WARNING: SPOILERS  POSSIBLE, GO WATCH THE MOVIE

When one of Earth’s mightiest Heroes unintentionally creates one of Earth’s greatest threats then the Avengers must once again assemble to stop it. Today I had the pleasure of going to see Avengers: Age of Ultron today with my wife and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie opens up with our favorite team of heroes taking down a Hydra base in search of Loki’s scepter so Thor can return it to Asgard for safe keeping. In this action packed opener we see the team in action with their new costumes and excellent banter amongst themselves. The fact that Captain America has such an issue with language when Tony curses made for a great running joke for the remainder of the movie.

The intro also reveals our first glimpse of the Maximoff twins in the Marvel studios universe. First, I’ll say that I love the characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. I love the roles they play in various X-men stories. I love the fact that they are the children of Magneto. I HATE WITH ASTONISHING PASSION that Fox owns the rights to the X-men franchise and there has been no mention whatsoever of their father or other mutants. Oh and Marvel’s Quicksilver looks a million times cooler than the Days of Future Past quicksilver.

Sorry about my tangent there, but it needed to be said. After the Avengers are victorious they return to the Avengers’ Mansion to enjoy plenty of revels and four our favorite “mad” scientists to try and tap into the wonders of Loki’s scepter which we learn (for those who didn’t already know) was the Mind stone. One scientific montage later and we have the code for artificial intelligence cracked, and only have to work on its interfacing w J.A.R.V.I.S. gladly takes over whilst the boys go party. The party gives us our required Stan Lee cameo, small appearances by our friends War Machine and Falcon, and we learn Jane is better than Pepper. The group hilariously attempts to lift Thor’s hammer with Captain almost giving Thor a heart attack by making it budge.

J.A.R.V.I.S. completes his work and him and Ultron duke it out for A.I. Supremacy. From this point on all the excellence that is James Spader takes center stage. Ultron’s character was excellent, his jokes and banter with the Avengers made him a great thing to see on screen. He’s officially my second favorite Marvel villain under Loki. He sets off with his need to keep the peace amongst the humans who need to evolve and takes the scepter with him. From here we get to go to Wakanda, the home of The Black Panther. We may not have gotten to see him, but we did at least name drop his home, which will be the stage of his phase three movie so I’m pleased with that. A few great battles take place and two things happen: The maximoff twins single handedly take down the Avengers minus Iron Man, and Said Iron Man kicks the Ultron’s ass. It was great to watch and not just for its cinematic beauty but I feel like it was a teaser for Thor’s third big screen film, Ragnarok. Heimdall telling Thor that he killed them all was a clear clue. Ragnarok was the cataclysmic event that ended the lives of the Norse Gods according to their mythos so I can’t wait to see what happens there.

Now after this battle, our heroes are rattled and trying to plan their next move giving our metal friend all the time he needs to build his army, and try to make the ultimate android body. He damn near succeeds in uploading himself into the body, finally giving Scarlett Witch access to his mind and with it visions of the world ending. The Avengers conveniently show up giving the twins a time to escape. Another city wide battle takes place in which Captain America goes one on one with the big bad which makes for a great fight. The Android body is recovered by the team at the cost of Black Widow. This leads the “mad” scientists to complete the Android as quickly as possible. Before they could get done the other team members attempt to stop them, but one Asgardian has other plans. With godly aid The Vision is born with an infinity stone adorned on his forehead. Black Widow is located and they rush off for their final battle.

Our heroes truly shine here as they fight to defend these people in this city as well as stop the Ultron. With his plan to turn this massive city to a meteor and cause an extinction level event. The heroes fight with all they have as well as save the citizens. They truly have the people’s safety in mind, unlike a certain kryptonian in Man of Steel… just saying. With a battle of this magnitude of course there is going to be a loss. Ultron on his last leg commandeers a shield jet and tries one last time to kill the Avengers with strafing gunfire. Quicksilver sacrifices himself to save Hawkeye and an innocent child and I felt my heart ache along with Scarlett Witch. Thanks to a certain one eyed hero the city is evacuated and the meteor/city is destroyed. Leaving only the Ultron to be destroyed by what he hoped to create, the Vision.

Our Heroes once again scatter themselves. Tony leaves the initiative for hopes of a quieter life it seems. Thor back to Asgard to learn more of the Infinity stones and the threat behind them. Dr. Banner off to parts unknown for everyone’s safety. This leaves Widow and the Captain to train the next phase of the Avengers, which now includes Scarlet Witch, War Machine, and Falcon. Yet again our heroes survive. The world lives to turn another day, and it’s peacekeeping force grows again. But how long will it last? Not long if Thanos has a say in the matter. He again makes an appearance now bearing the Infinity Gauntlet without any of the stones. This leads me to believe he is now doubling his efforts to collect them and bring death across the cosmos. He does after all court death itself.

So now the stage is set for Thor to stop Ragnarok or die trying, for Captain to continue his search for The Winter Soldier, and Thanos to make his first official entrance into the Fray. What do you think will come next? Will the Guardians of the Galaxy fine another of the 6 infinity stones? Will their travels lead them to the Terrain world Earth? Are Ant-man and/or the Black Panther going to come across one? Who knows what’s in store for the next phase of Marvel movies, but I know I’m hella excited for it.

Your move DC.

-Poetic Ice