The Avengers have a great reputation in pop culture, both in comics and in films. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have starred in some great stories across numerous types of media, but for this fan, the best of these tales come from the comics. They were born there, and some of the greatest writers and artists of all time have given readers some fantastic tales. These stories showed what the team was all about, defining who they are as an organization, as well as who they are as people and how their missions affects their lives. There’s something special about an Avengers story, and there numerous ones that have been pointed to as the best of all time.
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There are some amazing Avengers stories, but the one that is the greatest, and has been since it was released 26 years ago, is “Ultron Unlimited”. This story, which ran through Avengers (Vol. 3) #19-22 (with a prologue in Avengers (Vol. 3) #0, which was released through Wizard Magazine) was a perfect storm of awesome. It starred one of the greatest Avengers villains, Ultron (my and many others’ favorite villain for the team). It was from the amazing Kurt Busiek/George Perez run on Avengers (Vol. 3). It starred some of the greatest members of the group of all time. It’s perfect, and it you want to read it, you just about can’t, which is a tragedy.
“Ultron Unlimited” Is the Last True Avengers Story and That’s Why It’s Great
1998 was a turning point for the Avengers, and it was awesome. I was mostly an X-Men fan at the time, but jumped onto a team that I had left behind a few years before when Busiek and Perez came on the book. It was amazing. Their run gave readers one of the best Avengers rosters ever, and the two of them understood the team and how to tell their stories in away that combined the tropes of the book’s past with a beautifully modern approach. It was outstanding, and still is. This is before Marvel decided to try to make the team into their Justice League; this is pure Avengers in a way we don’t get every much anymore. However, “Ultron Unlimited” took the book to the next level.
To begin with, Ultron is the perfect Avengers villain. His desire for destruction of all biological life may be a bit of a cliche, but his personal relationship with the team brings him to another level. He’s a member of the group’s family, and has a bond to them that most other villains don’t have. The mad android is also one of the most dangerous villains on Earth; powerful enough to smack around Thor with an adamantium shell that makes him nigh-indestructible. Ultron is a frightening force of destruction, and “Ultron Unlimited” used every facet of the character to perfection.
“Ultron Unlimited” saw the titular villain return and got to right to the threat. He attacked the European country of Slorenia, exterminating its population in minutes at the head of an army of Ultron models, all of them also made of adamantium. His plan was to sweep across the planet, an unstoppable tide of death, with only the Avengers able to stand in his way. The resulting battle sees the team struggle against an unbreakable tide of roboticized abhorance, as the monstrous robot’s hatred of the group combines with his loathing of humanity to bring the story’s threat to another level.
When the Avengers are finally able to stem the tide and come for Ultron, they’re beaten and exhuasted, but resolute. Joined by Hank Pym, the Wasp, and Black Panther, who brings some vibranium weapons made specifically for use against adamantium, they engage in a last battle that needs to be seen to be believed. The story looks gorgeous, with Perez giving readers some amazing imagery and action scenes that bring Busiek’s flawless scripts to life beautifully. The tale is more than just an action masterpiece, it’s a meditation on fathers and sons, the damage done, and that family is more complicated than we imagine. It’s brilliant, four issues of perfect comic book storytelling that can be enjoyed by anyone.
Marvel Needs to Reprint This Story Immediately
One of Marvel’s biggest problems is that they don’t really keep anything in print. There’s a reason that DC is known for having more greatest of all time stories that has nothing to do with how great the stories are; they keep them in print forever. This allows older readers to recommend these tales to new readers, who can then buy them and read them. So many of the publisher’s classics are hard to find, and “Ultron Unlimited” lies among that number.
“Ultron Unlimited” does everything right. If I had to sell it to someone who has never read an Avengers comic, I would tell them that it’s basically Avengers: Age of Ultron if it was actually a great movie and story. It’s a story that still stays with me all these years later. The above panel defined what the Avengers could be for me, and I’m still sad that we never got this moment in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Marvel kneecaps itself in numerous ways, but I’ll never understand why they don’t keep amazing stories like this in print. It’s the peak of the Avengers, and if you can find it somewhere, buy it.
Have you read “Ultron Unlimited”? Leave a comment in the comment section and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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Courtesy of Toei Animation
