Avengers: Age of Ultron: Gods, Monsters, and Mad Scientists

By Bill Friedell

​With the upcoming release of Avengers: Infinity War (Anthony and Joe Russo, 2018), I thought I’d look back at the previous Avengers film, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Joss Whedon, 2015). While it isn’t regarded as a terrible or bad film by most, many brush it off as being more of the same and bogged down in setting up future movies, as well as other complaints. While I agree it isn’t among the very best MCU movies, I feel like it gets dismissed too easily. Age of Ultron brings us further into the dynamics of the team and allows us to truly understand who the Avengers are. If Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012) is about how "Earth’s mightiest heroes" can come together, Age of Ultron is an exploration of how the group operates afterwards. Avengers is the story of flawed “gods” from different creeds and backgrounds coming together for one shared cause. Age of Ultron is the story of monsters, as seen in the various members of the team, either creating monsters or being monsters themselves, as shown through these archetypes; the mad scientist and the monster continuing a cycle of violence that threatens everything.

Victor Frankenstein (Colin Clive) brings his monster (Boris Karloff) to life with lightning.

The mad scientist has been a major figure of the horror and science fiction genre both in film and comic books. Typically, a mad scientist is a genius who wants to achieve something god-like, but end up creating something terrible. They create monsters. This goes back to Mary Shelly's classic novel, ​Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus​. Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist is a genius who wishes to achieve something god-like, but ends up creating an abomination, or, a monster. The most popular version of the mad scientist in film, also Victor Frankenstein, was forever defined by Colin Clive in the 1931 adaptation, ​Frankenstein ​(James Whale, 1931), which defined the mad scientist as singularly driven to the point of raving madness, but realizes what he has created and tries to deal with the monster himself as best he can (Frankenstein). The influence of this movie has not only influenced movies, but comic books themselves. Originally, Lex Luthor, Superman's arch nemesis was introduced as a mad scientist (Siegel, Shuster). An even more direct translation is Dr. Bruce Banner, irradiating himself, whether intentionally or accidently, becomes both man and monster. Sympathetic and dangerous (Lee, Kirby).

Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges)

Whiplash (Mickey Rourke)

Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce)

But for Joss Whedon, most obvious “mad scientist” of Age of Ultron is Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Tony Stark is a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” who has far from a perfect record. As said in Iron Man 3 (Shane Black, 2013), “We create our own demons”. Tony used to create weapons, demons of his own design and the reverberations of that have been felt even after he shuts down the weapons program at his company. Most, if not all of Iron Man’s villains in the MCU are the result of technology he created, especially his final weapon, the Iron Man suit. Iron Monger in the original ​Iron Man​, (Jon Favreau, 2008) is made of the scraps of Tony’s original armor, and Whiplash in ​Iron Man 2 ​(Jon Favreau, 2010) creates the arc reactor technology he uses to make his whip weapons based on his father’s work as well as Tony’s. But not only did he create demons and monsters through technology; he also made monsters through his character. The primary example of this is Aldrich Killian, the villain of Iron Man 3. Tony brushing off Killian’s offer to join his think tank inspired his scheme to take over the war on terror behind the scenes. Tony has created countless problems and demons to face, which doesn’t end in Age of Ultron.​

But Stark isn’t the only mad scientist of the group. Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is unique in that he is both mad scientist and monster. He made himself into the Hulk to recreate the super soldier serum of Captain America and also assists Iron Man in scientific endeavors, such as creating Ultron. He is Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein’s monster, and Victor Frankenstein rolled into one. Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) can also be considered monsters. Captain America is the result of experimentation. Now, pulled out of the 1940s, Cap is a man out of time. He doesn’t know where he fits in. In being a man out of time, he has become an outsider, as seen in the running joke of Cap pointing out Tony’s “language”, merely out of force of habit because of the time he came up in. Black Widow was taken to the Red Room, trained since childhood to become an assassin. She has no place in the world, she admits to her teacher, and is solidified in a “graduation ceremony” where Black Widow is sterilized, unable to bear children. Her entire self was violated and manipulated into making her a killer, a guilt she carries with her to this day. It's the “red in her ledger” she refers to in the first Avengers. Even Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is grappling with the idea that he is going to be a monster to his own people, having a vision of Ragnarok; the death of Asgard, brought about by him.
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This is all best summarized by Ultron, saying, “Everyone creates what they dread. Men of peace create engines of war, invaders create avengers, people create… children, designed to supplant them. To help...end them”. Ultron sees himself as the child of Stark and that it is his duty to supplant him. This is particularly shown in Ultron’s personality, mirroring Stark’s quippy, smug, personality. Ultron is representative of this cycle of “creating what we dread”. Iron Man makes way for Killians, Ironmongers, and Ultrons. Hydras create Shields, which rebirth Hydra (Captain America Winter Soldier, Anthony and Joe Russo). ​\
The movie, particularly, the character of Ultron, employs many Biblical allusions. Ultron refers to Captain America as “God’s righteous man. Pretending that you can live without a war." He first meets the twins in a church, which was built in the center of the town, so that everyone will be equally close to God, and says he will “build his church” on vibranium (his chosen rock). He equates his plan with God flooding the world, which points to the fact that Ultron believes that he is God and that it is his duty to destroy humanity so that it will evolve and create peace. His sitting in the center of the church is like God sitting on his throne.
Let's go back to that line referring to Cap as the righteous man. Here, Ultron is pointing out that Captain America is a soldier, and without a war, he has no place. The Avengers gave Cap an avenue to continue the fight, to retain his sense of purpose. In many ways, this is what the Avengers are here for: to stop threats to the world. If there are no threats, no more Avengers. If there are threats, the cycle continues. This was why Tony wanted to create Ultron: to be the suit of armor to protect the earth from cosmic threats like the Chittari from the first Avengers. But in doing that, Tony created another threat. Another demon to dread.

So, we know this cycle: man creates monster, monster creates more monsters. How do you break the cycle? In the text of the movie, the answer is found in the character called Vision (Paul Bettany). While created by Ultron to be his final form, Tony and the Avengers put Jarvis (Tony’s personal A.I) into the body. Banner rightly points out that this is what exactly got them into this situation, which Tony replies, “We’re mad scientists. We’re monsters, buddy. And you’ve gotta own it. Make a stand. It's not a loop. It's the end of the line”. Tony has finally become self-aware of his actions. His preventative measures and ego have put themselves there. He is who he is, just as Banner is condemned to who he is. So, with Jarvis inside and Thor zapping the metal body with lightning (much like Dr. Frankenstein giving his monster life), Vision represents a being entirely new, referencing Exodus 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14), saying “I’m not Ultron. I’m not Jarvis. I am… I am”. Vision doesn’t wish Ultron dead. But he knows he must be stopped to preserve life. A born Avenger. The cycle must be recognized and something new must form to stop the cycle of violence. 

The cycle clearly hasn’t stopped in these movies, seeing how the MCU continues to this day. But there is acknowledgement of the failings and troubles of these characters we all come to admire. While we know from their own movies and even the previous Avengers film that these are far from flawless people, Age of Ultron addresses the idea the demons they create are a cycle, much like others in the superhero genre. Some villains are self-made; others are born of the heroes, or even exist merely to challenge them. But what makes the Avengers special is that they acknowledge the nature of this cycle and must understand that they must own up to what they have wrought, which is perfectly encapsulated in Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Renner) words to Wanda Maximoff, “Its your fault, it's everyone's fault. Who cares? Are you up for this? Are you? I need to know, because the city is flying. The city is flying, there’s an army of robots… and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense… It doesn’t matter what you did, or what you were, if you go out there, you fight… but if you step out that door, you are an Avenger”. It’s up to us to own our mistakes and we can choose what to do next. Ignore the problem or stand for change. We are all responsible. We create monsters. We transgress against each other all the time. As Banner says and Ultron realizes, the biggest threat to people are people. As Vision observes, “Humans are odd. They think order and chaos are somehow opposites and try to control what won’t be. But there is grace in their failings. I think you missed that”. Avengers: Age of Ultron is an exploration of what it means to be human, like most all art, by capturing the worst and best of humanity.  

Works Cited
Whedon, Joss, director. Avengers: Age of Ultron. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2015
Whedon, Joss, director. The Avengers. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2012. 
Black, Shane, director. Iron Man 3. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2013. 
Favreau, Jon, director. Iron Man. Paramount Pictures, 2008.
Favreau, Jon, director. Iron Man 2. Paramount Pictures, 2010.
Russo, Anthony and Joe Russo, directors. Captain America: Winter Soldier. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2014
Whale, James, director. Frankenstein. Universal Pictures, 1931.
King James Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 1973.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Frankenstein.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Apr. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Frankenstein.
​Siegel, Jerry (w), Shuster, Joe (p, i). Action Comics #23 (1940). DC Comics.
​Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Reinman, Paul (i). "The Hulk" The Incredible Hulk 1 (May 1962)​​