One of the Avengers’ Greatest Villains Is Officially a Hero (and Celebrates With a New Costume)

There are several iconic villains in the Avengers‘ rogues gallery, but one of them has risen to the top and claimed a spot among Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Villains turning over a new leaf isn’t out of the ordinary for the Avengers, with heroes like Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Scarlet Witch changing sides throughout their history. However, none of them have a rap sheet quite like the one Ultron is sporting. Ultron is a global threat that typically takes several heroes to stop, but he’s found a bit of heroism in West Coast Avengers. Ultron’s place amongst the good guys is solidified by Iron Man, who gifts Ultron an Avengers-style upgrade. WARNING: Spoilers for West Coast Avengers #4 ahead.

West Coast Avengers #4 comes from the creative team of Gerry Duggan, Danny Kim, Arthur Hesli, and VC’s Joe Caramagna. Iron Man and War Machine formed the West Coast Avengers to help reform supervillains, but even they were surprised to find an altruistic Ultron looking to become a hero. The West Coast Avengers were quickly put to the test when they faced another Ultron who had formed a cult. Of course, this brought attention to Ultron’s true motives, and some answers finally came to the surface.

Marvel reveals how Ultron joined the Avengers

Ultron was already a member of the West Coast Avengers when the series started, but readers were never told how Ultron was recruited. This backstory is revealed in West Coast Avengers #4 when we’re taken back several months ago to Iron Man and War Machine fighting an alien named Shradram the Breaker in San Francisco. Shradram is an alien technarch who is looking to detonate a “black-hole bomb, and just as it’s about to get the best of Iron Man, Ultron swoops in for the save.

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Naturally, Iron Man doesn’t trust Ultron, but Ultron opens its entire system to Iron Man so he can read Ultron’s code and learn that it’s not deceiving him. Ultron tells Iron Man that the Ultron life-form has split itself into several entities, and this one wishes to serve humanity. Ultron forms a plan to accelerate the bomb’s explosion while also increasing its “shutter speed” to limit the devastation. The only bad news is Ultron gets caught in the blast. Instead of letting Ultron get sucked into the black hole, Iron Man deploys his Mysterium armor to save Ultron.

Three Ultrons remain: our heroic Ultron, the one with the cult, and one we’ve yet to meet. Ultron agrees to keep its source code open for Iron Man to monitor, and is the only villain to stick with the West Coast Avengers. Absorbing Man and Crimson Dynamo refused to work with Ultron, and Firestar doesn’t quite trust it either. But if Ultron is going to be an Avenger, it needs to look the part.

Ultron gets an official Avengers makeover

A slightly inebriated Firestar tells Iron Man and War Machine that Ultron doesn’t look much like an Avenger, prompting Iron Man to agree. Iron Man begins to use a finger laser to burn something on Ultron’s chest, but Ultron stops him and decides to do the honor itself. Ultron upgrades itself with a sleeker, metallic armor with shoulder pads and the official Avengers logo on its chest.

“Now there can be no doubt — I am an Avenger!” Ultron declares. “Let the people know that I am Ultron, servant of humankind.”

Count Firestar as not impressed. “Well. The ‘A’ and the shoulder pads should fix everything,” she quips while taking a swig from her alcohol container. “Cheers, boys.”

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Ultron is doing its best to prove that it can be trusted, and so far it’s living up to that standard. Firestar should relate to Ultron after she had to be a double agent for the X-Men inside the anti-mutant organization Orchis. Sparks even fly between Firestar and small-time villain Killerwatt, Firestar’s teammate on the West Coast Avengers. The two share a quick kiss high above the San Francisco sky, but even Killerwatt recognizes that Firestar is suffering from PTSD and needs to seek help.

So, what did you think about the heroic Ultron’s origin and new armor in West Coast Avengers #4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!