starfox to return. Otherwise, Ultron could start to merge robots with humans, starting with himself, in an MCU version of The Ultron Agenda.
Ultron has yet to interact with Ant-Man, and he has yet to meet and fall in love with Jocasta, who was introduced through an easter egg in Avengers: Age of Ultron and is set to debut in Vision Quest. Ultron’s return also allows the MCU to comment on the real-world rise of AI and put a fresh spin on its timeless narrative potential. To do this, Ultron could become a Next Avengers or Young Avengers antagonist.